Christmas 09

Here's Logan Christmas Eve, he wore the hat to dinner with Gma and Gpa and didn't wnat to take if off. So cute!

Getting ready to open Christmas Eve presents

What could it be?

Matching pj's of course, they also get to open their ornament representing something they have done, or really enjoyed that year. Logan-preschool, Makay- oven mitt that says "Love to cook", Shawna- road bike, Dave- 4-wheeler.

Makay's pile

Logan's Pile

Shawna's Pile

Dave's Pile

Makay playing with his new pots.

We ended up taking more video then we did pictures that morning, as you can see. I really wanted to hear Logan's reaction, unfortunately our video camera is old school and can't be put on the computer. Oh well.

Later Christmas night we went to see the lights at temple square, as you can see by our attire it was freezing. We were there for about 45 minutes, which was plenty of time to quickly walk around and let the boys enjoy the lights and get back to the car with losing any limbs.

It was a wonderful Christmas this year, Logan finally got the Santa concept and ran right to bed when we said it's time for bed and then Santa is coming, once he laid down he said "I love this season." Dave and I just laughed. Makay followed Logan's lead most of the day, and they were so cute together. I was so excited on Christmas morning to see the boys reaction, and wasn't thinking "what was I getting?"

We also had a great time explain the nativity to the boys for family night. Although we love presents we love our Savior Jesus Christ more. We are so thankful for his sacrifice and everlasting love for all of us. May we remember him always.

Logan's Pre-School Christmas Program

Logan and his buddy Jack getting ready to march like toy soldiers.

Each child had a chance in the spotlight and the teacher's read what the children told them they wanted for Christmas. Here's what Logan said, "Logan wants a big red truck for Christmas, and his Mom wants new running shoes, and Dad wants a basketball and golf passes". I almost fell over, I guess he's paying attention to what we've been putting on our lists.

Taking a break in between songs

Logan singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Logan was the sheep in the nativity, but he didn't like wearing the mask

Santa made an appearance at the end of the program and Logan asked for a BIG red truck

This Christmas program was so darling. Normally Logan hates to sing and never does it, but he did pretty good at the program. I have been so pleased with all the fun things Logan has been doing at pre-school, he is getting to experience so many great activities. I am so thankful for the opportunity for Logan to go to school.

Who Am I ??

This post is inspired by my good friend Marci. She posted on her blog about who she is and asked all that read 'who are you?' I wanted to treat this as a tag. So if you read this you're tagged and you need to tell us who you are on your own blog.

Who Am I ? What a loaded question, as I sit here and think it's hard to not list of titles like, wife, mother, friend, daughter, trainer, etc. Although I am all those things I think we need to go deeper, what makes me tick, what is my driving force, what am I passionate about. For now I will address the first thing that comes to mind.

I'm a woman that is passionate about sports and exercise. I know this isn't a shock to most people, but here's a little background on why. For as long as I remember I have loved playing and watching sports, I played flag football at 5 yrs. old, then on to t-ball, soccer, track, cross country, and swimming. I have not always been the best at all of these endeavors, but I have always enjoyed it. After high school and the constant practicing and competing I took a little break, it wasn't til after having Logan that I got back into it. As we all know when you get pregnant you gain weight, and after you have the baby it's not always as easy as we hope to lose the weight. My goal after Logan was to get back into shape, I didn't have an exact number in mind, but mostly just wanted to fit back into my pre-baby clothes. So I decided to train for a triathlon and play soccer on an outdoor team. With these new developments I was feeling rejuvenated, I felt a zest for life back.

As life goes on we had baby #2 Makay. And as life got busier, but again I found my self going back to 5 k races, triathlons and soccer. As Dave and I like to say I got bitten by the tri bug. I don't really know why I love to train, compete, and race so much but I do. What I do know is that training, competing and racing gives me an opportunity to have me time, it gives me time to reflect on a day good/bad, reflect on things in my life, just time. Which can be hard to find as a mom, wife, housekeeper.

I encourgae all woman to find what gives them their zest for life back, whatever it might be. There are many other facets of who I am, but I will save them for another post, as I have rambled long enough. Lastly, ladies please find out who you are? You deserve it, deserve to feel a zest for life, not just be living.

Pictures like these

So We had our ward Christmas party on Friday and after dinner there was a visit from good old St. Nick. The kids were all lined up and signing songs with Santa, so I was standing up there with Logan and holding Makay. After the singing they made their way into the Relief Society room for a photo opp. Please enjoy the series of events.

Here's Makay giving Santa a skeptical look.

Now shying away from a nice hello

Last, pure terror! Why is this strange man holding me?


Call me crazy, but I really like this picture, I think everybody needs at least one of picture of their kids screaming with Santa.

Apple Pie and Hair Cuts

So I was feeling very domestic and do it myself the week of Thanksgiving, so that's what I did. Logan's hair was getting quite out of control and even thought I like it long, we decided it was time to chop it off. And since I was doing one kid I might as well do the other. They both hate getting their hair cut, so it was a very tearful experience.


Next, I decided to bake a homemade apple pie from scratch, dough and everything. Along with my apple pie I made garlic and bacon roasted mashed potatoes, now those were easy and very tasty. I think they will become a turkey day tradition. Since you can't taste my delicious pie you will have to settle for the picture. Please enjoy.



This is my first ever homemade apple pie (well pie in general). I got the recipe from my sister and I was on my way. I was very nervous, but it turned out really good. The dough was a little tricky getting it into the pie dish, but other then that it wasn't too bad. It was a great success, although I'm not sure I'll do it again.





I forgot to take a picture of Makay before his hair cut. He cried the whole time I used the clippers, but once I got to the scissors he was fine, well I still had to hold him, but at least he wasn't screaming.






This is the face I saw the majority of the time, he hates getting his hair cut. Can you believe how long it is? Poor kid.

Yikes, that's a lot of THICK hair!

Don't let the smile fool you those red cheeks mean he was crying the whole time I was using the clippers also, refer to picture above and you can imagine how long it took. And our clippers suck, we need new ones.







This is the final look after I tried my best to clean it up with the scissors It's a lot shorter then I wanted it on top, but oh well I'm sure I'll get better each time I try. (If I try again)










Oops, I totally forgot to put on the attachment.

Last Couple of Days

I have taken some fun pictures of the last couple of days, so I thought I would post some. On another note I am loving Logan going to Pre-school, not only is he making all sorts of fun crafts and participating in fun activities I feel like he well be much better prepared for elementary school when the time comes. I am so thankful for the opportunity to send him to Pre-school.

A couple of pictures of the fun things Logan's been making at Pre-school.

Here's what Dave and I found when we went to tuck Logan in when we were going to bed...hilarious.









Makay stuck in the leaves









Speaking of Makay what a handful this little tyke is, he keeps me on my toes. Some one his latest he loves to cook. The first thing he does in the morning is get his pot and wooden spoon that I have set aside for him to play with and starts cooking, however, one pot and spoon is not enough, so he is constantly trying to get into the the drawers and cupboards for more pots and spoons. Walking around saying "spoon" and "cooking" in the most pitiful voice. As much as this drives me crazy I'm sure one day I'll look back and miss it. The question is when is that day going to come? Oh well he's my little Dennis the Mennis, and I love him to bits.



Here's our backyard once all the leaves had fallen.

Logan's New Bed

So for the past couple of weeks Logan has been having a hard time, he seemed very irritated, wouldn't stay in his own bed at night, and everything was a battle during the day. After about a week of me pulling my hair out while being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM), and thinking somethings got to give, we decided that it was time to get rid of Logan's car bed. Logan was really sad at first, he totally started crying and stayed in his room for sometime. However, once he saw how big and fun his new bunk bed was he was happy to say good-bye to his car bed.

So long, it's been great!

Ta-da here it is, the lifesaver. It's only been a couple of days and I can already see a difference in his attitude. Not only is the new mattress so much softer, it has a flannel sheet set that keeps him toasty warm, and he hasn't been in our room since he got his new bed. Thank you so much to Rob and Nikki for the bunkbed, and now none of our guest have to sleep on an air mattress anymore. What a difference a good nights rest can make.

Terrific Tuesday!

Terrific Tuesday is what our ward is doing instead of Super Saturday, not only did I go to terrific Tuesday tonight, I had a pretty terrific Tuesday all together.

• It started off with a Dr. appt. that actually gave the boys good quality time with Grandma and grandpa, and me time to read part of a good book as I was waiting.
  
• Then a quick visit with my hubby, that's always nice.
  
• Next off to the chiropractor, the boys and I got adjusted, and they did pretty well for their first time, got to keep that immune systems up.
  
• Back home to make dinner and off to terrific Tuesday to make some awesome capes and tutus for Christmas.
  
• Now it's time to hang out with Davizzle.

As I write this out it doesn't look to great, but I feel very balanced and accomplished today. Good night everybody.

Halloween 2009

This year was a super fun Halloween, it started out with a fun party for the little one's. We played some fun games and decorated cookies. Then Logan had a party at school where they sang some Halloween songs, did a parade and had a trunk-or-treat. Then we had a Halloween party for the adults, it was a blast! Then topped the week off by trick-or-treating with some good friends. Make sure you check out all the pictures and enjoy our fun week. What a great Holiday!

A New Approach

Typically I have only done new posts when we have done something fun, or if I have cute pictures to post, but one of my BEST FRIENDS has started to do a daily blog post to act as a family journal, I thought this is not a bad idea. I'm not sure if I'll make it everyday, but maybe just more often. Like so many of us I used to write in my journal every Sunday, however LIFE has gotten a lot busier so now it's only every few months :( So I'll start with today:

Today was exhausting...we were to the gym by 10:30 to meet a client that didn't end up showing up, bummer, so I ran anyway. Got Logan to school by 12:00 came home did laundry, visiting teacher come over, folded and put away the laundry, picked up Logan, watched Austin, eat lunch, did a workout plan, back to the gym by 4:45 and got back home at 7:30, ate dinner, cleaned up the house and finally sat down to veg at 9:00. Most days are not this crazy, but after being out of town for a week I feel like my head is barely above water.

Through all this craziness I was reminded by a colleague that things can definitely be worse, today was exhausting with all good things. Running, love it! It's my time to get away and to push myself and feel accomplished afterward. Taking Logan to school, great! So thankful that we can afford to send him to preschool, and see him interact with other children. Laundry, well thankful to have close to wash I suppose. Visiting Teaching, I love my v.t. she has helped and inspired me in so many ways. Tending my nephew, a good opportunity for service. Lastly, back to the gym, immensely grateful to have a fantastic job that I love, and that gives me the flexibility to still be at home with my wonderful kids.

I know life has it's highs and lows and I'm going to enjoy this high as long as it last, and when it gets low I will call on my Father in Heaven to help me make it through. I hope you all have a wonderful day. :)

California Fun

I had the chance to go on a last minute trip to California last week, my friend Elizabeth was going and asked if I wanted to go with her. Since I hadn't been in just over a year I thought it would be a lot of fun. When I was there I had a chance to go to see some great friends that I haven't seen in a long time, see my old high school coach, as well as see my mom, grandma, and sister. Although the 12 hour drive with four kids is not the most fun, it turned out to be a pretty good trip. Dave was experiencing bachelorhood again, thanks to everybody that fed him while I was gone ;)


Logan, Eli, and Makay
This is my childhood neighbor's little boy

My neighbor that I lived two houses down from growing up, and her son.
Cassie and Eli.

Mack daddy Makay getting some action, although Ashlyn doesn't look so sure if she about it.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos at the beach club.

The older kids on the slide, I like Maddie's Cleopatra pose :)

The whole group at the end of a long, fun day.
Ashlyn, Angela, Irelyn, Madelyn, Brooklyn, Makay, Shawna, and Logan. BTW that's 6 kids 5 and under, good times.

BFF Makay and Ashlyn they are only 1 week apart and had the best time following each other around all day. How cute are they?!

Here's G-ma dee feeding Logan his ridiculous sized portion, they did have a kids menu...oh well I think they both enjoyed this.

Makay, Shawna, G-ma Dee, Mom, Logan
Can you believe my G-ma's 91, she looks great!

Sandy Triathlon

So we did the triathlon on Saturday and it was tons of fun. My brother-in-law Gerry took tons of pictures and we will post those soon. Overall it went pretty well no disasters. I finished with a time of 1:12:39 for a 400 meter swim, 9 mile bike, 3 mile run, Dave finished with a time of 1:25:09. It was tons of fun to do it together, and I'm glad we can enjoy healthy competition. Anyway if you want to check out the official results here they are www.milliseconds.com and click on the I Can Tri link. I look forward to many more of these races in the future.

LDR's First day

When we went out to take the picture before we left I told Logan that we were going to take pictures of just him, and he was all annoyed and wanted Makay to be in some, so that's what this one is all about.

There he is my big boy off to his first day of pre-school. This is his first official day with all his classmates and no parents, last week we went for an orientation and an assessment. He has been so excited to start school, and I think it will be so good for him, Makay and myself. He is going to an in-home pre-school run by two ladies in our Stake.

When he put his backpack on this morning he said "mom there's nothing in it why do I need to bring it?", that kid cracks me up.

Logan have fun at school, you will do great. Love you tons!