Just us Jones'

Some times I feel a little like the Titanic....

2011-08-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Some times I feel a little like the Titanic...like I am sinking under all the the things I am sooo behind on to say that I am a little behind is an understatement! Here I am posting a pic of Avery for her birthday which was last month....Ron's birthday was yesterdays so I guess good on me for at least making it on here that one but that was shear luck! School has started have I posted school pictures YET? NO!! Okay I swear I will try harder but no promises....I am only 1 person, 1 very behind, busy, swamped, frazzled but overall some what sane (I think) and still pretty awesome some days person. So hear it goes 1 month late a darling picture of my 8 year old. She is nothing short of darling....she has chopped all her hair off to her chin since this picture....it took me 10 days too take a picture of the new hair cut....LAME I KNOW! It's darling I will post a new picture of the darling hairdo...soon....promise! But my ship hasn't officially sunk yet, I am still hanging on. I might be floating around on a tiny little raft with a hole in the bottom tossing buckets of water out as fast as they will come in so my little ship wont sink but at least I am still afloat right? I am not going down like the Titanic, not this week anyway. This might be a little dramatic but I just had a my 3 year old's left over PB &J sandwich for lunch and a handful of chocolate chips to give me a sugar high just so I could write this bad boy. So for now just ENJOY~

Happy Birthday Alyssa

2011-06-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it has been 11 years! Everyone always says how time flies by it is so true. My little girl is 11 years old. I hope she had a great birthday! She is turning into such a wonderful young lady and we couldn't be prouder of her. Take note of the amazing cake it was made by my awesome cousin Debbie she totally rocked it out and gave us the perfect cake for a gal turning 11, I can't thank enough for her hard work. It was a great centerpiece to her party and a was delicious. Here is looking forward to a great year a head we hope all your wishes come true. Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Designer Blogs Rocks

2011-04-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take one quick moment and throw a shout out to Designer Blogs at Designer Blogs.com.
They totally redesigned my Photography blog and believe me it needed help and made go from Drab to FAB! So if your Blog is needing a little pick me up or you are just looking for some quick tips they even have some great tutorials. They were easy and amazing to work with.

So Thank you Erin at Designer Blogs you ROCK!

Better Late Then Never!

2011-03-30T14:55:00.001-07:00

So I usually am so good about getting a post on my blog on the a day or at least the week of my kids birthdays. This month I have not done so good. I am going with the better late then never motto. Aidan my sweet little baby turned 3 I cannot hardly believe it! I had it all planned in my mind to get him all dressed up and take some super cute 3 year old pictures of him. The day after he turned 3 he had the stomach flu for a week. Then we have been running non stop since. So I guess our shoot will have to be delayed. The kid is always covered in dirt or Cheetos crumbs anyway it would take a miracle to get clean presentable pictures anyway. That being said he is such fun to have around. He makes every last one of us smile all the time. He is a wild Indian that thinks he is a break dancer. He thinks that his best friend is our bishop, he finally decided to get potty trained and it only took him 1 day. He LOVES basketball and can actually dribble, he loves anything with any ball at all and can throw FAR he is dangerous with golf clubs and bats. He is the boss at our house and he loves his dad way more then he loves me and I don't mind at all. He is an absolute joy! Enjoy some pictures of the most darling/handsome 3 year old on the planet!

Thoughts!

2011-03-08T10:26:00.001-08:00

So this post really has no rhyme or reason to it, other than it is random bits from our lives. My mom always asks me if I write down the funny thing my kids tell me, and of course I am frequently think I am going to remember to but get busy. So I got a kick out of this one and before I forget am going to write it down. The other night while we were cleaning up dinner I could hear Alyssa asking Aidan a bunch of questions like "What is your favorite color?, What is your favorite #?" This went on for awhile we just were laughing at his answers because he was pretty funny and sometimes confused on what he was supposed to actually be saying. Then she says " Aidan, Who is you favorite singer?" It was totally quite and then all the sudden he blurts out "Jesus" We all started laughing so hard. He is quite the kid.

So on that note here are some random pictures of the troops that keep me on my toes. They are truly the best kids. Enjoy~

I took this picture one day while I was waiting for my friend Cami, I had taken her family pictures the week before but her little girl was not having any of it so we were hoping we could just get a few shots of her in a good mood. I took my kids with me and a giant bag of carrots and apples for them to feed to some horses at this farm. The carrots and apples were gone in about 2 minutes so while we waited I snapped this picture of them, umm yes some times they are goofy!

I realized I never posted a picture of them in their Halloween Garb. Don't they look great and such great poses. Hmmm, do you think I take a lot of pictures?

All I can say is it is about time! Ron finally graduated with his MBA! YAHOO! He has been going to school for a long time and we couldn't be prouder of him! What an awesome accomplishment we weren't sure what he would do with all his spare time until he got called as YM president. Hee Hee.

So yesterday it snowed and I was thinking about the day I took this picture it was so warm. I miss this day. I love fall it is beyond beautiful but I cannot wait for spring either. Winter is certainly beautiful too but I am certain that the ground hog promised us an early spring I am just wondering when it is going to come?

Oh my COW!

2011-01-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

I can't even remember if I have told the "oh my cow" story on here before but basically it goes a little something like this. We were driving home from somewhere one day and there is a really big smoke stack that we pass on the way home Aidan says to us "Oh my cow that tower is huge, it is huge like me." We all start cracking up now he regularly says Oh my cow this and Oh my cow that and we call giggle. Last night he for some reason thought I thought that I called molten chocolate cake, chocolate Bambi cake so then we all started calling our FHE desert " Bambi Cake" the rest of the night. That kid is HILARIOUS. Anyway I thought I would take their pic one day after church first Sunday after the time change to be exact so we got home at 2. They were STARVING and obviously giddy so things didn't go as I had planned in my head. I thought they all looked adorable and pictured this great moment. Notice my new back drop. I haven't even hardly broken it in :( big frown! WELL I snapped this pic this is what I got a barrel of monkeys. I didn't even bother to edit this, what was the point? They it just made me want to say "OH MY COW!"

Merry Christmas

2010-12-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

I realize I am soooo behind on posting it isn't even funny, and maybe just maybe after the holidays when things slow down I will take some time and catch up. Until then Here I am saying Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We have had a very busy but wonderful year and couldn't have asked for anything better. Things are perfect around here, we are healthy, happy and we have each other and as corny as that may sound that is truly how I feel. So again Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shamless PLUG

2010-09-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

I know, I know I should be updating my blog with pictures of my own kids and here I am updating with this handsome little guy! BUT I just wanted to say I finally updated my photo blog so head on over there and check it out. AND also it is getting to be that time of year for family pics for Christmas so don't wait to long or you might be out in the cold. My schedule is already starting to fill up. SO if you are interested get a hold of me soon and lets get your family session booked.

What does this darling baby have to do with any of this? Absolutely nothing....he is just cute!

SOOOO, what are you still doing here? You should either be checking your schedule and planning your family pictures OR heading over to my other blog.

http://thesweetestmomentsphotography.blogspot.com/

School Days

2010-08-24T22:23:00.003-07:00

We did or I guess I should say I did it, we made it through summer. This summer was crazy and that is an understatement. I really didn't think I was going to make it through this summer it was hectic and crazy and made me want to cry some weeks. But now we are back to the blissful days of schedules and school. I LOVE the fall it is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the cool feeling of the air and the excitement of the up coming holidays.

My kids were so excited to head back to school, back to their friends and fun. They are thrilled with their new teachers. Alyssa is thrilled to be at the Jr. High this year even though she is only in 5th grade...she even gets a locker. Avery loves her new teacher and each day is an adventure.

Here are few 1st day of school pics of the brood. Enjoy~

My girls are IN LOVE with Justin Bieber and they were telling Aidan to pose like him during the pics...this apparently is his interpretation of Justin Bieber. HILARIOUS!

Happy Birthday Avery

2010-07-22T22:14:00.001-07:00

Today this sweet loud fun loving girl of mine turned 7. She has such a fun loving, quirky, crazy, spirit, but is caring and sweet all at the same time. I have never meet someone who loves Ramen noodles, Popsicles and dressing like a diva and acting like one so much in my life. She has goals to be either on American Idol and if that doesn't work out she is sure she will they will take her as a judge. She is a joy to have around and we hope she has had a fantastic birthday! Enjoy~

Funny Story

2010-07-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I walked into my bathroom to find my 2 year old with his feet dangling over the edge of an empty bath tub. I said "What are you doing buddy?" He say "Just fishin" I said " Are you catching anything?" He says "Nope" So then I look and he is using for a fishing pole a Platex Tampon. It is brand new mind you. But he has the plastic applicator side facing him and the string side hanging into the bathtub waiting to catch the big one. Now just to complete the vision for you he is wearing a pair of pajama pants and one of those shirts that they give you in the hospital that say you were delivered by Dr. Whoever well the shirt is way to small and one of girls stuck it on him so basically it is now a belly shirt so he is sitting there with his entire gut hanging out. Ya might be a red neck if.......

What a kid!

Happy Birthday Alyssa

2010-06-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

On Monday this beautiful girl that is all mine turned 10! I can't hardly believe that time has flown by so fast and that we have been lucky enough to have her in our lives for so long. She is a joy to have and such a wonderful help to me in my day. I could go on and on and I will. When I actually do a formal B-Day post. I just wanted to post this darling picture I took of her on her big day in a new out fit she got from her Grandma Libby. She is getting so big she looks all growed up. Enjoy~

Church is DANGEROUS!

2010-05-22T21:40:00.001-07:00

So last Sunday at church Ron had to speak because he has recently been called to YM President. So of course Aidan found this very exciting and kept SCREAMING "Yeah Dad" so I thought I better exit to the foyer not that I make it through any of my sacrament meetings anyway BUT hey wishful thinking right? SO I was out in the Foyer along with the other tortured parents trying hard to listen to my hubby give his talk over the speaker while Aidan was running from the door to the our neighbor Kellan who was on the couch. Kellan is a Senior in High School and in Aidans mind one of his best friends. He LOVES our neighbors! Anyway I was trying to listen to Ron's talk over Aidan yelling "Kellnan, Kellnan, Ready, Set, Go!" at which point he would run to him Kellan would lift him up set him back down and the process would start over again. Normally I would never allow this kind of behaviour but I think there is a point you reach in your life where you just give up. You are just like "Whatever" and that was this particular Sunday for me. Well let it be a lesson to me because the next thing I know my baby is falling face first into the side of the couch. I quickly pick him up and just kind of give him the "Be a Big Boy Pep Talk" at which point he starts bleeding. My neighbor starts heading up to the bathroom I quickly follow. The first bathroom I come to is the men's I just head right in lucky for me no one was in there so here I stand with my bleeding 2 year old and my 18 year old neighbor. I am sure if someone did walk in they would think WHAT THE HECK! Anyway we got the bleeding to pretty much slow down and almost stop but by the time I got to the bathroom his nose had doubled in size and started turning purple. So after Sacrament I of course go on into find Ron with my blood covered baby oh the joys of motherhood. I took him to the doctor the next day and sure enough it had a small break. Here is the picture to the damage done. He also ended up with a nasty rug burn on the tip of his nose. All I can say is raising a boy is a lot different than raising girls. Crazy Kid!

This is the pose I guess you get when you ask your 2 year old to give you when you want to have them show you his broken nose.

Check It out

2010-05-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

I know I need to update here and I SWEAR I'm gonna! But in the mean time I have posted the MOST adorable pics on my photo blog so go there quick and check them out!

http://www.emilyejones.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Happy Mommy's Day.

2010-05-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

I know it is a day early but I had to write this down before I forgot. SO today after a LONG and very busy day and after me loosing my patience more than one time through out the day I asked Alyssa to make some Ramen Noodles for the kids for dinner because I was busy out in the yard. So a little bit later Avery comes out and tells me that I am not allowed in the house until further notice, I of course knew something was up but agreed. So awhile later my kids come out to get me and make me close my eyes. I was guided into my house and into the kitchen. When I open my eyes it was like being at a 5 star restaurant! There was a one of my NICE table clothes we only get out for Thanksgiving and Christmas along with all the candles they could find lite and in the center of the table and a big sign hanging up written in crayon "Happy Mothers Day Mommy We Love You." For dinner was a pipping hot bowl of Ramen Noodles along with a tea cup of strawberry Kool-Aid. It was actually pretty tasty, I can't remember the last time I drank Kool-Aid or had a bowl of Ramen. They all had the best of manners, please and thank you's were said, no one fought, there was burping however from the 2 year old but other than that it was a fantastic dinner. It was so nice to actually eat my food warm for a change and to not have to get up to get a drink or seconds or anything for that matter for anyone. It was fantastic!

It has been a great pre-mothers day celebration. I can't wait for tomorrow for more sticky kisses and homemade cards.

All Dressed Up

2010-04-27T14:19:00.001-07:00

Finally NICE weather for a minute anyway....... I have been waiting for it to warm up so I could take some pics of my kids outside in their Easter outfits. So I made them get all dressed up on a Saturday (I know the nerve) and we attempted to get some pictures. Lets just say taking pictures with a very mobile 2 year old can prove challenging. And apparently I was so worried about getting them to hold still I totally set my camera up wrong. UGGHHHH! Anyway all that being said I think they turned out OK. Enjoy~

Please note Aidan sticking his tongue out at me.....he would get it if he weren't so darn cute!

The classic "squished up face" I get every time I point my camera his direction. What a goober!

Please notice the aggravated look Avery is getting with me she was about 1 second away from freaking out and the next picture proves it!

This was probably the most calm moment of the whole shoot. They were off to look at the 4 deer in the back of this orchard. All in all it was an okay night, I had to bribe them with food and if my mother in law hadn't been there to chase down Aidan I would have never made it. Good times!

Old School

2010-04-23T14:23:00.001-07:00

Do you remember when you were little doing Silhouettes in school when your mom or teacher would shine a flash light on the wall and trace your Silhouette? I always remembering it was so cool. A few years go when we took our girls to Disney Land there was a lady in a shop that cut out their Silhouettes free hand it was amazing. I have loved that picture so much and thought it was time we included Aidan into the mix. So the other day we were just goofing around with my camera and we took these. I think they are beyond adorable to see their little profiles and features. ENJOY~

Stuff.

2010-04-16T14:10:00.001-07:00

I thought I would take some time and upload just a whole bunch of randomness....none of this is in any type of an order but it is a brief snapshot of things we have been up to lately. We have been super busy and in the last month have really come to appreciate our family and the moments that bring us together. Enjoy~

My cute little guy turned 2 as you know from a previous post. We only had time for cupcakes this year but he loved every sticky minute of them.

We made the voyage to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point with some of my nieces and nephews while they were here from out of town. We had a lot of fun digging in the sand and just being together.

The post before this is of some beautiful flowers, this is what happened the day after on April fools day. Mother Nature is so funny!

Alyssa had the opportunity to perform in Grantsville's Children's Sociable. Pretty much it is a talent show on steroids. If you are not from Grantsville you will never appreciate the craziness that comes along during March in this town. I not being a Grantsville native didn't know what I was in store with this whole thing. It is crazy and a lot of fun and if you ever get the chance you should come to this 126 year old time honored tradition.

Ron's little sister Kayla has 2 of the most adorable baby boys. We were lucky enough to be able to steal them for the night and give her a much needed break. It was a lot of fun but makes me realize my baby days are behind me! My girls had a great time with them Alyssa loved Easton and Avery loved Hunter I pretty much just stood around and supervised.

For my birthday my next door neighbor "becca" as Aidan calls her made me this HUGE cupcake. The kids loved it and it was pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself.

This is just a RANDOM picture of what happens when I am not looking! Poor Kid!!!

Spring?

2010-04-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Just 2 days ago I was out side and took these pictures of the beautiful daffodils. I was so excited to see spring! And than the very next day it SNOWED! I hope these can keep you warm until spring returns. Enjoy~

Sunglasses

2010-03-23T15:53:00.001-07:00

Today after school I caught these too playing so good together and all they had was this one red pair of sunglasses. It doesn't take much to keep these two happy.

Please note the "binki" I took Aidans "ba, ba" away finally but he refuses to give up the nipple part. Every where I go I feel like a little mouse is shadowing me. All day long I hear "squeak, squeak, squeak." Ron hates it. I think it is adorable!

Happy Birthday AIDAN!!

2010-03-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

March 3 my baby turned 2 years old. My mom has always asked me if I could believe that they were already 6 or 9 and I always could with my girls. But I cannot believe it has been 2 years since this perfect little boy has come to our family. He brings so much peace to our home and havoc all at the same time. His sisters would do anything for him. He loves: "Hoop" (basketball) speaks in sounds for example instead of calling the a cat, a cat he will call it a " meow, meow" or a door a "knock, knock". He thinks that Tarzan is actually Carzan so he calls him "vroom, vroom zan" He loves to dip his food in ketchup or ranch dressing, he loves CANDY and Popsicles, he loves to pretend to play X-box with his dad and watch any sport that involves a ball. He is such a joy to have in our lives. We love you Brutus.

This is what happens when you try to take pictures before nap time. Please note the Popsicle in some of the other pictures that is the only way I could make him happy. And I LOVE that he puts his little hands up over his mouth when he cries. It is so darn CUTE!

This is the face I always get when I take pictures of him and today was no different. This is his
"Cheese" face.

Watch out ladies!

He got these for his birthday and calls them the "boom boom" usually he will strip down to his diaper when drumming and say "I'm hot".

YES! He still has a "ba,ba" It is going I promise. I just can't tell him no.

If there were sound in this picture he was saying "hut, hut"

He loves giving Kissie faces, again Watch out Ladies.

Our Little Chef

2010-02-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

This year Alyssa asked if we would enroll her in some cooking classes. So after a little searching I found The Young Chefs Academy located in Draper, UT. For those of you who know where we live this can be a journey especially since they offer the class at 6 at night and we have to drive on I15 in 5 o'clock traffic to get there it takes almost an hour and a half to get there. But she loves it! She has so much fun and the teachers their are wonderful! This particular night they made Belgian waffles with chocolate syrup and homemade whip cream it was YUMMY! They even have classes for adults. I totally recommend it! Enjoy~

New Blog

2010-02-20T16:41:00.000-08:00

I have finally after months of prodding from Ron made a blog for just the pictures I take. I love photography and it will be great having it all in one place and this can again become stricktly our family blog! I hope you will check it out!

www.emilyejones.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!

Baby Mason

2010-01-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

This sweet little guys is baby #3 for one of my favorite cousins. I had asked her early on in her pregnancy if I could bring my camera stuff over and play when he arrived. It was a lot of fun to see her and their families new addition. I think he looks just like his big brother but with brown
hair. Congrats Steph and Barry! ENJOY!!

Do you think someone is a little mad?

What the HECK!

2010-01-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

Okay I have never proclaimed to be mother of the year OR for that matter a good house keeper but I try, really I do! So maybe I am up in the night by asking my kids to clean their rooms after school but hey I do it...am I breaking any child labor laws? I think not.

SO today a friend called me today and asked me if she could borrow some pirate stuff we had from a Halloween costume a few years back for a pirate party at her little boys pre-school. I felt all proud of myself in that moment when she asked because I knew what I was after was in 1 of 2 places. Option A) the dress up box in Avery's room or Option B) the Halloween stuff in the garage. I figured I would go check the dress up box first since the Halloween stuff was on a high shelf in the garage.

So picture this...Cicily 1952....JUST KIDDING... I think I am a tad punchy tonight and if you didn't get that GOLDEN GIRLS...HELLO~

Okay so really picture this I go haul my buns upstairs in my what Ron refers to as my "House Wife Uniform" AKA P.J.'s and open Avery's closet where the dress up stuff should be. Let me rewind to earlier in the week and the whole child labor law thing. I do require my kids to do chores....I know the nerve huh? So I of course had been in Avery's room every day that week and I would classify it as "picked up" but not really "clean" but she is 6 right so am I really expecting miracles? Of course not. But I do require them to give it their best shot.

FLASH FORWARD back to today at 10:00 a.m. I open up her closet and.......I almost SWORE because there was so much stuff crammed into that side of the closet. I think I just stood there contemplating if I should run for my life or attempt to dig through this mess. I decided to dig...no wonder the girl never has any socks to wear in the morning or shoes to put on her feet...I am surprised she didn't have a family of mice living in her closet with all the half eaten granola bars. IT WAS DISGUSTING!!! So I find what I need to find and get the heck out of there.

Later that day my sweet little 6 year comes home and I address this issue at which time she replies to me "I wondered how long it was going to take you to figure out I stuck all that stuff in there." BIG SMILE. Please let me add to this once a month I help my kids clean their room, really clean it. We had just done this the week before Christmas it sparkled like the lights on my tree. And now it looks like a dump after a tornado and an 9.2 magnitude earthquake. I was not pleased.

So we head up to the disaster area right after I give everyone a tetanus shot and get started. Did you know that I found one of those cups with the pop top lids in her toy box with orange juice in it....orange juice. Did you know that if you leave orange juice in one of those cups for I am not sure the amount of time but we will say a monthish since that is the last time I helped her into her haz-mat suite to clean her room. Any way it will explode when you open the lid. It hit my ceiling and me in the eye and the wall and than landed back on the carpet. I then had to scrub all of the previously described surfaces. That made me even happier about the whole thing.

There was stuff crammed EVERYWHERE! If there was a corner or a nook that you couldn't see with out really getting down and checking it out something was shoved in there. I think I need to instal video cameras in her room so I can see what she is doing when she is actually supposed to be cleaning. I am seriously contemplating this...how much would it cost I wonder? Anyway!

Needless to say we got it all done it looks like a page out of a magazine yet again. At least for 5 minutes. Since I love breaking child labor laws as punishment besides the whole cleaning bit I am making her do all the laundry we found, under her bed, in the toy box, in the dress up box, on the floor of her closet, in her doll house, behind her dresser. As you may remember from a previous post I just recently bought front loaders the hold a massive amount of clothing. We are on our 3rd and last load. She has had to put it in the washer and the dryer and put it ALL away WHERE IT GOES!

So I am sitting here tonight shaking my head as my hair is probably turning grey chuckeling about the whole thing. What do you do? Right! Right?

All I have to say is WHAT THE HECK!

Black and White!

2010-01-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some of my old folders and found a bunch of fun pics I took this summer...I was feeling a little Ansel Adamsish when I posted these and turned them all black and white. Enjoy!

Magic

2010-01-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today my little Avery came to me and said "Mom you know how dad bought you a new washer and dryer?"I say yes and am thinking how come only dad could have bought them. What is up with that? She keeps going and says "Well I am thinking I should write a letter to the people you bought it from telling them how wonderful it is." At this point I am just smiling because really how many 6 year old kids do you know have these kind of discussions with their parents? I asked her why and she responds with " It is just so amazingly quite before when I used to go to the bathroom I felt like a train was coming through there now it is so quite I hardly even know when you are doing laundry and it sings you a song when it is done. What could be better than that?" I just giggle to myself as she is walking away I hear her mumbling " seriously amazing!" What a kid!!!

Hide, Hide

2010-01-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

Since my kids have been out of school they have created a game that they all love and only requires a large quilt or blanket. I think I have spent more time playing this game than I actually wanted too. Avery and Aidan are the inventors. Aidan is the ring leader and the one who fondly named the game "Hide, Hide"

Here are the rules.

Get the biggest blanket you can find.

Everyone pile under it and "Hide" (from what I don't know)

Giggle like crazy

It is a hit! If you have nothing to do tonight or for your next family game night give it a try.

ENJOY!

Easton and Hunter

2009-12-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

These darling little guys were born 6 weeks early and weighed in at a whopping 3 1/2 lbs each. After a stay in the hospital they are finally home and not even really due to be born until December 29th. We are so glad to have 2 new nephews in the family and can't wait to see them grow up. I was thrilled when Kayla asked me to take pictures of these little cuties and had so much fun doing them. Kayla seemed so calm and collected through the whole thing as we were all peed on more than once and had to stop for several feedings. With all that they turned out beautifully! ENJOY!!

This is thier sweet big sis Oaklund.

Doesn't she have beautiful blue eyes!

Year in Review

2009-12-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would at least right down for me what the heck we have been up to this year. So hear goes nothing.......

We have had a good year! We have been insanely busy no doubt about that but a good year. Among all the field trips, trips to the doctors, work, school, and the list goes we have survived and are even happy.

I have just recently quit my job where I worked for Heritage West Credit Union for the past 8 plus years in the collections department. I have tried to make this decision for more than a year now, with such a crazy economy I didn't feel great about walking away from a job when so many people don't have one. But being fortunate enough to stay home with my kids and to have a husband that supports me I don't know what took me so long to finally decide. My only regret it not doing it sooner. Don't get me wrong I look fondly back at my years spent there and the friends I made but this is where I am meant to be. I love being home with my kids and just feel so much more peaceful by having so much less on my plate. It has been great to be home to enjoy the holidays instead of sleep walk through them. YEAH for RETIREMENT!

Other than that I have fallen in love with photography and play with my camera every chance I get. I have bought new equipment piece by piece and feel such a thirst for knowledge to be able to learn about this new passion in my life. I have to say thank you to Ron for being ever so patient with me as I spend countless hours absorbed in tutorials and books. But I love it and hope to continue to learn and grow as time goes by.

Ron is almost done with school and I think he actually should have already been done but that darn deer hunt prompts him to take off a large amount of time every year so that he can go be a mighty hunter and has pushed his time in school out a bit. Now this is just my opinion I am sure if you asked Ron he would tell you something about having kids or something. But he really is almost done. YEAH! He is currently working for Wells Fargo for their online sales and service division and really likes his job and the company. They have been great to work for and I am grateful yet again the opportunity they have provided me to stay home. THANK YOU Wells Fargo! Other than that he is here to put up with me and my crazy antics and be a wonderful father and husband.

Alyssa is 9 and in the 4th grade. She is doing great in school and is one smart cookie. She reads all the time a passion she gets from her father. She is a fantastic big sister and a real help to me. She is my go getter though which might surprise you because she is so quite. She always wants to go do stuff....She wants to go to the spa or to dinner or to the movies or to a party or anywhere really she likes to be out and about. I am slightly worried for both Ron and I and her future husband. This girl has EXPENSIVE taste (something else she gets from Ron) we take her out to eat and she wants Fillet Mignon or she wants to get her nails done or stop real quick for a pedi and a mani. But overall she is just a good girl and such a joy to have in our lives.

Avery is 6 and in the 1st grade. Avery is also doing well in school but she is a home body. She would much rather be hiding in the bathrooms than in class. But this year has really done well. She has a fantastic teacher who she loves and I honestly think loves her. Avery and Aidan get a long famously, they are always playing together and she is so patient with him. Avery is my home body, she loves to play pretend and just to be. She says the most HILARIOUS things you will ever hear. She has informed me that she one day will be a Rock Star or an American Idol Judge and has super star ambitions. I honestly believe one day she will actually do them. If anyone can she can.

Aidan is almost 2 and is pretty much the cutest most spoiled toddler on the planet. Because he is our last we give him everything he wants. If we don't give it to him his sisters do. He never has to wait for ANYTHING. If he says he wants a cookie they are right there getting him one. He is also a MONKEY. He climbs everything and if he can't climb it he will construct something he can climb until he can get up to where ever it is he is going. I can seriously say I think I get him off the kitchen counter 20 times a day. He is learning all kinds of words everyday and has the funnest personality. We love our little guy and can't wait to see what he will be like as he gets older.

That is it, that is us. We have been running like crazy still with no site of the finish line but through it all have become closer as a family. I couldn't have asked for a better year and hope that 2010 will be just as good.

Merry Christmas!!

Holiday Fun

2009-12-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I would just like to say that I had really awesome intentions of uploading a bunch of fun holiday pics of things we have done this month BUT every time I try it says that it is a bad request. So since I have now spent 45 minutes and only have 1 picture uploaded I am giving up. BUT know that there will be a future post with all kinds of christmas fun....YEAH! In the mean time enjoy this beautiful picture I took when we went to go see the christmas lights at Temple Sq. The red lights in this picture is of a tree that I have dubbed my "favorite" tree there and some years it has lights and others it doesn't. When they do put lights on it they are always red, it made my christmas to see this beautiful tree all in lights this year. I would like to find whoever is in charge of the lights and give them a great big hug! Have a Merry Christmas!!

Lucky ME!

2009-12-11T22:14:00.001-08:00

Why am I so lucky? Because I got to take pictures tonight of my oh so cute brand spanking new nephews tonight. Little Easton and Hunter were born at 31/2 lbs each last month. They are picture here at a hefty 4lbs 12 oz and 4lbs 15oz. I was so excited to download my camera tonight and had to just post 1 or 2 and than will post a bunch later or these little sweeties. Kayla and Cody we couldn't be happier for you they are beautiful.

Maddie This Blog is for YOU!

2009-12-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight at young women's Maddie one of my young women told me I need to update my blog more often. So I told her I would do one just for her. Maddie is one of my favorite young women (shh don't tell) she is the best babysitter and is amazing with all of my kids. Numerous times I have tried to convince her parents in to letting me adopt her or doing shared custody or something. She along with her sister Alex (also a favorite) both keep trying to convince me to have another baby. So tonight I told Maddie if she would move in I would consider it. I don't know how her mom and dad would feel about this but hey that is the deal! Maddie along with being an awesome babysitter is an amazing blanket hut builder Avery is especially impressed with this talent. A rockin' softball player she is going to be pro one day. And she LOVES Twilight! More than ANYONE I know, she knows everything there is to know about it. She is just a fantastic girl. I could only hope that my girls will grow up and be as wonderful as this young lady is becoming.

So Miss Maddie I updated my blog just for you! You are the very best! I love U!

Randomness!

2009-12-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I have had some things on my mind lately and just thought I would write them down. I think I might be in a mood!

Okay so I am really bugged this week with people who park in handicapped parking that are perfectly healthy. I saw someone I know use a handicap sign and park in handicapped parking and walk BRISKLY might I add in to the store. Why, Why, WHY? Do people do this? There are people out there in the world who REALLY need to park there. I was some where once I don't remember where but there was a van driving around and around and around waiting for a handicap spot with the side access. You know the ones that are a little bigger so if you have a big van with like a wheel chair ramp or whatever. Finally a perfectly healthy 20 year walks out of the store and gets in their car and drives off, they didn't even have a sticker! It just makes me so mad! The only real handicapped parking experience I have had is when we used to take Ron's Grandma Taylor to the Dr. or Store. Be that as we may we always had a crazy difficult time trying to park in the handicapped parking and she really needed it. So basically as you can see it REALLY, REALLY bugs me when people park there and totally able to park somewhere else. Is it really that important to be 20 feet closer to Wal-Mart? Really?

So I have been a stay at home mom now for a whole week and a half! WAHOO! So I thought I would finally get my little guy off the "Ba Ba" Lets just say he is not to happy. He goes into a really cute meltdown every time I hand him a sippy cup. I think if this was my first kid I would be a little freaked out by such a meltdown. But since he is #3 I think it is just cute. Anyway any suggestions to speed up the process? The boy has a serious addiction!

And this is really random but I really want to go and see the new "Chipmunks" movie when it comes out. It looks so CUTE!

Okay random enough for ya!

Happy Birthday Roman!

2009-12-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

This is my brother Josh and my sister in law Jenna's little boy and tomorrow is this sweet little guy will be turning 1. They asked me if I would be willing to take some pictures of him to celebrate this big milestone. He has the most beautiful eyes, watch out lady's! It was so much fun to take his pictures and to see you guys. Happy Birthday Little Guy!

Check out how LONG his eyelashes are. I am JEALOUS!

This is my favorite picture. SO CUTE!

Henwood and Hunsaker

2009-11-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a tad behind on posting stuff...I am really behind on posting pictures of my kids...but recently have retired from my job of 8 years and maybe just maybe will catch up. In the mean time here a super long post of pictures I have done for a few friends.

The first starting with this darling trio of girls. The one in the blue vest is my Alyssa's BFF Halli who pretty much I have adopted as my own. Along with her darling sisters, we had a great time and the weather was super nice. ENJOY!

Here is the Hunsaker family, I work with or I guess I should say worked with Jayna at good old HWCU she has a darling little family and it was a ton of fun. I took these pictures probably 2 months ago and love all the colors of the leaves. Fall is my favorite!

He is so CUTE! I just love his sweet little smile.

She was a crack up! She was not one bit camera shy and was cheezing it up all over the place.

I am such a lucky girl!

2009-11-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I just want to say how lucky I am to have a husband who is willing to watch our little ones while I run all over the place all the time. Yes, he often jokes about being a single parent but I can get him back just as easily with snide deer hunting remarks. And not only does he not mind conquering the kids and helped me a ton with them today but he did the dishes 2 times, once after breakfast and once after dinner and even wiped off the counters. He also helped me put a way a dump truck load of laundry emptied all the garbage's and scrubbed the toilet and sink in our bath room. Does a girl get any luckier than this? I think not!

TWINS!

2009-11-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

A while back Ron's little sis Kayla announced she was having TWINS! She has a twin brother as do I and so it was very exciting. She is having twin boys and is due in December. She asked me if I would be willing to take some pictures of her and "the belly" as she calls it! I was happy to and it gives me a great excuse to see her and her darling "belly"! We can't wait to meet these little guys! Congrats Kayla and Cody!

Seriosly isn't she beautiful and looking awesome for being pregnant with 2 babies!

VanWagoner and Pitts Families

2009-11-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

One of my dear and long time friends Sharane asked me a while back to take her and her sister Shantel families pictures. We met up at Memory Grover where it was beautiful and such great weather. Here are some of the pics from that day. Enjoy!

Shantel, Joe and their cute family!

Isn't she so cute? She was so willing to let me take her picture!

This little guy is one fast runner. But look how cute he is!

Sharane, Dan and their cute family.

These 2 are seriously so in love! It is so cute!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Here are my cute little "spooks" getting ready to head out for a great night of trick or treating. The weather was great and we had a lot of fun! I would just like to point out that maybe I use my camera too much, I sent my kids out front and just said go stand by your pumpkins and they all struck a pose. Do I have them trained or what?

Fall Fun!

2009-10-23T21:03:00.001-07:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. Crisp cool air, beautiful scenery. The only thing I don't love about fall is that it also co-insides with hunting season which means I am single a lot of the time. But I guess that is the trade offs. Anywho, here are some pictures I took the other day in a local canyon. One great thing about living in Tooele County is that you can make it up most of the canyons in our area in about 20 minutes or less. I love it when the leaves change colors. Enjoy!

The other day I took my kids to one of the local pumpkin patches to pick the perfect pumpkin to carve for Halloween. Pretty much it consisted of me trying to carry 70 lbs of pumpkins to the car by myself while it rained and Aidan ate dirt. Ahh the good times! It really was fun and the kids had a blast even though it was chilly.

I noticed as I posted these I didn't have a picture with Alyssa with her pumpkin...I think it was because she was searching in the farthest reaches of the pumpkin patch and between all the dirt being eaten and the rain I was probably not thinking to clearly...oops!

More pics

2009-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

So my hubby suggested to me that if I am going to continue to take pictures for other people setting up a blog for only my photography. However I don't consider myself a photographer really, more just a girl with a camera having a great time. So I don't know if I should go down that road...Any thoughts, suggestions?

Anyway a few weeks ago I took some pictures for my cousin of her sweet little Ali. She was such a good little model and has the most amazing blue eyes. You would never know from looking at these that we were at Gardner Village during the most crazy month there because of all the witches. But we had a great time seeing the sites and throwing down a photo shoot. Thanks Melissa and Ali!

The same day I took pictures for Ali I also took pictures for my neighbors a few houses down. We headed to a local canyon and had a great time goofing around. I don't think there kids took me very seriously because they are always at my house. But I think we came out with some fun pictures ENJOY!

Silly Boy! He was such a goof ball!

Apparently my dancing really is hilarious they are not the only kids that have laughed at my so called dancing skills!

Small Town Life

2009-10-12T13:29:00.001-07:00

So everyday on the way to the best babysitter I have ever met I drive by this HUGE alfalfa field. And they had those great big sprinklers that water the whole field. For those of you who live in a small town you know what I am talking about right? So every day I drive by this huge field and ever since the temperature has changed there has been the most awesome site every morning. So one day I remembered to bring my camera with me and took a few pics...I couldn't resist! Every time of year I look forward to this time of year and this is just one of the many reasons why. Beautiful!

Ouch!

2009-10-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby fell down at least 1/2 of my 15 stair, staircase yesterday. It was one of those slow motion moments as a parent where you see or hear something happen and you know there is no way that you will make it there in time to rescue who ever is in danger. I was in my kitchen which is right around the corner from my staircase and the beginning of a thump, thump, thump and by the time I got there this cute little guy was face down at the bottom of my stair case. He was such a trooper he hardly even cried. I didn't even think his arm was hurt for the first little while but a bit after it happened he kept holding his arm up and saying "ow" in a fairly pathetic voice. So off to the the ER we went where he was a champ for all the doctors and x-ray techs. No crying when the moved it around or touched it and sure enough it was broken. Poor little guy!!! But I must say on a positive note it is seriously the cutest little cast I have ever seen.

Baby Garrett

2009-09-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

A few months back I asked my good friend Nicole if I could take some pictures of her baby when he was born. She agreed. Well I have never really taken pictures of a tiny baby, so also a few months back I met this photographer and I really loved her work. I asked her if she would let me watch her do a newborn shoot hoping that I would get some tips so when Nicole had her baby I would have somewhat of an idea of what do to. Well this wonderful and sweet photographer let me come to her house with my friend and use her studio to do the pictures. I was so excited and had so much fun. I was in heaven. I still am on cloud 9 after doing the whole thing and my love for photography has grown 10 fold. Thank you so much Janae for taking the time to teach a rookie! And Thank You Nicole for willingly let me take pictures of your baby to fulfill my desire to play with my camera.

So here they are in no particular order and by the way the cuteness factor on these are a 10 if I do say so myself. ENJOY!!

Baby Talk

2009-09-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have realized in the last couple of days our family has began to baby talk more than usually. I blame one cute little individual for this occurrence ( see below for the cuteness). We are saying things like you want a "ba ba" or where is your "nigh nigh" or do you want a "nack" or go find your "brrrmmmm". What is happening to us?? How have we started to evolve into these creatures of only 2 syllables? Can we ever go back? Will we ever have a conversation again that isn't some kind of foreign code. I am sure there is no permanent damage being done, so for now we are going to just enjoy this time in our lives. "luv, luv"!

Okay I had to throw this in....is anyone out there the youngest in your family? Did you have to suffer these indignities of your older siblings dressing you up like a dog or cat? Or coloring on you or your face or just general torture from the older siblings that they are oh so good at dishing out? I know I was an oldest so it was or so I thought great to be able to pick on the little ones. Poor little guy!!!

Aidan & Baylee

2009-09-20T20:51:00.001-07:00

So I talked my cute cousin Stephanie in to letting me practice on her kids! So we headed off to Wheeler Farm to take some pictures of these little cuties. They were so good and extra cute. I had a great time spending time with them and I think they had a great time running around and checking out the sites. Thanks again Stephy. ENJOY!

Right after I took this picture Baylee crashed and burned hard core! She was such a trooper and after some loves from mom she was back up and at it.

So lets just say I won't be making an appearance on "So you think you can dance" in the near future since these guys were cracking up at my dancing moves.

I love how much her nose is mushed up against his cheek!

Great Big Heart

2009-09-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

My dear sweet Alyssa is now 9 years old and is old enough to participate in activity days in primary.
So a couple of weeks ago the activity day leaders headed out with a group of girls to the local animal shelter to volunteer by feeding the animals and helping out in any way possible. I was SURE that my little Miss Alyssa was going to come home with some kind of animal. She came home and was so excited about a cute cat that she saw there and of course she gave me the speech that I myself gave at that age more than once. It goes something like this.."Mom, So there is this really cute kitten, it is the cutest kitten I have ever,ever,ever seen. Can I please have it? I promise I will feed it and take care of it and you won't have to do anything. PLEEEEAAASSSEE???" So I of course and a big fat sucker and instead of saying no to those beautiful big brown eyes I refer her to her father. Evil I know! I am sure Ron was thinking "Gee Thanks Emily!" I am probably like most mothers the one that always has to play the roll of tough guy and just couldn't break her heart this time. So of course Ron says "I will think about it." Which really means no but he obviously can't break her heart either and finds it easier to
pretend that he is actually going to think about this, um he is so not! Nice try Ron!

So during the last couple of weeks of course I hear about this so called "cutest kitten in the world" and can she please, please, please get it? PLEEAAASSEE. I usually just smile and tell her to ask her dad after all he is thinking about it right?

It has been a couple of days and I haven't heard much about the well being of the animal shelter or the kitten. She was over at a friends house that lives a couple of blocks away and she calls and says that they are going to walk over to our house. So some time goes by and I hear a knock on the door and on the doorstep is Alyssa and her friend Cailyn with a "Please help the animals" poster board. They are so cute! So the 2 of them went to friend and family in our surrounding area and collected donations to take to the animal shelter. A side note to this all is that they went to a friend of our family who used to be our old bishop. He is such a great guy. To show you just how great he is check out the following. On their way to our house they stopped at his house for a donation and he gave them a VERY large jar that he has been tossing his change into since December as his donation. There was $86.00 in this jar! Yes I said Eighty Six DOLLARS! Crazy huh? The girls were supper excited. Anyway all in all they ended up with $122.49 to donate to the shelter. I have an appointment to take them Thursday to drop of their donation.

I just want to say I am so impressed with Alyssa's willingness to do for others and love that she has such a big, kind, tender heart. I couldn't ask for better! We love you lyssie lou!

Family Pics

2009-09-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out to the Benson Grist Mill with Aaron and Kami and attempted family pictures... Here are some of the keepers....THANK YOU Kami for all your help.

Lots and lots of Wedding Pics!

2009-08-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

Last week Ron's brother Matt and his bride to be Holly were married on August 22, 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony and we all had a great time. It took me way back to my wedding day exactly 12 years earlier. Here are some of the pictures I captured of that day. Congrats Matt and Holly!

Here are some of the Knutson/Jones grand kids waiting for the wedding to start.

If I remember right this is Holly's Grandma's broach she wore for her something old. It was a beautiful addition to the back of her dress.

The blushing bride.

You may now kiss the bride....

Matt and Holly and their little girl Reese.

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

Holly and her dad

Matt and Reese busting a move.

My cute hubby and his dad

Boys!

2009-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is a shout out to my boys. I want to let them both know how much I love them. And how today when I looked out the window it warmed my heart to look out the window and see the below images. Yes Aidan is in a diaper and barefoot probably not the safest lawn mowing apparel but still darn cute. This little guy loves anything that goes Brrrmmm! It probably took Ron an extra 45 minutes to mow the lawn but I think they had lots of fun.

This is Ron's stunning birthday cake made by me "baker extraordinaire"

this was one YUMMY cake if I do say so myself. I hope he had a great birthday.

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

It has been 12 wonderful years since I married this awesome guy. He has been nothing but a fantastic husband and a wonderful father to our kids. I am so lucky and blessed to be married to such a great guy. Happy Anniversary Ron. I love you!

Camping

2009-08-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

I finally had time tonight to down load my camera from our annual Wayman Family camping trip. This year we headed up to the Uintas to a spot my family has camped in since I was a little girl. I have a lot of fond memories camping in the Uintas it is so beautiful and there are so many things to see. I posted a ton of pictures of our adventures. ENJOY!

This is the site we camped in.

My darling Alyssa fishing....a girl after my own heart....I think she is almost old enough to start teaching her how to fly fish.

Ron giving Avery some pointers on fishing.

Heather and Jenna chilling by the campfire.

This bike was a hit with the boys. They all took turns fighting over it and riding it.

This is so totally Avery my wanna be Rock Star singing herself a song while we packed up camp.

Lynne and I took our kids down to the stream to look for a beaver damn that was there when I was younger. The beaver damn was gone but the kids had a great time playing in the water.

This is typically how I find Aidan if we are ever out in the garage. He LOVES cars.

Avery again in Avery land having a great time.

I took this pic with my new lens....love it!

Alyssa took this while they were watching the awesome horse shoe tournament. He is so cute even dirty!

My cute brother Josh hanging out at camp. I think this was also during the horseshoe tournament.

The before mentioned tournament. I don't remember who won I just know it wasn't me. I am horrible. I think I almost hit Jenna a couple of times. EKK!

See how stinking pretty it is up there? seriously if you have never been you should totally go...take a jacket though because it can get chilly at times.

Drew preparing to get ready to go fishing. Lucky!!!

I took this while we were down letting the kids play in the river. See I told you it was beautiful.

Carter!

2009-08-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Janet asked me to take pictures of her cute little baby Carter for her the other day. We did a quick impromptu session in the rain might I add. And I think they turned out great. ENJOY!!

Me messing around

2009-08-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

So lately I have been messing around in photoshop trying to figure it all out. There is TONS to learn. So here are few samples of me messing around in photoshop with some pictures I have taken awhile ago.

Before

one of the things I have been experimenting with is textures. Here is what I came up with on this picture.

Before

After I did some tweaking.

With added texture. I am having a good time messing around and see what different things you can create. And just a side note isn't that the cutest baby you have EVER SEEN!!!

Mac & Cheese Please!

2009-08-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

I know that this post is probably going to make most of you giggle but I am dang excited about the deal I just got and wanted to share.

OK at Albertsons they have a deal right now that if you buy select Kraft Food items and spend $25.00 they will give you a $5.00 coupon that you can use on your next visit AND if you mail in your receipt Kraft will send you a check for $20.00 so you basically get $25.00 of FREE food.

So I went to my local Albertsons where they had Mac & Cheese on sale for .49 a box so I filled my cart with 50 yes you read right 50 boxes of Mac & Cheese. Needless to say I was getting some pretty strange looks from the other shoppers. So when the cashier totalled it up before I gave her my preferred card my total was $70.23 and after she scanned my card my total was $25.23 for a savings of $45.00 crazy huh? But than they print you the rebate form to send in for $20.00 check back from Kraft so really for 50 boxes of this yummy entree I only paid $5.23....NUTS!!!

So than I asked the girl if after she finished that transaction if I could use my coupon today, she said yes so I also got 2 BIG boxes of Ritz Crackers (a must if you have a toddler) for a whopping grand total after my $5.00 coupon of $. 15. No that is not a typo fifteen CENTS! for 2 big boxes of crackers. So tonight I spent $5.38 for all that. Umm good deal? Heck yes it is! So for those of you looking to stock up head to your nearest Albertsons. You don't only have to buy Mac & Cheese there is a whole list of items that qualify for this fantastic deal.

So run.....hurry....Albertsons is giving food away.....for FREE!

So cute!

2009-08-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

My cute little baby boy learned 3 new words today...."Cheese, Tree and Go." So cute! He has of course been learning to talk and will surprise us with new words all the time but not 3 in one day. He is a genius and so stinking cute. Just thought I would share. I am so proud of the little guy.

Hollys Bridals

2009-08-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

My soon to be sister in law is getting married this month if you remember from a previous post when I took there engagement pictures. Well here are some of her VERY BEAUTIFUL if I do say so myself Bridal Pics we did last weekend. I am no where near done BUT I had to get them up because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how they turned out. She is such a beautiful bride that it wasn't hard to not get a great shot. Enjoy!!

This is a favorite of mine!!

This one and the one below are also favorites of mine.

Isn't she so pretty???!!!!

Summer

2009-08-02T16:39:00.001-07:00

This has been a busy summer yet again. Here are somethings we have been up to that I am finally have time to post. This is long and there are lots of random tidbits in no particular order.
Enjoy!

As every summer I enroll my kids in swimming lessons. They love it and I like it because they are learning something that could potential save their lives. BUT by the last lesson I am worn out, Aidan has had it and the kids are ready to be done. They both did a great job this year and really did have a lot of fun.

For Averys Birthday she wanted to take her BFF Brianne to the Children's Museum for a day of fun. We headed in on July 24th and due to the holiday I thought it is either going to be packed or totally dead. I am glad it was the latter, I was able to sit on a bench and just watch them have a good time with out worrying about one of them getting lost.

This is Alyssa and her BFF Halli also at the children's museum having a great time.

Avery thinks that she is a cowgirl on most days so of course it was fitting that she went and found the cowgirl stuff to dress up in.

Okay for a long time Avery has wanted her OWN watering can. She usually goes over to the neighbors and borrows theirs because I don't have one. So this year I bought her, her very OWN for her birthday. Look how happy she is....silly girl!

We have spent a lot of time outside this year just hanging out in the yard. Aidan LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to be outside and he usually finds a shovel or something to get dirty with. Boys will be boys.

We also had a our annual Wayman Family Picnic/ Grandma Waymans 86th Birthday Party. Avery and my Grandma share the same birthday so it is a lot of fun. Here is little Miss Sydnee watching the kids play at the park. Don't you love the curls?

This isn't really a picture of anything great other than I don't have many pictures with me and my kids because I am usually the one behind the camera. I like this one, I have no clue what we were looking at or when this was taken?? Ron must be a pretty good spy.

This is a picture of my cute little nephew Roman. Don't you love those big blue eyes. SOOO CUTE!

Here is the Birthday girl along with my nephew Portor who also had a birthday in the month of July getting ready to blow out the candles on the cake.

Aidan loves to put on any ones shoes that are lying around and tromp around the house. Silly boy!

We also had a Family Reunion this summer with the Knutson Clan. Here is a picture of Alyssa taking a swing at the pinata.

This is the pinata pre-beating....this thing would not break it seriously took FOREVER and than I think finally someone ripped the side of something so it would finally break. We had a lot of fun watching the kids take turns and waiting patiently for their candy filled surprise. Good Times.

FREE Giveaway!!!

2009-07-30T19:44:00.003-07:00

STOP READING IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO WIN FREE STUFF!!! A friend of mine owns a custom engraving and vinyl lettering business and is having a free giveaway this month. All you have to do is visit their website and leave a comment. So what are you waiting for go now, HURRY to http://www.rusticfalls.com/blog/. Here is a sample of some of the great work they do! SOOOO CUTE!!!! Enjoy and I hope you WIN!

My name is not MUD!

2009-07-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am sick and tired of being the middle of a battle that only spells defeat for me over and over again. I am sick and tired of people TWISTING my words and putting others in my mouth. I think that I am a for the most part nice gal but according to those who would have my name be known as mud and you know who you are I am not....I am sick and tired.....of it all.....and I am DONE!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Avery!

2009-07-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

Better late than never I guess....Our sweet little Avery turned 6 this Wednesday. I seriously can't believe it!!! We ended up celebrating her birthday all week long it seemed like because she shares that day with a few family members. PARTY ON! Avery is one of the funniest/quirky kids I know she says the funniest things. For example tonight she asked me what if her mattress could fly how would I know where to find her to wake her up in the morning? And than she just starts cracking up. What a nut! We want her to know how proud we are of her and hopes she had a great birthday!

I know this is not the best cake ever but I didn't know how to make Sponge Bob and that was her request. It turned out okay in my book and was YUMMY!

I need a photoshop teacher.....

2009-07-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I read an on line photoshop tutorial because I seriously feel like I need to take a college class to learn it, photoshop is a beast. If there is anyone out there who wants to teach me how to use it I am totally willing to learn. Anywho, these are the affects I learned from this tutorial. They are each a little different and for sure could probably use some tweaking but I like the end result in all of them for different reasons. Cute stuff!

This is the original out of the camera image that I took of little Miss Alyssa.

This is of course the Black and White Version I think I need to dial down the eyes a bit....

This is a soft version

This is the color version

This is my favorite the antique version.

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-07T13:51:00.001-07:00

I love the 4th of July it is so much fun and so HOT, but still so much fun. We had a busy weekend and were exhausted by the end of it all. I only got a few pics because baby+camera does not picture taking make. So here are a few that I was able to catch and I am sure I am leaving out tons but it is what it is. Enjoy!

Thursday we thought we would kick the weekend off early and go to the zoo. We got there just as a huge hail storm started but we decided to wait it out for 10 minutes or so and it cleared right up. The nice thing about it was that it was cool and that there were very few people actually left in the zoo and the animals were out so it was a lot of fun.

After spending hours waiting in line at the park for all the awsome (do you hear the sarcasim) blow up slides, we headed over to a local place that was doing pony rides. NO LINES it was great and the kids had a lot of fun.

Micah (my brother-in-law) and Avery at the Parade in Grantsville

So I never EVER thought I would have my kids wear a leash EVER!!! Until I had a boy. He is always moving so on the side of caution I bought him this. He actually likes it because he doesn't have to hold my hand or be in the stroller. Never say never.

I cannot even tell you how many pictures I have of Avery like this probably hundreds. She does NOT like her picture taken so this is the face I get whenever I tell her to smile. I personally think she looks like a very cute version of Popeye.

Alyssa waiting for the parade to start. Please note the lovely boot on her foot. Yes something injured on this child AGAIN. I am suprised someone hasn't turned us in yet. We think she has a brittle bone condition like my little sister, but we can't get in to get tested until 2010. Lame I know.

My friend Nicole let me borrow her 55mm 1.8f lense to try it out. I have been on the fence about wether or not I should buy one because my camera doesn't have the motor in the camera to make it autofocus and so I would have to do it by hand. I LOVE THIS LENS!!! It wasn't hard to figure out at all and I am sure with a little practice you could get it down in no time at all. Thanks Nicole for helping me to make my decision to buy this lens. I can't wait!

Matt and Holly

2009-07-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

My brother in law Matt and Sister in law to be are getting hitched soon and I begged them to let me take some family/engagement pictures for them. I am seriously addicted to the click, click, click of my camera. Here are a few that I think turned out DARN cute! We can't wait for the wedding. Congrats you 2!

I love this picture. Isn't my niece so stinking cute?

What a good looking little family. LOVE IT!

Again Reese is SOOOO CUTE!!! Can't say it enough.

Happy Birthday Alyssa (LATE)

2009-06-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

SOOOOO my mother of the year tiara is on its way any day now Fed Ex I am sure of it. I feel like such a blog failure. My sweet little Alyssa turned 9 on June 14th and I am just now getting around to blogging her birthday wishes!!!! It was not the smartest plan to have surgery during the summer, I was basically high as a lortab kite on her birthday. I feel bad that I wasn't able to celebrate more with her this year. Even though it was kind of crazy I had tons of help to pull this all off and I think she had a great day all in all. Bless my sweet mother in laws heart for going the extra mile that day. She made the cake and took Alyssa and her friend to their planned birthday festivities.

I just want Alyssa to know how much we love her and are proud of her and I hope she had a GREAT 9th Birthday!

I seriously cannot believe that she is 9!!!

This is the cute cake my mother in law made. I think it turned out great!

I miss food!

2009-06-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

So it has been 11 count them 11 days since I have eaten anything other than a Popsicle or chicken broth or jello. I MISS FOOD!!!! I really, really want a grilled cheese sandwich! I know of all things to think of but seriously I am getting pretty hungry. Getting your Tonsils out when you are older than 10 is just dumb and pain in the throat. HA HA! Okay that is enough of that!

Random Bits!

2009-06-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be random so hang in there....I am also including a Warning!

that there is a graphic picture in this post so IF you are skirmish than read carefully. ENJOY!

This is my sister in law Mysti and her 2 kids Tristan and Keyra. She asked me to take some family pics for them a couple of weeks ago. I think they turned out pretty cute.

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GROSS!!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!

This is my poor sweet husband he and his friend Scott met my brother Drew and some other guys for a weekend of fishing fun on the Boulder Mountain. On the way up the Mountain they hit a boulder just right on their 4 wheeler and it flipped over on them. Scott fell off first, Ron followed by landing on Scott and than the wheeler landed on both of them. This was the only major injury Ron has, other than that for the both of them it is just bumps and bruises. They are 2 very lucky guys!!! Drew took them both to a local town and they X-rayed Scotts arm and looked them both over but told Ron that he need to be seen in SLC because there was no way for them to fix it there. So later that day I meet they boys at IMC at around 5:00 pm this happened around 8:30 a.m. After we saw the Plastic Surgeon he received 40+ stitches. I know this is YUCKY! But I am posting it mostly because I am so grateful that they are both OK!!!

Me, Avery, Alyssa and Mitch at his graduation.

My Dad, Mitch, My Grandma Melba (my dads mom) and My Mom.

I love this picture!

Aidan got his first haircut a few weeks back. SO CUTE!!!

Aidan Pre Hair Cut and Ron Pre Stitches on Memorial Weekend while we went for a drive up the Mountains.

Just another Mountain Pic that I like the way the light was falling when we drove up the to the Mountains for Memorial Day.

Congratulations Mitch!!!

2009-06-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today this SUPER CUTE little brother of mine graduated from Granger High School. Mitch graduated as the Student Body President and in a elite singing group called the Madrigals, he just was awarded his eagle scout and is a seminary graduate. He was a great student and is a great friend and a awesome little brother. Congratulations Mitch!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T20:53:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty good overall Memorial Day Weekend, it pretty much consisted of BBQ's and more BBQ's. Our family took a drive up the Canyon on Monday( I have pictures but forgot to download before this post...maybe later?) We had tons of fun and can't wait for our next LONG weekend. ENJOY!

When I was a little girl my Grandma Wayman had a field next to her house FILLED with Peonies and every Memorial Weekend I remember them being for sale. I remember my mom and dad picking them and putting them in a mason jar wrapped in tin foil to the various graves. So now whenever I see these beautiful flowers I have a flood of memories come back to me. Oh how I love peonies!

This is my father in law putting flowers at his fathers grave Lauren Knutson.

I also had the joy of being able to take some pictures for some dear friends of ours of their kids. We have been meaning to do this for a while now but we seem to always pick the days that the weather is horrible. We finally got lucky and off we went to Temple Square. This cute little Trio is practically family and we love them just like our own. We all had so much fun. Thanks Janet! Sorry there are so many pictures I couldn't pick which ones I liked best! Enjoy!!

I Need HELP!

2009-05-19T14:46:00.001-07:00

Alyssa's birthday is rapidly approaching and she requested that I took her to a place that we saw on line that does birthday salon style makeovers. I for the life of me CANNOT find the link to check it back out. Does anyone know what I am talking about? I think it is in the Sandy/So. Jordan/Draper area.....HELP!!!

Congrats Lindsay!

2009-05-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

Last week we spent time with the Cannon family for my cousin Lindsay's bridal shower. I can't believe she is getting married, I am so happy for her SHE IS SO CUTE! Congrats Lindsay!!!

Isn't she darling in her Tiara?

Aren't these two so cute. They are like having little twins when we get together! THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!

Sydnee playing the game at the shower. I think she got more right than I did!

This little cutie is my cousin Stephanie's little gal Baylee. Kami and I were in the back yard while they were unwrapping presents because...well we have toddlers and they won't hold still. Anyway I took a few pictures of her while we were out there keeping the kids entertained.

Emily

2009-05-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

So Alexis asked me if I would take her friend Emily's senior pictures also....Everytime someone asks me I just kind of look at them like "really?" and then give the disclaimer of I really have no idea what I am doing and I am not a professional so if that is the result they are seeking they might want to consider a different photographer...Here are some pictures I took for her last saturday at Gardener Village. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Alexis and Marilyn

2009-05-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

A friend of my moms saw the Senior pics I took for my little brother Mitch and asked me if I would be willing to take some pics for her. I happily said YES! Anyway I think we picked the worst day as far as weather goes. We were all soaked by the time it was all said and done. All and all I think they turned out great! And we had a great time taking them, these girls are so cute and were so much fun! Thanks for being such good sports Alexis and Marilyn!!

I love this picture! I think it is one of my favorites! You guys are so CUTE!

OUCH!

2009-05-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Alyssa tripped and fell down during at school. And broke her arm as a result. Poor kid! Her hand was to swollen for a cast so she is in this snazzy splint that we jazzed up! Cutest splint EVER!

Calgone take me away!

2009-04-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

How can something so small and so darn cute cause so much destruction. This darling baby boy can cause more mess than a hurricane. Why didn't anyone warn me a boy would be so much trouble? Don't get me wrong I love him but seriously....seriously!!! I wish I would have had the energy to take a picture but I was so physically and emotionally drained I couldn't do another thing! I had to write this down because I feel like I am going to bust out laughing hysterically or start crying I don't know which.....Okay let me give you a run down of what I has happened in a 2 hour time frame.

It all started when I decided to make dinner, girls were doing there homework and Aidan was in his highchair enjoying some yummy I don't remember what. Soon I hear him start to fuss, he has obviously had enough of being trapped. How do I know this you ask? Well because every thing I have given him to keep him entertained is now on the floor all around his high chair and his foot which he has now naked because he decided to take off his sock is on his tray and he is trying with all his might to figure out how to get the other one up there. I am assuming that one day this will happen in at which point he will stand up on his high chair tray and we will probably end up at the hospital......anyway, so I got him out and figured I would deal with the left overs on the floor later. I go back to making dinner when I turn around my sweet little boy has opened my pantry and has a box of teddy grahams UPSIDE DOWN! He is pouring them everywhere...What the heck? So I of course take the box away chuck it in the garbage and think again when I sweep up mess # 1 I will sweep up mess #2. Back to the cutting board I go, I hear a load crashing sound it is the toy box I keep in my family room, toys EVERYWHERE and a big smile on that cute boy face. At this point I am thinking "Really?" But whatever so I try to finish up dinner and while it is cooking thought maybe loading the dishwasher would be a grand idea? Wrong! Again here comes the wrecking ball I am loading dishes, he takes them out, he climbs up on the door and tries to climb into the back of the dishwasher. I am thinking to myself hey if he is trapped in my dishwasher sitting on the spinning thingy? maybe I can get the rest of the dishes loaded, this almost works until he wants to stand up and hits his head. Okay baby out, dishes still not done. I think I got a few in there so I have a head start right. I still haven't swept the floor I just stepped on a teddy graham I am getting GRUMPY! I head to my laundry room to throw in a load of laundry, he can not find me in this part of the house because I have a baby gate in the entry! FREEDOM!!! I take lots of time, and I can't see him but can hear him shaking the gate like and saying over and over and over Ma ma, Ma ma, Ma ma, I am changing my name. It gets quite so I head out of my hiding spot to find him in the garbage can eating orange peels and toting around an empty bottle of balsamic vinegar like a drunk, again smiling this is the only thing that is saving him right now that cute baby smile. I finally head everyone off to the bathtub, Aidan is clean and in dry pj's for maybe oh 5 minutes he has come to help me give Avery a bath and is now soaking wet so I put up the baby gate across his bedroom door and trap him in there so I can at least wash her hair. I get in there apply soap and BOOM and then crying. I have no idea what he thought he should climb but whatever it was he fell off, poor kid! Okay I give up I finally call my mother in law and beg her to come over and just keep him happy for 2 minutes so I can rinse Averys hair. So she did and I did. We all head back down to my family room/kitchen where he proceeds to take the drawer all the way out from under my oven and take all my pans out and put them in the seat of his little bike. I still haven't swept, there are dishes, Tupperware lids, THE POTATO MASHER and toys everywhere!!! WHY? WHY? WHY? Anyway he finally is in bed and my dear sweet husband just got home and kind of looked at me and looked at the house and just smiled and got the broom! All I can say is calgone take me away!

Kami this one is for you!

2009-04-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

This pictures is an inside joke for my oh so cute sister in law Kami! I hope she loves this pictures as much as I know she will. TEE HEE!! Love Ya Kami~

Goo losh!

2009-04-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

This post is just some randomness of pictures I have taken throughout the month of April and haven't had time to go through until just now. Hence that is why I have named this goo losh! Enjoy!

The other day I was at temple square and I am sure like many of you I marvel at how beautiful the flowers are there. It is almost like because they are planted on holy ground they grow better or maybe it is because they have some kick butt Gardner's either way.... it is beautiful.

Here are my little darlings at a family Easter egg hunt we had at Ron's Parents. It was a lot of fun with lots of yummy food! The kids had a blast and ended up with tons of loot.

I think Aidans basket weighed more than him.

Okay if Aidan could talk I think he would say his favorite time of the day is his bath time. He loves it! Don't get me wrong I am glad because really as they get older they don't share in as much joy as this little guy. The downside to this is he is very unhappy when we take him out! Here are some pics took of him having a great time.

Earlier this month Avery had a little performance at her elementary school for their end of the year kindergarten program. She had a great time and did a great job.

Okay for some reason I feel the need to pack in as much into my life as I possibly can just to see if I can make myself just a little more crazy than I already am. Please see exhibits A and B below. We had promised our girls we would give them bedroom makeovers and they would even get to have the creative licence to do what they wanted with in reason. So they made their plans and put me to work. Lets just say it was a lot of nights painting but I think it turned out great. In these pics there are still some finishing touches that were not up but I was so sick of doing it I thought I would at least document my victory and get back to that stuff when I have the time. Alyssa's room ended up being a Hannah Montana theme...she loves it, I think it is cute but am concerned that next year she will want something different. Avery ended up picking a Tinkerbell theme I am not nearly as worried about her changing her mind she is happy with whatever. I wish I would have taken before pics...oh well! Enjoy!

Isn't she lovely!

2009-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

This so beautiful little gal is my niece Reese. Isn't she darling. I snapped this pic of her at our family Easter egg hunt! I will have to post more later! I just loved this pic so I thought I would share! SOOOO CUTE!!!!

Senior Pics

2009-04-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

So I volunteered to take Senior Pics of my oh so cute baby brother Mitch! Isn't he so cute? I also took some of his cute friend Gabe....these two together are a crack up. I think I was laughing more than actually taking pictures. I got some awsome ones we will save for the wedding video and black male later on. Here are a few that I thought I would share. I think they turned out great! Thanks Mitch and Gabe for letting me torture you!! And thanks for making it so much fun! ENJOY!

This is how most of the shoot went....Boys will be Boys I guess!

Weekend Get-A-Way!

2009-03-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Lucky for me this last weekend I was able to take a quick but welcome break from, kids, laundry, work and spend some time with my hubby! I am so grateful to these 2 for being willing to take my 3 kids overnight. I totally owe them when they have kids of their own! THANK YOU HEATHER AND JOSH!!!!!

We headed off to dinner and then the Anniversary Inn where we stayed in the Mysteries of Egypt room. It was a lot of fun and so nice to be able to sleep through the night! A miracle!!!!! The next morning we went to Temple Square and just wandered while I snapped a few pics with the camera Ron bought me for Christmas that I am still trying to figure out. It was a lot of fun to just walk quitly with out the fear of losing one of my little ones. Here are some of the pics I took. ENJOY!

This is a fountian that my Grandpa helped build or something. I don't know the whole story but we stop here every time we are at temple sq.

I love all the flowers they have there year round. I wish I had even a little bit of a green thumb.

Spring Time......

2009-03-16T20:26:00.001-07:00

So this last weekend we had a busy but really fun weekend and got to spend time with my family and Ron's family. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had and some extra tidbits. ENJOY!

For those of you that have been to the aquarium in Sandy you have probably gotten the chance to pet the sting rays. Here are the kids getting soaked trying to pet one of them.

Here are the Knutson/Jones gang again checking out some of the marine life. They had so much fun and were all so good even though it was crazy busy.

Here is one of the fish we were able to see that day. I thought this was such a cool pic I couldn't help but post it.

This is my sweet little niece Reese. She is so cute and such a good baby. She was the only one that would hold still long enough for me to get a picture that day.

Before we went to the Aquarium we had a picnic lunch with my family at a park. It was so fun to see everyone and to just hang out and enjoy the nice weather. Alyssa is part monkey I swear that girl can climb almost any tree. Once she got up there she just laid there and chilled, enjoying the view.

Here are 2 of the cutest little guys you will seriously ever see. They had lots of fun going down the slides.

Garett taking a break. He is so cute and such a rough and tumble boy.

Here is some of the local wildlife that we shared our picnic with that day. We also shared our picnic with some Geese but they weren't to friendly so we kept our distance.

Griffin is such a crack up. That boy didn't sit down the whole time we were there. I bet you he went down the slide 100 times.

Aidan wasn't feeling the park to much that day. He had missed nap time...but overall had lots of fun once he realized what was going on.

A rare picture, Avery actually looking at the camera and smiling. She had a great time mostly tagging around with Grandma and getting muddy by the pond.

After all that I talked Ron into finishing my shelves in the basment so I could get my food storage that I have purchased thus far away put away. Here are the pics of them in the process of being built and some after. I love them so much. THANK YOU RON!!!

I know there is still alot of space to fill but considering that I just started in February I feel like I am making some pretty good headway.

I am a blogging roll!!!

2009-03-11T22:10:00.001-07:00

Kami and I decided it would be worth our time to save a little $ and take pics of our kids for their one year old pics especially since we both have purchased new cameras. Well it was no easy task. Sydnee was not in the mood at all everytime we set her down she would start crying. And Aidan was crawling away before we could even pick our cameras up. We still had a lot of fun even though we had no idea what we were really doing. I did mention to Kami that they are going to kill us when they get older for doing this to them all the time... but hey they are only little once. ENJOY!

My kids are the cutest!

2009-03-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

So I had my camera out the other day and just thought I would mess around taking some pictures of my kids and get some of Aidan since he just turned 1. So here they are....I was feeling in a black and white mood when I did this post. And yes I only have one baby, but he hasn't learned to groan and run when I get my camera out. And besides that he is so cute. ENJOY!

Give Away Today

2009-03-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I heard about this great site that you can win free stuff on. They have great stuff on there. Check it out. www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com.

ENJOY!

Random Tidbits

2009-03-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

So I have been a blog slacker lately. February was a very busy month you know that you have been busy when you down load your camera and you have over 400 pictures. Ekk! I know....Well here are some random tidbits that we have been up to in the last little while but first I have to through out one of those "Kids say the darnedest things!" moments.

The other day I was going somewhere with Avery when she said to me "Mom, guess what my friend Brianne told me what little girls and boys are made of." The first thought that popped into my head was crap! You just never know what other kids are going to teach your kids and why, why, why can I not protect them from it all. Anyway I responded with "What did she tell you" She went on to say "Boys are made out of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails and Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice." I breathed a sigh of relief she then said " But do you want to know what I told her?" Of course again I held my breath waiting for her answer she then replied " I told her she was wrong we are made out of DNA, duh!" She is seriously a crack up! Anyway enjoy the pics there is a lot and kind of random. Strap in it is a long one.

Alyssa has been taking mini cheer classes this year. She has really liked it and has been able to preform at some of the high school basketball games. Her season just ended, this is a picture of her after her last class where she received a medal and a certificate passing off everything for this year. We are so proud of her. GO-FIGHT-WIN!

Here is a picture of my little trouble maker standing in the dog food bowl. Such a silly baby.

Here are some pics of my girls making snow angels one day after it snowed. They were having great time playing outside until all the sudden I hear Alyssa come in and say in a some what panicked voice that Avery is bleeding. I came around the corner and she was not just bleeding she was gushing. It looked like a faucet was running that is how much she was bleeding and it was EVERYWHERE! I didn't recognize her or her coat. I was sure that something was seriously wrong...luckily it just turned out to be a really bad bloody nose. Some words of advice do not pull your beanie down and run around so you can't see....you could accidentally run into a fence post.

How great it must be to fall asleep anytime, anywhere. I was making making dinner and when I looked over Aidan was out. Poor Kid!

This is what happens when you are 8 and you get lippy with your mom! Alyssa was teasing me about something so I guess I was feeling slightly more spunky than usual and got her with a cupcake. Opps! Just for the record she loved every minute of it.

Aidan at the Birthday party we held for him and my father-in-law. Cupcakes are so yummy!

Aidan on his actual birthday riding the noisy little gift he got for his Birthday. THANKS MOM!!

I noticed that I didn't post pictures of the birthday cakes. Here they are in all their yumminess. They turned out so cute and Kami and I didn't even coordinate and they ended up looking a lot of like. I guess great minds think a like.

Happy Birthday Aidan and Sydnee!!!

2009-03-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

I seriously cannot believe that MY BABY is 1 years old. Today is actually his birthday but we celebrated this weekend. A little piece of me is so sad to see him get bigger since he is my baby, but at the same time I think ahead to one day the possibility of sleeping past 7 a.m. and wish away this time and want him to get bigger. I am so grateful for this little guy and the spunk he has added to our family. He has become such a good baby after a rocky start and is adored by us all especially his two big sisters.

Sydnees Birthday is actually tomorrow and for those of you who don't know is my twin brother Aaron and Sister-in-law Kami's little girl. These two were born just 24 hours apart. It is kind of like having twins but with out the double exhaustion and extra stretch marks. It has been so fun to see the two of them grow and hope they become the best of friends. I know my mom was having major flashbacks at their little birthday day party.

Happy Birthday to our little prince and princess!!

Sydnee and Aidan on their little cars they got for their birthday from Grandma and Grandpa.

Don't you love the crowns? They are going to kill us later...Tee Hee!

Sydnee is such a ham when the camera is out. She was posing and smiling up a storm. I guess she was really feeling the photo session and was cracking us up by sticking out her tongue. Silly girl!

Aidan chilling on his car! He is so stinkin' cute!

Here are the royal Highness's digging in to their B-day cakes. YUM!

8 things about me

2009-02-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

My Friend Kacee tagged me on this a while ago and things have been so crazy lately I am just barely getting around to it. Here it goes......

8 Favorie TV Shows
1. Greys Anatomy

2. American Idol

3.Dirty Jobs

4.Leverage

5. Ghost Whisperer

6. Anything involving home improvment

7. Spongebob Squarepants

8. ???

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Went to work

2. Picked Aidan up from the babysitters

3. Picked Alyssa up from school early (she was sick)

4. Crashed at my in-laws while my hardwood floors were getting re-finished

5. Made Dinner

6. Got Aidan off of my in-laws stairs a million times!!!

7. Watched my neice

8. Painted my upstairs hallway

8 Things I look forward to
1. Spring

2. 7:00-8:00 Bedtime for the kids

3. Fly Fishing

4. Date Nights with my hubby

5. Girls Nights Out

6. Naps

7. A warm not reheated 3 times meal

8. Reading about my Camera

8 Favorite Resturants
1. Olive Garden

2. Macaroni Grill

3. Texas Roadhouse

4. Five Guys

5. Tepenyaki

6. Cafe Rio

7. Ruths Chris

8. Anything Italian

8 Things on my wish list
1. Time

2. New pair of jeans

3. A new purse

4. A spa retreat

5. For all my kids to get better

6. nap

7. to go fishing....soon!

8. to stress less

People I tag are: Kami, Stephanie, Lynne and Heather

Food Storage Update!

2009-02-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Okay so I thought I would put the tips and suggestions off of the food storage websites I talked about in my previous post and see if it was worth it to me. Okay so this week I planned a menu which is something I have been trying to do this year anyway and then off of that went and figured out which of the items were on sale and what I needed for these dinners and then made sure I listed the sale prices on my grocery list so that walmart could get the price match. So for my first time doing it this way I saved $24.04 off of my regular weekly grocery bill. I think that is pretty great personally. Then I went through and figured out what items I wanted to buy for my food storage and by buying on sale items and then having walmart price match I saved $52.45. So for a grand total $76.49 this week in savings. That is nuts! Well just thought I would share. I personally I feel like it was totally worth the extra time it took to plan this all out. I am way excited to see what I can save next time I go to the store.

Food Storage

2009-02-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

So I know that I should already have made a new year resolution and broke it now even. Well I am a little behind in the game so I am making a mine today Ground Hogs day is a holiday so I figure it counts. Holiday=Resolution right? Anyway, I have really been feeling like I need to get back on the band wagon with food storage. I had a pretty good head start at one time when we lived in our old house but when we moved I hadn't done that great of a job rotating it and so I had to get ride of a lot of it because it was going to expire. And then when we moved into our new house I didn't have shelves built to put my food storage on so just shoved what I had left into my pantry and since I had more cupboards then I knew what to do with since my kitchen was now bigger I just filled them up. Well needless to say a year has gone by and I am barely getting around to getting back to getting my food storage plan back in order. I have come across a fantastic website and blog that I thought I would share in case anyone else is up for feeling inspired. This girl is my food storage hero. Check them out ; www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com or www.myfoodstoragedeals.com Wish me luck and I will keep you posted!!!!

Baby Steps!

2009-01-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned for Christmas that Ron bought me a very nice camera. I was jumping for joy I have been secretly wishing for one for a long time. My wish finally came through. I have mostly just taken some pics of my kids but my friend asked me if I would be willing to take a couple of pictures of her new baby Carter and I thought I would give it a try. I really have no idea what I was doing but I think between the crying and baby bodily functions they turned out alright for a girl who has no idea what she is really doing. I hope one day that I can take some photography classes or find someone to teach me so that I can figure out what the heck I am really doing so that I can at least take some awsome shots of my kids. Baby steps I guess. Anyway here are a few that I think turned out pretty cute.

Ode to the Sweet Potato!!

2009-01-12T21:35:00.000-08:00

The other day Aidan wasn't really feeling up to eating what I was feeding him so I just turned him loose and let him figure it out on his own here is the result of my actions. I only wish I loved sweet potatos this much! YUM!!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

2008-12-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a family get together with the Jones/Knutson family and Santa popped in for a suprise visit. The kids were so excited to see him and he had gifts to top it off. I was just waiting for one of them to cry but no one did not even the babies. Here are some pics of my kids putting in one last Christmas request. Enjoy!

Kids say the funniest things!

2008-12-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

Last night we were hanging out the T.V. was on but we were all in the other room except for Avery, she came in and said "Mom do we live in Utah?" "Yes" I answered next she says "What are oysters?" I am thinking where is this going? I explained to her what they are... then I said "Why?" She said " She said there was this guy just on T.V. and he said Get ready Utah a lot of new oysters are headed this way." I just started to giggle then we told her what he really said was "Get ready Utah there is a lot of new moisture headed this way." I seriously was laughing so hard. My poor bladder. So then a little later she finally said "Mom what is moisture anyway?" She is such a funny kid!

This morning I was driving to my babysitters (who by the way is the best babysitter EVER!!) anyway we are headed to my babysitters and Avery says "Mom can you change your name if you want to?" I am thinking oh great she wants to change her name to some crazy thing...So I hesitantly answer "Yes you can if you really need to but most people don't, Why?" She then said "Well you should change Aidan's name to Jesus." I again try not to giggle to much, I don't want to offend her and so I just played a long and said " Well that is a good name but we will probably just leave his name as it is. Why do you think we should change his name to Jesus?" She then said "Well it is Christmas and he is a baby." Duh, why didn't I think of that first......Seriously she is hilarious.

Ahh the Holidays.....

2008-12-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have been kind of a Scrooge this year. I don't know why, I just have. Anyway my kids had been begging to put up the Christmas Tree and every time it was mentioned I groaned and would give them some reason we couldn't do it until later. Thank goodness for Ron or I don't know if we would have ever put the tree up. Any way here are some pics from this momentous occasion.
Along with some other holiday fun. Enjoy!

Here is tree right after the kids finished decorating. Please notice that the decorations only made it up as high as they could reach. I usually hover over them and move the decorations around to get our tree perfect but like I said I was feeling Scrooge like and didn't want to decorate the tree in the first place. I think it turned out great and they had a wonderful time decorating.

Aidan of course had no idea what was going on so I crawled over to his favorite spot and chilled there. He has a serious curiosity about heating vents. He crawls all over my house and takes them out. Silly Boy!

Here is the happy boy during all the decorating fun.

Here are Avery and Porter at the Wayman Christmas party. I know lame that we have already done Christmas together but trying to juggle the schedules of 7 families can be a little tricky. Anyway we had a great time and think the kids were thrilled to be opening presents so soon in the Christmas season. Just a side note, Avery and Porter get a long so good together, it is so cute to see them play together.

Most of the grand kids getting ready to open their P.J.s from Grandma and Grandpa.

We also celebrated Garrett Birthday. I seriously cannot believe that he is going to be one this month. I don't know if you can tell but the circle he is sitting in is actually a cut out so you can test the toy in the store. He was so excited he just dived right in. Happy Birthday Garrett!!!!

November

2008-11-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

I know we have all had those times in our lives that are just endless days upon endless days. That is the way it has been around here anyway. I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner and how very, very quickly Thanksgiving has come and went. They say time flies when you are having fun, so if the theroy is true that means we must be having a blast!!! Here are some of the things we were up to in in no particular order in November. I am warning you this is long.......Enjoy!!!!

Here is Aidan enjoying a spoonful of brownie mix, I know this might not be the most healthy choice for a baby mostly due to the raw eggs but I had made brownies and let the girls have the bowl and they decieded to share. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.......or at least a chocoholic! Thats my boy!!!!

Avery lost her 1st tooth on November 8th she was so excited to follow in her big sisters footsteps and of course to get some extra cash from the tooth fairy.

Okay you know you are tired when you fall asleep sitting up. Poor Aidan! This picture and the one following were taken at about 7:30 in the morning. That day he had woken up at 6:00 a.m. and we were going about our normal routine of getting ready for work, school etc... So at about 7:00 we put him in his crib to play and we could finish getting ready and get to where we were going on time. Anyway I could hear him playing on the monitor and after a while it got quite so I went in there and this is what I found. At first I freaked out thinking he had choked or something, but soon after I realized he was breathing I just had to giggle. I checked to make sure he wasn't going to smother and let him snooze while we snapped these pics. Poor baby!

This is a picture we took at Scotsdale Park near my parents house on Thanksgiving. It is a Wayman family tradition to take pictures at Thanksgiving dinner for the annual christmas card and while we were waiting for everyone we took these. Don't I have such cute kids?

Yesterday we decided to take the kids along with my in-laws to Temple Square to see the movie at the Legacy Theater and see the Christmas lights after. Here we are hanging out in the main street plaza.

Aidan chillin' in the stroller as we cruise around the temple grounds. It was so pretty and the weather was great!

Here is a picture of the temple Ron snapped after the movie. So pretty!

Yes I know this is upside down, but that is how we took it. My kids were rolling down a hill and this is how they ended up. Silly kids!

Another great temple pic along with the lights. It was so pretty and fun to go this early in the season. It really helped to get us all in the mood for Christmas. All in all it has been a great month I know I have left a ton out. It just make me realize how lucky I am to have such a great hubby and kids to be able to do such fun things with.

Fall Fun!

2008-10-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

Last night for FHE we or I guess I decided that we should carve pumpkins. I remember carving pumpkins as a kid and thinking it was such a blast. So Ron came home and it was getting kind of late so we set right to work. Well of course like everything else I forgot what a HUGE mess it makes and seriously it can be slightly time consuming. The girls had a great time. I however forgot to document the actual carving of the pumpkins until they were done. Probably because I was elbow deep in pumpkin guts! Oh well better luck next year. Here are the finished products!

Alyssa's is the one that is spider web. Ron is Picasso what can he say!

Here is the pumpkin Avery and I carved it is more traditional. I have to giggle a little when looking at this picture, Avery looks like she is ready to head out on a date with her pumpkin. Silly Girl!

On Saturday Aaron, Kami, Lynne, Drew and Myself decided we were going to take our kids to "Boo at the Zoo" They should put a warning label on this when advertising this event, It was scary all right but not in the way you would think. It was total craziness! I have seriously never seen so many people in one place, not even in Disneyland. We went, we saw, we will not be going back. It was still fun to get together and see the kids in their costumes. Live and Learn right?

Sydnee dressed as a spider even though it is hard to tell since she is in the snugli.

Alyssa as a peaked Hannah Montana. Poor thing on the way to the zoo she got really car sick. She spent more time in the stroller putting her head back then taking part of the events.

Garrett dressed as a Zebra. He is playing with Hannah Montana's microphone. He is seriously so cute.

Aidan as Yoda, he is such a ham!

I had to chase Griffin to get this picture he was not in a photo kind of mood. He is such a cute "lil stinker" As I was doing this post I realized I didn't have a picture of Avery or Porter. Better luck next time. Sorry Guys!

I am such a glutton for punishment. After having such a long crazy day at the zoo, with all the car sickness and such, on the way home my kids begged me to take then to the Benson Grist Mill Pumpkin Walk near our house. So I did, they had a GREAT time! Perfect ending to a kind of wild and crazy fall day!

Double Tag....

2008-10-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

So I have been tagged TWICE so I am doing a double update I guess. Hope this isn't to long. ENJOY!

BOOED!

What was your favorite costume you wore as a kid? One year my best friend and I dressed up as Lilly and Herman Munster it was awsome!

What is your favorite Halloween candy? Anything chocolate

Do you have a Halloween tradition? Just Trick or Treating and making my self sick with the spoils.

Have you ever played a trick instead of giving a treat? No. But this might be the year.

For this I BOO: Heather, Melinda and Stephanie

Husband Tag!!

1. Where did you meet your husband? Blind Date our mutual friends set us up.

2. How long did you date before you got married? only 11 months not long at all especially since I was a senior in High School (CRADLE ROBBER)

3. How long have you been married? 11 years

4. What does he do to surprise you? There are too many things to list. My favorite though and this is lame put away the laundry.

5. What is your favorite feature? His eyes.

6. What is your favorite quality? How kind he is I swear I have never heard him say a bad word about anyone.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Em or Hey woman ( Just Kidding)

8. What is his favorite food? Ruth Chris Steak and Cookie Dough not together though, I can tell you he doesn't like veggies though and that drives me nuts!

9. What is his favorite sport? Denver Broncos Football

10. When & where was your first kiss? In front of my mom and dads house. I kissed him. TEE HEE

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Flyfishing

12. Do you have any children?3 Alyssa 8, Avery 5, Aidan 7 months

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He is a great guitar player.

14. How old is he? 33

15. Who said I love you first? He did.

16. What is his favorite music? Country

17. What do you admire most about him? That he still loves me!

18. What is his favorite color? Blue or green

9. Will he read this? Not unless I pull it up and show it to him

Who do you tag? Kami, Lynne and Natalie

The Great Pumpkin!

2008-10-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love the fall the cool crisp air, the excuse to be able to drink hot chocolate on chilly days, and the changing of the leaves. Usually we are lucky enough to have neighbors or relatives that have pumpkins for us to be able to carve up and proudly display on the front porch. Well this year we decided to hit the local pumpkin patch and go pumpkin picking. It was so much fun and so cheap. I was surprised how much cheaper these were then store bought pumpkins and the pumpkins we picked were good sized. The place where we went sends you out with a big pair of gardening scissors and you wander until you find the one that is just right. You then roll it over to the side of the patch and they will come pick you and your pumpkin up for a tractor ride. The girls had a blast!! I think this will be a new fall tradition for our family!

OUCH!!!!!

2008-09-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have ever had the wonderful experience of nursing a baby will know exactly what I am talking about. Just recently Aidan has cut 2 RAZOR SHARP teeth. It is so cute to see his toothy grin but it is not so cute to wonder if I am going to need stitches by the end of each feeding. All I can say is OUCH!!!! I have tried giving him the what for when this happens but he just giggles. So not funny, I am hoping in the very near future that he will realize that tears I am crying are not tears of joy and lay off, until then I guess I will tough it out and if all else fails the bottle will become his fast friend.