Dress up

I am both sad and happy that his days of dress-up are almost done. He now just dresses up like his DAD.

My Mom Moves

Have you ever hit "reply to all" on accident? Haven't we all at some point? I was recording the kids dancing and sending them to Grandmas phone a while ago. Then I got behind the camera with these hideous moves and thought I was sending it to Tasha with the the words, "CAN YOU DO THIS?". I sent it to my new neighbor instead. I was mortified! I waited for her to reply... She never did.Whats your embarrassing story?

A Happy Girl

Let me share with you you an amazing friend of mine! She is my neighbor and super mom to a real life miracle

Girl. She is inspiring in every sense of the word and blogs about her journey so beautifully. She has a rare

story. Like [1 in millions} kind of rare.


She shares it with bravery and honesty. She is a modern day mom, advocate, daughter, and lover of the

Good Stuff that we all have all around us everyday...... yet somehow fail to recognize as "awe inspiring"

She is simply inspiring to me and everyone she touches with her shy smile or through her blog. Click here to

find out for yourself.......

This is  Tahnie and her baby love....SOOKIE

Tahnie has no idea how much she reminds me of the precious moments in life. She doesn't know how much

she reminds me (without saying a single word) to breathe in the NOW of the mundane and find a way to

make my own mundane into miraculous. The last and pretty much only significant snow we had

here I walked outside to see something I will never forget.  Nothing super unusual at all, but the way it touched

me was incredible. I walked outside late at night and heard 2 year old giggles and a mommy's voice

ho-humming a song while she twirled he little girl around a hundred times in her driveway. Just the two of them

in the late late hours of the night. It's things like this we all imagine doing all the time but get busy with every

thing else that keeps us from enjoying simple things like late night big flakes and dizzy spins in the driveway

with our own baby loves. I kept Jaxon home from school the next day just so we could enjoy the

snow. I assumed she was taking full advantage of the big flakes just in case they would never come down like

that again. I did the same thing after watching her spin and listening to her song.

You can find Tahnie at www.ahappygirl.com     (You'll be glad you did)

The Tooth fairy Saga

To make a long story short, Uncle Randy gave Jaxon a full deer skeleton last weekend. Jaxon has been admiring it lovingly everyday since. Last night we walked in the door to find it chewed to pieces on the living room rug. Our dog Lucy must have mistaken it for a treat. I knew Jax would be crushed and so I had Ross distract him while I cleaned it up and threw it in the trash. Not 5 minutes Later Jaxon comes in the kitchen and tells me that he thinks someone came inside while we were gone and stole something really special to him. I had to come clean and tell him what had happened to the stinky deer skeleton. After he was done crying and telling me how much he hated Lucy, he had me go through the trash and save him the biggest tooth. I did it and later found him writing this note(above) to the Tooth Fairy. In case you can't decipher the words here is the English translation: Hi, I am Jaxon. I want a deer skeleton if you can get it. Thank You, Jaxon

 

This is the big stinky tooth I had to pull out of the garbage that went under his pillow with the note to the Tooth Fairy.

This is the letter the Tooth Fairy left under his pillow. Translation: Thank You so much for the lovely deer tooth. I have never seen one so big and yellow before. I don't have a full deer skeleton in my bag tonight. I normally just carry money and glitter. Please accept this money instead and I will be working hard this year to bring you a skeleton.
             Love, The Tooth Fairy

Utah.. Home of the greatest snow on earth

I finally snowed in Utah! It was gone in a flash but we made the very best of it while it was on the ground. Jaxon insisted on wearing ski googles while he built his little snowman.

I am constantly saying this to my kids! Today was an exceptionally HAPPY DAY!

Happy Birthday Papa Smurf

My Step dad Leo just had a birthday! This guy has been a huge part of my life. He met my mom when I was in Jr. high. He had never been married and didn't have any kids. I remember when he came to pick my mom up on their first date. My sisters and I were peeking through the window when he pulled up in a silver Lincoln Town Car and whisked her away to dinner and a viewing of the strangest first date movie anyone could imagine, Schindler's List. I will never get that one but I am glad the first date led to the date at Pizza Hut where my sisters and I got to meet this smoother operator. I quizzed him down with a list of questions any young girl might have for a man who has caught the interest of her mom.
1. "Have you ever been arrested? if so what for?
2. "Who was your last girlfriend? Why did it end?
3. "What is your credit score"

He had never been arrested. His last girlfriends name was Brodie and so my little sisters and I chanted the name, "Groadie brodie" a few times. I never really asked about the credit score and luckily didn't need to.

He is "PAPA" to my kids and does it better than anyone ever could. I am so happy that he has been such a great constant in my life and am very grateful for this other dad that I have been blessed with.

I will never understand why Leonard does this..

I am so amazed at the way he does THIS

Happy Birthday, Papa Smurf! I could tell some of the best stories about Leo that are so funny and sweet. I will save them for next Birthday.. For those of you who have not yet met Leo you can probably find him riding his Piaggio with a basket full of rechargable batteries and a pocket full of MRE's.  Follow him to the North Highway Cafe and give him a hug for me.

Family Fun without Chuck E. Cheese

This weekend was really fun. Lack of a babysitter and restless children forced us to explore our little family friendly community. Chuck E Cheese makes my skin crawl and Pirate Island has been closed due to a fire forever ago. It was time to check out a few new germ infested family fun zones in the county of  "Family Fun". The kids had a great time and I ALMOST won an iPad from a cut the strings arcade-vending machine at the bowling alley. My dad used to tell us that we could go to Toys R Us and buy a way better and bigger toy than any of our Chuck E Cheese tickets put together could ever get us instead of making him take us the the dreaded Cheese. We refused every time and left the place happy with our glow in the dark bracelet and Ring Pop. I realized the lesson was never learned when I wound up begging Ross for more dollar bills in order to win the iPad.

Ivy was too cool to use the ramps for the "little kids". She used her dad instead.

Ross has been hiding his awesome bowling skills for 8 years now. He whooped me! The best part is the whole way there I told him that I had a natural talent for bowling. The talent has since faded.

We saw this movie on Friday night. It was cute and sad. I am now considering buying a zoo.

I am making this tasty beef tips with mushrooms and egg noodles right now. That Victor 1st ward cookbook never lets me down. Thanks to whichever Moulton, Kunz or Woolstenhulme lady came up with this dandy.

A little bit of both of US

As Jaxon grows up so many things he says remind me of Ross and I that he says on a daily basis.

Today on the way to school he said, "Mom, why is LeBron James such a big show off?" I tried to answer that question the best I could, and then as he was getting out of the car I told him to HAVE a GREAT DAY! He looked at me and said, " I am so glad I have the power to choose what kind of a day I am going to have today".

It's so funny how they become such mini versions of us. Reminds me to monitor my words close and remember that I am always being watched....... Even when I CHOOSE to make my own day not so great...

Tori loves Mitt Romney

I love love love it when Tori comes to town. This time was really fun. Tasha and John were invited to an event that was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Salt Lake Olympics. We had a great dinner and hung out with Mitt Romney. Okay we didn't really hang out with the guy but we watched him speak and then took a few pictures of him in the background. Either way... We all had a great time.

We ambushed figure skating legend, Scott Hamilton

                                                        Snapped a few pictures of Mitt

                                                      And then took some of ourselves
                                                     while Mitt was delivering some political
                                                      jargon... What a great night!

Lady Antebellum

We did Valentines Day with Calyn and Trevor this year. We had such a great time at the Lady Antebellum concert with these two wild party animals ~wink~. Babysitting was provided by the one and only Uncle RyRy. (Thanks again, Ryan). I truly felt the LOVE this Valentines Day......................

swapping faces and losing teeth

 Jaxon is turning into a little man right before my very eyes. This morning Jax lost his first tooth. He is so proud of himself. I think it's because most of his friends have lost 5 by now. He can't wait to see what the tooth fairy leaves for him tomorrow morning. I think I will put his tooth in a gLocket! baahaaaaa

 Sometimes we drive around town and take pictures of ourselves and send them to Daddy or my Mom

Ivy went to her buddy Sookies 2nd Birthday at The cutest store-bistro ever (Dear Lizzie)

 Ross and I swapped faces. Ross looks like a 70 year old waitress at a diner and I looked like my little brother if he just attended a Mary Kay party...

                                                      Aunt Char even wanted in on the fun

gLOCKET for her G spot

Go Jazz

          Ross took Jax to a Jaz game over the weekend. They were accompanied by PaPa Leo and Uncle David. Nobody loves the Jazz more than Dave. They were waiting for the elevator with a few Jazz dancers and Uncle Dave got so excited that he grabbed one............. and would not let her go... She was a great sport and apparently had a big impact on my little Jax. Ross said that all the way home he asked strange questions. He asked his dad where the Jazz girls lived... (Hmmm)  He asked his dad if he could go to their houses and play with them sometime soon.... and then he mentioned several times that he really liked pretty girls............

Jaxon and Ross both had a great time at the game. I am thinking about getting season tickets next year for sure. Jaxon can't stop talking about how "His team won"..... The Jazz girls sealed the deal for this kid.

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

Scroll down to see my slow demise into a gluttonous BSU fan

Yes this is Jax and I at Tyler and Jills for the Super Bowl and not at a Boise State game. We did'nt have any Patriots or Giants team gear so I tried to keep the football theme by wearing Boise State get ups because it what I had to work with. They all made fun of us.... We thought we looked cool anyways.

I kept eating Jalapeno Poppers and fried shrimp... This is Shannons prediction of what I will look like at next years party if I continue eating this way for a year. At least the Boise State jersey will still fit...

Ivy dances to "purple rain"

Before I forget

Before I forget these cute and funny things my kids say I have to write them down. I lose important papers daily and can never find a pen, so I blog them..

Jaxon and Ivy were in the bath together the other day and having a blast with a can of shaving cream. Just when I was wondering if they were getting too old for sharing the tub, I hear Jax say to Ivy: I will make you a shaving cream Zucchini (bikini) if you give me a boutique (goatee)... This reminded me of how little they still are.
Fast Forward a week later and Jax and I are sitting in those little tiny chairs at his Parent-Teacher Conference and when it's all over and done his teacher asks him if he has any questions for her. He perks up and says, "You mean something I've always wanted to know". She tells him he can ask her anything. He looks up at her and politely says, "Mrs. Collard can you please tell me how god really created bats"?

Jessa got hitched

We had this amazing babysitter in Victor that we all loved and adored. Times flies and this amazing babysitter turned into a real woman who met a man and was getting married. Lucky for us she married a guy from Heber and so we made it a family affair and went to their gorgeous wedding. Congrats to Jessa and Colton Bangerter. We wish you the best and a real happily ever after.

 

God bless Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King gave us a long weekend. May he rest in peace. We cruised on over to my moms to do what we usually do when we are here. We cook, eat, do hair, nails, and attempt to conflict manage 7 little kids under the age of 8.

                                            Ivy eats as many popscicles as her little heart desires

                                                      Laynie gets force fed one as well

                                        Ivy, papa and bella pass out on the couch

         

Jaxon brought his Red Rider because Papa promised he'd take him shooting and Jaxon remembered. He loved shooting targets and learning some gun safety. Ivy was super concerned about Bella being shot and even made Jax promise he wouldn't shoot her.

                                                   Rosscoe wondered why I washed his clothes??/

                                          He was afraid he'd have to borrow some pants from papa leo because his pants were in the washer and would be forced into this "Plaid Bandit" costume. I did'nt want him to feel alone is his dorkiness so I put on a face mask and posed for a picture.

                                   He got his pants back and so we color cordinated our clothes

                                     Jaxon went back outside for round 3.. Bella was spared and we

                                     continued eating, drinking and over processing our hair.