McDuffie Family

Alright already!

2010-07-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

So what is the big deal with me?! Do I not have a quick moment to update? Seriously, I think I over schedule myself! I am a go getter like my dad! Well, a bajillion things have happened since last I posted, so I don't think I will go through details. This summer, we went to Ukraine to visit my parents! We, of course left the kiddos, there is no way I would travel those flights with the three! They would want to kill me and vice versa. It was so beautiful! The people were amazing, the food was fresh and being with Pres. and Sister Fry was the biggest treat ever! We laughed the entire time, especially at my attempt to speak Russian. I struggle with English, so what was I thinking of trying to speak russian?! Mo and I are attempting to run the Marathon and are in the middle of training! Yep, no typo, and yes, we are that crazy! We have actually have had a blast and have come a long way! We are quite a sight with the double and single stroller!

This little girl is learning to read and is doing rather well. She is having fun swimming in Grandma/pa's pool all summer!

This little girl is enjoying going over all her letters and sounds, numbers and different flash cards.

This little guy is my stud muffin. My girls will inform me that, "Your stud muffin is up mommy". He

understands more than we realize, is picking up words like crazy and is up on anything and everything. He loves to ride the little wiggle riders we have!

Mo is almost done with the Master's! YAY!!!!!! I get my hubby back! I am just busy playing with the kiddos and getting ahead with preschool stuff for this nex

t year!

Family Pics

2009-11-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

We finally got family pictures done, savanna's 3rd year picture done Gracie's 2nd year picture done, and josh's 6 month picture, eventhough they aren't quite those exact ages, but who'll know later.....just me! They turned out so awesome(I think) and thanks to Amy who did them! It's hard getting kiddos to look at the camera and smile. Gracie wouldn't hold still for anything and josh kept giving the "You're weird" look! hahaha love it!

I'm bad at this I know!

2009-10-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a gazillion years......so probably no one will read this, but I figured it was time to give updates. The kiddos are growing up! I'm out of the overwhelming phase, okay, maybe not at times, but for the most part, I do have a system down. I appreciate everyone's words of encouragement! It helps that Josh is crawling and into everything, especially the dog water....yum! He is eight months old tomorrow! He is so sweet, except when he wants his mama, there is no getting anything done! He loves to play our little piano and will dance(no joke). He loves to crawl and has been for a little over two months. it's more of an army crawl! Cracks me up how determined he is to not be left behind. He loves food! Especially ours and is not happy if we are holding out on him. I will hear the girls screaming and find josh on top of them trying to get the sippy cups with the hugest grin on the face. He is so stinkin' cute. He says mama and dada and is into shaking his head no......which makes it fun to ask him lots of questions during this time. He loves his sisters and will giggle at them and even stop crying if they come to his rescue. He loves to stand and pull himself up.....I"m in trouble. He has the cutest one tooth grin I could ever ask for and brings so much joy to my life.

Gracie turned 2 in August and is a talker. My favorite is when she is mad or hurt and is bawling trying to tattle on who or tell you why she is sobbing. I can't help but smile 'cuz you can't understand anything. She is my major tease.....and is into telling me "no". She will run in the other direction when you ask her to do something else. Savanna and her are two peas in a pod. They love eachother so much. SHe will copy what savanna does, but also sticks ulp for herself if she's not interested. She is into "Eggo" or also known as "Diego Go". She has the funnest most goofiest sense of humor, but man she can give you the best crusties. She is very strong willed but I love that about her, even if we butt heads at times. She is so good at sharing with her older sister and younger brother.

Savanna is so grown up. I feel finally that potty training is sinking in. I finally stopped taking her to the potty and so she has learned herself to listen to her body and so far so good. She loves preschool and dance. Both Gracie and Savanna are in preschool and dance. They look so cute in their preschool outfits!

I am teaching preschool.......yes, that is what I said, that is not a typo. I am using my moms' stuff(thanks mom) and was going to do it with my girls, but now I'm doing it with my girls, my sisters two older kiddos, and two friends kids. It has been so fun! My girls have loved it! Why not save a little money and still let them have the experience of a lifetime. Mo is in his last year of his masters! Can I hear a "halelujah".......but then we move on to the PH.D. programs. We will start applying only to jump back into school work when he finishes his masters. Nows the time to do it while we are in school mode and kids are young! I'm so proud of him. He loves teaching and loves his masters.

Well, the best news for last,.......my mom is coming home for a little while to get some medical stuff done and out of the way. It would be cheaper to have her come here than Germany so we benefit! I am so excited! I haven't seen her for 15 months or more! She gets to hold her grand kids. I am so giddy!

It's been a long time...

2009-06-24T14:38:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody, it has been quite awhile since i have gotten on and done a blog entry and forever since I have checked others. I'm sorry I have missed so much, but man, I have had to go in survival mode for quite awhile. Having three kids now three and under has taken a major toll on me emotionally and physically. Now, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, because I am not, I am so thankful for these wonderful children, they have changed my life for the better, but it sure has thrown me through a loop! Here's some updates:

Mo and I just shared our 4th wedding anniversary together! It feels like a lot longer than that...maybe it's cuz we have three kids............then I remember, oh yeah, we really are that crazy.... but who better to be crazy with! I love this man! He is my everything! He and I are doing P90X.........which has been really funny and really hard, but it was something we wanted to do together, so those of you who are familiar with Tony Horton(the trainer)..........all I can say is "Bring It". We want to make a T-shirt that says, I survived P90X with 3 kids 3 and under! We just got approved and have started breaking ground on building a casita in front of our home! My father-n-law(G'pa Dennis) is coming to live with us and we are thrilled! Our front yard looks like chaos right now, so I have to keep telling myself that it will get better! THe girls look at it as an opportunity to play with dirt! Mo is finishing up his summer semester..............yay! that means only one more year left of the masters and on to the phd! Well, we are moving forward and looking at options for PhD so we'll see where it takes us!

The little big guy is doing awesome, though, I don't think he got the memo that he is the third child! He loves loves loves loves loves loves(did I mention loves) to be held and spends a lot of time screaming 'til I do. When he is happy, he is so stinkin' cute! He has the cutest giggle and loves to roll over. He knows he accomplished something when he rolls over 'cuz he'll get this huge grin.....I'll tell him good job and he'll get all shy and turn his head and smile away from me. He loves to talk and be talked to. He'll stare forever at you and he loves us to sing to him. He isn't sleeping through the whole night yet, but we have narrowed it down to once a night(most nights) so this is a blessing! I am so stinkin' tired, so it's a dang good thing he knows how to melt my heart, or this would be a lot harder!
This little girl is my fireball. We are experiencing the terrible twos before the actual date of her turning two. I have had to explain to her what we can and can't bite, hit and kick a number of times. She is very stubborn,but so cuddly and loving. She loves to snuggle(or "nuggle" as she would say). She loves to swing in our backyard, and look at bugs, which ends up usually her grabbing the bugs and squishing them to death. She loves swimming and being outside. She knows all her letters and most of the sounds, shapes colors, and numbers to 10. She tries to keep up with her sister. She will speak in sentences and it blows me away at what she does understand. She has a beautiful giggle that brings so much joy! she loves her little bro. as well! She is my big helper with putting away wipes and throwing away trash and picking up toys(though we do get distracted and like to play with the toys that are being put away, so it is the thought that counts right?!).

This little girl turned 3! Boy has she grown up! She is loads of fun! She has a very sensitive heart! If she sees me cry, she will cry with me so as you can imagine, I try to hold my emotions in check, which is hard to do sometimes when I feel overwhelmed. She loves to sing and will make up her own songs. She is into asking mom, "What's that" to everything, even if she knows what it is. She is doing better with the whole potty training thing as we took a few downward spirals since baby bro. came and she decided she wanted to be the baby! She loves her baby bro. and is so sweet with him. She loves learning to brush her own teeth, get dressed and pick up toys all by herself. she experienced the dentist for the first time and did excellent with no cavities. She loves friends, especially little sis., but since she is her sister, they have to fight as well! But, she is always concerned about her younger sister....has to make sure she gets what she has gotten. She is learning to use her words instead of melt downs and tantrums. She loves to color. She has a fetish for shoes, and we find her with cowboy boots on asleep at night. she has a tutu and will come and tell me she is a dancing princess.

Busy Bees!

2009-03-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been a long time, but I really haven't had much time to do so, so hopefully I can catch up on everyone's blogs soon. We have been so busy! This past week MO had spring break, which means he'd still have to go in, but since students are gone he can use vacation time if he wants. We blessed Joshua last sunday, and planned on G'pa Dennis coming out for the week,but due to getting really sick, he couldn't come! Mo decided to take the time off anyway and man I'm so glad he did. We had a fun filled week, and we took turns letting the other sleep in! We surely missed our Grandpa Dennis and hope he gets better to come and see us soon! Here's what we did!

here's a pic. from little J.D.'s(Joshua Dennis) blessing day! We had a little luncheon and get together after church! It was a beautiful blessing and he was good the entire time! Not to mention the best food ever after!(Thanks grandpa Dennis...we missed you)

We love to go and feed the ducks, so we went on a walk to feed the ducks. It was fun for the girls and joshua just snoozed the whole time. Gracie enjoyed the bread as much as the ducks!

yep, it was time! We decided to put Gracie in a big girl bed, so we took the bunkbed apart for now 'til we feel they are old enough to understand some rules with the bunkbeds and have more balance! so funny, she loves it loves the freedom! WE found her on the floor the first night!
There has been lots of playing time with daddy as well..............this is Dr. Savanna! She is our new doctor!

We went to toddler time at the library then off to the water park! Savanna got to wear her new swim suit and is more of my cautious not into getting way wet. Gracie is my no fear girl and was seriously enjoying getting soaked! Cracks me up at the difference in them! I just love these girls!

I got to finally finish joshua's room! it took me about two weeks to finish! I love it! It turned out really cute! I love the cute construction border! Now we just have to put all the furniture back in order and move the crib over and we'll be set! now if i could just get the little guy to sleep through the night! ANy suggestions?

I am in love with this little guy..........course he's grown so much that I don't know if he's my little guy anymore! He weighs around 12 lbs now! He's not even two months yet! What can I say, he loves to eat! He is a sweetie and actually went 6 hours once last week for me at night(I needed it)! He looks like a Fry! Cracks me up! He is very loving, loves to snuggle and makes the cutest snorts when he gets mad! He has smiled for his daddy but not me! whatever! :)

Two weeks?!!!!!!

2009-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Well, we have survived two weeks of an almost 3 year old(3months baby!), an 1 1/2 year old and a newborn. First off, thank you for all of your love and support and comments! I can honestly tell you it has had it's crazy moments, where all are crying,but I have come to terms that all I can do is do my best, give my best and deal with one at a time. It has been wonderful! THe hardest thing I've had to deal with is how my relationship has changed with my girls! I'm very close to my girls........and I could feel that it had changed when we brought this little guy home! I have spent moments bawling about this change........but have come to terms that it does change.........I have to give a lot to a newborn,but doesn't mean I cannot have an amazing relationship with my girls........since then, I've done the best I can not to freak out when they have break downs, or get short with them 'cuz I"m sleep deprived and expect them to be perfect, and take moments to show them I love them and find moments to plaly with them. I feel that these three are going to be close! THe girls love their new bro.! He knows their voices and will quiet down when they are around. Savanna loves to hold him and is the first to his side when he starts to cry! The other night she was holding him, and kept looking down at him smiling, saying, "I know Joshua, I know"....then said, "I lub you so much"....she then looked up at me and said, "sanna feels sooooo special". Gracie loves him too......sometimes a little too much so I have to intervene so he doesn't get hurt, but she is so precious to him, she is as gentle as she can be with him. She'll cry when we move him or she cannot get to him. I have mixed emotions of him being two weeks old! It's going too fast! I already can see some more meat on those tiny thighs! It's sad that it is going so fast, but I'm also excited for sleeping longer than two hour chunks at a time, and all the fun things that come with him growing up.......I cannot wait for the first real smile and for him to giggle and say momma. I'm just so grateful for these blessings! So, I can't figure out who he looks more like. Some have said he has his own look..........what do you think?
this is Joshua

this is Savanna

this is Gracie

I'm in love!

2009-02-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, it happened! Our Joshua Dennis McDuffie arrived on Monday, Feb. 2nd, 2009! I started having contractions, intense, Sunday night, but they were like 25 min. apart, so I didn't think anything of it(meaning, not trying to get my hopes up)......so we went to bed and i woke up around 2-2:30 with contractions that went from 20 to 15 to 5 to under 2 min. apart and they were intense! I've never had them this intense before like this! Just to be sure, we stayed at home for an hour then headed to the hospital at 4-4:30 am. They admitted me right away 'cuz I was almost a five........then 45 min. later a 7........with how fast I was going I figured I'd just keep going natural........hahahahaha! My doctor broke my water at an 8 and the contractions were so intense, but I figured I was too late to get that glorious epidural! But, I was at an 8 for two hours...his head was turned a certain way so he wasn't hitting the cervix to help dilate.......so they decided to put me on the pit.! Yeah, let's just say, I couldn't handle the pain anymore, so got that epidural, just in time to take the edge off the pain! I now look up to those that do it o-natural! He cam at 9:17 am. He was 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 in. long! He is so beautiful! He has a little bit of hair! I knew I'd love him, but never knew it would feel like this! It was such a neat feeling when I saw him for the first time. He had no problem screaming, which both of our girls had to be taken from me to be suctioned out a couple of times! He is so precious and knows his sisters voices. They love him, and savanna is already mommy's big helper. Gracie loves him, but is kinda funny. She acts a little more defiant and seems a little mad at me......since she is a momma's girl to the 'T'........but we'll get through it! I was nervous to do this alone without my mom! \Yoou know it has been hard, and no one, no one can take the place of a mommy........it has been such a neat growing experience for me and my family! The ward has reached out and taken me under their wings. I can't tellyou how many ladies have come and taken the gals, so I could rest.....or those that have made meals so we aren't always eaating cereal 'cuz of how sick and especially how much pain I've been in this last like 5 weeks! They have loved us and have showed us that true happiness is found through serving others, even when you have your own problems! It has brought me closer to my sisters and brothers as we have had to lean on each other. I am truly blessed! THanks to all who have reached out to us and others!

Around the House

2009-01-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun things we've been up to at our house: Like learning that two spoons are better than one! Too bad it has taken me so long to figure this out!

We definitely like to eat cereal in the food pantry.....somehow it always taste better, especially when you are sneaky about it! Gracie is our expert!

Savanna loves to be a cowgirl......she will come up to me and say, "Mommy, I'm a cowgirl"....then with major concern, look at me and say, "oh! I need a hat"

We have a shoe fettish.......I find shoes all over the house by the end of the day! They walk better in my shoes than I!

Anybody watch PBS? Savanna's favorite show to watch is Super Why! This is her mask(don't worry I'm wearing one too) and will run around saying, "To the rescue"!

Our favorite outing lately has been taking the babies for walks in their strollers!

Don't they make cute mommies! Just prepping to give all the loves to their brother(yes I'm still cooking........dang it!

WE love to dress up.........the other night, we had a sleep over with our cousins and all dressed up as pirates and went to Pirate Island Pizza........I'm not sure if the looks of bewilderment were for the outfits, or it looked like we had four kids so so young and that I was prego again! It was funny!

Oh, what a cutie!

I was actually asked if this was our son's real hair! If you are wondering, it is a wig!

The sleep over party coming to the part of sleeping..........j/k! There was not a whole lot of sleeping let me tell you!

WE love to help bake! WE are waiting for cookies! yummy!

Aren't those the cutest puckered up lips you've ever seen?!

WE love to go to church.......nursery is our middle name that day! wahoo!

This one tries to sneak in to nursery and is not a happy camper when she doesn't get to stay........don't worry gracie, two and a half more weeks(who's counting right?) and you will get to play with those precious toys!

Did I mention we love to smile! yes..........course not for the camera! well, that's all for now...hopefully soon we will be able to show our little guy! I would not complain one bit if he was ready as we spoke!

Belated update!

2009-01-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been crazy busy.......I'm trying to deep clean my house and finish some other projects before this little guy comes! I feel like it's still a good chunk away, but also right around the corner! aaaahhh! My sister Jeanette is also prego and found out she is having twins(I've been teasing her she was prego with twins 'cuz she was a lot sicker than her other two...who knew I can tell the future! crazy!) so, we've been way busy!...........so I'lll try to give an update what we have been doing just before Christmas 'til now!

Well, it snowed like a week before christmas, and man, I've never seen so much snow in sunny St. George. We enjoyed the day 'cuz daddy got a snow day(yay) and we had some fun!

Gracie wasn't quite sure of the snow, but man she sure looked cute......don't ya think! She had this cute little waddle trying to walk in her snow outfit! precious!

Savanna loved loved loved it! She made snow angels and a snow man with daddy! She even got to taste it and make snow balls. It was a full on tantrum when it was time to come in! She is definitely like her daddy in loving the snow. I love it, but love to visit it and then leave.

I do love that she loves being outside........keeps me active and remember how fun it is to be a little kid discovering!looks like we found daddy's ski goggles.......she wore them all aday and every day all day when I forgot to put them away after that............I think she's pretty cute!Grandpa Dennis came to visit and boy did the girls(and us of course) love him being here. savanna is still talking about him and that we need to go get him.

Grandpa Dennis got them these huge teddy bears, some movies, and for christmas, these big wheels.......they were so excited about everything! Yep, we are still watching christmas movies!These are the dresses I made for the girls for christmas! I even made the head band bows. My friend Ellen Bennett in my ward helped me make them 'cuz let's just say, I had no idea what I was doin! It was not easy, but man they sure turned out good! Of course, we get to church and ten minutes into the meeting savanna spills her watered down juice all over the front of it! such is life of a two year old right?!THis is a picture of us on Christmas Eve, we have a tradition in my family that I'm carrying over into our little family that you open a present on Christmas Eve and it's pajamas, then we all go get in them and wear them for the family pic! I love this tradition. We had a relaxing christmas eve...tried to do the acting out of the First Christmas manger scene....yeah, I need to get more creative........it lasted maybe 3 min. Now, on to the assembling of toys!

Yeah, that was so much assembling that I think we were busting up through half of it ready to pee our pants in wondering how we got ourself into this! Next year, we might invest in pre-assembled stuff........worth it!They loved it though! THey got these strollers and cabbage patch babies from mommy and daddy, a kitchen from santa and stuff in their stockings from santa, the big wheels from grandpa dennis, some fun tights and stuff from Grandma/Grandpa Fry(thanks mom), and these cute cute sleeping bags from Grandma Jackie that has their names embroidered on them. The girls loved it!we also went and saw the temple lights and the gals loved it! We were a little slow at making our ginger bread house before christmas so we made it on christmas. The gals loved that as well, enjoying the yummy candy moreso in the mouth than on the house!

well, that's the update, now back to teaching, schooling and cleaning and to get ready for the little guy!
Sheesh! Are we tired!

Happy 31 weeks!

2008-12-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Yay! I'm on the down slope............!?! It's a little nerve racking to have another baby coming,but it sounds so nice to be done! It's going to fly by with the holidays. I feel like I have so much to still prep! I went and bought a couple outfits........there are some cute cute boy stuff! I have more heart burn than I've ever experienced with my other two. He's an active little stinker! I was hoping for more mellow as my other two never stopped......oh no, he might be exactly like his sisters...........but I will be lucky if he is!

Attention!

2008-12-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hey! I need addresses to send christmas cards to. If you would like one, please send me your address to mcduffiemom@hotmail.com. Thank you!

Lots to be thankful for!

2008-12-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

well, this thanksgiving post was meant to happen quite awhile ago, but what can you do? LIfe keeps happening............can you get the flu twice.........and in the same month? Yep, you sure can! WE can attest to that as of this past week. It started Thanksgiving night, I was planning to go do the fun "Black Friday" fest, but woke up to Gracie crying. Normally, I let them cry back to sleep, but I felt to go check on her, so I did and there was vomit everywhere. So, Mo and I had our work cut out for us that night. She was in so much pain 'til sat. Then I started Sunday morning 'til mon. morning, Mo mon. morning (and he's still recovering) and then poor savanna started last night! It has been awful! Mo lost 11 lbs. in one day! ONe day! WE finally took him in and he got this shot and has slowly recovered since.............I have never seen someone in so much pain! He had no in between relief for well over 30 hours. I have never felt so sick and so exhausted and have shed so many tears in a long time. It has been so trying, but I have been so grateful..............it's amazing to realize how much you love your best friend and your children.......and how you find the strength to keep going for them. Thank goodness for a loving heavenly father, who allowed us all to get it at different moments so I could get grounded a little to take care of everyone! I am grateful for my family! This was our first thanksgiving doing our own thing and it turned out well! I had so much fun doing my own turkey! It was hard to not have my parents here,but life moves on and I wouldn't wish them anywhere else. Now, I just hope I can catch up on everything I have put off this week! Sorry no pics, I'm too tired to get them!

Happy Birthday Babe!

2008-11-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

It's my hubby's birthday today! What can I say, I love this man! He's the most amazing person I have ever met! He is my best friend and I feel I've known him my whole life! We can be doing nothing and be having the time of our lives laughing. He is such a hard worker......He's up early taking care of the girls so I have more timeto sleep, he rides his bike to work and back most of the week, he manages to do everything asked of him at work, then schoolwork, and then comes home and is mr. mom 'cuz I am so tired and sick! He loves his woman in his life: me, savanna, and gracie, his mom, mom in law, and his grandma! he soon will have a little guy to watch and care for and I hope he turns out just like his daddy! He is such a hands on daddy and the girls love him for it! He is always striving to be better and serve HIs father in Heaven, which helps me get my butt into gear! I"m so so so glad he chose me and that he loves me the way he does. I love you mo! Happy Happy Happy Birthday!

2008-11-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well, halloween was fun! I wanted to post this earlier, but let's just say the "flu" got in the way! Yep! Love the Flu! Monday night, Savanna, MOrgan and Gracie all got hit with it, and I was up all night cleaning and recleaning floors, towels, blankets, and holding my poor girls! So far, I haven't gotten it. We are looking better, lots of disinfecting , lots of laundry and we are well on our way! I hope hope hope I don't get it! Back to Halloween... we had a monkey and a lion. Savanna loved to growl when we would ask her what a lion says. When we asked Gracie what a monkey says, it was definitely a growl too to be like her sister! It was cute! I made the head pieces and tails, so don't look too close. They kept trying to go in everyone's home! cracked us up!

2008-10-31T12:05:00.001-07:00

I was tagged awhile ago and I've been really slow...........so here is this tag..........
I am... happy it is halloween!
I think... about how crazy we are for having two kids two and under and another like 3months away! yikes!
I know... my husband thinks I'm hot......I could come home with bright orange hair and he'd think I'm the most beautiful thing ever.............funny thing is that I'd know he really means it!
I want... to be full of energy!
I have... everything I could wish for........married to my best friend for forever and have the greatest family(extended on both sides too!)ever!
I wish ... that I wasn't sick.........course it has helped me from eating like a maniac and all the foods I crave......'cuz I know the result!
I hate...feeling manipulated! Drives me crazy!
I miss... my Mom and Dad! love you guys!
I fear... losing a kid or my hubby!
I feel... sick :(
I hear... nothing! Aaaah! My girls are down for a nap! I should be down for a nap!
I smell... burnt rubber.....don't ask!
I wonder... How many kids we'll have, where life is going to take us, and what my girls and this boy are going to be like!
I regret... not being better at calling people(especially family) to check up on them!
I love... Mo, my girls, my family
I always... tell my girls and my husband, like a million times a day, that I love them!
I believe... I choose to be who I want to be...........happy!
I don't always...have enough patience..........really , who does?
I win... games when Mo isn't playing.......or it's like the millionth time.......He's too good at games... he has a very strategic mind!
I lose... to Mo all the time with games..........except I'm pretty good at the teasing game!
I never... can handle shows where kids are mistreated or killed..........it is too sensitive of a subject now that I have my own and know how precious they are!
I listen... to my girls laugh..........love the sounds they make!
I am scared of... spiders...........black widows...........we get some scary looking ones around our home.
I read... a lot of books- Jane Austen has been my favorite author lately! Ilove my girls books and they love to be read to.
I am happy about... being me. sure I can be better..........but I'm grateful for a hubby that has always thought the world of me and believes in me that I believe in me and want to be better!
I tag Jocee, Karleena, Amy, Esther and Megan!

Gotta love Daddys!

2008-10-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

My hubby had to do a presentation for one of his classes in his degree and used this cute cute cute commercial... we got the biggest kick out of it! All I know is this is my hubby in a couple of years, involved 100% in whatever our children decide to do...........enjoy!

Missed us?!

2008-10-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.........we have been so busy, I kind of put blogging on the back burner. First of all, we have been potty training with miss Savanna Banana.........let me tell you , the first couple of days, I wanted to die! I thought, really, what is the big deal of potty training......this is a nightmare. She made major progress......even the first day.......Now, she is a big girl! Yay! We have little accidents here and there......Like peeing all over our nursery leader :O).....and pooing has taken more time to get used to going in the potty(which can be messy) but she pretty much will tell me when she needs to go. She still isn't potty trained at night.......which I'll get to eventually......one step at a time right?! right! NOw she's my cheerleader when I got to the bathroom......I'm not quite sure how I feel about that! Gracie is learning to feed herself. I have put this off, 'cuz let's face it, sometimes we can only handle one mess at a time. She is quite funny and really is so proud when I hand her the spoon.............this little giggle escapes her mouth! I love it! I am 23 weeks today and the pic. I have is me at 20 weeks. They moved my due date up to Feb. 11th, 'cuz he was week big and we weren't quite sure when my period had started, so , I won't complain about that......... I can't believe I am almost there. Being really busy sure makes it go faster. well, I must be going, both girls are screaming at me........aaaaaaaaahhh...... tis music to my ears!

savanna going to get her "Big Girl Panties" And what way to get more pumped other than listening to fun 80s music......."She works hard for the money"

Savanna checking out her stickers for her pee pee and poo poo chart!!!!!!!!!!!
I found Savanna like this on the toilet..........yes that is a pullup......yes it is clean! she's into hats!
my two peas in a pod.

Gracie conquering the spoon!
That's my girl........who needs a spoon anyway!

me at 20 weeks.........

We've got the Blues!

2008-09-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, if you are thinking what I'm thinking...............you guessed it! We have a little baby boy coming to our family! THere is no mistaking the little boy, he was not shy at all! He is so cute! I guess that will make up for him being a stinker for not letting up on me being sick! Ah, tis life! I have no idea how to do boy! I don't even know if I have girls down yet! I'm nervous yet way way way excited! I actually had a dream about a little boy chillin' on our bed. He was perfect! Guess I'll find out if that is my little guy coming!

You KNow you are sleep deprived when........

2008-09-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

What really constitutes a sleep deprived person? Could it be when you have changed so many diapers in the morning, just the morning, and have been running around entertaining the gals, just to get them so tired and wrestle them into their room to take a nap so you have the bliss of time to yourself to I dunno take a nap.........only to wake up to the sounds of a crying angry child.......to go into their room to pick her up and find her beyond soaked...........to be thinking, "What the?" to feel around only to feel the soft little cheeks of a bare bum...........to look around for the escaped diaper.........only to realize you had forgotten to put a diaper on the girl in the first place prior to the nap?! Or is that just a spacy prego mom?! Really , who does that (all fingers point to me) :)

Go Mommy Go!

2008-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry, been busy and haven't posted for awhile! I meant to post this weeks ago! I am not one to like to brag, but I am very excited about this! I finally got all my credits up to UVSC(now UVU) and filled out and was accepted to get my Associates of Science finally! It has taken me since we were married to buckle down and fill out the graduating application! But I finally did it and here it is! I have my Associates! I know that it's only an Associates, but it was one of my goals! Now, when the time is right for us, I will go back and get my RN. Right now we are working on MO's masters! He started two weeks ago and let's just say, I'm not looking forward to these next two years! I keep telling myself.......it's worth it, we'll be done sooner than later, education is worth it and the sickness of being prego will soon wear off! Right?! So, go MO.......we'll see you in two(j/k)

Happy Birthday Gracie!

2008-08-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, Gracie turned one on THurs., Aug. 14th! It was so fun to go into their rooms and sing it to Gracie. Savanna said "happy birday gracie"! Gracie really didn't care, just loved the attention. Well, we opened some presents and had her wear this cute cute outfit and shoes from her Aunt and cousins on Mo's side! She looked so cute! Notice the cute piggies! She didn't know what to do with the presents or the cupcake. Savanna just dove right into the cupcake. I can't believe my girl is one! It went by so fast! I love her! She is momma's girl! She has beautiful eyes and these curly long dark eyelashes! She makes us smile! I love her voice! I love her snuggles and I love her stubborness(which can drive me crazy at the same time.........how is that?). She loves her older sister and will follow her around and want to be apart of everything she is doing(which drives Savanna crazy). She is wonderful and we love her. We had avery low key birthday, just family and swimming and good ol cup cakes. It was just perfect for a one year old. We love you Gracie! Happy birthday!

Well, I would've posted that earlier, but I actually was gone for the weekend. Yep, My sis. Jeanette and I headed down to LA to see my younger sis. NO children! It is always so hard to leave my girls, but it was a needed break! I get so nervous leaving them though! But it was nice to know that they were left in good hands. we went to a performance that danni was apart of that her school put on. SHe even choreographed one of the dances, which turned out to be one of the highlights of all the dances(coming from her teachers). It was funny, witty and very very good! WEst Hollywood is an interesting place; I saw enough to last me for a long time! People are very interesting. I won't share much, let's just say that one experience, we were leaving where we went and saw merilyn Monroe's grave and i thought this guy was a statue, oh no, just a guy squatting in front of everyone. when he brought his head up, that was good enough for me to realize this was not a statue and I sure didn't need anymore info to see what was going on. We stayed in the LA Temple housing. My aunt and uncle work in the temple so stay in their housing so we stayed with them(no room in my sis's apt.) My bro. Jeff was there with one of his mission friends. We then went to Manhattan beach on Sat. to see my father in law Dennis. WE had lunch and browsed through the beach stores.(thanks dennis for lunch, tour, shoes for the girls). CAn I just say how perfect the weather was! I just wanted to go lay on the beach and fall asleep! It was gorgeous. After that, Jeanette and I headed home! It was short,but nice and fun to see my lil sis.

update on kiddos

2008-08-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and we are hecka busy, so I thought I would just take some time and give updates on our kids!

Savanna: This girl is a fireball! One minute she's an angel, the next minute she's throwing a fit 'cuz she's not getting her way(like yesterday at Chuckarama...we had an encore when we left). My favorite is when my back is turned and Gracie starts crying so I turn around and savanna is looking at me and hurries and gives Gracie a hug, smiling her cute innocent smile... little stinker! I can't fully get mad at her 'cuz I have no idea what happened! She likes to test buttons. I feel that I tell her no a lot, so I try to get creative on saying no, but not quite saying the word "no", 'cuz now she'll say, "no no mommy...no no". SHe has such a sweet side. SHe loves to read, so she'll bring me a book and want me to read to her. There have been times where she'll read me her version of the story, and then say "Amen". She loves bubble baths and will spend forever in there with the bubbles. Everyday this girl will bring me her swimsuit and say, "Go swimmim? yay!!!" and throw her hands up in the air! SHe loves the water and swims on her own with arm floaties. She'll even go down my parent's slide all by herself if we'll catch her at the end. She loves being outside and loves to swing. She is such the helper too! I was picking out some dead flowers and raking the ground in our flower garden, and she was such the helper that she began to take out live flowers. I tried to save them, but that night when I went to check on them, they were scorched. She loves her sister and sharing a room with her. It's a party when we leave! She is in a big girl bed, which she has done well, but I must tell you this means all kinds of stuff in her bed when we check on them later. Gracie will end up with all kinds of blankets to keep her warm, courtesy of the big sis. She'll even tuck me in and kiss me goodnight when I'm laying on the couch or floor when their playing. She loves to talk and is obsessed with Backyardigans movies and Word world movies wehave..........which I'm in desperate need of a break! She is so into friends, that when they offer her to come and play, she doesn't think twice about leaving me and is beyond sad to come home. I don't know how I feel about that! All I know is that I gotta love this girl!

Gracie: She is a fireball in her own way. SHe has been more layed back, but man, she definitely has a side where she knows what she wants. SHe is walking and into everything. SHe started a week before her 11month mark. Has to keep up with the sis.! Now she thinks she can climb on everything! We started time out with her, but I dont know if it works, 'cuz she just sits there and smiles at us the whole time, or makes cute little faces we've taught her. I might have to come up with a diff. type of time out! She won't sit still for nothing. She loves loves loves walking! SHe loves outside, but I don't quite go out very much, 'cuz she'll stick everything in the mouth(yuck) SHe loves whole milk and loves our food! THis girl didn't let us give her baby food, oh no...............the only thing she has let me feed her with a spoon is yogurt. So, she's been on our food since 6months, just small pieces.........which saved us money so no complaints here. She's a momma girl and I think is going to have a rough time when the new baby comes! SAvanna was miss busy, but Gracie is one that likes me near and loves to give me cuddles! She is a sweetie, but I can never get a lot done! SHe loves to play the game where I tell her I'm going to get her and she starts to go faster( love to see babies try to go faster) and has this cute giggle! She always gives smiles and is so sweet!

New baby: Well, we heard the heartbeat last mon. It was really neat! I'm humbled and grateful for this first moment! OUr doc. had the ultrasound machine(an old one) in the office, so he let us go see, and the baby is so cute and small! Now which will it be? Will it where blue or pink?

I love my kiddos and they keep me very very busy!

Good 'ol Frostop!

2008-07-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

So, My bro.-n-law Wyatt's family now own Frostop, so we like to go there to support and come on, let's face it, their food is yummy and love love love their ice cream! I had none of it on Sat. when we went! WHy?! I'll tell you why! We get there with my sis. and her hubby and kids and are waiting in line to order ours. Gracie is a little fussy and really quiet at the same time! I was busy taking care of Savanna to really worry or be concerned about this...'til MO handed her to me to get our ice cream! SHe was so sad and just was laying against me when it happened! Throw up all over me! It was so chunky! I felt so bad for her 'cuz she wanted to lay back against me again, but I was trying to not get it all over her face! So, I'm holding this girl, holding all the throwup on me as to not get it all over and Mo is trying to hurry and get savanna taken care of to come help me! AS you can imagine, the throwup smell to anyone is less than desirable, but my stomach is already beyond queasy so you can imagine how it was for me! I had to do everything not throw up myself! WE got gracie naked and mo washed out her clothes, then I was wiping it off me, knowing there is no way I can sit here in this shirt, so now I own a FRostop shirt! THe owner, Kim Garrett, wyatts dad wouldn't let me pay for it! So thank you fRostop! Gracie was back to her happy self after, and I couldn't even look at any food for a couple of hours! Good times Good times! YOu may be asking yourself what has the flower to do with anything, I'll tell you, I picked the wrong photo and my computer is acting funny and i can't erase it, so oh well!

long time no blog

2008-06-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

These last couple of weeks has been pretty filled and a little crazy, so I've put blogging to the side! Now that we have the internet(yay, we're moving up in the world of technology), I thought it was time for an update. To warn you, this may be a little long.........but it counts for like 4 weeks worth of experiences... To start off, MO's dad Dennis came into town the end of May for a week and a half. I didn't post any pics of that fun experience, so I thought I would!

pictures of our beautiful flower garden that Grandpa Dennis planted...Savanna loves to help me dig and water the flowers!

Grandpa took the gals shopping and spoiled them...Love the sunglasses!
Savanna loved the big meals we through for my parents leaving...Dennis' idea and he really was the cook behind the scenes.........just love his homemade fries and asparagus...savanna loved the brownies!
We had such good time savanna is still asking for g'pa dennis! Thanks dennis again!

Jeanette and Wyatt and their kids have moved back, so it has been all about hanging with the cousins....it can get pretty crazy! But way way way fun!

lots of parks to break the cousins into!tons of pool time and G'ma's house(now Jeanette and Wyatt's home while my parents are away)

tons of yummy food to eat! Right?!So, the girls have been better at playing and sharing...........savanna is helping herself to gracies snack, mind you that savanna has part of her snack in her hand.........gracie doesn't seem to mind. She likes to play with whatever savanna has, which savanna will have none of that! lots of patience on my end...........I think I fail! I have become obsessed with making hair bows! My friend invited me to this club/group where she was teaching the women to make hair bows! My other friend is also obsessed with this before I went to this class, so she and I went to get some flowers at the graveyard......yes, I know what you are thinking............we stole from dead people! NO no no.........before you judge......know that my friend was curious, so she asked the people who keep up on the grave yards what they do with all the flowers after awhile..........they do a lot of fake flowers now........and he said they chuck them after a time! So, she asked when they do that, and he said that she was welcome to come the night before.....after dusk........and she could take them.....I guess a lot of grannies do it........so we did! Now I know how to make bows....and flower ones too! It has been so fun! I went shopping to get some rine stones and some ribbon on sale and savanna, no joke, fell asleep in the cart! it was so funny! she was being offly good, now I know why! ps. I made the hair bow that is in her hair! Then, we've had tons of celebrating the birthdays before G'ma and G'pa Fry left. Payton(6) and Trey (3)had a birthday together and then Kate turned one! What better reason to not get together and pig out on cake and ice cream eh?

I think Kate was so excited for her party that she pooped out!My Parents had their farewell two weeks ago, so we had tons of company! WE did a big bbq the day before and a luncheon after their farewell........then did an open house for them a couple of days later! They did a wonderful job! I won't lie, I cried! I'm so proud of them and so happy for them, but I'm sure going to miss them!On June 18th, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! My hubby was so cute and sweet! He had a bunch of envelopes and quotes from people on what helps strengthen marriages, then we would go and do that! We had a blast! Shout out to my wonderful hard working husband whom I deeply love and admire and look up to(in more than one way:)) He's my hunk, my Knight and shining armor, and more I could've ever wished for! Thanks for putting up with me and still want to babe!

Thurs., June 19th, all my brothers and sisters, my parents and grandparents went up to SLC to to have my parents get set apart by Pres. Packer! One of the neatest most spiritual experiences of my life! I met one of the special witnesses of Jesus Christ! He was so powerful and the blessings He and Elder Watson on my parents was incredible! We got to say hi to Elder Cook and President Uchtdorf and Elder Perry! What a neat day!

Sat., June 21st a couple of us drove up and dropped my parents off at the MTC! I just bawled! It was tears of sadness, but also tears of joy! I know what my parents are doing is right! I know the gospel is true and the Lord's work is true! We plan to go visit for our 5th wedding anniversary! I love my parents and their example to put aside the comforts and security of home and serve the Lord! It has been an uphill battle since they were extended the call! WE've all been bombarded by the adversary! But, my parents have overcome it! They have been refined for the Lord's work! I love them! I support them all way!

Now, the last news of what has gone on with us..........if you are wondering about the new lilypie addition to the blog............it's true! It has been a big knock on the head! We are expecting our third! It wasn't planned and we hadn't even thought about it! I was hoping for a bigger break! But, all in all, I'm pregnant and due in February! I really don't know our exact due date, 'cuz I wasn't paying attention to menstrual cycle...........but I know about the time. I've been very overwhelmed at the idea of 3 under 3....I'm no supermom! I get really scared and nervous! I'm sick and nauseous all the time! But, the love that I have for the little person growing inside of me and knowing they need to come far outweighs all other...I'm excited and I'm very grateful to be able to have the children that I have! so here we go! Thanks for reading! I know it was long!

A great time with G'pa Dennis!

2008-06-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

Mo's dad came into town for almost two weeks and it was a blast! I've been prepping Savanna with a pic. of G'pa so she'd know who he was! For sure! She was shy at first as she is with anyone she doesn't quite know, remember or hasn't seen for awhile....but soon she was blowing him kisses giving him kisses goodnight and always always saying "G'pa Dennis, where'd he go? Oh there he is!.....G'pa Dennis, come'ere!" so cute and funny! We had a fun time taking him to the fun parks we like in town, swimming, and just chillin' at home. He was so kind and planted a little flower garden for us and filled my front pots with beautiful flowers so when you come up to the front you are greeted by them and their smell! He even planted some at my parents house down the street! He spoiled us so much that we don't know what to do with ourselves....Thank you G'pa Dennis for a fun trip! It was so fun to see you....and we hope to see you again soon! Love ya!

ps.......I, for some reason cannot get my computer to let me put pics on my blog, so as soon as I can I'll post them!

Funny story!

2008-05-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, this week we had to go up to SLC for going over our contract and benefits one day, then the other day was a big seminar for all the new hired teachers. It was a long couple of days,but really awesome! Well, we left real early Wed. to get back to our girls, and I was driving....I looked at the speedometer and realized I was going too fast, then of course I look up and a cop is there. Bummer! So I get pulled over and really bummed about it........the guy does his shpeel and comes back to give me the ticket.................so the damage is done, then he says before leaving, "How do you like this outfit?" Um..............I just sat there not knowing what to say, confused that he was trying to carry on a conversation, confused that he asked us about his outfit, did the officers get new uniforms? What do you say to that, 'cuz we weren't sure.........both mo and I are just sitting there confused..........then it clicks, "Oh you mean the car" I wanted to say, "Yeah, it runs great and is quite fast", but wasn't quite sure how he'd take it seeing he just gave me a ticket. We laughed the whole way home.............. Mo thought about saying....."Um...tan is your color man" Oh man, I've never heard anyone call a car an outfit......maybe i'm out of the times or something. Anyway, we thought it was hillarious!

Yay(and sigh of relief)

2008-05-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

So, we finally know where we are headed.................to my Alma mater school! So cool and so weird that my husband will now be teaching there! I'll feel like a super super super super super super super senior going to the games, but we want to support the kids at the school..........plus, games are fun especially if you know the kids! We are so excited and so relieved not having to get our house ready to sell and sold by aug........especially how wonderful the housing market is...............I know all would work out if we were asked to move........but so so so glad we aren't. I'll get to stay close to fam. and friends for a little longer! I feel very lucky! my sis. will be moving into my parents house and live there while they're gone, so we are way excited to play!

Wahoo....She's 2

2008-05-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

My little gal turned two today............on mother's day! If you ask her how old she is, she'll say "one" and hold up her whole hand! We celebrated it last night! We bbq-ed at a park and had family and friends there! It was a blast! Savanna wanted to swing the entire time! We had to get her distracted to do other things with the other kids. Mo took her and some others down the slide doing a train! It was quite the site to see........I made cupcakes in the shape of Blue from Blue's Clues, 'cuz she loves it! Poor Gracie was not having as much fun! She has like all of her front teeth coming in on top! Plus, she had a fever, which has lasted all night and all today and now savanna has a fever...we went to instacare, but the wait was two hours so opted to come back 'cuz the gals were exhausted and needed to sleep so we'll see how it pans out! Their cousin had strep that they were around(didn't know he had it either), so we'll see if that is what's going on! Today, for savanna's real b-day and mother's day, she and I had waffles in our bed and watched one of her movies! It was so fun! I am sitting here just in awe that she's two! I can't believe how much she has grown from a baby to a little girl! I love her so much and don't know what life would be like with out her........even when we butt heads :) She's amazing! She loves:

-Her little sister! They share a room and jabber back-n-forth all the time! I wake up to the sounds of them giggling with excitement in the morning(even when its 6-6:30 am....how can you be mad at that)...She is always trying to steal away some food and feed it to Gracie(which sometimes it's okay, but then it's also nerve racking when she tries to do big things)...She has to come with me to get gracie. If we get ready to go somewhere, she's the first to remind me that we need Gracie to come! She kisses and says "come ere" to her when she cries! She'll share sometimes,but not all the time! She loves to say,"Hi Gracie"

-To help mom and dad out! She will throw her diapers away, she'll help sweep and hold the dust pan. She loves to help out with the laundry, I try to put it away, but it always ends up back in the hamper..hmmmm... She brings Gracie her bottle and will hold it there for her.

-People! She loves her cousins and her aunts and uncles and talks about them! She loves all of her Grandparents..we have pics of them that she'll kiss goodnight and can name them(but won't everytime). She is so giddy to have people over to play with.

-Signing! She is very good at it! It's something that I enjoy doing with her and actually it has helped her learn words.

-Mommy's(or should I say "money" 'cuz that is what she calls me") shoes and head bands. She'll come out in my high heels with a headband on and I'll say pretty, and she'll brush her hair and put on this cute smile like she knows! I love it when she'll come out and say "pwitty".

-Animals...especially our neighbors dog...if I mention to go outside and play, she automatically says"Doggy" or "Hartlee"........then we have to go and see him! She loves birds and cows and horses and pigs! She loves this stuffed animal Kangaroo that she has to sleep with every night and at nap time!

-Learning. She loves the alphabet and loves numbers and I'm starting to introduce them in sign language! She loves singing songs and it's so fun to hear her just belting it out(Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, or twinkle twinkle)...and man is she a dancer. She'll rock out when she eating!

-Being goofy! When daddy comes home its' party time! We'll chase her, play peekaboo, race on her little car, tickle...she's an amaziing tickler to us!

-Jesus! SHe knows who he is and knows Him in pictures! I love this!

I could go on forever! I'm just so excited she's in our family and am looking forward to all the fun things we'll encounter together this upcoming year! Happy Birthday Savanna! WE love you! Thanks to all who are and have been apart of Savanna's life!

Tired tired tired!

2008-05-05T19:53:00.001-07:00

This is the lovely position I found Gracie the other day! I clean at my parents a couple times a week, and so I put her down in the play pen...went to check on her a while later and found her like this...my guess is that she was sitting up playing, then got tired and fell over with the thumb in the mouth......? I thought it was so cute, so funny and so uncomfortable at the same time! What do you think?

Sorry Ken!

2008-05-02T09:44:00.001-07:00

So, how do you know if a two year old is having boy trouble?

We thought this was so funny! Our neice(Zoe') gave us a bride and a groom barbie and ken doll before we got married, so we've kept them.......savanna somehow found the Ken doll and decided that that is where he belonged! Cracked me up!

Thinning!

2008-04-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

My hubby had to go help with father and sons outing, so what did we do? We went to the Church's orchard and thinned apricots! I was a little nervous about this, but my friend Jennifer came with me and helped out with the kids. It was a blast! As soon as Savanna learned how to pick the apricot and throw it on the ground, she was in heaven! She loved the concept.........which will make it very fun to help her learn that that isn't always acceptable! But for the moment, I let her have fun......... a little too fun! There was no thinning for her, it was complete take off! Cracked me up.........it was just at the bottom, so I hope it doesn't make a huge difference. Gracie was strapped in the back pack and tried to be sneaky and pick leaves/apricots to eat them.....luckily she didn't get too lucky! It was a great outing!

Fun times!

2008-04-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

So, I have some friends that go to Story Time at the new library, then go afterwards to the river walk...........I call it this.........it's like a little park with water and has a river where kids can run in it and have fun! I don't go to the Story time 'cuz savanna's attention span isn't there, so I'll sometimes go after to the river walk! It's a blast! SAvanna is in heaven.....splashing around and loves climbing on the rocks.............just running free makes this girl happy hands down! Well, this last time wasn't particularly as fun! We get there and five min. into it...........savanna misread a step and head planted it into a metal bench. It took a sec for the shock to wear off and she starts bawling. I go to get her and see that she has split her chin open and is bleeding......Oh great right? So, I'm trying to keep her out of the water and put a wet wipe on the ouie! Hoping that I don't have to go get stitches for it, my friend amy points out Gracies' face! 1/2 of her face is all red and her eye is swollen shut! She either was having an allergic reaction to the sunscreen, or it had gotten into her eye and was reacting...... think the latter 'cuz I've put the sunscreen on her before! So both girls are freaking out at the same time...........I parked forever away 'cuz of no close spaces available............so I started freaking out and shutting down on knowing what to do........luckily my friends helped. I was able to give gracie to Amy, Jodi went to get a bandaid for savanna, I could get savanna an apple slice to calm her down and distract her from the water for the moment and clean her up. I wiped GRacies face a lot with water and it seemed to help, so I kept her busy by feeding her banana and bits of bread! I called mo and he came to help me get them into the car to get home. We kept the band aid on and waited for our doc. to call. Savanna fell asleep and I gave Gracie a bath to get it all off her........she looked good as new. Our doc. called and told us to come in if we were worried 'bout either. Savanna's slit had closed and stopped bleeding, so I opted to stay home and just put neosporin on it.......So, it ended up okay! Phew!

P.s. these pics were acouple of weeks ago..........not yesterdays experiences.

The Long awaited post(at least for me)

2008-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

So.............big Shout out to my Hubby! He has worked so hard with two really time consuming jobs and a whole lotta girls to tend to at home(3girls, 1 boy.......we rule!) It has all paid off! WE found out Thursday...........and waited all day to find out so we were basically crazy all day to know.........he was offered a Job with Seminary full time! I wanted to post it the moment we found out, but we needed to first tell family and some close friends. Can I just say it has been a very emotionally wearing and physically wearing year....Mo has been picked apart and put back together so many times with being observed this year than he probably ever wants to be again! It was all worth it, 'cuz he has become an amazing teacher that will keep getting better and better. We need good teachers for the youth out there. I'm so excited for my Mo! He has been so excited and so happy about this! The odds were very against us! It was a very hard week, but that's always how it is when you are close to the end of a trial! We don't know where he'll be teaching, so we could end up in Ut., Idaho, or AZ....but I'm pretty sure they'll keep us here(at least that's what I tell myself :)) Thanks for all the love and support our family and friends have given us! We have felt so so so loved! Good job babe! You've worked so hard and have found what you really enjoy doing and I can't wait to work side by side with you on this new journey! I love you tons!

My lovely day!

2008-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

So if you're day was like this:
get up to workout at 5(yes five.....no typo.......doesn't happen everyday, just when I'm motivated)
go around and pick up house for bugman
go get girls, change diapers, get dressed, feed
get brkfst for me while getting everything ready for walking(yes walking around neighborhood with mom and my friend Jennifer........called and invited me)
get home to find my fire alarm is going off..........more running around the house to make sure we're not on fire.
diapers changed and Gracie down
Savanna and mommy in yard, cleaning up messes in driveway
sprinkling sys. on, one section running while all other sections run..........still not turning off.........never turning off even though I turned the sys. off........running for help(lucky my dad lives two houses away.......literally........no joke)
running back with fire alarms going off again. and again........and again..........sprinklers still running.............Gracie awake 'cuz of fire alarms........Dad turns off valve to sprinklers...........Dad takes apart the culprit fire alarm.....
re-running around to have things re-picked up for bug man(can tell savanna has made her rounds)
feed girls lunch, play, changing diapers(how many times can you poop in a day people)
Savanna down
Gracie time.............happy, sad, happy, sad, want to stand(with help of course), want to sit, want to crawl , want to be held, want to be put down........we've done anything and everything........so time for Baby Einstein.
I shower, get dressed, mascara...............
feed Gracie bottle, change diaper
Gracie down,
I go to Massage Envy( can you feel the moment of silence..............may it last a little longer)
Come home, make dinner(with my hubby's help of course)
Hold Savanna, hold Gracie, hold at same time(yes..........I do do this when I'm tired of fighting whininess)
Feed Gracie
Cut Mo's hair
Give girls baths, make mo's lunch and brkfst for next day
Gracie playing with toes........gracie biting toes.........gracie crying!
Scrips, bottle, sippy, prayers, family motto(yep, we have a motto), fix our trees
go do some blogging.
............than you and I had a very similar day!

Daddy's girl!

2008-04-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Morgan would be so proud of her! I think both Grandpas would be proud too(just all she needs is her USC football jersey shirt on) I found her just chillin', watching her show holding the football and the sports blanket! Maybe our future tom boy? hmmmmmm...I don't think so...notice in the pic. that eventhough she is holding the football, she is very much crossing her legs properly... she is very much a girl and loves to put pretty things on,(even runs like a cute girl) but loves to play with trucks, get dirty and play with balls..........so I think she'll be a little bit of both.

PS........Mo would be happy and proud of his girls no matter what........I hope they don't find out that they have him wrapped around their little finger.........'cuz that could be dangerous!

Talent Show!

2008-04-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday, our ward had a Talent Show! I, being very pleased with my gals, signed them up! You might be asking yourself, "What can a 22 mo. old and a 7 mo. old do for a talent show?" I will tell you.........Gracie is an avid jumper in her jumper. She has perfect form....even at times pointing her little toes. This with a little bit of Van Halen's "Jump" song, sunglasses and a tutu(thanks Kerry) she soared to new heights and was a hit. Now Savanna............... she loves loves loves(did I mention loves?) to sing and do the hand motions to numerous of songs........her favorite being, "Popcorn Popping". We, savanna and myself, got up and she stole the show. She did "Popcorn Popping", and "Twinkle Twinkle"...........and the Grand Finale, we chose to sing her ABC's. She'll sing it all by herself at home..........but I knew most likely not in front a huge group, so I sang a part and would stop, then she'd sing the next part. As soon as she discovered her voice with the microphone........oh man! She went to town! The tutu she wore added to the overall cuteness of her success! So, you may not think with little ones that you can't participate in Talent shows,etc.................but you can! It was soooooooooooooooooooooo so so fun! I love my girls!

Gracie hangin with her daddy!

2008-03-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

I thought that this was so cute! She was hangin with her daddy, while he was trying to type.....don't worry, gracie was trying as well.........makes writing a line or two more effort than what it is worth at times! She saw me take a picture and smiled for the camera! She's a keeper don't ya think! She's been a lot happier since her bottom tooth finally came in(the other one 'bout to break).

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a good easter! My family was gone for the weekend to go visit my little sister in L.A., so i was a little sad, since my bro. just got home! but, we had fun anyway! We got together with some friends and their kids andhad a little easter egg hunt and a brunch saturday morning! The food was great! Savanna was so funny! She didn't understand why she couldn't hold all the eggs in her hands, so 'til she realized that the eggs weren't going anywhere in her basket, it was a fight to help her! She was doing awesome 'til she saw the slide........then it was over! Cracks me up! Oh well, less candy for her to eat(clear throat)--mainly less candy for me to eat! Gracie was just entertained, not quite sure everyone was running around , pulling things out of odd places.We found these adorable dresses for EAster sunday! I pulled out my old small small curling iron and curled savanna's hair in ringlets! She looked so beautiful! It was a relaxing and a fun fun day!

Here's the famous pics of Elder Jeffy home!

2008-03-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't he a cutie!?!

Elder Jeffy is back!

2008-03-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

My bro., younger bro., Jeffy(what I call him.......I can since I am his sis.) recently returned from a mission on Tues. My parents went to get him in Lima Peru. They were down there for a week touring with jeff. They went and saw some ruins of Macchi Picchu(k-no idea how to spell it). He's a cutie! I can't believe two years has come and gone..........seriously where does the time go? YOu can tell he has changed and worked really hard! I'm grateful for his willingness to serve the Lord and to serve those people! He's a greater person because of it! you can see it in his countenance. poor guy!---> He's having a hard time adjusting..........to english, having time to sit, no work, and try to get back into society! I'm so excited to have him back! He's amazing and I love him. I'm a little lazy to get pics up tonight, but I will tomorrow of him(so girls, you can send to all the single gals out there.......heeheehee........j/k). Thanks Jeffy for your dedication, hardwork, love and example!

Trip to Redding!

2008-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

For spring break, we decided to go and visit my sis and her hubby and kids in Redding Cali. It was very needed for all of us from the monotony and stress of everything. It was awesome! First, the drive down to Vegas wasn't too bad! We got to the airport and let me tell you, such a difference from our first trip to family, mo's sis. I swear I packed anything and everything for every situation.......for three people, we had like six bags. This time I packed one suitcase and had two carry ons for four people! It wasn't easy,but I did it! I don't want to brag but I feel pretty proud about it! Here's what I packed, now picture three times as much! (go ahead and laugh out loud, 'cuz for some reason we found it hillarious)

The plane ride started out a little scary. we did infant in arms, hoping to have an extra seat........don't worry, I had a seat window with a big guy next to me. There's no way for savanna to handle not moving........I felt so bad for the guy next to us..........but luckily it wasn't a full flight,s o we went into the back where no one was and could give savanna some space. I didn't have to use a movie 'til the very end for like five minutes. This is a big deal, 'cuz savanna can only handle sitting for long periods of time if she's being entertained.....usually a movie, and so far, we hadn't had to use it

WE got to Stockton Cali.(cheap cheap flights) where my sis. picked us up, we went to the park and then headed up to Stockton(2 1/2 hour drive) There we used suckers and movies. It worked out pretty well. We arrived at their place and it was awesome! It was 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, and a bigroom, kichen and 1/2 bathroom downstairs with two car garage and small back yard! It was beautiful! Wondering what they are doing?! They discovered that you can use mesh netting hampers for more things than just putting clothes in them......wear them and run around chasing each other(under parental supervision of course)

The next day we went on a hike to this really cool waterfall! It was easy for the kids and absolutely beautiful! I'm used to people saying a waterfall and meaning like a trickle of water falling........but this was huge! We went past a lake to get there..........it was beautiful........tons of trees and mountains everywhere!

In the afternoon we went to the park: Kids Kingdom.........k- it was the coolest playground I have ever been. All these passageways, secret passage ways, slides, swings, sand boxes, bridges, monkey bars.....I wanted to play on(and I did). They have water part too for when it is warm! The kids loved it!

The next day we went and walked the Sundial bridge and on some trails. It was really cool to see! Then we went and saw the Field of Dreams...........it's some soccer fields and baseball fields..........but like the coolest you've ever seen. They made it like you were in the New York Yankee stadium and others like it! For kids! If I were playing in the field I'd seriously feel like big money playing! It was so cool! We had to go to the mall...........so much nicer than our mall at home...I got some really cute red high heels and a hat! The kids played on an indoor playground.

The next day, we traveled back to the airport and then home. WE finished the trip off with pizza and a movie "August Rush" K- I thought that that was such a good movie! I loved loved loved it! If you haven't seen it and love music, I'd recommend it! We had a blast, I enjoyed being with my sis. and Savanna was so cute with Lucas. She'll be so bored with me this next week. Now, we need to go visit our other siblings soon! I think savanna is all tripped out though!

Russian!

2008-03-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

So, my parents are now learning Russian! The area in Ukraine they've been asked to be over is the Doneske' mission! They are predominantly Russian but do have a few areas that speak Ukranian, so they will keep brushing up what they have learned in Ukranian, but really start on Russian.............which has been quite a challenge. They are so similar in lingo, which makes small things confusing when having to change sounds and letters around. My mom was trying to explain the Russian alphabet to me Sun. night.........Um......yep, one ear and out the other.........it's gibberish to me! So fascinating but so hard to understand.........letters that look like our alphabet aren't the same sounds, then they have a whole bunch of interesting and neato signs that, again, over my head.............but my parents are awesome and know so much already. Here's the alphabet and our names in Russian! on the other side, my parents wrote our last name and our first names on down! Pretty nifty don't you think?

Gracie's First pony

2008-03-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

I decided to put Gracie's cute little hair in a pony tail last Sat. Isn't She so cute! Just in case you can't see it, it's there! It took some time and a lot of patience.......Gracie didn't like it so much! She has the cutest chubby cheeks around!

Fun Fridays!

2008-03-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

So, I've been babysitting my neice and nephew on Fri. The first time by the end of it(4hours) I was wiped out and frazzled 'cuz they all wanted to be entertained the entire time and of course Gracie doesn't like to be left out.........so holding her as well added to it. So, I try to have a lot of ideas and structured things to do. Welll, I decided we were going to the park to play! This will be a piece of cake.........right?! Wrong! Oh boy, was I wrong! First off, trying to get four kids five and under into our car was such a workout that I was ready to say, "okay, that was fun, everyone out!" It was a hilllarious sight. I had two frontward car seats in the middle seat and Gracies backward car seat in the middle of them. Was I thinking? no! I had to try to get Gracie buckled in with the other two trying to get in theres. Then, I had a "big girl car seat" for my neice in our back. Wow! lots of car seats! So, I get in, get going, thinking we conquered the worse, only to discover we've just begun! Yep! We get there, load everyone out, get to the jungle gym, get gracie and I situated..........to have my neice come up to me to say,"I forgot, I have to pee"!!!!!!!!! WHat?! Did I miss something! I don't have potty trained child, so I didn't think of having everyone go to the bathroom before! Don't worry, I pick a park with no bathroom. My options: Just have her pee in a bush or go to a hopefully friendly,unbugged neighbor to the park and ask to use the bathroom. We did the second! Really nice people......so we get done, all go back to the park to play! I'm feeding gracie just to look up to see savanna attempting a ladder to the jungle gym. Fearless one she is........don't worry! She falls flat on her bum, then hits her head on the metal...........i feel like I"m in slow motion to get to her, trying to set gracie down nicely and run to my screaming child.........not good! So I get her settled down in my arms after awhile just to have my neice come back up to me and say, "Oh no! I have to poo!" I'm not going back to the poor neighbors house, so I decided it was time to go home! So load the car back up(just as fun as before)........get home and ask my neice to go potty, to hear, "I don't have to anymore" So, it's a mystery folks, the poo disappeared! All I could do was laugh at my effort of trying to have fun! So, we made moroccas instead(don't worry, if you wanna know how, just check out busy happy children blog). Moral of the story, have a bigger car, ask kids to go potty, making morroccas makes all better.

End in sight!

2008-02-28T10:30:00.001-08:00

So, are yard is almost ready for sod! Do you have any idea how exciting this is!!!!!!! I"m so so so excited! It has been a long process. We've been doing it by ourselves.....majority of it! We had a huge huge hedge that we took out along our back wall......raised the wall(got help with that). Took down the cute play area down(it was pretty much falling anyway), had to dig down and make a cement outline along the house(we put our handprints in it!), tons of moving cement rocks, building a deck(don't worry, we did get help to finish it). Now, we were able to get a lot of dirt(a lot!) moved into the back yard to level the yard out more evenly since it was a major slope. Don't worry, the pile out in the front of our house was only half of what was there, now all is in back plus another huge pile that we already had moved back there from before. Kelli(mcarthur) and I spent many good times out there shoveling and barreling it back......thanks girl and all the neighbors that helped! We'd still be there working on it! Tons and tons of rodotilling since our yard was pretty much rock before and you have to have like 4 in. of good soil for the grass to grow! No wonder nothing grew! Now, were putting tar stuff(seriously looks very similar to the famous tar poop of newborns) on our wall so it doesn't leak through the wall into our neighbors. We will plant some trees and a make a little plant box, get our sprinklers in next week............and just keep treating the soil for sod! Yes! In a few weeks will be done with the back yard! My girls will be so excited to have a place to play! Yay!

Thank you Thank you!

2008-02-23T17:12:00.001-08:00

Savanna, I've decided, is the most polite girl I know! I've been teaching her to say thank you....and boy does she know it.......I'll give her stuff and she'll say, "Thank you, Thank you".......and when she gives me stuff she'll say, "Thank you, Thank you".......and when she gives stuff to or take away from Gracie she'll say, "Thank you, Thank you".......and even her toys she'll say, "Thank you thank you".......so, she's getting the jist of it. I think it is so cute!

Update on my parents!

2008-02-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

As you know, my parents were called to be mission presidents last dec. They'll leave the end of June! They are busy trying to get everything in order. My mom is busy trying to sell the salon! I think this would be a huge stress reliever for her, but if it doesn't happen, then me, my sis., my sis.-n-law and one of the girls in the salon will run it for her while she's gone. She has been getting their house organized and cleaning out stuff, getting rid of stuff, and putting stuff away! My sister and her hubby and kids are going to live here when they are gone(yay! the house won't be empty and it will be nice to have them close). My dad is gettting all his loose ends put together. While he's gone, his bro. that works with him will be over everything so my dad won't have to stresss about that! He's been doing the "honey do" list and little projects around the house. They actually feel gone in some ways.....they go to the MTC(mission training center) every wed. through sat. in Provo! They are learning Ukranian, but yet still have to learn what mission they will be presiding over! They are cute to watch! They study like crazy, and have these pink post-its all over with crazy looking symbols with what it means underneath. They try to use ukranian everyday! It is actually really cool and they have learned so so so much! They will do a great job!

Check it out!

2008-02-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

Hey bloggers! I just thought I'd give a shout out to two really helpful, cool, awesome, great, amazing, neato, super(k-I'll stop) blogs that will take away your worries of what to make for meals, and some new ideas of what to do with your kiddos...and, if you feel ambitious, you can even check the blogs out to find out how to give your ideas and recipes! I don't know 'bout you, but there are days where I don't know what to make, or feel that my kids and I do the same thing everyday.............I've enjoyed checking them out and want to start contributing! Check them out: www.24hourmenu.blogspot.com and www.busyhappychildren.blogspot.com

Past, Present and Future

2008-02-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

20 years ago I . . .

1. I was in preschool, trying to blow kisses across the room at a boy, who was looking at me when I closed my eyes and puckered up, but wasn't as soon as I opened them!

2. Was a new sister of my brother jeffy, four years younger than me.......I'm not the baby anymore?

3. Was busy living in south jordan, playing at the nearby park, friends houses, and loved playing in the waterthe water(swimming, sprinklers, puddles, etc.)

10 years ago I . . .

1. Fourteen!!!!!!!!! Every girl knows that that meant Stake Dances(church organized dances)! I swear I'd spend like the whole month planning on what I'd wear(I'm geeky I know). I remember my friends and I would count how many times we'd get asked to dance!

2. 9th grade, the stage when I thought boys my age were lame, 'til actually kinda had guys notice me(I must've grown out of my awkward stage: Blue eyeshadow caked on?! Seriously, how did my mom let me leave the house) and thought, hmmmm...maybe they aren't so bad!

3. 1st experience of high school swim team. I'd been on the age group team since like 8 years old,but hadn't experienced the famous swim team trips! It was quite an eye opener since it was coed! Let's just say I learned a lot!

5 years ago I . . .

1. I was 19, graduated from hair school(good times abs) and decided to spread my wings to good ol Long Beach Cali. I lived with my cousin and his wife(some of the coolest, most funny people I've ever met). I had so many cool, so many scary, so many weird experiences there. I think that might be california........a little taste of everything!

2. After Cali. went back to good 'ol St.George, Ut. and started school at Dixie College and worked at my mom's salon doing hair(and cleaned for my parents).

3. Did a summer semester in Hawaii with my good friend Maren, and met some of the coolest girls ever! I'll never forget how much fun we had! I don't think I'll ever be that tan again ever!

3 years ago I . . .

1. 21, I was filling out my papers for a mish, didn't feel right about it, went back up to Provo to UVSC to pursue finishing my associates in Science and finish all my pre-reqs for Nursing.

2. Met mo, the love of my life who claims that when we first talked, i was with my roomies, he came up 'cuz we were talking to his roomies. He felt to bust a joke in, and we all just stared at him......then I said, "um.......okay". Whatev!
3. Married Mo on June 18th, 2005!

1 year ago I . . .
1. I had a 9 month old Savanna and was getting ready for Gracie to arrive in August!
2. Living in St. George in a house!
3. Still cleaning for my parents house, and starting fun projects: girls room, back yard!

So far this year I . . .
1. am still working on the back yard and little odd things for the girls room(curtains, magnets for pics, stuff for Gracies name to be hung)
2. Busy running around the house with two girls! I love it, but man, I'm pooped at the end of the day
3. Still cleaning my parents house! Going to miss them like crazy when they leave for their mission!

Yesterday I . . .
1. Cleaned, played with my girls, delivered some valentines that I didn't on valentines day
2. went to some friends, put the girls down and played Settlers of Catan! I won! Beat that Mo (I'm a little competitive when it comes to games with my hubby.....he's so good at everything!)
3. ATe sugar cookies :)

Today I . . .
1. Went to the temple
.2. Working on the back yard(there is an end in sight)
3. Hangin with my honey after the gals go down!

Tomorrow. . .
1. sleep in(mo's turn to get up with the gals!!!!!!)
2. go to church and be spiritually uplifted!
3. Spend time with the family!

In the next year I shall . . .
1. Plan for our next baby.........hahahahaha, j/k! Nothing anytime soon!
2. re-plan our budget and actually stick to it!
3. Have a blast with my two gals and my cute hubby!

anybody who wants to do this has just been tagged. It's actually fun to remember where you were awhile ago 'til now!

Happy Valentine's Day(a little late!)

2008-02-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful holiday! Love is so special and I treasure all that I love! It was fun day for me. I decided to make a tradition with my kids to make valentines and send them out to family, then decided we'd wear all the pink and red that we can(if we have boys, don't worry, I won't make them wear pink)....then I decided we'll make sugar cookies and decorate them. We decided to decorate cookies with friends, so we went over to some friends and let the kids go to town...........savanna did! As you can see, she decided why waste the frosting on a cookie and just stick it to the mouth. I love her! That night, we double dated with another couple that we love: Wes and Amy.........had our kids and their kids babysat by a girl in our ward. She a great job(especially with so many). The guys made dinner and dessert,but we only made it to dinner! We were so full and were laughing the whole time at funny stories and how we react to things, etc. I could've peed my pants we were laughing so hard at times. I had a blast! I love my husband.........he did a series of gifts leading up to valentines 'cuz he know I love to have things to look forward to.........so he did little things that are so simple,but really get me excited. He's the sweetest man I could ever ask for! I lucked out! How can I get so lucky with an amazing hubby and two amazing little girls! hmmmmmmmmmmm...Happy Valentine's day to all! I hope you all felt loved.......if not, know that I love you!

Savanna

2008-02-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Savanna is so full of personality and attitude she cracks me up! I saw her trying to open a door with these sunglasses on and of course they were upside down! I love them so much more like that though........think I might try wearing mine upside down! Course, I don't think I can pull off the look like she can. She is 21 mo. old on the 11th..............can't believe it! She is a little girl, already into barbies stuffed animals and dolls.......she carries them around at my mom's house! Yet, you'll find her pushing around a monster truck...I think she's well rounded. She was playing with the phone and I came in the room and she was like pretending to talk to someone and laughing at what they obviously said while dancing! She loves "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" (Sunbeam: what they call the 3-4 yr. olds in primary at our church) and "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree" (a fun little song with a bunch of actions that she does all out). She knows all the alphabet(thanks to the toys that go over it from Grandpa Dennis) and tries to sing the alphabet song. She knows so many shapes, animals, some colors and some numbers(especially one two three 'cuz that is what I count if we are heading to timeout). I'm just blown away by her! Slow down so I can keep up! She's a little mommy to her dolls and tries to change their diapers and feed them. She just has a thirst for knowledge.......she blows me away! Whoever thought such young toddler would inspire me to be better. I thank my heavenly father everyday for her and Gracie! I feel so blessed and lucky..........that I don't deserve it, but I'll take it!

A breakthrough!

2008-02-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

You can introduce solids at 4 mo. if you wanna, but at 6mo. you need to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has taken me like 2 long months to get Gracie to eat solids! She has not wanted to at all. She would get so mad at me for trying and purse those lips as tight as possible so it was impossible to get into her mouth...........'til monday! This past monday I made chicken noodle soup, and we're all eating while Gracie chilled in the exersaucer by us. She was getting really frustrated and mad at us! I couldn't understand why, 'til I finally gave her a tasted of the broth..........that quieted her up in a hurry! Turns out, she wanted what i had given everyone........she'd open her mouth for it and all. I tried everything! I would make rice cereal with something sweet, with formula in it, alone, warm, cold, with my fingers(as you can see this attempt in the pic.) .....I've even put it all on the tray so she could put her hands in it and put her fists in her mouth since she loves to such on her fists and hands....also rice cereal in a bottle with the opening bigger........nothing worked! Just when I had come to terms with it and decided that it was okay.........she was healthy, so who cares if she doesn't eat food 'til she's like a year old........she decided she wanted it! It took her 'til she was basically 6 mo. old............she nowwill take rice cereal and I added some fruit to it last night. She only eats a couple bites, but I'll take that. It had to be on her own terms(just like her sis.) and thank goodness for prayer and the good man upstairs!

Easy Alfredo Lasagne

2008-02-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are writing down food recipes, so I thought I'd share some that I make. Every once in a great while I'll make stuff that takes time, but I'm pretty easy peezy..........I like this recipe. We get cheese and spinach ravioli(costco......lasts a long time), mozarella cheese, spinach(we love spinach leaves for salad, omelettes,and adding into stuff........costco), alfredo sauce(any that you like........I look for what's on sale), and paremesan cheese. You can have chicken as well, but we don't.
I cook the frozen ravioli, drain and start the layering process. Iput a layer of ravioli on the bottom, some cleaned,ripped up spinach next, some alfredo sauce and some parmesan cheese.......then I start over 'til I use up what I made or th desired amount...on the top I pour the rest of the sauce and put mozarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top. Then I cook it 'til the cheese melt at like 375 degrees. It's done real fast. We'll do a veggie with it........sometimes rolls. Real simple but really good. You can even make it with a tomato sauce, but we like alfredo! Really, if savanna likes it, we pretty much like it! HOpe you like it!

Our Maren is married!

2008-02-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was so fun and eventful! My friend Maren Hacker(now Linsey) got married in the St. George Temple! I was so excited to go to the sealing, as this has been the first one I've gotten to go to since ours. It was so peaceful, beautiful and full of love! She had so many people there. A lot of family, a lot of mission companions(very very pretty girls........it looks like they all had a blast serving together) and friends from high school. It was fun to see people that I don't often get to see! Maren looked gorgeous! She radiated with love! Her dress, her makeup and her hair was perfect! I loved her colors.........red and black! Even abby and Tammy got into the wedding theme, supporting marens red and black colors(heeheehee). We were taking a lot of pics of the gals, so we decided that the guys had to get pics as well. The luncheon was at the Marriot and it was beautifully decorated...whoever did her pics did a fantastic job........very creative. Of course, Maren is photogenic(I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly). Her sis. did the center pieces and they were so pretty that I was ready to offer to buy the centerpieces. The food was great! The reception was beautiful and it was good to congratulate them on their way! I finished the night out with my gals.....What a day! So, way to go Maren and Kris!!!!!!!! Congrats!

About me

2008-01-31T09:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly sure if I got tagged or not, but hey, sara said Tiffany, and my name is Tiffany so here you go!
Two Names You Go By: Tiff, money(savanna doesn't say mommy)
Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Pjs(my life)
Two things you Want (or have) in a Relationship: A Best Friend & Someone who makes me smile(I hear ya sara)
Two of Your Favorite Things to do:Working out, hanging with my hubby, and playin with my girls(we get gigglin pretty hard)
Two things you did last night: Took care of my gals and worked on my Relief society lesson(scary!)
Two people you Last Talked To: My hubby and Josi
Two Things You're doing tomorrow: Playin with my gals and helping friends move
Two Longest Car Rides: Ummmmmmmmmm, when kids dont' like to travel, you feel like all trips are a little too long!
Two Favorite Holidays: Christmas and Halloween(i love to dress up and I love to dress up my gals)
Two Favorite Drinks: Ice cold milk, water and Cranberry Grape
Two Things About Me you may not have known: Hmmmm...I dyed my hair dark, and I wheel barrel dirt into our backyard(quite a sight I tell ya)
Two jobs I have had in my life: Hairstylist and maid(for my parents...they pay good)
Two Movies I would watch over and over: Pride and Prejudice(love it!)
Two of my favorite foods: Ice Cream and home made bread and jam
Two places I'd rather be right now: mmmmmmmmmmmm...a cruise sounds kinda fun and disney land!

The following have been tagged!

Jaesi

Holly

Abby

Shawna

Crystal

Brooke

Gordon B. Hinckley!

2008-01-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

The night he passed away, my husband and I were just talking and laughing, ready for bed, when my dad phoned us to let us know he passed away! It was shocking! I knew he wouldn't live forever, but part of me almost thought that way! I was so sad! A man that I have always wanted to meet and thank him for being such a remarkable example and instrument in my life, for changing my life forever has gone on. I'm just glad he is with his wife now. He is a hero of mine(and his wife). I will never forget them! Mo said that when he was teaching his seminary class in the morning, all these kids came dressed in their sunday best. When he asked what was going on, they all called each other and decided to wear their best to honor Hinckley. Almost everyone he saw that morning was wearing their Sunday best, and when he left for work, across the way at Snow Canyon HIgh, all the more were wearing their Sunday best. He has touched so many lives. It was touching to see people honoring him in their own way! I know this gospel is true!

New stepping stone!

2008-01-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

We did it! We have officially put our two girls in the same room and have for over 2 weeks now! It has been the best thing in the whole world! Savanna loves it! Every morning when I go in to get them, I change savannas diaper usually first, so when she's done, she runs straight over to check on Gracie and just giggles at her baby sis. She also likes to put all the stuffed animals in gracies bed(luckily when I have gracie out) for Gracie to play with and has even left little snacks(fruit loops) just in case Gracie gets hungry...She even wakes up less with crying at night(cross fingers). Gracie is so laid back that if she wakes up to Savanna, she'll just stick the thumb in and fall back asleep. I feel a sense of freedom to have them both over on the other side of the house! No more trying to be as quiet as possible to get ready for bed and stuff! Oh it is so nice! I know they'll be bad nights, but I'll take the bad with the good! Life is grand! life is good!

My Gracie Pooh Bear!

2008-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

MY GRACIE IS NOW 5 1/2 MO. OLD! I thought I'd dedicate a post to update Gracie Jean! She is a bundle of joy to our family and so far, hasn't gotten strep throat(yay)! She is very laid back! She loves to watch everything that savanna is doing, and is so much fun to try and feed a bottle when savanna is right there... Gracie has to know her older sis.' every move! She greets me with a big smile every morning and doesn't make a peep at night('cuz the thumb goes straight to the mouth). She has rolled over a couple of times, but hasn't had a huge desire until now! She tries to crawl, but hasn't figured it out...she'll put her hands under her to lift her up, then let go and kick as hard as she can with her face down. She'll sometimes giggle while she's trying, like she's crackin up that she can't go anywhere. So cute. I have seen her tuck her legs under. She loves to jump in her jumper... that makes her giggle all the time...thanks to g'pa Dennis...he got it for her for christmas! it's soooooo cute! her 'lil jumps. she is sooooooooooo ticklish and wants to grab everything in sight(my food in particular). She is so sweet and loves her family. She hates to be left alone! She loves loves loves to be held. She is a little wobbly, but can sit up on her own. She wants our food, but won't really try baby food....hmmmmmmmmmm...We love her! I'm such a lucky mom to have my two gals!

Quackers!

2008-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

My sis and her hubby in Cinn. OH, sent this for Gracie for Christmas! Don't you think she makes the cutest duck you've ever seen! I love it cuz it's big and keeps her warm! Thanks Denise and Nick!

Daughter like Daddy

2008-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Savanna saw her daddy wearing this headband while working out and put it on! So funny and so cute! She posed like she was roungh and tough and saying, "Sup G".

My cute gals!

2008-01-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

The other day, I decided to take a picture of my girls in twin outfits, and can you tell? My savanna just loves sitting and posing for pictures. It is a nightmare to get her to sit still for pictures. mo and I have decided the only way we can is to have baby einstein on in the background...either that or mo doing some crazy acrobatic stuff that kills him later, but hey, at least she's smilin'

Twist like a pretzel!

2008-01-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

Savanna has always been my climber and will try to climb in the weirdest spots. I was busy doing something, heard her freaking out, and hurried out to see what was going on.........and there she was. She was stuck and couldn't figure out how to get out! I felt bad but started laughing. It was quite cute and funny......so I took pictures before I got her out. Does that put me on the "mommy bad list"!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

We have very much enjoyed this Christmas! It has been so neat, especially the idea that this will be the last with my parents for awhile! :( We are so excited for them, but it kinda hit us that they are really leaving! N-E-Ways......Christmas Eve was fun! We spent the day just relaxing and letting Savanna play outside and put together last minute stuff. I made rolls for neighbors and for our Christmas Eve dinner at my parents. It was fun and it is a really good recipe, so if you are looking for a good, moist, new roll recipe, I have one! We went to my parents and did the traditional dinner: Soup and bread(but we added some salad and bbq beef sandwiches). My Grandpa and Grandma Fry came, a lady we know in our ward(Collette Bergeron), my bro. and his wife and fam., my sis. her hubby and fam., my lil sis. Danni, my mom and dad and us! We were missing Denise and Nick, their two cute yorkies, and my bro. jeffy! My Bro. Jeff that is on a mission called then so that was fun to talk to him! He is having a hard time speaking English! I had the girls where matching outfits(yeah, didn't get them together 'cuz Gracie did a number to the outfit before. She laughed and giggled the whole time while Mo held her over the tub and I tried to pull off the outfit and clean. It was really funny.

We then acted out the Nativity scene. Mo and I were Mary and Joseph and baby Gracie had the role of baby Jesus. We had dessert and had a visitor come......Santa! It was hillarious, only Payton(5) and the babies(kate and Gracie) were fine on his lap. Trey, Savanna and Lucas wouldn't go near him. They would cry when they looked at him. It was so funny! Then, my parents got a blessing(each) to prepare for their mission! That was very powerful! Jeff had these Jersey type shirts made in Peru for the whole family and we all picked our fav. #. They were awesome! I think we look so good that we could start our own Soccer team! We went home and opened our traditional pjs and got the gals down and then we opened our presents for each other! We started our own tradition that we pick a theme, an amount, and then try to outdo the others. This year I picked to get something that reminded us of the other person that was funny! It was pretty dang funny! Can't tell ya what I got for Mo, but let me tell ya, it was so funny!

Christmas was fun! Savanna still doesn't totally understand everything, she just knew there was new toys to play with: Jumbo legos and a tricycle. Mo and I got them two cute little recliner chairs and put their names on them! She loved it! Gracie got a new rattle, a jumper to put between a doorway and little blocks. We had waffles at my parents and opened gifts there. They got a lot of clothes, a red wagon and books there. It was a lot of fun! We relaxed the rest of the day. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas

Back to Blogging!

2007-12-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I'm finally back! With us being sick for pretty much all of Dec., I had a limited amount of time to get Christmas in order. We are so excited! But, enough of that........earlier this month we had G'ma Jacque come and visit us! It was a blast! It took a little bit to get them used to G'ma that they haven't seen for awhile, but soon they were fast buddies. We had so much fun chatting, relaxing, and watching Savanna be a little goof ball! Thanks for coming out and being with us G'ma Jacque!

It's been awhile,but cool news!

2007-12-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

So, I feel it has been forever, but we've been sick with colds that we keep passing back and forth, then we all ended up with the stomach flu............that was fun let me tell you! but, the coolest news, sad in some ways, my parents two weeks ago were called to meet with Pres. Monson(1st presidency of our Church) and were called to be mission presidents! They won't find out where 'til Feb., but they were told they would be over a Ukranian speaking mission. There are a couple in Canada, Brazil, and ofcourse, Ukraine....they have a pretty good feeling it will be in Ukraine! Crazy and so exciting! I'm sad in some ways, 'cuz my mom has become one of my best friends.........we hang out all the time, so this will be an adjustment. By the time they get home, Savanna will be 5, Gracie almost 4, and maybe more that they haven't met yet! So weird to think. I guess we need to start saving to go visit! They'll leave at the end of June! Congrats to my parents!
p.s. I did finally get christmas up..........I have to admit it was my hubby. Mo's mom came to visit a weekend ago, and we came back from her pedicure to find he put up our little decorations and tree! We decorated the tree together. He put the lights up this week on the house. It was very sweet of him. I'll post pics later this week!

Play date outing!

2007-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

My sis. and her two kids (Lucas 20 1/2 mo. and Kate 5 1/2 mo.) are in town, so we decided to go to the park this week. Well, the day we decided was on the colder side, so we all decided to go to Fiesta Fun Center's soft children's play area............the best thing in the world! It was free 'cuz Savanna and Lucas are so young and they were entertained the entire time and got their wiggles out. Our mom came along and helped out with Kate and Gracie. It was so much fun!

My tired Gracie Poo!

2007-11-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

Gracie has been my baby that would wake up at the littlest noise(a pin dropping I swear)...so I was beyond surprise at her........she was just chillin' in Daddy's arms and soon we discovered her like this.....konked out! She stayed like that for a long time with tons and tons of noise around her! She looked so adorable, so I had to take the pics!

Look alikes!

2007-11-29T12:03:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Dennis found the cutest coat at Old Navy for Savanna... and the coolest part about it is that I have a very similar coat. Now when we wear the coat together, we'll be the talk of the town :).... She loves her coat! Every time she sees it, we have to put it on! She smiles so big when it's on like she knows she pretty........and of course, she is!

Hangin' w/ my Grandpa Dennis

2007-11-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

Last week, Grandpa Dennis came to visit for the whole week.........which meant, spoil Savanna and Gracie like crazy! He knew how to get to Savanna's heart: Teddy bears, yummy food(especially fruit smoothies from Starbucks), and going on walks outside! Thank you Grandpa Dennis for coming to visit and all you do for us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day to be surrounded by family and friends and to be reminded about how lucky we are! We had so much fun! All of my family was here(well, except jeffy who is on a mish and almost done.......march he's done!) and mo's dad came for the week which has been a blast! We had a very scrumptious meal and laughed about good 'ol times!(this is where the good stories about each other comes rolling out!!) I'm so so so so thankful for my family and for mo's family! They love us and support us always! I'm grateful for all the things we have and have been given, for we wouldn't be where we are with out the generosity and service others have given us! I love life, the gospel, my family and my savior! I hope I can give back as much as others have for me!

Daddy's Birthday!

2007-11-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

It was Mo's B-day on the 21st. It was fun! Us gals got up real early and went to decorate Daddy's classroom(where he teaches in the mornin'). Everything went wrong, couldn't find the keys, couldn't get the garage door open and trying to be fast with two lil girls! But finally we were on the road. We got there and put all kinds of balloons around(over the hill, it's not the age...it's the attitude, i demand a recount) around the room. We then put happy birthday Bro. McDuffie on the board and left the present the girls helped make: a frame that says, "my girls" with Savanna and Gracie's hand prints and a picture of them together. Sooooooooooo stinkin' cute! He went shopping with his dad later and got some clothes that, in my opinion, make mo pretty good lookin'! We went to dinner and then met up with my fam. to sing happy birthday....twice 'cuz my sis.'s hubby has the same b-day! We love MO and hope it was a good birthday!

Braids!

2007-11-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

I was just curious if I could and I did! I was able to get to cute braids in Savanna's hair! Yeah baby! They are teeny, but hey, they are quite cute............don't you agree?

Baby Einstein

2007-11-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

I needed to take a shower the other day and Gracie wanted attention, so I put her in the exersaucer, put blankets around her, and put her in front of Baby Mozart, and she was content for the 27 min. Thank goodness! I didn't want to listen to her cry! She found her thumb and ended up falling a asleep, apparently with the thumb in her mouth, 'cuz it looks like it was in position when it slowly fell out!

Not two bad!

2007-11-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, Saturday night, we attempted something that I was a little bit leerie about.....we went out to dinner with my family. It was our first time with both little girls there...I was worried 'cuz I know the attention span of my Savanna and how Gracie loves to be constantly held. But, it was alot better than I thought. Savanna was all over the place, but for the most part, pretty good as long as Mo kept her busy. Gracie was amazing. She just sat there, entertained by all around her. The funny thing was that we went to Samurai 21 and they seated us with the highchair on one side('cuz of the corner) and the baby seat in the other corner. We divided and we conquered(I think I had the easier job........sorry mo). The only draw back, which was pretty hilllarious, is that we had to yell to each other to communicate of what was needed for both girls. We really are crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally!!!!!!!!

2007-11-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Yes, I finally was taught the blog gibberish by good 'ol Kristen. So, it's a working progress, but hey, I'm here. Not a whole lot has been going on since we are all sick this week and grumpy :( So, I thought I'd introduce my girlies.....

Savanna is my oldest. She is 17 mo. but turns 18 mo. (and finally legal for nursery) on the 11th of Nov. She is very fun and full of energy, but definitely has a stubborn/determined side. She loves her little sis., loves playing outside(as soon as she hears that door open.....bam! She's bolting for it), and loves movies(she gets that from her mom). She loves the park and is fearless on the jungle gym, which makes me nervous!

Gracie, our newest arrival, is almost 3 mo. old(yippee). She is finally sleeping longer than 4 hours and getting onto more of a schedule! She is giggling, smiling, and loves to be talked to. She also loves to be held which is hard when you have another to follow after and want to get other things done(which is the reason why my house is a nightmare). She just recently discovered her thumb. I'm not sure I really wanted that,but I have to admit, it's so darn cute! We're doing great, just a little crazy around the edges. What can I say, I love my gals!