Memorial Day with the Meads

We haven't been mini golfing in a long time. Jeron helped Emma figure out what to do. Ellie wasn't all that interested in it. Elsie was asleep(Thank Heavens) and JJ was the first to get a hole in one. We had a lot of fun. Jeron, Michael and my Dad were competing against each other the whole time. It was hilarious but I had no worries I knew my man would win. He beat my dad by one stroke. Emma was the only injury of the day. She got clocked in the face by Maren's club. Maren felt so bad she bought Emma a candy bar.



Lucy did really good. She likes being outside. It is fun to have her around. We had a great time. Ellie might beg to differ but the rest of us sure liked it.

New Shoes!!

Elsie LOVES shoes. She asked if we could go and get "new shoes". It actually turned out that both of my little ladies needed new shoes. So we headed out and found these darling shoes that both of my girls are in love with. Ellie wouldn't put them down. Elsie calls them her "lip lops".
I love having girlie girls. It makes me happy.

Ellie's Preschool Graduation with Ms. Marilee

We had Ellie's preschool graduation from her other preschool tonight. WOW! Talk about a completely different experience than the one at the school. Ellie was actually part of the program. She had to say her name, she got to sing and dance, and when the teacher asked the kids what they want to be when they grow up Ellie got to answer. She said "a Mom". I loved it. It made me see the value of a good well excellent teacher. She treats Ellie like she is one of the kids. It was awesome. Ellie couldn't stop smiling, and was so excited to do everything.
We will truly miss Ms. Marilee. I totally forgot to get a picture with the grandparents that came. Ellie loved having her Mama, Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa there. Thanks for coming.

Didn't her mother ever teach her not to do that?

Emma was in my bathroom talking to me while I did my hair. I noticed her hand in a rather peculiar place. I even thought to tell her to move it but well, um, didn't. That is when her 5 year old little sissy went in the closet and decided that she wanted to shut the door.
After hearing crunch, crunch, and even more crunching...the screaming came. I tried to keep the door open but Ellie was determined it needed to close. Finally after getting Miss Emma's hand out of the door she had a total of 3 slams on her hand. The poor girl. She was in PAIN for a good hour. I wondered if it was broken, if it would swell due to the bleeding problem she has, and if she would EVER stop crying??? Finally all three questions were answered. No break, No swelling, and yes the tears slowed until the well ran dry. Thank heavens!

The only question that remains is "Didn't her mother ever teach her not to do that?" Apparently, NOT!

X Rated

This is my naked child. I have never had a naked child but I do now. She thinks that clothes are not for her. She runs around all day long without clothes on. My favorite is when she comes up to me and says "I cold". No kidding, really, your cold! Cutest little stinker in the world.

Date Night

For my birthday my sisters and brothers gave me a gift of a date night with my hubby. We have been trying to go for over 10 months. We finally got our big chance. They got us a gift card to the Melting Pot and two movie tickets. We enjoyed our night without kids and just adult conversation. We liked the food but even more we loved the people walking past the window.

We went and saw Letters to Juliet and I loved it. IT really was a date night for me. Jeron was a great sport, except for when he kept looking at me during the sappy parts. I hate when he does that;)

When we got home Grandpa John had the kids all in asleep, even little Boo had found a comfy place to cuddle up. I am pretty sure grandpa didn't mind the cuddles.
So a big huge thank you to my siblings and Grandpa John for making this night possible. Love you much!!

Last day of school for Ellie

I can't believe that Dairy Queen could be so much fun. Ellie and her preschool got to go before it opened to see how they make ice cream. Ellie had so much fun. She loved seeing how the ice cream was made but especially loved eating it.

Mini Photo Shoot with Miss Ellie

I don't have a ton of free time lately so I have been fitting mini photo shoots in with my kids. I take them to my favorite spot and spend about 15-20 minutes taking pics. It is a lot of fun for me, and not to much time for them. We actually headed over there after church one day so we were already dressed and ready to go. I maybe did spend a few extra minutes getting Ellie ready that day.

What in the world have I done?

I had my normal hair appointment this morning. You know my yearly. Well I talked to my sister before and said "Should I cut it?" Her response was something like it could be fun. So she ever so sweetly found me a cute cut and I thought "Heck, why not?" I showed it to my stylist and she thought it was cute as well. So 12 inches later here is my new do;/

The cut is great but I am really struggling with the shortness. I am having some major cutters remorse. Only problems is you can't take it back. I will get use to it in time. Apparently, according to my neighbor it is much better than my "FRUMPY LONG MOM HAIR"...Well, there you have it;)

The best part of the whole hair cut was getting waxed. I think Amy (Stylist) was having extremely to much fun at my hairy expense. It was hilarious. She talked me into waxing my eyelids, and my "Soul Patch" I was laughing so hard, and terrified all at the same time. I seriously was trying to come up with ways that I could leave with the wax on my brows, and take it off without hurting myself. She did a superb job though and I was just being a baby. I will have to admit I did scream like a child though.

Hopefully i will eventually like the cut. Oh, side note it is extremely faster to do and easier. That alone should make me like it in no time.

Preschool Graduation...3rd time is a charm!

Ellie has been going to the same preschool for the past 3 years. I can't believe that she is moving on and heading to kindergarten. I have a very heavy heart about her leaving a world that is so familiar to her to head to a strange and new experience. Her program was basically the same one I have seen 2 other times. I will have to say that I am disappointed at how little they knew about our Ellie Bean. It makes me nervous to send her to a classroom with even more kids and less adults.
Ellie loves to sing and dance so I am sure she was thrilled to show off her moves to her family. We were able to get JJ, Emma, and Elsie there to see her perform.
We love our little Ellie Bean and are excited to see what the future holds for our little angel.

I wish I could sleep anywhere.

Boo has decided that she doesn't need naps anymore. She is a stinker about it. I will try to get her down and she fights it like crazy. This day was not any different. The problem with her skipping her naps is that she gets EXTREMELY tired around the Witching hour. (5 pm-6 pm) This is when my life gets completely crazy. There is so much going on that if I am not perfectly watching her every move then chances are I will find her like this.
The question I have is why will she fall asleep on the hard floor, but not her soft warm bed? Silly Boo!

Working OUT

The last little while I have been really struggling with my body. Now before you get a paranoid about me being self deprecating let me explain. When I started wearing a size 6 I remember standing in the dressing room at Old Navy and thinking okay a 6 is okay but NO MORE. I then proceeded to tell myself (yes, I talk to myself...that is a whole other issue.)I would NEVER be a size 10. SHOOT ME, if I get that big. Mind you, this was before kids and before I realized what changes I would have to face. Well, a size 10 has long passed me by. I look in the mirror and don't know the girl that is looking back. It isn't so much about being skinny as it is about finding the girl I am. I am no happy with the way I have let myself go but have done absolutely nothing about it. I decided a few months back that enough was enough. Then I had a problem. I needed running shoes. It has taken me literally 5 months and still no shoes. I was working out in my basement for about 9 weeks with NO results but to actually lose it I think I need to run, eat better, and just get some motivation.

I was thinking one night that I needed to find someone to motivate me. If I could just have Julian from the Biggest loser helping me out I know I could do it and my excuses wouldn't last. I was at Emma's soccer game and I don't know what came over me but I asked one of my neighbor friends who reminds me of Julian in the strong, healthy, motivational way, not the rip into you way to help me out. The response was amazing. She was so excited. I told her I could be her project. She quickly told me No, I can be her friend, and she would LOVE to help me. She said lets start on Monday and I said oh, I can start as soon as I get some shoes. Already I had the perfect excuse. She immediately told me she had a pair that I could use. So excuse gone. Monday morning we were going running.

Emma's game was on Wednesday so I had time to build up to this. Shannon (my personal trainer:)has called me or text me everyday up to Monday just getting me pumped up. She really has taken this seriously for me. I can't even tell you how much this has meant to me.

On Saturday Jeron and I stopped at Target on the way home to see if we could find anything else for me work out in. This was probably the worst moment I have had in a long time. I knew in just 3 days I was going to be in a gym with a bunch of SKINNY girls and I could not believe how bad I looked in my work out clothes. Shopping for workout clothes was worse than swim suit shopping or Jeans for that matter. I hit my low and cried, actually sobbed the whole way home from Target. Jeron was very worried about me and quickly said "Why don't you just run with me." He could see how stressed I was, cause well I was CRAZY nervous about Monday. The thing is that Jeron is too easy on me, plus I get hurt more by him noticing I am fat than anyone. He never tries to makes me feel fat EVER, it is just when he says anything I am SO sensitive. I know unfair to him. I knew that I needed to do this without him at first.

So, come Monday we were going to go running. I have never run a day in my life. Wait scratch that, I have and I get a freakin' asthma attack when I do. My brother Smitty would run with me when I was a teen and say, "Are you going to die?" Quite frankly I wondered the same thing. Well, I was worried about me and worried about Shannon. She is an amazing runner and gym goer. I worried I would slow her down and her work out would be pointless. I was just getting really uneasy about it. Then I got home on Sunday night and there is a text from Shannon, "Change of plans...it is suppose to be scattered thunderstorms at 6:30 so I am going to go to a 5:30 body combat class instead. It is awesome you should come. I will be there at 5:15 to pick you up." OMGOODNESS! I had visions of my 8th grade dance video pop up in my head. (The first and last time I took dance) I am NOT Coordinated at all. So here I was going to a gym and not only will I be the biggest but I will be the most ridiculous looking one there. I swallowed my pride and said yes to the text.

I was surprised at how easy it was to get up at 5:00 am. I think I am normally awake at that time due to something or another so it hasn't been to bad. Shannon is AWESOME. I can't sing her praises enough. She has helped me with everything from taking me, to helping me set up, to motivating me and telling me I don't look like and idiot even though we both know I do. I think I was inspired to ask for her help. She is just what I needed for this. She really cares and that is so nice. Even today she brought me a shake with stuff to help my muscles, just cause she wants this to be a good experience.

Another thing, you always here about peace. I don't remember the last time I felt peace. That is until Monday, when I came home and I was sitting eating my breakfast while my whole family slept. I felt peace. I had a few moments to myself. Moments I haven't had in a long time and it was then that I knew that I am on a good track. I hope that I can stay with it. My muscles are so sore today, and apparently they will be worse tomorrow but my mind is at peace. I want to keep this feeling. I know that I am only at the beginning and this is probably a feeling that will fade, but I just really want to find that girl again. I think it will be good for me and everyone I love if I do. So even though I am the biggest and most uncoordinated in the class (which is a true statement) I will continue going. I know there will be mornings that this will kill me but I hope I can keep this up. Wish me luck.

Happy Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day I had very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised at all that Jeron and my kids did for me. Jeron got me chocolate covered strawberries and a chocolate covered apple. This was on Friday. Then on Saturday he took me to Rod Works and told me to pick out anything I wanted. Then he took me to Office Max and got me a nice key board to use for work. Then he took me to Dick's to get workout clothes. The man is a much better shopper than me. I was walking through Dick's not knowing what to pick and the whole time he was searching things out for me. He was so sweet. I will just have to say I was spoiled. On Sunday Jeron made me crepes. The kids all gave me darling gifts and really tried to be sweet. It is rough when you want to fight with your sister in church or bug your brother but they managed to not irritate the crap out of me. We were able to spend time with my mom and with Jan. Jeron helped my dad with dinner. We had Lamb, funeral potatoes, Asparagus, Lion House Orange Rolls, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Jeron did the dessert and Asparagus. It was delish. My mom and dad always get me a Mother's Day gift which is too sweet of them. They got me a hanging plant. It is so pretty and hopefully I don't kill it. Jan also got me a gift. So nice of her. She gave me a cupcake stand and a air freshener. By the end of the day Jeron was exhausted because he had been doing all of my mothering duties all day. It was funny to see. I was full of energy and he was worn out. I guess being a mom is a tough job. Hmmmm

Boo is TWO! Where did the time go.

To see more of her darling pic you can view them here

This little lady is the sunshine in our home!
When she is happy that is.
She says the cutest things.
The other day she told me she had gotten hurt and to kiss her chicken
A Chicken is aka a Chin
She is so talkative.
She may even say a swear or two
She is the best mommy to her dolly's
She LOVES her brother and sisters.
She is mommy's little buddy.
She thinks she is a princess and therefore must dress like one ALWAYS
She is all spunk
She love to play soccer ball (that is what she calls it)
She is terrified of the swing
She loves to have ocean put on her hands
Ocean aka Lotion
We love this little lady

Swimming at the Canyons

We were invited to Brock's birthday party. The kids had a great time swimming and playing. JJ couldn't make it so we missed him, but still had a great time. The water was a little chilly so the pic of Ellie in the water is the only one we have. She was in and out as fast as she went in.

When we first got there I hear Elsie saying "B-Pa, B-Pa, B-Pa" I looked to where she was pointing and there was Grandpa Gene. I thought it was so cute that she was calling him "B-Pa".
We arrived an hour late so by the time we got there Brock was tuckered out and left with his cousins. I didn't get any pictures with him:(

I think it is so cute how Elsie is looking at Grandma.

Me andKylie

Elsie was in NO MOOD!

...that is until she was swinging like a monkey from the stairs. She thought this was awesome.

Since Ellie wasn't swimming she decided she had better check out the treats. Love the shades lady.

Look at my Diva's

Seriousl, Little Ms. Hot Stuff

We had a great time. It was great to see everyone. I think EVERYONE was there. Minus the older Jones girls and Todd. It was great to just hang out and watch the kids have fun.