Wesley and Elsie

These two have a love hate relationship. It is hilarious to watch them love each other and then hate each other all within a couple of minutes. Today started just like any other day until Wesley decided that he just had to kiss Elsie.  He tried to get her for about 20 minutes.  He would jump up to lick her while she was standing and when she was on her bum forget about it he was all over her.  It was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. 

She has a slight cold and I think that Wesley just loved the smell of her.  (YUCK) She washed her face 2 times after this happened.  It was a lot of doggie slobber.  Elsie was a good sport about it. 

JJ is a Deacon

Today was a very special day for JJ.  There are milestones in our lives that we look forward to reaching.  One of these for JJ was when he turned 12 he would receive the Aaronic Priesthood and become a Deacon in our church.  When JJ tuned eight years old I remember thinking now that he is baptized his next step is becoming a Deacon.  It is crazy to think that day is already here.  Jeron was able to give the priesthood to JJ.  This was a very neat moment.  Jeron gave a very beautiful blessing to JJ and the spirit was so strong in the room.  JJ had a lot of family that came to support him on his special day.  It really was a very neat experience.  I hope he can always remember the way that he felt on this day.  Dad and I are so proud of the young man that you are becoming.  We love you!

After church we headed to the house for a PAR-TAY

We had crepes, which everyone helped make.

They were delish!!!

Fantabulous Grandparents

Fantastic Family and Friends

What would a birthday bash be without cake?

JJ blowing out his candles.

Love our boy!

We have a YOUNG MAN in the house

JJ is 12 

I am not sure what to think of this.  It sure does make Jeron and I feel old.

He is a great kid.  

He has always had a very kind heart.

Just the other day someone in our ward dropped something because she was carrying to much.  

JJ ran and picked it up for her and then seeing that she was overloaded helped her take it to her car. 

 He doesn't have to be asked to do these things he just does them.  

It is very impressive to  me how he is always paying attention so that he can help with things like this.  

Most 12 year old boys are too cool to be kind but JJ doesn't seem to care.  

I love this about him

I  have noticed that he is starting to become a tween for sure.

He doesn't want to express himself very much anymore.

This is gong to be hard for him with a mom like me.

I want my kids to tell me things so bring on the prying.  

 He has a crush on a girl and it is cute to see how he gets nervous around her.

He puts on his cologne when he knows she will be coming by, and fixes his hair.

It is crazy to think he is at that stage.  Where did our little boy go?

He is still a bookworm and has an insane thirst for knowledge. 

At times this has been frustrating that he wants to be alone with a book but we are coming to terms with this.

Now we just call him our retirement plan.  

He is so incredibly smart.

I have no doubt that he will make something of himself when he grows up.

 This year for JJ's birthday he was feeling a bit under the weather.

We decorated his room with balloons all over his floor. 

When I came in his room he had done this with the balloons.

Clever

The day was dark, gloomy, and windy which didn't help the situation.  

Jeron and JJ were going to go to the shooting range but the wind was crazy. 

So we had to change our plans.

Instead JJ and his good friend Trevin went to Boondocks.  

They had a blast.

After Boondocks JJ came home and opened presents.

He wanted to play Boola Boola so we did.

Unfortanely that didn't last to long because this year the bulk of JJ's birthday money went to a new suit.

After presents Jeron and I took JJ to Red Robin.

The girls stayed home. 

We decided when our kids turn 12 we will take just them out.

That way we can just talk with them

It was fun to spend time with just JJ

(even if parts of the night we felt we were on a date night because JJ had his head in his Kindle)

When we got home we had cake and ice cream.

He had a chocolate cake with white frosting and Oreo cookies on top.

Not my favorite but he liked it.

Happy Birthday Bud

We Love You

Contractions...

I have been so nervous this pregnancy.

Last time I was preggo I started having contractions at 28 weeks.

At 30 weeks I was put on bed rest.

NO FUN

I was told that most likely if I had another baby bed rest was inevitable. 

So, here I am preggers with that next baby, 24 weeks and...

well

contractions have started.

I am getting nervous about it.

Yesterday, they were the take your breath away kind.

I don't want to go on bed rest.

It killed my body and was incredibly boring. 

Boring in a way that depressed me...bad.

It sent my whole world into complete chaos. 

I still to this day haven't picked up where I left off before bed rest.

 

My doctor told me I know what to do.

I know what to do but I don't want to do it.

But I also don't want to spend one day in the NICU 

because that is a worse hell than bed rest.

 

So today I am taking it easy

crossing my fingers my contractions decide to calm down

and tell this little princess that she wants to stay inside me where she is safe and warm.

and hopefully my other little princess will understand why the TV is babysitting her.

{SIGH}

{LOVE}

I {LOVE} Valentine's Day. I love showering the people I love with a little extra {LOVE) This year I had to be a little more low key and unfortunately it wasn't low key enough for the contractions. Anywho, I heart attack my kids doors every year. This year to my surprise our bedroom door got heart attacked. It almost made me cry. I love that Emma is so thoughtful. She cut out her own hearts and did it all by herself without me even knowing. She is pretty sneaky. I was able to go to the school for Emma's Valentine's party. It was a lot of fun. Then I ran over to Ellie's class to take some pictures for the yearbooks I am doing for her class. They were having a great time when I got there. I felt bad because I couldn't make it to JJ's. Elsie kept asking why we didn't go to JJ's class. The problem was they parties were all at the same time. When Elsie and I got home we hurried and heart attacked the kids doors and frosted the cookies we made the night before. I bought them pink drinks and conversation hearts. We sat at the table and only talked with our conversation hearts. It was actually really fun. Grandpa John came by to see the kiddo's. That afternoon we headed out and heart attacked Mama and Papa, and Tara, Jeff, and Mac. The kids love doing this. (minus Ellie because she refused to come.) When we got home it was pretty late so we had Subway for dinner. The kids just knew that Mama and Papa would be coming to leave a Valentine so the were spying on our porch. They didn't come, didn't come, didn't come and the kids gave up. They all went about their business and then there was a knock on our door. The kids were so excited to open the door and get there teddy bears, cookies, and cards (book for JJ not a teddy bear) It is always fun for them to have that special time with Mama and Papa on Valentines.

That night after we got the kids to bed Jeron and I went to a movie. At Christmas Santa had forgotten to get Jeron his favorite chocolates and so I made up for it with a pile next to his cookie. When I went to the store they were all out and I was totally bummed until I found the last register with the ones he likes. He didn't get a pink drink though he got a diet coke. I hope that our families all know just how much we {LOVE} them. Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

We hope it is filled with much love!

First talk in Primary

Elsie had to give a talk in church today and I don't know who was more nervous her or me. She did great though. Her cute little friend said the prayer before Elsie and decided not to do it. I thought to myself "oh no, now Elsie will back out too." but she didn't she went right ahead.

When we were deciding what to write for the talk I came across a really good one about the Army's of Heleman.  But knowing Elsie I knew she would prefer to talk about a girl.  The topic was Choosing the right blesses me.  We searched for a good woman story and finally decided that we had an awesome example in our own family.  Elsie talked about Mary Fielding Smith and her faith to get to Utah.  Elsie liked the talk and especially liked that her 4th great grandma was Mary "like Jesus' mommy."  She did a great job.

I had to whisper the talk to her and she would say it in the microphone.  She kept turning her head away from the microphone, making it hard to hear her.  I finally said "talk into the microphone."  So Elsie immediately repeated "talk into the microphone."  It was so cute.  I just love this little lady. Jeron and my parents laughed because it was so cute.  She got a bit nervous after that but just kept going.  We were all so proud of her. 
 

After the talk when we were in the hallway the Primary president came up to my parent and me and said "She has such a light about her.  She is a sweetheart and I just love to watch her in primary."   I think it is so true.  Elsie has something about her that shines.  People are drawn to her.  I just love our little sweetheart with all her spunk and charm.

Swimming swimming just keep swimming.

Thanks to my good friend Misty she reminded me that there is things to do even when it is winter. I haven't taken my kids swimming in a long time.  Due to the fact that i don't have a maternity swimsuit.  Jeron was very kind to oblige the kids and take them.  I went along for the fun but just read my book while they all played. (I am so not that mom...kind of killed me, plus the chlorine was so strong that my eyes burned just being in the same room) 

Elsie was so happy to be there.  She couldn't stop smiling.

Emma was hardly seen by me but I did catch her for a second to take a pic.

I think Ellie is part fish.

She loves the water.

Unfortunately JJ spent most of the time in the lap pool and sauna so I didn't see much of him and missed a picture op. 

I love this picture of Elsie looking up at Emma like she has the coolest big sis ever.

Jeron was also missed in pictures but he was a fun daddy.

He played in the shallow end with the girls and went to the deep end with the older ones.

They all had a great time.

especially this little fishy.  Look at her poor eyes.  She won't wear goggles and lives under the water.

We must go again.

This means WAR

We decided we needed some fun around these parts. Things have been a bit intense with me being prego and winter that FUN seems to have taken a back seat. We decided enough was enough. Jeron and JJ went to take down chairs at the church and so I told JJ our plan and then they left. This is what Jeron came home to:

BE PREPARED

THIS IS WAR!

You are about to enter the 

 BIGGEST MARSHMALLOW FIGHT 

OF YOUR LIFE.

We taped a bag of mini marshmallows to the door and called it his ammo.  

JJ was on our team so I made sure his marshmallows and gun were waiting for him in the basement.

(I had a feeling JJ would flip teams but that's okay) 

Here the girls are waiting when we heard the garage door open.

Let the war begin.

and my thought was right JJ did flip sides.

This picture is for my mom and Jeron

YES!  I do take bad pictures

YES! I still want me represented.  

and this picture is BAD!!!!

Here is the aftermath

One way to clean up was to sweep them all down the stairs.

Of course we wanted to hit as many kids as possible.

Ellie's way to clean up was to eat all the marshmallows in her path.

Most of us just got on our hands and knees and swept them into piles.

It seriously was so much FUN!  We laughed hard and the kids loved every minute.

Even clean up was fun.

I highly recommend you doing this with your fam.

It is a cheap thrill :-)

I did see this idea on pinterest.

Living the high life

Before we went out for our big date I had Emma take a picture of us because we never get pictures together. Why is it though that I look like I have had a stroke. Look at my eye. It is noticeably smaller than the other one.

Jeron got tickets to the Jazz game at work.

They were 10 row in the lower bowl.  

Plus, we got to eat dinner in the Sports Club.

We went with the Sant's because Jeron had to take a client 

so he picked his favorite client to go with him.

This made it easy for me because I love them.

We ate by the window that looks out on the street.  It was pretty cool.

Hailey and I both felt pretty special.

Plus we had the hottest guys on our arm.

It is cool how crazy close we were.  I told Jeron it felt like a high school game we were that close.

Only way COOLER than a high school game.

During half time we got to go and get snacks as well.

When we were coming back I saw Coach Mac

I asked him for a picture and to make a long story short Jeron didn't get it.

I was totally bummed.

 Hailey took our picture together of just how cool we are with our passes.

Besides how cool we look, in the background is Coach Mac.

WHAT! Oh ya, I got his pic after all.  haha (technically Hailey got it)

It was seriously so much fun.  We haven't been out in a long time and this was quiet the date.  I don't think I can go to another upper bowl game again.  That was just too much fun.

Young ladies Book Club

In December Emma was invited to join a book club for girls her age. It really is a lot of fun for her. She gets to read books she wouldn't normally pick. This has helped her realize that there are so many books out there to enjoy. In December they read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and for January it was Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. We hosted for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and it was a lot of fun.
 

We played a timeline game and the girls had to put all of the pictures in the order they appeared in the book.

Then we discussed the book.

We found some questions on line to help them think about the book. 

I was impressed because we had a rather good discussion.

In the book we read it didn't really have any references to food so I was hard pressed to come up with a treat that went with the book until I found out that Banana splits were created the same year the book was written. Perfect! The girls loved making their banana splits and imagining that this is a treat Rebecca would have enjoyed.

I hope it helps Emma to continue her love for reading.  I am so glad that certain moms are smart enough to think of it and invite my daughter to be a part of it. 

The Book Club
Izabella, Kennedy, Barret, Emma, Ellie, Riley, and Brooklynn

not pictured: Ashley, Salem, and Chloe

The difference a few seconds make...

David couldn't have been more excited about his new car. 

He had bought himself a Jaguar.  He loved this car.

As fate would see it this love feast was not going to last.  David was driving home late at night and it was raining pretty hard.  He missed a turn in the road and went into dirt that now was mud.  The mud gripped his tires and sent him flying.  He rolled six times and ended up in a ditch.  There is speculation that he might have not only rolled his car but flipped it end over end. 

Once all things came to a stop he knew he needed to get out.  The car ended up landing on the drivers side.  He had horrible pain in his shoulder and now had to find a way to get out.  He tried the drivers side window because there was a chance he could get out.  This failed to work so he had to climb out of the passenger window.   Once he got out the ordeal was not over.  He had lost his phone somewhere in all the rolling around.  He tried to flag a car down but no one would stop.  It was late at night and his car was no where in sight.  I am sure people thought he was a hitchhiker.  He decided after the sixth car passed that he would step out in front of the next car.  The seventh car did stop.  He was able to call an ambulance and get David some help.  David remembers the ordeal pretty well and at one point his head went out of the sunroof.  He felt impressed to tuck into a ball and this helped him get back in the car.  When he was telling me about it I said "You must have had an angel with you."  Ellie was sitting by me and said "Ya, Me." in a duh like tone.  It was so cute.  When you see the car you will wonder how he made it out with only a broken collar bone.  The paramedic is pretty sure he hit his head because he had mud smeared in his hair.  How do you hit your head and not get a head injury?  Seriously it is one crazy ordeal. 

Brace yourself there is picture overload.

But I couldn't pick just one.

He had just cleaned his car and this is what the inside looked like after.

Seriously after seeing that car don't you wonder how the only thing that happened is a broken collar bone. 

He has bumps and bruises and scrapes and cuts but for the most part he is okay.  He is lucky to be alive.  I am just glad that he is okay.  He has now joined the Meads' kids will broken collar bones.  Let's just say the girls in the family have much more respect for our bodies since it is only the boys who have been dumb enough to break their collar bones.  hehehe JK