Welcome to my world

Favorite Photo Friday

These are some of Cagney's babies. The reason I love this photo is because of the names she has given these babies, they are from left to right.
Lily, Belle Baby, Pink Baby, Baby Girl Baby, and Baby Boy Baby

Soccer Season

Another spring soccer season is over. We love soccer season and the spring and fall would just feel incomplete without our weekly soccer games. Jared and Gabe played again this year. They both wore #9 and thought that was pretty darn cool.


Jared is getting to be really fun to watch. He has a much deeper understanding of the game and is becoming a good little player! He is at the age where the score matters, who won matters, and who scored the goals matters. He scored a couple of goals this season. One was in the very last seconds of the very last game. That was really cool, he really wanted to score a goal in the last game.

Gabe has improved a lot since last fall. He is still at the age where the parents have to point the direction of the right goal and the team seems to travel in a pack and mob the ball. He was a little more aggressive this year and even kicked the ball a few times! He even scored one goal! He was in the right place at the right time. He was so excited. He is at the age where the score and who scored goals doesn't really matter all that much...the treats matter!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for
1. A husband that makes me laugh.
I don't laugh outloud a lot. It is a weird thing about me. I find A LOT of things funny and often giggle, snicker or smile...but I seldom really laugh outloud. Trevor can get me going though, sometimes without even trying. Last night he said something hilarious and I found myself laughing so hard that my sides hurt and I had tears. I love that. Still today every time I think about it I can't help but laugh.

2. A friend who fixes cars.
We are having car troubles. Let's face it Gordon is getting old. He has logged about 290,000 miles, yes you read that right. But he is paid for, and usually still runs great. But when we need help we have an old friend that is always willing to help us try to keep him running. He is very honest and very knowledgable, and a miracle worker sometimes.

3. A kid who is patient with his parents.
Jared lost a tooth a few days ago. Three nights have gone by and the tooth fairy keeps forgetting to stop by our house. Jared is nine. He "knows". I think he knows that we know he knows, but he still talks as if he doesn't "know". He is very patient with us and will probably be getting $5 (way up from the usually $1) for this particular tooth if his parents can remember tonight.

4. A temple a mile away.
This is the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. It is being built about a mile from our house (we walked over to take this picture the other day). We have loved watching the walls go up and love to drive by often to watch the progress. We are so excited to have a temple so close by. This is what it will look like when it is done.

5. A music teacher who is great.
Miquelle takes piano lessons and Jared takes violin lessons from the same teacher. We love her. She is fabulous. She is enthusiastic, very encouraging (to the kids and to me when I get worn out from helping them practice) patient, creative and fun. The kids love her and so do I. (Plus she has a fun backyard for the little kids to play in during lesson time.)

Favorite Photo Friday

Miquelle at Lake Tahoe June 2007
(Yes the water really is that blue!)

Tag you're it

I've never been tagged before! Now I feel like a real true blogger! Fun! Thanks Kristine!

Have you ever...
(Yes) Gone on a blind date?
(Yes) Skipped school?
(Yes,at work ) Watched someone die?
(No ) Been to Canada?
(No) Been to Mexico?
(Yes) Been to Florida?
(Yes) Been on a plane?
(Yes) Been lost?
(Yes) Been on the opposite side of the country?
(Yes ) Gone to Washington, D.C.?
(Yes, and it was gross) Swam in the ocean?
(Yes) Cried yourself to sleep?
(Yes) Played cops and robbers?
(Yes) Recently colored with crayons?
(No) Sang Karaoke?
(Probably fast food) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(Yes, that orange roll this morning. But it was good, thanks Lyndy) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
(Yes) Made prank phone calls?
(Yes) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose?
(Yes) Caught a snowflake on your tongue?
(Yes) Danced in the rain?
(Yes) Written a letter to Santa Claus?
(Yes) Been kissed under the mistletoe?
(Yes ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about?
(Yes) Blown bubbles?
(Yes) Gone ice-skating?
(Yes ) Been skinny dipping outdoors?

1. Any nicknames? Bon, Boo
2. Mother's name? Kay
3. Favorite Drink? Diet Coke with strawberry from Sonic, I'm fairly certain it's what they drink in heaven
4. Tattoo? No, but I've wanted one since I was 13
5. Body Piercing? pierced ears
6. How much do you love your job? Love being a mom and love working my part time job too.
7. Birthplace? CA
8. Favorite vacation spot? Lake Tahoe
9. Ever been to Africa? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Not that I can remember
11. Ever been on TV? Not really, my scrapbook pages have
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 door
15. Favorite salad dressing? poppyseed
16. Favorite pie? Pumpkin
17. Favorite number? 5
18. Favorite movie? that's a hard one. You've Got Mail is high on the list
19. Favorite holiday? July 4th or Valentines Day
20. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake
21. Favorite food? Sushi
22. Favorite day of the week? Don't have a favorite
23. Favorite brand of body wash? Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea
24. Favorite toothpaste? Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Toothpaste
25. Favorite smell? Bread Baking
26. What do you do to relax? Go for a walk, get a pedicure, read, watch TV
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Hopefully with a RN behind my name
28. Who are you tagging? Anyone who wants to play! Stacy, Rachel, Lyndy, Bueller?

Thankful Thursday

1. Claritin
I have spring and summer allergies and it is just miserable for me to be outside this time of year without these little white pills. I love that they don't make me drowsy. (Or more drowsy than I would normally be) And I can breathe! Claritin relieves my worst allergy symptoms.

2. Summer weather finally!


3. My air conditioner
I love the heat but when I'm inside I'm so grateful to have an air conditioner that keeps us nice and cool.

4. My Relief Society friends
I teach Relief Society once a month in my ward. (It is the organization for women over 18 in our church.) I'm constantly amazed by the comments that these women make. My lessons would be dull, flat and boring without them. I get really nervous when I teach and it is so much easier when I remember I'm surrounded by good friends.

5. That the bee didn't sting me
Yes this one sounds weird but I really am thankful for it. Earlier I was writing in my journal and I felt something crawling on my leg (that's never good) and it was a HUGE bee! I shook it off and smashed it against the floor with my journal. Phew. I'm glad it didn't sting me. Silly, I know.

Extreme Makeover Backyard Edition Part 2 - The Playground

So once we got the fence up our ideas started flowing. We had a rather large section of our backyard where the sprinklers had never worked. (Trevor tried everything short of digging up the grass and starting over to get them fixed with no luck.) This area was looking pretty bad. We had thought about getting a swingset for Cole and Cagney's birthday, and had recently been given a new trampoline from my very generous brother Richard. We had the idea to turn this area into a playground. Thanks to Trevor's dad and brother Darren and my mom we were able to almost finish this project in one day.

First a HUGE dump truck dumped 16 cubic yards of wood chips on our driveway. The kids loved this. At first I worried that it wasn't enough. It was PLENTY.


Then Trevor and his dad and brother tilled up the whole area raked it all out. They also removed an old rusty swingset that was by the shed that was cemented into the ground.

Then we put down weed guard and fastened it to the ground with bit metal fabric staples. The rolls were four feet wide and we used one 200 foot long roll and three 50 foot long rolls.

Then we made about 50 kagillion trips with the wheelbarrow and a wagon to get all of the wood chips from the driveway to the backyard. This is the part that my mom helped with and I didn't get a picture of this step, darn. A few days later Trevor and I moved the trampoline and put up the swingset. I love when project is finished! And just in time for summer. Anybody want to wager on how long it will take for our kids to say they are bored? Give it time, they aren't out of school quite yet. But right now they can't get enough of playing outside in their new playground.

April 25th 2009

What are you doing that day?? We just found out today that we will be seeing WICKED at the Capital Theater. We are so glad they decided to stop in Salt Lake City this time! (April 8th through May 3rd) Tickets aren't even on sale to the general public yet but I have a friend that I work with who is a season ticket holder. They got to buy tickets early starting TODAY! She bought over 90 tickets and put about $8000 on her credit card! WOW. That's what makes her so nice. Trevor and I are going to take Miquelle this time. Also seeing it will be Trevors parents and siblings and one of my brothers and his wife.

I can't wait!

Trevor and I saw Wicked about a year ago in Denver and it was absolutely amazing. Seriously. There are not words to describe spectacular this show is. If you have the chance to see it, GO! I promise you will not be disappointed.

Only 313 more days. I think I'll go make a paper chain.

Happy Flag Day

Favorite Photo Friday

I'm not all that great a photographer. I want to be, it's on my list. But sometimes I get lucky and get a great shot. Don't really know what I did to make it great, but it is a good one. And then sometimes I get pictures that I love simply because of the subject matter. I decided I wanted to start favorite photo friday where I could share some of my favorite photos throughout the years. Forgive me, they will probably mostly be of my kids...but I'll try to mix it up now and then. So this weeks favorite photo:

This was taken last summer at Lake Tahoe. We spent a week with my family and had a great time. Trevor took this picture himself and I love it.

Thankful Thursday

1. My Husband
I'm so thankful that he is level headed because I'm not at all. He is so patient with me and my crazy ideas and projects. He is such a great and involved dad. And he is the best friend a girl could ask for.

2. My laundry chute.
Most of us live upstairs and I love the laundry chute for delivering the laundry downstairs for me. It is big enough to hold lots of clothes, towels and sheets. I told my kids they couldn't climb in it because they would get stuck. Then Matt (their "uncle") had to go climb inside it and prove me wrong. If one of my kids gets stuck I'm calling you Matt.

3. Our jogger stroller.
We have gone through many strollers with our kids, a must for as much time as we like to spend going for walks. Our old double stroller was getting pretty cramped and hard to push two three year olds around. So we got this new lovely one. I love the swivel wheel. It is such a smooth ride. Cole and Cagney sit by each other much the same way they "sat" in utero. Cole pretty much sits still in one spot and Cagney is all over the place.

4. All the kids being back on track.
This year has been crazy with our kids on two different tracks. But we are past the six weeks where someone is always off track and now everyone is back on. They get along so much better when they have school as a distraction.

5. Good friends.
My good friend Cheryl had a birthday last friday and some of us gals went to lunch. It was so fun and a nice break. And then this week Trevor and I went to a viewing for someone that I grew up across the street from. He was young, only 44. I was good friends with his two younger sisters growing up. We haven't seen each other in years. It was so nice to see them and other old friends from the neighborhood where I grew up. Just really sad that it took such an occasion to get us together. It made me want to contact more old friends.

911 What is your emergency?

I called 911 yesterday for the first time ever (thank goodness). Don't worry everyone is fine. I was taking Gabe to school and as I was driving home I was crossing Bangerter Highway. For those of you not familiar it is a three lane each direction highway, speed limit 55 or 60 mph. There was a guy walking with a baby in a stroller on the highway! What a MORON! I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was at the side, but seriously there is about 18 inches of shoulder. I turned around to see if I really just saw what I thought I saw and sure enough he was just walking along. (There are many "no pedestrian" signs by the way. But really, do you need a sign to tell you that you shouldn't walk with your baby in a stroller right next to traffic going 60 mph??)

So I felt like I couldn't not do something so I called 911. An answering machine answered. Really. But it was just a recorded message telling me to stay on the line and it didn't take long at all until I was talking to someone. He said that they had received many calls and had someone on their way. I turned around at the next light and there were a couple of police cars that had stopped him. Who know maybe he would have been fine, but definitely not a chance I would want to take.

So what have we learned here? If you have no common sense, pay attention to traffic signs. And if you lose all ability to think clearly, hopefully there will be some other people around paying attention.

Extreme Makeover Backyard Edition Part 1 - The Fence

We are not really yardwork people. Don't really enjoy it, don't really know what we are doing. But we decided this year that we needed to bite the bullet and get our yard in better shape. Step one was putting up a fence. There are a few reasons that we really felt like we needed a fence. Mostly because we felt like we needed a safe place for our kids to play. We were tired of cleaning up after other peoples dogs, and tired of our yard being used as a walkway between one part of the neighborhood to another part of the neighborhood. Constantly. Got.REALLY.Tired.Of.It.

So we decided that our tax return money this year was going to go towards a new fence. Our neighbors were putting one up at the same time so that really helped. We didn't want to pay to have it put in because that was about twice the cost. So Trevor took the installation class, we measured the yard, ordered the supplies and we were good to go. Everything went pretty smoothly really but it took FOREVER to get done! I work every other saturday so it was hard to get much done on those days, so it was pretty much just the other saturday and then evenings as much as we could. The weather didn't always cooperate but after six weeks it is finally done! We LOVE it. The freedom of just having our backyard all to ourselves is pure bliss. The kids love to play outside in their new "playground" area. (That deserves a post all its own and will be part 2) And we look at our yard with a whole new perspective and kind of see it as a blank slate and are already planning more things that we want to do. Someday. Maybe that will be part 3.

Thanks to all that lent a hand!

Bye Bye Binkies

First of all if you are one of those mothers that had her kids weaned from the bottle and binky by age one, potty trained by age two and reading by age three stop reading now. Okay, for the rest of us. Up until this week Cole and Cagney still slept with a binky. I have a few very valid excuses for this. Mainly, it kept them quiet. They sleep in the same room (always have) and it kept them from keeping each other awake with their talking and yelling (at least most of the time). And yes I think there was a teeny tiny itsy bitsy part of me that wanted to keep them my little babies. Sniff, sniff.

So we have slowly been throwing the binkies away as they "broke", or got tiny cracks in them that were not acceptable to Cole and Cagney. We were getting pretty low on binkies earlier this week (three to be exact). I was putting Cole and Cagney to bed and handed Cagney a binky, she said it was broken and needed another one. We tried binky number two. Broken. Uh Oh. I quickly stuck my head in the closet and stuck the last binky in my mouth. Hmmm. It's fine. What a pickle. How am I going to get myself out of this one? I'm quickly feeling out numbered. Two kids, one binky that isn't "broken". I made a quick and desperate decision...stuck my head back in the closet and bit a hole in the last binky. I casually handed it to Cagney and after trying it out she said it was broken. "Oh well", I said. "I guess we don't have anymore binkies, they are all broken." She didn't trust me, had to try them all out again. I told her she could have one of the broken ones but she didn't want it. Meanwhile Cole was very quiet through all of this. I offered him a "broken" binky but he declined.

So I gave hugs and kisses, said goodnight and walked out of the room. No crying. No screaming. No toys thrown at the back of my head as I left the room. Wow, how did that happen? Who knew it would be that easy? If I had any idea it would be that simple I would have bit holes in all of the binkies months ago!

Thankful Thursday

1. A kid old enough to babysit
I thought the day would never come. Miquelle turns 12 soon and has been baby sitting for us for a bit. Just last week we got the kids to bed and went to a late movie (Indiana Jones...we seem to be in the minority of people who liked it). It is bliss. Even if it is just for a minute so I can run to the store quick for something I need for dinner. She is a life saver, I'm so grateful for her and the way she is growing up.

2. Naptime
Many days I don't think I would make it through the day if I didn't have that two hour break in the middle of the day. It is a time when I can read my scriptures, write in my journal, do laundry or other chores without helpers, make some phone calls in quiet, get a start on dinner, or catch a little snooze myself.

3. Rain
Yes, just last week I had a post complaining about the rain but for some reason I have just loved it the last couple of days. I love the smell of the rain and how green everything gets. Not to mention that no matter how much precipitation we get it seems like we are always told we are in a drought.

4. Yoplait yogurt
Lemon, cherry and apricot mango are my favorites. I especially love dipping wheat pretzels into it.

5. sandals and flip flops
I do not like shoes at all and only wear them when it is absolutely necessary. I love this time of year when I can just slip on some flip flops or sandals quick and I am ready to go. I especially love when I have freshly painted toenails to show off.

three.

Three years ago today

today at age three!


How can it be that some days just drag by and I think they will never end, but the years pass much too quickly? Cole and Cagney have been very excited for this birthday...mostly to blow out their birthday candles. And they don't seem to mind that they are the only ones in the family that have to share a birthday. Maybe since they have never known anything else.
I knew for a long time before Cole and Cagney came along that there was a little dark haired girl that was going to be in our family...just didn't know she was bringing a blond little boy with her. And we are so glad she did. So glad that life didn't go the way I had "planned" for and that there are FIVE and not four.

Three things about Cole at age three.

• He loves cars. They provide hours of entertainment, and we find them "parked" in the funniest places all over the house. 
  
• He is a very picky eater. Our first out of all of the kids. Maybe picky isn't even the right word, stubborn. If he doesn't want to try something he isn't going to try it. If he doesn't like the way it smells he won't try it. Many a night he has had a peanut butter an honey sandwich for dinner because he refuses to even try what I cooked. 
  
• Has learned to ride a tricycle with his feet on the pedals! Totally not ready for him to learn to drive a car. I have 13 more years (and two boys ahead of him) to prepare myself for that one. 
  

Three things about Cagney at age three.

• Cagney is all girl. Loves pink, princess, purses, fingernail polish, her babies, and skirts or dresses are always her first choice. 
  
• She has naturally curly hair. I have a bit of curl in mine and so does Jared but she has the most by far. I think she got it from her Grandma Gallacher. 
  
• She already can't wait to go to school. Everyday when we drop Miquelle, Jared and Gabe off she talks about how excited she is for when she is BIG and can go to school. Not yet little girl, not yet.