FAMILIES ARE EVERYTHING

Hobby Hunter

2012-02-10T00:02:00.005-05:00

I find myself buzzing around like a bee, trying to find my niche in life. Well I realize that I can be a great mom, wife and still have time for some hobbies. But I don't have any hobbies really besides running. Then I thought I haven't used my food blog in so long I might as well revamp and give it a makeover. So I did, and now I am going to try different hobbies and make a journal of my progress and how it works out. I am sure there will be some I love, some I hate and some that will be just ok. I get tired of not having that crafty part that every other female seems to have. I don't have any posts right now, but I plan on prepping for my first entry soon. So stay tuned and keep checking to see how it is going. You can find the link to my page on my sidebar or HERE.

You So Ugli

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I am all about trying new fruit or vegetables. I was in the produce section this past week and saw this display with these ugly fruits on them. I really didn't know that they were called Ugli fruits. I wasn't going to buy it. It basically looks like a rotted piece of fruit someone left on the ground. But the produce lady was there and she assured me that they were delicious. So I bought one (1.99) and took it home. It has sat on my counter for about a week. I subconsciously just couldn't peel it and eat it. I mean, look at this thing. So finally this morning I got up to make breakfast for Corey and I peeled it. Corey and I were so surprised. This thing is awesome. I think the lady said it was a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit. It was so juicy it was flying everywhere. I loved it. The only downfall is the huge seeds like an orange and the sections do have tough skin on the outside. You could sit and chew them I guess, but I opted to take the skin off and just eat the inside. You should really try it....... yummy good.

Fish or is it?

2012-02-07T20:47:00.001-05:00

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before, and I am pretty sure I probably have, but I hate fish. As a rule I just don't like the taste of it. I did try some fish at a nice restaurant this weekend and I did like it. But it was dripping in sauce so I figured it covered up the fish taste nicely. Well I decided to give fish another go tonight.....and I liked it. In fact, the whole family ate all the fish. Logan had like 3 helpings of it. And the best part is the recipe is so simple it is hard to believe it tasted as good as it did. The original recipe called for Bass, but I remember Corey telling me this was super fishy. So when I went to the grocery store they had a sale on Swai. Never heard of it before and it was white so I figured why not try that one. I was not disappointed. It wasn't all that fishy. I might have found my new favorite fish. I thought I would include the recipe since it turned out so good. I also found a recipe for asparagus and almonds. I really like asparagus but my family not so much. I was surprised that they even ate this one. Must have been a good night for cooking. Here is the recipe, if you give it a shot let me know if you liked it or not.

Put 2 tsp. olive oil in a pan and heat to med-high. Put pepper on your fish fillets and then cook them in the hot oil for around 2.5 minutes each side. You will know when it is done because it flakes super easy. After the fish is done take it out of the pan and cover to keep warm. In the same skillet put another 1 tsp. of olive oil and about 8oz of mushrooms sliced. Cook for 2 minutes. Then add about 1 tsp. fresh chopped ginger and 1 clove of garlic chopped. Cook for another 1 minute. Then add about 4 green onions chopped, 1/4 c. water and 1 TB. of lemon juice. Cook for another 2 minutes. Serve the fish with the mushrooms on top. Corey wanted rice so he put that under it all.

When I researched it Swai is the new Tilapia.

Green Monster

2012-02-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

Wait a second, that isn't a green monster.....that's my friend Cookie Monster.

This is a green monster,

I remember a friend in Oklahoma talking about these and I thought she was crazy. There was no way I was going to drink my spinach. But this is the perfect way to get a bunch of vitamins and minerals and still have it taste really good. Plus everything you put in this monster is on my caveman diet. This is what I put into it:

1 Cup of fresh orange juice

3/4 C. almond milk

2 C. of baby spinach

1 Cup of frozen peaches

1 banana

handful of ice

That is all. And it taste just like a fruit smoothie. You honestly can't even taste the spinach. I was drinking it and I tried to get Hailey to taste it. She was a little scared of the color, but once she did she wouldn't leave me alone. This might be a regular thing for me from now on. So good.

Eating Paleo

2012-02-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

I told Corey just the other day how tired I feel lately. For someone who runs 7 miles in the morning you would think I would have plenty of energy, right? Well I don't. I find myself not having enough energy to fold my laundry, which if you know me is a huge thing. Since I burn so many calories I wanted to research a way to eat plenty but get some much needed energy. I Googled marathon running and eating and came across something called the Paleo Diet, which really isn't even a diet but a way of eating. I have been researching it all day and it has gotten some great reviews from some hard core runners. The idea is to limit sugar which makes your energy spike and then leaves you feeling crappy. Also to limit grains going on the idea of the Caveman diet which gives the idea you can get your carbs from vegetables, fruits and nuts. Of course this does include all meats, lean cuts. And the best part that I love is no counting calories, no portion control. You eat till you feel full and your energy is supposed to be through the roof. The other thing I liked was they didn't totally prohibit diet soda, which is a plus for me. They said just in moderation you can drink it, which is what I have been trying to do anyways. I am using this as a type of journal to log in and see how I feel each day that I follow it. Hopefully my energy will go back up and I can actually feel like doing things instead of laying around all day feeling so tired. Plus when I get up I have to sit back down due to blackouts. I know my Gilbert's doesn't help with feeling fatigued either so this should also help that.

Oh and Mom please don't worry or throw a fit. I will be eating healthy and lots and not restricting my calories. Support me...Love you.

Introducing.......

2012-01-30T14:32:00.000-05:00

Miles....yes I finally got my dog. Corey is none to thrilled about it. He has two rules with the dog. He can't go in our bedroom at anytime and that during dinner he must sit in his kennel and wait. I thought both these rules were fine with me. I have to share how I found him.

So we went first to the SPCA here in Douglas and they only had about 6 dogs to choose from. The only one I liked was a pit bull named Firetruck. He really was such a sweetie and he loved the kids. But Corey just was not comfortable with a pit bull seeing as he was attacked by one as a kid and had to jump on top of a car to get away from it. So I turned my sights to the SPCA in Casper which is so much larger. They had about 40 dogs to choose from. We went in and I told the guy I was a big fan of gentle giants. I wanted a large dog that wasn't going to knock down Hailey and get really crazy. So I mentioned no labs. If you remember George he was crazy and I don't think Corey could handle another George.

So he brings out this Husky mix and after watching her for 5 minutes as she basically jumped from chair to chair and then tried to jump on the table I told him that it was way too much energy for me. Plus he said since she was part Husky she would basically pull me as I was running. So why did he even bring this dog out? He swears after awhile she settled down but who was to say what a little while was.

So next he brings in this Great Pyrenees. These dogs are giants and this one barely made it in the room before he flopped on the ground and didn't get up. We all sat on the ground and patted him. He would sometimes lift a paw to put on your leg but he basically didn't move. I then asked if he would be able to run with me. He assured me he could, but I didn't think so. Then I asked how old he was, he replied 9 years. So basically a senior dog that maybe had 2 or 3 good years left. He was sweet but I didn't want a dog that old or lethargic either. So he took "Sparky" back.

I asked if he by chance had a dog that was about a year old. He said he did have a lab mix but since I said I didn't want a lab he didn't think about him. I asked to see him anyways. So they brought out "Rex" and he was so cute and fluffy. He was so calm and would just sit on your foot and let you pet him. He didn't like Hailey too much, but I don't think any dog likes to have a 2 year old all in it's face the whole time. I loved him instantly. So I filled out the application and we had to go home and wait.

We went on Saturday and so we waited until Thursday to go pick him up. He was so scared. He even growled at Hailey a little bit and I was thinking great my instincts were off and I will have to give him back for being aggressive. He wouldn't get in the car, so I brought the kennel and they put him in that then loaded him in my car. I was having so many second thoughts by the time I got home. Got him inside and I was a little scared of him at first. You never know who your dog is going to turn out to be. But can I just say after one day he turned into the biggest lovable baby ever. He has so many great traits that I will just have to list them:

1. He hasn't barked yet, I don't even know if he knows how to. Even when he sees other dogs nothing comes out of his mouth. It has been wonderful.

2. He is not hyper at all. He will just sit and lay down all day long while inside.

3. He never jumps on anyone, and he loves people and dogs.

4. He is very submissive to me and he has never had an accident in the house. He even pees on command now when I say pee-pee.

5. He loves me, and I know this by the way he will follow me around all day long and even sit on my feet and make me pet his belly.

For awhile there I thought he would never play. He doesn't like toys. I got him some and tried to throw them and nope, no interest. But a couple of nights ago after he used the bathroom I started rough housing with him and he loves it. He will run like crazy around the house and then jump on the porch in one swoop and attack my feet like a cat does. I am laughing so hard it is hard for me to concentrate. And when I want him to calm down all I do is tell him to sit and he turns back into my cuddle bug.

That is the other thing, he knows how to sit, give me paw and the best is stay. And when we eat meals he will go and lay down on his blanket and wait for us to get done. He goes in his kennel at night and never complains. I just feel like I picked the best dog ever.

Today I took him to the groomer to get him cleaned up. He was pretty dirty from the SPCA and he was a little stinky. When I went to pick him up he looked so fluffy and smelt so good. Plus his fur now feels like those soft teddy bears you buy. He looks even more handsome.

And as a last note...what kind of dog is he? Well that is all speculation. I have different remarks from everyone he has been to. The SPCA said he was part lab part Akita. The Vet said she saw lab and German Shepherd. And the groomer said he didn't see any lab at all. He swears he is German Shepherd and chow mix because of his fluff and head shape. I really don't care what he is, all I know is he is mine and amazing.

In his kennel happy as can be.

Out of all the kids he loves Logan the best.

What a handsome boy his is.

When I am in the kitchen cooking this is what he does. He just lays there and watches me. Never begs or gets under my feet.

He loves to snuggle and get his belly rubbed.

He will paw you if you stop petting him.

And for some reason he thinks he is a small lap dog. I don't know how many times he has tried to sit in my lap.

The Giver

2012-01-25T15:09:00.002-05:00

I don't know why I have never read this book. You would think since it won the Newbery award I would have read it at some point in school at least. And if you have spoke to me about books and book club reading YA books that won the Newbery have not been my favorite ones. But I was actually surprised on how this book kept my attention. I never felt like I was forcing myself to finish and the fact that it is a short book also helps.

It felt a little sci-fi to me, and I normally don't go for those. But it actually had a great ending. As I was nearing the end I was getting a little alarmed because I saw only 2 more pages and where the characters were at was not really comfortable to me. I like the ending the best. One of those endings that are uncertain and mean different things to different people. I felt that they both met the bad or pessimistic ending. I read up on the reviews and I agree with the sad ending. That is what I thought before I even did the research. But I guess you could also switch it to the happy one as well. For me it just holds so much more meaning and sacrifice for the not so pleasant one.

I feel that people do that every day. We deal with the not so great things and experience the bad so we know the good. This book felt a little like what Satan would have our lives be like if he would have won that argument in the pre-existence. No choice and everything with strict rules. They call it sameness. But we don't live like that and so we all have choices. And those choices make our lives unpredictable yes, but also so wonderful at the same time. If you haven't read it yet, you really should. I love a book that actually gets my brain a thinking. I really should have picked this book for book club back in Maryland when we were doing the Newbery's. Oh well, at least I got it in. Happy reading everyone.

Seems A Bit....

2012-01-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

I am the first one to admit that I love Facebook. I love to see what my friends are doing. I like to see pictures of people that I would normally never see. I know there are lots of Facebook lovers out there. But along with the good comes the bad, or not even bad just annoying to me.

So a girl from our High School was hit by a car a couple of days ago while walking in LA and suffered severe brain damage. She was in the ICU and since she was an organ donor they kept her alive and then did the surgery to harvest her organs last night. I was sad for her and her family. What a horrible way to leave this earth. I am not known for my compassion. Ask my kids..... But I found the comments on Facebook a bit overwhelming. I mean, everyone sounded like they were her best friends. I could be wrong, maybe she did have 1000 of good friends. Seems almost impossible to me, but it could happen. So you read comment after comment and I just think how many of these people actually knew her? I didn't leave any comment because besides saying hi to her on occasion and being in girl scouts when I was like 10 I didn't really know her that well. So this got me thinking....

If I happened to pass away I wonder how many of those same people would say that they knew me that well? How many would leave the good old I remember when comments? I can think of maybe a handful of friends that actually knew me well enough to leave a heartfelt comment on my Facebook page. If I was looking down and saw even half of the other comments I would probably laugh. It seems cheesy almost to put those comments on some one's page who has passed on. Notice I posted my feelings here because I didn't want my tires slashed or have death threats put out on my life.

I just hope that when I pass I don't get those same lovey comments from the same group of girls who harassed me the whole time I was in High School. And I would have to say most of them were pretty horrible and snobbish. I know, people change and it was High School, but still you don't know me.

Settling

2012-01-08T21:02:00.000-05:00

Here I am....Yes I know everyone thought I was lost. And at times I really thought I was. Swimming in a sea of moving boxes and paper can get overwhelming. I still don't get why you have to pack a box of clothes with paper. We are all settled in now, and I have all these ideas swimming in my head for decorating my house. It has been two long years of renting and for me when we rent I don't have any motivation to make it mine.

Before we moved we made one last trip to Washington D.C. We went with our good friends the Ryders and it always is a pleasant day when we are with them. Of course we saw two of the museums but I didn't take too many pictures. We did take pictures outside in front of the Washington Monument. Little did we know that Corey ran a red light on this day and was caught with a traffic camera. We just got the great news this past week. Thanks for the parting gift.

I was trying to hold it up, after the earthquake it just hasn't been the same.

After we got to Douglas Lexie's class had their Christmas program. We had been there all of two days when they performed. Lexie was adamant that she go so she got all dolled up. I was impressed that she knew most of the songs and choreography after only two days.

We finally got moved in and somewhat settled. Like I mentioned before I have all the color schemes and decorating ideas in my head. Little by little I will get my house where I want it. But this is what I have so far. My bedroom is actually bigger than we thought. I went with a simple gray and black bedspread and I plan on making my accent color red. This is the least decorated room, but I will get to it eventually.

My bathroom coordinated with my bedroom so the same color theme. This is also not too decorated, but no one really sees this anyways.

The boys room for now, this will eventually be turned into an office when we get the basement finished this summer.

The girls room. I love the new bedspreads with the black and pink polka dots. This will be turned into our guest room when we get the basement finished.

This is the entryway when you come into my house. I love my ladder shelf. I still have to put stuff on it, but you get the idea.

Our living room, with our new couches which we love. Notice how the arm is on the wrong side of the sectional. Yep, Value City gave us the wrong couch and we didn't unwrap them till we got here. But we called and told them and they are shipping us the right one and we get to keep this one as well. We plan on moving the recliner in our room and hooking the other couch around to make a large U.

My dining room which is much bigger than the last one. We can all actually sit around the table without squishing against the wall.

Aww my kitchen. My favorite room of the house. I am still figuring the color scheme in here, but I love how homey it feels to me. I do spend a lot of time in here so I am glad that I like it.

Don't you love our basement? We have it set up in living room style with the TV against the pink walls. The cement floors make a great play area for the bikes and skateboards. Corey's parents are coming this summer and we plan on getting it framed, electrical done and the drywall up. This will give us a great headway into getting at least the kids bedrooms in and the extra living area.

Oh more packing paper that escaped the clean up. I guess I still have more work to do.

We are happy and getting settled. Hopefully I will post more often now that we are getting back into a routine.

Trying to Find my Mojo...

2011-11-28T20:19:00.001-05:00

I have to admit I am being a slight Grinch this year. Not that I have not been blessed, in that it is the complete opposite. Corey gets a better job, with better pay. I get a house and get to make it my own. What in the world do I have to complain about? And I am not really complaining, just sad. Maybe a little disconnected at this point. Thank goodness for my Mother who calls and keeps me on the upside of things. My Mom's quirky sense of humor would make anyone feel better.

This year we are moving to Wyoming and we will be in a hotel for at least a month. I keep trying to think of the good, like no cleaning for a month and a cooked breakfast every morning. But then I think of the isolation and the cold. I think of not even having a tree for Christmas and I get a little bummed. I look forward to Christmas just as much as the kids do. Don't feel too bad for us, we are going to attempt to drive to Corey's Grandmom who lives up in Bear Lake. So hopefully the unforgiving Wyoming winter will allow us that opportunity. If not, I might have to find a mini tree somewhere to put up in the room.

I will also be leaving some incredible friends here. Who would have thought at 30 I would make friends that have made such an impact on me. Christy and Jenn, my gal pals in crime. I see these girls at least twice a week. Lunch and shopping have never been so fun for me. I can rely on these two girls like no one else. I will miss having someone who I can call up at anytime for anything. Then there is my running group of Will and Hector. What can I say, when you run for hours a day with the same people you get to know them really well. Both of these guys are great Priesthood holders and have taught me so much with their quiet examples. Not many people can love you when you are having stomach issues and body fluids are everywhere. But these guys have stuck with me no matter what. I honestly feel so blessed to have known these people. I will miss them dearly.

But onward to great adventure and I am sure many more friends. I will again try to take more pictures. Maybe one day I will afford a nice camera that I will want to take more pictures with. This should be a momentous adventure so I will try to document it.

2011-11-20T21:33:00.001-05:00

Wow, where have I been? Moving has taken a lot of my time along with the final training for my 2nd marathon. I have to say I felt like I earned this one more than my first. I will remember this one more because of how hard it was for me. Runner's talk about hitting the wall at some point and I didn't really remember that on my first race. But I can tell you the exact point that I hit the wall in Philly. I was at mile 18 and I just bonked. My legs felt like lead and I had no energy left. My knee felt fine, didn't hurt at all. But I seriously felt just spent. If it wasn't for Hector staying with me I would have just sat on the curb and cried. I felt HORRIBLE. Those last 6 miles were the longest of my life. I even kept thinking if I would have kept at it I would have gotten my goal of under 4 hours.

Even so, I still got a time of 4 hours and 11 min. I want to blame it on the stress that I am going through with the move, but it could be it just was a crappy day for me. But I have met so many amazing people through running. You just seem to have this magic bond with other runners and you can just sit down and chat about running forever. The other girl in the picture with me is Erica Price from Waynesboro in PA. I met her on my first marathon in Gettysburg and we ran together for that. She is so nice and bubbly and it just so happens we got to run together on this one too. She finished ahead of me by about 10 minutes, she did great.

Now it is break time for the winter. Getting acclimated to Wyoming weather and elevation should be a challenge in itself. I need some good R&R to let my body heal and recoup from that one. Boy those two medals dangling from my mirror sure look great.

Erica and I before the race started.

Hector and I before getting into our corrals.

Casper, WY

2011-11-03T19:46:00.001-04:00

This post has been itching to come out now for almost a month. Corey has been working really long hours for the past year. And that includes some weekends. He is hardly home and I felt that the kids were suffering from not having their dad there for them. He started looking just for kicks at other jobs that he would be great at. He found one with Pacificorp and applied not thinking anything would come of it.

Then the beginning of October they called and wanted an interview. It was a long process of interviews and fly outs for only two days for face to face. Then the waiting and negotiating. It was brutal. I have consumed more chocolate this month than should be allowed. But finally tonight he signed the contract and it is set.

I am so proud of my hubby and he works so hard on everything he does. He really deserves this and I couldn't be happier for him or our family. I am a little scared of moving there in the heart of winter and I am pretty sure I will be in shock. So I am already starting to stock up on winter gear that I normally don't buy. No school cancellation there for snow. I will try to post as things happen, it should be a very interesting next couple of months.

Camera Cutie

2011-10-14T14:37:00.000-04:00

Got this video of Hailey on a cooperative day. She is just so dang cute.

Gabe' Baptism Weekend

2011-10-09T08:01:00.000-04:00

Boy was it an eventful weekend!! In reality it was Gabe's weekend. We were busy and did lots of things together. At the same time it was so special because my Gabber got baptized. It was wonderful. I can't even describe the feeling of watching your child doing and following the Gospel and knowing that he is developing such a strong testimony from it.

The weekend started early for us due to the fact it was a half day Friday. That basically means they let the kids out at 12:20 and they get to come home early to us. I didn't want to just sit inside, because it was such a beautiful day out. So I took all the kids to a local park. The two girls played and didn't bug me at all. The boys kept saying they were bored because there was no one there age to play with. I get so tired of those words. Who gets bored at a gigantic playground? So I let the boys use my camera for a little stretch each. Actually got some great shots.

Hailey loves the slides

Weee...he is such a ham.

Logan took this pic and I love it.

aviator Kory, yep didn't know about this one.

Logan took this one too...great shot.

Me and my little munchkin.

He was in the middle of saying no, which made for a great picture.

He made for a great seat.

Saturday arrived and Gabe had been training and signed up for the County Cross Country event. They had to run about 3/4 of a mile and there were so many people there. But Gabe did great for his first race. He got 55 out of 164 boys.

Hailey throwing a fit in the wet grass because she wanted on the playground.

Gabe just finished.

Go Gabber

Then what a better way to end the day then Gabe getting baptized. He was so excited. It was wonderful. And I will never forget how after he was confirmed he sat next to me and held my hand. Then he looked up at me and said he couldn't stop smiling. I love my family.

Sunday General Conference

2011-10-02T19:23:00.000-04:00

What a great way to end my conference weekend!! I loved every moment of it. Even with the kids running around being crazy since we were stuck inside all day together. I want them to remember Conference Sunday's and the closeness we feel as a family in our home. I have just felt so blessed this time around. I feel as though most of the talks were directed towards me. And in feeling that I have taken in a lot that I feel I need to address. I think we all need Conference time to re-evaluate where we are headed and where we want to go.

The best part for me was hearing President Monson bare his testimony on how the Lord loves us. I felt it with all my heart that this was true. That the Lord is watching over me and wants what is best for me. I have no doubt in my mind that he knows my feelings and my weakness and my concerns. He is aware of what I am going through and He wants to help me. What a blessing that is that we have such support and concern for our welfare. How comforting to me to know that I have someone so wonderful and powerful watching after me. I feel strength and peace and for the first time in a long time I feel such devotion to myself and family that I want to get out there and make a difference.

I also feel such a strong conviction and connection to my ancestors that have set such a strong example for me to follow. I know they are aware of me and watching me. I have big steps to follow and I feel it urgent that I follow the path that they have set for me and my family. I don't want to let them down and I don't want to let my own family down who will feel the consequences of everything that I do. I love my Savior with all my heart. What he has done for me and all the wonderful knowledge and opportunities that I have because of the Atonement. I know that if I keep striving to live the commandments and love everyone as my Savior and Father in Heaven love me then I can live eternally with my family. Which is the most wonderful gift of all.

I also have a deep love for the Book of Mormon. The wonderful lessons and knowledge I get from each verse. I love to read from it everyday and I feel stronger and more empowered to face the world when I do so. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the wonderful example of my parents in rearing me within it. Thank you so much for keeping true to your covenants so that I can have all these wonderful blessings. I know that this Gospel is true. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer, Amen.

Saturday General Conference

2011-10-01T18:22:00.001-04:00

Has it really been that long Blogger? I guess I have been absorbed with things more or less. Don't worry, I still haven't taken any pictures since my last post. I think my camera has dust collecting on it. My mind has been all over the place it seems. But for once it has been great for me. I have been just so rejuvenated by the Relief Society Conference that I haven't really touched ground yet. Ok, maybe with the kids I have been lacking in patience and long suffering but who wouldn't?

Today Corey and I actually watched both sessions of General Conference. In the 12 years we have been married this was a first. I just really enjoyed it. Since both boys are 8 and older we made them watch the first session with us. Logan actually watched and was able to tell us what the talks were about. Gabe not so much. But I feel like I have been given so many things to think about and apply in my own life. And we still have tomorrow. It is honestly days like today where I feel extremely blessed to be a Mormon. No other words could describe how I have been lately. I feel I have been given this great gift and now I am eager to get going. It only took me two years of being stubborn and losing myself in the world I guess you could say. I have finally figured out what is most important and now I am going after it with guesto.

I will try to take more pictures, but I am sure not too many people read this blog anyways. But for those few who do, I know you want pictures. Just like books the best ones have some pictures in them. This coming week has lots going on so I will take my camera with me for photo opps. Find something to be happy about.....I know I have.

Book Review

2011-08-26T16:40:00.003-04:00

The Devil In The White City

I am not to good at book reviews. I never know what to write and how to sound really intelligent about it. After reading some professional reviews I feel like a 2nd grader turning in my book report. But sometimes you come across a book that you find very interesting and you have to share.

So I heard about this book from a lady in a book club I joined. Soon after I heard of others who had read it. It swaps stories between the architect of the World Fair in Chicago and the trials that they went through to build it and the story of H.H Holms the serial killer who lived in Chicago during the World's Fair. I was told that most people got bored with the facts relating to the World's Fair and wanted to skip through to the story involving H.H Holms. But I found both stories very intriguing. I always wonder how people lived and what it was like even 100 years ago. I also love reading non-fiction books because it blows my mind how some things actually happen.

Now I have to admit I was more enthralled with the serial killer story, who wouldn't be. This guy was nuts and it is hard to believe that someone didn't just make all of it up. But I also enjoyed the story behind the fair and how impossible it really seemed and yet they did it still. I really enjoyed reading it and had it done in two days. So if you want a good read with some chilling and interesting facts then this is a good pick. If you have read it or have any ideas about it leave your comments. I would love to hear what other's thought.

Back To School

2011-08-24T10:36:00.003-04:00

School is back in session and the kids look pretty happy about it.

Not sure how I feel though....

Guess I better Post Something

2011-08-10T16:49:00.003-04:00

Wow has it really been that long? Where has the time gone? I seem to have landed a month later and not known how I got here. I have been looking forward to school starting and getting the kids all their stuff that they need. On that thought, does a kid really need 10 notebooks and 16 folders for the year? How many subjects do they have now a days?

I do look at blogs everyday. I look at all the cute creative people that I know and sometimes I feel like the old grumpy lady on the block with 50 cats that smells. I don't know how to do all these cutesy things, and I am sure even if I did they would not appear so cute. While someone who is creative is making a masterpiece you can find me putting my pants in order so i hit everyone in turn or better yet checking my alarm clock 50 times to make sure the alarm button is set correctly. I do have good intentions most of the time, but find myself unmotivated by the end of the day.

But there is one thing that I do enjoy doing....cooking. Baking is fun too, but there is something about combining things to create tastiness that just is so satisfying to me. I wish I had more budget to cook some outlandish stuff I find. But it might be a waste and it does not fit in the hot dog, hamburger, steak or corn dog category that my family seems to gravitate to. So I decided to do a one meal a month cooking different styles and types of food in courses. Sounds pretty daring I know. Plus with 8 courses that is a lot of cooking. But in my mind I see Corey and I on a nice Saturday evening with no kids and me serving each little course and enjoying every second of it. Seeing as it is birthdays right now and we have plans the next two Saturdays I don't see it happening anytime soon. But I have the menu set for the first date and I am going French. Yes I know most of their food sounds revolting and I get scared just looking at most of it. But I found some recipes that actually sounded really good. The grocery list is unusually long, but I figure I can splurge once a month to go overboard here. As soon as I get the date set I will be sure to take pictures and let you know how it goes. I can feel that inner cook in me getting antsy to try it out. I guess that is why I am in LOVE with Master Chef right now. Let's see an old cat lady cook up the stuff I am about to create. Maybe there is a french recipe for cat.....

Mormon Message

2011-07-27T11:28:00.001-04:00

We had one of our Presidency meetings yesterday and Tiffany our R.S. president presented a video for our spiritual thought. I haven't checked Mormon messages in awhile now. I need to remember to go there more often. Talk about a spiritual uplifting message. I have watched it twice and bawled twice now. I have hugged my kids differently after seeing this. Hope you guys love it as much as I did. You can check it out here.

Thursday

2011-07-23T19:39:00.007-04:00

Thursday was our busy day...we went non-stop pretty much all day. We woke up early to go out on the ocean fishing. It was so cold and a storm was coming in. So we all got bundled up and ready to go. I didn't prepare myself for how cold it was going to be. I had to borrow a sweatshirt from my father-in-law and I was till cold out on the ocean.

Me in the cab, waiting to get going.
Boys excited to go fishing for the first time.

So we get out on the ocean and I think I am going to be ok. I even wore those pressure point bracelets that are supposed to help with sickness. Well we took them back because it did not help at all. I was so sick just rocking all over on the waves. Pretty soon after I got sick both boys joined me. I was trying not to complain and then Logan starts crying saying he wants to go home. I could have kissed him for that. So we turned around and headed back to dry land. I now understand why people kissed the ground after being on the sea for so long. I plan on staying on dry ground from now on.

This is me trying to concentrate on the horizon and not get sick.

Gabe before he got sick.

Since we headed back in early, we stopped by one of the lighthouses there and looked. It was so cute and I loved how they restored it.

View from the window of the lighthouse.

Old lighthouse.

They also had cute little shops along the road that we stopped and looked at. Lots of good photo ops there.

Look at those long flowing locks.

My sub kids. Makes me think of Magic School Bus.

Had to sit with the pirate.

Eventually Hailey even sat on the pirates lap.

Just a big walrus.

We also stopped by the aquarium there in Newport to take a look. It was such a cute place and had lots of hands on for the kids. They touched lots of sea animals and got to pet a snack as well. I even had fun there looking at all the wildlife the west coast had to offer.

Looking at the sea lions, Gabe took such great care of Hailey.

Cool shark tunnel.

Corey's Grandma and his Mom with Logan and Lexie.

Time to make our fish faces.......

Logan

Lexie

Gabe

Corey Scott

Shark jaw

Touch pond.

Logan and Gabe in the fish tank...Piranhas

We finally made it back to the house and had a BBQ and then went back down to the beach again to do another campfire. We were so exhausted. It was a full day.

Wednesday in Washington

2011-07-21T13:12:00.005-04:00

Wednesday morning we got up and got ready and drove three hours to Lincoln City and the Newport Beach area. My in-laws rented a beach house right on the beach and they brought there boat up and docked it at Newport. I have been to the Atlantic Ocean numerous times, but I have to say the Pacific coast is so much different. Just to look at, I would say the Pacific Coast is much more beautiful. The water is cold and so was I, but we all really enjoyed ourselves.

The kids got to ride in Grandpa's boat while he took it off the ramp and over to our docking spot. Hailey loved it and didn't want to get off. It really is a nice boat. I was already getting fishing fever at this point.

Safety first for our little ones.
Bridge in Newport.

We actually saw this starfish in the bay where the boat was at.

After we got all settled in we walked down to the beach to let the kids play in the ocean for the first time. They LOVED it. The waves are entertainment just in themselves. Notice everyone was jumping the waves in jackets. It was so cold, but it didn't stop the kids from having fun. At some point all four kids got knocked down by waves and still they got back up and went right back in. Daddy leading Hailey to see the waves

Beautiful cliffs by the beach, our house is at the top of that cliff.

I guess that wave gets a thumbs up

Everyone was so cold after getting wet, there was a nice family nearby that let us warm ourselves by the fire.

This is the pout I am cold want to go home look. It worked on the grandparents, but Corey and I are used to that look. Still dang cute.

Washington Vacation

2011-07-20T14:55:00.003-04:00

We made it back!! We have been planning this Oregon/Washington State trip for months now. It finally got here and then it was over before we knew it. We had such a great time. I could not believe how cool it was there, and then I come back to high 90's and all this humidity. We left last Tuesday and it was the first remember able airplane ride for all my kids. They were pretty excited. Gabe was the most freaked out when he saw how high we were. But he settled into it nicely. That first day was pretty boring, just flying and trying to keep kids entertained for all those long hours. We landed in Portland at 10:30pm their time which was way late our time. We were exhausted but ready to start our vacation.

Getting excited
Entertaining Hailey with some Tangled.

Waiting for the bus...it was so hot.

Kids waiting for bus.....more to come.

What A Great Video

2011-06-28T06:37:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o2WRHKbNno&feature=fvwrel

Something Worth Blogging About

2011-06-26T07:46:00.006-04:00

Has it really been almost a month since my last post??? Sometimes I don't feel like there is anything to blog about or take pictures of. We have been really laid back this month and just flat out lazy. We did go to Hershey for two days and I didn't take many pictures. I don't know why exactly but I didn't. We had a blast and it was so much fun. I also celebrated my 12th Anniversary with Corey. We went out to eat and to the movie Thor and had a great time. Even though 12 years sounds like a long time I always compare to people who celebrate 50 years together and Corey and I have a long ways to go.

I realized how lazy I have been and so on Friday I took the kids to the C&O canal here close by in Williamsport. This is where I run with my running group on Saturdays so I know the trail really well. I had never been in the little museum yet so we went in there and then unpacked the bikes for an hour of riding fun with no cars to worry about. I don't have a bike and Hailey doesn't either so we just strolled it up and down the path. The kids really liked it and it wasn't too hot either.

Kiddos in front of the Museum
Old bridge they used to lift up for the boats to go under.

Kids biking it on the trail.

This is one of the locks. The lady told us that only one man lived at the lock house and opened the float gates for the boats by himself. This thing was massive. You can see Gabe attempting to open the gate on the opposite side. Didn't go so well.

Lock House

This swan just sat there and we walked right up to it.

So beautiful

Just a cute face picture, couldn't resist.

On Saturday my friend Tiffany invited us to go to the American Doll store that just opened in Washington D.C. Lexie has a doll that I got from Toys R Us for 30 bucks compared to the American Doll which is 100 bucks. She plays with her on occasion so we got her and the doll all dolled up and headed out to see it. This place was overwhelming. Everything you could think of for a doll they sold. I was so tempted to just give in and buy her a doll. But I couldn't rationalize the 100 bucks for a doll. Or 30 bucks for an outfit for the doll. But we did have some fun while there.

Lexie checking out one of the displays.

Three girls who went together, and had so much fun.

They have a Bistro there that you can eat lunch with your doll. Tiffany had made reservations in advance so we dined in. The prices were outrageous for what you got. 16 bucks a person and that was even for little Lexie. The food was alright but not worth that much money in my opinion. We still had lots of fun though.

Group picture after we ate.

They even had a beauty salon where you can get your dolls hair done and ears pierced. I did pay to have Lexie's dolls hair done because it was a big mess. They did a great job.

It really was a lot of fun. The drive was long however and after all the excitement of the day my little Miss Lexie was just too exhausted. I came out of my bedroom to find this.

Shopping is just too exhausting.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-30T19:05:00.008-04:00

For the spur of the moment decision we went up to Philadelphia for the weekend. It was great to see old history, be in a huge city and see so many interesting things. I was slightly disappointed in the historical buildings. Only a few were restored to actually tour. The rest were just restored on the outside and you could walk around them. Having been to Nauvoo and seeing what a great job the church does, I was expecting more. But we got to see all the big things and some of the little. When we first got there we parked in a parking garage and headed over to the Mutter Museum. I first saw this on The Top 10 Scariest Places in America. Ever since then I have wanted to go. We were not disappointed in the least with this. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so we only got this one outside of the building.

The kids were so excited and showed lots of interest in everything. Lexie was freaked out most of the time. They have preserved everything, body parts and heads all over the place. I even had a hard time realizing that the body parts were real, and some of the heads looked like they could open their eyes any moment. I saw what small pox looked like on a human arm, and we saw all sorts of skulls and even a preserved arm that grew a horn on it. I really do recommend you hit this spot when you go. It was worth it. Would have been more enjoyable without little Hailey pulling me all over, but great all the same.

After that we walked around the area for a little while till we could check in to our Hotel. We found this old church built in the 1700's and I had to have a picture in front of it.

After we checked into our hotel we headed over to some of the historical things. We got into Independence Hall and it really was interesting to see where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Hailey was more interested in pulling Dad's hair out.

The room where it was signed.

Dinner was hard to find in the downtown area that was affordable so we drove for an Applebees and then headed to the hotel to swim and go to bed.

We got up the next morning and headed back out to see some of the other sites. This was the first Stock Exchange Building in the United States. Of course we couldn't go in, but the outside was pretty fantastic.

There was also the first bank of the United States located across the street. These guys knew how to make a building impressive. There was so much detail on everything. This again was not open to the public.

The other horrible thing was most of the building you could tour were closed on Mondays...who knew. This was the Carpenter's Hall and it was closed but I got a picture of the outside anyways.

Lexie by some of the beautiful flowers.

Me beyond excited to be here. Corey not so much.

Look how cute he was. Holding Hailey's hand and walking on the old wagon roads.

Old 18th century garden there, it was so pretty and symmetrical.

Kids getting bored and playing Pokemen cards on these winding stairs.

Need I say anything, wise man that Benjamin Franklin.

This is the original archway that Benjamin Franklin took to get to his house and print shop.

One time when I was watching Man V. Food, he went to Philadelphia. He highlighted this ice cream shop in the old town and so we went there. The prices were horrible, but the ice cream was really good. We got 5 cones and it costs around 30 bucks. I was pretty sure I saw gold flecks in the ice cream.

After ice cream we were more than ready to head home. It was fun, but exhausting for Corey and I pulling the kids (especially Hailey) all over the place. I was so proud of Hailey who did not have one accident while we were there. She did great. On the way home everyone but Gabe fell asleep at some point. But this was my favorite position.

Just like a cute little puppy taking his nap. How did he get his long legs all curled up like that?

We had such a great time, and we have Hershey planned next week so stay tuned.

2011-05-08T18:33:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!! I woke up to eggs and butter behind the couch, fighting, cleaning poop out of underwear three times, temper tantrum, a broken dresser because of said temper tantrum and yet still we managed to pull out these pictures....

Mother's Day was awesome!!

Marathon!!

2011-05-01T19:13:00.004-04:00

Whew...I did it. I ran my first marathon and I have mixed feelings about it. It was actually a perfect day for it. Cloud cover and in the 50's. I was never super hot and that really helped. What I was not prepared for were the hills....I have never seen such repetitive hills all in a row. Just as you press yourself to get up one and over the top you see another huge one on the horizon. I was not prepared for the hills, but I never stopped. And I was so close to being under the four hour mark. Maybe if it wasn't so hilly my time would have been better. But I am relieved it is over and I feel like I worked hard and accomplished something big. My time was 4 hours and 4 minutes. I can hardly walk and I have a blister on the bottom of my foot. But other than the soreness and being super tired I feel great. I already have my second one registered in November in Philly. I will run with a guy in my training group and it is a flat course through the city so I should be able to break my time. It really was an amazing experience.

Me with the kids by the staging area after the race.
Me trying to stand and not look pathetic.

What a great husband this man is. He watched the kids every Sat. morning for my long runs. And he packed them all up to be at the finish line. He is so supportive.

One of my very best friends here also came up to cheer me on. She was there at mile 20 with this cute sign (see below) and ran a little ways with me to boost my spirit. Then she was at the finish line with a Snickers bar and cheering me again. She took the kids home with her so I could relax a little bit afterwards.

What a great day to be a runner.

As a side not, I just looked at the results and I got first place in my age group for the South side. Not too bad I should say.

Easter Fun

2011-04-28T13:22:00.005-04:00

I really am sorry that I have not blogged in a long time. My days are filled with saying, "No No" and cleaning up messes from Hailey. I swear she has been the worst trouble maker out of all my kids. I turn my head for a second and she is pulling something out, smashing something or hiding and taking a poopy diaper off and then smearing it all over. She has done that twice in the past two weeks so since my marathon is Sunday I am waiting till Monday to try and potty train. I just can't handle the poop smeared everywhere. I am thinking this is a sign that she is ready. Little sneak. And the child resistant door handle things, don't work for Hailey. She just takes them off. If only I had a picture for every time she did a No No. I think that will be my next blog, the No No's of one day with Hailey. It would not disappoint. But just to get a Hailey fix here are a few pictures:

This is the best time, nap time. Asleep and with her snacks with her. It was so funny because she would wake up for just a minute eat a fruit snack then fall back to sleep for 15-30 minutes then do it again.
I have to guard all eye wear. She loves them. Here she got a hold of my glasses and tried them out. They actually look like they might fit her.

Aw yeah, found Mom's sunglasses this time. She was awake, although it looks like she is asleep.

For Easter we had a blast just hanging out with friends. On Saturday we went to the Florentin's house and had an Easter egg hunt and BBQ. It was so nice outside and the kids had a blast. I am working with Jenn right now to get ready for a half marathon in the fall. It will be her first race, but she was built to run and is already doing great.

The girls, the only girls out of our bunch. Hailey and Lexie with Collette.

Isn't Jenn just so cute, and her personality matches her as well. So much fun.

On Easter morning the Easter Bunny made his appearance. He of course pooped jelly beans all over the house and the kids had to find their baskets. It didn't take long because our house is so small, but they were happy with what they got.

Hailey got sunglasses in her basket, now maybe she will leave my stuff alone....well it was worth a shot.

Aren't they cute? The boys just love Hailey and are always taking care of her and snuggling with her on the couch. I wish they were nicer to Lexie, but you know how that goes.

Lexie in her Easter dress. She picked her own out this year. My friends joked that it looks like she is going salsa dancing, but she just loved it so much.

Plus this girl never takes a bad photo.

Can you tell she didn't want in the photo? But I love this dress.

Aww and so innocent in this picture. I think she retracted her horns for this one.

My big boys, these two really are great. They both are good students and are responsible. I am one lucky mom.

Logan and Lexie Birthday

2011-04-15T11:51:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Logan and Lexie's birthday at home this year. We took each one seperately on a birthday date which turned out really fun. For Lexie we went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings and it was so good. We tried to take her to see the movie Hop, but it was sold out. So we walked around the mall and let her pick out an outfit. Then we ended with some ice cream. It was fun to spend one on one time with her. I made her a couple of purse cakes, I thought they turned out pretty cute. She is now 6 going on 16.

Logan wanted to eat at Pizza Hut, which was an odd choice but we went. He ate his usual ton of food. We went to see the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid and it was so cute. We all enjoyed ourselves. Then we ended with ice cream as well. Logan is really into Pokemon cards right now. So I made a cake that looks like the balls that they jump out of. I don't know the specific name and Logan would correct me if he were here. But he was so cute when he figured out what it was. Can you believe he is 9?

Happy Birthday my cute kids. Mommy loves you so much.

Terrible Thursdays

2011-04-15T11:35:00.002-04:00

I have tried so hard to take pictures of our out and abouts. I honestly have the best intentions, I have the camera all fired up. But this is the only pictures I get....

Yep, all eyes have to be on this little stinker at all times. I swear I am so worn out anytime I go anywhere with her. Corey just laughs when I tell him, but sometimes I am tempted to sell her. Thursdays are my busy days. It seems all the kids extra activities fall on this dreaded day. So I always have to give myself a pep talk before I even walk out the door. Watching a Glee episode usually does the trick for me. (Have I mentioned that I started watching it and love it).

I had to do grocery shopping that morning, and Hailey hates the cart. When she sees me preparing to sit her in the seat she will go stick straight so I can't get her in. I am sure it looks hilarious to everyone else, but I am pretty stubborn too so we spend at least five minutes just getting her seated. The trick is bribery. Once seated if I don't produce the candy then she will scream and blow her horn so loud the whole time. Most kids give up, not Hailey. I have gone the whole 30 minute shopping trip with her belting out and me getting child abuse stares. So I gave her a bag of Reese's Pieces to keep her entertained. It worked until about half way through in which case she decides that shaking the bag is more fun and shakes candy all over the store. I tried to pick up most of it, but there were Reese's everywhere. Once I get to the line to check out, she wants to help unload the cart. This involves squeezing everything and smashing the boxes. It looks like a war zone by the time I am done. And why do they have to put the cart aisles so narrow. With that candy bar section so close it is like a free for all and a wrestling match all in one. I have never seen her move so fast. And it isn't even lunch yet.

The boys are in baseball and on the same team this year. They look so cute in their little uniforms and I love watching them play. Which I never actually get to do. But they had practice before the game at 5pm and then Lexie has gymnastics from 6-7 and then the boys game ends around 7:30 or 8 depending on how the game goes. I was driving all over the place. I tried to get pictures of Lexie doing all her cute tumbling, but yep my attention was arrested on my 2 year old who will not sit still. Who likes to slide down stairs and then run out into the parking lot. She likes to take her goldfish and throw them all over the place and then step on them because they crumble into these fun little pieces. When we make back to the game she likes to run into the irrigation ditch and play in the mud. And when I chase and run after her she runs just as fast. When I try to carry her back she is kicking and screaming and I look like a horrible mother once again. I have to go on the outfield fence in purgatory just so she can't get into any trouble. So yep, no cute pictures of my boys playing ball. You think I am exaggerating, but I am not. I need a break.....Cancun anyone.

Logan.....

2011-04-06T09:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday the little neighbor girl who always plays with Lexie was over. Her mom came to get her and just had to tell me how polite and wonderful Logan was. She just kept saying she has never met a kid his age so well behaved and just flat out nice. I have to agree, he is the nicest kid I have ever been around. I am thankful for him, because it makes having three crazy kids a little bit more bearable. Mom loves you Logan.

Easy as Pie

2011-04-03T07:41:00.000-04:00

Day 14-a picture of you and your family Look at the top of my blog, there you go. Boy that was easy.

I DID IT

2011-04-02T18:52:00.002-04:00

I ran 20 miles today in 3 hours and 2 minutes. That marathon is in the bag. At that pace I will be well under my 4 hour mark. But as a side note, my back and legs are killing me. But well worth the pain.

I know he didn't mean to

2011-03-30T11:14:00.002-04:00

I actually have a good one for the blog challenge today. Day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently Dear Bag Boy at Martins, I know you are just trying to help and be friendly. Although this is what I tell myself as you continue to walk me out to my car every time I come to visit. Not that I don't appreciate the extra help. It makes loading the car much faster. But when you stare at me and then tell me how beautiful I am I do feel a little creeped out. I know that you have some kind of disability so I don't take it to heart too much. And no offense to you, but I would just like it once if a guy who was not in his 50's or has a disability would hit on me so I would know that at least I have some sort of redeeming quality. Thanks for your understanding, Kory Jane

Back to the Challenge

2011-03-29T17:19:00.003-04:00

I guess I sort of fell off the face of the earth with this blog challenge. But the good thing is I can pick up right where I left off. Since this is my blog and I make the rules....hehehe. Day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one This is hard, because I don't even remember how I heard about the blog. Someone I knew started theirs and I was told to go and check it out. I thought it was an awesome idea and created my own to share the antic of my family. Who would have guessed that I am still kicking them out. I love that I can go back and see what was going on years ago on that same date. Try it, it is really fun. I like that I can vent about things, boast about stuff and keep in touch with people by reading theirs in turn. I gave up Facebook with no issues, but I would have a super hard time giving up the blog. Good thing I won't have to either.

Caught up

2011-03-28T17:11:00.002-04:00

I never knew Mother Nature had such a great sense of humor. She gave us this great week of warm temperatures and I went to the park and sat on a blanket in the sun. I was thinking Spring had sprung and it was here to stay. But since she (Mother Nature that is) is such a comic she decided to visit us with a nice week of super cold temperatures. Lows at night in the lower 20's and then only reaching 40 during the day. I feel like we failed and got moved back to Winter. If you can guess, I am not laughing. So that is why I haven't really blogged anything. I am still caught in the throws of Winter when it should be Spring. April will be here in a couple of days and I am hoping when it leaves it takes all the coats and jackets with it. But in the mean time, I found some cute pictures on my camera that I have taken random photos but never officially published. Cookies go FAST in my house. I make usually around 2 batches a week and I have to admit I am getting to be a pro at them. I try to make them when the kids are in school because I don't have to break up brawls about who gets the beater and bowl. I only have one little munchkin during the day and she gets both. And just to show you how good it is... Yep, she enjoyed it to the last lick. As did her eyebrows, hair and nose. I think she has invented a new way to eat food through her nostrils so I will have to patent that when I can get her to talk in comprehensible words. A couple of weekends ago we went on a Mother/Daughter shopping trip up to Pennsylvania. They don't have a clothing tax and since we live right on the border it is a quick drive for us. Plus they have a Red Robin up there and who doesn't like a good burger from Red Robin. These pictures let you see how much a like Mother and Daughter really are.

I see the resemblance don't you? I see some, although I have always maintained that she looks like her Dad.

People say we look alike, maybe a little bit.

The boys start baseball this week so we should be busy on Saturdays with games for awhile. I will attempt to take pictures and post them more frequently. I know I say that a lot, but maybe one day it will be true.

Really?

2011-03-22T17:45:00.002-04:00

Has it really been that long since I wrote a blog entry? I feel bad, but at the same time life can get crazy and I just don't feel bloggy during my crazy days. Plus I have been busy training and hanging out with my gal pals and I always forget pictures. I want to take more, I just get so caught up that I don't. This past week was a mess for me. I had my R.S. activity and so that was stressful in itself. I got through it and it turned out fine. But then I had to talk in church the following Sunday so I was studying all the time to get ready for that. Church has been crazy this week.

Saturday I ran 18 miles and I felt really good. The longest I have ran so far. I am really proud of myself and am finding the confidence I need to do the marathon in just a little over a month now....so close. We also went shopping this past Saturday as a mother/daughter date. Me and Christy and Jenn (who I do the eating blog with) took our daughters to Red Robin for lunch and then to Target for some summer shopping. I had a really nice time, and I think Lexie felt pretty special as well. Christy had a birthday yesterday so we went shopping again and then to Panera for lunch. Today was the first day I just sat at home and did nothing.

Lexie and Logan have birthday's next week and it always feels so busy trying to squeeze them both in. We are doing dates with mom and dad this year so this Saturday is Logan's date night. We are going to see "Diary of a Whimpy Kid: Broderick Rules" and then he wants to go to Taco Bell for dinner. I don't know why he is choosing Taco Bell, but whatever. His choice. Hopefully I will take more pictures during these upcoming events for posting.

Hailey has finally reached the terrible two's and I have had a hard time with her lately. She throws fits and throws objects when she doesn't get her way and it is driving me insane. If I wasn't set on no more kids before, this is putting the final nail in the coffin. I was going to start potty training, but decided to wait till after Summer and all the vacationing is over. I don't want to deal with potty accidents on airplanes and in amusement parks and everywhere else. So probably when school starts again I will try it out. I hate this part of kid raising, I just want it to be over. But I won't think about it now because I have the whole summer to play. Hopefully I will have some pictures to post soon.

ouch

2011-03-12T17:24:00.001-05:00

Ran 16 miles today and boy are my legs tired.....he he he.

Really???

2011-03-09T09:24:00.002-05:00

Day 11- picture of your high school friends that meant the most to you.

I hate to admit this, but I don't currently have a picture of High School friends. And the fact that I don't even really keep in touch with any of the friends I did have says it all. I know I mentioned I hated middle school, and although High School did get better for me I don't really look back to often on it. I was not fond of my high school years. I didn't hate them really, but there was nothing there of substance or even anything that I did that I was proud of. It is something that I have basically thrown away and not missing it.

Now if you ask about college friends that mean a lot to me I could keep going and going. My roommates were wonderful and it was the first time I was surrounded by friends with the same morals as me. Never had that before. It was like a breath of fresh air. I love Heather, Kacey and Stephanie and I look back on college all the time and the fun we had. I also remember dear Cubby who was so funny and was just her. I still keep in touch with Heather and I even have her blog on my list. They are the friends that made the most impact on my life for good.

Blog Challenge 10

2011-03-06T09:25:00.002-05:00

Day 10- music you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped.

Since I posted Bruno Mars not that long ago, you can kind of get a feeling to what I listen to. Just the top hits music that you would listen to on the radio. Anything with a dance beat is good, and I really like it when I run. It helps to pass the time and keeps my pace where it needs to be. Plus I love to watch my girls dance to the music. It is the cutest thing ever.

Another Blog Challenge

2011-03-05T19:10:00.002-05:00

Day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days.

I was proud of myself today... I ran 14 miles for the first time and all of them were under 9 minutes. I can't believe I have to do double that for the marathon coming up. But as for right now, I will be proud of my 14 miles.

blog challenge

2011-03-04T14:17:00.002-05:00

Day 8- short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them.

I have always had a huge sweet tooth. Yes me, I could eat a whole pan of brownie's if I have a mind to. So I wanted to see if I could kick my sweet habit. I read that you can kick your sugar habit in just a couple of days, but that they can be horrible days. I didn't realize how about everything we eat that is packaged has added sugar. Really, give your labels a read and you will be amazed at what they add sugar to. Even my rice dish last night had sugar added on the list of ingredients. Today has gone well enough. Not too bad for my cravings, although they say the second day is the worst. And I also didn't have any diet soda yesterday or today. This morning I had a pounding headache, but it has died down a lot with drinking lots of water. My goal is by the end of the month to be non sugar addicted and to only eat sugar on occasion instead of after every meal which is what I find myself doing. The best part is I can eat as much as I want of things without sugar. So I have been really loading up on my hummus which is sugar free with lots of vegetables. And fruit sugar does not count so I have been having some fruit as well.

blog challenge

2011-03-03T08:48:00.003-05:00

Day 7-a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.

Even though I have seen this picture a thousand times, it still makes me feel the spirit so very much. How can you even begin to explain the impact the Gospel has had on my life? I really don't know how, except to realize that I am where I need to be. I know the basic Gospel principles, now if only I could do them steadfastly. Some days it seems easy, others I just lack the motivation. But whenever I look at this I realize that I need to try everyday to be better. And that the Lord will meet me the other half of the way that I feel sometimes is pointless to try.

Blog Challenge

2011-03-02T19:56:00.003-05:00

Day 6- who is my favorite superhero and why

Who knew right? According to all those comic sites out there Tarzan is considered a superhero. Why? I am not sure myself, but who needs a reason in a loin cloth like that. Those huge muscles and barely concealed weapon in a small speedo type garment. Not normally a fan of the speedo per say, but this I will make an exception. Girls have to admit it would be wildly romantic to be whisked away by a untamed man for awhile. I like my superheros dark, and so really I would tend to lean toward the villains. But Tarzan is one that still seems wild and wicked but still in the superhero category. What other reason do I really need?

Blog Challenge

2011-03-01T19:58:00.003-05:00

Day 5- a picture of somewhere I've been

Oh how this picture makes me long for those days.... This was taken in Cancun and if you want to see all the fun pictures you can look in my archive under June of 2008. This was the best vacation ever for Corey and I. We went for a week with all my brothers and sister and their spouses. Lots of sun and sand and ruins and just wonderful everything. It was so great Corey and I are planning on going again next summer to celebrate his graduation from his MBA. I am already looking forward to it. If you have never been somewhere exotic, you have got to go. So worth the time and money.

Blog Challenge

2011-02-28T16:13:00.003-05:00

Day 4- a habit I wish I didn't have

Gotta love these negative things you have to point out right? To start out with this in high school my best friend used to call me Mrs. Ears because they were so different than everyone elses. Not by just looking so much, but by feel. I remember she used to ask to feel my ears all the time. They are super thin, not much cartilage to them and so they bend really easy. I used to take rings and roll my ear up and put the ring over my whole ear. Not sure if that even makes any sense.

Because they are so thin and flexible I often find myself rolling them and stuffing them inside my ears. Especially when they are cold because then it helps to warm them up. I find myself rolling my ears all the time. While reading or watching tv. I have even seen it in videos that I have been in. I don't think it is harmful to my ears since I have been doing it forever, but I would like to maybe not do it because people will think I am weird and freakish. I should have been in a freak show....

Blog Challenge

2011-02-27T09:09:00.002-05:00

Day 3- what makes you different from everybody else

What kind of question is this? Oh wait, I got it. I have a big something that makes me different at least physically. I have a tailbone that curves out instead of in. If you have ever seen Shallow Hal and the guy with the tail.....similar. I can't wiggle mine but it stick really far out and can be a nuisance when trying to sit on something hard or do something everyone takes for granted a sit up. I know that there has to be other people out there with this, but none that I have known personally. Anyone super jealous???

Blog Challenge Day 2

2011-02-25T10:57:00.002-05:00

Day 2- meaning behind blog name

Boy I guess this one will be pretty easy. I know most people who read my blog are already members of my church and know the importance of families to us. If you are not, then the title has to do with why we are here. Families. The whole purpose and what our lives revolve around. We started as a family with our Heavenly Father and now we are making our own families here on earth. My family truly is everything to me. I rely on everyone whether they know it or not. I gain confidence and courage from them. I also have come to love family so much more with having kids of my own. How great to live through them and see them blossom and grow and become something great from something so small. There really is nothing better. Hence my title "Families Are Everything".

Blog Challenge Day 1

2011-02-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

Day 1- a recent picture and 15 interesting things about you

1. My husband and I share the same first name. (And now the last as well)

2. I had braces twice when I was young. Once around age 5 or 6 and then again my jr. year of high school.

3. I hate hate fish. I try all the time to just eat it because I know it is good for you, but sometimes it just won't go down.

4. I have a hard time talking with people I don't know. But once I get to know you that ends quickly.

5. I have ran 2 half marathons and training for my first full in May.

6. I love to read books, and something with a romantic notion for me is best. I love a good love story.

7. I used to faint A LOT as a teenager and would do so in some weird places. Water park, shower, at work just to name a few.

8. I have over 100 college credit and no degree. I kept changing my mind on my major and that obviously got me nowhere.

9. I love sweets. I know this is something everyone does, but for me it is really bad. I have been known to eat a whole pan of brownies or a whole package of oreos.

10. I think I am border line OCD because I like things done and organized in a certain way. I even have to push the alarm button like 10 times before bed to make sure the time is right.

11. I have a pet peeve about bad breath. If you got it, I want to be 100 feet away from you.

12. I have never had a traffic ticket although I have come close a couple of times.

13. I love dogs and have always wanted one of my own. Go figure I would marry a dog hater and only had one for a short amount of time. I will get one when the kids are older and we are in a house of our own. Hopefully.

14. I hate being cold. In the house I wear sweats and wool socks all the time. Don't know how it doesn't kill me on cold mornings to run, but I think since I don't feel cold it makes all the difference.

15. I hated my grade school years. I always look back and cringe. I really did get picked on a lot and some days I hated just going to school. Maybe that is one reason I try so dang hard to blend in with everyone.

30 Day Blog Challenge

2011-02-23T19:12:00.003-05:00

I was reading my friend Julie's blog (hi Julie) and came across this idea for a 30 day blog challenge. I love the idea because it will give me something to write about. Sometimes I don't post because I don't feel I have anything interesting to write. But I liked these questions and I figured why not. Here is the list:

Day 1- a recent picture and 15 interesting things about you
Day 2- meaning behind blog name
Day 3- what makes you different from everybody else
Day 4- a habit I wish I didn't have
Day 5- a picture of somewhere I've been
Day 6- who is my favorite superhero and why
Day 7-a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 8- short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them
Day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days
Day 10- music you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped
Day 11- picture of your high school friends that meant the most to you
Day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one
Day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14-a picture of you and your family
Day 15- the last ten books you read were
Day 16- You are happiest when...
Day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- plans/dreams/ goals you have for this year
Day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them
Day 20-why do you live where you live
Day 21- a picture of something that made you happy this week
Day 22- a picture of you and your friends
Day 23- something you crave a lot
Day 24- a letter to your parents
Day 25- what I would find in my purse
Day 26- something /someone you miss
Day 27- a picture of you this time last year. How have you changed?
Day 28-your favorite article of clothing
Day 29- the last ten movies you've watched
Day 30-in this past month, what have you learned?

If you want to do it as well I invite you along. What a great way to get to know someone. Tomorrow I will start with day 1. This gives me time to find a recent decent (ha ha that rhymes) picture of me. See ya tomorrow.

Hailey Birthday and Run

2011-02-20T09:38:00.005-05:00

Hailey Turned Two!!! We just kept thinking how fast time has flown even since leaving Tulsa. She was so little when we moved here and now she is walking around singing dancing and making everyone fall in love with her. We have tackled a lot of first with her and the final dread will be potty training which I am putting off till after vacation time this summer. She really has been such a joy to have in our family and has made it complete.

Friday was her actual birthday so we had us a mother/daughter outing. It was nice and I know she felt special. We went to Wal-mart to spend her birthday money and got some great gifts for her. Then we of course went to Panera for lunch. She LOVES Panera. I will get her a kid mac n cheese with the yogurt and she eats every bit of it. The picture alone tells you how much she loves it.

Then we made our way to Martin's to buy her birthday cake. I was going to make one, but I thought she would like a big one from the bakery. That night Lexie had a birthday party so she was gone during the present opening and cake. But it was so fun to see Hailey enjoy her special day.

aww yes JoJo the bunny that plays hide and seek. Grandma Rollins got this for Hailey and she loves it. We had to take it back and exchange it at Walmart because it did not speak English. It wasn't Spanish either. It almost sounded German. It was pretty funny though.

Hailey with all her goods. Thank you for the phone which she got from her Esquibel grandparents. She loves it and carries it around everywhere. Mom and Dad got her the talking picnic basket with shapes and colors.

What a good brother to help her out. I didn't get a picture of her blowing out the candles because she didn't. I tried to get her to, but as I held the cake up she started crying for fear of the fire. At least I won't have to worry about her playing with fire. So I blew them out for her and then got her a huge piece of cake and ice cream.

Oh yeah that is some good stuff.

I had to mention my long run yesterday and how hard it was. The wind here was horrible and had gust up to 50 mph. But we still went and ran around town. Talk about resistance training. We got 12 miles in at an average pace of 8.30 which is pretty good considering. Hector thought I should eventually try to qualify for Boston, but I think right now I just want to finish the marathon in one piece.

The Raw Deal

2011-02-20T09:25:00.003-05:00

I was talking with my Bishop and his wife at one of our activities and we were talking about whole foods and things of that nature. Sister Castle mentioned that they drive up to Chambersburg PA to buy raw milk from a dairy farmer up there. So everyone knows that your milk goes through processing to remove all the bacteria so you won't get sick. Well, you can buy milk straight from the cow udder like they used to drink it. I asked if I could buy a half gallon and try it. It is really expensive, it was 3.25 for this half gallon so I could not see buying it for the whole family. The cows are grass free range and so they are not penned up and have less risk of getting that bad bacteria on the udders and in the milk.

So she dropped it off yesterday and I was a little scared to try it. You actually have to shake it really well before drinking because the cream rises to the top. Corey and I both gave it a whirl this morning and.....IT IS WONDERFUL. I like whole milk, and this reminds me of it. But it is still so different even from that. I have always wondered what fresh milk from a cow would taste like and we really don't know what we are missing. Now I have to enjoy my last of the half gallon and then go back to the not so yummy stuff. Maybe if we were rich I would start buying it too.

Catch Up

2011-02-16T18:22:00.003-05:00

I am a slacker yes, but with three blogs going I find myself falling behind on one or the other. Logan had his first pinewood derby and his car looks speedy fast right...I mean look at those flames and red hot paint. I can see smoke just trailing out of the back.

Well we had last place... and I mean dead last. He was the last car to cross on all the heats. He was ok at first, then he started to cry. Everyone says this is the time to see tears because there is always that really slow loser. Well we got it this year. He was so sad that his car sucked and I felt bad that we didn't do a better job. So next year we are determined maybe not to win, but at least not to come in dead last.

And while we are there I notice Gabe with his shoe saying he has a hole in it. That is not the right word, I would say a canyon or a crater. This whole was huge and basically he was wearing his shoe like a sandal. I was so embarrassed that he was going to school looking like that. His teachers must have thought he was homeless. We took a trip to the store the next day and got him new ones.

Notice the lip quiver and the sadness. This is Logan looking so so upset. I just wanted to hug him but that would not be manly so he just tried his best to hold it together.

Corey felt so bad afterwards that he took us all out for ice cream. Ice cream helps you forget all your worries right? It seemed to help with Logan and the other kids too.

There is that smile I love....next year Logan, next year.

No Bruno....NO

2011-02-10T15:47:00.003-05:00

I was at a R.S. meeting and I was telling someone how much I loved Bruno Mars. I was just gushing about how great his songs are and I was so proud of my Bruno. Then one sister mentioned that he got arrested for drug possession. I told her, "not my Bruno, never." But of course as I did a google search I got this lovely headline:

Bruno Mars will plead guilty to cocaine possession

You can click on the headline to read the whole article. But I was so disappointed. What is wrong with our celebrities that they get so out of control. I still love his songs, but I just can't fan crush on him like I used to. Total let down Bruno.

Mrs. Grinch

2011-02-08T16:14:00.003-05:00

I had to look really hard in the mirror today to make sure I was indeed my normal shade of yellow and not green. Even though I don't hold the physical characteristics of a Grinch I am sure if you looked at my heart it might be two sizes too small. I declared yesterday that I was done...yes I actually said that. After Hailey threw up all over the couch that we spent two hours cleaning just days before I was pushed to my mental limits. Of course Corey was not there, working late five days a week and not getting home till 8 I knew where I could find him though. I made a quick call and when he answered I simply said, "Hailey just threw up all over the couch again....I''m done." And then I hung up. As I was using the carpet cleaner to clean the couch again I thought, hmmm I hope Corey doesn't think I am done, as in DONE. I felt like I was though, and I almost had the urge to run screaming from my house pulling my hair. Of course Corey walks in and gently picks up Hailey, gives her a bath because she is still naked from puking all over herself, and gently puts her to bed. (but as a side note she threw up again about 30 minutes later and he had to strip down the bed and recover with plastic and new sheet.) Then he comes and just hugs me and asks if I am ok.

So wonderful husband right? He didn't get mad that I hung up, he didn't reprimand me because believe me I know I was being the biggest jerk ever. He knows me like a book, and knows I get so frustrated that I just need to vent. And he doesn't take it personal. After he was home for just five minutes I felt such a relief off my shoulders and the Grinch receded back into it's little heart for a time.

But then it re-emerges every time the phone rings and I see it is someone from church. I get so spastic about phone calls, because I know someone is wanting something. As a councilor in the R.S. they are supposed to contact me with questions and problems. But see, the Grinch is missing that compassion that is critical for that calling. My only problem is trying to get that love and compassion back and to actually want to help people who are in need. Most of the time I just feel it is inconveniencing my plans and my time. So the big question is how do I kick this Grinch out of here? No more room in the inn I say. (And please don't say do more service because I hear that all the time and I need to know how to want to start doing service.)

Another Blog

2011-02-03T14:41:00.003-05:00

A couple of friends and I are on a mission to find some really good eats around Hagerstown MD. This page is dedicated to our exploits and what we find. Our first entry is just a feeler, so you might find it bland (hopefully not like the food we find). Just give us time and I am sure it will only get better. Check it often to find out what we are up to. I have added the link to my sidebar, or you can just click here.

Overload

2011-02-01T10:08:00.003-05:00

Had three kids throwing up in one day. I did not think I would survive. Lexie was the only one who didn't throw up, but she sure looked like she might. This stomach flu was a bad one.

Logan finally feeling a little better, he got it first and threw up for three days.
Lexie was the only one who didn't throw up all over the place.

Gabe at his finest....I am such a nice mom huh.

Hailey was so miserable. She was the worst because she doesn't get the throw up in a bowl idea and so was throwing up everywhere...including me. Yuck.

And as an added bonus, school was cancelled today due to ice....great.

2011-01-30T11:46:00.002-05:00

I am a HUGE Bruno Mars fan. I love his voice and he is just this cute little guy. His videos are clean too, which is a big plus. This is Grenade.

Cabin Fever

2011-01-29T11:49:00.001-05:00

After snow snow snow, we finally got the three older back to school and mommy and Hailey back to Panera.

And boy is their yogurt and mac and cheese the best.

Stuck In The Winter Funk

2011-01-25T13:41:00.003-05:00

I HATE winter..... not only is it cold and you just can't get warm, you have to deal with staying indoors. I hate that it always looks so gloomy and that it seems to last forever. My husband has pointed out recently that I am in a moody winter funk. I can't seem to shake it. Don't want to do anything, don't want to go anywhere. Feel like just opening the door to the house is a chore. It is a good thing I make myself go running, because I am pretty sure I would become part of the decor around here if not. Can you believe they even have a term for winter depression....SAD. Great huh?

So I am trying to think of ways to make the winter a little brighter and warmer for me. Does anyone have any ideas? I sure could use them. I have never been so desperate for spring as I am this year. I am really rooting for the groundhog to not see his shadow here soon.

80's Night Done Right

2011-01-22T11:13:00.003-05:00

My closest friend here (Christy) threw a little 80's party get together. Talk about a blast from the past. She thought it would be great fun to have us all get dressed up in our 80's best. The most embarrassing part for me was that I had most of the get up in my closet. All I had to get was the leggings and the leg warmers. Everything else I found at home. I love to wear my red belt on regular occasions as well. It really was so much fun. I felt like I was going to a Halloween party. We also did white elephant gifts but I forgot to take pictures of that part. I really should have because I found a gem of a gift at a flea market here. We had tons of good food, danced to dance central, played trivia games and just talked and laughed about our experiences. It was a great way to spend my Friday night. Thanks Christy for such a memorable evening.

Aw yeah, my grunge out look.
I used A LOT of hairspray and lots of teasing to get my hair like that. Makeup was way fun too.

Christy in her 80's shoulder pad dress. You can't tell because of the dress but she is expecting in July....yeah.

aww Jenn, sporting the mom bangs from the 80's. So hot.

Then we have the nice ugly sweater from the 80's and the best part was the turtleneck was attached to the shirt.

Poor Judy...she is also pregnant and expecting soon and she said this is all she could find to fit. She still looked awesome.

New Blog

2011-01-08T20:39:00.002-05:00

I just created a new blog that follows my training for my first marathon. You can click on the link on my sidebar or you can just click here to check it out.

New Year Goal

2011-01-05T17:54:00.002-05:00

Every year since I really cared about setting goals I have always set a weight goal. How ironic that this year I don't have to do that. So I was sitting here thinking about what goal I need to do. Weight is so much simpler without having to really dig into your self and improve the inner stuff that needs tweaking. This has been the hardest year by far for me. So many things have happened to me in 2010 that I was actually happy to see it go. I feel I can sort of start over this year and make it better.

If I really am honest with myself I need to do better at my calling in church. I have been so lax and horrible I am surprised that the president hasn't just given up on me and replaced me. I feel that if anything needs to be improved it is my calling. It is hard here in MD, not a whole lot of active people so it makes things that much harder to get done. I get frustrated and upset because I feel like people are just lazy and I just want to say do it yourself. But then I wouldn't serve and goodness knows that is what R.S. is all about. I have always hated service...(I hope I don't get struck with lightening for admitting that). But it is the honest truth. I avoid it at all costs. I just have always tried to do everything by myself and I just expect people to do the same. It is funny that I don't feel that way about my family or close friends who I would drop everything and do anything for. So I know I have it in me, now I just have to learn to apply it.

The other goal is to actually pick up my phone when people call. Not that I don't want to talk to the people calling, I just don't like to talk period. Sometimes I just sit there with the phone in my hand while it is ringing debating if I should pick up or not. Then as I am debating I don't catch it in time and I secretly am delighted that I didn't even have to make the decision in the first place. So no matter who it is, I will pick up and hope that the world will not come to an end.

And since I need a physical goal in there somewhere I have decided to go for the marathon in May. I have done a couple of half's and I feel that I would really like to accomplish a full. Although after running 13 miles I always cringe to think of running double that. Don't worry Mom, I will be healthy doing it. I have a great running group here to support me so I feel prepared. The race is May 1st so hopefully I will be ready to go by then.

Here is to 2011, a New Year for me to strengthen myself and make things better for everyone around me.

Bread Bowls and Tomato Soup

2011-01-05T17:38:00.002-05:00

I made this for dinner tonight and I just have to share with everyone. These are the best bread bowls and so easy to make. My friend Christy made them for us one time and I stole the recipe from her. I found this tomato soup recipe in a new cookbook I bought. It is so creamy and good. All my kids ate it and even asked for seconds. Give them a try together for the best dinner ever.

Bread Bowls

5 1/4 c. Bread flour (I used all purpose and mine turned out fine as well)
1/4 c. Sugar
1/2 TB salt
1 1/2 TB rounded of instant yeast
2 c. Hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients. Add water and mix for 1 minute then check consistency. If too dry add a little more water, if too sticky add a little more flour. Mix for five minutes. Spray pan and counter and separate and form into loaves or whatever you are making with the bread. Let raise for about 25 minutes. Cook in a 350 degree oven for around 25 minutes. I had to cook a little longer on mine.

Tomato Bisque

10 oz container of Alfredo Sauce of your choice
1 C. chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 C. whole milk (I used 1 percent instead)
2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 ts. dried basil leaves
1/4 ts. dried marjoram leaves

whisk together with wire whisk in a heavy pan Alfredo Sauce and broth. Whisk until smooth. Add milk and stir. Cook over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add to saucepan along with seasonings and stir well. Heat soup over medium heat stirring frequently until mixture comes to just a simmer. Enjoy.

Since our kids eat tons of this I doubled mine. The original recipe calls for onions which I opted out of. I don't hate onions but they sure hate my husband. And I enjoy kissing him on occasion when he is not reeking of onions or garlic.

Things I am liking right now...

2011-01-05T13:34:00.003-05:00

I have made two discoveries this week and this doesn't happen that often with me. My buddy Christy invited me over to do Dance Central with her yesterday.....I LOVED it. I had such a good time I almost didn't make it home in time for my kids to get off the bus. I had tried Kinect at my Mom's house and liked it, but this game makes it all the more enjoyable. I can't wait to get my own now and get down at home. Everyone should give it a whirl.

The next like is the movie The Backup Plan....ohhh such a funny cute romantic comedy. I laughed several times throughout. I really like Jennifer Lopez and think she is so cute and funny. And the guy.....nice abs is all I got to say. Christy and I both agreed that he has some nice abs going on in this picture. So if you haven't seen this movie I think it would be a great pick.

Unpacking....still

2011-01-04T17:02:00.003-05:00

Will the unpacking ever end??? I feel like I am drowning in possessions and we have nowhere else to put them. I have been reorganizing to fit everything somewhere. It has been a lot of work. Plus, our mail was a nightmare. Who would have thought two weeks of mail would be such a a headache. Thank goodness I have had time to just sit down and get things in order. Tonight I can finally just sit.....and eat some ice cream.
Isn't this beautiful? I know almost everyone has a Kitchen Aid, but I did not. And my hand mixer broke so I was mixing everything by hand. I didn't complain though. I always would look at the price and cringe and say forget it. So it was a surprise when my hubby gifted me with this for Christmas. I have used it a lot already and I love it. Perfect gift for someone who loves to cook like me.

So Hailey has decided to grow up on me all of a sudden. She has learned to climb out of her crib so we graduated her to Lexie's queen bed. I was worried at first, but she has done great. When the lights go out she just lays there and falls asleep. Even if she is pure trouble awake I have to say she has been the easiest when it has come to sleeping in a big bed.

This is where the crib used to be, so much more room for the toys we have.

Hailey sitting on her side of the bed. What a big girl she is becoming.

I had to part with my crib and put it in the trash. That crib has seen a lot of babies and has held together all right. We would pass it along, but we have had to piece it together with our own screws and such over the years. I don't think I would give it to someone else and have it fall apart. No more cribs for our family.......and I am happy about that.

Merry Oklahoma Christmas

2011-01-02T20:58:00.006-05:00

What a great Christmas this year!!! Somehow Corey was able to get two weeks off work so we decided to drive down to OK to spend Christmas with my folks. My littler sister Stacey and her hubby and cute little baby were coming already. So we figured why not add to the madness of Christmas with our crew.

I hate long driving....hate hate hate. I normally avoid it at all cost unless we are moving. This trip is 18 hours and boy does it seem like an eternity. We left Friday around 4pm and drove straight through till we got to my mom's around 10am the next morning. I know the reason I hate driving so much is I can't sleep in the car. I have tried everything and it just can't be done. Plus, I have a deformed bottom that allows my tailbone to stick out and sitting long periods of time really really hurts. Plus, for some reason my legs fall asleep and tingle the whole time. (Don't worry, this is the only bad part I promise I won't complain this whole post).

I thought I should get some nice pictures of us after 18 hours trapped in a car together:

Seems happy enough...doesn't look too shabby.
Me on the other hand...yikes.

The kids were fine, they can sleep anywhere.

While we were there, we got a surprise phone call from Josh's family saying they decided to drive down as well. So we had three families there and it was so much fun. I think this Christmas has taken the cake for me. It was nice compared to Maryland weather so we took a night walk around to see the lights. That wagon was a miracle in itself.

Thought I would bring back some 80's boom boxing for you.

I was upset this turned out blurry.

What Christmas would be complete without a trip to Bass Pro Shops Christmas. Just as a tip if you go during the week in the middle of the day there are no waits for anything. Plus you get a free picture with Santa which I can't post since I don't have a scanner.

Usual response for Hailey when pictures are involved.

That tree was huge.

The kids mesmerized by the fish.

Stopping by the North Pole, notice Gabe is pouting in the background.

We also made our way over to the Rhema lights and I love them. They had them blinking to Christmas music which was my favorite part, that and the pond with the ducks.

The Rollins and Esquibel cousins are back together again.

See....isn't that pretty.

Christmas Eve was a bunch of excited kids running around. They always get to open PJ's from Grandma Rollins and they love it every year. They always look so cute together. And since we didn't have cookies to give Santa this year, Sally stepped in and did some monkey bars instead.

All the kids in their PJ's

Hailey in hers

Lexie

Gabe with his too cool for you pose. All his idea.

Logan doing a gun pose of course.

All the presents after Santa came....we had to extend to the front door. I really have never seen so many gifts under one tree. It took us all morning to open them.

Logan digging in his stocking

Hailey and Bailey opening gifts....

Mom LOVED playing Santa this year. She was in heaven.

There is Stacey and Jason early for them. Still on California time. Sorry guys.

Gifts gifts...I think Stacey and I look alike here.

I wish I would have taken more pictures....I do that a lot. But we loved all two weeks and I loved being with my mom again day after day. It was hard to leave again. And it was really hard to want to ride in the car for another 18 hours. But we made it home safe and sound and we are trying to get back into the idea of our regular lives. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year.

Early Giving

2010-12-15T15:48:00.002-05:00

If I haven't already announced it... we are going to Oklahoma for Christmas this year. I am so excited to celebrate with family again and to just have fun for two weeks with my hubby. That is what is so great, lots of time together.

Of course one of the challenges is transporting gifts from point A to B. I know people do two Christmas's and open at home and then go elsewhere. But to me, Christmas wouldn't be the same without the glob of presents under the tree. I shipped most of them straight to mom's house by buying online with free shipping. Easy easy for me. The only exception was Logan's bike that he wanted. Yep, Santa was not going to attempt to bring that sucker back. So Santa made an early appearance after school one day to drop it off. Not as exciting as Christmas morning, but he was excited just the same. Must have made a great impression because Gabe kept talking about how much cooler it was than his. Guess Santa has some tastes after all.

I am sure we are not the only people in America suffering from Arctic air and chilly temperatures. It has been bone chilling cold the past couple of mornings. With the temperature hovering right around 20 and the wind blasting to make it feel single digits. I passed on running Monday and Tuesday but I had to get out today. You just gotta suck it up I guess. I was telling Corey how cold it was going to be last night and he gives me an "early Christmas" present so that I could make good use of them.

First let me say that I am a cheapo. When I buy stuff for myself it is the cheapest and not the best by any means. He knew my hat was still allowing air to hit my head and then my gloves were the dollar special at Target that don't do any good. I would come home from running and I couldn't use my fingers for a good 20 minutes. So my thoughtful husband got me the best gift ever...

This stuff is awesome. The hat is thermal dry weave and pull the moisture away from you head so you don't get cold. The gloves are my favorite. They are thermal running gloves and my hands were not cold for one minute this morning. I gave both things a big thumbs up after running for an hour in the cold. So tomorrow when my alarm goes off I won't be as reluctant to get out there and go.

And what better way to end my post than the fact that Lexie was sick today. High fever and headache this girl was immobile this morning. You could tell she felt crappy. Plus she was up at 4am watching TV. Gave her some Ibuprofen and her fever went down and my Lexie emerged all ready to go. Now I am just crossing my fingers that no one else gets this and we can all be healthy and ready to go to Grandma's on Friday.

Sleep Walking

2010-12-06T12:36:00.002-05:00

I don't know if any of you know someone who does this....well we are lucky to have a kid who does this. Logan has become our regular sleep walker as of late. At least once a week he will make his appearance and it is really entertaining. We keep wanting to get it on video, but we never have it around when he decides to come out. We have had several trips into the kitchen to start making food, random places to have a bathroom break. One of my favorites is when he came out around 11pm with his scriptures in tow and sat down for family scripture reading. Corey and I just busted out laughing because he is sitting there with his eyes closed and his scriptures open.

The latest was a couple of nights ago when he came out and stood there for awhile. Then he told me he was scared. I told him to take me into his room and show me what was scaring him. He just kept pointing to his empty bed and saying it is right there. So random, but I finally convinced him to lay down and relax. He is on the top bunk so as he was laying on his stomach and I was rubbing his back and I was right next to his face talking quietly not to wake Gabe. Logan decides at that moment to throw up. Yep, right in my face. It was so gross. And you know the best part....he was still sleep walking. He didn't even remember any of it the next day. Go figure.

2010-12-03T17:11:00.003-05:00

It has been ages since I posted pictures....I couldn't believe what was on the camera. I decided just to post them all and give a out pour of pictures. I will try try try to keep on top of it again. With the holidays there should be some great moments to snap some pictures. Enjoy!!

So I went with Christy (hey girl) and her girls with Lexie to watch the new Disney movie "Tangled" which was so so good. In fact, it competes for my favorite Disney movie. I can't wait for it to come out on video so I can watch it at home.

Christy and her girls, don't you love her sweater? Black Friday find.
Lexie and I getting ready to enjoy.

So I have developed a love for baking within the last year or so. I love to try new recipes and Thanksgiving was that chance. I did three new ones and they turned out ohh so good. Everything I made from scratch except the peaches in the cobbler because I couldn't find them. I guess they are not in season right now. But everything else I did by hand literally since I don't have a mixer.

Peach Cobbler

Deep dish pecan pie (this was my favorite, I ate half by myself)

Apple pie

Gabe had his choir concert and the assembly room is tiny and always so crowded. We were lucky to get seats, but this is what I got to sit behind. I had to get a picture of that hair.....WOW.

There is Gabe...fuzzy I know but he was so funny. Pure cheese up there.

Random yes, but this is me getting ready to run on a Saturday morning at 6:30 with my running group. I have come to love Saturday morning runs. Maybe I will actually get a group picture one morning.

Logan had his football party at a skating ring. When was the last time everyone went roller skating? Me.....um how about forever. Since our kids had never been I felt obligated to get a pair and help them out. It seems I was the only mom who was willing to get on them and go. I felt like a little girl out there with all those boys. There was tons of falling down and I worried Gabe would break something because he was fearless and just tried to go as fast as he could. Surprisingly all three got pretty good by the nights end.

Lexie and mom

Gabe crawling to the floor....

Logan getting the hang of it.

Lexie looked like a roller derby girl with her stripped tights....oh so cute.

Gotta pose for that picture.

Breaking out the old backwards skate. I was so shaky at first.

And as a side note, I was looking down at Logan's feet one day at the store and realized his toes were basically poking out the end. I was shocked because we just bought those for school in August. He had grown a whole shoe size in a couple of months. So off to the store we went to buy another size up. The boy is only one size away from what I wear in little boys. Plus he has grown a whole pant size going to size 12. The waist is still big, but the length is right on. He needs to slow down. He is getting huge.

And we just thought she looked too cute passed out on me.

Just Gonna Do It

2010-12-01T16:46:00.002-05:00

So I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I lost the camera, found the camera and then just got lazy. When I did remember it the batteries ran out and then I had no pictures. I promise I will load them soon. I have to wait and get the ones from Corey's phone so I can make my post complete.

I have been going back and forth about doing a full marathon. With the Gilbert's Syndrome it makes it tricky, but if I keep on track of my eating and train right I shouldn't have issues. In fact, I think this will help me in a certain way to get to where I need to be. There is a marathon on May 1st that I want to do in Gettysburg. I did a 5K last spring, but this is a really cool idea for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. They will have two different courses that will start at the same point and end at the same point. Depending on what state you register from is the course you take. So if you are from the Southern or all other states you run the South route. If you are from one of the original northern states then you run the northern route. Each route takes you through the side of the Battlefields that were controlled by that side. The country side is so beautiful and I think that will help to pass the time. I am in the process of recruiting people to train with me. I like that this is my first and I have just the goal of finishing and not a time limit to beat. I am excited for the challenge. I start training the first week of January and so I am enjoying just 10 miles now on my long runs.

Other than that we are just getting excited about going to my Mom's for Christmas this year. I can't wait for all the family time and memories. Today is Mom's birthday (happy birthday Mom!!) and she is enjoying it in warm sunny Cancun while I am holed up in my house in a winter storm.

Black friday target commercial

2010-11-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this commercial. I laugh everytime, even Corey laughed last night.

Lost Camera

2010-11-19T12:39:00.002-05:00

Lost Camera.....Last seen Halloween night in the hands of a toddler with blond curly hair and bright blue eyes. If seen, please return to the Esquibel family who is in need of some updated pictures. Reward would be knowing that you are saving people from endless entries with no pictures.

Completed Family Pictures

2010-11-09T13:50:00.006-05:00

I have been waiting patiently for our family pictures for a little over a week now. I am so used to the instant gratification from having a digital camera and looking right after. What did people do before digital? Oh yeah, they suffered like me not knowing what our pictures looked like. I am happy with how they turned out. I can't really control Hailey or her faces. Most pictures she just looks lost and has this blank look. But at least she wasn't crying. And then Gabe had to have his extra goober smile going, but if you know Gabe that is just him. I really didn't expect him to have a normal smile. Because for Gabe, this is normal. I can't wait to get some printed out and hung on my walls at home. I love the colors in the background.

This is my favorite one, besides Gabe pulling his extra cheese, and I will probably get this one printed out and framed.

What a happy and complete family we are.

Update

2010-11-03T17:47:00.002-04:00

As I was reading my blog I realized that I forgot to update some news that I had blogged about before. Talk about leaving everyone hanging forever.

First item of business is that I got my ring back. It was a miracle in itself. The very next day Marshall's called and said a lady had found it in a shoe box as she was trying on a pair of shoes. I was so relieved. Corey made me take it in the next day to get it sized. It was a size 5 and we are getting it a size 4. It will be nice to have my ring snug and not have it wiggling all over the place.

The next thing was this whole medical episode that I went through. The ER visit the consecutive specialist visits and test. Blah blah blah, I was so sick of getting my blood drawn. They did another in depth ultrasound of my liver and it came back normal. So I am left with Gilbert's Syndrome which is what they thought it might have been before. You can read more here. So basically I just have a yellowish tint to my skin thanks to this and the fact that I can't over stress my body. Looks like I am stuck doing only half marathons, but I am ok with that.

And the last thing is that we are going down to Tulsa to my parents house for Christmas!!! I am so excited. I miss home and my parents and I can't wait to spend some quality time with them. My sister is also coming with her hubby and cute new baby as well. It should be a grand holiday season with lots of treats and memories. Now I just have to survive the 18 hour drive down. Should be easy enough right?

Cunningham Falls

2010-11-01T18:16:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we decided to have family pictures taken. We haven't had any done since Hailey was born and I didn't want studio pictures again. So we enlisted a friend of a friend to come and do them. He does great work and we went up to a National Park here called Cunningham Falls. The leaves were so pretty and it was a crisp nice day for it. It turned out great and I am anxious to get the pictures. Corey took some great shots while we were just waiting around.

Before I get to the shots, on Sunday morning I did the girls hair in little buns all over. It looked so stinkin cute we had to get some shots in there. Isn't she just a doll? How can you not think that little face is cute? Even with no make-up smeared all over....

Check her out.....don't you just want to pinch those cheeks? Her hair has gotten so long and I can do so much more with it now.
Lexie was being a nice big sister and helping Hailey up the trails.

This is our friend Christy....you just gotta love her.

Brothers and best buds, I swear these two are always together.

Little poser, she knew exactly what to do.

Gabe was a little less enthusiastic, but we still got a decent shot.

Logan's squirrel smile, I swear he has such a handsome smile when he isn't trying so hard.

Daddy and daughters

mom and kids, we love this shot. (and yes I hiked up that trail with high heels boots on.)

Corey took this, reminds me of my high school senior shot...

The girls

What a great shot of Gabber....

Logan, now that is one handsome little boy.

This was Corey's idea, he loves those behind shots. You should have seen all the butt shots on his camera when I didn't know it.

She loved it outside. She played in everything.

We had such a great time and taking pictures imagine that. We will have to repeat this idea next time. It was well worth it. I will post the actual family pictures when I get them.

Halloween Friday

2010-10-29T21:44:00.003-04:00

Happy Early Halloween!! We have learned since moving here to Hagerstown that you have several different days for trick or treating. Each little town in the area has different days that they participate. Hagerstown was Friday night so we got all geared up and ready to go. You can hit other places on Wednesday and Thursday if you really want to go crazy with the candy. One night is good enough for me. It was really cold and windy tonight too. Wished it could have been a little warmer. We had fun just the same though. And with all four we got A LOT of candy. It should last us till into the new year. This all happens because they have a huge Halloween parade here called the Mutter's Parade. It is a pretty big thing on the Saturday night around Halloween. So that is why trick or treating is so spread out. We didn't make it last year, but we have plans to go tomorrow night. That should be interesting.

I have a hard time staying out of the candy on Halloween. After we got all the candy combined I hoarded for a little while till I got what I wanted out of it. This is my sinister greedy face...

We were tight on money this year so we just used what we had around the house. Lexie was a princess as usual. We even got some blue eye shadow on just for her.
Hailey was a cute little kitty. We borrowed this costume and it worked great. She loved going up to doors and asking for candy. She ate more than all the other kids combined. She take after her mom with her chocolate tooth.

The boys just wore their uniforms. Logan was a football player and Gabe was a karate master. They were disappointed that they couldn't be something scary. Next year I want to try and make their costumes. That will be very interesting. But I did get a brotherly photo opt. I love this picture. This is how Gabe is.....enough said.

We had a great time. I do have to say I missed trick or treating at Grandma's house. I miss Grandma period. But I try to keep a smile on my face and make it a good year anyways. All in all, Halloween 2010 was lots of fun.

Oh Me Oh My

2010-10-28T19:45:00.002-04:00

Well it has happened to me now.... I am so bummed that it did. I went to lunch today with my friend Christy at Panera. We had a great lunch. I had a bowl of their black bean soup which is to die for if you like beans. Marshall's is right next door and we decided to scoot on over to take a look. I LOVE Marshall's. Every time I go in, I come out with something. Today was no exception. I had bought my first pair of skinny jeans about a month ago and have loved them. So I decided I needed one more pair. I found them and they fit great. Found a cute shirt to go with them too.

For those who wear garments you know the challenges of tucking in your pants as you put them on. Not an easy task with skinny jeans. As I was walking away from the dressing rooms I suddenly realized that my wedding ring was gone. Yep I had lost it. I searched everywhere. My friend Christy even looked all over the store. She said she saw it on my finger at Panera so I know it had to have fallen of in the store. I know it had to have been while trying on the clothes, but I searched all over with no results. I gave my name and number to the manager and asked if they would call if someone turned it in. I knew I had to tell Corey and I was a little nervous. He has hinted several times I needed to get it re sized because it just falls off sometimes. But I never listened to him. He was actually very understanding, but he did get his "I told you so" in there. I told him we would just wait a couple of weeks to see if someone would stumble upon it. Then I guess we will wait and see. We definitely don't have the money for a new wedding ring. All of my other rings are too big as well. I am just hoping that someone accidentally spots it and turns it in. What a pain. Now I feel almost naked without it.

Does anyone else have a lost wedding ring story? Might make me feel better.

Weekend Fun

2010-10-19T12:49:00.003-04:00

Corey and I have had a blast lately. Maybe it is the holiday season, or maybe we have just come to realize we haven't been spending enough time together. Any way you want to look at it, this past weekend was so much fun. Besides snuggling on the couch while Corey watches football and he plays with my hair we also went over to our friends the Ryder's house for their daughter's birthday. It was of course a Halloween theme, and it was so cute. The kids loved it. There is something about birthday parties and kids that makes everyone happy. The Ryder's really dressed up, Corey did at least put forth some effort into being a construction worker. I am not really into dressing up so I went as myself. I know lame, but hey at least I went. We took some couple pictures that were really fun. Corey made me wear his Hilti stuff so I wouldn't look so out of it. Plus I think he really liked me in that tool belt. He wanted me to wear it later at home, but it really wasn't my style....

Ready to work
Christy and I, she was such a cute witch.

Aren't they great?

Full body shot, he really likes that pocket.

The vampire and the construction worker.

After the party we went to Reynolds' Farm which is a huge pumpkin patch together. They have this huge free playground area and the kids had a blast just playing around. I did take a couple of pictures, but I looked through them and realized how lame they are. I really need to work on my picture taking skills. So sorry no pictures to go with that. On Sunday the Ryder's had us over for dinner and we had chicken enchiladas, which were so good I had seconds. After dinner I was showing Christy what bjj was and of course Corey got a picture. He said this is one of his favorites. I sure hope Christy won't be too embarrassed that I posted it.

And I just have to say how proud I am of my husband. He told me he wanted to start working out with me in the mornings. I was shocked, because Corey hates physical activity. But on Monday morning he got up at 5:30 with me and went out in the garage for some high interval weight training. He did great, and he also felt sick afterwards. I was scared he was going to quit. But this morning after I got back from my quick run, I ran two miles with Corey. He did really well just walking once after mile one. It is so nice to have Corey as my workout partner. Maybe tomorrow morning as we are doing our interval training I can snap some shots of us. I am just so proud of my baby.

Hailey counting

2010-10-10T20:01:00.002-04:00

I was shocked one day to find out Hailey knows how to count....I didn't teach her. I have no idea where it came from. She will sit down and have cards or something and just count her numbers. I find it so cute since she just looks so little in my eyes still. It is so hard to believe she will be 2 in February. Where has time gone? I took a video of her counting and she was distracted so it didn't turn out as I wanted it. Plus it is a little dark due to the bad lighting in our living room. But you will get the general idea. Enjoy.

The Happenings

2010-09-30T12:51:00.004-04:00

Finally I have put some pictures up... I know it has been way too long. So I just uploaded and put whatever was on the camera on this post. Random, probably. But at least you get to see some faces and stories to go with them. I have a LOVE of shoes. I just love how they look, and I really love boots. Granted I only have three pairs now, but every winter I save up and find just the right pair. Well I found my winter pair early this year at Marshall's. How I love Marshall's. They have the best stuff and it is so much cheaper. I found these boots that sold for around 120 for only 30 bucks. Yes they have a skinny heel, but I don't mind. My friend Cynthia thinks I am crazy for wearing heels everywhere we go. But I just love the way they look.

And I also remember my sister-in-law talking about skinny jeans last year. Well I finally have a pair and they are wonderful for boots. I wouldn't wear them with some sneakers, and they are really comfortable.

And you can't have a post without Hailey in there. We were on our way to church and I turned around to find her sporting her sister's shades. I guess there is more than one way to wear them.

Gabe came into the kitchen the other day and just stood there like the following pictures laughing. I couldn't figure out why until I did a closer look....

Do you see? Yes he colored his nipple red, I have no idea why. But I had to laugh because it was so unexpected.

This is my favorite. Went to go take a shower and get ready. This is dangerous because I never know what I am going to find when I come out. This day it was to this picture....

The first thing I see is her sitting on the floor eating a bag of Doritos that Gabe threw in the trash the day before. Then as you pan out....

Looks like she did a lot more dumpster diving while I was in the shower. Half eaten orange peel on the left. An empty soda can on the couch and then the random screw driver behind her. We have learned that nothing is safe now.....I mean nothing.

Auto Pilot

2010-09-27T19:34:00.002-04:00

I am sorry I have been so sporadic lately. I feel like my life has been on auto pilot lately. Every day is assigned certain activities and I do them then rest and get on with the next day. It doesn't help that Corey works so much, then does school, then gets his lesson done for Sunday. Sometimes he can squeeze a football game in. We really haven't seen too much of each other lately which makes me sad. But I just keep thinking of others who don't see their spouse as much and I know I am not alone. He just works so hard all the time.

I try to keep busy with working out, kids and now MMA classes three times a week. I take the noon class and the owner allows me to bring Hailey and she just runs around getting into stuff. He doesn't seem to mind, so I keep coming back. These classes are brutal and as I got hit in the face a couple of times and then kicked over and over again in the legs because I forgot to block, I ask myself if I really like this. Weird that the answer is yes. After class was all over I was sitting on the bench trying to catch my breath and the instructor came over and told me I had dirt on my shoulders from the huge tractor tire that we mess around with. I look over and start laughing and told him that it wasn't dirt but bruises. He didn't believe me till I tried to rub it off. I guess I look like a really ripe banana now. But when I looked online it seems to be normal for MMA and that eventually my body will adapt and not get so bruised. Good thing it is starting to get cooler or people would think I was getting abused at home.

I organized a child's clothing drive at our General R.S. broadcast, and had a ton of people drop off their clothing (and of course other stuff that was not supposed to be dropped off). Then we had no one take anything. So even waiting till after Sunday meetings for people to take these clothes I had to bag it all up and haul it down to Goodwill. My Pilot was packed. We had small numbers for the actual broadcast, but I am so glad that I went. It is amazing to me how you can just feel the love of the Prophet as he speaks. There is nothing like an uplifting talk to help you through your rough patches. I encourage those who didn't watch it to watch online or make sure and read it when the conference issue comes out.

I wish I had pictures to go with this post, but the camera is out in the car and it is pouring rain right now. So I will upload some later.

Hancock Half Marathon

2010-09-18T13:36:00.002-04:00

I ran today!! It was a perfect morning for it. Chilly, but once you start running you never get hot. I didn't think I was going to get to run it, my running partner hurt her hamstring and wasn't going to do it. But last minute she decided to go ahead and I went with her. I am so glad I did. I had a wonderful PR. I finished at 1:49. My last half in May I finished around 2:05, so I made a pretty big improvement over the summer. It was a pretty small race, but I placed 2nd in my age group. Granted I can hardly walk now, my muscles are so sore from pushing them to the limit at the end. I am only sad I don't have pictures. Corey had a conference and I had a wonderful friend come and stay with the kids. But even with no pictures I was so happy. My average pace was 8:22.

No bruises, No gain

2010-09-15T13:37:00.004-04:00

So I have wanted to get in and do some of the martial arts myself since we are all included in the membership. Of course I always have Hailey and I can't take a class with lots of people and bring her as well. I was stuck and thought I would only get an occasion class in there on Saturdays if I was lucky. Well the owner's name is Master Mike and he noticed that I have never came to a class. He asked when I was going to come and I told him my situation. I guess he has six kids and understands how it goes. So he actually said he would meet me three times a week in the mornings before his advanced class and work with me. I thought I was lucking out because I could also bring Hailey and she could just run around because no other students would be there.

I have been twice and all I can say is ouch. This stuff is tough. Extensions that I thought I had down were not even close. Getting socked in the head when I forget to duck. And I guess they do A LOT of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So I have been doing mainly that for the past two days. So here is a pictures if you don't know what that is:

So basically it is a lot of floor work rolling all over the place trying to get the other person to submit. I have to admit I felt awkward that first day with Master Mike and getting all tangled on the mat. Today was a little less awkward and so hard. I can't seem to think and remember what move to make while I am in the head lock and this guy is not holding back. He said that is the hardest part is not freaking out and relaxing and breathing and thinking about what move would serve you best in that certain position. The point is to make the other person submit to you by tapping out. Have I made Master Mike tap out yet.....uh no way. Only when we are doing slow motion moves and he allows me to get a head lock or an arm lock, but when I am actually sparring with him there is no way I will ever beat him I don't think.

And for those who are freaking out about getting so close to another male and rolling all over the mat. There is nothing nice about trying to get some guys head in a lock and he is all sweaty and nasty. But I get to take these babies home for souvenirs...

The Sound of Silence

2010-09-15T13:32:00.002-04:00

You know there is mischief a foot when you hear nothing in the background. And when I don't have Hailey getting caught up in my legs all day I know she is up to something. Didn't hear her for awhile, thought I would go sneak a peek and this is what I found:

So cute and innocent right?
Still doesn't seem so bad....

But that closet is supposed to stay shut because I have stuff I DON'T want her playing with. She basically throws everything on the floor and sits there all cute and happy.

Kid Break Down

2010-09-11T14:11:00.005-04:00

So I know that I have been without pictures for awhile. I guess I just was not in the mood to take and post a bunch of happy pictures. But I finally got a sports collection that I thought deserved the spotlight. We are going none stop Monday through Friday with sports practice and then games on Saturday. I feel like the past couple of weeks has flown by due to this. I even forgot about my half marathon next weekend, and so my kids will just have to miss a game. Corey has a conference he has to go to in Frederick for work so they will have to take the back seat next weekend.

Things are going great with Logan. He loves football. That kid lives for it anyways, too bad he is a little too cautious in the field. It also doesn't help that he is not really good at running. But there is a cross country practice at his school for a cross country run in October that he asked to be a part of. I figured this could only help his running in football. After the first running practice he got in the car all sweaty and proceeded to tell me that running sucks. But in the video he got a tackle and we were so glad.

Logan also takes Karate when he can. Usually this is if practice is cancelled or on Saturdays if he doesn't have a game early. He really actually likes Karate I think more than Gabe. Go figure right.

Gabe begged and begged us for Karate. So I found someone close and although it required a one year contract (sigh) I still went for it. The whole family can go anytime and so you can get your belt as fast or as slow as you want. I would love to go more, but during the week I have Hailey which makes it impossible. Master Mike (the owner) said he would be willing to meet me during the week for a private lesson and Hailey could just run around the gym. I thought that was really nice of him, knowing that I couldn't participate any other way. I finally took my first class this morning. I had just gotten back from my long run and hurried and got dressed. I thought it was easy, and then about an hour afterwards I can hardly move my upper body. It will be nice to switch this up with all my other routines.

Don't wanna mess with this....

Gabe got his 8th class tape today, when he gets to 20 he gets his yellow belt. Go Gabber.

Lexie, well you never really know what you are going to get. She opted for soccer this year and Corey and I were both thinking yeah this won't last long. She did Karate with the boys a couple of times and was doing more twirls and mirror watching than anything else. But guess what.....she is GOOD. She kept scoring goal after goal and her ball control is amazing. The coached kept telling her she needed to take turns with the other players. Who knows, maybe she might stick with it.

Gotta check that hair, make sure it stills looks good.

Isn't she just the cutest girl ever? She really is beautiful, I am dreading her teenage years as I am typing this.

And I can't have a post without my Hailey in there. She is getting so big so fast. She keeps surprising me with words all the time. I just keep thinking is she really that old now? Her vocabulary consists of : No, Yes, Stop, Bye Dada (always together), Poo Poo, Stinky, Uh oh, Wow (after she rips one), Please, Welcome, Thank you, Love you, shoes, socks, quack (for ducks). I am sure there are others, but I can't remember right now. She loves to sing and dance and I catch her all day long doing both.

Good morning sunshine.

Chocolate chip pancakes are the best.

And just for your enjoyment, here is little Hailey grooving in the car.

I am sorry if some of the video's don't work. Can't figure out why, but I did try.

Gripe Board

2010-08-31T21:33:00.002-04:00

So I feel like everytime I have come on here lately I have been griping about something that is going on. I logged on tonight to start griping again, and then I read a sweet post from someone I knew in Tulsa. It helped me to remember all the great things I still have going on right now. I get to stay at home and be with my kids, even though there are times that I just want escape....

I also get the opportunity to really study and read my scriptures in the middle of the day when I am not nodding off and falling asleep. Since I quit Facebook I find I have TONS more time on my hands. When Hailey goes down for her 2-3 hour nap after lunch I find myself really getting into the scriptures, the lessons for the next Sunday and also the Ensign. I also have time to actually do my calling. We have three activities this month so I will see if I survive to October.

I love the time that I have gotten to be closer to my Savior. I feel the Spirit more often during the day and I have also noticed I am not so quick to anger with my kids. I want to try and do things that make me feel that way all day long. This leads me to think that maybe all these bad things are happening to humble me. I haven't been the best at family scripture study and FHE hasn't been happening lately. Plus I have been feeling in a slump lately from not feeling the Spirit as strongly. I guess this was the way for the Lord to kick me into gear. Just throw some nice trials her way and then she will come back. If anything, I am grateful for the growth I have experienced in just the past couple of weeks. I am slowly feeling the difference and I am loving it. Now if only I can work on my service. I have also been horrible about family scripture study since Corey doesn't get home in time and it is all up to me. Yeah, you can imagine how many times that came through. So I have started reading to the kids at dinner time. Not real fun I know, but instead of mindless potty humor which is what we usually get I have turned to the scriptures. After a couple of verses I go over what we just read and ask them questions. I think they actually paid attention more. I just read the chapter during my study time and learned all I could about it. Makes for good dinner conversation as well.

So I have to post at least the reason I came on here in the first place. So I got our water bill yesterday....400 dollars. I kid you not. I almost fainted because our regular bill is around 160. I called the water people and they came out. The technican informs me that there was a leak in our water meter box, but somehow it didn't affect our meter. Ummm, have you seen our water bill little man? Of course it affected our meter, and our wallets to say the least. So our bill just happened to sky rocket at the same time that our meter box gets a leak. I wasn't buying it. I called Corey and I felt like I was losing my mind. I just felt like running from the house pulling my hair and screaming at the top of my lungs. Does anyone else want a ton of money from us while we are at it? Just wring us dry and then leave us in the middle of the desert. Corey could tell I was boiling over with dealing with everything else. So he is taking a half day on Friday to go down and talk with the water people. See if we can't catch some sort of break with this. I mean, even an idiot could see that the leak made our bill go that high. Do they think we are filling swimming pools in our spare time?

So that is the sum of it all right now. Me just making it day by day, hour by hour. I mean that is all I can do. Live for this one day where there is no bill in the mail, or no one surprising me with an over priced medical test. If I can just concentrate on all the wonderful beautiful things in my life and feel closer to my Savior for that one brief moment. Then I guess it is all worth it.

Great Article

2010-08-25T20:03:00.002-04:00

So I just finished reading an article in the June Ensign from President Badnar which really struck home for me. It was centered around the Internet of course and how much time it takes away from our lives. He made a point that Satan wants us to be disconnected with our bodies and using the Internet all the time can make you lose sense of who you really are and effect your personal relationships that are real. As I was reading this I realized that I spend WAY too much time online. Now he made the point that not all things online are bad and that there are great uses for it. But the main question was are you spending a lot of quality time just surfing or on useless sites that do not add to and improve what you are working toward.

I was on Facebook all the time. If I had a spare minute I was logged on and seeing what everyone was saying. I was getting obsessed about games as well. I found myself more interested in other people's lives than my own. I have all this time I could be building my relationship not only with my Heavenly Father but with my own children and husband. I was guilty of this exact thing. So, I have deleted my Facebook account. Too harsh you say? Maybe, but where I am right now I feel like the less distraction the better. And maybe this one step will help me make more in the right direction to get myself where I need to be. My only question is why didn't I read this sooner? I have decided to make sure and read the Ensign when it comes and to really take to heart what our prophets and apostles have to say. So that is why I am no longer on facebook.

You Call That Results?

2010-08-25T17:21:00.002-04:00

So we are short on the batteries now so no pictures to go with this. Corey raids anything with AA batteries when he runs out on his controller for his Xbox. So as of now my camera is battery-less. Which bums me out because I have had some great photo ops lately, and go figure it is when my camera is out of commission.

Well I went to see the Dr. about my test results. Just as I predicted. Inconclusive. I knew my case would not be cut and dry. My second round of blood test were much better but I still had a slightly elevated bilirubin level. So he wanted to do a MRI to make certain all was ok. I said no. We are swimming in bills as it is and there is not even anything for certain that they are looking at. Just one more expensive test for them to say, yep all looks normal. No thanks doc. So then he recommended I get another blood test in about a month to compare my levels. Now that we can handle. So I am just sitting tight waiting till the end of September to go and get re-poked in the arm. I am getting to be a pro at this. If my bilirubin levels are still elevated then he might be leaning toward Gilbert's Syndrome. I guess only time will tell.

Me in the meantime has gotten back to business as usual with my routine. I am still going to do my half on September 18th and training is going really well. I run with my friend Dadra who runs a lot and then a couple of men from our church who do marathons as well. It was really intimidating to run with men at first, but I quickly realized the benefits. My time and speed has increased so much within the past couple of months. Sometimes I feel like I won't make it that last mile, but I always do and my times have been amazing. I feel great right now. Haven't had a relapse and hoping that I don't. I am busy every day during the week between football, soccer and Karate. I am sure by Christmas I will be totally burned out. But for my kids I will do just about anything. If that means I live behind the wheel of my car for the next 10 years.

Money Stress

2010-08-23T12:34:00.003-04:00

Is it just me or does anyone else have this disorder? It is called money anxiety and I experience it every time I have to balance the checkbook or realize that we have an unexpected bill delivered so graciously by our mail person. I hate money and I find that it can ruin my day. Before we lived in MD, we lived well within our means and it was easy to have some extra money to have fun on the side. Since moving here to good old expensive Maryland we find that even though Corey got a great raise, we are tight every single month. We used his bonus for vacation this past summer and the table that we so badly needed. But now I have that great fear of Christmas approaching.

I usually love Christmas, but as the kids get bigger so do their price of toys. This year the older three all want DS's and this would happen to be the year that I have medical bills. UGGGHHH. Even now just typing this I am getting anxiety. But the best part is when I talk to my husband about my concern, he just hugs me and says everything will be fine. He even will send me an email on my really bad days that just says "I love you and we will be fine." Some how just hearing this from him makes all the difference. We are going back to a strict budget in September, which we did when Corey first got his job in Tulsa and things were tight. Hopefully this will ease my mind a little and I can get some rest at night.

Gabe's Chucky Cheese's Party

2010-08-21T21:44:00.003-04:00

Oh the joy of Chucky Cheese. I remember growing up and begging my dad to take us there. I think we went once my whole childhood, but for some reason the kids love it. We allowed Logan to have his party there this year, so we had to follow suit with Gabe. He was so excited. He didn't want that many kids there so he could use most of the coins for himself. Go figure right!! But everyone had a great time and Gabe was all smiles all night long. I have to admit the parents had a pretty good time as well.

Gabe in the ticket blaster, he some how caught one in his teeth and I took this perfect picture of him. This is my favorite because yes that is a real Gabe smile and it is so cute.
Gabe in the ticket blaster.

Group photo op with Chucky, notice Eddie's hand (the little boy on the left) he got a feel of chucky that no one else did. I bet Chucky gets felt up a lot.

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

Getting some one on one time with Chucky front and center.

The Ryder's having a grand old time.

Crazy boys.

Now to present my favorite part of the party. Once all the kids left to go play some more games, my friend Christy decided to show me her moves. I love this clip. So fearless and it sealed my night just perfectly.

First Day of School

2010-08-21T21:39:00.003-04:00

I am so glad that school started up again. I think my kids were as happy as I was. Lexie was up and ready by the time I got home from the gym. Hair included. The boys not so much, but they did get ready.

Can't you tell how happy I am
Oh my Gabe, he was the least excited. He even cried for three days prior to even going. But I think he will be fine now. He doesn't deal with change well.

Logan is my big helper this year. He is making sure Lexie gets off and on the bus ok. It is so nice to have an older child to help out now.

Oh Lexie, she wears this outfit every time I clean it. I can't wait for summer to end so I don't have to see it anymore. She did her own hair too, which is why it is all slicked back.

Football Fever

2010-08-16T13:16:00.002-04:00

Football season is approaching us and I can feel the excitement in the air. Corey is restless for that first game to begin. And I know this is the time of year I can go out with the girls on Saturday and he wants to just chill at home with game after game to watch. This year even my boys have football fever. More especially Logan who just loves it. He will watch game after game with Corey, play football on his Xbox and he finally got to sign up for tackle football this year. He just looks so dang cute in all those pads. I can't wait for his first game of the season. GO CHIEFS!!

I told him to give me a mean look, but I got the tired just out of bed look.

I came home from the gym at 7am this morning to find Logan and Gabe watching football. I couldn't believe they were holding still. Anything for football.

Gabe's Photo Shoot

2010-08-16T13:11:00.004-04:00

These are the pictures that Gabe took. This the biggest I could get them unless I wanted to buy the CD. You can still see how cute he was. What a ham. Most of the poses were his own ideas. He kept those two ladies on their toes. I got a few different ones because I just couldn't decide.

Birthday Weekend

2010-08-16T12:49:00.006-04:00

What a crazy weekend for birthday's it has been. I never really thought about how crazy it would be to have two birthdays on the same day. But at the same time it can be really fun for us and it gives us something to always have in common. My friend Cynthia's birthday is one day before mine, so I thought we would have a little lunch to celebrate hers first.
It was small if you can't tell by the three of us. But we ate Panera and had brownie's for her birthday cake. It was nice to just sit and talk for a couple of hours.

Here she is getting ready to blow out her candles.

Then came our magical day to share. I had to get a picture with my little man. There is never a dull moment with him. Just the other day he informed me that he wanted to wear boxers now because he was a man. I have laughed about that for days now.

Can't you tell Hailey is a little jealous

Gabe got this cool toy that you can build into different things from Grandma Esquibel.

Alisha got me these cool dish towels and dish cloths that I was in desperate need of. Plus I love the spoon holder to go on my stove top. I didn't get a picture of my mom's but of course it was cash which I have spent already.

I already got my Garmin GPS watch for my birthday but Corey still got me some chocolate and another Ipod gift card which I use all the time.

That morning I took Gabe to the store and let him pick out whatever cake and frosting he wanted. Plus of course some ice cream to go with it. He picked triple chocolate cake with Chocolate fudge icing and then chocolate ice cream. That boy will eat just all chocolate. Something else we have in common. Here he is enjoying the bowl after we made it together.

My wonderful friends Christy and Cynthia came over and cooked me lunch for my birthday. Cynthia made bacon wrapped hot dogs and Christy made some snicker salad which I have never had before. It was all so delicious. I ate so much food and felt sick all weekend.

I got some more Mexican candy

Cynthia got me these two shirts which I love. I am really into the little T-shirts right now. She thinks I am tough and then she calls me Supermom all the time. She picked out perfect.

Logan got stuff from Deseret Book from Grandma Rollins. Notice the book is upside down.

Gabe's finished cake getting ready to blow out the candles.

On Saturday Gabe and I went to get his pictures taken and also to get his present from Mom and Dad. He wanted his own controller (wireless) for his Xbox. So that is what he got. This is us getting ready to go to Sears.

Nice evil look huh? He did NOT want to get dressed up.

After pictures him and I went for some Cold Stone. I love it, but we can't afford to take all of us there. 11 bucks for two ice creams is dumb in my opinion, but we did splurge on just us two.

Can you guess what Gabe got? Chocolate Cake Batter with Oreo's, chocolate chips and chocolate shavings.

I got my usual Cake Batter with brownie, fudge and Carmel. It was so good.

What a "GOOD" weekend it was.

Early Birthday Dinner

2010-08-09T12:00:00.002-04:00

On Saturday Corey took me out for my birthday. We had babysitters lined up anyways so we took advantage of it. It is so hard to get away with four little ones. No one really wants to watch that many kids. But thank goodness we have the Ryders who are so good to us. I was going to take pictures through out our date, but I forgot the camera multiple times. But we went to Outback and I had some fried mushrooms and a quesadilla that was so good. I also had a dessert that I shared with Corey. After dinner we went to the movies. Corey and I can't even remember the last movie we went to. But we saw Dinner for Schmucks and it was so funny. We had a whole four hours to ourselves and it was wonderful. And it isn't even my birthday yet....yipppeee.

I also had my yearly exam at the OBGYN today and I was anxious to see if I had gained any weight from two weeks ago when I went to the GI dr. I stepped on and was shocked that after a weekend of pigging out I had actually lost half a pound. It gets frustrating because I know I need to gain weight but either mentally or physically it seems almost insurmountable to me. This has been one of the biggest struggles I have ever had. Losing weight is so much easier. Now we are just waiting for the GI to call me back to review all the tests he ordered. I am hoping and praying that he finds what is wrong. I just want to get back to some semblance of feeling normal.