After waking up EVERYDAY for weeks to snow on the ground, when it was supposed to be spring.  I took the kids and ran, well drove, to St. George.  Dave, Nana and Papa met us later in the week and we all enjoyed the WARM weather. 

Our kids LOVE St. George and know exactly what they want to do.  Swim, go to the parks and ride bikes. 

Because it was spring break they were able to meet their friends and have play dates!  They loved showing their friends all their favorite spots in ST. George.  Then when Nana and Papa came they got to show off their favorites AGAIN!!  What lucky kids!

Nana took us to breakfast at the farmers market.  Next time the kids think they are going to have a booth at the market and sale their art work! 

I think we pushed Nana and Papa's limits at Pioneer Park.  They were good sports to keep up with the kids running wild on the rocks!

It was a great vacation and as always the kids want Dave to relocate to St. George.  I think they just want him to not work, play all day and have an unlimited bank account.  I think Dave and I would like that too!!

Samantha Presents Manila Magic

Samantha had her big choir concert.  Her first one was 10 minutes and this one was 20!! I laugh because the choir director acted like they were the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,  She wanted the kids to spend a whole bunch of time after school perfecting their skills. Samantha did great once again but she is SO glad to be done with choir.  I am proud of her for sticking with it when it got a little crazy at the end. I think she enjoyed learning the songs but her favorite song to sing is "I'm the Baby Gotta Love Me" which is not a choir number.

Samantha was excited to get her concert over with because right after her and I went to see HAIRSPRAY with her Grandma, a few Aunts and her cousin Emmie!  Samantha loves Hairspray so she was so excited to see it live!

Way to Go Will

Will got the Confidence To Take Action award at school last month.  His teacher chose him because he has to work so hard each day at school and never complains.  I was so proud of him.  I am always proud of my kids but I see how hard Will tries at school and I am so proud of him and his positive attitude. 

Will just recently started asking my what makes him special at school and why does he get to go to the "other"classes.  Every time he asks my heart breaks that he has to face these trials and I can't make it better.  I think nothing is worse as a mother then watching your child struggle and know you can't make it all better. 

 I love him so much and am so happy that he was recognized for all his hard work. 

Mom and Dad love you so much Will.  Keep working hard and know that we are all so proud of you.

Samantha, in true Samantha drama fashion, let us know how unfair this was because she has gone to school for 3 year and she never gets the award.  She said "I know Will has to work really hard and school isn't easy for him but it is just not fair."  Dave and I just laughed because she is getting an award next month.  We love Samantha but I fear for her teenage years :)

Ben's Big Day

I have this awesome husband who is an amazing father. He takes our kids out once a month on a "Daddy" date.  Our kids LOVE this day.  They ask him all the time if it is their special day.  They ask me if they can all him when he is at work so they can plan their date.  I know that it isn't easy to accommodate these dates and I am so thankful that Dave takes time to spend this one on one time with our kids!  Like I said he is a GREAT Dad and I LOVE him SO much!

In order to go on this date you have to be potty trained for a little bit, to guarantee there will be no surprises!!  Ben reached that milestone and got to go on his FIRST Daddy date.  He was so excited he wouldn't even sit still for a picture. ( I took several and in all of them he looks crazy).  For Ben's first date he chose dinner at McDonald's and arcade games at Chuck E Cheese.  He LOVED it!  Thanks Dave for being such a great Dad.



St. Patrick's Day

I am going to TRY and update our blog. 

Our kids build a Leprechaun trap each year in hopes of catching a Leprechaun and getting his pot of gold.  I am sorry to say that once again they were left empty handed. 

I made them green eggs and ham for breakfast and just like Valentines day they HATED it.  Oh well, it is the thought that counts.

Samantha had her first choir performance that night at the school Arts Festival.  She did great!  Samantha is pretty shy so she was very nervous.  I was proud of her for overcoming her fears.

The choir concert lasted about 10 minutes and then we spent the rest of the night doing art projects throughout the school.

The kids loved doing the projects and getting their grove on playing the Dance game.

Valentine's Day 2011

I will start this by saying...I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY! I feel that there should not be one day set aside to tell your loved one you love them, this should be a daily act. So to waste money on something so stupid in my opinion is ridiculous. That being said. I do have children that enjoy Valentine's Day and so I WILL celebrate it for them and show them that I do LOVE them and their dad more than they know!!! I woke up bright and early on this great day and made my kids a special breakfast. Heart shaped pink pancakes on heart plates with sparkling cider, boxes of chocolates and valentines. They all told me that hated it!! :)

Samantha made her first Valentine box. It was so cute and I didn't help her as much as Dave says. When I went to her class that day I had several of her classmates ask me to make them one.

Samantha and William both had class parties and Ben got to tag along to both. They had so much fun making crafts, frosting cookies and playing games!

We had a romantic evening consisted of serving a pasta bar t0 60 kids at cancer camp. I couldn't think of a better way to show my kids I love them by having them provide an act of service with their cousins, aunts, uncles and granparents. Our family loved the food, company, making valentines and watching their cousins zumba!

Not a bad day for a holiday I HATE. :)

Happy Birthday 2 Dave

Dave got older and wiser on the 9th. The kids planned a great party for him. They were a little upset that we did not get him any presents. I tried to explain to them that Dad's new car was the only present he was getting. The result of the lesson....they telling me I AM NOT A NICE PERSON.

The decorated all afternoon....so much crate paper and so much tape! It was so cute to watch them. They were so excited!

They planned dinner, nickel city and dessert. All their plans benefited themselves more than Dave but because Dave is such a great father he went along with their craziness and had a great time!

Parenting tip: DO NOT give your kids slide whistles before you get into a car! Dave doesn't like cake so the kids chose strawberry shortcake for him and cupcakes for themselves complete with cherries jubilee and daiquiri ice ice cream!

I asked the kids to tell me one thing they love about their Dad.

Samantha.......he takes me on daddy dates!

William.......he goes on daddy dates with me and he farts in my face. (Then Will laughed and said "that will be so funny")

Benjamin...... hmmm(he puts his finger on his chin while he says hmmm) He Love Me!

We are so blessed to have such a great father and husband. Dave is a very quiet, private person so many people don't know just how AMAZING he is!! We love you!!

The Circus is Coming...The Circus is Coming

The Jordan World Circus came to town and we went to pay them a visit. What is that? You have never heard of the Jordan World Circus? Well either had we...but now we know. And knowing is half the battle!



Dave picked up some free kids tickets to this circus and we hadn't taken the kids on any adventures for a couple of weeks so we decided to give it a go. Our friends the Harper's were brave enough to go with us.

We were on the edges of our seats from the minute it started to the minute it ended. Not because of the excitement but because almost every act had a malfunction. It was great! I have never seen such a crazy show in my life and the kids couldn't wait to see what was going to go wrong next. They were a little disappointed because I wouldn't let them get their picture taken next to a bear but I after all that had gone wrong I didn't want to risk them being bear food!

I say we will go again because it was so crazy that I was laughing all night, others might want to go again because of the costumes! (see below)

Samantha's Get Away

I hit a huge milestone in my life. I let one of my children go on a vacation without me. I won't tell you how many times I called or how I packed her suitcase. I will just say this was SO hard for me.

Samantha went to Disneyland with my parents, her Aunt Lisa and 3 of her cousins (Liam, Sam and Davis). She had so much fun! The 300 times I called her each day she was laughing so hard I could hardly understand what she was saying. Even though sometimes she would only say 1 word to me.

She was so excited and scared to go on the TOWER of TERROR. She did go 1 time and that was enough for her!

Even though this was one of the hardest things I have had to do as a parent, I am glad she had the opportunity to go. She will post more pictures from her own camera later!

Thanks Mom and Dad for taking Samantha and being patient with my 300 phone calls and questions!

It's Christmas

Christmas time is CRAZY we all know that. There is SO much going on and SO much to get done. This year I decided to get myself an early Christmas present...I got my gallbladder removed the week of school Christmas madness. That meant Dave had to do some serious parenting that last crazy week of school before their break and getting ready for our 2 week vacation to Colorado. I am so lucky to have such a GREAT husband.
Samantha surprised Dave twice that week. Once by telling him at bed time that she needed a gift for a gift exchange the next day and then again as she was getting tucked in bed by telling him she had to wear a SOLID red or green shirt the next day! Samantha should be grateful Dave was in charge or she might not be alive!!! She did great in her performance of Mele Kalikimaka.....who makes second graders sing those words? I love how excited she gets for everything!!

Will on the other hand needs some excitement lessons from his sister. He is WAY to cool to sing songs like Must Be Santa. Don't the Black Eyed Peas have a Christmas album? He did great though even though he looks like he is in pain. I am so proud of everything Will accomplishes because I know how hard he worked to get there. Way to go Will!

HELP please....Ben IS crazy, really crazy! One of our biggest parenting regrets thus far is teaching him to make a mean face. Every time you ask him to do something he looks at you like this. Over our Christmas break in Colorado he discovered the Dance Star Mickey Display and loved to dance right next to Mickey!

We spent the Christmas break in Colorado with Dave's parents. Dave's oldest brother Sean and his wife Amy recently moved to Colorado Springs and his brother is working at the Air Force Academy. Sean took us to Peterson Air Force Base and we got to go inside the plane the Wings of Blue (Air Force Parachute Team) jump out of. The kids loved jumping out of the plane, pretending to fly the plane and running in the hanger. We then went to Sean's office at the Academy and drove around the campus with our final stop to the AF visitor center. Thanks Uncle Sean!

Christmas Eve we spent at Sean and Amy's with good food and company. The kids love being with their cousins and they get along great. Later that night we returned and opened their 1 Christmas Eve present. I think since they show no excitement in new pajamas we should surprise them one year with something FUN or get them something really boring like pots and pans! They did look cute though in their new Jammie's!

Christmas morning dawned with mixed emotions. Sam and Will could not wait to open their presents and Ben cried because he could not see the GI Joe guys he asked for. We tried to explain to him that they might be wrapped under the tree but since he could not see them he could not be consoled.

At last, the GI Joes were found along with Sam's DSI XL that she SO wanted, and nerf guns and Star Wars toys galore! Oh and don't forget the pillow pets (that we refused to buy) they had to ask Santa for. I love watching their excitement and how they can't stay focused on 1 toy long enough to see how it works.

Our kids always love to visit the Denver Railroad Museum when we are in Colorado. Their is something about running around, on and through a bunch of trains that kids LOVE! I loved that is was such a nice day outside for us all to enjoy the trains!

On the way back from the train museum we stopped at Buffalo Bill's Grave and Museum. The museum was closing so we had a quick photo shoot and went in the gift shop instead.
During our visit we got to see our new niece Cara and her mom Becky. They were visiting from Virginia and we had never met Cara before. It was great to spend some time with both of them. We did miss James and the boys though.

To bring in the New Year we went to Skate the Lake. With the temperatures a Nice Warm -11!!! Who doesn't want to bring in the New Year outside on a Lake in artic temperature! It was fun and we survived without (much) frostbite. Dave skated with Sam and Will and I pulled Ben around in the sleigh. We went on sleigh rides, got our faces painted, roasted marshmallows and ate treats!!

We had a great Christmas break and are so appreciative to Dave's parents for opening their home to us and our puppy. Next time we will conveniently forget the puppy (at my their house... they love collecting dogs)!