The Cooks

Christmas

2011-12-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

This is going to be my last post before I have everything on the blog so far made into a book. My first post was in December 2007, so that would be FOUR years of posts! Wow, that will make a great book for our family. I hope it turns out well. I plan on continuing this blog. I don't at all do it these days to update/show off to family and friends.....beside I think most people are kind of winding down on the blog world and it seems to have shifted to Facebook. But I still find this to be an excellent way to "scrapbook" if you will. Anyway, here are a few Christmas pictures to wind up the year! Happy 2012!

What a perk it is to have a child old enough and willing to deliver all the neighbor gifts while I stay warm in the car. Well, I MADE the treats, after all :)

Riley was a little shy, but he solemnly told Santa that he wanted a big red bean bag for Christmas. He is such a good boy! I think he just might get his wish.

Malia had to show Santa her owy (sp?) first thing. It's her way of breaking the ice. Either that or showing her painted nails. That is how she starts conversations with people she is warming up to. She asked for a dollhouse. I wonder where she got the idea to ask for a dollhouse? Luckily Santa had a nice one already picked out for her!

Well if she has to, why shouldn't he?

My family came over Christmas Eve and we had such a great time. I can't believe how much delicious food Laurie brought. We felt so lucky!

Malia with her new sunglasses. This girl must always have at least 2 accessories on, and lip gloss must never be far away. It makes me laugh, I love it! I think it's safe to say these kids love their Grandparents, and that the feeling is mutual :)

Christmas morning!!! What do you know...a big red beanbag.

Riley got a laser light....probably one of his favorite toys, and may be the cheapest too.

Aaaannd here we go with lip gloss, and necklace, and bracelet, painted nails and painted toes. And there is that dollhouse in the background. It's huge! I'm worried she will try to occupy it and then it will fall over on her.

Huge Zebra! I love this Zebra because you can pick it's nose. It's nostrils go in about 2 inches.

And Malia's enormous Elephant. Only problem with these two huge stuffed animals was that the kids now want to take them everywhere. Get's to be inconvenient.

Awww. These two are a cute pair. I love watching the way Ben interacts with Malia. It's a very funny and sweet relationship.

Me and Riley and......I barely recognize her. I think that's Malia.

Favorite cousins by the Christmas tree at Grandma and Grandpa Cooks, where we also had a great time. I love watching these two grow up together. When they get together they are quite a pair.

We had a wonderful Christmas. It came quickly because we have been so busy. We did accomplish our goal of finishing the basement, and I'm so happy about that. But I also feel terrible because many things have gone by the wayside, like going to the temple! I would like to start going much more regularly. I am so thrilled we will have a temple here in Payson. My mom is coming to visit in a couple weeks, so even though Christmas crept up on us, we are extending it a little for when she's here. Can't wait! But that will be another post, and I guess the first entry in another book...bye!

Pajama-Rama!

2011-12-27T14:19:00.001-08:00

I may make this an annual event, because it was so much fun! Just a BUNCH of friends gathered together for games and junk food. But you can only access THIS party if you are in SLEEPWEAR!!!! I loved seeing friends in their comfy pj's. That way after pigging out you don't have to undo any top buttons. This turned out to be a great party. I'm sure Ben and I will never forget frantically carrying three couches to the basement and ripping off what seemed like WAY too much protective cardboard and plastic just so our friends would have something to sit on during the party! The couches were delivered "to the curb" at 6:35 pm, and the party started at 7pm. Phew!!!!!! The poor babysitter got to witness Ben and I "calmly" and "nicely" moving/shoving 3 couches to the basement.

And I am the first to start pigging out! I look like I have a cheekful. I think that was cheescake. Yum.

Nothing like four grown men on a big bean bag. In their pajamas. These are real men.

Luckily we got our basement done-enough for the party. We had set the date for the party back in November, giving ourselves what we thought was plenty of time to complete it 100%. Turned out it was not possible! But it's good enough for the crowd we run around with :)

The beautiful girl in the blue lacy number got the award for "most-unattractive sleepwear". But she really looks beautiful. I was just jealous so I gave her the award.

This felt like highschool, all the fun parts of highschool! Who sais grown-ups can't have fun like teenagers?

And the best for last: she sort of made, or I mean strongly encouraged, her husband to wear this. He didn't want to. There, I've kept his manly reputation intact. I love these! I remember a few years ago I wanted a pair of foot pajamas like these, so I bought a nice big comfy looking pair from Target and excitedly tried them on the moment I got home only to discover they were exceedingly tight on my thighs. I had to return them the next day with my head held low. But these guys look great!

Life Lately

2011-12-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

Our two cute kids. It's funny because Riley will NOT let me be in the room when he undresses under any circumstances, but once he's in the bath he has NO qualms about being naked. Or once he's in the shower then I can wash his hair and back and ears, but I better not see him naked before he gets in :) Then there is Malia, who loves being naked or at least commando. She has this favorite dress which she has worn ragged, and somehow even though she begins the day wearing underwear she manages to not wear any most of the day. Can't say I blame her.
Ben and I had to laugh at what kind of parents we must have looked like if our neighbors happened to see. It was a fairly cold day. Riley is wearing what for some reason is his favorite shirt, and Malia has just underwear on, and they are running around outside tied together with my scarves. Oh my goodness! It was fun see him run down the sidewalk and her try to keep up just for the sake of not falling!

I've got to say, we have been VERY pre-occupied this fall and winter with finishing our basement. It has been very stressful, and our poor kids have been a little neglected by us but have also seemed to grow closer. So here they are decorating the tree a little later than we normally would. Riley was so sweet teaching Malia how to hang the ornaments. And there she is in the dress! She wears it pretty much every day unless I hide it. But then she worries all day about where it might be until I finally "find" it and put it on her.

I stained these baseboards, every last one and this isn't even half of it. I can't really talk much more about it because it brings up bad memories.

And there I am living out my bad memory. I am holding a brush with stain. Blah. And no makeup for added effect.

Words can't express how much I love these two! I mean look how cute they are.

Basement Progress, Mom and Chris Visit

2011-11-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

I can't believe this LONG journey we've been on with the basement. I will post pictures soon of the finished product, but here are some from a couple weeks ago.

These two are SO helpful (snort). But the important thing is that they WANT to help, so that's a good thing, right? Hopefully that will continue with chores.

One of my favorite pictures of Ben and Riley. I love these two so much! They make me laugh.

My Mom and my brother Chris came to visit last month and we had so much fun! I felt bad for them though because they had to sleep on our couches. Next time they come our basement will be done and they can sleep in style. We all went to get pumpkins and the weather was so perfect.

My cute little boy...but don't tell him that. He gets ticked! The only thing I can say is "You look cool!" Or "You look awesome!"

Yes Mom, you have beautiful teeth :)
This is the coolest picture! It was my Mom's idea. We hiked Bald Mountain and this was on the way down. In the background you can see all the beautiful lakes. Those are my shoes on the left (the only stylish ones), my Mom's in the middle, and Chris' on the right.
It was COLD! And I was so unprepared. I am wearing my mom's extra jacket, my mom's hat, and my mom's gloves. She is taking the picture and she was completely naked :) That's my awesome mountain climber brother behind me.
Me and my "little" bro. He has the long luscious hair I dream of.
A bunch of beauties we are ;)

Cute Kids, Cute Grandpa

2011-11-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

A little pre-Halloween fashion show. Malia holds her arms like a ballerina and I for one have NOT showed or encouraged that. I am suspicious that Ben is teaching her this.
This picture makes me fall in love over and over. I LOVE my boy and girl so much.
Love those chubby cheeks and arms. I have a feeling these two are going to be best buds for a long time!
And here's Grandpa. I love the contrast between the two of them: she's is a a little pink princess (so she sais) and he is very manly and wearing blue...and yet they look so cute snuggled up!
What are they laughing about???? Must be an inside joke.

Oh WOW! That's quite a kiss :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Great weather for Halloween this year! Had a great time, loved raiding the kids buckets when they weren't looking. Having small children is wonderful (they have no idea how much of their candy you've eaten!)Malia was a princess, and you could tell she really felt she fit the roll. Riley was a ninja! His new favorite color is red.
By now Riley is a trick-or-treating pro but it took him a couple years to build up to expert. Malia was immediately an expert.
Malia giving her friend a hug.
Ben and I were able to go to a really fun Halloween party this year. I dressed up as him and he dressed up as me. Let's just say he got the short end of the stick. You'll see.
A minute to win it game. Our friends aren't afraid to look ridiculous :)
This minute to win it game involved picking up small paper bags of varied height with your mouth, and only your feet could touch the floor. Our friend Dave, the contortionist, is on the right. That is Ben in the background, and my leg on the left.
Haven't done a pyramid in about 11 years. Forgot how fun it is!
"We are the champions" was literally playing in the background. The guys are holding up their bags of popcorn.
The Mexican and the accident victim.
Mr. and Mrs. Pirate
Mr. Skeleton, Mrs. Skeleton, and baby boy skeleton.
Little Bo Peep and her big fluffy sheep.
Thing 1 and Thing 2.
Mr. and Mrs. Dracula?
I kid you not we won the most sexy costume category, thanks to Ben.

And here we have Ben, in all his glory. I will never forget the experience of putting my bra on him. The clasps in the back wouldn't reach by about 10 inches, so I had to get a ribbon and corset it together. One of the best experiences of my life!!!

Onion Days!

2011-09-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

I love that our town's celebration is known as Onion Days. Sound so inviting! But it is a lot of fun. We are lucky enough to be able to watch the parade in front of our Bishop's house and eat breakfast there before the parade. We went to the carnival too, and had a lot of fun although it was chaotic. The night we went was "family night" where all rides were just 1 ticket, so needless to say it was CROWDED. Add Riley + friend + Malia + big stroller + lots and lots of noise = a little bit stressful. The worst part was when Riley's friend, who is a titch taller than him, was allowed on a really cool ride and Riley was turned away. So Riley and I went on the Gravitron that spins around and presses you up against the walls. Felt like I was going to puke! And the ride smelled like puke so that didn't help. But Riley loved it and it took his mind off the ride he wasn't able to go on.

The only carnival picture we got. You can see Malia's bum on the right side.

This is just thrown into this post randomly, but I had to post this because it meant so much to me. I had a really bad night at work recently, and came home dog tired and really down one morning. I saw this picture on the counter, and knew Riley had worked really hard on it the night before. It meant SO much to me and helped me re prioritize and know that having Riley's love is more important that anything to do with work!
At the parade. I love this new jacket of Malia's.
Open mouth picture #1.
Open mouth picture #2.

Open mouth picture #3. Malia sat and ate candy the whole parade. Kept her very well behaved.

Riley was a more determined candy getter this year than any year before. He's catching on to this parade thing!
Malia and her best buddy.

I thought this guy was brave.

First Grade, Buddies, and Picnics

2011-09-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late, but life is busy and there's not a lot of time for extra's. However, I do feel it's important to post fun things and milestones for my "blog book".

Riley recently started 1st grade! He is doing really well and seems to love his teacher. I got some pictures on his first day and by the last picture he was giving me the "Enough all ready, mom" look.

All ready!

Found his seat, and it's across from his friend (the little blonde girl). They gave eachother the cutest, shy smile. Malia (as seen in yellow pajamas) thought this was her big day and that she would stay too. She protested loudly when I made her leave with me.

And he's ready for me to leave. The look sais it all.

Malia with her little buddy. They are so cute together. They are about the same age and exactly the same size.

Riley finally got a long awaited sleep over with his buddy. They had such a great time. Lot's of junk food and running around and movies. I remember being a kid and loving sleepovers with friends!
We went for a drive one Sunday up on the Nebo loop. It was so pretty and felt so good. Just a little breeze. The kids had a good time throwing rocks off the moutain.

I love having a boy and a girl! They are both so cute and different, and yet they have funny similarities too both in the way they look and act.
Big huge puffballs for Riley to blow.

Camping is Fun.

2011-09-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

A long awaited family reunion with my mom's side, the Blackers!

This was on the drive there......I love that chubby neck!
Riley discovers hand surfing.

Nothing beats cramming a smallish vehicle with everything you need to live in and live on for 2-3 days! I was voting for hotels for all future trips until we got to the beautiful woods near Mirror Lake and I realized how fun camping can be, especially if you are a kid and have no real responsibility!

From left to right: Grandma Lynn Blacker, Ali (my Aunt), Me, Malia, Julie(Aunt), Laura(Aunt), Ary(my cousin, Laura's daughter)

I LOVE Malia's double chin. Riley was so bugged by Malia because she kept toying with his pillow. I swear, she knows how to push his buttons and she really gets joy from it.

Our first morning! Ben cooking breakfast, the kids looking adorable.

Me and my honey's by Mirror Lake.

Nothin's cuter on a little girl than a big brown butt stain. This is mudd, not the other.

I love when we can get a cute picture of them together, smiling!

My beautiful Aunt Allison. I know, she is so young. They look so cute together!

Ben picked this flower for me, and I loved how the roots and dirt clump were part of the gift :)

Stirring the chicken with a piece of wood. Yum.

Here's where it turned ugly! Packing up in the rain. Blah!

Oh you can bet the family bonding was intense on the way home. None of us were grumpy or tired. Nope.

Another Fun Weekend!!!

2011-08-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

My Mom came for Riley's Birthday weekend. We had a great time, as usual! Malia got some high quality "girl time" with her Grandma. This is so funny because my mom is so NOT girly. You can't even say the word "purse" around her without her gagging. But when there's Malia's nails to paint pink, who can resist?

This may be the first time my Mom has had pink toenails! I also painted mine pink. The little feet aren't mine though. They are Malia's.

We took Riley to Cowabunga Bay for his birthday, and it would not have been nearly as fun without his best cousin Kortley! It's fun watching these two grow.

Kortley getting a big kiss from Auntie Darci :)

We would've wore our bikini's, but they were at the dry cleaners.

My mom, the rapper. Riley got this awesome new BIG bike from us for his birthday. This kid LOVES to ride his bike.

Apparently my mom likes to ride Riley's bike too! It looked like a choreographed v-formation, these three coming toward me.

Awwwwwwwwwwww.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww. (Meow! Help!!)

Riley's 6th Birthday

2011-08-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last year for Riley's outdoor birthday party it began to pour just as friends and family were arriving. This year for his outdoor water party, we got a lot more water than we bargained for. Just as people were dropping their kids off, it began pouring. But determined me (determined to not have all 11 kids running around inside) I went ahead and set up the slip n slide and all the other stuff. I looked like a drowned rat! About half the kids went for it and played out in the rain. The other half weren't so sure and opted to come in frequently for breaks from the rain. CRAZY RAIN! You'd think it was safe to plan an outdoor party for August 1st.

You can see the rain coming down in this picture.

Kids taking a break in the house. Who doesn't love lot's of wet kids running around the house :)

Doggie Pile! I miss those. Maybe I can still get my friends to do one with me.

"Red rover red rover, send Riley right over!"

Riley looks fierce running during the red rover game. I keep telling him to stop growing and he usually answers with this "I have to grow mom. Don't you want me to be a cop?" I am shocked that my little 7lb 12 oz baby boy is 6. Sometimes I try to curl him up like a little baby and rock him. I love watching the changes in his personality as he grows, and they way he has gone from baby to toddler to little boy to big boy! It's kind of sad. But I have made him promise me he will never move more than 30 minutes away.

Finally Having Fun

2011-07-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah I no longer work every weekend! I got a new job and now only work one weekend a month, and it has already been so awesome. For example yesterday we went boating with Sam and Stacia (Ben's brother and his brother's lovely wife) to Utah Lake. Afterwards we hung out with the kids for a little while in shallow water and set up our chairs in the water.

I feel as if a Jimmy Buffet song would be appropriate with this picture.

As usual, Riley is very safety conscious and wears the life jacket that is now too small for him. And Malia knows how to work the camera with her bikini pose.

Riley's tip for fun in the water: Grab a handful of rocks..........

...............and toss them!

Check out Malia's water logged diaper. I couldn't find any swim diapers at Walmart (what????) so she looked like she had a lot of junk in her trunk, and in the front! I like big butts and I cannot lie........

Surfing! It was definately exhilirating and frightening and I'm told my facial expressions conveyed both emotions quite well. I fell many times, and used so many under utilized muscles that today I feel like I could use a wheelchair.

I love this picture! I think Ben intentionally flexed his arm for the picture. Not bad :)

Ben was pretty good at surfing!

These little dimpled hands are going to be so missed someday when she's all grown up :(

It was a PERFECT day to be on the Lake. Utah Lake always creeps me out a little though. It's shallow, and I always wonder if there are dead people stuck at the bottom not far from my feet. I know that is so disgusting to even think. But apparently my bishop waterski'd over a big dead bloated cow in Utah Lake. That only adds to my disgust. Anyways, I think this pic of Ben and Malia is cute!

Riley has his moments where he is comparable to a PMS-ing teenage girl, but MOST of the time he is my sweet little angel who does things like brush Malia's teeth, and he coaches her all the way through it. "Okay Malia, now let's do your cheezers. Okay now stick out your tongue, like this."

Project Basement: framing.....check

everything else.....hopefully before the kids are grown

Above is the built in shelves/entertainment center. The basement is going to be so wonderful, and I must say Ben has really impressed me with his know how, and determination to find out how to do all this! I think I will keep Ben :)

We had a neighborhood friends BBQ recently and it was SO MUCH FUN! I thought I would be stressed the whole time but I really enjoyed talking with everyone and the kids all had fun running around the yard. The weather was perfect. It's hard to see, but in the back corner of our yard we are growing vegetables and amazingly they are doing well! Next year I think I will plant less, because it's looking like a jungle. I planted everything too close together.

We love our kids so much! I was just telling Ben this morning that both our kids are so funny right now. Malia, because she is at a funny age, and Riley because he THINKS he is so funny :)

What's Been Goin' On

2011-05-28T21:54:00.001-07:00

WHEN THE KIDS SET THEMSELVES UP LIKE THIS, IT WARMS MY HEART AND GIVES ME HOPE THAT I WILL SURVIVE AND THAT THEY WILL SURVIVE EACHOTHER.

THIS PICTURE DOES NOT ACCURATELY PORTRAY HOW LARGE MALIA'S BUM LOOKED! AND IT WAS WAY WAY UP IN THE AIR.
RILEY GRADUATED FROM KINDERGARTEN, SUMA CUM LAUDE, I THINK. HE IS ALL THE WAY ON THE RIGHT. THE KIDS DID LOTS OF LITTLE DANCES, AND RILEY WAS FREQUENTLY CHECKING TO MAKE SURE I WAS WATCHING. I DIDN'T DARE TAKE MY EYES OFF HIM :)

KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION WENT WAY BETTER THAN PRESCHOOL GRADUATION. LAST YEAR WHEN IT WAS TIME TO GO GET HIS PRESCHOOL DIPLOMA, HE PRACTICALLY CURLED UP IN FETAL POSITION, BUT THIS YEAR WAS NO PROBLEM! THANK GOODNESS! WE ARE SO PROUD OF RILEY AND ALL HE HAS LEARNED THIS YEAR.

RILEY'S TEACHER MRS. TOELUPE WAS SO GREAT. SHE IS SO ENERGETIC AND FUN, AND I LOVED THE WAS SHE DID HOMEWORK. IT WAS VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT, NOT STRESSFUL, AND VERY EFFECTIVE.

THE TWO GRADS, READY FOR SUMMER ADVENTURES. RILEY IS ROCKING THE FAKE SMILE LATELY.

JUST FOR FUN....A HAPPY GRADUATION PICTURE TO SHOW HOW MATURE RILEY AND I ARE.

BEN'S COMPANY HAD A BIG PARTY FOR THEIR 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY. IT WAS QUITE A PARTY. THE MAYOR OF SLC WAS EVEN THERE. NOW I FINALLY BELIEVE BEN THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A BIG DEAL. HE KEPT TELLING ME, AND I WAS PICTURING SOMETHING MUCH SMALLER. AND ALL THE FOOD WAS FREE!

THE ELDERLY MAN SAWING THE LOG IS THE SON OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDER OF BURTON LUMBER, IF I'M RECALLING MY FACTS CORRECTLY. HE STILL HAD IT IN HIM TO GET THE JOB DONE :)

WE BROUGHT RILEY'S BUDDY ALONG FIGURING HE WOULD HAVE FUN AND RILEY WOULD HAVE MORE FUN WITH A FRIEND. THEY HAD A GOOD TIME RUNNING AROUND, BEING ROWDY AND HYPER. THE HYPER PART PROBABLY HAD TO DO WITH THE MANY COOKIES THEY ATE AND THE COTTON CANDY.

THE BOYS MAKING FUNNY FACES. I GUESS RILEY THINKS THE MORE COMPLICATED THE BETTER.

THESE SHARKS WERE SO CUTE BECAUSE IF THEY OPENED THEIR MOUTH IT LOOKED LIKE THE SHARKS WERE ALSO OPENING THEIR MOUTHS. VERY CLEVER.

OH MY GOSH! THESE BOYS ARE SO SCARY. THINK OF THE PAIN THEY COULD INFLICT WITH THESE WEAPONS. YOU CAN TELL THEY FEEL SOOOOO COOL.

Good Times

2011-04-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Malia's 2nd birthday over the weekend and had a family get together at our house. The theme of her birthday party was Hawaii Luau. We weren't very authentic though...we had Hawaiian pizza for dinner.

Riley is getting "bounced" by my Dad!

It was pretty chilly outside, but we let Malia go nuts for a little while in her grass skirt and coconuts.

Ben whipped up this little picnic table for the kids! It's made out of trex so it wont sliver or fade. Riley loves it, but Malia is scared of it for some reason.

We played a game where you unwrap a roll of toilet paper and try to beat the other people doing the same thing. Ben's mom just twirled herself around like a ballerina and they won that round.

My Dad and Laurie got the Honorable Mention.

Dave and Raquel competing against their two oldest boys. As you can see in the picture, the boys are about to win the round.

Happy Birthday little girl!

A serious moment of contemplation about what it will be like to be 2.

Happy to be eating ice cream! She still has her coconuts on.

Me presenting her highness with her presents. She got bath toys, Dora dress up stuff, sandbox toys, and some cute summer clothes.

WARNING: QUESTIONABLE MATERIAL AHEAD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Boom chic-a-boom-boom. My mom and I thought we would try on Malia's coconuts for size. And this must be my mom's attempt at looking sexy :)

Every time I tried to pull a "sexy" face I was laughing so hard I could barely breath. The coconuts fit Malia sooooooo much better.

Riley got to have sleepovers in the living room with Grandma. He really enjoys her company. He can't get enough of her, and practically demands her undivided attention but it's kind of sweet because he just wants to talk and learn things and show her things.

Let the easter candy hunt begin! Riley is game on.

These are two peas in a pod. One pea is just bigger than the other.

Malia was so happy about all the candy. She loves her "nandy", unfortunately. I think I am training her to equate candy with love, because sometimes I will pop a hershey kiss in her mouth followed by a kiss from me. It's obvious she is happiest when she has chocolate in her mouth, just like me. I hate it when it's time for my Mom to leave, but we sure do have a great time while she's here. I still feel like I could always use at least one more day though.

Trouble

2011-04-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

This girl is TROUBLE. She snuck off quietly to do this deed. I will NEVER buy lucky charms again until she is more reasonable. She will only eat the marshmallows, which must be why she dumped out the whole box. As I was scooping up handfuls to put back in the box, she quickly salvaged as many marshmallow pieces as she could.

One of our favorite past-times now that it is "warm" enough (pffft). Ben builds a fire in our chiminea a few nights a week. I looooooove roasted hot dogs.

Me and the kids were trying to stay warm while Ben cooked hot dogs.

My kids do have their quarrels, but more often they actually have fun together! Lucky for us, our bean bags home is in the living room until we finish our basement. Currently we are about 1% done with our basement, and we started a month or so ago, so we are really going at a fast pace :) I am already sick of the bean bag.

Hawaii Part 1

2011-03-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ben and I just had our 10 year anniversary. We made it!!!! I like to joke around and say "Here's to 5 more!" We've always wanted to go to Hawaii, so we went for it. Now this post comes in 3 parts, which means LOTS of pictures but hey, it's Hawaii and it doesn't happen everyday. I'll put descriptions beneath the pictures, and maybe a little story here and there. I have a feeling this is going to take a while :)

We left on a Thursday morning at about 4 am. I got up at 2 and showered, shaved my legs (it had been a while) and got all beautiful which is silly since we were going to be on the plane all day. Just getting to the airport and checked in is unavoidably stressful, but THEN came the security line and our jaws literally dropped because the line was seriously about one block long in addition to all the winding the line does at the front. Our hearts just sank thinking there was no way we would get through that line in time. Our only comfort was watching everyone else's jaws drop as they walked by us to get in line. The further and further we got to the front of the line, the more smug we got and the more enjoyable it became watching the shock and anger of people as they realized what they were in for. I don't know WHAT was going on that day at the airport, but it was a mess. Somehow, we made it to our flight but I'm sure many people didn't. The picture above is on the first plane, a cramped little thing, and our seats were at the very, very back next to the engine or something very loud and the noise didn't stop the whole flight. Luckily in San Franscisco we got on a nice big comfy plane.

Ben on the 2nd plane, nice and comfy. I took several pictures and I kept this because it was the most.....flattering. Sorry hon.

Here's why I am so happy: this room is an upgrade, a free upgrade, because we complained about the swamp cooler in our first much tinier room. By no means was our room deluxe. But for our standards it was fine. And who doesn't love a free upgrade?Ben was happy too!

Our first night there, we went exploring the grounds at all the swanky nearby hotels. This sand sculpture was so amazing. The next day it was gone! Continue to Hawaii part 2 if you dare.

Hawaii Part 2

2011-03-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Hawaii sunset! I think this was the only really good one while we were there.

This was on a really nice bus on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The day before we had taken the public bus from the ariport to downtown Honolulu, and that bus experience was challenging. It's amazing how many people they cram on those public buses. Ben and I had to stand at one point and my back pack whacked this lady in her face. She was none to happy.

That island is called China Man's Hat. It was in Karate Kid I guess.

When Riley saw this picture he asked what animal was in the tree. Nope that's a Samoan guy! This was at the Samoan village at the Polynesia Cultural Center (PCC).

New Zealand (I think) dancers.

Tahitian dancers.

Our Luau food at the PCC. Yes that roll is purple! It's made from taro (sp?) root which turns purple when it cooks. It was a great roll! At the top of the plate, under the green stuff, is poke or raw fish chunks (gag). I dished up a bunch because I thought it was some sort of stewed tomatoes.

Ben and I with our beautiful lei's. The PCC was seriously the COOLEST place every. I had polynesian envy, and told Ben I want to be polynesian and open coconuts with my bare hands and dance awesome hula dances. That's just how cool this place is.

At the top of Diamond Head Crater. It's about 1.5 miles up, 1.5 miles down (duh) and Ben and I walked about 2 miles to get there PLUS 2 miles to get back. We walked a LOT that day.

This was an almost pitch black tunnel. The flash blinded the lady behind me. She was just trying to pass me and wasn't expecting the flash. She sort of stumbled by and told us the flash had blinded her.

A great, big tunnel on the way to Diamond Head. Not much pedestrian room because I suppose most people take the bus or car up to the bottom of Diamond Head. But not Ben and I!

There are some mighty strange trees in Hawaii.

This area was so cool at night. There were tiki torches everywhere. I want my backyard to look like this!

Pearl Harbor. Names of those who died.

Oil continues to seep out of the hull of the Arizona, some 70 years after it sunk.

The Arizona. I think there are 900 servicemen entombed in this ship.

A royal palace. There is a statue of a former King. I think his name was King Kamehameha but there's about a 80% chance I'm wrong. But more importantly, shortly after this picture was taken Ben and I discovered a hot dog stand (hidden behind the statue) that had the yummiest $4.00 hot dog we've ever had.

At the end of the path is a metal thing with a flame in it. The driver/tour guide explained that the flame burns 24/7 and never stops and has been burning for years. Right then the flame stopped! Then a few seconds later it started again. It was so funny!

Waikiki beach. That's me on the tube trying to stay on. When we bought the tubes we didn't realize how small they were. It was extremely difficult for me to fit my rear into the opening.

Hawaii Part 3

2011-03-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was really cool! I talked to my mom afterwards and turns out this is the same place I went snorkeling with my mom when I was around 6. My most vivid memory of that trip is being bit on my finger by a fish with HUMONGOUS teeth, and I ran screaming for the shore because my finger was GUSHING blood and I knew JAWS was going to get me. That was at Hanauma Bay.

A view of Hanauma Bay from top of hill.

I took this picture because the first night we walked by it Ben was really hungry and we were looking for a restaurant and he got excited because he thought we had found a "Buffet". Tee hee! We ended up eating there a few days later.

Laie Hawaii Temple. Beautiful! The view if you were to turn the camera around was all the way down several palm tree lined blocks straight to the ocean. The temple workers at this temple are so cool. Once lady, named Malia ironically, took several pictures of us outside. She insisted.

I made Ben run from the waves 6 or 7 times to get just the right shot :)

Now don't look too close (perv) but the backs of my thighs got burned SO bad! In fact they are now starting to peel, which is my favorite part of getting burned. But in the picture you can see how red they are. This was after we went to the temple, and stopped at this amazing place called Waimea Bay. I think it's considered to be the North Shore of Hawaii. The waves were so great and the beach sloped so steep right into the ocean.

This was also at Waimea Bay. If we'd had more time, we probably would have gone at and swam a little deeper but since it was getting dark and who in their right mind goes swimming in the ocean in the dark (anyone seen Jaws?).

I am embarrassed by this picture. I was running from the waves, and trying to convey to the camera that I was having a ball. I WAS having a ball, but jeez I look like an insane person.

Underneath that puff of mist is a whale. You'll just have to trust me.

I learned this trick from my mom, and Ciara has done this to me too. Make the others in the picture think it is a genuine happy picture, then pull a face right before the picture takes. This is a very fun thing to do, I'm only sorry I haven't realized this earlier.

This was a sunset dinner cruise. My hair demonstrates the violence of the wind, and the wind was almost always present. The sunset this night, like most of the nights, was covered up by low clouds on the horizen. I thought sunsets in Hawaii were supposed to always be great. Well they're not.

Oh how fun. I got to dance. What...a....blast.

Ben is busting his BEST move and I caught it on camera!

Oh SAD! Our last night there, so we shot one last picture. The beach we were on this night, right behind some super nice hotel, was SO nice. Super soft sand and the water was such a pretty light blue-green. In case you are wondering those aren't both Ben's feet. One is mine. Can you guess which one?

The kids scored some souveniers! Malia LOVES her coconuts and grass skirt. The ties on the coconuts are adjustable so they also fit oh, I don't know, someone a little older who might also like to play dress up. NO!!!! Not ME! How could you even THINK that???

Riley got a cool hook necklace (hard to see in pic) and a shirt with a map of Hawaii. They got some other stuff too, like beach towels, trinkets, etc. By the end of the trip we REALLY missed the kids and had visions of us all rolling on the ground hugging and laughing. Well, when Riley first saw us he was all hugs and kisses and "where's my prize?". But Malia looked uncertain and wouldn't come to me or Ben! I have a feeling that in her mind she had a vague memory of us but had already moved on :) That didn't last long and now she's little miss follow me everywhere again.

2010 Wrap Up!

2011-01-03T04:18:00.001-08:00

Another year has come and gone, and all in all I'd say 2010 was a great year. We started out in the Spring with a LOT on our plates in dealing with finishing the backyard, but now that it's done I'm so amazed and proud of what a lot of hard work has accomplished. We took a trip to Boise to visit my mom, and discovered that a vacation with kids is no vacation at all :). But we have the priceless pictures to prove that we did take our kids on vacation. In two years we hope to do a real vacation and take them to Disneyland. By then Malia will be 3 and a much more reasonable person, we hope. Malia turned one this year, Riley turned 5, I (Darci) turned 30, and Ben turned 31. Time just marches on. This year was different for me in that I have started to feel a little more aware of how I am getting older whether I like it or not, and I have actually become very nostalgic at times for "good old days" which makes me feel OLD. But you know how it is, you hear a certain song or smell a familiar smell and it takes you right back to a moment or time in your life when things seemed better, or simpler. But honestly, I look at my life the way it is right now, and I realize how lucky and happy I am problems and all. The other night I was carrying a sleeping Riley into his bed, fretting about how much it was going to cost to get a tooth of his fixed at the dentist, and as I put him in bed he was limp because he was so sleepy. But his limpness and helplessness at that moment made me think of so many parents who have children with serious health problems, who maybe carry their children because they can't walk or they have a terminal illness. I am lucky! All I had to worry about at that moment was one little tooth.

I took a challenge from my Bishop this year to read the Book of Mormon and be done by the end of the year. When he gave the challenge, I was WAY behind schedule and had to do some major cramming but this forced me to read many chapters at a time rather than the 1 or 1/2 a chapter I usually do. Because of this, I gained a true testimony of the Book of Mormon which was not there before. I now know without a doubt that this book was not just made up by Joseph Smith, there's just no way. It is a TRUE account. I don't know if I should be embarrassed that I am just now gaining my OWN testimony of this book, but there you have it!

Okay, I'm off my soap box. I feel bad that this post seems to be all about me and my feelings. But let's face it, I am the sole blogger of this blog so it's no wonder you get to hear about ME all the time :) This year is going to bring lot's of great things! Goodbye 2010!

This was New Year's Eve. We are such wild party animals. We are in Malia's room getting ready to put her to bed which is why she looks bummed.

Riley loves his little snow hole. Ben started to dig a hole in the side of this mound but I freaked out and said "no way!" because all I could picture was the snow caving in on one of our kids. Maybe I over worry, because we all played in snow forts as kids but honestly it scares me to think of my own kids in one!

The sunshine! A welcome sight this time of year.

Once in, Malia did NOT want to get out. I should have just let them sleep out here :)

Christmas 2010 Sum-Up

2010-12-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was................Christmas. What else is there to say :) I got the Christmas spirit early in November, and unfortunately it wore out about a week before Christmas. So all the dang Christmas music was getting on my nerves and all the dang snow too, and I'm ready for Spring. But this is all very BAH-HUMBUG of me. Let me highlight how much fun we all had!!! The picture above shows that this year, we opted for a smaller more reasonable tree. Plus it was free since we already own it. Last year's "Big Bertha" was a one time gig, and from now on our Christmas trees will be a little less........intimidating. Although I have to mention that our little six foot tree is puny.

Christmas morning I had to leave at 8am to visit a home health patient. The kids woke up around 9:30 and waited "patiently" for me to get home before they could come out and see what Santa left them. They were so excited for their pillow pets! Riley got Magformers (really awesome magnets) and the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Malia got a vacuum and a pony, although each child thinks ALL the presents are theirs alone. It gets a little dicey, but Riley is good at sharing and Malia is............learning :) After they saw what Santa brought, they unwrapped the presents that Ben and I take credit for. Santa can't get ALL the credit!
And I musn't forget to mention the entertainment that flew in for Christmas. This is my special Mom, with one of her special expressions. She is doing exactly what HER mother does for pictures......pulls a face but you don't realize it until you look at the picture because she does it RIGHT before it takes the picture.
Malia LOVES her pony. It whinnies (I think it sounds scary) and makes lot's of horsey sounds, plus wiggles it's tail and snout and head. My Mom bought this for her. Riley has sort of laid claim to it as well. What's his is hers, and what's hers is his. This should go flawlessly, right? Riiiiiiiiight.

This was so cute! Riley bought some heart shaped earings for my mom with his own allowance money. Mom put them on right away. I told her to thank me for steering him away from the big chunky pink hoops he originally wanted to buy. It was so fun having my Mom here for Christmas.

This is probably the first Christmas EVER that I haven't run around picking up every little piece of trash right away. I just sat back and let it all explode everywhere, and it was kind of fun.

Hanging out at my Dad and Laurie's house doing a little gift exchange. My kids love being at Grandma and Granpa's house!

At the Cook's, where we are forced to cover our heads, just like the picture of the ten virgin's in the background. Then we are FORCED to smile and laugh like we are having a good time :) We got these beautiful scarves from Roger and Marianne and thought we'd have a little fun.

Ben fixed Malia's hair this day. I think she looks a little rough :) I love how Ben is trying to do bunny ears on her. Poor picked on child!

My Mom, umm, being funny. She got to ride in the back with the kids. Riley talked her ear off, and Malia yelled a LOT, something she just started. She has no volume control, and is very embarrassing in restaurants because she just loves to see how loud she can say "Eeeeeeh!" or something similar to that. And make no mistake, she is VERY loud. If you are in a restaurant with her, and sitting seven or less booths away, you will jump in your seat each time she hollers out. If this doesn't stop soon, I am going to look into some sort of operation. Do you think insurance covers noise reducing surgeries for toddlers?

This is such a perfect shot! The kids were about to tumble off this sled as it sped down a hill....they almost ran over me. Malia is so stressed and Riley is loving it.

We have had a LOT of snow this year. It's fun, sort of.

Gosh I'm glad we took the trampoline down! This snow was SO deep Malia couldn't even walk around in it.

Buddies in a box!

This child is not known for her patience. Before I could stop her she had hopped in the tub with her diaper. By the time I ran to get the camera and was done taking pictures, the diaper had swelled to nearly exploding and I could barely lift it!

SO THERE'S THE SUM-UP! NEW YEARS EVE POST COMING SOON.

We are SO hot!!!

2010-12-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

We went out and played in the snow one night in our backyard, and decided to pull out these awesome snow suits my Stepmom Laurie bought for us. They came in handy but both of us felt a little overweight when it came time to zip them up!

Swingsets can still be fun in winter. Poor Malia doesn't have her snow clothes yet. The next day I went out and bought her some (see below)

My handsome boy! Luckily all his snow stuff should still fit for one more year. Phew! Kids are expensive :)
And here she is, all decked out in her snow gear and too-big boots. I LOVE the coat and all the purple. If you've ever seen her room, it is pretty much all purple. By the time she's five she will probably be sick of purple. But until she's 18 I get to decide what she wears so just watch, she will have a purple prom dress :)

I got these as a white elephant gift. Riley got the "angry Scottsman" eyebrows, and Malia the "unibrow". Everytime the unibrow would fall off, she would come running to us to put it back on. Then she would just wear it around like it was perfectly normal.

Riley's Kindergarten class had a Lua Christmas party. Here's Riley taking my order. Ben and I are SO enjoying watching Riley grow and learn. It's like experiencing the school years all over again.

Here's Riley with his awesome teacher! I am SO glad that he is in her class. She gets him, and has known from the beginning how to guide him and it is amazing how far he has come. I have also been trying really hard to help him in certain areas, such as not getting his feelings hurt so easy and not being embarrased so easily and he has come leaps and bounds. He really is SUCH a good little kid, a big helper with Malia, and his sensitive side is turning into a real sweet trait of his that makes him conscientious of other kids' feelings. LOVE this boy!

Mom & Chris' Visit, and HALLOWEEN!

2010-11-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

WELL THESE PICTURES ARE OUT OF ORDER SINCE MY MOM AND BROTHER CHRIS CAME TO VISIT BEFORE HALLOWEEN, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH.
OUR LAST STOP OF THE NIGHT WAS BEN'S BROTHER SAM. HIS WIFE, STACIA, HAD TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE PLANNING ON GIVING OUT FULL CANDY BARS SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS WORTH A TRIP TO THE NEXT TOWN OVER.

WHEN WE STARTED TRICK OR TREATING, IT HAD JUST FINISHED RAINING AND WAS STILL SPRINKLING A LITTLE. RIGHT WHEN EVERYONE WAS ABOUT READY TO GO OUT THIS MASSIVE, WINDY RAIN STORM CAME ALONG. BUT WHEN IT WAS OVER, ALL THE FAMILIES VENTURED OUT AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A PERFECT HALLOWEEN NIGHT!
TRUNK OR TREATING IS AWESOME! I LOVED SITTING IN THE BACK OF OUR MAZDA HANDING OUT CANDY (WE GAVE OUT A TON OF CANDY, BUT PARTLY BECAUSE MANY OF THE KIDS CAME AROUND TWO OR THREE TIMES. HOW CAN YOU SAY NO WITHOUT SOUNDING LIKE A JERK?) MALIA QUICKLY PICKED UP ON THE CANDY PICKING, AND THIS YEAR RILEY MASTERED SAYING "TRICK OR TREAT" AND "THANK YOU". LAST YEAR HE JUST KIND OF GLOWERED AT EVERYBODY :)
WE WENT AND GOT SOME PUMPKINS, BUT I'M ASHAMED TO SAY WE NEVER DID GET AROUND TO CARVING THEM. BUT WE DID THE HAYRIDE, FROZE OUR BUMS OFF, GOT THE PUMPKINS, AND TREATS AFTERWARDS SO NOT TO BAD.

THE OTHER DAY I REMEMBERED HOW I USED TO TAKE RILEY TO THE PLAYGROUND ALL THE TIME WHEN HE WAS MALIA'S AGE, AND I HAVEN'T TAKEN HER BY HERSELF YET. WE TAKE BOTH THE KIDS ALL THE TIME, BUT I THOUGHT MALIA AND I MIGHT HAVE SOME GIRL TIME AT THE PARK SO I GRABBED A DIET COKE AND SNACKS AND IT WAS A BLAST FROM THE PAST OF ME AND RILEY WHEN HE WAS THAT AGE.
BEN, RILEY, AND MY BROTHER CHRIS WENT ON A HIKE SOMEWHERE UP ON THE NEBO LOOP. I LOVE THIS SHOT. AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS HE'S GOOD AT, CHRIS IS AN AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER.

I WAS TAKING SOME POST-HAIRCUT PICTURES AND GOT THIS CUTE SHOT OF MALIA. I LOVE PUTTING HER IN PURPLE. IF SHE WERE IN HER ROOM SHE WOULD DISAPPEAR SINCE HER ROOM IS ALSO PURPLE. ONE QUICK FUNNY STORY ABOUT MALIA: THE OTHER DAY, SHE WAS IN MY BATHROOM AND I HAD JUST GOT HER OUT OF THE TUB AND DRIED OFF BUT NOT DRESSED SO SHE WAS IN THE BUFF (AND I WAS PRAYING SHE WOULDN'T PEE). I WAS DOING MY MAKEUP AND NOTICED HER WALK UP TO THE FULL LENGTH MIRROR, WITH HER LITTLE SWAGGER AND ADORABLE BELLY HANGING OUT. SHE CHECKED HERSELF OUT IN THE MIRROR FOR A FEW MINUTES AND LOOKED VERY PLEASED. THEN SHE LEANED FORWARD AND GAVE HER REFLECTION A BIG KISS! GUESS SHE LIKED WHAT SHE SAW :)

OKAY, SO I WAS WORRIED HOW RILEY WOULD ACT TO HIS UNCLE CHRIS SINCE HE HASN'T SEEN HIM IN A LONG TIME. WELL PRETTY SOON, CHRIS HAD A NEW SPECIAL FRIEND. SO SPECIAL THAT HE PRETTY MUCH DIDN'T LEAVES CHRIS' SIDE. I THINK THE CLAUSTROPHOBIA SET IN EARLY ON FOR CHRIS, BUT WHAT COULD I DO BUT ENJOY THE BREAK SINCE RILEY IS USUALLY MY SPECIAL FRIEND :) MALIA WAS A LITTLE AFRAID OF CHRIS, BUT SHE COULDN'T HELP HERSELF IN THIS PICTURE AND CRACKED A NICE GRIN.

MY MOM AND RILEY WORKING ON A SPIDERMAN PUZZLE. GOTTA LOVE GRANDMA'S WHO BRING PRESENTS.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE HIKED TO TIMPANOGOS CAVES. IT WAS REALLY COOL! I'VE BEEN WANTING TO DO THIS FOR A FEW YEARS. THIS IS INSIDE THE CAVES. IT'S STRANGE TO IMAGINE HOW MUCH MOUNTAIN IS ABOVE YOU WHEN IN THE CAVES. AND THE WALLS IN MANY PLACES LOOK SQUISHY. BUT THEY'RE NOT. THEY'RE HARD. NOT THAT I KNOW, SINCE WE ARE FORBIDDEN TO TOUCH THE WALLS. SO I DIDN'T SNEAK EVEN ONE LITTLE TOUCH. NOPE, NOT ME.......

THE FOUR OF US, READY TO HIKE. I LOVE HOW IN THESE ARM LENGTH SHOTS, WHOEVER IS IN THE FRONT LOOKS AS IF THEIR HEAD IS THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN THOSE IN BACK.

MALIA WASN'T GETTING MUCH ATTENTION THE OTHER NIGHT, SO SHE DECIDED TO SNEAK OFF TO THE BATHROOM AND PLAY IN THE SINK. AND YES, SHE WENT AHEAD AND TURNED THE WATER ON, SEVERAL TIMES AND WAS QUIT WET BY THE TIME WE FOUND HER. WE WERE GOING TO GET HER OUT, BUT SHE WAS SO CONTENT WE LET HER PLAY FOR ANOTHER HALF AN HOUR. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD SHOT OF ALL HER HAIR! I FEEL BAD NOW THAT I CUT IT, BUT I WAS TRYING TO ELIMINATE HER MULLET, WHICH WOULD RAT ITSELF EVERYTIME SHE SLEPT ON IT.

IF GIVEN A CHANCE, MALIA WILL SNAG THE TOOTHPASTE OUT OF THE KIDS BATHROOM AND CARRY IT AROUND WITH HER ALL DAY "SNACKING" AS SHE GOES. ORIGINALLY I WAS WORRIED THAT AS SHE SUCKED ON THE TIP OF THIS, SHE WAS GETTING LOTS OF TOOTHPASTE. SO I TRIED IT, AND ACTUALLY SHE'S NOT GETTING MUCH AT ALL. I THINK HER SALIVA JUST MIXES WITH A LITTLE TOOTHPASTE UNDER THE TIP AND SHE SUCKS ON THAT. YUM! BUT HER BREATH IS PLEASANT.

YEAR OF THE YARD

2010-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I should probably say yearS of the yard since we actually spent several months last summer and ALL of this summer working on the yard! But we are now at the point where anything else we do is just fluff. We have done the grunt work (although planting bulbs has caused Ben to grunt a lot) and now we can enjoy :) After this Christmas, I am going to make everything I've blogged for the last three years into a book (blog2print.com), so I wanted to make a record of all the hard work we've done so in the future we can look back and remember. So this might be boring. I don't have any before pics, but just imagine weeds and dirt and that about it. I also didn't include any pictures of the front yard. We have worked a lot on that too, but the backyard is especially rewarding because we put it in from scratch, while the front at least had sod and sprinkling system when we moved in.

Last fall we were able to put the trampoline in the ground, get sprinkling system done, lay sod, and do the concrete pad. But this year, I look back on all the work we've done and I seriously cannot believe it!!! The fence was a big one, and thank goodness we did not do that ourselves because everything else was way more difficult and time consuming than we could ever imagine! Way back in the corner you can see the shed we put together. It lived in the garage for about a week while we built it which was nice since it was so rainy.
In April my Mom helped pick out most of these plants. I love that most are perennials and will get better and better each year (I hope). We have gotten several pickup loads of bark to spread around the flower beds, and I HIGHLY recommend getting bark this way instead of buying by the bag. It's way cheaper if you are getting a lot of bark.

We also did the "garden wall" as we call it. That was one of the first things we did this spring. The garden boxes are behind it, and next spring we will plant vegetables in them. We scored some cheap trex on KSL and built them out of that. It's hard to see, but there are stepping stones that lead into and around the garden boxes. Then there's the playset. Ben and I nearly killed eachother while putting this together. It wasn't a bad one to put together, but just imagine Ben standing on the platform holding the roof up which was big and VERY heavy for one person, while I look for the right screws and bolts and keep dropping them on the ground and having to climb back down to get them. All while Ben continues to grunt and sweat under the weight of the roof. It was awesome.

Ben built this firepit and the benches around it. The sandbox also has a bench around it, kind of hard to see. We used trex for that too. So far no cat poop in the sand box. I don't know, maybe there is Malia poop since I sometimes let her run around naked. Who knows. The flagstones were GREAT fun (sarcasm) to put it. First we had to go GET them from someone's backyard where they had been previously used around a pond, and were covered with dirt and spiders. But now it's done and the bitterness of what a PAIN it all was is fading :) In the spring I am going to plant moss-like ground cover seed between the stones. We have used that firepit several times and it is so fun to have. It's also nice and tall to keep little ones from falling in.
The side yard. There are two flower beds back in the corner that will have trees and flowers someday. The rocks that you see are just a small sample of what goes all around the house. We got those rocks from our own lovely dirt. Payson soil is ROCKY!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough. But at least we got free rocks.
A few fun little things are the chiminea and potted plants. The big one in the front is actually cemented in the ground. We learned the hard way that it was not going to stay upright if a the umbrella is up and a gust of wind comes along, even though it had a whole bag of cement inside of the pot. The umbrella is strategically placed to provide shade to the area where the chairs are since we get late afternoon sun there.

A few more things we did, for my own memories (again, ignore this, it is boring): curbing, gravel (lots and lots of gravel), rolls and rolls and rolls of weed fabric, two dumptruck loads of dirt (the poor wheelbarrow has really worked hard this year), stained the deck, planted 5 trees, and countless plants.
Wow Riley! You really are just like Spiderman!!!

Kindergarten, Soccer, 10K, Labor Day

2010-09-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

Riley started Kindergarten this year!!! I am so excited for him. I loved getting him all registered, going to the office, walking around the halls and seeing the lunchroom and gym. All those things take me right back to when I was in elementery and I can't believe HE is about to start this new phase of his life. The first day he was so excited and didn't have ANY problem with me leaving, which was a great relief to me. I love this! He gets out of the house and learns and has a good time, and I can run errands or whatever with just Malia who thankfully isn't old enough to say "I want that!" about everything she sees in the store.

Riley and his pal Hayden

They got star treatment coming into the building with red carpet and all.

Two pairs of chubby, happy cheeks. This was just before I left the classroom and set him free in his new adventure of KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!

This is also his first year of soccer, so it's a big year for my little guy. He loves soccer, and he thinks the shingaurds are so cool. He's been a little discouraged because it's hard for him to get in there and get the ball and score a goal. I mean, lets face it there are 14 or so kids all huddled together trying to kick one little ball...that's a lot of little legs and bodies and who in their right mind would purposely jump in the middle of that! I've been telling Riley it's no big deal if he doesn't get a goal, just to keep trying and have fun. But the other day he scored his first goal, and he was so proud of himself. We were so proud of him too, and because we love him so much we will wait until he's much older to tell him that unfortunately the game was already over when he scored that goal :) But he finally found his moment to get the ball all to himself and take it all the way down the field and score an awesome goal, afterwhich he turned around and gleefully clapped for himself! Nevermind that he had no competition because the other kids were starting to find their way off the field and to their parents. Way to go Riley!!!!!

Riley and Hayden

For some crazy reason, I told my friend that I would run the Labor Day 10K with her. I told her this at 3 am when we were both at work, and any one who works nights knows that you sometimes say things you regret or don't mean. I went ahead and registered and had two weeks to get ready, during which time I ran probably 3 times and never a full 6 miles. So I was nervous when it came time for the race. But I have to say, it was a blast (except for miles 3,4,5,and6 and getting up at 6am) but the finish line was AWESOME and I did it in just under an hour! I also love how people hand you water cups along the way, and then it's okay for you to just toss the cup to the side of the road. I felt kind of bad about that, but it also made me feel cool like "I am a professional, serious runner and I have no time to throw this cup away properly." Ha! Ben and the kids were there waiting for me, and so was my Dad, Laurie, and my brothers Ben and Sam and sister Kelsey. I think this may be the start of something great!

It was a great Labor Day weekend! My family came and stayed over Sun night. After the 10K the next morning I hung out with family, saw the parade, went out to lunch, took a long nap, and then watched Avatar at Sam and Stacia's house. They just finished their basement and it is SO cool and makes me want to get started on ours. They have a projector and movie screen, and their is nothing like watching a movie like that sprawled out on a comfy couch with surround sound and a blanket! Waaaaay better than the theater :)

Riley trying not to smile :)

Dad, Sam, Riley, Ben, Malia (mooching) Laurie, Kelsey, and Little Ben.

How cool are these guys! I love how Riley's ears are being smooshed. Glad they were wearing their safety goggles to play with Sam's little flying helicopter.

My Little Hero.

2010-08-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today I took my two kids to a Nursery here in town to look at some trees. Malia was wandering around a little, and Riley in typical fashion was very concerned about where she was and whether she was following us or not. He was so stressed about it that I almost got annoyed and even said "It's okay Riley. She can walk around...she's safe here."

As I was checking out a few minutes later, and chatting with the lady about how much I love a certain plant, I heard Riley say "Mommy! Look at Malia!" Halfway aware of what he said, and still signing my receipt, I glanced around and my eyes fell upon a sight I will never forget and hope to never see again. Malia was floating face down in a little pond that was set up in the nursery. I can't even explain how horrifying this was. The pond was about 30 feet from where I stood, and I bolted over knowing every second counts. And as I was running towards her I was shocked to see that she wasn't flailing about like you would expect, but just moving her arms and legs a little, like she didn't know what to do. She was right in the middle of the pond, which was only a few feet across, but I knew that a few more seconds and she could be gone. I jumped into the pond and yanked her out not knowing how she would be or quite how long she had been that way. She just gasped a few times and had this shocked look on her face, but within a few seconds she was perfectly fine other than being covered in disgusting moss.

I am so grateful that everything turned out okay, but literally sick to think of what could have been. I am so thankful to Riley. He later told me he heard a splash and looked over wondering if it might be Malia. He saw that it was and told me. I didn't hear a splash. I was busy chatting. Riley, I love you so much and as I told you today, you saved your sister. As a parent, it is painful to even think of something bad happening to your kids. Today that almost happened. Maybe I am being over dramatic, but it's not everyday (thank goodness!) that you see your child nearly drown. It can happen so easily. I'm so thankful to Heavenly Father for Riley and how aware this little boy is of his surroundings.

SUMMER FUN....FINALLY!!!

2010-08-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last summer/fall, we slaved away in our yard getting landscaping started. I guess we didn't get enough because this year, from April on, we have continued slaving away come rain or shine. All this has been for the end goal of being done and enjoying our yard, and we are almost there although I don't think there's such a thing as being 100% done. One reason we have been hurrying to get a lot done is because we had Riley's 5th birthday coming and were having a party at our house. I wanted everyone to hang out in the yard and the kids to enjoy the swingset, sandbox, and trampoline. So we worked our butts off during this heat wave, and come party time guess what happened? It RAINED. So the party moved into the unbeautiful, unfun garage which is definately the least kept up part of our house. Perfect! So what else to do but strap on my viking hat (see pic below) and get the party started.

Malia and Grandpa Cook staring at eachother. She doesn't want him to make a quick move and get her watermelon.

Don't think we've had a party yet where Riley hasn't gotten shy and pouty when everyone sings to him. Hard to see the cake, but it's a "How to train your dragon" cake with toys on it. I made it three layers tall, thinking I was all cool, but them come time to cut it into 30 pieces was not so cool. It was like little skyscrapers falling all over.
The rain stopped for a little bit, and Riley opened his presents.
Sadly, by the end of the party Riley had a fever of 103 (I know!) and sacked out on the couch. He loves him bumblebee transformer costume from Sam and Stacia.Riley had his first sleepover at our house since we've lived here. He's been friends with this little girl for a long time, but they don't see eachother much since we've moved. They had a great time on the swingset and pool. Malia learned quickly to get out of the way!

They wanted to take a bath together, with their swimsuits on of course. They were in there for almost two hours! When it was about time for them to get out, I decided to stand outside the door to evesdrop on what a 5 and 6 year old can talk about for two hours. I was shocked when I heard them about to play a little game of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" or something to that effect! So I open the door and remind them that we keep our private parts PRIVATE! Oh dear.

These two slept until 11 am!

Malia is contemplating whether to gently wake Maggie up, or jolt her out of sleep. She ended up doing a nice little hair and cheek stroke, but as I walked toward her she quickly got in a little slap. She is WAY more of a slapper than Riley. PLUS, she pinches. I thought boys were supposed to be the aggressive ones :)

WHAT'S BEEN GOIN' ON....IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

2010-07-27T08:25:00.001-07:00

Wow it has been a really long time since I've posted! Things here have been SO busy, and I can blame it mostly on the backyard which is finally almost sort of done (I'll post pictures another day) and my new job which I am spending more time per week training for than I will actually spend working each week once I'm done. Anyway, here's the latest of what's been goin' on here.

Everytime these two get together, I have to marvel at how they have the same hairdo and even sort of look alike! My little brother Ben gets offended when I say they are twins, but I'm not saying he looks like a girl.....just that they have the same hairdo! This hairstyle works for ALL genders, aparently. Since we tickle Riley in the neck all the time, he likes to pass it on to others. My Dad really enjoys this! These next few pictures are from the 4th of July.

No this is not my normal smile. This is my Hulk smile. This may sound like nothing to everyone else, but the fact that Riley WANTED his face painted and stood and LET a stranger paint his face is awesome. Here is another sign that he is learning to go with the flow...sometimes :) I love this little guys personality. He has a LOT of personality.
Hanging out with Uncle Sam at the 4th of July Parade in Mt. Pleasant.
Her Highness, the "Divine Miss M". My Mom gave her that nickname either shortly before
or shortly after her birth. Okay okay, check out the sandals! She doesn't walk well in them, but that's not the point. The point is they are so dang cute and everyone loves them.

This is my big mistake. We have this huge beanbag, and for years I've been wanting to wash the cover. Problem is, the inner cover is ripped so to take the cover off would be to let the stuffing out. The other day I got stubborn and decided it would all be worth it in the end, just to have a clean beanbag cover. What you see in this picture is what's left after the majority of the stuffing had been put back into the cover. The cover did get washed, but doesn't look that great because lots of the little foam had stuck to it and balled up on it in the washer and dryer, so it has all these little foam balls stuck to it. Ben warned me not too, and he swore he would have no part in the cleanup, but I proceeded. In the end, I admitted my mistake and Ben did end up helping me. NEVER AGAIN! NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!

On the 16th of July we took a trip up to Idaho to visit my Mom and Grandparents. This is the first vacation we've taken with all four of us, and after it's all said and done, I have to ponder "Is a vacation with small children really a vacation?" I know several families who load up the kids all the time and go on vacation and seem to think it's great. But I have to say those five days were difficult for me! Of couse I did have fun too, and as I write this post one week later I feel mostly fond memories of the trip. But MAN! My idea of a vacation will have to change, I guess.

In the hotel room. So far the kids are enjoying their vacation.

Right away at my Mom's place, Malia was loving the cat. Cat didn't wanna be loved, but oh well. As you can see, my Mom has a knack for plants.

My Mom gave Riley a bunch of fun camping supplies for his Birthday.

One of the fun camping things, demonstrated by some crazy lady!

I got Birthday presents too!

We went to the capitol building in Idaho. It is a really pretty place, and fun to roam around in.

Riley and Ben in front of a headless statue. I zoomed in to check and make sure it's not also a topless statue since sometimes they are. It's not!

There's a reason Ben looks so proud in front of these doors. It's because he and his co-workers made all the doors for the remodel of the Idaho capitol. He's been wanting to see them for a while, so I'm glad we got the chance.

This picture looks like we are in danger of falling, but it really didn't feel dangerous at the time. It must just be the angle.

There was this cool free park with water features nearby, so we had a little fun there. It was so hot and originally we were planning on just watching the kids play in the water, but then we realized the only way to not be miserable was to join them so we went and played with them and had WAY more fun!

Malia just sippin' on my Mom's Diet Coke.

We also went to this science/discovery place that was really cool! We all took a turn pulling ourselves up in this chair using the ropes and pulleys, which makes it easy, then let go and it slowly lets you down.

I'm so proud! Riley is taking after me as a cashier. I was a cashier at Walmart for a couple years during Nursing school. So glad I can be inspiring to him! No really, he was so cute checking this lady out at this kid size grocery store.

Then it was off to see my Grandma and Grandpa Blacker, but Riley calls them his "New Grandma and Grandpa" since he doesn't remember them from his last visit when he was two. They have this dog named Sky Blue, and Riley loved the dog and had a good time with his Great Grandma getting the dog to obey commands. Sky Blue is very well trained and such a fun pet.

Sky Blue about to run in a circle around Riley.

My Grandma is hiding in the back, and there's my Grandpa behind me. I have to laugh at Riley's face. Not his most photogenic shot. This is at their house in Idaho. I have such great memories of my Grandma and Grandpa. I would stay with them a lot during summers. My Aunt Ali is just two years older than I, so she and I would run around and have fun. But my Grandma and Grandpa were always there keeping us out of trouble and supplying us with "garbage" as my Grandpa would call all the spare change in his pocket. Wonderful memories! And I can't leave out my Great Grandma Sprague, because she is part of these memories too. She is at a nursing home in Colorado where her son lives.

So my Mom doesn't just walk around in a tank top, just to clarify. We were getting ready to go the waterpark, and stopped to eat lunch at this nice park. It had a great playgroung but more importantly SHADE!

That's Ben's body being thrown off the slide into the water. I have to tell a funny story about my Mom. She and I went down these slides at the same time (there are two next to eachother, the yellow one is cut out in this picture). She was wearing a workout tank top, but it had no....uh hum....padding. So she cut the pads out of an old bra she hated and put those in the tank top. Problem solved! So we went down the slides and once you land it's pretty violent under the water because you land with so much force and you can't tell up from down. Apparently it was just to much for my mom's little pads, and as she surfaced she saw one floating right in front of her and one floating a few feet away! We were dying of laughter. She quickly gathered them up and went away to put them back in place. They came out again later as we were throwing eachother around in the wave pool. I'm am chuckling even while typing this because it was so great! I told her to stitch the pads in place next time!

Poor Malia, couldn't go on the rides and got a little cranky being in the stroller when there was so much water nearby. She did get to spend a lot of time in the amazing kidde pool. One funny story about Malia. She had a swim diaper on all day, so at the end of the day as we were getting ready to leave, we decided to get her dried off and in a regular diaper. We figured we didn't need to go to the locker room for this, so we took her swim diaper off her right there as she was standing on the concrete. The second we took it off, she began to pee......OF COURSE! Well, it was only my mom and ben and I that saw, and it was closing time so we figured no harm done and what could we do anyway. Besides, her puddle blended in with all the other puddles everywhere from wet feet. A couple seconds later a little kid comes and stands right in the puddle and then walks off. Oh my goodness!

They had some fun slides! Just seeing these pictures makes me want to go again.

So that's what's been goin' on in a nutshell. The summer is flying by, and man it is HOT! Riley's fifth birthday is this Sunday, so more pics to come!

Maybe She's Born With It.....Maybe It's Baybelline.

2010-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Curvy AND really knows how to put an outfit together. This girl can WORK IT!!!

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

2010-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

SUMMER IS ABOUT HERE, AND I FEEL ROBBED OF SPRING! THERE WAS NO SPRING, JUST SNOW, WIND, RAIN AND AN OCCASSIONAL TEASER DAY. I AM KEENLY AWARE THIS "SPRING" OF HOW FAST TIME GOES BY. LIFE HAS BEEN A LITTLE TOO BUSY FOR MY LIKING, BUT WE STILL FIND TIME TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN! HERE'S A LITTLE SAMPLE OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO.

OUR GARDEN WALL IS FINALLY DONE!

BEN, RILEY, BASEBALL! BEN'S WORK HAD A SUITE AT THE GAME SO OF COURSE BEN TOOK HIS FAVORITE PAL.

BABY ON DISHWASHER...ISN'T THIS LIKE A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR EVERY BABY TO DO THIS?
PRESCHOOL GRADUATION, PART ONE: RILEY'S HAPPY, RILEY'S GREAT, SITTING NEXT TO HIS FRIEND AND ME AND BEN ARE BEAMING.

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION PART TWO: RILEY WAS OFFENDED AFTER A LITTLE GIRL GOT IN FRONT OF HIM AT THE BEGINNING OF A SONG WHERE THEY WERE ALL STANDING. UNFORTUNATELY THE SONG HAD LIKE 16 VERSUS AND BY THE TIME IT WAS OVER, RILEY HAD REACHED THE POINT OF NO RETURN.

LIBERTY PARK.....FUN! I SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS HILL AS A KID WITH MY LITTLE BROTHER CHRIS AND MY MOM. WE WOULD ROLL DOWN, SLED DOWN, AND RUN DOWN IT.

WE WERE THE ONLY ONES ON THE FERRIS WHEEL. I WAS GETTING A LITTLE ROWDY TRYING THE ROCK OUR CHAIR, AND RILEY HAD TO SETTLE ME DOWN. BEFORE THE RIDE WE ASKED RILEY IF HE WANTED TO TAKE MOMMY OR DADDY ON THE RIDE. OF COURSE WE BOTH KNEW FULL WELL HE WOULD PICK ME :)
RILEY IS CHEESIN' IT BIG TIME!

AGAIN RILEY IS CHEESY! I LOVE IT!

I MAY BE TALLER, BUT THIS PICTURE PROVES THAT BEN IS DEFINATELY MORE SOLID THAN ME!

THE SAME WEEKEND WE WENT AND STAYED IN A HOTEL AND OF COURSE THE POOL WAS THE HIGHLIGHT FOR RILEY. HE WAS CONSTANTLY MAKING DEALS WITH US TO GET US TO TAKE HIM TO THE POOL AGAIN.

MALIA LIKES TO SHOW OFF HER CURVES SO I GOT HER THIS LITTLE BIKINI.

SHE HAS NO SENSE OF DANGER! SHE WAS TRYING SO HARD TO WIGGLE OUT OF BEN'S HANDS.

HOGLE ZOO! I HAVE A PICTURE OF MYSELF AS A CHILD ON THIS SPIDER.

OH, WE ADOPTED A GORILLA. RILEY ALWAYS SAIS HE WANTS A BIG BROTHER

FUNNY HOW TINY THAT GIRAFFE LOOKS.

MALIA THOUGHT SINCE WE WERE OUT IN NATURE THAT IT WAS TIME FOR NATURE TO CALL. LOVE THOSE FAT ROLLS!

WELL, AT LEAST THE ZOO HAD COOL STATUES. OVERALL THOUGH, I WAS UNDER IMPRESSED. UNLESS WE MISSED SOME BIG SECTION OF THE ZOO (I DON'T THINK WE DID) THERE WERE NO BEARS, HARDLY ANY OF THE BIG CATS, NO HIPPOS OR RHINOS, AND I REMEMBER IT BEING SO MUCH BETTER WHEN I WAS A KID. BUT THE CHURROS WERE GREAT!

RILEY THOUGHT IT WAS SO COOL TO LOOK UNDER THE WATER. TOO BAD THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE WATER TO LOOK AT.

"HERE I COME!" MALIA IS WALKING! WELL, SHE'S SORT OF A HYBRID: SHE CRAWLS HALF THE TIME AND WALKS HALF THE TIME.

BYE!

Planting, Jumping, Eating, Reminiscing, Bowling, and Roasting!!!

2010-04-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

THESE PICTURES ARE ALL OUT OF ORDER BUT I REALLY DON'T CARE :)

THIS IS OUR NEW CHIMINEA! I NEVER KNEW THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE CALLED BUT WE LIKE IT! AND IT WAS ONLY $25 ON KSL.

HOT DOGS AND SMORES WITH RILEY'S LITTLE GAL FRIEND! LATER SHE COMBINED HER HOT DOG AND HER SMORE AND ATE THEM TOGETHER....GAG!
RILEY'S FIRST BOWLING EXPERIENCE. I THINK HE'S ENJOYING HIMSELF.
MALIA DRINKING HER WHOLE MILK.

RILEY CAN EVEN BOWL SIDEWAYS!

HE MIGHT GO PRO!

RILEY WAS SO BUMMED HE COULDN'T KEEP THESE SHOES.
THIS AFTER PICTURE IS BEFORE THE BEFORE PICTURE. THIS IS THE AREA OF MY YARD CALLED "CINDY'S CORNER" SINCE IT'S MY MOM WHO DESIGNED IT. YOU CAN SEE THE START OF A WALL THAT WE ARE GOING TO BUILD AS SOON AS WE GET MORE BLOCKS. I LOVE ALL THE PLANTS, ESPECIALLY SINCE MY MOM PICKED MOST OF THEM AND THEY ARE SOME I WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT OF, BUT I LOVE THEM! I WILL TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE SOMEDAY IN THE DAY TIME WHEN THE WALL IS DONE.HERE IS THE BEFORE PICTURE OF CINDY'S CORNER. OH AND THAT HAPPENS TO BE CINDY, IN THE CORNER :)
THESE BALLOONS ARE FROM MALIA'S PARTY. IF YOU EVER WANT HELIUM BALLOONS THAT LAST FOR WEEKS, GET THEM AT MACEY'S AND HAVE THEM USE "HI-FLOAT". WE STILL HAVE SEVERAL UP AT THE TOP OF OUR LIVING ROOM VAULT.
GOSH I TRIED TO CROP OUT MORE OF HIS TUSH! RILEY LOVES THIS NEW SNORKEL MASK! HE HAD IT ON DURING FAMILY PRAYER THE OTHER NIGHT AND IT SOUNDED LIKE WE WERE BEING JOINED BY DARTH VADAR.

RILEY TRYING TO LAUNCH MALIA. MALIA BRACING HERSELF AND CLEARLY SHE IS EXCITED.
I LOVE THESE PAJAMAS. THEY SAY "BIG BROTHER". RILEY IS SUCH A GREAT BIG BROTHER.
AND HERE'S CUTE LITTLE SIS!

MOM AND MALIA OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT

RILEY AND HIS BEST FRIEND! HE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH HIS GRANDMA THE OTHER NIGHT AND AFTER TALKING A FEW MINUTES HE SAID "BUT, WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE YOU."

AS MALIA'S MOTHER, IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE HER WITH LIME WEDGES. IT IS UP TO HER WHETHER SHE EATS THEM OR NOT. SOMETIMES IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD TO LET THEM FIND OUT FOR THEMSELVES IF THEY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE :)THE HALLWAY OF THE APARTMENT COMPLEX MY MOM, BROTHER AND I LIVED IN FROM 1989 TO 1995. OUR DOOR WAS DOWN THE HALL ON THE LEFT. QUITE A LOT OF MEMORIES THERE!

THE LAUNDRY ROOM WHERE I DID LOT'S OF LAUNDRY AND ONE TIME ACCIDENTALLY USED BLEACH INSTEAD OF LAUNDRY DETERGENT ON A LOAD OF DARKS. OOPS! I ALSO LIKED TO WATCH THE POWER METERS IN THE ROOM AND SEE WHICH APARTMENTS WERE USING MORE POWER.

THE END!

Happy 1st Birthday Malia-lou!

2010-04-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, pictures don't lie! Malia did in fact turn one last Friday and so we threw a party for her which I have been obsessing about for an embarassingly long time. Let's just say I made her tutu back in February :) I can't believe she is one! She is SO much fun. Very silly, demanding, opinionated, quick to laugh, crinkles her nose when she smiles big, bites you if given half a chance, toots at will with no thought for others....we LOVE her!

I had no doubt that she would dive into the cupcake. She never shies away from food. You can nudge her cheek with a bite of something and she doesn't even look to see what it is...she just opens wide and lets you shovel whatever in!

Riley was such a big "helper" with making these cupcakes. The picture is horrible, but the colors are lavender, lime green, and teal. This was a labor of love, similar in intensity and stress to the labor of love I went through to get Malia into the world one year ago :)
Once again, pictures don't do it justice but we had this room decorated so cute. Butterflies on the wall, 30 balloons with curly ribbon hanging down, a big banner, etc. My mom and I had a great time decorating together! Thanks Mom! Poor lady had to work on her birthday. That's right, April 23rd is my mom's bday too but don't EVER say a word about it to her if you happen to see her on her birthday. She might deck you :)
It's a good thing Malia's not self-conscious because I sat her out in the middle of the room for the festivities. We all got to Ooh and Aah over how cute she was while pigging out on pasta salad. While SHE was pigging out on pasta, although the rest of us were pigging out on pasta salad too I guess.

Have you ever stood in front of a room of people and tried to rally them into playing musical chairs, and they all just look at you like they are embarassed to know you, not least of all your own husband? This was my situation at the party. I knew they would have fun, I even let them know there was a prize for the winner...but you should have seen the effort I had to put into getting them all off their hineys and you should have SEEN the daggers I gave Ben for not backing me up on what I knew would be fun! Well, I was right...they guys ended up have fun playing musical chairs while my mom controlled the pause button on the song "Let's Hear it for the Boys". It was so funny! Then the ladies played to the song "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." I am ashamed to say that I let my competetive side come out and later realized how dumb I must have looked trying ferociously to win a game where at the end I would have to award myself my own prize. But I didn't win, my sister in law Amy won and I'm happy for her. Besides, the prize was a bag of candy and she needs it more than I do, trust me.
Here's my mom walking through the crowd, running her fingers through her hair. Yes mom, we know you have beautiful hair :) Just kidding! If you know her, you know she couldn't care less about showing off her gorgeousness.
And finally, me and my girl! She's looking a little haggard because this is at the end of the party and I had just wiped a pound of frosting off her face. I think all in all she will look back and remember......nothing. But hey! We have pictures to show her so she can never accuse us of not throwing her a big first birthday party. I wish I had a pic of Ben and Malia. Maybe next year I will let Ben plan the whole thing and then I will sit at the party and eat and watch him run around like a chicken with his head cut off while I socialize....and then I will take HIS picture with Malia :) Love you Ben!!!!

9 Years of Wedded.....Bliss?

2010-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I wouldn't say BLISS, exactly. Way better than bliss, it's been nine years of fun! Not all fun of course. Anyone who's well, ALIVE, knows that life is not all fun. But when it's not fun, at least it's still funny. And when it's not fun OR funny, at least you're learning to appreciate when it is good. So for our nine year anniversary, we spent the weekend in SLC at a really nice place called Crystal Inn. In the picture above, Ben was sleeping and it was about 11 am. But don't be mistaken...he had been up already that morning because he couldn't miss the breakfast buffet. In fact he woke me up at 8am to let me know what time it was, despite the fact that I was sick and that I NEVER like to get up at 8am especially when on vacation. I was so mad! He later confessed he wanted to get me up to go eat with him because he was afraid the food would be all gone at the complimentary breakfast. The breakfast was from 7 to 10. I thought 9:45 would have been a great time to go down. But we went down nice and early and there was PLENTY of food! In the picture below, I am NOT trying to look sexy. Ben was supposed to be surprised that I was licking him, but he looks perfectly okay with it. I thought it would make a funny picture, but instead it looks like I'm trying to be sexy and Ben is enjoying it. Blah!

Check out this baby girls hair! I think it's time I start having fun with her hair, now that her helmet is off. Also check out the belly overhang!

We got Riley and Malia some new clothes while on our weekend gettaway. I was surprised at how much Riley loved his new shirts and shorts. He slept in them and wore one shirt to preschool the next day with the other one in his backpack to show his teacher. Well, Malia is all over the place now. And she pulls herself up on everything. Coming up next is standing and then walking. Oh no!

Belated Valentine's and Another Great Visit from Mom!

2010-02-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

A cheesecake and card all in one! I got a great recipe from a friend and made the little chocolate hearts by melting chocolate chips in a ziploc baggie and cutting the tip off. This cheesecake was the first I've ever made and it rocked!!!

Riley came home from preschool with all this! He brought me the cookie you see on the plastic bag and was SO sweet when he gave it to me. He gave me a hug and KISS (kisses from him seem to be rationed the days) and said "Happy Valentines Day." My heart absolutely melted! I have already made him promise that when he grows up and is married and a daddy that he will NEVER move far away and that he always has to stay close by to mommy :) There is some four year old little girl out there somewhere that will probably hate me some day :)

Thought I'd throw in a Spring fever picture. This was a couple days ago, before all the depressing storminess. It felt SO good to be outside and play in the yard and dream about the things I want to do with our yard. Last night I went and walked around the soon to be gardening section of Walmart. There are some things already set up for the coming season, and I had to call Ben because I was so excited. I said "Guess where I am?!.......I'm in the gardening section and they are getting it ready for me and it smells like dirt!!!!!!"

My Mom came for a visit, and this time she flew instead of driving. One hour of flying to get here versus six hours of driving. Well worth it! We took the kids to McDonald's, and Riley sat in Ronald's lap for a while to be comforted after the traumatizing experience of his ears being "hurt" by another little boy yelling too loud. I gently reminded Riley that a playland is loud and it's okay to be loud here, and he's loud too sometimes! Ronald apparently had more sympathy.
My Mom made an amazing stir fry with Tofu. I've always made fun of tofu...it seems like a crazy health fanatic food, but man that stuff can be tasty! In fact I'm making a stir fry tonight with tofu, and I can't wait to try my hand at it.
This trip, Riley was GLUED to his Granny. I think he said "You know whaaaaat???" about ten thousand time during her visit. And if I tried to give her a break and say "What Riley?" he would quickly say "I'm not talkin' to you. I'm talkin' to Grandma. Grandma, you know whaaaaat?" In the above picture, they are starting their sleep over on our couches. They watched Night at The Museum, and even though it was very late, Riley made sure my mom didn't miss a minute of it. Every time she dozed off, he would tell her to wake up.
Well this time, my mom was smart enough to not stick her finger in Malia's mouth (last trip Malia made my mom's finger bleed). Rather than her finger, my mom offered Malia french fries! In case you can't tell, that is a french fry hanging out of her mouth.

Riley wants to write something now:

mnjjjjjjjjshhhfuhsfisufumbhlll,'nbjdafhdckbjhhhhhhhhhhhhhhchhhcscbchcvjhhgdgffgdgffffffffffffffd

My Dad, the Grandpa!

2010-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

So I don't think I've put many pictures of my Dad up with my kids, but I have to say it has been a hoot watching how he interacts with them. He has an interesting relationship with Riley, sort of a love/hate although hate is a strong word. It's sort of a love/annoyed relationship, with Riley being the annoyed one because my Dad teases him and pushes his buttons, so it's really my Dad's fault when Riley glares at him. I never know who to scold, my Dad or Riley. Malia seems to really like my Dad. She's kind of a "man's lady", jut like Riley is a "ladies man". I have a feeling Malia and my Dad will get along just great :)

OH Riley....

2010-02-06T13:28:00.001-08:00

I love this little guy so much, but the other day I just had to shake my head and say "Oh, Riley." as I often do. Here is why...I took him to the dentist a week ago, and we had built this event up in a positive light for two weeks. He was excited to go, excited to open his mouth, etc. So we get there and the second it's time for him to go back and see the dentist, he goes from brave, confident Riley to the clingy and pouty and will NOT even open his mouth. So after 10 minutes of trying to coax him, we leave and of course I am upset that he wouldn't cooperate. The next day he sais he wants to try again, and PROMISES he will open his mouth and let the dentist look and do whatever he needs to. I know the promises of a four year old are shaky at best, but he really meant it. So BEN takes him because heck if I'm going to go through it again if Riley decides to back out. Well, this time instead of the male dental hygienist who tried to help Riley last time, there was a lady. I guess Riley didn't want a lady. He told me this later. So the second try was no better than the first. To top it off, I keep hearing stories of how wonderful other people's kids have been at the dentist. Oh well, I guess we will just wait until he's a little older and keep brushing and flossing!

This kid is such a good helper with Malia! It's funny to watch him try to carry her. The way he picks her up under her arms, she always has a wedgie as he's carrying her around. Speaking of WEDGIES.............

Check out the wedgie here! I could not believe how far between her cheeks this fabric had migrated. But she didn't seem to mind at all. How does this even happen when she has a big diaper on! Somehow, it did. Look at those buns!! She's a very curvy gal.

My friend Holly came to visit the other day, and brought her little girl who is a month younger than Malia. I know Holly from highschool and we also went to Snow College together. I had never met her little girl and she hadn't met Malia either, plus we hadn't seen eachother since last June so it was a fun get together!
Don't they look like the best of friends! Well, actually Olivia kept beating on Malia's helmet and Malia kept pulling Olivia's socks off. At least Holly and I were nice to eachother!

Goodbye treats!

2010-01-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Ben and I have decided to eat no treats until we lose a certain amount of weight, and this time we are serious about it. So we had our final treat last night, a cake, which we ate plenty of. At the end of the night there was a bunch of cake left and obviously I didn't want it around the next day so I asked Ben if he wanted to do some sort of cermonial cake burning with me. I was holding the pan and he surprised me by coming up and sticking his hand in the cake and shoveling it into his face, yes, like a pig. It was sickening yet delightful to watch. So I thought I'd have a little fun and next thing I know my face is in the cake and it was so fun to eat cake with your face buried in it. Then of course Ben had to try it to, and what he ended up with on his face is truly scary. The picture makes me so glad he doesn't have a goatee! For all of you who think we are wierd, we agree...we ARE wierd.

Riley thought we were both "sgusting" but he couldn't stop laughing either. If you had asked me 5 minutes before this picture was taken I would have said I was 100% sure that no one in my family would be burying their faces in a cake anytime soon.

Ben has made some dominoes for Riley. Sometimes he'll come home from work with little blocks or other cool things for Riley to play with and build towers. What a nice Dad!

All three of them were in jail for a few minutes because they wouldn't stop bugging me :)

This looks so unsafe and yet I can't see any way for her to fall through or get her head stuck in the bars. But the way she is lately, I'm sure she would find a way to make this dangerous. She fell down a full flight of stairs at Ben's brother's house on New Year's Eve, but seemed unphased and even had time while she was at the bottom of the stairs to pop a piece of styrofoam in her mouth just in case falling down the stairs wasn't dangerous enough. Her personality is so funny lately. The way she is now, I have a feeling she is going to be a very goofy little girl.

Goodbye Big Bertha, and other Christmas stuff...

2010-01-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

This tree was a good friend for the holidays! We got a lot of oohs and aahs about this one. And magically, even thought she only got water three times, she did not drop needles at all! If she had I would not have been nearly as fond of her.

Christmas Eve we started what I hope is a new tradition, although Ben's a little unsure. We opened all the presents from us to the kids and eachother, and then on Christmas morning the kids got whatever Santa left them. I love doing it this way, especially since we go to a family breakfast every Christmas morning at 10 am, and its an hour from home. This way we are not so rushed in the morning!

Riley and Malia in their Christmas Eve PJ's, another new tradition.
This picture is kind of out of order with the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day ones, but what the heck! Our friends Heidi and Whit came to visit from California. Heidi's family lives in SLC, so they were nice and paid us a visit too. It was fun to see them, and Riley at once fell in love with Heidi and wanted her to stay in his room the whole time. She kept having to politely excuse herself from what he thought was their playdate, to return to be with the adults :)
I gave Ben 10 chapsticks, so he should never be without and never have an excuse for chapped lips! This gift was for my benefit as much as his.

Have I ever mentioned that Ben is a REALLY good dad! He and I get such a kick out of our kids. It's fun to enjoy them together :)
Christmas morning, Riley was EXTREMELY happy that Santa brought him not just the batman costume (yes! it finally came Christmas eve at 4 pm!), but also Hulk Smash gloves, Ants in the pants, and his own snow shovel!
This kid means business with his new shovel. For a while he was even shoveling the grassy areas for us. It's actually a good little shovel!

This year Christmas as a season and as a day was so great! Now I'm ready for Spring!!!

C'mon Hong Kong!!!

2009-12-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

On December 1, Santa Claus placed an order for a Batman costume. This costume was made by elves in Hong Kong, and they promised it would be delivered to our house by Christmas. Well, there are just three more mailing days before Christmas and still no delivery and I am getting nervous since this is what Riley told Santa Claus he wants. What do I do if it isn't here in time!!!! Do four year olds accept IOU's from Santa?

Today was the long awaited day that Santa came to preschool! It's amazing how much a child changes in one year. Last year there was no way Riley would talk to Santa, let alone sit on his lap. This year he couldn't wait to get his little bum on Santa's lap and eagerly told him he wanted a Batman costume *with muscles*. It has been so fun to see how excited Riley has been this year. It has been interesting trying to help him understand that Jesus is even more important than Santa. I have told him that Santa is trying to be like Jesus by helping people and giving to others, and that we can be like Jesus too. Today after seeing Santa Riley asked "When can we see Jesus?" Riley believes that Santa and Jesus are really good friends, and that's just fine with me! When I put Malia on Santa's lap, she began her usual staring contest, and if given enough time I'm sure his beard would have ended up in her mouth so I quickly took a picture and got her off.
Look how cute Mrs. Claus is! Yesterday Riley asked Ben "Daddy, do you know who Mrs. Claus is?" Ben asked who and Riley replied "She's santa's woman!"

This is Riley singing a solo for Santa. After all the children started filing out of the room to let the next little group of preschoolers come in, Riley yelled earnestly "WAIT!!!" and ran up to Santa and told him he needed to sing him a song. So he sang a shortened version of "You better watch out...." and ended it with "Santa Claus is coming.....to preschool!" Does it get any sweeter?
This was a fun girls day out with several nurses that I work with. Part of why I love my job is because I work with wonderful people and they make me laugh and sometimes they even laugh at my jokes. We went to Happy Sumo where I ate very teeny tiny orange eggs from some sea animal and it totally disgusted me but I put on a brave face to impress the ladies. My dish was just a stir fry type thing, but I did try some sushi and I had to close my eyes when I put it in my mouth because the little raw piece of fish was flopping around on my fork. But I did it and I guess that is some great accomplishment to try sushi for the first time. Now I will happily never eat it again.

Our New Turbie Twist!!!

2009-12-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

My new Turbie Twist is awesome! My friend Staci gave it to me, and seriously just a few days ago I was thinking I could use one of these. She is a mindreader. Only problem is my whole family loves it and I am having to share. Just tonight Ben used it to dry his locks.

Mom's Visit, Malia's Cellulite, Riley's Oversized Band-aid, And Ben's Oversized Tree!!!

2009-11-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

You don't want to mess with this fierce Spiderman! She's got that wild look in her eyes.My Mom came to visit for Thanksgiving. I LOVE it when she comes to visit. As you can see in the background, she brought her cat. She doesn't think she will do that again because the cat (Lighting) was pretty ticked the whole way down. I guess six hours in the car makes him nervous. We also found out over the weekend that Riley is allergic to cats, but only if he pets them and then rubs his eyes. Ben is the same way. They are both okay as long as they don't touch their faces. Malia and my Mom had some more bonding time this trip, or as my mom sais "I'm imprinting." It was funny how much Malia would stare at my mom, like she was studying her every feature. I think it's so neat that they are EXACTLY 50 years apart. I KNOW, my mom doesn't look 50, does she!

I think it's time to buy bigger diapers for this girl. My mom had put this one on and later while I was changing Malia's outfit I discovered that Malia didn't have full coverage! But seriously, check out this baby supermodel! She even know hos to pose and accentuate all her womanly curves.

My mom sais my thighs were very large too when I was a baby (hmm, never went away.) and she told me that she would walk around with me on her hip and sometimes she would squeeze my fat thighs just for fun, but a couple times she got carried away and she squeezed a little too vigorously and I would cry. I know exactly how she feels though...sometimes it's all I can do to stay gentle when I squeeze Malia's cheeks/thighs/belly :)
My mom took Malia and I to TGIF's, and unfortunately for Malia our food came with a lime wedge. This is one of the MANY faces she pulled. Poor thing! I am such a mean mommy. But this is one of the reason's I had kids, to see what funny faces they can make!
Malia with her little tongue out! And notice my shirt (It's one of my faves) it sais "It's only funny until someone gets hurt...then it's hilarious!!!" So true.

Riley had a hangnail. Apparently it hurt "so, so bad." In fact he originally put two bandaid's on it, one over the other, because it hurt so so bad. The next day those bandaid's got replaced with this bandaid. This is the bandage I would use for a 4 cm laceration or a major knee scrape, or I guess a hangnail if I was four :)

Meet big Bertha. She was originally very unwelcome in the home by the Mrs (me). The Mr. (Ben) saw big Bertha on the mountain and immediately fell in love, despite the fact that his wife would be overwhelmed by a 12 foot tall, 7 foot wide presence in her living room. He went ahead and chopped big Bertha down and loaded her in his truck. After all, he now has a truck so his new motto is "Go big, or go home!" The Mrs. (who hates pine needles on the carpet) had very high blood pressure when she first saw the tree and while the tree was being rammed through the front door. But once the lights and decorations were on, courtesy of Ben and his mother in law Cindy, she decided it was a beautiful tree. Welcome, big Bertha.
Amazing but true facts about big Bertha:

1. There is a nest deep inside big Bertha's branches. Some poor bird families Christmas has been ruined.

2. A tree went missing inside big Bertha. Ben had cut down three small trees for some kids, and one of them when missing. Guess where we found it? Inside big Bertha.

3. Big Bertha had to be secured with much wire, including a piece secured to a 2 x 4 in our wall. As much as I hate the fact that the stability of the tree involved damaging our wall, I am relieved that none of my family is in danger from big Bertha.

4. I believe Ben is making up for three years without a real tree. So he has doubled the height and quadrupled the width of a normal tree. This is Ben's fantasy tree! Gotta love him!

POOP FREE FOR THREE WEEKS!!!

2009-11-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

MALIA HAS A VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HER DADDY! SHE LOVES HIM SO MUCH THAT SHE SAVES ALL HER POOPY DIAPERS FOR HIM. I AM HERE TO REPORT THAT I HAVE NOT CHANGED A POOPY DIAPER FOR 3 WEEKS. SHE ALWAYS WAITS UNTIL I AM GONE (SHOPPING, WORK, WHATEVER) AND SHE'S ALONE WITH DADDY, THEN SHE LETS IT RIP! I AM FINE WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT. I WAS GETTING READY TO PUT HER IN THE SHOWER WITH BEN TONIGHT AND I TOOK OFF HER DIAPER AND FOUND A NUGGET THE SIZE OF A PEA. SO A PEA SIZED NUGGET IS ALL I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH FOR THREE WEEKS. ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT THE NUGGET FELL ON MY FOOT BECAUSE I TOOK THE DIAPER OFF WHILE HOLDING HER. WHAT A GOOD LITTLE BABY!

6 months!

2009-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

When Riley was six months, he was SO cute for his pictures. It is such a fun age! You almost can't get them to STOP smiling at the photographer. I thought it would be fun to get matching pics of Riley and Malia at six months. These are mine to keep forever on my wall. I will not be passing these down to my kids. They get their baby books and other memorabilia, but these will always be MINE!Much to my relief, Malia has finally embraced the art of sitting. I hope this will help let the back of her head round out since she hates being on her belly and always rolls to her back. Her pediatrician recommends she gets a helmet since her head is still wider than it is long, but I might wait and see since I think it's rounding out a little on it's own. Plus, isn't she a little doll sitting there like that!!!

Malia snuggle in the stroller while Riley trick-or-treated. She was a bumble bee!Riley was spiderman! This action shot pretty much captures how he was all night....running! He loved halloween this year. He was even happy to say "Trick-or-treat!" which he was too shy to do last year. This year, as long as the people at the door just gave him his candy or let him pick, he was fine. But if they tried to interact with him at all, he just froze :) He especially hated being chased by a big gorilla with a chainsaw. We heard his wrath on that subject for the rest of the night!
SPIDERMAN!!!!!

We are looking forward to the holidays! Ben is determined to get a real tree this year. I am a fan of artificial, but hey why be stubborn when I know Ben will have fun taking Riley to get a tree. My only request is that it be symetrical because I am a freak who can't handle asymmetry in any form. My mom is coming to visit for Thanksgiving! She will join us at the Cooks, and my biggest goal is to get her to embrace sweet potatoes (Kade and Ciara make the BEST sweet potatoe dessert thingy). Also can't wait to go to New Moon with friends this month. I hope we can spend lot's of time with friends and family over the next few months!

I can never think of clever titles for my posts....

2009-10-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Pretty tiny mouth for a pumpkin, but Riley picked this little shape from the kit to be the pumpkins mouth. Who am I to put my own pumpkin carving desires over those of my four year old? So we went with the teensy mouth, and I think it turned out pretty cute!

I had to take the customary 'naked baby grabbing toes' shot. I must admit it was hard to get a modest one, if you can even call this modest! Why are naked babies SO cute?

We are ready to go out for a late night stroll. There wont be too many nights left before it's too freezing cold for this!

Ever played 'crack the egg'? Riley was trying the crack my egg. I think it's more fun to crack his egg...he gets a lot more air and it's fun to watch him go flying :)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.....and we are still married!

2009-09-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

So.......after much toil and sweat and wailing and gnashing of teeth, our backyard is mostly done. And Ben and I are still married, but let me tell you there were times when we were like two little toddlers who could not agree on which disney movie to watch. Next spring we hope to get a fence, but for now we have a concrete pad which has several steps and then wraps around the side of the house and continues as a huge RV pad. Nevermind the fact that we don't have an RV and I don't predict and RV in our foreseeable future. We also got a sprinkler system installed, put a trampoline in the ground, had some concrete curbing laid around the house, and laid over 5000 sq ft of sod (with the help of wonderful people who helped us...bless them!!!) Ben worked his tush off putting this trampoline in the ground. We actually put it in the ground once, then had to take it out after we realized that all the dirt we were backfilling around it was not properly supported. What a PAIN! BUT....we now have a good retaining system and didn't have to pay $700 for one of those pre built systems.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I had the opportunity to go with these lovely ladies to a conference for work. We stayed at the Zermatt resort in Midway, which was interesting since I used to work for the architect that made the blueprints for the resort. I have spent hours looking at the resort on blueprints, but never saw it built. The conference was great! I learned a lot about labor and delivery. There were two other ladies from work there, and it was fun for us to hang out and learn some great things. We went shopping at the outlets in Park City, and I got myself in trouble at the Carter's store. Why is it SO dang fun to buy clothes for kids???

I had Ben take this picture because I realized that I don't have that many pictures of Malia and I. Here she is allowing me to taste her finger. She is such a chunky girl! Just tonight I gave her a taste of chocolate...and then another, and another, and another because she was so taken with the chocolate and kept opening her mouth wide for more. That's my girl!

Riley is decked out in his preschool attire and his Spiderman "packpack". Wow! He is so handsome and so cute! Whenever he has these shoes on, he likes to check himself out in our full size mirror. The other day I spied on him looking at himself front and back and he looked SO smug :) He knows he is a stud :)

We did the Onion Days thing this year. Unfortunately 10 tickets were $10 and equaled only about two and a half kiddie rides. Sheesh! I hope they pay those creepy carnival guys well. They at least ought to pay for them to get some of their teeth replaced. Well, the important thing is that we had a great time being together!

Her hair is trying really hard to come back.

And then I have a friend who can do THIS with her baby's hair! These two were trying to eat eachother before this picture was taken. Well, Kaylie was trying to eat Malia's PJ's, and Malia was trying to pull Kaylie's hair....because she's jealous and wants a little for herself.

I love this picture of Malia and her auntie Ciara. It's like they are having a little gab session and Malia is saying "Can you BELIEVE my mom only fed me NINE bottles today???"The Church family paid us a visit last Sunday and brought some delish cookies, and some sour cream, and some tortillas. Actually we invited them because they had all the ingredients we were out of, but hey we had fun :)

We're Still Here! (Just preoccupied)

2009-09-04T15:48:00.001-07:00

AND MALIA HAS BEEN PREOCCUPIED WITH EATING! I JUST HAD TO DOCUMENT THESE THIGHS...SHE TAKES AFTER HER DADDY. IS THERE A KNEE IN THERE SOMEWHERE??? AND WITH HER DAILY FEEDING FRENZY IT IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. DISCLAIMER: THE BRUISE IS FROM HER IMMUNIZATIONS...I DID NOT PINCH HER.SHE'S ALSO BEEN BUSY GROWING OUT HER HAIR. I PULLED THIS OUT OF THE HALLOWEEN BIN. IT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF HALLOWEEN THREE YEARS AGO WHEN RILEY WAS TOO LITTLE TO CARE THAT I DRESSED HIM UP LIKE AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL. I COULDN'T EVEN GET HIM TO PUT THIS HAT ON THE OTHER NIGHT....HE ABSOLUTELY REFUSED.

HER SMILES ARE COMING ABUNDANTLY NOW!

THIS IS UP AT A RESERVOIR IN SPANISH FORK. SHORTLY AFTER THIS SHOT WAS TAKEN, I SLIPPED ON SOME SLIME AND FELL IN AND THE INNOCENT BABE CAME DOWN WITH ME. OF COURSE I WAS LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY THROUGHOUT IT AND THROUGHOUT THE UGLY AFTERMATH. I ALWAYS LAUGH WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE SERIOUS.

THE BEAUTIFUL SUNSET. I LOVE THIS RESERVOIR!

RILEY CAUGHT A COUPLE OF FISH AND LOVED TO REEL THEM IN. BUT HE WOULDN'T TOUCH THE FISH OR PARTICIPATE IN PUTTING IT BACK IN THE WATER. FUNNY THING IS THAT THIS FISH IN THE PICTURE DID NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO HIS HOME OR FAMILY. HE KEPT SWIMMING BACK TO THE BANK. EITHER HE WAS REALLY CONFUSED OR HE REALLY LIKED US. WHEN WE LEFT AN HOUR LATER HE WAS STILL THERE HANGING OUT AT THE BANK....NOT DEAD, JUST WANTED TO BE NEAR US I GUESS.

SHE SEES ME DRINK THIS SO MUCH (ALTHOUGH I AM CURRENTLY ON A DIET COKE HIATUS) SO NO WONDER SHE WANTS A SIP :)

NO TRAINING WHEELS!!! AND NO STRIPES!!!

2009-08-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

WE FINALLY FIXED RILEY'S BIKE TODAY, AND HE'S BEEN BEGGING US TO TAKE THE TRAINING WHEELS OFF SO WE DID. IT'S LIKE THIS KID HAS FOUND NEW FREEDOM! HE JUST SOARS ON THIS BIKE, AND LOVES TO CHALLENGE A RACE WITH ANY OTHER KID (OR ADULT) WHO HAPPENS TO BE OUT ON THEIR BIKE TOO :)

AND NO STRIPES! WE PAINTED THE ZEBRA STRIPES ON OUR HOUSE AND IT LOOKS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER (SEE PICTURE IN PAST POST). THE FUNNY THING IS, THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW FINALLY TELLING US HOW AWFUL THEY THOUGHT IT LOOKED, NOW THAT IT'S FIXED :)

WHEN SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO, SHE STICKS OUT HER TONGUE. CHECK OUT THAT HUGE BELLY!

BEN AND RILEY HAD A GREAT TIME HAVING SOME MAN BONDING ON THE TRACTOR. YOU COULD TELL RILEY FELT PRETTY COOL BEING IN THEIR, AND YOU COULD TELL BEN FELT PRETTY AWESOME OPERATING THIS BIG MANLY TRACTOR :)

A WONDERFUL WEEKEND

2009-08-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Riley turned 4 yesterday! This year he's old enough to really understand the concept of a birthday party, so we had a big party for him and invited a bunch of family and friends to play with us on a big waterslide. It was such a blast...I think everyone had a really good time and it was so fun to see everyone having fun! The waterslide is huge and fast and the best part was watching people pick their wedgies at the bottom :)

Riley seems to really enjoy wearing water accessories, even when they are not necessary. We got him a blow up pool for his birthday so my mom bought him a bunch of pool toys including these goggles, which he enjoys very much and is wearing at this very moment while I'm typing this blog, even though we are just hanging out in our living room.

These are our buddies Brian and Jackson. They had fun too! But at the very end of the party, somehow Jackson (who is Riley's age) fell and broke his leg. He is such a cute little guy and we feel so bad that this happened to him, but he is such a trooper and is doing okay. Luckily the hospital is really close so he was able to get some help quickly.

Riley and his uncle Sam (my brother), getting ready to race down. Sam is the best uncle ever, and always gives Riley little toys and treats. He plays with Riley and is such a sweetie :)

Riley and his cousin Kortely (that's Jackson behind them) running up the hill ready for another round!

When Riley was opening his presents, he was acting kind of antsy and sort of just pulling things out of bags and dropping them on the ground like he was in a hurry and couldn't focus. I realized after watching him dance around a little that he had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad but just didn't want to tell us because then he'd have to take time out from all the fun! This kid got a HAUL this year!

I love how little boys latch onto the idea of Superheros. And Spiderman is one that just never seems to go away through the generations. Well, I guess a Spiderman phase is a rite of passage for lots of boys :) Us parents are just along for the ride! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of his Spiderman cake.Malia has an impressive string of drool! Another wonderful part of the weekend was my mom visiting us for a few days. We were originally planning on driving up to Idaho to see her, but the more we thought about how hard that would be with Malia, we thought it would be better for my mom to come here. And we are so glad she did! We had fun and Riley really cozied up to her. He has changed so much just in the last few months. He's become more open to talking with adults and he's much more cooperative. He's always loved being with my Mom, but it usually takes a whole day for him to warm up. This time, it didn't take any time at all! I can't believe I didn't get any pics of Riley and my mom because they had so much fun together.
It was hard to see my Mom leave! I wished she lived closer, but I think I'll go visit her in a couple months. We had a great time going to movies, going to a nursery to get some plants and trees for our yard, and going out to eat. But I wish we had more time because I would have loved to go on a long walk with her.

And I can't forget to mention that Ben took Riley camping Friday night at his family's cabin. His Mom and Dad's ward was having a party so there were lots of people around. It's such a fun place to go! I'm glad they got to go :)

SAFETY FIRST!!!

2009-07-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

It is nice to know that Riley puts safety first by wearing his life jacket during any and all water activities, such as "swimming in the basket" as he calls it. He even insists on wearing his life jacket when he runs through the sprinklers :) He sat in this rubbermaid bin for about four hours the other day. He even ate his lunch and a popsicle in there!

I'm pretty sure she could win a baby contest. At the parade in Spanish Fork yesterday a float went by with all the baby contest winners, and you should have seen how jealous those babies got when they saw Malia.

Okay, enough of bragging about my kids. I know, everyone thinks their kids are the most wonderful and the cutest of all the kids...but it's good we think that about our kids since we are their biggest support and cheerleader in this life. By the way, to all my friends and relatives...I think your kids are cute too :)

As for what's going on in our lives, well the biggest thing on our minds is how to get our backyard in. This involves sprinkling system, fence, sod, etc but we are not sure in what order and where to start! Life is busy but great right now, and we are enjoying living in our house and appreciating being all settled in.

UPDATE

2009-07-07T03:09:00.000-07:00

Well, just a quick update (sorry, no pictures since I am using the computer at work). We are back in our house, and it is officially ours!!! We found a way to close the loan, but the rate is not as good. Oh well, that's life. We are still waiting for out townhome to close; hopefully that will happen this week (yah, like I haven't heard that one before.) Apparently, our former next door neighbors in the townhomes who "sold" their townhome several weeks before us are in the same bind. They moved out in such a hurry per the request of their buyers, and now the whole process is held up for them as well and their loan hasn't closed yet either! This whole thing is so ri-dang-diculous. What a mess for all involved. But there is always a silver lining. Staying in a crappy motel for three days has made us appreciate our new house even more than we already did. But I miss my old neighbors (yah, that's you Tanya, Liz, Shellie among others!) and I miss my old gate! I was looking at a picture of Riley standing in front our our old gate, and I got a twinge of nostalgia knowing that I will never prop that gate open again for Riley to play on the playground. Poor kid misses his little friends! I REALLY need to hook him up with his buddies soon. But we are all enjoying our new home, and Riley especially loves the sprinklers that come on at wierd times of the day since we haven't figured out how to operate our own sprinkler system :) A big thanks to all our thoughtful friends and family who have helped us out so much lately, whether it be tending, offering us a place to stay, helping us move, or giving Ben and Riley rides to Sanpete since we only have one car still. I think we are finally getting on our feet again and life is starting to normalize! This process has been such an adventure!

OH.....MY.....GOSH

2009-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

I seriously don't even no where to begin! Selling our townhome has been such a nightmare. It STILL hasn't closed, and the original contract was for a June 22nd closing. It keeps getting pushed out because the buyer's lender is VERY inefficient. I won't name names, but there are things that have happened that justify a call to the Better Business Beureau. Then there's the appraiser that they hired to come appraise our home a few weeks ago. He came out and appraised our home for much less than it is worth, causing us to have to adjust our contract and sell our townhome for even less than an amount that was already ridiculously low. On top of that, this appraiser listed our townhome as a condo instead of a townhome, and when the underwriters asked him to fix it, he refused for two weeks until yesterday when someone from the lender ran over to pay him $100 in cash, and then he fixed his own mistake. This guy will definately be reported to the BBB because he is a crook. Our real estate agent sais this whole thing is the craziest situation he's ever seen. Keep in mind we are waiting for our townhome to close before we can close on our new house.

Now here's the worst part.....last Friday we got what we thought was wonderful news. Salisbury homes was going to let us move into our home before we closed IF we gave them $5000 in earnest money, in addition to the $2000 we have already given. We thought "Great!!! We can do that. The 5K will just go towards the down payment, and we will get to move in, so hey lets go!"

So we moved in Friday night. Thank you so much to our neighbors who pitched in at the last minute....we couldn't have done it without them!!! So we spent Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night in our new home. It was great but it still felt wierd because we still feel unsure about our townhome closing since the buyers lender keeps stringing us along. But still, it felt good to be in our new home. SO, I get home from work Monday morning at 7am and was looking forward to getting some sleep before the kids wake up. I had slept about two hours when there was a loud knock at the door, then the doorbell ringing. I threw on some clothes thinking it was the Dish network installer coming early. I answer the door, and it's a guy from Salisbury telling us we actually were not supposed to move in yet and the person who told us we could wasn't authorized to do that and "How much time do you need to get out before we lock it up?" Needless to say the tears began flowing, and after he left I had a complete meltdown....luckily the kids were asleep. I about passed out from hyperventilating. I used to think when I heard of people hyperventilating "Why don't they just get a grip and stop breathing so fast." Well, I can say from experience that it is very difficult to calm down when you are hyperventilating, and your body sort of takes over. This has only happened once before to me, and it is scary. I finally got on the phone with Ben, and he just about called the ambulance (thank GOODNESS he didn't! That would be so embarassing.) Well, Ben came home and we gathered up a few days of things, sort of like we would if we were going on a vacation. It was the wierdest feeling, getting asked to leave. It was sad, humiliating, frustrating, and we are so completely ticked off that the townhome sale has dragged on because if it hadn't, none of this would ever have happened.

Riley is staying with his grandparents for a few days while we figure this out, and this is good because I wouldn't know what to do with him all day in a motel room. It would be nuts! We couldn't go back to our townhome even though we still own it because there is NOTHING there! Anyways, once we finally close on both loans, we can move in and we are hoping that will happen within the next few days or early next week. It should have happened way before now, and the whole thing has been a nightmare and has felt so out of our control. It's frustrating when you are relying on people who you feel like you can't trust (the buyers lender and that jerk appraiser).
BUT, we will get through this and hopefully be laughing about it in a few weeks. In the meantime we are shell shocked and have no faith in the real estate business!!! But we love our agent. He is not on our hitlist :)

I couldn't do a post without pictures, so here are a couple. The one of Malia and I was taken this morning. One good thing about this is that in our motel there is plenty of time to play with Malia! I just REALLY miss Riley and feel bad that he is not with us.
Me and Malia just chilling on our "vacation"!!!

It's always interesting to see what Riley is wearing when he comes home from his friend Maggie's house. He loved this costume, and insisted he sleep in it. I found sequins all over his sheets the next morning.

These two! They are so funny. It's heartbreaking that they don't live right next to eachother anymore, and all the other sweet kids in the townhomes. When things settle down, I'm going to make sure Riley gets to see his friends at the townhomes.

Again, Riley dressed up with his friend Maggie. I can't wait to embarass him with these pictures when he is a teenager :)

Eight Weeks of Joy!!!

2009-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BABY! (She is giving us the peace sign. I always thought she seemed like a hippie)

MAD BABY!

AMUSED BABY (WHEN I TALK TO HER IN AN ANIMATED WAY, OR MAKE FACES AT HER, THIS IS THE LOOK I GET. IT'S THE SAME LOOK RILEY GAVE ME)

MALIA WAS BORN EIGHT WEEKS AGO TODAY, AND WE HAVE ALREADY HAD SO MUCH FUN HAVING HER IN OUR LIVES. SHE IS SUCH A FUNNY LITTLE GIRL...DEFINATELY THE SEARCH FOR FOOD DOMINATES HER THOUGHTS! ONCE IN A WHILE SHE'LL FORGET SHE WANTS FOOD AND SHE SMILE OR COO, BUT THEN SHE QUICKLY REMEMBERS THAT SHE'S HUNGRY AND GETS BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF LETTING US KNOW SHE'S HUNGRY BY SMACKING HER LIPS OR ATTACKING OUR FACE WHEN WE KISS HER CHEEK. WE LOVE HER SO MUCH AND GET SUCH A KICK OUT OF HER PERSONALITY!

AND HOW CAN WE NOT MENTION RILEY??? HIS FRIEND MAGGIE PLASTERED BAND AIDS ON EVERY "OWIE" HE HAS ACCUMULATED IN THE PAST MONTH. THEY WEREN'T BLEEDING, BUT AS RILEY PUTS IT "BUT THEY MIGHT BLEED."

Riley, Malia, and Friends

2009-06-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

A smile!!! Not a big one, but still to get a picture of a smile is cool.

Our beautiful girl in her blessing dress. I love this dress! For one, it is cute. And secondly, she can wear it for other things besides her blessing. She was a very good girl during her blessing :)

These two cuties are 12 days apart. For all the pictures we took, they alternated on who was having a meltdown. I have to say that our friends baby Kaylie's cry is too cute. Ben and I couldn't help laughing because she has such a unique little way of busting out into a full blown wail. We think they will be really good friends, but for these pictures they were just stressing eachother out :)

Riley and his buddy Evan, who loaned Riley his extra jacket that night because it was raining outside. We had a fun dinner at our friends house (Ben and Laura). Riley loves playing with friends! Only problem is he expects all his friends to borrow him toys for him to take home, and when it doesn't work out it sort of shocks Riley and he throws a fit (he is used to borrowing toys back and forth with his neighbor Maggie).

Maggie, Riley, and cousing Kortley. Just chillin with a movie, some stuffed animals, and a drink. The life of a kid.....I'm jealous!

So this is Maggie, and the child who Riley plays with nearly every day! They are SO cute together (I have overheard them talking of marriage). As you can see, Maggie likes to pose. Ben took them both fishing last week. They didn't catch anything, but that's not the point :)
As I mentioned, she is a poser. We have about ten more pictures like this and in all of them she is doing some amazing pose. I also love Riley in this picture because you can see a little wet spot in the front of his pants. This happens a lot with Riley, and even at this point he will deny that he needs to go to the bathroom.

My new babysitter!!! How much should I pay a three year old?

Ben put Riley too bed and never came out, so I went in to check and found them snuggled like this and both asleep. Riley looks huge to me in this picture!

The Kiddo's and The House

2009-05-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Aren't these two cute! Riley definately loves Malia. He gets upset with me if I call her a name like hungry hippo, or little missy, or whatever he thinks might hurt her feelings, and he lets me know that I shouldn't talk like that to her :)

We've been spending a LOT of late nights at our new house painting and putting in this stair railing. Very time consuming but fun (except for that one night we were painting until four am.)

I thought I flipped this picture, but you get the idea. Basically what we have here is a cute little girl sticking her tongue out at me.

The front of the house. To be honest, we aren't too crazy about the stripes and didn't know the builders were going to go zebra on us. Tell us what you think about them because all I can think of is candycanes!

Malia

2009-05-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have a picture similar to this that Riley has in his room on his nightstand and he just loves it. So we did one for her too so they could each have a special picture with me :)

I LOVE her little rosebud lips in this picture! She didn't just happen to be puckering...I had just pulled a binkie out of her mouth.

Okay, THIS is my sweet little chubby (and getting chubbier each day) girl! I love her all snuggled up, with the double chin which she got from her daddy ;)

And how could I leave out the picture of a furious Malia? I love how newborns tongues curl up when they are really mad!

She really has a lot of similarities to Riley when he was a baby. It's fun to get a lot of the same snapshots that I got of Riley, such as this one with her all snuggly in my bed.

Hey Ya'll

2009-05-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how fast our home is being built! I swear it took just one week to go from a foundation to this! We are so excited to have our own house....the townhome has been great, but oh to have more space and a basement and a garage!!! Of course the big worry has been if we'll be able to sell our townhome in time because two mortgage payments sounds awful. Well, we accepted an offer today (not a very great offer, but hey we are grateful!) and so hopefully everything will work out.

Here we have Malia and her cousing Brynlee! They are just eight days apart, though Malia looks like she could squash little Brynlee! Brynlee is special because she is the first girl for Ben's brother and his wife....they have five boys, and of course they are all special too!

I wanted to get a picture of Malia's room. It's hard to tell, but there are different shades of plum, lavender, and purple. Ben made the wood letters that spell her name...what talent!

Take notice of the quilt! My friend Staci made this quilt for me, and it's almost like she could read my mind when she made it because it is SO perfect in malia's room. I love it! And I am amazed at how nice people have been with all the wonderful gifts we have received for Malia. I have gotten some really cool quilts, tons of outfits, bows, etc. People are so generous, and they make me want to be more thoughtful and giving to others :)

My dear hubby turned 30 (gulp!) on Saturday! We ate at Tucanos and then went to see Star Trek, which was SUCH a great movie. We thank Ciara and Kade for watching our kiddos. They are so nice to do that, and trust me we REALLY needed a date!

The time has come....

2009-05-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

....to go private!!! Please leave your email in my comments or email me your email address at darcicookus@yahoo.com. For my reasons for going private, please see pictures below :)I need to protect these "three" kids! Ben is so sexy that he is prone to being stalked. I wouldn't want him to be kidnapped by any of his stalkers who just want him for his Arnold Schwarzeneggar body!!!

One of the many faces of Malia! Anyone who's ever taken a moment to watch a newborns faces knows it can be hilarious!

My Mom came for a few days and came bearing many gifts for BOTH kids (smart lady to make Riley feel special too!) We had a really fun time and went to many movies, out to eat many times, got Malia's pictures done, and went for a nice long walk with Riley on his new bike!

I know Riley's hugeness in this picture has a lot to do with camera position, but STILL! He is large and she is so small :) I've always thought Riley has a big head (Ben calls it a big melon), and the other day we went to buy him a helmet and had to get him the 8 years plus size! I love my kids!

Having two is....nice at moments like these! But the moments aren't always like these :) For the most part it is going fine. Overwhelming, but quickly turning into the new normal for us like everyone said it would. Sometimes it's fun to take care of Malia and enjoy the way she is now, then go be with Riley and laugh at the funny way he is now. Last night he yelled out to me from his bed while he was trying to get to sleep. He said "Mommy, guess what! I think I have a bad dream in my tummy!" I thought for a second to make sure I heard right, then said "Okay...well, try to have a good dream." He replied "Okay, I'll dream about good cops."

ISN'T SHE LOVELY!

2009-04-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Malia Jeanne Cook, born April 23, 2009 at 10:55 am, 7 lbs 12 oz and 19 1/2 inches!!!

Here's Ben and I a few hours before she made her appearance. We had to be at the hospital at 5 am so I could be induced. I probably slept two hours the night before, but it didn't matter! Ben got a good night sleep though. He said the night before "I need to get to bed...I have a big day ahead of me!" Poor Ben had SO much work to do to get this baby here :) Pitocin really works by the way, and so does having the doc break your water. Contractions came on strong and pretty quickly, and the anesthesiologist did not come quickly. But he did come, and I did love him :) Shortly after my epidural, I was ready to push! The nurse said I would have delivered yesterday with or without the induction. Malia was out in three contractions! I kept thinking, this is just to easy. But the poor little thing didn't give us that good lusty cry you want to get from every baby right after they are born. In fact she was very quiet, which worried everyone and they whisked her away a few minutes after she was born. She spent the first ten hours of her life under this oxygen bubble......

.......and we didn't get to hold her until 9 p.m.! That whole time she wasn't able to keep her oxygen saturation up high enough, probably because she never gave us a good cry to get her lungs really going. The doc wondered about other problems, and she had an xray, EKG, had her blood gases checked, and ordered an IV started. Well, all the tests came back okay (thank goodness!) and the nurses tried and tried but weren't able to start an IV. Poor thing got poked MANY times yesterday, but still barely cried. I'm glad they didn't get the IV started because Malia ended up making a great turn around and we were thrilled that she was able to come spend a little time in our room with us.

As you can imagine, by 9 pm she was starving and I was excited to be able to feed her! She is a vigorous eater...a little too vigorous for my preferences in fact :) But that's okay, I am so happy she has no problems eating well. The doc told us she would probably have to stay in the hospital until Saturday instead of going home with us Friday, but she did so well throughout the night that she came home with us today at 4pm! We are so happy that she is doing well, and we know that people had her in their prayers and are thankful to have her home!
I'm so in love!
Ben is so in love too! We hope Riley will be in love too, but he wasn't able to meet her yesterday because the nurse wouldn't let him in to see her :(

We still haven't gotten a real good, ticked off cry out of her. She give a little "waaaa" here and there but I can tell she's working up to it and soon we will wonder why we ever wished she would cry more!

A DATE!!!

2009-04-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

I could have kissed my doctor's feet today. He dangled a carrot (in my case more like a diet coke and a pink sugar cookie) in front of me and I snatched it up without ANY hesitation. He offered to schedule me for an induction next thursday, which is my moms birthday and also a full three days before my due date! Hmmmm, lets see, should I NOT take the offer and sit and wait and wonder if every little pain I have is THE pain that will lead to more pains that will lead to the end of this miserable fatness, or should I get induced which enables me to relax a little and plan a little and see a light at the end of the tunnel? It was an easy choice. So next Thursday it is! I've heard people say being induced is wonderful, and I've heard others say it's horrible. I choose to believe those who say it is wonderful! I can stop shaving my legs every night "just in case" and just shave them next Thursday before going to the hospital. I can know that when the pain starts to get bad, I will already be at the hospital and nearer to the blessed individual who will give me my epidural. I can make plans for Riley's whereabout throughout all this, and I can know that it won't be a frantic dash to the hospital in the middle of the night! And yay for no more doctor's appointments with humiliating weigh-ins :)

SO ANNOYED!!!

2009-04-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, two things are bugging me so bad! First of all, trying to sell your home is the BIGGEST pain. Let me just tell you what's happened so far. We put our house on the market with an agent (who we really like, by the way) and nine days later someone comes to look and puts in an offer that very night! Great! Wonderful! We are ecstatic! So we accept the offer (it's a pretty good offer) and wait for them to get back to us.....except they don't. So we wait, and wait. Finally after a weekend wondering what the heck, their agent FINALLY calls our agent back and sais that they basically don't feel like it's the right time for them to buy anymore. Grrrrrr. Fine, so we've moved on. Then Monday our agent calls us and sais there is a couple who wants to look at our house Wed. at 10:30 am (today). So Ben and I are excited and spend last night and this morning getting our house ready and perfect for these people to look at, and at 10:30 as I'm walking over to my doctor's appointment I get a call from our agent that the guy is sick and they have to reschedule. So I am so bummed and annoyed, and have decided that selling your house is a good way to get your hopes up and have them crushed, just in case any one is looking for a way to accomplish that!
Okay now for the second thing: at about midnight last night I started have small, not too painful, but REAL contractions. I know when they are real because they are in my lower back and feel exactly the same as the ones that got Riley into the world! By 1:30 they are getting worse, and so I start timing them. About 7 to 10 minutes apart, painful, and this goes on. So I'm thinking this is it! Lucky me! 2 1/2 weeks early! So I get up, fix my hair (I know, dumb. But for some reason it MATTERS!) and then settle in to keep timing them. No sleeping through all this of course, for me anyway. Well, by 5:30 they start to spread out more, and as of right now (noon) I haven't had one for probably 4 hours. I went to my doctor's appointment at 10:40, and the verdict is that the baby is very low, her head is engaged, I am very thin (yah, I wish I was talking about my figure....but you moms know what I mean) but the doc couldn't tell if I am dilated due to the location of my blah blah blah I won't go into details :)
SO I AM ANNOYED BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED AT THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING A POTENTIAL BUYER LOOK AT OUR HOUSE, AND EVEN MORE THRILLING THE PROSPECT OF HAVING A BABY TODAY!!! I think this means I deserve to go out on a date tonight. I'll have to let Ben know :)

Riley's Special Date!!!

2009-04-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

I had this great idea last weekend that it would be fun to take Riley out for a date with Ben and I to give us the chance to spoil him a little while he is still our only child. So I reserved a room at La Quinta up in Salt Lake near this place called Hollywood Connection, and we left Saturday afternoon for a night of fun :) One little glitch which really bugs me is that somehow I managed to reserve the room for Thursday night instead of Saturday night, so we show up saturday night with no reservation and the cheapest room is $80, PLUS my card was probably charged for the Thursday night that we weren't even there ($50 plus taxes and fees). So yah, that bugs a little but what can I do?

Really can you put a price on watching these two guys romp in the pool???

Riley LOVED the hottub! The mistake we made was letting him get in the hot tub first, and then trying to persuade him to get in the pool. He just thought we were crazy and wondered why on earth he should get into a cold pool when there was a nice warm "pool" for him to play in :)

The only picture I got of Riley and I on our special weekend. Obviously I am not feeling photogenic these days! Headshots ONLY please :)

I think these swimsuits would look great on the beaches of Hawaii! Hmmm....gets me thinking!

Riley thoroughly enjoyed pushing the "unsuspecting" Ben into the pool over and over. We were the only ones in there so Ben felt free to be himself :)

One of the rides at Hollywood Connection. Just after this picture Ben decided what the heck and got on the ostrich next to the horse. Ben had to ride all the kiddie rides with Riley, and this was quite entertaining for me! I was a little jealous at first, but Ben's face practically turned green after several of the rides....plus their kiddie rides!!! So Ben felt a little silly, but all worth it to see the huge smiles and laughter from Riley.

This bus went up and around and around and made the most annoying sound. If I worked there I would probably go nuts.

The bumper cars were a huge hit with Ben and Riley. I laughed so hard when Riley's bumper car first took off and he had no idea how to steer or what was even happening. The look on his face was so funny! It would go from confusion, to nervousness, to bewilderment, to joy, to laughter, back to nervousness, and on and on. Oh and there's nothing like watching your three year old get knocked around on the bumper cars! Too funny! I hope Riley remembers this and that he always feels really special and loved and knows that nothing (not even a little sister) can EVER take his place or make him any less loved or important to us :)

8 Years and Counting!!!

2009-03-25T10:46:00.001-07:00

On Monday Ben and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary! It's funny how time goes by and life marches on, and suddenly you stop to realize just how much time has gone by! I should have put a wedding picture up, but the top picture is of our first date which was over 12 years ago! It was Ben's Senior Ball, and I was a Junior. We barely knew eachother but I'm so glad he asked me because obviously we got to know eachother better :) After that first date, I went home and remember telling my stepmom "I think I just like him as a friend." We went out once or twice more and then I decided I really liked him, but by that point he started acting a little indifferent which REALLY bugged me, and made me pursue him with determination. Anyways, maybe I scared him into loving me but we ended up dating exclusively until he left on his mission a year and a half later (when I say "exclusively" I should mention we both had a couple little excursions dating others, but mostly just to irritate eachother.) We became SO close during that year and a half...it doesn't sound right to say we were dating, it was more like we were best friends (with benefits, of course!) And here we are eight years later!

Just a quick snapshot from Monday night before we went to see a movie, and after we ate some Mexican food at La Casita in Springville. Our good friends Ben and Laura watched Riley for us, so we know Riley had fun while we were having fun :) By the way, Ben has noticed that he has started to get wrinkles around his eyes and is a little upset by this (which I think is so funny that he's upset by this!) but I told him that I love those little wrinkles and the funny thing is I find these little signs of aging to be VERY handsome and I think they make him look so good. Is that wierd?

Just a cute shot of our little Turkey! That shirt is getting to small, but he still loves it.

The other night we went and hung out in this field to play around, only problem is that it was freezing and windy!!! And there was this seagull that was circling above us and terrifying Riley. He has nightmares of birds or chickens coming and pecking in his palm (the way he described it was hilarious) so I think birds and their beaks are one of his phobias :)

FOUR LETTER WORD

2009-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I have a new favorite four letter word.....PASS!!! Amazing how one little word can make all the difference. The word "pass" is sweet validation for the last three years of blood, sweat, and tears (okay, maybe just sweat and tears, and a lot of good times too). I took the NCLEX (for my nursing liscence) last Thursday morning, and honestly had no idea whether I passed or failed, but Saturday morning Ben and I got on the computer at the Radisson Hotel, and he looked up my results for me. I was SO sick to my stomach while he was looking it up, because I really felt it could go either way. I told him I felt sick, and he said "Well, you don't need to feel sick!" I didn't care who saw, I jumped on his lap and cried for a couple minutes because it was SUCH a relief! If you don't pass the NCLEX, you don't get your RN liscense. So, now that I have completed the last hurdle of a LONG series of hurdles I started three years ago, I can move on with life and enjoy not having to study all the time! No more locking myself in my room, trying to concentrate with poor Riley banging on the door, or sneaking off to the library for hours instead of spending the evening with my family. I am SO grateful that I decided to go to school to become a nurse. It has been a long, interesting and sometimes grueling process, but WELL worth it. I have had such good support from Ben through all this. In fact he has sort of become the "cook" of the family, and I told him tonight that because he has become so efficient at it and seems to enjoy it, I would never want to deprive him of that fulfilling part of his life so we will just keep him as the chef :)

Ben REALLY impressed me this weekend with a fun little getaway. I knew we were going somewhere for the weekend but didn't know where. He got us two nights at the Radisson in Salt Lake, and it was so nice! We were up on the 14 floor and had a great view. Friday night we went to The Roof, someplace I have wanted to go for a really long time. It's a buffet, and it was really, really great food. I can honestly say we have never spent that much on a meal (about $90) but the view, the atmosphere, and the food down to every little last piece of lettuce was PERFECT. And the desserts!!! There must have been 20 selections! I probably tried a few bites of eight different desserts. I just didn't want to pass up the opportunity, but I was totally sugared out at the end of the night. Then we walked back to our Hotel and tried to ignore all the horsecarriage drivers eyeing us down practically begging us to buy a ride. I felt bad for them because they have NO business, and they are all competing with eachother! We slept in until 11 am Saturday and Sunday morning! I wonder when THAT will ever happen again??? Saturday we saw two movies: Taken and He's Just Not That Into You. Taken was SOOOOO good. I LOVE Liam Neeson. The other movie was a fun show, but not one I'd see again. We ate at the Training Table later that night (love that place!!!) and then went into Smith's Marketplace to get some cookies and see what one of the huge Smith's is like. Well, we ended up walking out with quite a haul: for Riley, two shirts, swim shorts, and some new church shoes. For Malia, two adorable dresses, two cute tops, and some pajamas. Oh yes, and the cookies. I LOVE that store! I wish we had one here. It reminds me of the Fred Meyers in Orem before it went away. Well, I know I have gone on and on, but I wanted to write about this wonderful weekend! I had a great time with Ben, and although we miss Riley I know he is having fun with family and it's good for him to get out of the house too! I'm only mad I forgot my camera..Dang it!

JUST SHOOT ME!!!

2009-02-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

I like the picture of this monkey, because that is how I feel lately... like I'm losing my mind! How old am I???? If anyone knows for sure, just let me know. The other night at work, at like, oh, 3 a.m. a coworker asked me how old I am. I had to sit and think about it and I debated between 27 and 28, and so in the moment while she was waiting for my answer I decided to go with 27. I told her "I'm 27 and I'll be 28 in July." Later that day, after a little sleep, I thought it through a little more and came to the conclusion that I am in fact 28. The fact that I even have to THINK about it, let alone that I came up with the wrong number is CRAZY!!! But my mind is on overload right now. I just started working as a nurse, and this is very exciting but very challenging for me. I'm working overnight, so this is an interesting challenge. I am spending every spare moment studying for my boards that I have next Thursday, and let me tell you I am on information overload!!! This is why I have no room left in my mind to remember my age. But really, is there every ANY excuse for forgetting your age???

The Things He Sais!

2009-01-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

I remember when Riley was a newborn, and I wondered what his talking voice would sound like and what kind of things he would say. Like with most kids, he has kept his parents delighted with his hilarious logic and mind boggling statements. Here is one of the latest, and I seriously debated posting it but hey it's just too cute:)
Yesterday morning, as Riley was standing there getting ready to put his underwear on, he took a long hard look at the front of his underwear and noticed the little rocketship picture that is right front and center. Suddenly he looked all wore out and gave a big sigh, and said "Mommy, this rocket ship goes on my pee pee, and it makes my pee pee tired." He acted like it was such a chore to wear that underwear, but he still put it on. I'm thinking....WHAT?!? Makes it "tired"? I have finally started writing down these things to keep for him, and Ben and I together have tried to remember as many as possible from the last couple years. I can't wait until he's older to tell him the things he said!

In All My Glory :)

2009-01-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am in all my glory! I decided it would be wise to take a picture for posterity sake since I have a similar one from my pregnancy with Riley. I wouldn't want this little gal to feel left out because I didn't take a prego picture. Well, here I am at about 6 1/2 months (yes I am rounding up)! I already feel uncomfortable, so it's scary to think that it's just going to get worse! I did a doosy last month in the weight gain department, but that month included Christmas and New Years, plus the after effects of Thanksgiving. I feel her kick all the time, so that is definately one of the perks!

Movies and Popcorn

2009-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

My mom came to see us over New Years, and the highlight for me was all the movies and popcorn! I haven't always considered popcorn an important part of the movie theatre experience, but I have changed my mind and THOROUGHLY enjoyed several buckets of popcorn during the five days my mom was here. I am fully aware that all that popcorn probably contributed to my SUDDEN 11 pound weight gain. The nurse tried to make me feel better by saying "Oh, a lot of that is the baby. Don't worry." Thank you for trying, but I know darn well that the baby weighs not much more than a pound or maybe a pound and a half. Anyways....we had a GREAT time while my mom was here. She spoiled Riley quite a bit! She took him to McDonald's and he enjoyed a happy meal and two kiddie cones, and quickly learned that Grandma pretty much gives him whatever his heart desires :) We all went to Thanksgiving point and saw an IMAX movie. My mom bought Riley several things from the gift store, including this big dinosaur book. Pretty much every night since then he has fallen asleep with this book. I got this picture of him the other night....so sweet the little treasures children cling to. We also went to Body Worlds with my mom. The lines (even with tickets ahead of time) were horendous. By the time we actually got into the exhibit, we felt like cattle and started mooing. But it was pretty cool...just WAY to crowded.

Our friend Brian built this amazing hill in his backyard. It has a steep drop off and a smaller hill at the bottom that sometimes caused the rider to "catch air". The kids (and that includes Ben and Brian) had so much fun! Riley was in heaven. This hill is crazy tall, especially considering it was made out of scratch. These friends of our really know how to live it up! We also ate a REALLY good dinner. I can't remember the last time I've had such good chicken! In the picture below, notice Ben's cheek. When under stress, he puffs his cheeks up like a blowfish for some reason. Maybe it makes him feel safter...I don't know?

Riley and Morgan getting ready to go down the hill. Brave little souls :)

Fun Times!

2008-12-28T12:07:00.000-08:00

We had a good time this year over Christmas! Ben had a few days off, and we enjoyed just being together and doing....whatever! Riley broke out with a rash at 4:30 am on December 24th, but I got him into the doctor later that morning and found out it wasn't chicken pox but rather a viral exanthema...not too contagious but still itchy. Wierd! But we were still able to have fun over the next few days with eachother and friends and family. Hope everyone else had fun too! And not too much stress :) My Dad and I. He was trying to make friends with this crazy horse who had been bucking at us when we first came to the farm. Looks like they are new buddies!

Ben, Darci, and Riley on the four wheeler pulling Ben and Sam on the sleds. Riley liked being on the fourwheeler watching Ben and Sam struggle to stay on the sleds and try to avoid the big weeds we would pull them through for the fun of it! My brother Ben actually got a bloody nose...all part of the fun :)

Family picture on Roger's four wheeler. Someday we will have our own, but where would we put it right now??? We have no room!

Riley got a new room! We moved him into the bigger room since we will be needing the baby room for the baby. His new room is Disney Cars themed. I couldn't get the whole room in the picture, but you get the idea. So far he is doing okay in it, but we are working on getting him to spend the WHOLE night in his new bed, not just the first half, after which he ends up in our room sleeping on the floor. I wouldn't mind so much except when he's dreaming he whines and kicks the floor really hard with his feet (like a tantrum) so this obviously interferes with my sleep! So I usually go into HIS room and sleep the rest of the night on his bed.

This kid LOVES four wheelers. I guess most kids probably do, but he just feels like such a MAN when he is on a four wheeler! We would like to get him his own little one someday soon when we have more space.

Our best Christmas present of all! Of course he just HAD to climb in this box.

We had a really fun Christmas together. Riley's really gotten excited about Christmas this year. He's loved having the tree with the lights, making treats, giving away treats, and eating treats. He loves seeing Christmas lights everywhere, the snow, the whole deal. So it has been really fun watching him enjoy the season. His favorite Christmas present from Santa (why does this guy always get all the credit???) was a big black remote control truck. I honestly think this is just as much for Ben as for Riley, but hey it's something they both love!

CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR

2008-12-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

In the past, I have spent the month of December looking forward to (and stressing about) Christmas day. But this year, it feels different for me. Instead of focusing so much on what will take place on that one day, I am really just enjoying the season. It has been my goal this year to simplify Christmas in order to be able to relax and enjoy it. So it has been so nice this year. I think everyone realizes that most people are trying to scale it back this year with the money spending, and so the gift expectations for extended family has been very reduced. For example with the Cook family, instead of Ben, Riley and I each giving to someone, we just give something to one of the families and the price limit is $20. Similar cut backs are happening with the extended Hansen family, and I LOVE it! Not just because we are spending so much less...but it has made things so much more simple and I feel like it's taken the focus off who's getting what, and making sure we spend enough, etc. It's like a burden has been lifted, enabling us to enjoy the spirit of the season more. I hope this new "tradition" of keeping it simple can continue year after year so that we all can relax and enjoy just being together more.

After Thanksgiving, Ben and Riley were able to go with some family up to the Cook cabin to help get some Christmas trees. Riley LOVES going up on the mountain, and Ben even found a little tree for Riley which we decorated and put in his room. We didn't get a big tree for us because we have a fake tree which I love and won't part with even though Ben calls me a meanie every year and sais I'm infringing on his childhood memories of getting a live tree every year. Oh well, it's a small price for him to pay since he gets me for a wife!

And true to the words of my poem in the previous post...we have a little nose picker on our hands. The Ultrasonographer got a kick out of it, and snapped a picture for us. We are so proud of our little girl for this talent she is developing. She already takes after her big brother, who is an excellent nose picker :)

2008-12-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

HIP HIP HOORAY! A LITTLE GIRL IS ON HER WAY!

LAST YEAR FOR HALLOWEEN RILEY WAS OUR BEAUTY QUEEN.

NOW WE'LL HAVE A GIRL FOR REAL, TO US THIS IS A REAL BIG DEAL!

WE SAW HER ON THE ULTRASOUND...SHE PICKED HER NOSE AND KICKED AROUND.

SO NOW I'VE GOT SOME SHOPPING TO DO....BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT-BLUE WON'T DO!

Talented Ben

2008-12-03T14:50:00.001-08:00

This is not an advertisement! But I do have to show off some of the beautiful things that Ben has built for us. Probably the biggest and best project was this beautiful door which will go in our house someday. It's so big and pretty, and it even sounds great when you knock on it! The sidelights are opaque so they are very private which was important to us.

His most recent project is Riley's new bed. He isn't sleeping in it yet, but for Christmas we plan on surprising him with a Disney Cars theme bedroom, and then we'll slowly make the switch over from the "baby" room to the big boy room. This bed is something we will have for a very long time! It's nice and sturdy, not to mention great looking.

He built this to fit in the corner of our bedroom, which is the best place for the T.V. I love this piece of furniture!

He made this frame for me one Christmas. I love the picture and wanted a nice frame for it, and walla! He made it!

These are some slanted frood storage shelves (the cans roll). It has been a nice addition to our pantry to help keep things organized. As you can see on the top shelve, we are almost out of spaghettios. Riley's likes them...probably because they are SO nutritious :)

This is Riley's toybox. He got this two years ago for Christmas, and it has been the perfect size. We realized once he wasn't a baby that he was accumulating more toys (and bigger toys) and we needed something good sized, but we wanted something that looked nice and could maybe be used someday for a storage chest.

In addition to all of these things, Ben has also built shelves for our laundry room, a huge flower box in front of our house, two big flower boxes in our backyard, a sandbox, and probably other things I am forgetting. When he builds something for us, it is always beautiful and sturdy! I'm so proud of him and this wonderful talent he has developed.

LUCKY ME!!!

2008-11-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

This post is not meant to brag, I'm simply taking time to focus on the good things in my life! I know each and every one of us can choose to either focus on the good and positive, or to dwell on the negative and dramatic. I do have to say though, that at times in my life when I have been very down, it has been difficult to "choose" to see the good, and I'm very sorry if any of my friends or family are feeling that way at this time. If there is anyone out there who is feeling down (or outright depressed) know that I've been there and actually more people than we know have been there, and we can all relate. You are not alone in your struggles. I don't know why I felt I needed to write all that, after all, this is my "thankful" post. I just know that at times in my life I have felt alone and hopeless, and I have always had a soft spot in my heart for anyone who feels depressed, sad, low self-esteem, whatever. Okay! Enough of that! Here are some things that make me feel so LUCKY!

-I am alive! And I feel safe...many people don't. That is something to be grateful for.

-I have a family. This is a biggie. I'll have to break it down a little:

Husband: Having Ben for a husband makes me feel so lucky. I have recently been going through some big, unorganized bins of his life that turned up in storage. Included in these bins are highschool stuff, mission stuff, and every thing in between all mish mashed together in complete disorder! So I being the lucky one who organized it all was able to take a trip back in time and read some old letters that he and I had written to each other. I read one of my first letters to him, which stated something along the lines of "I'm just going to say it...I think I love you." His letters to me are so sweet and the best part is it helped me realize that he hasn't changed in how sweet he is. I highly recommend reading old love letters to help remember how it all started! I'm also grateful that he is so talented. Not only does he get up early every morning and go to work (a feat in an of itself!) but he takes time to ocassionally make us beautiful pieces of furniture, the latest being a georgeous new bed for Riley. I will post pictures of all the wonderful things he's built soon. It's not like he enjoys staying late to work to make these things, but he does it because he loves us.

Riley: How do I start? His personality has brought so much adventure to our lives! He definately tests us with his stubborness and willfullness, but I would gladly take that ten times over just to have him in our lives because he gives my life such meaning! I can't count how many times he makes us laugh, and usually it's when he is trying to be serious and tell us something REALLY serious. We both just have to turn away and hide while we laugh, and try to compose ourselves before we turn back around. He has been saying the funniest things lately. Ben was trying to take his gold fish crackers the other day, and that ticked Riley off so he said "Daddy! EVER don't you take my golfish away!" He really has not figured out yet that he is the child and we are the parents. He can often be heard saying "Don't you talk to me like that!" or "Mommy, do you need to go potty?" We love him so much. The only thing that bugs me lately is that he won't let me hold him as long as I want. I have to pin him down to kiss him over and over, and he only puts up with that for a few seconds. I don't know how to put into words how much I love Riley!

Baby: Boy or girl? I'm thankful for technology that will allow us to soon know what we are having (Dec 9th!!!!). Just the fact that I was able to get pregnant is a huge blessing. I know the heartache that goes along with struggling to get pregnant, although not to the extent of some I know and love. I wish so much for the same blessing to come to those who want it so badly. This time around I am SO much more excited because I know what to expect, and I now know how much you love your child. Ben and I absolutey can't wait! If it's a girl we are naming her Lafonda Shananae. If it's a boy it will be Harry Lloyd.

Other Family: I hope everyone knows that I was joking about the baby names. Family has become so much more important to me over the last several years. Of course they have always been important, but my appreciation for them has increased. I can't imagine moving far away where we wouldn't have the benefit of family. Even though my mom lives five hours away, I talk to her all the time on the phone and she is someone that I can tell anything too. Whenever I go on walks, I take my phone and call my mom. Although I'm getting more and more out of breath on these walks, and she's probably sick of hearing me huffing and puffing! I have a brother, Chris, who lives in Washington. I hope someday that he can move closer. That would be the icing on the cake! Okay, moving on from family.

-I have a place to live. It's a place that Ben and I have put a lot of work into and have made into an environment we love. We dream of having more space someday, but we are so lucky to have what we have.

-I can buy groceries. Food is pretty expensive at times, but we always have enough food and plenty of extra. That makes us extremely lucky.

-Ben has a job, and he is good at it. Who's to say what could happen in the future....we see people getting laid off all around us. But for now Ben's company is doing great and Ben is a valuable employee. I'm grateful that he is such a good worker and has made himself an important part of the team.

-I have had the opportunity to go to school...AND I'M ALMOST DONE! In fact today I just finished my last paper, and that feels SO good. I'm so happy that I picked a field that pretty much guarantees me a job, and these days that is good news. But more importantly I am excited to be a Nurse, and have the opportunity to learn and grow.

-I'm grateful to live in this country. I'm grateful to live during such a momentous time, when amazing changes are happening. True there is a lot of bad news these days, but focusing on that is depressing! I'd rather focus on the good and there is still plenty of that.

-Our car is fixed! For a long time it shook very bad, to the point of being dangerous. But we could not figure out what the problem was and spent a good amount of money trying to solve it. The other day Ben and his Dad (who I'm thankful for!) replaced a part and the problem is now fixed. That is a huge relief, as this is the car Ben drives to work and I worried that he would get in an accident.

Well, I'm sure I'll think of more later...but I've already been long winded with this. I really have been feeling very grateful lately, and not just because it's Thanksgiving. It's easy sometimes to forget that there is still so much good happening, and there is a LOT to look forward to. Of course the news doesn't often report what's positive...but if you look for it, you'll find it :)

Twilight Movie

2008-11-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go see the movie Twilight the other night with some friends. It was great to go out and do something fun like that! I liked the movie quite a bit, but didn't LOVE it. That doesn't mean I'm not excited for the next movie. During the movie there were some teenage girls sitting right behind us who would not shutup for the whole dang movie! It was constant talking and giggling and squealing and commenting ("Oh, he is SO hot!") I could not believe that some people (I don't care that they are teenagers, that's no excuse) are rude enough to act like they are the only ones in the whole theater! I turned around a couple of times and gave them nice long looks, but they didn't seem to get it. They probably just enjoyed the extra attention. Does anyone else have issues with noisy people in the theatre? What do you do? My mom just flat out tells them off or has them thrown out...I get nervous watching movies with her when someone is being noisy because I hate confrontation and I know she's about to put some giggling person in their place. Is it okay to just throw popcorn at them???? ANYWAYS, after the movie we went out to dinner and had a great time! It is so good to get out sometime and be carefree.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

Ben took Riley to a party the other night, and they had a duck pond that he loved.

They also had a apple bobbing bucket, and Riley was playing in that for a while. When Ben went out to check on him, he found a few half eaten apples on the ground, and also some of the apples still floating in the water had a bite taken out of them! Hmmm, I guess Riley was taste testing the apples for people.

Riley and Kortley didn't get to spend hardly any time together on Halloween, but we were able to get this picture (after some serious coaxing since Riley was playing hard to get, as usual). In case you can't tell, Riley is Mike Wozowski, or the one-eyed Mike from Monsters Inc. His hand is in a pouch in the front where he put all his candy. Kortley is a cute little witch! Riley took quite a while to warm up to anybody (except his uncle Sam) on Halloween. He seems to have "performance anxiety" and whenever people pay too much attention to him, he clams up (and sometimes freaks out!) I love his personality, but I do hope he eventually will react a little more sweetly to people who are just being friendly to him! But he is definately a riot, and when he lets his guard down he is SO much fun and very entertaining...as long as he doesn't know everyone is watching him :)