WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

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!!!

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!

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?

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!

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:

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My Dad, the Grandpa!

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....

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!