All 5 Plus 1 More!

Who Cares?

2012-01-24T10:51:00.001-07:00

I know it has been about 4 months since I last put anything on this blog. Good thing there aren’t any rules regulating what I do and do not do.

It has been a very busy 4 months. We had 4 birthday parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not to mention, work, school and dance classes. Yet somehow we are still alive.

One of the highlights was that Sundee and I went on a cruise in October. Yep we left all 4 kids! They pestered people for a week without mom and dad. I think they were good, if they weren’t no one told us different so my kids are the best kids around. We visited Jamaica and the Bahamas. We were supposed to go to the Grand Caymans but because a hurricane we were diverted. It was okay because we spent an entire day on the beach playing in the water and getting sunburned. In Jamaica we went on a zip line and it was a blast. Jamaica is an interesting place. And for those of you that have never been on a cruise I highly recommend it. This was our second and we enjoyed it as much as the first.

This was the zip line crew.

And us leaving the port in Miami.

This was as we were getting back on the boat. After being in the sun, and salt water with dried salt in every crack and hidden part on your body. Not so fun when it starts to dry up.

We did have a lot of fun. It was also nice to have a week to sleep in and relax. By the end of the trip I missed my kids. We were able to Skype with them while we were in Miami on the ship and when we got back and were at the airport. They really enjoy doing that.

Other topics of interest are very few. Bree and Addi are enjoying pre-school. Bree is ready for Kindergarten and can’t wait. The Biggest milestone for Jax is that he is now potty trained. WOO HOO only 1 in diapers and Teryn is close to being done with them too. No Diapers! what will we do? It’s been 5 straight years with diapers in this house. It’s an expensive habbit. Maybe we need a reality show…

This post would just not be complete without a picture of the crew themselves. here they are! yes they have mismatched gloves but who cares, they are having the times of their lives in the snow.

I think this video sums it up!!!

One Month Ago... Or So.

2011-09-22T10:49:00.006-06:00

About a month ago I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon. It was my third year running this race and my 7th half over all and fastest time. I came in at 1:37:48. I was very satisfied with that time. My goal was to finish between 1 hour 30 mins. and 1 hour 40 mins. I'd say I made it. That morning you have to be to the start line really early and so we decided to stay at the Quality Inn hotel in Logan. We stayed there last year too. Sundee stayed home with 3 of the kids and my dad and I took Bree with us this year. We ate at Sizzler the night before and it was a lot of fun because Bree was so excited to be with just us that she was giddy the entire time.

Bree and my Dad made the Top of Utah photo shoot this year, front and center, not looking at the camera of course. I made it on last year, this year I was not so lucky. :)

The next morning the race offers a shuttle service, yellow school bus, from the hotel to the start line. They said you had to be outside by 4:45 a.m. to catch a ride. Well i was out there by that time and waited until 5:50 a.m. and never a bus showed up. There was about 11 or so of us waiting. I was a little upset to say the least. I was now stuck with having to knock on the hotel door, wake my dad and Bree up and have them take me to the race. As I walked to the door a couple of gals yelled, "Sir. want a ride?" I quickly agreed and as I walked toward them realized, they just called me Sir! I'm not sure how I feel about that, made me feel old.

Anyway I got to the start line on time, and felt really good. I wasn't hurting or worried about the race. I had been training and knew even if I didn't get my time I would be able to finish no prob. So the race started and one thing I like to do if there is a timed start that records when I cross the line, is to start off the start line. I don't like being up front with everyone because then I feel too much pressure. The race started and I was off.

I was running in my New Balance Minimus shoes. Which if I can suggest a pair of minimalist or flat shoes, I would definitely recommend these shoes. I've done two half's in them, Ragnar and a few 5K's in them. They are great for how I like to run and provide just a little bit more protection than the Vibrams, because rocks hurt in Vibrams.

Finishing!

Anyway,

Throughout the first 8 or 9 miles I felt great averaging a very fast pace for me. As I hit mile 10 my calf was feeling like it was going to cramp on me so I slowed a little and actually stopped to take in a little extra water. I think I took in too much and the next two miles were a bit slower than I wanted. I had to pick up the pace a little on the last mile but by then I was already playing mental games with myself and was frustrated with how I was running.

Then I crossed the finish line and as I came close I could see they let Bree stand in the path and wait for me to cross. They asked her if she wanted to run the last little bit with me but she was too shy to do it, so she just waited. It's nice to have people at the end waiting for you, it makes it all worth it and the high you get is what makes you come back for more.

And there it is, another half marathon down. I'm glad I did it and this was the first one that I didn't hurt afterwards. My muscles were a little tight but overall I felt great, and that to me is a huge victory. I like being able to run and not hurt. Now I'm not sure which race will be next but there will be a next and when I do run, you can be sure you'll hear about it.

Pictures

2011-08-29T10:40:00.001-06:00

Because I am a slacker when it comes to this I will make this brief. We had family pictures a while back. The kids all cooperated for the most part. They turned out really nice. We had them taken at Wheeler Farm and it was really hot. But I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Running Again

2011-07-18T15:54:00.001-06:00

I think I may have a problem. This post will be mostly about some running I have done over the last few months. So to begin I should talk about the first run since the last one…

Clinton City, well the youth council for Clinton City hosted a 5K, 10K, and half marathon. I thought it would be fun to support the city I worked for and give it a shot. I helped plan road blocks so I knew the route very well. I signed up for the half marathon. I understand that the 5K and 10K had a lot of people come out to them. Once the race started I was feeling good but I was not trying to break any records, I was just there for the run. As we made it to the first intersection the leader of the pack made a left turn instead of going strait. I knew this was wrong but by the time I was at the intersection there were 10 or so people ahead of me. Needless to say we ran the entire thing backwards. It’s all good because it’s the same distance, but it was a little harder at the end going up a hill instead of down, owell. I finished that race in 6th place overall and 2nd in my age group. I was pretty happy about that since I wasn’t running extremely hard. There were only about 39 or so that ran the half anyway. But here is picture proof of that one.

The next thing I did was the Ragnar relay once again. This makes it my 4th Ragnar in the last year. Yes I think I have a problem. Maybe even a slight addiction. We just got done doing it and are already signed up for next year. Anyway, this year since I knew which legs were more difficult I thought I would select an easier one. This year I didn’t have hills to combat, but I did have the distances. I think my overall total mileage was around 22. They were fairly casual runs, aside from the distances.

I was runner number 1 and we were part of the very first runners to leave at 5 in the morning. That is way too early for me. So away we went, well me and about 80 others. I was mid pack or so because with 2 runs following this one I had to pace myself. Also being mid pack allowed me to just run and not have to focus on what turns needed to be made, the rest of the pack would lead me right? I should have learned my lesson from the story above but I didn’t and the leaders of the pack ran up some stupid his a half mile until they realized it was wrong and back down the hill a half mile we went. I was a little irritated but I could have been better prepared too. So that was no big deal what’s an extra mile right?

This is my first leg attire.

The 2nd run went off without a hitch. I ran from Snow Basin down the hill. It was a really good run and I felt good the whole 8 miles.

Once that was over it was time to try and get some rest. I was able to sleep for a little over two hours. This was a huge improvement from the other Ragnar relays I’ve done. I think it’s because I’ve learned the tricks on sleeping. So we rested at a destination not near our next exchange point so we had to wake up early and get ready for runner 12 to hand off to me at the Oakley Rodeo grounds. We saw all the cars and runners headed to where we thought was the final exchange for me but in fact we were one exchange too early. I was dropped off and stood at 3 a.m. in 40 degree weather waiting for the next guy to come in. After an hour of waiting and no one coming I borrowed a phone from a girl and my van was on their way back to get me. The road was closed so they had to get a police escort to come and get me. We were only delayed an hour and 40 mins. I was exhausted, tired, cold and ready to be done. So my last 6 mile run I ran as hard as I had energy for and ran a 7 minute mile. I got it over with.

So after a long 33 hours we finished. We didn’t set any records or place but it was a good time. So good we are doing it again. So yes I think I have an addiction to the Ragnar Relays, they are a good time.

Team One Mile at a Time

Oh yeah and we did it with only 11 runners instead of 12.

I think that is enough for one day, I will post about Lagoon, The Princess Festival, Swimming and two other races I’ve done in the last month in a day or two. There is only so much running we can stand to hear about. So here’s the Lagoon preview.

Late again

2011-07-09T08:42:00.005-06:00

I understand I am behind on posting anything new lately. I would say I have been really busy, and I have not had the time. Truth is I'm just not as busy as I try and convince myself I am. I am going to, hopefully, post a few different things over the next couple days to catch up.

First I think I should start by posting what should have been done a month ago. May 30th we celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. Yep nine years! Hard to believe it's been that long. We didn't do anything overly elaborate for the anniversary but we did stay at a nice hotel for the night in Sandy. We went to dinner and a movie and it was nice to just have some time to ourselves since that is hard to come by these days.

So nine years have come and gone and we are still enjoying each other. Here's to the next nine and hoping they are as good as the last.

Not a picture of just the two of out on the town, but a picture with the two of us in it none the less. My upcoming posts will cover this picture when they are up.

Easter-ish

2011-05-10T17:14:00.002-06:00

It would appear that we are quite the slackers when it comes to posting updates. It’s a good thing they're worth the wait. Easter came and went. The kids had a great time with all the egg coloring and egg hunting. I missed the memo somewhere that said Easter is now like Christmas and kids are supposed to get all sorts of presents. I guess ours will just have to suffer without and one day they might read this and realize we are so mean (or poor). Anyway it was a good time. I guess it usually is when you can spend time with family and have a good time. Like years past we had our friends Ben and Jess come over with their kids to color eggs. Out of 24 or so eggs colored we had mostly pink a few purple and one blue. Poor Jax is outnumbered 6 to 1 when they come over.

We also found out over the last few months that Teryn is allergic to penicillin. How’s that for awesome. I guess the only way you can find that out is to have a reaction to it. She had an ear infection and so she was taking amoxicillin and broke out in a rash, then her face became swollen. It was pretty scary for a few days but the Doctors just treated it like it was no big deal. Eventually it passed and wasn’t a big deal.

Bree, Addi and Jax have been good, nothing new to report with them.

I(Bryan) ran another Ragnar Relay race in April. This time we traveled to So Cal. It ran from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island. It was scenic in some parts and not so much in other parts. The leg I ran was pretty difficult and it covered 25.5 miles in all. I was pretty tired by the end of it. Good part about my legs were they were the most scenic. It was also pretty hot, and for Utah this year that was something we have seen very little of. Our team placed 68th out of 470 something and we took 1st in the public service division. Overall it was a good time and definitely a neat experience. I’ll post some pictures and hopefully a short video of my view.

Huntington Beach, starting line.

The Orange Ragnar Van.The Big Bay, San Diego

Team Pig Envy, Coronado Island

One of my favorite pictures, even though I’m not smiling pretty. Padres Stadium(Petco).

Time

2011-03-21T13:28:00.001-06:00

It appears that a lot of time has passed once again and we have not updated a thing on here. I will also mentioned that not a thing has happened over that time. Well except a bunch of sick kids all the time. This post may seem a little negative and complaining, so consider yourself warned.

Sundee did have a birthday in February so that was a little excitement. But really what can you do in the winter, with four kids that are all sick, especially when you want to enjoy your birthday. Well I decided to get Sundee a new pair of shoes for her birthday. I was nervous that I would get “the look” that tells me I screwed up big time. Fortunately for me, I didn’t get that. Yes, I know I am pretty awesome.

So here is a picture of what the shoes look like. She has joined the revolution….

Addi and Teryn also got conjunctivitis. Yes this is as bad as it reads. I suspect it came from church and the nasty toys and kids that show up sick. I don’t want to go on a rant and tell people they should leave their kids (and themselves) home if they are sick. Don’t bring them to church and get my family sick because you need two hours without them each week. I understand needing a little adult conversation with friends and no kids, but at my expense? I think not. C’mon People!! Anyway I’ll get off my soapbox now and just keep skipping church until it’s warmer and my kids won’t come home with all sorts of nastiness. Here is a picture of how Addi feels, it’s not the greatest but you get the idea.

The last few months have been good despite all the coughs, pukes and poops. Teryn is walking and mobile and into everything. All the kids are getting bigger and time passes so fast. It’s only a matter of time before I can put them to work and have them bring some income into this poor little family . On a good note, Addi is potty trained! Only two in diapers instead of three makes a big difference in the wallet. We were pretty excited she decided she needed to be done with diapers.

Speaking of diapers, one last thought. When you have so many kids, and so many diapers being changed each day, the task of going out to the curb with each diaper to put in the can becomes, well tedious. So to make life easier we put a few in a sack and place it outside the door until we can get them to the can. Well a neighborhood dog has decided that it likes to get into the poopy diapers, and drag them onto my lawn, and a couple neighbor lawns. If you think that is disgusting then you would be right. Not only is it disgusting that I have to pick it up the dog owners still refuse to lock their dog up. So this occurs quite often. The only time that dog is in it’s house is when it’s time for the family to go to bed. Now I don’t wish ill will on anyone, not even my enemies, but I will say that I do hope all those Doggy kisses at night are worth it!!

WOW

2011-01-10T09:56:00.007-07:00

Wow it has been a long time. I just noticed this blog is way out dated. For the 3 or 4 of you that actually stop by here from time to time I apologize. By way of big news... well we have none. Things have been pretty hectic in our home the last few months. December was great. The kids were spoiled big time. They got a lot of toys and new clothes. I think we are good with toys for quite some time now. They all loved Santa Clause. None of them were scared, in fact they probably pestered him enough he was done with them. They got to see him a couple times at different parties so they enjoyed that.

Bree and Addi had their first dance recital. They did great and really love going to dance. They are in different classes so they had to wear different costumes that they loved. The one thing I can say about dance and the classes and recitals, pricey.

Teryn is still being a crawling baby. She won't walk but I really think she could, she just doesn't want to yet. She is still the calmest most relaxed kid we have. She's great! Jax is starting to talk more and more. It's neat to listen to him try and communicate with us. He is the happiest kid around, and still growing a ton.

So here we are in 2011. We hope this year will be as fun filled and adventurous as the last year. Well adventurous as you can get with 4 little ones.:) By our standards 2010 was a fun year, we hope to re-live it this year.

The only news for the last year... We made it 12 whole months without having a new baby, let's hope for 12 more:) That means, no more formula and no feedings every 2-3 hours. But we still have 3 in diapers. psh, owell.

Well here are a few pictures of what we did in December.

November

2010-11-27T10:36:00.011-07:00

November has come and almost gone before we had a chance to really notice. This has been an emotional month here at this house. We also celebrated 2 more birthdays! Addi turned 3 and Teryn finally turned 1. Now we have a 4, 3, 2 and 1 year old in our family. I know it's crazy to think about. We enjoyed having our little girls have a birthdays this year. So while it has been a month of crazy ups and downs and has seemed like the longest November in my life, I think it's safe to say we are glad it's gone. Time to start work again and move on.

What an exciting time of year with Christmas just around the corner. I really enjoy this time of year like most people. I am not a fan of all the Christmas shopping yahoo's so I hate to go to any type of shopping place, be it grocery or any other. People act all crazy like and then look at me like my slow pace at the store is SO inconvenient. Let's take some time, slow down from all the ridiculous shopping and enjoy what's around us.

We also plan on going to see the lights up at temple square this year. It has been a number of years since we have actually made it down there. So many little kids make for staying warm a bit of a task. But now that we are getting older it won't be as difficult. Bree and Addi love to see holiday decorations. They don't care what time of year it is, so they will be very excited to see all the lights there.

So here's to December 2010 hoping it goes well and we enjoy it as we enjoy every other December. I guess Black Friday did bring one good thing this year...Yep NBA Jam for the Wii. Sundee braved the crowds and scored this little gem. :)

Spiders

2010-11-12T13:45:00.003-07:00

This is what we saw along our way running in Vegas.

Halloween Again

2010-11-01T10:43:00.009-06:00

It was Halloween again. We dressed up again. We had fun again. I really like this time of year, although not my favorite I still enjoy when Halloween comes around. I get to dress my kids up what I want them to be, for now anyway, and they look cute. We get to have the, my kids are cuter than your kids conversations. Then there is the candy, trick or treating and pumpkins.

This year we didn't do a whole lot of pumpkin carving or decorating. We spent a little more time enjoying friends and family. We also have 4 birthdays within a months time to try and celebrate. We now have 4, 3, 2 and soon to be 1 year old running the house and it has taken up a lot of time to have parties and make sure each one has their day. For Bree and Addi we gave them a "friends" party, which consisted of cousins and a couple friends. We all went to Boondocks and it was a good time.

Bree is obsessed with birthday cards, she loves to get them and have them read to her. She would almost rather get a card than anything else. Addi doesn't care as long as she gets something to feel involved. Jax loves cars. Any type; big, small, noisy, truck or car. To him as long as he can push the thing around he is having a good time. So he got a lot of cars for his birthday. Teryn is still about to have her birthday so we'll see how she does with the cake.

We were able to attend an adult only party again this year. Sadly we didn't take home the #1 prize but I still think our costumes were absolutely wonderful. It was a good time anyway.

So here's to another Halloween and 4 birthdays. Hope yours was as entertaining as ours and you had too much candy like our kids.

Kitty and Red Riding hood
Red Riding Hood and the Lil' Devil
Captain AmericaDJ Lance Rock and Jack Black Rock

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-10-25T12:33:00.010-06:00

I understand it has been a while since my last post, it's been busy. I know it hasn't been that long since my last run post but here comes another one anyway.

October 22nd and 23rd, 11 people and I decide to head off to Las Vegas, Nevada to run. Yep that's right I went to Vegas, avoided the gambling, strip clubs and all the other things it is famous for. We tackled yet another Ragnar Relay. The team, Pig Envy was made up of most the same group we had when we did the Wasatch Back relay. We headed out on Thursday afternoon, got stuck in Provo traffic for over an hour and finally made it to Mesquite by 9:00 p.m. Nevada time. Just enough time to eat and go to bed. Sleep is a priceless commodity when doing one of these races. We had to be to the Valley of Fire by 7:15 a.m. Friday morning to check in because the race started at 8:15 a.m.

So there I am at the starting line. This was not near as crowded as the Wasatch Back but it was still pretty busy. I was not the first runner, I was #4. Being #4 on the team my first run was around noon on Friday. We thought the race wouldn't be as bad as running in the back hills of northern Utah but boy were we wrong. The first 7 or so legs of the race were pretty difficult. There were a lot of rolling hills and ups and downs. We ran to the marina at Lake Mead where we passed off to our 2nd van. Then it was time to get a little rest.

This is where I passed off to #5.

We had a few brief hours to catch our breathe and it was back to running. Our second runs were in the evening, so it was dark. But the second leg was much easier than the first. I was unable to get any real good photos because it was dark so you'll have to just take my word for it.

After leg 2 we headed off once again to another exchange checkpoint and waited for the other van to get there. We had about 4 and a half hours to settle in sleep then get up and get ready to run again. I crammed my tired but in the third row of a minvan and attmepted to get some rest. After tossing and turning for an hour or so my body was just so exhausted it fell asleep. I think for a total of 1.5 to 2 hours is all I got. Then it was time to get back at it.

My third leg started out really well. Having already run almost 10 miles I was feeling good. I started out easy enough but at the two mile mark my run went from pavement to unpaved roadway. Just look at the shoes I had on and you will see this was no easy task. I went from a 8 minute mile to 8:30 because I had to keep an eye on the rocks that were getting the better of me. This run was also in the dark at about 4:00 a.m. so seeing wasn't very easy. But after 7 total miles I finished and boy was I ever happy to be done.

Once our van finished we headed to the Red Rock Casino in west Vegas. I must say this casino was amazing. I had never been there but I was very impressed by it. The finish line was around the back of the casino by the pools. I had my parents arrive to pick me up so they were also there to take the finishing photos for us.

So there it is, we defeated Ragnar Relay Las Vegas. Oh and times and places? We can in at 29 hours 1 minute. We were 38th place out of 258 and we were 3 overall in public safety co-ed.

One of the best parts of running this? The medal of course. If you were man enough to do both Wasatch Back and Las Vegas you got the coolest medal of all...

Saints and Sinners!!!

Emylie

2010-09-20T10:05:00.001-06:00

So Much

2010-09-08T11:04:00.008-06:00

There has been a bit going on lately, but I'll try and hit the main points. It's busy this time of year for us because Sundee goes back to school. That means I'm left watching the kids for long hours during the day. Scary I know. She is teaching the 5th grade this year. I think it will be the first year she has students taller than her. :)

Last month, August, I ran the Top of Utah half marathon. If you look back on our blog I did this same one a year ago. It was my first one at that point and I did pretty good I thought. Well this year I destroyed my previous years time by about 10 minutes. This year I came in a 1 hr. 43 mins. and 40 seconds. Not only did I run it faster than last year it was a personal best for me. I also ran it in new shoes that I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to finish in. I ran it in my Vibram Five Finger shoes. It was a good experience for me.

Then after all that we have been battling Addi's ear infections for the last 4 or 5 months. We took her into the Dr. and he said it was time for a 2nd round of tubes. She had tubes when she was 6 months but they have since fallen out. So it was time to replace. When we had our consult we were told she needed her Adenoids out too. This means it would be a lengthy process and a little more painful. September 7th was the big day. I took her in bright and early and they performed the surgery. Once we were finished she was snotty sounding but overall seemed to be okay. I just kept her doped up on Tylenol. She was mopey and didn't say much. Her throat was a little sore so she wouldn't swallow which meant she spit and drooled a lot! I thought we were going to be in for a long couple days, but to my surprise the next day she was her normal self. She wasn't mopey, didn't complain of pain and was running screaming like her and Bree do. For those keeping a tally on her, Addi has had 4 surgery's in her short little life. Not too shabby.
I almost forgot to mention. Bree started pre-school and will be back in dance class too. She loves it! She is at the same school she was at last year and I think she was so excited she couldn't sleep. Thus making it a long afternoon before school. We are also glad she is back, now she won't be so bored around the house for the next few months. And Teryn has learned to crawl. Now I have to pay attention to where she is going. I figure if she rolls down the stairs once she will learn right?

And Jax, well he just keeps getting bigger. Not much to report on the beast. He is a happy go lucky monster that gets into, climbs on and jumps off everything. 3 girls have been less work than one tiny monster. But we love him for it. Can't wait for him to be old enough to play football!

So there it is. The month recap. Not too exciting since the last time but hey it's not where we go but who we are that make us exciting.

Give Me 5!!

2010-08-23T09:18:00.005-06:00

Have you ever noticed that anytime there is a toddler around someone will ask them to give them five? I would say if the child is just walking to about the age of 3 or 4 everyones first reaction when they come around is to stick there hand out and hope the kid knows what is going on. I find it funny and I'm just as guilty. I noticed the other day at church when a little guy was making his way around the gym. Everyone he went up to stuck their hand out. Then I started to observe the other little kids and it was the same response. Makes me wonder why we do that.

Have you ever wondered how people react when 6 kids between the ages of 1 and 5 walk in a room? Then they run around and start to act crazy? I will tell you, they look at you like you are nuts and then I'm sure they find the nearest someone and mention how these people must be crazy. Well this was the case for us a week ago. Sundee and I took Bree, Addi and Jax and headed off to St. George. We met up with Ben and Jessica and their 3 little ones.

We decided to terrorize the south end of the state for a few days. We had a really good time. We went swimming everyday and the kids loved that. We had a breakthrough with Bree and Addi in the water. They were finally brave enough to swim on their own. With floaters of course, but no holding on to mom and dad. Jax is just fearless with the water so we have to constantly watch him. He tries to jump in all the time and he doesn't care if you are there or not. He will have a lot of fun swimming when he figures out how to swim and hold his breath.

Ben and I were able to get in some golf down there too. Golfing in St. George is always fun, even if you play like we do. All I have to say is if you if you buy a house on a golf course... expect it!!!

Ben and Jess have 3 girls so all the girls slept out in the living room together and it was like a giant sleep over. Poor Jax was out numbered, by a lot. But he'll like that as he gets older. ;)~

The trip was a great way to end the summer before the business of school started and there isn't as much time. It went pretty well and it may just become an end of summer tradition for us if we can help it. I did take our camera but rarely took it out for photos. Jess took a lot so if I can get some from her I will post them. We also didn't take Teryn so she stayed home. Thanks to Jona and Gloria for spoiling her for a few days!

24th

2010-07-28T10:12:00.007-06:00

Over the 24th we decided to do something we have not done. We took 3 of the 4 kids camping. While this doesn't sound like it would be too big a deal, for us it was. We had to leave Teryn at home because we felt keeping an eye on 3 would be enough work. Anyway, we headed up to Fish Lake on Friday the 23rd. Before getting there we stopped at the Wayman's to chat for a bit. It was nice seeing them again it's been a long time.

Once up there we decided to just let the kids roam free for the most part. Jax was in heaven. He could walk around, get dirty and do what ever he wanted. I think he was confused at first that no one was yelling at him to get inside or put anything down. Bree and Addi had a blast. They were playing in the dirt, going for rides on the 4-wheelers and eating junk all day long. On day 2 we went to Johnson's Reservoir to kayak and sit at the waterside. As I was finishing a ride with Bree and going to get Addi, she fell on the rocks and cut her eye-brow open. It was a pretty good cut but we bandaged it up and she was ok. So needless to say she didn't get to kayak.

Even at night the kids did really good. I was worried Jax would be an issue sleeping but he wasn't. I think they wore themselves out so much they just zonked right out. On the day we were to head home Jax had a temper tantrum because he wanted on the 4-wheeler and there were already people sitting on it so he was ticked. Other than that I'd say it was a pretty successful camping trip. And of course we were in a trailer not a tent, that made life easier too.

So here are just a few pics of the trip...

The Forth on a Sunday

2010-07-08T10:54:00.008-06:00

This year the 4th of July fell on a Sunday. So that means no parades or big firework shows on Sunday. Which this year actually turned out okay. Saturday we went to the Riverdale parade with Ben and Jess. Before it started we all ran the Riverdale 5K. I was happy with running it because my time was a personal record of 22 minutes and 50 seconds. It was a nice run that was part on a trail, and I really enjoy running on trails. The parade was actually really nice, it wasn't too long and not too short. The kids got a lot of candy so that made them happy. Afterwards we walked over to the park where the carnival was and it was said they had free games for kids under age 11. We couldn't locate them so we let the kids just play in the splash pad and get all wet. We didn't have swim suits so they had to just go in their clothes. Addi of course does not like her clothes wet so she stripped down.

There were plenty of fireworks around town but I had to work and the kids were too pooped to go anywhere so we had to pass. Then Sunday we woke up and made our way to Richfield, UT. We usually try and make a trip down there in July. This year I thought I would run the 5K Richfield put on. I beat my time from two days before and ran it in 22 minutes 10 secs. Y0u wouldn't know it but Richfield is a pretty competitive city for running. The top runner was in at just over 16 minutes and the kids 1 mile fun run was completed in 5:55.

After the race (which I did alone with no one waiting at the end) was the parade. Our niece Hailey is a Cheerleader at the high school and they had a float. They allowed kids 4 and up to be on the float, get a T-shirt and have pom poms for a small fee. Bree is not 4 but close enough so we signed her up. She didn't get to collect candy at the parade but she had a blast sitting on the float waiving at everyone and shaking the pom poms.

That night we ended it with a Firework show that is quite impressive really. Richfield puts on an entertaining firework show. We took the kids this time and they all did good, except Jax. That kid has a GO button and no STOP. He wouldn't sit still and would get mad if you made him. It was so late putting him to bed that he cried himself silly and was in hysterics until late. He finally fell asleep due to physical exhaustion and not because he wanted to.

But all in all it was a good weekend. Fun 4th of July festivities and good times. We have one more weekend with Clinton City Heritage days then we will be about done with the parade/firework fun. So enjoy the photos. And on a side note, can you believe we had this much fun and didn't even see Eclipse? overrated!

Ragnar, Wasatch Back

2010-06-29T22:01:00.013-06:00

In one of my last posts I mentioned that I would be running in the Wasatch Back, Ragnar Relay. Well it was true, I did it! I was runner #9 out of 12 on out team. We named ourselves "Pig Evny" because we were made up of mostly police officers. For those that don't know what it is you can check ragnarrelay.com to become more informed. Basically we ran from Logan to Park City non stop. It was 188 miles long and took 30 hours 12 minutes to complete. Yes non stop running for 12 people, each one of us ran 3 legs. What this translates to is very little sleep and a lot of my stupid jokes that people laugh at because they are either to tired or afraid to tell me to shut up.

The night before it all started I was pretty nervous. Me with little sleep is a bad combination. Add running to the mix and it is a recipe for disaster. I had a list of things to pack and I probably checked my bags 40 times just to make sure I didn't forget anything. Last thing I wanted to do was end of forgetting my shoes or a change of clothes or panties. I did manage to get everything and didn't forget anything important. So off we headed on Friday morning not to return until Saturday afternoon.

While we ran there were very interesting people. Some people dressed in costumes, some wore almost nothing and others (us) were just normal. Some of the runs are very challenging, some are simple but they are all surrounded by great scenery. My longest leg was 9.65 miles and I ran around the back side of Echo Reservoir, it was very peaceful and cool to do at 1200 A.M. My hardest leg was running up the beloved Ragnar hill. This hill was something to behold, for those of you that run and think you are good at it, I challenge you to run up this hill and have a smile on your face while you do it. It sucks!! But now I can say I did it, and there are others out there that can't.

So there you have it, 30 hours of running, trying to sleep on a gym floor with people snoring and tooting and the port o potty your best friend. Who wouldn't want to subject themselves to such a wonderful thing. We got cool medals, a t-shirt and a vehicle sticker (that made it to my car window within hours of finishing). So will I ever do it again...? Probably, as long as I'm not in charge (Well I did design the team shirt and would do that again. It is the picture at the top of the page). In fact we have signed up to run the Vegas Ragnar relay in October! We are after the coveted medal that reads, "Saints and Sinners." Who wouldn't want that to add to their trophies? I think we're crazy!

Team Pig Envy

Run #1

Run #3, The Hill!

A Late Update

2010-06-14T08:02:00.007-06:00

This post should have been up here a few weeks ago but I was lazy getting around to it. That means I am going to cram in a busy 3 weeks into one single post. So here it goes...

First thing is first. May 30th Sundee and I had an anniversary. Yep that's right we just completed 8 years married. Seems like a long time, and it is but it has also gone by really fast. Who woulda thunk that after dating for only a short time we would last so long, we are awesome! Having 4 little ones that many people don't line up at our door to take over night makes a long get away hard. So we decided to keep it simple this year and took a ride to Wendover. We left early enough we could gamble a little, eat then have a good time ;). We didn't win any money really but it was fun anyway. We did see a man win $10,000 playing video Keno. Jerk! Anyway here's to 8 years of never arguing, fighting or disagreeing, lets hope we have 8 more of the same!

Second item of business and the rest of I guess is all about Teryn. On the 7th of June we took her to court and had the adoption finalized. That means she is legally ours and can now have a birth certificate that reflects that. She can now legally call herself a Haywood! How 'bout that? The judge was a pretty nice guy, each one of our kids has had a different one that the other. I'd probably rank him tied for second on likability. So once court was done it was time to take Teryn to the temple and have her blessed.

We were able to take Teryn to the temple the following week and it was really neat. It always is. This time we took Bree in with us so she could watch everything. She thought the inside of the temple was the coolest thing she had ever seen. She kept looking around and ooohing and aahing at everything. Teryn was good and didn't cry a bit. She just looked around and smiled. Afterwards we met up with the other two kids and walked outside the grounds for a minute then attempted to go eat ice cream at the Gateway. I say attmepted because Jax did not want to stay put and was being a pain in the neck, so we had to leave a little early. But this day was a good experience anyway.

After the Temple we then were able to bless Teryn in sacrament meeting this last Sunday. That went pretty much as expected. I took her up there, the young man didn't turn on the mic so I had to yell, and then I waited the rest of the meeting in the hallway chasing Jax. Other than the blessing it was a normal Sunday. We had a lot (well by our standards) of people show up to support us. It was nice to see everyone. We decided to have a lunch at the park near our house and the weather cleared up perfectly for the occasion. It was a little chilly but as long as you stayed in the sun it was fine. The kids, mine and the others, had a good time at the playground. But I would have to say the most exciting thing of all was rushing Teryn to the ER.

Teryn was in her car seat on top of the picnic table. She was asleep at one point but decided to wake up. Then she thought it would be a good idea to roll out of the seat. Yep that's right, she rolled out of the seat and head first onto the cement. I didn't see it I just saw her being scooped up from the ground and held. When I went to see her she had a nasty bump above her right eye. Everyone was panicking so I grabbed her and took her away. I told Sundee to load up and let's go. We went up to McKay Dee to have her checked out. Good thing there weren't any cops along the way because I was hustling. Once there we went into the ER to have her seen, we beat the rush thank goodness. The Doc looked at her and ordered a CT scan of her little noggin. That was a very interesting thing since I have never before seen that. Good news is that all scans came back normal, no problems and we were soon released. She was given another blessing and home we went. What a lucky little girl huh? Two blessings in one day.

So there you have it folks, a very long post about the last 14 days. I may break up the post into two or three later on but for now, thanks for reading. And remember, don't let your kids jump onto the concrete head first, it hurts!

1 Year Down

2010-05-28T08:44:00.004-06:00

Last September Bree was lucky enough to start preschool at the age of 2 years and 11 months. They were nice enough to let her get in a little early. She will have 2 more years of preschool before she actually gets into kindergarten so she will be good and ready by the time that comes around.

It has been a fun year for her to go to school and learn a lot of new things. She has loved preschool, all the kids and teacher Vicki. I'm sure she is going to miss not going twice a week but with summer here hopefully we can keep her entertained and busy. So here are a few pictures of her fun little graduation from the other day.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T16:52:00.003-06:00

This is a day late but it's okay, in Mexico today is Mother's Day. I just wanted to tell all the mom's in our lives Happy Mothers Day. To mine, and Sundee's. Not to mention two birth mom's that helped make this crazy family so crazy.

And last but definitely not least to Sundee. We love you and hope you had a great Mother's Day. What better way to spend it yesterday than with 4 kids that had the sniffles. It was still fun no matter what. To think 3 and a half years ago you dreamed of being a mom, now you got your hands full. Sundee is a wonderful mom. Thank you. breeeeeeeeeeeeeee <--- Bree did that.

Salt Lake City 1/2

2010-04-19T09:10:00.007-06:00

Well I did it again, I ran the Salt Lake City half marathon. 13.1 miles to be exact. This was a lot of fun. There were soooo many people it was crazy. I ran this with my cousin Wayne. It was his first half and I think he really enjoyed it too.

I just cannot believe how many people were at this thing. We got there early to ride Tracks up to the U of U. We thought we would get on a station ahead of where they told us to and beat the crowds, haha. There were so many people even the train ride was packed. Once up to the top I had to use the bathroom. Well there was a line a mile long for that. So Wayne and I had to listen to the race begin from the bathroom line. But it's okay because by the time we finished up, stretched and head to the start line there were still a bunch of people just starting out. I had to bob and weave out of so many people. It made me feel good like I was running really fast and kickin butt. When in reality I was going at a normal pace and there were just people at different paces.

The only bad part about the race was that my Nike Plus pedometer didn't work for some reason. I am blaming it on the sensors at the start line for messing it up. My Nike Plus is pretty accurate and gives me a good idea of where I am at. Since this half didn't have every mile marked it would have been nice to know where I was. The only thing I had to go off was the timer that worked on the Nike. When all said and done, the mileage read 3.06 miles and a pace of around 34 minutes a mile. I must've been crawling. But it's okay at least the timer that the race gave me worked.

I ran this one at a personal best by 1 minute and a half. I came in at 1 hour 48 minutes and 6 seconds. I was glad to beat my previous time but I am still trying to reach that 1:45 mark. I'll get there.

So there you have it, my third half in a year and still feeling great! I will be running the Ragnar, Wasatch Back relay in June. For those of you that don't know much about it go to ragnarrelay.com. Then after that who knows which one will come next. My goal is to run 4 half marathons in a calendar year, I am 3 short right now. So until next time.

Photo courtesy of KSL

After the run, Wayne was starting to get cramped up.

Almost There

2010-03-18T10:40:00.008-06:00

I cannot believe it has been 4 months since Teryn was born! It seems like it was yesterday and so long ago all at the same time. I say almost there because in 2 months we will finalize the adoption with her. For those that don't know much about the adoption process you have to wait 6 months from the day you get the baby in your home to finalize with the state. She is officially 4 months today so hopefully mid May we will be closing the deal.

She has been a great baby so far. She has been the easiest of the 4. Either that or we are just numb to all the little kids and can't tell the difference between naughty and nice. But she really has been great. No medical complications, no major illnesses, and started sleeping through the night at about 6 weeks, and has ever since. I think she will definitely be the peace keeper amongst all the kids and believe me we need one. For those of you considering 4 kids under the age of 3, be careful in that decision. Though I wouldn't change things around here if I could.

So thanks Teryn for joining this crazy, young, not so little family!

A Long Wait

2010-02-18T10:28:00.010-07:00

This has been our world as of late. Upside down and a little crazy. The last 3 weeks or so we have been battling being sick. I think everyone in the state is sick right now and we just happen to fall victim as well. Four kids sick all at once is no easy task. It's hard to hold all of them and pamper each one at the same time like they want. The only good thing about them all sick at the same time is that it's all over at the same time. When Teryn got it we were a little nervous since she is so young and with RSV going around and all that it had us on high alert. But no RSV thank goodness.

Aside from that Sundee turned 31. WoW, she made it a year into the thirties. She had a pretty good birthday I think, well at least she'll tell you that. She told me the other day she doesn't feel 31, but I think there are days we both feel like we are about 60.

We just haven't been able to get out and do much right now so our lives aren't really exciting. It's hard to run around with sick kids in the awful freezing cold weather. So when our great adventures start up again and we are out on the town I will have better and more enjoyable things to talk about. For now, we are not sick anymore and that is wonderful.

And what a post be without updated pictures anyway...

Why Three Year Olds Need a Nap!

2010-01-19T10:10:00.005-07:00

At what age do kids not need naps? I would say at 3 they are still in need of a good nap. I will make what I believe to be a good case for that. It all happened last Sunday. The day started out as normal as to be expected. I had to work so I wasn’t around for most of the day. All the kids wake up around 7:30 am to 8 am. Not too bad on most days. And on most days the kids take a nap around noon or 1:00 pm. This varies in length anywhere from 1 hour to 2.5 hours. Again this isn’t bad at all.
Then there are days like Sunday, when Bree decides she will sit in her room and play or do whatever she does for two hours. This means no nap. Well I got home from work and was informed of the lack of nap, but at this point it was too late we had to be on our way to dinner with the Sundee’s family. So off we go, and of course Bree doesn’t catch a cat nap on the way.
Once we got there things were pretty good. The kids ate okay and then started to play. When Bree has other kids to play with she isn’t so naughty. She wanted a Banana so grandma gets her one but started to peel it for her. This is when it all started going down hill. I put her in time out for acting like a crazy kid on crack because she didn't get to peel the banana and she finally calmed down. We went back downstairs to resume our evening, and all was going well. At least we thought it was.
Things were really quiet, the adults were talking and all the kids we assumed were downstairs playing nicely. That is until Sundee decided to check upstairs. Next thing I hear is for me to get up there, NOW! Well that’s not good. So as I run up I see the Bree and Addi are covered in nail polish and I mean covered. Legs, arms, stomach, faces, neck, hands and feet. My initial reaction is to laugh. But I had to put on the mean Dad face. As I get up there Sundee tells me that it’s all over the carpet too. Ah man! Not on the carpet. She wasn’t kidding either it was on the carpet like they were trying to splatter paint the place. Now my mean Dad face went to fear that we would be banned from the house forever. I let Sundee analyze the carpet issue while I tried to clean the girls a little, yeah that was impossible. So we loaded up and home we went.
Now once we were home we had to get this off of them. So I thought, nail polish remover would do the trick. It did but who would’ve known that little kids skin is so sensitive to it. I think I gave the girls an acid bath from hell trying to clean it off them. After 15 minutes of crying I decided it wasn’t worth it and they could just go to bed and we would deal with it over the next couple days. As Bree got in bed she must have had a headache from the fumes because she said, “Dad my head hurts” I asked why and she said, “Because my brain isn’t hooked on and it’s floating.” My bad.
So there it is my girls can destroy a carpet, clothes and a good time in a matter of minutes. Why because one of them didn’t have a nap. I draw this conclusion because they hid behind the couch to pull this stunt, had Bree been rested and not cranky so would have been downstairs with the other kids playing and not upstairs pouting where she found the nail polish. So there it is in a nutshell, the pictures hardly do justice. I didn’t have time to take very many since everyone was up in arms about the carpet I had to sneak these two.

Please read the post below so you see my kids do have a good side too.

Ready Aim Shoot

2010-01-19T09:45:00.007-07:00

Every year at this time we venture out with all the kids to do what seems to have become a tradition. Usually it is planned out and some thought goes into it. This year it was not like that. I am talking about a photo shoot with the kids. We have taken all of them when they are between six weeks and two months old to have their pictures taken. They change so fast over such a short amount of time we want to try and capture that.
This outing is usually quite… entertaining to say the least. Our patience is tried and our entertaining methods sharpen. Most of the time one or all of the kids cry and throw fits. So on this particular day we expected the same. We woke up one Wednesday and Sundee said, “lets go get the kids pictures done today.” I knew we had to get good photos of Teryn before she got too old so I really didn’t complain. So off we went.
We decided since it was close and easy we would go to Sears. Well and because Kiddie Kandid shut down, although we have never gone there and probably wouldn’t anyway. We got there and there was one gal working and no one waiting so we got right in. Bree was pretty excited to have her pictures taken so we thought she would do really well and she did.
The girl that helped us and took the pictures was awesome! The girls loved her and she played and kept them in a good mood. Bree and Addi were having a good time being told how to pose and smile. They did great! The girl would put them in a position and they wouldn’t move until they were told to. Then it was Jaxs turn. He was a little unsure about things so I had to walk him up and put him in position. Once there the girl would play and joke with him and actually got him to smile and take good pictures. I’m telling you we were on a roll. Of course Teryn didn’t make a peep and could care less what was going on.
The grand finale was all 4 together. We thought this would be impossible but luck was with us that day and they all did great. I’m glad it all worked out and we had good pictures taken of them. Maybe we need to stop planning things and just do them. Seems we get better cooperation that way. Well enough of the long chit chat here are the photos…

Who's Who

2010-01-07T17:09:00.004-07:00

I have been thinking Teryn and Bree looked alike so I decided to compare their pictures. I will post a side by side so you can see the difference.

Christmas and The New Year

2010-01-02T06:15:00.003-07:00

Well Christmas and the new year came and went. It was a lot of fun. Bree and Addi are getting older so they can enjoy the holidays more. Bree is actually understanding what it all means and it is neat to see her excitement and watch her try and explain things to Addi. Addi just knows something exciting is going on so she gets excited. So in a year from now when Jax starts to get it things will be even better. These kids have made this time of year that much better. I remember when I was a kid and would get really excited for Christmas and couldn't wait. Well watching your own kids get excited like that makes it all worth it all over again.

The kids made it through all the visiting people, and late nights and few naps. Now that everyone's sleep schedule is off we get to start a whole new year. What will it bring? Who knows. I just hope it goes by as smooth as the last few years. We are just trying to enjoy one day at a time. We also look forward to being done with baby bottles at the end of this year and hopefully having kids that are all walking. Simple requests really.

I am updating this from a computer that I do not have a full access to all the photos from Christmas and new years so I will have to add the photos later but for now you can read about and use your imagination that it was a good time.

A Few Pictures

2009-12-18T12:45:00.005-07:00

A Long Time

2009-12-11T12:01:00.004-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated but it has also been a very busy couple of weeks. Who'da thunk 4 kids oldest being only 3 would keep you so busy? Well for those of you wondering, it is busy!

Teryn did not come to us as such a surprise as Jax did. Like I said in the previous post she is Bree's full biological sister. I know Bree doesn't fully understand this yet, but one day she will and hopefully she will be as grateful and as excited as we are.

We knew for a couple of months that we would be adopting her and bringing her into the family. The only part you can't prepare for is just having a new baby. Even though she needs to eat a lot and still gets up in the night, I can say she has so far been the easiest of the 4. She is a good natured little baby and doesn't require a lot. I think she knew before she got here she would be coming into a crazy home with all these little ones. I believe she was prepared with a good nature to handle all of it. So hopefully this continues to be her personality for years to come.

It is truly a wonderful experience to adopt children. It is a very humbling experience to know that someone trusts you enough to have you take a child. It feels like a lot of responsibility and I can't imagine how hard it is to do this and to trust people with such a thing. We have been lucky to experience it 3 times! Having your own child is also an amazing time, and we were able to experience that as well. I guess the good side of adopting is that for Sundee there is no recovery period. This was nice because with 4 little ones, they require attention and carrying and that would be hard if Sundee was limited.

What is the point of this whole long post? I don't know really but I think it was time to thank the two ladies that have allowed us to have such a great, crazy family. Without them we may not have any kids and may still be battling doctors and their opinions.

Thank you!

A New One

2009-11-20T14:19:00.003-07:00

Well I am only going to put a brief update on here because today things are just crazy. So when I have a little more time in the next couple days I will share more information and feelings. But to eliminate wondering I will give a brief story.

On November 18th, two days ago a baby girl was born. We had once again the privilege to adopt a child. This one is Bree's full sister. We just brought her home from the hospital today. We named her Teryn.

So there it is, we are officially a family of 6, with 4 kids, 3 girls and one tough boy. Here are some pictures, so enjoy.

Again

2009-11-09T09:06:00.006-07:00

Well I did it again, I ran another half marathon. The Snow Canyon Half. This time it was in the sunny southern city of St. George. The race was Saturday the 7th at 9:15, the time of morning made it great for sleeping. I must say this one was easier and more difficult at the same time. I was in good health this time and my kids did not give me any flu like symptoms the night before. This time all I had was my nerves. I am not sure why I was nervous but I was. I didn't know anyone I was going to be running with so I think that may have added to my anxiety.

That morning I woke up and actually felt really good. It wasn't too early so I was able to wake up and feel like I was supposed to be up. That 5 and 6 A.M. stuff is just too early. My parents went down there with us so my dad gave me a ride to the buses. Sundee stayed back to watch the kids until it was time for her to head over and wait. Once I arrived I was just on time. The last bus was headed up the canyon, so I jumped on. Once on there I sat down next to a kid I had never met before. He sure was chatty. It was his first half marathon and he was excited. He talked to me for about 30 minutes prior to the race and we kind of hung out and chatted. It was neat to hear his stories and hear a little about him. So thank you Tyler for helping pass the time when I knew no one.

During the race it was actually quite nice. The weather was perfect and the scenery was great. As we came out of the canyon you could see the St. George canyons and red cliffs they have everywhere. It was really neat to look at those from different areas. I had never been back in the Snow Canyon State Park and it was cool. It was pretty but I have to say the run was a little more difficult than the Top of Utah half. There was about 2.5 miles of uphill and it was some serious uphill. There was a lot of downhill too, but too much is not a good thing for the legs. So anyway my time was a little faster than the previous half marathon. I ran this one in 1 hour 49 minutes, that is 7 minutes faster than my last one. Had it not been for the crappy uphill part I would have been a little faster, but who cares, I'm happy with that time.

So there it is I have now completed 2 half marathons, and I am sure I will do more. I am signed up for more already. As sore as I feel the next day it is worth it. And here are a few pictures of me coming in smoking the competition. Haha, not really I just happened to create some space. Sundee was waiting and ready this time so she was able to get some of me coming in.

Sundee told us to face the sun to get a picture, you can see it didn't turn out well.

Halloween

2009-11-05T08:13:00.010-07:00

I know this is a few days late but hey at least it's here. I just wanted to let you all know we had a good Halloween. We had a kids party and we also had a no kids party. That was where a bunch of adults acted like we were kids for a few hours. It was all fun and the kids loved Halloween. Bree still asks if it is Halloween soon. I think she just loves going around to people and asking for candy. As you will see from the pictures, Bree was a Kangaroo, Addi a Devil, and Jax was a green monster. His costume seems to be very popular amongst little kids. I have seen it a few times. But it's all good. He hated wearing it for the most part but we were able to get a few snap shots of him wearing it before he ripped it off. Bree was funny usually she likes having her picture taken and will pose for the camera on command. But that night she would run and hide. Maybe she just had too much going on to take the time, who knows.

Just a side note about Addi's costume. This is the same costume I wore when I was a little kid. My mom found it and we were able to make it look girly for Addi. I didn't wear the too too and tights when I was a kid, even though I would have looked great in them. But I thought it was neat she was able to wear that. And if you know Addi you know it suits her well.

Well that is Halloween in a nutshell. If I must say I think my costume is even cuter than the kids. Well okay maybe not cuter but definitely noteworthy. It also won the best costume at the party, prize. This means next year I have my work cut out for me. So that is my ramble now here is the picture proof. Enjoy.

Jax

2009-10-28T00:24:00.004-06:00

I am a couple days late posting this and I am aware of that. It was not intentional just happened. The big news is, Jax turned 1. Yep that's right a whole 1 years old. We had a birthday party and had cake and ice cream. I have to say he was probably the best one out of our three at eating the cake. He didn't eat too much cake as he did frosting. He loved that stuff. I guess most kids do. The second I put the cake on his plate he was going to town. It was pretty messy and he didn't stop until it was all gone. I tried to take it away at one point and he got mad at me.

I can't believe Jax is a year old. The time seems to go by so fast. It seems like yesterday I was taking him home from the hospital and having a jerk nurse lady get mad at me for dressing him like I did. She felt his outfit was not adequate for the weather and she wouldn't even give me one of the receiving blankets to wrap him in. Anyway, I got him home and he has been good ever since. Although I wonder where he picked up all his height and weight, it seems like he just gained it over night.

Well we sure love having Jax in our family and I am happy we finally get to start having boy toys in the house and it's not all princess, pink and dresses. So Happy Birthday Jax!!!!

2009-10-10T19:19:00.001-06:00

Pumpkin patch hay ride!

Bree is 3!!!

2009-10-08T09:10:00.006-06:00

It's official Bree is 3, well yesterday the 7th it was official. I cannot believe she has turned 3 already. It seems like yesterday we went to the hospital to get her. I can remember thinking kids were in the far, far future. Then suddenly here was Bree, then more and more. Bree came home at a whole 4 lbs 11 oz. That is even hard to imagine she was so little. Now she is growing big and skinny and full of attitude. She is definately the older bossy sister. But she does really well with her sister and brother.

I can say we have been really lucky with Bree because she has been so easy. She walked early around 10.5 months, she was fully potty trained at 2 and she talks really well. It is very easy to understand what she wants and thinks. This can get amusing at times.

For her birthday Sundee wanted to take her to breakfast. We took all 3 to a little diner called Moores. It was pretty good, even though I'm a milk and cereal type of person. They all loved eating breakfast in a restaurant. They were pretty good, no melt downs, screams or craziness. I wish it was like this every time we went out. Then we went to West Valley and had some cake and presents. The day before her birthday we had Sundee's family over to do cake and presents. On both days we just added Addi to Bree's party it just made it easier and less fighting. Next year they will be separate, or at leasat Bree will be done alone and maybe Addi and Jax together.

So anyway little Ms. Bree is finally 3 and she told everyone about it that she saw, even ladies at the store. Happy 3rd Birthday Bree!!!

30

2009-09-26T01:26:00.002-06:00

I know this post is a couple days late but it's all good. So the most recent news is that I turned 30. Thats right 30. I don't know what all the fuss is about, it was really no big deal. I don't feel any different than I did 4 years ago. So yes it was a good birthday. Sundee threw a surprise party for me with some family. She held it at the Sizzler. For the most part I was surprised but she isn't very good a keeping a good secret. Here's why, for about 2 weeks prior to my birthday Sundee usually reminds me it's coming up over and over. She also asks if there is anything I would like or like to do for my birthday. This year she didn't do that. Second when we were about to head out to go eat dinner rather than say "where do you want to eat?" She says, "let's go eat at the Sizzler, in Layton." I try and avoid Layton like the plague so I got a little suspicious. But it was good and nice of her to do that for me. I will post some pictures when I get them on the computer. The cake is the best part of the whole thing. I can't describe how cool it is, it must be seen.

So I tried to think of some things I have accomplished before I was 30. Here are a few; Got married. Learned a new language. I am 5 years into a career, not just a job. I completed a half marathon and 5k, there might be a full marathon in the future but I'm still undecided. I had most of my kids by 30. Became an instructor/ teacher for the career I am in. Bought my own home. Went on a cruise, visited 5 different countries and had Jazz tickets for an entire season.

Those are just a few, and many may say that it's not much but it's my life and I've had fun. Hopefully I'll have many more years to come and many more neat experiences. Until then I will start getting comfortable with the fact my age starts with a 3 now and not a 2.

Pre School

2009-09-08T08:55:00.007-06:00

Last week Bree started pre School. I know she's not quite 3 but the teacher was nice enough to let her go a month early. I was a little concerned thinking she might be too young but she is doing ok. These pictures were taken on the first day of school. She has a little shirt she has to wear for field trips and special occasions. Every other day it is whatever she wants. She goes with her cousin Cal so it makes it easier for her to go. Sundee took her on the first day so went fine. The middle picture is a Dad hair style and the others are Moms. I don't want people to take sides so I will say it for you, Dad wins. Anyway the second day didn't go as well. I had to drop her off that day. She kicked and screamed until I was out of view. I think we will go through this for a while until she gets used to me dropping her off. It is a little sad to leave her crying like that, especially when I don't know the people I am leaving her with. Just have to trust them I guess. So there it is, another post like everyone else's that my kid started school and blah blah blah.

Why You Gotta Love Kids

2009-08-30T08:21:00.011-06:00

It seems like I write about this topic often but this is what kids are all about. They say and do a lot of funny things, but then they get sick. Bree was sick a couple weeks ago and threw up in her bed in the middle of the night. I was at work so Sundee had to clean that up. Then last Tuesday or Wednesday Jax was sick. He showed his potential by losing an entire 7 ounces of formula in the morning and then a 6 oz. bottle of squash in the afternoon. We thought, at least Addi didn't get it. Ha, that was a dumb thought. Thursday she was sick all evening but refused to just let the puke out and fought it. Finally she did and was all better. Then in the middle of the night it was Sundees turn. I usually don't get sick to that degree and was praying I didn't. You see I had an important day coming up on Saturday and being in good health was crucial.

Well Friday afternoon I started to feel crappy. I didn't puke but I felt horrible. We drove up to Logan hoping things would pass and went to dinner. Sizzler to be exact and I really like Sizzler. But I couldn't enjoy it and wasn't much for conversation. We were with the Whitesides and I'm sure they were bored with my lack of conversation. So we went to our hotel room and I just plopped there on the bed and tried to start feeling better.

Why were we in Logan? Well I was supposed to run the Top of Utah half marathon. 13.1 miles. Doing this sick would have been quite the feat. Luckily for me I felt much better on the morning of the race. So I ate my breakfast stuff and off we went to the race. As we began the race I felt really good. The first 2 miles we were at an 8:40 pace, then the next 5 we were at just over an 8 minute pace. It was about this time I felt like I did the night before. I had to tell the Whitesides brothers I would be slowing down for the next little bit to regain my composure. So the next couple of miles I had to slow and at mile 9 to 10 it took me about 11 minutes. I was getting frustrated I couldn't keep my pace. Then luckily the sickness passed and I felt good again, so I picked it back up. No I never caught the Whiteside boys they were just too fast. I just kept at my pace and actually came in faster than my target time. 1 hour 54 minutes and 26 seconds to be exact. I was really happy about that. I wanted to complete it in less than 2 hours and I DID! It was a great run, I think I did really well and with the exception of a couple miles I had a good pace, 8:44 a mile.

Will there be another half marathon in my future? Dunno but probably. There is always room to improve. But I do thank my kids for helping me Friday and Saturday. I know they are proud of me, but we are going to have a talk about when they get sick, make sure it isn't when Dad is going to run a race.

Post Race Stretch Post race.The back of me, and some random gal The Group

Running

2009-08-22T02:10:00.008-06:00

Me!

I found myself in a bit of a situation the other evening. I went running the other night as I usually do but this time I went a little earlier. I found that running when it is real late at night has its own set of hazards. First, street lights as great as they are do not fully illuminate the sidewalks, especially when there are trees and bushes in the park strips. I found myself stumbling quit often and even completely fell one time. Yes it was as embarrassing as it sounds funny. Luckily it was dark so people didn't see me eat it on the sidewalk and throw my light 15 feet down the road as I fell. Secondly there are a lot of idiot teenagers out late that think it's funny to yell random crap as you pass by. They do this as I pass and not as I approach. Chickens, bring it on! Say it to my face! Really I have no idea what they are saying because I have my tunes in and I could care less.

But the real issue is this; as I jog along I see other people outside. This is no big deal, I wave say hello or ignore them if I can tell they don't care about me. But occasionally I will come upon another runner. They are in the same direction as me and some are slower some are faster. The faster ones I don't care about, it's the slower ones or same pace that I have concerns with. What am I supposed to do when I come up to them? Do I pass them? Run with them? Ignore them? Give a hello? I really don’t like being in this situation. If I notice I am going a little faster than them I feel like I have to really push it as I pass so that I am not running along side them. That is just awkward. So here is what I did the other night, I ran faster than I normally do and made sure to cross onto the other side of the road and completely ignore them and pretend not to see them. A couple times it was really out of my way to be on the other side of the road, but at least I was comfortable and I’m sure they feel the same way I do. After all, I am only looking out for everyone else’s interests not my own.

The Life of This Kid

2009-08-13T01:56:00.005-06:00

I know the last post was about Jax, but that's ok. Today while I was putting Jax in bed I started playing around with him and putting the blanket on his face. To him this was the funniest thing he had done for a while. This went on for about 10 minutes. Then when I quit I walked out of the room and he was fast asleep within about 45 seconds. How would that be to not have a care in the world that your mind would just shut off and you could be asleep in an instant. I thought this video was funny so I put it on. His laugh is contagious, well at least to his parents.

Sundee took these photos of Addi the other day. It is hard to tell in the photos but she is using her legs as a pillow. This kid can bend her feet behind her head like it's no big deal. I think because of the casts and the brace she still wears it has helped her become very flexible. Apparently this is comfortable for her.

Sr. Mariachi

2009-08-04T02:30:00.005-06:00

We went swimming the other day and it was a lot of fun. We took the camera but while we were getting the kids all ready to get in the pool we left it in the car. I was able to snap this photo of Jax with my phone just before we got in the pool. He is the coolest red headed Mariachi singer I have ever seen. We have been trying to enjoy our summer while Sundee is still out of school. It is slowly coming to an end but we aren't done. I'm sure we'll do something before it's all said and done that we be memorable.:) I did play in our ward softball tourny and we tied for first place because it got too dark. It's been a while since I've played softball but I had a blast. Makes me wish I'd play more. Well here is the whole reason for this post...

Both Falls

2009-07-23T15:30:00.002-06:00

This is a panoramic view of both the falls. It was just a cool picture I thought I would share.

We're Back

2009-07-22T13:07:00.010-06:00

The last weekend was a very fun and entertaining weekend. We (Sundee and I) went on a getaway for 4 days. My family was kind enough to watch the kids for the time we were away and I'm sure they are done with them for a little while. 3 little ones can be hard.

Anyway our little trip was to New York. It wasn't to New York City in all the hustle and bustle but it was upstate New York. We first landed in Buffalo so we drove up to Niagara falls for the night and the next day. It was pretty awesome. If you have never been there to see the falls on the Canada side it is definetly worth the trip. We stayed in the Embassey Suites that over looked the falls. It was a little pricey but figured we may not get back there for quite some time so we wanted to treat ourselves. The next day we rode the Maid of the Mist and went right up next to the falls. It was very neat to see all that water coming over the edge. We were soaked by the time the boat ride ended. I tried to get some good pictures but with all the water coming down it is hard. Then we hit up some souvenir shops because it started to rain pretty hard. We got drenched while trying to walk from place to place but the weather wasn't too cold so we couldn't complain too bad. Really who complains on vacation anyway?

This is the Horseshoe Falls, Canada.

This is the view from our room!

Us just about to get on the Maid of the Mist.

This is the American Falls in NY.

So that was Niagara, and it was a lot of fun. If you have never been there it is definetly worth the trip. Then off we headed to Palmyra, New York. This part of New York is much prettier than the Big Apple. It was very green and woods everywhere! A pretty big farm area also. We went to Palmyra and on the first night watched the Paegent. I must say I was a little leary about going at first, but after watching it, it was pretty neat. They have some pretty neat effect that are surprising for a paegent. Even if you aren't a religious person or not sure about Mormons it is worth seeing just for how well it's put together.

The next day we spent touring around the area and looked at more historical church sites. The Smith Farm, Whitmer Farm, The Printing Press, The Grove, and the Hill Cumorah. These were all very cool and if you take the time to have a Missionary explain the history behind the places it is very interesting. I learned a lot. I have some pictures posted but there are some I will not post out of respect for what they are, if you want to see all our pictures you can come see them, or just take a visit there yourself.

Smith House.

Palmyra Temple.

The view from the back of the cottage we stayed in, in Wolcott, NY.

Hill Cumorah.

To sum it all up it was a very fun trip. I think it was a nice break for us to spend some time away from the kids. We did miss them but we had to find our sanity while we were gone. I will say when you are on vacation, people are usually so nice. It's amazing that you can bring people from all over the world to a place outside of their comfort zone and it tends to being out the best in them. At least that has been my experience. Well that is unless you are in New York and people from New York city think they own the world. Out of all the people the only ones we had to worry about cutting in line or riding my behind on the freeway and being rude were natives. Even in Niagara! C'mon guys relax a little and enjoy yourselves. Can't we all just get along? But even with them I'd still do it all again.

Oops

2009-07-13T14:12:00.005-06:00

I just came to my attention that I never updated anything from the 4th of July. For me the night was filled with running around keeping people in line. I didn't get to go anywhere and had to work. Sundee did up and leave me, but at least she took all the kids. We like to go to Richfield over the 4th of July holiday. It's usually a good time with the parade and firework show they put on down there. I know it's not a glamorous place to go put it is a lot of fun for us. Anyway the kids had a lot of fun and I'm sure Sundee did too. I, on the other hand, was babysitting people that should know better. I think every year the age of being an idoit seems to get older and older. Usually teenagers get stupid over the summer, we've all been there, but when you are in your mid-thirties I think growing up should be right around the corner. Anyway July is a great month and we have a lot of fun being outside and going on vacations. We will have a good update this time next week so be sure to stay tuned. Until then, adios...

So Much

2009-07-01T09:55:00.011-06:00

I have not updated this blog for a while so that the previous post would be on top for a while. I was hoping to get people excited about running and supporting our K-9 program. Anyway speaking of running I ran my first 5K this last Tuesday. It was the South Ogden 5K and I think I did pretty good. I ran it in 23:45.06. Not too shabby If you ask me. Sundee ditched me with the kids and was not there to watch me. My in-laws were there to help me. My father in law was a little slow in trying to get a picture of me crossing the finish line. Luckily Janessa was there to capture it, you can check her blog for that.

Sundee had an excuse for ditching me since she has been with the kids a lot lately. My schedule has been crazy lately Sundee has been creative keeping the kids quiet and entertained. So one way to keep them busy is to take the to nursery. The only problem is they get sick every time they go. People leave your kids at home if they are going to get all the other kids sick! I know some people only have this day for "alone" time but I shouldn't have to pay for it. Anyway Addi and Jax got sick because they went there. Yes it is irritating. But we did get an official weigh in on both of them. Addi is a whopping 19 pounds. We think she will hit 20 one day. Jax weighed in at a wimpy 26 pounds. He's huge!!!

The good thing is Bree didn't get sick. How that happened I don't know. She has been pretty good lately so there aren't too many complaints. Bree has been asking for some time to get her ears pierced. We were unsure if she really wanted to but thought we'd give it a shot. So we took her to the mall to get them done. She was totally clueless about what was about to happen. We told her it would hurt but she didn't understand. So she sat on my lap and smiled the whole time. Even when the girl held the plastic gun up to her ear she didn't care. That was until the piercing. When that happened she freaked out. She tipped her head to the side and the girl shot the other one in. She screamed again. Then I quickly put cleaner on it and she stopped crying that quick. She hasn't complained at all with them in and absolutley loves her new earrings.

Well that's about us in a nutshell for the last little while. Sundee did buy me a new camera for Fathers Day so we have been taking a bunch of pictures. So here are some over the last couple weeks. Enjoy!!!

Tell Everyone You Know.

2009-06-11T17:31:00.004-06:00

Please tell and invite everyone you know. Even if you can't attend feel free to donate an entry fee. Click to enlarge.

Waiver serves as entry form.

I Find Interesting

2009-06-07T22:10:00.005-06:00

It has been a couple weeks since I have written anything. I know I keep people so entertained it is hard to go on when I don't update. Anyway I often wondered when I started this blog when the fad would slow down. When I started my blog many people had theirs and updated often. It was neat to see them. But over the last few months I have noticed a steady decline in the number of posts people do. Some say they don't have time, other just are bored and some have made them private and people quit commenting so they feel no one is reading so they stop. I am not upset about this I just find it interesting.

I have noticed people say they don't have time or things are just too busy. This leads me to what I find interesting. Everyone has heard of Facebook. Some people that have quit blogging have turned to Facebook and are constantly updating and adding pictures and everything else. If you have time to waste on Facebook couldn't you take a moment, open a seperate tab and update your blog? I will admit I have a Facebook account and log on to check it out. But I also try and update this blog for those people that do not want to be a part of the beloved Facebook.

I know there are a lot of people that are leary of certain social networking sites and don't create an account. Personally I haven't had an issue with it. BUT! It seems the more I hear about Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, the more I hear people become addicted and start to ruin their lives and/or marriages. If you are in the situation, stop it. Is it really that exciting you throw everything away you've worked for in your life just for the excitement of a social network. C'mon! If this is you, and you feel you need to get your info out there, start a blog. I haven't heard many horror stories of a private blog getting out of hand. Be wise about things.

Well this is my two cents, and most of it is mindless babble but I am frustrated with people losing focus on what's important just because they have reconnected with old friends and flings. I will continue for now to blog, and Facebook but I will also keep it under control.

Coolest Picture Ever!!

No Doubt!

2009-05-28T10:50:00.006-06:00

This time every year is special for Sundee and me. We will have been married for 7 years in a couple of days. Every year as our anniversary nears we think of what we should do. Every year Sundee tells me it is my turn to think of something. This would lead you to believe she did something in the past. Not the case. I think she is just reminding me it is my responsibility. I tell her every year I'm not doing anything and she needs to decide. But we all know that doesn't happen. Anyway this year has been a little different.

About a month ago or so Sundee asked me to take the 25th of May off. So I wouldn't be working. I asked why and she told me she was trying to keep it quiet but since I had to ask to take the day off she told me. She said she was buying tickets to see No Doubt in concert! This was awesome. I had mentioned I would like to see them in concert but really didn't plan on it. So a hidden surprise, no, but it was a good treat anyway.

I am a big No Doubt fan and had never been to their concert. So I was excited. I think Sundee was too, even though she tried to push the focus on me. So when the night finally came we were both ready to go. We tried to get there a little early but traffic was so bad it took 40 mins to go 2 blocks to get there. We did get to see the opening act which was just ok. Then when No Doubt came on it went crazy. I forget how loud concerts are. For us it was nice to get out and feel like we were young and crazy again. It's been a while. The best part was the majority of the fans were our age. Sure there were young kids that were Gwen Stefani fans, but who isn't :)~. So it was a good crowd and we didn't feel like a couple oldies at a rock concert with young bucks.

Dress code was a little scarey for some. I know that some people are just confident in themselves and that is great but please don't force me to look at things that don't fit behind clothing. If you are too big for it, buy a larger size. If they don't make it that big, there is a reason! WOW! is all I can say about that. As someone who like to watch people it made for a very entertaining night. Once the music started I kinda stopped looking too.

In my mind I kept trying to guess which song came next and of course I was never right. They played all songs that I knew. Before we went I got out all there music and tried to get Sundee ready for the night. Probably didn't help. So here are a few pictures, a little blurry and seem distant but we really did have good seats. Well it was a good night and a lot of fun. It was nice to be a kid again.

A Couple Days Late

2009-05-22T09:58:00.005-06:00

Well we took Jax to the temple this last Tuesday. It was a neat experience. It has been almost 7 months since we adopted Jax. This just wraps everything up. We had the option to take the girls in with us but decided they are too crazy and if we took them in they would just go nuts. Jax did really well. We had to have him wait in the nursery for a little bit and the little old ladies in there were excited to watch him. That is until they had to pick him up. We handed him to a lady that was very small and shakey. When she went to lift him I thought she was going to break right in half. She couldn't have weighed more than 80 pounds and 80 years. But she was able to handle him. Then afterwards we took a couple pictures. I have posted them below. Bree likes to pose for the camera, Addi on the other hand was hungry so we couldn't get one of her where she wasn't crying. Owell it was still a good experience and fun. We wrapped the whole night up with Chili's. Tastey.

It's About Time!

2009-05-20T11:22:00.006-06:00

Well it has been just over 18 months but Addi finally decided to start walking. This is a huge milestone for her. I know most kids learn to walk so no big deal, but for Addi it is. It has taken her a little longer to get the hang of it but she is a pro. Considering what her feet were like this is awesome. She goes to her Dr. at Primary Childrens this week for a check up and we shall see what they think. Hopefully no more surgery. Here is a video of her walking. She is crying because she wanted to hold the camera and this is the only way I could get her to walk to me.
Congrats Addi!!!

Back To Court We Go!

2009-05-11T23:18:00.004-06:00

Two years ago the 17th of this month we were at the Davis County Courthouse. Well today we were there again. We had a different Judge this time but everything went smooth. Today we had our adoption finalization with Jax. He is officially a Haywood! Of course we were trying to get there on time and not forget anything and we forgot the camera. Lucky for us my mom brought hers and we were able to snap a couple photos. So I will post them later. I just wanted to take a second and let everyone know we finalized. The next week will be a busy one so I will update and post pictures as we go. We will have a few get togethers with family over the next week to support Jax so there should be some pictures. Stay tuned...

My Kid!

2009-05-07T12:01:00.004-06:00

I must say I really love being a parent. It has it's trials and can sometimes be very frustrating. But for the most part it is great. If you are a parent you know what I mean. Even as mad as your children make you, it's still hard not to love them. Sometimes when I am in the middle of a reprimanding Bree will say something or "unknowingly" mock me and make me laugh. That makes it hard to get my point across. Addi knows how to hang her head and make you feel so bad for telling her no.

My favorite time to see them is when they are asleep. Not because they aren't getting into anything but they are so peaceful and innocent. If they ever wake up in the middle of the night they will come to you and lay on your shoulder. Those are some nice moments. I work late so when I get home the kids are already in bed. When I check on them it takes everything I have not to shake them and get them out of bed just to see them. I love to watch them sleep. If you've never done it, try it.

Naps are a different story. When they nap it's an opportunity to get some things done and you never know how long it might last. Most of the time with 3 kids they do not nap at the same time and it's a fight to keep the awake ones quite while the others sleep.

Yesterday I was able to enjoy about an hour of silence, all three were snoozin'. First Jax woke up and wanted to eat. So natuarally I started to feed him so he would scream. While he was eating Addi and Bree woke up. Addi just yells until someone comes to get her. Eventually I did, and when I went up I couldn't hear Bree any longer. I figured she went back to sleep. But I went up a couple minutes later. I put a diaper on her to nap and when I went up I could smell that she had pooped. No big deal, she had a diaper on and I would just change it. HAHAHA! So I open her door and this is what I walk in on...

No I didn't make brownies and she got into them, that is exactly what it looks like. All over the wall, the bed, and the floor. Not to mention caked on her hands. The smell was horrible, I dry heaved as I cleaned it up and every time I tried to wipe it down, it just smeared worse.

Bree got a talking to and so I cleaned and cleaned. She would come in and say things like, "I pooped on the wall," and "I'm so nasty, It's gross." So when all was said and done what could I do? I just laughed, what else could I do. Ha, Kids!

The Official Weigh In!

2009-04-30T09:40:00.005-06:00

Well it's official, Jax went to the Doctor on the 28th to have his 6 month weigh in. Believe it or not he is a chunk, but he is also long. The nurses and Doctors just laugh at how chubby he is whenever we take him in. He weighs 23 pounds! That is 95% for his age, well they wrote 95%+ whatever that means. He is also 78th% for his height. So I am glad he isn't just all cheeks, he has some length to him. So there it is, the kid that never stops eating is still growing and gaining weight. He has now passed Bree in weight and has long since passed Addi. I think for his 1st birthday we might buy him a couple Big Mac's to go along with his whole cake.

On a side note we finalize at the court with him on the 12th of May. Can't believe the time has already come, but 6 months has flown by. We are excited to finalize, we hope everything goes as smooth as the everything else has to this point. So here is our boy...

Forgot to post this video of him giggling.

Finally!

2009-04-24T11:08:00.012-06:00

Well it finally came. I have been waiting for this show just hoping it would be as exciting as it was. I know some people that paid $200.00 a ticket just to be there and enjoy the show. I must admit I was a little unsure at first when it started not knowing what to expect. But I am glad I stuck around. The music was wonderful, so loud and exciting, it really kept people drawn in. The dancing, well who could have hated that. There were so many people there just to see who would be the better one and come out and top. While most already thought they knew the ending, I think it surprised most of us. Back and forth the two battled and fought. I was so excited there was an intermission so I could get my excitement and nerves under control. But it only lasted a short while because the second part was just as GREAT as the first. Who would have guessed a show could have such a powerful impact. There they were good vs. bad, young vs. old, some people want the bad to prevail others choose the good. Either way you have a side and you stick with it. And in the end the good and the young came out the victors!

Anyway the night came to an end after about 2 hours and in the end the good guys came out on top. With that said the series is now 2 games to 1. I think most were thinking a 4 game sweep was in the making but OUR home team made the effort and gave us a reason to cheer again. What an exciting game! Glad I saw it, unfortunatly it was from the comfort of my own couch and not the craziness of the Arena but o'well. Anyway GO JAZZ!!

Hope you weren't thinking I went and saw 'Wicked,' you want that review there are plenty out there.

Jax!

2009-04-16T09:52:00.003-06:00

Jax eats baby food now. He is doing a lot better with it than the girls did at first. He eats a whole jar and still like a bottle to follow it up. I know it's a big surprise this kid can eat, but he can. I tried to take an action picture of him eating, and I think I did pretty well. The point of this is, this kid can eat!! I can't wait til' he gets to be a little older and we cannot keep him full. I hope he grows to be 7 feet 1 inches tall and 270 lbs. NBA (Jazz) here we come!

Easter

2009-04-16T09:09:00.007-06:00

Here is our Easter breakdown. We went to Richfield over the Easter weekend. It was fun, despite what some people think about little ol' Richfield. It is nice to get away from our home anyway and enjoy some different scenery. The kids had a good time and were actually really good away from home. They were able to paint easter eggs, fly a kite, have an easter egg hunt, roll eggs down a hill and ride the four wheelers. All this in 4 days! Bree was a little unsure about the 4 wheelers to start but once we got going she loved it. Addi would not take the helmet off once she put it on and when we tried she had a mini melt down. I guess she will be an outdoorsy type of girl. Jax just hung out and took in the new place. We strapped him in one of the four ATV's and he didn't seem to mind it, just a little windy and bumpy. Well I know pictures say it all and they are better to look at than my less than entertaining typing so here ya go!

The Easter Bunny even knows where Richfield is!

Video 2

2009-04-02T20:04:00.002-06:00

Here are two different songs. No funny ending though.

Bree Singing

2009-04-02T09:51:00.009-06:00

This is a video clip of Bree in a good mood. She loves to sing and knows a lot of different songs. She can sing along with most of the shows she watches over and over. It is cute to see her growing up and becoming more and more of a little person. Anyway enjoy!

I have a second one coming soon that is just as good.

2009-03-30T21:43:00.001-06:00

Bree enjoying the Jazz game!

Sick

2009-03-25T11:06:00.005-06:00

For the last 3 winter seasons we have been placed on temporary lock down in the house because we don't want the kids to get sick. With all the talk of RSV and other things we have been really careful not to expose the kids to too much. We have avoided visiting some people and places just to make sure we stay healthy. It drives me crazy when people take their sick kids to places when they don't need to, nursery on Sunday for example.

Anyway we went about our normal business and we are not sure where it happened but Bree became quite sick. She began coughing and got a fever, so we took her to the Dr. and were told she has some virus that was similar to RSV. They said it would last about 10 days. Well it did and she's over it now but not without getting the other 2 kids sick as well. First Jax got it, and his became so bad it was RSV. He had to go up to the hospital for 5 days and get breathing treatments. We found out he has asthma and has 3 more days of taking steroids to help get his breathing and wheezing under control. Addi also got what Bree had but not to the extreme. She was cranky and had a cough but is also doing much better.

So that has been our past couple of weeks. Busy and sick. Now things are starting to calm down, hopefully the weather will get better too so we can go outside and beat these colds.

At the weigh in's Bree came in at 21 and a half pounds, Addi 17 and Jax 20 and a half. He's Huge!

2009-03-16T12:07:00.002-06:00

Addi likes coloring

2009-03-16T12:07:00.001-06:00

Finally we are able to get outside. Bree loves to swing. Too bad she has come down with a cold.

The kids

2009-03-06T09:05:00.003-07:00

I know I have posted a few pictures of the kids lately but they are all getting to the stages where it is a lot of fun playing with them and doing things. Addi is entering the age of terrible 1 and a half year olds. Bree is in her prime of terrible two's and Jax is just big. He can roll over from his belly to his back now too. It has been fun even though I sometimes feel the kids have ZERO discipline. I guess that is why we have teachers and cops so they can raise our kids anyway, right?

Since it has been cold and we have had an infant the last 3 winters we don't go out much because we wouldn't want anyone to get sick. This means we don't take many pictures of the kids in places just the boring old in house pics. So here you go.

And we would like to congradulate The Clingers on the birth of their new baby Shelby. She was born just a couple of days ago. Man I'm glad our kids sleep through the night, have fun with that.

We Passed!

2009-03-05T19:49:00.003-07:00

Well after 8 weeks I finally made it through K-9 school. It was a long road but it went by extremely fast. I can't believe I haven't been to work for 8 weeks. What a nice break it has been. After a bumpy start with a dog that didn't want to work, we ended on a good note with a dog that is very motivated to do the work. Delta scored very well on her certification tests and I didn't do too bad either. The tests were stressful and I am very glad it is over now. Now I can hit the road and get all the dope of the roads.:)

Mr. Jax

2009-02-24T20:52:00.004-07:00

Jax is now 4 months old. As you can see by the pictures he is doing very well. He went to the doctor today and came in at 19 pounds. Just in case you think that is no big deal, Addi went last week and is 17.9 lbs. Yep he out weighs her by almost 2 pounds and is 11 months younger.

He has been fussy with colic and very tight neck muscles that were a strain on him. We were told to do all sorts of things with him to get the problems corrected. Expensive formulas, head turning exercises and other things. We didn't have much patience (well me) for that. We have heard a lot about taking babies to a chiropractor and have them work on the babies. We decided to give it a shot and today at his appointment we were told the neck problem was all but gone. Jax seems to be happier and not have as much colic problems as before.

Would I say I am converted to chiropractic work? Mostly, but eithere way it is helping so I would definatley recommend it. If you are at your wits ends and have tried everything else, give that a try, you never know might work for you too.

Didn't see the spit up until after the photo, owell.

2009-02-17T23:28:00.001-07:00

Bree at her first Jazz game.

2009-02-17T18:58:00.001-07:00

Bree's first ride on frontrunner. We are heeaded to the Jazz game.

Jax or Buddha?

2009-02-12T23:04:00.003-07:00

Can anyone tell me which is the real Buddha or are they both? Jax is little Buddha. He's a chunk. What else can I say about that?

2009-02-01T18:11:00.001-07:00

Bree eating the frosting

Delta

2009-01-30T15:04:00.005-07:00

As some may already know I am currently attending K-9 training. I am training a dog to learn to detect and find drugs. I started out with my dog Nero. Unfortunately he did not have what it took to be a good drug dog. So I got a new one. Her name is Delta and she is awesome! I am also seeking donations to help pay for her. To read more about it please check the link on the side labeled Delta. Also please tell anyone that may be interesed in helping out to check the site and attached links on that page.

Bree, Addi & Jax

2009-01-24T10:05:00.005-07:00

One month and counting. Bree is potty trained! She has been good for about a month now. She is only 27 months old. It is nice to have only 2 in diapers now instead of 3. Happy Days!

Addi also went to a check up at the foot doctor. She told me Addi is looking great! We have to keep an eye on her left foot but if she would just start walking there shouldn't be any issues. She is stubborn.

Jax is just gaining weight nonstop. He is now 15 pounds. Addi is only 17 if that tells you anything. He is in a size 4 diaper and only 3 months old. I hope he just becomes a big tall kid.

To Be a Fan

2009-01-06T22:38:00.011-07:00

Over the last while I have had the opportunity to go to many Jazz games. I am like a lot of people and am a big fan and supporter. I have a player shirt (Okur) and a recently acquired Jazz jacket (courtesy of Sundee). These games are the few times I get to put all of it on and walk around with a bunch of other people that dress the same and it's ok. I am quite mild by many accounts.

My dad and I sit at the games, row 5 seats 9 and 10... Of course that is upper bowl. Being that we sit upper bowl it comes with a different set of fans. First the lower bowl. From my vantage point I see the lower bowl to be very good fans. You've got the lowest seats, courtside and a few rows up. These people feel it necessary to dress up, suit and tie, dress and high heels, c'mon people are you really that important you can't take the tie off for 3 hours and act like you aren't better than me. As you move up there are the second group of lower bowlers. Here you have people that really enjoy being to a game. There are a few die hards in there that get all dressed up or painted, but not a lot. You could say it's the dignified bowl. In short the "Wine drinker bowl."

Then there is the upper bowl. Many if not all of us have had the pleasure of being in the upper bowl. The lower you sit the better. The higher you sit the younger the fans get (thanks to Jr. Jazz). People don't mind the seats are high because they are cheaper and kids don't care. It is also where you will find the craziest fans. Usually the ones that will dress up, because they saved money on the price of the seat, will be in the upper bowl. They will also try their hardest to get noticed. They think the louder you yell the better the refs and/or opposing players will hear them. All this I am ok with. In fact sometimes it gets quite comical. This bowl is AKA "The Beer Drinker Bowl." There are two exceptions to this rule, and most are found in the upper bowl, probably because that is where I spend my time.

First, and most hated, the opposing team fans. They feel the need to be twice as obnoxious and loud as any other Jazz fan. Their team does anything right and they will scream, cheer and clap for an extended amount of time. They have nothing to lose, and usually do, but still manage to piss off half the section they sit in. AKA "jackasses." Still I can appreciate if you come out and cheer for your team.

The last and final fan, the one almost more annoying than the opposing fan is the, "I know nothing about basketball but will yell the only players name I know until I lose my voice" fan. One of these idiots sat behind me last game. Six 15 year old clowns, mostly girl’s screamed so loud people actually told them to shut up. They had no idea what they were yelling and half the time just yelled at each other to keep the yelling going. Clap, cheer and yell all you want, but don't do it even during timeouts when nothing is going on. You are an embarrassment!
I guess the only fan worse would be an opposing team fan that knew nothing about basketball that yelled for no reason other than to be heard.

So anyway this is a long post about nothing really, but I was irritated with my least favorite Jazz fan the other night. So please, next time you go to a game put on your game face, be loud, have fun but most importantly, be respectful. You never know who you might piss off. Go Jazz!

Congrats!

2009-01-01T14:57:00.003-07:00

To my sister Kami, let's hope it's a boy!

Cheap Entertainment!

2008-12-28T14:00:00.003-07:00

These two are very funny when they get in a mood. Here Bree is pretending to sneeze and Addi thinks it is hilarious.

Nothin'

2008-12-17T23:52:00.005-07:00

There hasn't been too much happening with us lately. We have been trying to enojoy the Christmas holiday and take it all in. Bree has been having the time of her life with all the get togethers, treats and Christmas lights. I think Addi is just happy Bree leaves her alone. Jax, well he just does what baby's do. So here are some recent pictures...

I do good work

Bree was making a Christmas treat with grandma.
Addi just looks cool.
Sundee dressed Jax in this bear outfit she got from someone. It's a little Halloweenish but warm.

2008-12-09T08:52:00.004-07:00

Last night was our progressive dinner with Sundee's family. For those of you that do not know what that is I will try and explain briefly. It is when each family makes a certain part of the dinner, appetizer, soup/salad, entre and dessert. But instead of bringing all the food to one person's house you go to the house where the food was made. You do this so that everyone in the family can see all your decorations and how your house is set up for Christmas. Also to make dinner a little different and not the same ol' routine. We have been doing it for the last 5 years I think. Anyway it's pretty fun. The kids love it because they have the chance to destroy 4 houses in one day and not just 1.

After we eat dinner there is always a big suprise... Santa! The kids loved this part of the night. Bree did quite well, at least better than I expected. She kept telling me she wanted to go sit on his lap when he was there but when it came to her turn she was a little apprehensive. She did sit there for a moment but that was it. When he offered a candy cane to her before he left she had no problem with him.

Addi on the other hand was a different story. As you can see she wanted nothing to do with Old Saint Nick. She freaked out the moment he got to the house. When she had to sit on his lap it was pretty funny to watch her head turn red and scream. Once she was given her present and put on the floor she was fine.

Then there was Jax. He is too little and didn't care, as long as he was being held.

So it was a fun night to say the least. Bree loves the Christmas holiday and I think she will continue to love it even more as she gets older and understands it better. So here are some pictures of the Santa encounter hope you enjoy!

As you can see Bree still had some dinner in her mouth that we didn't notice so she is eating in the picture.

Jax not caring.

Addi was so happy. :)

Ode to a Cookie

2008-12-09T08:42:00.004-07:00

This cookie you see above was very delicious. My sister in-law, Lisa made this wonderful cookie. She had to make the dessert for our progressive dinner last night and this is what she made. I'll have more pictures and explanation of the dinner a little later. But she wanted me to eat this cookie and then blog a little about it. I don't know what kind it is or how she even made it but I do know she is going to post the ingredients on her blog so if anyone wants to try a new holiday treat you can give this a shot.

Thank you Lisa for the wonderful cookie and all your hard work on the ice cream you borrowed! It really was good.

B.

You can find her blog at Morris Family on the right column.

Kids and Christmas

2008-12-07T10:04:00.008-07:00

It's fun to see the kids get so excited for Christmas. I know they don't really know what's going on and they are still little, but they sure love all the shows, lights and treats. Bree likes Santa for now, I think she is going to freak out when she see's him in person. We shall see soon.

We finally had two minutes to put our Christmas tree up and decorate it. Bree had a good time watching me put it up and she kept giving a play by play on each thing I was doing. She is obsessed with seeing Christmas lights so when I put those on she was getting excited. We finally turned them on and she started giggling like a geek. It was cute. She also liked seeing all the decorations go up and had to hand me each one, one at a time.

I have noticed we cannot decorate the way we used to, our tree has to be stratigically decorated. We have two little girls that like to touch everything. You can image the curiosity that arrises when things dangle from the tree and light up. So we can't decorate the bottom protion of the tree. It looks a little funny but it's not too bad. Well we shall see what other excitement the month of December and Christmas brings and hopefully some snow.

Love 'em or Hate 'em

2008-11-30T11:46:00.003-07:00

Last night I was at the Jazz game and they lost. I was a little upset and annoyed by their performance. I will blame it on the fact they just played the night before and did very well, but still. The Jazz have lost 2 at home and we are very early in the season. They better get it going or we will just be an average team that doesn't go to the playoffs or very far into the playoffs. Anyway I talk about the Jazz to give me a reason to post these fine pictures.

7 lbs 14 oz.

2008-11-26T11:43:00.003-07:00

Jax had a 1 month check up to make sure he was gaining weight. He now weighs 7,14. Big deal you say? Well he went to the doctor when he was 2 weeks old and only weighed 6,5. The doctor was concerned he wasn't eating enough so he asked us to return after 2 weeks. In that two week period Jax has started eating like a fool! 1 pound 9 ounces in 2 weeks, that's awesome! For us this is huge, let me put it into perspective for you; Bree birth weight - 5,1 came home 4,11. Addi birth weight - 5,11 came home 5,05. So we aren't used to such an eater and hopefully he grows to be a big, tall boy.

The Win!!

2008-11-22T20:24:00.002-07:00

Good game tonight! For those that missed it, Utah 48 BYU 24. 'Nuff said!

The Media

2008-11-15T22:59:00.003-07:00

I guess the media is very influential. Personally I have a hard time watching or listening to what they have to say. I watch, read and listen to the news daily so I can't say I don't participate but it's our only way to stay "informed." I try my best however to take what they give me and use my best judgement and own experience to draw a conclusion. To explain what I mean on how influential media can be I will point out an observation.

I don't mean to upset anyone with this one but would like to be educated on a certain thing. A while ago, 04/18/08 to be exact I did a post about "private blogs." Now I know everyone has their own reasons for going private and that's fine and some people have had mean comments left to force the privateness. I get it, but why the hysteria about going private. I noticed shortly after KSL did a story on "Staying Safe: Dangers in Blogging" there were many people that decided to "go private." Maybe I am still in denial and am not seeing it. I try and be careful what I post, and I'm sure with a little digging someone could find me or take advantage of my sweet pictures. But at the same time think of how many people have reunited with friends and family through their blogs. Would you send an email to a private blog without seeing or knowing it was the person you actually were looking for? I wouldn't.

Long story short, I respect your decision if you are one that goes private but I will remain strong in being open. Perhaps one day I will join the increasing numbers of privateers, but until then keep on stalkin us. I just hope those that are going private aren't conforming to the hold the media has on us and how we live our lives and make choices. And this is just another reason the media drives me crazy, aside from all the other garbage they talk about and blow out of proportion!

As Promised

2008-11-09T23:42:00.003-07:00

As I promised here are some pictures of Addi B-day blast! We had both sides of the family over at one time. It gets a little crazy with everyone in our house but it is fun too. The kids go crazy for a bit and everyone gets a chance to chit chat. We decided to buy a cake instead of making one this time around. Part because I'm lazy and second because it is way too busy around here right now. The whole cupcake style cake was pretty neat, made it easy to dish up. Addi liked it but it took her a minute to get into it. She didn't get too messy and the picture shows the extent of her mess. Her present from Mom, Dad, Sister and Brother was the Elmo chair. It was a hit!

#1

2008-11-08T11:35:00.004-07:00

Addi turned 1. Her birthday is actually on the 7th, so I'm recognizing her a day late. We are having her party on Sunday so we will have pictures of the party Sunday evening. So Happy Birthday Addi!

2008-11-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hope you did too!

Halloween, Too Many Treats

2008-11-02T08:58:00.006-07:00

The last few days have been pretty crazy here. Not much sleep and a lot of diapers, a whole lot. We've still managed to have a good time. On Halloween Bree dressed as a Poodle, Addi as Tinker Bell and we were going to dress Jax up as a cow but figured we would let him sleep and be comfortable. Bree and I went trick or treating and she did great. She just did what her cousins did and gathered candy like a fool. Addi was a little cranky so she didn't get to go out. The day was pretty good and it was fun, it's neat to actually get out and trick or treat with Bree, finally old enough.

1And a picture of all of us!

Oh yeah

2008-10-30T22:54:00.006-06:00

I forgot to mention on the last post that when we took Jax over to see Sundee's family none of them had any idea we were adopting, except Lisa. On Monday night we had a family Halloween party and had to cut out early to go the hospital. So we made up a story that my niece broke her arm and was in the hospital. Luckily it worked and no one suspected a thing. Then we were going to have everyone over to our house on Tuesday to meet Jax but he had to stay and extra day. So I called people and just told them to meet me at G-ma and G-pa Dows. Everyone figured we just were going to tell them Sundee was pregnant, ha joke was on them. So we walked in the house with Jax in the car seat and everyone was shocked. It was actually quite funny. Nobody knew what to think. Then all the questions came in.

Was the secret worth all the questions and telling the story over and over, you bet it was. To see the look on everyone's face was priceless! It was hard not letting everyone in on it but well worth it. Anytime anyone wants to come by, come on over.

Being Prepared...

2008-10-30T01:12:00.007-06:00

Have you ever taken a moment to sit back and analyse your current situation? Ever wonder if you are really prepared? There is always talk about making sure you are prepared for certain sitautions. Food storage, extra money and not to mention a 72 hour kit. Well I have an interesting story. It all started on Sunday the 26th about 4 weeks before we anticipated. I will cut to the chase for the most part and leave out some details because I don't want to go into too much. Anyway it was the true test of being prepared. We had no choice but to be ready. I think so far we have done pretty well. I guess the best way to explain what I mean is to just have people look at pictures...

Well for those of you that aren't good at guessing I will put it out there for you. We adopted a little baby boy. We were called Sunday morning and told he was to be born a month early. So we gathered things up and made ready for baby #3. His name is Jax Dallin. So now Bree and Addi have a little baby brother to pick on, until he out grows them. Also Addi isn't quite a year old, she will be soon, so that makes Addi and Jax 11 and 1/2 months apart. Yes it's crazy at our house! We love him! Sorry for the story without many details but that's the way it is. Anyway hope you all enjoy the photos of our new little guy!

A Little Early

2008-10-12T10:35:00.004-06:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. I think it's a little early in the year for this but hey, what do I know? It is still snowing at 10:40. I'm sure it will be gone by this afternoon but it's still a neat thing to walk outside to.

Courtesy Smile, Nod

2008-10-09T09:52:00.003-06:00

A peeve of mine. There is the same group of ladies that walk, run and travel about the city on foot almost everyday. I see them quite often and they are usually invovled in conversation or really focussed on running, mostly speed walking, that they don't pay attention to every car passing by. As I run I don't take notice of every car that passes me either. There is just one thing that drives me crazy. As I am running and I see people walking or running, known or unknown to me, I usually give a friendly smile and wave or smile and nod and continue on my way. 9 times out of 10 I get the same reaction. If I make eye contact with the driver of a vehicle I do the same and get the same. But there are certain people, speed walkin ladies, that don't do that. I find it kind of rude and snobby. I run by and nothing, I drive by in my work vehicle, make eye contact, give a smile and nod, nothing! They see me and I am aware they do but I get mean crusties. I know there is no written rule or law that says you have to be courtious but for crying out loud, would it kill you. I am not the most approachable person in the world but at least I can offer a smile and nod when I am given one. Geez! Moral of the story... Just be nice

At 1 Year

2008-10-09T09:39:00.003-06:00

I was looking back at some pictures and videos over the last few years and came across these. When Bree was about 1 year old. I look at those and compare to Addi. I know I shouldn't compare the two because of different starts in life, I just found it interesting. Bree was walking really early, around 10 months or so, but she wouldn't feed herself. Addi isn't close to walking but will put anything and everything in her mouth. Funny how different they are and it makes them so unique. Addi is about to have a birthday so we get to have everyone over again real soon, it'll be hectic but fun. Of course we will have pictures of the party when it comes along. I'm not sure if I will take the time to decorate a cake for Addi or not because I want her to have something simple to do the traditional, let baby attack cake, move. We'll see though.

And this picture is just cool.

Cake Attempt #2

2008-10-08T09:19:00.006-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated Bree's birthday with my side. The 7th is Bree's actual birthday. We did a cake and ice cream again. I attempted another cake, Elmo again. This time I remembered to put Happy Birthday on it. Bree thought it was pretty neat to have another cake. It is a little rough with the white around Elmo's face but I tried something different, didn't go as well. She tried to blow out the candle but was blowing straight down instead of at the candle so Grandpa had to help her out a little. By the middle of the day when you would ask Bree how old she was she would hold up her whole and and say two. Then when you said Happy Birthday she would say, Happy Birthday to you. She was a little confused about the whole thing. Bree got some blocks for her birthday and played with them until 9:30, she did not want to stop or go home. Here are a few pictures of the night. Sundee also decided it was about time we start attempting Addi's hair, so here it is too.

First Attempt

2008-10-06T22:18:00.007-06:00

Well Bree's birthday is on the 7th of this month but we celebrated on Sunday with Sundee's family. It was fun and almost everyone came. Bree enjoys spending time with her cousins because she can get a little crazy with them.

Bree got some good toys, mostly Sesame Street, and a bike. She is obsessed with Elmo and she got a baby Elmo from grandma and grandpa. This doll eats a bottle and makes sounds and talks a little. She thought it was pretty neat and kept it close all night. She got on her bike and posed for a minute. I know she is still small and really can't fit on it but I wanted her to have one anyway. Besides she can keep it for a long time. We are hoping she fits on it by next summer.

I must say the highlight of the evening was her birthday cake. I slaved over this cake for hours and to top it off I forgot to put "Happy Birthday" on it. Owell. I did remember to buy a number 2 candle to put on it. It went over well with the kids because it was loaded with sugar. It kept Bree up late because of a sugar high. It was funny to watch her run around and laugh at almost anything.

Well I posted some pictures of the nights events and hopefully captured the moment. ha. The video is of Bree dancing off her sugar high. If you can't tell she is doing, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. She normally sings it pretty good and goes through the motions a little delayed. This time she was too lazy to stand up everytime so this is what we get.

A Few Pictures

2008-10-02T09:46:00.007-06:00

I haven't posted very many pictures lately, and the ones I have you may not enjoy very much so I decided to post a few of what the girls have been up to lately

This is how Bree wakes Addi up everyday. The video is what Bree does when she climbs up on the crib. We had our RV pad poured a couple weeks ago it looks great and I am glad to finally have it completed. Of course we don't have an RV but maybe one day we'll get a camper or something. For now it's a good parking area.

I spilled!?

2008-10-01T21:36:00.010-06:00

Well this last week was definitely a fun one. It all started on Thursday. Addi woke up at 8 and was a little off from her normal self. I didn't think much of it since she is teething and they have been giving her serious issues. Around 8:50 I was trying to console her and make her happy but she was wiggly and couldn't get comfy. So I decided to cuddle her on the couch. As we are laying there she starts to gag. My immediate reaction was that she found some foam from the pillow and she is gagging on it. She was drooling pretty badly, but she soon stopped. A minute later it started again, this time she gagged so badly she puked all over me. Mmm that was yummy, and not baby spit up either, the real deal. So I decide she needs to go to bed and she falls right asleep. Then Bree gets up at 9. She cried for an hour straight. I couldn't handle it so back to bed she went. While she was asleep Addi woke up and I figured she was hungry so she ate a bottle of Sweet Potatoes... Idiot me. When Bree woke up they were both crying and wanted to be held so as Addi crawled to me I went to pick her up and blawah all over the carpet is the bottle of food she just ate. It was wonderful. I called Sundee during all this and she told me we had to go to the Doctors.

So off we go to see the Doctor. On the way Bree decided to share her breakfast with her shirt and the car seat. Yep she puked all over. So at the Dr. Office both girls are crying because they hate being there and as they weigh Bree she pukes all over the Dr's scale. Well they both puked one more time before we left. I must say that trip to the doctor sucked. So on the way home they were both spent and slept the entire way.

I get home and put them down for very brief naps. Sundee calls and I give her the info. Tell her the Dr. has no idea what’s wrong and to take them of dairy products for a day. Sundee then tells me she isn't feeling so well at school. Great that is all we need is Mom sick. Things remained peaceful, ha, until Sundee got home. Once she arrived it got really fun.

Sundee immediately started puking when she got home and didn't stop til late that night. I had to come home from work because everyone was getting sick. Addi threw up in her bed twice. Bree seemed to be doing better, so I fed her a plain old Egg. What an IDOIT!! If I can offer any advice to anyone out there, it is to never give eggs to a sick child. Anyway she gobbled them up. I thought great she is better. While she was sitting on the floor coloring she looked up at me and let out a little burp followed by a heap of red and egg. All over the carpet!! Twice. I picked her up and moved her to a solid surface, so it would be easier to clean, and blawah she goes again. This time all over my pants and shoes. When she finally finished she licks her lips a couple times and says, "I spilled!?" I just started laughing because what can you do in that situation, she was confused and it was hilarious.

So Bree went to bed but before the night ended I changed her sheets twice too. Thank goodness that day is over. Everyone woke up in the morning and was feeling much better. All the sheets were washed and Bree's car seat was clean. Saturday we took a little ride to store, Bree, Addi and I. As we were on our way home Bree took a bite of a chicken nugget and a French fry had a sip of a drink and was just waiting to get home to ride her bike. Well we almost made it and Bree burped and blawah all over everything!! Bad this time. Noodles, fry, juice and some foreign objects. She looks up, covered in vomit and stink, smiles and says, "I spilled!?" HAHA! I said yeah you spilled don't touch it, as she was picking up a noodle.

That was the last of the random vomiting for us. I hope the bug is gone and over with. Now every time Bree says, "I spilled", I panic. Gotta love the joys of young kids. I hope everyone gets to experience this once in a lifetime. If you haven't yet, I hope you do.

This was the beginning of the chaos!

10,585 Days Ago!

2008-09-24T00:36:00.005-06:00

Today I officially complete 10,585 days of life (actually the 23rd, I was late posting). Man I'm gettin' old. It was a good day even though I am that much closer to 30. WOW! I was able to get out of work today so that was nice. We went to Red Robin the night before to celebrate. Sundee told the lady it was my birthday and I almost got upset with her, but they don't sing or go out of their way to make me upset they just gave me an overly rich dessert. It wasn't bad. So tonight it was nice to sit back and enjoy doing nothing for a night. So happy 10,585 days to me!

A True Gift

2008-09-18T00:17:00.007-06:00

So the other day I had the chance to recieve a truley wonderful gift. It was September the 16th, Tuesday. It started out as any other regular day. I felt a small sense of joy as I began my usual routine of eating, running then getting ready for the day. Now my birthday isn't for another week but I was to recieve a gift early. Sundee asked if I would just take Bree with me to spend some time with her (really to give her a break and chance to get ready). So off we headed to the Newgate Mall in Ogden/Riverdale. Bree and I were talking about the chicken nuggets I was going to buy her after we ran our errands. As we pulled into the parking lot all Bree said was "nuggets" over and over. Now I try and avoid the mall at all costs because of all the people and parking usually sucks, however we parked front and center no problem. As we went into the mall I noticed there weren't a lot of people in there, I guess that makes sense since it was a weekday around 11:30 a.m. Then we headed to our destination, and there it was. My heart began to speed up a little and a strange calm came across Bree as we entered. No screams, no wanting to run around, not even a word as she saw what was taking place in front of her. I spoke to a young man wearing his work shirt and explained I was there to pick "it" up. He asked my name and so it was given. Then he said, "we had left overs from last night, so YOU get one too." I wasn't expecting it but hey I'll take it. I thanked the young man and walked silently on my way. Bree looked up at me and probably noticed the gentle smile on my face because she looked at me and gave a giggle.

The ride home was great no whining, crying or yelling. We shopped at Walmart the entire time Bree sat in the cart and ate her nuggets and didn't complain. The whole time I was there I just couldn't get my mind off it and thought to myself, "I can't wait to get home." Then, the time finally came... I got home and Sundee was there. She looked at me and said, "well?" I pulled the gift out and she smiled, smirked and made a sarcastic comment. I didn't mind, the time had come and I was off to spend a few moments of my time experiencing pure joy!

The gift you ask? No not Bree behaving (although a true miracle), nor Sundee getting a few hours of quiet and not even us traveling safely. It was this...

That is right, Star Wars, The Force Unleashed video game for the Nintendo Wii. I have been waiting to play a game like this and let me tell you it was worth the wait. Now it's not perfect but I am very pleased. Yes I pre-ordered this game so it was reserved for me. When I arrived to the store the kid gave me a Storm Trooper action figure that they handed out at 1201 a.m. when the game was released. I didn't wait at the store to get my copy (Sundee would have left me) but I did go the next day. Now I can actually use the controller as a Light Saber and Jedi Powers! So there it is, my geek side in full view. I feel like a true Jedi swinging my Light Saber around the room!

Bree's at it again

2008-09-12T18:38:00.006-06:00

Bree is a dancing freak! She loves to dance all the time. She is getting good at mimicking the Sesame Street movies we have. Our movie total keeps going up and up. Anyway, usually she tries to do exactly what the movie does but I was able to catch her doing this and I thought it was funny. She just kept moving from side to side. Towards the end she even tries to sing a little. So here is our Sesame street addict at it again... Bree Rules!!!

This one is called Making Music or something like that, it has the Stomp dudes on it.

OK

2008-09-04T14:49:00.003-06:00

Said I wasn't going to post one but thought I would drive everyone crazy for a few days with my music. It won't last long so take advantage of a musical education while you can. Might I suggest you listen to TI - Whatever You Like. It's guaranteed to make you bob your head!

Oh, keep in mind some of the lyrics may be offensive so if you have sensative ears better pause it.