Our Family

This is the blog that never ends

2011-05-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a recap of our year. I can't believe we have lived here for almost a year. We have really enjoyed being here in our little town in Arkansas. Rob is gearing up for his first finals of pharmacy school and we can't belive how the time has flown. So here we go. You might want to get some snacks and kick back and enjoy the show!

The kids had a fun summer playing in our backyard. They basicly lived in their swimming suits since it was soooo hot here. Sometimes I was tempted to join them in their little pool. We never got used to the humditiy but we got used to sweating a lot!

Halloween 2011 was fun in our little neighborhood. Rob dressed up in his famous grim reaper costume. Alli told me she wanted to be tinkerbell then about a week before Halloween she changed her mind and said she wanted to be melman the giraffe. Her grandma saved the day and found one for her and mailed it to her. Jace was supposed to be Darth Vader but refused to wear the costume. So what is a mom to do but dress him in black and print darth vader on his shirt. He was happy and so was I.

We had a yummy Thanksgiving in our home. Rob was in heaven with all of the food. We had leftovers for days.

Alli turned 5 in December so we had a little party for her with her friends. She also helped me make her cake.

Here are some pics of our Christmas Festivities. We had our first Christmas in our home in Arkansas. It was really nice to be together with just our little family. Notice our Christmas tree only has ornaments from the top to the middle. Our kids kept grabbing ornaments and playing with them. So after about 10 ornaments were broken we had to take drastic measures to save the tree! I made the kids felt playhouse's for Christmas. They were a big hit!

My baby boy turned two in the end of December. I can't believe he is two but he is still my baby!

In January we finally got snow. It was only about 2 inches but it shut the town down. Rob has never had so many snow days. We enjoyed the snow because it reminded us of home.

For spring break this year we headed up to Branson, MO with our good friends the Littlefields. We stayed at the Grand country inn resort. The kids were in heaven. There was an indoor splash park, indoor mini golf, an amazing pets show, and arcade. It felt like vegas but for little kids. One night we didn't get back to our hotel room until 11pm and I should have taken a picture of Alli in her tiara with popcorn in one hand and a big piece of cake in the other. She was loving it. Hopefully we can do it again next year. These are the only pictures I have. We were having so much fun we forgot to take pics. So the last day I took some pics of the buildings. Next time I will be better.

In March my parent's were able to come and visit us during their spring break. The kids loved seeing them. Rob was in the middle of midterms and was not able to join a lot of our fun. But we still had a good time. Here are some pics of our trip to the zoo.

Alli and I were able to go to Disney on ice with her good friend Emma and her mom. It was a fun girls day. They had a blast!

Alli goes to a great preschool. For spring they had a picnic and easter egg hunt with the students and their family. She was really excited to have us come have lunch with her at school.

April we celebrated Easter. The kids loved decorating easter eggs. I was a nervous wreck hoping that nobody spilled the dye. Maybe next year we will just use crayons and stickers. Does anyone else's easter pics look like this? My boy was not really in the mood to take pictures after church. So I just took what I could get. Then we had a little easter egg hunt with some friends and an amazingly yummy dinner. It was a good day!

In April I celebrated my 30th Birthday! So of course I had to have a party. It was an 80's party with all of my girlfriends and we had a blast!

.
Well if you have made it to the end of this post congrats! You deserve a prize :) Have a great day. I need to go see what my kids are up to. They are being way too quiet. Peace and quiet in my house is a bad sign!

So it has been awhile :)

2010-11-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yep it has been quiet awhile since I have posted on this blog. I didn't realize it had been 8 months! I will try and do better. There have been some big changes in our household. We now live in Arkansas where Rob is in Pharmacy school. We moved in August and let me tell you it was hot! With the humidity and heat it would feel like 115 degrees some days. We moved to a great house in a cute little neighborhood. The kids have their own rooms and love playing with each other (most of the time). Rob is doing well in school and I am glad we are all healthy and happy. Here are some pictures of the last couple of months in review. Enjoy :)

Moving was quiet an adventure. We all crammed in a big truck and took to the road. 2 days later we finally made it to Arkansas. The Elders Quorum came and helped us unload. They set a record at 24 minutes. It all just ended up in my kitchen or living room. We eventually got everything put away and are happy to be here.

In August Rob received his White coat for Pharmacy school. I think it suits him!

We had to check out the County Fair in September.

In September we went to the Little Rock Airshow. We love airshows! The kids liked it but the eight hour program is a little too long for them. They were good sports though.

In October Rob had a Friday off from school because of fall break. So we rented a cabin on Lake Catherine with our friends. It was beautiful. The cabin was right on the lake and had a private dock. The weather couldn't have been better.

We then went to the Mid America Science Museum which was pretty neat!

Cool new craft

2010-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

I have discovered the art of making hair acessories! My good friend Jana is an expert and is teaching me! I am so excited at my craftiness that I have to post some pics.

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-23T09:53:00.001-08:00

J turned one on December 30th. What a great year it has been. He has such a sweet and easy going personality. He loves being wherever his sister is and playing with her. In his mind he is a big kid and loves to play with her and her friends. His favorite game is peekaboo and loves being tickled. His laugh is infectious and he has the best smile. I can't believe it has already been a year. We love you so much. Happy birthday my sweet boy!

Where did the time go?

2010-01-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is 4! Where did the time go? There has been a lot of laughter, tears, hugs, and lots of love. We are so glad that you are in our family. A we love you and are excited to see what the next years bring.

Disney on Ice

2009-11-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

My brother gave me free tickets to Disney on ice. So I took Alli and my sister in law Kamille with me. We had a girls day out! It was so much fun. A's favorite princess if of course Cinderella. It was a great day!

I have no words

2009-11-23T08:37:00.001-08:00

A little boy in our ward passed away this week of complications from bacterial meningitis. He was Jace's age and his mom and I were always in the mothers room together during church talking about our kids. I remember him dressed up in his little pirate costume for Halloween. He was so precious. I don't always understand God's plan but I know that this little boy couldn't be in better hands right now. His parents came to church last week and she was able to stand up at the pulpit and share with us her testimony of living a righteous life in order to be with your family forever. I am amazed at her strength and courage to keep going. She was not angry just thankful for the time that she had with her little boy. I will always remember her testimony and hope that I will never forget it.

Fall Fun

2009-11-19T16:04:00.001-08:00

Things I love about Fall
*The Pumpkin Walk in North Logan.
*Going to the park a lot before it is too cold to go.
*Getting dressed up and going trick or treating.
*Using my cinnamon/apple glade candle
*Carving pumpkins
Here are some pics of what we did in the fall.

We all dressed up for Halloween this year (including me!) R was the grim reaper, J was Darth Vader (of course!), A was Tinkerbell, and I was an angel (doesn't that fit me perfectly!) We had a lot of fun!

Fall family pictures

2009-10-12T09:03:00.001-07:00

My little man!

2009-09-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

We took J to JCpenney to have some pics taken. He is such a happy kid. It was not hard to get him to smile. The hard part was chosing which photos to buy. There were way too many good ones to chose from.

San Diego Trip 2009

2009-08-26T08:20:00.001-07:00

We had a great trip down to San Diego about a week ago. We went with my parents and my sister Ashley. Here are some pics!

Here is the gorgeous San Diego temple!

This is the old Point Loma Lighthouse. You get great views of the San Diego area. Too bad it was pretty cloudy the day that we went.

San Diego Zoo
A was able to feed the Giraffes. Which was pretty great because her favorite stuffed animal is her giraffe named Melman.

This is Torrey Pines golf course. My dad had to check out the greens. He is also getting J ready to be his golf buddy someday!

Seaworld
This is my favorite part of the trip! It is pretty amazing what these beautiful animals can do. We got there when they opened and didn't leave till after the fireworks at closing time!

4th of July

2009-07-22T14:17:00.001-07:00

2009-07-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

When I peek in on J. This is what I see sometimes. These two little eyes staring back at me. He loves to pull down his crib bumper pad and look out. I just think it is so funny.

Summer Days

2009-07-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

Lagoon Trip

This was A's reaction when you tried to make her go on a ride. Doesn't she look happy!

Pool Fun

The Air Show

2009-06-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

We took the kids and went to the air show at Hill Airforce Base a couple weeks ago. It was amazing!! You wouldn't think 7 hours of looking up in the sky watching airplanes would be entertaining for that long but it was. We kept thinking we would leave after a couple of hours but we stayed for the whole thing. Which was a good thing because the finale was 5 jets called the Thunderbirds and they were amazing. A enjoyed the first five minutes and then she just hung out in her stroller eating all sorts of treats and snacks I brought to entertain her. J was okay he didn't enjoy the big jets as much because they were a little loud. Hopefully they will have them more often and we can go again because it was well worth it!

Random Thoughts

2009-05-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Okay so I don't watch American Idol (I know I'm weird) and all of my shows had season finales last week. So I was just flipping through the channels this week and I came upon a show that I loved. It is called Glee and it is on Fox channel 13. It is going to be a new show for the fall but they previewed the pilot this week and it was sooo good. If you like singing and dancing which normally I don't but this time I did. I also have a major problem with channel flipping but something wouldn't let me flip the channel. I watched the whole episode and that is big for me because usually I get bored and start flipping. Anyway you can see the episode free on the Fox website or on Itunes.

Also don't forget to watch So you yhink you can dance tonight!! Love it! This show is like my American Idol!! Next thought.......

A wakes up with this hair do almost every morning. I have no idea what she does in her sleep but somehow it ends up like this. I need some suggestions and what works for this kind of crazy curly rat nest. Because it is getting a little tiring for me and A trying to deal with it every day. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee!! Next thought..............

I finally got my Cricut for Mothers Day and these are some projects I made for the kids with it. I think they turned out pretty cute. I am still learning how to use it but so far I love it!!

Last but not least here are some Easter photos I don't think I ever posted. Enjoy!!

Month in review

2009-04-14T14:13:00.001-07:00

First off J's blessing day was on March 1st. It was a great day and J was such a trooper letting everyone smother him with hugs and kisses!

I was able to go with my friend Addie to the Scrapbook USA expo at the South Towne expo center in SLC. After a half an hour of driving around trying to find a parking spot I was ready to give up and go home but Addie wouldn't let me so we finally ended up getting there and it was HUGE. I mean there were so many booths it was crazy. I already had a set amount of cash ready to use and once it was gone I couldn't buy anything else. I was very proud of myself for not whipping out the debit card and keep spending (though I could've for sure). Anyway we also bought the film Twilight and had a total girls weekend (with Jace but he didn't mind as long as he was fed and changed he was good to go) It was a lot of fun and I recommend it if you can stand crowds of crazy scrapbookers because you really get some good deals!!

One of my favorite book series "the Mortal Instruments" came out with it's final book in the trilogy "City of Glass" this month and I went out and bought it immediatley! I highly recommend it! It is like a mix of Harry Potter and Twilight.

My baby boy is growing up and out (ha ha) literally. He is now 15 pounds and is so much fun to squeeze!

We had a great Easter weekend this year. A was able to color eggs and have her own easter egg hunt. After she was done finding all the eggs she took all the eggs from her basket and hid them again herself because she wanted to do it again.

I found this great frame at Hobby Lobby for 40% off and it goes great with the pictures we took at JCPenney. I love it!

A loves to raid my sock drawer and put socks on her feet and hands. Then she comes up to me and asks "How do I look?"

Did anyone go the the big Shopko sale a week or two ago?? Well I did and I got a great deal on a double stroller! I am so excited. Too bad the weather can't make up it's mind and just be warm so I could use my stroller more!!

J has found his thumb and they are best friends. He loves it but hates binkies. I know it should be a bad thing for them to suck on their thumb but when he can put himself to sleep with it I say oh well.

Last but not least. If you want to see a good clean chick flick then you have to go see Confessions of a Shopaholic!! I laughed and laughed becuase come on what women doesn't have a little shopping problem now and then. Very cute!

Kid Pictures!

2009-03-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

I took A and J to JcPenney to have their pictures taken and here is how they turned out! I thought A was going to have a hard time sitting for pictures and that J would be great but it was the complete opposite. J didn't like it at all and A was working the camera like a pro!

Happy Valentines day

2009-02-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hey I am posting this a little early because I always forget and post stuff late. So I am getting a jump start. It has been a little busier around here now with two kids. When you get one happy the other needs you. It is an endless cycle but it keeps it from being boring. J is doing great! I call him my chunky monkey because he is now a little over ten pounds and is a month old. He is a really good baby and as long as he has a full tummy and clean diaper he is just fine. Mostly he just watches A run around like crazy! She is loving having someone to give kisses to and show all of her toys to. She also is starting to potty train!! One day she just started wanting to go to the potty without any pushing from mommy. I never thought the day would come but she thinks it is a new game. Hopefully she doesn't get bored with it. Well that is an update with our lives. We are just waiting to hear from Pharmacy schools and hoping to hear some good news. Rob loves being graduated (FINALLY) and can't wait to start building some star wars model kits he got for Christmas. I had no idea he liked star wars this much but oh well at least he didn't name my kid chewbacca right?? So Happy Valentines day and here are some pics of my Valentines!!

J is finally here!

2009-01-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

After about 4 hours of labor and an epidural (which in my opinion is a must) J was born at 12:13pm on December 30th. He was a healthy 9 lbs exactly and was 21 inches long. I could not believe how big he was! No wonder I was so huuuuge! I am just grateful that he is healthy and everything couldn't have gone better that day. Such a difference from the first one. I am pretty sure it had something to do with having an epidural to help with the pain. A loves him to death and is constantly covering him with sloppy kisses. She is not jealous at all and loves to sing him "the cinderella song". I am truly blessed. I will post more pictures in the future but with two kids now I am short on time so this is just a quick peek!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T09:34:00.001-08:00

Playing in the snow!

2008-12-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Busy Week

2008-12-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

The first week of December is always pretty busy for our family. December 6th Rob and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. Wow that makes me feel old. Then on December 8th A turned 3 years old!! Now that makes me feel really really old. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and daughter. Nothing else compares! Here are some pics of the celebrations!

Rob surprised me with some beautiful long stem roses!

Grandpa Cook and Aunt Millie helping with the birthday crown

A likes horses and the color pink so this was the perfect present!

A with her cousin. I have a feeling these two are going to be trouble!

Turkey Bowl

2008-12-05T12:36:00.001-08:00

Here is some pics of the Family annual Turkey bowl game. I was sidelined do to being very very pregnant. So I was in charge of the camcorder. After about 2 hours the score was 7-0. I think maybe next year we can work on our offensive game a little bit more.

New Glasses

2008-11-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

I went to the eye doctor the other day and decided to get new glasses. I was tired of getting the same old glasses and decided to try something a little different. What do you think?

2008-11-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

Okay so I can't have a blog post without a picture so here is another one of A with clothes on. I always thought if I had a daughter I would be able to dress her up real cute and do her hair cute. Well A has no interest in being my little doll so when I do get the rare chance to make her cute I take advantage of it!
WARNING: LONG STORY STARTING SO BEAR WITH ME!
Yesterday I woke up and felt like I was having menstrual cramps. Which made me a little concerned. So I think well I will wait and see if they go away. Of course they don't so I call my doctor and he is out of the office. I am like great the one time I need him he is not around. So I debate some more and finally call the hospital and they page him. I tell him what is going on and he wants me to go to the hospital for some tests. So my wonderful sister in law picks up A for me and I go get R to go to the hospital with me. We get to the hospital and the nurses make me get undressed (completely!) and put me in a gown and then hook me up to a fetal heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff. I was getting flashbacks of being in labor. I give them a urine sample and they take some swab tests from some areas you really don't want to be swabbed at and then we wait. Then one of the nurses comes in with a needle and I am like what is going on. She is like look at the monitor and she shows us that I am having contractions that are 3 minutes apart. I had no idea. I mean I was in some pain but nothing like what Alli's labor was. But that was also a pitocin induced labor which I hear can be a lot more painful which I can vouch for! So she gives me a shot of turbutaline (spell check) which is a muscle relaxant that will hopefully stop my contractions but will speed up my heart and make me shaky. I am like oh great. She also precedes to tell me all that can be happening to me and if I am in real active labor they will have to send to McKay hospital because I am only 31 weeks along and Logan hospital only delivers at 32 weeks. She also says just about everything that can go wrong and pretty much freaks me out. So they get the test results back and I was not in real active labor but I have a bladder infection that was causing me to have preterm labor. So I they give me an antibiotic and my contractions have stopped so they send me home. So what I thought was just going to be an hour thing turned out to be four hours. Let me tell you I was a little tired when we got home. I am on moderate bed rest for now just to make sure that I don't start anything up again. So that was my little adventure for the day. I don't recommend it because that turbutaline stuff makes you feel like a drug addict going into withdrawals. I am glad everything was okay but do feel stupid that all this was caused by a bladder infection I didn't even know I had. Well if you have made it this far in my story congratulations! You definitely should get a prize! Hope your day was not as entertaining as mine!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-05T10:32:00.001-08:00

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. A loved dressing up as Snow White. Rob was the Grim Reaper and I did not wear a costume because I feel like I am already in one (being 8 months pregnant and all) We went over to the grandparents and made cupcakes and watched scary movies while Rob answered the door for trick or treaters. It was fun!

Hair cut!

2008-10-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know what got into me today but I thought it was time that Alli had a trim. So I sat her on the bathroom counter and started cutting. She was very good and didn't move too much. She now has bangs and the lenghth is about 1/2 inch shorter!! Thankfully she has naturally curly hair so it will hide any of my mistakes!

2008-10-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been feeling a litle frumpy lately. I mean it is hard to feel too attractive when you are in desperate need of a haircut, have gained 20 pounds (so far) because of a pregnancy, because of that pregnancy have a serious lack of clothes, and just are too tired to bother too much with makeup and hair. Well today when I was putting my hair up in its usual ponytail bob. A looks at me and says "Your so beautiful, mommy" I was so touched. Motherhood is hard and you don't always get a thank you at the end of the day but these are the moments you cherish and will always remember. So I just felt the need to write it down before I forget because I need to remember that I am beautiful even when I have swollen ankles and stretch marks!!

Potty training!

2008-10-01T09:46:00.001-07:00

Okay so after cleaning poop from my carpet twice yesterday I realize I need help. A hates to wear diapers anymore but she will not go near her new cute winnie the poo potty that I bought her a couple of weeks ago. I thought she would love it but I was wrong. So she does let me put diapers on her but the minute they get wet or poopy they come off. So I usually find her running around my house naked. If anyone has any suggestions to get her interested in the potty let me know!

2008-10-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have been immersed in the color pink for about two years now. So to be able to shop for blue stuff has been really fun. I saw this onesie and had to get it. I have only about 3 months left so I am trying to get everything ready. We have the crib set up and A loves to get in it and read books. Which I think is funny because as a baby she hated her crib. Anyway we are also trying to narrow down names. My husband is trying to sneak in a Star Wars name which I guess being a girl I just don't understand?? I am sorry but Darth Vader is not the name I plan on calling my son. Hopefully we can come to a nice compromise.

Scrapbook fun

2008-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to go play for a couple of days with my best friend. I left A with my husband and just took off. We had so much fun! It is amazing how many scrapbook pages you can get done when you don't have a two year old around. So I just wanted to show some of my favorites that I have made for my little boy. I am trying to get a lot of his pages done now so that when I have him and have no time whatsoever to scrapbook I can just stick the pictures on the already made page. I purchased a simply scrappin kit from Stampin Up and just went crazy. I love their scrappin kits because they give you everything you need like stickers, designer paper and cardstock and you just slap them on a page.

2008-10-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

So I decided to make A a piece quilt for Christmas and here is how it turned out!! It is my first one and if you look real close you can tell but I love it so oh well. I just wanted to give A something that she can have as an heirloom from her mom. My next project is to make a little boy piece quilt. So we will see how that turns out. They are a lot of work but so worth it in the end!

Grandma's house

2008-08-17T19:11:00.001-07:00

What happens at Grandma's house stays at Grandma's house???

Family fishing day

2008-08-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Every year the family has a fishing day. We never really catch any fish but we sure do enjoy trying! This year we went to Tony's Grove. It was a beautiful day.

Pool Fun

2008-08-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of fun this summer! Swimming in Rob's parents pool is one of our favorite things to do. Alli has become such a good little swimmer. She can hold her breath under water and blow bubbles. Next year she will for sure be swimming on her own!!

Fun Park Fun

2008-08-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

A and her cousin love going to the Fun Park at least once every other week.

Bear Lake Fun

2008-08-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

2008-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you leave your 2 yr old unattended for a short period of time. A decided she wanted to take some lotion and smear it all over my dresser mirror. She thought it was a beautiful masterpiece but was willing to help mommy clean it up.

Welcome

2008-07-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We have finally succumbed to the peer pressure and started a blog! We are not sure how this will work but we will give it a try. Our first big blog update is that we are going to have baby boy in January! We just found out yesterday and our so excited. He is very healthy and strong which is such a blessing. I loved watching his little heart pumping away it was beautiful! Here is a picture of out little dude. He is just sitting back with his hands behind his head just chillin!!