My family

the little things...

2012-01-14T19:15:00.002-08:00

So I have been thinking about Kourtney a lot lately and I sometimes will google her name (just cuz:) it always brings up her obituary and also the aicardi website were I posted a little thing about her when she passed away. Well for years everytime I click on her name (in loving memory) it always brought up some seizure med thing - until today:) now I do not know how long it has been fixed (I don't check often) but it is fixed and I am so excited. Yay!!!!!!!

We went to my brothers house today - after stupid work. We watched the 49ers and the Saints play (football) Not that I am a football watcher by any means (I read my Kindle most of the time)but Dan has been a 49ers fan for as long as I have known him and he had so much fun watching them win:)

I got a Kindle fire for Christmas and I love love it. I just got a protective cover on it (the back is pink the front is clear). My friend told me about a series that I just had to read - so I read the first book this week and just started onto the second book. It is The Hunger Games. So my sister-in-law informed me that the series has been out for a while (ok more then a while:) but i had not heard of them until now and I love them - so far:)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I am sad that it is over - but maybe a little happy too:)

So I figured I would write down some of the goals I have for this year - no judging ok lol

Eat less junk food -wait, does pizza count
work-out more (maybe I am a little lazy ok)
keep my house cleaner
not stress out over things that I can not control
remember to enjoy life and not always view everything as a chore - because I might do that a little:)

The kids are excited that it is now 2012 - less excited about winter break being over though. We even stayed up until midnight this year (and got up again at 2 when Jax started to puke in the hall way).

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I did:) well, except Dan was sick for a few days before Christmas and in bed most of Christmas day:( Other then that it was pretty fun. The kids were spoiled this year and got a lot of what they wanted. On Christmas eve is when they each got their big gifts from Great Grandma and Grandpa Fulton -

Surprise!!!!!!

the joys:)

an XBox

a Turtle, a pet turtle.

I hope that everyone had a great holiday season:) and that all were able to enjoy the season with little stress. Haha I know. Oh and no picture I forgot but Kadrey got all of the Monster High dolls from Grandma Rozzy and Aunt Kali - she loves them.

Family Pictures

2011-12-18T20:38:00.001-08:00

Last week we had a friend of ours take our family pictures ....... I think they are pretty cute:)

Greg Fulton

2011-12-01T14:12:00.001-08:00

Gregory Wayne Fulton

53, of Chandler, AZ, passed away November 26, 2011 at

his home in Chandler, after a three-year battle with ALS

(Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Greg was born July 7, 1958, in

Phoenix, and grew up in Tempe where he worked for

his father at Eaglesons and Fulton Homes. From his

early years, Greg was an avid ﬁsherman and loved

sports. He is survived by his parents, Ira and Mary Lou

Fulton, and son, Michael Fulton. Also surviving are his

brother, Douglas S. Fulton, and sister, Lorie A. Nicholls

(Norman). Visitation is planned from 6-8 pm Tues., Nov

29, at the Pleasant 2nd Ward Building of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 800 W. Chandler Heights Blvd. (between

Arizona Avenue and Alma School Road). Funeral services will be at 10:00 am

Wed., Nov. 30, also at the church, with visitation one hour prior to services.

Contributions in Greg’s memory may be made to the ALS Clinic at St. Joseph’s

Hospital, 350 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, 85013. Arrangements by Bueler Mortuary

Dan's biological father passed away this past weekend. He made some not so good choices in his life but he has been -for the last few years- working on turning his life around. He never got to meet Kadrey and Jaxon but will get to spend time with Kourtney and for that we are grateful:)

Shorter!

2011-11-29T07:58:00.001-08:00

So I am a little behind - sorry. Life gets so busy you know:) Both kids are playing basketball and indoor soccer and with practices and games and work there is just not a lot of time for bloging:(

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was nice - we hung out at my parents and played games and ate (and there was only some fighting:) I think its time for us to find a new food tradition because I think I am bored of the whole turkey dinner thing.

Sometimes drastic changes are needed in life - so heres mine:)

After

before

My brothers wedding

2011-11-22T16:07:00.001-08:00

My brother got married a couple of weeks ago....I am happy for R.W. and Vanessa (and Addi)....here are some pictures and a small video of some cute kids.

school Carnival - in sept. (and tree climbing).

2011-11-12T14:00:00.001-08:00

I was looking a pictures on Dans phone and relized that i forgot to tell about the kids school carnival.
It was back in Sept. so it was a lot warmer and it stayed light outside a bit longer:)

They had lots of games and booths for the kids - they even had a hair painting one.

There was this football toss game. They had to stand on this line and make it into the tire and then move back to another line make it and move back one more time. Jaxon went first - made all three on the first try, Kadrey then went she made hers too (she had to try the mid. one twice -- because she did miss the first time). What can I say they are pretty awesome:)

Dan took the kids to the park one day while I was a work - they climbed trees (and had a good time)

those are mushrooms - gross huh!

pumpkins for Halloween

2011-11-12T13:49:00.001-08:00

Kadreys - the hair is tissue paper!

We made (carved or painted) pumpkins for Halloween - so much fun! Haha

Jaxons and Dans - they carved theirs!

Kourtneys - i decided to try and make it a cat
I think it turned out cute:)

Everyones all together on our porch.
The painting took a while so I did not have time to do
anything with mine.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

This year the kids were both vampires (again). Very scary (very cute) Vampires - so watch out they might get you -lol!

No snow or rain this year !

PT conference

2011-10-30T11:06:00.001-08:00

So, its that time of year again (ok so PT conference was really like 2 weeks ago - I am a little behind:).
We met with both kids teachers and got to check up on their progress. They are both doing well.

Kadrey is at or above grade level in most all subjects - she is only slightly behind in math. The girl is so funny (and drives me crazy) - her big goal in life is to make it to Notre Dame and already gets very upset at her self when she does not do her school work perfect. She is a bit of a perfectionist so her cursive work takes her hours because it need to look just right. She has woken me up in the middle of the night before and told me that she is "stressing out" because of homework. Its sound cute right?! but some days -after all she is only in 4th grade. She is trying her best and doing awesome - I am so proud:)

Jaxon is doing really well also. He to is at or above grade level in most areas. He is also slightly behind in Math. He, on the other hand does not really worry about school and some days I have to fight him and threaten grounding just to get him to do his homework. He also get in trouble almost daily for talking while he should not be and also for getting out of his seat and getting off task - this issue we have been working on since Kindergarten- other then that he is doing great at school and I am very proud of him.

So all in all they are doing pretty good and both got to pick out a couple of books at the book fair.

I sure do love these kids:)

The mountains

2011-10-30T11:05:00.001-08:00

Dan spend last weekend and Friday hunting - he did not get a deer but he had a lot of fun. He did get to see a lot of deer and other animals and he got to spend time in amazing surroundings! (lucky)
.

my silly kids.

2011-10-08T18:03:00.005-08:00

They are not really asleep LOL

My kids are so silly (and cute). They sure know how to have a good time:) Love them!

They always bring a smile to my face -(even when they are being naughty, i just try not to let them see me at those times).

hot dog roast

2011-10-06T17:37:00.001-08:00

The other day we had an outside hotdog roast - it was so much fun. We decided that before the weather changed too much it was time to bust out our fire pit and have a little outdoor cook- out. We had a great time and the food was pretty yummy:) We invited Dans cousin Kassi, her friend Dan (he came later so he did not eat with us,just played soccer and hung- out) and also Dans Brother-in-law made a surprise visit with his kids. It sure was a fun evening:)

and.........

2011-09-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

On my birthday between shopping and SLC I got to go and watch Kadrey at her soccer game - she is awesome:) her team won 11 to 1. She made 8 of the goals (Dan finally had to move her back to play defence, because really after a beating like that no one is having fun). I don't get to watch her saturday games all the time and so I love when I do get to see them. She does play on a comp team (it all boys except her:) and those games are in the evening during the week so I get to see all of those.

She is growing up so fast I can hardley believe it. Already 9 and thinks she is all grown-up.

My Birthday!

2011-09-29T19:41:00.004-08:00

So this last week I turned 31 years old....can you believe it 31. I don't feel that old and i hope I don't look that old - I remember as a kid always thinking that people in their 30's were so old - but people don't think that anymore right?! haha

I had an awesome birthday - My Best Friend from High School came to town and after many years of not seeing her we got to spend the whole day together. We went to the mall and bought clothes (well, mostly she bought), we then went to O.H.S (they have been remodeling the school for a bunch of years) they were having an open house to show off how fancy it is now (some parts are still under construction weird huh?!) We then went to SLC and went to the General RS meeting (I have never been to the conference center it was pretty amazing) - it was so nice to go (her sister - in - law got tickets and took us:) Then we went to Red Lobster! Such a fun night.

I hope we can get together much more often then we have in the past:) maybe now that she lives in this state that will help right

Weekend of fun -

2011-09-20T12:24:00.002-08:00

We sure did have a lot of fun this weekend -
Jax had his soccer game and scored 2 goals and Kadrey scored 6 (maybe it was 5 - either way amazing right?!). I had asked for Saturday off because originally my family was going to go to Logan and watch Kassi (Dan's cousin) run a marathon - sadly Kadreys game started in the afternoon and Kassi ran too fast (that part is not sad:) so we never got to see her run. But after the run she brought the gang down to see us and watch the end of Kadreys game - they all ended hanging out at our house most of the evening ... we had a BBQ, roasted mallows, and just hung out. It was a lot of fun (we have not all gotten together in like 5 years).
My sister had her birthday this past week so on Sunday me and the kids went to my parents house where they had a little party for her. My dad made some yummy food for dinner (i do not know how to spell it but I will try - millinasa - ) and I made the cake and we just sat around and laughed and had a good time. I went to their house earlier this week and I was helping my sister make some lemon bars because it was her b- day and she really wanted some - not my best work that day- they were a total failure:) but the cake turned out good.
This weekend should be fun my friend from high school is going to be in town -
I will try to remember pic of that day:)

REAL Soccer game.

2011-09-12T17:02:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity (like a week and a half ago) to go and watch a "professional" soccer game with some cousins. We had a blast!

The game was Real Salt Lake vs. Philadelphia Union

We sat right behind the goal - it was kinda crazy having balls fly at us - but Dan caught 2 and got to throw them back to the goalie so he was pretty excited.

We all had such a fun time and we hope we get to go again . Really Kadrey would love to go to Argentina and watch them play and Dans dream has always been to go to England and watch Manchester play but I guess that watching Real play will have to do for now:)

soccer season is back.

2011-09-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I am not as excited for it as I usually am but that is only because I have to work on Saturdays now.
Dan is coaching both kids this year. I was not there but from what I am hearing - Both kids had amazing games. Both teams lost, but Kadrey and Jaxon did awesome.
Just have to remind them (and maybe me) that soccer is a team sport and not one person can win the game and the most important things are to try your best and have fun.

First day of school

2011-08-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

The first day of school was on Tuesday...Today is the first chance I have gotten to show off the pictures. We are all pretty excited :) My kids are growing up way too fast.

Summertime fun:)

2011-08-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

ok So we have been having a lot of fun this summer and we have had some "post worthy" pictures - I just have not had time to do anything with them ( and I have been kinda lazy) until now.

Kadrey is on an all boys comp. soccer team. She had a tournament last week. She never has played soccer with boys (except at practice) and she was a little intimidated at first. But she figured it out - it was fun to watch her play.

She was so excited that everyone came to watch her play in the Championship game. Her team ended up taking second place (which I feel is pretty amazing) she had a lot of fun and is now even more excited for the actual season to begin. She is definitely our little athlete. I am so proud of her:)

We went to a Bees game ( with some friends from Dans work). Even though the Bees lost we had fun and they had an awesome firework show afterwards.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Howells house and went swimming with some of the cousins one day. We sure had a lot of fun. the kids loved showing off their acrobatic skills -

love my girl:)

2011-08-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today Kourtney came to earth and although her stay was brief she taught us many things:) We love her so much and miss her always -

"We feel Heaven in our home because someone we love is in Heaven"

Happy Birthday Kourty !!!!!!!!!!!!

One year older

2011-08-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Jaxon had his b-day (like a week ago) and his is now 7 - wow he is getting grown up:)

It is just crazy how time flies - seems like not so long ago he was just a little one - now he is a big one.
OK so to be honest he has always been a big little one but you know what i mean.

He had a fun B-day party (last minute of course) so some of his friends came - we played with water balloons and had a friendly little soccer match - I forgot to get pictures but they had a good time. I made him cute little cupcakes he wanted baseballs and soccer balls but the soccer ball where an epic failure so mostly they were baseballs (again no pictures, sorry:()

HaPPy BiRthDay Joge love you!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday-

2011-08-03T12:29:00.001-08:00

Today is Dans birthday!
He is getting pretty old - Haha.
Just kidding Danny -

your only 32 and that is still pretty young:)

Happy Birthday to you :) love you!

10 year anniversary

2011-07-28T13:04:00.004-08:00

Dan and I had our Ten year anniversary the other day.

I can't believe ten years have past already - its crazy. Where does the time go?

Sometimes it seems that we have been together much longer then that - we have been through a lot in that amount of time, and the kids are getting so big.

Love you Danny - I am looking forward to the next ten:)

Dinosaur park...

2011-07-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

We went to Dinosaur park this past week - for Jaxons birthday (last year) grandma gave him passes to go there. We finally went:)
Really it was a little lame and very hot that day but our "playing" ended up not costing us anything (they no longer except the gift card that we had -maybe next time we should not wait so long - woopsie.)

Dan caught a snake!!!!

The kids wanted to touch it - they thought it was cool
not me though:( YUCK!

We got a lot of fun pictures that day - maybe too many:) The kids had fun - Thanks Grandma

10 years!

2011-07-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

Now that is a long time - Good Job Babe

4th of July....

2011-07-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

So the 4th was almost a week ago - but I wanted to tell you all about it:)

Kadrey was in a parade (again). I was a "parade mom" -basically I had to make sure the girls in my row all stayed together and did not run off- sorry no pictures of this but just imagine the pictures from the last parade because it was pretty much the same:) This parade was crazy - candy crazed people everywhere - running in the road and up to the floats screaming for candy, I even had to ask people to move so that our line could get through -ridiculous.

We went to Vanessa's and had a "picnic" inside and then we went swimming:) It was a lot of fun and it only rained a little (stupid weather - sometimes it is unbelievably hot and other it is stormy - you never know from one moment to the next what you will get). Dan could not make it , he had to sleep because he had to work that night - but the kids and I had a lot of fun:) I did manage to get some pictures - I guess the pictures feel they need to be on top of the post instead of at the bottom:)

Terrace Days (that only lasts for 1 day)

2011-06-30T10:21:00.001-08:00

We had Terrace Days last week (or maybe it was the week before?)
Kadrey is in a little dance class - Lady Titans- so she was in the parade - they were supposed to preform that night also but due to circumstances beyond my control they did not...ugh!!!!!!!!

We had a lot of fun at the "festivities" held after the parade. We hung out with some friends of ours and the kids played, got their faces painted, the girls got feathers in their hair (that ended up hurting them, Kadrey pulled hers out later that night) we had pizza (from papa Johns - yummy) snow cones, and then we watched fireworks. Oh, and we saw a monster truck - but lets be serious - that was pretty lame:)

All in All it was a fun night!

Baseball/softball

2011-06-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

We all know how great I am at taking pictures (sorry). Dan got some of Kadrey but we didn't get any of Jaxon playing.

The season was pretty short and a lot of the games where rained out but the kids had fun.

Jaxon has a natural talent for the game (he may have found his sport) and this is his third year playing. Uncle Bryan has been practicing with him a lot and he really is getting his throwing accuracy down:) It is fun to watch him play. We still have to remind him to pay attention - it gets pretty boring just standing on base waiting for someone to hit the ball, so you can run and its not like they are pros or anything, so sometimes it is a long wait:) I love watching him play. He is awesome.

Kadrey has only been playing for 2 years. This was her first year in softball. Her coach picked 2 girls at the beginning of the season that she thought should pitch and only taught them - well, that did not fly with me so Dan and Uncle Bry started working with her. By the end of the season the coach was having her pitch whole games:) I am so proud of her. Her team was not great (they won 1 game this season). But she always tried her best and what more can you ask of a kid:) She is pretty amazing:)

Camping

2011-06-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

We went camping a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun. The river was really high and it was a little rainy and cold but we got to stay in a "lodge" (at my parents stake camp) so we made the best of things, lots of fun stuff to do indoors and it only rained some of the time so we went outside too:)

Dan and R.W found a ping pong table in the storage room of this lodge and pulled it out to have a little fun (I think this table is kinda old, and has probably seen better days:)

Ninja Bryan!!!!!!

There was even an indoor fireplace so we made s'mores. We used those huge marshmallows. Dan managed to stuff 2 in his mouth at once but the champion is Karlee, she got 3. (I did not have my camera near while this was happening up it was pretty funny)

And the rain did stop long enough for everyone to go play some baseball and volleyball and go hiking.

I am glad we got to go and I hope we can go again. 13 of us where there the whole time and then my Bro. and his family came up for a little while and so did my mom and my sister (the available slot happened to be on weekdays some had to work.)

I am a burrito! and other random pictures:)

2011-06-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

make-up

2011-06-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after Kadrey was all dressed and ready for church she decided to try on put on some make-up. I caught her in the act:) and told her that she was not old enough to wear make-up places (its ok to play with but not to wear out). She threw the biggest fit, was arguing the point and even woke Dan up to ask him what he thought (would any dad want his 9 yr old wearing make-up:) - She then slammed her door shut and would not talk to me (and pouted most of the day) and then came out of her room and started to argue about it again - why do they make make-up for kids?, you wear make-up, I'm not a little girl, ect.....) I told her that she was already so pretty that she did not need anything to dress her up more - She rolled her eyes. I told her 15 was when she could start to wear it Dan told her 21 - huh... (This was her look yesterday at church ( so cute)).

Kadrey's "Exta" team

2011-06-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Kadrey with her Extra Team! They only lost 2x (they played 12 games). She had a fun session. They are not having an Extra Team next year - only 2 girls tried out in her age division, most of the girls are moving up an age division and AYSO would not let us move Kadrey up. So she will will be playing on an all boys team next year:) We really did have fun this session - watching her play is always fun (except for maybe in the rain).

schools out

2011-05-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

The kids are done with school until after summer and they are so excited:)

They have been arguing and "teasing" each other since I picked them up - I hope this does not last all summer long, it could very easily send me. I am excited because fighting them to get to sleep every night and then again to get up every morning was starting to get to me. (They struggled with the fact that they needed to be in bed even though it was still light out.)

I am starting my "New" job on Monday and the stress of that could be adding to the stress level of our house I guess:)

Yay us!

2011-05-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was award day for our family:)

Dan went to Jaxons award assembly in the morning and not only did Jaxon earn his 1st grade Doctorate degree he also earn the most improved reader award - he worked really hard for this and I am so proud of him.

I went to Kadreys in the afternoon and she not only earned her Doctorate degree she also got the citizenship award and 5/5 sections correct on her Language Arts block test and also 5/6 on her math block test. She is amazing - she also earned $22 from her teacher for all of her hard work. Her teacher paid her in $2 bills.

I also got the Presidents volunteer service award (thank to me working for Americorps.)

So much excitement at our house yesterday.

Oh and I thought I would let you know that I am no longer working at the schools after tomorrow and starting on Monday I am working at Maceys again (the Clinton store, not the Ogden one). The schools are cutting the hours and I needed to be employed for the summer and get more hours during the year.

Dans Walmart has opened and he is really enjoying it. He works all the time it seems but he is doing awesome and is really loving it. I am way proud of him.

The End:)

2011-05-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, for those of you who did not hear........... The world was supposed to end today:) People had signs and everything. But since I am writing this post and you are reading it I guess it did not happen today.

Kadrey turned 9 years old today! It is amazing that it has been nine years. Time goes so fast. She is a great kid and I am very thankful for her:) She had her party today and we had a pretty good turnout and they all seemed to have a lot of fun (which is good considering that the Party Planning was really last minute.) After her party we went with friends downtown to a Pirate Party. The kids had to follow a treasure map around the Junction (to earn a chance to be entered into a drawing to win a prize:) They really had a blast.

Today was also the last Saturday soccer games of the season for the kids and they really had a lot of fun. I am sad that it is over but we have been so busy lately that I am a little glad too. Both kids won their games.

So even though the world is still here (until Octorber) somethings did end for us today - Kadrey ended her eight year reign and started onto her ninth. The soccer season ended for the kids. Dan also ended his nights off for the week:)

Me again!

2011-05-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know that it has been a while.....sorry - life is just nonstop crazyness:).

I will give a run down of my schedule ( for this week )

Monday- Softball (Kadrey) Baseball (Jaxon) at different parks - good thing Kadrey has a friend on the team so she rode with them ( I did watch some of her game, though). Dan also has a soccer game.

Tuesday - Soccer practice and Dance practice (Kadrey)

Wednesday - Soccer game (Kadrey)

Thursday - Soccer practice (Kadrey and Jaxon, Dan is the coach:) Dance practice (Kadrey)

Friday - Clean house, make b-day cake for Kadrey and post (instead of planning her party:)

Saturday - Soccer games (Kadrey and Jaxon) baseball practice (Jax) Kadreys party

I thought that softball started next week and I was not expecting the soccer/softball sessions to overlap. Kadrey begged to do the dance thing (they will be performing in 2 parades and at Terrace Days) I kept telling her no that she was too busy but she managed to talk me into it (she does not mind being busy I guess, and she loves it:)

We did manage last weekend to go to the Kids Safe Fair with my friend and we had fun after we checked out the fair we went to this little Cafe and had a donut and then we rode the Trolly around down town. The kids had a blast

Boys will (always) be boys

2011-04-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

We spent some time at my parents house on Sunday! Dan and 1 of my brothers (always craziness when any of them get together) decided that they needed to get something off of the roof, after both of them went up and the item was retrieved they decided that they should stay up there for a while and "explore"! I am just glad that no one got hurt. Neighborhood kids watching from the ground were telling them to jump - thank goodness they didn't:)

Happy Easter.

2011-04-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I took the kids to an Easter egg "hunt". Not so much a hunt and a race because you see the eggs were not hidden anywhere just placed on the ground to be snatched up:) I did not get any pictures of Kadrey because she was with her friend in a different age group - I was in charge of the boys. But if you look behind them you will see the taped off area and all of the eggs. Its amazing how many kids where there and that it only lasted like

3min. but it was fun and I will probably take them to it again next year.

This morning when the kids got up we had been visited by The Easter bunny. The bunny was given instructions to not leave a ton of candy this year, because then everyone feels like candy needs to be the main food item for days and days. The kids had fun. We had an Easter Egg hunt in the living room - munch on some candy - then went to church.

Church was nice - I always like hearing about the Resurrection (the main reason we celebrate Easter). Sometimes it seems that the real reasons for holidays gets forgotten about, we only remember the fairy tale stuff - The way things are now people act like every holiday should be like Christmas (spending tons of money that is! not remembering Jesus)

I am thankful for all that has been given to me and I am so glad that it is possible for me to be with my loved ones again someday.

My Kourtney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-04-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

Today marks two years since Kourtney left her home on earth and returned to her Heavenly

Father. I love her lots and lots and I miss her. She is a very special Angel and is in a very special place. I am happy that I day I get to be with her again:)

The doctors told me that she would probably not live through the birth and I prayed that she would get to spend a little while with her family. After she was born I was told that we might get one day with her. We got eight months - at times it was trying on us, but I will always be grateful:) I love her so much!

Jaxon was told that because his little sister had died he was not a big brother anymore - that really upset him. I told him that even though Kourtney now lives in heaven and not on earth he would always be her big brother. She will always be part of all of us.

Yay for Dan!

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Dan recently got a promotion at work and moved from the Harrisville Walmart to the one that is not yet open near 20th street (by the river.) The store does not open until May but he started working there this week. He is a support Manager. He has been working some long hours this week. He says he feels like he basically lives there and just comes home to sleep for a few hours between shifts:) I know it is hard on him and I am really happy that he so willing to work so hard for us:) He is THE BEST.

The park.

2011-04-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

The last day of spring break it decided to not rain or snow so Kadrey, Jaxon, and Aunt Kali venture out into the cool weather and played at the park. Dan and I met up with them and I was able to get some fun pictures of them. There was still snow on the ground but they did not care:) they loved it.

Mom, I can fix it - see!

2011-04-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jaxon "accidentally" ripped the little puff ball off the top of Kadrey's hat. She was upset and Jaxon was sad because he is very tender hearted and often regrets his bad decisions almost instantly :). After his time - out and her crying he came up to me with her hat, puff ball, and piece of tape and said "Mom, I can fix it - see"

spring/winter break:(

2011-04-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Last year we enjoyed our spring break withwinter temperatures and snow on the ground - this year is a lot of the same :( We had big plans for this extra long weekend - we had to postpone most of them! We have kept busy going to krispy kreme donuts, playing with cousins, going to soccer games, window shopping and going to the Air Force Base Museum - so

I guess that kind of makes up for the yucky weather.

Today was Jaxons last indoor soccer game of the season! They did pretty good. Jaxon had a lot of fun with his team. - The little goalie got kicked in the face right before the game was over.

Soccer Saturdays!

2011-04-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

THEY'RE BACK!

Soccer Saturday's that is!!!!!! Now I know that by the end of the season I am tired and worn out from getting up early and then sitting through the kids games - but I really do enjoy soccer time:) Watching Kadrey and Jaxon play is a trill.

OK sometimes I get upset with them and turn into one of those parents that are yelling from the sidelines (but really there are worse - I am not so bad:)

Kadrey has a real talent for the game and it is so fun watching her play, sometimes I forget she is only 8 and I expect too much from her (whoopsy). Lucky for all involved Dan is there to remind me to chill:) Jaxon has his

glory moments and has a real passion for the game, he gets better with every game (I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he loves to play the video games, they help him understand the game better).

I love watching them thrive at something they really both love.

5K - oh boy:)

2011-04-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

We did it! We ran/walked (mostely walked) the 5k last weekend. Kadrey finished the race with her teacher Miss Hill @:46 and Jax and I finished @ :49. We had a lot of fun - Dan was upset that I did not register him to go with us (whoops) but will go with us next year. - Its not like I could ditch the kids and just take off because I do believe that I would have gotten a better time - stupid conscience:) all well, it was fun and for a good cause (the school)

still here:)!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-03-25T14:36:00.001-08:00

Sorry I know it has been a while since I last posted anything - our lives have been busy and boring lately. Nothing really fun to write about:(

I went to the Doc. today (ENT) because I have another out break of sores in my mouth and I am excited because he seems willing to figure out what is causing this problem I have been dealing with for 24 years - I am hopeful:)

The kids and I are signed up to run/walk a 5k tomorrow

- I hope we can do it:) OK, I hope Jaxon can do it, I think Kadrey will be fine:)

CoNgRaTulAtIoNs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

When Jaxon was 2 years old (well before he was 2) I noticed that he only said 3 words - at that age on average a child should be able to say 20 - 50 or some big number like that.

Since then he has been in speech therapy - minus one year that I felt was a waste so we stopped taking him, the place was 20 min away the traffic to get their was terrible and the teacher was not all that impressive and only made him work on him speech if he felt like it (waste of time!)

when he started Kinder last year he got the most amazing speech teacher. She was able to get him into the Scottish Right House ( the place developed by the monks:) - we were told that if we continued with the therapy as aggressively has we had been that by the time he was in 4th grade he should be caught up. At first I was so sad that it would take that long - but when I look back for me 4th grade was so very long ago, so

I knew it would be fine:)

He graduated at the center at the end of the summer because of how well he had progressed - His first grade teacher was unaware of any speech issues and was kind of shocked that he was on the speech list:)

He graduated from speech last week - he is all caught up! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and they said 4th grade, he only need until 1st - he is amazing

I did it:)

2011-02-05T15:15:00.001-08:00

So, you wonder what it is that i did - Well, I sewed up the face of Jaxons stuffed animal:) ME! I did it all by my self. Now I know some of you are thinking that this in not really a big deal - but trust me, for me it is:)

Jaxon was given his bear "Budge" from Grandma Rozzy on the day that he was born (sorry no pictures of it from then). He has since loved his bear and takes it almost everywhere with him:)

- this is the best picture of Budge that I could find.

A few years ago Budge had a slight accident and was drop from the couch on to the floor at my parents house (in the mid of the night). Their dog thought that meant Budge was a toy for him and kinda tore his face a bit. Uncle Bryan felt really bad about this a attempted to sew his face back on:) he did an ok job - it held for like 2 years (the thread was blue). The other night the sewing job my brother had givin the bear decided that it had fulfilled its job and was time to give it up - so the holes came back. This made Jax very sad and so I decided to try and "fix" it. I got my little dollar store sewing kit (that I had never used) and for the first time since I was like 5 I threaded a needle. I sewed up his face:) It is not the most beautiful job - But now Jax has his budge back and is happy that mom fixed it:)

You just will have to imagine the before picture - his nose was straight.

Moles.....

2011-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

Yuck, moles..........nasty little things. I went to the Doc. last week to have a couple "looked" at. So I showed him these two moles that I was concerned about (he was not), a different one (near the one I felt needed examining) caught his eye and he asked if I had others that looked like that one. Well I had 2 more (that I know of - I cant see everywhere on me:) and he felt that they needed to be removed right then. So he numbed me up and sliced them off with a razor blade - I never knew that having moles removed could hurt, and the cutting part did not, the days that have followed have been some sore ones. I actually called in to work the following day because it hurt to stand up straight (I had some on my stomach) and I had not slept well that first night ( I had one on my back, so how do you sleep?).

It's been just over a week and they are still sore (when will it end?!)

k'nex and Dancing!

2011-01-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

I hope Christmas was wonderful for all - I am sad that the holidays are over but happy to return to our usual "normal" life. I hope everyone enjoyed them:)

We got the kids this k'nex roller coaster. I did not realize how many pieces it came with and that we needed hours to put it together - so on Christmas eve Dan and I were up until like 3 am putting it together (ok so by like 1 I was not really helping anymore and Dan was really putting it together alone.) We were unable to finish that night so Dan spent another 1 or 2 hours on it the next morning.

Each kid got a new game for the Wii - Kadrey got "Just Dance 2" Jaxon "Donkeykong country returns". They love them - it drives me crazy they argue about whose game they are going to play ALWAYS. Kadrey took her game over to Grandma and Grandpas house the other day everyone had a good time. Kadrey was excited that she had something that the big kids had fun with too -

Tangled:)

2010-12-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

Such a cute movie - We went and saw it on Christmas Eve. We went to the early show and this time Dan got to go with us!!! Ya!! The kids seemed to enjoy this one more then HP I think maybe it was a bit more entertaining for them - I only had to leave one time to take Jax potty:) We had a lot of fun, its a really fun movie.

Also just so that you all know. Jax earned this movie - he stayed on green (card) for the whole month of December and the end of November. Which means that he was good at school:) If you stay on green that means that the Teacher did not have to get after him enough times to make him pull a card (that means you are getting a warning, then you lose recess time, and finally you lose a whole recess). Now I am sure that she had to get after him probably a lot, but he did it. He set his own goal and was able to achieve it. When he first told me that he was earning Tangled (about 3 wks ago) I laughed - he gets to pick the reward, but I have to pay for it?!?. I was talking to a teacher at my school and she told me that if he has picked a reasonable reward and is working toward it all on his own then I should probably honer it - she was right, so I did. The movie was cute and I am so proud of him:)

Christmas Trees!

2010-12-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

We got our Christmas tree up and decorated finally. We try to do it the weekend after Thanksgiving, but not this year:) Poor Jaxon was starting to think that we were not going to have a tree this year. Dan says that the tree has turned out better this year then it has for the past few years - I always think its cute, the kids are the decorators.

We also went to the cemetery today and decorated Kourtneys tree. I am so excited to have her spot festive and cheery.

our thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the kids and I got to go and see the new Harry Potter movie. Sadly Dan had to sleep because he has been working some crazy long hours this week (thanks to walmart) so he did not get to go with us. We went with most of my family and Dans cousin. We had a lot of fun.

Then we ate lots and lots and played board games. It was just a nice relaxing day!

Dan and his swan:)

2010-11-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

It only took him 5 days of hunting (I think more then that:) before he was able to get his swan. He has been trying for a few years and is very excited. I think it is a bit eeky but I am happy for him.

PT conference

2010-11-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

Well - the time of year has come again and we got to meet with both of the kids teachers last week.

Kadrey is doing well, she was in Math tutoring for about 2 months but she is now back up to the level she needs to be at. She does very well in most all subjects. Sometimes she gets a little to involved in

her books and forget to pay attention to her teacher, her other problem is the same one she has had for a while - TALKING- but for the most part she is doing wonderful!!!!!!

Jaxon is doing awesome. He started the school year out testing "below average" in every subject and has now testing "class average" in most areas and "above average" in one. His speech is getting a lot better (Yay!) and they are now guessing he will be out of speech therapy this winter (they originally predicted 3 or 4 grade he is only in 1). He has a hard time

staying on task and not being a goof - small steps right?!

Soccer pictures!!!!!!!

2010-11-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Trick or Treat

2010-11-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

The kids where so cute this year (ok, they are always cute). Jaxon was a vampire and Kadrey was a "midnight princess" (a girl vampire :)

We went to a halloween party about 2 weeks ago and and they had lots of fun -they even won prizes for their costumes

Then when we went trick or treating it rained a lot! Soaked kids, smeared make-up, wet costumes and lots of candy - so all in all it was a fun night.

Soccer

2010-10-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

Well, as you are all aware I am terrible at remembering to take pictures - sorry. However the season still has a couple of weeks so I will get some:)

This year Kadrey is on 2 soccer teams one is regular AYSO (so anyone can pay and be on a team) Dan is her coach for that:) and he enjoys it. It can get frustrating at times because even though the girls are older for some reason cluster up and want to visit with each other and forget that they are playing a game.

Her other team is also from AYSO it is called an "Extra's" team. I guess for the most part the girls had to try out for their spot on the team, by the time we heard about the team they had already started practice. It is between reg. and comp. . The coach gave Kadrey a spot on the team after she saw who Kadrey was (she said " I wanted her on the team I just could not remember her name:) The team has been good for Kadrey, it has really helped her grow as a player, and learn a lot more about teamwork. Plus she gets to go to different cities and play their "extra" teams ( well, two cities - Clearfield, and Layton).

Jaxon is still deciding if soccer is his game - he says he likes to play so.......

He has made a goal at almost every game (only it is sometimes for the other team)

We have been having fun. Who would have thought that I would turn into a soccer mom:) and I don't even own a mini van.

wow 30!!!!!!

2010-09-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

So I am now 30.

Dan asked me if I feel different my reply........ I just feel tired, however I have felt that way for a long time so I don't think it really has to do with the fact that I am 30! :)

I did not do a whole lot on my birthday! My friend took me to lunch, Dan got me some lotion and a candle, and I made a wedding cake for my friend (sorry, I did not take any pictures of it) Kim helped me do that :)- Oh and I had to work that day.

Pretty exciting huh! I remember when having a Birthday was a huge deal and now its just another day!!!!!!!!!!

WAIT!

2010-09-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

Jaxon is so funny!!! Maybe its not so funny if you where not there, but the kid is always making me laugh. Most times while I am trying to get after him I have to turn my head or hide my face just so he won't see me laughing - or he would never take me serious. He always goes for the laugh no matter the consequence.

We where rushing out of the house the other morning, running late of course (they had about 2 min before their school bell rang - lucky we only live about 1 min from the school). We get outside, have the house all locked up and Dree and I are in the car - suddenly I hear Jaxon saying

"Wait!, did anyone remember to brush my hair."

Of course in my hurry I had forgotten but really

he is a boy and 6 so why is he so worried:)

School has started.

2010-08-29T15:44:00.001-08:00

School has started for the kiddies. Kadrey is starting 3rd grade she loves her new teacher and is very excited about school. Jaxon is starting 1st grade, he has not said a lot about his teacher but seems excited enough. He is excited to go to school and I hope he feels that way for a long time:)

I also started back to work last week (my other job ended when school did, and then it was eliminated at that school. So I have not had a job for about 3 months.) I now have an intervention job at an elementary school near my house, even though it is only part- time it is better then not having one at all:) Now my house is quiet more often, it still gets messy pretty fast though.

Happy Birthday Kourtney!!!!!!!

2010-08-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today is the 2nd Birthday for my Kourtney baby!! I sure do love her - and miss her!!
and my goodness, I have had a lot of birthday cake this month:)

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Jaxon turned 6 years old yesterday. It is amazing how fast he is growing up - even though Dan says "it seems like he was 5 forever" :) He is growing up too fast.:( Dan had his birthday earlier this week also, he is now a 31 year old man - Ancient right?! Just kidding that is not old.

Our dentist adventure.

2010-07-29T16:03:00.000-08:00

Jaxon had to go to the dentist today - we found him a new one after the little "incident" last year:) I do not know who to post the link so just a reminder - he bit the dentist. The new place that he now goes to is wonderful. We have had to spend a lot of time (and money) there, because of the problems with the other dentist, genetics, and laziness Jaxons teeth have suffered and we have had to pay dearly for it:) This was his last major visit for a while Yay! But today was no fun. Poor guy had to sit in the dentist chair for 1.5 hours - and I forgot my book, so I just sat around too. Last weekend Jax hit his teeth on his knee when he fell and knocked the two bottom ones loose, he ,however, would not let me even touch them. So while he was on the Laughing gas and the dentist was in his mouth I asked him if he could pull them out for me (because they were really loose). Jaxon is now missing almost as many teeth as he has in his mouth! (ok, maybe not quite that many but he is missing a lot:)

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary Dan!!!!!!!! Love you!!!!
9 years ago today I married the most wonderful man. We have been through a lot in our time together, sometimes it feels like we have been together for much longer, somedays the time just seems to fly and seems that there is no way 9 years has passed. Either way I am thankful that we have a lot more time to go - forever :)-

Stadium of FiRe!!!!!!

2010-07-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know that I am a bit behind (only by a week though!)

Last weekend (The 3rd of July) We had the opportunity to go to the stadium of fire with some of our family. We have gone for the past 3 years and love it every time - well, not the traffic

when it is all over because that is really horrible. - but it is really a lot of fun.

This year the main attraction (or whatever you call it) was Carrie Underwood. She is a very

good singer.Of course they had an awesome fireworks show (after all it is called the stadium of Fire for a reason :)

Before the concert/firework show we had a BBQ and got to play with some cousins that we only get to see once a year:) sooooooo much fun.

They have a huge couch in the basement so Danny took advantage of that and got to take a much needed nap. He had worked the night before and then only got to sleep a couple of hours before the long drive to Provo.

Is this not one of the biggest couches ever?!

Camping

2010-07-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

We went camping this past weekend with some friends and we had a really fun time. We went to the Jordanelle park near park city. We spent some time fishing (which was the highlight for the kids) and they also spent most of their time playing :) Fun times.

pictures!!!!

2010-06-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

So I did not get a lot but here are a couple of base

ball pictures - near the end of the season. (lots of the games were rained out, and the baseball people decided not to make them up UGH) They really had a lot of fun.

And here are some other random pictures that I never got around to posting

Baptism day

2010-06-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Kadrey had her baptism on Saturday. I know that I am a little late on posting but it was a wonderful day. Her dad baptised her and then her grandpa (Dans dad) confirmed her. It was her special day, everyone helped her feel it and she KNEW it.

Bragging for a minute :)

2010-05-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

Ok so I forgot every saturday this season to take pictures of the kids. They had a wonderful soccer season ( well, other then the fact that it was really winter and not spring for the past 7 weeks).

Jaxon has a very powerful kick - we just need to work with him on a couple of things.

Kadrey is an all-star (ok I know I am bragging but I cant help it). She can pretty much dominate in any position (as much as an 8 yr old can dominate:)

Both kids has just started baseball - T-ball for Jogee and Coach pitch for Kadrey

This is Kadrey's first year playing and is still trying to figure out all of the rules and things. Now this is Jaxons sport. He can hit the ball harder and farther then anyone else in his age group and he has got the running down - he knows where to go and when to go there (most of the time). Yes T-ball is fairly simple and there are no outs so the kids get a chance to play all of the bases, he is still awesome at it :)

ok I am done now.

Have a good day

oh, Kadrey turned 8 yesterday. It is amazing how fast they grow up. Her party is next week - I promise to try and remember to take pictures of it. Also I do have a couple of soccer pictures on Dans phone so I will transfer them to my computer and share :)

Now have a nice day!

Two Kings

2010-05-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

Jaxons kinder class did an opera on friday - Two kings in the bathtub. It was so cute! His teacher is amazing - she put the whole thing together, and It was just the funniest thing ever:) They kids were singing about getting the Kings out of the bathtub,and they could not figure out how to do it - They had the princesses, the princes, and the queens try before the pages figure it out:)

Jaxon was one of the two Kings.

I of course forgot my camera so this is the best picture I could get ( its from a cell phone)

A Golden Heart

2010-04-24T12:37:00.000-08:00

This poem is for Kourtney - We have it framed along with her picture in a pretty frame with flower petals in the back ground. I wanted to share it with everyone... so here it is...

A Golden Heart

God saw you were getting tired

And a cure was not to be,

So He put His arms around you

And whispered, "Come with me",

With tearful eyes we watched you suffer

And saw you fade away,

Although we loved you dearly;

We could not make you stay.

So when we saw you sleeping,

So peacefully from pain, we could not wish you back

To suffer that way again.

A golden heart sopped beating.

Your hard-working hands were at rest,

As God then gently called for,

His brightest and His best.

Sorry I do not know who the author of this beautiful poem is - So I can not give him/her the proper credit for it. However whomever wrote this poem did a wonderful job and I am very grateful to them:)

Our Kourtney girl, one year today!!!!!!!

2010-04-17T17:49:00.001-08:00

spring break?! April fools

2010-04-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

Spring break really? What a cruel joke to start spring break this morning and have it snowing out side. Really plus I have a terrible cold and that just isn't fair - here it is finally a holiday so no work for me and I get sick plus our lovely spring has turned back into winter - now I know that the time for shorts and t-shirts was not yet here and that is fine with me, but now the coats and gloves have to come back out:( So sad, however sleeping in this morning was great and the kids are having fun with our new Netflix membership (the movies play directly onto the T.V. so they can watch as many in a day as they would like).

Bike ride season!

2010-03-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Every time we have warm weather I take the kids on bike rides. They go down the street and around the turn - technically it is the same block because it has no breaks in it but it is really really long:) (and of course we are picking up neighborhood kids along the way). We need go a few blocks and turn by this big grass hill (it used to be the fire station until they re-build right by my house). The kids have been waiting and begging to go on bike rides again, they have been so patient and even though we have had a few days of nice weather Saturday was the first day we could really get out there - They had fun. Their most favorite part is the grass hill - riding the bikes up and down it. Now for me that would get tiring but for them it is great fun:) I didn't think to take any pictures of them doing that but I will.

Yay!! I am so glad the weather is finally getting warmer.

Oh, some days....

2010-03-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

I took Kadrey to the doc on Wednesday because she had been coughing since last Sunday. Now I know that is a while to wait but I really thought it was her asthma getting out of control. The Doc. said she had croup (yes 7 yr old can get croup, most out grow croup by this age - but some don't). I had to take her back today because after the steroid treatment she still coughs so much. Now they say she has walking pneumonia. I knew this is what they would probably decide she had and I had already tried to talk myself into being calm and I think I handled it pretty well:) Didn't really freak out:) They put her onto antibiotics and says she can still go to school and do everything she would normally do. Hopefully this medicine works cuz I really need her to get better and to not cough all night so that she and I can both get some sleep - sleep would probably help her also, but every time she lays down she coughs, plus I just need her to get better.:)

Hi!

2010-03-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

I know I have not posted in forever... life have been crazy (and pretty uneventful).

Um... We have been playing wii fit a lot and on Monday Dan stopped drinking pop (well his goal is to not drink any for a week - not forever) and since then he has lost 4lbs. It took me almost three weeks to lose that much - What a jerk huh?! :) But really I am proud of him, just wish it was that easy for all of us:)

I started bribing the kids two weeks ago. If they can stay on the green card at school Mon - Fri then after school they get to go and get a prize at Dollar Tree. Jaxon got to go on the first week but not Kadrey...sometimes her mouth just wont stop:) Kadrey got to go on Friday no Jax though (he thru a crayon box at somebody, yes it was empty and cardboard but still).

THE JEEP IS PAID OFF - as of Wednesday. It only took us 5 years to do it:)

Work has been crazy but I will try to post more often:)

oh and on a finally note - Dan starts school "Electrical school" on Monday at the ATC. Yay!!!!

valentines day @ school

2010-02-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

The kids had their V-day parties yesterday, they have been excited all week for it (I really do not remember it being that exciting:). They had a lot of fun and got a lot of candy - as if they really need that. Thursday night they had to address their cards (only the from part - the teachers asked that the cards not be address to anyone because that they can just hand them out and not have to worry about which card goes to which student- works for me:)

They really had a fun day!!!!!!!!

Meet Mit (The red books)

2010-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know how many are familiar with these books. However I am so very familiar with them - you see, I spend almost all day listening to Kids read (well TRY to read them). I spend 20 min a day with a 2nd grader reading them, 1 hour a day with the Special Ed class reading them, 30 min with a third grader, 30 min with 1st graders reading them and if that were not enough - 2 weeks ago Jaxons teacher sent home a note saying he was ready to bring books home and have us sign them off ------- low and behold...... Same books. Some days I think I may go crazy if I have to hear any more about Mit and Sam :) Although it is nice to see progress - but really I don't see a lot I mostly get to hear the same stories over and over again - except for Jax - he seems to breeze right through them:)

Parent Teacher Conference!!!!!! (winter 2010)

2010-02-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight was conferences for the kids. I wanted to share with anyone that cares:)

Jaxon's teacher told us that she was so amazed at the progress he has made. Since returning from Christmas break she says that he has just made so much improvement. He has moved up in reading groups, is doing great with math, and he is doing great socially (but that has never been his problem :) She says she is unsure of the reason but thinks it may be that his confidence is higher because he is improving so much on his speech (He does speech 2x a week in school and 1x a week up at the Scottish rite house, and his therapist is wonderful). The first time he said C O A T instead of oat I wanted to cry (he has been trying to get the c/k sound for a very long time) and I made him say coat for anyone that would listen (I am sure most of them did not care and thought it was strange that I was so excited, but I was:)

Kadrey also got a wonderful report back:) Such a great day to have so much GOOD news (we don't get that a lot :( She is doing great in her spelling, her teacher has decided that she needs to move into the top spelling group (yay for Dree). Her reading and fluency are wonderful and so is her math. Her teacher did mention one problem that she is having... paying attention and staying focused on the teacher while he is teaching (I have been talking with her about this, but really since she is doing so well I am not so worried:)

After working with kids that are so far behind and struggling so much All Day Long it is so wonderful to hear that my kids are doing great. OK I am done now :)

It's a good day!

2010-01-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

So... Today is the nine month anniversary of the passing of our sweet little Angel Kourtney. Today is also MLK day (Martin Luther King,Jr.). I spend my morning making texture blocks for the blind school. I maybe complained about this project a bit(at first we were going to sew quilts for the school, I can not sew) however, when I found out that Kourtneys day and the project day were one in the same I decided that this was something that I really wanted to do and I was excited for it. You see, the Blind School was very good to Kourtney. They had a "teacher" come to the house and work with her once a week, she was a recipient of some texture blocks (not the same ones I was making of course but ones that were very similar:) What a great way to spend my day. Giving back! Two wonderful reasons to do it:)

I hope you all very a nice day too!!!!!!

Alvin and the Chipmunks

2010-01-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Dan and I took Kadrey and Jogee to the movies - we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks. We had so much fun, Jogee was really getting into the movie and started to dance along (well, he was dancing like Dave to be silly) at the end. Kadrey loved it to she is just more reserved then Jogee is :)

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Howell for the movie passes :)

Happy New Year (2010)

2010-01-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

I hope you have a great new year!! The kids and I spent sometime at Grandma and Grandpas house last night (but not till the new year only until about 8pm) we had some yummy dip and crackers and the kids played games with Grandma. It was fun.

I was in bed last night when the fire works started to go off. Sure enough I ended up sleeping with the little boy of mine in bed with me -silly guy-

There is a Christmas song (sorry can't remember what it is called) that says "next year all your troubles will be miles away". Lets hope right?!

Now the dieting must begin :)

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was so much fun. The kids are old enough to feel the excitement of Christmas but young enough to still know of the magic of it. We woke early (to early really ) Kadrey was just to excited, Jaxon just wanted to keep on sleeping he said "we can open the presents later" as he refused to get out of bed:) silly boy. However, after he started to open the presents he got very excited. Kadrey informed me that she had a wonderful day, and got most of the things on her list. The things that she did not get she will just ask for again next year. I am really surprised that Santa is still so real in her mind and I wonder if she still believes it all or just pretends too. Dan was almost as ecxited for Jaxons new toys as Jaxon was (that is Jaxons gun that Dan is holding )He rolled his ankle the other day and even though he had to limp and his ankle is the size of a soft ball he had a fun day. We then spent sometime at grandma and grandpas house (were the kids got some more presents)and then came home in the evening and played jr. Yahtzee and Jr. monopoly (we had a lot of fun).

Oh and I have quick story....The other day after work I can home and there was a small present on our porch (I was sure that it was a book). I figured it was from my visiting teachers even though it was not addressed to anyone specific. I stuck it under the tree

and continued on with the day. Yesterday it was one of the last present to get opened and it was a book. "i heard the bells on Christmas morn". only it was not from my

visiting teachers or anyone else that is i

n our ward. It was from Early Intervention (the therapists that worked with Kourtney) The book was for our family and they just wanted us to know that they were thinking of us and Kourtney - so sweet huh.

Well, Merry Christmas everyone ( I know that Christmas is only a one day celebration but I hope everyone can feel the spirit of it always:)

It's almost Christmas!!!!!!

2009-12-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

Yay!!! Its almost time :) I can feel it in the air... The kids are being extra cryie and fighting a lot. I am so tired of wrapping presents and I am glad it is almost done with. However, I am very excited to see the looks on the kids faces in the morning that it makes it all worth it. This is the first year that we have had presents under the tree before Christmas morning and they are pretty excited about that. So Yay! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas eve and a wonderful Christmas day!

More snow!!!!

2009-12-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it snowed more!! We spent a good part of our evening out shoveling snow. oh, the Joy:) I almost always have an excuse as to why I can not go out and help Dan out, but this year there was no such excuse - so I was out there shoveling away:) Thats ok though - it is really good exerisice and it does the body good to be doing some physical labor. While shoveling we where creating huge piles of snow on the lawn. The kids thought this was really cool and were trying to decide what they could build with all of the snow....so, Dan being the wonderful, great father that he is told the kids he would help them make a cave.

They love it:)

While waiting they each built a snowman. For some reason Jax decided that he did not like the head of his and knocked it off - what a nut. :)

Snow

2009-12-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

This morning it was snowing when we woke (the kids and me that is, Dan was just getting home from work) so we all dressed warm and went outside and began to shovel. Dan did most of the work because I am a wimp and can not shovel much at a time and the kids quickly gave up on the shoveling idea and began jumping and playing in the snow (silly kids). We even made sure that the dogs got more straw put into their house (because they need to stay warm also:). After all of that is was time for waffles and showers, later today we are going to Salt Lake for my families "Pie Party". Fun days! I hate being cold but we had a lot of fun today.

It's Christmas time!!!!!!!!

2009-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

We got our tree up last weekend. The kids had a lot of fun decorating it - ornaments lined up in rows, candy canes bunched together and my favorite- a little angle ornament - right near the top:)

We went to the "Christmas Parade" downtown (nearly froze) it was fun to go to a winter parade. Not something we normally do but we really enjoyed it :) Why people felt the need to continue to move into the street to get closer is beyond me, it most be the candy that was being thrown but really I will just buy my kids some candy (that didn't land in horse poo before my kiddies caught it - gross). I would love just to be able to sit and enjoy it but that's hard to do when people are jumping in front of your nice little spot because they can not possibly find a spot anywhere else on the 500 blocks that the parade is (OK maybe not 500) going by. The street in front of the curb (in front of people already there) is really the most reasonable place, right?!? (maybe I am being sarcastic)

Really we did have fun:) Sorry No pictures - it was too dark outside to get any good ones.

sorry

2009-11-28T13:24:00.001-08:00

I know that hearing music right when you come onto my blog is annoying especially when there are videos with sound. For now just remember to scroll to the bottom and "STOP" the playlist. I am working on not having this happen but really I cant figure these computer things out:) Thanks and sorry again!!!!!!!

Parent Teacher Conference!!!!!!

2009-11-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

I actually think that they were last week - but sometimes I can not remember little things like the days :)

Jaxons-

He has improved so much over the past couple of months. He had a year of pre-school but still started school at a level a bit behind most of the kids. He scored very low on his first dibbles test (the teacher and I did discuss that and think he probably scored so low because of his speech). His test they gave right before PTC was really good and it shows that he is almost caught up to the rest of his class, he goes to speech therapy in school twice a week and was also just excepted into the Scottish Wright House for therapy once a week - I am pretty sure with the growing confidence he has with his speech he is more willing to share the things he knows with others (that is why his dibbles test was better, I think). He has a thirst to learn and wants to be able to read everything so he is working on it:) His teacher did mention one problem area he has and that is LISTENING - well, what can I say about that? He is Jaxon and has a hard time listening to me somedays:) but, he is doing really well and for that I am proud (and we are working on his listening skills).

Kadrey-

is doing well (of course :) her reading and math levels are above the class average which is very exciting for me (I don't think I have ever averaged above class in any subject). She stays on task pretty well and tries her best to do the job correctly. She likes to read (and do math, which I am sure will change at one point. Not many people like reading and math). She always does good on her spelling tests, we just need to work on the vocabulary. The one problem area she is having is LISTENING - only during "teaching time" - that what the teacher calls it. Well, truth be told I don't think you will find many kids that listen all the time. I personally think that her issue is more boredom then anything else - she is not a "wild child" and stays on task pretty well, even at home. In my opinion she is just "uninterested" in what he is teaching because she already knows those things. I think he has to teach to the average and if she is above that then I guess shes bored (but we are working on her listening skills)

All in all it went pretty good, and they both got a couple of new books for it :)

*my favorite saying for the kids is "do I speak chinese?" because sometimes they act like they have no idea what I am saying, or they just totally ignore me :) Oh, the joys!

But really they are great and we have fun.

Disneyland!

2009-11-14T14:39:00.001-08:00

Kadreys hair

2009-11-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

The other morning I was brushing Kadreys hair - she was crying from the tangles. We always put her hair up - well, always meaning since she came home with lice a couple of months ago. I was getting mad at her for crying and mad because the tangles were there. I decided that it was time to cut her hair. Now she is 7 years old and has never had a real hair cut, I mean she has had it trimmed but nothing major - until the other day. She was so excited to get it cut - me I was a bit nervous, I mean they cut off a bunch of her hair and it has always been long. However, she loves it and it really is cute. So even though it was sad it see it go ,it was good "moving on" moment for us. Plus she is so stinkin cute you cant help but love it :)

more Halloween (a week later:)

2009-11-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, on the night that we went Trick - or - Treating Jaxon decided that he wanted to be a tiger again so I am sorry but no ninja pictures of him. However, he did make a cute ninja but he sure is a cute tiger too. Kadrey makes such an adorable witch huh ?!

We spent the evening with Dans sister Candi and her kids (our cousins) we had a lot of fun. Somehow the group picture is not on the computer so I can not share it with you but it was really fun to go out as a family and spend some time together. I hope you all had a nice Halloween also - oh and I am so excited for "the Holidays". Not really ready but excited for sure:)

Halloween week!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-31T11:15:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day today has turned out to be :)

I made a monster head cake for a lady I work with, now making cakes is not always my most favorite thing to do - however, I did enjoy making it for her, I was happy that she was so happy and excited about it.

The kids got to sleep over at Grandma and Grandpas house yesterday - they really had fun. We went trunk or treating yesterday at their ward.Jax was a nijia and Kadrey was a witch. We are going trick or treating tonight of course and if you really want to know i think that is just way to much candy for any kid but they have fun and really enjoy going - the best part about it is that because they already have candy they know that we wont be out for very long and areok with that. I just hope that we dont freeze out there.

After I dropped off the cake I stopped by Kourtneys grave to say Hi to her and I was totally shock to see her headstone there - done correctly and everything. (Thanks Dad for being the aggresive one and making sure it got done:).

So last week I decided that instead of carving pumpkins we would paint them - so we did :) It was really a lot of fun (well, the kids and I painted ours, Dan decided that he needed to play video games instead).

This one is for Kourtney

This is Jaxons The plain one is Dans

This one is Kadreys

This one is mine

I almost forgot....on Thursday the Kids went Trunk or Treating and Jaxon was a tiger Kadrey was still a witch and even though I dont have pictures they were totally cute . I will take pictures tonight and post them soon :)

Disneyland!

2009-09-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

Oh we had so much fun last week. We where in Disneyland. I have a ton of pictures (but I still have not figured out how to put them on the computer) I will get them up sometime. My kids are fearless and went on every ride there. They loved loved the california screemin and even talked me into going on it 3 times - they went on it like 7 times - I am a big chicken and did not love that ride, however the Tower of Terror was a lot of fun. The walking I'm sure was enough to do about anyone in but we barely noticed because we have so much fun everyday :) well, maybe we noticed a little at the end of each day when our toes felt like they could fall off. We went with some friends of ours and it was so fun to have friends around and their kids and our kids got along really well for the most part.

Its really sad that coming back to the real world sucked. It is hard to get back into the swing of things and get our "normal" everyday underway. Really it was so much fun and nice to be able to be carefree and worryless for 6 days. We really had a BLAST and we are already planning our trip back again.

Kadreys cheering dance

2009-08-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Today was Kadreys big day. She finally got to perform that dance that she has been wanting to do for so long. The "camp" was all through June (the performance was cancelled due to weather) and again all through August. She was so stinkin cute. They danced at a half time for the football team that our city has, these little boys were like eight years old (so cute). Plus they cheered for the first half of the game.

We then spent the afternoon in the mountains at a campsite BBQing hamburgers and playing in the river and having fun, We went up with Grandma and Grandpa Montague - no one else in my family could make it, hopefully next time everyone can go. Fun day!

Monday is my first day of work now I have had the training but I am still very nervous, I mean I have spent the last 12 years of my life working in a bakery. Dan and Kadrey both start school on Monday (Jax starts on the 31). Its going to be a crazy week - fun and adventure filled but crazy none the less :) I hope that everyone has a good week.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!

2009-08-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

So, today has been a busy day. Kourtney would be one today so we went to her graveside and had a little balloon release for her, we also took her some flowers and I made "giant" cupcakes with hot pink frosting on them. I always thought that she would make it to her 1st birthday and it makes me sad that she didn't but I hope she knows that we love her and miss her - and that she is our super special girl.

LOVE YOU KOURTY

I had my official interview today for my new job. I start on Wed (I told Maceys I would the rest of this week, which I cant but i hope they understand). I am a bit nervous about it, I mean I have been working in a bakery for the last 12 years. Dan says not to worry because I know what I am doing that I was on this path once in my life and somehow took a wrong turn and ended up spending part of my life with Maceys - I hope he is right.

The job is called Americorp and the best I can figure for now is that it is tutoring kids, helping set up reading programs, recruiting parent volunteers and basically doing whatever the school need help with. It is full time and will pay for up to two years of college. I work school days but not holidays. I am nervous but excited.:)

Big days!!!!!

2009-08-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Jaxon (aka Jogee) had his birthday on Thursday. He is now a big five year old. He stayed the night at my parents house so that Dan could get some sleep while I was at work. The first thing on our agenda for that day was a dentist appt. for him. Not "Grandma's dentist" a new one (he is not a fan of the old dentist). The dentist decided that his tooth needed to be pulled out (that's right on his B-day he had a tooth pulled). We then took him mini golfing and he loved it. We had a lot of fun and even though it proved to be a bit frustrating at times we enjoyed it. For his b day we got Jogee a new bike - it is big and blue and has a kick stand (the most important things right :) He has been able to ride a bike without training wheels since the end of last summer and so we decided that it was time for an upgrade for him. Than we went to Chuck - a - rama and had dinner (Dans dad gave him a couple of gift certificates for his birthday, so we had a good dinner that night).

For work I had to make a cake for the Coke company. I had to make a 6 pack of can and the cake actually turned out OK. I mean for someone with no schooling or cake carving abilities and for cake not designed for that kind of thing and because I have no artistic ability I think I did pretty good. Kim and I also made a coke cup so from now on you can just call us "Chief Duff". Also I gave my two weeks notice to my work. I know it was a rather hasty decision but it is also a much needed change for me.

(again no pictures I still havent gotten that far in my learning of the computer sorry)