Fisher

Max Max Max Max Max Max Max Max Max Max

2012-01-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

This is LONG overdue. Max is 5weeks old today! i cannot believe it. Time is FLYING. I love every day with this little boy. He is SO cute, and sweet and easy. He eats, poops, and sleeps. and looks around sweetly for a few hours a day. I honestly have a hard time putting him down because i am so in love with him.

This is a TON of pictures, but i had to make up for my lack of posts since his birth!

First time eating RIGHT after delivery

8lbs 12oz

Proud Dad

Chillin' with me in his swollen state...he looked pretty puffy here (and the right side of his face was bruised the first 2days)

Meeting his sister for the first time. She was bummed it wasn't a girl but thought he was cute.

Braden loved him.

First family photo (with my gross face, but what can you do?)

First bath. He liked it, still does. i swear he gave me a smile the other day during one...

Hanging out with me in the kitchen.

The next bunch of pictures are from my phone. i have the sweetest co-worker that requests a picture text of Max each and every day since he was born. So here are a "few".

Last but not least are a few pictures a friend of mine took for me. You can find her blog at: http://violetlufkinphotography.blogspot.com/

Thanks Violet!

Had to do this one of my "Christmas Baby"

Max's Birth Story

2012-01-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

Finally! for those of you who like this sort of thing i am finally able to share just how Max Taylor made his entrance on Christmas morning!

So...after being dilated to 3.5 cm for 3weeks, thinking i would go into labor at any minute...it was finally christmas eve morning. Josh, the kids and i woke up in the morning and hurried to get ready to go his cousins' baptism.

We grabbed breakfast on the way-carls jr sausage biscuit thing. We ate in the car as we made the 30min drive to where the church was.

When i got there, i wasnt' feeling so great. Felt like i was car sick...figured it was the greasy breakfast and then being the passenger instead of the driver. (i'm used to driving a lot and so when josh does i tend to get car sick on longer ish travels)

After the baptism we went back to josh's parents house to spend the rest of the day and evening there to celebrate christmas eve. When i got to his parents i was STILL feeling sick. Thought it was weird that i couldn't kick the "car sickness". I layed aroudn on the couch from about 9:30-noon and finally at noon sprinted upstairs to the bathroom where i got an A+ for my performance...i threw up with such force im still proud (hehe) i mean it was projectile and comigng out of my nose like crazy...did not smell good! it was all water luckily. pretty amazing! (yes i'm weird!)

Right afterwards i felt wayyyyyyyyyy better...but then right after that i started having contractions...GREAT i thought, now i'm dehydrated! (which can bring on contractions) sooo i resumed my spot on the couch and my sister in law went to the store and got me some powerade. i was trying to be good and do the rehydration and best rest combo-i was determined not to end up in labor and deliver on christmas eve only for them to tell me, you are just dehydrated not in true labor (like what happened at 32weeks)

so after about 4 or so hours of drinking tons of water and powerade and not moving except for the bathroom the contractions stopped! woohoo! so i stopped drinking so much water and then oops, they started up again...

now i'm thinking this whole time that this couldn't be/isn't real labor because when i'm in labor it feels like BAD menstraul cramps. this felt like sharp pains in and around my ribs that faded in and out like contractions-hence, why i felt like i was just dehydrated.

Well i was telling my sis and law this and she said something along the lines of ..."i don't know, how you are feeling right now is how i felt when i was in labor." me-"whatttt?" then the wheels started turning-FAST! yikes, i think i might be in labor, ON CHRISTMAS EVE. crud. i have kids who need santa to come, i have a baby who probably doesn't want his bday on this holiday! etc, etc.

So i went outside to think and to have space to walk around and see if the contractions would stop or continue...i also called L&D and talked to the nurse there to get her advice...now at this point my contractions were not very consistent. i mean i was continually having them but they were every 2min then every 6min then every 4min, then every 2min...so a little sporadic but anywhere from 2min-7min apart for the last few hours...

Nurse didn't really have great advice. i dont' blame here, without seeign me i think it was hard to know what was going on.

I went inside and discussed with josh all of this and he and his dad gave me a blessing.

We felt it was best to start serioulsy monitoring my contractions and wait a little longer. Josh was able to eat some dinner (where i had not eaten anything since 8am-but was not hungry at all which is extremely weird for me-should of known something was up!) We were able to open some presents with the family and finally about 8:10pm my contractions were mostly every 4min apart and some of them hurting pretty good.

We left the kids with my inlaws (thank goodness we have great family so close by and willing to help us!) and took off for the hospital.

When i got there they checked me and i was at 5cm dilated so they said "youre staying". they moved me into a delivery room and started hooking me up. monitors, i.v. etc.

the first nurse i had was smart and nice but wasnt' our style...i like to joke around when i'm in pain and she was just not getting me and josh. besides a language barrier she was just a little more serious.

She told me twice she was going to call the anesthesiologist and finally when i asked why, she said "so he can do your epidural" i told her not to becuase A. at this point was not longer feeling a sinlge contraction. She looked at me a little confused and said "you are at 5cm and having contractions every 2min." i was thinking, sorry, don't know what to tell you, i'm lucky i guess!

and B. i was going to try hard not to get one (epidural) but i would like the option! she was nice and got the okay for a certain type of i.v. drug just incase and had it in the room ready to go.

sooo me, josh and my mom sat in the room and waited for things to start? well like i said i was dilated pretty good and having contractions but feeling nothing. so around midnight i tried to sleep-the nurse, a new one for me, younger and one who got my sense of humor-suggested i get some rest. i think i slept for 30-1hr but i was so anxious and excited it was hard. my mom was soooo sweet and gave me the best hour long foot massage ever!

so now it was about 12:30am or so and it was time for me to be checked again...i was at a whopping 6cm. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? after 4hours i was one cm more dilated! i was bummed. after that they said my contractions weren't as even as they would like them to be so they put me on a slow drip of pitocin.

that got things going again and again i was feeling nothing. whatever-painfree is good with me, i was just hoping things were progressing fast enough. My obgyn was not on call that night and i wasn't about to BEG him to come knowing he has a wife and kids that needed him and santa too. i was reallllyyyyyy bummed he wouldn't be there, i really like him a lot. great dr. BUT the dr who was on call i also LOVE. she is the same dr who delivered braden and i fell in love with her too. and this dr who i was so blessed was on call was ending her shift at 7am christmas morning...by the looks of things at this point i was not going to be pushing by then :(

3:40am josh and i decide this is best time as ever for him to run home and grab some presents to bring to his parents so the kids would have something to open christmas morning.

20min after he left (just about when he got home) i texted him saying i was finally feeling the contractions but not to hurry it would probably still be awhile-who knows.

well once i started feeling them, they HURT good. i got to the point where breathing a "certain" labor kind of way was not going to happen. i told my mom "however i breath is how im going to breath!" OUCH. but im a weirdo and was excited. I WAS IN LABOR! WOOHOO! i was having a baby and i dont' think i will ever take that for granted. this is something in life i LOVE and feel so BLESSED that i am able to do.i think labor, although painful, is amazing and that is why i avoid the epidural, if i can hang, and try to experience it all.

So at this point the nurse came in to see how i was doing, i asked when she was going to check me-it is easier for me to deal with the pain if i know i'm progressing. especially since i hurt so bad. she said in 30min is when she was going to check me again and told me to call her if my water broke.

Well about 10min after that my water broke-woah. LOTS of fluid is right hehe.

nurse came in and checked me and said i was 8.5 and would start pushing soon!

UH...WHAT?! pushing soon is fantastic but my husband is not here...so i said "like in an hour-soon? or...?" and she said "no, soon." hm.

my mom called josh and he was about 10min away and just about to drop presents off at his parents (only 2min from his parents house)

at the same time the nurse was asking me if it felt like i needed to push my answer was truely from a woman in pain

"no, owww, maybe...no. okay YES yes i do"

i had never felt that sensation before, even with braden and no epidural.

she asked if i wanted to do a practice push. i said "yes but no because i would like my husband here, but whatever you think is best!"

i asked/told my mom to call josh and ask specifcially where he was at..i wanted street names! ha. he was just parking at the hospital, i told her to tell him RUN!

at that point i realized it felt so much better to just push a little anytime i was having a contraction-not bare down and push with all my might but just give it some pressure. so that's when i realized i think it's time to really push.

The nurse got the memo and was saying "okay but you gotta wait and let me break down the bed" boy was she fast!

She got the bed red, and had just called the dr into the room, got my feet up in the stirrups and i was taking my first push when josh came running in. my mom later told me "i was never happier to see to tennis shoes under that curtain!"

(side note:i let my mom stay in for the delivery part-i wasn't sure along if i would, leaning toward the "no" side, i don't mind her seeing but feel like it's such a special time for just josh and i . i told her all this before going into labor and so she was prepared either way and SO good about it. she made it clear i could kick her out guilt free at any point in time. well since she was there it just felt right to have her stay. she even stayed way off to the side, i couldnt even see her and when max was born she took a few pictures for us of him getting measured and then stepped out to give josh and i alone time for awhile.)

So back to the story-josh came in to me giving my first push. OUCHHHH. i was then totally wanting something for pain (but looking back SO glad i made do with nothing). i even told josh while pushing "NEVER let me do this with no pain meds AGAIN! this was the dumbest thing i've ever done!" haha my way of joking (but i was serious!) to get through the pain.

Well josh estimated that i pushed for about 7min and out came... A BOY! a healthy baby boy.

(take note-if josh would of made the 2min trip to drop off the presents, he would of most likely missed his son being born!**when my mom called him and said to hurry, he turned and went straight to the hospital and didn't drop off the gifts)

I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo relieved to see that my baby was healthy. HEALTHY. healthy. i was so relieved. and a boy?! crazy!

8lbs 120z -HUGE for me

20.25in

5:31am -yayy the dr i loved was still on call

CHRISTMAS MORNING

on my actual due date!

We are so loving our baby boy Max.

He is such a GOOD baby. only makes little squeals when he is hungry and sometimes cries if i don't feed him fast enough

He LOVES to cuddle

He does the normal eating thing, about every 3hours (first few days he ate about every 5-6hrs..didn't last!)

Photos and more details about our happy family to follow when i can!

Introducing...

2011-12-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Baby BOY

Max Taylor Fisher

Decemeber 25th

5:31am

8lb 12 oz

20.25in.

We are so in love with our Christmas Miracle.

(birth story coming soon!)

38weeks and 2days along

2011-12-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

I had a dr appt last friday, dr was able to check me and let me know that i will still the same (as the tuesday before) 3-4cm dilated and 40%effaced. i was pretty down in the dumps after that appt because i thought for sure i would of had SOME progress....so all weekend long i've been waiting and waiting for some contractions to start...he did tell me that i could come in on monday to be induced basically...if i wanted...but i want this to be semi nautral...well here i am, tues, still pregnant (which is fine b/c i'm still 1.5weeks away from my due date, just soooo anxious) i had another dr appt today and he asked me if i wanted him to strip my membranes "yes please!"(this is the SEMI natural part) so he did. (he is leaving thurs to go out of town and wont be back until the 27th, i'm hoping for him to deliver me but we'll see) and wowza! that was quite uncomfortable, he even told me after that he tried to break my water with his finger...didn't work, but he tried. again OUCH. but i'm not complaining...whatever works! he was quite agressive so im hoping this helps. i asked him "will this work?" and he said "you should feel something after this" and i asked if it would put me in labor today and he said "if this doesn't work, i give up" haha so it's been about 4hours and no contractions yet...i'm okay ebign pregnant still since i'm not really too near my due date but on the flip side i am SO anxioius that i literally have issues sleeping at night which is not like me...fingers crossed!

3am

2011-12-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

Found out earlier today at my dr appt that I am 4cm dilated (just over 37weeks pregnant)...so here I sit (at home) waiting for something- anything to happen...I woke up hungry an hour ago and finally got up for a slim fast. I am so excited to meet this new baby...I can't express just how much. Ive known I'm 4cm dilated for about 16hours and already the suspense is killing me! When will contractions start? One min from now? One day? One week? Will load belly pics ASAP- Braden just woke up... Gotta go snuggle him back to bed.

I'm still here...

2011-10-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

And i update when i can! I love reading back through my posts from time to time when i am trying to remember a bit more deatil about something and it always reminds me that i should be much more dilligent in journaling things-whethere that is here or elsewhere..there are so many details i forget if i don't jot them down somewhere...

Riley and i are part of a preschool co-op again this year. There are 6 kids and 5 moms (two of the girls are twins). Each mom is teaching for 7weeks, twice a week, for 2 hours. I did the first rotation and it went great. We have it structured but fun (i hope it's fun!) we really focus on letters and letter sounds, a bit on numbers, writing and reading stories but we also have an underlying theme and lesson...My "value" for my rotation was respect, so we talked about what this word means a little each week and my "theme" was "how things grow" so we leanred about how plants grow, and they kids got to grow sun flower seeds in a baby food jar so they could see the roots, etc, then we talked about how butterflies develop and then frogs...Next up is my cousin teaching, she is planning on teaching about the different seasons and also doing a thing on cooking/baking/measurments, i think. should be fun for the kids!

Riley really is doing great. She has been able to write her name since last year, so her favorite thing to do with letters right now is write random letters then ask me what it spells/says. She is getting good at her letter sounds and knows maybe 90% of them. She is working on recognizing her #'s, she has issues with 6,9 and 10. But she can count to 20 (always says 18 for 15 tho-argh! we are working on it!) She is a master scissor girl, she can cut things out pretty dang good, if i must say so! She enjoys preschool but is not looking forward to having a new teacher, i hope she gets over that soon

These are riley on her first day of preschool-one of the mom's was nice enough to do such a great job! i didn't upload the one of her entire class b/c i wasn't sure which mom's were okay with that...but it's 3 girls and 3 boys, all cute and good learners.

Someone from the city came and checked the fire hydrant...he let it flood for a good 15-20min or so...Riley and my mom had a blast splashing around in our flooded culdesac. Nice cool way to end the summer.

Braden's 2nd birthday

Braden is VERY into "woody" from toy story...every morning he goes down stairs and says "watch a woody?" meaning , can i watch toy story?

Josh and i decided that the Rodeo would be the best way to celebrate his 2nd bday and his love for cowboys...We even tail gated before hand...hot dogs in the back of the truck, a cool cake, presents and off to the rodeo with family...

He got a woody doll and stared at it for a very long time...he LOVES this doll.

Josh turned a very plain 9x13 cake into an awesome rodeo cake!

Braden, lovin' some cake in his new cowboy boots before the rodeo started.

Braden got these awesome hand-me-down woody p,j's...could this kid be any happier?!

I got a cheesecake factory gift card awhile back and invited my parents to come to dinner with me, josh and the kids one night...my mom decided to spoil the little ones a little with a carrage ride...riley thought she was the luckiest girl in the entire world...the horse's name was even princess.

these 2 are inseperable...my mom is so good about spoiling riley with attention and love and riley appreciates and loves it all.

I went for a walk and decided to wear this shirt since i knew it wouldn't fit for much longer...happy early halloween people! NO that is not a pumpkin in there...(mind you, this was taken on sept. 15...it's been over a month since then!)

Braden slept the entire night with riley one night...too cute!

Braden has a new love of scissors...a little scary, but we give him the ones with no blade on them usually...he can sit for about and hour straight and cut, cut, cut! he never wants help, and he has done pretty well!

I'm so in love with this boy. He makes me ready for another baby though since he is getting more mature..Man, he can be S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N like you can't imagine, but he can cuddle better than anyone too and he tells me "luf you mommy" all the time awww melts my heart.

Preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch

***pregnancy update. I am 31 weeks pregnant today! woohoo! Still have contractions all day long, they are not painful, they are getting more uncomfortable...but they don't bug too much. I saw the dr1.5weeks ago for a check up and i was measuring 4weeks ahead again. SO frustrating, i did another ultrasound the next day and am waiting to talk to dr this week to find out results and info on what we do...i think we are just at the "watch it" stage...no other problems besids this crazy rash i got...Braden got a rash on his face, arms and legs then two days later my belly had a HUGE, red, crazy rash, followed with a nice fever, trip to urgent care. all blood tests came back normal, dr said it must be a weird virus...almost a week later and it's deciding to clear up...thank goodness. It was strange. Braden's is still going away but it never got as bad as mine...

I WILL take a belly picture and get it posted this week...it's getting big! I am SO SO SO SO excited to hold this baby and see if it's a boy or girl, and just love on this baby with all my heart!

26 weeks 4 days

2011-09-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

I had a dr appt yesterday and (i'm hesitant to say) things are looking good! I measured at 26 weeks, right where i should be...if you remember i measured at 28weeks, 3 weeks ago! so not sure how that works, but my measurements are on track...The dr is not concerned with all my contractions (irregular as they are, around 4 an hour, sometimes more, sometimes less) i was scared he was going to put me on bed rest...but no reduced activity needed, hooray!

There is still that nagging 1% chance that this could all end miserably :( but as time progresses it's looking better and better that this is a great pregnancy and baby is doing well.

After my appointment yesterday and a full night's sleep, i woke up feeling a huge weight lifted...i don't think i realized just how stressed this was making me. all the uknowns. I still have a bit of that stress but i am so excited, more than ever (which is hard to beat, i have been excited beyond all since day one) to meet this little baby of ours.

I just KNEW it was a girl until about 2 weeks ago, then i started doubting for some reason and i am desperatly trying to think of some boy names just in case. My favorite it Troy again...josh isn't a huge fan, yet...and we are playing around with the idea of having a Max (or maybe Maximus, if it is up to me!) Josh likes Kole or Derek...i don't like either...for the most part neither of us can think of a boy name we like at all. It's all part of the fun.

I'll be sure to post my 28week, 7month photo when the time is right.

Thanks for all the support!

Baby Bump! and huge baby update

2011-09-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm such an awful slacker this time around. Even though i didn't have internet i still had a camera and i failed to take pictures of my growing baby until a couple weeks ago...I've been getting big really fast. I have mixed comments coming in and i never know who to believe (so i go with how i feel and i feel big most days) Some people tell me, "what?! big? no. you look great!" or "it's because it's your third" -which makes me feel larger'ish but still normal and lastly "wow! you grew since i last saw you!" -which is mostly from patients who i saw only about 2 weeks prior...hmmmm I'm definetly super emotional this time around which doesn't help. I hardly ever cry, but with this pregnancy i am close to tears all the time it seems (which is sort of a nice switch) but really i teared up during a youtube crash testing video of a car we are considuring! that was just a little too crazy!

I don't know why i have slacked so much on pictures, i was on top of it with the last two kids. well i do know. I haven't been so proud of my growing belly this time around for some reason. It came so fast and makes me feel fat not pretty! (one of the main reasons i think it's a girl-that's how i felt with Riley, with Braden i felt SO pretty most of the time!)

I am sad that i don't love it so much. I LOVE knowing their is life growing in me and it took quite a few months to get that to happen. So that is why i neglecting taking the monthly pictures even though i knew i would regret it.

Well about a week before this picture my nurse called and said they recieved results from my 20week ultrasound and i had TOO much amniotic fluid (polyhydrmanios) and that i needed to started doing weekly ultrasounds to monitor the fluid level until delivery or until my dr directed me to stop (he was on vacation). I was instantly nervous that something-anything was wrong with the pregnancy. Pregnancies are so delicate and one little thing could make it go so wrong, ya know?

Let the googling begin! i googled a lot on what this complication is, why it happens, what causes it, the risks for baby and for me etc. i found out that this happens to all of 1-2% pregnancies (lucky me!) it can be caused by gestational diabetes (which i was tested for a week later and do NOT have) it can be caused by swallowing problems with the baby or a complete intestinal blockage in the baby, 65% of cases are just unknown and there is a 1% chance a chromosomal abnormality with the baby is causing this.

Well about a week after this news i had my monthly check up, but this time with a new OBGYN in my same medical group b/c my dr was on vacation. I'm SO glad i got to meet him. i LOVED him and wasnt thrilled with my origional OBGYN. I let him know what was going on (what the nurse called and said). He did the normal lay me down and measure pelvic bone to top of uterus and did say i was measuring for 28weeks along and i was only 23.5weeks at that point! He sent me to a specialist the next day.

When i saw the specialist they did see a high level of amniotic fluid but no swallowing issues and no intestinal blockage issues. Since it wasn't that and i dont' have gestational diabetes he said there is a 1% chance for a chromosomal abnormality causing this. I was too overwhelmed with info at the dr's to ask him if there are certain ones that seem to cause this. So when i went home and googled again. I found out that IF it is a chromosomal thing (again 1% chance...but already i am the 1-2% chance of having this polyhydramnios) it is mosty usually associated with abnormalities on chromosomes 21, 18 and 13. 21 causing down syndrome and 18 and 13 both can cause severe mental retardation. While i was googling it did say that if diagnosed with polyhydrmanios in the 2nd trimester there is a small chance it can go away all together in the 3rd (fingers crossed!)

So i had definit MIXED emotions. I was prouder of that big belly of mine, knowing that i only look and feel sooo huge because i am stretched to one month bigger than i really should be! (felt good for my prideful side)

but a little devestated (not going to lie) that this baby might not be the type of "perfect" all mom's are hoping for. We are opting to NOT do the amniocentisis b/c it would be purely informational and there wouldnt be one darn thing to "fix" and we, of course, will keep and love this baby NO MATTER WHAT!

I have good and bad days. Good days where i feel so BLESSED to be pregnant and to feel this super duper active baby always bumping, nudging, kicking and rolling around and SOOOOO excited to meet him or her. and Other days where i am overcome with worry and guilt. Worry that this baby will not be the "perfect" i mentioned before, that this baby could possibly have a lifetime of trials ahead, and for me and josh too. and guilt for caring about that.

There is a big risk of premature labor and delivery because i have so much fluid, there is an increased risk of miscarriage. I already have contractions every day, about one an hour or so. Dr didnt seem too worried yet but did confirm they are real contractions (probably becasue all the fluid is stretching my unterus, he said) they don't hurt but every time i feel one it just makes me worry how this pregnancy may end?

I normally HATE telling other people my "problems" but because i get sooo many people saying "how far along are you?" and i have to let them know i still have until the end of December i feel, for some reason, like i have to explain myself. So PLEASE do NOT feel like you have to ask me how im doing...all the attention about "issues" is hard!

I promise to keep all updated!

I found may!

2011-09-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

so i was downloading photos from an old camera's memory card and wa-la! ( no clue on the spelling for that one) i found may!

We vacationed in Torey Utah this year. My mom and step dad took their trailer (thank goodness, it was a life saver at some points) my parents got a cabin for me, josh and our kids, and one for my brother and his wife. We met up with our cousins from Idaho and their grand daughter who is just a year older than Riley.

We had a blast exploring the national park and just playing around the camp site.

Unfortunatly (for me) it went from 70 degrees and beautiful to rainy, to windy, to hail, to thunder storms and finally SNOW on the last day. crazy crazy weather but fun spending time with family none the less.

Josh and Braden saying Hi on a super tall rock

Braden learned how to throw a frisbee back at camp

Riley just hanging out in the rocks and dirt

It was about 12+ hours to get their and the kids did SO GOOD. seriously. i thought it would be a kind of hard trip their since we dont have a dvd player or anything...we came prepared with snacks, games, coloring etc but they really did good the entire way, josh and i didn't get frustrated once on the way there...the way home is a different story...i thought it would never end!

This is the hike where Riley found a HUGE snake...unfortunatly i don't have a copy of the picture yet, but we all walked right over/around it somehow and she found it!

Riley and Alexia having fun on the hike

There were a lot of little cut outs along the way so the girls stopped to hide in one and scare me

going...going...

gone! (it's really rough being given a ride the entire time)

Our cute little cabin. thanks mom!

And the crazy snow as we were trying to leave!

2011 Update# 3 July

2011-09-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'm finally updating...be sure to scroll back a few posts and catch all the updates!

My cutie pie Braden

4th of July

Riley let me do her hair...waddaya think?

Pool time with Opa and cousin Hailey

Braden loving time with Uncle Daniel

Uncle Matthew got Riley to jump in the water off the edge and from then on she wanted to swim without her floaties...he is a dog paddling champ now since she still wont put her head under water...she loves being a fish though, and we are proud of her.

After swimming we went to Josh's parents house for homemade icecream and fireworks. Braden was doing a little clean up duty and licking the icecream maker clean!

2011 Update# 2 June (i had no pictures for may)

2011-09-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

I guess in May i was a little depressed with the lack of internet and blog posting abilities so i didnt take any pictures May! sad... so on to June.

My parents alwasy get a camping spot in Big Bear the week of July 4th but this year we did it the week before the 4th...

Here are the kiddos getting snuggled down in Grancy and Papa's trailor...

The next day, the guys (my step dad and josh) dropped me and the kids off at a fun little spot along the lake and then they went to find the best bow-fishing spot. We set up chairs and played with toys in the water.

Braden was figuring our the kayak

Riley has my mom wrapped around her finger...they collected flowers that riley wants to keep for her wedding day (so riley)

Riley must of been on this rock singing to my mom for atleast 20minutes....my mom adores riley and gives her so much attention, i'm very lucky to have her as a mom and grandmother for my kids...

Riley was just singing randomly about things she could see from the rock....ohh so serious

Back at the camp site...Braden was being allll boy...so dirty and with his camo hat

And last but not least...Josh with his catch for the day.

2011 Update #1 April

2011-09-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've decided since i need to catch up since April of this year, i will just go month by month to do this a little more quickly!
I wish i could of/would of found a way to update as things happens...it's so hard to remember details looking back.
This is april fool's day this year. We had our traditional "cupcakes" for dinner (meatloaf topped with colored mashed potatoes) Braden took one poke and wouldn't eat it, Riley continues to love it.

My parents have a time share and with that deal you can do a day pass anytime you want, where you can enjoy the pool and water slides. They took me and the kids and my sister in-law and her son during the week on day.

The kids LOVED it..they have a fun kiddy waterslide where you can wear your floaties....both kids loved it but riley hated dunking at the end so i had to catch her.

Easter (finally!)

The usual...decorating eggs...

And the Easter bunny came...Riley left the easter bunny a carrot and a picture she colored...she was upset b/c the Easter bunny ate the carrot and only left a few crumbs but forgot to take her picture! (oops!)

Just a cute one!

On a "pine cone walk" Riley found a snail and had quite the experience. She loved holding it, but then would start to freak out because the snail started moving around and she thought it would bite her. So imagine her giggle-crying...hehe pretty cute...THEN the snail peed on her! ewww she hated that but wanted to take it home so she was sooo squirmy until she could put it down at home and wash her hands.

I promise....

2011-08-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

A monster sized update is coming soon...oh so soon...i have the itch bad, i mean come on, i need to update from EASTER people...now i just have to find some internet...Emily or Katie...i may be coming over for a late night (kids already tucked in at my house) visit to work on my blog...if you'll have me of course, or i may just come anyway. . .
   But for now, just a LITTLE pregnancy update to keep you interested, maybe? I am 20weeks and 5days along and feel like i look like i am due in about 2months...man 3rd babies really do just pop on out huh? I keep telling myself it's "ok" to be bigger earlier as long as that doesn't mean i will end up a TON bigger than i did with my two previous pregnancies at the end. It was nice to have less of the "fat stage" and more right on to the bigger "rounder" stage.
   I've been able to feel the baby move from 12weeks along, but just last week i was able to feel the baby move with my hand! It was only once every couple days that i could catch a movement with my hand, and josh has been able to once, but the past few days i can feel the baby move multiple times a day with my hand. It makes it so fun to be able to look down and see a quick jerk and just know and dream about what and who is in there. And with this comes the sleepless nights already-not complaining, as i love it, just saying-the baby moves so much, i wake up a few times a night.
   I have an ultra sound in 6days from now where they will be able to determine the sex of the baby, but once again, we will NOT be finding out...yes, it is sooo hard, but it is sooo fun and so worth it. (not finding out with riley was the absolute hardest) by now, i know the joy of waiting and so it's a very easy decision.
This time around i feel pretty dang sure this baby is a girl, with riley i had NO CLUE. With braden i didn't have a clue until the end....walking into the hospital:
josh "ok, last chance, is it a boy or a girl?"
jessica "it's a boy." with a little pout on my face.
I knew somehow it was a boy and i was sort of hoping for a girl (just so riley could have a close sister) but ANY healthy baby was more than enough for me.
   For some reason, i just "feel" like it's a girl...i will again be happy with whatever we are blessed with, but i will be down right shocked (as of now) if it's a boy...guess we will be finding out in december...
   We have two girl names picked out, have had them for a few years. SHE will be Elizabeth (Lizzy from day one) 99.9% sure of this, if for some reason this little girl comes out and does not look like a lizzy she will be a Reese.
If it's a boy, he will be named Baby Boy Fisher for ever i think, we have NOOOOO boy names we both like, and we really don't eevn have any boy names we like at all! If anyone is bored and wants to comment with suggestions, please do!

Fisher Baby #3

2011-06-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

No games this time, no cute ways of sharing the news. Straight up. Blunt. IM PREGNANT! Josh and i tried about 7 months this time and i've been dying to share the news. I had my first OB appt yesterday. By all the dates i am due December 26th and couldn't be more thrilled-i wouldn't care if i was in labor on christmas morning (everyone thinks it kind of sucks to have a b-day right around christmas, i used to think so too but after trying that long for another baby, i will take one on whatever day of the year i can!) At the appt i got to hear the heart beat, which the dr couldn't find at first...i was so nervous...it just ended up being in a higher position then he expected for someone 12 weeks along. The dr said i am "atleast" 12 weeks along if not further...i'm scheduling an ultra sound appt today, and will be sure to post on those results :)

The first 2.5months i was pretty nauseated and extrememly tired. But also starving! Hard combination...sooo hungry but most stuff just sound plain gross. Don't worry-i found some foods to do the trick (mexican food is a MUST this time around-espeically bean and cheese burrtios from taco bell-does that even count as mexican?)...i've already gained a little more then i want to by this point but ya know, i eat at work, sit at work, go home and sleep. I've ran about 3.2 miles in the past 3months i think.eek! I've been waiting and waiting for my energy to kick back in and it slowly is...

At my worst i was crashing at 7:30pm right at my kids bedtime-josh even had to put them down, because i was ususally out-and sleeping until my alarm went off at 6am or if i had the day off sleeping until 8am. THEN i would still take a 3hour nap during the day...

I'm proud to report yesterday i had my dr appt, took the kids to the children's museum, mowed the front and back yard and helped the kid's make their father's day gift...no nap, crashed around 8:30pm and woke up at 6am with energry :) SO i think my energy is coming back...

Josh and I are just so excited about this pregnancy and i will definetly keep you all updated.

I wanted to wait to tell Riley until i was about 3months along and heard a heartbeat...We told Riley last night and she was excited and then told me my tummy was fat-but not a lot fat, just a little fat....and that was before i lifted up my shirt. ha. kids.

I still have no way of blogging from home...i hope to post for all those things i missed, i think dating back to Easter...does anyone know how to write posts OFFLINE with pictures? i have a laptop so if i could get all the work done at home off line and then take it somewhere with free wi-fi and just post them that would be great!

The Hair Ball

2011-05-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

Taking a shower today i felt my diamond stud pop off my ear and i heard the clink when it hit the bottom of the shower...i instantly put my foot over the drain and turned off the water...not seeing my earing anywhere i knew it went down...good thing i still had the earing back smashed against my earloab with my right hand (who needs their diamond earing when you can have the back?!)

I called to josh-rude awakening at 6am and had him see if he could take the metal drain cover off, i knew there had to be a giant hairball in there because i've never cleaned it out since we moved in. I once pulled on 3hairs that were sticking out and a huge glob of disgusting-ness followed, i was dry heaving and all that. Hair balls are the only thing i can think of to make me so sick like that! I can watch all the trauma shows, i've been into surgery to see tummy tucks...awesome! but hairballs, nope, no can do.

So i just KNEW that there was atleast a chance of my poor earing being stuck in whatever was in there, i hopped into the kids shower to finish and josh came in (my HERO) and said he retrieved my earing...it was nestled in a "bigger than a rat" size hair ball.

I love you hair ball.

I accidently saw it in the trash and almost lost it.

update on my disappearing act

2011-05-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

We no longer have access to the internet at home...insert big sad face. So i have not had the ability to post way too many pictures of my cute kids doing fun things around the house...

I hope this situation changes asap, until then, just so you know i still read all the blogs on my list daily via my palm and it's really hard to comment that way but i will try harder!

Please be patient with me and trust me-i will catch up as soon as i can.

We have been up to a few fun things..the weather has been nice so we have had a few pool days and lots of "pine cone walks" where riley has recently discovered her love-hate relationship of snails.

Braden is getting so big and hardly ever looks like my little baby anymore. He is saying new words everyday and is so funny and cuddly.

Hope you are all enjoying the nice weather.

Oh Starbucks...

2011-04-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Here i sit at starbucks...8:41pm and i'd rather be sleeping in my bed. No, i'm not a night person. But, yes i do love starbucks, the incredible smell of whatever coffee they are making and the "fresh" music-for lack of a better word. It's just comforting, calming, home-y, and just the kind of music i don't own but you need when you are sitting in starbucks working on a project (my project of the night, snapfish photobooks, they are having a "buy1get2free" photobook deal that i can pass up. I do one each year for each of my kids to re-cap their year) I'm taking advantage of the free wi-fi...but really i get here and it's not connecting so i start to fiddle and realize my "wireless" on or off switch is in the off position, so i could of most likely had internet at home all along. Oh well, now i am here with this great music. (but my toes are freezing, they to turn the heat up, wayyy up)

-since i can finally upload some photos here is what we have been up to in no particular order-

Riley's new boyfriend...

Riley just ended her stage of not wanting pictures taken of her...i can't be happier, but she is a little too cheesy sometimes...look at this shoulder tilt, ha!

A friend of mine showed me this awesome palce near our home that is so fun for hiking and playing in the water. We are looking at the rainbow trout before we settled in to play in the stream.

So fun, us mom's just set up our beach chairs and let the kids have at it. there were lots of little streams of different depths all around. There were even tadpools which were fun to try and catch for the older kids.

my best attempt at an airplane for riley

she had a tea party that she invited (forced) me to come too...it was cute, i thnk she had every single plate set up and i let her poor real water and eat some snack right from the plates...she loved it!

We've had some of those days that are just so tiring that even when you take your kids out of the car they stay alseep for awhile on the couch-love those days. It usually means we were out in the sun somewhere having a blast.

Braden is in love with apples. that is quite the understatement. he says "apples. apples apples" from the minute he wakes up until i give him a slice for each hand. and this lastst alllll day long. he chose apples over doritos today people?!

my berries are doing good! they are getting more and more leaves and i'm sooo excited! it's one of the things we planted this year...along with

our peas-they hadn't poped up yet, but they are right in the middle...imagine a row now growing from left to right between the two green poles...with watermelon seeds planted right in front of those (the first little leaf appeard today!)

and to the left of the little plot of land we have tomatos(trying to live, corn that is scattered from the crazy rain we got the day after i worked so hard planting all these seeds in straight tidy rows) two squash plants that bit the dust with all the rain and cucumbers that sprouted then died with the SNOW we got after all the rain...i'm happy to report my mixed bell peppers, jalepenonos, serrano and anaheim chilis are all doing well in the house!

April fool's day is my new favorite holiday...these are the infamous "cupcakes" for dinner...really meatloaf with mashed potatoes in top...braden didn't take a single bite but riley loved them again this year.

I got to play joke after joke after joke on April fools, some back fired on me but still made me laugh, i LOVE it.

Well, that's about it...i can't believe this crazy weather. One day it's warm then raining hard for a few days then INCHES of snow in APRIL? back to warm again...im hoping it sticks to just warm weather soon!

Two of my favorites...

2011-04-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in what seems like just about forever...but our computer was out of commission...so a quick post from a different computer:

i LOVE spring...i have my garden planted, for the most part. I planted it a few weeks ago, tilled it all myself mixed in some fresh new soil and ever so carefully planted rows and rows of different seeds... We have 6 tomato plants growing, 2 squash plants (well only one now, one died in the rain that started the day after all my planting efforts and didn't stop until it killed a few plants) cucumber seeds that i HOPE are going to sprout? (the rain really moved some dirt around and covered up the seeds even more), peas (that just popped through the top of the soil yesterday! i saw two little seedlings and had to help uncover the rest of the row that had an extra inch or so of soil on top of them), corn (that has yet to grow...i think those got hit hard with the storm and all, we may have to re-plant) and watermelon seeds! also on my kitchen sink by the window we have 2 types of HOT chillis growing, jelapenos AND mixed bell peppers....i'm SOOO excited.

As you all know the sun & heat just makes me happy...if i wasn't afraid of cancer i would be in a tanning bad every day of winter.

We have been playing outside, riding bikes, chalking the drive way, even took out the little pool once, watering our new flowers. I've been running more and even with the kids a couple of times.

My dad gave josh and i a beautiful windchime for christmas a few years back and it's FINALLY up and since the weather is nice we can have the back slider open with just the screen shut and i get to hear the windchime playing "waterfall". LOVE it.

(p.s.you could guess my age/generation by that windchime. quick story: the wind chime was finally installed and i was downstairs doing stuff around the hosue and everytime the wind blew the chimes my first reaction was to look for a cell phone. i kept wondering what alert that was and who changed their phone because it wasn't a usual one. hehe.

Pictures and more posts to follow as soon as we get our computer under control at home!

OH and happy April Fool's Day...it is slowly (? slowly? not really, i think today i decided it is close to my favorite holiday EVER)

Riley woke up to me telling her that she needed to put clean undies on (as we do each morning-but i was sort of forcing the issue this morning so i could get off to work. aka i made her get out of bed and forced her to the dresser and she did the whole "limp body thing") she finally reached in to find...diapers...hahah she just rolled her eyes at me.

At lunch i prepared a bag of cheetos for the babysitter to give her and braden, but when they opened them she found baby carrots...the babysitter texted me and said Riley was sort of ticked and braden could care less..ill post video as soon as i can.

For dinner i am doing, what is now a tradition of "cupcakes" for dinner (meat-loaf in a cup cake pan and pink dyed mashed potato "frosting" with the infamous "juice" afterward :)

Happy Day!

home decor that i want to try

2011-03-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

I think i just found what i need to make to put over our bed. what do you think josh? (but for sure to match our room which would have something with orange in it)

anyone want to have a girly crafty night and do these together???

Words of a Prophet

2011-03-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

I am staying true to one of my new years resolutions to do Personal Progress each Sunday. Today i was working on one where i was asked to read two conference talks on womanhood. I chose this talk and i was not let down.

Chosing to do Personal Progress each Sunday has really been a blessing, as i hoped it would be. It makes for a more spiritualy minded Jessica on those days. And with that i hope that others can feel the spirit too. In just a few hours i will have the honor of sitting before Jeffrey R. Holland as he speaks to our stake from our very pulpit. I am glad for the chance to prepare myself mentally to be there. (my mother inlaw was kind enough to take my kids to her ward since our meeting will be right at lunch/nap time and we knew if we had the kids much of the time would be out in the hallway holding braden rather then listening to the apostle. and with them off to sacrament already i have a few hours to do my personal progress in peace and quiet-it is lovely!) I heard Elder Holland speak last night as well and quite frankly im addicted. I told my sister inlaw id love to find out where the apostles will be speaking each week and fly around the world to see and hear them. Having the chance to look up just a few talks today made me realize that although it is amazing to sit before an apostle when he is speaking we can always, always go to http://www.lds.org/ and read or listen to a talk there too and it still can have an amazing impact on your day...life. Sorry this post is long, but after i read this talk i knew i had to share. There are some amazing quotes so keep your eyes open. enjoy!

"Charity Never Faileth," (September 25, 2010)

Thomas S. Monson

Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life.PD50021411_000_0040

Our souls have rejoiced tonight and reached toward heaven. We have been blessed with beautiful music and inspired messages. The Spirit of the Lord is here. I pray for His inspiration to be with me now as I share with you some of my thoughts and feelings.

I begin with a short anecdote which illustrates a point I should like to make.

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.
“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”
John looked on but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.
A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”
John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”

Tonight I’d like to share with you a few thoughts concerning how we view each other. Are we looking through a window which needs cleaning? Are we making judgments when we don’t have all the facts? What do we see when we look at others? What judgments do we make about them?

Said the Savior, “Judge not.” 1 He continued, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” 2 Or, to paraphrase, why beholdest thou what you think is dirty laundry at your neighbor’s house but considerest not the soiled window in your own house?

None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions.

There is really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: “Judge not.”

Forty-seven years ago this general conference, I was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the time, I had been serving on one of the general priesthood committees of the Church, and so before my name was presented, I sat with my fellow members of that priesthood committee, as was expected of me. My wife, however, had no idea where to go and no one with whom she could sit and, in fact, was unable to find a seat anywhere in the Tabernacle. A dear friend of ours, who was a member of one of the general auxiliary boards and who was sitting in the area designated for the board members, asked Sister Monson to sit with her. This woman knew nothing of my call—which would be announced shortly—but she spotted Sister Monson, recognized her consternation, and graciously offered her a seat. My dear wife was relieved and grateful for this kind gesture. Sitting down, however, she heard loud whispering behind her as one of the board members expressed her annoyance to those around her that one of her fellow board members would have the audacity to invite an “outsider” to sit in this area reserved only for them. There was no excuse for her unkind behavior, regardless of who might have been invited to sit there. However, I can only imagine how that woman felt when she learned that the “intruder” was the wife of the newest Apostle.

Not only are we inclined to judge the actions and words of others, but many of us judge appearances: clothing, hairstyles, size. The list could go on and on.

A classic account of judging by appearance was printed in a national magazine many years ago. It is a true account—one which you may have heard but which bears repeating.

A woman by the name of Mary Bartels had a home directly across the street from the entrance to a hospital clinic. Her family lived on the main floor and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic.

One evening a truly awful-looking old man came to the door asking if there was room for him to stay the night. He was stooped and shriveled, and his face was lopsided from swelling—red and raw. He said he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face,” he said. “I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says it could possibly improve after more treatments.” He indicated he’d be happy to sleep in the rocking chair on the porch. As she talked with him, Mary realized this little old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. Although her rooms were filled, she told him to wait in the chair and she’d find him a place to sleep.

At bedtime Mary’s husband set up a camp cot for the man. When she checked in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and he was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, he asked if he could return the next time he had a treatment. “I won’t put you out a bit,” he promised. “I can sleep fine in a chair.” Mary assured him he was welcome to come again.

In the several years he went for treatments and stayed in Mary’s home, the old man, who was a fisherman by trade, always had gifts of seafood or vegetables from his garden. Other times he sent packages in the mail.

When Mary received these thoughtful gifts, she often thought of a comment her next-door neighbor made after the disfigured, stooped old man had left Mary’s home that first morning. “Did you keep that awful-looking man last night? I turned him away. You can lose customers by putting up such people.”

Mary knew that maybe they had lost customers once or twice, but she thought, “Oh, if only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.”

After the man passed away, Mary was visiting with a friend who had a greenhouse. As she looked at her friend’s flowers, she noticed a beautiful golden chrysanthemum but was puzzled that it was growing in a dented, old, rusty bucket. Her friend explained, “I ran short of pots, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, until I can put it out in the garden.”

Mary smiled as she imagined just such a scene in heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when He came to the soul of the little old man. “He won’t mind starting in this small, misshapen body.” But that was long ago, and in God’s garden how tall this lovely soul must stand! 3

Appearances can be so deceiving, such a poor measure of a person. Admonished the Savior, “Judge not according to the appearance.” 4

A member of a women’s organization once complained when a certain woman was selected to represent the organization. She had never met the woman, but she had seen a photograph of her and didn’t like what she saw, considering her to be overweight. She commented, “Of the thousands of women in this organization, surely a better representative could have been chosen.”

True, the woman who was chosen was not “model slim.” But those who knew her and knew her qualities saw in her far more than was reflected in the photograph. The photograph did show that she had a friendly smile and a look of confidence. What the photograph didn’t show was that she was a loyal and compassionate friend, a woman of intelligence who loved the Lord and who loved and served His children. It didn’t show that she volunteered in the community and was a considerate and concerned neighbor. In short, the photograph did not reflect who she really was.

I ask: if attitudes, deeds, and spiritual inclinations were reflected in physical features, would the countenance of the woman who complained be as lovely as that of the woman she criticized?

My dear sisters, each of you is unique. You are different from each other in many ways. There are those of you who are married. Some of you stay at home with your children, while others of you work outside your homes. Some of you are empty nesters. There are those of you who are married but do not have children. There are those who are divorced, those who are widowed. Many of you are single women. Some of you have college degrees; some of you do not. There are those who can afford the latest fashions and those who are lucky to have one appropriate Sunday outfit. Such differences are almost endless. Do these differences tempt us to judge one another?

Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 5 The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” 6 I ask: can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer—with Mother Teresa: no, we cannot.

The Apostle James taught, “If any … among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s [or woman’s] religion is vain.” 7

I have always loved your Relief Society motto: “Charity never faileth.” 8 What is charity? The prophet Mormon teaches us that “charity is the pure love of Christ.” 9 In his farewell message to the Lamanites, Moroni declared, “Except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God.” 10

I consider charity—or “the pure love of Christ”—to be the opposite of criticism and judging. In speaking of charity, I do not at this moment have in mind the relief of the suffering through the giving of our substance. That, of course, is necessary and proper. Tonight, however, I have in mind the charity that manifests itself when we are tolerant of others and lenient toward their actions, the kind of charity that forgives, the kind of charity that is patient.

I have in mind the charity that impels us to be sympathetic, compassionate, and merciful, not only in times of sickness and affliction and distress but also in times of weakness or error on the part of others.

There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere.

Needed is the charity which refuses to find satisfaction in hearing or in repeating the reports of misfortunes that come to others, unless by so doing, the unfortunate one may be benefited. The American educator and politician Horace Mann once said, “To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is godlike.” 11

Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.

Charity, that pure love of Christ, is manifest when a group of young women from a singles ward travels hundreds of miles to attend the funeral services for the mother of one of their Relief Society sisters. Charity is shown when devoted visiting teachers return month after month, year after year to the same uninterested, somewhat critical sister. It is evident when an elderly widow is remembered and taken to ward functions and to Relief Society activities. It is felt when the sister sitting alone in Relief Society receives the invitation, “Come—sit by us.”

In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity. Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.

Charity has been defined as “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love,” 12 the “pure love of Christ … ; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with [her].” 13

“Charity never faileth.” May this long-enduring Relief Society motto, this timeless truth, guide you in everything you do. May it permeate your very souls and find expression in all your thoughts and actions.
I express my love to you, my sisters, and pray that heaven’s blessings may ever be yours. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Guilty

2011-03-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Something has been weighing on my mind lately. I left a comment for a fellow blogger probably close to a year ago. This comment was supposed to be one that gave support and comfort. As i submitted the comment i wondered if it would come across wrong ( i was nervous because there was absolutly NO intention for it to, it was just a touchy subject and with those you really have to chose your words carefully. The only intent was to try to lift the other person's spirits a little) Well, this had been weighing on my mind a lot for some reason (it really is an issue that probably shouldn't be causing me this rock in my gutt feeling but it is) I'm a little prideful that i am NOT "that person" i am not the type of person who says weird or un-tactile, or hurtful things without knowing it (in advance before i open my mouth). It's a blessing that i am grateful for...but i think i might of been "that person" for a moment when i posted that comment. It's such an awful feeling. I don't know if you read this blog still but if you do I am sorry. I am so sorry. I meant to be a nice person and if it didn't come out that way please forgive me.

I think what made me think about this again is that i was going to get a sea world pass(buy a day and get the year for free) but now that riley is 3 she will cost to get in. and cost only 8 dollars less than an adult.(dumb huh?!) It's not money we want to spend right now just for fun. So i was majorly dissapointed and thought of all the excuses...

"They" would never know how old she really is.

She only weighs like maybe 2 pounds more then last year when she was two and free.

She doesn't take up any more space, she can't do anything more than a 2 year old could.

I even told riley if we go and they ask her how old she is that she should answer "two"...and we practiced. That is when i decided this was not okay to lie. I still think the price is RIDICULOUS (come on people, i can handle paying half price) but that is no reason to lie and cheat and i dont' want Riley learning that either.

-----------------------------------------------

Side note to lighten things up a little. I ate it again. It's been about a year since i fell running. It was time. I only got a little scratch on my ankle this time but i can see the instant replay in my mind...in slow-mo too...pretty funny.

My Favorite Sister....

2011-02-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

Yes! This is her! :D

xoxo

<3, Crusty =]]

it's a sunny day!

2011-02-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

Therefor i'm motivated to get things done...first things first, new blog post.

Not too much new around here, just normal life and what not.

constant dress up

B-man kickin' back at dinner

So this is braden's new thing. when i tell him to smile for the camera he shuts his eyes, not to be funny, he thinks that is what he is supposed to do. so pretty much all my pictures of him from the past month have his eyes shut, pretty funny

Notice, eyes shut again, but smiling

Riley got an awful stomach flu for a few days. It totally wiped her out. I found her like this during nap time, fast asleep.

We let our kids play in the cupboards because first it was cute (now annoying but since we allowed it, it's more annoying to stop then let it continue you, ya know?) and braden has lately gotten a little more creative then pulling the pans out...

Braden about 17months

Riley about 9.5 months (she was quicker to find the fun i guess)

Braden learning to drink from a real cup...he did good but got bored and poored it on his pants after this.

and it finally snowed! piles and piles right? i'm glad we went out before church to play while it lasted, the kids had fun, i took a few pictures then watched from the entry way where it was warm :)

Braden's favortie toy...we have a kid set of mop and broom, he carries them everywhere to mop and whack people in the head

hope everyone is enjoying the sun today!

Love

2011-02-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ricky was "L" but he's home with the flu,

Lizzie, our "O" ad some homework to do,

Mitchell, "E" prob'ly got lost on the way,

So I'm all of love that could make it today.

-Shel Silverstein

I'm so very grateful for all the love that surrounds me

Family Photo Shoot

2011-02-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

We had the opporunity to take pictures with the AMAZING Jen Gagliardi in decemeber and again in January.

I was a total basket case for the December shoot, i had this "idea" for family pictures and it DID NOT come together. Riley was NOT into taking pictures AT ALL. The kids stood and sat on weeds that (come to find out) had teeny-tiny pokies ALL over them-result:major rash and hives all over their thighs, feet, arms. Riley was screaming, braden didn't even notice) Jen did such a great job but i was just not personally happy with the outcome. We only had one pose to pick from for the family picture and i didn't like it. The ones of the kids came out good. (mind you, it was all me. i styled it wrong, had the wrong attidute [remember i was so stressed] and riley wasn't behaiving) Jen did a great job, the pictures themselves were awesome, my face just sort of ruined them all, ha.

The second shoot came out GREAT. I could NOT be happier...i let josh pick the outfits and he did a great job. I made sure i was going to be happy and we BRIBED riley with a new pack of bubble gum if she did good the entire time.

Cloth Diapering Day 1

2011-02-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

A friend in my ward was kind enough to let me borrow all her cloth diapers (since her little boy is potty trained now) so i can really give this all a try before i invest the money into it. And she has quite a few different brands/styles which is helpful.

I started about half way through the day today and i have just two things to say:

1.It went well...(i hope i don't jinx myself)-the diapers held in his pee and poo and looked super cute...they seem so soft and to not bother him at all.

2.I want one of these

(to spray off the poo so you don't have to get "down and dirty" like i did tonight)

sweet dreams

Cloth Diapers

2011-02-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

I am anxious to switch over to cloth diapers. I have to admitt my main motivation behind this is NOT the environment but the money i will save each month...(somewhere just over 30 bucks!) But knowing that my diapers will no longer be clogging up land fills is a great bonus...knowing that i will be scraping POO from the diapers into the toilet is definetly the worst thought about all this but then i just think...30 dollars freed up each month. Worth it to me (not my husband. lets make that clear).

There are SOOO many options of cloth diapers.

I've narrowed it down to two that i love...that is until i find another that i like...but BumGenius 4.0 and FuziBunz One size I was a big Bum Genius fan until tonight. I looked up the Fuzibunz and those would be my top choice now, i think?

Both are leading brands (go figure, i have to fall in love with the two most expensive) and one diaper us just around 20 dollars each! eek! (a little less if you buy in bulk, but still quite the investment)

Does anyone have any advice? Has anyone tried cloth diapers? Please let me know...

Thanks! Happy Diapering ;)

Last Minute Resolutions

2011-01-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

I've thought of just a couple more things to add to my list of ways i want to change my life this year

1.(start)Work on my Personal Progress. Being called to 2nd counsler for the Young Women Program in our church has been great. I love the calling and all that comes with it. I've decided that each Sunday after church i will work on my Personal Progress. I think it will be a great Sunday activity to help keep the spirit and i always have a few free hours. This is something I've been wanting to do for quite a few years and finally have the perfect opprtunity.

2.Index an hour or so each week ('ish) (month? we'll see how it goes). I learned how to index last night and it's sort of a new (dorky) passion. It's a relaxing thing to do, interesting and fun? (fun being left open to interpretation) But doing family search indexing makes me feel that i'm doing my part to help get names prepared for temple work.
3.Get and frame a picture of the Prophet and his counslers. I was at a friends house last night and they had one in their front room. It really does set such a different feeling. I loved it and am inspired to have the same feeling in my home.

4. Make my husband feel like the luckiest man ever.

So, there you have it. A few more things that will hopefully help shape me into a much better person.

Taste of SUMMER

2011-01-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

This weather is such a tease...it went from snow flurrys to 86(yesterday).

Why is it that i wake up WAY more happy and motivated and energized when it's simply sunny and warm?

We've ran to the park to play and have a picnic, finally took down our garden(it was all decaying and growing weeds-yes the garden from last summer), washed my car inside and out, rode bikes on the street, played chalk in the driveway...and this was all in the past two days.

Here are TONS of pictures from my lastest "non-blogging" spell.

Enjoy!

[bag head braden on christmas morning]

[Riley, happy as can be. Christmas morning]

[That's my boy. Cheering on Riley trying her new scooter]

[B-man's newest trick. Tell him "crazy eyes" and he gives you this look. He LOVES if you knit your eye brows together like you are super angry at him and he does the same thing back]

[My dad and his wife came a few days after Christmas to hang out]

[Girl's night.(dress up, doing real make-up, getting their hair styled, jumping on the couch, and playing mommy) Morgan-Riley-Madylin. I hope they stay close growing up]

[Riley is good to go. All strapped in for a ride around the block in my step dad's VW Thing]

[Getting ready to go]

[Visit with Carrie]

[First day in primary! Can you believe it, i still am confused walking her there instead of nursery on Sundays]

[Visit to Great grandma Ruth's. Braden learns to put olives on his fingers. Priceless]

[Part of my cleaning binge]

[Watching "dispicable me" cuddling on the couch]

[Being goofy at dinner. He just figured out how to shut his eyes on purpose...it's still hard for him and funny for us to watch]

[Trip to the snow]

[Braden's first time in the snow, he LOVED it!]

[We parked at a turn out and sled most of the time. Riley refused at first, i forced her to go once and she couldn't stop]

[Braden's first time falling asleep at lunch...had to get that on camera!]

We really are alive...the rain just slows me down.

Enjoy your week

NieNie

2011-01-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

I read the NienieDialogues everyday. My sister inlaw introduced me to this blog and at first i read out of curiosity. Stephanie and her husband were in a tragic private airplane crash which resulted in major burns (covering over 80% of her body).

As i read more and more of her blog i became hooked. Then i went through a couple days of "why should i read her blog? I don't know her, i dont' know anyone who actually knows her. Her story is amazing, but i've read that already..." After a 3day brea from her blog i knew i had to go back for more. Nienie dialogues is simply uplifting. She has such a great perspective on life, she is fun and cute and still has a striking beauty to her.

I had never actually had a dream of her. Then i read on my friend's blog that she has dreamed of her several times. About a month after reading that i had my first dream (wierd i know-i woke up like...what?)

Me, josh the kids and Stephanie and her youngest son (nicolas i think) were thrown right into the middle of the book i was reading at that point (about the holocaust too, more of a nightmare)

Then a week later i had another dream about her.

I was out walking around somewhere with josh and Stepanie and a few of her friends or family were walking behind me...i was like a crazed fan "hi! i know you, i read your blog. You're beautiful."

I suggest you check out the blog she obviously has impacted my life.

p.s.i'm back. i have much to blog after my long break (what it came down to is that my house was DISGUSTING by my standards, dirty and unorganized..i spent a few days straight cleaning, scrubing, washing, folding, dusting etc. i'm back in business)

Resolutions!

2011-01-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

I love the new year, i love making resolutions...i love anytime i can make a list of, farely, short term goals and have the chance to cross them off that list...

My resolutions for 2011:

Write to my brother inlaw 2xmonth (leaving to serve a mission in Texas soon
Write to my Grandma Ruth 2xmonth
Complete part of Personal Progress for Young Women's by reading a chapter a day in the Book of Mormon (finishing it sometime by Thanksgiving)
Keep running. Thanks in large part to my cousin and running buddy i haven't quit this winter like i usually do. Instead we brave the 40degree weather and we "just do it". I gotta take a picture, we run in head warmer things and gloves (and i still wear shorts-just cant bear to run in pants for some reason) i'm sure we look a little goofy.
Be a better mom(i.e.have MORE patience)
Get the top of my kitchen cupboards decorated...that dreaded space that is so hard to fill!
Keep on with the Fisher Food Storage Plan i made up and started two months ago.

Our church talks A LOT about getting a good food storage going in your home and lately i really decided to listen to this and do something about it. There are many ways you can build a food storage and i finally found something that really works for us. I'll share it incase you want to adopt it and try it out this year!

Each month i simply write a "food storage goal" at the top of my calendar. Next to it i write "completed" and write down everything i bought. Sometimes i buy things (like an extra gallon of water) that wasn't on the list, so i write it there as well. It's something i have planned out a few months in advance so that i feel like i'm not focusing too much on one item and if a disaster stuck we'd atleast have a little of everything right off the bat.

Nov2010-50cans (i completed this by picking up whatever cans were on sale and whatever we like to eat or would use. refired beans, all dif veggies, a few fruits etc.)

Dec2010-72hour kits for each of us (josh, jessica riley and braden)-this one is tough but i feel the most important to start off. We can now survive in decent shape 3 days if we had to.

Jan2011-Baking goods (flour, sugar, salt, veg oil, powdered milk, etc.) AND 10-20 cans.

Feb2011-BIG first aid kit, 4gallons of Water, 5 boxes(crackers etc.)

March2011-canned meats(chicken, tuna, beef)

April2011-Toiletries(t.p.,baby wipes, dish soap, laundry detergent, body wash, face wash, toothpaste tampons(imagine being in a disaster w/o those!) AND 10cans

That's all i have mapped out so far. I think at that point i can re-assess and see what we need, where we need to add to etc.

Hope you all have fun making and keeping new resolutions as well!

I'm back!

2010-12-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in awhile because i thought i didn't have anything blog worthy to share...boy was i wrong! look what i found when i uploaded pictures from my camera...

A trip to San Diego...the kids and I stopped at the beach to take a stroll...

I was a COMPLETE doofus (spelling?) and decided to take the kids pictures as we rushed out the door for church... they came out OK for Braden just waking up and Riley hateing the camera...but did i think to take them infront of our tree that was about 20ft behind me? NO. dumb dumb dumb...we will be re-doing these infront of the TREE

If you know Riley, then you know she is into anything that she associates with being a princess. Whether it's the color pink, long hair, a dress that "spins", or a dress that touches the ground when you walk. Well we can add curly hair the list, she will sit patiently and let me curl her hair into ringlets, so fun!

I watched the meteor shower that we won't be blessed with again until 2014 from atop josh's truck

And today, i let the kids play in the never ending rain. There was nothing left to do but play in the rain that has decided it's here to stay.

Braden took it like a man...he was in his sister's rain jacket and rain boots (pink soles with polka dots)

Not to mention the boots are a few sizes too big and he kept falling...he made the most of those falls and splashed in the puddles with his hands until i helped him up.

I tried desparetly to get a picture of riley in the air facing me...wasn't meant to be i guess!

Riley found a "nice snake" and she even held it...that's my girl!

Hope you are all enjoying the rain the best you can. Santa is coming soon!

Our family wishes you a very merry Christmas. We hope you are blessed with loads of family time and safe travels.

one nap...so nice!

2010-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering when Braden (if ever) will go down to just one nap a day...he is tired by about 9:15am i can barely hold him to 10am most days before he goes down for his first nap...I feel like i never can get things done outside of the house. It's always either meal time, nap time or time where i feel my kids need to be playing not sitting in the car (somedays they just have to)...So, today i decided to go back to "Library Time". We haven't been there since Braden was about 4months old i think! I figured this way he would be distracted and wouldn't need that first nap... Riley was SO excited to go back and frankly, so was i, i love lirbrary time. Ms. Nancy is the lady who runs it and she is the best there could ever be for the job. She is so organized, thoughtful and so silly! She dances and sings and reads books with tons of emotion.

This was our tiral day and it went great!

The kids had breakfast, got dressed and off we were to run errand number one by 9:30 in the morning! We dropped some stuff off at the D.I. and then headed to Library. It ended about 11:30 (i got to get a couple good books-i'm SO excited to dive into them today!) and then home for lunch! Braden was a little too tired to do a great job on his lunch but he is down for his one and only (keep your fingers crossed) nap of the day!

Wish us luck :)

A Mouse in the House!

2010-12-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Cruel or HILARIOUS-you be the judge!

Josh would vote more for the cruel side and i'm team captain for HILARIOUS...

A friend made these cookies that looked like mice and the minute i saw them i knew i had to trick someone...poor riley!

Happy Thanksgiving (and things)

2010-11-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a perfect day! I started off the morning by making chocolate waffles with my sister in-law Lisa(our new Thanksgiving morn. tradition while the guys were playing football) and my friend Emily and all of our kids (6total). It was quite delicious, complete with whip cream on top (we did have some fruit too to balance things out, hehe)

Then off to Josh's mom and dad's for a Thanksgiving feast!

We had a lot of fun, the kids ran wild while the adults prepared the food. We did take a few moments to play this:

You get four people inside this stretchy material...

you pulllllll back....two people(across frome eachother, run and exchange places, pullllling back again...

sling shotting the other two across...fun fun fun...we even took riley and braden in-holding them-and went a little slower of course, they had blast!

The funny part is usually when someone gets tripped up on their own feet from running so fast and spinning around, they fall, taking the rest of the people down with them...hehe i promise it's funny...happy to report no blood or broken bones!

This is the dutch oven KING....seriously. Josh's dad has countless dutch ovens and the knowledge to use them. He cooked the turkey in this one and it was D.LICIOUS

A little photo op before we left home

This is where the "and things" comes in on my title of this post:

I found a new hair blog and have been doing riley's hair all sorts of crazy lately...not saying they are that cute, mostly like "woah" but some cute...im stretching my french braiding fingers so to speak...

Braden's first icecream cone of his very own

Our little man before church on sunday

Riley working on her work book...she has been SO into writing her letters, she can do a capital A,R,H,lowercase i and j, T,L,C,O,P,E,andY im so proud of her!

And braden using a fork...i have a video clip but it was lost in a drastic memory card download fiasco.

He speared the hotdog with his fork then took it off with his other hand and ate it...he's gettin' there!

Hope everyone was able to find a good deal or two on black friday!

Easy, pretty quick and YUMMY dinner

2010-11-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

Spanish Rice Dinner

Ingredients:

1 box spanish "rice a roni"
2 tablespoons butter
1.5 cups hot water
1 can (16 oz) tomatoes cut up
1lb ground beef made with taco seasoning or you can use chilli
1 can corn (12oz)
1 can olives (3.25oz)
3 cups (12oz) cheddar cheese
3 cups corn chips (fritos, etc)

Directions:

-Saute rice with butter until golden brown

-Add hot water, flavor packet and tomatoes, cover and simmer about 15min

-brown beef, drain add taco seasoning (see instructions on seasoning packet)

-combine rice, beef, corn, olives, dash of pepper

-stir in 2 cups cheese and 2 cups corn chips

-pu in 9x13 pan top with remaining cheese and chips

-bake at 400 for 15min

YUM! Enjoy

A Good Day

2010-11-22T22:23:00.000-08:00

     The day started off "early" with Braden waking up at about 6:30 but luckily he laid in bed with us for a little mostly hitting just Josh in the face...
    Then door stairs for breakfast The kids ate as they listened to church music (Book of Mormon Stories is one of Riley's favorite songs right now) and i started cleaning...
    We all played and cleaned until Braden's first nap...they were being so good i was able to "deep clean upstairs and down in about 2hours! They even both got a bath before Braden's first nap!
    Riley and I bonded a little over some ABC games online while we waited for B.man to wake up...
    Lunch, play time...Riley's nap...I let Braden have a few M&M's after lunch and he screamed when they were all gone...that kid loves his sweets! Braden and I just played until his second nap. He is so funny these days. He is understanding a lot-doesn't mean he'll do what you want him to. We have a bin in the kithen for coke cans/water bottles and he loves to get them out. When we tell him to put them back he walks towards it then screeches (another FAVE... lately) and shakes his head no and walks the opposit way.
    Braden finally says "up" on his own, not just when we remind him, and that is SO helpful! He is also saying down and help when we tell him to...not very clear-one of those times when only the parents can understand it i think.
   A little side note. Braden shakes his head "no" when we tell him to sign "more" but i got him to sign "candy" today...haha that tells you something!
   Both took pretty good naps so i got that lovely "quiet time" and got a few things done and was refreshed when they woke up..
   Overall just a happy day. Some days i feel like we struggle all day long just to be happy and today it came so easy. Love it.

Fall Recipes

2010-11-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought I'd post 4 delicious mouth watering recipes...

I've tasted them all and have made two of them myself. You will not be sorry you made and ate these until you step on the scale (just a little warning)!

Yummy Pumpkin Bread

(this one is actually from allrecipes.com (Pumpkin Bread IV) with one little adjustment)

Original Recipe Yield 3 - 9x5 inch loaves

Ingredients:
3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (the bread i tasted subbed 1/2 of flour for oat flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
*mini chocolate chips(add as many of these in if you'd like...i'd highly recommend it)
Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

Pumpkin Spice Bread with Brown Butter Frosting

Yields 2, 8in. loaves

Ingredients:

1 spice cake mix

1 large package instant vanilla pudding (5.1ounce)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin (100% pure pumpkin)
3 eggs
Directions:
   1.Mix all ingredients together.
   2.Pour into 2 -8in loaf pans (9in also works or 4 mini loafs) *be sure to spray pans before!
   3.Bake at 350 for 40min or until toothpick comes out clean.
   4. Frost when cool
Brown Butter Frosting: (a must do-wont be the same w/o it)
   1/2 cup butter browned: in a sauce pan, let butter cook on LOW heat, stirring constantly until butter BARELY turns brown. Take off heat IMMEDIATLY.
   Then add to butter:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 table spoons water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
   Mix well and pour over the tops of the bread.

"Charlyn's French Bread"

This is SO easy to make, tastes great and makes a lot!

Dissolve in small bowl:

2 tablespoons yeast(i always use 3-5 tablespoons)

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. sugar

***if you've never dealt with yeast before, ask someone or google it so you don't kill your yeast. (my "secret" trick is to measure out the yeast and set aside, run tap water until it's how you'd like your bath,- realllllllyyy warm but not "hot"-this is the trickiest part- i test on the inside of my wrist. Take 1/2cup of that realllllyy warm water put in the small bowl and immediatly add yeast that you set aside. i'd do about 1tablespoon of sugar and wait 5-10 min) if the yeast was killed nothing will grow in the bowl and you have to start over, but if you did the water temp. just right you will see the yeast start to grow and you can continue on with the recipe!

In Large bowl combine:

2 cups hot water

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup oil

-mix well

Add to the mixture:

-3 cups flour and mix well.

-yeast mixture from the small bowl

-Add 2-3 cups more flour (i always need 3) and mix well.

-Leave in bowl and let rise for 1hour mixing a few strokes every now and then.

-Divide dough into 2-3 pieces (depeneds how long you want your french bread roll)

-Roll out each onto a floured surface into the length desired, then roll of lenthwise like a jelly roll.

-Put on greased cookie sheet, sealed side down.

-Slash top of dough diagonally with knife.

-Brust with egg white.

-Let rise 30min. more

-Bake at 400 for 25min

Last but certainly not least-as you will need this to have something to dip that french bread into:

Mimi's Santa Fe Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. valveeta cheese

1/2 onion *i of course would chop this SUPER fine so there is no chance of feeling an onion in my mouth.but that's just me!

1 can diced tomatoes with chilis

1 can pinto beans with jalepenos (these make the soup pretty spicy, so be sure to sub out if you or the kids don't want that)

1 can corn ***i was not told what size cans to use, i would guess a 15 oz can.

Directions:

-Saute onions

-Brown mean, drain

-Mix all together, warm and enjoy!

***a crock pot works really well for this! Remember the cheese needs to melt, so allow enough time for the "warming" part.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and that these recipes help to kick off the season...Let me know if you tried any and what you think! Feel free to drop some off at my house too! (wink wink, but really you can if you want, ha)

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Our cousin Katie had the great idea to be from the 50's this halloween with all 3 of our families (Me, Josh and the kids. Katie, Russel and their 3 kids, and Lisa, Ben and their son-group picture coming soon)

The guys were "greasers" and the girls all wore poodle skirts (katie made the 3 little girls' ones, and they are ADORABLE!)

Our ward did a "trunk or treat" the night before halloween and i had the idea of decorating our trunk like a 50's diner and serving rootbeer floats instead of passing out candy...

Family pictures in front of our Juke Box

The little girls...morgan was striking some great poses!

My little greaser! Check out the high top converse...(maybe my best garage sale find?)

Riley won't take pictures lately so this is the best one i got of her...

Getting set up for the trunk or treat...we had 50's music playing as well

Serving our rootbeer floats...Katie(in yellow) and I scooped, Lisa (in maroon) filled with rootbeer and stuck a straw in...The line was never ending, i hardly got a chance to look up at who i was serving! It was so fun and crazy, we all did what we could during the crazy moments, Katie and I ended up pooring rootbeer and scooping while Lisa pleased the customers, cleaned up our messes, fetched more cups etc.

We had 3 gallon buckets of icecream and 21 liters of rootbeer! The icecream ran out after about 200 people so we turned it into a "soda bar" and served rootbeer...We had a BLAST!

Our cherished Juke Box...we worked on this bad boy for over 4 hours!

It took a LOT of glitter, some glue, 3brains and a lot of LAUGHS!

Lisa had such a good idea to play with the titles of the song choices on the juke box to go with our kids' names...

Nathan Angel
Wake up Little Mady
Morgan Sue
Luke Potion #9
Rockin' Riley
Braden B. Goode

i LOVE these girls

I Live For Them

2010-10-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

My family that is.

Celebrating my Dad's birthday

Helping me bake french bread (thanks Charlyn again for that recipe...SO good, i'll repost it for the rest of you soon!)

Riley, Braden and I went to the pumpkin patch with Riley's preschool co-op. We had a great time...Braden was the only one wanting to pose for pictures. He was SO excited and kept saying "ball! ball!" pointing at all the pumpkins.

Riley finally was posing for me because she got to sit on the bail of hay and of course Braden reached up to pinch her throat off...

I bribed her somehow to take this super cheese picture

Can you belive the size of this pumpkin, i'm so growing them in my back yard next year...i would love to grow a freakishly large one

Riley's class: (from the left: Madylin, Morgan, Riley, Case and Caiden) Yes that is the best picture i got!

A couple more "firsts for Braden"

His leg fell asleep and he was "laugh-crying" we could not get him to stand up to brush him off after dinner and josh finally figured out his leg was asleep, SO FUNNY.

Peanut Butter! His dr (who is great) was fine with him having it at a year...he didn't LOVE it but didn't hate it, it was what it was...nice to have something else to feed him now though.

I saw on my friend's blog how she did puppets with her daughter one day just for fun so i decided to try, riley and i had a blast...we cut out construction paper eyes,eye lashes even, nose, ears tongue and lips oh and teeth-riley's favorite part-then we curled ribbon for the hair and glued it on, the dress is HIDEOUS but that is my fault...after 45min of being creative my juices ran out.

I almost forgot, the reason for her face. I wanted her to hold the puppet up and smile at the camera. She is still working on coordinating all that i think, but it results in a hilarious picture for me!

I got out our Nintendo, Riley played her first game of Duck Hunt and actually beat me...what the heck?

Riley turned 3!

We invited all of senior primary to come and the kids that showed had a blast.

They played in her bounce house, tents/tunnels, took turns beating up an impossible pinata and ate a "horse" cake (riley's request) I can't believe my baby girl is 3...

Braden being a boy...

And he FINALLY learned to clap...really don't most kids come out of the womb clapping? well my little goob figured it out just around 12months

Can't you see why i Live for them?

I must be getting old...

2010-10-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

...or something. I am LOVING this weather. what?! did I just say that? i usually dread the cold days and live outside during the hot Hot HOT days...but seriously it's been so pretty around here with all the storm clouds, rain pouring outside and hearing the thunder just does something to you. Makes me want to curl up by a window and read my book (but we all know how that goes when you have kids).

Speaking of books. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson will suck you in (after pg.92-slow.rough start) no matter how many kids you have fighting for your attention.

And...drum roll please...Braden is walking! He still crawls but walks most of the time now, i officially have a toddler on my hands again...he is quite wobbly and cute to watch!

A few more from the 3 WHOLE hours we've been up

2010-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

(in our closet while josh got dressed for work)
"Is this your wedding dress"
me"no that is my temple dress"
"why is it white?"
me"because we wear white in the temple"
"why is it long"
me"so when i put it on it goes to the ground"
"why"
me...i think i walked away.

(playing with stickers, the kind with "oogly eyes")
"why do they have real eyes"
"why do they make noise"
"why does the ghost have tiny eyes?" over and over until i answered
me"because he's a tiny ghost."

me"your crown doesn't belong in here(the bathroom)"
"why?"
me"because this is the bathroom" ...

i can't even remember the rest. it happens too often for certain things to really stand out...last night i felt like EVERY single thing that came out of her mouth started with "why"...glad she's using her noggin'!

Why?

2010-10-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

(riley bustin' out the vampire teeth for halloween)

We have entered the "why" phase. Cute right? Right. I try to remind myself that this is cute. Sometimes it is and sometimes well, i say over and over..."This is cute, this is Riley getting smart. Teach her while she is willing."

A few of them lately:

-me"riley you have to use the handle to open the (car)door"

-Riley "why?"
-me"because when you pull the handle the door opens"
-Riley"but why?"
-me"because that is how it was made."
-Riley"but why?"

-Riley"why is it raining?"

-me"because the clouds are full"

-Riley"why"
-me"because Heavenly Father wanted it to rain"
-Riley"but what about it?!" (this is what she says when i'm not answering her the way she wants, when i'm not understanding her question.)

I understand i need to start coming up with better answers, i guess i've lacked the motivation lately especially when the answer would leave her just as confused anyway...

Braden is One!

2010-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Braden's 1st birthday was great. We were surrounded by family, had yummy food and made good memories.

I had everyone write a little not on this frame for Braden(we did the same thing for Riley on her first)a little tradition Josh and I started for our kiddos.

Some of the decorations-if you can call them that. I have this weird thing with not having a themed first for my kids. It started with Riley because i really just wanted to decorate with streamers and balloons, all white, pink, purple, at her first(you all know how much 1yr olds love balloons-it's a present in it's self)

So then for Braden i had a suppper cute idea(which i'll be doing for a future bday) but then stuck with the simple bday theme of just streamers and balloons but when i got to the store to buy a helium tank, i couldn't do it. It was thirty bucks for a tank that would fill aprox 30 balloons...really?! i was crushed, i wanted to cry, all i wanted for my boy was balloons, but i physically couldnt reach in my purse and get my wallet out for that! So i settled for streamers and dots.

This is the kitchen after the party...a messy kitchen means good eats right?

There were 3 different kinds of casseroles that turned out great, chips/salsa, salad and drinks.

I was even on top of things enough to make little cards that said what each dish was!

Just about everything got eaten that is why all the actual casserole's are missing...

Braden was soo spoiled! He got a perfect mix of boy toys(greatly needed) and clothes.

I wasn't able to capture it but he had a huge smile when he saw these new p.j's, thought it was funny b/c Riley did the same thing on her first over the same type of p.j's from the same person.

This is Braden in a nut shell...he always has his lips like this "and it always reminds me from The Little Mermaid when Sebastian is telling Ariel to "pucker your leepps like dishhh"

Eating the presents...

His FAVORITE toy that day...a tractor that makes a few different noises at the push of a botton...

He was so proud of himself and LOVED to show Josh he could do it every time.

Did you hear that guys?

Getting teh hang of things

Found some dinosaurs from mom that make noises

He saw these overalls (ADORABLE by the way) grabbed them and promptly threw them over his shoulder.

He was looking for that tractor toy

Daddy saved the best for last...he got Braden a HUGE tonka truck.

We had to hold back the line on this one, the kids RUSHED over to try and play with it before Braden got to even touch it!

Pretty sure he didnt' understand why we were singing to him...

I've been waiting for this for, well his whole life :)

I don't feed my kids hardly any sweets or "junk" at all before they turn one. (That's another story but i feel they COMPLETELY depend on you-the parent-for nutrition to grow and thrive) I get A LOT of grief over this and have to fend people off and they're candy, chips, cake and ice cream. We let him have A bite of things here and there but it was RARE. So i was soo excited to see the look on his face when he got to dive in (i made the cake, hard to admitt it, i had this master plan in my head and then i couldn't follow through. Not enough patience or talent..looked like a 10yr did it, but it was tasty!

At first he just kept taking the frosting off and not eating any but then...

He got the hang and didn't stop for a LONG time!

Look how much he ate!

I had to throw in this picture of my neice Hailey...Isn't she cute?!

Riley wore a princess dress to the party. She had good reasoning. She was a "princess" that day, and said that was her party dress...i only wish she picked one without a huge hole in it and didn't decide to wear it inside out...

Yep, the best picture we got is right here folks!

I can't complain about one thing. I felt the love our amazing family has to offer and i hope Braden did too.

Happy Birthday Braden!!!

2010-09-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh!!! My baby is one today!

I'm getting the house ready for his party!

I feel so blessed that in a few hours we will have the house full of family surrounding Braden to celebrate.

Pictures to come, you can be sure of that.

Baby Shampoo is the way to go!

2010-09-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

I, somehow, got an entire glob of my bed head shampoo in my right eye yesterday...You know, you pump some shampoo onto your hand then bring your hand to the top of your head to lather...well mine, when eye level, made it into my eye, none on my hair. all in my eye. the WHOLE glob...oh my goodness. there are no words.

I immediately turned to face the water thinking i'll just wash it out and that is when it hit me...i turned right back around to try to reach over the shower stall to grab my towell off the hook and OF COURSe it fell to the ground so i had to blindly (my right eye was clamped shut and the left one followed suit for some reason) get out and feel for my towell, but even then a towell over my eye was helping no one.

So i rush to the sink and try to flush my eye. OH the stinging. I was actually stopming my feet and groaning. I couldn't even cry it hurt so bad. I just kep say "oh my gosh..arrrghhhhh. oh my gosh" i'm sure it would of been a sight to see!

I would literally rather go through child birth again than that! NOT KIDDING. Atleast at the end of labor you get a bundle of joy...this one you are just hoping your eye ball isn't disenegrating like it feels it's doing.

I didn't know what to do so back in the shower to to run water over my face. The second i let pressure off my eye the stinging is wayyy too intense, all along i'm pictureing how well my shampoo lathers and how it must be all lathered up in my eye and needing TONS of water to be flushed out. if only i could get my eye open.

At last. I am able to partially open the eye and flush some more. The pain. Really? has this ever happened to you? I feel for you.

When i get out of the shower, and take inventory on my eye...is it still there? yep it is, about half as big as the other eye and bright red. yuck. I continued to flush it every little while for the next hour.

I think i might stick to that tear free baby shampoo from now on.

And i'm not going to give Riley such a hard time when she screams the whole time saying "don't get water in my eyesss"

Baby Steps

2010-09-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Braden took his first steps last thursday! He took 3 of them and hasn't cared to try again. He has done one step a few more times but isn't too interested in walking yet! It was very exciting though :)

These next few pictures were at a park while we were visitng my Grandma Ruth.

He layed like this for quite some time, picking up and throwing the wood chips and you can see riley in the background enjoying our picnic.

Learning to pump! This is the first time she kind of-sort of got the concept...i think it will still be awhile where her pumping builds any momentum but it was a proud mommy moment none the less!

Do you see his tongue?! He was LOVING this

I love these kids :)

Feeding the ducks-braden kept sneaking pieces of the bread though...not sure i wanted to teach him to throw food yet anyway.

Riley's first day of preschool. I'm in a 3yr old co-op with my cousin and two other friends. My cousin Katie has the first teaching slot and said the first day went great! Riley had fun, so she said and they learned sorting among other things. Katie said when she had them all line up to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance it was the cutest thing, i can only imagine and can't wait for my turn to teach!

She DID NOT want to take a "first day of school picture"

But she DID WANT whatever it was that i bribed her with...

I hooked up Riley's bike to the wagon and let 'em go! I had to stay close to braden for fear of him tipping or climbing out, there are not straps in this wagon. They had a blast and rode around our cul-de-sac for a loonng time.

Riley's first lemon.

I thought i might have wasted the entire two dollars i spent on it (major garage saleing day) but when i got home she instantly fell in LOVE with it. She gave it a good scrub and played in it the rest of the day.

Feels good to be caught up a little! Life is good, we are loving each day and finding fun things to do!

My First Duathlon

2010-09-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

My father inlaw's stake hosted a duathlon (Run and Bike) so Josh's dad, my cousin Katie and myself decided to go and participate! I almost backed out the night before because we were going to have to leave at 6am the next morning and it didn't sound THAT fun...but Katie and i stuck with it and had a blast.

This was us before the race, getting warmed up. You can see all the bikes lined up behind us...

Our "lucky" numbers. Take a good look at mine...remember it...

The 3mile run was first. Can you see "death hill" behind me as i've nicknamed it? The run started with about .05miles up hill then 1.5 down hill. So the entire second half of the race was up hill, most of it not too steep except the block right before the finish.

I had to throw in this picture of my goofy face. This is me finishing the first lap of the bike (3 laps total=9mile bike) when it just hit me that i still had to do TWO MORE LAPS ie:2 more laps up death hill. I knew from the get go the bike was 9 miles but almost the entire first lap i was like "this is fun, challenging but fun, almost there, almost done. ...wait...oh crap!"

And here i am SO happy that i just finished the race. Can you see my bike tire hasn't even quite cleared the finish line and i have my hand up signaling a weak "woohoo".

Katie and I after the race with our favorite hill behind us.

Did you remember my bib number? #109...look at my time(middle sheet) 109.33. weird! I was joking that next time i should get bib #45 so i'll finish faster ;)

I have to say running a duathlon is WAY more fun then just running a race. Can't wait to do more!

Perfect Summer Days and Nights

2010-08-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Crazy to think Summer will be ending shortly. I'm not done with the heat. I am looking forward to the holidays. The warm colors, yummy food and lots of family time.

Riley had her cousins over the other day for some slip n' slide action. When we got outside we set up under a blue sky with the sun blazin'. Just beyond our house I noticed a big yucky cloud and shortly after we started to hear lots of thunder....LOUD thunder. It was an odd feeling setting up beach chairs and sun screening the kids with thunder in the back ground. Well the storm moved over us and rained a little, we played in the water and watched the lightning show.

I tried to catch a lightning bolt on camera-didn't happen.

My plan was to put the kids down for their nap then lay on the grass and read a book while watching the lightning but i ended up reading a book and listening to it from our bedroom windows, almost as good.

Summer nights. Sliding door open to let in a cool breeze, freshly picked tomatos from the garden, riley drawing a new design for our chalkboard plate we proudly display on our kitchen counter and braden enjoying a big boy fork.

Hubby home shortly from home depot.

A run in the warm air under my belt.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

Up Close and Personal w/ my Swiffer

2010-08-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Swiffering (yes it's a verb too. like google) our kitchen floor and "KAPOW" the extension pull snapped clear at the bottom. so now this is how i will be cleaning the remaining 3 floors i planned on doing

Note the gangster style apparel...my pants are too long so i pulled both legs up and only one stayed after awhile...reminds me of "Pants on the floor, pants on the floor. Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the floor" thank you American Idol!

If I could live in a national park...

2010-08-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'd pick Zion...it was BEAUTIFUL! We went to Cedar City for a family reunion and had a great time being outdoors.

In the car leaving home...Braden did enjoy being forward facing for this trip.

Our first (of many) potty breaks. This one happened to be on the side of the highway..our girl has NO shame!

Our cute little cabin...We stayed at a KOA where you could bring your trailor, sleep in a mobile home or cabin, or bring a tent...Our cabin was one bedroom, it had a full size bed, one set of bunk beds, a desk and chair and an air conditioner...it was perfect!

The pictures below were the first day/night we were there, just unpacking, enjoying family company and me walking/running braden around in the hiking back pack, he was cracking up when i would start galloping...who wouldn't?! (p.s.i need to find a hiking back pack, this was my bro. in laws and was great!!!)

Braden and Uncle Mathew getting ready to hike in Zion.

We all (meaning all of josh's cousins etc that were there for the reunion) got on shuttles and headed up for our first hike...we got all seperated but still had a blast.

This was our first hike, only a 2 miles round trip...I held Braden with the help of josh's dad and josh held riley the whole time (apparently we walked too fast and the water was dirty....she wasn't much of a hiker but loved being held!)

After we got back from this little hike we stopped to play in the stream. The current was really strong so josh just wedged himself between some rocks and let Braden play. He splashed forever and would stop to breath occasionally :)

This was the stream and view we had while the kids played...heck, while WE played! Pictures, of course, don't do it any justice.

The best hike...The Narrows (and Laurie i have to say i was thinking about you because you have to pass the "Angels Landing" trailhead stop on your way to the narrows...the bus driver mentioned that on some parts of that particular hike the trail is 3-4feet wide with a drop off of 800ft on one side and 1200 feet on the other. YES you are crazy for doing that!)

Back to the narrows. Ever since i heard about this i wanted to do it. Basically all i knew was that it was hiking in water and some places you had to swim through basically. And ya, that was right! It was sooo fun and of course gorgeous...

Josh is a stud and held riley the entire time on this hike, we left braden with the grandparents back on a different trail to rest. I needed both my feet, both hands and them some to manuver this trail...

That's how deep it was in some spots...You could walk to the other side of the stream and it wasnt' quite so deep, but where's the fun in that?

You should of seen the work it was to get into this spot...i'm impressed!

When we got back to the spot where the rest of the family was they told us we were gone for 3 hours! Time flys when you're swim-hiking.

The next day we hiked part of Kolob. Again...no words to describe it. This was a SUPER short hike(1mile round trip...that's how we roll...)

Even Riley hiked some of it

Josh's brother Taylor climbed way out, scared his mom half to death, and got an awesome picture...Now do you understand why i want to live here?!

These are the clothes and smirk you wear when you just peed on mom's sweater(aka her pillow), quickly, stuffed under your rear end before you peed in the car seat, AFTER you just stopped not once but TWICE to pee and poo in the last HOUR. Need i explain more...

The Origional Tee from the day, tigger pajama bottoms (comando) and water shoes...in her defense she tried really hard to hold it.

One great trip!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pictures for Shauna and Doug

Fisher Update!

2010-08-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Life has been great...nothing out of the norm... but the warm sun and beautiful weather makes it easy to have fun! The lack in posts is due to the whole lot of nothing that has been going on...

Riley had her first slumber party! Josh's brother and his wife are moving so i offered to take their daughter home so they could get more packing done...Riley and Hailey had a blast! (so did Braden).

We started off with dinner then STRAIGHT to the bath!

Movie time...they got to enjoy a little "pink" chocolate milk as Riley calls it... (strawberry milk)

Let the slumber begin...they both passed out on the couch and then slept in til about 8:30! woohoo (excpet braden woke up around 7am)

Once they woke up i made french toast and served it with blueberries!

Playing kitchen in the morning. Soon after, during Braden's first nap the girls came outside to play while i mowed the lawn and washed the car.

All 3 took a nice long afternoon nap! It turned out really nice and Riley loved having her cousin over for so long!

As riley gets older her "firsts" are getting further apart but she drew a face the other day and that was definetly a first. She thought it up and did it all by herself and then showed me. After i took that picture she drew them for the rest of the day! (she does arms too that come straight of of the hair hehe)

Braden is doing great. He's up the stairs(cant figure out the down part yet..egh! so frustraing!), in drawers, pulling down toys etc. He is such a happy baby, quick to laugh and loves his schedule.

His newest thing is standing. I think the longest we've see him stand alone is around 15 sec. or so (i'm sure by our nth kid we won't be counting, but we're so proud!) He pulls himself onto some object, the couch, the edge of the pool, a toy and is able to let go. He gets unsure of him self and goes to a squat or sometimes just plops down.

He's not taking steps yet. He does like us to walk him around (i seem to remeber riley demanding it more) and he'll use his walker if i put him by it.

Josh and I haven't been doing anything too exciting. I've been reading a lot again lately. I just finished "The Hunger Games" and the second in the series calling "Mockingjay". ohhhhhh i HIGHLY recommend reading them. They are soooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. The 3rd one is coming out toward the end of August and i seriously cant wait! It's a teen book but man oh man are they good. So suspenseful, i finished them a few days ago and haven't stopped thinking about them. Since the 3rd one isnt out i even read the last chapter of the second one over to just to get a "fix" and i'm considuring reading them both again before i get the 3rd one!

Josh has been working hard making sure his little family is happy and we sure appreciate it. When he's home he's been busy keeping our new home from deteriorating (ok, a little dramatic...)he fixed some sprinklers and has been busy spraying for ants...

We are packing up in a few days and heading to Cedar City, Utah for a family reunion. We'll be staying at a KOA (we did this 2 years ago) and it should be fun! We're both excited and i hope to get some great pictures from that trip....until then....

(iii liikkkee big LIPS and i cannot lie...)

Bicylce, Bicyle. I love to ride my bicyle, i love to ride my bike...

2010-07-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

That song by Queen is Riley's theme song this summer. About a month ago she HATED riding her bike even though she knew how to do it. Now all of a sudden she LOVES it, and i'm so glad. We spend a lot of time outside riding up and down our cul-de-sac.

Riley's newest tricks. "No hands" and standing up while she peddals.

Our Caterpillar

2010-07-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

We planted our very first garden this year and it's going well! We have tomatoes and corn, green beans and cucumber going, oh and cauliflour but not sure if they are growing yet...It's kind of our experimental year, we're learning a lot of the how to's but happy to say it's hasn't been too hard!

So i was out looking at our tomato plants the other day and saw a caterpillar on one, and though sweet! I'll catch it and we can watch it grow and change into a butterfly. So i catch it and google how to take care of it etc...

My mother inlaw came over a couple days later and we showed her and this how our conversation went:

Lynne: "I don't think that will turn into a butterfly"

Me: "oh you think it will turn into a moth?"

Lynne: "I don't think that will turn into anything."

Me: looking confused "what? i don't get it, what do you mean?"

Lynne: "I'm pretty sure that's a tomato bug."

Me: "A what?"

Then she procedes to tell me these tomato bugs eat your plants and she hadn't seen one this big in years and years. I take her out to show her our garden and we found two more just like it! She taught me how to pluck them off and smash them-i couldn't watch, they are so big i felt bad! (and i'm not an animal lover)

Me: "I can't kill the one in the house, i've housed it and fed it for like 3 days! I even made it a cool cage...That's not a cage anymore, it's a prison camp!"

Big Bear, Fireworks and Homemade Icecream

2010-07-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

We started our 4th of July holiday by camping in big bear with my parents. It was braden's first time and he did great!

(so glad we brought the pack n' play, braden had a blast being outside with us)

And riley had fun playing or bathing in the dirt

We went on a bike ride to the Discovery center and go to look at some neat things

Braden took a snooze and woke up just as we were heading back to camp.

My mom taught Riley to say "Only you can prevent forest fires" in a deep, "bear voice" hehe it was pretty cute.

And we frosted sugar cookies...Riley liked to skip the whole cookie part and put the frosting right in her mouth! She was an expert sprinkler, as you can see. I think that was half the jar on one cookie!

That's the end of camping! Riley was POOPED! She fell asleep whil we were packing up.

Next stop. Josh's parents' house for fireworks and homemade icecream!

My sis in law brought bubbles and these cute toys to eat the bubbles, you press there belly and it makes the mouth open and counts each time they eat a bubble

My other sis inlaw introduced Braden to his first party blower, it was so funny to watch :) Braden kept grabbing it of course, and making us crack up.

We took about a million pictures of the grandkids. (wow, 4, and one on the way...time flys!)

Everyone was behaving except for riley. Luke was clapping like crazy!

Yep, that is icecream i'm scooping into my kids' mouth. I gave in and let him have a little something sweet. He LOVED it of course. And for all who reads this THIS DOES NOT MEAN EVERYTIME YOU SEE HIM YOU CAN SHOVE WHATEVER KIND OF FOOD YOU WANT INTO HIS MOUTH :)-just a little side note.

Waiting for it to get dark...

Watching the show.

(the pictures you wanted to have crusty)

"Maybe we'll see some whales"

2010-06-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

A month or so back on the way to the beach i told riley (not knowing it would totally freak her out and traumatize her from any amount of ocean water) that maybe we would see some whales...like you know swimming wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy far away. expect i didnt' say that last part... Well, that beach trip she wouldn't even stick a toe in the water and only played on the sand. i didn't think much of it, just figured the water was too overwhelming.

The truth came out during this beach trip. Josh was pysching her up on the way saying how much fun it would be to play in the waves with him etc. But when we got there she would not go in the water and kept saying that there were whales in there. She thought they would come right up to the shore...she was having a blast playing with the buckets and shovels inbetween our chairs and the water, but when it came time to collect more sand for her bucket she would walk away from the water and only get the dry sand...it was pretty funny.

After awhile i grabbed her and made her stick her toes in, i wanted her to have fun but i wanted her to have fun in the water too! This is the reaction we got if we took her anywhere near the water:pure terror!

we are happy to report that by the end (thanks to her uncle daniel) she was playing in the waves if he held her hands and even had a few go over her head...needless to say she didn't want to leave.

I asked for a sand castle, and they delivered...you should of seen this thing! It had all these different levels, a mote and so much more :)

I bought a barbie kite from the 99cent store, i didn't have much hope for it but it was awesome!

Opa helping Riley fly her very first kite

It was the perfect day to fly a kite, sunny, warm, a little windy and family all around

Braden did so great. He loved playing(chewing on) all the sand toys and we even had some good mommy-son time crawling around where the water would come up

Playing with his cousin Luke who loved crawling all over. He was constantly crawling from one toy to another checking things out.

Josh and Braden checkin' out the water when we first got there, it was a bit chilly but felt great once you got all the way in!

Braden and Oma (Josh's mom) hanging out on the blanket

Braden and Uncle Mathew

Opa (Josh's dad) helping Braden surf...braden wasn't too happy about it

Playing a little football with Opa

Riley LOVES her Uncle Adam

Riley and her cousin Hailey taking a break for lunch. I'm definetly framing this one for Riley's room!

(have i ever said how much i love summer?! wink, wink)

woo woo!!!

2010-06-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Would you look at that! I have a normal header picture again. You no longer have to stare at my shoulder when you come to visit my blog. I wish i could say i became much more computer savy and was able to switch around pixels or do whatever it is that needed to be done. But i simply tried to put a new picture up from my father inlaw's house...and what a beautiful picture to have up there too! That would be the Redlands temple on a beautiful day when Josh's brother Andrew was sealed to his wife Crystina and their daughter Hailey for time and all eternity.

Slacker...

2010-06-22T15:37:00.001-07:00

No new pictures. i've been too lazy to get up in get my camera most of the time lately.

Mini update:

Braden is crawling and standing up to everything. He hasn't tested the stairs too much yet. just the first or second step.

Riley says "no!" all of the time. She has a cute little tan from her swim suit all the time lately (love the heat) (p.s. i put sun screen on her-back off...)

Josh woke up with a sore throat. crappy. He just finished watching the first season of "firefly" on dvd. "It's a space-western" hehe-got you sucker! and he's going to finish building riley's closet this week right?! (i'm totally NOT hinting at anything with that last comment)

And Jessica is watching twilight-well listening to it play in the other room while i catch up on blogs and emails. (sorry for lack of comments, i usually check from my phone and it's hard to leave a comment that way) Loving life today. Everyone is healthy. Happy. Fun. Smiling. Kids are sleeping, aww. I love being me and having my life. I definitely have up's and down's in life, don't get me wrong. The house work, the kids, the random things are hard sometimes and get to me but this is the life i want and i'm living it. I feel so lucky and i try not to take it for granted. I want to make a list, sort of bucket list but not really...i feel like i don't get out and enjoy this world as much as i should. I need to go on more walks with the kids, more bike rides etc. i want to see more sights, and less of my couch. i want the list to be somewhere i can see throughout the week and whenever we get a chance to cross something off great, i want the list to contain things that help me to remember to enjoy my life and again not take it for granted :) and maybe just maybe i'll take pictures of the things we do...now i just need a name for this "list" any ideas?

Dear Summer,

2010-06-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

We LOVE you!!!

(Besides the cold morning we are experiencing right now) the weather has been more than amazing lately. 80's, 90's and even the 100's. I'm in Heaven. Not sure you can understand how much i love it! Hopefully the pictures help, we get out and do so much more when mom is happy and mom is happy when it's HOT!

My brother Matt got married! This is his beautiful bride Mariel. They were married in my parents backyard. I wish i took more pictures of it, it was GORGEOUS! I'm so happy for them.

Riley was one of 4 cute flower girls

Cousins Haleigh and Maile

Park time

My friend emily made this onesie for braden and has an easy tutorial on her blog.

SO true right?

water water water

I couldn't decide which one to post, i had to do both...look at those expressions haha

Water Slide up!

This is my new best friend,pictured below, (yes this is Jessica typing). Madylin was the only one to go down the slide repeatedly with me! We had a blast, i felt like such a little kid but it was worth the fun :)I have to give credit to Morgan, she didn't enjoy the slide too much but she went down a few times anyway. Nathan was so excited, he was all over the place, trying to climb in and out of the pool part, up and down the smaller slide etc.

Braden had a good time as well, he crawled around a little but mostly sat in the same spot and watched the commotion all around.

Can't Sleep...Thinking...

2010-06-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

Put Riley to bed last night like normal.

Checked on her at midnight before i turned in.

Everything was good.

Woke up this morning to get ready for work.

Little coughs, calling for mom quietly, whiney.

"aw man, no peaceful getting ready for me"

I wait and listen, hope she falls back to sleep.

I get up and decide to check on her before i get dressed.

She can't breathe.

She's laying in bed sucking in air.

She's trying and trying but can't move the air.

"oh. my. gosh. JOSH!"

Thinking.Thinking.

Drive or 911?

She's going to turn blue. It's coming. What am I supposed to do?

Josh calls an ambulance.

We're holding her, trying to make her comfortable. Scared out of our minds.

I cry for about 2 seconds. No time to cry.

Our baby.

Our Riley!

Breathe...

Please breathe with me Riley,

Josh and I take turns getting dressed.

(not really interested in meeting the firemen in our undies)

What's going thru her head?

I hope she trusts me.

I hope i can help her.

A father's blessing.

Not sure i've ever heard anything better in my life.

Knowing my HUSBAND-hero-(interchangable right?) has this power. This incredible power to help our family. Help our daughter.

Unlock the door and wait.

Wait and wait for someone to help her breathe.

Finally I hear or feel the vibration of the fire engine coming down our small street.

Aww medicine.

She can breathe better.

Thank You.

thank you medicine, thank you josh, thank you firemen and paramedics, thank you police officer for your kind words, thank you Heavenly Father.

My baby is breathing better. What joy filled my heart.

After a short stay in the ER. A breathing treatment and some 02 Riley was as good as new. I'll let her words do the talking:

(keep in mind this is in the er on the gurney)

"Can i go swimming?"

I asked her to put her mask back on and she put the strap over her shoulder and said

"It's not a mask it's my purse"

Ok, someone get the nurse, i think she's all better.

Riley's First Haircut

2010-05-21T14:35:00.001-07:00

My sister in-lay Tami gave Riley her first hair cut and she did SUCH a good job...

It's crazy how old Riley looked sitting up in the chair and at the same time i can't believe she is just now getting her first cut!

Before: (Definetly needed it! It was so straggly, and got tangled too easy)

After:(it was so hard to say good bye to the curls that i LOVE, sniff, sniff)

Next milestone coming up!

2010-05-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Braden's been getting on hands and knees lately. Rocking back and forth and all that jazz ;) He's gone one "crawl" or hand movement forward a couple times but nothing consecutivley.
He tries so hard though. He wants to crawl so bad!

He sometimes gets stuck in "down dog" when trying to remember what he's supposed to do!

Our cousin Katie offered to watch riley one day for me b/c i wasn't feeling so hot, so me and braden got to spend some good quality time together and practice crawling too.

Josh took braden to his first "father and son over nighter" and stayed just for the dinner part so me and riley went on a little date too. We shared McDonalds then went to the park to swing and then home to make these FUN FUN FUN popcicles.

My boss gave me this for Mother's day and it was our first chance to use it.
It's called a "Zoku" quick pop maker. (google it, they are so neat) What you do is freeze the entire unit for 24 hours. (There is liqued inbetween the walls, kind of like a freezer pack you put in a cooler or whatnot, and it freezes over 24 hours) and then whenever your ready you take the unit out and put the popsicle sticks in and fill the slots with whatever you want. The popcicles freeze right before your very eyes in 7-9 min! So this night we did chocolate and strawberry milk and added some marshmellows to them :) You can do so many things, you can put yogurt and granola, or just plain juice. You gotta get creative. I saw a recipe for ones with bits of brownies and strawberries in it!

****hapy to report Braden is now crawling...i made this post a few days ago to "be ahead of the game" but now that i'm ready to post it he started crawling. It's still in the beginning stages- He'll do a crawl or two then lay on his stomach, then do it "wounded army man style" then back to hands and knees. I'm so proud :)

mmmm sand. . .

2010-05-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts and comment giving...our internet has been giving me a hard time! But finally here is a new post with some cuuuuttteee pictures, if i must say so myself!

.................

I took the kid's to carlsbad to visit our cousin's who were camping there and it just so happened to be braden's FIRST BEACH TRIP. The weather was sooo nice and the water felt great. Riley would have NOTHING to do with the waves and water but my 3.5 yr. old cousin loved playing in the water with me, so we had a blast.

.................

Braden liked the beach, sand and water. Maybe he liked the sand a litte too much....

Feeling the sand for the first time...
His first rush of water...checking things out...

And his first "taste" of sand! ewww, well, by the way he is shoving fistfulls in there you can tell he didn't think it was gross. I could barely keep him from doing it.

So, he had to sneak it...

And finally, he had so much he was coughing and coughing and we brought him up on a blanket to chew on some sand toys instead :)

Score Board

2010-05-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Jessica-1

Cat-1

Oh, those cats...The "cute" little orangy one knows i'm after it and now IT IS ON!

Above you can see the score, the one point i have is when i was able to squirt the cat with some water while he was on our back wall, and my neighbor behind us-oops! The point he has on me just happened this morning, i saw him digging in our garden. (ohhhhhhhhhhh no he didn't!) I threw open the sliding door and ran smack into the screen door! haha my face bounced off of it and everything, then i continued to chase the cat out of our yard. But when i got back the screen door was bent in half, with some prying and bending it will shut again.

My blog ate my picture...

2010-04-28T22:13:00.000-07:00

or is my picture eating my blog?

I don't know what i did but now the picture on my header is GYNORMOUS and i don't know how to fix it back to normal... does anyone know about this? help please.

One Hundred

2010-04-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

I accidently noticed that this would be my 100th post and i wanted to do something different for it. I waited awhile for some great idea to come to me and still nothing...

At least I can say how thankful i am for this blog. It's a great stress reliever to be able to write about whatever is on my mind. I LOVE being a wife and mom and with that comes a different lifestyle. I'm not as close with friends I've made in the past b/c i have commitments to take care of my family. This blog has been probably the only way i've kept in contact with some friends and i'm SO thankful for that. I love knowing what is going on in their lives and being able to stay atleast close enough to hang out with them occasionally and still know that we have things in common.

This is one place i come when i need to get away but can't leave the house! I hope you've all enjoyed the things i've blogged about and i hope it's helped you to feel more connected to my family and myself as well.

xoxo Jessica

Lil' of this and a lil' of that

2010-04-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to start with a nudy picture but seeing as how i never remember to order my pictures here is riley-who is definetly girly these past few weeks walking around pushing her scooter, naken, in high heels.

Riley pierced her tongue with her very sharp K9 tooth...she was playing on somethign she wasn't supposed to and fell biting it. She only cried about 2min before she told me she was ok. It did leave a nice hole-it didn't go all the way thru and only took a few days to heal.

Trip to Palm Springs

Braden liked licking the pool water, kind of weird but whatever!
That's about the point we got out :)

His first nap that day, pooped from swimming

My mom and Stepdad were kind enough to have me and the kids for the day-they rented a space at a place for trailors and fith wheels for a week so we went to visit and swim!

Riley had a great time swimming although she liked to be in Braden's floaty...

It was super sunny and nice that day-which explains the double hat for more shade.

This was his very first time in a pool! He liked it. He didn't cry but he wasn't over joyous either. Chill would be a good word to describe it :) im glad i have water babies!

Getting ready to swim

A few Easter pictures. After Riley found all the goodies the Easter bunny left we spent the day at Josh's parent's house watching conference eating some awesome food! (His mom's traditional conference breakfast is biscuits and gravy-they are mouth watering!)

Braden and his cousin Luke being goofy

Park Day

I came home from a baby shower to find this in our living room. Josh and Riley went on a date: they ate pizza-at the park-riley told josh that's where they had to eat it b/c they were on a date. Then they watched a couple movies after making the floor super comfy.

And i wonder why my kids seem to always be sick...

April Fools-I got her good!

2010-04-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

For April Fool's day I made "cup cakes" for dinner-meat loaf baked in cup cake papers in a cup cake pan with hot pink dyed mashed potatos for frosting. I kept telling her that she was going to have cup cakes for dinner. I thought she'd be so mad when she found out it was meat loaf but she loved it and ate two! She didnt get the joke...

Then later on i asked her if she wanted some jucie....look what happened!

Sailors

2010-03-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Braden is 6 months old in just a few hours! I can't believe how time flys. I am LOVING him growing up! It's so much fun to play with him, make him laugh and watch him learning.

My mother in-law has a little sailor outfit that all 8 of her boys took pictures in when they were around 6 months so we made it tradition to use the same outfit for our boys. She found a girl one when Riley was little too. Both Riley and Braden are 5 months in these pictures and look SO much alike it's crazy. Josh and i decided that they have different shaped mouths and eyebrows. Other than that they look pretty identical to me!

Riley 5 months old

(i had to add the picture above because she is just cracking up, which in turn makes me crack up!)

Braden in a dress, right?!

Braden 5 months old

his little GQ pose

cats=poop=one unhappy camper

2010-03-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

I just celebrated this BEAUTIFUL day by mowing the lawn! I actually love love love to mow the lawn. It'f fun to be out in the nice warm sun and take a shabby lawn and turn it into a sharp looking lawn with just a little work.

We've had about a week or so of nice warm weather and i'm Heaven. I feel as if i can crawl out of my cave and come alive again!

Back to the story and the inspiration for this post.

I was mowing the back which consists of picking up all my neighbors' cats's poop after when the shorter grass can reveal it all. Yes. There are tons.

Lets set the record straight. I don't own a cat. I don't want a cat. Correction both josh and i don't have the desire to EVER own one for so many reasons. We dont want to feed one, take it to the vet, pick up after it, have hair all over the house, pet it etc. (ya we aren't really animal people.) Now i don't mind when other people have cats. I like to pet them a little then and what not, but i think you understand how i feel about them. :)

So back to the mowing, or shoveling i should say. I haven't mowed the back in quite some time because it's been so rainy. So when i finally did there was SO much cat poo; it's disgusting.

As i was cleaning it all up so we can have a nice place to play and smell i was wondering to myself as i do everytime i mow the back, "Self, why am I picking up tons of cat crap when I don't even own a cat?" I still haven't come up with what to tell myself about that.

I would love to tell the neighbors to come do it for me but can't think of a polite way to say it, which again, why i am worrying about being polite when my neighbors are the ones letting their kitties pooooo all over the neighborhood?! (yes, i know it would be totally weird to ask that of them, i've never seriously considered doing it. but i do fantasize about have a block meeting and having all cat owners set up a schedule of when and how to share the duties of there cats', well, "doody's". haha

Whenever I see a cat in the back yard or on our fence i race out the sliding door and yell at the cat to go away, i've even thrown some bark at them. I never hit them, on purpose, because although i don't want a cat i'd still feel bad hurting one. I just want it to know it's SO NOT WELCOME in this house! Riley always tells me when she sees one and she runs back and forth across the yard telling them to go away too hehe. I've considured buying that stuff you can sprinkle around and i guess cats don't like the smell or something. But that makes me so mad. Why should i have spend my money on a cat i never wanted in the first place?! So then i add into my little fantasy all my neighbors paying me to buy the stuff :)

I have a solution. Keep your cute little kitty inside or on a leash. Just like a dog! Let it poop in your home, your grass or your little box. PLEASE.

oops wrong video

2010-03-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

I was informed i attached a wrong video to the "chicken vs. chili" incident. well here it is!