The Cummard Family

boo

2010-11-01T13:19:00.004-07:00

halloween parties, fall festivals, school carnivals, haunted houses, pumpkin carving and trunk or treats...oh my! we were busy this month, and i'm glad it's over. i love this time of year, but some days are just too busy. the kids were just as exhausted as mom was. ellie had a halloween party, which the kids had a blast at, we ditched the school carnival (oops), and had lots of crock pot meals this month. parker was a scary abe lincoln in the neighborhood's spook ally, and spent most of the month, working on his "set" with cousins and friends. this is such a fun thing for the kids 8 and older to participate in. and you can't beat a haunted house for $.25! thursday and friday night were spent running thru the spook ally, and having $.50 nacho's for dinner.

our ward's fall festival was wednesday. it was the best fall festival i've been to. the weather was perfect! the kids ran around without jackets or shoes. they had face painting, bounce houses, tractor (quad) train rides, and other booths. the food was amazing. crystal's white chili, is one of my favorites. i wait all season for it. 2 bowls full, and i barely had room for anything else. indian fry bread, hot dogs, chips and salsa...and plenty of it. saturday was my parent's ward's trunk or treat. same idea, booths and games for the kids. quincy was extra excited to go, cus her school teacher is in my parents ward! we had navajo taco's, caramel apples, pie eating contests, and then trunk or treating. this is my personal favorite. it's over in 15 min, and it's safe for the kids. but traditional trick or treating is also fun. we finished the night at grandma cheryl's store, and then the kids and mom & dad were passed out before 9:30pm. since halloween fell on a sunday, we opt'd out of the traditional trick or treating this year. i thought we'd have trick or treaters on both days. saturday, not one! sunday was the night to go i guess. my kids did go up our street and to family's houses, half way dressed up, some not dressed up at all. tilley had just as much fun passing out candy, in her full princess costume of course. she couldn't get enough of the costume this month, and i cannot wait to put it up. come 7:30pm, conway had taken over on passing out, and we found tilley passed out, costume and all. since she's ditched nap's she rarely can hang past 7:30pm. which is fine by me. bring on the turkey and stuffing. next to the fourth of july, thanksgiving is my favorite. so low key, and just good quality food and family time. and i have plenty to be thankful for, this year, and every year.

carving

2010-10-31T16:43:00.006-07:00

grandma cheryl has a carving party every year. it seems like every year it's just me and the kids at this fun event. this year, they were all old enough to clean out the guts themselves. grandma helped them draw faces, and they helped each other carve. the kids are becoming so independent. and i love it, especially when it comes to these dirty jobs. parker and quincy did traditional jack-o-lantern pumpkins. conway carved a bat in his, and tilley did a princess pumpkin. crown and all.

buzz boy

2010-10-05T10:02:00.003-07:00

uncle lance gave conway the nickname "buzz boy" when he was little. maybe 2. i always had my boys buzzed. it was way easier than fighting with them to comb their hair. this past year, conway decided he wanted to grow his hair out. parker tried too, but didn't last. conway did, and looked adorable with his long shag. the back and sides had curls, i loved it! the past couple weeks he had gone back and forth with getting a buzz or keeping it long. finally one night he decided it was time. i wasn't ready...and i'm not sure he fully was either. but we did it.i think he looks cute either way...and it's just hair. it will grow back! till then, we have our buzz boy back!

picture day

2010-09-27T21:32:00.002-07:00

picture day came early this year. i had flashbacks, like i always do, about my picture days. my mom was out of control. mele and i always had matching dresses, ruffly socks, and huge bows attop our freshly permed hair. i remember my 6th grade year, begging my mom not to make me wear the outfit with the bib she had picked out, to match my 2nd grade sister. i laugh every time i get the form sent home for my own kids picture day. i keep them simple. they picked their outfits. same as their "first day of school" outfits. i did however, make them wear long pants, just for the class picture sake. their hair is flat, and their smiles are forced. but i love them. i can read exactly what each one of their cute faces say. parker, my obedient child, is doing exactly as we had practiced. quincy is screaming "hurry up!" she can't wait to take her cardigan off, cus it's over 100 degrees outside. conway's may be my favorite. through his clenched teeth i can hear him saying how much he hates smiling for the stranger behind the camera.

lil bunnies

2010-09-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

the girls did mesa high school's "lil bunnies" this past weekend. practice was a week before, for a couple hours, and friday was game day. parker insisted tilley do it with quincy. she is my dancer. both of them loved every bit of the practice, and performing. i couldn't find quincy in the crowd, and tilley was being held the majority of the time...but they had fun. that's all that matters. go mesa!

scout

2010-08-15T08:48:00.002-07:00

parker and i went with grandma karen to the scout store. parker was very curious. he could have spent all day there. all i kept thinking was "when is that mattas across the way going to open?!" parker's excitement for the scout program makes me smile. my mom is a big wig in scouts...for her stake. so it is nice having her there to ask questions about the program. it also helps that grandma cheryl is a mother of 6 boys, all eagle scouts. parker wants his eagle by age 14. parker flew through his bobcat. for family night one night i figured we'd finish by going over the "parent handbook." i strongly advice reading it over, before sitting in front of all your kids trying to do so. it was very straight forward about some things that i wasn't ready to share with my little ones. scary. dad wasn't there to assist either...but it went well. i am glad it's over, and my kids have that little scare of what we call reality. even tho i dont think my littlest ones really understood. we're super excited for scouts, it helps having an ambitious child!

we ♥ az

2010-08-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

home is where your ♥ is. our hearts were, and always have been, in arizona. after many conversations, parker and i decided we needed to move back to arizona. we also decided the kids needed to start school with their cousins. the day before i loaded up and made the 11 hour drive. i got to the school 30 min. before it closed. registered the kids and school started the next day.grandma always comes to see the kids off on their first day. we all met at the davy's and rode bikes from there. tills and i followed on my bike and found the kids classrooms. there were no jitters or nervousness with 10 other cousins at the same school. even my conway, starting kindergarten was full of confidence! even with registering late, we lucked out with teachers. conway has mrs. watkins, quincy started with her last year. quincy has mrs. watkins sister, mrs. nichols. parker started with her last year, and she happens to be in my parents ward. and i got to pick parker's teacher, since the numbers for all 3, 2nd grade teachers were even. i chose mr. ellsworth, who was my 4th grade teacher back in the day. he's still just as nice as i remember him. i was able to get tilley into mrs. suzanne's class with her cousin marley. their first day was the same day as the others. the two girls were giddy during pictures. not so giddy when it was time for "drop off." tilley is my clingiest child, by far. she has a hard time being away from me. i think all the moving and with a new baby coming, it's gotten even worse. preschool however, was a must. i'm hoping it will help her with that.

baby number five

2010-08-09T17:50:00.005-07:00

as i drove to the ultra sound. the thought crossed my mind. "maybe it is a boy..." this was the first time ever since, the day i found out i was pregnant, that i ever thought anything besides girl. i have only really thought of girl names, looked at girl clothes, planned matching outfits, bows and necklaces with your sisters. i had a couple dreams this pregnancy, of a little boy. i figured maybe that meant, there was a number six! this pregnancy has been very similar to my pregnancies with your brothers. i should have known. i laid down on the table, and made small talk with the doctor at fetal photos. he is an ob, and was so nice. he asked me if i had any preferences. i told him i had 2 and 2, and it didn't really matter...but that "i have known since the beginning that it's a girl." he began the ultra sound. we listened to your heart beat, i seriously love that sound. it means you're healthy and strong...and everything is "ok." he took pictures and measurements and kept saying how cute of a nose you had. he said you had the perfect profile. he gave me the due date and said all your organs and your head looked good. you slept through the entire ultra sound, with an occasional kick when the doctor tried waking you up. as the ultra sound went on, i asked, "do you know what it is already?" he said in his thick lithuanian accent, "i do, do you?" i said, "no, i'm not good at that stuff. i can never tell in the pictures." he said, "look right here (moving the arrow around on the screen) and tell me what it is..." which is when i could clearly see...."it's a boy!" i cried. i was in shock. i was so in love! and sooo anxious to tell daddy! this was going to be the perfect surprise! i text dad the picture of the 4 kids with both colors of balloons. he was so confused. he called me and said, "did you find out!?" i was on my way to show him the pictures...so he could see for himself. when i got to the store, i handed him the pictures, with the "it's a boy" ones at the bottom. he said, "how am i supposed to tell what it is?" i said, "keep going..." when he read, "it's a boy" he yelled so loud. he was "high fiving" people in the store. it was awesome. he was so excited. and so am i! they were all so excited too. tilley doesn't care what we tell her. she still says it's a "baby sister" that's probably my fault. we cannot wait to meet you. january 29th, or close it it! i'm hoping you come early, like all your brothers and sisters.

tie breaker

2010-08-09T07:06:00.003-07:00

we are all so excited about baby number 5! the kids have been arguing since the day we told them "mom has a baby in her tummy" that it was a boy or a girl. not only that, but they've argued names, and who get's to hold it first. usually this is in the car, and it makes me laugh. tilley seems to care the most. she's switched from boy to girl, and has stayed girl for the past couple months. she's named it annie, and summer, and goldie locks and she refers to my tummy as "mom's phoebe." the first couple times she said it i thought she was saying "mom's baby" but then realized she has been saying "mom's phoebe." which i think is so cute. well before we make the big move back to arizona, and are away from daddy for a little bit. i decided we leave him with a surprise. today before going to lunch with my cousin steph, that i'll miss so much...i'm going to a place called fetal photos, to find out the gender. i haven't slept since i made the appointment on friday. i am so excited. since the day i found out i was pregnant, i've thought it was a girl. i really don't mind either way. i'm just 90% sure it's a girl. i've only really considered girl names, i really only look at girl clothes. i would be completely shocked if they said "boy!" i'm not the type that "knows with every one" but i did know with parker and quincy. conway and tilley i didn't. in less than 2 hours, it will no longer be a secret, and i can begin the planning. i cannot wait!

we slept...

2010-07-30T14:33:00.006-07:00

...in the city that never does. trust me. it took us forever to get from california to las vegas. at the last minute we decided to stay a night at a cheap hotel in vegas. i had heard so much about cheap hotels on priceline, i thought i'd give it a shot. this was my first priceline rodeo. and probably my last. i did a 4 star hotel off the strip and entered a low ball price. and of course came back as denied. so i lowered it to 3 stars for the same low ball price and got accepted. at a holiday inn. bust! we were trying to think of every last way to back out...and with priceline you are locked in. there's not even a number on their website to call them. we pulled up to the holiday inn, just off the strip, and thought, "not bad." it was a brand new, holiday inn. no smoking and no slots. thank goodness. we decided to stay a night, and try and back out of our second night. the room was really nice, and the beds were super cozy. i love hotel rooms that have blackout shades, and nothing is better than cranking down the ac. the next day we ate breakfast at the hotel, kids ate free, and then headed to the strip to find something fun for the kids to do. everyone recomended "circus circus." besides the tantrum tilley threw, and having to go to a time out in the bathroom....followed by losing my purse; which luckily someone turned in...we had a pretty good time. i had coupons for $5 off each "all day pass." we bought garrett and the kids all a pass, and we took turns taking tilley around to the kiddy rides. the olders went with g. we were there all day...till after the tantrum sitch. tilley was done, so tired. she peed her pants even. so i had parker take us back to the hotel. i had never felt so tired in my life. she had a bath, we hit the pillows and seriously crashed for 3 hours. the kids swam at the pool when they got back, and then we headed back to the strip to show the kids what vegas looked like at night. kinda scary. we parked at the belagio so that we could watch the water show. we walked to serendipity, which is completely over-rated. and then went back to the hotel. we woke up the next morning, had breakfast, and headed for utah. i'm ok, if i never do vegas with kids again. they had fun, but there really isn't a lot for them to do there. quincy picked up one of those stupid cards with almost naked girls on them, and totally looked at it. she made a funny face and then threw it down. i mean seriously! so many freaks there. i was afraid walking around we would lose one of the kids in the crowds. there was a ufc fight at mgm so the streets were packed. i had explained to the kids once before the reason it's called sin city...and i'm pretty sure after this trip they kind of understood why.

nb 2010

2010-07-30T09:23:00.003-07:00

friday: july 22nd, tony, the kids and i headed west bound from arizona to newport beach. this was our 11th year going, and staying at the same beach house. we love it. parker has made it clear, that this is a vacation he cannot do without. it's such the perfect family vacation. parker stayed in az to work, and would be driving over with grandma karen on sunday. we left early on friday, so the kids slept the first couple hours. so did tony. we had mc donalds for breakfast, i hadn't had that in years. we stopped at the outlets, and it wasn't that great, so we continued on. we got gas at costco, and lunch at chic fil a, and then finally got to the beach house around 2pm. the cousins were so excited to be reunited. it was us and the davids up stairs, and one of davy's co-workers (and friends) the ruckers down stairs. the kids changed into their suits and tony took them to the beach, while i unpacked. that night we had salmon, courtesy of grandpa wayne. another tradition, the day we arrive. and had sheet cake for dessert. it was the perfect meal.
saturday: one of the first things on our "to do" list was seaside bakery. you haven't had a donut, till you've had a seaside donut. we go every year, almost every day. tilley has had a donut obsession since birth. she used to say "go nuts," which i loved. before we got there, we had been warned of the cool*er weather that they had been having this year. which was the main reason for the stop at the outlets. to get the kids sweatshirts. the kids, however, didn't seem to mind too much while playing on the beach. we spend the entire day at the beach. quincy and calee found a starfish, and it took both of their strength to pull it off the rock. they searched for seashells, played paddle ball, and dug in the sand. tilley and sally may have been the funniest two to watch. they were non stop with their boogie boards in the waves. they would stand there, catch a wave, sometimes fall off, and then giggle, and do it again. it was so funny. that evening, was the adults "date night." every time there's a date night planned in cali, it seems like i'm solo. this time big guy was my date. we ate at a restaurant we had been to a few years back. and left just as disappointed this year as we did the time before. a few of us don't eat seafood, so we loaded up on the appetizers. which i didn't think were too bad. you can't mess up garlic fries!
sunday: the babies and i walked to albertson's to get a few things for sunday dinner. it was long for them. the complained about being tired the whole way there, but didn't make a peep on the way home. candy always does the trick. we went to 1pm sacrament, at the ward building that we've attended every year. then we just hung out at the beach house...and waited patiently for parker and grandma to arrive. we prepared dinner, and literally just before the prayer, they walked in! after dinner we played kickball down on the beach. shed a few competitive tears, and then of course the kids did, what i hate most. got in the ocean, fully clothed. i hate washing clothes in the coin operated washing machine. it kinda grosses me out, so i avoid it at all costs. how do you do so, with sopping wet clothes. nothing hang dries with the cali humidity. parker let them in, so he got to bathe them when we got back. and em had hot chocolate chip cookies waiting for dessert! monday: parker was up early, and was on a donut mission. we rode bikes down, and brought some back for the others. we beached it till around 4 and then came back to the house, to get ready for our hobos on huntington. it's our family night activity. this year was extremely cold. everyone was in sweatshirts, and bundled up in blankets. the kids probably stay warmer than the adults cus they run around. the dinners were amazing, as they always are. it's always my favorite meal in california. besides the huge task it is preparing, and then taking everything over to huntington, it's always worth it. we had smores after we ate, and then packed up quick to head back. it was too cold, and super windy even by the fire. tuesday: after a good nights sleep, we hit the beach. i'm not quite sure who found the starfish today, but i know little p was trying to make a buck off of them. which he found out is illegal to sell starfish. the babies giggled when we had them hold them in their hands. seriously nothing is like having a nap on the beach. this year, i did so more than most years. mostly cus the sand was so warm, and the wind was so cold. that if you were laying down, you were "kind of" warm. we had salads from mario's and chronic taco's on most beach days. salad has been off my list of foods since baby number 5. soggy letus makes my stomach turn. i couldn't resist a grilled chicken salad from mario's on the beach tho. so as long as i ate super fast, before the lettus could get soggy, i was good. this was our shortest beach day. we were headed to knotts berry farm, and wanted to get there by 4. after 3 is the discounted pricing. while we were getting ready for knotts, grandma karen and grandpa david were packing up to go home to az. sad. sally has been waiting a whole year for the log ride. her and tilley couldn't get enough of it. everyone had their turn, or turns, taking them on the log ride. since i couldn't do any other rides, i think i took them 3 or 4 times. till i was too wet and cold i couldn't take it anymore. the car ride home from knotts always seems like forever...especially in a 12 packer, 17 passenger van! we made it tho, and again...slept like champs! wednesday: street sweeper day. this year wasn't near as chaotic as years before. it helps when there's 2 golf cart's there to help save spots, and 2 spots in the back as well. we beached and rode bikes the majority of each day. it wasn't till the night before that i even knew my bike had made it to cali, in the truck with big guy. the tire was fixed wednesday and i was cruisin with tilley. we ordered laventina's "the big cheese" pizza and had that on the beach. really, there is no better cheap pizza than "the big cheese." after dinner we drove to the wedge. it's not so great at night. the surfers all go there in the morning though, i guess it has really big waves. we got there just in time to see the sunset, and for the kids to run out some energy. headed to balboa. we always take the ferry boat over. it's like 30 seconds long. juts long enough to get out of the car, take a picture, and then load back in the car. we got balboa bars, and frozen yogurt. and this was the first year i let my kids go in the balboa candy shop and pick out their own candy. i always get a bag full of peppermint salt water taffy. it tastes so much better there, and the shop is darling! thursday: breakfast at the sugar shack. seriously one of my favorite places for breakfast. my favorite meal is breakfast. and their french toast is seriously too die for. i'm pretty sure they dip it in pancake batter. parker usually gets an omlet and we switch half way. perfect. my kids love their hot chocolate, and micky mouse pancakes. we shopped for a little bit and then headed back to nb, for the last beach day! garrett wilcheck and jon west met us at the beach, and helped load up the david's who decided to pack up that night and drive home to make a funeral the next morning. we cleaned out the fridge and freezers, and gave away the goods. we stayed to soak up our last night in cali. before the trek back to utah. it was a quiet night. we did most of the cleaning and laundry that night, so the next morning we just packed up and headed out. although this may have been the worst night, sleep-wise for all of us. conway had a tooth ache that was giving him a lot of pain. parker ran to albertsons and got children's something and even that didn't help. it was so sad. he cried off and on all night long.

friday: we almost forgot the annual picture at the beach house. usually it's everyone, and we're up on the balcony. how sad that we didn't get that picture this year. luckily a neighbor saw we were leaving and wanted our parking spot, so we had her take our picture. then we met jon, carrie and their cute lucas at sugar shack...again. we visited and walked around. the us open was just starting that day, so it was pretty crowded. quincy picked out a backpack, the boys got shirts, and tilley of course wanted a dress. they all used their own money. quincy owes us $44, cus she only had $4. girl is a spender! after we said our final good bye's it was time to pick up garrett and be on our way. one problem. where in the world was garrett going to sit!? we were seriously jam packed. busting at the seams. we crossed our fingers and headed to pick him up. he walks out with 2 suitcases, bedding and a backpack. all of which went on his lap, under his feet, and across all the kids. we had to do something. this would never work for 10 hours! we passed rack n road, and made one of the best purchases yet. a rack for up top. we could breath! we have needed one for years, and finally took the plunge. it was a good investment, that will get lots of use. and till next time cali!

eight is great

2010-07-16T09:41:00.029-07:00

how do i put into words, the feelings i had on this day. friday, july 16h, 2010. we had decided early on, that we would wait to baptize little p in arizona. he wanted all his family to be there, and i don't blame him. this is such a special event in someones life, i wanted it to be as memorable for him as possible. although saying, "we're baptizing him in arizona," sounds a lot easier then it really was. planning such a special thing, while out of town, can be tricky. we got the date, days before. then everything started coming together. thank goodness for my parents and helping organize the stake center and the bishopric to come conduct. i let parker choose who he wanted to speak, and pray. he made phone calls and everyone accepted their invitations. the program read:
baptism and confirmation of parker james cummard, jr.
presiding: scott turner, 2nd counselor emerald bay ward bishopric
conducting..........................................................................................................scott turner
chorister.....................................................................karen gruninger, grandmother
pianist..........................................................................stephanie meadows, great aunt
opening song...............................................................................................................baptism
opening prayer......................................................................................mele larson, aunt
1st speaker..................................................................cheryl cummard, grandmother
baptism...................................performed by parker james cummard, sr., father
witness at the font.......................................cameron larson, anthony gruninger
interlude music........................................................................................to be announced
2nd speaker.................................................................wayne gruninger, grandfather
confirmation........................................performed by parker james cummard, sr.
poem...........................................................................................parker james cummard, jr.
closing song.............................................................................................i am a child of god
closing prayer...................................................................................jon cummard, uncle

poem recited by parker:
choose today, by elizabeth giles
there are choices
to make today-
read the scriptures,
fast, and pray.
i want to do
what jesus would-
be of service,
be kind and good.
pay my tithing,
and tell the truth.
i'll choose the right
while in my youth.

the men in the confirmation circle. such a great group of guys, that parker has to look up to. i am thankful to each of them for their example in his life. he looks up to each one of them, and hope he continues to look to them for leadership. i'm especially proud of parker for making the choices in his life that have kept him worthy of confirming the blessings on his son. i always wish i can remember the words that are spoken in a preisthood circle. but i think they are better when left in the circle. the feelings of emotion were heard in parker's voice, and i know touched each of us there. i'm so thankful for him and his example to me and my kids. i truly couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. the spirit that was inside that room was undeniable. i am so grateful for the opportunity we had to have a private baptism. it was so much more meaningful. nothing can compare to a room filled with those that you love most. everyone was there because they love parker. we are so proud of the decision he made to be baptized. it's the first big decision you have to make in life. the responsibilities that come with this are huge. it's a big choice, and i am so proud of him for making the right one. the prayers, and the talks were perfect. from that moment parker dunked his first born under the water, i couldn't stop the emotions. the talk grandma cheryl gave, about baptism, made complete sense. she used a TAKE 5 candy bar to help him remember why we are baptized. she explained the first name and last that he represents. and what a strong background he comes from. people look up to parker, and making the right choices may not always come easy. as long as he remembers to take 5, it can help in those trying times. grandpa wayne's talk about confirmation meant a lot to me. of course i get emotional when i see my father at a loss of words. it was a special day for him. he was the first (and only) in his family to be baptized. i was his first child to be baptized and this was his first grandchild to be baptized. what a neat thing. for all of us "firsts." after the baptism and confirmation, we had dinner at my parents. i ordered way too less food. when i picked up the sub, shaped in an 8 i thought, dang, that will never get eaten. when i brought it to my mom's she thought otherwise. she mentioned that she didn't think it would be enough. i thought, with all the sides coming, and dessert after it will be fine. i was wrong. i'm not good at party planning. mom made another ned's run and got another 6 feet of sub's. everyone was full, and the kids of course ended up swimming in their undies. i don't know why we don't expect it. it happens any time we have a get together at my parents. parker felt good that night. he got his own set of scriptures for his birthday, with his name engraved. he got a basketball scripture case. grandma cheryl gave him a matching hymn book, with his name engraved. he picked the color blue for both. he took good care of his book of mormon he got when he entered primary, so i have no doubt he will cherish his new ones, and put them to good use. i love this boy!

"the off year"

2010-07-10T08:58:00.002-07:00

the theme for the lebaron family reunion was "the off year." the carrolls were in charge this year. we got to the cabin on tuesday and the reunion started friday night. my kids asked every day, "is today the reunion?" "how many more days?" finally on friday parker woke up and shouted, "yay today is the reunion!" it was hard not having parker there to help be here and there. but we survived. friday night is the opening to the reunion. we had an "off beat" dance party in front of the carroll's cabin. tilley was in full effect. she was doing moves i've never seen before. at one point, the crowd had made a circle around her and she was getting down. it was hilarious. she loves music, and cannot resist moving her body when she hears a beat.the following morning is "jon/waynes breakfast." the kids love this, cus they can do it themselves. it's tin can cooking. fry 2 strips of bacon. bite a whole in your bread and put it on top of the bacon. crack the egg in the whole, and spread it around on the bread. flip, and voila. a little butter and syrup on top, and breakfast is served. this sometimes can take a while, but nobody ever complains. maybe cus it's too early. my kids especially were excited for saturday cus they got to wear their reunion shirts. our family "ties" are forever! later we did crafts and watched heidi do some cooking demo's. the traditional craft is plates. i have all of parker's plates from when he was a small child, then his and mine that we did together, when it was just us. and now each of the kids get to do their own. it's a fun tradition that my kids and i look forward to. some of them are sloppy and illegible, but it's still a memory. they always have to include their name, age and year. whether mom helps them with that or not, is their choice. heidi showed us how to make these chocolate bowls, with fruit and custard inside, and fruit salsa with cinnamon chips. i missed the demo's but sure didn't miss the sampling. she is an amazing chef! saturday night is the talent show. each cabin had to perform a skit. ours was "echo canyon." of course cheryl pulled something together in a matter of minutes. it was short, thank goodness. and i made lance come be the "dad" for our family, since parker wasn't there. we close the reunion with a testimony meeting and a dessert pot luck. the testimony meeting is always good. it's rare that i get up and bare mine, but usually one or two of my kids get brave and go up. my testimony is in my heart. the burning feeling i get deep inside is sometimes all i need. i enjoy hearing those shared by others. the spirit is always so strong at this meeting. the big 5 are amazing. each one of them i look up to for different reasons. sally is so kind and giving. she would do anything for anyone, no matter the inconvenience to her. jan is so soft spoken, but can put her foot down if needs be. she always gives me the best hugs when i see her. uncle michael, i've known for years. he is a great man, who many look up to. and this year uncle milo was missing. he was recovering from an injury. we sure did miss his sweet spirit. i see milo the least of the 5, but he sure holds a special place in my heart. he is such a tender man. he sealed parker and i almost 9 years ago, in the arizona temple.

throughout the entire cabin trip, cheryl did "tickets" the kids could earn them for doing a number of things. learning a poem, memorizing the family scripture, picking up trash, doing something kind for someone, taking the garbage to the dumpster. this was such a great idea. the kids worked together to earn tickets. and at the end of the week, she had a store where they could spend them. the boys all wanted a laser pointer. it was 100 tickets. conway was just shy of 100. calee and jackson who had more than 100, gave their remaining to cons, so he could get his laser pointer too. it was so sweet. that's what cousins are for!

independance day

2010-07-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

the fifth of july was the parade in provo. remember how horrible my sense of direction, and common sense sometimes is...well we left home in plenty of time to get to the parade. there was no rush, since we had a saved spot on center street. in provo. i had all the kids all red, white and blued out and we were on our merry way. i got off center street, and started heading east. i was shocked at how little traffic there was. i turned on center street and became confused. where were the barricades, the crowds of people, the floats and police officers on motorcycles?!? i made the dreaded phone call. i hate calling people when i'm lost. i look like a complete idiot. it's necessary on most occasions though. sure enough, i proved my stupidity by getting off on center in orem, not provo. i forgot there was two of them. of course.we parked far, in the auto zone parking lot and met parker there. i walked with the posse, a few blocks, until we were greeted by family. mele and cam also met us there, and i'm pretty sure they left 30 minutes after i did. which tells you how far out of the way i had been lost. i do better when i follow someone. i've actually done better since i've had the iphone. the google maps works like a charm. the provo parade lived up to what it had been made out to be. the weather was great (in the shade), the floats were amazing, and the atmosphere was magical! there wasn't a "missionary mall" float, but lots of byu to make up for it! the kids did a few rides and then we headed to brad and malia's for a little rest time. or not so much. we had a couple hours to kill before we went to the park to celebrate justin's birthday. we had sub's and cake and ice cream, and then hung out till nightfall. the kids needed to let some energy out, cus the following day would be a long 9.5 hours back to arizona!

on this date...

2010-07-04T19:10:00.004-07:00

...my little boy turned eight! parker's day of birth is july third. every year i think "how could i have not held out a few more hours during delivery!" having my first born, on my favorite holiday would have been perfect! although, that didn't happen, parker's birthday always seems to linger onto the fourth anyway. this year the fourth was on a sunday. so fireworks in utah were on saturday, which was parker's birthday, and the parade was to be on monday. parker wanted to go see "the last air bender" for his birthday, so we all went and saw that. after the movie ended parker yelled "that's a freaking rip off." everyone around us died laughing. i'm not exactly sure what that meant, but i guess it had something to do with it being a series. parker i think thought it was a rip, cus they only showed "part" of the avatar. we walked over to the mayan adventure after. my kids have never been. the food wasn't that great, but the entertainment made up for it.
the birthday dessert was the greatest thing. a chocolate brownie thing, with ice cream and a sparkler on top. the little grin on his face says it all. it totally made him feel special. he had the attention of all the tables around us, and we all sang "happy birthday!"after dinner we raced to pleasant grove. ben's brother lives there, and all my family was meeting there for the pg firework show. the next best thing to stadium of fire, minus all the traffic. i really wasn't in the mood for fighting traffic all the way from provo, and it's way more fun to be with family. maile and justin, ben and julie and their kids were all there. the house couldn't have been located in a more perfect spot. we parked in the yard, we laid in the grass, and the fireworks were literally right above us! what more could a kid ask for on his birthday, but for his own firework show! lucky guy! sunday in the canyon, yet again. this time to celebrate the birth of my oldest child! we grilled burgers, and hot dogs, and had cupcakes. i think parker too thought this birthday would be a lonely one, being in utah. it was so nice having cooper and david here, for him to hang with. there's nothing like a fourth of july in utah. especially with all your family here. dad was the only one missing of my immediate family. i think parker felt pretty special this birthday, having so many people in town to help him celebrate. i always say this, every year he get's older. and i don't think i'll ever stop saying it. i cannot believe how old my baby is getting. 8 years ago, parker made me the happiest girl on earth! i couldn't have asked for a more perfect first born. parker is the sweetest thing. he watches over his younger siblings, and of course fights with them as well. his heart is so tender, and his smile is so contagious. he was the first grandchild to the gruninger side, and the first great grandchild to both my mom's parents and my dads. he has a special place in all of our hearts. it's been a pleasure being his mother, and i hope the proud and special moments continue as he get's older. i love this little boy! on july 15th (once we were in az) grandma cheryl took parker birthday shopping. harley and casey boy also got to go, since they also have july birthday's. parker was very particular, as he always is, with what he picks out. he and cons had both wanted skateboards for their birthday's. we were waiting till we were in arizona so we could buy them from freedom. apparently parker was done waiting. so he spent $9 on one from walmart. bad idea. they ate at red robin for lunch, and then returned back to grandma karen's. later uncle garrett brought home new skate boards for both of my boys. they have been riding them around outside, trying to get good enough to brave the skate parks.

the tilley's

2010-07-02T17:11:00.006-07:00

mele, garrett and i met my mom, anthony and gg in idaho the day after my birthday. it was a very memorable trip for me and the kids. we were there for 4 days. i was sad quincy wasn't there to experience idaho, and relatives that we don't get to see much of. grandma nagai (gg) is a tilley. she was raised in burley idaho, along with her brother and sister. the tilley's have owned the road they have all once lived on, for over 100 years. i enjoyed having some one-on-one time with gg and aunt june. i love hearing about or genealogy. hearing of their backgrounds, and some of their history. i love my aunt june. she is one of the nicest ladies you will ever meet. truly. parker wanted to name tilley after aunt june. since june had only 4 letters, he then argued her last name. tilley. i admit, i didn't love it till she was born. but after our visit, i have a greater love for her name, and where it comes from and who it represents. we stayed at mike and jenny tilley's home. we took over the basement. literally. the floor was covered with little boys, and tilley and i. their house sits on the snake river. it's gorgeous. the house and the river. most days, the water was glass. the kids spend the entire day out by the dock. digging in the sand, or jumping off the dock, and floating down the river. i don't think i heard them say "i'm bored" once. i hear a lot of that at home, so it was nice for a change. uncle mike would go to work in the morning, he owns the budge car dealership in town. my uncle dick (june's husband) once owned it. i have lots of fond memories with my uncle dick. he never really said much, but the kids just flocked to him. he was a great man, as was his dad henry tilley. every time i visit burley, the smell reminds me of my uncle dick, and grandpa tilley. i remember sitting in the tractor with grandpa as a little girl. he was such a hard worker. gg had some amazing stories. of course we went through every last relatives names. picking a name for a baby is so hard. the sunset's on the snake are amazing. they put arizona's sunsets to shame. really tho. it's been since high school that i've been on a boat. i forget how much i don't love it. they scare me. my parents had jet ski's when i was younger, and those scared me. i like the shore, and the water. but it's hard for me to relax on a boat. this was the kids first time, and they loved it. and seemed to be little naturals. parker of course will try anything, and has not one ounce of fear in him. he was the first to try wake boarding, and the first to cliff jump. the others follow shortly after, but he never hesitates. it's a love/hate from a mothers stand point. one of the day's we packed lunch and went to "the ropes," it's straight out of a movie. a fairytale. huge trees over hanging the river, with a bunch of rope swings hanging from them. we docked the boat, and the kids swung...and swung. just on the shore, besides all the green grass there was a picnic table, and on the other side of the table was a potato farm. the kids thought it was a maze. they gathered all the little potatoes that were above ground. some even washed them and took a bite....and then spit them out. next to the potato farm was a wheat field. the kids ran through that. it was taller than most of the kids. it was funny to see the wheat move, and not even be able to see the tops of their heads. would be scary at night though. the boys wake boarded and wake surfed on the way back. bless uncle tony's heart. he is so patient with the kids. they all wanted to try wake surfing, so anthony gave them each a turn at it. trust me, getting little p's 70 pound butt up, isn't an easy task. tilley has the second least amount of fear of my kids. she too will try anything. we stopped at the cliff's again, and this time tilley jumped. off a 20+ foot cliff. and then did it again, and again. then someone had a stupid idea that phoebe (16 months old) needed to go off. mostly for a picture. i took her up, so mele could be in the water. once i got up there with her, i didn't know how i could do it. jumping off with her would be worse, cus we'd go deeper. going back down the cliff by foot, can be just as scary. dropping her off was the best option. she bawled after, and my heart broke. shortly after she forgave me, and we all swore we wouldn't tell her daddy what had happened. conway caught a fish with his bare hands. it was nearly dead, but still...he caught it. and was so proud. he carried it around, to show everyone, and then put it back in the river. later that night we head to rupert for the 4th of july firework's. rupert and burley organize their fireworks, so they aren't on the same day. smart. the show was a bust. and afterwards we had some road rage drama. mele and i almost got in a brawl with some chica's. i'm not ok with the f bomb being dropped 5 times in front of my kids. it was bumper to bumper and we were all anxious to get home. problem was, if i didn't stay behind, and follow my family members in the car in front of me, i'd be completely lost. what's new. parker drove up one night, to drop d3 off after basketball camp. he then drove right back home the next morning at 5am. i was sad he wasn't able to stay, but he at least got to experience the boring drive of prairies, got to see the snake and visit with family for a couple hours. he wanted d3 to get some lake action before he headed back to az. unfortunately the only day he was there, it was chilly, and the water was so choppy. we ate at the mexican food restaurant next too my uncle mikes dealership, just like we do every time we're in idaho. the food is "ok," doesn't compare to some of the mexican food places we have in arizona tho. we finished the trip off with smores. wait...that's how we started the trip too. we cooked smores over the stove every day and night. i don't love smores, but it was a social thing...and ok, with a symphony bar, it's alright. but this time it was in the pit. with the sun setting behind us. a huge thank you to my family for letting us crash for those nights. they made us feel so comfortable. it was fun visiting with uncle kent, who a couple years ago had an accident. he is an amazing man, and reminds me so much of uncle dick. he collects antiques, and took us over to see some of them. these are like antiques worth hundreds of thousands, and he knows about every single one. the name, where they came from and so forth. we met his girlfriend nikki and her boys reiff and ashton, who are so cute. the kids ran from house to house, which is so nice when on a dirt road. we had 5 buck pizza 3 times while we were there. the kids, and my favorite. went to party hardy, and cooper got the ultimate bloody nose! i guess the true finale was adam playing his violin for us. no words can describe how good this dude is. he drives an hour once a week for private lessons in salt lake. his teacher is or was a well known violinist. i didn't get pictures, just video of him. he serenaded the kids to sleep. so talented! we hope to be invited back soon. it's kinda nice only being 3 hours away, instead of 13! until next time tilley's!

my last...

2010-06-28T21:50:00.003-07:00

...year in my 20's! i dreaded my birthday this year, i thought it would just be me and my little family celebrating this year. i never imagined all my siblings, my mom, grandma, uncle and even some cousins would all be there with me. it was a crazy morning trying to get D3 off to basketball camp, but we did it. after delivering him and his belongings, i met up with everyone (except parker) at nicolitalia's. it's in provo, close to the Y. one of parker and my favorite pizza places. pizza has been my favorite food since i was a child. i've celebrated my birthday at oregano's for i don't know how long. they do have the best thin crust. let's be real though, i haven't tried a pizza i didn't like. my mom wanted to head to idaho, but also wanted to watch my kids, so we could go out without them that night. so she had a brilliant idea...load the mini van up with the kids, and take them with her. it was fun going out, and not having to worry about them. when parker got off work, we headed to stone ground. my very favorite pizza place in utah. i haven't ordered one thing off the menu that i haven't loved. we went 2 times in one week once. it is delicious. when we pulled into the parking lot, the car next to us had a freedom board shop sticker on the window. what!? and then inside ran into a friend from mesa. that's always fun. we couldn't decide on a dessert, and it was pretty late. so we headed home for more cupcakes that mom had made. strawberry with strawberry frosting. another one of my favorite things. i too have had this cake every year for as long as i can remember. and i love when my mom makes it. i also had thought i would be making my own cake this year, which just isn't the same.once in az, i had 2 dinner dates planned. em aka 628 and i share the same birthday. for the past couple years, we've either gone to lunch or dinner to celebrate us! she is the cutest thing, and it's been so fun seeing her grow up. i let em pick this year, and she chose olive garden. i wasn't about to argue. soup, salad and bread sticks dipped in alfredo. done. so fun to share my birthday with emma, can't wait for more fun birthday meals with her. it's hard to get to go out when i'm in town and parker isn't there. janea has such a busy schedule with her 5 kids, but we made it work. we went to oregano's late one night. no matter the time, it never disappoints. we had good laughs, and lots of car time after. she may have given me the best birthday gift...hand-me-down maternity clothes. stylish one's might i add! thank you friend!

more visitors

2010-06-27T21:30:00.006-07:00

on sunday we picked david 3 up from the airport. the younger boys had just finished camp at byu, and d3's week was about to begin. conway was so excited to see him! we headed to the canyon for sunday dinner, which is when we were greeted by this little girl...and her mom. the canyon is our favorite place in utah. and this time it was filled with many of our favorite people. which made it an amazing sunday. gg was quite the trooper this trip. her health hasn't been that great this past year, so this really was her first time away from home in a while. she needed the break more than she'd like to admit. phoebe wasn't sure what to do with all the attention she was getting. we all fought over her, and she cried with each of us. till the end of the night, which is when our faces started to become familiar. we "hiked" over to bridal falls. my kids beg every time we go to the canyon to go to nunn's, so we can go to the falls. i have to mentally prepare for wet shoes, and clothes. my fearless boys, and nephews decided they didn't want to wait for an adult and headed all the way up the falls. by the time i arrived, they were almost to the top. i knew conway wasn't coming down, unless mom or dad was with him. parker was on tilley duty, so i headed up...and up...and up. i couldn't believe how high up they were. last time we hiked up, we went maybe half the way they went this time. it was gorgeous. i loved it just as much as the boys. the view was seriously amazing! i don't think the mountains and the green could ever get old. maybe it's cus i'm so used to the brown desert. it's a nice change.

byu basketball camp

2010-06-25T21:06:00.002-07:00

my boys have always wanted to do byu basketball camp. worked out great now that we live in utah. conway however, isn't old enough...and he wanted to go more than anyone. it was long days for those boys, and by the time they finished, they were pooped! it was nice having uncle lee live so close to the Y. the boys stayed monday, tuesday and wednesday night at his house, and just went with him to camp each day. wednesday night lee took them to see toy story 3, with casey. they had so much fun! the last day tony, parker, the kids and i went and watched their games. after we went to the creamery. my mom and gg came to visit for a week. we met them at brick oven, to celebrate their arrival. it ended up being a big family affair. the more, the merrier. after dinner my mom took tilley with her, and we headed to brad & malias for games. the boys had fun playing video games while the adults played pirates dice, and had some left-over dessert. malia is in the baking semester at culinary school, so she always has good treats for us!

one week...

2010-06-19T20:10:00.007-07:00

...in arizona. the boys wanted to go to basketball camp at mesa high. it's a 2 week session, and we would only be able to stay for one week of it. they didn't care. we drove down, played ball and drove back up. let me tell you how rough it was getting conway up at 7:30am to make it to basketball by 8. he definately loves his sleep. i had uncle tony wake him up one day, and he said, "now i know what mom has to go through every morning with me." exactly! cons loves basketball though, so although he struggled, he made it. grandma cheryl took conway and tilley birthday shopping. they also got measured at her house, and later got to do the money grab. grandma cheryl always takes the kids birthday shopping and to lunch. to my surprise, the kids were home after only being gone an hour. she later told me that when she asked them where they wanted to go to lunch they both said, "i'm not hungry." this grandma who "doesn't babysit," got a wild hair this weekend. she decided to take the "posse" (6 year-olds) to the cabin. alone. who was more excited...the kids, or the parents? it would only be a couple days till i met them there, on our way back to utah.uncle davy took the boys up with him, the next day. and the following day, tilley, tony and i headed up north. one of the kids favorite things to do at the cabin is catch crawdads. they look like little lobsters. both days they went they caught over 70 crawdads. and ate every last one. i mean, fought over them! the dad's get just as into it as the kids do. this year they had legit crawdad poles, hand made. attached at the end of the string, on the hook, is a piece of a hot dog. grandma regulates the dogs, the kids end up eating half of them. it's such a fun past time, and for those that eat them...very rewarding. sunday afternoon tony, cooper and my kids...minus quincy, headed to utah. we did a little swap with cooper and quince. she wanted to stay with molly and cooper wanted to come do byu basketball camp. this trip home was a little longer than expected. after having to take a major detour from flagstaff due to a forest fire. we went all the way through tuba city, to winslow (navajo nation), and then back over. 14 hours later, at 4am, we made it. and then had to get up the next morning for basketball camp. fun.

summer

2010-06-16T20:55:00.002-07:00

i always have to squeeze in at least one girls night out when i come to az to visit. sometimes we have a good excuse, sometimes we don't. it happened to be summer's birthday, this time. we drove to last chance, and found a few good things. and then finished the night off at oregano's. we always have so much fun when we get together. talking about nothing really, just laughing till our stomaches hurt. miss getting together with good friends, but makes visiting even sweeter.

not so "summer" fest

2010-06-12T19:53:00.005-07:00

the weekend of orem's summer fest was freezing and rainy. we ended up not going down for the carnival on friday, and debated all day saturday on going to the parade and fire works. we ended up going, obviously, and the kids didn't really seem to mind the cold at all. we were lucky to have the wrights save us a front row spot, cus it got pretty crowded. the girls favorite float was of course the one with the princesses, and the boys was the "missionary mall." mostly cus they were throwing ties out, and both my boys caught one...only in utah. the lee's met us in time for the fireworks. seriously, afterwards we all looked at each other and agreed that it killed any firework show we had ever seen in arizona. it went on for a good 30 minutes, and was amazing. it was pretty cold once it was dark, so the kids were bundled, and we even made a hot chocolate run to smiths...in june! crazy!

big cottonwood canyon

2010-06-08T09:21:00.002-07:00

big cottonwood canyon is gorgeous. we've been here a couple times, but once it was covered in snow, and the other time we were with people who had dogs. dogs are prohibited. at the mouth of big cottonwood canyon is where the water treatment plant is located. 24% of our drinking water comes from silver lake and the flowing water, from the melting snow. parker was dying at how fast the river was flowing. it had covered parts of paths, and was right up next to the road at some parts as well. the drive was amazing, much like most of our canyon drives. and then there were moose. parker said, "we could turn around and go home now, and i'd be happy." we pulled over and took pictures, and just stared at them. this was his first time, and mine, to ever see moose. they look so far away in the pictures, but they were really close. just off the road, in the meadow. there was a path down by them, covered in water. i said, "darn, we could have walked right up to them!" to which parker said, "they would kill you." well, ok. i don't know much about animals i guess. we met brett and jennilyn at their family cabin 8 miles into big cottonwood canyon. it's on a little private road, and is totally secluded. we made chili cheese dogs, and had sides. then roasted marshmallows. i keep thinking this meal will get old to the kids, but it hasn't yet. thank goodness...i have a freezer full of hot dogs! my kids are pyro's, they could have a fire every night. their 3 kids are the same ages as our kids, so we always have lots of crazy fun when we are together. the boys had a sleep-over at the cabin with the wrights, and parker and i, and the girls drove home, to sleep in our own beds. it's nice that it's only 15 minutes away from home. we hope to go again, for a weekend!

squaw peak

2010-06-07T09:15:00.002-07:00

we had another fun sunday at provo canyon. the wrights and friends, and the lee's met us there. we had hot dogs and sides, and later s'mores. the kids climbed trees, and got stuck, got soaking wet in the water by the sand volleyball courts, and rode their razors down big hills. we were so glad sarah, lee and casey were able to come. casey looks so much better since the accident. his face is almost all healed! it's still sad to see him in his body cast, having to lay/sit there while the others run around. breaks my heart. one week went by fast, i'm sure the other 3 will as well. after provo canyon we drove up squaw peak. the views were seriously like nothing i've ever seen before. the drop off literally took my breath away. i had to keep reminding parker to keep his eyes on the road only. it was super windy, and we could see a storm rolling in. we went all the way to the top of "make out mountain" and got out for a few. the kids pointed out the temples they could see, and of course all the couples cuddling. it was so worth it to drive up. quincy's hair was out of control with the curls and the wind. she was the one that got sopping wet...if you can't tell, wait...she was the one that got stuck in the tree too. Quince!

so long...

2010-06-03T19:26:00.008-07:00

...sandy elementary, 2010. hello summer! i have been counting down the days till "summer," cus it wasn't official till parker's last day. which was today. the weather has been gorgeous, 70-80 degrees all week long. i couldn't be happier. last week we met at the school, and walked with the kindergartners to the park. quincy had her p party, and they did their piggy opera performance. she loves to sing, and has a great memory when it comes to lyrics. the kids played on the playground for a little bit and we walked back to the school. then they had pizza, soda pop, popcorn and popsicles. it was also spirit week, and they had fun dressing crazy all week long. it happened to be crazy hair day the day of their performance, which may explain all the funny hair do's. quincy wanted to ride the bus home, so instead of checking her out early we met her there. the school carnival was a blast. quincy wanted to go right at 4, so she could throw a pie at her teachers face. her and parker both tried and missed. we got food first, nachos and soda pop. i love nachos, and so do my kids. i love kid food, i'm not into fancy. they did however also have a little taco stand with home made tamales, and carne asada tacos. when parker got there, we had round two of dinner. he will never pass up a little taco stand. even if it's on the side of the road. "those are the best ones," he says. and it reminds us of az. quincy and parker both performed at their scheduled times. quincy sang all the words, while she danced. we laughed so hard while parker did the chicken dance. because he was wearing his snow boots, and because he was so embarrassed to do the end part where he had to lock arms with a girl. gross, cooties!the face painting was a joke. it was a bunch of kids running the booth. quincy asked for a dog, and she looks like a bunny or something. and tilley wanted 2 flowers, and the little boy that did it, had to start over 3 times. quincy's itched her face, so it didn't last any way. good thing we waited in line for a good 30 minutes. oh well, every carnival has to have it, and every little girl wants to get it done. after that they hit up every craft booth possible. and since tilley likes to roam, and i didn't bring a stroller, i had to stick with the girls. after 5 minutes of being here, i go in panic mode after tilley has strayed away from my side while giving the boys the rules. i hear over the speakers, "a little girl, with cute pigtails, probably 2 years old, with a pink dress on, says her name is shelly, is lost and is at the sound booth." i tell the other 3 not to move and make a mad dash for my tilley monster. pie eating contest, or whip cream eating contest was a bust. there were some big dudes in this contest. my little cons didn't stand a chance. then quincy did the watermelon eating contest, and since she's missing half her teeth it was more for fun. and cus she loves watermelon. each age group did a potato sac race. which took me back to my childhood and our july's spent in canada. the 24th of july is their Independence day celebration, and i remember doing the sac races, and kicking all the boys trash. my dad's head was always held high after the sac and the 3 legged races.kindergarten graduation. they performed a good 15 songs and dances. it was cute, but long. by the end you could tell all the little kids were tired. quincy went from shouting, for everyone in the back row to hear, to whispering, or moving her lips. it was her last day of school, and she was so excited when her teacher wore the apple necklace she had given her days before. she again opted for her last bus ride home. and she is officially a first grader! my kids are getting so old!coach pitch season should have ended last week. they have so many make up games from all the times they were rained out. we still have a couple more to go, and it's so nice out that we can actually enjoy sitting and watching. parker has such a good solid hit every time. he does great at short stop too. he actually gets the game, which most of the kids out there don't have a clue. he has had so much fun, we cant wait to get him on a better league next season. till then, we're ready for swimming and sun tans!

memorial day 2010

2010-05-31T21:19:00.005-07:00

finally, it was warm enough to swim. memorial day weekend is when all the outside pools begin to open in utah. and i have never been so excited. i craved a kiss from the sun, and a dip in the pool. i got both. steph and her girls met us at lifetime, and it was jam packed. the kids went down the slides, and steph and i got to lay out. we made some last minute plans to meet brad & malia at big cottonwood canyon for a bbq. my kids were excited to see their kids, penny and lady. we pulled into big cottonwood canyon a little after 6, and it was the most gorgeous canyon i've yet to see. parker was explaining that he had heard it was where most of salt lake city's water comes from. and that was clear, with all the running waters, on both sides of the road. parker thought, dogs were probably prohibited. sure enough, next sign we pass reads "no domestic pets allowed." so we flipped around and headed to millcreek. we thought we'd give it another chance, since last time we were rained out. cheese burgers with all the fix-in's; we're talking avocado, grilled onions, letus, tomato, ketchup and mustard, all on a toasted bun, hot dogs, chips and dip, corn and watermelon. we ate till we were stuffed. and then ate s'more. literally. while the coals were getting hot and we were getting ready to cook, little p decides to take a hike. the mountain is really steep. we don't see or hear him for a little bit, and then i start asking questions, "are there bears?" brad, "no but there are mountain lions." malia, "they aren't called the byu cougars for nothing." brad, "i'll start heading that way..." a short amount of time passes, and i can't take it and head that way too. i see brad and penny, and no parker. i ask brad if he sees parker. he says "yes, he's hanging on to a tree, and he's missing a shoe." me, "what?" i finally reach parker, and sure enough, while climbing up the mountain one shoe comes off and gets taken by the river. perfect. this dude goes through more shoes than you could even imagine. poor penny puked, after parker took her to the river to quench her thirst. later brad and malia mention that she can only have water in small doses, or she pukes. parker to himself, "oops..." we laughed about it while parker was dry heaving over the fire. he said he had thought to himself as penny was chugging, "dang do they not give her enough water or what!?" brad and malia mentioned they thought the same thing when they first got penny...and later that night she puked. my kids and parker all love penny. she's a bull dog, obviously. there's no freaking way. malia, i've told you once...no matter what parker offers you. she stays in orem! we left just after the sun set, which in utah is around 9:30pm. i'm still not used to it. only a couple days left of summer. and i have mixed feelings about it. malia brought the goods for the candy bar game, but i forgot the dice. so she played red light green light and freeze tag till they all won a candy bar. then parker and quincy threw a golf ball around for the dogs to chase...till that went bad. thank you p & q for the entertainment...after being told to keep the dogs tight on the leashes, they chuck the golf ball and the dogs both yank the kids to the ground, and continue towards the ball, dragging the kids. the adults all had gut aches from laughing so hard, and the kids both had crocodile tears. it was so funny though. and before we left a skunk came running across the bridge, all through the camp. we were freaking out. everyone was trying to take a picture, without getting too close. it wasn't even dark yet, little dude should have known better! another fun canyon trip..and many more to come.

worth it

2010-05-30T18:44:00.009-07:00

sunday, fun day. parker had the kids pick between the U and the Y mountains to hike. 4-0, the Y won. we put on our shoes, and i made the kids all wear pants. it was a gorgeous day, with a high of 69 in provo. we filled a backpack with water bottles, and we were off. from the base of the mountain the Y seemed so far away. when you drive up to the trail head, it looks like nothing. hop, skip and a jump...ya right. the kids were just as excited as parker and i. i love that they love the outdoors. i believe i've said that before. within a few minutes quincy was asking for her hair to be pulled up. everyone was asking for water, and we were all sweating. tilley took maybe 5 of her own steps, and i piggy backed her the rest of the way up. it's a good hour hike. parker carried cons and quincy for a little bit, and little p hiked the entire way by himself. we were so proud. it was a tough hike! but so worth it. i love doing stuff as a family. we passed quite a few people on the trail, and i don't think any of them had pants on. my bad. parker definitely stresses more than i do in situations like this. although he did have the camera most of the time, wich was nice for a change. most of the pictures he took of me are from behind, go figure. he sees this picture and every time says, "i was so stressed." i have to remind him that he is the father of 4 fearless kids. conway does however, have a little more fear than the others, after his incident last memorial day (when he smashed his face at the cabin). it was amazing once we got to the top, and saw the Y. we all rested for a little bit, then hiked down to the base of the Y and looked out over the valley and at utah lake. breath taking view. after a good 10 minutes and 100 heart attacks, we headed back down. ok, so some stopped to pee off the mountain, i think they could have held it. boys will be boys.tilley did walk most of the way down by herself. parker and quincy ran the entire way down, i even tried to catch up to them at one point, but they were flying! parker put tilley on his shoulders and held cons hand and ran down. once we reached the car we got word that casey would be home soon from the hospital. we met them at their house to say hi, and then headed home for dinner. we figured nothing would make this day better, than chocolate chip cookies. and so we did. and today was perfect.

make-up party

2010-05-27T08:05:00.009-07:00

tilley had been asking for a "make-up" party for a while. she is obsessed. i didn't wear make-up till my wedding day. like blush, eye shadow, mascara and lip stick. i still only wear what is needed to cover up blemishes and aging spots, ok so i have permanent eye liner...still. for my (now) 3 year old to be as "in to" make up as tilley monster is, seems ridiculous to me. i nixed the "make-up" party...i'll have to "make it up" to her after age 16! the day before i sent a message to all tilley's friends to meet us at "jump on it," in lindon (orem). my kids always see it on our way to provo and have all been wanting to go. wed & thurs are "mommy and me" day. so from 10-11, the prices are significantly cheaper than on any other day. and much cheaper than having an actual party. the place was all ours, a few others there, but mostly us. and the kids, and mom's had a blast.

"no outside food or drink allowed" was posted right on the door. we figured since we were basically the only one's there, they would let us bring in cupcakes. definitely not. so on the sidewalk out front is where we sang, blew out candles and ate cupcakes. probably was the better choice anyway, since a group of toddlers do make a pretty big mess. tilley however, kept saying, "i wanna go to the park," since conway's party was there a whole 9 days before. she affiliated birthday parties with the park. this 3 year old, being the baby of 4, is quite smart for her age. she definitely knows exactly what she wants. my mom says, "sounds familiar!" "donuts for breakfast, chic-fil-a for lunch, cafe weeo for dinner and pink cu-cakes!" were the food requests the night before her birthday. she had no help in making those choices, and besides breakfast, they were all fine by me. not only did this little princess eat good, but the rest of us all reaped in the benefits too! 2 of my favorite places to eat, and hands down my favorite box cake is strawberry with strawberry frosting. still to this day i request it for my own birthday. i love that we have similar taste buds! we went with zoe and easton to chic-fil-a, and then took dad lunch to his work. where she opened his presents. "gum and lick-stick." the huge jar of gumballs will stay at the store. she did finish the entire pack of hubba bubba before the days end.i've started some bad habits. i love pedicures, so does my 3 year old. she wanted "nake-up" on her fingers and toes and she wanted to go to the mall and get it done on her face. we managed to do both. seriously, she loves the mall...mostly just nordstroms, and the make-up section. for the love. we go lots, cus it's conveniently located across the street from parker's store. sometimes we walk, sometimes we drive. it's that close. shoes and make-up, and she's happy. course the half-yearly sale had started the same day as her birthday. so nordstroms was jam packed. she had her make-up done and then picked out a pair of shoes. all my kids did...they were all in desperate need of new ones. her and quincy have been wanting some sketchers "twinkle toes" and lucky for me, certain styles were included in the half-yearly! she had been expecting packages, since she saw conway get some on his birthday. grandma cheryl and the davy's are so thoughtful...she loved the gifts! money from grandma karen and grandma/pa gruninger got a similar, big eyed reaction from this little girl. it is so fun to get things in the mail, especially from loved ones that are so far away. she also got some fun gifts from her little friends. we are blessed to have friends and family in utah as well as in arizona.little p had a coach pitch game, and we were greeted in the parking lot by the ice cream man. for the love. they are the same here as in arizona...missing teeth, booger picking, barely speak any english, type ice cream man. and for only $2, you can get a yummy treat from this nasty truck. seriously. the field is located right next to a skate park, so the kids always want to bring their scooters. the make-up games however, are during the week, so the skate park is packed with "pros." instead they ride all around the field, in front of the bleachers. she looks so cute on her razor, parker and i just sit and laugh. she seems so little to be so good on a razor. and with her new twinkle toes on, she got lots of looks. cafe weeo after the game, and then presents and cupcakes (again) when we got home. this day for some reason exhausted me. i was ready for it to be over. we had a good 45 min. skype with the davy's after presents, and then our birthday girl finally passed out...and after one last look online at the half-yearly, so did her mom and dad. happy birthday tilley monster! "she's cute, she's cute, she's really, really cute!" parker always sings her this song, like 10x a day. which was like 100x on her birthday. she does a dance every time. that and the "birthday mix" in the car will be retired for a while. conway was done with the birthday mix after going through it a couple times. tilley requested it, at full volume any time we were in the car. and we were in the car a lot! i love this little mini me!

mill creek canyon

2010-05-23T20:24:00.006-07:00

we got rained out at mill creek canyon. not one drop of rain until we turned into the canyon and started driving in. we were the first ones there, so we picked the spot. it was amazingly gorgeous. in the beginning it was a very slight drizzle. the wrights got there a few minutes later, which is when parker tried walking across a log from one side of the river to the other and fell in. he was soaked up to his knees. next the lee's pulled up, the call's and then by the time the gardner's arrived it was pouring. huge drops of rain. we already had hot coals, and hobo dinners cooking. so we all waited it out. everything was soaked. parker was on hobo dinner duty. he kept the fire going, and kept the foil/hobo dinners flipping. the rain didn't keep us from cooking or laughing. we're hobo dinner veteran's. we've lived and learned, and have it down pat. we had some good laughs at some that this was there first time. the cabbage is the best kept secret and the gravy is what seals the deal. the wrights left shortly after their dinners came out, and most of us followed after we had filled our tummies. us and the gardner's were the last ones standing, and by that time the kids were drenched and freezing. we loaded up, and took the rest of the dinners to-go. we opted out of s'mores and just stuck with marshmallow's. soggy grahams...pass. we had a good time, like always. mill creek is closer to us, in salt lake. so it was nice not having the 30 min. drive to provo canyon. it was prettier, but maybe not as kid friendly as provo canyon. there will, however, be a next time. maybe for an over-nighter! i can't wait to get our camping stuff up here!

pno

2010-05-22T21:49:00.002-07:00

every other week at the gym (lifetme fitness) they have "parents night out." i don't know who loves it more, us or the kids. it's from 6-10pm, 4 hours of fun for the kids...and 4 hours of alone time for parker and i. the first kid is $15, every additional is $5. it includes dinner, swimming and a movie. if you ask me, it's more than worth the money. since we still don't have a babysitter in utah, we rely on this every other week date night. it's always so worth it! this weekend parker and i drove down to provo, and went to university mall (i had to pick up something i left in tai pan, when the girls were here for wo-con). i have missed oregano's so much, and was craving good pizza (what's new). after a few suggestions from sarah and malia. we ended up at nicolitalia. couldn't have been a better choice. we had toasted ravioli's and margarita pizza with pepperoni's. i love pepperoni. we will definitely be going back. we stopped at cold stone, to use up the last of a gift card, and then went to ross. parker's favorite. it was packed and the selection was a joke. so we left and headed back home. we went saturday night grocery shopping at walmart. and if you think saturday night shopping at walmart sucks where you live...i guarantee it's worse in utah. with 10 minutes to spare, we went and picked up the kids. they had a blast, especially with some friends they've made gracie and julia gardner (shawn & rebecca gardners girls). 2 weeks and counting till the next pno!

wyoming

2010-05-20T14:58:00.010-07:00

some people take their kids to disneyland, today i took mine to wyoming. parker had a delivery in wyoming, and i jumped on the opportunity to take the kids to another state. the drive on the way there was gorgeous. i love drives. kindergartners are on break this week for "kindergarten testing" so i had 3 of the 4 with me. it was about a hour and a half drive there. through park city, past echo lake, and through canyons galore. the kids saw hundreds of cows, sheep, even buffalo. we drove right next to a train on the way there, and on the way home. it went through a tunnel and out the other side. the kids loved it, and i love when they get to experience things like this. after we got to our drop off location in evanstons, wyoming we drove into town and got lunch at walmart. conway and tilley picked lunchables and Q and i got subway. we decided that it would be more fun to eat at the river, a mile away. i'm so glad we did. as we past this swampy pond, conway crossed paths with a pretty decent size snake. i screamed so loud and the kids all laughed at me. i hate snakes. from then on the hunt was for another. tilley kept asking if there were awigators and i quickly said "no" and then thought...wait, i have no idea. don't alligators and crocks live in swamps? i didn't dare ask parker...he still makes fun of the time i asked if there were polar bears and at the salt lake. it looked like a legit place for them to live in january. you could see the fog coming off the lake, and over by the mountains covered in snow...looked the part. after he laughed at me for 20 min. he said not to ask anyone else that question...ever. which is when i asked, "what about penguins?" ya ya...if you saw it you would wonder too.quincy told me, "mom you're not going to be in any of the pictures in wyoming" which is when i said, "well who's going to take the picture." and then i got the are you stupid look from my 6 year old. she took one, then conway insisted on taking one. they did a pretty good job! on the trail we saw 6 trains, literally right next to us. there was even a little trail at one part that you could walk right up to the tracks. i was afraid, since they seemed to be coming every 5 min. sometimes sooner. we passed a giant fire pit thing, which the kids ran around for a while. crossed over 2 bridges. saw a stream, pond, river, and lake. the kids said they sang a stream song in primary...and were shocked i knew all the words to "give said the little stream" so we sang it over and over till they too knew the words. quincy is quite the little singer. we hiked in for a good 45 min. and then turned around and hiked/walked back out. it was a gorgeous path, and the kids begged to walk to the end of where the river stopped. they wanted to hike up to the highway where they could hear the cars driving over us, when we were under the over pass. we did, and quincy then decided since it was bear river we should see a bear. since i told her that probably wasn't going to happen, she magically turned into one. she also asked if i could send her "bear picture" to her cousin "molly bear." she misses her so much. the kids miss all their cousins, and talk about our summer trip to az, when they get to see them all. it was such a fun "day trip" with the kids. they were in their element. i love that my kids all love the outdoors. utah is a great place to live for that. monday we touched 80, and then the remainder of the week has been 50's. kinda lame. we're used to may being close to 100...and i am dreaming of the day i can officially put away the boots and jackets. i sleep with my fingers crossed. wyoming wasn't any different weather wise. cold, windy and even sprinkles here and there. we got home just in time to meet parker at the door. and course the kids bragged about all the fun things they saw...and parker pouted. if there was enough seat belts in the truck for him to come, i would have had him stay home and come with. someday, hopefully...there will be a "next time." maybe on our way to canada to see grandma and grandpa gruninger! we used to go every summer, and i loved it. it was 24 hours and we drove straight through. we're half way there being in utah...and 12 hours in the car is nothing when you like driving. which i inherited from my own dad.

superman

2010-05-17T21:08:00.008-07:00

conway has been talking about his superman/water balloon party for a couple weeks now. after searching both target and walmart for anything "superman" all i could find was the shirt he was wearing...so i had to come up with my own decor; or a few logo print outs, turned cupcake toppers and party favors. and thank goodness the weather has been nice, so we were able to make his water balloon wish come true. we had friends and family meet at the park behind parker's store; our favorite, to help him celebrate turning five! it was simple, yet perfect. we had close to 500 water balloons, and they lasted maybe five minutes. conway loved it, and luckily there were only a few tears. how can you go wrong with pizza and root beer, we got just a few too many pizzas, but there was plenty to eat. conway asked why there were so many girls at his party. most of our friends have all girls, and my reply was "it's monday, family night, so everyone is invited" parker's reply was "dude you won't be complaining about that when you're older." it was a little breezy, so we had a hard time keeping the candles lit. but he had them blown out before we even finished singing. all today in the car we listened to the "birthday mix" and conway couldn't wipe the smile off his sweet face. he was so excited about his blue cupcakes and blue frosting, although he mentioned that next year he wants purple. i think his cousin casey had 3 or more cupcakes...he was in sugar heaven. he made out big time with presents. lots of balls and guns, and legos, which he had asked for. and of course a bag full of candy, which i'm sure is half gone by now. the park was a perfect location. we bring parker lunch some days and walk down to this park. most of the time we are the only one's here. i spread a blanket out and we are there for hours. tonight however, it was packed. there were baseball games going on, so the park was crazy. it made it fun for conway though, and everyone joined in on the festivities. since the party started before parker was done working it was nice he could just walk over when he finished.course the giant balloons were a hit. towards the end of the party we cut them off, and each kid got one. parker tried to do a count down and have everyone let theirs go. which not one kid thought was a good idea. a couple popped, which sent the kids into tears. but eventually they all ended up letting them go. conway dies over these balloons. i always find them in my wash, from him shoving a couple in his pocket after visiting dad's store. the day went by so fast, and before we knew it the party was over. i had to stop a friend in the parking lot to take a picture of us with our birthday boy. i always forget to get pictures with my kids, cus i'm always the one behind the camera. i'm trying to be better. conway is the sweetest thing. he just looks at you and smiles, and you seriously melt. he has such a soft voice, and when he cries it breaks your heart. he can hardly walk by me without spanking my butt, and he got that from his dad. he gives me the best compliments on my fancy cooking. and never forgets to say thank you. i love this five year old boy! happy birthday cons!

nunns

2010-05-16T20:55:00.009-07:00

we had a pretty eventful weekend. friday parker's boss was in town for a few days, so friday he took the boys, and they went to see robin hood before taking him to the airport. the girls and i went to target and chic-fil-a, where tilley pooped her pants, without even thinking twice...so we ended the gno early. saturday was ball game after ball game; where parker destroyed the ball and killed it as short stop, team pictures, anni's birthday party, car wash, dry cleaning and then the most anticipated event of all. picking up the lee's from the airport. parker got a speeding ticket on the way into the airport; which was fun, and come to find out has a "canceled license" in az. so i got to round the airport for the 3rd time, to pick lee up, and take to drive parker's truck, before his 10 min. were up and the truck was impounded. fun. sunday we woke up late for church, and decided to get ready, make sack lunches, and head to provo. we stopped at a baseball field and the kids practiced hitting. then we had lunch at a park close to the lee's. we drove through a few neighborhoods looking for houses in "the bubble" and after made way to the canyon. usually we set up camp at glens, but this time we went further in to nunns. we found a pit by the river; after being booted from the rv camp, and hung out there from 3-9pm. it was perfect. the canyon will never get old. we played g0 fish with the kids for hours, until the wrights got there. had dogs and fruit and then hiked/rode scooters to the waterfall. gorgeous to say the least, but the water was freezing. the kids could have cared less. my kids have no fear, they would have hiked to the very top had we let them. they played in the freezing water, and of course i ended up going in after tilley monster. everyone left with wet pants and shoes. for the love. when we got back to camp we had a suprise waiting for us. besides the two racoons that had invaded, the lee's and the mabry's had finally arrived. we ate s'mores till we were all sick, and the kids played their own game of go fish. it was fun visiting with them, and seeing casey boy awake. although they are still on europe time, which would have put them at 3 am. my kids are excited to have another cousin in utah. and we are looking forward to spending time with them for the short time they are here. tomorrow i have a birthday boy...so we'll be seeing them all again, and cannot wait!

mother i love you

2010-05-10T07:11:00.003-07:00

love when the primary kids get up and sing "mother i love you" on mothers day. i sing that song to my kids all the time, and insert their name for mother. so they all had big grins on their faces when they were singing on the stand. even tilley, who's not in primary, got up on the stage. and our kids make up half of the primary in this ward. our ward also gave out the little bags of the pretzel/rolo/walnut things. yum. there was 6 in my bag, enough for everyone to have one. they were amazing. i didn't get breakfast in bed, instead we woke up to an alarm clock and rushed to get everyone ready for 9am church. conway dragged his feet, as always. him and quincy are so not morning people. after church we had a mellow day. parker made the kids lunch and i made a sheet cake for dessert later. we snacked on cheese and apples, and watched movies with the kids. parker gave me the sweetest card, which is always the greatest gift when accompanied with "a kiss, a hug and an i love you!" man i'm so in love with him! the kids all gave me their hand-made gifts from school. my favorite. after rest time, we headed to the millers for a bbq. jeff's parents, grandpa dale and grandma linda were visiting for bobbi's baby shower. i love jeff's parents. "good hell linda" cracks us up. she just adores my kids, it's the sweetest thing. we joke with jeff cus he says "oh bobbi" just like parker remembers dale saying "oh linda" back in high school. which now has turned into "good hell linda." jeff explained that it's only used when something ridiculous comes out of their mouths. and we laugh every time he says it. i drove parker and the kids up the huge mountain, and they rode scooters all the way down, while jeff was on his cruiser. we watched the suns sweep the spurs in the play offs, and had the most amazing burgers. toasted buns, cheese melted on top, letus and tomato. i don't love burgers, but this was delicious. the day was the perfect mothers day. even if parker and i were both away from our own mothers.

my athlete

2010-05-09T13:25:00.003-07:00

jealous? you should be. one thing that attracted me to parker early on was how athletic he was. any sport he plays, he is good at. he was stoked when he got a 5 on 5 flag football team together in utah. he of course plays QB, and all i can say is...he kills it. nothing is hotter than having an athletic husband, especially when he puts a team of young guys to shame. they murdered this team, it was awesome. i enjoy going and watching, and so do the kids. p puts those scenic mountains in the background to shame, he looks so good! and i'm always pleased when we walk away without a fight. parker does a good job of getting in peoples heads (in sports)...and it tends to make the competition that much better.

beehive bazaar

2010-05-07T07:40:00.002-07:00

i've always wanted to go to the bazaar at thanksgiving point. it's a huge craft fair, with booths and booths of mostly handmade crafts or art. jennilynn and i met steph and suzanne there. and walked away with a few fun purchases. was well worth the trip...i also went home with lots of photos of ideas :) i know i'm not the only one!

this is the place

2010-05-05T08:05:00.014-07:00

sunday drives have been something we look forward to each week. there's so much to see in utah, even if it's just a drive up through the canyon. this sunday parker wanted to take us to a place he had come with his family on a byu basketball game trip. "this is the place" heritage park, not to be confused with "this is it," which is what i kept calling it. it's where brigham young (not michael jackson) declared they (the pioneers) would settle in the west. learn more on their website. www.thisistheplace.org

the weather was gorgeous on sunday. it drizzled a little bit, but we didn't care. the park was empty, as the visitors center closes on sunday's at 4pm. it was us and a couple other families in the entire park. it was perfect. the kids could run around, they had the animals all to themselves. it was better than disneyland, at that moment. we saw horses, bunny's, squirrels, ducks, and ducklings.

the views up at the top of the mountians was breath taking. literally. you could look out and see the entire salt lake city and the great salt lake. nobodies feet got tired except tilley's. i was totally bummed that i didn't have my camera...and my phone had little battery life left. luckily it didn't die till the very end. i can't wait to go back and take a tour with the kids. my pictures from the windows, looking inside the structures, didn't turn out so well. i cannot think of a more fun thing to do this summer. actually i have lots places to visit all planned out for this summer. i hear utah in the spring/summer is amazing and i cannot wait.

the boys thought it would be awesome to pet these little ducklings by the pond. i told them i'd give them a prize if they could. there were 4 ducks, maybe they were geese i don't know and then about 10 little ducklings. once the boys would get close the ducks would make these hissing noises and would quack real loud. i had tears coming down my face watching them get close, then jump back as the mom's would hiss. it was hilarious! finally, little p singled out one mom to 5 ducks. his odds were better that way, and he ran up and touched one, then screamed "i touched one!" i literally almost fell over i was laughing so hard. of course then cons cried cus he didn't get to touch one. i had to explain how the mom's are really protective, just like their own mom is when she senses that her babies may be in some kind of danger.

most of the buildings had a story to them. and the majority of them were replica's. one had been re-located from temple square. it was good knowledge of some of our pioneer history. the kids wanted to read each sign as we got to them. they had tee pees, mud homes, wagons, and the school house was even open so we were able to go inside, and down in the basement. we were there for a couple hours, just running up and down hills, to and from buildings. i seriously cannot wait to go back. and to take my family there when they come visit.

WoCon 2010

2010-05-01T07:15:00.002-07:00

womens confrence was amazing. 5 fun girls drove up, and i was able to spend 2 whole days with them. we spent our first day walking to and from classes, in snow mind you. we admired the blossoming trees, and stopped in the byu bookstore. my favorite class this day was on morals. a young, and very talented girl named lindsay spoke. she was the jr. miss of 2008, stunning inside and out. her personality was rediculous. she played the piano after, and seriously it sent chills up my entire body. what an example she is to all the youth, in these troubled times. man, good to know there's still girls that have standards, and stick to them even when the pressure is on. amazing class!day two, and class number one was slow. but hello class number 2, nobody's heads were bobbing, and there was lots of laughter. the class was on getting your kids to work, and boy did we all feel like we needed that one. there were a few speakers in this class, but the efy teacher was the best. he had us all laughing so hard. it was great. i have lots of really good notes, in the fun books linds got for all of us. if only tilley wasn't obsessed with pens and notebooks right now...i'd be able to find it. it was a class i wish everyone could have been in. sometimes we don't give our kids the credit they need, and don't praise them enough...i know i need to work on that. we need to let them help more, and by that meaning, not following behind them, correcting their every mistake. this is hard for me. baby steps for me...that next day, aside from their regular saturday chores, i let them all fold the towels. laundry is MY thing, i enjoy it, and i like it done a certian way. it was huge for me to see the towels folded, looking not so sharp, but to just tell the kids how awesome they did. they bragged to parker when he got home about their new chore even.aside from the Y, and WoCon, we hit up not one, but 2 tai pans...over it. and of course ate at every yummy place utah has to offer. chilis, einsteins, brick oven, iggys, kneaders, cafe silvestre and the creamery. i felt sick come saturday, and was in much need of a detox. it was sad to see the girls go, but just makes me excited to see them when we visit az. good times.

earh jam

2010-04-26T09:41:00.006-07:00

sunday we decided to head to salt lake for earth jam. it was at gorgeous liberty park, packed with all kinds of booths in honor of earth day. there were live bands, playing some decent, and some not so decent music. we met mike, steph and girls, and uncle jason there. we packed picnic dinners, and spread out a blanket somewhere in the middle of all the fun. the entertainment and people watching was great. it was hippie heaven. dread locks, tie-dye, peace signs, hula hoops, hacky sacks, bubbles, and even a drum circle. they had free craft booths for the kids. they came home with sun catchers, or decorated cd's that had been recycled, bird feeders, made out of pine cones rolled in peanut butter and bird seed. and they planted a seed of their choice in little pots. the kids were in people watching mode just like we were. course they begged to do everything that cost money. parker held strong, i was proud. we walked the booths, played soccer and football, chased bubbles, hula hooped and watched the free spirits dance in the drum circle. apparently the drum circle is an every sunday event. it was different, and fun. we were glad to get the invite. we'll see about next year though. peace & love

coach pitch

2010-04-24T19:26:00.003-07:00

parker had to pick between soccer and coach pitch. both seasons were starting and both parker and dad were giddy. coach pitch won and parker is one of the jr. bees. his team seems smaller than usual, and there's only 2 teams in his league. so they play the same team every saturday. when dad can he helps coach. and he is always sure to make the games. parker is the best one on the team. clearly. he has the best arm, and bats the best. and of course he's the cutest one out there too! the weather thus far has been so nice. if it's 60 or above, and the sun is out it's perfect. looking forward to a good baseball season!

thirty one

2010-04-19T18:12:00.001-07:00

tax day, i mean parker's birthday we celebrated by eating, eating and more eating. parker took the majority of the day off work, he slept in, and i took the kids to school instead of him. we had chic-fil-a for breakfast. and i spent the rest of the morning baking a sheet cake. he got home just in time for lunch. we tried cafe silvestre, suggested by a utah native. it's hands down the best mexican food we've had in utah. it's "dirty" mexican food. and we loved it. one of parkers childhood friends, jeff miller, lives in provo and we always have a good time when we get together with him and his wife, from idaho bobbi. bobbi's birthday is also on tax day! we met up with them for dinner at tucano's. their pick. it's this brazillian restaurant where they come around with all different meats and cut of peices. perfect for parker. i on the other hand frequented the salad bar and died over their yummy lemonade. steph watched the kids, so we could go kid less, we joked on the car ride over at how jeff says "oh bobbi" and jeff blasted the olympic games song. bobbi also had a few friends meet us at the restaurant. after dinner we grabbed the kids and had cake and ice cream at jeff and bobbi's. parker's gifts were "needs" not "wants" but that's what happens when you're an adult, and when half of our belongings are in another state. parker dreaded this day, for one reason. he can no longer say he's "thirty and dirty." sunday we got together with the extended family for a birthday bbq in provo canyon. it was a blast as always. guests were: steph, mike and their girls, uncle jason, carrie, marshall and their girls, jocelyn, warde and their girls, jeff and bobbi. we grilled burgers and dogs, and everyone brought a side dish. i had made cinnamon rolls that didn't turn out, the high altitude throws off my baking, so we did s'mores instead.

provo canyon

2010-04-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

we've been spending our sunday's at provo canyon. the weather has been nice here, and we've been taking full advantage. i love that in utah you can drive 5 minutes from wherever you are and be in the mountains. have a campfire, roast dogs and mallows, go on a hike, and then sleep in your own bed. it's a beautiful thing. we take turns helping tilley's tired legs. parker is such a good big brother, and always gives into her tantrums when nobody else is willing to carry her. sugar bowl is the perfect hiking distance for the kids. it's so much fun in there, i can't wait for the trees to turn green. they will i hope. angus (the wrights dog) is still a puppy, and the kids love him. they chase around and fight over who get's to hold his leash. we all die laughing when tilley calls him, she says "anis come!"and what would we do without mike and his wagon rides down the little hill. little p did it solo once, and went on two wheels, twice. my heart came out of my chest. road rash is for sure in the kids near future.

az: part 3

2010-04-12T13:02:00.010-07:00

easter. and a couple days after. julie, my talented cousin and friend...who sometimes out-does herself. made all the little girls easter skirts and the boys ties. she is amazing. they turned out so cute, i hope she is just as ambitious for every holiday! pictures with kids are totally a love/hate. they are necessary but frustrating. i think they did pretty well. they are all so cute, it's hare to get a bad picture. even if it was a couple days after the holiday. the morning of. we didn't leave anything out for the easter bunny. and the kids were doubtful that he would find us in arizona. they woke up to a surprise. although the bunny must have known how sweet my kids already are, cus there was hardly any candy. thank goodness. swim suits, short sleeves, playdoh and lip glosses. pefect fillers.general conference. some watched, some didn't. i think it should always be on easter. it was perfect being with family. we had eggs milk and toast and watched/listened to the first session at the cummard's. and then the second at the gruninger's. some went down for much needed naps. some denied they needed them, and passed out while listening to the speakers.dad's money hunt. he insisted the kids are old enough for a money hunt. i insisted $20 was way too much to spend on kids 7 and under. my parents started this tradition when i was a kid, so it was hard to argue not continuing. even uncle anthony pitched in $. tilley was so not down. she would open the eggs as she found them, and throw them down when she saw $ instead of candy. the golden egg had $5 in it...bet by the picture you can tell who won and who didn't...easter meal at auntie stephanie's was delicious, no doubt. the kids helped me peel the eggs they had colored saturday at grandma cheryl's. and we made deviled eggs. i used mayo instead of miracle whip....next year i may switch it up. ben had gone to the farmers market and found these huge carrots. the adults were more interested then the kids. he also found organic yellow carrots. i did the taste test...there was no difference. so my claiming the yellow ones to be better, wasn't legit. the annual hunt with the nagai grand kids. this was the first year no adults played. the reason may be, cus uncle richard wasn't there. he never sits out...and usually gets the others involved. it was pretty chill this year. i enjoyed watching the kids hunt. after 2 different grassy parks, my allergies were again in full effect. i had even taken a few different medicines for my allergies and nothing was helping. i don't miss that part of arizona's spring. i could literally smell the orange blossoms as i drove into town. a smell i miss so much, but dreaded while living there.perfect trip to az. it snowed in utah on easter sunday. like, a lot. yuck. how do you hunt eggs in the snow. the end.

az: part 2

2010-04-12T12:37:00.003-07:00

grandma's farm. we used to live on a farm of our own. my kids loved it. my allergies hated it. some days i miss it. i think of the land we left, the friends we made, our ward family we had gotten close with. and it makes me sad. quincy is my little farm/animal girl. anything animal she loves. she always has. she never complained about feeding the dogs, watering the cows, petting the goat, or wresting with the pigs. she feels comfortable with animals. course she wouldn't jump in a lions den. but her heart goes tender for animals.priority number one in az was cousins. priority number two was grandma's farm. it took us a while to make it over, but when we did the kids were in heaven. i kept my distance, except for pictures. my eyes are watering looking at all these animals. i remember my cousins getting bunnies for one easter, and being completely giddy! i held and played with them all day....till my eyes swelled shut. i am so allergic it's not even funny. they look so soft and cuddly! i had to strip my kids and remember not to love on them till after showers that night. and those poor animals. i don't know how they are all still alive with 18 grand kids smothering them. the numbers are ridiculous on the farm. goats and baby goats, chickens and bunnies are everywhere. and i guess 18 grand kids can be considered animals at times. farms are so fun for kids. its a tricky way to teach kids responsibility. my dad was raised on a farm and drove a tractor at age 8. he is the hardest worker i know. the cummards also had a cow they milked as small, growing boys. i dream of the day we live on a farm again. till then we are greatful we have grandmas to visit.

az: part one

2010-03-27T11:41:00.001-07:00

our drive to az went quick this time. the passengers consisted of me, my kids and stephanie (lebaron) and her 2 girls. the mini van was cozy. we left around 5, and drove the flagstaff way. it took us right around 10 hours to get there. i never saw so many deer. i hate seeing animals at night while driving. my parents woke up to a surprise in their livingroom that morning. we arrived on thursday, and come friday is when the festivities began. hot tubbing, sleep overs and donuts. early saturday i took the kids to primary activity day at the church. where they learned about different countries. being part japanese my family was in charge of japan. anthony made sushi, tills showed off the kimono and my mom shared random facts about japan. each country had different foods to try. the favorite was the coconut bread dessert thing from samoa, which hecka snuka taught. tills inhaled.

visitors

2010-03-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

in march we had lots of visitors. conway & diana and their littles were here from hawaii. diana had been here for a month, and we had the pleasure of getting together a few times. unfortunately their visit was due to an unwell relative. our thoughts and prayers are still with their family. may he continue to recover and his pain be bearable. amazing family, and it's an honor to claim them as ohana. the youngs came up for spring break. my kids were so excited to see familiar faces. they asked every minute if we could go see the kids. again we were lucky enough to get together lots while they were here. and with the nagai side, always comes good food...we ate well that week!

me lucky charms

2010-03-18T10:39:00.009-07:00

if you know my mother-in-law, you know she is one of the most talented women in the world. i feel very lucky to be related! this was a topic of discussion, yet again, at our "green meal" last night. she can do anything and everything (yes we miss her...a lot). a little of her maybe has rubbed off on me (or so parker tells me)...when it comes to traditions and holiday celebrating. she has an annual "green meal" to celebrate st. patrick's day. my family was not about to miss out on this fun tradition, even though she is so far away. which is when the " leprechaun cheryl" in me came out. green eggs, pancakes and milk for breakfast...green tulip sugar cookies, and huge green balloons for teachers. my kids get just as excited when dad comes home with these huge balloons for holiday's, as the teachers are to have them accent their classrooms for the day. promise.green frosting and green sprinkles galore. conway and tilley were my afternoon helpers. they rolled out, frosted and sprinkled 2 dozen cookies. it took them all afternoon, and they were in sugar heaven. and i was totally ok with it...while i peeled 10 pounds of potatoes for cheryl's irish stew. mental note: never use an entire 10 pound bag of potatoes for irish stew again. unless you're feeding an army. literally. irish stew with garnishes (me), homemade green bread (carrie), spinach salad and pesto pasta (malia), green apples, green grapes and green fruit dip, green milk and green koolaid (steph), and homemade oreos stuffed with green frosting, and green coconut cake (maile). it was heaven sent. and i thought of my mother-in-law, and this fun tradition she started, with every bite. steph and i were a toss up of who played the role of cheryl last night. she won since she hosted! her home was decked out in green, minus the bowls for the soup (we used cups), all her fun clover cut outs (all over the house), and her clover accessories. so lucky to have them here in utah, and thanks for hosting...again. we have been having so much fun with mike, steph, haven and story. their doors have always been open to us, for meals or to hang out, and we love and appreciate it so much. they have become close friends, as well as family. and this is my favorite picture of the night. i haven't laughed so hard in a long long time. thanks again cheryl...i mean steph! lucky to have maile, lei's, talan and nae's in town for their spring break. we've had some fun play time with them, and auntie malia. it was an especially memorable "green meal" with all my family around. good company and good food made this holiday special. after a late night of sugar cookie making with jennilynn and cooking again all day, i was a tad cranky. the "green meal" totally put me in the best mood. we hung out and laughed till way past my kids bed time. and i didn't even care. it was the perfect st. patrick's day. i am lucky! the green package from grandma cheryl. we got it a couple days late...which made another day special! thanks grandma.

warm before the storm

2010-03-15T09:08:00.007-07:00

we're new to the whole utah weather thing. but we're learning as we go. friday was gorgeous here. it was in the 50's, which is "nice." i wore short sleeves and had the doors and windows open. it felt great! after bragging to arizona about how nice it was...stephanie warned me that it was "the warm before the storm." which made perfect sense come saturday. it snowed all day long. with the snow came the rain, and the freezing wind. the high was 30 something. we missed church on sunday. we had a super late night, and at 4am parker and i found ourselves confused...one clock said one thing, another something different. daylight savings. we've never had to deal with that. and seriously an hour makes a huge difference. after getting confirmation of the change from text messages: remember to change your clocks az! we were scrambling to get kids up and ready. only to find that our battery had died in the car. we put on snow clothes, and climbed in parker's truck. parker likes to take drives. whether it's to look for the perfect neighborhood or the perfect sledding hill. he had been waiting for this "storm" for his chance to take the kids to the hill he had been talking about. filled with failed attempts at a snowman, snow angels and snowball fights. it was fun times. the kids usually strip down and claim to be hot...which makes no sense. but after hiking up the hill, i knew exactly what they were talking about. little p of course isn't satisfied with a straight shot, and has to make all kinds of jumps. he is our little daredevil for sure. he hit one jump perfectly and caught major air. which was followed by "ooooohhhhh!" by everyone watching. and all you hear is a distant giggle out of him. and then a holler from p "yeah peezy!" boys will be boys.

sandy sharks

2010-03-15T08:38:00.005-07:00

i am so proud of these two i can hardly stand it. parker was student of the month last month, and was honored for showing "respect." and now this month quincy was awarded, and recognized for showing "cooperation." i was shocked that 2 months in a row my kids were awarded at a school for which they have spend only 2 months at. nothing can make me prouder. and nothing makes parker and i wonder more "where did these kids come from?!" parent teacher conferences were last week, and since we haven't yet found a sitter we love and trust with our kids, parker stayed home while i attended. it's always an emotional thing for me, and i do not know why. i even tear up when i type this...there are many things that give parents the "so proud, can't control the emotions" feeling. hearing how well your kids are doing at school is one of them. parker's teacher went on and on about how thankful she was to have parker in her class. she said, "teachers pray for students like parker." he is kind, helpful, includes and participates in everything, and is very respectful. music to this mom's ears. parker reads at a 3rd grade level, and he takes the highest level spelling test. which only him and 4 other classmates (out of 28) are able to take. and he gets 100% every time. the part that gets me, is how sweet parker is. all of his teachers since preschool have always recognized how parker strives to include everyone. he never discriminates, size, shape or color. the more the merrier for him. he doesn't like anyone to be left out. and it gets me choked up hearing someone else express how appreciative they are of this special quality.
quincy is her mama's girl. i remember putting a shy front on the first few days of school. to get the feel of things, until completely breaking out of my comfort zone. but watch out after that, cus then we spread our butterfly wings. socially. quincy is always the first to raise her hand and the first to want to help. sometimes in a "competitive" way. sound familiar? quincy sometimes gets a little fighsty (if she's not first at everything), and has to be reminded to be nice. i love my quincy, but i couldn't have described her more to a T. she has the cutest smile, and people usually flock to her...but know when to keep their distance. she shows strong leadership skills and is always anxious to participate in anything and everything. some of quincy's "shark prides" are being recognized for her "organizing" the classroom skills. imagine that. quincy reads at a first grade level, and when she's not rushing has excellent handwriting skills. so proud of both of my elementary school kids! keep up the good work!

snow days

2010-03-05T12:18:00.002-07:00

this morning we woke up to a few inches of snow. the kids threw their boots and jackets on over their jammies and ran outside. snow was still coming down, it was awesome. my kids love the snow. it was the perfect day for a good snowfall, since the kids don't have school. i don't love bundling them up, and then hanging up their wet clothes 10x a day, but you do what you gotta do. they go sledding for hours, and have so much fun. when snow is freshly fallen on the ground and the sun is shining...it glistens, i love it. we just got home from az, and the weather was great there. but we are having fun with the seasons in utah. february and march are still "winter" months. so we'll soak up the couple extra cold months, and appreciate the extension of preparing for swimsuit season!

the reason...

2010-03-03T16:55:00.003-07:00

...why we went to az. this handsome young man was getting baptized. in 4 months, my handsome young man will turn 8, and get baptized. he wanted and needed to be there. i am so proud of all my nieces and nephews that have made the decision to be baptized. it's the first big decision you make in life. they are all such great cousins and examples to my kids. and i couldn't be a more proud as an aunt. thank you tug for being the sweetest boy. these 3 little girls have such a blast together. it was so fun reuniting all the cousins. the one thing my kids talk about in az is their cousins, and how much they miss them all. both sides. they always have so much fun together. it's so fun to watch them grow up together.tilley couldn't have been more excited to see "bee bee." when we got to my mom's (@ 3:05am) my mom had the kids bed made in the living room...and on the door to the office hung a picture of tilley holding phoebe, when phoebe was in utah visiting. tilley wasn't tired at all. she stared at the picture and kept asking me "where bee bee." she also learned that all the "crew" her age on the cummard side and the cousins her age on the nagai side had been or are in the process of being potty trained. coincidentally i ran out of diapers on the last day there, and decided i would use one of pheobes for the night, and a couple on the way home...but that would be the end to diapers. phoebe and tilley had their first pedicures. it was so cute. phoebe sat on mine and mele's lap and watched the girls scrub, cut, file, massage and paint our toes. she was so interested and curious. tilley acted as if she didn't care for her nails to be done....until after she had her feet done, she pushed up her sleeves and held out her hands. and for the last day, my mom treated the kids to amazing jakes. and it was....well amazing. we got there around noon, and fed our faces at their amazing buffet. come on, pasta and pizza....and all you can eat of it. the dessert wasn't too bad either. they had all day passes of games and rides. and the place was empty. we did everything they had to offer. the kids ran from ride to ride, and went non stop till 5pm. which is when we decided to get our money's worth, we should have dinner. and we did...and we left sat-is-fied! it was the perfect ending. az we miss you already, but in 3 weeks from today, we'll be back. please don't get any warmer...you were perfect when we were there.

r&s mattress...

2010-02-25T08:32:00.005-07:00

...is responsible for relocating our family to utah...and we couldn't be more grateful for the experience.parker's friend, john merwin, owner of r&s mattress had proposed a job opening and running the first store in utah. parker accepted. the store is gorgeous, and sits in a prime location. right across from fashion place mall, and the "golden gates" aka nordstroms. right off of state street in murray, utah. so far they are advertised on all the local radio stations, and in ad's in the newspaper. on most days they have steady traffic, sometimes it's other matress store owners checking out the "new guy." which is always super obvious and is entertaining to parker. r&s is a mattress liquidation store. so their prices are un-beatable...which keeps customers happy, and makes other stores maaad. it has been a new fun experience for parker, and we are grateful to r&s for employing the soon to be "top selling store" manager, in utah. if all continues to go well, they plan to open more stores across utah valley, and we are happy to be a part of such a great family owned company. we live not far from the store, 5 min. away or so, in sandy. which is nice, cus on so some days we bring daddy lunch...and test out a few of the mattresses. "kid tested, parent approved." the kids always put up a huge fight when it's time to go. thank goodness for the over-sized balloons...they usually solve the problem quick.

sunday skypes...

2010-02-21T13:14:00.005-07:00

we look forward to the sabbath day. lots of things special about the "day of rest" go on. first, it's one of dad's only day's off work. we aren't "sleeper-in-ers" luckily, cus we have 9am block. we eat a special sunday breakfast. we partake of the sacrament and attend our church meetings. in our ward we have sacrament backwards, and we love it! we eat lunch, usually left-overs, till we're so stuffed we go in food comatose. the majority of my home goes down for a couple, while me and little p have other quiet things we like to do with our time. we prepare a big sunday dinner, and of course eat...again till we are going to explode. and we usually have a tasty dessert waiting when there's room. but a big chunk of how we used to spend sunday we left behind in az. so we've had to compromise...this is our 6th week away from loved ones. and it's becoming to feel "real." i love utah, some may be surprised. but i miss my family in arizona...a lot. the longest i have ever been away from my mother was a couple summers ago when we spent 17 days (not by choice) at the cabin in strawberry. it was quite the experience, and one that i wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy; another time for that crazy story. i am so appreciative to today's technology. that this tiny little web cam and website (skype) is able to keep us in touch with those that we love so much. the kids scream and get so excited to see their cousins, and i usually hide and cry as i listen. it is so nice though, that not only do we get to hear their voices, but we get to see their faces. 32 days till we will see you all again, and it feels like the last week of a summer pregnancy. we're ready! i've decided, thanks to a suggestion made by a friend, when there's only 30 days left, we're going to make a link chain, so that every night we can take off a ring...instead of santa or a christmas tree at the top, there will be pictures of our family, collaged into the shape of a sun. creative right! (thanks linds!)

100...

2010-02-19T13:42:00.003-07:00

...days of school down! my little champs, made it! they may have missed the first 50, but they have adapted very well to their new elementary school. parker's class celebrated a couple weeks ago, and had fun crafts and activities they were able to do. quincy's class celebrated friday, and she was asked to bring 100 of something to share with her class mates. she chose m&m's, so dad brought home the biggest bag he could find. quincy counted out 10 groups of 10 and took them in a ziplock to school. she was stoked.parker had another exciting thing happen at school. he was chosen as one of sandy's respectful students, aka student of the month. it's a big deal...and if they had bumper stickers, i would put one on my mini van. the parents of the kids chosen are invited to watch them be awarded and to stay after for refreshments. i cried when they read his name. parker is such a good boy. so sweet and kind to everyone. always including those left out, and not caring what others think. he is a leader, and i am so grateful for his example to my other children. he makes me so proud every day. he comes home, does his homework without being asked, always gets 100% on spelling tests. it really amazes me and keeps me wondering...who does this dude belong to? definitely isn't following in mom or dad's academic footsteps. thank goodness!quincy surprised us when her picture was better than the one the principal took.

"for the love"

2010-02-18T14:03:00.002-07:00

"grandma is the nicest old lady," was what little p said after claiming his "prizes." the kids usually get to shop in grandma cheryl's store on special holiday's. valentines being one of them. grandma told the kids she was sending them a special valentines day package...so you know what that means. they asked every hour on the hour from that moment on. truly. between the 4 of them, they had every hour covered. due to presidents day, the delivery date came later than expected. but i bet these little recipients would agree when i say, "it was worth the wait!" when i picked up the package, first words out of my mouth were "for the love!" there were hearts taped to the box, and i could see a glimpse of the pink tissue inside. conway was so ready to tear into it, except i made him wait till the olders got home from school. i sliced through the tape and let them have at it. they didn't even know who's was who's, they were just excited. they all distinguished the "who's was who's" and everyone was thrilled. the thought crossed my mind as i saw the smiles on their faces. "no wonder we send packages to missionaries!" thanks again grandma! we love and miss you...and are counting down! tell grandpa we're excited for eggs, milk & toast on easter!

earlier in the month for a family night we made valentines for each cousin and sent them to arizona. i wrote the names, and cut them out in the shape of a heart and let the kids have at it. quincy was very careful while she colored, making sure she was the one who got molly, ellie and kalei's. conway cared about one heart, and one heart only. D3's. he spent almost the entire time coloring on his. tilley of course had to have all the little girls, and p took care of the remaining boys. they also made a special one for each set of grandparents. it was a "made with love" kind of valentines this year. which is the kind i love most.

i l♥ve...

2010-02-14T08:52:00.004-07:00

parker

quincy

c♥nway

tilley

happy valentines day!

XOXO

2010-02-12T09:01:00.007-07:00

last year the kids took cans of soda to school for their valentines. the message wrapped around the cans said, "SODA" you want to be my valentine? this year since i wasn't feeling creative, and most of my craft supplies are in az, i had them do the same idea, with a little different saying. instead of soda pop i got tropicana...a little more elementary school appropriate. and the message read: "can" you be my valentine? (i debated on putting "can-a" but i didn't think the kids would get it.)parker was not thrilled about the pink shirt i had laying out for him this morning...he said he was going to keep his jacket on all day long. guarantee he ends up in just his thermal. it is snowing outside, but the heat in the school is always blasting!the big balloons and bags of candy for their teachers; is what they were most excited about delivering today. usually i make sugar cookies for the teachers, my mom always did that for my sibs and i in elementary. well she was much fancier than i, and did cookie bouquets, we disagree on sugar cookie recipies though...and mine don't allow being held up by a skewer. i let the kids pick this year between cookies and bon-bons, cus i had the stuff already for either. the oreo bon-bon's won. both are a process, with lots of little steps. but i think the bon-bons are fun, and make lots, so we have plenty to deliver to neighbors...or horde in the freezer for ourselves. XOXO

under the weather

2010-01-31T21:03:00.005-07:00

the inversion got the best of us. parker has been sick, and so has tilley. and i admit i don't feel 100% either. to answer everyone's first question, "yes it's cold here in utah." but i don't mind it. i'd just rather it be cold and snowing, than cold and foggy. january hasn't given us the best of "welcome to utah." cold, not a lot of snow, not a lot of sun, and too much of the nasty air. we're looking forward to february! we are, however, having fun getting to know our surroundings...and meeting fun people! believe it or not, we do have friends. we've made some instant connections, with great people. the kind of connections that usually take months, sometimes years to develop. i am so blessed. the kids don't seem to mind the cold weather. we've gone to parks, rode razors up and down the fun hills. gone sledding, and gone in-door swimming lots! we're grateful to be busy.my kids still freak out when it snows. it's only been a couple times where the flakes have been big enough for them to realize it's actually snow falling. their excitement and joy really will never get old. ok fine, i love it too. it took me 28 years, to experience a real snow fall...and i love it. when people would describe how magical a snow fall is, i would roll my eyes like the rest of them. believe me when i testify of it's magic. the only thing i like better is a good sunburn. i love weather, even if sometimes we're under it....

poser

2010-01-29T22:07:00.003-07:00

i took the kids to midvale, to walk the streets. parker said to me, "mom this looks like a gangster place." there were lots of thrift stores, and signs in spanish....but it definitely wasn't "gangster." quincy's coat is my favorite. it was $5 at old navy. she hates it. she left her frost free on the bus last week, and hasn't gotten it back...so she's learning her lesson the hard way. i think it's funny i ask Q to smile and she does the forced grin. as we were leaving midvale quincy asked for a picture by the "coke sign" we were parked on the road right next to it. and of course, girlfriend gives it her all. she's such a pill.

the forced...

bee bee,

2010-01-27T08:08:00.004-07:00

i mish you! i love shoe! i want go to ary-sona! love, tills

....family is better

2010-01-24T21:51:00.005-07:00

we sure do miss our family in arizona. but lucky for us, we have a few family members here as well. parker has cousins, and i do as well. and we feel very lucky for them all. sundays have always been about family....and food. and we haven't skipped a beat in utah. i look forward to sundays, resting, getting together with family, and enjoying good meals. both the wrights and the calls have been so much fun getting together with. they make sunday's seem "normal." and to them we are grateful. we miss the lee cummard family, they too were fun to get together with. they have recently moved countries...and we miss them so much! also thank you skype for keeping us in touch with those we love that are not a 30 minute drive away.my kids love "uncle jason" and have been waiting till they got to see him. they had talked on the phone a few times while dad was in utah and we were still in arizona. he is a "big kid" at heart, and the kids adore him. snowball fights always start with giggles and end with tears. i still don't think quincy is over how this one ended.

sundance film festival

2010-01-23T21:32:00.002-07:00

we got an invite to the sundance film festival, and our friends made babysitting arrangements at their house. thank you a million times over wrights and millers. we were in desperate need of a date night. the weather driving up the canyon was terrible. we were asked the question, "didn't you check the weather?" you do know we're from arizona right. that's not a "norm" for us. to "check the weather" before going anywhere. our bad. really, the drive up was so bad, once we were to park city, we called and had a back up plan in case the highway was shut down and we were stuck. scary! an hour later, and we were belly up to one of my favorite restaurants, "main street pizza and noodle." we were greeted by these crazies, after they did an interview for a tv station. freaks, yes. funny, yes. HUGE, yes!jennilyn, i love you! you have made my first month in utah fly by! it feels so natural with you. we like the same things, we laugh at the same things. we have kids the same ages, and they are equally as rowdie. our husbands clicked, and that is huge. thank you for having the kind of smile that lights up a room. the kind of heart that thinks of others before itself. thank you for calling just to "check in" (every day). for stopping by to bring me cookies...and for being a real genuine friend. whether you know it or not, you have made a big difference in my life here in utah. thank you! friends forever.

christmas

2009-12-25T16:43:00.002-07:00

before christmas we had "the talk" with our kids on how sometimes we don't always get everything we want, but sometimes get things we need. we decided this was especially necessary with moving to utah. arizona winter clothes are much different than utah winter clothes...and santa would be taking this into consideration. they were all totally understanding and even lit up at the thought of getting to wear the "big underwear" (long johns). outdoor toys were replaced with "long car rides" toys (good idea santa). we kept it simple for the kids this year, which wasn't so "simple." i did all of the shopping and preparing solo, since parker was already in utah. once again i don't know how all 4 of the kids survived the "naughty list." but they should consider themselves lucky.

tilley monster is obsessed with all the age appropriate things, little 2 year old girls are obsessed with. babies, purses.........and make-up. heaven help me. we were extremely blessed to have parker here with us for christmas. it wasn't till literally days before that we found out he was able to come. the work situation was crazy and trying to hire someone to cover for him while he was away and train him was nuts, but it worked out. thankfully. i don't know if i can imagine christmas without our entire family. we had my dad's amazing christmas breakfast, and then also helped ourselves to breakfast at the meadows. holidays really are all about family and good food. so we indulged. and we have no regrets...i don't at least.

eve

2009-12-24T16:45:00.002-07:00

pictures can sometimes be deceiving. even more so than the blog itself. my kids, and i'm sure other kids as well....act different when either mom or dad are around. parker had been gone for 3 weeks, so my kids were in "mom mode" when he arrived. course they are excited beyond belief that dad got to come be with us for christmas, and dad was even more so filled with excitement to be with those he loves most. with that being said...we were lenient on naps, and bed times...cus we knew time with dad was to come to an end soon. we had slept in spare rooms, on couches and sometimes even floors. so yes, we were all exhausted. it was the nagai's "on year" for christmas eve. so the kids opened their traditional christmas jammie's and book, and we got ready for our "pajama party." after dressing tilley threw one of her royal tantrums, quincy then followed....and yes, the queen bee (mua) finished off the trend...eventually we were all cooled off, and nothing can help with the mood change, than a room filled with family....and good food. as i loaded my plate, the white elephant game preparations began. we drew numbers and opened presents. lots of belly laughs, as always. little p won the gift of choice this year, a leopard print snuggie. second choice was won by uncle larry...a black goblet with the blingged out word PIMP! wish i had pics!let the traditions begin...we played bunko, watched the nativity, larry read the scripture, in no particular order. and course we always end with dessert. my favorite is when ben busts out his guitar and serenades us. it set the perfect mood, for "beginning" the eve of. we were glad to have gg home for the holiday's this year, it's been a rough couple months for the lady that started it all. and why we even try and get a picture with all the kids is beyond me, but we continue to do it. it is what it is. half of them looking and not smiling, and half of them not. it was a fun filled night, that was not even close to being over....we still had grandma and grandpa's (cummard) to visit, stockings to be hung, cookies to set out, and reindeer food to sprinkle....we were too tired, and forgot to do the last two :) santa however, did still make a visit...santa is too "nice," cus i'm pretty sure my kids had guaranteed themselves on the naughty!

my friend...

2009-12-20T16:14:00.003-07:00

meet my friend, no not david (freedom boardshop), my awesome boot! the sunday before christmas, i broke my foot and my toe. crazy times, being (or feeling like anyway) a single mother of four. i was frantically running in and out of the house, trying to get my kids church clothes, and hurry to my parents, so that we could go to church with them. in and out, in and out, probably 3 or 4 different times. when i put the car in reverse, i realized i didn't have shoes on. i ran inside and on my last trip out, my foot met the corner of the couch. yes it hurt, but i was running late, and that makes me crazy. i ran to the car, and headed to my parents. still shoeless. i ran inside, dressed the kids, and ran back to the car....and we were off. it wasn't till we got to the church house, and i threw my shoes out of the car, and went to slip them on, when it hit me. "sh**!" ugh, no time to waste, we rushed inside...i could barely walk. we rushed in and sat down, and i kicked off my heels. my ring finger toe (next to the pinky), on my right foot was huge, and was going in a crazy direction. my mom's face, when she saw it, hurt more than the pain itself. she assured me that it was broke, and since she's a doctor, said i should tape it to the toe next to it. i hobbled to the library, and did as she said. 10 min. later, it hurt worse. i gripped the walls when i walked and then after 30 min. i ripped the tape off. if i had waited any longer, the swelling would have busted it off itself. lucky for me, parker's cousin is a chiropractor, and met me at his office for an x-ray. definitely broken toe. as the night went on, i decided to call parker's other cousin, and pediatrician. he reviewed the x-ray, and before diagnosing, asked where it hurt worse...and really the pain was mostly on the top, far right part of my foot. which is when he announced that not only was the toe definitely broke, but the bone on my foot was also broken. lovely. i had 2 choices, a hard cast or a boot. if you know me, you know i would have sawed off a hard cast by now...so that would never work. the following day, there i sat...at a prosthetic center getting fitted for a boot. a child size boot, that almost reaches my knee. i hate it. it was amazing the pain it took off my foot though. this is the only picture i have with it....i hide it usually. but when i walked into freedom and met david....i couldn't resist. we had a whole conversation on how we both had breaks and how we did them. he didn't really care for a pic, but since we look like siblings AND had matching boots...he agreed. thank you david! and thank you black couch! 6-8 weeks with this sucker! yessss!

all about quince

2009-12-19T08:57:00.004-07:00

this is what six years looks like on my quincy!doesn't she just scream, "i'm all grown up!" i cannot stand it! your outfit of coice...shirt and pants from dad, necklace from mom, and of course a side pony, out (not in a bun) with a ribbon not a flower. it was your special day!you had a sleep-over with your best friends, and cousins molly and ellie at ellie's new house! and mom brought over donuts and milk for breakfast! and after opened presents sent all the way from utah, from dad! all the winter necessities! we met friends at chic-fil-a for a birthday lunch! and were lucky enough to be visited by these special elves sent by santa! thank you taryn lebaron for screaming to our visitors, "i hate elves!" we got a good laugh! thank you amber for being a good sport!

you helped grandma karen make her special "hearts and stars" birthday cake. grandma always makes the best birthday cakes. she's also known for her birthday displays. they never fail to make one feel super special! we love her for that!you supported your cousins at their dance performance, and then got your nails done! you favorite color of course, purple! then we waited patiently for everyone to come help sing "happy birthday" and enjoy the cake you helped make!

a special thank you to grandma cheryl! she always takes you birthday shopping. you get to pick out gifts of your choice. and moon sand is one of your favorites. and one of mom's least! you had a great 6th birthday, and although dad was in utah...he sure made up for it when he came to visit. peter piper with molly and ellie always trumps any kind of birthday celebrations! we love you quincy!

december traditions...

2009-12-18T15:58:00.006-07:00

conways preschool program was of course filled with humor. the theme was "december traditions." earlier in the month he was sent home with a cd, complete with all the songs they'd be singing. his favorite was track 01, "feliz navidad!" he knew all the words and would sing it as loud as conways little voice could. for some reason, he decided he didn't need to stand in his "spot" and opted for center stage, right in front of the mic. each child recited a funny joke, conways was, "what do reindeer hang on their christmas tree? HORNAMENTS!" hahahahaha! course he had it all memorized, but then when it's his turn, pulls the shy card! it was still cute, and it was sooo conway.his stocking, decorated to perfection, that hung above the fireplace on their set. conway misses preschool, he had an amazing teacher, miss rebecka. and was lucky to be one of 14 boys that kept her on her toes!

while dad was away...

2009-12-17T15:28:00.002-07:00

we helped put up christmas lights...we enjoyed temple lights (more than once)...we had donuts and milk, and visited "bilingual santa" at the kids elementary school...we went to the chandler lights festival, where cousins danced in the parade...we learned about the nativity, and helped grandma with her arrangements...and went to different parties where we visited with "santa's helpers." (my olders are at the age now where they never fail to shout out, "that's not the real santa!" and then we have the talk about how santa can't make it to everyone's parties, so he sends his "helpers" instead.)

a family is forever

2009-12-11T12:18:00.003-07:00

you know the saying, "home is where your heart is." the meaning is so much deeper and dearer to me as of late. parker made a decision about a month ago, to try something new, as far as work goes. his friend was super excited about expanding his business, and opening up shop in utah (murray area). parker accepted the offer to move to utah to help him do so, and before i could take it all in, off he went. i stayed behind with the kids of course, so we could close doors, and the kids could finish school. it has been by far, the hardest thing i've had to do. in the beginning it was the "cold" that my hawaiian blood was trying to mentally prepare for...

...its day number 12, since my eternal companion has been gone, and i truly feel like part of my heart has been torn from my chest. never did i imagine, nor is there anything i could have done to prepare myself for "this." my days are long, my nights are longer. i miss him so much. there are times while i'm driving, and think, "what if i just kept driving till i arrived in utah...(i probably would attempt, if my sense of direction was better)." i try reminding myself daily that "it could be worse..." but in my world, and my life. i cannot fathom. i've heard, "if anyone can do it, it's you kanoe," so many times, i'm immune to it. i thank all of those who give me more credit than i deserve. my strength however, truly comes from my family, and when we are together i can conquer anything. i admit, i am always down for a good personal challenge. but trust me when i say sometimes i want to scream at the top of my lungs "MERCY!" at times like this my heart swells with gratitude to those who have been there for me to complain and cry to. thank you for listening and putting up with it. and for the amazing advice and reminders that i am constantly given. i don't know what i did to deserve such amazing people in my life. it wasn't until a couple nights ago, i was at an all time low, i stood at my sisters door bawling. when she wrapped her arms around me, they felt like those of my savior. it was just what i needed. it takes every ounce of strength i have inside me to not cry in front of my kids. sometimes i can't help it. i feel so thankful to those that have taken in my family, have opened their arms, their homes, fed us meals, made us truly feel like "it will be ok." (you know who you are). thank you for encouragement and laughter when i've wanted to throw my hands up. arizona, we've made so many memories here. as a small child, teenager, young adult, wife and mother...and i promise to visit you lots. however, arizona i have found a new meaning of "home is where my heart is," and that will always be wherever my family is complete. in a couple weeks, our family will reunite, in utah. and my heart will go with us, and we will call it home. no matter the length of time. and no matter the temperature!

my mom spoke in stake conference last week and asked me to write a poem to go with her topic, temples. my mom was so kind, when she said, "you write the best poems, please do this for me." how could i say "no." cus i wanted to badly, trust me. i did it, and it went perfectly with her talk. she (and i) love primary songs, so it is a collaberation of some of our favorite. i gave it to her minutes before conference started, so i was afraid at parts it wouldn't sound right. but for some reason when she read it, it sounded perfect and meant so much more to me. we couldn't make eye contact, but all i needed was to hear her voice. so i share (try not to sing it)...

a family is forever

by: kanoe cummard

i love to see the temple, i'm going there someday.

to feel the holy spirit to listen and to pray.

i love to see the temple i'm going there someday.

lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.

there's a right way to live and be happy, i must always chose the right.

teach me, teach me, to walk in the light.

i have a family here on earth, they are so good to me.

i want to share my life with them through all eternity.

i have a family here on earth, they are so good to me.

reverently, quietly, lovingly we think of thee.

i wonder when he comes again, will harold angels sing.

god our strength will be press forward ever, called to serve our king.

i love to see the temple, i'll go inside someday.

to covenant with my father, i'll to promise to obey.

i love to see the temple, i'll go inside someday.

i'm trying to be like jesus, i'm following in his ways.

i will go, i will do, the things the lord commands.

the spirit whispers this to me, and tells me that i can.

while i am in my early years, i'll prepare most carefully.

so i can marry in gods temple, for eternity.

while i am in my early years, i'll prepare most carefully.

father i will reverent be, and in thy house more quietly.

families can be together forever, through heavenly fathers plan.

i always want to be with my own family, and the lord has shown me how i can.

for a temple is a holy place, where we are sealed together.

as a child of god i've learned this truth, a family is forever.

family first...

2009-09-16T13:31:00.003-07:00

...then blogging. it was super fun and long summer. we finished it off with cummard family pictures. lee & sarah left for germany and it was time. after the "professional pics" were done syd & i snapped a couple of our own families. they turned out great. it was coolest, hot day in august. and after pictures all the adults went to dinner for a "farewell party" before lee left. it's so fun that these 3 cousins get to go to the same school. they are quite the beauts, if i do say so myself!

eat your hearts out...

2009-06-06T19:18:00.003-07:00

...biggest loser fans! i attended a nutrition & fitness seminar given by sione, filipe (from this seasons "The Biggest Loser" & their trainer ryan last night...it was so good. i'm sad for all of you who missed it (all of my family & close friends who are out of town)! it was 1.5 hours of knowledge and experience. it even got emotional towards the end, when filipe spoke, of course. he has an amazing spirit about him! they finished the seminar with the haka dance and then of course posed for pictures! they are touring now, so email tongancousins@hotmail.com if you are interested in being on their email list. and hopefully ya'll will get a chance to attend sometime!

early birthday celebration

2009-06-02T06:04:00.000-07:00

since parkers birthday falls in the summer time, he was able to take snacks to share with his friends on one of the last days of school...he chose twinkies & chocolate milk. i went with the kids 30 min. before school was out and he passed them out to his friends. they sung a special "make a cake" and the "happy birthday" song to him, and gave him a birthday card. i remember hating my summer birthday durring my elementry school years, so this is a fun way for him to get to have a little early celebration till the real thing get's here july 3rd!

contest time!

2009-05-27T15:39:00.016-07:00

visit the link below to enter into pied pipers photo contests! simple & easy...rewards are more than worth it! http://piedpiperphoto.blogspot.com/

i won!!!

...a family photo shoot!

i cannot even explain how excited i am about it!

be happy...

...ya'll get awesome christmas card photos this year from us!

bootcamp

2009-05-27T09:50:00.004-07:00

it's been a pleasure getting to know sione fa and ryan jordan. it started with a random comment i had made on sione's facebook mentioning that if he ever wanted to do a bootcamp, i'd set it up for him. a few days later to my suprise, i had a message from sione in my inbox stating he was "in!" after advertising on FB and blasing emails...we had a pretty good size group rounded up. they worked our buns off! as a treat from sione on the last day of round one he gave me one of his Biggest Loser t-shirts. he actually had worn this shirt ON the show, when he was obviously much larger in size. i rocked it though! a successful round one of BC, then led to round two...and hopefully more in the future. thanks again si & ryan! i admit i was a Biggest Loser junkie this season. i had never watched before, but when 3 of the contestants had attended your same high school it makes watching a lot funner! it was an emotional season...i think i cried every episode, especially if max was involved. the story and journey these contestants had gone through is just incredible. i am so sad the season is over, but we did go out with a bang. we had a season finale party at my place, which involved little commercial food & exercise challenges. it was quite fun...even if more than 1/2 of the peeps were under the age of 10!

grandma's cabin

2009-05-27T09:15:00.004-07:00

one of my favorite things about summer is going to the cabin. my kids play hard all day long. they get super dirty, and then crash hard at night. all their immediate and extended cousins are usually there enjoying the long summer days as well. we usually have our first trip to the cabin on memorial day weekend (this year we went one time prior to). memorial day weekend is usually the perfect time to "open the cabin." most of the grand kids are out of school, and the weather is at it's prime. heaters are no longer a necessity at night, and sweatshirts are ditched early in the day. this weekend was no exception! the weekend, as magical as it may sound, took a turn for the worst as we were preparing to head back to the valley.......while packing up our sleeping room, i over-heard the oldest grandchild (D3) say to my little conway, "conway boy, you wanna go down the mountain with me!" the first thoughts that came to my mind was how much i love this nephew of mine. he has the sweetest heart, and it melts me how all the younger cousins look up to him. conway especially adores "D-free," and it's adorable to watch him want to play basketball with him, wear basketball shoes like him, and pretty much BE HIM! as i continued to clean our room, i could hear them pull the snow sled up the mountain. the kids ride the sleds down the mountain, and get going pretty fast on the dirt and pine needles. as i walked past the door, i could hear the sound of the sled coming down the hill extremely fast. the look on david's face will forever be in my head. he knew what was going to happen next, and so did i...however, there was nothing he or i could do to prevent it from happening. within a second little conways face smashed into the corner of the deck. head wounds always bleed more than any other. all i could do was scream for my mother-in-law and scoop up my wounded 4 year old in my arms. i saw my crushed nephew flee as i ran to the kitchen, pacing back and forth screaming for help. i couldn't even look at conways face, for rear i would pass out. parker had gone into pine, so uncle jon was the first to our rescue. he examined his face, and too called for his brave mother. when grandma's first words are to get him to the hospital, you know it's bad. i was shaking, and my airway seemed almost pinched shut. i couldn't get my breath, as blood poured down my arms. jon started the car and i climbed in back holding my baby. before we could even reach the highway, parker pulled along side us, and switched me seats. i then took over driving on to the payson hospital. we stopped at the fire department, per parkers request. they advised the same, and hospital bound we were. grandma karen & grandpa wayne met us there, for they had just left their short visit to the cabin. we were treated there by the sweetest doctors and nurses. parker & grandpa gave conway a blessing for comfort, and an instant peace came over me. conway had a CT scan to make sure there was no brain/skull/vision/nasal damage. i had no doubts that he was going to be fine...although i cried throughout the whole thing...because we as mothers don't like to see our children suffer...and because my concern for my nephew back at the cabin was killing me. after being proven this tough little 4 year old had nothing but a tiny fracture to his nose, we were sent to the desert banner pediatric ER for conways face to be examined by a plastic surgeon. we got right in and met dr. goldstein there a little before 4, and within minutes we were given instruction by the anesthesiologist, and minutes later conway was limp and we were asked to leave the room. 20 min. later we re-entered and conway was coming to. his little face had been mended. 3 layers of stitches later, he looked amazing. the bone was no longer visible, and the hole was sewn shut. the plastic surgeon was so nice and reassuring...which is so important to a mother. we stayed for another hour or so, to make sure cons could hold food down. on our way to grandma & grandpa's there was some puking, but after a nice bath, conway was out for the night...and i was officially exhausted. we kept on assuring conway that no 3 year old could have been strong enough to make it through all this...it was a good thing that he turned 4 a week before! and every time the monitor would squeeze tightly around his bicept we would tell him it was feeling his muscles. he smiled every time. the stitches will dissolve within 6 weeks, and then we shall start our summer of swimming!

conway is 4!

2009-05-19T13:06:00.001-07:00

conway was star student as well as birthday boy for preschool. his choice of birthday snack was donuts and gatorade's. orange in color of course. his favorite color, and also the color of basketballs...which he loves. he took his light saber for show n' tell as well.next up was birthday shopping with grandma. we met at the usual...target. conway had picked out a dvd that he was dead set on getting. luckily grandma called to verify we didn't already own...which we did. i hinted that the sports isle may be her best bet. sure enough, he was the balls, and the color orange, and was sold! they then dined at conways favorite...chick-fil-a!and the annual birthday party at val vista lakes. i got smart this year and arrived at 8am, to set up and reserve our party spot. by 9:30am, the party people started to show up and it was officially a party! i didn't go all out this year, so it was a simple basketball party, with lots of orange treats. we had pizza for lunch and then had basketball cupcakes. the kids favorite thing was the blow up basketballs i had...maybe parker had more fun with them, then the kids. we sang and opened presents, and then retired at around 2pm. good thing grandma lives close, cus a much needed nap was up next. i cannot believe conway is 4! i know all us mom's say it, but they grow up so dang fast. he is still my baby boy! he's the sweetest thing, if you know him, i don't have to convince you of that. he has everyone's heart! we love our cons!

our favorite things

2009-05-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

my mother-in-law decided this year we would start a new annual tradition with all the sis-in-laws in the family. i'm not sure what the official name is, but i believe we referred to it as "our favorite things." we met at cheryls house, where we all put one of our favorite places to eat on a piece of paper. we drew one, and that was where we would dine for the night. this year we drew crystals paper, and enjoyed CPK. it was delicious food and even better company. one of MY favorite things is when we get my MIL to laugh so hard she has to hold her cheeks. i don't know if it's cus they hurt, or she's afraid it's going to stay like that, but when she grabs her cheeks, it's instant tears for me. i love it!after we were stuffed, we went back to cheryls and exchanged our "favorite things" with each other. we decided on going youngest to oldest. we are so glad lee & sarah are here with us for the summer...and one of sarah's favorite things is mesa frozen yogurt! i think we were all excited to get her gift certificate! mmm!suzy, our most creative sister-in-law, gave monochromatic paper packs, scrapbook buttons and her favorite cleaning liquid, fabuloso...which i've already used the entire bottle! smells sooo good! crystal and i have the same taste in lots of things....one of her favorite things, was also mine. the re-usable grocery bags. she filled hers with 2 of her other fave's...oreo's and oxi clean spray, which i also use on a daily basis! great choices!i did the re-usable grocery bags, and then filled them with my favorite snack foods. since food may be my favorite thing in the world. hence the chubby cheeks ;) snacks included extreme cheddar goldfish crackers, baked doritos, honey sunshine cereal by kashi, beef jerky, my fave gum & candy flavor peppermint, and recess peanut butter easter eggs. i also included my favorite dishrags, made by sunflower.summers was by far the most personable. i think we all cried when we read ours. her most favorite thing in the whole world is precious moments. she found these cute little ornaments, and each one was a letter, and then she wrote why she thought that letter represented us. it read: My favorite thing is "PRECIOUS" to me as are YOU!" i was given letter P and it read: Kanoe (dirty): I chose the letter P for you because you are a Perfectionist! (can you say OCD :) You are always so Patient, Punctual, and your always up for some yummy Pizza! You are the Perfect friend and a Priceless sister who is always up for a Party! I love you, Summer (Saccy)after syd's guessing game of what her favorite thing is...and nobody guessing it right. we all felt like idiots. DUH! Syd loves Sprinkles cupcakes! we won't mention the time we drove there 2x in one day to get our free cardinals cupcakes! She got both red velvet and carrot cake and i ate my entire thing....i'd say i shared with ellie, but her 2 little bites, hardly qualify as "sharing!"of course cheryls favorite things were wrapped up to perfection. one of her favorite things is kitchen contraptions. she gave us these little hard boiled egg shredder things, to make egg salad with. she even demo'd how to use it. SO HANDY! a scrap booking book, which represented 2 of her favorite things, books and scrapbook. she also gave us one of her favorite cd's. she spoiled us rotten...like always! it was one of the funnest nights. hopefully next year we upgrade and either make it an all night-er at someones house, or a hotel. it's so fun getting together with just us mom's. it was too short, but super sweet. i love my in-laws!

my little d-backs

2009-05-03T13:37:00.001-07:00

parker decided to sign up parker & quincy for co-ed t-ball this season. the kids had so much fun....some days were funner than others. they made lots of new friends, and developed lots of new skills. i was really proud of them, for finishing out the season...even when they had games right after school, and were too tired to play. quincy has a little bit of a dis-advantage while trying to bat, but did so well. it was one of her many trials she will come about, and conquered like a champ! she is the social butterfly, and had her occasional fits when she had reached her limits. one game we couldn't find quincy anywhere, she had walked to the end of the park with some of the older girls, and they were playing with a dog. only quincy....our dog whisperer.parker was one of the older boys on the team, and sure did dominate. he played all positions, and was awesome at them. he was quite the little slugger too. everyone knew when p was up to bat they needed to back it up! he had just as much fun sitting in the batting order as he did while playing. he is always the life of the party, and we love that about him!we had fun going to all the games and practices, and were thankful to those other family members that came to support as well. we finished off the season with dinner at peter piper pizza and later in the week had a party at the park with the team. they received trophies and giant cupcakes. it was a happy ending to an amazing t-ball season!

bee bee

2009-04-16T21:57:00.003-07:00

obsession. tilley is completely smitten by her new baby cousin phoebe. in fact, i'm pretty sure she thinks she is hers. all i have to do is mention phoebe's name, and i can get her to do anything. she says "bee bee" a zillion times a day. she is so girlie it's funny. she never carries just one purse with her, it's always 2 or 3. she is obsessed with shoes. loves her dollies. demands her "pretties" when we get dressed in the morning. and adores babies. phoebe, little lover, bless your heart for not crying when you're in tilley's little arms. it means so much to me, and to her. i know sometimes her "soft" isn't quite the "soft" you're used to, but you're so patient. thank you.

little peeps

2009-04-16T21:39:00.005-07:00

lets be real. it's hard to focus on the real meaning of easter when you have little peeps. and our focus, as parents, are on them and fulfilling their easter wishes. easter baskets, colorful eggs and candy. sunday morning was typical chaos, amped with an unusual amount of sugar. the kids were bouncing off the walls, the house was trashed, and the church music that was playing throughout the house was just background noise. everything changed when we got to church. sacrament went by fast, as always, trying to keep 4 kids quiet, by shoving books in their faces, food in their mouths, and crayons in their hands. sunday school, i had to run home and grab the treat bags i had prepared for the young women, and it was easier than fighting tills to go to nursery. then that last hour...brother keesler taught the lesson. i will never forget it. one of THE most powerful lessons i've ever sat through in my entire life as a member of the true church, the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. i tried hiding my face as i cried through the entire thing. i couldn't even look at the 6'7" husky man, with the most tender voice. the spirit was so strong as he talked about those last days before christ was resurrected. he ended with the reflections of christ video. all i have to do is hear the music and my heart swells. i watched the first minute, maybe, and then buried my face in my hands again. it was amazing. truly. and to me, that is what easter is about. feeling the spirit, and reflecting on our savior jesus christ, and feeling grateful to him and to my heavenly father for giving his only begotten son to sacrifice for our sins. my testimony grew this easter, and to brother keesler i will always be thankful.

doctors and dentists

2009-03-04T16:17:00.002-07:00

so after day 6 of being on antibiotic number 2 & 3 and still lots of drainage from tills ear...i decided to take her to the ent. the sleepless nights were catching up to parker and i (and her) and this was my last option. tills slept on me while we waited 45 min. in the waiting room, and then another 30 min. after taken back and told "the doctor will be with you in a minute." right. finally when i explained our last 3 weeks with tills, he decided the best thing would be to take her into the "procedures room" and suction out all the puss & mucus still infecting her little ear. it sounded harmless. another "short" wait, and then the process began. i hate more than anything when you have to restrain a kid against their will (for shots etc.). she screamed louder than i've ever heard her as the nurse and i held her body and head down for the doc to begin suction. it was over in a heartbeat, thank goodness. she has till saturday on the oral antibiotic and another week on the ear drops. the tube, luckily is still in place. the other ear is to be suctioned in 2 weeks to remove all the wax...in hopes the tube in her left ear is too still in tact. she still points to her ear and says "owie" and again woke up in the night...but i'm hoping that changes, and it's all out of bad habit.tomorrow i will spend my morning at the paediatric dentist. when quincy was little she chipped one of her front teeth, causing the front two teeth to be worn completely down to the roots. her grinding didn't help either. she has complained when she eats and when she drinks that those two front teeth hurt for a while now. at our last dentist visit, he said they will probably need to come out, sooner than later. well, tomorrow is the day. she's actually really excited about it. not quite sure why. to prevent the teeth and gums from getting infected, he's going to extract them. to do so, they shove the gums up and wiggle the tooth out...ouch! she will have the oral sedation, and i'm not sure how my drama queen will handle that. wish me luck! parker will be coming too, to bling out the other side of his mouth. last week he got 2 silver teeth and 4 cavities filled on his right side. this week its 2 more silvers and 2 more cavities on the left. he has the worst teeth, and apparently doesn't brush very well. lucky for us, we have the greatest dentist in the world and is a huge lee/byu fan, so he treats lee's nieces and nephews real well. perks! can i just say being a mommy is the greatest thing in the world, but i'm keeping it real when i say, it's so exhausting!