ray family

Busy Boy

2012-02-11T22:17:00.002-07:00

This baby has had a busy week! He figured out how to pull himself up to standing, he figured out the stairs and he has cut his fifth tooth. He is growing up too fast! Well life has gotten more difficult now that he is on the move and into everything. He pulls himself up and either gets stuck or falls so I have to help him a lot. He also loves the bathroom. I think it is because of the toilet paper. I have to keep the floors clean cause he puts everything in his mouth- stupid legos! So now we had to pull out the baby gates and Dad needs to lower the crib mattress.

Sneaky Boy

2012-02-09T22:28:00.003-07:00

I am afraid that I am raising a manipulative little boy! We are working on making Koda sleep in his bed all night- for some reason he gets scared or something and will come crawl into bed with us. He is way to big and we sleep horribly! So we have been closing our door and locking it. So now instead he wakes me up some nights by knocking on the door. At least then I get up and put him back in his bed. Well last night he woke me up yelling that he needed to go pee. I told him to use his bathroom but after awhile I didn't hear anything. So I unlocked the door and he walks in saying he needs to use my bathroom. Half way ther he says he doesn't have to go anymore and turns and heads to my bed! That sneaky boy!!! He just wanted to get into the room- he is too smart.

Harlem Globetrotters

2012-02-08T16:30:00.002-07:00

Hunter got to go with Dad to see the Harlem Globetrotters! We aren't that big into basketball but he still loved it. Dad let him pick out this basketball and now he tries to do all the tricks he saw and takes it to school everyday. The poor kid will probably be short so there won't be a chance for him to join the Globetrotters team!

Avery's Baby Blessing

2012-02-07T22:03:00.003-07:00

Another reason Brandon came to town was to see Kenna's baby girl get blessed. It was a beautiful blessing and the baby is beautiful. She had such a pretty dress. I was a little jealous that Kenna gets to pick out such pretty things when all I have is boys.

The dress had the rolled flowers- so pretty!

She didn't cry at all during the blessing and in fact fell asleep during it which Rustin said that he hadn't seen before. After a luncheon at Kenna's in laws everyone came to our house for yummy cheesecake and playing the Kinect! There also some watching of the super bowl. Then we had to say goodbye to Sam and Beth. We sure love it when they come visit and wished that they lived closer.

Family Fun

2012-02-04T22:24:00.003-07:00

It has been a great Saturday! My older brother Brandon and his family are visiting and they had decided to baptize their daughter Samantha here so we wouldn't have to travel. I am so glad that we got to be apart of it and especially Hunter got to see his cousin baptized. In just 7 months that will be us. It also happened to be Sam's birthday. She got a beautiful scripture case and we got her stickers to put in them and a baptismal necklace. Sam requested my mom's haystacks and my dad's chocolate chip cookies. After a rest we went to the park and Brandon made up some challenges. My brother has always done stuff like this. I just don't think that he can sit there- he just gets bored. So at first they were for the kids and he had Stephen demonstrate. They had to do something like a obstacle course through the playground as fast as you can. At first Stephen did it slow and then he showed them how to do it fast. Well Koda got in the way and Stephen tried to miss him but at the very end slightly knocked him and it was like a slow motion fall down the stairs. I couldn't help but laugh but he was so mad at Stephen! When it was the kids turns they did so good and tried hard and went fast. Then of course the adults had to do it! I was actually the only girl since both my sister in laws are pregnant. Stephen won the first time and then Rustin did the second. We can be a competitve family but it was sure fun and the cousins played all day together.

Funnies

2012-02-03T15:01:00.002-07:00

First I had to share this picture I took with my phone of how Koda fell asleep in the car!

Second he came home today from preschool so excited and hyper! They had a really fun day earning medals and making cookies but he told me that Claire had on a princess jammies with boobies! At first I wasn't sure if that is what he meant but after drilling him, yep he meant boobies! I am still not sure what was going on but I didn't want to dwell on it to long with Koda.

Third, last funny story- I am never sure if I should share potty humor but it is too good to pass up, especially since I will be making this into a book. So we went out to eat last night with my family and Hunter got an upset tummy. He finally went to the bathroom and soon after my brother Stephen took his little girl Maycee in there to change her diaper. He came out and told us that Hunter had been in there talking saying oh no, I have diarrhea, then moaning a lot and then saying- uh that's a lot of poop! All the while Koda is running around the bathroom and there was another gentleman in there that we didn't know! Don't ask me where we were!

Working Hard

2012-01-31T21:37:00.002-07:00

Today I had to finish cleaning a house for Stetson Homes. Usually I clean at night or early morning so I can leave the kids but today it needed to be done before tonight and wasn't ready this morning. So that meant that the kids got to come with me. Koda was such a good helper. I gave him a rag and had him wipe all the trim. Then he helped me vacuum. It almost got annoying cause he was helping too much! I hope that I raise kids that are hard workers! I think that my father in law did a great job teaching his kids to work hard. I think it helped that there was the business that they could work for.

Well yesterday we had to take Koda to the doctor. He has this funky scaby sore on the back of his head in his hair. In a week it hadn't gone away and instead got bigger. So we got some medicine to rub into it at night and to keep it on he has to wear a shower cap to bed! He looks so funny! This boy makes me laugh all the time. I think it is such a fun age cause they are learning so much. He also tries to act like his older brother which also makes for funny situations. I sure love this boy even when I have to yell at him!

Busy Week

2012-01-25T12:54:00.003-07:00

Well we have had a busy week so far! It is my turn this week to teach Koda's preschool class. It is over the letter N and on Monday we made nest to eat and dyed noodles and today we glued the noodles to the letter N and then on friday we will talk about the nose and smell and numbers! A lot of prep! Today during snack, I don't know why, but Koda took one of the other kids fruit snacks and put it in his mouth and then gave it back to him. Well it upset this kid alot and I was trying to slove it when Koda freaked and ran upstairs screaming! I take care of this kid then went and checked on Koda and he was bawling because this kid called him naughty and that now he was on the naughty list!! HAHAHA, so funny- I guess Christmas is till working for Koda!
Well I also had to help with Visiting Teaching interviews and that took about 10 hours and me and Rustin teach ballroom tonight and then I have to clean a construction house tomorrow and I have visiting teaching to do on Friday after preschool! I am going to do nothing but veg Friday night.

Motherhood

2012-01-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

This Mom wrote an awesome article and I wanted to put it here!

Glennon Melton: Don't Carpe Diem

Every time I'm out with my kids -- this seems to happen:

An older woman stops us, puts her hand over her heart and says something like, "Oh, Enjoy every moment. This time goes by so fast."

Everywhere I go, someone is telling me to seize the moment, raise my awareness, be happy, enjoy every second, etc, etc, etc.

I know that this message is right and good. But, I have finally allowed myself to admit that it just doesn't work for me. It bugs me. This CARPE DIEM message makes me paranoid and panicky. Especially during this phase of my life - while I'm raising young kids. Being told, in a million different ways to CARPE DIEM makes me worry that if I'm not in a constant state of intense gratitude and ecstasy, I'm doing something wrong.

I think parenting young children (and old ones, I've heard) is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they've heard there's magic in the climb. They try because they believe that finishing, or even attempting the climb are impressive accomplishments. They try because during the climb, if they allow themselves to pause and lift their eyes and minds from the pain and drudgery, the views are breathtaking. They try because even though it hurts and it's hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard. These moments are so intense and unique that many people who reach the top start planning, almost immediately, to climb again. Even though any climber will tell you that most of the climb is treacherous, exhausting, killer. That they literally cried most of the way up.

And so I think that if there were people stationed, say, every thirty feet along Mount Everest yelling to the climbers -- "ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF!? IF NOT, YOU SHOULD BE! ONE DAY YOU'LL BE SORRY YOU DIDN'T!" TRUST US!! IT'LL BE OVER TOO SOON! CARPE DIEM!" -- those well-meaning, nostalgic cheerleaders might be physically thrown from the mountain.

Now. I'm not suggesting that the sweet old ladies who tell me to ENJOY MYSELF be thrown from a mountain. These are wonderful ladies. Monkees, probably. But last week, a woman approached me in the Target line and said the following: "Sugar, I hope you are enjoying this. I loved every single second of parenting my two girls. Every single moment. These days go by so fast."

At that particular moment, Amma had arranged one of the new bras I was buying on top of her sweater and was sucking a lollipop that she must have found on the ground. She also had three shop-lifted clip-on neon feathers stuck in her hair. She looked exactly like a contestant from Toddlers and Tiaras. I couldn't find Chase anywhere, and Tish was grabbing the pen on the credit card swiper thing WHILE the woman in front of me was trying to use it. And so I just looked at the woman, smiled and said, "Thank you. Yes. Me too. I am enjoying every single moment. Especially this one. Yes. Thank you."

That's not exactly what I wanted to say, though.

There was a famous writer who, when asked if he loved writing, replied, "No. but I love having written." What I wanted to say to this sweet woman was, "Are you sure? Are you sure you don't mean you love having parented?"

I love having written. And I love having parented. My favorite part of each day is when the kids are put to sleep (to bed) and Craig and I sink into the couch to watch some quality TV, like Celebrity Wife Swap, and congratulate each other on a job well done. Or a job done, at least.

Every time I write a post like this, I get emails suggesting that I'm being negative. I have received this particular message four or five times -- G, if you can't handle the three you have, why do you want a fourth?

That one always stings, and I don't think it's quite fair. Parenting is hard. Just like lots of important jobs are hard. Why is it that the second a mother admits that it's hard, people feel the need to suggest that maybe she's not doing it right? Or that she certainly shouldn't add more to her load. Maybe the fact that it's so hard means she IS doing it right...in her own way...and she happens to be honest.

Craig is a software salesman. It's a hard job in this economy. And he comes home each day and talks a little bit about how hard it is. And I don't ever feel the need to suggest that he's not doing it right, or that he's negative for noticing that it's hard, or that maybe he shouldn't even consider taking on more responsibility. And I doubt anybody comes by his office to make sure he's ENJOYING HIMSELF. I doubt his boss peeks in his office and says: "This career stuff...it goes by so fast...ARE YOU ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT IN THERE, CRAIG???? CARPE DIEM, CRAIG!"

My point is this. I used to worry that not only was I failing to do a good enough job at parenting, but that I wasn't enjoying it enough. Double failure. I felt guilty because I wasn't in parental ecstasy every hour of every day and I wasn't MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT like the mamas in the parenting magazines seemed to be doing. I felt guilty because honestly, I was tired and cranky and ready for the day to be over quite often. And because I knew that one day, I'd wake up and the kids would be gone, and I'd be the old lady in the grocery store with my hand over my heart. Would I be able to say I enjoyed every moment? No.

But the fact remains that I will be that nostalgic lady. I just hope to be one with a clear memory. And here's what I hope to say to the younger mama gritting her teeth in line:

"It's helluva hard, isn't it? You're a good mom, I can tell. And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner. She's my favorite. Carry on, warrior. Six hours till bedtime." And hopefully, every once in a while, I'll add -- "Let me pick up that grocery bill for ya, sister. Go put those kids in the van and pull on up -- I'll have them bring your groceries out."

Anyway. Clearly, Carpe Diem doesn't work for me. I can't even carpe fifteen minutes in a row, so a whole diem is out of the question.

Here's what does work for me:

There are two different types of time. Chronos time is what we live in. It's regular time, it's one minute at a time, it's staring down the clock till bedtime time, it's ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it's four screaming minutes in time out time, it's two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in.

Then there's Kairos time. Kairos is God's time. It's time outside of time. It's metaphysical time. It's those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day. And I cherish them.

Like when I actually stop what I'm doing and really look at Tish. I notice how perfectly smooth and brownish her skin is. I notice the perfect curves of her teeny elf mouth and her asianish brown eyes, and I breathe in her soft Tishy smell. In these moments, I see that her mouth is moving but I can't hear her because all I can think is -- This is the first time I've really seen Tish all day, and my God -- she is so beautiful. Kairos.

Like when I'm stuck in chronos time in the grocery line and I'm haggard and annoyed and angry at the slow check-out clerk. And then I look at my cart and I'm transported out of chronos. And suddenly I notice the piles and piles of healthy food I'll feed my children to grow their bodies and minds and I remember that most of the world's mamas would kill for this opportunity. This chance to stand in a grocery line with enough money to pay. And I just stare at my cart. At the abundance. The bounty. Thank you, God. Kairos.

Or when I curl up in my cozy bed with Theo asleep at my feet and Craig asleep by my side and I listen to them both breathing. And for a moment, I think- how did a girl like me get so lucky? To go to bed each night surrounded by this breath, this love, this peace, this warmth? Kairos.

These kairos moments leave as fast as they come- but I mark them. I say the word kairos in my head each time I leave chronos. And at the end of the day, I don't remember exactly what my kairos moments were, but I remember I had them. And that makes the pain of the daily parenting climb worth it.

If I had a couple Kairos moments during the day, I call it a success.

Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day.

Good enough for me.

SNOW

2012-01-18T23:04:00.003-07:00

It snowed, it snowed, it snowed last night. Honey let's play hooky cause it snowed last night! (love that song)

Finally after a very dry winter we got dumped on last night. I think one of my most favorite things is waking up to a world covered in white! Sadly school wasn't closed so the boys only helped Dad a little bit shovel the driveway. I was so tempted to keep them home cause we just don't get snow like this very often.

Bogus Basin will open tomorrow, Jaunuary 19, which is the latest opening ever on record! I really hope that we can take Hunter up at least once. My favorite memory is of skipping school and going skiing all day with my family.

Well sadly the snow turned to rain and is suppose to rain the rest of the week :-(

the boys really didn't get to play in the snow. We did get to go to Mcdonalds for Mcteacher night but Hunter wanted to see his teacher but she wasn't there.

My Birthday!

2012-01-14T23:37:00.003-07:00

Well, technically tomorrow is my birthday but we celebrated today. We got babysitters for the kids and went to Ahi Sushi. Rustin has officially won me over and I love sushi! Still mainly rolls and not the nigiri exept for unagi! Then he took me dancing. That is probably one of my most favorite things to do with my husband. I am so grateful that I have a husband that likes to do that and is actually better then me. I am hoping to convince him during this next year to take some classes with me again. That is some of my favorite memories from BYU. We ended the night at U swirl which was so yummy, especially since I haven't had sugar all week.

I can't believe that I am finally 30 years old! People ask if I am sad to no longer be in my twenties but that always made me feel so young. I am excited for this next year. I think it will be my best year yet! I vow that it will be my healthiest and fittest year. Here's to a new decade!

PS Rustin got me a Twilight birthday card that said, MMM something smells good and it is not the birthday cake, Happy Birthday Human! He thinks he is so funny!

Birthday and Anniversary

2012-01-12T21:16:00.003-07:00

Today is Brennan's birthday! I can't believe that he is thirteen years old. I remember when he was born and he was only three when me and Rustin started dating. We went to Carino's for dinner and celebrate! This morning Hunter asked what we were going to give Brennan for his birthday and then promised he wouldn't tell. Well I said I wasn't sure and that we should ask Daddy- when there is nine other siblings sometimes it is hard to get them all gifts! Then Hunter said well Dad has to get Brennan something cause he is Brennan's big brother! That sure made me laugh, especially since we are really trying to teach Hunter to be a good big brother.

Today is also my parents 38th wedding anniversary. I wonder what it will be like when I have been married that long and I can't wait to see what my family is like. I hope that I will be blessed like my parents- all 4 kids have been married in the temple and come this spring they will have nine grandchildren!

Love

2012-01-10T15:24:00.003-07:00

This baby is YUMMY! We all love him so much, how could you not. He is such a good and happy baby. Loves when people play with him and hold him. But it is his brother Koda that especially loves him. We cannot keep Koda away and off the baby. I am actually having to yell at him to stop and give the boy some room! When we had family pictures we tried to get some of just the boys and at least half of them were of Koda kissing Connor and I had to crop them and make a collage just so you can see!

By the way, none of those pictures worked! Either Koda was kissing or making a face and Hunter kept having his eyes closed! So much for perfect family pictures.

A New Year

2012-01-09T14:24:00.003-07:00

Yes, we are already a week into the new year but after the holidays and the kids not going to school right away it was hard to get on track! To start my year off right I am doing the Best You wellness challenge again. I first did it a few months before I got pregnant and then when I was pregnant! I loved it and is such great motivation. I have been so excited about starting. Well I am going to start blogging alot more cause that is one of the goals on the challenge and I decided that this year I am going to make a book from my blog. Before I was scrapbooking our years and then printing them off in a book. Well first off, I haven't printed a book yet, and have only finished 2007 and half way through 2008. So I have alot of catch up to do!

I am excited to get in shape and feel good and hopefully look good! But I think that my other main goal and focus this year is my Family! I want to be a better mother and REALLY need to work on our scriptures, prayers and FHE. I am so scared about the world my boys are going to grow up in and I know that I need to give them a good foundation. I kept thinking that they were too young and the next thing you know they are 7 and can read!! I just hope that I can raise some strong and righteous boys. I know the time is now and I need to be better. I am also hoping that we can get on a good routine (including ME!!!) and teach the boys about chores and cleaning up after ourselves. I know that they can do it, we just have to work on consistency!!

Well here is to a new year and the feeling of a fresh start and the hope for the future! I LOVE that feeling!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T11:09:00.002-07:00

If I were the type of person to send Christmas cards this would be it! For some reason my family rarely sent them and I just don't think that it is super important?! I do love to receive them though! It has been a wonderful and fast year! My little family grew with the birth of Connor and we all love him so much. The other day Hunter was holding Connor and Koda was there too playing with him and Hunter said that they were the 3 Musketeers. I am so excited for these brothers and I hope that they have a close bond as they grow up.

We are so excited for Christmas! We have a little doubter in Hunter about Santa. He just loves to say that he knows we are the ones giving the gifts! I have no idea where it came form?? We had him write a letter to Santa and not let us see it. So hopefully Santa comes through. Koda can't wait for presents, in fact he woke me up in the middle of last night asking if he could open presents! He has no patience. I sure love this season and hope that you all have a Merry Christmas too!

YAY, a new post!

2011-10-27T15:25:00.002-06:00

I almost want to say this one is for you Dad because he requested that I update it. I think that is kinda funny cause we only live 15 min. from him and we see them almost weekly!! He is updated more then anyone! Well life has been busy- having three children sure does that! I do admit that I think that it is easier with three then I had expected- mainly to the fact that Connor is such a good baby!
He is now Six months old, rolls, almost sits on his own, loves food and has his two bottom teeth. Just this week we finally phased out breast feeding and he takes a bottle great. We have tried pears, sweet potatoes and carrots and he loves his baby oatmeal! I sure love this sweet boy and he is sure fond of me. Anytime I enter his line of site he sure lights up, it is so cute. The other thing that is really cute is that he loves to suck his thumb. My other boys never did this so it is new to me! I still try to give him a binky but I think that he likes his thumb more. Here is a very short slide show of the limited pictures I have of him- I am horrible about that!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Now to the other children:

This one lost a tooth eating a popcorn ball! He is loving first grade and is doing so good and learning how to read!! I love all that he is learning.

This one is in a preschool group where we all take turns teaching in our own homes. He sure loves it, but don't know if he is learning tons- I just think that he doesn't care!! He loves all the friends in his class and we sure had fun on the field trip to the pumpkin patch!
I love my boys and will try to take more pics and update more!

Baby Connor

2011-06-01T16:56:00.002-06:00

Finally I am posting about having my baby! I have had issues with pictures but finally just dealt with it!! First I wanted to share some pictures that Michelle took of me at the wedding very pregnant with my boys.

This pregnancy overall was my best one so far! There were some things that were a little worse (my hips aching and I got my first varicose vein!) but most was better! With Hunter and Koda I gained to much weight so I was determined not to let that happen, especially since I had worked hard all last summer to get it off! The first trimester is always rough, and this one was worse. I usually can control my nausea by eating often and not to much but this time that didn't work. Then I basically lost my appetite and all I wanted was cup a noodle for the broth! This is why I thought it was a girl! nope! After the first trimester I felt great and started working out everyday. I had also made the goal of no Dr Pepper my whole pregnancy except for ultrasound day! I didn't eat perfect but alot better then I use to and this time around I only gained about 22 pounds! GO ME (sorry if I am bragging but I am proud of myself!)

Okay onto the birth story- So at Kimbers wedding I was dilated at a 3.5 and 90% effaced. I was so nervous that I would come before her wedding. I made it then I was at a 4 at my next appointment. Of course I expected any day. Well Sunday (easter) was my due date and that came and I made it to my appointment on Tuesday. Well me and Rustin had decided that we didn't want to be induced this time since I had been with my other two. But I was now past my due date and my doctor was going out of town on Thursday. So she scrapped my membranes and then tried to schedule me in the hospital for Wednesday. That afternoon she called me at 4 to say that they probably wouldn't be able to fit me in til Thursday so one of her colleagues would deliver. I was so bummed. I walked around outside and watched the boys play. Came in around five to start dinner and started to fill some harder contractions then just braxton hicks. I was able to work through them and clean the kitchen but they didn't go away by six. I was nervous about how fast this one would be so I decided that although it had only been an hour and they weren't super consistent we should head to the hospital anyways. By the time we got to the hospital at 6:40 they were pretty strong. They checked me and I was at an 8! I told them that I wanted an epidural so once they got me into the room they were gonna give me one. By then the pain was pretty intense, especially in my hips and upper thighs! They instead decided to give an intrathecal, which is just a shot not a catheter for an epidural. I didn't know how close I was! My water broke right as they started-they had me turn on my side and kept trying to get me to curl up. Well a HUGE contraction came and I knew the baby was coming. My body took over and just started pushing on it's own. I don't know how people not push. I thought that I had pushed the head out but he was just crowning. They then flipped me over and the on call doctor barely made it and two pushes later he was out! Crazy fast! He was born at 7:37 and weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz and was 19 3/4 inches. He is the smallest of my babies!

He was born with lots of hair and it is golden blonde. To me he is such a handsome baby. He has been a really good eater and sleeper. He grunts alot instead of crying and hates being naked!

The boys love him and beg to hold him. I worry with Koda cause he loves him too much and smothers the child. I feel like all I say all day is get off of the baby and leave him alone! I so need to make a plan for the summer so that they don't get bored and want to bother the baby. I now need to take more pictures since he is five weeks old and is now a chubby baby! I can't believe how fast time goes!

Kim's Wedding

2011-04-20T08:54:00.002-06:00

Well I am still here and still Pregnant!! I didn't want to come before Friday which was Rustin's sister, Kim's wedding! It was a beautiful day. Kim was so happy and I am so happy for her. Sadly I was really lazy, though I think that I have a good excuse, and didn't take any pictures. The colors were beautiful and looked very rich and elegant. I hope that it was everything that Kim wanted. I am so grateful that it was here and that I got to participate in a lot of the preparation things. I filmed her and Josh during their engagement pics and wedding pics and Rustin helped me make the video for their wedding. I hoped they liked it!
Well here's to hoping that I won't be prego much longer!!!

Freezer Meals

2011-03-30T16:14:00.002-06:00

So I am trying to get ready for when this baby comes, and I get so nervous about everything those first few weeks so I want to make some freezer meals. It is at least one less thing to worry about! I found some at Fabulessly Frugal and found another new foodie sight that I want to try a bunch of things! But this was a great post about freezer meals:
http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2010/08/freezer-meals.html
If you know of any other great recipes or some tips for freezing meals, I would love it! Maybe also some tips on handling three kids! I always start to freak out right before it is time to have the baby!

Decoration for nursery

2011-03-23T10:34:00.003-06:00

So I have less then 5 weeks till my due date and I don't have the babies room ready! If it had been a girl I had all these ideas and probably would have it ready by now, but no, it's a boy so I have been lazy! This is my first idea- it is his name in letters big above the crib. This is just a drawing to get an idea of what I want. I am open to any suggestions!
But I just saw this on a blog and fell in love with the idea:

She got these vintage cards from an etsy shop HERE! Love them but they are pretty pricey. She just put them in simple dollar store frames. I think that I can make something like it on photoshop with all my scrapbook stuff but that won't happen before the baby is born! I could do this in the toy room and still do his name in the nursery. I just wanted to post these ideas so that I don't forget.
If you have any ideas please share!!!

I want to make these!!

2011-03-14T15:16:00.001-06:00

Aren't these so cute! What a great activity for your kids to do.
Here is the link for the tutorial:
http://happyhappyhousewife.blogspot.com/2010/11/felt-face-activity.html

Our Best Bites

2011-03-09T16:22:00.003-07:00

Have you heard of this blog? They have amazing recipes! Okay, I have only tried a couple but I definitely want to try more. One that is my fav is their Buttermilk Syrup. Oh my, is it divine. A very special treat for my family. Here is a link to that recipe:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/buttermilk-caramel-syrup/
I actually like it with cottage cheese pancakes! All it is, is 3 eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup flour. Mix with an electric hand mixer or food processor- makes about 6 pancakes.

Well these amazing women came up with a cook book! I really want one and there is a giveaway on this lovely blog:
http://bedifferentactnormal2.blogspot.com/2011/03/our-best-bites-cookbook-giveaway.html?showComment=1299712698029#c6279964528015966247

So I hope that you can all try a new recipe and not steal my giveaway! hehe

My valentines

2011-02-16T17:19:00.002-07:00

I had a good valentines! It is hard to want to do much at 30 weeks pregnant but I got a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and made a cheesecake for Rustin. He got me some flowers, chocolates and a stuffed bear! I really do love this man and am so excited to spend eternity with him. I saw this on another blog and thought that it was a perfect list! I want to work on all of these things.

20 Ways to Make a Good Marriage Great

by Richard W. Linford

1. Night and Morning Prayer … to say thanks, to ask for help in your marriage and family, to worship together.

2. A Weekly Planning Meeting … to discuss the calendar, talk over needs and problems, decide priorities and next steps.

3. A Daily Phone Call or Personal Conversation … to say “I love you,” to touch base, to discuss the day, to show you care.

4. A Weekly Date … to a favorite park, a concert, the library, the gym; or staying home for a candlelight dinner, a game, or a mutual hobby.

5. Patience Regardless … of missed meals, tardiness, forgotten favors, a thoughtless remark, impatience.

6. Daily Service … helping with house or yard work, mending a piece of clothing, taking a turn with the sick baby, fixing a favorite meal. (Write it down. Do it!)

7. A Budget … to tie down income and expenses, help set financial goals, and give you control over your finances.

8. Listening … not only to what is said, but also to what is meant.

9. Regular Attendance … at church—and where possible—the temple.

10. Daily Scripture Reading … to learn the gospel, to receive inspiration for yourself and your marriage, to become more like Jesus.

11. Working Together … caring for a garden, painting a bedroom, washing the car, scrubbing floors, building a piece of furniture, writing a poem together, team teaching a class.

12. Forgiving Each Other … always learning from each other, trying a different way, being the first to make peace.

13. Courtesies … like saying please and thank you, not interrupting or belittling, not doing all the talking, continuing the niceties of courtship.

14. Soft and Kind Words … of tenderness, compassion, empathy.

15. Learning Together by … reading to each other, discussing ideas, taking a class.

16. Respecting … opinions, ideas, privacy.

17. Supporting Your Spouse’s … church service and righteous goals.

18. Caring for Your Spouse’s Family by … enjoying their company, praying for them, serving them, overlooking differences.

19. Occasional Gifts … such as a note, a needed item—but mostly gifts of time and self.

20. Loving with All Your Heart. “Thou shalt love thy wife [thy husband] with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her [him] and none else.” (D&C 42:22.)

Valentine's Ideas!

2011-02-11T08:43:00.003-07:00

I swear that I am sooooo lazy! I have seen all these wonderful ideas to decorate for Valentines and I haven't done any of them! So I want to post them here to remember for next year-
first is Framed Heart rosettes;
http://www.theidearoom.net/2011/01/framed-heart-valentines-day-decor.html

You can make decorative balls, wreathes in heart shapes, lots of options!!

There is alot of valentine printables out there- 2 of my fav are:

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/01/valentine-subway-art.html

or I might want to make my own! But I lave the cleaned framed look and being able to change it out with the different holidays/seasons!

Treats I want to make:

Cute Valentines to make:

http://thecraftingchicks.com/2011/02/silly-simple-valentine-cards.html

Scrapbooking

2011-02-04T10:47:00.002-07:00

Trying to catch up on scrapbooking! I am sooooooo behind, still working on 2008! I am doing that wellness challenge again and it is my goal to finish 2008 by the end of the challenge!! Here are some pages I just finished.

href="http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/colieray6/?action=view&current=eyes.jpg" target="_blank">

Crafting

2011-01-27T10:02:00.005-07:00

So I am not much of a crafter but I would love to be better and do more! My ultimate goal is to learn how to sew and actually get my sewing machine out of it's box (i got it for christmas at least three years ago!).
This Saturday is Melissa's baby shower and we are doing a family picture. So first I am going to make this necklace.

Here is a link for the tutorial:

http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com/2010/12/pom-pom-bib-necklace-tutorial-lmm.html

Then I making cute things for Melissa's little girl. I am so jealous! She's lucky that I am having a boy cause otherwise I would save this all for my little girl! I am going to try to make these flowers:

Here is a couple different You Tube video tutorial. I couldn't find the original one so I am doing it a little different but these are close. There are so many out there!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR0wHMvWTzo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhjWbV7TMPY

My last link is for Michelle. I had been saving TP rolls for the chance I had a girl and would use them to make some huge wall art like this:

Here is the link for the tutorial:

http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2010/07/diy-project-toilet-paper-roll-wall-art.html

I would probably spray paint them pink or turquoise!

I hope that I can get some pictures of my finished projects, I sure have lots to do by Saturday!!

potty training

2011-01-26T12:28:00.002-07:00

I hate potty training! This is only my second time doing it but I always feel like such a failure. Yes, Koda is almost 3 1/2 years old and I should of started before this but I think I have good excuses!
I had thought about trying during the summer but my doctor told me to wait till after he was three so that would be this fall which happened to be my first trimester! I was too sick and tired to do anything, mine as well potty training. Then when I felt better it was the holidays and I was so busy and never home to be consistent with it. I believe that you have to go to underwear to help them understand and train them and I wasn't ready to deal with accidents outside of the home. So we wore pull ups but that does nothing! Finally a couple of weeks ago I got serious. We did only underwear and sitting on the potty every hour. This kid is so stubborn, we would sit there for over twenty minutes with me trying every trick. I would read to him or we would watch a movie. I had a candy jar for reward. I would pour warm water over his pee pee. Nothing. Five minutes later he would have an accident. He was holding it and would not go on the potty! I was so frustrated. In a week I only got him to go twice and then he got sick and it was a busy weekend with my family not at home. So we took a break. On Monday I started up again and magically he went on the toilet first thing. The thing is he acts so surprised when he peed that I just thought I got lucky. So Rustin happened to be there and just tells him if he goes all day on the toilet with no accidents that we will go to Chuck E Cheese. That was the trigger. It motivated him and every time I sat him on the toilet he went pee. I was shocked. We went and had loads of fun and I am so happy! Now, I am not counting him complete, he had an accident yesterday and we haven't even touched the poop part but at least I know he can go and that gives me motivation to keep going and seeing a possibility that he might be trained before this baby comes!

I love little boys in underwear! And this is what he does with his guns, such a silly boy.

Excited

2011-01-24T11:55:00.002-07:00

I am so excited for this busy week! Rustin's brother Kyle comes home from his mission tonight and then the whole family will be together this weekend for the first time in a long time! So much to do and so little time. Sunday was great and relaxing after my busy weekend. My sister got sealed to her husband in the temple and it was really special. I am grateful to have a sister like her. I wish that I could spend more time with her. She even lives in Boise but she works full time and is in school and I am a mother with a crazy schedule. My older brother came to town and we got to hang out. He has two girls and they are about my son's age so they just loved playing together. It is fun to see them mix girl and boy stuff together. Really funny story- after the temple my brother came up to Rustin and said Master what can I do. . . We were all confused and then it dawned on Rustin that he was talking about how to have a boy since I am having a third and he has two girls! That is so not like my brother but I think he really wants a boy!! I love spending time with family, it really is my favorite thing.

I want to share this video- they make awesome music!

The Lower Lights // A Hymn Revival from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

Check out their website HERE. It looks like they are coming to Boise in March!

2010 Catch up

2011-01-21T15:01:00.002-07:00

I am horrible at blogging right now so I am going to do one giant catch up! We weren't incredibly busy so I don't have that much to do. First lets start with August and the big reason I have been busy. I was called to be the Relief Society Secretary. I was very shocked and didn't expect it but I have loved what the calling has taught me. I have learned such compassion for our leaders and how much they try to think about everyone and everything and how that is impossible. This calling has made me reach out and finally get to know people in the ward. I am so grateful for this calling but that has kept me super busy!
Then school started and I found out that I was pregnant! I thought that I got the calling because I wasn't getting pregnant and that this was the Lord's plan for me instead. But a month after I received my calling I get pregnant! Yay me. I will post more about this pregnancy later- I promise! But is has been interesting dealing with actually having a child in school and having to wake up on time and get him ready when all I want to do is sleep. Man I am a lazy mom.
September is also the boys birthdays. Again they were celebrated together and the easiest thing was Chuck E Cheese. I did get to take treats to Hunter's class and it was fun to see him in there all grown up!!

I love celebrating with my boys and it is fun to see them get excited for things. I can't believe that they are 6 and 3. They really grow up so fast. There birthday felt like christmas since we combine them and they each get presents and it always feels like too much but they love it! All I can remember was having all the family there till late and all I wanted to do was go to bed but no one knew I was pregnant and I didn't want to be obvious!
So after that is October and Halloween. We actually carved pumpkins this year and Rustin did an amazing job!

These pictures don't quite do them justice cause he did some cool shaving tricks on some of them. Well since halloween was on a Sunday we went to the school and church trunk or treats on Friday and Saturday. We dressed up the back of the car with spider decorations!

Hunter found this costume at Grandma Ray's so we got to use it and he was a ninja turtle. Reminds me of my little brother growing up!
I have no pictures from Thanksgiving but enjoyed feeling better and actually eating! Some funny random pictures- Love having Hunter in school and some of the fun and wacky stuff he gets to do. This day was Mustache day! I love this picture!

Koda is growing up. He can help himself and we can communicate with him. My favorite right now is that when you ask him his name he tells you Koda Charles! This is a picture of one dinner and I told him to get himself a fork and this is the one he found- My giant serving fork?

Well christmas came and went. We got to see Santa Clause at our ward christmas party. The line was horrendously long and Hunter kept telling me that it was a costume. Koda just wanted the candy cane that is why I included this picture cause he could care less about Santa- his hand is in the drawer of candy canes. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, they are from the phone!

Hunter made a cool tree decoration for his class. He was so proud of it that he had me take a picture.

We had a wonderful 2010 but are looking forward to 2011! So much going on in the next three months! I will share more, I promise!

Dakoda ruined Christmas!

2010-12-23T09:10:00.003-07:00

So last night we were at my in-laws watching the BSU bowl game, GO BRONCOS! Rustin's cousin were there with his kids so there were friends for my my boys to play with. We were all downstairs watching the game and the boys all playing together and then I realized Koda wasn't around. I almost didn't go check on him because Rustin said don't worry he is with my mom upstairs. I decided to anyways and am so glad I did. Michelle had left and Koda had unwrapped about 15 presents under the Christmas tree. He was going to town!
I Freaked!!
So me and Rustin were trying to sort through everything and find all the gifts and tags and found a surprise one for Michelle and Stan that we were not to see till Christmas. I felt horrible!!! I was sitting there telling Rustin that we ruined Christmas! Luckily they didn't see and I rewrapped that one and I don't think anybody saw what there was. I still feel horrible and now I am kinda upset that I didn't get a picture! But I had to write the story down so I would remember! He is such a stinker boy.

So Funny

2010-12-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Men, Beware of the Doghouse!!

2010-10-27T18:49:00.001-06:00

Soooooo, I really want to buy this shirt!!

Hunting Season

2010-10-15T12:06:00.007-06:00

Yes, it is that time of year. The season opened on Sunday and my husband went out on Monday. The past couple of years they haven't gotten anything and that has been fine by me. Well look what he got this year;

Good job honey! But what am I suppose to do with all that MEAT!!!
Rustin is so proud of himself. He would love to get the whole head stuffed or whatever but that costs almost 600 dollars! Can you believe that? Plus we decided to take the deer and get it butchered professional and get some specialty meat and that is at least 150 dollars. Man this is an expensive deer. I told him that he better be good for the next two years!!
You can see video and pictures of the hunt here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWwJfWaXvw

First day of school

2010-08-30T18:45:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that my oldest is going to school! I am so excited for him. We took pictures this morning and when I just opened them up I realized that he had his eyes closed!! In more then one picture.

Ahh man! At least I got some cute funny ones- here he is showing off his back pack.

While that one was excited the other one not so much

Hunter cheered when the bus came

And here he is with his friend from down the street- too bad he is in first grade but they ride the bus together in the morning! Goofy kids

After school today I asked him what he did and he just told me that he couldn't remember- the stinker. I think it went well and there was no crying on either side! I will miss him but noon comes so fast. I think it will be harder for first grade, they are gone so long!
I am really excited to start teaching piano and violin! I made this to go by my piano and music stuff:

If you are interested or know anyone who is let me know!!

2010-08-24T12:37:00.002-06:00

So sorry if I don't blog or answer the phone or email for the next few days because I will be reading this:

Netflix

2010-07-31T19:58:00.002-06:00

So I like to workout at home. I have quite a few tapes but still I get bored. Well I just discovered all these workouts on netflix instant. So any day that I don't feel like doing one of my own tapes I go to netflix!! I also like fit tv. I record some episodes on my DVR. I love variety. Of course it would be nice to have a gym membership but this works for me now and keeps me motivated. Today I did a strength training video called bikini ready by self magazine. It was harder then I expected. I also did Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown. I think some people just think that yoga is just a stretch workout but it actually takes so much muscle strength to hold the poses for a length of time. I think that I am finally getting to a point that I love to workout!! I have never been like that. I am not sure how much weight I have lost because I had been weighing myself on our Wii with Wii fit and the laser on the Wii went out:(
Not sure what we are going to do- but it gives me a different read then a scale, plus I don't have a scale!! My last weigh in put me down 9 lbs and that was like 4 weeks ago!! Kinda frustrated.
Had a fun day today- got to talk with my best friend Michelle who has to move back!! I miss her so much. Hunter played with her son Carson all day and Samuel and Koda is still sick and slept all day today so it has been kinda laid back, probably watched too many movies. Well I have to run to the store, forgot some ingredients for the cheesecake, YUM! Can't wait to eat it tomorrow.

Sick

2010-07-30T20:35:00.003-06:00

My poor little baby is sick today. He has been throwing up all day and can't keep even water down. I always feel so bad when they are like this cause you can't fix it right away and he can't quite communicate what is wrong. He does give a great cue right before he throws up- he starts to moan and cry and I know that it is coming!

On Sunday is my mother in laws birthday and I never know what to get her! She give the best presents and I always want to give her something special that she wants but I think I always fail! I wish that I had more money to get her something special. Instead I got her a new exercise tape. And then I am going to make this for dessert:

Kinda funny that I give her an exercise tape with a very decadent dessert!! I hope that she likes it.

I need to upload the pictures from my camera and post about the Ray reunion and Lagoon!!

Fort Hunter

2010-07-22T21:38:00.002-06:00

My husband is such a perfect dad for boys. That is why I was so glad that my first two were boys. As I mentioned he is building a fort for the boys and what started as simple is now huge!!

This was the first work day last Saturday. Koda was such a good helper!

Well Rustin has worked on it every night and it is close to being done. This is Rustin's dream fort that I think he wished he had growing up so he made sure that it was tall enough for him. I think it could have been smaller!!

There is more finishing touches to be done but we love it! I am so proud of my husband- this thing is built so sturdy and nothing is going to knock it down. I guess this means that we need to stay in this house for awhile so that we can enjoy it!

Secret Dream

2010-07-21T01:01:00.003-06:00

Had lots of fun tonight going to the Stampede Rodeo! It is such a good rodeo. Today was Sarah (Ryan's wife) Birthday so we had a BBQ at our house on the new grill and then to the rodeo and then back home for cake and ice cream. Busy and fun. My favorite part of the rodeo is the barrel racing. My secret dream would be to learn how to do that and compete. I think in another life I was meant to be a cowgirl! I would love to have a ranch and all kind of animals. This was the first time that we took Koda and he kept saying that he wanted to ride the horses. He is such a funny boy.

I love being a mom!

2010-07-16T21:20:00.003-06:00

I couldn't wait till my kids got older so that I could have moments like I did today. I made yummy finger chicken that Hunter helped me make. After he ate what I had served him he got himself a second helping and grabbed at least seven more pieces of chicken. He started telling me how much he loved chicken and I was kinda zoning out and then he said "not as much as I love you mom!"
AHHHHHHHHH!
That boy can melt my heart. We only have a little over a month before school starts and I am so excited for him but I think I am going to be a little sad on that first day and am sure gonna miss him. He his so excited cause tomorrow he gets to help his dad build a fort!
I am excited cause I ordered this swimsuit today:

The company is called Hapari and they make modest tankinis! I was suppose to wait till August to order for budget reasons but they have a current sale going on and everything is 25% off till tomorrow! I read all the reviews and I am very excited to get mine. I hope that it comes before we go to Utah next Sunday for the Ray reunion!

Monkey Bizness

2010-07-15T20:19:00.002-06:00

Today was a very full and busy day! We invited the neighbor boy to spend the day with us and we went to Monkey Bizness. I had a coupon that expired today! I forgot my camera so I took pictures with my phone and they are not the best quality. I love my DSLR but it is huge and sometimes annoying to carry around. I sort of want a little point and shoot for times that I don't want to worry about my expensive camera!

The boys had fun especially on this very steep slide- of course none of them were scared and only me got hurt, I rubbed my elbow on the way down and got a little burn!

I love this picture cause you can see Koda at the bottom already- I had made him go with me the first few times and then he was a pro and would slide down before I could go with him! After three hours we headed home and got sno cones. Those remind me of high school and when I worked at one. After getting home we had a half hour break before we went to Keaton's bday party and that was going down a huge blow up water slide! It definitely wore out the kids and I think that Koda is already asleep- he should be since he missed his nap. I am sooooo ready for bed- just need to do the dishes- yuck!

Saw this on Youtube and it reminded me of all the fond memories of the HBLL library- I worked there for five years!! This is so funny!

Hawaii

2010-07-12T18:20:00.002-06:00

This morning Rustin dropped his family off at the airport for their trip to Hawaii. We are a little bummed that we aren't with all of them but we were invited as long as we helped pay and this year we just couldn't afford it. Plus we fortunately have already gone twice. We were all together last night and talking about it so I wanted to share my pictures! Be prepared for alot of pictures and some of them are blurry- stupid old camera didn't work very well. Man wish I could take my nice one now!!

In 2005 we went to Maui.

Everyone went except Melissa who was on her mission. The twins had just graduated and Janelle had just gotten married.

I can't believe how different everyone looks!
We went to a luau that me and kimber went up to the stage and danced on!

We also got to go para-sailing. It was fun but alot tamer then I thought that it would be.

We took the road to Hana and it was so beautiful!

At the end of the drive kyle was throwing nuts at Ryan and Ryan turned around and tackled him- that wouldn't be that bad except that Kyle had broken his collarbone and it wasn't fixed yet. He wasn't wearing a brace and it was easy to forget but man did he yell out in pain! That was really tense.

In 2007 we went to Kauai. It is called the garden isle and rightly so.

We got to go with these two funny girls:

Melissa always makes me laugh so hard! It didn't help that I was six months pregnant and had to pee all the time.

We took a day to fly to Honolulu and see Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Culture Center. I wish that we could have stayed the night and went to the dinner show luau, Rustin says it is so good!

And we did a luau again and it was really cool cause there was a story with the performance and they did it on a lake!

It was on a really cool property. And man I look HUGE!
I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to go but am sad that I don't get to be with the whole fam, and especially get to know the new in laws. I hope that they have FUN and they are bringing us stuff back, YEAH!!

Book review

2010-07-07T15:40:00.002-06:00

I just finished reading this book and wanted to jot down some notes that I learned from it, got the book from the library so I can't keep it. I learned alot and it kinda scares me. I am sure that there is alot of toxins in our food, and I am going to try to eat the best that I can but there will be times that I don't eat perfect and organic and I don't want to freak out about that. I just have to try my best! Here is her diet at a glance-

1. Clean: First, you look for the dish with the smallest number of adulterating additives and hormone-disrupting chemicals.
Remove these foods: Hydrogenated fats, refined grains, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring and preservatives, glutamates.
Reduce these foods: Starchy vegetables, tropical, dried and canned fruit, excess soy, excess alcohol, full fat dairy and fatty meats, canned foods, caffeine.

2. Whole: Then you look for foods that came from the ground or had a mother.
Restore these foods: legumes, alliums, berries, meat and eggs, colorful fruits and veggies, cruciferous veggies, dark-green leafy veggies, nuts and seeds, dairy, whole grains.

3. Balanced: Finally you get a healthy balance of protein, fat and carbs and calories throughout the day.
Rebalance your energy: Eat breakfast, eat every four hours, do not eat after 9pm, no carbs at night, eat until you are full, but not stuffed, eat 40 percent carbs, 30 percent fat, 30 percent protein.

I hope that I can be better and maybe try to get organic but it is so much more expensive. Does any one know of a good farmer's market? I am going to get a natural food washer and hope that helps. What is interesting is that she approves dairy, like milk where as I keep hearing from others that milk is bad because we have a hard time with the protein in dairy. She doesn't like soy milk- excess estrogen which messes with your metabolism. I might try almond milk, but I LOVE cow's milk too much to give it up! She talks about exercising hard for five hours a week. Man I do her tapes and the always kick my butt!
She had some recipes in the back and I am going to try this one tonight-
Roasted cauliflower-place florets on a baking sheet with a light drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for forty five minutes and 450 degrees. Shake once or twice while cooking to even out browning.

One of those days

2010-07-06T21:14:00.002-06:00

I love Pandora! We have it on our blue ray player and I was listening to it and this song came on. It is my new theme song- especially as a mother!
My favorite line is What I wouldn't give for a moment to myself- heyhey -it's just been one of those days!

The Constitution

2010-07-04T16:24:00.002-06:00

Today's lesson in relief society was about the constitution. It was great and wish that it could have gone on longer. It made me realized how uninvolved and apathetic I have become about politics. At the end of the lesson the teacher asked some great questions- like could I defend the constitution and what does our church leaders say about the constitution? Right now I don't know. I would love to start researching this! If any of you know of great talks let me know.
I do have a testimony about our country! I have been reading in 2 Nephi about how special America is and that Heavenly Father guides only those who are worthy to the promised land and kept it hidden from others. This country was foreordained and I know that our government was inspired. The teacher ended with a great quote that really struck me as my responsibility as being an American citizen;

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, 1816. ME 14:384

Happy Fourth of July!

what does motherhood mean to me?

2010-06-29T22:37:00.002-06:00

So I watched this movie called motherhood and she had to write an essay for a contest about motherhood and it made me think what would I say.
I consider being a mother a job. They say that to be happy you should do what you love and I love being a mom. It takes a lot of hard work and has it good days with it's bad. To me being a mother is more then just taking care of your child's physical needs. You need to be a teacher and nurturer. I also think that you need to be your child's friend. Now I believe in rules and that I am the mom and in charge and you should respect me- I don't want to be one that tries to be more of a friend then a parent. What I mean by being a friend is that you play with your children and you listen to them and encourage them. I am in the throws of having young children that don't help out and make messes. There are some days that I feel like I focus more on my chores then my children. But that should mean that my house would be clean and it never is!! I want to be an organized mom. That is a hard skill to learn. I want to have a clean and orderly home but still have time for my children. I want to be in the kitchen making healthy snacks and bread from scratch. I want to do lessons and play dates and field trips. I want it all!!
I have only being a mother for six years and I think that to be a good mother it takes practice. Sometimes you make mistakes and you just have to learn from them and keep going! Sorry to the first born! On the hard days I do have to remind myself that I am grateful for this blessing and opportunity in my life to be a mother. I am also grateful for my mother's example and now my mother-in-law's example as well. I hope that I continue to learn and grow and become a better mother.

Baby Shower

2010-06-26T20:30:00.004-06:00

Today me and my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law threw a baby shower for Rebecca. She is due with her first baby at the beginning of August. I made this cute invitation on the computer:

But did you notice the date? I put May 26th!! I am such a dud- I feel so bad. It was really nice and just the right amount of people showed up. I made some yummy fruit dip that I got the recipe from my sister- I will have to share later! Well it is interesting with Rebecca because she has decided to have the baby at home. It is such a controversial subject. Either you agree or you don't. I have tried to be more open minded and I hope that everything works out okay. Though I will be honest and still think it is a little crazy! I decided to give her this book:

I love this book and recommend it to all mothers. I truly feel that because I read this book and followed it that my boys were such good eaters and sleepers and easy, predictable babies because I could understand them and what they needed. I hope that she likes it and good luck with the delivery!!

Phone

2010-06-25T10:20:00.003-06:00

My current phone is almost four years old. It is funny that it doesn't seem like that should mean much but in phones that is long. They sure don't last very well. So my phone has been wigging out on me and turning off suddenly or not letting me make any calls out (of course that happened on a stressful day!!). Rustin asked me if I wanted his phone then he could get a new one. He has a blackberry and he needs one that has more internet connection.
So on Monday when he came home he told me that we were both getting new phones-
THE DROID!!

-It was buy one get one free-
I was really intimidated by the phone (maybe I still am) but I am loving it! It does so much! All I want to do is play with it and so do my kids. I already downloaded games for them and they keep stealing my phone! It is pretty neat. I feel so high tech!

Shoes!

2010-06-18T10:21:00.003-06:00

I am so excited! I just ordered my first pair of crocs! You are probably thinking something like this-
Nope- I ordered these:

Aren't they cute! And I hope that they are really comfortable. Plus I got a great deal. I searched online and found two coupons- one was 15% off and free shipping and the next one was 20% your first order when you sign up for email newsletters. Yay me! If I had more money I would order these in all the different colors- they have so many cute ones!
Well I was excited for the weekend but Rustin has to go t Utah today and probably won't be back till tomorrow night:(
Father's Day is on Sunday and it is a free day for points and Rustin's sister Becca is coming from Iowa! She's 7 or 8 months pregnant so it will be cute to see her!! Hope that you have a great weekend.

Stetson Homes

2010-06-17T19:46:00.003-06:00

I cannot move!! My back hurts so much from bending over all day and cleaning. To help my family out I clean the new construction homes for Stetson Homes. My husband works at Stetson Homes with his dad and they build BEAUTIFUL homes.

Check out their website!
The only bad thing about cleaning is that when I come home I so don't want to clean my own home and then I wish that my home was empty so that I could clean it like I do these construction homes! Plus it makes me want to move into some of these newer homes. Prices are so cheap right now! Please look into building a home with Stetson if you are in the market. They have all types of sizes and prices. Now if I can only sell my house!!!

Workout

2010-06-16T18:56:00.002-06:00

So I have to workout everyday of this challenge and today I did this one:

It totally kicks my butt! She does a bunch of plyo and I have NEVER done it before. I am proud because I didn't give up and I finished. I got this one from the library and not sure if I am going to buy it, but I do have her 30 day shred and I really like it, but that also is hard. After doing her workouts when I try any of the dvd's that I use to do a few years ago they seem so easy! Maybe that is why I never got major results! So what are your favorite workouts? Do you workout outside or in front of the TV? Have any dvd's to recommend?

Hunter

2010-06-15T20:53:00.002-06:00

I don't know if you noticed or not from the last post but Hunter got a haircut! Rustin decided to give him a buzz and I wasn't to thrilled and I think Hunter was scared! But it has grown on me and I don't have to comb his hair.

I wanted to write some of the funny things that he has been saying:

We were in a store and it was like my third stop for the day and the kids were tired and done so I told hunter if he stayed by me we would hurry fast. He did really good and I got done and told him all we need to do was check out. He told me to "run mom, run like the wind!!"

For Rustin's birthday I was making him breakfast and Hunter decided all by himself to go up to Rustin and say "What is your order sir?"
Rustin said eggs and lots of orange juice (which was what I was making) but then Hunter said
"sorry, we can't do that!"

After his hair cut Hunter was saying the prayer and he thanked Heavenly Father for his AWESOME haircut. Another prayer on Sunday dinner at the rays he said Thank you that we can drink Jesus blood. (I have been teaching him about the sacrament- at least he sort of gets it!)

Hunter is such a good boy! The only time we argue is when I don't understand his logic. He fights me about putting on his seat belt because I drive safe and would never get into an accident.
Most days he plays really well with his brother, who adores him. In the fall when Hunter goes to school I just know all day long I will hear this from Koda- Where's Hunter? I want to play with Hunter? I wonder how he is going to be being home with mommy alone all day!

Surprise Party

2010-06-10T16:45:00.003-06:00

So last week was Rustin's 30th Birthday and I was the best wife and threw him a surprise party. I am not very tricky and was sure that he knew what was going on, but he had no idea!! I invited over a bunch of family and we had a Japanese party at his parent's house. Before we went to his parent's house I grabbed some sushi rolls from Ahi Sushi Bar. My favorite is the Winding Creek- it is probably the best tasting one I have ever had! It was simple- just salmon, cream cheese and avocado but then it was tempura and had the japanese mayo on it and eel sauce, which is the best. You need to try it. I also had another surprise for Rustin. He opened his presents and then he opened the one from me and his dad and my parents. It was a rotisserie set. He kinda looked at me weird, like what are we going to do with this?

See, we don't have a grill. Well we do now- that was his actual gift out front! It is the newest technology called infrared so we hope to have lots of barbecues this summer! I am so excited to use it.

I sure love this man and can't wait for many more birthdays with him. The night ended with the best chocolate cake made by me from scratch. I need to share the recipe cause it is the moistest cake. It is a family tradition from Rustin's mom.

I sure love how he includes his children in everything! He even took Hunter golfing with him during the day so that I could get everything ready!

2010-06-06T21:13:00.002-06:00

I am sad. I didn't do so well on my challenge this week. Of course I want to be perfect and have a perfect score. I am mad because I had two free days this week. Monday was a holiday and my husbands birthday was Saturday and I chose that as a free day. But Tuesday night I met up with some old friends that I love and went to Merritts and had YUMMY scones. Then Wednesday night was Rustin's brothers birthday and I had chocolate cake. Too many sweets! It's interesting because since I haven't been eating that much sweets that having alot this week has made me feel blah! I think that having sweets more often this week made it harder to say no. Well I am not giving up and am excited to start a new week and be better. I was surprised though that when I weighed myself on Friday that I had lost another two pounds even after this crappy week. That definitely helps me stay more motivated. It should be a fun week, my brother is in town and my cute nieces and then we go to McCall for a family reunion. I have to be good all week and save my free points for the weekend! Good night!

Yes I am Obessesed...

2010-05-28T16:29:00.002-06:00

With health and this wellness challenge! I really think about it all day long and making sure I get all the points! I really want to win, especially with over 120 people doing it. That is quite the jackpot.
So I have been reading those blogs about sugar and organic food and I have come to a conclusion for my family. After I read those blogs I sometimes feel horrible that I am not doing all that for my family. At first I was like I have to get all the sugar out- and although that would be nice it is not realistic. My goal now is to just make healthy choices but not stress about being perfect with my kids. I am going to try to get processed foods out- such as chips and crackers- and make them healthy snacks from scratch, plus lots of fruits and vegetables. I really want to figure out how to make yummy homemade whole wheat bread!! I like that on this wellness challenge that I get a sweet once a week. I think that is great to teach to my kids, and make it a special one. I don't want to be the parent that when we go to somebodies house that I freak out if they feed my kids sugar or that it makes my kids crazy. I just need to teach them about choices and portion control! It is okay to make little changes at a time!
Well we have been doing much better with fruits and veggies this past two weeks and today Hunter begged for Green Monster smoothies. I got the idea from here.
I have made it before but I always add berries and then it doesn't turn out green. Well Hunter wanted it green. They love it and I love it! Just bananas, spinach and milk!

isn't he cute!

Showing off some green mustaches!

A little confession- I really like Glee. Probably not ever appropriate but me and Rustin love the music. Check out this song-

The Best Dad!!

2010-05-25T22:04:00.002-06:00

Today was a busy and fun day! First we had Ginger over with her boys Derek and Dillion to play and made little pizzas and fruit kabobs! Then I had to go visiting teaching and then to the store. When we got home Daddy had a great suprise for the boys!
A special (and free!) Fort!

They played in it all afternoon and evening. I made Rustin put it in the garage so that it doesn't get ruined this week from the storms coming. I hope that it provides many hours of play.
Fun pictures:

Silly boy- don't know why he looks like he is praying?

I am really excited about the wellness challenge because I weighed myself today and I have lost 2.5 lbs!! Wahoo! I am thinking that it has helped that I have already been working out for the past month. I have really focused on strength training cause I know that muscle burns more fat. The first three weeks that I did that I actually gained weight but now it is coming off! Already 4 lbs since that! It is great to add the diet to it. I did have sweets today- using my free point cause I realized that Monday is a holiday and we get a free day. My goal though is to plan a special dessert or treat to look forward too and that helps me say no the rest of the week!
Good night!

Mothers are Teachers

2010-05-23T22:06:00.002-06:00

Today I was reading the conference ensign and read a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry called Mothers Teaching in the Home. I really liked it! My favorite quote was
"Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world."
I really struggle as a mother some times and this reminds me how important my role as a mother is. This tells me that all the little daily stuff adds up and are important and I need to stop blowing them off. I just have really gotten lazy lately! It has to stop. I struggle with how to teach my young ones about the scriptures. Rustin had a great idea and we pull a picture out of our packet of church pictures and we tell the story of the picture. Hunter really likes that. Another idea is to act out the scripture stories. I really need to learn how to sew and make some costumes! I think that this can really bring the scriptures to life. The last idea that I wanted to write down was for when the kids get older and in high school and have a harder time getting together for family reading- instead just read a scripture with a thought at breakfast and maybe have a discussion about it!
I just really worry about my kids as teenagers and what they will have to face! At the end of the talk it said "Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home adds another layer of insulation to protect our children from worldly influences."
I hope that I can do this for my children!

Scrapbook pages

2010-05-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

For my journaling today I scrapbooked a page! Yes it is from 2008. I am that behind but I hope to catch up.

These are my favs so far from the past month!

Skin

2010-05-19T14:14:00.003-06:00

I am self conscious about alot of things but right now I am really self conscious about my skin. I sometimes feel that I break out now worse then I did as a teenager. What's up with that?! Shouldn't it be clear by now? I really get frustrated and haven't found anything that works for me yet. I am hoping that with the challenge that drinking lots of water and eating good food and no sugar that my skin will start to clear up. But I also really want to buy this micro dermabrasion tool to use at home :
Surprisingly and sadly it is 70 dollars. I think that it is a more doable price then if it was like 300 or so but 70 is still alot for me. I thought about letting it be a reward if I am really good with the challenge by the end of June. My 10 year reunion is on the 24th of July and who doesn't want to look better then they did in high school! I want to look my best! I think that this is a great idea, now I just need to convince my husband. hahaha.
Till then here is a tip I found that I really want to try. First rinse your face with warm water then take a cotton ball or pad and soak it with organic lemon juice and put some organic sugar on top and rub/scrub all over your face. Rinse. Beautiful skin here I come. I need to get to the store!
Have a good day.

Busy Day

2010-05-18T21:33:00.002-06:00

Oh man, today was one of those days!! Me and Rustin are the committee chairman for cubscouts and tonight was Pinewood Derby. It was all up to us, well mainly me because Rustin is so busy with work and he went to Utah yesterday and didn't get home till past 2am. I had lots of errands to run today because I wanted to make this cute car treats for the boys.

Aren't they cute? I had been planning this for weeks and of course I am trying to do this wellness challenge and I can't have any sweets. Tell me- how can you possibly make this without getting frosting on your fingers and then accidentally licking it off? Thank goodness that I get one freebie point per week and I have to use it. I was hoping to make it the whole week and then have sundays off for the freebie points because we go to the Rays for dinner and I try to make dessert. Well maybe this is good cause now I have to go 11 days without sweets. Go me!!
Well I had a special helper today and I think he loved the frosting more then me!

Then it was off to the church at 5 o'clock. Rustin was late and not feeling well and I got really frustrated and Hunter kept trying to help me and I totally took it out on him. It was bad because I made mean snipe comments that I do to my husband when I am mad and even then it isn't okay. I love the quote BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOU! I am hoping that the challenge helps me with this but I definitely see even more stuff that I need to work on. First to apologize to my boys!
The derby went pretty well and I can't wait till my boys are old enough! We only forgot a few things that I had to run back for but it all worked out. I was exhausted and loaded up to leave when Hunter got a bloody nose and we had to run back into the church. I left Koda locked into his car seat and he found the leftover bag of cookies and dumped it!

Yes he is cute but I can't stand this age!!! At least there was a beautiful rainbow outside on the way home and that made me realize that we are blessed and live in a beautiful world!

Husband

2010-05-17T17:04:00.002-06:00

My wellness challenge started today and I feel real good! I think that it is going to be AWESOME! One of the daily points comes from writing in your journal. Since a blog counts I will sometimes write on this and sometimes in my personal journal or I think scrapbooking counts!

I wanted to post about my wonderful husband. Yesterday was our 7th anniversary and I can't believe that we have been together that long. Yesterday we spent it with Rustin's family in Twin Falls and when we told his grandma she said that Holy Crap she was going to die soon. I know, kinda morbid but if you knew his Grandma Luke you would laugh. Rustin is her oldest grandson so it is not that bad! She is still young and beautiful- (I think in her seventies)!
We celebrated earlier in the month and stayed the night at the Anniversary Inn. It was so nice to be just with him and not dealing with the children. I am so grateful that he is my husband. We get along really well and work so well together. I sure love this man and the beautiful family that he has given me.
I remember when we were engaged and I was worried about the future and if I was doing the right thing because in my patriarchal blessing it sounded like I wasn't going to get married that young and needed to learn some things first. But it felt so right and I had an answer and looking back now it was the best decision. I believe that you can make a marriage work with any type of person but it helps to find the one that is the best for you. Rustin really is the best and forgive me for sounding cheesy but he completes me!! I love his family and I hope that he loves mine. I can't wait to see where we are in another seven years. I am grateful that he is a strong priesthood holder, a loving father and tender husband. He is always aware of my feelings and asks me how I always am. Our marriage isn't always perfect but I do want to remember the best and try to always be positive. Though I would like to ask, how can I train him to do the dishes?! Thank you hunny for putting up with some of my craziness and still thinking that I am beautiful even though I have changed since having kids. I love ya!

Wellness Challenge and Recipes

2010-05-08T18:49:00.002-06:00

First I want to share this wellness challenge that I have joined. It is a 3 month challenge and everyday there are 10 things that you need to do and you get a point with a goal at the end of the week being 70 points. At the end the person with the most points wins!! Check out the blog for more information:
THE BEST YOU
This came at a perfect time cause I have been really good with no pop and exercise so now I need to focus on diet and keep going! This doesn't start till the 17th so check it out and join!!

Since I am trying to eat healthy here are a few healthy recipes!

The first one is just a tip/idea that I found on that kitchen stewardship blog. We love scrambled eggs at my house but I usually load them up with cheese. Well now I add cottage cheese and spinach. Before I add the eggs to the pan I add the cottage cheese (about 1TB per egg) and the spinach and let it cook for a minute then I add the eggs. Yummy and healthier!

The next one is Baked Brown Rice. Click here for instructions. It really taste good and I loved it with the green apples. I am working on not having every meal have meat and we had this one night with vegetables and rolls and it was great. I also like mixing beans in with it!

My last recipe is for a crunchy apple salad.
Mix together 1/3 cup plain yogurt, 1 TB miracle whip light, 1 TB sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla and 3 dashes of cinnamon. Then add some raisins, walnuts, a couple apples or more(depending on size) and a can of pineapple chunks(no juice). I just ate half of it and I don't feel guilty and it kinds tasted like a treat! Also my kids like it.

Tomorrow is mothers day and we get to talk to Uncle Kyle in germany. He has permission to use Skype so we got a web camera. Well the boys had so much fun with the extra features! I just had to share a couple of pictures that make me laugh!!

Health

2010-04-14T13:49:00.003-06:00

With it being spring and getting close to summer and swimsuits I have wanted to get back on track and lose some more weight and look fit! My first goal is to start exercising and replace my Dr Pepper habit with water! I have to start off small with little goals or I get overwhelmed and fall of track! So I am not worrying yet about what I am eating just trying to not drink Dr Pepper! This is only the first week but I have exercised 3 days in a row and haven't had any Dr Pepper for 5 days! I am really proud of myself because we had McDonalds last night and I DID NOT get a Dr Pepper. Yay me!
So of course I have future goals and a big one is to get rid of sugar. I found this website:
KITCHEN STEWARDSHIP
Great ideas and recipes and I read about refined sugar. Holy crap the stuff scares me. It is in almost everything. I would like to try Sucanat (a natural sweetener- dehydrated cane juice!). But I think that I just need to make more things homemade. Yay more work! I decided to post this and will post more ideas and recipes that I have found and work!
I also want to share a cook book that I really like. It is by a lady named Zonya Foco. She is a nutritionist and her cook book Lickety Split meals is pretty awesome.
Click here for her website!

Music and Hair

2010-04-08T14:17:00.002-06:00

I really like this song! I also really like her hair. I think that she is very pretty. I wonder if I should cut my hair like hers? I would love to dye it red, but probably not that red, more like a brownish red.

Also today I scheduled Hunter for kindergarten registration. Yay! or should I say Finally. Since his birthday is in September he missed the cut off date but this way he will be one of the oldest and I think he is definitely ready compared to last year. I can't believe that he will be going to school!

Spring

2010-03-30T19:04:00.002-06:00

I thought that spring was here but instead it hailed today and I am freezing! Well to me with spring coming that means Spring cleaning and changing some things so I wanted to share what I found at goodwill. I only have a couch and a chair in my family room and we got a brand new TV that is AMAZING! and it kinda gave me the urge to try to redo the room. I really wanted a roundish side table that would be really solid to stand up to the kids. Well I have little money so I thought that I needed to start checking the DI and goodwill and was only allowed to spend 20 dollars. My first stop I found these:

It came as a set and I was really only interested in the side table

So I left them and talked to my sister and then like DUH it came to me that if I am redoing the sidetable I could do the same to the coffee table and then turn around and sell it. So here is the after and I absolutely love it. It makes me giddy!

I did the same thing to the coffee table and just listed it on craigslist for 65 dollars. I paid 50 dollars for both so I hope in the end I make money! I feel so smart. No I just need to finish washing my drapes and changing them to panels and the room will look nice.

Well this weekend we were invited to the rays cabin in McCall. Saturday ended up being a beautiful day so we took Hunter skiing for the first time. He loved it and laughed every time he fell down. It was so fun to ski with him. We had to force him to turn and he just kept saying that he wanted to go fast! Next year he will be wearing a helmet the silly daredevil.

I also can't believe that Easter this weekend. My extended family use to do a big easter egg hunt but it is gotten to hard on my uncle so they stopped and the rays sometimes do one but they are headed down to Utah so I guess that it is up to me! I do have these pictures courtesy of the very talented MJRay photography-

HAPPY EASTER!!

Dream House

2010-03-10T13:28:00.002-07:00

So this post is mainly for my husband. I thought I was so lucky to marry into a family of builders and that I was going to be able to build my dreamhouse. Come to find out that since my husband is a builder he has his own ideas and doesn't like any of mine. Phooey! He always argues that what I want isn't possible and not in style. So I decided to find pictures of what I like (sorry this post might have a ton of pictures!).

First I would love a wrap around porch like this:

Mainly to decorate for the holidays!

When you walk into the house I want the staircase to be right there. I am not sure if I want it to the side or dead center with railings on either side. Here are some pictures that I liked:

Next to the stairs I would want a library. I love the look of built ins!! Plus a fireplace and comfy chairs and I would be in heaven!

Of course there would be one of these in there-

I was watching HGTV and they were showing there dream home giveaway and the floors were a Brazilian Chestnut. I totally fell in love with the mix of light and dark but not to dramatic.

Then to the back of the house I want it really open with the family room then a large farmhouse table and the kitchen all connected. Again I love built ins and this is what I would do in the family room:

Something like that- the one I really like I couldn't get the picture to work but here is the link- it is from western idaho cabinets which my husband happens to work with-
http://www.westernidahocabinets.com/?page=photo_gallery&searchby=&style_id=&wood_id=&finish_id=&crown_molding_id=&panel_id=&page_num=10

Off to the kitchen I would love a farmhouse kitchen.
I like this one and the cream cabinets but Rustin won't go for that-

I REALLY REALLY want an apron sink

Rustin doesn't but I don't think that he has a vote because he never does the dishes!

My other dreams is a large laundry room full of a couple of these:

And I want to do this in the playroom:

Well that is it for now. I have tons of ideas and will post pictures when I find them! Also I can't wait to show you my project from Goodwill!! It makes me so excited I just might pee my pants (that's for you Michelle-hehehe!).

Clever

2010-03-03T11:59:00.002-07:00

So a few of Rustin's siblings have recently gotten some dogs. Of course these are the ones that do not have any kids yet. Well there is always weekly letters to the family cause of Elder Ray in Germany and this was Rustin's letter:

Family,

Well after reading about everyone getting a dog we talked it over and got 2 of them! We weren't real picky so we just went down and picked out something we like. We got a 5 year old and a 2 year old dog. The 5 year old is pretty obedient and very well trained. He can sit, stay, fetch, roll over and is even potty trained. Very friendly loves attention, will some times jump on you, but only in play and backs off if asked. The 2 year old is a pretty spunky and crazy dog, but we just loved him so much we had to keep him. He gets into just about everything at the moment, but he also loves to be played with and just wants attention. Nicole is frustrated at least once a day, but always tells me a couple fun/cute things he does. It has really short legs to and when he runs it makes us laugh. At first we were going to keep them outside, but Nicole has enjoyed them so much that she is letting them hang out more and more indoors. We might let them stay indoors soon full time but we are going to have to potty traing the 2 year old here shortly for that to work. Another funny thing is we have found that they love watching movies. For those that haven't heard we got a new 46" lcd tv with our tax rebate with a blu ray player which automatically connects to netflix so we have been able to watch movies downloaded instantly to our tv which nicole will regretfully admit that she absolutely loves and abuses. Lately i can always find some old doris day movie qued up. Anyways life is good at the R Ray house.

Oh i forgot to add we named our dogs Hunter and Koda.

Conversation

2010-02-20T12:55:00.002-07:00

Last night while I was putting hunter to bed we had a funny talk.
I told him that I luba luba luba luba you. I then said that was what my daddy use to always tell me and now I tell it to him and he will probably say it to his children.
He told me no so I asked him what would he say?
Well after a long pause he looked like he was going to be upset so I told him that it was okay he didn't need to worry about it.
He then proceeds to tell me that he doesn't want to grow up becuase he still wants to play with friends.
I told him not to worry he still has a long time to play with friends.
He then said no, I mean when I grow up like you Mommy.
I asked him if he thought I had any friends and the answer was no.
Sad.
Does anybody want to be my friend and come over to play and show my son that I am not that boring?!

Valentines

2010-02-11T11:20:00.004-07:00

So I don't have a child in school yet and I kinda relish the fact that we don't have to make or buy valentines but I found this on a blog and LOVED them.
We just might make them tomorrow with all the kids I babysit!

Link for the tutorial: http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-heartbreaker-valentines.html

I also like this handmade one too! We always bought ours growing up but I am really liking the homemade ones! I think I just like being unique.

Link: http://24-7-365.blogspot.com/2009/02/lavish-me-with-praise.html

There was another one that I saw but couldn't find it again but was easy. Just get pop rocks and make a valentines that says You Rock Valentine!

And then we will definitely make these tomorrow as well. So easy!

Link: http://little-inspirations.blogspot.com/2010/02/chocolate-heart-cookies.html

Forgot

2010-01-28T11:53:00.002-07:00

I forgot to add that since my husband is so talented this is the next project that I want him to do:

http://knockoffwood.blogspot.com/2010/01/plans-logan-hutch-open-24-inspired-by.html

I love this blog and if she a women can build this stuff then so can Rustin! I actually want him to teach me. For my birthday I wanted a bookcase from IKEA and didn't want to pay 20 dollars to ship it so we tried to get Ryan to get it but didn't fit in his car and then Rustin's dad went down to Utah and he was going to get it but ran out of time! I was really sad so Rustin's guilt said that he would build me one and he better not back out!

My 28th Birthday

2010-01-28T11:35:00.004-07:00

On the 15th I turned 28 years old. That night we just took Hunter to see Avatar. I debated all week if it was appropriate to take a five year old to this movie but Rustin told Hunter we were going to see it and there was no way to not take him. Does that make me a bad mother? It wasn't too bad and most of the movie was over Hunter's head but he really enjoyed the new world and the animals.

Me and Rustin's discussion after the movie was interesting and I want to ask you guys, if you have seen the movie which side would you choose? The humans or the blue people?

Then the next night we had Fondue as a family. These are the memories that I will always have is of us around the table trying new stuff and having fun.

It was easy to please the kids with the endless amount of dipping food! Especially this one who usually just sucked of any sauce instead of eating the food!

For my birthday Rustin finally finished my headboard! He made it for me for mother's day and painted it green.

He is so very talented but I wanted to sand it and then stain it over the paint. I think that I wanted it a little darker but Rustin really likes the look of it so it is finally done!!

What do you think? I also finally cleaned my room! I am queen of piles and have a hard time putting things away and our bedroom is so big that it becomes a dumping ground.

I actually moved everything and wiped all the walls down. It feel so good in my room, and totally zen I guess according to Hunter, and I AM going to keep it that way.

This funny boy asked me to take this picture when I was taking pictures of my room. It didn't make sense till later that it is a pose from phineas and ferb. That kid watches too much TV!

2010-01-18T08:57:00.002-07:00

For christmas Rustin got me a brand new video camera! It's a JVC Everio and it is a hard drive that can record up to 100 hours! I love it. No more tapes or cds to deal with. No recording over anything on accident. So of course we took it to the wedding. Well Rustin's parents also got us Pinnacle Ultimate studio which makes movies. So last week me and Rustin put together a wedding video of Ryan and Sarah for the reception here. I am going to put it up, I am really proud of it but you don't have to watch all of it because it is 17 min long. Enjoy!

Watch Ryan and Sarahs wedding 2009 in Family | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

I'm BLOGGING!!

2010-01-12T11:35:00.004-07:00

So the holidays were a little tough. I use to think I was so lucky that I had both families in the same town but now it means twice the activities at the holidays and it wears me out. I try to please everyone which ends up pleasing no one and then makes me upset! Sadly I don't know what to do about it. Back to the fun- I didn't take many pictures of the holidays because of my new gift that I will share later. A few days before christmas Hunter lost his first tooth-

He is only five, I didn't think he was old enough to lose a tooth. I also love his dirty face, not. Why can't I think of that before I take the picture. Hunter also had a hard time believing in Santa. Kept saying that he knows we are the ones that buy him gifts. This really upset Rustin because he did not want hunter to ruin christmas for the other kids in the next few years. So we had him write a letter to santa and then santa wrote back. There was a part that said he knew hunter had been good this year and that made hunter hoot and holler. So christmas turned our pretty good at our house!

The boys got matching pajamas from my mom-

My older brother came to town so we played lots of board games. We played two new ones that I highly recommend and need to go buy them myself. They are called Flux and Killer Bunnies. Check them out!

On the 28th we headed to Sacramento CA for Ryan's wedding. It was a 10 hour drive. The boys didn't do too bad on the way there but the way back home SUCKED! The night we arrived we ditched the boys with Grandma and went to San Francisco to see:

I loved it!! Thank you Stan and Michelle for that wonderful christmas gift and what a great idea Melis!!

The next day was spent at the zoo in sacramento. It wasn't that spectacular but it was better then Boise's. I wish we could have gone to the San Francisco one but that was a two hour drive. First we got a wagon and hunter wanted to pull it.

In this picture he isn't really pulling, he is posing for the camera. Well the kids got tired of the wagon so Grandma got in and then they tried to pull her-

We had lots of fun

but then it got boring, especially for all the older ones- Kim and Cameron kept seating down to read the Hunger Games

I took a lot of pics including a self portrait

Hunter got sick of pictures

Doesn't he look like he is having fun?! Can you see his black eye? That was from brother who jumped up when Hunter went down to give him a hug. I was surprised how bad it bruised and this is like after a week!

Finally the wedding. It was gorgeous but tiring- again I need to get a babysitter because it is to hard with the kids and I chase after them instead of enjoying it. I barely have any pictures.

Not the best family picture but the only one that anybody got. They did have a professional photographer that will have a much better one I am sure. Though probably not of Hunter because he was yelling at me the whole time, STINKER. Well this is a really long post so I will stop now and hopefully post some more things in the next few days!

2009-12-18T18:16:00.004-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted for awhile. Tis the season and I am busy! Thanksgiving was crazy because we drove all the way down to Arizona. It was fun that we got to have the big dinner outside (it was like 80 degrees) and that hunter played in a tree all day with his cousin. But it was not fun that I had a horrible asthma attack while I was there. Me and the air of Arizona do not mix! I couldn't sleep because I couldn't breathe. We did get to see the christmas lights at the Mesa temple.

It was very beautiful and hunter freaked everytime he saw a cactus and palm tree!

We were fortunate that Michelle was there also- I love her so much and sure miss her from living right next door. She took some family pictures for us and I edited them. I had a different plan in my head for outfits and such but Rustin forgot his and so things had to change. I like them but I still hate to see pictures of myself. In less then a year I have lost about 15-20 pounds and I am really proud of myself and feel good but I see these pictures and I can't tell a difference. And now I am frustrated again! Well here is a sample:

What do you think?

And this crazy boy is WEIRD!!

I just had to combine them all- these were all from a short sequence of pictures. Funny. He loves that it is christmas and this is his favorite show

The other child is also difficult. He has become THE BULLY in the house. Hunter knows not to hit him so this child whenever he doesn't get his way, throws a tantrum and hits or bites HARD. Naughty child!

but soooooooo cute!

Oh my. . .

2009-11-06T17:36:00.008-07:00

This has been quite a couple of weeks. Going non stop, working all the time and kiddies being sick. This year reminded me of last year where we were sick and kinda had a crappy Halloween. Well we did it again. I didn't do anything fun or make anything. I feel like I failed as a mom(said dramatically as possible). So here is to next year and some of the things I plan to do:
(Sadly I always think that next year will be better and nothing has really changed, I think that means that I need to!)

I love themes and I want our house to be a scary spider house. We sorta did that but that huge wind storm made me take most of it down and never had time to put it back up. I really want to do this:

except all over the place. I have about 150 spiders and was to lazy to put them up. Boo me! We also tried to make egg sacs like this and have them hanging.
Didn't look as cool so will try better next year.

I want to remember this for next year to decorate inside.

I want to make this:

All it is-doughnuts dipped in chocolate with a gummy life savers and blue m&m.

The saddest thing this year was not getting a picture of the boys in their costumes. I planed on being a spider witch and doing this:

Kids were sick and never made it to my brothers halloween party. Boo, again.
Well the only thing that we did better then last year was carve pumpkins and here was hunter's creation with daddy-

Yes, I took this picture today.

I'm not really inspired to decorate for thanksgiving right now. I am tired so maybe I will try next week. Instead I do want to try to make this-

Go here for info: nannygoat

Easy Cookies

2009-11-04T10:18:00.004-07:00

First you take a box of this:

Mix with 15oz can of this:

Throw in some of these:

Bake at 350 for 12-14 min. Yum!

And easy. By the way it's amazing how fast boy scouts can eat 90 cookies. Though why did I decide to make 90 cookies instead of buy 90 cookies? I must be crazy.

Ikea

2009-10-29T10:01:00.004-06:00

This last weekend we went down to Utah for a wedding and the BYU homecoming game. We dropped the kids off super early at Aunt Kimber's apartment and went to the wedding of Rustin's good friend from the mish! These two should be brothers, they are so similar and we are really happy for him. We also got to see Brett Dehart and after the wedding we had a couple hours to spare plus buy a wedding gift. So we went to Ikea. This was my first time there and it is quite unbelievable! Alot of stuff is a little too modern for me but we got a children's wooden paint easel for 15 dollars and a huge car rug for 15 dollars also. Plus I found these cute finger puppets for 5 dollars. I almost got some bookshelves but they were out of the one I wanted so hopefully that is what I will get for christmas! Man I wish that we had an Ikea here!
That night Rustin went to the game with his family and I had to take care of sick boys but I at least got to see my good friend Rachel. It has been over two years since I saw her cause she went on a mission and then came home and got married. I had really hoped to attend her wedding in Nauvoo and after seeing this picture I am so mad that I didn't make it.
She got to meet the Prophet!!!! I am so happy for her and thank you for the fun night Saturday! Please come visit!!!

What the?!!!

2009-10-19T10:14:00.003-06:00

What are his uncle's teaching him? Actually Ryan shot the squirrel in the Ray's backyard and this is a posed shot but still, hunter was a witness to all of it. What a fun Sunday afternoon! Grandma kept asking him if that scared him to see Ryan shoot the squirrel but all he said was no. This kid is truly Rustin's son. Rustin went hunting last weekend and Hunter was so upset that he couldn't go. In his prayers he kept asking that he could go hunting with daddy and that Koda could stay home with me. Funny kid. Well they really didn't get anything except Stan shot a coyote. Rustin brought the tail home for Hunter. Oh the fall and HUNTING!

Cereal

2009-10-13T10:45:00.002-06:00

When it gets close to Halloween that means it's time for my favorite cereal! Count Chocula. I don't know why it's my favorite but it is. There is chocolate and marshmallows, yum. Plus I love cereal and eat it all the time. I know that you can buy this at other times of the year but is the most common at Halloween. When I was first married I would buy it and my husband thought I was weird. I don't think he likes the cereal. Well now that I have kids they get excited when I buy it. I love doing stuff like this and Hunter gets so excited for Halloween. Now I can blame it on the children!!

I want

2009-10-07T10:18:00.001-06:00

Bubbly NB

Shared via AddThis

I want these boots so bad, but I can't justify the price. I don't think I ever bought shoes that expensive before but maybe that is why I have to buy new ones every year! Do the expensive one at least last a lot longer? Here is to wishing! Hmmmmmmmm

Look what I did!

2009-10-02T19:37:00.005-06:00

I am very interested in photography. I have noticed that adding textures to photos are really "in". I already showed the picture of Hunter as a ninja but decided that I wanted to make it Dirtier and grungy. So I took this:
And added it to the picture. What do you think? I am still learning and playing around but I sure love google! A free download and tutorial and an hour later I have this:

Dinosaurs, Jesus and Ninjas!

2009-10-02T16:11:00.003-06:00

As you all know, Hunter is obsessed with Dinosaurs. Remember the dinosaur toy that he received for his birthday? Well two days later he lost it. I was mad but was too busy to really search for it. Then just last night the kid starts screaming because he found where he hid it from the other kids I babysat. It was under the stairs int the back part of my pantry. He was so excited and such a goof that he couldn't remember where he hid it.

This is Hunters favorite shirt- got to love the funny pose!

Yesterday we went and saw daddy at work and Hunter found this rock on the ground at a construction site. He claims that it is part of an old dinosaur egg. We came home and he had to show his friend Samuel who replied that it looked like a rock. Well here is my son's come back: Nu uh, Jesus told me! I didn't know what to say and wouldn't of been able to cause I was laughing so hard!

I have an older brother that is a cop and can be quite the tough guy. He loves ninjas and batman and scary stuff. Sadly he has two little girls to share his love with and they want to be princesses! I love my nieces, they are so cute but since I am the one that has boys I like to tease him. Hunter plays with swords all the time so I took this picture and sent it to my brother with the caption- Whose the ninja now! I can't wait to hear what he is going to say-hehehe.

Last and not least is this child-

Thankfully he is cute cause he is driving me nuts. He screams MOM at me all day and wants what he isn't suppose to have and throws temper tantrums. I am working on our communication because I think that is usually why two years old have temper tantrums. He learns new words every day so hopefully it gets better.
Well I can't wait for conference tomorrow. I don't know exactly how relaxing it will be cause I have to clean a house for my husband's work but hopefully uplifting! Tomorrow morning I will be making these!

Something you don't know about me!!

2009-09-28T15:03:00.003-06:00

I have a problem. I tend to be lazy and not very good at motivating myself! You would think that washing my face and having clear skin or exercise and losing weight would be reward enough. I can't believe that I am admitting this, but it's not. I have trouble with consistency. So I make a goal. There is five things that I need to do every day.
1. excercise
2. do a daily chore
3. read scriptures
4. don't drink Dr.pepper
5. wash face and brush teeth
For each one I do every day I get a point for a possible total of five points every day. My goal is to get 100 points. When I get 100 points I get to buy myself this=
I love all the different colors(there is 88). Plus the price is great, only 20 dollars. I am two weeks into this goal and I have 35 points. I should have more but I hurt my back and haven't been able to exercise- does anybody know some moves that help strengthen the back?
Well I can't believe I admitted all this, I am kinda weird!
So what motivates you?

Missionaryspoof

2009-09-21T09:45:00.001-06:00

I just found this on another blog and had to share it. Very Funny. Mainly putting it here to show my husband later!

Favorite Quote

2009-09-19T10:43:00.001-06:00

This is my favorite quote from the week, courtesy of Michelle Ray (my cousin not mother in law).

I'm allergic to SUGAR, it makes me fat!!!

I Still have faith in America

2009-09-17T09:44:00.004-06:00

When President Obama was elected I had such a feeling of dread and now with the health care reform trying to get pass, which is basically government take over, it's easy to feel that it could be the end of our country. Okay, maybe you don't feel that dramatic yet, I only do after talking to my mother-hahaha. I do know that it is not the end and after my internship at the capital in high school I do know that everyone has a voice. It is important to get involved and write letters to our local representatives. It can make a difference!! I wanted to leave with this quote my mom just sent me. It is from Harold B. Lee and it sure gives me hope!!

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail. This is the cradle of humanity, where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden. This is the place of the New Jerusalem. This is the place that the Lord said is favored above all other nations in all the world. This is the place where the savior will come to His temple. This is the favored land in all the world. Yes. I repeat, men may fail, but this nation won't fail. I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are living in a day when we must pay heed to these challenges.

I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. This is the land of our forefathers. It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet to have pass through. (Ye are the Light of the World, 350-51) "

Birthday Week!

2009-09-15T16:43:00.002-06:00

Last week was the boys birthdays. The big 5 and 2. I can't believe how fast they grow up. I didn't get much pictures because my camera went dead after the presents and before we blew the candles out on the cake. Hunter LOVES dinosaurs so we made a dinosaur cake. I cut out the shape and frosted it and he decorated it with candy.

Now it's not very professional looking but Hunter loved it and it was super fun for him to make.

Hunter also got the coolest present. It's a dinosaur, shocking I know, but it is motion sensitive. If you rub it's back you hear it almost purr and it likes you but if you wave your hand in front of it it will try to bite you and spray you with water. It sure scared Koda at first but Hunter loves it and asked if it was his NEW PET! What a goof!

Yes it was also Koda's birthday but he didn't want to open presents and instead of decorating the cake with candy he stuffed himself with it instead. Naughty boy, loves his sweets. Sorry son I think you get that from me. So hear is a picture of him from the week before that I love!!

The Wedding

2009-09-01T09:51:00.002-06:00

It was such a beautiful wedding! Melissa was gorgeous, Kim did her hair and I helped with makeup. She was married in the Bountiful temple in the afternoon. Of course that was during the kids naps and Koda was so cranky, cute but cranky!! Next wedding I want to get a babysitter so that I can enjoy it.

Hunter got so bored when we were taking pictures that he started playing by the fountain. He knew not to get in and my focus was on the toddler who had tried to jump into the water. Well lo and behold Hunter had to go and fall in the fountain. Why does that happen to me and my children? I'm sure everyone thinks that I am a bad mom and my boys are out of control. Geez louise!

After that was the dinner/reception. I didn't get to sit much cause koda had to be on the move and I had to fix the music playlist for dancing. It was still great and the food was pretty good too. The girls snag a cute song and Ryan played his song that he wrote for the wedding. They are all so talented. The night ended with dancing which was so Melissa and so fun. Here are some pictures from the wedding! These photos were taking my MJRay photography and she did a fabulous job. I am not sharing all of them cause they are Melissa's pics so hopefully she will show some more!!

I love our friends!

Pose from all the single ladies dance!!

I sure love this girl and am so happy for her!

A good looking family!

Had to include this funny one of Cameron. He will be a senior this year! I met the ray family when he was three years old, can you believe that? He cracks me up cause he seems so quite and shy and then he busts this out. Awesome dude!

Boy do I love this man and his family! I am grateful for them in my life.

Bachelorette PARTAY!!!

2009-08-28T19:22:00.002-06:00

Two nights before Melissa's wedding we had a bachelorette party. It was PG rated and thrown by Melissa herself!! She cracks me up, I guess that she has wanted this since her freshman year at college and had to throw it herself to get it just right. We met in Salt Lake at a club for dancing. For once we were way early and it was almost an hour before it opened up. All Melissa wanted to dance to was HIP HOP but instead it was country dance lessons. Finally and hour later we were able to dance to Single Ladies. Melissa had made up a cool line dance to the song and of course this was the last night as a single lady!!!!

It was so cute- Kim was fearless and would ask any guy to dance. She is so CUTE!!

Janelle had to bring Trevor and he was the hit of the club. After that we went back to Melissa's for pizza and poker.

First funny part was how starving Kim was. We had to cook the pizza and every like two minutes she would ask if the pizza was ready. We couldn't get her to focus until she ate something! I will admit that it was well past ten and we hadn't had dinner. The next funny thing was the best part of the night! The gorilla stripper. No one knew about it except Melissa. We all died, I can't believe she did it! I have never laughed so hard.

It was such a great night. I am grateful to still be Melissa's friend and be apart of her family. Up next is FINALLY the wedding post!

Dinosaur Park

2009-08-24T12:31:00.002-06:00

On our way down to Melissa's wedding, we stopped at Ogden and went to the Dinosaur Park. It was pretty cool. It is on 8 acres at the mouth of Ogden canyon. The dinosaurs are place sporadically in the forest and they had speakers with dinosaur sounds that made it sure feel real.

Hunter loved it. My favorite part though would have to be when Hunter found a tree root in the ground but he thought that it was a dinosaur bone. He made me take a picture of it.

Here we are trying to run from the scary dinosaur!

Koda just loved to roam around. At the end there was a little park to play on.

This is definitely going to be the theme for Hunters' birthday party!

Cousins

2009-08-20T07:46:00.002-06:00

For a couple weeks before the wedding, Rustin's sister came to town and brought her beautiful children. Hunter was so excited to see Lynette. Everytime they would see each other they would hug and Hunter would pick her up and swing her around. For the fourth of july we went to the park and had a picnic, our 2nd one of the day- we had one with my family. Hunter has become quite strong and fear less!

Koda's favorite toy at the park is the horse. He cracks me up cause we have a rocking horse at home and that is all he plays on. He can have an obsessive personality.

He hit his mouth while riding it and had to get a picture with the tears and the blood.

Another picture of him eating FOOD!

This is Janelle's little boy Trevor. He is such a good baby, I rarely heard him cry. Hunter was so excited that a boy cousin was coming but he didn't understand that he couldn't really play with Trevor yet! Soon Hunter.

This was some of the gang! We sure love spending time with family.

Koda Bear

2009-08-11T15:19:00.002-06:00

Boy do I love this child! I can't believe that in a month exactly he will be two years old. He has become a very curious boy and like I said in the last post, quite a copy cat, especially of his older brother.

For awhile I though I might have skipped the phase of getting into everything and making a mess but it has just hit. He got into my pancake mix and on friday into the chocolate frosting. I didn't take any pictures cause I wasn't feeling good and was too mad that I had to clean it up!!
He talks some, which is better then Hunter who said nothing at two years. He says mom and outside and shoes and dog and banana and I swear he said hot dog today at the store! There are probably other words but these are the most frequent! Koda was that most mellow baby and he can still be sometimes but he also has quite a temper. He LOVES to throw himself down on the floor when he is mad. He learned fast that it hurts so he started aiming for the pillows. I laughed so hard when I saw him do that.

The number one most dominent personality trait in him right now is that he LOVES FOOD! Here is the proof in pictures:

This is my fav cause that is such a koda face!!

No, that is not blood but chocolate from the dipped cone. He makes such a mess but won't let me help him. I am going to scrapbook a page with all these pictures about him loving food. I even have more pictures but didn't want to put everything up here!

Wii Resort

2009-08-10T22:59:00.004-06:00

I haven't posted for awhile because I become so overwhelmed with how much I want to post so I don't do it but I realized instead to post one bit everyday. Here I go. Rustin decided to buy the new game called Wii Resort. It is alot like Wii play and Wii Sports but some new games added on. It aslo comes with a plug in that makes the remote more sensitive to your movements. The only reason I agreed to get this game is because I knew that all the kids that I watch would love it! Guess what-they do!!
This is a favorite of hunters, he loves the sword games!

I love that Koda tries to play. He is so cute right now and copies everything that his older brother does. Here are some pictures of them playing together!!

The only sad thing is that Hunter beats me at everything. How does that happen? He is not even five yet? Man I suck. HAHAHA

Grandpa Yeoman

2009-07-29T16:18:00.002-06:00

On friday my last grandfather alive passed away. In some ways this was very shocking. He had been sick for the past couple months but I thought it was his ulcers that he has had for a very longtime and they will act up and make him pretty sick. I was just down there three weeks ago and had been talking to my cousins that said they would come visit with my grandpa when he was better. Well he went into the hospital last week pretty sick and with pneumonia. Come to find out that he is riddled with cancer and also had a living will that said he did not want to be resuscitated. I guess he was in alot of pain and his children decided to take him off the oxygen and he died within thirty minutes. I don't think it is real yet to me because this all happened down in Utah and I am up here. I didn't get to go down there and say goodbye, although I guess he was drugged and not really awake, I was still sad. I am grateful though that my last memory of him was at the temple when he got sealed to my grandma. What a lovely memory. I am going to miss him so much. He was an amazing man. We leave tomorrow night for his funeral on friday. It is going to be pretty hard.

Hopefully when I get back I will catch up on what we have done for the summer. I can't believe that it will be August!

HELP?!!!

2009-07-14T14:47:00.003-06:00

So I am having a crazy summer watching six kids under the age of seven. Lunch is starting to get boring. I either make chicken nuggets, corn dogs, mac and cheese, sandwiches and pizza. I am drawing a blank at what else I could possibly make. I got one idea from a restaurant, it was called pb and j soldiers and they grilled the sandwich. It kinda sounds yummy but still a sandwich. I really need help with ideas so if you have any good recipes that kids love, I would love to have them! thanks

I am also thinking of posting tips that I discover cause I love to see that on other blogs. So here is my first tip:

#1 I have real hardwood floors and I would clean them with my swiffer jet all the time. It's great and easy and won't ruin the floors but after awhile I noticed that it leaves a residue and my floors never looked super clean. So I found this tip, I use 1 gallon of warm water to 1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and it makes my floors look brand new. I also like this idea cause a large container of Apple Cider Vinegar is pretty cheap and I love saving money!

Going to the chapel (temple)

2009-07-08T18:59:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow we head down to Utah for the big Wedding event! I am so excited. There is going to be a lot going on but I can't wait. There is a bachelorette party and going to get manicures and pedicures and family dinner and then the recpetion is of course one big party. There is going to be dancing and I even got a babysitter for my kids so that me and rustin can enjoy it. I am so happy for Melissa and I know that this is going to be a special weekend for her. See ya next week!

Family

2009-06-15T12:59:00.005-06:00

This is a picture of my grandma and grandpa when they were dating. I love it and think they are so cute. My dear grandmother passed away in December of 07. I know we all really miss her but we had an amazing weekend. My grandpa went to the temple for the first time and was sealed to my grandma for time and all eternity. Then all there children that were worthy, including my mother, were sealed to them. I know that I will see my grandma again and how grateful I am for the knowledge that I have and what it means to be a member of the church. I am so glad that I went down- I left Rustin and the kids home so it was a fun weekend without having to run after kids. I have funny stories and a shocking picture that I will post later this week!

Happy Birthday

2009-06-05T09:04:00.003-06:00

I just want to say Happy Birthday to the most wonderful man in my life. I am so lucky that I met him and that we fell in love. I really never thought about Rustin in a romantic sense when I was younger before we ever dated but the lord knew that he was exactly what I needed and wanted and somehow changed the way I was thinking. He is an amazing husband and father and will do anything for his family.

I can't believe that he is 29. We aren't celebrating really big but are going to see the movie Up! Hunter is probably more excited but for Rustin that makes it worth it to see his son excited for daddy's birthday. Just another reason why I love him so much. I can't wait for many more birthdays with you!

Yoga

2009-05-09T12:31:00.003-06:00

I just got back from a yoga session that was 90 minutes long! It was the most intense and relaxing thing I have done in awhile. Did I mention that the room is about 105 degrees! I have never sweated so much, my clothes were drenched. Supposedly you burn like 900 calories and it kicks up your metabolism for 24 hours. I really did like it but it was super hard. Everyone was barley dressed and I was in my workout capris and a t shirt, felt just a little overdressed! I ended up being by a guy in really tiny shorts in all sorts of poses. yuck. If anyone wants to come with me I am going next Saturday at 9 am!

Congradulations!

2009-04-13T15:57:00.003-06:00

My amazing sister-in law AND best friend is engaged! I am so excited for Melissa and Eric. I can't wait to meet him and from everything that I heard he is PERFECT for melis. There wedding date is July 11. So I have to get into major shape for her wedding. I am also excited that her reception is just going to be a big party and dancing. Best wishes to the happy couple.