What's Up With JamieJoe?

We started.. finally!

2010-02-09T10:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of our cabinet project that has finally begun. We've had the doors off since before Christmas, and are just now getting to. The doors for all the top cabinets have been painted on one side, as well as the faces of the cabinets and the old blue and yellow walls are gone. The doors will still be off for some time, since we need to let the paint cure for a while before we distress them and then they still need to be stained and top coated. A long way to go, but at least we've started!

Beau's Family Pow Wow

2009-11-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight Beau gathered us all together for a family meeting. He had little strips of paper that he had stapled together and written on. He had all us sit crossed legged on the floor in a circle and set a teepee that he made in class in front of him. He had us come to him one by one as he presented us each with our Indian names. We are now to be called (when we have our hats on):

Brav Worer (Brave Warrier)

Dansing Hate (Dancing Heart)

Linting Stem (Lightning Steam)

Super Rockit (Super Rocket)

Shining River (He got it right!)

He was worried about putting anything on Jace's head so he just gave him the name "Straight Arrow"

Thanks Beau!

Jace's Blessing

2009-11-01T19:29:00.002-07:00

It was such a wonderful day. Joe gave Jace a name and a blessing. Joe and I also bore our testimonies for the very first time publicly. To contemplate, and verbalize it makes it much more real. I hope Jarek and Beau, who are old enough to have paid attention, got something from it. Those in attendace were:

Our family; Joe, Jamie, Jarek, Beau, Jada and of course Jace

My Grandma, Virgina Harder

My parents, Stephen and Cathy Harder

Joe's mom and sister, Mary and Katie Jones

Steve Smith and his family: Natalie, Breanna, Josh, Jacob, Michael, Daniel and Rebekah

Jane Ostler and her family; Chad, Ben, Brandon, Elisabeth, Evie and Grant

Sam Smith and family; Kim, Tristan, Kael, Ashleigh and Kallista. My friend Julie Sears and her sister Katie were also there. Sam's family and Julie left before we took pictures.

The men who stood in the circle with Joe were Steve Smith, Chad Ostler, Sam Smith and Bishop Jensen

After sacrament meeting we met back at our house for refreshments. Thanks to everyone who came and supported Jace and our family.We love you!

After a busy day, he's just plain tired :)

It was inevitable, I guess...

2009-07-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

Jada finally did it... she cut her own bangs. I guess it could have been worse. Jarek came running to tell me that Jada was trying to cut his head. I asked him if she cut his hair, he said no. I didn't think anything about it, the scissors were put away. Then I notice some stray hairs on her nose... I freaked. She left a nice layer on top that are long and can hide it when they are swept over. We had a nice long talk about how only Michelle cuts her hair. She gets it, I think. Poor thing, hope they grow out quick!

Play Ball!

2009-06-13T16:03:00.005-06:00

Today officially started the beginning of the baseball season for the boys and the much running around for me. I called the rain out line this morning, expecting it to say the games were cancelled after looking at the weather report.. but to my surprise, it said all games would be played as scheduled. It only drizzled a little bit before game time and then the sun actually broke through on our way to the Sports Complex. Jarek is starting Machine Pitch this year, so his first at bat was his first encounter with the machine that would prove to be random. High pitches were it's specialty, with a few in the strike zone. He got a piece of one, which is success in my book even though it was a foul. Joe was able to take a lunch and come watch. After we got home the rain POURED down, luckily we had an early game. Way to go Jarek!

Here are a few pics from the game.

Dads n Donuts

2009-03-06T13:49:00.003-07:00

Today Beau and I (Joe) had our first Dad's and Donuts! Walking into the school I was greeted with a Donut and instructions to meet my child in his classroom. When I made it to the classroom there was a line of Dads (...who else has a Dad! I thought I was the only one...). All the kids were seated in the front of the room on the floor (the door and Dad line was in the back of the room). It was cute to see all the little faces searching for their Dad. The teacher, who was at the back of the room as well, calling the children to meet their Dad commented, "I should just look for the child with the big grin", as she asked us who our child was (if she didn't know already). When it was my turn, I looked at Beau and sure enough the big grin showed up. It stayed with him as he walked back to retrieve his Donut and his Dad :-) We went over to a small, Beau sized table and began eating and reading. The whole time we were reading Beau kept looking behind us at his classmate and his Dad. I wondered why. I wondered if he wanted to go read with that Dad ;-) We finished our book an he say's, "We beat 'em done!". He is so competetive! We got a book from the classroom book shelf and barely finished in time as the teacher sounded the 2 minute warning. All went well! It was neat to be able to make it and see his excitement at his first Dad's and Donuts.

Mr. Independent

2009-01-15T00:32:00.005-07:00

Beau has become so independent this year. He is recently really into doing his own hair. I try to "fluff" it up a little after he combs it, but today he insisted that he likes the way it looks with the comb lines in it. Today I said, "Can I just straighten out your part line?", "No Mom, I like it like this". He did say that some guy on the new Hulk movie has hair kind of like that, so I guess that's where it's coming from. All I'm saying is, it wasn't me. :)

Our Little Ninja in the Making

2008-12-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Beau has learned to climb the walls just like his dad used to do. It's so cute to see him taking after Joe so much.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:58:00.003-07:00

I have misplaced my other camera that had more pictures on it. This will have to do for now :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Traditions

2008-12-24T23:18:00.001-07:00

When I was little, we would always make sugar cookies on Christmas Eve and I looked forward to it every year. We have tried to keep that tradition going, and so far we've done a pretty good job. The kids love the thought of making something for Santa. Here are a few snapshots from tonight.. please ignore the children on my countertop.. that doesn't happen anywhere else right?

Awww the mess. It's worth it though.

Another tradition is that we let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve, and now they always know what it is... pajamas.Merry Christmas Eve!

Happy 6th Birthday Beau!

2008-12-20T22:28:00.003-07:00

Today we had a friend party for beau.. all boys. Very loud, very crazy, very fun! He invited all his close friends from class.

He had a Hulk party, so we started out with balloons tied to everyones ankles, and they all ran around trying to "Hulk Smash" everyone elses balloons. Jarek won.. he's the biggest so that's not suprising.
They then got to try to hit a bullseye with a sticky party favor.
After that they made some little snowmen out of marshmallows and graham crackers.

To add to the sugar rush, they then ate some frosting stacked cupcakes followed by presents.
While waiting for parents Joe got out the gymnastics mat and they kids went wild.

It was a great party. The family party was later, where he got a few Wii games, including the one he asked for a million times, Star Wars The Force.

Thanks everyone for coming and making it such a great day for him!

A quick message from Jada

2008-12-19T21:43:00.002-07:00

Sorry the video quality is crappy, but the cuteness makes up for it.

Finally, the tree's up...

2008-12-07T20:34:00.001-07:00

I guess I'm just not really in the holiday spirit yet, so when Joe mentioned decorating the tree after church today, we did. It's been up for a few days, just not decorated. Putting the lights on is my very least favorite thing to do. I think investing in a pre-lit tree will be in the plans within the next few years. It's not the most glamorously decorated, but it's up. Here's little Jada helping with the finishing touches.

What to do, what to do?

2008-11-10T18:15:00.004-07:00

What can you do with 308 legos? Build a huge pyramid! Jarek had a friend over after school and the boys all had a good time being little architects. It was very cute, because after they got done building it they wrote out a fact sheet about it, how many legos, how long it took them, etc., it was labeled "The biggest pyramid in America". Fun times.

I Voted

2008-11-04T10:26:00.003-07:00

and it only took me 14 minutes from the time I walked in to the time I walked out.

Halloween

2008-10-31T23:48:00.000-06:00

Here they are in the morning, before school.

I got them all ready for the school Halloween Parade. This is out front of the school, waiting in line to go into class.
Beau during the parade.

His hair is hairsprayed up like ears since he couldn't wear a mask to school.
Classic Jada moment. (I'm mellllting, I'm meelllllting!)

Jarek during the parade, heading back to class.

Very cute pictures of Jada.
Beau "being" Batman.

Jarek in class...

I loved how the carpet in his classroom was so very Joker-like.
Jada with her green witch hair before going trick or treating.

She seems so grown up!The kids all had a great time trick or treating, Jada even got out there and went to quite a few more houses that I thought she would. She didn't even want me to carry her between houses, even though the boys were running two houses ahead most of the time. Tristan came trick or treating with the kids, they had tons of fun together.This was one of my favorite decorated houses.I think we all felt like this on the way home.

Happy Halloween!

A girl and her dog

2008-10-25T11:07:00.006-06:00

Jada is so in love with her little Mocha. Anytime she sees her laying on the floor, she always goes and lays down next to her. Today she was being so cute with her. Despite all the choke holds...

...Mocha loves her too!

Goodbye Tonsils and Adenoids

2008-10-13T09:53:00.010-06:00

Today is the day Jarek got his tonsils and adenoids out. Jarek has been very nervous up to today, so it is a relief that the day has finally come. He seemed in good spirits going in. We went in and waited for them to call us back. The anethisiolgist came out to tell Jarek what was going to happen, and anwer any questions he/we had. Then they called us back to go get him changed.

He actually looked kind of excited. And then embarrassed.

Then they took him away. It's always hard watching your kid get wheeled away. This is actually Jarek's second surgery, he had one back when he was just a year old to repair a hernia. They said it wouldn't take too long, about an hour. We went out and waited.. it seemed longer than that. It wasn't though, and they came to get us telling us that he would be coming into his recovery room. Ohh that was horrible when he first came in. He was screaming and crying so hard, and shivering in pain. I couldn't imagine screaming after just having surgery on my throat. The nurse gave him some pain medicine and a popcicle. He still wasn't calming down but then she pulled out this cool tv from the wall (Flight of the Navigator style) and it took his mind off of it and he calmed down. He had his little turtle Grizzly with him during his surgery, I think that made him feel better too.

He had to wait around after surgery for an hour to see how he did. The nurse wanted him to rest. We turned off the tv for a while, and he looked like he was sleeping, but it ended up that he couldn't sleep, so we just let him get back to watching tv. He really just wanted to go home.

Finally they let him go, the nurse wheeled him out and he was much happier to be on his way. We even got a smile out of him :)

We had to stop off and get a perscription filled for him, and that was hard. He was tired, and the pain medicine was wearing off a little. It seemed like forever, but we were finally on our way. We made it home to where Grandma Cathy was watching Beau and Jada. Jarek just laid out on the couch for a while. He wasn't too into eating anything not even popcicles. He hates the liquid pain medicine, it smells horrible, I don't blame him but I don't want his pain to get too strong. I'll update soon.

Update: Jareks been sleeping with me at night. Joe has been a good dad to give up his spot. He has been pretty good about taking his medicine, except at night when we have to wake him up to give it to him. He seems so out of it and he gets combative and then ends up spitting some of it out. We started reading Harry Potter together and he loves it. I read aloud and Jarek just wants me to keep reading and keep reading. He still isn't eating anything solid, although the doctor said he can start when he feels ready. The pain does seem to be getting worse, but t supposed to get better soon. Now that the swelling has gone down, he has said to me that he didn't believe me that he would be able to beathe easier with his mouth closed, but he does feel like there is more room in there which makes it all seem worth it. Now lets just hope he sleeps with his mouth closed after he is all healed.

Way to go Joe!

2008-10-01T13:40:00.002-06:00

He has been working so hard on a school project. He built a little on screen moving robot that would seek out and find other classmates robots and destroy them. He won the Bot Battle! It just goes to show that putting a lot of hard work into something pays off. Here he is with his "trophy".

School Carnival

2008-09-25T20:36:00.010-06:00

Tonight the kids and I went to the school carnival with Grandma Cathy. The kids have been so excited to go, counting down for a few weeks. Jarek was almost not going to be able to go due to his Chicken Pox, I'm so glad he didn't miss out.

Everyone was excited for the cotton candy, they loved it.

These are a few pictures of Jada as we were waiting in line to ride the horses.

She makes the cutest faces

She was so excited for her turn to ride the horses as we got closer, that she would start to cry when someone got on before her. I thought she might be kind of apprehensive about getting on one of these big creatures, but she was so excited.

Here they are saddling up.

Jada is looking nervous, but I think she just wanted her own horse.

Here they are riding around the field.

We stopped to watch the dunk tank on the way out.
Thanks for coming with us Mom!

Chicken Pox

2008-09-25T13:47:00.002-06:00

So Jarek woke up today, coming into our room saying that he had bumps all over his chest. I shot out of bed and looked and sure enough, there were bumps all over. I called the school to see if there had been any cases of Chicken Pox, to which they said they hadn't heard of any. I was skeptical that these were Chicken Pox, because he had been vaccinated. He wasn't acting sick or anything, but he did say they itched a little. I gave him some Benedryl and called my mom to ask what Chicken Pox looked like. He had them on his chest, back, face, neck, all over in his hair, legs, and a few on his arms. She said they were just raised little areas that looked fluid filled, that are on the hot parts of you body. Yep, that's what it seemed like to me, so I made an appointment.

This is him before I told him we were calling for an appointment. This is him after telling him we were going in to see the doctor. He got all pasty white, and really sick looking. I asked him what was wrong, and he asked if he was going to have to have surgery for the Chicken Pox. It was so sad, but cute at the same time. The last time he went to the doctor he told Jarek he would have to have surgery to take his tonsils and adnoids out, which he is stressing about. Now he's made the connection between doctors and surgery.

We went to see the doctor who was amazed at the amount of bumps since he'd been vaccinated. He said it's very rare to get them at all after having the vaccine, but extremely rare to get them that bad. He said if he hadn't gotten vaccinated he would have been really sick. The doctor said he wasn't contagious since he'd been vaccinated so he could go to school if he wanted to. It was a relief to hear that since the School Carnival is today and Jarek had been dissapointed earlier when I said he would probably not be able to go. He also said not to tell anyone at school that Jarek had them, since they wouldn't believe that they weren't contagious, so I'm not going to say anything. He stayed home today, just since they are so noticable, but we will be going to the Carnival. I'm just so thankful that he isn't sick or even itchy anymore.

Update 10/11/08: I've heard from several people that there are quite a few cases of Chicken Pox now in Jarek's grade. I feel horrible, apparently it was more contagious than first thought. I don't know if it was passed on from someone that wasn't vaccinted or what. I'm just glad neither Beau nor Jada got it.

Big Girl Bed

2008-09-22T23:58:00.003-06:00

Jada got her big girl bed today. She seems very excited! It was so cute, she would pretend that she was asleep...
getting in and out of her bed all by herself...

Beau even wanted to get in on the fun...This was her alseep on her first night, in her big girl bed, complete with her little babies that she must have before going to bed.

Patriotic Day

2008-09-11T22:30:00.004-06:00

Today Beau's class wore red white and blue in rememberance of those lost on September 11, 2001. They picture is of all the neighborhood kids in Beau's class that ride the bus together. Everyone but the boy on the scooter is in Beau's class. There is such a big group! Our neighbor took this picture. They are all raising their hands because she asked them to raise their hand if they were in Mrs. Cullimore's class. So cute!

Doo, Doo, Doo, Lookin' out my Front Door

2008-09-05T23:35:00.001-06:00

This is the new view looking south from our front door.

I am not happy.

I got an email from my SIL Jane and it cracked me UP! I seriously had tears running down my face as I read it. I must share my distaste of the "monument" a little too much :) I share her email with you now:

We drove past the sleeping presidents of Rushmore on our way home from Pho Hoa a Vietnamese restaurant in West Valley...interesting cuisine, yes, oh yes, interesting). It so inspired me that I thought you an ode, and it goes a little something like this... (right hand on your heart please).

An Ode to Jamie's Joy
by Jane

While on a stretch of freeway road
traveling home to my abode
a shining mountain I behold.
A monument to men of old.

Their faces gleaming in the light
shining brightly in the night.
What could ruin this lovely sight?
A rollercoaster's cheap delight.

Then I recall your lone front door
from whence you'll see forever more
haunting faces that are stored
in your mind, one, two, three, four.

They'll be there when you wake at dawn.
They'll watch you when you mow the lawn.
And even though you want them gone,
they won't flinch, not e'en to yawn.

Yes they're posed in awkward places,
no need to travel to see their faces.
No, they can not run the bases,
or help your kids tie up their laces.

But, a contest they could win at staring.
Thieves run from their constant glaring.
Your ice-cream they will not be sharing.
Plaid and pink they won't be wearing.

All's not lost, to you they gave
their lives, the cost, beyond the grave.
Hope in your heart, the paths you'll pave
are marked for George, Tom, Ted & Abe.

Love,
Jane

Thanks Jane, it made my day, and now I'll grin every time I walk out my front door.

Midnight Sun: Edwards Version of Twilight

2008-08-28T22:21:00.004-06:00

OH-MY-GOODNESS! So the next book may not happen at all.. but Stephanie Meyer has posted a partial draft here. I can't believe someone would do that to her! I'm glad that I can start reading it now, but I do hope she goes back to it eventually. Just wanted to let everyone know where you can read it. Enjoy!

Before the blood...

2008-08-27T20:54:00.005-06:00

Today, before Beau's soccer game, they had their soccer pictures taken. I shot a group shot while they were all lined up, it was way cute that Beau got to hold the ball.

Near the end of the game, I saw Beau coming off the field toward me... they weren't calling for subs, and I noticed that he was trying not to cry. I told the guy that we needed to sub out, and by the time Beau got to me, blood was streaming out of both nostrils. I didn't have a diaperbag or anything with me, but some nice lady came up with a pack of tissues. The guy who was helping sub kids in came right over and took over. I was pretty clueless, I was just trying to have him bend over so he didn't get any on his shirt (they had turned their shirts inside out for the game since they were the home team, so his shirt was white), I know.. I shouldn't have been worried about the shirt. I wasn't too worried about the bloody nose, I figured they usually stop fairly quick. I did started worrying when the guy couldn't get it to stop bleeding, and he kept saying how bad it was and that it was one of the worst bloody noses he'd ever seen (probably not the best thing to be saying at the time, for Beau's sake, but I'm glad he was there to help). At one point he even thought he might have broken his nose, but that he would be howling in pain. He was just sitting there not saying anything, so I guess it's not broken. USEFUL FACT #1: The guy said he used to be a wrestler, and would get bloody noses all the time. They always used to stick a rolled up piece of tissue up the inside of the upper lip and it would always stop instantly! He was sure this would not fail, but it did. He kept bleeding for quite some time, then it finally stopped. He was such a trooper the entire time, never did start crying. We got some babywipes and got all the blood cleaned up while he laid down. After we got it completly stopped, all he said was.. "Did I kick the ball more times than Jarek?", I guess he's more of a competitor than a wuss :) He said he got hit with a ball in the face, ye-ouch! To look at him, you wouldn't even know it happened, no puffiness or bruising or anything, so far.

I didn't get any pictures, I had blood all over my hands during, and of course, there were more important things to worry about. I should have taken one after, of just his shirt.. because he did end up getting quite a bit on it. I called my mom to ask how to get the blood out, and she came right over with some (USEFUL FACT #2) hydrogen peroxide and it took it all out! Amazing, right before our eyes. I'm sure I should have known that, but I didn't.

Like the guy kept saying, "you're a tough kid" Beau!

Ahhh.. Saturday mornings

2008-08-23T08:58:00.006-06:00

This morning when I woke up and walked down the hall, this is what I found.

It was a Kodak moment for me because I used to do this same thing when I was little. I'd lay down in the warm light that came in through our basement window. I thought it was so cute when I saw Beau doing the same thing in our kitchen. Then Jada came in and joined in the fun.

Tagged by Michelle...

2008-08-22T11:18:00.000-06:00

8 things I am passionate about
1. my family
2. digital scrapbooking
3. friends
4. books
5. photos
6. blogging (preserving memories)
7. "thinking" about getting in shape ;)
8. being frugal

8 books I have read & enjoyed...
1. - 7. Harry Potter series. I have finally read them! I am so glad I finally did.
8. Twilight.. finishing Breaking Dawn, and I like it so far. Starting The Host next.

8 words / phrases I say often
1. Loves!
2. Goodnight honey(during the day)/Bye honey.. seems like all I get to say to Joe these days
3. Boys!
4. Mocha, get down!
5. Pretty Jada
6. We need to... (what I really mean is.. "honey, can you..?"
7. I'll start tomorrow
8. I'm just going to check my email

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Ensure my children are happy
2. Get in shape
3. Travel
4. Be debt free
5. Be as great of a grandma as my mom is to my kids
6. Further my education
7. Be "prepared"
8. ???

8 Things I Learned This Past Year
1. Friends are important
2. Little girls are very different from boys temperamentally
3. Reading is fun
4. Kids grow up way too fast
5. The little stresses don't matter very much
6. You have to take care of your lawn if you want it look nice :)
7. ???
8. ???

8 places I want to see
1. Italy
2. Scotland
3. Ireland
4. Hawaii
5. Australia
6. Caribbean
7. Scovil Bakery in Nauvoo (I'm a decendent of Lucius Scovil)
8. Church historical sites

8 things I miss
1. Good Saturday morning cartoons
2. Virginia
3. Teak (my dog when I was a little girl)
4. Sleeping in
5. 2am Taco Bell/Subway runs with friends
6. Me and Joe time
7. My first car
8. My kids being sweet little newborn babies

8 things I currently want/need
1. Sod
2. More hours in a day
3. For Joe to have some days off
4. A housekeeper
5. A good job from home
6. A strong/healthy body
7. Relaxing days
8. An ottoman for my basement :)

8 People I Want To Tag
I don't think 8 people even read my blog.. so anyone reading is tagged :)

Go Defense!

2008-08-21T20:23:00.010-06:00

Jarek showed some real talent today in his 2nd soccer game. He played both offense and defense. He got a few good possesions on offense, a great kicker! When he was down on defense, he was very aware of where the ball was and as soon as it started getting close you could see it in his eyes "I'm on it!" He saved a goal that looked sure to go in. In this picture his on the far right, putting some real energy into getting to the ball.

During the game Beau, Jada and I were on the sidelines cheering him on... well, Jada was sleeping, but we were rooting for him.

While laying on the grass waiting for his turn to go back in he said "You want to know what I like more about this game? More kicking, less sitting!" It was cute. Way to go Jarek!

Meeting Mrs. Cullimore

2008-08-19T19:25:00.004-06:00

Beau got to go and meet his Kindergarten teacher today. Beau has been waiting for this day for so long. When he woke up this morning, got dressed first thing, in his "special" outfit that he chose it's actually the shirt Jarek had on in his Kindergarten picture. He kept asking all day long if it was time yet.. of course it wasn't until 3:30, so I heard this all day :) We went a little early, and while we waited he read a whole book about bats. Probably the same type of book Jarek was reading at the end of Kindergarten. He got such a great start by going to a reading program at the Literacy Center this past year. Jarek was getting out of school at the exact time Beau had his appointment, so I snagged him before heading over to Mrs. Cullimore's class.

Here they are reading books outside

of Mrs. Cullimore's class waiting our turn.

When it was our turn, Mrs. Cullimore came out and told Beau that she had been waiting to meet him for a while, so sweet! She took him in and showed him his cubby, and where to hang his coat. She took us over and he sat with her, and explained a few things and gave me some paperwork to read through while she did his assessment at a different desk, so that he didn't get distracted. She was amazed at how well he can read. He was telling her about how he lost a tooth, and how another one is loose. I'm sure she loved the randomness, didn't exactly show her that he can stay focused. I found out afterwards that he was trying to not be shy. "I talked to my teacher, I even told her about my teeth", not the greatest timing, but I'm glad he feels comfortable with her.

Beau and Mrs. Cullimore (I love how he has his arm behind her)

It will be an exciting year. He already knows about 7 kids in his class. I hope Mrs. Cullimore is ready!

Jarek's first day of 2nd grade

2008-08-18T18:03:00.002-06:00

Jarek was so excited to start 2nd grade. We went to Back to School Night the other day, where he got to meet his teacher Mrs. Harris. He left there so excited. He said that "she was the nicest teacher he has ever had in his whole entire life!" He had only about 10 minutes to make this determination, but I guess he isn't one that needs much time. He's excited because he is out in the satellite building (I would have been bugged by this), but he loves that he can be one of the first kids on the playground for recess. He called the classroom "refreshing", such a Jarek word.

Okay, so we should have had a dress rehearsal before the first day of school. I bought him a bunch of shirts a little big, so that he wouldn't have belly shirts by the end of the year. Well, I should have shrunk them a little first. I had the perfect outfit picked out, but the shirt was too big so we had to go with his pick.. which is how it should have been anyway I guess. I didn't have him ride the bus so that I could help him go and help him find his line out front of the school.

Here he is outside before we left for school.

With his little brother who will be joining him next week.

Standing near the Sego Lily at his school.

In his line, which he had to help me find :)

I love this one!

Getting off the bus. His smile tells me he had a good day :)

Best $3.00 I ever spent

2008-08-15T11:35:00.002-06:00

While the kids were blowing through their little savings at the dollar store, I found these cute little dress-up things for Jada, only a buck each! So cute I smile every time she puts it all on.

My Dad's Birthday Party

2008-08-10T23:47:00.002-06:00

We got together for a belated birthday BBQ for my dad today. It was a really fun time with family. Both of my grandma's were there, which was wonderful.
Since we had everyone there, we decided to have an impromptu photo shoot.

This is my grandma on my mom's side.

This is my grandma on my dad's side.
All the women of the family:

From top left to right: Mel, Grandma Joan, Mom, Me

Grandma Virginia, Jada JamieJoe!

Mel and Steve
Dad with Blue their 15 or 16 yr old Yorkie

Jada with her buddy Uncle Steve

Happy 8.8.08 Joe!

2008-08-08T22:09:00.000-06:00

I love you!

Finally!

2008-08-04T23:42:00.004-06:00

Okay, so honestly, our boys have been more into video games, than learning to ride a bike without training wheels. We live on a busier street than we originally thought when we built our house here, so letting my kids play out front is my least favorite option. They have been showing a little more interest recently, so Joe has kind of been having them try to coast down the driveway, balancing and stuff. Jarek usually gets frustrated first, as he did yesterday, so he went inside. Beau stayed outside and kept trying. With Joe holding on he went down the length of our block and they came back. He was doing so well that Joe decided to let go, and Beau didn't notice. He did it all by himself for at least the length of one property! I was so excited for him, I started to run towards him, and he ran towards me and when he got to me I just picked him and hugged him and got teary eyed. He had the most genuine smile on his face, pure excitement. I ran in to get the camera and yelled down to Jarek to let him know that Beau had just done it. He came out, with more interest. We were out there until after dark. It is amazing what a few hours can do. One minute they could care less, a few hours later and they are HOOKED. It was so hard trying to get them to come inside.

The next morning, they were up and ready to go out again, bright and early. They both improved even more with the ability to see in the daylight. It was so much fun seeing them concentrate so hard.

Things we learned:

Wear shoes
Go fast enough
Focus

We are in the middle of killing our grass, tearing out a tree, adding sprinkler heads, so we were out in the yard all day.

A little dirt never hurt

Jarek can now get going and ride up and down the street without any help. Beau just needs help getting started, and is even starting to get the hang of that now. You can see the confidence that it has given each one of them. Jarek never seemed bothered before about not being able to do it, but he just keeps saying "I can't belive I can ride a bike now." I told him that if his teacher asks what he did on summer vacation, he can say "I learned to ride a bike". He told me that would be "awkward", since most kids know how already.

Jada's baby also learned how to drive the Corvette ;)

Here's are a few clips from the biffs and successes of the day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jada!

2008-08-02T23:42:00.005-06:00

Here's Jada's cake I made. It took way too long, probably 2.5 hours. I was exhausted, I didn't even get a good picture because family started showing up as I was finishing. I've made it before, for Jarek's 5th birthday so I thought I could do it pretty quick. I forgot how many colors were involved and I didn't leave enough time. It was yummy though :)

Jada LOVES SpongeBob.

She got upset when we tried to get to her blow out her candles, she just wanted to eat the frosting.

She got the cutest little beagle family from my sister, they are part of the Calico Critters collection, very cute. She loves them.
Here is just a super sweet moment We restored my little kitchenette I had as a little girl for her.. it made my whole day to see her with it. Even Jake(12) loved it. Who would have known that boys would like that sort of thing? Even my boys love it. Here she is playing with my Jake and Beau.. cooking them some SpongeBob fruit snacks. She thought they were delicious! Here's all three kids playing with the beagle family, with Jada in her new "Bob" jammies :)

It was a great party, it seems like she's really "grown up" these last few days.. no more baby. I am even getting her some Pull Ups next time I'm at Costco because she is showing so much interest. I got her the greatest little potty from IKEA, one she can't take apart.. that's all she's been doing with the nice one we got her with a cushie seat. Grosses me out, so this one is perfect. I hope she takes to it quickly.

Happy Birthday Jada!!!

Beau's First lost tooth!

2008-07-27T16:43:00.001-06:00

Beau has had a loose tooth for quite a while now, probably a three or four months. He was sitting by me, looking at a book, and I noticed it was looking pretty funky, not sitting right in his mouth. I asked him if I could feel how loose it was and he let me. It was way loose. I told him to move it back and forth and he said that when he did he felt it snap. I told him it would come out pretty easy, and he said he wanted Dad to be there. We got Dad, and Beau tried to pull it out on his own, not scared at all. It was proving a little more difficult than I thought so Dad helped him just a little. He barely noticed, just complaining because it didn't come right out. It was out, and he was so excited. The first thing he said was, "I'm excited to get money from the tooth fairy!" He looks so grown up with his little tooth missing, on to the next stage, having the mouth full of different sized teeth :) Speaking of teeth, Jarek also lost a tooth last week, when we were at the hospital to see Aunt Kim after she had Kallista.

Congratulations Beau!!!

A new layout - Our Family

2008-07-26T14:25:00.004-06:00

I had to put together a scrapbook page for our ward Spotlight. I was told about it about 2 months ago and decided to do it last night (I'm a slacker). Digital Design Essentials is having a 50% off Summer Splash Sale so I splurged yesterday.

This page was made with papers and elements from the following kits at DDE: Penelope, Snapshot of Spring, Lovey Dovey, Cozy Comfy Fall, Garden Party, Whirly Twirly Spring and Wish Big.

Cape Cod

2008-06-27T23:08:00.002-06:00

Since we didn't make it to Fenway Park when we were in Boston, we made sure to go back the next day on our way down to Cape Cod. We didn't park and get out, it would have been $15 just to take pictures since we weren't there to see the game... not worth it, but we were there :)

Here's Joe out front

Chatham Light - Chatham, MA

Our first stop on our lighthouse tour was Chatham Light.

There was a beautiful beach with huge oceanside houses.

Three Sisters and Nauset Lights - Eastham, MA
The next light or "lights"were the Three Sisters Lighthouses only 1/3 mile away from the Nauset Lighthouse. We walked to the Three Sisters first. All 4 of these lighthouses have been moved from their original locations due to erosion, the Three Sisters were the original lights and Nauset Light was brought from Chatham later to replace them. The Three Sisters were moved back and spaced out just as they originally were.

The Three Sisters

Nauset Lighthouse
This place was beautiful. We didn't get to this beach, but Joe did go up a "closed" path to take a peek at the ocean while I stayed in the car and discovered a tick on me! From the cliff there was a huge drop off to the beach below. In their previous locations, all 4 lighthouses would have fallen off the edge.

Highland Light - Truro, MA
We only had time to make it to one more light. We hit Highland Light the northern most light on the east side of the Cape. We actually took a tour of this one and went up to the top.

Looking up the staircase from the bottom

This is us at the top of the lighthouse. The tour man said that exactly behind us is the sunken Titanic, and Spain.

Joe out at the observation deck overlooking the ocean.

From the observation deck

This one to me was the most beautiful and the perfect end to the day.

Boston Part II

2008-06-25T22:00:00.002-06:00

Okay, more pics, they are finally all on the computer. This is why I am a bad blogger, I take pictures and then leave them on the camera forever. Anyway, taking up from where I left off...

We left the temple, then headed for downdown Boston. We were scheduled for the Duck Tour, which is a tour on a WWII truck/boat.

This was ours

That took us all around town, showed us the puritan settlements, Boston Commons where the shoreline was before they manmade the rest of Boston, Beacon Hill where all the well to do people lived and still live and where Cheers is, the US Constitution (Old Ironside), Bunker Hill, etc. We got to ride right down into the Charles River (which is no longer a toxic mess).

Here is some footage of us going into the water.

Some pics from in the water

Closeup of Longfellow Bridge

Zakim Memorial Suspension Bridge
After the tour, we headed back to the subway to take us half way back to our Parking Garage. We wanted to go to Cheers so we did some walking. There is a little walking tour that they mark on the streets with a red line so you can follow a map and see different sites. We didn't do the whole thing because we saw a lot of it on our Duck Tour. Our first stop after the tour was Berklee College of Music, Joe really wanted to go see it. We went in and walked around the campus, heard alot of people in different studios practicing, it was neat.

Here's some pics at Cheers

This pic of Joe was taken with his friends before I was there, he didn't want to take another one.

This was in the Oak Room upstairs where we ate

I think I may be Norms long lost twin?

There's a neat spiral staircase going back down into the main bar area, this was painted along the wall going down. I think Joe was sick of pictures by this point :)

Me on the way out

On the marked path tour we went by an old cemetery and saw Samual Adams and Benjamin Franklin's parents graves.

One of our last stops was Faneuil Hall which is a big marketplace where people gather round to watch street performers. That's a statue of Samuel Adams out front.

Whew.. that was a pretty exhausting day. After this we just headed for the car and went home.

Boston Part I

2008-06-23T22:32:00.002-06:00

Joe was in Boston for a few days before I got there. He was downtown for the Celtics/Lakers Championship game when the Celtics won. They were just out watching all the rowdy people, and were there when the riot squad showed up pushing people out of the streets.

When I got to Boston it was a lot less crazy, thank goodness. I got in Thursday night. Friday he only had training for an hour so we got a whole extra day together. We went on a nice little drive to a nearby place called Plum Island. On our way there we passed through this very quaint little town called Newbury. It had this little street with shops, right near the water. Here are a few pictures of we took there.

Out on Plum Island we got to see a few lighthouses and a beach.

Plum Island Light

Not even sure if this is an actual lighthouse, we saw it as were were driving down the street. It's right on the water though.

Our next stop was Salisbury Beach

Saturday was our trip into downtown Boston. We first visited the Boston Massachusetts Temple.

Joe wins Best Photo award for this one - he was laying down on the ground :)

To be continued... more pictures to come (thanks for making it this far!)

Finally a layout to share!

2008-04-17T17:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since I've felt creative enough to sit down and design a page. Jane was over yesterday, and we were playing with Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop Elements, I started to get the itch again.

Today Jarek was talking and I noticed his tongue was green. He started being silly, and it was the perfect picture. It inspired me to make a page.

Page was made with the Embrace Life Kit by Sande Krieger, various fonts.

Happy Birthday Joe!

2008-03-24T21:34:00.000-06:00

Today was Joe's 29th birthday.. no he still hasn't hit 30. He likes to remind me and everyone else of that fact too :) Today started out with him going to PT for his legs, then relaxing. He took a whole week off as his birthday present to himself. After Jarek got home, we went to BYU to bowl, he's pretty good! It's alot different than bowling on the Wii, which I've gotten used to :) After bowling we went to his favorite place to eat... Brick Oven! He got the Heaps of Pizza and his free slice of Chocolate Mousse Pie. It's become tradition to go there for his birthday, he must think it's worth getting sung to :) After dinner he finally let me get him Smash Brothers Brawl and he and the kids came home and played, the kids played longer of course, while Joe snuck off to play some more guitar before bed.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish him one more official Happy Birthday! Loves honey!

What's the emergency?

2008-03-09T23:35:00.000-06:00

So while making lunch today, the pot of milk/water for our pasta over flowed and started smoking up the kitchen. I knew the smoke alarm was going to go off, but I had to get the mess cleaned up. I was opening windows, Joe was going to turn off the alarm. He put our code in and the alarm stopped, then started beeping a minute later, so he turned it off again. He ended up turning it off three times. We just go about our lunch, the phone rings and there is no one there. Normally, with a monitoring system, if you don't turn it off fast enough, they call to see if everything is okay, or if they should send help. Well, no one said anything, so I figured it was nothing. As we are eating lunch the doorbell rang. Joe got the door and it was a police officer! "Just cooking?" he asked. "Inside or outside?" :) We explained what happened. He said the big guys would be coming to check it out, and as soon as he said it a big yellow firetruck was parked outside our door. Then an amublance! Wow, good to know we're covered. They actually had the wrong address, so it's good our name and address are on our mailbox. We didn't think we were still being monitored, we thought it was only through our 6 month absence to Virginia, but apparently they are still doing the job, so we are going to call them up and make it all official.

When we came back inside Jarek said.. "It's a good thing it wasn't a real fire, our house would have been half burned up!" I guess he thought they were a little slow in getting there, but in reality it was only about 5 minutes!

I realized I should have taken a picture of the truck out front... by the time I thought about it they had already left... shoot!

Jarek's Cat in the Hat School Program

2008-03-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to watch Jarek in his Reading Celebration program. Grandma Cathy came along too. He got to sing some Dr. Seuss songs. Good thing we got there early, so we could get some good pictures before all the hats got there :)

Here he is pre-show, cool as a cucumber

During the show, it was a bit hard to see him because his classmate Joshua was in front of him. Joshua is one of the tallest kids in his class, and of course he had his hat sitting on the very tip of his head. We did get a few good shots of Jarek singing. He doesn't like to smile for the most part while he's singing.. he doesn't think that's what he's supposed to do and doesn't want to get in trouble :)

Here Joshua has his head turned to the side, thank goodness.

Jada even got into costume during the after-party festivities

What do you suppose Jarek read before going to bed? The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. He is doing so well at reading. He is at a 2nd grade reading level, so I am very thankful for his teachers who have done such a great job encouraging reading. Good job Jarek!

Beau Starts Tai Kwan Do

2008-03-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight Beau started Tai Kwan Do with Jarek. He has been looking forward to it for a while, and we finally got him registered. We got to class early, and Jarek and Beau warmed up running around on the mats. It was great to see the two of them out there together, instead of Beau sitting on the sidelines watching.

When it came time to count out the stretches, the instructor asked Beau if he could count for them. He sat there kind of quiet saying he needed help. The instructor told him to just count "1...2...3", but Beau whispered "Ha Na...Dool...Set...Net...". The instructor was impressed saying "wow, he got almost all of it, you just couldn't hear it!", then helped him count it all out loud.

It was a big day for our little guy who is growing up too fast!

Okay, we've finally made it...

2008-02-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

... well okay, Jamie made it, but Joe's coming along for the ride :)

Here we are, our own little piece of the blog world. We hope to get a chance here and there to jot down a few things about our lives.

For Joe's part, there will be guitar info. For example, today he signed up for guitar lessons at The Music School in American Fork. Here is what came with the 5 month package:

I think it plays really well, Joe thinks his original Hamer has a "more grown up" sound. He would know more than me :)

Jamie's part will be mainly digital scrapbook layouts and updates on the family.

Anyway, that's it for now... read ya soon!