The Engen's

Where to Begin

2010-11-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Really, I am not even sure where to begin so I guess will start with what we have been doing since May. Erik got accepted into a Nurse Anesthesia program at Midwestern University in Glendale Arizona. So, we decided a change would be good and we begin our journey of 2 years of medical school. We dropped Erik off in Arizona in June just when the temperatures started to rise to a smoldering 115 degrees. He started school and we went back to Utah to wrap up things on our house and to begin the daunting task of packing our stuff by myself. Our life has been crazy ever since. Erik studies and is in school about 14 hours per day and we do what we can to occupy our time. So, here are a few things we have done so far this summer.

We have gone to the wild animal park where a deer decided it was lunch time and Markus' shorts looked appetizing.

We have sent Alta off to preschool where she goes with 5 of her little friends and she absolutely loves it.

Roxy has found herself in a few predicaments.

The pool has been a lifesaver and pretty much an every day event.

Roxy got curious about the barking dog behind us so she decided to take a look. This is her mountain lion pose.

We also said goodbye to our good friends in Utah. That was a very hard time for me. I have met so many wonderful people over the last few years and it was hard to leave such a great neighborhood where I wasn't afraid where my kids rode their bikes to or who they played with. We will miss our red house and the soccer field in our front yard where the kids and the dog spent countless hours running and wearing themselves out.

But we are so proud of Erik and his hard work and look forward to wherever life takes us next.

Summer Sun.....Finally!

2010-06-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

First off, let me begin by apologizing for a long overdue post. Not that there really is that great of an excuse but, I was totally bugged by the layout of my blog. I couldn't figure out how to enlarge my pictures so I gave up entirely. Luckily, a year later, Blogger finally got their act together and made it much easier. So we are back but not without a lot of catching up to do. So for starters, here are a few pics of what we did today. This is the closest that we have gotten to a beach in a while. Luckily Alta, being 4, doesn't know the difference.

4 Wheelin' in St. Anthony Idaho

2009-07-10T15:04:00.001-07:00

At the end of June we met my brother, Jason, and his family at the sand dunes in St. Anthony Idaho. Erik and I have been aquiring our 4 wheeling equipment over the last 6 months and we were way excited to try them out on the sand. It just isn't the same taking the kids for rides around the block.

Libby has her own 4 wheeling but she was much more comfortable on this trip riding in the Teryx with her cousins and their dog. I am afraid that she has inherited my cautious DNA. And, like me, doesn't want to miss a social event with her cousins so she opted for hours of gossiping sitting down rather than riding.
Markus on the other hand wouldn't miss the opportunity to scare his mom to death with worry as he takes his 4 wheeler as fast as it would go. He had a couple of narly wrecks which resulted in a mouthful of sand but no broken bones, luckily.
We didn't have the correct tires on our ATV's so Erik was constantly getting off his motorcycle to pull Markus out of the sand. Sweet little Markus. With all of this gear on you can only see his eyes and it was so hard to tell if he was having a great time or if he was tearing up a little bit. We went one day for about 4 hours and his little thumb was numb from pushing the throttle for so long. At one time, I had to take him off his bike and cradle him in my arms while he cried. He was such a tropper though. After a little bit of water and a granola bar, he was set to go again.

We can't wait to go again.

Alta's First Dance Recital

2009-07-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Alta was so excited for her first dance recital. They danced to the song "Stray Cat Strut" and their outfits were absolutely darling. When I first received her $60 dance outfit (ouch!) I was a bit disappointed. Even though if anyone can pull off wearing a spandex one piece cheetah outfit, Alta sure could. But it obviously was adorable. She did great at her performance. It took her awhile to find her "tail" that was pinned to the back of her outfit but I loved every minute of it.

She, of course, was way excited to wear makeup. I am happy that all of my kids inherited their dad's long eyelashes. I wasn't so blessed.

She is also very proud of herself for being able to cross her eyes, unlike her brother who can't cross his without touching his finger to his nose.

Me and my terrible blog

2009-06-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize that I have been terrible on updating my blog. I knew it had been a while when I noticed that my wallpaper still says Happy New Year. Alot has happened lately so I will try to update as much as I can, after I change my background. :) I got a new camera and I am at a loss on how to use it properly so that is a huge reason for my slacking. Anway, I will try again to get better.

The Miracle of DNA

2009-03-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

I got a call from school the other day saying that Markus was in the office and wasn't feeling good. When I got their to pick him up the office ladies had little smirks on their face. They said that Markus was complaining that his DNA hurt and he probably needed to go home. I had a nice little talk with Markus and amidst hugs, a few tears and a compromise of ice cream if he would stay in school, off he went back to class. I still am not sure where he came up with this fabulous excuse but being the good parents we are Erik and I make sure everyday with Markus that his DNA isn't giving him any trouble.

Our New Four Legged Friend

2009-03-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

Meet Roxy. Yes, we broke down and bought the kids a dog...sort of... I say sort of because, of course, the children had great expectations, as did I, of their overwhelming desire to take care of the dog. I heard many promises like, "I will walk the dog every day" and "I will play with the dog and feed the dog and...." Obviously, after 4 days of playing rock paper scissors to see whose turn it was to take the dog out into cold morning air to go to the bathroom wasn't as much fun as it was the previous 3 days. The novelty had worn off. Luckily for us, she is a fabulous dog. We researched dogs alot to make sure we got one that was small, didn't shed, loved children, didn't need a ton of exercise and was cute, of course! She is 10 weeks old and we love her to death. She thinks that she is one of the kids and loves to cuddle on your lap and be held.
I often find her here, snoozing away with one of the kids

Or here, snoozing away on Erik's favorite blanket. That might take a little getting used to...sharing your favorite blanket? She is cool if Alta wants to carry her around the house by just her neck or carry her upside by her back legs. She doesn't mind if Libby makes her ride Markus' giant dinosaurs and she surely doesn't mind going down the slides at the park with the kids. She is everything we wanted (except for the occasional accident in the house).

California 2009

2009-03-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Erik's dream has been to suprise the kids and take them to Disneyland. We have often gone to California in the summertime and stood in line on the rides with the rest of the United States in the blazing hot sun. Now I know that I am from Arizona and California weather doesn't compare, but it is still hot just standing there. We were so excited to go in the offseason hoping to avoid some of the crowds. We are also looking forward to escaping the snow. I absolutely love California weather and couldn't help but get excited when the temperature in the car rose above 65 degrees. The day started out by grabbing the kids from school at about 2:00. Calming them down until about 2:05 with all the excited screams. An overnight stay at Stateline in Nevada because we booked a hotel for $6.00 a night. Free all you can eat breakfast in the morning because the hotel initially gave us a room with the headboard falling off the wall, no comforters on the bed and all the lightbulbs missing. And then off to Disneyland once the bags were unpacked.
We spent 4 days between Disneyland and California adventure. The kids' goal was to see as many characters as they could. As you will soon see, Alta was not at all excited to see the characters.

Erik's mom grew up in San Pedro, California so we took her with us so that she could spend a couple of days with her mom and a couple of days with us. We didn't tell the kids this surprise until Cathy and her aunt met us at Disneyland the following day. Cathy opted to fly to Cali rather than spend the 11 hours in the car. Smart move for her. :)

Markus was sooo excited that he was tall enough to ride all of the rides at both parks. He did have to wear his hiking boots sometimes just for that extra inch.
What would a day at Disneyland be without a huge turkey leg for lunch. Actually, we have laughed at these turkey legs for years and decided to try them out.

Here is Libby and I waiting for the boys to return with our Disneyland tickets. This trip was a much needed vacation for us all and we had a great time. I think that I am ready to go again.

In Memorium: David Kay Engen 1944- 2009

2009-03-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

In December of 2008, Erik's dad was diagnosed with stage 4 Melanoma that had metastisized ( forgive the spelling, you all know what I mean...) to his brain, lungs and liver. He has had a slew of health problems over the last 15 years but still maintained a pretty active life. At the end of December he was given chemo and radiation to see if they could at least stop the progression of the cancer taking the risk that these procedures could cause irrepairable damage to his other vital organs. In the middle of February, he found himself in the hospital with dehydration and within the next two weeks, never quite recovered from that. He passed away in his sleep on February 26, 2009. Though Erik's dad had made some choices over the last couple of years that placed a huge strain on their relationship, it is still hard to lose a parent. Especially at times like these, we are greatful for the power of repentance and the knowledge that our faith gives us that we know we can someday be with our loved ones again.

Catching UP

2009-03-14T12:02:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few things that we have been up to since I last posted. I can't believe that it has been almost 2months. Where has the time gone. Libby was so excited to get her picture taken with her American Girl doll and their matching pajamas.
I had to post this after the girls had asked if they could borrow my makeup. I didn't realize that they were going to go "tribal" on me.

Markus lost his 2 front teeth at the same time. It wasn't without lots of tears and bribery and "C'mon Markus, just one pull!" They can be so dramatic when it comes to their teeth. There are a few times that I tried a couple of wiggles while he was sleeping. Much less painful for me when he doesn't even know what I am doing. And yes, his teeth were brought to school that day for show-n-tell.

First white, then yellow and now.........

2009-01-20T20:44:00.001-08:00

ORANGE!!! The kids passed their orange belt test. They were soooo excited!

"Is it time for my dance class Mom?"

2009-01-20T20:34:00.001-08:00

I signed Alta up for ballet/tap combo class about a month and a half ago. The dance studio is right next to the Karate studio. Alta has been asking me ever since when it was finally time. We were a little early and she still patiently waited for her own class to begin. But not without a sneak peak at the class before her.

When it was her turn, she did fabulous. She absolutely loved it.

OH! What do we do in the Wintertime?

2009-01-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

We are lucky enough to live right in front of the community sled hill. It is also the best sled hill for miles around. The kids love to bundle themselves up, make jumps on the sled and sled down. Libby and her friends spend hours out there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIK

2009-01-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late but... Happy Birthday to my husband who makes me laugh everyday, makes a great T-Rex, teaches me patience (boy does he know I need it), always washes the cars, makes the kids a more nutritious meal than my Fruit Loops, can make up a song about anything, great golfer but not so great roller-skater, plays a mean game of Monopoly even though he should have lost before I felt sorry for him and gave him a few properties to keep him alive, is compassionate, is ALWAYS early, you can always count on him, is strong, determined, can watch Kung Fu Panda and Peter Pan with the kids every day for weeks at a time, particular about his pens, faithful, trustworthy, supportive and just plain fabulous. We met at a time in our lives when we weren't particulary looking for each other but knew right away we were meant to be. I knew 15 years ago he was special and many laughs and great times later, he is still that wonderful person who makes me smile everyday. Happy Birthday Honey.

2009-01-02T22:29:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. Alta had climbed on the island to watch Libby playing games on Webkinz and I guess she got a little tired. She doesn't need a blanket and a pillow like her mommy to fall asleep. And just in case you were wondering if this was summertime because Alta is wearing a sleeveless summer dress, you are wrong. They must have dreams of living in Arizona instead of living in Utah under 2 feet of snow.

Never leave a 3 year old alone for more than 2 minutes!

2009-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET!

Christmas Tradition

2009-01-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

Our tradition each Christmas is to let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve. I started this because I remember every year begging my parents to let us open a present on Christmas Eve. Obviously, that was not a tradition in my home growing up because the answer was always no. To Markus' shagrin, his present is never a toy or a video game...it is always pajamas. New pajamas make great pictures on Christmas Day.

Does bribery really work?

2008-12-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have to start by saying I love Christmas especially all the suprises that surround this Holiday Season. My kids love gifts and quite often feel they deserve everything and anything they so desire, despite the constant groan from my checkbook. Markus was overcome with the desire for us to buy him Nightvision goggles for Christmas. He was so cute about how excited he was giving me, of course, a fantastic idea on what to get him for his last and very special present..one that I had been contemplating on what that "special" present was for days. Anyway, Erik and I decided to not let him off that easy and to explain to Markus that although it sounded like a great idea it just might be too expensive for us to buy for him. We suggested he ask Santa. Santa ALWAYS has more money. He wrote a note, all by himself (mostly) to Santa with his heartfelt request, and set it on the fireplace where Santa would be sure not to miss it.

Fast forward 2 hours later. Erik and I had already shuffled the kids to the neighbors, gone to Sams Club, purchased the coveted Nightvision goggles, and tucked them away safely in the truck to be removed after the kiddies had gone to bed. While I was warming myself by the fire, it is awfully cold here by the way, Markus again pleaded with me for the goggles and then happily exclaimed that he had already peeked in the trunk and RUINED MY SURPRISE!!!!! I was so upset. Why do they have to peek? I never even saw him go to the garage, that little sneak. Well you may guess the rest of the evening. Markus knew that mommy and daddy had to take back the goggles because he peeked and that if he was good then we could try again at his birthday. Poor little guy, but I am not going to let him take away my enjoyment of seeing a little boy sooo excited on Christmas. So I have wrapped the item and will find a way to give it to him around noon on Christmas Day, some 6 hours after all the other presents have been opened. Argh, so early!!!!

To our pleasant surprise, Erik and I awoke Sunday morning to breakfast in bed by Markus. Who wouldn't want to wake up to frosted cheerios with a fork (because all the spoons were dirty) peanut butter on toast ( the bread somehow didn't make it to the toaster so it was really peanut butter and bread) and a glass of milk. I'm still not budging, but it was a good effort. He is such a sweet little boy and he constantly makes me smile....even if he is a sneek.

Thank Goodness for Beans

2008-11-22T22:23:00.001-08:00

I won't say that I frequently get head aches but it does happen occasionally. I am not sure if my over indulgence of Diet Coke has anything to do with it but when I do get a headache, they tend to be the kind that makes you queezy and want to lie down in a dark room with no light or sound. A few years ago, I was given a bag full of beans from my Relief Society President that I could heat in the microwave and then place on my head like a heating pad. This bean bag has become a very close and dear friend. It is a great listener but a terrible conversationalist. But nonetheless, it is a coveted item around our house. The other day Libby was complaining that standing on her head too much, something that she has been working on and has almost mastered, has made her head hurt. She knew that immediate relief would come once she found "the beanbag". I couldn't resist taking a snapshot of her relaxing on the couch with my fabulous pillow and my ever so dear bean bag.

Family Photo Shoot

2008-11-22T22:13:00.001-08:00

I have a great friend, Laura, who graciously offered to spend hours with us and take our pictures. I have mentioned before that I live in a very great neighborhood that boasts fabulous landscapes; and great backgrounds for photos. So, one Saturday we spent a few hours canvassing the neighborhood for the best places to take pictures while walking off my lunch at the same time. Here are some of my favorites. I will mention that my friend Laura is somewhat new at taking photos of this magnitude but she did a fabulous job. We were very happy. I am still waiting for her to photoshop 10 pounds off me, but other than that, she did a great job. :)

Yellow Belt, Here We Come!

2008-11-22T22:06:00.003-08:00

After looking at these pictures, I realize that my camera really sucks! It is funny that for so long technology was leading us to believe that smaller, more compact, was the best. I can fit my camera in my pocket along with my cell phone. But man, does it take terrible pictures. I have my eye on the new Nikon N60. Maybe Santa will feel sorry for me this year, we will have to see. Anyway, the kids were so excited to advance to their yellow belts in Karate. They practiced so hard to make sure that they were ready for their test and that they would pass with flying colors. And they have their certificates and nice new shiny yellow belts to prove their accomplishments.
I couldn't resist taking a picture of them meditating. Too bad I can't get them to meditate at home. I could clean the house in no time if they would sit on the rug and veg.

Karate anyone?

2008-11-07T20:30:00.001-08:00

This is our new favorite sport. Markus and Libby have been taking Karate for about a month now and they both absolute love it. They were so excited when they received an invitation from their sensei to test for their yellow belt. It was really cute to see them both so excited over their accomplishment. Both of their tests are on Monday. I will let you all know how it goes.

Before..................

2008-11-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Erik has delighted in Markus' "hippy hair" for the last year or so. Erik decided that Markus, once he received the priesthood at age 12, would no longer have the option of growing his hair out, was going to do it at age 6. There were days where it was so cute, especially right after I washed it. And there were days where it was very unrully. It is hard enough to line 2 girls up in the mornings and do their hair, then to line up the boy to do the same. Markus came home from school one day and said that kids at school were telling him to get a hair cut. Once Erik realized Markus didn't like the long look anymore, he let Markus decided what he wanted to do; keep it long or cut it. Markus decided...........
Short and spikey. Much better. Now at least we can rub his head for good luck. So far, so good.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-11-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

The kids were so excited for Halloween, especially Alta. She asked me everyday if it was time to wear her new princess dress. She wanted to show all her friends. I remember the day when my mom would take me to K-Mart and let me pick out my costume. He was a plastic thing that you would put over your head that would hang like a dress and then it always came with a mask. Or, we would find things around the house to make up our costume. I laugh now that it is all about the costume and some of them have sure gotten pricey. Alta chose sleeping beauty this year. During preschool, they let them go outside on the playground to play and get out some wiggles. Even princesses can drive a boat at recess.
During their presentation, Alta got the chance to taste the "witches brew". She was soooo excited to participate, especially with her mommy there watching. Lucky for her the brew, that was supposedly made of bat spit, crushed bones, and ghosts' breathe, was just rootbeer.
Markus chose a ninja while Libby was the infamous Hannah Montana. We live in a neighborhood with lots of kids which equates to lots of candy. Their buckets were overflowing, much to my dental bill chagrin. They had a great time trick or treating. I constantly had to remind Markus to stop running. He was 3 houses ahead of Alta and I. Princesses can't run as fast as a Ninja and a rock star.

Our Baby is 3

2008-11-07T19:39:00.001-08:00

Alta has always been such a special part of our family. Since we had alread had 1 girl and 1 boy, we decided to not found out what we were having when I was pregnant with Alta. That was much easier said than done. It was really hard to only buy yellow and green things. As many of you know, I love clothes, and I was feeling very frustrated that I couldn't really go out and buy anything. And to make matters worse, Erik and I had decided on a girls name, but had no idea what we would do if we had a boy. Like my other 2 pregnancies, I had some high blood pressure issues. Usually it happens around 37 weeks so the doctors say "great, let's have a baby today." But, I had issues with Alta at around 32 weeks so my doctor put me on bedrest. That was so terrible. I would lay around the house, not being able to clean or vacuum, and watch the house get messier and messier with a 5 and a 3 year old runny amuck. That alone shot my blood pressure up, despite my resting. I asked my doctor if I could continue to go to work if I took it easy. My blood pressure seem to stabilize while I was at work, believe it or not. But once again, to my delight, at 37 weeks it was so high that the doctor decided it was time.

I had my last child, Markus, cesarean and knew that the next child would be the same. When the doctor said it was a girl, I was sooo relieved. Alta has been the shining star if all of our lives. She is extremely caring and kissable and loves to be around her family. She especially loves to tag along with Libby and get into all her stuff while she is at school. She seems to have inherited most of Markus' attributes; they are two peas in a pod.

She is a true girly girl at heart and would wear her dress up clothes to bed, church and school if I would let her. She constantly makes us laugh and loves to sing loudly.

We love her so much and can't believe she is already 3 years old. I shouldn't let her, but she loves to sleep with Libby. Libby has a queen sized bed so she has plenty of room. Sometimes I sneek into Libby's room at night just to watch my two little angles, snuggling together asleep. Those moments make motherhood all worth it. Happy Birthday Alta!

An Evening Out with Grandma

2008-10-08T17:32:00.001-07:00

This is so not a great picture of me but I was really happy to have a picture of my mom and my grandma; 3 generations. I love living so close to my grandma and I am grateful for every moment that I get to spend with her. I know that she won't be here forever. She is 89 years old but doing pretty well. Thank goodness for Vicky, my down-syndrome aunt. She lives with my grandma and takes great care of her.

I also love it when my mom is in town. The older I get the more that I hate that I don't live closer to my mom. We have always been very close and I wish that I could just drive over to her house for a talk or go to lunch once a week. I wish my kids could have sleepovers at "grandmas and grandpas", or help grandpa mow the lawn. But, I am always happy to see her when I can and spend some time with her. I love my mom.

It's All About Style, not Comfort

2008-10-08T17:23:00.001-07:00

These are the choice of shoes that Alta has chosen to where whenever possible. This morning while I was rushing her out the door so that she wouldn't be late for preschool, I told her to grab her shoes. First she ran for her fleece lined crocs that made it through winter but didn't clean up well in the washing machine. Once I told her those weren't appropriate for her "pretty princess dress" that she had chosen as her outfit, (we are all about dresses these days) I told her to grab her shoes by the front door. To her delight she found her plastic dress up Cinderella shoes. I could tell on her face that she was sooo excited to wear them. I felt bad breaking her heart and telling her those wouldn't work either and then she opted for a pair of sandles that were conveniently located by the front door next to the dress up shoes. But you bet, the moment we came home, she was done with practical and back into what fit her style.

The Joys and Not So Joys of Joy School

2008-10-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a couple of girls in my ward if I would like to do Joy School with Alta. Sounded like a great plan to me. We have such a huge ward and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to meet some new ladies and for Alta to play with some other kids her age. There are 7 kids involved, all roughly the same ages give or take 3 months. Alta LOVES it. The first week I was asked to help out my friend who was in charge that week. Man, was I tired. 7 2 year olds, all with different interests, different mannerisms and different running speeds. I thought to myself, "What the heck have I done?" Well, it has been about a month and it was nearing my week to be in charge. I had so enjoyed dropping Alta off at someone else's house and picking her up 2 hours later, I didn't think I was too excited for my turn. As you can see, it turned out pretty good. I was happy that the majority of the kids loved to do dress-up. I am the only mom with both girls and boys so we had clothes for everyone. Alta was very excited for her "friends" to come to our house.
What would Joy School be with a bus ride (chair ride...the kids didn't know the difference). Kids this age can be sooo much fun. I wonder everyday where the time goes. I have realized that I don't want to wonder anymore. I want to cherish each day and then start over the next.

A Woman's Work is Never Done!

2008-10-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Alta may be angry at me someday for posting this picture on my blog but I couldn't resist. Was she surfing the web, checking her email, updating her blog...? How funny is this. I know the life of a 2 year old can be pretty hectic and busy at times but to not take a break from her busy day and bring her princess computer with her to the bathroom was too much for me. I love this little girl and all the new things she does everyday to make me smile.

Our own Movie Theatre....sort of

2008-09-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

My neighbor Jen and I were talking one day while we were marveling at the grass that my neighborhood planners, after 8 months of living here, decided to plant instead of leaving it a big hole of dirt, how fun it would be to show a movie in the park. We figured because the park had a graduated slope it would make awesome stadium seating. With an idea of PVC and a white sheet for a screen, Jen's projector and Jumanji on sale at Target for $5.99, we devised a plan. Jen and I went around the neighborhood and invited our closest neighbors who have kids and told them to meet at the park Friday night. After more thought, Jen and her husband remembered their friend who owned a 12 x 12 foot blow up screen. And yes, they borrowed it. It was the coolest thing.

I tried about 10 times to take a picture of the screen but in the dark, this is the best that I could do and I know that this picture doesn't do it justice. It was so very cool.
Libby invited her best little friend Evan, not just because she always brings great treats. Everyone grabbed blankets, pillows, popcorn, etc. The night started out with a little Wii playing until it got dark enough and everyone had arrived.
Shortly before we started the show, this is what the grassy hill in front of my house looked like. It was so awesome. While we started out with maybe 6 families, many more walked by and many more stayed. My husband and I talk everyday about how grateful we are for our neighborhood and all the friendly people that live here. There aren't very many neighborhoods where people are constantly outside and where you feel like you are comfortable enough with people you don't know to join in on their party. Jumanji was a hit. We had made our own Daybreak Movie Theatre. Thanks to Jen for arranging the best parts of it all...the screen, the projector, the Wii and Jumanji. Ok she provided everything important but me.

Party at Daybreak

2008-09-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

When I step out my front door, this is my view. We have a park for my front yard. If you look real closely at the very end you can see the new Elementary School. I can stand on my parch and watch the kids walk home. We love our new neighborhood. One of the benefits of this neighborhood is there is always stuff going on. This weekend there was a little fundraising event in this park. They just recently finished this park about a month ago. Before that it was a big dirt hole. We LOVE the grass. You can't really tell in this picture but the hills are steep and the kids roll down them all day long. In the winter time they make great tubing hills.
There was a dunk tank where the kids could get themselves dunked. Libby was very excited to get dunked.
And.....here she goes.
Markus go his chance too. Here they are totally soaked but still smiling. They did this about 3 more times too.
This is Markus and his little neighbor buddy Diego. Oh, I mean Spiderman and Batman, the dynamic duo. These 2 little boys play so well together. In fact, usually you don't even know where they are they are so good together. That is very unusual for a 5 and 6 year old. Usually there is no question where they are and what they are doing. Markus has always been a pretty easy going kid when it comes to playing with friends, especially if they like PS2 and Nintendo.

First Days of School

2008-09-01T15:39:00.001-07:00

My kids all started school on different days so it has taken me a few to get these pictures posted. Here are all 3 of the kids on Wednesday when Libby, Markus and Alta all had school. Alta was sooo excited to go to school. She cried on Monday when Libby went, she cried on Tuesday when Markus and Libby went to school. She had been handing me her new school out fit everyday wanting to know if this was the day that she got to wear it.
This is Markus pouting on the ground. I know that he will kill me someday for taking pictures of him being "naughty" but I couldn't resist. This is him after I unzipped the pouch on his backpack to put him lunch money in it and found his Nintendo DS in there. He didn't like the fact that I wouldn't let him take that to school. He tried to blame it on Libby. "She made me do it, Mommy" he said. I wasn't buying it.
Here is Alta at Challenger Preschool. I was hoping that she wouldn't be too timid to go to school. She isn't normally afraid unless she can get something out of me for making her stay. She has already learned to work me. But she did great. I am still working so since Markus is finally in school all day, YEAH!!!!!, I just have to worry about Alta. I put her in a private school preschool about 5 minutes from my office 3 days a week. Her Grandma will pick her up when she is done. Tuesday and Thursday are Erik's days off and he will keep her when he can. Happy day for me. I have never been so not stressed about juggling my kids here and there. They, at least, will hardly know that I am gone. I will be home before Markus and Libby get home.
This is Libby on her first day of school. She was very excited to see her friends again. A little aprehensive too because she was going to a new school and wasn't sure which of her friends from her old school would be there. It is kind of cute to see her nervous. Even though it took her 30 seconds to find her friends and forget all about her worries.

Alta still hadn't started school yet. This is Tuesday. I am not too good about uploading my pictures in order. Can you tell that Alta had dressed herself? I had to laugh because when we walked the kids to school Alta had to bring her "packpack" too. Today it was a bag left over from one of the kids' birthdays. In it was a calculator, a stuffed seal and a gogurt. She was all prepared.

This is what Erik and Alta did on Tuesday. I was jealous.

Selander Surprise

2008-08-25T21:11:00.001-07:00

Erik misses Chad so much that we had to rent a look alike. :)

Farewell

2008-08-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Obviously, the moving van says someone is moving. Glad to say that it isn't us, but say to say that it was time for Rochelle to move on to her next adventure in life. I didn't cry too much saying goodbye this time. When she went on her mission I was almost inconsolable. I was such a baby. I think it was because I knew everything that was going to happen. Watch the movie, hug goodbye and then watch her go out the doors while we exit another. Terrible!!! They are moving to Michigan so her husband can attend Law School. They will be there for 3 years. I am just excited for a new place to visit with a free hotel stay.
They were a little anxious about taking a 3 month old on a 3 day journey. My kids were so sad to see Jude go. They love him so much and ask me everyday when he is coming over. I will miss having them so close.
This picture breaks my heart but it is priceless.
Rochelle actually liked driving the moving van. I think if the price of diesel gas wasn't so high, she might just keep it. They liked being as high as a semi on the road.
Honestly, I get more teary eyed looking at these pictures now than I did taking them. It is always sad to let people go. I sit around (via cell phone of course) and talk with my sisters and complain all the time how none of us live by each other. I was happy to have Rochelle here close for a while. I don't think that we will every live by each other ever in our lives. We were raised with no cousins around and I fear my children will have the same. We have been trying to convince my dad to buy land somewhere big enough for us all to build houses on. He isn't convinced yet.....either are our husbands!

Mormon Fear Factor

2008-08-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

We were asked to participate in the First Annual Daybreak 14th Ward Fear Factor. I teased Markus all the way to the park that he was going to have to eat worms. He was a little upset about that and about the fact that he wouldn't wake up when I asked him too and so he didn't have time to eat breakfast. He loves to eat breakfast. We recruited a young couple in our ward since Alta was too small to play, not that she didn't try.

Task #1: Momma bird and Baby Bird: you must dig through a pie plate of whipped cream, search for worms (gummi of course) and drop into open baby birds's mouth.

Oh yes, here is our happy family, before the fun began.

Task #2: Pucker Up: drink 4 shot cups of lemon juice.

Great Face Erik, but we still lost this event.

Event #3 Beard 'o Fruit Loops: self explanatory
We lost this event too, but we were close.

Task #4 Bucket of Snakes: my favorite, not just because I won!

We ended up winning 2nd place, lost to the neighbors. It really was a fun event.

Indecisive

2008-08-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Before anyone laughs at how many times I have changed my blog layout in the last month...at least it is easier to change than my furniture arrangements. Believe me, I have tried that too. I just can't decide whether I want frilly or no frills. We are going to try frilly for a while and see what happens. For anyone that has known me since Jr. High, I change arrangements often. Don't want to get too bored.

Wet and (very) Wild

2008-08-13T01:18:00.000-07:00

Front Row: Alexis (Jason's step daughter), Alta and Libby Back Row: Nick (Jason's step son), Hunter (Jason's son) and Markus. This is the gang on the way to Raging Waters in California. Were we going to be in for a surprise when we got there. Kristine and I somehow got nominated to plan our family vacations. Every else just goes along for the ride. We are getting larger and larger each year so I decided an agenda would be best. I also decided that 4 days at the beach was plenty so why not add a day at one of the largest water parks in the U.S. I didn't realize that this water park would cram half of California into it. It was packed!!!!! It had 12 different waterslides and 3 different areas for the kids to play in and a million visitors. (give or take a few) Erik and I spent the first hour looking for a place to put our stuff while the rest of the family was working their way to the park. I was angry, to say the least, Erik was angry, it was 95 degrees and we stood there in utter dismay on where the heck we were going to sit. After some coaxing to the water park staff by Erik, we decided a $95 cabana was our best bet. I had to put the price in there because it sort of made me want to throw up! What kind of structure with 4 posts and a mosquito net costs $95 dollars a day. Only in California. It turned out to be the best money we could have spent despite my disgust.

The kids had sooooo much fun. My kids are like fishes. They could possibly spend the rest of their lives in the water. As you will soon see, Alta does whatever Markus does. Markus slides down the slide with his hands on his head.....
Alta goes down the slide with her hands on her head.
Remember when you were little and you would flip her hair on your head like you were princess leah? Markus can do that too...... haha. This is Markus, Hunter and Alta.

Disneyland 2008

2008-08-13T01:08:00.001-07:00

Every year I tell myself we aren't going to Disneyland with the rest of the world that decides that August is the best time of year to go. And every year, I find myself there anyway. The kids absolutely love it so that makes up for the long lines. I think that the stress on the economy has put a little damper on the amount of people that head to California. It was still pretty busy but not like it has been in the past. It was extremely warm in the morning and going through "hell" on the Toad's Wild Ride didn't help the heat much. Thank goodness for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and it's air conditioning. Rather than tell all 4 families and my parents (Sean and his family weren't able to attend the family trip this year) that they all had to go to Disneyland, we left it open for whoever wanted to go. Turns out that only Kristine and us wanted to go this year.
Kaitlynn, 6 months, is such a happy baby. She weathered Disneyland great and never made a sound except to smile. This is Kristine's 2nd baby and we love her so much.
Alta adores her cousin Olivia and is always so happy to see her. They have lots of interests in common and get along great. We are sad that Olivia has finally learned to say Alta's name correctly. We were very fond of 'Tata".

When we asked Alta who she wanted to see at Disneyland, Flounder always came first next to "The little Merdaid". Here, she has seen them both!

A Day At The Beach

2008-08-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Every year, my family meets to go on vacation together. For the last 3 years we have gone to California. I tell Erik all the time, if it wasn't for the traffic and the cost of living, I could live here. I LOVE the beach. I love the sea air, watching the waves and the weather. Markus was so excited to see dolphins swimming not to far from the pier we were walking on.
I love my parents. They raised all 5 of us kids and suffer through us five, our spouses and kids every summer. They LOVE it!!!

Libby can't wait to meet up with her cousin Lexi. And yes, they are always ready for a pose. I keep telling Libby that she must be part Indian. Look at her tan. This is our first day at the beach and she looks like she lives there!
Libby's uncle Barry taught her how to ride the waves. She was sooo excited to have caught her first one!

A Day at the Beach

2008-08-13T00:48:00.001-07:00

Photobucket Album

Erik has FINALLY graduated from Nursing School

2008-08-13T00:30:00.001-07:00

This was one of those nights that you thought you looked good until you looked at the pictures you took! Argh!!! But it was the only one of the two of us so, here I am. Erik has been in an excelerated nursing class at the University of Utah and has been terribly busy for the last 14 months. He hated to tell the kids that he couldn't take them swimming because he had to study, or no he couldn't take them to the movies because he had to write a paper.......but that is all over!!! The kids and I are so happy to have Erik back. He had to cram 2 years of classes into 14 months and we are so proud of him for completely his 2nd bachelors degree. He got straight A's through all this. He has quit the Emergency Room where he has worked for the past 3 years and will now work in the Thoracic ICU department. This is a tough ICU to work in because his patients are extremely sick. These are patients who have undergone any procedures on their heart or lungs. It will definitely keep him on his toes but he is up for the challenge. We are sooo proud of him!

Finnally!!!

2008-07-18T21:43:00.001-07:00

I have been trying really hard to figure out how to enlarge my pictures on this blog. Successfully, I figured it out, now I just need to figure out how to post more than one! It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I have pretty much stunk on posting so I am hoping to get better now that I have tweeked it a little bit. I just need to get over this bronchitis I seem to have gotten from somewhere, who knows. Maybe too many times at the pool, who knows.

Testing Testing 123

2008-07-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

T-Ball time

2008-07-02T22:15:00.001-07:00

Markus was sooo excited to start T-Ball. The day of his first game, Erik took him to the store and bought him new baseball pants, new baseball cleats ( that can function also as soccer cleats) and special T-Ball sunglasses. It is 95 degrees outside and Markus is the only one in black baseball pants, but he wouldn't have it any other way. His little team is hilarious. It is just a beginning T-Ball league and so they hit, run to first only and then wait for their team mate to hit and then run to second. Most of the time they forget to run to second, they are so excited that they made it to first. Adults end up yelling, RUN, RUN!!! It really is comical.
This is at his first game. Erik made sure that Markus had the stance and the hitting poses correct. We have been practicing for weeks. 2 weeks later, Markus doesn't need the tee anymore, he has advanced to coach pitch. He is so proud of himself.

Nothing could be better than cousins and shopping!!

2008-06-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Erik's sister and her family were in town from Denver a couple of weeks ago. They bought a new house and were inbetween houses at the time so they were passing the time by spending some of it in Utah. We love having them here and the kids love spending time with cousins. Alta and Scarlet are just 3 weeks apart and they are great friends. They were supposed to be due on the same day but thanks to the high blood pressure, Alta was born first. It is so fun to see how similar the two girls are and how so different they are too.

At the mall there is a little dinosaur park for the kids to play around. We took every chance to entertain them. Of course, Alta was hamming up this picture for me.
The mall even has a carousel in it which is usually a must if I take the kids there. I am the worst mom in the world if I forget to bring cash with me.
Markus, Libby, Scarlet, Torsten and Alta. Alta loves baby "toosten". She still asks where he is two weeks after they have left. He is definitely Norwegian. Not just because of his big head, blonde hair and fair skin.....hmmmm. We love his big head, he is such a cutie.

Scarlet was too busy trying to drive that dang car out of the mall then to smile for a picture for me.

Birthday Shout Outs!

2008-05-31T00:17:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ELIZABETH AND MARKUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is one of our favorite pictures of the two of them. Not just because I didn't know Markus could open his mouth that wide, and not because Libby's hair was finally long enough to put to french braids in..... but just because.
This little boy is so sweet. He was a very big baby and always happy. He was born 3 weeks early and 8 lbs 0 oz. At 6 months old he was 26 pounds. When he was 4 months old I had to buy him the bigger carseat because he obviously didn't fit in the carrier anymore. I was so worried about how I was going to take this fat little boy who couldn't even sit up yet, to the grocery store without his carrier. There was more than one occasion where Markus and his 20 lb carseat were hauled into a restaurant so that he would stay asleep while we ate. He loved to eat and never cared where his nourishment came from as long as he got some. Libby loved him so much when he was born. She was just one day shy of being 2 when he was born but there wasn't a jealous bone in her body. She would hold him and love him want to feed him and entertain him and pull him and the dog in the wagon...EVERYTHING.
And, here is my sweet Elizabeth. We waited 5 years to have her because we wanted the timing to be just right. She was born 3 weeks early at 5 lbs 10 oz. She has always been my petite one. I developed high blood pressure at 37 weeks and was immediately sent to the hospital. The next day we had Elizabeth Anne. She was a great baby except for when she cried at night for no reason. We were living in an apartment in downtown Salt Lake with very thin walls. She loved outside and there were many nights that I walked up and down South Temple at 3 in the morning just so she wouldn't cry. She also hated, hated her car seat. Sometimes, again at 3 in the morning, I would lock her up and go driving for 20 minutes while she screamed. When we finally made it home, she was too tired to cry anymore. She loved her mommy and refused to take a bottle, not matter what was in it. I had to break all the rules with this one. Cereal at 3 months so she didn't starve while I worked full time, soy milk at 11 months in a sippy cup, car seat turned around at 17 pounds and 11 months. That was a GREAT day. She hasn't cried since. But Libby makes us laugh everyday with her talents. She loves to sing, dance and write music. We are trying to teach her about plagarism so that when she becomes a famous songwriter it doesn't get her into trouble. She is our little drama queen but our home wouldn't be as exciting without her!

Look Ma, No hands!!!

2008-05-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

It was finally time for Markus to get rid of his training wheels. He didn't do so well the first day. But it seemed like the 2nd day he had it all down perfect. Can't you tell by the concentration on his face as he rides down the street? Erik kept letting him fall and not catch him. Being the overprotective mother that I am, I wanted to go over there and catch him everytime. Erik's explanation was, "How is he going to learn not to fall if you catch him everytime. " My neighbor and I were laughing at that statement later. I guess that Dads think their kids learn on the outside by getting hurt, Moms think that their kids learn from the inside by the constant yelling at them. It sounded funnier when we said it then, not sure how to put that in words today. :)

Alta thought that it was more fun to play in the sewer than to watch her big brother ride his bike.

From 4 wheels and no motor to 4 wheels with a motor...t

2008-05-30T23:59:00.001-07:00

This is Erik's dream!!! There are a few things that he has envisioned for his kids, this 4 wheeler being top on his list. And Markus loves it. I have worried about getting 4 wheelers, not because of the danger, but because of time. We are so busy with our new house, work and trying to get Erik through the last 8 weeks of school. But after seeing Markus ride that machine with his dad proudly standing on the sidelines, it was all worth it.
This is supposed to be a soccer field in my front yard, but they have yet to complete it so for a couple of days it was the Indy 500 race track. Markus would ride around in circles for hours. Erik grew up where he could ride his motorbike out the back door. This is as close as we get to that while living in the city. 2 days later, they neighborhood landscapers came by and fenced off the entire area. Erik is convinced that it was because of us. Who knows. But it was fun while it lasted. Now it is a little more difficult to get Markus to his riding destination. The streets in our neighborhood work OK, but I get extrememly nervous. Markus isn't very cautious and tends to be looking behing him and beside him rather than at what is directly in front of him.
Even Alta got to join in on the fun. She is pretty brave and loves it when I take her for rides. She can't wait till this little one becomes hers.

Her Baptism Day

2008-05-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind on what has gone on the last couple of weeks that I will try my hardest to catch up. Libby was baptized on Saturday, May 17th. She was soooo excited and a little nervous too of course. She had already gone through the hard part of passing her interview with the bishop. (If she thinks that was hard, wait until she's 16 and has an interview...:)) We were so happy that Rochelle had her baby the weekend before so her new little family was able to come. Both of my parents were there as well as Kristine. Kristine didn't come back to Utah without me promising that I would trek my way to Arizona as soon as I could. I guess I owe her that much. It was such a special day for Libby. I am so grateful that she is such a happy smart little girl and that she tries really hard to make all of the right choices. She loves her heavenly father and was soooo excited to finally be baptized. When Erik confirmed her a member of the church, my heart just melted. He has always been so spiritual (when need be) and love that about him. Her confirmation helped Libby to know how special she is and how many people love her. With all the excitement going on the last couple of weeks I tried really hard to make sure that she knew this was HER day. Grandpa Lyle ended the day by buying her her beloved Nintendo DS. That was almost as exciting as everything else. We sure do love our Libby.

WELCOME HOME BABY JUDE!!!

2008-05-23T23:20:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the newest member of our family, Jude Robert Price. He was born on May 8th at 11:51 pm weighing a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz. This is my sister Rochelle's first baby and we are so happy that he made it here safely. Not without a little scare, but he's perfect. I have to talk about this special day NOT just because he was born on May 8th, NOT because it is Markus' birthday on May 8th, and NOT because it is my birthday on May 8th. OK yes because of all those reasons. What a crazy and hectic day it was. I was so happy that Rochelle had her first baby in Utah where I could be a part of that day. It started out with a favorite breakfast for Markus and then off to work. I had to go to work that day because I couldn't miss out on the chocolate peanut-butter ice cream cake that my co-workers bought me. Erik took Markus to Toy's R Us for presents and then around noon, the kids and I headed to American Fork to check on Rochelle.
This picture is hilarious because you would never know what was happening just from looking at it. Rochelle was given an epideral after a couple hours of pain and then it was a cake walk from there. We watched The Golden Compass and we waited for Rochelle to dialate or do something. She wasn't progressing very fast but she was very comfortable. Thank goodness for the couch bed. This was taken about 10:30 at night. Libby would soon fall asleep followed by Alta 5 minutes later. Markus didn't want to miss any of the action so he tried very hard to stay awake all night.
I know that once Rochelle sees this picture she may disown me as her sister. Or at least she will pay me back with something terrible someday. But, I couldn't resist a little bit of her on the fun evening. Shortly after this photo was taken, Rochelle was informed by her doctor that she would have to have this baby cesarean; just like the rest of the Knight girls. No surprise to her. The babies heartrate suddenly dropped so she was rushed into surgery. After knocking Rochelle totally out to make sure she was comfortable, they had baby Jude out in about 5 minutes. He is perfect and couldn't be born on a more perfect day!!! I was kind of glad that I didn't have to spend too much time dwelling on the fact that I was 36 that day.

Turning 8!

2008-05-17T00:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my baby has turned 8 and she is ready to be baptized. It is so late and night but I couldn't resist the urge to gush about her on this special baptism eve. She is so excited to finally be baptized. She has been working very hard to make sure that she is ready and they she works on the "bad" stuff so she won't have to repent alot in the future. She is so bright and curious and I love to hear all the new things that are brewing in her head. Tomorrow is her baptism and I am so proud of her. She is setting such a good example to her younger brother and sister. They are very excited too. We have had alot going on in our home the last couple of weeks. My birthday, Markus' birthday, Mother's day, new cousin born on mom's birthday...She has tried to be patient in sharing her special day with, what it seem's like to her, everyone. I had to pull some strings to get her baptism on a non-stake baptism day. She get's to have the whole program to herself. She loves the limelight, and she will just be all excited in the morning. We love her so much and are so proud of her decisions.

Hooray for the newest BYU Grad

2008-04-27T21:48:00.001-07:00

Does this scene look familiar? How about the thought of a 30 minute snoozer of a speach that seemed to never end? Yes, it was a BYU graduation. Glad that I can say been there done that. My brother in law, Barry, graduated with a bachelors degree in Russian. In August Barry and Rochelle will head to Michigan where Barry will be going to Michigan State for Law School. My dad already gave Barry the speach that the Knight's are a West Coast Family and in english that means "In 3 years you better be bringing her back." It will be a good adventure for them and a chance for them to be on there own for a little while. Plus, for the rest of us, a new state to go on vacation too.
As this is the 2nd pregnancy picture of Rochelle I have posted, she is handling them pretty well. She looks darling. She has been a little upset that this baby has not decided to come a little early. I explained to her that Erik graduated from the U of U on a Friday and Libby was born the following Monday. I was hoping that would kick the baby into high gear rather than go on the doctors timetable which is that she will induce Rochelle on the 16th, 10 days late, if the baby hasn't come. That didn't go over very well with Rochelle. We are all praying for a healthy happy maybe just a couple days early baby.

Almost 8

2008-04-27T21:36:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my little girl is almost 8 years old. She has been talking about her baptism since she could talk. Tonight was her interview with the bishop. Bless her heart, she was a little nervous. Erik and I each spent some time with her a couple of evenings before her interview talking about some of the things that the bishop would ask her. We wanted to make sure she was prepared and plus it was fun to talk about these things with her. Of course, we had some issues that day with lying. Libby is a smart one and I have sometimes had a hard time reasoning with her because her little 7 year old body has the brain of a 15 year old sometimes. She tried to tell me that lying was just what she was and she couldn't help it. We held in our chuckles, of course, and took the opportunity to explain how this was something that she couldn't do after she was baptized. It was perfect timing. I love this little girl and love that she is growing up. She is so much like me in so many ways and this isn't always good. :) She loves to just be with mommy and read me stories she has written , tell me about her day, ask me why she can't have an older sister like she wants, put Alta in time-out, share her ipod with me and the best.... she loves to just lay on the couch with me and snuggle. I love this little girl.

Family

2008-04-20T20:35:00.001-07:00

I just love being with my sisters. We all get along really well and it is just fun to be together. Kristine and her husband Ronn and her kids Olivia and Kaitlynn drove up from Chandler to spend the weekend. We had a great time just not alot of sleep. Kris and I are night owls so it was fun to have someone to talk to at 2 am.

This is Kristine and her cute little family. Olivia is 3 and Kaitlynn is 4 months old.
My mom loves to be with her girls. In November of 2006 my mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma. At the time it was the most devastating news to hear. When my family moved back to Arizona from Las Vegas in 1997, my mom get really sick. After a while, the doctors told her she had Sjogrens syndrome. It was not a disease that could take her life but it could lead to lymphoma, which could. Sjogrens is a fairly new disease that attacks the glands causing you to lose the moisture your system normally produces. My mom can't cry, she has no tears, she carries water with her at all times so she doesn't choke on her food. Her saliva glands had swollen up so bad that the doctors felt it was time to remove it so that it doesn't cause her more pain. Once they removed what little of the gland that they could, they discovered it was malignant. When we found out she would have chemo, all the girls said, "Her hair!" My mom hates to swim for fear of messing up her hair. We even thought of shaving our heads to match hers but after finding out from my mom that that wouldn't make her feel any better, we were glad to keep our locks. Well, she faired extremely well and her new short due is very cute. She was so brave throughout the whole ordeal and almost never complained. I love her so much and am so lucky to be so close to her. Thanks to Verizon, I can call her everyday for free.
Little Kaitlynn was blessed at our home in front of most of her family. Jason's kids were sick so they weren't able to come to the shower and to the blessing and Sean and his family weren't able to come either. I was so glad to be a part of this blessing. Ronn is a convert to the church and has a strong testimony. Kris and Ronn have dated since they were 14. (Oh, I mean 16...) He is a great father and his blessing was beautiful. I have enjoyed watching his testimony grow. He grew up Jewish and joined the church about a year before they were married. Ronn has always stayed strong in his faith and is a great example. It is fun to see how the gospel has turned him into such a strong man.

We Love Our Cousins

2008-04-20T20:28:00.001-07:00

Markus just loves babies and he was so excited to have Kristine and Ronn and their family in town and especially baby Kaitlynn. All the kids took turns holding her and lucky for them, she was a good sport.
These 3 played so great together. Libby was also very good at orchestrating dress up time. I feel so cheated sometimes that my kids don't get to grow up around each other. So, we take anytime that we can.

She's Having a Baby

2008-04-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

My littlest sister Rochelle will totally kill me for posting this picture on my blog but I couldn't resist. I think that it is cute and she makes a darling pregnant person. She is due in 2 weeks, which if it was up to her, she would have this baby yesterday. I guess she has gone as far as running and playing kickball, but no such luck. My other sister, Kristine, and I were both a couple of weeks early and so Rochelle was hoping to keep the trend going. We had her baby shower at my house this weekend. It was alot of fun and after weeks of planning it, I am glad it is over. I tried not to procrastinate getting it done but I seemed to think that I had weeks and weeks to get all the loose ends tied up and then suddenly the day is here. One day I will learn my lesson. I was happy that she got most everything that she needed. She was getting nervous because she didn't have much but I think she will sleep a little easier. I keep telling her that she is too spoiled, not just because she is the baby of the family. I didn't have any family around me when I had my babies and she is so lucky to have me around. At least I am telling her that. :) They are moving to Michigan in August for Law School and I will miss her so much. But we won't talk about that until then.

Tulips?

2008-04-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

Here are my 3 beautiful children posing in front of all the beautiful tulips at the tulip festival...?How was I supposed to know that even though the festival started on the 11th that the tulips don't actually bloom until the 3rd week. I had to pay to see nothing. I was a little peeved but the scenery was beautiful and the weather was warm so we made the best of it. We haven't had the warmest weather in Utah so it was nice to be outside without a coat on.

Alta opted to do somersaults rather than roll down the hill.
Libby, she was all about rolling. It would be fun to be a kid again. They can find fun anywhere, with or without tulips. (OK I'm done, no more talk of flowers)

The Land of the Dinosaurs

2008-04-15T12:41:00.001-07:00

What could be better than spending the day with dinosaurs, at the Dinosaur Museum, Markus' favorite place to go. Erik's mom and I took the kids down to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi to see the tulip festival. I was dying to get some great shots of the kids with one of my favorite flowers. We couldn't find the tulips so we opted to see the dinosaurs first.

And you can't see the dinosaurs unless you check out the dinosaurs in 3-D movie first. They gave us these awesome glasses!
These are the moments that steal your heart. We have been battling so much with these 2 fighting over everything. But when it really boils down to it, they are great friends. Although they wanted to pose in front of the huge shark, they posed themselves. A huge hug is the best present ever.
Digging for fossils

Easter 2008

2008-03-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

What happed to Easter in April? I was a little shocked that it came so fast. I could have sworn that I had an extra couple of weeks. Since we don't have any cousins to have Easter Egg hunts with we always do the whole Easter experience. We threaten no Easter bunney if the kids won't go to bed, hide eggs, buy new Easter dresses etc. Libby is teatering on whether she still believes or not. I like to keep her guessing. They were up sooo early and of course, the Easter Bunny was up all night preparing so we were all very tired and 7 am came very quickly. It brings back so many memories of my childhood that I am so thilled and honored to watch my own children have so much fun. When I was little we had to wait for my dad to put on his contacts (the hard lenses, they seemed to take him forever) and then we had to wait for him to set up the ancient video camera with the big huge strobe light thinging and after hours, it felt like, we were ready to go. Luckily for our children, Erik is quick. I have to label all the eggs with a L, M and A so that Libby doesn't take all of the eggs for herself. They had so much fun and we saved a few hard finds for Libby. Erik has a hard time keeping suprises and he was very quick to point to the hard to find eggs making it easier for Libby to find. I had to stand close by and make sure he didn't ruin surprises.

This will be my favorite for a long time. It never seems to matter how early or late church starts, I still can't get it together early. This Easter, though I tried really hard, was no exception. I didn't have time before church for pictures and it was really windy anyway so we did our best afterwards. Alta, I guess, had too much punch in nursery and decided to be uncooperative. 2 out of 3 isn't bad though.
This one was better. This was also after I bribed all 3 to smile for Easter candy. Alta had already had chocolate for breakfast, brunch, lunch and soon to be after church snack. Her dad is a sucker for her and she knows it. I had been telling her no more chocolate all day and she would cry and tell me "You're not the boss of me." Where did a 2 year old learn that? Let's blame it on the nursery kids. :) Anyway, she will go to Erik and he will take one look at those big crocodile tears and hand over all the goodies.

Kids 'n Cameras

2008-03-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, If I ever wondered what a 7 and 5 year old would create with access to the camera unbeknownst to mom .... here it is. I couldn't help but chuckle when I uploaded my pictures to my computer and these beauties popped up. And I was also pleasantly surprised that my house was clean in the background. With 3 kids, it seems to get harder and harder every day. I find myself wanting to clean the house and comb all their hairs just for pictures. Here Libby is showing us the element of "impromptuness". (Hope that's a word..they didn't teach us that in my English classes at BYU but it sounds right)
I am not even going to guess what this one means. At least it looks like we have taught him something right.

I love this little girl. She is so full of life and so full of me......she likes to act just like me. Sometimes I have to remind her who the mom is. But she is soooo good at watching over her little sister and so good and getting her brother in trouble. She was so upset today that none of her favorite actors and actress' on the Disney channel were Mormom. As the little drama queen that she is, she then stated "Great Mom, now none of my favorite people are mormons. I can't watch their shows anymore." As I told her that there were lots of famous mormons, we then played the game of her asking me " What about Hannah Montana, Mom. Is she Mormon?" And so on and so on. Of course, my mind wasn't working the way it used to and I couldn't think off the top of my head who was, she was looking more and more distraught. Of course I have never told her that she could only play with Mormon friends. In fact, I tell her quite the opposite. We talk more about whether they are nice and would make good friends than talk about their religion. Anyway, thankfully I had my Blackberry with me and we proceded to look up these famous people. And to our suprise and Libby's joy, Amy Adams, Jazelle, from Enchanted is Mormon. 5 minutes later, Libby forgot all her worries. It would be soooo good to be 7 again........sometimes.

Princesses aren't just for the girls

2008-03-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Markus can be such a good sport. If you promise him a toy and a snow cone, he will go anywhere with you. He was supposed to be at the Monster Truck Jam rather than Princess Dreams Disney On Ice but his Dad had to work, so he got to hang out with the girls. Thank goodness for Sleeping Beauty and the big dragon.
We had great seats. We go to the ice shows often and have found that the seats in the front are the best...obviously.
As you can see, I have had a little fun with my hair lately. I am not very daring when it comes to hairstyles and have adamantly remained a blonde, be it real or fake, my whole life. Well as you can tell, I have gone a little crazy. I get tired of the regrowth and have come to the realization that I am not blonde anymore. So we went totally dark. It has actually been kind of fun. And you can't tell from the photo (I have to take these myself so they are always in the same pose...just my head) but I just cut off 11 inches of my hair. I have never had long hair in my life and looks like I won't ever again. It was a relief to cut it and I am glad I went throught the experience of growing it out so I won't ever be tempted to do it again.
It sure is hard to get all 3 kids to look at the camera. 2 out of 3 isn't bad I guess.
Erik's sister Deborah has been in town for the last 2 weeks. Alta and her cousin Scarlett are only 3 weeks apart. It was fun to see them interact together. It sure is cute to see them hug goodbye.

A Day At The Park

2008-03-17T14:51:00.001-07:00

There is a really cool park in West Jordan that the kids love to go to. It is built like a western town with really fun slides and swings. I took a couple of days off of work and we pretended it was finnally spring and went to the park. Libby's favorite is the tire swing. She spins and spins until everyone stops laughing and their tummies start to hurt and they want to throw up. She hasn't learned how to stop before that happens yet.
Here is my always happy little boy. I have to say that he can be such a sweetheart most of the time. He loves to hug you and be by you and hold your hand. He really is sweet but we have been going through a little rough time these last couple of weeks. In our old neighborhood, all the little boys played video games. I was a little reluctant to let him learn but also felt bad that he could only watch. So we were selective at what we let him play but bought him games such as lego Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles and games like that. I was surprised at how quickly he learned to play and how much more I got done around the house while he played video games. I never imaged he would really think that he was a ninja turtle.

After the park we decided to go to McDonalds for a little lunch. In the play area they have a place where there are small little balls, like the balls we played kickball with when we were little, and you could through them through some holes in the wall. I thought that all the little boys in the little area were playing nicely. All of a sudden I heard a mother say "what is going on in here?" Knowing that Markus was there I went over to make sure that my sweet little boy was OK. When I asked him what was wrong he said that the boys would not give him a ball. The other mother then informed me that that was not the case. She said "Your son attacked all 4 boys and then he began to wail on them." All the boys were crying and I was sooooo embarrassed. Who wants to have mean kid! I tried to let them all know that I really wasn't a bad mother and I made him apologize to all the kids as all of their mothers just glared at me. Yes, I quickly took my "mean" child out of McDonalds and went home.

So, now the PS2 is gone and he can no longer watch any shows that they fight in. It is sometimes hard in the winter time to not let them watch TV because what else are they going to do when they can't go outside. So we now watch animal planet, the cooking network and read alot. I have had to be alot more disciplined in entertaining my kids but it was a good lesson for me.
Sweet again!!!!

My kids are much cuter to look at than myself

2008-02-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

I always think, " 5 more pounds and I will take pictures of myself". I think that I have had an epiphany of sorts this week. Time does really fly by fast and I would hate for my kids to not remember what their mom looked like at these tender ages since pictures are few and far between. Erik and I were talking today about life and what the future holds for us. We seem to have been waiting for what feels like forever for Erik to graduate and me to finally stay home. I have been so busy these last few years with work, church callings, kids activities, school activities and my motherly duties as well that I haven't taken time for what really matters. Erik and I waited 5 years to have kids and so 8 years later my kids are still young and hopefully won't remember their mom running them out the door for the bus while she runs Alta to the sitter and then to work. I don't want them to remember their mom who was always on a diet, always tired and always yelling. Our Relief Society lesson this week was on good, better and best; trying to fill your life with the best things and then filling the gaps with the good and better. I think that I spend my whole day filling my buckets with lots of good leaving no room for the best........so, my epiphany is that life is short. Take care of yourself and your kids and don't sweat the small stuff. Say Goodbye to McDonalds and hello to the gym!!!

Gargoza Park

2008-02-24T21:37:00.001-08:00

We took the kids up to the sled hill in Park City this weekend. Erik is a ski patroller at Park City Mountain Resort on Saturdays, so he just met us at the hill. Erik has been patrolling for 5 years and loves every minute of it. I don't enjoy him being gone every Saturday from December to April but since he grew up skiing every chance he could, I am glad he can still find the time.
It is pictures like these that make all the troubles of finding warm clothes worth it. I wouldn't pass up these "hugging moments" for anything. As long as I have lived in Utah, I still can't manage to get all the warm clothes together. Someone is always yelling. "I can't find my gloves! My boots are way to small! I can't find my hat!" But I figure as long as they are warm, things don't have to exactly match and be exactly your size as long as we have smiles on our face and we are ready to rumble!
They were sooooo excited to pick their own tube and get going. Even Alta was ready for the adventure. I figured she would be scared but she sang "Following the Leader" from Peter Pan all the way up the hill and screamed happily all the way down the hill.
She wouldn't keep her gloves on. Not because one was rainbow print and the other black and one was Libby's old glove and one was Markus' old glove, but because she wanted to be able to see her fingers and move them freely. I told you things didn't have to match!
They had so much fun that Alta was fast asleep before I even got to the freeway entrance. Markus decided that Dad was much more fun, so he rode home with Erik. There was a small hill for everyone and then a big hill for those 7 an older. Erik managed to sneak Markus on the big hill but when I tried to go with him, I got caught. I have never been a very good liar and so when the worker told me that Markus wasn't 7 like I was trying to infer that he was, I ended up backing down and taking the screaming, crying Markus back to the small hill. He was none to pleased with me and when we raced down the hill and I managed to beat him (mostly because I weight 5 times more than him) I just added more fuel to his already brewing fire. He let me know that he was mad by kicking my tube and saying he no longer wanted me to put him to bed at night EVER again. Dad can do it from now on! I am glad that I have a good sense of humor because laughing at this temper tantrum made it very funny rather than humiliating that I was being chewed out by my 5 year old!

Thanks to Amy, I've been tagged!

2008-02-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

4 People who email me regularly

1. My mom

2. Work: I love my blackberry and hate it at the same time. Even on vacation, they email me. I can't seem to get away from them.

3. My sister Kristine

4. My friend Amy May

4 Places I would like to visit

1. I would love to see Norway again

2. Tahiti

3. Egypt

4. Somewhere where I can swim with the dolphins. I have always wanted to do that.

4 Favorite Restaurants

1. Paradise Bakery: yes, it is because of those darn cookies that come free with every meal

2. Texas Reds

3. Grandpa Maddox

4. McDonalds: definitely not because of the food but I can talk with friends and the kids can play

4 Things I am looking forward to in the coming year

1. Erik graduating from Nursing School August 1st

2. After 14 years of working.... not ever working again! (except for being a mom, that's enough work for me)

3. Maybe, possibly, thinking about getting pregnant for the LAST time

4. The park being completed in my front yard. The kids will be able to swim, play tennis, soccer and basketball.

4 Things that I am not looking forward to in the coming year

1. Getting pregnant again. I hate to be pregnant and I hate getting fat. I have to have all my kids C-Section so the recovery is terrible.

2. Traveling to Indiana for work in August for 4 days. I hate leaving my kids for that long especially when it is work and not vacation on the beach.

3. My dad having triple bypass surgery: They say he is healthy and all will go well, but I still hate to see anyone go into surgery.

4. Another winter

I now tag Jill Coon, Rochelle Price (my very pregnant littlest sister) and Annie Selander

Summer in Utah? Or at least Spring...maybe!

2008-02-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Other than Libby who was determined to put on her snow clothes and play in the snow by herself, we are tired of the snow. Yes, we are happy that the snow will help replenish some of the water at Lake Powell, and that it may help squash the claims from experts that Lake Powell will be dried up in the next 20 years. But we are ready for warmth. Unlike Arizona, where it is 45 degrees and everyone is bundling up, we are taking out our shorts and hanging up the coats.
I tried to take some outside pictures of the kids but they were more excited to go to McDonalds for lunch than to appease me and let me take pictures of them. But look.....No Coats!!!

Me and my Dad

2008-02-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

Alta, at 2 years old, has learned what to do in order to get what she wants. Kisses and hugs usually give her anything, even rootbeer floats for breakfast. She has also learned that her mommy says no and her daddy is a sucker!

Higher!!!!!

2008-02-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

After wrestling, it was Daddy throw me in the air time. I can't tell which child he through farther but and you can see he spared to muscle in throwing them. I supervised as the paranoid mom making sure they didn't break their necks.

And the world champion wrestler is.........

2008-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, my kids love to fight and wrestle. Even Alta likes to get into the mix when she isn't napping. The kids were getting a little clausterphobic in the house so we bundled them up and sent them outside to wrestle. I figured this way, with 2 feet of padding, they couldn't really hurt each other.

These are a few of my favorite things

2008-01-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Alta loves her babies. She doesn't get out of her "new" bed until she has her baby and her blanket, which she fondly refers to as her tee tee. My babies were never very fold of the binkie so they all have their own blankets instead. I will have to share with you later the story of Markus' blanket Poohie. This baby is baby "Toosten" who is named after my nephew Torsten but in 2 year old pronunciation.

Oh the joys of snow

2008-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

It is so much fun to live in Utah and see the changing of the seasons. I love to see the snow....the first time it snows..... and then I have had it after that. Utah is not know for it's great drivers and the snow or even the threat of snow leads to extra mayhem. But, kids always love the snow. They love to eat, throw, make snow angels, sled and pee in the snow. I am more of a fair weathered person and tend to want to sit by the fire rather than brave the elements. We moved into a new house in December and we have a huge soccer field right out our front door. In the winter time, the soccer field is transformed into the neighborhood sledding hill. My kids had so much time sledding with all their new friends. Libby even managed to pose for us in the snow.

New Day New Chapter

2008-01-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

So I decided to get on the blog bandwagon due to the unintentional influence from some old friends. Also, so that Annie wouldn't feel alone in her blog quest. Life is pretty busy and hectic around our household so I will do my best to keep it updated. I have some pretty creative friends in Arizona whom my blog won't have a chance to compare to but we will try. And hopefully like Melissa, I won't delete my blog.