Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 2008!

Welcome to the World, Alexis Lynn!

Tiffany and Cole welcomed their baby girl into the world today. Alexis "Lexi" Lynn was born at 1:15 this afternoon, via repeat c-section. She weighs 7 lbs 4 oz and is 19 inches long. She's very cute, and cuddly. And so tiny that I almost didn't want to let her go. :) Her big Brother Austin loves her very much.
Congratulations Tiffy!

Dear Santa...

As you can see, the kids have written their letters to Santa. Bug's says:
"Dear Santa
Ive been good
I want
baby stuff
I love you santa
Love Destiny"

Bear's says:
"Dear Santa
Ive been good.
I want Moonsand.
I love you Santa
Gavin"

It's times like these that remind me why I love being a Mom!

Bug came to me this morning and asked if she could watch Bridge to Terrabithia today because she LOVES that movie. I told her she could. I put it on for them this afternoon. Bear said to me "Mommy, I don't want to watch this movie, it's boring." So I made them some popcorn so he'd sit down with Bug and watch it. Well we got to the sad part of the movie, and suddenly Bear looks at me with his bottom lip sticking out and tears in his eyes and says "Mommy, did her dog die too?" And I looked at him and instantly got tears in my eyes, because I felt so bad for him but at the same time it was the cutest thing I had ever seen. All I could do is say "Awww, it's okay honey, no, the dog didn't die." He crawls into my lap and immediately starts wiping his eyes, so I told him that it's okay to cry, it shows that he cares. He snuggled up against my chest and just layed there for a minute, then, while still crying, he continues to wipe away the tears and says "I'm not crying!"

**After Jeff got home, he was teasing Bear about it. He said "I heard you cried during the movie Buddy, I thought you were a big tough guy..." To which Bear replied "Crying is good for you Daddy, it cleans your eyes and it shows you care."

The Good Wife

The Goodwife Guide May 13, 1955 Good Housekeeping:

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables. During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours. Don't greet him with complaints and problems. Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. A good wife always knows her place.
____________________________________________________________________
I checked Snopes.com and it said it is undetermined if this article was real or not. But it is assumed to be the real article.

A little improvement...

The only pics I have posted of our home are ones from before we moved in. I took a couple pictures last night. I will take more later, but the rest of the house needs a little cleaning up first.

This is our house now. As you can see, Kisca and Ash are enjoying the fireplace almost as much as we are.

Jack-o-Lantern

It's a little late for Jack-o-Lanterns, but this is the cutest Jack-o-Lantern I've ever seen, so I just had to share!

This was bug's 5th baby tooth and the adult tooth can already be felt. I'm hoping the one next to it will come out soon since it's loose too, that way she can sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"

Trick Or Treat

The kids had an awesome night trick or treating. We roamed Mom and Dad's neighborhood, and it seemed like everyone was handing out handfuls of candy. We only went down 2 streets, skipping quite a few houses along the way since not everyone had their light on... The kids decided before the end of the 2nd street that they had enough candy. Their bags were full and heavy. Bug got quite a few compliments on her costume, although most people assumed she was Scarlet O'Hara. After that, they stayed at Papa and Grandma's house while Jeff and I went to Nightmare on 13th. It was alot of fun, except that I could have done without the Icky clowns chasing me throughout. EWWW.

Howdy Y'all

My Lil Southern Bell!

4 down, 4 to go

Bug lost her 4th baby tooth yesterday. I swear if she keeps this up, she's gonna be rich! She isn't even 6 yet and she has lost all 4 lower front teeth, 3 of those are now adult teeth, and she has also gotten her two lower adult molars. I checked her mouth today and I think I can see the adult tooth coming in where the other fell out yesterday, and I also noticed that all 4 of her upper front teeth are loose too. Here I thought it was only the 2 top front teeth. I'm hoping that none of them fall out until around Christmas, so that she can sing the song... "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." I think it would be so cute. :)

P.S. The tooth fairy left her $1.00 She claims she tricked the tooth fairy last night by pretending to sleep. She says she then watched the tooth fairy take her tooth and leave her the money. When asked what the tooth fairy looked like, she said "She looked like a real fairy!"

A week in Maui!

Jeff and I at the Luau

Out on the Hana Highway

Postcard Perfect!

Another Beautiful Sunset

Amazing

Luau Dancers

It's a Palm Tree... DUH :)

Moon-set 5:00 a.m. Maui time A.K.A. 9:00 a.m. Utah time

Jeff and the Hula Dancers

Jeff at Iao Needle

Me and a Polynesian Dancer

Hana Highway

3 Bears Waterfall Hana HighwayWe found this Gecko in our condo. That's Jeff's wedding band next to it.

Tiny Huh?

Looking out from the Lava Tube

Black Sands Beach

Another shot of the Black Sands Beach

Self Explanatory

I'm a little late on this, but we just spent an incredible week in Maui! Everything was as beautiful as it looks on the postcards, and the weather was great. While everyone here in Utah was getting snowed on, we were swimming in the ocean with the sea turtles in 87 degree weather!! Unfortunately, Jeff and I did get a severe sunburn, and now I'm blistered, but considering everything else, I'd say it was worth it! We survived the road to Hana too! We even attended a luau. It was amazing. The dances were so fun to watch, and the dinner was soooo good!

Happy Autumn!

This was a wonderful way to kick off Fall this year! I hope everyone enjoyed it and hopefully no one ends up with pnuemonia. :)

Everything seems a little better today.

First thing this afternoon, I called David's Bridal and made sure my gown was ready. They said it was altered, pressed and steamed. All ready for me to pick it up. So we went and got my gown and then we went over to Mom and Dad's house so Dad could see the gown. After that we went to Party City to scope out Halloween decorations and also to check on some wedding supplies. When we got home, Tiffany came over and brought me the beautiful veil that she made for me. It has tiny red rhinestones and baby pearls on it and it matches my gown. Everything seems to be coming together okay now...

I give up...

I am now convinced that bad luck follows me. I've had one hell of a time lately. I didn't get the dress I wanted, because they didn't have my size. Frenze said they could get a different dress with sleeves, but when I went back, they told me I didn't have enough time to get a gown. So mom and I went to David's bridal and found another beautiful dress. Things finally starting looking up. I was scheduled to go pick up my gown tonight... Mom and I went out looking for some jewelry that might match... Couldn't find any. We headed over to David's Bridal to get my gown and I handed my ticket to the alteration lady and waited. A few minutes later she came out and told me to go sit on the couch because it would be a few minutes. About 10 minutes later, they came out and told me they lost my dress!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me? How the hell do you lose a dress? So I had to be fitted again and they told me they'd have the gown ready by tomorrow afternoon. It's amazing how fast they can get something done when it's their mistake! I am so angry and upset right now!! The dress they put me in tonight is slightly different than my original dress too, but I guess it's not a big deal. I just can't believe how crappy things can be sometimes...

Fun At The Fair~

Jeff and I took the kids to the Utah State Fair last night and we all had so much fun! Last year we took them earlier in the afternoon and ended up leaving early because of a wind storm. This year we took them during the evening so they could see all the lights. We ate cotton candy, pizza, popcorn, rootbeer and chili dogs. YUM. Bug and Bear went on a pony ride. We saw the animals, rode the ferris wheel and a pirate ride and even went through the circus side show. We got a good look at Daisy Mae, the cow with 2 noses. We also saw a 6 legged steer, a 2 headed baby and lots more.

Damage Report:

These are the latest pictures of all the damage. As you can see from this first picture, we now have a maple tree in our yard, and it wasn't there before... The siding picture is our house but the one with the broken roof is our neighbor. The tree roots just snapped! What a wild storm!
While taking pictures this morning, I realized that the huge tree that fell, landed right on top of the neighbor's gas meter. We're very lucky that it did not break. Now the tree is barely touching it. I'm just glad there were no injuries and the damage isn't as bad as it could have been!