Spring Break Recap

We did not go anywhere exciting for Spring Break-as I was hoping to. So, because I (probably even more so than my children) needed a fun week away from "things", we tried to have a ton of fun. Here is a recap.

Even though it was a break, we still had several appointments. I had to go to the dentist, Parker had her first orthodontic appointment, (yes, already!) and Presley had her 18 month check-up (at 20 months old.) Oh, and Pacie was supossed to go to the eye doctor-but it won't be happening until tomorrow. Those were all fine. On to some fun stuff!

• We went and saw "Hotel For Dogs" with Mamie at the cheap theater. It was pretty good.
• We took the kids swimming at the Acquatic Center. They LOVED it! Taught me two things: 1-they need swimming lessons and 2- we need to go more often.
• We went and ate at Jalisco's. We love their beans and salsa. Presley ate a whole thing of beans on her own and loves salsa! (The first of our kids to really like it)
• We made homemade pizza and had a pizza party. We ate pizza and then watched Bolt. (Really cute show-the kids loved it.)
• We made sugar cookies and I let the kids have free reign decorating them.
• The kids put on several impromptu dance recitals for us in the kitchen and even Presley got in on the dress up fun. That costume is her new favorite thing to have on. Landon, of course, had on the red chinese costume, better known as "the dude". See an older picture of him in "the dude" below.
  
• We cleaned the playroom. Not fun for the kids. Super fun for me-to have it done anyway!
• We just spent lots of time together and had fun!
• Scott raced in Kimberly this weekend and did great. He took two firsts and two seconds. Pretty good for an old guy.
• I almost completed putting 2008 into a blog book! Just a little bit left. I can't wait to see how it turns out. So far it's 225 pages....a yearbook really. So excited!
  

I have to say I wasn't very good at taking pictures this week. I managed to get a few, so here they are, along with a few random ones that I just wanted to post-becasue pictures make a good post a great post in my book, right?

Presley loves this fleece blanket. It's her "blankie boo" and she packs it around everywhere!

Probably my favorite picture of Presley in a long time. Look at her little feet and hands!! LOVE IT!

A couple more of her in her new favorite outfit.


Parker was having a photo shoot with Presley and herself. This is the only picture she approved of herself. The others she had the "I'm taking a self portrait, therefore have a double chin" look and she didn't like it. Funny.

Making homemade pizzas.



When Tyler and Pip were here for the David Archuleta concert, he spent some time with Landon playing some b-ball. Landon would lift Tyler up to "help him" dunk it. So funny.
Tyler is such a good uncle-he always makes our kids feel special and he always always has them (and us) laughing. We're always glad when they're able to come-and love that they stay with us!

So, onto life again. Back to the busy busy days-but a schedule will be nice too, I guess.

Oh, and as mentioned above, here is Landon wearing "the Dude". Our kids named it that years ago and it's the only dress up that he is allowed to wear-probably because it's the only one that is not a dress!

Happy Birthday, Pip!

I just wanted to take a second to wish a Happy Birthday to my sister (in law) Ashlee. Better known as, Pip. (Long story short-when Matt started dating his Ashley, it was a little confusing, so Tyler's Ashlee is now known as Pip!)

Anyway, today is her birthday and I have been thinking about her all day. She has become such an important part of our family and such an important person to me personally. Here are a few things that I love about her.

1- She is very supportive of our family. She loves our kids and treats them all kindly. They don't "bug" her-and if they do, she never lets us know it!



2- She is always sweet! Ashlee has a very generous heart and spirit.
3- She is fun to have around!
4- Ashlee never complains....about anything. You would never know some of the hardships that Ashlee goes through on a daily basis-because it's not in her to tell the world about it. She handles everything with a quiet dignity.
5- She loves my brother unconditionally and has made him a better person. Ty and Ash are just a good match. He loves her and she loves him....it works.
6- She is beautiful!
7- She has a bigger sweet tooth than anyone I have EVER met in my life-hands down. And she is skinny as a rail!
8- She loves make-up and all things girly.
9- She can't smell.
10- She has a left grape. (Another long story-but very funny. Ask her!)

Love you, Little Pip. Hope your birthday was great!

David Archuleta Concert!

Last night Parker, Pacie, Tyler, Ashlee and I all were able to go and see David Archuleta in concert at the Civic here in Idaho Falls. I had gotten tickets months ago during a pre-sale. I knew Ty and Ash liked him too, so I called Tyler and he surprised Ashlee with tickets for her (Monday) birthday. When tickets went on sale to the the public, they sold out in 4 minutes! We were glad we got ours early!

The girls were so excited to go! Especially Parker who has had a little crush on David since his early American Idol days.



We headed over the Civic and snaked into the front of the seriously long line-to end up being able to get our choice of seats. We decided on the balcony and were on the 3rd row. Terrific seats! No one was standing in front of us and the little girls could see everything.



My only regret is not having Pacie take a nap during the day yesterday. They played outside most of the day and by about 8:30, half an hour before David started singing, she was done for. I kept trying to wake her up...we made silly faces, we stood up and down...but it was no use. Three songs into David's singing-she was out. Not to be woken up again until he sang "Crush" right at the end and I physically lifted her out of her chair. I may as well have tucked a $20 bill into bed.






Parker on the other hand, I've never seen prouder! She was singing, clapping, dancing-just had so much fun and it was so much fun seeing her enjoy herself. (I love how her cheeks are a little flushed in this picture-you could tell she was just so so proud!)

David was such a good performer. His voice really is amazing. He did most of his current CD as well as a few of his favorite songs and a few new ones that he's written that haven't yet been released. We all just had a great time together and I'm so glad we could all go.

Presley's Rats Nest

This is what Presley's hair looks like after a good night's sleep. (Or a good nap for that matter.)
When I was little, my mom would call my hair a "Rats Nest" when I woke up with it like this.

So, I figured out this equation. It think it's pretty accurate.
Baby mullet+bath before bed+good night's sleep=Rats Nest (aka BED HEAD!)

10 4 T- Why I am LUCKY!

As it is St. Patrick's Day today-I decided to list a few reasons why I am LUCKY!
(And catch up a bit in the process.)

1. The leprechauns found our house again this year!


Even though we woke up super late and Scott had to take the kids to school because if the leprechauns were going to come, it meant that the girls would miss the bus-they came anyway! They turned our pancakes and milk green when we weren't looking! My kids love this tradition and even wanted to set traps for the little guys in green last night. Sadly, I made them clean their room instead, so none were caught green handed. Maybe next year.

2. My kids are funny. These Mr. Potato head earrings provide hours of entertainment for all. Though I do hope I never see Landon in them again-I'm sure Scott will agree with me.
3.. My canvas print of our family picture is finally finished and I was able to hang up our new pics last night. I LOVE the way it looks, just like I had pictured in my head.

4. My son is interested in photography. (And most other things really-but I especially liked this self portrait out of the 20 pictures he took this morning.)

5. Parker's dance studio is amazing!!! At our most recent competition this weekend, Parker's team took a 1st for Kung-Fu, and a 2nd for Jump-Up. The Utah competition is a little more steep than in Idaho-so it was fun to see where we fit in. The most exciting thing is that our advanced Hip Hop group won the overall award for the day and has been invited to dance with "The Odessy" in Salt Lake City. It's a HUGE honor! I am happy and proud to be part of such an amazing studio where integrity and modesty are still important.

6. I have amazing parents.

They paid for a hotel in Ogden so that we could all stay together before Parker's competition. We stayed the night with my Grandma and Grandpa Andrus and had such a fun time. (My grandpa's eggs are to die for, by the way. And no one is sweeter than my grandma.)

7. I have an amazing family. We went to The Pizza Factory the night before the competition and just had fun. Matt and Ashley were there-and they are always fun to have around.







8. The kids were able to swim at the hotel-which reminded me again why I need them in swimming lessons.


Scott's sister Debbie took the youngest two so I could have time with the older girls. She is such a great sister-in-law! Did I mention I had an amazing family?

9. My kids have such fun cousins. First we got to see Haley, Peyton, Saylor and Paisley at dinner for Grandma Taft's birthday. Then, they got to see Kylie and Casey (who helped take care of them while at Debbie's and at Disney on Ice!) And then they got to see Niamh, Ryan, and Bergin at the hotel and competition. I'm glad that they can be close to their cousins and that they have a bunch of them. (I was terrible about taking pics this weekend too-so sorry there aren't more to document all of the family.)

10. No one is more fun than my sister, who is also my best friend.
This is Rachel at the restaurant listening to the end of the Aggie's game over the phone. She and Danny are season ticket holders and never miss a home game. I loved her reaction when they won at the buzzer. So Rachel.



Yes, I am very LUCKY indeed! Happy St. Patty's day to all!