Pabst Kingdom

Happy Fall!!!

2011-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the FHE before Halloween so what does that mean?

PUMPKIN CARVING TIME!!! It was really cool this year because PG and PD were able to gut it themselves. PG even cut the eyes and nose himself. And this year, I roasted the seeds to perfection! I LOVE FALL!!!!

The other night we had our annual Halloween party. The 2 pregnant woman....Aren't we cute!

Truly our KING Jon! with Obi Wan David

Our handsome Knight/ Dragon Slayer!

Not 1 but 2 princessess! Our Kingdom is truly blessed! (Tahlia and PD)

and what kingdom is complete without an adorable little fairy! She walked around showing off her cute little skirt. She is a girly girl after all! and SO DANG CUTE! :o)

Happy Haunting!

Happy UN-Birthday Girls!

2011-08-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

We had an UN-Birthday party for our exchange students... They chose a Harry Potter theme!
YOu can't have a HP party without a bubbling cauldron!
The cake was rice crispy's with a chocolate clay "frosting" I made the sorting hat, the Nimbus 2000, and the flying snitch!
pizza....YUMMY!!!
Pizza, cake and laughs
Nadia, Lu, and Drika
Happy UN-Birthday!!

Happy Independence day!

2011-08-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I guess they loaded backwards so we will relive the day out of order...
PR didn't care for the noise but she liked the lights and was fine as long as she was held and felt safe....holding her ears helped too :o)
We got exchange students that weekend too. They never saw snow before, so we took them up to a ski resort and we had a snowball battle. it was great fun! :o)
We miss you Lu, Drika and Nadia!
We went to a little party with a friend's family. IT was super fun!
The girls had fun playing with PR and PD on the swings...we also taught them a little game called "Duck duck goose.." it was funny!
and of course they all want to see East High where High School Musical was filmed.

Swim time...

2011-07-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

a little jumping action...
it finally got hot enough to warrant getting out the pool. It has been wet and cool so far this year, but when it finally hit 90, it hit it hard!
doing a somersault into the pool.
I love the reflection on this one...
a ripply reflection...of a cute girl!
This one didn't make it to the pool that day, she fell asleep eating lunch...I guess it was time for a nap, so I put her in bed! :o)

lagoon 2011...

2011-06-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here we go again....:o) I tell you I have a bunch of thrill seeker kids....they all wanted to ride the roller coasters...even PR!
Here was PR's first. She giggled the entire time!
She was ALL over riding whatever she could. This one was fun cuz they all could be in one together.
Waiting in line is apparently boring...:o)

my little driver....
driving miss daisies!
so content
flying!
the girls too!

Ding-Ding
and last but not least the bumper cars!
and a little walk through the splash pad on the way out.
PD and I also rode an "adult" roller coaster...when we got off she looked at me and said "Wow, Mommy that was Awesome!" Then with PD talking about it, PG decided that he could brave the big one. (the bombara) too...he too thought it was cool!!! They were sad to leave. It was a great day!!!

Farm Country....

2011-06-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

KJ took the day off from work and we went and had some family fun! We headed to Thanksgiving point and tried out Farm country. It was AWESOME!!! The kids were so good and they LOVED IT!! Check out these smiles...
Daddy showing them how to use their knuckles instead of their fingers to "get to know" the animals.
Look at those pros!
PR was actually squealing with delight at the sight of every animal...I think she was most excited to be out of the stroller and running around.
They had a mini town that the kids could go in...this was the dance hall...cutie pants dancers!!
then there was the jail...they are even cutie pies in jail! hahaha
I think she is innocent...just ask her as she runs away laughing!!! :o)
they had an activity that you could go make ice cream in a bag....yummy!
happiness in a cup
YUMMY!!!
Ok, I didn't really eat any since I am mostly sugar free, but KJ had to take a pic...I was just feeding PR.
She is so stinking cute!
they also had a game that when they knocked down the bottles they got a prize...he missed in this was, but it was a great action shot.
PD just took a shot while she was still setting them up...but she got 'em
Then there was the pony rides....she did SO good and she giggled the entire time...I think we have an animal lover on our hands. :o)
PD sang and laughed...she loved it too...
Mr. Big stuff just did it all by himself...He is growing so fast!
lastly was the ring toss for a lollipop. PG actually got them on...for only a foot or two away but still he threw it and it went on..
PR was just doing a dance with the hula hoops! "You know for kids!"

My Birthday!

2011-06-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

For my birthday we splurged a little bit... We went to the Mayan for dinner.
while we waited for our table we play in the serpents mouth! :o)
They are so dang cute...Happy birthday to me!
PD sitting on the head and PG on the tail with PR trying to figure out how to join him. :o)
The entertainment was fun. It was nice to have something to occupy the kids while we waited for food.

and the kids got chocolate cake with a sparkler for ME!
3 pabst boys! (Derek, cdp, PG)
KJ even let me get a pedi for my birthday...that was nice!
and my cake...it isn't complicated but it represents what I am "in" to. :o) Happy Birthday to ME!
It was a great weekend!

Just hangin out now that Soccer is done...

2011-06-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

We finally had the last soccer game! YAY!!
the kids got in a little ball time before the game began. :o)
The sideline fun...the stealing of daddy's drink! :o)
But he got his trophy!! (and his snack - which I think to him is more important! :o))
The kids' new thing is getting up in the tree...they can't do that part yet but they sure love to be put there. :o)
So, since we were playing in the tree I thought I would show them my old trick...I am getting too old for somethings...:o)

Memorial Day...

2011-06-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

We celebrated by visiting KJ's Brothers. and telling the kids about them for FHE. It was a good trip, even though the ground was SOOOO wet and we were all muddy...esp. PG that decided to run around and fell! Sheesh! :o) We miss you Phil and Bryce!

Where the Jupiter and the 119 met!

2011-06-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Promontory point with Dave's family. We met in BC then headed west to see the trains. After we got some food in BC. :o) Look at that cute girl drinking...no hands! :o)
Dave and the boys in front of the 119.
PR in front of the Jupiter
What a great looking bunch! :o)
PG and Derek became a Jr Park Rangers ... it was really cute!
Yummy grass!
the 119 getting ready to leave...
watching the 119 driving down the track!

we stayed late enough to see them fire up the 119 and take it back to the garage. It was really fun to see it in action! :o)

Preschool graduation...

2011-06-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

For PG's Preschool graduation, we went to the park and played for a little bit then had lunch and a little ceremony. For preschool a few Mom's in the ward and I took turns teaching all the kids. it was great fun. The kids LOVE music and art and science and they did really well at learning their letters and numbers and writing. I am super proud of my little boy!
The girls sharing a swing at the park

look at that handsome dude!
and this cutie babe!
I LOVE when this big girls SMILES! She can light up the night with smiles like that!
hee hee...she kind of looks like a turtle that forgot to put her front legs out. :o)
up he goes!
PG "graduates" from preschool!!!! ;o)
Pres, PG, Tash, Liam, and AJ - his class
(and my graduation hat cake!)
Teachers and kids! It was a great year! :o)

Misc and Dinos...

2011-06-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

You never know what could be hidden in a sock...:o)
Especially for and "unsuspecting" cutie!
Goofy girl!
Look it's Mrs. Clause taking a bath! :o)
Cute girl headed to the car for church. I love this hat on her, if only she would leave it on for more than 3 seconds. :o)
We went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving point. The kids had a GREAT day!!!
Blocks anyone?
This is how you build a dinosaur! One piece at a time...
and don't forget to get wet and sandy at the erosion table. Good stuff!
How about a little rest on the dino head?
I think they all liked that idea! :o) What a cute group! It was awesome.

Mindy's Birthday...

2011-06-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

We headed north to celebrate with the another Pabst Family...
We threw together a little trip up the canyon with a dead christmas tree to burn as our fire.
(you see Christmas trees on the roof of cars in the winter, but not often do you see dead ones up there in the spring...lol)
Here is the striking of the match....

and the burn...it was a hot fast burn! Note to self...forest fires are BAD! j/k -I already knew that. :o)
it was so hot the cooks were shielding themselves from the flames...
The kids had SO much fun playing together. They were SO dirty when we were done, but they were SUPER HAPPY!
PR hanging with Uncle Dave
After food and clean up we took a little walk down the path by Second dam. What a cute walker.
The kids found a big rock to rest on...I don't think Logan liked if for some reason. ;o)
But the coolest thing was Mrs. Moose. Jon was a little ahead and he came fast walking back saying "there is a moose up there...come see." She was on about 100 feet away from the trail eating the buds off the trees and drinking the water. I LOVE MOOSE!! So I just stood there and watched her. It was SOOOOO AWESOME!!!

2011-06-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Someone had a BIRTHDAY!! It would happen to be the cutest, funniest, most amazing man I know! Even though this was 6 weeks ago, he is worth the post! Man I love this guy!

Happy Birthday to you KJ!!!!
Make a wish! I hope all your wishes come true!
PG enjoying the cake.
PD got her share too..
don't forget to brush after treats! :o)
Happy Birthday Bucky!! :o)

Church History Museum

2011-06-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dave went out of town for Business So Mindy and I took the kids to the church history Museum. We drove downtown and parked then took trax thru the "free fair zone" and walked the rest of the way. (We did it for the kids - They LOVE the train)
the children's part of the museum is FABULOUS, there is a cultural section where you can drive your truck to town with your tortillas...What a cute truck driver...
Now that is a Happy Ender!
Look at those little Mexican's...they are DANG cute!
They also had big skirts that you could put on and do some native spanish dancing...it was fun. I even got to try it with Miss PD.
There is also a kitchen that you can make dinner to feed the missionaries, foam blocks to build a temple and Nephi's boat to fish off of. It is quite fun...I think we will do it again sometime. :o)

Easter and other events...

2011-06-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Grandma had sugar cookies to decorate...the kids really LOVED it.
notice the big smile and dotted noses :o)
not to mention the icing cheeks....
Sticky fingers..
HAPPINESS! :o)
The Easter Bunny brought the girls new dresses Such a cutie!
A group of crazies! Isn't if funny that all I wanted was a nice picture of the kids on easter...I guess this will have to do! :o)
PG and his loot!
PD and her pink everything...that is how she likes it!
I found PR laying on the couch playing with a horse...making it trot along...
She likes to take the toys out and climb in and play
yummy lasagna!
2 princesses!
Or bag ladies! But either way that are DANG CUTE!!!

zoo time...

2011-05-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

We have spent quite a bit of time at the zoo in the last year...the giraffies are my favorite!
little lions...ROAR!!!!
checking out the reptile house
it was spring in the alligator pond - fortunately the kids didn't understand why the daddy alligator was on the mommy alligator. :o)
On the sneezing elephant
gigantic turtle
up close encounter with the rhinos! :o)
It was a fun day as usual, I think that this year we will try a different season pass this year. We will see...

Soccer....

2011-05-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

So I am officially a Soccer Mom...but it is a crazy thing about 4 year olds playing soccer...
the one part of the game that PG actually kicks that ball...

PD had fun on the side lines....
PR had fun too....
His favorite parts were sitting on the side lines, drinking water and ....
snack time when the games were over! :o)

CAUTION: Graphic photos...

2011-04-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

AAAHHHH!! There WAS a mouse about the house....
but there is no longer! :o)
I am sure there are others but there is ONE LESS!!!
and hopefully the Decon will get the rest! :o)

Birthday Girl!!!

2011-04-15T20:40:00.001-07:00

So our baby is getting older, wiser and of course sillier!
PR TURNED 1!!!!
She is a great little girl and we are SO proud to call her our own! She looks a lot like Garen and has a similar personality (calm) but she is her own person for sure....
Reni....
is smiley and happy and fun to play with...
almost has enough hair to put in a ponytail on the top of her head....ALMOST! (this was our first and only attempt so far)
is the bearer of 2 teeth...and eater of all things "grown-up" meaning if she can't feed herself, she doesn't want to eat it!
mess maker extraordinaire (notice the pile of powdered suger that is no longer in the bag, in the cupboard where it should be - she LOVES to clean out the cupboards and rearrange for me!)
(yep I am pretty sure it doesn't belong in her ear either...) Avid milk drinker and she is a RUNNER! I think she is just trying to keep up! And she does rather well I must say!!!
on to the party - Her birthday was on the 1st and Camilla's on the 4th so we combined parties and had a grand ole time!
Reni and her Roo Cake!
The birthday girls and some yummy cake!
My 3 chillins! I love these 3! They make me HAPPY!!!
Camilla even looks good as a kangaroo apparently! :o)
YUMMY cake and ice cream! Best day EVER!!!
don't forget a present or 2...and you can't open presents without the proper sibling support!
She has also figured out that those keys make noise!
we got a cheap little bubble machine for the party, it was GREAT fun!!!
all the kids LOVE dancing in the bubbles! Heck, I loved playing in the curtain of bubbles and I was mostly grateful that I didn't have to blow them myself!
walking with a little bit of sass
see...feeding herself!
I couldn't find the pic to show how she LOVES to put things on her head (mostly clothes) and walk around the house, but her she is ...
Our not so little baby! We LOVE you Reni Roo!!!!

little of this and that....

2011-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

always the fun big brother...Giving PR a ride on his backpack...

Here is PR's 1st flight with daddy!! She wasn't sure at first but she got the hang of it pretty fast...I think it's in the blood.This is the happy face daddy sees!! Look at the extension on those arms even! Now when daddy lays down to do flips and flights, she is right in line with the others. :o)
Nothing like the "geek corner" and the technology is addictive...:o)
Spring in UT is trying to spring, but it comes and goes...on a day when it came the family had fun playing outside. Since that time we have had a picnic on the lawn and gone for lots of walks. :o)
we filled the bean bag up some more and the kids (and adults) LOVE IT!!
The girls playing with the farm. They are just so dang cute!
We got a bubble machine, it was cheap but it turns out that it works really well...The kids LOVE it! one of these days I need to remember to take it outside on one of those nice spring days.
look at that happiness...I love when kids get happy over the simplest things!
for preschool last month we took a field trip to the Sweets Candy factory. It was a yummy tour and a cheap little store after. it was a fun time, PG just saw the pic and asked when we can go again. :o)
we are mostly updated now....

a few cake's ....

2011-04-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

OK, so this 1st one I only helped with but I think it looks pretty cool...I made the tree and the fountain, and
.I made the tree and the fountain, and "spray painted" the cake and sprinkled the path...
Cinderella is definitely going in style!
My own baby ROO turned one an this was her cake. Happy Birthday PR!!! :o)
Camilla also had a birthday at our house so to go with the "Pooh" theme of the party we make a litte Eeyore!

I was very happy with how these guys turned out. :o) I love this creative outlet...next one will be KJ's!

preparedness...

2011-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

There is something very empowering about being "self reliant"...I have learned that I LOVE having what I NEED and if I don't have what I want I love having what I need to make it myself.

In all reality we don't deal with HUGE catastrophes very often, and when they come about it will be nice to be prepared and know what to do with what you have!
The more common problems I am faced with are those of SUNDAY DINNER...you know when you didn't decide what you wanted or you thought you had an ingredient and WA-LAH...it's not there in the cupboard, fridge, freezer.....etc....
But having BULK food storage and the lovely INTERNET as a recipe resource I CAN DO ANYTHING!!! :o)
FOR instance.....
I was planning to make chicken enchilada's for dinner one Sunday only to find that I didn't have enough tortillas. so I went to the computer, Googled a good recipe...then dug the ingredients out of the pantry...BEHOLD - a dough ball!
2. a very EXCELLENT circle roller-outer! (working at Litza's Pizza has paid off more than once! :o)
3 brown the dough circles...
4 roll the enchiladas....YUMMY!!!
Did I mention I LOVE being prepared! I love that I can do whatever I WANT!

(another ex. was another Sunday I was out of dish washer detergent so I Googled a recipe to make my own, and I whipped some up and we have been using homemade ever since! :o))

ID - 2ce in a month...

2011-04-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had a funeral and a mission "farewell" in ID in March. The 1st trip was LONG...we drove up and back in the same day. We were really TIRED! But we made it.
the second time was a bit more leisurely...it was nice, and fun and the kids had a GREAT time!
our number 1 goal from this trip was spending time with family we don't get to see that much!
Here are 3 brothers and lots of cousins enjoying the hot tub! :o)
it seems that I take pics of dave taking pics of us! :o)
Logan and PD sharing some salt and pepper...I don't get the fascination but they enjoyed eating it together off the table.
PG played with the big boys and their electronic toys....
PD like Uncle Gene, he played fun games...check out the flying hair...
a silly one with siblings
a bit more serious! a good looking bunch!
The geek corner after dinner..
I think it is time to head home when the most active of the group decide to take a nap on their own. :o) We made it back safely after a wonderful weekend! Good luck Nathan in PA serving them! You will love it!!! :o)

Valentine's to Presidence Day!

2011-02-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's Day...
this is the best tradition...YUMMY!
I shouldn't give in but I let PR have a taste of a peep...she didn't get to eat that whole thing, but I did give her a taste.
PG enjoyed his Valentine chocolate...
So did Miss PD! (Silly Girl)
later through the week, PG sat down at the piano and put his fingers on the keys and was "playing" the piano...Maybe it is getting to be time to start really working on real playing. :o)
It was a HUGE week for Miss Roo...She is now sitting at the table with everyone else and she won't eat baby food anymore....but she loves to get her hands into that can of "lil crunchies"!!! She also got her first tooth on Saturday (19th). it has been a LONG time coming but it finally did! Hallelujah!

and she is finally taking the plunge right before FHE last week she stood up in the middle of the floor and took 7-8 steps to me! We have a starting walker at our house. I will try to get a video and post it soon. :o)
We gave Aunt Manda a break and hung out with the cousins! 3 sets of twins is kind of fun when they get along as well as these sillies do! :o) 2 little princesses!
2 little men and a bucket of parts!
That brings us to today. It was a day off with Daddy...So we took a day of FHE instead of a normal evening. We checked out the conference Center, to see where the prophet talks to us!
after the auditorium tour we checked out the Book of Mormon Pictures and talked about all those really cool prophets! :o) We also checked out the Church History Museum too. It was a fun day...to be topped off with...
dinner out! Look at that silly Girl!!
and that one!
who can resist ice cream?? :o)

our little vacation - day 1 and 2

2011-02-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

KJ's work has a condo in St. George (and one in Bear Lake that we have gone to before) and we decided to go south this time. We picked Feb. to get out of the cold. It was nice, the drive was a little long but not too bad. The kids did really well with it. We got in in the evening so we unpacked ate dinner and went swimming then off to bed.
Day 2 was Tuesday and we went on an adventure. ...
we had a coupon for 2 free admissions to the Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum, so we went and checked it out....
LOTS of taxidermied animals.. it was a little bit lame but a little cool...I am just glad I didn't have to pay a lot to get in. Here is a overview of the animals....
here are the un-taxidermied animals...you should watch out for these guys...they bite!
Me and My babies! :o) (with the camel)
It had a little kids area that they could do puzzles and play camping (it had a tent, a junglegym with netting on it to make a fort, a bunch of supplies for "cooking" with. and a few animals that you could touch. PD liked the puzzles...
They all like to climb...notice Miss Roo too!
She is one "COOL DUDETTE"!!
AAAHHHH it's a bear!
OK, that is over now...whew!
HEre a few shots of us hanging out and chillin' at the condo.
The kids like the playground - BIG surprise!and the company has bikes in the garage for the families to use. they like that too. "
There are my big kids...they are so cute and We all had such a great time!

little vacation - day 3

2011-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

this was day 3 - lots of driving and site seeing....
wednesday we started with the temple. We spent time in the Visitors center and around the grounds and talking to missionaries.
this kids did AMAZING! When we were busy they would find things to do that were acceptable, like this - they were playing "work" PG worked on the computer and PD wrote notes laying on the floor.
this is such a cute pic, too bad PR was covering her face with my sunglasses. :o)
I like artistic views. :o) I love the temple!

after the temple and a little lunch, we drove to Pine Valley and saw the "Upsidedown Boat church" aka the "Pine Valley Chapel" It is the oldest LDS church still in use. We didn't get to take a tour because in the winter they only do tours on Sunday but we drove up there to see it anyway...it was a pretty drive. The church was built by a man that built boats so he made the hull of the ship and flipped it up side down and made it the roof. then constructed the walls on the ground and then tethered them into the roof. It is still safe and they use it every week still.
on the way back to St George from Pine Valley we stopped at a look out for Snow Canyon. It was pretty and we had fun taking pics and climbing on the rocks.
this is me and my sweetie!
"the ponderer"
PG and I climbing around having a good time.
King of the hill? I don't know why KJ looks so grumpy in this pic but he really wasn't...
Then we went to the Brigham Young Winter Home. and did the tour there.
the hat on the bed was actually worn by the Prophet. I think that is so neat.
PD makes the house look so much more inviting! :o) Cute Girl!
then our last stop was the Jacob Hamblin Home. We had to wait a little bit for a tour so the kids ran around and played in the dirt and rocks until it was time to settle down and go in. They did REALLY good with this, they played when it was time and were well behaved on the tours...it was really nice!
PR was trying to be a part of the tour! :o)
Jacob kept the chairs backwards around the table so that when the family gathered for dinner they would kneel and pray before dinner. It is a cool idea, but I don't think it would work well in my small kitchen, I would stub my toe all the time. :(
This was the large upper room ..it was HUGE for that time period, but he had like 12 kids living there at a time....
we did some hanging out and swimming but that was pretty much our day 3.

little vaction- day 4 and 5...

2011-02-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

on thursday we went and checked out Zions National Park...
We ended up seeing most of what there was to see we took a few short hikes until the paths closed due to ice. It was a little on the chilly side but it was blue skies and sunshine and BEAUTIFUL!!!
We drove to the end of the road and took the Temple of Sinawava hike - or the Riverside walk.
We played by the water for a little bit and checked out the grandeur of God's creations.
This is looking straight up the side of the cliff...I LOVE this pic!
our family on the trail...the kids did AWESOME...PG walked the whole time with NO complaining. (we did 2, 1-ish mile hikes .5miles each way...) PD walked 3/4 of the 1st hike and notice the skirt..she got cold and tired..she liked the stroller for the second hike.
water and sticks, what more can a kid ask for?
Grandma and Papa came down to stay with us, and the kids LOVED having them! We all did. :o)
Climbing on the rocks right before we went back to the car for lunch.
This is when we "hied to Kolob" this is how we ended our day but hey, this is where the pic put itself. so enjoy! :o)
This was the second hike, we hiked the lower emerald pool and waterfall trail. It was really pretty, just like this little girl!
this was the tiny bit of the emerald pool that wasn't frozen, it made a pretty reflection. I bet it would be prettier in the summer or Spring!
there's my boys! sitting on a holey wall. I love this pic!!
here is me and PR at the red holey wall.
G-ma and Papa on the bridge with sleeping PD in the stroller.
and here is PG after he climbed through a drain pipe. He seems to be growing up so much, and I can't keep up! :o)
Friday we drove home with a little stop in Provo to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was nice to have a little vacation and it was nice to come home! :o)

I have done a few cakes in the last week or 2...

2011-02-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy few weeks for cakes....the g-2 phone for Eric...

Thriller for Di
Jazz for the neighbor and I also did a covered wagon for a neighbor but it is still on my phone...it said "walnut grove or bust" on the back.
I think I am getting pretty good at the cake thing...what do you think?

visit with the big man

2010-12-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

Santa and Mrs. Claus with the gang...

Big Man on Campus...

2010-12-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

here is our big man on campus!
this summer he learned how to "pump" his legs on the swings to swing higher, he is getting pretty good.
This is him on his 4th birthday, can you believe it? I am over the shock now, but it seems crazy that I have a 4 year old! this was his breakfast the morning of his birthday...notice the baby spoon! silly boy!
there is happiness right there...light saber cakes and his favorite cousins to celebrate with! I don't think it gets better than that for him! :o)
ok, maybe it does get better...a HUGE gun and a real light saber! Happy Birthday PG!!!

KJ does "daddy horse" but he didn't feel like it one day so he taught PG how to do Garen Horsie!

Miss Dars...

2010-12-09T15:55:00.001-08:00

little miss dars is a girl all her own! She is in control, or thinks she is...:o)
Check out her matching shoes! Good thing people in public don't look at shoes much or think it's cute when kids dress themselves! (sheesh!)
She is a girl that likes to keep up with the "big dogs" Swinging is a FAV!
here hair is getting SO long and amazing. she loved that I put braids in her hair, she wore them for days!
She is a big helper (especially for daddy!)
and she wants to be the mommy to PR! unfortunately sitting on your children isn't a good idea! :o)
That is our big girl!

Reni update...

2010-12-09T15:31:00.001-08:00

This is PR at 7 months...I know the 1st of November seems like forever ago but better late than never...
she became proficient in crawling (which you can check out the video at the bottom of this post) and moved straight into crawling UP things.
She takes a bath with PD and LOVES it!!! She is a bath kind of girl!
She is so HAPPY! she really grounds me some days with I am a little "off"!
This is her on PG's birthday at Arctic Circle, right after this pic, she climbed the first 2 steps. She is getting too big too fast! I took her in for her "6 mo check-up" (at 7 1/2 mo) and she was 19 lbs and 29" long! She is tall like the rest and the sweetest happiest baby!!!

This was a while ago but at least you can see her progress,...:o)

where have I been????

2010-12-09T14:04:00.001-08:00

I think life has been hectic...It all seems like a blurrrrr....but we definitely enjoy ourselves along the way....
The kids were helping me wash dishes, until I had to kick them our for the lake on the floor...it was cute though.
For preschool we took a field trip to Wheeler farm. it was cute, the kids really enjoyed it.I posted a Halloween invite on facebook and it put the wrong date and time, until I fixed it...but a family showed up at the first time..so we threw an impromptu Halloween party. We played a few games and made cut out cookies. It was a LOT of fun, I am glad for the mistake.
it made for a batty fun afternoon!
we went to the Logan temple (who is that stud in the grass? heehee)
cuz Missa and Brandon Got married!
which means I got to make a cake...
My Best Cake EVER!! This was serious one of the best cakes I have ever done, and it was very intricate and it turned out BEAUTIFUL!
I the the depth and definition. (thanks Missa for the challenge and a HUGE thanks for Mom Dad and Donna for the help and moral support.)
The first snow of the year...in Oct...

they loved eating the snow!
which also brings on the first hot chocolate of the season!
Fish came out for Missa's wedding and the kids like to hang out with her.
then we had the preschool Halloween party...SO FUN!!
that snow disappeared and made way for the leaves to fall...they are so dang cute!
Then I got to do another cake...YODA! cool huh!
some more play time with daddy...a tent for everyone. I love this pic, they are all so happy!!
More play time with daddy...LEAF Monster I mean!
I love watching KJ play with the kids, it makes us all happy!
then more snow....A LOT more snow!

this is what one of our neighbors did with all of his excess snow...if you can't tell the size look at the house in background...the big on in the middle is at least 15feet tall!! Happy Holidays!!!!

A true Halloween Horror!

2010-10-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Jon was out playing with the kids this morning and went in to get something and turned and noticed this little fella....
oh you can't see what it is...have a closer look....
Yep, that's right...a BLACK WIDOW...right there, hangin' out....
of course it must meet it's demise....bug spray....
and a flip flop!!!
Horray for MY HERO!!! (I am SO glad he was home to take care of this little Halloween Horror!)

AAAHHHHHH!!!

potty, turning 6 months , preschool and other daily adventures...

2010-10-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

One day I could hear PD in the bathroom and went to check on her and I found her helping "pseudo george" go potty. She was nice and held his legs up so he wouldn't get potty on them...
they they walked down the hall together...
She is so stinking adorable! :o)
aren't they lovely...PG may be a talented artist one day, but I wish he wouldn't use the bathroom wall as his canvas...
yep, I made HIM scrub it off...I did also ask him to redraw the family on paper, because I thought it was so good. So now it lives appropriately on our fridge...on PAPER!
one night we played "restaurant" for dinner the kids loved the homemade icecream and cookies.
doesn't that face just "scream for more ice cream"?
she only wished for ice cream...soon enough little girl!
my babies out grow the baby bath way too fast...so I have to be creative ...not that the kitchen sink is all that "creative" but hey...it isn't common at our house. :o)
I helped some neighbors make wonderboxes..they turned out so cute I had to take a picture. It was fun to sew with friends. :o)
the kids enjoyed the pile of pillows too. :o)
PD LOVES to rub backs and get her back rubbed too. She is majorly talented....Look, 2 backs at the SAME time! Everyone was happy...except me! :o)
PR's turned 6 months on the 1st, she is getting so BIG! He favorite snack...flip flops!!! (kind of disgusting but whatever!)
We started doing preschool with a few families in the ward. this week was my week. This lesson brought to you by the letter A, the number 1 and the color Red. :o)
look at our big girl now....She is SITTING!!! And judging by this pic, she LOVES it too! :o)
PG make a fort from pillows...he kept saying "you can't see me, I am hiding in my cave" but he was waving out the window! :o) Silly boy!
this is another common look for Miss Roo. She ALWAYS sucks in her bottom lip and smiles. She is SO cute...I love her!!!
there are my 3 favorite "Yahoos"...Man I love these kids. They add meaning and entertainment and LOVE to my life!

(Also thanks to Camilla for the fun Disney presents! They LOVE them!)

lastly...the video of Roo's latest feet....

family photos shoot - August 2010

2010-09-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this last week but life got away from me, this was our family photo shoot a few weeks ago, by my "niece that is not my niece."

Thanks Amber....WE LOVE THEM, and WE LOVE YOU!

Today was the day!

2010-09-04T14:01:00.001-07:00

this is a very nice picture of me
...taken a few weeks ago by a cute friend of mine. Look how long and flowing my hair was...
this is what that hair looks like sitting on the counter at "the Spa Club" after they chopped it off. I do this every few years, I grow it out, chop it off and donate it to locks of Love.
this is the final product!
What do you think???
(I really like it ... A LOT!!)

thanksgiving point...

2010-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

WE took advantage of $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point, we went to the kids gardens...the outdoor xylophone...Ransom went with us and we let Roo with Manda.

they had a huge sand box...it was fun until PG threw sand into Ransom's face...:( he really didn't care for that much, so once he recovered, we found a new place to play.
water...much better. :o) Ransom decided to just chill and no risk the "river"
unlike my 2- it was the "river" all the way!!!
2 buddies in the butterfly garden
I wanted to take PD's pic, but she would turn around so I said, "you want me to take a picture of you bum?" and she stood up, turn around part way and grabbed her bum and said "nooo"
so I got this pic! :o)
here are the 3 yahoos in a little tunnel...we all had so much fun running around.
then it was finally our turn to play in the noah's ark water. that is when the craziness began. PG DISAPPEARED!!! I look for him for a few minutes THEN I started to panic, I asked everyone, and ran around looking for him. It was SOOO ScArY!!! After 10 minutes I finally found someone that had seen him...it was the best moment ever...to know that my "baby" was safe...I just help him and cried...he cried too. I am so grateful he was safe and found!
then he got to go join PD and Ransom playing in the water!
It was a fun adventure for the day. We will have to do it again sometime....
minus the getting lost part!

Our daily goings on...

2010-08-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

Our Miss Roo (PR) is growing so fast!
She props herself up for pre-crawling exersizes...she spins in circles on the floor, and rolls to get what she wants. She holds her bottle and grabs toys to chew on...and when you pass and she is not being held, she will put her arms up in hopes of being saved!
We pulled the jumper out for her, she spins around in it and is now starting to actually jump. She is happy in there just like PG used to be....Come to think of it, I found PG in it the other day.
(I find it amusing that they try SO hard to grow up SO FAST then they get jealous of what the babies get! SILLYNESS!)
There is a happy girl!
she doesn't like to lay down much anymore...she wants to SEE EVERYTING! So she gets a Ab workout when she is on her back!
She is getting closer to sitting up, she can sit up unassisted for about a minute...this pic was 2weeks ago and she is holding on 1 of my fingers to keep herself stable in the grass outside on a slight hill in the front yard.
And it is that time again for the baby to sleep better...not to mention that she is SO interested in everyone's food, so I decided to try rice cereal on for size...she LOVES IT!
and her first feeding was a breeze...time consuming but she ate really well...I just had to keep trading her spoons...
yummy....
because she thinks she wants to feed herself...and she almost succeeds.

on to other updates...PD is learning the art of pedaling....she isn't really good at it yet but for only trying for a week or two she is doing great.
And the old favorite...the "new car" - better get buckled in....
nevermind, just climb over and sit in the back!
it is kind of fun to sit in the trunk and let someone else drive you around. :o)
I took the rice out of the bucket and filled it with water, they were in HEAVEN! They played and got soaked for over an hour...it was great!
and last night PG decided that he doesn't want to sleep on his bed so he made a bed on the floor. He was so happy that I didn't tell him to get back in his bed...and he stayed there and went to sleep so maybe we will find the tent and revisit sleeping in there. :o) He is a good boy! They all are and I am grateful to be THEIR Mom!

PR at 4 months...

2010-08-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

She is sooo cute!
She is so happy and so strong! She just laughs and giggles...it is so cute! When I am stressed all I have to do is look at her and she makes me feel like I can do anything! :o) She is very special like that. and I am GRATEFUL for that!
she is rolling around and starting to push up on her hands and getting stronger. She is holding her bottle, she gets mad when I try to help her.
and she doesn't care for laying down...she prefers sitting up. If she is laying on her back she does sit ups in an attempt to pull herself up. She isn't completely stable but is trying really hard to be! :o)
We love you little girl!!! Thanks for coming to our family!!!

I DID IT!

2010-08-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

I LOVE my wonderbox....
I even made bread...it was moist and awesome!
(Thanks Danna for the website to figure it out!)
It really worked!!!

Happy Birthday Princess!!!

2010-08-11T12:54:00.001-07:00

Miss Dara turned 2! She is such a princess these days. Here are a few highlights...
the cake... She wanted elmo for a long time then one day she decide she wanted a Toy story party...So here it is!
Bullseye!
Happy Birthday!!!
Out with the candle!
Yummy cupcakes!
colored tongues from the little boys! Those cupcakes must have been grand!
Two little princesses!
PD got a new crown and skirt (which she calls 'princesses" cuz that is what makes her look like one) for her birthday so she shared her other ones with Tahlia. :o)
Cute little PR, enjoying the crowd!
PD with her new "princesses" on and you can't forget the backpack!
The Princesses were together a lot...Even in the potty! Hee hee!!
They are too cute!!!
She got lots of little presents and cards...she was in the height of the glory! She opened this card from Grandma and Grandpa and I said what is that? and she said "five"....she is smart! :o) Thanks everyone that was able to come and celebrate with us!
We love you Beautiful, Happy Birthday!!!

4 MONTHS!!

2010-08-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Oh how time flies!!! Our baby is 4 months old....and growing by leaps and bounds! She is SUCH a JOY to have in our home. She loves to be snuggled but she likes to play on the floor and talk and rolls around. She hardly ever cries, which is SO NICE! She smiles and laughs, rolls and giggles. she is even starting to lift herself up on her arms. She is a bit "grabby" these days. Toys, hair, food, whatever is in front of her. She can even hold her bottle! She is not consistent with holding it up enough but she can hold it! She is sleeping in her big girl bed now. She has now been camping 2ce and didn't mind it at all!

She is a pleasure...just like I was told in a blessing when I was in labor is that we would be pleased to have her - and we ARE!! :o)
We love you Reni Roo!!!

Pabst Reunion and ...

2010-08-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

I think the pics are a little out of order but here we go.....
I must preface this with. this is one of my most favorite things every year! I love the Pabst Reunion, I just really miss going to Grandma's but not as much as I just plain miss Grandma!
One of the activities this year was going to a petting zoo/farm thing in West Valley. It was cool...I got to pet a camel! Who gets to do that?
ME!
Here are PG and PD trying to get up the nerve to have the sheep eat the hay from their hands!
But they did pet the mini-horses...the littler one was only a few weeks old...it was cute!
Us on the tractor ride! We should have sung songs! Why didn't I think of that then????
PG even got a pony ride (PD could have but that was a LITTLE TOO CRAZY for her!)
PG rode it even though we was scared out of his mind...the whole little 2 minute ride he kept saying "I want to get off...I want to get off!" BUT he did it! And I was VERY proud of him for sticking with it until the end. No regrets!
Uncle Eric playing with the kids...
She is so dang beautiful, even when she is being obstinate!!!
There was face painting too! This is PG's "how to train your dragon" face!
He was a little tired after playing ALL day in the sun and water, running around and such. He had a great time, but was really tired by dinner time!
Reni in the tent with daddy sleeping in the background.
Silly girl in the tent....She LOVES the tent as much as ...
this little guy!
superstar for sure!
after the weekend was over, our exchange students left. Off to CA then home.
Have fun and be safe Lucas, Bruno and Gabriel!
We have a chimney on our house but there is no fireplace on the inside. But the previous owners had a wall mount thing that looked like it could be a fireplace and it had a mantle ...it was kind of strange but I have kept it because I love having a mantle to decorate...especially at Christmas time. Well, the time has come for a change...so out it went. We kept the mantle incase we ever want to put it back up but the black board and the tiled step thing - GONE! The kids had a great time hammering it into pieces so it would fit in the garbage!
here is a handsome guy...just watch out for that swing! :o)
she got board of the hammering and found a pencil to chew on instead!

catch up....

2010-08-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

So it was exchange student time again....
So guess where we went? Hill Air Force Base!!! YAY!! PG really enjoyed it this time.
PD not so much, those darn ropes were so restrictive! But Lucas was a good sport and dressed up in the learning center, and PG joined him. :o)

Here is PG and KJ in the F-16 simulator! I love that the learning center is bigger and better now...they have fun dress up stuff!
They had the little planes out that day too.. PG didn't want to get out!

PR didn't like being put in...and PD wouldn't even attempt it! (PR didn't really have a choice!) :o)
We went to the zoo!!! I love the zoo, that is why we got a membership, we have now been 3 times since Memorial Day. The kids love it too. It is nice cuz we just go for a few hours and then go home. We see different things each time and we don't feel like we have to be there all day to make it "worth" it and the kids love the outing and when PD starts to break down at nap time...we go home!
This is a chicken eagle or a turkey eagle...something like that...he walks funny! :o)
Gotta sit on the elephant!
And play at the play ground!
Another outing of ours was camping. We went up Provo Canyon and camped with some friends of ours. We were the only ones in our camp site so we invited the Stanfield clan to join us...:o) It was LOADS of fun!
It amazes me how many kinds of marshmallows there are these days! HUGE, caramel, and chocolate flavored...if only I would have thought to bring the strawberries ones too...:( (LOL)
Sleeping in the tent! PG was SO excited he could hardly contain himself!!! and the "forest fairy" left him a toy under his pillow! He went to bed great! (Thanks Denise!)
PD did great too, her only problem was the outhouse freaked her out! so she wouldn't use it, so she walked around WET for 24 hours.
PR slept like a dream! It was a fabulous night for everyone!!
But it came with an EARLY morning! The sun came up and so did the kids, so they took an early nap on the way home!! (notice how DIRTY they are...their bath water was BLACK! But they were HAPPY!!!)

a little more...

2010-07-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here is your randomness for the day....
PG with the camera while Mommy is nursing PR
My friend Camilla is staying with us for a little while and the kids LOVE to play with her...
Renni LOVES the attention! :o)
and PG playing hide and seek with her...
and this is just a cute one of the girls outside!
and PD tickling her own face with grass!

Miss Reni-Roo at 3 months....

2010-07-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

We went to IKEA and she sat up in the cart for the first time! but we had to be creative to make sure she didn't hurt herself, so we stuffed things in around her...she was HAPPY! :o)
It was really cute!
She is definitely getting bigger!
and more smiley!
I also decided to take some blessing dress pictures...
I think they turned out pretty good! :o)

fourth and exchange students....

2010-07-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

We got new students....
Gabriel, Bruno, and Lucas
They came on the 3rd of July, so they got to celebrate the 4th with us...
PD and KJ happy as can be.
we went to the neighbors house to do fireworks with them, then we went home and went to bed. :o)
PG doing his happy dance to fireworks!
our grand finale....
that spontaneously burst into flames about 5 minutes after it was over....
KJ jumping over the fire...brilliance! :o)
this is the bean bag I made, I had some fur that KJ's mom gave me and some beans left over from another project...it is HUGE! and not nearly full enough...but it will be! all for FREE!!!
This is her "princess"...she is so cute! (notice the pouty face because she didn't want me to take a pic!
my surfer cake...
that I made for Gabriel, he had a birthday while he was at our house! :o)

new addition...

2010-07-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Because of this little bundle of Joy
Raimey Grace Alger....

Our house got these bundles of energy!!! :o)
the boys getting ready for another foot race...
The girls holding hands, "mowing" the lawn.
these will seem tame...it was nap time! Miss Tahlia is so cute zonked on the couch!
The boys were happy watching a movie...
and we even played with a little goop! :o)
They are all such good friends...it was great to have the alger's come and play...we were sad when they went home....we really would have kept them longer...maybe when our house empties out a little we can have them over again for a little sleep over! :o)

Visit from the Dan Squared Family!

2010-07-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dan and Danna and the kids came for a visit! It was so AWESOME to see them...it seems like forever since the last time. We had a ton of fun and the kids LOVED being together. At one point we had 11 kids at Mand's house playing and they did VERY little fighting! :o) PG walked around saying "I love Riley and Jake"!!! Thanks for coming guys, it was Great!!!
This is PD once she fell asleep while/after eating a huge marshmallow. it was EVERYWHERE! She had to get a bath! (not that she minded that part!)

KJ doing what KJ does best...playing on the computer...actually he was helping Dan with his computer. and PD and Leili were playing too. Cute girls!
This is what the celestial room of the temple looks like in miniture. At Temple Square they have a huge model of the temple. it was SO cool!
Here are the 2 ya-hoo's in the visitor's center. they are cute, but crazy!!

Lagoon '10

2010-06-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here is our annual summer Lagoon fun with KJ's Work....
we left PR with a friend so she wouldn't be out in the sun all day...
PD went this year, there was still plenty for her to ride even though she was 2" too short for some of the rides.
She wasn't too sure about the whole ride thing....but we got her on a few...
like Bulgy the Grey Whale! Look how happy PG is! He wanted to ride EVERYTHING, over and over an over again!
She did ok on the swings but then she was about done!
She just wanted to walk US around, while PG was on rides.
It's like "Driving Miss Daisy"
They are too cute!
PG and I at the beginning of the Log water ride.
us at the end....
See, this was her idea of a good time...
She about freaked out when she thought this coaster car was going to move...but it wasn't
PD did care for this on at ALL! But PG put one arm in the air and had a great time with Daddy!
I wish we would have found her niche earlier! Bumper cars...she complained the whole time they were on but she sure didn't want to get off! (She cried all the way to the car! - but fell asleep about 3 seconds after we started for home!)

cutie pies....and a very special day!

2010-06-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here is your fix of really cute kids....
Look at me...I am a ballerina! (or something...)

Hey Mom, take a picture of me too!
look at that CHEESE!! He cracks me up!!!
They are so sweet together...sometimes! :o)
And this little one is getting so fun and SMILEY!!! More and more every day.
We had a little accident in the wagon....it was VERY traumatic!!! KJ had to hold them for almost 2 hours before he could go back out and work in the yard.
On the 6th, PR got blessed, then after church we had a BBQ to celebrate her big day and my birthday...this is what it takes to get PR to smile...a really cute Tahlia! :o)
There is our pretty girl on her big day!
Me and my baby!!!
Grandma and my baby! :o)
Happy birthday to me....
here is my festive star cake! you really can't see what I did very well, but it had a cool checkered effect.
PG on clean up!
then it was nappy time!

This is how Heavenly Father ended our BEAUTIFUL day!
Happy Day! I love the Lord, and I LOVE my family!!!

marshmallows to cinderella!

2010-06-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here it is....the roasting of the HUGE marshmallows!
It was raining so we pulled the grill over to the door and roasted them from inside! :o)
He finally ate all of his dinner (which was an ORDEAL this particular night) so he got a S'more!
This is ONE marshmallow mind you!
YUMMY!!!! PD liked them too! Look at that cute smile!!
One afternoon I could hear them "reading" books and this is what I found...gotta love a dirty bathroom floor to lay on and enjoy a good book! They sure are cute!
Daddy Horsey revisited! :o)
Daddy's nightly work out!
Gene and DeNae came to visit...it was good to hang out with family that we don't get to see that often! :o)
believe it or not PG is saying "cheese" in this picture...
what he was doing with his smile, I don't know....
But he had to have his pic with "Cinderella"...
PD was wearing PG's shoes and had her bib on and walking around sweeping! It was too cute! :o)

just a little update....

2010-05-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

I just have a few random pictures to share, nothing really big, just life as it passes everyday. Enjoy!
That is one REALLY large toy....and it is really cute and fun to play with, it looks a whole lot like PG! :o)
PR is getting closer to moving into the crib, which means PD needs to NOT be sleeping in the crib, so we broke down and bought PD a bunk bed (Since eventually PR will need a bed too.) So here are PG and PD playing in the box from the beds.
Daddy building PD's new big girl bed.
First night in her big girl bed! She did great, she cried in the night and I went in to check on her and she was walking toward the door, I put her back in bed and gave her kisses and she was fine. She naps and sleeps at night in her bed, it is great!
she calls this her "hello"....she walks around most of the day with a phone on her ear while she plays with other things and every once in a while she will say "hello"...it is cute, except when she finds MY phone and decides to call real people, fortunately Daddy doesn't mind, and he is the only one she has managed to call so far!
PD playing on my touch and chillin' with PR (the older kids fight over who gets to lay/sit by her when she is laying on the couch - it is cute but gets a tad annoying sometimes! :o)
Someone is learning to SMILE! It makes not sleeping worth it! She has now slept through the night 2ce...we are on our way! (by sleeping through the night I mean that she goes down around 8:30, gets fed at 11-12 then doesn't get up until 7 or so!)
PD reading PR a story...gotta love Puss In Boots....
The gigantic-est marshmallows I have ever seen...the other night we broke them out and made s'mores....it was great...it is about 4 marshmallows in 1! and 1 is all you need!!! :o)
cute little smirk!

PR with rhythm....

2010-05-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

our little dance, dance, dance MACHINE!!!
:o)

alittle bit of TX at random!

2010-05-13T12:05:00.001-07:00

A few pics that I missed...
now THAT is a Texas sized belt buckle!
Humm, what to do next....
PD sporting a lovely pair of Fish's heels!
Making friends in the hotel lobby...
PR was eating more than the other kids did...there were far more exciting things to see and do than to eat. Our hotel didn't have a port-a-crib so we ended up putting PR in a dresser drawer right by our bed, we put a pillow in it and her blanket, it was perfect...but I forgot to take a pic of it...:( the other 2 shared a double bed...that was an adventure, but I think PD will be ok, now that it is getting time to make the switch to a big girl bed, since PR should be sleeping through the night here in a few weeks! :o)

TEXAS!

2010-05-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

We went to TX...we went for Sara's wedding so I could make the cake.
this was our cute little airport train...little kids, roller bags, car seats and frazzled parents by the time it was all said and done...but in this pic our trip had only just begun! :o)

PR got her first airplane ride! she was that content the whole time! She must have Hook in her!!

The next day we got to see the family.
Jody too PR and fed her then took a nap with her on the couch...while I worked on the cake.
PG and PD had fun getting reacquainted with their cousins Boo and Ari
We went swimming. It was a tad on the cold side for me, and the hot tub was TOO hot. Which is so sad since I can finally get in the stinking thing (not being pregnant) and it was TOO HOT! sheesh! But PD had fun running around and splashing.
It was a bit cold for PD too, so I just had to hold her. It was fun to see Aubie and spend time with her. She is amazing!!! And so cute pregnant too!!!
Trevor is adorable in his boat hat! :o)
We left the pool to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. it was fun to sit in the back and have fun in our little corner. This is Aubie with 3 kids on her lap. (Pregnant + PD + kira) PD took a liking to her too...she is a smart cookie!
PD enjoyed all the lovin's! (Aunt Donna)
The kids got fueled up and started running! The played the craziest game with sugar packets...they were EVERYWHERE...but the kids were happy and relatively well behaved!
COOL DUDETTE!!
PD with my shades...
They wanted the kids to settle so Grandpa started telling stories...(I believe this is one of Anthony's grandpa's)
After this we ended up decorating the church and I finished the cake...that way I didn't have to worry about it on Sat. (the day of the wedding)

Wedding Day!

2010-05-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

Sara and Anthony got married in the Fort Worth Botanical gardens. The roses were lovely and the sun was shining and it was quite warm. It was very pretty.
This is the happy couple right after the "first kiss"
the bouquet.
Mom and Dad rode with us, so we got a picture of our group! :o)
PD giving PR kisses...I love their dresses! :o)
cute little man! LOVE IT!

KJ thought it would be cute to pose with the kissing bird fountain.
This is what kissing will get you! :o)
3 ADORABLE, life changing, challenging, wouldn't change it for the WORLD children! :o)
I love them!!!!!
Daddy daughter dance!
The reason we went! It turned out nice!
After about 15 minutes of the reception they cut the cake...all those hours for 10 minutes of admiration! Oh well, it was just a cake! :o)

5 green and speckled frogs...

2010-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

sat on a speckled log...eating the most delicious bugs....YUM YUM YUM!

one jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool...now there are ....green speckled frogs!!!

a little bit of this and that...

2010-05-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

I am PR...I am cute! Just in case you were wondering!
I am PD, I am very cute and funny...and I have a dirty face...say CHEESE!!!
I am PG...I am tired! Sometimes I tire Mom out and sometimes I tire out ...myself!
I am handsome...this is what I do to get my picture taken while PG is sleeping! :o) I don't know what the deal is...I came to play! (heehee)
I am PR again...I am learning to smile! I love My Mommy!
We are PD and PG...it was raining and we couldn't go outside so Mom tried to make it more fun by having a picnic in the living room! Yummy yogurt and muffins!
I am PG again. Daddy had a few hairs sticking out of his neck so I decided that it was MY job to extract them...man those things are hard to pull out with my fingers! But I DID IT! HAHA!
I am PD again...I have CRAZY hair! I am crazy hair girl, gimme some candy!!
Once again it is me, PG, I like to sing on the potty! :o)

Birthday time...

2010-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday
to KING JON!!!
He got his cheese cake for his actual birthday
then his cool DDO cake for the party! (It was a combined party for KJ and Mindy so Dave & I decided on a computer gaming theme, KJ plays Dungeons & Dragons online, and Mindy plays Farm town on FB)

Welcomr to Mindy's Farm town!

cake time....31
The kids found their entertainment too!
Ended with the community tub! The neighbor girls wanted to join, but there was no room! :o)

Updates....

2010-04-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

This is what we have been up to...
PR says "HELLOOOO EVERYBODY!!!"
Aunt Manda got to hold her, and the kids wanted in on the action too! Miss Tahlia is in LOVE with the baby! She LOVES to hold her, look at that face of disappointment, since it isn't her turn yet! :o)
Mommy's big helper!
Sleepy baby!
My other BIG helper!! He LOVES to hold her and would walk around with her and drop her on the floor if I would let him! :o)
Big girl feet!
AAAHHH!! Sleep time!
I was folding laundry and I turned around to see PG reading stories to her. IT was really cute! He would even turn the book around and point to the pictures. He is a good helper!
MY 3 CUTIES!!!

And just for the record, this is what she thinks of tummy time! :o)
Too bad, So sad!

Breaking her out!!!

2010-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

OUR EASTER MIRACLE!!!

We went to the hospital Sunday morning .....
When we got there the nurse said "did you happen to bring your car seat?" YES we did! (when I woke up this morning I thought, I should take her clothes and blankets and grab the car seat that way they are in the car and I don't have to worry about it later. - I am grateful for inspiration)
Then she went on to tell us that we had to wait for the Dr.s to do rounds but that because the test was clear and she was eating and maintaining her breathing that they would probably let her go home. WOW! So we started our "discharge education" and they put PR in the car seat still hooked up to the monitors for a "car seat Test" to make sure she can handle being in the car seat.
When that was done the Dr's came around and they said..her 48 hour blood culture was negative so discontinue the antibiotics and finish the discharge paperwork and let her go home!
Once all that was done we packed her up and headed to Grandma and Papa's for Easter Dinner (KJ also went to get the kids while we were finishing up paperwork)
This was taken this morning, her all snug in her OWN little bed!
I am SOOOO grateful for all of you who prayed for us, visited us, helped us with the kids and were just there for us in Spirit. It was a great strength to know we were not alone in our prayers and concern for our little one. I have a feeling that more miracles were in play than we know. For that I THANK MY HEAVENLY FATHER with ALL my HEART! I have MUCH to be grateful for!!! Happy Easter to all!
CHRIST LIVES!!!

PR Updates...

2010-04-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday (4/3) morning I got up after 8 hours of sleep and went in to check on PR in the nursery....I noticed that her IV was looking really red and puffy and bloody...so they said that the IV was bad and would have to put a new one in...
I really couldn't handle sticking around for that so I went back to the room and had breakfast. Then the pediatrician came in to give us her report...it wasn't too good.
Around 5 then again around 7 she puked up some green bile. They said if she did it one is could be no big deal but it happened 2ce so they "life flighted" her to primary Children's hospital for and Upper GI test. (they make her swallow some barium (sp?) then they track it to make sure that there is no blockage in the intestinal tract causing the bile to not be able to pass. Blockages can cause the intestines to twist on themselves causing the bowel to die...) So we went over to the nursery and they let me hold her (finally)
and LifeFlight showed up to take her....
My nurse called the midwife and let her know what was going on and she came over to discharge me so we could go up to PCMC to be with her. We worked on paperwork for PR and us and they took her away. (so many tubes and wires and the IV was now in her poor little head...)
We got out of there a little bit later. Headed home to change and headed up to the hospital. We were almost there, when they called and said....
"the test was clear, they don't know why she puked up like that. She is now in the NICU here and is hungry...can we feed her?"
WELL YEAH! (because of her hard time breathing they wouldn't let me feed her, they just had her on a sugar water IV) So for them to let her eat was SO exciting! When we got up there and scrubbed and went in, the nurse said..."she is so cute and doing great, would you like to hold her?" HECK YES!!! So, I sat there for hours and just held my baby! It was SO NICE! She nursed for a few minutes. but mostly just slept SO peacefully in my arms....
I can't even tell you how grateful I am for those moments...

She was no longer on O2, and the warmer for the bed was turned off and she was maintaining her breathing and O2 and temp levels. the only thing she still had was the sugar water IV....
While we were there our neighbors came to visit, it was really nice to feel the love and support of friends, that I didn't even know knew what was going on. :o) (I am grateful for the love and support of good friends and family through this whole thing.) Then Dave and Mindy came to visit too. It was nice to visit and people be allowed to hold her.

then is was time for Dave and Jon to go to Priesthood session of General Conf. So we sadly left her behind and headed out. (I had asked what was needed for her to be able to go home and they said that she had to be eating well for at least 24 hours, so I told them to FEED HER!!! I am all for breast feeding but in this case I was pumping and pumping and getting NOTHING so formula is the way to go...Health over preference!! At this point she was 3 days old and had only nursed for 3 minutes of her life....Just feed the poor starving girl so she can get healthy so we can go home.)

I didn't really want to be left at home by myself so they took me to Manda's and I was able to play with the other kids and just sit around. We had dinner and made cut out cookies and put the kids to bed.

On the way home I called the NICU to see how she was doing, they said she was eating like a champ and they thought she was SO CUTE! (they were all excited to care for a "healthy", full term baby -it makes their shift a little easier. :o)) The good news made me sleep easier too.

Renia Mae

2010-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

I went into IMC hospital for the post-dates non-stress testing to make sure that the baby was doing well being 8 days overdue. The test found that there was no fluid in the placenta anymore but the baby was still doing fine. So they let me drive over to Riverton (where I was supposed to deliver.) I got to Riverton around 12:30, KJ came over from work and got there about 12:50. They were all helping with another delivery....so we sat around and waited. They got us all checked in and started the pitocin about 2:30....it was SLOW going from there. I didn't start laboring for a while. About 6-6:30pm the contractions were regulated. but with little progression. About 9-9:30 I could tell I was starting to transition....so they put a probe on her head to monitor heartrate at 10:10...and that was enough to get things finished up... 4 pushes and 17 minutes later she was here!
This is our little april fools day baby! Because there was no fluid she had a LOT of mucus in her lungs and stuff, so she is on O2 and they are trying to get her to breathe deeper to keep her O2 levels where they need to be.
So, she is all hooked up and I just wish I could hold her....:o(
Our new little one! We are happy you are here and are excited to get to know you better!
Renia Mae
8 lbs. 13 Oz.
21 1/4" long
10:24 pm - 04-01-2010!!

My latest cake....

2010-03-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

So I was due with the new baby on the 24th....and since I ALWAYS go over, I agreed to do my friends wedding cake on the 27th... It turned out great!!!
Here is the top view of the top tier.
top view of the middle tier
top view of the bottom tier
the cake as a whole.
So the cake is done...the baby can come any day now.....maybe???? Someday....
:o)

Trip to the aquarium....

2010-03-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Our new Home Teacher works at the aquarium in Sandy. And he got our family free passes to go see the fish. PG and PD were SO excited to go! We told PG that we would after his nap (this was at 9 am) and he said, "I am really tired, can I go take my nap now?" "PG, we have to eat breakfast and lunch first..." "let's eat lunch"....He is smart! :o)
They LOVED it, they couldn't get enough!! Climbing up and seeing the fish, they moved really slow from tank to tank. It was nice that they enjoyed it!
Even KJ and I enjoyed it! :o)
I love glowing Jelly fish! They I think are my favorite, in every aquarium I have visited...they are so calming and beautiful...deadly but beautiful! :o)
cool glowing star fish.
Cool spiky starfish!!
Who is that? NEMO!
The kids wouldn't touch them but they liked to splash in the water and say "look it's Mr. Ray"
(we watch Finding Nemo a LOT!)
As we were walking around we saw our friend feeding a snake so we tapped on the glass and said hello...he came out and took us on a tour "behind the scenes"
This is the view of the sharks from the top! it was pretty cool...
The penguin exhibit wasn't open yet but in our tour we got to go see them too. it was pretty cool. But we are not allowed to tell anyone that we got to go behind the scenes...so SHHHH! :o)

more goings on...

2010-03-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

The kids LOVE to wear my shoes...they are so funny!
This is the cake that I made for our Relief Society Birthday Dinner that we did on Tues. night. I think it looked pretty good!
and here is the "Big Mama" at 38 weeks ... only 4 more to go right?
(I hope it is a less than that! - But healthy is the most important!)

New goings on...

2010-03-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

KJ had to work late a few nights to fix a problem for a client in IL...and the guy they were helping said when they got it fixed he would send them a Chicago Style pizza...from Chicago.
KJ did his job and the guy followed through...and it came overnighted in dry ice from IL...
We decided to make it a party and make homemade rootbeer with the dry ice.
(he also made a dry ice bomb...with pop bottle and a few of the left over pieces of dry ice...it was cool)
Someone at his work had a birthday so someone else as a joke put like 30+ goldfish on his desk...so we got a fish tank to accomodate some of the orphan fish...PG was SO "patiently" waiting for the tank to be ready to put the fish in...So now we are the proud owners of 3 little goldfish.
Daddy plays with the kids in the evenings and sometimes PG likes to play "Go to School"
First they sleep...
then they get up and go to the table and color and try to write letters at school
then they come home have dinner
and take a bath (Pictured above) and then go back to sleep
It is really cute they LOVE to play with daddy! :o)
and I am grateful for the time I can get other things done. :o)
My Family ROCKS!

Farmington Bay adventure!

2010-02-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

This morning we went on an adventure....
In search of birds....
birds? you say...
yes...bald eagles to be exact.
Every year in Feb. the bald eagles come to Farmington Bay to nest. When it gets warmer they head north further. I always remember too late and the eagles are mostly gone...so this is what we found today...
this really pretty black bird with red and yellow on it, and it had the most beautiful song.
this is the same bird zoomed in!
We found 2 bald eagles chilling on this tree...
this is what we could see through the binoculars....:o)
We saw a total of about 10 bald eagles, tons of those black birds, ducks and seagulls, and several hawks. then on our way back our of the bird refuse we saw this one, on a tree right in this parking lot that we pulled into. so we were not far from the tree and it was at the top about 50 feet I would say. It was SOOOO cool to be that close! :o)
a little more zoomed in on little baldy - then a helicopter flew by and scared it off...
Freedom!
They are HUGE and BEAUTIFUL birds!
It was a successful adventure I would say! :o)

few random updates....

2010-02-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

This is a random post...lots of pics that have been in the camera for a while so here they are...
This is my brood cuddled up for bedtime stories! They LOVE to read stories!
I had my pot out for something and PD looked so cute sitting in it...it is a "Pot of Dara"
PG loved to just take it away from her so he could put the lid on and sit ON it....unfortunately I didn't get a pic of that. :o(

I learned to make noodles. This is homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade whole wheat noodles....it was REALLY yummy! PD had 4 bowls! When her's was empty she would move on to someone else's...it was funny!
For Christmas, PD got a "rice table"....I finally got it out the other day so they could try it out.
They ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!
The only down fall is the amount of rice that escapes the bucket! But it keeps them entertained for 40+ minutes! THAT is nice! :o)
Grandma Buckman came to visit one night and brought over this swing for the kids. They were happy to get a swing and very happy to see Grandma and Allen.

Perspective...

2010-02-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

TA-DA!!
This is what daddy sees when he is playing "airplane" with PG
This is what PG sees when he looks up to daddy!

and this one too! :o) hahahaPG has been having fun with the camera, here are few more from his perspective....
my belly making breakfast...
his "sandwiches" made from the left over fabric from the new baby's quilt I made.