Our Life In a Blog

The Mason Freeze

2012-02-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

Some people plank, some people teebow...

Mason FREEZES

I'm not sure what got him started on this but I will find Mason randomly "frozen" in different positions. He never says anything about it he just freezes and will stay frozen for as long as he feels is necessary and then will unfreeze and go about his business. Nothing can make him unfreeze either. It's quite hilarious!

Mallory's #6

2012-02-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

This year we were not doing friend parties for the kids but we told them they could pick somewhere to go with the family. Mallory decided on Peter Piper Pizza but wanted to know if we could invite Amy and Leigh Anne because they were family. Of course I said yes and she was counting down the days for weeks!

Today we celebrated with the rest of the family and Mallory was so excited to decorate all the cupcakes!

Sedona Half Marathon

2012-02-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

My friend Jeni and I ran the Sedona Half Marathon today and it was so beautiful and so much fun! I was a little nervous about this race because my long distances have not been as easy for me lately. I was definitely prepared to not have a very good run time but the idea of having a fun girl's night over shadowed that. We met up at Macaroni Grill to get some carbs in and then headed to Sedona to pick up our race packets. From there we headed to my in-law's cabin. It was getting late and we knew we should have gone to bed but Jeni wanted to try out my new curling iron so we did up our hair all fancy and then finally turned in around 11:00. And of course I didn't sleep at all because I can never sleep the night before a race. We woke up just before 6:00, ate some food and headed back to Sedona. It was COLD!!! And at this point I was starting to get really nervous becuase I really didn't think I was going to run very well. We started the race and I totally surprised myself. There were a lot of hills and I actually felt really good running up them. Don't get me wrong it was HARD! But I felt good about how I did and my time ended up being 1:54. Jeni could have easily passed me up and run ahead but she stayed with me and that made it even more fun! Thanks Jeni for an awesome time!

New Year's Resolution...

2012-01-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

This year my goal is to create less garbage. Yep you heard me! I read an aritcle in People Magazine about a family that could fit an entire year's worth of garbage in a quart size mason jar. Now I am not going to be this extreme because let's face it I'm just not the extreme type but I am going to do better. For instance, I use a lot of styrofoam plates! I hate doing dishes so I use fake plates for most meals. This has changed in the past few weeks. I have started using our real dishes and I can count on 1 hand how many plates I have thrown in the garbage. Now again I want to say that I'm not going to be extreme here and start bringing my own silverware to fast food restaurants but I am going to be a little better than I was last year!

Reeslyn's Baptism

2012-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

Reeslyn's big day was so exciting! She got to be baptized by her Dad and it was right after her cousin Hunter got baptized by his Dad. What a fun thing to share with a cousin! I am so proud of her decision to be baptized!

Playing in the Snow

2012-01-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

It still amazes me that not even a 2 hour drive away from our perfect 75 degree winter weather we can have snow to play in!

Our kids are kind of chickens when it comes to going fast down the big hills and if I'm being honest I am too so the pictures above were where we had the most fun... on the frozen pond! There is nothing better than slippery slidey ice especially when you have an awesome Dad who will spin you around in circles over and over and over and over and over again!

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how much we accomplished on Christmas day!

We got up around 6:30, went to see what Santa brought us, opened a few more presents, got ready and went to church, came home and made our family's traditional breakfast of butterscotch pull apart, opened more presents with Grandma and Grandpa, kids played with their new toys while Mom and Dad took a 2 hour nap and then packed up and headed to the cabin!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent with the Forsbergs, eating lots of yummy food and exchanging gifts.

The month of December brings...

2011-12-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

Lots of Crafts

Lots of baking

lots of singing!

and lots of Christmas reading

our favorite is the one of the Christ child being born in Bethlehem!

Power Rangers

2011-12-21T07:59:00.001-08:00

Mason loves his power rangers and bought a new one yesterday with his birthday money. It's so fun to see him get into his imaginary world!

Disneyland

2011-12-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland to celebrate Mason and Reeslyn's birthdays. Keith and Steph's family and Aunt Amy decided to join us and we had SO much fun!

Mallory was super excited to have Aunt Amy there with us! She loves her Aunt Amy and wishes she could live with her so the fact that she got to be with her for 5 days straight was pure heaven in her mind!

We decided to ride splash mountain first thing in the morning and we all got SOAKED!!!

Aunt Amy bought these BUZZ hands for Mason for his birthday and he wore them everywhere! He loved them!!!

We always take the girls to Ariel's Grotto for lunch while we are there and the princesses were sure smitten with Mason Man. Belle gave him a big kiss on his head and he hammed it right up with all of them!

Somebody got the memo that we were celebrating! Happy Birthday #4 Mason and Happy #8 Reeslyn!!!

Mason had gone on the Goofy ride the day before and he loved it so he was so excited to go on it again. When he walked up there they decided to check his height and for some reason he wasn't as tall as he was the day before because they wouldn't let him on. He was SO sad! I tried to make him happy by taking him on some other rides but it just wasn't working and who just happens to walk up... GOOFY to save the day! And wouldn't you know the next day he was tall enough for the ride again, go figure.

I convinced Mason to go on my favorite ride with me, TOWER OF TERROR!!! It wasn't his favorite ride ever but he faired better than Tyler... he's sitting behind Mason in the picture below. Mason has always been sensitive to sounds so he plugs his ears a lot. Apparently all the screaming was too much for him.

When the time comes for all the big kids to ride on Indiana Jones Mason never cares that he's not tall enough because he knows that he gets to eat a watermelon and a pickle while we wait. As you can tell on his face, these 2 things are pure joy for him!

Reeslyn's favorite ride this trip was California Screamin. Her and Russ must have gone on it a dozen times!

On the last day of our trip right before we left the park we decided to play some games which we have never done. Russ played the first one and won us a big baseball pillow that Mason has been sleeping with on his bed ever since.

Here comes Santa Claus...

2011-12-15T08:23:00.001-08:00

Mallory was so excited to see Santa because it just so happens that she changed one of the things on her list and she desperately wanted to tell him, she now wants a bike!

Mason thought Santa's belt was really cool and he also got disappointed when Santa gave him a candy cane instead of the bakugan that he asked for. After I reminded him that Santa doesn't give the presents til Christmas he was as happy as could be with his candy cane!

I love the innocence of children! But I must admit I'm not really into the whole Santa thing this year and if my kids asked me I would probably tell them the truth. Russ does not agree with me on this topic :)

Biker Chic

2011-11-29T13:32:00.001-08:00

I went on my first REAL bike ride yesterday. Sure I've been to an occasional spin class and we have a trainer for Russ' road bike that I use but to actually go on a bike ride out on the street is a foreign concept for me. I decided I would tag along with Russ and boy did he kick my booty! It was all I could do to keep up with him and I still didn't even do that. Needless to say I ended up turning around and going home so he could go faster and get a real workout. But I did love the exercise that I got from trying to keep up and I just might have to keep it up.

Book of Mormon Stories

2011-11-29T13:25:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B0692E0D672DC72

you should be like her...

2011-11-12T18:18:00.001-08:00

Today I was not being the best Mom in the world. My patience was running thin and I am onery! I sat down to watch a show while folding laundry. It was 19 kids and Counting. Mallory came in to watch with me cause she loves that show. She told me that I should be more like that Mom. I agreed and told her that her and her brother and sister should be more like those kids. She agreed. We both laughed and I was a good Mom for about 20 minutes until Mason spilled chocolate all over the counter. Seriously how does that lady do it?

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

We started off the holiday by having some of Mason's friends over for a little party. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the "haunted house" that we created. I turned the garage into a little haunted house with all the gymnastics mats and when the mom's came later for the party all the kids got in their places and scared them. It was so fun and all the kids were so excited to scare the moms!

For the ward trunk or treat Russ and I were going to dress up as super heroes to match Mason and I had borrowed a Superman costume for Russ to wear but he chickened out at the last minute and wore his Captain America shirt instead. I got lots of bonus points with Mason for going through with my costume! He was thrilled that I was Wonder Women and he kept calling me Wonder Women Mommy all night. He was so disappointed when I took the wig off at the end of the night and told me he wanted me to be Wonder Women Mommy all the time.

Students of the Month!

2011-11-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of these two! They both got Student of the Month at school and they were so excited that they got it together! Both of them had amazing reports from their teachers for Parent/Teacher Conferences. I am so happy that they are making good choices!

Tea at the White House

2011-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

In 2nd grade you get to do "Tea at the White House". It's a fun program where the kids get to pick someone who they think would be invited to the white house because of the accomplishments they have had in their life. Reeslyn picked Emma Smith and Hunter picked a famous soccer player but I can't rememer his name right now, oops :)

After a program where they signed the Pledge of Allegiance and sang some patriotic songs the parents and grandparents who came to watch were supposed to ask questions to the kids that they had memorized the answers to. Reeslyn had fun asked all of her friends the questions too.

Here are the questions and answers for Emma Smith:

Where and when were you born?

Harmony, Pennsylvania in 1804

Why are you famous?

I was first made famous because my husband was the first prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and as the prophet my husband asked me to start and preside over the Relief Society which to date is the largest women's organization in the world.

Is there someone who was an influence to you in your life?

My children. I had 11 children, 2 of which were adopted and sadly only 5 lived to be adults.

Is there any other interesting information about you?

I compiled the church's first hymn book.

I was so proud of Reeslyn and how hard she worked to memorize all of her lines and she did so awesome!!!

Bisbee Stair Climb #3

2011-10-16T21:02:00.001-07:00

I have run this race 3 times now and I think it gets harder each time but it doesn't stop me from trying! Marlee has run it several more times than I have and she beats me every time (the only reason I beat her this year is cause she just had a baby).

I wore my St. Louis Cardinals shirt for good luck!

I ran with my phone so I would be able to text Russ at the end so we could find each other. I ended up taking a lot of pictures along the way and it was fun to go back through them after. At one point I texted Russ and told him I thought I was going to die but of course I didn't.

My time this year was 48:31.

My time last year was 47:05.

The first time I ran it my time was 42:48 but they lengthened the course last year.

Just journaling - lake powell

2011-10-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

Until I married Russ I had only been to Lake Powell once. Now we go every summer and I have definitely become addicted. I love the beauty of it. I love the warm water. I love that I'm less afraid of the water at Lake Powell than in other lakes however I did have one freak out moment this trip on the sea doos but I managed to keep my composure because I had the girls on it with me. I love taking long boat rides to rainbow bridge and then stopping for ice cream at dangling rope (my sister worked there the first summer that I went to Powell with russ so I always think of her when we are there). I love that the kids cant get enough sand, sun and water! I love that I can go running while I'm there and get a great workout. It really is one of my favorite places in the world and I look forward to it every year!

Rainbow Bridge & Dangling Rope

2011-10-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

more... Lake Powell

2011-10-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

My Happiest Place on Earth - Lake Powell!!!

2011-10-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Go St. Louis Cardinals

2011-10-01T16:11:00.001-07:00

I grew up knowing exactly who the St. Louis Cardinals were! I have been a fan since birth and even though I am not
a die hard sports fan I will make sure the Cardinals get my support. And because I have a husband who IS a die hard sports fan he will use any opportunity to take a trip to see a sporting event so he said that if by some luck of fate the D-backs and Cardinals end up both winning and play each other he will take me to St. Louis to be at one of the games. I will be crossing my fingers and toes until then.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Success

2011-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a success! Not all days are quite this successful in my life so we need to document them when they are! All 3 kids did their Saturday chores (they were out of town on Saturday) with only 1 reminder from mom. They read lots of books. They played nicely with each other. AND... now this is the big one! All 3 of them did gymnastics today in their classes and were wonderful! This is kind of huge for my kids because they have issues with sharing me with their fellow classmates and can kind of be obnoxious while I'm trying to teach. Reeslyn was amazing and did everything I asked and really pushed herself and did all the skills beautifully. Mallory tried her best and didn't get discouraged with herself like she sometimes does. And Mason who actually normally does good was fabulous and had the most beautiful cartwheel for his little 3 year old self. Then to top it all off we ended the day with a most amazing family home evening lesson by Reeslyn on the Resurrection, I was so proud of her! So because my kids made my day so wonderful today by being so good naturally I was eagar to play in the gym with them and we all showed off some of our fancy moves.

Sunday Thoughts

2011-08-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

"Do a lot of forgiving and a little repenting. "

Boyd K. Packer

Mason's first day of pre-school

2011-08-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

This little boy is so ready for school and was SO excited that he got to finally be like the girls and even pack a lunch!

6 of us stay at home moms are having our own little preschool and they will rotate houses each week. We did this with Mallory too and it is so perfect for these cute little 3 year olds who think they are big enough for school!

Incentives

2011-08-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

These 1970's metal closet doors are good for something!

Mallory and Reeslyn are having a contest to see who can get their caterpillar to the top the fastest. Each book read gets them one step closer to winning a prize!

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Tepanyaki

2011-08-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

While we were in St. George we all went out to eat at a Japanese Restaurant. We all had so much fun catching the food in our mouths and laughing at each other doing it!

Sunday Thoughts

2011-07-24T17:27:00.001-07:00

"Let me cite a hypothetical example of a dear sister in any ward, the one who has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church. She is the one working on her 20th generation in her family history, keeps an immaculate home, has memorized the book of Mark, and makes wool sweaters for the orphaned children in Romania. No disrespect, of course, intended for any of these worthy goals. Now, when you get tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up because of this sister, please remember you're not competing with her any more than I'm competing with the members of the Quorum of the Twelve in winning a 50 yard dash. The only thing you need to worry about is striving to be the best you can be. And how do you do that? You keep your eye on the goals that matter most in life, and you move towards them step by step."

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Flying High

2011-07-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

While we were in St. George Russ was giving each of our kids turns being thrown in the air. Of course Kanyon wanted a turn too but I'm not sure we was quite prepared for how high he would actually go. He had fun though!

MaskCara

2011-07-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Remember the fabulous makeover I got to look like a celebrity? Well that fabulous makeup artist is going to be on Sonoran Living on ABC at 11:00 here in Phoenix so tune in and watch!!!

Gunlock

2011-07-09T18:51:00.000-07:00

The beauty of St. George is amazing!

We decided to drive up to Gunlock and see the falls that have been created from all the rain they received in the spring.

Once we got to the top by the dam we found a little flat rock that was perfect to do a little wading in!

My mom and I decided to run down and get the cars instead of make all the kids walk all the way back. As you can see we had to run past a few cows and to be honest I was a little scared :)

Joseph Smith Memorial Building

2011-07-08T15:34:00.001-07:00

Just Journaling

2011-07-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove down to Sierra Vista to visit family. I lived the first 5 years of my life in Tucson and so on the way home we decided to drive by the house that I lived in. It's funny because I have so many vivid memories of that house and I'm not sure why. I remember my best friend living down the street, her name was Cami Brown. She was 1 year older than me and I remember very vividly waiting for her to get home from kindergarten so we could play. Every single day I would wait and wait and wait for her to get home and now I think about how short 2 1/2 hours really is and wonder why I thought it took so long. I remember meeting my kindergarten teacher a few weeks before school was supposed to start and I also remember a few days later my parents telling us that we were moving back to Utah and that I wouldn't be starting kindergarten there anymore. I remember feeling very disappointed that I wouldn't have that teacher anymore and I remember being very sad to leave Cami Brown. It's amazing what a 5 year old mind can remember! As we tried to find the house that I lived in the address that my mom gave me didn't match up to any of the houses so I had to go off of memory and I remembered the house being grey and blue. We found a grey and blue house and got out and snapped a picture and later found out that it wasn't really the house. But it didn't even matter because just being on that street brought me back to when I was 5 years old and I lived in Arizona. It's funny how I ended up back here. Somehow I always knew I would. Arizona is home for me! I love that I live here and that my children will grow up here. I love that Heavenly Father had a plan for me and that my life and all my memories are guided by him! I feel very blessed to be where I am! I feel very blessed to be married to Russ! I feel very blessed to have 3 healthy children! And now I want to go find Cami Brown!

Las Vegas Temple

2011-06-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Reeslyn was so excited that she could see in through the little crack in the door at the beauty inside!

The St. George Tabernacle

2011-06-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

If you have not heard the story about the glass in the St. George Tabernacle go here and read about it!

The Sister Missionary told us about how the parents in the congregation would tell their children that the eye of the Lord was looking at them and they better behave. I wish I had something like that for my kids during sacrament meeting!

Poor Girl

2011-06-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is Reeslyn's 8th Bee Sting!

I'm not sure why bees think she is so threatening because I can tell you for sure that she definitely doesn't egg them on. She does all the things they say to do like stay as still as possible, don't move and stay calm. I'm amazed she can still stay calm after that many bee stings but time after time those darn bees still sting her! Everytime it seems that her body has less and less tolerance for it though and this time we have had to keep her on benadryl round the clock because she has been complaining of her throat hurting and says it's hard to swallow. The bee stung her on Sunday and tonight the swelling finally start to calm down but now she has a nasty bruise all along the bottom left side of her foot.

St. George Temple

2011-06-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

I went through the St. George Temple for myself on
April 12, 2001.

This was that night...

This is now... (10 years older and wiser too)

It was so fun to go to the St. George Temple with our kids especially since it has special meaning for me!

Aunt Mare's Wedding oh and Uncle James' too!

2011-06-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

The girls were asked to be flower girls and Mason was going to be a ring bearer but at the last minute they decided to NOT have him carry the rings with him when he walked down the aisle which totally threw him off cause I had been telling him that he would be carrying the rings down the aisle to Uncle James on an apple. When it started he didn't really know what to do so I ran over to help out.

I parted ways with him at the beginning of all the chairs and told him to find Grandpa, which he did!

The girls were SO excited to throw rose petals down the aisle for Aunt Mare to walk on!!! It was so cute to see them talking each other through it right before it started. I was so glad that they had each other to lean on in that moment.

Aunt Mare looked so beautiful!

It was a little colder than we thought it would be so my mom and I found some blankets at a store a few minutes before the ceremony started.

I had told all the flower girls and ring bearers that they could have a ring of their own when they were through.

It was great until it came time for pictures and everyone had blue and green mouths, OOPS!

Mallory LOVED the whole thing and though every part of the wedding was absolutely wonderful!

and Mason just loved that CAKE!!!

Oh when grandparents come to visit!

2011-06-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Mallory did science experiments all weekend long!

Mallory got to pick out some flowers for Grandma for Mother's Day and she had so much fun picking out just the right one!

Reese or Katie???

2011-06-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

I promise I won't let it go to my head but it was sure fun to look like a celebrity for a day! Also it was super fun to meet the famous (in my eyes) artist behind the awesome make-up blog I love to follow! Seriously if you want to get some incredible make-up tips make sure you

go here and follow her blog!!!

Family Home Evening

2011-05-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had f.h.e. tonight instead of last night because Russ was at work and I wasn't in a very good mood and knew that I wouldn't do it the justice that it deserved. As Reeslyn was saying the opening prayer she said "please help us to still have fun in f.h.e. even though we are having it on Tuesday instead of Monday". Can you tell she is my child who likes her schedule! Reese was also in charge of the lesson and she did an amazing job and showed us this video as part of it, enjoy!

Mallory's Preschool Graduation

2011-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

For months now Mallory has been asking for flowers! Every time we go to Costco she asks if we can buy some and every time we tell her that we will get her some for her graduation...

You can imagine her excitement when Daddy gave them to her!

Carter, Mallory & Tyler - Cousins

Mallory & Shelby - Best Friends

10 years ago...

2011-05-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

I really did marry the best guy ever!

No I'm not wearing tights

2011-05-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

A bunch of people from our ward and stake decided to do the Warrior Dash together. Russ and I signed up before Russ found out he would need surgery on his knee but like a true champion (with the ok from his doctor) he did it anyways with no training at all. We ran it together and it was one of the funnest races I have ever run! I will definitely be doing it again next year!!!

This is right after Russ and Dax got hosed off, can you tell they are a little cold!?!

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

My least favorite part of Easter is dying the eggs because the mess that it makes stresses me out but this year my kids are all at ages where it's a little more manageable so I was able to enjoy it more. Apparently a little too much because I let them all do their own dozen and now we are all sick of egg salad sandwiches!

On Easter Sunday we all gathered at our house for some yummy food and then the annual cousin egg hunt

Conference Weekend

2011-04-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

Consisted of coloring, candy and of course Mason's ladder!

Ipad 2

2011-04-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Our Ipad finally came in. We ordered it 4 weeks ago and when I told Mason that we got to go pick it up from the store today he was so excited! We got it home synced it up to the computer and all the kids got to play it for a while before bed. On Wednesday nights I teach an adult gymnastics class at 8:00 (after the kids are suppose to be in bed). When I came back in from teaching tonight this is what I found. Can you tell what he is laying on. Yep that's the Ipad. Sneaky little bugger was playing it while I was teaching!

Mason's ladder

2011-04-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

This little boy LOVES to climb! ON EVERYTHING but especially ladders. We were shopping at Home Depot and guess what Mason saw... a ladder just his size!!! He was sooooooo excited so I told him if he saved up his allowance he could buy it. Normally when we give the kids their allowance at the beginning of the month Mason has his spent in 3 days because he will go out to the garage each day for 3 days and buy a candy bar from my gymnastics stash. This time he put his money in his Lightning McQueen bank instead. He saved 2 months worth of allowance and then we said we would pay the rest. He was so excited when we went to the store to buy it! And now you won't see him without it! He loves it!!!

April Fool's Day

2011-04-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

We had Bacon, Eggs and Cupcakes for dinner

The kids said it was the best dinner they've ever eaten!

My Cute Patient

2011-03-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

This will be Russ's 4th knee surgery and hopefully his last! His doctor didn't even have him get an MRI because he trusted that Russ knew what he was talking about since he had been through it 3 times before. Sure enough he had a torn meniscus and some torn cartilage that was rubbing on the bone. Because he didn't have an MRI though he was 2nd guessing himself and worried that the doctor was going to open up his knee and find that there wasn't really anything wrong at all and all that money would be wasted. So of course while he was in recovery I had to tease him a little bit and you should have seen the look on his face when I told him the doctor didn't find anything wrong. I quickly told him the truth because I'm not very good at keeping a straight face and he was very relieved. So far he has been a very good patient but unfortunately I am a horrible nurse because I almost fainted and threw up simultaneously when I had to take the bandage off and help him clean it. I am however very good at getting him drinks and his medicine so that should count for something!

Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium

2011-03-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Mallory's pre-school class went on a field trip to the Wildlife Zoo and we all had so much fun! This snake freaked me out. I'm sure there was some kind of barrier that I just couldn't see but it sure looked like it could have slithered right out to us.

Mason wanted to wear his lion shirt and was so excited when we found the lion fish.

This was so much fun until Mallory got bit by one of the birds. I thought she was being a little dramatic until one bit me too. IT HURT!!!

Mallory wanted me to take pictures of her with EVERY animal. She loved it so much!

Feeding the giraffes is obviously so much fun!

Mallory wanted to dress like a zebra and was so excited when we found her animal!

I had never been to this zoo and I was so impressed with it! I love how close the animals all are. The cheetah was my favorite. You walk underneath it's cage so it was asleep right above us and when Russ was pointing up to it so Mason could see it jumped up and growled at us. We all jumped! It was hilarious!!!

2011-03-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

If you are Lucky enough to be

Irish

then you are Lucky enough!

***

Growing up St. Patrick's Day was a close 2nd to Christmas. I remember this holiday so vividly and I want my kids to remember it too. I remember my mom always telling me that we were part Irish but she never told me who those Irish ancestors were, not that I would have cared at that age, but now I do care and I have found where my Irish roots come from and I appreciate this holiday even more than I already did because of that. I hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day! And for heaven's sake, get your green on!!!

*the green jello is setting in the fridge as I type*

For Sale

2011-03-06T19:09:00.001-08:00

2005 GMC Sierra Crew Cab

36,000 miles

$17,900

Brand New Tires

20" wheels

My Mason Man

2011-03-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

While reading scriptures tonight I said "Peter and John went to Samaria" and Mason said "Mom, Peter Pan and John are in this book?!"

It was hilarious!

Oh yes he did!

2011-03-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

Best Tea Party Ever!

2011-02-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

Mallory is the only girl in her group of friends

but something tells me she doesn't seem to mind..

Happy #5 Mallory!!!

2011-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

For Mallory's 5th birthday she got to go to Disneyland! She kept asking if she could invite people to her party at Disneyland. When she asked if Grandma and Grandpa could come that one was easy and yes they could but then she started asking if her cousins and friends could come too so we were super excited when everybody else decided to join us too. It made her birthday perfect!

While we were at Disneyland Mallory's preschool class called and sang Happy Birthday to her! It made her feel so special and she did her famous embarrassed smile the whole time they were singing (which means she really loved it)

Mallory reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid.

She lives in an imaginary world and loves to talk to all her imaginary friends.

Her and Reese love to play with all of their stuffed animals and it is so fun to watch them.

She remembers all the details of her day and will tell me all about what happens at school and church.

She doesn't like to get in trouble and tries very hard to not do anything wrong.

She does NOT like to pick out her own outfits and will wear whatever I pick out.

She loved getting so much attention from Grandpa at Disneyland! She loves her Aunt Amy!

Soarin Over California is her favorite ride! but Tea Cups are a close 2nd!

Disneyland - Day 7

2011-02-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

The only reason we went to Disneyland for a 7th day was because Saturday was Mallory's actual birthday. We were worried because it was a Saturday and obviously Disneyland is known to be more crowded on Saturdays so we took advantage of the early entry hour and we were able to get in a lot of rides! Of course Peter Pan was the first!
Then off to Matterhorn
and tea cups!

Then Alice in Wonderland!

This day was definitely all about Mallory and she got to pick all the rides we went on, next was Thunder Mountain Railroad and while we were waiting in line Grandma and Grandpa Milner called to sing Happy Birthday!

Aunt Amy wasn't quite as die hard as we were so she met up with us after she got a few more winks of sleep :)

Then back over to California Adventures for a few more rides and then we got in the car and headed home.

This trip was so fun and I'm already ready to go back!

The best Valentine's ever!

2011-02-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

I have an amazing husband and yes he makes EVERY Valentine's Day wonderful for me, I am truly spoiled!!! But this year takes the cake. Why? you ask. Well let me just tell you. (and it has nothing to do with the husband)

I had just gotten done teaching gymnastics and was dishing up some dinner for the kids when Reeslyn tells me that Mallory got a bloody nose while I was teaching. Now let me preface this story by telling you that Reeslyn will use ANY excuse possible to interrupt me while I'm teaching so I think to myself, why didn't I have a frantic Reeslyn coming into the garage screaming that Mallory had a bloody nose??? So then I asked Mallory if she really did in fact have a bloody nose and she confirms that she did. Reeslyn continues on with the story and tells me that it just started dripping everywhere so she ran and got a box of tissues and a garbage can and she took care of Mallory for me.

I know this may sound like a funny Valentine story to some of you but to me it shows that my oldest daughter LOVES her younger sister and took care of her when I wasn't there to do it! And isn't that what the day of love is all about, showing those special people in your life that you care. Oh and did I mention that we just got new carpet last week and none of the blood got on it. Thanks Reese for loving me enough to take care of my carpet and my Mallory!!!

Disneyland - Day 6

2011-02-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

We loved having AUNT AMY with us!!!

Grandpa Neil had to work on their first day there so he didn't get to experience all the fun rides with Grandma. Mallory was soooo excited to take him on Toy Story!

Taking my Mom and Step-Dad on my favorite ride, Tower of Terror

6 days of Disneyland is exhausting...

so we decided to take a quick dip in the pool

Then we got dressed and went back over for World of Color

Disneyland - Day 5

2011-02-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

The reason for our trip to Disneyland was to celebrate Mallory's birthday so we took her to Ariel's Grotto for lunch. Mason ate so much watermelon!!!

"ok 1 picture but then I've got to get back to my watermelon!"

It was so fun showing Grandma all of our favorite rides!

Aunt Amy took all the kids on Buzz Lightyear so Russ, me and my mom could go on Space Mountain. What a fun Aunt!

Mallory really wanted a picture in front of the castle!

Mary Poppins was everybody's favorite, she was so nice and talked to them forever.

Thunder Mountain Railroad... AGAIN!

Disneyland - Day 4

2011-02-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday Russ's family minus Amy were leaving and my mom and step-dad were coming so we spent the morning getting the last few rides in with the Forsbergs.

Russ and his Dad love to ride the water ride at California Adventures and Mallory loved it too this time so I would always take Mason and Reeslyn over to Brother Bear Country and explore while they did that one last time.

As mentioned previously Mason had a little height problem so I had called my mom and asked her to do a little shopping for me. When she got there on Wednesday they had BIG BOOTS for Mason to wear. We left the girls at the hotel with my parents and Russ and I took Mason over to try them out. He was soooooo excited when they let him on Soarin Over California without a problem at all!

then he wanted to go try out the JellyFish ride.

These boots made the rest of our trip so much better!!!

Disneyland - Day 3

2011-02-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Mason is 39 and 3/4" tall. With shoes on you would think he would hit the 40" mark that you have to be in order to ride all the rides at Disneyland. Well you also have to account for a 3 year old that doesn't know the meaning of "stand up tall". So on the first 3 attempts we were turned down and the tears flowed! He kept saying "but I'm big, I'm 3, I'm big!" On day 3 he finally hit the top of the marker and was let on a "big ride". I wish I would have had a video camera to catch the excitement and squeals of joy but I didn't so these 2 pictures will have to do. It was Thunder Mountain Railroad and to say he loved it is an understatement!
Reeslyn was so excited because this was the first trip that she has been tall enough to ride Indiana Jones. She got to ride with Daddy and Caitlyn first and then she got to take me on it. It was so fun!

The oversized watermelon was a BIG hit with Mason!!!

He ate 2 of them in 1 sitting.

Mason wanted nothing to do with the fairies, can you tell?

Mallory just wanted to go to Minnie's house so bad!

We headed back to the hotel a little early on this day so we could order food for the rest of the group so we offered to take baby Char with us so Jessica and Carter could ride a few more rides together. Mason was hilarious trying to entertain her by swinging and climbing all over the bed. And she was quite entertained by it all!

Disneyland - Day 2

2011-02-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

We always start out our trip with a character breakfast! Mallory went to get food with Russ when Belle showed up at our table. Because she was so anxious to get back she tripped and fell and if you know Mallory her heart was broken about it. Belle did a great job of making her feel better though!

Mason loved the food and could have cared less about the characters

Reeslyn was so excited that Pluto was petting her stuffed dog, it was cute. And Mason is only standing there waiting to get his book signed because I made him :)

Since he didn't care about the characters they of course tried to tease him and it worked, he was completely caught off guard when he looked up, it was hilarious!

Now here is where the real fun begins... RIDES!!!

Of course we needed to get a picture with Minnie since we were all sportin our Minnie shirts that day!

At the last minute almost all of Russ's family decided to join us on our trip...

Nana & Grandad

Sean, Jessica, Carter & Char

Wendy, Steve, Carley, Cameron, & Caitlyn

and Amy but she was always planning on coming with us.

It made for a fun filled 3 days!!!

and of course we had to finish out the day with one more ride on the tea cups!

Disneyland - Day 1

2011-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Our first day was spent driving but we managed to get there just before the Fireworks and Fantasmic Shows. So we started walking over but on our way there we saw some fun hats to try on and we had a few minutes to spare so we played dress up!

Just Journaling

2011-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Oh how wonderful the happiest place on earth really is. The workers are friendly, everything is so clean and everyone looks out for each other. Where else can you leave your strollers full of food, clothes, blankets and everything else you need to keep a family of 5 happy for the day all by itself while you go on multiple rides? Only to come back and find it just like you left it. I was also impressed by all the special needs workers they had working there, I just loved their smiles and hard work ethic! Then there are the perfect strangers looking out for you. I took the kids to the bathroom and went in to help mason while the girls went by themselves. Mallory forgets to lock the door a lot and so someone walked in on her. But instead of just leaving and finding another stall this nice lady stayed there and held the door closed for mallory until I came out with mason so no one else would walk in on her. Then when I took the kids swimming mason said after about 5 minutes that he had to go to the bathroom really bad. It was a heated pool so warm while they were in the pool but freezing when they got out. I bundled up the girls in towels and had them sit on lawn chairs while I took mason. When I got back they both had even more towels on them and a nice lady says to me "I hope you don't mind I got them some more towels because they were shivering so bad". Then after a long night mallory had fallen asleep in the stroller that russ was pushing and I was in front of him. Mallory's leg fell down and started going under the stroller when a lady who was pushing a stroller herself quickly grabs her foot and helps put it back in the stroller.

It's no wonder disneyland is ours and so many others favorite vacation spot! Everyone is so friendly and nice!

Going to Disneyland

2011-01-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

There are so many reasons I'm excited to go to Disneyland but one of my favorites has got to be planning all of our outfits! Normally I just buy shirts but this year my sister-in-law Jessica came up with a wonderful idea of making our own shirts with freezer paper. I am so excited how they turned out! We also found fun purple and orange Phoenix Suns shirts this year that we are going to wear on another day.

OH I AM JUST SO EXCITED!!!

Next on the list is watching all the Disney movies we can fit in between now and the time we leave . Today we watched Aladdin!

Mallory's first BALLET & TAP class

2011-01-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

She was so attentive and caught on very quickly

The class was having a recital that week that we obviously weren't going to participate in because it was just her first week but by the end of class she had the whole routine memorized

This is definitely her least favorite part of class. They are supposed to get up and skip around the circle 1 at a time. She does not do well when everyone is looking at her!

She talked about it all week and couldn't wait to go back.

I'm glad that she loves it so much!!!

Christmas

2011-01-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

The kids were so excited to see that Santa brought something for Daisy too and Daisy was in heaven!Mallory's loot...
Reeslyn got her DSI that she wanted so badly!

and Mason got a Jessi doll that he really wanted but hasn't played with once, ok maybe once.

The girls had an extra surprise from Santa out their bedroom door.

It's so fun to have your own patio and your own table for tea parties!

This is probably why Jessi hasn't been played with!

And Daisy got yet another gift from Santa... a new friend next door to play with.

Daisy meet Buster!

They all slept in their tents for the rest of Christmas break

I didn't feel the sadness of it being over like I did last year. Maybe it was because Russ had the next 6 days off work so we had lots planned. But I did feel sad to see Reeslyn go back to school! They had so much fun playing with their new toys together. I love that my kids get along

{for the most part}!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Aunt Jessica made a debut performance as the donkey in the nativity and Reese play "Away In A Manger"
Mason was a shepherd with Reese as his sheep
and Mallory the angel {and star}

and of course Santa came!!!

When Santa left all the kids ran to the door to see if they could see his sleigh...

Christmas Decorating 2010

2010-12-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

I think we all look forward to this every year. We get together and make our cookies for Santa. The past couple years we have done it at Aunt Amy's house. Jessica and I make the cookies, Steph makes the frosting and Wendy & Nana provide some extra frosting and all the toppings. This year Caitlyn, Reeslyn, Mallory and Carter were the only ones who stuck around for more than a couple cookies (they all made many plate-fulls). Because we had a lot of extra cookies to decorate the adults joined in and made a few plates each to pass out to neighbors and friends. Stephanie definitely gets the award for the cutest cookies but we all had fun decorating together!

Dear Santa..

2010-12-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

I'm 3 now Santa, I think I'm old enough for a real saw!

3??? you'll cut yourself!

aahhh Santa, that's what my mom said.

Nativity Finger Puppets

2010-12-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

This daughter of mine is so darn creative and artistic. I got some felt out so we could make these nativity manger scenes and so it began with me making Mary and Baby Jesus. Then I started on the Wise Man and Reese asked if she could make arms for him so he could hold a gift. I said sure and 5 minutes later she had the sheep and Joseph made too. I gave up because hers are way cuter than mine and right now she is making a donkey.

Oh Christmas Tree...

2010-12-15T05:55:00.001-08:00

My Tool Man

2010-12-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Mason has always loved tools! He will sit in his room for hours playing with them and today was no exception. When they took the board off the hole in our wall so they could install the window they asked me if I wanted to keep the big long screw things (bolts?) and nuts? that went with it (sorry I'm not a tool girl, don't know my terminology well). I thought to myself Mason would love them (as long as he didn't use them as weapons). When I first showed them to him he said that he would need a monkey wrench for Christmas so he could screw on the nuts but then I showed him how easily they move with just your fingers and he has been playing ever since. And yes I just might have to buy him a monkey wrench for Christmas :)

The happiest place on earth... the dentist

2010-12-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

They really do get just as excited about going to the dentist as they do about Disneyland! but then who wouldn't with a playplace like that???
They all got x-rays and did so good. They told Mason to hold really still and I thought to myself, could he even move if he wanted to? :)

Reeslyn went first and was such a good girl, like always! And...

NO CAVITIES!!!

Mallory was soooo serious the whole time. The dentist tried to tickle her under her arm and she wouldn't even crack a smile! but...

NO CAVITIES

Mason has been wanting to go to the dentist for FOREVER. He chipped his tooth a couple months ago and I'm starting to wonder if he did it on purpose so I would make an appointment. He sat so still and let them scrape all the plaque off his teeth and clean them. He was such a good boy!!! and...

NO CAVITIES!

and of course they were so good that they got to pick out 3 prizes each

Mason asked me today when he gets to go back

Reeslyn's Christmas Piano Recital

2010-12-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

She played "Away In A Manger" as a duet with her teacher.

She did so awesome! and we were so proud!!!

Thought of the Day

2010-12-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

"Many blessings in life are missed because worldly judgment was applied to what was really a spiritual decision."

Gregory A. Schwitzer

A Month of Thanks - Day 30

2010-11-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for Christmas Cards!

We got our first one today and it reminded me how much I love the Christmas season. I can't believe it's December tomorrow and I am so thankful that we are still able to celebrate Christ's birth this whole month. I'm afraid it's not too far off that this holiday will turn into something other than Christ's birthday because there won't be enough believers. This will be my last day of thanks on the blog but I sure am thankful for so many things each day and it's been fun thinking more about it this month!

A Month of Thanks - Day 29

2010-11-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for a warm home. As we were standing in line at target at 2am in Flagstaff freezing our hineys off we started talking about how the pioneers did it. Especially the Martin and Willie Handcart companies of which I have ancestors who crossed with. We had down filled winter coats and gloves and nice hot chocolate to sip on while we sat in the freezing temperatures. They had the clothes on their backs and barely anything to eat. But yet they persevered, for us!

Thanksgiving turkey trot

2010-11-28T19:36:00.001-08:00

All 27 of us spent Thanksgiving Day at the cabin this year which was so much fun!

I decided to organize a little turkey trot for all that wanted to participate and much to my surprise almost everybody did!
even if they were being carried on our backs :)

Those who didn't want to race participated by riding in the "support vehicle"

Some of us took it more serious than others

and all of us made it to the finish!

but these 2 got there first!

A Month of Thanks - Day 28

2010-11-28T19:27:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for church.

We had such an inspiring sacarament meeting today.

Talks that allowed me to feel the spirit and an amazing song that was just beautiful.

Things I was reminded of today

-Life isn't always easy

-We can learn and grow from our experiences

-Prayer is always there to make us feel better

A Month of Thanks - Day 27

2010-11-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for The Book of Mormon. I love how much I have learned about the Old Testament the past few months since I have been back in Sunday School. I also love how much more we know because of it's companion The Book of Mormon.

A Month of Thanks - Day 26

2010-11-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

I am thankful that my kids have such wonderful Aunts & Uncles that live so close by.

A Month of Thanks - Day 25

2010-11-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for fun family outings!

Polar Express 2010

A Month of Thanks - Day 24

2010-11-24T11:35:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for the spirit of Christmas

that we are going to feel tonight when we go on the Polar Express!

So excited for the matching jammies and hot chocolate!!!

A Month of Thanks - Day 23

2010-11-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for great family photos!It's hard to get a picture with all 5 of us smiling at the camera!

A Month of Thanks - Day 22

2010-11-22T21:04:00.001-08:00

Is it too broad to just say I am thankful for everything?!

As Russ and I were sitting at Costco eating pizza with Mason today, which is something we do on a regular basis, I couldn't help but look at him and say

"we have a wonderful life!"

He of course agreed.

I am thankful for my wonderful blessed life!!!

A Month of Thanks - Day 21

2010-11-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

I am thankful that we live next door to cousins!10 days apart

6 weeks apart
3 weeks apart

A Month of Thanks - Day 20

2010-11-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for blogs!

I have heard people say (or write) that they are shutting down their blog because it's too addicting or they are going private because it's too scary.

I say... anything can be addicting or scary but for ME blogs keep me sane!

I love that I have a journal for me and all 3 of my kids

(I have seperate blogs just for them).

I love that I can keep up on family members that I probably would have lost touch with completely like cousins.

I love that I can read blogs like this one that completely inspire me everyday.

I love that behind most of the really successful blogs that I read there is a Mormon Mom running the show.

A Month of Thanks - Day 19

2010-11-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Today I have more than 1...

I am thankful for Reeslyn.

I am thankful for such a great group of friends she has.

I am thankful for such an amazing friend, Diana that I have who helped me so much today.

I am thankful that this party is over! but not because we didn't have fun, just because the preparation stressed me out! Reeslyn came to me with a list of things that she wanted to do at her party. They all had a theme, that theme was Thanksgiving! Her and her cousin Caitlyn made all the invitations themselves. She had big plans for this party and I have to say I think I met up to and maybe even exceeded her expectations!

Happy Birthday my 7 year old!

We started out by making pilgrim bonnets for the girls and indian feathers for the boys and then we ate our Thanksgiving feast!

Then we decorated our bags to collect the candy from the pinata because no party is complete without a pinata, right?!?

There was a little station for everybody to write a birthday note to the birthday girl, so cute!

Mad dash for the candy!!!

Then we made edible pilgrim hats

and opened presents

and played a little gobble turkey gobble

and of course had cake!

don't I make a cute pilgrim ;)

They picked a leaf off the tree and used the trunk to frost them, yummy!

After cake we sent the boys next door to Hunter's house and the girls all did a sewing project while we watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special about the Pilgrims & the Indians.

Does anybody want to come clean it all up now???

A Month of Thanks - Day 18

2010-11-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my little peacemaker

Whenever Conner and Mason fight you will hear Mallory very calmly explain to them why we shouldn't argue and then tells them both to say sorry and give each other a hug.

A Month of Thanks - Day 17

2010-11-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my MOM & STEP-DAD

They are always there when I need them

They love my kids and my kids love them

Neil is the best chiropractor I know and is always willing to give anybody an adjustment

My mom cleans my house from top to bottom every time she comes to visit, such a treat!

They are awesome!

A Month of Thanks - Day 16

2010-11-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for answered prayers!

Mason's glasses cost a lot of money! His first pair broke after 1 month of wearing them. They didn't even have his backup pair made yet because it takes that long to make them. We got his backup pair 2 weeks ago. He tripped and fell the night that we picked them up and put a big scratch in the left lens. Then we were hanging out at Nana and Granddad's house on Sunday and I hear screaming coming from outside by the trampoline. I go to investigate and find Mason holding his glasses with his right lens missing and a cut above his eye. Frantically I start looking for his lens with no luck so I called the family out to help. After almost an hour of looking it's starting to get dark and we decide to go inside and have a family prayer. Nana said it and Mason stood so still folding his arms the entire time, I know that he felt the love for him in that prayer! We continued to look with flashlights after but we came up empty. I just knew in my heart that we weren't going to find it but I also knew that Heavenly Father would answer our prayers. Monday morning I get a call from the glasses place saying that his first pair that were broken are now fixed and ready to be picked up, amazing since the pair he was now wearing was not the correct perscription. I went today to pick them up and drop off the pair that now has a missing lens. We get there and she tells us that for some reason she has an extra right lens for Mason in his file and she checked the perscription on it and it is the correct one. She keeps saying over and over again that she doesn't know why it's in there because they never ordered any extra lenses for him. But I know why it is... because Heavenly Father answers our prayers even if it's not the way we think it will be answered!

A Month of Thanks - Day 15

2010-11-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

I am thankful I have my gym back!

After a 2 week break so the garage could get a makeover from the storm damage we are back in business.

new ceiling

new cabinets

new floor

and still to come...

new characters painted on the walls and my Katie'sGymBugs logo back on the cabinets!

A Month of Thanks - Day 14

2010-11-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for cameras

My camera broke and I have been without one for almost 2 months. I take a lot of pictures so it has been torture for me but I wanted to get just the right one and I didn't want to pay a fortune for it. I finally got one and I feel like I have my right arm back! Cameras really are one of the greatest inventions ever!!!

A Month of Thanks - Day 13

2010-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my Mason Man!

Happy Birthday my big 3 year old!!!

I was planning on doing a Toy Story theme.

I had a Buzz Lightyear outfit

Buzz Lightyear Shampoo

and a Buzz Lightyear figurine.

He told me a few days before his birthday that he wanted a SPIDERMAN cake!

So we had a Toy Story themed birthday with a spiderman cake.

It was great!

He had asked Grandma a few weeks before if she would come to his birthday party. Of course Grandma being as awesome as she is made it work so we all met at the cabin for the weekend (she brought Grandpa with her too).

When Mason woke up on his birthday he kept telling all of us that he is bigger now.