Boys and Dirt.....

Okay I was reading on a friends blog the other day about her frustrating day for many reasons...but one was that she had a million kids at her house playing and her house was just cleaned and the juice boxes dripping juice...all the little feet coming through.....anyway I think I wrote a comment about how great it is to be the house all the kids want to play at, that way you can always keep a eye and ear on them..... well I am eating my words now.
Yesterday was my day that there were a million kids over here coming in and out....I went downstairs last night and this is what I saw (it looks ALOT worse in real life too I just couldn't get a picture that showed how bad it is)








Yep that mud goes all the way around!
I kept remembering Shawni's blog post and trying to keep my cool wondering how in the world all the mud is going to come out...I wanted to ring my kids necks. Then thank heavens for this blog...I thought I am going to document this mud.... so I went down and started taking pictures.
Hunter says to me "mom Ryan thinks your crazy taking pictures of the mud..." well Ryan it's better that I am taking pictures of the mud than ringing your necks don't you think????
I guess it comes with having three boys...I'll have to write about the sleep over I got talked into letting them have last night at a later date....seriously why why WHY do I do that to myself????

Sienna Singing

Today Sienna was down in the guest room singing and dancing away (like she always does) and I just happened to catch her and got a little on camera. She LOVES the song No One by Alicia Keys....she sings it ALL the time. (sorry it's sideways though)
Here is a little glimpse of life with Sienna. She makes us laugh.

Costco

Okay is it just me or do we spend a lot of money at Costco?
Today I went in there for a few things and come out 300.00 dollars later.
Are they really good deals? I mean I think I have gotten a lot better at getting things I know I will use all of. I hate it when I buy a mega pack of something and then end up throwing it away because it went bad, so I try to stick with paper products, trashbags, soaps...etc. etc.
They always seem to suck me in though. They always have cool stuff. It might be beach towels, or chairs, or it might be some cute work out shorts....pajamas for Sienna....books....movies....
cool bowls or glasses.....or just something they are sampling that we walk by and taste.
And why does it seem like such a good deal when it's at Costco when if I saw the same thing at the grocery store I would think it seemed expensive?
Am I the only one that does this? I really try to go only when I am out of toilet paper and paper towels. Hmmmmm I wonder if this is what Costco planned when they thought of the store. I guess they know what they are doing.

Easter

Easter was so early this year it was hard for me to get into it.....
I feel like I am still recovering from Christmas.
My boys LOVE to color Easter eggs...it always makes me laugh to watch how "pretty" they
try and make them. It's cute.

They think Easter is almost as exciting as Christmas.....
They come down stairs to find their baskets and then get to look for eggs which the Easter Bunny hid inside this year because it was a bit too chilly outside.
Sienna thought she has died and gone to heaven with all the candy...every egg she opened had candy....she couldn't believe her eyes.

Looking for Easter Eggs......

Isn't Sienna so pretty in her new dress up clothes.....
Then we made a big breakfast. I thought it might be a good idea to remember the real meaning of Easter so we all watched a movie about Jesus and his resurrection....it always makes me cry.
Then we went to church and I forgot to get pictures of them all dressed up of course.
We rushed down to Conwey's parents for dinner and had a great dinner. Rach and Jimmy came too.


Conwey's sister Jayne is here visiting with her kids too. It is always so fun to have them here. The kids all love to be together so much. All and all it was a nice Easter.

Good mom points....

So a few of my girlfriends talk about the good mom points they may have earned with their kids doing fun kid things or maybe something outside their comfort level...such as camping or something.

Well today I feel I earned my good mom points....at least I hope I did.

Today I decided it was going to be a fun boys day. So we loaded up the car and went first to the Batting Cages...

Then we went to the driving range to hit golf balls.....

Then we had a big basketball game with their cousins......

Then we headed over to Fuddruckers for some food.....

Now I am tired and I have been sitting here thinking about how nice it will be to have a girls day with Sienna when she is older....


You get the picture........

Happy Birthday Erin!

A few of us went to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Erin's Birthday.....as always it was a lot of fun...what happens at Cheesecake stays at Cheesecake.........

Boys Weekend

So Conwey and the boys had a lot of bonding time this weekend.

They started off Friday night going to a Capitols Hockey Game, they had great seats and apparently a big fight broke out in front of them and the police had to come in and arrest the guy. They thought that was pretty cool.

The Harlem Globe Trotters.....



Then Saturday night we had purchased tickets for the Harlem Globe Trotters. We gave a ticket to Conwey's dad for his Birthday so it was a guys night out for them. They had a blast. I even think it would have been fun to go too, but after a beautifully warm day out, and after multiple baseball practices, a great class at the gym, a really good lunch at my new favorite place called Pei Wei where they had food my entire family loved (which is rare) their brown rice is sooooo good and I got a veggie and tofu dish that was delicious! (Don't knock it till you try it!)
Then trying to convince Conwey that we REALLY don't need the 4,000 dollar weight machine he was eyeing at the fitness store next door to the restaurant (hopefully I won the argument)
then 2 (yes 2) trips to the grocery store...and getting the Saturday Chores done which I am happy to say we have finished up our first week and the boys have done so good! I was happy to hand out their money they earned! Let's hope it continues!
Anyway after all that....I was tired and happy to have a quiet house with just Sienna for the night. We watched a movie (well I watched and she quietly played with her dolls) then she wanted to paint her fingernails and toenails.....how long have I been waiting for this???
It was a nice ending to my day.

I also want to say Congratulations to our great friends Amy and Carter Brown on the birth of their new baby boy yesterday that they named Landon. We are so happy he is here safe and wish we could hold and cuddle him. Why do you guys have to live so far away?

LOST

So I just finished watching Lost. We went to go to Conweys little sister Merry's play she was putting on tonight (which was very entertaining... Merry is always the star of the show. She has down syndrome and is a awesome little actress!) So I tivod it, but did anyone else get a bit teary at the end of Lost tonight? So Jin didn't make it. Anyone have any thoughts on what might have happened?

Okay how shocked were you that Michael was on the boat! Is he Ben's spy? And the owner of the boat that is Penny's dad right? What was with the girl jumping overboard? And her book upside down?

I always hate it when it ends....next week looks really good.

Elmo and update on Chores....

Okay I walked in the office tonight and Hunter had Sienna in this red tin basket and they were watching Elmo together on the computer. I thought it was funny...





Also we had a Family Home Evening tonight on Chores....we made a big chart and wrote a month calendar with all the chores....we have different color stickers for the different jobs. Then if they do all the normal chores and start on the extra's then they will get money at the end of the week.....so they were very excited tonight about it and all three got a sticker.
We will see how long it lasts. I am hoping they will stick with it long enough to get a little money and see how it feels. Then maybe they will continue. Let's hope.
So thanks for all the suggestions.....

Am I really this old? (And don't even ask...)

Okay so it was my birthday this week. I have to admit besides the very special treatment I get, I do not look forward to birthdays like I use to. I am getting old. It's kind of freaking me out.
My nephew called to wish me a Happy Birthday and he said "Happy 24th Birthday Aunt Jessie..." I told Cooper he sure knew the way to a girls heart! Cooper said Mom your 26...not 24! He didn't even know what he said that made me smile.
Thanks everyone for all the nice birthday messages you left me!

So I do love all the special treatment that goes along with Birthday's though....
My day started with Conwey telling me not to get up...he got the kids up at 6:30, got them breakfast, made lunches and got them off to school. While it was so nice to not have to get up I couldn't go back to sleep. I lay there thinking about the note I needed to write Cooper's teacher about him going home with a friend that day, and the field trip permission slips I needed to stick in their back packs...it was a sweet thought though. (Oh he also made me some steel cut oatmeal for breakfast.....)
Then I went to my class at the gym and after Kory took Sienna home with her and let me have the afternoon to myself. What a nice treat! A favor I will definitely repay...
then my sister called and said I am 15 minutes from your house...surprise! She walked in with a Cold Diet Coke and a present that I have been wanting forever....a Polar heart monitor watch (and it tells you how many calories you are burning too) So so sweet of her.
So we went and did a little shopping, which how nice was it to go without Sienna..(sooooo nice.)
I of course found all kinds of cute things for Sienna though....girls they are just so fun to shop for! (I did pick up a few T-shirts for the boys too though...don't worry they aren't neglected.)

So then Conwey came home with Cheesecake Factory for dinner (Hunter had basketball which put a nitch in our plans to go out) a ice creme cake and some presents from a store called South Moon Under. If you haven't heard of this store it is so so cute but so so expensive. I try not to go in there because then I just want everything. So this is one of the shirts he bought for me, but unfortunately I just can't keep a shirt that costs that much. It would just make me feel so guilty. It's sure cute though isn't it! He is very good at picking out cute clothes.

Then the next night some of my girlfriends took me out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Sweet Water Tavern...it was a lot of fun and always nice to be out with the girls......Thanks so much guys! They all gave me very cute and thoughtful gifts too...


So it was a fun birthday if I don't think about the whole age thing.......I seriously still feel 16. It's weird.

Kids and Chores.....

Okay how do you guys feel about the kids and chores thing. I need some pointers. 

I feel like with my kids it is like pulling teeth to get them to do theirs. 

They are good about making their beds and making sure their rooms are clean before they leave for school everyday, but when it comes time to clean bathrooms etc....it will take them hours to do a 20 minute job. (and me yelling at them)

So Sat. I told them all kindly what they needed to do and then reminded them and that was it. I decided to see what would happen if I only said it twice and didn't raise my voice.

Well needless to say they didn't do it...so yesterday after church I told them they couldn't eat dinner until all their stuff was done...it was like 2 hours of the back and forth.

I want to pull my hair out. I have taught each of them how to throughly clean the bathrooms and it's not like I am asking them to come clean mine. Just their own messes.....

I asked Cooper if he thought I asked too much of them..(clearly I don't but just wanted to see what he said) he of course said no...and then did tell Jackson he was only cleaning his own messes. The guilt trip worked I guess.....

Conwey doesn't believe in allowance...I do though and it makes it hard to figure out what to do.

I think that if they earn money for doing work they will learn a good work ethic. Conwey doesn't think they should get paid to do stuff they should be doing..they are part of a family kind of thing....and they get money when they need it....

I worry about this generation of kids....I feel they have so much and expect so much...all their friends have it blah... blah... blah....we also are so busy with all their activities they don't have the time like I did when I was a kid to really clean on Saturdays....

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!

Baby Macy and Lost.....

Okay I just have to post a picture of my new niece on her blessing day...how beautiful is she?

I am so sad she lives in Colorado.....don't you just want to nibble on those cheeks?





On another note...who watches Lost? Oh my gosh everytime I finish watching it I just want to pick up the phone and talk to someone about it. It is such a good show.
The last part of it last week....baby Aaron....is that Claire's baby? Did Claire die? Do you guys like the fast forward stuff? Hmmmm gives me a lot to think about for the week (other than all the homework, basketball games, things I need to do stuff...)....can't wait till Thursday.

Flowers...

Okay so it was just my anniversary and I told Conwey many years ago not to waste money on flowers.(especially roses because they aren't my favorite) I can get great flowers at Trader Joes for a great price...
So this year I got a delivery of flowers, but they weren't your normal flowers they were flowers made out of fruit. Have you guys seen these? I am telling you it was my kind of flower arrangement. Jackson and I sat and ate almost half of it when we got it.
Thanks Conwey.

Tagged...

Okay so my friend Rachael has "Tagged Me"

So apparently I am suppose to write the ABC's of me...aren't you all so lucky to read about me..Ha.

(I am suppose to tag 6 people so those are under the T...sorry guys..but if I have to so do you...)

A-Attached or Single: Attached

B-Best Friend: Of course the obvious would be to say Conwey but I have so many awesome friends! (and sisters)

C-Cake or Pie: Cake for sure.....I do love my mother-in-laws strawberry cream cheese pie though.

D-Day of Choice: Hmmm that's hard for me..probably Friday because I get to sleep past 6:30 for the next two days...

E-Essential Item: Diet Coke and flip flops

F-Favorite TV Show: Friday Night Lights, Lost

G-Gummie Bears or Worms: Who thought of these questions? Neither.

H-Hometown: Hmmm man I am having a hard time with these questions....what makes a hometown? I guess I will say Provo because that is the last place I lived with my mom.

I-Indulgence: Shopping...dinner...movies with the girls.

Oh also love those massages Conwey always gets me at the Ritz....

J-January or July: July of course...love the sun...pool..fireworks...

K-Kids: Hunter, Cooper, Jackson, and Sienna

L-Life is incomplete without: My family

M-Marriage Date: I can't remember that far back.....

N-Number of Siblings: I am the oldest of 6 and I also have a half sister

O-Oranges or Apples: Love them both... and pretty much any fruit.

P-Phobias or Fears: One of my kids will die

Q-Quote: Not really a quote but the very wise man that married Conwey and I told us..."When the Volume goes up, the hearing goes down." I love that!

R-Reason to Smile: It's almost Summer!

T-Tag Six: Erin, Erica, Jayne, Nichole, Steph, Elizabeth, Macy, Tatyana, Paulette..okay sorry that is nine....

U-Unknown fact about me: I lived in my own apartment when I was in High School 

V-Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: That would be Vegetarian

W-Worst Habit: candy

X-X-rays or Ultrasounds: Seriously who is writing these questions??? I guess Ultrasounds because I get to see my babies

Y-Your Favorite Food: Is Diet Coke a food? No... okay then a really good salad

Z: Zodiac: Pisces 

More QT with my Kids!

So yesterday I am in my spin class and everyone starts saying "Did you hear school is letting out an hour early today.." I am like Why? They say oh the snow.....I look out the window and don't see
a single flake...I think I live in the only place in the world that cancels school because we are suppose to get bad weather......
I guess in their defense we did get some bad ice last night.....
And this morning when I got up to check the news thinking we would have a 2 hour delay of school I find out NO SCHOOL!
I feel I have had a lot of quality time with my kids since December....
Hopefully the ice will melt so we can get out of the house today....

This is our driveway...all the shiny stuff is a sheet of ice as well as on the road. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the tree is all ice. It is actually very pretty if it didn't trap me in the house with FOUR kids.

CARS....UGGGGGG!!!!!!!

Okay I have had some seriously bad luck days lately with my car.

First I am driving along and this guy is motioning me to roll my window down....I immediately think what does he want is he some crazy that will follow me home....I roll my window a crack and he tells me your tire is completely flat. You need to pull over.

So luckily I am near a gas station I pull in and the nice man fills my tire with air but it is coming out. I drive straight to Costco because I am right by it and tell them I need a new tire. They have it in stock...great. Oh but you have to buy all four we can't just do one. Oh how much does that cost....

hmmm that much hu. Well okay let me call Conwey....alright I guess I have no choice.

Then I walk over to Target to kill the 1 1/2 hours it will take. After about an hour they call I think to go get my car but no...they haven't even started. They can't get the tires off...apparently Toyota Sequoia's have a special bolt that is only for the specific car and the tires won't come off without it. They can't find it anywhere. They have searched all over. Hmmm I call Conwey almost in tears...what do I do? So they put air in my tire and I go quickly to Toyota to get the dumb little bolt....30 bucks for that little thing...whatever.

Go back to the place and poor Sienna at this point is completely ready for her nap.

I take her in Costco and give her pizza and soda.

Finally they are done. I write the check and just make it home to the boys off the bus.

Fast forward to yesterday....I am driving along. Get pulled over....great. Oh my registration is expired....oh that is because my dumb check engine light is on and I can't get the emmissions test to get the registration until I figure out the lights. Which who has time to drop their car off for the day while they figure it out??? Plus if I take Sienna's car seat out I will never get it back in...I have to go back to the firestation.

Okay I am at the gym and I tell Kory Brown I have a app. tomorrow at Toyota to get the lights checked out. That will be fun for a couple hours in the dealership with Sienna hu.

She says why would you take it to the dealership they will rip you off. I know a great place just down the street. I will follow you there and then you can see what they say. If they can look at it I can give you a ride home and put Sienna is one of my car seats....ahhhhhh Kory THANK YOU!

So they will look at it right then and then call in an hour...

I say well while you are at it can you do the emmissions and inspection....Sure. Great I am getting it all done at once and I don't have to wait anywhere with Sienna again.

They call and say well we have good news and bad news.

Good news is the lights were just a gas cap thing...so it passed emmissions. Bad news both your front and back breaks are completely gone. Really? I ask. We had them replaced 2 years ago. Yes really....these are such big cars the breaks go fast. How much will it cost???? WOW......GREAT..... I can't seem to catch a break. They say we can get it all done for you today though.

I can't imagine having to go back down there in a few days so I say alright....

It's 6:00 and Cooper has to get to basketball practice. My car is still at the shop...hmmmm I think should I walk him down there? Conwey is at his DC office today and can't get home in time...Cooper says I can call my coach he will give me a lift.

Great....now the car place calls and says it's done. Hmmm how do I go pick it up?

Well my very kind friend Remi comes and gets me and drops me off. Thanks Remi!!!!

Okay I come home fill out the registration online print my temporary receipt and am good to go.

Fast forward to this morning....running a little late to get to my 9:00 gym class. It is always crowded and I am suppose to set up Kory too....I get Sienna out of her seat and look down at my keys. I only have half of them because I hadn't put the car ones back on my key chain from yesterday..ahhh I am late I figure I must have thrown them in my purse...get Sienna out and lock the door, right as I shut it I realize I don't think I have my keys to get back in the car. Oh my gosh I think I am locked out.

Oh well I will deal with it after class...gotta get in there to get a spot and stick Sienna in the child care....

After class I remember oh I have this plastic key thing in my wallet that is suppose to open the door. Well it doesn't.

What? Why would they say it opens the door when it doesn't. False hope.

So Kory (so so so nice) says I can run you home and you can get your spare and then I will bring you back.

(By the way Kory also got up at 5:00 am to take us to the airport a few weeks ago then picked us back up when we came home)

Boy do I ever owe her some serious rides!!!

Thank you Kory!

Cars!!!! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least Sienna makes me smile through out it all...................

Jackson's Birthday Feb. 3rd 2000

It's Great to be EIGHT!

Well yesterday was Jackson's eighth birthday. I can't believe he is 8! Where do the years go...seriously.

He had requested breakfast in bed and on my kids birthdays I always let them choose the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Jackson chose scones for breakfast. I decided to be crazy and throw a scoop of icecreme in there....(for those of you that know the way I am, that was pretty crazy hu!)


Could there be anymore sugar in that breakfast??? Gotta love Birthdays!
Jackson said he had been waiting in his bed for us forever....I am sure it just felt like forever. Since he wanted breakfast in bed I told him that meant he had to stay in bed until we came in.
He had probably been awake for 10 minutes before we got there but it was FOREVER to him.
He also got presents and kisses in bed.....


Then after church we had family over for a party/superbowl party (unfortunately for Jackson he had to share his spot light with the superbowl)
He was still excited though...he requested pizza for dinner so we went to Trader Joes (my favorite store) and got a whole bunch of dough...whole wheat, and white...then everyone made their own mini pizza's and chose their toppings.
We had spinach salad (no that wasn't at Jackson's request) and lots of appetizers....
Then we had cake, icecreme, and presents. Although Jackson had only requested cash money from everyone...so that was pretty much what he opened and couldn't have been happier.
He loves to have money in his wallet so when we are out somewhere and he sees something he really wants he can get it. Because we don't really buy anything for the kids except for birthday's, Christmas, and Easter....if they want something they have to buy it themselves or put it on the next holiday's list.

Counting his Loot.....




Sienna couldn't get enough frosting...she would spit out the cake and just eat the frosting.....she got a little more haggard looking as the night wore on...her clip came out..her sweater taken off....but she sure had fun. She is getting so good at saying everyone's names. I love it.
I realized as I am putting this post together that I didn't get any pictures of Conwey's family......my bad.
Well now we are planning for Jackson's baptism. He is very excited....stay tuned.