Easter at Bear Lake

My grandparents have a time-share condo at Bear Lake and they let family use it so I noticed that the condo was available during the Easter weekend.  I checked the weather (65-68 during the day) and my grandma said no one was using it so we invited some friends and off we went.  So glad we did.  It was perfect weather for April and because it was off season no one else was really there so it was quiet and not crowded.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Astle!

Ideal Beach Resort

We invited the Barnes' family.  The mom is the music specialist at the school I teach at and we have become friends being on the same team.  Her husband and mine both love to golf so they got along great and they went golfing everyday at the golf course just across the border in Idaho.  They said the view was beautiful.  They have 3 kids.  Two of them are a lot older than mine but they were great with my kids.  It was a lot of fun and I am glad they could come.  

We were going to leave Friday night but knowing how horrible traffic is on a Friday evening especially Easter weekend we decided to leave Saturday morning.  We stopped in Brigham City to say hi to Danny's grandparents.  Then we went to Logan to my grandparent's house to pick up the key and bedding for the condo and off we went.  We had lunch on the way so when we got there we unpacked and the kids went straight for the park and played.

Then we went back to have dinner and then we went back to the beach to try out some fishing.  No luck but the kids have fun throwing rocks in the lake.  The lake was definitely still too cold for swimming.

Sunday morning we made a pancake breakfast and then went for a drive and played at another park in Garden City where we waited for our friends to show up.  Then we let them unpack and the men took the kids down to the lake while us women hid eggs for an easter egg hunt.  There is a mini golf course by our condo so we hid the eggs there.  My kids sure had fun finding the eggs and of course eating all the candy out of it.  

 After we had lunch then the boys went golfing and we had the kids take naps or watch a movie.  Then we took the kids swimming.  The hot tub was open and the kiddie pool so the kids loved it.  We had dinner, put the kids to bed and the adults watched a movie.  The next day (great the we all had work off so we could stay longer) the boys went golfing after breakfast (thanks for all the yummy food Allison!) and us girls took the kids to the park and lake to play. Then we packed up and cleaned the condo and off we went.  We wanted to stop and get lunch in Garden City but because it was the off season nothing was open so we drove into Logan and had lunch. Then we went fishing at first dam and then we went home.  It was a great get-away that I definitely needed with great people:)  Wish we could have stayed longer.  It was my spring break the rest of the week so I had so much fun being home with my two little ones.  I LOVE them so much and I really enjoyed playing with them and just being with them all day.

My birthday the big 2....

It was my birthday on Monday, April 2.  I turned 29...don't feel that old at all and everyone says I don't look that old probably because my kids keep me young.  The funniest quote I heard about turning 29 from my favorite tv show..."This year is it.  I have to party it up because after this year it's just darkness."  HA!  So not looking forward to 30.

I had had a rough two weeks before teaching health and grading papers so I took my birthday day off, took my kids to their babysitter and pampered myself!  I realized that I had not been alone for years spending a day on myself so it was much deserved, much needed, and much appreciated by everyone who helped.  Thanks to my sub, friends, family, hubby, babysitter, etc.  I feel so much better and probably the best gift I got was Kayzee sleeping through the night.  I got 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep and that has not happened in over 19 months! 

I was getting my kids ready to take them to the babysitter and I told them it was my birthday.  Memphis got excited and said I needed to blow out candles so I grabbed our bbq lighter, lit it and started singing happy birthday to myself.  Memphis said, "Mommy no sing, just blow!"  Ha ha.  I went shopping with my friend Michelle.  I grew up with her in California and she just moved to Lehi so it has been fun to catch up and hang out.  I got all my shopping done way to fast (amazing what you can do without kids) so we just walked around different stores.  We got lunch, then I got my nails done, went clothes shopping (I am down 2 pant sizes WOOT!) and went home to be with my little family.  I forgot...Sunday (the day before) my friend Stephanie cut my hair short (I hate long hair) and gave me some blonde highlights.  I LOVE it.  Everyone says it brightens my face up.  She did a great job.  I was spoiled this year: new treadmill, new clothes, new car, new hair, we went out to eat, and got pampered.   Thanks everyone!  

Here are some pictures of my new hair and nails, and some of me and Memphis being silly.  Happy Birthday to me!

Random Snow Days

We only had 2 good snowstorms this winter (so weird).  My mom stocked us up on winter gear and we only wore them twice!  But my kids loved every second of playing in the snow just wish there had been more.  Maybe there will be some freak snowstorm in May.  Hey...it's Utah, it could happen, it has before!

Here are pictures we took of the two days we went and played in the snow in our backyard.

This is Danny's sled he made for his ice fishing tent.  He cut all the metal and welded it all himself.  He put a piece of wood across it so the kids could get a ride around the yard.  They loved it!

 We FINALLY sold the two cars you see here.  YAY!  No more cars in my backyard...at least for a little  while if Danny is anything like his Dad:)

 Kayzee Lynn

 Memphis Kage

 Throwing snowballs at Daddy

 Tackling Daddy

 Kayzee tackling Memphis!  You go little sis!

 I taught Memphis how to make a snow angel

 You can't see it but he is smiling big!  I could tell because he was laughing:)

 Kayzee LOVED eating the snow.  Probably because she is teething and the cold felt good on her gums.  Here she is face first in the snow eating it up!

Happy Early Birthday to ME!!!

Last year we spoiled Danny for his birthday (new ice fishing tent and everything to go along with it) so this year it was my turn.  Happy early birthday to me.  I got a new treadmill and a new car!  I got to pick them both out and with our tax return I got to get them before my birthday.  I am loving them both.

My new treadmill:  It comes with a weight set and has programmed weight loss workouts that use the weights.  Just wish we had our basement either cleaned up or finished so it didn't take up so much room in our front room but, oh well.  After we put the kids to bed, instead of sitting on my butt all night watching TV, I walk on my treadmill while watching my favorite shows.

My new car:  We got a 2003 Ford Expedition when we first got married.  With the recent gas prices it has been costing us $100 to fill it up every two weeks.  And with 100,000 miles and the air bag suspension leaking making it not work properly so the ride was way too bumpy and making the car lean to one side causing the tires to wear faster on one side, and with the CD player broken, AND the fact that Danny hates fixing Fords...and, and, and...it was time to trade it in.  While I will definitely miss the built in DVD player for the kids for the long road trips we take and all the room for everyone and everything, I will not miss paying to fill it up or the bumpy ride.   Good bye Ford!

 Seated 8 but we usually had the 3rd row down for all our stuff!

And HELLO to my new car.  We went back to the dealership where we bought the Ford because they buy used cars so we could just trade it in easily and get a new car in the same night.  Luckily they gave us the same amount for the Ford that we still owed on the loan so we were not out any extra money or rolling over any more money into a new loan and we got our new car for the same amount so our payments didn't change.

Danny went wanting only to look at minivans or a car that he actually wanted to fix (UGH! minivans are not for me-yes I am spoiled:) so I was glad when the salesman led us over to the smaller SUVs.  I instantly wanted a certain car that we saw so Danny looked up reviews and we saw that it got better gas mileage so we took it for a test drive.  I was sold and Danny finally admitted that he is glad we got it so here is our new car.  A 2009 Dodge Journey SXT.  All leather (great for cleaning up after kids), seats 7 but the 3rd row stows away so we can still have lots of space for our stuff when we travel, nice smooth ride, and it's still my favorite color-blue.  Of course the first thing Memphis noticed was that it didn't have a DVD player.  We will just have to go buy a portable one before our next trip.  

   

I kiss better than I cook...

Seriously.  Just ask my husband.  I either burn the food, undercook it (only once and I was the only one that got sick luckily so I learned my lesson), or it just doesn't turn out like it should.  I do ok, but cooking and baking is just not my thing.  And I really don't like doing it.  Now kissing, that I have never lacked in just ask...(ok moving on:)

I have my reasons for burning the food...kids are distracting me (most of the time), I get busy doing something else and forget...etc.  Maybe I should learn to like cooking more and maybe I won't be so horrible at it.  Maybe.

My husband is AMAZING.  He can bake up some of the best breadsticks ever.  And he makes these balloon buns...wow!  And the list goes on and on.  Too bad he works long hours every week day or I would seriously trade him ANYTHING for him to make dinner every night;)  Oh well, I will keep trying.  I have a recipe system that I love so we can try new things but it's the making the recipes turn out edible that keeps that system from working.  Maybe I will just stick with cold cereal.  I know my kids will eat that!

Yes, this sign is hanging in my kitchen!

I wanted to make these fun brownies in a cone for my son's 3rd birthday party.  They just looked like so much fun for all the kids that were going to be at the party.  Annnndddd, ok ok, I wanted to have one too!

Soooo, I bought all the stuff to make them, studied the recipe to make sure I didn't miss anything, knew exactly what I needed to do, and followed the recipe...every single step so I wouldn't get anything wrong.  I even made a conscious effort to pay attention while they were in the oven so I didn't overcook them!  UTTER FAILURE anyways as evident in the photo below:(

If you took off the burned crisp top and dug into the very center the brownie tasted ok.  My brother-in-law Teddy actually ate a couple (the whole thing even...some boys will eat ANYTHING:)

So, my mom and I ran to Walmart and bought some fancy mini cupcakes (now those were delicious!!!) and my husband made a german chocolate cake (his favorite).  I made him make the cake part so I couldn't ruin it, and I frosted it.  At least I am good at something;)

The day has FINALLY arrived...

Both of my kids are FINALLY in nursery!!!  Maybe now I can sit down and enjoy church without chasing Kayzee in the halls the whole time:)  She was so excited to go and that she could be in the same class as her big brother.  She pushed me out the door and said bye mommy.  I LOVE that my children are ok when I leave them places (being a working mom helps) and that they don't sit and scream at the door waiting for me to return.  Kayzee lasted the whole time today which I was really excited about.  She usually takes a morning nap around 10 which is when nursery starts but she did great they said.  Happy 18 months Kayzee:)

Since my last two posts have been about Memphis I found a bunch of random cute pictures of my Kayzee Lynn to share so enjoy everyone, especially the grandmas:)

 Kayzee LOVES cereal and yogurt.  She has it almost everyday!  She also loves to wear it;)

 This is when we went to visit my grandma and grandpa Astle in Logan.  Grandpa got her a bunch of necklaces and she had to wear them all.  Such a girl!

 Kayzee loves to play outside.  Here she is all bundled up to stay warm.

 This was taken at Memphis's 3rd birthday party.  She was the only girl but she didn't mind.  She had fun too:)  LOVE YOU KAYZEE LYNN!

Kayzee is growing up so fast.  Here are her stats from the visit to the pediatrician:

Height: 33 in.

Weight: 25 lbs.

Compared to Memphis at 18 months...my kids have been the same weight and height as each other at the same ages.  Pretty cool huh?!?  They also have consistently been in the same 75 percentile for their age group.  In the last 3 months Kayzee has gained one pound and has grown 3 inches!  That's an inch a month which is the most she has ever grown her whole life.  No wonder she has been taking a lot of naps lately.  She is growing like crazy.  I noticed that her pants are finally not too long so yay her legs are catching up with the rest of her body:)

Kayzee can say words and she has started copying us and is actually trying to say more words.  She is really good at understanding almost anything we say or ask.  I finally figured out that when she says no it really means yes and when she says no and shakes her head no at the same time, that is when it really means no.  Life is so much easier now that I have figured her out HA HA!

Sadly for me she is still NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  Seriously getting really old.  I can literally count on one hand the amount of nights I have gotten 8 hours of solid sleep with no interruptions.  I may get 7-8 hours of sleep every night but it is with 1-3 interruptions of Kayzee screaming and waking me up.  Most nights she just cries her self back to sleep or turns on her soothing sound and light machine attached to her crib but sometimes she cries for over 1/2 an hour and I get up to figure out what is wrong.  She finally has 8 teeth with more coming in so with teething and growing and who knows what else sleep is just not her thing.  I guess I will be tired for the rest of her life:)  She still takes a morning and afternoon nap and loves to get into EVERYTHING.  I seriously cannot take my eyes off of her or else she is into something she is not supposed to be into.  She is one busy girl.  And we all LOVE her.