Welcome To The Badger Den

Relaxing Sunday

2010-05-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

After quite a crazy week, it's nice to relax and...

...enjoy a nice piece of chocolate cake (diet starts Monday)

...take a little nap on the comfortable kitchen floor (ignore the fact that it needs to be mopped...again)

...enjoy a peaceful family walk through the neighborhood

HAPPY HAPPY SUNDAY! Are we ready for Monday?....Bring it ON!!

What a Weekend!

2010-05-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

With the beautiful weather this weekend, it was time to PLANT THE GARDEN. We started Friday night and finished up Saturday morning. Whew! I wish I could say the hardest part is behind us...but now we need to keep up on the weeding. YUCK! Oh well...

(Strawberry Patch)

(Vegetable Garden)

Luckily we had lots of help from Kelsey and Cyrus...not quite sure was Emily is doing...but I'm sure it helped us get that garden in.

We also took a trip north to Roy to celebrate cousin Conner's birthday party. It was a quick little trip, but we enjoyed some cake, jumping on the trampoline, and playing with Conner's new toys.

On the way back, we decided to stop in at the local "after hours" doctor clinic. Cyrus had jumped out of our swing Friday afternoon and had been favoring his hand ever since. It looked a bit swollen so we thought we should probably have it checked out. SURPRISE! He had broken his wrist. He is now in a splint until the swelling goes down, then he gets a "real" cast on Wednesday. He was excited when the cute FEMALE doctor was telling him all about how cool casts are...he gets to pick the color...people get to sign it...etc. Once we got outside, he got pretty somber. When I asked him what was wrong he said.."So does this mean I don't get to go to preschool?" When I told him he could still go to preschool he then asked, "What about jumping on Grandma and Grandpa's trampoline? Can I still do that?" After telling him he could do that too, he was just fine. We'll see how happy he is after 4 weeks of the real cast.

We went to sacrament meeting but he would not go to his classes. He said that he didn't like everyone looking at him. Poor little guy. I hope preschool is better for him tomorrow.

She Wears Me Out

2010-05-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Why is it when I need to stick to a schedule and get things done, there are those that try to keep me from completing anything??

Let me introduce you to Miss Kelch....you can see she has had an eventful morning. I had made some chocolate peanut butter bars in the morning to be ready for the kids for an after school snack....Kelsey enjoyed the frosting off of the bars while I was using the facilities. While cleaning up the chocolate mess, I realized things had gotten too quiet. Upon opening the door to my bathroom, I found the lovely miss Kelsey applying some mascara to her lushes eye lashes..as well as the fronts of my bathroom cabinets. As I was cleaning up the mascara with my favorite tool...the Magic Eraser..I heard Alyson crying and realized she was laying (unprotected) on the ottoman. As I ran down the stairs and rounded the corner....I found this....

I must admit I was pretty impressed she was able to get Alyson into this feeding position. I'm guessing it wasn't a smooth transition to get to that point though....poor Alyson.

Apparently she wears herself out as well.....

NOW it's safe for me to use the bathroom.

YW Fundraising Carnival... and Memories

2010-05-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we headed to the church to join in the Young Women's Fundraising BBQ and Carnival.

The kids had a great time getting their faces painted, throwing darts, eating cotton candy, and getting balloon animals from the clown at the carnival while Andy and I got some time to visit and watch the auction. We bid on....and won...some babysitting and a bench. It was lots of fun on a rainy evening.

Since Andy was visiting, he handed me his checkbook to take care of our winnings. When I opened up the check book to write the check, I noticed this picture. It had been a while since I had seen it and it made me smile to think he still had it in his checkbook.

This is the picture of our very first date back in 1993. I'll spare all the details and just say that my mom and brother had asked him for me...as I did not want to waste my hard earned money on some boy at some dance. They had just picked him out of the yearbook...only knowing he was tall and was good at basketball.
6 years to the day of that first date...we were married. That was over 17 years ago..and I still look the same...minus the huge white bow on my head. :) Thanks, Mom for making me go on that date. Thanks, Andy for the wonderful memories for the past 17 years and for many years to come. I love you!

Belly up to the Bar

2010-05-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

Our kitchen table can sit 8 people when the leaf is in. I prefer not to have the leaf in during normal business hours as it take extra effort to walk around it and it starts to collect junk that we just move to the side of the table when it's time to eat. Last weekend we put the leaf in during a family Mother's Day party.

On Monday morning, I realized I had not taken out the leaf...and was a bit frusterated as I could not figure out a way to get it out all by myself...so we kept it in. When we sat down for dinner Monday night, Emily discovered the perfect way to use up the extra space....invite 'Ol Alyson to join us. It actually worked great...and Alyson had a good time too. I'll just have to add her to the kitchen job list now.

Smile - Just Because

2010-05-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

Tulip Festival

2010-05-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Many people head to Thanksgiving Point during the Tulip Festival to take pictures of the beautiful flowers and wonderful landscapes. We walked through the park for over an hour and saw flowers, waterfalls, perfect landscaping, and other beautiful scenes of nature. As we were heading out, Andy mentioned that it was too bad that we had forgotten the camera. Holy Macaroni! I actually HAD brought the camera! So I whipped it out and took a couple of pictures of what was REALLY beautiful there...my kiddos with smiles on their faces. No flowers....maybe next time.

No furniture at Thanksgiving point - took this one earlier that day at home. Just didn't want to leave her out...plus it's cute.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

There's something about watching my child sing a Mother's Day song that makes me want to be a better mother. (especially since my last post) Cy's preschool had a Mother's Day program, and I think he was the cutest singer there. Here's proof.

Of course Kelsey couldn't let Cyrus be in the limelight by himself. She decided to see what the view was like from the stage.

Happy Mother's Day!

"The Greatest Mom" or Magic of Mamma Mia??

2010-05-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

I think we all have our days in which we feel like we could be the Mother of the Year and other days...well...you know. Thursday was one of those...well...days. I think my kids heard many, if not all, of the following... multiple times (and not in a soft, peaceful voice):

WHY CAN'T YOU BE MORE CAREFUL?!!
HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO MOP THE FLOOR?!!!
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN TO OBEY?!!
DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO MAKE MESSES?!!
PLAY THAT MEASURE ONE MORE TIME!!
WHY CAN'T YOU JUST FOCUS ON YOUR PRACTICING?!!
I'M SO TIRED OF SITTING HERE LISTENING TO YOU MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE OVER AND OVER!

Ya...you get the picture.

It was a home full of anger, verbal abuse, mild violence, pouting, disobedience, and more anger. I was so happy when Andy got home (as were the kids). We had dinner, and I headed upstairs to finish folding the clothes. I didn't care what everyone else was doing. I just needed to get away.

I came downstairs later on and Andy had everyone gathered together with popcorn watching Mamma Mia. I had set the DVR to record it that afternoon and Andy had found it for them to watch. When the movie was over, Andy took the kids upstairs to brush teeth and he put them to bed. I was still smoulding a bit and still just wanted to be alone.

I finally went upstairs and noticed that the lamp was still on in the kids room. I walked in and Emily said, "Mom, you're the greatest Mom ever". I asked her why and she said, "Because you recorded Mamma Mia. I love to sing and dance with the songs".

The Magic of Mamma Mia had overpowered the "Worst Mother of the Year"...at least for the day. I've either got to start behaving myself, or finding more movies to record on the DVR.

Bed Time

2010-04-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Gotta make sure that pacifier is clean before putting it in Alyson's mouth...what a great sister.

And of course a baby can't go to bed without a nice lullaby....like YO GABBA GABBA. She makes her mom so proud.

And We're Back...

2010-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

We're turning over a new leaf and going to try to keep this blog a bit more updated.
Apparently some people think that every 6 months is a bit long between posts...so we'll try to do better.

We'll start off with the newest member of the Badger Den...little Baby Alyson. She joined us March 9th. There will be plenty more pictures of her to come...thanks to the photo talents of Grandma, Emily, Cyrus, and Kelsey. Stay tuned....

And speaking of kids, my mom has a great giveaway going on at her blog this week. Check it out at http://www.aclangston.blogspot.com

Great Giveaway!

2009-10-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've been out here, if you couldn't tell. Just wanted to let you know of a great giveaway that my sister is doing on her blog. Check it out on www.makeitworkmom.com

You won't be sorry....but do it quick...the giveaway ends tonight at midnight.

Good Luck!

Happy Birthday...to me!

2009-06-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

When Andy asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told him that I wanted to go back to New York and see Wicked. I got what I wanted. My parents, my twin sister Camille, Andy, and I headed to New York on the red eye for a fun filled day. We saw the Statue of Liberty again and even went up the pedestal this time. That was a good little hike. We weren't allowed to go up to the top of the statue. We saw the Trump Towers and walked around the tip of Central Park. Of course our trip wouldn't have been complete without a New York hot dog. (It tasted a lot like a Utah hot dog to me...just to be honest)

We then went and saw Wicked....awesome show! I wouldn't mind seeing it again...next birthday maybe?

It was a great trip and a wonderful birthday celebration! We were pretty tired, but it was nice to come home to these three hoodlums!

THANKS JILL and VILI for watching the dogs and kiddos while we were gone!!!! We owe you big time....what kind of cookies would you like me to make for you! ;)

Hiking in the Spring

2009-06-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of some good weather a couple of weeks ago to get out on the mountains up American Fork Canyon. Our intention was to drive to a .5 mile easy hike that we had read about on the internet. It was rated 5 stars on the easy scale and had a couple of small lakes we would see. We thought that would be perfect for us inexperienced hikers. When we got up the canyon, the road to this easy hike was closed. We pulled off and decided to just "walk around" for a bit and see the mountainside since we were already there. We found another trail that other people were going on and decided to give it a try. It was a bit steeper than we had thought. The kids were fine, but I started to sweat a little bit (not something I was planning on doing). Most of the trail was a one person trail and about half of the time, there was a pretty good drop off. To make matters more exciting, Kelsey decided that she didn't want to be carried or hold anyone's hand. Only Emily was allowed to hold her. Ya, I was pretty relaxed through the whole 3 mile trip.

It was pretty fun and the views were awesome. We got to walk through some small streams and saw how powerful the rivers were running with the melting snow. We even found some patches of snow towards the top. The kids keep asking when we're going back. I'm still in recovery mode. Maybe a different hike with lots of room on both sides of the trail. No chance of falling over the edge...but then what would be exciting about that?

Apple Apple Who's got the Apple?

2009-06-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Kelsey loves fruit. She will eat any type and at any time. Her favorite though is the apple. She went around asking if anyone wanted a bite. No one wanted one.....

EXCEPT.....Tabrina. Thanks Kelsey!

Itty Bitty Baseball

2009-06-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Cyrus loves these Itty Bitty sports camps. This time around it was Baseball. He said his favorite training station was the hitting off of the T. He loved playing, but I think he loved it even more when his "girls" would yell for him. Adalyn and I would see who could yell "Go Cyrus" the loudest....I think Adalyn won....and we've been asked not to sign Cyrus up for any more camps. What can you do?

Emily's End of School Year Productions

2009-06-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Emily's 1st grade class performed a skit written by her teacher entitled "The King with the Dirty Feet". She played one of the servants. They practiced for months to read/memorize their parts with expression as well as making their own costumes and props. She did a great job and had a lot of fun.

She was also part of the 1st grade BATMAN dance. She showed us a little bit at home a few days before the performance, but wouldn't show us the whole thing. She's a born performer...always leaving her audience wanting more.

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2009-06-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Last month, we took a little trip to Disneyland and had a wonderful time. I have just posted some of the many pictures we took. Some of the highlights include the merry-go-round, the new Toy Story 3-D ride, and checking out the Wiener Truck parked at the hotel. We also had some pretty good pictures of our favorite characters...I'm not sure why they always tried to cover up Emily's face. Thanks to Mom, Camille, and the girls for a fun week. Where are we going next?

The longest line to wait in was to see the Princesses....and it was well worth it for these little princesses.

Spring Break in New York!

2009-06-02T14:27:00.001-07:00

I had been trying to do this for a long time and decided that spring break was a great excuse to get it done...Watch Out New York..here we come!

My mom, Emily, and I took a "red eye" flight (leaving at 11:15PM) from Salt Lake City to New York City on Tuesday night. You can see that Emily was dressed for the occassion. Pretty smart girl.

Once we got to New York, we took a cab to Manhattan and Rockefeller Plaza where we got pictures at the ice-rink as well as at the Today show. As you can see, the weather was not great and Matt, Meridith, and Al stayed inside where it was warm and dry.

We then took our travels to Grand Central Station...AMAZING. There were people going everywhere and signs pointing to hundreds of subway routes. We were a bit overwhelmed, but with Grandma the tour guide, we found the right route. In fact, while we were waiting for the subway, another lady came up to us and asked if the number 7 subway would take us to a particular location...oh yes, we looked like locals even though this was our very first time. Emily loved the subway and listening to the various languages being spoken. She also loved seeing the different types of people...her favorite was this man with the tree of cotton candy. She's got good taste.

Of course we couldn't go to New York without seeing "The Green Lady". When asked what she wanted to do when we got to New York, Emily said she needed to see the green lady and get a hat like the prince did on the movie Enchanted. As you can see...all of her dreams came true! These are just a couple of pictures taken from the ferry that took us to the Statue of Liberty and Elis Island. We did not get off the ferry as we were running out of time, but we had some great views.

After walking through Times Square, we made it to the theatre on Broadway. HOORAY!! We were able to see The Lion King which was SPECTACULAR!! There is a lot of talent in New York, and not just on the subways.

After the performance, we went across the street to Planet Hollywood to eat and then to grab a cab to take us back to the airport. Our flight left at 9:30 Wednesday night and we were home early Thursday morning....EXHAUSTED...but so glad that we had gone. It was a great trip.

A special thanks to Mom for being our guide and for making it a super fun trip. And thanks to Andy for allowing his "girls" to travel across the country for a quick little adventure.

Party Time at the Badgers

2009-04-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

While looking through some pictures, I realized just how much fun we have here at the Badger Den. I must warn you before you start looking, jealousy is not a good thing.

We're always checking muscles around here. As you can plainly see, Cyrus wins everytime!

Adalyn found our stash of baby headbands and decided everyone needed a makeover. Even Cy joined in on the hairdo party. When Kelsey woke up, Adalyn wanted to put one on her. I put her in the crib to work on Kelsey's hair. Everyone wanted to join in...and why not??

I overheard Emily shouting out orders and talking about "blasting off to outerspace"... of course I got a bit nervous. When I opened the bedroom door I saw them in their "space ship" ready to take off.

Sometimes we're having so much fun that we don't even want to go to sleep. We'll fight it for as long as we can.

Happy Birthday Mr. Cyrus Part 2

2009-03-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

Our little Cyrus turned 4 years old last week. He is our little peace maker and people pleaser. He is a wonderful big brother to Kelsey and little brother to Emily. I love it when he tells me that I'm one of his best moms....not quite sure where the other moms are...definately not here cleaning the house. He allows Kelsey to crawl all over him and 99% of the time will give Emily what ever she wants. We love him and are so grateful that he is a part of our family.

Here are just a couple of pictures of his early years as well as those that attended his party.

Happy Birthday Mr. Cyrus Part 1

2009-03-29T03:29:00.001-07:00

On Cyrus' actual birthday, we had a little birthday party during the day at our house. He and Adalyn helped make and decorate the cake and couldn't wait to DIG IN! When we gathered around the table to sing Happy Birthday, Cyrus looked at me and asked, "Well, where are the other customers?" I asked him what customers and he said, "Everyone who's going to sing to me". I had to remind me that his big party was going to be the following Saturday. Poor kid just wanted more customers...don't we all?

Here are just a few pictures of the customers that WERE there and the delicious cake!

Warm Weather...FINALLY!

2009-03-29T02:54:00.001-07:00

We were finally able to go outside and enjoy some warm weather last week. This is ALOT better than staying inside and watching Wow Wow Wubsy or Little Bill....welll...I guess it all depends on who you're asking. Here are just a couple of photos of our day in the backyard.

Nothing says spring like a fist full of Oreos

Not really sure....

Little Caitlyn would NOT get out of the swing. I really need to invest in a battery powered swing set...than I could be the one sitting on the steps eating Oreos!

Even our favorite dancing/singing squirl got in on the action.

Who needs a tree house when you've got a dog house?

Memories....

2009-03-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

While cleaning out an old computer, Andy found some old photos and videos. This was too good not to share. Thanks to Uncle Jordan's taping talents and Grandma's coaching skills! It's obvious Emily's dancing talent comes from her mother.

Basketball Star

2009-02-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

Cyrus' basketball season was only 3 weeks, but he had a great time. He also made sure to look good in his basketball uniform. Kelsey and Caitlyn loved playing basketball also. It sure was alot of fun chasing them on the court...in front of everyone. They are really good about running in different directions. Good times....:)

Jumping Jacks

2009-02-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Adalyn having a birthday! Just a couple of pictures of our fun time at Jumping Jacks in Springville.

Bath Time

2009-02-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Kelsey thinks she's one of the big kids when it's bath time. She's quite the back floater...which is better than other floaters that have joined her in some baths.

Mystery Photographer

2009-01-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

While uploading all of the pictures onto the computer, I realized there were videos and pictures that were not taken by Andy or I. Take a look and see if you can figure out who is our mystery photographer.

Christmas

2009-01-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The snow storm kept us at home all day which was a lot of fun. We even took advantage of the new snow to try out Emily and Cyrus' sleds and Kelsey's snow suit.

After sledding all we could on the hills in our front yard, we decided to head to the backyard to build a snowman. By this time, it had started raining/snowing and the kids were ready to go back inside and get warm. Andy and I had to finish the snowman. Kelsey saw the swings while we were back there and HAD to swing. It was Christmas...we couldn't say no. We hope everyone had a good christmas!

Getting Ready for Santa

2008-12-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

Throwing reindeer food out on the front lawn (snow) for Rudolph and the gang. Yes, Kelsey is not wearing any shoes or socks...child abuse? Not on Christmas Eve. Thanks to Camille for providing the magic food.

After putting Emily and Cyrus to bed, Kelsey decided she wasn't ready yet. While we were distracted wrapping last minute presents, we found her enjoying the plate of cookies Emily and Cyrus had left for Santa. No big whoop....

Langston Christmas Eve PARTY!!

2008-12-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

We had a great time with good pizza and good company. We were also able to talk to our favorite sister missionary on the phone. Is was great to talk to her but sad to say good-bye. It will be good to see Hermana Jeanetty this August.

A Visit from Santa

2008-12-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of pictures from our Travis Christmas party last Sunday. You will see that Kelsey loves Santa. That's probably why she only got a lump of coal from him this year. Hopefully she has learned her lesson and will treat Santa with a bit more respect next year.

Gingerbread House Building

2008-12-25T16:12:00.000-08:00

Some may say that the building market has slowed down....not in this house.

Andy, the foreman, was the builder with Emily and Cyrus on exterior design and decoration. I was scheduled to be part of that group, but was then reassigned to "distract the monster" duty in order to be sure that the house was not destroyed. Apparently Kelsey thought she was on demolition duty. Just trying to get her job done.

It turned out pretty good considering...

Kelsey with her stolen piece of gingerbread.

We "lost" Kelsey for a minute during the building process and found her helping herself to a beverage of snowcone syrup from the fridge.

Christmas in Lehi

2008-12-23T07:23:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Jump on It

2008-11-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Just a little clip of some fun we have during the day. Who needs a playground when you've got this? Thanks to cousin Keiti for joining in on the party!!

Soup...It's what's for Dinner

2008-11-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Using potatoes and onions from Mom and Dad's garden, we finished up our harvest canning by processing 76 quart jars of vegetable soup. With help from Camille, Mom, and of course the kids, we got everything peeled, cut, and placed in bottles in about 4 hours. It then took the rest of the day to process them, even with 2 canners going. Bring on the cold weather!

Family Fun Night

2008-11-23T20:05:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday Emily's school had a "Family Fun Night" for the families of the students to roam the halls to view the work of their kids. We saw Emily's story as well as some art work. She also did a couple of presentations of songs she's learned in class. Here are some examples of our little super star.

New Mexico Vacation

2008-10-26T10:05:00.001-07:00

Over UEA weekend, we decided to take a road trip to New Mexico to see Uncle Dan and Aunt Nicole and their new home. Mom, Dad, Jacob, and us Badgers (minus Andy as he was hiking and biking with the scouts in Moab that weekend) loaded up and hit the road for 11 hours. I didn't take any pictures of the time on the road..you know...angry eyes and all. Actually, the ride went better than I had expected. The kids traveled well thanks to portable DVD players and plenty of snack food. I must say that it was comical to be driving for hours looking at nothing but sagebrush, dirt, and small rural shacks and all of a sudden we pass a HUGE casino and hotel combo. Indian Reservations....
Once we got to New Mexico, we were shown all that New Mexico had to offer by our own personal tour guide Uncle Dan.
We experienced the zoo, the children's scientific discovery museum, the famous El Pinto mexican restaurant, and we ordered shakes in a diner on old Route 66. It was hard to leave but we look forward to taking the trip again. Maybe we'll even invite Andy to come along with us..:)

Cyrus showing us the sand and dirt on his hands from playing in the water erosion display. I think Jake had more fun in this one than any of us.

Jake, Emily, and Cyrus working on putting together a larger version of the game mouse trap. It really was fun to see how putting one item into action would result in other reactions.

Kelsey and Aunt Nicole discovering magic balls. These wiffle balls would float on the many streams of compressed air shooting through this table.

Kelsey playing pick-a-boo. She loved this discover museum.

Quick stop on the way there for a photo shoot at the Monticello Temple. This temple seemed even smaller than the church house that sat next to it. The parking lot was still full, even on a Thursday afternoon.

Cy just hitchin a ride at the zoo...

Cy on the train

Em and Cy checking out the monkeys.

What are they saying to each other?

Kelsey and the flamingos.

You just can't beat a good zoo train ride.

Waiting for the feeding of the Polar Bears. We were told that 2:30 was the magic time the polar bears would be fed. After waiting until 3:00, we decided that we had better go before those polar bears decided they couldn't wait any longer and grab one of us. I wonder who he would choose?

Sorry for the abundance of pictures on this post. We just had a wonderful time and would like to thank Grandpa for driving, (and not pulling over to leave any of us on the roadside)Jake for refereeing the twit contest that occured in the back seat a couple of times. A big thank you to Mom for protecting me from the mountain lions on our morning hikes, and helping to entertain the kids during the drive so that I could concentrate on finishing my book. And of course a big BIG thank you to Dan and Nicole for letting us invade your beautiful home, fight over your Wii, eat all of your food, and showing us a great time.

Back Yard Musical...1

2008-10-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

In celebration of High School Musical 3, I caught Emily and Cyrus practicing their own musical. Emily wrote the script and directed while Cyrus was the star. If you can't understand Cyrus, he's saying "I am a cowboy"..."Girls love me"..."Girls know that". You will also hear Emily giving him additional instruction (as all good directors should) I apoligize for the the shaking at the end of the video. I was trying not to laugh...didn't work.

Once Emily realized that I was taping, she wanted to be included in the production as well. Please note that I had Kelsey on my lap during this filming. I think she wanted my job.

End of Harvest

2008-10-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

As we cleaned out the garden, it made me stop and realize how blessed we were this year. I can't even remember how many buckets of tomatoes we picked and bottled. Our pantry is full of salsa, tomato soup, Italian tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and green beans bottled from our garden. We ate corn on the cob almost every night for weeks. It was fantastic. It will be nice to put the garden to sleep for the winter, in order to get rested up for next years crop. Whew!

Cupcake Day!!

2008-10-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

We have started a weekly tradition to make and decorate cupcakes. It's been more out of necessity as my cake mixes and frostings are expiring. (I buy a years supply of cake mixes and then not use them...not smart.

Last week it got a bit out of hand. Someone lost control of the situation...Cyrus?? It's a good thing the maid was there to clean up the mess. :)

Clean up time...Caitlyn's not liking that at all!

You should have seen the bathtub after Kelsey's bath.

I'm looking forward to next weeks cupcake day!

Shopping Trip

2008-10-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just want to preface this post with the fact that I strongly dislike shopping. I don't find enjoyment in it. I do any type of shopping (grocery, clothes, shoes, etc.) with a list and I try to get in and get out of the store as quickly as I can. Emily is just the opposite. I have known that Emily needed some more long pants for some time now, but I kept putting it off. With the weather changing, it became a necessity. I tried to get Andy to just pick up a pair of pants on his way home from work one day, but he thought it would be good if Emily and I had a "girls night out" and actually went out shopping for a Halloween costume and some pants. YIKES!!

We went to a couple of stores looking for the perfect costume. She loved looking at all of her options as well as the many accessories for each. After deciding on a witch costume, we headed to Kohl's department store for pants. I was in "get in and get out" mode. Emily was not. After deciding on the right pants, we were making a straight shot out when Emily spotted the handbag section. It took everything I could to stop and walk around the section as Emily "tried on" every purse and explained what outfits each purse would be perfect with. I must admit that I did start looking at handbags as well. It wasn't as painful and I thought it would be. After 20 minutes or so we left that department. Just when I thought we were almost out....I heard Emily say, "Georgeous!" I looked over and saw that she had made it to the jewelery department. We checked out bracelets, necklaces, and went over the "rules" of when she will be able to have her ears pierced. All of a sudden Emily said,"We're trapped!" I asked her what she meant. She asked me if we were going to buy any jewelery. I told her no. She then told me that we would need to close our eyes and get out fast if we were going to get out of the jewelery department without buying anything. Who is this girl?
It really was a fun girls night out and I look forward to going "shopping" with her again. I love you Emily.

Walking?

2008-10-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Kelsey is starting to take a few steps. I really haven't wanted this day to come, but I guess I have no choice. I can't keep pushing her down each time to stands up to walk. We'd like to thank Uncle Dan and Aunt Nicole's home with the "take off" steps.

Family Home Evening.....

2008-10-08T11:02:00.001-07:00

Oh.. Family Home Evening...each Monday we never know what to expect...will there be fighting, pouting, or even crying? (and that's just from Andy and I) Last Monday it was Cyrus' turn to give the lesson. As we were looking through the Friend magazine Monday morning there was a short story about a missionary. We had found our topic. We had rehearsed a few questions he could ask, cut pictures out for a game, and called Andy to remind him he has treats. He was most excited when after dinner, we put on his suit (a hand-me down from his cousin), name tag, and scriptures. After we got into the front room, Cyrus did not even wait for the prayer or song, he started right in on his lesson. "What do I look like?" he asked with a grin. We all took turns naming things; a bishop, a dad, a Cyrus. When Emily guessed a missionary. He yelled, RIGHT. The game went pretty smooth and Cyrus told us a story about a missionary and the Lamanites. The treat was also FANTASTIC...we love Albertson's cookies:)
Our dilema now is that Emily says she wants to dress up when she gives her lesson next week...I wonder if we'll learn about Cinderella..

Help or Hinder...

2008-10-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

When I woke up early Monday morning with extra energy, I created my to-do list and KNEW I was going to get this house cleaner than it had ever been. As the day progressed, the energy dimished, and the hope of completing even one item grew dark. I figured rather than give up and pout (which I do ALOT) I would just pull out the camera and take pictures. Hopefully Andy will look at this blog and get an idea as to why the maid always seems to be on vacation...:)

Are they loading or unloading the dishwasher? Does it really matter?

I wish the older kids were as anxious to help.

I actually did get this bathroom cleaned...during nap time...theirs, not mine.

Fall is Here

2008-09-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we took a family drive through emigration canyon. It was wonderful. Leaves were beautiful, drive was smooth, and the kids were asleep...PEACE ON EARTH!! We decided to pull off and take a little hike on part of the Mormon Trail. Except for the fact that Kelsey wanted to get down and eat rocks off the trail, we had a great time. The kids kept asking why we hadn't been there before. That's a good question....We'll have to go out and do more discovery outings.

Babysitting Techniques

2008-09-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

While working on bottling peaches last week, I asked Emily if she would help me by watching the babies. I made sure there were toys in the family room and thought that all Emily would need to do was to play with them. From the kitchen I could see that the babies had other games to play. They would take turns crawling to the stairs. Emily would grab one baby and take her back to the family room as she passed the other baby heading for the stairs. This happened four or five times before Emily got smart and decided to problem solve.

I watched as she took the chairs from our kitchen table and made a bit of a "holding station" for Caitlyn. After making sure that she wouldn't be able to get out, she handed her a Chips Ahoy cookie and a toy, and said, "One baby taken care of."

If anyone needs more babysitting tips, give Emily a call.

Snug as a Bug in a Rug....

2008-09-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

Kelsey is a bit of a wild sleeper. We usually find at least one appendage hanging (or stuck) out of the crib. The poor girl was REALLY stuck this time. She's asleep in this picture, but didn't sleep long once we started the routine to unstick those thighs.

San Diego

2008-09-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

We took a quick weekend getaway to San Diego over Labor Day weekend. You will notice that we did not take many pictures. The first day we were there, we couldn't find the camera and assumed we had just left it at home. While packing the diaper bag for our second day of adventure, we found it at the bottom of the diaper bag...HOORAY! Too bad we forgot to take any pictures of our day at the beach. Now no one will believe the MASSIVE WAVES we were surfing...oh well. We finally kept the camera handy as we finished up our weekend walking around the San Diego temple grounds as we made our way back to the airport.

This temple is beautiful. We hope to be able to go through it next time we are in town.

Emily on the temple grounds.

Kelsey enjoying her time on the temple grounds. We'd also like to thank Emily for her help in taking this picture. Sorry Andy. ;)

Here is Cyrus throwing a bit of an attitude right in front of the doors to the temple. He didn't want to pose for any pictures...because he'd rather sit...I guess we all have our free agency, even at the temple.

A big thank you to Uncle Doug, Aunt Ginger and their family for reminding us how to be "locals" (right Camille) at the beach. Mike taught Andy the art of boogy boarding and both Cyrus and Emily learned quickly that it's best to keep their mouths closed when playing in the waves. Kelsey discovered that if you eat a sucker while playing in the sand, you can quench both the sweet and salty cravings we get. She loved the water and the sand and crawling away when I wasn't paying attention...weird.

Next time we'll pull out the camera....

Kitchen Clean-Up

2008-08-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

After some help from Cousin Caitlyn to clean out all of the kitchen towels and oven mitts from the bottom drawer, Kelsey decided it was also time to clean out the drawer of large utensils. It's a good thing someone around here thinks cleaning is important.

Happy Birthday Kelsey Jean!

2008-08-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Kelsey turned 1 last Sunday!! HOORAY! Thanks to those who came to the PARTY! She sure has been a cutie this past year. We look forward to having her 100 more years....even though she is a bit of a bully and has vampire teeth. We love you Kelsey! You are a wonderful daughter and little sister! Here are just a few pictures of her party and her being cute.

Future Olympic Hopeful

2008-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the Olympics today, just thought I would share a quick clip from Cyrus' soccer camp. They usually finish the day with races. You will see that our Cy-man is their star runner. :) He loves to run, but not as much as he loves to hear people cheer as he's running. Enjoy....we did.

Children's Discovery Gardens

2008-08-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

We took a fieldtrip last week to the Children's Discovery Gardens at Thanksgiving Point here in Lehi. We had not been there before but had so much fun that we will be going back again. The entire park is divided up into sections. After the first three sections, Emily and Cyrus got lost...errr ahhh...Kelsey and I got lost...anyway, Kelsey and I walked the entire gardens and couldn't find them. After about 45 minutes later, we saw them walking around. Apparently, they had found the "club house" and went inside to do some arts and crafts. It was a happy reunion and they had made some cute bookmarks. I decided to take the camera out and take picture of those cute kids...in case we got lost again.

Birthday Party for Friends

2008-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

Emily had her first birthday party for friends..and brother...and sister...and cousins...and of course grandma! We had lots of fun! You can't go wrong with a slip 'n slide and a pool! Happy Birthday Emily!!

Birthday Preparations!

2008-07-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

A few days before Emily's 'friends' birthday party, she wrote and rehearsed a song she was going to sing at her party. Lucky for us, we've got a family full of talent. You will see that everyone was able to help out. Corban on the piano, Isabelle on choreography, and I haven't quite figured out how Cyrus and Adalyn played into this....any ideas? Enjoy!! (you know we did!)

Dance Time!!

2008-07-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Emily was able to be part of a dance camp this summer. It lasted 3 days with the final day used as an exhibition of her many talents. She learned some ballet, jazz, hula, and modern. She had a lot of fun. Here are some short clips for your enjoyment!

WE LOVE DANCING!!

Being the great stage mom, I forgot to grab her flip flops before the performance. She still did FANTASTIC!! Don't you agree?

I didn't get it on tape, but Emily had a wardrope malfunction during this "fairy dance". She didn't let it bother her. She danced with only one wing....the show must go on!!

First Accident of Summer...

2008-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day of summer vacation for Emily. I think this was her way of starting it off with a BANG! While racing to her friends house, she took a tumble off her bike and landed face first on the street. After carrying her over to the front porch, we realized that even though there was alot of blood it was just a good nose and mouth bleed. Nothing broken. Her cute friend kept offering to call 911 (or her mom) if we needed help.
Emily's got a bit of a fat lip this morning and her leg seems to hurt just enough when it's time to do her chores...but I think she'll make a full recovery

Dance Festival

2008-05-23T16:29:00.001-07:00

Emily's elementary school presented a dance festival to showcase the dancing talents of each grade in her school. We watched as each grade performed a dance they had learned and practiced for the last few weeks. The kindergarten was last...which as you will see...it's true what they say.....Saved the BEST for last.
Their song was "Trashing the Camp" from Tarzan. Enjoy!

Disneyland

2008-05-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

OK...here's your proof. We had an awesome time in Disneyland in April. I'll try not to bore you with too many family pictures...but no guarantees. We got in early to Mickey's Toontown Madness to become honorary citizens of ToonTown and to wait in numerous lines to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and others to get their autographs. You can see that Goofy decided to help Emily with her hair - probably wanted it to match her mom's.

Of course we couldn't call this trip complete without going on as many rides as we could. Before we left, I had decided that I would "relax" and just take each day to have fun. Once we got there, all of the relaxing went out the window and I spent any spare minute working through strategies of how to get on every ride as many times as possible with the least wait time. I even tried calculating the times to be on rides with bathroom breaks....I know...I've got problems. We hit just about every ride in both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in the first two and a half days we were there. Once that was done, I was able to "relax" and we enjoyed the next few days going on our favorites. Emily's favorite was Thunder Mountain railroad. Splash Mountain was one that we couldn't get enough of.Another family favorite was the Grizzly Bear Run in Disney's California Adventure. At first Cyrus was 1/4 inch too short to ride, but after some 'minor modifications' he was tall enough and we all had a great time.

Kelsey was able to go on just about every ride. I think her favorite was this rocket ride or Haunted Mansion. She also liked the Pirates of the Caribbean (or was that Andy's favorite?). I just remember we went on it over and over...and over.Here are just a few more random pictures of our trip. I just noticed that I am in the picture of the kids with Mary Poppins. See if you can find me...here's a hint...it's a reflection (just keep in mind that reflections always add an additional 50 pounds)

Of course no day was complete without "rest time" when we would enjoy fruit snack, crackers, water, or maybe even a churro. We were able to watch the parade one night. We had to sit in the gutter of the street for about 45 minutes saving our place, but once the parade started, Kelsey settled in and watched the whole thing.

We had a wonderful time and hope to go back in the next few years...and maybe we'll invite Jill.:)

California...Here we Come

2008-05-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

We headed to Long Beach for a week long vacation. The ride started on jetBlue. Cyrus and Kelsey sat by me and Emily sat by Andy. During the taxi time, Cyrus kept yelling, "Are we flying yet...are we flying yet....Mom...Are we flying yet?" The headphones didn't fit him well so he soon got bored watching TV and entertained himself reading the safety features of the plane and trying to get his treats back from Kelsey. Emily was able to watch TV and reach back to shake our hands. It was a great.

After getting off the plane, we piled into a rental car, checked into our hotel, and headed to Newport Beach. The weather was beautiful and the water was COLD! Emily and Cyrus didn't seem to mind. During the drive to the beach Emily explained to Cyrus about the ocean and the sand and jumping over the waves. She is an expert you know, Great Grandma Langston took her to jump waves in the ocean up in Washington a few years ago. Cyrus was fine if the water didn't go much over his ankle. Emily was more on the adventure side. She got in deep enough that the waves even knocked her over a couple of times. You can see that she is soaked. It didn't seem to bother her.

They had a great time jumping the waves and we had a great time people watching... Kelsey fell asleep with the soothing wind and we were able to take a long walk along the beach. I'm glad we took the double stroller.

By the end of that day, we all felt like Kelsey looks....and our vacation was just beginning......(and yes, that's chocolate on her face...hello...we're on vacation!)

Tis the Season

2008-05-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

We had a busy Saturday in April. Andy wouldn't allow me any "tiller time" but I looked out the window to see that someone had taken my place. Cyrus loved the feel of the dirt on his cools boots and the roar of the tiller. I think he loved his "Daddy time" the most. Thanks to Grandpa for letting us borrow his tiller. Had we been using the Bronco, I would also be sending pictures from the emergency room. The garden is now tilled and ready for planting. We are just waiting for it to stop snowing around here.....

Emily's kindergarten teacher got married and she was invited to the reception held in Salt Lake. Emily got all dressed up...she even let me curl her hair. The reception was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, and the refreshments were fantasitc..but Emily was upset that there wasn't any dancing. We tried to explain that not all wedding receptions were dance parties...but she's not convinced. Thanks Aunt Nicole!

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

2008-03-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Cy-man turned 3 on Wednesday! He loved us singing the Happy Birthday song. He would ask all day long....Mom, is it my birthday?...and then wait for me to BURST into song. He would sing along..probably to make sure I got the words right. When we finally got a lighted cake in front of him and sang the song, I think he was bored with the song as he blew out the candles right in the middle of it. Our original plan was to go to Chuck E Cheese pizza, but because of a late work schedule, we ended up going through the drive through at Del Taco. He didn't seem too disappointed. In fact, he was pretty excited because we let him finally get a vanilla shake! Simple Pleasures!! He's such a sweetie! Happy Birthday Cyrus! We love you!

Basketball Gal

2008-03-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Emily joined the city recreation basketball league for boys and girls in kindergarten and 1st grade. It was fun to watch these kids learn the game. Some were actually pretty good, others.....well....they probably won't be joining the NBA. Emily fit pretty good right in the middle. The last game of the season was the most exciting as Emily made two baskets. We've included some GREAT footage for all to enjoy....so enjoy!
In order to teach the kids about guarding another player, each player was given a colored arm band. They were to look for opponent with the same color arm band and play defense. Emily was one of the best defensive players. It didn't matter if her team was on offense or defense, she was on defense. ..even if the ball was on the other side of the court. That's our girl!

Museum Activities

2008-02-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

More Pictures of the Museum of Ancient Life. The kids at the erosion table and posing with the dinosaurs. It was alot of fun.

Museum of Ancient Life

2008-02-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

We decided to visit the local Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. It was a bit overpriced (in my expert opinion) but the kids had a lot of fun. There were many "hands on" activities such as the erosion table and the design-A-dino. There were also many "hands off" displays that we included as part of our "hands on" experience. (We wanted to get our monies worth) I was proud of myself for remembering the daiper bag, but forgot the camera. These pictures are from the camera phone. Oh well....one can't be perfect at everything.

New Member of the Family

2008-02-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Jasmine Pretty Princess Mae Badger...or Jazzy Jazz for short. She is our newest member of the Badger party. She's pretty cute, but she poops.....I wish I would have know that before. Emily has been great in feeding, watering, and taking her out for her potty breaks. Andy and I have been responsible for cleaning up any accidents.

Sledding

2008-01-27T21:42:00.001-08:00

We love morning church

2008-01-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

We have been looking forward to having church start at 9:00a.m. We made some Sunday goals and knew that we would get a lot more accomplished during the day by having church first. What we got accomplished the first Sunday this year was to put every hair barrette into Emily's hair. I guess we can cross that off of our list of Sunday goals....whew, that feels good.

Child Labor Laws???

2008-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Cyrus won the toss up on picking the chores. The toilet cleaning is the favorite...with washing the mirror coming in a close second...but that's about all that gets cleaned. What can you do?

Cooking Time

2008-01-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Emily and Cyrus love to help in the kitchen. The cake was delicious!

Toe Touching Kelsey

2008-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Now that Kelsey has discovered her feet, she likes to make sure they're still there.