Alyssa....

Casey & I....I sorta like that dude!
Our family! This hike was so out of my comfort zone...major claustrophobia....scary to be stuck between 2 rocks but such a great experience! So nice to be together as a family with no phones ringing, no texts coming thru, no laundry....just fun times! We so needed it! So grateful for these cute people that make me so happy and give life meaning. Just feeling so blessed!

I loved this picture of my spunky sweet Shaylee!

The kids were determined to lead the way-they would disappear and be hiding in every nook & cranny....so much fun for them to try to scare the adults!

Goblin Valley

Super fun but SUPER cold weekend! The kids thought the snow was great...the parents not so much!

Goblin Valley-Can you see Sawyer???
The kids had SO MUCH FUN climbing everything....you'd never know they were freezing from the pictures!

Hallmark Couldn't Have Said It Better!

Valentines around here was fabulous. Fun parties at school-yummy sugar cookies from amazingly thoughtful neighbors-a fun dinner as a family and Valentines Family Home Evening. I requested NO FLOWERS this year....not a huge fan of roses and they are so darn pricey so Casey bought me a nice picture for our home. I love it. He is awesome. And he's mine. And I know that I am a lucky girl. The award for best Valentine for 2011 around this house however goes to the little dude in the house....check out the card he made just for me.....

Colorful. Detailed. Thoughtful. I-like you-wondered what the inside would say. He is a boy but he loves his mom. My prayer is that as he grows this part of him won't ever change...I feel pretty special. Ready to read the card?
Huh? Your thoughts please....

(I am STILL laughing about it!)

One Fabulous Birthday

Last Saturday was my birthday-I am 37FREAKINYEARSOLD!!! Crazy. Casey has been super busy with inventory at work-I was a little bummed he had to work all weekend and wouldn't be home for my birthday. My only request for the kids was to please just let me sleep until 10. My favorite thing ever is to sleep!

At 9:30 they brought me breakfast in bed-Rice Chex with bananas-I ate them and thanked them and told them they were the best kids ever...then asked if I could sleep for 20 more minutes. They were super disappointed...20 minutes later they were bugging me again.

The reason they were so excited is their super awesome dad had decorated the house before he left with special paper balloons he had cut out BY HAND. Each balloon had something they love about me. There are a ton of balloons-all over my house. I read each one atleast 5 times that morning and cried. So cool. Casey keeps asking me when I am going to take them down-they might be up forever! I love them! Nothing like positive affirmations to make you smile when you are the mom! ;) I still walk around the house and read them over & over again.

They say things like:

Very honest...unless you are hiding treats.

Strong Willed

Crazy macoroni.

I love how you can spread your toes.

You can talk to anyone-even if they don't speak English!

You strengthen us with your testimony.

You help us understand the scriptures.

You help us learn to read. You also read with us at night.

You make us feel like we can talk to you about anything. We don't have to hide everything because you understand.

You are the nicest mom that I ever had.

Thank you for helping us be the best we can be.

You know who you are.

Freakin.

You help us with our homework.

That's funny!

"Yeah...no thanks!"

I love the way you serve.

Very open with your life.

Can't go a day without a diet coke from the gas station.

You work hard on the house even though we are all messy.

You like to buy us stuff.

You are the beauty and dad is the beast.

You make sure we have clothes to wear.

Let's us eat PB&J sandwiches when we don't like the dinner that is being served.

Got soup?

You teach us about Heavenly Father

You love people.

Makes breakfast and cold lunch

You help us at school

You help us with homework

Love you lots.

Just a sample of the things they said....so cool! I am just one lucky girl! This meant more to me than any "gift" I have ever received in my life. Being the mom is hard work-I guess this made me feel like I am making a difference. That the little things I do day in and day out really do matter. And that they notice. And they care. And they are simply amazing!

I also got spoiled from some pretty dang good friends. A couple of really good books-a darling sweater and necklace-a super cute bracelet-a gift certificate to San Gelato-and a polygamous date with our friends Brian & Erin-they took me to lunch at Texas Roadhouse! Good times. Forgot my camera-would have been a great pic! So grateful for the amazing people in my life-and if I have to be 37FREAKINGYEARSOLD to enjoy all that I get to enjoy then I guess I will quit complaining! Life only gets better the older I get.

Little Reminders

I am a check list kind of girl. Helps me remember the things I need to get done (most of the time!) and I feel like I accomplish more. Sawyer is apparently the same way! He made these little reminder sheets to hang by his light awhile ago. Makes me smile every time I pass it...my favorite of course is #6 on his night list...."Give mom a hug." So sweet. So awesome. I love this dude.

These are seriously the moments that make it all so worth it! I love being a mom!

My Favorite Kid....Just For Today! ;)

I have no idea where I was when the artsy fartsy creative genes were being handed out in heaven...I'm sure I was getting a diet coke in another line or something! Makes me sad and frustrated but mostly overwhelmed with all of my kids cutesy school projects. They're jipped in the cool creative mom department. I hope I make up for it in other areas

Today after I took my kids to school I decided to sort thru the never ending always reappearing paper pile by our computer. In it I saw Sawyer had a cute cut out blank guy with a note that said to please have him decorate this person over the weekend to represent his ancestors. And to please send it back Monday. DANGIT!! Today is Monday. And I already took Sawyer to school. And he doesn't have his guy-all decorated and ready to share with his class-and maybe he is sad. Once again he remembers he has a loser mom. My kids need a therapist-or even better a support group. I hope there are other kids somewhere that suffer from the same issues my kids do.

Today was super busy-I got everything accomplished and picked my kids up from school. I apologized to Sawyer and asked how things went. He shared the stories of what he learned from his friends. When I handed him his guy we talked about Sweden...and England...and Norway. I mentioned he could always make it into a Viking. His eyes lit up and he said, "I will get Shaylee to help me!" (Didn't even hurt my feelings he didn't ask me for help-he and I both know better!)

It was fun to watch her go to work and help him.....and his Viking is pretty darn cool. So grateful for these kids-that they all have something different to offer our family. Today I am SO GLAD I HAVE SHAY!!! The cardboard box messes get a little old but dang she knows how to pull of a great art project!!!

The finished Viking-I ALWAYS POST MY PICS IN THE WRONG ORDER!!! Too lazy to upload again-start at the bottom picture if you want to see them the way I wanted them....you get the point!
Priceless! Just google a Viking and she can create it....he even got a red beard out of chopped up yarn! ;)