Garber Family

Us

2011-01-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a LONG time since i've posted on our family blog. And I'm not making any promises of keeping it updated often but I thought I would share our pics we had taken as a family.

I am embarrased to say that these pics were taken back in September. Wow, where are my priorities? The fabulous Jessie O'neal took these pics and I did the edits. She was so great with us and our crazy family. Thank you Jessie!

Jude already looks so different. But I knew that we would be expanding our family soon so post pregnancy weight and all I wanted to document our family with just 3 kids. And I am so glad I did! Just goes to show you if you are waiting to document your families when you are back to your goal weight....DON'T. Don't miss out on documenting your life as a family and YES your kids want you in those pictures. I promise!

Happy Birthday Papa Lonnie!

2010-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

My Dad's birthday is actually tomorrow but since I am thinking about it now and I'm sure I will forget tomorrow I will give a shout out to the best Dad / Grandpa I could ever ask for! Love you Dad!

See more pics here

Max's Birthday

2010-08-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last sunday was Max's birthday. He is finally 4 years old (he's been asking for months now when he would be 4).

4 things you may not know about Max

1. His eyes, I've never had anyone comment on Max without mentioning his eyes. NEVER!

2. He can do the best pouty face on command. It's really hard to get mad at him.

3. He will melt your heart in about .2 seconds.

4. He will yell at me for several minutes to get my attention just to tell me he loves me. I love you too Max!

P.S. Since I'm plastering this event everwhere else I thought I might as well do it here as well. Sorry if you are sick of hearing about it. But really you don't have to play tennis at all to attend. The exhibition match and dinner will be excellent!And it's a great way for us to honor my mom at the year mark of her passing. I hope to see you there. www.oflovetournament.com

Birthdays...

2010-06-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Crazy that 5 years ago yesterday I became a Mom for the first time. And being the terrible mom that I am I don't have any pics from Brigham's birthday yet. But I'm so glad I get to be his mom. 5 things about Brigham that I love...

1. He is so thoughtful (if I do my hair differently or put on eye shadow he always notices and tells me how pretty beautiful I look)

2. He is very anal...I like to call it particular. He definitely knows what he wants, even if it is the color of his cereal bowl in the morning.

3. He is such a good big brother. He's been so good to help with Jude and Max the last few weeks. The other day I came in to him trying to soothe Jude by bouncing him up and down.

4. He is determined. Brigham never lets anything stop him. If he wants to do something, he does it. We are happy that usually what he wants to do is not naughty.

5. He is so trusting of us. If we tell him to jump off the back porch and that he will be ok, he does it. He doesn't ever second guess us. He has so much faith that we won't let him get hurt. It's a little scary for us, we always hope we won't break it.

5 years later and now I am a mom of 3. Jude is almost 1 month old. Here are a few more pics of him. This first one is of Jude on a beautiful quilt made of my mom's clothes. I wanted this picture so badly because I feel like it represents how close My Mom has been involved with him and his life so far.

This picture I took for my sister Anna who sent me this little outfit from her mission. We miss her so much! She is the best Aunt!

Meet Jude...

2010-06-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

We couldn't be happier to finally have him here.

Born June 2nd at 12:45am

6lbs 12oz, 19.5 inches long

He came out screaming but is just as sweet as can be.

I miss white bread!

2010-03-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

When I became a mom I decided that I wanted to fill my house full of good foods and try to not have the junk food around. Not that I deprive my kids from this food, they get plenty for holidays and from grandparents, I just thought its probably better to not keep it in the home. Not just for them but for me as well, I have little self control when something yummy is home. This means...no chips, (besides tortilla chips), no candy, sugar cereal, etc.

White bread is something we never ever buy. And I know 100% whole wheat bread is so much healthier but sometimes I just want a piece of toast on white bread. You would think after 5 years of not having it in the house I would be over it but seriously a PB and J just doesn't taste the same when you have to actually chew the bread instead of it just dissolving in your mouth.

And all this talk lately about non processed food. I've been really trying to cut back on that as well but sometimes you just need some Cheetos even if you have no idea what the ingredients are. I don't even want to look at the ingredients of an Eggo waffle, seriously scary to think about. But if you put some fresh strawberries / raspberries on top that makes them healthy....right?

OK now I'm hungry. Maybe I'm just bitter for not being able to have all that stuff in my house. And maybe I'm bitter that for every pound I am gaining my husband is losing one. Not cool...what happened to sympathy weight? I'm blaming my complaining on the pregnancy. I only have 9 more weeks to use it as an excuse so you better believe I am using it :)

Happy eating!

Side note: Just so you don't have the wrong impression about us I must clarify that I have plenty of crap food in my house. Cookie dough, fruit snacks, ice cream, etc. I am in no way trying to say we are healthy eaters because that would be false advertising.

A tribute to my youth....

2010-01-31T21:41:00.000-08:00

Cameron and I were talking about the recent fad on facebook to post a picture of your celebrity look-a-like (according to others). I couldn't think of anyone I had been told I looked like until Cameron kindly reminded me of how my family used to call me Kaiya. In case you didn't remember who Kaiya is here is a little reminder.

Good thing my siblings are so loving and affectionate with all the other things they called me (nobby nose, bubble butt, man hands) or I might have a complex.

The newest member of our family...

2010-01-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

Josie Dakota (aka Kota) joined our family last Sunday night. Totally unexpectedly I might add.

My sister-in-law informed us late saturday night that her sister had to give the new black lab puppy they had gotten their son for Christmas away because their older daughter was absolutely terrified of her, even though she was a really good puppy. I have been saying for a long time that we were absolutely NOT getting a Dog until we were done having kids but when I heard the story suddenly it became appealing.

Cameron and I discussed it a little that night. Brigham over heard us talking about someone giving away a dog and thought that my Dad was giving away Sioux. He was sobbing in the back of the car asking why my Dad had to give away Sioux. We quickly reassured him that it was not Sioux we were talking about but seeing how much he loved Sioux was a convincing arguement, and he didn't even know he was trying to convince us. On Sunday she was brought over to my Dad's house for us to have a look. We fell in love with her right away....especially Brigham. And she came home with us that night.

The hardest part so far was seeing this 7 year old boy have to say goodbye to his puppy at my Dad's. He was just heart broken, and we felt awful for him and his family. Thank you to the Hill family for allowing us to take your precious puppy. We love her already!

Little things make me happy...

2009-12-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

The past 4 months have been difficult, to say the least. But I have learned to find joy in the smallest things because somedays its all I have.

Today after church the boys and I were walking home in the snow and Cameron stayed at the church to help shovel the walks. Brigham ran ahead of me and a few seconds later comes running back with 2 sand shovels in his hands. He gives one to Max and then yells to me while passing by, "I'm going to help Dad shovel the snow at the Church!" I wasn't sure whether I should be proud that he wanted to help his Dad or laugh at the fact that he thought he could be a lot of help with his sand toy. Ha ha. It made me smile so I took a couple of quick pics to capture it.

We miss you and love you! We were blessed to have you!

2009-08-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love! Here is my beautiful mother...

Ardene Ressler Bullard

On August 18, 2009 the light of our lives and heart of our family was suddenly and unexpectedly taken. Despite her valiant efforts, she was overcome by an aggressive and sudden infection.

Ardene was born on March 18, 1955 to Peter J. and Reah O. Ressler in Roy, Utah. She was the youngest of 10 children along with her twin sister and best friend, Arlene. She was raised in Roy and attended Ricks College and Weber State College. She was married to her high school sweetheart Lonnie M. Bullard on May 5, 1977 in the Salt Lake Temple. She dedicated her life to her husband and to raising nine wonderful children. She excelled in and deeply loved being a mother. She loved the out-of-doors and was passionate about sports and fitness, especially tennis, playing on many teams and in many tournaments. She never shied away from competitive games, even with women half her age. She had a passion for life and was involved in all the activities of her children. She stood side-by-side with her husband in community, business, and recreational events. Ardene and Lonnie were inseparable in life, one name rarely mentioned without the other. They know their relationship is eternal.

Ardene was blessed with an unwavering testimony of the gospel and a great love for her Savior. While raising her nine children, she served in many ward and stake callings, among her favorites were: missionary at Hill Cumorah Pageant, camp director, Young Women’s President and Relief Society President.

She is survived by her husband Lonnie and children Melissa (Samuela) Ita’aehau, Michael (Andrea), Shannon (Cameron) Garber, Kendrick (serving in the Tuxla Gutierrez, Mexico Mission), Anna, Denis (serving in the Johannesburg, South Africa Mission), Valek, Madison, and Dema. Also survived by soon to be eight grandchildren, father, Peter J. Ressler, and siblings Boyd Ressler, Susan Howes, Judy Daugherty, Holly Everton, Chris Ressler, Pam Woodall, Coral Taggart, and Arlene Racker. She was preceded in death by her mother Reah, and brother Laurie.

A viewing will be held at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 1941 North Main Street, Farmington, Utah, on Thursday, August 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. A viewing will also be held from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at the Farmington North Stake Center at 729 W. Shepard Lane, Farmington, Utah. Funeral services to be held at 11:00 AM in the Farmington North Stake Center. Internment at the Farmington City Cemetery.

The family wishes to thank the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff of the Intermountain Medical Center for their heroic efforts, compassion and kindness. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Perpetual Education Fund or the Missionary Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Ardene will be forever remembered as selfless, loving, and without guile towards anyone, always showing unconditional love. Oh, how we will miss her.

Way too long...

2009-07-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

I know it's been way too long since i've posted, and it will probably be a few weeks until i'm ready to catch up. But yes we still exist. Here is one picture for proof!

A few from our Vacation...

2009-05-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

We wanted to get a few family pictures when we were at the beach and I volunteered my awesome sister in law to snap a few...little did I know that the dress I picked out would make my arms look like the size of elephant trunks, and the lighting was not great...but we did manage to get a couple.

This is my favorite, they are best buds.

These next 2 are telling of what the kids did all vacation.

Brigham ran in and out of the waves for hours on end. He loved being in the ocean.

Max just chilled on the beach and smoked cigarretes, jk. Really he was too excited that he had a massive sandbox that the ocean wasn't that appealing to him. He found some disgusting stuff in that sand, but he loved every second of it. I'm still cleaing sand out of his ears.

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

I love you Mom, for so many reasons. But especially because you are the best grandma these kids could ever ask for!

Marley and Me Trauma...

2009-04-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

We watched "Marley and Me" as a Family tonight. We thought it would be fun for the boys to see it since they love my Dad's dog, Sioux. I had seen it before and bawled the last 20 minutes. Anyone that has loved a dog before has to cry at the end of that show, it's just sad. And it doesn't help that the dog I grew up with was a yellow lab as well. So yes I knew the ending, but every time Brigham saw a commercial for the show he would just laugh. Well let's just stop justifying and get to the point, my 3 yr. old bawled the last 20 minutes of the show. Seriously, it was the sweetest and hardest thing I have ever had to watch. Who does that to their 3 year old? And I really shouldn't be surprised. I know my child, I know how high strung and super thoughtful and sensitive he is. I guess I just didn't realize how old he really is. I didn't think he would really grasp the concept of death. When my Grandma died a couple of months ago we had several talks with Brigham about death and the resurrection. Sure he could repeat what we had just told him but didn't feel like he could grasp that whole thing yet. Well apparently he can and he did. Maybe it hit too close to home because of his love for Sioux. The worst part is, is that its not like we turned off the movie and all was forgotten, like we as adults tend to do. He continued to cry several different times as the night wore on. And his bedtime prayers were practically dedicated to Marley, and yes he cried as he prayed. But it really isn't all sad. He reminded us that Marley went to heaven and will come back alive when Jesus comes again. And even though we will miss Marley we will see him again.

# 1 on my to-do list -teach my children the importance of Easter Sunday before Easter.....check.

Cameron caught these with his cell phone. The boys and their Marley (Sioux).

3 Shout Outs!

2009-03-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

1. To my beautiful Mom whose birthday was last week. It was her first birthday without her mother here and I know it was hard for her but she is amazingly strong. She is always positive no matter what life throws at her (which seems to be a whole lot lately). I love you mom, you are the BEST! We are all so blessed to have you in our lives!

2. To my brother Denis (on the right) who got his mission call a few months ago and I haven't mentioned it on here yet. I'm not a great sister. He is going to South Africa and leaves in the middle of May. He doesn't even have to go to the MTC in Provo, he gets to head straight to South African MTC. Denis is hilarious and sweet. He's been so helpful lately and we will miss him so much, especially my kids. We know he will do great though! Love you Denis!

3. Last but not least my brother Kenny who also received a mission call last week to Mexico. At age 23 that can be an even harder decision to make, especially because it's his second time around but we are so proud of him and know he will do great too! Kenny leaves the middle of July. He has the biggest heart I have ever seen and can ONLY see the good in people. We love you Kenny!

How exciting to have two brothers out at the same time....there is just no greater gift they could give to my boys either than to set an example like that! Actually I should say 3 brothers, Quinn (Cameron's brother) is out already serving in Taiwan. We are so blessed!

Oh and I better throw in this last shout out to my brother and my sister in-law and their two sweet kids in Iowa. They just found out they get to move back home to Utah for a year! WAHOO! My kids are so excited to have their cousins around for a little while, even if they do have to move to Michigan after. Mike graduates from Medical School this May and starts his residency this summer. Congratulations you guys!

Happy St. Patty's Day Contest

2009-03-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Check out my photography blog for a chance at 15$ or FREE ice cream from Cold Stone!

www.shanzphotoblog.blogspot.com

A new sight at our house!

2009-03-08T14:29:00.001-07:00

(Didn't feel good about potential perves looking at my boys in their underwear so I took to this picture down)

Notice something new? Two boys in underwear! Wahoo....I'm so excited that I am no longer in the diaper stage. And I could watch Max run around in his underwear all day, there is something about a toddler's little body that is just so cute. (no this doesn't mean i'm out of cleaning the accidents off my floor stage, unfortunately that is still a work in progress)

And other news....wait there is no other news but I do promise to be better at updating my blogs more often. And I have noticed that I am not the only slacker lately, so to all my friends and family, here is my personal invitation to update your blogs more regularly as well. You know who you are! How else am I supposed to waste my day away :)

We love you and miss you Grandma!

2009-02-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

Reah Oliver Ressler
Reah Oliver Ressler 5/10/1923 ~ 2/11/2009 ROY - Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Reah Oliver Ressler, passed away on February 11, 2009 in Ogden, Utah surrounded by her loving family. If Reah met someone once, he was a friend; if she met someone twice he was family and most likely received a homemade quilt. She is a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reah was born on May 10, 1924 in South Jordan, Utah to Gilbert Josiah Oliver and Iline June Rindlisbacher. In 1930 the family moved to Anaconda, Montana where she attended school. In Anaconda, she met her husband of nearly 68 years, Peter J Ressler. They were married on May 27, 1941 in Boulder, Montana. They were sealed for time and all eternity in the Ogden LDS Temple on May 27, 1995. Four children were born in Montana, after which the family moved to Roy, Utah where they have resided for 60 years. Six more children followed in Roy as well as 46 grandchildren, 96 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Including spouses, her posterity currently numbers over 200. She knew and loved each one, and they knew she loved them through kind words, kisses, hugs and acts of service. Reah was a faithful member of several Roy Wards. She served in numerous callings, but will especially be remembered for over 30 years as Stake Girls Camp Director. She worked as an office assistant to Dr. Leon H. White, pediatrician, for nearly 25 years. She loved her calling in the Ogden Temple and her service in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Reah is survived by a faithful and loving husband, Peter J Ressler and by nine children, Boyd (Jan) Ressler, Susan (Nick) Howes, Holly (Larry) Everton, Chris Ressler, Judy (Emmett) Daugherty, Pam (Randy) Woodall, Coral Taggart, Ardene (Lonnie) Bullard, and Arlene (Rob) Racker. Also survived by brothers, Max, Robert, and Norman Oliver, sisters, Shirla Montgomery and Bonnie Openshaw. Preceded in death by siblings Don Oliver, Beth Spraycar and Lillie Zito, a son Laurie, a son-in-law Gary Taggart, grandchildren Daren Ressler and Shay Taggart and two great-grandchildren Kilee Huffaker and McKenzie Schultz. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 16, 2009 at 11 a.m. at the Roy 23rd Ward, 5930 South 2200 West, Roy. Friends and family may call on Sunday at Myers Roy Mortuary, 5865 South 1900 West, Roy from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Monday at the church from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Roy City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Reah would appreciate hugs and kisses and donations to the LDS Missionary Fund. Send condolences to family at www.myers-mortuary.com

Help Please!

2009-02-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

Update: Thanks for all who voted....#4 is the winner!

Ok so my awesome friend Jamie designed these logos for me (I decided it was about time that I get one) and I am having the hardest time deciding because I love them all. Please help me decide!

Happy First Miss!

2009-01-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is my(cameron) first post, I thought I never would but I just couldn't help it. I heard this song on the radio and had to look it up and share it with you Shannon.

On Saturday Jan 24, 2009 it will have been 8 years since our first kiss, or 'first miss,' as I lovingly call it. It took close to 5 hours of talking before I finally worked up the courage to lean over do what "should've done ... a long time ago." I'm not sure why, but taking that leap from being "just friends" was scary. I was so excited, so nervous but so happy just to be sitting next to her in my crappy little VW Golf. I couldn't help it any longer. I loved her and wanted to know that so bad. She was my best friend. She changed my life and perspective on everything. She made me happy and I wanted to be happy with her. It was the best decision I've ever made to share that 'first miss' with her.

We've been married for close to 5 years now and I'm still in love with her. I still get excited and nervous and feel so in love every time I sit next to her. I think I've gotten better at the kissing thing, but I still get that feeling of excitement of puppy love that caused me to close my eyes and miss the mark.

So, Shannon although I wish they had this song 9 years ago to help me break the ice a lot sooner, I wanna dedicate it to you now. I love YOU!

Plain White T's - 1, 2, 3, 4 - Official Music Video (HQ)

Spread the love and send the email with this song from the link at the end of the song to the person you love.

National Champions!!!

2009-01-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

I know you are all wondering why I haven't mentioned anything about my Utes being the bomb diggity this year?....Just trying to find the words to express how I feel about the whole thing. I found them....ESPN's Rick Reilly says it better than I ever could.

"Some gifts people give are pointless: Styling mousse to Dick Vitale. An all-you-can-eat card to Kate Moss. The BCS Championship given to Oklahoma or Florida.
It means nothing because the BCS has no credibility. Florida? Oklahoma? Who cares? Utah is the national champion.
The End. Roll credits"

"FIND ME ANYBODY ELSE THAT WENT UNDEFEATED. THIRTEEN-AND-ZERO. BEAT FOUR RANKED TEAMS. WENT TO THE DEEP SOUTH AND SEAL-CLUBBED ALABAMA IN THE SUGAR BOWL."

Read the whole thing here...it is well worth it. I promise!

GO UTES!!!!

NOW GO VOTE FOR THE UTES HERE!!!!

Birthdays, Christmas Parties and Some Finger Slicing

2008-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry no pictures on this post but I've been a serious slacker on blogging lately so I'll give a brief update of what we've been up to this christmas season.

My boys have had fun at the several christmas parties we have attended; Bullards, Resslers, Ward, etc. Although not one of our parties did brought Santa this year which was really disappointing now that my oldest is finally at an age where he actually cares. Last year all three parties did and this year none. So whoever reads this and attends one of those three parties, please put in a request to bring Santa back.

Christmas was a big hit as well. I really don't want my boys to grow up and realize that a 1 dollar slinky is not only lame but also that Santa is cheap. We were even able to spend a few days up at the cabin...but it wasn't nearly long enough.

Cameron is off of school for a couple of weeks and we LOVE having him home! His birthday was a couple of weeks ago and Max decided to get his Dad a very special birthday gift......a trip to the E.R. While Cameron and I were finishing getting ready for church the boys were eating granola bars. Max got up on the table grabbed the scissors and started cutting his granola bar. Apparently he couldn't eat the whole thing so he wanted to make it smaller. Logical enough, only he's two years and cut his pinky finger along with it. Cameron came in to a screaming Max in a pool of blood. He was still trying to eat his granola bar so it took Cameron a while to find where the blood was coming from. Once we saw the cut we knew it needed stitches so we headed to Weecare. They couldn't do anything for us and sent us to the E.R. Max hadn't cried since Cameron came in the room and found him but you could tell he was hurting so Cameron pulled out his fly fishing book and we started naming fish. The fish Black Crappie was a big hit. Go figure.

In the hospital room Cameron made the boys ballons with those latex gloves (that aren't latex anymore). When the doctor came in Brigham went right up to him, held out his ballon and asked "Do you want to hold my hand?" I think it was about the funniest thing I've ever heard and me and Cameron were rolling. The doctor thought it was pretty clever as well. It came from out of no where and you could tell by the smile on his face that laughter is exactly what Brigham wanted out of the comment.

Max's pinky has recovered quite nicely but I have a feeling that will not be the only time he takes us to the E.R. Just tonight he touched his thumb to a pan on the stove just to see if it was hot....it was.

Alright so I think that's it, if you've made it to the end of this post I am very impressed. It must mean you really like us....or you are really bored!

Introducing...

2008-12-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

my newest little nephew Jaxton (but not so little, he was born 8lbs 11oz)

Sketch

2008-12-09T08:54:00.001-08:00

Does anyone else think it's a little sketch that our president elect is coming from a state where the past two governors have been sent to jail because of federal corruption? I know I know, Barak Obama has nothing to do with it but I have to admit it makes me a little nervous.

Check it out here... http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=5027909

ps. No I'm not a Obama hater....just skeptical.

To Pluck or not to Pluck?

2008-11-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

So I plucked Max's uni-brow in photoshop but I'm wondering if I should pluck it for real. What do you think? It really is getting pretty thick....he can thank his Daddy and Uncle Mike!

A late Happy Halloween

2008-11-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Halloween as a family. It was fun to have a child that actually understood what was going on. Here are a few pics.

Brigham decided 2 weeks before Halloween to change his obsession from Optimus Prime to Iron Man. So he made us all pretend that he was wearing and Iron Man costume. The only problem was that every time someone would see him they would say "oh wow you're Optimus Prime" and then Brigham would proceed to freak out. Here he is in combat with his enemy Sioux.

Max decided he was a bumblebee transformer cowboy. He wore his hat over his eyes all night and if I tried to tip it up so I could see his face he would pull it back down immediately and look at me and say "no, right there". His head was soaking wet when we were finally able to pry the hat off his head. Gross!

Optimus (pretending to be Iron Man) and my Cowboys.

Creepy?

2008-10-28T22:25:00.001-07:00

Creepy? Be honest! What is it about a floating head that looks so weird?

Talking Nonsense

2008-10-27T10:03:00.001-07:00

Brigham is in the funniest stage right now with his talking. He is a little confused on when to use her and she so the most logical thing for him to do is to combine the two, then he has his bases covered. On our way to Grandma Dene's house Brigham will ask, "Mom are we going to SHER house yet?" Or he pointed to a woman at the store the other day and asked "What is SHER doing?" Makes sense to me.

Also did you know that Yen is actually not the Japanese currency it is a word frequently used when describing something that happened in the past. Ex. "Mom guess what I just did, I was on the stairs and YEN I jumped down and YEN I fell on my bum and YEN I didn't even cry and YEN Max just laughed at me and YEN I did it again."

Max is a polar opposite of Brigham. He is so laid back and easy going where as Brigham is super high strung and anal. Max thinks that saying the first part of a sentence or word should be optional. For example he calls Brigham, "gum". And it isn't just words with more than one syllable, truck and stuck.....simply "uck". My favorite is when he says I love you.....in Max's words "you".

I often wonder how I can still speak English.

When the boys are away the mom will????

2008-10-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

So what do I do with my one night off while "The boys" are gone camping. Any suggestions? Anyone want to hang out?

Photo Blog

2008-10-07T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so all those that are sick of checking my blog only to find more of my photography stuff on here worry no more.....I've made another blog with just my photos, so if you are interested check it out at www.shanzphotoblog.blogspot.com. It's pretty empty right now but I will get more pics uploaded soon.

A shout out to all those with new babies!

2008-09-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

I was up literally all night last night with Max because he has Hand Foot Mouth Disease. I am wondering how I ever made it through 2 babies and definitely not wanting to go back to those sleepless nights.

So guess what I'm doing today..........NOTHING, I'm staying in my sweats all day and letting my kids watch movies all day. Am I a bad mother to neglect my duties for a day? Anyway, Good job to all those mothers who didn't get any sleep last night that will accomplish leaps and bound more than I will today:)

Note: Please don't call child services, I promise I will take care of my children's immediate needs, such as feeding and changing.

Jack

2008-09-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Meet Jack (aka Mini Adam), he is just oozing with personality. He is such a happy baby and therefor made taking pictures a breeze. I am loving how these pictures are turning out!

Zoey

2008-09-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Max had so much fun playing with his cousin Zoey the other day. Here are some pics I took of her while the boys were napping....man I wish we were somewhere with a better background and had more time.

We live above ground!

2008-09-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

We moved. Exciting and exhausting. We are still trying to complete about a million projects and put together our house but things are starting to come together. Before we moved in we had to paint our entire house....the entire thing was pink, even the ceilings. It was a lot of hard work and we are so grateful to family and friends who were willing to help us out so much.

Brigham and Max had a very exciting first this week when they looked out their bedroom window and both squealed with excitement about being able to see the moon. We are no longer basement dwellers :)

I had to post these pictures of Brigham and his first love Sioux. Aren't these so sweet?

Photoshoot #2 - Now you know why I'm considered the UGLY sister

2008-08-06T18:49:00.001-07:00

Ok, so there are a million pictures on this one but my sisters asked me to take pictures of them and I went crazy. It's easy to get awesome pictures when the people you are taking pictures of are gorgeous. I also had a mini photoshoot with Garber family up at the cabin. I will post those soon.

Yes we have fallen off the face of the earth

2008-08-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say we are back but unfortunately that is not the case. A lot has happened over the past couple of months. We have moved out of our little basement apartment into another basement, Cameron's grandpa's house. We have been married 4 1/2 years and are yet to live above ground, but things are beginning to look up. We are in the process of buying a house. Our move was rather sudden but we are making the best of it and excited to live in our own place. The major downside is that my kids are going through withdrawals of their cousins Naki and Lexi.

This summer has consisted of several trips to the cabin, youth conference, girls camp, cherry hill, etc. Cameron has had the last 3 weeks off and he has 3 more weeks off. We have enjoyed having him so much. I'm really debating whether or not I want him to ever receive a pay check, the school schedule really is so much more flexible.

Brigham had his 3rd birthday and we had a Transformers birthday for him. Thanks Uncle Quinn for helping out with his cake. Speaking of Uncle Quinn, he has been called on a mission to Taiwan and will leave in September. We are very excited for him. Max's birthday is on Friday and he will be 2 years old. How did my boys get to be so big? As we have been trying to shop for Max's birthday Cameron and I have realized that there has been at least one good thing about Brigham having OCD, he is easy to shop for. There was no question what we would get him on his birthday. Max on the other hand is quite the opposite so it has been a challenge.

Anyway, I can't think of much more to report on so I will leave it a that. We have no Internet where we are at now so just don't expect many more posts until September.

We are back-row dwellers for a good reason!

2008-07-12T18:53:00.001-07:00

Our experience last sunday was quite an eventful one and if I don't write it down now I never will.
Cameron was asked to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting so we arrived a little early. We were unable to sit in our usual spot because the curtains were closed so we sat on the back row of the benches. Only a few seconds into the announcements Brigham turns to me and asks "Mom does this church have nursery?".....wow I guess we have never sat in the actual chapel before, Brigham didn't even recognize our own church. After trying to persuade him for several minutes that this was the same church we always attend he still seemed a little confused and demanded proof of where it was at. The opening prayer saved a major freak out. The conversation came to a halt when Cameron worked his way up front to say the prayer. Brigham folded his arms and sat quietly through the entire prayer. I was beginning to think this bench sitting might not be such a bad thing, more comfortable and kids are old enough to be well behaved. When Cameron finished prayer Brigham stood up, clapped, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Yeah Daddy, you did a good job!".... spoken like a proud son. Hmm I guess we haven't gone over with him the rules of ettiquette during church.
A few attempts of running on to the stage and a few tries at the on/off light switch later we are hanging on by a thread. Good thing we brought fruit snacks or we would have been toast....oh wait not only did we decide to try bench sitting we decided the kids didn't need any snacks during sacrament anymore, oops. Needless to say the rest of sacrament meeting was attended out in the hall way.

Happy church going tomorrow! I hope yours is better than ours:)

My First Photo Shoot

2008-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

I finally found a hobby that I'm passionate about. Photography. It's been so fun getting into this and I had my first kind of real photo shoot a couple of weeks ago with my cute niece and nephew. Tell me what you think (and be honest I need the criticism).

For all you bloggers

2008-06-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

I found an awesome new feature...google reader. If you are like me and spend a lot of time checking all your favorite blogs to see if they've been updated, this will fix it. Google reader will tell you when all your favorite blogs have been updated and you can view them all here. Good luck!

P.S. I don't think it works for private blogs.

family pictures...what do you think?

2008-05-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

A New Baby!

2008-05-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Isn't she the cutest puppy you've ever seen? My Dad got a new white lab a week ago and I took a few pictures. Sioux (pronounced Sue) is so sweet and so much fun. Brigham and Max can't get enough of her and beg to go to Grandma Dene's to play with her. It doesn't take much coaxing to get me to go because I have just as much fun with her as the boys do.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-05-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick gushy moment to tell my hubby that I love him and that life really isn't as good without him by my side! Four years ago we were married and we are still in the honeymoon phase! Love you babe!

Girls Trip!

2008-04-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

So after reading everyone's blogs about the trips they were taking to warm places I finally got the chance of my own. Me, My Mom and my sister along with my Mom's twin and three of her daughters went to Scottsdale AZ for a few days. It was so much fun! No kids and no husbands, just us! I loved every second of it. We played tennis, laid out, shopped and of course the most important part.....ate. If you've never been to AZ you need to go just for the food. The restaurants are awesome, and you could eat at a different one for every meal for the entire year. Don't worry I didn't come home that fat, we just chose one a day. Cheesecake Factory, Flo's (Best Chinese Food ever!), and a really good Mexican restaurant (I can't remember the name).

I came back from my trip rested, rejuvenated and ready to take on motherhood again. It was great and I highly recommend a girls trip for all you moms out there! I'm already looking forward to next year. Thanks Mom for doing this! And a VERY VERY BIG THANK YOU to my in-laws who watched the boys while I was away. I could never leave them if I didn't know they were in the best of hands.

The Whole Clan

The Gorgeous Twins!

Tennis and Eating

Stuffed Animals....Love them or Hate them?

2008-04-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Am I alone in feeling like stuffed animals are a thing from the devil disguised in very cute packaging?

I was straightening my boys room for the fifth time that day and stopped to take a look at my accomplishment when I realized that no matter how many times I pick their things up it still looks like it's being taken over by millions of big, little, orange, blue, fuzzy, stuffed animals. This is not the first time I have realized this, it's just one of my many reoccurring thought processes that happens about once a month. So I continue the process by starting at the back of the room and going through each one to try and decided if it stays or goes. Here is how it works...

Animal #1 - Cameron brought this one back from his mission for me, I can't give this one up

Animal #2 - Grandma gave this to Brigham while he was in the hospital, it was his very first stuffed animal.

Animal #3 - I sent this one to Cameron on the mission while I was in New York, no way we are getting rid of it.

Animal #4 - Brigham sleeps with this one every night, the most sanitary thing would probably be to throw it in the trash but I already took his Binky away and am not willing to fight another battle like that.

Animal #5 - Way too cute to get rid of

Animal #6 - Well as long as we are keeping stuffed animals

And it ends there.

Why is it so easy to buy stuffed animals and yet so hard to get rid of them? They are just big and take up space and NEVER get played with. Ok maybe you mom's with girls out there have a different story to tell but unless my boys are shooting them with their guns, or tossing them at each other trying to knock each other down, they sit lifeless. Yet they are so compelling to buy. Mom's, grandma's, aunts, friends all feel compelled to buy them for their favorite baby boy or girl. Yes even I, knowing how much I can't stand my boys stuffed animals, still give in to the cute stuffed bear to give to a friend at their baby shower. It is disgusting how all of us girls are drawn to them.

Don't even get me started with the store Build - A - Bear. Probably the worst store in America. They prey on girls of all ages. Maybe we think if we stuff the bear ourselves then we will enjoy it more or the person we are getting it from will enjoy it more.....FALSE. Nice idea yes but poor execution. In weeks it is tossed on to the pile of other stuffed animals

I really don't think stuffed animals go with my boys sports themed room and since we don't have a big house with a toy room I must work up the courage to get rid of them, except for the one dressed in the baseball outfit, he's gotta stay. Oh and then there is the U of U bear, he's sports themed right?

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great easter! Here are a few pictures from the family events. We couldn't get our boys to pose longer than two seconds for a picture because they were too excited about finding the eggs. Yes even Max was searching everywhere, and when it was all over he kept looking around and asking "where are you?". He is so fun right now I just can't get enough of him.

Sugar Cookie Insanity

2008-03-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

Definition of Insanity: Repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result each time.

At least twice a year I decide that I want to make sugar cookies to go along with a certain holiday. Why do I torture myself like this? Each time I do it I get half way into it before I'm ready to give up. I always make like 100 cookies thinking that I'll make them cute and then give them away. Well my inability to be artistic and creative along with my lack of paying attention to detail is not a good combination for sugar cookies. At the conclusion of the whole ordeal I have like a million ugly cookies that I'm too embarrassed to give away and even more dishes to wash, not to mention the five hours I spend making them.

Each time I start the process I am convinced that I have learned from past experiences and that I will be better. This time I thought because we were at my parents cabin with a huge kitchen and no time limit it would be much less stressful. Cameron thinks I'm insane and I'm beginning to agree. He took pictures so he could remind me in a couple of months why I shouldn't try again.

Two positives out of all the negatives; the kids had fun making them, and at least they taste good :)

No Computer = No Blogging

2008-03-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok so I really am going through computer withdraws and since I'm at my mom's again this week I thought I'd take a few minutes to post, since it has been almost a month.

Yesterday was quite the day. It was such a nice day that I thought I'd take the boys in to the Zoo. We have passes that expire soon so I thought we better get our use out of them now. Trying to conserve some money I suggested taking the Civic and then drop Cameron off at school on our way. He could take the bus home after class. Well things don't really ever turn out the way you have planned. Our car's battery died in the Zoo parking lot (about 15 minutes after another dead battery at the financial aid building on campus). Luckily our car is a stick so we don't need jumper cables. But in the Zoo we still weren't able to compression start it so we were stranded. We did enjoy the Zoo, especially because Daddy was able to join us! So eventually we did get the car to start. This because of my brother in-law Sam who is just a tiny bit stronger than Cameron and got the car moving at like 15mph before it would start. After we got it started Cameron didn't have class for another couple of hours so we went and ate at a park, all the while our car is running for an hour and a half at the top of the parking lot, just in case it dies again and we need to push it again. Ha ha, that's not ghetto is it? So we bring Cameron back to class and guess what he does....locks the keys in the car.....oh hooray! The kids by this point have spent the entire day outside and we spend another hour outside waiting for campus security to let us in. By the time they get there Cameron is out of class and we all ride home together in some terrible traffic. Yes, it was a long day! But not without the positives, a fun time at the Zoo and Park with Dad!

House Sitting at Grandma Dene's

2008-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

(The boys watching a movie at Grandma Dene's)

Well, it's been a crazy last couple of weeks as we have been "teenage" sitting for my parents. I won't waste your time going off again about how hard and tiring it is to stay over at their house and babysit four teenagers. Brigham said it all when on our way home today we had this conversation:

Brigham: Mom, where are we going?

Me: We're going home to our house.

Brigham: To my house?

Me: Yep to your house.

Brigham: Oh good, I like my house.

Me: I like our house too. Grandma Dene's house is bigger than our house though.

Brigham: No our house is bigger and stronger.

long pause

Brigham: Mom, I'm tired (this comment rarely comes from his mouth anymore, especially at 9am in the morning)

Me: Me too!

Tagged again :)

2008-01-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

Ok since two of my friends tagged me I better get this done. I really do enjoy reading others tags so I guess that's why I'm caving in and doing it.

Four Jobs I've had
A) Cold Stone
B) Jacobsen Contruction (thanks Dad)
C) Utah Trust Lands
D) Tennis instructor

Four Movies I could watch over and over
A) Just Married
B) Italian Job
C) Cars (I don't like watching this movie over and over but I can because I do every day)
D) I Robot

Four Places I have lived
A) Farmington
B) Conneticut
C) Chicago (until I was three, so I don't remember much)
D) Ecuador

Four Shows that I watch
A) Law and Order SVU
B) Biggest Loser
C) American Idol
D) What Not to Wear

Four places that I've been
A) Tonga
B) The Amazon
C) Hawaii
D) To my cabin in Idaho :)

People who email me regularly
A) My hubby
B) Um.... do forwards count????

Four of my Favorite Foods
A) Ice Cream
B) Cafe Rio
C) Mandarin or PF Changs chinese
D) Good Pizza

Four places I'd rather be right now
A) Hawaii (with Cameron)
B) Arizona (with all the girls in April...yeah!)
C) New York
D) Anywhere warm

Four folks I think will respond
A) Hopefully someone ?

Things I'm looking forward to in the next 12 months
A) Arizona
B) Cabo @ Christmas
C) Summer
D) Continuing to not be pregnant!

Four goals I've set for myself this year
A) Getting more organized
B) Serving others more
C) Wake up earlier
D) Get down on the ground more and play with my kids

Four gifts I got for Christmas this year
A) A Zune
B) Clothes from Banana Republic (I love that place!)
C) An Elliptical
D) Gift card to get my hair done

Four Places I want to visit
A) Africa
B) Germany (that's for you Babe)
C) New York
D) Mineappolis (to visit my favorite cousin)

Four things you didn't know about me
A) I can blow spit bubbles off my tongue
B) I suck at video games
C) In junior high I was obsessed with Days of our Lives and I secretly turn it on every couple of months or so just to see what's going on :)
D) I'm short (oh wait everyone knows that)

Four things I wish I was better at
A) Waking up early
B) Calling people
C) Playing the piano
D) Adobe Photo Shop

Four things I can cook without a recipe
A) I actually don't cook anything without a recipe. It drives Cameron crazy. I still look on the back of a Mac and Cheese box just to make sure I'm doing it right.

Four Musicians I really love
A) Garth Brooks
B) Carrie Underwood
C) James Taylor
D) Jack Johnson

I tag....no one :)

Computer Woes

2008-01-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

Our computer has been down for the last couple of weeks and it's getting very annoying. Hopefully we can get it figured out soon but with Cameron being so busy with school he doesn't have much time to spend trying to figure it out and there is no way I am going to attempt doing it. So until then my posts and comments may be few and far between. Sorry :(

Cousins

2008-01-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

The boys had so much fun with their cousins this Christmas. They are so glad Mykah and Nate could come visit. Here are a few pictures of them playing.

My Little Men

2008-01-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

This may be cheesy but I bought my boys their first ties and they wore them on sunday. Don't the look so cute!

Thank goodness Christmas is only once a year :)

2008-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, the Holiday season is a busy one. Why didn't anyone tell me that getting married and having kids would throw me into the world of planning, cooking, decorating, and shopping during Christmas? I want to go back to the days when I just showed up at a party and the food would miraculously appear in front of me and I never had to worry about the clean up. When I woke one morning and the Christmas tree was decorated perfectly. When I could ask for something and it would be there neatly packaged on Christmas morning. Somehow a little of the excitement is lost when it is me staying up at all ends of the night wrapping, stuffing stockings and cleaning. Go figure.

I shouldn't sound so negative. We had a great Holiday season. We had many successful family Christmas parties. Grandparents spoiled our children, and we were spoiled as well.

Of all the many gifts he got, Brigham's favorite present from Santa was a $3.50 "Cars" character (Chick Hicks). Max still wasn't really sure what was going on but he enjoyed picking up every one's candy off of the floor and eating it.

We spent the last week at my parent's new cabin, which is awesome! We had so much fun relaxing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ping pong tournaments, movies, sledding and eating! Thanks Mom for all your hard work!

Swimming?

2007-12-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this is sacrilegious or not but I thought it was so cute that I had to post it. We were in tithing settlement just the other day and in the Bishop's office there are several pictures of Christ. Brigham was talking about all of them and then he got to this one with Christ in the Americas. He said "That's Jesus, he's blessing them that they can go swimming." I guess they do look like they all have towels around them, ready to take a dip. Do you see it?

Have you ever wondered what strep throat looks like?

2007-12-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

We know at our house....first Max, then me and next in line was Brigham. I'm sure Cameron is not far behind.

Max has been sick for the last 2 weeks and even though I knew he had more than just the common cold the doctors wouldn't believe it until I came down with strep....hello! Just a note to all of you out there, your kids are never too young to get a sickness. Just like my little niece Mykah was "too young" to have diabetes my little Max was "too young" to get strep throat. So doctors don't know everything and Parents need to be persistent. It was a blessing that I got it because we were finally able to help Max feel better.

Potty Trained!

2007-11-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ok I know the picture may be disgusting to everyone else...but what can I say, I'm a very proud Mom!

Well it finally happened.....Brigham decided that he no longer wanted to wear diapers. For a couple of months now I've asked him on occasion if he would rather wear his big boy underwear rather than his diaper. He always says no....and not just a "no thanks Mom" it's a "NO NO NO, DON'T WANT TO" scream. So when I asked last Thursday I just assumed the response would be the same. But to my amazement he said YES. I ran with it, we went to the store and bought his own toilet. He probably had 10 accidents that first day because he's never had to control his bladder before. But on day two he had 0 accidents. The days since he has had maybe 2-3 accidents here or there but the kid is a machine. Once he makes his mind up about something he is never going back. He won't even wear a diaper to bed, which I thought might be tragic but he hasn't wet the bed once. The most difficult transition for him is going #2 in the toilet. He held it in for 3 days before he was finally able to go, but when I asked him if he wanted to wear a diaper and go he refused.

One down and one to go! Wahoo!

Confessions

2007-11-14T08:11:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged so I guess I'll get this over with. Here are my five things you may not know about me....but they feel more like confessions.

1. I love to sleep. If I allowed myself I could go to bed and 9pm at night and wake up at 9am and still take a nap during the day. It is something I struggle with everyday. I'm just glad my kids wake up at 7:30am everyday cause at least that is manageable, but I still have to drag myself out of bed.

2. I can't stay mad. Sometimes I really try hard to be angry for a long time because I feel that I am right but it doesn't matter, give me a couple of hours and all the feelings of anger and hurt just disappear. (I'm sure Cameron loves this about me)

3. My biggest fear is of phones. I have this huge fear of calling people, it doesn't matter who it is (friends and family is obviously easier). I know it sounds crazy, it doesn't make sense in any way. I have had to get over it because of my church callings and children but it doesn't make it any easier. Cameron always asks after I hang up the phone "see was that really that bad", YES it really was that bad. Every moment before on during the phone call is tense for me.

4. I peed my pants several times during Jr. High (maybe even in High School). Ok to my High School friends this is no shock. I can probably name a time that each of them peed there pants too. I blame it on my awesome friends that never cease to make me laugh to the point where I can't control my bladder. My favorite of all time was delivering 12 days of Christmas to Sister Cloward (seminary teacher). Good Times!

5. I know the entire BYU fight song. This is the most shameful of all my confessions. To my fellow Utah fans I understand if you think less of me now. Brigham's football obsession was fueled by going to the BYU football games with his Dad and the result is him knowing and singing 50 times a day the BYU fight song. I hate to admit it but it gets stuck in my head. The saddest part about this is that I don't even know the entire UTAH fight song.....I guess I need to get on that.

Is being deficient in creativity a real disease?

2007-11-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

My church calling is so fun and I love it, but it definitely pushes me to do things I wouldn't normally do. This past Wednesday was YW in Excellence night and I got stuck with doing the decorations. Now for anyone else they probably would have loved assignment because it seems easy enough and could be fun. Not me, I am definitely challenged when it comes to anything that takes creativity and craft. I stressed for weeks over this assignment and tried several projects that failed. I had to ask Cameron why we didn't have glue or tape in our house. He was nice enough to remind me that it's because I NEVER do anything like this. After a lot of trial and error the night turned out great, including the decorations(too bad I didn't take a picture of it to prove it). I am grateful that we are put in callings in life to help us stretch and grow. Whether it is big as having the calling of a Mom or as small as being assigned to do the decorations at my YW in Excellence night.

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our day yesterday. Brigham had his costume on from the moment he woke up until we pulled it off of him after he fell asleep in the car on our way from Grandparent's. It wasn't really any different than most days though because he manages to talk his mom into putting him into a football jersey everyday. Brigham also insisted that Max's costume remain on him at all times yesterday. Max was a good sport and went around flapping his monkey hands around all night.

I hate Grocery Shopping!

2007-10-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

I really do hate grocery shopping. Is that weird? I dread it. Every time I start seeing us getting low on an essential item; like milk I start getting anxious.

Here are some reasons I thought of that may have to do with my hate for grocery shopping:

Having to take my two sons with me who will most likely be throwing a tantrum at any moment.
Having to search for a cart that has the little car on front so that I don't have to pile food on top of Brigham as he sits in the back.
Having to walk by all the yummy food and forcing myself to say no.
Giving in to the yummy food and then having to explain to Cameron why I bought those dang sugar cookies with an inch of frosting on the top.
Eating the sugar cookies and watching that inch of frosting go right on the side of my thighs.
Wanting to buy the good brand because sometimes it really does taste better than the store brand but not being able to justify spending more, even if it is only 3 cents (exception on this is ice cream...it's not worth buying unless its the good stuff, right Darci?)
Knowing that with all that I am buying I will have nothing to make dinner with.
Going through the checkout feeling guilty because the guy behind me with two items doesn't know I'm about to split my food up into three different orders (Family food, WIC, and YW stuff)
Bringing the cart back even though I really don't want to.
Bringing the groceries in and putting them away.
Getting home and realizing all the things I forgot, despite my list.

Who Knew?

2007-10-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Alright so I promise I'm done with changing my blog layout. I saw everyone else getting all these cute layouts so I've spent some time (way too much time) trying to find the perfect layout. Some were cute but didn't work well, others were cheesy, and the girly layouts Cameron wouldn't tolerate. Who knew I'd make it back around to a simple boring layout and be perfectly content. It's all in the posts.....right?

Go Rebels!

2007-10-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

So we spent the last week in St. George watching Anna play volleyball for Dixie State. It was so much fun down there and the weather was perfect. Brigham was in heaven because he was able to wear summer clothes everyday and we had very little conflict (except for the one day it was cooler). The boys loved swimming and running with Mom and Dad to the park. They loved spending time with Grandma Dean too.

It was so great to watch Anna play volleyball. I know I'm prejudice but my sister is amazing. She is a freshman yet she controls her team. She is such a leader in everything she does, it really is fun to see her grow up and really blossom in her personality. I wish I had her competitive edge. We love you Anna and we had so much fun with you this last week!

Max has tubes!

2007-09-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

With over 6 ear infections just this summer, we finally convinced my doctor that Max needed tubes. My little man went in yesterday and got tubes in his ears. The surgery (if you can even call it that) took 10 minutes. We hope Max is able to get some relief now.

Some of the highlights of our day:

1. Having to starve a 1 yr. old until after 2pm in the afternoon (no food or drink)

2. Putting Max in a hospital gown with hospital socks (sooo cute!)

3. The nurse trying to explain to us that Max might not be his usual self for the rest of the day. Her words exactly were "This is your baby on drugs."

4. Watching Max try to walk for the first time after after the procedure. (It looked more like "My Baby on Alcohol", and yes we did get it on video)

5. Brigham's excitement about his new socks from the hospital.

6. Brigham praying last night that "the doctor fixed Max's ears"

Disclaimer

2007-09-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met these families where the mom looks perfect at all times and her children look perfect as well? Cameron has this Aunt that I have never seen look less than perfect. She had her last baby right after Max and when we went into the hospital to see her her hair was done, makeup on and she had the cutest sweats on. Even her brand new little baby had been changed from hospital attire to a cute new outfit and her hair was done with a bow in place. Her three little boys are the same way, always in the cutest clothes with their hair gelled perfectly. Why am I not this Woman? I have good days where I take the time and get my little family ready but most days I have my hair in a ponytail and sweats on (not cute sweats just a big baggy t-shirt and big baggy pants). My boys, well I really tried with them. I tried to do Brigham's hair so cute every day, but after having to do it ten time before you get in the car and then by the time you get him out it is already a mess, I just gave up. Thanks to my mother-in-law I have been able to dress them cute on most days, until now.

Brigham has now decided that he will be choosing what he wears. I tried to fight it by giving him choices of some cute things but no he will not have it. If I even suggest something it is automatically marked in his little brain as a definite NO. He especially hates long sleeves and long pants. I don't know what I am going to do when it is winter. So if you by chance run into me somewhere and you think my son looks like a little orphan boy, please don't think that we abuse him or don't take care of him. This is my disclaimer that now I am no longer willing to fight the battle with Brigham so what he is wearing is his choice. (Unless someone will tell me the secret of always being able to look perfect while at the same time keeping your boys looking perfect) Turn away or close your eyes if it is too ugly or better yet just do what I do and laugh.

I Failed!

2007-09-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well it isn't the first time and it sure won't be the last time but Cameron told me I better get on here and admit my failure to everyone. Not even a week into taking Max's bottle away and Brigham's binki away they were back in their mouths. I always thought I was going to be this amazing Mom that would follow through with everything, but I'm finding out very quickly that short term sanity is sometimes much more appealing.

So here is how it started. Max has ear infections probably every other week and I finally convinced our Doctor to have his ears checked out by specialists to see if he needs tubes. I took Max and Brigham in for their well baby checkups and without knowing it Max had another ear infection. So that night I go to put Max to sleep but how can I let him just cry in pain? Cameron and I both came to the conclusion that as soon as we have his ears under control then we can worry about taking the bottle away.

Brigham, there is really no excuse, except for the fact that as soon as he realized that the binki wasn't coming back he would no longer sleep. No naps and no bedtime....nothing. This is the same kid that loves his sleep. Brigham would come to me and tell me it was time to take a nap or go to bed. He usually sleeps 11 hours at night (and probably more if Max didn't wake him up) and 2-3 hour naps during the day. Cameron and I came to the conclusion again that there is no place on a resume that asks when he got rid of his bink, and it comes right out after he falls asleep, so no harm in that right?

Well, I know I am a horrible Mother who can't follow through, but my kids are happy and that is the important thing, right?

My boys are growing up!

2007-08-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today was a very sad day. It shouldn't have been though, I should be jumping for joy right now feeling very accomplished that I was able to achieve what I have been dreading for months. I took Brigham's binki away tonight and Max's bottle. Brigham only gets his binki when he takes a nap or goes to bed at night and Max only takes a bottle when he goes to bed at night so it was not like they couldn't function without these, but I wondered if they would be able to sleep without them. So I decided they would go "cold turkey" tonight, and guess what they are both sleeping safe and sound in their beds with very little opposition. So will somebody tell me why three hours later I am still feeling like an awful mother for doing this? I think dentists and pediatricians would be patting me on the back but I could care less.

I reasoned with Brigham telling him that we didn't have a binki to sleep with tonight and he looked up at me looking very puppy dogish (yes that's a word) and said "we find bink later Mom?" I told him no and said we had no more binkis for Brigham. He didn't put up a fight even though I could see the disappointment in his eyes. I think him being so good about it, even though he may not understand why, made me want to go back in his room and give it to him.

And then Max, obviously there is no reasoning with him at this age but he has been taking naps without the bottle for a while and I thought I might as well make a night of it and take it away. He cried for about 10 minutes in his crib and then fell asleep. Not bad, considering he usually cries for that long when I put him down for a nap during the day.

I guess what it boils down to is the fact that I can't stand the thought that they may be growing up.

Island Park

2007-08-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun this last week in Island Park with family. Mike, Andrea and their to adorable kids are in town from Iowa and we were able to spend a few days with them. We had a great time.

Our little Max turned 1 up there and I think he had a great time with the new toys Grandma Ardene got him. But I have to admit that all the other kids enjoyed them just as much. Thanks to both of Max's Grandmas, we can feel their love so much.

The cabin is quite cozy when you get all of my family together there at one time, and because the family is going to continue to grow in size my parents are building a much larger cabin in Ashton to accommodate everyone. I have mixed feelings about the transition. I have grown up going to our cabin and I love it. There is just something special about it and the memories that we have there are priceless. At the same time when trying to put 5 babies down at night and no where to put them it becomes quite difficult and frustrating. I think I will love the new cabin but will really miss our cabin now. It will be bitter-sweet. The new cabin is scheduled to be done by Thanksgiving so I am assuming that may be the last time we go up to our cabin as an entire

family, how sad.

Semester 1 of PT School Complete

2007-08-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

Cameron has completed his first semester of PT school and he did it with flying colors. He did very well in all of his classes and still had time to spare for his family. Cameron has got an incredible gift of being able to balance and prioritize life. Nonetheless we are very excited for these next two weeks he has off. We will be spending a week up in Island Park at my parents cabin.

The River Trip

2007-07-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

So since I was 3 years old my family has done an annual trip to the South Fork of the Boise River. It started out with my family and our good friends the Christensens. It has always been my favorite trip of the year. We go up Thursday night and stay in a motel while the boys sleep on the bank of the river and wake up early to load the rafts. This trip has expanded a little over the years and this year we had 38 people. So if you can imagine 8 rafts full of food, sleeping bags, tents, more food and anything else you can imagine. It's quite the production. Anyway the girls bring up breakfast and we eat and then take off. We float the first half of the river on Friday and set up camp that night. On Saturday we float the second half of the river drive back to the beginning and float the first half back to camp. Sunday is a day spent at camp and it has turned into a day of very competitive volleyball tournament followed by a very spiritual sacrament meeting. How the two go hand in hand I'll never know but it is always great. And I know some of you are wondering how we are able to play volleyball in a camp site located on the bank of a river in a canyon..... well it started with my uncle bringing a volleyball one year and over the years we have cleared out a relatively nice court and bring a net. The best part of volleyball is seeing the faces of others as they float by in a raft. It is the last thing the expect to see. On Monday we pack up and float out and it is always too soon. The River Trip has the best food I eat all year. Each meal done in the dutch oven. Cliff diving and a ghetto zip line is also an essential part of the trip. The whitewater is great, the fishing is great and just being with everyone is even better. After 21 years of going on the river trip I never get tired of it. We were able to leave our kids with Cameron's parents this year and we had a blast. I hope we will be able to continue the tradition for 21 more years!

4th of July

2007-07-05T09:41:00.001-07:00

The boys had so much fun watching the fireworks and the parade. Papa Gregg and Grandma Cheryl aslo took us to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat. It was also a big hit with the boys. We had a really fun 4th!

Lightning McQueen

2007-07-05T08:44:00.001-07:00

Brigham had a blast on his birthday! About a week before we would catch him singing "Happy Birday to Bridam". We had a fun water party then had a bbq with family and then of course presents. Between both of his grandma's he is so spoiled. He got a new scooter and a slide but the gifts he loved the most......his 3.50$ Disney Cars characters. Brigham now has a total of 8 different McQueen cars. Does anyone else find this a little troubling? The boy is obsessed. Each McQueen has a different name and as soon as he wakes up he makes sure all of his McQueens are lined up and in place. If he leaves one at Grandma's house it might be the end of the world, especially if it is "new" Mcqueen. You would think with 7 others that he could move on but we don't stop hearing about it being gone until it is back in his hands.

Oh and we are the worst parents in the world and didn't take any pictures of Brigham's birthday. Luckily Grandma Dean did, but of all days to forget the camera!

Summer Fun

2007-06-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just update people on the fun we have been having this summer. Cameron has been working hard in PT school and it is paying off. He has scored 94 and above on all of his
tests so far.

Me and the kids have been enjoying the summer at the park and Cherry Hill. I'm so lucky to have two fearless boys who love the water. Brigham's favorite thing to do in the pool is to hold on to the ledge by himself and then let go. He doesn't care whether Mommy or Daddy are watching he just lets go and sinks under water until we realize that he has gone under and we pull him out. As soon as we lift him out of the water he wipes his face and laughs. I think he is too trusting. Max is convinced that he can swim by himself and is always trying to squirm out of our arms. He is impossible to hold on to so we have recently invested in a tube to place him in. He doesn't love it, but he is a good sport about it and that way we aren't exhausted by holding him.

We went to Fountain Green over memorial day weekend where we visited the boys Great Great Grandma Cook and also the grave of our Grandma Garrett who we miss so much. It was so cute because on the way back from Grandma Cook's we were all sitting in the car exhausted and looking forward to getting to the motel. Out of the blue Brigham says "Mom, Grandma Cook loves me." Kids understand so much more than we give them credit for. We also visited Thomas the Train in Heber that weekend and both the boys thought that was so fun.

This last weekend we spent up in Jackson Hole watching Cameron's brother Dallin in some plays going on there. He was great! And it was fun to see him. We were also able to whitewater raft, do the alpine slides and visit Bear World on our way back. For the most part we had a great time but poor Max had Pink Eye and his eyes were glued shut because of all the mucous coming out of them. He is such a good baby though and really didn't hold us back too much.

I think we'll have a lot more fun in the next couple of months. It's Brigham's birthday in a week and Max's in 1 1/2 months. I can't believe my little guys are growing up.

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads and Grandpas!

2007-06-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Garett on the Alpine slides! Isn't that cool, he's still full of life!

Our Dear Grandma and Grandpa Garber are such big supporters of us.

Brigham and Max's Papa Gregg, still a boy at heart! He is so fun to play with!

Papa Lonnie, we hope we are just like you when we grow up. You teach us so much!

We love Dad and we are so grateful for everything he does for our family. He keeps us optimistic and excited about each day! The boys couldn't have wished for a better Dad!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Hats off to all you do! I think too often we don't give them enough credit. We love you Dad, Papa Lonnie, Papa Gregg, Great Grandpa Garett, Great Grandpa Garber, Great Grandpa Pete and Great Grandpa Bullard! Our kids are so lucky to have so many positive male examples in their lives. Thank you!

I am a MOOCH!

2007-05-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

So it is official....I am a mooch! I've always known I had some in me. Dropping by my mom's for some bottled peaches and jam every once in a while, not having any food in our house so we stop by the parents to grab something to eat. Those are little things, right? But yesterday I had a light bulb moment, it was much worse than I thought. My sister Melissa and I were talking about my brother Kenny's birthday celebration and we got so excited because it's a free dinner at the Mandarin. I am fully admitting that I look months in advance for the next occasion that my family will be going out to eat and schedule it in, making sure I don't miss it. Maybe it's because we are so poor right now that we don't get to eat out much. It was so sad to see how giddy Melissa and I were about it being Kenny's birthday so We could eat out. Notice something wrong with that.....we aren't thinking about Kenny we are thinking about ourselves. It gets worse too because when we realized it was Anna's graduation on Friday we got even more excited. TWO free dinners in one week! (Which also means two nights I don't have to cook.) Are we going to Anna's graduation.....of course not, but you can bet we will be there for the dinner after.

Is the fact that I now realize I am a mooch going to change anything? Probably not. I guess that free dinner really makes up for any shame I feel about it. So to my parents I say sorry that I am a mooch, but I am what I am. And tonight I will savor every bite of the most delicious Chinese food and on Friday I will do the same!

Happy Birthday Kenny! And Congratulations Anna! Thank you for providing me with TWO FREE DINNERS!!! Next week Valek's Birthday. Don't let me down bud.

MARTY......ALEX!!!

2007-05-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the Zoo this week and it was quite the adventure. Brigham and Max were both very excited about the animals. It was the first time I've ever been to the Zoo with all of the animals being active and available to see. Brigham's highlight of the trip was the Zebra. He couldn't wait to see Marty. (Zebra disney charachter on "Madagascar") We weren't able to find Alex the lion but the "Happy Feet" animals were a big hit.

"Happy Feet"

SIDE NOTE: I felt like Cameron and I were pretty good about restraining Brigham's TV watching to a minimum, but was quickly put in my place while he tried to relate every animal to some sort of cartoon. Some of the cartoons he mentioned he's never even seen. Oh well, what can you do?

On our way out Brigham saw the train and he was able to squeeze $1.50 out of his Dad to ride the train. Funny how after knowing Cameron for 8 years I can't get him to budge yet would give Brigham $100 just for looking at him the right way.

Anyway we all enjoyed Cameron's week off and it will be hard to let him return to school on Monday.

3 years of Marriage and a Bachelor's Degree!

2007-05-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated our three year anniversary. One year used to seem so long yet three years and two kids later I feel like time has flown by. Cameron also graduated on Friday. He graduated with the highest GPA in his department and got a special award. We are all so proud of him! Only a week off of school though and then he starts PT school on May 14Th.

This last week we spent house sitting for my parents. I thought taking care of two young kids was hard but teenagers are much worse. Five teenagers just shouldn't be allowed to live in the same house. Does anyone know how to prevent their kids from ever being teens? I have so much more gratitude towards my parents now that I have my own children.

Max and Brigham are both growing so much every day. Max has mastered the art of pulling himself up to anything and walking around the furniture. He'll be walking any day. Brigham says at least five new words each day. Today Cameron was getting ready for church and Brigham said "Need shirt on Dad." Kids are so fun.

BABE

2007-04-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Brigham has his own language right now and Me and Dad are pretty good at being able to figure out what he is talking about but a couple of weeks ago he had me stumped. He kept calling for "B". Well I don't know what or who "B" is so I kind of ignore it until the other day he called for "B" and right after I yelled for Cameron (who I always call Babe)......light bulb moment Brigham is calling Cameron, Babe. I couldn't stop laughing. I think we underestimate how intelligent kids really are.

Cameron isn't so hot on that name coming from his son. He asked me why I couldn't call him something like Stud more often. I like it though and always ask Brigham where "Babe" is. He points to Cameron every time!

Our lives

2007-03-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

So life is as crazy as ever in our little basement apartment but I am loving every second of it (ok maybe not every second) but we really are enjoying life. Cameron got accepted to Physical Therapy school which he will be starting a week after he graduates with his bachelor's in May. He has be taking 20 credits or more for the past year to try and finish plus doing internships and working. He is such a hard worker. This semester I told him to forget about working and just try to prepare for PT school. I am enjoying the time he has home, even though he still is taking 21 credits, and am not prepared for him being gone a lot during graduate school.

I am a mother and I love it. Staying home has been such a blessing for me and for my kids and I am grateful to be able to do it. I also watch Melissa's kids 3x a week and although a challenge it has also been a blessing. Brigham is now 21 months and Max is 8 months old.

I am also trying to return to my marathon days, to go from being able to run 26 miles to 2 miles is quite the drop and my after pregnancy body is not wanting to progress very fast but maybe by the time I'm forty I will have worked up to it again.