Happy (Belated) Birthday

I just had to give a quick note about my cute husband who just turned 30 on Sunday. Can I say that I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to him? He's a great husband, wonderful father, and can be slightly stubborn at times but only when it really doesn't matter :) On the things that really matter I am by far the most stubborn ;) We planned on having a fun family bash this weekend for his 30th but poor boy, on Saturday night Jer got sick and still hasn't fully recovered.

I'm sorry, Babe, that your birthday wasn't the greatest but thanks for the last 8 1/2 years of my life that have been! Love ya...

Congratulations, Whitney and Jeremy!

This morning my younger sister, Whitney, gave birth to her 2nd baby...a little boy! Her first baby is a 14-month-old boy (good luck with that one, Sis!), and my mom says they look a lot alike. He hasn't been named yet, but is 20 1/2 inches long, 7 lbs. 3 oz., and has dark hair. Mom and Baby are doing well, thank goodness. Whit was only 37 weeks along when her water broke so there was no choice, this baby was coming! I'll post again when I have some pictures and hopefully a name. Congrats, Whit and Jeremy, we love you guys and are so excited for you!

Princesses and Helicoptors

OK, so I haven't posted for awhile. Sorry! I feel like I have a lot to catch up on, starting with last Saturday. Our niece, Haddie (Kortnee and AJ's daughter), celebrated her 3rd birthday and it honestly was such a fun time! Haddie wanted a princess party and Savannah, Kamrin and Jillian had a blast. Their other cousins, Audrey and Jenna, were there, as well as one other girl who is Haddie's friend. When we arrived for the party, all the girls dressed up in their princess costumes, then they each were presented with a crown and a wand.

They played Pin the Kiss on the Frog, a spin off of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

Then it was cake time! Kortnee had made the most adorable castle cake, I almost hated to see her cut into it!

After cake and ice cream Haddie got to open her presents. I tell you, that had to be one of the cutest things ever. She was so excited about every gift and would say, "Yes, this is just what I always wanted!" or, "A Roxy shirt! I love Roxy shirts!" One time she even said the classic, "Yes, it's just what I wanted....what is it?"

Haddie was having so much fun but the best was yet to come. After she opened her gifts we all went outside for her main gift from her parents:

Yep, that's right, a little 4-wheeler! AJ was able to trade in some work to a guy who wanted to get rid of it and it was so cool! The kids had a blast riding it.



So you would think that would be the end, right? Well, not quite. You see, Jer and Chris's boss, Frank Vandersloot, needed Chris to help him with something that day but Chris didn't feel right leaving Haddie's party so Frank struck a deal with him. If Chris would help Frank, Frank would send out his private, top-of-the-line helicoptor and give rides to everyone at the party. Yes, you read that right, we got to have a HELICOPTOR ride!

It was so fun to get in and put on those headphones, you felt like you were in a movie or something. The girls LOVED it and talked the whole time.


We flew around for about 10-15 minutes, flying right over the Teton mountain range.




Anyone who knows me knows what a wimp I am when it comes to anything moving...I get such horrible motion sickness. And this was no exception. Luckily I was able to keep everything down and the pilot was awesome, not doing any tricks or anything so I wouldn't get more sick.

It truly was a great day, a day we won't ever forget. Thanks Kort, AJ, Frank, and Haddie for such a fun time!

A new toy

As if my kids don't have enough toys hanging around the house, I found a really good deal on a new toy for them at K-Mart and had to jump on it. It's a teeter-totter that not only goes up and down, but rotates in circles. The girls absolutely love it and are on it pretty much the whole time they're outside. I know that will wear off after awhile, it always does, but it's nice to buy something that is actually used. Don't you hate it when you spend money on something you're sure your kids will love and they barely give it a second glance? Well, not so with the teeter-totter. Luckily it's been a hit! Here are some pictures I quickly snapped this morning. Kamrin and Jillian were swinging around in circles so the pictures are a teeny bit blurry...sorry!

Also, the other day I took a pretty cute picture of Jeremiah and Jillian. Jer had just laid down on the bed to watch some basketball when Jillie crawled up beside him and said, "Baball too?" Jer repeated, "You want to watch basketball, too?" In reply Jillie laid down beside him, then said, "Pillow, too?" So Jer got her a pillow and she stayed there for several minutes (long for my energetic 2-year-old).

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

A special "thank you" to my wonderful husband and children...I had the greatest Mother's Day, despite the fact that I was slightly sick. I woke up to the wonderful aroma of one of my favorite breakfasts: eggs benedict. Jer actually made them himself, the hollandaise sauce and everything! Everyone piled into bed, which is where I still was, and we all ate as a family in our pajamas. It was so much fun!

Then Savannah and Kamrin gave me the Mother's Day cards they had made me in school and I got to take a nice, hot bath without any interruptions. Sounds great so far, huh?

Because I was sick and Savannah, Jillian and Jaxon were also sick, we just loafed around all day and then had an early dinner: lobster tails, crab claws, halibut steaks, couscous, asparagus, and some cheesecake/whipped cream yummy dessert Jer had made. I tell you, my husband went all out! He also got me a card and a metranome (the ticker-thingy used during music lessons to help keep the beat).

It was such a nice, relaxing day...I have the most wonderful family!

A Weekend at Grandpa & Grandma's

Last weekend we got to spend Saturday and Sunday with Jer's parents and we had such a good time! They are trying to get their yard ready to lay sod and it's crazy work on a 1 acre lot so we have gone there the last couple of weekends to help out where we can. OK, so Jer helps out, I stay inside and try to keep the kids under control. They're getting closer and soon the kids will have a great yard to run around in! Josh (Jer's brother) and his family were there as well. Here's a picture of Jaxon with his cousin, Jenna. They are 4 months apart:

After the work was done on Saturday, Chris and Tina were kind enough to take us out to a restaurant for dinner. For dessert they ordered the hugest mass of yumminess for everyone to share: a tower of chocolate eclaires, ice cream and whipped cream. The girls thought this was pretty awesome!

On Saturday evening my sweet boy Jaxon got to have his first horse ride...sort of. He loved it!



He also got to experience another first: watermelon.
All in all it was a great weekend!

More Jillyisms

OK, another example of my 2 year old and her little attitude. A thing to know about her: she reminds me of a combination of a young Shirley Temple and a cupie doll. Do you remember those old dolls, my sisters and I used to play with them at our grandma's house. They have a plastic hair swirl, big eyes, big cheeks, small nose and a rosebud mouth. Anyway, I call Jillie my cupie doll. I actually found a doll at church one day in the nursery and so I made Jillie hold her and took some pictures so I could always remember the resemblance. I never got the "perfect" picture and after awhile I felt like an idiot posing my daughter with this doll in front of everyone, especially since I had to take the doll away from a little girl to do this. Result:

Also, she can pull scowls like no other, except the young Shirley Temple. However, when she smiles she's also like Shirley Temple, with these huge brown eyes that sparkle and can light up the whole room. So just a couple of minutes ago I go to put Jillian down for a nap. She's going down pretty well since she was clutching a chocolate chip cookie in her hand at the time. I lay her down and try to quietly slip out of the room. All of a sudden I hear "Un song" and I look back to see her chubby hand holding up one finger and these big brown eyes staring at me. Of course I head back, and after thinking for a second, start in to "Shine On Harvest Moon". I had only gotten about 4 words into my rendition when...

1st scowl: "Ismas."

"You want a Christmas song?"

"Yes."

So, out I bust with "Up on the housetop". Again, just a couple of words into the song...

2nd scowl: "Jingle Bells."

Obediently I change songs: " Dashing through the snow, in a one horse..."

3rd scowl plus chubby finger again: "Uh one" (other one)

Understanding hits and I start singing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..."

Then that sparkly-eyed smile comes out and she patiently listens as I sing the chorus. Just as I end I head toward the door when I hear, "Un song!" I shut the door without turning around.

Jilly-isms

OK, one of my favorite posts my sister Kelly made on her blog was called "Brodyisms", and she told us some cute things Brody will say. So I'm doing a Jillyism post because I've got to tell you, Jilly just makes me laugh because of the things she'll say. One of my favorites is when she's playing with Jaxon. She of course acts totally goofy trying to get him to laugh and when he does she'll say, "Jatson milo!" which, being interpreted into English, means "Jaxon smile!" Also, when she gets really excited about something she'll kind of jump up and down, OK, more like she goes up and down on her tip-toes, clap her hands and say in a deep whisper, "Exciged, exciged!"