Proud Mom Moment!!!

I just have to brag for a minute! I was thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, and I remembered we needed to use up the last of the ground turkey. My little brother is making dinner for Dave and I later, so I was just needing to have something for the kids to eat. They have both been sick, so I was trying to think of something that was somewhat healthy and that they would actually eat. They are both picky in their own different ways. This makes dinner choices very limited sometimes.

Right now as we speak they are both eating turkey burgers on whole wheat english muffins (our bread is gone and we don't have any buns!) I just have to say that I am very proud of myself as well as my kids. I'm proud of myself for thinking of this dinner option, and proud of my kids for actually eating it. I have never made this for them before, so I was very skeptical. Thank you thank you, I know I am very smart tonight. This never happens for me, so I am basking in my glory!!!

We don't always eat very healthy, but that is going to change soon because Dave is needing to eat healthier. It will make things easier for Dave if we all join him in a new healthy lifestyle!!!

My Lack Of Posts

I have had a serious lack of posts, and I sincerely apologize. Life is just catching up with me, and I have been really busy. Both kids have had well dr appointments, and they are doing great. Both are on the small side, but healthy. Vika had to get 1 shot and she hated every minute of it. Conner was super lucky and doesn't need shots until he starts kindergarten!

Right now everyone is getting over colds. The kids are getting better, but they sound horrible. They have nasty coughs, and runny noses, but other than that they are doing great!!!

Conner got a haircut and couple of weeks ago!! Sometimes he forgets and asks for his big mowhawk.

Vika is growing up way too fast for all of us. She repeats everything you say, and so she has a very extensive vocabulary. Its fun to get her to say new things!!

Happy Birthday Dave!!

I would like to wish my wonderful Hubby a very Happy Birthday!! I hope you have a great day Honey!

Make sure you keep a big smile on your face all day long!!!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

I would just like to dedicate this post to myself! I am very happy to be 27! I don't feel like I am that old, but nevertheless I am that old. I would like to list 27 reasons why I am so happy!!

These are not in any specific order, and I will warn that I could go on and on, but I will just limit myself to 27. Also, these are in no particular order!

1. My Wonderful, Thoughtful, Loving, Amazing Husband!!

2. My 2 beautiful kids! I love them more and more everyday!

3. My Sisters! I should say my best friends. I love both of my sisters so much, and they do so much for me! Thank you!!!

4. My Family! I love spending time with my family. They are awesome!

5. My Mother-in-law, and Sisters-in-law! Dave's family is so amazing. They spoil my kids like nobody's business, and they are so much fun to hang out with.

6. My friends! I love my friends from High School. We still try to hang out every once in a while, but its nice to have long time friends!

7. Sleep! I love to sleep. I need my sleep or I am very cranky (just ask Conner or Dave).

8. Food! I love to eat! I love eating out at restaurants with really yummy food! I love eating snacks at home. I love chocolate ice cream, and steak!!! Mmmmm my favorite!

9. Blog stalking! I love to check other people's blogs. Sometimes I do it way too much! I have to check blogs at least once a day, but its usually twice. I always enjoy it when anyone updates!! Hint hint!

10. The Gospel! I love going to church every Sunday and learning more and more about the The Church! I love the spirit I feel whenever I am at church or the Temple! I love that Conner loves to hear about Jesus, and loves to sing Primary songs!! I love that Vika can recognize Jesus in pictures, and gets really excited about it!! I just love the church and all that it does to help me in my life!!

11. My Cell phone! I don't know what I would do without this little device. I would definitely go crazy, thats for sure.

12. My little brother! He just returned home from his mission. I missed him so much while he was gone!

13. Being Lazy! When both kids are napping (they usually sleep at the same time!!!) I am so lazy. I love it, it makes my day wonderful!!

14. Watching the rain! I love to sit on my porch and watch a good rain storm!! I also love listening to the Thunder!

15. The first snow of winter! I don't like driving in the snow, but when its winter I love it when it snows!!

16. Christmas season! I love it when everyone is so happy, and caring for others around Christmas! Christmas seems to make everyone happy, and I love that!!!

17. Fireworks! I love laying on the grass and watching a good firework show! The best is when they do fireworks after a baseball game!!!

18. Baseball! I love watching baseball, and playing it!! So much fun!

19. Flowers! I love smelling fresh flowers, and looking at them! Dave is so good to me and buys me flowers a few times a year!

20. My Ward Friends! I love going to church and seeing my friends there! They are great women!

21. A Clean House! Unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as I would like. However, when my house is clean, I am very happy!!

22. Cheesecake! I love cheesecake so much! Every time we go out to dinner, and I see that they have cheesecake for dessert I make sure I save room for it!!! Delicious!

23. Shopping! I used to love shopping for just myself, but I now love shopping for my kids as well! Target is my big weakness for kids clothing!

24. New Jeans! I love buying jeans! I love the way I feel in a pair of brand new jeans!!! (Yes I am very vain!)

25. Reading! I don't read as much as I would like to, but if I have a good book chances are you will find my reading until I am done! I also LOVE to read to my kids, and lucky for me they love it too!!

26. Nap Time! I love it when both kids are napping and the house is totally quiet, minus the music for their rooms!

27. Dave's days off! I love it when my husband is home, and can spend some time with us! The best is when he takes days off during the week!!

I am very happy today, and I just wanted to share a "few" things that truly make me happy!!

New Calling

2 Sundays ago I was called to be the new 2nd Counselor in the RS Presidency. I was completely shocked by this calling. I was thinking a couple of months ago that I could never be in the RS presidency because these women are AWESOME!! I looked up to them so much. Well, I guess I learned my lesson. I will no longer be comparing myself to anyone, and thinking that I am not able to do something.

I am still scared and nervous about my calling, but I am slowly getting better. I am learning new things all the time, and trying not to be too intimidated by things. For anyone that doesn't know me well, I am very shy and reserved. I don't mind talking to new people, but I don't like initiating the conversation. That is definitely going to have to change. I know I am in for a world of change. I am going to be pushed out of my comfort zone, which will be a good thing for me. The thing I am most nervous about right now is teaching. I am scared to be in front of a lot of people, but its just something that I will have to get used to.

I am looking forward to all the fun activities and getting to know the sisters in my ward. I just hope I don't let my fears get the best of me.

Happy Birthday Conner!!!

I can't believe my baby is already 4. He has grown up so much in last year, its crazy!! I love him more and more everyday, and he brings so much joy into my life!! He is the best big brother Vika could ask for! He is so full of energy, but at the same time so loving and caring!! He loves almost any animal, his favorite by far are dogs!!

Conner loves his friends, and if it were up to him he would play with them everyday. He loves his family even more. He wants to live at Grandma Teri's house, and has said more than once, "I want to live at Grandma's forever and ever." Him and his aunts have a very special relationship. They are the best of friends. They spoil him like nobody's business. He has sleepovers all the time at Grandma's house with his aunts!!

I could go on and on about this handsome little boy, but I won't bore you. Conner we love so much and we are glad you are in our lives!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDERS!!!

Kangaroo Zoo

For my nephew Preston's 2nd birthday we took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo! Conner and Vika had so much fun. They wore themselves out that they just sat on the couches with me at the end.

Vika really wanted to go down all the big slides. She is waiting for Conner to come down!!

Conner climbed up the steep stairs all by himself, and went down the steepest slide. I didn't think he would like this slide because it was so steep, but he proved me wrong!!

Every time he would go down any of the slides he would scream so high pitched, and laugh the whole way down!! I love it when he has this much fun!!

Haircut

Vika finally got a much needed haircut! Her hair was starting to get stringy on the ends. Thanks Mom it looks so much better.

Her hair is long, but very thin. We are hoping for it to come in nice and thick like Conner's. We will just have to see if that actually happens.

She held really still, and just drank from the spray bottle! She loves to get her hair cut!!

Itty Bitty Football

Conner started Itty Bitty Football 2 weeks ago!! He has had so much fun. He is doing really well, he just gets kind of bored when it isn't his turn to play. His loves that he is on the Buccaneers, the symbol looks like a pirate (Conner's favorite)!!

Conner is running in for a Touchdown!! He loved this drill!

Here he is trying to throw the ball into the big hole! He also really likes this one because he gets his own ball and he can throw it as much as he wants.

He will be playing football for most of the month, so stay tuned for more pics. They had picture day last week, and on the last day there will be a special visit from Lenny the Lion (the mascot for the Legacy Center).

M.I.A

I have been M.I.A for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure why I haven't posted anything. I have been totally slacking in the picture taking department, and I don't like to post without pics. And then on Thursday afternoon Conner woke up from his nap with a fever. He ran a fever until Saturday night. He was totally himself when he was on Motrin, but then it would wear off and he would just lay around and burn up. Vika had a hard time with me paying so much attention to Conner that she got so whiny and clingy.

Sunday morning I let the kids just lounge around. We didn't go to church because Conner had just gotten over being sick, and he still has a runny nose and cough. We went to Grandma Teri's and watched football all day. Conner spent the night at Grandma Teri's on Sunday night, because he missed his usual Friday night sleepover. He was so glad to not be sick.

Vika has been walking a little more lately. She mostly just walks to Conner, and Conner gets so excited for her. Its really cute to hear Conner cheer her on. Sometimes she will just start walking and go around the whole living room. She absolutely loves to walk while holding Mommy's hand, it makes her like a big girl. She does still crawl a lot, but she is trying out the whole walking thing. If I push her too much to walk, then she will just refuse and she won't even stand up. Stubborn girl.

These pics are just some random ones I found on my phone. I hope you enjoy them as much as me!!!

My sister thought it would be fun to dress Vika in her daughter's Halloween costume. Vika didn't like it too much. The wings were totally bugging her.

Conner was at Grandma Teri's just being the crazy the boy that he is!! He loves to smile for the camera!

Football Sunday

I love Football season!! We have been watching BYU win, Yeah! And yesterday we had our first football Sunday of the season!

We all cheer for the SF 49ers, notice Dave's jersey, #21 Frank Gore. Vika is wearing Conner's old Cowboy's jersey #31 R. Williams. We took Conner to the Gateway last month and let him pick out whatever jersey he wanted. He picked Bears #54 Urlacher. I just barely got my jersey. Colts #18 Payton Manning.

Goooo Niners!!! They won against the Cardinals!!! We are hoping for a great season this year, but we aren't holding our breath.

We had to get some family pics, but the kids would not cooperate. Notice Conner's expression change. He would not take his eyes off the TV.

Dave is laughing at Conner because he wouldn't look away from the TV.

Vika just refused to look at the camera

We usually get way better pics, but I love these anyway. You should also notice Conner's 'fake' tattoos on his legs. This has become his new obsession.

She Fits In Well

Dave took this pic of Vika on his phone! We are always doing thumbs up, and high fives around here. He had no idea this pic was so good until he put it on his computer and it was just a little bigger than on his phone.

I can't even tell you how many times Conner makes this exact face with a thumbs up!! I love this little girl, and she is always doing something new!!!

1st Day of Preschool

Conner is growing up so fast. He just had his 1st day of preschool on Wednesday! He loved every minute and he even made a new friend. When asked what his new friend looked like, he said, "He looks like me, he has a mohawk too!" I am so proud of him for being so friendly.

He was so excited to go and even let me take some pictures at home before we left. He posed himself!

Even though his preschool is all the way in AF, I still had to do the tradition on the doorstep photos!

Here he is shouting "Preschool"!!

They all wore their preschool shirts so that they could take class photos! They painted their bags, played outside in the huge backyard, and Conner was lucky to be one of the first kids to have the mystery bag. Its like show and tell, but the other kids have to guess what is in the bag with 3 clues. Conner wanted to take a coloring book!!

Girl's Night

I had the wonderful opportunity las week to have a Girl's Night with my ward! My mom was very nice to come out to my house and watch both of my kids! Thanks Mom!!

We did a session at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It is such a beautiful temple, and I had such a fun night.

This is us at Red Robin!! I love my ward friends, and we had a blast!!

HURRAY FOR BABIES!!

I am having a really bad morning, so I need to share some good news and hopefully make myself feel better.

Both of my sisters are pregnant!!!! If thats not exciting enough they are due only 9 days apart!!! Their docs are in the same office, so they are doing their ultrasounds on the same day!

I really couldn't be more happy for them right now! Both of them have had their struggles in starting their families, but now this is the 2nd pregnancy for both of them!!! I completely admire both of these women and couldn't be more happy that they are my sisters. They are my best friends, and they are the best mothers I know!

The other great news about these babies is that our brother will be here to see them!!! He comes home from his mission at the end of October!

We are all so excited to have more grandkids in our family. The count right now is 7, and in February it will be 9!!!

Our Happenings

Dave and I just got back from a wonderful weekend in St. George! This time we didn't take kids, but we took my sister and her husband. They are much quieter. We didn't really do much, but sit around and watch mindless TV, and play video games. My sister and I got massages one day, and that was awesome! We had so much fun, and can't wait to go back again soon.

Conner stayed with Grandma Teri and had so much fun that he didn't even notice we were gone. Teri called us Saturday and asked if they could take him to St. George on Sunday night to help Auntie Jojo move. She is going to Dixie. We came home Sunday afternoon and so we just picked up Vika from my parent's house and went home. Its crazy that I haven't seen Conner in so long, and to be home without him. Vika hates it when he is gone, and is way moodier without him around.

I just love this pic! I went in to wake up Vika from her nap because it was 5 already, and this is how I found her. Silly girl!!

Vika went in for her 15 mos. appointment back in July. This is how bad I am at posting. She only weighed in at 18 lbs. and 5 oz. She is still tiny, but she is healthy, and the Doc isn't worried about her. He did say that if she isn't walking at 18 mos then he starts to worry that something is wrong. We are really working on it, and the other day she took 3 steps to Me!!

She is still a chunk, even though she doesn't weigh very much!

I just couldn't do this post without a pic of Conner!! I miss him so much, but I will be seeing him tomorrow night! Friday is his preschool orientation, and he starts a week from tomorrow!!

Canyon and Sleeping

2 weeks ago my 2 Sisters, my Mom and I and the kids went up AF canyon to Mutual Dell. We just spent a couple of hours up there, and had a great time. We roasted hot dogs for lunch, went on a hike, and just enjoyed the great outdoors!!

I walked Vika around the walkway and she totally fell asleep. It was well past her nap time, so it wasn't very hard to get her to sleep.

Preston was very excited when she finally woke up!!

Grandma and Baby Jocelyn had fun eating snacks and hanging out!

Preston loves to be in front of the camera!! He is saying "Cheese"!

Deb and I forgot to take a camera on our hike with Conner and Tyson. We just hiked around the family campsites! They have really funny names like Poocher Monkey Pass, and Panty Waste Pocket. The boys had so much and even though they were exhausted they didn't want to go home.

Conner fell asleep on the way home and so he got almost an hour nap in the car. Vika was good and just sat in her car seat and was as quiet as could be, and let her brother sleep! Conner likes to tell everyone that we went to the canyon. Maybe we should go more often. If I could get Dave to not complain about it we would totally go as a family. (He despises the canyon.)

I just really love this pic that my sister took of Vika. She was feeding Vika lunch while I was at Itty Bitty soccer with Conner. Apparently, lunch took too long for her, and she fell asleep. She was out cold too!!!

Simple Pleasures

I haven't posted a video in so long, and I just happened to remember to pull out my camera this time. Vika was having fun playing with pillow, and so Conner started copying her. I am apologizing now for how loud they are. This is the typical noise level in our house.

I also got her standing up. That just started not too long ago. She loves to stand up and then clap for herself. She still isn't walking yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer!!

Itty Bitty Soccer

Conner had so much fun playing soccer. He actually played with his team, and enjoyed every minute.

He doesn't really like the stretching part of the day, but I did happen to get this rare moment on camera. He is doing crunches like a pro!!! He is to the right of the boy in the blue shirt!!

At the end of the day they would have a race. Conner loved running as fast as he could!!

They are practicing trapping the ball with their foot. Conner made it look so easy, he was so good at this. His coach told them to "squash the ball like a bug".

He loved to practice hitting the ball with his knee.

The last day was lots of fun. Not only did they get to play with this giant parachute, but Grandma Teri, Auntie Lissa, Boo boo, and Ree ree came to watch him play!!

I have to say that it was much more fun to watch him play this time because he actually participated. Even his primary teacher has commented on how much better he is getting at participating with his class. He used to not even talk at church, and now he is making friends, and enjoying himself.

He is so naturally coordinated and athletic that he makes some things look so easy!!! We already got him signed up for Itty Bitty football starting in October!!!

Quick Update

I feel like its been forever since I last posted. We are all doing great. Just trying to survive summer. We went as a family to St. George this last weekend, and lets just say it was eventful. We barely survived it. There was so much screaming, and yelling that both Dave and I were so ready to be home and have the kids in their regular sleeping habits and boundaries. We were all so low on sleep, and it was not a fun car ride. We were grateful to be home. Don't get me wrong, we did have our fun moments while were there, but they were few and far between. We did some swimming, and shopping, and tried to be lazy. Laziness isn't easy with 2 little kids that are refusing naps, and waking up incredibly early in the morning.

We are doing much better this week, and getting more sleep. Conner started Itty Bitty soccer on Monday, and he is loving it. He is doing much better with participating, and playing with other kids. I will post pictures of him playing when it ends next week. He is growing up so fast and will be starting pre-school this fall. I can't believe he is already starting pre-school.

Vika is still NOT walking yet. She has days when I think she will start walking, and then the next day she crawls all day. She is very hard to read. She is talking more and more everyday. Her favorite thing to say is "Hi Baby" and she says it very clear. I am just glad she is taking her time growing up because I want her to be my baby for a long time!!! She gets louder everyday it seems like, which is quite a talent if you ask me.

We are just having fun, and enjoying life!!

Sprinkler Time

Conner loves the sprinkler, finally!! He used to be terrified of the sprinkler, and now he loves it!! He will put his whole face into it so that he gets soaked, and then he laughs!

Vika hates getting wet with the freezing cold water. Her favorite part was wrapping up in the warm towel! I was such a mean mom and made her get wet!!

He was supposed to be looking at the camera and saying cheese, but he got distracted and wouldn't look at me!!

Walking...Almost

Vika got this cute walker for her birthday and she is just now starting to love it! She walks around almost all day long! She is slowly getting closer to wanting to walk.

In this pic she is really excited, but she looks mad!!

She walks with her walker wherever she wants to go. She really wanted to look at her books!

4th of July

We had a great 4th. My Dad made the most amazing omelets!! We got to choose anything we wanted in it, and he made everyone their own!!! Thanks Dad I loved it!

We very quickly left my parent's house because both kids were having complete melt downs. Talk about fun times! We went to Dave's Mom's house for a BBQ and some family time!!

Vika took a very good nap, and Conner got cooled down.

This is Conner waiting patiently for the BBQ steaks!! He ate his steak and corn on the cob well, and was very happy!

Vika wasn't so happy. All she wanted to do was draw with chalk which she started calling "purple"!! It was so hot that it made her cranky.

We were very boring, and took the kids home early so that they could get sleep and not be too tired at church. We haven't done fireworks yet, but I think we will do them on the 24th!

Cherry Hill

Last week my Mother-in-law invited Conner and I to go to Cherry Hill with her, my 2 sisters-in-law, her sister, and Dave's 2 cousins. We had so much fun that I only got this one picture of Conner right when we got there.

Conner decided that he was so hungry when we first got there. He was eating gold fish, and cheetos like there was no tomorrow. It was so funny.

He wanted to go down the "Pirate Ship" slide all day long. I can't even count how many times he went down that slide. It took about 3 times with me going with him to finally convince him to go down it by himself. He loved the lazy river especially when we went with Issa and Jojo. We had to cut the day short due to a rain storm. We will have to go back another day, hopefully soon!!!

Pictures

My friend Tammy took our family pictures on Saturday!! She just posted some of them on her photography blog! You should check them out, they turned out so adorable!!! The link is in my sidebar under Specialty Blogs, and its the Captured Moments!!

Enjoy all the cute pics!!

How Many Is Too Many?

Vika's biggest obsession is binkys. She loves her binky. Lately she has been wanting 2 at a time. If she sees 2 binkys she will put one in her mouth and hold the other. If you try to take 1 away from her she will cry until you either give 1 back, or give her food.

She has binkys everywhere. There are 3 in the diaper bag, 2 in her room, 2 in the car, 2 in the church bag, and probably some stashed somewhere that I don't know of. Its a very rare occasion when you see her without at least 1 binky.

So, what do you think? Do you think she has too many binkys? I am not so sure if she does, but there are a couple of people that make fun of me because she has so many.

Smart Girl

Vika is such a silly little girl. I love to watch her play, and discover new things. She is getting way too smart for me. She talks non-stop all day long. People are always asking if she is ever quiet, and the answer is hardly ever.

Her new favorite thing to do everyday is sit in this chair next to the books and pull them out one by one and "read" them.

She usually ends up emptying out the whole box all over the floor, but its worth it. She is quiet and entertaining herself. Can you really ask for a better time?

She is now starting to hold still when I read to her. I love reading to my kids, and its great that she will actually let me.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

I would like to wish all you Father's out there a very Happy Father's Day!!!

I would now like to dedicate this post strictly to my husband and the greatest Dad my kids could ask for!

Dave loves spending time with both kids. In this picture he is helping Conner put together Vika's pony that she got for her birthday!!

He loves to give them hugs and kisses!!

He loves to get them to laugh, and smile for the camera!

He really enjoys reading books to them, and watching videos on his phone to keep them happy!!!

Thanks Dave for all you do for the kids and me!! You are such a great Dad! I hope you have a great Father's Day!!! The kids would like to tell you how much they love you by giving you hugs and kisses all day long!!