THE BECK FAMILY!

THREE!

2012-01-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Three year ago I was at the hospital having my baby girl! When did that happen? She has grown up so fast and is no longer a baby :( She is such an amazing little thing and we are so lucky to get to have her in our family. So ... I want to put a few things down to help remember her at this age.
- She loves to sing and dance
- refers to herself as "Daddy's Butterfly Princess"
- She love to wear skirts, but only the ones that twirl when she spins
- She is super tall for her age (I will update the amounts after her next dr. appt.)
- Is really into dolls, barbies, babies
- enjoys playing games with whoever is willing to sit and play
- Loves her brother and sister and trys to be just like them
- Very independent! She can do Everything in her opinion without any help
- Is into the Disney Princesses - especially Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty
- Enjoys tackling Tarek and wrestling with both Tarek and her Dad
- Still a Daddy's Girl!

I am so bless and lucky to get to be Dreyken's mother and we love having her in our family. She keeps us busy and entertained, and we are super lucky to have her
Love you Dreyken - and Happy Birthday!

Here is a clip of her singing her ABC and a song she created all on her own...

STAIRS

2012-01-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

It has been really cold here and the kids are getting Really Bored in the house. Well, this is something I use to do as a kid at home and they have a great time. Hopefully it will warm up enough that I can kick them outside to play in the snow! But for now I guess we just get to keep getting creative.

NEW CARPET!

2012-01-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year we were given some money from a few different people so we took that money and used it to put in new carpet in the front room! I LOVE IT! It looks a lot the same as the other carpet we had, but it is clean!

Missing Teeth

2012-01-19T11:20:00.001-08:00

A few days ago Tarek got to go into the dentist and have a bit of work done. He had two teeth pulled from his bottom set as he has NO ROOM for his teeth! My poor kids and their teeth! They did not get any good genes from either me or their dad! Anyway, on the way home Dreyken wanted to have what Tarek was having, and was in tears over it. Yep, she wanted to have gauze in her mouth just like her big brother! Silly Girl! Tarek was super excited cause the tooth fairy let him keep his teeth. They were super big because of the root that was still attached. Not sure what he plans to do with them, but he thought it was Awesome! He was such a tough boy about the whole thing and didn't complain at all.

DANCING

2012-01-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

Dreyken loves to Dance. She knows how to turn on our piano and make it play music then she will dance for EVER! Dan was able to catch her in action so thought I would share :)

BUTTERFLY PRINCESS

2012-01-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to put down this quick little story. As I was putting Dreyken to bed last night she told me her name was "not Dreyken, it is Daddy's Butterfly Princess" This has been something she has said for quite awhile. She is indeed her Daddy's Princess. So I asked her what mom was suppose to call her since I am not Daddy. Her response ... Godmother! Apparently she has watched a few too many Disney Princess shows!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am late again at posting. But at least it hasn't been six months! I am really going to try and keep this blog updated better this year (we shall see :\). So anyway, we had a great Christmas this year getting to spend a lot of time with family and only a little bit of traveling. We got to go to Christmas Eve at my parents house with lots of family (grandparents, cousins, second-cousins, aunts and uncles, etc.) It was fun to get to see cousins that I haven't seen in quite a while and see their families. We also got to have a special visitor come ... And the kids were super excited (other then Kalli who is going through an I'm to cool stage).
We then headed down to Gunnison for a few days to celebrate with Dan's family. The kids had a great time and were really good. Of course I didn't get any pictures the entire time we were there. Then we were able to come back home and see the FitzSimmons for a few days over the New Year. It was fun for the kids to get to play with so many cousins, and turned out to be a great end to one year and start to another!

KIDS PICTURES AND MEXICO

2011-12-21T09:48:00.000-08:00

So yep it has been over six months since I last updated! I got a new camera a few weeks ago before we headed to Mexico, so now I have A TON of pictures that I want to upload. But since that would be to much work I am going to stick on a few of the kids while in Mexico, as you can see they had a great time and are asking when we get to go again. It was super fun and we only had a few issues such as Dreyken throwing up the entire way to SLC the day before our flight, and Tarek getting a stomach bug the day we went to the ruins (he was such a good sport the entire day).

We also had Dan's cousin take family pictures for us a few months ago and she did an AMAZING job! Dreyken was not happy at all, yet had some super cute pics and the other kids of course were super good so thought I would share / post for my info just a few of the pics. What cute kids I have!

Presents for Mom!

2011-07-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I walked into my bathroom and got a wonderful suprise from Tarek (no not a bad suprise) a bouquet of flowers! I love those kinds of presents! What a sweet tenderhearted little boy he is.

Then the other day Dreyken took what I thought was a really good nap, needless to say she was busy creating a "beautful piece of art" for me! Oh how happy I was!!

And yep I made her scrub at her walls for a good while! I hoped she would learn not to color on things again, but she has since colored on her table and chair set and also on my parents walls!

How I love being a Mother with both the good and the bad.

KALLI

2011-05-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

This last year Kalli has had the chance to get to perform in three different plays. She was a "Pretty Lady" in a Western play that the Drama Club did. She had several speaking parts for this one and did a great job.
Then her fourth grade class was studing Lewis and Clark so they each had to write a 20 page typed play. The teacher picked three of them for the class to perform. She was cast as Clark in Act one of the play and again had several parts to learn. It was really fun to get to see their interpretation of Lewis and Clark and the experiences that they had.

And then, (my favorite of the three) her GATE class put on Jungle Book and performed at five schools and once for parents. She was a prickly pear for some of the time and a monkey for some of the time.

This one was a musical and they got to do a lot of dancing and singing. She did AWESOME! To see her come out of her comfort zone a little bit and have a fun time while doing so has been really fun to see.

HAIRCUT!

2011-03-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

BEFORE
So I finally got the nerve up to take Dreyken in for her first haircut! I was super worried that she would have a melt down at the salon, but she did so good. I had not ever cut her hair and it she was starting to look a little crazy :) I forgot to take my camara with me so the pictures had to be taken on my phone, but she was so proud of her new hair-do! She informed Kalli and Dan as soon as they got home that she got a hair cut and would show them how to cut with her fingers for sissors. I do have to say that it turned out super cute it really brought her curl back out.

AFTER

PORTA PIGGY!

2011-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago there was a contest at a bank here in Idaho Falls for 3-4 graders. They were to make a piggy bank and bring it in to the local branch. The only rules were that somewhere you had to have a slot to put money in; and you were to have only minimal parental help. Kalli decided that she wanted to make one, so her and her Dad got busy cutting and painting. The final product----
A Porta Piggy (the picture doesn't show, but the slot for the money is the toilet hole inside.) A week after dropping off the bank Kalli got a call --- She one first prize which was a trophy and a $100 savings bond! She was super excited and really had worked hard on her bank.

And just for fun I thought I would throw on this video of Dreyken and Tarek playing with some goop he bought. ENJOY!

SHE'S TWO!!

2011-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

I really need to update my blog as there has been so much the last few months with Christmas and the New Year, however, today's blog is going to be just about one thing... My Baby! Who turned two today! It is so hard for me to even say that!

So two years ago today, we were blessed with our crazy little monster, and life has been very entertaining since! So... a few things I want to remember about our little Dreyken Jade and who she is right now

- Absolutely a complete Daddy's girl! (which is really sad for me to have to admit) but no matter how hard I try, she always wants to be with Daddy! And she has him completely wrapped around her little finger!

- Loves her older sister and brother (although she is more willing to show Kalli her love and boss Tarek around)

- STUBBORN! She has a very strong will, and is not afraid to let people know it!

- She loves her dolls, dressing up like a princess and wearing either football or
soccer jerseys!(I love it when she is wearing a football jersey and wants to were her princess tutu her Aunt Brooke made for her!)

- Loves to Dance! Especially with Kalli and Tarek. She has quite the moves!

- She is quite the artist! (loves to draw on EVERYTHING! So far it has all washed off!)

- Has rather good manners and will respond with "stink you!" and "yellcome" however, her other favorite phrase is "you farted!" (ya I didn't teach her that one!)

- And she has an amazing since of humor! She loves to make people laugh and to get crazy. She has decided that anytime I try to take a picture she has to close her eyes and do a cheezy smile (so much for cute pictures!)

We are so blessed to get to have such a wonderful, full of life little girl in our family. She brings joy to house and is so loved by each of us. As it is sad for me as a mom to see my baby growing up, it is so fun to get to see the person that she is and to get to watch her grow, learn and experience the joys of life. I am grateful for all of my children and for my family, but today I am especially thankful to get to be Dreyken's mother!
I love you Dreyken! Happy Birthday!

HALLOWEEN, HELICOPTERS AND RIDING A BIKE!

2010-11-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year! Dreyken was old enough to have a great time, and the other kids got LOTS of candy! We dressed Dreyken up as a Dragon this year (since she wasn't old enough to really care and the costume was really warm). Tarek had a really hard time choosing his costume, but ended up dressing up as a Hot Wheels Race Car Driver. Kalli chose to be Draculara (the daughter of Dracula) and looked really cute in her pink and black wig. We carved pumpkins the week of Halloween, and lucky for me, I had a little help this year! Kalli was able to do most of her pumpkin herself! Tarek, cleaned out a lot of his, choose his pattern and punched most of the design! And then there was Dreyken's... She wouldn't even put her hand into the pumpkin!! A friend of my parents has a helicopter that Tarek was told about. Well, since then he has been asking when he is going to get to go for a ride. My parents set up a date for us to go for family night one night, and Tarek was one happy little boy!! It can only hold four people (one being the pilot) so Dan went for a ride with Kalli and Tarek, and then I got to get in and go for a ride with the two kids. It was actually a really fun experience, and not nearly as scary as I had thought it would be. This is a picture of Tarek as he watched the helicopter land before getting a ride And here is Dan and the kids taking off! Thanks again Mom and Dad! And finally, Tarek has finally figured out how to ride his bike without training wheels! He had tried a few times and had gotten so frustrated and given up, I am so glad he tried again and was able to get it! He is now excited to ride his bike again... Just in time for Winter!

BECK FAMILY FARM!

2010-10-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

(So I wrote this post back on the 15th of October, but the pics wouldn't load for me! so now a few weeks later here it is!!)

Every year we try to head down to Gunnison during pumpkin season. It is always a crazy time for my in-laws and they are so good to let us come then, cause my kids LOVE IT! They love getting to see all the pumpkins and squashes that there are, helping out with school classes that come to tour the farm, and working for Grandma picking pumpkins. Oh yea, they also enjoy getting to drive four-wheelers around on the farm! This year was no different, the kids had a great time. They helped with the straw maze, the school classes, picking pumpkins, running a lemonade stand, and just getting to be outside.

Kalli had a great time with her cousin Harley who is just a year younger than her and lives in Gunnison. They planned and had quite a bit of success running a lemonade stand down at the farm's market.

Tarek's highlight of the trip was driving a four-wheeler for his first time alone! It was rather scary for me as a mom to watch, but the look on his face afterwards was pure joy! He was a big help with the pumpkins, and of course got in his golf game. He enjoys being there so much, but is always so stuffy and miserable no matter what we do with his allergies. He is such a trouper and just continues on with the day, snorting every few seconds and washing his hands anytime he touches an animal.

Dreyken LOVED the animals, she would talk to the kittens and dogs like they were her little babies, in a high pitched voice telling them what to do. Usually it was "Follow, follow me!" to which they usually didn't cooperate very well. She also got in her game of golf (or at least a few holes). She took some convincing to get on a four-wheeler, but loved it once she got on.
Anyway, this post it starting to get really long, but we always have such a great time when we go. Thanks David and Lorie for putting up with us doing your crazy time of year!

THE BIG NUMBER FIVE!

2010-09-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, seems like I am only good at updating the blog when there is a birthday, so...
My Sweet, Funny, Cute, Crazy Tarek just turned FIVE!! I can't believe that he is really that old! He is such a smart kid who loves to share all that he knows with whoever will listen. He loves to make people laugh and to be comical. He is in pre-school again this year, and so far has really been enjoying it. So a few things about Tarek....

-He is really enjoying gymnastics (and is actually getting really good!)
-He loves to play football, and watch games especially when the Packers are involved!
-His favorite color is still Yellow (which has some influence on his Packers choice)
-He still loves the stuffed bear he got from his grandparents at three months old
-Loves to make people laugh
-He is a huge help, especially when I had to shuck 100+ ears of corn! Who knew a
little boy could work so hard!
-He is very proud of his VERY LARGE Sunflowers that he grew this year. (They are
ENORMOUS!)
-Still enjoys catching any kind of bug or creature (even being allergic to bees, he
was trying to catch one in a jar the other day!)
-Has one of the hugest most tender hearts! He will go out of his way for anyone,
especially his mom and two sisters.
-He is a wonderful brother and has to put up with a lot from both Kalli and Dreyken,
yet he is always willing to share, play and entertain them.

We are so lucky to get to have such a sweet little man in our house and I feel so lucky to get to be his Mom! Happy Birthday Bear!

FAMILY PICTURES

2010-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law Randy got married. So we took a really quick trip down to Gunnison and then on to SLC for the wedding. While we were all dressed up, Dan's cousin Jessica took a few pictures for me of our family and our kids. Finally a family picture that includes Dreyken! She does such an awesome job and the pictures turned out so cute! Thanks Jessica! Anyway, I just wanted to share the pics, so enjoy!

Kalli Lyn turns 9!

2010-08-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

So I am a little slow at getting this post up as Kalli has been nine for over a week! It is still hard to realize she is now 9! How did she get so old so fast!!! So, I wanted to write a few things down about her, so looking back both her and I can remember those special little things.

-She is a wonderful big sister to both her brother and sister
-Dreyken will go to Kalli over Mom most of the time!
-She loves to listen to music and dance with Dreyken (something Dreyken loves to do!)
-be careful, she has a very sarcastic sense of humor! She comes across as shy, but once she opens up, she is full of fun.
-Is a very good clogger
-Loves to read books, both by herself and to her brother and sister
-She is always asking to make brownies, and does a very good job making them mostly by herself (I just have to put them in the oven!)
-She has such a great heart and is such a wonderful daughter, I am very lucky to get to be her mom!

I love this picture of Kalli and Tarek! It is so how they are together!

I really do feel so lucky to get to have Kalli as my daughter, she is such a blessing to our family. She has been such a huge help to me this last year, and has become a little mom to Dreyken. For her birthday (and because they were starting to get really in the way) she was able to get contacts, and is so happy to be able to see! I thought she looked very cute in glasses, but remember how much more freedom I felt when I got to move on to contacts. Markell came up for a few days and we were able to take my kids downtown to get a few updated pictures, needless to say, Kalli wants to go redo them since she had her glasses on then! The pictures turned out super cute! Thanks Markell!

She wanted a blue lady bug cake for her birthday (weird I know) but her reasoning was that her favorite but was a ladybug and her favorite color is blue! It actually turned out pretty cute in the end. Happy Birthday Kalli! We love you!

GUNNISON AND LAKE POWELL

2010-07-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

Every year Dan's family goes down to Lake Powell for a few days. It is always a good time for the kids. It was a little more crazy trying to keep track of three kids this year, but they all had a great time. We got to spend a few days with at my in-laws farm with a family reunion. We celebrated the fourth of July there, the kids love going to the parade there as they throw a lot of candy out. The kids always love being on the farm with all the animals and room to run a play. Dreyken really liked the animals this year, she now knows a lot of animal sounds and names of animals. It is fun to see her reaction to the animals, she gets so excited and starts squeling and yelling.

Dreyken rode on a tube for the first time and also a Jet Ski. Tarek loved the Jet Skis and would get a ride from anyone willing to let him go. Kalli had fun with here cousins and friends, and wouldn't let me take her picture, so the few I have of her she always looks suprised or angry. But she did have a good time. We hiked up one day to some old Indian ruins, the kids thought that was pretty cool, other than the hike to get there. Lukily the kids were really good the entire trip, even Dreyken!

PICTURE BLOG!

2010-06-14T18:53:00.001-07:00

Wow, so I managed to make it through an entire month without posting anything! Crazy thing is that TONS happened during the month that I wish I had posted about! Tarek graduated from Preschool (he gets to go again next year) Kalli clogged at Lagoon and her team got first, and Dreyken is just GROWING! Anyway, to make the post not to long, it is going to be a Picture blog! ENJOY...

EASTER AND MORE!

2010-04-09T08:12:00.001-07:00

Well, we had a very eventful springbreak and Easter. My sister and her kids came through both on their way to and from California. It was fun to get to see them even if it was just for a little while. We also got to see my brother Paul for a little bit while he was on his spring break, it will be fun when he is done with school and we get to see more of him. And then we also got to spend some time with both my brother Jake and his family and my brother Scott and his wife, they both live here, but it is always fun to get together and visit.

Spring break seemed really long this year. We did not plan anything special and had hoped to work outside and get stuff done around the house. Well, the weather was HORRIBLE! and my kids were so stir crazy! It was fun to get to have Kalli home for a little while though, I feel like she is at school so much, I hardly ever get to see her. Dreyken decided the week was to uneventful and decided to test out how hot a light bulb can get on a lamp. She burned two of her fingers really good, Luckily for me Dan was home that day so I was able to get her to the Doctor's office without having to drag two other children with me. Well, one of her fingers got infected, it got really swollen and red so I took her back in to the doctor and they are concerned it is worse than a second degree burn, I had to take her to a hand specialist who wants to see her in a week and may possible have to put some grafts on her one finger! I didn't know a lightbulb could cause so much damage! Anyway, for the last week and for another week she has to have her hand wrapped up. It looks so sad to see her try to do things and not be able to. She has been really good about leaving the wrap on at least.

On Saturday, the day before Easter, I woke up and headed to my mom's to meet my sister and take our kids to the local Easter Egg Hunt. It was freezing cold outside and we almost didn't go, but decided last minute to brave it. We were just getting ready to turn onto the street where the park is, and another car ran a red light, hitting a second car and then sliding into me. The worst was watching the entire thing come at me and knowing we were going to get hit and not being able to move! The kids thought it felt like a roller coaster ride, and luckily no body was hurt. The kids were a little disappointed to have to miss the Easter Egg hunt, but we put one together for them to do at my mom's house later that night. (Thanks Jana for taking the pictures for me!)

Then on Easter we went to my parents house for breakfast and got to watch General Conference. It was a little crazy, and I missed a lot of the talkes, but love the feeling of General Conference. Luckily, I can read what was said when the magazine comes out!

On Tuesday, we got about six inches of snow during the night, and school got cancelled for the day! In April! It was so crazy! Even though Kalli had just had spring break, when I went in to tell her there was no school, she was so excited because "we have never had a snow day!" Which is true for her, there have not been any snow days all year! Now for some warmer weather and yard work!

WALKING, PUFFY EYES AND PIGTAILS!

2010-03-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well it finally happened! (I don't know if I should be happy or sad) Dreyken has started to walk. She has been so close for so long, and the last three days she just took off! She is growing up so fast it is CRAZY

On another note, my poor little boy ended up with an allergic reaction to something the other day, and by the next morning both of his eyes were HUGE! He sure gets the most random things to hit him. This picture is taken after a day on some medication, so it is a huge improvement from how he was.

Finally, I was able to pull Dreyken's hair up into pigtais the other day for the first time. She loved sitting on the counter brushing her teeth and actually sat really still! I can hardly wait until it is a little longer and I can really do some fun things!

Random Post

2010-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

So the month of February seemed so LONG! We have had a lot of yucky sickness going around our house this month, and I can hardly wait until it warms up outside and we can get out! We have not done much all month, but I did get a few cute pics of the kids so here are some random pics from the last little while!

Dreyken trying on Kalli's hat.

Sharing with her brother, which she doesn't do very often.

Tarek LOVES the Green Bay Packers, (and I mean LOVES) so I found this cute hat pattern, and used the Packer colors. He was so excited!

This was the first time Dreyken really got out and played in the snow. She was not quite sure what to do, but LOVED getting to be outside.

Kalli and her silly faces. She will no longer let me take a picture without some goofy face.

Tarek learned how to jump out of the swing thanks to the instruction of Kalli!

And finally, Dreyken swinging! She was so HAPPY! I am so ready for the warm weather to come!

VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

Well just like last year, Dreyken and I are at home alone for Valentine's Day! Last year she was only a few weeks old and my family had planned a trip to my sister-in-laws parents house in Heber for some winter fun. I opted out and stayed how with the baby to get some much needed rest. Well, this year we got all packed up and headed out of town to go to Gunnison to visit Dan's family and see our new nephew Dartin Dale Jenkins get blessed. Well, just as we headed out of town Dreyken decided her breakfast was no longer needed and threw up EVERYWHERE! We turned around and headed back home where her and I stayed while Dan, Kalli and Tarek headed to Utah. I thought it would be a good time to put up a post and then realized I had left my camera in the car, so it is in Utah and my pictures are still on it. So I thought I would load on a few pictures I got from my mom a few weeks ago and never got around to posting.

This is the only family picture I have that includes Dreyken! (sad I know) It was taken at my little sisters wedding. It makes me see how blessed I am looking at that picture with my three sweet kids and Husband who will not be happy I posted this picture (He is very Anti-Camera)

This is my crazy, silly eight year old. She is such a great kid, loves to hang out with her family, and has the funniest sense of humor (very much like her Dad's, very sarcastic!)

I LOVE YOU KALLI!

This is our entertainment at home (we got rid of cable a few months ago, and don't miss it at all! He is so much more entertaining to watch!) He is one of the most friendly kids you will met, making friends everywhere we go. My handsome little man, who loves with all his heart.

I LOVE YOU TAREK!

And finally there is Daddy's little princess! She can be sweet, cute and silly; but be careful as she is stubborn, feisty and opinionated. She is such a wonderful blessing to this little family and I am so blessed to get to be her mom!

I LOVE YOU DREYKEN!

I never thought I would have three such amazing kids, after having Kalli it took a lot of questioning and thought about ever having any more. She was such a good baby and a wonderful kid, but my body was just not made for the stress of caring babies. I am so thankful for a husband who gave me so many blessings, loved me always, and gave me strength when I needed it. I can't imagine life without even one of these three precious children, or my wonderful husband!

I LOVE YOU DAN! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

And finally on a different note, I wanted to post this picture of Dreyken and my Sister-in-Law Traci. I just love it! And I wanted to say congratulations to her and Scott! You will make such great parents (just look at how good Traci is already!)

MY BABY TURNS ONE!

2010-01-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

So it is now official, my little girl is now one! I can hardly believe how fast she has grown and how quickly the time has gone by. It is hard to believe that one year ago today, we were in the hospital wondering if we were going to welcome a little girl or boy. Kalli hoping for a girl, Tarek really wanting a boy (he even cried when he found out it was a girl! He has gotten over that and loves her so much.) What an amazing blessing and addition she has been to our family. So along with A LOT of pictures I want to write down a few things about my sweet little beans.

Dreyken is a super happy child and very easy going (most of the time)
She is quick to laugh and loves to make others laugh / I love to hear her talking to herself and then laughing as though she is telling some sort of joke!
She really loves both her brother and sister so much, she will follow them everywhere they go. She is often found sitting at the top of the stairs looking down as she can hear them playing down there, but can't get past the gate.
Very much a Daddy's Girl, I have always said some day I will get a child that wants me over my husband. Well, she is not that child! From the minute he walks in the door, she becomes his little shadow.
An absolute Master at creating disaster where ever she goes! She empties cupboards, baskets, shelves, anything that she can get her little hands on.
Super curious! Which is probably why she creates such disasters as she wants to see what is in every cupboard or box.
An absolutely wonderful addition to our family. I can't even imagine what life would be like without her!

So now here are a few (okay a lot) of pictures from the past year of my sweet little girl!

We love you Dreyken Jade! Happy Birthday!

HOLIDAYS...

2010-01-07T20:09:00.001-08:00

I know I am really slow at updating from the holiday. So sorry for the picture overload. We had a great christmas here with just our little family. I then headed down south with the kids while Dan stayed home and worked. I spent a few days at my in-laws and had a really good time, other than Dreyken being sick most of the time. It was fun for the kids to get to se their cousins and However, I could have done without the drive home. I headed home during a storm and there were cars off the road EVERYWHERE! I pulled over in Farmington, and was not going to go any further, but heard from Dan that there was no snow up here in Idaho, so decided to head on. The roads did eventually clear up and the last half of the drive was so much better.

My sisters and their families along with all of my brothers and their families were able to get together for New Years. It was so fun getting to be all together again. I really miss having both of my sisters so far away! I do love having some of my brothers here though. But it was nice to get to see everyone for a little while.

And if you are wondering, Yes, Dan did give Dreyken footballs for Christmas. Funny thing is she LOVES them!

RANDOM KIDS PICS

2009-12-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to getting ready for Christmas. We just barely got the tree set up, so thought I would post a few cute pictures. Plus, Dreyken is growing up so fast, and I just can't keep her little. She is such a funny, cute little thing. I was finally able to get her hair into piggy tails! (sort of, they are a little lopsided, but she so did not want to sit still.) She has also started to play games, and LOVES playing catch, especially with Dad and his football! There should be a video attached at the bottom if I can get it to work!

MEXICO!

2009-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Dan and I just got back from a little over a week in Mexico. Dan had gotten us a trip for our ten year anniversary (not until May, but didn't want to wait!). We went to a place called Rivearia Maya which was about an hour away from Cancun. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was also very warm and super relaxing, thanks to David and Lorie who tended our kids. Anyway, we mostly hung out on the beach and stayed at our resort which was all inclusive (I would so recommend this to anyone looking for a good vacation). We did leave twice to go see Tulum one day, and then to Coba for a day. We ran into a ton of huge lizards, and got to get up close with a monkey while on those trips.

Dan really enjoyed the variety of food from Escargot to Octopus Lasagna (yea, he really did eat both!) While I enjoyed a lot of fresh fruit and freshly made crepes. Anyway, here are bunch of pictures from the trip. They were getting ready for Christmas at the resort so there were Christmas lights EVERYWHERE!
This is some ruins buy our hotel that we walked on the beach to.

This is the walkways that line the entire hotel property to get you from one place to another without having to get wet when it is raining.
A picture from the beach
This is a picture of our hotel
More of the beach
This shows just some of the Christmas lights that were up.
Dan and I at Tulum.
Me about to touch a HUGE lizard
A picture of our hotel room

One of the many swimming pools
My trophy I won in a tennis tournament

Dan and I standing at the bottom of Coba just before we headed up.
A look down from the top of Coba
Inside a Cenote (a cave with a lake in it) that we stopped at on our way home from Coba to swim in.
The monkey that we got to see

PROGRAMS!

2009-11-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

Last week we had two different programs to attend. Dan's parents came up to catch both of the kids perform, and to get to spend some time with the kids. Tarek had his pre-school Thanksgiving program. He was so proud of himself and had been practicing the song for the last few weeks. Of course when the program started he was so excited he could hardly stand still. He did a good job and it was fun to see him get so excited. Then we headed to the Festival of Trees for Kalli's clogging program. She did a really good job, but the place was CRAZY! They only have one in and out and the room is so packed that most parents can't even see their kids. We got there at 5:00 and were able to get some seats next to Grandma and Grandpa Parry, but the seats went quickly. It is so fun to get to see her enjoy something that I really enjoyed as a kid. She has only been clogging since September, but LOVES IT! I am so proud of both my kids and what great kids they are! Finally, here is just a quick picture of Dreyken, enjoying the shows.

LAUGHING

2009-11-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

Just had to add this cute video of Dreyken. ENJOY!

NEW BLOG!

2009-11-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

So after Tammi's comment at the coupon class the other day that "it would be nice to have a way to share some deals with each other" I decided to start a blog. I figure since I am looking for deals for my family anyway, I may as well post them for others to see. I thought it might be fun to have a blog where we can put up any good deals or ideas we may have and want to share. They do not necessarily have to be coupon deals, but any sort of good idea or topic that might want to be shared. I am hoping to get a lot of help from friends and family and your ideas. So go over to www.familydealfilter.blogspot.com and check out the blog and let me know what you think either there or here and if you have any suggestions or ideas to make it better. I know there are a lot of blogs with the same information, but thought it could be used to filter the really good deals that are around! Remember, it doesn't have to be just coupon deals, great receipies, easy DIY Christmas ideas, etc. Hope to get some feedback

COUPON WEB SITES

2009-11-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

So thanks to those of you who came to my mom's house for the class on couponing. I really hope it helped those of you with questions, and will make shopping exciting. Let me know if you ever have any questions and I will try to help. To help out I thought I would add some links to my blog of a few coupon sites that I like to check every now and then. Not all of them are from Idaho Falls, some are from Boise so their prices and stores and somewhat different. They should show up on my side bar under Coupon Blogs. Hope this helps!

PIANO RECITAL AND HALLOWEEN

2009-11-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

So it has been awhile since I posted anything about Kalli. She has been super busy and is always doing something. On Halloween she had a piano recital and I (once again) forgot the camera. So I had her play the song for me at home and thought I would share. She was really nervous and I was really proud of her for getting up in front of a lot a people to play. She ended up getting picked second to last to go so she was REALLY nervous when she finally got her turn. She really is getting pretty good. She has also started clogging and LOVES IT! For anyone interested she is going to perform on November 18th at the Festival of Trees at 6:00.

Now for a few random pictures from Halloween weekend. The kids had a great time carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating. Kalli was a pirate, Tarek was The Dark Knight, and Dreyken was a pumpkin.

Finally, these are some pictures my brother-in-law took while we were visiting Dan's parents this year. The pumpkins the kids are sitting on have their names grown into them. Lorie carves the kids names into them when they are small and the pumpkins heal themselves, but leave the name engraven. The kids love to "Hunt" for their pumpkins every year. Unfortunately, we had some neighbor kids who thought smashing pumpkins would be a good idea so our pumpkins got broken after only a few days. Luckily, Lorie was able to send up some more for the kids to carve. Those however, only lasted through Halloween, then Halloween night a different set of kids smashed those all over my front door step. Yea, real nice! On the plus side, Dan says they are a lot easier to dispose of that way.

DREYKEN IS MOBILE!

2009-10-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

So I have been meaning to post a video of Dreyken moving. She is now nine months old, and is EVERYWHERE! She has yet to crawl on her hands and knees, but she can get where she want to pretty fast. We have also discovered that she hates things being organized and put away. She loves to destroy the videos, and anytime she sees you stacking blocks, or piling up her toys she hurries over and swats with her hands until the pile is everywhere. She has also developed a love for her Daddy. She is now officially a Daddy's girl and SCREAMS anytime someone takes her away from him (yes, including her mom! :(. ) On another note, Tarek came down with the Flu last week and has been camping out in our front room for the past week. The other day I came out to find his head missing and his legs straight up in the air. Apparently he is feeling much better!

LITTLE MAN TURNS 4!

2009-09-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

I am a little slow at getting this posted, on Thursday September 24th my little man turned four! I can hardly believe how fast he is growing up. He is such a fun and spunky little boy, with an imagination that runs wild! We are so glad to have him as part of our family and love every minute that we get to be with him. He got a football game, a football "Green Bay Cheese Packers" outfit and blanket and lots of games with cars. He wanted a race car birthday game party so he had a car pinata and a demolition derby cake. He loved it!

I want to remember a few things about Tarek so...

Tarek has a "Mr. B-dare" that he has had since he was 3 months old

He Loves watching and talking football with his Dad (he roots for any team that Dan wants to lose... they learn so young how to push buttons!)

He loves Spiderman, Batman and getting to sleep in a "Man Cave" (His room is in our unfinished basement)

He is completely convinced that he plays for the "Y-ami Dolphins" he claims to get paid and that his job is to get the ball and run really fast so that he doesn't get tackled. (Tonight I overheard him telling Dan, "if you watch the Y-ami Dolphins play, I am the very smallest one out there")

He loves to make up stories about "Billy and the Dragon" who live down the street from us

He really enjoys preschool and Ms. Karla

He also is really enjoying Gymnastics... and loves doing flips and tricks off of my furniture.

He is very inquisitive and loves to question EVERY THING! WHY is his favorite word.

He loves bugs of any kind and has no fear of them.

And finally, he is Daddy's buddy, Mommy's bear, Kalli's best friend and Dreyken's entertainer.

I am so grateful to get to be his mother and get the chance to raise him. He has such a sweet heart and loves everyone. He will befriend anyone who will give him a minute of their time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAREK!

BECK FAMILY FARM

2009-09-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

We were just able to make our trip down to Gunnison for Pumpkin season. The kids love to go every year, and we always have such a good time. Lorie carves the kids names into pumpkins while they are still small and green and the names then look like the pumpkin grew that way. The kids love getting to go and "Hunt" for their pumpkin. Dreyken loved getting to be outside and playing in the swing. She also was a huge fan of the four wheelers (yea she rode on one a few times). All of the cousins were there and so the kids had a great time as always!

PATTY CAKE

2009-09-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

Dreyken playing Patty Cake.

UPDATE!

2009-08-27T10:54:00.001-07:00

So time has flown by and I haven't updated our blog in awhile. A lot has happened for our small little family. So be prepared for a lot of photo updates! Kalli got hair dye for her birthday from her Aunt Markell, something she (Kalli) has been asking for awhile to get. I was super nervous when I began to wash out the dye and her hair was REALLY WHITE! It turned out super cute and she loves it.

We then had the privilege of having family come and visit to watch Kalli get baptized. She had to get baptized twice, but did manage to finally get completely immersed. She than looked so pretty in her white dress and was so blessed to have so many worth men there to confirm her. Tarek was having some asthma issues and was throwing up throughout the entire thing (Thanks Markell for taking him out) It turned out to be such a wonderful day and we are so proud of her and love her so much, she is wonderful daughter and a great example to her younger brother and sister. Thanks to all those who were able to make it.

Kalli with her Dad, her two Grandpa's and her Grandpa Great Parry

We got to spend a weekend camping with my family and that was a lot of fun (other than the freezing cold nights) Dreyken and I slept in the car and after the first night when I didn't have the keys, I would turn the car on to keep her and I warm. It got to 27 degrees one night... yea COLD! My kids loved getting to camp and play with their cousins. We are not much for camping, but the kids really had a great time and we may just have to do it again next year when it is warmer. I forgot my camera (I seem to be doing that a lot) but am hoping to get some pictures from my mom sometime.

Kalli than got to start third grade on Monday the 24th of August. And of course I forgot to take a picture of her the first day, so this is a picture of her second day of school. She is starting to not like camera's and pictures. She is growing so fast!

Tarek is getting ready to start preschool on September 9th and is so excited! He just got a letter from his teacher with a count down calender with stickers. This is Tarek hiding in my towel closet, we were playing a game of hide-and-seek, and it was a good think Dan cheated or we never would have found him! What a funny kid he is.

We did have quite the scare with a friend of Tarek's over the weekend. I had taken my three kids to the swimming pool with two other friends of mine and their kids. One of who is Tarek's really good friend. As we began to get ready to go, we were packing up the babies and gathering up towels when Sheldon's mom said "I don't see Sheldon". We all began to scan the group of kids that had formed at the pool as it had gotten rather crowded. I then see Andrea (the other friend of mine) dive into the pool and come up with Sheldon in her arms, blue as could be. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911 as the screams had drawn over other people, one of whom was a nurse. After calling 911 I went and gathered up his two sisters who were still in the pool, and my own two kids and headed off to the side out of view of the commotion. The medics arrived and took Sheldon to the ER and got him to start breathing again. Andrea and I gathered up the kids and took them to our houses (she lives directly across the street from me) and before I even got home I had calls from people in the ward wanting to help out (even offering to nurse Lana's four month old baby). Word had traveled fast and the response was incredible. Sheldon had to be Life Flighted to SLC and for awhile it was just sit and wait for us here. Things have turned out great, Sheldon is doing really well and only had to stay a few nights in SLC and is up and running around. We are so grateful he made it through and for all those offers to help. Tarek has been wanting to make and take presents to Sheldon since he "didn't die and can still be my friend." He has colored pictures, wrapped up a pen, and given him some money. All thought up on his own. Let me just say I never want to have to experience that again EVER!

Dreyken is getting so big! She has figured out patty-cake (sort of) and loves to pull hair. She is sitting up, but has not attempted to crawl yet (YEA!) She does move around very quickly in her walker and often runs over other people's toes that are not paying attention. She has developed quite a bit of stranger anxiety and doesn't NOT like it when her Dad goes in at night instead of Mom. Funny how they figure out who can feed them and who can't. She is such a happy kid most of the time, and loves playing with Tarek and Kalli. With the weather finally being so nice she has discovered the swing and loves to swing outside.

And finally, I got some pictures from the Beck family reunion we had in July from my brother-in-law and thought I would post some of the many pictures. What a great time we had, it is always so fun to get to go and play on the farm. Thanks David and Lorie for the great time.

KALLI TURNS 8!

2009-07-25T19:28:00.002-07:00

Kalli at almost one.

July 24th was Kalli's eighth birthday. I can't believe I am old enough to have an eight year old.
She is really excited (and nervous) to get to be baptized on August 1st, we are so proud of her decision to do so and want her to know that. She has grown up so fast and has become such a great helper and sister to Tarek and Dreyken. She has become a HUGE help to me in entertaining Dreyken and Tarek. She is such a great daughter and I am so proud of who she is becoming. It seems like just yesterday that she was born. I am so grateful for her and feel so blessed to get to be her mother and have her in our family.

For her birthday, she wanted to have a friend party. This always turns out to be difficult as many people seem to travel for Pioneer Day. She invited a few friends and ended up having four girls over for a water / pizza party. They ate pizza, had milkshakes (thanks to my Mom and Dad for letting us borrow their mixer and flavors), than headed out to the yard for some water games and a slip n' slide. The hit of the party turned out to be the sprinkler under the trampoline (the only not planned game). Dan ended up putting the extra water balloons onto the trampoline and that went over well also. The only real disaster we had was when Kalli and a friend decided to jump together on the end of the slip n' slide and popped a huge hole in it. At least the party was almost over.

She seemed to have fun, and Tarek was so proud that he got to join in the party. We love you Kalli. You are very special to us and we are very proud of who you are.

On the tramp with the balloon's

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

and finally getting ready to Jump!

BOATING, FOURTH OF JULY AND LAKE POWELL

2009-07-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile since I last posted anything and a lot has gone on. I have a ton of pictures but could only put on a few of the really cute ones. So to start off with we headed to the lake for a day of boating with my dad and brothers. It was the first time we had been out this year, and the kids had a great time. Dreyken loved being outside, however, she HATES her life jacket.

Kalli and Dreyken enjoying some sister time. I love how Dreyken is looking at Kalli and smiling. She definitely knows who Kalli is and loves seeing her come into the room.

Kalli and Tarek getting ready to swim. The water was actually quite cold still.
Kalli and Dreyken

On July 2nd we headed down to Gunnison to a family reunion for Dan's family. It was at his parents house so that worked out nice for us. It was the first time most of his family has got to see Dreyken. They had so many activities and things to do, and I of course didn't get any pictures. However, his sister got a lot and is hopefully going to send me a disc with them on it sometime. They had a mini golf tournament, a four-wheeler race track (with mud hole included), rode horses, had a marshmallow gun shootout, water-balloon volleyball and lots of other things going on. That night they had a motorcycle stunt show with some of the local boys doing crazy tricks followed by a concert by Meryl Osmond and a fire work show. The next day, they had a parade for the fourth which the farm had an entry in, so Kalli got to ride in the parade on the float. They throw out so much stuff at the parade (candy, shirts, Frisbees, glow sticks, chocolate and strawberry milks, etc. The kids came home with more stuff then they got for Halloween. That was followed by a bunch of games and food at the local city park. It was a very crazy and busy two days.

On Sunday we went to church and than headed down to Lake Powell for a week of water and sun. Dan's parents have a few weeks on a houseboat every year and the kids love going. It was a little harder for me with a baby, but she actually did really good and eventually loved the water. It was warm and nice, but never got to extremely hot like it can down there. Dan had Tarek trying to snorkel, he loved the goggles but not the breathing tube so he abandoned that quickly, but I was really surprised at how long he could hold his breath for. Kalli was almost always in the water with her cousins and even got brave enough to ride on the tube behind the boat a few times.Dreyken and I enjoying the water.
This was how Dreyken spent a good portion of the trip.

Tarek trying to catch anything that crawls or moves. We ended up coming home with two frogs and six lizards (thanks to the help of his uncles and cousin Duval). The to frogs didn't make it all the way home, but he now has a tank with five lizards. (The smallest one got eaten we think) They come home much to the dismay of his mother, but he really is so proud of them.

Kalli getting ready to go for a swim.Dreyken in her favorite position again. She did get really spoiled as Dan's cousins that joined us had brought some friends with them along with one of his cousins that loved Dreyken. She was always being held and played with and loved every minute of it. It also made it so that I got to enjoy a little bit of time swimming with my other two kids.

Kalli and her cousin Harley playing in the mud pit that Dan and Danny dug.

And finally Tarek in his goggles. He is showing his find from the bottom of the Lake. It was so funny to hear him talk when he had the goggles on. We had such a fun time and hopefully we will make it back again next year.

DOCTORS, LAGOON AND TENNIS TOURNAMENTS!

2009-06-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

So last Friday I got a HUGE surprise. Dan came home a little early from work and held out some car keys. He asked if I wanted to drive my new car. I WAS SHOCKED! I have been asking for a bigger car since I first found out I was pregnant with Dreyken. He actually hadn't bought the car yet, but was really serious about it. I drove it around a bit and really liked it. Anyway, he headed back to the car lot and was gone for another hour and a half. When he came home, he still had the van and had traded in his truck. It was the best surprise I have had in awhile. What a great husband I have.

I also took Dreyken in for her four month check-up. She had grown some, but only weighed in at 15lbs 1oz, meaning she only gained three lbs in the last two months. She went from 90th percentile to 40th. However, she is still a chunky looking baby with chubby checks. She was 26 3/4 inches long, and the best news of all NO HELMET! The doctor was quite impressed with the progress she has made with the help of the chiropractor. I was so glad to hear that we wouldn't need a helmet. She is getting big fast and loves to play with Kalli and Tarek. She has also learned she has a voice and loves to just scream.

We headed to Lagoon for a Parry family reunion. It was so fun to see so many family members and my kids had fun getting to know some of their other cousins (well, I should say second cousins) Tarek's favorite ride was getting to be a passenger in the go carts,(thanks Tammi and Larkin for the picture!) Kalli on the other hand got a migraine about half way through the day and ended up sleeping on the grass for most of the afternoon. She was really bummed out and frustrated that she always ends up sick on days we do fun things.

I played in a tennis match on Saturday. It has been awhile since I had played in a tournament and this one was small and only on Saturday so I decided I would give it a go. It was a mixed doubles tournament and my cousin Jordyn was also playing in the same tournament, just at a higher level. We had won our first two matches and were warming up for our third (and last) of the day when I rolled my ankle. I was able to play the match but was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't move very well, luckily for me, my partner doesn't mind running all over for the shots I miss. We did end up winning the match, and I now have a huge bruised foot to show for my efforts. So much for feeling better!

LAUGHING

2009-06-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Dreyken in now officially four months old! The time has gone by so fast, she is getting so big and so cute. I don't take her in for her check-up until the 10th, but according to the chiropractor it is looking like we may not have to have a helmet! YEA! She has started to roll over (only from tummy to back though, she really is not a fan of being on her tummy), loves to yell and talk, and has started to laugh. It is so cute to hear her really laugh hard.Dreyken has also started to suck on her shirts. Anytime she can, she shoves her clothes into her mouth and sucks on it making her clothes soaking wet. She loves her brother and sister and almost always has a smile on her face.

As for other news, I was able to travel with my mom to visit my sister Markell in Moscow for a weekend. I took Dreyken with me and Dan watched the other two kids. Actually, they headed up to my Grandparents cabin for a few nights and camped out. Tarek thought sleeping in a tent was the coolest thing next to catching bugs. Kalli learned to ride a motorcycle for the first time (well sort of anyway, it sounds like she was a little scared and prefers the small four wheelers she rides a lot better) It sounds like they had a great weekend. Dreyken and I spent the weekend helping Markell move to a new apartment and shopping. It was lots of fun to get to spend time with her and my mom, and not have to worry about the other kids running around.

Dan and Tarek have also been busy out in our yard. Tarek is quite the little helper and always wants to be where his Dad is. He is very into the bugs he catches, and was VERY impressed when Grandpa was able to catch a bee in a jar and not get stung. (the bee had gotten into the house and my dad was able to trap it on a window into a jar). The bee came home with us that night, and lucky for me, it is no longer with us! I am not sure what I am going to do with him and his love of bugs. He has found my canning jars downstairs and will bring several up to catch bugs and worms in, and then want them to live on my table and counter. He returned home with a jar full of slugs from the cabin (SOOO GROSS!) I often wonder where he came from. Yesterday, after getting after him for not listening to me, I was starting to get a little angry at him, when he looks me straight in the eyes and says " MOM! JUST CHILL!" What a kid.

Kalli is now done with Second grade and is all ready for summer. She had a great time at Kaydra's birthday / going away party, but is really sad to see her go. She was glad to know that unlike when a friend moves away and you don't get to see them anymore, she will still get to see Kaydra once in a while. She is just finishing soccer and is beginning softball. She was really disappointed when she found out she was going to have to miss her first game for a dentist appointment where she is getting some teeth pulled. She is really not looking forward to that at all. She is such a great helper to me with Dreyken, and I am excited to get to have her home for awhile.

COUPONS!

2009-05-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

So I have found a new hobby. A friend of mine had begun to cut out coupons and after talking to her and learning how much she was able to save along with getting a food storage, I am now totally hooked. It is so crazy to go to a store and come out with a few bags of groceries while only having spent a few dollars. I do spend quite a bit of time cutting out the coupons, but usually I do that at night while watching TV. However, yesterday Tarek got out his scissors and "helped" me. He was so proud of the pile of cut up paper he made, and I was quite impressed with his control of the scissors and that he was actually able to cut a few straight lines. He thinks it is like real money and that if there is a picture of something, and you cut out the "coupon", than you get that thing. So in his world I am going to be getting a new camera and he is going to get a new trampoline and bike! If only it really worked that way. However, it is really crazy how much you can really get if you use coupons plus my food storage is really starting to grow!

DINOSAUR MASK AND SCHOOL CARNIVAL

2009-05-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

We think that we have finally figured out Tarek's problem and why he keeps getting sick. The poor boy has been sick on and off for nearly the last six months. He gets well and does good for a week or so and then gets wheezy and sick again. The doctor has suggested that he may have asthma. So for the last few weeks we have been doing breathing treatments and allergy medicine and he seems to be responding really well. The only problem is that he really does not like the breathing treatments. A neighbor of mine suggested and "dinosaur mask" and was kind enough to give us on and it has worked AWESOME! He still hates having to sit still for the few minutes it takes, but at least he gets to blow smoke out of the dinosaurs nose. And it seems to really be working.

Kalli had her school Carnival on Monday and the kids had a great time. It was rather cold, and I really felt sorry for those teachers and the principal that got to do the dunking booth outside. They had a lot of games, cotton candy, face painting, and of course LOTS OF PEOPLE! We did come out good though, winning a $10.00 gift certificate to ice cream in the raffle.

Dreyken is growing so fast, she has been going to the chiropractor and her head looks SOOO much better! I am so glad that it seems to be working, and hopefully the helmet will not have to happen. In my spare time I have found a few crochet patterns and enjoy making hats for her. She is still to small to through a fit at having to wear homemade items (except for the few times the hats fall onto her eyes.)

I am so grateful for my great kids!

I'M HAVING A BAD DAY!

2009-04-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

The other day, Tarek came up to me and stated..

"Mom, I'm having a bad day!"

Me:I'm sorry, I hope it gets better.

Tarek: Did you know that if you are having a bad day, you can say a prayer to Jesus and he can make it better!

Me: Maybe you should try that.

Tarek: (getting a little embarrassed, walks behind the couch where he thinks I can't hear him and says a prayer) "Dear Heavenly Father, please bless that my Dad can come home from work and play the Wii with me.....

Me: Did that work? Are you having a better day?

Tarek: Yep!

So cute! I love that he is actually learning a few positive things along with all the misinformation that his dad continues to teach him. He is completely convinced that he can speak Spanish. (basement = downstairs in Spanish: snot = boogie in Spanish; etc...) I love how sweet and innocent he still is and that he is such a great kid.

EASTER WEEKEND & DREYKEN'S BLESSING

2009-04-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been full of fun and activities, family and lots of food. To start to weekend, Dan's parents, sister and her family came up for the weekend. We went to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt for the kids Saturday morning and then met up with Dan's brother and his family for a trip to the zoo and the park Saturday afternoon. Saturday night I took the kids over to their motel and took the kids swimming. They were completely worn out by the time we got home that night. The Easter Bunny paid a visit that night and left some cute outfits, along with a few toys and treats for the kids.

Sunday morning we got the kids all bathed and off to church where Dan was able to bless Dreyken. We were so grateful to have so many family members there, I know it is not always easy to make it to everything and we really appreciate those that made it. It is nice to have such a great family.

Dan's family came back to my house where we were able to have a wonderful dinner before they headed back to Utah. We then took my kids over to Terry and Debie's house where they got to do another Easter egg hunt with all the cousins. Thanks to those who put it together. On our way over Kalli and Tarek had a funny conversation in the back seat.

KALLI: Tarek, don't you want to be my very best friend in the whole world?

TAREK: (with his head in his hands) (sigh..) I just don't know about girls.

Anyway, we had a great Easter weekend and really enjoyed getting to spend such a special holiday with family.

TRIALS

2009-04-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

So I am very grateful for the conference talks that were given on Sunday about trials and that things could be worse and if we keep trying, we can get through them. When I took Dreyken in for her two month check-up I had a conversation with her Doctor about her head, it had started to grow a little lop sided and was just getting worse. He checked her out and said that we may need to put her in a helmet in order to get her head corrected. This would mean wearing a helmet on her head for the next year. We decided that we would make an effort to get her to lay differently on her head for the next two months and if things don't get better than the helmet will start. I didn't think this would be that hard, however, she REALLY hated laying on her other side and therefore wasn't sleeping at night. I took her in to see the Chiropractor that has been working on my back and hips the last few weeks, and after checking her neck he discovered that she has some issues with the bones and muscles in her neck causing her to only be able to turn her head one way. Luckily, he has worked on kids with this problem before and she has begun to make some progress and is now more willing to turn her head in both directions, this has also helped somewhat with her head, though it is still a little crooked. Hopefully with a few more weeks of therapy we can avoid the helmet.

As if going to the chiropractor three, sometimes four times a week isn't hard enough, Tarek started throwing up again. Yes, I know he is always sick, we are blessing Dreyken on Sunday, and it seems as though anytime we are getting together with family he gets something,so I decided to take him in. The doctor believes he has some asthma, something that runs in Dan's family, and wants him to do breathing treatments for the next few weeks along with three types of medications. He also wanted to have a chest x-ray done. So while Brooke watched Dreyken, Tarek and I headed to the hospital for the x-ray. Apparently, he is developing some pneumonia, so it was a good thing we got him in. Hopefully things will improve.

I really am grateful for the talks from conferences, as they have helped me keep this week in perspective. I am blessed with great kids and have so many blessings. I know my trials are minimal compared to many and for that I am truly grateful. I know things will get better and we will all be just fine, but it sure does seems as though when one trial comes, many follow. Thankfully our trials make us stronger and better people.

BATH TIME!

2009-04-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

Dreyken has really started to enjoy water and is getting to big for her infant bathtub, so today I put her into the real tub with just a little water. She was so happy and cute and loved splashing around, that I had just had to get a picture of her.

LET'S GO FLY A KITE!

2009-03-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

So this week has been spring break for Kalli (nice to have a spring break with SNOW!) Anyway, to keep the kids entertained, I saw some kites for $1.00 and I couldn't resist. Tarek had never had his own kite, let alone got to fly one. He helped pick them out at the store, his is Spiderman and Kalli's is Hannah Montana! Anyway, the weather was perfect for flying kites and the kids had so much fun. It is crazy that the annoying Idaho wind can actually be good for something. Then yesterday, we took the kids up to my grandparent's cabin and went sledding for the day. I was so bummed out when I realized I had forgotten my camera, oh well, the kids still had a good time. It was nice and peaceful up there and the kids got to sled and ride the snow machines all they wanted. Finally, today I took the kids swimming for a few hours. Dreyken even got in for almost an hour and LOVED it. She was so good and I think that the warm water felt really good on her sore legs.

As for her sore legs, I took her into the doctor's for her two month check-up (I can't believe she is already two months!) So for anyone who cares to know, and also for my own record keeping she weighed 12 lbs 6.5 oz (huge) and was 24 1/4 in long. She was so good the whole time, even smiling for the doctor until the shot came along, thus the sore legs. The announcement above is one that my cousin put together for me with the pictures she took. It is not the one I am using, but I absolutely loved how it looked. As for the ones I am sending out, they are still sitting on my table waiting for addresses to be put on them. Something I am hoping to do soon!

WE HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH

2009-03-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today, Dan was out working in the yard and needed to run an errand. He took Tarek with him in his truck that only has jump seats in the back. After they had gotten done what they needed to and were headed home Tarek informed Dan that he was not buckled in. To my knowledge the conversation went like this...

Tarek: Dad I am not buckled in! Mom is going to be so mad!

Dan: It is okay, we just won't tell her.

Tarek: Dad, we have to tell the truth!

Dan: Your right, we do have to tell the truth.

They then talked about telling the truth the rest of the ride home. Once the are home...

Tarek: Dad, you need to go and tell mom the truth!

Dan: You're right, but I am kind of busy so can you tell her for me.

Tarek: okay... (he then came inside and told me) Sorry mom, Dad forgot to buckle me in.

At least he is learning something positive!

DREYKEN IS SIX WEEKS!

2009-03-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that on Tuesday Dreyken was six weeks old. She is really growing and is such a happy and easy baby. She has started to really smile and it is so fun to get a big huge grin from her every morning as soon as she sees my face. She loves to have anyone talk to her who will and often times rewards them with a big toothless grin. We are so bless to have her in our family, she is such a joy.

SUNDAY ADVENTURE

2009-03-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

We had quite an interesting Sunday night this week. We had gone over to my parents house for dinner and were just coming home. It was around 7:30 and dark outside. As we got home there was a man standing at the bottom of our driveway looking very out of it. Dan pulled the car into the garage, got Dreyken out and set her up by the door. He began to walk out toward the man as he had started to head toward our garage. He asked the man if he could help him, the man was completely confused. I got the kids out of the car and into the house and than came back out to see what the man was doing. I was a little nervous to have Dan out there alone, not knowing who the man was. I took my cell phone out to Dan as he was still trying to figure out the man's name or maybe where he lived. The man was completely covered in blood and mud. I headed back inside and called a neighbor of ours and asked if the husband would mind coming over and helping Dan as I was still not sure I wanted him out there alone. I couldn't tell if the man was a threat or not. He gladly came over and waited with Dan in our garage until the police showed up. Dan had called 911 and the dispatcher asked him to ask the man if his name was _______( I don't remember the exact name) the man responded with a yes and she had asked Dan if he could keep him around until the police showed up. It turned out that the man had wandered away from an assisted living center and they had been out looking for him. The man was disoriented and had fallen several times and had some major cuts and scrapes, which was where the blood was from. He had also walked through some fields to get to our neighborhood and was wet and very muddy . He was sure that our house was his house and had we been a few minutes later we would have found him in our house instead of our driveway. I was really glad to have Dan with me, as I often come home alone, other than on Sundays. It was also really nice to know that when the need is there we have great neighbors who are willing to help out at a moment's notice. I am really glad it all turned out all right, the man was returned to his caretaker and was being taken to the hospital, and my kids found the adventure rather exciting. I am glad to know that I have a husband who is very good at helping out those in need, without much concern for himself, but a lot of concern for his family.

LOOK ALIKE DOLL

2009-02-22T11:46:00.001-08:00

A little while back, my Dad and Markell went on a trip to Oregon to visit my grandparents. My Grandma is a collector of many things one being dolls, and while there, she told my dad that she had a doll that looked just like Kalli. My dad brought the doll home for Kalli and she was so excited! She is always begging me to buy her dolls. The doll actually does look a lot like Kalli. It has glasses and dark brown eyes just like Kalli does. She loves the doll Thanks Grandma! I wanted to post a picture of Kalli and the doll and of course Tarek felt a little left out so he wanted to be in the picture with his look alike (or at least his favorite animal, once again Mr. Bdear. )

MORE PICTURES OF DREYKEN

2009-02-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

My cousin Lisa came over today with her awesome camera and excellent photography skills and took some really cute pictures of Dreyken for me. (Thanks again Lisa). They turned out so cute that I thought I would share them. I had a hard time only picking a few so there are quite a few. What a precious little girl!

A PEACEFUL WEEKEND!

2009-02-18T07:03:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, my family headed down to Heber City to Jana's parents cabin to ride snow mobiles and sled in the snow. I had debated about going with them, and at the end decided that I was just to tired and not really up to all the work it would take to get me and Dreyken up there. So Dan took Kalli and Tarek and headed up without me. I had the most quite relaxing weekend that I have had in awhile (thanks again Dan). I am told that the kids had a great time, I would post some pictures, but it seems Dan forgot to get my camera out, so I will have to see if my mom happens to have a few. I really do love my family, but sometimes you just need a break to do nothing, and that is exactly what I did, other than eating and taking care of Dreyken, I hardly left the house. It was wonderful!

On another note, Kalli has been a huge help with Dreyken, and yesterday she got to change her first diaper. She was so excited when I told her she could change Dreyken, and she did a good job. She also helped me give Dreyken a bath in the baby bath as her cord has finally fallen off and so she can actually get wet! Kalli is such a big help and does anything I ask, as long as it involves Dreyken. What a good big sister.

MEASUREMENTS

2009-02-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

Today I took Dreyken in for her two week check up. And mostly for my own information I thought I would post her measurements. She weighed 9lbs 2.5 oz (yea she gained more than a pound in two weeks) She loves to eat! And she was 22 1/4 inches long.

Going in another direction, I had sat down to look at my computer and had some skittles in a cup. Tarek notices that I had food and came to see what he was missing. When he saw the skittles, he reached his hand into my cup and took a few than looked at me and said "Mom, you are a Genius!" I started to laugh, and asked where he had heard that word. He responded with "I am just practicing saying that word." What a cute kid!

TWO WEEKS OLD!

2009-02-10T09:33:00.001-08:00

It is hard to believe that Dreyken is already two weeks old! It has actually gone by really fast, it makes me remember when Kalli and Tarek were little and how fast they grow out of the small cuddly peaceful stage. So far she has been a really good baby and is very mellow and calm. Tarek has finally taken to her and likes to let people know he is a big brother and has a "baby Dreyken". Kalli absolutely adores her and can hardly stand being in the same room as her without holding or touching her. I am so thankful for all of my kids and how lucky I am to have get to be their mom.

MR. BDEAR AND THE DRAGON

2009-02-05T14:41:00.001-08:00

TAREK WITH HIS BEAR THEN

AND NOW -- HE HAS ALSO ADDED A PENGUIN TO HIS NIGHT TIME ROUTINE
DREYKEN WITH HER DRAGON

JUST A CUTE PICTURE OF DREYKEN AWAKE

Tarek was a little bit worried before Dreyken was born that she was going to need a Mr. Bdear just like him. Dan's mom gave Tarek a bear his first Christmas (he was about 3 months old) He took to the bear like many kids take to a favorite blanket. He would carry it around in his mouth if he was crawling and he would rub the bears feet at night to go to sleep. I have to admit it was easier to haul around than a blanket. Well, he still has that bear and sleeps with it every night still, and treats it as though it is real, asking it questions and pretending he is getting a response. It is quite funny to hear some of the thoughts Mr. Bdear has. He was worried that the baby would take his bear, so Dan took him to Toys R' Us one day and they picked out a Dragon for Dreyken. He often askes when she will be big enough to play with the Dragon and sleep with the Dragon. As of yet, she has not shown any interest.

TAREK ON THE BILIBLANKET -- WE REFER TO HIM AS OUR ALIEN BABY
DREYKEN ON THE BLANKET ( NOT AS GOOD A PICTURE AS TAREK'S)

In other news, we were finally able to get Dreyken off of the Biliblanket! YEA! Her numbers had gone down enough yesterday that they let me take her off, however, they wanted her to be checked again today, and the number went up slightly so they are making me take her in on Saturday for one final check. If she goes up more, the blanket will be back, if not we are for sure done. Keep your fingers crossed!

THE NAME DREYKEN

2009-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

So a lot of people have asked us how we came up with the name Dreyken Jade. It started back before Tarek was even born and we were thinking of names for him. Dan liked the name Drackon, I was not such a fan. We decided to go with the name Tarek instead. Well, a few days before Dreyk was born Dan said he liked the name Drakken instead of Drackon. I still was not sold than he sent me an e-mail with the name spelled Dreyken, and the comment that if we named it Dreyken Roland it would have the same initials as him (Roland is Dan's middle name and the middle name we were going to use for a boy.) I thought the name looked to girlie and Dan said we could use it for a boy or a girl. I liked it for a girl, especially spelled Dreyken, however, I was not sure on a middle name. Dan liked the name Jade and I was unable to come up with anything else that I liked better. Plus the more I heard it the more I liked it. It was a good thing she was a girl because I still don't think that I would have used it for a boy and we were at a loss as to what boy name we would have used. Dan has informed me that the name means "Lord of the Dragons". So anyway, I have to give Dan the credit for the name as he came up with it. Dan enjoys using names that "mean" something so Kalli means "Beautiful" Tarek means "Scholar" and Dreyken means "Leader".

MORE PICS OF DREYKEN

2009-01-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

Dreyken and I were able to come home from the hospital on Thursday, and just my luck, Tarek got sick. He has come down with Croup and has been running a fever with a nasty cough. Dan has been spending all his time taking care of Tarek while I try to survive tending to Dreyken. Dreyk also now has Jaundice and has been put on a biliblanket for now. Hopefully she will get over it quickly. I hate having to have her plugged in all the time and not be able to really cuddle with her. She has been a really good baby so far, so now if we can just get Tarek better maybe life with three kids will start to become a little more manageable.

INTRODUCING DREYKEN JADE

2009-01-28T10:24:00.001-08:00

I had tried to post this earlier but was having computer / picture problems so sorry for the delay in the news. On January 27th Dreyken Jade joined our family. Dreyken aka Dreyk was born around 3 pm and was 8lbs 1oz (a rather big surprise to me as my other kids were much smaller) She was 21 inches long, and of course is a girl. Both baby and I are doing well, Kalli was thrilled to get a little sister, and Tarek has been letting anyone who will listen to him know that he really wanted a brother. I think he is slowly coming around to the idea of a sister, now that he understands he gets to be a big brother either way.

RAH! RAH! RAH!

2009-01-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

Brooke called me the other day and asked if Kalli would want to go to a cheerleading camp that the High School Cheerleaders were putting on today. Kalli was of course thrilled! They were there most of the day, from 9-2, and than at 2 they put on a performance for parents to come and watch. It so reminds me of when I was little and we would go to different camps.

KALLI GETTING READY TO CHEER

KAYDRA CHEERING

KALLI DURING THE DANCE PART

KAYDRA GETTING READY FOR THE DANCE

AND THE GRAND FINALE!
I love how the girls don't have any hold on her feet. At least no one was dropped!

BABY NAME!

2009-01-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

We have been really struggling with what to name this new baby when it comes. Tarek, however, has come up with what he thinks is the perfect name and I am afraid I am going to have a hard time convincing him otherwise. He has decided that the baby should be named "Darth Vader". His reasoning is that if it is named "Darth Vader" it will want to play games with him. Not sure exactly how he came to that reasoning, but I sure hope I am able to change his mind when the time comes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN!

2009-01-20T15:40:00.001-08:00

Well today is Dan's birthday, and being the good wife I am, I did not even wish him a Happy Birthday before he left for work this morning. In my defense, we have already been celebrating most of the weekend. He is really hard to buy anything for, so this year (like just about every year) he picked out his own gift. He found a small Pool Table / Air Hockey table that the kids really enjoy. His reasoning was that now, the kids can play games and he will have more time to watch sports on the TV without disruption! The kids also picked out some Jelly Belly's for him. He always loves to take a bag with him to Church and thinks it is really funny to switch the yummy beans with the nasty Harry Potter ones, so we did get him a few boxes of the gross ones as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN! WE LOVE YOU! (I tried to find a recent picture of him, but as most of you know, he is very seldom in pictures and if he is it is rarely a normal one)

On another note, we have been getting ready for the baby to come and spent the weekend cleaning the house and moving things around. I have a cradle that I got just before I had Tarek and he used it a lot when he was really little. Dan moved it upstairs so that I could get it cleaned out and dusted off, and Tarek now enjoys using it as a cradle to lay in. It is so hard to believe how fast they grow up and to see him so big! I took a picture and thought I would post one of then and one of now. What a crazy kid!

WAY TO START THE NEW YEAR!

2009-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I just realized that the month is more than half over and I have yet to write any kind of blog entry! What a great way to start off the year! Hopefully, I can get back into the habit of writing at least a few times a month. Just for a quick update, we are still waiting for the arrival of baby number three, and I am starting to get somewhat impatient. I know it will come eventually, but I am getting REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE! Kalli is back in school, and had fun getting to try her new experiment to create rock crystals with her Dad. She has been working on a school report project about Amelia Earhart that is due the first of February, so her Dad gets to be the lucky helper in the project this time. She has been working really hard. The kids had fun getting to play in the snow sledding, Kalli would go over to the drainage ditches in our neighborhood with some of her friends and they would spend hours out side sledding down the hills.

Tarek is getting more and more rowdy each day, and I am really looking forward to when the weather gets warmer and he can play outside and get rid of all that energy. He is now a Sunbeam (AAAHHH)! I actually got the "opportunity" to teach his class the first day. It was CRAZY! They have four Sunbeam classes in our ward and each one is pretty full. I had five kids there that day, and luckily, none off them were real criers. I did make Dan come to class with me, as I have a hard enough time keeping up with Tarek, let alone five three year olds. The very first question we got was "where are the toys?" followed by "Are there going to be Snacks?" It really was fun to get to see how the kids responded, and also knowing that I only had to teach that week and not every Sunday. Tarek has discovered a game on the X-box called Monkey Ball, and that is the highlight of his day if he can talk Kalli or Dan into playing the game with him. He got some of the capsules that when you put them into water they "magically" turn into sponges for Christmas. He thought those where the neatest things. He has also gotten to be pretty good at creating things with his blocks. They have been one of the best purchase I have made in awhile.

Hopefully the next post will be a little more entertaining with a little more news, but we will see!

LOTS OF FUN AND FAMILY TIME!

2008-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

MATCHING CHRISTMAS PJ'S

I hope you all had a great Christmas, we sure did! The kids were a lot of fun this year and were really into Christmas. We stayed here in Idaho Falls for the holidays and got to see a lot of family which is always good. We also got a LOT OF SNOW which is always lots of fun for the kids and Dan who always enjoys a good wet snow fall. On Christmas eve we went to my parents house early and the kids went outside to sled behind Jake's little four-wheeler. Dan and Jake decided it would be a good idea to take the kids off of a "small" jump out front. Apparently they made it over a few times okay, but the kids eventually got thrown off with Tarek getting the brunt of the crash. Now in all of the pictures he has a huge bandage on the side of his face. We had a great meal at my parent's house with lots of family, celebrated Christmas morning at home, and than Christmas afternoon we went back to my parents to have a smaller party with our family. Dan took the kids out back and spent several house building a fort with a huge sledding slide off of it. I don't have any pictures of the fort, but as usual it always amazes me what Dan can figure out to do with Snow!

Dan bought himself some new games for the Wii, which he had already opened and played by Thanksgiving. I got a massage cushion that I absolutely love, and some new PJ's! Kalli got a guitar from her Dad, Mouse Trap from Tarek and a Cupcake maker from Santa (it was all she wanted and after the first round of cupcakes, I don't think it is going to get all that much use!) Tarek got a football uniform from his Dad, along with a real football. a Thomas the Train game from Kalli and a huge set of wood building blocks from me. We also got some new Car DVD players from my parents as ours had broken on our last trip down south, it sure makes driving go by faster when the kids are watching shows! We now get to head down to Pocatello for some more fun and family time with Dan's parents and family. Hopefully the weather will be a little better than it has been!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS TIME!

2008-12-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Wow it has been a long time since I wrote a blog entry. Time sure does fly by when you are busy! So a quick update on our lives the last few weeks. We have been busy helping to get ready for Scott and Traci's wedding (Congratulations Scott and Traci!), trying to get ready for Christmas (think I am finally done), attended Robert and Staci's wedding (Congratulations Rob and Staci), helped at Kalli's Christmas Party, and babysat Brooke's kids a few times. The kids are loving all of the snow that we have been getting, now if it could get warm enough for them to actually play outside in it for longer than a few minutes. Tarek has discovered a new way of looking at the world, and spends most of his time upside down. This is usually the position I find him in. He has also got to start going into primary for singing time and thinks he is actually now a Sunbeam! It is hard to believe that in January he will be.I have not had a lot of ambition this year, and so never got any Christmas cards made or sent, but are loving getting so many cute cards from friends and family. I did manage to take a picture of the kids all dressed up in their Sunday Christmas clothes (also the clothes for Scott and Traci's wedding which work out great for me!) so that is just going to have to work for us this year. Dan decided the other day to show my kids how to slide down the stairs in a sleeping bag, Kalli loved it and would have done it all day, Tarek found it a little bit too scary, though he didn't want to admit it. I remember doing the exact same thing when I was growing up with friends and family and always thought it was fun.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

O' CHRISTMAS TREE; O'CHRISTMAS TREE...

2008-12-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we headed down to Gunnison for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with Dan's family. And of course, I forgot my Camara, so no good pictures this time. It was a really relaxing and laid back weekend and I spent most of the time asleep, trying to avoid the smell of food coming from the kitchen. Anyway, now on to Christmas! I usually get all my Christmas decorations out the day after Halloween and start decorating. This year however, the energy is just not there! I am also someone who really likes having a really Christmas tree, I love the smell of pine and there is just something about Christmas with a real live tree. So this year is going to be slightly different. ( I really don't want to have to get under a tree to water it, and I also have a hard time with vacuuming and sweeping and don't want to have pine needles all over.) So we took the kids to the store and bought our first every fake white Christmas tree. My kids loved that the tree was white! They had a lot of fun getting to decorate it and than they moved on to more of my house. I love the little stickers that go on windows as the kids get to help decorate without having to handle anything that can break. Both Tarek and Kalli really got into the decorating and are now ready for Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

FAMILY NIGHT GINGER BREAD HOUSE!

2008-11-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

KALLI AND TAREK HARD AT WORK

For family night this week, the kids have been begging to put together the Ginger Bread house that they had bought from the store when they went shopping with Dan's mom. We only had one house, so we decided that we would each take a side. It is quite amusing to see the differences in personalities by how their side is decorated. Now I just have to deal with the kids wanted to eat the house and candy ALL THE TIME! Oh well, we had a great time working together as a family and getting to spend time together.

TAREK'S SIDE OF THE HOUSE

KALLI'S SIDE OF THE HOUSE

MY SIDE OF THE HOUSE

DAN'S SIDE OF THE HOUSE

We hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING this week!

X-BOX OR WII

2008-11-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had Dan and his Dad rearrange some of my furniture in order to make things a little more comfortable and convenient. Well in the process, Dan's old X-box ended up in my front room. We have not hardly played the X-box since Tarek was born as we got a Nintendo Wii a few years ago, and that is what was hooked to the TV. Tarek thinks the X-box in now the greatest thing ever, only he has not figured out how to work the controllers and thinks you still have to use movement like you do with the Wii. It is really quite funny to watch him play and work up a sweat!

LOCKS OF LOVE; LOTS OF FOOD!

2008-11-16T15:14:00.001-08:00

Kalli has been asking to get her hair cut for several weeks, and I kept on putting her off. Finally, I got around to calling and making an appointment for both of us to go in and get our hair cut. She was so excited and had decided that she wanted to cut her hair short in order to donate her hair to Locks of Love.

She was really brave and the hair cut turned out so cute! I think that it makes her look a lot older than she did. It will also be easier for her to take care of in the morning, as I am not usually up and about as she gets ready for school.

My in-laws also came up to visit for the day on Friday. My father-in-law was busy hunting for a moose with Dan's brother and his wife (which they had great success at). So my mother-in-law took my kids after Kalli got home from school, shopping for our Christmas present. She has always felt like they should give gifts that are useful and needed. So since food storage is really being pushed lately, she decided they would help us get some food storage, but not the basics. She wanted to get things that my kids would actually eat and that we could use the next year. She was very brave and took both Kalli and Tarek shopping without us. I than understand that they basically got to go on a huge shopping spree through the store and pick out foods that they would actually eat. They ended up filling two shopping carts FULL, three after they were bagged. When asked how she managed that she said Kalli pushed a cart and she pushed and pulled the other two with Tarek riding. (CRAZY! I dread having to go shopping alone with just Tarek!) To my amazement, they actually came home with some good food! Granted there were a few luxury items included (A ginger bread house kit), but most of the food was fairly healthy and food that they both actually like. All of this was really great, until I got home and was informed that I was now responsible to find somewhere to put all of the food! I can now say that the shelves in our storage room are now officially FULL! Tarek was really proud of the Cheetos's that Grandma let him buy, as mom never lets him get them cause they are so MESSY! We than met up with the rest of Dan's family and went out to dinner for my birthday. Thanks to all those that called or wrote to wish me well, I had a really good day and received some very special gifts from my kids. Kalli made me a box that she covered in words that reminded her of me, and Tarek gave me an envelope full of paper he had colored and than cut into strips. I love the homemade gifts and the thought that I know they put into them. What a great family I have!

TWO POINTS, STOMACH BUG AND ONE SILLY LITTLE BOY!

2008-11-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much this week to blog about. Not much has happened in our little house. Kalli had a basketball game on Saturday, and she scored her first basket! She was so excited she was bouncing all over the floor. Since it was her first basket we took the kids out for ice cream cones.
There has been a stomach bug going around our house, and a three year old with an upset stomach is really not very fun! I had thought Tarek was over the bug and he had been fine for about two days, my mom and Brooke called to see if we wanted to go to McDonald's for lunch and let the boys play on the toys. Just after we got our order and were sitting down, I told Tarek to come over and eat his food, he walked over to the table and proceeded to lose everything he had eaten earlier that day. It was such a mess and of course the place was full of people and other kids. As we were getting into the car Tarek said to me "Good thing I didn't throw up on my food huh mom!" What a thought full little boy. Hopefully we have gotten over it now and can get back to normal lives.
I have been told that you should write down the funny or silly things that your kids do when they are little in order to remember them when they get older. I have never been good at doing that, but maybe now would be a good time to start. Today was Sunday and we had just gotten to church and Tarek was complaining about being hungry. In order to get him to be quite at least until the sacrament, I gave him a piece of gum. Well, he settled down and was fine until the sacrament began to be passed. Dan told Tarek to come and give me the gum to throw away. He was not to happy with that and let Dan know that he was not done with it. So Dan explained to him that he would need to put it into his cheek on one side of his mouth while chewing the bread on the other. I look over just as Tarek is taking the sacrament and he has his bright yellow piece of gum stuck to the outside of his cheek! The family behind us, of course, found this to be rather entertaining. He was just excited that at the end he still had his gum! What a cute kid!

SOCCER, BASKETBALL AND TRAINS!

2008-11-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Kalli finished playing fall soccer. We were glad when it ended as the games were starting to get REALLY COLD!She loves playing soccer and has really improved over the last year. She got to be on a team with Kaydra (Brooke's daughter) and Madison (my cousin Justin's daughter) and than Madison's mom Lisa was the coach. Lisa did such a good job with the kids and they always seemed to be having fun with the sport. Kalli than was asked to join a basketball team for second and third graders with another girl from the neighborhood. She was really excited and has wanted to try out basketball for awhile. She got quite a surprise when she got to practice and was a good three inches shorter than the next tallest kid on her team, and also that the league is co-ed. Today they played a team with a few boys on it and one of the boys was HUGE! Kalli did not even come up to his shoulders! She was a little overwhelmed the first game, but has started to figure out a few things and is catching on quickly. She is always willing to listen to her coach and is trying hard.

Tarek has discovered a train set that use to belong to Kalli. He has played with it before but always on tracks that Dan has set up. Now he has figured out how to make the tracks himself. The last few days, all he has wanted to do was to build new tracks for the trains. It is funny to watch how concentrated he gets while hooking pieces together. Any time Dan tries to give input Tarek lets him know that is not the way he wants it. He spent at least two hours today making a track that covers most of the floor in our TV room. I guess at least he is keeping himself busy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T17:29:00.001-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

So while Dan is out Trick-or-treating with the kids (hurray for helping husbands!) I thought I should update our blog with some cute new pictures as I have a TON of them. The kids have had a full week this week with all the activities and parties for Halloween. First though, I had meant to post a picture of this earlier with the other pumpkin pictures and forgot, but Kalli found this gourd out in the field while helping Lorie, and it looked just like a face! Anyway, the kids painted pumpkins a few days ago, Tarek had gotten a pumpkin from his nursery class (thanks Lorie) and was very determined that he was going to paint it. So I finally got up the ambition to get the paints out and cover the table. They had so much fun, it made me feel bad for dreading it so much. Than today, we finally got around to actually carving some. At least that was the plan, however, Tarek, the boy who loves to catch grasshoppers and hold snakes would not put his little hands into the pumpkins to help clean them out! I was shocked! I did finally convince him to help which lasted about two minutes than he was done. Kalli on the other had, cleaned hers out, and created the design on the pumpkin, and started to cut it out when we realized that the skin on her pumpkin was so thick the knife she was using couldn't cut clear though, so after all she had done, I ended up having to cut her design out as well with a sharper kitchen knife. At least they were proud of the end product.As soon as Dan got home from work Tarek informed him that he had cut his pumpkin all by himself! To which he than stated "except mom helped me."

As for Trick-or-Treating, Tarek decided that he wanted to be tiger this year and he looks so cute and grown up. He refused to wear the hat tonight, but at least I got a picture of it on him.Kalli wanted to be a witch and was so excited when we found a pink and black which so that she could be a nice, pretty witch. They both looked so cute and were so excited to go out tonight, and like I said before, lucky for me Dan was willing to tag along. Well, I better get the door as there are trick-or-treaters knocking!

PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS EVERYWHERE!

2008-10-07T08:43:00.001-07:00

A picture of one of the pumpkin fields.Kalli picking pumpkins

Tarek in the field choosing a pumpkin

Every year at the start of October we try to take a family trip down to David and Lorie's Farm, just as the pumpkins are getting picked and yet the weather is usually very nice. Kalli had a few days off from school so we took the opportunity to head on down. The kids alway love going down and absolutly love being on the farm. The last two years Lorie has carved the kids names into pumpkins while they are still small and the flesh is usually able to heal leaving the kids names imprinted in the pumpkins. She than takes the kids out to the field and they get to find the pumpkin with their names on them. Tarek's didn't work quite as well this year and is starting to rot, but we hope it will make it a few weeks before being totally rotten.

Kalli with her named pumpkin

Tarek with his named pumpkin

There is always something to do on the farm and no one is every board, the eggs need gathered from the chickens,

the golf course is always ready to play on, there are always extra four wheelers, and the cows always love to have rotten pumpkins feed to them. (Tarek especially loves this job, and loves to help Dan throw the pumpkins in with the cows and make them explode!)

Dan and Tarek even managed to get in some lawn mowing. They figured out that the grass was just long enough to mow letters into it. I don't know how pleased Lorie was to find the letters in her grass. I am so glad for the modern conviencies we have now, I can't imagine trying to mow an entire yard with one of these.

And of course Grandma always needs help picking pumpkins for her market.

We borrowed my Dad's truck for the weekend in order to bring back a few pumpkins and we always have fun decorating the front of our house with them. This year was fun in that many of Dan's brothers and sisters were there as well with their families so the kids got to spend a lot of time with their cousins. It is such a nice place to go and visit, and the kids always want to stay longer. Kalli has mastered the four wheelers and loves taking them for rides and running errands for Grandma Lorie all over the farm. While we were there Lorie had some kindergarten classes scheduled to come out for a tour of the pumpkin patch.

Kalli with her pumpkin to take on the bus

The kids get to come out into the field and pick a pumpkin to take home with them while she tells them all about pumpkins. Kalli and Tarek thought this was great and got to ride on the school bus with Lorie and the kids.

Tarek with his pumpkin (he chose a white one)

Tarek was so proud of himself and really made a lot of friends when he caught a HUGE grasshopper out in the field and took it on the bus to show everyone.

Showing off his prize catch of the trip, his grasshopper

We always have such a great time there, and yet it is always so nice to be back home in your own bed. I do have to say that after a few days work down there, I am glad to not live a farm life! Those early morings and long days sure would be hard to do every day. We are sure greatful for David and Lorie and all they do for our family and our kids, and really do appreciate them letting us interrupt their lives for a few days every October.

TAREK AND SNAKES; KALLI AND SOCCER

2008-09-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Tarek examining the snake

I just got these pictures from my sister-in-law of a snake that was found while my kids were staying at my in-laws for a few weeks this summer.

Tarek sharing the snake with Tasha

My Mother-in-law said that she found the snake in her garden and was waiting for my Father-in-law to come and get it to take it away. Well my crazy little boy went up and decided the snake looked like a good playmate and without any hesitation pick the thing up.

All boy! AAAAHHH!

The crazy thing it that they were able to get Kalli to even hold and touch the snake, although she doesn't look all that thrilled with the whole thing.

Kalli being brave

They were able to convince Tarek that snakes have germs and so if you touch a snake you need to wash your hands afterwards really good! Now he thinks that you can find snakes anywhere and often times will asked me to go outside and help him find a snake that he can put into a box to keep. After which he informs me that it will be okay, if we see one, he will pick it up so that I won't have to touch it!! Already aware of how I really feel about creatures. It always amazes me the things my kids will do when I am not around!

Tarek and Tasha with the snake

I have also been meaning to put a few pictures of Kalli up at the beginning of soccer this year. She has had a ton of fun and got to play on the same team as Kaydra and Madison (my cousin's daughter) and her coach Madison's mom.

Kalli getting ready for her first soccer game

They have really started to figure out the game and how to play, along with passing and getting open for others. We have told Kalli that if she scores a goal we will take her for ice cream after, she has been told this for the last few years and we had gotten the better end of the deal as she had not scored a goal yet. Well she broke that curse this year and scored a goal in both of their first two games! She was extremely excited and proud, and of course happy to finally get her ice cream

Go Yellow Banana's

MY LITTLE MAN TURNS THREE!

2008-09-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Tarek and some flowers he picked for me

On the 24th of September, my little boy turned three! It is so hard to believe that he is getting so big. He woke up in the morning and came out and Dan said to him "Happy birthday Tarek" and he replied with, "it's not my birthday". The conversation went on with Dan trying hard to convince him that it was really his birthday and that he was now three. Kalli had been talking about his birthday for about a week before and he always just thought it was still five days away. We let him open a few presents before Dan and Kalli left for the day, and had finally convinced him it really was his birthday.

Tarek and Kalli with the early morning present from Dan

Well, we than went to lunch with some of my family and Tarek was talking to Kanyon who thought that Tarek's birthday wasn't until the next day which was when we were doing his party. Kanyon told Tarek he was wrong and that he was still just two. Tarek became very irritated and confused and anytime you asked him how old he was he would respond with "I am three, but Kanyon says that I am only two". It was quite funny. He has been really into spiderman lately, so he decided that he wanted a spiderman birthday party.

Getting ready to blow out his candles

So on Thursday he got to have a small little party with some family and he LOVED IT! He loves getting to be the center of attention. He go lots of fun presents and a new big boy bike that he can't get enough of.

Trying out his Big Boy Bike

He is such a good kid and such a joy to have in our family. He is turning into a little Dan with his sarcasm and teasing, Kalli often times being the target. I feel so blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful husband. They sure do make my life fun, and keep me on my toes, but I sure do love them.

Out for his first ride!

HAIR CUT!

2008-09-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Tarek not to excited about getting a hair cut

Today I decided Tarek really needed a hair cut (okay, so he has needed one for a long time now and I just got around to it today). He, of course, was not very happy about the whole thing because he loves to have his hair done in a mohawk fashion every morning by his dad before he leaves for work.
Tarek with his favorite hair do

I was finally able to convince him we need to cut it and bribed him with a sucker when we were done. The picture above is after I offered the sucker, needless to say, the bribe worked.
Half way done! He really liked this mohawk.

After the whole ordeal was done!

IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?

2008-09-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I got to go and have my ultrasound done. We had debated about whether or not to find out what we were having, and had decided that we wanted to know. I wanted to be able to be ready when the baby comes and not have to worry about everything being unisex. Kalli also really wanted to know. Kalli really wants a girl and Tarek says that he wants a boy, Dan and I don't really care as we already have one of each so it doesn't really matter. Well, everything looked good and the baby was healthy and very very stubborn! We were unable to see what we are having! The technician tried to get the baby to move around, even having me get up at one point hoping the baby would shift positions. It shifted a little, but not how we had hoped. So apparently we are going to have a surprise after all! After talking to Brooke though, it will be kind of fun to not know and be surprised. Oh well, at least the baby is healthy!

SWIMMING NIGHT

2008-08-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Monday was Kaydra's birthday, and since it was also family night, the FitzSimmons had decided to take their kids to Heise (a swimming pool about thirty minutes away that has a large out door pool and a huge waterslide, along with a smaller heated pool and than a very hot Hot tub that is filled by a natural hot spring).

Tarek and Kanyon enjoying the pool

They were kind enough to invite us along as well as Jake and Jana. We went after the girls had gotten home from school about 3:30 and there was almost nobody there. If you go in the summer time the park is so crowded that you can hardly find anywhere to even sit for a minute, this time was totally different. In fact, when Brooke asked if the slide was open they said that it should be, but no one was on it, so if we wanted to use it that was great and they would open it up just for us!

Kaydra jumping!

Kalli jumping!

Kanyon jumping!

The girls thought this was great, so of course we bought the all you can ride pass and they diffenately got their money's worth as there was no line.They also loved going off the diving board. I don't get any pictures of them on the water slide, but Jana did so hopefully she got some good ones. I was even able to take Tarek on the slide twice. I thought it was fun until the end when it shoots you out of the slide. Twice was plenty for him, he said it was "fun and scary for him". Tarek swimming!

Kanyon, Brooke and Kaydra enjoying the day

Afterwards we got dressed and walked over to the golf course club house where they serve pizza and had dinner and cake to celebrate Kaydra's birthday.

Kaydra and her birthday Cake!

All four kids enjoying the food!

The kids had such a great time and want to go again. We definately know what time of year to go up there, the water was still warm and we all had such a fun time.

THE DREADED SCHOOL BUS

2008-08-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Kalli has just started second grade and we live a distance away from school so she gets to ride the school bus. This is something I never had to do as I lived within walking distance of the school. Well each year something has gone wrong the first time or two that she has ridden the bus. In Kindergarten, I drove her to school in the morning to help her find her class etc., than at the the end of the day, I went to the school and made sure that she got on the right bus and told her not to get off until she saw me at the bus stop. I got in my car, drove to the stop and waited. The bus eventually came and than went, without Kalli getting off. I frantically drove through the neighborhood to the other stops looking for her, than went to a friends house who has an older sister on the bus, they told me that another girl in our neighborhood was going to make sure she got home. I went to that girl's house and she said that she had walked Kalli home. When I got home she was sitting on the couch watching TV as though nothing had happened. Apparently she had gotten off at a different stop and as I drove around she had walked a different way. For first grade she again decided to get off at a different stop than the one by our house, but I had learned my lesson and went right back home just in time to meet her. Well, this year, I again drove her to school, and again went to the school to see her get on the right bus, than went to the stop to wait, only this time the bus came and drove right past me without stopping! Luckily, Kalli had decided to get off a stop earlier and I saw her up the street walking towards home, well the next day, I went and waited at the stop she had gotten off the day before to wait for her and again the bus did not stop! I took Tarek home and she was not there, so I got in my car to go see if I could find her. Two other girls in our neighborhood were walking up a street not near their house, so I stopped to make sure they were okay and knew how to get home, they were not exactly happy and said that the bus driver had dropped them off a few blocks away and that Kalli had gotten off the same bus stop only she had walked a different way, I made sure they knew how to get home than headed off to find Kalli, she was clear on the other side of the neighborhood walking in tears! She had been told that the stop was the last one, so she got off, but than couldn't find her way so she just started to follow the for-sale signs ( I am not sure how she did that, but there are about 20 houses for sale in our neighborhood) Anyway, she was not very happy and really did not want to ride the bus again. So, on Monday, I went to the stop with the mom of the other two girls and talked to the bus driver, figured out where it would stop, and luckily everything went good that day! YEA! I am so not looking forward to the day I have to put Tarek on the bus! Now I know why houses near elementary schools are so desirable.

FIRST DAY OF 2ND GRADE

2008-08-21T17:50:00.001-07:00

Today Kalli started second grade! It is hard to believe that I have a daughter old enough to be in second grade. With all the new houses here in Idaho Falls, there have been several new schools built in the last few years. Kalli went to one of the new schools for Kindergarten and first grade, than they changed the boundaries so she got to go to another school this year. It is one of the oldest ones around and is quite interesting inside. She was a little bit nervous about going to a different school, but she got lucky and four other kids in our neighborhood all got the same teacher, so that helped a lot. She had a great day, and made new friends and says that she really likes her teacher. Tarek on the other hand had a really hard day. Kalli had not been gone for more than thirty minutes when he started to ask if we could go get her. He would tell me that he missed his sister and needed to go to her school to get her. It is going to be a long year for him with only me to entertain him.Kalli on day one of second grade.

Yesterday, we were cleaning up the kids rooms to get ready for school to start, and because they were a complete mess. While cleaning Kalli's room we found her shin guards that she wore her first few times for soccer. She has since gotten new ones, and so I put the old ones onto Tarek, he was Sooo Excited! He immediately wanted to put on his fast running shoes and go outside to kick the soccer ball. He thought it was great that when Kalli would kick the ball at him, it wouldn't hurt his legs. Kalli was a good sport and they played soccer outside for nearly an hour! He is such a little boy and loves anything to do with sports that involve a ball.

Tarek proud of his new shin guards ( and yes he is still in his PJs)

Tarek's other new trick has been to throw a fit about quarter to five stating that he is hungry, when I refuse to give him food (as dinner is in thirty minutes) he throws full on fits to which he than has to go to his room. The last two days this has happened and he ends up crying himself to sleep, which is so irritating to me as he refuses to take naps for me during the day when I so badly want him to. At least he is really cute and such a good kid most of the time. It is so hard to believe how fast the kids grow up. It seems like I was just going to second grade and crying myself to sleep over something that didn't go my way. I am so blessed with great kids and love every minute of being a mom.

FAMILY TIME

2008-08-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

So my kids finally made it home all in one piece. They ended up staying in Utah for two weeks rather than one, and I was sure glad to get them back. Tarek however came home sick and was really sick for most of the next week as I was trying to get ready for our Florida vacation.
Tarek not feeling so great

Luckily, he starting feeling better about two days before we were to leave. We had a busy, but fun, few days just before we left. Brooke and I took our kids down to the river for a festival they were having. They set up a bunch of booths with crafts for the kids to make and paint, we have gone the last few years and the kids always love it. They got their faces painted and than we found out about a hair salon just down the street that would do princess hair styles for little girls and punk rock styles for boys. We took the kids and got their hair done, it was so cute! They had a great time and Tarek now asks if I can cut his hair blue again.
Kalli and Tarek ready to party

We than did a birthday party for Kalli and Kaydra together. We invited a few cousins and went to funland at Tauphaus park. The rides looked a little scary, but the kids seemed to enjoy it and no one got hurt! The next day we went a picked Huckleberries (Huckleberry cream pie is SOOO GOOD!) Hopefully we will get back up there to pick once more before they are all gone!
Tarek picking huckelberries

Kalli picking Huckleberries

I came home and finished packing up for our trip and got everything ready to go. Sunday we drove to SLC and flew to Florida for a week of warm weather and lots of swimming. We had such a good time there, although eighteen people and two babies can make for a crazy week. We spent a lot of time at the beach which was right outside of our hotel, but we also went to Magical Kingdom and MGM.

Kalli and Kanyon in the Ocean

Tarek and Kanyon in the Ocean

Tarek showing off the seashell he found

The kids had a great time and the weather turned out to be very nice. A little humid, but slightly overcast so it wasn't scorching hot. I got the pleasure of riding around in a wheelchair for the two days at the park which was nice. The first day we were there (Monday) everyone went on a kayaking adventure other than my mom and I who stayed home with Riley and Miranda. We definately got the better end of the deal, as they would let us know all week long while scratching the mesquito bits they all got that night. Apparently they were unaware that they were leaving out of a place called Mesquito Bay, and only had a very small amount of bug repellant for the entire group. They all seemed pretty miserable for the next few day, especially the two little boys who seemed to have gotten the worst of it. I hear that they did get to see a few cool things and that my dad and Kalli who where in a Kayak together nearly got tipped over by a manatee! All in all we did have a great time, but are sure glad to be back home in our own beds!

Kaydra, Kalli, Tarek and Kanyon meeting Buzz Lightyear

Tarek and Kalli tired out from a long day

Tarek finally crashed

Brooke has way more cute pictures of the vacation posted on her blog at www.fitzsimmonstimes.blogspot.com if you want to see more pictures (she was way better at having her camara handy)

We had such a great time and loved getting to spend time with our family. It is so great to be able to have such fun memories especially as it seems time goes by so fast most of the time. We are so thankful for my parents and the time that they put into getting this vacation together, we really did have a wonderful time.

MISSING THE KIDS

2008-07-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

So with all the hip problems the last little while and the exhaustion of preganancy, my in-laws offered to take my kids for awhile. This sounded really good and would give me a nice break to just work on getting better. Plus, Dan was able to talk his parents into helping us out with our puppy (as in she is now a farm dog) which has made my life a LOT easier since I had no control over her the last month or so (Thank you so much David and Lorie you have no idea how much it has really helped). Well, last Saturday, Dan drove down to his parents house with the kids and dog, stayed overnight and came home alone the next day. The plan was for the kids to stay for the week and they would meet up with Dan the next Sunday to exchange kids. Well it is now Thursday, and I am really missing my kids! Not only do I miss them, but my cute little girl is turning Seven today! I am so missing getting to spend today with her. However, my mother-in-law called me to let me know that the birthday party they had planned for a few of the neighbor kids has grown into quite a party. She said she is expecting close to Fifty kids! When Dan first told me about the birthday party they were planning my first response was "she doesn't know anyone there, who is she going to invite?" to which he responded "it's Gunnison, it is a normal thing to do there". I had to laugh, cause it sure is a different life from what I am use to. Anyway, it sounds like they are having a really great time and are now asking to stay longer! Dan likes to tease me and say that the kids are just way to busy to miss me. I really do miss them, but I am so thankful to have married into such a great family that is willing to do what they can to help out. Both Dan and I are so really blessed with great families. Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALLI! I LOVE YOU!

FAMILY NIGHT

2008-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my kids were starting to get a little stir crazy as they have been cooped up in my house with me almost every day except Saturday and Sunday when Dan was home and they just needed to get out. They are such great kids and have had to put up with a lot from me lately, but it is amazing to me at how creative they can be. For example I was making some Mac and Cheese for lunch and Tarek kept bring blankets out of his and Kalli's room, after awhile he came in so excited and proud of himself. He dragged me into the front room and showed me a fort he had build by himself. He crawled inside and told me that he was going to sleep in here forever, even though his little toes hung out the end. I can remember building forts downstairs when I was young, and we all would start out helping and get board after awhile and leave. Of course when we would come back Paul would have build some elaborate fort that the entire family could fit under.

Tarek and Kalli enjoying his Fort

So to get the kids out of the house for a bit I went and picked up a pizza and got a loaf of old bread and we headed down to the river for a picnic and to feed the ducks for family night. I can remember when I was little my dad taking all the kids down to the river on Sundays to get us out of the house and give my mom some peace. We would feed the ducks and look at the falls, it really is such a beautiful place especially with the temple as the view. We had taken Kalli a lot to feed ducks when we lived in SLC since we were not to far from Sugar House Park and she always had a good time. This was the first time for Tarek, and he was so excited about the entire thing. It is crazy that we have such a beautiful place to walk and enjoy the outdoors so close and this is the first time in his two (almost three) years that we have taken him to feed the ducks. Kalli had a great time as well and neither of them wanted to leave when we were done. It was such a great time and we are definitely going to have to do that again soon.

Kalli and Tarek feeding the ducks with the beautiful Temple behind them

MAG COVERS

2008-07-10T20:03:00.001-07:00

I was just getting off my computer for the night when Dan told me that he had e-mailed me a picture of Tarek that I needed to look at. I got back on my computer and this is the picture that I saw...

Needless to say, I found it rather entertaining and so we came up with two more pictures...

Anyway, kind of funny. If you couldn't tell by the pictures, Dan is a Detroit Lions Fan (crazy I know) and thus the Halloween outfits this year. Kalli is dressed and ready for a singing performance. As for the picture of Tarek, it was taken by my brother-in-law Randy on our trip to Lake Powell. Tarek calls the look as the "Stink Eye" and upon command if he is asked to do the "Stink Eye" that is the look you are going to get!

TAREK AND THE WII

2008-07-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

So I have had this video for a little while and it is really quite funny to watch. Unfortunately it is a little hard to see as it was taken in the basement at night. It does get better as the video goes on and you can actually see him a little bit. However, I decided that I would attempt at posting it anyway and see if I could even figure it out. So the story behind the video is that my son Tarek is very into the Nintendo Wii and loves it anytime he can talk someone into playing with him. His favorite is the boxing and he has actually beaten his sister quite easily and can keep up with his dad. He also likes to run on the Wii Fit which he is able to beat all of us at quite easily. He also thinks that anytime he sees the camera that he has to say "Cheese" so he is constantly saying "Cheese" throughout the video. It amazes me at how grown up he is getting and how much like his dad he is.

FOURTH OF JULY

2008-07-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

So here we go, we are going to try giving this blogging thing a shot. I have been thinking about doing one for awhile, but was not sure when or if I would actually write on it. Well, since I have been in bed for the last two days I decided I needed something to keep me busy that doesn't require to much walking around. So we had a great fourth of July this year (kind of). The firework show here in Idaho was great and the kids had a good time. Tarek wants to see fireworks every night now. The parade was good but a little bit on the hot side, and it is always good food at Sharon's house afterwards. As for the not so fun part of the holiday, well I am sure it will be news to many of you, but I am expecting our third child and me and pregnancy just don't really get along. So along with the morning sickness my legs are acting up early and my hip is already out of place (I had hoped maybe I would be lucky this time and they would hold together) So anyway, I got to spend the holiday hobbling around on a crutch, which my kids find quite amusing. I ended up riding in the buggy (a stroller for two) with Tarek to get to the fireworks and than my Dad had to give me a lift back to the car on his scooter after the show. We had decided to park at Jake and Jana's house as they are pretty close to the firework show, which was good on the way in, but we ended up sitting in the car for nearly an hour in order to get onto the street to head home. Needless to say we were one of the last ones out of downtown this year. Anyway, hopefully I can get this Blog thing figured out and post a little more as I sit around the next little while.