One more for the road

I couldn't leave for our trip without blogging about Elle's fun gymnastics show she participated in today. She's been at this new gym for a few months now and besides the fact that they are taking all of our money we've been really happy there. Elle loves it, I like what she's learning, and the gym is very well equipped. Although I do have to admit that there is something funny about seeing your five year old out on the mat doing push-ups and strength training with ankle weights. Anyways, here's a few photos from the day...

Above is Elle and the future gymnast. Thanks to Brooklyn for letting us borrow the cute leotard. I'm sure Mya would have worn one too if we had let her considering she always puts one on at home. Below is a picture of the gym owner's husband who also happens to be the USA Men's gymnastics head coach for the Olympics. I guess we'll see him in Beijing.

The photos aren't the greatest due to poor lighting, but you get the picture. They did a fun warm-up and watched the team girls do a performance. The girls in Elle's class showed what they could do on the vault, bars, beam, and ended with a cute floor routine. Elle did great and it was so fun to watch her.

Above is Elle and her coach April and below are some of the girls from Elle's little Hot Shots class.

Above is me and my girlies. And below are a couple pictures from our after show family celebration at Jamba. Contrary to the look on Jada's face she actually quite enjoyed it.

And next is a pic of my toes. Aren't they pretty???
I had a gift certificate to use that was going to expire next month. The place was really nice, and afterwards I had a little time to kill before meeting up with Jake and the girls for Elle's show. So I made my first trip to Jamba for a little smoothie and then ran over to Barnes & Noble and read a lot of the first chapter of "Breaking Dawn" from the "Eclipse" Special Edition. (I read the rest of it at Wal-Mart this afternoon because I ran our of time earlier.) I'm excited for the book to come out in August but I am hoping that the whole focus of the book won't be on the wedding night details, if you know what I'm saying. I feel like Meyer can sort of walk the line at times so hopefully this book won't do that too much. Anyways, I had a fun day getting a little kid-free time. I also got to get my hair done this week. And I shopped. It can't get much better than that!

Seven Loooooong Years

In all actuality, these past seven years have really flown by. So much has happened in such a short time. We've lived in five states, both graduated from college, Jake got his Masters and CPA, has had two full-time real grown-up jobs, have increased our family size from two to five, have driven five different cars, and are paying mortgage on our first home just to name a few. Jake and I met back at BYU when we both lived in the Riv (apt. 51 and 61). Jake had really big muscles and I had a boyfriend. We ended up together despite the fact that I rejected Jake when he first asked me out (due to said boyfriend being in town). We dated for about six months before getting engaged after breakfast at Squaw Peak. We got married about four months later in the Los Angeles Temple, went on a honeymoon to Florida, somehow ended up in Texas, and lived happily ever after...

And here's what seven years of marriage will get you...

A husband who falls asleep on the couch (who am I kidding, he's done this since we first got married).

Some pretty good potbellies (well, mostly just mine. It's the amazing expandable/retractable type).

And three cute little girls. It will be fun to see what the next seven years will bring. Elle will be 12 and in Young Women. Now that's a scary thought! I thought it would be fun to make a little list of seven things Jake's had to learn over the past seven years. According to my dad, I am "a handful, but a good handful" or something like that (at least that's what Jake was told when he asked permission to marry me). So here's what he's learned:

1- Sleeping with earplugs is not okay.
2- Girls don't like getting water on their face after doing their makeup, so don't try to be funny.
3- Water spots on the mirror equals unhappy wife.
4- Sleeping with the pillow over your head will drowned out the sound of a night owl typing on the computer.
5- Sometimes your wife sitting by you on the couch while you watch TV and she reads is as good as it's going to get so you might as well be happy with it!
6- Your wife may just complain more than the children on road trips. And don't drive too crazy or she'll get carsick. And don't speed. And she knows when you call and aren't wearing your seat belt.
7- She's not the best at keeping up with ironing, and doesn't feel like it is solely a woman's job. She still loves you, though!

Happy Anniversary a month from tomorrow, Jake! (With the trip and all, I thought I should post this early.) Hopefully you still like me in another seven! And plan something fun for us when the real day comes around (not so subtle hint).

Moving on. Yesterday the girls and I spent some quality time at the mall (start them out young, that's what I believe), and besides the fact that a small child threw up in the play place when we were there (we left quickly) we really had a great time. The children were, by some miracle, on their best behavior and I actually got to shop. The weather was yucky so the pool was out and I had a mall gift card from Jake for my b-day to use. I bought a ton of cute stuff. It just makes me excited to get dressed. We were in the dressing room at one place and the girls and I were talking about how old I was. I was saying something about being or getting old. And then Mya said something like, "And you haven't even died yet." Apparently 27 is ancient according to a 3 year old.

And lastly, before I wish you all farewell for a few weeks (big trip, remember???) I thought we'd talk a little about SYTYCD. Who's your faves? I like Kherington and Twitch, Katee and Joshua, and Mark and Chelsie. I also don't mind Comfort and I think that Will is a good dancer, although he's not my favorite. I think he needs a new partner. Not really sad to see Tree boy go home but I was a little surprised that Chelsea got the boot, especially without any explanation. I was pretty happy when Susie left last week. And that about wraps it up for us here. Wish us luck (or say some prayers for me- that might be better) next week when I take to the skies with my three small children. I'll hope for minimal amounts of tears, happy children, and maybe only one or two threatening looks from surrounding passengers (we can't expect perfection, right???).

Let the Cafe Rio countdown begin!

It's been over two years since I sat down with a tin bowl filled with a delicious homemade cheesy tortilla, pinto beans, yummy rice, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, tortilla strips, sprinkled cheese, and sweet pork with house dressing (on the side, please. And hold the guacamole, lime, and cilantro. Did I forget anything?). Mmmmm.... I considered posting one of those countdown widget things but thought it seemed a bit extreme. If you only knew how much Jake and I frequented this place when we were at BYU. Jake's favorite story to tell is about the server who used to work at the one in Provo who must have gotten transferred out to Sandy (I think). About two years ago we went to this restaurant (after we had been away from Provo for about a year and a half) and the server still remembered Jake. I think it makes him feel really cool. If you have no idea what I'm talking about when I say Cafe Rio, then all this is meaningless to you. But for those who have tasted the deliciousness of this place, I know you are all jealous. Only two more weeks to go. I can hardly stand it.

Give me a sec to snap out of food daydream land... Okay. My friend Nicole and I arranged to trade children once a week during the summer to give us each a little free time to get some things done or to recover sanity. Take your pick. We keep the babies, but swap the older ones for about three hours. Sometimes we try to be good moms and do fun things with the kids such as paint birdhouses, make "muddy buddies", play outside in water, or decorate cupcakes. Last week I got pretty fancy and attempted to make corn starch goop (didn't turn out too well and pretty much just made a big mess) and performed a volcano experiment (you know, baking soda and vinegar). I also made homemade pretty colored glittery play-doh (I sure have become domestic over the last few years). It was fun for the kids and me to sprinkle the glitter in and surprisingly non-messy because the play-doh picks up any spilled glitter.

Today we played some exciting turns of Twister and an ultra-fun game of almost life-sized Candyland.

I've gotten a few other b-day things over the last little bit, including this cute new bag from my mom (the inside is polka-dots- so cute) and I bought this swimsuit with some b-day money from my grandparents. I was a little hesitant to buy a swimsuit with a skirt because that seems like a pretty mom-ish thing to do, but I guess I am a mom so I must be entitled to a purchase like this.

My sis and my mom thought alike and both got me new duffel bags (which I wanted and will be great for our trip). And by the looks on the outside of the box, they are also great for taking on trips to the outdoors. I'll have to think about doing that sometime (ha ha- does the beach count as outdoors???).
Jake's parents gave me some money to get a new printer (told you I was spoiled, and proud of it, too). Our old one was dying a slow death that was sped up by my accidental knocking of a speaker on the paper tray. I'm so excited to have a new one that works without having to manually feed in paper.
My friend Kristin's excellent mothering techniques and ideas got me inspired to start our own "marble jars" for the girls where they earn "marbles" for doing good things, such as getting ready for bed, staying in bed all night, playing nicely, helping around the house, etc. They can also get them taken out for bad behavior. It's been kind of a fun thing for them and once the jars are full, they get to go to Cold Stone and make their own ice cream creation.
We got family/Jada's one year old pictures taken the other night which I'm so excited to see. I'll post them once I get them. Jada keeps getting older and older. It's so fun to see her start to "get" life and understand things. She gave Jake a high five last night (which he was so excited about even though I think she's done that before), she goes over to her high chair if she wants some food, comes into the kitchen by the fridge with her hand out if I talk about her drink, and gets books for us to read before naps and bed ("Hop on Pop" seems to be her fave even though it's a bit tattered and has seen better days). I still think it's funny that babies are afraid of loud noises (like the blender, toy purple vacuum, and the "snow" channel on TV). She loves "The Wheels on the Bus" in the car, making kissy noises at bedtime, and continues climbing on the picnic table. She's cute and all and is finally getting one of her front teeth, but I know the three hour plane ride to California in a little over a week is going to be torturous with her. It's not me I worry about. They can cry for three hours straight and I can deal with it. I just feel bad for the others around us. Luckily we're in the back of the plane. This week I need to clean my house to get ready to go and also try to keep my grass from dying. (Could we get a little more rain here, please??) It rained a ton last summer which was a blessing considering I had a newborn. This summer you would think it was the Sahara desert. My grass will soon be the color of sand at this rate. I sure could use a sprinkler system about now!

Okay, last little note of warning for everyone. Please be ultra careful with all your kids around pools this summer. A lady in our ward had some family visiting last week and one of her grandchildren drowned in her pool. I don't ever want to hear about that happening to anyone ever again! (Sorry to end on a downer note.) Just be so so so careful!

It's not the years that make us old, it's the children

My 27th birthday started off with a nice welcome surprise gift of children who all slept in. Jada was the first one to wake up around 8 am (sad that that is sleeping in). We then had a fun filled day that I'm about to tell you all about. I know you are excited. First, I have to show the gift that my friend Nicole gave me the day before my birthday. I had to laugh about this. On the night of my sad attempts with the hula hoop, I was bragging about being good at the "Skip-It" so my friend was nice enough to find one for me and for her. Now we can have "Skip-It" competitions anytime we want. And I'm proud to say I still got it. I know Jake loved watching me skip around in the living room the other day.

The night before my birthday I met up with a bunch of friends at Fridays to celebrate mine and my friend Laney's birthdays. We had a great time with everyone. Thanks to all for coming to my b-day party! And that is where one of my friends said what became the title of this post. So true, so true. I wish I had taken a picture of the get together. On my actual day of birth, besides getting to sleep in, we also were busy busy. Elle had swim lessons in the morning (which were M-F last week, and M-Th this week then we are done) which she has really enjoyed. Her swimming is coming along and I hope to have her pretty confident by the end of the summer.

My friend Kristin's mother-in-law teaches them in her pool in her backyard and does a great job. We took them from her last year, also.

And here's the future swimmers patiently waiting at the lesson.

Elle was lucky enough to be in a class with her friend Brooklyn. After swim, we headed over to the library for storytime. We met up with some friends there, and then went to McD's for lunch afterwards. The girls had a great time and my friends were nice enough to hang out with me even though I hadn't showered for the day.
After lunch, the girls and I went to the pool for a little bit of swimming. That night we met up with Jake at Red Robin for dinner.
Jake was nice enough to get me one of my all time favorite cakes from Baskin Robbins (mint chip ice cream cake roll). It was sooo good!

Here's some of the gifts I received. I'm really spoiled. And now I get to go shopping. I love shopping.

With the two June b-day's and Father's day all in the same week, we have quite the influx of cards on our little bar area and now microwave, too.

In honor of my b-day, I wanted to do some sort of creative "27" list. I've already done a lot of posts about random facts about me, so instead I thought I'd make a list of "27 places I've been". Here you go:

1- San Francisco, CA
2- Several beaches in CA (ex: Huntington, Newport, Balboa, San Clemente, Cayucos, Pismo, to name a few)
3- Several beaches on the Florida panhandle
4- Catalina island
5- Tijiuana, Mexico
6- South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana (Notre Dame)
7- Kirtland, Ohio
8- Liberty and Carthage jail
9- Nauvoo, Illinois
10- New York (just kidding- I just wish I could say I've been there. Hopefully soon, right Esther???)
11- Kauai, Maui, and Oahu
12- Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona (of course- who hasn't???)
13- Disneyland in CA
14- Magic Mountain, CA
15- Knott's Berry Farm, CA
16- Raging Waters, CA
17- New Orleans, Louisiana
18- Driven from Florida to California, and from Texas to Indiana so that right there is a lot of states (including, but not limited to Arkansas and Mississippi)
19- Oklahoma and Tennessee
20- BYU Provo and Hawaii
21- The PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center)
22- Silver Beach on Lake Michigan
23- Kamas, Utah (anyone know where that is???)
24- Sea World in San Antonio and San Diego
25- Bass Lake, CA
26- Lake Powell
27- ESPN Zone (threw that one in there for you Jake! And because I was struggling coming up with places.)

Now for some non-birthday stuff. Elle has been doing really well with her reading and writing. She does a great job sounding out words and even trying to write them. Sometimes she gets a bit sad when she doesn't spell things right so kindergarten could be a struggle considering they just teach you to spell it how it sounds and don't worry about the correct spelling. We may be shedding a few tears over misspelled words even though the teacher could care less. Love that perfectionist attitude.

The page says something like, "The beach is fun but now it is done. The birthday is for Jada's 1st." Not too bad for a five year old all by herself. And below is a picture of some things I have started to get together for our upcoming trip. In July I'm braving the plane flight to California as a solo parent of three little ones. I'm really excited for our trip which will last about three weeks with stops in California, Nevada, and Utah. Jake will be there for some of it, but I'm the lucky one who gets the kids on the plane. Wish me some serious luck in the beginning of July!

Flag Day Baby

This is a long one. We've been busy. Lots of pictures. I'll try to keep text to a minimum. So, the big b-day was yesterday and it was a great day! I've started this tradition of doing something fun for each of the girls on their birthday's. Elle gets flowers, Mya a balloon bouquet, and so I of course had to come up with something for Jada. I decided on filling the room with balloons during the night. It wasn't quite filled, but still a fun idea.

The first birthday of course means the end of rear-facing car seats. The girls and I have been talking about this milestone for awhile now because Mya also moved to a booster. As you can imagine, it was pretty exciting stuff. So this is how we roll in the Malibu.

We hit Stewart Beach down in Galveston to celebrate Jada's big day. It was pretty much the best day ever. I am such a beach girl and I can't believe that we've lived here almost four years and have never taken a family beach trip. Galveston gets such a bad rap from so many people, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Sure it's not white sand emerald water Florida beaches, but it was not bad at all. The kids had the best time, the water was warm, and the sun shined all day. What more can you ask for!

We went with a couple other families which always makes things more fun. The older girls loved having some friends to play with, and Jada loved eating sand with Lincoln. Ashley and I posed them for their future engagement pictures here. I especially like the fact that Linc is licking the shovel. That adds a nice touch.


Besides loving the sand, Jada also loved the water. The fact that it was so warm probably helped things. She would just walk off into the water like she was heading out to sea. She would get knocked over by the water and didn't even care if she ended up with a face full of salt water. It was so funny to watch her. And how about that cute new b-day bathing suit? You know you want one!

Notice the sand goatees (sp??) as they play in the fun hole. I guess they were a little hungry. Or maybe they think it tastes good. Jada does like to eat toilet paper so you never know.

After the beach we found a fun little Old Town kind of place and got some ice cream from a shop. It was a great end to the fun beach day.

We didn't do much present opening or any cake eating on Jada's actual birthday. Life's been a little busy and we were on our beach adventure most of the day anyway, so I made Jada's cake last night and we celebrated a little more today. I had thought of a way to do a butterfly cake and decided to get a little creative and give it a try. I think it came out cute and definitely beats out the Care Bear/mouse cake my sis and I made when Elle turned two. Not only did I do the butterfly, I created an entire nature-ish scene with sunshine and flowers. I know you are proud.

And what's a b-day celebration without a little Blue Bell?

She didn't really know what to do with the large wing we gave her. Once I broke up a cupcake for her she really started to eat.

You like those bruises on her forehead? Gonna look great in her one year old pictures this Thursday. Thank goodness for photoshop!

Holidays and birthdays always remind me of how spoiled my kids are. They have so many people who love them and want to give them fun things and make them happy. We are so so spoiled!

The beautiful princess nightgown was from Mya and the baby doll from Elle. Jada has started liking baby dolls so it was a fun present for her.

What's a Flag Day baby without an American flag swimsuit? If only they had them in my size! And below is a new birthday dress and some new shoes. And she is sitting on what might possibly be the most annoying toy ever made. It's spent some time in the garage because of the annoyance factor and may return there soon.

My friend Kathy is the nicest ever and made Jada that soft pink blankie. Jada ended up getting a ton of cute clothes which is great because I love clothes and wanted some more summer stuff for her. Here's some of the goods:

All in all, a great birthday! And to continue with the festivities, we of course had to celebrate Father's Day with lots of good food today. We definitely didn't go light on the calories, what with hash browns and french toast and steak and rolls and cheezy potatoes to name a few. I think Jake was pleased. He also got some fun new non-work clothes to add to the wardrobe. We love our daddy here and are so happy when he is around! Thanks Jake for all your hard work and for loving all of us girls!

Thursday night we went to the "Zoobilee" at the zoo and had a great time. It was a little (okay a lot) hot and a little (okay a lot, too) crowded, but overall really fun. And crowds bug parents more than they bug kids anyways. Elle enjoyed hula hooping, and both girls tried out the Bee/Chicken dance. They also each got a fun goody bag at the end for getting their "passport" stamped from seeing certain animals, and even Jake got to ride on a black leopard on the carousel. All around great.

Last little thing... our friends the Stevens came in town so we got together Friday night at Valley Ranch for dinner. We hung out afterwards and had a little bit of hula hoop practice. Don't be fooled by the picture. I actually was no good at it. I better ask for one for my birthday. The moms met up later for a little bit of root beer and pizookie time at BJ's. We miss the Stevens and wish they wouldn't have moved away. It was great to all hang out for a bit.

And this is where we finally end. I told you we've been busy! Next time I post, I'll probably be an old 27 year old lady. 30 is getting closer and closer and closer...