Wishing you.....

A vErY mErRy ChRiStMaS!!

2008 was a great year for us and we now welcome 2009! We have been very blessed this year and can't wait for the new year. Some of the highlights of this year:
Brandon and I took a trip to the Bahamas and stayed at the amazing Atlantis Resort.
Our very first trip to Disney World!
Kambree started Preschool!! (Double exclamation points)
Ryder started the first grade!!! (Triple exclamation points)
LOTS of fun camping trips with lots of great people!
Spending time with friends and family.

We hope all of you have a safe and happy Holiday!!

Love,
Brandon, Tiffany, Ryder & Kambree

Hopefully next year Christmas won't sneak up on me too fast and I will send out my Christmas Cards!

R.I.P.

Kam: "Mom, come look at the bed I made for me and my friend kitty."

Mom: "Pretty sweet bed!"

Kam: "Kitty's mom died and is in heaven, but I bought her a new one!"

Mom: "Hmmmmmm........."

And I won't even begin to tell you what she said when I asked why her friend's mom was in heaven.

AND....to make it clear....I'm not sure who kitty is. She may have renamed an existing doll she has or she may have an imaginary friend.

ISABEL SURGERY UPDATE!

You can read it here.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

Kam is apparently asking Santa for a hot tub for Christmas. Ryder can't wait for Christmas Break so he can watch cartoons in the morning. Kam humors me in the car when she tells me: "MOM, I see dead people out my window" (cemeteries). I ran my first 5K over the weekend and did suprisingly AWESOME! We had a "Christmas" party at my house this weekend and would prefer to never talk about it again as long as I shall live. I got my toes painted this morning. My niece goes to Primary Children's tomorrow morning for brain surgery (keep your fingers crossed...or PRAY...do whichever floats your boat). I can't wait to play in the snow with the kids after school. I gave B my Christmas list today...(AND it would be greatly appreciated if while you are praying or crossing your fingers for Isabel's surgery to go smoothly...you don't leave out gift #6 on my Christmas list which is OBVIOUSLY an engamgement ring!!!!!)

CHECK IT OUT....

My 6 year old niece got a blog of her very own!! She goes in next week for brain surgery and my sister decided to start a blog so friends and family could see how she was doing. It's been such an emotional journey for my sister (and everyone else) so far...I hope everything goes well!!! You can view her blog here!

I GOT TAGGED...KIND OF!!

This is called husband tag folks...but I guess Bree needed a good laugh so she tagged me!!!!

I've been tagged...
What's your husband's name? Seriously Bree...what is wrong with you? You know this is a sore subject...
How long have you guys been married? We. Are. Not.
How long did you date? It will be 9 years on January 1st. WOW!
How old is he? 28
Who eats more sweets? I do.
Who said "I love you" first? Brandon
Who is taller? B, by exactly 1 foot.
Who is the better singer? I don't know. I honestly don't think I have ever heard Brandon sing.
Who does the laundry? ME
Who pays the bills? B, for sure. I have a really bad memory and forget to pay bills!!!!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me...and it's closer to the door. I guess if someone breaks in, he wants them to get to me first!!
Who mows the lawn? Brandon...but I did mow the lawn for the first time this summer! (And it took me a good couple hours and it was entertaining for the neighbors!)
Who cooks dinner? Me...always. I don't think B knows how to cook.
Who drives? Brandon
Who's the first to admit they are wrong? ME, ME, ME. I think B's greatest fear in life is to admit that he is wrong. He just can't do it.
Who kissed who first? Brandon kissed me!
Who asked out who first? Brandon
Who wears the pants? Hmmm...it's probably about 50/50 around here.

I tag...Christy, Heather, Tricia, Tia and anyone else who wants to do it.

YEAH...WELL GUESS WHAT????

I don't really care that it isn't Christmas yet, or that there is no snow on the ground, or that my Christmas decorations aren't even up yet OR the fact that we haven't even had THANKSGIVING yet...but I'm gonna sport a Christmas background for TWO reasons: 1) I wish it was December and 2) Because I don't like any of the Thanksgiving backgrounds...sorry if I offended any of you Thanksgiving background lovin' people!

ZOO WISHES

We took the kids to the ZOO on Sunday. Perfect Weather. Before we went in Ryder asked for a coin to toss in the waterfall/pond at the front. I gave them each a quarter and told them to make a wish.


Ryder threw in his quarter and said "I wish my mom would let me have a pet rat."

Kambree threw in her quarter and said "I pledge allegiance to my mom."

THE END!

You have something on your face and a little P.S. ....

Kam came running out of the kitchen the other day (so proud...I might add) to tell me about how she drew her name on her face....in WHITE OUT! She kept saying "Look mom, do you see the big K right there?" Well, I tried to get it off and guess what...White Out doesn't come off with soap and water. I thought about putting finger nail polish remover on it...but I thought that was a little harsh and just figured it would come off. Well, the next night she comes down with a case of croup and we have to take her to the doctors office at 10 pm. She's fighting a fever, a terrible cough and the last thing on my mind is the white stuff on her face. So as Brandon is getting her out of the truck at the doctor's office he is so EMBARRESSED by the white stuff all over her face that he wants me to carry her. I made him carry her, but luckily there was no one in the waiting room. Poor girl has a broken finger and white stuff all over her face...I can only imagine what people thought. Turns out everyone in the doctor's office thinks it is hilarious and cute! The nurse calls to have the other nurse come look at it and then the doctor thought it was funny too!

So, the next day we up to my parents and I think my dad thought I was a bad mom, because he went and got on the computer to google "how to take white out off your face". Keep in mind it's been on her face for a couple of days now. He told me that acetone (a.k.a. finger nail polish remover), WD-40, sandpaper....

That night I tried the finger nail polish remover since she was in the tub and I could wash her face off really fast and guess what? I scrubbed and scrubbed with the polish remover and it WOULD NOT take it off. So B went and found me some WD-40...came right off. Interesting, eh? So the moral to THIS story is: 1) WD-40 will take white out right off your toddler's face AND 2) put the white out where you kids can't draw their name on their face because it's a pain in the a$$ to remove...

P.S. That picture doesn't do her "name" on her face justice, her hands are covering up a lot of the white out! :)

TaG...i'M iT!

4th Photo in the 4th Folder Tag!

April 2006...it was fun to see an old picture. I'm just thanking my lucky stars it wasn't a naked picture of Brandon!! HAHA :)

I tag: Tricia, Tia, Teena, and anyone else who wants a trip down memory lane!

IT'S BEEN AWHILE.....

Since I last posted and therefore, it's going to be picture OVERLOAD. Don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Just a funny pic...but Kam spends a lot of her time staring at herself in the mirror usually singing or making funny faces.

Last Saturday we went to a Cookie Decorating Party hosted by my cousin Nicky. She always does the funnest and most creative parties. Here are the goods to decorate:

I made a sugar filled punch (as if the kids needed more sugar) but it had a "DEAD FROZEN HAND" in it:

Ryder & Isabel decorating cookies (I didn't get any pics of Kam...bad mom!):

Then on Sunday we went to my cousin Kim's for the ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY. We do trunk or treating and dinner.

The cute eyeball cupcakes the kids and I made:

Kam trunk or treating. She is suppose to be "Hannah Antanna", but I couldn't get her stupid wig to stay on...

Ryder & Isabel (a.k.a. Jasmine & Drake) Drake is from a video game...don't ask!

We went bowling at the Payson Bowling Alley which is awesome for 2 reasons: 1. They serve beer and 2. There are often celebrity sightings....like Gary Coleman...hahaha At least we didn't get ran over!! B getting his bowl (or drink) on!

I went on a field trip with Kam and her preschool class to the BIG RED BARN. Kam and her little friend:

Kam picking out the PERFECT and slightly rotting pumpkin:

We found out Kam had a broken finger. It had been broken for 10 days before I finally decided to take her into the doctor (I know, I know...I deserve the MOTHER OF THE YEAR AWARD). She hadn't complained about it so I just thought she hurt it (her cousin slid into her finger on his knees)! She also got a flu shot and the doc and she was so proud because "I wasn't even scared and it didn't even hurt. I am so brave!"
Then Kambree had a Halloween Party at school and wanted to be a ROCKSTAR....


Then we went over to Lindon to the Nightmare Express. It was a HAUNTED train ride that went through this guy's backyard. It was pretty fun! Ryder & Kambree posing. This is Kam's new pose...I know it's weird and she just happened to have a mouthful of popcorn...sorry!

Kam with one of the SCARERS:

Kam and Mom on the train (and part of Kasey's head!):

Then Ryder had a parade at school so Kam, Brandon and I went over to the school and watched:

IT WAS FINALLY HALLOWEEN NIGHT!!!! Hannah and Drake getting ready to go to my mom's school for a little trick or treating (as if they needed ANY more candy by this point) and dinner:

And to end the night we finally got to take the kids around the neighborhood to do some good ole fashioned door to door trick or treating. I don't have any pics of Ryder because him and Brandon took off ahead of us because Kam is a little SLOW. I stayed behind with a couple of my neighbors and their kids. Here is a pic of Kam and her friend Ky or Ariel:

After we got home I told the kids they could either have their candy or I would buy it from them. Ryder chose the $5, Kam took the candy! :)

Hope you all had a great Halloween. And I WARNED YOU ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THIS POST!!!!!

EMBARRASING

Kam and I were at Walmart today doing some grocery shopping when Kam starts yelling (literally 2 feet away from this lady) "Oh my gosh mom (in her valley tone voice...of course) she has ugly hair. MOM MOM (I was busy...not really paying attention to what she was saying and I didn't realize the lady she was making fun of was right next her.) Do you see her hair mom? That is so ugly."

So, I hurried and took Kam around the corner to the next aisle and I was SO embarressed. I mean...what do you do? Her hair was a little funky...bleach blonde on the top and jet black on the bottom.

Good times.

GARDNER VILLAGE

Last week (or maybe even the week before that) my mom, the girls & the kids went up to Gardner Village to see the witches. It's a fun little tradition that we do every year. Except it was SO cold this year we had to start out with some "Spider Cider" and "Pink Hot Chocolate" at one of the little shops. We always look around at the witches, go into a few shops, eat dinner at Archibalds and THEN (the kids' favorite part) we go into the Candy Shoppe and the kids get to pick out a treat. After Gardner Village we usually go to Tai Pan to check out their Christmas decorations and their lovely trees which puts me in the mood for CHRISTMAS!!!! It's always a good time and we look forward to doing this every year!

Morgan, Isabel, Ryder, Kya & Dagen

Morgan, Taylor, Kam, Isabel & Ryder

I wish I had a picture of EVERYBODY, but I actually just stole this pics of my sisters blog because when we got up there and I took my camera out to take some pics, Brandon had taken out the memory card..so my camera was useless!! And Christy (HINT HINT) has still not sent me the pics she took like she was suppose to! :)

I NEED WHAT?

Ryder was home "sick" yesterday so he sat on the couch most of the day watching cartoons. All of a sudden he comes running into my room to tell me about something that he saw on TV.

"Mom, mom...there is this thing on TV that you can buy and it makes hamburgers and you can make like 5 at a time AND it only takes like 2 minutes to cook the hamburgers. You really need to buy it mom. MOM..Do you want to come look at it...MOM?"

The whole time he is SO excited to be telling me this and he is running his mouth at about 100 mph. I couldn't figure out what in the sam hell he was talking about. And then I remembered...It's the Billy Mays Hamburger Press. (What else is this guy going to sell?) I couldn't stop laughing!!!!



P.S. And why do they put these kind of things on the commercials for children's cartoons? EVERY time (without fail) that Kam watches cartoons, she gets so excited about all the commercials with toys on them. Her list for Christmas just keeps getting longer and longer......

P.S.S. This post made it sound like my kids watch a grundle of T.V. They don't...I promise! :)

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I have been so busy, but have lots to post about. So, stay tuned!

NEW TRUCK

Brandon flew out to Idaho last week to pick up a brand new truck. We got rid of the Titan (sobbing) and replaced it with a new Chevy Duramax (spelling)? I loved the Titan and since I am the one who usually drives it (B drives my car to work) I guess I am the one with the new vehicle.

CONS of the new truck:
1) No backup sensor. (Watch out neighbor kids...)

2) It's longer than the Titan and THAT truck was hard for me to park. (And let's face it...no one wants a larger rear end.)

3) No T.V. (at least not yet). No more listening to Sleeping Beauty. I have not seen that movie in years, but it was in the Titan since March and I can recite the whole movie for you...word for word. Wait....maybe this should be under Pro's! :) Ha, it's a con because the kids fight more!

4) The backseat is smaller, therefore, the children are closer to my ears and with Con #3...it's LOUD!!!

5) There are not footsteps (yet) and I'm short...so that poses a little bit of a problem!

PROS:

1) The smell of new leather...mmmmm

2) XM Radio. Hello uncensored music.

3) Cleanliness. No matter how clean you keep your vehicle...a new vehicle is wonderfully CLEAN!

4) Bigger, Stronger Engine. (Bigger is better....right?) This will be better for pulling the trailer! :)

5) Now that B got a new truck (TECHNICALLY it is his) it is now my turn for a new car! Holla.

On that note...I hope everyone has a great day!

Peace.

ANYONE KNOW A DENTIST?

Pulled out the Halloween Stuff yesterday and Kam can't get enough of these:

PINK

Well, most everyone knows this...but I have lived in my house for 6 years and all of my walls are white still (yuck...I know.) Except for Ryder's room which BRANDON painted a few years ago to his tasting (motorcycles). My next door neighbor runs a painting company and with a little (or a lot) of encouragement from her I finally decided to paint. It's not the money, the work OR the time I was worried about. But, the fact that I CANNOT make a decision on color to save my life. The plan was to start with the living room. But, do you know how many colors there are to choose from. I probably looked at 10 of those BIG color sample books and it was just WAY to overwhelming. I would finally pick out a color and then tell them to take all their swatches back and not to let me look at them again because that was THE color I wanted. Then, the next day I would be knocking on their door saying "you know, I was thinking about the color I picked last night and I'm not sure it's the right one anymore. Can I look at the swatches again?" So, I finally decided to paint Kam's room because at least she knew what color she wanted...PINK. But, do you know how many PINK'S there are? What a task. Her room is not finished yet. I have a few projects for things I want to hang on her walls, I need to buy a couple of things and I am still going to do a little somethin'-somethin' on her walls. In one of the Pottery Barn catalogs they have a room that is pink and then in dark pink and while they have stenciled (I think) some really cute flowers on the walls. I have searched high and low for these stencils and can't find them. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'll post some more pics of her room in progress when I get them done! :)

P.S. Did I mention how much Kam loves her pink walls. She spent the night at my MIL's while we were painting and I called her the next morning to tell her that her walls were painted and they were now pink. She threw the phone down and told Grandma Becky "Oh my gosh (in a valley girl tone) take me home...my room is pink."

60Th BiRtHDaY PaRtY

My mom and dad both turned 60 this year. So, we had a surprise BBQ up the canyon for them. It was a lot of fun! I hope they each have 60 more birthdays! I love you both!

Per Ryder's request, my mom smashed a cupcake in his face!

Mom & Dad with their birthday present...Woody.

Kambree & Isabel with Woody. This poor dog...the kids just love him so he is constantly getting held and loved and kissed and carried.....

P.S. Why do my kids always cheese like that?

TO THE BIRTHDAY BOYS:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! My dad's birthday was yesterday and Chad's birthday is today! Love yoU guys!

P.S. My dad shot this GINORMOUS elk a couple weeks ago!

OH YES........

Grey's is back on tonight and that makes me happy!! What shows are you excited for?

LIFE IS PEACHY...

I LOVE BEING ABLE TO STAY AT HOME WITH MY KIDS AND WATCH THEM GROW EVERYDAY. IT HAS ESPECIALLY BEEN FUN THE LAST FEW WEEKS SINCE THE KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL. AND...IT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T SEE THEM AS MUCH (HAHA) IT'S BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WATCH THEM LEARN. I LOVE HELPING RYDER WITH HIS HOMEWORK AND WATCHING HIM LEARNING HOW TO READ. HE IS READING BOOKS BY HIMSELF AND IT IS THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO HIM READ TO ME! I LOVE IT. I LOVE THAT RYDER COMES HOME AND TELLS ME ABOUT ALL THE GIRLS THAT CHASE HIM AT SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY LOVE HIM! I LOVE WATCHING KAMBREE WRITE HER NAME AND DO HER HOMEWORK. IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF SCRIBBLES ON THE PAPER, BUT I LOVE THAT SHE TRIES SO HARD. I ALSO LOVE TO LISTEN TO HER TELL ME ALL ABOUT HER DAY AT SCHOOL AND THE FRIENDS SHE HAS MADE. I LOVE TO WATCH HER TELL RYDER ABOUT SCHOOL AND MISS. "TIPPANY". (OH...AND I LOVE TO HEAR HER SING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE!)

LIFE IS GOOD...WELL, AT LEAST FOR TODAY! :)

CHUCKY

Last weekend Brandon took the kids to the Fry Family Reunion while I was home sick with sinus infection/pneumonia. They had an auction and Kambree came home with this:

It is a doll (the size of her) that has bright red hair and could possibly be the ugliest/scariest doll I have ever seen. Oh, how she loves it though. If you look closely, you can even see "Chucky's" broken arm......


Click on the pictures to enlarge them and get a better view of the two little darlings! :)

FUNNIES....

Last week I was driving in the car with Ryder and Dagen (my nephew) and their conversation they were having was hilarious!!

Dagen: When I'm sixteen I get to drive.

Ryder: Really?

Dagen: Yeah, I'm going to get a truck.

Ryder: Well, my dad said when I turn 18 I can do WHATEVER I want.

Dagen: He did?

Ryder: Yeah. I am going to get a cell phone, a truck AND join the army.

Dagen: I want to join the army too.

Ryder: Ok...it will be so fun. You get bazookas in the army. We could shoot someones socks off with a bazooka.

Dagen: Awesome. I want to be on your team.

Ryder: Ok.

Dagen: And Logen (Dagen's brother) will be on the other team!

**They were so funny about what they are going to do when they turn 16 & 18. Ryder can't wait to get a cell phone. However, I hope he has one before he turns 18!!! Don't most kids get them around 8 these days?

PICTURES OF KAM...

I finally got Kam's pictures taken for her birthday (only 2 months late). She did such a good job...she LOVES the camera. She's in preschool now as many of you know and she loves it! She got in trouble the first day at school. She got 2 strikes and had to put her head on her desk. (1st strike: warning, 2nd strike: they have to put their head on the table, 3rd strike: they have to sit in the hall). So, now when she comes home she will PROUDLY tell us that she got a strike. She thinks it is funny to get in trouble...oh, she is going to be naughty! And now she walks around the house with a pad of paper and a pen saying "do you want a strike?" and making marks on the paper. Usually we don't even get to answer and she says "you just got another strike. go put your head down on the table." So, Brandon and I are usually sent to the table to put our heads down. She is hilarious! And she has been walking around "singing" the Pledge of Allegiance. She repeats "pledge of allegiance" over and over AND over! It's cute.

SICKLING

I am not having a good couple of weeks. Started out last week with a killer sinus infection and now I lay in bed with pneumonia. I'm sick of being sick.

FIRSTS

Today is Kam's first day of Preschool!! She was so excited to go! She has been sitting down at the table with Ryder and I every night while we do Ryder's homework. She grabs a paper and pen and tells us that she is doing her homework too! She will be so happy when she has "real" homework to do!

She also LOVES her backpack...even though it's almost as big as her! :)

Turning her name over. They have to find their name & turn it over. On the other side is a picture of them. That way, Miss. Tiffany knows who is in class!

Sittin' pretty at her desk! I can't believe she is in Preschool....it is CrAzY!

Now for the next 2.5 hours I will be kid-less. Does anyone know how seriously awesome that is?

Another first....

I got my first sinus infection. And it sucks. I've been sick since last week, but I finally decided to go to the doctor because I had so much pressure in my head. The doc said my sinus infection was pretty bad and I could expect to be on antibiotics for at least 2 weeks, but probably 4 weeks. What?!? I woke up last night at 2 am and wanted to cry because my face hurt so bad. If anyone has ever had a bad sinus infection, you know what I am talking about...I was stuffed up, my cheekbones hurt, my jaw hurt, my nose hurt...even my teeth were hurting. So, I took some drugs and as soon as they took the pain away I slept like a baby!!!!

Labor DaY

We went camping to Mayfield over Labor Day Weekend. We came home a day early because it was suppose to snow and the canyon is a slick mother when it's wet...so I've heard. But, since we had been there since Wednesday, I was HAPPY to come home. Plus, Kam and I got terrible colds while we were camping and were miserable with no drugs! :) I will post pics of the camping trip as soon as I find the card they are on!

Also, Kam starts school tomorrow and is SUPER excited. But, she has been sick, so I took her to the doc to make sure she was ok and not contagious. Doc said she is good to go to school. No more lounging around on the couch with her babies...it's school time! :)

It's a hard knock life...

This is how Kam takes a bath now. Her and her baby (whose name is "swimming baby") like to float and relax!!!!!

FUNNY RYDER.....

We are sitting at the table having dinner tonight.

Me: "Ry, what did you do at school today?"

Ry: "I flooded the bathroom at recess."

Me: "What? You did what?"

Ry: "Yeah, me and my new friend, William flooded the toilets in the bathroom."

Me: "Ryder...how and why would you do that?"

Ry: "Ya know, we sat and flushed it and flushed it and flushed it until the water overflowed and went all over the floor."

Me: (Trying not to laugh because it is a little bit funny....)

Ry: "Just kidding. We didn't really do that, I just wanted to watch you freak out. We can't even be inside at recess."


WTF? Did I just get Punk'd by my 6 year old first grader?!?!?!

BREAKING IN....

I went to go take Ryder to school on Monday and someone had broke into the truck. Well, I guess it can't be called "broken into" when you leave your car unlocked...(BRANDON!). So, they stole some change (a whoppin' 3 dollars worth, probably), the truck keys (but they didn't steal the truck?!?), and some other important keys that were in the glove compartment. We are going out of town on Thursday until Monday which kind of worries me. So, I called the police station and they are going to do EXTRA rounds on our block while we are gone, especially the graveyard police officers, plus, I am going to set up some "traps" in my house to catch the little bastards in case they decide to come in while we are gone (we kinda think we know who did it.) I'd tell you what I have up my sleeve, but the thieves could be a fan of my blog...you never know.

IT'S ABOUT TIME....

Thanks to Ryder biting his fork last night while eating watermelon he now has a loose tooth!!! Isabel has already lost 4 teeth and for a while after that Ry would check his teeth everyday to see if any were loose. Well folks, today is the day that Ryder's tooth became loose! :)

WANTED!!!

I am looking for a gym partner. Anybody interested? I have a pass at Gold's and love to go, but Ryder HATES the daycare there. So, since he is in school all day now, I can go to the gym again without listening to him whine about being there. (Kam LOVES the daycare!) Anyone interested?

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Ryder is in FIRST grade this year!! It is so weird that he is in school ALL day (and kinda nice too)! I think he was most excited about eating school lunch, but so far he loves school! I went to get a picture of him on the first day of school and my camera was dead (I'm not very good with the camera, obviously) so this is his picture on the 2nd day of school. I don't know why he always has a fake smile on...and I had to cut Kam out of the pic because she looked like a total rag muffin! Life is getting easier and will be even easier when Kam starts preschool! :) I can't wait!

I HEART AMISH BREAD!!

Holy crap this stuff is good. I have never had it until my sister gave me a start a few weeks ago. It's delicious and addicting. You sit down to eat 1 piece and next thing you know, they whole loaf is gone. YUMMY! Anyways, I have a couple of starts if anyone wants them....please take them so I don't have to make 8 loafs of bread, 2 will be plenty for us! :)

ANYONE?

Does anyone know what kind of flowers these are? I love them and want to plant some next year, but I have NO idea what they are!