Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my dad's birthday today and I just wanted to let him know how much I love him. Thanks for being such a devoted and supportive dad and grandpa! Hope you had a great day!

Bet You Didn't Know....

That there was actually a giant duck and cow at the manger. That's how Makenna sees it anyway. Maybe she thought the baby Jesus needed a snuggle duck.(:

Our December So Far...

Parker's preschool had his Christmas program. He was so cute! He was very focused on watching his teacher to sing all the right words. He sang out loud and clear. Maybe watching me sing all the time is rubbing off on him.(: We were really glad that most of his grandparents could make it to watch him.

Makenna face-planted while jumping off the couch last Sunday. She really gashed up her lip but luckily it didn't go through her chin.


Parker turned the rocking horse into a rockstar horse.(:

We had some fun in the snow. Or should I say, Andrew and Parker had fun in the snow. Makenna is still not sure.


The kids decorated the Christmas tree. It still looks like that. I just haven't had time to decorate it so it's been up like this since the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I know you are all jealous of it's beauty.(:

And...I finished my first semester back in college! It was so hard and so great! I scored high enough on my vocal final to be officially accepted into the the vocal performace program! They make you do two auditions: one to get in initially and one after your second year. This was my second, so I'm in for good! I thought about how easy it would be to quit every week, but really I'm just loving it. I can't explain how fulfulling it is to finally be pursuing a dream I've had since childhood. Well, I guess that's it. Merry Christmas everyone!

Aquarium

We took the kids to the aquarium in Salt Lake since it had been quite a while since we last went. They have a cool new exhibit with Caymans and cool stuff I can't spell. The kids had a great time. It was sort of a "whirlwind" tour though because they just ran from one thing to the other. Some of my favorite "Parkerisms" while we were there are: "This place smells like dinosaurs" and "Look there's an X-ray!" (when he saw a manta ray) Can you tell someone has been working on their letters.(:

Parker looks freaky in this picture! He was protesting the whole picture taking thing.

Makenna was a big fan of the giant frog.

She's irresistible!

The X-ray!

An Early Start

The kids really want a play kitchen for Christmas so we decided to make sure that Santa knew by sending him a letter.

(Parker's picture is of he and Makenna playing with their stove and plates...just if you were wondering)

Yellowstone

I think we went to Yellowstone like a month ago. Our camera has been on the fritz for a while now and I have been busy with life. A good busy, but busy none the less. We had a really fun time with our family and Parker keeps asking when we are going back.(:

Who can resist a puppy for Christmas?

My sister-in-law, Beth, is the female version of the dog whisperer. She loves and knows all things dog. A couple of days ago her German shepherd, Sasha, gave birth to some pretty stinkin adorable little puppies. If you or anyone you know of are interested in getting a pure bred German shepherd here is the link for more information. http://wccgermanshepherds.wordpress.com/

She's Two!

My little girl is two! And has been for a while now. I don't really have any babies anymore. A little tiny part of me is sad about it, but mostly I am really enjoying the stages my kids are in. On her birthday we had a fun day as a family playing at the pool (Makenna's favorite past time). Then the day after we had our family over for cake and ice cream. The cake. You need to know that my mom always made us AMAZING cakes. So, in my life long to quest to be like my mom, I decided that I have to make amazing cakes too. My idea this year was a flower. It was going to be great. Nope. It wasn't. And I tried and tried to make it look good and it just looked worse. And I cried. And I felt like I failed my mom; because I need therapy.(: Seriously who gets emotionally attached to a cake? And my sister saved the day (as usual) by baking me more cakes and helping me make a slightly less complicated one and telling me that if mom were here she'd say that it doesn't matter. She's right. My sister is more awesome than I can explain. She's my hero. And that is probably enough about that.

My baby. What to say about her. She's maddening and irresistible at the same time. She oozes personality and spunk. She's sweet and snugly. She's more gorgeous than I ever thought anyone could be. She has her daddy wrapped around her finger. He loves every minute of it. She's a silly, smiley, crazy baby. She loves the dog more than anyone else in the family. She loves yogurt and her "snuggle duck". She adores her brother and has to do everything he does. Something in me knows that she was kissed and cuddled and loved by my mom and that love followed her down from my mother's arms in heaven. She completes our family and brings us so much joy. When she wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder it's heaven.

"Beating" Cancer

I couldn't help but think of my mom today when I heard about the death of Patrick Swayze. It's funny how much of a bond you can feel with someone you don't even know. He fought a cancer similar to my mother's. Both of them are virtually impossible to survive once they have spread and neither gives the person much time. I have been impressed with the way he has handled his cancer since I first heard of his diagnosis. He kept on going. Like my mom. My mom served in the temple until she could hardly walk. She hoped against hope to the end. I think she knew that she probably didn't have much time, but she didn't let that take control of her life. I love her for so many things and I love her for that. It's been bugging me that all the papers are saying that Patrick Swayze lost his battle with cancer. He didn't and neither did my mom or anyone has who died of cancer. Patrick Swayze said, "I'm not winning the battle against cancer. What's winning to me is never giving up." I think it takes an extraordinary amount of strength to fight a battle to the death that you know you won't "win". My mom won the battle, so did Patrick, and so did so many others who didn't give up.

Present help!

It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance school, my family, and my church calling. Not to mention the vocal performance program has been intense to say the least. I am loving school, though. Anyway, since I really don't even have the time to blog right now, I'll make this quick. What should I get Makenna for her bithday? I seriously have no idea. Let me preface this by saying that Barbies, jewlery, nail polish and stuff like that are out for me. I'm funny about wanting Makenna to stay as far away from that super girlie stuff for as long as possible. I want her to be my little baby girl and I figure that those images of what makes you "pretty" will bombard her enough as she gets older. That's just my thing, totally OK if it's not yours. I also don't want just another run of the mill toy that will be broken or lost in a few weeks. Can anyone think of a fun gift that doesn't fall into those catergories? HELP!

Busy August

Prepare yourself for a picture overload. Here are all the captions, in no particular order: We stood in a REALLY long line at the dino museum, Andrew and I got some much needed R&R on our vacation to Cedar City, we had lots of fun with cousins, Parker's first day of preschool this year, and Makenna being gorgeous as usual. I should probably write some more, but I'm too busy getting ready for MY school to start in less than a week! Yikes!

A Little Reminder for Me

So I am blog surfing at 1:30 in the morning because I can't sleep because Andrew still isn't home and I miss him and I came across this quote on a blog. And...how's that for an awful run-on sentence.(: Anyway, it was just what I needed.

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

Our family is definitley on some crazy sidetrack right now and I can't honestly say that I know where we are going to end up. I can say that the Lord will take care of us somehow. Even though we may not end up where I thought we were going, we will be where we should be. Andrew is often reminding me of that. I just need to be thankful for the ride.

Parker's 4th Birthday

My baby boy is four. Wow. When did he get that old? When did I get that old? I sure love this kid. It was such a miracle that we were even able to have him and he has continued to be a miracle to us. I can't look at him without thinking of my mother and how much joy he brought her. His sweet little soul has had such healing power for me and I think many members of my family. He's adorable, mischevious, smart, a little mouthy, so funny, vegetarian (on the rare occasion that he eats), eager to share, not into cleaning up, a sister protector, dino-obsessed, handsome, very loud and often dirty, and the most lovable little boy I could have imagined I'd be blessed with. Happy Birthday my precious son! Mommy loves you!

Tate Family Reunion

Last week we went to the Tate family reunion. It was super fun as usual. We ate a lot, slept a little and just enjoyed being with the family. Andrew ate kippered something (nastiness) but his team won the Tate Amazing Race. Nice work guys! Played some Rockband, swam, the kids did crafts and we fed the fish some pancakes. Jamie watched my kids a lot because she's an angel. Parker was pretty much glued to his cousin, Addelyn, the whole time. They were really sweet together. Can't wait to do it again.