TO START THE WEEKEND OFF

Today as a family we decided to go out for breakfast, we went to T.C. Eggington's. I went there last May with my mom and sisters for Mother's Day and just loved it so I wanted Kev to try it out and he LOVED, LOVED it! The kids enjoyed their breakfast and it was fun to be together as always! We normally go out to dinner or lunch so breakfast was a bit of a change. :) Bailey Rose especially loved her breakfast, as she has just begun to eat real food again since having her mouth expanders put in. She feels she has lots of meals to make up after an entire week of applesauce and yogurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was an enjoyable way to start off our weekend!

MISSING MY CHATTER BOX

Wednesday Bailey Rose had her mouth expander for both the top and bottom of her mouth put in. She has found it difficult to eat and talk and is NOT a happy camper. If you know my Bailey Rose you know she is a chatter box! She is pretty much always smiling and always has something to say. However, these last few days it is like she is missing from the family. She says nothing and is very self conscious about how she sounds when she does speak. I have to request that she speaks just so she will get use to talking so that she can learn to talk normally with all the ortho appliances in her mouth. I truly miss her constant chattering! She hasn't smiled much either. I can understand being miserable and how it changes a person's mood but, she is the one who keeps me smiling and positive so without her normal cute personality I find myself feeling a bit down. She is so hungry and gives up eating after not being able to swallow the first bite of something. She has tried to eat but has found that yogurt, applesauce, pudding and milkshakes are all she can swallow. I keep telling her she just has to get use to the new fixtures in her mouth and retrain her tongue to swallow food, but she is convinced she will never be able to eat again. My heart goes out to her and this dilemma she has acquired that will be a part of her for the next year. After that she will sport braces for a while. She has a long road of ortho work ahead of her but, I keep telling her that the end result will be beautiful teeth to go with her beautiful smile! However, at this point she doesn't care what her teeth look like she just wants her mouth back! I just would like my chattering, smiling and happy Bailey Rose back!

THE FIRST SET OF TEETH IMPRESSIONS!

14 YEARS!

It has been such a busy week that I have not gotten around to blogging much. Tuesday Kev and I celebrated our 14th Wedding Anniversary! We did not do anything too exciting except we did make plans to go away for our 15th Wedding Anniversary. So next year we will hopefully get the Honeymoon we never got. Anyways, Kev did do one of the sweetest and TOTALLY unexpected things. The kids and I came home on Tuesday from Keaton's piano lessons and Kev met me at the door and led me into the office. This is what I saw......



My sweet husband had made a video of pictures from the first time he saw me through the last 14 years of our life together. It was put to the music of "our song" and it made me cry!
I was not able to post the video which is such a bummer because it was just precious and beautiful! I LOVE how much thought and time was put into doing this for me. He does not do things like this he is just not that kind of guy but, every now and then he will surprise me and it just melts my heart! I LOVE you babe!

ENJOYING THE WEATHER!

It has been quite a while since I have blogged and I won't even try to catch up on what has been happening over the past few weeks mainly because, I haven't been able to sort my feelings and put them in an "It's going to be okay" place yet. I know I will eventually get there, but I'm still working on it.

However, Today was a BEAUTIFUL day here in Mesa, AZ and my kiddos took advantage of it. They broke out the sidewalk chalk and had a drawing fest on our drive way! They had fun and I enjoyed watching them laugh together and create. I LOVE my kids and I was so grateful for the day spent at home without worry! It felt so GOOD!

VALENTINE CARDS & A COOKBOOK

Well, tomorrow is Friday and the kiddos have been looking forward to school Valentine's Day parties. However, Keaton came home sick with the stomach flu today and a high fever so he has to miss the 6th Grade Valentine's Dance. He is pretty bummed out about it. I wasn't thrilled with the fact that they were having one in the first place since he is only 11 and not really old enough to be going to dances but, I was going to be a nice mom and let him go because, it was in the middle of the day and I knew he would not ask any girls to dance. He is too shy! He was excited to just hang out with his friends and listen to the music. Now he will spend the day with boring mom who will make him do classwork he has missed and rest instead of playing his video games. I know, I am a meanie!
Bailey on the other hand is planning on attending parties. She has already put out the outfit she will wear tomorrow. She has done all her Valentine's and had so much fun doing them especially after we bought mini M7M packs to attach to her cards. She is super excited! She also has her Brownie Troop Valentine's Party after school, so her day will be a party day and who doesn't look forward to that!




Aside from taking care of sick kids and a sick husband I have finally started another project for myself!

For Christmas Kev bought me a large Recipe Book. This is something I have wanted for quite some time so that I could transfer all my recipes into one book and have them printed out nicely. I have so many that are typed, handwritten & printed on lots of different recipe cards and pieces of paper etc. I LOVE the one that he got me because not only is it large enough to hold all my recipes but, it stands in a book holder so that I do not have to keep picking up my recipe cards to look at while I am cooking. I can just glance over at my book and it is right there easy to find and to look at. I keep it out on my counter since my hubby did such a wonderful job matching the book to my kitchen colors. I no longer have to hunt through the drawer for the right recipes book ( I have like four). Each page has a plastic cover so splatters do not matter. So many of my old recipes cards have splatters of ingredients all over them. Though it has been a project and will take me a bit longer I am slowly retyping my recipes out and placing them in their new home. It was just the best Christmas present ever and one that I will enjoy through many more years.

100TH DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Well, today marks the 100th day of school. The 6th grade class is having a fashion show for just the sixth graders and the 6th graders are supposed to decorate their clothes with 100 things of anything. Keaton decided on decorating his 6th grade Science Camp shirt with 100 playing cards. I thought is turned out really great looking! He was excited to wear it to school today. I guess they are doing activities that have to do with 100 things throughout the day and then the fashion show for everyone to show off their creativity. Hope it is as much fun as he thought it might be!




And while Keaton is having fun celebrating the 100th day of school, Bailey Rose is fighting the stomach flu. I got a call from the school nurse at about 9:30am today informing me that Bailey Rose was throwing up. BUMMMER!!! I went and picked her up and brought her home, put her in the shower and washed her hair. Once she was all cleaned up with fresh PJ's on she fell fast to sleep with her "Blankie" on the couch where I imagine she will be most of the day! Hope she feels better soon and that nobody else in the family comes down with it!

LEARNING NEW THINGS!

Last night Bailey Rose told me she wanted to learn to crochet. I told her I would teach her but that she had to work at it and practice it to get good at it. She was thrilled! I was about her age when I learned so I knew she could do it. I learned in my Merrie Miss class at our church and I remember it was challenging at first but once you got the hang of it all it was quite a nifty thing to do to fill spare time. I haven't done it in years but it is like riding a bike. Bailey Rose was real good at it and picked it up real quick. She would like to learn to knit too but, I told her that was something I never was good at so she would to learn that from someone else or teach herself. My Grandma Smith crocheted several beautiful throws which I treasure and both of the kids have baby sweaters that their Grandma Roth crocheted and knitted for them that they will be able to pass on to their own children. Handmade treasures! There is nothing more special then handmade treasures. Bailey Rose seems to enjoy it and hopefully she sticks with it but she is only 9 and knowing Bailey Rose she will find something even more thrilling and exciting to do in the next week or so but at least she now knows how to crochet!

WELCOME 2011

It is almost unreal that 2011 begins tomorrow. Sometimes it still seems like 1997 and I am a newlywed trying to mesh my life with the life of my new husband and his two little girls. Where did all the time go? Those little girls are now grown adults living on their own. My kiddos are now the exact age they were when Kev and I were married. Boy, the years have flown by! This year brought new experiences and opportunities. Kev got a promotion and I started a new job which I love! We are SO grateful for employment! My kiddos also had wonderful experiences this year and have grown and matured in ways I am loving. I feel like we are ending 2010 on a great note and even though it is hard to believe 2011 is beginning I look forward to what this New Year will bring. I am excited for the new experiences and challenges that await us in this New Year and hope that they are good ones and not crippling ones. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am grateful for the constant love of a Heavenly Father who watches over me and my little family and for my elder brother Jesus Christ who made it possible to someday return to that loving Heavenly Father with my family. I hope 2011 is a HAPPY NEW YEAR for everyone!

CHRISTMAS 2010

Well, Christmas 2010 has now come and gone! It was a wonderful Christmas and probably the first Christmas in a long time that I was a bit more stress free and was able to really enjoy every moment of it. The kiddos say it was the best Christmas ever and to hear that is just priceless! They got some wonderful gifts but what made it priceless was knowing that they really appreciated what they got. I wanted to take lots of pictures but I was enjoying it all so much that I only captured Christmas morning.

The kiddos open one gift on Christmas Eve and by tradition it is always PJ's. I always like to do fun looking PJ's. However, this year Keaton told me that he was now 11 and needed something more grown up so I promised him that if he wore his PJ's this year, next year I would get him mature looking PJ's for Christmas Eve. He was a great sport about it!



On Christmas morning the kids were up early and very excited to see the Santa gifts and check out the stockings!













Their BIG present this year was that they each received their own cell phone. Bailey Rose was just BURSTING with joy over it however, Keaton opened his first and she whined which you can hear on the video clip because she was sad over the fact he got what she wanted most. Even though Keaton was surprised and thrilled he was more BURSTING when he open up his new Wii classic controller isn't that is a boy for you!





Grandpa & Grandma Smith and Aunt Deb came for a yummy and traditional Christmas breakfast and then after opening the tree presents and much later we headed to Grandpa & Grandma Smith's house for a DELICIOUS dinner and opened more presents and then while all the cousins played all the adults visited and rested. Chad my little brother and his son entertained us while they played the new Michael Jackson Wii game. So funny to watch them play! It was a very Merry Christmas!

LOOK WHO CAME TO OUR HOUSE LAST NIGHT!

When the dad works for Coca-Cola from time to time he brings home fun things! This Santa came home from work with dad last night. The kids thought it was fun! Bailey Rose had the most fun with it. When Bailey Rose saw it she exclaimed, "Can I keep him in my room?" Keaton said, "Wow Dad, that is cool!" Within a few minutes the excitement of our new addition was over for Keaton. As a little boy he would of dug this. It is funny to think how some things use to be thrilling and exciting to Keaton and now that he is older certain things are not so much anymore. It is much more of a challenge to make things thrilling and exciting for a boy then a girl. At least that is what I have found with my kiddos! It is somewhat of a letdown for parents when you realize your kiddos are getting old enough that you truly have to work at pulling off the "EXCITING"!

SIXTH GRADE SCIENCE CAMP

This last Wed. Keaton and all the 6th graders took off for a few fun filled days at Science Camp in Prescott. Kevan was able to go and chaperon and took pictures so that I could see Keaton's experience. They all had a BLAST! Keaton has since told me all about it and I am so glad he had a wonderful time. He was SOOOO excited to go and he had the best time hanging with friends and having new experiences that I know were so good for him to have!

GETTING READY TO GO!


ON THE BUS WITH BEST BUD NATHAN & READY FOR THE TRIP!


PICKING HIS BUNK!


CLIMBING THE 32 FT. WALL! (Once they were up the wall they zip lined down. Lots of fun and a bit scary too. I wish I had a picture of the zip line).





PLAYING DODGE BALL (They were only allowed to move 3 steps per ball).


THEY TIE DYED T-SHIRTS!


THIS WAS A GAME CALLED "BUILD A BEAST! (Played like the old game "Telephone").


"THE BEAST" (This is the end result).


PICKING APART & EXAMINING OWL PELLETS! (Not Keaton's favorite activity).


PRACTICING FOR THE EVENING SKIT!


THE SKIT!


LEARNING ABOUT THE SUN!


TUG-A-WAR (Boys vs. Girls) Boys won one & Girls won one!


KEATON WITH SOME OF HIS FRIENDS & CABIN BUDDIES ON THE DAY THEY WENT HOME!



Keaton and Kevan were both very glad to get home and to sleep in their own beds last night. However, they have the memories of the last few days and I know that it will not be something Keaton forgets about anytime to soon. I must admit it looks and sounds like lots of fun and I am looking forward to going with Bailey Rose in a year when it is her turn to go!