The Christensen Clan

Finally Updated

2011-12-02T09:36:00.001-08:00

Well I got most of what we have been doing! I didn't realize how far behind I was! Right now Blake is still not really talking. We have a hearing test ordered for him and he starts speech therapy this month. I am excited to have this kid talk and tell me what in the world he wants!! It has been very hard on both of us but we are getting better at communicating! I have been obsessed with pinterest and doing projects from there and just being home! I have had two job offers that I had to turn down because of daycare issues and it really makes me sad but my children come first, right? I am just so anxious to get out in the field and learn more and work!! Dan and I as always are starting a new business adventure but this time it is solid. As it comes closer for everything to unfold I will tell but for now my lips are sealed! I can just say that I am unbelievably excited!!!!!

Utah

2011-12-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

We made a VERY last minute trip up to Utah for Thanksgiving. It was the trip I needed. The kids played and we barely saw them or even heard from them and us girl laughed and laughed the whole time. Best therapy a girl could ever ask for! Dan did get the pukes a night we were there but was better the next day so we weren't sure what is was, but with all the kids in the house to say the least we were all a bit terrified of the flu! Here are some pictures of our adventures!

Baptism

2011-12-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

What an amazing day on so many levels!!! I cannot describe the joy I felt over this event. Shane was ready and prepared. Dan gave him an amazing blessing that blew me away. I was just one proud mama!!!!

Two birds with one stone

2011-12-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

Shane's birthday is October 23rd and Blake's is the 24th. My grandparents were in town so we headed over to my dad's house and had their birthdays together. I again forgot my camera so I took a few pictures with my cell phone and they turned out kind of crummy but they are pictures! They had fun! I made homemade pizzas and a strawberry cake that Shane requested. Dan took Shane to go see a movie and he was pretty pumped just by that!

HALLOWEEN

2011-12-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

This year we were completely broke, so we used what ever we had around the house and in our dress up box. Thank goodness for yard sales!!! Brock looked like a midget with a huge head LOL but all in all it turned out pretty cute :)

80's!!

2011-12-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

We had an 80's day at school, here are some pics, oh and me GRADUATING!!!!!! I am officially a licensed cosmetologist!!! I took a ridiculously long time but I finally did it!!!!

First Day of School

2011-12-02T08:23:00.001-08:00

So ironically the school is just about over, but here is the first day of school pictures!! They are both doing really well. Brock has just rocked Kindergarten! I was super nervous about him being such a new 5 year old and going to all day Kindergarten but he has not only done amazing he has really flourished! He has an amazing teacher. I really dislike Shane's teacher and they ended up taking a third grade teacher and moving her to second grade and I volunteered him to go to the new teacher and he is doing a lot better with her. It is so nice but also so weird having the boys gone all day long. I miss them but really love having so much one on one with Blake who really needs it right now!!

Two Teeth DOWN!!

2011-12-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Shane has officially lost two teeth, This has been a huge deal for him as it really terrifies him!! Getting the teeth out has been tears and lots of drama with this boy. His teeth aren't wanting to just fall out though they are turning black and holding on for dear life so they have to be pulled out! Poor kid :( He is trying to be brave though and Brock keeps coming in having us check all of his teeth to see if any of his are loose. On his second tooth the Toothfairy dropped the ball, she felt like the worst Toothfairy in the whole world!!! She made it up to him though. It all ended well.

Bath time!!

2011-12-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but I love bath time shots, so here are a few clean pictures of my boys :) Brock wanted to help me take pictures so he isn't in the tub.

Big 5!

2011-12-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

July 1st was Brock's 5th birthday. He really wanted to have a Beyblade battle, so I made a cheesy arena out of our living room to battle in. Dan decided to start a tradition that I LOVE, he takes thee birthday boy out to a movie the day of so I can get ready for the party and than they get time to just be with dad. The boys just ate it up this year and absolutely loved it. I look back and just cannot believe how much time has passed. My Brock is my boy, his personality is a lot like mine and as funny as that is I feel like I have a hard time understanding him. It is hard to look at yourself and say how would I have wanted my mother to handle this situation? He has his dads intelligence and talents though. This boy is so quick, he can look at things and just know what it needs to be fixed. Shane comes to him to have him fix things, it is so crazy. He is a very sweet soul and very very independent. He HAS to do things on his own. It is hard for me to not treat him older than what he is because of this. I am slowly accepting him for this and learning how to back off and when to step in. We have weaned him off of his thumb sucking and traded it for chewing in his clothing. He quit for quite a while but has recently taken it up again which tells me there is something in his little life that is bothering him. I am putting extra efforts into him and paying more attention. He is easy to overlook because he is so independent and quiet. But the boy can talk, a lot!!! Everyone instantly falls in love with him, he is the one that stands out the most because of his creativity and he just doesn't care or notice what other people are thinking. He is very much in his own little bubble and it is adorable.

He is really just too cute!

2011-12-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

Brock wanted to go out swimming in our little pool outside. I said that was fine go get ready and I will fill up the pool. When I went outside again this is what I saw and I thought it was so funny I had to take pictures!!! Love this kid :)

House

2011-12-02T07:00:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of the outside of our rental house :)

Catching up

2011-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

I have realized that I have posted just about nothing for all of 2011. Get ready for a bunch of new posts today!! I will start with Easter. Dan was out of town over Easter so the Easter Bunny made an early visit to our house. We did not get any pictures of this day because for the life of me I couldn't find the camera. Oh well, life goes on right? The actual day of we went over to my dad's house and the Easter Bunny made a round at his house too!!! The boys were very excited! Hillary got a two chickens, Snoop Dog and Mia, Shane did not want to hold them but there are a few pics of Brock holding them!

Transitions and changes

2011-07-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have been in a reflective mood lately. I am really having to start dealing with all the emotions of the last3 and a half years. I am writing this post mainly for me, no one else but for me. I had a client the other day that pointed something out to me that really struck me. I told her how close I was to my in-laws, especially my MIL and she looked me in the eye and said, "you know that that is a gift don't you?"I wasn't about to get all teary eyed about it in front of her but I have thought about it constantly. They both gave me a gift that not only helped replace a hole inside me but also gave me a confidence that I don't even know how to explain but most of all gave me a path, a path of how a family is supposed to be, how you raise children in a way that isn't mean or degrading. My in-laws weren't perfect but to me they were everything. I miss them both so much, especially Liz. I needed a mother, I needed a mother who would just love me unconditionally and that woman had an amazing talent for just loving anybody that way, but her lover for me made me whole again. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Dan was the man I was supposed to marry and I know that not only did I get an amazing husband out of it but I also got his family. I definitely made out better in that deal hehehe. Ever since she passed away things have been turned upside down, inside out and everything is backwards. We have had one disappointment after another, our faith and marriage shaken. After everything I feel older, exhausted and broken. I am trying to figure out where to even start putting the pieces back together and I don't even know where to start. I had a friend on facebook whose husband had lost his job and found one after a few months and where I did not want her to suffer and I was happy her husband got that job, I was angry, very very angry. Dan went to so many interviews and had so many opportunities presented to him and nothing became of it. I had people say things to me like, "well maybe you haven't learned your lesson yet" like we had done something so horrible to deserve what we went through. That we just weren't good enough or sinned too much. So these people are the ones who get the blessing and we are left to flounder. One of the hardest things for me to swallow was how strongly I felt that we were making the right choices, we prayed, we fasted, we did all those things that we were told to do. I know that the Lord knows my struggles, We have talked about this subject twice in Sunday school lately and I have been given a book that is really helping me understand. The bottom line is that I am angry over it all. I am trying to deal with those feeling and just get them out because I do see the blessing and the tender mercies that the Lord gave to us, but I am still angry. Than we finally got a job, but here's the catch, it is in Arizona. I don't know how to explain this history to all who don't know but to keep it super fast, my mother lives in Arizona. I was thrown into a depression that I have never felt before. The thought of moving brought me to tears every time I thought about it. I went to my bishop to renew my temple recommend right before we moved and meeting with him was a huge blessing. He talked me threw my emotions and told me some personal stories that made me stronger and helped set my path. I will never forget his or the Stake President, they both said exactly what I needed to hear. So despite my last minute packing and final drive, we were in Arizona. Once we were here I set everything up in the house and developed a true hate for Arizona. Dan was really liking his job but I am miserable. So now I am angry over the fact that we had so many interviews and opportunities in great places, he gives us a job and sends us HERE????? My main theme her is anger if you can't tell. So much has happened since we have gotten here and I am really debating over how much I should write. During all of this my mother and step father and going through a very icky divorce. I am out here only a month when I get deemed the mediator for them to split up their items. This was a horrendous experience that I would soon rather forget but will always be a distinct memory for me. I have always feared my mother and I conquered that fear during those few days. It was really horrible, I did not come out on the other side feeling victorious but more like wanting to hide. It is still something I really do not want to talk about, it makes me want to vomit. So after this experience I set to making a life changing decision. I concluded that decision when my mother decided to get remarried soon after the divorce. I did not go to the wedding and have decided that there is no place for my mother in my life any longer. It was an extremely hard decision and one that I have to continually make. I went through a period of mourning but am mostly at peace now with my decision. During all of this we started the Foster Care process, had a teenage girl move in with us that just lost her mother to cancer and I have gone back to school. It has been such a rough road, one that I am so excited to have it just calm down for a bit. I am beaten down and just don't know how much more I can take. I am getting used to Arizona even though I really dislike it still. I think for my sanity living in the Mesa/Gilbert area will be better, it will feel a bit more like home and we will be around people that are more like we are. You don't know what you've got until it's gone, and now I can say that I miss Utah, but we are better off here, we are going to church more and our attitudes are better, I know that. The stress of finishing school, the drama between everyone, I think it is all giving me ulcers. I am so close to finishing and I will be so much better off when I do. I cannot wait! At least I know that school is a temporary trial!! Through all of this I can say that I have come out adoring and loving my husband so much more. I know that he is my soul mate and that I couldn't live without him. He is my rock and safety zone. When I am feeling out of control even just hearing his voice will calm me down. I am so lucky to have him. He is truly my foundation. I am already feeling a bit better just writing this all out, admitting to my feeling and letting them be ok for just a bit. I am getting stronger everyday and bettering myself everyday. I know I have a long way to go but I have the Lord behind me, he will help me understand and be stronger.

VACATION

2011-06-27T08:39:00.001-07:00

I have a whole entire week off from school, I almost don't know what to do with myself. I have so much to do that it is ridiculous, but I really just want to hang out with my boys, I hate being away from them so much. I only have 45 days left of actual school days, I could not be more thrilled! I am so excited to have my license, I cannot wait to start working. I really love love love doing hair. It almost surprises me, I never pegged me as that girl, but I truly love it. I am getting clients that are starting to request me at school and building up a bit of a clientele, it is fun. I start Senior Thoery the second week in July which I am super nervous for, we take chapter tests daily, have 8 practicals we have to pass twice and five finals that are 100 questions each that we have to pass with an 84% or higher. There is a large number of student who end up just dropping out because they can't pass all them tests, aaahhhh.... I think I can, I think I can LOL. September 6th SHOULD be my graduation date. We are pretty much done with all the Foster Care stuff, Dan has one more class to make up and he has to finish his interview than we are done and just waiting on getting our license for that. I am starting to get excited about what we are going to get. I am having to start thinking about getting clothes and blankets, bedding and toys for a little girl. It makes me so giddy when I really start thinking about it.

Dan is still really liking his job. We feel very blessed to have it. They are paying us well and we are being able to keep up with all of our expenses and paying a nanny. We just got preapproved for a home loan and are very casually starting to look around at houses. We are still so new to Arizona that it is a little bit more daunting because we have no idea WHERE we want to live! The Gilbert/Mesa area have home that are a little bit more Utah style and make Dan and I feel a bit more at home so those areas are in the lead right now but nothing is decided yet. We are probably not going to even be really serious until next June when the boys are out of school. We have moved them so much that we really think it is important to let them finish out their school year in one place.

Shane is doing so so very well. He let me know the other day that he is all grown up now. He wants me to leave him home to babysit his brothers. I kind of chuckle because at his wise age of 7 he is hardly ready to babysit but he is super insistent that he can do it. He is going to be the greatest when he gets bigger, he is already such a help, I could not have done so much that I have done with out him. He is such a fantastic kid. Dan and I went out on a date night a few weeks ago, I went into his room to kiss him goodnight and he asked me all about our night, what we ate and all that. I left in tears, he is just getting so big! His grades at the end of first grade were fantastic, they don't think he is going to need speech therapy very much longer. He is making friends so easily and is just so happy most of the time. He is such a joy to me! We have struggled with him for such a long time and he is just turning into this amazing kid!!!

Brock is still my little artist, very imaginative but a stinker to LOL. He captures everyone's hearts no matter where we go. He is so full of personality. He is struggling with me being gone and is taking it out in a various array of different ways. He is getting super sassy with me and is pretty much just going to do what he wants to do and that is really the end of it. There are hardly any punishments that even mean anything to him anymore. He isn't horrible right now but I am so super nervous for our future. He is quite the independent soul. I love him for it though. He creates so many things all on his own. He made a Mega Mind cape out of computer paper and tape, he made an outfit (headband and all) out of things around the house to be a character named Janga off the Beyblade shows. He does it all on his own too, he doesn't ask for any help he just does it. We go through insane amounts of tape at our house. He is learning how to enjoy his little brother. It has been a rough road for him to share and be kind to him. His birthday is on Friday and I am just so sad that my little buddy is going to be 5 and starting Kindergarten this year. He is always very close to me, such a loving sweet boy.

Blake is a cute little button. His blond curly hair just makes my day. He is not talking almost at all, the Dr referred us to a speech therapist but I think I am going to hold off for a few more months, we are really working on it. The only thing he says that is understandable to anyone other than us is dada. I am not too nervous about it. He is a smart kid and knows exactly what is going on, what he wants and does not want and really gets his point across very well. I want to give him a few more months before I start forking out all the money for it (it is very expensive) I want to see how much progress I can make with him on my own. It is hard when I am in school though :( He is a big mama's boy and I secretly adore it. I know he is going to be my last baby and I am just soaking him in. He is a very loving boy. His favorite things are his blankie and Blues Clues. The kid hardly talks but he can do all the different dances to the different songs on that show. It is pretty crazy! He has been a pretty good boy as long as you don't want him to sit still or be quiet. He is still horrendous in church but we get to take him to nursery, which he loves so as long as I can make it through sacrament with him than we are good. There are some Sundays that I just can't handle him and we leave early. He really is a lot of work, I am physically and emotionally drained by the time we are done!

I have been so horrible about blogging, I am just so busy and exhausted. It will end soon!!!!

quicky

2011-05-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Life is too busy right and and I feel like I can barely take two seconds to breathe. The upside, I am kicking some serious beauty school (pardon my language here) A**. I have grown and developed my skills since I last left school and I am feeling great about it. I have 4 months left and cannot wait to be done. I hate leaving my kids, I get to see them for about 2-3 hours a night. I just don't really feel like a real mom. The upside is that my nanny Celeste is amazing and I just could not have asked for a better girl to come into my home and take care of my kids. I feel 100% confident that my kids are happy and getting everything that they need. She is just great! The change has been hard on everyone though. We are just starting to adjust. Brock is reverting back to thumb sucking :( We are starting to kind of adjust to Arizona. The weather is fantastic. Always warm and sunny. Dan is kicking butt at his job. He loves it they treat him great and he is making pretty decent money. He is really happy. So there is my quick update :)

2011-03-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

My little man is now 17 months and is just getting so freaking cute!! So here are a few pics of him today.

Pretty sure she would kill me if she knew I put this up here hehehe
Happy 19th bday Hillary

My personal ramblings :)

2011-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am going to make this fast, I know I have been really lacking in pictures but that is not for today. Sorry! I just wanted to write down my gratitude. The last 3 years we have lost everything and been stripped down to bare bones. The only possessions we had left to our names were used furniture. I truly felt that the Lord had betrayed me. I felt he left and was no where to be found. He let me fall face first with nothing there to catch me. Through this trail I did not smile and say I know the Lord loves me and this will all end eventually, I pretty much gave him the bird and said screw you. Now don't get me wrong here, I didn't go out and get tattoo's or start drinking or anything but my heart had a very dark cloud over it. We moved to Texas where I finally started to feel like maybe he was there and was listening to me. We loved it there, we loved our ward and actually wanted to go to church, I was really starting to make some friends and felt like I was where I belonged. My nephew got married and Dan and I decided to go talk to our bishop and tell him about our little "I hate you" adventure and the greatest blessing of all hit our lives. Our bishop and the Stake President changed my life forever. It is private but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was speaking through these men to change my life. Than Dan got a job in Arizona. I pictured in my head for two years how I would feel when Dan finally got a job, I imagined celebrating and crying with joy. I was devastated. If many of you know me you know a bit about my family and especially my mother. My mother lives in Arizona and I have felt that that distance was protecting me from her. I had a safe zone so to speak and only had to really deal with her on a few occasions. I was really thrown into a depression. We moved here and we both hated it. The people are very different here, cold and distant. The rules are different, I won't go into that but I have been quite embarrassed. The up side that I tried to focus on was that Dan had the best paying job we have ever had and he was happy. I could fill in the rest by myself, right?!?! I was talking to my sil Mara who is truly just the best and she had said to me that she couldn't wait until I talk to her and said I was doing good and not just ok. It sounds really silly but that struck me to think about how I was projecting on to other people. So I decided to change me. There were some events that have helped this along and I have for now kind of severed ties with my mom and am trying to decide if she is going to be allowed to be a part of my life. I have thrown myself into running everyday, studying my scriptures every morning and saying true and sincere prayers. I have also really tried to get into some home projects (I painted my kitchen table black and it looks amazing!!!) Now we are at the whole point of my blog post today, in the last three weeks I have seen the hand of the Lord everywhere I look. It started with my drive home from Utah (yes I visited but I didn't go see anyone except family so don't be mad) I was driving through Cedar City in some of the worst snow I have ever seen, two cars were flipped over in the median, it was bad. I was starting to get a bit stressed out and I kid you not within a 5 minute period (I was driving by myself) and all three of my kids fell asleep. Ok if you have kids you know this NEVER happens! I got through it unscathed, it took about 1 hour and 20 mins to get through it all and than once it all started to clear up be be safe again on the roads they all woke up about the same time. I was amazed and truly felt the hand of the Lord. The next thing; I put an ad out to find someone who wanted to trade babysitting for free rent and stuff. I got a huge response of people who wanted to be paid but I just couldn't afford it so it wasn't an option. About a week after we got back a girl named Celeste replied and she is so wonderful and going to move in next weekend. Now I can finish the few months I have left of cosmetology school and know that my babies are going to be okay. So this young girl ties into another blessing. We are really looking into Foster parenting for our next 1-2 kids. We want a child under 2 or 3 and preferably a girl ;) Well Celeste's mom wanted to meet us both so on Saturday they came over and it turns out she used to be a case worker and is a foster parent herself. We spent almost the whole time talking about is and she gave us so much information. It was truly invaluable because if nothing else it just confirmed to both of us without a doubt this is the road we are meant to take. The last thing as of today...we have not like our ward in the least bit, it is a huge struggle every week to actually make the decision to go. We went yesterday and for one Blake was actually manageable during sacrament meeting and we decided to take him into nursery he is only a month out of being in there so we took him in, HE LOVED IT and was so good! Dan said when he picked him up he didn't want to leave LOL! I also for the first time since being in there had about 3 women who came up and talked to me and were so sweet. When running this morning I even ran past one of the girls and we stopped and talked for a second. I am just feeling overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for still loving me and giving me another shot. I am usually such a happy optimistic person but the last three years has just beaten me down. I feel like that Lord is truly next to me right now trying to help me stand back up. I am so grateful for the Lord and for my religion. I know I have come out of this a better person overall. I have learned some great lessons and at the ripe old age of 28, I feel like I have aged a bit.

3 months and counting

2011-03-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

So we have survived 3 months, well almost. I am starting to get a little bit more comfortable and the dark gloom cloud that has been following me is starting to lift. We have been doing so much, some is not blog appropriate but I have started a journal just for this reason. Someday my kiddos are going to need to know what is out there LOL. Shane is doing really great in 1st grade here. He is really fitting in at school which is a huge bonus. He reads everything and quizzes me constantly on math, I am just lucky it is mainly add and subtract and really simple times tables, I am soon going to be outsmarted! Brock loves his new preschool. It is where he belongs, we have full day Kindergarten next year and I am a bit nervous about it but I am sure he will be fine. I was going to hold him back a year (mainly cause he is such a little person) but he begs and begs. He is so tired of being home and he is a smart little stinker!!! Blake is Blake. He loves any and all attention. He is figuring out life so fast. He is starting to mesh in with the boys a bit more and there aren't as many fights between him and Brock. I took him into the insta-care the other night because he had another bout of croup and the Dr. told me that for him to have it so often is really abnormal and that there might be something going on in his throat so we will be checking that out. He did weird breathing things are a baby and we have done some treatment for his issues with our last Dr. but we never looked at his throat only his lungs. Two more weeks until insurance kicks in yayay!!!

I am FINALLY going to be finishing school. We found a great girl who wants to move in and and for free rent and food ect. she will watch the kiddos for free!!! She just wanted to make sure we weren't going to make her pay, I laughed a little I will admit. We will be paying her per month also, she will be watching them full time, I think it is only fair to not take total advantage of this young and very naive girl. I should be starting on April 5th, then I will be dropping off the radar until it is DONE. I am so so excited!!!

I am also planning the Christensen family reunion which before hand sounded like such a great fun project to cheer poor pitiful me with nothing to do, now I am a bit nervous because I have never done this before and I will be doing it on top of going to school. It will be super fun though, I am pretty excited :)

Dan is still really loving his job, he has had a bit of an adjustment getting used to the swing of a job but he is doing really awesome. He gets commissions and he is rocking it!!! I love this job LOL. We might actually be able to buy a home some time this century! Imagine that...

Well that is about it. I am focusing on pulling myself out of the dark hole I have been hiding out in and being happy! My kids have been such a huge help, I am so grateful to be a mom. I know they are such a sacrifice but they are twice the blessing.

Our first month in Arizona

2011-01-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

So we made it to Arizona!! We are renting a great little house that we are loving. It is so nice to not be in an apartment anymore! We feel so private now LOL. Dan has loved his job. It is a perfect match for him and we are so grateful!! He deserves to have some good experiences. Shane is my shining little star lately. He is such a trooper with all we have put him through. He always starts a new school and fits right in and just never thinks twice about it. His new teacher says that he already has a lot of friends and is doing great there, I really admire his ability to just be put in any situation and make friends! What a blessing that is for him to have. Now that we are in a more relaxed school environment he is not behind in class anymore, he is exactly where he should be. His reading levels are right up to speed and everything which I am not sure that is a relief or just a worry over how much less is required of the students, they are pretty comparable here to Utah so I figure he would have gotten the same education there too so we are good. Brock has had a lot harder time adjusting but is doing pretty good. He is okay with his new preschool but really misses his old one. He has been a bit of stinker at home, he is really struggling with sharing, especially with Blake but we are getting there. He is starting to pick up on reading and loves to write and draw. Art is this guys little thing. He loves to make tape creations and we have tape on almost every possible place. He is a bit of a needy guy right now and I usually need to take a Brock time out in the afternoon because he wears me out!!! Blake is grumpy little ray of sunshine. He is so sweet than snap he is a ornery grumpy little man. He makes my days happy and just loves being with me. He is usually a good little side kick but at 15 months he is starting to get more and more opinionated on what he wants to do and think so it will come to an end just like it has with all my other kids. It makes me a bit sad, I have enjoyed him being little so much. I am adjusting. Dans' Aunt Elaine has been such a sweet lifesaver. I have spent a bunch of time with her and loved every minute of it. She loves and dotes over my kids just like Liz would have if she were here. It makes my heart so happy to see it! She makes us dinner randomly and just wants to be a help anywhere she can. My dad is here too and I LOVE it! It is so fun to be close to him and have that connection that I missed so much. My boys adore him and love going to his house. It is so fun!!! It is hard to adjust to a new society that does things very differently but I am getting used to it and slowly adapting. I love having so much space in our house, it is such a relief. I am looking to start school again the end of March, it is only going to be part time so it will take me next to forever to be done but there isn't much of a choice for us so oh well. I cannot wait to be done and be licensed! I really LOVE doing hair. It is my new passion. I think it is one of the best decisions I have made with my life. Any who that is really all that is going on. Our lives are so busy with homework and cleaning and all that stuff that days blow past.

Official enough to post about

2010-12-03T07:56:00.001-08:00

We have a truck booked and a house ALMOST secured and a job offer.....all in Phoenix, AZ. We both have very mixed feelings about Arizona, we have really loved Texas. The thought of moving again gives me a stomach ache but you do what you have to do. We might have set some sort of record; moved 4 times and lived in three states all in one year. Dan goes out next week to iron out all the details but he starts on Jan. 2nd. He is very relieved, we both are really. I have had so much fun with him home though. I am going to miss him a lot in just our day to day living. We have spent the last 4 months together almost constantly and there have been definite times where we were really sick of each other but for the most part we have drawn so much closer and really gotten to know each other just that much more. I am so grateful I married him and love him so much. The kids have had him home all the time for quite a while and it will be a huge adjustment for them to have him back at work. It is looking like we are sliding into home base with barely anything left to our name so it seems like the right time for us to get a job. I guess just be grateful for all we have and that we have survived two full years of unemployment. We have been very blessed, if you would have told me three years ago that this would have been our outcome I would have never believed you! We have been through so much, we have shed so many tears and had so much fear and anxiety. We have ignored birthdays (yes even the kids') because we didn't have any money, even for a cake but we held our heads high and did the best we could. I would never wish it on anybody and I don't know how much I really learned from all of this, but I feel worn. I am tired and just want a break but I don't know if that ever really happens in life. So here's to a new start and a new year!

2010-12-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

I traded a friend and got some pictures done! We didn't really need family ones but I thought it would be nice for people to see a new picture on our christmas card! I mainly wanted new one's of Blake since he grew so much sinse our last ones were done! Here they are:)

what were they thinking?

2010-12-03T07:33:00.001-08:00

Halloween fun and other things like that

2010-12-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

I am posting pictures from our quick trip to Arizona. We went down because my Uncle Mark passed away. We went out to dinner with the Campbell's, it was fun being all together.

We went over to Tiff's house for Halloween and had a fun dinner than went trick-or-treating. Brock was a bit timid again this year but was willing to put himself out there to get candy. It is so warm here that people sit out on their sidewalks and greet the trick-or-treaters. My kids didn't know what to think about this at first. It was pretty funny. We went to a cute little pumpkin patch and the kiddos had a blast. Blake was a bit grumpy and I thought it was hilarious so I took a bunch of pictures of his little grumpy face!!

BLAKE!!!

2010-12-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

My baby is 1!!!!! Ok as of today he is like 13 months but I thought I would finally post about my little man! I want to start out with items and things he loves. First and most important is his blankie. I need to get a picture of him and the blanket because it is most treasured item, it goes everywhere with us! He loves his sippy cup and Blue's Clue's. We watch lots and lots of Blue's Clue's, it calms him down so super fast!! It will get me a good 10-15 mins which is just precious time LOL. He loves playing with his brothers and especially loves Shane. He gets so excited when Shane comes home from school. He loves to growl like a lion. You show him a picture of a lion and he will growl for you, I love it! He is a big rough houser, the rougher you play with him the more he loves it. His favorite foods are apples, graham crackers and spaghetti. His hates are being in his car seat and in general having to sit somewhere and be quiet. He learned to walk this month which for one of my babies is unheard of! I love love love when they first start walking. Just too sweet! We celebrated his birthday but he was so tired that he was shaking and didn't really want to eat the cake. I keep wanting to do a repeat but I haven't! He is growing up so fast. I love what a sweet little mama's boy he is. I think that is the good thing about having boys, they are all very attached to their mommy and I LOVE it! Here are a few pictures of my little bman!

Shane's Birthday

2010-12-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

My nephew and Shane were born exactly two weeks apart so we decided to have a joint birthday party! It ended up being so much fun! Here are the pics.... Oh yeah, did I mention he got a second birthday too?

Ooops

2010-12-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

I need to start way back to Brock's Birthday, I never blogged it! Poor kid! I am trying to remember most of the details, I mainly remember that when I asked who he wanted to come to his birthday he said, Nik and Kade. I would say ok, who else? He would respond Mitchell and Connor; these are all his cousins and my sister was at our house with her kiddos so we decided to have a bbq with all of our family. Brock was honestly in absolute heaven. He came up to me and said, "Mom, I love me". I laughed but it also melted my heart, I really think he meant that he loved that this day was just about him but I love how he put it! He picked out his own outfit which just about killed me but I let it go, he looks goofy but it is what he wants to wear so whatever! I will post pics :)

2010-09-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

A few pics of our new apartment

Our new Kitty Sugar Pie, she is a feisty little stink

First day of preschool
Shane pretending to read for picture to take to class LOL

First day of school!

Our lives In Texas :)

2010-09-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Where to begin???? I will start off with the kids! Shane is adjusting really well to school despite the early schedule. We wake up at 6:15 and have to be ready and out the door no later than 7:40. Being late is NOT an option, they make that very clear in all the letters sent home, you are late too many times and you get jail time, that's right JAIL time. Obviously that is pretty extensive but even if you are 1 minute late your child has to go into the office and sign into their computer in there than go to class. Shane was late most of last year and nothing happened LOL, he just ran into class a little late no problem, so this has been a huge adjustment. He loves being in school all day long even though it really tires him out. He is blowing me away with how much he is reading but here it is not nearly good enough. We had Shane's meeting for getting him assessed for speech therapy (he has been doing this since preschool) and talking to his teacher he is at a level 1 for reading and needs to be at a level 6. I googled this and level 6 is a 6th grade reading level. For Utah he is right on but here in Texas education is so much different and the kids are pushed a lot harder. His teacher is fantastic and we are getting him into reading groups and she is sending home books every night for us to read. Here is another crazy thing, NO HOMEWORK!!!!! In kindergarten we had about 30 mins. of homework every night!!! We have "suggested" activities that we always do but they aren't required and you don't turn them in or anything. He is really missing Utah and his cousins there. We will hopefully see them in a few months!!!

Brock is in preschool here which finding an affordable preschool was ridiculous, most places charge $200 plus per month, than his teacher ended up being in my ward and she is really fantastic. Brock loves it, maybe that is an understatement, he lives for it! His first day he kept asking me "mom I get to go by myself right?" "you leave right?" "you stay in the car and go home right?" After about a million times around with the questions we were finally there and I couldn't even walk him to the door, I had to stay in the car (I am the ONLY parent who doesn't walk their child to the door). He loves school and is doing the best in his class with learning letters and shapes ect. It is so funny to have such opposite kids! One who has struggled so much in that area and another right after who is really excelling in the academic area. Brock is jsut such a cute little stinker. He is very confident in himself and seems to really know what he wants and who he is. I didn't blog much about his birthday but he was so excited that he came up to me and said "mom, I like me" .

Blake is my little ray of sunshine that is learning to throw fits already. After that LONG LONG LONG trip to Texas he doesn't want to even consider being in his carseat, he cries almost everywhere we go now. Super fun..... He took his first steps the other night and we were of coarse thrilled!!! He has one of those push toys and he was walking with it today and so excited with himself. He is such a sweet little thing but is definitely going to be stubborn just like the rest of them LOL. He fights getting his diaper changed the most which makes changing poopy diapers exciting to say the least. He says mama, dada, and night night. He has 7 teeth with one more on the verge of popping through any day. The boy really just lights up a special spot in my heart!

Dan is having some great success here in Texas with employment. When things get more settled than I will tell more I will just say that we know we made the right decision and things are really starting to go our way. We have felt this way before than everything falls through but things are really lining up in our favor. That is all I am going to say for now, we are just excited!!!! It is so wonderful to have him home most of the time and to really be enjoying each other and being together as a family. The kids are really taking it for granted, when he isn't around they are so mystified about where dad would be other than home LOL!

I am doing well. I am adjusting and so far really enjoying the people most of all. They are so openly kind and personable. Our ward is amazing. I am enjoying it more than any other ward I have been in. People are so excited to have us and are genuinely wanted to be friends. I have set up play dates and carpools already! I really love it! I have made a list of things about Texas that have really surprised me!
1.the speed limits here are 40 pretty much everywhere, I feel like I am constantly speeding!!!
2.the meat here is so fresh especially beef
3.There are literally donut shops everywhere. I haven't yet been to one but they have to be pretty good if they are all over right?
4.The Texans have a lot of Texan pride, it is serious!!!
5.I LOVE all the different churches all over. It got a but annoying to see how many mormon churches were on every corner
6.the diversity here is amazing. So many blacks, Indians (from India), asian ect. I love that my kids are going to school with all of these different types of people.
7.gas is CHEAP!!!
That is really the most of it! I do feel homesick nut having my sister close has been so much fun. We hang out so much, it is weird still but so much fun!!!

This is all for now! I will post pics!

Bye Utah and hello Texas!!!

2010-09-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in SO long!! There has been so much has happened so I am going rattle on mainly for my own purpose! I need to post pics and I will soon but not today:). We started packing than realized that it was going too fast so we moved up our move date by a week. I spent a week just sitting around pretty much because I had done too much too soon LOL. We finally got everything loaded up and went out in total white trash style! I guess we just couldn't go any other way or it wouldn't be us. We stayed at Mara's the last night which was so much fun! She made us heavenly pumpkin pancakes with buttermilk syrup and sent us off with lots of tears. I miss them all so much already and it has been a week. Our trip down took us 4 days, the first day was pretty uneventful just long and tiring. The fasted we could go was about 65, which we didn't hit very much. The second day was REALLY long and 30 miles out of Amarillo the moving truck blew it's water pump. The engine was blowing smoke and Dan was super stressed that he had blown the motor. It ended ok though, Dan spent the next day changing the water pump and replacing some hoses while the kiddos and I hung out at the hotel. The last day we drove into Allen, TX to my sisters house. She had gotten tickets for us all to go to a baseball game so we cleaned out the car a bit and went to the game. It was such a blast and a nice little break from constantly going and going. The boys LOVED it!!!! We started moving into our apartment on Saturday morning. So that is the trip in a quick little nutshell. The boys were AMAZING and I felt so lucky!! Through all of this they have been such troopers. I have worked super hard to have the apartment set up and everything put away so they feel comfortable, I am almost there thanks to Tiff's help! She has been so much fun to have around, I have loved it!!!! Well that is all for now. My next post will be about Shane and his adventures in first grade!!!

Seattle

2010-07-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

For the last month life has been BUSY!!! My sister decided to come out for round-up days with her kiddos and stay with us a bit longer than she had originally planned. We had so much fun together, the kids got along really well, we did a few things to get ready for her wedding and just hung out, it was a blast! She took off for Seattle a few days before we did, but we got there the Saturday before the wedding. Saturday was Tiff's bridal shower which was a bit awkward for me because I didn't know anyone there really but everyone was super nice. Than we went out for her bachelorette party, wow I am just a young body carrying around an old person because I was the youngest one there and the first one to poop out and want to go home LOL. The next day Tiff and Lance took us out in their boat, that was a blast!!! All the days are a jumble but the highlight was the wedding day. Tiff looked so beautiful and so happy. The wedding turned out amazing! It was my first conventional wedding and I loved it, it was very romantic. I got to give a toast which a messed up and just kept repeating myself over and over, I forgot my paper I had written everything down on but I though, no big deal I can wing it....or not. The dancing was super fun, Dan even got out there and was so much fun!!! We went home the next day and man, I don't remember the last time I was that tired from no sleep, and I have just had a baby I think that says something LOL. They are now on their honeymoon until this next saturday, I miss Tiff so much, it is killing me to not call her!

I am trying to potty train Brock at nights now, he is doing ok, it has been about a week and he has peed every night but the weird thing is is that he just sleeps in it, he doesn't wake up. Last night was the first night I woke him up and took him potty, he is still asleep so I am dying to see if this works!!!

Blake is growing like a little weed! He is crawling everywhere, he especially likes to end up at my feet and cry. Loving that. So we set up his pac n' play so I can get something done while he is awake! He is proving to be very stubborn, my inside are dreading this, I was really hoping he would just be sweet and easy going his whole life. Guess not one of my kids, that would be way too easy!

So it is official, we are moving to Texas. We pull out of here August 29th. We are very excited and nervous! This will probably be my last post until we are out there. We are going to have a big going away party so catch up with me on facebook to know when!!! Everyone is invited and it is going to be a blast! That is all, wish us luck!!!

Out with the old and in with the new

2010-06-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a long hard decision, but we finally broke down and bought a minivan. I have loved my CRV so much and it had been such a great car to us that I just didn't want to give it up. So bye my wonderful CRV, I hope we can find you a new home that will be good to you!

I am loving my new van, We got an '02 Honda Odyssey. It has everything we wanted, the kids LOVE it! The DVD player is a huge hit, they think it is the coolest thing ever LOL!

8 years

2010-06-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 8 year anniversary! I cannot believe that it has been 8 years now. We have definitely had our ups and downs with life but we have always been happy together. I feel blessed to have married Dan. I truly feel he is my soul mate. To celebrate we went on a motorcycle trip down to the Grand Canyon with our good friends Jeff and Autumn Hatch. They were a blast, Jeff serenaded us almost every morning in his "special voice" it was hilarious!

Wow has time flown!!!

2010-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

So I have been a huge slacker and just super busy and have not updated forever! So much has happened I am struggling to even know where to begin. I will start off with Shane graduating from Kindergarten. If I can figure out how to post a video I will of his dance festival. It was so cute and absolutely melted my heart!!! They grade him on a scale from 1 (being the lowest) to 4, he ot 4 3's and the rest 4's! I was so proud of him! He worked so hard and even got better grades than I did in Kindergarten LOL! He loves being off for the summer and we are keeping super busy!

Shane is such a n awesome big brother one night he really wanted to read Blake his stories and feed him his bottle it was so sweet so I had to post the pics, I love them so much!

Our next adventure was to Disneyland, this was probably the best vacation we have ever taken. The kids were amazing and had so much fun. Blake was so awesome and went on all the rides with us with out even a peep. He is such a great little guy! Shane's favorite part was the Star Wars Jedi training and he got to fight Darth Vador, I got this one on video too, I should have taken some pics in there! Out of all the rides they loved the stinkin' merry-go-round I was so annoyed! They make me so sick and we could those ANYWHERE! We were at Disneyland and they kept begging to go on it, we let them go on it twice than drew the line! It was such a fun experience!

We loved going to the beach and hanging out. Shane was so brave and really got into the water a ton. It was really a blast. Brock was pretty afraid of the water so he would build sand castles way too close to the water than get so angry when the waves would come in and wash it away. I have a cute picture of him trying to stand between the castle and the water trying to save the castle, it was pretty cute! Dan got out there and helped them find sand crabs, Brock loved them but SHane acted like he was being so tortured every time said to come over because he had found another one! It was pretty funny! We stayed with some good friends and loved every minute of it. THey are such awesome people! We have awesome friends!!!

Asthma and Gallbladder

2010-05-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

So I realized I don't have any pictures yet but I am going to get on the ball! We never really have medical issues we have just been very blessed that way, but the last two weeks have had a few surprises for us lately! It started off with Blake when he was born having a few breathing issues and all the doctors telling me he was fine and to not worry about it. We used to make fun of the poor little guy because he is very round and a bit pinkish and was always breathing really heavy, so he was our little piggy! (poor kid) Well at his 6 month check up I asked the doctor about it again and he took a better listen to his chest and agreed that is really sounded like asthma. We did a breathing treatment in the office but the doctor didn't notice any difference in him so he sent us home with a nebulizer and we have been giving him the treatments three times a day for two weeks. We go in on Tuesday for another evaluation. In the meantime, getting a very active and curious 6 month old baby to keep a mask on his face for 20 mins at a time has proved to be quite the challenge, until we discovered his love for Blue's Clue's. None of my other kids have liked the show and I just decided to put in on our Netflix and turned it on for Blake and he was mesmerized! I am probably doing some sort of damage having him watch so much tv during the day but I thought the huge screaming fits with us holding him down every day might be just as damaging! He sounds so much better, there is still a chance it is something else besides asthma but I am betting it is.

Onto the gall bladder, I started getting regular stomach aches about two months ago, I thought I was just getting a little flu virus or something. Finally Dan started suggesting other things that it could be, my gall bladder being number 1. I let that float around for another month before I had a weekend so bad that it took me out for three full days I was in so much pain, I finally agreed to go to a doctor. The doctor started pressing on spots on my stomach and he hit above my gall bladder and I almost cried it hurt so bad (I had no idea where my gall bladder was before this experience) It hurt for like three hours after, so if you think you have something going on with your gall bladder don't push on it!!!! I went in for an ultra sound and sure enough, stones were floating around in there. They did the surgery this last Tuesday which was a weird experience, never been put under before. Dan got a kick out of it because I couldn't stay awake at all. I was pretty bad for the rest of the day, I fell asleep while eating at one point. It is Sunday and I am still pretty soar, I am nervous about going back to school but there is a lot of things I can do that I can sit through. If it is too much I might just go half days. The most fun of it all is Blake got a flu on Wednesday, Brock on Thursday, Shane on Friday and Dan on Saturday...I am scared do you see a pattern, I do.....I don't want to get the flu on top of this!!!! I am feeling fine so far but Dan is not so great with the puking and all that so I got to handle most of it. We will see I guess, only time can tell.

This next part I want to put in just for my purposes so read if you want ;) On Wednesday Brock came into bed with me and was so sweet, one of those moments that you wouldn't trade anything in the world for. He was "combing" my hair and feeding me and kissing me telling me how much he loved me, dang that boy is such a lover! He really melts my heart! When Shane got the flu on Friday night he was upset and said, "mom I just need Jesus, tell daddy to say I prayer so that Jesus will come make me feel better" I love that he is starting to get that we can pray to have our heavenly father in our lives and that Dan has a special power to give him a blessing. I love being a mother so much. It has been something that I have struggled in and had a hard time adjusting to but it has changed me and molded me and made me so grateful. These little people are so amazing. I love seeing how the are truly turning into their own little people and paving their paths. They are really the lights in my life.

Family Pics!

2010-04-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

My cousin Dayna rocks and took our family pictures. I am so in love with them. They put a smile on my face whenever I look at them. Shane pulled some pretty goofy faces though :(

Times of our lives

2010-04-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

I'll give a little intro on the pictures! Shane's new favorite outfit, running shoes, a white t-shirt and gym shorts. He is wearing it almost every day! All of the cracked eggs are from.....Brock! Who would have guessed, I mean really? The rest are pretty much self explanatory!

Not much new to report but we had a pretty fun, low key Easter. The boys had a blast, there was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, we measured it and it was just over 2 inches, so the East Bunny had to hide the eggs in the house. They were pretty cute. The night before I made a turkey dinner than the night of we went to John and Mara's and had out traditional lamb dinner. Unfortunately I think the lamb tastes like feet but Dan loves it ;)

I am on my Spring Break and am loving it!!!! I had signed up for Disney Land's, give a day of service (we made blankets) get a day at Disney Land and we were supposed to go this weekend to Disney Land with our free tickets but Dan got invited to test with a fire department out in Mesquite, TX, so me and the kiddos are on our own! I haven't quite decided what the kids and I are going to do, I promised Shane we would have a silly string party but other than that I am at a loss. Shane wants to decorate the house really cool for when Dan comes home so I might do that. It just feels so good to be home with my kids. I am really enjoying just relaxing and cleaning and playing.

We are pretty certain that we will eventually end up in Texas. All the classes Dan has been taking for fire are international and it turns out Texas is still a very family friendly state and they pay their fire fighter very well. The biggest bonus is that they NEED fire fighters, here they are a dime a dozen. The best part for me is that in Texas I only have to go to school for 1500 hours, that shaves off 500 hours :) Even if we don't get this job in Mesquite, it is really looking like around fall time we will both be employed and making money! The thought is so weird to me almost. It has been so long since we have had a paycheck and felt stable. I am giddy about it! I am excited Dan (despite my skepticism) pursued fire fighting, he is really loving it and having my husband do something that he loves and we are making money is the best you could ask for. It has been a long very hard road getting here but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and we can see hope in our future. The awesome part is Dan is getting all of his training free! Really can't beat that!

My goodness time flies!

2010-03-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

My baby is now 5 months old! It has gone so fast! I'll do a quick run down of my little man. Likes: FOOD, did I mention food? I have never seen a baby get so excited to eat! My hair, it seems to be the first thing he grabs. Brothers, he adores his brothers and they him, if you ask him where Shane is he turns his head to Shane and same with Brock. They are so sweet together! Blankies, he really likes to chew on his blankies and hold them close to his face. He has a favorite toy book that crinkles, he was in his highchair the other night and was screaming (another beloved pass time, it should be loads of fun having a screamer!) so I went and picked him up out of his chair thinking he was upset and he actually started crying! I was confused until I put him back in and gave him his book back, the screaming went on and he was happy! He dislikes tummy time. He gets awfully mad pretty fast! Being left in his bed any longer than the second he wakes up and that is really it! He is truly the sweetest, happiest baby ever. He is getting pretty good at sitting up by himself, probably another week and he will be there and when he is on his tummy he scoots pretty well, granted I think it is unintentional because he is mad but those chubby thighs have some power behind them! His eyes are staying a very crystal blue and I am so crazy in love with them! His hair is already going a bit darker so I doubt it will stay blonde. He is definately my baby, I love looking in the mirror with him next to me and I can see myself in him. Others have thought Shane looks like me but I have never seen it. He has Dan's thick hands and love for food! I need to figure out how to post videos because we have videoed this kid eating and it is really hilarious! My little Blake is such a fun blessing in our family. He brings us together with his sweet smile and the twinkle in his eye. It sounds so cheesy but there is something different that I see in his eyes even when he was brand new. There is a twinkle or a sparkle, I don't know how to describe it! We all enjoy him so much!

the adjustment

2010-03-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

I need an outlet and I try to keep my blog a bit superficial but here goes all my emotions running out so hold on! Dan and I have traded roles, he is at home with the kids and working (I think we are actually starting to make some money!!!) and I am in school full time. This is the base of my three week melt down! It hasn't even been a full three weeks yet, but the roller coaster started before, once the reality of me going back full time was official. I cry every night I rock Blake to sleep. I miss him so intensely that I don't even know how to begin to describe it. I hate every second I am away from my boys, I really feel lost without them. I don't know who I am anymore without them. I am mom, I have been mom for 6 and a half years and I am now in a setting where I feel so awkward and out of place that I am desperately trying to be myself but I just don't know who that is anymore. My life is homework and playing transformers and poop schedules. I can feel people getting annoyed with me because I think I try and mother them. I know it is not my place but I find myself doing it than when it is too late I catch what I did and it is too late to take it back. I want to just bury a hole in the ground and do my work by myself sometimes. The positive side is that I am honestly loving everything that I am doing. I finally feel like I have found my knack. I feel like I am doing really well and I almost like when I have messed up because an instructor will come over and show me what I did wrong and I start getting a whole understanding of hair and coloring and nails ect. I feel like the Lord has me here for a reason and I know without a doubt I am doing what is right, I am just struggling with the adjustment so much. Dan thinks I am pushing myself too hard but it is so important to me that I give everything I have at school so my time away from my little men is worth it. Dan has blown me away with what an amazing job he is doing. I am so truly grateful for him and the peace of mind it gives me knowing that he is with them. He tries so hard to have the house up to my standards, do the kids hair the way I want it to be done, work, play with Blake and give him tummy time ect.; I love him so much for trying so hard! He does a fantastic job. I love that after almost 8 years I still get excited to come home to see him and talk to him. What a blessing a good marriage is! Mr. Blake just woke up crying so I am going to go be mommy and hold my precious little man. Thanks for letting me vent! I try not to unload on Dan because he already has so much on his shoulders and I don't want him to feel guilty that I am struggling so much. We will adjust. It is only for 8 months, not for the rest of my life, I just have to remember that. I might have to give up my running. I think it is doing me in, especially with Blake still waking up a bunch at night! I hope not though, running has made me feel stronger as a person because it was a goal I didn't think I could achieve and I have. Good Night, I will post something a bit more cheerful next time!!!

Just a few more pics

2010-02-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

Rolling Along

2010-02-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

We are LOVING our new place. I was going to post pictures but than got embarrassed because it is just a rental, but it is a little piece of heaven for us. It has been hard to keep our attitude positive but things are starting to roll along for us. Not in the way we ever expected them to but when does life ever go the way you expect it to? Dan got some part time work that might turn into full time eventually and the marketing gig he has been doing in starting to bring in a little income also. We have got some big plans and ideas we just need time to research them and and get our personal financials more stable.
Blake is our little ray of sunshine. He is a very sweet baby. He is starting to bat at things and LOVES to grab handfuls of my hair. He is starting to giggle now also. His fat little face makes us all smile!!!
Brock is being a real stink lately! He is figuring out how to get what he wants by being a stinker so we are having to buckle down on him a bit which is hard because he really cracks us up.
Shane is doing really awesome. He very impressionable and I can really tell he is struggling with right and wrong. He is seeing kids at school act a certain way than comes home and tries it out on us, when it doesn't fly at home he gets angry and confused. Academically he is blowing us away! He has already met all of the requirements for Kindergarten and is moving into 1st grade stuff. I almost cried in front of his teacher I was so happy when she told me. I think it really goes to show that kids grow and develop at their own pace. As parents we really can be hard on ourselves because our kids should be doing this or that, but eventually they pretty much all catch up and turn out great.
I am up to running 4 miles and have just signed up for my first 5K. I am very excited! I am pushing to work on my times because I am running about an 11 minute mile. I wanted to do a relay race but the people were all running 5-6 minute miles and I am not sure they would want me to be on their team ;) Since I started running I have lost 8 pounds! I have 30 more to go by Tiff's wedding. Good luck to me!
My friend Brittany took these of my kids! She was so kind to do them for free, I love them and think she did so awesome!

3 months

2010-02-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

It has gone way too fast already!! I can't believe he is getting so big. We are doing just about the same. Desperately trying to find a job. We have had four interviews since January and nothing yet. We are waiting to hear about another one he had yesterday but we aren't holding our breath.

Trying not to be discouraged

2010-01-14T10:06:00.001-08:00

We didn't get the job, it was a big blow to us both. He was so overly qualified. We prayed and fasted and prayed and fasted, went to the temple, got blessings and nothing. It is really hard not to get angry, but I am trying. When is this whole charade gonna end? The end of this month marks a year. One full year without a paycheck. I do have to admit even thought we never knew how we always made our bills and paid rent. I hope that continues! We get to move tomorrow and I am not even half way ready. I am so discouraged that my motivation went right out the door with that job opportunity! I am sure it will happen sometime, I just hope it does before we end up living out of our car.

Pictures!

2010-01-12T08:28:00.001-08:00

I have been putting off family pictures for a really long time, and I have been really trying to get them done since Blake was born but we just haven't been able to do it financially so I entered into a contest to win a free session and I am crossing my fingers! Here is her link. She takes some super cute pics!

http://timeheldphotography.com

Crazy Times

2010-01-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

We are MOVING!!!! I am so excited to get out of this basement! It is such a cute little house and will give us so much more space. It is the same rent but we have to pay utilities so it will end up being a bit more each month. Packing with three kids, one being an infant is insanity. My house is mass chaos right now. Every way I turn I have about a million things to do. A bit overwhelming but I will get there! I cannot wait, one week from tomorrow and we will be moving there. I will take pics and post them!

Our christmas was fantastic, I completely forgot to takes pictures so I am fired, but we got it all on video (that was my b-day present from Dan). The boys obviously loved it all and had such an amazing day. Having kids around this time of year is really what makes it special again. I am so grateful for my little peanuts.

Updates on everyone, Shane is the same. He is a great older brother and a big help to me. He is my responsible one, his job is to keep Brock in check. The big problem is he doesn't always know that what Brock is doing is wrong. He is dying to grow up and be able to cook with me. I let him help as much as possible but he wants to cut with the big knives and microwave everything. It makes me nervous to say the least. I really couldn't get through a lot of days without him.

Brock, Brock, Brock. Where to start. That kid is keeping me on my toes and is very whitty. We caught him opening a present early and when Dan asked what he was doing he looked up and said (without missing a beat) "it opened itself". Unfortunatley Dan and I were very caught off guard and busted up laughing. Well now that is a common excuse around our house for EVERYTHING! The other day we had a friend come over who has a baby just 2 weeks younger than Blake. I took him out of his seat and was holding him when I gave him back Brock came up and said, "mom, can we keep our baby?" He thought it was Blake and that I was giving him to them. Pretty cute. Last but yet my standing favorite, yesterday I came into the living room and he had pulled all the stuffing out of my couch cushion. I came in and asked him why he did that and again without missing a beat he said, "so I can clean it up". He is a crack up but a distructor too. He is my little buddy and a tender heart!

My Blaker is a ray of sunshine! He is very happy and loves to smile and coo. I love when he wakes up! He is possibly the noisiest eater I have ever heard! His new thing is to scream when he gets excited. It is pretty cute now but in a few months I have a feeling it won't be LOL

Dan had a great interview this week that we are crossing our fingers we get. We should find out by Tuesday if not earlier. He is working with a friend who is doing his own company and it is going pretty well. Not nearly enough to support us but it has fantastic potential. He is really getting into fly fishing and knife making. His biggest excitement is to finally have a garage!

I am very excited to get back into school but since we are moving it got put off another month. I am starting to run, my new years resolution is to run a half marathon by fall. I do the slowest mile just about ever, I think a slug could beat me at this point but I am going everyday and I run the whole way so I am proud of myself. I didn't say I had to win the half marathon I just want to finish it!

Haha, we did splurge a good deal, Dan got some of his inheritance money and decided he wanted to do something fun with it since we are usung the rest to live on so we bought a 40" LCD flat screen tv. We brought it home and I just laughed so hard it looks GIGANTIC! It has been a lot of fun.

One Month Old

2009-12-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has gone by so FAST! Shane and Brock are very in love with him. Brock especially goes out of his way to be with Blake and I love it!!! Blake has been a pretty fussy baby but we are figuring him out and he is getting a little bit calmer.

No new news here really, Dan got some temp work and we will find out hopefully the end of this week or beginning of next if he gets it. It is very labor intensive work at a cheese factory, but a paycheck is a paycheck right now and there is opportunity for advancement.

I am hoping to get on with school the first of January but only time will tell if that is going to happen. I have to get Blake a little bit more stable before I leave Dan to weather all three boys on his own!

Shane is kicking butt is kindergarten and he really loves it. He is reading really well now and his writing and spelling is getting really good also. I love watching him learn so much and be excited about it. I worried so much over him but he has proved to be a champ!

Brock is dying to go to preschool too and if Dan gets this job he will. He is my little buddy at home but he is so bored! Helping mommy do laundry has lost it's cool. He is a good sport about it though. I keep telling him he can go to preschool when he stops sucking his thumb, cause I know that's not gonna happen!

Halloween

2009-11-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

The boys had such a blast this year. John and Brad, my BIL's set up a small trailor behind a 4 wheeler and pulled them behind it, they got a fireplace and camp chairs too, they areso spoiled!!!

Blake Bradly Christensen

2009-11-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

So I have been a huge slacker, but here is our sweet Blake's story. I got induced on Oct. 23rd at 7p.m. at night. I get the gown on and jump into the bed and the nurse comes in and asks me why I am there. I look at Dan quite confused and say sarcastically, cause I have a cold. She didn't think it was funny and said again no, why are you here. I am very confused at this point because isn't it obvious? I am in Labor and Delivery and very pregnant.....so I say to have a baby. Than she says why are you in here so early? Oh, now I understand that she wants to know why I am being induced at 38 weeks. So I explain and she seems satisfied, than she starts interrogating me about my cold, at this point I want to shoot the lady. So we start the pitocin and my doctor comes in around 9ish and breaks my water. I hadn't gotten the epidural yet and my Dr. suggested I ask for it soon. So I did right after he left which I am so glad I did because the contractions came like a freight train very soon after. By the time the guy came to give me the epidural I was in a lot of pain. After the epidural I was very relaxed and fell asleep. I woke up at about 12:15 to a lot of pressure, I was about to call the nurse (thank goodness they changed shifts and I got a different nurse) when she came in to check me. I was at a 9 so she started to get a few things ready when the pressure got a lot worse so I asked her to check me again (it had only been like 2 minutes since she checked me last) and sure enough I was a 10 and stage 2. She ran around getting everything ready than called the doctor. She had everything all ready so she suggested we do a practice push, I told her my last baby came out on the third push, so really fast, and she just said oh, well let's just see how you do. So I pushed and she was surprised at the progress and told me to wait a minute. She did a few more things than suggested I do another practice push, so I did and I almost pushed the baby out, he was crowning and she made me wait for the doctor to get there. WOW, that hurt is all I can say. It seemed like an eternity before the doctor got there and I could finally finish pushing him out. The nurse afterward said that next time if a nurse suggests that I push without the doctor being there tell her no. I thought that was funny. He was born at 1:04 on the 24th weighing 7lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches long. He blew us both away with his blonde hair and blue eyes. I am very much in love and very sleep deprived. The boys have been pretty darn great with him.

Shane's B-day and Pumpkins!

2009-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Shane turned 6 this year. It blew me away, when did he get so big? He had a lot of fun and Brock was just as excited as Shane was over his presents! It was quite the laugh! We carved pumpkins the next night and that was fun. Shane tried to do most of it himself but he isn't quite strong enough! He put in a good effort though! We got Brocks all cut out and he spent the rest of the night putting the peices back in. It was cute.

Funeral

2009-11-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

I am updating so late that I am going to be posting a million different posts today (hopefully I can get them all done!) I want to start out with Herb's funeral. It was great having family all together. The mortuary let us take his caket up to the burial site with a bobcat that Dan drove. It was pretty awesome! The service was so inspirational, he was such an amazing man, onery yes, but also very amazing.

Herbert Eugene

2009-09-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Dan's dad passed away while in Armenia on Friday the 11th. We got notified by the Armenian consulate on the 16th. He was in Armenia trying to find Liz's genealogy, what a brave hero at the age of 77 going to another country to strive and fulfill on of Liz's dreams that she could never accomplish. He died of a heart attack alone in his room. He was such a good generous man. He was the kind of man that was silent about his good deeds. He has touched many lives. We all have our time to go and I know he so desperately wanted to be reunited with Liz again, he missed her so much and felt very lost without her. What a great man who had so many accomplishments. We love you and will miss you so much! I will try no to be too sad for me and my kids because I know you are home now.

No new news

2009-09-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Shane started Kindergarten and really truly LOVES it! He is learning how to read and quite to my suprise, he is so excited every morning to sit down with me and read. He is being so patient with it which is very uncharacteristic of him. Brock tails along and pretends to read too, it is pretty cute! He is really picking up on his letters and sound though! Transformers is all we really hear around our house right now. Brock is especially into them! His favorite quote is "transform and roll out". He is always pretending to be Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime (Optimus Brock sometimes too) and a few other I am blanking out right now. I love watching there little imaginations at work it so so cute! We went to Walmart the other day and candy corn is just about my favorite thing in the world and I let Brock hold the bag while we went to the check out line, as he is holding it he looks up at me and says, this is my mission mom, to eat all the treats. I cracked up, it truly is his mission in life, I swear it!

I am still pregnant and very miserable, the picture is of me at 30 weeks. I have made the decision to try everything (nonharmful of course) I can once I hit 36 weeks to get this kid out!!! My belly is so huge and it REALLY hurts this time around. I have always gotten really big with my pregnancies but this one is off the charts! I am very excited to meet this little guy and have him in our family. We are pretty much ready for him, just waiting now!

Dan still has not found any work, besides construction, but we are at least getting interviews lately. We just got notified that his last one went to someone else which seems to be the normal song and tune of our life lately, but he has another one on Friday.

The first picture is od my little sis Hillary and Dan after I did tyheir glitter toes, yes Dan let me do his toes! The third one is of Shane who fell asleep with Dan head phones for shooting on his head. That kid cracks me up!!!

We never got to move, which I was very very very...........sad about. The old lady that lives upstairs bruised her leg.....it is healed now but they couldn't move because of it. Go figure. I have been kind of looking for other places but I keep thinking we need to just hang tight and see if we can actually get some sort of a miracle and find a job. Maybe I am being foolish, every opportunity that has knocked on our door the last year has not worked out. I am getting tired of hoping.

Finally Updating

2009-08-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

I have been kind of onery lately so I haven't updated. My last couple posts seemed pretty grouchy so I took a small time out. We are slowly getting ready for our new baby, that we had originally decided to name Luke but now it is very undecided, I think we have at least narrowed it down to Guage, Blake and Russell; we will call him Rusty for short.

The boys are both super excited for him to come. I think Shane will deal with the change really fantastic and be a great helper but Brock.......he LOVES being the baby right now so we shall see how it goes. He acts so very excited right now but that could change in a heart beat!

Shane starts kindergarten in 2 weeks and we are all very excited! He is getting a bit naughty and bored at home. School does wonderful things for that boy!

Brock is hopefully going to be starting preschool in about a month also, we are just waiting to see if he got accepted into the headstart program. The 4 year olds get priority so if there is space he will get in! I think that if he doesn"t we might just put him into an at-home preschool for two days a week or something.

I am doing great at cosmetology school and I am really loving it. I struggle a lot with coloring peoples hair, it is pretty easy to do it is just understanding what color to put where ect......not as easy as it looks! I am in heaven doing it all also. I never saw myself being that person but I am really loving it!

Dan is still looking for work. Things are looking bleak out there but we are surviving and he does work construction during the day so I guess something is better than nothing!

We are moving in two weeks to the upstairs apartment and I am SO super excited! Is has more space and TWO FULL BATHROOMS!!!!! You would never think, but an extra bathroom is more exciting to me than anything else in the whole place! The move should be pretty easy too since it is just upstairs.

Well that is about it! I am so ready and excited for this baby to come out I can't stand it. I have been getting the clothes out to see what we have and what we need and it is so fun! I can't believe how small they come out!

2009-06-15T10:02:00.001-07:00

This will be fast but we are having another boy! We are excited to welcome to our family Lukus Bradly Christensen

Crazy Life for Crazy People

2009-06-04T16:36:00.001-07:00

So we had some really good talks while we were on the cruise and made some good (I hope) decisions. The first decision we made was that Dan is going to go back to school for an Engineering degree.We were just going to head for another bachelor's but the counselor said it would be the same time wise to get a Masters, so he is shooting for that. His first class starts on the 25th, he has got to get a head start on math poor guy!!

Along with all of this we decided to send me to cosmetology school. I started it this week, so Dan now gets to play mommy which he is very good at and I go full time during the day to school. Dan is working night so it is hard feeling like we are just passing each other but we will get used to it. I am trying to get in absolutely as many hours as I can before the baby gets here cause that is when it is going to get hairy! I am going to trade to night school which is part time so I only have to leave the baby for 4 hours each night.

The boys are adjusting fine to all of this, Brock is a bit confused and when I come home he gets so excited and says he found me! I must just be lost in his little brain. Shane seems to not care one bit so i guess that is nice.

I find out a week from this Monday what we are having. I am excited. I cannot believe I am only 18 weeks right now, it seems (and looks unfortunately for me) like I should be a lot further along. I have had TONS of people comment on how big I am, am I SURE it's not twins, how scared I must be for the end.......people........SHUT UP! I know I am big, it is obvious, LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT IT!!! After a few comments on my size than they think about asking the nice questions like do you know what it is yet or when are you due. I am very ready to be done with this pregnancy. Maybe it is the hormones but I am so tired of it already. I think I am going to take the counter off here, it is just depressing . Shane loves it though. He asks all the time to see it. He is so excited for this baby. He is very sure it is a girl, his preschool teacher called me and offered her old baby girl clothes to me. I was a bit embarrassed to have to say I would love them...if I am having a girl. She was really shocked we didn't know what is was yet. My Shane. My camera won't work so I will have to post pics later! Sorry!

Cruisin' Fun!!!

2009-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

We got back about a week ago and the reality of life is in full force! The kids did really fantastic, much thanks to Brittany, and had tons of fun while we were gone! It was crazy expensive to call them so that was one of the hardest parts to not be able to hear there little voices. Brock's reaction when we got home was priceless! He seemed truly shocked to see us. I think he might have written us off and gone forever. I loved coming home to them. Shane is being really awesome and just wants lots of extra hugs and has dreams of us leaving him but Brock is determined to make me pay. He is throwing fits left and right and again is having a bunch of potty accidents. The poor guy just doesn't handle change well. It should be fun when the baby comes.

I will give a replay of our fabulous vacation. I think it was the best vacation ever! We dropped the kiddos off on Friday night and Brit and Josh made us an awesome bbq dinner and we put the kids to bed. They didn't really seem to care too much that we had left they just wanted to see the stars and moon on Diesel's ceiling. It was such a weird quiet ride home Saturday morning we got up at 5:00 a.m. and left to the airport. We had a layover in Atlanta than finally got into Miami at 4:30. My Dad and step Mom Pamela met us at the airport (we had to stay later at the airport cause one of our bags didn't make our flight despite the 3 hour layover) anyways the met us at the airport and took us to get Cuban food. Oh my goodness, I LOVE Cuban food! I was nervous cause I am not huge on trying new foods like that but it was really good! A bonus also that my husband and Pamela finally got to meet after 7 years. Thanks again guys for the awesome dinner and fun night!

So on Sunday we met a bus and went to the boat, we pretty much just hung out, unpacked, ate dinner than went up and watched the sunset. It was the best one that first night. So beautiful!!! Monday was one of our days at sea so we mainly just ate and read in the sun,We did get the luxury of witnessing an elderly gentleman with quite a large beer gut in a leopard print speedo. It was a mix between comical and totally disgusting. That night was our Formal night for dinner and that was really fun getting all dressed up. By Monday I started swelling pretty bad.

Tuesday we went to Grand Cayman where we went to sting ray city. That was tonz of fun. They swim all around you. I held one which was cool and I was too chicken to feed than but one leaped out of the water to get food from my SIL Kim, scared the crap out of me. One decided to go in between my BIL Jon's legs and almost knocked him over. It was such a cool experience! The next stop was snorkeling which wasn't really all that great we didn't see much! The last stop with the boat tour was to catch and see some pretty huge star fish. Dan jumped in and caught one but by that point I was feeling really sick so I just admired from the boat. After that we went to a very awesome beach and swam and ate lunch. It was a very beautiful beach!!!!

The next day we went to Roatan where we went to a Botanical garden and drug my poor FIL up a mountain saw some beautiful jungle and nasty spiders. It turns out we missed the gardens, we took a wrong turn! Than we went and got some tacos and the best ever hot wings! We snorkeled there which had some pretty fun snorkeling.

Thursday we went to Belize, we got tendered from the boat again so I took an anti-nausea pill which made me feel pretty lethargic and calm. We took the scariest van ride of my life to go cave tubing. We almost hit a bus and a tree in a two second time frame. The people drive insanely out there. We got to the place for the tubing to find out there is a 20-30 min hike to get to the entrance...so we drug my poor FIL up on another hike. He was such a good sport even though we all knew he didn't want to. So floating down a river through a cave was a really cool experience. It was calm and very peaceful. The scenery was breathtaking. After cave tubing we went zip-lining...they wouldn't let me go cause I was pregnant....I was crazy bummed but it seemed pretty cool!

Friday was out other day at sea so we repeated the day in the sun which almost all of us got fried this time and eating most of the day. That night we celebrated my FIL's 77th b-day. Brad kindly drug his projector and we all watched family pictures on a large screen. It was a lot of fun!

Saturday we went to Key West. This was my favorite day! We rented scooters for 3 hour and drove around to see Key West. We went to a restaurant that has won the best Cuban for 8 years in a row. It was amazing! I even out ate Dan, I was embarrassed but very quickly got over it! We went than to find some of the best every Key Lime Pie. I still drool thinking about it. Oh wait I almost forgot that being led by Jon and Mara we broke into a Marriott hotel pool and went swimming. It was really fun. We got some souvenirs for the boys and went back to the boat.

Sunday we came into Miami again and had quite the wait until our flight left out of Ft. Lauderdale so we decided to rent a room at the Hilton and swim. It kind of turned out to be a stressful day cause nothing seemed to work out and I was very over tired and got quite over emotional and ornery. A side of me I don't think any of Dan's family has ever seen so sorry guys! Sometime I just need to go to bed!!!

Well that pretty much sums up our vacation!

St George

2009-04-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

My SIL blessed her twins and they live down in St. George so the whole Christensen side of the family went down (well almost, we missed Lisa:( ) We had tons of fun and unfortunately I suck at taking pics so I got one activity that we did and that was pretty much it! The boys LOVED their time; Shane went through serious withdrawals when we got home from all the constant fun he had. Brock had quite a few potty adventures and let's just say he ended up in pull-ups after the first few hours of being there! I will save his dignity but it wasn't too much fun for anyone!

When we got there we went to a place called (shoot I don't remember) but anyways it was a lot of fun! Shane went through this really thin slot a bunch of times and loved it. Thank goodness for good cousins cause I was too freaked out to do it. It is a TIGHT squeeze and I was a little claustrophobic!

Than we went to the sand dunes and let the kids play and help Uncle Brad dig a huge hole aka bunker. The boys were all taking off their shirts so Shane did too, than Brock had to take off his shirt, than his pants and started to take off the undies when I convinced him not to streak the sand dunes!!!

After we had a great dinner at Mara's condo/hotel room. The next days was probably the best! Dave called us so went and saw him, Lei and the kiddos (man how they have grown just after a few month of being gone!) and we all tanked up to Mara's again and swam all day. Brad and Kim came a little late and Cami and Shawn came too with Miss Mia. It was a ton of fun!!! The kids crashed so hard that night!

The next day was the blessing, it was so sweet! Those babies are so cute! We had A HUGE Hawaiian dinner after that was absolutely amazing! Those Hawaiians sure now how to cook and eat! Thanks Cami and Shawn!

Zoo Fun

2009-04-28T15:56:00.001-07:00

So I was really bored and decided to take the kids to the zoo. Brock was in heaven. He was especialy excited to see the animals that were on Madagascar and so the zebras were Marty, ect. He was so funny, Shane on the other hand was dying to go play on the play ground and that was all I heard. Are we done yet...can I go play now.... it made the whole event loads of fun! Pictures coming soon...computer is freaking out!

Updates

2009-04-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am so bad at updating and namimg my blog topics! It was super depressing to add the baby count down, I am so ready (yes I know ALREADY?) to be done with pregnancy! I HATE being pregnant. It is like being on an emotional roller coaster that someone else gets to steer. Dan called and said he was going to be home a little later one night, I was picking Shane up from his friends house and embarassingly enough, I broke down into tears over it. I don't know why but I did. I am 9 weeks pregnant and am already really showing and it is just way too much fun to watch the reaction of people and see on their face how they are trying so hard to be nice. I don't know why I get so big and this round why I am getting so big so fast (yes it is only one) so naturally I am just terrified that by the end of this my stomache will just split wide open. I don't know how much further it will be able to be pushed! So here is my onery complaint about being pregnant! I know I should be more grateful for my experiences and getting this opportunity, maybe I will be once it is all over!

Shane is SUPER excited for the baby to come. He talks about it constantly which is really fun. He is very wishwashy about the gender, one day he is SURE it's gonna be a girl than the next day he is SURE it is going to be a boy. He picks out quite silly names for it all the time also. He excitement is very contagious!

We are still struggling with Brock and potty training. We put him back into pull-ups and it made things worse so we have gone back to underwear. I am a week away from just putting him back into diapers and saying screw it! I just don't want to take such a huge step back, it seems to be better to move forward but what do I know??? One more week is my goal, I hope we can meet it!

Dan is looking for work so if anyone knows of anything let us know!!! His business didn't line up the way it was suppossed to making it impossible to work. So he is working construction with a friend adn searching for jobs. I hate being in this situation AGAIN, but are trying our best so what can you do?

Well thanks for letting me ramble, I partly don't update this very much because my life seems to be pretty depressing. I have my first baby appointment next Tuesday so that will be something fun!!!

Baby!

2009-03-08T17:08:00.001-07:00

So baby #3 is on the way! We are pretty excited and crossing our fingers for a girl! Shane keeps saying it is going to be a girl and he wants to name her JoJo, I think this is after Mara's cat, who by the way is almost the most annoying cat in the world. Brock doesn't get it yet but he will soon enough! Brock really likes to be pampered so I think he will take it kind of hard. I know I have been such a slacker so I am trying to remember what has happened the last little bit.

We went to HAFB and it was such a blast! The boys loved it! Brock had a hard time understanding why he couldn't ride all of them and we had at least 4 fits over it, what do you do though, he's two.

Shane is doing really well in school. His preschool program has been so amazing for him! They are thinking he can go into regular kindergarten next year which was ideally our goal so YAY Shane! You have done so great! The kid is learning everything and super fast! He has the training wheels off of his bike and taught a friend how to ride without training wheels too; he ties his shoes, even double knotts them; he knows how to whistle; and he snaps his fingers. I feel slike he is learning all this stuff too soon but he probably isn't. He is turning 6 this year and I think I am freaking out a titch and trying to keep him little still, 6 seems like such a big number and I am not at all ready for it!

Brock has totally reverted on potty training and I have no idea what to do about it. He is pretty sick right now but I am pretty sure that yesterday he did not go potty once in the toilet. He has been pretty much perfect except for night time for two months now this. ANY advise would be greatly appreciated! He was having at least two or three accidents in his underwear so I officially moved him to pull-ups. I am feeling discouraged, I know why he is doing it but it is not going away (Istarted watching a 12 month old little boy named Blake full time) so I am pretty sure that is the core of the problem. Now I need a sollution! HELP!!!!!

2009-02-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

Life is an adventure and I am a slacker about my blog! The boys are doing so great. They are really learning how to play together without constantly wanting to kill each other which really eases stress off of me! Shane is a very social butterfly. I think he has more friends than me now! Everyday he is off playing or we have someone over here. I love it most of the time but sometimes I feel selfish and want him to be with me.

Brock is my bundle of joy and whatever you want to call it. He is pretty much potty trained excpet at nights and whenever he feels like not going in the potty. He had a huge pee accident today and he has such a whatever attitude about it and really doesn't mind being disciplined over it. I am at a huge loss as of how to fix our problem. Hopefully he will just grow out of it and won't be peeing his pants in kindergarten.

Dan and I have started the adventure of being self employed. Pray for us! We are nervous but very confident at the same time. We have been up and running two days and already have one job lined up, that has to be a good sign, right? We are counting our blessings everyday and trying to stay super positive. It is scary not knowing where next months rent is going to come from but I have faith in the Lord and my awesome hubby!

Pictures galore!

2008-11-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Oops

2008-11-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

So I am a slacker and have not updated my blog in a long time! So much has happened that I will just have to give a quick overview of it all!!! I will start with Halloween, it was so fun this year! We ended up spending it in Cali. and well poor Brock's costume was made for Utah weather. He was super hot and sweaty! Shane was Optimus Prime and LOVED to tramsform into a truck for everybody, it was super funny! Shane found that having to wait for us was such a pain, he wanted to just run to every house as fast as he could! Brock was a bear and a boy in a skeleton costume scared the life out of him and he spent the night in the stroller with his little paws covering his eyes. He couldn't be bribed to move them for most of the night. Near the end he started to relax and finally would walk up to the doors by himself. After about three houses he tripped on a small step and his nose broke his fall. Brock and I ended up rushing home to stop the blood. So it was eventful but fun!

Shane had his birthday while Dan was in Cali. Uncle Brad and Aunt Kim threw him a fiesta that Shane had so much fun at! He really loves all his cousins and family! I cannot believe he is 5 already! WHere did all that time go?

Let's see, Dan got a job here in Lehi at a company called DiVinci Doors as their GM and so far he really likes it. We are so grateful after all the turmoil we ended up with a good job because we are so aware that there are so many out there not as lucky as we were. We feel very blessed. On Dan's time off we did a lot of canning to pass the time. The poor guy was climbing the walls with boredom and we are both super excited to have things back to normal!

The absolute best news of all is that Brock is FREAKIN' FINALLY potty trained!!!! This has been the most frustrating experience of my life! We are not 100% perfect yet and night time is going to be a WHOLE different battle but at least we have started somewhere! I am feeling so relieved!

For right now I think that is about the main highlights! Shane is doing really well in school, they had a mock Thanksgiving Day meal at there preschool the I went to that was really cute. Shane was so excited to have me at school, he kept looking at me and blowing me kisses. What a sweet boy I have!

California

2008-10-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

So California was way fun! The kids loved the beach, especially Shane! There is one picture in there where Brock is completely stressing out because Shane is getting so close to the water. It was super funny. We saw a lot of Sea Lions that were really cute, Brock insisted that they were called donkey's. We hung out a lot and really enjoyed it! Here are a bunch of pics!

Tag your it!

2008-09-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Whitney and now I am suppossed to tell 6 randoms things about me.

1. I want to travel the world. I want to see everywhere and everything! I have even debated about doing it on a scooter, Dan and I are going to get matching ones and go!

2. I am nervous about new things. If I don't know where the post office is I will put it off becasue I am nervous to even go try and find it! I am a weirdo I know! I can just be a nervous nelly when I want to be.

3. I LOVE to snuggle with my kids in bed until 10:00 in the morning and watch movies.

4. I am obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera; the movie, the sound track, you name it, I love it! I would give anything to see it on stage!

5. I love brownies for breakfast.

6. I will put off just about anything to read a good book, my poor kids and hubby. You don't want to see my house when I get like this!

Ok, I tag Shawna, Jocie and Amanda!

Experiences

2008-09-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

So last night we are at Walmart and thought it would be fun to get the boys a little fish bowl. We got two little fish to go inside. They wanted to name them Shane and Brock so we did. They thought it was so cool! Well our fishie Brock died over night and than fishie Shane died while our Shane was at school. So now we have two dead fish that are "sleeping" so Brock will quit begging to feed them, Shane begged us not to throw them away or flush them down the toilet so they are floating in the bowl still! We will try again, I am hoping we can exchange them!

Brock has now developed a fear of not bedtime monsters but spiders. He will come crying into our room and say, "I'm scared me "piders"" He is so cute! Anywho, so we are trying to figure out why he is so scared! He got bit by a wasp the other day and kept calling it a "pider" but it was outside, not in his bed! The result is I have a very tired boy who doesn't want to sleep in his bed.

Shane was taught how to flip the bird today. Don't know where but I am guessing it was at school. He came up to me all excited and said, mom watch this! I was thrilled. It is just the beginning of all the fun stuff he is going to be learning! The other day he also came home telling me about how he showed off his pee-pee because it was bigger to the neighbor girls. Little boys!!! We had to talk about that and apologise to the neighbors! Funny, but not so good. He is growing up so fast! A little stinker sometimes but is usually a little ray of sunshine to our family. School is really fitting him perfectly! As long as we keep up on his sleep he is so much fun! He really has a zest for life and always makes me smile or laugh (ok, sometimes cringe) and I love him for it!

4 Wheeling!

2008-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mara and John who let us borrow their 4 wheeler, we went 4 Wheeling a.k.a. 4 leeler yesterday. One last fun day before daddy went out of town again and it gets too cold:( The boys had a blast! We went up AF canyon and found a trail that got us all the way to the top of Brighton! I was amazing! Our little guys were really tough, we drove 48 miles in about 3 hours. At one stop Brock didn't want to get off and layed down and almost took a nap on the back, there is a pic that you can just see his feet dangling over the side! Shane was devastated when we had to give the 4 wheeler back. Being the mountains is one our favorite activities!

Outside Fun

2008-09-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

Life has just been rolling along, not much excitment! Shane is finally getting to the age where he is saying really funny things, we were at the grocery store waiting for our ice cream cones and this elderly gentleman was talking to Dan and the guy had a long white beard and a tummy, so you probably guessed it, Shane gets all excited and says to me, "Look mom it's Santa Clause" The next one that cracked me up, we were driving and there was a big Dodge broken down in the middle of a lane with it's hood up and Shane who LOVES Transformers says, "Uh-oh, it's transformer isn't working" any deisels that pass us are also transformers. The last one was when I was explaining to Shane about aunt Cami having twins in her belly and he looked a little grossed out and asked, "Did she eat them?" I love watching how his little mind works!

Brockie is learning everything at lightning speed! He loves anything that has wheels on it also. He is such a little stud driving around our little 4-wheeler. He is really stinking good for a 26 month old! He likes to copy everything Shane says and it is kind of funny because he doesn't know the context to use it yet.

Shane is loving school and is super excited everyday to go. We are already seeing a huge change in him! Brock loves being at home with just mom. I really enjoy that time also. It is so fun to just have time for me and Brock!

Growing, Growing

2008-09-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

Time is absolutely flying! I am posting just a few fun and cute pictures! Shane is trying to learn how to ride a two wheeler and Brock tried potty training for a few days and decided it wasn't for him! We will have to try again later:(

School

2008-08-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Okay so it is only preschool, but it was a huge deal to me!!! Shane gets to ride the bus which is a HUGE deal to him and Brock is very mad that he cannot have a turn too!

Giving it a try!

2008-08-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

So Dan it out of town and I am alone so I decided to try setting up a blog! The boys are being stinkers and this is my escape hehehe, I guess it could be worse! I am actually really excited to do this! I have loved looking at everyone else's.