{TOP 5} Tuesday...Kallie Ann

Since it is Kallie's birthday on Saturday my 'TOP 5' list for today are my 'TOP 5' pictures of Kallie from the last year! Oh how I love that girl!

#5- This one because it's summer...
#4 This one for Locks of Love...
#3- This one because it made me laugh (notice the one squinty eye)...

#2- This one because she LOVES water...

#1- This one because she is beautiful...
Truthfully, it was kind of hard to find 5 pictures of Kallie all by herself. Hopefully my blogger self will repent and change her ways and have TONS to pick from next year.

Stay tuned next week for the 'TOP 5' pictures of Dan from the last year (we love May birthdays at our house)!!!

Let's Party!

On Friday we had a 'Pizza Pajama Party' for Kallie and her friends. That girl is going to have a few too many celebrations this year, I guess that's what happens when you turn 8!

The guest of honor...

The decor...

The candy bar game (can you say HYPER) I made them go take 10 laps around the back yard...

The candy everyone wanted...

The b-day cakes they decorated themselves (can ya tell?)...

The whole crazy crew...

The presents (a barbie head & school lunch trays what could be better- thanks!)...

The grand finale sleepover (we're sooooo glad Maci stayed)...

One party done, more to come! Can I survive???

Spring Concert

Sydney's preschool class performed last night at their 'Spring Concert'. So Cute!

While I was combing Syd's hair I said, "Syd, you look so pretty." She said, "Yeah but I have to wear a dumb flower hat on my head." I asked her why it was dumb and she said it was embarrassing (she sounds like a teenager). So please notice in the pictures that Sydney is the only little girl without a flower on her head =)

Syd squishing up her baby bumble bee...

Eeww...it's sticky!Piggy back ride.
You can tell it's a good dress when it twirls!!!

do ya remember?

When you were best friends and worst enemies all in the same 5 minutes!

SYD & LIV **best friends**

love to see the temple

Can you say last minute!

Stake temple day...can we swing it???

Overnight...SURE!

When...45 minutes, yep I'll be ready!

Hooray for a girls temple trip!

Late night fries & ice cream at IHOP- points don't count on GNO!

Good girl Jeni- fruit instead of ice cream you're our hero!

Beauty all around!


No I'm not drunk, the temple is not falling over, just messing with my camera!

I LOVE these girls!

Do you guys want to go again tomorrow!

{TOP 5} Houses we've lived in!

Here's a trip down memory lane (for me at least). The 'TOP 5' list for today are the 'TOP 5' houses Dan and I have lived in since we've been married. We've actually lived in 6, but I left our Hailey rental out because we weren't there very long.

#5- Our very first, yucky, dark basement apartment in Provo that we thought was totally wonderful! (Sorry the pictures are hard to see on this old scrapbook page)
pro's- newlyweds, cheap-o, close to family, new carpet...um, those are all the pro's I can think of.
con's- dark, cracking plaster walls, HUGE bugs that looked like a cockroach/centipede combo and could run like crazy, power went out every time I used my blow-dryer, haunted (seriously).

#4- Our second (much nicer) basement apartment in the east foothills of Salt Lake.
pro's- 3 bedrooms, still cheap-o, red shag carpet, incredible view of the valley, landlady was a Chinese Jehovah's Witness, Kallie came home here, close to the U of U, loved it!
con's- landlady controlled the thermostat...we were sweating most of the time, no dishwasher, can't think of any others, it was great!

#3- Coralville, Iowa. Coralridge apartments (this is the only picture I could find, the day we moved out, that's my Dad's semi waiting to be loaded).
pro's- made it to dental school (yay), lifelong friends, government subsidized (don't hate us), Sydney came home here, fire flies, thunderstorms, cornfields, Nauvoo, dishwasher, and did I mention lifelong friends!
con's- crazy neighbors upstairs (j/k Jamey =), never saw my hubby, far from family, student loans, tornados.

#2- Big move into real life, Meridian, Idaho. How sad that this is the only picture I could find, Dan hanging X-Mas lights, this picture doesn't do this cute house justice.
pro's- first house, real job, swimming pool & playground in subdivision, great friends, closer to family, mild temps, shopping.
con's- Dan not busy at work, first mortgage, no money, had to sell in less than a year =(

#1- Current house, Bellevue, Idaho. You've all seen photos so I decided to post some of the house being built.
pro's- fun to decorate, big backyard, quiet neighborhood, business owner, more terrific friends, beautiful summers.
con's- endless winter, business owner job stress, over-priced housing, lack of shopping, flat paint.


Ahhh, what a journey this life if. Full of learning, growing, moving and changing. Some good changes some bad, but like KayLynn's blog says 'find the joy' because there is plenty of joy to find. (Now if I could just get my hubby to stay put and sit still for 5 minutes...yeah, right!)

I promise we don't say this...

This morning while I was combing Kallie's hair for school, she was looking through a book order trying to pick a book. She came across the book, "There was an old woman who swallowed a shell".

Kallie's version went something like this (sing the tune so you can get the full effect):

-There was an old woman who swallowed a shell...
-What the h#@% she swallowed a shell!

Don't you love rhyming songs??? Sort of like the 'carrie, carrie, bo-barie' song (never name your child Huck right Jeni?)

Also, you know you live in a house of girls when poor, poor Buzz Lightyear looks like this...

Fully dressed in home-made American Girl Doll clothes (thanks Kamie!) and designer shoes, and now going by the name of 'Mr. Muffins'. Doesn't he attend a tea-party on the movie? So maybe he's used to this type of torment already!

Interview

Kallie had her baptism interview with the Bishop today.

On her way into the office I said, "Good luck! I hope you get 100%!"

She turned to me with a smile, but then stopped and said, "Wait...what's the answer to question 2?"

(hee, hee...I want to know what she thought question 1 was?)

What could be better???

Sydney: a little OCD in the leotard department, there is no debating that!

Sydney: what could be better than a leotard? (gasp, how dare you say such a thing!)

Answer: a SWIMSUIT over a LEOTARD! You're right, that is definitely WAY better!

strike a pose beautiful girl!
oh the tantrum when I wouldn't let her wear the "outfit" to Twin Falls!

WARNING #2...be careful what you tell your kids!

So here is another warning I felt that I should share with you (many of you already heard this, but I thought it should be documented). Kallie went to school yesterday (this is the version she gave me) and got up in front of the class and told them what happened to our carpet. She then went on to tell them that she is saving her money to help pay for the carpet and she asked her class if any of them would help earn some money for our carpet too! Oh Dear! What must her teacher have been thinking???

I did tell the girls that I was very frustrated and that it would be very expensive to get new carpet and I told Syd that she would have to do a lot of jobs to help earn some of the money. Kallie just thought she should enlist the help of others along the way. I'm sure everyone felt very sorry for the "Best Dentist In the Valley" and his family with their damaged carpet. Maybe I'll organize a fund raiser =)

WARNING!

I feel like I should make a public statement about the dangers of....RED SPRINKLES! Don't use them, don't eat them, don't buy them and don't keep them in your cupboards.

This is what happens when sprinkles are spilled on the carpet and then sprayed down with water from a spray bottle. Our friend (a professional carpet cleaner) came and tried to get it out. He used the strongest chemicals he had, he even had me sign a waiver against any damage that the chemicals may cause to the carpet...but NO! The stain did NOT come out! He said he can get kool-aid and Popsicle out, but not red sprinkles--go figure! (Thanks for trying Jason!)

So needless to say, this sweet little petunia spent quite some time in her room! She kept opening her door to ask if she could come out yet. And I kept saying NOOOOO! Finally she opened her door and said, "Mom, if you don't let me out...I'm going to pick the scab off my elbow!"

Nice threat Syd, now get back in your room!!! (and maybe stay there 'till you're 21 =) by the way, it's a good thing that I love you a lot!

{TOP 5} Tuesday! A fly on the wall...

Maybe I'm just nosey, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a fly on the wall in other people's houses. I would love to see what their lives are REALLY like, and I would either feel bad about myself because they are all getting along, feeling happy in their beautifully clean home, or I might feel normal if things are sometimes hectic and chaotic.

So today are the 'TOP 5' things you might see if you were a 'fly on the wall' at our house.

(Youngest to Oldest)

#5- Beau spends probably 3/4 of his day laying on the back of the chair in our living room staring out the window. He likes to be able to see if there is somebody walking by or a car driving down the street that he needs to bark at. He's a good watch dog...and I'm sure one day he will protect our home from a theif =)

#4- Sydney LOVES to sit in the sink and make 'soup' and 'shakes' out of left over food on plates, dish soap, hairspray or anything else she can get her hands on. It is soooooo disastrous, but sometimes it is worth it to me because I know where she is and most of the time the mess stays contained to a small area. (Look at that face...she just looks like she is up to no good!)

#3- Kallie LOVES to lay in bed at night and listen while I read to her. We have read some good books and our current pick is 'Charlotte's Web'. I am pretty sure that I enjoy this time as much as my girls do and if you have any book suggestions let us know.

#2- I like to waste as much time as possible on the internet emailing, shopping and blogging (just kidding about the wasting time part). It's probably kind of like being a fly on the wall when I'm reading the blog of a strange person I don't even know.

#1- And finally Dan, he is a HUGE fan of the new TV we got in our bedroom. He is loving being able to lay in bed and watch whatever fishing show or crime scene investigation that catches his interest. Actually, we are all liking this one! On Friday we all piled into the bed and watched a movie from Atkinsons, very fun!


So there you have it, the 'TOP 5' things you might find us doing at our house if you were a fly on the wall!!!

Power of Example!

We would all agree that it is important to be a good example for our kids. Whatever Daddy does is cool and the children WILL do the same!

Dan 1)thinks it is hilarious to stick things up his nose & 2)said "sure" when I asked him if I could put these old pictures from May '07 on the blog.

I hope you think they are as funny as I did!!!






Think twice before you eat a carrot at our house! =)

Where am I???

I went to Webb Nursery today to buy some bushes (Dan thinks it is going to be warm enough to plant this weekend...let's pray he's right). The lady told me I had to come in and see the flowers they've been growing all winter in their greenhouse. They were sooooo beautiful, I forgot where I was for a minute! :)


Go see for yourself, it will lift your spirits :)