Deming Family

Parker's Birthday

2011-12-14T13:23:00.001-08:00

Happy 5th Birthday Parker! What a little cutie he is! He was so excited on his birthday I'm surprised he slept at all. He was up shortly before 7:00 ready to open presents and eat breakfast cake. We had to wake up Dad and Aubrey to get started.
It's always fun to get the special place mat, special cup, plate and fork on your birthday.

With us expecting our 3rd girl in April, we decided it's important for Parker to have a lot of fun boy toys!

The infamous breakfast cake! I always eat way too much of it and feel sick the rest of the day ):
That night we had a birthday party for Parker. We have Will Rogers, Jackson Loveland, Parker, Kate Martinez, Jake Crowe, Nate Morgan, Will Morgan, Aubrey Deming, Connor Hardy and Max Pohlman. We didn't have a lot planned, but we played a few games, ate pizza, and had a pinata.
Thank you Mandy for again coming to the rescue. I had the craziest two days and wasn't going to be able to finish the cake in time, so Mandy stepped in and made this amazing creation!

It was a great day. When the last little friend left, I headed straight to bed! I was in bed with lights out by 8:30. I was SO tired from a crazy non-stop, action packed week. Two birthdays, two batches of pecan logs, two appraisals, helping at Parker's school, a funeral to help with (for church)...it was NUTS! Parker didn't fall asleep easily, and woke up at 4:00 ready to play with his new toys. We tried to get him back to bed, but at 6:00 he came in our room again. At 7:00 he finally was free to go down and play! Each day since he wakes up early and goes directly down stairs to play.

Christmas Tree-2011

2011-12-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the Deming Family Christmas tree! We went up to East Fork of the Bear on Saturday morning and spent the day finding the perfect tree. The kids had fun sledding while we hiked around trying to find the perfect one. After many tears ("I'm tired!" "My feet hurt" "My hands are cold!" ) we got this one.

Here is the tree decorated (by the kids, not us!). It looks great though. I think it's been decorated and undecorated a dozen times. Matt and I switched up the decorations this year. We decided it was time to let the kids do their own thing, so they literally did all the decorating start to finish.

Girls Weekend-Pittsburgh

2011-12-14T10:58:00.001-08:00

Happy 30th Birthday to Joan! I can't believe my baby sister is 30! We kept up the annual tradition of getting together to celebrate the occasion. Carrie and I took the red eye flight and got to Pittsburgh early Thursday morning. We were so tired! But it was well worth it! It gave us 3 full days of hanging out. We did a little sight seeing that day which was really fun. We got to see where Chad goes to school and where Morgan goes to school We also took a fun walk around their beautiful neighborhood. They have this incredible open area just a block away from their house that is full of trees, hills, trails, etc. It was so beautiful and fun to walk through. I can only imagine how fun it would be to take daily runs through there. We ate at Cheesecake Factory of course. Luckily my appetite was back so I enjoyed a yummy dinner!!
Happy Birthday Joan! We went to Olive Garden to eat that night, and cake home and had cake.

We got a pedicure as well. We seem to do the same things each year...shop, eat, pedicure! It's a great tradition though!

This year we splurged and got a makeover at Nordstrom. All the makeup artists were shocked that I don't wear any makeup. It was almost appalling to them! Seeing as I'm aging, and have dark circles and wrinkles, I caved and bought makeup for the first time in my life!

This is the home we THOUGHT was Great-Grandma Langsdales (Mom's Grandma). We got the address, plugged it in to our phone, and this is where it took us. If fit the description well...it was next to a vacant field (see the photo above) had a street adjacent to it, was on a steep hill. It seemed to fit perfectly! We spent a good hour or two there walking around the property, peeking in the windows, picturing all that mom had described and explained. We texted a picture to Aunt Barbara and Mom, and quickly were told "that's not the house!" We couldn't believe it! We tried to talk them in to the fact that yes, it had to be. But after another hour, chats with the neighbors, we finally left thinking it must not be. It occurred to us maybe we had the wrong address! We checked our GPS again, and sure enough, the street wasn't right! So we put in the correct address and we were off to the other side of town! We were so excited, knowing much more about the house and it's surroundings that we thought we'd recognize it instantly. Well, we pulled up to the where the GPS led us, and again, it didn't fit the description. We drove up and down the street for a while, stopped at a couple houses we thought MAYBE could be it, but then drove away feeling bummed we never found it.

A few days later, Joan was able to get the actual address! We had it wrong a second time!! It turns out it was one of the houses we had stopped by for a split second (I didn't even get out of the car, and we didn't even get a picture!). I had to think there was a reason we didn't get to that house (maybe a mass murderer lives there!) because seriously what are the odds we'd be wrong a second time, and not stop for more than one second there?!
Breakfast cake!!!

Sleepy me! I slept every second I could!

Post makeovers at Nortstrom

Shopping

Pecan Log attempt. This was my first batch in almost a year! I attempted to teach Joan. The Carmel was a little too soft! But they still tasted great.

Here I am making the fondant centers
Kneading the fondant!
We bought matching pajamas. I wasn't in the market to buy anything (being 15 weeks pregnant will do that to you!) so pajamas was about all I could handle buying.

Here we are at the airport. We ate so much while we were there, that I didn't even eat my cheesecake (this is two days later!). I took it on the plane and had a bite during our layover, but threw most of it away! When does that ever happen?

It was a great weekend. I was still a little queasy (15 weeks pregnant), VERY tired, had a terrible cough and had a sinus infection on top of all that! So I slept A TON and wasn't the best company I'm sure, but it was really fun. Joan and Chad have a really cute house. It was really fun to see where they live and where he goes to school before they move to Minneapolis in the summer.

Aubrey's Outie

2011-07-21T22:22:00.001-07:00

Today, we said goodbye to Aubrey's "Outie." She's had it since birth, and we were told she would most likely not need surgery and that it would correct itself. But here we are 2 1/2 years later and it's just as big. So we decided to have the surgery and get it corrected.

This little belly button is quite famous within the family. Lots of cousins like to touch it, poke it or just stare at it. Aubrey likes to squish it to make noises, and loves to hold it. I thought it might be a little sad for her to loose this little nub...but it was time for it to go!

Aubrey has SO much personality. She is the most animated of our three. She is silly, is a copy cat, and loves to make us laugh. But when she is in new situations or around strangers, she freezes up and doesn't say anything. She becomes this total serious little girl. These pictures above demonstrate that a little. Each nurse that would come check on her or talk to her must assume she doesn't talk...if they only knew! She is a crazy one!

Here is the flat belly! She did so well and we're so happy it all went great!

4th of July in Jackson/Yellowstone

2011-07-07T21:07:00.001-07:00

We went to Jackson Hole & Yellowstone for the 4th of July. We have decided this has to be a tradition each year. Jackson is a special place for Matt and me. I spent three of the best summers of my life up there, the third summer with Matt (we basically spent our honeymoon there, working on the river for 10 weeks). We've made it up there several times in the past over the 4th of July, but last year we stayed here. We decided never again if we could help it would we spend the 4th at home. The fireworks are amazing in Jackson. The hiking is incredible, the river is always high and fast, the weather is great, and the memories we're making, and the memories from the past are enough to keep me on a high for weeks!

We got to Jackson Saturday evening. We got a great camping spot (which I was shocked on the weekend of the 4th there would be a spot on the river!). We set up camp and then headed to town to get some dinner and hang out around town. We had some yummy Mexican food and then headed back to camp.

Sunday we woke up and headed to the Park to hike around Jenny Lake. We usually take the boat across with the kids being as little as they are, but this year we hiked to the falls and then took the boat back.

Stacie and her husband JJ and their little Ozzie came with us too! It was seriously a dream come true! We always said when we used to work together that one day we'd come here every year with our families to hike and run the river, and this year we did it! We missed Katy and her family though. Hopefully next year we will be able to all go together!

The water is so high this year! We had to move off the trail a couple times because the lake had risen over it.

We've heard all summer that the water levels are crazy and super high. I witnessed it first hand up here. Typically by July a good portion of the snow has melted off the Tetons, and the river has usually peaked by the 4th of July. Not this time! The Tetons have tons of snow! So much that you wouldn't be able to climb it without crampons and an ice axe. Additionally the Moraines are covered with snow so you'd be building a snow cave!
Here is Hidden Falls. It's a great hike, easy and beautiful. I've never seen so much water raging down the falls!

It was so hot this day! It was in the 90's and so humid!
We all had a little snack before we made the trek down.

Stacie, JJ & Ozzie

The high water levels and force of the river had taken out a few bridges along the way
The kids did really well on the hike to the falls, but they were not up to the hike back so we took the ferry across Jenny Lake. Stacie and JJ left the same time as us and we arrived just a few minutes earlier than them! They cruised!
We saw a heard of Elk close to String Lake on our way to have a picnic.
Mt. Moran. Seriously so beautiful! I've attempted this summit twice now, and haven't summited. Once due to weather, once due to altitude sickness. One day maybe! Matt made it to the top on our second attempt though.
So much snow on the Tetons! This is so crazy for July!
Amber checking out the Buffalo

On Monday Matt's parents, his brother Aaron & wife Fitriah and baby Zach and some of their friends Brian, Megan, Max, McKenna & Mason Duncan joined us in Jackson. We took them down the river Monday afternoon. The river was running at 23,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). This is about double what I'm used to running it at. In high water the rapids are more intense (dangerous), the water is faster, and your chances of flipping the raft at lunch counter is increased dramatically. You can't believe all that you hear, but one guide had told us over 30 boats had flipped at lunch counter in the last 24 hours. That is seriously crazy. I've never flipped a raft of been in a raft that flipped, so it was super scary for me to face the fact that it could happen. The water temperature was in the 50's, so hypothermia was very possible if we were in the water too long. Knowing we were taking "newbies" that had never been on the river before made me even more nervous! Between Matt, Stacie and me we had lots of rafting experience so I wasn't worried about our skill, I was worried about the wild conditions.

Funny enough I went in very first at a rapid "Million Dollar Fishing Hole." It freaked me out! I went under the raft and was being thrown around but finally came up. I didn't feel cold, but I was seriously nervous about the rapids to come. The Fishing Hole is not even comparable to others up ahead! It was super wussy.

We made it through the rest with out many problems until Lunch Counter. We hit the waves perfect but on the 4th one Aaron fell out. I jumped right up expecting to see him and pull him in. I didn't see him though. I was looking all around and still didn't see him. I started panicking and yelling "where's Aaron!?" Usually people pop right up within seconds, but Aaron was not surfacing. Enough time went by the I literally was freaking out that something bad had happened. FINALLY after at least 30 second he popped up way up stream from us and gasped for a breath. We threw him a throw rope and pulled him in. It was one of the scariest moments I've ever had on the river. After that I didn't want anyone falling in. I just wanted to be done with the river trip! I was so glad when we got to Sheep's Gulch safe and sound.

Matt, me, Megan, Brian, Max, Aaron. Stacie & JJ ran it with us too but aren't pictured.
Here we are at the fireworks!
Grandma, Aaron, Max

Grandpa & Parker

Aaron & little Zach
YELLOWSTONE! We got to Yellowstone on Tuesday and started off with Old Faithful. We took the boardwalk all around Old Faithful and saw lots of hotpots. Parker was in heaven and asked a million questions and enjoyed seeing every single hot pot.

Here we are waiting for Old Faithful to go off.

Parker, Aubrey, Amber, McKenna
One of thousands of Buffalo we saw on our trip
We spent a night at Canyon Village. I've never stayed in a "cabin" in Yellowstone...only camped. It was great! It was practically camping! It was a singlewide on stilts with no a/c, a tiny little bathroom and we shared walls with several other tourists. So as Matt and I are loosing it at 10:00 PM telling our kids they need to settle down and be quiet, we are certain we have may listening ears (all our windows were open due to the lack of A/C). The kids were SO hyper, so we seriously were dying about not only their loud and crazy behavior, but our stern attemps to get them to settle down!

Aubrey wants to be done sleeping in a port-a-crib, but it is too conveinent to keep her in there. She was screaming she wanted to sleep with Daddy (this was added to the above mentioned chaos).
Wednesday we hiked to Yellowstone Falls.

Fitriah and Zach.
Aubrey & Louis

Dragon's Mouth

Mud Pots

These were pretty stinky!
We didn't see much wild life. We saw a TON of buffalo, some elk, a deer and this cyote on the way out. We did see a bear but it was so far away we couldn't get a picture. On our way out of Canyon Village Wednesday, we saw a helicopter and some firefighters hanging around in a meadow. We just figured it was for some training or something, but it turns out a man and his wife were hiking Wednesday morning when we was attacked by a grizzly bear and was killed. It was in an area we litterally were. Our cabin was just blocks away from where they were. It was really sad, and crazy to think it was where we were at the exact same time!

We headed home Wednesday night. We didn't want to go home and stalled until the last possible minute. The trip really was so much fun, every second of it. I usually am grumpy planning and packing for trips just because of the stress of it all. Not this trip. I was so excited to be able to hang out with Stacie, to be in Jackson, to run the river...I was just so happy to be going to a place that feels like a second home to me. I have the best of memories in Jackson. I told Matt I wish more than anything I could pause my life now, and just experience Jackson as a river guide for just one week. I would love to feel that care free feeling, spending the day in the most beautiful surroundings, soaking up the rays, meeting new people, and just laughing non-stop at all the funny crazy things Stacie said or did. There wasn't one place we ate at or hike we went on or store we shopped at that didn't bring back a flood of memories. I am so glad Matt and I experienced one summer together there, because then we could enjoy the memories together! I'm also glad our kids have been able to and will continue making memories of their own of our favorite place on earth!

California/Easter 2011

2011-05-22T21:10:00.001-07:00

CALIFORNIA!!!!!! We took a trip to California over Spring Break. We went to the beach Sunday night just to see the waves and get in the sand. The weather was a little cold, but we didn't have any plans to get in that night, so it was fine!

We went to Disneyland on Tuesday. It was SO crowded, but SO fun! Luckily Carrie had just been there the Thursday before and gave us some great tips to make it a fun day. We had such a great day, filled with lots of rides, characters, fireworks, and shows. It was the best trip to Disneyland we've ever had! Aubrey was OBSESSED with Lucky Charms on this trip and had them for breakfast every morning. She wouldn't let go of the box, so we brought it with us to Disneyland!

First ride of the day...TEACUPS!

Finding Nemo ride. It was really cool for the kids...I got a little sea sick (seriously!).

Autotopia
Amber driving with Uncle Aaron

DUMBO!

Aubrey was so brave at the beach. She enjoyed playing in the waves, collecting sea shells, building sand castles, and covering herself head to toe in sand, literally.

Amber could have stayed at the beach all day long. She came home with a huge tan!
Parker and I played Frisbee to warm up. It was cold!

We went to the Children's Museum on a rainy day. The kids enjoyed all the interactive, hands on experiments. We enjoyed it too!

We tailgated at an Angels game. Thanks Aaron for the yummy dogs!

Amber & Parker's first official Major League Baseball game.

The Angels were playing Boston Red Sox, so it was a great game, however there were too many Red Sox fans giving us crap, even booing Amber & Parker when they'd cheer for the Angels. Who does that? I mean they're 4 and 5!

Aaron, Fitriah and cute little Zach.

We headed home Saturday before Easter, so we spent our last morning there having an Easter egg hunt. It was a great way to end the trip. Matt and I were stalling though, we didn't want to go home! We had such a great vacation. We did something fun every day. We go plenty of beach time, pool time, Disneyland, Children's Museum, Angel's Game, Rainforest Cafe, and visiting with family. The kids did great, considering we were out every night until past 10:00, and no naps! We just were on the go 24-7 and LOVED every minute of it!

We made it half way home and stopped in St. George. We had all had it with the car, and we really didn't want to end the vacation. So we got a hotel in St. George and celebrated Easter in the car on the way home. Carrie fed us a nice Easter meal as we drove through on the way home. Other than that, it was a pretty low-key day! The Easter Bunny managed to find the kids Easter Baskets though...

This is what our car looked like as we pulled in to our driveway, after 10+ hours in the car, with Easter Candy, Easter toys and books, and a completely filled Jelly Belly container spilled all over the floor. We're still finding those stupid jelly beans a month later!

I can't say it enough though, it was a great trip. We loved the time together, and time with our new little Nephew/Cousin Zach. We really enjoy the phase of life we're in. Our kids traveled well (for the most part...as long as a DVD was playing), we were able to watch them play at the beach and have SO much fun! I wasn't pregnant or breastfeeding (which is a first in almost seven years!). Our kids loved Disneyland which made it so fun for us.

One night we went to dinner at The Rainforest Cafe. We've neer been there, so that was a fun first. It was great to be in a fun environment for the kids with Matt's parents and Matt's brother and his wife. While we were waiting for our table we were listening to live music outside the resturant. The weather was great, the music was great, and we enjoyed dancing around together. Amber and I were doing a little Salsa dancing. I loved it, and didn't even care I looked like a crazy person! The point is we were having a blast and it's a fun memory!

Birthday Part Two

2011-05-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

We had a family birthday party for Amber tonight. We had her favorite dinner, Taco's, and then had a Pinata filled with 2 gigantic bags of candy, and then cake and ice cream. We had a great night! Any excuse to get together with family is a great day!

Amber, Aubrey, Cole, Skyler, Katie, Andy, Parker, Will, Spencer, Emily, Emily, Kiley, Issak and Taten. We had a combined Deming/Morgan family party.

Amber takes the first swing!
Taten ended the first round with a solid decapitation.

I love this picture of Will. It's so typical to see a little crack!

Spencer took baseball this Spring, which gave him the proper skill for today!

Taten finishes it off and the kids went wild!

Avery, so sweet!
Katie

Carrie showing us her mad Hula Hooping skills.
Cute little Cole.

Amber isn't really a cake person. She is a candy/ice cream junkie! So her cake was an ice cream candy cake! It was three layers of different ice creams, with candy on top and around the sides. It was a huge hit! I had asked her weeks ago what kind of cake she wanted. Her reply: "I want a pink cake with rainbows and unicorns." So, she got a pink ice cream cake with rainbow colors and toy unicorns. We all loved it!

What a cute little six year old!

Happy Birthday Amber

2011-05-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Amber! We had a great day filled with breakfast cake, presents, lunch with cousins at Chic Fillet (complete with a little toy & a strawberry shake for the birthday girl!), a crown from her Kindergarten class, and a big birthday bash at night! It was a really fun, happy day for Amber. We were bummed the weather wasn't great (first time we've seen rain on her birthday in six years!). But it was still a success!

Amber got a hula-hoop that she is already a pro at! I love watching her! She was so kind today and was willing to share all her new birthday toys with Parker and Aubrey.

Of course a new DVD!

Amber got a barbie with a show horse that actually trots around. It was a hit! She has enjoyed playing with it all day.

She also got a new (must needed) nightgown. She has been wearing her 3T Dora Nightgown for the past three years! It is tiny, ripped, torn, and just plane too small.

Aubrey loved her new chapstick from the party favor bag.

Amber got a lot of fun things from friends. She has some very generous and kind friends! It was fun to have them all here.

Singing happy birthday!

The infamous "thimble" game. It's a Morgan classic! The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure everyone got a little wet.

Brooke was here for the party, and it was so great!!!! She was a huge help, the kids loved her! Thank you Brooke for coming and for all your help! Carden's Mom Abby was there too which was super helpful. I don't know what I would have done with out them!

Here are some of my favorite things about Amber:

She is kind

She is giving

She helps me

She is funny and enjoys making us laugh, and LOVES to be silly

She loves to scare people, and will sneak out of bed to find us and scream to scare us

She is so happy

She loves treats just like her mom!

She loves movies just like her mom!

She is a daddy's girl (not my favorite thing, but dad's!)

She enjoys being outside

Happy Birthday to my sweet, kind, loving little Amber!

Amber Lost Her First Tooth!

2011-02-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

It was a big day today at the Deming house! Amber lost her first tooth! We've been waiting for this day for months now! It first became loose months ago when she was using her teeth to pull off her glove. She wouldn't let Matt or me go near it for all these months. We've tried and tried to just give it a little tug here and a little tug there, but honestly she flat out refused! Today it was literally dangling but again, she wouldn't let us even get close to touching it. Matt had to practically pin her down, gave one small little tug and it was out! Amber was freaking out; screaming, sweating, panting, shouting...going nuts! Matt and I were laughing because we knew there was no way it hurt! After she calmed down a little bit we hear her tell Parker "that didn't even hurt." We knew that was the truth. There is no way she even felt it. It was practically out already. I feel bad we laughed so much, but it really was pretty funny! It's a fun memory for us all! We had to Skype everyone we knew to tell them the good news. Getting Amber to sleep tonight was rough. She was asking question after question about the tooth fairy. Is it a girl? Is she small? Does she wear a backpack? Does she keep a list like Santa? Does she wear a watch? I love the curiosity!

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

2011-01-21T19:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to my little baby Aubrey! Or our little Missy as we like to call her. I can't believe she is two. She seems too little to be two! We had a great day with her on Sunday. We woke up and were excited to sing Happy Birthday to her. Amber and Parker were SO excited to open presents. We came downstairs to the smell of breakfast cake, and a special place sitting for Aubrey. We immediately had to open her presents. This year, she got a little something she loves that her brother and sister already have. She got a pillow pet, new boots, a zhu-zhu pet, and a new baby Einstien DVD. All her presents were an immediate hit, and here we are a week later, and she loves them just as much! She sleeps with the pillow pet daily, wears her boots daily, and listens to her DVD/CD daily (and sleeps with her zhu-zhu pet). I'd say we nailed it with the gifts!

She has this thing with Baby Einstein. We only have two other DVD's, and the first time she watched it, she became instantly obessed. She wanted to watch them 24-7, and LOVED to carry the cases around everywhere we went. I had to have them when going to the store, the post office, the bank, car pool, friends houses, CHURCH! It was getting a little ridiculous, and kind of embarrassing.

Completely dog chewed, and almost a hazzard if you ask me. She is so stubborn and had to carry this thing around everywhere (the DVD isn't even inside!). She is a little nut.

Aubrey can talk really well, and likes to copy everything everyone says. She has the cutest listtle voice. Here are some fun facts about Aubrey:

1. She likes to pick her nose

2. She loves books

3. She won't give up the binky

4. She is already very concerned about the clothes she wears, including her pajamas

5. You loves her Dad

Ice Fishing

2011-01-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

Matt took Amber and Parker ice fishing up to Pineview a couple weeks ago with our friends the Grimley's. The weather was so much prettier than here. They enjoyed temperatures in the 40's, and no inversion! I am so sick of this nasty inversion & cold! It has made me a little crazy this winter! They had a great time up there for several hours, but only caught a few fish. I was able to stay here with Aubrey all day and got so much accomplished! I organized every single room, put all the Christmas stuff away, took a huge load of stuff to the D.I., and threw away a couple garbage bags full of junk. I LOVE those days! When Matt got home I was in heaven, the house was totally spotless and organized, and everyone was happy! I told Matt the same endorphins he released fishing, I released cleaning! I LOVE to clean, and wish I could enjoy a clean house longer than a few minutes.

Hardware Ranch

2011-01-21T14:33:00.001-08:00

We took our annual trip to Hardware Ranch this past weekend. We tried to get out of the nasty inversion and frigid temperatures, however it wasn't much better there! We had a great little outing and the kids of course had a blast.

We have gone to Hardware Ranch each winter over the past five years. As we waited in line for our turn, I couldn't help but observe everyone around us. I remember the time it was just Matt, me and Amber. Our first time here as a family Amber was just seven months old. It was cold and rainy. I was totally worried about her, had her totally bundled up with a big fluffy coat, gloves, hat, and had a couple blankets around her in our baby Bjorn. Now, three kids later, we didn't pack snow pants, boots, or even gloves!!! It was freezing! What were we thinking? I also couldn't help but feel my age. It seemed everyone around us was either single and on a date, or a young newlywed couple, or one small child. We seemed to be the oldest people there! I'm really having a difficult time accepting my age. I so badly want to still be 25!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

We went down to Temple Square for Christmas Eve. This is a great tradition! We get together with all the Demings, and go sledding or do something fun together, eat dinner, and then take Trax downtown to see the lights. It is fun to bundle up and go downtown near the temple and just feel the Spirit of Christmas. This year we watched the Nativity, and it was so neat! I got a little emotional picturing Mary giving birth in such humble circumstances, but then to imagine being there or hearing the choir of angles singing as His birth. It really was a cool experience, and I really enjoyed hearing the beautiful music.

After Temple Square we headed to Grandpa and Grandma Deming's to decorate cookies for Santa, and to open a few presents. We were in charge of making the sugar cookies for Santa and providing all the decorations. The cookies did NOT turn out. I swear I am the WORST at making sugar cookies! What is my deal? I don't see how it can be that hard. I follow the recipe exact each time, and it doesn't matter which recipe I follow, they NEVER turn out. So instead of star, Santa, reindeer, snowman, snowflake cookies we had several blobs. The kids didn't know the difference, and had fun loading them with all sorts of colors and frosting.

Here are eight of the nine grandkids (ten now with Aaron & Fitriah's new baby Zach!). Grandpa and Grandma always choose such cute pajama's for the grandkids. Above is Issak, Skyler, Emily, Katie, Avery, Amber, Aubrey and Parker. Brynlee was just three days old, and Zach was just born January 14th.

Christmas morning! The kids slept in until 8:00 AM! I always wake up by 7:00 at least and am counting down the seconds until the kids wake up. The rest of Christmas morning is on video, so we don't have any other pictures. The kids loved all their presents though, and had a great time opening gifts and being able to play with their new toys and books all day long! We were hosting the Morgan party at our house that evening, so we opted to stay home all day so that I could bake and prepare for the evening. All the Demings came here from brunch, and we exchanged gifts. It was so much fun! We loved hosting and really enjoyed having everyone here, and LOVED not having to get ready or drive anywhere all day! It was seriously the most enjoyable Christmas I've ever had.

Steve and Mandy Morgan

My Aunt Janice Morgan. She is the greatest Aunt ever. She supports us all in everything we do, and comes to our crazy, chaotic dinners and parties and bears it all with a smile! We have 25 grandchildren in the Morgans, so it gets a little crazy, and VERY LOUD!!! We love Janice and are so grateful for all she does for us. It was so fun to spend Christmas night with her.

Parker in one of his new costumes.

Aubrey with one of her new dolls. She is such a little Mommy and loves to play and pretend.

Here we are a few days later at the cabin. Carrie and I decided for our brother/sister gifts we'd continue the pie tradition while our parents are on their mission. So we got all the sisters a scarf, all the brothers a tie, and all the grandkids pez dispensers and candy. This is always such a highlight for the kids. We had fun doing it!

Kiley, Carrie, Taten and Jason Knapp

Chad, Joan and Emery Taylor. Chad, Joan and family drove all the way from Pittsburgh to spend all the Christmas holiday in Utah (Chad had three weeks off from school!). It was SO great to have them here. Because we're at Mom and Dad's, there was plenty of room for everyone, so we got to be with them non-stop for 2 1/2 weeks. It was seriously the highlight of Christmas for Amber, Parker, Aubrey and me (and I'm sure Matt too!). I had a sister to be with non-stop, and my kids had cousins to be with non-stop. Every night we'd put the kids down to bed and just party. We'd play games, watch movies, or just chat. It was so much fun. I never wanted the vacation to end. Best of all, Matt had the week after Christmas off, so he was in on the partying too! We spent a couple nights at the cabin as well. It was just a great Christmas memory. As rough as it could have been with out my parents, it ended up being totally fine because I had Joan as a constant play mate! I think being here in their home made it easier too, because it was like they were actually here. It's hard to explain, but it just wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Plus we got to Skype them, so that makes it seem like they were here.

What a fun, crazy party!

Now back to the cabin, and Aubry with her new Pez. All three Pez packets were gone within a few minutes.

So after a fun day of sledding and playing with cousins at the cabin, the kids are always so tired! I went to check on the kids a while after we had put them to bed, and Amber had fallen off the bed in to this bin! She was totally unaware! How can that be comfortable? That shows how completely exhausted the kids were!

So this was our last time at the cabin. It is now officially sold to my Aunt and Uncle. I can't believe it to be honest. I've already posted a lengthy post about it before, so there's no sense hashing it all out again, but to sum it up, I'm totally bummed. This cabin holds about 50% of my memories from my childhood vacations (the other 50%, Arizona!). We went there several times a summer, and enjoyed all sorts of memories and festivities. My Aunt Janice is compiling a history of the cabin filled with memories and pictures from all of us. I will cherish that once it's complete. I honestly love every moment I've ever spent up there and am so sad my kids have only had a short time period to experience up there. I hope we can find a way to share or summers together as cousins/aunts/uncles so our children will know and love their family as I did!

Happy Birthday Dad and Parker

2010-12-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Matt and Parker both had birthday's this week. The energy that goes in to two birthdays back to back is tough! There is a lot to do, a lot of pre-planning that needs to happen, and a lot of shopping! Matt took the day off, and spent it up in the mountains snowshoeing with Molly. I had a big Relief Society function that night, so he then took the kids out to his parents for a birthday dinner. Who better to spoil him on his birthday than his own Mom when I couldn't? I was glad he had somewhere to go and yummy food to eat.

All Parker wanted for his birthday this year was a motorcycle and another garbage truck. He got the motorcycle, but we went a different route and got him this "Rescue Hero" set that is so great! It's this huge package that comes with a fire trick, boat, helicopter, motorcycle and tons of rescue hero's (fire-fighters). It was perfect for him. He was in heaven when he opened it, and has played non-stop with it.

Parker doesn't eat much of anything. His favorite meals are mac & cheese, peanut butter and jelly, occasionally ramen, and cereal. He'd eat fruit snacks all day long if I'd let him! I seriously don't know how he survives half the time. So for his birthday I had been asking him for days what he wanted. I thought we had it figured out, he said "meatballs and noodles" so I was going for that. He changed his mind and wouldn't agree to anything! I finally showed him one of my cookbooks, and he looked at the pictures until he found "Hallowieners." It is a hot dog, with a "snake" around it. I am not a crafty mom, so this was the best I could do to replicate it. He loved it, that's all that matters! He also wanted green Jell-O and an Iron Man cake.

Here are just of the few things I LOVE about my Parkie!

The way he talks (talks with his hands, scrunches his noes, and speaks with a "Boston" accent, no joke)
He loves to snuggle
He prefers me to Matt (a REAL Mommy's boy)
Says "of course" when I ask him to do something for me
Is super shy around people he doesn't know well, and tries not to smile in front of them (which means he'll bury his head in to me with a huge grin on his face)
Parker has such a sweet disposition, and will typically share without being asked to (he is famous for saying daily, "Here you can have it."
His missing tooth!
His skinny little legs
His love for books and a good story
His excitement for school days!
The way he pretends (making motorcycle noises, explosion noises, crashing noises, etc.)

Christmas Tree 2010

2010-11-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Thanksgiving at Steve and Mandy's this year. We enjoyed being together and eating the traditional feast: turkey, stuffing, yams, corn, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, lemon pie and rainbow jell-o. It was a little strange not having Grammy and Grandpa here, but it was nice to spend time with Steve and Mandy and their family, Eric and Katie and their family, and Trent, Janice and our family. I don't have any pictures of the day, how sad! It was really tasty though!

The next morning (after an-alnighter of shopping at Toys-R-Us, Target, Kmart, Toys-R-Us again) we headed off to the mountains to chop down our tree. This year we packed for the cold. We had everything we'd need for sub zero temperatures. It actually turned out to be really nice! The temp was in the mid 30's (at home it was around 19). In all our winter packing we forgot to bring the back pack for Aubrey, so I spent the time sledding with kids while Matt kept on treking through the forest to find the perfect tree! He picked a great one!

Here is our cute little tree. This is 24 hours after it was decorated and already looks like the kids have "re-decorated" it. The point is they had fun, and they love to help decorate the tree.

Girls Weekend

2010-11-07T21:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Joan-e-joan! Joan came in from Pittsburgh just to celebrate with us (sorry Chad, either you have to send her to us or we come to you, you never get her to yourself on her birthday!). This is a cute flower cake Chad sent her on her birthday. It was such a cute and fun surprise. My kids were obsessed with it and wondered if we could eat it (it even had candles in it).

We of course had to go get pedicures!

We went shopping, ate at cheesecake factory, ate TONS of candy, watched girl movies, and enjoyed a great weekend without kids! And yes I did eat my entire dinner there.

We ended the weekend at the cemetery to visit Joyce. Joan bought her this cute bouquet of birthday balloons. We stayed there for a while and had a few more laughs and tears. Their birthday will always be a favorite of mine! I get to spend it with my best friends, and I know Joyce is there too! There's no way she'd miss out on a fun sister's party. I always feel like where ever Joan is, Joyce is there too!

Halloween & Fall Stuff

2010-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to Sara! She did Amber's hair and makeup. She brought over her big bag of supplies early Thursday morning so we could get Amber ready for her school parade. What would I do without good friends? Honestly, Sara is a champ and I was so grateful for her. Amber was so excited to look pretty. Sara pulled out a can of hairspray from her bag, and Amber said "What's that?" Is that sad or what that my 5 1/2 year old daughter has never seen a can of hairspray!!!!

Doesn't she look awesome? Seriously I think Sara should do hair and makeup professionally!

"Iron Man" was being a little camera shy and wouldn't wear his mask.

Amber looked so beautiful as a "Halloween Fairy." This is Amber with some of her school friends.

We finally convinced Parker to put on his mask. Aubrey wanted to pose with her brother and sister. She is such a copy cat and does what ever Parker and Amber do.

This was my attempt to re-create Sara's look. I couldn't do the hair, I tried and tried and ran out of time so we had to leave it down...but she still looks beautiful!

Parker had made up his mind at least a month ago he wanted to be Iron Man. He sure looked cute. I saw quite a few other Iron Man's out there...Spencer for one, and Jake a friend from Preschool and Jackson Loveland too!

Aubrey was obsessed with her costume. I told her it was a ladybug, and she said "EW" because she doesn't like any sort of bugs. But as soon as I showed her how cute she looked in it, she wouldn't take it off. She kept saying "hold you" when it was off, which was her way of saying "put it on please!" It was so cute. We went to get family pictures Saturday morning. When she saw her costume out, she started screaming "HOLD YOU" and freaked out because we wouldn't put it on! What a way to start picture day!

Halloween was such a joke this year! We had planned to meet up with friends around 5:00/5:30. So we were ready at 5:45 and headed up the road. Just as we got to our first house, it started to pour rain! Matt got called in to work so I was on my own with the three kids and our dog, and it was literally pouring! We made it to two streets and called it quits! Aubrey was soaked through and through. Matt caught up with us and we headed straight for the car. We went to our friend Abby's mom, Marsha Roger's neighborhood, so we could "meet the witches" and then hung out the rest of the night with Abby and her family. It was fun at that point because we were indoors, eating yummy food and watching the U game. It ended well! The kids had a great time eating candy and playing with friends and we enjoyed it for the same reasons. So although it rained hard and we got very little candy, we still had a great time and enjoyed the night.

We went for a drive a few weeks ago to admire the fall colors. We tried our best to get some pictures of the kids, however just as we got out of the car it started to rain (not to mention we had to wake Parker up) so we didn't get one of the three of them, but did get individual pictures. It was such a beautiful drive! We went up Payson Canyon and saw where Matt spent his summer scouting for Elk (and where he eventually got one). The colors were all so beautiful and bright. I wished the weather would have cooperated more so we could get more pictures.

Goodbye Elder & Sister Morgan!

2010-09-26T16:35:00.001-07:00

Of course this is what Parker looked like after a few brownies and lots of fun in the dirt.

It is strange how much our family will change in the next two years (not by numbers, by height and age!). Aubrey will be Parker's age! Hopefully she'll have hair by then.

Tomorrow Mom and Dad leave for 2 years to serve their LDS Mission to Nauvoo. They will first go to the MTC for a couple weeks, and then return to pack up their car and off they'll go! It has been the best day today and yesterday. I have loved having all the family around! Last night we stayed up super late just laughing and laughing.

I can't believe the time has come for them to go. I hope the 2 years goes by quickly. I will miss them so much. We moved in about five weeks ago and have loved being here (I speak mostly for myself but I don't think it's bothered Matt too much). It has been such a great month. Spending this quality time with my mom has been the absolute best. I have tried to take as many mental notes as I can of all the fun we've had together and all the memories we've made to avoid taking any moments for granted. We've made six batches of pecan logs together, we've done a ton of shopping, we've hung out 24-7 and watched fun movies. I could live with her for the rest of my life and never get tired of it (although I really don't know where she gets her energy! She goes and goes and goes!). I feel so grateful to be able to stay here and take care of their home while there gone and know they will be such a great influence to those touring through Nauvoo.

We have felt Joyce's spirit here on many occasions. The Spirit was so strong at their Sacrament Meeting today. All the siblings and grandchildren sang I'm Trying to be Like Jesus. It was really tough to get through, especially looking out to all our family and friends and ward friends who were there to support my Mom and Dad. It was a weekend full of fun and tears, all for the good. We will miss them so much, more than I can ever express but are so grateful for the example and for their willingness to serve these next 2 years. We know they'll be watched over and the entire family will be blessed while they're gone. Thanks for the good example Mom and Dad!

Parker's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Parker found a potato bug and of course wouldn't take any more pictures without it. Isn't he so cute though? So curious!

Parker was so excited to start school. He got this backpack weeks ago and is pretty much obsessed with it. It goes with us a lot of places...church (but stays in the car luckily), Grandpa and Grandma's, rides, the store, on errands, pretty much everywhere. One day he brought it downstairs and I could tell it was packed full. I opened it up and found all his socks and underwear were packed inside. I guess he had plans to be gone a while!

I had to include this because it's just so typical. This was my first attempt to get a picture, and of course the finger heads straight for the nose!

Parker wanted to be sure his backpack made it in to the picture, so he asked me to take a picture while he turned around. Amber decided she wanted her backpack picture in it too, and then Aubrey of course soon followed.

Parker had a great first day, and is so fortunate to be able to go to his Aunt Mandy's for preschool. She is amazing (she has a website www.notjustcute.com that you should all check out!). It wasn't too much of an adjustment, as he spends many hours a week there playing! It probably is more of an adjustment for Mandy to get Parker to not feel so comfortable and in a school environment rather than "at home."

Parker took the snack today, and it needed to start with the letter "P". He was give all sorts of ideas (candy, cookies, donuts...) I had to give him a little help in determining the snack, and finally he decided popcorn! He loaded his gigantic backpack full and off he went. I know he'll love this year of school.

First Day of Kindergarten for Amber

2010-08-30T12:13:00.001-07:00

We sent Amber off to Kindergarten today! She was so excited last night in anticipation for the day. She set all her clothes out along with her backpack just as I used to do. We went back to school shopping together on Saturday and I let her pick out everything. I wanted to buy her things she'd actually wear! So she wore her favorite outfit today and my guess is she'll want to wear it first every time I wash it. So far day one was good. I wish she'd tell me more (all she's said is it was good and it was someones birthday today).

She was a little nervous and wasn't too excited about meeting new friends (she told me she's shy of meeting new friends). I'm sure that will change soon. She is lucky to have her cousin Spencer in her class and a friend from church, Jaxon, and a friend Beckam from soccer, so she isn't all on her own luckily. It's fun to enter this new phase in life of school each day. I just said last week it is time to get back to school. We were getting a little bored of our routine at home.

Mt Olympus

2010-07-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the 24th of July, Matt and I were able to take a hike with my niece Brooke. Brooke is here visiting from Texas and wanted to do a hike while she was here. She chose Mt. Olympus. The last time I hiked the trail was my senior year of high school with Stacie. Matt and I climbed the west slabs several years ago, but it has been over 12 years since I had done the trail! It truly is a great hike with such great views.

I was amazed at how well Brooke did. She is used to sea level, and made it up to the top with out any problems and didn't need to rest at all! Her lungs were wheezing a bit at the top, but it didn't slow her down (just made her laugh!). It was such a fun morning and it reminded me so much of how much I love hiking! We don't do it enough! There is nothing better then summiting a mountain!

Seriously, look how beautiful those views are!

Matt and I have many many summit pictures together, however we look much much younger! We ran in to some other people summiting the mountain. I thought they looked familiar and one of the guys told me he went to Skyline, so I asked him when he graduated and he said 2005. WHAT?! I am seriously SEVEN YEARS OLDER than this "kid?" I thought we looked the same age (:

More Cabin Fun!

2010-07-31T21:04:00.001-07:00

Another week at the cabin has flown by. We spent another great week at the cabin, filled with great food, great company, lots and lots of visiting, great memories, and more inside jokes (ex. "Secrets are either 1) not to be told to anyone or 2) told to some people" and "sorry about the table Roger and Susan" and "backseat drivers", and Mom getting nervous about her "acting parts" in Nauvoo).

Everyone was able to come this time, except Chad, Stu, Celia and Jake.

24 of 25 grandkids! It was the most crowded the cabin has ever been with the Vern Morgan Family there. We had a total of 39 people staying the night!

This was one of the crafts the kids made. Parker made me a few miniature dumb bells and asked me if I wanted to use them when I exercised. He had me put them in a special spot so no one else would use them when they exercised. The kids enjoyed watching us do our P90X dvd's each morning. We looked like quite the freak show (I speak for myself mostly) but the kids had a blast trying to keep up with us and show us what great shape they're in.

A typical day, consisting of dirt, dirt, more dirt, calamine lotion to cover stinging nettle, occasionally face paint or chalk, and then more dirt. Complete with bare feet, sticks, and pockets full of rocks.

Even after seven months Aubrey still adores Molly. She gives her loves multiple times a day and often lays on top of her.

Bear Lake 1/2 Marathon

2010-06-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I ran a half marathon in Bear Lake with Katy and Sara Sargent. Although it was so cold, we had a great run. The course is around the lake, and is totally flat. It really is a beautiful course. I was so happy with my time. I wanted to be under 2 hours, and my official time was 1:59, so I was spot on.

It was nice to have a race to maintain my long runs. I didn't get in to Moab (and haven't for the last three years I've tried...BOO to Moab Half!). This race was closer, the registration was cheaper, and the course was great! If only the weather would cooperate, it'd be the perfect race!

House for Sale

2010-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's official, we've listed out house! Yes, in perhaps the worst market of all time, I know. Bad timing. We'll give it a couple months and see what happens. It'll be interesting keeping the house clean 24-7. With three younglins and a dog, it's practically impossible!!!

If you know of anyone that wants to buy a cute house in the Millcreek/Holladay area, please send them our way! If you have access to the MLS, it's # 972281

Cabin Week!

2010-06-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a full week at the cabin. I don't know if I've ever been out of touch from the world for that long in my life! My phone doesn't really work up there and there isn't any Internet, so for one full week my phone was tucked away and I was able to spend great quality time with family. The weather was so great, with only one day of rain.

One day we did face painting, so Jeremy painted Parker's face. Parker was in heaven to have an older cousin paint his face, and Jeremy was in heaven to have someones face to paint! It was a win-win.

This was our one rainy day. We spent it in doors, watching lots of movies and trying to stay busy with games and coloring/painting. This day was a little rough...we all suffered from a little cabin fever.

The infamous painted names wall. I took this picture a little too soon before all the names were up, so we're missing quite a few. But as of now, the Vern Morgan Family names are all up to date and complete!

Painting names is the highlight of the cabin...seriously. From the time I can remember I couldn't wait to get married and paint my own name. I have spent so many hours staring at all these names. Every time we come to the cabin we spend hours visiting, playing games, laughing, and it's all done around these names. I have loved painting our name and Amber, Parker's and this past week Aubrey's name. Carrie helped me get a little more crafty with Aubrey's, and I love it!

The kids did a little painting of their own.

We made slime another day which the kids loved! Katie loved it just as much as the kids! She was having a blast with it. It was kind of fun to play with, it was such a strange texture.

Here we are at the pond. Molly loved jumping in to cool off.
I think half the trip was spent here at the pond. The kids loved fishing, throwing rocks, sticks, leafs, grass, what ever they could find in this pond and then you spend the second half of the trip fishing all the stuff out you tossed in! We all did it as kids, so it's fun to see the same traditions passed down. Carrie and I each grabbed a stick at one point and fished out moss and weeds. Oh the memories!
Parker, Kiley, Elsie, Amber and Emily

Issac, Ben and Sari with their slime. Brian and Julie were out of town for the week, so Matt and I were responsible for them while at the cabin. They were seriously the best, easiest kids to watch! I had such a great time with them, and hope they did too. Ben is 3 (will be 4 in August). This is my favorite age/stage. Ben had me laughing all week. He was constantly saying the funniest stuff. He has the cutest little voice too. One of my favorite comments during the week from Ben is when he was peeing outside and he said "Let's go on the stinging nettle. DIE stinging nettle, DIE!!!" He also loved playing superheros all week, and would change character at least three times a day. He was Iron Man, Spider Man, "Awesome Awesome Cool" "Super Strong" and "Pirate Buzz"
These are six of the seven grandchildren born within a year of each other. We're missing Jake is all. Nate, Will, Ben, Parker, Andy and Emery.

I asked Parker what is favorite part of the cabin was, and he said "Andy." He and Andy played so well together. They were such good buddies. They liked to fish in the pond (Andy brought his fishing pole so they'd take turns fishing). They also loved to "talk to each other." There is a stream that runs through the property and goes down under the road across the street. There is this large pipe that it goes through, so Parker goes on one side and Andy the other and they'll yell to each other through the pipe. It's so cute. They'll put something like a leaf or stick at one end and run to the other side to watch it come out of the pipe. They also played guns, all sorts of super hero characters like Star Wars, Bat Man, Iron Man, Avatar. They played hunting, shooting, squirt guns, jumping, wrestling, basketball, and every kind of typical 3 year old sport. They also had fun playing red light green light, and alligator alligator what time is it?
Here is a picture of 20 of the 25 grandchildren. Aubrey was sleeping, Brooke, Holly and Katie were in Texas and Jake was in Richmond visiting family. The cabin is perfect for family gatherings. There is space for everyone, there is so much to do, and so many places to explore. The kids get to rome all throughout the property and just be kids! I literally felt like I didn't see my kids all week long! They were out playing and exploring every single day from sun up to sun down. I saw them at meal time and occasionally when we organized an activity. We are so lucky to have such great relationships with our family. Everyone got along so well, and everyone had someone to play with (Sari was cute and although was the oldest cousin there, still played with the younger cousins which they LOVED and will always remember!). Sari also helped a ton with face painting.
Molly loves the cabin just as much as us! She doesn't move from this spot all week, and waits for a potgut or chipmunk to come out of its hole so she can chase it. She wears her self out and by night practically has to be carried to her kennel. I took her running on Saturday and she didn't need a leash which was so fun. She was running circles around us and would run up to chase a bird of critter. She loves it up there and has been sleeping the past 24 hours like a baby. I don't even know if she's eaten!
Here we are all lined up to start a scavenger hunt. This was for the dads to get their Father's Day treats.
What a great week! I can't say enough good things about the cabin. I heard every child get upset when they were told it was time to go. Each family had at least one child in tears about it. It's the perfect place to relax, to play, to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, and to be together as a family. The food is always great (and by Saturday I had to squeeze in to my clothes, no joke!) The kids always sleep horrible (which means the parents do too) so each day we all progressively get more and more tired. But we love it. We'd still be up there if we could! We can't get enough of the family time.

The adults all look forward to night time when all the kids are "asleep" and we get time to vedge, play games, visit and laugh until our cheeks can't take it anymore. I laughed so hard on so many occasions I literally cried.

A couple months ago, my parents announced that they (along with my aunts and uncles) were going to sell the cabin and that they had an interested buyer. They asked if I would do an appraisal on it to obtain a proper selling price. I can't even being to convey how upsetting it was to hear. I couldn't figure out why I was so devastated. When I told Matt about it, I cried, HARD. I could barely even talk about it. As I was telling him, I began to realize why I was so sad about selling the cabin. I had told Matt, imagine all your best, fondest memories as a child. Every holiday weekend and an additional two weeks of my summer was spent at the cabin. This is where I got to know my cousins. This is how I knew my aunts and uncles. This is where we spent days cleaning out the pond, hiking to the lookout, canoeing on the lake, catching potguts in the trap, playing "Tornado", eating yummy treats, staying up late, sleeping on the deck, playing games, singing songs, and eating scones, bacon, eggs and hash browns. Every memory I have of the cabin is a positive one. So imagine all those fun memories coming to an end. Knowing there would never be an opportunity to experience those memories again.

I felt like I was experiencing a death in the family. Suddenly this place that is so near and dear to me is gone, and I won't be able to visit anymore, I wouldn't be able to share these experiences with my children and watch them create memories of their own. It would all be a memory, nothing more. I was upset wondering how will we our children gain similar relationships with their cousins and aunts/uncles? Having dinner once a month won't cut it! We need weeks at a time and weekends at a time to build relationships and to create memories. Having good relationships with family is critical to me. I feel so strongly about having these positive influences in their lives. I feel that being close with cousins, aunts and uncles will help our children be more accountable for decisions they are making, knowing there are 45 people they are linked to that are routing for them, cheering them on and supporting them and would be disappointed if they make bad choices.

Anyway, as the weeks went by I finally finished my appraisal. I met my aunts and uncles at a meeting and told them the results. They agreed that family (meaning all the grandchildren) had first dibs and if anyone were interested they would sell it to them before this other interested buyer. As the days passed, we learned that my two brothers and sister are going to buy it! I went from Memorial Weekend reminiscing about every little thing, thinking it could possibly be my last weekend there, to this week enjoying every single second and not taking one moment for granted. I am so thrilled to know it was not my last week there, that I can continue to spend many summer and winter nights there, laughing, playing, eating, and enjoying the best company around!!! I am so grateful Amber, Parker and Aubrey will have a place to run wild, play and grow closer to their extended family. What a great week! I couldn't be happier knowing the cabin weeks will continue!

Amber's Dance Recital

2010-06-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

Princess and the Frog

This was my favorite move of all! I had caught Amber doing this several times in the last couple months, so I knew it was part of her dance recital. When ever I'd catch her doing this, I'd ask her to keep going but she got to embarrassed. I loved it though. It takes such coordination, something I have not been blessed with!

It was another great performance! We look forward to her recitals each summer/winter. She has grown up so much. To see that she is now the "older" class is strange! Emily and I started these kids when Amber was just 2! I remember taking her to her first lesson and she fell asleep on the way there. I thought there was no way she'd wake up happy and ready to be dropped off at a stranger's house...but she proved me wrong. She has loved it from the beginning. A huge thank you to Emily who introduced us to Miss Julie. If it weren't for good friends I don't know how we'd hear about anything! We love Miss Julie and look forward to another year of dance next year!

Happy 70th Dad/Grandpa!!!

2010-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my dad's 70th birthday yesterday! I can't believe he's 70! His older brother turned 80 this year, and that was strange for me too! It seems like parents are stuck in their 50's. I really don't feel like my parents are getting older! My sister Carrie had the bright idea to have a surprise party for him. After all, 70 is quite a milestone! So we spent the week planning a fun Hawaiian style surprise party. We didn't tell my mom about the party either, so it was a total shocker for both!

We were all waiting on the stairs ready to yell surprise. They thought they were going to dinner with Joan and Chad at Sampan, and thought they were just dropping off Joan/Chad's kids but little did they know...

As you can see Amber was so excited (she especially LOVED her little dress, and even asked if she could sleep in it).

This was my favorite costume of the night.

Mandy made this cake, how awesome is she? I am amazed at what she is capable of! This cake couldn't be cuter, and notice the volcano behind! That is real smoke coming out!

It wouldn't be a party for Matt without a little shut-eye.

We even had a little entertainment thanks to Eric's drum skills. It felt like we were at the PCC for a minute.

This is the line for the pinata. We started the line, oldest to youngest. Out of all those kids, three are only two between Parker & Amber! Boy they are close together!

Grandpa taking the first swing.

Yes, that is for real. She actually made it! Go Joan!

Emily has the same birthday as Grandpa, so we sang Happy Birthday to Emily as well. Happy 6th Birthday Emily! Amber was sad this morning because she wanted to be the same age as Emily.
Joan and Chad rented a "shave ice" machine, and made us real "shave ice." Complete with ice cream on the bottom, shaved ice with many choices for topping, sweet & condensed milk, and topped with whipped cream. It was so good! I think we all had two!

It was a great night. It was fun to totally surprise Dad and Mom. I love any time spent with family, and can't get enough of it!

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T21:19:00.001-07:00

Another year goes by...it seems so strange we are entering our third year without Joyce. This September will be three years since she passed away. We spent a great weekend at the cabin together with all the "Local" Morgans (30 of 43, not too bad!). We went straight from there to the cemetery to visit Joyce and then went to Carrie & Jason's for a BBQ. I can never get enough family time. We had a great time with many laughs, and made a few more inside jokes ("incontinence" "check out my burn" "wind fan" "in-destructible table"). There is just something about that cabin. We all love it so much and always go away with such great memories. It's so fun to see our kids now entering that phase. They re-create so many memories I have. One thing has changed though, the pond, is now called the swamp. We never looked at it as the swamp. Sure it had moss and weeds throughout and you'd never ever step foot in it, but it was always the pond! Anyway, the cabin was great. Have I said that enough? Here are a few photos from the cemetery.

Hike Tonight

2010-05-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight we took a little hike up Millcreek Canyon. It was such a great night and Matt and I wanted to get out an do something. We seriously had so much fun. Amber said "Dad, I want to do this every single day!" We agreed. There is just something about being away from it all. We collected about 50 sticks, and threw maybe 100 rocks, a couple snowballs, walked through streams, and just enjoyed a nice night. Parker was finding sticks that looked like "a sword" and "antlers." The stick that looked like a sword he stuffed down his pants and would whack trees and bushes. We made it about half way up the trail before we turned around...only because it was getting too dark. We all wanted to keep going. What a great way to spend a night together.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-25T20:28:00.001-07:00

Today was Amber's last day of preschool! My life as I know it has changed forever! I will now base my life around school, every day! I really enjoy preschool because it's only three days a week. Kindergarten...every day, really? Anyway, this is cute Amber right before we left for her last day. Parker and Aubrey wanted to get in the photo as well.

Amber's preschool program started off with them each telling their favorite thing about preschool. Amber's favorite thing was "The hula hoop" and "Halloween."

Amber and Spencer were lucky enough to go to school together. We love living close to cousins! They had a great year together and really looked out for one another.

We sure love Miss Dana! She is so great and made the last two years so fun for Amber. The program was so fun, and Amber for the past several weeks has kept it a secret and wouldn't tell me anything that the program was about or her part. She did a great job and learned several songs. She did "Row, Row, Row your boat" in sign language. It was really cool.

"Track Meet"

2010-05-21T16:40:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun day today! I signed Amber and Parker up for a "track meet" that was today. I was super excited for it and got the kids all excited as well. I had no clue what to expect, but we got there and they put everyone in to three groups based off their age. The three events they participated in were: Jump, long and short run, and throwing. Parker and Amber were in different groups so I worried they wouldn't participate with out the other. They both did AWESOME though! It was seriously so dang fun and they both loved it!

Amber won first place in the long run and second in the short run. She first did the short run, and when she got second place she was pretty disappointed in herself. She said "I only want to be first." So when it was time for the long run she was totally prepared and took off. It was super cute to see her competitive side come out. I was totally competitive as well! I wanted Amber and Parker to win it all! You can't help but be a proud parent on the side lines cheering them on. I kept telling them before we even got there this was just for fun and it didn't matter if you came in first or last. I really believe that BEFORE the event and then couldn't help but get super excited and hope they won.

Parker got 3rd place on the short run and 1st place on the long run.

So the jump was Parker's first event. He was acting so shy and I didn't think there was any way he would participate, but he did! One moment he was shy and burying himself in to my hip, the next thing you know the guy yells "ready, set, go!" and Parker took off. Is this just the cutest?

After the track meet we went swimming. It was my first time taking all three kids by myself. I was pretty nervous, but all went well. No drowning! After about a half hour of wressling the three kids a lifeguard asked "do you want life jackets for them?" Typically I don't do floatation stuff hoping they'll learn how to swim on their own, but I gladly accepted them and it made the next two hours a breeze! It was a fun day, we're all exhausted but honestly what a great way to start the weekend!

Amber's Birthday

2010-05-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Amber's 5th Birthday today. Matt had the day off, so we spent the whole day partying! We went swimming, played outside, and had family and a few friends over tonight to celebrate.

We let the kids pick what ever dinner they want for their birthday, Amber's choice: sausage, spaghetti & salad! Our kids don't really like anything so I was surprised spaghetti made it to the top of the list. Spaghetti has always been my favorite, so I was happy to make it! My little nephew Nate for his birthday chose corn, potatoes and rice. I just asked Parker what he'd choose for his birthday dinner and he said "apples."

Yummy Carrot Cake...another pick by Amber. Her first cake she asked me to make was a big round cake with stripes and polka-dots with an Ariel Barbie/Mermaid Barbie in the middle. She wanted pink and purple polka-dots. This cake sounds very similar to the cake Mandy made Amber 2 years ago for her 3rd birthday. There is no way I could get close to anything that beautiful! Luckily Amber had a piece of carrot cake last week and LOVED it, and said "mom, this is the cake I want for my birthday." I lucked out again! If I had to choose carrot cake is definitely my favorite as well, so again another great choice by Amber!

Lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. Selfishly made for me! I love cream cheese frosting...add a little lemon juice, a lemon head on top, and it is just delicious! Amber helped me decorate them this year which was fun.

Playing duck-duck-goose on the tramp.

Another one of Amber's requests was a pinata. It was so much fun! Amber chose the biggest pinata at the store, so we filled it chuck full of candy. This was the high-light of the night for everyone. I love the anticipation and the excitement. I also love the attempts to hit the pinata and get close to hitting everyone else (I think it's funny! Not if someone gets hurt but if they almost get hurt!). Matt just about got whacked at least five different times!

All Amber asked for was a mermaid barbie with a dolphin. She lucked out and got three different versions of it.

This is cute Bailey and Amber. Bailey is Amber's best friend. They play soccer together and dance together.

I love this picture! Thank you Emily for capturing all the nights events.

Amber had such a great day. She was so sweet, and knew right away that today was special. She kept saying all day "I'm the birthday girl so I can..." Fill in the blank with "go first" "choose first" "play with this" "Keep this all day long." She loves her new toys, especially the Barbies. She was counting down the minutes until she could take a bath with her new toys. As soon as her bath was over she asked if she could sleep with them. What a cutie. Amber is such a sweet heart. People tell me all the time how compassionate she is, how loving and caring she is. I feel so lucky to have such a kind child. She really is a good friend to everyone. I love this stage of life, and will be sad to have her go to Kindergarten next year. She is such a big helper to me! She keeps Parker and Aubrey entertained all day long! She is such a good listener and rarely has to be asked more than once to do anything. She enjoys playing outside on the tramp and making "mud cakes" in the sandbox. She loves to pretend and finds even a rock and a stick entertaining. She has loved soccer this year, is learning to read and has read several books to me in the past two weeks. We can't wait to go camping and fishing all summer long this summer. Happy Birthday Amber!

Six Months in a nutshell...

2010-05-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Easter...

Easter Egg Hunt and Grammy and Grandpa's. They were so excited and moving so quick all my pictures were blurry!

Parker, Amber, Nate, Elsie, Jeremy, Ian and Lindy.

Parker SO excited for CaNdY!!!

Aubrey's BeSt day EveR!!! Why are my kids such candy junkies? It must be in the Morgan blood!

Scary photo...super early morning, we all look fresh out of bed! The kids got candy and a few toys for outside (sandbox toys, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc.) Matt surprised me with a Garmin. I was so excited to finally have a way to track my runs (speed and distance). What a great surprise! We had a great Easter Weekend. I LOVE Conference Weekend. It is a great time spent with family, eating GREAT food and enjoying such inspiring talks. This Conference was so great, and I felt like there were so many talks I needed to hear about how to be a better parent and how to keep our home a happy one. I really was so inspired to be better. We are so fortunate to have a modern day prophet that is so inspired and gives such great counsel.

Matt's parents were out of town over Easter, so had another Easter Egg Hunt the following weekend at the Demings.

All the Deming cousins: Amber, Issak, Skyler, Aubrey, Katie, Emily and Parker.

This is Parker's first year in soccer. He plays for the Jolly Green Giants. He looks so tiny out there, but fits right in with the other three year olds! He has really enjoyed it, and loves playing with his best friends Jackson and Will.

Parker and Will in their first game spent more time on the grass than up and running. They were wrestling, and just relaxing at times. It was hilarious. Every team has kids like this...I was so proud I was the parent of one of them! It really was so fun and entertaining to watch!

Amber Started Soccer a couple weeks ago. She has been trying extra hard to score a goal so we can get "A Monster Slurpee." She has done really well though, and enjoys playing with her best friend Bailey and her cousins Morgan, Spencer, and Will. We're trying to get used to the crazy sports schedule...between Parker and Amber we have four games a week! We love it though!

More Aubrey's Birthday Pics

2010-01-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from Grandpa's phone. Glad for backups!

Happy Birthday Aubrey

2010-01-16T20:26:00.001-08:00

Aubrey turned one today! Happy Birthday Aubrey! We spent the weekend at the cabin, so we were able to spend the day with family. Our camera's battery died, so we only got one picture of her with the cake, but more will follow thanks to Aunt Katie and Grandpa.
Here she is eating the traditional "breakfast cake" for breakfast.

Cousin Jeremy being a goof, and Aubrey loving it.

So serious!

Earlier she actually held one finger up, it was so cute.
It was a beautiful day, out of the smoggy cold weather. It was sunny blue skies, and perfect weather for sledding! Here is Molly and Elsie.
Parker and me.
Amber and me. I have realized how I am getting old!!! Over the Christmas break after a day full of sledding, I was totally sore! Sore from what?! How can I possibly be sore from sledding? Apparently there are muscles you use during sledding that my body isn't used to! I tried to take it a little easier today, but still got a lot of fun runs in. Parker and I went down together at one point and were cruising faster than I ever remember going in my life! We were loving it! He didn't want to go again after that, so I went and did it again by myself. Matt came down and just laughed at me. A 30 year old mom of 3 cruising down the hill by myself. It was great! I didn't get going as fast as I did with Parker, but it was still a quick run.

The best part about the cabin...family, food, the laughter, sledding, and the nights! We always look forward to the nights when all the kids are asleep and the adults play games or watch movies, or just visit. Last night we watched "Scrubs" until 1:00 AM, and laughed and laughed and laughed. Unfortunately we were all up at the first sign of light (all the kids are always too excited and get up so early!!!!). We have all said time and time again, we don't know what it is about the cabin...we all love it SO much, but yet we always sleep horribly!

Parker was attempting to make a snow angel on this snow plow ledge

Shortly after this picture they wiped out...poor Aubrey got a little scrape on her face. They had fun though and went again and again! All in all it was a great way to spend Aubrey's birthday. We had so much fun playing outside we actually forgot to give her her presents. We'll have to give them to her tomorrow! The cabin is such a great place though. I have some of my best memories as a kid at the family cabin. Our kids are the same way. We asked Amber and Parker what their favorite part of the cabin was, Amber said "everything except the car ride home." She specifically loved watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", playing games, sledding, eating breakfast cake, and taking a little hike to the swamp (that is frozen so they walked across it!). Parker loved making snow angels, sledding, eating breakfast cake, singing happy birthday to Aubrey, and eating tons of junk food. They got to stay up super late too, which is always a bonus. We hope to go up many more times before the snow melts. I have hated this smog more this year than ever...so I can't wait to go again! It won't be soon enough!

Adventures of Molly

2010-01-09T12:45:00.001-08:00

I know she's just a dog, but seriously I love her! I have LOVED the past week so much. She has done so well, and is so happy here. Each day she gets more and more comfortable here in her new home. She likes coming inside more now, and will scratch lightly at the door when she's ready to come in, but still LOVES being outside. I leave her out there at least half of the day. She has slept in her kennel every night, and hasn't made a peep! We are so happy about that so that when we travel and camp, she'll be ok in a kennel. She loves playing fetch with us, and can run so incredibly fast. I am so used to Libby and her ways of getting around that it is amazing to me to see the difference in the two.

In fact, I never got to take Libby running. I was so excited to get a lab to have a running partner with. We never were able to go, not once. Our vet told us at our first check up with her that she had early signs of dysplasia, and we should not run with her, and be careful even on walks. So I waited to go running with Molly until Thursday to be sure our vet said she could handle it (we had met with our vet on Wednesday, and he said she has great hips!). So Thursday I was so excited. I got up, and we took off and ran 45 minutes together. It was so much fun. I went to the park right by our house and we ran on all the trails there. She was so happy, and would run a head of me then would come back to check on me, then would take off again. A couple times she sensed someone coming, and would stop and kind of growl to warn me someone was close (this was well before I could even see them or hear them). It was so much fun, have I said that yet? I really felt like we bonded that morning. Crazy, I know. But seriously since then she loves to be near me, and is so much more excited to see me in the morning or when I get back from errands. I was so happy all morning and couldn't wait to go running with her again!

Aubrey couldn't be happier. We noticed early on in Aubrey's short little life that she LOVES animals. She brightens up when ever she's around them, and has always since she could express herself. With Molly it is no different. Aubrey can be found on Molly's pillow throughout the entire day. Needless to say she is covered in dog hair, but I kid you not she is on this pillow more than she is not. She loves to sit next to Molly and will pet her and "talk" to her. It really is so sweet. I wish I had gotten a picture each day, but I only have a few.

I walked in this morning after breakfast to Aubrey literally laying on Molly. She was totally content and relaxed. By the time I got the camera she had shifted a little so it doesn't look as cute as she did when I first saw her.

This is Aubrey's new walker/riding toy she got for Christmas. We have it elevated to help her walk around the house, but Amber had put her on it and was pushing her around. She was having the time of her life! It was so cute.

Aubrey really is my adventurous child. She is so daring and does the craziest stuff. She is always climbing on to everything (our chairs, Amber's craft table, the coffee table, toilets (or better yet trying to get in the toilet)). By the time I am out of the shower, my house is destroyed. She will go through every drawer and cabinet in the bathrooms and kitchen, and will often go to the laundry baskets and pull out all the dirty laundry. I really swear my other two weren't like that. It's possible I have forgotten, but we've lived in this house for 4 years now, and I never had to put child locks on the drawer's, cabinets, etc. The only thing I remember was them going for Libby's water/food bowl and the toilet. Anyway, never a dull moment around our house.

During my showers I used to put everything up on the counter I knew she was sure to get in to, but then she figured out how to get up on to the stool to get what she wanted. I swear, isn't she too young to be doing this?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I was at the mall the other day with my cheap little umbrella stroller, and she was arching her back so hard and be such a wiggle worm she actually broke the straps, so it no longer buckles. I know it is just a cheap little thing, but come on?! Again, Amber and Parker loved taking stroller rides, and never once caused any scenes at any stores. All I needed was a sippy cup and a snack and they were set for hours. Such a different child!!

Another thing I love, is our yard. We have had so much fun sledding this winter. We spend so much more time out there than I thought we would. We (including me!) love to sled down the hill. Amber and Parker will go out for a good hour, and then we all come in for some hot chocolate. It is so fun, and Molly loves to chase us down the hill. In this picture she has found the one piece of grass and is relaxing in it!

Molly

2010-01-01T21:09:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly, the newest member of our family! We adopted her today from a shelter in Grantsville. She is three years old (we're pretty sure). We've been looking at several different Labs over the past couple weeks, and went back and forth between puppies and adopting. We decided today to adopt, and I am SO happy about it! She is so amazing! She is totally mellow, she is so good with the kids, she is crate trained, house broken, and has all the basic commands down (sit, stay, come, etc.). What more could I ask for (maybe if she didn't shed!). It is so nice to get a dog though that seems relatively healthy, doesn't chew everything up, doesn't bite everyone, won't pee and poop all over everything, and actually prefers to sleep in her kennel rather than by us. She LOVES to be outside and is so playful, she hasn't barked or growled once, I'm telling you adopting should ALWAYS be the way to go! I'm a huge fan! I love to know that we saved this little cutie from life in a shelter (or certain death, right?). What a good way to start out 2010.

I Love Christmas!

2009-12-23T20:05:00.001-08:00

Monday night I got together with my girlfriends from High School. There were a few who couldn't attend, but we got a great turn out! Thanks Sara for hosting. There was a little miscommunication about the dress code for the night. The only one's who got the memo were Sara and Amy (Amy is taking the picture). They were both wearing awesome Christmas sweaters. I just LOVE my cute friends and enjoy any time I can get together with them!

How sad that this is the best we could do for our Sunday photo.

I babysat my sister & brother-in-laws 4 cute kids while they were in Hawaii last week. Their youngest Andy is a total boy, and I mean through and through. He loves trucks, cars, Lightening McQueen, Buzz Lightyear, hunting, camping, basketballs, footballs, getting dirty, playing in the mud, etc. He is seriously ALL boy. So this picture HAD to be captured. I love this kid. He had me laughing all week long with all the funny things he'd say and do. This was probably one of the highlights. I was down stairs checking my email, and I hear this "clunk...clunk, clunk, ...." and next thing I see it's Andy all dressed up, heels and all. It was awesome.

This is how Amber used to sleep. Bum up in the air. So cute.

So this is the reason for my title "I Love Christmas!" I love being with family. I would hang out with family every second if I could. It's not often you get all the family together in the same room, let alone with out kids! Aaron and his wife Fitriah are in town for the holidays, so we were able to go to dinner Tuesday with NO kids! We all got babysitters! I think this is the first time we have ever done that. It was so fun to be together and celebrate Lisa's birthday, and to have a nice quiet, relaxing dinner. Thanks Demings for a fun dinner!

Happy Birthday Parker!

2009-12-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Parker got his first gun! Of course it's just a fakie, but he loves it. He was speechless when he opened it. I can't believe how "boy" he is! He knew exactly what to do, and was checking through the scope, and was aiming perfectly! It was unreal! I love it! Matt loves it too.
All Parker wanted was a garbage truck for his birthday. He has been asking for the past several weeks. I thought he'd be so excited when he saw it, but truthfully, he was more excited about the gun. When Amber asked him to open his second present (the garbage truck) he said "oh, no thanks." He was perfectly content with his gun.

Second highlight of the day, blowing out the candles. Parker loves this part. It brought back memories of his 2nd birthday when he blew out the candles so quickly. It was the same tonight. The anticipation was killing him! He was right there on my lap ready to go and you could just see the excitement on his face and the more tense he'd get as the song came to an end. I love it!
Parker wanted an "ice cream cake." He chose green frosting and helped me put it all together. The funny thing is, he didn't even eat this cake. He ate the other cake his grandma brought!

Parker got a few cars from Grammy and Papa. He also got a cool "Cars" book that came with a flash light and movie projector and some birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Deming.

We had a fun birthday for Parker today. He is such a happy guy, and had a fun day. Of course it snowed like crazy today. It always does it seems.

Midway and a little more...

2009-11-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was able to spend a great weekend with some of my most favorite people in the world: my mom, Emily and her mom, Vera. What a fun time we had!!! We spent all of our time chatting, laughing, shopping, eating, and more laughing and talking! I love these three people so much. I have known Emily for as long as I can remember. We grew up together, and have stayed really close even after we graduated. Emily and I have kids the same ages and genders, so it's been fun to hang out more and more as our kids have gotten a little bigger. I can't get enough of Emily! I always have such a blast when she's around. She is so dang funny, so much fun, a GREAT listener, just an all around great person. I am so lucky to have known her all these years. She really is one of my best friends.

As I was preparing for my speech at Stacie's wedding, I spend several days reading through my journals trying to find some funny memories from my past. I have a horrible memory, so was really hoping my journals would pull through for me. Needless to say, I read over and over again about fun memories with Stacie and had a major blast from the past...but I couldn't believe how much of my journal had Emily in it! I had forgotten how close we were even as youngsters. I feel like I'm way closer to her now than I ever have been before, but I guess we had our fair share of good times growing up! It just goes to show that where you live is such a huge deal. I was lucky enough to have a neighborhood full of fun girls all my age. I want the same for Amber. All my years of girls camp and weekly activities, sports, all with my ward friends was priceless. I was so lucky to have such good girls as friends growing up.

I wish Emily and I lived next door. Our kids are already pretty good buddies, but think of the fun they could have if they were neighbors! Think of the fun Emily and I could have! Here are a few things they've enjoyed together over the past year (thanks Emily for the photos...with a broken camera luckily Emily has kept good track).

Soccer...The Golden Giraffe's this past fall

Parker and Jackson playing "kitchen" or something like that.

Bailey's Fancy Nancy Birthday party a couple weeks ago.

Swimming Lessons with "D"

Dance recital last winter/Christmas

Aubrey is close to walking

2009-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Aubrey took her first step yesterday, and how appropriate too...she turned 10 months yesterday! I can't believe she's ready to walk though. Amber didn't walk until 13 months, and Parker about 12 months, so this is rather soon! When she walks, she is totally stiff legged, and won't bend her knees, so she has some work to do, but she's there! It's amazing!

Quick Trip to Texas

2009-11-16T19:46:00.001-08:00

Just over three years ago, Carrie, Joan and I flew down to Texas to be with Joyce for "girls weekend" and to celebrate Joyce & Joan's birthday. We were all pregnant at the time (some more than others as you can see). We had such an amazing time. It was such a fun memory I will always cherish, and one of the many miracles that took place during Joyce's battle with cancer.

Joan just celebrated her 28th birthday a couple weeks ago, in Texas. Carrie and I were fortunate enough to go down last weekend and spend some time with Joan. We decided that from now on, we'll meet every year around this same time to celebrate Joan's birthday, and to remember our sweet sister Joyce.

We started the weekend off with a few good laughs (my doors aren't automatic...) We wished my mom (Carol) could have been there, and thought it was quite appropriate when we saw this sign:

We spent Thursday hanging out, eating lots of food, and relaxing, and laughing! Joan let Carrie and I sleep in until after 9:00 on Friday, and then made us a yummy breakfast. We then left to go get pedicures and shop!

I saw my first real mall cop on a segway. I was baffled they existed. I thought the movie Mall Cop was just a spoof.

We got some great deals while shopping, but not all stores were offering great deals...

We had to take a trip The Cheesecake Factory. Carrie, Joyce, Joan and I went to dinner there three years ago when were were out for our girls weekend. We thought it was such a coincidence that of all the places to sit in the restaurant, we ended up in the same place as before. There were a lot of moments we felt like Joyce was with us. Any time I'm around Joan, I automatically think she must be hanging around!

We spent Saturday eating, shopping more, and saw the Michael Jackson "This is it." movie. We over ate on all sorts of junk, yummy food, and crepes. What a fun memory! I love spending time with my sisters, and wish I could do more of it!

Here we are after a fun weekend of shopping. We all bought so much (for the kids of course!). Carrie and I had a really tough time fitting it all in our suitcase.

Thanks for such a great weekend Taylors! We sure LOVE being in your home, and can't wait for the next one (next time I'll be sure to bring a bigger suitcase). Oh, and just for the record, I think I gained at least 5 pounds. I honestly can't fit in to my "skinny" jeans. Thanks guys, real cool!

Broken Camera

2009-10-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

So I've been out of touch because our camera broke, so it's tough to post cute pictures when you don't have any! Amber got a cute haircut. We cut it pretty short, and it looks so good!

Matt has spent several of the past few weekends hunting. He hunted deer, then elk. He was able to get one of each (good for him, but sad that we have a freezer full of deer meat now...yuck!). Anyway, Parker and Amber have been obsessed with the whole hunting thing. In their prayers they say "and bless daddy that he'll shoot a deer..." it's on their minds 24-7. So a few weeks we were playing "teacher." Parker and I were the students. Amber was trying to teach us something and Parker was being silly and wasn't listening. Amber said "fine, that's it, you're going to time out!" and she grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the corner. He went limp of course and was laughing while she literally dragged him, and he said "hey look Amber, I'm a deer!"

I guess all the hunting talk of dragging a deer and elk wore off on Parker!

Girls Trip--North Carolina

2009-09-22T19:49:00.001-07:00

After two flights, a 1 ½ hour drive to Dave and Ashley's, and then another 4 hour drive to Carolina Beach, we could finally say “we arrived!!” We spent the entire day swimming in the ocean and hanging out at the beach. Is there anything better than the beach, warm weather, good company, and NO responsibility? I felt like a kid again.

The first night we stayed at Dave and Ashley’s house. It couldn't be any cuter. It is in the most beautiful neighborhood. It is so charming. We stayed up until after 3:30 AM visiting and laughing. Anna slept through it all! It was a good way to start the trip. After we woke up we went running, took a drive around her neighborhood, ate some yummy lunch at a place called “Bricks” (I ate an entire pizza by myself, a HUGE pizza! Let the over eating begin!)

Brianne started this little list of funny things from the weekend…here they are (in no particular order!)

Things I have learned since being here

Jen follows the speed limit only on vacation
Trisha does not do well with multiple people giving her directions at the same time
Jill is a little fish
Jen drinks more Diet Coke than Vitamin Water
Half of us are not afraid of a little power ball action (which will be split 5 ways and is currently at 111 million)
Trisha will do ANYTHING for 5 bucks
Katy likes her closet to be checked before going to bed
Sara is afraid of spiders but not criminals
The cops still question us at 2:00 a.m.
NC has the biggest rocking chair
The downward dog is awkward on sand
That the only thing missing from Ashley’s house is the white picket fence
It is possible to consume 6000 calories in a day
That drinks taste better in wine glasses
Elevators which only hold 500 lbs are shady
Southern hospitality is real
Sleep is optional
That politics are very personal and between us we go from far right to far left
That you never grow too old for hair dye and bubble bath
Jen secretly works for the Mac counter
Trisha and Stacie continue to speak a foreign language together in the form of laughter

Best one liners of the trip
For future reference listen to the girl holding the GPS. –Rossi
Yes Sir, I knew the speed limit was 55 mph-Bri
“f”-BriAnd the journey begins! Here we are on the plane taking off...
Staying up late on the stairs at Ashley's. We were so happy to be together we didn't even bother going to the family room to sit on comfy chairs/couches.

This is Dave and Ashley's house. Cutest on the block, but all the houses are gorgeous!

First day at the beach!

Dinner in Wilmington at Sticky Fingers

More beach time!

Jen's cute toes...

Downtown historic Wilmington

This was a restaurant right off the dock in Wilmington. It was the best food ever! Many of us wanted to get some seafood our last night there and we just happened to go to this place. The food was seriously the best ever. I ate tons and could have kept going.

Doesn't this make your mouth water?!

Why don't they have these in Utah? Car's pull on through to get drinks of any kind. How nice would that be...no need to take all the kids out, just go to the brew thru!

Mrs. Anderson

Our first night there we were surrounded by cops around 2:30 AM due to a break-in next door. It freaked us out a bit, but we were comforted knowing we were surrounded by police just for a small break in.

We stayed up until at least 3:00 AM every night. I never wanted to go to bed. We were all so hyper and laughed and laughed and laughed all night!

We made sure to use the wine glasses for all our soda drinking.

Anything for $5.00-that's all I'll say.

The last night we were there, Jen did make overs on just about everyone. She is so talented and should work as a make up girl I tell you. Everyone looked AMAZING! This is the only picture I got of her work (expect for Brianne's profile shot above...that is post-Jen makeup).

We just randomly pulled over to get drinks at a gas station, and lo and behold we stumbled upon the largest rocking chair in the world (that's not the official title of it, but have you ever heard of or seen a bigger one?)

This was such a fun weekend. I had such a great time, and never wanted it to end. There were no crazy fights or controversy (maybe a few heated political debates), but just pure fun. I have such a blast with these girls and can't wait for the next adventure! I really felt like I was a kid in high school again. I had no responsibility, I ate what ever the heck I wanted, stayed up late, and laughed my head off! I miss laughing that much! These girls can get me laughing like no one else can! I was hyper 24-7! What a fun trip...

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2009-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

So I'm in line to check out at the store yesterday, and I look back and see Amber picking up the latest US Magazine. I was able to get these two pictures with out her even noticing. I wonder where she learned this????

Aubrey's First Tooth!

2009-09-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Aubrey has two teeth! I felt her first one yesterday, and then felt the other one today! She made it all the way to 8 months! Amber and Parker got their first teeth at four months, so once again she is SO different from them! She is crawling all over the place, and continues to pull her self up on to everything. Today we had a good day. She slept in until 8:00, and took two 2-hour naps. That hasn't happened in all of her life I swear. It was a good day!!!

The Big 30

2009-09-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me! I turned the big 3-0 this year. Of course it was no big deal...how can we help getting older? It is just strange to be in my 30's. I feel like I'm 25 still. Matt and I were discussing just the other day that we have entered a whole new stage. We used to look at some of our "older" friends that had three kids, drove a minivan, etc. and just thought of them as established. They had careers, not just a job. They had kids in school, not babies. We're now there. It is a weird feeling. The first time I realized it was when we were in Jackson Hole this past summer. For the first time I felt old. Here I had three kids and the whole van thing, and yet I used to live there, ran the river, etc. I looked at all the "kids" around me and thought, I used to be them! Now I'm in a whole new stage of life.

Matt made me the traditional breakfast cake for breakfast. We do this for every birthday. My mom would make it for us, so we've kept the tradition. We all love it and have no problem eating the whole cake. Amber had picked out those flowers for me, and Parker got me a Symphony Chocolate Bar (Matt told me they picked out the gifts themselves). Matt got me some much needed new clothes.

Sara and Abby had me and the kids over for lunch. The got my favorite; Cafe Rio's Pork Salad . Sara made a yummy cake dessert. They sang and everything! It was the most we've been able to chat for months. Usually when we get the kids together it's crazy and we don't get to visit at all. This time though, all the big kids played in the back while we played in the kitchen with our babies. It was so fun!

That night Matt and I went to dinner. Emily Loveland had offered to watch our kids that night. So I dropped them off and Matt and I left. We went to the Garden downtown. It was fun...great food, good conversation, beautiful views of the city. It was great. I knew Matt had something planned afterwords, but I wasn't sure what. He wouldn't tell me. We headed towards home so I started to think it was cake and ice cream with my family. We got home and I opened the door to all my family and many of our friends. It was such a fun surprise. He went to a lot of trouble. He had arranged so much all with out me knowing! I was impressed. He even had my mom come over and help clean up the house (who can leave it spotless ever? If you know how please let me know!). He had Sara buy my favorite desserts (including Pumpkin Pie!!!), in addition to decorations (her personal favorite is the antelope decor...see the first photo). He had Mandy make a yummy cake, Debbie made a yummy apple pie. It looked so cute inside, and it was fun to see so many people I love all in one room! I was almost overwhelmed because I wanted to talk to each person individually but it's hard to do that in such a short period of time. I was grateful for all who came, and had such a fun time.

Carrie and Emily
Eric, Aubrey, Matt and Alan Pohlman
Emily and me

Mandy, Cole, Abby & Oliver, and Jill
Grandpa (Lee), Grandma (Debbie), and Mom (Grammy)

Travis with Allee, Nathan, Jody, Sara and Jill with her back toward the camera. Jody made the cute cookie bouquet. She is so talented, and I swear makes the BEST sugar cookies ever!!! I was selfish and wouldn't share these that night. I've made them with her before hoping to capture her secret, but for some reason when I tried it on my own they just didn't taste as good. I don't know why! She is seriously a master. If you don't believe me, just ask her to bake you some (as long as I'm there to eat some too).
Parkie, me and Travis
Little Macy
Travis, Nathan, Jody, Sara and Macy

Grandma Deming and Aubrey

Abby, Max, Carrie holding Katelyn (Emily's baby)
Mandy with Will, Cole and Jeremy

Grandpa Deming and Matt
Carrie, Mom and Cole
Amber and me
Amber, me and Bailey
Parker
Carrie, Mom and me (and part of little Cole)

Oops, Ryan sat on a piece of pie...hard to tell with his shorts
Here's the flattened pie

A big thanks to Matt for pulling this all off and making it such a fun birthday. He is such a good husband. He was just as excited as I was when we came inside. What a cutie!

Amber's First Day of School

2009-09-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

Amber & Miss Dana

She was able to bring one item to share today. She chose her little stuffed animal (dog). It's funny she chose this dog. She hasn't played with it in ages. I expected her to bring her polly pockets. This happened last year too. One time she was asked to bring a picture of her family. I gave her dozens to choose from, and she chose the most random one that was by far the silliest photo. Obviously it was important to her.

What a cutie! We're so happy to be with Miss Dana again this year. Last year flew by, so I expect this year to be the same...and then it's kindergarten! Crazy!

One Last Summer Outing

2009-09-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we took a day trip to Whitney Reservoir. Matt had to work over the weekend, so it was just for the day. This is such a beautiful place in the Uintahs. It's about a two hour drive, but well worth it.

Here we are right before we got on the lake.

Here is Amber at the end of the day. We had caught five fish that were worth keeping between Grandpa and Dad. There were several others caught throughout the day, but these were the biggest. We've had good fishing days on Whitney, and bad days. Today was definitely a good day!

The chain was so heavy Grandpa needed to help Amber hold it up. She was so excited throughout the whole day. When a fish was reeled in, Amber would say things like "OH!! That looks like a good one! That's huge! It's a rainbow trout!" She would copy everything we had or would say. Parker was quick to copy her as well.

Parker fell asleep in the boat, so we woke him up to take this picture. He obviously wasn't as happy to pose with the fish. My favorite "Parker" comment of the day, is when we were headed to shore in our boat, and we saw three boats a head of us a ways just ready to dock at shore. Parker said "look at those penguins in those boats!" From far away I guess the people in their neoprene looked like penguins. Pretty cute!

Grandma, Amber and Grandpa right before we loaded the boat up. We had a fun day. It was windy and a little chilly, but other than that a good time! We all got sunburned. It was a fun way to spend our last day before school started for Amber.

Aubrey's Accomplishments

2009-09-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is Aubrey crawling, or I guess "Army" crawling, but it's all the same to me. The point is she can get where ever she wants to very quickly! It also means I can't leave ANYTHING on the floor. I don't have a problem with that, but Amber and Parker on the other hand leave all sorts of treasures behind. This morning I found a peach pit camouflaged in to the carpet. This isn't from a lack of cleaning. I vacuum of kitchen/living room area three times a day (after each meal) for that reason, I don't want little crumbs left behind. In the last four days, she has still somehow found "stuff" on the floor. I've had to use the finger sweep technique each day. I've dug out Frito's, leaves, a beef bullion wrapper, and paper. She also is so quick to grab anything out of my hand. The other day she took a spoon out of the bowl when I was clearing the table. Before I knew it, it was in her mouth. She had put a spoon full of chili in her mouth.

And she can pull her self up in her crib! I've had to take out her bumper pads because she'd try and use them as a stepping stool. I swear this isn't normal for seven months! I guess she's almost eight months, but she's been doing it for a couple weeks now.

Stacie's Wedding

2009-09-03T20:57:00.001-07:00

Anyone that knows me well, knows I had one best friend all through high school and post high school. Stacie Stevens has been my closest friend since 8th grade. We went to college together, ran the river together for a few summers, and spent every second we possibly could together in our younger years. I got married rather young, about nine years ago. So our lives have gone two different ways since then. Although we've gone two separate ways, I've still always considered her my best friend. She has made such an incredible effort to be part of my life and my family's life over these past nine years, so we have remained close. I know that she has so many friends in her life...TONS! I'm sure there are many, many people that say "oh yeah, she's one of my best friends!" but let me tell you all, that she is my best friend. I know she has lots of others, but she is the one person in my life that I have all my favorite memories with, I went to college with her, I told her EVERYTHING and still do! She knows me inside and out. She makes me laugh harder than anyone in this world. I honestly love her to pieces. So yes, she has lots of best friends, but she is mine! So I was so excited to be able to go to her wedding in San Diego. This was the highlight of the trip for me. My favorite conversations I'd have with Stacie pre-marriage is when she'd say "I met someone..." I'd get so excited and want every detail of their meeting, how, when, what...etc. I'd always make her dish out all the goods. When it didn't work out, she'd always say "sorry to get you excited about nothing." I always told her I want every detail regardless. I couldn't WAIT for her to say "I think this might be it." When she met JJ, she was so excited and told me right away something was different about him. I wouldn't leave her alone and was constantly asking her how things were going. It was so fun to meet him and see their connection. He is such a great guy. Stacie deserves nothing but the best. JJ is seriously so dang cool. I'll explain more later...

They honestly are so happy! They were both beaming.

She is such a beautiful bride!! Everything about her hair, dress, flowers, jewelry, it all was perfect.

Here is her cute family (minus Mitch, on a mission in Germany). I spent so many hours at their house when I was younger. I seriously considered them my second family. In the picture, Jake and his wife Lindsay, Gary, JJ, Stacie, Margaret, Scott and Nate.

Ashley, Brianne, Stacie and me
Ashley and Dave came from North Carolina for the wedding. It was so fun to spend the day with them too. I realized how much I miss them! They are so much fun, and made the day so fun too. We were able to spend a little bit of time with them on Thursday at Disneyland as well.

Me and Matt

for more wedding (professional) pictures, check out her photographer's blog:

http://michellesallayphotography.blogspot.com/

So it was awesome. Hands down fantastic! I was able to say a few words at the dinner that night. It was something I stressed about because I knew I could go on and on about her, but I knew that'd make her a little awkward and her family bored! They already know how great she is, and they'd rather have funny stuff said! So I was reading through all my journals to try and get a few stories I could share about her. I have the worst memory so I was hoping my journals would pull through. I had so much fun reading about our lives together. She is seriously so funny. After only a couple months of us first hanging out, I read that I had peed my pants from laughing so hard. That was the first, but most definitely not the last. With in a few more months, I had peed again. We went to Lake Powell in 9th grade together, and yes, again I wet my pants from laughing so hard. She can get me laughing like no one else. I had story after story of funny things she said or did. I realized quickly though, what a good friend she always has been. I am amazed she gave me so many chances. I read story after story of me me me and all they boys I liked or didn't like. I was selfish and so darn boy crazy. How could she even handle that? She really is an amazing person, who is so forgiving. I am so grateful for her, and for her friendship. I can't wait to get to know JJ better. After the SLC reception, I went to her parent's house after and hung out a bit. I was laughing so hysterically at them. They are so cute, so in love, and so dang funny. I just love JJ for Stacie. What a great pair they make! As I said earlier, she truly deserves the best. Many of the people that spoke about JJ at the dinner had such great things to say. It shed a little more light on the type of person JJ is. I know he will make her so happy, and will work so hard, and is a loyal guy. Stacie is a lucky gal, and he is a lucky guy. They really are so perfect for each other!

Matt and I both had such a great time, both at the San Diego and SLC reception. The Stevens know how to party, and Stacie knows how to dance! I have always told Matt that Stacie has good moves. He believed me, but didn't realize how good of moves I was talking about! After we left the dinner in San Diego, Matt said "you always told me Stacie could bust a move, but man that girl can dance!" It's true, I wish I would have caught it on my camera and posted it on here. She is amazing!

Disneyland

2009-09-03T19:59:00.001-07:00

Matt and I had such high hopes for Amber and Parker at Disneyland. As we arrived both Matt and I had huge smiles on our faces. I even said out loud "this really is the happiest place on earth!" Soon I was yelling curses as the crowds got larger and larger. Me + crowds = GRUMPY! Add the scorching heat and I'm a basket case. The kids had a blast which is all that matters. We got to ride a few rides, but the lines were seriously so out of control that by 11:00 PM we had only ridden eight rides. We learned from our mistakes and will know how to do things differently next time.

After traumatising the kids on "Snow White" (that is seriously so scary! There needs to be a disclosure "for kids eight and older") we took them on the merry-go-round. We're making good time! It's only 3:00 PM and we're on the second ride of the day!

This was one of the highlights. Being able to control Dumbo was pretty dang exciting for Amber. We waited about an hour to ride this one. An hour to go in circles for about one minute.
Here is Aubrey waiting so patiently for us at Dumbo.

Parker was asleep for this one. That kid can sleep anywhere! Amber had a smile on her face throughout this whole ride. I loved it!

This was my favorite part about Disneyland...nursing in public (:

I was lucky, I had someone sitting within a few feet of me staring at me the entire time. She had a smile on her face, so I don't think she was grossed out. I think she was maybe remembering the good old days. It made me a little awkward. It's funny how things change. I never would have dreamed of nursing in the middle of a crowded public place with Amber, or maybe even Parker. Once the third comes though it's like "what ever!"
Amber was asking throughout this entire ride "is that real? Are those real? Are those just pretend?" Parker thought everything was real, and was pretty excited to see elephants, hippos, snakes, etc.

We didn't realize you needed to get in a spot to see the fireworks, so we tried to head over right before they started and there was no where to sit, and they were making us walk away from it all "keep moving, keep moving" was all we heard! We moved like cattle for the entire show, and caught glimpses of the fireworks and of Tinkerbell. It was laughable at that point. We had missed every parade, the Fantasia show, the Princess' and now the fireworks. What a day! When we asked Amber what her favorite part was at Disneyland, she said "seeing the princess'." We said, "how, we didn't get to see them?" And she told us "on Anna's camera." Anna Kelly was able to meet the princess' so Amber got to see them on Dave & Ashley's camera. What a sweetie, she was totally sincere and didn't realize what she had missed out on.

Until next time!