Projects and more projects

We've been busy around here lately! Here's a recap of what we've been up to.
Last week, Dad and Nate finished putting up our new fence. Now we have an ENCLOSED and SAFE area for the boys to play. If you ever saw our backyard at our old house you will know how excited I am about this! It has helped out a lot with the puppy as well. Thanks for all your help again dad! We couldn't have done it without you!

I also painted my very first wall yesterday. I almost started tearing up as I was doing it. During all these years of renting Nate and I have always said, "Won't it be nice to paint a wall whatever color we want to one day?" The boys were all asleep and Nate was at work until really late so it was totally quiet in the house and as I painted the wall I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks for all that we have been blessed with.


I have also been busy with my new found hobby...knitting baby hats. It is SO easy and fun and pretty much mindless. I have decided I am going to earn my YW recognition award along with my beehives. Hopefully if I do it along side them, I can encourage them to earn theirs. I really want the new pendant too...it's WAY better looking then the old gold one! Anyway, I am making the hats for one of my projects.


We also had lots of fun on Saturday going up to Horseshoe Bend and hopping on the Pumpkin Liner Express. The boys loved going on the train and picking a pumpkin. It was cold but we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle J.




Anyway...that is why I haven't blogged in awhile! I can't wait for Halloween tomorrow! It's one of my favorite holidays!

Tis the season for tagging!

1. Best thing you cooked last week? Hmmmm lets see. I did make homemade minestrone soup, rolls, and eclairs because I made dinner for a friend who had hand surgery. I usually don't go all out for dinner because my boys are the PICKIEST eaters on the planet and my husband gets home so late. Usually its more like spaghetti or tacos.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with whom? I would go to Hawaii with my hubby. We have both been to Hawaii but not with each other. I would love to just sit on the beach and watch the ocean and do NOTHING for a few days. No diapers, fights to break up, cooking ,cleaning.....ok..this is making me depressed. We're saving to go next summer when Nate turns 30...hopefully it happens!

3. When was the last time you cried? October 14th. I gave my lesson in beehives and fell apart when I started talking about my beehive advisor who passed away while I was a beehive. She and her husband were killed in a car accident and she had 2 little kids who survived the crash. She was such an awesome woman and really impacted my life and I really hope I can do the same thing for the girls in my class.

4.5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
Whoa. This month?? That's getting pretty specific for 10 years ago!! Hmmmmm.
1. I was a sophomore cheerleader at Boise High School.
2. I was driving my sweet 1979 silver Mercedes 300D. I got in a car accident and totaled the car. I was so devastated about it and I thought I would never drive again. A few months later we went out to dinner as a family and I saw this car in the parking lot that looked just like my old car. My brother was like, "Gee...that sure looks like your old car Stac." I just ignored him because I was still sensitive about the whole situation. As we left the restaurant my dad was like, "You know...that really does look like your car." I went over and looked in the window. It WAS my car. My dad continued..."Some idiot must have payed a ton of money to fix that thing." I ran off sobbing. Then my dad comes up behind me and hands me my keys. He says, "We all make mistakes but this was an expensive one so don't do it again!." I was ecstatic.
3. I was in 0 hour seminary. I don't know how I survived getting up that early every day.
4. I volunteered at the Women's Fitness Celebration. Kali, Tiff and I were assigned to be security. What a joke! Here we are these 3 scrawny little cheerleaders with these orange vests...pretending to be security personnel. It was hilarious.
5. I was a candy striping over at St. Luke's.

5 things on your to do list today
1. Finish up dinner. I am making apricot chicken with rice for a neighbor who just had a baby.
2. Fold the laundry. That's on my list of things to do EVERY day.
3. Make sure the boys don't kill each other.
4. Buy tickets for the pumpkin picking train ride for Saturday.
5. Play outside with the boys. Its a perfect 70 degrees out and sunny today! I LOVE this weather!

6. 6 favorite snacks
1. Cheese and crackers
2. Spinach Artichoke Heart Dip with chips.
3. Chips and salsa from Andrades
4. Apples and oranges
5. popcorn
6. chocolate covered raisins

7. 5 bad habits
1. Biting my finger nails. I think my New Years resolution will be to stop once and for all.
2. I buy things because they are a good deal...not because I necessarily need them.
3. I say stupid things all the time. I will say something without really thinking about it and then later I will realize how dumb I probably sounded.
4. I have to go somewhere every day. Even if its only over to the gas station to get the boys a tootsie roll. I can't stand to be cooped up all day long.
5. I never put my keys back in the same place so I always end up having a big search party every time I need to go somewhere.

8. 5 favorite foods:
1. Anything from California Pizza Kitchen.
2. Chicken burrito from Andrades
3. Crab legs from Joe's Crab Shack
4. In N Out
5. Cafe Rio

9.5 places I've been:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Washington D.C.
3. Lake Powell
4. New York, New York
5. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

10. 6 favorite memories
So many to choose from
1. May 9, 2001...Salt Lake Temple. Our wedding day.
2. September 21, 2002. The day I became a mom.
3. December 16, 2004. The day Dallin became a big brother.
4. May 1, 2007. The day I ran out of arms.
5. Law School Graduation day.
6. August 17, 2007. The day we took the boys over to their OWN home!

I am tagging Nat (welcome to the world of blogging), Ashotrasho, Kelsey, and Erin.

Tilly the Rooster

Couldn't resist posting a pic of Tilly in her Halloween costume! She doesn't seem to be all that crazy about it. hehe

Puppy Love

I love our new dog. I hate our new dog. She is so sweet with the boys and helps keep them occupied during the day. She has the occasional accident in the house but is getting better. She doesn't bark at night but she starts barking every morning at 6:30 on the dot. This can be a good thing in case Nate doesn't hear his alarm clock, but it is very annoying to a certain someone who doesn't like getting up before 7:30. My main concern about the dog is the fact that Dallin plays especially rough with her. I have to watch her like a hawk because I always worry something is going to happen to her if I leave the room. I've even caught Dallin throwing the poor thing in the air. I was discussing the problem with a friend and we decided that having HER tell Dallin about how we treat animals might be a good idea. We went over to her house a couple of days ago and we sat in a circle. (She has 2 little girls.) We each held a stuffed animal dog and demonstrated the correct ways to hold a puppy and the things you do not do. After going through the appropriate ways to handle the dog we all promised we would be gentile with all animals and we each made a dog collar with our names on them. He has been better since then.
Anyway....any other ideas on how to teach kids how to treat animals? I'd love to hear it!

Naughty Day

Today wasn't a Monday. Instead of Monday, think I will refer to it as "naughty day." You see, many naughty things took place today. First off, Dallin and Parker took my camera and took some pictures of themselves. They took about 100 pictures before I caught them...here are a couple that they took of themselves. (they took some pretty cute ones actually) This wasn't too bad but its only the beginning of the day!
The next naughty thing that happened was while we were at Fred Meyer we walked through the Halloween Department and then through the Christmas Department to get over towards the toys. As we walk by the Christmas tree display Dallin exclaims, "What the hell? Christmas stuff already?" I burst out laughing because I couldn't believe my ears! I have NO IDEA where he heard this phrase. He knew he was in trouble as soon as I turned around. We had a serious discussion about it on the ride home.
Later on, I was upstairs doing some laundry and Parker and Dallin snuck outside and took off their clothes, (all of them mind you) then they turned on the hose and proceeded to run through the sprinklers. It was a nice day today...but still..it was only 75 degrees out. Then they went over and started throwing dirt on each other. The workers who were building the house next door had a good laugh while I was screaming at them to get inside.
Next on the list....our puppy Tilly. She is the cutest thing ever but she is naughty. She contiunes to poop on my new carpet and as I was about to explode I quickly reminded myself that she IS still a puppy and she still has lots to learn. Anyway...just another crazy, funny, frustrating, stressful day in the Starnes Family!

Hilarious!

A guy from Nate's work sent this to him. It is SO cute!!! Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

My first tag

A~Attached or Single: Attached...definitely attached.
B~Best Friend: Obviously Nate! My best girl friend though would be my Ash-o-trasho. That's what I called her when we were little!
C~Cake or Pie: Can't I have both? Pleeeease?
Day of Choice: Friday...I love knowing I have the whole weekend spend with Nate and the boys.
E~Essential Item: wipes...I guess this is the state of my life right now!
F~Favorite Color: yellow
G~Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummi worms....especially the red and clear ones.
H~Hometown: good old Boise, Idaho
I~Indulgences: ice cream, shopping and bubble baths
J~January or July: July all the way! 4th of July is my favorite holiday (behind Christmas of course!)
K~Kids: Dallin, Parker and Landon
L~Life is Incomplete Without: Family and Friends
M~Marriage Date: May 9, 2001
N~Number of Siblings: 2 brothers and 1 sister
O~Oranges or Apples: apples.....I love going apple picking and making cobbler and pie in the fall.
P~Phobias or Fears: Something bad happening to someone I love.
Q~Quotes: "Keeping a house clean while children are growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing!"
R~Reason to Smile: We're not in school anymore and we are not renting anymore!! Hooray!
S~Season: I love that I live in a place where we experience all 4 seasons....there is something to love about each of them. I do wish winter was a little shorter though!
T~Tag Three: Jami, Stephanie, Lindsay
U~Unknown Fact: I have been water skiing on New Years Day.
W~Worst Habit: I talk too much and don't listen enough.
X~X-Rays or Ultrasound: I had a couple of x-rays growing up...broke my wrist and ankle. I have had plenty of ultrasounds. I had 2 each for Dallin and Parker. With Landon I had about 8 or so because the Dr. initially thought there was a problem. (a lot of stress for no reason! grrrr)
Y~Your Favorite Food: I love all food...especially when I don't have to cook it!
Z-Zodiac: I am a Cancer

Fall Fun!

We're back! We headed on down to Utah (again) this week! We did lots of fun things and brought 2 new things home with us! (new puppy and new car) We had lots of fun up at the cabin watching Conference with everybody. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures while we were at the cabin but we were all busy wrangling 6 children and 3 dogs! It was madness!

We did find time to meet up with our old friends from the newlywed days. It was fun having dinner and catching up with them. Megan and I were both pregnant together with Dallin and Savannah...look how big they are now!

We went to Wheeler Farm....a definite blast from the past. Nate and I went there on one of our very first dates. The boys had a great time seeing the animals and riding on the tractors. We also went over to Thanksgiving Point and saw the animals there and rode the ponies with Ashley and her kids.

I LOVE the fall! It has to be my favorite season. Its so much fun doing all of the fun family acitivities during this time of year. I love going pumpkin picking, going on hayrides, eating soups and homemade bread, and decorating my house for trick or treaters. I love helping the boys pick out their costumes and decorating sugar cookies so we can go out and "boo" someone!
I am glad we made the last minute decision to head down to Utah. The mountains were just beautiful this time of year and it was fun to see family again....even though it was a short trip!
As for "Tilly" our new puppy. I am hanging in there. Let's just say....we are all adjusting and taking it a day at a time.

Landon is 5 months!

I forgot to mention yesterday that Landon is now 5 months old now!!! I can't believe how fast the time is just zipping by. It's so funny how the weeks building up to his arrival would just DRAG on and on and then after he was born everything just started going into fast forward! He is such a wonderful baby. He is such a trooper being toted here and there everyday. He just loves to be held and played with but is content playing on the floor with a toy as well. His favorite thing in the world is his swing (thanks Jami!) He is rolling all over the place and has the cutest little laugh. I LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY! He really only cries when he is hungry. Quick funny story...today the baby was staring to fuss a little and Dallin yells up the stairs, "Mom.....baby needs your chest again!" Yikes.

Happy 1 year out!

It's hard to believe that James (Uncle Yamo) has been out serving the people in Mexico City for a whole year now! This is a picture of him with Mom and Dad right before he left. I just love hearing from him each week and am so proud of him for accepting the call to serve. I am grateful for the example he has set for our sons. We pray for him each night and I just love to hear the boys say, "Please bless Elder Rock on his mission and bless that we can go on a mission one day." People don't believe me when I tell them that in ONE month's time his area baptized over 1,000 people. His mission has the highest number of baptisms per month in the whole world! I miss him and love him and hope that the next year will go by as quickly as the last!!!

New Callings

Well...we have successfully avoided getting callings in our ward up until this week. Nate was very sad to leave his old calling as the Young Men's President. He really loved those boys and he had such a good time with them. He is now a Ward Missionary and he is looking forward to that. I have just been put in as the Beehive advisor. I think Heavenly Father knows that I am needing a little female interaction in my life since I am surrounded by BOYS all day long! I am looking forward to getting to know the girls and spending time with all of the awesome YW leaders.

Fish and fun!

Nate is out of town playing golf for his annual "attorney outing" so we've been trying to stay busy while he has been gone. I guess I should admit....I am basically wearing the boys out during the day so they will go to bed early for me!! haha. Today we went to Municipal Park with Nikki and her 2 boys. The boys loved seeing the fish and playing at the park.

More new house pics

Everyone keeps asking to see more pictures of our new house so HERE IT IS!!! It's still a work in progress.These are some of the rooms that are done or almost done.

First off is Dallin's sports room. Its so hard to get a picture of the whole room. Landon's crib is on the other side.

This is the boy's jungle bathroom.

Here is Parker's "surfing monkey" room. He really is a monkey so the theme here is quite fitting.

Here is our bedroom. 6 1/2 years of marriage and this is our first bedroom set! Hooray! The armoir is on the opposite wall.

Here is our master bathroom. 2 sinks in our bathroom has reduced the stress level in our home tenfold. Especially on Sunday mornings!
Last week we got our backyard lawn and sprinklers put in! This weekend the fence goes up. Hallelujah is all I have to say! These boys keep escaping out the back and getting into the dirt so i am THRILLED the fence will be up soon! And yes..that is Parker in the back with no pants on.
The best part of the house is probably the view from our front porch. I LOVE just sitting back in my rocking chairs and watching the boys play.

So...there you go! We still have lots to do but everything else will have to wait! Time to start saving again!

Weekend Recap

Hooray! I found the camera. What a relief! It was in Nate's jeep under the seat. It must have fallen out of my purse on the way over to my Dad's birthday party. Phew!

Now I can post pictures from last weekend! Dallin had a great time at Chuck E Cheese with all of his friends from preschool. We also had lots of fun playing miniature golf with the whole fam (except for Yamo of course!).

We wore Parker out big time. I have never seen him fall asleep hanging off of the couch before! We were all tired after such a busy weekend but it's always fun being able to spend time with the family.