1st race of the year

Team CF (Nate's biking team) had their first race of the year today. It took place over at Boise Towne Square. It was a fund raising race for St. Alphonsus. When he first told me the race was in the mall I was picturing all of these crazy bike riders whizzing past Macy's and Gymboree trying to avoid all of the Saturday shoppers.

I was definitely wrong though...everyone had their bike's set up in trainers. Fans were blowing and the music was pumping. It was quite the event. The goal was to ride as fast and as far as possible in ONE hour's time.

Nate rode over 25 miles in 1 hour and ended up getting 2nd place in his heat for the individual award. (His good buddy Jared who is an incredible rider took first.) The entire Team CF took first place and all of the guys received some gift cards to a local bike store. All of us wives and kids had a great time cheering on our guys!

SHOPPING at the mall+ a HAPPY and FIT HUSBAND=a GREAT Saturday!

To my boys:

Today was a pretty typical day in our home. It was a beautiful SUNNY outside today even though it's still absolutely freezing out. We opened every window in the house to soak up as much sun as possible. After getting our Dallin off to school we ventured outside to the front yard to watch Parker attempt to skateboard for a good 30 minutes or so. Every so often he would say, "Mom...watch this" or "Check out my cool tricks." Landon ran around picking up bark and small rocks. He kept saying, "Snow mama" and pointed to the little bit of snow left over from the last storm.
We made eclairs for some friends today and my two little buddies wanted to help with each and every step. Landon was covered in chocolate frosting by the time we were finished. When I asked, "Who wants one?" Landon raised his little hand way up high and "Yaaaay!" (I love how he never says "Yeah" or "Yes" its always "Yaay.")
Then we all jumped in the car and went over to Dallin's school to surprise him. Dallin...you LOVE it when we come to get you. I don't blame you....30 minutes on a bus is a LONG time! I loved how when you saw me standing over by the bus your little eyes just LIT up and you came running over to me as fast as you possibly could. You gave me a huge hug right in front of your whole class. You said, "Mama....I was WISHING that you would come and get me today." I'm so glad that I was able to make one of your wishes come true my little man.
After going out to lunch with friends we came home and took out each and every toy in the toy box and played while we watched the Jungle Book.
Boys...will you ever know how much I love you? I hope you will. I know you will when you have children of your own.
My heart is full of gratitude today. I am grateful for your daddy who loves you and shoulders all of the financial responsibility in our home so I get to stay home and have days like this to spend with you. He is the love of my life, my best friend, my everything. I just want you to know how grateful I am for each day I have with each of you. I wouldn't want to be spending my days any other way.

More Parker "isms"

Good old Parks always keeps us laughing. Here are a few of the latest quotes:

1. "Mom....I am ONLY going to go to Preschool today if you let me drive."

2. "I hit my foot really hard and now it has a bad headache."

3. While gazing over towards the airport the other day he asks, "Hey Mom....when are the bad jets going to fly out of the sky and try to hit the good jets?" (What the heck is he talking about??)

4. "I don't have to eat my green beans becuase I already had some today in Primary." (Nice try kid.)

5. While saying his prayer the other night, "Please bless Daddy that he can work so we can have our house and bless that I won't grow up and have to go at work everyday." (Poor guy...stressing about the work force already)

Funny little guy.

A "picture perfect" day

Yesterday was GREAT! We started out by spending the morning with friends at Planet Kid:
I love taking the boys here to burn off all of their energy!

Then (after my awesome friends took Dal and Parks for me) I went to lunch with Heather, one of my great friends from Jr. High/High School at

where we enjoyed a little double date with the cutest little boys ever:

After lunch, I picked up all the boys and we all headed home for nice long nap. Usually I take advantage of the silence when everyone is asleep but I decided instead that snuggling up with my Parker would be much better use of my time!

Nate came home early and my mom came over to watch the kids so we went to

to do a session. We had a very wonderful time at the temple together. We were asked it we were there with a group of students from the BSU wards.....SWEET! Apparently we are still young enough looking to be mistaken for college kids!

Then my hot date and I went over to

to remedy our GROWLING stomachs!

A good day.....a really good day.

New Laundry Room

We're back in action! The camera charger finally came yesterday!
If you are anything like me you spend (what seems like) half of your life in the laundry room. My laundry room has always bugged me becuase it was so ugly and boring....not to mention cluttered.

I decided to change things up last week. Now it is a lovely HAPPY shade of yellow. Here is what it looks like now. I still need some more cute things to hang on the wall and put on my shelf up above the washerand dryer ...time for a trip over to Real Deals again! The vinyl says: The Laundry Room: Loads of Fun! Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Here is my homemade artwork on one of the walls. I just framed some cute fabric. Super cute and super inexpensive!

Next....I finished putting the pictures in my FAVORITE Christmas gift this year. I put this huge frame right at the top of the stairs with pictures of all my babies in there. It

turned out so priceless...I just love it!

I love to decorate....it de-stresses me for some strange reason.

ALSO...I have read a couple of great books over the past 2 weeks. The first one is:

Absolutely AWESOME! Is all have to say about that. Next is:

Everyone and their dog has already read this one but it is really fun!

Alright....gotta get back to my out of control children....Landon just spilled an entire bottle of my NEW Biosilk all over the bathroom floor. Ahhhhh......looks like I need to decorate something else...I feel the stress sinking in again already.

I'm still here

My battery charger for my camera has been MIA since Christmas....therefore, no pictures and no blogging. I've ordered a new charger and it should be here any day.

I'll be back soon!

In the meantime....we're just staying busy. Dallin is still off track so I've been busy breaking up fights and trying to keep everyone fed and entertained.

Now that the holidays are over, I'm looking forward to SPRING. Especially since the following picture is what Boise has looked like for the past 3 days...and will continue to look until sometime next week. I hate inversions.....I feel like I am in some sort of creepy horror movie 24/7.

Happydog

I came across this picture today while searching for cute laundry room ideas. (???)
I can't stop laughing! It's not even THAT funny.....I have a strange sense of humor.

Mr. Smarty Pants

Dallin is a very inquisitive guy. All day long he is asking why this and why that. Most of the time his questions have to deal with his workbook problems that he is doing CONSTANTLY. The kid has mastered double digit multiplication this week.....and he pretty much taught himself. Tonight while I was making dinner he says, "Mom...I need to speak with you about something." All my attention immediately turns to him. My mind starts racing as I'm attempting to forsee what he wants to know. His tone of voice gave me the impression that it was something VERY important. It was obviously something that was really weighing on his mind. He's only six...I'm hoping its not a Santa question, or a differences between girls and boys question, or even worse.... I sit down next to him preparing for some kind of in depth conversation.
Then he says, "Mom...I just don't really understand Labor day. What is it exactly?

THAT...I can handle.

RInging in the new year with a BANG, some BARF, and a FLAT!

Happy New Year! We definately had a memorable New Year's Eve. Things started out great. We met up with some friends over at a sushi resturant downtown. Nate is a huge sushi lover but I on the other hand have never really cared for it all that much. It's the whole seaweed taste that I'm not crazy about. I decided to play it safe and get the tempura prawns and veggies. I did eat one roll and I did try the little fish eggs that are sprinkled on the top.....gag. After dinner we headed over my my parent's house for the annual "Rock around the block" New Years experience. Every year we run around the block when the clock strikes 12 banging pots and pans screaming as my brother blares a siren from his car. It sounds obnoxious and dumb but it is so much fun and a lot of neighbors come out of their homes and cheer us on.

We were excited becuase Uncle James is now back from the mission and would be joining the family in this tradition that HE started years ago. While we were busy playing games and waiting for my brothers to return from snowboarding we recieved a call that they had a flat tire up at the ski resort. They put the spare on and continued down the mountain. About an hour later they called again to tell us that the spare time had gone flat as well. Dad and Robby jumped in the car to go and rescue them.

Meanwhile, Nate and I were having a great time rocking out to Guitar Hero World Tour when suddenly both of us felt sick to our stomachs. It literally hit both of us at the exact same time. I ran to the bathroom and threw up. After being pregnant 3 times throwing up isn't really a big deal to me anymore. Nathan fell onto the couch and fell asleep. (His cure-all) We're thinking it was my stupid prawns that made us sick since we later found out everybody else was just fine and that was the only thing that no one else tried.

Dad, James and everyone made it home about 30 seconds after midnight so they went ahead and ran around the block. Nate slept through the whole thing, I was too tired and sick, and the boys were all crying and upset about one thing or another. They were all exhausted since they usually go to bed by 7:00.

Needless to say, this wasn't the greatest start to a New Year but we're still hoping for the best! Happy 2009!

Year in Review

Last year I did a little recap of the previous year so I figured I would do the same thing this year. It was kind of a quiet year for us as far as big changes go. Don't get me wrong...this is a very GOOD thing for once! So here we go, in no particular order.....


1. Dallin started kindergarten. He absolutely loves going to school every day and gets very upset when he doesn't have school. He has been reminding me every day that "My track starts again on January 26th Mom....don't forget." Trust me my dear....I will not forget. That kid would go to school 7 days a week if he could.


2. Parker started Preschool. Parker enjoys going to school and seeing his friends every week. He had fun playing soccer this year as well.


3. Landon turned 1 in May. I can't believe my baby is not a baby anymore. He is such a sweet little guy. He tries and tries to keep up with his older brothers. He started going to nursery a couple of months ago. I am not sure who is enjoying that the most....mom and dad or him, :)


4. Nate started his new job in August. He left Moffat Thomas and headed over to a much smaller firm Powers Thomson. He is very happy with his decision and we feel blessed to have had this opportunity come at such a perfect time.


5. Summer 2008. I can honestly say it was the best summer we have ever had. We had so much fun traveling and spending time with good friends and family. We went to Redfish, Lake Powell, St. George, Salt Lake, the cabin, and spent many days playing by the pool!

6. Nathan completed 3 century rides this year which is amazing especially since he just picked up road biking last May. He also turned the big 3-0! I had so much fun planning his party. He was definitely surprised!

7. I was called to be the Young Women's President. Keeps me busy and is so much fun.

8. Two new cousins were born this year! My sister (Natalie) had her first baby (Carter) and Nate's brother Clay (and Brittany) welcomed baby Brody! We love babies!

9. My brother came home from his mission in Mexico City. It was such a fun experience to see him leave as a boy and return a man. We are so happy to have him home!

10. Christmas with the Starnes family. It's becoming more and more of a challenge to get everyone together at the same time so we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend together.

We've had another great year and we hope that this new year will be as joyous as the last!
Happy New Year!

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 was wonderful! It is so hard to believe a week has gone by already! We had such a wonderful Christmas with Nate's family this year.

We definately made the most of all the snow that Utah recieved while we were there. We spent the days sledding down the huge hill in the backyard and riding the snowmobile back to the reserved land behind the house. We had fun hooking the sled up to the snowmobile and driving around like crazy. We built a snow family and a few snow caves as well.

Christmas Eve was amazing. Grandma Lee Lee made a delicious dinner (prime rib and twice baked potatoes, homemade rolls....YUM!) Then all of the cousins acted out the nativity. We had just enough actors this year. Dallin was Joseph, Makayla was Mary, the twins were wise men, Parker and Landon were shepards and baby Brody was baby Jesus. It was so precious! Landon wasn't really liking getting all dressed up

Christmas morning was magical. Dallin and Parker were relieved that Santa found them down in Salt Lake. We left a note for Santa up in Boise just to make sure he remembered where we were! The whole downstairs was just covered in gifts. Everyone enjoyed watching the kids get so excited about each and everything.

We did plenty of shopping, eating, Farkle playing (really fun game), and just spending time together. We spent one afternoon up at the Planetarium and the Childrems Museum. The boys were also able to head up to Park City and see where Uncle Clay's fire station is.
We had such a great time and were happy to make it home safely in our car crammed with lots of new toys and goodies! I'm so grateful for this time of year where we can be with the people we love and can share in the spirit of the season. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Ho Ho Ho!

My three little Santas (covered in spaghetti sauce) want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!
We're taking a little blogging break until after Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday everybody!

So you didn't get a Christmas card from us? Too bad so sad!

This morning I was determined to get the last few things checked off my Christmas to do list. One of the items on the list was to head over to Costco to get the last of my Christmas pictures to put in our final group of Christmas cards. Dallin and Parker were both at school so Landon and I headed on over prepared to deal with the crowds.

The photo line was backed up all the way over into the electronics department. I tried to keep Landon occupied which is becoming more and more difficult as he is really DISLIKING carts lately. Twenty minutes later we get up to the counter and I pick up the pictures.

Landon and I dash to the car (it is absolutely FREEZING outside) and as we approach the car I drop the pictures. The pavement is wet and then a truck proceeds to RUN OVER the pictures.

I get in the car and peel open the wet, tire tracked pictures. Lo and behold.....THEY ARE NOT EVEN MY PICTURES!!! They are all pictures of some random woman standing in a doorway.

I have no time and no patience to go back and in figure out what happened to my family pictures. SO...for those of you who I haven't sent a card to yet...........

Parker's 4th BUG BIRTHDAY (with a witch on the cake)

For MONTHS now Parker has been saying over and over again that he wants a BUG birthday party but insisted that there needs to be a WITCH on the cake. Strange? YES Random? YES

Do I have any idea WHY? Nope! I guess as parents we just zip it and do these strange things to keep our kids happy.

So...here is Parker with his "dream come true" as he put it:

Parker had 10 friends (plus Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Yamo) come over for the celebration. We played some bug games, went on a bug hunt, and ate some caterpillar cake! They had a great time!

He was thrilled with all of his action figures and nerf guns. He literally hasn't stopped playing with them ever since everyone left.

I can't believe my 2nd born is 4! I feel like I was just barely posting about his tractor birthday last year! Parker packs a lot of personality in that little body. He definitely has bit of a mischievous side but he is so darn cute it is (usually) always easy to forgive him. He is so sweet and silly and I am so grateful that he is apart of our family.

Parker's favorites at 4:

favorite toys: nerf guns, superheros, anything sports related

favorite movies: Incredibles, Toy Story, Wall E, Kung Fu Panda

favorite games: Memory, "I Spy" Flipping Frogs, Don't break the Ice

favorite foods: pizza, tacos, oatmeal, cereal, swedish pancakes

joys- playing outside at the park, riding his bike, playing tennis, golf, soccer and baseball, swimming, doing anything Dallin is doing.

Happy Birthday my P-man! Mommy loves you SOOOOO much!

Brown paper packages tied up with string....

Some of my favorite winter time things:

Fireplaces- There are 2 things you can spend hours and hours gazing at. The first is a newborn baby and the second is fire in a fireplace. As soon as there is crispness in the air...the fire is on.

SNOW- I love waking up to freshly fallen snow..especially on a Saturday morning when no one has to be anywhere. It is so majestic and beautiful. I love taking the kids outside to make a snowman or heading over to the huge dirt piles behind our neighborhood to go sledding. Disclaimer-I hated snow when we lived in Washington. I think this was due to the fact that the roads were always SO horrible and no one knows how to drive. That is the great thing about living in Boise. If it snows overnight, 9 times out of 10 the snow is gone by the afternoon!
Starbucks Carmel Apple Cider- My sister in law introduced me to this delicacy a few years ago. It is definitely a treat in a cup. It is made from warmed apple juice, cinnamon syrup and whipped cream with butter carmel sauce on top....salivating yet??

Christmas Music- I just love Christmas music. As soon as Thanksgiving is over I listen to it everywhere. When we're home its on...when we're in the car its on. I love that the majority of the songs touch on the true meaning of Christmas. They invite the wonderful spirit of Christmas into our lives. I think it's sad that we only have one month to appreciate them. It is so nice to not have to worry about what song is on the radio when we have the station set to Light 108 for the entire month of December!
My Swedish Candles- We always throw the people off when we put our Swedish candles up in the window. One neighbor was like, "I thought you guys were Mormon...why do you have Hanukkah candles in your window?"

My candles represent many things to me....family, heritage, traditions, religion and sacrifice. I am so grateful for my ancestors, my grandparents, family of origin, and my family today. I am truly blessed.