Update: Snow

I was wrong with how much it snowed on Friday. It wasn't 10 inches... it was 15. And a couple miles up the rode had 22- all within 24 hours.

Who wants 6 months of snow? NOT I!

This is what was going on yesterday. This week we have had beautiful weather and enjoyed the sun. It was actually mid 50s, which is huge. The snow melted and I was actually able to clear out the leaves from my flower garden and rake the yard.
And then this is what happened. I watched the news the following evening and they were predicting snow but I' thought maybe they were giving worst case scenario.
It snowed 10 inches!!!!!! This is my view out of my office window.
This is the front door this morning. I could barely open it. So, can you guess what the kids' Saturday chores were?
Yep, shoveling some snow. I have to laugh because Caleb's shoveling consist of a criss-cross pattern. Which means, only pieces of the driveway get shoveled. I could always just drive over it but my neighbor said that a couple of years ago the people who live next to us thought that instead of shoveling their driveway they would just drive their car up and down their driveway to pack the snow down. LOL, well I guess it didn't work out too well because their ended up getting stuck in their own driveway. So, after I run today I'll be shoveling what's left of the driveway. Hey, it's a good ab workout.

I Pledge to destroy the house!

We were all outside Thursday when I realized Madeline had slipped out of view. The neighbor said she saw her go into the garage so I opened up the door and yelled for Maddy inside the house.

"Madeline, come here."

"Okay Mom. Um, hold on."

" No Maddy now."

"Okay Mom."

A couple minutes later she came downstairs.

"Maddy, what were you doing."

"Um, nothing."

And she ran past me to go play. I didn't want to know because I would find out as soon as we went inside. She had gone under the kitchen sink and got the bottle of pledge and just sprayed the floor and dishwasher down. The dishwasher had a inch thick of foam on it. I cleaned it up but the floor is so slick now, like wax. She was running with her sleeper on the same night and totally biffed it.

Note: If you look at the kitchen cabinet you can STILL see the red permanent marker that won't come off.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Wish we could spend the day with you! (Caleb is covering his mouth because he has severely chapped lips and is embarrassed). I love you! I love you! I love you!

Little Aari

Meet little Aari. Why little Aari? Because the boy looks just like his father.

The eyes and the hairline....definitely the hairline.

I

Little Jumper

Jackson absolutely loves his Johnny Jump-up, almost as much and he loves his right thumb.

Madeline absolutely loves to sling-shot Jackson when he's in his Johnny Jump-up. Good thing babies are durable.

Biggest Loser week....4?

So I haven't done a very good job blogging about my biggest loser experience. I think we are in week 4. We haven't had a challenge in over a week and won't have another one until next weekend. So far, as of this morning, I have lost 8 lbs. I feel like it's more but the scale is a bad reflection of what's really going on. I lift about three times a week and muscle definitely weighs more than fat. I'm feeling good and have found a new motivation, my husband. I get to go see him next month so I'm really motivation to look steamy hot when he sees me. My partner and I are currently in 2nd place. Yippie.

Just a phase

Maddy is going through this phase where she seems to always be naked. And if she's not naked then she's wearing dress up clothes. Some days she'll be in her dress up clothes before she even comes upstairs for breakfast. The other day we were heading for the gym and she insisted that she wear her Barbie high-heels. I took us FOREVER to actually get inside because she had the granny-shuffle going some trying to keep those shoes on her feet. So, the other day I thought that I would be taking more pictures of this phase in her life. And when I was looking at them on the computer today I busted up laughing because look at the picture of Kali and Maddy. Both of them have their fingers in their ears. Sometimes I feel like they really do have their fingers in their ears when I'm talking to them. I love these girlies so much!

84...what the heck?!

When I set my iphone on it's cradle it will ask me if I want to download the pictures from my phone onto the computer. Today when it asked it said I had 84 pictures. 84...what? So I went through them and these are two of the pictures that were taken, except that there are like twenty pictures of toes and face shots. Gosh....I wonder who got a hold of my phone. (Don't worry honey, I put a lock on my phone...now).

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy

On Thursday night Caleb, Kali, and I went to go see Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy. Aaron and I have seen Cirque perform before in Seattle and they are amazing! It's expensive but it's worth the money! Caleb was a little nervous because they do wear masks in some of their shows but not this one. We had awesome seats; orchestra level 10 seats back. The kids had a blast, and so did I.

Another converstaion

"Mom I know that I really want to be a super hero after college, like Dare Devil."

"This is what you should do Caleb: finish high school, do one year of college and then go on your mission to serve the Lord. After you mission go back to school that way you will be able to support your wife and kids and provide a nice home."

"Wait Mom. You mean you want me to leave college and serve a mission? But when I come back to college after my mission I won't be in the same class of kids. I'll have to be in a new class and make new friends."

Isn't that funny?! He's thinking like a 1st grader.

Another round

This is what I woke up to this morning. It wasn't a huge surprise because last night at 8pm we had a Biggest Loser challenge outside. The challenge was this: they had sting wrapped around 4-5 trees, like a spider's web. On the string was a canning jar ring. You had to hold onto the ring and go through the course but couldn't let go of the ring. It was challenging because we were in this snow storm and I was freezing. When is spring ever going to arrive in Alaska?

m-a-d-d-y= TROUBLE!

(Deep breath in, exhale. Okay I'm ready now).

So, Maddy is a human tornado. Let me start with yesterday. As I was cleaning the house I was trying to keep her with me so I could see what she was up to. She was literally out of my site for 2 minutes and she was able to go into my bathroom, get my RED nail polish, open it, dump it on my bathroom rugs and her dress, and proceed to paint her whole foot, hand, and arms. I was in shock! How did she do that so fast?!?!?!?!? I did run and get the video camera because it reminded me of watch video of Preston do the same thing to Nettie's carpet but with marker.

TODAY I was feeding Jackson after church and cleaned him up and put him in bed. That takes about what...1-2 minutes to do. IN THAT TIME FRAME, Madeline got the jar of peanut butter from the counter, ran behind the couch and pretty much covered the couch in peanut butter. She did such a good job covering it evenly that she should of been given a gold star in effort. And it wasn't my sage green couch but the cream striped one. AHHHH. Once again, HOW DID SHE DO THAT SO FAST??!?!?!?

THIS AFTERNOON, I was talking to Aaron and locked myself in the bathroom so I could actually hear him over the zoo. I knew that it would probably come at a price but I haven't been able to talk to him for a while. When I came out it looked like a bomb explored. AND my WHITE kitchen cabinets were now RED. This time I sat down and cried, and then closed the blinds because Madeline was now naked running crazy.

Now, look back at her picture. She's cute, but boy o' boy is she trouble.

Dinner for 10

In our ward we have dinner groups during the winter months of the year (and the plus about it is that it's only for grown-ups). Our group has seven couples. Last week during basketball Krystal and I decided that we needed to have a dinner group since it had been a few months so I had it at my house last night. It was so nice to have conversation and laughter with adults. We had an Italian themed dinner and then I decided that we should play a game. One of my favorite shows is the Newlyweds which just ended last week. So I thought that we would play something like that to see how much everybody knows their spouses. Here were some of the questions I asked:
How much would your wife say is too much to spend on a purse?
What was the name of the girl that your husband dated before you?
What size shoe does your wife wear?
How much would your husband say is too much for a ladies' haircut?
Where was the first place you kiss your wife?
What's your husband's favorite color?

We did ten rounds and it was so much fun!!! We were laughing our heads off at some of the discrepancies of their memories. I wish that I would of taken a picture of us. I just wish that Aaron could of been there.

Hangin with Mom

I was trying to clean my house yesterday and Jackson was just mad no matter what I tried to entertain him with. He just wanted to be held. So I went and got the baby front pack and strapped him on my back. He absolutely loved it, and so did I! He's getting too heavy to try and clean with one arm and hold him with the other. He actually sat in there for a couple of hours and fell asleep. It was a good workout for me going up and down the steps.

Snow Snow GO AWAY!!!

So this is looking outside of my bedroom window right now. I KNOW!!!! The snow had pretty much all melted off and then on Sunday it started to snow again! It hasn't snowed in a good month. I was just putting the finishing touches on my living room and the meteorologist said that we have a storm warning for 9am tomorrow. 6-12 inches!!!!! I'm just dying to work in my yard.

Becoming a gentleman

Today after I picked up Caleb from school we went to Costco to do some grocery shopping and eat dinner. When we were heading toward the car Caleb said, "I want to put the food in the car." He put it in and I was getting the girls in when I noticed Caleb wasn't standing next to me. I called out for him but he didn't answer. I went to the other side of the car and he was standing there holding the door open for me. It made me giggle and I get him a cuddle. Then I went on base to fill up my car (side note: Don't buy an Excursion!!! $150 later my car was filled. AHHHHHHH!) Caleb asked if he could help me so I said "sure" and I showed him how to pump gas. Then he washed my windows, or whatever parts of them he could reach because I drive a Metro bus. We got home and he jumped right out and asked to take everything in by himself. I've got no problem with that. I was getting the girls bathed and he comes in and says, "So I took out the kitchen trash, put the food away, put the cups in the sink, and tried to vacuum but the batteries were dead. (Dyson hand held is what he's talking about). What else can I do? Oh, let me clean you room and straighten out your bed." By this time I was busting up laughing and just grabbed that boy and hugged him. Caleb sure does love to help me out! He's got an amazing spirit.

Little Jackson

Today is the first day that Jackson has really held his bottle by himself (sniff sniff). I'm happy but also a little sad that he's growing up so fast. He's also rolling around like crazy and saying "ba ba." So I took this picture of him and Madeline insisted that I take one of her, "My turn mommy." So this is Mad's picture. Silly girl.

Nocturnal? Really?

An actually conversation that happened on Monday morning between Caleb and Granny Yo.

" My mom says that I can't have a pet until I turn 8."

"Well, Caleb, have you been thinking about what kind of animal that you would like? Maybe a hamster or gerbil?"

" No Yoyo, they're nocturnal. They are up really at night. I can't stay up at night and play with them because I need my sleep."

I got my hair DID.

Okay so sorry people. I forgot to post the pic of my date with myself last week getting my hair done. There ya go.

Discussing Career Possibilities over breakfast

"Mom, I know what I want to be when I grow up."

"What's that Caleb?"

" I want to be a superhero."

"Okay, but first you have to go to college."

" I know Mom. I'll first go to college and then get a job in the day. At night I'll be the superhero."

Looks like he's got life figured out.

Biggest Loser Week 1 Recap

Today we have our second weigh-in and another competition. After I woke up this morning I decided to run 3 miles before the weigh-in to sled some water weigh. The stupid thing about it was that I gained a pound because I was so thirsty and drank lots of water. So, this week all I lost was 3 pounds. I had to have my partner remind me that my goal was to lose 2.5 pounds each week to hit my 20 pounds. So now that I have it in perspective while writing this I'm proud of myself.

Our challenge this week was hard! Each team was separated into an A and B. The person doing the challenge during the A round was the easier round and B the harder. I was the B. The challenge was three fold. First we did wall press. You have to get a hymn book and put it on your legs and place a water bottle on top of that. You had to squat down against the wall until the water in your bottle was level. Then it was just a race to see who would get out first. My legs were screaming FIRE while Ali coached me and cheered on. The second challenge was the push-up. You had to go in the push-up position and couldn't break the plane in your back. That was so hard!!! I was in the B heat which was with most of the guys. I didn't stand a chance against them. Winning time was 7 minutes 15 seconds. The third challenge was you had to face your partner and put your feet heel, toe, heel, toe. You then had to hold hands and from the ankles on up you had to full extend your arms while leaning back and then pull yourself in. It was a challenge on balance because your feet were together.

Winning team was able to pick from three cards: cash, adventure, or game play. They picked game play and next week they get an extra turn at the challenge.

I made the bigger mess

Yesterday the girls made the biggest mess ever! They played dress up and it looked like Cinderella's closet had exploded in my house. I have no problem with messes as long as they clean up. After a while I told them that they needed to clean up their mess. ONE HOUR LATER they were still crying and fighting with each other. I finally had had enough of it and grabbed 4 trash bags. I went downstairs and told them I was there to help but we were going to throw everything away so they wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up ever again. They cried, screamed, and mourned the loss of their toys while they watched me put the bags in the trash cans. (I have memories of my parents doing the same thing to us kids). Of course I'm not going to throw the stuff out I just wanted them to see what life would be like for a couple of days without their toys. So last night I was talking to Aaron about it and he's like, "that's gross! Now you have to wash everything because it's been in the trash cans." I thought that I would just Lysol them down but as I walked past the trash cans in the garage this morning I realized that I do need to clean them now. Ahhhhhh....I think I'm the only one that leaned a lesson because today they are getting along just fine with each other and without the toys. Someone remind me to ask God why kids don't come with manuals. I mean everything else in the world does.

Funny Kid sayings

Kali: Dad is so cool because he can watch PG-13 movies and not even get scared!

The BEST unintentional April fools joke

I was cleaning the office today when the door bell rang. When I got there nobody was there. It took a second to realize that someone was doorbell ditching for April fools. So I ran to the balcony to see if I could see them driving off. Nothing. I called Jeanne and said, "Ha Ha very funny!" She was like, "I swear on our friendship I didn't ring your doorbell." Lets rewind this story, early this morning I called her and when she answered I started yelling, "There's a huge bear in the backyard!! What should I do? Help!" She just busted up laughing. (Side note: Caleb said, "Mom, do you remember the story about the boy who cried wolf? If you keep on telling lies no one will believe you.")So I thought her ringing the door bell was totally her paying me back from this morning. Well, a couple minutes later the door bell rang again. I ran out there and nobody was there. I noticed that there was no footprints on the deck and I couldn't hear them run away. I yelled out, "OH, YOU"RE GOOD!!!" I called Jeanne again and told her and she said she was going to look out her windows. Kali and I decided to sit next to the window of front door and watch for whoever it was. Suddenly, it rang...but nobody was there. I called Jeanne to tell her that a ghost was now the one playing the practical joke on me. She was like, "that's so crazy!" Then we got to chatting and she told me that she bought this mobile doorbell that she was going to put downstairs because every time she wanted to talk to her kids she would go to the frig to push the button to ring it and then they would know that she wanted them. Just then my door bell rang again. I was like, "SEE NOBODY"S THERE!" She busted up laughing because she realized what was going on. She had been in her house with her new doorbell all excited to hang it up by the kids room. She put in new batteries and tested it out a couple of times. BUT, for some reason every time she was ringing it it was ringing MINE! LOL. So, now I have convinced her that when the kids get home from school we should go on a walk and just keep hitting the button to see whose doorbell will ring. I love April Fools!