Mom, I fit in your suitcase so can I PLEASE come with you?

Las Vegas

Oh my, I am getting really behind! I need to do some quick catching up....
A few weekends ago I was able to get together with three great friends for such a fun little vacation in Las Vegas. It was so great to spend time together and to have some relaxation time without the kids. My favorite things were: eating (LOTS!), staying up late talking, sleeping in, seeing Ka (Cirque de Solei), getting beauty treatments at the Aveda Institute, and just catching up on each others' lives. I sure love my friends and am grateful for their friendship! (BTW, thanks Syd for letting me steal your pictures)

I'm in Las Vegas last weekend and get a call from my husband that went something like this:
Michael (in a very shaky and upset voice): "I haven't wanted to call you, but I have a problem...... (I'm thinking that maybe one of our children cracked their head open or something).... I can't find Conner".
When he called, he had already searched our entire house a few times for about 45 minutes. He continued to look (me calling every few minutes) for the next hour and a half with the help of neighbors, friends, and the police (who called out for a helicopter). Finally, thankfully one of our friends found Conner hiding in our bathroom standing between the shower curtain and liner. He had been standing there for almost three hours with his pants down. His Dad had given him a cold shower the day before for pooping in his pants, and we think he might have been scared to get one again so he decided to hide. He found the perfect place where it was very very difficult to find him. The friend that found him saw his little fingers through the crack in the bathroom door. ....Can you believe that he stood there for so long, and with his pants down. It was a crazy and terrible morning, mostly for Michael (poor guy!). We are SO glad that everything turned out okay.

What a cool Grandma!

My Grandma Monson is the coolest 93 year-old that I know. Ever since I can remember, she has had silly glasses. Her collection has definitely grown over the years and my kids know Grandma Monson as "the grandma with the funny glasses". We had a nice day a couple of weekends ago attending the temple and visiting Grandma. I love my Grandma and admire the amazing person that she is.

Halloween is OVER, Yippeee!!

Here are our favorite parts about Halloween 2007.....
Braden: Trick-or-treating at Mrs. Huff's house (kindergarten teacher) and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters.
Conner: Trunk-or-treating and winning cupcakes at the Cake Walk at Tim and Brittnee's church party.
Haley: Eating WAY too much candy. She's only one, but definitely knows and wants candy when she sees it.
Michael: Also eating WAY too much candy (complained of having a sick stomach last night in bed because of all of the candy). Watching our boys hand out candy.
Zipporah: Seeing my cute kids all dressed up and excited, but SOOOO glad that it is over. Glad for an empty schedule the next two days. We were SO busy with parties that it just got very exhausting. ....Hope you all had a fun Halloween.

Breakfast Idea

Michael came home from Iraq with this new idea for a quick healthy breakfast:
Saute vegetables (our favorites are zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, red pepper, onion, and tomato)until tender. You can add some kind of ham or sausage to it if you'd like. Next mix a bunch of egg whites in a bowl (sometimes I'll put in a yolk or two). Grease muffin pans and fill half way with vegetables. Pour egg in cups almost filling to the top. Sprinkle some cheese over top and bake. (I don't know how long I bake it, I just check on it until it looks done.) Once they have cooled, freeze however you want (we put two in a ziplock bag) and then in the morning pull out and microwave. These are nice for Michael when I'm too lazy to make him breakfast. -And they are a good way to get some protein and vegetables in.

San Francisco

Finally I am able to upload some pictures to our blog....
Michael and I dropped the kids off in Utah with Grandparents and went to San Francisco for six days. We had an awesome time and it really felt like a second honeymoon. I love Michael so much! I wish I could have more little "get-aways" with him.

Do I really look like Condaleeza Rice?

We are having problems uploading pictures, so for now, I thought I would try something new. What do you think?

Michael Is HOME!!!!

The sun is setting on Michael's time in Iraq!

Michael just sent this picture and I thought it was cool. This might be the last picture on our blog from Iraq!!!! He will be home soon (unsure of the exact date) and we are SOOOOOO excited!

Braden's FIVE!

Happy Birthday Braden! We had such a fun time celebrating Braden's birthday, other than the fact that Dad wasn't here to celebrate with us.

On his birthday (the 4th) he had a great day. He got special treatment all day from breakfast in bed, to going birthday shopping, to lunch at McDonalds. I think it made him feel really special. His favorite part was being sang to, and he asked me for the next two days after his birthday if I would sing to him several more times. He told me that it made him feel good. Daddy called on his birthday and sent him on a treasure hunt to find a special present. That was so fun.

Today was his party at Carrabas (italian restaraunt). It was GREAT! This year I was all about easy and no hassle, so I was excited about having it somewhere other than at our house. The restaraunt doesn't open until dinner time, so we went for lunch and got the whole place to ourselves. The kids got to make their own pizzas and see how they were cooked and they had a really good time sitting along the bar watching and eating. After pizza, we opened presents and ate cake and ice cream. It was a great time, and after it was all over, I didn't have to clean up. -So nice! And to top it all off, it was super cheap! I would highly recommend Carrabas for a birthday party to anyone.

Braden is such a sweet boy. I can't believe that he is five. I really do think he is the best little five-year old ever. Today at his party he said, "I'm going to tell you who out of all of my friends I wanted to be here the most" ...and I started to cut him off because I thought that this might not be good, but he said, "Everyone. I'm so glad that everyone is here". That was very sweet. He does and says so many nice things everyday. When I ask him to pick up, I'll say something like, "pick up 25 things", and he will always come to me and say, "I went the extra mile. I picked up 30". He is a good helper and such a good big brother. He loves to learn new things and doesn't give up easily. He is a great example because he loves to read the Book of Mormon and always reminds me that we should read. I love Braden so much and feel so lucky to have him as a son. -And I know his Dad feels the same way.

Just thought this was a cute picture to share....

First week of pre-school

What a busy week! Conner started pre-school on Tuesday and seems to really like it. Two of the mornings, he was sad when we dropped him off (in a mad dash to get Braden to a different school on time), but he was very happy each time we picked him up. It has been very stressful trying to get Conner dropped off quickly to make it to Braden's school on time and then to pick Conner up and rush to Braden's school again. I don't know if I am going to survive this schedule. ...We'll see! I go to the YMCA to work out just about every day, and this week I felt sort of bad after dropping my three children off in three different places. Am I a horrible mother?

Oh, this week we also started soccer. I feel SO busy. How do people do it with more children and older children? I was seriously on the verge of tears several times this week due to stress.

Update on Michael

I haven't posted anything about Michael lately (mostly because I am waiting to get more pictures from him), but I thought I would give a quick little update....
Michael seems to be doing well. I am SO grateful that we are able to talk just about every day. I love him and miss him so much!
He is at a different base right now doing dentistry on a lot of Iraqis. Actually, most of them need teeth pulled and they don't want him to pull them, so he is trying to convince them to let him work on them. I think it's nice for him to be in a new environment and seems to make time go by faster. About a month ago, he got a small pox vaccination and ended up with cellulitis. His shoulder was very swollen and red and he got sick. Though he still has a scar, he is doing much better. He works VERY long days (16 hours sometimes) and sounds tired most of the time. I feel so bad for him, but I'm so proud of how well he has dealt with this experience.
Now for the good news....When he gets back to his home base, he will have just a short time before he gets to come home! Yippee! He should be home by the end of September!! I CAN'T wait! I feel so lucky that he has had such a short deployment and really admire people who do it for 12 or 15 months. I just can't imagine.

Holy Crap!

Tonight while I was cleaning up the backyard, I found the biggest spider I think I have ever seen (aside from at a zoo). I even said "holy crap!" out loud to myself. I went next-door to show the neighbors, but they weren't home, so I had to put in on the blog. Unfortunately, the boys are in bed and didn't get to see it, and I'm not a nice enough mom to save it for the morning. It was sprayed with spider killer and flushed down the toilet. I have felt like I have something crawling on me ever since. Yuck!

Goo Gone

Okay, so I think I am probably the last person to hear about great products, so maybe all of you have already heard about this.... But, I am a new fan of Goo Gone. So far I have been able to get yucky guck (probably gum or something) off of our leather car seat, stickers off of a chair, and super glue off of my bathroom counter. It is GREAT stuff!

Slumber Party in Mom and Dad's bed

Braden, Fluffy, and Conner... Tonight I told the boys that they could sleep in my bed, but of course, Fluffy had to be there too. Fluffy is the class bear and Braden is the privileged one who got to take the bear home for the weekend. Today on the way home from school Braden told me that all week he has been wondering whether Fluffy is real or not. "So, do you think he is, mom?" he asked. I told him that he is for sure a real teddy bear and can be a real friend. So, we get to have Fluffy with us for a few days and we'll find out just how real he is. Kindergarten is so much fun. Every day Braden is SO happy when I pick him up and so happy to tell me all about kindergarten. So far, his favorite parts about kindergarten are:

1. the math toys (every day he tells me that that is one of his favorite things)

2. going to music, PE, and art

3. fire drills

So much fun!

Kindergarten, here we come!!

I can't believe that I sent our sweet little four year old (almost five) off to kindergarten today! Braden was such a trooper. He was nervous to be at a new school, with a new teacher, and new kids that he'd never met. Everything went well though. I didn't really get emotional until we pulled close to the school and saw all of the kids big kids outside of the school and just can't believe how fast Braden is growing up. He is SUCH a good boy, and I get so nervous for him to be around so many outside influences (paranoid, I'm sure). Anyway, we met the teacher and Braden was so brave when it was time to say good-bye. I drove away and said a prayer and thought and worried about him until three hours had passed by and it was time to pick him up. He was SO happy and so excited when I picked him up. He LOVED kindergarten. Whew! What a relief! I'm so glad that he had a good first day and is excited to go again tomorrow. Michael called and said that he had been thinking about Braden all day and was so excited to hear about how kindergarten went. Braden wanted me to take the picture of him holding his backpack to show Daddy. (Braden wasn't quite sure if he was ready to smile with this new teacher quite yet!)

Quick trip to Utah

Before I start this post, I want to say that I feel bad for anyone that I wasn't able to see while we were in Utah. We only had a chance to be with family this trip. Unfotunately it was a very spontaneous trip and it went way too fast.

So I just have to say how proud I was that we made it from Colorado Springs to Riverton, UT (about a 9-10 hour drive) only stopping ONCE! With three children and only one adult, I think that's pretty darn good. We did have a long stop in Grand Junction where we had lunch and I made my children sit on the toilet until they pooped so we wouldn't have to stop for that, but it was our only stop. (We won't talk about the way home.)

We had a nice time with Michael's family. Michael's sister Nichole is staying with Michael's parents while her husband does an internship, so it was nice to be able to spend a lot of time with her. She probably got sick of me, but I loved being with her. We went swimming, shopping (at the outlets), ate at Cafe Rio (yummm!), went boating, and watched the cousins play so well together. It was a nice visit. I sure wish that we lived closer to more family.

Kylie is three months older than Haley and she sure did love being the older cousin! ....So cute!

The boys LOVED going boating and especially loved it when we got to jump in the lake.

Okay, I've been tagged and I feel bad not being "it"

So, I was just going to ignore that someone had "tagged" me, but I'm feeling bad (a couple weeks later) and decided I would go ahead with this......

4 Jobs I've had
Pharmacy delivery driver
Branch Manager for staffing service
Nanny
Lerner NY sales person

4 Places I've lived
Cleveland, OH
Riverton, UT (in a house that used to be a chicken coop)
Grenwich, CT
Littleton, CO

4 Favorite TV shows
(this one is hard, because I've probably watched t.v. maybe five times since Michael's been gone)
The Office
Amazing Race (when it's on)
.....hmmm I seriously can't think of anything else

4 places I've vacationed
Europe (France, Italy, Switzerland) for 3 weeks with Michael. So awesome!
Caribbean cruise
Cancun, Mexico
Myrtle Beach

4 Favorite dishes
TACOS (fried) yummm! These can always put me in a good mood
BBQ Chicken pizza
Cafe Rio pork (salad or burrito)
Costco salad mix with craisins, feta cheese, almonds....very good, but I can't think of the name

4 Places I'd like to be
In Michael's arms (So badly)
Laying on the beach in peace and quiet
On a run... Lately I crave running and wish so bad that I could go at night while the kids are in bed
In school. Sounds crazy, but I have a huge desire to go back to school lately

Tag you're it!
Nichole K
Marian K
Yvonne H
JJ

Decoration for Haley's room

Okay, I am not a crafty or creative decorator, but I heard about this idea and thought it sounded cute. Last night I decided to get it done and it took all of about five minutes. I printed off a letter "H" on white cardstock and then just glued on some beeds. I heard about doing this with buttons, but I coudn't find cute buttons so I decided to use beeds instead. I think it turned out pretty cute! (If you click on the picture you can see the beeds up close)

Just having one of those days!

I am so TIRED today! My poor children (4yrs and 3yrs) got a little lecture tonight about how Mommy is tired of doing everything (picking up toys everywhere, making dinner, changing diapers, dressing children, doing dishes) ALONE. I want their help, but unfortunately I'm expecting a little much from such young children. It is Sunday today, and church was long. I play the piano for choir, so we get there an hour early, then I teach the Laurels and it feels like I am always the last one to leave once I've cleaned up my lesson stuff and gathered the children. Then on top of it, it's right during Haley's naptime, so she was just a pill today.

Okay, I know this is probably a terrible post because I'm complaining so much. I'm just having a "me moment". I put the kids to bed at 7:00 for my sanity and also because they were cranky because not one of them took a nap today. It seems like some days it takes forever for 7:00-7:30 (bedtime) to come. Is that terrible that I look forward to that part of the day everyday?

So, I am going to go upstairs to make myself a little bowl of ice cream (okay, maybe not little) and sit out on the porch and enjoy the cool night. I really am happy and doing fine with Michael being gone. ....It's just one of those days and I feel like sharing it.

I know it's probably silly to put a picture of myself, but my little neighbor was over taking pictures and commented on how messy my hair was. I thought I would share my "tired mommy" picture.

Happy Birthday from Iraq

Michael was sad that he wasn't here to celebrate Conner's birthday (of course), but was able to do something fun for his birthday. He hung a flag (a tradition over there where they keep the flag and get a certificate that says that the flag was hung in Iraq) today for Conner. He also went to a junkyard where there were old Russian planes and tanks from the last Iraqi war. He was able to have a little fun with spray paint to show Conner that he was thinking of him. ....Isn't he hot? I sure do miss him. : (

Another birthday....Conner's THREE!

Happy Birthday Conner! We had a fun day and a fun water party. Conner is such a great little three year old. Since he is three, I thought I would share three things that I love about Conner:

1. He gives hugs several times a day and is always telling me that he loves me. The other day, he said, "You the best mom ever!".

2. He loves to dance in the kitchen and is always asking me to turn the music on.

3. He is very good at sports and loves to play with balls.

Out at the range

Today when I asked Michael how his day was, he said, "Just like yesterday." He works long days seven days a week and so it's nice when he is able to mix things up a little bit by shooting at the range. He is so awesome! I'm proud of all that he is doing and for his positive attitude during this whole experience.

More TBall pictures

It has been fun to watch Braden get more and more into T-ball as the season has gone by. He gets so proud of himself when he gets the ball or has a good hit. I'm proud of him for sticking it out, even though he wasn't very excited about it at the beginning of summer. He is such a cute boy!

Happy Birthday Haley!

Today is Haley's 1st birthday! I can't belive that she is already one. She still feels so little to me, but is the cutest and sweetest thing ever. I just love her so much!

We are sad that Daddy can't celebrate with us, but we took lots of pictures and I made a special book for Haley of her Daddy for her birthday.

A Frog in my shower!!

Michael spent about two weeks in a very small base South of Baghdad. One morning when he went to get in the shower, he found a little shower buddy. He thought this picture would be fun for the boys to see.

4th of July in Iraq

Michael celebrated the 4th of July on the 5th by shooting off flares on the roof of their compound. He said it was pretty cool, but missed the fireworks in the U.S.

I am very proud of my little herb garden, so I thought I would share a picture. For Mother's Day, Michael gave me everything I needed to start the garden and it has been fun for me and the boys to see everything grow. I am growing basil (-my favorite! I love to dip french bread in pesto or have bruschetta), cilantro, parsley, and chives. This has been my first herb garden, and So fun to have fresh herbs on hand.

It was so nice to have so much family in town. After our family reunion, we were able to celebrate the 4th of July together, which was so nice. Michael was definitely missed and thought about a lot. I got emotional everytime I heard a patriotic song. I'm so grateful that Michael has had this opportunity to serve our county and I'm so proud of him. Though it is very hard for him to be over there in Iraq, he has had such a positive attitude and I really admire that.

After the fourth, we went on a hike to some waterfalls and tubing down the Platte River. On Saturday night I had 20 family members sleep over and on Sunday we had 24 for dinner and games. It was crazy, but I just loved being with everyone. It was sad to see my sisters head back East. I sure do love my family.

It has been a neat experience for Michael to train some of the SF medics. Here he is teaching a medic to pull a tooth. Yikes, I'm glad I'm not the one in the chair. Quite the dental clinic, isn't it?