Happy Birthday Payton!

Payton turned the big, "It's great to be 8" today. That's right....8 years ago in Grand Junction, CO, at 10:21 a.m., Miss Payton Ally was born. Boy, with the rough start we had, and the colicky baby she was, I never would have guessed she would grow to be such a sweet, kind, big hearted, helpful, smart, fun, obedient, hard working, loving child. She truly is all these things and more. I can't even begin to express the amount of love and adoration I have for her.

Pay, thanks for being a giant help to me on a daily basis. You are such a big part of this family and I love that you......

have a sense of humor

ride your bike next to me when I go for runs

have rhythm and can really bust a move

work hard in school

want to be a hair stylist and are already good at doing your and other's hair

love to read

have a desire to do what's right

are my snuggle bunny

have your own creative sense of style

love and help your brother and sister

enjoy being with your family

love to sing and write your own songs....sorry you were cursed with your mom's voice

have compassion for others

are responsible and can get yourself ready for school all by yourself

ARE MY GIRL!!!

Payton asked for new bedding for her birthday. Since we moved her into her own room just a few months ago, and the bedding and decor in that room were for a boy, I thought this was a good idea. After ordering her bedding I decided it would be exciting to actually transform Owen's old room into a new space just for Pay, so we went with it. All day Monday and today we worked like mad painting and changing her room. I couldn't have done it without help from Bob and friends, so Thank you, Thank you, Thank you......to them!

When Payton arrived home from school today, her room was ready! She ran up the stairs and was so surprised and elated at her new room she found waiting for her! Her little mouth was turned up in a smile the rest of the day. She continued to hug and thank us, and it was fun to see her so happy and appreciative!

I wish I had thought to take BEFORE pics. but, of course, I didn't until after we had started painting. Basically, the walls were just plain tan and the bedding was a light blue. So here's a little slide show of her room transformation and her birthday dinner at the Kyoto Steak House.

We love you, Pay and hope your 8th birthday was extra special!

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LONELY

How is it I can be surrounded by my three kids, friends, and family members all weekend, and I still feel lonely? Oh, that's right......because HE has been gone....not the little man on his Boise State bike, no he's been attached to my hip, sleeping in my bed, keeping me up all night with his fever and few puking incidents......( and really, all that's o.k because I love him too) but the big hunk riding behind him, he's been in AZ for work.......MIA for four nights and five days now! That's just enough time for me to feel an ache in my heart and be reminded once again ...I DON'T like being home without ya, I MISS ya, I LOVE ya, ........PLEASE COME HOME ALREADY!

The City

Uh Oh......I knew I shouldn't have watched last night. Now what? Yup....another guilty pleasure!

Good Bye.....THE HILLS

Hello.....THE CITY

The Laughing Box

When we visited Stan and Nichole on New Year's they pulled out their family laugh box. It was just a small card board box with the writing, Family Laugh Box 2007, written neatly on the side. When someone in their family said or did something silly or noteworthy, they would write it down on whatever piece of paper they could find, date it, fold it, and toss it into the laughing box.

I need to do this. My kids are saying and doing silly things every day that make me stop and just look at them in wonder. Wonder about what is going on in their little heads. Some are hilarious, others, down right shocking, a few are aggravating, but most are sweet and adorable. So, these things are said and done, the day goes on, and I seem to forget. I don't want to forget. I want to write them down so I can go back and read them at times when I am tired, frustrated, feeling worthless as a mom, and need to be reminded that it is the simple things in life that bring us the greatest joy.

So, the next time I am out browsing Cost Plus World Market and see a really cool box, because it happens often, seriously! I am not going talk myself out of buying it because, "What would I do with that, where would I put it, what use would I possibly have for it?" I will sweep it off the shelf, bring it home, fill it with colored note cards and a pen, and set it nicely on my shelf in my office.

Then the next time an incident like this happens.....

We left cookies on Avery's Primary teacher's door step. She called the next day to thank Avery and asked if she had helped me make the cookies. Avery quickly replied, "No, a neighbor gave us those." (not really, but sorta kind of....they were my home made cookies as well as a few others from the cookie party I couldn't go to, but my friend brought me the cookies anyway) So, it sounded really bad, and yes I was mortified, but hey, Avery was honest. She didn't help me make the cookies. And she did see my friend drop most of them off at our house that day.

I will write it down and throw it in "The Laughing Box."

All good things must come to an end

Christmas break is over. My, how quickly two weeks of vacation can speed by. My stomach is turning just thinking of starting back to the old routine tomorrow. Our two weeks have been a whirlwind. We started the break off by going to San Diego with Nate and Emily and Brent and Kim to watch the Broncos in the Poinsettia bowl. San Diego was beautiful and we had a great time with our friends, but the outcome of the game was sorely disappointing.

Christmas was spent in Twin Falls with the McBride family. Grandma McBride always goes out of her way to make things special. She had delicious meals prepared, lots of goodies, gifts and surprises for the kids, like a visit from Santa, and more. We had fun visiting with Robert's siblings and catching up on many movies we hadn't seen during the year such as, Mama Mia and Iron Man.

We came home a few days after Christmas to relax and just be. We did nothing but play with our new toys, watch Christmas movies, and enjoy some time as a family. It was so nice to sleep in, be lazy, and have no schedule or place to be.

New Year's Eve we headed over to Pocatello and partied with friends. New Year's Day we spent with my parents, Stan and Nichole and family. We went to an ISU basketball game and watched the Bengals win in over time by one point at the buzzer! We slept out at Stan's house and always enjoy their beautiful home on the mountain. The kids love playing with their cousins and the opportunity to see and feed the horses. Friday we met my parents for one last meal at grandpa's restaurant and then hit the road for home.

Last night Clint and Amy came over and watched our kids while we went out. It is so nice to have them here and swap kids once in awhile. We know they're in good hands, they love to see their cousins, and the babysitting is free! We picked up our good friends the Seversons and went to Thai food and then to the Ram for dessert. We always enjoy their company and find ourselves in thought provoking conversations that leave me thinking and wanting to work at being a better friend, wife and mother.

So, the New Year is here and I am ready for change. I am ready to start the year off fresh and set some goals. Every year I set both a physical and spiritual goal. The physical might just be to run a marathon, however, I am not sure! The challenge really frightens me. For now, I will sign up for Ogden's half and try to beat my time from last year. I think I might try to get into St. George's marathon. If I get in, I will do it! Spiritually, I plan to focus on the same thing as our Primary theme, eternal families. I have set a few goals that I think will be helpful to us as a family, build our relationships, bring us closer, and help us serve and love one another more.

So, this is it...the last day of Christmas break. I am off to take down the Christmas decor, making it all final! But, as I do, I am looking forward to 2009 and doing my best to make it a great year!

Christmas 2008

Oh, it's on!

I opened up my email last night, and look what I found...

Registration Confirmation for:
2009 Ironman 70.3 Boise
Dear Robert,
Congratulations! You are now registered for 2009 Ironman 70.3 Boise. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://wwwironmanboise.com/

So, I guess he'll be doing a whole lot of this...

And we will be doing a whole lot of that!

I must admit, I am nervous for ya, Bob. That is a beast of a race. But, I know with a lot of hard work, you CAN do it! I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for setting this goal. The kids and I will be behind ya 100%! We love you!

Kristi

Time Wasting

What have Robert and I been doing every night this Christmas break after the chilluns are fast asleep in their beds.......No, No, and No.....get your filthy minds out of the gutter peeps?!

We have been watching episodes of the ever so popular, fantastically humorous.....The Office.

We just finished season 2 late last night. Jim walked up to Pam and just flat out, no holding back, told her he LOVED her! Wow! Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than that, he found her later in the office, crying on the phone to her mother. He walked right up and started kissing her. That's right, just landed a long, romantic one, right on her. That's what I am talking about, Jim!

I know this episode catching up thing is really a huge time waster, but I did read that watching something "funny" boosts blood flow to the heart and is actually a helpful health tip! Seriously.....30 min. a day might just keep the Dr. away! Hmm.....then we'll just keep watching. Season 3....See ya tonight at about 10 p.m.!

Computer hiatus

Due to the fact that I work from home on my computer, I told myself I was putting it away for the Christmas break. I lasted an entire week. Yesterday I was blog, email, Facebook hungry, so I plugged in the laptop. Hmmm.......I don't think the little ones were quite ready for their mom's time and attention to be given to something else besides themselves.With Owen insisting to sit on my lap and Avery bouncing around on the back of my chair, laughingly I pleaded, "Seriously, Avery, get off me!"
Then laughing became growling for Owen to quit banging wildly on my keyboard.

Followed by more laughing when Owen kept kicking the table causing us all to go wheeling backwards on a nice little ride in the computer chair.
Just when I thought I had the two little ones under control....
It became completely unmanageable. I stood up, kids hanging tightly to me, and walked away from my computer....STARVING! (Check out Avery posing like a rock star.)

Pay, I wasn't happy at the time when you picked up my camera and were snapping shots of your struggling mama, but kudos to you for successfully capturing a small glimpse of my world mothering these two little heathens!

MOM

Christmas Piano Recital

Pay had her very first piano recital Thursday night. She practiced and practiced Jingle Bells for weeks beforehand.There she is playing her piece....and afterwards with friends, Hunter and Tanner, and her teacher, Tori.

Pay was feeling a little down because her dad, brother and sister couldn't make the recital. Both Avery and Owen were under the weather, so Robert and the kids had to stay home. However, her spirits were lifted and she was all smiles when the two of us had a girl's night out afterwards. She chose her favorite restaurant, we went and ate and did a little shopping too!

Pay, you are growing up way too fast, but I sure enjoy the little lady you are becoming. Thanks for the fun night out. I always enjoy spending time with you!

Loving you much,

MOM

P.S. I don't know if you can tell in the pic., but I totally chopped my hair off. Not that there was a lot to chop, but it is REALLY short now!

Friday's Funny

It started to snow the other day. Owen and Avery were pretty excited and were dying to run outside in the fresh, new flakes!

So, even though they were totally not dressed for the weather (Owen is in this weird phase where he wants to wear his swimsuit all day), I let them go.They didn't last long. I told them to run get on some shoes and they could crazily run around some more.Owen came downstairs wearing these lovelies. Hmmm........not really what I had in mind.But, he loved the boots. Sure they were difficult to walk around in at first..... Then he became so good that he continued to prance around the house in them. You know, walking around, checking the Christmas trimmings.So, I totally intended to use these shots for my Friday's Funny.......until last night. Before I crawled into bed, I checked on the kids. I went to pull up Owen's covers and noticed he had put on the shirt he had worn that day. Wondering what ensemble he had on, I pulled back the covers to find this...

Owen, wearing the day's dirty shirt, his swim suit he pulled from his top drawer, and his snow boots. Now where were those boots when you needed them, boy?!

Owen, you are daily entertainment! I love you!

MOM