"Getting Healthy"

First of all, I hate to say the word "diet."  At the thought of that word I run to the cupboards and eat everything unhealthy and I feel like I'm starving.  I have to admit though that I never actually have dieted.  I know that I could benefit from a healthier lifestyle and I'm willing to try it, but I do have to say that I'm scared and I have some hang-ups. 

I can think up so many excuses why I haven't tried: 
    My thyroid is what contributed to major weight gain in the past and I worry that it will prevent me from losing weight in the future.
    My kids are so little.  I don't have time for me right now.
    I refuse to make 2 separate meals for special diets and my kids are already so picky.
    I can't do it without support and Rick just hasn't worried about his weight.
    I don't have money to spend on equipment, gym memberships, or workout plans.
    I don't have money to spend on expensive foods.
    I'm only 34 and I gained quite a bit of that as baby weight, so maybe it will just come off eventually anyway.
   

I also know there are many good reasons to be healthy. 
The most important reasons are:
     Rick, Carlyn, Anneliese, Darren, & Charlie!!!  My family needs me to be healthy so I can play more with them and enjoy life. 
    I need to try to prevent other issues (diabetes, heart problems, etc.) that are made worse by being overweight.
    If I eat healthier meals, I can influence my husband and children to eat healthier meals too!
    I don't need expensive meal/exercise plans, memberships, or equipment to start.  I can use what I have to do the best I can.  Its got to be more helpful than sitting here eating cookies! 
    I do have support!  I have a husband who loves me no matter what size I am, but he does want me to be healthy and is even willing to try it with me.


The point is:  my cousin is doing a 90 day health challenge on facebook.  It starts Monday, and if you want details you can ask about it.  One key point of the challenge is accountability.  Keep track of your food intake, water drinking, & exercise.  I realize that while my starting out may be totally different than another person and I'm not seeking to lose the most weight the fastest, but I am going to be a healthier person at the end of that 90 days.  I'm excited about that!  For the first time I feel like I'm ready to commit to that.  It scares me to death that I'll fail, but with support I know I won't!  :)  I'm not committing to a diet.  I'm committing to health challenge. 

I'm Back! Where did I go?

Okay friends & family, I don't know for sure why I stopped blogging.  At first I think it was just time.  I never realized how busy it would be having a kid in school!  Also, I wanted to put pictures up and our camera was broken, thanks to Darren throwing it across the front room.  Then I got distracted with facebook.  And the games there.  Nobody needs to tell me they are a waste of time.  I know, yet I'm still addicted, but I'm missing keeping in touch with people.  So...I'm going to make an effort to do better. 

What's new in case you haven't heard from us?  Something very new is that Rick will be starting school, hopefully in February and hopefully at Western Governer's.  He is very excited and was hoping to be started by now, but had a hang up. 

Carlyn is in 1st grade and at a different school than Anneliese thanks to her being in the Gifted program in the district.  She also won at her school & region for her Reflections entry which was a 3D image of a girl and her mom flying a kite.  I'll have to post some pictures when I get a chance.  She also participates in the 1st grad book club which we hosted at our house on Friday.  They each have a month assigned when they choose a book and do an activity & snack related to the book.  Carlyn chose Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine.  We had a tea party and made paper dolls.  She also lost her first tooth and learned how to ride a 2 wheel bike over the summer and then taught Anneliese and two cousins! 

Anneliese, who has told us that she wants us to call her Anneliese and not Annie, is in Kindergarten.  She loves it and loves her teacher, who is about to have a baby so I hope that the change to the substitute isn't hard on her.  She's doing well and beginning to read, but isn't half as confident as her big sister which I hope she can outgrow.  She still loves to dance & draw and is always smiling.  I don't mean to say less about her because she has the middle child syndrome going on enough, but this last year did mean as much change for her. 

Darren is 3 now!  He's in Sunbeams at church and I love his teacher and hope that she'll teach him how to sit still better than I have!  He's driving me crazy because he technically is potty trained, but he just doesn't care if he has an accident.  I've tried treats, stickers, working up to a date with mommy or buying a toy, but nothing seems to work.  I'm trying to be patient but I think I'm failing.  He's getting really good at video games, especially considering how young he is.  And don't forget, he thinks it is just the funniest thing to go cross eyed or burp on cue. 

Charlie is so big!  I can't believe my baby is over 18 months!!!  He thinks he's as big as the other kids too and gets really mad when he can't do something like one of the bigger kids.  That kid can really throw a fit!  He's at the stage where nothing is safe.  I'll hide something up high or where I think he can't reach it and the next thing I know, he has it!  He is super ticklish and has the best laugh ever.  He's in nursery now and seems to love it when he finally gets distracted enough to stop crying.  He's turned into such a Daddy's boy too. 

This last year was also the year to get tonsils out for the Dansies.  Anneliese had hers out in April, Rick in May, and Carlyn in December.  I also had my niece Jaycie the weekend after she had her tonsils out this summer so I really am a pro at helping tonsillectomy patients. 

As for me, I love volunteering in the girls' classes and I also love being a stay at home mom, but I do look forward to the rare date with Rick or girls nights out. I also recently became a consultant for Usborne Books and I do book parties and have a website.  I would love to catch up with any of you in Utah and get you some free books in the process of you having a party.  If you live out of Utah, you can still have a web party, we just wouldn't be able to visit in person.  

This year was the first year when Rick and I got away without kids when we actually left our house!  We went to St. George in October for our 10th Anniversary and just after Christmas for a disaster of a trip (long story) but it was still nice to have that time together. 

I may be forgetting something, but it has been a long week and I really should be in bed.  (9 o'clock church!  Yuck!)  Rick has been sick since before Christmas with a cold & cough and is finally getting better, but has been having muscle spasms in his neck which has made for a really rough week.  Overall we are doing really well and I really just want to stay in touch better.  Love to you all!  

PS, I obviously still have a lot of updating to do, so be patient with me!!

Update- Birthday, Ear Piercing, Goodbye

Hey everyone, I'm on my new computer, and it runs much faster, thanks to Rick. I haven't downloaded pictures for a long time, so I'll try not to make it too long. No promises though.

We've had a busy April. I'll start with Rick's birthday.

I mentioned in a previous post that the girls wanted to dress up for his birthday dinner. This is what they wore. So sweet!

That's quite a little fire on the cake there. We had to sing fast! :)

This is the end of the movie when all the kids were sitting on Rick's lap. I love it. They love their Daddy so much, just as they should.

The next big thing was the girls getting their ears pierced. I think I mentioned that they had to earn it by being good and earning beans. They had a few not so good days, but mostly they earned it pretty quickly. I am still not sure I should have let Rick talk me into this, but the girls love them and take care of them pretty well for how young they are. We got a little choked up while we were there. I know its a lot of pictures, but again, this was hard for me so deal with it!

Annie before

Annie during

Annie after. She chose green birthstones (I don't know what month.) No tears, no flinching. I am amazed by my brave daughters. Rick tried to talk me into it and I still didn't dare and was secretly relieved that they wouldn't do mine while I'm pregnant without a doctor's note.

Carlyn before

Carlyn during. Notice that she has her lamby. Anyone who knows her well know her lamby too. She chose lamby that night to comfort her.

Carlyn after. She chose the pink birthstone, of course. Again, no tears and not even the tiniest flinch. Tough cookie! For at least a week they proudly showed their ears to everyone. They'd say, "Look, I got my ears pierced. I didn't even flinch!"

Darren was bored out of his mind and screamed through the whole thing. He also went through at least 2 suckers.

Now I need to mention that my brother,Mathew, had let us know he was working in Canada for the summer and would be leaving in May. I was having a hard time with it because we're pretty close and see him a lot and my kids just adore him, especially Darren. Plus, I'm pregnant and he won't be here for the baby to be born. I'm not sure why this is so huge to me, but it is. So we had their ears pierced on Friday night the week before Easter. That weekend was also conference weekend and a family Easter party on Saturday morning (to be blogged about later.) So Saturday morning I had everything timed just right so that we can eat, bathe, get ready and watch conference then leave to the party immediately after. Well, Mathew threw it all off :)

Rick hadn't gotten much sleep that night (thanks to WOW) and was sleeping in while I showered. Next thing I knew, Rick was up and dressed. I was surprised and he said I had a call from Mathew who was on his way to Canada that day and wanted to say goodbye to us on his way out! I just stared at Rick then finally said, "You're a little late for April Fool's." He laughed but then said it wasn't a joke. Mathew was on his way. Well, I lost it. I bawled while I got ready. I know he's a grown up and I think this adventure will be really good for him, but I still miss him. Its hard when you get used to someone being there, able to come play games or watch the kids most times when we'd call. (Mathew, if you're reading this I don't say it to make you feel bad. We really are excited for you.) Anyway, he came by hugged us, used our computer, then was off.

Look at that smile! Any questions how much she loves Mathew? He lived with us when she was born and for awhile she liked Mathew at least as much as Rick.

I don't think Darren would have been smiling if he had known he wouldn't see his buddy for such a long time :)

Carlyn is old enough to understand better what was going on and was a little more clingy to him, but it was also really sweet because every prayer for over a week prayed for Mathew to be safe and have a fun time in Canada. How sweet is that?

A Busy, Crazy Weekend

So we had offered to take Carisa's four girls for the weekend to give her a break. We almost skipped it because my kids had only been on antibiotics for strep 24 hours as of Friday night. But Rick was really great and insisted we take them still but meet Friday night so our kids would be in bed already. It was really important to him that he do this for them and I really appreciated him for that. I love my nieces, but I'm really tired and don't have a lot of patience right now so I didn't know if it was the best timing.

Friday night Rick put the kids to bed and I headed to Provo to meet Carisa and the kids. They were all asleep even though it was only 9:30. I was happy about that because it would mean they'd go to sleep at our house easier. Every child was awake by 8:10 Saturday morning. Didn't anyone teach them to sleep in? My kids usually do but for some reason they didn't. We messed around for a little while then started on a huge breakfast of bacon, sausage, pancakes, and eggs. I should explain that they are 13 (almost 14-very important) , 11, 8, and 5. 4 extra children added quite a bit to the quantities of food we made. We all got ready and made lunches and headed to the Safe Kids Fair. They have booths and activities and I usually go on Friday, but as we were still in the contagious period, decided against it. Plus, it provided a good free activity for all 9 of us.

I knew we were in trouble when we got there and had to circle for 15 minutes to find parking. There were literally thousands of people there. It was insane, especially with 7 kids. We also wondered what people thought of us. 7 kids plus I'm pregnant. :) We got a few funny looks and a few not so nice comment about there being so many of us. I have a lot of respect for anyone with that many kids and I am reminded why 4 is plenty for me. It was crazy because they usually have spinners or games to win a prize and there were huge lines for these and the prizes were sometimes nothing but a pencil or sucker. CRAZY. We tried to skip the busiest things and let the kids take stickers and candy from tables without lines.

We ate lunch after awhile and realized that we were about done. We'd promised that if they were good they could get their faces painted. Well, we found that line and it was terrible! It was longer than any line we stood in at Disneyland. I wish I was exaggerating. We barely moved and it took us an hour and a half to get to the front. We had one adult stand with Darren and the stroller in line and the other would take the kids to different booths. One of their favorites was the company that had the Burmese Pythons. They went nuts petting those. Yes, 6 girls.

Somewhere about then Evynn, my niece who is 5, had wandered away from her sister who was her "buddy." We aren't even sure exactly where she was because she wouldn't tell us after we found her, but she was missing for about 15 minutes. I think she was in line to see Spiderman. Well, once we realized that she was missing, Rick stayed with the kids in line and I ran around trying to find someone "official" to help me. I mostly got pointed from one person to another and I was getting frantic. Finally I found a very helpful lady who got a description from me and told me to stay put. It felt like forever that I waited there praying that somehow we would find her, but looking around me realized how many people where there. I heard them announce it and burst into tears. The lady came back and told me to stand somewhere else which was where they would bring her. I don't know who found her or anything else, but when I saw that little girl with a look like, "Oh, I'm going to get it now" look on her face and not an ounce of being scared I dropped to my knees and hugged her. I'm sure she thought I was going to yell, but I couldn't. I was so relieved. How scary that was. I would like to thank those people who found her but I don't know who they are. Well, that's when she made a comment about wanting to see Spiderman. Her older sisters had been a upset too and were relieved to see her. The line was getting to everyone, but they all insisted that they didn't care. Darren was going crazy and we tried to sedate him with suckers and his bottle. He finally fell asleep when we were at the end of the line and got a little nap. On the upside, their face painting was awesome. Sharice had half of a rainbow butterfly. Jaycie's whole face was a colorful peace sign. Aili and Evynn had bunny faces. Carlyn had half a pink butterfly and a flower on the other side. Annie had a whole brown butterfly. They were super cute.

When we got home I was totally sore and exhausted. I said I was making spaghetti and everyone complained so we got pizza from Papa Murphy's. We ended up making butter noodles too (long story) and most of them wanted that. UGH. That's why I don't do special orders, but butter noodles tasted better to my picky pregnant tastes so I couldn't be too grumpy. Rick wasn't too pleased though. We rented High School Musical 3 (wow, was that a dumb show!) and the kids all loved it. Rick watched a few minutes with us, but couldn't handle it and left. :) We had ice cream sandwiches and went to bed later than we meant to. I meant to give the kids all baths/showers that night because church was at 9 the next morning.

I woke up really early and had a hard time getting anyone to get in the shower after me. Sharice did the best, but everyone else was sluggish, even Rick. Jaycie complained of being sick and Annie and Carlyn came up with fevers and feeling sick too. For crying out loud, they'd been on antibiotics for days so I really wasn't expecting that. Annie was supposed to have her first talk in Primary that day. I was so sad that she didn't get to. She'd done so well when we'd practiced. Anyway, Jaycie stayed home with my girls and they rest of us made it to church on time! A miracle in itself, I know. Darren was really difficult during Sacrament, probably just tired, but he and Rick (who wasn't feeling too great himself) went home after Sacrament.

We had tons of leftovers in the fridge so we had a leftover lunch and then we played some wii. I don't know if it was just that nobody had enough sleep the night before but they kids were all driving me crazy because they were fighting over everything. Which game to play, who got to play, etc. I really just wanted to put on a movie because I thought it would be more mellow. It really doesn't seem like a lot of time looking back on it and we really did have a fun time, but it was crazy. It was really good for the cousins to bond a little. They've been out of state so long and every time we see them it seems like its always a little hectic. This was a nice way to just have fun and spend some time together and let them know that we love them. I really, really appreciated Rick that he made such efforts to show them he cared and he did a lot of the work. He was great and I love him so much for making the effort with my sister's kids. Rick met my sister late Sunday afternoon in Provo to do the switcheroo. She sounded so happy to have had someone look after her kids while she was working and to have a little time to herself. I'm so glad that it was so good for her, and that is a lot of why we did it. We love you, Carisa, and we love your kids too.

Pictures, Funnies, & Early Valentines Date

We'll start off with some recent pictures. Last time I tried to do "preschool" with Annie she had no interest, but she seemed more interested lately "writing" all the time and wanting to write her name. So yesterday we did the letter A. As you can see, she did a great job and is very creative :) I only told her to write a few more A's after tracing the ones I'd written. When we were doing Valentines she started writing other letters, like T and I & E and was so proud. I didn't know she could do that. She really wants to write her name, but can't remember the letters in the right order for Anneliese. She says, "A-N-N-E-L-E-S-E-S-E". Pretty good, but not quite right. She knows how to spell Annie, but that's not what she wants.

This was the girls making Valentines cards today. Annie is really great at tracing letters and Carlyn wants to copy them. When Darren woke up he wanted to draw too. They were very serious about it and took hours making them.

Darren at Grandma's the other day. He LOVES Thomas the train and even though this isn't Thomas he doesn't care. He made the same noise for it as when he asks for the Thomas movie. We went to Circuit City's store closing sale out of curiosity the other day and Darren magnetically found a Thomas movie. He was so excited I couldn't tell him no and he ran to Rick practically dancing and hopping to him while screaming excitedly, "Mama. Mama. Mama." Which meant, "Daddy, I really want Thomas!" because he calls Rick Mama and Thomas Mama too. :) Rick couldn't tell him no either. I wish that we'd gotten a video of it.

After coming back from St. George Sunday night, Darren fell asleep on my lap. He never does that. It was so sweet I didn't want to put him down.

Before he fell asleep he was running around like a free child again (after being cooped up in the hotel and car.) He figured out how to climb on my FHE file boxes. Guess they need a new place now. Now I can see why my parents called me an imp! Look at that expression!

The is Sharice, Darren, Evynn, & Annie in front of the St. George temple. It was very cold for St. George. 50s with a cold wind.

The weekend before last we went to Rick's sister Belinda's house. They have a dog, Nala. This is Darren in her crate. I love the red eyes. I could have fixed them, but it looked too funny. I swear he climbed in there and shut the door himself. Nala was a little jealous and would go in there with him when he'd open it. It was so funny! Darren also loves their fat old kitty and kept climbing up on the table to pet her. I couldn't get a picture because she'd run away before I could.

I remembered a couple other funny things. When we were in the pool in St. George I asked Darren if he could say Sharice (remember he's mostly a grunter) and he said, "EEEE." We clapped appropriately and then Sharice said, "Can you say Evynn?" He looked at Sharice and looked at Evynn. He said, "EEEE," as he looked at her then turned to Sharice and said, "EEES." He was so proud of himself that he figured it out. Annie and Carlyn are a little jealous because he won't say their names again, but he calls them Mama which he thinks is funny so I guess it works.

I have to note here a few of the more annoying and also cute things that Darren does. As a Mom I have to note how different he is from the girls and how he's so persistent that it drives me crazy. Slapping his hand or saying no does not have any effect on him. I'm determined to never say, "Just wait until you have children," though. Here goes:

-I can't open the dishwasher with Darren around because he pushes the shelves in and shuts the door. He can also open it, so I have to keep the gate up to keep him out of the dishwasher and other cupboards he can reach. He loves to play with the grater if he can and colanders are his favorite but he'll take lids or anything he can bang together or anything sharp he shouldn't have.

-Then today as a bonus he climbed OVER THE GATE! So much for that. I don't know what I'm going to do.

-He also learned how to turn the doorknobs recently so I can never leave him out of earshot or become too distracted because he'll run to the bathroom and play in the toilet. He loves to splash in it. UGH!

-He also loves to get the bucket that has the bath toys and empty it into the bathtub. Luckily the toilet and tub are in different rooms or you could see where that might lead!

-He loves to climb on the little table that we have (one of the wooden circle ones) and just stand there. Recently he realized he can push it or the chairs around to get himself into things that are supposed to be out of his reach.

-He also loves his milk bottle. I can't lay him down without it, but I'm working on that. If he's still awake and bored he'll push the nipple down in the bottle and make a big mess. Gotta say I really hate that one.

-Its getting hard to change his diapers because he really struggles and he's too big for the changing table now. (Did I mention his growth spurt? He's now in the 75% for height!) He does love to sit on the training potty when we do so maybe potty training won't be too far away (cross my fingers!)

-I can't use the computer during the day or somehow he sneaks over and will turn off the computer when I'm right in the middle of something. That or he'll turn up the speakers so loud that it scares me to death. The girls would love to play PBSkids.org all day, but he does the same to them.

-He hates to blow his nose in a tissue, but he'll do it on his hand or my shirt. Ewww.

-He loves balls and throwing them, but sometimes he throws things that are inappropriate. Tonight he threw a keyboard (one Rick let them have as a toy) at my HEAD.

-He gets really jealous of Annie or another baby sitting on my lap. He'll push them out of the way and climb up. I explain to him that I have to legs and he can share. He's getting better when its Annie.

-He's at a very klutzy phase due to his growth spurt. He trips or runs into things constantly. I hate to see him get hurt but I have to admit that I don't usually react anymore.
-This isn't too new, but he's a picky eater and I never know what he'll eat. If he doesn't want it he throws it. Sometimes he shreds it and then throws it.

Can you tell I love my son? I really do, but he's all boy and so different. Well, enough of that. Annie's new thing is saying, "Its important and its not important," when someone is getting upset about something. I don't know where she got it. She also says, "I'm not kidding (tidding)," after everything. Or she'll say, "Are you serious or are you tidding me?" She also started writing letters in the air. Guess she visualizes them better that way.

Rick and I had an early Valentine's date. We didn't know when we'd be able to get a babysitter and we had one scheduled for Monday night when our plans fell through. So we decided we'd better take our chance. We went to eat at Goodwood BBQ. YUMMY. We shared some ribs and they were delicious. Thanks to our friends who gave us that gift certificate for Christmas. Then we went to see "New in Town". It was silly, but we laughed through the whole thing so we considered it a success. Plus all the kids were asleep when we got home. Thanks Belinda and Josh for babysitting (and the movie gift certificate). You are great and we had a wonderful time.

Unexpected Trip

So we were running some errands Thursday night and my sister, Carisa, called me and said, "So, you want to go to St. George with me? Tonight?" She then explained that she had a conference for music teachers and needed some company. I sat there stunned for a minute trying to figure out if really could swing it or not. She was taking her oldest, Sharice who is 13 and her youngest, 5 year old Evynn. We decided I'd better take Annie and Darren while Rick kept Carlyn. I had to make a couple of calls to rearrange things but with Rick's help I was able to go.


My sister is having a rough time right now and she needed some support besides needing someone to help drive. I took off as soon as I could and met them in Nephi and proceeded to St. George. Luckily, I'm a night owl and drove the whole way even though she slept almost the whole way. The other kids fell asleep easily but Darren didn't want to settle down. When we got there we crashed quickly but Carisa was wound up and helped D get to sleep about 2 am!


Carisa took off early and we ate breakfast at the hotel. After that we went swimming in the warm pool in the cold outdoors. Sharice wanted to take Darren, but put him down in the kiddie pool and jumped into the big pool. D immediately went face down and I had to run to him to pull him out. I was still kind of grumpy from lack of sleep and yelled at Sharice, though in my defense I was scared to death. We had some drama ensuing from that. No fun! We had some lunch and went back to the hotel. I wanted to make up for a bad experience earlier so we went swimming again. Poor little D was then terrified of the water. I felt so bad, but I didn't want him to be scared. So, I encouraged him to go in whenever he would, but mostly he wanted to play around the sides. He got hurt by falling so many times then and also in the hotel room. He's just at that phase. He was really cute with Carisa hugging her and wanting her over me. It was actually kind of nice because Annie was pretty clingy and everyone was grumpy from lack of sleep. We had a nice dinner at Pizza Hut and we all crashed pretty early.


The next day was a little colder so it was a little longer because the kids and I were trapped in the room more. It was colder and overcast with occasional rain. Sharice begged all day to go swimming, but I just couldn't take the little kids in that cold, plus I didn't want to. I guess I should have, because it would have made the day a lot more tolerable, but I just couldn't make myself. We did take a DVD player hoping to hook it up in the room, but the tv didn't have the hookups for it. Annoying! Because it was Saturday there was nothing on tv and the kids weren't that interested. We did go to the visitor's center at the temple before lunch and then for a long drive before walking around the temple in the afternoon, but we still spent too many hours in the hotel room.

At the time I was thinking of all the funny things the kids were saying and doing that I could blog about, but now, a couple days later, I can't remember. We went to dinner at a Chinese place Saturday night and Darren was so cute. He ate so well for Carisa, but only from her chopsticks. Then his fortune said, "You will soon be center of attention." I laughed so hard because he's always the center of attention. Annie's said, "Your hard work is about to pay off. Congratulations!" :) Too funny.

Carlyn and Anneliese had some really cute phone conversations. I heard:
Carlyn: I miss you Annie.
Annie: I miss you too.
Carlyn: What are you doing?
Annie: Sitting in a hotel. We went to dinner and had pizza. Mommy made it.
Carlyn: She made pizza? Wow.
Annie: Yeah we have a microwave in our room.
Carlyn: And a fridge?
Annie: Yeah.
Carlyn: Where's the fridge?
Annie: In the room
Carlyn: Well, I can't stick my head through the phone and see it. Where is it?
Annie: By the bathroom.
Carlyn: Oh.

To kill a little time Saturday afternoon I tried giving the little ones a bath. Darren normally loves baths, but didn't want to get in, so I had Annie get in first. She climbed in but Darren wouldn't so I put his diaper back on and let Evynn get in. D then tried to climb into the tub until I took off his diaper. Sharice said, "I think he wants a swim diaper." I never would have thought of that, but she brought it in and I put it on him. He then got in with the swim diaper. He also wouldn't let Sharice change his diaper while we were there. Crazy kid.

We were really missing Daddy and Linney and were happy to leave Sunday morning. The trip was long, but not too bad (maybe it helped having a 12 hour trip from CA to make a 5 hour trip seem short.) It was snowing some and I had to stop at my parent's house to trade vans, but we got home about 4. Rick had made some dinner in a crock pot and had done a great job with Carlyn and keeping up with the house. I am really thankful to such a sweet husband who let me go and helped so much.

Funny Kids and a Few Happenings

I'm so behind on posts with a ton of pictures to download, and I'm annoyed with my slow computer. I usually use the laptop but I don't have a way to download the pictures here so the few I have are from someone else. I haven't really felt like blogging, so forgive me for blending several into one.

Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who will think this is cute, but my kids are so funny! I put at the end of the last post about the girls playing "hospital" which totally cracked me up, but I have to tell you some of the funny things they say and the things Darren does.

Annie got a new Book of Mormon from her new Sunbeam teachers and is so proud of it. I tried to hide it so I knew where it would be on Sunday and she found it and was flipping through the pages. I heard her say to Carlyn, "This is my Book of Mormon. Mr. Church gave it to me." Knowing both her teachers and female I asked, "Who is Mr. Church?" "Dat man. At church. Dat gave me my Book of Mormon." I finally figured out that she got mister and sister mixed up and says church because she can't remember their last names. :)

I can't believe Annie is a Sunbeam (Sunbean if you ask her) already. Here is a picture of her class (minus a couple kids). Annie is the one leaning on the table in case you can't tell. She was a little nervous the first day, wanting me to sit with her for a minute, but then she was fine. She's really quiet in sharing/singing time which is totally opposite how she is at home. Maybe she'll loosen up eventually.

Every time we drive within view of the hospital Carlyn says, "Look! There's the hospital where the baby's going to be born." Every time. No matter how many times a day we pass it.

Darren has an innate sense of how to play video games. Whether we were playing darts, bowling, tennis, rock band on the wii or a video game on the PS3 he knew just what to do and would try his hardest to pick up a controller and play (not too poorly on Sonic, I might add) and if he couldn't get the right one, he'd pick up any remote he could find and do the right actions. We were laughing so hard at him playing the guitar for rock band with Daddy's help. SO CUTE! He's getting so smart too and communicating so much more with words and signs. I do have a picture of this, so I'll have to post it later. He also learned how to snort and now runs around snorting and laughing. He also figured out that he like to stand and pee in the tub (naughty and annoying, but also a little funny).

Carlyn said, "Mom, I've got to change out of these jammies. Its sweltering in here." Sweltering! Thanks Word Girl (PBS kids, if you don't know.)

Two weeks ago I felt kind of guilty for having so much "Me" time. I had 2 dr appointments, a dinner with some girls friends on Thursday night, a Mamma Mia party Friday night (which deserves a post of its own but that would involve incriminating pictures of my singing and dancing with my neighbors), and a baby shower Saturday morning. I got home and felt a little guilty when Rick whispered to me, "We really need a date, but I don't know if we can find a babysitter at this last minute." It was a Saturday late afternoon, but I agreed that we did need a date. So, he called his sister Belinda who happily watched the kids at her house. They ate, played wii, she gave them baths for Sunday in her huge tub, and the kids played with their cats and dog. They were on cloud 9. But here's the funny part: the kids were playing in the hall when Rick said that so they had no idea they were going to Auntie Bee's house. I heard Carlyn the next minute saying, "I'll be Aunt Bee. I'll make the snacks for us and you go play with Josh (Aunt Bee's boyfriend.)" Annie said, "Come on Josh, let's go play. Aunt Bee, you come when you are done with the snacks." The went on in this scenario for several minutes while Rick and I were cracking up. Thanks Bee and Josh, we really did need a date and enjoyed it very much. We had a wonderful dinner and I got to finally see "Twilight" which I liked much more than I expected after everyone's comments.

Every year a group of friends from high school gets together at Christmas time and has a party. This year we had to put it off until after Christmas and it was last Saturday. I'm glad we do it and we really need to do it more than once a year. There are two pictures because her husband wasn't home until after Jody needed to leave. We had a wonderful meal and visited at Marilee's house.

Me, looking very big and prego, next to Mesha, Jody, Sarah, and my best friend growing up, Heather

Heather swapped out with Marilee to take the picture. Marilee is due in about a month with her first baby, the others happily done having kids. We're coming up on our 15th reunion this fall. CRAZY!

Monday afternoon we got to go the Draper Temple Open House and it was great! It is so organized and kind of amazing to realize the number of volunteers it takes every day of the open house, which lasts quite a long time. The girls especially loved going inside the temple and seeing how pretty it was. I'm really glad we got to go. First we watched a little movie at a nearby chapel assigned ahead of time. Then we got on buses and they drove us to the temple. The kids thought that was pretty cool. It dropped us off at a covered walkway to the temple. Then we took the tour through the temple. The girls loved that they got their own brochures and checked each picture off as we went through. It was so cute. I could really see that Carlyn was understanding when we said there was a place for baptisms for the dead, and then the place where people got married. They loved the Celestial room too, the chandelier especially, and were excited because on Sunday they'd just learned the Plan of Salvation so they recognized Celestial from that. So cute. Darren just liked how it was so quiet and he could make so much noise when nobody else was. We tried to shush him, but a 17 month old doesn't listen too well. When you leave it takes you on a covered walk again to the chapel next door for water and cookies and a beautiful display and then out to the buses again. Did I mention I was so glad we got to go? :)

8th Anniversary

Rick and I got married 8 years ago today! When you say it like that it doesn't seem very long. I don't mean to say that it feels long, necessarily, but when I look back at everything I am amazed that it all happened in only 8 years. 3 beautiful children and a thousand other things. We have struggled plenty, but we always realize that we have what is most important in this life, an eternal family.

Rick's sister, proud Auntie Bee, was excited to take our children for the night. ALL NIGHT! We've never done that before. At least with all 3 of them. I've hardly been away from my kids ever so it was a lot for me to let her take them, but I knew that Rick and I needed the night to ourselves and soon welcomed the idea. (Sorry this is long, but this is for me, so feel free to read or skip this next part.)

Last night was our ward's trunk-or-treat. It was totally fun and I will post pictures later. So knowing that we were going out to celebrate we snacked on the chili and scones and enjoyed socializing. This was hard for Rick. He'd have liked to taste every type of chili there. Anyway, we stayed and passed out candy to the kids and then Belinda told me she was taking the kids. I was a little sad that they seemed totally excited and not at all sad at the thought of no mommy for the night. We gave a few last minute instructions about bed time. Before they were even gone there were a few phone calls about favorite blankies, lovies, & medicine, and then she said, "I'm fine. I'm prepared. They'll be great for me." So I yelled, "Call me if you need anything," and she gave me a look like, "It'd have to be pretty bad," and they left. Luckily I was so excited that I wasn't sad. I was a little anxious, but I wasn't sad all night. I really enjoyed it.

Rick and I usually only get last minute dates when someone (usually Gma White, Mathew, Or Belinda) says they can watch the kids at the last minute. We rarely get to plan something. I was a little bummed because I wanted to go to a new restaurant or somewhere we don't usually go or use a coupon for a buy one get one at Sweet Tomatoes (soup, salad, bread buffet) or Tucanos (brazilian, lots of meat), but as we couldn't pass on a little chili, this didn't seem practical. So we decided to go to Sizzler. We love their steaks and were able to share a meal and enjoyed it a lot. We wondered about what to do next as there didn't seem to be any movies that we wanted to see. We thought about seeing Mummy 3 at the dollar theater, but decided to see the Incredible Hulk at home from Redbox. Romantic, I know :) But we blew up an air mattress and moved the couch and snuggled as we watched the movie. We usually "hide" in our bedroom when we watch a movie so that we don't disturb the kids. This morning we took our leisurely time getting ready for church including a nice breakfast together. Even though it didn't seem very exciting, it was so nice to not worry about the kids. I really enjoyed spending the time with Rick, but we truly are an old married couple who didn't need anything special or romantic to enjoy just being together. That was the funnest part of all to me.

Today was our Primary program too. Belinda brought the kids back just before church started. I was so proud of Carlyn. She sang in a little group and I could hear her sing every word and she said her part clearly right into the microphone. What a little smarty pants. Annie sang with the next year Sunbeams and it was adorable. The kids were happy to see us, but not super clingy. They did seem a little tired though. When we got home from church the kids were being so funny, like they were happy to be home. Darren kept kissing me and smiling. Annie was trying to sit on me and singing "Baa Baa Black sheep, any any wool. yes sa, yes sa, 3 bags wool. 1 for the masta, 1 for the dame, 1 for the little girl who lived down da lane." Carlyn was telling me everything that happened from the time they left the trunk-or-treat. They wanted to show me every little piece of candy they got at the trunk-or-treat. Then later we were playing a silly game and Rick got on hands and knees and kicked like a donkey. Darren laughed and fell back and kicked his legs up. It doesn't sound too funny, but it was hilarious. He tries to copy everything. I love my cute kids, even when they drive me crazy :)

Hilton Get Together

I should have put this on with the last blog. Oh well. We Utah Hiltons got together on Sunday at my cousin Crystal's house. We had a BBQ and visited. It was so fun to see everyone. My parents and a cousin at BYU weren't there, but everyone else in Utah was there. We missed you other Hiltons very much. We had fun for you :) Darren wouldn't sit to eat. He just carried around a hot dog and Cheetos and watermelon.
I didn't think to take pictures until in was dark. Here's uncle James, Mathew, Grandma Hilton, & Crystal (Carisa and Rick are there in the background.)
Here's aunt Cindy cleaning up and Mathew fighting with a Darren who wants to get down and play in the sandbox. Thanks Crystal. We had a lot of fun.

I Love to See the Temple

Rick and I haven't been to the temple too many times since we've started our little family. It is kind of tricky when you have rough pregnancies, breastfeed your babies for about a year, and then start the whole thing over again. :) We went last month finally and it was great to be there. We went last night to our Stake Temple session and it was even better. I love being there more with people I know. It was so peaceful and relaxing. The had a chapel session about how to get more out of temple attendance and it was great. We were in a hurry but decided not to be stressed and we still made the session. I'm so glad we went and that the kids were relatively good for Grandma. Thanks Grandma White for watching them!

Boating on Jordanelle

Rick's sister Belinda wanted to take the girls 0n the boat last weekend so we loaded up and headed for Jordanelle with her, Josh, & Grandma Linda. It was so great! It was a hot day, but not much wind until late in the day. We took the girls on the banana at first and it was pretty calm so they threw Darren on too. I was a little nervous, but so was Belinda, so they drove carefully when they kiddos were on. Annie didn't last long after this and Rick and I went out with just Carlyn. We both got thrown off the back and there is Carlyn hanging on the front like a trooper. She's great! They had fun throwing us off later when it was a lot choppier.

Later, Rick and Belinda both tried to wake board. Rick getting ready to try.

Bon & D on the beach. D took a short nap and we chilled out waiting for them. It really was awesome though. D is SO good in his play yard. We have a joke that he is Uncle Joey from Back to the Future. He's the uncle who is always in jail and when Marty goes back to the past Joey is the baby and loves the play pen.
We took a break for lunch. It really was the perfect place. There is a cove across from the marina. And we had enough food for an army :)
Annie's sandcastle she made with Grandma Linda.
Mom with Ann & D on the boat.
Carlyn didn't want to be out of the water much. She just had a ball!
Thanks Belinda and Josh for inviting us to share the fun day with you. We had a great time!!!

Playdough & Super Saturday

Anneleise got this playdough octopus for her birthday and I wasn't brave enough to use it with cousins around. I pulled it out the other day though and the girls had a ball. My brother Mathew and I played along with them. It was actually quite stress relieving.




Saturday was our ward's Super Saturday. I made this FHE board. I love it and I am very excited to have it. My SIL Katie went with me and I was so happy to have her there. She made a board too and we had fun chatting and having lunch without the kids. I couldn't wait to hang it up when I got home. The girls love it because the can help assign names.

Busy Saturday

Not last weekend, but the one before we had a primary party, visited Grandma, went 4 wheeling with Rick's sister, Belinda, and went to my cousin's wedding reception all in one day. We had a blast. But we were sure ready for bed that night!Here is Carlyn with Aunt Bee. The helmets were so funny because they were so huge on the girls and tight on me and Rick. We weren't very smart and had shorts on too.
Annie couldn't stand up on her own, the helmet was so heavy. :)
I think Carlyn was not wanting to be done and that's why the sad face, because she was grinning the rest of the time. Rick even took Darren out for a slow ride and he loved it. He kept grunting and reaching for Rick when he took the girls out. Rick took me for a ride too. We were really dirty so we stopped at Belinda's house to freshen up for the wedding. You'd never have known we'd just been riding 4 wheelers.

It was really fun to see my cousin and his cute bride. I'd never met her. I also loved seeing his family who is mostly from out of state. Annie really enjoyed the cupcakes and otter pops. She must have had 4 otter pops. It was at a house and they had a toy that spins you around and around. Carlyn came to me and said, "Mom, I don't feel so good." I asked if she ate any of the sandwiches and she said no, just the cupcakes and then spun around a lot. I told her to stop spinning and eat a sandwich and she said, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. You are so smart, Mom." What a kid!

Father's Day & Camping

I haven't put a post up for a long time because when I tried to do the pictures of this the first time the pictures wouldn't work and I've been busy since then. I want to dedicate this post to the Best Dad in the World. Argue if you must, but you'll be wrong. :) The kids and I just love him to death and love spending time with him. This is one of the times we had fun playing on our bed in the morning. The kids don't care what they are doing with him, as long as he's there. I know its belated, Rick, but we love you so much. Happy Father's Day!!! Father's Day weekend we went camping with my family. It was fun but crazy. We went to a campground near Huntington, UT. It was a lot of work for a 1 night stay, and we stayed until late the 2nd day. Darren & Annie both cried a couple times in the night and it was a long night for me. Rick slept right through it and didn't hear a thing. :)

This is D just before 6 am. He woke up and would not go to sleep. It is off the highway and everytime a vehicle drove past he'd sit up and say "up." Not fun, but he was really cute. Rick got up about then and I put D in his sleeping bag. He fell asleep soon and it was cute.

My clever Mom made up a song for the kids to sing to their "Pops" for Father's Day and then they gave their Dad & Grandpa soda pop, pop tarts, & popcorn. It was so cute. I don't know if you can tell, but the kids were so dirty at this point. Their clothes are caked in dirt. You should have seen them at 8 that night. Just dirt from head to toe. We washed them off and changed them before we left. It was really fun to go camping for the first time this year.

Other happenings this week

Earlier this week Rick and I were able to go to the premier of Iron Man. We dropped the kids at Joel & Jessica's house and met his sister Belinda accompanied by boyfriend Josh. It was crazy. People were cheering and clapping during the movie. I know I wasn't the only one skeptical of Robert Downey Jr., but he did a great job. It was good, but Rick LOVED it and I only liked it. Total man movie. It was a little cheesy at parts, but I think all comic book movies are. I haven't been without Darren very many times for that long, but he did well.

Front runner is a UTA train that runs from SL to Odgen. It is brand new and they had free days the few days until the end of April. I didn't find out til the 30th, so we decided to load up the kids and battle the crowds. It was so cold waiting the 20+ minutes for the train. We should have had coats and mittens and we only had jackets. Wow, it was packed and the trains were running slower due to the weight. Luckily, we were able to find seats on the way north and 1 seat on the way back. We thought we might go all the way to Ogden and back, but we jumped ship in Layton and headed back. It was supposed to be a 2 hour total round trip, but it was that just to Layton and back. It has a few kinks to work out, but it was nice. It was a little crazy and the kids were done on the way back so I forgot to take pictures.