Random Pictures

While the men were at the Priesthood session we women went to Training Table. Ok, poor Darren was dragged along. 1 male with 10 females. He grabbed my sweater in the van and hid in it half way and this is what I found when I opened the door. Silly boy! These 2 aren't usually snuggly to each other. Usually it is the opposite. Carlyn was fighting it, but Annie said she just wanted a snuggle. Cute.
Later we went to D's bedroom after hearing his screams. We found Carlyn changing his poopy diaper! She was using a lot of wipes, but was doing a pretty good job. Rick stepped in to finish while I snapped a picture.
This is a typical day with Darren. He fights getting dressed and climbs anything he can.

Carlyn and her friend. Aren't friends great?
This is the kids doting on a little boy I was tending. They just love him. Even Darren.

Follow up to Earlier

Maybe I should have checked this out before I married him :)

What Richard Means

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What My Name Means

I got this from a friend from high school. Some of the things are right on, but some others aren't on at all.

What Bonny Means

You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

My Little Guy

I was noticing today how much more communicative my baby D is. Today he signed "thank you" for the first time. Later he was upset and I said I didn't understand him. He grabbed my arm and pulled and made some grunts so I got up and followed him. He pointed to the fridge and made another noise. I grabbed his sippy cup and said, "Is this what you want?" and he nodded his head. Wow! I was so impressed. I love it when they can communicate and tell you what they need or want. We have reached a new phase.

Also, I don't know what is up with him, I'm calling the dr tomorrow, but he's had a lot of really bad diarrhea lately. TMI? Sorry. Anyway, last night after he was in bed he kept crying so I finally went in, changed his diaper and tucked him in again. He was quiet for a minute and then cried. Desperate, I picked him up thinking that I really didn't want to nurse him again, but fearing that was what he wanted. But he was content for me just to hold him in the rocking chair. I rocked him for about ten minutes (he never lets me do that.) It was awesome snuggle time and he settled right down. Well, tonight his bottom is pure red again by bedtime and after I nursed him I turned him toward me for a snuggle. This is the part where he always pushes away and starts to play, but tonight he snuggled me back and started humming. I started humming and it was like he was singing with me. Oh I can't even begin to tell you how sweet it was. It was so special because I've rarely had any times like that with my little D.

Which Character Are You?

I took a quiz on facebook but it was all the Twilight characters. It said I was Emmett. I am not Emmett! :) I like this one better.


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Anneliese

I had a big duh moment with Annie today. I've been getting frustrated with her for putting her hands in her mouth. I've also been frustrated because she won't eat anything but is always wanting something to eat. Last night she came up at 3 am and said her teeth were bothering her. DUH! I wonder why in the world it didn't occur to me sooner? Its not like I'm a new mother or anything! I guess that it is just easy to forget from one child to the next. I wasn't thinking about molars, but yep, all 4 of them are coming in. Ugh, I can't believe I missed that one.

Ok, speaking of Annie, I have to tell a funny story. On the way home from preschool we were listening to a cd with primary songs and it was "Follow the Prophet." She said she knew it and was singing along. We sang, "follow the prophet, he knows the way," and she gasped and said, "Mom, does he know the way to aunt Belinda's house?" It was so funny I couldn't stop laughing to answer her.

The Votes are in

Thanks for voting on my poll. Sorry to the 2 of you who didn't really like it. It doesn't actually hurt my feelings, but I do like it, so it is staying. However, Rick and I are working on making a cute header as the current one is blah.

Since that seems like a very short post, I'll tell a story that Anneliese told us. We had just finished a FHE about prayer and Annie started telling a very animated story about a big bear monster. It isn't the same without her cute little voice, facial expressions, inflections in her voice, and her body language, but it went something like this, "I was outside on the swingset and there was a bug bear monster. Yeah! And it was huge and it had 4 arms with really long fingernails! Yes! Ooh, it was so scary and it climbed on my legs and was gonna get me so I runned away. I runned away and it followed me but I was really fast. Then...it jumped up there (on something outside) and it was gonna jump. It was gonna jump on me and get me! Gasp! It was really big and it was a big bear monster and had 6 legs, oh yeah, and they were all long and scary and had long fingernails. I had to run away but it jumped onto me when I was on the swingset and I runned away. Then I hid. I hid in there. It couldn't get me because it was a big scary bear monster but it was looking and looking.

Well, you get the point. It finally ended when Rick said it wasn't ever going to end and she said, "Yeah, it climbed up on the garage and then it jumped and died, but then it got up again and it fell and it was dead." It had to have been 20 minutes long and was hilarious to watch. She's pretty shy around other people, but apparently she's out future storyteller.

Don't Eat Pete! and a Friend's Blog You Should See

My friend Jill is teaching a parenting class in our ward. Honestly, this is my 3rd time in this class and I still love it. The first time they taught it I didn't have any kids, but sat in the classes anyway. They taught it again a couple years ago and Rick and I both went, but now that our kids are a little older we're experiencing more fights, sassing, fits, etc. so we thought we could benefit from a reminder. She's an educator and has some really interesting things that she has shared with us. She has put some things from the first lesson on a blog and asked me to spread the word. The reason I got to be the lucky one is because I was going to put a post up about a game called "Don't Eat Pete!" Well I talked to her about it and she said she just made a blog and put it on there. Her blog is http://yourkidsuccess.blogspot.com/ and she will be adding to it periodically. Go check it out and play the game. Your kids will LOVE it! Mine have asked to play it everyday for a week. Maybe it will get old and then we'll just use it for FHE sometimes, but it hasn't yet.

RS Women's Conference

I LOVED going to see the RS Conference at the Conference Center. It was awesome and I saw a few people that I know besides the ones from the ward & stake. When it started the first thing that I felt when it started was love. Just sheer love of that many women of God all together there to be uplifted and learn. One of the gifts of women. Then sweet Sister Beck gets up and kindly says that we are doing good, but there is more to be done. We got a gentle chastisement that we are there to support the work in building the kingdom of God. Later we were told by President Uchtdorf that EVERY member is important. Every member is known to God and important in the building of the kingdom of God. I thought it very interesting that that phrase was mentioned several times. I loved that Sister Beck told us to 1-Increase in Faith and Righteousness 2- Strengthen our families and homes 3- Serve the Lord and His children. Sister Thompson and President Uchtdorf also talked about service. It reminded me that during one of the worst periods in my life I happened to be involved in a service organization and it was so uplifting that the depression would lift from me during those times. He said that through faith, hope, & charity, we will be okay. I LOVE that and I hope that I can do a little better.

A Few Good Things...

I was thinking about what a bummer it is that the store is closing. Then I started thinking about all the opportunities that came of having the store in the first place. So here goes.



1- We got to see Rick "The Computer Guy" advertised on bus stop shelters, in newspapers, and even on billboards.

2- Rick got to make some really good connections with some wonderful people including the mayor, other politicians, advertising and media people, and many wonderful customers.

3- Our family got to participate and help Rick in the Utah Family Expo where he did a little internet cafe. The kids and I got to do a lot of fun things including Carlyn climbing the Rock wall.

4- As part of advertising, Rick sponsored some movie premiere events and we were able to go to some fun movies including Iron Man, Cloverfield, Man of the Year, Marie Antoinette, and Eragon, and others I can't think of right now.

5- A Beach Boys concert at the Gallivan Plaza.

6- We bought a tree from the Festival of Trees in 2006.

7- We had a family trip to Vegas for Rick to work at a business.

8- Rick joined the Murray Rotary Club. He loves their devotion to service and continues to enjoy being a part of their club. As a member we had the opportunity to make many new friends, go to some fun parties, go to Lake Powell as a family, attend part of the Rotary International Convention in SLC last year, and make some good networking contacts as well.

9- Have random people come up and say they have been into our store and really appreciated the good work that we did.

10- Above all, I'm thankful that even though Rick was really busy he took the time to be a great dad when he was home and that I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. It hasn't always been easy, but it is worth it.

Rick and the Mayor at his store opening. They were doing a cheer.
The ribbon cutting for the store. Yeah!

The tree from the Festival of Trees.
Us at the expo. Carlyn was excited to see Elmo, but a little scared too.
Still at the Expo with Snow White. Look how little they are!
Carlyn on the climbing wall at the expo.

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.

Family Fun Day

On Saturday Rick and I decided to have a family fun day after doing a few chores and errands. We were going to go swimming. Rick took the kids to Lowe's for a couple home improvement projects and they came home and informed me that they wanted to go to Jungle Jim's. Basically it is an indoor amusement park for kids. It is a little lame to a grown up, but the kids love it. Carlyn, Darren, & Anneliese on the swings. Annie wasn't so sure at first. I thought she was going to throw up, but she was just scared. All 3 on the spinning ride. I went on this one with D because he loved it and the girls were on a ride he couldn't go on (trust me, you don't need a picture of that) and I got SO sick. Darren was a trooper and loved everything except stopping or waiting. He would get on the ride and then "chill." It was so cute. Anneliese was scared on a few rides, but Carlyn loved everything.
The girls on the bumper cars.
Annie & Darren on the plane ride. This was definitely on the favorites.

Doesn't she look big in this picture?
The carousel, another favorite. Annie wasn't so sure unless Mommy or Daddy was right there, but loved it if we were.
Carlyn didn't want any help and didn't want to be too close to her little siblings.
This is Darren with Rick on the Music Express type ride. Makes me sick, but my 1 year old loved it! Go figure.
The highlight of the night for Darren. After he had stolen a balloon from a little girl and we returned it, they gave Darren a free balloon and he was a happy camper after that. He would have slept with it if we would have let him. Seriously.

Fun at Wordle.net

I was a little frustrated with this last night, but here is the cool finished version. I like how the words Love and Kids and other words stand out. I hope that my blog reflects who I am and how I want to be. Even if you don't post it, try it. It is fun to see. Thanks Marinda.

Fun Stuff!

I almost forgot to put up these pictures of a family party a couple weeks ago. We had a great meal and a good time, but the highlight was the pinata for the kids. They were all cute and had plenty of candy and we didn't have any America's Funniest Videos moments (though there was a close call.)

Darren's turn-he thought he was big enough to do it himself, but couldn't hold the bat.
Carlyn whacked it really hard but it doesn't seem that way in this pic.
Annie didn't do too bad either.After choir practice for Stake Conference Saturday morning I came home to Annie throwing a fit, but she was supposed to be a waiter ushering me to my seat for breakfast that Rick made. This is our little drama guy. If I don't pick him up as soon as he wakes up it is DRAMA. He was even more mad because I decided to grab the camera instead of him.
We've been looking for a used upright freezer for some time now and we always call just after they are sold. This time KSL.com let me down and I found it on craigslist. We got a great deal too. I need to go grocery shopping to fill it up, but so far I just got ice cream with the kids. My friend Debbie from college and I have tried to get together several times in the last months. Every time we plan it one of our kids get sick. The same thing happened last week, but this week we got lucky. She came down on Thursday and the kids played, we ate lunch, and we all had a great time. I'm so glad that we got a chance to catch up more than by blogging. Our kids are pretty close to the same ages and they had a great time. They didn't want to say goodbye. Thanks for coming Deb, it was GREAT!
This is our jungle/desert where the kids had a great time playing.
Seriously, I took about 12 pictures of these guys and all of them are blurry! They are only a few months apart and were very cute playing together.
The 4 girlies. So cute! They are so much alike too. Reading my friend's blog I always think how similar they are and she says the same too.

After they left the girls were pooped and had a nice rest on the couch. Playing wears you out!
Later we went to the library where they had tattoos at the children's desk instead of stickers. Love Annie's? I wanted to dress her in biker chic clothes today. Its awesome!
Carlyn's is a pirate octopus reading books. We finished the day with a quick trip to the store and ice cream cones. D is a pro.
This is what we do when Carlyn is at preschool. They really do love each other.
A neighbor that Rick did computer work for gave him just the right amount of peaches to make a peach pie. I used my mom's recipe and it was fabulous! Delicious.

Picture This-Yikes!

Ok, so picture the following conversation while looking at this face.

Recently my room was not quite so clean as it is right now. I was cleaning a little with my precocious almost 5 year old watching. I picked up a certain piece of underclothing that, shall we say, she would never see me in and put it in the drawer. Carlyn grabbed it and held it up to her exclaiming, "Mommy this is the most prettiest dress you have! I love it. I just love it! You should wear it to church on Sunday!" I almost died laughing as I explained to her that it wouldn't be appropriate to wear to church as it wasn't modest enough. With her smart little brain working too hard she said, "Then what is it for, if you aren't going to wear the dress to church?" What do you say to that? I laughed my head off and I don't think I said anything except, "You'll understand when you're older." What do you say to that???