Kindergarten Here I Come!

It is offical! My oldest started Kindergarten. That makes me feel old. I remember the day I started Kindergarten. I swear it was not 24 years ago! Anyway, Whitney was so excited! The night before, I told her she had to go to bed earlier than usual because she had to get up early to go to school. I put her in morning kindergarten on purpose so I could get her used to waking up early for the next 13 years of school because she is not a morning person. She would rather have her beauty sleep! Surprisingly, she flew right out of bed! She said, "can I go to school now"? I said, "we have to get you dressed, do your hair and get you breakfast first" She said, "I just want to go to school right now"! When it was time, I walked her into her class and she hung up her backpack and gave her teacher a hug then sat at a table to work on a puzzle. That was where we said our goodbye. Surprisingly, I did not cry. Maybe it was because she has been going to preschool for 2 years. She had a good first day! She kept talking about how she got to play at the park 2 times (recess). She is starting to get used to her new schedule and She loves her teacher Mrs. Hatch.

Boys will be Boys!

Grandpa

My dear sweet Grandpa was recently diagnosed with brain shrinkage which is causing Alzheimer's. He also has thyroid problems and congestive heart failure. He was in the ICU for 2 weeks and then sent to a recovery center. I made a trip to SLC to go visit him. I have always been very close to him. It was hard to have a conversation with him. Every time I asked him a question he would answer with something that had nothing to do with what I was asking. I'm not even sure if he knew who I was. He was very confused and forgetful. It was so hard to see him like this. Nobody should have to suffer the last years of their life like this. I left the recovery center in tears. This has been so hard on my family, especially my mom. I wish I lived closer so I could help her. All I can do is listen to her cry on the phone and I feel so helpless.

Caysen's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe my baby boy is already one! Time seriously flies by. He is getting so big now. He is pulling himself up into a standing position. It won't be long befor he starts to walk! We had a little party with family for him. I think enjoyed the sweet chocolate tase of his cake. He of course didn't understand the whole "presents" thing, but Whitney was excited to open the presents for him!

Independence Day!

We had a fun filled 4th of July! We started the day off by having breakfast at the park and watching the parade in Hurricane. Then we went to the St. George park for rides. Later we went to Pinevalley Mountain with some friends. It was their daughters birthday and they have a cabin in Pinevalley. we spent the day there with lunch and a birthday party. That evening we went to the "Colgate Country Showdown" and watched fireworks after the show. To end the night, we went to some friends house to light off fireworks of our own. What a fun day!

Sad

I had to put my cat down about a week ago and it was really hard for me. I am a huge animal lover and my cats are a part of my life! Hardy was 12 years old. We adopted him when he was 5 and we had him for 7 years. He was an over weight cat and because of his age and weight he got really sick. He was dehydrated and had kidney failure. He looked sick and I could tell he was in pain. Why make him suffer? The hardest part was holding him in my arms as we were driving to the vetrinary hospital and knowing that was my last time holding him. I sobbed the whole way there. When the doctor took Hardy from my arms I seriously lost it! I had to go sit in the car while my husband took care of things. The vet said that his body was in shut down mode and he did not fight it. He was ready to go and he went quickly. I continued to cry on the way home. My sweet daughter said " It's okay mommy, don't be sad, He is with Jesus now, he is happy"! She handled it very well. I think it's because she really wants a kitten. My husband buried him in the backyard. I was an emotial wreck so I went over to my neighbors house while he buried him. It took me a week befor I went to see where he buried him. It is amazing how emotionally attached we can become to our pets. All I have now are the memories and pictures. Goodbye Hardy, you will be missed!

caught red handed

Caysen was being really quiet so I knew he was getting into something. I found him covered in cat food and and water. He had a good time playing with the dishes and dumped everything out of the bowls. His pajamas were soaked!

We got a puppy

For those of you who know me it may come as a surprise! Yes, I actually got a dog! I have always been a cat lover and I have always owned at least 2 cats at a time for my entire life. John has always wanted a bulldog. His high school mascot was a bulldog and he has always loved the look, built and structure of the English Bulldog.

So, it all started when I was driving and saw a sign that said "papered English bulldogs for sale". I made my first mistake by stopping the car to fullfill my curosity. I already knew they would be cute, but I thought I would take a look anyway. They were even cuter than I had imagined! I immediately called John and told him he had to come take a look. He of course was too busy at work and he was on his way out of town, but I convinced him to stop and take a look on his way out of town. When he pulled up in his truck and saw the pup I was holding, he instantly fell in love! He said it was exactly what he wanted. He had the right colors and the most wrinkles out of the litter. The only problem was we were leaving the next day to go out of town for a week. I asked the owner if she would keep him at her house for the next week if we paid her for the dog up front. It was the longest week and we could not wait to get home and see him.

John wanted to name Caysen "Thor" because it is a cool name, he said. I don't know how serious he was. But I suggested "Thor" for the dogs name and of course he loved it! So, "Thor" it is!

I had not idea what I was getting myself into! I was basically signing onto having another baby in the house. Caysen is crawling right now so they are at the same level in height. Thor crawls and licks all over him and chews on all of his toys. Don't get me started on the house training thing. It is seriously like potty training a kid! Oh, and because of his short snout he slobbers on everything!

We came so close to getting rid of him but every time I look at his face I can't resist it! And after alot for thinking and debating we decided to keep him. He is so cute and fun to have around and the kids love him!

San Diego

We took a family vacation to San Diego. John's sister has a beach house there. We try to go once a year to help get the beach house in order for the summer renting. We had a good trip for the first half of the week then Caysen got really sick the last half of the week.

We left the morning of Whitney's birthday. When we got there we took her to Belmont Park to go on some rides then we had a little party for her with the family. She also got to enjoy her first pedicure at the local salon.

We went to The Wild Animal Park and Lego Land. We had never been to either one before. It was fun! We especially liked Lego Land. It was so neat to see all the stuff made out of Legos and all their rides are made for little kids. We had a fun time playing on the beach, riding bikes, eating out, going for walks and just relaxing!

Whitney turns five!

I can't believe Whitney is already five. It is true what they say about how the older you get the faster time goes by. When I was a kid it seemed like forever to wait until the next Christmas or birthday to come around. Now they come too fast!

Whitney wanted a Hello Kitty party. I don't know how she heard of Hello Kitty or how she started to like it. I showed her a party magazine to pick out her party theme. I pointed out the Princess, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake parties but she wanted Hello Kitty so that is what she got. It turned out to be a good party and the decorations were darling.

We invited about 14 kids! The most I have ever invited. It was a little overwhelming but overall went well. We had pizza, a pinata', opened presents, went swimming then had cake and ice cream. Whitney had a blast and that's all that matters. All the hard work pays off in the end when I see the smile on my daughter's face!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Lake Powell

We went to Lake Powell over Memorial weekend to celebrate my birthday and our Anniversary. We camped out in our trailer for 4 nights. We took the kids with us and we also invited some friends. We spent our time riding on the boat, wake boarding, tubing, diving, fishing, eating, playing games and touring the dam. We sat by the fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and cooked a dutch oven dinner. We took a long drive in the boat to see some slot canyons. It was cold and windy but a beautiful view. Both kids fell asleep in my arms (see picture below). Caysen absolutely loves the boat and he did not make a peep the whole time! Whitney loves to camp. She was anxiously waiting to go camping for the 3 weeks that we had our trailer parked in our driveway. She kept counting and asking how many more days we had left until we were going camping. She enjoyed playing in the sand with her friends, finding seashells, swimming, fishing and playing games with her friends. For my birthday we went to the Glen Canyon Dam and took a tour. On our anniversary we were going to go into town and have dinner and see a movie but Caysen was not feeling well. We decided to stay and play games with our friends and we enjoyed a nice dutch oven dinner. We had a great time. We love camping and we have a love for our boat so we hope to go to Lake Powell more often!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The month of May!

This is a busy month for us. We celebrate Mother's Day on the 11th, Whitney's Preschool graduation on the 16th, Whitney's Gymnastics Olympics Games on the 17th, Whitney's dance recital on the 18th, My Birthday and we leave to go to Lake Powell on the 23rd, our Anniversary on the 24th, Whitney's birthday on the 31st and we leave to go to San Diego on the 31st. Does life ever slow down?

Mother's day!

Being a mother is the most rewarding job with the most benefits. I love being a mother! Just the little every day casual things they say and do mean so much to me. I love watching my children grow and lean new things. From the time you conceive them you have that immediate bond with them. It is something that men will never know or experience.

Monday, May 5, 2008

"All is fair in love and war"

John and I are celebrating our 8th Anniversary this month on May 24th. It is hard to believe it has been 8 years! I can honestly say that they have been nothing but wonderful and full of happy memories. I could not ask for a better husband or father of my children. It all started the day after Christmas 1998. I was engaged to be married to someone else. I was having doubts about marrying him because of issues with religion. I prayed to find an answer. On December 26th 1998 John walked back into my life. The moment I saw him I knew he was the answer to my prayer. I broke off my engagement and started dating John. John knew that I was engaged but that did not stop him from asking me out on a date. His mother told him that "all is fair in love and war". I could not be happier!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Life's enjoyments!

John and I just recently got back from a cruise. We went to Perto Rico, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay and Nassau Bahamas. We were gone for a week which was a nice break away from the kids but we missed them like crazy! We traveled with some friends of ours. John recently got dive certified and he enjoyed diving with his friend in St. Thomas and Nassau. He saw a nurse shark and even touched it's tail. I on the other hand enjoy staying on the surface of the water. Me and my friend went snorkeling. I am not the best swimmer. Let's just say I can do the doggy paddle. Not to mention that I have a small fear of the ocean. I took a big risk when I saw a starfish while snorkeling. I let all the air out of my life jacket and I could barely touch the bottom of the sand on my tip toes. I tried continuously to dive down to get the star fish. This was not easy for me considering my ability to swim, no life jacket, I had
to take the snorkel out and hold my breath and the waves kept pushing me away. I did not want to give up because I wanted to not only fight my fear of the ocean, but prove to myself that I could do something that I thought I could not. To sum it up, I did this for about 40 minutes until I was completely exhausted and a kind stranger heard my calls. He asked if I needed help. I pointed to the starfish and of course he made it look so easy as he dove down once, picked up the starfish and handed it to me. With the little bit of energy I had left, I doggy paddled with one hand and the starfish in the other hand back to shore to show my friend. I took a picture with it and then I threw it back into the ocean. But it was worth every bit of fighting for.
John wants me to get certified as a diver. Ha, ha, ha. I don't know if my fear of the ocean can be taken to that extent!