Taylor Family Fun

Blurp

2011-09-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

Austin brought home a book from school yesturday with pictures of all the kids in his class. With each picture was a little information about each child. The last thing on the page was a sentence that the child obviously finished. It said "I love" ... and then the teacher wrote in what the child said. These were common answers: oreos, pizza, dogs, my toys. Austins said, "I love playing with my brother." Made me smile!

Kia Ora

2011-09-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

I did it! I attended my first Les Mills Training this past weekend. It was ... well, words can't really describe how it was. I got there at Noon on Friday with absolutely no idea what to expect. As I walked into the gym I saw what was obviously my class sitting awkardly in one corner waiting for what ever insructions we were going to get. I instantly did what everyone does in that situation and scanned the people. There were the two "cute" girls who's clothes matched. The nice looking, obviously people person, little ball of muscle whom I only assued would be our instructor (I was right) & the guys, there were only two of them. Then a lot of other women who seemed to be waiting just as I was. I noticed right off the bat that I clearly missed the memo about wearing red and black. I learned later that red, black & gray are the Bodypump colors but I had no idea that was the case going into this weekend.

We headed upstairs into what soon became "our home" and set our stuff down. I am naturally a shy person so I stuck to myself and watched as the bouncy, athletic people traveled around the room and got to know each other. The first people to introduce themselves to me were the two matching girls, Jen and Allie and they truly were very very nice! Before too long our instructor, Maria Long had us all in a circle and was teaching us about the history of Les Mills. It was originated in New Zealand and was influenced by the Maori people. She explained some of the Maori traditions and then we as a group got to practice one. One by one, in an organized manner we all looked straight into the eyes of these strangers, butted heads and said "Kia Ora" which literally means be well/ be healthy. Yeah, a little awkard staring into the eyes of complete strangers & then butting heads. But it did exactly what our instructor wanted it to do. It broke down that wall that each of us had placed around us. Weather we knew it or not it was there when we walked into the gym and was gone by the time the head butts were done. And the rest of the weekend we became a family, a tribe. We are tribe Dallas!

We did it through group games, Bodypump classes, extreme challenges, drawing pictures, watching motivational videos, watching videos of ourselves, eating together and much more. Through each of these we learned a little bit more about how to better our teaching. Weather it be through the coreography, the tone of our voice or by creating fitness magic everything we did tied back into making each of us the best we can be!

We did just what a family does, we helped one another! We taught each other technique, we helped each other with timing and choreography. Basically we encouraged each other to do our best and supported each other when we were having a hard time. We were trully happy for the other person when they did their best. There was no feelings of competition!

Now that the weekend is over I get to continue my Bodypump journey. It's time for me to set up my team teaching and get 100% ready for me to film my video! Even though it will take a lot of work and a lot of determination I am so "pumped" to get moving! Kia Ora Everyone!

"Snacker"

2011-09-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went on a beaustiful house boat with Jaren's family and Austin caught, killed and ate his very first fish! A little history to this. Last summer Austin asked if we could go fishing so we went and bought all the stuff and took him fishing. His interest in fishing has not died down since then but taken has grown. So needless to say we took the fishing gear on this trip. Well since day one he has wanted to catch & eat a fish. That happenned this trip and the thing was SO WEIRD for me to watch!

After he caught it there was absolutly no emotional attachment to that fish what so ever. In fact he named it "Snacker" becuase he was about to eat it for his snack (it was tiny and the final outcome produced about an ounce of meat). He walked with his Dad, Grandpa and Unlce over to the shore where they then cut off the fish's head, all this time Austin was not at all bothered by it! He watched with excitement as they cooked it and asked his Grandma to please cut up a lemon to squeeze on it. Here are the pictures of the him actually eating his fish! I died laughing when I saw them!

Here is anxiously awating his "snack"!

You can never have too much lemon juice on your fish!

Fisrt Bite!

Austin exact words were "That was ... Lemon!"

I LOVE his face in this picture! It looks like were forcing this upon him, he looks like he may vomit any second but he voluntarily kept eating all on his own! He WAS going to finish that "snacker"!

Ugh! High Five from Dad!

Just a typical day with the kiddos!

2011-08-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today Amy invited us to go to lunch with her. Why not? Chili's was feeding kids for free if you ordered an entree so we tagged along. Amy & I were in some clothes we threw on after the pool. Our hair was still in the process of drying. Pretty much no make-up but overall we were having a good time. Towards the end of the meal all three kids started to dance and sing on the bench. They were standing up, shaking their arms, jumping, yelling! Pretty soon they were wrestling! On and off the bench, rolling into the isle! As much as Amy & I tried to calm them and get them so sit it just wasn't working! But they looked so stinkin' cute! Couldn't the people in the resteraunt see that? I looked across the isle at the ladies sitting next to us. Their table was clean! Their hair and make up was done! They were wearing cute clothes! I nodded to Amy and said, "Look, that'll be us in a couple years when all our kids are in school!" But for now I am so happy they aren't. I have watched most of my friends send their children to school this year and I feel so blessed to have Austin home with me for one more year. Every day I try and remind myself that this time will soon be gone. I am excited to see what this fall and winter have in store for us!

Like I said, our hair was still in the drying process. Here we are in all our glory trying to turn wild savages into decent human beings! LOL! That was a joke!

Hey, why not wrestle in the middle of the resteraunt isle!

Here they are! Don't worry, I didn't creepily take this photo without their permission. I asked first and they were fine with it! See what I mean? Clean table! Nicely put together with clothes and make-up! Look nice don't they?

Family Home Evenings

2011-08-21T18:41:00.001-07:00

A while back we had a short little side lesson in RS about FHE. A mom whose kids were all older got up and talked about how she made it work and why it's important. It was the exact thing I needed at that time. My lessons up until that point had been WAY TOO LONG and my kids never paid attention. It was kind of hit and miss cause I hated forcing them into something that just turned out to be a fight. But she gave me such wonderfula divice and it has completely changed our FHE's. She said your lesson, actual doctrinal lesson should be as long in minutes as your youngest child. So since Caleb is 2 our lessons are right around two minutes long. We usually follow it up with a song or a game or both but the bottom line is my kids now like FHE, I like it. I feel as though most nights they take something away from it.

A couple weeks ago I did a lesson on a testimony tower. I got three blocks that stacked nicely and I tried to battle my way through the most unproductive FHE lesson as of yet. While I tried explaing that our testimony is built on Prayer, Serivce and Scripture Study the boys fought over the blocks and ended up in tears. I gave up, got some more blocks and decided that although this week was a flop there was always next week.

A day or two later Austin came and got me to show me this...

It was his own testimony tower! He went through and told me what each one meant.
Bottom: He knows the church is true
Bridge: Heavenly Father is really there
Middle Orange: Jesus is really there
Green: The Holy Ghost is really t
Purple: H ecan talk to Heavenly Father through prayer
Blue: I don't remember(dang it)
Left Orange: Jesus will come again
Right orange: Satan is really there

It really made me happy to see that the effort I have been putting into our lessons are working!

On a nother note we played this game a while back and the boys loved it. You may want to try it, so easy and fun!

Happy Birthday Dear Sally!

2011-07-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know we have a very important member of the family who I may have forgotten to mention in previous posts. Sally! She is Austin's pet, stuffed turtle. And a while ago Austin informed me that it was Sally's birthday and we needed to have a party. So a party is exactly what we had!

The start of the gunny sack race! Caleb was so cute because he didn't know how to use the sack so he just wrapped it around him like a towel!

Tate won the gunny sack race

Austin taking a swing at the pinyata.

Eli looking cute as ever!

All the kids waiting their turn to pin the tail on the donkey

A dizy Tate!

Caleb pinning on his tail!

All the kids were so CUTE! They all knew they were there for Sally's party and thei made sure to include her in everything! Anytime we went from one activity to the next they were all concerned that someone would leave Sally and she would misss out on all the fun. So they made sure she got her cake!

A good old game of Duck Duck Goose!

Caleb being chased by Tate in their game of Duck Duck Goose

Tate making sure to include Sally in the game!

All the kids that came out to celebrate Sally's birthday! Thanks guys. I think Sally will remember it for years to come!

Excited? Nervous?

2011-07-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Both! After I graduated BYU I got my "dream job" ... managing pools! I know it's not anything super amazing or life-changing but it was what I wanted to do until I had kids. Infact if you would have asked me when I was at BYU what I wanted to do, my answer would have been, "graduate and manage pools until my husband (whoever that is) is done with school." That went exactly as planned and my three years of running the pools, lifeguard programs, swim lessons and water asrobics for the YMCA of Central Texas may possibly be some of the best memories I will have. But when the time came to be done I felt ready to be done. I was incredibly happy that I got do exactly what I wanted but I was ready to move on, to stay home and raise my kids.

Five years later ... I have a different feeling. What on earth am I going to do all day while my kids are in school? Now keep in mind that Austin isn't even in Kindergarten yet but still I wonder this alot. Work full time? Absolutley not! I want to be home when my kids get home from school. I want to chaperone their field trips, I want to attend soccer games and maybe even be the little league coach. So full time was out of the question. Well part time? What could I do? Starbucks? Target? Maybe even the Library? Those all sounded boring to me and besides that I wanted something tnat required growth, learning! Photography? I could learn all about it...be the best! Take professional pictures for people and master photoshop! I kind of liked this idea, even begged for photoshop for Christmas one year(and got it) but I never really learned to love it. So I decided to turn to what I have been secretly wanting to do for a really long time now! Branch out and teach more group x classes other than just spin!

This is perfect for me! So very very perfect! I get excited just thinking about it! This way I can do all the things with my kids I still want to do, I will be there when they get home from school. I can still host their classroom parties, I can be the little league coach and go on the field trips. But there's more to it than that. I love it! I have a passion for exercising! I so often wonder what happens to people as they age that makes it so they no longer enjoy moving their bodies? I am so excited to share my energy with other people. So I have registered for my first Les Mills Training!

There is a huge part of me that is nervous for this. What if I can't lift heavy enough weights at the training? What if I can't get the beat to the music right? What if my form is wrong? What if I go through the whole training and then mess up on the video I send in(yes you have to send in a video of you teaching before you can get the certification)? It's all very scary to me but I think thats part of what makes it exciting. I have found what I am looking for, something I'm excited about but will also challenge me. Something to help me grow! And on September 16th I will be there in my work out clothes ready to be challenegd, ready to sweat and ready to have a good time!

More than just a face in the crowd!

2011-06-22T11:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when I talk to frineds in Utah or someone I haven't talked to in a long time the first thing they ask me is "So, What's new?" I never really know how to answer that questions because really there is never anything new going on. That sounded negative, I didn't mean it to. Honestly I love the way life is going right now! But when someone asks "What's new?" I would feel weird giving them a rundown on our day to day life so although this may be a little presumptious of me here it is folks. Here is a typical day, or rather I should say, the faces that make my days so enjoyable!

The very first faces I see each morning are these two! Aren't they cute when they first wake up? They come into my room together and we have a little cuddle time in mom's bed before we start our day! I love this time of day!

I love going to the gym every morning. It is a part of our every day routine and I look at it a lot like brushing my teeth. It's just something you do and it becomes habit and you feel gross if you don't do it. These are the people that make going to the gym a fun and enjoyable time.

This is Adrienne, she is the one who teaches the NIKE training and BODYPUMP classes I like. She has also helped me with getting in touch with the group x manager at my gym so hopefully one day I too can teach bodypump!

I wouldn't enjoy the gym nearly as much if I didn't know and like the people in the child watch. This is Ms. Kat and Ms. Jen and they love my boys and me and my boys love them!

Here is Naomi, she is very fit and I can always ask her for some weightlifting ideas if I ever get bored with what I am doing. She is the one who first told me I should try NIKE training, Thanks Naomi!

This picture makes me sad. This is Laura and Whitney and for the past year I have swam laps with them pretty much every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Laura has pushed me beyond my comfort level for a long time and I can finally keep up with her. These two girls are both moving in a few week and we had our last swim together on Tuesday! I will miss you both.

After the gym we usually hang out with one or all of these girls and their kiddos!
Cindy, Me, Jen, Amy, and Sarah

Alyson

Melissa, Neysa, and Talia

The last face I see every night is Jaren's. And I barely get a hello in before these two steal him away for something like this! I am so thankful that Jaren is a wonderful Dad. He loves to play with these two and the boys light up every night when they hear the garage door open! I am also thankful that our boys get to bed early so that I get to spend a little time with him at night too. I have so much fun with all three of you boys!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-31T20:23:00.001-07:00

Okay, Okay I know ... We go up to Broken Bow a lot and I'm sure all the pictures may look the same to you guys but to I love them all the same. And check out these pictures, I'll save the best for last!

THE BOYS:

THE TRAIN:

THE STATE PARK:

THE TRUCK:
Jaren's Dad bought this old truck and is planning on restoring it. The bet is on, will the truck be ready to drive first? Or will Austin?

THE LAKE:

Take a good look at this folks! This may be the first tiem you have ever seen a two year old water skiing! Isn't this adorable?! He loved it! He's been saying ever since then "I wanna go water skiing right now."

Like You!

2011-05-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

This Mothers Day turned out to be a wonderful one for me! My little Caleb is pretty cuddly guy when he is tired and it's a good thing because he is not the most affectionate person out there. He's not mean, that's not at all what I'm trying to say. And really it's not a fair comparison becuase Austin is so overly affectionate that I think it may drive the average Joe crazy. As his monther I love it, it's like he idols me! He says things like, "Mommy, I had fun at the park today but the person I like playing best with is you." Or "Hey mom, I'll miss you while I'm at school." Or "You're the best mom in the whole world!" And these things come out often! Where as when I say I love you to Caleb I have to say, "What do you say back?" and his answer is usually goodbye! Cause he thinks you only say I love you to someone when they are leaving. I have often wondered if he would care at all if he one day woke up with a different mother.

So back to where I was originally headed with all of this. Sunday morning I got to sleep in which was so nice becuase I have been sick. When I got up the boys had made cards for me and they were so cute. I was telling them how cute they were and giving them hugs when Caleb stepped away from his hug and pointed to me and said, "Like you Mommy!" Seriously I almost started to cry! There is signifance in this becase Caleb right now is on a "Like" streak. In the car if he hears a song he likes he tells me "liked that song" or food "liked that food" or whatever it may be. He "likes" garbage trucks, his stuffed animals, Thomas the Train, books we read him "like that book Mommy". I have heard him say it so many times recently and then on Sunday he said it to me and he looked right into my eyes when he said it! It may not sound like a huge deal but I am sure most moms remember the first time their little one said "I love you Mom" and knew what they were saying and meant it. And even thought that's not what he said it meant the world to me! I like you too Caleb!

Easter Pictures

2011-04-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

Prayer of thanksgiving!

2011-04-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

This post is mostly just so I will remember but seriously not a day passes right now where I don't thank my Heavenly Father for these two amazing boys!
I thank him for the fact that they are so close in age, that they play so incredibly well together, that they make me so happy, that they are so caring, that they are good boys and they really are. I am amazed all day long at how polite they have been lately, how they're arguing is at an all time low right now and how they are just fun! So much fun right now!

Tonight it was Caleb's turn to say the prayer at the dinner table and I asked him if he wanted help and he said no. This is the first time he has ever said a prayer all by himself with no help and he did such a wonderful job! It went like this: Dear Heavenly Father, we're thankful for today. We're thankful for our daddy. We're thankful that mommy took us swimming at Gold's Gym. Please help the rain not to hurt Grandma's house. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen. I didn't know that he enjoyed swimming all that much and I had no idea he really knew what we were talking about when we checked the weather and saw that the tornadoes and baseball sized hail was heading stright for Ron & Lisa's house. It was heartwarming to hear him come up with those things all on his own.

Austin is really into drawing pictures right now and I LOVE THEM! These are the pictures he drew of our family. We have them hanging in our family room in random places. I promised him we could leave them up until after the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. The first one is a self portrait and the best part is he drew his heart! I love it too because the kid has such a big heart that is seems so appropriate that his picture is the one he drew the heart on.

Austin's self portrait

Caleb

Mom

Dad-For some reason Jaren looks a little like Mike Wazowski with one really big eye. I LOVE IT!

Fun Filled Weekend!

2011-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was so much fun! Friday we spent ALL DAY at the zoo with our long lost friends Amy, Kaitlyn and Eli! We have missed spending time with them this past winter since our kids have been on different schedules! The kids had so much fun and so did me and Amy! The best part is, we bought a year membership so we are going again soon!
Caleb on the train

Just some hugs & kisses for the turtle.

Austin and Kaitlyn!

The best part of the zoo...playing in the water when everyone is hot and sweaty!

After we were at the zoo all day we decided to come home, throw some clothes in a bag and head to the cabin! Here is what is so wonderful about the cabin, everything else but your family is gone. There is no internet, we put our phones away, no bills, no gym to go to, no work, no cleaning, no shopping to do or house projects to get done. The only thing to do up there is spend time together as a family and it's great!

This time we took the boys canoeing and they loved it!

Exploring for a little while.

This is my favorite picture, isn't this great?

Ron and Uncle Zac built this great playground at the cabin and it has been a wonderful addition! The boys can't get enough of it.

Okay family members, doesn't this look amazingly like Dan's pictures when he was a child? I think so!

Woo Hoo! Jaren cut his hair!

2011-03-30T11:40:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

Ready, Set, SNOW!

2011-02-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

So I remember when I was working at the YMCA and I made some ridiculous comment about how come Texas shuts down for a little snow, can't people down here learn how to drive in the snow? I start this post with that because I know most of you who read this will think the same thing, why on earth does the whole state shut down for a little snow? Well folks it's not snow in Texas it's ice. And this time it wasn't just a little. Every road in every city was covered in inches if it and I don't care where you are from you don't ever really learn how to drive on ice. So take roads and sidewalks covered in ice and then add snow on top of it and it is a huge mess. That's how all last week was and I am so glad it's over! Being stuck in the house that whole week was not ideal! But we did get some play time in and a few cute photos.

I will say that something good came of being trapped indoors for a whole week. CALEB IS FULLY POTTY TRAINED! This is something I have been dreading, like ... make me sick to think about and tried to avoid the very discussion of! I couldn't figure out why I DID NOT want to potty train him. So a few weeks ago I really thought about it. I mean we as parents know what we want the end result to be, our child to pee and poop on the toilet and to tell us they need to go but I had NO IDEA how to get him to do that! And I was seeing potty training horror stories from my friends live, in action! They switch from diaper to underware to pull ups to diaper and this goes on and on for months! I was seeing frusteration and anger in a lot of my friends and I did not want that! So I decided to be proactive, if I was going to do this then I needed a plan so I went on line and did some research. I ended up at a web site called startpottytraining.com and it told me I could potty train my child in three days. THREE DAYS! Not months and months of switching from underware to diapers but three days! So I paid the $37.00 and downloaded her book. WORTH EVERY PENNY! That's all I have to say. IF you are a frusterated mom and want to know her tricks, call me! It took ONE DAY folks, ONE DAY!

Houston

2011-02-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

Really Houston is only a four hour drive from here! There is no excuse that my boys do not see these cousins as often as they do, after all Elizabeth is my only family that is even somewhat close to me. Thanks Mom and Dad for flying in for the weekend, we had a ton of fun with everyone!

Working Hard or Hardly Working? You tell me!

2011-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

For our honeymoon Jaren and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean and although we enjoyed it we also kind of decided it wasn't really the vacation for us. We felt like we were being herded like a group of sheep and even though we were stopping at each island we didn't feel like we were really seeing them and what they had to offer. With that being said there was one day on our honeymoon that really stuck out to us, it was the day that we chartered a sail boat and went sailing. Well, we didn't go sailing someone else took us sailing, but we loved it either way! Since then we have flirted with the idea of getting certified to charter our own boat some time and have done a lot of research on just how to do that. We finally decided to just go for it! Out of all the different options we chose to do a weeklong live aboard with a school called FAIRWINDS. Through this class we hoped to acquire the skills and confidence necessary to be able to charter a boat all on our own. With the boys at Ron and Lisa's we headed down to the beautiful caribbean, home to the amazing Virgin Islands where we would spend the next week doing ... I wasn't really sure what. I mean I knew I would be learning to sail but I didn't really know what that meant. We arrived at Nanny Cay Marina far before our Captain and ran into the other student who we would be spending the week with, Blaire an attorney from Alabama who struck me as kind of boring. Oh well I thought, could have been worse company! Late that night we met our Captain, Captain Ethan who was younger than any of us but obviously a very good people person. Didn't do much that night, just ate dinner and got to know each other a little bit. The next morning we didn't waste any time. Jaren and Blaire were given a "treasure hunt" list of things to find on the boat like the manual bilge pump, life raft, fire extinguisher etc... while I got to do the fun stuff, head to the supermarket with the captain and get the food for a week on a boat! Each morning started at 6:00am when the captain knocked on our door to get us up for an eat with the sun breakfast and then weather update on chanel 16. After that it was time to hit the deck! Our sailing time was spent familiarizing ourselves with the sailing language, doing drill after drill, tack after tack and gybe after gybe. Rasing the sails, lowering them and raising them again. But instruction time didn't just come on the water, when we weren't sailing we found ourselves gathered around the table learning all about charts,the difference between true north vs. magnetic north, and how to pinpoint our exact location in the middle of the islands. The captain was always talking sailing weather he was asking us questions to keep our mids thinking or showing us pictures on his i-phone. Without even realizing it at the time we had become fully immeresed in the sailing world. As the days passed I really came to appreciate and even enjoy Blaire's sense of humor and his company all around as well as the captains patience and confidence in us as students. Each night we happily left our charts and books behind for other things. We were in the caribbean after all and there were beaches to be comb, resteraunts to eat at and snorkeling to be done. To someone on a cruise ship all of these activites were done at a "never heard of it before" beach or bay. Thursday night we took our written test and went over all the answers together. I don't usually think of a written test as something that is rewarding and I didn't think that going into this one either. But for me that's what it was becuase I did well on it. After studying the chart, some fruteration, and hours and hours of drills I understood what was going on and I did well on the test. Friday's day of sailing was the funnest one, there were no drills and we had passed our test so that day we headed out as a team instead of as a student/teacher group. With Jaren at the helm and us sailing up wind I headed to the bow of the boat. I was sunburnt and exhausted but I was having the time of my life up there. I had met new friends, acquired a new skill and at that moment each time the boat came crashing down on a wave I was getting sprayed with ocean water! I had come to love everything about sailing and in the words of the captain "All's good that ends well!"

I Miss You Jaren Andrew Taylor!

2010-12-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

This many more days until I get to see you again!
And the boys will be oh so happy since this is what they've been dealing with the past few days!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

This is what I am thankful for ...

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-11-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you McMurdies for planning such a fun weekend! We had a so much fun playing we barely got any pictures taken.

Four! Already?

2010-10-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

Now I know, if you are a mom at least, you can relate when someone says, "I can't wait until my children are in school." I sometimes feel that way too. That I can't wait until they are in school and I have so much time to get stuff done. But now they are both a little older and things are easier and life is fun. We have NO schedule to run by but our own! We have NO place we have to be to and NO time we have to be out of our jammies by in the morning! We have NO homework and NO worries about lice and we can go out of town any time we want! All freedoms that will leave when our kids are in school. With that being said can you believe Austin is FOUR? I am so thankful he is a fall birthday so that he won't have to go to kindergarten next fall.

I wish I could describe Austin to those of you who don't know him but read my blog. Do you have a child that is intense? Sensitive? Perceptive? Now double all those things and you can maybe start to understand Austin. He is more of everything, more sensitive than other kids, more perceptive than other kids, more intense than other kids. He amazes me with his questions. I think he will go far in life. There are times when I am talking to him or listening to him and I get teary eyed thinking about how amazingly sepcial he is. I am so happy I have such a "spirited" child in my family and I try every day to be a better mom to him.

His birthday party was on Saturday and he had such a good time! I must say it is a lot of work getting ready for a four year olds birthday party. All the planning, decorations, party favors, baking and getting the house ready, it was a whole day fiasco! But well worth it to Austin.

Just for the reccord his favorite gifts were the rocketship, the stuffed animal from Beth, the spy gear (walkie talkies and binoculars), and the the light saber. Enjoy the pics!

The invites!

Austin's Grandma doing some prep work (baking) before the party!

First Activity: decorating cookies!

Joy School Friends Aidan and Audrey!

Spencer trying some of his finished products!

Second Activity: The pinyata. This is good friend and neighbor Ian.

Third was games: bean bag toss, fishing, and shooting down cups. Here is Nick,a friend from preschool.

Ally fishing!

The bean bag toss!

Cake and Ice Cream Time!

Time to open presents! That was a job! Austin couldn't even open presents becuase there were so many kids climbing on top of him to see what was in them. It was CRAZY!

Just chillin' with his Dad.

Spy Gear!

A few other pictures that are blog worthy. We have been in and out of sickness lately. I got this adorable picute of Caleb last week when he wasn't feeling well and was just bummin' around the house.

The Bounce House Boys at National Night Out in downtown Wylie.

Caleb thought it would be fun to play in the exhaust pipe of Jaren's car.

Caleb you're so easy to love!

2010-09-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

Remember when Jaren and I decided that Austin needed a sibling to play with and so it was time to try to have another litte one join our family? It took one try!

Remember how I KNEW! Without any doubt that you were a boy? I wasn't suprised at all when the nurse doing the ultrasound told us that. Remember how happy I was? I wanted another boy so badly!

Remember when you were born? Austin stayed at Grandma's and Grandpa's, I did my hair, we drove to Jaren's office to get some work and casually headed to the hospital for a c-section.

Remember how we felt like a real family when you were born?

Remember how Jaren worked all the time when you were first born and I was so happy that you were a cuddly baby! Remember how your brother wasn't that way at all and God must have known I needed a cuddly baby this time around?

Remember when Grandma Crookston came out to visit and we took cute pictures?

Remember how you were the world's easiet baby! You didn't sleep much but you were so happy when you were awake!

Remember how I was worried having another child would stop our daily adventures but instead it made our daily adventures all the more fun?

Remember how your first word was Ball? It's so appropriate too because you LOVE balls and you know just how to use them!

Remember how fun it has been watching your little personality blossom? You are still cuddly at times but you also have a big personal bubble and you DO NOT like people to encroach on that bubble!

Remember how you climb out of your crib and sleep in your rocking chair? Remember how climb everything and people call you spiderman becuase you can scale walls?

Remember how scared you were of the pool at the beginning of the summer and how you transformed into a fish?

Remember how we had a fun family party for your birthday and your family and friends gave you fun gifts and cute clothes? Remember how you love to have your own little fashion show and hold every article of clothing you get up to you? Remember how you got your very 1st bike that day?

Remember how you have this weird thing with stickers and tape and you absolutly LOVE to stick the on your face? Remember how your favorite birthday present was a roll of tape that Jaren wrapped up for you?

Remeber how you are the worlds cutest two year old, no questions about it?

Remember how happy I am that you are a part of our famiy and how much I love life right now? Please always remember how much I love you Caleb!

Yogurtville!

2010-09-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

One thing I LOVE about where we live is that it's just starting to develop so everything is new and clean and lots of fun places are just openning. Yesturday was our first trip to a new favorite, Yogurtville! What a fun place!

On a side note, I thought this was so funny. we went to playgroup today and I had to get a picture of this. Right behind all these boys is a huge beautiful playground but no...why play on the playground when there is a garbage truck to watch? Notice there are no girls watching?

Life!

2010-09-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Summer is over and I was so sad to see it go. We had so much fun this summer. The boys are both wonderful swimmers, I mean really really good for their ages. Every time I went to the pool someone would comment on their swimming abilities. We went every day and with the exception of my indecent exposure incident we had a blast swimming, eating snacks and more swimming. We even met new friends! More for me than for you guys this is what they could do in the water.

Austin: Can hold his breath. Jumps in and swims on his stomach with his face in the water from one side of the pool to the other. Dives to the bottom by himself most times to get his dive sticks. Can float on his back for as long as he wants. Tread water. What a fish!

Caleb: Can float on his tummy with his face in the water. Can completely hold his breath under water. Jumps in fearlessly. Can kick to mommy on his tummy. Can get dive sticks from the bottom of the pool with a push on the back. All this and he's not even two! Amazing!

Now that "Fall' in here, which in Texas means 90 degrees and way too humid we are having to be a little more creative on the things that we do. Luckily for us that means that Miss Amy is back in town from all her travels and so I now have someone to hang out with again on a regular basis. A little tribulte to Amy, I love you! You are a wonderful example to me and I can talk to you about anything. Thanks for being there for me when I'm in my downer moods, when I'm bored, when I need motivation and even when I'm as happy as can be. Can you please not go out of town all next summer?

A little about me. I am doing P90x and I LOVE IT! I did it once before and I got okay results but I also didn't do the diet or the abs. In the end I lost 11 pounds and I was pretty happy about that. I was down to what I was before I had Austin. so now I am doing it again and I am trying to do the diet and doing the ab videos. Jaren is doing some of the videos with me and it makes it so much more enjoyable! We have changed our time at night from watching tv to working out. It's awesome! The crazy thing is I can do the work out videos all day long, I actually enjoy working out. But the harder "exercise" for me is watching what I eat. It has been my whole life and if I don't learn to master this it will catch up with me sooner rather than later. Here is the salad I had for lunch today.

It is from P90x's nutritional book and it was delicious. I had to take a picture of it becuase it turned out so beautiful! I know, it's a salad but still I thought it was pretty.

Okay So here is one of the cutest video's you may ever see. It is of Caleb. right now for naps he just has to be rocked to sleep, no ... not by me, by him! I rock him for a little while and then I put him in his crib and almost every day, without fail he climbs out and rocks himslef to sleep in the rocking chair. Austin and I get the biggest kick out of watching it on the baby monitor. Listen to Austin at the end of the video, it's so cute!

There ya have it folks, a little glimpse into our life. Upcoming events: Caleb turns two on Friday the 17th! Two! My baby will be two! And loveable Austin turns four in October. He is having a halloween party and he talks about it daily. I'm actually pretty excited for it too!

Sunday Mornings.

2010-09-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

When January rolled around and our ward was up for the 1:00 time slot Jaren and I both moaned. It messes with nap times and lunch and not to mention fast sundays! But now that we are in Spetmeber I have really come to love our Sunday mornings. We spend most the morning in our pajamas. We go on walks, play on the playground, build stuff out of legos, have airplane rides and play duck duck goose (a new family favorite). I am so blessed to have a husband who takes an active role in parrenting! When he is not working his family comes first and he loves playing with his boys! So until the new year we'll take our sunday mornings!

Jaren and the boys transformed our kitchen table into a play house on sunday morning.

Group Hug!

Caleb could not seem to get it through his head that he needed to crawl.

Austin being attacked by his dad.

Caleb hanging from the bars underneath the table.

Utah

2010-08-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

Hooray for family and friends! This trip to Utah was a total sucess! Not only did I have a fun time with my family but I had a little reunion with my college roommates. Has it really been ten years since I met these pretty ladies? What a blessing and example they are in my life! Thanks Cori for doing pretty much the whole planning! I loved hanging out with you girls again. And a special thanks to my parents for babysitting, hosting, playing with my kids, preparing such delicious food and just being all in all great parents.

Summer So Far!

2010-07-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our home away from home

2010-06-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

We love Broken Bow!

Somersaults

2010-05-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Austin has been able to do somersaults for a long time and yesturday Caleb got down and did one, then another one and he just kept going, over and over again. So I got out the video camera to get a little video. Anytime Caleb see's a camera he wants to see the picture that was taken so if you listen closely you can hear Caleb say, "I wanna see." as he comes running towards the camera. He thought it was a digital camera and I was taking pictures. It took him a minute to get the idea but it's prettycute.

The bluebonnetts

2010-04-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2010-04-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting these, it's been awhile since it snowed. But Jaren and Austin had so much fun in the snow. Austin loved throwing snowballs and even loved getting hit. He would throw himself down face first into the snow to stop himself from getting hit by Jaren's snow balls. Caleb? Different story. He didn't really understand why he needed to wear the mittens but then he would get mad when his fingers got so cold. He didn't stay out long. It was fun to watch them play.

Jaren throwing a snow ball at Caleb

Got him right in the forhead!

Jaren throwing one at Austin

Got him too!

Family

2010-03-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

Last minute decision to come to the cabin, Jaren called from work and said he would be home early so we packed up the car and headed out. I love these type of weekends, laid back and spent with just the four of us. The drive up wasn't bad either. I drove for part of the way while I listened to the boys practice air plane noises and blow up sounds in the back seat. When the sun started to set Jaren drove while I sat in the back and sang nursery rhymes. It was a late night and early morning but the boys have been happy anyways because their getting dirty while running through the forest. Caleb fell asleep on our long four wheeler ride. The air is brisk and right now I am sitting here typing on the blackberry while Jaren and Austin make a warm fire and Caleb says "Hot" over and over again. After we eat our hot dogs we're going to get milkshakes, yummy, and then tomorrow we will head home to start another week. We never regret coming up here.

Funny Favorites

2010-02-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

Number 1:
Caleb absolutely loves taking everything out of the fridge door and then putting it back again. I don't particularly like this game because I don't like leaving the fridge door open for that long but sometimes it comes in handy if I need him to be distracted for a while. Caleb is doing the funniest thing right now, when I pull out the camera he stops what he is doing and gives me the cheesiest grin. Example in picture # 1.

Number 2:
One of the boys favorite thing to do is stand at the front door and then run to the couch together. When they get to the couch I tickle them and then they do it again. I am amazed how long they can play this game. Cute little Caleb get's tired way before Austin but he just keeps going.

Number 3:
Both of my boys are climbers and all I have to say is I am glad that my stair railing doesn't go much higher than this.

Just a cute one of the boys after breakfast

Failing Mom?

2010-01-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

So excuse me while I stand on my soap box for a minute. When did this attidue come about of "If your child can't read by the time they go to kindergarten then you are failing as parent" come about? I didn't read when I went to kindergarten, I'm pretty sure most of you didn't and guess what? My children probably won't be able to either! Does that make me a horrible mother? It sure feels that way when I talk to other people and their children can recogonize all the upper case letters and most of the lower. Well here's the thing folks. I personally feel like I, for the most part, am an okay mom. Obviously I have my days and I usually wish I had more patience but at the end of the day I can honestly say that I played with my children that day! I got down on the floor and was silly, read books, played hide and seek, ate pretend food, and ran around in circles with them. For a while now I have been stressed, thinking Austin must learn his ABC's and we have been working on it and it has not been fun. He will do it but I have to force him and he get's upset and I get upset and then I don't even want to play with him. I am so done with that. My focus has now switched back to playing with them everyday, reading to them, being silly and everything else we do that is fun. Because when they go to kindergarten I want my children to have a good self esteem and know that I love them. Not to say that you can't accomplish that while also teaching them how to read, don't get me wrong. But I feel like right now that is more important. Okay, I'm done.

Children's Museum

2009-12-10T11:34:00.000-08:00

Our ward puts together a really great play group. The lady that does it comes up with great thing to do. I can't go very often because of Austin's Joy School and teaching cycling but I am glad when I get the opportunity to go. This week it was at the Dallas Children's Museum and it was a total hit! And thanks to Audrey Fish for coming with us.

This is my favorite picture of the day. Doesn't he look so happy?

Train Exhibit at Northpark Mall.

2009-12-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving.

2009-12-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

We had a different and fun Thanksgiving this year. As newly weds and in the first few years of our marriage it has been really nice spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with either my family or Jaren's. However, as Austin is getting older I am getting excited to start builing our own family traditions. We spent Thanksgiving at the cabin with just the four of us and it was a perfect weekend. We made our own little turkey that turned out perfectly with delicious gravy, thanks to my dad. Other than that we did all the typical things that the cabin holds: four wheeling, trips to the park, nature walks, Braums for ice cream, fires and family pictures down by the river. The bridge that usually let's us cross the river was washed out from all the water in the Spring time. It was a little scary to have the kids out on that bridge that just dropped off into the fast flowing river, I hope they fix that one soon.

All in all things went great and if we have the opportunity to host a Thanksgiving in the near future I won't be scared about cooking the turkey or making the gravy. I'll be pretty excited!

Halloween

2009-11-15T19:06:00.001-08:00

Halloween was so much fun this year because Austin understood it. When we went to Party City to get his firefighter costume he decided he would rather be Buzz Lightyear. So I had the employee get both costumes out and he tried them both on and he told me again that he wanted to be Buzz. He was so excited about his costume too. He is a pretty shy kid but when someone asked him what he was going to be he would tell them Buzz Lightyear. And whenever he was in his costume we were to call him Buzz, not Austin. He also loved going door to door trick or treating. Holidays were so much fun when I was a kid but now the fun part is watching my own kids. Enjoy the few pictures I got.

Are these not the cutest? I made these trick or treat buckets for the boys.

Here he is showing off his Buzz lightyear costume.

Our neighbors two doors down really helped make the Halloween a memorable one. On Wednesday night they invited us to ta huge Halloween Party at their church. They had food, games, blow up toys ... Like probably 100 of them, no joke and other fun things for kids to do. It was a huge hit. So in this picture we have Ian, Austin, Collin and Aidan.

Silly faces.

This fishing game was his favorite which was great because it was one of the only games that didn't have a line so he did it over and over again.

Caleb was a chicken this year.

The same neighbors that invited us to the Halloween party had a shrimp boil on Halloween night that we went to. Talk about a total success. The food was great and it was nice outside so the kids could just run and play. Here's the fam at the end of the shrimp boil right before we headed out for Trick or Treating.

Austin made a little friend at the Shrimp boil, the Little Mermaid who's real name I don't know. The two of them were glued to each other the whole night.

Buzz Lightyear Trick or Treating.

Just so I don't forget

2009-11-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

So when we took our family photos Austin would NOT smile. Pretty much his hands were covering his eyes the whole time. So when we got home I showed him pictures of people who were smiling and then pictures of people who were not. I told him that when people looked at photos they wanted to see someone who was smiling. Since then he is over the top on his smiles! He tilts his head so far back I am getting a shot of his chin. And he says "Cheese" so loudly with the cheesiest grin. I think it is adorable! And at random times during the day he will pose and say,
"Mom, take a picture." I guess the chat worked.

On another note, we were grocery shopping tonight and while we were in the bread isle Austin says rather loudly, "Mom, that girl over there forgot her pants." I of course look to see what he is talking about and there is a girl maybe about 20 or so wearing the shortest shorts I have ever seen. She is looking at me with an amused expression and I say to Austin, "Sweetie she is wearing shorts." And he says, "No she isn't, she forgot her pants." At which point I turn to the girl and appologize and quickly leave the bread isle.

It is so fun having kids this age. These photos were taken just the other day first thing in the morning when Austin was having a "Cheese" moment.

We had a birthday shout Hooray!

2009-11-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

Austin's birthday was so much fun. He woke up and went to Audrey's birthday party. Came home to his own friends party. Had a nap, woke up and had a famiy birthday party and then topped it all off with a trip to the the carnival. We forgot to bring our camera to the carnival and it's too bad. I think it was his favorite part of the day. He said his favorite thing there was riding the ferris wheel with his dad.

Austin we love you so much. You brought so much energy with you when you came into our family and it has been a blast having you with us the past three years. Here is what comes to my mind when I think of you: Intense, Intelligent, Perceptive, Tender hearted, Sensitive, Energetic, and most of all Happy!

Friends party:
Opening presents

Pinata

Gathering Candy

Austin and Kaitlyn candy swaping.

Just having a good time.

Family Party

A special thanks to everyone who helped make his birthday a special one!

Family Photos

2009-10-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

We tried to take family photos last weekend. The experience was pretty frusterating because Austin was being very difficult, which I guess is common for a three year old. But I don't get it, I see other people's cute family photos where their two or three year old is sitting perfectly and smiling. What's the trick guys? So in the end we got some cute one's of the kids while Jaren and I danced and played peek a boo to get Austin to smile.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

The last two years we have made the drive over to the Flower Mound Pumpikin Patch. We stay for hours becuase they have so much fun stuff for the boys to do. This year was another success.

Me, Jennifer, Cindy, Amy

Day to Day

2009-10-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Some for me...

Some for Caleb!

No wonder he was being so good while I was in the shower!

So Austin climbed on top of the couter the other day and got the cookies from off the fridge, he ate so many whites!

And shared the dark part with Caleb.

Austin is really learning how to play hide and seek. The other day he hid and I really coudln't find him. I have no idea how he got hiself under these pillows without really moving them much. If he hadn't laughed it would have taken me a really long time to find him.

Minnesota

2009-10-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

So remember when I said I was going to make this blog into a family book? Well that's still the plan, so keep that in mind when you are wondering why on earth I added so many pictures to this blog.

Anyways, yes I went to Minnesota with the two boys for the first weekend in October. My brother Casey trained for and ran the Twin Cities Marathon and we were part of the cheering squad. We had such a fun filled week. Recap told through pictures.

We went to the apple orchard while we were there. They had this cute little old fashion truck, I loved it. I miss apple orchards in Minnestoa. I remember going once as a teenager with my twin sister and my dad. Some boys were hitting on me and Elizabeth and my dad got rotten apples from the tree and started throwing them at the boys.

They had a corn maze all set up that we went and did. I guess each year they have a a theme for their maze. This year it was "Where the wild things are." In the maze there were different things to find that realetd to the story. I have no idea if we found them all or not.

Uncle Casey and Caleb while were hanging out at home. The day before the big race.

Here we are, the day of the race! Casey and my dad got up early and headed down to Minneapolis. The race started in downtown Minneapolis and ended in downtown St. Paul. We first met Casey at mile 14. Then got in the car and drove to mile 17, then mile 20 , 23 and finaly the finish line. This is Austin and Grandpa at mile 14, waiting for our first chance to cheer him on.

Casey and his supportive wife Cari at mile 17. Cari went the next three miles with him.

Waiting at mile 20 to cheer him on again. I couldn't have asked the boys to be any better that day, I think they had a lot of fun watching the runners. Austin has talked about it a lot since then. My dad took this picture of me and Austin playing.

Mall of America, Lego Land!

Austin and Maggie's little boy Abe sharing lego's at Lego Land.

Abe eating his banana, he is such a cuttie.

Our last day in Minnesota I took the boys to the Minnesota Children's Museum. I was very impressed. They had so much to do, we couldn't do it all in the three hours we were there and Austin didn't want to leave. It's a for sure stop on our next trip there.

Austin making huge bubbles.

We probably spent the majority of our time in this water room, both boys loved it! We went back twice while we were there. Here is Austin sending his boat down the ramp.

Austin cooking up a feast.

Caleb in the kitchen waiting to be served the food Austin is preparing.

This little contraption was pretty cool. The air circulating in it caused the leaves to go higher and higher until they blew out the top. Then you could go collect them and put them back in the bottom. Austin is watching his leaves go higher and higher.

Caleb

2009-10-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

A little over a year ago Caleb was born. It's weird bringing someone new into your family, you really don't know who they are yet and you wonder what their little personality will be like. Caleb here is a very short poem I wrote about you. We love you!

Twelve months later and you're such a big boy. Walking and talking you're our pride and joy. We're spoiled with your cuddles and those adorable, bury your head into our shoulder, snuggles. Happy and playful you fit into the family, I never knew I could love you so fiercely.

Ta.Ta. Ta. Taylor - Taylor Swift!

2009-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

That's right, we went to the Taylor Swift concert! I know there may be a lot of times I'm not thrilled about how much Jaren works, but last night it all paid off. The partner that Jaren works for gave us the tickets to his box in the American Airlines Center and WOW! She put on a great performance.

"I only know how to write about what happens to me, I write about my highest of high's and lowest of low's." -Taylor Swift

"Her songs are a melodic version of her diary." - Dateline

You could feel her emotion in every song she sang through her body language and facial expressions. For being so young it was really pretty impressive. It was also fun to watch her because she clearly loves what she does. She was comfortable and carefree and it made you like her all the more. Okay and I have to mention the part about when she was standing right underneath us. She went backstage for a costume change and when she came back out she was right underneath us. Seriously cool! And check out this VIDEO . After she sang one of her songs the crowd was screaming for like ... I don't know, maybe four or five minutes. She was cute up there, totally awed by the moment. Finally she said, "Dallas, TX, I can promise you that for the rest of my life I will never forget that moment."

Me and Jennifer in our new Taylor Swift hats.

There she is, she looks a lot farther away in this photo than she really was. She also turned around and looked at us at one point so we got to see more than just the top of her head.

Me and Jaren with Taylor singing her hear out on the stage in the back ground.

Staycation Weekend

2009-09-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Let the good times roll! Labor Day weekend was a total sucess. A special thanks to everyone who traveled here, partied with us and babysat for us. The festivities began on Saturday morning with Caleb's birthday blowout and went all weekend long. WARNING: Lots of pictures!

Special guest appereances included: Adorable Cousin Kate ...

Best friends Claire and Hallie...

Austin's twin Audrey...

Animated Ian...

Lovable Aidan...

And last but not leat, doting Grandma and Grandpa.

The birthday Boy himslef!

Who doesn't love a good BBQ?

Of course we went to the game ... and we had a total blast! Okay, Okay we did get beer thrown on us because we were Cougar fans but the people sitting around us(all OU fans)were just as upset as we were and they got the gulity party thrown out of the game. Overall, all the OU fans were very respectful. I hope the Cougar fans showed the same respect and didn't gloat too much.

Have you ever known me or Jaren to turn down the pool on a scorching hot day?

Hotter N' Hell 2009

2009-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Fun! That's what this was, a lot of fun. Hotter N' Hell is an annual bike rally/race that is held every year in Wichita Falls, Texas on the last weekend in August and this year I decided to do it with my father in law. There are different distances to choose from: 10K, 25M, 50M, 100K, or 100M. We chose to do the 50 miler. I have done triathlons in the past and those are also fun but this was a different kind of fun. It was not comeptative, it was totally laid back and almost seemed family oriented. There were 14,100 people who actually rode in the race this year and the youngest I saw was probably the six or seven yeard old on his training wheels and the oldest was probably the 90 year old man who had a cool old fashion looking bike. There were tandom bike riders and parents biking with their kiddos behind them in carriages, families who all stuck together and the pro's who passed every one else. I'm telling you, anyone could do this ride and if you're interested in a fun family activity for next year, google it.

They started the race at about 7:15, the 100 milers went first and then the 100K and they went down the line from there. So we obviously left third leaving at about 7:30 am. It was a suprisingly chilly morning, only about 66 when we left which was a nice break from the heat. The first couple miles were very congested just because of all the people but that fixed itself at the split up point. There were rest stops along the way and really nice one's. They had cookies, bananas, orange slices, trail mix, gatoraid and water, even volunteers to hold your bike while you got a little something to eat. They had professional photographers taking your picture along the route and at the end we got to ride through the Air Force base. That was cool. They had pulled all their fighter jets up and we got to ride through them, then they had the pilots cheering us on as we rode past. The finish line was one big family party! Everyone congratulating each other, live bands playing, food and snow cones, people handing out cliff bars and get this ... free showers! Towels and everything. I took advantage of that. And on our way out of town we even found a little kids store and guess what we bought? A new bike for Austin, goes right along with the theme of the weekend. So who's in for next year?

The night before the race we went out for ice-cream at the Braums right by our hotel. This was Caleb's first experience with ice cream, the kid could not get enough of it. It was so cute to watch him eat it.

Me and Ron right before we headed out on our 50 miler.

My thoughts here: Can we get this party started? I have goose bumps, I'm ready to get my body temp up.

Just about to pass the starting line!

Woo Hoo, 2 hours and 58 minutes later I crossed the finish line!

Austin getting ready to try out his new bike, he is already so good at it.

The boys

2009-08-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

Fish at the cabin

2009-08-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

When we were in our third year of Law School this cute little family showed up at church one week, right in between quarters, obviously they were starting law school. Acouple nights later we went over for dinner. Even though they had two cute little girls and we had no kids, Leah stayed at home and I worked full time we became very good friends. In fact their third girl and Austin were born on the same day. It was fun to experience our pregnancies together. Now they too are living in the Dallas area and we are so happy! Boating buddies to go to the cabin with us. These are from this past weekend, thanks Fishies for coming with us, you guys are welcome back anytime you want.

Love little Caleb!

Hallie and Claire, the oldest two in the Fish Family.

The three oldest Fish girls, Claire, Hallie, and Audrey(shares Austin's B-day). They have a new little audtion to their family, baby Julia.

So Saturday morning it was pouring and we totally didn't think it was going to stop, when the kids started getting a little cabin feverish we decided to go on a four wheeler ride even though it was raining. We came back totally soaked. I was amazed how long the kids lasted on that ride.

Our Patriotic 4th!

2009-07-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

At my Grandpas funeral a few years ago my oldest sister Rebecca decided it would be fun to get all the kids and their kids together, it had been years! So she took on the challenge of hosting a family reunion and she planned it for the Fourth of July in the DC area. We're so glad she did because we had such a blast and DC was super kid friendly! Our family headed out a few days before the reunion started to see some of the sights. I decided to just post lots of pictures to sum up this very patriotic trip.

Austin and Caleb did so well on the flight out there and on the flight back.So far we have been lucky on almost every flight we have gone on.

When we first got there we didn't waste any time. After checking into our hotel we went to a lot of the war memorials and the Lincoln Memorial.

One suprise we had was that everything in DC is free, FREE! That included the Zoo. The boys had so much fun there. Isn't this a cool picture?

Anytime Austin seems some place he can just run he always takes advantage of it, this hill at the zoo was perfect.

The gardens in DC had this really fun childrens place where they could help take care of the plants and play in the water. Both the boys had a lot of fun here. We stayed until they were closed and they had to come and ask us to leave.

The Merry-Go-Round!

Feeding the Ducks, Austin came so close to falling in. We turned our heads for one minute and when we turned around he was on the other side of that rail, AHHH!

Friday morning we met up with the Family at the Washington Monument and we took the elevator all the way up to the top. The view was something else. Kinda weird though, you could feel it moving. Well not really, but when I asked the people that worked there why I was duzy they said it was because we were up so high that the building would move in the wind.

The view from the top of the monument to the Nations Capital

Big brother Dan and little sister Sadie

After that we headed down to the lake for some paddle boatting. Austin even got to do some paddling!

Sadie and Rachel

In this picture: Rebecca,Dan, Rebecca's Elizabeth, and brother in law Mike.

DC has so many museums to go and see it was hard to decide which we were going to do after the paddle boating. Since Austin is so into airplanes and spaceships we decided to take him to the Air and Space museum and with all the cool stuff to see and the great hands on kids section I am so gald we did. He thought it was the coolest place ever.

On the Fourth of July we went to Mount Vernon which for those of you who don't know, like I didn't before this trip, that is George Washington's home and gardens. And they were beautiful. His house was huge, even for today, I can't imagine how gigantic it must have been in those days. Austin had a lot of fun playing on the grassy area and we got to take a cool tour of his house. The actual George Washington House! Because it was the Nations Birthday they were also serving birthday cake.

Austin and Dan playing in the gardens.

Austin in the bushes playing hide and seek.

The marching men. They had patriotic music playing and little reinactments going on, without a doubt the coolest thing I have done on a Fourth of July.

Here is a picture of Brad and Elizabeth with baby Kate. Behind them you can see pretty much the whole house, pretty huh?

Of course that night we went to see the fireworks. We sat outside the Pentagon where Mike works and watched them from there. Austin AND Caleb loved them, I was a little worried Caleb wouldn't like them but he was very intrigued.

And we have Rachel, Elizabeth W., Sadie, Cari and Andi, you girls are so cute!

After the family reunion was over I stayed a while longer with the two boys to have a little visit with Rebecca's family. Austin and Peter got along so well. Thank you Peter for playing with Austin so much. One day we went back into DC and I took Austin and Peter to the museumm of Natural History, so hot that day! Afterwords we got something cold to eat.

Austin got his first music lesson while we were there, this is Peter's old violin and Austin was dying to have a turn.

Here we are coloring on Rebecca's cool antique school bench, I wish this bench were upstairs in my game room.

Austin's favorite things at Rebecca's house were Peter, Heidi the dog and this...Ted Smith, the Teddy Bear they got at the Smithsonian.

Carmal Popcorn, this was yummy and went very fast!

Thank you Rebecca for taking the time to plan this and to host it. What a fun and unique opportunity we had this Fourth of July. We love all of you Crookstons!

Water cannot be drawn from an empty well!

2009-06-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, life as a mom with young kids can be incredibly monotonous! I have found that in the past week as Jaren has once again, been working insane hours, I have become incredibly bored with my every day life. So much so that I feel I have not been as good of a mother to my two kids. I could really use a few hours away to just read or go shopping or ... something! Thankfully I will get this opportunity on Saturday and I am very much looking foward to it. If anyone else out there is feeling this same way here is something that has really helped me.

"...Find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

I love this talk given by Elder M. Russell Ballard in April 2008 General Conference. It was specifically directed towards young mothers. Although the whole talk was amazing I remember hearing this exact paragraph and wondering what gifts and interests I wanted to learn more about. I thought about it a lot and I came up with two things. The first being exercise and good nutrition, ever since I worked at the YMCA those have been subject areas that truly interest me. Since then I have taken some exercise training courses and have bought some books with healthy recipes(I've shared two yummy ones at the end of this post). I am trying to make sure I get to the gym, stay active and I try, although some times I really fail, to eat healthy. I have also just registered for my first bike race, it is the Texas Hotter N. Hell in August, I am doing the 50 miler with my father in law. I am excited and also a little nervous!

The second interest is photography and scrapbooking. I have always wanted to be really good at taking photos and I love to scrapbook. Really all I have done to develop this interest is to get a nice new camera (which I love) and practice taking photos of my kids. Some day I will read some books on photography, take some classes and hopefully get better. And I still take the time to scrapbook. I also just made my first online scrapbook for Jaren about our Bonaire trip. It turned out so cute! If anyone is interested in doing this I made it through blurb. You have to download their software but it was free and their program is super easy.

So those are my interests, what about you guys? Does anyone else remember this talk? Did anyone else take on the challenge of finding some things that would replenish your life? What have you done or what are you planning to do now? Also check out down below, I have added two of my new favorite, very easy, recipes from my healthy eating cook books.

Super Yummy and easy to make for dinner Sweet and Sour Chicken:
1 T Cornstarch
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 lb chicken
1 T sesame oil(found in asain section)
1 cup onion strips (about 1 inch long)
1 cup bell pepper strip (about 1 inch lone)
2 T fresh minecd garlic
1/4 cup bottled sweet and sour sauce (I used La Choy)

In a large bowl combine cornstarch, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Add the chicken and toss until chicken is well coated.

Place a large non stick skillet over high heat. When it's hot add one tsp sesame oil, onion, pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until the garlic softens and the veggies are crisp tender, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.

Place the remaining sesamie oil in the skillet and add the chicken ina single layer. Cook until the pieces are no longer pink and hte juces run clear. Return the veggies to the pan and rehea if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and add the 1/4 cup sweet and sour sauce.

Serves 4: 223 calories, 27 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbs and 5 grams of fat.

Great for a side dish or for a picnic Texas Caviar:
1 (15oz) can black beans rinsed
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn rinsed
3/4 cup salsa or pico de gallo
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Put it all in a large, resealable plastic container and store in the fridge for up to two hours before serving. Best with baked chips. I used the baked Tostito scoops, you can find them anywhere, I got them at walmart.

Makes 6 (1/2 cup) servings: 102 calories, 5 grams protein, 25 carbs, no fat.

Just a little Caleb!

2009-06-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Caleb is now nine months old and is like our little sunshine! He is always so happy and cuddly, we love him so much. Here are his eight month mile stones.

Learning to army crawl.

Pulling himself up on furniture

Going from crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling

Walking along the furniture!

He is getting so big, these are some of my favorites of him. He absolutly loved the corn! He was practically posing for the pictures.

One of the best things about having these boys so close is that they are already playing together. I thought we would have to wait until they were like, oh I don't know, like four and two before they played together. But there are so many times when I am doing my hair or making dinner and I hear them laughing. When I come to see what they are doing they are usually wrestling together. Or Austin is pushing Caleb in his Johnny Jump Up like it's a swing. Anyways, it's adorable and I am so glad they are as close in age as they are.

Like I said, Caleb is our little cuddle bug, if Austin ever sits really close to him then Caleb just lunges for him and gives him a huge bear hug, I was lucky enough to get this on camera today.

Just me and Austin eating popsicles in the only shade we have in our back yard. Caleb was sleeping, too bad, we have learned that he too loves popsicles!

Memorial Day

2009-06-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

We of course went to the cabin, we love going up there. Someone in the ward just asked me if I ever get sick of it? Are you kidding? Sick of it? It's like a little family holiday every time we go and the cabin has so many fun things to do. Especially in the summer. This time it rained a lot while we were there and the lake was so high we couldn't put the boat on the water. But here's a few pictures of the kiddos at the park.

On a different note, the other day we were outside lying on a blanket while Austin was "riding his bike" in the driveway. This is what we saw when we turned around.

March and April!

2009-05-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

So I recently heard that you could print your blogs off into a book! That is so cool. I have decided to do that very thing at the end of the year. Print off my blog from the year 2009! So from here on out I have taken a vow to update my blog more frequently so we will have an accurate account of our year 2009. And also fill in a few things I have missed from the past few months. So here are March and April and don't feel like you need to read all of this. Like I said, I'm doing it to get caught up for our end of the year book. Yay! I'm already excited!

In March we flew to Utah for Jaren's Grandmas 80th birthday party. It was a total sucess! All of her kids came into town for it and most brought their families with them. The food was delicious and the company was great. I think Austin had the best time of all, he met a little friend named Brock who amazingly had just as much energy as he did.

Austin and Caleb with Grandpa Crookston, we stayed at their house while we were in Utah.

Ron and Lisa Taylor Family minus baby Adelyn.

Uncle Zac with Austin and new friend Brock, "WIND POWER".

Two hungry boys just couldn't wait until it was time to eat!

Austin and Xander at Grandma and Grandpa Crookstons house. They played so well together.

Easter this year was a lot of fun. Austin remembered what the easter basket was for and he went to two Easter egg hunts plus the one we had for him at our house. The first one was with the church playgroup at a playground. The second was in the City of Coppell and it was age appropriate. We took the Fishies with us on this one. It was crazy, they just had all the candy on an open field and blew this big horn, then all the kids went running and the field was empty within about 30 seconds. I think Austin and Audrey both had fun though.

Austin and his friends, Braden and Scott at the playgroup Easter Egg Hunt.

Me and Caleb at the Coppell Easter Egg Hunt.

Yes, this year we did the bluebonnet pictures! I wish I were as good as Jaren and his brother Zac at taking pictures, but I'm not. So I feel as though my bluebonnet pictures have come out subpar. I have only posted one picture of each child that I think are cute and even then, there are shadows on faces and terrible backgrounds. Next year we are doing this as a family and Jaren is taking the photos. Don't care how busy he is at work!

This was the last picture taken because I set Caleb down on an ant hill. Not being from Texas I don't think about the ants. I probably will from now on seeing as he had over 30 ant bites on one leg. One month later and he still has little scars.

On April 24th Jaren's little sister Jessi got married in the Dalls Temple. Wind set aside it was a beautful day.Congratulations you two and welcome to the family Erik! We're all excited for you guys!

Me, Caleb, Andrea and Adelyn

And last but not least, little Caleb is just not so little anymore! He is trying like crazy to crawl and gets so mad that he can't. Sometimes he will put his hands in fists and shake them while grunts to let me know he is frusterated he can't crawl. He absolutly loves to play with Austin and he is getting way too many teeth! But he is still cuddly and I love that about him!

Caleb resting while trying to crawl.

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Jaren is going to trial again the first week of June and this means a lot of work and not much time with the family. On Saturday he told me he had a confession, he did not have anything for me for Mothers Day. Now if you don't know me all that well then I will just tell you, I honestly did not care and I told him that. I'm not one of those girls that demands an aniversary gift and gets mad if he forgets it. I could care less if he got me something for my birthday and if I want something I just tell him. I don't wait and hope he knows me well enough to read my mind and then get mad when he doesn't get the specific gift I want. I really didn't care if he had anything for me or not.

So then Sunday morning arives and he let me sleep in while he got up with the boys. About 8:00am little Austin peeks his head in the door, I woke up and told him to come in, he had two little gifts all wrapped up. He jumped on the bed with me and asked me to open one of them, he was so excited! Then before I even got a chance he was ripping the wrapping paper off and he said "These are your purple treats!" Good and Plenty's, my favorite treat which he also loves. I just laughed. Jaren also got me a movie I had really wanted. I asked Jaren why he had gotten me something, I was confused. He told me he went late Saturday night when I thought he was doing something else and that the reason he decided to get me something was because it was important for Austin to learn that Mothers Day is an important day. I loved that he thought that.

And of course on mothers day you get to talk to your mom. I love her so much. When I think of my mom I think of a hardworking women who has spent most of her life serving. If not our family then someone else. When we were little our house always smelled so delicious from all the desserts she was constantly making for people. I think of a wonderful cook, gardner, sewer, and friend. I was always jelous growing up because some of my friends got to go out and eat a lot and then one day when I was in Jr. High my friend Laura Hammer made a comment about how nice it must be to have a mom that makes good homeade meals. I remember my Junior year of high school dancing around the living room in the beautiful prom dress my mom had just made for me. I think of someone who will never ever do a job half heartedly, she will go the extra mile to make sure that something is done right. I try to be more like that in my own life. I think of a really good friend. Since high school I have been very close to my mom and I am so glad that I can tell her pretty much anything. I love you mom.

My mother in law is also a wonderful person. Since I married Jaren she has also become a close friend. The best thing about my mother in law is that her family comes above anything else. If you call and ask for help she will drop what she is doing and come to help. When I came home from my Grandpas funeral a few summers ago and had the flu she immediatly came over and got Austin and took him for me while I slept and got better. Family time is the most valuable thing in the world to her and she has made it a priority in raising her children that family time comes first. I hope Jaren and I can do as good of a job at this with our family.

Thanks Jaren for making Mothers Day special for me and thinking that if nothing else, it's important for our kids to recogonize that it's a special day. I love you.

Bonaire I

2009-04-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

For those of you who didn't know Jaren and I went to Bonaire for a week. We had a blast! This is a little Caribbean island pretty far south, off the coast of Venezuela right by Aruba. It is known not for the beauty of the island like most Caribbean islands but the beauty that's in it's waters. People go there to go Scuba Diving. The island itself was a lot like a desert, a lot of cactus and it was very warm.

When you book your resort reservation they all come with a car. Because on this particular island most of the dives are shore dives, meaning you walk in the water and dive. So you get a truck, throw your dive gear in the back and drive around the island until you find a dive you want to do.

The island is dotted with dive sites everywhere. And you can tell when you get to one because you're driving around in your truck and then off to the side of the road are stones painted yellow with the name of the dive written in black. This particular one is called 1000 steps because it feels like you are climbing that many steps when you have to walk up them with all your dive gear on. There were really only 72, I counted.

Then you get your gear and head for it. We did a total of 20 dives in the five days we did diving, tha's a lot! It was beautiful, we got to see things like turtles, sting ray and spotted eagle ray, barracuda, dolphins and of course the beautiful coral.

This dive was called Helma Hooker. It was a wreck dive, meaning a sunken ship. This particular ship once belonged to drug lords. I loved this dive, exploring the ship was seriously cool!

More Helma Hooker.

See the post just below this one for things we did other than diving!

Bonaire II

2009-04-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

So like I was saying, Scuba Diving is what this little island is known for but since you aren't supposed to dive 24 hours after you fly or 24 hours before you fly we found some stuff to do on our off time.

The food on this island was amazing, especially this one little place we went to called Cactus Blue, hands down, the best resteraunt I've been to so far. However, there was also one place we went to that was terrible. If you love scuba diving and are thinking of going, please make sure and ask me what it was, you must make sure not to go there.

So one day we went into the National Park, it was okay, looked a lot like the rest of the island. But the funny thing was, instead of having dear crossing signs like we have here in the states, they had lizard crossing signs! And the lizards were everywhere! Jaren and I concluded that there are more lizards on the island than people.

The other thing Bonaire is known for is windsurfing. We couldn't go all that way and not at least try! Jaren, of course, picked up on and loved it. Let's just say it wasn't really my thing. While he did that I sat comftorably on the beach reading my book.

We did a lot of swimming, we both love the water! This was at the dive site called Oil Slick Leap.

Here we are at 1000 steps looking for crabs in the tidepools. Not long after this picture we saw a water snake and took off out of there.

Ft. Worth Zoo

2009-03-10T07:57:00.001-07:00

They had sp many fun things for kiddos to do. This slide was in a little play area by the petting zoo, train, merry go round and other fun stuff for little one's.

Dad and Austin looking at the Elephants.

Mom and Austin in the merry go round.

These white Tigers were beautiful, one pf them got right up to the glass, Austin thought that was super cool.

Shower time for this little guy.

Pay it Foward!

2009-02-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

Let's have a little fun shall we?

Pay it forward...The rules
1. Be one of the first THREE (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, only I know.
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay IT Forward, creating a handmade gift- anything! for the first THREE (3) bloggers who leave a comment on their post about the giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make and/ or ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: it's the spirit and the thought that counts!
4. When you receive your gift, feel free to post about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your friends to do the same!SO, REMEMBER...Pay It Forward!Let's help make this a wonderful world to live in and show our friends how much we care for them :)

Has anyone seen Mr Will?

2009-02-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

I saw this on a friends blog and had to use it because it was way too perfect for how I am feelng right now. I changed it some to fit my situation.

I am looking for someone - perhaps you have seen him? His name is Will. Mr. Will Power. I am in desperate need of his help, and yet he keeps slipping away from me. See, the problem is that Mr. Bebe Phat has decided to take up long term residence, and I know that I won't be successful in evicting him without the help of the afforementioned Mr. Power. But every time I catch a glimpse of Mr. Power, Foo D. Craving gets in the way. I know Will is around here somewhere because I saw him last time I saw Melissa (25 pounds down and counting...girl you are AMAZING!!) Anyway, if you happen to see him, could you send him my way because Jaren and I just booked our tickets to beautiful Bonaire for the end of March.

Life's Little Joys

2009-01-30T12:08:00.003-08:00

The three boys on Sunday morning, all still in their pajamas.

Austin playing Ring Around Momma with Jaren.

Caleb playing in his Jonny Jump up.

- When Austin cups Caleb's face and says "love you too baby".
- When Austin asks questions, the tone of his voice is so cute, he cocks his head to the side and asks his questions. My favorites are "okay mom?", "have a boo-boo?", "trying?" (crying?), "weave the white on?" (Leave the light on?).
- When Austin sings songs we have sung to him for so long now and all this time I never knew he actually knew all the words, the cutest is Once there was a snow man.
- When Austin tries for the first time to say a new word. He stops for a second and you can tell he is thinking and then he just says it like he has been saying it for years.
- Austins little sayings, "sure sure mom", "pitty nice" or "pitty good", "I do", "Oh yeah", "ome on" (Come on), "baby, roll over".
- When Austin lays right by Caleb and the two of them are both laughing.
- When Austin changes his stuffed animals diapers, burps them, puts them in his bed and sings them songs. He will say, "last song" just like we do when we put him down.
- The fact that little Caleb can't help but smile every time he sees his dad.
- Watching Caleb try so hard to roll over.
- Noticing the differences in my two boys personalities. I love them both so much.
- Watching Austin get so excited to wait for his dad to come home every night. He gets his chair and sits in the middle of the driveway until his dad's car comes rolling up.
- Watching Austin brake out of his shy shell. Sometimes when we are in public he will walk up to every stranger he can see and say hi. Yesturday when we were leaving the gym there was this man sitting with his elbows on his knees and his head down. Austin went right up to him, bent down so his face was right in the mans face and said "oh, hello". The man just started laughing, he said hi and asked Austin how he was doing but Austin had already moved on to somebody new to say hi to.
- When Austin says to Caleb "it's otay baby, no cry." and pats him on the back.
- Spending time with my family especially when Jaren has been working so much.
- Talking and laughing with Jaren about the kids. Who knew something that can be so much work could bring you such joy?

Brothers

2009-01-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here they are, these pictures are taken when they are the same age and in the same clothes. What do you think, do they look alike?

Caleb at three months

Austin at three months

HOUSTON

2008-12-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

So Jaren's trial is over! Yay! He was in Austin all last week for the trial and so instead of staying home all week by ourselves Austin, Caleb and I went to Houston to stay with Elizabeth and Brad. Austin and Kate had so much fun playing together and Elizabeth had somewhere fun for us to take the kids every day.

Getting so big!

2008-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

Caleb is two months old now. I know I know, that doesn't sound very old but my goodness the time goes by fast. He is cooing all the time and is such a little people person. He smiles almost every morning when I go into to get him. He carries on little conversations with me. I will talk and then stop and he coos away and smiles. Then he stops and I say something in reutrn. Today was so funny, we were carrying on our little conversation and when he stopped cooing I knew it was my turn to talk so I asked him if he was going to lose all the chub when he started crawling. Instead of cooing back like he usually does he started to cry. I guess I offended him when I called him chubby.

Elizabeth and Brad gave us this adorable little church outfit. I am so sad, I think today will be the last day he wears it. He is getting too big for it. So I had to take a picture of him in it today. Maybe I can squeeze one more week out it! Thanks guys for the cute little church outfit.

One little picture of Austin, isn't this adorable?! I love it because it shows his fun little personality!

Yay, Jaren has a weekend off!

2008-11-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

Okay so for those of you who don't know Jaren is going to trial in the first week of December. Hooray for Jaren. This is such a great opportunity for a first year attorney. I am very excited for him. However, it does come with one major drawback, we haven't seen much of the guy lately, he is working a ton to get ready for it. Then last friday he called at 12:00 NOON and said he was on his way home, I was so excited! We packed up our bags and headed to the cabin. Jaren and Austin had a great time, they did a lot of four wheeling which is Austins favorite thing up there. They blew the leaves with Grandpa's leaf blower and they built a nice warm fire for me, I was sick the whole weekend. I did leave the house once to go to the park with them. It's freezing up there this time of year!

Alright I know this picture is a little fuzzy but I had to add it. This was the only way we could get it warm enough for Austin to go out on the four wheelers.

Keeping Baby Caleb Warm!

You should see this kid swing, he goes so high and is always asking to go higher. He's only fallen off a swing once & it was in the back yard the first day we got his playground. And it was only because he fell asleep while swinging.

Austin was scared of the jungle gym so Jaren climed it with him

Whoo Hooo, again Dad! They went down this slide so many times

Pictures

2008-11-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I must be doing something totally wrong. Help please someone. I am trying to add a link to my post so that you guys can view the pictures I had taken at JC Penny's only the link part is not working. Here is what I am doing. I go to post a post like I normally do and I click ont he add link thing. Then I add my link and publish my post. Only there is no link, huh? So what's up? What am I doing wrong?

Anyways, until someone can help me out with that you can view my pictures by going to the link in the blue section right above "Fellow Bloggers". Click on the link that says pictures and then you will need this info:

Name: Emily Taylor
Access Code: LTPP0442105590JCP

Have fun, that are way cute. And for future use can someone tell me what I am doing wrong so that I can add links to a post in the future. Thanks guys!

My little Darth!

2008-11-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

So Austin got to celebrate Halloween like three times. The only costume we could find for his size at Party City was Darth Vader and he refused to wear the hat. So just FYI, that's who he is. Our first celebration was at the church playgroup where we had a pinyata, then that same night the church had tunk or treat. On Friday I took him to Jaren's law firm where they had lunch and trick or treating for the goblins! How cute! He loved it. Needless to say, between all three of those he had enough candy. That night he got to help pass out to the neighbor hood kiddos.

Oh yeah, I had to add one little picture of Caleb because he looked so cute while he was sleeping in his car seat the other day.

AUSTIN TURNS TWO!

2008-10-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we had Austin's birthday party on Saturday. It wasn't anything big, we had Jaren's family over for food, cake and ice cream but Austin had a blast. Without a doubt his favorite toy was the guitar that Zac anc Andrea got for him. He hasn't put it down since he got it. He really wishes I would turn on guitar hero for him when he plays it. Sorry kiddo, no luck there.

We love Austin so much, at two he is lots of fun and a nice little boy. He loves his baby brother so much. Every morning he has to go in and say hi to Caleb. His favorite things to do are to play with dad when he gets home from work, take care of his stuffed animals. They go down the slides at the park with us, they get food when he does and he puts them down for naps. But his true love are tractors & trucks, the boy has an obsession.

2008-10-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

First Entry

2008-10-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so better late than never right? Jaren is working late tonight and both boys are asleep so I figured it was a good time to get this blog up and running. Hopefully I can figure out how to use this site.