One Day at a Time

One More Little Baby!! (and a birth story)

2011-07-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is our little Twila Syphus.

She was born July 13, 2011 at 2:39am.

She weighed in at a whopping 8lbs, 3oz and 20.5 inches long.

So this is how it all went down...

July 12th I had a few pretty hard contractions during the day, but nothing that was sticking around. At around 7pm the contractions started coming more frequently. I was able to breathe through them with the help of my sister-in-law Laura's coaching that she gave me before she left earlier that day. (sorry you missed it Laura). My mother-in-law and Chris were right there timing and encouraging me the whole way. By 10pm the contractions seemed to die down. I was bummed. I layed down on my bed and 15 minutes later they came back...harder than before! This time they were coming every 2-3 minutes. By 12:30am they were right on top of each other, and I was struggling to breathe thru them. My mother-in-law thought it was a good time to get to the hospital. We packed up and hit the road by 1am. It took the longest 25 minutes of my life to get to the hospital, but we made it!

I was admitted to triage, and they told me I was at 5cm. I was pretty pleased with that, cause I was a little unsure if I was really in labor or not. I know that sounds weird, but the worst thing is to go to the hospital, only to be turned away cause you're contractions aren't really working. In triage they got my IV going and monitored me for a little, then wheeled me upstairs to Labor and Delivery. I was told that an empty bladder makes for easier contractions, so before I got into bed I headed to the bathroom. On my way back I had a pretty hard contraction. I was leaning over the side of the bed while Chris was rubbing my back, and POP! My water broke!

Chris and I both jumped. I laid down on the bed and the nurse told me I was at 6cm. Making progress! The contractions after my water broke were INTENSE! I was not prepared for the pain. I tried so hard to breathe through each contraction. Chris and the Nurses were so great, they cheered me on when I finished each one. It was 3 minutes after the nurse told me I was at 6cm, and approximately 3 contractions later when I told the nurse it felt better if I pushed against the contraction. She checked me and I was at 9cm! Really making progress here! The next contraction came and I screamed out to the nurse, "She's coming!" Sure enough, Twila's head popped out! Then I quickly pushed the rest of her little body onto the bed. Yup, no doctor there to catch, not even the nurses were ready! It was a magical experience that was painful, but very rewarding. I am so glad that I was able to go completely natural. I feel great, and Twila is doing great too.

Here is Twila getting her first feeding. She is such a great little eater!

My coaching partner. Chris says that during the last few contractions he saw more veins bulging on my neck and face then he's ever seen...yeah...it was intense!

All of my beauties! The kids love Twila. Crew is fascinated by her, Kaylee loves to kiss her, and Emma is only slightly jealous.

Yeah, she looks just like her daddy.

But she loves giving kisses to her mommy!

It's still hard to believe that all these little kids are mine. They are so stinkin' cute!

Update...

2011-06-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

No baby Twila yet...but at the doctor's office today I measured at 2 cm dialated! So hopefully soon!

Also, we moved back to Arizona!!

We are so excited to be back in our old ward, and have felt so welcome. I missed all my friends and family so much. I did NOT miss the heat though. It's blazing hot here, and I wish I could have gotten here earlier so I could have adjusted easier. We basically added nearly 40 degrees to our typical day.

The kids love our new place, but they miss being able to ride bikes and play outside. They attempted to play outside the other day and came back in after only 5 minutes. Poor guys! Hopefully we can find more weather friendly activities to keep them busy soon.

Sorry, no pictures this time!

The soon to be Big Sister...

2011-06-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Emma is our baby girl right now. But pretty soon she'll be a big sister. She's got such spunk and personality. She's always keeping me on my toes!

Here she is playing with Dad's snowboarding goggles and my phone. She thinks she is such a big girl.

Here is the destruction she leaves everywhere. She loves the toilet paper. Sometimes I think she's worse than a cat. If you look hard, you can see the evil look on her face in the background....

Here she is with her big sister Kaylee. We spent the day at the beach at one of the State Parks in Colorado. It was so fun, but she didn't hesitate to keep me on my toes. She drank tons of lake water which led to an upset tummy.

Here she is walking around on the beach in her big brother's old Tigger towel, while carrying a squirt gun. She's so stinkin' cute. I just love her to bits and pieces.

And here is her new little sister... Twila.

I just know Emma will be a great big sister, but it's still hard to imagine my baby girl being a big girl. We are all excited to welcome Twila into the world. We can't wait to see what she'll look like!

A New Beginning

2011-06-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how much I love my little kiddos. They brighten my day, and keep me on my toes. I am so excited to add our newest addition to these cuties. We have come up with a name for her, and it seems just right. Here are some pictures of the kids eating their favorite summer fruit- WATERMELON!!

Crew kept closing his eyes for the pictures, so this is how he looked when I told him to try and keep his eyes open. Such a funny kid!

Emma has the cutest smiles ever. She's such a fun loving, crazy monkey girl.

My big hearted, sweetie pie. Kaylee is growing up so much. She is really excited to have a new sister, and can't wait to be a big helper.

We have a fun park next to the park we are at right now. It's got a splash pad and all the kids love it. We like to go there and spend several hours playing in the water, swinging, and playing on the slides with water guns.

Emma walking around the park with a bag full of goldfish. By the time I caught up to her she practically finished the whole bag!

Kaylee's favorite thing at the park are these little swivel chairs. They spin her around so fast, and she laughs the whole time!

Crew warming up on the giant fish. The water that comes out of the fountains is really really cold! And when it's not really hot outside it can be pretty chilly.

Just a few more weeks till we get to meet our new little girl. I can't wait to give her hugs and kisses and neither can the kids.

We Did It!

2011-05-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

It's been over 8 months since we moved from Arizona and hit the road in our trailer. We survived Tornado alley in Kansas, and a super frigid winter in Denver, Colorado.

Now we are moving again! It's not a far move, just a little more north to Boulder, Colorado for the summer. We are so excited to enjoy a cool summer and to welcome our newest edition.

We spent Easter in Arizona with the family. I also was able to go to one of my best friend's weddings and hanging out with some old friends from high school. Here are a few pictures.

Since Easter weekend was also Crew's 4th birthday we decided to celebrate that too! He really wanted to fly in a plane, so we all flew to Phoenix from Denver. It was all three of their first times to fly in a plane and they were so excited and had a blast.

Krystal and I waiting for the wedding to start!

The newlyweds!

The three amigas! Me, Melissa, and Krystal! I am so so so glad that I was able to make it to this special night! {27 weeks pregnant}

The Easter Bunny made it to Phoenix AND Denver! Kaylee and Crew checking out their loot!

Emma on the big egg hunt! She really got into it, and once she found out there was candy inside, she stopped looking for eggs and started eating the candy!

Crew has really been into Legos lately so he wanted a GIANT Lego cake for his birthday. So this is what I made him! I am pretty sure he loved it!

I know Emma sure loved it!

Oh and by the way... Crew says that for his 5th birthday he wants to jump out of a plane with a parachute. Yup...he's a thrill seeker, just like his daddy!

Action Shots

2011-04-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Chris is back in Kansas for the next few weeks and we are missing him tons. We would be there with him if I hadn't put Kaylee into school here in Colorado. Since Chris has been gone Crew learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! We got it on video so Dad could see him in action.

Kaylee seems to have grown up over night. She has big girl teeth and an attitude to boot. She will do just about anything for a quarter (take out trash, pick up toys, dishes etc.) , and that makes my life a whole lot easier! She is doing awesome in her new school. Kaylee has been on green since she started back in January (good behavior), and Chris and I told her she will get a special prize if she continues that way for the remainder of the year. She gets perks for her good behavior at school like getting to eat lunch with her teacher (only 1st graders think that's cool), and special notes home that we post proudly. She just got an award at school for being Responsible and Safe, and we are so proud of her. She also just started Girl Scouts, and she is loving that.

Crew is going to be 4 at the end of the month and I am having trouble grasping that idea. He is still so small and sweet. But he is soo funny for his age. He knows how to get a smile out of everyone. We knew it wouldn't take him long to master riding a bike without training wheels, and it only took two tries. Now he rides down hills, thru the grass, and slams on his brakes to a skid-ing halt. He is also a big helper around the house and loves spending time with Emma while Kaylee is at school. He asks about his new baby sister all the time and when she will come out. He can hardly wait.

News Flash!! Emma started walking a couple weeks ago. Now we can't get her to sit down! She is saying so much, and misses her daddy A LOT! She is full of spunk and attitude. She's also very smart. She figured out how to get things she can't reach, she pulls around the step stool and climbs! Nothing is off limits now...oh boy! She loves going to the park and playing on the big kid equipment. She climbs up the stairs and will slide down the big slides with no hesitation and a giggle to finish. She also loves the swings, and will sit there for hours if I let her.

I am doing good, just brewing a baby girl and keeping the kids alive. I'm still in a good phase of the pregnancy where I'm not sick anymore and not too big to be uncomfortable. I still go to the gym 3-4 times a week and work out with a girl who is 37 weeks pregnant! She's pretty much my inspiration to keep going!

It's a Girl!

2011-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've made an "official" announcement about the fact that we are expecting baby number 4 in July. So here goes...

We are expecting baby number 4 on July 23rd!!

Baby number 4 just so happens to be another GIRL!!

(22 & 4/7 weeks)

Now you know!

:)

Snow Days

2011-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

We have become quite the snow bunnies here in Colorado. The weather here is very different from Arizona. It can be a warm sunny 68 degrees one day and two days later it's 3 degrees and snowing. After a good snow storm the kids are itching to go out and play...

I shoveld our driveway and the kids and I piled the snow to make a snowman. It took us a good 30 minutes to get it piled and shaped into this little midget. Then Crew says to me, "Now can we make the mom and dad snowman?" HA! I told him to go right ahead!

There's our little house in the midst of the snow... I think two or three days later we got plowed with another 7 inches...it was crazy!

There was lots and lots of powdery snow coming down since the tempurature was way below zero. It covered everything in this wonderful white fluff. This is the tree just outside our trailer... beautiful!

We took the kids sledding at a hill just by our place and it was so much fun. Here is Emma standing up! She is thisclose to being a full time walker (finally)!! She stands up and takes a few steps on her own, it's so cute.

Emma and Dad after a ride down the hill. Emma loves the snow!

Here is Crew and me about to go down. Notice his eyes shut tight? He was excited to go down, and even went down two times all by himself, but every time his eyes were shut tight!

The night before all this I made some jalapeno poppers and stupidly used my fingers to de-seed the peppers. It took 3 days for the oils of pepper to get out of my fingers and I couldn't put my contacts in, hence the goofy glasses...

Kaylee took Crew down the hill a couple of times, and they both went flying each time! They plowed into the snow, got up, smiled, laughed, and walked back up the hill. They are troopers!

Emma's favorite thing is getting a sled ride on her tummy.

Xtreme Kids

2011-02-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

Last month I took the kids to St. George so I could go on a cruise with Tasha. While I was there the kids spent alot of time with Elyza and Cohen. They got to test ride their new bikes that they got for Christmas.

Kaylee was super excited to ride. They got all geared up and rode around Becca and Alan's backyard.

It took Kaylee a little getting used to it, but she finally got the hang of it, and loved riding the motorcycle.

Crew was dying to ride. I was a little too nervous to let him ride the motorcycle since we haven't taken him officially off training wheels yet, so I let him ride the quad.

This kid is nuts behind the wheel! I couldn't stop laughing because he rides just like his dad, reckless! Alan nearly dove on top of Crew to try and stop him from driving full speed into the side of the house, but Crew turned the wheel last minute and saved it, and acted like it was no big deal... just like dad...

Emma just watched on the sidelines, no riding for her. This picture was actually taken at the park near our house here in Colorado... she's so dirty, but you gotta love the girl!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

I know Christmas was awhile ago, so I am way behind on a few posts. I just wanted to let you know that although we are living in cramped quarters, we still managed to have a very Merry Christmas! I was only able to bring along a small 3 foot LED optical-lit Christmas tree, but we sure rocked it!

I didn't bring along our stockings, so the kids put out some fun socks of mine... (they were clean) Emma sure enjoyed getting a few little candies and her first tooth-brush!

Have you ever seen footage of a trailer park after a tornado has struck? Well that's basically what it looked like inside our trailer after the kids went nuts on their Christmas presents.

We were swimming in tissue and wrapping paper. It was a blast, and everyone got some cool stuff. Crew and Kaylee got some sweet scooters, and Emma got a new baby doll and stroller. Chris got a few gift cards, and a new Xbox game. I got an awesome new camera that I LOVE!

We had a simple breakfast of cereal and got all geared up to go sledding in the snow. There wasn't much snow around us so we headed to the mountains. We were so excited to use our new gear that we got for Christmas!

Here are the kiddos all ready to head out. We packed up a few sandwiches, crackers, cheese, some fruit and of course a lot of hot chocolate. We hit the road not really knowing where we were going. And 4 and a half hours later we decided we didn't plan properly and we would attempt to find snow another time... but it was a great car trip! We just enjoyed seeing parts of Colorado we hadn't seen yet, singing songs, and joking around in the car. It was a great Christmas!

Happy Birthday Emma!

2010-12-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

Last week my baby turned 1! I think Emma could tell it was her special day. From the moment we woke up we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She smiled, danced and clapped her little hands while we did. We waited till the night when Chris got home from work to celebrate. I made dinner, and we ate cake.

At first she didn't really know what to do. All of this cake for her?? She kept looking at me for approval. With much encouragement from all of us, she slid the cake toward herself and sunk her little hands into it.

She sat there like that for a minute, then slowly put her face right into the cake. Classic.

By the time she was done, it was a mess. But she had so much fun we didn't care.

Her next favorite thing to do is take a bath, so that was on the list of activities right after the cake. (For more reasons than one).

Once she was all spic-n-span and smelling cuddly like babies do, we showed her her presents. She climbed on top of them and claimed them as hers. Then Crew showed her how to open them, and it was a whole new world.

I think she will do just fine come Christmas morning! She enjoyed opening her presents, and playing with all her new toys.

Happy Birthday little squeaker! You sure are a handful, but one of the cutest handfuls I've ever seen! We love you so much and are so blessed to have your spirit and light in our lives.

Naughty or Nice

2010-12-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

We went to see Santa at the mall today. Kaylee informed me that it is not "the real" Santa. I confirmed that he is just one of Santa's helpers who reports back to "the real" Santa on whether you have been naughty or nice {and also what present you would like}. The set up they have here in Colorado is amazing. It's sort of like a "fast-pass" at Disney Land. You check in, they give you a time to come back, and when it's your time you see Santa. No long lines and kids going crazy! I loved it. Much more enjoyable!

This was the photo that was taken with Santa. I had to choose between three different ones. The first one Emma wasn't looking at the camera, Crew was smiling, and Kaylee was doing something funny with her arm. The second one all three of them weren't looking at the camera (pretty sure they were looking at me {oops}). The last one is the one I picked. I feel bad because Kaylee looks like she doesn't want to be there at all. But I promise she was the most excited one. Emma is just happy to be out of the stroller, and totally loving the balloon snowman she got from the elves.

This is our family photo that we got taken while we were in Utah for Thanksgiving. It's going on our Christmas cards, so if you want one of these beauties in your very own home, just let me know!! Aren't we a handsome bunch??

I have tons of pictures to post of Emma's birthday. She was such a sweetie for her big day. I love that girl! Can't believe she's already one!

I'm still alive...

2010-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

I just wanted you to know that.

It's been a crazy last few weeks. We spent time with family in Utah, and Arizona over the Thanksgiving holiday. We moved from Kansas to Colorado. The kids and I just barely got into Denver yesterday and we are trying to adjust to the cold weather. Emma refuses to wear socks. So I got a few comments from the locals today when I went to get some groceries. What do ya do? Just a couple more days and she'll be one, where does the time go?

I'll have more details to blog about soon. I still have so much to sort out with the move, and catching Kaylee up with school. Gotta love the trailer life!

Along came Mr. Alligator...

2010-11-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

This Halloween was different than any Halloween my kids have ever experienced. It was COLD! We celebrated our Halloween on Wednesday at the ward's Trick or Trunk. It was cold, windy, and dark. I was not able to get any good pictures of the kids due to these circumstances. But have no fear- I have plans of dressing them up and getting some good pictures soon. (Who doesn't love to dress up and take pictures?)

We did however go to the little zoo here the week before Halloween. They were having a Halloween thing, where kids dressed up and got candy. It was warmer. It was nice actually, mid 70's- beautiful! It's crazy how fast the weather changes! Here is our little Wonder Woman Emma. She is getting so big!

I recently took her to a doctor for an ear infection and they weighed her in at 17 pounds. She's a little on the small side (like all of our kids), but they measured her head (twice) and she has one big brain in there! She was in the 95% for her head size! Yup, she's a smarty! A petite smarty to be exact.

**I had to mention this before I forget**

This morning while eating breakfast Kaylee and Crew were talking about alligators and crocodiles. Kaylee said that they were the same thing and I told her about the difference in their snouts. Crew said, "yeah, and they can climb trees too." I paused, looked at him questioningly, and was about to correct him when he said, "they snap monkeys out of the trees!" I almost fell out of my seat laughing! We sing that Mr. Alligator song by the campfire all the time! Kids are so cute!

Family Happenings

2010-10-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

So we have just been busy doing the usual. I teach Kaylee her school, we play outside, go fishing tons, play around the campfire, and eat tons of yummy food! We took these pictures last Sunday after church. Just wanted to show you how cute these kids are!

I just want to point out that the camper behind us is not out camper. It is our friend's camper who just so happens to be taking our picture. We should have taken it in front of ours, but oh well. I still think they all turned out pretty good.

Heads up on Halloween!! We got our costumes, and we are all ready. The kids have been playing in them already so I had to put them up so we can still get some good pictures for the big day. I'm really excited, cause they all look sooo darn cute, especially little Emma!! How fun!! Can't wait to share!!

Kaylee turns 6!

2010-10-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

I guess Kaylee turned 6 two weeks ago, but I wanted to share what we did. First of all, she was so excited when she started getting all sorts of birthday cards and packages in the mail. She just felt so important. Every time we stop at the post office now she asks if she got anything!
For her birthday we spent the day driving to Kansas City (a two hour drive... that took more like 3). My gps took us the wrong way and we ended up passing a Cabella's, you know we had to stop for Chris! We didn't tell Kaylee where we were going, just that we had a surprise for her. So when we stopped at Cabella's she said, "Is this my surprise??" ...Not quite.

We found our way to the nearby mall where there was a Build-A-Bear Workshop. She had been talking about going there for months, and she was beyond excited when we let her pick out whatever she wanted.

She ended up with a cute pink bear named Alexis. She even picked out a birthday shirt for the bear and a pillow and sleeping bag! All ready for camping!

We had a fun BBQ over at one of Chris' buddies campsite and brought a cake. I still can't believe how old she is! She is growing up too fast! We are so blessed to have such a sweet little girl.

I caught this on camera, and I don't know why but it makes me crack up every time I look at it! Crew is really turning into a little ham! He is hilarious, and always makes the everyone laugh. We love him too... he's a keeper!

And then there is our little squeak-squawker Emma. She is climbing on everything now! She can climb up the little stairs in our trailer (just can't go down them yet), and she pulls herself up on anything she can reach. Her favorite thing to do is stand up by the shoe box that holds all our shoes and start pulling them out one by one.

She also just got her first two teeth in! She will chomp down on your finger so fast! It can be painful for such a little girl! I love this picture of her...she is sporting all things in which I have made for her! Leggings, Onesie, Headband, and Flower! Soo cute!

We have been really enjoying this new life style. It's amazing how stress free it really is. The weather is significantly different from Phoenix, but we are managing. We have already pulled out our winter clothes, and turn on the heater every night. Seeing as it's only the beginning of October, I am curious to see how we will survive much longer!

Down the Road...

2010-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

We made it to Kansas safe and sound. It's green...really green. We are in a really small town that is just a 15 minute drive from a small town. It's very quaint, and cute, and I love it!

Where we are staying the Wi-fi connection (or lack there of) plain ol' stinks! So we went with a Verizon card, and the phone reception here stinks too! Go figure! That's why you're only getting one photo right now (it took me 30 minutes...you should feel lucky!) We drive daily into the town nearby, and visit the public library to mooch off their free Wi-fi, and quiet atmosphere for Kaylee's school. So far everything is just great!

The drive to Chris' work is less than ideal, so next week after Labor day we are moving closer. That's one benefit of living in a trailer I guess! This time I am not even stressed about the move at all!

The kids love where we are at, Chris loves the fishing, and I love having everyone together. We are truly happy, and extremely blessed to be a family again. :)

A Big Move.

2010-08-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

I don't really have much spare time these days.

You see, we have just decided to pack up our whole family and go on the road with Chris.

We are leaving within the next two weeks.

Watch out Kansas....here we come!

{please send all your sanity my way, I'll be needing as much as I can get}

The Nutty Scientist!

2010-08-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

This year we have decided to keep Kaylee at home and do an online school. With Chris traveling alot, we thought it would be easier so we could go visit him without pulling Kaylee out of school.

We have finished Day Two, and it's awesome!

Today for Science, Kaylee learned about the Scientific Method. So we held a little experiment where she got to practice the Scientific Method on a bunch of nuts!

She's totally loving the goggles (completely not necessary, but it's fun). Crew on the other hand...not loving that there is only one magnifying glass.

After smelling, touching, tasting, measuring, grouping and classifying, Kaylee drew her conclusions of the nuts. She is soo smart, and I am loving that I am able to teach her. We had two "ah-ha!" moments today where I could literally see it just click with her, and that was amazing! She is loving this too!

Not to be forgotten, Crew is learning to write too. He is doing really well, and loves when he gets his "school time." Emma, is army crawling around, and she practically schools everyone else in cute-ness.

Summer Happenings...

2010-07-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

This summer has been pretty relaxed. We just got back from St. George last week, and we had a blast. It's so fun to visit family. Kaylee simply adores all her cousins, and tells everyone about it. Crew loves playing with his boy cousins, cause he's tired of playing Littlest Pet Shop and Princess. Emma just loves the attention she gets from her adoring fans.

Our sweet Emma is growing fast. She's not crawling yet, but she can get where she wants by rolling and shimmy-ing herself there. She is a happy baby that is known to smile at everyone. It's funny when we go out and random people will get a kick out of the fact that she smiles and laughs at them (little do they know that she does it for everyone). If she's not laughing and smiling, she's sleeping. And that's just as cute!

Ahh yes... the many faces of Crew. This is his go-to face when the camera gets pulled out. He is such an amazing little swimmer! He can swim to the bottom, and just about anywhere he wants now. All without assistance! He loves going swimming, and he also loves playing outside. It's blazing outside, but I let the kids play (with water bottles and hats) until they can't take it any longer. Seems to get them to bed a little earlier.

Kaylee is my little mamma! She loves taking care of her little brother and sister. She is doing great swimming, next summer we are going to try the swim team! She has a current obsession with "The Neverending Story 2," it's really weird. She is starting to like the science-fiction stuff. I am going to start reading the Harry Potter books to her and Crew at night. She is starting 1st grade in just two weeks and she's already counting down the days. Today she told me, "Mom, just 13 more days till school starts!"

So that's what's going on here!

Before and After.....again!

2010-07-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have come to the end of another weight-loss competition. The first time I came away victorious, this time, I was up against some stiff competition and only placed 6th. I am still happy with my weight-loss. I wanted to lose another 10-15 pounds, and I am proud to say that I lost 11.

It's a tad embarrassing to show my before picture, but what they heck, ya'll saw me back then anyways. I went from a size {barely squeezing into} 12, to an extremely comfortable 4. {I might be bragging slightly}

I am tempted to continue with the weight-loss, or maybe just continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly and just see what happens. Needless to say, I feel great. I am extremely happy with my results.

Sweet Giveaway!

2010-07-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I am doing a little Giveaway on

"I Wash...You Dry"!

Check it out here! Don't forget to tell your friends!

Hurry because it ends next Monday (7/11) at midnight!!

Oh Happy Day!

2010-07-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

I know it's late in the day....{alright it's just one more hour till July 5th}, but I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day! I am so happy to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me....{everyone join in!!} So I'll gladly stand up....ok ok...

Anywho, it's also my sister Heather's Birthday! SO..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

I made her an awesome cake that you just have to check out! But I posted it to my yummy food blog at:

http://www.iwashyoudry.blogspot.com/

{but you can click here for the direct link to it if you don't want to browse the whole blog}

So go there and look at it!

Have a Happy Day!!

Update on Summer 2010

2010-06-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on here. Becca came to visit, but I somehow never got my camera out to document it. We had a great time! Thanks Becca!

Crew is growing up so fast. He talks sooo much and tells me how it is all the time. He is obviously 100% boy; jumping off the couch, motorcycle noises, dirt, bugs, you name it!

The other day I walked into the garage and Kaylee and Crew were looking at the wall. I said, "what are you looking for?" Kaylee said, "There was a big bug!" Crew says, "Don't worry Kaylee, I will crush it with my shoe. Just go sit over there, I will take care of it." {Ahh- my little man is soo brave!}

Emma is 6 1/2 months old now, she rolls everywhere, but refuses to use her abs long enough to stay sitting by herself. She'll get there soon enough! For now I enjoy her baby-cute-ness.

We have been BBQ-ing alot lately. It's so great with our new pool and huge backyard. I don't know how Kaylee manages to eat corn on the cob without any front teeth, but she does! She's super excited to start 1st grade in the fall and tells everyone all about it.

We just visited Chris in Texas for Father's Day and enjoyed his company. We miss him so much and can't wait for him to come home! Love you Daddy!!

Backyard Swimming

2010-06-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

We got a swimming pool for our backyard this summer (and hopefully for many summers to come). It's awesome because now I don't have to lug all three kids and all of our stuff to the city pool and be worried that they will some how be out of my reach in an emergency. It's a circular pool, 15 feet in diameter, and 4 feet high, perfect for our little family!

Don't worry, Emma is not floating alone in that little baby float behind the kids, she's sitting on my hip while I take pictures!

I'll be floating on this raft alot this summer!! Gettin' my tan on! Oh yeah!

Join my Swap!!

2010-06-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am hosting a Summer-Time Swap on my food blog
I Wash...You Dry !!

Check it out and join in on the fun!

The cut-off to join is June 11th, so hurry up and get over there!

Memorial Day Camping

2010-06-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend Chris was able to get the weekend (and then some) off! We packed up Saturday morning and drove up north to beat the heat! We found a nice camp area in Kelly Canyon (near Flagstaff). We enjoyed tall trees, cool breezes, camp fires, smores, forts, naps in the shade, hikes and creeks, and of course good food!

Emma loves being outside, so do the other kids.

Emma rode in the hiking backpack and she loved it! We actually would just put her in it and let her sit there while we did other things like build awesome forts!

This was Kaylee's first fort, and she did great! Dad built the frame with Kaylee's input and guidance, and Kaylee gathered pine needles and placed them as high as she could reach.

Kaylee was all ready to sleep in her fort over night, until it got dark, and then she got scared...(we kind of knew that would happen) So she slept in the tent with us in the end!

It took us awhile to find the path, but we found a trail down to the bottom of Kelly Canyon where there was a small creek.

We showed the kids how to skip rocks, but they mostly enjoyed throwing sticks in the creek to see if they floated.

One of our small propane tanks ran out, so we ended up building a small fire and grilling our chicken over the hot coals. Dad showed Kaylee how to start a fire, keep it going, and even how to cook the chicken. Here she is basting the chicken in bar-b-q sauce.

A little cramped on the table (we left the other table at home), enjoying our dinner! It was a great trip, very relaxing, and we can't wait to do it again soon!

Weekend Plans

2010-05-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend we made spur of the moment plans and decided to drive to El Paso to see Chris. It was a really low-key weekend, mostly just relaxed at his apartment, went swimming, did a little bbq, and just enjoyed spending time with daddy!

Today on our way home from Texas we stopped in Safford for a little lunch and a break from driving. I wasn't able to go to the Temple Dedication this last Sunday because we were in Texas, but we were still able to enjoy it's beauty today.

It's located right beside a nice church building with loads of grass that was being watered...so my kids did what they instinctively do, and played like little monkeys!

It was a great break from the drive, and we got right back on the road and made it home in no time!

What a fun little trip! We are so blessed!

Intro to Summer 2010!

2010-05-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Let the summer fun begin!!

Grandma Toliver got Crew a Buzz Lightyear sprinkler toy for his birthday and the kids tried it out...success! I can tell that this is going to be a fun summer!!

St George Triathlon

2010-05-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I travelled to St. George to compete in the St. George Triathlon. I have done several triathlons before, but they were the sprint distance. I decided to push my limits this time and do the Olympic distance. It is essentially twice the length of a sprint triathlon.

I brought my camera, but of course it never made it out of my bag. Luckily my brother-in-law brought his camera and snapped a few pics of me finishing.

Here I am just after sprinting to the finish line. During the whole race I was going back and forth with this other girl (number 397...never found out her name). It came down to the end, we were neck and neck, and she started to take off. I couldn't let her just beat me like that so we were flat out sprinting. I barely beat her by 1 tenth of a second! It was great! Although I felt like I was going to pass out after that!

My other brother-in-law Jesse competed too! This was his first time and he did so good! We met up at the finish line and snapped some pics.

After you are done they have tons of food that is just ready for consumption... I always eat the oranges because for some reason it's like my body is craving them! I think I did pretty good for my first Olympic distance, especially since I only trained for two weeks. Here is the break down of what you have to do:

1 mile swim (25.31 min.) 20 mile bike (1:17) and 10K run (1:03).

There are also transition times between the swim and bike and the bike and run... my total time was...

drum-roll please....

2:52.10!

Yes, that is nearly 3 straight hours of non-stop working out! But honestly it was not that bad and pretty enjoyable! I am excited to do another one soon!

So proud to call them mine!

2010-05-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Today Chris was still in Texas, so it was just me and the kids. Woke up early, had some breakfast and just hung out till church. I was most excited to go to church because I had made the girls dresses that matched. I can't believe how cute my kids are... well I guess I can, they come from a good lookin' gene pool! Any-who, we took some pictures after church... enjoy!

Kaylee twirling around in her new dress! Her toothless grin --- priceless!

Crew always saying "cheese" just a little too late... how cute!

Emma getting so big! I love how much she smiles!

I just thought this was fun, we get out of church so late that the sun was already setting.

Yummy!

2010-05-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

I started my very own food blog! If you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with food! Check it out and follow me there for great recipes, ideas and tips! Thanks guys!

http://www.iwashyoudry.blogspot.com/

Summer is quickly approaching!

2010-05-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

In less than 3 weeks we will officially start summer vacation! What am I going to do with all these kids!? I would like to start a schedule that's for sure! So I am wondering what everyone else does with their kids for the summer?

Here are some things I would like to incorporate:
Swimming (going to the city pool at lease once per week)
Movie (Summer Movie pass at Harkins...what day will you go?)
Craft Day (I could use some good ideas for this!! I found a fun one to try here)
Park Day (It's too hot in the summer to play at the actual park but, McDonald's play place and Chick-fil-A will work just fine)
Field Trip Day?? (Would it be too much to plan a trip to somewhere fun? Museum, Library, Science Center etc..)

Ok, give me your ideas!! If you want to join me in my little adventures that would be awesome!! The more kiddos the better!!

Animals on the loose!

2010-04-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

We were invited to go with my lovely sister and her family to the Phoenix Zoo. It was a beautiful day, and all the kids had a great time! We saw so many different animals. I think the Orangutan Apes were my favorite exhibit. They were so cute!

Speaking of cute... these two are my little monkeys and here they are gazing at the Giraffes.

Of course Uncle Mark bought them a snow cone to share, and that took priority over the animals for awhile...

This was hilarious! We stopped by this monkey exhibit so Heather could change Mackenzie and this monkey walked right up to the window and sat behind Heather. It stared at her for like 3 minutes! It attracted a crowd of people...we think something was in her hair and the monkey wanted to groom her! hehe jk!

You can't forget about my sweet baby Emma! She spent most of her time cruising in the stroller, but made it out for the petting zoo. Isn't she getting so big!?

Speaking of getting big... Crew turned 3! This is our ghetto-fabulous trip to McDonald's (his fav joint) for some pancakes! (yes, I brought the strawberries, whip cream, and candles) (he loves strawberries).

LOL, this was supposed to be a giant cookie in the shape of 3...only it turned out more of like a blob. Oh well, it still tasted yummy, and Crew enjoyed it!

I still can't believe my little guy is already 3. He's grown up so fast, but he's still my little boy. He still has such a tender side to him, but he is definitely getting to be more wild and crazy. He still loves to snuggle so I take advantage of that when ever I can! I love you buddy, Happy Birthday!

I DID IT!

2010-04-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

I finally did it! I am now 100% free of any "baby weight!" That includes all three of my babies!
You would think I would be over-joyed, but I am not quite there yet. My body doesn't look like it did before I started having babies (and it might never get there again). Keep in mind I got pregnant at 19, fresh off of being a Collegiate Swimmer, so I was in tip top shape.
Is it too much to want to look like that again? To be the same size I was back then? I am only one size away, and I feel like I can do it.
I've read about this before. Not being as satisfied with your results as you thought you would. Hopefully I can get there soon.
.....better run, I hear Crew dragging a chair across the kitchen to reach some crackers in the cupboard!

Trains, Birthdays, and Easter!

2010-04-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was super busy, but packed with fun! We celebrated Crew's 3rd birthday a little early because we knew Chris would be in town. We drove up to Williams, AZ and boarded the Grand Canyon Railroad, and traveled to the Grand Canyon! As you can tell, it was a little chilly, but it was so beautiful! There was snow on the ground and you know the kids loved that!

Here we all are, Emma is hiding under my nice and warm vest!

Yes, the edge of the canyon is right there! This man behind me was like, "You are one brave mom!" No, my kids are just nuts! We hiked a paved trail along the rim of the canyon, and there were several nice lookouts. You could see clear down to the bottom of the canyon. We saw the Colorado River, and a few lone houses down there.

This was on the train ride back. We all took a nice nap this time. It was a neat experience to do this, and we are going to go back during Christmas time to ride the Polar Express!

This isn't the actual train that pulled us, it's just an older looking engine that was back in Williams. The train that we rode was built back in the 1950's I believe. We got a history lesson on the way to the Grand Canyon, but I wasn't paying too much attention, I was looking out the window! hehe..

My dear friend Jaymie made these wonderful Thomas the Train cupcakes for Crew's birthday. They were amazing! She can create cupcakes for any occasion, you should check out her blog!

We got home the day before Easter, so we were able to spend Easter with my family. The kids loved searching for eggs, and eating candy of course! We also celebrated my birthday as well. It was a fun weekend, and we are so greatful for the Savior and for the Atonement. We are so blessed to have all that we do, and we are eternally greatful.

Before and After...

2010-04-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the year I have been working hard to shed my baby weight, and even more weight than that. I started a Biggest Loser competition among family and friends, and the results were amazing for everyone. Here (sadly) is my before picture:

Now, here (proudly) is my after picture!!

(This picture will be my "before" picture next time!!)

I am so happy with my results, but I still want to lose more weight. If you want to join me again, I am starting a new competition on Friday April 16th- Friday June 9th. The buy in is only $20, but this time I am paying not only first place, but 2nd and 3rd! Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to join me!

Let the weight-loss begin!!

New business venture??

2010-03-25T23:12:00.001-07:00

I love making crafts. I love making useful crafts. I love to share my crafts with others.

(this is a bib I threw together with some scrap material... it's a cute idea, I just need to cut/sew it better)

The other day I was at Chick-fil-a when a lady came up to me and asked me if made my car seat cover... why yes, I did. She asked if she could get my info cause she wanted me to make her some! Ok!

While I was leaving the parking lot at Chick-fil-a, another lady came up and asked for my info cause she wanted one too. Ok!

Hmm... Should I make a business out of this? I have several ideas for baby gifts. Maybe this could just be something fun I love to do and make a little money on the side... Bonus!

Texas, Camping, and Utah!

2010-03-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been crazy for the Syphus family! The kids and I travelled to El Paso, Texas to see Chris one weekend. It was Emma's first time to take a long car trip and she did great! Kaylee and Crew enjoyed the dvd player... the whole way... (I have almost all the Dora and Diego movies we own memorized now!) We were able to see Chris on his 31st birthday! I can't believe that he's already that age! It seems like just yesterday I met him in his prime of 23 years! That just means that I am getting old too, but we wont go there!

(just look at how hot he still is!! Love you baby!)

The weekend was great, minus the stomach flu Crew and I got. It's hard being away from Chris, and the kids really miss their daddy. He was able to come home last weekend, but that was the first time he had been home for a whole month! We are going to need to do something about this!

The following weekend from our Texas trip the kids and I drove out to Whitney Pockets. It was our annual Syphus Family camping trip, and we weren't going to miss it! Again, Emma's first camping experience and she did marvelous! I really wish I had more pictures, but my camera battery died.

I hardly saw Kaylee and Crew because they were off playing on those giant boulders in the background. They loved seeing all their cousins and aunts and uncles. We were only able to manage the camping trip with the help of the family, and we are so thankful for them all!

(See that tall mountain behind the big boulders? Yeah, Jesse, Laura and I hiked that!)

After camping for two nights we headed back to St. George. We only planned to stay a night or two, but had so much fun we ended up staying 5! While in St. George we went ice skating, out to dinner a few times, worked out several times, and I even got away with Becca to see a movie! We met with Grandma and Grandpa Syphus which was really special, and of course spent lots of time with family!

Chris has such an amazing family, and I know we are so blessed to be a part of it. I really love them all!

Going Private!

2010-02-23T10:01:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! I don't know if there are too many of you out there that read my blog, but after careful consideration, I have decided to go Private! If you want to still be in the know about our family, and fun things we do, just leave me a comment with your email address and I will send you an invite. Thanks!

Horses, Forts, and Valentines

2010-02-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been loads of fun! My beautiful sister invited me and the kids to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. Knowing how much my kids love horses, we couldn't pass that up! While we were there we enjoyed watching all the horses, crafts, ice cream, and family fun.

Kaylee and Crew got to paint a ceramic statue of a horse.

Kaylee took her time and made sure everything was done just right.Crew slathered on the paint because he just wanted to play with the horse as soon as possible. Crew's horse suffered a leg injury on the way home, but nothing a little glue couldn't fix! (thanks dad!)

One night I walked into Kaylee and Crew's room to find they had taken all of their blankets and hung them from the loft bed to make a fort. It was pretty sweet, but they had to come down so they could sleep (it's still a little chilly at night). I had some curtains that someone gave me awhile back and I had an idea....

Voila! Instant fort! Kaylee keeps it closed day and night. She loves it. Crew is a little jealous that his bed isn't so "fort-ish", so I have to think of something to go over his bed. I have some ideas... I'll post pics if it turns out.

Here is our little angel!

She's such a sweetie, and again, growing like a weed! She is starting to "coo and ahh " alot and it's just adorable! Crew tries to mimic her sounds all the time and says, "Mom, Emma just said 'Ahhh'!" Like I wasn't sitting right next to him and didn't hear her say it myself! So funny!

Oh, and not to brag, but my wonderful husband made me a delicious King Crab dinner for Valentines Day, and got me not one, but TWO dozen roses! Beautiful!!

Dog pile in the living room! Emma even got in on that action!

What are YOU doing??

2010-02-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

We have been busy with life here.

Emma is growing at a rapid rate. I took her into the doctor at 7 weeks because I feared she might be getting a bad cold, only to find out that she is weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs. 9 oz! She's doing much better by the way. She loves to take baths and she always wakes up in the morning with a giggle and a smile. She's such a happy and content little girl. I think I am spoiling her cause I just love to hold and snuggle with her!

A few weeks ago we went to Scottsdale to the Train Park they have out there. It was really fun. The kids rode the carousel, and we all hopped on board the little train. Crew was in heaven! We also toured a train that President Roosevelt used to travel in. Pretty cool if you ask me! We want to do a train ride in Flagstaff one of these days and go to the Grand Canyon.

Just last week I threw a baby shower for one of my new friends in the ward, Kinslee. It was a surprise, so she had no idea when she walked in the door that everyone was there for her! It was a fun night, and I am happy to say she had her baby today and they are both doing great!

A few nights ago we went hiking as a family at the White Tank Mountains. Not too far from our house. It was a 2 mile hike, pretty easy, and there was a waterfall at the end! The kids had a great time. We are going to try and hike more of the trails they have at that park, see if we can hike them all!

Not the greatest picture of me, but I have to make one little comment. It has been 8 weeks since Emma was born, and I have officially worked off all my baby weight! Personal record! Now, I still have a goal to lose more weight, but I wanted to share how happy I am that I am on my way to a more healthy lifestyle! Love it!!

So Cute!

2010-01-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

I know it's hard to believe....but yes, she really is that cute!

Back to Normal!!

2010-01-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

I am loving that Kaylee is back in school, so I can get back on my normal schedule. Only problem is, Emma! She wasn't part of our "normal" schedule. We are having to re-write the book on "normalcy" here, and it's taking time.

For starters... laundry, laundry and more laundry! I didn't know adding one more tiny little human could add to the amount of time I spend huddled on the floor folding clothes. It's insane!

Then there are naps... or the lack of scheduled naps. We have yet to get Emma into the routine of naps, and Crew is on his way out of them! Mom could use a nap every once and awhile too you know!

Don't forget about exercising! Trying to get rid of the baby weight with three kids is almost impossible! (Almost). With Chris working out of town, I can't sneak off in the early morning for a stress free jog. I am forced to do workout videos in the living room and try really hard not to step on Crew who is also trying to do workout videos. Plus I have to stop frequently to calm Emma down if she's not having a good time watching.

Last thing I'll say is- dinner. It seems as soon as I have dinner hot and ready to go Emma pipes up and wants to be fed too. So everyone else eats a nice dinner while I feed her and then I get the cold leftovers. We are still working on the timing of this obviously.

Yup, we are far from a schedule around here, but everything feels good. I'm sure things will fall into place soon enough and we will be back to "normal."

Christmas Blessings

2010-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

I know it's already in the new year and my Christmas post is late, but I just wanted to share some pictures.

We had a great Christmas this year. We had family over to our new house on Christmas Eve for a Mexican Fiesta... it just might become a new tradition! Santa made it to our house late in the evening and left the kids some fun new toys.

Kaylee got a new bike which she wasn't too sure about at first (she couldn't reach the ground), but she has learned to ride like a champ and she loves it.

Crew got a new race track set which is constantly going here, so we are pretty sure he likes it.

Emma got a new bunny toy and a soft cuddly blanket. I got a new glider/rocker, but I think Emma was my Christmas present! Chris got a new game for his XBox, and we haven't seen him since! (jk)

2009 was a great year for us. We had our struggles and trials, but we are so blessed to also have the good times. We have grown so much, and we are learning new things every day.

To ring in the New Year we invited Chris' family and my family to the blessings of Kaylee, Crew and Emma. Kaylee and Crew never received their baby blessings, but it's never too late! We did all of them on Jan. 3rd, and it was so wonderful. The children did great and you could feel the spirit so strongly. It was such a blessing to have so much love and support for our little family. Thank you to all who came, and those who couldn't... we really missed you, but felt you in our hearts.

We are looking forward to 2010. I know I have set alot of goals for this year, and I can't wait to see what I can accomplish.

Biggest Loser Competition!

2009-12-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

I am starting a Biggest Loser Competition starting Friday, January 1, 2010!

The competition will go until Friday, April 2, 2010.

Just like the famous TV show (which starts again on Jan 5th), we will have a starting weight. Weekly weigh-ins on Fridays. And the biggest percentage of weight loss will win the CASH prize!

The cost to enter is just $10, but the real win is the weight-loss right?! (The money is just a nice incentive). Money needs to be to me by January 8, 2010 to enter!

Here are the details: January 1st you will weigh yourself and send me the number via email (I need this to calculate percentages). This is an honor system, so you will also weigh yourself every Friday and send me the weight loss/gain. I will send out a mass email to all the contestants with the current rankings and weekly percentage of weight loss. At the end of the competition whoever has the most TOTAL percentage of weight loss will win the CASH prize!

How you lose the weight is up to you. But if you find something that is working for you, share your secrets, or keep them to yourself for an advantage! This should be fun and a great way to get into shape for the New Year!

Send this to friends and family!! The bigger the competition, the bigger the CASH prize! Please be sure to email me if you plan on playing, and when you'll be sending the money. I will keep all the money in my safe (so I wont go buy a new outfit!! haha!!)

Things to remember...

2009-12-23T21:08:00.001-08:00

While changing Emma's diaper Kaylee says to me:
"I need to stop eating."
Me: "Why?"
Kaylee: "So Emma can catch up to me."
Me: "Oh! That's so sweet"
Kaylee: "Yup! She's my newest friend!"

I love them all.... I swear!!

2009-12-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't really updated on my other wonderful children lately, and I think I'll take a moment to do that right now.

Kaylee has been doing great in school. She had her Christmas Show at school on the 10th of December. Yeah, I was still in the hospital with Emma but Chris and Wendy were able to get her all dressed up and take her. I really wish I could have been there.

She loves to sing Christmas songs, and talk about Christmas all the time. She is really getting into the Christmas spirit. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning.

Crew is doing great too. He is talking so much!! He loves to sing the ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He can also count up to 20! I think Kaylee has helped him alot with that. He loves his little sister alot, but you can tell at some times he gets slightly jealous.

We are all getting over a little bug that went thru the whole family. It was hard having to deal with that and bringing home a new baby. Luckily it looks like we will all be better by Christmas. Emma didn't get sick so that is a blessing. She's doing wonderful. She's starting to do long stretches of sleep at night, and she's eating lots and it looks like she's growing. I wish she could stay small forever.

Chris and I just had our 6th Anniversary on the 20th of December. It was really low-key since we were sick. I don't mind just chillin at home cause everything has been so hectic lately. I am so lucky to be married to Chris, he is a hard worker and a great father and husband. It's crazy to think of all we've done and accomplished in just 6 short years. I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the next 6!

Emma Syphus

2009-12-14T16:13:00.000-08:00

It started early in the morning... well, at least it was suppose to. I was to be induced on Wed, Dec. 9th at 6 am. I called at 5 am as instructed, only to find out that there were no empty beds for me. I waited, and finally gave up waiting around the house, so we headed to the mall. I got the call to come into the hospital at 1:30pm, and Chris, Wendy (MIL), and I rushed over to the hospital to have a baby!

They got me going right away. I got stuck at 4-5 cm for awhile, but they started moving me from one side to the other, and that seemed to work. At about 8:45pm they put me on my back, but only for 20 min. I was at 5-6 cm at this point, but I started to feel alot of pressure. After the 20 min they checked me again and still just a 6! The nurse turned me over on my side and WHAM! I started feeling ALOT of pressure! I couldn't last more than 3 contractions before I made her come back in. Chris thought I was crazy, seeing as I was just at a 6 like 10 min before. The nurse checked, and sure enough, I was at a 10 and ready to go! The doctor got there in 10 min, and in 3 easy pushes....

Emma Syphus was born!

December 9th 2009

10:06pm (Chris swears it was actually 10:04pm)

8lbs 9oz. 20.5 inches.

She has tons of cute blond hair, and just looks so much like her older sister Kaylee. Both Kaylee and Crew absolutely love her, and just want to hold her every chance they get. She is still working on the sleeping thing, she thinks you are suppose to be awake at night and sleep all day... we're working on it (for mom's sake)!!

Welcome to the family Emma!!

One last time...

2009-12-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

Alright, things have been really fun around here lately. We have been doing alot! We went to this little fair at the Surprise Park and watched as sky divers landed in lit-up suits! We went with some new friends from our new ward and the kids had a blast.

Chris and I worked on fixing the Heater in his truck and also replaced his shocks. It's amazing how much a difference those things make! It's so nice to have a handy husband like Chris cause he really saves us so much money by his repair work. (I guess I should also thank his dad for teaching him how to be so handy...Thanks!).

Crew is officially potty-trained! It's been so nice to not have to change diapers for the past few weeks... but now I will have to start that right up again once the baby is born. Oh well!

We are all moved in and comfy in our new place, and I love the neighborhood. There are tons of kids for our kids to play with. I love our new ward, everyone is just so nice and friendly.

Now, it's finally time for our new girl to arrive. We have been patiently waiting, and tomorrow I am scheduled to get induced. Wendy (my mother-in-law), is going to be visiting and helping out, and we are all really excited about that. So the next time I make a post there will be pictures, and a good story, I promise!!

Tick Tock....Tick Tock

2009-11-25T20:48:00.001-08:00

Still waiting...

I know I can go into labor any day, and that kinda freaks me out. But what I just realized today is that I am definitely going to be having this baby within the next two weeks! My doc said he'd let me get induced Dec. 8th, and that's not too far away! Physically I am ready, mentally... that's another story. I'm starting to wonder if I will be able to handle three children. I guess I will just take it one day at a time, like any other mom would. And pray... always pray!

Still waiting...

Really??!! {Baby Update}

2009-11-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

On Monday I went to the doctor, who told me that I might be delivering sooner than I thought! I am already dilated to 2cm at just 35 weeks! I had to cancel our plans of going to Utah for Thanksgiving which is a total bummer. Chris is currently working in Texas, and should be home for the weekend, but then he's out of town again after that. It's slightly stressful to think that I might have to do this on my own. I will keep my friends and family informed if anything should happen! Wish us luck!

Serious Break though!

2009-11-15T14:35:00.001-08:00

Crew has been having serious difficulties with Nursery over the past 6 months I would say. He gets really panicky, cries ALOT, and wont stay in for long. We just moved into our new ward a few weeks ago and of course... no change. Today I was not feeling very good and just overall stressed out. I was not looking forward to the struggle of Nursery. This must have been apparent to Crew. I brought him in, he panicked, but still proceeded to go in. They eat snack first and I found a spot for Crew and sat him down. He observed the other crying children for a few minutes as I sat behind him waiting for him to start bawling. He put a goldfish cracker slowly into his mouth, turned to look at me and said, "You leave Mom. I'll be a good boy."

I almost lost it. I got up and walked for the door just about in tears. I love my son soooo much. He has the purest heart ever. I'm sure with me being ready to pop and hormones out of control, this is some-what of a serious break though, and to others not so much. I just wanted to share my proud parent moment so I will never forget how happy it made me.

Crazy Kids

2009-11-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

Crew and his craziness. They got into some markers, so that's why Crew is sporting spots on his forehead. And then there's Kaylee...attention hog! Gotta love those crazy kids!!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween was so much fun!

We carved pumpkins the night before. Kaylee and Crew got their own pumpkins to clean out. Kaylee did a great job, but Crew didn't want to put his hands in the "yuckyness" of it. They each picked out their own design for the pumpkin and I spent hours carving them out. Worth it, they looked awesome!!

The kids are old enough this year to do all their own walking, and small enough to not want to walk FOREVER! My sister's family came over and enjoyed the night with us as well. Her boys passed out the candy so we could all go together and watch the kids have fun. Crew got freaked out at our neighbors house and ran home, but we convinced him it was ok and showed him it was just a boy in a mask. He kept telling us after each house, "that's scary!" He braved it the rest of the way. Crew was a frog this year, and I made Kaylee's costume, Tinkerbell. It turned out cute.

Kaylee's favorite thing she got was two pumpkin erasers (go figure). Crew was so excited that he had his very own bucket of candy.

Baby News

2009-10-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, just a quick update on the baby brewing in my tummy. I had a doctor's appointment today where I was to get an awesome 3D ultrasound with a DVD of the footage. Well, she wasn't wanting to cooperate. Her legs were in front of her face, and she even had one hand in front of her face too! Good news is that we get to try again next time!

For the second time the Ultrasound Tech asked me if my other kids were big, or if my husband was a big man! Well obviously they aren't! This little (or should I say big) girl is definitely on a different growth track than the other kids. At just 30 weeks she is already measuring at 4lbs 9oz! That's over 2 weeks ahead of schedule people!! As of right now she is also riding in the breech position. Hopefully she moves soon or else we might be facing a C-Section! Cross your fingers that she makes the dive soon!

Vegas Baby!!

2009-10-09T15:22:00.001-07:00

Literally... I went to Vegas go to a Baby Shower!! The other day I got to fly (first time in over 6 years) to Vegas to see my friend Marta. She and her husband, Chris (my Chris' best buddy) are having their first baby in November. We are super excited for them, and I didn't want to miss her first shower. It was a short trip (just one night), but we still managed to pack in alot of fun stuff. We ate some really good food (what else do pregnant women do?), we got mani/pedi's, and spent a lovely evening with her friends for her shower.

This trip felt sort of like my last hurr-ah before the baby comes. I wont be doing any traveling all by myself once she's made her grand entrance. It was nice to wake up on my own in the morning, and it was also nice not having to constantly remind kids to behave. I have to admit though, that I still missed the little buggers! I think that's just part of being a mom... it never leaves you!

We are so happy for our friends Chris and Marta, you guys will be amazing parents! We can't wait to finally meet little baby girl Tyler!

2009-10-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

A brief update on things going on in the Syphus Clan.

Kaylee just finished her 2nd month of Kindergarten, and I got to go to my first Parent/Teacher Conference. Mrs. Kelley says that she is doing great, with all A's except an 88% in reading comprehension (she probably gets that from me). She's doing amazing and I really love that school. Since we are moving in a few weeks Kaylee will be transferring schools, I am a little nervous about the change but I think Kaylee will do great.

Crew has come full circle with the "baby thing." He now takes care of Kaylee's baby doll while she is at school. He puts her down for naps, feeds her, and rocks her to sleep. I even caught him playing cars with the baby today.

Baby Girl is still growing. I have a 3D ultra sound scheduled and can't wait to see how much she has grown. She kicks me an awful lot, and it's starting to get really strong. I am convinced that this girl is going to be my biggest kid yet...

Chris is still working in Sedona, but it's coming to an end. I am excited to have him back home every night! He is enjoying his freedoms still by going out fishing almost every day after work.

I am still pregnant... and feeling like I am ready for this to be over with. I am excited to move into the new house and get everything ready for Baby #3. I am going on a short trip to Vegas for a friend's baby shower next week and I am so excited about that. My days right now are spent packing and resting. We are also spending at least 1-2 hours a day outside playing on bikes and going for walks. I love that the weather is cooling down.

This is a picture of our new place, come a few more weeks. It's pretty sweet inside, and the backyard is massive! I am so excited!

Milestones

2009-09-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Kaylee turned 5 the other day and we celebrated at Peter Piper Pizza. She had a blast with all the family. I think her favorite part of the day was when she got to spend all the tickets she won on whatever she wanted. Of course she also liked all of her new gifts, and the cake I made was "sooo yummy!"

Kaylee's new favorite thing right now is to ride her bike. She took the big leap (after much coaxing) to take her training wheels off. She was very determined to get it down, and it only took her 3 days of trying! She can now ride like a big girl.

I love you Kaylee, you are such an amazing daughter. You are so creative and thoughtful. You are the best big sister to Crew, and I know that you'll be just as great to your new sister. You are so smart and talented in all that you do. Happy Birthday sweet heart, I love you and your dad and brother love you too.

Open it!

2009-09-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Crew is not very into the whole, "new baby sister" thing yet. He knows he can't sit on my tummy anymore, or even poke it. I think he's starting to get curious. Today I asked him if he likes babies and he said yes. I asked him if he wanted a baby sister and he said yes. I pointed to my tummy and said that there is a baby sister in there. He pulled my shirt up to expose my bare belly and said, "open it!" He's so cute! I told him that she was not big enough yet and that she needed to stay in there until she was ready to come out. He just kept looking around my belly area for some sort of zipper I think...

Grand Canyon 2009

2009-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip to the Grand Canyon at North Timp Point. We spend 5 days and 4 nights on the edge of the canyon. It was so fun, I could seriously live out there! But you would have to bring me a toilet and shower! Our kids thrive in the wilderness, and I love that they are never bored, even when there aren't any toys to play with. I was a dork, and didn't really take too many pictures of the trip, but here are some of my favorites of the ones I did take.

Dirty faces!

Chris hates it when I try to take a picture of us like this... so of course he tries to turn away! We had a great time!

We almost had all the kids together at one time. Laura and Jessie's kids were sick so they left early... and Crew is not pictured here cause he was sleeping. This was in the awesome fort that the kids made, but mostly Sara and Amanda constructed.

Crew loved playing in the dirt with all the trucks and cars. He also loved playing with his little cousins on the trailer.

Kaylee rode a little 50 motorcycle with training wheels on it. She did great! I think we might have to get one of these!

I also went on a 3 mile hike with my mom and dad, brother and his son, Kaylee and Elyza. It was so fun, the kids had a great time walking and running together. The Grand Canyon is an amazing place to visit, I highly recommend it to everyone!

Fishing and Petroglyphs

2009-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday the kids and I drove up to Sedona to spend the night at the cabin and to do some fishing. I knew that we were going fishing, but I didn't know Chris had planned for us to do a little hiking too. Kaylee was still wearing her school tennis shoes, but Crew and I just brought flip flops. It was difficult in some spots, especially since Crew can't walk that fast, and we had to carry him over alot of stuff, but the pay-off was worth it.

Chris would get the fish hooked on the line and let the kids reel them in. They loved catching them and looking at them, but they refused to hold the fish to release it. It was really funny.

After hiking along the creek for awhile Chris took us to some petroglyphs.

They were amazing! I don't think too many people know about them cause they are so hard to get to.

So the last spot we were at, Chris was getting some good size fish, and Crew kept creeping closer and closer to the edge of the creek. I told Chris to keep an eye on him cause he could slip in really easily especially with those flip flops on! And sure enough...SPLASH!

Crew took a dive into the creek. Chris jumped in (it wasn't that deep, up to Chris' knees maybe) and pulled him out. He was ok, just scared and wet. We were about 1/2 mile from the truck and I decided that I would take Crew back to the truck and Chris and Kaylee could continue fishing.

It was a long walk back trying to hold Crew and his wet clothes and in flip flops to say the least! The trip was great, and definitely memorable!

OCD or just too cute?

2009-08-27T09:19:00.001-07:00

Crew and his obsession with cars. No matter where we are in the house, couch, table, bed, computer room, or even bathroom, he brings his cars with him. One by one he will line them up, drive them around, and make all sorts of cute car noises. This is what it's like when I am on the computer trying to facebook or blog...

He's so darn cute! I love his little personality!

Not to mention my little kindergartner... she's REALLY cute! She's doing soo good at school. I love the curriculum that they have at her school. She is learning so much, but is already so far ahead of schedule thanks to her awesome Preschool! They have taken several tests at school for Phonograms and she has gotten 100% on all of them! We are just so proud of her!

She is also doing so much at home that it's crazy to think she's still only 4 years old! She makes her own bed now, folds and puts away her own laundry, brushes her teeth without being told to, cleans up her toys, takes her own shower... We really feel blessed to have such an amazing little girl. Next month she will turn 5, and she can't wait.

Washing the Pillow

2009-08-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is what we go thru every time we wash Crew's beloved pillow cases. As you can see, we only wash them when it is necessary.

Coincidence or Destiny?

2009-08-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

The other day I was driving in the car and thinking about the baby I am having in December. It got me thinking about my mom, then my grandma and all of a sudden it hit me, there is something strange going on here! Let me explain...

When my Grandma was 25 years old she had her 3rd child, which was a girl.

That girl, who is my Mom, was 25 years old when she had her 3rd child, which was a girl.

That girl, me, is now 25 and having my 3rd child...which is a girl!

I can't wait to have this girl and get a picture of the 4 generations that make up this crazy situation! That will definitely be one for the scrap book!

Quilting!

2009-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a picture of the quilt top I put together for our new little girl. I still have to back it, quilt it, and bind it.... but the pretty part is already done!

Since she's been gone...

2009-08-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

While Kaylee is in school it's pretty quiet around here. Crew is so different than Kaylee. He is not into TV or movies. It's a little harder to keep him entertained throughout the day. He mostly plays with all of his toys, one by one. But he always puts them away! He's so cool! He loves playing with Kaylee's stuff too (he can get away with it while she's gone)!

(Here is Crew coloring in Kaylee's maze book. He loves to color.)

Summer Vacay in Utah

2009-08-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

This year I took the kids on a trip up to Utah to see several family members and old friends. Our first stop was in St. George. We spent a couple days with family; enjoying Becca's sister's pool, "So You Think You Can Dance" night, and Alan's birthday.

Here is Crew swimming, he's a regular fish.

Kaylee is my little dare-devil! She had no hesitation to jump right off of the cliff jump. Me on the other hand, it took me like 5 min. to get enough guts!

Kaylee and her fav cuz, Elyza... they get along so great!

Our next stop on our trip was to Wellsville to see my grandma and Keith. We went to the American West Heritage Center on Pioneer Day. The kids loved seeing all the animals, and riding the pony's.

At the Leishman Family Reunion. Keith, Aunt Dorretta, and Grandma (Yes, they are twins!)

Crew enjoying all the fun activities of the Reunion.

Playing on the slip-n-slide at Grandma's house. The water was ICE COLD!! Brave little kids!

Enjoying the warm weather, and cool pool (not to mention the ice cream treats!) The pools in Utah are amazing, why can't the pools in Arizona be as nice!?

We went bowling with the kids. They did great! I don't know if you can see, but Crew beat everyone with a score of 103! He obviously got some skills from his mom!

The kids watching as the ball moved slowly down the lane. So cute!

Leaving Grandma and Keith's house. Thanks again for such an amazing week!

I got the opportunity to visit with an old friend from Chris and my college ward from when we lived in Utah. I hadn't seen her since her baby shower for her little girl who is now nearly 4! It was great to see you Catherine! Good luck with the preschool! I know you'll do an amazing job!

Our next stop was visiting Jamie in Tooele! She and her family are doing great. She gave me a tour of her town, and it's just so beautiful... I can't wait to visit again!

Silly pictures!

Kaylee blowing her first bubble! She only needed a piece of gum so big it could barely fit in her mouth! Good job girl!!

Swimming in the Tooele City Pool, again... what a nice facility!! So jealous!!

Me and Kaylee enjoying the day!

Jamie took us to her dad's house where we got to ride a horse! The kids were so happy, and I even got to try it out. It was so fun!

Memory Grove Park in SLC, waiting with the kids while Jamie did her magic of photography for a bride to be. I tried with my little camera to take some cute shots.. these were all I could get.

Obviously Alayna knows how to do the cute "serious" pose. How cute are these two!?

We drove from Tooele back to St. George for another couple nights where we went swimming again...seriously what else is there to do? Then we made our way back to Phoenix. We had such great time on our trip, and thank you so much to everyone that let us crash with you, you know you are always welcome in our home too!

Kindergarten

2009-08-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update, (I have so much more to blog later). Kaylee started school on August 3rd. She did so great, just loving every minute of it. I am so proud of her and how grown up she is becoming. Now I get to spend more one on one time with Crew, and you know he loves that. But pretty soon there will be another little one, and it'll be just as loud here as before. Here is a picture of Kaylee in her classroom ready to start the day.

She blew me a kiss and said, "Bye mom! I love you!" And with that, she was all grown up and ready to start kindergarten. I love you too Kaylee!!

Baby #3 is a....

2009-07-13T18:39:00.001-07:00

I went to the doctor today and had my 17 week check up, fully expecting to find out what we are having. Only to find out that my doctor had planned to have my ultrasound for my next appointment!! I was a little upset cause I told several people I would be finding out, only to come up empty handed! Well my doctor is just so awesome that while he was visiting with me I mentioned to him, "I was hoping to find out what I am having today." He said, with no hesitation, "Let's do it! We can find out what it is, and just do the other stuff next time." So I got to put my mind at ease and we had an ultra sound!!

Isn't that just the cutest profile ever?! The baby was so shy, it took awhile for the ultrasound lady to get a good look. I could tell right away though. You see, when I saw Crew's ultrasound, there was no doubt in my mind it was a boy. But this one, had no signs what so ever of being a little Chris... that's right people! We are having a GIRL!!

It's not the greatest picture, but I'm sure next month I'll have an amazing 3D picture that will blow your mind away!! I am a little nervous though, having baby 3 be a girl...I was number 3, and that's all my mom could take! LOL, I hope Kaylee is as close to my personality as it gets, I don't know if I can handle another little me!

Slide Rock + Cibola Vista = Sunburn!!

2009-07-09T18:28:00.001-07:00

Since Sara got here we have been doing our fair share of swimming to keep ourselves cool. In the heat of the Arizona summer there is not much more you can do. Needless to say, sunburns are sometimes the result. Especially when you spend countless hours in the sun. Here are some pictures of us at Slide Rock in Sedona...

The water was really really cold and took some getting used to. At first Kaylee and Crew refused to go in, but after awhile of playing with squirt guns and sitting in the sun, they decided to try the slippery rocks. We had a blast going down the river over and over again.

We were even able to go to the nearby resort of Cibola Vista and enjoy their cool pool. We stayed almost all day, and the kids loved every minute of it! Kaylee is like a little fish now, she swims the freestyle, backstroke, and today even showed off a little dolphin kicking! She must take after her mama!! Crew loves swimming around with little floaties on, he doesn't want anyone to touch him while he's doing it cause he has to do it all by himself. He puts his face in all the time and blows bubbles, and basically has no fear. I'm thinking he'll be another little fish by next summer!!

We actually haven't gotten sunburned too bad, just a few spots here or there that we thought were covered. So for the most part, we are just enjoying our summer.

Camping at Lake Mary

2009-07-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went camping with my parents and my brother and his family. We drove up towards Flagstaff to get out of the hot weather and found a nice camp site near Lake Mary. We had such a great time. The weather was perfect, it was supposed to thunderstorm, but the whole weekend all we got was about 45 min of light rain.

We rode our 4-wheeler a little, and gave all the kids rides. Crew spent most of the time sitting on top of the quad waiting for someone to walk by and give him another ride.

We went fishing of course, even the kids got in on it! It was amazing at how patient Crew and Kaylee were to just sit there and watch their little bobber and wait for the fish to bite. Their favorite thing was to throw the line back out, Kaylee got really good at it.

She caught a craw-dad! She was so proud of herself!

Chris found a place up this mountain (that took some 4-wheel drive), that had Indian Pottery all over. We all took a ride up there and searched and found some really neat pieces. Some were painted, and we even found some stuff that made the arrowheads. It was a really neat experience that even the kids enjoyed. (Disclaimer: of course we didn't pick anything up, we just looked!)

St. George, Sedona, and Sick

2009-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took another little trip to Utah. We were lucky enough to spend time with everyone in the family. We got to see our newest nephew, Marshall (such a handsome little man!). It was a busy weekend of fishing for Chris, and playing for me and the kids. Kaylee, Maddy, and Cash helped grandma clean the beaters for the gigantic cake she made for Father's Day (you can't see Kaylee's face, but it was just as messy as Cash-man's!).We had plans to leave Tuesday and head back to Sedona, but Chris and I were having such a good time we didn't want to leave. We were draggin our boots to get out of there, and then something happened that made us change our plans. Crew got sick. He came down with a little stomach flu we think. We couldn't drive with him that way, so we made plans on staying just one more night. It worked out well, he was able to stand the car ride home but this is basically all he did the whole way.Here is a picture of our little house in Sedona. Not much, but it's cheap and in a great location. It's fun to stay out here and just relax. This is where Chris is staying while he's working up there, and we get to tag along whenever we get the chance. There is a creek just down the road where Chris was fishing, and he heard something in the bush just next to him. This is what he found! A rattlesnake! He grabbed the camera to snap this picture (crazy man!), he then sent the snake to snake heaven.

12 weeks and counting.

2009-06-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

I got a pleasant surprise at my last doctor's appointment! They gave me another ultra sound. It was nice to see how the baby is growing, and it was moving around like crazy! This time, it really looks like a baby to me!

Crayon Nightmares!

2009-06-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every mom has had this nightmare, or... will eventually. You walk into your living room to find that your child has redecorated the walls with their art work! Crayon EVERYWHERE! Crew just learned how to draw circles, so he thought it would be nice to draw them on just about every wall. How in the world are you supposed to take care of this!?

Well, I have your answer, and most of you might be shocked to know, that there are no chemicals involved! You already have what you need in your house right now! Your hair dryer, and dryer sheets!

Yup! That's it! Some might already have known about this, but I had to do some research, so I thought I would share what I found with you. You simply take your hair dryer, and heat up the crayon, then wipe it away with the dryer sheet. No scrubbing, no sweat! This works on just about any hard surface you have. Book shelves, tables, walls, doors, etc. Good luck, oh, and your welcome!

Sedona and Zions National Park

2009-06-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

We have been up to Sedona alot the past couple of weeks, visiting Chris and just playing around. Crew is really obsessed with horses right now, and when he sees one, he goes banana's! We had to get out and take a look at this one! On our way to Utah we had to make a pit stop for Kaylee. It's so green and pretty in Sedona I love it!For Memorial Day we took the kids up to Utah. Chris got to go fishing with his brother Ben, and I even tagged along one time and watched them reel in some big ones! We saw our newest niece, Logan Taylor (what a cutie!).

We even went up to Zions National Park and hiked a short trail to Weeping Rock. It was a really neat thing, and the kids loved it. They played in the stream and tried to catch tad-pols. It was a great weekend, and it was nice to see everyone again.

Kaylee Graduates!

2009-06-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Kaylee graduated from Preschool!

We had a little party at the park, and the kids sang some songs for us. Kaylee still asks everyday if she can go to school, and she doesn't understand why we don't just have school all year round. Bless her heart! Hopefully she will stay this dedicated to learning forever!

Her teacher made a little scrap book of pictures of Kaylee throughout the school year, it is soo cute! Thank you so much Mrs. Laura!!

The new addition...

2009-05-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

I guess everything is going good enough to make the announcement that we are expecting our third child. (wow, it almost seems surreal to write that!) We are expecting our new little person on....drum-roll please.... December 20th! Sound familiar? Well, it just happens to be me and Chris' anniversary! It will be fun during the Holiday's this year that's for sure!

They tell me this is our baby, but it just looks like a blob to me. I feel like a horrible mom cause with the other two I could make some sense of their first ultra sound...but this one, I have no idea! Good news, is that I heard the heartbeat, and it sounds awesome! Welcome to the family!

Outta this world!

2009-05-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I drove up to where Kaylee has preschool and as she was coming out of the house I couldn't help but to have the biggest smile on my face! She was wearing this beautiful space outfit. They have been learning about space, planets, and astronauts at school. How cute is that!?

(That's her jet pack on her back.)

Kaylee was also in her class play. It was "the three little piggies opera." She was the second little piggy that built her house out of sticks. She did such a good job! I even got the whole play on video! Something she'll always have to remember!

Heating things up!

2009-05-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's officially getting hot here in AZ! It's going to be over 100* this week! You know what they say! "If you can't stand the heat, get out of town!"

Wet and Wild!

2009-05-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun this summer already! Crew and Kaylee have been playing outside with their squirt guns and in the fountain. They love it, and I love that they play so nicely together.

Pirate Party....Arrrrrgh!!

2009-05-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

My little pirate turned two!

As promised, here are some pictures of Crew's birthday party. We did a slew of activities, and I think it went very well.

We played "put the X on the treasure chest" (I sort of made that one up). Do you like my art-work?

We also tried to do a water balloon toss, which just turned into pure mayhem! I got soaked, and my dad got hit in the family jewels! But the kids had a great time, so that's all that matters right?The pinata was fun, and once it burst open, there was treasure and candy everywhere!Thank you to all of those that were able to come! Thanks for all the wonderful things you got Crew, he has really been enjoying everything. We got him this bike. Special thanks to Lori, who took a dive to get this magnificent shot of him riding it for the first time! You're the best!

Crew was loved his pirate cake, and especially blowing out the candles. It was a great birthday party, and Crew had a great time with all of this little buddies.

Happy Birthday Crew-zer!!

2009-04-27T13:39:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Crew had his 2nd Birthday! He has grown up way too fast, but is still so small and sweet. I think it's a ritual for a mom to show pictures of their baby from birth until now; I haven't uploaded his birthday pics yet, so I'll just show what I have on the computer. I'll post the birthday party later this week.

I love you little man, you are so smart and kind hearted. You always know how to make me smile, with your cute little giggles and sweet bear hugs. Happy Birthday, your mom, dad, and sister love you very very much!

Memory Lane

2009-04-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's fun to look through old pictures and recall fond memories. Post a few old pictures and tell us what's going on!

Mountain Biking at the Grand Canyon. This picture was taken right before I tried to make a jump and popped my front tire. Got some really bad trail rash on my elbow too!

Visiting Grandma and Keith near Park City, Utah. This was my first time ever going up there, it was sooo pretty! We had lunch at a little diner, very cute.

Swimming at Sand Hallow Reservoir, St. George, Utah. Chris bet me that he could beat me swimming from land to a rock island... I had to swim him to the shore half-way through! Poor guy, he just couldn't keep up!

Visiting Las Vegas, in front of the Bellagio! I was still living in Houston during this photo. I had helped Chris move back to Utah by driving 24 hours straight! I took a flight from Vegas to Houston that connected in Phoenix, and I surprised my sis and dad and met them for lunch!

Chasing Birds

2009-04-17T10:13:00.001-07:00

It amazes me how the kids can find something so simple to entertain themselves. Crew spent most of the time at the park yesterday just chasing the birds that would land on the ground. So cute!

Train Park Birthday Party

2009-04-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were invited to a birthday party at this wonderful train park in Scottsdale. It was so fun, the weather was amazing, and the kids had a blast! When we first got there all Crew wanted to do was watch the construction going on in the street next to the park. Kaylee had a great time playing on all the playground equipment, especially the little town that was built for kids.

Crew watching the construction, Kaylee in jail...

We decorated sand buckets, ate lunch, played with bubbles, and even ate yummy cupcakes!

Kaylee putting stickers on her bucket

Kaylee and Crew rode the carosel and loved every second of it.

Lastly we rode the train that took us around the park, Kaylee rode in the cattle wagon, as did most of the little kiddos, but Crew stayed with me in the open part. Thanks again for inviting us, we had a blast!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T08:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a great and glorious day. We celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus, and got to be with family too! We decorated the Easter Eggs. Kaylee and Crew had a great time doing this... their hands were dyed for awhile!

All dressed up for Church...

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Crew really loved finding the eggs, he would shout for joy every time he found another one. Kaylee was fast, but I told her that she had to find the hidden ones first, so Crew could find some too.

It was a great Easter, but I definitely missed my sister and brother and their families. I will see you guys next weekend I am sure!

Hangin' with my Homies!

2009-04-06T15:30:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I held a mini-reunion at my house for all of my old BEST-Buddies. It was amazing that all of us were there! We brought out old silly pictures, and laughed so hard! Some of these friends go way back to 5th grade! We had a great little BBQ and wrapped it up with some fun games. What a night! I think we will have to make this a monthly event!

Potty Training?

2009-03-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday our little Crew got on his big sister's bike and took it for a spin around the block. Seeing as he's not going to be two until April 25th I was really amazed. Kaylee got this bike for her second birthday and couldn't even reach the pedals, or even steer it at all. It wasn't till she was nearly three that she got the hang of steering and eventually pedaling. So our little Crew seems to be a little more advanced here.

So the question is... do I start to potty-train? Yes, I am going to do it. If you can ride a bike, you can go pee in a toilet! Wish me luck!

Cruise-alicious!

2009-03-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Chris and I finally got to take a much needed vacation on a 7 night cruise to Mexico. We left the kids with Grandma Syphus and they had a blast being able to play with their cousins and Grandma and Grandpa.

We spent the first two and a half days of our journey on board the ship, cruising. During this time there was plenty to do, soak up the warm sun, eat, sit in the hot tub, eat, play tons of bingo, eat some more, and not to mention... penny slots!!

There was a formal night the second night aboard ship, which meant we got to dress up in fancy outfits and eat a fancy dinner and get our pictures taken! Chris was excited cause it was like he was taking me to prom... only we didn't really do any dancing.

The first stop we made was in Puerto Villarta, Mexico. We took a Tropical Jungle Tour where we got to see some interesting things. We hiked through the jungle and crossed this cold river in some spots and learned a lot about the different types of trees and plants and animals that were there. After that we ate some lunch at this little dive located in the jungle (strictly for tourists), where there was no electricity, and no running water (a lady stood in the bathroom and after you were done she would throw a bucket of water in the toilet to make it flush, then she would take another bucket and pour it over your hands so you could wash them). Needless to say, we didn't order anything too extravagant, just some chips and guacamole...yum!

After the jungle tour Chris and I made our way back to town where we found the beach. I bravely went where only those on America's Funniest Home Video goes and attempted PARA SAILING! Luckily everything went well, and it was an amazing experience. Great views from way up high!

Our second stop was in Mazatlan, Mexico. We wanted to visit this Deer Preserve Island that was inhabited, so we found a guy to take us there on his Catamaran. He dropped us off and we explored. We did a little snorkeling in some really cold water, we saw a couple of fish and a lot of seaweed. While I was laying out of the beach getting some sun, Chris went off exploring and found a whole bunch of hermit crabs eating a dead fish, he brought them back to show me...yuck! We did a little shopping and ate some lunch at a little restaurant that had a parrot out front, it wouldn't stop squawking!

Our final stop was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This place was probably mine and Chris's favorite. We took a glass bottom boat tour of the Los Arcos. We were dropped off on Lover's Beach and we walked across to the other side of the beach which was called Divorce Beach! Totally different on both sides! Lovers Beach had calm waters, and Divorce Beach had HUGE crashing waves. Funny huh? We also did snorkeling here and had much better luck, although the water was even more frigid! There were all sorts of sea creatures in the waters here, kind of creepy to be swimming with them all!

Here we also did a little shopping and a little eating, and then sadly boarded the boat for the last time. Because Cabo's port was too small we had to doc our boat in the middle of the bay and little tenders took us to shore and back.

The last day of our cruise was spent on the boat and it was a rocky trip back. Chris and I tried to play Scrabble by this little window in the "Sun Garden" but we gave up mid game because we both started to feel sea-sick!

I am so glad that we took this trip, and I am already thinking about our next!

Chris turns 30!

2009-03-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Chris turned 30 years old. We were driving to Utah from Long Beach and Chris was speeding(of course), well he got pulled over and got a ticket! The cop didn't seem to care for the fact that it was his birthday! But we did however get to spend the rest of the evening in Utah with family. I think he had a great birthday.

one of my favorite pictures of Chris

TV

2009-02-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

So on the way to Utah Kaylee and I were spelling words. She is learning so much in preschool and she loves telling me a word she wants to spell and we try to spell it together. Some of the words we were spelling were: Horse, Fingers, Cart, and Goat.

Then she says to me, "Mom, I want to spell TV!" I tried not to laugh, and said, "Ok, let's spell TV!" She says in a dejected voice, "I don't know how!"

I just thought that was so funny! I guess I should just change my blog to, "Kids say the darndest things!" Sorry, I will post more interesting things soon!

Primary Songs...

2009-02-16T16:51:00.001-08:00

Sunday after Church we are driving home and I hear Kaylee in the back seat singing a primary song. I listen more carefully to her words and this is what I hear...

"The rain came down and the blood came up,
The rain came down and the blood came up,
The rain came down and the blood came up,
And the garden was still there, and so was the house."

I was quietly chuckling to myself, and thought I would share that with everyone else. Kids are so cute!

What the Heck!?

2009-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that your kids will start repeating little phrases you say? I noticed this with Kaylee when she was 3. On her birthday she said, "Oh my goodness!" after every present she opened, I thought how silly! Where did she pick that up from? Then I realized that I was the one who said that all the time.

Now, here I am sitting on my computer, and Crew is standing next to me like he always does and he's playing with the printer. All of a sudden I hear him say, "What the heck!?"!!! First of all, he is only a one word kind of kid. He basically just said his first sentence if you think about it! I couldn't stop laughing, it was just so darn cute! I had to get it on video!

Welcome Baby Mackenzie!

2009-01-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last night my newest neice was welcomed into the family. She weighed in at 7 lbs and 10 oz. Measuring at 21 inches. She is the most precious little girl! She was so calm and observant the whole time I was there. For her mother's sake, let's hope she stays that way! I was so blessed because when I was there I was able to give her her very first bottle! I will never forget that! It was amazing, and so was my sister. She is an amazing woman and she will be an amazing mother. I love you Heather and I love you Mackenzie!

Hop on the Band-wagon!

2009-01-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know that I am not an avid Cardinals fan like my brother, but I must say that I am quickly becoming one! Go Cards! We are on our way to the SUPER BOWL! I have to admit, I even teared up a little after winning the NFC Championship... Chris was laughing at me. WAHOO!!!!!!

White Trash Pics...

2009-01-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

The other night when I was at work and Chris was "watching" the kids, Kaylee somehow managed to find the scissors and give herself an awesome mullet! I saw it in the morning, and yes, I freaked out! I took her to my mom's house where she tried to fix it... (my mom just had a knee replacement a week ago, so she's still on pain meds). I think I am going to take her to Tricia's to see if she can make Kaylee look more feminine... I'll post the new cut later.

Also, Chris grew out his beard and hair for the longest time (I was concerned I was going to be living with a mountain man). Well, I came home from running some errands one day and Chris shaved his beard into this crazy-ness! I couldn't stop laughing... he eventually shaved it off, but wanted me to take a picture first.

Since You've Been Gone....

2009-01-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since my last post! I'll try to do a quick run-thru of what you've missed. Then I promise (for those of you who really care), to try and keep it updated more frequently.

The weekend before Christmas we went to St. George to spend some time with Chris' family. It was so cool cause it snowed a couple days before we got there and everything was just so white! Chris's little sisters Amanda and Sara even made a snow castle! It was amazing!

It was also Chris and mine's 5th Anniversary! Wow, time flies! Chris spent the day snowboarding in Brianhead, and I spent the day at the local laundromat cleaning a giant blanket Crew threw-up on. Not so much fun. But the night was much better, Chris and I went to an awesome Brazilian Steakhouse for dinner.

Christmas Eve we had dinner at my house, and my parents, my aunt and some friends came over to enjoy it with us. Kaylee got to decorate some cookies for Santa, and they even got to open an early Christmas present.

The kids were really excited Christmas morning. They opened all their gifts and had a great time.
New Years Eve I had to work, but after work Chris and I played the Wii, and drank some sparkling cider... a low key night, but it was fun.

PHOOSON!!!!

2008-12-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

Phooson was great! We got there a little late due to the fact that I was a little drugged up (I'll tell you some other time if you care to know), but we still made it to see some good acts. We had lawn seats, which is basically just some grass very far away from the stage. Chris and I snuck into the seats below for a few of the performances, but we got kicked out after Katie Perry and had to go sit on the grass.

I felt so young that night, maybe it's because I was surrounded by thousands of 12-14 year olds, or maybe it's because I didn't have to watch my own kids. Either way, it was a really great time and I'm pretty sure Chris enjoyed it too. (Especially the Pussy Cat Dolls).

Well over-due.

2008-12-12T22:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great! After I got done with the previous blog, we started to drive up the mountain toward the cabin, and not too shortly after...we were completely lost! Yes, it was my fault. First I gave the wrong directions to Chris, then when he suspected we were lost, I said, "No, we're going the right way, it's just a little further." I then climbed into the drivers seat and drove us 30 miles in the wrong direction... it was a long night, and if I haven't formally apologized to Chris yet... I'm sorry!

The rest of the time was great. Mostly just relaxing, playing the Wii, and pool, and doing puzzles. We ate ALOT, thanks to my awesome Aunt Sandy. She's the best! Kaylee had a blast, and so did Crew.

He is a manic dipper, if there is any sort of dip around he must put his chip or cracker in it. I caught him trying to reach some dip on the table... too cute!

We also went fishing... unsuccessfully. Not a bite! But it was still fun, and cold.