Samantha's Preschool graduation

Samantha graduated from Preschool on Friday and her class had a little ceremony that was too cute for words!!! Her teacher even had a cap and gown for each child which made it just THAT much more cute!! Samantha did a great job singing the songs and saying her part and afterwords we all enjoyed some cookies and soda. Samantha had a great year in school learning her alphabet, her address, telephone number and is beginning to sound words out in preparation for reading. She is a very smart little girl!! I think she enjoys the social aspect of school much more than the learning part, but I understand that since I felt the same way as a kid. This summer we are going to be having "school" everyday with me as the teacher - we'll see how that goes, but I am going to give it a try.

(BTW, I highly suggest you click on this picture of Samantha to enlarge it and see just how gorgeous she is!! Have you ever seen eyes quite that pretty? Or a heart-shaped face that lovely? Or elf ears that perfect?)

More Caleb - cuz I can't get enough of him!

I took Andy and the kids to the hospital today to meet baby Caleb and they all adored him!! Samantha didn't want to put him down! Both of the kids were very sweet and kind and soft and Alex squeaked out in a very girlie voice, "He's so adorable!". Andy got to burp and hold him for a long time while I helped Shell-Bell get a shower and get changed. I think it made her feel a bit more human!! When we left Caleb had a full belly and was sleeping, Richele was clean in a clean bed and was about to eat lunch. I think it was a successful visit!

The new love of my life!

My baby nephew Caleb was born today!!!! I was lucky enough - thanks to my dad - to be there for all the labor, attempted delivery, and eventual C-section. Richele did AMAZING and was so tough and brave and Caleb is lucky to have her as his mom! I just got home from spending 2 hours holding him at the hospital and I didn't want to leave him. Good thing I'm going back in the morning for another dose of baby!!! Look at this adorable face.....
I tell ya.....there is nothing greater in this world than being an aunt!!!!!! I guess maybe Grandma trumps aunt, but I (hopefully!) won't know how that feels for MANY more years! And just for the record, I am SO going to be the favorite aunt. You hear that Kami???? (You would think since this is the 6th grandbaby we'd be over this by now, but we aren't, we love our babies!)

SYTYCD

Who else is excited for the start of So You Think You Can Dance this Thursday??? I sure am!! Last year was the first year that I watched and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It helped that a friend from high school was on the show, but all the dancers were amazing and entertaining. I think it might be my favorite summer show. Along with Wipeout. If you've never watched Wipeout, I highly recommend you start. It is so mindless and hilarious which is perfect for summer!! Call me trashy, but watching people do stupid things and getting hurt is always good for a laugh!

Another thing, I've been looking at a lot of housing in London and prices have REALLY gone down since we looked about 6 months ago!! That is good news! Hopefully it means we'll be able to afford a nicer place that is also closer to Andy's work. We are shooting for a 30-45 minute commute each way - MAX!! New Jersey was 1 1/2 hours each way and that was WAY too long!! Andy is in London right now and working hard with clients and trying to impress all the guys there. He says everyone has been very nice and mentioned several times that they want him out there full time. So..........cross your fingers!!

Bee Stings and S'more Cookies!

Alex got his first bee sting on Wednesday and his little finger swelled up like a sausage!! I love the look on his face in this picture though! What a cutie!
Tonight I tried a new cookie flavor......The S'more cookie! Andy and I were in agreement.......YUM!!!! They were so gooey and rich and a side of milk was for sure needed! I think next time I'm going to use small marshmallows in the batter instead of filling the dough with a large marshmallow. I felt the marshmallow goodness needed to be spread throughout the whole cookie! Mom and dad, you'll get to try them when you come over for dinner tomorrow night - so be prepared! If you are on Facebook and would like more cookie updates, become a fan of krandy's sweet co.!

Cabela's virgin no more!!

Andy has been telling me for quite some time now that I need to venture off to Cabela's in Lehi and check it out. I never understood why and since I never thought, "Hey, I need to get XYZ, guess I'll go to Cabela's for that!", I never made it up there. Well, Andy is going off to London Sunday night and since he can't take me with him he has to take his special pillow. And, for that, he needed a compression bag to fit it in his luggage. So off to Cabela's the family did go. The kids have been there before and loved it and I can see why now!! The size alone is incredible as are all the dead animals! Now, I don't really like hunting or the use of guns to kill live things (although, the use of guns to shoot at targets such as paper or cans is, in my book, one of the greatest things in life!). But that is a discussion I will not delve into right now......let's just say that I don't like hunting and dead animals. But, if they are there, I will probably look at them and I actually am impressed at the size of some of them! Them moose be huge!!! I do enjoy camping every now and again so it was fun to look at the camping gear and the boating gear (Greg, you better be ready with your boat soon!!!) and the cute clothes. I also purchased a great bag that has so many pockets and zippers and places to put things that I almost needed a moment alone!!! We did forget a couple of things so I think next week I will take the kids up there for some shopping, dead animal looking, and lunch. What more could 2 kids ask for???

Feeling grateful, frustrated, apprehensive, and stressed

1. I am feeling grateful to my awesome husband who makes every day feel like Mother's Day. I know that is super cheesy but it's true! Most women are so grateful that one day a year they don't have to cook and they get a break from the kids, but Andy is so great to do that almost every day. He certainly does most of the cooking around here and whenever I want to get out of the house alone he is more than willing to watch the kids for me. Andy, you're pretty great! For Mother's Day this year I got a fantastic watch from Andy and Samantha made me these pens in preschool. Andy also helped the kids make homemade cards with their photos and I really loved them! Oh, and don't forget the e-card from Andy that made me laugh!
2. I am feeling so frustrated at my beautiful children. I can't even being to explain what it is like to be a parent to these two. I was hoping that since Samantha is nearing age 5 she would be close to being done with tantrums. I was wrong. I keep thinking that as they get older being their mom will get easier. I think, again, I'm wrong. I am frustrated.

3. Maybe apprehensive isn't quite the right word, but we found out today that our move to London has been approved! Now the fun of negotiating begins! It still isn't set in stone that we will be moving because they still have to make us an official offer and we need to accept that offer. With the economy the way it is, JPMorgan has cut back on a lot of things (like most companies have), and so we'll have to wait and see if their ex-pat package is acceptable for us. In the meanwhile, Andy will be flying to London next week and who knows how many other times before we get this all settled. Having him gone makes me apprehensive.

4. Stressed!!! Why in the world did I sign up for this damn BYU Independent Study class?? I don't have time to do it!! I don't have energy to do it!! I don't have the brains to do it!! I was used to getting mostly A's in high school and college and maybe the occasional B. The first C+ I ever got was in Chemistry class in college and I was devestated! I think my highest grade on any of my assignments so far has been a B+. My lowest???? D!!!! I am proof that children rot your brain and turn it to pure mush!!! AND, I am supposed to have this course finished by October and with everything going on lately (see above number 3), I can't imagine me getting it all done.

Life could be worse. At least my family has their health which is SO important to me, so I really shouldn't complain. I just think it will be fun to look back on this post in a few years and laugh about what we went through. At least I have my parakeet to entertain me......right now he is playing in his cage with his paper towel liner and fighting with himself. Not as funny as when he hangs upside down and falls, but it still cracks me up!!!

The Party Cookie

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!), so today I made some cookies to take to his work. I also wanted to introduce "The Party Cookie" and demonstrate what can be done with a giant cookie! The kids were very excited to see Grampy and to see the big machines where he works. Grampy gave us the tour and showed us all the missile parts that he is in charge of, but mostly the kids were concerned with the safety glasses they had to wear! I wanted to take some pictures, but that isn't allowed around missiles!! Go figure!

Scrubs

Last night was the series finale of the TV show Scrubs. I have always enjoyed this show and I was so happy they ended it before it got boring and stale. This season was hilarious and ended with this great song that I hadn't heard before - The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel. I looked it up on YouTube and here it is for your listening enjoyment.

Ugh

I really haven't been in the mood to post lately. Not sure why. Could be that things have been so hectic and then, suddenly, Andy was home and I felt like I could breathe again and I didn't want to waste those breaths on blogging. OR, it could be the fact that if one child is being good, it automatically means the other has to act like the spawn of Satan!! Today Samantha will be playing the role of Satan's child. Afterall, yesterday it was Alex's turn and we want to keep things fair! In an attempt to make myself feel better today, here is this video.

Andy laughing

Andy doesn't like taking pictures. Therefore, in most photos he kind of has this cheesy, fake smile (see below). I saw this picture from a friend of his on Facebook and had to steal it because I LOVE the look on Andy's face!!!! That is his true smile when he is laughing and I think it is so cute!! Try to ignore the nastiness in the background! They were on the nasty food street in Beijing and I don't even want to know what half of that stuff is. All I know is that Andy didn't eat ANY of it!!! Love you baby! Come home......FAST!!!!

Andy at the Great Wall of China.

Very deserving

All of you who feel I deserve these shoes from my adoring husband who has left me alone with the children for 11 days please leave a comment below letting Andy know. A simple AYE will suffice.

Thank you for your participation.

I thought you might like to take a look at what Kristi's blog looks like here in China.



You see that big white spot there? You know, where I posted that awesome Mythbusters vide,coincidentally on Kristi's birthday? It turns out that the Chinese government blocked YouTube about a month ago, to prevent people from watching propaganda videos posted by the Falun Gong movement, as its the 10th anniversary of their activity here in Beijing. You'll have to look it up on Wikipedia for yourself though - articles about Falun Gong are blocked here as well.

Angela

My friend Angela (the adorable blonde on the right in pig-tails) passed away 2 days ago from cancer. She has been battling with cancer for a long time now and she has been amazingly tough. I met Angela on our study abroad in Israel. We were in the same group together and you couldn't help but love her!! She was so fun and sweet and kind. I chose this picture because I remember this day as one of my favorite days in my 2 months there. We had the whole day free and a bunch of us girls decided to go shopping in the Old City and on Ben Yahuda Street! We had bags and bags of goodies by the time our day was done.......4 of us also had new ear piercings!! It was a fantastic day and I remember having so much fun with Angela. We only recently got back in touch, but I still consider her a good friend. I know she is in heaven now and free of pain, so for that, I am happy.

Andy in China

PUNK!!!!!

Another favorite old video

Here is Alex laughing at Mommy in the mirror. His laugh is still the same today and I can't get enough of it!!!!

Catching up on a few things

1. Tuesday I had my first paid cookie delivery and it was great!! Making the cookies proved to be harder than I had expected (difficult with 4 different kinds of cookies, 1 oven and not enough counter space), but the cookies were delicious and were there on time and everyone seemed happy! I even stopped by the dentist office where my sister works and surprised them with some free samples and business cards. They were all very sweet and supportive which made me feel good!!

2. Thanks for all the happy birthday wishes!! (Even the late ones....JENNY!!) I had an okay day with family but didn't fully enjoy it......I think I had most of my brain on the fact that Andy would be leaving the next day. It's always a little stressful with him gone, but I have some plans with family and hopefully some plans with some friends (Ashly? Britany? Please!). I am hoping the time (10 days!) goes by quickly and that Andy has a great, and safe, time!

3. Alex starting speech therapy yesterday. The poor kids stuttering has just gotten worse and we think it's time to help him out. I found a nice therapist close by who Alex seemed to really get along with. She said his stuttering is fairly severe but she's quite sure she can help. I really hope so!!! His stuttering is worst when he is in new situations or talking to new people. Alex is so super friendly and kind and wants to talk to everyone and it just breaks my heart when they can't understand him. Some people just choose to ignore him and I can tell it makes him sad. Poor little guy!!! I hope we don't have to have him in therapy for too long, but we'll go as long as he needs it! His therapist's name is Paige and when we got home I told him to tell his daddy what her name is........he responded very confidently with, "Paper!" Get it?? Paige (page), Paper??!! Andy and I had a GOOD laugh over that one!!

4. I have posted a page on Facebook for krandy's sweet co. You can log on and become a fan!! Just FYI!!

Happy Birthday Kristi!!

This doesn't really have anything to do with Kristi's birthday, but it's too awesome not to post. Oh, I know - birthday candles. Blow'em out, babe!

Old movies

I was browsing through some old movies the other day and was almost in tears!! I miss my babies when they were babies! I never thought I would say that because, at the time, life was hell! They were difficult to handle and my days were long and my nights were longer. I just wanted time to pass quickly and them to grow up quickly. Life hasn't gotten any easier like I thought it would. It's just gotten different. Lesson learned: don't wish away your days.

So, here is one of the videos that I love! It shows the relationship between my kids that has ALWAYS existed!! It also shows what a tough little kid Alex was!!! They still play like this today and only about half the time does it end in tears.

Second California Slideshow

First California Slideshow

I really have NOT been in the mood to post about our vacation yet, but I did put together this slideshow. It only has about half of the trip so I'll be doing another one tomorrow about Legoland.

I'm back

We are back from our "change of routine" down in Southern California and my day is going to be filled with laundry and house cleaning and, most importantly, getting the children to nap. I don't call it a vacation because with kids you NEVER get a vacation, but a change of routine is nice too! The kids had fun and were pretty good! They slept well and handled all the running around as well as can be expected for a 3 and 4 year-old. Andy and I had a good time as well and as soon as I get the pictures off the camera I'll do a nice long post!

Motherhood

I just finished watching an episode of Oprah that I had recorded about motherhood. More specifically, the good, the bad and the ugly of motherhood. I am so glad I am a mom at a time when it is becoming okay to be honest about your feelings. It is becoming more and more okay to talk about postpartum depression (which even adoptive mothers can have......TRUST ME!), and to talk about not loving being a mom every moment of every day. I am thankful that I have my mom and sisters to talk with who let me know that wanting to lock my children in their rooms for hours on end is normal - not okay, but normal. One thing that a woman on the Oprah show said that I loved was, "we are all trying to love motherhood as much as we love our children." It is so true!! I love my children more than anything but I DO NOT love all that comes with being a mom. Andy said it best, "I love being a daddy, but I do not love being a parent.". AMEN!! But, in the end, we signed up for this and even though we had NO CLUE what we were getting ourselves into, we are in it for the long haul and are just going to try and do our best......which is all anyone can ask for!! And, according to my mom, it will all be worth it someday when we can be grandparents!!!

Samantha funnies

Samantha has said a few funny things this past week.......

First, we were on our way to a field trip for school and we drove past the Mt. Timp temple. Samantha's friend EJ commented on the temple and how his parents were married there but he hasn't been inside before. Samantha told him that she has been inside the Draper temple (for the open house) but can't go in anymore because it has been decorated. I'm quite certain she meant dedicated, but I liked her version!!!

On Friday we had some errands to run up in Salt Lake so we decided to eat dinner there. We drove past Buca di Bepo which Samantha recognized since we've been there a few times. She asked if we could go to Boom Diddy Boondocks for dinner!! She asked what the name was because she knew that wasn't correct, but even after we corrected her she kept calling it Boom Diddy Boondocks. I think it will always been called that in our house now.

Much better

I'm just sitting here thinking how blessed we are to be able to watch Conference in the comfort of our own home. When we lived in New Jersey with small kids we couldn't go to the stake center to watch and so we streamed Conference on our laptop (which was spotty at best). It is so much more enjoyable to watch at home on our television. I am grateful.

The Dealio

I think maybe I've been a bit vague about krandy's sweet co. and our plans, so I will explain. I bake cookies. Yummy cookies!!! All of which are my own recipe. I worked for over a year to get my basic dough recipe just the way that I wanted it and now I am tweaking it to make all sorts of other yummy cookies. I have almost 20 varieties so far. We thought it might be fun to start up a little company to sell my cookies. I want to keep it small right now. I am planning on taking in a few dozen to my brother-in-law's work and my dad's work and leaving some business cards for people to take. We've had some ideas of where to market the cookies and who we would like to be our customers, but we're starting out slowly. I don't have the manpower or kitchen space to make a big production of it all, but even one order a week would be fun for me and plenty of work. I am not sure where this is all going yet, but I have had a really fun time getting all the cookies just right and creating the logo and just thinking about it. It's been a fun distraction. If anyone has any ideas for me or ever wants to discuss purchasing some cookies for any family or work event, just let me know!!

Check it out now

Okay, check out www.krandyssweetco.com now. We got the logo posted!!! What do you think?? I love it! Orange is Alex's favorite color and pink is Samantha's favorite color. Our little tribute to the kids!! You can also click on the link to send an email for information.

Website

We've established www.krandyssweetco.com!!!!! As you can see, there isn't much to it so far, but we're going to get working on it. I will let you know when there is something more exciting to see!

Hoping

Yesterday I had a conversation with Alex that went something like this.....

Me: "Alex, you know what? I haven't given you NEAR enough kisses today!"

Alex: (climbs in my lap) "Yeah, you haven't."

Me: (smothering the poor child in kisses) "I love giving you kisses. I hope when you are older you'll still let me grab you and give you kisses and you won't be embarrassed."

Alex: "I will let you."

So, there is the proof!!! When he is older and gets embarrassed just by me looking at him I will whip this out and prove to him that he once told me I could kiss him whenever!! hahahaha

Official name (I think)

Thank you to everyone for submitting their name choices....but I think we've come up with one on our own that we like......

Krandy's Sweet Co.

We decided to do Sweet instead of Cookie just in case we get crazy someday and decide to branch out into other types of pastries and sweets. I think it's a simple, easy name and with the logo that we are working on it looks really cute. I made some lemon cookies that turned out great last week. That adds one more cookie to my menu. I made snickerdoodles this afternoon that need a little tweaking, but they tasted good as well. I have about 5 other kinds I need to test out in the next little while too. We have a busy kitchen!!

Um, sorry guys, need your help.....again.

Soooooooooo, I've decided not to enter my delicious cookies in the Pillsbury contest. (Just by SUBMITTING my recipe Pillsbury automatically owns the rights to it and I am NOT ready to give it up that easily, yet! More than a year of my life has gone into perfecting that recipe!) So I don't need a name for them anymore. I very much appreciate everyone contributing and trying to come up with names though and since I did promise someone would get cookies I am going to pull a name from a hat to see which lucky little devil gets the cookies!!! I will document the event with pictures so everyone knows I'm not cheating and picking my best friend to get the cookies (Yeah, you know who you are!!!). That will be coming soon!!

In the meanwhile, I have a new naming contest for all your creative minds! I need a great name for a cookie company. I am not going to influence you by saying the names we've thought of so far - I just want to see what comes from those gorgeous brains. I want something fairly short, easy to remember and fun. Please submit as many names as you can think of. The more the merrier! Andy came up with a name and created a great logo for me. I really love the logo and the colors (pink is Samantha's favorite color and orange is Alex's favorite), so he thought it was fun to include those. I'll post a picture of the logo when it's complete. Thanks again for your help......get brainstorming!!!

I just love this face. Especially with a hat on. He has the perfect shaped face for a hat. Look at those eyes!!! He's going to be a heartbreaker, I just know it!
I love this face eating cookies too.

MBAs suck

Flattering Pictures of Me courtesy of my children

The first 2 were taken by Samantha and I think the last one was taken by Alex. Very talented children, I know!

Home Depot

I'm sure a lot of you know about the kids projects at Home Depot since every time we go there are more and more people there!!! But here is the deal: the first Saturday of every month Home Depot has a kids project that they do for free. They get a little orange apron and a pin for every project. It is great! The project for March was race cars and they were a hit!

I love the looks on their faces in these pictures! Silly kids!

Last night my sweet parents watched the kids for HOURS while Andy and I went to dinner and the opera. We went to dinner in downtown Salt Lake at a restaurant named The Metropolitan. We lucked out being there on a Monday night because they have a "locals" menu every Monday with a 3 course and a 5 course fixed price menu that was much cheaper. I had a beet soup, bison short ribs and an assortment of ice cream. Andy had a cesear salad, lamb and a chocolate torte. The food was great and we liked the restaurant and service. I think we would definitely go back.

After dinner we walked to the Capitol Theatre to re-issue our tickets that we forgot at home!! Whoops!!! Thankfully when you buy the tickets they take your name and address so it was easy for them to look us up and reprint the tickets for us. I have very fond memories of Capitol Theatre and going on daddy-daughter dates with my dad. My parents used to get lots of tickets to plays and my mom would let us girls take turns going with my dad. He would take us to The Olive Garden before the play and then we would enjoy staying up late at the play. It was always just so fun to have one-on-one time with dad and that is what I remember most! (Love you Daddy!!) I was shocked at how crowded the place was and it looked as if almost every seat was full. It certainly felt very crowded by the women's room line!!! I was so giddy at the start and couldn't wait to see what the most famous opera was like.......and they didn't disappoint!! It was funny and quick moving and the voices were amazing!! Andy and I enjoyed the whole thing and even though it was extremely long (3 hours 15 min), it went by quickly and I didn't even look at the time. I was just amazed I stayed awake for the whole thing since my usual bedtime is 9 pm!! I didn't get to bed until midnight and that is the latest I've stayed up in YEARS!! It was a very enjoyable evening and I am lucky to have a husband who enjoys the same things I do and is willing to go to the opera with me! Thanks to Andy for taking me, thanks to mom and dad for staying with the kids, thanks to the lovely lady who made my fun black dress and thanks to Kami for making my jewelry. Only a half-thanks to the makers of my fabulous red shoes.....they looked great but gave me a blister!! Totally worth it!!

Disney on Ice and Peeps

Saturday we took the kids to Disney on Ice in Salt Lake. We, of course, forgot our camera so I only have a couple pictures of the kids with their loot. We spent $95 on the tickets and a whopping $71 on food and drinks and toys (1 lemonade, 1 bag of popcorn, 2 cotton candies with Flounder hats, 1 sword for Alex and 1 Tinkerbell light twirly thingee for Samantha). It was ridiculous!!! But the kids LOVED it and had a great time so it was worth it. I just love watching them get so excited and amazed at new things. Alex was dancing to the music and being totally adorable. He had a whole bag of cotton candy though, so he was on a bit of a sugar high!!! After the show we took the kids to the Pie Pizzarie for dinner. It was a very fun afternoon.

THESE, however, were the find of the day in my opinion.......
I laughed so hard when I saw them and just HAD to buy them for the kids!! Stuffed animal Peeps!! Why didn't they think of these sooner??? I hate to eat Peeps, but I love our tradition of burning them with a torch after they get all stale! We included the kids in our tradition last year and they didn't enjoy it NEAR as much as Andy and I did!!

Okay, let's find a favorite so far

Please leave a comment telling me which one of these you like best so far. This won't necessarily be the final name because I am making a double batch for Andy's work on Monday and having them submit names as well. But they are programmers mostly and not too artsy, so we'll see what they come up with!!!

1. Chewy Gooey Melmac Cookies
2. Gooey Chocolate Melmac Cookies
3. Choco-Mel-Nut Cookies
4. Gooey Choco-Mel-Nut Cookies

or, on a totally different wavelength...
5. Triple Threat cookies

One of the reasons I don't get rid of him!

I am allergic to my bird. I had two other birds before Chewy and I wasn't allergic to either of them, but I lucked out with this guy! The other day he was molting and I was sneezing my brains out and my thoughts went to my sister Kami who I'm sure I could convince to take my birdie (hehehe). But then little Chewy decided to redeem himself and feel better and plain old crack me up!!! This is what he does when he wants to get out of his cage. Look at the bottom of his cage and watch his little head bob up and down.

Hmmmm

Since the cookies are filled what about putting "surprise" or "filled" in the name? Plus, they are kind of chewy so I'd like to use that descriptive word in the name.

Ready, Set, Come up with a Genius Name!!!!!!!

What if...

What if I did it like this instead....

Choco-mel-adamia

OR

Choco-mel-nut

Does that make it better or easier to read and pronounce?

Survey

Hello family and friends! I need your help. I am trying to finalize a name for the cookies I will be submitting to Pillsbury. The cookies consist of the best dough in the world, macadamia nuts, chocolate and caramel. The first name I came up with (or was it Andy?) was Chewy Chocomeladamia Cookies. Chocomeladamia being a mix of Chocolate, Caramel and Macadamia. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the name. If you have any ideas on a name please feel free to tell me that as well. I am open to suggestions!!! If you leave a wonderful name and I end up using it for my final submission I will overnight you a dozen of the cookies!! Believe me, THAT is a good prize!! Just to inspire you and also taunt you, here are some pictures! Thank you for your help!

It's hatching!

I just gave each kid a Cadbury Mini Egg for eating all of their lunch. They examined them thoroughly before putting them in their mouths and determined they were shaped like an egg. After about a minute Samantha bit into her egg and shouted out to me, "Mom, my egg is hatching!!!". I thought it was pretty clever.

Scary Samantha face

Samantha claims this was her favorite ride at Disneyland. But I still think she was scared. Take a look at the video and you be the judge! Actually, the first time I saw this video I almost cried because of how scared she looks!! It was late and the end of a very tiring, busy day, so I can't really blame her. She talks about it a lot though and says she wants to go back.....so maybe someday we'll go back.

Just a little something to make Kristi smile

I won't spoil it for you by intro'ing it.

Way back when....

I haven't taken any pictures recently so I'm kickin' it old school with this one. I believe this was Halloween 2006. Look at these little babies!!! And we didn't even have Cole-baby at this time which is terribly sad to think about. Good times and cute kids. Love it!

Tootsies

Probably the hardest part of spring for me is my feet. Confused? Let me splain......no, let me sum up (points for the first person to name the movie that comes from!!!). My feet have been treated so well during the winter. All comfy and cozy in thick socks and comfortable shoes. Nice, warm, tall boots. Lovingly rubbed with lotion every night before bed........then BAM!!! Spring hits and I suddenly expect them to endure harsh, cutting sandals as I expose them to the elements. Sockless shoes that are majorly cute, but majorly NOT comfortable. Every spring I end up with countless blisters and sore spots all over my heels and toes until my feet toughen up. By the end of summer they are so tough I could walk barefoot across glass. But not in the spring. My feet are more like men in the spring. Whiny and annoying and begging to be comforted and snuggled. (By the way, that totally wasn't a jab at Andy....I just thought it was funny.....true, and funny). And so, with 2 hot spots and 1 blister on my foot already........let spring BEGIN!!!!

The Colonel

It's been a long time since I hijacked Kristi's blog to post something that fits my twisted sense of humor, so here goes! For your consideration - "The Colonel"

Woot woot!!

Seeing how it is the last day of February I thought it was a good idea to congratulate everyone for making it through the 2 most hellish months of the year!! January and February are now behind us and we can look forward to spring and summer!! Bring it!!!

Cravings

I know that after a good workout you are supposed to feel pumped up and ready to eat healthy, blah blah. But you know what I feel like after my workouts???? A cheeseburger. Or maybe a giant cookie. Or a chocolate shake. I would eat any of those things if I had them available to me after my workouts. Instead, I tried to be good today and had a weight loss shake when I got home. I'm still thinking about that cheeseburger though.....

3 weeks.....and counting

Andy has been home (ie. not gone on a business trip!) for 3 whole weeks now and let me just say, it has been pleasant!! Usually he is home for a week and then has to be gone part or all of the next week and it goes like that week after week. Bless his heart, he's been trying really hard to do his best at his job while not traveling as much and I know it weighs on his mind. So, Andy, I just wanted you know I appreciate your effort to slack at work so that you can be home with your family!! Keep up the good work!!

The Opera

I was looking in the newspaper one Sunday a few weeks ago and noticed an ad for the Utah Opera. Their newest opera is The Marriage of Figaro. I've always wanted to go to the opera and since I actually recognized the title of this one, I thought I'd bring it up to Andy. Surprisingly, he said that he has wanted to go to the opera as well! We have a babysitter, we're buying the tickets on Friday and my new custom made little black dress should be ready by then!! Now, I just need to find out what in the world the opera is about!!!! www.utahopera.org mentioned an online class that you could sign up for the 4 weeks prior to the opera. They are just little lectures that come into your email and you can read as much as you like! It really is fantastic! I am looking forward to knowing a little bit more about operas in general and I think I will enjoy the opera even more if I actually know the story!! Thankfully they have English "subtitles" to go along with the Italian singing. Aren't we oh so cultured??? Not too cultured though.....I still plan on bringing candy in my purse to snack on! You can take the girl out of Payson........

A little difficult for a 4 year-old to grasp.....

My sister Richele came over this morning. She is pregnant and her belly has decided to show it. We were talking to the kids about it as they were eating lunch and explaining that she has a baby growing in her tummy. Alex piped up and said, "Your tummy is big Shell-Bell!". I'm sure Richele appreciated that!

So, obviously Samantha had babies on the brain because as I was putting her to nap we had this conversation:

Samantha: "Mom, are you going to have a baby?"

Me: (Well, my brain was screaming NO WAY IN HELL AM I GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER CHILD), but this is what I really said, "No sweetie, mommy isn't going to have another baby."

Samantha: "Why not? You could have a baby in your belly."

Me: "No baby, mommy can't have babies in her belly because I'm missing something."

Samantha: "What are you missing?"

Me: "I'm missing something called a uterus which is where the babies lives inside the mommy and grows big. I don't have one so I can't have any babies in my tummy."

Samantha: "Well, maybe you could borrow Richele's!"

Me: "Um, no that's not really how it works." (Fighting back the laughter)

Samantha: "Maybe you could pray to get one!" (Now I'm kinda touched!)

Me: "That is a really good idea babe, but I already have you and Alex and my family is perfect so I think we'll just leave it like it is!"

These kids amaze me every day with the things they come up with!! And now that you all have learned more about me and my anatomy I'm sure you'll be able to go about your day in peace!!! You're welcome!!!

President's Day Bowling and Food Poisoning

For our day off last Monday we went bowling with the Hall's and had a great time. I did really awful until the 10th frame and then I got 3 strikes in a row!!! It was terrific! After bowling we ate at Costa Vida which is right in the bowling ally. This is where it all went downhill. Alex, Andy and I all got food poisoning!! I still can't think of the food we ate because it makes me sick! Needless to say we will never be eating there again! A few days later while playing at the playground with the kids Cameron came up and asked me, "Is your food poisonous all gone?". Thankfully, yes, it was all gone by then. Cameron took a picture of Kami and I....pretty good job Cam-bam!!
All 4 kids totally done bowling and ready for lunch.
Samantha was very girly in pushing her ball.....hand on her hip and doing it with flair!!!
Alex laughing and just being a goon!!
Thanks for letting me steal these pictures Kami!!

My life

This is what life is like when your kids are only 14 months apart. This was my life every day. This was my uniform every day. And, I hate to admit it.....but sometimes I miss it. Now I have to catch the kids and grab a quick kiss and snuggle before they wiggle out of my arms. And yes, that is Alex's crib in the living room. Good times!

Admission

Fine, fine, fine!!! I admit it!!!

I WEAR MOM JEANS!!!!!

I bought a pair of cute looking, cheap jeans at Costco. I got home and tried them on. They are mom jeans. Therefore, the waist is a little bit high. But guess what??? I DON'T CARE!! I LOVE THEM! THEY ARE THE MOST COMFORTABLE JEANS I'VE EVER OWNED!! In fact, I'll probably go back and buy some more!! You can't really tell they are mom jeans when the top is covered by a shirt. So, if you are like me and wear most shirts long and not tucked in, then you would love these jeans as well!! Aside from the high waist they are very fashionable and cute and come in many colors. AND, when we went bowling on Monday my mom commented many times on how good my butt looked in them....which is the true sign of a good pair of jeans. Yes, oh yes, I think I will purchase another pair (or two)!!

Further proof that Alex is the cutest and sweetest little boy EVER!

And, yes mom, this IS a video....not just a picture! Click on the little arrow button to play the video! ;-)

Valentine's Day at the Higham's House

Because nothing says "I love you" like sweet pirate accessories!!!


These lucky children got pirate accessories as part of their Valentine's gifts and they were totally happy about it!! Samantha walked around the house with the eye patch on shouting things like, "Get off my boat!" and "Walk the plank!". She is a true pirate!!!

Cookies

Do you realize how many cookies have been baked in this house in the past 2 months?? I am trying to perfect my cookie recipe and then I am going to enter it in the Pillsbury Bake Off!!!! "What's the prize?" you may ask?!!?! Well I am glad that you asked............

1 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!

If this cookie can win me 1 million dollars, I won't know what to do with myself! Besides have a PARTAY!!! There are some rules to follow and ingredients that need to be used so I am tweaking my recipe and making sure it is just perfect before I send it in. Andy's co-workers have been fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to try almost every batch and vote on their favorite. I like a lot of input so I can decide which ingredients work best and which are going to go for the million dollars. I think I have decided on the final ingredients and now I am going to make batch after batch for consistency purposes. Then, I am going to give the recipe to a very select few and have them try to make the cookies and see if they all taste the same. This has been quite the labor of love for me and it has been a lot of fun as well. It's also been expensive buying all the ingredients!! Hopefully it'll be worth it in the end! I have trained Alex well and when I ask who makes the best cookies he enthusiastically replies "You momma!!!". Damn straight!

Our $15 Disney Photo

In Disneyland they have professional photographers stationed throughout the park to take your family photos. The first time you get one they give you a card that you carry with you all day and each time you take a photo you hand it to the photographer. At the end of the day you can log on to their website and view all the photos they have taken. Then, you can cut off your arm and your leg to pay for them!!! A 5X7 is $14.00!! We had enough good pictures of our own that the only one we wanted to pay for was this family photo. I thought it turned out cute and it just isn't a Disneyland trip without a picture in front of the castle. We opted to purchase the download of this photo for $15 but now we have unlimited access to it. I am really looking forward to taking the kids to Disneyland again. Plus, we need an excuse to wear our Mickey ears again!!!

Dress up

Nicole came over last week (before The Plague hit our house) and she and my kids enjoyed dressing up like princesses. Even Alex joined the fun though it's not shown in this picture. He is a very pretty princess!!

Nasty

I've decided one of my least favorite things about being married is...........

Cleaning a toilet that a man uses.

'NUFF SAID!!!!

Broccoli

My herbivore of a son just had steamed broccoli as a snack. He came in the kitchen and told Andy and I that he was hungry (again!!! kid must be growing) and so Andy replied that he could have some broccoli. I'm quite certain that he was joking but Alex thought that was a great idea. So I steamed up some fresh broccoli and Alex happily ate it for a snack at 10:30 am. He even asked for seconds. I love this kid!!!!!

Sickies

At least the kids aren't sick! But Andy and I sure are feeling it! I am going on day 3 now which is about a day and a half longer than I am usually sick but I still have body aches, runny nose, slight cough and I feel SO weak. I almost passed out in the kitchen this morning. Andy was gone from Monday through Wednesday so my sweet mom came over Wednesday afternoon to help me with the kids and laundry (which, by the way, still isn't put away even though my mom washed and folded everything perfectly!). I was so happy that Andy was coming home and would be able to help me but he got home and was so pale that I knew I'd have to step up and finish with the chores and kids myself. He looked AWFUL! He went up to bed at 5 pm and took a pretty good nap and woke up just in time for me to come to bed and pass out! Andy has taken the last 2 days off of work for himself and to help me which I appreciate very much!! Right now I am mostly praying that the kids don't get sick and that Andy and I get better soon!! Or, as Samantha puts it "Bless that Mommy's cold will go to someone else.".

SERENITY NOW!!!!!

SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW!!!!

Draper Temple

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the open house for the new Draper Temple. We thought it was important for the kids to have the chance to see inside the temple so it wouldn't be such a mystery to them. The temple was BEAUTIFUL!!! Like pretty much everything the church does it was classy and gorgeous. The woodwork was amazing and the stained glass work was even more amazing. I loved it because it reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright who I adore!! They also had a great display of temples in the reception afterward with yummy cookies and water. I loved all the pictures of the temples and of Christ. I wish that we would have had a non-member friend to take with us like we did when we went to the open house for the Manhattan temple. We were lucky enough to live in New Jersey when the Manhattan temple had its open house and our friends Ashly and Jesse and Ashly's sister were in town as well. Ashly's sister brought along a co-worker who isn't LDS. It was kind of fun and strange to see it through his eyes. I am not sure the impression it made on him, but I hope that he enjoyed it.

The kids were really good through the whole thing and Alex exclaimed, "I love this temple, I want to come back!". I thought that was a really cute thing for him to say! Samantha made all the people on the bus laugh when she saw Moroni on the top of the temple and she said, "There's Moroni with his telescope!". When we asked Samantha her favorite part of the temple she said, "The cookies.". Well, right there is further proof that she is a Higham!!!

The ever mysterious accent of Kristi

Many times throughout my life I have been asked by strangers if I am from either Minnesota or Wisconsin because of my accent. The lady at the spa in California thought I was from the South. Yesterday at Target the checkout girl asked if I was from England. Really?? Do I really sound that strange? I guess it must just be a "Utah" accent which is just a combination of hick and California. I would blame it on being from Payson but I don't use the word "ain't" often enough.

California - January 2009

Saturday
* We left for the airport around 9 am for our 11 am flight. We even got out the door a few minutes early!! Shocking!
* Arrived at the airport and checked in with no problems. We were at the airport at the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival and we saw lots of paparazzi and caught a glimpse of Susan Sarandon. She is short.
*Kids were great on the flight and we had plenty of room since the plane was more than half empty (or half full if you're an optimist like me!!!).
* My favorite part of the flight was Alex patting on his legs at take-off like they do in Little Einsteins to help Rocket fly. Too cute!!!
* Arrived in Santa Ana, got rental car and drove to the condo.
* Stripped off clothes and ran naked in the warmth.
* Went to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the kitchen and got some lunch.
* We drove around to look for an Old Navy to buy some shorts (it was hot!) but the kids were being rotten so we went back to the condo, had a small dinner and put the kids to bed.
* You don't want to hear about the rest of Andy's and my night (wink, wink!!).

Sunday
*We woke up early - courtesy of the time change and the children! - and got ready for the hour and a half drive to Sea World
* We got to Sea World just before 10 am and went straight in to the whale training area and had Breakfast with Shamu.
* We sat in the sun and ate a yummy buffet breakfast and watched the whales swim and train and learned a little bit about them.
* I'm certain I enjoyed the breakfast more than anyone else since I love marine life. Well, not so much marine life as just whales and dolphins and the cute, smart ones. The ugly, gross ones not so much!
* Sea World was a big hit for everyone and we had a great day. We went to all the shows we could fit in, I got a HUGE yummy Pepsi in a hideous cup that I brought home, the kids were great and the Sesame Street area was a great thing for the kids to be able to run around and get some energy out.
* On the way home we stopped at the Chart House for dinner which was delicious. We caught the sunset and were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swimming in the ocean and playing around. It's quite different to see them in the wild as opposed to jumping and clapping for an audience.
* Both kids passed out in the car on the drive home and for the first time in their little lives we were able to carry them from the car and into bed without a fuss and they slept the night!!! If you know my kids at all, you know how amazing that is!!

Monday
* We woke up a little later on Monday and had a leisurely morning in the condo watching cartoons and playing around.
* Finally around 10 am we headed to the beach.
* California beaches suck. There is washed up stinky marine life and the water is FRIGID! I prefer soft, white sandy beaches, but I'm from Utah.....I can't afford to be picky!
* The sun hid behind the clouds but it was still warm for us and we dug in the sand and made sand castles and just played around for an hour.
* We went and picked up some lunch and took it back to the condo and ate, cleaned up and tried to get the kids to nap.
* Alex took a great nap and Samantha rested for a little while.
* Once Alex woke up we went to the pool but the water wasn't very warm and the sun was on it's way to setting, so we didn't stay long there either.
* We went to a grocery store to pick up some BBQ fixins since the condo had a grill outside. But upon our return the grill was occupied so we cooked our food inside, which, was not too pleasant for Andy since he didn't have all the necessary equipment. But it was edible.
* Bathtime and bedtime

Tuesday
* Disneyland!!!
* We arrived at Disneyland an hour before the park opened like we were instructed to do. It turned out to be a good thing because our friends the Fausts were there and got us in early with their passes.
* It was so great to see our friends and their adorable family. Little Adam is 7 months old and so squishable!!
* The kids had a rough start and were so confused by the whole concept of Disneyland (their faces were like "what the hell??" But really, who's face wouldn't be like that? Most of the rides are dark and creepy and make no sense unless you're on drugs! Even the puny Winnie the Pooh ride. INSANE!!! But I digress.) . We rode Dumbo and the Teacups which they both loved and that kind of got them into the swing of things. We went to Pixie Hollow and Samantha got to meet Tinkerbell and another Fairy which she loved. Alex couldn't have cared less! That's my boy!!
* We rode rides. Kids cried. Samantha drew blood on Andy's arm. Samantha screamed. Andy and I laughed. We spent money. Lots of money.
* We ate lunch at the Blue Bayou which is attached to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Andy and I clogged our arteries with Monte Cristo sandwiches. Greasy and tasty!
* Andy told Alex he would buy him pirate junk if he went on the Pirate ride. So he did. He cried, but said he wanted to go on it again as he was wearing his Pirate Mickey ears (adorable!).
* Took both kids on Splash Mountain. I have never seen anyone as scared as Samantha was. Slightly sad, slightly funny. She was tough though.
* Ate ice cream, went on more rides, spent more money.
* When we decided we were done with Disneyland we left the park and found a yummy taco place where we all shoved chips and guacamole in our mouths. Especially Samantha. Guacamole whore.
* We weren't even out of the parking lot before Samantha was fast asleep clutching her baby Minnie Mouse doll. Alex was too pumped up to fall asleep in the car, but slept well at night.

Wednesday
* Kind of a waste of a day. No real plans except to swim and shop but Samantha was an angry little elf so we put her down for an early nap.
* We thought she'd wake up happy and ready to conquer the day. We were wrong.
* We took the kids to lunch at a mall but had to go right back home since Samantha was feeling under the weather and very cranky.
* Andy watched the kids at the condo while I drove to Huntington Beach and got a lovely spa treatment courtesy of my dear husband!
* I relaxed in the sauna. Dipped in the hot tub. Tried the steam room and almost passed out! Received a volcanic body scrub and facial and fell asleep during the whole process! Lovely!
* I got home, we ordered pizza and had an early night.

Thursday
* We flew home. Kids were great on the airplane again and we got home early enough to do some laundry and clean up the house.

I would love to take the kids to Disneyland again and next time I think 2 days would be better. I also hope Samantha will get a little more brave and will enjoy more rides next time. Lessons learned!!