Christmas Joy!


This year has been a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma Black's house. She is 97 years old and still going strong. My Grandma is so amazing, she even made treats, and cookies for us. We had an aw some dinner with my older brother and his family, my little brother and his fiance, my aunt and uncle, and their two sons. After dinner and visiting we all went to Dan's parents to visit. We exchanged gifts, and the kids acted out the nativity. The kids had fun. Kate was an adorable angel, and Kirk loved pretending to be a cow. Then we headed home to get the kids in bed before Santa came. Kate kept looking out the van window to watch for Rodolph's nose. When we got home we were kneeling in the living room for family prayer, when there was a loud knocking noise from the wind. We told the kids that Santa was trying to get in to leave their presents. I've never seen Kates eyes so wide. She ran up to her room and jumped into bed. Kirk slept on Kates floor. The next morning we were pleasantly surprised that the kids slept in until 8:00. They were so excited about Santa. The first thing they said was "did Santa eat his cookies". We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family to share this special time of year with. We are especially grateful to our Savior Jesus Christ. I love this time of year when everyone strives to be a little more giving, and a little bit better. May we always keep the spirit of our Savior in our hearts and homes.



Kate got a bike from Santa Kate and Kirk with their great Grandma Black

Kirk got a Darth Vader Costume he wears Kate and Kirk in front of the Christmas tree!

It all day everyday!

HO HO HO! Tis the season to be jolly!

I've enjoyed this season so much this year. The kids really get the whole Santa Clause thing, and are bouncing off the walls with excitement! Kate has been doing her count down till Christmas chain faithfully everyday. Here it is with only two days left before the big day. I feel like I'm pretty ready for it. I ventured to Walmart and Sam's club to do my last and final shopping for the Christmas festivities. Last night Kate had her Christmas dance recital. She looked adorable. At this young age they don't do alot of dancing, but she said that she had fun being on stage. Tonight we are having some of Dan's high school friends over, so I'm in a cleaning frenzy. I think it's good, because I would have taken a week off from cleaning. I think having people over is really good motivation for me to get into gear and pick up the house. Another Christmas miracle is that the kids have never played so well before. With only two days before Christmas I've reminded them that Santa knows when they fight. Well I'm so grateful for this time of year. I'm also so grateful for my wonderful family. I've been so blessed. Merry Christmas to all.



Kate in her Dance recital Costume! It's so darn cute!




Kirk shortly after devouring a chocolatey treat. He love's Chocolate, must take after his Mom

Christmas Cheer!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

This year Christmas seems to be coming at me full speed ahead. Last week I babysat my sister's kids for her, so I think being so busy just made the month seem so much shorterr. We've still been having a wonderful Christmas season. I absolutely love this time of year. I love the decorations, the music, and of course the shopping. Last week we decorated gingerbread houses. The kids really enjoyed that. We've also gone the the forgotten carols with Dan's family, and did the lights at the Layton park. Kate will be having her Christmas dance recital soon, and of course the many Christmas parties. I still have a ton of wrapping to get done, and also some toys to assemble. But other than that, I think we are just about ready. I hope that this season of the year finds everyone well and in good spirits. I am so grateful for the Savior. His birth was the greatest gift given to all men. May we all remember his life and goodness during this wonderful season. I know that through him we all may live again.

California Fun!

We just got back from Disneyland a couple of weeks ago. I've been dying to blog about our trip, it was so much fun! The kids loved Disneyland. It was so magical for them. We went to the magic kingdom the first night. We saw the parade which was awesome. All of the Disney characters from the most popular movies were in it. The kids were so excited. Then we did adventure land, and frontier land. I thought Kirk would love pirates of the Caribbean, but I was wrong! He usually isn't afraid of scary movies but the whole time he said, "I want to go home, I want to go home". I can't blame him though, it was alot scarier than I remembered it to be. The next day we did Fantasy land, and tomorrow land. We took kirk to the Jedi training academy. They pick out kids from the audience and let them fight with Darth Vader. He was to young to fight, but he loved watching. Darth Vader is Kirk's new hero. His cousin was Darth Vader for Halloween, and ever since he's been obsessed with Star Wars stuff. When Darth Vader left he bawled for five minutes. He wanted to meet him. So we went and bought him a light saber in one of the gift shops. He loved it. He had to take it with him every where we went, he even slept with it at night! I loves to fight Dan, and he always says to him " Da DA, you Luke, I Darth Vader". Kate's favorite part of Disney was of course the Princesses. We waited in line for 45 min. to see them. I was begining to wonder if it was going to be worth it, but it definitely was. She couldn't stop talking about them the rest of the day. We let her pick out a princess doll at the gift shop. They had an entire store totally devoted to princess stuff. Then we traveled down to San Diego to go to sea world, and to the zoo. It made for a nice change of pace. No crowds, and no lines to wait in. The kids loved seeing the whales. Kate said she wanted to get soaking wet at the shamu show. It was pretty amazing to see how the trainers could teach these wild massive animals to do those tricks. This was such a fun trip. We went with all of Dan's family. So this kids had a blast being with their cousins. I think Disneyland is the ideal vacation for a family. It was fun to relive the magic all over again with my kids.

Halloween fun

A couple of weeks ago we all went to the pumpkin patch with Kates preschool. The kids loved it! Kirk went out to the patch and found the tiniest pumpkin, he called it his "baby pumpkin". He also loved the field corn, he wanted to eat it. I love Halloween, picking out pumpkins, raking leaves, and dressing up in costumes. The kids were so excited for Halloween. The morning started with Kates preschool classes Halloween party. She was so excited to see all of her friends dressed up. Then Kirk and I headed to the store to get some candy. I wanted to get it at last minute, otherwise I'd probably eat a good portion of it before Halloween. Later after a good nap we headed to Dan's work. Lifetime puts on a great party, with candy games, and prizes the kids really enjoyed it. Then Dan took the kids out trick or treating. They actually went for a whole hour. About halfway Kirk plopped down on his knees, and just couldn't go any further. Dan carried him home on his shoulders. It's been fun to see the kids get into the holiday so much. Today both of them came upstairs with a empty garbage sack. They said they were catching ghosts in it. Kate was sure to tell me they were just pretend ghosts. Another fabulous Halloween surprise is that were having a little boy! I went into the doctors yesterday. He said that they are 95% sure. I'm thrilled I think it will be great for Kirk to have a little buddy. Kate took it pretty well. She was hoping for a sister. I think since her cousin Alexandra is having a little baby brother it's helped her with the idea of another brother. Well were off to my parents house to do some more trick or treating.

What will these kids think of next!

Okay,

I'm feeling a little bad about my last post. Especially since I love being a mom, and since I have two of the cutest kids on the face of the earth (of course that is a completely un-biased opinion)! But really they do come up with some of the funniest ideas at times. The other day Kirk came upstairs with my camera in his hands. I must have left it out because he managed to turn it on, and was walking around the house taking pictures. Here is what our home looks like from his two year old perspective! He took about twenty similar pictures! Then last night I was on my way out to go visiting teaching. The kids had been upstairs for quite awhile (we all know what that means). I told them I was going to leaving them with Dan, when they said "okay mommy we have a really big surprise for you when you get home!" That made me very nervous. I came back home and Kate and Kirk were so excited. They said close your eyes mommy. They then continued to lead me upstairs into my room. There on the floor was every single pillow, blanket, sheet, and couch cushion that exisits in our home. They were so proud of themselves. I had to take a picture! I couldn't believe it, they even stripped all of the blankets off of the beds. They then spent the rest of the evening jumping off my bed onto the "boat" that's what they call it. It keeps them safe from the crocodiles! Yes our children have very vivid imaginations!

Dinner no good? Get out the cold cereal!

Hey everybody. I just have to release some frustration with the challenges of being a mother. I'm not trying to complain, but hopefully some of you will relate to my evening. I spent 45 min. today making an edible dinner so that our family could sit down together and eat, only have the kids complain that they don't like it, and that they'd rather eat chicken nuggets for dinner! Then Dan rushed off to a meeting. I decided to tackle the dishes, meanwhile the kids fought over a balloon, each of them ended up crying about every 5 seconds. Then I herded them up to the bathtub. Kate refused to wash her hair, and cried the whole time like she was being tortured. I got the kids in their clean P.J's. Five minutes later kate spills milk down hers, and kirk poops in his diaper. I change Kate, and Kirk, then head downstairs. Promptly they both say "I'm hungry". I thought to myself, why in the heck do I even make dinner? So we go downstairs and all enjoy a bowl of cereal. Yes I ate one too! I needed some comfort food for my nerves. I actually took a picture to prove to the kids someday that they grew up on Kix's and rice krispies. I try to be a good mom, but I swear sometimes I feel like the things I do get undone if 5 seconds or less. Well I feel better now, I think I'll go tackle sweeping up the kitchen floor!

P.S. I hope I don't sound whiny in this blog, just needed to vent!

Our fun weekend

Last weekend was really fun, and quite consequential. It looks like we will be getting a new vehicle. We traveled down to St. George in Dan's Subaru. It's the older of our two cars, but it's a bit roomier so that's why we opted for that one. We were almost there when Dan decided to stop to fill up on gas. When we got out of the car the hood was totally smoking like crazy. I freaked. I thought we would be stuck in Parowan! Well Dan thought it was over heating so he got some water and tried to cool it down. Then we drove to a near by mechanic and had him look at it. He found that the transmission was leaking and replaced the ring for one dollar. Yes I was shocked that you could get anything repaired on a car for a dollar. Only in parowan I guess. So we thought that was the solution to our problem and happily went on our way down. But the car continued to smell, and leaked all over in the garage. We had another mechanic look at it and he said if your thinking about getting a new car soon, now would probably be a good time to do that, because it'll cost a bundle to fix ours. My sister who was down there also asked if the car was okay, and of course if anybody knows me I can't hide my true feelings very well. With a huge grin I said "It looks like were going to have to get a new car"! She laughed and said wow your really taking that well. But really I'm totally excited about the thought of having a roomier vehicle. We were planing on replacing one of our cars before the baby comes in April anyways. The trip was still a ton of fun. We were able to still drive the leaky car around. My sister ran the marathon in a total down pour. St. George is a desert and she had to run a marathon on one of the few days out of the year that it actually rains down there! She did great in spite of the rain. As I watched the runners finished all soaking wet I felt so bad and thought that they looked miserable. Kristen of course still was smiling, and just happy to finish.

Today when I was getting ready I checked on the kids, they were both sitting in the rocking chair reading a book together! So cute, I'm glad I was able to snap a picture of it. I don't get candid shots of them playing very often. Another cute thing that Kirk has been doing lately is that he has to talk to everybody who calls. He's used to talking to family and friends, but yesterday a car salemen returned my call, and he insited on talking to him. I'm sure the salesman was annoyed with having to talk to a two year old for a second, but Kirk wouldn't stop yelling to talk. So I let him. Of course the salesman was nice about it, he was trying to get our buisness. It's funny I use to worry about Kirk not talking enough, now he talks too much!

Just a note

The kids are both taking naps and I'm agonizing over what to do with dinner. Do you ever find when your pregnant the thought of cooking just makes you want to gag? The problem is that nothing in my pantry looks even remotely good to me. I've been craving subway's lately. Actually I'll crave anything as long as I don't have to cook it! Now that I've vented about that, I just wanted to quickly catch you all up on the latest that's been going on at our house. Tomorrow we leave for St. George for the weekend. I'm soooo excited because my sister Kristen who's living in California is flying in to run the St. George marathon. I'm excited to see her run this. She is so amazing I wish I was half a disciplined as she is. She's done half a dozen marathons already. She also just had a baby last January, so obviously she doesn't count being a busy mom as any excuse to not get out there and go running. Dan's parents have a place down there and they are going as well as Dan's brothers. I'll post some pics when we get back.
Last week I went into the doctor's. The baby is doing fine. I'm about 13 weeks along now and I feel like I'm getting over the worst part when you feel sick and tired all the time. I have alot more energy now and I feel like I'm at least getting back into the swing of things again. I had a very proud moment today I was able to deep clean all three bathrooms! I felt very satisfied with myself.
The kids are doing great. I swear they get cuter every day. Last night Dan was at a meeting so I decided to allow the kids to watch a movie. Kirk came downstairs a little while later. Soon after Kate followed. From the top of the steps she said "Mommy I get scared when kirk isn't up her by me". I said to Kirk "Kate's scared by her self." He immediately said "Kate's scared, ohhh, Kate's scared, ohhh, kate's scared" As he ran upstairs to be with her. I thought that was so sweet. As a parent you see your kids fight and wonder if there's any sibling love between your kids. Then little moments like these happen and you know that they really do care about each other. In spite of the occasional hair pulling our kids do really love each other!
Dan's doing great. He actually has a new job at Lifetime. He is now finding outside plastic work for the plastic division. I guess that there capacity is down becasue of the lousy economy, and so they are looking for more outside work. He just found a deal for a company that makes trash bins. They will be making the plastic lids for them. I think he's been really excited about having something new.
Another cute thing the kids said the other day was when we were putting up the halloween decorations. Kate was so excited. As we were putting them out she kept saying, "It's so great to do halloween today mommy, it's so great to do halloween!". Our kids say the cutest things. Kirk is really talking alot more now. We were nervous about is speech development for awhile. He couldn't hear when he was a newborn because he had fluid in his ears. Finally when he was about six months old he passed a hearing test. As he grew he just wasn't talking as quickly as he should have been. I did take him into the speech therapist several months ago. She said that he was on the lower end of normal. But since then he's been talking so much more. He copies everything Kate says. He is a very sweet little guy.

Back to School

Ah, fall. It's my favorite season of the year. I love the cooler weather, and seeing the beautiful mountains change color. There's a certain excitement in the air when the kids head back to school, with their new clothes, and new school teachers. Kate started her first year of preschool. She loves it. I'm so glad I decided to put her in this year. She will have two years of preschool, and I thought that maybe that was over kill, but boy was I wrong. Kate loves going, and I get to give kirk more attention. He is loving it up! He loves to sit on my lap and read stories. I've been trying to help him learn colors. It's been three weeks and he still hasn't gotten it! I'm starting to wonder if he's color blind or something. When Kate's at preschool Kirk is always asking "where's Kate?" I think he misses her when she goes, but a little space has been a good thing. They seem to play better, and not fight as often. Another really fun part about sending Kate to school is that I have a reason to get her all dressed up. I took a picture of her in one of my favorite outfits. Kirk was ready to step right up and get his picture taken as well. Yes I know he has a bottle in this picture! I've got a two and a half year old who still drinks from bottles! But he is so insistent, and I haven't got the heart to take it from him. He is still my youngest, so I indulge him alittle bit. I've been feeling much better lately. I'm past the whole sickness stage. Right now I just get soooo tired every afternoon. Right after lunch time I start to feel the drain. Luckily that's Kirk's nap time, so I get to have some rest. Tonight Dan took Kirk up to the Father's Son's camp out with the ward. Dan's been so excited to take Kirk camping. He said he was going to teach him man stuff up there, (Whatever that means)? I took Kate for a little girls night out. It was fun to be just the two of us. That doesn't happen very often, and I think she enjoyed it. We went and got her pictures taken at the mall since she just turned four. Then I bought her some chich-fil-a, and a hot fudge sundae. While she was eating the ice cream she kept complaining that it was making her head hurt. I told her she's just gotten her first "Brain freeze". She thought that was pretty funny. I had a couple of things to return, and then I bought her some new ballet tights. Then she fell asleep on the way home. I was excited about the way the pictures turned out. She as grown up so much. I was just thinking on the way into the mall about all of the past years we have done this. I've taken her into kiddie Kandids for pictures for the past three years. I felt like she was still two and no time had past at all. I'm so frightened that I will blink and all of a sudden she'll be sixteen. These truly are the moments to cherish. Our kids are our most priceless possessions. I am so grateful to be a mother!

It's Birthday Central!

Okay, I know it's been forever since I've updated this, but if it's any consolation we've been really, really busy. First of all the end of August and the first two weeks of September is Birthday mania at our house. Dan's Birthday is August 22. He's now soooo old 31! Kate's Birthday was last week. She had a crazy, fun, girly party. We had 10 girls over, what were we thinking? But her party really was awesome. Kate Madsen came at the end dressed like Cinderella. She was the highlight of the party! Yesterday was my Birthday. By the time mine comes around Dan will ask "do you want to do a party"? My prompt reply is NO WAY! I celebrated my Birthday by letting Dan do the dishes, and enjoying the news hour without kids to bath and get to bed. I also went to the Girls Camp reunion last night. It was fun to see all of the girls and their leaders again!. Today I canned peaches all day. My sister in-law Shauntel came over this morning to show me how to do it. We have two peach trees that must be on steroids or something. We have masses, and masses of peaches. We've been eating them, but I knew that we couldn't eat them all before they'd go bad. So in spite of my scary preconceptions of canning, I decided to jump in and try it. It actually wasn't to difficult. I was amazed at how rewarding it was. It's nice to work hard and have something to show for your labor. When I spend all day cleaning, the house just gets dirty again the next day. Canning will actually last. I did 24 jars of peaches, and we still have oodles and oodles more on the trees. Hey if anybody out there would like some PLEASE feel free. The kids have been really good. Kate just recently started Preschool. She loves going, and it's been good for Kirk too. I've been able to give him some one on one time. He is so cute, and always excited about life, and has an infectious smile. I guess that is a quick update on how the Mower clan has been doing. I'm now 10 or 11 weeks pregnant. 10 according to my doctor, but I swear I'm further along than he's giving me credit for! We are excited for the fall weather. Fall is my favorite time of year, I just love the changing leaves, and the cooler temperatures. I really can't believe we are wrapping up the year with just a few months left. I don't know were the times has gone.
Kirk found our food coloring and turned himself blue. He looked like a smurf for a day! (luckily it was in the kitchen and wiped right up). Never fret BYU fans his T-shirt washed clean!

I'm Pregnant!

Yes,
The clonmed obviously worked for us! Yea, I am really excited to be pregnant. Dan and the kids are excited as well. I'm only like 7 weeks weeks along. That's a little early for us to be announcing, but I've been acting so strangely because of my symptoms I figure I'd better give the excuse. I feel like all I ever do is eat and sleep. I swear I don't remember being THIS tired all of the time with my other pregnancies. I'm also a little sick. I have to eat every couple of hours to keep from getting nauseated. I guess these are all good signs because I know I'm definitely pregnant. I'll go into the Doctor next week. I can't wait to see the ultra sound. I've heard that when you are pregnant with twins your symptoms are much more pronounced, and also you feel them earlier. I guess we will just have to wait and see if I'm pregnant with multiples. My mom's a twin, so it runs in our family. Just now I put in a Tony's pizza. You know that dollar one's, I know that's totally disgusting. It just sounded really really good to me. Dan has been really supportive and will allow me to rest as much as I want. He doesn't even complain about the house work I've left undone. He's great! Another update, I made it through girls camp last week. That is a huge burden off of my shoulders! With the earlier description of my lack of energy your probably wondering how I survived it! Well I was really worried about being able to keep up with it all. So the day before I asked Dan to give me a priesthood blessing that I could have energy while I was up there. It was a beautiful blessing. He blessed me to not be sick, and that I would have the energy I need to accomplish my responsibilities. That help so much. I was so amazed at how well I felt up at camp. Granted I totally crashed when I got home. But I know that the Lord was there helping me get through it. I know that with the Lords help nothing is impossible. We can ask him for help in any aspect of your life. Whether it be spiritual, or temporal. I know that I've always received answers to every prayer. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life! I'm so grateful for the new addition we will be receiving into our family. I hope that the earlier statements didn't sound like I was complaining. I think it's fun to just be able to explain about the way I'm feeling during the pregnancy. I'll let you all know how the doctors appointment goes next week.

Kristen comes for a visit!

The past week has been such a blast. My sister Kristen came with her family for a visit to Utah. They live in Sacramento. I've been so excited to see her, and her darling kids. Kate and Kirk have loved playing with their cousins. Kate always asks if she can go to California to see Caroline. We've done so many fun things , I'll try to list them. Kristen, Dain, Caroline, William and Kimball pulled into town on Friday night. So we saw her on Saturday. Saturday evening she blessed her baby. my nephew Kimall is such an adorable little baby. He is actually six months old. He was born while his daddy (Dain) was serving in Afghanistan. The blessing turned out really well, and it was neat to be able to see my nephew's blessing. Sunday we had dinner at my Parent's house. And afterward Dain did a special family home evening on some of the experiences he had over in Afghanistan. It was so humbling to see pictures of the people. The children have so little, and yet they were always smiling in the photos. I'm so grateful for all of those in the armed forces fighting in the war. They are making tremendous sacrifices for our freedom. Then after the presentation Dain gave out little souvenirs for the kids. You can see in the picture, that they were a big hit. Kate loves her Afghanistan scarf, and loves to dress up in it. Then on Monday we went to the fun zone, and the kids had a blast jumping around in the bounce toys. Then afterwards we sent the kids home and my sisters, my mom, and I all went for a girls night out. We went shopping, ate dinner, and saw a movie. I haven't gotten out in a while so it was a real treat Then Tuesday we went to Lagoon. The kids loved it. Kate loved the Ody sea ride. Kirk also loved the rides. I've never seen him laugh so hard. The next night we went out to visit my Grandma Black. She is 97 years old and still going strong. We've nicked named her the energizer bunny. She just keeps going inspite of health complications. Last thanksgiving she broke her hip. She had it replaced went through rehab and is now back at home, getting around well. She is still independent and lives n her own. Her yard is beautiful. It has enourmous trees, which provides plenty of shade. She also has a big grassy hill. We took a slip'n slide out and the kids had fun running through the water. We ate fried chicken and salad. On the 24th of Juyl we went to breakfast at my mom's. It was the best breakfast ever. I'll have to give ya'll the recipe for her famous pecan blueberry french toast. I swear I had like three helpings. The kids played all morning and finally it was time for Kristen and Dain to hit the road. They drove down to Montecello Ut, that's were Dain's family lives. Later that day we all went to a pool party at Dan's parent's house. The kids swam, ate, and made ice cream. It was alot of fun. Well it's been an incredibly busy week, but so much fun. I just wish Kristen lived closer. Ever time she comes out it's bitter sweet. I love being able to see her, but I also miss her so much when she goes. One thing I do know is that your sisters are always there for you, no matter what!

These are the same steps we used to eat on when we were kids. My sweet grandma holding Kimball 6 mo. old. Kate standing next to her 3 yr. old.

Hanging around at gymnastics

I can't believe how fast this week as flown by! I swear it feels like time is in warp speed. This week has been alot of fun. Monday I took the kids to gymnastics. Like always they had a great time. Kirk is starting to catch on to the class. He is doing all of the obstacles very well, and even took his turn on the trampoline. Of course having Alexandra and Justus there makes is 100% more fun. Tuesday I buckled down and did house work. Wednesday we went to the classic fun center. It's perfect for the kids. They get to burn off some energy, and I get to stay where it's air conditioned. Thursday we went to story time at the library. Kirk's attention span has grown immensely. He sat and listened to most of the stories. Even the Librarian noticed the improvement! Friday we went to a swim party at Dan's parents home. The kids had a blast. Kate really loves the water, and even put her face in to blow bubbles, that's huge for her! Today I spent the morning at a girls camp meeting. I'm getting more excited for it, at first I was alittle nervous about being on a stake committee. I felt like I was so young and inexperienced. Now that I know what in the heck I'm doing, I've become more excited for it. I feel like it's going to give me a real spiritual boost as well. I learn so much from the Young Women, they are such amazing girls. I've missed being in young women's so I think it's going to be fun to jump back into it again. I've also been having fun planning Kate's birthday party. Yes I know it's about two months away, but I get so excited for birthdays. I think one of the perks of being a mom is that you can relive your childhood through your kids. I'll admit I have fun buying princess stickers, and pink glitter, and fairy wands! I guess I'm just a kid at heart. But I also love to see how excited Kate gets about birthdays as well. She's been talking about her birthday for about six months, ever since she went to her cousins party in February.

A Fun-filled Fourth!

The past two days have been so much fun. Dan was able to get off work a little early on Thursday. We headed to the Zoo in the afternoon. The kids loved the Zoo. The first thing Kirk said was "I want to see a tiger". He also loved the crocodiles. Kate just announced that her favorite animals were the peacocks. I've got a great picture of Kirk chasing one! We met up with Shaun and Anoel, and their kids. Our double stroller has a broken wheel, so we rented one. It actually turned into a Quadruple stroller! As you can see, I think we got our money's worth out of that rental. We were able to see all of the animals. Then we headed over to a park across the street for a picnic dinner. I guess I'm still a novice when it comes to packing picnics. I forgot a blanket, and plates! We roughed it by sitting on the grass, and eating on our laps. Kirk ruined the bowel of watermelon by sticking his foot into it. After that none of us dared eat anymore of it. We also had sandwiches, cookies, and chips. It turned out really well. Then we headed home supposing we had missed the rush hour traffic, wrong! It took us about an hour and a half to make it home. It gave me a new appreciation for what my Dad's done for all these years. He as commuted to Salt Lake everyday. I now realize how much he has sacrificed for his family. Yesterday was alot of fun to. We started off the day with a delicious breakfast at Mike, and Shauntel's. The kids were so excited to see Alexandra, and Justus. Kirk wore his new croc's and he got a blister. He then cried for twenty min. Poor kid, the only way I could get him to stop crying, was by telling him we'd get candy at the parade. That seemed to cure him of his pain. We ended up going to the Kaysville parade for a change. We found a really great spot, with no crowds in the shade. The catch was that it was at the very end of the parade. It took awhile for it to start, and then about half way through we decided we had seen enough and left early. The kids were good though, they didn't seem to mind the wait. They got a ton of candy since no one else was around to compete for it. Then we went swimming. Kate was more brave than ever. Now that she can touch the bottom of the shallow end she can venture away from the stairs, and sides of the pool. Then after we got the kids showered, and dressed we went to my grandma's annual fourth of July BBQ. It was fun to see all of my Cousins, and Aunts, and Uncles. As we sat under my Grandma's big walnut tree, I reflected on how many Fourth of July's we had celebrated there. It made me so grateful for traditions. It's nice to know that in a world that's constantly changing, some things never change. Traditions are really the bright moments in life. After the BBQ we went home and lit some fireworks I had gotten at Sam's club. The kids enjoyed them. Then I was planning on laying the kids down, but they weren't tired at all. I think Kirk smuggled a few sips of pepsi at my grandma's. So since they were wide awake, and hyper we decided to go to the Layton fireworks show. It was worth the trip. The fireworks were fantastic. I swear they get better each year. It was a fabulous day, and the kids had a blast. I just love the fourth of July! Kate woke up this morning and said "were are we going today Mommy, is there a parade"? I said no it's just back to normal life again, but there's always another holiday to look forward to. I think that's what life is all about. Those special moments we all look forward to year after year.

Right now I'm sitting on top of my kitchen counter, and every square inch of our kitchen is crammed with our sofa's, and mattresses. We also can't park our cars in the garage because the piano, computer desk, beds, and every other piece of furniture is crammed in there. Can you guess, we are getting new carpet! Yea, I've been waiting for this day since Kate decided bright pink nail polish would look pretty on our master bedroom carpet. And since Kirk squirted dish soap all over the living room carpet. Not to mention all of the countless other mishaps with food, Dan's health drinks, and dirt. I can already tell that the house is going to feel like new by the time it's all done. The kids have been really good about being sequestered to the kitchen, and backyard. I have taken some before pictures which I'll include once it's all installed. You can imagine what we did all weekend. It started with a long lunch break Friday. Dan and his amazing Brothers, and Brother in-law came over and moved all our furniture. I can't believe how much stuff we've accumulated over the last five years. We've put off getting new carpet because we knew what a chore it would be to move everything. Thank goodness for Dan's Brothers, or else it would have been impossible! Saturday I spent all morning painting our base boards. I figured it was a good time to paint, since it didn't matter if I got it on the carpet. This was the first time I've ever let Kate paint, I figured I'd let her get the chance since she could drip and it wouldn't matter. The Kate is a really good helper. She is always eager to pitch in and work. She also helped wash down the moldings, and walls. Dan removed all of the doors, and finished moving the remaining stuff out. We've been sleeping on mattresses which didn't go over well with the kids. And since the doors are off of the bedrooms, there was no way of containing the kids to their rooms. Saturday night the kids played in their rooms with each other, then finally fell asleep on Kate's mattress. I also have some more good news. Kirk didn't have to be taken out of Sacrament meeting a single time for being loud, or crying, or running around the chapel. It was so nice to sit through a whole meeting, and he was really good to. Dan is on the high council, so most Sunday's it's just me and the kids. I hope this is a new trend for Kirk, because usually I'm taking him out several times during one hour. As for the update on our attempts to have a third child, I'm not pregnant. We've been trying for like eight months now, and I getting sick of waiting. But I guess it will happen when it is meant to happen. Here are some pictures of the new carpet. I just love it. It feels like we live in a new home. I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Gigantic Fun!

Today Dan left on another buisness trip. The kids played so well this morning I thought they deserved to get out of the house and have a bit of fun. I decided to tryout our new museum pass, and go to the Dinosaur park in Ogden. The kids were so cute! They held hands and walked all around pointing to new dinosaurs as they spotted them. Kirk was holding onto my fingers pretty tightly. I had to keep reassuring Kate that it was all just pretend, and that the dinosaurs couldn't move. Then very sweetly, Kate would say to Kirk " kirk don't be scared the dinosaurs are pretend." The kids actually enjoyed the museum more this year than when I took them last year. Kirk is really into dinosaur's because he received a few for Christmas last year. Then we went and got dinner at Arby's. Kate said another really cute thing. After she ate all of her sandwich, and fries she said: "thank you mommy for the sandwich and fries I was really hungry." Can you believe that, coming from a three year old! Wow the things your children teach you are amazing. Both of our children have such amazing spirits. We are so blessed to have them! Kirk of course is just his darling little self. He is developing quite a little personality. He enjoys pretending as well. When we were eating dinner, I couldn't get him to finish his sandwich (surprise, surprise). But I told him to be a dinosaur and made some eating noises, he then started to pretend to eat the sandwich like a little dinosaur sound effects and all. I was able to convince him to eat most of his dinner, in between bites of ice cream. I know, I know the super nanny would have a heart attack over that tactic. But as a parent I say if it works do it. As our family knows, we will be coming out with a parenting book called the Do's, Dont's, and Doughnut's of Parenting. Maybe our sequel should be called A spoonfull of Icecream helps the vegtables go down. Just kidding. We just had a lesson on mothering in Relief Society. They talked about how we all wish kids came with a handbook. Boy wouldn't that be nice. If my kids had a handbook, I think Kate's would be titled, Fragile: Handle with care. Kirk's on the other hand would be titled: Explosive: Handle with care. I don't mean to sound like Kirk is bad! Just the opposite, it's always an adventure to have him around. It's also fun to see what mood he's in for the day! The other day I kissed him on the cheek, and he cried like I had pinched him or something. Then he continued to rub it off! But there's nothing quite like getting on his good side. The Grandpa's know that. Kirk absolutely loves his Grandpas! He really knows how to make their day. Well It's late, I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures. Today was alot of fun!