What a 4th!

The weekend came and went so fast. I guess that's what happens when you do a lot.
I was being lame and wanted to stay home and be low key, but Seth talked me into seeing fireworks at Eaglewood with my family and some friends. Turned out to be lots of fun. (Of course we payed the price the next day with grumpy kids. But it was worth it).
Then on the 4th we went across the street and watched our favorite neighbor put on an amazing fireworks show. He does this every year and it never disappoints. His wife buys lots and I mean LOTS of glow sticks for all the kids. This year she added star wands, rings and ear rings to the mix of glow stuff. At one point all the kids were more interested in the glow sticks than watching the awesome fireworks. I wish I'd taken a picture of that.
Then after the fireworks Seth and Bella slept in the tent in the backyard. This has become a tradition and Bella really looks forward to it. Claire kept calling the tent the "castle". Maybe next year she'll get to sleep out there with them.
Seth said right after this picture Bella put her head down and was out.

Claire & grandpa

Claire with the teenagers (she thinks Desi is her friend not Emmie's).

Bella & Darci

Happy Late Birthday

This is a little late. About a month to be exact.
We had just gotten back from Disneland when it was Seth's birthday and the weather was bad so we postponed his party until now.
It was lots of fun to have our families over for dinner and cake and ice cream.
I took sooo many pictures and I couldn't post them all (they'll be in the scrapbook) but here's a few from our fun day. The Birthday Boy

Football cake that Kim made

Kelli & Beth

Grandma Jan and Breanna

Happy Late Father's Day

I always get emotional when Fathers Day rolls around.
I have been blessed with, what I think is the best dad. If I could be even half as giving and selfless as he is I would be a better person. He is always serving my family and anyone he comes in contact with. I had a great childhood and I owe it to him. I can't count the number of times Seth or I have said "we would never make it without him". I am so thankful for you dad!! Love you!
My kids might argue with me and say that they have the best dad. I have to agree that he is wonderful to them. He does all the things that a great dad should do. Teaching Bella how to ride a bike in the church parking lot, tickling Claire until she can't talk, and taking the twins on nightly walks.
He is also the one who gets up with the kids at night. I'm a heavy sleeper, but he has very rarely woken me up. in fact there have been several times I didn't know until morning that he got up with sick kids. Even cleaning up throw up and not telling me until morning.
And of course he has taught the older girls the Utah man song. They can both sing it without any help. Poor guy is totally outnumber around here and the girls have him wrapped around their finger. He would do anything for them.
I love you, Seth!! Thanks for everything you do!

Project Bug

I feel like I've been bitten by the project bug lately.I have 3 projects that I've been working on.
The first was a bunk bed.

About a week ago I got a call from someone in my ward asking if we wanted a bunk bed or if we knew someone who would. All I could think was, how fast can I say yes without looking too desperate? I hadn't even seen it, but I knew better than to be picky if it was free.

Luckily for me it was perfect! I knew my girls would love it. Each bunk has it's own shelf.

I was excited and worried to try and re-paint it.
I called one of the best (my cousin Christy) for advice and was ready to go.

I spent 1 day sanding it and 3 days painting.
I realized something about myself while I was painting.

I lOvE tO pAiNt!!!

I guess that explains why every room in my house has been painted some more than once.
Bella was super excited about the whole thing. She couldn't wait to put all her stuff on the shelf. She also was excited that I finally let her use the new bedding. I bought it on eBay when I was pregnant with the twins. But I said we would have to wait to use it until we had a bunk bed.

Before the paint job.

The second project I've been working on were these adorable aprons.
Bella has been asking for an apron like mine every time we cook. (She has one but has out grown it).
I looked on line but all the ones I liked were between $20-$30. That seemed like a lot to me. Especially since I would need 4.
So long story short, I bought some fabric (only paid $5) and a sweet older lady from my ward helped me sew them (by help, I mean she basically did everything. I brought all 4 kids, her idea not mine. She had toys out for them to play with, but in the short time we were there I spilled baby food on her rug and Claire had a blow out diaper that left her naked). We were able to make 3 aprons from the stuff I bought (I did sew one of the aprons by myself before we had to leave).
I'm so happy with how they turned out!

I realized I haven't put any new pictures up of the twins. Here they are watching the girls play in their new beds. (Sydney is on the left and Breanna is on the right).The 3rd project is kind of Seth's not mine. We're putting sprinklers in the back yard. So more weed pulling, tilling and finally adding sod. Didn't we do this last year?
Pictures to come..

So Sweet

The other night we were having movie night and watching Toy Story.
I leaned over to Bella and said "do you think the toys really talk and play when we leave or go to bed?".
She looked at me and in all seriousness said "I don't know".
Then I watched as she really thought about it. It was like I could see the wheels turning in her head.
Some might laugh, but it truly made me want to just hold her and keep her little forever.
It was so sweet.
I love the way kids think.

2nd times a charm.....well maybe not

Today while Bella was at her swimming lesson I decided to take Claire to get a slurpee. I realized that she's never had one and I didn't want a repeat of my horrible mothering skills. (Click on the link if you need a reminder).
As we pulled into the parking lot Claire says "what's this place mom?". Have I really never taken her here, I thought?
Anyway she was in heaven! She drank almost the entire thing and never complained of a head freeze.
When we picked up Bella I asked her if she wanted some of Claire's slurpee to which she says "what's a slurpee?".
Are you kidding me? What is wrong with my children? Or better yet, what is wrong with their mother?

Only A Matter Of Time

This morning while Claire was trying to put something together she got a little frustrated and the next thing I know I hear "Oh Damnit."

I guess I knew this would happen sooner or later.

After all she is my kid.

Good thing she's cute and can get away with it.

Hair Impaired? Yes That's Me

I feel so bad for my children. They have a mom who doesn't know how to do hair.
It's true. If you've seen my kids then you know I'm telling the truth.
I mean I can barley do my own hair let alone theirs.
Then irony of irony I got 4 girls. How is that fair?
A few months ago I was discussing this with a friend and she said "oh yeah, I totally understand I'm hair impaired too".

hAiR iMpAiReD!!

That's a perfect way of describing me.

After my friend gave me a word to describe me I was feeling better about my situation and I'll be honest I was using it as an excuse for my lack of hair skills.

All that changed when I was out to dinner with some friends and someone mentioned that you can go on youtube and find videos on how to do hair.

CRAP!

That means I can't use excesses any more.

So this summer I'm challenging myself to learn how to do more than straighten Bella's hair with a straightener or pull Claire's hair up with a clip.

Try not to laught if you see my children at church or the park and they look ridiculous.

Just know their hair (and their mom) is a work in progress.

California 2010

We just got back from a great family vacation in California. Well, I guess it wasn't totally a family vacation, since we left 2 members of the family home.
It felt so easy only having 2 kids. Bella was tall enough to do all the rides. So we spent 2 days at Disney and one at the beach.
Most people know that I was a cast member at Disney world. I was on the college program. I lived in Orlando for 6 months and felt like all I did was eat sleep and breath Disney. I swore I would never go back. Little did I know I would have 4 girls who LOVE all things princesses! I also didn't know how much fun it would be to take them to Disneyland.
This was Bella's 3rd time and Claire's 1st. They both had so much fun. One thing we always have to do is have dinner with the princesses. When Bella went for her first time she was so excited she couldn't talk. Claire was equally excited, but she was so excited she couldn't stop talking. That's the difference in those two.
The girls also loved the beach. We could have easily spent more time there if we'd had better weather.
I think the best part for me was being able to spend more time with the girls. Everything was relaxed and fun and all the attention was on them. It was great!
Of course we couldn't have done with without the help of my friend Amber, my sister Laura and my parents. They all chipped in and took days watching the twins. I feel so blessed to have such great family and friends in my life.
Seth and I have already talked about what we're going to do when we go back next time with all the girls!
I took so many pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

The girls were able to meet all the princess but this was my favorite picture. Claire was so excited to meet Snow White

Does my husband own any non-Utah shirts?

California Day 3

Today we went back to Disneyland. We mostly stayed in California Adventure. Once again we were able to walk on most every ride. I couldn't believe it. It was great!

After lunch we headed back over to Disneyland and rode a few rides we missed from the day before. We were able to get everything in that we had missed from yesterday, which was only 3 rides. Then we headed back to California Adventure to have dinner with the princesses.

Both the girls loved it! Claire was so excited. Bella seemed excited at first but I think she's kind of getting too old.

After dinner Seth took the shuttle back to the hotel to get the car and I stayed with the girls to watch the parade. That turned out to be the best decision! They were both in heaven. We were in a perfect spot and they both really got into it. Especially Claire. She was dancing and waving and shouting out every characters name. It was so fun to watch!

Tomorrow we're headed to the beach.

I talked to Laura today and she's been having so much fun with the twins. Her kids are in heaven watching them. My dad and Jan took over this afternoon and they've already sent a few pictures. I think the twins are getting spoiled rotten! I'm so glad!

California Day 2

We went to Disneyland today and had a great time. We were able to basically walk on whatever ride we went to with the exception of just a few and even then we only waited 20 minutes.

The kids had so much fun. Bella was so excited she could hardly contain herself. It was so great to just spend time with the older girls and do things that they liked.

We got back to the hotel, went to dinner, gave the kids baths and put them to bed.

Tomorrow we'll be doing Disney again. Can't wait!

California Day 1

We drove 10 hours and only had to make 3 stops. It went a lot better than I expected. It must have been so hard for Claire. she has so much energy. She didn't really care for to do the things I brought for her. So for being that board she was very good. Bella was great as always. No breakdowns.

We drove our new car and it did great. Seth drove the whole way. We left at 6am.

Amber took the twins for the whole day and then Laura is picking them up in the evening and taking them over night and the whole next day and then over night. Then my dad and Jan will have them for the last 2 days.

It's been fun to just spend time with the older girls. They have been great together. Playing and laughing and just having a good time.

Tomorrow we are headed to Disney. Can't wait!!

Mothers Day 2010

I never thought I would have 4 kids by the time I was 30. But I am so thankful! I love being a mom and I love each of these amazing kids that make my life that much better!
I love you all so much!

Where have all the good stations gone?

A few weeks ago my favorite radio station was taken off the air. It's been replaced with some lame all music station.

I'm going CraZy!

I've listened to this same station since high school. It's not so much the music that I care about, although I did like it, it's the fact the morning show is gone.
I have the radio on almost every morning. It's entertaining and informative. So without it, I'm going crazy. I've tried to find others but I can't seem to find one that I like.
I've found myself listening to talk radio, and I think that aged me about 10 years.
Any suggestions? Does everyone just use their ipods in the car?
Help!

Much Needed

Last weekend I was able to slip away for a few days with some of my friends from high school for an all girls weekend. I had such a great time! Basically we talked, ate, slept, shopped, talked and ate. It was so fun and so needed.

We missed everyone who couldn't come.

Lovin' It

I started watching this show "Jessica Simpson's: The Price Of Beauty". I have to say that I really like it.
I think it's called a reality show, but I'd almost call it a documentary.
If you haven't seen it she goes around the world to different countries to see what they think is beautiful. I can't believe I'm about to say this about a Jessica Simpson show, but I think it's fascinating. Seth just rolls his eyes when I say that. But seriously I've learned so much. When she was in Uganda she met with a woman who was about to get married. The culture teaches that a woman is more beautiful the heavier she is. So she stayed in a tent for 2 months and only drank milk and was rubbed with butter. She gained over 80lbs!! But she was so honored to be in the marriage tent and be like her mom and aunts.
Anyway I highly recommend this show if you haven't seen it already.

Round 4

This is my 4th year attempt gardening. The first year we were here I had no idea where to start. The second year we got a grip on most of the out of control weeds. And last year we (by we I mean Seth since I was the one doing all the ordering since I was on bed rest) finished the play area. That meant taking out all the over grown weeds, tilling the whole area, putting down bark chips and covering it with all the play stuff.

So this is my year to try and grow flowers.

I have a love hate relationship with them. I love beautiful flowers!

I hate weeds, dead flowers, money spent on flowers and weeds. Did I mention weeds?

This year I am determined that my front and back yard will look beautiful all spring and summer. Am I crazy for thinking I can accomplish this?

The other day I stuck the twins in the stroller and worked on the front yard while Claire played on her bike. And now that we have a totally fenced in back yard I plan to stick the kids back there and work on everything else.

So hopefully by the end of summer I can report back that everything went well.

I can dream, right?

PS If you have any tips I would love to hear them.

Good Times

We just got back from a great weekend in St. George. We met up with some friends and their kids and had a blast!
Lots of swimming (hours on end, to be exact), playing (more like staying up until 1am laughing and talking after the kids were asleep), eating (in-n-out burger), hiking (Zions), picture taking (too many to put on the blog), and relaxing (actually, with 4 kids there really wasn't a lot of relaxing). It was still great, though.
But, will someone please remind me that I have 4 children?!!! I don't know why I have such a hard time grasping onto this idea.
We keep trying to do things that we did before, and are surprised that's it's a little harder now. Well, duh Amy! You're now a family of 6!!

We had so much fun going hiking at Zions. But, this was one of the times that someone needed to remind me that things would be a little different with twins babies and a 2 year old.

Bella did a great job. I was so proud of her. She made it 3 miles with minimal complaints.
The twins and Claire did great on the drive there and back.
So all and all it was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again.

Are You Kidding Me #25

I feel like the most commonly asked question I get is, "Do you really go grocery shopping with all your kids?".
Well yes and no. I try to never go to the grocery store during the day with all the kids. The only reason I even attempt is if we have nothing in the fridge.
I look like a freak show as you can imagine.
Actually I ran into someone, who will remain nameless, from my ward, last week at the store and when she saw me she just laughed. Not even a hello! Thanks Jonell.
Ok, I would have laughed too, if I had seen this. One reason it's so funny is because I can't see when I'm pushing the cart, because I'm so short. So I end up pushing the cart and leaning to one side.
So in order to make this happen. I have to get one of the carts with the steering wheel. I buckle Claire in and then put one twin in the cart part and the other on the top where the child would normally sit. Then the food on the bottom.
And yes Claire has stolen a nuber of things when we shop like this. The problem is I never notice until we're out of the store and getting in the car. And no I don't return anything. There is no way I'm packing everyone back in the cart to return a Readers Digest and a Twix. (Just some of the random things she's taken).

The only grocery store I don't mind going to is Costco. Since the cart is bigger the carriers fit better. We tend to go to Costco once a week. I like to time it around lunch so the kids can get lots of samples and then end with lunch.

shopping at Costco

from the look on their faces I'm not sure if they enjoy shopping

Easter

This morning Bella woke up bright and early. She came in asked me to get Claire out of her bed so they could play with the toys and books they got in their Easter baskets. Then it was off to find eggs.

The girls had so much fun. Bella was great and shared some the eggs she found with Claire. I was so proud of her. I didn't even have to ask her.

Claire loved all of her eggs. She walked around with her basket all morning. once she figured out there was candy inside she was even more excited.

It was a great way to start Easter and conference morning.