I had a very strong craving for cheesecake! I went to make it and quickly realized Josh had packed all of our 8x8 pans, and pie pans. I was so desperate (yes, I know how horrible that sounds) that I improvised and made it in a pan. I was proud of my improvisation skills! And in case you're wondering, NO I don't think it tasted as good. It was way too THICK!

Memory Lane!

I got this from my cousins blog and LOVED it! So here is what you do:

1. Add a comment to our blog. Leave a memory that you and I (or any member of our clan) had together. It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot (or just saw us in passing), anything you remember will be awesome!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It should be fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about one of us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

It's What FUN is!

We went to LAGOON on Friday with Josh's family. It was a blast, and the kids loved it! Hope was a little bit more afraid than Brie, but she was a trooper and went on most of the rides that she could ride on.
"I NEED MY HAIR DONE!" Brielle exclaimed as the rattlesnake rapids soaked her! I gladly stayed with the babies on this ride, and Josh said this was not one of Bries favorites!
When I was pregnant with Hope somebody gave us a double stroller because it was so big it wouldn't fit in their van. Of course, it wouldn't fit in our acura either but we kept it anyway. We are happy to say that it fits in our pacifica and was FANTASTIC on our lagoon day! The kids loved that they each had their own space, and we even had two babies sleeping in it at one time. I loved that it pushed as easily as our single stroller which is not the case in most double strollers. It saved us!
The carousal was a favorite for almost all the kids. Brie had her horse picked out before we even got on the ride.
We stuck with my sister in law Christie and her family most of the day. We traded off watching the kids so we could get on some big rides. Josh and I had the opportunity to take her oldest boys Garret and Josh on the colossus for the first time. It was so much fun to spend that time with them and get to know them, and to see how nervous they were.
Josh's mom and dad took our kids for a couple of hours and we got to go on a few ride alone together!
We had to stop at target on the way because Josh didn't want his head getting sunburned! He came out with this pimp hat, that was a hit with everybody especially Hope. She would rip it right off Joshs head and put it on her own.

Our nephews Josh and tyler, and Brie and Hope .The one downfall to the day! Hope dove head first out of the stroller. I had remembered that head injuries bled a lot, but when you are in the moment that doesn't matter. It was dripping blood and Josh and I both kid of panicked. Imagine our surprise when it was just a little tiny scrape, and goose egg.

Thanks Christie for organizing the festivities. It was definitely wondi of wondies ( in fawson terms)

ZoO dAy!

Yesterday we went to the ZOO, and the girls absolutely loved it! Brielle controlled our expedition telling us exactly where she wanted to go. She would be stuck on that animal until we saw it then immediately choose another. First it was the elephants, which she later claimed as her favorite!
***On a little side note, on July 3rd Brie had a dentist appointment, so I left Hope home and we went shopping and to the dentist. She picked these little shorts out all by her self, and just had to have them. Every time I took them out of the cart to find a shirt that matched she just freaked out. I was thrilled because they were even on sale! I'm teaching her early! Then, for the next few days she kept saying she wanted to wear her daddy shorts, or shorts like her daddy. Now that I think about it I should have realized what she was talking about, but I was totally clueless until I pulled them out to put on her and she said "yeah, my daddy shorts!" Oh, make sense, I thought! ******
Next was the tigers. I was a little disappointed at first because we didn't see him through the glass. Then we walked up the HUGE hill and found him sleeping very close by. Brie kept telling everybody "Shhhhh, he's sleeping!"

Then it was the Gorillas, which I realized I didn't get a picture of. Hope also loved the gorillas. They especially liked the baby gorilla, but insisted it was with the daddy and not the mommy. I kept telling Brie that the babies are always with the mommies, kind of like they are always with me. She just said "No, it's the daddy."
The lion drinking fountain had to fill in for the lions since there are no lions at the Hogle Zoo. What kind of zoo doesn't have lions?
Hope loved the Giraffes. They are also my personal favorites. It was very difficult getting her out of the giraffe house, and she kept waving saying "HI" I would tell her say bye Hope. She would then cry and say "No"
once again they loved the baby giraffe and it was so much fun watching them learn. I think I loved the zoo as much as they did.


"Oh, Look How cute" Brielle says ABOUT A SNAKE! Snakes are not cute!Hope holds my hand so cute. Whenever she is down and walking she has to hold on to something if she is in an unfamiliar place. This is how she always holds my hand and it is so tender to me. She grasp so tight and is so good to stay right close by me.

Touching Video!

One of my friends posted a link to this video on her blog saying "if you have the time check it out". I loved it so much( as I cried my eyes out) that I wanted to pass it along as well and change it a little bit to MAKE THE TIME TO SEE IT! It puts a different perspective on life and our limits!


http://cjcphoto.com/can/

Viva Las Vegas

We started our vacation out in cedar city where Josh had a couple of little carpet jobs. After that on sat. we moved to St. George, where our stay was not long enough but still fun. Sunday morning Josh went home with his sister, and I, after visiting some family, headedto VEGAS to see my friend Emily!

The kids were a little shy at first but quickly remembered each other. We had a BLAST! Monday we went shopping and the kids were so good. We could not get over how good they were. We went out and about all week and it didn't even seem like a big deal. Em and I decided we liked having two women around to help with everything. Tuesday we did the strip thing and took the kids to see the "pink birds"(flamingos), the fish and toy store, and the circus acts. Everybody looked at us like we were crazy with four kids in a casino but we didn't care, WE LOVED IT! They loved it too, and were fascinated as we walked through all the lights and action.
Wednesday, we tried to do the swimming thing, but lighting started and we got kicked out, so we had a quiet day at home. Which was much needed.
Thursday we packed up and said our good-byes. It was so hard not knowing when we were going to see each other next. The kids did pretty good on the way home. Brie got whiny and kept saying " Mom this is too far, my bum hurts" We just made a few little pit stops then thy were good for a few more hours. Thanks Emily for an AMAZING week. We love you guys. Brie summed it up pretty good when she was saying prayers last night, " thank you that we could stay at Ava's, uncle Jakey's, and Olivias"! It was so sweet! She also said on the way home "Mom thanks for taking me to Olivias!"

We came home to a pretty bare house. Josh had been packing while we were gone, and I started to cry when I walked in! It didn't even look like our home anymore!

Brielle's sleepover at Grandmas=One CLINGY Hope!

My Mom wanted to have Brielle come sleepover before we moved. I welcomed the invitation. Now I'm regretting it. Hope has been following me around all night long. I tried to put her to bed and after 15 mins. of crying I went in to find her patting Brielles bed hysterically. She didn't want to go to bed alone. So now it is 10:15 and she is still WIDE EYED! I can now see the pay off to having my kids so close, and I'm so happy they love each other so much. I just don't know how I'm going to get Hopey to bed!

Celebrating our FREEDOM!

Brie and Hope both loved the first part of the parade, and then they quickly got bored. In the beginning Brie loved to point out the different color cars, and the marching bands, and pretty much everything, then she started saying ok lets go. I really don't know why she is covering her ears, must be the sirens!
After the parade, we went to the carnival at the park. It was way too hot and Hope was way too tired. We went on a few things and then called it quits. We headed to Grandma Treasa's were Hope slept in the nice cool room, Brie swam outside with the kids and I got a break. It was great. We ended up just hanging out and swimming until the fireworks.
Hopes favorite part of the fireworks were the glow sticks. As soon as the first boom went off she came and snuggled right up to Josh and I.
Brie also loved the glow sticks, but I would have to say she loved the fireworks more. She kept saying "Wow, I LOVE IT!, Oh, I LOVE that one" She also asked me if it was going to be the 4th of July again tomorrow. I would say she had a fun day.

My miracle blossoms!

I thought it would be easier to move our flower pots if they were empty, so I didn't plant. I LOVE to plant my flowers and watch them grow so this was very hard for me. At the end of last summer I just had Josh take my pots around back, and then ignored them for the rest of the winter. Image my surprise when I went out to find blossoms in my pot! I quickly cleared away the dead from last year and sat and relished in my flowers. They are perennials, so I have no idea how, or why they came back, BUT I LOVE IT! yes I know they are not as beautiful as they would've been had I planted, but pretty good for doing nothing!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MOM WHEN............

you look at poop and wonder what is really so gross about it. You've cleaned it off so many bums, and anything else it might get on, so many times it doesn't even phase you. AND while you would never want to actually touch it with you bare hand, picking it up in a paper towel, and scrubbing it out of carpet, blankets, clothes, walls, makes you wonder what the BIG DEAL really is!