Museum of Ancient Life

Yesterday was the last day for 2 buck Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point. So, we went to the Museum of Ancient Life. We haven't been there in a long time. I think the last time we went was when Micah was Lily's age.






We had a good time.

Farm Country

Tuesday was Alyssa's first day of 3rd grade. We decided to go to Thanksgiving Point's Farm Country after she got home. They girls had a good time, even though we were all melting.
Lily really liked that little goat.


Britni helping Micah over the fence to pet the lama.

Alyssa and Micah's favorite part,


riding the ponies.

Bad Genes

I said earlier that I would post more about going to the optometrist. So, we went in just for a regular ol' check up. Micah has never had her eyes check, Alyssa hasn't since she before she started kindergarten, and I haven't in nearly 5 years. I knew that my eyes weren't so great and I wanted to get contacts, but I didn't really think the girls eyes were going to be bad at all. Wrong! Alyssa's right eye is absolutely normal. It has 20/20 vision, but the left eye is terrible. It has 20/400 vision (not really even sure what that means except WAY bad), and is farsighted. If her eye was to go 'unfixed' she would eventually lose vision completely in that eye. Good thing we caught it before she went blind! Turns out farsightedness is genetic. I am farsighted in my left eye too. On to Micah. In children it's normal to be farsighted, but only to a certain extent. For Micah's age they should be between 4-5 steps or stages (I don't remember the wording the doctor used), and Micah is at a 10 on both eyes. I'm thinking great, I have 2 blind children, probably even 3. I need to make Lily an appointment soon now. Anyways, here are some pictures of my 4-eyed cuties

Lately...

Alyssa got baptised!


What a wonderful day it was for her. She got to wear a beautiful, fluffy, white dress and have people fawn over how beautiful and proud they were of her. I am glad it was a good day for her.

The other day we went to Chik-Fil-A and I found the most genius thing!


WHAT?! Rip the top "cap" off to squeeze or pull back the tab to dip! Crazy! Why was this not invented sooner?

Last year Zach planted a rasberry and a blackberry bush. I hate those "bushes"! They aren't really even bushes, they are more like chutes with the sharpest thorns in the world. Anyways, since they are supposed to be "bushes", and no one bothered to check out on how to care for them (eh hem), they have been growing wild. I got fed up and decided to do studying on how to take care of them. Apparently they are supposed to have a support system of trellises so the chutes don't fall over, and you have to trim them every year. So, today I built a crappy little trellis with the stuff we got at Home Depot. (Side note: Why is it that certain people never listen to me? I say how something needs to be done, but the other person doesn't really listen and then they get an idea of how something should work and go with their idea instead, even though they have no idea what they are talking about. Then we get to the point of, "You were right." If I'm right then why do we have to go through this process every time?! *Ahhhhhhhh*) So, now I have to deal with a trellis that not only looks like crap because it was made with the wrong things (that was not my idea in the first place to get), and doesn't work properly. If those "bushes" don't produce a boat load of berries next year, they are out of here!
I'm kind of in a bad mood. I'm sorry.
Anyways, this is our bounty.

Not much at all, and no rasberries this year. Our tomatoes are finally starting to turn red. Micah had the first ripe one today, and she ate it like an apple. That kid LOVES tomatoes.

Alyssa, Micah, and I went to see the optomotrist yesterday for a yearly eye exam, and I will be posting more on that later. Not that anyone really reads this blog.

The Anniversary and The Incident

As of yesterday, Zach and I, have been married for 5 years. It doesn't really feel like it's been that long, but it also feels like it's been much longer. To celebrate, he took me out to lunch on Thursday, on Friday we went to see the new Transformers movie. It was really good! The best one out of the 3. I think I might plan for us to go to dinner tonight too, but we'll see. I have a $50 gift certificate to restaurants.com that I got from Bing Rewards, and right now would be a perfect time to use it since restaurants.com has $25 certificates for $2.

Anyways, yesterday was kind of crazy. First, Zachary almost had his ear taken off! He was doing a paratrooper jump into Utah Lake. I'm not positive what happened. Something about his helmet broke off, and I think he didn't tuck his chin under, and the parachute nearly sliced his ear off. He said his ear lobe was dangling and only being held on by 3 pieces of skin. Plus, either his bracket or the wire on his braces came unattatched and his orthodontist won't fix it until Monday. On top of all that, I got in my first car accident where I was the driver. I am so glad that I was the only one in the car! So, I was going from my parent's house to my house. I was just minding my own business when this silver Pontiac starts running through a stop sign. I slam on my brakes and have to swerve to miss him, and I do miss him. He finally stopped about halfway into the lane. I think, Oh My Gosh, that was the closest I've ever been to getting in a car accident. Then, I stop at the red light. I am preoccupied thinking about the almost accident when BAM, the same silver Pontiac rearends my car! I don't know exactly what I was thinking after that, but I got out of my car and started screaming at him. He signaled for me to pull off the road. So, I got back in my car and pulled off to the side of the road. Then I proceeded to get out of my car and continue to yell at the guy saying things like, "WHAT THE H**L WHERE YOU THINKING" "HOW IS IT THAT YOU NEARLY RUN INTO ME ONCE AND THEN ACTUALLY RUN INTO ME?!" His response to the last remark was I don't remember almost hitting you before. WHAT!!!!!????!!!!! I kind of calmed down after that, enough to make sure he was ok and really get a look at the damage. His hood was messed up and my car just has a foot long dent in the bumper and a bent license plate. Again, I am so glad I didn't have the kids with me. I am not hurt, but who knows if the kids were in the back seat, if they would have gotten hurt. So, even though we had kind of a bad day yesterday, I am thankful that my family is safe because it all could be so much worse.

{Catchin' The Fever}

The crafting/redecorating fever that is. I want to redo the girls' bathroom and bedroom and I think I've found the perfect inspiration: Eloise at the Plaza @ the Plaza Hotel in NYC!



Perfect for my Girly Girls!

I'm really into bird things lately. So, one of the rooms in my house will eventually turn a robin's egg blue and have birds and antiqued bird cages all over the place.

Faux 'Glitter Toes'

I saw that someone else did this to their toes, and I thought, "I can do that too." So, I did. On Micah.
Micah's toes before we started:


I painted them with a blue nail polish


I got some extra fine glitter:


I then painted a top coat on the painted nail, one toe at a time. Then, sprinkled some glitter on the wet toe nail. After I was done with all of her toe nails, I pressed the glitter into the polish with my finger and brushed off the excess glitter. After that, I put a couple coats of top coat and voila:

Glitter toes that cost less than a buck!

Who gets colds in the summer?!

We do, that's who! Lily and Micah both have colds. yuck! Not only that, Lily has an eye infection. My poor sweet baby has nasty goobers in her eyes all the time, and her eyes are swollen and red because of the rubbing from trying to get the goobs out. This is starting to turn into a bummer summer, but hopefully it will get better. It's finally stopped raining buckets, and once Lily's eyes stop gooing, we will be heading back to the pool!

Dance Festival '11

Every year, before summer break, Alyssa's school has a dance festival where each grade gets to perform a dance. The dances are fun for the kids and I enjoy seeing Alyssa out there having fun, but I do need to say, "Come on Fox Hollow! Is it that hard to come up with at least 2 different dances that you can alternate each year for each grade?!" Seriously, every grade each year does the exact same dance. I know, if we are in the same school, that in 2 years I will be seeing Micah dance to Splish Splash. Oh, and the same can be said for the Christmas concert. Same songs, same grades, every year. There are thousands of Christmas songs to choose from. Okay, I think I'm done with my rant, and don't get me wrong, I do love going to see my kids do their little concerts.
Here is Alyssa dancing:

(Don't get me started on the fact that it's High School Musical and that would have been fine if it was done 3 years ago, which they were, but should not still be doing!)
Here is Micah dancing along with the 6th graders:

She cracks me up!
I tried making Lily a ruffle shirt, but it didn't turn out like I hoped.

~Happy Birthday Emma Harper~

We finally have our third niece and we are so excited. Introducing Miss Emma Harper!
Born May 16th at 1:05 in the afternoon. She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz (that is a huge baby for how small my sister is) and 20" long. She is so beautiful and looks just like her momma.


So, I was allowed to be in the delivery room when the baby was born, but I didn't want to stay in there the whole time she was in labor. I had to stay home and make sure my kids were fed and off to school. I told my sister to call me once she was almost ready to deliver. My mom called me a few times during the day just to keep me informed, but said the baby probably wouldn't be born until LATE afternoon. I got a call at 12:41 from my mom again telling me my sister is at a 10. So, I say "Oh my gosh! I need to come now! Don't let her have the baby without me! Zachary! I have to go!" So now I am scrambling to find my purse, my overnight bag (I was going to spend her first night with her), camera, and put my shoes on, all at the same time yelling up the stairs for Zach to come get the baby and make sure he could take work off. Thankfully he was able to get his shift off so I didn't have to take the kids with me to the hospital. I really didn't want to miss seeing this baby be born, so I was flying down the freeway almost doing 80. I got on the off ramp and the light turned red. AHHHHH! Then my mom calls again telling me I need to hurry or I'm gonna miss it. So I start going up the street, another red light. Get to the light right before the hospital and...it turns red too. God is punishing me for going 75-80 on the freeway in a construction zone marked 55!
I made it in time! I am so glad that I got to be apart of the wonderful experience. I have never witnessed a birth that wasn't my own in real life. This was so special to me because it was my only sister having her first baby (and I'm getting all teary eyed).
She is the sweetest little baby and I love her nearly as much as I love my own children.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

The girls and I had bought kites a few weeks ago, but we haven't been able to go since this past month we (mostly me, and I didn't want to miss out on flying kites) have been so busy.So, Saturday we went and flew our kites. I wasn't there for the first half, since Lily needed a nap and I needed a shower, but Zachary said that Micah was a little scared. He thinks she thought that she would fly away with the kite. Funny kid. We had fun, but both girl's kites are now broken. So, we will have to get them new ones.



Micah and I are done with school (for now)!!! Micah was a little sad and kept telling her teacher that it was the last day, which made her teacher sad too.

Micah at school finish coloring her picture

Micah with her teacher, Miss Kelly

Oh, did you notice Micah got a hair cut? Well...One day Alyssa and Micah were playing at Nana and Papa's house. Alyssa decided to get into Nana's scrapbooking things and grab some scissors. I have been meaning to get Micah's hair cut, so I think that Alyssa figured she would do it for me. OH MY GOSH! She cut her own hair and Micah's! I almost cryed. Alyssa didn't do a "bad" job cutting her own hair, but poor little Micah's got CHOPPED! It was cut down to nearly 1" in some places. I really didn't think that it could be fixed in any way that would not make her look like a boy.

It turned out pretty well, but unless we wash her hair every morning...

We end up with hair that looks like this all day long. (I don't have a picture of Alyssa's hair anymore. They must have gotten erased, but her hair looks very cute)

As for Zachary and I, Zachary has been applying for promotions at work and he is scheduled to have an interview soon for one of the positions. YAY! I have finished the CNA course and have turned in my...application (that's not what it's called, but I can't think of what it is called) and am waiting to get my vouchers back so I can take the state written and skills tests. I have a meeting with an admissions rep from Fortis College to see about their nursing program, and another meeting with Ameritech College about their program as well. I have put in a few applications for jobs doing CNA work, but I'm not too optimistic about it since I haven't actually recieved the certification. Oh well.

Our Changing Lives

There have been some big changes in our home lately. First of all, Zachary was supposed to be going on another deployment this summer, but he got a call thanking him for volunteering, but they were not going to go anymore. There are mixed emotions about that. We are glad that he isn’t going, because we know he will be “safe” at home and he won’t be missing out on Lily’s first year milestones. On the other hand we were counting on the extra money to get ourselves out of debt.
I have made the decision to be a nurse. I have been taking a CNA course, and am looking for the right nursing school.
Micah just turned 4 a couple days ago. Zachary and I got her a spring outfit and Tangled, and she has been watching at least once a day. She also got some new clothes from Nana and Papa along with a Snow White dress. She has been wanting a Snow White dress for her birthday for the past 3 months, so she was pretty excited. She also got some money from Grandma Renee, which she hasn’t figured out what to get yet, but I’m sure she will sooner or later.
Alyssa is almost 7 and we are trying to get her ready for baptism. We try to read scriptures every night as a family, but with me or Zachary being gone for school or work so much, it’s hard.
Lily just had her 6 month check up and she is getting big. She is 14 lbs and 26” tall. She can almost sit up by herself. If she looks or grabs for something that is not higher than her head, she topples over.

It's Military School For You Young Lady!

HELP! My little Alyssa has turned into a destructive teenager! She has the biggest attitude under the sun and has been destroying nearly everything. She has been drawing on the furniture/walls (come on, that is something only toddlers do!), she tore off the vinyl lettering in her bathroom along with some of the wall, put stickers all over the bathtub, AND SHE MADE A HOLE ABOUT THE DIAMATER OF A WATER BOTTLE IN THE WALL! I AM ON THE VERGE OF A BREAKDOWN! I have no idea what to do about this. I have tried different approaches, but nothing seems to work. I have yelled, tried time outs, grounded her, took all her toys away, spankens, lovingly talked to her, and it all turns out the same. She does not have any remorse for anything she does. No matter what kind of punishment she gets, it's like no big thing to her. I don't know how to get her to stop. I have been praying and praying for an answer or that things will just click and she will understand that it's not ok to disrespect your parents and destroy property.

Fun at the Aquarium

Last Wednesday, Lily, Micah, and I had a fun day with our good friends Tiarra and her son Amari. First we went to lunch at Applebees, and then we headed off to the aquarium. We had never been, so this was a pretty exciting outing. The Living Planet Aquarium is the tiniest aquarium I have ever seen. When we were done, I was like..."Really? That's all?" Oh well. I shouldn't have expected more. We do live in Utah.

Here is Micah sitting on a giant frog


and Micah trying to touch a sting ray...

She never did touch one, just put her hands in the water.

Micah and Amari looking at a turtle


and Lily and Micah looking at the huge river fish

Those fish were seriously huge! Freaked me out a little.

Caught Ya!

So we were just sitting watching lost and decided Lily needed some tummy time. I really didn't think she would roll over, but got my camera anyways. Whata-ya-know she rolled over!

Long Time, No See

I have thought about and tried at least twice to put up a new blog post, but it just seems to never happen. I am in a creative/crafting slump. I have all these "projects" I want to do, but when I do get the time (at the end of the day when all the kiddies go to bed) I am completely exhausted.
There have been a couple of big milestones for us. Alyssa lost her 2 front teeth,

and Lily rolled over from her stomach to her back for the first time Saturday! Lily has also started to eat her first food, rice cereal. She only has rolled the one time, but I'm sure she'll do it again soon, and this time I will be prepared with the camera.
Along with all that I turned 25! I had a great birthday aside from working that day, but that was my choice. When I got home from work, the kids (with my mom and Britni's help) made me a cake.

Obviously realized I should take a picture of the beautifully spriklefied cake after taking a huge chunk out.
We tried to go to Tucanos, but silly me didn't make reservations and I didn't want to wait an hour and a half to be seated. Who knew you needed to make reservations for lunch. Oh well, we went to the Sushi House instead and I completely stuffed myself.