AHHHH LIFE :)

Tonight was one of

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those nights where it all hit home. I have now started my job at Pinnacle Canyon View Apartments, its been exactly 1 month and 1 day. I love the job. I am the leasing consultant and its great!! If I could have made a job for my personality type, and likes this would most definitely be it! I am catching on to all the important things and really enjoy my coworkers.

This has probably been the biggest adjustment I have ever gone through in my life. Dramatic, huh? Well it really has been. There are so many emotions attached to it its just crazy! Sure getting married and having babies was HUGE...but this change affects all of those areas as well.

You see...the one thing I always thought I wanted more than anything was to be a stay at home mom. My mom worked while I was growing up and so I always wanted to be able to stay home with my girls. Mark has been working 2 jobs for the last year to two years and we NEVER saw him. He was missing out on his girls growing up, plus financially it still just wasn't adding up. We both new something had to change.

The way this job literally almost fell into my lap was CRAZY!! I was all set up to start at Jet Blue in September, but never felt great about that choice. This job came along and literally before I could blink my life changed!!! I went from stay at home mom to working mom almost over night. If you would have asked me if I would ever see myself working full time, 9-6 ( before I had my interview), I would have laughed in your face!! But it was so weird. I felt extremely comforted the whole process, and everything fell into place. Really. The hardest part, obviously has been leaving my girls. Oh my gosh. Its been such a roller coaster!! My amazing and LOVING sister babysits them 3 days a week for me, for about 15 hours. Its so nice knowing that if Mark or I don't have them I know that they are with some one who honestly loves them. I can't even begin to explain the comfort that gives me!!!!! My sister is one of the most patient and loving people that I know. Did I mention when she has my girls she has 6 kids under the age of 5?? Can we say superhero?!? But you know its a good sign when I go to pick up my girls and every one is crying because they have to say good bye for the day. Make me smile every time!!!!

Since starting to work there has been a huge financial burden that I feel has been lifted. We still have a lot to clean up, but feel so hopeful about he future. I am married to the most amazing and patient husband!!! He even admitted the other day that working 2 jobs was WAY easier than being home part time and working!! Its true. He understands now why I was so stressed out being home by myself for almost 24/7. But honestly he is the best dad ever and its been so fun watching him with the girls and stepping in to help with the daily tasks. They love him so much too!!!

Most days at work I am able to really focus on the job, and really I do love it! There will always be moments when I second guess my self, and the decision to take this job, but there is no doubt in my mind it was the right choice. I just pray that my girls know that they are and always will be my number 1 in life. The time that I spend with them is very special now. I try to give them all of me that I possibly can, while still trying to stay up on house needs as well. I will never put my work before them. They are amazing.
I really just had such a great night with them. I will never take for granted the small things. So moms out there I KNOW its hard being at home all day every day. And boy do I remember "those" days. But try to make it through!!! Love on those little babies!! Its crazy how fast they grow up! I don't know what the future holds for me, but I don know that no matter what I can't lose sight of the most important things. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to be the stay at home mom for the last 5 years! It has been so HARD and so REWARDING. I created memories with my little girls that I will never forget! And now, being on the other side, I will still LOVE every moment of it and enjoy life! I plan on creating MANY many more memories too!! I make sure to tell AND show my girls daily that they are my number 1 and life is great!

So this was rambled and not sure that it makes sense...but had a lot on my mind tonight and its been forever since i last wrote in a journal! YIKES! Have a good night!!!

Sky is 5!!!

2011-06-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sky had her 5th birthday yesterday!! Where does time go?!? I was extremely busy last couple days figuring out what cakes to make for the combined party for her and Cambree. I will post on that a little later...first of all i just wanted to say how thankful i am for Skylar in my life. She is really a sweet girl and very smart...almost too smart sometimes. :)

I love how much of a people person she is, she always wants to make sure that everyone is involved. She is friendly and wants to make friends with EVERYONE no matter age, sex or race. She is extremely dramatic, which can get frustrating at times, but other times its kind of funny. She has grown up so fast, and starts kindergarten this year. She has no fear about it and can't wait to start. Sky i love your sweet sweet spirit. I love how much you love your little sisters and the example you can be to them. I love having you as a little buddy and for all the help you give to me. You are amazing sweet girl!! We love you!!!! XOXO

My baby is 1 and i think...

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im going to cry. Yes I know she is number 3. Yes I have seen it twice before. But it feels different this time and im not sure why. Maybe because a part of me believes she will be my baby. Where did this year go?!? I honestly feel like i had her yesterday. Her short life has been filled with a lot of things and im sure thats why its been so fast. The more children you have i believe the faster it goes. Cambree is a huge blessing in our lives and she has a VERY strong spirit. I felt it the moment i met her and feel it every day. She is a pure joy to me. Her sisters adore her...almost as much as she adores them. She loves her daddy so much and squeels with delight every time she sees him. Look at this girl?!?! Cambree our lives would be so empty without you. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity to be your mother. We love you baby girl. Happy Birthday!

Change is in the air...

2011-05-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have been such a slacker...to say the least!! When it comes to updating this blog of ours!! I have been EXTREMELY busy!!! In the past month or so I have undertaken....Couponing, budgeting, gardening, running and just trying to stay a float!! Thie biggest change is coming up in the next month or so though. I got a job. I am going to be working for Jetblue airlines. Its exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Mark is beyond burnt out working two jobs for the last year and a half and I don't blame him. So I applied for this job, and once the intense training is done i will be able to work from home. I have done this before with another airline and it was not bad. BUT I am SOOOOOOOOO sad because the training is going to be rough. Its full time for 4 weeks up in salt lake. So for 4 weeks I will be working 50 hours and missing my girls more than I can imagine. Especially this little girl....She is at the stage where she is learning so much and growing so fast...im terrified I am going to miss some big milestones. :( It honestly breaks my heart more than i can say. I know its only a 4-7 week time, but it still breaks my heart. Its funny because I always thought that I would want to be a working mom because I love working for so many reasons. But now more than ever i don't want to leave them. We live in a time that this is not always possible and I get that, but it sucks. The summer I once had planned will be drastically different and that is also a bummer. I was so excited to hang out at seven peaks a ton with my girls. I hope we can still get in some good days!!! The key will be to make the best of every moment I have with them. If they stay on their same schedule I will only be able to see them for about 3 hours a day that i am working. It will be a very special 3 hours!!!! And the days off will be even better! I hope they know how much I love them. And I really hope that Cambree especially does well with the transition. :( She has been my own little happy pill since she was born. She is so much fun. (she didn't know what to think of the grass at first, thats why her feet are up in the picture, but now she loves it) Any of you working moms have some pointers?!?All I can say is once my probation is up at work we are taking a family trip! I think I will leave them special little notes etc too, for them to find on some of the days im working :) Thats a crazy face on sky, it makes me laugh. These girls are my world. And I hope that they know that!!! Hopefully everything we have planned out will work and we will be much better off in the near future! Sacrice for a good reason!!! On a brighter note...i have been training my rear off for my first half marathon in August. I have good and bad days, and my shin splint has been giving me issues, but its been GREAT overall. It will also be a challenge getting in my training while working, but who needs sleep right???? ha ha. But really the running is a huge part of me and i love it. Life is good!! And I know that its only going to get better and better!!

Its gotta be faith right?!?!

Alena came to play...

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a couple weeks ago...and brought along our favorite little guy...he had fun trying out baby snacks for the first time!!!Kylie has been begging since Sky got her hair cut to cut hers as well....

we decided to let her and she was in HEAVEN!!!

This is the first time she saw it in the mirror :)

Alena also did some color on mine and trimmed up Sky's really cute. Thanks Aunt Alena!! You are the best and we love you so much! Kylie has not been sad about her hair...not once...and honestly its been a breeze to do so its been a win win. I do miss her long hair though!!! But it grows fast :)

Busy...Busy...busy...

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I swear life is flying by so fast right now!! Every morning I wake up with a list, and its not always very long, but no matter what i can never seem to get it all done. The day just goes by way too fast! Anyway...this past week i signed up for my first half marathon!! Im SOOOOOOOOO excited and nervous. I have done other races, the longest being 10 miles, so this one makes me just a little bit nervous to say the least. But listen to how fun its going to be....its a moonlight half which means its at night!! FABULOUS!! I have gotten my sister, sister-in-law, her sister, a couple great friends and maybe a few more to sign up with me! We are going to get some sort of team name and have a party the week before to paint some really great shirts with glow in the dark paint. This is going to be about FUN!!! If you feel like joining you are more than welcome!!!! :) The more the merrier. Im not concerned about a time, just finishing with this race. And honestly just having fun. My next half I will set a time goal. I really am so excited about this.

Another happy thing is that I have really gotten out of my funk...FINALLY!!! It only took 10 months lol. But its great to be back. I am done having kids, at least for now and for a while. My goal is to be the best mom I can to my 3 beautiful girls that I have. They deserve that.

Yesterday I took Sky to sign up for Kindergarten. Wow, that brought on a whole new wave of emotions I wasn't prepared for. In some ways it seems like her growing up has gone so fast and others it seems so slow. But to send her to school is just crazy to me!!! She is excited (minus the fact she has to get more shots on Monday..can we say anxiety overload? YIKES!) and i doubt she will even blink an eye the day she starts. In fact yesterday she informed me that she wants to take the bus, and that im allowed to take her to the stop but thats it. Ummm...we will see about that! Ill have to make sure she has some good bus buddies first or Mark will never let her ride it. I love this girl so much. I love how outgoing she is. I love that she doesn't seem to care too much about what other people think about her. I love her. She has been such a treat as a daughter, and also too smart for her own good. Which has caused a few headaches as well. Honestly, there is not one thing I would change about her. We love you Sky!!

Pictures will come at some point....im a little behind in that area...oops!!

THE LOOT FROM TRIP NUMBER 2....

2011-04-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Its late....im tired...but im excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got done with my second coupon trip and it was bigger and better than the first. :) In this trip I scored some pretty great items for food storage, which we don't have much of :( But that is quickly changing. I prefer fresh food over anything, but that doesn't really work well for food storage does it? So my motto is all things in moteration! Ready to hear whats in this loot?!?

16 boxes of cereal

2 galons of milk

5 cans evaporated milk

12 yoplat yogurts

3 uncle bens rice

5 boxes of envelopes

2-3 subject college rule notebooks

1 expanding file

4 bags granulated sugar

4 powdered sugar

4 brown sugar

3 baby cereal

1 bag of chips

5.5 lbs apples

4 lbs unsalted butter

1 tub I can't believe its not butter

2 8 pack turkey hot dogs

8 granola bar boxes, each with 12 bars

4 packs sliced cheese

one dozen eggs

1 package flax seeds

9 packages chocolate chips (3 large ones)

total before coupons: 193.91

after: 75.00 bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is 118.91 dollars in savings! Pretty good start to food storage huh? Now where to store it....

Coupons and movin!

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I tried the whole coupon crazieness a couple years back...than i got lazy. Well...now that we are on a strict budget I am doing all I can to save save save! Its a little overwhelming but im not doing it alone. I have a good friend doing it with me and last night was our first big trip! I scored the above and below pictures PLUS a 5lb bag of oranges, 3 laundry detergents and 2, 6 packs of paper towels for a total of....60 bucks!!! Everything I got was either on sale, with a store coupon, manufacturers coupon or all 3!!!!

I am still hoping that I can get better at this and save even more...and score way more free stuff! BUT I will not make my family suffer from me being overly consumed by it. Everything in moderation :)

Next up...you always here that moving is great because you get to go through all your stuff and throw out what you don't use. Well im going to use this mentality and "move" one room at a time by completely emptying it of EVERYTHING! Mark and I have been married coming up on 6 years and never moved so there is some build up here.

First up our master bathroom...Here it is empty....and here is my bedroom full of all the mess!!!! I had some help with my crazies because Mark was working all day...so they just threw everything in my room! It felt GREAT going through and junking everything! Since Mark starting working for Nuskin we have had a product overload going on and no organization! Well now that is changing. Between my coupons and Nuskin I have set up a great system. :) Im also going set up a "wish list" for every room once im done. It will include everything I may want or need for the rooms. Thank I will work that in with the budget depending on urgency. So on the list for the bathroom....new rugs, paint the cupboards, a new shelf for over the toilet, shelves for storage. These things will just be written down and taken care of in due time :) Here are some after pics, i bet you are so excited to see. But honestly i was pretty happy with the outcome.Next up....my bedroom! Im really excited to get in there and wash down everything and throw away more stuff. Is it sick that I love doing that so much?! Its seriously so much fun for me. I love feeling neat and organized. I have a feeling my "wish list" will be a lot bigger for that room! But hey, we can dream right?! :) Side note....if you are scared to coupon...don't be! If I can do it anyone can. But if you don't want to do it and wouldn't mind giving me your sunday coupons or weekly coupons...ill take them! :)

I hope they will be best friends forever...

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They fight hard and play hard. But I try to teach them that friends may come and go but sisters are forever! So make sure that you always love one another.

They are crazy and i love them.

gotta love this....

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Cambree crawling for the first time....

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Cambree...

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im sorry...this is quite a funny picture. I know i know...mean to take but i really do love her. She doesn't cry a lot so had to get proof...she loves her bath! My little sweety had to get tubes a couple weeks back and was a complete champ! She is so cute. And loves her dad oh so much!! I love waking up to this little girl every morning. Its my absolute favorite because she wakes up SO DANG HAPPY! Cambree looks so big next to her new little cousin Maris. So cute :) She is a mover and a groover now too... she gets around so good. She is hard to keep up with! Cambree is a great sleeper....finally! She is sleeping through the night at 9 months old. I never thought the day would come! But its been about a week now and im starting to feel more human! HURRAY!! But she has been a great napper which is nice. But one of my favorite things about this little girl is this face that she makes... its is hillarious!!!!She knows that we love it and does it on purpose!!! Oh my gosh...how can you have a bad day with this little girl in your life?

Videos to come soon ;)

Kylie...oh Kylie....

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Don't let the face fool you....or the big blue eyes....or the extremely innocent looks that she has down to a T...this girl is going to be the end of me...and Mark. This is what i find on a regular basis in my bathroom... not always pads (unused of course), sometimes a whole roll of toilet paper...hair things...toothpaste...soap....shampoo...you name it its found its way into my toilet. This girl is crazy. Mark and i just said that if she had been our first, she would have been our last. In all seriousness we wouldn't trade her for the world. Just as crazy as she is. She has a big heart too. I honestly believe she has this strong and crazy personality for a very good reason. She is a leader for sure. I just hope that I can help her to find this leadership in herself and to use it for good in her life. I love you bug...but sometimes i think you are going to send me straight to the mental hospital.

I have caught the bug...

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the running bug that is!! I love this time of year so much because I feel like im finally waking up after a LONG winter. Today after a nice day at church the girls wanted to go a on a drive up the canyon. I wasn't sure where I was going at first but ended up driving up past South Fork. I went up to where I started my race a couple years back. Lately I haven't been feeling like I could get my running built back up again, but something about taking the drive today changed all of that. I feel so excited to get going again! In fact I have a few races on my radar! My big one would be The Other Half in Moab in October. Im hoping to make it work...have to check the finances and work schedules, but I really hope to run it! Its been on my list of races to run for a few years now, i just hope this is the year to make it! My first goal is to start looking into some 5 and 10k's to get me ready! Im so excited to have this running bug again and goals to work towards. So starting tomorrow...HERE I GO!! Anyone want to join me?!?

Get over it...

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This is my goal today. Get over it. Im done. I think i have complained about things enough to last a lifetime...maybe two. Im done fighting myself over stupid things. Im done letting how i feel about myself physically get in the way of my everyday life. I read a friends blog that woke me up to realixing how selfish i have been. Wow, not fun to realize that. But today is a new day and im getting over myself. My girls deserve a mother who gives 100%. That in no way implies that i will judge my mothering against someone elses. My 100% may be not very much in others opinions but it is my 100%. It will still include me taking time for myself, reading etc. But it will also include playing more, stressing less. Having lots more fun and enjoying life with my girls especially while they are so young and still kinda think im cool ;)
I really love the feeling of getting over it and letting all the junk go. I think we all need to do this more often. Its just checkin in with yourself and realizing what really matters and letting go of what doesn't. I have to do this a lot. It also means loving yourself no matter what society/community/peers etc thinks you should be. I think im a pretty great person and i also think its good and very okay to say that. I think im smart and have so much to offer this world and if i don't start really believing this than why would anyone else believe it about me?
So get over it. Don't let STUPID things (like your own beliefs about yourself which are usually false) get in your way! Enjoy life. Let the crap go. The end.

GiRl TiMe!!

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Sometimes i think i have the hardest job in the world. Well not just me...but all mothers. But there are days that it just pays off...in the little things. I love having all girls. I really do. I know i would love a boy too, but this girl thing is great!! We spent one day doing this.....and Cambree LOVED getting in on the action :) The polish was very kid friendsly and im happy to say my girls did a great job! I seriously can't get enough of baby hands and feet! They are rediculously yummy! Sky was a pro! And Kylie didn't do to bad either :) Than they painted mommy's toes and fingers too! I love these girlies! And Cambree fits right in with her sisters. Finished product...fingers... And one picture that just cracks me up!! These girls LOVE their daddy and attack him at every chance they can get! Can you blame them? He is the best.

I just had to add that i seriously am going to love my new calling. I feel such a great peace in my life since accepting it. Its really nice to have a place to go and hopefully fulfill my calling to the best of my ability! Those children are wonderful i love them already! And seriously the women i get to work with are AMAZING!! They really are, they amaze me. Now to start another CRAZY week! But i have to say....life is good. Really good.

Going green....and a new calling...

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Going green....ok so not like saving the planet green...although i don't think that is a bad idea either. :) But one of our resolutions this year has been to get on a realistic budget and get our finances in order. A lot of it is still a work in progress, but this last week we started the cash only envelope system! It is such a change but i think it really works. Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He is a financial guy and i have been reading his books and using it as our new budget. I really like his way of thinking. Its a lot of sacrifice. Im still trying to convince Mark to cancel our TV all together, but we have downgraded quite a bit. It kills me how much money this is a month!! Dave's motto is..."live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later". I like it. I HATE debt. I do not feel like being a slave to debt ever again. Going green, or to the envelope system takes a lot of self control and team work on Mark and I's part. We have to work with each other, and learn to say no. So far we are doing great and i really think it will help us out a lot.

The other new thing in our life is that I have a new church calling and im very excited and a little nervous about it! Im the secretary in primary! The challenging part is that Mark works every Sunday so its just me and the girls. I know it can be done, and with little faith, a lot of prayers and help it will work out! I have been really blessed with great friends in my ward and im very thankful for them all. They are always so kind, accepting and loving. It was so fun seeing all the cute kido's in primary today and i know i will love being in there with them! I just hope that Cambree will do as well as she did today everyday!!

I have lots of pictures and other things to put on here....and once i find the time i will do that! But life is good and slowly im becoming myself again!! Hurray!! Cambree is getting tubes put in on the 3rd and im a hoping and praying that they will help her to do better sleeping and help her to not get painful ear aches anymore!

My favorite present yet...

2011-02-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday. Im 29. Sky wanted to give me flowers...and there they are :) Pretty sure they are my favorite. She is very thoughtful! Sooo...I have now entered my last year of my 20's. Im kinda excited to be honest. I hope to fill this year with a LOT of awesome things to help my 30's start off AWESOME!! A lot of my goals are similar to my new years resolutions....but I think im much better at sticking to my birthday resolutions!

First off...this is our year to get financially stable! I have been reading a lot of Dave Ramsey stuff and im SOOOO excited for our future for the first time! I feel extremely opptomistic about it and somewhat giddy. Weird? Well maybe but exciting too! I love having a clear plan that WORKS. Its great! If you haven't read his information I HIGHLY recommend it. Its NOT an easy plan to follow, but it works. Im so excited. And scared. A lot of things need to be worked out but I believe the outcome will bring peace. I sure hope so anyway!
I am continuing my spiritual journey as well. This is such an exciting and amazing to journey to be on. Its so fun finding joy every day in my life through the small things. Its helping me to be a better mother, wife and hopefully friend. I love my Savior and will to continue to strengthen this realationship.
The other road i have been traveling that is quite difficult but yet good is my journey to learn to love who I am. No matter what size i am (Not easy, but there is SOOOOOOOOOO much more to life than this). No matter if im not the "best" mother (i can only be the best mom that i can be). IF my house isn't always perfectly cleaned, and believe me its NOT, especially lately. Pretty much im leaning to let go of the unrealistic picture of perfection i have tried to live. I can't believe how much negative talk goes on inside our heads! I have talked with some pretty amazing women, and it SHOCKS me to hear these women have some of the same insecurities that I have. I am trying my hardest to see me through my Heavenly Fathers eyes and boy does that make a difference. I hope through this year to change that negative talk to positive and HOPEFULLY help others around me as well. I would be HEARTBROKEN if my girls ever thing about themselves the way i have about me. So i will NOT be putting myself down in front of them EVER AGAIN!!!
Hopefully though this process i can shed the extra pounds that have been put on, but i will be nice to myself through the proess. I love working out and plan on doing the fun things i miss :)

I think my post pregnancy hormones are FINALLY starting to even back out. THANK YOU!!! I am not as short tempered, and couldn't be happier about that. I want to take this year to REALLY enjoy motherhood. I need to start digging myself out of the hole i have been in the last 9 months...it will take time, faith, patience and love. The fog is finally clearing! YAHOO!!! I want to be a great supportive wife and do everything in my power to make life a little easier for Mark.
I have some more goals but those are the big ones. I think that this will be a year of hard work, sacrifice and strengthening my family. Im nervous. And im very excited.

Today im feeling very

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thankful. Thankful for the very good people that are in my life. Thankful for those that get me, and love me for me. Good and bad. I have learned a TON about myself lately, some good some bad! One thing i know for darn sure, I STRUGGLE after having babies. It takes about a year before i break out and back to myself. I thought that maybe this time would be different, because i was aware of this about myself, but instead its been 10 times worse!! I just kinda like to dissapear into my own little hole and veg for a bit. For like a year. Preferably in PJ's. Sad i know. But its like all energy has been zapped from my body (and it kinda was having a baby...and i think nursing makes it even harder to snap back) and i just don't care. My main goal every day is to be the best mom i can to my little girls and teach them all i can.

Anyway...i think someone upstairs knew that this was going to be a difficult time. I have some incredible people in my life, some new and some old, that really get me. Not only that but they LOVE me just the way i am. Its crazy you know. When you really FEEL that and realize that when you don't always feel that way about yourself. I think that the Lord really does work in mysterious and amazing ways. When i LEAST expect it i get a phone call, visit or chat that really opens up my eyes. Most of these amazing women really have NO idea how much they have truly changed my life. If you are reading this, than you can most likely count yourself as one of these women! I have the BEST examples of strong, amazing women and mothers in my life.

Today i happened to have an inspired visit with my visiting teacher. I love her. Its crazy how that just works sometimes. Truly inspired. I have always had amazing visiting teachers, but with her i feel like i can be extremely open and honest with my feelings with no judgement. Just LOVE. She is fantastic really. I could talk to her for HOURS, and today, well it was a long one. A much needed long one. There is an extremely good reason for visiting teaching. I believe this with my whole heart. We are sisters, and I feel this so powerfully from her. I know that she also has a very busy life of her own, and 2 young children she is raising as well. I know that she probably has a million other things she could have done today, but instead she chose to call and fulfill her calling and I appreciate her so much for doing so.

Its a good reminder to myself, to never ignore that still small voice. Its there for a reason. And if you ignore it, it will go away. I hope that i never lose that voice. I am so extremely thankful for my Heavenly Father, for knowing my needs and not giving up on me over the years. I feel His love in the most unexpected ways sometimes. I see it in my girls every day. There is no way that I could be the mother i want to be without His help. I say about a million prayers a day to get me through, to be patient, and to do the best i can for my girls. He is there. He loves me. And i KNOW He loves YOU too. :) Just as my visiting teacher said today...He loves the addict, the mother, the homeless man on the street, the believers and the non-believers, the children, etc etc all the same. We are all His children. This I believe with every fiber of my being. Isn't great, that we never have to feel alone? I sure think so!

So i may be the

2011-01-13T10:09:00.001-08:00

last person to experience a ZuMbA class...but can i just say that i LOVE it!! This year, for me, is about doing things I love, not just to do them to "work out". In high school my best buddy and I taught step aerobics, which ended badly, but thats a story for another day :) Anyway...I really loved doing step. It was fun, the music was loud, it was eneregetic, it was similar to dancing and i had some pretty great legs! lol. But really it wasn't about losing weight for me as much at that time, as having fun. I MISS that!! So i do love to run. I know this now and am working my way back up, hard but i do like it! But i need to throw some other random AwEsOmEnEsS in so i don't get bored! I have been wanting to go to a zumba class for a LONG time, but deep down really didn't think i could do it. DUMB. Don't ever let yourself get in the way of something that you may end up really loving. Im telling you, I probably couldn't do any of the dancing moves "right" but it was so much fun trying! I love just losing yourself in the music. I am a control freak, and this is REALLY hard for me to do, just give up that control part and be free. Really being in the moment and feeling and using your body in such fun and different ways. My first time doing this was a success, i found myself not thinking as much about it a few times and i liked the feeling! Actual i loved it. It was VERY empowering. Another fun thing was that in this particular class there were woman of all shapes/sizes/ages etc.
So Zumba will be a must go to class for me for now on! Whenever possible that is. Other classes im excited to try again....power pump, kickboxing, super step or maybe even step & turbo kickbox (now that sounds crazy awesome!!) yoga, and cycle. These are all offered at the gym i go to and i seriously need to start taking advantage of them! I will still run to, but this is the year about finding that "JOY" in life again!
Now if my super cute girlies could get better so we can get going again. :) ( And I BEG YOU..... please don't take your sick kids to the gym or out and about...please?!? Because than my girls may catch it, and i won't take my kids sick, so than we get stranded at home for like days, and i go CRAZY!!!! Thanks.) Really, i do go crazy.

New years resolutions...

2011-01-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

I LOVE making goals. Love it. I feel better about life having something to achieve. I really have a strong feeling that this year is THE year. I feel a peace about it. I have some very REALISTIC and GOOD goals set this year. Some PERSONAL some FINANCIAL.

Just a few....
- get our budget set and bills caught up! I am feeling especially positive about this goal...not exactly sure why but maybe there is something in the works?!?
- get back into a good workout routine...it helps clear the mind and the body needs it! Losing weight will be a side affect of feeling better about life!
- Stay on top of all doctor/dentist appointments for myself...the girls...and MARK!
- Read AT LEAST 20 minutes every day with each of my girls...yes even Cambree!
- to be the best friend that i can be, a true friend!
- get my girls to church and read scriptures with them every day.
- Have a date, each week, with each girl...
- Have a date night with Mark, hopefully, 2-4 times a month!! PLEASE oh PLEASE work out!
- Read a really good book a month, or 2 or 3! he he
- Just keep figuring myself out, and be accepting of who i am and what i believe! This is a big one for me...a work in progress...but its also such a great journey!
- be more patient and loving mom and wife.
- be less judgemental of others, because really where is the good in this?!? ReAlLy?!? If you are judging out of jealousy or just to make yourself feel better its no good. At least for me i feel yucky inside...im ready to feel GREAT inside...aren't we all?!?

The one thing this year has taught me more than anything is that time is going SOOOOOOOO fast! I can't waste time on things that DON'T matter. I only have such a SHORT time to be my little girls mother. I want to be the best i can be for them. I want them to be prepared for this crazy world when they grow up. Worrying about things that don't affect my life or my imediate families life is not going to help. My girls deserve 100% of me. I know myself well enough to know that if i let in the negative, it brings me WAY down. NO MORE!! So this year i will not let what doesn't matter in. I hope for a positive, optimistic and loving year.
Yup...this is our year!

HaPpY nEw YeAr!!!

2011-01-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

We had quite a fun New Years Eve! The girls and I went over to Ryans house with the whole family. We had lots of great food...treats....conversation...and FUN!! Travis's girlfriend didn't come, and he was lonely...not really but Kylie was glued to him and cuddled up to him all night :)

I came downstairs and my mom had Kylie almost completely burried in the bucket of balls...it was sooo funny! My mom at one point was with all 6 of the older kids playing and laughing. It was a lot of fun to sneak up and watch. They love their grandma. I was so happy she was feeling well enough to play...ok she had a migrain but didn't tell us until we were all leaving. She is a trooper...it was LOUD!!! Its fun watching all these little ones grow up together they are pretty close in age. They play really good for the most part. I hope they stay good buddies.

Of course Sky wanted to be burried as well! I was impressed with the kids, we stayed over until after10, which i knew i would pay for today, but really it was great fun! Cambree did really well too even with the big croud and noise she was extemely happy.I always love the beginning of a new year! I hope that we can make this a good one! I feel like time is going WAY too fast. My goal this year is to try and slow down a little and to make sure and take a little time for each of my girls everyday. They will only be this small for such a short time and it makes me sad. I want them to be kids as long as they can and to enjoy their childhood!! I don't want them to look back and ever feel like their mom never made time for them. This will be a good year!!!

Not my favorite day...

2010-12-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

is how today at least started! The weather here has been OUT OF CONTROL snowy and cold. Last night we got a crazy blizzard that created ice skating rinks for roads...driveways...sidewalks...parking lots...etc... It was quite crazy to see, cars off the road everywhere you looked. It is crazy! Well Mark had to work early this morning and said the roads were rediculous. I had a little play date this morning at 10, but needed to drop off a book to the library before...i really don't like library fines. Right now i wouldn't mind paying a 20 cent fine. You see on my way back home from the library (which is just a few blocks from my house) i had already seen 3 accidents. I was going straight through the light, which was very green. I was driving slow and trying to pay as close of attention as possible, roads were not awesome. As i was entering the intersection at 5th west and 8th north i noticed the car. The black jeep liberty, not stopping. Everything went nice and slow motion. The man looked up, i slammed on my breaks, if i hadn't he would have hit right into where Cambree was sitting and i couldn't let that happen. Luckily he got the front of my car, and i stopped a couple feet from another car.
This is my first accident, and hopefully my last. I think i handled it quite well and calmly, especially considering i had 3 little girls sitting behind me. The girls and i totally fine. The car is driveable and just needs a little fixing up. The crazy thing is how calm i was until about an hour or so after i got home. Thankfully Mark left early it really helped. I just started shaking and feeling a little weird and couldn't figure out why, than remembered i had been in that accident. Im very glad that my body held off on the craziness until i was home and my girls had been comforted.
A little side note that i thought was quite sweet and cute. As i said the girls were very calm and quiet. Kylie and Cambree i don't think even realized anything happened. As we were sitting in the car waiting for the police Sky and i had this conversation
Sky: "Mom, are the police coming"
Me: "yes sweety they are, they need to make sure everything is ok"
Sky: "mom, lets just hurry and leave before they get here"
i was a little confused and asked her why she would want to do that.
Sky: "mommy, i don't want you to get arrested and go to jail"

The last part she said close to tears. Bless her little heart. I have threatened that a cop would take me to jail before if she doesn't keep her seatbelt on. I guess i need to focus on the good the cops do to huh? Once we cleared up that mommy wasn't going to jail she calmed down and was ok. I feel so blessed to have such a loving thoughtful little girl. We talked about the importance of wearing seat belts, and why we were so very lucky that it was such a small accident.

I know that this was really such a small accident. But it reminded me just how fragile life can be. It just takes a split second for something to happen and possibly change your life forever. I seriously love my little family so much. I realized today just how much, especially right now, my little girls depend on me to make good choices for them. To help to keep them safe. I will do my best to protect them always. I love you all!! Please be careful while out driving during this crazy winter!!!!! Sometimes you just need to pay the dang fine!

Kylie bug is 3!!!

2010-12-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

My awesome little bug turned 3 yesterday!! I spent the 26th night taking all our Christmas stuff down and putting up a birthday banner and wrapping her presents. I really want to do this for her every year so that her birthday doesn't get mushed in with Chirstmas. Im pretty sure she may end up spoiled every year on her birthday, but im ok with that. She is the most thankful little girl and truly loves anything and everything given to her. Its one of my favorite qualities of her. She is loving. Usually we head to St George right after Christmas and she ends up with 2 parties. But this year we had one big PaRtY!!! After daddy got home he took her and Sky out to ride scooters, we did some errands. For dinner she wanted to go to her star place (carls jr.) so they could play on the toys. Than home for party time! This is what she woke up to and sat by ALL day until her party that night! She wasn't even tempted to open up anything, she was determined to wait until her "Friends" (all her little cousins) came for her party.

But once they got here she started getting soooo excited. She put on her princess Ariel jewelery, which was stinkin cute! She is obbsessed with all the pricesses but especially loves Ariel right now. This was Cambree's special spot during the opening!she was happy for the most part!Sky and Tyson wrestled around like crazy~
Kylie loves her fam :)

What a dork! She was making sure everything ran smoothly~

Marks parents and sister/fam went to St George, but we did get ShayMatt as my girls call them, and John Denise and boys to come! It was GREAT!

once the presents came out it was a little bit crazy...but Kylie truly enjoyed everything! she was spoiled for sure!

in heaven! she got lots and lots of little mermaid stuff....plus WAY more!

she is shocked!

thank you thank you everyone!! more dolls!

another little mermaid doll!!!!

bringing in help for the bigger boxes!

a shopping cart!

more help for the biggest box...

which was a little beauty station. time for cake!

before we started singing....

her little embarressed look while we sang to her...

still singing...

blowing out all 3 candles!

time to play! (ok i forgot to get my camera while all the kids were playing, so imagine 4 more boys and 2 more girls! It was crazy awesome!!)

Oh how we love this girl so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!!

She brings in so much humor into our lives. She is a PURE joy to be arround. Its so fun getting to know her personality which is unique and hillarious! She is kind and loving and shares without a selfish bone in her body. She loves to play. She loves to cuddle. She loves her mommy and daddy so much. She loves her new baby sister and addores her older sister!! We would be so sad without her. Thank you for being you our Kylie bug! I know that my life is better knowing her sweet spirit.

ChRiStMaS!

2010-12-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

here are my crazies...headed down the hall to check out the loot! But first they had to wait for daddy, mommy and Cambree to catch up!

I think Kylie may have been a little tired still....
Don't be jealous...this is what i wake up to every morning!! She is so happy that its ok if its way before the sun comes up...sometimes!

love her!!! She is ready for her first Christmas!

Kylie's....Sky and Cambree's...

the plate with wrappers and crums left from santa with his letter....the ones they saw first are the ones to all the girls/family from santa...
than they noticed their stockings....
Kylie....than they noticed their new razor scooters...Sky had to have pink....
And Kylie purple...off they go with everything else....

love their new water bottles!

etch a sketch

Cam just loved it all!

pure joy..

yum!

Kylie tried on it all!

ahhhhh...

new tangled doll

pricess and the frog..

blanket...

kylie LOVES her lady bug pillow pet because she is our bug so she say's its a kylie

Cambree's loot! Sky's loot

Kylie's loot

Just happy to be here!

practicing on the scooters! Sky is a pro...

Kylie will need a little practice!

off to grandmas...and for Cam to catch a little nap!

It was a Christmas mad house at my mom's and the kids went CRAZY opening and playing and eating lots of candy!!

Kylie loved checking out everyones stuff!

My girls love thier aunt Crystal she is very kind, loving and patient with them! So i didn't feel like cooking after all the craziness, so we hit the only open place in town...Denny's and had a quick brunch before mark had to head to work for the night! :( We missed him so much but were very thankful that we had him that morning! Hope you all had a very merry Christmas with lots of awesome memories!! This is our best Christmas yet!

Christmas eve Part II

2010-12-28T10:03:00.001-08:00

after getting home from all the parties it was time for 1 present and bed! Kylie crashed really fast....

who said a 6 month old can't enjoy presents? Actually Cambree ATTACKED them like there was no tomorrow! In fact when her hands couldn't rip it...they went right to her mouth!Kylie LOVES presents. And you will never meet a more thankful little girl. She hugged and loved everything she got, no matter what it was! What a sweet girl!
Sky is getting a little bit pickier about presents...hmmmm...but she did love her pjs and was SOOO excited for Santa to come!

Now for my favorite pj picks...
i really think Kylie was a little drunkily tired...i LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture...even though it looks like Kylie is licking Cambrees head...Cambree loves being in the mix with her sisters...i see triple the trouble coming my way!

Ready for bed?!?Almost....
Sky wanted to wrap them all up in her blanket...
After thy finally went to bed SANTA CAME!!

Chrismas Eve part I

2010-12-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

Mark took the two older girls and i kept Cambree and we WRAPPED all the presents together that went under the tree! My mom always wrapped everything and made christmas look like a dream land for us kids and that is one thing that i want to do for my kids...give them 1 day a year that is magic! another thing i get from my mom is lists...and here is my Christmas checklist all checked off!! I was amazed to have gotten everything done Cambree was not so happy that day and it was a challenge...but we did it!

That night we had two parties! Dinner at Ryans and Rachels for the Kers. Rachel had it looking really pretty and Christmas-y. It was so nice! And Cambree was ready to PARTY!
I think these two were the most excited for Christmas this year...i think they understood more about what was to come than the others :)

Next up was a stop at the Johanson's for the Roylance get together. It was so fun! They had some fun games planned, and one was to see if you could empty two boxes of kleenex's
in less than a minute... this was the result with all the kids...It was a kleenex storm and kids were everywhere!! It was so funny to watch.

Our real tree was

2010-12-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

a beautiful one. It smelled so yummy! The ornaments were rearranged daily from my special helpers. It really was such a great tree! we decided to get pictures of the girls...here is how this situation usually turns out...

crazy girls..lets add Cambree into the mix...kylie makes some of the funniest faces ever...crack me up...

this one is cute... Cambree is not sure about this all...one of the best ones for this photo shoot...

Cambree is hoping we are done....

and we were! :)

Next up...Santa Clause...

2010-12-28T08:43:00.001-08:00

Sky and Kylie recieved a letter from Santa in the mail.... it was very cute and came with a cookie recipe too!

We headed over to the mall to get some pics with Santa...
the older two were very excited....

both wanted scoooters and couldn't wait to tell Santa they had been good...
Cambree wasn't scared at all which was nice and we got some cute pictures!
The girls were also luck to see Grandpa Santa this year...which was a special treat! Cambree was hungry and grumpy so i kept her home but the other two LOVED it!

i think Kylie may have been a little confused! ha

They love their Grandpa Roylance!

We got in some great

2010-12-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

craft time in december...first up was our gingerbread house from grandma and grandpa...

both girls really helped with it...they dictated to me where to put frosting and they took charge of all the candy...both were really great "candy tasters" i can't decide if they ate more or decorted more?!?!
i was really impressed with their creative ways and it was a LOT of fun to do with them.

the roof was my favorite part...they just kept adding and adding....and adding...Next up we made some reindeer...cut cut cut...glue glue glufinished product....one of my biggest projects this year was making treats for the neighbors...it was a first for me and learned lots about it! it was quite a bit of fun, next year i will worry more about "looks"

But all in all it was fun to do!

I blinked my eyes...

2010-12-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

and December was GONE!! I don't know what it is, but I swear life is on fast forward. I try so hard to slow time down and the harder I try the faster it seems to go :( Anywho....i have a whole crazy amount of posts to catch up on.....

We got out a few decorations just before Thanksgiving...i think i new that the season was going to fly by and just wanted my girls to enjoy it as long as possible. They helped decorate and loved their little tree :)

It sat in front of our window until we got a real tree.

Skylar wrote her first letter to Santa at school. It was hillarious...she asked for things WAY different that what she wanted...i think she heard what other kids were saying and just decided a firetruck sounded nice?!? love her.

But the pricesses and presents part...well those are true!

One more FAVORITE!!

2010-12-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

I love this one so so so much too!

Do You Have Room?

2010-12-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

i was sitting with my Kylie bug and Sky today talking about our Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. Its so interesting, and AMAZING, the insight 3 and 4 year olds can have. We watched many videos of Him. This was one of our favorites. It is so easy getting caught up in the craziness of the holiday season...which i think is ok too...but its SO good to remember WHY we are celebrating CHIRSTmas. Why there IS a CHRISTMAS. On that note...i think the questions Do you have room? Would you let Him in today? Have you let Him in? Are very important questions to really ask yourself. This morning has been such a neat experience with my girls, a time that I hope to never forget. Their little spirits are AMAZING. They believe in the magic of Santa and more important they LOVE their Savior and LOVE LEARNING about Him. They are good examples to their mom. Enjoy!

My mind has

2010-12-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

been quite a busy place lately! I have started. Deleted. RE-started. Again deleted this post MANY MANY times. I have had a TON on my mind. All of it extremely important to me. But my problem a lot of times is getting whats goin on inside there...out into words that make sense to anyone else. See, did that even make sense? But here is the thing...this is kinda sorta my journal. I think I need to at least try and write it down. One day I want my girls to access this info and see that their mom was/is....

a)spiritual
b)relatable
c)empathetic
d)STILL and always learning
e) understanding
f)REAL & HONEST
g)human
h)HAPPY
i) and that i did my best

So with all of that in mind, and much much more, I guess i need to be REAL and HONEST with what I write here. I think i am for the most part. I have no clue where this post will go...but it will be the first of many that are real. I consider myself a deep person although i usually choose a select few people in my life whom i completely trust and love to share that part of me with. But I hope to show a little bit more of it here, which is scary, but good too. All i ask is that if you do read this, please don't judge me. Thats all. Not too much to ask right? This post imparticular will sound extremely selfish and self absorbed, but it is the story of me.

The last few months i have decided to go on a journey of sorts. I realized that i wasn't happy with me. One day, that i will never forget, i looked in the mirror, and i mean REALLY looked in the mirror. This was the day of the lowest of all lows. At first it was all about the outside appearence. (much easier to focus on that than the inside) I felt REAL hate for myself and the way i looked. I just started picking myself apart completely. I weigh more than i ever have in my life. My body looks way different than it ever has. I was/am truly uncomfortable in my own skin. I stood there just mad at myself wondering how the heck i got here. How did i lose control of it all?!? I am overwhelmed. Its wierd really, i feel happier than ever in so many parts of my life and maybe that is why i am finally able to take a real deep look into the real issues that have always been there. I realized, through the help of a very dear friend, that the hate i have for myself is silly and all of this is stemming from not really KNOWING myself completely...or maybe not even at all!!!!!!!!!! HELLO!! Im 28, I have gone down this path so many times before....or had I? All of these are questions im still figuring out to this day...

But the decision i made that day is i don't want to hate myself anymore. I NEVER want my daughters to feel about themselves the way i felt about myself that moment. LOST. EMPTY. CONFUSED. So i KNEW i had to make some changes. This same friend brought me a copy of a book that day....its called "Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth. For her and I this book is a life changer. Its such a hard read for myself, because its all about TRULY being able to be honest with yourself. Not an easy task!!!! The first time i read it, it took about 4 months. This is from a girl that read the last Harry Potter book in 1.5 days. This book is a measly 213 pgs...hmmm interesting. I wasn't ready at first to be completely honest, or to let certain things/self beliefs go. I am just about to start reading this book again, this time i plan on journaling through the experience. Lucky you. ha

When i think about what i want to FEEL most in life...its JOY, PEACE, LOVE, HAPPINESS & BELONGING. And i want to pass this along to those in my life through service/example and other acts of giving myself but no LOSING myself. Make sense? I strongly believe no matter what our circomstances are in life WE are the ones in control of how we CHOOSE to feel. The more negative we let in, the more negative and unhappy we will be. The more we focus on and SURROUND ourselves with the positive & the more WILLING we are to have a TRUE charity and LOVE for our fellow men, the more likely we will feel the way i WANT to feel.

Have you ever noticed how scary/hard it can be to be completely honest with yourself? Its never fun to take that honest look at yourself, its much easier to look at those around you and pick them apart. To become bitter maybe? Its crazy.

I adore and love my family so much. I feel like i owe it to them and myself to go through this self journey. And I really think that thats what life is isn't it? Do we ever stop trying to learn and grow? To improve ourselves? I know where im at right now is a little more extreme than i hope to be in year from now, but i hope to never stop growing. I think thats how we lose who we are. Whether its spiritually or intellectually. We need to constantly work on and educate ourselves. If you made it all the way through this...im amazed. ha ha.

My plan of attack....go back to the basics and start building! I think if we are ever lost, thats what we should do, right? Thats why we have "basics"...so here i go!

Today is my

2010-12-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

best friends birthday. I can say that I am the luckiest girl in the world. I would never say that I have a "perfect" life, but I have a perfect life for me. I feel like I really am married to my best friend. Its so easy for me to focus on how great of a father he is, and honestly he really is the best in my eyes. But he is much much more than that. He is loving, forgiving, kind, giving, funny and just all around amazing. He is extremely hard working and balances work and family the best he can. He uses humor a lot in life but also has a very serious side as well. The last 6 years has been an adventure getting to really know one another, inside and out. As amazing as I thought he was the day I married him, I really believe that he is even 10 times better than that. I love how we have grown together through the good and the bad times. And honestly he really is such an amazingly loving and patient person. He is so layed back and I can be so crazy restless that we balance each other out really well. I love having a partner in crime and knowing that I always have someone in my corner. Isn't that fantastic? Isn't that what marriage is supposed to be about? I think so. I don't know how i got so lucky but I hope to never take him for granted.

Funds are low, so today Mark wanted family time as his present. Mark had to work for a few hours this morning and I had Sky and Kylie "write" daddy a letter. It was really sweet. I just had them read to me what they wanted to write. Skylars letter I was able to do word for word. Kylie's was pretty much word for word as well. They were AWESOME!! I think they meant a lot to Mark as well. We had dinner and Marks favorite cake and ice cream. We finished the night by Mark cuddling up on the couch with the girls and I got the tree ready to finish decorating in the morning with the girls.

Thank you so much for being you Mark. We love and appreciate you so much! XOXO

Thanksgiving week run down....

2010-11-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

this week had quite a bit of good and just a little bad! It was busy with no shortage of football, good food and great family time! I didn't take many pictures....sorry. But i did have a couple random of this girl....i just love her baby blues! Ok....It started with Chilli and soup on Wednesday night.
Thursday was spent at Andrea's house. The food was great and it was so nice seeing all my extended family. My mom's health hasn't been the best since her siezure a couple years ago so her and my dad left pretty early, but we stayed and chatted for a bit with the family since we don't see them too often. The girls had a blast with Tylar whom is one of their favorite cousins of all time! My cousin Cody and his wife showed up for a bit too and it was REALLY good to see them. They both looked better than they have for a LONG time. I hope they can keep it up. :)
After dinner we came home and took it nice and easy...Until about 8pm that is. My friend and I decided to hit up the Toys-R-Us sale that started at 10pm. Niether of us have ever attempted any black Friday sale in the past...and lets just say Im not sure I will ever again! Oh my goodness...people get CRAZY over 2 dollar discounts! I was glared at, pushed with carts, yelled at and waited in a checkout line...that was wrapped around the whole store....and didn't move one inch for over an hour!!! NUTS!!! We waited outside for over an hour and it was FREEZING! I think around 15 degrees. BRRRRR. Luckily i was with one of my favorite people and we got some good talking in. :)
Friday my plan was to SLEEP! After getting home about 1 the night before, and having Cambree up the REST of the night I was TIRED! But we ended up going to Trafalga with the girls and some of the Roylance clan. Im not sad I did. It was fun. I was somewhat in a daze and don't remember a lot of it but it was nice to get in some fam time. :) Brittany slept over with the girls and they stayed up so late. It was cute. It was their first "real" sleep over fun. it was cute hearing them giggle and eating snacks at 10:30. Thank goodness she was here for Saturday too...HUGE help.
Saturday turned into a Roylance Thanksgiving Feast at my house. I cooked my first turkey EVER and also my FIRST homemade stuffing. I think they both were pretty good. Everyone brought yummy food and sides too. We watched the BYU/UTAH game...bummer of an ending. But it was great. Im glad my girls had a blast with their cousins. I always wanted to live close with family so my kids could grow up with their cousins. I feel so blessed to live close to both sides of the family. Its really nice. After everyone left yesterday and i finished cleaning up my feet were SWOLLEN!! I didn't realize that i really hadn't sat down all day. I actually fell asleep around 7:30, which was good because Cambers was up all night again (woke up 5 times before 1 and she went down at 7). One day she will sleep...thats what i keep telling myself anyway!! Today was a very chill day. Our church was canceled due to some strange smell in the chapel...interesting...anywho...Some of my favorite things this week:
-seeing grandma and grandpa smith
-seeing my cousins/aunts/unlcles that i don't see enough
-feeding cambree potatoes, jello and pie. All of which she couldn't get enough of!
-finishing up my Christmas shopping!! And most of Kylies birthday too!!!
-decorating for Christmas
-good food
-Brittany sleeping over with my girls...oh my gosh it was so dang cute.
-cooking my first turkey
I hope you all had a great week too. Ate lots of YUMMY food. And got in GREAT QUALITY family time.
And hopefully this is what we all will be doing tonight :)

im so thankful

2010-11-24T21:43:00.000-08:00

for this time of year. I LOVE the holidays. I LOVE how it brings the family closer together. Whether your family is your immediate family or extended. I feel blessed to have such an amazing family. I don't always remember this. Life gets SOOOO crazy busy sometimes that i lose focus of whats really important. Tonight my whole family got together for a chilli/ soup dinner at my brothers house. It was so nice. It was the first time in a LONG time that all of us made it. Usually someone is working or sick. We even had my cute cousin and her hubby there and Travis's girlfriend. I am ashamed to say that i take them all for granted sometimes. We are lucky enough...for now...to all live so close together. We are all really busy...both my parents are still working full time jobs, the 3 older of us are busy with our little families and my little brother...well he is just busy enjoying time before his mission. :) One thing i do love though is when we get together its fun. We are crazy, but we love each other. To others looking in they may think we are nuts and/or disfunctional. But to me they are mine and i wouldn't trade any of them for anything. We are oppinionated...which can create some crazy conversations, but deep down its based on love.
I think the holidays remind me of so much of the good of growing up. My mom was the BEST at always making the holidays a blast. No matter if it was a year we had a lot of money...or a little money. She always made it special and so much fun. I NEVER felt like i went without. I think it was more about the time we spent together than the presents etc. but it was a blast. She went all out with decorating, her house is still at the top of my list to be at during the holidays. You don't even need a light on in the living room with all the lights...its beautiful and peaceful.

So anyway....at the start of this holiday season i hope that we can all remember to be thankful for what we have and who we have in our lives. Im trying so hard to remember this. I want all of my family, extended, inlaws and all, to know how much i love you! Thank you for all you have done for us. For your examples and friendships. You ARE loved. So much. Im very thankful to be spending our Thanksgiving with my extended "Smith" family. Its a tradition that I have always looked forward to and im so impressed that we have kept it up. Its so much fun to see all of my cousins with their kids etc. Where does time go? Seriously. I still remember being the "kid" running around like crazy with my cousins. Crazy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just some fall/thanksgiving pictures

2010-11-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Sky has decided to help me with some chores now....she did great with the "big" vaccume and hey ill take the help!! We did some Thanksgiving decorations...colored pictures together....and made Turkeys. They drew pictures of what they were thankful for. Kylie has been acting out some since Cambree joined the clan...but THANKFULLY she loves her sister and doesn't take it out on her...just her mamma. :) Cambree is already getting attached to one of the favorite cousins...our Boosky...she really does love her already! This pic is a little old but i loved it! John and Denise stopped by with the boys one day and the boys started raking up all the leaves! Than Patrick and John gave these 3 crazies a ride in the garbage can. :)

The End.

A first for Cambree...

2010-11-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

took place tonight. Doesn't she look excited? She is 5 months old...and the doctor gave us the go ahead of feeding solids when we felt ready to. She hasn't been sleeping very well at all at nights so we decided to just give it a shot...do you think she enjoyed it? I know i had fun feeding it to her OPEN UP! She did a great job! side note...i think she is getting the same eye junk Kylie had :( but it wasn't stopping her! starting to get full...i think im done... "I said I think im DONE!" Thats better...all cleaned up! So i think she ate around a tablespoon or so. She seemed to enjoy it until the end! This may be a new nightly thing...depending on her :)

My crazies and I

2010-11-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

spent over an hour in line to VOTE! I think its great that we at least get somewhat of a say in what happens. I believe in it enough to wait in the LONGEST line ever with my girls. LUCKILY a very nice friend from the ward was there and helped me to entertain the older two... while Cambree did AWESOME....it was a lot of fun playing with her...well as much fun as you can have in a school gym with a crazy amount of people...she kept me entertained by attacking her toy and giving me the look of "ok are we done yet?" Kylie...well she pushed another little girl down so she got into some trouble...I was just extremely glad that for the most part they behaved and made some friends (minus Kylie's push, uhhh)...Thanks Rebecca for entertaining my girls with bubbles, so much so that Sky didn't want to leave! I really do think that its important to vote and even though i had to take my girls, it was worth the wait. Now my fingers are crossed that prop 1 passed!

Today just happened to be

2010-11-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

a good day. Really. After a horrible night...probably one of the worst nights to date....Kylie has an ear infection and some kind of crazy eye infection too. Her eyes were blood read and so goopy! Poor thing. Mark took her in to the doc and didn't get home till after 9. The girls went to bed way too late. Sky woke up SCREAMING just before 11. Which than set off Cambree for the night. Sky was having a CRAZY night terror. Have you ever experienced these with your kids?!? They are not fun at all. Its like they are possessed and there is nothing you can do to help them. It took a long time to calm her down and she ended up in our bed. Right when she calmed down, and i got Cambree back to sleep, in came Kylie just as miserable as can be. Mark took her back to her bed where he stayed the night helping her. Right after that Cambree woke up again...and pretty much up for the whole night. So Mark and Kylie ended up in her twin bed, Cambree and i ended up in her rocking chair and Sky ended up in our king bed all alone. Needless to say NO sleep for Mark and I.

When i "woke" up this morning i was dreading the day ahead. Not my favorite feeling for the start of a new day.. I had wanted to get back onto my workout schedule...which came to a hault for some reason last thursday...just wasn't feeling it for the holiday weekend. But i had no energy this morning. But something happened...Cambree was somehow way happy and my outlook changed. It was just her and i for an hour or so and we got in some great one on one play time. My favorite! Than the girls got up, we had breakfast, and all the sudden came a burst of energy. They played great while I got piles and piles of laundry and other cleaning caught up. Kylie is still sick but pretty happy. Cambree took her first long morning nap, a whole 1.5 hours!! YAY!! Totally beat the 20 min catnaps she has been doing. While Sky was at school Cambree stayed up the whole time, but I was still able to get some awesome one on one with Kylie playing playdough and cuddling. After we picked up Sky, Kylie totally crashed in the car from about 3:30 till 6:30. Which i knew would cause trouble for bed, but she was exhausted and needed it. (its now after 10 and she is still fighting bed time) Sky and i played games and got some good talking in for a couple hours. Than i got my workout in! YAHOO for me! We had dinner and got Cambree to bed. I even snuck in a quick shower. Bed time...well its not going so great yet...but after such a good day im really not too upset. Just ready to crash :)

I honestly love being a mom. Its not something that i ever thought would come natural to me. And maybe it hasn't. But i love it. Its so crazy hard at times but the good times really do make it all worth it. This day might sound boring to you. I see it as an accomplishment. I didn't lose my cool once. I was able to spend quality time with my girls even though im physically and mentally exhausted. I was able to really notice Cambree's personality today. She is so FUNNY and its nice to be aware and not completely lost in my own fog. I feel so blessed to have them. I know of 3 times today when either Kylie or Sky came up and hugged me and said, I love you mommy, just to say it.

Yup its worth it.

I LOVE Halloween! Part II

2010-10-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is our buddy the Dewster... AKA Andrew Adams....AKA Uncle Dewster to the girls.

He is a best friend of Marks, with no children, and is an only child himself. Poor guy, our girls love him to death! They attack him like crazy when he visits and he handles it beautifully.

They love him from birth I tell ya!

Our first stop of the day was Macy's grocery store with our good buddies the Welch's. The girls had all their candy gone by the time we got home! They love halloween too!

You have a stinky skunk and of course...Thing 1 and 2! Thanks so much Eileen for all the time and effort you put into these awesome costumes! EVERYONE loved them. There really was no better costume for them.

My favorite view of the skunk!

She actually loved the outfit, and it kept her nice and warm in the cold. Our ward had our trunk or treat out in the cold and they did a GREAT job! Drive through food and it actually stopped raining for just long enough the kids could load up on some candy! It was fantastic!

The kids with their loot at Grandmas. Once we got there the rain stopped some and Mark and his mom took the girls to a few houses in the nieghborhood. They had a blast!

They seriously got SOOOOO much candy!

A couple things...first...notice the drink holder she used on the floor...cracks me up! Just a few minutes after this picture she started complaining of an ear ache :( It was draining all sorts of yuck (thanks to her tubes). She fell asleep in Marks arms. When she woke up this morning she has definitely caught some kind of bug. Her eyes are all goopy and red. And her ear is still draining. Poor thing. BUT it hasn't stopped her from eating lots of her candy today!

I love these girls! Halloween is once a year...so yes i will let them eat some candy. Too much candy. BUT they are kids and im ok with it. Hopefully they won't get too sick :)

I LOVE Halloween! Part I

2010-10-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Although i dropped the ball on costumes for Mark and I this year...i really do love Halloween! In fact I have our whole family's costumes figured out for next year and plan on getting them ready by than! Plenty of time.

In the mean time here are some pictures of halloween on Friday....I couldn't help but getting a few pics of this little one...

This year Sky was a mermaid for her preschool costume. It was a REALLY fun costume and she loved it. She doesn't like to pose at all for pictures. ha. Also Kylie felt a little left out so she dressed herself and ended up being a witch pirate. I LOVED her outfit.

Look at those eyes...i love this bug!

Nope...doesn't like to pose for pictures at all.

Why there is now a NO pen rule in my house

2010-10-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

While i feed Cambree my two older girls have been getting into some trouble...this is our coffee table in my living room. What you don't see in the picture is that not only is it colored in pen, but it is etched into the table....forever...therefore no more pens. Im sure one day this will be funny...but not anytime soon...

Pumpkin fun...

2010-10-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

This year we did two kinds of pumpkins...traditional carving

Left is Kylie's right is Sky's

My church calling is activity days, which I love. WE wanted to do a pumpkin activity with the girls without being to dangerous and messy...so we came up with decorating them with felt and sequins. I brought home a few extra things and my girls did some of their own creations...

I did the one on the right, Kylie's is the one in the middle and the left is one of 2 Sky did.

Sky's awesome pumpkin...its a pirate i think...

A few fall pictures...

2010-10-31T12:50:00.009-07:00

Seriously love these girls

they crack me up.

they love their dolls and do most things together...

I really have a MILLION dress ups for my girls. But they made their own out of grocery bags. I thought it was pretty creative....

Sky loves the monkey bars...although she did have a nice fall face first...she will still get back up.

Cambree has found her feet...and eats them all the time.

On a fall drive we got some pics of the older two girls and their crazy cheesy smiles...

By the way... every now and than i let my girls do their own hair and pick out their own clothes.

This was one of those days :)

I feel like

2010-10-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

time is going by so dang fast. I feel like im trying so hard to stay afloat and have a LONG list of things that i will get done at some point. So im just taking a few minutes to catch up on here. Having 3 kids isn't hard...im just feel a lot busier. Getting 3 ready, and feeding 1 constantly takes up a lot of time. Im lucky to get in a shower by the time i go to bed. But i am loving it. For the most part. Poor Cambree is on her 3rd round of antibiotics with a double ear infection. I feel bad for her...and im not gonna lie i feel a little bad for Mark and i too! She is so happy and not too fussy at all but doesn't sleep well at all. Would you? Ouch! Hopefully she will be better soon!

Sky has been LOVING school and soaking it in like a sponge! She seems to have made a couple friends and enjoys going. She has become quite the artist and i never get tired of all her new drawings. At gymnastics she shows little fear and has started attempting flips off the trampoline! She also does a pretty dang good pushup...or pushups!! I can't believe that she is a kid now...not a baby or even a little little kid. She has grown up so fast. She has quite the attitude and spunk. She also can be too smart for me sometimes! Exhausing :) The other night when i checked in on her and Kylie for the night it hit me just how fast time goes. They will only be my little girls for such a short time. :( It really makes me so sad. I just stood there forever and got a little tearful. I miss them already. Does that make sense? Im trying hard to live in the moment, but when I realize how much time has gone by already i lose my breath and just want to freeze time for a bit!

Kylie has struggled some with Cambree joining our family. The hardest part for me has been getting good quality one on one time with my older girls. But im starting to get a little bit of a routine down. When Sky goes to school, I spend most of the time with Kylie. We color, read, play, pretty much do what she wants to do with mommy at the time. I have seen quite the improvement on her attitude especially on these days. She is much happier and doesn't seem as frustrated. I love her fiesty personality and i don't want her to ever lose it. She cracks me up all the time. She says the funniest things...i really need to start writing them down!! She also loves her gymnastics and its really good for her to go to her own class. She is very proud of herself and feels so old. She insists that she also needs to go to school. I tell her all in due time and to stop wanting to grow up so fast :)

Cambree is growing like a weed! Other than the dang ear infections she has been fantastic. And really has only started getting fussy lately...i think she is sick of it all. I have been able to enjoy her more as a baby than i was my other 2. I think being a little older, a little less selfish, and a lot more relaxed it has helped me a ton. I honestly love being my girls mom. Its scary sometimes. Its extremely exhausting and overwhelming too. But I LOVE being their mom. I love their differences and hope that i can learn to listen and understand them the best i can. I wouldn't change anything about them. I would just change me and how i handle them individually. I hope i don't screw them up too much while im learning!

Im still in my post pregnancy fog...which usually doesn't lift until at least 9-12 months. bleh. but im doing the best i can. I have started doing my workout program called insanity. Have you heard of it?!? Holy cow its truly INSANE!!! Im not following the diet part, im doing the best i can there right now, but the workouts are AWESOME!!! I have a huge sweet tooth, which i didn't know until just recently, that nursing makes even worse! I crave sugar like nothing else. But since i have started working out better it has really helped me to control it some. phew. I have only lost 4 pounds in 2.5 weeks, with a LOT more to go, but as long as im trying i won't get down on myself. I also plan on running again, as soon as i can find a way and time to get back to the gym :( Nursing and losing weight DOES NOT WORK for me. I actually gain back lots while nursing. yuck! but its worth it for my little one so ill keep it up! I may or may not keep track on here of how i do...but i probably won't be posting my weight any time soon :) maybe just what i lose for a while.

We miss Mark a lot! He is so busy with work. But we are so proud of him and his hard work for our family. We have been able to use our time together wisely though. The last couple of weeks we have gone on a drive to see all the awesome fall leaves, gone to the park, gone on walks, and just try to do fun good things together. We are doing the best we can and knowing that helps. There are a lot of areas we could be doing better on right now...a lot! But we are taking it one day at a time and know it will all be ok eventually! :)

On my list of things to do...post some pictures...maybe ill do it tomorrow...but than again who knows?

Something that I believe to be really important...

2010-10-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

When i heard the story about this boy Ellen is talking about my heart hurt. I instantly thought about the poor boy that felt so hurt, embarrassed, ashamed that his only way out was to kill himself. It hurt for his parents. As a mother I can't imagine something worse that one of my girls dying before me, but even worse would be them taking their own life. I hope that no matter what they go through in their lives they know they can always feel safe to talk to me and to Mark. I hope to raise my girls in a way that they will not judge others or be so cruel to others for whatever reason. Bullying is so mean. Just because someone else may be different than you doesn't give you a right to do something so cruel. I actually feel a little sad for the two people that did this to this boy. I feel bad for their ignorance. I highly doubt they ever felt that this would be the outcome but it is and now they have to live with that. For some reason this really bothered me and hit home and i couldn't help but to write something about it. I love Ellen. Im glad that she took the time to say this and hopefully it will help other people see what the possible consequences of their actions could be. I know it may sound lame...but seriously can't we all just get along? Can we love each other for our differences instead of hating for them? I don't see how hate will ever help someone. I feel so bad for all the awful things that i have done to others in my life and sincerely appologize to anyone that i may have hurt. I know im not perfect. But i know there are times i hurt people and im so sorry. This really re-opened my eyes to things i need to do better about in my life. Thanks Ellen for saying what you did!

Other fun things

2010-10-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

we did this month included making back to school sugar cookies...i think they had fun...

and i think they tasted ok too!

the girls took whatever diaper boxes they could and i taped them together
they color it and build all sorts of forts with it!

We will keep adding more and more boxes as we get them...however we won't be getting quite as many more because Kylie is potty trained!!! HURRAY! She refused to wear her diapers and has done a really good job. She has had a few accidents but is doing pretty good! She wanted to be just like her big sister and that helped out the process a lot!!

One of the most exciting things that happened was my friend Alena giving birth to her first baby! Mason Blake was born September 17th after 37 hours of labor!!! She really wanted to go natural but after 15 hours of hard labor and only making it to a 1 she finally took the epideral. I was there with her for a good part of it and it was a really special experience. It was so fun watching her do anything and everything she could for that unborn boy. She stayed positive although in crazy pain. One of my favorite things in the world is seeing firstime parents become parents. I don't think there is a way to be prepared for the instant overwhelming love you feel for these little guys! She has a really rough time post baby, but staying positive the whole time. We love them and are so proud of her!!

First day of school

2010-10-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

another one of the busy things in September was Sky going to preschool! She went for a month last year but ended up taking her out because i didn't love it. This year we have Miss Julie and she is WONDERFUL!! Sky was so excited to go and meet new friends...she is not too shy...
she loves to cheese it up for the camera!

Kylie and i run lots of fun errands while she is at school. We go to the library, store, grandmas or other friends. At first she had a hard time without Sky but think she enjoys the time now. I will start using it as my gym time once Cambree is on a better schedule!

Miss Julie does so much for these kids. About 3-4 times a month Sky brings home a different book and stuffed animal that go together. They have been great. Also im amazed at how much Sky has already learned. She has also made a good friend at school named Lucy...a girl!!!

Im so proud of her and can't believe how fast she is growing up. Its a bitter sweet feeling for sure. I just hope im doing an ok job helping her along the way.

September was BUSY...

2010-10-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

and full of a lot of firsts and changes! Sky and some of her friends in the hood played start smart soccer. it was so fun watching her and to see how cordinated she was with the ball...something she did not inherit from her mother...

Mark was able to with to all the practice's and it was a good daddy daughter bonding time.

And of course little sisters and momma were there to cheer her on!!

Sky is all girl....but plays with 95% boys! its so funny! she is surrounded by boy neighbors and boy cousins, but she couldn't be more girl...funny story about this group of 3 on the left...The boy standing right next to Sky is Kyle and he lives across the street...the boy next to him is Sky Man and he lives right next door. Whenever our Sky plays with another boy Sky Man gets extremely jealous it cracks all us parents up!

Some other changes this month will follow. :)

We decided on a BIG change

2010-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

before school started for Sky...and also before our favorite Alena had her baby. This is what Sky's hair looked like before...During...

and of course Kylie too...but hers was just a tiny trim so i didn't take any during....

And somehow i erased my after pictures of Sky :( but here is a cute picture of them both a day later...It made Sky look so much older to have short hair but its been a really fun change!! She loves it and it totally fits her sassy personality!

Before school started

2010-10-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

we decided to get in some last minute summer fun...sadly i didn't take too many pictures :( but this one is a VERY true picture of our summer days for both girls...covered head to toe in mud...digging and playing with their buddy Skyman

the girls participated in the summer reading program at the library so we went to pick up the prizes...Kylie thought she needed to eat her duck. We love the library all year around. Its such a fun and educational place to take my girls. I hope that they can learn to love to read as much as i do. On one of Marks half days off we went to Thanksgiving points dinasour museum with our neighbors. I loved watching the girls play with Mark in the sand it was so fun!

We will miss summer....although its still summer weather out! We are soooo ready for fall.

Nuskins employee

2010-10-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

party was held at Seven Peaks and we had a blast! It was Cambree's first time in the pool. She LOVES it...

it was pretty good weather so we let her splash in the wave pool. Brittany came with us so of course the girls were in heaven! nuskin provided all you can eat and drink plus tubes. It was really nice to get out with the fam!

Cambree did great and we are so excited to go all the time next summer and soak in the rays!

We all slept GREAT that night!

I don't even know

2010-10-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

where to begin...so how about with that little baby cheesin it up? Our internet was down for quite some time and i got WAYYYY behind on blogging :( so the next few posts will be some make up posts on things i don't want to forget.

our summer was fun! these two crazy girls kept me busy and on my toes!

None of us can get enough of this little one!

She really is such a happy and sweet baby. A very good baby! She has her second double ear infection...which hasn't been fun. She doesn't sleep well...but when im greeted with this happy smiling face in the middle of the night...i can't get mad! I know it will only last for a short time and so im trying to just enjoy her the best i can.

im in love with her chubby little chin...cheeks...and legs! they are so much fun to squeeze which brings on a round of the best giggles ever!

Broke...Broken....Breaking...

2010-08-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

That sums up our last couple weeks! First of all I have to say that I am so thankful to marrying such an inteligent man! I feel its due to great deal from his mom. When anything breaks he automatically assumes he can fix it and for the most part he can. I love it! Its actually saved us a lot of money many times. Another think I love is that he is willing to use his talents to help others as well when he isn't working. Im hoping that when day I will look back on this blog and laugh about all the things we have gone through and hopefully by than it will help us to make smarter decisions, especially financially!

First up...my lifesavor on most days...Cambree's baby swing. We have used this swing for all 3 babies it was hands down the best gift we recieved at my baby shower. Sky was such a fussy baby. There were times she would never calm down. The swing saved us. It has an ocean sound and fish. Those two things combined with the swinging works almost every time. And with Kylie and Cambree it has been so nice because its a safe place to put a baby when you have crazy toddler about and you need to get some things done. Well the motor is broken and it no longer swings...but thank goodness the sounds and fish still work..for now...

Next up our sprinkler system has been broken for quite some time now. It works, but Mark has to turn it on a special way and its kind of a pain. So he decided to dig up the part thats broken to fix it. OOPS! Come to find out not only is that broken...but so was our main water line!!AHHHH! Fun times! Thankfully it was fixed yesterday. No more leaking! yahoo! I felt so bad for Mark. He worked so hard to get our lawn looking good and now it has a HUGE dead area from what theyhad to dig up...but a bright note is it could have been much worse. I love that both my little girls love to help out their daddy. Especially Kylie she is always pretending to be fixing stuff just like him. She is my little Daddy's girl for sure.

So lessons learned from this experience....its so important to try and save up money for times like this especially. No matter how tight money is we have to try and put money into savings. Its CRUCIAL!

a huge step by the bug....

2010-08-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

today we went from this...to this...
we have been working on 2 things with this little one. 1 is potty training...well that is still a work in progress...but 2 was getting her off her binkie. Today she traded it in at the store for a cheerleading set! She felt so big and so proud of herself! She keeps saying "mom i threw my binkie away at the store!" So far so good. We will see how tonight goes...we don't have a back up. So wish us luck!
Next up...potty training. ughh any suggestions?!? i think she is just about ready!

5 years...

2010-08-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

ago i was lucky enough to marry this man....who doesn't love getting his picture taken...unless its Sky or Kylie taking the picture!and now we have been blessed with these 3 crazy girls! Its been quite the ride and there is NO ONE else i would have wanted to take it with! I love you Mark for being the man, husband and father you are. I love how hard you work for us and how much you love us! We are so lucky! XOXO

I can't get enough of

2010-08-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

these girls!!!

After such a busy week we took some time to color...paint... and just chill
Cambree has grown so much!
i couldn't love her chub more!!
check out that chin!!
she always has to have something in her mouth...her hand, binkie or food!

Some of my favorite people during our CrAzY week of family fun!

2010-08-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

this week was full of fun...food...a water party...and hours of talking. This is 4 generations of Kers!

Ryan, Travis Crystal and I with GrandpaSky took this of daddy

Tyson sporting the mohawk
My cousin Alayna and Cambree

my awesome mamma and bro Ryan Wyatt...aka Wy-man...love him
my monkey my bug little Jade with some awesome hair seriously dirty...and seriously cute! dad and Ryan dunked trav in the pool...dont feel bad for him he and Ryan threw me in too!
Grandpa, Alayna, Geoff, and Travis
My aunt Sandy...her and Grandpa drove out from Oklahoma it was great having her here too!
Ryan, Travis, Dad, Rachel, Crystal and I were all wet at the end of this fun day! I LOVED seeing all the adults playing with the kids. It was GREAT!
my dad and Brigham...thats Ryan H, or Hopkins as i call him in the background.
Grandpa and Cambree Not an easy task getting all these kids to sit there! The girlies...love my Jade
Sky was smitten with her Great Grandpa...loved his "walking fingers" and all the other games he would play with her :)

It was so much fun having Grandpa and Sandy here for the week. We are all very sad that they had to go home but feel extremely thankful they were able to make the trip at all.

A lot of

2010-08-06T14:18:00.001-07:00

cRaZiNeSs has been going on around here! Fist of all....last Sunday, August 1st we blessed our beautiful little Cambree. It was somewhat of a last minute decision so i was extremely thankful to Eileen, my mother in law, for getting the dress done in time. It is BeAuTiFul! Probably my favorite ;)Also last minute she whipped out the bow. I felt extremely blessed to have my grandpa Ker, who lives in Oklahoma and turns 85 next month, be here for the blessing! The last time he was here he was with my grandma and it was 5 years ago for our wedding. It was so nice to have him here. My grandma passed away last year and she was definitely missed. The girls loved their baby sisters dress too.Mark did a fantastic job on the blessing. The day was crazy! After the blessing we did a light lunch at our house to help feed those that had traveled for it. It was so nice to have so many family and friends around to celebrate Cambree's life with us! She has truly been a blessing in our lives. She is such a good and sweet little girl. Her sisters adore her as do her parents. I can't believe how fast she is growing and how chubby she is! I love it!!!

today was

2010-07-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

such a nice day. Mark got off a little early from work this morning and we had about 2 hours before he had to go to his other job. So we took the time to go to the BYU dinosaur museum for a few...the girls loved that this was a foot of a dinosaur and we had to see how big it was compared to our feet. They LOVED the big dinosaurs and it was a lot of fun just to spend time as a family together, it doesn't happen often enough so we took full advantage of it. Kylie and Sky would pull this same face when they would see something new. We loved having daddy to ourselves for a bit. Yesterday the girls wanted crazy hair...so i put a whole bunch of nubs in it and who knows maybe Monday will be our crazy hair day from now on. They loved it. Cambree is getting HUGE way too fast. She is such a sweet baby and we couldn't love her more...even if she has been loving to play in the wee hours of the night! Its been a challenge to get things back to "normal" around here. I have decided that i am a structured/ schedule type person. I like to do spontaneous things too sometimes, but just having a general blue print for the day is nice. New babies don't really have a schedule...and you throw nursing into the mix! Its quite a challenge. I won't complain...too much! ha. The first 4-5 weeks were really hard, just due to the general recovery of childbirth, getting used to 3 beautiful girls, trying to keep up on my housework, Mark going back to work at both jobs, and being sick with a horrible cold or whatever it was! But so far weeks 5-6 have been so much better. Cambree eats now between every 2-3 hours, so i know once i feed her than i have time to get a few things done. Her sleeping is a little more off and on but i can still do things even when she is awake so thats not a big deal.

After Mark went back to work and the girls had their lunch i was able to throw them out in the backyard and get some housework done. Its nice the way my house is set up, i can keep a close eye/ear out on them and still get stuff done. I caught up on my laundry, cleaned both living rooms, washed the windows, kitchen, more laundry. i don't get how 5 people can produce so much dirty clothes, especially when 1 is a baby! i mean seriously. its nice now though sitting here both older girls sleeping after a long day. its good Cambree time for me. And catching up with some DVR while waiting for Mark.

Life is good.

Well...we will see if i feel that way tomorrow! ;)

A little bit of everything

2010-07-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

has been going on in my head lately. Mostly a lot of it sounds like jibberish due to lack of sleep. This is why i have not posted in a while. When its hard to form a sentence in your head...should i really be trying to spell or type something other people can read?! the answer is probably no but i will do it anyway. im defiant. Cambree is just a peachy baby. She really is. We struggled for the first few weeks, as most new babies due. im pretty sure she doesn't have colic which is fantastic. her "fussiness" is easily calmed down with cuddles. the only problem is she isn't such a fan of sleeping in her crib but its getting better. ;) her older sisters...well lets just say i really have thought about giving them away many of times. Kylie is your average 2 year old and some days are really hard! Sky is at the age of lying! AHHHHH help us! teaching about lying is a tricky one. you don't want them to be afraid to tell the truth but can't have them not get into trouble for the thing they did wrong and are lying about. tricky tricky. overall life with 3 isn't too much harder than 2. The things i have the hardest time with is finding me time. im dying to run. litterally. i think i would be a much better and happier mom if i had time to run or just get in some cardio every day. it really helps me to think a lot more clearly and helps me to make smarter eating choices. i am not a person that does well without it. i am a little frustrated that im back to square one with my weight but Cambree was worth it. i have my 6 week appointment monday. if i get the go ahead. which i should. i will do my best to kick my rear into gear. once i develope a plan i may or may not blog about it. :) its quite the personal journey but if i write here about it it may be just the push i need to get going and keep going.

i said my mind is a little bit everwhere righht now. :) one of my main goals with Cambree was to do my best with nursing but to not stress about it if i couldn't. i am extremely happy because its going beautifully now. it was really hard and struggles at first but now its much better. she is my first baby i have produced enough milk to do so.

i think im done for now. i will post pictures and Cambree updates soon.

4th of July Weekend...

2010-07-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty exciting weekend so far!

Well...exciting for us! We have been cooped up a lot lately with the Cambree but have ventured out for some good family time the last couple days :)I have decided that its really hard to get 3 little girls to all cooperate for a picture! It took forever to get them all looking at the camera at the same time.I love the 4th of July so much! I think because i love summer, good food, family and fireworks! What more can you ask for? I got the girls little matching outfits for the weekend.Last night we went to the street of fire in Marks parents neighborhood...which is never boring!! Last nights events included:
-awesome people
-AMAZING cupcakes and other goodies.
-fireworks...fireworks...fireworks...
-ummm...firetrucks...2...because there may or may not have been illegal fireworks shot off...and if there were illegals they were beautiful and extremely awesome...until the firetrucks showed up that is.
-i LOVED watching all the kids with there sparklers...there were tons of people! This little girl was scared of all the loud fireworks and watched them inside with me and Cambree. The smoke and noise was a bit much for the baby too.
Today was PERFECT weather for a little outing. We went over to the booths in provo for lunch. The girls enjoyed there snowcones and just getting out of the house. After we left we found a park that we had all to ourselves and let the girls run wild.
Tonight we will be enjoying a neighbors firework show and stadium of fire from our front yard. This really is the best holiday!
Happy 4th everyone!!
(ps shooting illegal fireworks is risky business...$500 bucks a piece!!)

happy fathers day

2010-06-22T13:49:00.001-07:00

So ill admit...im a bit late!! But I wanted to put on a shout out for all the fabulous fathers out there for fathers day! I do have to say though...im pretty sure i married the best one there is! I love this man and his little girlies adore him to death! Some of my favorite things:
-when he gets home the girls, especially Kylie goes NuTs!!
-on the same note...when he goes to work, or they wake up and he is at work already they are so sad...especially Sky
-he LoVeS his girls so much and never misses a chance to tell them...or show them.
-he helps me to be a better mother by sharing the load
-there is nothing he wouldn't do for any of us

i Really wanted to get some good pictures of him with all the girls but it didn't work out so much... but here he is with his newest one who already has him wrapped around her finger.
Thanks Mark for all you do! We love and appreciate you more than you will ever know!
Also....Happy fathers day to my dad and that i love you so much! You have been such a great dad. Thanks for helping me through some of those rough years and letting me learn from my own mistakes and still loving me despite my choices! You are a great Grandpa and my girls love you so much!
Also one more...my father in law! Thanks for being such a great grandfather and taking such good care of all your kids and grandkids who i know LOVE you so much!
I hope all you fathers out there had a great fathers day!!

Sky's 4th Birthday

2010-06-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

Sky's 4th birthday was on the 13th of June, 1 day shy of Cambree's one week mark. We had a rough time deciding when to do her first friend birthday party. The weather was an issue plus Cambree came a little early. All in all it worked out and she ended up with a great birthday.

For her actual birthday we all went to IHOP she is obsessed with pancakes and all she wanted was to go to go somewhere special. She loved getting happy birthday sung to her and her special ice cream treat. That night we had Michelle's family over for a little cake, ice cream and presents. Sky was great about letting Kylie help open and play with her presents

Some of her favorites were a new barbie movie and matching barbie doll, fake make-up kit, new Belle dress up, "real" microwave and awesome karaoke machine...which of course we had to bust out for the party...

We finally pulled together her party yesterday...the 21st of June and she was just fine with waiting for it! She was so excited all day it was awesome! I had a LOT of help with this party and couldn't have been more grateful. I could blame all the emotions on my crazy post pregnancy hormone issues but really i couldn't be more blessed with better friends and family!! If you know me you know i like to have things planned out when it comes to bigger events so this party was somewhat a stress but a GREAT learning experience for me. For instance its ok to ask and accept help from others.

it was a swim party so they couldn't wait to get outside and play play play!! Daddy cooked up some awesome hot dogs that were a pretty big hit for all the starving children!! we couldn't start the party till 1:30 so most of them really were STARVING, including Sky who was grump face until she got some food in her belly.Meanwhile inside...Grandma and Grandpa Roylance and Brittany took care of baby Cambree and made sure she was happy and taken care of so i could try and keep things going on outside. THANK you so so so much!! It was such a relief to know that she would be taken care of. I know it was a lot to ask! ;) I didn't plan too much craziness for the party just set up a few water games and pool for the kids to swim in. Of course the food and awesome cupcakes! I bombed on making the big cake...but a good friend made some great cupcakes that worked out PERFECT! Here she is making her wish... i think its safe to say they all loved the treats! Here are a few of the kids from the party! It was GREAT! She LOVED all of her gifts she received! Thank you so much! I think more than anything she just loved having all her buddies there to play. Two of the older girls Sydney and Gabriella made it Sky's day to be queen and waited on her. It was so cute! She ate it up! I didn't plan many games but we did bust out a pinata and it was good there were some older kids there to help really break it open! But the little ones were extremely entertaining!

I just have to take a minute and say how thankful we are for this little girl. She is so much fun and a great help. Its been a blast watching her personality come out as she grows up. She has a sassy side to her, but she is also extremely loving, caring and just plain awesome. 4 of my favorite things:
1. her personality, dancing, singing, just plain entertaining me all day long...and her sister too!
2.Getting in some good cuddles, if she lets you cuddle they are fantastic.
3. How protective she is of her sisters and loving she can be (they are sisters and do fight of course, but she doesn't like it at all if anyone is mean to Kylie)
4. Your smile...i can't help but smile when i see you smile!
Im so thankful that i was trusted to raise this little girl. She is our first and she is very patient and loving with her parents that are still learning to be parents.
I love you so much my monkey!xoxoxo

A whole lot of craziness....

2010-06-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a CrAzY two weeks to say the least!! Adjusting to 3 has been easier than i thought...but definitely has its moments! But seriously...none of us can get enough of this little angel!! About as soon as i got home from the hospital i caught the dang virus that has been attacking the Roylance family (thanks to those that took care of my girls while i was in the hospital and catching the dang bug, im SOOOOO sorry!!!) Its been a challenge handling that with all the other fun post pregnancy stuff, but really she is worth it!! I think im finally at the end of it, although i don't know if my voice will ever be normal again... but again...i love her! I think its taking awhile to come back because my two older crazy girls have figured out when mommy is feeding the baby they can try and get away with a lot more... which equals me yelling as loud as i can, but it coming out in a whisper, to get them to stop. But between all the crazy we have had lots of fun anyways! It takes time to adjust, but overall i think we are doing great, and so far...Cambree has survived..although her expression says it all in this picture...help me NOW! Im so glad that we have this little sweety and i hope to be the best mom possible to her and her older sisters! They are all so unique and special to me!
LOVE YOU MY GIRLIES!! XOXO

Lots and lots of Cambree pics from hospital :)

2010-06-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

This was Mark about ten minutes before Cambree was born :)We thought it would be a little while but she was ready to come.

She came out and wanted to roll out of the scale...apparently she wasn't a fan

She was perfect!!

First time holding her...it was love at first sightshe wasn't too beat up for being just born :)Both girls had been sick, Skylar couldn't kick her fever so they had to wear masks to hold little sister.First family picture...please remember i had been awake for over 30 hours :) That was a crazy day! My 3 girls. I couldn't be more blessed or happier about these gorgeous little angels!

Daddy's favorite thing to do with his babies...i kind of adore it.

Going home!!

Pretty sure these girls rock our world. It has been such a blessing having Cambree. Mark and i have to fight for our chances to hold the little one. Sky wants to hold her 24 7 and does a GrEaT job. She is such a big helper. Kylie is doing awesome too. She seems so much older and more mature. It makes me happy and sad. Skylar and Kylie have been getting along great and i think that has really helped with the adjusting. So far so good!

3rd times the charm

2010-06-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

My life is beautiful. I feel so blessed. I still have lots of pictures i need to add on here, but here are a couple for now. My two older girls LOVE their sister so much. They are both really great with her, especially Skylar. She wants to hold her non-stop and does a great job at it.

Kylie loves holding her too...but seems to be a little more curious and tends to poke at her. But overall does GREAT!

I don't know what it is about baby number 3, but it has been a pretty easy transition. I was worried about how i would be able to handle 3 little girls but have felt extremely calm about the situation. Cambree is a sweet baby and only cries...so far...when she is hungry. She is a great eater from the beginning. I have always struggled with nursing and feel it is every womans choice of what they want and feel comfortable with doing. My milk supply just never seems to be enough to satisfy my babies. This time around i just chilled about the situation and said to myself if it works great if not than no big deal at least i tried. Im happy to say that so far so good. Even better than good. I love it!! Its nice for me to have something that i can do for my baby that no one else can do. And also to have it be something that is so good for her. I want to do anything and everything i can do to give her the best start possible. There is something between a mommy and her baby while nursing it is quite bonding. It can be really painful at the first, which it is, but its worth it and so ill keep it up. :)
My goal right now is to enjoy every day. To really and truly enjoy every moment with my new baby girl and my older two girls as well. They grow up so fast. I can't believe how old they seem with Cambree here. I love being a mom. I hope my girls always know that. I love seeing Mark with his girls. I think he is perfectly happy with his girls and wouldn't change any of it for anything in the world. Im pretty sure they will give him more sleepless nights than me when they are teenagers. Poor guys that will try and date our girls! I laugh thinking about it now. We are blessed to have him! Its been so nice having him around more while he has been off of work. We miss him.

Meet Cambree Taylor Roylance

2010-06-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Its official...our baby girl is here and we named her Cambree Taylor Roylance and she is perfect! This post will be the story and i think ill do lots and lots and lots of pictures on another post! WARNING....there may be too much info in here for some, but this is used as a journal too for my family and we want the details :)
First of all Sunday was a crazy day! Skylar had a 102 fever in the morning and it grew to 104 that night. Kylie was also not at 100%. Luckily with meds the fever dropped down some. Well....needless to say that night around 11 i got sick to my stomach and threw up..gross i know... but it didn't feel like flu to me and right after i started in with some minor contractions. You see I have never gone into labor on my own. Skylar my water broke 2 weeks early, and i never felt a contraction...well that is until my epidural decided to not work right at the end and i felt everything bringing that little girl into the world. :( And Kylie i was induced and the epidural worked like a charm no pain at all. So i said to myself i wonder what it would be like to go into labor on my own...well i now know and am perfectly ok with never doing it again. Just kidding it really wasn't that bad, but wow what an experience.
I timed the contractions and they didn't feel to bad, but they were coming every 2 min or so and they lasted the 30 seconds. So i woke Mark up around 1:30 and he called over his sister and we were off to the hospital around 2:30. The whole way there i kept thinking and saying that it probably wasn't real labor and they would just send us home. I would have felt really dumb. So i got all hooked up and the nurse checked me and i was at a 4 and the contractions were coming quite steady. And getting stronger. So strong that i wondered how the heck i would deal with them if they did send me home. Luckily with in 2 hours i dilated to a 5 which is what i needed to be at to stay. HuRrAy!!! I was dying! They checked me in at 5:30 and i had an epidural by 6ish. Which i was nervous about. It was the end of the weekend. On the weekend the anesthesiologist works a 72 hour shift!! It was a busy weekend and guess who was his last patient? When he walked into the room you could just tell he was TIRED. I have had one bad experience with an epidural but all the pain i was in at the moment i just had to have faith he could do it because i didn't want to wait for the next one. It worked like a charm. He was awesome. From that time on it was smooth sailing. I didn't sleep any...i tried. They didn't give me anything to help the labor along my body did it all on its own. I was positive for the strep test, and we got both rounds of antibiotics in which made me feel much better. The doctor showed up just before 9 to break my water, but realized it had already broke and i was ready to push! Mark was asleep and woke up just in time for me to push. 4 pushes later and our little one was here! She was perfect. She weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz, 18 inches long, born at 9:11 am on Monday June 7th. My doctor was out of town of course, which is probably the only reason i went into labor 2 weeks early. But Dr Weible was FANTASTIC, they are partners at the same clinic and honestly couldn't have been better.
We are so in love with this little girl and amazing spirit. Sky wants to hold her 24/7 and Kylie is still trying to figure her out.

Time out

2010-06-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

I think the girls can feel the big change coming soon. They both have been acting out like CrAzY!! Also i think my patience level is stretched to the minimum and that can also be why they are on edge a little. Between the two...time out has been happening a lot at our house. For all 3 of us. My favorite part is when Sky goes to time out, even if its for being mean to Kylie, Kylie always feels bad for her and goes and tries to comfort her. She does not like seeing her sister upset. Gotta love it.
I am not too worried about the adjustment to 3 little ones most of the time. I'm hoping that my recent frustrations and extremely low patience will go away once the pregnancy is over. I'm not sure what it is about the end of pregnancy, but it seems to get worse and worse the last couple weeks. I feel so bad for the girls and i really try hard to be better. I think the mind games at the end of pregnancy make it worse. When is the baby going to come? Is she still doing okay in there? That's my biggest concern. What if i am not ready when i go into labor? Does it really mean anything to be dilated or is that just to mess with my head even more? And being huge and uncomfortable doesn't really help. So yes, I am a HUGE control freak. Being pregnant and not knowing the answers to these questions is someone teaching me that i am never really the one in control. It stinks. I just want to feel like me again. I know that won't be for awhile but its getting closer! The things i can control are done though! I have Sky's birthday party pretty much ready to go. The baby room is finished. I have been staying up on the laundry so i won't have to leave that huge mess behind. My house is clean [for the most part :) ] and i think we have a storage unit figured out so i can get rid of the stuff piled up in my living room. Life is good. On Wednesday we checked my fluid level and the babies heart and both were doing good so that really helped! I just have to make sure she keeps moving around in there! Which seems to be going okay.Yesterday Eileen finished this car seat cover for me. It was supposed to be me doing it, but i was feeling REALLY weird and couldn't sew a straight line to save my life!! So all i can take "credit" for is picking the fabric, which i still haven't decided if its my favorite! She did all the sewing and of course did an amazing job.
Thank you so much!!
We are all so excited to meet this little girl and feel a great bond with her already. Time goes so fast and logically i know she will be here in NO TIME and before i know it she will be turning 1. Its nuts!!! So my goal today is to try and breath and relax. Enjoy the time with my other two little punks before the 3rd arrives. I really would like her to stay in until after Sky's birthday on the 13th, as long as she is doing ok. So that gives me at least a week and a half to have lots of fun with the girls and get a much needed pedicure! And now that its starting to finally feel a little more like summer i think time will fly!! We set up their pool in the backyard and they can't wait to jump in later today and i think i MAY join them. :)

Gymnastics and girls

2010-06-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

The girls started gymnastics yesterday and boy oh boy did they love it! Im pretty sure that Kylie is in love. She has been waiting and waiting for "her turn" to be able to do something. She ate it up and followed the teacher perfect. We do a parent tot class and it was so fun for me to help her and have that one on one time with her. Sky was in a gym rompers class and i could watch her now and than from across the gym and i could tell she really liked it too. The nice thing about gymnastics is it keeps moving and i feel like it teaches great skills and strength. I'm excited to see where it goes! These two little girls have become such good little buddies lately. They push each other in swings, play dress ups, eat together, and are just growing closer together and it makes me so happy. I hope that they always stay so close and want to be good friends! And i also hope that they welcome and love their new baby sister too! Im glad that they have each other to play with and entertain especially when sister gets here. I feel so blessed to be the mother of these two little amazing spirits!

baby name upate....

2010-05-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

This will be short...because we still don't have one! But a new favorite of mine is Cambree. I'm just hoping that Mark will like it too. But this little one will most likely not be named until she is born :( If you have any cute girl names to suggest...suggest away!!! Every name i come up with gets shot down and im running out of ideas! Thanks!

Whats been going on lately...

2010-05-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

is a lot! I just have been too lazy and maybe busy to post :)

My first project was to get the babies room ready for her. That room has been used as a storage room for the last 4 almost 5 years....so needless to say it was no easy task! I spent a day just moving everything out into our temporary storage area...our living room! Yup not ideal but hopefully not for too much longer. We just need to find a storage unit. I also put her crib together moved the beds around and mark helped get the windows ready. That bedroom doesn't get the best air circulation, hot in the summer, cold in the winter. The bedding turned out really cute. I just had to get a new bumper. Im over the just pink thing and wanted to add in some color. Im loving the green, pink, blue and brown combo that the blanket has. Its bright and happy. I need to do a lot more to the white walls but a lot of that will come when we come up with a final name for the little one. :)Some of my other projects have been sewing! nothing too exciting or hard, but i have made a couple little blankets. One for my baby girl and one for my friends little boy. They turned out really cute. Im so thankful to Eileen for getting me going with sewing and getting over my fears. I really love it and can't wait to learn more!Skylars birthday is coming up too. I already have all her presents and most of her birthday party supplies so i wrapped them all up and got her party supplies ready to go! I still don't know exactly when her party will be, but at least we will be ready if the baby comes before than! (sorry all pictures were taken with my phone so a little blurry)
My other favorite project was done by my very talented in-laws! Denise came up over the end of last weekend and put together this awesome wall! She is extremely talented with the computer and found a perfect font and saying. She used her cricut machine to cut out vinyl lettering and flowers. Thanks to her, Sharilyn and Eileen for doing all the hard work and hanging. It turned out perfect. I put up the shelves and think i may move them a little but my girls love their new wall :)Other than that the girls have enjoyed their friends and being outside as much as possible! I think this is a view of what will be going on a lot in our neighborhood this summer!

My first sewing project...

2010-05-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

turned out really cute! Thanks in HUGE part to my very patient mother in law! She helped me make a car seat canopy for my friends baby shower on Saturday. I don't think i would have been as nervous about it if it wasn't for a gift! She helped me to get over my fear of the sewing machine...I took sewing in high school and it was not a great experience. But now that i am pregnant with my 3rd little girl i really want to learn to make just a few simple things. Please don't judge my awesome chubbo face!! I really LOVE how it turned out. Its super cute and im ready to find some cute fabric and make one for my little one next! I think i may try a few dresses in the future as well...
This is the final project in action i probably should have taken the car seat out of the car...but it was raining and i had to borrow it from a neighbor :)Thanks so much Eileen for taking the time to teach me!

Our first race...

2010-05-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

went off with out a hitch! Ok so i got a phone call from my mom this morning around 7:30 to see if the girls and i would be interested in "running" a 3k with her school to help raise money for a new playground. I have MiSsEd running like crazy, especially racing! So i couldn't resist. We had to be there by 8:45 so i threw the girls in the car and headed over. I know im an emotional basket case these days...but it was a really nice morning. I had my older bro Ryan and his wife and two little guys, and my sis Crystal and her two little ones and my momma. It was the first "race" with anyone in my family and it was so neat. The best part was having the two little girls with me. Sky has an ear infection and bad throat (she was awake most of the night) but she walked almost the whole thing! I was so proud of her. The kids did great...all 6 of them 3 and under! They even got their own race numbers...so official! But im pretty sure their favorite parts were the otter pops at the end. :)

I was a slacker at getting pics of everyone...but this picture at least has a little bit of all the kids in it... the two "babies" in the stroller, Kylie's half face, Sky, Tyson minus his face and little Wyatts legs :) I need to thank Ryan, Crystal, Rachel and Grandma for helping me with the girls. I haven't been able to work out as much as i would like this pregnancy due to some pains, but today felt GREAT and im so glad we did it. Not too bad at 8 months pregnant. We finished in 34 minutes. Im hurting now but wouldn't trade it for the world! The girls, especially Sky, was so proud of herself for doing this race....she even ran across the finish line. I can't wait to get my rear back in shape and run lots more races with these little punks! Both my bro and sis have picked up running too so it will be nice to run races with them too! There is nothing better to me than sharing my passion with the people that i love so very much!

Last night i pulled out

2010-05-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

(last night Sky was up all night moaning and crying in her sleep because her ear hurt. So this morning both little girls and i stayed in my bed extra long for morning cuddles. I love my morning cuddles with my little punks, i never know what the day will bring but its a really nice way to start the day)
my girls baby pictures. Im not much of a scrapbooker...i love it and think its so cute but lack in the creative talent. But I LOVE the online books you can just download your pictures and make hardback books to look at. I have only made two...one for each girls first year of life. I keep wondering what a 3rd little girl is going to look like...my other two little ones looked quite a bit alike as babies. Looking at those pictures made me a little sad. I can't believe how fast time goes and how old they both are. It feels like yesterday i was at this point in my pregnancy with Sky...that was 4 YEARS AGO!!! Seriously? I forget what it was like at times when they were babies. Its easy to get caught up in life. I hope that i can remember to not take this time for granted. Right now days may be hard and tiring but oh so precious and i only get them for such a short time. I hope to not get too overwhelmed with our new little one and to remember to be thankful for every day we have together.
Its nice to have pictures and memories written down so that i never forget. I need to do a little better at that too. And definitely need to get a few more of these books done! :)

Coming in the home stretch...

2010-05-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

(picture doesn't have much to do with post, but cracked me up! She was coloring and out of no where said "look Mom". good times.)
i can't believe i am 35 weeks pregnant. I am not ready. Nope not even close. Please stay inside little baby girl. Give me at least 4 more weeks! I hate not having a room for you. Or your clothes on hangers. Or a car seat purchased. Or a name picked out (im still holding out for Addison Taylor by the way). I got a little pre-occupied lately. Now its time to get going!! I have made some cute purchases. I have lots of great hand me downs but she needed some cute new things too. Just a few. Nothing like bright new baby clothes. Anyway...please just stay inside. You seem comfortable in there. I'm not so much but i can put up with it for a few more weeks.
Its crazy how much older my two girls look lately. And act. I can't even imagine how much older they will look when baby is here. Time goes way too fast.
Hopefully i can get my rear in gear and get some stuff done this week!

I love these days...

2010-05-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a fantastic day! Nothing out of the ordinary. Just an awesome good normal day. :) I love it when your plans go off almost without a hitch! Today was Sky's last day of dance until after summer. Both her and Kylie will be doing gymnastics this summer and i can't wait to see how they like it. Anyway...laundry was finished up before we headed out to dance (around 9:30)...than we met daddy for lunch around 11! That was an extra treat we normally don't see him at all on Tuesday and Wednesdays so it was really nice! Than the girls and i headed to the Lehi pool and met up with some fav friends, Kristi and "her" 3 girls! Im so sad that i waited so long to get over my body issues and just get in a swim suit...seriously the water helps with the pains i have been feeling sooooo much! The girls are GREAT swimmers and have a blast! I can't believe how fearless my little Kylie bug is. Sky does anything too, especially if she is wearing a life jacket. :) I love hanging out with my girl Kristi, she is seriously one of the best people i know!! I always leave feeling uplifted and more positive about life.
When we finally pulled back in the driveway around 4 my cute neighbor met us with a pan of lasagna for dinner. Seriously? I was so warn out, but a good warn out, that dinner was the last thing on my mind! It was so yummy! My girls even chilled and let me get a nice hot shower in. Love them. Now we just need to take some dinner to daddy and im pretty sure my two little Rugrats will sleep so good tonight! Yahoo! :)
Something else that makes me happy and nervous is that my cousin went into rehab today...versus a 4 year prison sentence. HOPEFULLY he will do well there and if he stays clean (drugs) than he can stay out of prison. Addiction is so scary and sad. I love this boy. I know the odds aren't great in his favor, but at least he is getting this one last chance and its completely in his hands on if he makes the change. Here is to more good days! (and hopefully i won't forget my camera in the future!!)
Tonight is a good TV night too...I love my American Idol and Cougar town. Don't judge. ;)

HaPpY mOtHeRs DaY!!

2010-05-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

Mothers day is such a great day! I wanted to take a minute and honor a couple amazing mothers in my life.
First i would like to say how thankful i am to my wonderful mother in law. I believe that she raised one amazing son. When i look at Mark and his best qualities i believe that for the most part they stemmed from his mother. She really taught her sons to be great men. She is also a very patient, loving, caring and giving woman. I believe she does anything in her power to help out all of her children. Her grandchildren love her very much.
Thank you so much for all you do for us! We love you.
Next i would like to say how thankful i am from my own mother. My mom has always been such a great example to me. She has always been such a hard worker and managed to juggle working full time, her many church callings and being a mother. She is not the type of person that just puts in the least amount of effort possible. If she is going to do something she does it with all that she has. She has had a rough year and a half but never stops and takes it easy. She suffers with extreme migraines on an almost daily basis but yet still manages to teach full time to two classes of 3rd graders. She is loving and caring. Her grandchildren love her very much. She always offers sound advice when i seek it, and has loved me unconditionally throughout the years and many trials that i have put her through. I loved that no matter what choices i have made in my life, even those she may not have agreed with, her love never changed. And i know that she let me make certain mistakes so that i could learn and grow from them. Thank you mom. You mean the world to me and i love you very much!
I would last just like to say that there are many other mothers i know in my life that deserve recognition. From grandmothers, aunts, sister/ sister in laws, and some amazing friends. Thank you to all of you and your examples to me on what being a Mother really means. I feel extremely blessed to have you in my life. I hope that i can be the best mom i can be for my little girls. So that one day...a VERY long time from now...they too can be great mothers as well. Its crazy to think that i can help mold these 3 little girls into strong independent loving women. I sure hope i succeed at doing the best i can. I feel their strong spirits every day and know that they have great potential in this life to be good and do lots of good.
So to all you amazing women out there HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

I have been promising...

2010-05-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

the girls a trip to the Lehi pool for a week or so now. It started with our neighbors wanting to go last Monday but Sky was still getting over the tummy bug. We didn't want to share that with other people. Than all week we kept putting it off for one reason or another. Im not gonna lie...a big part of me putting it off was trying to get myself pumped up to get into a swimsuit at almost 8 months pregnant! Today i was determined to go. It was GREAT! My niece went with and it was a lot of fun. 3 and under are free and Sky is 3 for one more month so it was nice and cheap too! My back, hips and legs have been in SOOOOO much pain this time around, so when i got in the water it was so nice! It was like instant pressure was lifted and my body felt weightless. I just had to stay away from any mirrors :) It really was great for my pregnant body!
I wish that they would build an indoor pool like this in provo/orem area. The drive isn't that bad...but they are starting construction work so i don't think i will want to make it very often. I wish i would have thought to take pictures! This one was after we were all done and showered. Sky is a total fish...and not to my surprise so was Kylie. I wish i would have thought to take them a lot more often this winter it was lots of fun.

My sky

2010-05-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Lately days have been rough. Real rough. I don't feel like myself much. It makes me sad. But today, well today was a very good day. Nothing special. Just good. My girls got along great. There is nothing better in the world to me. Nothing makes me happier or makes me feel like all is well in the world. I feel like Sky has suffered the most from my mood changes. She is such a bright, smart, loving and amazing child. I need to do better by her. And i will. I have to remember these good days and make myself be patient on the bad. This little girl of mine is amazing and im so thankful for her. I think her and i are a lot alike and so we have butted heads some.
I want to do the best by her and all my children. So all i can do is pray for the strength i need. Every day. I know that if i do that and lean on my Savior, than i know i will be the best mom that i can be. Im not great with words. I wish i was. Especially with the important ones. But for me, today, i needed to remind myself of that simple fact. I need to continue to strengthen my testimony so that i can be a better example to those in my life that may need to lean on me or look up to me as an example. I have so many wonderful and great examples in my life that have really helped me through some tough times. Most of them don't even realize how much they have helped me. I love you all. I want my girls to never doubt that their mom has a testimony and love of her Savior. I hope to find ways every day to show it to them. To to show them my love for Him. I know that if that REALLY is my main focus than it can only improve me as a mother, wife, friend, daughter etc etc. No one is perfect. All we can do, any of us, is take baby steps. Im good with those. Im so thankful for the opportunity to start each day new and fresh. Im so thankful that children are SOOOO forgiving and loving. I totally get it now why we were taught to be as a little child. They are amazing. Being a mother is something i hope to NEVER take for granted.

It was about time...

2010-05-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

scratch that...it was WAY past time that i start making dinner for my family again. Its been a good month, possibly longer, that i have done that. Its not that i don't like to cook. Quite the opposite is true. I love it. But a few things really have frustrated me lately with it. The number 1 frustration is leftovers. I am very ok with them...Mark not so much. The girls ehhh it just depends on what it is. I hate putting time, effort and money into food that i just end up throwing away. :( So i have come up with a few solutions to try. I'll try to cut back the serving size when i make the meal if possible. I will try and share the extra food with friends and or family. Another frustration is when i put that time effort and money in and my girls won't eat it. But im going to just keep trying. I have to. Its the only choice really. I think another frustration is just being pregnant with food. This has been one crazy pregnancy. Not my favorite to say the least. My nausea is back, not quite as bad as the first 5 months but back. So food and i aren't the best of friends :) But im trying to push through. I am sick of pb&j, mac & cheese, cereal, etc etc. So hopefully i can keep up on this!! Wish me luck! :)
It helped me to do a nice deep clean out of the fridge today to get on with my new goal of making dinner every night. I had no choice today but to take my girls alone grocery shopping. Its something that i always dread! It can be so bad sometimes. But i needed to go and get the food. They did GREAT!!! It was so nice. Actually...today was the best day we have had in a long time.
One thing i noticed tonight...I had them help me make dinner. Which turned out FABULOUS. And guess what? Sky was so proud of herself for helping that she totally ate so good. Kylie did ok. She hasn't been eating much the last couple days so i wasn't too surprised at the amount she ate. So i will have them both help me make dinner every night and see if that helps them to do better at meal times :)
(ps...i will post our dinner recipe on my other blog, its probably one of my favorite fast and yummy meals!)

A sweet Sky quote...

2010-05-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Driving home in the car Sky said:
"there are two things i want for my birthday. 1. a little sandbox and 2. a helmet for Kylie."
She really is such a great sister. Kylie does need a helmet but i was not aware Sky new that. It was so out of the blue and sweet that she would think of her.
I LOVE how much they really do love each other.

oh where oh where...

2010-05-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

has the sun gone? Its crazy to me how less than two weeks ago we were outside running through the sprinklers. Now its back to cold cold cold. Its ok though because the stomach flu has hit our family. Its easier to coop the kids up inside when its cold out. Another bonus...my cute friend found out she is having a boy! So i have been busy doing one of my favorite things...online shopping!! Except im not buying any of it just passing it on to her. I haven't found the perfect gift for her quite yet....Looking for boy stuff is a whole new world to me! I am shocked at how cute some of it is too. If any of you that have boys know some good places to look let me know! She is a modern/ trendy style type of girl.

Dance...phone...migraine

2010-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sky's big year end dance performance. And boy was she excited! She had a practice everyday from Wednesday on so by the time of the big show last night she was STOKED! This picture was taken the day she got her class pictures done and it just cracked me up. Kylie is ready to follow in her sisters footsteps! Don't you love the bugs cheeser?
(that was 2 days after her tonsils came out) The pictures i took of her actual dance performance didn't work out, again. But i did get some of her before and after. Every picture Mark and i would take she had to pose... what a diva..

Sky is definitely a girly girl. She loves her little boy friends and to play and get dirty...but she goes CRAZY for make-up, dress ups, and DANCE!

When we picked her up after she was NUTS! She absolutely loved chillin with all the other little dancers and had to hug all of them, yes all of them (i couldn't even count them) before we could leave. She couldn't stop dancing around and going crazy. We got her a flower which she loved too. We dropped off my sis after the concert and Sky had to go hug Grandma Ker because she has been really sick. She also insisted on giving her the flower to help her feel better. Sky really is sweet. Thanks to Crystal and grandmas and grandpas for coming it really meant a lot to her!

After we got home i realized that i had lost my cell phone, :( luckily when Mark ran back to the school he found it! I had so much stuff stuffed in my purse it fell out right where we had been sitting. Thank goodness it was still there!
Today i have the worlds worst migraine, everything hurts! Im so glad it hit today and not last night. Im just hoping my girls will be chill and let me take it kind of easy since there isn't much i can do to make it go away! So far they are good but this computer is making it worse! I just wanted to write the memories down before i forgot them.
Great job last night Sky! We are so proud of you and love you so much! xoxo

Our rainy day was spent

2010-04-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

doing some of the girls favorite things. Daddy was off this morning so we spent the morning being lazy and just enjoying time with him. Than they wanted to eat lunch at the temple... of course we ate in the car but it was so beautiful outside. Next they wanted to feed the ducks at the lake....i think both girls and the ducks loved it. Next we spent the afternoon playing play dough...they did great and got along great! Now we are off to dance rehearsal for Sky's big performance tomorrow night. :)

Girls girls girls...

2010-04-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed with some seriously amazing friends. I love when we get together especially now that we have kids. Its so neat to watch them play and get along. Its so nice to know that friendships can and do last! Today Kristi and i went to the park, with my two girls, her two girls, and her 2 nieces. Lots of girls! It was sooo much fun!
This is her baby, Halle, and she reminds me so much of her mommy! The happiest, sweetest and most easy going little girl ever. And check out those dimples! So cute. I only had my cell phone...so my pics weren't that great, but couldn't help snapping some of this cute little one!

The girls loved holding hands everywhere they went! So fun.

Everything was done together...

oh yes...i forgot... Kristi's niece also brought a little friend along...here they all are on a big rock! They sat there so good for the pics i was shocked!Of course after a long day at the park...a hot long day...the girls wanted to get a little wet when they got home! I hooked up the sprinklers and let them go wild for a bit. A few of the boys in the neighborhood joined them and they LOVED it! (although one neighbor did stop by and tell Sky she needed a new mom because she thought 80 degrees was too cold for sprinklers....)

After some water they finished the day off with a little bike ride. Lets just say they will be sleeping well tonight! :) I can't wait for summer! This warmer weather is the best!!!

Life with a 2 and 3

2010-04-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

year old is never dull. First of all Kylie is doing AWESOME! She really didn't struggle much at all with her tonsil removal. Nights were the hardest, but a little TLC took care of that. She is so much tougher than her mom. Its been nice having Mark home the last few days, a treat we are NOT used to. Sadly...he has to go back to all day and night through Friday. :( We will miss him so much.
Today we ran to Sam's Club to pick up a few supplies. Now...Mark and i watch our girls like hawks while we are out and about, but today they totally tricked us. I saw Sky reach and take Kylie's hand and they took off running. I yelled for Mark and grabbed the cart and we started off after them. I don't know how they did it or where they went but they stayed hidden for a good 10-15 min which felt like eternity!! After a while of searching on our own i told a worker and they called some code over the radio and they all started helping look. I walked around a corner just as the two blondies come walking out of an aisle, holding hands, laughing and pointing at different things in the store. I didn't let them know how cute i thought they looked, or how happy i was that they at least stayed together, holding hands. But boy was i relieved to see them. I never felt like anything was wrong, i had a very peaceful feeling that it was all ok, but it got me thinking just how fast life can change. I would be so lost without these little girls.I can't and don't even want to imagine that feeling of having a lost or abducted child. It just makes me sick. Mark and i tried our best to explain the consequences to them, but at their age its so hard for it to sink in. Its something that we are definitely going to have to explain many many more times to them.
Other than that craziness it was quite a peaceful day. The girls played nice, i got lots of house work done and Mark did some great yard work. Lets hope the next few days go just as good, minus losing the girls of course.

Tonsils....Adnoids....Tubes.....

2010-04-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Thats what we spent doing today. I have to say that i have the toughest 2 year old in the world! Our day started bright and early...checked in at 6:30 am. Luckily yesterday we spent 90% of the day outside so Kylie was nice and tired and went to bed at 7 last night. She was really happy this morning.

They first took her for some blood work and she didn't even freak one bit (unlike her mom when it comes to that stuff!!) She just watched the nurse take her blood without batting an eye. Next came the meds...the ones that calm her down before going back...the same ones that make them loopy...and boy was this little girl loopy! We were cracking up so hard with her it was so funny. The doctor looked at her ears, and found that both were badly infected and decided it would be best to put tubes in as well. Everything went great, he said once he got in and looked even closer at her ears that they were really bad so im glad that we decided to go through with the tubes.
When she came out of surgery she wasn't too happy and wanted her mommy. I carried her as they pushed the bed up to the pediatric unit. They weren't sure if she would need to stay the night or not, just depended on how she did. She was very angry at the iv in her arm and kept trying to rip it out. Once she calmed down from the initial shock of waking up she did great! She slept with me in a chair for an hour or so...ate a couple popsicles, some juice and was happy as can be considering everything! We happened to get the same great nurse that we had 2 years ago when she was in for RSV and Rhino Virus. He is FANTASTIC! He drew this picture on her door for her...It was really odd being back there again with her. It brought back lots of memories of when she was just tiny! But today was a much better experience. They were amazed at how well she did and sent us home! YAY!! It would have been awful to have to stay the night. The nice nurse pulled her all the way out to our car in this awesome wagon...He also sent us home with that headband she is wearing, a blanket, stuffed animal and all the supplies we wanted. I hate the hospital...the smell and almost coldness that the rooms have. But having such a great nurse really makes it a MUCH better experience. Kylie is still doing pretty good. She has slept a lot today, only used tylenol to relieve the pain so far. I think it will be a long week but so far so good! Everything they said would be hard has actually not been such a big deal at all with her, but this is my little girl that laughs when she falls. I wish i was as brave and tough as she is!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Roylance for letting Sky sleep over last night! She had a blast too. She didn't want to come home when we went to get her. She wanted another sleep over :) After this long day its going to be an early night tonight! Hopefully my little Kylie bug will sleep good! :)