DAVIS NUT HOUSE

halloween dinner

2010-12-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

eyeballs

frankensteins vomit

spider and eggs

fingers and mouths

witches brew

cori

Pumpkin Carving

2010-12-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

I got a picture of each of the kids carving their

pumpkins, but I didn't get one of the finished product

bummer

chatting away

doesn't like the slimey feeling

its takes a lot of concentration to get to the seeds

almost there

Success

Austin turns 6

2010-12-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

For Austin's birthday he wanted to go to Jumpin Jacks

So we grabbed his best bud and headed on over.

taking a breather

funny faces

they had a blast!

ice cream time

Best Buds!

halloween 2010

2010-12-29T21:36:00.002-07:00

Our cousins have an annual halloween party.

we finally had all our costumes ready

Syd cotton candy

Kathryn the fairy

she looks thrilled, doesn't she

Tanner the roman

the sword

diego

rescue pack

the biggest loser - NOT

Sokka

I love his smile here

the biggest loser!!

the red team

spiderman

he wanted me to get his backside

80's chick

random

2010-12-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Tanner was playing around with the camera a lot.

we have some random shots, and here

He learned how to set the timer.

a decent shot of us-except me in my exercise clothes

the goofy shot

we went on a scavenger hunt at the mall. these are some of
the winners.

chewy

2010-12-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

the highlight of the traveling was finding

a REAL donut shop.

in august we took a trip to see Esther and Roger at

there place in Madera.

One of the days we were there we went to

shaver lake. We hiked a bit, then played in the

water. It was great to get out.

a strange lady sitting on the side of the trail singing
and playing this drum.

Ben and Austin trying it out

we had a lot of fun hanging out, spending time with the family,
and meeting Matthew.

2010-12-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

Jared participated in his first sprint

triathlon.

gage and I went to watch

at the end of the race

number 7

this is what happens when

2010-12-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I don't listen to gage right away

He made it all the way from the kitchen to me at the
computer and then broke the cup

he then fell asleep. :) He does have casts on his legs

after botox we decided to cast his legs to get a good
stretch.

hanging out at temple square

2010-12-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

too bad I only took pictures here. We went to eat lunch at

a park after.

this was a cool replica of the Salt Lake temple

Gage in SLC

2010-12-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Gage went to Primary Children's Medical

Center to have a Intrathecal Baclofen Pump Trial

As many of you know, Gage has Cerebral Palsy

which causes his limbs to be stiff. His legs more than his

arms. He takes an oral medication right now that

relaxes his muscles. But there are side

effects and issues we will face with this

So we decided to do this trial to see if he

would do well with the pump.

He did great!! He had to hang out in the bed most of the day.

They came in and examined him to see what his

body could do without any meds.

Then they put this numbing cream on his back

Luckily they had his favorite movies in their collection

and he was entertained. :)

After the numbing cream took affect they did a lumbar

puncture, and injected him with the baclofen

He did FANTASTIC. no tears!! He laid there talking to me

about Chewy and never cried. I could tell it was hard for him, but

he was a champ. He then had to lay in bed on his back for a couple hours. They

came in and did another exam and then he could eat. He hadn't eaten in so long

that he ate all his food! and some juice too.

After another couple hours they came back and got him out of bed to see if he

could walk with the meds in him. He did. They were very surprised. Turns out he does have

muscles. not just tightness. YAY. After that he was able to go home. He rode in a wagon out to meet dad.

happy to go home

                                            we ended up going upstairs to get his botox shots
                                            He did great again. and told the dr. that he loved her
                                            They gave him a Real Salt Lake mini soccer ball.
                                           The docs told us that he may get a headache and needed
                                            to lay down and rest when he got home.
                                           The kid is resilent. He was up playing at Joe and Kims on their
                                            porch until we went to the drive in. I guess he was tired of laying around
                                           Once the movie was going to start he laid on his pillow under his blanket
                                           and was out cold in minutes.

early june ??

2010-12-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

we headed to the water park

with grandma

early june ??

2010-12-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Zion National Park with

grandma and Heather

Cori 15

2010-12-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

I could not find any pictures of Cori from her

birthday. But I found these that I liked.

She turned 15 this year. Wow!!

shooting

2010-12-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

I never would have thought that my kids would

enjoy going out and shooting things.

but they do

It was hot out so they hung out in the car after they
were done

Happy 7th Birthday Logan

2010-12-18T20:29:00.001-07:00

Logan is such a fun kid

He likes money a little bit

and star wars

and Cherry Cheesecake!!

                                        the party was a star wars theme,
                                        the boys got light sabers, and then went through an
                                        obstacle course having to destroy things with their light sabers

they also had to defeat the bad guy

i love this toothy or "lack of" grin

kite flying

2010-12-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

Each year in april the city has a kite festival

the kids in elementary schoolread a certain amount

of minutes per month to earn a free kite

So, we took them out for a fly around the park

mostly in the grass

gage trying to like the grass

Cori was the pro

gage in charge of the camera

austin having fun watching the kites

gage getting a picture of cori

the other kids were all here too, in between kites falling

and getting tangled and stuck in trees there wasn't alot of

time for pictures, except the ones gage took...

which was mostly grass and sky

Give a Day

2010-12-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

This year Disney did a promotion called

"Give a day, Get a day"

We volunteered a day and got a free ticket to Disneyland

We made blankets for Project Linus.

It was fun to do this project as a family.

hopefully we can take on a project like this again.

the finished project. In all we tied 7 fleece blankets

Easter

2010-12-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt at the park

Dying easter Eggs. Tanner looks thrilled

Gage turns 4

2010-12-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Gage brings happiness to everyone he meets

His smile brightens even the worst day

He loves little people and dogs!

blue is his favorite color

Mickey is pretty high on his list too

and making the magic animals

the birthday boy

and his lego duplos

Crazy Hair Day

2010-12-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

Sisters having fun

I love all these of my girls

park day in February

2010-12-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

we went to this cool new park. It was cold and rainy

but we had a good time hanging as a family

funny pictures

2010-12-18T10:46:00.002-07:00

random shots in the car

Pine wood derby

2010-12-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Tanners CAR

can you tell he loves for me to take his picture?

Best Buddies

Race car treats

Austin taking our picture

the boys watching the track get set up

Tanner winning the race

Kathryn turns 13!

2010-12-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Kathryn's friend gave her this poster

of Jacob - She loves him.

goofing off during the celebration

Sydney Turns 11

2010-12-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Syd turned 11. To celebrate she went with some

friends to a movie and bowling.

Then she came home and had cake

and opened her presents.

Legos are a BIG favorite for the whole family!

and clothes are this girls favorite

The rest of us goofing off for the camera

New Years Eve

2010-12-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

We love to play all night on New Years Eve.

Mario Kart

Disney Trivia

with friends for kids

and us big people.

and lots and lots of food!

Christmas with Grandma

2010-12-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Grandma Davis came from California on New Years Eve.

She brought presents

Gage examining his new Diego Doodle Board.

We love Scene It Games!!

Grandma so excited to be here!

My wonderful quilt that Esther made for me,

with the kids foot and hand prints. Its awesome. But I have yet to

hang it on the wall. Hopefully after Christmas this year.

december # 2 2009

2010-12-15T22:52:00.000-07:00

Christmas = gingerbread houses made with graham crackers

this might have been Cori's??

Stella

december 2009

2010-12-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

December starts out by decorating our tree.

and lots of fun around the tree too

Visits from Grandma and Tom

Tanner's 9th Birthday

and last years Christmas card photo, that never went out. oops.

Check it out though because in this years picture they all look so different. Including me. I'm going to try and

find a before picture.

way too long

2010-12-15T22:10:00.001-07:00

Its been too long since I posted anything. As I was going through pictures to make a

photo book, I realized we had some fun stuff that I wanted to remember. So, I'm back,
with a year in review. It will probably be boring. Sorry!

Before:

November 2009
We went four wheeling for the first time ever with some
friends. It was great!! We hope to be able to go again.

And some other random pics.
Gage being gage

some friends at dinner before New Moon

The boys and I waiting for dad at the bank

gage with his favorite toy at the time : the bead lizard

This Picture Has a Story

2009-11-11T12:46:00.004-07:00

-Gage 4 months-
a dear friend of mine was visiting
for the 24th of July. she is a photographer
and was taking random pictures of our two
families interacting
and snapped this one of Gage and I.
I sometimes forget how tiny he really was. WOW

This Picture has a Story
Here are the rules:
*Open your first photo folder.
*Scroll down to the 10th picture. (if you dont have 10 in that one, then go to the next folder that does).
*Post that photo and the story behind that photo on your blog.
*Tag 5 friends to do the same.

I tag:

Des
Michelle
Jen
Tammi
Cherie
and anyone else who
wants to have a go at it!

my poor puppy

2009-10-09T12:20:00.003-06:00

The kids dressed chewy in a stuffed animal jacket.
He didn't mind too much. But it was a little small
for him.

1

pumpkin picking

2009-10-09T07:50:00.002-06:00

For family night we went looking for pumpkins
I handed Sydney the camera for some fun shots
of everyones pickings!
Kathyrn

Austin picked 3 pumpkins before he found one

he actually kept.

Logan

Tanner's pumpkin upside down

Syd's cool pumpkin

cori really happy Syd took her picture

Gage was happy with the first pumpkin he picked

SLC 2

2009-10-09T07:35:00.005-06:00

Then we went up somewhere to a lake (kim where'd we go?)
and walked around it. This was a really pretty place.
Very nice stroll around the lake.
Sydney looks thrilled doesn't she. Not sure
if its because I am taking her picture or
because I just made her walk so long.

This isn't a very good picture of the

family, I just like it because I caught

Austin in mid step

beautiful scenery

and some more

and even more

Salt Lake 1

2009-10-09T07:24:00.002-06:00

I know-I am a bit behind, but better late than never
For Labor Day we went up to SLC to hang out with
Kim and Joe and Zachary.
We had fun! Our first stop was the Aerospace Museum
really cool place. I'd like to go back without kids to
take more time.

Cori's cool photo taking skills

Austin showing just how big the plane's are

Air force one

Overall this was a cool outing.

Gage

2009-10-09T07:18:00.003-06:00

Since Gage started school he has made such
great strides! He is getting stronger and stronger.
He has won over all his teachers and they all
LOVE him. But are we really surprised? Everyone
who meets him knows he's a special kid.
and how could you not love him with a sweet
smile like this?

random

2009-09-03T13:25:00.003-06:00

Here's some shots of the boys (and the girls) being silly

and Jared's new tatoo. haha. Kathryn snapped this picture

while Gage was getting a hair cut, also right as a big chunk of

hair was falling. It could be a tatoo-not sure what of though

maybe his lucky number 7

Fundraiser

2009-09-03T13:15:00.003-06:00

We made it to Talen's fundraiser. I was sad we didn't actually see Talen but we did see the rest of his family. There was a ton of games, a bounce house and a golf ball drop. It was cool to see the helicopter so close.

This was purely by accident. but hilarious just the same

Logan trying to re-enact
Tanner's picture

in mid jump

Gage just having fun

Talen Vaughn

2009-08-07T12:05:00.003-06:00

This little guy is a friend of ours! Please take a minute to check out his website here. and please post a blog, or facebook, twitter, text or email as many people as you can to check it out too. This is so important to me. I have a sweet boy with disabilities and if this was us, I would ask for all the help I could get. Please help!!

Thanks.

walking

2009-07-30T12:52:00.003-06:00

We have been extremely blessed
with amazing therapists for more than
2 years now. They love Gage, and want
whats best for him. They give, give and give
some more. and always have great ideas.
Before we moved on from The Learning
Center and all our great friends there
Cathy our PT helped get the ball rolling
for a special walker. It came yesterday
after months of waiting.
Its awesome. Gage loves it and is motivated to
walk. YAY!

maybe we'll all have motivation to keep the

house clean so he can use it often

We're Open

2009-07-23T16:31:00.004-06:00

Air Care Professionals is now open for business
and this is our cool van. HUGE Thanks go out to our
awesome logo designer
Paul Johnson (contact him here)
for our Logo
and Rainbow Sign and Banner (check them out here)
for making it come alive on the van.
Jared and his cousin Shawn opened their own
heating and Air conditioning business. Its gonna be
awesome. He is a great worker and knows his stuff.

Bristlecone Hike-new picture added

2009-07-14T17:38:00.003-06:00

On Friday we went on a hike.
I enjoy the great outdoors to
an extent. But because I am not in
shape, this was too hard in some
places for me. It was beautiful,
but too long for some of us.
Most of my kids did great.
Austin had a break down about 1/4
of the way back down. Since Jared
was already carrying Gage in the back pack
Roger came and saved the day.
Esther and Roger helped so much carrying
kids that weren't their own. They were
awesome.
Here is my studly husband!
and Gage in his cute hat.

Lehman Caves

2009-07-14T17:11:00.002-06:00

Last week we went on a little camping trip
with Jared's mom, sisters, brother's, sister in law,
and brother in law, and nephews. It was super
fun, super dirty, and a great time to hang out with
the family.
We were camping in Great Basin National Park,
in the Upper Lehman camp ground.
on two different days we took a tour of
the Lehman Caves. The first day we
went on the 60 minute tour with all of us. 18 all
together. Afterward we all got ice cream at the little
cafe/gift shop.

There is no way to capture the awesome
way this cave looks, but here are a couple
pictures of what we saw.

When we took these pictures it was
on the 3rd day of camping and we took the 90
minute tour.

Here is some of the family waiting to get into
the cave.
This was the 2nd time going through the cave.
We couldn't take the
little boys, so we left them at camp with the rest of
the family.

a fun day at the park

2009-06-08T16:08:00.005-06:00

I am so behind on blogging. I took a extra long break from the computer.
but I am back. I will be updating more. Promise!
We are starting our 3rd week of summer. We haven't done much.
so I am planning some fun to keep us from going crazy and getting bored.
this was our first real outting. we went to a new park that is pretty close to the
house. We had a fun time. and are probably going back tonight when it cools off.

funny face

Logan

Syd and Gage swinging

the two girls on the cool swing thing, and Cori

pulling Syd down

austin found out how to turn the water back on

the boys are blasting each other

chewy got a hair cut. they cut it way too short. luckily

it is growing back quickly. It actually looks cute in the picture,

but in real life he looks like the dog thing in the movie "the Neverending Story"

Walmart's

2009-04-06T21:30:00.003-06:00

really lame Easter Egg Hunt that lasted all of 30 seconds.

was just that-lame. Except for two things.

winning a dragon kite

and a bike!!

which is super cool.

guest blogger

2009-04-06T21:27:00.003-06:00

I had the opportunity to be interviewed as a guest blogger on a great friend's great blog. check it out. see if you knew all the answers. and check out the rest of her cool blog. Its awesome.

http://3girlsandapug.com/

a new addition

2009-04-02T17:07:00.003-06:00

we got a new puppy. He is a 6 week old Shih Tzu Poodle mix.

He doesn't have a name yet. We are going to put it to a vote.

wish us luck with puppy training.

California or Bust

2009-04-02T16:35:00.003-06:00

April 1st the day of fools was a great day, many
were fooled because of this sign.
Yesterday, we wanted to pull a prank on the kids. but when
they saw the sign , they all knew it was a joke. But...
our neighbor called and wanted to know what was up.
I told her that we were headed back to CA to live with Jared's mom because we
were going to put Gage in a program at UCLA.
Of course after I went through the spiel I said April Fools.

Then I was at the church and someone else had seen the
sign, so I told the same story, over and over again.
I was teaching about talents, so I told the story one more time
then said, April Fools. I made people cry. I guess people love me. (well
maybe not so much anymore) I felt really loved. I kinda felt bad. But really
got a kick out of it too.
Thanks to my friends for still loving me.

hiking

2009-03-23T13:27:00.003-06:00

Red Cliffs recreation area-hiking-

our only adventure for spring break. It was perfect.

not too long, and not too hot. and it was beautiful.

the only picture of Cori
Jared trying to take her in the
freezing cold water

Gage is always willing to smile

ugly me

Austin slipped in the water and got his

shirt soaked, so he went around for a little

while without his shirt. he was so happy

Logan

syd being cool

my man and my baby

kathryn and her walking stick

Tanner smiling - I only got one picture

of him where he was willingly looking

at the camera

it was a great little outing. not too hard for

the little ones, and lots rocks to climb for the big

boys.

2009-03-04T20:09:00.001-07:00

The ultimate kids chocolate cone..

homemade

prayer request

2009-02-20T17:36:00.004-07:00

My sister in law is in need of our prayers. Will you please pray for her. She is in surgery right now. I will update when I know more. Thanks!
I am sorry it took so long to update. Esther is doing better. Thanks for your prayers for her. She had a tubal pregnancy. It was scary for all of us waiting. I am sure it was a nightmare for them. I know she is home now, and doing okay.

Blue and Gold Banquet

2009-02-19T14:18:00.005-07:00

Tanner is now a cub scout and loves it. Each month there is Pack Meeting to get all the cub scouts together. Last night was the Blue and Gold Banquet. It was so much fun. We were supposed to dress up in WILD, WILD, WEST attire. AND we had to decorate a cake to share with everyone. We had a REAL cowboy come and sing some songs with us. Then we had a yummy dinner, and cake. They even taught us how to do the boot scootin' boogie. We also learned some cowboy etiquette, that was hilarious, but I can't remember them.

Thanks to the Sharps for another excellent Pack Meeting. You guys rock!!

Here is our coolio cake- a cowboy hat. pretty awesome huh?

Jared does a great job with cake decorating.

and the kids in their studs! :)

after convincing tanner that he could wear

a cowboy shirt instead of his scout shirt, he wouldn't

let me take his picture. whatta boy!

The wheels on the bus

2009-02-19T14:04:00.003-07:00

Gage loves to sing and listen to music. His favorite song right now is "The wheels on the bus". Tuesday morning he was singing this song to me. This is how it went-

Gage-"The wheels on bus go round and round, round and round (sang louder with each round), round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town. The chicken on the bus says excuse me please, ....

The dragon on the bus says welcome friend, ....

I was a bit confused. I didn't know chickens rode on the bus. But Gage was very sure it was the chicken on the bus that said excuse me please. (singing in his cute little voice!)

So I called a friend of mine that teaches singing time in nursery and asked her, and she had no idea where the chicken came into the song. Then I remembered that Gage has this Clifford music Cd that grandma and grandpa gave him for Christmas that he listens to each night before bed. So I got that out and we started listening to it. He was so excited and sang right along. Then it got to the children on the bus say excuse me please, and the driver on the bus says welcome friend. I understood. No matter how many times I try to nicely correct him, he says no! it is the chicken and the dragon.

He is a definite joy in my life!!

Pay it Forward

2009-02-09T19:49:00.002-07:00

Rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!.
2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts.
And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER... it is good... :) Pass it forward.

2009-02-09T09:25:00.002-07:00

Tagged

6th picture from 6th folder

The Albino Alligator at the Hogle Zoo last year.
Pretty cool.
I tag whoever wants to.

finally

2009-01-12T10:24:00.016-07:00

I know its been forever. So i am going to start with the new family pics we had taken a while back. I love them! Thanks Michelle. You did awesome. we would love to see the not so good ones, if you still have them saved.

I like this one, because it is how the kids always look

if we are hugging or kissing.

us having a little fun

Cori-13 years old

Austin 4 years old

Sydney age 10 (in a week)

Logan age 5

Kathryn 11 years old

Tanner-age 8 oh and by the way-

this is a miracle. He never smiles like this!

Gage age 2

something about this picture brings me

to tears. He is standing here against

the wall without assistance. this is a big

deal. at this point he has no balance,

so for him to achieve this even for just

a short time is wonderful. there is more to it,

but I'm not sure what at this point. maybe

it will come to me later-so far this is what I

feel... he is a blessing.

Heavenly Father loves him. He needs to have

this challenge right now. He is special. He has a

work to do. We are blessed to have him in

our family.

All the boys

The two boys

laughing

a little more

busting at the seams

I can't wait to get these hanging on my wall!!

I feel so blessed to be a wife and a mom. very blessed indeed!

oh and our tribute to TWILIGHT!

Healthy Living Challenge

2009-01-04T19:31:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas-Happy New Year. I am such a slacker. I will get back to posting about our family soon. But for now I wanted to let you know of a new challenge I am starting. Its called the Healthy Living Challenge. Just in case you are in need of some motivation. I am starting tomorrow. But feel free to jump in with us. Here are the legistics of it.

So here are the details of the challenge.
Points - 12 points possible per day
1 Reporting/Accountability point just for reporting your points each day. You can do it here on the blog or to a friend.
1 Water - drink at least 8 - 8oz cups of water everyday, more if you can!
1 Supplements/Vitamins - take a good supplement, even a multivitamin is better than nothing.
1 No Skipping Meals- NO SKIPPING MEALS OR SNACKS!!! You should be eating every 2-3 hours! Plan ahead. Have some healthy snacks in your purse or in the car.
1 Whole Grains - No white flour, white pasta, white rice, etc. There are now tons of 100% Whole Grain products in the grocery stores
1 No sugar/junk food - No white refined sugar, cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, chocolate, etc. (some things do have sugar in them like breads and whole grain cereals and those are fine - the grams of sugar per serving should be less than 5 grams unless it contains dried fruit like raisins)
1 3-hour rule - Don't eat for at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
1 Counting Calories - It is amazing how fast calories add up. Pick up a kitchen scale and monitor your portion size. Use myfitnesspal or some other way to track the calories you consume each day. The minimum calories you consume should be 1200 per day, the maximum varies depending on how much weight you need to lose, your current weight and the amount you exercise each day. Even if you go over your daily amount you can still get this point if you are tracking your calories.
Workout Points: up to 4 per day
Low intensity (walking) exercise 30 minutes = 1 point
Moderate intensity (jogging) exercise 20 minutes = 1 point
High intensity exercise (running) 15 minutes = 1 point
Give yourself up to 4 points per day based on how long you exercise and at what level your perceived level of exertion is.

Set a goal for 2009 and keep track of your points each day!
My friend Kathy has started a new blog just for this challenge. Its open to friends of friends. So check it out here
Also I have a weight loss blog that I will continue to add to-very little as of now, but maybe more as time goes on,
here.
anyone up for the challenge?!
Hope everyone is having a great new year so far.
I have lots to update. I promise I will do it soon. plus some great new family pictures!

mpm 12/15

2008-12-15T09:12:00.002-07:00

so I know I am slacking on posting for the family, but at least I am planning my menu's.

Monday-leftover dinner that we didn't really get to enjoy last night
Tuesday-Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo
Wednesday-fondue
Thursday-birthday dinner for Tanner
Friday-sweet and sour meatballs (that we didn't have last week)
Saturday-black bean chicken burritos (that we didn't have last week either)

we've been elfed

2008-12-13T22:49:00.002-07:00

I had to do two-because there is so many of us that we can't just do one. I just added the second, so check that out too.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

MPM-12/08

2008-12-08T08:02:00.005-07:00

This week is going to be a bit crazy, but the one thing I know will help is if
I have our meal ideas planned out.

Monday- leftovers from the last 2 days
Tuesday-Sweet and Sour Meatballs, rice, and veggies
Wednesday-Brushetta Chicken Bake
Thursday-crockpot blackbean burritos
Friday- spaghetti & bread
Saturday-pick your own
Sunday- 10 Minute Chilaquiles
That should get us through our busy week. Check out Org Junkies for lots of menu ideas

Thankful

2008-12-01T16:03:00.007-07:00

oh so thankful, for so many things! including, but not limited to-

the tender mercies of the Lord. which include-

an amazing Physical Therapist who is thinking about us often, who knows people who know people. Our sweet PT called a PT Scott in Orem, (pictured below) who knew a man Ernie (who had a child with a disability) that had started a foundation to help families with members who had disabilities that needed equipment, and help getting it. Scott talked to Ernie, applied for us to get a stroller. We had decided not to try to get it through the insurance because really we can't afford a stroller like this. But after Scott got it fixed with Ernie, he called to let me know that we had a stroller. That it was ours to keep, to thrash, to have, and if in the end it was still in good condition we could give it back, but we didn't have to. We went and picked it up from him a couple weeks ago. What an awesome blessing. The Lord works in miraculous ways. This is an $800 stroller, that is ours. Its big, and will fit Gage for sometime. I am amazed. Thanks to Cathy-for always thinking of us you are awesome! we are blessed to have you be our friend. Scott for being the middle man and delivery man-you went above and beyond, and we are grateful! and to Ernie you will never know how much you have affected our lives. Thank You!

a happy family. and that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their sweet boy

were able to come, make and eat a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

We had a great time.

Surprise anniversary presents that are delivered, and smell wonderful

surprise pictures on the camera!

goofy kids

a wonderful mom who loves me, and for the

time we get to spend with her. I should say parents

that love me, and family that loves me. I just don't

have pictures of everyone.

a temple here nearby. that we are blessed to be

able to go to.

a living prophet of God that leads us on the earth

today

and last(for today), but certainly not least

a husband who is worthy to hold the priesthood,

who was called yesterday to be in the new bishopric of

our ward as the second counselor. who is a servant of the Lord, and who loves the

Lord and testifies of Him. I am thankful that Jared

was called, and accepted this new calling.

I know it is a calling from God. On Friday night as we

were driving to the church to meet with the Stake

President, I was saying a prayer that I would know

that whatever calling we recieved that night

was from Him. and in the middle of that prayer

I realized that I didn't need to be saying that prayer

for reassurance. I knew, and still do, that the men

we were meeting with are men of God, they do His work, and

His will. This calling was from God. That the new Bishop is meant

to be the new bishop, and God called him to this calling. I have a testimony of

this. I have been getting prepared for this. The spirit has been telling me

that this calling was coming. and I am okay with it

I know that there will be some rough times but I also

know that God will bless us for our steadfast service.

I am grateful for the opportunity that Jared and I have to

serve. He is a wonderful man. and I am glad to be his wife

and for those of you who are curious-the new

bishop of the 10th ward is Bishop Dean Cooper, John Stewart

1st counselor, Jared Davis 2nd counselor.

awesome men. I am looking forward to seeing what these

guys can do.

MPM 12/01

2008-12-01T15:53:00.004-07:00

Sunday-Enchiladas, lime rice, salad

Monday-leftovers

Tuesday-cream cheese chicken, rice, rolls

Wednesday-quiche, fruit

Thursday-sandwiches, fries

Friday-kids to get own

Saturday-lemon pepper chicken salad

Sunday-lasagna, salad, french bread

Help! I need lowfat, but yummy dinner ideas. I am trying to count points with WW again, and am in need of recipes. got any ideas? Please share. Thanks. and don't forget to head over to Laura's for hundreds of menu ideas.

Happy Anniversary

2008-11-26T09:54:00.002-07:00

November 26, 1994

I feel very ecstatic to say that 14 years ago today we were married. What a blessing it has been to have this man be my husband. I love him more than words can say. He makes me laugh, we are still goofy together, and happy, very happy. I am in love with him, and am looking forward to an eternity. Happy Anniversary honey. I love you.
I will post a now picture as soon as we get one.

Tag

2008-11-26T09:35:00.004-07:00

7 Weird Things about Me:
1. I have to sleep with at least the sheet on, even if it is 90 degrees. 2. I'm stumped, help!!

10 Years ago...1. I was pregnant with Sydney 2. we drove a wannabe pinto 3. we lived in a 2 bedroom condo, that was a down stairs unit right on the corner. 4. I was serving in primary 5. I watched kids other than my own

5 things on my TO DO list...1. tidy up around the house, make muffins, go to costco, get kids from school, and go out on a double date with Joe and Kim and my sweet husband for our anniversary

5 Snacks that I like...1. popcorn, fruit, cereal, 100 cal packs, veggies

5 Things I would do with 1 million dollars...1. pay off my house, buy a little car, go on a vacation with the kids, and then alone with my hubby, help some in need, save the rest

5 Places I have lived...1. Oxnard, CA. 2. St. George, UT 3. Port Hueneme, CA. 4. Westminster, CA, and 5. somewhere in Washington state

5 Jobs I have had...1. mom 2. homemaker 3. childcare provider 4. house cleaner (an actual job I had that I got paid for, before I was married and did it for free) 5. taxi driver
most of the jobs I have had all revolve around the fact that I am a mom, and wife. I love it.
i tag anyone who wants to play along

2 years

2008-11-17T20:17:00.003-07:00

12-2006

WOW-how time flies. I was reading a friends blog and she noted how it had been a year since she started her blog. So I decided to go to the earliest post-it just happened to be November 17th 2006. WOW! Two years of blogging. What a wonderful blessing this has been for me. I love it. and I love keeping up with everyone else through their blogs.
11-2008

2008-11-10T21:02:00.003-07:00

so i guess its time for an update-things with my contacts worked out great. Thanks for the encouragement. Potty training is going as well as could be expected. He finally figured it out and is now only having issues with pooping. it will come, hopefully soon. He stayed dry at church. that is my usual stress, being away from home for more than 3 hours. but he did fine. Sunday was our Primary Program. Its when the kids ages 3 to 12 give talks and sing songs to present what they have been learning through out the year. It can be a very sweet experience, except when your child looks pale and has had the flu that weekend, and you are praying he doesn't hurl all over the 5 kids sitting around him.(he was sad because they moved his seat, and he was actually crying)(FYI, if I was really worried that he wasn't feeling well, I would have kept him home. but sometimes you never know if they are really well until like a week later) and your 4 year old is standing up, sitting down, laughing, poking, and the worst, hitting his teacher.(dad had to get up, walk around the back, and up the other isle to step in and keep him from giving his teacher a black eye) Our family also sang one of the verses in the song "Home". All the kids, and us sang the first verse, we sang the second one alone, and then we all joined in again for the third verse. The verse we sang went like this "Home is where there's father, with strength and wisdom true. Home is where there's mother, and all the children too." We were loud enough that one person said they didn't know we were singing alone. So I figure that is a compliment. I think that Austin had the right idea, as he was sitting down by my feet hiding. I enjoyed the experience, but its really not my favorite thing to do-sing in front of people.
We have the greatest neighbors. They share their toys with us. They had two wiggle bikes, shown in the pictures. and because my children can't share, they now have two more. the kids still don't share. But it is wonderful to have such great neighbors. All the kids run out the door when they see Sammy playing outside. We love you guys! and not just because you share your toys. :)

Thursday night fun

2008-11-01T23:13:00.006-06:00

Super Citizen

2008-11-01T23:08:00.004-06:00

Tanner is our super citizen this month. I wish his teacher would have sent a note that said why she picked him-cuz I don't remember. I do know that she thought he was just quiet, but really he is just paying attention and being good. Way to go Tanner. He got a certificate, and a free dinner at Golden Corral!!

hair cuts

2008-11-01T23:01:00.004-06:00

Yay for hair cuts. You have seen all the boys with their hair recently. I was so happy when Jared set up hair cuts with a friend of ours. She spent over 2 hours cutting the kids hair today. What a friend!!

look at that pile of hair. oh man did we need some hair cuts

Halloween

2008-11-01T16:59:00.005-06:00

We had a great Halloween. Busy, busy, busy. We started off by walking in the Kindergarten Parade, and then helping in Logan's class. We then stayed and watched the big kid parade, and the 2nd grade singing program. After school was out, we ran a bunch of errands, picking up the big kids on the way, I needed candy to pass out- I know, I waited til the last possible moment! I am great at procrastinating. We had trunk or treat at the park and then headed out trick or treating. The kids got a ton of candy and were super pooped out by the end of the night.
Logan's class-his teacher is great. She has 7 kids too, totally cool.

Gage loves playing in Logan's class, there are so many great toys. He got up and sat in this chair all by himself

Playing games

All of the 2nd grade singers

By this time-5:30 pm- we hit melt down mode. It only took him 30 minutes to get over his fit, and go to get candy without his costume

2008-10-29T22:23:00.002-06:00

today i had an appointment with a new eye dr. I will spare you all the details. Let just say that to help my eyes see as good as they should will cost several hundred dollars a year. the new contacts may or may not be great. for the trial run today in the office they were wonderful. but who knows what a week would do. tonight, its sad to me that everything we need relies heavily on money. that we can't just barter-not that I have anything to barter with, but still. i am struggling tonight with the fact that i just don't have the money to get those new lenses, even though they would be great, and probably the best thing for me. and I have to settle with the yucky ones just because of money. blah
hopefully tomorrow will bring a better attitude. I have been potty training this week, only 2 days of peeing everywhere (not me, him). Today was a great day. no accidents. this is wonderful. we also stayed up way too late last night finishing up 20 quarts of applesauce. i am sure that is why i feel down tonight. tomorrow will be better.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T13:15:00.004-06:00

pumpkin carving is a favorite of the kids this time of year. Last nights pumpkin carving was one of the best we have had. it was fun.
Gage's pumpkin was the one we used for the contest on Saturday night. So he just had fun playing outside.

Cori got pretty creative this year.

I just missed dad pushing the boys around. They were having fun. Austin would rather play in the car than have anything to do with the pumpkin.

Happy Birthday Austin

2008-10-28T12:49:00.007-06:00

October 26, 2008

Austin turned four. He is a happy boy with lots of energy. He loves to give me hugs, and have me do everything for him. well almost everything, sometimes he wants to do everything himself.

We had a fun time for his birthday. For breakfast we had waffles, that was late enough that we didn't have lunch before church. Dinner was quesidillas and green beans. We had cupcakes for the birthday boy treat.
He opened his cards and present. He loves it.

All the kids love birthday hats. Cori just doesn't like getting her picture taken.

Austin was much happier playing with his new toy than eating his cupcake.

This is to show how Jared feels after a day home with the kids. :)

Koopman's Annual Halloween Party

2008-10-28T11:07:00.008-06:00

For the past few years, ( I don't know how long before that, before they lived here) our cousins, the Koopmans have hosted a Halloween party. We wear our costumes, eat lots of yummy treats, and finger foods. and play games. This year our game idea was eat donuts off a string. It was a hit. I got tons of pictures of everyone, here's a sample of my kids.

Here is all of our family in our costumes.

Then we had a pumpkin carving contest. This was a bit different than a normal contest. It was a relay. The mom's cut the top off, then the oldest child dug out all the seeds, then the next 4 were blind folded and drew on the pumpkin, and then the dad's carved whatever was drawn. It was fun.

There was also a haunted house in the basement. It was fun and a bit scary. Obviously I couldn't take pictures of that because it was dark.
It was a really fun night.

Crazy Hair Day

2008-10-28T10:58:00.002-06:00

Red Ribbon Week was last week. So one of the days was Crazy Hair day to say no to drugs.

Gage wanted crazy hair too. His is usually pretty crazy anyway, but today I used hair spray.

This was Sydney after crazy hair day. I guess we now know how to do a super crazy hair do. Pretty cool.

the fall carnival

2008-10-20T21:56:00.002-06:00

The family to family network had a great Halloween carnival tonight. I think the kids had a good time. They got all dressed up in their costumes, except Gage because he has an obsession with keeping his shirt on, so he wouldn't let me change him. They had face painting, fishing, cauldron toss, ring toss, cake walk, and a really fun one where you got to choose between sticking your hands in brains, or bones to find a prize. The kids even got to ride on a cow train, i think that is what it was called. Its individual little side cars that are strung together and pulled by what looked like a golf cart. (at the near by farm they pull it with a small tractor or something similar) The kids got all the little prizes that they love and I don't, and candy and cupcakes. We missed out on the hot dogs and chips, but we came home and had hot dogs for dinner. We did all this, and I FORGOT the camera. I'm so bummed. I promise to take pictures of the kids in their costumes on Halloween.
It was a fun night just the same. The only problem is I feel crappy. I have a headache that only sorta goes away with meds, and a sore throat and sinus pressure. I am really looking forward to bed hopefully really soon.
hope your Monday was a good one.

2008-10-13T10:34:00.004-06:00

I love this picture from last fall. Jared is wearing my favorite shirt, and he actually smiled at the camera. He won't like it that I posted this, but as it is my favorite, this is the picture I am going to use.

Today is Jared's birthday. oh how I love this man. He is funny, helpful, loving, giving, brave, strong etc. He makes me smile each day. He works hard everyday. He takes care of us, he leads us and guides us each day. I do not tell him enough how much I appreciate all he does. With work being slow at his normal job, he has been doing other work to bring in more money. I so wanted to get today off for him, so he could relax and do the things he likes to do. but instead he is at the neighbors using a sledge hammer to take down walls, and helping with the demolition process of their house. He wanted Rain Forest Cafe for breakfast today(a little far to drive just for breakfast) , but he happily ate scrambled eggs and sausage. I have a great and understanding husband. I am so blessed.
Happy Birthday my love!! I love you for so many reasons, here are just a few (the list will probably get longer as the day goes on)

I love you for :

-waking up early, running to walmart and home to make me a surprise breakfast-just because
-brushing my hair
-putting up with all the things i do that annoy you and still loving me despite those things
-loving the kids
-playing with them
-having fun and laughing with them
-the unconditional love you have for others
-your willingness to serve those in need
-the willingness you have to serve in the church
-having a testimony of the gospel
-having a testimony and knowledge of the scriptures
-the ability you have to speak or teach without much warning and being good at it
-holding the priesthood and being worthy to use it
-giving me priesthood blessings, and the sweet way you give our children father's blessings
-for taking me to the temple so many years ago and for continuing to take me each week
-handing me the cash out of your wallet, and saying go have fun
-supporting me, in whatever task, or endeavor I take on
-being good at fixing things
-loving me
-marrying me
-loving the Lord
-being my sweet husband and a wonderful father to our children
How blessed we are that you are in our lives.

its time to vote

2008-10-10T17:05:00.001-06:00

I saw this on a friends blog. Its worth sharing with everyone. Hope you are registered to vote. Its important, very, very important!

MPM 10/06

2008-10-06T09:38:00.004-06:00

I haven't posted a menu in over a month. So I decided it was time. I also want to share a bread stick recipe that was super yummy!! What I did was make the bread sticks from the #1 recipe and used the topping from #2. These were the bomb. Soft, and Delicious!! try them and let me know what you think.
1.Bread sticks with Parmesan Butter
INGREDIENTS
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees), divided
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Add the oil, egg, salt, 2 cups flour, and remaining sugar and water. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.
Punch the dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide into 36 pieces. Shape each piece into a 6-in. rope. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

2.Late-Night Bread sticks
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 (1 pound) loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS
In a shallow bowl, combine the first five ingredients; set aside. Divide dough into 16 pieces; roll each into a 6-in. rope. Dip ropes in butter, then roll in cheese mixture. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

So on to this weeks menu

Quiche and fruit
tamale pie( this is a new recipe. I will post it next week, if its good.)
chef salad (with lettuce from our garden)and breadsticks.
clam chowder and rolls as bread bowls
BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and homemade rolls. MMM good.
chicken and black bean burritos
clean out buffet
we have a lot of bread-think its my favorite thing? you're right!!
check out Laura's MPM here
and have a great week.

Tanners journal

2008-10-01T09:58:00.002-06:00

okay, this may just be funny to me, but I was seriously laughing out loud. I was reading Tanner's journal that he brought home for the month of September, and on the 16th he writes " I know that I should never let my dad sleep with me because he has gass at night. I know that I should awase (always) sleep in my bed and I should never ever let eneyone(anyone) sleep in MY BED !!!!!!" (the last part is to be said strongly and manly.) He read it for me, correcting me, after I read it to him. very funny to me.

Student of the Week

2008-09-29T20:47:00.002-06:00

Cori got Student of the week. Every week the school gives out and award to 2 students per grade. Cori is a great student, She has straight A's, smart, and does what she needs to, without trouble in school. She did a test in Language Arts not to long ago and got the results today. She is at a college grade level in Vocabulary & comprehension and overall. and 10th grade reading level. All her teachers love her. She is definitely a Davis. So smart, fiesty ( I guess she gets that from me) and beautiful.

Way to go Cori. We are so proud of you, and we love you.

weekend

2008-09-29T20:17:00.004-06:00

Jared left Thursday morning for Salt Lake. So our dinners were late, we stayed up later than usual, we forgot about the garden, and we didn't get naps. We did get laundry caught up, the garage cleaned, the house cleaned and I went to a fantastic conference for women. (if you want to check it out go here
as of right now-8:32 pm on Monday there are 3 of the 4 transcripts available, but check back, its definitely worth it. Very uplifting and great.
Gage sleeping after he finished his pancake

look at that pile. We actually picked more today, but we also gave some away.

this is a 3 in 1 squash. funny huh?!

The girls are all working, while the boys are playing

Syd trying for the wind blown look, instead Tanner and a funny face is with her

There was a few minutes Sunday night when it was raining, so the boys went out to play, and I went out to take pictures. The sky was really pretty.

And the award goes to

2008-09-25T16:58:00.005-06:00

We have a hero in the house. Every month the teachers pick the student that best represents a certain character trait for the hero hunt award. This month was 'RESPECT'. And this is what Mrs. Jennings had to say, "If "respect" means courteous to others or speaking softly in a group or gladly offering a helping hand or remembering to say thank you and excuse me, then respect is the perfect word for Sydney Davis. She makes everyone she works with in class feel important with her warm smile and kind ways. Sydney shows respect for rules by being where she should be and doing what is expected--even when no one is watching!"

Way to Go, Syd. I love you. You are a hero to me.

amazing things

2008-09-23T13:40:00.002-06:00

Everyday I witness so many great blessings because of Gage's CP. It saddens me from time to time because he can't do normal 2 year old things. I know there are so many children out there that are affected by CP that can only do 1/2 the things he can, or even nothing like he can. So for that I am saddened, for them and their parents. But I do feel blessed by this disability, that makes it so he's not as fast as the other boys, and can't do and follow their lead. I do realize that by saying I feel blessed that he can't do things seems ungrateful because of the saddness so many feel because their children have difficulties. But to me its a blessing because he's not jumping off the table, running through the store throwing things from shelves, risking his life while climbing out of the basket, etc. He can climb up on the couch and sit, but he doesn't jump off of it. Because of his disability there are things he can't do, but also there are things I am able to watch and give me a witness that our Heavenly Father loves us, He is aware of my needs, and our families needs. He watches over us, and blesses us when the time is right. It is His time we are working with and I know that. I am able to watch Gage progress day in and day out. Today we had PT at the hospital. Gage loves to go see Lacy and Matt. Today he worked hard for Lacy. They have a table that moves up and down and can be at the perfect level for him, and Gage was standing there reading a book with Lacy. Then we started playing a puzzle, the pieces of the puzzle were at one end of the table and the puzzle itself was at the other. Gage started walking along the edge BY HIMSELF! This is something he has never done before-ever, without help. It was so great to watch. He wanted to do it. He took big steps, and walked along that table like he had been doing it for weeks. It was amazing to me. Just recently I was thinking that he really didn't look like he had any desire to walk, and it was okay with me, for now. After today, I am glad to say I was wrong.
Its amazing to me that we deserve to raise this little boy, or any of my great kids for that matter. He is smart, he is a hard worker, he is patient, and he is a love. He loves to give kisses and hugs. He knows all about it. I feel honored to be a mom and a wife. I definitely don't deserve it, but I am glad I have it all.

2008-09-22T10:05:00.004-06:00

It has been way too long! There hasn't been much going on, but I decided I for sure needed to post about the garden, and Gage's attempts at standing. I think that is the most interesting. a few weeks ago we decided to plant a garden. and It has been wonderful. It has been a great family adventure. The kids are really helping-I didn't get any pictures of all the work we did with pulling weeds, scooping poop, and just getting the yard ready, etc. but I do have some pics of the now growing garden and the great zucchini we are getting.
for whatever reason the stuff in the middle decided it was not the right time to grow, probably still too hot.

just a little of the wonderful zucchini we have grown. It tastes so yummy.

Logan wanted me to take a picture of the squash that was growing

I think he was hiding the toys he wanted to play with after his nap

funny hair day-dad using the vacuum to do Gage's hair

Gage decided he wanted to stand up all on his own. He still doesn't have much balance, but he kept trying for about 20 minutes. this is a first that we are happy to have.

2008-08-27T02:12:00.002-06:00

what do you do when your 2 year old wakes up and can't breath? take him to the ER right?! well what if you are the one that had to stay home with the sleeping babes? clean, and blog of course! All day today Gage has had a runny nose. no biggie, allergies are everywhere for my family right now. So I gave him some benadryl and thought all would be well. We put him to bed at about 9:45 and by 11:45 he is up screaming and gasping for air and coughing this barky cough. I got him out of bed and tried to calm him to see if I could get his breathing better. Jared called our home teacher to give him a blessing. We got him to sleep and calm. about an hour later he was struggling again, not bad, but enough that it still worried us. so Jared decided to take him to the ER. I got to stay here and worry. But all my sweet kiddos are sleeping and we don't need to call and wake anyone else. So here I am doing the dishes, picking up toys, and blogging. Jared called to say that Gage has croup (which I thought was the culprit), he will get a breathing treatment and take steroids for a few days. and it looks like he maybe a crouper-where everytime he gets a cold or illness he will get this croupy cough. the poor kid. at least we know all is well now. They will be home soon, and maybe we will sleep. I guess surgery is off for now too. oh well. it can wait.

2008-08-25T14:42:00.001-06:00

This is beautiful. Hope you enjoy it.

MPM 8/25

2008-08-25T08:45:00.002-06:00

I planned a great week's worth of meals. But I am not sure if/when we will eat it. Gage is having eye surgery this week, so we are planning to head back to SLC on Wednesday morning. We aren't sure if all of us are going yet, so I just planned meals so Jared and the kids will have something to eat while I am gone.

Here goes.

party potatoes and ham
corned beef and cabbage
eggs, biscuits and gravy with fruit
hamburgers, hot dogs and fries
ham melts
lemon pepper chicken & salad

nothing to exciting, hope you all have a great week. don't forget to check out Laura's site for a plethora of menu ideas.

updates

2008-08-23T10:26:00.003-06:00

I have a couple more things to add to my major update day, but my camera's battery died and I need to wait for it to charge. So for now, enjoy my craziness and be warned I updated a lot!!

First Day of School 8-12-08

2008-08-23T10:20:00.002-06:00

The kids are back in school. We have survived the first 2 weeks just fine. and no I am not bored with only 2 kids at home. But it has been nice.

Cori doesn't like pictures right now, so this is all I got

this is how Logan looks every day before school :)

Happy Birthday to me

2008-08-23T10:16:00.002-06:00

Thanks for taking care of me and spoiling me. I got so many treats and presents from friends and family. I appreciate it so much. You made my day.

Sand Hollow Resevoir 8-02

2008-08-23T09:58:00.004-06:00

Some friends of ours own a boat and they asked us if we would like to head out to the lake to go tubing. We said yes. and I am so glad we did. it was so fun. Tanner went to a birthday party so he wasn't there with us. Thanks Tim and Des for keeping him so long.

Jared and Brigham go first

the kids at the front of the boat

Cori having a fun time, Kathryn scared to death

gage likes the boat ride

Cori and Syd-she really liked it too

Gage loves to just float with the life vest on

Allison and Logan

Bryce and Brigham

Jared and Gage

Andi and Austin -he would only go with me

Sydney driving while dads on the tube

Gage sleeping standing up

Cori and Brigham

caught sleeping with his had in the bag

Patty's wedding day 8-01-08

2008-08-23T09:38:00.005-06:00

To our joy and sadness our favorite neighbor and dear friend got married. The girls were clean up helpers and got beautiful shirts and skirts so I had a friend come over and do their hair.

Cori being a goof

Gage's self photography-these next pictures he took with the camera and about 25 more that I am not going to share

Tanners the photographer

Logan's best friends Hunter and Cameron are Patty's twin boys. We love you guys.

They had a beautiful ceremony. I am so grateful for Patty and her friendship. I am grateful to Larry ( Patty's husband) for loving her and taking care of their family. They are a great blessing in our lives. We will miss having them for neighbors, but luckily they aren't too far.

water day

2008-08-23T08:51:00.006-06:00

July 27-good thing for me my pictures are dated. I wish I would have blogged about this day right away. Because this post would have been a lot funnier.
This is what Gage did for the majority of our time at the water park. The rest of the kids had fun as you can see.

even after a half an hour he was still crying that he couldn't go on the swings.

this is my favorite of all the pictures-he just looks so serious even though he is standing in a straight up stream of water.

wish I could remember why Logan was so happy

Gage finally ventured out to see the water after a bribe to go on the swings

Kathryn trying really hard to get Gage to feel better

He finally got his way

and Austin too

The boys were in charge of pushing while I headed to the bathroom. they ended up playing this game that made Gage laugh so hard. Tanner would push from the back, and Logan would stand in the front and pretend (sound effects and all) that Gage was hitting him with his feet. So funny.

time to go home

and go to the pool

he's floating on the kick board all by himself

This was a fun day.

2008-08-23T08:45:00.003-06:00

July 25th We headed to the movie night in the park. Cori was at Lagoon so she wasn't there, and Syd went to a friends house for a sleepover. Its pretty cool at these movies in the park-they set up a huge inflateable screen and we bring blankets and pillows, chairs and snacks and just hang out and watch the movie. This time I bought glow necklaces and the boys liked that better than the movie.

Can you name this movie?

updates

2008-08-23T08:09:00.005-06:00

I realize that I am way behind in the blogging department. Hopefully I can be better. It seems that I go in spurts.
7/24/08
This is Pioneer day. It is a day that we celebrate the people who lived and died making the trek to the west to be able to enjoy religious freedom. In our area they do a big activity where there are different houses set up in a ball field and you walk to different ones to do different things. We made ice cream, got horse shoe rings, had a family picture taken, got to ride on a horseshoe horse, and the kids were bees in a parade.

In this first picture Gage is modeling his new gloves as well as his bee outfit. A friend of ours made gloves for him, so when he goes outside and crawls around, it doesn't hurt his hands so much. We also have another friend who made some knee pads but we haven't got those yet.

Gage thinks this horse was pretty cool

and isn't so happy when his turn is up

don't we make a great cowboy family

MPM August 11th

2008-08-11T09:03:00.004-06:00

Happy Monday to you!!

First I want to share with you an awesome recipe. We really enjoyed these 10 Minute Chilaquiles, thanks Kim for making them first and sharing with my sweet husband. Our whole family likes this. that is a miracle.

Also, Tammi asked what we put in our crepes for dinner. To answer that question, it really depends what we feel like. But usually there is ham, cheese, maybe turkey, bbq chicken, steak, all in strips.(not all of these, just whatever we want that night) we use mayo & mustard in the bottom of the crepes and then put the meat in. This time we made this awesome roast and shredded it. What I did was put a roast in the crock pot, sprinkled, no really doused, the roast with this great seasoning that we found called Veggie Grill by Weber. we found ours at Walmart, they also have a good BBQ chicken seasoning and a good burger seasoning. anyway, after I covered the roast with seasoning I added about a cup of water to the bottom of the crockpot. then let it cook for several hours. Jared added more seasoning a couple hours in, then we shredded it, and let it cook for another hour in the juices. It was GREAT. and easy. so that's the dinner part of the crepes. for dessert we have chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch pudding, whipped topping, cherry pie filling, powdered sugar. sometimes ice cream. Its really good with leftover stuff. MMMMM good!

Now to this weeks Menu. The kids go back to school tomorrow, so hopefully this week will go smooth with dinners. We'll see.

Sunday- Skinny meat, with Yoshidas marinade, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and Kings Hawaiian rolls. (it was a great birthday dinner, it tastes so much better when someone else is cooking)
Monday- Haystacks
Tuesday- Sausage Pasta new one, not sure what else I will serve with this yet. maybe some fruit and bread
Wednesday- quiche, applesauce
Thursday-Tacos, beans
Friday- leftovers/date night
Saturday- rataouille, bread,
Sunday- Stuffed Shells (finally) salad, bread,

Hope you have a great eating week! Check out Laura's List for lots more ideas Its awesome!

Memories

2008-07-24T10:42:00.000-06:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

WE GOT IT!!

2008-07-22T10:33:00.004-06:00

We finally got the Amtryke. I am so excited about it. This is a cool bike that uses arm and leg strength to move. It will help Gage, with what is called disassociation-using his legs separately, instead of together. A lot of the time when he crawls he does a hop instead of the reciprocal, or normal crawl) Gage loves it and he loves that Cathy brought it to him. (Cathy is one of our Physical Therapists, we now have two that we see. She was able to use money that was alloted her from the Learning Center to buy the bike.) It is on loan for awhile, until we don't need it anymore or until Gage turns three. He can now move it at least 2 rotations without any help from me. and we have only had it 24 hours. WOOHOO.

Gage riding his new bike!

Austin wanting to be in the picture with Gage, and both of them doing funny faces for me.

I love this picture. It makes me so happy. Last night while we were walking down the road I was almost in tears watching him work so hard, and having so much fun. He loves having his own bike. I love that it works him, but he doesn't know it. Go Gage Go!!

MPM

2008-07-21T09:03:00.003-06:00

This week I am going to try a couple new recipes from my wonderful SIL. I will post the recipes when she sends them to me. My husband says they are great and I have to make them. I am happy to try new things, especially things he already likes.

M-Cream Cheese chicken with rice, veggies, rolls
T-Enchilada Casserole
W-chef salad
T-breakfast for dinner
F-Leftover buffet
S-Stuffed Shells
S-Crepes
I am really looking forward to dinner this week. Hope you are too. Need menu ideas? Head over to Laura's