Birthday Time!!!

April is the time for birthdays in our family. Alyssa had a wonderful birthday filled with lots of fun a jumping around!

A few weeks before her birthday Abby and I went shopping for a trampoline and found one at Sams club. I told Abby she could not tell Alyssa what she was getting for her birthday and Abby is the best secret keeper in the family so no one ever knew about the gift. The morning of her birthday Alyssa and Hailey spotted it in the backyard and were in heaven from there on out. The only problem was that it rained all day and they couldn't jump on the trampoline for the next two days.



The day before her party she had a few girls over from her school/primary classes and we had a "spa party"! The girls loved the fun while they all got facials




pedicures and back massages by no other than Hailey and her friend Grace. Thanks girls!!!!


Anyway, she had a blast and we all can't believe how quickly our little Lyssa is growing up! Thanks everyone for the cards and fun gifts that were sent!

Muffins and Chics

Yesterday morning, I awoke early took my girls on a short 1/2 mile run and then tried to get some house work finished before the morning session of general conference started. I've been needing to remove a few things in my bedroom, but can't because I couldn't seem to find the storage room where they needed moved to. The storage room couldn't be cleaned because so much in there needed moved to the top floor of the barn where all of our boxes are being stored. So slowly by surely I have been working in the barn organizing the boxes as I have to open and go through each one in the search of my kitchenaide, blender, and Macey's church dresses. Friday, the last of those were found!!! The barn is organized and I have now moved almost everything in the basement storage room out to the barn. It feels great!!!

On the first trip to the barn I noticed the 'Popcorn popping on the apricot tree' and had to run back inside quickly to find my girls to show them the blossoms before they fully opened up. We celebrated by dancing around the tree singing "I looked out the window... " and well you know the song. I must say that by the end of the day they were no longed popcorn and full out flower blossoms.

A good friend of mine had a muffin extravaganza a month ago and gave me the recipe to what she said was some really good muffins. First we chopped the berries and more, next we filled the cups with the extras and then last of all we added the muffin mix. I will say it was a very fun Saturday morning activity and they made the best muffins ever!!!! My favorite ended up being the ham and cheese though I thought they would be the worst and the most bland was the banana (they didn't have much flavor at all).

Later in the day John got to mow the grass with the riding mower for the first time ever. He was hoping to wait until May, but that grass was already 6 inches long in some areas. The girls loved riding around with daddy. After that we decided it was time to plant a few items in the garden so John pulled out the rototiller got the first small section all ready and I headed out to IFA to purchase the broccoli plants. John knew that there was a very high chance I would return with baby chic's so he got the box all ready with a heat lamp the water and feeder. Hailey, Alyssa and Abby would not let me go alone, they wanted to pick out their own chickadees.

As you can see I returned with the chic's (and the broccoli) and Hailey and Alyssa love babying them. They know this stage won't last for long.

This is all I here in my home now:

Alyssa: "The baby chickie's are sleeping, all except one and they are so cute."

Hailey: "OK lets go play with that one"

Dad: "No leave them alone and let them sleep!"

Alyssa: "But they're so cute when they sleep"

So we had a very productive Saturday, enjoyed the wonderful conference talks and are looking forward to what today will bring with them.

Now.... This morning I slept in and John came in the room (while I was pretending to still be asleep just to have some peace and quiet) and opened the blinds so I could see outside. I could see the blue skies with a few white clouds floating by, but he informed me I needed to sit up to see 'outside'. The entire ground is covered in 4-6 inches of snow! So much for our popcorn on the apricot tree. Here's our tree house this morning:

Making a cake for my new nephew

I had to much fun making this receiving blanket and diaper cake for our new nephew Luke this week. The girls and I ran it over the their house on Saturday and surprised the family with a few little treats. We wouldn't have taken it over so urgently, but Macey kept trying to take everything off and the pacifiers would have disappeared pretty soon. Abby thought the dinosaur was purchased for her and she was a little perturbed when her mom put it on a cake for a baby. "Mom he's to little to play with that and I want it" was her comment. Needless to say she didn't get the dinosaur and it was my cake topper.

Anyone wanting to make a cake, use a 8 oz bottle in the center (it will hold the 1st 2 layers together), unfold the diapers, roll them up, and fasten them shut with a clear plastic hair tie. I tore part of the material from the receiving blanket (which was my cake base) to use as a tie to go around each layer. They are really fun to make and quite easy, it just takes a little time.

Not quite right.

Last night we had a babysitter come and John and I went out to each at Magleby's restaurant here in Provo. We didn't know prior to going but there was a Prime Rib/Crab leg buffet going on. We chose that, but it wasn't quite like the ones we're used to in Kauai (of coarse the price was only 1/2 of what we paid there also). I thought alot of Karen Summerhays during the dinner and how much she loved crab legs and could out eat anyone I know hands down in a crab eating contest.

My visiting teaching partner here in Provo was having a mock prom in the church's rec hall to celebrate her hubby's 35 birthday. So after the dinner we headed over to the church to the party, even though we didn't even know who her hubby was. It was more of a retro prom. There was lots of 80's music and it was lots of fun. The last mock prom we went to was about 8 months ago in Kauai and I kept thinking of how much fun we had with all our friends there. I love the picture we took with all the women jumping in the air :) We did have fun last night, but John and I both commented more than once how much Dale and Genevieve Keep would have loved the dance. There was even some break dancing going on and John wished he could break dance like Dale and Will could.

Today for Sunday dinner, I made Navajo tacos. I knew I would have way to much fry bread for my family, and remembered the last time I made these at Holly and Mike Cook's house. Mandy Cook loves these and I really wished that I could take the extras over to her house so she could enjoy them while they were hot. As you can tell, I'm dwelling to much on the past and have just got to bite the bullet and get into my life here. Karen, Genevieve, Holly, Mandy and Dawn will never be replaced and I don't want to replace them. I don't know if John will ever have as good a friend as Dale or Will, Mike, Rusty and Jeff, but it's time that we do make things right here in Utah.

Hailey and Alyssa are doing really good and Hailey seems to be making the adjustment better now than she first had been. For about two weeks, she had to call her friend, Olivia, every day .... I was getting a little worried there for a while. There are lots of little girls in the neighborhood and Alyssa is thrilled to have someone different to play with everyday. Hailey is coming along and realizing that it's easier to be friends with the girls across the street rather than the girls across the ocean. So hopefully so everything will be right but as for now we're making do with our life being not quite right!

This does not mean I will ever forget Hawaii or try to, I just have to try to move on. But, Genevieve Holly and Mandy I will still be calling you!!!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Yesterday we woke up to a little girl who had to have green pancakes for breakfast. Actually she wanted green eggs and ham but I only had one egg in the refrigerator, so she would settle for the pancakes. She had to make sure there was green on her PJ's and all of her sisters before she went to bed the night before. She also checked everyone in the families wardrobes to make sure we all had ENOUGH green on. She kicked her dad in the shin because on his green shirt there was some small red stitching and you CAN'T wear red on St. Patricks Day! She was almost late to school because her fingernails had to be painted green (thanks Dawn for helping set that tradition). Can you guess which daughter ..... yes, it was Alyssa. She makes sure everything is the way she wants it and that we celebrate holiday's to the extreme. While she may seem a little aggressive in getting her way, she is lots of fun and makes our lives more exciting :)

John parents just recently left to go on their LDS mission to Nauvoo, IL. Annette, his mother, always said that she thought Matt and Kamelle should have their baby on St. Patricks Day. Guess what, they did and I am a new Aunt as of yesterday!

Baby Giles was born March 17, 2011 at @11:30 am

Weight: 7 lbs 14 oz
Length: 19 inches
Baby and Mommy are both doing well!

Update on our building: We are suppose to start building in 2 weeks!!!! If (that's a big if) the bank gets everything done in the time they say it will take the hole will be dug somewhere between April 1st and 7th. It's really exciting watching the house next door go up and it was just started the first week of March. Knowing we're 1 month behind gets me nervouse but excited. I'll try to keep pictures and updates on here so family far away can see the progress.

Some friends of ours let me know that I am not updating my blog enough and they would really appreciate more frequent updates, so I will try a little harder!!!