Not for everyone...

My job is not for everyone, I have to admit. Some days my goal is just to take a shower or use the bathroom with the door shut. There are early hours, late hours and middle of the night hours. Some days my laundry stack is taller than I am. And other days I am trying to figure out how to get squished carrots out of the carpet. But I love my job. I would not trade it for anything.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I have learned to enjoy shows like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer. I never thought these shows would be riveting television for me. But, when I see my one, and three-year-old's eyes light up at the sight of one of their favorite characters or hear them laugh when something silly happens, I enjoy it more than any "grown up" show.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I get to see all of my children's "firsts." Most of the "firsts" my girls have had (first smile, step, etc) have been during regular business hours. Had I been elsewhere, I would have missed them.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I don't have to deal with office politics. Around our house the only "promises" made are those that involve what will happen if you eat your peas or what will happen if you hit your sister again.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I get to dry my children's tears. Whether it is something that hurt their feelings or a "boo boo" they got by falling down, I am there to comfort them. While I know I will not always be there when they need comforting, I know that during these important formative years I am the one they go to when they have a problem.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I am there when my children need me. Some days this is the most trying part of the job. When my children need me is often at their crankiest. I have to push all of my pride aside and give them what they need most...T.L.C.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I do not have to keep up on all the latest fashion trends. My attire on most days consists of sweatpants and a T-shirt that is conducive to games of hide and seek and playing with Play-Dough .

I love being a stay at home mom because...everyday is "quality time" with my children. I do not ever feel like I need to carve out time for my children. I get it every day. Whether it's blowing bubbles or drinking smoothies together, every day is full of "quality time."

I love being a stay at home mom because...I get to see the world through the eyes of my children. When I feel like I look terrible yet I see my child's eyes light up when I walk in the room, I am reminded that life is about much more than we think it is. Life is about loving each other, not judging each other.

There are women who have to, or choose to work out of the home. There are days when I want to join them. Sometimes I question my sanity by choosing to be up to elbows in dirty diapers and sticky sippy cups all day. But this is what I have always wanted to do. I aspire to be the best stay at home mom I can be. And that's enough for me.

Oquirrh Mountain

Things have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to write about a really great experience that Chad and I had. Last week we were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with David and Paige and do some sealings. With school, work, raising kids etc.. it has been awhile since Chad and I have been able to go to the temple besides for weddings and such. Just walking in the temple doors I felt a calming peace that I wish I could have with me all of the time.

While we waited in the marriage waiting room we were able to chat with David and Paige and catch up on life and the changes that are coming our way. We were also able to take in the beauty of this temple. Chad showed me that all throughout the temple there are circles. Ones that are linked together in a forever chain representing eternity and ones that are linked together like the infinity sign also representing eternity......there were no breaks in the circles...a never ending chain.

As we were doing the sealings it was so amazing to be able to listen to the blessings that Chad and I were promised 8 and a half years ago when we were sealed for time and all eternity. It was overwhelming to me, and the Spirit was so strong. It was also really touching to be able to see Chad and his dad together in the temple. I am SO glad that Chad holds the Priesthood, and that he honors it! I am thankful for the blessings that the priesthood brings into our family! And, I am thankful to Chad's dad for being an example to him in many ways.

I have decided that I want to make it a point to go to the temple as often as I can, and I am so thankful to David and Paige, and many other friends that are willing to help me with this goal. I can't wait to go back and feel that peace, and remember all of the blessings that I have in my life.

Oaklee's First Day of Preschool

Oaklee had her first day of preschool today, and even though she went to preschool last year she was so excited to start school again. I took a few pictures of her before she left, but after the first one that I took she told me that it was "too boring" and that since she was going to preschool for the second time she needed to have a "fancy" picture taken of her :) So, the first picture is "boring" and the second one is "fancy".....

"BORING"

"FANCY"
She had a fantastic time at school! After I picked her up she told me that it was the "best time that she had ever had this year in her life!!" I love that girl!!

From McKinzley

This just made my heart really happy :)

Playing catch up

Here are a bunch of pictures of some of the things that we have been doing over the summer.

Lazy days at the cabin...

Random picture :)
Taylin and Brexlyn's birthdays






Random picture: Pemberlynn loves corn on the cob!
First day of school

McKinzley

Taylin
Best Friends!!
My girls showing their true colors :) I LOVE it!!!!
Girls night out: Club Habit, Kareoke Night!!

The end....

Just a quote

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Don’t worry about searching for who you are; focus your energies on creating the kind of person you want to be! You will discover that as you pursue that journey you will not only find yourself, but chances are you will be pleasantly surprised and proud of the person you find along the way."

Junkin'

Sometimes life just seems to overwhelm us. I know for me, I spend my days taking care of my girls, playing with them, feeding them, trying to keep the house clean, the laundry done, make sure my homework is caught up, actually making it to school......and the list goes on and on and on. It all piles up until at the end of the day when you think to yourself, "Did I even take a shower today?" as you are trying to secretly smell your armpits. Or you look in the mirror (at the end of the day) and realize that you have some foreign substance smeared on your cheek, that you didn't know was there, and NO ONE in the 5 stores that you went to that day was courteous enough to tell you. Or, you walk out of your door to do your errands, and you don't realize until you are halfway through with them, that you forgot to put on your bra. I don't know about most people, but all of these have happened to me, and sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it :)

Don't worry, all of this rambling has a point.......I was talking with my best pal Cami, and we decided that we wanted to plan 1 ENTIRE day where we could go and do whatever we wanted, go wherever we wanted and just have fun. So we planned one whole Saturday and went "Junkin". This was one of the funnest days that I have had in a really long time. We were having such a good time, that we forgot to take pictures for most of it :)

We started our day bright and early at 8:00am and went to breakfast at IHOP. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon "junkin", which was hitting every yard sale and thrift store that we came across. Let me tell you, we found some AWESOME deals on stuff. Chad was most impressed with my find of a Game Boy with 4 games for $5!! We did hit a few stores that aren't "thrifty". Tai Pan was having their sidewalk sale, so there was no way that we could miss that, and then we went to the Quilted Bear to see if we could get any creative inspiration.

After the "junkin" part of the day, we picked up our awesome friend Heidi, and we headed off to get pedicures, have dinner and see a movie, while all of the husbands and kids came to my house and had pizza and watch one of the World Cup games. Us girls headed to Cafe Rio, YUM!!, and then we went and saw the movie "Killers". It was a really cute, and funny movie! We ended up getting home right before the clock struck midnight. I couldn't believe that I had spent an entire day, from 8am-midnight, out doing whatever I wanted. We had a BLAST!!! And I do have to say, that my husband is amazing! He was so supportive of my little day out :) I love his guts!

Here are a few pictures, when we actually remembered to pull the camera out:

These are some bug catchers that I found at Tai Pan for an awesome deal! ( I know, I look like a dork.....but I'm okay with it :) )

This awesome hat was in the Quilted Bear......they actually came over the intercom to remind guests that picture taking was not allowed....Oops!
This is my beautiful nightgown that I am going to go back and buy when I am 90 years old
We found some pretty awesome prom dresses at one of the Thrift stores that we went to.....this is Cami rockin the pumpkin colored dress :)
We tried to make it so that you could see both of our prom dresses, oh well.
I love pedicures, but they tickle me SO bad!!! I was laughing so hard when they were scrubbing the bottom of my foot!
I couldn't get this picture to turn, these are my pals Cami and Heidi enjoying their pedicures
Finished product
This is the only picture that we have from the movie theater, and the reason that we look so goofy is because right before we took this picture Heidi was telling us that 90% of the time people get lice from movie theaters!!! Can you believe that??!! Well, I guess it makes sense, but it really grossed us out thinking that there might be some little bugs crawling onto our heads, so we pulled our hoods on :) We had such a fun time!
I love my family SO much, but it was really nice to have one day ALL to myself. I think I might have to make this a yearly tradition!

Father's Day 2010

I want to start out by saying how thankful I am to have Chad as my husband, and the father of my girls. He is absolutely wonderful! He loves to play, teach, and of course, tease his girls. It is clear to me every day how much he loves them! I could never have found anyone else that could be as patient, loving, and understanding. Love you Chad!! I also want to say how grateful both Chad and I are for our own dads. They are truly amazing men!

For Father's Day this year we headed up to Canyon Glen Park in Provo Canyon for a BBQ and some great company! We ate some scrumptious BBQ hotdogs, salad, chips, soda, and cheesecake for dessert. Then the kids played with bubbles that Grandma Beverly brought with her. It was nice to just be able to relax, chat and let the kids play. The kids were able to rope Grandpa and Nana Paige into taking them on some nature walks, where they saw the fast flowing river, lots of different kinds of bugs, and a really big rock that they decided to climb on. Since all of us are so busy, it was really nice to be able to see the family and catch up.

Brexlyn and a little caterpillar

Playing with bubbles

Chad and Brexlyn
Grandpa and Pemberlynn. She would follow him EVERYWHERE he went :)
On the big rock

Nana Paige and McKinzley
Eating and chatting