NKOTB

If any of you knew me when I was young, you would know what a MASSIVE New Kids on the Block fan I was. I was obsessed. My walls in my room were wallpapered in their posters, I had clothing, jewelry and accessories of the New Kids. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I heard they are getting back together! I know you all will be interested in watching this even if you aren't a New Kids fan. (And come on admit it you are, even if you are still in the closet about it!)

My favorite was Jonathan!

A little monkey boy

I thought Rex was a climber but the way Sammy is starting, I am nervous!! Sam climbs on everything! He has learned how to climb up the stairs but doesn't quite know how to climb down them, which makes it a little scary for me. That's all he wanted to do all day yesterday so I got some pictures of him.
Here is him after scaling the first flight of stairs. I love the excitement in his face.


Then here is him in action on the 2nd flight of stairs.

And here is him "helping" me with the dishes, his favorite thing to do! Not my favorite thing.

We'll miss you

I love President Hinkley. He has been so inspirational to me and almost feels like my Grandpa, maybe because he reminds me so much of my own Grandpa. I am so extremely grateful for his Presidency. It was during his Presidency that I gained a testimony, served a mission, met and married my eternal companion and had both of my boys who I absolutely adore. I am so grateful for his eloquent way of speaking truth yet always making you feel loved. He will truly be missed by us, but I know he is having a great reunion with his wife and all the faithful saints that have passed on. I am sure my Grandma was excited to see him. We love you!

My little Big Boy!

We got Sam's new Convertible carseat from UPS yesterday so today he got to try it out! He looked so big in it! My baby is growing up! We got the same one we got for Rex 2 years ago so they match. I thought they looked so cute I had to take a picture. I highly recommend getting a carseat on Ebay. We got both of these on Ebay and have loved them and the price. I spent $60 less on this than I would of in the store and it is brand new! Can't beat that!

Photography

It was a bright, sunny day after church today so I decided to play around with not using flash on our camera. I love the way the pictures turn out when flash isn't used and these are some of my favorites.

Happy Birthday Stef!!

I know there is only an hour and a half left of Stefanie's birthday but I decided I needed to post a little something for her special day. Stefanie is one of the most selfless, loyal and committed friends I have ever had. She truly has been like a family member to me and we got each other through a lot when we lived in Provo together. She saw me through my first true heartbreak, dealing with horrible roomates, finding my testimony, figuring out who I am and what's important to me and all the little trials and tribulations that came with that. We can not talk to each other for months or even years (as was the case while on my mission) and still pick up right where we left off. She understands how to be there for me now that I am a wife and mother, yet also when to back off when it's something I need to work out myself. When she lived in Boise I could always count on her to watch my kids at a moment's notice or to meet us at the park when they were driving me crazy. Thank goodness she was there when Rex had his first seizure because she took such a load off me so I could concentrate on Rex and not have to worry how Sam was doing. She has taught me more about myself than any other friend I have ever had so I want to tell her a big THANK YOU and I love you on her special day! I miss you and can't wait to see you again!


And a big thanks for the pictures, she scanned them in and sent them from her collection since we don't have a scanner.

Thank you's and dentist

John and Lucy, Mark's parents, just left this morning. We were sad to see them go, Rex is already asking where they are. We had a great visit after not having seen them for 18 months. Rex got to "meet" his grandparents again, and Sam got to meet them for the first time. I think Grandma got pretty worn out from Rex always wanting her to play and Grandpa got worn out from carrying Sam every where. I think their pocketbook got worn out from buying us way more than we deserve! I have to say a BIG thank you for the beautiful entertainment center they bought us. It is the one I mentioned in the last post and I absolutely LOVE it! Thank you John for being so kind and generous, our house looks great! Here's a pic of the boys with their grandparents.

I like that Sam's looking at Grandpa like, "what's your deal?" in this one.

And in this one he's like, "Where they going?"

Rex also had his first dentist's appointment today. I took him to a Pediatric Dentist and they were so good! They had toys everywhere, a movie on the ceiling and they were so patient and good with the little ones. Rex did so good and had his first teeth cleaning and a cavity free mouth! YAY!!! He and Sammy also got toothbrushes and toys and Rex got a t-shirt for visiting. They let him play with the water squirter and the suction tool also, I think the water one was his favorite. Of course I forgot my camera, even though Angela reminded me to take it a half hour before I left, but I of course was running late as usual so I spaced it completely in the mad rush out the door. On top of that I forgot my cell phone so I had no access to a camera. The dental assistant felt sorry for me so she got out their Polaroid camera so we could have a picture. So here's a picture of the Polaroid picture on my camera after we got home! Wow, camera's have come a long way!!

Decorating

My house is a slow project. After living in rental's for almost 4 years, I didn't have really any nice stuff when we moved into our house. So I have had to start from scratch. I am picky and know what I like, however we don't have the money to decorate an entire house at once according to my tastes, so decorating has been a slow process....
the worst has been the Family room because I have had no idea what to do with it, and it's the room that everyone that comes over sees. Well I finally have a plan and so maybe by next year it will be all finished! I was excited and had to take a picture though because I did finish one of the huge blank walls and I think it turned out pretty cute. What do you guys think? (ignore the dirty diapers on the floor! Woops!)

Now I only have 1 other big huge blank wall I need to work on. I know exactly what I want there, an entertainment center. I found one I absolutely LOVE!!!! Here's a picture.

Now I just have to convince Mark. So all of you that know or see Mark or happen to have his email address. A little friendly nudges and reminders of what a great wife he has would be appreciated in order to accomplish this goal!!! :)

A great Sabbath

We are so excited for the time change now that it is a new year because last year we were stuck with 3:00pm church!! It was not an easy time! So now we have 8:00am, which normally I would also not enjoy but after a year of 3 o'clock, 8 is a dream! We got home at 11:00, ate lunch and Sam and I took a nap while Mark and Rex built a snowman. Naptime is my favorite on Sunday!
Today was also Rex's first day in Primary! He is a Sunbeam now, wow they grow up fast. I was a little nervous because he loves nursery so much but I think I prepared him good and he did great and is still talking about his teacher, Sis. Romney. They called earlier in the week to see if he could say the opening prayer in Sharing Time. I thought they were crazy since it is his first Sunday, but I said yes (I never say no anyway!). He always whispers his prayers so we practiced with him and told him he would say it in front of all the kids in the microphone. So the time came and Sam and I sat in the back and Mark went up there with Rex. He strolled up to the mic like he had been there a million times and next thing I know he is practically yelling his prayer into the microphone! It was so funny!! At the end of every sentence it would get a little bit louder so it was like, "Thank you for the BISHOP!" He sounded so funny and I was just sitting in the back row cracking up the whole time. I was really proud of him though and am excited to see him start to learn the basics of the Gospel not only from us but at Church too. This morning it snowed so we woke up to about 3-4 inches of fresh, powdery white snow. When we were getting in the car, Rex said, "Jesus brought us snow last night". It was so adorable. This little boy is constantly melting my heart. Here's a picture of him after church. Such a big boy!

Sam is at the funnest age right now. He is constantly doing cute things. His latest is clapping, dancing and throwing a ball. (and then looking completely proud of himself!) Rex is even starting to enjoy him which is sooo nice! I captured Sammy's dancing the other day, it's hilarious. He stands next to furniture and just shakes his little booty. Another heart melter! If I ever have a girl will she be able to melt my heart like these cute boys of mine?

Rex also is really into taking pics so I had him take some of us today. These are my favorites.

Root Canal, Calender and Reading

Wow that's a random title huh! Well, I have a few random things to post about. Today I finally went to the dentist for a tooth that has been bothering me because we now have Dental Insurance starting January 1st. If any of you know me very well, you would know that I have been very lucky in the teeth department. I have straight teeth, with all of them including my wisdom teeth. I have never had braces, and the only dental procedure I have had done besides cleanings was one cavity when I was a teenager. So I was pretty nervous because I knew with the pain I was having that something was wrong. Well I got my first root canal. It actually wasn't too bad, just yucky tasting and a little achy now. Other than that no big deal, but don't tell Mark! I am milking this for all it's worth! :)
Mark's parents were so kind and got me some software (with Mark's help of course) for Christmas. So now I have Photoshop and I am really getting into this digital scrapbooking stuff. It's pretty fun, although there is quite a learner's curve with Photoshop. I love having a Calender on the fridge as a quick reference but a full 12 page Calender is a little bulky. I found a cute digital one online that I can do month by month and personalize it with our pictures. It's so cute! January is cute, but I didn't get the right size ordered to it cut off the bottom and the top, but still cute and at least I know for next time. Costco printed 10x12 pages for $2.98. What a deal! Here's a pic.

Lastly, Sam is just starting to get interested in books so when we went to the library yesterday I checked some out for him too. I was busy doing something and came into the family room to find this.

So Precious!

I jumped on the Bandwagon!

I read about the Twilight series on so many of your blogs I decided that it was something I needed to read. And really I never need a reason to read a new book, I love reading! Well I just finished them over the Christmas holiday and I must say I really enjoyed them! Who knew Vampires and Werewolves could be so fun. My only issue with it was the way over the top damsel in distress that was the main character, but other then than very entertaining. I can't wait for book number 4! Thanks everyone for the suggestion!

New Year's Party

We haven't had any parties, besides kid parties of course, since we moved into our house, so we decided to throw a New Year's Eve party this year. We invited 7 families and about 5 were able to come. We had the Amadors, the Spears, the Bells, the Dingers, the Petersens, and Brock and Annie came for a little bit (poor Chanell has strep throat so she couldn't come :( ). It was also Paige's birthday so we got her a cake and sang Happy Birthday, we love Costco cake! Anyway, everyone brought a dish so we had a smorgasboard of yummy food to eat from all night. The kids either played upstairs out of sight or watched movies. A few of the kids were able to fall asleep here so that their parents could stay, others needed to go home to their beds. The Bells and the Spears stuck it out and we had a mad game of Settlers of Cataan going at midnight. We stopped, toasted the New Year with sparkling apple cider, and then continued our never ending game of Settlers until Mark finally beat us at 1:00 am. We had a great time, and really got to know each other better as the night got later, and the silly, tired personalities came out. We learned that Ryan can't play charades, that Angela's really competitive, that the Bells dog howls when they aren't around (thanks to the baby monitor!), and that Dave actually does talk you just have to listen carefully! Thanks everyone for coming over and making our New Year's so fun! Here's a slideshow of the event. I hardly took any pictures because we were having so much fun and I barely got any of the kids. They were there, even though we locked them upstairs!! :)