Haslem Family

2010-03-09T12:25:00.003-07:00

Here's Caden's birthday pics. He'd been asking to go swimming all week and then at the party, he didn't want to get in. We basically had to force him.
He doesn't like being the center of attention at all.
This is his favorite part.

Thought I'd just throw this one on the end. We went to our ward ski party and Kyla was amazing. The first run she wanted us to hold her hand. After that she wanted to do it all on her own; and she did. She kept telling us to just go down, she didn't even want us to wait for her. We did, of course, stay by her anyway.

Winter

2010-01-27T19:43:00.005-07:00

The baby is asleep, the kids are at a friends house, and I found the adapter to finally take the pictures off of my camera; the blogging stars are aligned.

Just thought I'd throw on a few photos from the last couple of months. First are a couple of Tate just before we went to church on his blessing day. We're slackers and forgot to take a camera to the after party.

Aren't my boys so cute. Caden loves his little brother so much, but hasn't figured out how to be soft with him just yet.

Sledding in the backyard. They started doing this all by themselved.

I have to show everyone Caden's new favorite toys from christmas..tools! He carries the saw and the screwdriver with him everywhere he goes.

We went tubing as a family and wanted to make sure that Tate didn't feel left out.

Comparisons

2009-12-30T16:46:00.008-07:00

I keep getting asked if Tate looks like my other kids did when they were babies. I decided to just post some pics and let everyone decide for themselves.

Here's Tate at 5 weeks. This is one of the first smiles we were able to get a picture of.

This is Caden at about 5 or 6 weeks.

And here's Ky at about the same age.

More Baby Pics

2009-12-02T15:40:00.004-07:00

I thought since the baby is now a week old, and looks totally different, I'd post a couple more pics. Brent didn't add many details to the last post because, well, there wasn't much to add. We went in super early, they prepped me, the doctors took the baby out, and that was it. I'm starting to feel a little like my former self, with a few added aches and pains, but not too bad. I'm starting to get nervous for when Brent goes back to work and leaves me with all three kids by myself.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we did pick a name. Tate Bruce Haslem.

Baby Pictures

2009-11-24T15:23:00.006-07:00

Well he doesn't have a name yet but here are some pictures fresh from the birth. Better pictures to follow stay tuned.

Born: 11/24/2009 8:00AM
Weight: 8lbs 1oz
Length: 20" (seems funny to say length not height, kind of like I'm describing a fish I caught)

Names we are contemplating (NOT in order of preference):
Mason (Brent)
Dylan (Brent)
Carter (Brent)
Gavin (Both)
Tate (Holly)

Fall/Halloween

2009-11-07T22:01:00.004-07:00

Our fall has been mostly full of picking and trying to get rid of apples. We did get out a few times. We took the kids to the American West Heritage Center. I think we actually picked one of the coldest days to go but the kids didn't seem to mind.
I'm pretty sure this is the first time Caden has riden a horse. He just kept saying "Ye-haw" over and over again.

There was a pirate ship made out of Straw bales. I think this might have been the highlight for Caden. His FAVORITE thing to play is pirates. We had a hard time getting him to leave.

Kyla liked the big slide, but I really just posted this pic because Brent's face made me laugh. That's the perkes of being the one incharge of the blog.

Only Kyla really liked jumping into the pile of straw, Caden kind of wussed out on this one.

There was a little train that went around in a circle about 25 yards acrossed, and Caden loved it.

And you can't visit the AWHC without a visit to the petting area.

We were actually really big slackers when it came to taking pictures on Halloween. This is the kids playing games at my mom's annual Halloween Party.

Here's the crew we went trick or treating with. There's Kyla the Snow Fairy, Megan the witch, Caden the Pirate, and Elysa as Little Red Riding Hood. I think Megan and Elysa could have trick or treated all night long. Just the amount we did almost sent me into labor (not really but it felt like it).

5, really!?

2009-09-19T22:07:00.004-06:00

I, like most parents, can never believe how big my kids are getting. On thursday Kyla had her 5th birthday. It was just yesterday that she looked like this...

She had a great time at her party. She was so excited to have her friends over and they all played so well together. Here are a couple of pics from her party. You might notice there are no pictures of her actually opening her presents. That's because I was distracted for two minutes and when I came back, all the presents were open.

I let them decorate their own cupcakes. Doesn't that look disgusting.
I set up a treasure hunt for them. At the end they were all still looking for clues, but Kylee figured out.
This is how Caden looked several times that day. I tried to include him in everything but he still felt jipped.

Finally....

2009-09-03T09:33:00.003-06:00

So I'm finally updating my blog. We've had so much to do lately that updating the blog hasn't even really crossed my mind. The only reason I feel up to it today is that Caden actually slept through the night last night (this has only happened one or two other times since we've moved). Okay, so we moved into Brent's parents house three weeks ago. As hard as it is just to move, it is infinitely harder to try and move into a house that is already furnished with everything. Two of the rooms in the basement are just chuck full of all of our stuff. Once we had all of our stuff put away we had to focus on yard stuff. Brent's been trying to make sure we don't do any irreparable damage to the orchard (for which there might not be forgiveness). I've also been busy with canning. I've canned peaches and raspberry jam this week, I need to can some salsa, and probably next week I'll do pears.

The move has been a little hard on both kids. Like I mention earlier, Caden has not really slept through the night since we moved. Kyla is having friend withdrawals. Before she had her friend Kylee right next door and could play from sunrise to sunset. I've set up a few playdates but it's definately a lot less playing than she's used to. The other day she asked me who she could play with and I told her Caden; she rolled her eyes and walked away. Lucky for her preschool starts next week, hopefully that will help.

Oh yeah and the pregnancy is going smoothly. Everyone tells me I don't look that big but my back tells me otherwise. We did find out that it's a boy, and as far as I can tell, he's pretty active. We don't have a name picked out yet, we always have issues with finding one we both like.

Hopefully one of these days I can get back on a better blogging schedule and start posting more exciting things.

Oregon

2009-07-17T11:55:00.003-06:00

Here's our trip to Oregon with my family.
This day we went for a walk a long a beautiful beach. Everyone was freezing, but since I feel about 10 degree warmer than everyone else, I thought it was okay.

Here we are clamming. It was actually a lot funner than I thought it was going to be. I think Caden had the most fun.

Raspberries for Caden

2009-07-17T11:50:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I was picking raspberries with Caden and it reminded so much of the book, Blueberries for Sal, that I had to document it. He had his little bucket and would put a couple in, then pick a couple and eat them, then eat the ones that were in his bucket. He even had the messy hair and all.

Yes, I am alive

2009-05-20T10:56:00.009-06:00

I know, I know it's been forever since I last posted. We've actually had a lot to post about, I just haven't felt that great for the last 5 or 6 weeks. Don't worry I'm feeling much now and will probably feel quite a bit better around the end of November ;).

Since my last post we went to Hogle Zoo with some of my nieces and nephew.

We had a great easter with several easter egg hunts. One with little kids.

One with slightly bigger kids. This last week we spent in Cali celebrating Brent finishing his masters degree from USC.

We also went to the beach, Disneyland and Seaworld.

I actually think their favorite part was the cotton candy.

Ward Ski Party

2009-03-17T14:59:00.003-06:00

Friday night our ward had a ski party up at the Beav. Kyla didn't really get the concept of the snow plow but she had a lot of fun.

Cutest thing ever!

2009-03-05T09:43:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out for my sister-in-law Christie's new photography business. She took pictures of Ky yesterday and they turned out so cute. For any of you in norther Utah looking to have photos taken, check out her website: http://www.christieheywoodphotography.com/

Finding Joy

2009-03-02T20:44:00.004-07:00

So, last Saturday I went to the best women's conference. It was for just the two North Logan stakes, Ardeth Kapp was the main speaker and after there were side classes with varying subjects. I went to the class "Finding joy as a young mother." I went to this class because a)I am a young mother, and b) my neighbor, Christie, was one of the speaker and she is hilarious so I was hoping for good laugh (instead she almost made me cry). Anyway, I saw that she had posted her talk on her blog and just wanted to share it.

http://bellyacrefarm.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-finding-joy-as-young-mother-talk.html

You should all totally go read it, she's awesome. Thanks Christie.

We were asked at one point what we thought we would miss once our kids were grown. I wanted to post what I will miss.

The Big 2!!!

2009-02-28T14:57:00.003-07:00

How slow am I? Caden's birthday was last Saturday and I'm just now getting to it. Brent's grandma summed it up best when she said "Caden turned 2 a long time ago." That's Caden, everything you think of when you think of a 2 year old. He climbs on everything, he gets into everything, and he breaks a lot of things. He's also very happy, cute, and can be very sweet and cuddly when he feels like it. I think he had a pretty good birthday. My sister and her husband took him to Pet Smart for his birthday (that's pretty much like the zoo for Caden). Now every time some asks how old he is he says "puppies". I guess somehow he associates how old he is with going to see puppies, oh well. That night we just had a little party at Brent's parent’s house. Since it was his birthday we let him have just plain whip cream, which is one of his favorite things.

My Mom

2009-01-30T16:00:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to share the best part about living next to my mom. I was just cruisin' the internet trying to figure out what to have for dinner (yes it's 4 o'clock, I'm slacking today); when my mom calls and says she's made way too much food for her and my dad and would I like to have the extra. HECK YA!!!! This usually happens about once a week and it's so great to not have to think of anything to make or have dishes to clean (maybe I should go clean her dishes for making me dinner....hhmmm).

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I'm just freezing and would like to go back to some place warm.

It's all worth it - kind of

2009-01-29T15:41:00.005-07:00

So last night we're eating sweet and sour chicken for dinner and Kyla's turns to me and says, "Good job on making good food Mom." It was so nice, especially since she usually she tells me that the food is making her tummy hurt. Of course after she ate the first little helping she asked if she could just have rice. I also wanted to share one of the stark differences in my children. On monday we made cookies for are fhe treat. Brent gave both of the kids some cookie dough to eat while the cookies were baking.

Kyla's face, neat and clean.

And Caden, well, you can see what kind of an eater is. This is how he eats everything. Most of his food usually ends up on his face, shirt, pants, and head. Lately he's started running away while I try to get his pajamas on. He'll run around the house saying "natie" (nakie). Normally he hates being naked, unless he's in water. I was going to post a cute picture of how happy he was being naked (no sensative parts were shown) but decided against it; I think Brent would have given me a hard time.

Hawaiian Snow

2009-01-11T11:29:00.003-07:00

We were so homesick yesterday that we decided to go find the only snow in thousands of miles. So up to the top of Mauna Kea we went. Actually we went up to see all the massive telescopes they have up there.
This is the telescope that we went into. It was so funny, all the hawaiian were bringing their trucks up the mountain and filling the bed with snow. Then hauling the snow down the mountain.

Snorkeling

2009-01-10T12:29:00.003-07:00

Here's a video that Brent took while snorkeling. It's a little shakey. I guess it's hard to swim and take video at the same time.

Aloha!

2009-01-09T12:14:00.006-07:00

Brent and I have been kickin' it in Hawaii since tuesday night. Wednesday we drove to three green sand beaches. Two of which were ridiculusly hard to get to. Honestly, I'm still surprised that we didn't do any damage to the jeep we rented. The one that was easier to get to was by far my favorite. Although the picture didin't really capture it, the sand really was green.

Yesterday we drove to the other side of the island, which is so cool because it's like a rainforest over there. We also went to volcano national park. We decided to hike through the crater of Kileau Iki in the late afternoon. Well as it turned out we decided to start hiking a little to late and it started getting dark long before the were even close to being done. We had a head lamp, but it happened to be in the camel back that we decided not to take.

Above the Crater.

In the crater.

This is how dark it was when we finally climbed out of the crater. I know, we're dumb. Today we're going to take it easy. Find a nice beach and just sit.
I just had to add this last picture. This is my blogging atmosphere at the moment. Life is hard.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2008-12-17T17:13:00.003-07:00

The kids were super excited about the snow last Saturday. We played outside for hours with my nieces and nephews. Caden really likes the snow. He kept tripping and falling, and while he waited for someone to help him up, he would just sit patiently and eat the snow. We also tried out the dog sled thing again. This year it turned out much safer than last and all the kids had a good time. Do you like the big, red, whelt on Ky's chin? Brent made up a game called 'burrito'. He would roll the kids up really tight in a blanket and then pull the blanket up, unrolling them very quickly. Well, Kyla caught a little air while unrolling and landed chin first. Brent's not allowed to make up games anymore.

Old Man!!

2008-12-10T15:26:00.003-07:00

Okay so this post is a little delayed, but oh well. So Brent turned the big 30 last friday. He handled it very gracefully. His parents took us to Texas Roadhouse where he had to sit on the birthday saddle (how embarrassing).

After that, on the way home, we decided to stop and see the christmas lights at willard bay. It was actually pretty fun. There was a wagon ride, hot cocoa, and Santa (wahoo, that saves me a trip to the mall). The kids really enjoyed it (although santa was wearing kind of a strange outfit).

So that was our Happy Birthday to Brent. We also went to the USU v. BYU game saturday. The game turned out to be doubly dissapointing, USU lost, and on the way home we stopped to eat dinner at Pei Wei, which I normally love, but made me incredibly sick that night and the next day. So that was our week in review. I'm now onto finishing my christmas shopping. Anyone have any good ideas for: a 2 year old boy, an older sister, and a father-in-law. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Who put the bom in the bom-bo-bomp-bom-bomp

2008-11-25T09:32:00.002-07:00

Friday night we went to see my nephew Josh in Logan High's production of Grease. If you can't tell from the picture below, Kyla really enjoyed it, she loved seeing Josh on stage. It was no 'Brigadoon', but it was pretty good. Way to go Josh, we are all so proud of you.

Halloween...finally

2008-11-03T15:09:00.002-07:00

So, here are some halloween pics. Kyla was so excited for halloween, she asked me everday last week if it was halloween. We dressed up in the morning and went trick or treating down main street. Then in the afternoon we went to my mom's halloween party for all the cousins and their kids. Caden didn't want to play any games at the party, he just wanted to drive the lawn mower.

After the party we went to our ward's trunk or treat. This was the best picture we could get of Kyla because she didn't want to hold still for a picture.

Here's me and my little monkey at the trunk or treat. Caden hated his costume, he cried everytime I tried to put it on him. That is until he saw all the other kids in costumes getting candy and then he didn't seem to mind so much.

Stolen Photos

2008-11-01T19:53:00.004-06:00

Okay, so my sister-in-law Christie took the best photos of Caden today. She put them on her blog and I just had to steal them. Sorry Christie.

Holy Huge Tag Batman!

2008-10-26T20:57:00.007-06:00

1. Post the Rules to your blog
2. Answer the six 8 items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by commenting on their blog.

8 Favorite TV Show:
* House
* Chuck
* The Office
* Monk
* Psych
* (That's about it, I really can't think of any others)
*
*

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
* Watched cartoons with my kids
* Helped move Brent's Grandmother's stuff into storage
* Picked up Ky from primary program practice
* Cut down corn stalks
* Made dinner for my kids
* Went out to eat with just Brent and I
* (My life is boring. I can't even think of 8 things I did yesterday.)
*

8 Things I Look Forward To:
* First real snow
* Seeing my kids dressed up for Halloween
* Thanksgiving
* Christmas
* HAWAII IN JANUARY
* My house in Texas selling
* I look forward to Brent coming home from work everyday
* Caden being potty trained

8 Favorite Restaurants:
* Pei Wei
* Texas Roadhouse
* Winger's
* Black Pearl
* Chili's
* Sweetly Divine
* Costa Vida
* The Bluebird

8 Things On My Wishlist:
* Really nice towels
* Really nice sheets
* My own home (that's not in Texas)
* New bedroom furniture
*
*
*
*

4+4=8 picture tag. Pick the 4th photo from the fourth folder in your My Pictures:

I don't feel like tagging anyone at the moment. Feel free to tag yourself if you want.

The invisible women

2008-10-13T13:47:00.003-06:00

I saw this video on someone's blog today and I just had to share it. I have no idea what religion this lady is but her message rings true to me.

Tagged

2008-10-06T14:45:00.003-06:00

Answer the questions with one word (or a little more) and then tag three people.
1. Where is your cellphone? upstairs
2. Your significant other? smart
3. Your hair? brown
4. Your mother? hard working
5. Your Father? amazing
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? oh boy!
8. Your favorite drink? peach fresca
9. Your dream goal? eternal happiness
10. The room you’re in? downstair living room
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? losing a family member
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? my own home
14. What you’re not? artistic
15. Muffins? cinnamon
16. One of your wishlist item? ??
17. Where you grew up? North Logan
18. Last thing you did? laundry
19. What are you wearing? jacket
20. Favorite gadget? computer
21. Your pets? kyla and caden
22. Your computer? needs repair
23. Your mood? content
24. Missing someone? no
25. Your Car? awesome
26. Something you’re not wearing? jewelry
27. Favorite store? Express
28. Like someone? Brent
29. Favorite color? red (for now)
30. When was the last time you laughed? a few minutes ago
31.When was the last time you cried? can't remember

I tag Christie, Sara, and Diane.

Technical Difficulties

2008-09-28T15:30:00.002-06:00

I'm not very good at a lot of the customization stuff for blogs. Does anyone know how to add music from your own computer? I know there are websites where you can load their music to your site, but some of the songs I wanted to add weren't on the website. Like for Kyla's birthday I wanted to put a song on by The Young Dubliners that always reminds me of when Ky was a baby. Any suggestions?

Marathon Baby!!!

2008-09-25T20:04:00.004-06:00

That's right I participated in a marathon. Okay, so it was a relay marathon, but still, I'm awesome. I've never really been a runner before but some ladies in my ward wanted to run this relay marathon so I thought I'd give it a try. I still think running is kind of boring, but it was fun doing it as kind of a team thing. And if you can't tell I'm pretty dang proud of myself. I had less than two weeks to prepare and I was just happy that I was able to actually finish my 5.2 miles at all.

Kyla's 4

2008-09-24T15:29:00.003-06:00

Okay she actually turned four a week ago, but I'm a slacker. Okay, so here's what I want to know, how do they go from this:
to this:
in just four years. I can't belive it. All she wanted for her birthday was a swimming party and pizza. Oh, and a princess castle cake. If you look you can see the cake in the background. It literally took me several hours and it was SSSOOO skewampis(?). Brent said that I shouldn't worry because the fact that the cake was all distorted just made it look more cartooney.

First Day of Preschool

2008-09-02T15:04:00.005-06:00

My little baby's all grown up and going to preschool. I can't believe it.
She was super excited about going to school today.
She was not super excited about me wanting to take pictures of her at school.
This is our sunflower house that my sister, Suzanne, and I planted. Suzanne added all the decor.
I can't believe how tall they grew. I think they are like 10 feet tall.
I took the kids to the zoo last week. This is the only pic I took because the leopard kept pacing back and forth right next to the window. Ky and Caden loved that.

2008-09-02T14:41:00.004-06:00

So here's the problem with not posting very often. I plug my sd card in and there's a 109 pictures to sort through. So I'm trying to just pick out the best ones, but it's just so hard.

Can you believe how blue this water is? I want to paint my bathroom this color.
Kyla and Caden playing in the woods.
It was freezing cold this day, and what did I dress my one year old in, shorts and a t-shirt. Poor little Caden.

Okay, and let me tell you something, I will never go camping in Glacier National Park. We saw quite a few bears and all not too far from campgrounds.This is the United States/Canada border. I thought it was funny that we cut a great big swath of trees to verify where the border is.

Kyla and mommy just chillin' on the boat.

Soap Box

2008-08-23T00:23:00.002-06:00

Okay, I'm not normally a real wordy blogger. I usually just like to put up pics of my kids, but today I feel like I need to get on my soap box. Why can't people be happy with who they are? I have been hearing a lot about people who want to change themselves or their lives because it's not exactly how life "should" be. I probably don't have room to talk because I know that I have been especially blessed in my life. Tonight when I started thinking about my life I honestly couldn't stop thinking about everything that I have in my life that is so great. I don't mean to sound boastful, I just think it's really important to recognize those things in our lives that are really meaningful and that really matter. I love that I am a mother of two beautiful children, who gave me incredibly horrific stretch marks. I have a great husband, who sometimes gives me stress, but I love him more than anything. I just wish everyone could look at all positive things they have in their life. Sorry I don't mean to sound preachy, I just felt like I had to get this off of my chest. And now I'm done.

Just a few pics

2008-08-07T22:33:00.002-06:00

We've been keeping ourselves super busy lately. Here are some pics of us finally getting some quality family time. First, last saturday we took the fishin' boat out to porcupine resevoir. Okay so the boat not exactly luxurious but we had fun. Caden hated the cold water and was super onry. He perked right up after I made him a little tent on the boat and started feeding him oreos.

So today my mom, my sister, and I decided to take the kids to the Cache County Fair. Sounds like a good time, right? Well I usually love fairs. Cotton candy, funnel cakes, farm animals, what's not to love. Well I've never been a big fan of the carnival games and rides, and after today, you'll definately never see myself or my children on any of those rides. The first ride on the bumble-bee great, she had a blast. Second ride, the roller coaster looking one, was great until the track came lose, one of the wheels popped off, and the whole train came to a very ubrupt halt. I know the picture below doesn't look like she was hurt very bad, but I'm telling you, blood was gushing. There was a whole crowd stand around trying to help. There was even a lady who came up afterwards saying she took pictures of the derailed ride and was wondering if I wanted them for legal reasons. Honestly, I'm just so relieved it was worse. It left a nice little gash in her chin but other than that she's fine.

Tomorrow we start our very, very, very, very long drive up to Glacier National Park. Wish me luck with keeping my kids entertained.

DOH!!!!

2008-07-15T18:59:00.003-06:00

Brent saw this on cnnmoney.com.

Best Places to Live
Money's list of America's best small cities

#14
McKinney, TX

Just thought I'd make those of you still living there feel good about yourselves.

Ssshhhhhh!!!

2008-06-16T20:51:00.008-06:00

Okay, I'm supposed to be out helping Brent weed the garden. I snuck in on the premise of putting Caden to bed, and I really don't want to go back out. Anyway, thought I'd post a couple of pick. Last friday we went to Summerfest. I really like wandering around and looking at all the different art booths. Kyla REALLY liked the cotton candy. Okay, I really liked the cotton candy too.

On saturday we cleaned my Dad's cabin; not fun, mouse poop everywhere, I don't think I should go into details. After that though I took Kyla and my niece Elysa to the North Logan Library for their kick of to summer reading party. It was really fun. They had rides, bounce houses, slides, cotton candy, and popcorn all for free. I love free.

Wahoo!!! Summer

2008-06-05T21:16:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I've been harassed enough. I know, I know, it's been a while. I've been working a bunch and a lot of my time has been spent on outdoor activities now that summer has finally decided to show up. We have a huge garden started. Honestly, I think we went a little overboard on the garden this year. Okay not we, mostly Brent. I hope he realizes that since he wanted a big garden he's doing most of the weeding. Also, for a little bit of fun, my sister saw this fun little idea online for a sunflower house. We planted sunflowers in a square and then when the flowers get bigger, you tie the tops together to make kind of a teepee for the kids to play in. Sounded like a fun idea, I'll let you know if it actually works. Here's the site if your interested, http://www.yardsmarts.com/new_homeowners/yard_basics/article.asp?n_id=62.

I'm Done!!!

2008-04-30T16:43:00.002-06:00

THAT'S IT!!! I'M DONE!!!! We're moving some place warmer!

In case you can't see in the picture it's snowing. It's been snowing on and off all day.

Come to Zion

2008-04-29T11:16:00.015-06:00

Last week we decided to take off down to warmer weather. We headed south down to Zion National Park. We left thursday morning at 6am, which was pretty impressive for Brent and I because we are not morning people. Within minutes of arriving, Caden had already eaten, and I do mean swallowed and everything, a rock.

We did some hiking. Brent carried Caden in a pack; Kyla was a trooper and hiked all by herself. We also did a little mountain biking.

I think they liked going to the sand dunes the very best.

Wedding Tag

2008-04-28T11:13:00.003-06:00

I really should be working right now, but I really don't want to. So here's a little wedding tag fun.

1. WHAT DATE IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY? December 21, 2002

2. WHERE DID YOU GET MARRIED? Logan, Utah

3. WHO PROPOSED AND HOW? We went up the canyon on a saturday to do a little hike/walk. We stopped for a second to sit. He got down on one knee and proposed.

4. HOW LONG WERE YOU ENGAGED? 2 months

5. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? ( AND IT CAN'T BE YOUR HUSBAND) My favorite part was that I didn't have to worry about one single thing. I know a lot of girls had their weddings planned out to every single last detail. I just hired someone, told them basically what I wanted and let her go from there. It was great.

6. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU COULD? My photographer. Since we spent a little more by hiring someone to decorate, I chose a cheaper photographer. My pictures are fine, just nothing special. Plus, I wish my pics had been digital.

7. WEDDING COLORS? Burgandy and cream

8. REMEMBER ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY? The man marrying us got us confused with another couple that he was marrying. And he asked if my father would put him in his will.

9. WHERE YOU CLEAN OR MESSY WHEN YOU CUT YOUR CAKE? We were clean. Actually, Brent cut a piece, gave me a bite, and then ate the rest himself.

10. WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Las Vegas. Brent's boss had some vouchers for the Bellagio, so we stayed there for a couple nights.

Okay, I want to tag two people. I hope that's allowed. I'm tagging Melissa since I lived far away and wasn't able to be there. And Diane since I didn't know her then.

Big Announcement!!!

2008-04-07T17:00:00.003-06:00

The big announcement is.....I'm NOT pregnant!!!! Yes I did buy a mini-van for the sole purpose of having more room when we go on car trips. I just thought I'd clarify since I've had at least 5 people in the last week ask me if I was pregnant. If I had gone for the SUV would people still be asking me if I was pregnant, or is it the mini-van?

I'm a slacker

2008-03-28T21:26:00.003-06:00

So, I've been kind of a slacker with post pics lately. I've been spending my computer time looking for cars. Now I'm so tired of looking for cars I could scream, but I won't because my kids are asleep. And Brent's at work, yep, he's back doing shift work. I honestly thought that was over after he left Raytheon. Anyway, no more talking just pics from about the last month or so.

The easter loot. The big package of licorice was actually for me.

Kyla was so excited to get sunglasses. She has been asking for her own sunglasses for a long time.

Caden was really excited for easter too. Actually he's become kind of a 'cheeser' when the camera comes out.

These are all the neices and nephews, except one, on my side at the annual easter egg hunt in my mom's backyard. I hid the eggs for the older kids. I told them that since they had been kind of onery and sarcastic lately that they should look for their eggs near the deer droppings.

This isn't an easter photo but I thought it was cute. I took my kids to play with some friends at an indoor soft play place and caught them playing really well together in this little red car.

Big vs Bigger

2008-03-19T22:22:00.007-06:00

Brent and I decided one day that we need a bigger car. No this is not an annoucement. So for kicks and giggles we put my car on ksl.com just to see what we could get out of it. A few days later there was a man on our doorstep offering almost what we were asking. So we sold my car. Now we definately need a new car. We can't make up our minds, well, mostly me. We've driven a million cars. My problem is that I like all of them. We can't decide between a minivan and an SUV. I really like the manuverabilty and the good gas mileage of the minivan. But the SUV's we've driven have been more comfortable and are better for towing and have 4 wheel drive. Oh and the minivans are less expensive, which highly appeals to the cheap side of me. I think what it comes down to is I have a hard time picturing myself at the stage in life where I'm driving a minivan. It probably sounds vain but it's true. So any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Pride and Prejudice

2008-03-11T15:53:00.007-06:00

I've been on a big reading kick lately. I love to read but it's been put by the wayside a lot since having kids. Now I'm determined to read more because it is one of the things really enjoy doing. I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice. I loved it. I thought it would go over my head as some other books from that same era have done, but it didn't. It was so easy to read. Jane Austen is an amazing writer. It is definately one of my favorite books. To anyone else who wants to read a good classic but is too intimidated, this is a good one. After reading it I rented the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice, I already own the recent Hollywood version. I like how the A&E version stays truer to the story. But I'm also a big fan of the Hollywood version, it's good for a quick romantic fix. Brent on the other hand is not a big fan. He not only doesn't really enjoy watching, but he also doesn't enjoy having me watch. He says my expectations become too high after watching or reading stories like that. Oh well. I've also recently read Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, it was different, but I really enjoyed it. If anyone has any suggests for good books, I'd really like to hear them.

Caden's Great Escape

2008-02-25T00:10:00.001-07:00

This is Caden trying to escape the craziness that is his extended family.

The Big 1!

2008-02-24T21:35:00.008-07:00

Caden had his first birthday last thursday. I'm not really sure what he thought about what was going on (maybe Terri the baby interpretter can help me out). HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!!! Look how happy he is to be awake on his birthday. So he actually wasn't a very big fan of the whole 'make a mess of your first cake' thing. This is post clean up. I forgot to bring extra clothes for him. He was much happier once he was cleaned up and naked.

Brent was a "willing" model for Caden's new cowboy hat.

Will you be my valentine?

2008-02-13T21:51:00.004-07:00

We had a fun little pre-valentines day party today.

Kyla made a cookie with lots of frosting and lots of candy hearts.

We had lunch complete with heart shaped pb&j.

This is 'Grandpa Robinson', as Kyla calls him, he helps out in nursery and all the kids love him.

The boys played in one room.

And the girls in another.

To complete the fun we played valentines day bingo.

Aahhh, almost 50

2008-02-13T21:47:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was the warmest day in months. It was almost 50 degrees. So we decided to go for a nice little walk, even though there is still several feet of snow on the ground.

I walk the line....

2008-02-11T20:20:00.001-07:00

Yummy Soup!

2008-02-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post recipes because normally when I try new recipes they don't turn out too well (it's probably a problem with the cook and not the recipes). But this soup is awesome. We love it. I found this on a blog called Picky Palate. The recipes says to make the soup in a dutch oven, I just made mine in a normal pot and it was just fine. It's a great way to use up all the crushed chips at the end of the bag that no one wants to eat.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 14.5oz cans chicken broth
1 28oz can mild green enchilada Sauce
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp roasted garlic seasoning
1 4oz can diced green chilies
2 14oz cans diced tomatoes undrained
8oz sour cream
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed
1 Bag Tortilla Chips

Place oil in 5qt dutch oven over medium high heat. Place onions into hot oil and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add chicken broth, enchilada sauce, cumin, garlic seasoning, green chilies and tomatoes. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low then add sour cream, cheese, and chicken. Stir and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted through.
Top each soup bowl with a handful of crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

First Haircut

2008-01-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

So, I gave Caden his first real haircut. He was looking pretty scragely. This was a picture of him at Christmas.

Here he is after the haircut. There are no 'during the haircut' pictures because he was crying so hard you would have thought we were torturing him. Plus it took both brent and I to hold him and cut the hair.

Brent was actually a little upset that we cut it so short. I like it because now I can do fun stuff like spike it.

Mush, Molly, Mush!

2008-01-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday my sister Suzanne took her dog Molly over to my mom's to run around. We decided that it would be fun for Ky to have Molly pull her around on the tube. It was fun until Molly spotted some deer on the other side of a barbed wire fence and made a mad dash. Luckily, Molly went one way around a tree and kyla on the tube went around the other side, thus wrapping the dogs leash around the tree, about five feet from the fence. Needless to say, it was pretty scarry for both Kyla and I.

Basketball, Baby!

2008-01-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so tonight was the first Relief Society basketball game. Boy am I out of shape, I was being schooled. Honestly, I was dying. And I am terrible. I went in thinking that I could probably do pretty good, because back when I played in Young Women's I was good. Half way into the game I realized why I used to be so good; I was playing against beehives. I did however make one three pointer, that was the only time I scored the whole game. I did also give one hard foul in which I received a nice little battle wound. All in all it was probably pretty good for my first game back since I haven't played in 7 or 8 years. I really need to start working out.

Born Free

2008-01-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today I was working on the computer while Caden was taking his nap. Kyla was playing really good. We have this old couch that we let Ky jump on to get all her energy, we're terrible parents. Anyway, as I'm working Kyla is jumping and she says 'Watch me mommy'. I turn around and she is stark, jumping on the couch, holding a pretend pogo stick. She looked like a hairless, tailess kangroo. It was really quite funny. Of course being the great mother I am, I just turned around and kept working. Then she came up and told me the she a nakie pirate and wanted to know where my treasure was. What can I say, she LOVES being naked.

Ski The Beav

2008-01-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

So, on Monday Brent decided to play hookie from work, we dropped the kids off at the Haslem's and we were off skiiing. I didn't take my camera with me but I stole some pics from Beaver Mountains website to share with those you have never been there.

Papa Noel

2007-12-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

This Santa wasn't the best I've seen. Don't get me wrong he was really nice. It's the costume I wasn't a big fan of. His beard covered his entire face. I guess when I thought of taking Kyla to see Santa, he would be more like the Santa from "Miracle on 34th street". Of course I wasn't the who needed to believe it was Santa. Kyla was really excited to see Santa and that's what's important.

Stupid Internet

2007-12-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that my video from JibJab isn't working. The JibJab site is down. Hopefully they'll get it working again soon.

Lots of Laughs

2007-12-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

So this made me laugh so I thought I'd post it. Kyla has watched it at least ten times because she thinks it's so funny. Lucky for my nephew Josh I needed a fifth head and his was the first good head shot photo I could find.

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Let it Snow!

2007-12-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

This was our first real snow for the year. Kyla was pretty excited about having a snowball fight.
We even made a snowman. The hair was kyla's idea. She also wanted to make a snow toilet but I wasn't sure how to do that.
Ky played with her neighbor friends on the wood pile.
She got cold pretty quick since she doesn't have any decent snow clothes. So she came in and sat by the fire and drank hot cocoa.

Isn't the candy suppose to go on the gingerbread?

2007-12-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving we went over to the Haslem's to make gingerbread houses. Brent was supposed to be helping Ky make hers, but apparently that wasn't fun enough. He and Ky thought it would be funny put the candy on Ky's face.
And then the crazieness escalated....
Brent tried to stick gummy santas on her face but they wouldn't stay.
So he opted for pull-n-peel licorice instead.
The end product, both Ky's gingerbread house and Kyla herself.
BTW - If you child has sensitive skin I wouldn't recommend doing this. Ky's face became really red and blotchy where the frosting had been.

The Day after Thanksgiving

2007-12-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

So we spent 90% of the Thanksgiving weekend with Brent's family. We talked, laughed, and played a lot of wii. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!
Christie decided that it was time Caden was introduced to whip cream.
Brent's sisters gave Caden a rock star make over.
We thought the mohawk was a very good look for Caden.
Just hanging with Uncle John.

We had so much fun that Kyla just zocked out in the middle of the day.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving at the Haslems.
My friend James from England, Christie, and Mr. No Pants (i.e. Caden).
We also celebrated Emmy's Birthday on Thanksgiving.
Caden wasn't real enthrolled with Thanksgiving.

2007-11-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

GO AGGIES!!!!

2007-11-15T11:57:00.001-07:00

This was Kyla's first Aggie home game. The pics aren't very good because I took them with my phone.

She liked watching for Big Blue and doing some of the cheers, but by the second half she was kind of bored. Good thing Josh came with us. Josh took her to give Big Blue a high five and he gave her a thumbs up which she thought was pretty cool.

Tumbling

2007-11-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

So, we enrolled Kyla in a community tumbling class. It's pretty low speed but I think she has fun. This probably sounds awful but we kept giggling at the things she was doing. Like for some reason everytime she sat down after her turn was done she'd pull her arms inside her shirt.

Six Things

2007-11-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I normally don't do these kind of things, but it was kind of fun reading everyone elses, so here goes. Six things you may or may not know about me:

One: I love to take baths. There is nothing better than sitting in boiling hot water (with or without scented oils) and just relaxing for a few minutes.

Two: I love taking naps. I work very hard to coordinate my children's nap schedules so I can lay down for a few minutes during the day. I'm starting to sound like a very lazy person.

Three: I love traveling. It's so great to see and learn about new places. The weird thing is I always get at least a little anxiety before traveling but I always love it when I get to where I'm going.

Four: I love scuba diving. I've only been a couple of times but it is so cool.

Five: I've biked through part of the Austrian Alps. I don't remember how far we went but I do remember that I was out of shape. The smokers in our group were passing me.

Six: I was once proposed to in a restraunt in England with a gummy ring. So the ring wasn't real and of course neither was the proposal. I was so embarrassed.

After Tick of Treating

2007-11-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

We didn't get any pics of Ky out trick or treating with her friend Audrey (smack to the head). This was after at Brent's parents house.
Kyla giving some princess attitude.
Her tiara was the same one I wore on my wedding day.
Caden really hated his costume but it kept him warm while going door to door.
After all her hard work, Ky was ready to dig into her candy.

Hickman Land Title really got in the 'spirit' of things

2007-11-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

What can I say...my family really likes to dress up for Halloween and we've passed it on to our employees.
This is my sister Heather. Her husband might say her costume wasn't much of a stretch;).
This is my sister Suzanne with her dog Molly, who was play an extra large version of Toto.
These are mostly employees. Playing grandma Adams on the back row is my Aunt Marion, my cousin Deon is Lurch, and my brother Jim is Uncle Fester.

The Annual Cousin Halloween Party

2007-11-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken at our Gibbons (that's my mom's maiden name) family Halloween party. My parents sent up game in their big garage and the kids play and get candy. Then my mom and Aunt Marion feed us.
This is Kyla with her cousin Elysa.
Caden wasn't real sure about my sister Kristeen's costume.
Kyla and her cousin Cardon(who wouldn't smile).
Caden is supposed to be an oatmeal bear, but Brent told everyone he was an Ewok. Josh was dressed as a high school boy (eye roll here).
Caden got sick of his costume really quick and just wanted to sit with Grandpa Hickman.

Halloween Cookies

2007-10-30T13:32:00.000-06:00

On monday we went to Kassey's house to decorate Halloween cookies.Ky put about one scoop of frosting of her cookie......
and then ate it.
I guess that's her artistic freedom.

An apple cidering we will go

2007-10-30T13:28:00.000-06:00

We picked 10 bushels of apples.
Then we squished the apples.
End result: 38 gallons of apple cider and one very happy Kyla.

Kyla and Caden's First Pumpkin Walk!!!!

2007-10-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

Those of you who didn't grow up in Cache Valley, and more specifically North Logan, may not understand the significance of the Pumpkin Walk. I'm pretty sure I went to the Pumpkin Walk every year growing up. So, I was excited to take my kids for the first time.

The Pumpkin Walk is about 40 different scenes made of Pumpkins, hence the name. If you can't tell, this is Sesame Street.
This made me laugh.
This is Ky's favorite book right now. I couldn't get her to smile because she was getting too cold and tired.

I'm moving up the technology ladder

2007-10-20T10:40:00.000-06:00

Okay, so about 9 months ago Brent and I finally made the big step up to camera phones. I know, I know, most people have had camera phones for years, but I never thought we needed such fancy stuff. Well I've been taking pictures here and there, and do you know what I've found. It is so dang convient to be able to take a picture no matter where you are, because I take my phone everywhere. So earlier this week Brent went online and found a super inexpensive micro sd card (Ihave no idea what that stands for) so I could finally pull some of my favorite pics off of my phone. Some of them are really small and grainy because I didn't realize I was taking them at the lowest resolution. Even the best pics are only 1 megapixel, but that's better than not taking a picture at all. So the following posts are some of the back log of photos from my phone. Some are several months old, but I thought I'd post them anyway.

Adventures in Ice Skating

2007-10-20T10:33:00.000-06:00

After being in Cub Scouts for a while and seeing how completely uncoordinated most of them were, I've decided I need to start teaching Kyla more physical skills. And what better way to start than at Mom and me ice skating.

Ky wasn't a super big fan at first. I wasn't really sure how to begin teaching her. So most of the time I was pushing her around while she sat on the little walker. Then one of the employee's came over and told me I couldn't do that (lame). She did however tell me a better way to get her started. I guess you're supposed to have them march on the ice, who knew.

What she really liked best was the hot chocolate they gave us when we were done.

2007-10-20T10:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, when Kyla first picked up this chick at Baby Animal days, I thought it was dead. It just laid there all limp. As soon as she put it down it ran away. I guess it was just playing dead as a defense mechanism or something.
This Kyla and Meagan at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Just a couple of chicks.
Ky's Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Mike took her to McDonalds and Pet Smart for her birthday (she wanted to go see animals). This was in Pet Smart. Kyla walked right up the employee holding the snake and said "I want to hold that snake." You can't really tell, but her uncle Mike was holding her as far away from himself as possible. Yes, Mike the marine was afraid of the snake, but little 3 year old Kyla wasn't.

2007-10-09T14:33:00.000-06:00

This is why I LOVE Logan!!!

This is the only one we took where we were all smiling and looking at the camera. This was taken a few days before the snow came.
I screened this for nudity. I just had to take a picture he was having so much fun and he looked so cute with his hair all crazy.

2007-09-24T14:59:00.000-06:00

Caden is getting ready to crawl.

2007-09-22T17:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday

~~~~Kyla~~~~

We had pizza with Kyron and Audrey after swimming.
Kyron wanted to make a mean face.

Kyla LOVES playing with her cousins.

Kyla wanted to jump on the trampoline for her birthday.

2007-09-22T17:38:00.000-06:00

Our pet catipillar turned into a butterfly.
Kyla's hair is a little crazy and her shirts on backwards because we had just woken up when we realized the butterfly had emerged.
We thought this new accessory looked nice on Caden.

2007-09-22T17:30:00.000-06:00

Caden is kind of a drooler.
This is Kyla and Caden nicely waiting for me to get ready for work.
This is Kyla and Caden NOT nicely waiting for me to get ready.

2007-09-22T17:23:00.000-06:00

The girls had a little bit too much fun with the make up.

2007-05-03T12:38:00.000-06:00

Kyla LOVES baby Caden
We like our babies chubby!

2007-05-03T12:31:00.000-06:00

Gittyup' Uncle John!
Kyla holding a baby turtle.
I'm a cowgirl, baby.
Look what I found.
Easter looked more like Christmas.

2007-05-03T12:25:00.000-06:00

We're coloring easter eggs!
Grandma's Easter Egg Hunt

Josh makes a great pony

2007-05-03T12:20:00.000-06:00

We're moving!
Kyla found her seat for the long drive.

2007-03-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the nudity.

Happy Birthday Caden

2007-03-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

2006-11-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

For playgroup we visited the firestation.

2006-09-27T14:23:00.000-06:00

At Brent's company family day, Kyla took not one or two, but three pony rides. Then we had to drag her away.

2006-09-27T14:21:00.000-06:00

Several hours later.

2006-09-27T14:19:00.000-06:00

This is who actually ended up putting the kitchen together.

2006-09-27T14:17:00.000-06:00

Brent trying to figure out how to put together Kyla's new kitchen.

2006-09-27T14:06:00.000-06:00

Kyla and Wyatt playing with her new puzzle.

2006-09-15T13:35:00.000-06:00

Kyla and Wyatt are playing hop on Brent

2006-08-22T10:57:00.000-06:00

Kyla and Covey

2006-06-05T14:54:00.000-06:00

Our house

2006-06-05T14:47:00.000-06:00

Kitchen

2006-06-05T14:43:00.000-06:00

Front Entry

2006-06-05T14:36:00.000-06:00

This is what our front room looked like for the first couple of weeks.