The Johnson Family

1st Day of School

2010-07-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. I can't believe a new school year is starting. Boy it goes by fast when your not the one in school. Abby is now in 4th grade with Mrs. Quinterro, and Paige is in 1st grade with Mrs. Cummard. They were so excited to go back to school. I guess I'm not too exciting at home. I have to say it is much quieter around the house with them back at school. But they definetely are missed. Maren keeps asking when she gets to start school. she definetely misses them being around. It was fun to see how excited they were to go to school. Paige woke up at 6 and got dressed and was already to go to school. Before she left she came up to me and asked when she got out of school and I told her 2:40, and she replied "love you mom see you at 2:40." It was so cute. It's so nice when they are excited to get up and get ready. Come the end of the year it'll be like pulling teeth to get them up I'm sure. I'm glad they like school though. They came home and said it was the best first day ever. I asked Paige if she met any new friends and she said yes Ben he is my friend and I am his too. She is a crack up! She sure makes me laugh. When Abby got home she kept repeating her teachers name, trying to say it how her teacher does, with her rolling r's. Its was so cute to listen to her trying so hard to say it properly. Maybe by the end of the year she'll have it down. Today I got an email from Abby's teacher saying she is a sweet girl and a great help and has good manners. I'm glad I've taught her something. At least she has manners for other people. These girls are such good girls I'm to be their mom.

Grandma Spriets Visit

2010-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month Rich's mom came to spend some time with us. It was so nice to have her, the girls just loved all the attention she gave them. As soon as Rich got home from work and the airport the girls were all over her and making her watch everything they did. It was a couple days after the 4th so they had some leftover pops that they wanted her to do with them. So outside they went.
We spent time shopping, playing, going to Peter Piper Pizza, more playing and of course swimming. The girls loved having grandma at the pool because she gave them her undivided attention, and played with them in the "deep end."

Saturday morning Sheryl took the girls out to walmart to get all their school supplies for school. That thought that was the best thing ever. They were so excited to do that with her. And of course grandma is a lot nicer than mom and let them buy notebooks and binders I never would have let them because they were more expensive. So that made them so happy. Thanks for doing that Sheryl.Later that day we went to see a Diamondbacks game. Instead of driving to the stadium we decided to take the light rail downtown to the stadium. The girls thought it was the coolest thing ever. We enjoyed a great game by the Diamondbacks beating the Marlins. On the way home from the game the girls got their first taste of drunken college students. Theyre were some on the light rail on the way home. They were actually quite intertaining, singing different songs from The Lion King. The girls couldn't take their eyes off of them. It was hilarious to watch. It was so nice though not having to sit in traffic after the game it was a quick way back to the car and on to our way home, without any major problems.

Unfortunately on Sunday Sheryl had to leave. But we had so much fun with her and were glad to be able to spend the time we had with her. We miss you already and can't wait until you come again.

4th of July

2010-07-13T11:03:00.001-07:00

Our 4th of July actually started on saturday the 3rd. Our ward had a breakfast and pool party. So we went to that on saturday morning and enjoyed the time with people in the ward. The girls had fun getting thrown up in the air by our friend Doug. Poor guy couldn't get a break. All the kids kept lining up for another turn.

On Sunday the 4th we had our friend Brian and Penny over for a bbq after church and then our friends Vicky and Doug came over for some dessert and then we all headed over to watch some fireworks.

Next, on monday we decided to take the kids up to Bartlett Lake to bbq, and play in the water. We went up with our friends Doug and Vicky and their kids. They all had a lot of fun playing in the water. They couldn't get enough of it. It was fun to go up there and do something different. It was even about 10 degrees cooler there which made it even that much nicer. We had so much fun, I think we might do it more often. We had such a great 4th of July weekend. It was fun to spend time with our friends who are more like our family. We are so greatful to have such great friends. We are also greatful for all the men and women out there fighting for us and our country.

Trip to San Diego

2010-07-13T09:35:00.001-07:00

The end of June we planned a trip to San Diego. Since we didn't have any big vacations planned for the summer we wanted to do something that would be fun for the kids and to get out of the heat. So we decided to go to San Diego since it's not too far away. We left wednesday night around 6:30 and ended up getting into San Diego around 2:30 a.m. You'll have to ask Rich why it took us so long. Lol! Thursday we got up and headed off to Sea World. We had so much fun there. It was nice because all the kids were tall enough to go on all the rides. Fortunately it was a warm day because we definetley got wet. The girls wanted to sit in the soak zone in every show and that they did.

There were some new shows since the last time we went so it was fun to watch some new things. They really added a lot more acrobatics to the shows. It was amazing to watch what they were doing.

The rides were a lot of fun. I had never been on any of them before so it was nice that we could all go on them together. Paige and Maren were not too fond of the Journey to Atlantis ride. They both kept begging to get off throughout the ride. It is a roller coaster that is pretty high up and has some long drops. At the end of the ride they didn't lift up our bars right away and Paige kept thinking they were going to make us go again, and she was not very happy about it. She kept saying, "I don't want to go again, I don't want to go again." I have to admit it was kind of funny. I think their favorite ride was the Shipwreck Rapids where you ride on a big round raft. That is probably the ride we got the most wet on.

The next day we headed to the beach. Rich's step sister Jen met us there with her 3 kids. We had so much fun spending time with them the kids built a sand castle jumped the waves and just played together. After a while we decided to take a walk around the beach and got some yummy waffle cones and then went back to our things and roasted marshmallows and made S'Mores.

The second day at the beach was fun but much cooler then the day before. I was surprised the kids would still get in the water. But they didn't miss a beat they just kept playing and playing until their heart was content.

This trip was so much fun for our family. We enjoyed spending alot of time together and just having fun. It was fun watching the kids play on the beach. They were in heaven. I'm glad we were able to go on this trip and can't wait to go back.

Our New Pantry

2010-06-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ever since we bought the house 2 years ago we've been wanting to expand our pantry. For some dumb reason the builder didn't do it themselves instead they decided to leave a bunch of dead space behind the excisting pantry. What a bunch of moron's. So we finally got around to being able to do it. It started out that Rich was going to help a friend of ours who is a contractor, and then turned into Brett pretty much doing it himself. Thank goodness otherwise it may have taken even longer then it did. It really didn't take that long it just feels like it when you are living with your pantry in your living room. Brett tore down the wall and then framed it up a bit and then put sheet rock up. Rich did help with this. Then we hired somebody else to come in and texture the walls. Then it was up to me to have to sand the walls so they'd be ready to paint. What a mess that makes. Then my dad came in and did the tile work and helped rich with the base boards. He did a great job with the tile and they both did a great job with the base boards. After the tile was set for a few days brett came back and did all the shelves and then we had someone come in and paint all of them. I thought I was going to but after seeing all the shelves and having to do it without a sprayer it was a bit intimidating. It added about 12 more feet to our pantry. Now that it is done, we love our new pantry.

Paige 1st lost tooth

2010-06-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Paige has been waiting all school year to loose a tooth. She would often ask,"When am I going to loose a tooth, mommy? All my friends have." So finally a week before school got out she lost her 1st tooth. She was so excited as you could imagine. She finally got to be on their lost tooth board at school. You know that's a very important thing to a 6 yr old. Since then she lost another tooth about a week later and now how a couple more loose ones in that mouth of hers. She's going to bankrupt the tooth fairy I think. Congratualations Paige on your new smile.

No More Brace

2010-06-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

Abby got her braces off. Well at least the first phase is over. She had them on for almost 1 year. She has to wear a retainer at night for the next few years and then they will put braces on both the top and the bottom for her final phase. She was so excited to get them taken off. She kept dragging her tongue over her teeth saying "it feels so funny." I guess the smoothness of no more braces definetly felt different. Her teeth look great! She did a great job with her flossing and brushing there are no white spots on her teeth. Yeah! So for now Abby is braceless at least for another few years.

Brad's Graduation

2010-06-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby brother graduated from high school. May 26th I flew up to Utah by myself to go see Brad graduate on the 27th. My mom had a bbq during the day and then Brad graduated at 7:30p.m. The graduation was nice but LONG as usual. Oh the joys of high school. It was a lot of fun to be able to go support him and spend time with my family for the weekend. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my parents and spending time with my sisters and brother. My mom took me up to the Park City outlets which I love to do whenever I'm in Utah. My sister Lisa and Amy joined us with her little guy Preston. He was such a trooper walking around the outlets. He's clearly used to shopping. After shopping we went out for dinner at a chinese restaurant near my mom's house. Then went back to my mom's house were we hung out for the rest of the evening and I got ready to leave the next day. BOO! It was a nice getaway. Thanks to Rich for letting me go while he took care of the kids. Did I say how much fun I had? Thanks mom and dad for everything!

Paige's Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-12T22:29:00.001-07:00

Paige graduated from kindergarten this year. She has done a great job this year and is moving up to 1st grade. I can't believe that she is growing up so fast. They had a little ceremony for all the kindergartners. She was recognized for all the books she read and her perfect attendance. Way to go Paige. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and all your hard work this year.

Maren's Preschool Graduation

2010-06-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

Maren started preschool in January of this year. She was in Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Allaman's class. She loved going to preschool. Every day she'd ask if she got to go to school today. If it wasn't one of her preschool days she was very upset. Her teacher were great teachers and have helped her learn alot. During her graduation they sang many songs that they learned during class and then got to get their certificates. After it was over she came up to me and said "Now I get to go to the big kid class." The next day she woke up thinking she got to go the the "big kid class." So you could imagine her disappointment when I had to inform her that she didn't go back until August. She was devistated. But I think I finally cleared her mind of that at least for the time being. She still ask me from time to time if summer is over and if it is time to go back to school. I'm glad for her excitment about school. I just hope she continues with that same attitude for a long time.

Talent Show

2010-06-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

Abby and her friend Tera decided to be in their school talent show that was the week before school got out. They were very diligent in their practicing for the entire week notice that the school gave them. They had to audition and were then chosen to be in the final show. They did a great job. Tera sang a song that her cousin wrote and Abby danced. I'm glad she has the guts to get up on stage in front of a bunch of people and do that. You couldn't have ever gotten me to do that and still can't. It was cute to watch and we were so proud of the both of them. Great job Abby!

Paige is 6

2010-06-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

Paige had her birthday a few weeks ago. But i'm behind on blogging it. I can't believe she is now 6. Wow how time flies. We had a good day with her. She was so thrilled to take cupcakes into school for all of her classmates. After school we had some friends over for dinner and cake and ice cream. She got a new bike from us and was just so excited about it. On saturday we had her birthday party at her favorite swimming pool. I told her if we did a swim party she could only invite a few friends because i'd have to be responsible for all those little ones. But she didn't care she wanted to go to the Basha pool for her party. All the girls had a blast going around in the lazy river and going down the slides. It really was a fun day at the pool. Happy birthday Paigie I can't believe you are 6. We love you so much Paigie!

Paige's School Play

2010-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Paige's kindergarten class had a musical that they did this year. It was called Barnyard Moosical. It was very cute. All the little kindergartners did such a good job. It was fun to watch the kids and see how hard they had worked on this play. I just love going to school plays. The kids are so cute to watch.

Visit with G-Ma and Papa

2010-04-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

My parents came down a couple of weeks ago for Maren's birthday and to help us do some remodeling to our house. They brought my sister Lisa's kids with them which made my girls very happy. We were able to play at the park, go bike riding and go swimming. Yes we went swimming in April. It was beautiful weather while they were here. My dad helped us do some tile work in the pantry ( he did a great job). Poor guy doesn't even get a vacation on his vacation. But we were so greatful for his expertise. We did let him out to go swimming with us though. It was fun to go to the pool and just let the kids play and be silly. All of the kids had so much fun piling onto Papa and making him take them around the pool on his back. They just love their Papa so much and love all the time he spends with them while he is here. We had so much fun spending time together. Thanks dad for all your help. We love our new pantry.

Happy Birthday Maren

2010-04-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm late on this post, but I couldn't forget to post Maren's birthday. I can't believe my baby is 4 I can remember like it was yesterday when she was born. Maren is 45.5 inches tall and weighs 34 pounds. That makes her in the 98th percentile for height and 50th for her weight. She is so tall it is crazy, many people mistake her for a 5 or 6 year old. My parents and Lisa's kids were in town for her birthday which made it extra special for her. We celebrated my dad's and Maren's birthdays together. We got an icecream cake and she picked out a #4 for her and a #5 for Papa. She was so proud of herself. It was so nice having my parents and cousins in town. It doesn't happen often that my kids get family to be there for their birthdays. We had a porty(as Maren would call it) on saturday with a princess bounce house and a pinata. It was a fun time. Maren I hope you had a great birthday. You have gotten so big I can't believe it. You are so much fun to have around, you always make us laugh with the funny things you say and do. Happy Birthday Sweetie! Mommy and Daddy love you!

Easter 2010

2010-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

We had a fun easter this year. We had our friends the Sattlers come over between conference sessions on saturday for the kids to decorate eggs. The kids had a fun time. Sunday morning we woke up and hunted for the kids baskets, had breakfast and enjoyed watching conference. After both sessions of conference the Sattlers came over again for dinner and an easter egg hunt. It was fun having friends around to celebrate with. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

My little Hair Stylists

2010-04-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Maren and paige decided it was time for a new hair cut. Instead of asking for one they decided to cut their own. That's right apparently they thought they knew how to cut hair. Well they know how to cut just not how to make it blend very well. as you could imagine I was very surprised to say the least. It definetly was not a proud mommy moment. We still can't get the whole story. Neither one will tattle on the other. Pretty surprising since they're both pretty good at that otherwise. Oh well the damage was done, so I called a friend Amanda to see if she could help me out. She couldn't cut their hair until thursday so they got to endure their new do's for a few days. I wasn't sure if she could really do much to make it look good but she did such a great job. Maren ended up getting 6 inches cut off and Paige ended up having to get 8 inches cut off. It was quite a shock, but they ended turning out with pretty cute new do's after all. Thank you so much Amanda.

BYE, BYE Soccer

2010-03-09T01:37:00.000-08:00

So the girls just finished their soccer season for the Town of Queen Creek. Both Paige and Abby did such a great job. I was so impressed with their skills for being their first time playing. They really seemed to enjoy playing. In fact I think Abby wants to try another league so she can play again sooner. It was so fun, but very time consuming. I don't know if I'm ready for it. But if that's what they want to do we'll give it a try. Paige made 2 goals during the season however they were for the other team. She kicked it into the other teams goals. I think she was just excited to be able to shoot the ball into the net. It was cute! Abby never made any goals but she sure did a great job taking the ball up and down the field. She had some near misses, so maybe next time. She had some great blocks to the face and hand. But she was a trooper through it all. It was fun watching but very difficult at the same time. My competitive side comes out, and that's not always a good thing. I just want them to do well. Maren had fun watching them but can't wait until she can play next year. That should be fun balancing 3 seperate schedules. It was hard enough with 2. So it'll be very interesting. Here's some pictures with the girls and their coaches and their award ceremony.

Abby's 9th Birthday

2010-03-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it. Abby is now 9 years old. It's hard to believe that time has flown by that fast. Last wednsday was her birthday. We went out to dinner to one of her favorite places Jason's Deli. She enjoys getting their salad bar. I know kind of wierd, but that's what she likes. On friday night we had her birthday party. She wanted to do a sleep over but I vetoed that. Instead we did a "Late Night". The girls made their own pizza's, got pedicures, sang and danced, and then we watched a movie and enjoyed some popcorn and candy. I think the all had a good time. It was pretty loud, but what do you expect with 14 9 and 10 year olds. Luckily the neighbors didn't complain. It was a pretty fun night. Rich took Paige and Maren out with Pops since he was in town visiting. I got to enjoy the evening with my friend Vicky, thank goodness for her help. I don't know if I could've finished everyones toes otherwise. Paige is already saying she wants to do a "Late Night" when she is 9. I guess I have 3 more years to prepare myself again for the craziness.

Happy Birthday Abby

2010-03-03T01:30:00.000-08:00

Abby I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I can't believe you are 9 yrs old. I remember when you were just a baby. You have grown up so much. I can't believe the person you are becoming. You are such a great friend and are always trying to make people around you happy. You never want to hurt your friends feelings. That is such a good attitude to have. You are such a joy in my life. I love being your mom. You are such a great big sister. Your sisters love you and look up to you. Always remember that mommy and daddy are here for you whenever you need us. We love you sweetheart! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Soccer, Soccer,Soccer

2010-01-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

We are officially a soccer family. Last week Abby and Paige both started soccer. They both love it, and are having so much fun playing. They both had their 1st game last week. They are doing so good at playing. They both have never played before so I wasn't sure how well it would go. The first practice for Paige was a bit difficult at first. When we were getting her ready she didn't want to wear the shin guards. She said;" They are ugly, and people will make fun of me, mom!" After about 5-10 min of practice they didn't seem to bother her anymore. Abby is already asking to play after this season is over. We'll see how the rest of this season goes. For now we are pretty much at the soccer field 5 days out of the week. So it's going to keep us very busy for the next few months. I think we found something that they are both going to enjoy outside of dance.

Christmas in Utah

2010-01-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

Here we go. I've got a lot to say so I hope you are ready. December 18th we started our trek to Utah for the holidays. It is the first time in 9 years we have gone home for christmas. The kids were begging to go to the snow for christmas so that what we did. And boy did they love it. For the first time no one had said they were coming to the warm weather so we decided to endure the cold weather. I don't know what came over us. We started out first by stopping and seeing Rich's Grandma Moore and Uncle Scott. We had a nice visit with them and the kids had fun playing at Great Grandma Moores serviing everyone food from the play kitchen.
After their visit we went to our friends the Mcdonalds in St. George where we spent the night and had a lot of fun with them. They live in a little town up in the mountains of St. George called Diamond Valley. Stacy decided to introduce us to deer spotting. We went out in her car with a spot light and went looking for deer. The kids got a kick out of this and I think we saw 22 deer. It was fun to see them.I wish they still lived in Arizona. The next day we headed up to my parents in A.F. to go to the Child Christmas party. It was a lot of fun to see most of my cousins, since we don't get to see them much. On Sunday my brother received his Eagle Scout. It was nice to be able to be there and support him in his great accomplishment. We are so proud of you Brad.

Then the next day we headed up to Logan to Rich's mom's to spend a few days there. That's were all the snow fun began for the girls. They were outside every day for sometimes 6 hours or more. They couldn't get enough of it. We finished our last bit of christmas shopping that we needed and just enjoyed being together. We took the girls to the indoor fun park and let them climb in the play area and we also played some skeeball. We also made some cookies for Santa one day. Don't worry the kids ate the cookies they decorated. Sheryl and I decorated some for Santa that hadn't been licked while decorating. Rich was able to go to 3 Aggie games with Jerry since they were having a tournament during that week. He had so much fun going. Thanks Jerry!

Christmas Eve was a fun night. We had dinner with Rich's sisters and mom and Jerry and then the kids got a surprise vist from the one and only SANTA CLAUS! They were so surprised to see him right in front of them. They all got to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for christmas, and then he gave them a little gift. The girls opened their 1 present before christmas of p.j.'s and then went outside and sprinkled reindeer food outside so the reindeer would be able to lead Santa to them.

The next morning was christmas and boy oh boy Santa did not leave them empty handed. We enjoyed opening presents with Rich's sisters and their kids. All of the kids had a lot of fun being with their cousins. After breakfast we packed up and headed down to Ogden to Rich's dad and Ellen.

When we got to Ogden we did some family pictures and then Ellen made ginerbread cut outs so each family could make their own gingerbread houses. The girls had a lot of fun decorating their house, all though I think more candy ended up in their mouths than on the house. But I guess that is the fun of doing a gingerbread house. Later after dinner the kids opened their gifts from Don and Ellen. They got scrapbooking things. They were just thrilled. Paige and Abby had so much fun decorating their scrapbooks. Grammy even printed out a bunch of pictures for them to scrapbook with. I think Paige might be a future scrapbooker. She didn't want to stop. On monday we went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks "The Squeakel." It was a good movie. The girls really enjoyed it. We had so much fun spending time with Don and Ellen, it's always hard to leave. After that we headed back down to my parents. On the way down we hit a snow storm so it took longer than usual to get there.

When we got there the girls opened their gifts from G-ma and Papa. They loved playing with their new toys. After they were done playing a little the girls decided to get their snow gear on again and start playing in the snow. Papa went outside and started snowblowing all the sidewalks on their street. Abby and Paige wanted to help so bad so they followed him up and down the streets. Some neighbors even came out and gave them hot chocolate to bring home to make. It was so cute watching them just following behind papa in a straight line. We also went and so my niece Halli because she had broken her foot just days before. So we went and checked on her. The kids had fun playing for a little while. Meanwhile when we got home there was a late christmas present for my parents. They had gotten a new Grand Piano delivered. So Rich and my sister Megan sat down and played a few little tunes for us. Later Rich really wanted to go to 5 guys so we headed out in the snow and went their for dinner. I don't know what we were thinking, it was really yucky outside. But he got his 5 guys so he was happy. The next day we just hung out let the kids play outside and G-ma and Papa helped them build their first snowman. My mom and the girls also enjoyed doing snow angels.

On New Years Eve we took the kids to see The Princess and the Frog. What a cute movie. The girls really enjoyed it even though Maren fell asleep midway through. I guess that's what happens when you go 2 weeks with no nap. After the movie we got some things for that night. We made yummy hot wings and some other appetizers. We played the wii into the New Year. The girls even stayed awake the whole time.

On Saturday we had the Farnsworth holday party. My mom got a lodge rented for the day. We had so much fun sledding and seeing my cousins on the Farnsworth side. The girls loved sledding. They were a bit hesitant at first but once they went we couldn't pull them back inside. Maren was a maniac on the hill. She'd go down and before you'd see her get back to the top of the hill you'd see her going again. She didn't care if there was someone in front of her or not. If they didn't go fast enough she'd just go right in front of them. It was so funny to watch her. Later into the day she had a little run in with the snow. She went down on a 2 man tube and hit the bump and flew off the tube and so did the other person and it landed Maren face down into the snow. She was upset and came screaming into the lodge with some lovely skid marks on her cheeks, mouth, and by her eye. I asked her if she wanted to come in and she said no I want to go back out. So back out she went. What a trooper! The kids kept sledding into the night, until we finally made them come back in to get ready to go.

We got home and started packing up our things to get ready to leave in the morning. It was hard to leave. But we had so much fun spending time with all of our families. The girls loved being with their grandparents and playing with their cousins. I'm glad we decided to go there for the holidays. I hope everyone had a fun and safe christmas and New Year! I know we did! Can't wait to see everyone again.

Pops and Grammy's Visit

2009-12-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we were lucky to have Don and Ellen come to visit. Of course the girls were so excited for them to come. They love having their grandparents here to spoil them. They flew in on thanksgiving and were here for the whole weekend. Ellen and I decided to go out black friday shopping and we had so much fun doing it. We went to Toys r Us thursday night at about 10:45 and then just kept going until about 8 the next morning. It was alot of fun. Thanks for going with me Ellen. Can't wait to do it again. That afternoon we met up with some friends from virgina who were here visiting also. We went to 5 guys and enjoyed some yummy burgers and great company. Saturday we took the kids to the movie Planet 51 and then we went to dinner and then headed to the temple lights and cherry lane. Right before the movie we had a little time so we took the kids to seen Santa real quick. We were lucky there was no line. The movie was cute and the kids did better than expected. As always the lights were beautiful. We had such a great weekend with Don and Ellen. It made it a fun Thanksgiving weekend. I just love having family in town.

Girls Dance Recital

2009-12-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

November 19th the girls had their hip hop recital. It was so cute to see them do their routines that they had all been working so hard on. They all were so excited, they would all practice at home and make sure anyone and everyone saw their dances. They all did such a fabulous job. We are so proud of them for all the hard work they put into their recital. Great job girls!

Abby's Music Performance

2009-12-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. But we have been very busy. On November 18th Abby had her music performance for school. I unfortunately wasn't able to go due to work. But Rich went and was able to video it for me. He said that she did very well and that it was a good performance. Good job Abby we are proud of you.

2009-11-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend Abby and I went up to Utah to attend Mik's baptism. It was nice to get out of the heat for a little while and to be able to see my family. Since Mik is Abby's age I thought it would be fun for her to go and spend time with her cousin. We left thursday night and got their kind of late. On friday my dad took the day off so we spent time with my parents and went to a boutique and did some shopping. If only I had more room to bring stuff home. We also went to this new burger place called five guys. For any of you that like In-N-Out. This puts it to shame. Way better burgers and definetely better fries. It was yummy. Friday night we had a girls night out with my sisters Lisa and Megan and my mom. It was nice to go out for dinner and just hang out with them for a little while. Saturday was the baptism so we went to that and then went over to Lisa's house for a lunch in afterwards. It was fun to see all my sisters and brother and all of my nieces and nephews. Sunday was spent at church and with my parents and my brother. It was such a fun weekend. I'm glad I was able to go and support Mik on his choice to be baptized. We are so proud of you Mik. Can't wait until we go back in december.

2009-11-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Halloween night was so much. We went over to some friends house for dinner and let the kids play and then we headed out for some trick or treating. It was alot of fun. We went around a few streets and then ran into a block that was having a block party. Their were haunted houses a bounce house and games for the kids to play. It was a lot of fun. The girls had a blast with all the games. After all the excitement we headed home while stopping at a few more homes. It was a fun night that ended with alot of goodies. Now if I could just keep out of their treats.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

We carved our pumpkins on thursday before Halloween. The girls had so much fun deciding the face they wanted their pumpkin to have and digging out all the "slimmies" out of the pumpkin and of course the carving. Don't worry we didn't let them do the actual carving. The girls were so funny during the whole time. It was a fun night spent as a family.

U2 360 tour

2009-10-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hi. Rich here for one of my rare appearances as a poster on the family blog.

So on October 20 my buddy Doug and I had the opportunity to attend the U2 concert held at University of Phoenix Stadium. Doug had called me the Thursday prior and asked if I might be interested in going. "Cool," I thought, I'd never been to a U2 concert before, despite really liking their music for as long as I can remember.

We decided that in order to avoid as much traffic and parking woes as possible (also in an attempt to avoid the $20 parking fee) we would arrive several hours early and find a place to grab an early dinner before the show. Finding free parking was actually quite easy, although it required about a 3/4 mile walk to the stadium. We parked in the parking lot of the adjacent Westgate shopping center, where we also tried to find a place to eat. When we got there around 4 (the opening act was scheduled to start at 7) and found that all of the restaurants in the main part of Westgate already had lines out the door and around the corner. We walked towards the movie theaters where we saw a Johnny Rockets without much of a line. There were only two people ahead of us, so we were seated rather quickly despite being told food would take nearly 40 minutes to be served. Not too long after we were seated we noticed the line outside Rockets become quite long. Soon thereafter, a lady approached us and asked us if we were attending the U2 concert. We answered in the affermative and she offered to buy our dinners if we would let her and her daughter join us at our table. Being towards the back of the long line, they were afraid they may miss the beginning of the concert. We agreed and our dinner was paid for. Sweet!

The Black Eyed Peas were the opening act, and they were actually quite good. I've never really been a fan of their music, but they were very entertaining and put on a good show. I'm surprised that a group as big as U2 even need to have an opening act. The only other concerts I've been to in the past several years were a pair of Rush concerts, and they never used an opening act.

Doug and Rich before the show

U2 were in top form for the concert. They started the concert with several songs from their new album before getting into some of their older hits. The stage was enormous. I read somewhere to that it was the biggest stage ever used. It certainly filled up UoP Stadium. The top of the spire nearly touched the roof. The lighting they used throughout the show made the stage look really cool and added a nice effect to the show. We sat in the cheap seats (our tickets only cost $30, plus Tickmaster fees of nearly $15 - 50% of the ticket price!!!) but the show was excellent and we had no problem seeing the concert.

I need a camera with a better zoom!!!

GO Knights GO!

2009-10-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend Abby and Paige went to a cheerleading clinic. Abby has been asking to do cheer for the last few months now. Her friend is on a cheer squad and they were having a clinic so I signed them both up and figured this way she could see if it was really something she was interested in doing. I felt bad for Maren but it was only for kids 4-10. Although if you saw some of the kids there I think Maren was about a foot taller than some of them. So friday we dropped them off at 5 and then came back to see what they had learned at 8:30. It was so cute to watch them. The girls had so much fun. In fact that's all we've been hearing for the last few days is the cheers that they learned "F-I-G-H-T, FIGHT Knights FIGHT!" It's funny to listen to them. Even Maren has joined in on the cheers. I talked to the coach about Abby and she says that she is really good and caught on really quickly. So I guess we'll be signing her up for cheer next season. Abby is very excited but wishes she could start now. I'm glad they had fun, it was fun watching them.

No More Pink

2009-09-28T10:51:00.001-07:00

It's taken me a while to post this but the great news is Maren's cast has finally come off. She got it taken off about 10 days ago. The bad news is she's not really willing to move it. The doctor is giving her 4 weeks and after that then we will have to start physical therapy. He's convinced she'll need to do thearapy. I was really hoping she wouldn't but after the last week and trying to work with her I'm betting that is the route we're heading in. They took another xray after they took the cast off and apparently the bone grew more bone. I didn't realize that was possible. But I guess that is the way the bone reacts to bad injury. So I think that may be making the recovery a little more difficult. You can actually see the extra bone around her elbow. So we'll see what happens only time will tell. Here are some pictures of the cast coming off. Notice Maren's facial reactions.

2009-08-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Pretty in Pink

2009-08-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

So today I took Maren to the Orthopaedic Surgeon. Lucky for her it looks like she shouldn't need surgery. She broke her humerous in 2 places. I guess if you're going to do it do it well. That she did. Poor thing they took the splint off and her poor arm was still swollen and had quite a bit of bruising. The doctor said it was still pretty swollen, but they still decided to cast it. After the doctor came in the first time to look at it he walked out and Maren said," I like him, mommy!" They decided to do some more xrays which made my day. I didn't get enough of doing that on Tuesday night. But we survived and so did the radiology tech. Luckily she deals with kids all day, so she was great and did a great job with Maren. After that it was time to do the casting. Of course what color would any 3 year old girl choose but PINK. While they were doing the casting I told the doctor what Maren said when he left the room last time. It must have made his day because his attitude changed completely and he gave her his undivided attention. We have to go in next week for some more xrays and make sure it is healing correctly. So we'll see what they say next week otherwise little miss gets to be pretty in pink for the next 4 weeks or so. Maren I'm so proud of you. You have been such a trooper through this whole thing.

A night at the Urgent Care!

2009-08-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last night Maren decided she should wanted to spend the night in the Urgent Care. She was playing upstairs and thought standing on the stool was a fun thing to do until she fell and landed on her arm. She seemed to be fine at first. I could lift her arm up all the way without it bothering her and it wasn't swelling at least at first. So she laid down on the couch with me for awhile. After about 30 minutes she was still whinning and complaining about it so I looked at it again and oh Iboy i knew something wasn't right. Her arm looked like her bone was popped out. It was hard as a rock and very hot to the touch. I called me neighbor who is a peds nurse practitioner and she came and took a look and told me to take her in. Just how I wanted to spend the rest of my evening. So I called Rich at YM and told him he had to get home. I took her to the Urgent Care by our house and they got her in right away. I was so impressed. They took xrays (not too enjoyable with a 3 yr. old in pain)and found that their was pooling of blood around her elbow which is an indication of a fracture. So they splinted it and put it in a sling, and told us we need to follow up with a pediatric orthopedist. So that's the next step. She was so funny when they were evaluating her she kept saying, "I shouldn't have done that." No she shouldn't but what can you do about it now. It was funny though she says it to everyone that asks about it.The highlight of her trip was they gave her a free ice cream voucher to Chick-fil-A and the high school musical stickers. When we got home she ran into the house gleaming ear to ear and told rich, "Daddy I get to go to Chick-Fil-A." For now we are keeping her druged up on Motrin hoping that it keeps her comfortable. Poor thing I feel so bad for her. I guess somebody had to be the first to have a broken bone and Maren has now taken care of that. Check that off the list. Here's some pictures of our fun filled night.

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-12T13:19:00.001-07:00

I just thought I'd do a little post. It is our 11th Anniversary today. Wow how time flies when you are having fun. I can't believe it's been 11 years. I just want Rich to know that I love you very much and I hope you are having a great day. I'm so greatful for everything you do for me and the girls. They adore you, as do I. I look to many more years with you. I love you! Happy Anniversary, Honey!

First Day of School

2009-07-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

That's right today was the first day of school. The girls were so excited. I hope they always keep that attitude. Abby started 3rd grade. Her teacher is Mrs. Johnson. That'll be a tough one to remember, I know. Paige started Kindergarten. Her teacher is Ms. Murrietta. I can't believe Paige is in kindergarten now. She is getting so big so fast. She was so excited about going to school today that she was worried about waking up on time. She thought she should sleep in Abby's room since she was in school now. But that wasn't going to happen. Last night the two of them put out their clothes for today adn had their shoes and everything ready to go. It was so cute. This morning the girls were up and ready to go right away. I took them to school to drop off all of their supplies, there was too many for them to carry. I can't wait to hear about their first day of school when they get home.

P.S. All Paige can talk about school is her sponge ball game in P.E. and the good morning song. But I think the sponge ball was the biggest highlight she said she got everyone out. Abby just kept saying she loved her first day. No big details.

End of Summer Fun

2009-07-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Last friday we went over to my friend Sarah's house to enjoy one last summer activity. I know it is still summer but school was starting the next week. They have such an awesome pool at their house so we went over their and just enjoyed staying cool and had a picnic in the backyard. The girls had so much fun slidding down the slide jumping off the diving board and the rock wall and just had fun playing with eachother. Also, Monday and Tuesday Rich took off work so he could spend some time with the girls before they went back to school today. They had so much fun with him home. He took them out for lunch and to the new movie G Force on monday, and then on tuesday we all went to the pool and had a fun family day. Sorry no pictures, didn't want the camera to get ruined at the pool and Rich forgot to take it to the movies. Bad us, I know. But here are some pictures from Sarah's.

Playing Catch-Up

2009-07-29T09:34:00.001-07:00

So I know it's been a while since I've posted. But we haven't really been very exciting these days. For the 4th of July we had some friends over for a BBQ. The kids had a great time swimming in our little blow up pool in the backyard. The adults had a great time staying in the A/C house. After the BBQ I had to head to work. Rich was the good dad and took the girls to see fireworks. I don't think they'd let him get away without doing that, that's all they talked about all day was seeing fireworks. I'd have to agree that's my favorite part of the 4th of July. They had a great time and the next morning when I got home they told me all about the fireworks. Their were some sweet people there that were willing to share their POPS with the girls. That just made their night. They told me all about their favorite ones and the colors and the shapes. They even tried to immitate the finally for me. It was a lot of boom boom boom! They are so funny. I'm glad they had fun. I wish I could have been their to see them for myself. Maybe next year.

Random Fun

2009-07-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

After we got back from the orthodontist I started making dinner and Rich was checking the sprinklers in the backyard. The girls decided they needed to enjoy them a bit so they got their suits on and ran through the sprinklers. It was cute though because Paige asked if Abby could run through the sprinklers with her braces. I decided to play with Abby a bit and told her that she couldn't swim with braces or even run through the sprinklers. The look on her face was priceless. I didn't let her suffer too long before I told her I was just kidding. The girls had a lot of fun, it was cute. That's what we're are going through now, every question is," Can I do this with braces?" It's so funny, it makes me laugh.

Abby's New Journey

2009-07-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

It is official as of yesterday Abby is sporting some new bling in her mouth. That's right she got braces. We went yesterday to talk to an orthodontist about braces and he said she'd definetely benefit from putting them on. She has teeth that are coming in too high and sideways. For now she is only having to have them on her top teeth. They are doing it in two phases. She'll have these on for 8-12 months and then we'll take them off for a couple of years until she is a bit older. Then they'll put them on the top and bottom. She was so excited. Not to mention they gave a free IPOD . If that isn't enticing enough I don't know what is. I'm sure the excitement will last for the first 6 weeks until she goes back in and gets them tightened. I must say she looks pretty cute with them. Congratulations Abby! I hope you stay as excited about them as you were yesterday when you got them on. I didn't think we were going to get them on yesterday so I didn't take my camera. But here are some pictures from when we got home.

Fun with Cousins

2009-07-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

After we got home from Vegas Rich's cousin Cameron was in town with his family. We went and met them at Melissa's sisters house and had fun swimming and BBQing. The girls had so much fun playing with their girls. Abby and Ali were like little fish in the pool. They were two peas in a pod, they wouldn't leave eachothers side. Paige got pretty daring and even started jumping off the diving board ( with her floaties of course). Thanks for inviting us over, we had so much fun. We can't wait until they come again.

Vegas Vegas Vegas

2009-06-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

So when we got back from Utah we were home for a day and then Rich and I left to Vegas with our friends Brian and Penny. I had to work monday night so they picked me up on the way out of town. The drive there was not too bad. We got there, checked into our hotel took the tram to the end and decided to hit the town. We stayed in the Mandalay Bay Hotel. It was beautiful.

We went to this place called Cheeseburgers, Oh my goodness probably the best cheeseburger I've had. I guess they earned that name. After that we started walking. And we walked and walked and walked. We had to burn off some of those calories from the cheeseburgers. It is a good thing we walked so much because we ate very well while we were there. While we walked around we came to the M&M store. Who knew there could be so many M&M things to see. There were 4 floors to see. If you are looking for a color of M&M's that is the place to go. I guarantee they'll have the color you're looking for. But for a small fee. The were $11.99 a pound. I guess those die hard fans will pay that much. We decided to try the new flavor they have out strawberried peanut butter. We were all a little sceptical so I just got 1 little bag. I must say they weren't all that bad.
In the elevator in the M&M store
Rich next to the M&M racing car

After the M&M store Rich and Penny really wanted to ride the rollercoaster at the New York New York hotel. Brian and I decided to sit that one out.

Later that night we decided not to do your traditional dinner and instead we headed to Serendipity to enjoy some yummy ice cream. It sure was worth it. We couldn't even finish it, it was so big and so rich.

After that we enjoyed the water show at the Belagio and went and walked through Ceasers Palace. After all of that we headed back to the hotel to go to bed. We were exhausted. What a day.

The next day we went to the Aquarium that was in our hotel and then hung out by the pool. Then that night we went to House of Blues for dinner and then walked the strip for a while and got some ice cream and then went back to the hotel and got a movie in our room and we all watched it together.

We had so much fun. Thank you to Jenn for watching our girls for us so we were able to go with Brian and Penny. We had so much fun. I think it may become a yearly thing for us to do. It was nice to get away from the girls for a little while. Even though we did miss them. It was a nice break. Thanks Brian and Penny for such a great time.

A Night full of S'mores

2009-06-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

After the Baptism we headed to my parents house to spend our last night with them. We were going to go up the canyon to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. But the weather wasn't very cooperative so my parents went and bought a fire pit instead. It ended up being perfect. The kids jumped on the trampoline with Mike and Megan and then we enjoyed everyone while roasting marshmallows. It was a lot of fun. After making s'mores everyone else left but my parents and us decided to watch a movie. The girls thought it was great. Probably because we let them stay up so late. I didn't think they'd stay awake, but I was wrong. The only one that fell asleep was Paige. For such a short trip we sure packed in a lot of fun. It was a great trip.

I had to take a picture of this sunset. This is what we came home to. It was beautiful.

Daghen's Baptism

2009-06-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah Daghen had his baptism. I'm so glad we could be there for his special day. After the baptism they had a picnic at the park behind their house. The kids loved playing at the park with all of their cousins on my side of the family. Both of my grandparents were there so we took the opportunity to get a picture of them with all the great grandkids. While we were at the park we got to enjoy an air show that was being put on by Hill Air Force Base. It was neat to see all the planes flying around. It was a fun afternoon.

A day at the Park

2009-06-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

We didn't have enough time this trip to go up to Logan so they decided to come to us. Rich's mom and Jerry came down and met us at a park to let the kids play and have a picnic together. They brought some yummy fried chicken and the most delicious brownies ever. We had a lot of fun visiting with them and playing with the kids. Jen brought some bats and balls so the kids had fun pitching and hitting the balls. They also enjoyed swinging on the swing, of course. We were able to get some good pictures of all the cousins and all of us together. Thanks for coming and meeting us we sure had a good time.

2009-06-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

Jesse's Wedding

2009-06-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

On the 5th we got to go to Rich's brothers wedding in the Salt Lake City Temple. It was so nice to be able to be there. After about 30 minutes of trying to find a parking spot. We were finally able to go into the temple. When we walked into the temple my grandpa child was at the counter checking your recommends. It was so neat to be able to give him mine and be in the temple with him. The ceremony in the temple was beautiful, they looked so happy. It was a rainy morning but the day ended up clearing up and being beautiful. Thank goodness because they were having an outdoor reception. The reception was a lot of fun. They had a ring ceremony at 4:30 and then the reception started at 5 and went until 11:00. I didn't think the girls would make it that long but they proved us wrong. I guess with all the dancing they had so much fun, they didn't have time to get awnry or complain. They had so much fun with their cousins on Rich's side. Rich's cousins also brought their kids who are close to our kids ages, and they all got along so well and had tons of fun dancing and playing with eachother. It was cute to watch then together. It was a great party. Congratulations Marlen and Jesse, we are so happy for you guys.

Fun on the Boat

2009-06-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

So we have been pretty busy the last 2 weeks. It all started with leaving to Utah on the 3rd so that we could go to Jesse's wedding. We stayed with Rich's parents in Ogden. On thursday we were able to spend most of the day on the boat. Rich's dad took it out of storage for us. Our girls absolutely love going on the boat. So it made for a fun day. Rich and I did some water skiing, then the girls jumped in for a little swim. I did a little persuaing and got Abby and Maren to go out on the tube with me. But no such luck with Paige. When she makes her mind up there is no changing it. All three were able to drive the boat for awhile. Which they all loved doing. Maren just kept turning it in circles. It was pretty funny, but after awhile we had to help her out before we all got sick. We had such a fun day.

The Graduate

2009-05-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Paige has officially graduated from preschool. Last wednsday Paige had her preschool graduation. It was so cute to sit and watch what she has learned all year. Her teacher this year was Ms. Tiffany. Paige really enjoyed going to school with her. She made some great friends and had a lot of fun while learning at the same time. She has come so far from when she started last August. I can't believe she's already going to be entering kindergarten in July. We have a modified year round school so they only have 8 weeks off. Paige was so excited to be graduating, she thought she got to go to kindergarten the very next day. So you could imagine her dissapointment when Thursday came and there was no kindergarten. " Mom it's not fair Abby gets to go to school and I don't, she said." Followed by lots of tears. Hopefully she always has that eager attitude toward school. I'm so proud of you Paige. I can't believe you are old enough now to be starting school. Boy how time flies. Congratulations Paige. Next stop, KINDERGARTEN!

Paige's Birthday Party

2009-05-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today we had Paige's birthday party. She insisted in having a slip n slide party. I tried talking her into doing other things outside of our house. But there was no luck there. So we did the slip n slide party.We found a slip n slide with two sides so the kids could race. The kids seemed to have a lot of fun. I tried to make it as simple as possible, so we grilled hot dogs and had chips for the kids with capri suns. They seemed to be quite content. They had a great time playing on the slip n slide and playing in the pool. After a lot of getting wet and races on the slip n slide we had cake and Paige opened her presents. For their goodie bags I decided to give the kids flip flops. That seemed to be a big hit. It was a great day. I think Paige had a lot of fun. Which is all that matters. Thank you everyone who came and enjoyed a good time.

Paige is 5

2009-05-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday May 10th, Paige turned 5. I can't believe it. This means she'll be heading to kindergarten this year, which of course she is thrilled about. At first I felt so bad for her that her birthday was on Sunday and on Mothers' Day no less. But after it is all said and done I think she actually got a great deal out of it. She got to celebrate on Saturday, on Sunday and then at school on Monday. And then her party is this Saturday. I don't know, what do you think? A week long birthday. Not a bad deal, I think. I guess Sunday is the day to have a birthday. Anyways, on Saturday we took Paige to Build-A-Bear to pick out a bear. That's all she's been talking about, is wanting to make a bear. Then after that we let the girls play in the sprinkler area at the mall. Yes, we have sprinkler parks at the mall. That's what they have to do here to get people to go to an outdoor mall in the summertime. Then we headed to In-N-Out for some burgers for lunch. We had such a good time spending the afternoon together as a family. Then on Sunday Paige helped me make a cake for her, she was sung to at church (which I think was the highlight of her day). She's been practicing it for the last few weeks. I guess you have to practice being sung to. Just kidding! It was cute though, she was gleaming ear to ear. Then when we got home and had dinner and watched the movie Hotel for Dogs while enjoying some cake and ice cream. I think all in all she had a great birthday. I can't believe you are 5, Paige. You have come so far in the last 5 years. You didn't talk until you were 3 years old. Now we can't get you to stop talking. It is kind of our ongoing joke. We've asked you if you talk just to hear yourself and you said yes. You must enjoying hearing yourself. You are such a sweet little girl. You make me laugh every single day with things you say or do. You always have something to say about everything. You are always making sure no one is left out. And you are always trying to make everyone happy. You don't like to see anyone sad. You are so very special. I couldn't imagine my life without you. You are a joy to have in our home. I love you so much. I hope you had a great birthday!

Happy Mothers' Day!

2009-05-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's not often that Dad updates the family blog, but on this special day I get to show my love any my appreciation for my wife. Happy Mothers' Day, Jenn, from Rich, Abby, Paige, and Maren. We love you and are greatful for your love and for everything you do for us.

On another note, Jenn had made some comments in passing about how she was never fortunate enough to be served breakfast-in-bed (isn't that a Mothers' Day tradition?). Of course, I can remember doing so several times. So this morning the girls helped me whip up a batch of waffles, complete with whipped cream and stawberries.

Making the waffles:

Doesn't that look good?

Of course, Jenn did have to work last night, and she came home as we were starting to make the waffles. So to hold true to tradition, she had to go to bed before she could be served.

We'd also like to wish a "Happy Mothers' Day" to our moms, grandma Spriet, grandma Johnson, and grandma Farnsworth. We love you!

Abby's Music Performance

2009-05-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last tuesday Abby's school had their music performance. All the kids did such a great job. She has such a wonderful music teacher. You can tell that she really enjoys music and really enjoys working with these kids. We had such a good time watching all of the grades sing their songs.

Summer Fun

2009-05-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Yes we have already been able to have some summer fun. A couple of weeks ago we had a few days of 100 degree weather. So as you could imagine the kids wanted to go swimming. To compromise I decided to get the sprinklers out and let them have some fun in the backyard running through the sprinklers. They seemed to have a great time playing with eachother. It was a lot of fun watching them.

Dying Eggs

2009-05-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday we dyed easter eggs before I had to go to work. The girls had a lot of fun doing them. It was nice just sitting back and watching. I can't believe how old they are getting. They don't need our help for everything, nor do they want our help for everything. Hear are some pictures of the girls dying their eggs.

Easter 2009

2009-05-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

This year Easter was very interesting. I worked saturday night and planned on coming home and celebrating once I got home around 8. But things happended a little differently. I wasn't able to come home until 1:30. So Rich did the whole basket searching and egg hunt without me. I got home in time to get the girls ready for church and then I took a nap until they got home. I wanted to at least be able to spend the evening with them. When they got home we had a yummy ham and cheesy potato dinner. And then we watched the movie Bedtime Stories together as a family. That has become our sunday night ritual. It was a lot of fun. Here's some picture Rich took to make sure I didn't miss everything. I'm so greatful for my savior and for his sacrifice for me. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Guess Who's Free (Three)!

2009-04-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Guess Who's Free (Three)?

2009-04-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Maren's 1st Birthday

Maren's 2nd Birthday

Maren's 3rd Birthday

Well I'm a little behind. But I couldn't forget to post about Maren's 3rd Birthday. That's right Maren turned 3 on wednsday. I can't believe my baby is 3. She's been so excited for her birthday to come she asked almost everyday if it was her birthday. And would be so disappointed when I'd tell her no. Wednsday morning she woke up and came into my room while I was making my bed, I said " Maren it's your birthday, Happy Birthday !" She looked around the room for a little bit and looked at me and said, "I Free!" I said, "Yes, it's your birthday!" She was so excited. Well about 30 minutes later Paige woke up and came into my room and saw Maren and said, "she doesn't look like she's 3! I looked at Paige and said "what does 3 look like?" She immediately responded " I don't know, but it doesn't look like her!" Maren then said, " I'm Free, it's my birfday!" Only Paige. I was laughing so hard. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth. I swear that brain of hers never stops. Anyways, the rest of the day was fun. We went to McDonalds for lunch with some of her friends and then that evening we had some friends over for a BBQ and an easter egg hunt. It was alot of fun. The kids really seemed to have a lot of fun. After dinner Maren opened her presents, and then we enjoyed some cake and ice cream, yumm-o! Maren was laughing so hard she couldn't blow out her candles. So I tried helping her but she made me start laughing I couldn't blow out the candles. After several attempts we finally got the candles out. I don't know what that means for her wish though. Thanks to everyone for coming, we sure had a lot of fun. After all the excitment it was time for bed, the girls were exhausted which made for an easy bed time. Maren had to sleep with her favorite present, that's right candy neckleces. Anyone who knows Maren she is a candy-a-holic! Does anyone know of a meeting I can take her to. I've never seen a kid that likes candy like she does. Holy cow, she's crazy. Today I took Maren to the Dr.'s for her yearly check up. She only weighs 30 pounds (50th percentile)and is 41 inches tall ( 97th percentile). I never thought she was that tall until I look at her next to kids her age. I just thought she was a little on the tall side. But that's not what the Dr. said. She's definetely on the tall side. So we have a tall girl coming our way. Maren I hope you had a great birthday! I can't believe you are already 3 it seems like I just had you. You are so sweet and so special, we love having you in our family. HAPPY BIRFDAY! We love you Mar Bear!

Abby's Baptism

2009-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm this far behind on posting this. I guess between all the company we had and spring break and getting back into things. Time just flew by. So Abby was baptized on March 14th. What a special day it was. My parents and brother and sister were able to make it along with Rich's sister and dad. It was very nice. Abby got to be baptized on the same day as her friend Maggie. I think that made it even more special for her. My mom did the talk on baptism. You did such a great job mom, thank you! We also had some friends that showed up for her special day. Thank you to everyone that came. I know that meant alot to Abby and to Rich and I. I am so proud of you Abby for your decision to become a member of the church. I know you will be blessed for you decision. Always remember that your Heavenly Father will always be there for you. Daddy and Mommy love you so much. You are such a great example to your sisters. They want to be just like you. After the baptism we had people over for lunch. As always I over estimated how much food to have, I think we could have fed an army with everything we had. But oh well, it sure was yummy and fun. After a lot of playing of the WII the rest of the day we decided to head out to San Tan Flat. This is a resturaunt that is outdoors and they have live bands on the weekend, a dance floor, and the best part fire pits to roast marshmallows and make nothing other than S'mores. You can't have a fire without making s'mores. We sure had a lot of fun the kids loved dancing, especially when Aunt Megan went out and danced with them. Rich and Don joined in on the fun after awhile. This was such a fun day. I'm sure Abby will never forget it. Thank you to everyone! Congratulations Abby! We love you!

G-Ma's Visit

2009-03-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

So for the last couple of weeks we got to enjoy having my mom here. She came and surprised Abby for her birthday. It sure was nice to have her. The girls loved having her around. We were able to just hang out and do whatever we wanted. G-Ma helped finish the swing set, took the girls to the park, played lots and lots of candyland, baked cookies and helped me get ready for Abby's baptism. We sure accomplished a lot. The girls always enjoy having her here to spoil them and pay all her attention on them. Thanks mom for all your help. It was so nice to have you here. Can't wait until the next time.

Guess who's 8!

2009-03-15T11:17:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it. Abby turned 8 on the 3rd of this month. I'm a little behind on things. I can't believe it has been 8 years. It just seems like yesturday that I had her. It has been a great 8 years with her. Abby is such a sweet girl. Even though she is very opinionated, she must get that from her father (J/K)! I know exactly who she got that from. She is a great sister and her sisters want to be around her all the time. She really is a good example to them. I'm so greatful for you Abby. You are a great example to all your friends and family. For Abby's birthday my mom flew down and surprised her on her birthday. Abby was definetley surprised. Abby also got to go to the zoo for a field trip with school, what a fun birthday activity. Not many people get to do that on their birthday when their in school. After Rich got home from work we went out for dinner at Logan's Roadhouse and enjoyed the evening together as a family. I hope you had a great birthday Abby. We love you!

2009-03-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

The Joy of Building

2009-03-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks Rich has had a fun project he's been working on. A swing set. For any of you who have put one of these together you probably know what he's been through. We bought it almost 3 weeks ago and we finally finished it all on wednsday. He worked on it every night after work until it got dark and on the weekends. It was a lot of work and a lot of frustration, but the reward is finally here. The girls absolutely love having it to play on. It occupies them for quite a long time. It's wonderful. Here's some pictures to show the process of building the swing set. When my Dad and Brad and Don got into town for Abby's baptism we put them to work to finish the box around the swing set and help us put all the mulch down. Thank you to all of you. It was sure nice to get it all done so I didn't have to worry about all the dirt getting into the house. It turned out great. Thanks Rich, the girls love it. Even if they do think my mom built it. We are going to have many fun times on it.

Crazy Paige and Maren

2009-03-02T14:11:00.001-08:00

Last night I went upstairs to go to bed and checked on the girls and this is what I found. Paige is always wanting to have someone sleep with her. Apparently sleeping in the same room isn't enough. Both of these girls are just the craziest girls ever. They make me laugh everyday. They both have the sweetest personalities. I love you, girls!

Abby's Birthday Party

2009-03-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we did Abby's birthday party. We did it a little early because she wanted to see the Jonas Brothers 3D movie. It is only out for 1 week and started on friday. So saturday we took Abby and 10 of her friends to the festivities. Since one of Abby's friends didn't show up Rich was so lucky to be able to enjoy the concert with us. My friend Jen Ekins came to help me contain all the girls. You can only imagine 100 girls in a movie theater watching the Jonas Brothers. There was lots of screaming and girls yelling I love you Jonas Brothers or I love you Joe, Nick, or Kevin. It was pretty funny. It took me back to the NKOTB ( New Kids on the Block). Maren surprisingly fell asleep through all the screaming and yelling. She slept through most of the movie. I couldn't believe it. We had a lot of fun. After the movie we walked to Dairy Queen which was just at the other end of the mall. So the girls got to choose what they wanted and enjoyed eating them while we sat outside on the grass and watched Abby open her presents. All in all it was a big success. I think all the girls had a great time. Thank you Jen for all your help. I don't think I could have done it all by myself.

Dancing Queens

2009-02-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Abby and Paige with their flowers

Friday night Paige and Abby had their dance recitals. Paige has been in Ballet for the last 6 months and Abby choose to do Hip Hop. I must admit I didn't think that she would be a good Hip Hop dancer she's a total "white" girl. She's built more as a ballerina. But I must say she does have some pretty good moves. She proved me wrong. Way to go Abby. Paige also did really good. It was fun to watch them perform what they've been working so hard on. Here is one of Abby's Dances.

This is one of Paige's dances.

The girls had so much fun with their dance teacher Julie, they just loved going to dance every week. Thank you Julie for such a wonderful session of dance. Maren had to get a picture, she felt a little left out I think. Next session I think we'll have 3 dancin queens. Great Job Paige and Abby. It was fun to watch you two.

Crazy Maren

Abby with her friend Maggie

Paige with her other teacher Julie

Paige and Abby with their teacher Julie

SUPERBOWL XLIII

2009-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday was the Superbowl, as if any of you didn't know that. Our friends the Snyders invited us over to their house for a Superbowl party. The kids of course had a great time just playing with eachother. When they'd hear a bunch of cheering they'd run into the room and want to know what happened. Then they'd sit and watch for awhile until they got bored then off to go play they went. We sure had a good time.

These are some pictures of the girls on the car ride over to Brian and Penny's. The girls were so excited.

This is what the kids did during most of the game. Once it got dark they all came in the house and played dress up and watched some movies.

Poor Rich, what a dissappointing outcome. Just kidding. The Cardinals played a great game unfortunately it just wasn't enough. It was so exciting. I'm a Steelers fan but this was a win win situation, the Steelers or the Cardinals. I had to route for the home team, plus they were the underdogs and I love to route for the underdogs. Don't worry I did wear my red but I had to put my Steelers jersey on just to tease everyone. It would have been nice to see the Cardinals win. They sure shocked alot of people this year, and how perfect would have been to see them go all the way. Maybe next year. Go Cards! Thanks Brian and Penny for a fun party. We sure had a lot of fun.

Scentsy

2009-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

I'm putting in a Scentsy order this weekend if anyone is interested in ordering. Give me a call, or leave a comment and I'll call you. The website is www.scentsy.com. If you don't have one you will not be disappointed in your investment, everyone I know that has one loves them. I know I do. If you live out of state I can have it directly shipped to your house. I have all the scents at my house if you'd like to smell them. Also if any of you would like to book a party that is a great way to get some things free. Hope to hear from you.

Weekend fun with Grandma Spriet

2009-01-19T14:00:00.001-08:00

Weekend fun with Grandma Spriet

2009-01-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

This weekend Rich's mom came to town to visit. We sure had a lot of fun with her. Despite the girls all having colds they still managed to give grandma a run for her money. On Friday while Abby was at school we took Paige and Maren to the park to play and have a picnic. That's one of the benefits of living in Arizona. Sheryl picked the perfect weekend to come and visit. It was beautiful. The weather was upper 70's and even got to 80 one day. Don't get too jealous, it just means that our 100 degree weather is around the corner. They had so much fun, especially on the swings. They didn't want to let the other kids have a turn. Saturday was filled with alot. We first took Sheryl to IKEA, since she'd never been there before. The kids had a great time playing in the play area while we shopped. I wish more places would offer that. After Ikea we had promised the kids we'd take them bowling. So we went to the bowling alley and they told us it'd be 1 1/2 -2 hours before we could get a lane. There was no talking the girls out of bowling so we went to the pottery store nearby and let them paint until it was time for bowling. Just as we finished they called us and it was time to bowl. Thank goodness. I wasn't sure we could pass the time much longer. So off to the bowling alley. The girls had fun bowling and dancing to the music. It was cosmic bowling so it was in the dark with strobe lights and other flashing lights. It was a lot of fun. Most people can't stand to wear the shoes, well we couldn't get Maren to take her's off. She wanted to take them home with her. The girls definetely enjoyed having Grandma in town and were very sad to see her go. Last night Paige was very disappointed that she couldn't get a goodnight kiss from her. And this morning she woke up asking where Grandma was. When I told her she wasn't here she was in tears. I told her we could call her later and that seemed to help at least for now. We love having Grandparents here. Since the girls don't get to see them much they eat up every minute they are here. Thanks Sheryl for such a fun weekend. We really enjoyed having you here. Can't wait until you come again.

New Years Eve

2009-01-01T13:12:00.001-08:00

Last night we had some friends come over to celebrate the New Year. We had so much fun hanging out with the everyone that came. The kids had a lot of fun playing together. Penny, Brian, Lisa, Justin, Rich and I all enjoyed watching Rich's favorite movie "So I married an Axe Murder." We definetley got a few laughs. By the end of the movie my stomach was hurting from laughing so hard. After the movie the Bates went home. But the Snyders stayed to enjoy the rest of the night. So we got out the wii fit and started playing around with that. We got even more laughs from that. I thought for sure the girls would have fallen asleep by 10. I was wrong. Karson was the first to crash. Maren made it unitl 11:30. The other 4 girls managed to stay awake. I was really surprised. But I guess they wanted to party til 2009. And that they did. When it hit midnight the girls ran outside screaming HAPPY NEW YEAR, over and over again while running up and down the drive way. It was really cute. I'm glad they had a good time. Thanks for a great New Years Party, everyone. We had a blast. I think we might have to make this a tradition. So, I guess I'll see you again next year. Same time, same place.

Christmas Day

2009-01-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. The girlies actually slept in a little bit. So we didn't get up until about 7:30 it was nice. The girls opened their presents from Santa and from all their grandparents. They had so much fun doing this as you could imagine. Paige would keep coming up to me and saying "Thank You, Mommy, I love you." Hopefully she'll always remember how lucky she is to be able to have Christmas. I was in charge this year of our ward's "Giving Tree", this is for families in our ward who were in need. I tried really hard to let my kids know how lucky they are that they were able to have a Christmas, and that not everyone is as lucky as they are. I think they got it. At least just a little. I was so impressed with our ward though and their willingness to want to help these families. It was a neat experience to be apart of. Anyways our Christmas day was really just a relaxing day. We made some brownies with Paige's Princess Ice Bake Oven. You heard correctly, you use ice cubes to bake. Paige had a great time. We weren't able to try Abby's Easy Bake Oven due to not having the correct light bulbs. Come to find out you can only get the light bulbs at Lowe's, and they're going to discontinue them soon. Needless to say we went and bought 6 of them. Hopefully that'll last long enough to get all our easy baking needs. Abby enjoyed playing her Nintendo DS while Maren really enjoyed playing with her "3" new baby dolls and the nursery center Santa brought her. Later through out the day the kids played with their new Polly Pockets and Barbies. They played so well together it really made for an enjoyable day. It was nice to just hang out as a family. I wish everyday could be as great as this day was. No fighting or screaming, just everyone getting along and having fun together. We also got to talk to all of our parents. The kids had a lot of fun telling everyone what they got. It was fun to hear their excitement. This was I think the first year since we've lived in Arizona that we haven't had somebody here for Christmas. That was kind of sad. But we did have a good day anyways. Maybe next year we'll have some visitors. Hint, Hint!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we had a fun night with just our family. I made your traditional Christmas dinner. Ham and cheesy potatoes. We had a fun night together just being together as a family. The girls opened 1 present which is a tradition for us. But Rich and I get to choose the present. And of course it is always the same thing. New jammies and slippers. This year I actually found robes for all of them. They've been begging for robes. I don't what the thrill is but we found some. So they were excited. Just before bed the girls got the cookies & milk ready for Santa, and then they left some carrots for the reindeer.

Christmas Card

2008-12-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well this year has really flown by so quickly. Especially this Christmas season. I have run out of time to do our Christmas cards. We did however get some new family pictures. We are so sorry to all of you who look forward to getting those cards (I know I'm one of them, as well). So we are very sorry. Maybe next year I'll be more on top of things. But I do want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope that you are all enjoying this holiday season, wherever you may be. I just love this time of year. I love how everyone is happier and more willing to help others. I wish it could continue throughout all of the year. I hope we can all remember the true meaning of this season. May we remember our savior and everything he has done for us. I know I'm greatful for him and everything he has helped me get through especially over this last year. Merry Christmas!

I had to add this last photo. This is the face I get to enjoy every day.

The Girls

2008-12-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

On sunday the girls wore there christmas dresses to church. I had to take pictures of them because they looked so cute. It was such a great day at church. The girls made some really cute things for christmas.

Paige

2008-12-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last wensday was Paige's last day of preschool for the year. That just sounds so weird. Anyways she got to decorate a gingerbread train. Here are some pictures to show how proud she was of her creation. She also wanted to take a picture of her and her gift for Rich and I.

Abby's Christmas Concert

2008-12-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I finally have time to do it. Things have been a bit crazy around here. Abby had her school Christmas program (they actually called it Christmas, hurray!) Anyways it was last Thursday. It was very interesting. They had the grades divided into 2 grades per group. Each group sang 3 songs it was a lot of fun to see Abby so excited to be up there singing. She's definitely not shy. I must admit she has a pretty good voice for her age(she didn't get that from me, as you all know). There were so many people there it was kind of difficult to get good pictures and videos. This was the best I could get. I hope you enjoy.

Gingerbread House fun

2008-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

On monday night we decided to make a gingerbread house for family home evening. We invited our friends the Snyders and each family decorated their own house. The kids had so much fun. I just love all the little activities there are to do for the holidays. It's fun to see the girls working together and having fun with one another. It's always nice to see that they can do something without fighting all the time. The boys had their fun watching monday night football as usual. You can't expect them to miss that. That's okay we all had fun just visiting and being together. Thanks Brian and Penny for such a fun night.

My 3 girlies decorating their gingerbread house

This is the boys chillin out watching the football game

All 6 girls busy decorating

Thanksgiving Week

2008-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a fun week. My parents and sister Heidi and her 3 boys came to visit for Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun. The girls enjoyed having cousins around and of course having G-Ma and Papa here. Paige is attached at my mom's hip. Poor G-ma, wherever she goes Paige goes. We had fun taking the kids to the park and going on little walks and bike rides. On Thanksgiving we cooked a yummy dinner, walked to the park to get rid of some of those yummy calories and put up Christmas lights. The house looks great. Thanks Dad for your help. After we got the kids to bed we enjoyed watching some Christmas movies. Tis the season. On friday Heidi, my mom and I decided to go shopping in the morning. So we left the house around 4 a.m. hoping to get some great deals. We started at Walmart, but didn't get what we really wanted (it's a long story). Anyways, we did get some other good things. But it was nice to be out with my sister and mom. I don't get to do that much. After we got home we decided to go on a hike. We went up to the wind cave in Mesa. It was a good hike. It's about 3 miles. The kids did pretty good, despite Paige taking a ride down the mountain. She picked a good spot to fall though. It didn't go down too far. Papa helped her up. She told everyone, "Papa saved me." Thank goodness Papa was there. It scared me half to death and I was holding Maren watching Paige falling and trying to run down the trail fast enough to get her. Thanks Dad once again. You're a hero.

On Saturday we took the kids to a park near our house and had a picnic and just spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather. The kids of course enjoyed the swings and wanted to be pushed all the time. We had to make them get off here and there so other kids could have a turn. Abby was disappointed there were no monkey bars so she made her own out of the ladders and hung upside down like a monkey. Abby was having so much fun Daghen decided to join in the fun. When we got home from the park, Paige decided she wanted her training wheels off her bike. So papa helped her take them off and started helping her learn to ride without training wheels. Within maybe 2 or 3 times she was doing it all by herself.

Here's some more photos of her riding her bike. You did awesome Paige. I can't believe you're riding "a 2 wheeler bike." Boy, how the time flies. We're so excited for you. Good Job!

After doing that we went to the temple lights and to cherry lane to see their lights this year. The kids enjoyed seeing the nativitiy scenes but most of all enjoyed the lights. This is my favorite time of year. I just love seeing all the christmas lights.

Last but not least after the temple we came home and made sugar cookies. The kids had been asking to make them all week. We finally decided to do it saturday night. They had so much fun rolling out the dough themselves and cutting out their shape. Good thing my mom has more patience then me. I think I would have just taken over and only let them cut out the shapes. But they really enjoyed using cans as their rolling pins and rolling out the dough. Thanks mom for such a fun activity.

Thanks mom, dad, and Heidi for coming and spending thanksgiving with us. It sure meant alot to us and we had alot of fun with you. We miss you already and can't wait until we see you again.

Brian's Baptism

2008-11-30T18:59:00.000-08:00

So after the zoo we had a baptism to go to for our good friend Brian. It was so neat to go to his baptism. The kids had a great time being with their friends. They didn't quite understand why Brian was being baptized if he wasn't 8. So that was fun trying to explain that. Brian your such a great guy the kids thought you were already a member, I guess. Anyways, this was such an awesome experience to go through with such good friends. We are so excited for Penny and Brian. Congratulations to you both. Can't wait until next november for the temple. Thank you Brian for including us in your special day.

Saturday at the Zoo

2008-11-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since I posted so I have a lot to post. So just bear with me. Since this is my journaling. November 15th was my works annual day at the zoo. We enjoy going to this every year. My work pays for your admitance into the zoo and then there's a lunch provided which is usually BBQ sandwiches and all the other goodies. This year was no exception. We had a great time, as usual. The kids look forward to this every year. We got there in the morning and stayed until 1 or so because we had a baptism to go to. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals and playing on the different play areas. We also saw one of the shows which was fun.

Scentsy

2008-11-19T17:22:00.000-08:00

So I've decided to start selling Scentsy Candles. To kick it off I'm having an open house on Saturday November 22. I'm really excited and think that everyone will really like these. If you can come and support me, I'd love to see you there. You can get a closer look at http://www.scentsy.net/. These would be great gifts for the holidays. Bring a friend and have a fun time away from the kiddos. I promise there will be goodies. Hopefully I'll see you all soon.

2008-11-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Jenn's 30th birthday. We took her out to celebrate at Texas Roadhouse, followed by ice cream at her favorite place, Cold Stone. Our friend Penny was able to join us with her three kids, so we had quite the group. Six kids and three adults. Our friend Sarah happened to be our waitress (thanks for taking such good care of us, Sarah!) which the girls were very excited about. Sarah even talked the four older girls into coming out of the booth and dancing with the waitresses.

One of the traditions at Texas Roadhouse is that when someone goes there to celebrate their birthday, they must sit in a saddle while a waitress announces their birthday to the entire restaurant. Jenn had warned me before going in was that I was not to tell them it was her birthday. Well, since Sarah turned out to be our waitress there was no getting away from it. Maybe next time she'll reconsider having her friend be her server, LOL!

Of course, the kids had to have their turn on the saddle too.

Happy Birthday, Jenn! We love you!

P.S. Don't you just love quality camera phone pictures?

Rich's New Toy

2008-11-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

The only reason I post this is because I think some time back in an earlier post Kelly Votaw said that Rich needed a new guitar to put in the "music room" (probably as a joke). Well, here you go:

A friend of Rich's in Salem, Oregon built it for him. The best part of it was the price; free. He received it a few days after coming home from the hospital.

Abby's Reaction (Election)

2008-11-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this yesturday, but as usual didn't get around to it. For the past few weeks Abby would keep asking Rich and I who we were voting for? We'd just turn the question back on her and ask her who she was voting for? She would always say McCain. Well on tuesday she asked again and I finally told her I was voting for McCain also. She said "good so am I," what about daddy? I told her she'd have to ask him. So after school all she wanted to know about was the election and who was winning. She was so disappointed when we didn't know who was going to win before she went to bed. Wednesday morning she woke up and immediatley asked who won? I told her Obama. Her reaction if you could imagine was, "NOOOOOOOO, that means there won't be any christmas and there won't be halloween next year. But mom he only had 24% of the vote yesterday at school. That's not enough to win." I simply told her that the rest of the country felt otherwise. She continued the rest of the morning until the bus came pouting and mouping about it. When she got home from school she continued with the same reaction saying I still can't believe he won. She said some one at school said they were going to do the election over and then McCain would win. It cracks me up what these kids think. It sure was a good laugh. Simply a priceless moment. You're so cute Abby.