Pride N' Joy

Halloween Fun

2009-11-05T14:52:00.006-07:00

Okay everyone, I have said this before but this this time I mean it, I am going to be a better blogger. As many of you know my parents are serving a mission in New York so, I will update my blog more often so that I can keep them in the loop with the kids. So here we go.

Hailey wanted to be Ariel "Mermaid" and Dylan wanted to be spiderman. I can't believe how grown-up these kids are getting. Jake fell asleep so he didn't get dressed up. Hailey kept asking me all day, " Is it time, Mom". They were both so excited !

Dylan such a crack up. He put his trick-or-treat bucket on his head and walked around the house for quite sometime with it on. He is so goofy. There is never a dull moment with the kid. Today Darren went downstairs and found Dylan in the bathroom with toilet paper, all the towels, a basket and the garbage can in the bath tub and the water was up about halfway up and steadily rising. Needless to say, he had to spend some time in timeout.

He didn't really care for carving pumpkins. He just poked it with the poker stick and he wasn't about to touch the guts. This really surprised me seeing that he is all about making messes.

I love this picture. Hailey was just enjoying a moment with her Dad.

Jake is now 5 months old, can you believe it?! The baby stage goes by so fast. He is the best baby. He never cries unless he is hungry or tired. He loves to grab his toes!! which he does constantly. He giggles and laughs and babbles all the time. I don't know how I got so lucky, this little boy is so sweet.

Dylan is all boy. At the pumpkin patch they had these wheel barrows just the right size for the little kids. Dylan was in heaven!! In fact, he cried so hard when we had to leave, I thought he would never stop.

Hailey has fun no matter what we do. She loves life to the fullest. She loves being a big sister and is such a big help.

Gardner Village Witches

2009-11-03T17:44:00.002-07:00

Last week my mother, my 2 sisters-in-laws and I went to the the Witchapoolza show at Gardner Village. We had a great time, good show and good food. Hailey was very upset that she didn't get to go. She cried and cried. She said to me" Mom, you and I go do girls things together all the time, why can't I go?." This broke my heart. She then said, "I don't want to stay home and do boy things with the boys." This off course cracked me up and also made me happy that she wants to spend time together. I can't wait till she is older, we will do so much together. So I told her that I would take her the next day to see the witches. Little did I know that it was supposed to snow that day. But, a promise is a promise. So, the two of us went to Gardner Village and braved the snow storm. When we first got there it was snowing really hard but soon tapered off. Needless to say, we were the only ones there and it was nice. We then went to lunch at the bakery and had a wonderful one on one time together. I enjoy spending alone time with my daughter, she is so much fun.

The best neighbors ever!!!

2009-11-02T21:10:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking my neighbors family pictures, I had a blast. They have some of the cutest kids, they were so easy to photograph. Thank you neighbors for a fun afternoon.

2009-09-28T20:30:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago wonderful family in my ward asked me to take a their family photos for them, can I just say "Photogenic". Not only are they photogenic but they are so dang funny. I would tell the youngest (4 yrs) to say "Stinky Feet" instead he would say "Chocolate", he just cracked me up, I had so much fun with him. The oldest (10 yrs) I swear has had some modeling experience, He was bustin out all the moves, hilarious ! Thank-you for letting me do this for you I had such a great time, I am still laughing. (bear with me, the clarity on this blog sucks, it doesn't do justice for the photos.)

1st Day of School

2009-09-09T13:49:00.008-06:00

Yea !!! It's finally here. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. I have been ready for this day since the end of May (yes, this was the end of school last). It has been a long summer and we are ready to get back into somekind of routine.

Jake's Blessing

2009-08-20T11:40:00.004-06:00

This has taken me a little while to get this posted. These are pics of Jake's blessing day. He was such an angel that day I think that he knew this was his day. I just love this little guy. He is such a sweet little spirit. He is such a happy little guy, he smiles and giggles at you and it just melts my heart. I am so glad that our Heavenly Father sent this special little boy to our home. We love you Jake !!!

I love my cute little family !!! It was such a great day.

The solution

2009-08-20T11:38:00.003-06:00

I went out and got a bunch of headbands with flowers and bows. If you put the flower on the left side you can't even tell that she has a big chunk out of the side.

Hailey's DIY Haircut

2009-08-07T14:09:00.002-06:00

This morning Hailey came walking up the stairs and said, "Hi, Mom" . She was as calm as could be, like nothing was wrong. When I turned around and looked at her the only thing I could do was put my hand over my mouth and say, "Oh, my gosh!" over and over and over. I didn't get mad at her or cry, but by my reaction she knew she had done something wrong. She then ran to her room and cried. Darren went in to console her and this was her story. I was down stairs in Moms craft room watching Mulan and in the movie Mulan cuts her hair to look like a boy so I wanted to cut my hair like Mulan did. How can you get made at that, it is such a cute story. I then told her we may have to cut it like Dylan's and Dad's hair. I probably shouldn't have said that cause then she really got upset. When ran down to the salon to see if a professional could salvage it but in some spots it was almost cut to the scalp. The only alternative was a buzz cut or a mullet.

I am going to the craft store today to by plastic heads bands and ribbons to put together to see if we can camoflage it a bit.

Big chunk missing

Her new bangs. it makes me sad. The underside is so short so we made bangs to cover it.

Parade

2009-07-24T11:04:00.006-06:00

Last night we took the kids to the Bountiful Parade with their Grandma and Papa and cousins. We all survived the heat and had a blast.

Hailey, Izabelle, and McKenzie.

Jacob and Darren

Izabelle

Mckenzie

Dylan

Hailey wanted to give the camera a funny face.

Mckenzie squirting Dylan, who didn't seem to mind.

Hailey showing her patriotism.

Dylan covering his ears when the sirens came by.

I love the look on her face. Watch out everyone here come McKenzie.

2009-06-29T13:19:00.011-06:00

Jacob "Jake" Openshaw born 6-03-09, 3:36pm, 6 lbs. 13 oz., 19 inches.

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures of our new little baby. I am so bad at this blogging thing.

We were induced on Wednesday June 3rd at 11:30 pm and 4 hours later Jake made is debut. The labor and delivery went very well. Two weeks after Jake was born Mom had a little set back. I started hemorrhaging and went to the ER and had an emergency D&C. It was scary at the time, but we have recovered and am doing great. I have to thank my wonderful family and great friends who stepped in and helped me out with my other two kids.

Life with 3 kids is definitely interesting. There are a few times when I think I could pull my hair out but for the most part it really isn't that bad. I have heard so many horror stories from people saying that 3 kids were are so hard but I have found that if I have a routine and try to be organized things run a lot smoother. I am so grateful all 3 of my kids and I am the luckiest Mom in the world. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this amazing adventure he has blessed me with.

Jake 12 days old

Cute feet- 12 days old

12 days old

1 hour old

Good News!!

2009-01-22T15:33:00.002-07:00

We are expecting again!!!!! We are due on June 10th and will be having a BOY!!!! We are very excited and can't wait to meet this little guy.

Willling participants

2008-11-09T19:04:00.006-07:00

My wonderful friend Lora let me practice on her girls. Thank-you so much for letting me spend the afternoon with you girls, I had a blast.

Wheeler Farm

2008-11-09T16:53:00.003-07:00

I took my kids to Wheeler Farm to practice and here are the results. Sorry I am not a women of many words.

This is the only picture I could get of Dylan.

Hailey clearly does not want me to practice on her anymore, hence the back turned and the dirty look.

Halloween

2008-11-09T16:44:00.003-07:00

Besides Christmas I think Halloween is their favorite holiday. Hailey decided she wanted to be a Scarey Witch with a green face. And we'll Dylan didn't have much of a choice.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-09T16:36:00.004-07:00

Dylan was in heaven when he got to drive the tractor. He just cried when it was time to go.

Okay, I have a lot to catch up on. It has been a while since my last post, so I hope you can all bear with me. We took the kids to pick out their pumpkins and they had a blast.

Practice... Practice... Practice

2008-10-08T14:20:00.007-06:00

As many of you know my hubby gave me a great camera for my b-day. So the other day we went out so I could practice and here are my results. It is really hard to get my kids to look at the camera. I took these pictures up at the cove, the leaves haven't really turned yet so in a couple of weeks it will have amazing color. If you would like me to practice on your family I would be more than happy too. Since I am just practicing I won't charge you, cause I am not guaranteeing anything. You can call me and we can set something up.

Bad Bad Mommy.

2008-10-01T22:45:00.007-06:00

Today we went to get our Mini Van looked at, while we were at the dealership a nice lady gave my two children two huge balloons. Hailey of course wanted the pink one and Dylan of course didn't really care. These balloons were the biggest balloons that I have ever seen, I was kinda jealous in a way. I guess you could say that I secretly wanted one too. After the dealership we ran over to Costco to get the $100 gallon of milk (j/k inside joke) and some diapers so I decided to leave the balloons in the van. A $100 and an hour later, I opened the trunk as well as the sliding doors, as I was loading the diapers I look up just in time to see the big pink balloon escape. Oops, I knew this wasn't going to be good but at least we still had the big red balloon, and maybe I could get them to share. We'll as quickly as that thought crossed my mind the big red balloon escaped before I could get the door shut, double oops! I knew that this would devastate my 3 year old so, I decided to make it seem like it was sooo cool to watch them float away. Nope, didn't work, not even a little bit. In the middle of the parking lot a loud shrieking scream and a flood of tears erupted like a volcano. After loading a screaming 3 year old and a clueless 1 year old into the van I began to apologized to my 3 year old profusely. She screamed the whole way home, " I am so sad, I want my balloon." It wasn't just any old scream, it was the kind of scream that just broke your heart into pieces, you could actually feel her deep pain. I felt like I was just stabbed in the heart, I wanted to cry with her. Later that day when her Dad came home she told him that the balloon flew away and that she was really sad. I also heard her on the stairs talking to her favorite stuffed animal, "I was so sad when my balloon flew away". I feel horrible, bad bad Mommy.

First day of Preschool.

2008-08-31T20:59:00.018-06:00

Tuesday was Hailey's first day of Preschool. Hailey did really good, she walked right in and sat down, she was so excited. Mom, on the another hand, got a little emotional but held it together pretty well. Dylan cried, he really missed his big sister. Today was her second day. She really wanted to take her "Bunny Bear" to school with her but I told her he needed to stay here with mom and I would babysit him. Her reply was," Mom, he really likes to play with the blocks but he may need some help, and he also really loves puzzles". She is so much like her mom it cracks me up.

Dylan was so bored without her. When her carpool pulled into the driveway to bring her home he was screaming with excitement. He couldn't wait to get out the door to greet her.

Taken one last hit off her "Bunny Bear" before she had to go.

Reunion time

2008-08-31T20:59:00.016-06:00

Here are some pictures that I took while at a reunion in Preston, Idaho.

What do like better color or the sepia?

What do you like better the color or B&W?

More Camping !

2008-08-31T20:59:00.014-06:00

For my Birthday this year my husband bought me a DSLR camera. So, I have been practicing alot this month. Here is some pictures of our second camping trip this year.

My sweet little boy loves his "Grondpa"

Hailey going fishing with her "Pappa".

Dad teaching his girl to fish.

Dylan just chillin out.

Hailey was so excited that she an Grandpa had caught a fish until it came out of the water. When it came out of the water it was of course flapping all around, like fish out of water do, and Hailey freaked out and didn't want anything to do with it after that.

Camping...Camping...Camping

2008-08-31T20:59:00.007-06:00

This is a few pictures of our camping trip in July, yes I said July, sorry it has taken me a while to get to these pictures. I love camping. Okay, maybe not love, but I really do enjoy it as long as there are warm showers and running toilets. When I was younger my family went camping every summer for a week. So, I decided it was time for the kids to have the whole camping experience. My parents have a trailer so we went with them, but just my luck the kids wanted to sleep in the tent (of course !!). We stayed at this campground near Echo Reservoir in Coleville. This place is a pretty nice campground, it has all the requirements and then some. I think the kids loved the fishing pond more than anything. It was the highlight of the day when they got to go fishing with Grandpa. Here are just a few pictures.

A true girl can't forget her purse, especially when you go fishing.

Hailey and Dylan loved finding rocks and throwing them in the lake. Every night @ 8pm this guy would bring some fish food and the kids got to throw in some fish food and watch the fish go crazy.

Dylan really enjoying the whole camping experience.

Darren doing a little fishing. He looks like a natural.

My Dad doing a little fishing.

Grandma W. would be so proud !

2008-08-31T20:59:00.003-06:00

It's no secret that I love to make bread, we'll it looks like someone else does to. My kids just love to help, maybe a little too much sometimes. Dylan not only likes to roll the dough but he really loves the raw dough (Yuck !)

Happy Birthday to me !!!!!

2008-08-08T21:12:00.002-06:00

I am 21 years old again, I can't quite remember how many times I have celebrated my 21st birthday but, I know that it is a lot. For my B-day we get to go to a family reunion in Idaho, Yahoo!!! (not really). Not quite what I had in mind for my B-day but, Oh well !!! Here are a few things that you may or may not know about me.

1. I attended Ricks College for 2 years then came back to SLC and graduated with a degree in Marketing.

2. My husband and I have season tickets to the U of U football games and I love it.

3. I love the color of RED !! (of course)

4. I love to make bread.

5. I love to talk.

6. I love to hang out with friends.

7. I love to read books.

You know what they say, "getting old is only a state of mind". In that case I guess I am still 21.

I am so blessed because of you!!!

2008-07-19T13:13:00.008-06:00

Six years ago on July 18th my wonderful husband and I were sealed for "Time and all Eternity" in the SLC Temple. I can almost remember that day like it was yesterday. What I remember most was that wonderful spirit that I felt all day, it was so amazing. It is truly the happiest day off my life.

Just a little history on our happy (it was about dang time!) beginning. I was a little older than most people in the Mormon culture when I met my husband. Before I had met my husband I dated alot of undesirables and knew exactly what I didn't want. I searched along time for "Mr. Right" and kept striking out. As I watch all my friends get married and have children, I began to get discouraged thinking I would never find him. Finally, on my 29th Birthday I decided to just give up. I wanted to get married before my 30 th Birthday, and at this point I thought there is no way this was going to happen. To make a long story short. I met my wonderful soon to be husband in November 2001. When I met him I knew that there was something very special about him that I had never found in anyone else (and I was right). We were engaged in April and Married July 18,2002 (three weeks before my 30 th B-day). I am living proof that the Lord does hear and answers our prayer in his own time, I prayed for a long time to meet my husband and finally it happened. He was definetly worth the wait.!!! Because I had to wait so long to find him, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would find someone like him.

The last 6 years have been truly the best years of my life and I owe it all to my husband. I wouldn't be here without him and I am truly blessed to have him in my life. We know have 2 wonderful children, a house, and lots of love.

Some things I love about my husband:

His love for the Savior and for our Church
He respects and honors his Priesthood
Great provider
Great Father--my children adore him.
He makes me want to be a better person
Good sense of humor
Never rocks the boat
Never raises his voice (we never fight)
Helps me cook dinner
Cleans up after dinner
Changes diapers with out complaining
Helps clean the house
Helps do Laundry
Does a great job on our yard.
He is good friend to others
Bathes the kids at night
Sing the kids bedtime songs
Read the kids stories
Gets down and plays with the kids.
Good Golfer (I think I like that, maybe that is not such a good thing ha-ha)

There are so many more things but I don't want this to drag on forever.

I just want my husband to know how much I love him and want to thank him for 6 of the best years and I am so glad that we get to spend forever together. Thank you for making all my dreams come true.

FABULOUS FOURTH

2008-07-08T16:29:00.008-06:00

For the 4th of July we went to Gardner Villages petting zoo. When we got there the kids screamed with excitement!! They couldn't wait to get in there and ride the horses and pet the animals. It was so much fun to watch them.
Dylan followed this poor goat around holding it by the tail the whole time. The goat didn't seem to care.

Hailey had such a great time petting all the animals.

Dylan is growing up right before my eyes. He is such a cute little boy with such a cute personailty.

Hailey was so excited to ride the horses. She has been looking forward to it all summer.

Dylan loves horses, he calls them, " Nay-Nayies". Anytime he sees them he literally screams, "NAY-NAYIES". He had such a great time.