Jill's Playground

Mason turns 5

2011-02-14T11:07:00.001-07:00

Mason Turns 5!

2011-02-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Mason had a pretty low-key birthday for his 5th year. We squeezed in a quick family party between thanksgiving celebrations. He had a blast though. He wanted a cars cake so this is my version of Lightning McQueen. I LOVE Drew's face in this picture! It makes me laugh so hard every time I see it! He is READY for cake!

A four and five year old and too much sugar = crazy pics!

The Loot!

No words required

2011-02-14T09:24:00.002-07:00

Halloween 2010

2011-02-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Mason made another appearance this year as Buzz Lightyear. Tess was Supergirl. And Livy was a little bumble bee. It was the first year Tess fully appreciated halloween.

It was great but by the time they had the trunk-or-treat, and their halloween parties at school, the actual trick -or-treating wasn't really that exciting for them. So they went to about 15 houses and were done. They sure look cute though!

Random comments from Tess

2011-02-14T09:08:00.002-07:00

Tess: Mom, you have a big bum bum.
Me: What?
Tess: You have a big bum bum and I have a medium bum bum.
Me Laughing: You have a medium bum bum?
Tess: Yes. And Livy has a little bum bum.

update

2011-02-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

So it's been a crazy few months and I'm way behind on updating my blog. I have a new determination to keep this updated and use it so I can remember all the fun things we have been doing. The biggest change in our lives recently is I went back to work in December. I am working two nights a week at Primary Children's. I work on their behavioral unit. I LOVE it. The majority of our patients are teenagers and they are required to have lights out at 10:00 pm. Since I work mostly nights, (6 pm to 6 am) Most of my night is spent surfing the internet or reading. This means I have no excuse to not update my blog!!

So here we go...

The kids are growing so fast!!!

Mason just had his 5th birthday! Wow. He is such a tall lanky boy! He is getting hard to cuddle because he is all arms and legs. He still wants to cuddle though, and that makes me happy! Mason and Tess like to come and climb in bed with us every morning and I always have to be between them or they will fight over who gets to lay by me. Most mornings it makes me happy. (although I wish it was a few hours later.)

So back to Mason... He is doing great. He will be starting kindergarten next year and I'm already stressing over it. I'm going to be a mess on that first day. He is so smart and is doing really well with his reading and numbers. But, he is not great at paying attention. He has a really hard time sitting still. I'm just a little afraid of what real school will be like. He is still the sweetest boy in the world. He turned to Burke the other day and said "Dad, you're the best ever!" Lately he has been going downstairs and putting his PJ's on without even being asked. He usually will at least try his dinner without any major battles. And he loves to take care of his little sisters. He is addicted to his video games. This is both good and bad. It is nice to have something you can use to reward and punish with, but bad that if he had his way, he would never stop playing.

Tess -
Holy crap this girl is a diva! She is VERY demanding and loves to be right next to me every minute. She is the cutest thing you will ever see with her blonde curls and dark eyes. She speaks extremely well and has an amazing vocabulary for a 3 year old. She is very defiant and when you try to discipline her, she tries to joke her way out. SHE's ONLY 3!! Mason always cried and was upset when he got in trouble. Not Tess, she'll stick her tongue out at me, or laugh at me when I try to get her to do something. She was put in time out during dinner the other night. The rest of us were at the table eating and I hear her shout. "mommy, you can't see me sticking my tongue out at you!" I can't wait for the teenage years with this one!!

Olivia -
We are so lucky. Livy is the cutest rolly-polly, loving, easiest baby on the planet. She loves to sleep. At night and during the day. She loves her blanket. She loves to eat anything (the first in our family to ever do this, including me and Burke.) She has a squinty smile that is completely hilarious. She is very close to walking and gets into everything! She can't sit still, especially in church and on airplanes. She has learned to wave hi and bye and says Mama and Dada. What a freakin' cutie.

All I want for Christmas...

2010-12-07T17:11:00.002-07:00

Me: Tessa, what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?
Tess: Presents!!!!
Me: What kind of presents?
Tess: Purple ones!!!

My New Business!

2010-10-27T09:01:00.001-06:00

I'm starting a little business. Tess and Olivia Designs. I'm making car seat covers. Check out my shop at http://www.tessandolivia.etsy.com/! Here are some samples of what I have available now.

I think they are pretty cute if I do say so myself. The minky car seat covers fit right over your original car seat and canopy replaces the existing canopy on your car seat. Love it!

Olivia Kate

2010-10-12T13:27:00.000-06:00

Seven months old! What a perfect little baby! She has two little teeth peeking out of her bottom gums. She has just learned to sit up without falling over. She still hasn't learned how to cry! She is amazing! She fusses maybe once a week. She is so happy and easy going. She loves spinning around and around in her saucer. She loves her brother and sister and her daddy. Anytime she hears Burke's voice, she stops what she's doing (even eating) and looks around until she finds his face and then stares him down until he gives her the attention she wants from him. No one makes her laugh like Tess can. But no one loves her more then Mason. He is annoyingly obsessed with his little sister. He loves to hold her and play with her. I love my little baby girl!

Outdoors with the fam

2010-09-04T16:23:00.000-06:00

We tood a day trip to Silver Lake with Grandpa Stan. Mason the climber, was so exited to climb up this big rock face. It made me a little nervous. But he was so proud of himself.
Mason loved fishing for about 30 seconds and then was done.

Tess is terrified of the pool but with Dad she had no fear. I guess that says a lot about how she feels about her dad.

Fun times with Daddy in the pool.

Mason asked me what a brother does and I explained he needs to take care of his sisters. He thought that was the best thing ever. Here he is feeding our Liv.

Little Blue Eyes

Summer Fun

2010-07-27T13:48:00.001-06:00

Mason went on his first ever tent camping trip with his dad a couple weeks ago.

His backpack was a big as he is.

Mason an Tess love to go to the park where Mason has just learned to go down the fire pole all by himself!

Tess Turns 3

2010-07-27T13:34:00.000-06:00

Tess turned 3 years old this week! Wow!

She had a princess party with all of her little neighborhood friends.

I made a castle cake for her.

She was very excited about her princess and the frog movie and puppy purse.

All The little neighbor girls came dressed like their favorite princess

Here they all are except for Tess who was throwing a tantrum, and Claire who was asleep.

(Maybe 3 is a little young to start friend parties)

Mason of course wanted to get in on the princess action. At least he still sits like a boy!

Summer's Here!

2010-06-17T10:15:00.000-06:00

I have too many funny and cute pictures that I haven't uploaded yet so here's a quick update.

First off, my kids got these goggles (Tess called them "gobbles") and they insist on wearing them in the bathtub. The picture of Tess cracks me up everytime I see it!

We had Olivia's blessng.

Here is my cute momma holding her.

I made a quilt for her and am very proud of the way it turned out!

Mason had his Small Wonders Preschool Graduation even though he still has another year of preschool. We love love love Small wonders!!

We have turned he backyard into an amusement park for the kids. Slip 'n Slide, Bounce house, pool, trampoline, and playset. Are they spoiled or what? At least they leave me alone with Liv for a few minutes when it's warm and they can play in the yard.

We took the kids to Jungle Jim's. SO FUN! Mason has asked to go back every day since we went. It has about 7 or 8 little kiddie rides and they loved it! Watching these two drive around in the bumper cars was hilarious!! They woud both give huge belly laughs every time they would crash into people. They always wanted to ride together. I'm so glad they love each other! My battery ran out on my camera before I could take pics of them on the bumper cars! Dangit!

Tess was all smiles until the horse started going up and down. Then she was clinging on to Burke for dear life. The only ride that scares her is the merry-go-round? What's up with that?

Every morning when Liv wakes up they run and get into her crib withher and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" It is the cutest! They love their little sister.

Cousin Bailey's Blessing we got the three cousins together to take their first pics together. Olivia is looking pretty chubby next to these two!

And my beautiful Tess! What a cutie!! She got potty-trained in two days last week ! Wooo hooo!

Girly girl

2010-06-08T17:15:00.000-06:00

Tess picked up this little number this weekend on clearance and thinks she's pretty hot stuff in it! She insists on wearing it constantly. Today she decided that she needed to wear her matching hello kitty boots with it and watch herself dance in the mirror. What a little diva!!

Photo Update

2010-06-02T11:22:00.000-06:00

Olivia is getting so chubby and smily!

Here she is with cousin Bailey. So cute! They are only 6 weeks apart. Hopefully future best friends!

Cute pics of the older two at the park with Mom.

Gotta love those kids!

Weekend Project?

2010-05-02T20:03:00.000-06:00

This is our little weekend project we have been working on. Unfortunately... it took much more than a weekend. Holy crap these take forever to build. But it is done and the kids LOVE IT!!!!

Olivia's smiling!

2010-05-02T19:59:00.002-06:00

Soccer Mom

2010-04-27T11:36:00.000-06:00

So my boy started soccer last weekend. It was pretty funny. He doesn't really have that 'killer instinct' yet. He'll follow the ball for about 30 seconds and then get frustrated because too many other kids are following the ball too. So he will wander off to climb the fence or sit on the sidelines and have some of the neighbors snacks. But, he sure looks cute in his little uniform

I am so proud of my little man. He is doing so great right now. His tantrums are becoming much less frequent and is constantly saying "I'm being a good boy, Mommy".

He is so smart and asks me how to spell everything. He loves both of his preschool classes and has just grown in leaps and bounds. I'm just so happy and relieved that he is doing so great. We love him so much!

"wee-va"

2010-03-21T12:49:00.000-06:00

Our little Olivia, or as the kids call her "Wee-va"

Sisters are the best! I never had a sister until I got a whole bunch of wonderful sisters-in-law. I'm so glad my girls will get to have each other. Tess loves laying down next to her new little sister. It is so funny to see how big Tess has gotten now that we have a little one to compare her too.

My own little women

But... Mason loves her the most! He always loves babies and is so sweet with her.

Olivia Kate Shields

2010-03-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Mason is so happy to meet his baby sister. Tessa keeps shouting at me that it's "her baby"

Proud Poppa!

Christmas just keeps coming!

2010-01-13T16:04:00.001-07:00

Burke came a few weeks ago and announced that he was ordering new carpet for the entire upstairs. Hooray!!! I can't tell you how wonderful that is! We had the grossest cheapest carpet possible and it had about a million tiny sippy cup stains all over it. I tried to take a before and after pic but it didn't look a whole lot different. Just something you have to appreciate in person. But we repainted our master bedroom before we got the new carpet and Wow!! We love it. here it was before....

And After...

You can kind of tell that the carpet is 100% better too if you look close enough. Hooray. Now I'm going to repaint the office and the front room. I just need to make a few decisions first.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Boise to celebrate with the Shields fam. The kids got their biggest present before we left. We didn't want to drag the big dollhouse and all of the furniture up to Boise so they opened it at our family party the Saturday before. It was a total hit! Mason loves it just as much as Tess does. (I knew he would) They are continually fighting over the little cat and dog that came with it. Christmas Eve at the Shields house started out with some fun hats.

Then the kids decided to take the party up a notch and take their clothes off.

Christmas Morning was the best! Mason got a computer from Grandma and Grandpa,

He is showing it off to cousin Parker.

My kids' favorite thing about Grandma's house is playing with Bear. Mason loves to get kisses.

Mason loved his new dart gun

Tess loved her cousin Claire. And her new dress-up clothes

We had the best Christmas! Burke even suprised me with diamond earrings. Can you believe it!! I was so excited! What a wonderful husband! Merry Christmas everybody!!

Christmas Parties and snowstorms

2009-12-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

The kids have been wanting to play in the snow every day. Tess is always losing a mitten or a whole boot. She's just not very coordinated yet. Plus walking up and down the sledding hill is not the most fun when you are 7 months pregnant and dragging two kids behind you. But I got the sled out and bundled the kids up and set them loose while I stayed inside and sipped hot chocolate and watched them out the window. Can I just say I was amazed. I have the best kids in the world. Mason would have Tess sit on the sled and pull her up our little hill in the backyard. Then he would climb on the back and they would slide all the way across the back of the yard because the snow was so icy and they are so light. They would laugh uncontrollably and do it all over again. They are such good friends. I love it that they love each other.

Cute little snow bunnies.

That night we went to the Postma family Christmas Party. It was so fun. Tess got a beautiful new dress from Mike and Steph. She loved it so much she wouldn't take it off. She was spinning around saying "I'm so pretty" over and over. It was hilarious!

Saturday night was the Wright family party. We are so big this year, and have so many great grandkids, that we had it in a church gym. It was so fun though. They even rented a bounce house for the kids.

We had a Christmas Pagent where the kids dressed up. It was so darling. Tessa was a sheep.

She liked helping the drummer boy.

And Mason was a king. He wasn't feeling great that night but did a great job.

We had so much fun. We have the best families and are so lucky this christmas to be able to see them all. Boise, here we come!

Makin' cookies on a snowy afternoon.

2009-12-15T08:11:00.016-07:00

Today Tess helped me make cookies. She was really excited.

Especially for the licking the beater part.

Mason will hate me in the future for this picture but I thought it was hilarious.

At least he gave the shoes with the feathers to Tess.

Happy Birthday Mason!

2009-11-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Mason's birthday was this weekend and we had his first ever friends' birthday party.

Mason wanted the same dinosaur cake that he got last year so we went with a dinosaur theme.

I found the cutest dino masks from oriental trading, You can kind of see them on the table.

I made little dino bean bags out of felt and we took turns tossing them into the "volcano" That was probably the biggest hit of the party. We had a pin the horn on the triceratops which was also fun but most of the boys just peeked out of their blindfold.

We played musical dinosaur extinction. Each child had to sit on a dinosaur when the music stopped. Fun but when several of the kids were "extinct" it was hard to keep the game going with the survivors.

Here is most of the gang. Mason (not looking at camera, too excited for presents), Charlie, Tait, Andrew, Lillee (the only girl besides Tess) and Drew. Front row: Skyler, Tayler, and Carter. (Tess didn't make it into the picture.)

Opening presents. Most of the kids wanted to help Mason open the gifts. As long as it was Charlie, Mason didn't care. I guess he trusts his best friend like that.

Blowing out the candles. (Notice my prego belly in the pic. nice.)

Hooray! The pinata! Mason has some mad skills. Look at that form! Everyone had a turn to wack it 3 times until Mason finally knocked the head clean off,

The loot!
After the party, Tess and I pretty much felt like this....

So we sent Mason and Burke out to a movie and had a girls night on the couch watching Barbie and the Nutcracker.

Happy birthday Mason. We love you so much!!!

Has it been four years already?

2009-11-18T08:26:00.002-07:00

My little Mason boy is turning 4 years old on Saturday. Holy crap! I can't believe it's been that long.

I got a phone call the other day from photogenix. (I love them by the way.) They told me they had a cd of photos that we had taken of Mason when he was two months old and I could come and pick it up if I wanted it, they were just going to throw it out. Check out some of these pictures of my baby boy.

Wow... how times flies.

and pictures of him today...

What a cutie. We love you Mason! We are so glad you are ours.

Let it snow!

2009-10-29T10:08:00.001-06:00

We had the first official snowfall of the year on Tuesday. The kids were super excited to get out in it. So... we got out their hats, gloves and boots and let them play. They loved every second and are as cute as can be all bundled up!

A few new purchases

2009-10-26T21:26:00.001-06:00

In the last few weeks we have made a few fun purchases. Both are from my favorite website, KSL.com classifieds. The first is.....

Ta Da!!!! A trampoline. Just in time for that nice warm October/November weather.

When I was little, every birthday wish, every penny in the fountain wish, every eyelash wish was to get a trampoline. We finally got one when I was about 12 or 13. Even though the kids are so little, they love trampolines and I got this one for the bargain price of $75.(including the enclosure that I haven't set up yet) I am very proud of my thriftiness and happy to provide my kids with a little slice of heaven that I didn't get to enjoy when I was little.

I like how in these pictures, Burke swung the pants right off little flat-butt Mason.

Our next purchase was....

A trailer! We have wanted one for awhile and in the fall, the prices tend to drop so we did it! Yay!

I can't wait till we can start using it, just a few.... short... well maybe like... seven months away.

Fall Fun

2009-10-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

We went to the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago

and I just haven't had time to update my blog with our pics.

I'm so glad Mason and Tess have each other. They get more fun out of everything when they do it together.

The corn maze was a hit with the whole family!

Mason is modeling his halloween look this year. He is Dash from the incredibles.

Tess refuses to wear her cinderella costume. She has already missed out on the trunk-or-treat, and the neighborhood halloween bash. Our family party is tomorrow, we'll see if we can coax a costume out of the little diva.

Trip to Jackson Hole

2009-10-06T18:22:00.000-06:00

We decided at the last minute to meet Val and Sallie in Jackson Hole this last weekend. They were staying in their RV and we needed to get away. In the past, trips with the kids have not been the best. But, I'm happy to say that, Woohoo! The kids had a blast and were really well behaved for a two and three year old. finally.

The Tetons!

Val, Sallie and Bear at Jenny's Lake

Mason and Tess throwing rocks into the lake.

Daddy/Daughter

Tess getting "swings" from Grandma and Grandpa

Mason got to hold Bear's leash. Holy crap was he excited. Except the dog ran faster then Mason. Mason was pretty much the one who got taken for a walk.

So excited to stay in a hotel and sleep in the same bed together.

They did great and we all had such a fun time!

I have to post some funny pictures that I love before I can't find them again.

Here is Tess being silly again and dressing up in whatever she can find. (P.S. Mason loves to be naked and is continually stripping Tess so she can be like him. My kids are nudists)

And I love love love this picture of my kids with their best friends Charlie and Lillee. They have so much fun together and it shows in this picture. Cute, cute kids.

Is it a boy or a girl? Now we know!!!!

2009-09-17T10:05:00.001-06:00

My doctor now offers a gender check ultrasound at 15 weeks. So lucky for me, instead of paying $100 at fetal photo, I get to go in my doctors office and only pay $25 for the techs time.

Here they are,

Our baby's first pictures.

It looks like a little skeleton baby

Perfect for halloween!

Sweet little feet!

A beautiful profile.

And although Burke thought he saw more (the tech said it was the cord)

She is a GIRL!!!!

Hooray!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-08T16:06:00.000-06:00

Friday we started out by taking a trip to the zoo with Grandma Tori, Steph, Aiden and Drew

Grandma got to ride the train with the 2 two-year-olds.

Steph and Aiden on the train too.

It probably doesn't look as funny in the pictures, but I laughed so hard at Mason and Tess. We have a Monkey leash for her so she won't run away and Mason insisted on holding it and leading her all around the whole zoo. She followed right along behind. I couldn't believe that my kids are so big, they can walk around the zoo on their own! Holy crap!

Tess and Grandma watching the penguins.

Mason and Tess placing their order for lunch.

Drew at the penguins

On Monday we took the kids to the Herriman Beach. We buried Mason in the sand. He loved it!! He especially liked climbing out after he was buried and kept wanting us to bury him over and over.

Tess was just happy throwing stuff in the water

Earlier that morning when I tried to sleep in, (my kids always wake up at 6:00) I was laying in bed and could hear the kids getting into my closet. Tess got a hold of my purses and daddy's shoes...

While Mason found some stickers and decided to decorate himself. Too funny! It was a great weekend.

Jason gets married

2009-08-26T10:34:00.001-06:00

We are so happy for Jason who has met a wonderful girl and was married on July 30th.

We love Marie and know they will be so happy together!

Mason and Tessa are striking a pose at the reception.

Burke and I after the ceremony. It was a beautiful day.

Tessa turns two!!

2009-08-24T14:52:00.012-06:00

I'm way behind on blogging lately. I have been really busy and really really sick the past few weeks (we are expecting #3), so I'm really behind on my little blog/journal.

Tessa turned two almost a month ago! She is such a funny little crazy girl. She is a total diva and has multiple tantrums everyday. But, sometimes it's hard not to laugh at her. She throws herself on the ground and kicks her feet, she throws things and yells. It is just so over the top its ridiculus. But 90% of the time she is happy and funny and quirky and cracks us all up all the time. She loves to try to tackle and tickle Mason. She loves to dance. She trys to sing along with all of the tv shows she watches. She likes to play "this little piggy went to market" with her own little toes in the highest, squeeky voice. She thinks just about everything is funny, especially when her mom yells at her. She just looks at me and laughs with her squinty little eyes. Now... at two years old... I just have to say she is my bundle of joy. She brings fun and laughter into our family and we love her so much!

Okay... so I can't get it to embed, but go to this link and check out Tessa's birthday video.
http://www.youtube.com/user/postjill

Cascade Lake with the Shields

2009-07-23T19:29:00.007-06:00

We just returned from our annual Shields family campout at Cascade Lake. Wow, it was fun!Val and Sallie and Bear planned a fun trip for all of us. Thank you so much! They worked so hard to make it fun for all of us.

Here's the whole clan.

Our little slice of the Shields pie.

By the end of the trip we had learned the importance of taking the kids for a drive so they could get their naps in. It made our lives much easier.

The lake was the highlight for the kids. They loved it!

We tried to get some good pics of the kids.

Mason peeking out of the trailer.

Both the kids adore Bear!

Although it was really hot and the kids were awful the first couple days, it ended up being a great trip. We love seeing our family and wish we could live closer to you guys!! Love ya!

Splish splash

2009-07-02T13:28:00.004-06:00

Yesterday the kids all played in the backyard and had a blast!! Auntie Steph was squirting them with a squirt gun and they all lined up against the fence to face the firing squad!

Then they had raced down the slip and slide. Aiden loved it!

So did Tess.

Best buddy brothers.

The day before we went to the splash park.

Tess found a new friend who just happened to be wearing the same outfit!

She wasn't afraid of being a twinner, she knows how to flaunt her stuff.

This is my favorite picture. I love Tess's squinty smiles!

Summer fun

2009-06-26T20:37:00.006-06:00

Blogging has taken a backseat to warmer weather lately. I love it!!! But, since this blog is my scrapbook/journal, I feel the need to upload a bazillion cute pictures of what we have done lately. Sorry if this is boring for all of you folks out there. But for me, there is nothing better then checking out my cute kidsTessa out to lunch with her girlfriend Lillee.

Mason and Tessa. Best friends at the moment.

Loving the tramp.

Not so sure about the pool.

Loving it!!!

Charles in charge

Mason takes beautiful pictures but refuses to look at the camera.

Topless Tess in the splash pool.

Mason again will not look at the camera.

Drew is about to dive into the 3 inches of water.

Sorry but all I think when I see this pic is "What you talkin' bout Willis?"

So silly

sexy people

2009-06-18T10:42:00.005-06:00

This morning I was looking through a bunch of my old elementary and junior high school pictures. I realized that maybe I wasn't as cool as I remembered. Why are the junior high years so awkward for everybody? Even the boys that I had crushes on and had mullets and braces. It was pretty sad. Then I found this http://www.sexypeople-blog.com/. I started to feel alot better. check it out. You'll be glad you did.

Tess is a big girl now!

2009-06-13T10:04:00.003-06:00

Last week we changed Tess's bed from this.....

To this....

She loves it!

Our California Adventure

2009-05-12T22:20:00.008-06:00

First stop, DISNEYLAND!!!! This was us right before we went on our very first ride which was Mr. Toad's wild ride. (that is why there is a frog behind us)It's a small world after all! The kids were pretty much terrified by all of the rides, notice their worried expressions in the picture. All of the rides were SO LOUD! The kids are expecting the small world children to jump down and try to hijack our boat.

We rented a beach house in Carlsbad with two other couples. We had SO MUCH FUN! The best part of the trip was the beach. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

What a cute little future surfer.

The cutest girl I've ever seen in a swimsuit!!

She loved rolling in the sand. She wouldn't go near the water. The crashing waves scared her to death. We took the kids to an aquarium in San Diego. They loved it. There were tide pools that they could explore with starfish and anenomes (I have no idea how to spell)

Then at night we roasted marshmellows around a fire pit in the backyard of the beachouse.

This guy was about 2 feet away from us. Just hanging out on the Oceanside Pier.

We had a blast. The kids travelled amazingly well. Mason loved the plane ride. So sad to be home. I've already lost all patience with the kids and am wishing I could have a little alone time. While I'm writing this Mason is climbing on the back of my chair. I'll take a few picks to demonstrate.

I may feel frustrated and have no patience... but when I look at the pictures, his little smile makes me feel a whole lot better. Except two seconds after I took these pictures he fell off the back of my chair and started screaming then I got him in his pj's and found that he had pooped in his pants.

The joys of motherhood.

To myself on mother's day.

2009-05-12T20:28:00.006-06:00

I stole this from my friends blog because it was so hilarious and completely how I feel on this mother's day...

Dear Me,

Happy stinking Mother's Day.

You thought being a mother would be so great, didn't you? That your kids would be plump cheeked and easy to please? That you would be able to handle each precious child with happiness and ease?You were wrong.

Motherhood is kicking your butt, and you know it.

Like yesterday when Opie was about to poop in his pull up -again- so he was rushed to the toilet just in time to smear poop over multiple surfaces? Remember that? Remember screaming, "WIPE YOUR BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!" repeatedly until you had to give yourself a time out? Yeah, that wasn't fabulous at all.

And remember on wednesday, the 572nd time Monkey came to you crying, "Owie owie owie owie owie owie owie!!!" and you didn't even look at him and just muttered, "You're fine, stop crying." Remember? That wasn't very nurturing, was it? How damaging is that to his little psyche?

So go ahead and go to church and hear about how mothers are amazing, and listen to all the perfect examples of selfless, level headed parenting that is going to be mentioned in all the talks and lessons. Then hang up those little finger print molds and wear your macaroni necklace with pride. Because this whole Mom thing is much harder than you expected, but maybe if you put on a good enough show you can even convince yourself that you're doing a good job.

But in the meantime, maybe you should pull out that candy bar they handed out after Sacrament Meeting. Because chocolate might be the only thing that gets you through the next couple decades of child rearing.

Sincerely,

Me

Thanksgiving point

2009-04-28T08:20:00.007-06:00

We went to Thanksgiving point last night to take family pictures. They won't be finished for awhile but we took some of our own shots. What a beautiful place!

Both kids got some quality Grandpa time.And this weekend we had some family time with Ryan and Natalie and their kids. They came to stay with us. We went to the zoo and saw all of the the animals.

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-23T12:22:00.003-06:00

Today we took advantage of the sun and went for our first bike ride of the year.

I got my kids packed up in the bike trailer,Holy crap are they cute or what???

Then we took off for the park.

This was Tess's excited and happy face right before she slid all of the way off the slide and onto the ground and started to cry.And my favorite picture of the day......Isn't she lovely?

2009-04-23T09:02:00.003-06:00

So this is how my week started out....
I was on the freeway going to meet some high school friends for lunch. I came to some construction signs telling me to merge left. I had a semi on the left side so I was getting ready to merge as soon as it passed me. The car in front of me sped up and merged in front of the semi and as soon as it got over I noticed there was a van STOPPED on the freeway trying to merge left. I slammed on my brakes but this is what happened.

I had burns on my arms from the air bag going off. My kids were strapped in their cars seats screaming. We were still sitting on the freeway and I was so afraid that someone was going to hit me and my kids and I couldn't do anything to get them out of there. It was soooo scary! I tried to pull off the road as far as I could go but it took the police forever to get to me and the whole time I was worried that my kids were in danger sitting there on the freeway!

We are all fine thankfully. Tess has an abrasion on her neck from the car seat strap and Mason has a bruise on his shoulder from the seat belt. The people in the van were able to drive away in their car. Ours though, is totalled. I was worried Burke would be angry with me but luckily he was excited that now we get to get a new car. I can always... well, sometimes... count on Burke to see the bright side of our problems. (Just kidding honey.)

Mason has finally mastered the potty!!! (Burke wants me to let you know that he has too)

2009-04-17T08:46:00.004-06:00

Hallelujah!!!!

Gosh that was a pain! He was doing really well. I was taking him to the potty every 3 hours and he would go. We did this for about a week. Then all of a sudden he regressed. He started fighting me every time I tried to take him to the potty and would hold it all day and then go so much at night in his diaper (I am still using diapers at night) that it would leak out all over him and his bed. YUCK!

So the secret to our success.....

I bought him one of these at Walmart for about $3.00. It sat on the back of the toilet and everytime he went he would get one. All of a sudden he was asking to go potty 20-30 times a day. By the time the gumballs were all gone, he didn't need them anymore and was asking to go without any reward at all. Hooray!!!

Easter in Boise

2009-04-14T09:17:00.003-06:00

Mason's blue eyes in his Easter outfit.Beautiful Tessa in her easter dress Obviously I'm not the best photographer. This is the only picture that wasn't blurry.

The easter egg hunt was a blast. Tessa was more interested in playing with the bird bath and eating the bird seed than finding and eating easter candy.

Mason was pretty excited to find the chocolate eggs

And the thrill of the hunt

But bubbles are the best!!

Three cousins. Check out Parker and Ryder's mischevious grins. I wonder what they were really up to?

Decorating easter eggs. What a cutie!

Mason gives his 1st talk

2009-03-30T14:28:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Mason had the chance to give his first talk in Primary. He has been a sunbeam for almost 3 months now but is still the youngest sunbeam in the primary (I think). I fully expected him to not say a word, especially since he is super shy and usually won't talk to anyone. So I made these little pictures of our family members to hold up while I planned on giving his talk for him, which was about responsibilities of family members.

When the time came to give his talk. I stood him on the little stool thingy in front of the microphone and asked him to repeat what I said. He grabbed the microphone and said "Mawwwwww!!!" as loud as he could and started laughing uncontrollably. I don't know what "maw" means but all of the other primary kids thought it was pretty funny and started laughing too. This just egged Mason on and he started shouting it again into the microphone. I hadn't planned for this. I told him to stop and tried again to get him to repeat what I said. He had other plans in mind. To stop him from shouting in the mic, I picked him up and put him on my hip and tried to give his talk for him. He didn't like this either, he started to scream and wanted to have the microphone again. I put him back down but lifted the microphone up where he couldn't reach it and gave his talk for him while trying to restrain him from getting the mic. I thought it was pretty funny but the only people laughing were the other kids. All of the adults looked pretty solemn. Oh well, we did our best, the only word I understood that Mason did say was "amen."

Mason's first talk. Just another milestone come and gone.

Saturday is a special day

2009-03-21T15:04:00.003-06:00

Wow! Today has been incredible! It started out like this!

Once again I have to say that sometimes having your kids get you up before sunrise is worth it to see this!

The weather today was so awesome! I have spring fever so bad! I was doing yard work and had Charlie and Lillee come over to play with the kids. They had a blast jumping in the bounce house, going on rides with Burke on his 4-wheeler, and playing playdoh. I love being outside again!

123's

2009-03-17T14:12:00.008-06:00

For the past couple of weeks, I keep telling Burke that I think Tessa is counting. I was so suprised when I realized this because she is like Mason and is not much of a talker. She can say a few words but they are rare and far between. But I started noticing that her baby babble sounded a whole lot like counting. Then in church on Sunday, Burke saw it too. I managed to get it on film. Now I know it sounds like baby babble, but listen closely and you'll hear it too!

I was trying to get her to do it again when Daddy walked in the door. I thought it was so cute to catch her reaction on film. She loves her daddy and was so excited to see him come home!

Bathtime is the best!

2009-03-14T16:17:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

2009-03-02T09:15:00.006-07:00

I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to blog so I figured I could post twice in one day to try to catch up.

Grandma and Grandpa Shields came to stay with us this weekend. They came down for Larry Miller's funeral. Val is a executive at Chrysler so he worked closely with Larry for years. We loved having them come to play with us. The kids, as usual, loved having their pictures taken.

Saturday, while Val was at the funeral, we took the kids and met Mike, Steph, Drew, and Aiden at Kangaroo Zoo. Most of the pictures are blurry because the boys were running around so fast. They had a blast! That is the best place ever! I did get some cute pics of Tessa.The next morning we did a photo shoot of Tessa and her mad scientist hairdo. She thought it was pretty funny. I love her squinty smiley face!

Security Blanket

2009-03-02T09:00:00.003-07:00

The other day the kids were downstairs and being really quiet so I thought I better check on them. This is what I found.My cute Tessa loves her blanket and is always wrapped up in it. She loves to chew on the corners. She is continuely walking around with it over her head. She looks like a little pink ghost and I'm always afraid she's going to fall down the stairs with it. She loves loves loves her blanket. It was made for her by my cute friend Shanna. When Tess is unhappy she doesn't want her mommy to give her loves, she runs to her blanket and rolls herself up in it. (Luckily, I am her second choice.)Here is the front view. She was totally enthralled in Toy Story 2. A major favorite in our house.Silly Tess and her best friend "soft"

When she goes "Night Nights" , her "soft" is there to comfort her. My kids love their blankets.

Sunny Weather

2009-02-26T08:09:00.003-07:00

Since the weather has been nice, we have been outside as much as possible. The kids love being outside again.

Slumdog millionaire

2009-02-13T10:07:00.003-07:00

Hello!!! Burke and I went and saw this last night! Holy crap! It was so awesome! It is one of my favorite movies ever. It is like a modern fairy tale. LOVE IT!

Early Mornings

2009-02-06T10:06:00.002-07:00

I am not a morning person and have definately missed out on sleeping in these past three years. But these early mornings can be beautiful sometimes. The is the sunrise over Mt. Timpanogas from our back deck.

Happy Groundhog Day!

2009-02-03T09:01:00.005-07:00

The sun is shining and the snow is melted. (almost) Lets go outside!! (finally!)

What a cutie with her little pig tails!

She has the ball and is taking it down the court
Mason goes in for the steal
Turnover!
He lines up to take a shot... 2 points!

Yay for sunshine!!

Mason's Haircut

2009-01-30T14:56:00.007-07:00

We buzzed Mason's curls again. Sniff, sniff. It is always so sad. But his hair was getting a bit too long. I was constantly running behind him with a spray bottle because when he would lay on it it would turn into a blonde afro.

Before picture... (eating smarties, my bribe to sit on the potty)

And.... After!

What a cutie! When his hair is short it always reminds me of pictures of my Dad when he was little.

Mason looks just like him!

Mothers

2009-01-29T13:10:00.003-07:00

I was asked to give a talk last Sunday. I was asked to speak on a paragraph in the proclamation on the family about raising your children. I found this incredible article by Jeffrey R. Holland and I love it so much I thought I would share a few bits of it here.

"One young mother wrote to me recently that her anxiety tended to come on three fronts. One was that whenever she heard talks on LDS motherhood, she worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be equal to the task. Secondly, she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the Internet—all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.” Thirdly, she often felt people were sometimes patronizing, almost always without meaning to be, because the advice she got or even the compliments she received seemed to reflect nothing of the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep.
“It is this realization,” she says, “that I try to recall on those inevitably difficult days when all of this can be a bit overwhelming. Maybe it is precisely our inability and anxiousness that urge us to reach out to Him and enhance His ability to reach back to us. Maybe He secretly hopes we will be anxious,” she said, “and will plead for His help. Then, I believe, He can teach these children directly, through us, but with no resistance offered. I like that idea,” she concludes. “It gives me hope. If I can be right before my Father in Heaven, perhaps His guidance to our children can be unimpeded. Maybe then it can be His work and His glory in a very literal sense.”

"You can’t possibly do this alone, but you do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you—He who resolutely goes after the lost sheep, sweeps thoroughly to find the lost coin, waits everlastingly for the return of the prodigal son. Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be."

Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” 11 You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” 12 And it will make your children whole as well"

I really needed to hear this at this time in my life. I really feel that I was asked to give this talk because Heavenly Father wanted me to hear these words from him. I am so very grateful to be a mother and to have Him watching over us and giving us what we need, even when we didn't know we needed it.

Happy Anniversary to us!

2009-01-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Five years and still going strong! Love ya babe!

Fun at home

2009-01-21T19:35:00.003-07:00

Mason and Tess love the jumping pixar desk lamp

Draper Temple

2009-01-21T09:15:00.005-07:00

It is day two of my picture blog and I find myself asking the question, "Do I blog the bad with the good?" I guess the answer is yes. Maybe I'll be able to appreciate it in the long run. Maybe someday everyone will understand why I ended up having a nervous breakdown.

Today we went as a family to tour the new Draper Temple. Now I'm sure you are all much smarter than I am and wouldn't have taken the 3 year old much less the 18 month old. But, what is the point in going to the openhouse if we don't take our kids? Burke and I can go to the temple on our own after it is officially open. Anyway. That was our big mistake. The second mistake was my expectations. I thought this was going to be a fun family event that might border on spiritual with maybe a flash of peace. And honestly, it probably would have been if we had only taken Mason. I also had expectations that we would simply walk through the temple. But it was not to be.

We started off at the church where we had to sit on chairs in the gym waiting to watch a film. The minute I heard the word 'film' I knew we were in trouble. Tess was already running circles around the gym and squeeling with delight. There was no way I was going to keep her still while watching a movie about temples. I was right. We were ushered into the primary room to watch the film and before it even started, I had had it with her kicking and screaming, trying to keep her still, and was out roaming the halls with her while Burke and Mason finished the movie. Then it was on to the bus. I was hoping the worst was over.

Mason enjoyed the ride. He loves buses.

You can tell by Burke's expression that the worst is not over. He is already losing patience quickly.

So the tour started off pretty well. Tess definately didn't want to be held and would occasionally start kicking and crying at whoever happened to be holding her. Mason was really good at the beginning and seemed very interested in the "pool" with the "cows" holding it up. This made him laugh and smile. We also were pointing out all of the pictures of Jesus that we saw in the temple. He also like to point out Moroni and make the "do da dooo" sound that Moroni makes when he blows his trumpet.

The problem we had was that there were so many people there. We were all in a very long, very slow moving line. If we had kept moving, I think we would have survived. The stopping and waiting was our downfall. I have to comment that the brides dressing room was so beautiful! It made me want to see Tess in there all dressed up to meet her husband-to-be. I loved it! And, I loved the ordinance rooms! Wow! The murals were amazing. But soon we arrived at the celestial room where of course they wanted us to be as quiet as possible. There was a very slow moving line weaving through and everyone was stopping and admiring the beauty. Tess was not one of them. She starting squirming, wanting to be let down and then... she discovered that the celestial room echoes. This delighted her and she immediately started... yelping... or hooting. I don't know how to describe it. It was pretty much a loud shout followed by a smile, then another one, and another one. Mason is definately a follower. He immediately recognized the celestial rooms echoing feature and started imitating Tessa. For some reason I didn't feel like spanking my 3 year old in the celestial room was appropriate, but the angry "SHHHHHHHHHSH!" that I was giving him didn't seem to be working. It seriously took us about two minutes to work our way through the celestial room with our hooting and shushing. I have to say that I'm glad temple recommends weren't required for this event because ours would have definately been taken. I'm sure we ruined the event for the 30 or so people that were in the room with us. I was sooooo tense and anxious and didn't know what to do.

After we made it out of the celestial room we were ushered into a sealing room with about twenty other people and the door was closed. A sweet couple proceeded to stand and tell us about what their temple covenants meant to them. They reassured me that the kids could run around the room and that they didn't mind. I could not sit and listen to them bear their testimonies about the temple while my 3 year old and 18 month old were climbing on the altar. I was ashamed and escaped from the room with Tess leaving Burke to fend for himself with Mason. Luckily we had reached the end of the tour because we both had definately reached the end or our ropes.

Then we waited in the tent for our busses where the kids were fine as long as they were allowed to run around a scream as loud as they wanted. Notice how Burke looks like he just had a spiritual experience with a dash of peace?

So the moral of the story is, don't be dumb like us. Leave the little ones at home. Families can be together forever but you don't have to be together every second. Use a babysitter for heck sake!!!

photo journal

2009-01-19T21:02:00.003-07:00

So... I am feeling the need to capture each memory. I feel like my kids have grown so fast that I won't remember all of their little quirks. This might be really really boring for anyone reading my blog, but... I'm doing this for me, not for you. This is my little blog journal. One of the people I blog stalk, (Amy, I'm copying you) is starting to keep a daily photo journal. I loved it and I think I will do the same. I just want to take a picture each day that sums up how I'm feeling or what I'm spending my time on.
Today as usual, it will be my kids. They eat up at least 23 hrs and 45 minutes of each of my days.
Tess jumped on Mason's Elmo bike today like she's been riding for years. She was so pleased with herself for being able to ride it she just smiled at all of us waiting for us to praise her. She didn't have to wait long.

And Mason ate his dinner. The few times that this has actually happened, it has definately made my day. However, after four, yes... four, accidents today in his big boy pants, I finally broke down and bought another case of diapers. I guess we'll wait a month or two and try again.

Calling all stylish women...

2009-01-06T14:04:00.004-07:00

For all you stylish ladies out there. I just have to give a little love to my girl Jen who just opened up her amazing boutique. The clothes are beautiful as I'm sure most of you know. But... for those of you who don't... J chic boutique is open in at 1098 West South Jordan Parkway (10600 South). It is in Salon Sojo. Go check it out!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T20:22:00.005-07:00

Bringing in the New Year with some friends. We love you guys!

Burke was the photographer for this little shot just a couple hours before 2009.

My beautiful curly girlie at the new years party. I love this picture. She has such beautiful brown eyes and long lashes.

Talk about lashes....

Anyway. This is how I am starting the new year. Every 20 minutes Mason is on the potty. He has had some success and some failures. We'll see what the next couple days reveal.

And then we hit the hills with the kids. This is Tess's new snow suit from Grandma Glo and Grandpa Moe. She went down on the sled once with me and Mason. She got a lot of snow spray in her face and wouldn't stop screaming so it was back in the car while Mason and Daddy rode the hills. Mason loved it so much! When we would walk up the hill he would be laughing and giggling.

So Fun!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-28T18:44:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas everybody!!We have had a busy busy christmas! I haven't had time to blog since our cruise so I have lots of pictures to post.
Our week started out with baby blessings of both Aiden and Tristan. Because Aiden is adopted, They typically wait the six months until the adoption is official before they can be sealed and they do the blessing at the same time. They were supposed to be sealed on the 19th but the temple cancelled the sealing because there was so much snow! I couldn't believe it. But they went ahead with the blessing anyway. So lucky boys, the two cousins were able to be blessed on the very same day. Drew looked very handsome in his christmas sweater.

Proud momma Haylee and baby Tristan

Proud momma Steph and baby Aiden.
Just three short days later was Christmas eve at Grandma Tori's.My cute Mommy and Daddy

Grandma played christmas songs with the kids. They love the piano.

Me and my honey.
Mason was finally old enough to like decorating cookies.

My sweet girlie with her antenna pig tails

Mason with his vision impairing eyelashes

On Christmas eve I gave my brothers some advent calendars I had made for them. They were a little cheesy but we had one just like it growing up and it just doesn't seem like christmas without being able to open the ornament of the day. I made one for myself also and Mason loves it!

At last... Christmas morning!!

The pictures speak for themselves. Santa cam and the kids got lots of loot. Even though we missed our Shields family in Boise this year, it was nice to have our own little christmas morning. We loved it. Merry, Merry!!

Carribean Cruise

2008-12-15T13:08:00.002-07:00

We're back. It is happy and sad. I'm so glad to see my kids again. It was really really hard being away from them for 8 days. I'm sure it was really really hard on their grandma's also. So we are all very happy being back to normal. I am even loving sitting here by my fire, with my christmas tree all lit up watching the snow fall outside my window. It is just another type of heaven.

However, I also loved sitting on my beach chair, watching the beautiful blue-green carribean waters lap against the powder white sand beaches. I loved being lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of our boat on the waves. I loved swimmig with sea turtles and seeing all the wonderous colors of the tropical fish. I loved walking up and down the beach with my sweet husband, collecting all colors of sea glass. I loved not having to cook or change dirty diapers. I loved being able to read 3 books in 8 days.

We departed from Puerto Rico,

It was neat to see Old San Juan with it's cobble stone streets and old buildings. But we were both very tired after flying out on the red-eye.

Stop #1 St. Thomas

Beautiful. It reminded me a little of Hawaii. It had hills covered with green. White houses with red roofs dotted the hills. The city was fairly clean. Magen's bay was one of the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen. We snorkeled and saw tropical fish. I even saw some squid. We saw a huge Iguana come right up to us on the beach. freaky.

Stop #2 St. Maarten

Also, amazingly beautiful. We went to Orient beach which was just the perfect carribean postcard picture. But as we walked the beach we began to realize that there were even more sights to see. On the end of the beach we were alarmed to see a man about 60, fully naked standing there for all the world to see. We, averted our eyes and continued a few more feet slowly realizing that he was not the only man displaying his... uh... well, ...you get it. I guess we had wandered into an adults only, all- inclusive resort. There wasn't any sign or indication that we had gone too far, the scenery just suddenly changed. The funny thing about it was that no one was under the age of about 60. No one had a body worth showing off. All of the women I saw had at least 50 or more lbs to loose. The men... I can't even say. I tried not to look. I felt like they were flashers and I was their victim. I got the heck out of there as fast as I could go.

We spent the rest of the day on a nice safe beach a hundred yards down and felt the carribean breeze. It was awesome.

Stop #3 Antigua

We took a taxi to Turner's beach because they said there was good snorkeling there. The beach was beautiful just like the others. This one was nice because it was out of the way and there were hardly any other tourists there. The snorkeling was just okay. We were starting to realize that you need to go to a coral reef that doesn't have a beach if you want to get really good snorkeling. But we saw some neat fish and enjoyed the lack of crowds. There was one local there who was trying to get us to buy some Conch shells from him. He was missing more than a few teeth and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have passed a drug test if he was given one. Because there wasn't a lot of tourists, this one wouldn't leave us alone. Finally, Burke gave him a couple bucks to get lost. We loved walking up and down this beach because it had a lot of sea shells and sea glass. We spent an hour finding the most rare and beautiful sea glass to bring home with us.

Stop #4 St. Lucia
Wow. I kept thinking the islands would get worse as we continued on but St. Lucia was my favorite. It was very large and was covered in rain forests. There are not as many beaches on this island. It is volcanic and is more mountainous. It was also a little rainy so we decided to take a tour with our friends and dinner partners Steve and Kim. We drove all over the island seeing Banana plantations, interesting little fishing villages, waterfalls, boa constrictors, and a volcano. We had a great time seeing the sites and they tried to teach us to speak English like the British.

Stop #5 Barbados
Okay... so I like the name Barbados, It sounds very exotic and romantic. But... it was not as pretty as the others. All of the other islands had mountains. This island's highest point is probably 20ft. But the beaches.... Wow. The beaches were all amazing on all of the islands. This one was just like the rest. This was the warmest of the stops because we were very close to the equator. But it was heaven. When you would get to hot, you could just step into the water which was probably 75 degrees. It was incredible. We were at a very beautiful beach and could see lots of tour boats about 100 yards out. We decided to put on our snorkel gear and see what the fuss was all about. They were feeding sea turtles and we got to swim with them. We could grab their shells and swim with them. It was amazing!

Last day aboard was a day at sea.
We slept in. Ate whatever we felt like, Lounged by the pool. Watched our friend Sean win the belly flop contest. (Santa Clause took a close second.) It was great. What a fantastic trip.

But now I just get to enjoy the other side of heaven. Cuddled up on the couch watching Nemo with my kiddos while the snow falls outside my window.

Life is good.

Happy Birthday Mason!

2008-11-24T18:43:00.008-07:00

We celebrated Mason's birthday yesterday. He had a great time. He had a dinosaur themed party with a dinosaur cake that I made myself, thank you very much. He is my little sunshine boy and we love him so much. I'm so glad your mine! I love you Mason!

Last week we took the kids to the pool and had so much fun. I love it now that they are a little older and play so well together. As I am typing this, they are playing tag. Well, Mason is running and Tessa is following and they are both laughing. Mason loves his sister and they almost never fight. They were playing in the basement with Lillee and Charlie today and I heard Mason say "Leave Tessa alone!" He is very protective of his sister. He likes to play with everything she has but he usually will trade her something he doesn't want for whatever it is she has that he wants. She usually doesn't care and will just start playing with the new toy. I'm sure this will change in the future, but for now, I love having my two kiddos so close in age.

Mason's Birthday Video

2008-11-18T15:18:00.003-07:00

So I have started a tradition in our home. On each child's birthday, I have been showing a slideshow of their past year of life. I love it! It is so much easier and more fun then scrapbooking because you can show little film clips of them laughing or talking. Anyway, Mason's birthday is on Friday, and I thought I'd do a little blog preview.

Mason starts preschool!

2008-11-12T11:42:00.004-07:00

Mason started preschool on Monday! I can't believe it! He's getting so grown up! He will be turning 3 on the 21st, and I have been a little worried about Mason socially. He just is very shy. Our school district has a preschool for kids and I thought it would be great for Mason to get out there and be on his own for a couple days each week. So we started him up.

He looks so handsome with his little backpack. What a little stud!

Here he is getting off of the bus. He had a great time but was happy to see his Mommy. (kinda scary that he rides the bus but it is all preschool kids and they stay on the bus until their mom or their teacher comes to get them.)

Charlie goes to school with him. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad. I don't know if Mason would do it if Charlie wasn't there with him. But because Charlie's there, it makes it a fun adventure.

The bus driver is so sweet. She is trying to get Mason to look at the camera.

I love it. The first day I dropped him off at the school. I cried and sat in the hall peeking through the window in the door because I wanted to make sure he would be okay. But as it turns out, it was harder on me then it was on him. He loves school. And I get to have 2 hours alone with my sweet baby girl. I never get time alone with her. School benefits all of us!

Lillee's birthday

2008-11-06T14:41:00.004-07:00

Our cute friend Lillee's 2nd birthday is today and she had a little party. It was Tessa's first girlie birthday party.Happy Birthday Lillee! I think she had a good time. Spunky and adorable Lanie

Sweet, beautiful Josie.

Stylish and glamorous Brittea

And my sweet Tessa. The youngest of them all, testing out Lillee's new scooter.
All of the girls together trying on their superstar glasses.

Happy birthday! We love you Lillee. Here is a picture of Mason and Lillee at the park last week. I think Mason has a little crush. He loves Lillee.

But he loves the swings more.

A serious and scary realization

2008-10-29T21:05:00.002-06:00

My friend posted this link on her blog and I took a few minutes to read it. Everyone should read it. It does take about 10 minutes but it definately makes you realize what we are up against in our time especially as we are about to have this election which is a choice between bad and worse. This essay was written by Ezra Taft Benson when he was working in Washington as agricultural secretary (don't quote me on his job title. I think that's what he was but I didn't look it up) in response to the threat of communism in the 50's. It is on the proper role of government. http://www.properroleofgovt.org/prog.htm

Grandma's Halloween Party

2008-10-29T14:36:00.007-06:00

Our family Halloween party was on Monday night. We had SO MUCH fun!The kids are still a little too young to be excited about their costumes. Mason kept yelling "TAKE OFF!" and refused to wear his Buzz Lightyear boots and hat with the light up googles. He loves Buzz. I am so disappointed. And Tess refused to wear her witch's hat. At this age I think costumes are really for the parents. The kids actually feel terrorized. But hey, it's Halloween. Terror is what it's all about right?Tessa, Mason, Aiden, and Drew are all pretty much wanting their costumes off. NOW! (Tristan didn't dress up this year. But he did come to the party and I got to hold him for a minute. What a cutie!Mason, very happy to be Buzz Lightyear.Probably the only picture I'll have of Tess with her hat on. Notice I'm holding her arms so she can't rip it off of her head. Drew, So cute. Look at that junk in the trunk! I think he also wants it off.

Aiden. Looking very content and handsome in his costume. He is going to be a heart-breaker when he grows up. He is just a beautiful baby.

After some cupcakes, (check out Mason's eyelashes, holy crap.) The men carved pumpkins. Burke's pumpkin got sick to his stomach.

Then it was outside to light them. Mason started into a version of "Happy Birthday to You" as we lit the candles. Afterwards the kids ran around the backyard with glowsicks. SO FUN! It was dark and they were running so fast that it was hard to get good pics. But they were having the best time!Time to go. Mason made a wish and blew out all of the candles. (Is this the cutest? He blows with his eyes closed!)

Mormon moms go crazy in NYC - part 2

2008-10-21T10:48:00.008-06:00

So, Friday Morning we had ferry tickets for 9:00 am. No sleeping in for us girlies. Here we are at Battery Park waiting for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Lady LibertyAre we sexy or what?

Ellis Island which was really really interesting. It was kinda fun going on a tour because our guide knew which touristy things were cool and which weren't. She had us watch a movie here about all of the immigrants that was really cool... Or at least that's what other people told me. As soon as the lights went out I was as close to snoring as I ever get. But dang, I felt much better after my little nap.

Part of the NY skyline
After the Statue and Ellis Island, it was on to a tour of the financial district. Very interesting, and very very good pizza at the little hole in the wall pizzarias that are between the ginormous buildings.
The place were all of our money is being flushed down the toilet.
Ground zero. There is a really long bronze mural on the side of one of the buildings there. I thought that it was interesting that there was still fresh flowers being placed there all the time. It just made me realize that there are so many people that are still grieving for their lost ones every day.
Here we are at the construction site at ground zero, it is still pretty much a hole in the ground with lots of rebar and big trucks and cranes. But they have big billboards showing what the new buildings are going to look like and it looks amazing. It said they will finish in 2012.

After the finanical district we walked through China town and had a big group dinner in Little Italy which was awesome!!! My pictures didn't turn out though so I'll have to get pics from my friends.

One side note... Our tour guide had a pedometer and it said we had walked 26 miles since we had arrived in NY. Holy crap! that's a marathon! I felt it. I was sore in every muscle I have. And I'm sure I got a few new muscles I hadn't ever had before.

Then we went back to the hotel to change and go to....

Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! I had seen it before in LA and it is one of about the top 3 I've ever seen. We didn't have the best seats though. We were in the 2nd row on the far side of the stage, which usually would have been fine except for Lion King. The set and costumes are incredible and we didn't really get to see the full effect. But still.... Overwhelming!

Then I ran into an old friend on the street. What a coincidence!

Next morning was Empire State Building and shopping shopping shopping. Very fun in SOHO. Lots of unique boutiques. But the girls in my group wanted to do some more Black market Chinatown shopping. Not really my thing, but it was fun to be with the girls. Miracle of miracles I did not take one picture that day. Don't ask me why. I just totally didn't think about my camera.

Late that night we went to a comedy club. Oh my. I was prepared to be a little offended being a little mormon from Utah. I expected some language. But it was nothing like what we got. Holy crap. Two of us finally got up and left but the bouncers wouldn't let us leave because it's a two drink minimum and they wanted to make sure we had bought and paid for our two drinks. So were were basically trapped listening to the most foul, horrible stuff I have ever heard, until our waitress could verify that we had paid for our two drinks each. Unbelieveable!

We stayed up all night talking and didn't get to sleep until about 4:00 am. But luckily, Sunday had nothing on the agenda so we slept in.

When we did get up, we packed our bags, and headed out to a matinee of Mary Poppins!

Also very good, but not my favorite. We had nose bleed tickets up in the rafters so I think that might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't enjoy it as much.

Last minute pics of us before leaving for the airport.

I loved my trip. I love my friends. It was so fun to do something just for myself for once. But I have to say I think the next time I take a vacation just for me, it will be to a spa. I need a foot massage!!

Mormon Mom's go wild in NYC!

2008-10-20T10:48:00.006-06:00

So... One of my cute high school friends has a girl in her ward that has her own company taking tour groups all over the country. She decided that she would put together a tour of NYC for herself and a group of friends and lucky me... I got to got too.

Last Wednesday, I and 25 other Mormon mommies got on a plane to New York. Holy crap it was fun! Although it was sad leaving my babies, I loved being just Jill again instead of Wife or Mommy.

Here we are on the red-eye. Our flight left at 12:01 am Thursday morning. (check out the crusty girl in the row behind us I'm sure she was very happy we were taking pictures at like 4:00 in the AM.)

Off the plane, drop our bags at the hotel and put on some comfy shoes because today we walk and walk and walk. Here we are at a taping of the today show in rockafeller center.This is a really cool Cathedral we saw but I can't remember the name.
Sitting in the Garden on the roof at the Trump Tower. After our tour of Tiffany's

Me and Lego Chubacca at FAO Schwartz. such an awesome place! I wished I had my kids with me for... well okay... only a split second, then I was glad I didn't have to wrestle with them for once while I was out on the town. (for some reason other people couldn't take a picture that wasn't blurry)Central Park. Ahhhh. It's beautiful, especially in the fall.It was a really warm but rainy and muggy day. You can tell from my fuzzy triangle head hairThe sexy Woods Cross Wildcats reunited!

After hours and hours of walking fifth ave, we were basically completely worn out (remember we still haven't slept because we took the red-eye.) So we decided to head back to the hotel and change. Then we got lost in the subway system but finally made it to.... Drum roll please.... WICKED!

Oh my holy crap. The singing was fabulous. Unfortuntely after so many hours without sleep and hours and hours and miles and miles of walking, I couldn't keep my freakin' eyes open. I kept waking up after doing a full body jerk as my head fell on my neighbor. I tried and tried to stay awake though. I really loved it. Elphaba the wicked witch had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. I could listen to her sing all day every day. I can't even explain to you how fabulous it was. WOW!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-06T20:58:00.005-06:00

Family Night at the Pumpking Patch. I thought we could score some really cute pics of the kids in their halloween attire surrounded by pumpkins. And the kids were really having fun as long as we didn't try to get them to look at the camera.This is the typical family picture. You can tell B and I are really trying.

Dinosaurs

2008-10-06T14:27:00.003-06:00

Today was free admission to the Natural History Museum at the U of U. Steph and her sister and all of our kids went to see the dinosaurs. I thought it was pretty interesting. The kids just liked running around and screaming and listening to the echos. The future Dinousaur digger upper!

She looks so little next to the wooly mammoth.
Mason and Haylee in an indian hut.

Our last trip to the Zoo for the summer

2008-10-04T10:10:00.003-06:00

Once again, the carousel was the big hit of the trip.
Grandma coaching the boys on how to ride properly.

Drew and Steph on the train.My cutie in the playground. just hatched.

Mason made a new friend. This bird can say all kinds of stuff. Mason thought it was hilarious talking to him. He'd say "Hi Birdie" and the bird would say "Hello!"

Fun at the park

2008-09-27T16:21:00.008-06:00

He is so close to the camera in this one I think he looks like a bobble head.

What up home slice?
I love these pictures of M. he is so handsome and growing up so much, but you can still see a little baby around the mouth and cheeks. He's so beautiful! and I love his curls!

Happy Birthday!

2008-09-22T13:20:00.001-06:00

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Welcome to Earth!

2008-09-19T22:10:00.004-06:00

This beautiful child was born on Wednesday. He is my baby brother's baby. I still can't believe little Jeffy is married with a baby of his own. He will be the best daddy. He loves to play with my kids and has been so excited for his very own little man to arrive. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with his new little son. Tristan was sent to the NICU a few hours after birth because of an infection that has made it difficult for him to breathe and eat. He is doing great though and might be able to go home on Sunday. He is definately the biggest little guy in the NICU. He weighed 8lbs 4oz. and has the chubbiest legs I have seen on a newborn. I don't know where Haylee was hiding that great big baby. She was a teeny tiny pregnant mommy.

Watching them in the hospital with their first little boy reminds me how it felt to have our first child. I envy people with their first. Don't get me wrong, the 2nd was wonderful also. But that first little baby being placed in your arms expands your universe. All of a sudden you find all of this extra room in your heart to love someone beyond all your comprehension and expectations. Your whole world changes in an instant. I loved it. I still love it. And am so grateful for who I am now that I have children. While I am raising them, they are making me grow.

Kangaroo Zoo

2008-09-05T17:58:00.007-06:00

Today we went to Kangaroo Zoo with Auntie Steph and Aiden and Drew. Holy crap! we had such a great time! Okay... if you know Mason you would think he was screaming in this picture, but... miracle of miracles, he was screaming with delight! He loved it!!

Most of my pictures are blurry because they were moving so dang fast. I just thought all the blow-up dragons were so cool I just wanted to take their picture. But I love how Steph and Aiden snuck into the corner of the pic.

So.. I was holding Aiden and was trying to help Drew climb down from one of the slides when he launched into my arms and I lost my balance. I was trying to hold the kids up so they wouldn't fall and hit their heads so I didn't have any arms to catch myself with and down I went, all the way to the floor, where I cracked my head. Holy crap. I think I might have a minor brain injury. Maybe I'll be able to remember things better now.

Both Steph and I had major friction burns on our elbows. Ouch! But it was worth the pain. I wanted to keep playing but the kids were getting worn out so it was time to go.

Definately something we'll do again later.

Happy Kids

2008-09-01T22:23:00.003-06:00

A night out with the girls

2008-08-30T09:19:00.002-06:00

I went with the girls to cheescake factory for Camille's birthday. I love our neighbors and it is so nice to get out with the girls.

The splash park with Aiden and Drew

2008-08-27T15:22:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun at the spash park today. There were so many cute pictures that I just made a little slide show so I didn't have to pick and choose which pictures I wanted. And there are a few of the zoo and the park we went to last week when the kids played the whole time in a puddle on the ground. I think the splash park is a little more sanitary.

Camping with the Shields Clan

2008-08-25T09:29:00.001-06:00

We went camping with the Shields at Cascade lake this weekend. It was a blast! Here is our "incredible family". This was the best picture of everybody. Except me. I think I was talking or something. But look at my Mason in the front row. Yes folks, that is a smile. I think this is the first posed picture that he has smiled in his lifetime. I guess it proves that he had a good time. I can't believe how awesome the kids were! The ride in the car was a piece of cake now that both of my kids have discovered movies. We stayed in a Yurt which is basically a round tent cabin. It had a space heater so most of the nights we stayed toasty warm.

I think this is the first time I have posted a pic with my short hair. Ta daaa!

We went to the lake and played on the beach. Tess was hilarious. She loved it so much. She wouldn't even let us hold her hands. She wanted to be free to wander as deep as she wanted too. That girlie is fearless. Total opposite of her big brother. Mason, Ryder, and Parker loved paddling in the boat. They are starting to be old enough to play together. hooray! And we loved hanging out around the campfire. Here is Tess loving the bubbles. Here they are in Grandma and Grandpa's RV watching... what else? Incredibles of course.Tess and Mason both loved Bear. Mason screamed like a little girl the first day every time he barked or came close to him. But he warmed up to him and by the end of the trip was feeding him his dinner and laughing uncontrollably every time Bear would look at him. Hopefully this is helping him overcome his fear of doggies. We loved the trip. Thanks so much Shields fam for all you do! We love being with you!

The End.

I'm so glad when daddy comes home!

2008-08-20T08:43:00.000-06:00

Hooray! We are all smiles in the Shields household now that Daddy is back from Alaska!! He had a great time and caught lots of yummy fresh fish. This is his 57lb Halibut. Wow. I'm glad he had fun with the other men because fishing on the ocean in 50 degree temps and pooring rain for a week straight is not my idea of a good time. But neither is taking care of the kids all by myself for a week. It sure makes me appreciate my man.

So Sunday we took the kids to the park to get some quality family time. Here is my handsome 2 year old. What a little stud.

Swinging with Daddy is the best!
Tessa taking in the sites. She can't sit still for a second! Can I just say that church is a joke right now. She will not sit still and screams if I try to keep her in one place. So I pretty much just roam the halls with her for 3 hours. She likes to go up to everyone and say "Hi" with her huge smile. It cracks me up. But it can be kind of embarassing when she walks to the front of the class next to the teacher, turns around to the class, gives her big grin and says "Hi" and of course the whole class laughs and she just beams. I think church will not be the same for quite a while.

Okay... so I thought this was pretty funny. Tessa is finally getting long enough hair that I can put about 5 strands in an elastic and call it a pony tail. She loves to check herself out in the mirror. The funny part is that Mason really likes the "bugs" that I put in her hair and wanted me to put them in his hair too. So, as usual, I gave him what he wanted.

Visitors

2008-08-11T15:26:00.000-06:00

How much fun can one girl have? That is the question! Is this the happiest photo? I love it. This is my little girl's 1st ride on a carousel. I think she had fun. What do you think?

I haven't posted in awhile. We have been busy here at the Shields household. We have had several visitors now that our basement is finished. Grandpa Val and Grandma Sallie came and stayed with us for a few days. We took the kids to the zoo. The best part?? The carousel of course!Check out this happy face. They loved it! Just as Val and Sallie left, the Christensen's came to town. Makayla, Alexa and Ryder just wore themselves right out in the bounce house at Tess's birthday party. We loved having them here to play with us.

Tess didn't eat much of her birthday cake. She just crumbled it up.

Since then we've just been busy busy busy. Rakelle and Steve stayed with us this last weekend and we had a blast with Parker and Kaylee. Jared and Matthew stayed with some other friends so we didn't get to see enough of them. But we went to the pool and splashed around with them all. When Parker left Mason stood at the door saying "More Parker, More Parker."

I love it that all the Shields came to stay with us. I hate it that they are all in Boise and get together every week, if not more, while we are the Salt Lake outcasts of the family. It made me feel closer to them and I hope they all come back soon.

So.. Today is Burke's 36 birthday! Wow what an old man!! He's off fishing in Alaska this week so we don't really get to celebrate except over the phone. Love you babe! Happy Birthday!

Tessa's 1st Year on Earth

2008-07-11T10:33:00.001-06:00

Summer Fun

2008-07-03T23:02:00.000-06:00

The basement is 99% finished! Woohooo!!!!

2008-07-03T21:35:00.000-06:00

We just doubled the size of our house! Can I just tell you how amazing that is!!! This is our luxurious Family room with our couch from our favorite furniture store, KSL.com, and our lovely curtains from ebay. Hooorayy!! We also have a playroom, a guest bedroom for all you Boise folks, an office, and an excersize room/(jill's office). Plus... and we also have (drum roll please)... four, new, very large closets!!! YAY!!! I have had to shove all of our stuff in one little area of the basement that we have left for storage and everything else has been just sitting around. I was about to go crazy. Burke's office has been our kitchen table. Our closet is stacked full of electric guitairs, subwoofers, computer printers, speakers, and a bunch of other man stuff that I can now throw in Burke's office. Yippeee. The kids love the basement. They have their own playroom with their own TV which has been playing Monsters inc. for the past week straight. They go in there and play together and I don't hear from them for like half an hour. And last but not least... it's nice and cool down there. So... new things to announce....
Tess is walking!!!
I cut 9 inches off of my hair!!
Mason is still not potty trained.
And I think that just about sums up new announcements.

So today I gave Tessa a chocolate chip cookie and didn't break it up into little pieces like I usually do. I ran outside for a sec and when I came back... This is what greeted me. She is so freaking cute! Even with chocolate smooshed into her eyebrows.

Do you see those chubby cheeks! I could just eat her right up!!!

It's good to be home!

2008-06-21T16:59:00.000-06:00

So, I guess there is something to be said for routine. My kids are home and happy and cuddled up in their "softs". Life is good.

Jackson Hole... Trip of horrors!!!

2008-06-21T16:40:00.001-06:00

Hi there everybody. So, last weekend we got to go to Jackson Hole for a Family reunion. I have been so excited to go and have been looking forward to it for weeks. I love Jackson and Yellowstone. I've been there tons and just feel it in my blood when I see those mountains. But I now realize how much my life has changed since I have last been there. Driving so far with two kids under three then trying to get them to sleep in the same room in our cabin, then having my two year old scream nonstop for basically 4 days... "Mommy, hold you!!" while I am already holding my 10 month old. What more can I say. It was rough. But wait. We saw a bear! Check out this picture. It had caught a baby elk. Isn't that the coolest picture. There were about 250 people pulled over on the side of the road watching it.

Some austrailian dude was nice enough to take this picture of the family. Believe it or not, this is the best picture of all of us. I'm glad I got to go and see the family. And Saturday was great. We took the kids on the ferry at Jenny's lake and that night we hung out in Mike and Steph's cabin and the kids had so much fun and were being silly. It was good times. But I think we'll wait a year or two before we venture out for another long car ride.

Our new nephew Aiden

2008-06-07T16:25:00.000-06:00

My brother and sis-in-law were able to adopt a baby this week. We are so happy for them!! They are the best parents and now they have two of the cutest boys I've ever seen. We got to spend some time with Drew this week while Mike and Steph were at the hospital. It was so great. I love that kid. Unfortunately Burke has our camera with him on his annual motorcycle trip so I couldn't take any pictures. very frustrating. So instead I stole some from Steph's Blog. Check out this cute little peanut! He is only 6lbs 0 oz. wow! Oh... and they named him Aiden James Postma which was what I wanted to name Mason if you all remember. But Mason is a Mason and we got our Aiden after all. Yay!
Drew will be the best big brother. He is so strong and so loving. He constantly wants to snuggle with everbody so it might take him awhile to learn some boundaries with this little one. Here is a sample of Drew with Tess who, although you can't tell in this picture, adores Drew. She is constantly grinning at him and loves to climb on him or crawl after him.

Since Burke is gone this week, my life is kids kids kids. Just so they wouldn't get bored to death, we had Charlie and Lillee over to play. Lillee and Tess hung out in her room and played dress up. Lillee liked to put bows on Tess. I guess she also noticed that um.... Tess is bald. But Tess didn't care. She loved the attention.

Mason and Charlie loved cruisin' in their friend's cars although you also can't tell from this picture. (I can't get Mason to smile for the camera no matter what I do. I guess it's a good thing. He is a new driver and should keep his eyes on the road.)They loved running in circles around this tree. I guess everything is fun when you are with your best friend and you are two years old!

One last minute plug. Can I just say how excited I am that So you think you can dance has started again!! I love it!!! Can't wait for the choreography to start next week! It's the only show I have to watch every second of. I keep them on my DVR for months and watch them over and over and over. Someday maybe I'll get reincarnated as a dancer.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-14T08:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Some pics of my beautiful Tess in one of her new dresses! It is so nice to have some warm weather so she can wear some of her beautiful summer clothes! (I love having a girl to dress up!)

So.... We have had an interesting week leading up to Mother's day. My cute brother and sister-in-law found out last week that a baby had just been born that was their's to adopt. They were beyond excited and flew out to North Carolina to pick up their new baby boy. But... apparently it wasn't meant to be their little boy after all. After much disappointment they flew back home with their baby carrier empty and all their baby clothes still folded neatly in their suitcases. Luckily they were able to come home and be comforted by their enthusiastic little 18 month old Drew. We love you Mike and Steph and know that there will be another baby coming to your little family soon.

On a happier note... Jeff and Haylee found out Friday that they would be having a boy in September! Hooray! They will be wonderful parents and we are thrilled to have yet another boy in the family. And congrats Jeff on your excellent job on the DAT.
Happy Mother's day Grandma Tori!
Drew giving Tess a kiss. Does it look like he is ready to be an older brother or what!

Happy Mother's Day Grandma Sallie!!! Wish we could be closer to you!

We love you Grandma Sallie! (with all the cousin's except Mason who is asleep :( )

The most beautiful children in the world! - in my unbiased opinion

2008-05-02T13:47:00.001-06:00

First day of May and it's snowing!!

2008-05-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

It's the first day of May and I have my brand new bike trailer to hit the road with my kiddos and it's snowing! But Charlie and Mason had fun with it anyway. They both sat in it with their juice cups and watched backyardagains.

We have been so busy the last few weeks. We are almost done with our basement. We are starting to do the trim work. Burke is in the middle of a bear hunt. (can you believe it! and he's hunting it with his bow!) We just finished the Pinewood Derby with my scouts last night. and our little Tessa got hand, foot and mouth disease! She had a fever of 102 and big canker sores all over in her mouth! It was awful. She cried and cried for about 3 days straight and it is extremely contagious so I got to sit home and hold her while Mason was bored out of his mind and jealous because I was holding her all day. It was awful. But she's doing great now and has learned to crawl. Hooray!

We got a "bounce house" for Mason for the backyard this year. I wanted to show a few cute pictures of him.

And... Last weekend, Burke had the chance to drive some awesome cars. Check these out!

Weekend in Boise

2008-04-11T14:28:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we go to spend the weekend in Boise with the Shields fam. It was great. We got to see Makayla kick some bootay in her soccor game. She scored 3 of the 6 goals for her team. She has skills.

We got to go to a discovery kid center and hang out with the cousins. And we had a fabulous family dinner on Sunday. Then the long and horrible drive home with both Tess and Mason crying about three hours straight. Burke and I decided that it might be a little while before we make the trip again. But in spite of the drive, it was great to see the family and we got to say happy birthday to Sallie.

We didn't get to see much of conference though and I'm watching it right now on our DVR. It's awesome. Can I just say that I am stoked to have Pres. Monson lead our Church what an amazing man.

This is Tess with her newest cousin Claire who is 3 months old. And pictures of Mason in the discovery center. They had a kid size store where all the kids got to shop and work the cash registers and everything. The kids loved it.

Is summer ever coming?

2008-04-09T23:11:00.000-06:00

I have summer fever so so bad! Today was my scouting wednesday. (I am a cubscout leader. um... much more work then I thought when I accepted the calling. not that I'm complaning. It's just a simple fact that ten 9 year olds in my living room for an hour every week can be ...uh... noisy...at the very least.) My scouts and I were going to race our veggie cars today. (cars made from cucumbers) but hello! MAJOR SNOWSTORM! omigosh.. I am going nuts!!! But things are looking up. The weatherman assures me that there will be nice weather next week... finally... And my blog with it's blah brown background and drab music was starting to depress me. Fine for January but not acceptable for April, so I mixed things up. I like these twinkle twinkle stars. It reminded me of warm summer nights which are on their way. It made me smile. I hope you all are smiling tonight too.

Happy days

2008-04-01T22:10:00.000-06:00

Just the daily stuff goin' on here. But at least somebody's having fun. What a smile on my girlie!

Life changing event

2008-03-28T12:49:00.000-06:00

Wow... my life changed in one day. We finally installed the last section of fence along our street and had gates installed so I can lock Mason in the backyard. Oh my gosh! I knew it would be wonderful but I definately under-estimated. For the first time in two-plus years Mason played by himself for more than 5 minutes. I just opened the back door and out he went. He was outside for about two hours. I couldn't believe it. I kept peeking out the window every few minutes to make sure he was okay. Maybe everyone out there doesn't understand but Mason has been my shadow since he was born. He won't do anything without me. If I walk out of the room he follows me. If I go to the bathroom, he is right there flushing the toilet while I'm trying to go. If I mop the floor he is right there leaving little footprints all the wet floor. Anyway... you get the picture. I'll move on...

I have a few pics though. Of course life is always more fun with a friend. Here is Mason with his best bud Charlie.