Denise's Diary

Snow Day

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Why go down a hill when you have a dad to pull you around the yard?

Jake loves the "no".
On an unrelated note, I have been painting my bedroom and one day I was painting and Brian was supposed to be watching the kids. I came downstairs to see this:
Carly told me that daddy was "chit-chatting" to one of our neighbors outside and she and Jake were ready for lunch for so she decided to make it herself.

Super star

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:07:00 +0000

Carly started gymnastics when she was 3 and absolutely loves it. She got her first gold medal last week. (No, she doesn't compete they just gave these out to everyone if they did the correct things.) She will be starting at a new gym in January which will (hopefully) be a better program and help her advance a little more. She is a great little gymnist and Brian and I love going and watching her. We fight over who gets to take her because we don't like to take Jake. He doesn't understand why he can't be in the class too! Great Job Carly!!

We are thankful for our friends!!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Luckily it was a nice day so we played outside.

Here are some pictures from Carly's birthday party. She invited seven best buddies. We played games, opened presents, decorated cupcakes, and acted silly!!! I think everyone had a fun time - especially our big birthday 5 year old!

Halloween pics

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

carving pumpkins
painting pumpkins decorating sugar cookies with Grandma Beatty

this is how Jake decided he needed to eat his cookie.

Cute little cowgirl and giraffe

the trick or treating party

We were lucky this year to go trick or treating with friends and my mom. Too bad I didn't get a shot of Jake from behind. The giraffe constume had this big padded bum that would shake from side to side when he walked. It was so funny! Now I will be rationing candy out for the next two months and sneeking some to the garbage as well!

Birthday Babes

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

yay presents!
Cute cousins!
Thanks Aunt Shelly for the #5 and #2 tee's.
ahh....this boy finally got a train!

Sorry I didn't get pics of them with all the lovely gifts they got, but thanks so much everyone - they love them all.
Spider cake - since their party was so close to Halloween I decided why not!

Two candles on the front for Jake and five on the back for Carly.

Not sure black frosting was the best choice:)

Their birthdays are a fun time, but always a little sad to see them grow-up. I sure do love these two little sweeties!

Carly's party with her friends will be on Friday so more birthday pics to come!

LEGOLAND

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:56:00 +0000

We flew into John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California

Halloween Night at Legoland

Carly, Ellie, Tyler, Jake

We went to Legoland with my sister Shelly and her family. It was the first time I had met her baby Ellie and the first time she had met Jake. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with them. Carly and Tyler got along great.

Then we headed over to Carlsbad Beach to take some pictures. Shelly took some great pictures (I'll post those later). These are a few that I took. It was a chilly day and of course both kids fell in the water and were covered with sand. Luckily we had all of our luggage in the rental car so it was a quick fix. Trying to build a sand castle The moment right before she fell in:)

The waves are so mesmerizing.

We then said goodbye to Shelly and headed up to Santa Ana in Orange County where we would be flying out of the next day. We spent the afternoon playing at Newport Beach where, unfortunately, I left my camera in the car. It was warm and sunny and the kids had so much fun splashing in the waves. They LOVED going out and running back as the tide came in and out and we did it a million times at least. Carly collected a bunch of shells. Jake watched a boat come in. We all played in the sand and splashed around - it was really great. Then we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up. We decided to go to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We took them there since it was so close to their birthdays and that was where we took Carly for her first birthday in Vegas. Hopefully we can have many more birthday dinners at Rainforest Cafe - so fun!

The next morning we had to get up at 4:30am to catch the early flight out (gotta love flying stand-by). It was a great flight and we all came home and took a nice long nap!

Quick update:

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Staples are out and his wound is healing great!

No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Carly and Jake were playing on my bed while I was brushing my teeth yesterday. I heard a big thud, screaming and Jake laying on the floor. He fell off the bed right onto the corner of the nightstand. I picked him up and blood started gushing from the back of his head. As I held back the tears I though ok, what do I do? Call 911, go to the ER, call Brian (who was in Canada so he wasn't going to be any help), ahhhhh what do I do!! So, I calmed myself down, calmed him down and tried to look at the wound. He quit crying after about 3 minutes and the blood was slowing so I decided to call his doctor and ask her what I should do. She said to bring him in, so I did. As we were driving to the doctor, Carly sheepishly told me that she tripped him and that was why he fell. I told her it was just an accident so she wasn't in trouble, but you should have seen her guilty little face. She felt pretty bad. Anyway, the doctor numbed it by injecting litocaine into his scalp. Jake didn't budge as she was poking him, not even a whimper! Then came the staples - 4 total. She began stapling him and again, not a flinch a cry or anything. At this point she actually asked the nurse if he was still breathing and sure enough he was just enduring it so bravely. Then he got to pick the color of bandage he wanted and he picked this neon green color. So, now I am calling him my ninja warrior because he is wearing this hilarious green bandage around his head. Today you wouldn't even know he was hurt. He is acting totally normal and just running around with me running right behind to make sure he doesn't bump the back of his head again! Oh, my poor brave little boy! So, he has tried three times today to get back on my bed and I just keep telling him, "No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed."

A bit graphic - sorry.

My little ninja warrior
Where's your owie?

Girls weekend in Phoenix

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:14:00 +0000

Back in July, Carly and I went to Phoenix to see our friends the Wilkins. Katie and I took Ashlynn and Carly to see the broadway version of Beauty and the Beast. Carly had been watching the movie for weeks before we left so she really knew the story well and loved Belle. It was so fun. The play was really good and the costumes were amazing. The girls loved it. When Belle came out with her yellow dress on (near the end of the play) the girls jaws dropped. Carly kept saying, "thank you mommy, thank you this is so much fun." I'm sort of surprized she sat through the whole thing! We went out to eat, had some good girl talk and then flew home the next day. It was great and hopefully we can make it an annual event! (Yes, Katie I stole all of these pics from your blog since I forgot my camara!)

First day of preschool 2009 - Better late than never!!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Sure school has been in for a couple of weeks already, but didn't she look cute!! She is loving it and I am enjoying some time to myself since Jake is usually asleep while she is at school.

Lagoon

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:36:00 +0000

We had SO MUCH FUN!!! We went with the Held's which was great because we took turns with the kids so we could go on the adult rides too. Carly amazed me. She wasn't scared of anything. I think she went on every ride that she was tall enough to go on. Jake had fun too. He loved those little boats and cried when he had to get out. He took a little nap in the stroller and then we all got a second wind and ended up staying until 9:30pm. That may not seem late, but those of you who know me know that my kids are in bed at 7:30 - no exceptions:) They didn't want to leave! My feet were pretty sore the next day from walking all day. It was great.

Camping with friends at Bear Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:45:00 +0000

We went camping at Bear Lake with our friends the Winders, and the Olsens. We had so much fun and the lake was so beautiful, but cold as always! We loved staying in the little cabins, watching shooting stars around the campfire, playing in the water and sand, and most of all being with friends!

Going out to eat

Beautiful!

I think it is funny how I have nothing to blog about all winter and then summer comes and I can't stay caught up. I love summer!

Back to school haircut

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:12:00 +0000

So long friends

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:23:00 +0000

The horses that have been living in our pasture are gone now. The dog is glad they are gone. The kids are not. Hopefully, they'll come and stay another time.

Garden Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:26:00 +0000

This is a tomato, not an apple that he yanked off the vine and started munching.

Enjoying the yummy corn. Brian even got me to eat a few ears (I'm not a big corn person.) I have to say that I am married to the best gardener in town!!

Also, the best shed builder in town!! I admit that I was pretty worried about him building this. I gave my share of "advice" mostly consisting of saying 1-800-tuff shed. He wisely ignored me and put me to shame. His shed turned out awesome and I am so proud of him for doing it himself. Plus, it's nice to get both cars in the garage now and have some extra storage.

Summertime and the livin's easy!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:20:00 +0000

Jake is a water baby. He loves to get wet and is not at all scared of the water (which can be terrifying!) Carly likes to swim, but doesn't like to get her face wet. She did not pass her swimming lessons because she wouldn't put her face in and do a "bob". So, she overheard me telling Brian how she didn't pass and that night in the tub she was determined to be brave and get her face wet. She would give herself a little pep-talk and in she went over and over again. Now she is able to take showers which makes it much easier for me. I also got a new picnic table for the kids to have lunch on and we love it. Plus, the dog cleans up all the spills! So far, this summer has been loads of busy fun! I am going to try and play catch up and get my blog up to date.

Independence Day Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:17:00 +0000

waiting for the parade to start.

It was nice this year with temps in the 80's and a little rain.

lighting fireworks in the street with neighbors

My kids go to bed around 7:30 so Carly was very excited to stay up late. We put Jake to bed and turned on the the bathroom fan and the humidifier in his bedroom and he slept through all the noise. Carly wasn't scared this year and even lit some of them. Then she and Wyatt would run around the fireworks yelling "I'm a daredevil."

On Sunday, Krysten, James, Baby Tagg, and my mom arrived - yea!!
Churning homemade ice-cream - we all got a serious arm workout, but it was totally worth it!!

Monday we went to the aquarium in Sandy. It was really fun and I don't think I've ever seen Jake so excited. He loved looking at all the fish and would point and squeal with joy.

Other highlights were: sitting around the fire roasting marshmallows, watching my kids make Tagg laugh, lots of good chatting with Krysten and mom, Brian's "cotton-candy" pork (he he) and homemade guacamole, playing badminton, and Carly LOVED playing James's blackberry.

Eight

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

If you think we look really young in this picture - it's because we were! Brian was 21 and I was 19. Sure, we were immature, but we were crazy in love. Eight years later we are still a little immature and still very much crazy in love.

Town Days

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:06:00 +0000

weeeeeeeeee

face painting

(I thought she wouldn't let the lady paint her face, but she sat still and loved it. She is definately starting to come out of her stranger anxiety - finally!)

Jake loved loved loved these little lambs. He pet them the whole time while Carly was on the bouncy slides. Thank goodnes for hand sanitizer:)

Our new froggy friends

I took the kids to our town days and they had lots of fun. We ended up coming home with these two little frogs. I thought they would be a good pet for Carly to take care of herself. She named them Sally and Katie, but we are pretty sure Katie is a boy so she renamed him Harry. (Harry and Sally - no she hasn't been watching any Meg Ryan movies lately!) Unfortunately after about a week we found Sally belly up so now it's just Harry. Maybe we will go to the pet store and find a little lady frog to keep him company. Anyway, they are a lot more fun than fish and Carly can pretty much take care of them herself.

Cabin Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:10:00 +0000

I expected Jake to take his nap on the way, but when I turned around and saw this I started laughing so hard that I woke him up. I'm not sure when he learned to nap like an old man with his hat pulled down, but I thought it was pretty funny.
goin' fishin'
The catch - this was as close as she would get.

going for a ride with grandpa

The boys fishing

We had a great time at the cabin. We did a lot of fishing and four wheeling. Well, Brian did a lot of fishing and I did a lot of four wheeling with Jake to keep him away from the water. It was nice to get away and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Cabin trip through Carly's eyes.

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:09:00 +0000

These pictures were all taken by Carly. She carried the camera around quite a bit and I was surprised at all the good shots she got. These are just a few. She filled up my memory card (thank goodness for digital cameras)!

Hey, why does she get to hold the camera?

There is something philosophical about this one...

wildflowers

Grandpa Chidester
The cabin - so pretty

Fishing worms - guess she figured these were pretty important!Jake and mom going for a ride

A peek at the new paint job

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Just after I finished the first coat, Carly asked for a snack - ummm....

Living room before...

after!
It has been A LOT of work and long nights, but I'm sort of done. I say sort of because I have finished (including ceilings) the living/dining/family/kitchen/stairs/loft/hall/and all of the doors and baseboards, but now I want to do the beds/baths!! Am I crazy? Maybe, but I can't wait to get started! I have to wait until Brian is done building his shed though...only one project at a time with two little "helpers" running around.

That's because it's my talent!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Today, Brian taught Carly to ride without training wheels. It only took a few tries to gain her balance and then she was off. I thought she would get sick of it and give up, but she kept trying and now she is a pro! Brian and I were so proud of her. We were all in the road cheering and clapping like idiots! She was soooo excited. I told her she did a great job and she said, "Thanks mom, that's because it's my talent."

Ice-cream and fingernail polish

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:07:00 +0000

Seeing the birds at Tracy Aviary

It was a hot day so we stopped for ice-cream cones.

This was before he decided to stick his hands in the cone and smear the ice-cream ALL OVER himself and the car seat.

The Easter Bunny left some princess fingernail polish in her basket. She loves it and picks it off daily so that she can paint them again.

She wanted me take like ten pictures of her "pretty fingers."

We had a nice warm day last week so we met up with the Leveloffs at Tracy Aviary to see the birds. I'm not much of a bird lover, but the kids had fun. Then we went back to their house and played outside. Andrea sells Scentsy so I love going there and smelling all the yummy scents!

Easter...finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Denise) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:48:00 +0000

Yes, I have been horrible at updating my blog lately! With the nice warm weather I have been horrible at most indoor activities this week. I may have four batches of laundry that need to be folded, floor needs to be mopped, etc, etc...but as for picnics, bike rides, flower planting, trampoline bouncing, bubble blowing and all other outdoor fun we are all caught up! Here are some pictures of our wonderful Easter.