Day 5- Picture of myself 2 years ago

This is a little more than two years ago.... just by a few months. This is the summer of 2009 when I went to NY with a friend. It is pretty sad when you can't find a picture of yourself! I need to be in the pictures more often. Man was I skinny! I was working out a lot then and had lots of free time.

Day 4- Favorite photo of my best friend

Since I disclosed in my earlier post that I don't "do" friends then my best friend would have to be my hubby. And this is one of the few pictures I have of him. He is not fond of having his picture taken unless it is outdoors at his favorite place. He is the one person that knows all my deepest, darkest secrets and still loves me- most of the time. He is the one person that I can say things to that you should really keep to yourself. I am totally comfortable around him no matter what. He doesn't hold a grudge when I say or do stupid things in our relationship. He always has my back!

Day 3- Picture of a pet I would like to have

I would love, love, LOVE to have horses! I just don't want to be the one who has to take care of them. I want someone else to feed, water, shoe, and brush them. I want to go and have one all saddled ready to ride whenever I feel like it. Jason's family had horses when we first started dating. I kept telling him I wanted to go for a ride. Well, 14 years later I am still waiting for that ride. My girls have started saying they want to ride horses too. I don't think it will ever happen, but a girl can always dream- right?

T is for Teeth!

Nixon cut his second tooth almost exactly a month after his first. They are the cutest little things. He loves to have you tap his teeth with a spoon. I was trying to get a picture of his fishy face he pulls sometimes, but he didn't cooperate. I still got some cute ones of him smiling- which doesn't happen very often when the camera is out. He is also starting to pull himself in the army crawl. I will have a crawler sooner than I am ready for it!

The picture of Katera shows her sass and attitude!

Day 2- A picture of something I ate today

My meals are really pathetic! I always have good lunches and stuff for my kids, but it's not what I want to eat. So here is what my lunch consisted of- leftover ham steak and broccoli/cauliflower with cheese sauce. No, the baby food is not for me. This is what my place at the counter looks like at meal time- my food plus Nixon's food. And yes, I am too lazy to put my food onto a plate. I am eating out of the tupperware that it was stored in to save on dishes!

Day 1-10 things about me people don't expect

1. I am a control freak. I like to be in charge and say how everything goes.


2. I hate dirty tile/hardwood floors. When I walk across the floor and can feel things crunch under my feet it freaks me out.

3. I hate wearing a bra. I would totally go without one every day if I didn't think someone would notice.

4. I only shave my legs once a week when I put on a dress for church. If we don't end up going to church then they don't get shaved.

5. I really dislike Christmas. It stems from when I was young and I can remember having the flu for like 3 years in a row. Now, as a parent, there is all this pressure to make sure it is magical for your kids.

6. I sometimes pretend I don't really SEE people when I see them down town. Sometimes I am just not in a chatty mood.

7. I would love to go to the salon and have my hair done EVERY day!

8. I am pretty much a loner. I like to do most things by myself. Friends are too much work.

And yeah, that's about all I can think of at the moment and I don't want to fall behind so if I think of some more I will add them

30 Day challenge

I have been such a bad blogger lately I decided to steal this idea from my little sis to get me to blog more..... hopefully! I might skip a couple of the topics because I am not comfortable sharing my deepest, darkest secrets!


Day 1 –10 things about you people don’t really expect.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – A picture of a pet you would like to have.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – The best things to happen to you this week.
Day 7 – Things that make you scared.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – Weird things you do when you’re alone
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – What you wear to bed.
Day 20 – Things you want to say to 5 different people.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – Something you’re currently worrying about.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – Something disgusting you do.
Day 26 – Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 27 – Things you want to say to an ex.
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

Preschool pictures

Mylee, Grady, Raylee, Ethan, Josh, Jaycee, Mrs. Paula

Ethan, Kael, Aubrey, Parker, Teagan, Katera

Picking pumpkins

It's that time of year- when the air turns crisp, the leaves start to change, we switch our closets from summer to winter wardrobe, hunting takes over our life, and we get to go to the pumpkin patch. Sekoya and Katera are old pros at the pumpkin patch, but this is Nixon's first year. The girls refused to sit up on the hay where it is safe. The wanted to sit right on the edge of the hay wagon and dangle their feet. Nixon soaked it all in and just enjoyed being outside. Jason actually got to come with us! He is usually working or hunting when we go pick pumpkins.

Sekoya is easy to please and found her perfect pumpkin right away.

Katera is a little bit more picky and it usually takes her FOR. EV. ER to pick anything! I was able to shorten this process a little bit by making a really big deal about one pumpkin she found being very unique. She really liked that fancy word and it helped make her decision easier.

The girls can't stop hugging and kissing on their little brother. I just wish they would show this much love for each other!

Fall harvest

Nixon has learned to sit up! He finally got to sit in the tub and splash and make a big watery mess. What a new world it is for him to see things from an upright position! He is growing so fast and I am loving every minute of this kid. I wish I had been this relaxed and laid back with my girls. Everyone has said that adjusting to three kids was the hardest. It has not been that way for me. Adjusting to two was harder for me. I guess it probably helps that I have an 8 yr old and that there is almost 5 years between Katera and Nixon. We said that Nixon was definitely our last child, but he has been so easy I have been wondering about another one. Jason quickly reminds me that Nixon IS the last one!

The asian pear tree and the apple tree in our backyard really packed on the fruit this year. One of Jason's days at home we harvested our bounty. Katera had a friend over and they helped us pick the fruit from the lower branches. Nixon was content to just sit/lay in the grass and watch. I took a bite out of an apple and handed it to him to suck the juice. He loved his apple! When I took it away he got so mad. Jason also cut a dead branch from our apricot tree. I was going to steady the ladder for him while he sawed the branch with a chain saw. Once he started the chain saw Nixon freaked out and would not stop crying. I had to hold him AND calm Katera down because she was so worried about him. He is definitely loved in this house!

Spiritual growth

Conference is usually a big fail in our house. I have really good intentions of listening and prepare conference packets for the girls. I have been realizing lately that my kids are really spoiled and it takes a lot to entertain them, since we are always doing big, fun things. So, needless to say, they get bored with the conference packets in about five minutes and then are whining and making it hard for Mom and Dad to listen. Then comes the yelling and threats, crying kids, which results in the spirit completely vanishing.

This year I ditched the conference packets (which somebody has put a lot of thought into them and I think they are GREAT) and spent lots of money on painting, playdough, and other arts and craft items. And I wonder why my kids are high maintenance?!I put them each in a gift bag and told them they could pick a new activity with each speaker. They had no idea what was in each bag so that made it even more exciting. I told them right at the beginning that if they were going to be in the living room by Mom and Dad they were expected to be quiet so we could listen. If they didn't want to listen and wanted to talk and play they had to go downstairs. I witnessed my own miracle....... it worked! They even heard some of the things that the speakers talked about too! I put Mormonad pictures in sheet protectors and taped them on the wall. I also printed out pictures of the speakers. If they heard the speakers talk about one of the subjects in the Mormonad they would tape their picture on that topic. Nixon's naps worked out perfectly. He slept through the morning session and most of the afternoon session. Jason and I were actually able to listen to the talks. Yay! I know I just started a very expensive tradition for conference, but if it means they are quiet and I get to listen...........so be it!

Time to Celebrate!

Katera finally got to celebrate her birthday big time with a friend party in the afternoon and family party later in the evening. She chose to have a Tangled birthday party. I found a few really cute games and activities online like- pin the frying pan on Flynn Ryder, painting the wall, tower bean bag toss, Pasqual party blowers, and a cute cake decoration. Once I got the paint out for them to paint the wall it was all over! They didn't want to do any other activities. We ended up not even getting to all of them before moms came to pick them up. Katera had just as much fun helping me plan and make decorations all week long.

Preslie, Julia, Gracie, Katera, Charlotte, Savannah

Katera helped me make the tower for her cake. It was a fun craft for us to do together and a cute cake topper!

The painting masterpiece. Sekoya was really funny about the party. She kept saying all along that she didn't want to be home for a "baby party" until she found out what we were doing. Then she was all in. She even took over the party a little bit, which made Katera mad.

She had tons of fun at the family party later. She got clothes, a game, a movie, a quiet book, and gymnastics classes.

End of Soccer

Jason was only able to see a few of Sekoya's soccer games this year, but he made it to the last one- where she played the best ever! She improved so much from the beginning of the season. She went from not being able to make it to half time without crying from exhaustion to getting right in there and going for the ball. She is still one of the more timid players since this was her first year, but she was so much better in the last game than the first. She really enjoyed playing and I think she will play next year. Katera will be old enough next year too. Nixon really enjoyed being outside and going to the games. Daddy and Nixon are two of Sekoya's biggest fans!

I was busy taking pictures and focusing on the game and didn't notice until it was too late that the ball was being kicked right toward the sideline where Nixon was laying. He was on his tummy and the ball got kicked full force right into his forehead. He hesitated for a minute, like babies do when they are figuring out that it hurts, then he cried so hard. It took quite a few minutes to calm him down. Sekoya saw what happened and was so worried about him that she completely quit playing and came over to her brother. Obviously he wasn't hurt too bad because this big grin was only a few minutes later.

Fantastic Five

Our "little bit, care bear" turned 5 today! She woke up to her big happy birthday poster and 5 balloons in her room. She woke up at 10pm when I was putting them in there, but doesn't remember it. Then she went upstairs to homemade blueberry muffins. This kid loves blueberries! She was sad because Sekoya was already gone to school and Daddy was at work. She blew out her candle and then started to cry. Talk about breaking her mamma's heart! She didn't even eat one bite of her muffin! She got to talk to Daddy on the phone which made her feel a little bit better. Then off to preschool to share treats for her special day. Right after preschool we went to McDonald's for lunch with 11 of the special people in her life! That made her day a little better. She also got to pick the dinner menu- homemade macaroni and cheese.
I told her we would celebrate with a big party later in the week when all the family was home. She was concerned that she wasn't going to get a cake or anything. So mark this as a big FAIL as the mommy!