SpRiNg FeVeR!!!

Last week the weather here was soooooo nice! It was in the high 60's. We even beat a few records. The bad thing is it totally gave me SpRiNg FeVeR! We started the week off at the zoo (sorry no pics). The kids did not have school on Monday because of Martin Luther King Day. We thought it would be a great day to visit the zoo. So did the entire state of Colorado. We learned that no school, work holiday, 68 degree weather and free day at the zoo = CRAZY!! We had no idea it was free day until we got there, had we known we probably would of stayed clear. But we still had a good time.

The next day Lexi and Jackson wanted to have a picnic outside. Normally picnics in the middle of January just don't happen in Colorado

We also hit the park that is just out our backyard. The kids rode their bikes and were in heaven! It was Caters first trip to the park, well his first trip that he was able to get out of the stroller for. He loved the swings!

All good things must come to a end I suppose. The winter weather returned sooner that I would of liked. The kids sure were excited to go sledding though!

Clean freak, why yes that is me!

So I have a confession: I am a clean FREAK! I love to have my house clean. EvErYtHiNg in my house has a place, and if it's out of place I know. Now this can come in handy at times. We rarely loose things and if by chance someone can not find something I usually know right where it's at ( like I said everything has a place and I notice the second something is not where it should be). I do have to admit though that I usually wish I was not to the extreme that I am. I wish I could let things go more easily. But with seven kids when you let things go it goes quite quick and you end up with this: So this was not my kids doing, it was mine. I've wanted Jason to build me some shelves in the kids closet so I could organize their toys better. Being as smart as I am (totally a joke) I thought that I'd put everything in the middle of the room and it would motivate me to get the job done. Boy was I wrong! It did the opposite, made me run away. The room sat like this for three days before I was brave enough to enter.

Once I got going though it was not that bad. I must say that I love having the shelves! Thanks Jas! And I love the clean room.

My favorite part of the closet is the hooks for Lexi to hang up her many bags. The girl is obsessed. She changes her purse out daily. It is so nice for her to be able to just pick and go.

So here was the problem. I traded one clean room for multiple messes. While I busy cleaning Lexi's room she was busy in all the other rooms:

After all is said and done though the other messes were quick clean up!

Clines come for a visit...

I really enjoy spending time with Jasons family and always look forward to our times together. Jason has two sisters, Britney and Erin. His sister Britney lives in Cali so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. They recently came to Colorado for a visit and as I'm sure you can imagine it was a good time for all. My kids were so excited to see their cousins and play with them.


This is a pic of all the cousins together: (back row)Anika, Bailey, Cailyn, Lauren and Megan (front row) Lexi, Taylor, Jackson, Robert, Carter and Jack

Jason had a blast being a kid again and playing a mean ol' game of go fish!

What great cousins: Jackson and Robert

The boys had some sort of nintendo game thing (I don't know what these things are yet my boys are to young and my girls like the polly pocket stuff and things like that) that Taylor enjoyed playing.

Doing what teenage girls do best....TEXTING!

Grandma has a great toy room with all the dress up clothes you can imagine!

On this note it was time to call it a night or should I say day?

AnD tHe WiNnEr Is...

Vote for PEDRO



VOTE FOR TAYLOR

Lucky Me!!!

My sister Kelly is the only sibling that I have that lives in Colorado. She lives in Highlands Ranch, about 1 hour and 15 minutes from driveway to driveway. So as you can see we are still a ways apart. We try to meet half way once a week for an afternoon of fun. I love spending time with her and the kids are always extremely excited to see her. This past week when I came home from our afternoon together Jason's car was in the driveway. I was a little surprised to see him home from work a little early. But just thought to myself this is one of the perks of being self employed. He knew I was going to be gone for the day and must of wanted to work from home in the peace and quiet. As soon as I walked in the house though I knew something was different. It's funny how us moms can sense when something is not the same the second we walk in to our domain, our workplace in a sense, our home. I noticed all the popcorn that the kids had dumped all over the floor right before we left, and I of course left it there thinking they may want it for a snack later on, was no longer there. That's when the smell hit me...What was it? I recognized it but had not smelled it in some time. As I proceeded to enter the house I was hit with so many differences all at once. The dishes were not on the counter where I had left them, and what happened to all the dirty spots on the kitchen floor? I almost thought I was going to go into some type of shock. That's when I realized what the glorious smell was...Cleaner!!! My husband had given me one of the best surprises, he had cleaned our house. Now I'm not just talkin' vacuumed floor and washed dishes. He scrubbed the toilets, moped the floors, emptied the dishwasher, did the dishes, cleaned the bathrooms...so I'm sure you get it now, he went above and beyond! Can I tell you how nice it was to see myself in the whole mirror and not have to try and fit my face in between hand prints on the mirror?!? He even did my absolute least favorite chore of all....laundry! As you can see I am one lucky lady. I say I'm lucky not because he cleaned my house but because of the wonderful husband he always is. This is just one example of the many things he does to put a smile on my face. He is always striving to be the perfect husband, and as far as I'm concerned he always is. I love you Jas!!!

Who says they don't listen?

So many of you know our Taylor as the in your face, out of control, crazy, constantly invading your bubble "rockstar". And while it is true she is all of things there is a side to Taylor that I absolutely love and admire. She has the kindest heart and is always wanting to do good for others. During winter break, on a Monday morning, I found Taylor busy with paper and markers. I really did not think anything of it and was actually enjoying a few moments of her
entertaining herself. She came to me after a few moments and asked for some envelopes and informed me she had made us all a Christmas present. I thought oh how cute she drew us all a picture. But just as always she caught me by surprise on Christmas when we opened our presents. She explained to me that in her primary class her teacher told a story about a family who did not have any money for gifts for each other. The family used homemade gifts for their presents to one another. She said she really wanted to give everyone a present but did not have any money so she thought it would be a good idea to do what she was taught in primary. Taylor taught our family a very valuable lesson on Christmas. Gifts come from the heart and do not need a price tag tied to them. I am so grateful for the primary program and my children's teachers. I am sure there are some teachers that leave on Sundays wondering if anyone in their class was even paying attention. This is proof that children really do listen and take what they are taught to heart. It truly is an amazing moment as a parent when you see your child's testimony grow.

I love that she put thought in to each persons gift and made them unique to that individual!

Over at last!!

So this winter break was filled with lots of fun but I must confess that I am glad it is over. Two weeks with the kiddos home from school equals two weeks of fun, two weeks of not starting the day until noon, two weeks of fighting, two weeks of creating memories and one week of counting down the days until school starts again. I thought I'd just do one post of all the festivities:

Jason's b-day started off the fun. We went out to dinner with the family the night before his birthday. I kinda felt like it was my birthday though since Jason wanted Jackson to sit next to him. (For those of you with kids you know how fun a restaurant can be with a two year old!) I could not get Jackson to put his roll down for the picture. Can't say I blame him, Texas Roadhouse rolls are the best!!!

On Jason's b-day I surprised him with an all day babysitter. The day was spent doing whatever Jason wanted. Which meant that lunch was at my least favorite location ever: Red Lobster. But it was not my day so I put on a brave face and went! I almost felt like I had gotten myself a present though since I also got to enjoy a day of no children and just spend time with my husband.

But I must say that the dessert was yum yum!!

Anika had a Christmas party which was a lot of fun. And what kind of a party would it of been without food?!? Here the kids are eating lunch.

They all made a cute little snowman to take home.

I love how creative some of them got!

Here is the gift exchange.

So I had no idea I put this many pictures in of the party...Sorry! But the party ended with a little cupcake decorating.

We went to go see Sesame Street Live. Anika was NOT happy about this! She spent the three days leading up to it complaining about having to go. But not to worry, nothing a little dippin dots can't fix! I think she secretly enjoyed herself.

Jackson was so disappointed when it was over. He loved it.


We of course had to fit in a day at chuck-e-cheese.

Carter even enjoyed himself!

One night for family home evening we got together with a group from the ward and went caroling. It was a ton of fun.

Jackson was so funny. He was so intriguied with everyone singing behind him. He always had the same face no matter what house we were at or what we were singing.







I love his lower lip!

The Hansens were in town for Christmas and we were lucky enough to be able to spend some time with them. The kids had a blast playing together, oh ya and the adults too. We had some good game playin goin on!

Well what can I say about this picture....hmmmm? What is a holiday break without a good puzzle?!? Jason spent a good deal of time working on his kitty fabric puzzle. He was very proud of his accomplishment.

We brought in the New year with friends and games at our house.

What a better way to end the winter break than with a sleepover?!? The kids had their friends spend the night on New Years Eve. What a better time than 12:30 a.m. to ask for a sleep over. Lucky for them their friends were already here so it was easy to say yes. We had a great break but are excited to get back to reality!