First Day of School

It's that time of year again, summer has come to an end. No more long unstructured days with nothing to do and no more whining of boredom....what shall I do as a mother.....JUMP FOR JOY! The kids were so excited for the first day! They were all ready hours before it was time to go. Ryann even is big enough for school! Kylee had her first day in middle school and it was great. Elliott is glad that she is in the accelerated classes so she can be with the ummm shall we say "smart" kids. It is not quite what he said but I think you get the picture. Now life can get back on a schedule! To carry on my tradition here are some first day of school pictures:

The four big girls- My sister's girls with mine

Our big middle-schooler!

4th grader

Alyssa and Lani walking to school.

In line waiting for her teacher...Addy taking along

Lani waiting for her teacher

Our big girl!

Kindergarten here she comes!

Ryann next to her best buddy Kenzie-they lucked out in the same class

Last but not least the earliest riser...the big high schooler and lets not forget seminary!

Your never too old for a first day of school picture!

Captured By Crane

One of my workout buddies took some pictures of us at the end of June. Her name is Patty Crane...CapturedbyCrane.blogspot.com is where you can find her.

Yes, one of Alyssa's talents

Look at the air Addy is getting...

TeamBEACHBODY

A few weeks ago I signed up to be a coach for Beachbody.com. They are the makers of fitness videos that you will see in the middle of the night and on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

P90X, Power 90, Brazil Butt-Lift, Insanity, 10 minute trainer, Turbo Jam,....need I go on?

I have a passion for health and with that comes exercise and nutrition! We only get one body, what are you going to do with it? I decided why not help others that set fitness and nutrition goals for themselves and then help them achieve. Looking into being a coach I have found out what a HUGE opportunity this is! Not only can you help others but the ability to grow this business and supplement your income is easy! If you are interested in getting fit physically and financially, let me know.

Find more info at www.beachbodycoach.com/onefitfanny

INSANITY

I am so far behind on blogging so I decided to just continue on and try and back log postings as I can.

Monday I just started my new workout program, called INSANITY! They call it that for a reason.... I have been running and doing P90X for a while but this is intense! All I can say is that I LOVE IT! You want to die during it but after you finish you get this rush and feel good! It is a 60 day program. At the end I will post my before and after pics. The nutrition plan is also easy too! If you haven't seen the info-commercial check it out here...

Go to www.teambeachbody.com/onefitfanny

Click on the "Watch Videos" tab at top and then click on "Products". You can then click on Insanity to see what it is all about.

Need More Energy?

When I signed up to coach for beachbody, I discovered a drink they make called Shakeology. It is nutrition simplified. You drink one shake a day and it helps you lose weight, get you healthy, make you regular, lower your cholesterol, and most important give you ENERGY! It delivers your daily vitamins and minerals. It is perfect for the picky eaters and even those that are just not getting in your daily requirement of fruit and veggies.

I eat healthy and exercise 5-6 days a week. Getting up at 5:30 in the morning I would drag by 7 at night. Sometime I would feel I would need a nap around 2 in the afternoon. I would also crave chocolate. By day 3 of drinking this drink I had NO cravings and more importantly I have energy to sustain me through the whole day! I can make it to 10-11 pm at night. I hate feeling tried and dragging and this has been great!

Check out my website for more info www.shakeology.com/onefitfanny

I can also send you a sample if you want to give it a taste. The Chocolate is my favorite and taste like a milkshake...yeah that good!

So behind

I am a month behind on my blogging and plan on catching up...ugh my days are not long enough and that is with me getting up at 5:30...A.M.!!! I have last week of school, two birthday parties, new roommates & puppy, new glasses, almost my house catching on fire, and now Eclipse pictures, on top of writing papers and school work and the normal house cleaning and cooking and my calling and soon a new job. Like I said lots to post! Hopefully this week I can get to it!

Side note:

On the way to church on Sunday I told Addison that I get to go to her nursery class today to help out.

Ryann then asked, "Did they ask you to help out because you are pretty?"

Elliott replied, "Yes they asked mom because she is pretty, they wouldn't want anyone ugly in there scaring the kids."

Christmas Trees

On day Addy came to me and told me she wanted a "Christmas tree". I thought this was odd and asked her if she wanted a "Christmas tree?" She nodded and got all excited....okay? I explained to her that it is not Christmas time so we can't get one right now. She replied, "oohhhh" and ran off. Later that day she got all excited when I opened up the pantry. She started jumping up and down and pointing saying, "Christmas tree, Christmas tree!".......Ohhhhhh, Rice Crispy Treat!! Duh?

She still calls it a Christmas tree even after a week worth of attempts of helping her. Now they are called a Rice Christmas Tree! For now we can live with that.

Bubbles, Bubbles, and more Bubbles

Alyssa had my cousin's daughter over to play one evening. They wanted to go swimming. Knowing the water was freezing and it wouldn't take long I agreed. Sure enough they came in after 10 minutes and I started making dinner. They decided to have a bubble bath in my huge bathtub in their swimsuits instead....what could that hurt I thought to myself....and off they went. I went upstairs shortly after to check on them and sure enough bubbles in the tub and took a picture. 15-20 minutes later.....it was time for them to get out and come and eat dinner. This is when I really needed my camera. (I kick myself for not taking a picture because you can't even imagine the sight I walked in on). What I walked into was bubbles and water EVERYWHERE! HUGE mess! We have a water softener which makes suds like crazy, then you have a child add tooooo much bubble bath and then turn on the jets to the tub...yeah the bubbles went everywhere. Water and bubbles all over the floor and all around the tub. I was truly speechless because seriously did they think that jumping into a huge bubble bath over and over again was really a good idea...I mean really? Obviously they did think it was a great idea but didn't they think, "Wow this is making a mess....hmmmm maybe we shouldn't do this anymore." Apparently it didn't cross their minds. I just told them it was time to clean-up and that they had to do it all on their own. On the flip-side they had a blast and why ruin it with getting mad....good thing Elliott was out of town he would have gotten mad. I just brought up the wet dry vac and headed back downstairs. Later that night I told Alyssa she was banned from my tub for a while.

Weekend Away

This past weekend I had the opportunity to fly home while Elliott stayed home with the girls. This was my 3rd time in almost 12 years that I spent days away from Elliott and the girls. First time was going to Hawaii with my sister when Kylee was 18 months old and my second time was to help my brother's family move from St. George. How nice it is to get away even though it was a short trip. My brother Paul took advantage of Jet Blue's $10 air fare last week and few his family from Miami to CA. It was so fun to see my siblings. We were all there but John. Saturday morning we got to head out to the lake on my Dad's boat. It was a beautiful day! That Saturday night a restaurant that we all had worked at over the years had a reunion. I was the first employee of my siblings and started when the restaurant opened. Their were 6 of us there that night that were from the original hired crew when the restaurant opened. The restaurant is no longer opened. More than anything it was fun hanging out with my brothers, their wives, and my sister.

My sister's son Anthony

Paul getting ready to go...he screamed like a girl in the cold water.

I grew up going to this lake...love the lake...love the memories.

Getting ready to leave.

My siblings David, Paul, and Christy

David is sporting a random strangers glasses

Paul's wife Nikki with my sister and I

This is by far my favorite picture!! I couldn't stop laughing about Paul's silly face. He didn't make it on purpose. The camera just went off before he could smile...funny Paul.

Coming home I was greeted at the airport by Elliott with some flowers and Ryann and Addy looking like orphans. This is why my girls need their mother....and yes I had to take a picture but you cannot appreciate how nappy the hair looked in person. It is clear they both dressed themselves. On the positive side at least they were dressed and my house was clean when I came home.

First Day of School

Today is my first day of school or more like my first day back to school. I knew when I finished my BS I would always go back. I actually intended on going strait into a Master's program but because we moved to Casper the week after I graduated I knew I would have to put it on hold. Then two more babies came into our family and since we have moved 3 more times. In January, I started feeling it was time to get a move on with college. I was debating between getting a Master's in Occupational Therapy or a Master's in Marriage and Family Counseling. I ultimately decided upon getting a Master's degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology. I was actually finished with my enrollment with M & F counseling and it just wasn't feeling right. After spending some time researching other degrees I came across I-O Psychology and knew this was it! ( I was actually interested in it back in 2002 but my college didn't have a program for it) The program takes 2 years which I would like to try and finish in 1 1/2 years....we'll see. All of my classes will be online. Back to researching and writing...oh and a whole lot of reading!

Biking at Lake Mead

Yesterday we took all the girls and our bikes to Boulder City. They had a place we could park right by Lake Mead and then get on a 4 mile trail that was used for the railroad in building the Hoover Dam. Elliott towed the younger two in the bike trailer and the big girls rode their bikes. Alyssa wish Grandpa was their with his boat so we could go out on the lake and then wanted me to ask the people parked next to us that had a boat if we could go out on it with them.

Getting ready for the ride!

They were troopers riding 4 miles in and 4 miles back in 90 degree temperature. One little crash, a few tears from one, and a creepy mood from the other one we made it. Their were 5 tunnels that you got to ride through on your way to the dam. At the end of the trail we parked our bikes and walked down and around to show them a closer look of the dam. Once we got back to the bikes we had a snack and headed back. After we were finished we headed into Boulder City to get some dinner and check out some of the Antique shops and of course stop in the Ice Cream parlor for a little treat. Boulder City is such a cute old little town.

One of the tunnels.

Walking down to the Dam (I dumped water on Alyssa's head to help cool her off)

Down at the visitor center

Eating our snack..you can see part of the picnic table to the right...we opted for the shade even if it meant seating on the ground.

Taking a break just off the trail... Lake Mead

Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I think the most memorable part of that day for the girls will be the cockroach in the sink when we went to wash our hands at the pizza place.....Ryann said, "This is the grossest bathroom ever!" I just prayed for no food poisoning.

13 Years

Elliott and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone? It was low key like every year. This year we went and got some sushi then went over to a friend's house to hang-out and have some adult conversation. I always wondered if you would get bored being married for so long. One thing I have have learned over the years is that Elliott will never allow for a boring life! I am so grateful for him and the great relationship we have. He is my best friend. Our anniversary fell on a Sunday and I debated on wearing my wedding dress to church...but decided not too. But when I can home I had to try it on and to my surprise I could actually zip it up but it didn't quite fit the same...a little snugger...but it did zip up. Not bad for 13 years and 4 kids later.

Race for the Cure

May 1st I had the opportunity to run a 5k in the
"Race for the Cure". Some of the ladies that I workout with thought it would be fun to do this together....funny thing is I find no fun in running. It fact I have a love/hate relationship with running. I do not enjoy the actual "run" part but love it when I am done. It is easy and free exercise and it always goes faster when you have people and conversation. I couldn't believe how many people were there. Having an aunt and my mother as a breast cancer survivor I felt it was the least I could do. All the survivors had pink hats and pink shirts. Everyone else was in white. It was crazy seeing all the pink shirts. Elliott took all the girls down to the finish line to wait for me to cross over. I ran the whole thing without stopping but felt like a rat in a maze weeding around and around the streets in downtown Vegas. Addy and Ryann got to experience a "port-a-potty" for the first time...what a treat that was!

These were some of the gross Chippendale's that handed out pink carnations to the survivors that crossed the finish line.

Just finished!

My for I

The other day I took Alyssa grocery shopping with me. I handed her the list and her job was to tell me what we needed and then check it off. When we got to the meat section she told me we needed some ground beef. She then asked me if it is meat from the ground and if that is why they call it "ground" beef. I paused and the sarcastic side of me wanted to say yes it is dead cow they find on the ground and instead of wasting it they grind it up for us to eat but because I knew that would hurt her feelings I said nothing and was interrupted by a cute old lady that thought what she had said was cute. When we got home she asked me about ground ginger so I had the opportunity to explain what "ground" means. The crazy thing is she is very smart in school and effortlessly gets strait As.

When ever you should say "I" in a sentence Addy says "my". Example "My will!" or "My am" or my favorite "My hungry Mom!"

I wasn't to fond of Addy today when I found her asleep in her bed for a nap holding my new pack of gum with only 2 pieces left and her chewing it. I was irritated because she ate my gum and more irritated that I had to wake her up to get her to spit it out. All she did was swallow it and then wouldn't go back to sleep and was creepy for the next hour. The last thing I needed was gum to get stuck in her non existent hair that we are working so hard to grow.

Sandbox Time

We got a new sandbox for the girls. Why is it that things like that take forever to put together? Elliott started one evening when I went with Kylee to her school orientation. After an hour he had enough. He couldn't understand the pictures (the instructions where picture only) on a certain step and gave up. The next day I got busy and finished it up....it only took 3 hours...with minor breaks like stopping to pick up Kylee from school, then Alyssa from school, snacks for Ryann and Addy, and helping Addy go to the bathroom, and of course answering text messages and phone calls. Sigh......the life of a mother. We are the ultimate mutli-taskers!

The girls love it! It is also finally warm enough to spend the days outside...except for the nasty windy days. The only downside to sandboxes is the sand... it tracks into the house.....sigh again. But if it entertains them, I feel it is worth it.

Middle School

Last week I had the opportunity to take Kylee to her Middle School Orientation. It was a chance for her to see the school and hear all about the electives she will have to choose from. Wow that brought back some memories and it wasn't even the school I went too. For electives they have to choose between orchestra, chorus, band, or art. We rotated and went to each room to hear the teacher and see a demo from some current students. Chorus cracked me up because the 4 boys that were preforming with the girls couldn't have been any more of an awkward group of 4 boys. Super tall or super short....oh and the acne. Ohh my....my heart felt for those boys. SUCH an awkward time period for all. Then off to the band room where the Jazz band played for us....flashbacks of drums, saxophones, and other obnoxious instruments that I was succumb to with brothers in the band.....concerts....oh yes concerts. It just made me laugh to myself.

We got to see the cafeteria, the PE locker room, the 6th grade wing, computer room, etc.

What a fun time for Kylee....me...I don't know if fun would be the word.

More like "scared" but at the same time happy for her.

Making Hair Bows

I recently got all of Addy's summer clothes down. 3T summer clothes is a good size because their are LOTS of cute outfits I bought for Ryann that have naturally passed down to Addison. That is one benefit of having the same sex born the same time of year. You get to reuse those adorable outfits that you loved. It is amazing the memories clothes can have. It is also crazy that Addison is actually wearing 3T clothes. I decided to be ahead of the game this year and make a bunch of cute hair bows to match. Lots of her outfit are Gymboree and I have the matching bows for those outfits. But I wanted all of her clothes to have cute bows. Especially because Addy doesn't have a lot of hair and putting a bow in it is the only option. It took me about a week to finish them all. The larger ones are for Ryann.

Now all we need is some summer weather...

Sick of Sickness

It has been over a week of sick kids.

Not a big fan of sick kids.

Coughing nonstop

in my face.

Could be worse.

Vomit is definitely worse!

Now I have been fighting this weird cold that has taken over my home.

Brightside...the abs are getting a great workout from the coughing.

My favorite is trying to give a stubborn two year-old her antibiotics....she's notty.

Even our computer got sick with an ever-so-lovely-virus.

NOT FUN!

Life goes on...

Elephants

Elliott goes to see Addy this morning. Addy says, "Look Dad, st-ick-y." while pointing to the snot coming out of her nose.

While I was fixing Alyssa's hair this morning she told me the three things she is scared of and never want to do:

Driving a car

Fixing her hair

Cooking

Looks like she will live with us forever!

(I am surprised that picking out her outfit isn't on there, yes I still do that too)

She said she is afraid she will blow the house up if she cooks.

Kid-Talk

On the way to taking Alyssa to school yesterday she became very annoyed because Addy was coughing her way. Kylee has also been sick coughing. Alyssa has always been very "germ-aware" or afraid of germs (okay that would be putting it lightly). She then tells Addy to cough the other way and cover her mouth, followed by, "I am surrounded in grossness!"

Later that day:

Kylee wanted to get on the computer. Ryann was sitting in the chair for the computer. Ryann was NOT thrilled about having to get out of this chair. They started to fight until I told Ryann to get out. Then out of anger Ryann told Kylee, "Fine, when I grow up I am going to steal your husband!"

Where would a four-year-old come up with this?

That is going to make for comfortable family gatherings.

EGG-Hunting

A month ago we got a postcard in the mail advertising an egg-hunt at a park. A helicopter would drop thousands of eggs. It was to be on Alyssa's birthday and she really wanted to go. I am not a big fan of public egg hunts but it was her birthday.

SO Saturday, March 27th went like this:

9 am we went to our church for a breakfast party. We ended up leaving early because we FROZE! The wind here can really, I mean REALLY be obnoxious! I know wind because I lived in WY for 4 years. Have I mentioned I HATE wind!! Elliott and I really have no tolerance for the wind or the cold after living in it for the last 9 years. It really needs to warm up! Went home and grabbed COATS!

We headed off to the park for the Egg-Drop. We lucked out and found a great parking spot. THOUSANDS of people were there, no joke. Around 10,ooo to be exact. Depending upon the age of your child they got a different color wrist band to coordinate with the area to gather eggs. These areas were marked off with ribbon and had eggs laying all over the grass. All 4 girls were in different groups so we split up. I took Ryann, Elliott took Addy, and the big girls were on their own. We had to wait what felt like forever for the helicopter to come and drop the eggs. Then it took no more than 10 seconds for the eggs to be all gone. I was in the second row and was holding Ryann to run into the middle. Yeah, no eggs. The parents grabbed them all. She of course was crying and I managed to find one. Elliott had the same problem but someone gave Addy 2. Parents really shouldn't be allowed to pick up the eggs. Might I add the eggs are empty. You exchange them for candy. It doesn't matter if you have one or twenty you get the same amount of candy. This is why they tell you not to get more than 7 that parents didn't care to listen too.

Ryann's age group just started to line up.

Addy's Age group lining up.

Trying to entertain Ryann for 30 minutes


Finally it came. All I could think of was it hitting those poles, crashing to the ground, and killing thousands of people

While waiting for Kylee and Alyssa I was talking to a mother and had my back turned to the stroller that had Ryann and Addy's baskets stacked on top of each other with the whole 2 eggs on top. When I turned around Addy's basket had 8 more eggs inside of it. I was very surprised that someone secretly placed more eggs in their basket. Finally, Kylee and Alyssa joined us and we got to hear how Alyssa got pushed down, trampled on, kids landing on her, only to get up and not be able to find one egg......she was very sad. Kylee managed to fight her way through the animal-like children to get some. Once she realized everyone got the same amount of candy Alyssa was fine.....poor birthday girl.

Lunch was her choice and we went to subway to get sandwiches and then headed to another park for a picnic that she wanted. We lucked out because the park we decided on had a festival going on. They had live music, free food, popcorn, and cotton candy, all sorts of booths to see, and lots of jumpy houses and blow-up slides with not near the amount of people. The wind had calmed down by now and it was much more pleasant outside. We played around for 2 1/2 hours before heading home. Minus the weird egg-hunt it and freezing breakfast, it turned out to be a nice day with the family.