Staska Family

Off to the Theater

2011-12-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Rickie bought everyone tickets to go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Hale Theater. It was amazing! Funny, moving, interesting, and of course, incredible acting and singing...just the perfect Saturday activity to do together..Nothing beats professional theater - it's magic

Feeding the Ducks

2011-12-01T13:04:00.001-08:00

Most of my favorite pictures are of these two together.

I hope they always stay this close to each other.

My Baby Starts Kindergarten

2011-12-01T12:51:00.001-08:00

Saying goodbye to Grandma

Feeling spiffy in his new army backpack

Just had to check if the sink "worked for real"...Asher was so excitedto start school! He needed time to adjust...couldn't handle me leaving for a couple days...and then He needed me for about an hour the next couple of days...until he was finally ok to have me give him a hug goodbye at his desk each day. He is thriving at school. I love to see him come out of his shell and make so many friends. He is a good, obedient student, who likes to follow the rules but have a good, silly time doing it :)

Keely Starts 3rd Grade

2011-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Keely had the most amazing teacher this year - I was

so excited - her little class also had the cutest, nicest kids..

best year ever until we had to move :(

Keely was so fed up with the boring uniforms that she didn't

want to get a matching backpack and luchbox this year - her only allowed form

of expression :)

New Bikes

2011-12-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

The kids are getting so big that they both needed new

bikes this year

I think they rode them almost everyday until we left Utah

Best Summer Ever!

2011-10-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

I just spent an hour writing up this post and then it deleted itself for no reason...I will write again later...

BATTLE WOUND

2011-07-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

OK, battle wound might be stretching it a bit....but it is the first injury I have had to take one of my kids to the ER for. He and his best bud Caleb decided it would be a brilliant idea to climb up the oversized shelves in their neighbors closet during playgroup...well, the top shelf decided to fight back when pulled on and came crashing down, landing it's corner right on Asher's head..luckily his hat softened the blow and the cut didn't go deeper than the soft tissue :)

once we were actually in the hospital he was very brave and didn't cry once while his nurse injected 10 min. worth of litocain into the cut and gave him 5 staples (which he thought was awesome cause he is 5!), afterward I bought him lunch in the cafeteria while we waited for Justin to pick us up...quite the eventful day and probably a permanent scar to remember it by :)

Curious George Party

2011-07-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Asher wanted Curious George/Jungle party this year at home...this was his first real b-day party at home and I was relieved he wanted one here, because for some strange (and demented) reason, I feel jipped when they don't have them at home....if I'm not exhausted at the end of a party, then something is wrong! I know, I'm sick, I need help.. :)

Here are the Invitations; a leaf tied to a picture of george with twine..easy and so much cuter than store bought...I don't think I will ever buy pre-made ones again

first we decorated animal bags to hold all their goodies and decorated

their animal books for later..

Boys are so silly....

A little reading corner with George and a bunch of

Curious George books
was a hit

My handsome monkey

of course we played games...carrying baby animal bean bags on their heads to a big basket as fast as they could...followed by throwing them into the basket in

teams as fast as possible - everybody got to choose any one animal they wanted to

take home as a party favor (they loved that!)

Next we picked fruit off the tree for George to eat

(sheets of George stickers to take home)

and dug for bananas in quick sand (brown sugar). This was by far the favorite game - they sat out here until they found every last candy banana...licking the spoons as they went was a huge perk to this game :) Everybody got to take home a bag of candy bananas.

We ate lunch after the games and then did our big activity....went on a safari!

Each kid got an animal book with a different animal printed on each page and 2 big happy faces next to each animal. They also were given a sheet of stickers....when they spotted an animal on the safari they had to find the page in the book with that animal on it and put a matching animal sticker on one of the happy faces

there were 2 of each 6 animals in our jungle to find

(zebra, monkey, giraffe, lion, tiger, and elephant)

Every kid also got a pair of binoculars to use and they really

worked, so that was really exciting for them!

Keely was the big helper in this activity :)

When all was said and done, every single kid had found all the animals

and put their stickers in their books :)

The only way to get them inside was the promise of cupcakes :)

We made 4 kinds...I think the zebras and monkeys were my favorites :)

Ending with opening presents as always, he was spoiled as could be with toys

and activities...It's so much work, but I cherish the smiles and the memories so much!

MY BABY TURNS 5

2011-07-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Asher is officially school-aged now! I can't believe it!

We made monkey cupcakes that were happy, sad, confused, and his favorite - angry :)

I am in such denial of his turning 5 that I only put 4 candles on the cake - he had to count them to figure out that I was secretly trying to keep his little forever..whoops

Even though he is a year older, he is still loving his superheros - so this year, he got a few upgrades to big boy action figures; a green lantern that actually glows in the dark, an iron man, and venom to battle his favorite super guy; spiderman

He also got a nerf gun - of which we had an awesome 1 1/2 hour gun fight!!

Last of all, he got a stuffed curious george...I think his t-shirt got thrown in the trash, but he loves his monkey...happy birthday bug!!

EGGS & BUNNIES

2011-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Easter was beautiful this year! Here is the Loot: lots of chocolate - a bunny (named fuzzy wuzzy) and superhero book for Asher - a bunny LPS and rainbow magic fairy book for Keely
The hunt was moved to the back yard for the first time this year - the Easter Bunny had to pick up his game for my no-longer-little-ones this year :)

Asher kept getting side tracked from the hunt at hand to talk to and pet his fuzzy wuzzy

Keely is so picture perfect on Easter every year - I just love it

Bunny was a little tricky this year

took the kids a good half hour to find all the candy and eggs :)

That Big Binks was BIG! They were so excited

Kitchen Fun

2011-07-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

My kids kept switching their minds over whether or not they liked strawberries, and as I am the mom of the 2 pickiest eaters on the planet, I was determined that they were going to like my favorite fruit....so, being the mastermind that I am, I introduced the berries this time with chocolate ;)

They had a blast and now (luckily) will eat strawberries whenever I bring them home! Am I a genius or what?

I also tried the fool proof chocolate-covering-anything-results-in-instant-true-love trick on rice crispies for Asher....for those of you who know my son this will not come as a complete shock, but I swear I did not see it coming - He would not eat them with the chocolate on because they were different! (sigh...so is my life...silly, weird boy:)

Erkel?

2011-05-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Asher came out so proud that he dressed

himself this morning...doesn't he look great? ;)

Christmas Time

2011-04-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

First off this year we got a few new trimmings for our tree :) I bought a bunch of fushia ribbon and told Justin what I wanted it to do - I couldn't make it do what was in my head, so he took over and made it beautiful - pics don't really do it justice...this was my favorite tree ever!!

This is Asher's Christmas Eve home-made present from me...
a super hero cape for "Asher Bug"

on Christmas morning - Keely and Asher had 1 present each from Santa along with a note answering all of Keely's questions from her note she left Santa next to his cookies and explaining what happened to Asher's Toy Story puzzle: Apparantely, Rudolph accidently stepped on it....As a result, Asher does not like Rudolph very much anymore.."OOwwwwhhhh, Rudolph!!"

A big boy CD player just for his room....he broke it after 2 weeks :(

We started a new tradition of getting the kids new jammies every year now...

this year they got paul frank monkey ones they both adore :)

Grandpa modeling for GQ in his new duds

Justin got a strap for his guitar (he was using string - it was just ridiculous)

and a map of rome for his office from the 18oo's

I got a coupon to get my hair done...which you can see was dire...

and lotion, lotion, lotion :)

Keely also got her skates that she has been begging for for 2 years!!

She's pretty good too crusing down the driveway.

Asher's new jammies and a suprise for us all...

a new hand made quilt from g.grandma quayle

which he snuggled into right away

Having fun with the peanuts g.grandma always sends :)

Kids made out pretty good this year (as always, thanks to grandparents!). Keely got a beautiful LED light butterfly night-light, more LPS (zebra, panda), friendship bracelet kit, books, the sweater she is wearing, art supplies, taylor swift cd and more I can't quite remember...Asher got a load of KungZu pets and a fighting ring for them w/armor, some cds, books, games, a toy story landfill set with all the action figures, more batman stuff, a nerf gun, and more....as a family we got a wii game and quirkle (which is the perfect family game - even asher can play on his own).....perfect day as always :)

Donuts, Donuts!

2011-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Poor Keely has not had a donut in 3 years because of her gluten free diet and my unwillingness to attempt home-made rice flour ones. Until today. Today I had the epiphany at the store to buy frozen gluten free waffles (which are awesome), smear them with an obscene amount of Nutella, and top with sprinkles - wallah! A chocolaty breakfast heaven!

Nutcracker

2011-04-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Keely was in her first ballet performance ever this year. She danced as an angel in the Nutcracker

I had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into! Rehearsals were constant and long and exhausting..while she practiced, I sewed costumes..it was like our second home for a while there :)

Dancing 4 and 5 days a week, I was worried that she was going to be burnt out by the end and hate ballet (like jazz), but to my suprise, she just loved it more and more.

Aren't they cute?! She is 2nd from left...on stage they each hold a candle - the stage was dark with little lights for stars everywhere and fog on the ground. It was really beautiful and she did awesome in all 7 performances :) If she sticks with it, this will become a Christmas time tradition and you will be seeing many more pictures :)

Spooky Time

2011-04-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

I must have some pics on my other camera from halloween...I will look for them later, but for now, we have only a few.

Did something new and so fun this year. At Gardner Village they have witches everywhere - you get a scavenger list off the website and go hunting for them - when you find them all you can bring the list to the bakery and get a free cookie :) Cute, fun way to spend a autumn Sat.

These costumes probably look familiar - Asher's is from his birthday party earlier in the year and Keely wanted to wear her witch one from a few years before...I can't believe it still fit! :)

We had a good halloween, with all the usual affairs...it was the last year for our amazing harry potter village next door :( We watched the latest potter movie after trick-or-treating and stuffed ourselves with caramel apples, candy, and lots of hot chocolate (it was freezing and rainy this year)

Pumpkin Pickin'

2011-04-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

I have never seen such an amazing deal on pumpkins! These suckers were $3 each!!

Pumpkin Head

Love, Love, Pumpkin Time!

End of Summer

2010-12-18T10:42:00.001-08:00

Baptism

2010-12-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

Keely has been looking forward to this for years and years.
We bought her this pretty dress and took pictures for her invitations.

Such an angel.

It was such a perfect program. We took pictures as everyone arrived, and they signed her baptism book that her G'ma got her on her birthday.
G'ma Warren gave the talk about Baptism.
G'ma Staska read a story about the Holy Ghost.
Justin played Keely's favorite hymn, "I'm trying to be like Jesus" on the guitar while Asher sang (this was probably our favorite part besides the ordinances).

She was so excited, but Asher was shy as he is when there are lots of people - I was so impressed that he went up and sang for her!

G'ma and G'pa Warren came all the way from MN to share in her special day.

Of course, there were more presents. A Bible, Book of Mormon, a case to hold them, and more.

The day was perfect. We ate cake that matched the blue of her dress and just enjoyed the spirit of a little girl on her special day. Her blessing as she was confirmed said that she was to be a light of hope and brightness when she was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't explain her better.

LPS Party!

2010-12-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Littlest Pet Shops are Keely's favorite toy, so of course we had to have a party theme for it! The girls came and choose a necklace - each with a different pet - they named them and we tied them on their necks and they chose the catty (or bed like Keely liked to call them) that matched.

Each Pet "bed" had ribbon and foam for the bottom and foam cutouts that were unique for their pet (ie: bunny had carrots, frog had dragonflies, etc.) They turned out so, so cute

The girls also got to play with stuffed LPS toys in the "birdie boutique" and get pretty with tattoos, butterfly boppers to wear on their heads, and glitter.

Then we had a scavenger hunt in the backyard - the girls had to make sure they got one of everything; candy, butterfly barrettes, more tattoos, and lps stickers.

Then we played only 2 of the 4 games we had planned cause we ran out of time, but bingo was a huge hit! They loved all the different animals and we played till everyone had blackout :) We also played a trampoline game...then came inside for the best part...

In the LPS pet shop there was a real pet to match the one on their necklace and they filled out an adoption form, which was stamped and signed by Keely

We had to have lunch after all the fun: Mouse Crumbs (tiny sandwiches), Kitty Catch or Fish Tails (Doritos), Fish Food (Gummy Worms), Doggie Chow (Chex Muddy Buddies), and Bunny Bites (Carrots w/ Ranch).

Keely was ridiculously spoiled with presents this year! Her modest 10 pet pet shop grew to almost 50! (I know...crazy) and she still plays with them all.

I even let Keely decorate her own cake! Isn't it cute? We had a great time doing it together and Keely said it was the best cake she ever had (yes, mostly because she did it herself :)

8 is Great!

2010-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

This was a big one - she's been looking forward to this year for a long time

Mostly because she gets to be baptized :) G'ma S got her a baptism book and a pillowcase that she could color all by herself.

Easy cupcakes and she was the happiest girl on the planet.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

2010-12-01T16:06:00.001-08:00

A Surprise

2010-12-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

We came home one morning to find this on our door!

Foot Prints were all over the floor!

Hidden under the basket were....PUZZLES! Asher's favorite!

He called to thank Grandma

The fairy tale one finished :)

First Day of 2nd Grade

2010-12-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

On orientation night her new teacher said they were going to be doing "a ton of math this year." All the kids in the room groaned except Keely who put her hands in the air and cheered :)

Such a cutie in her school uniform!

Fam Reunion

2010-09-29T12:53:00.001-07:00

On Justin's side of the family, we have a reunion every year that lasts 1 day

We got a huge picnic site for the day to veg out in - mostly the little kids wanted to build "a house" - Asher was leading the construction and working very hard to procure large branches of wood to hold it up :)

His workers were left to right: Leisl (she and he always run to each other when we get together and hug...they are the closest), Violet, and Birdie.

River Tubing was the big activity of the day - it was so much fun (yes, Asher is still clinging to me for dear life even though the rapids are over and we've been down about 4 times by this picture...so, maybe also a little traumatic :)

It was so fun to get outside and do something a little adventurous - Keely was in 7th heaven the entire day...we even got her to play a sport for a while!! I know, she was having too much fun to realize what she was doing at first...haha ;)

Summer Intensive

2010-09-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Keely spent all June and July in an Art/Music/Dance class that went 3 days a week for 3 hours. She love, love, loved it as only an artistic, creative little mind like hers could :) I completely forgot to take a picture of her in costume (argggh - I know) but it was so cute! She made her own tiara, tutu, and backdrop for her performance on stage :) The backdrop was an old table cloth traced with her standing just like in the picture above - then she painted the entire thing....On stage they had all five of the girls backdrops strung together...they they pulled up slowly - you could see each girl behind her own outline doing cute little foot work until they came up completely and the girls came forward to do their dance....it was so, so cute! (next year I will video it). We are so proud of our little ballerina! She has auditions for the Nutcracker this weekend - she is so excited (and nervous)!

Side Notes on The Performance: it was amazing - the older girls choreographed their own dances and took photos representing their dance to use as their background...I love that their creativity is so cultivated - the artistic director says he does it so that they can enter any field of dance they want, anywhere in the world, when he is done with them :) This is the first time Joe ever stayed for an entire show and he and Justin thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Heat Wave Cure

2010-09-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

The only thing to have for dessert in the desert heat? Frozen Pie!

Keely made a limeade pie

Asher made a lemonade one

And we brought them to share with all the cousins/g'parents/etc. - didn't know such happy faces and gratitude could come from a little whip cream and graham crackers! :)

Beach Bums

2010-09-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

The 4th

2010-09-29T12:10:00.001-07:00

It was so hot this year...yuck! The kids decorated their wheels for the parade - Keely took off on her bike (no training wheels this year!) with her friends, but Asher stayed by us complaining about the awful heat the whole way :(

She had asked the clown for a colorful "cat", but he heard colorful "hat"....she wasn't very sad when I accidentally layed it on the grass, which turned out to be deadly razors to the balloon monstrosity ;)

Kids spent a lot of time eating their snow cones in the shade :)

We went through 6 sparkler boxes that night...they couldn't wait until it was fully dark

Played on the neighbor's swing

Grandpa doing what he does best...giving the kids a thrill and g'ma a heartattack!

Had a bbq in the backyard w/ s'mores of course and a bath to wash all the happy dirt and sweat from their exhausted faces before watching fire works from the deck :)

9th Anniversary!

2010-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

We kept up our tradition of exotic getaways...first hunting bison on the plains, druming, tribal dancing - as you can see, we are really good. Who knew sleeping in a TeePee could be so comfy and roomy :)

Yep, we always get a jet tub...this one had led lights that changed 5 different colors - I will definitely be buying one of those for my own bath one day - it's more relaxing than candles! loved it.

Next we headed to our African tent and got a little excited about all the wildlife :)

We did leave our oasis' to catch a few movies, see the car show, and eat, eat, eat at some new restaurants :)

There is nothing like getting away from mommy duties for 2 entire nights - We watched movies in our rooms, drove and hiked to the witch caves, got breakfast in bed, and Justin woke me up with Buffy reruns on the TV and hot chocolate on our last morning :)

I would be so lost without my sweetie.... <3

June Snaps

2010-09-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Keely's Secret Life

2010-08-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Doctor: "So you're in second grade...do you have a boyfriend?"

Keely: blushing "No, but I am in love" dreamily "with a boy at my school"

Mom: "What!? Who?!"

Keely: "Issac, oh you know all about it, I told you."

Mom: "No you didn't...not ever."

Keely: "Huh...that's weird."

Later at Home

Mom: "So tell me all about this Issac."

Keely: "I'll go grab his picture!!" comes back with her class pictures from last year gazing at his face.

Mom: "I remember him. He's a nice boy and really cute...I can see why you like him."

Keely: Beaming "yah!"

Mom: "So did you ever tell Issac that you loved him?"

Keely: "Oh yes, of course."

Mom: "What did he say?"

Keely: "He said that if I really felt that way could I please just not be all about him....which means not following him everywhere like I did. But once he asked me to stop I did." Smiling and quite proud of herself...then walks away looking at his picture "I am so in love with him."

Keely's Church Talk

2010-06-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Everyone Enjoy Keely's Talk - She Wanted To Share It Because She Wrote It All By Herself And Is So Proud - She Did a Wonderful Job :)

Heavenly Father and Jesus love me and will always
be there for me in times of need.

Every commandment means something good and if we obey the commandments we will get to live with H.F. and Jesus again.

Commandments are rules that H.F. made for us to do here on Earth and obey so we can be happy and he can bless us.

When I obey I feel closer to H.F. and Jesus. As I grow closer to them it makes me want to do more of the right things. When I feel closest to Jesus it is like he is right by me and I want to do nothing bad ever again, doing good and right always.

Following the commandments makes you feel happy and good about yourself which makes you want to obey more often.

Jesus wants us to obey the commandments because he wants us to live with him again after we die. Jesus is right next to us when we obey, helping and guiding us to the next step in life.

H.F. gave us the choice to choose if we want to be wicked or righteous. When you do what is right you show respect and your love for him.

It makes me feel really, really happy when I obey. I like doing the right things because it makes my parents happy and also makes others happy because when they need help, I help them and it makes them feel loved and cared for.

H.F. knows that we will not be perfect. He only asks that we do our best. He is patient with us as we repent and try to do the right.

When you do what is wrong you are showing that you care more about yourself than others or Jesus and that you have given Satan control of you. Not obeying will make you feel bad about yourself and unhappy.

Obeying the commandments will help you feel closer to H.F. and Jesus just like it does for me.

The same Sunday Asher was asked to give the scripture - which was the 1st Article of Faith - he memorized it perfectly before we went...As he was reciting it though all the kids got excited cause they knew it and repeated each line after him - I was so proud because all he wanted to do was make the kids laugh (he is definitely an entertainer/comedian) but I had told him not to before (he was already thinking up jokes to tell them and practicing on me), so he tried so so hard to focus and be good - he said only what he was supposed to and hurried back to his seat with a huge smile :)

What We've Been Up To While I've Neglected the Blog

2010-06-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Justin is working at a financial firm learning the ins and outs of the company - He is really enjoying it and plans on continuing with it as his career

Keely is having a blast being home - she misses school and tells me that she "doesn't like change" but that she "loves, loves summer!" This is her "Daaaaaddd" 'don't be obnoxious look'...He gets it a lot these days :)

We are spending tons of time at the library seeing all their free shows and Keely can't get enough of reading small chapter books - she read this one cover to cover in about 45 minutes.

We bought a trampoline for the kids (and if we are being honest...for Justin too cause he's out there when ever he can be ;) Best money we've ever spent! Love it!

Family time has never been easier - and it really is toughening up our kids already (a big sneaky agenda of ours behind the jumping fun)

Grandpa has been paying the kids one penny for every dandelion or other weed that they pull from his yard and garden - Asher loves to hold the money in bed at night. Keely loves to pay tithing on her earnings <3>

These two spend so much time together now that K is home for the summer - yesterday she even lifted the ban that has been in place for the past four years about Asher not being allowed in her room! She says he can come in whenever he wants...Mom foresees the rule being back in place in a few weeks...we'll see :)

The sun finally showed up last Mon. and we blew that pool up so fast to enjoy the 2 days we got before a week of storms - water guns are the new excitement around here...namely, water gun fights :)

Of course, hiking whenever we can - we rarely go on the same trail twice

Rock climbing in the backyard

Being silly is a constant state of these two lately - gummies on the nose led to red stained noses for the entire next day - we do not recommend it

Spending time with my rugrats is great, but of course, I especially love going to the theater with Keely - and now that Asher is old enough we might have to get season tickets to the Children's Theater too :)

Batman Birthday Party!!

2010-06-14T11:45:00.001-07:00

Ready to fight crime!

The Favors - bat masks (so easy to make with $1 masks at Michaels, felt, and glue gun), bat bubbles, stickers, tattoos, and laffy taffy (green had riddles from the riddler, purple had jokes from the joker)

The Cake - Gotham City was the easiest cake I have made in such a long time! :) The kids loved it!! Thank goodness Asher has such a stash of batman toys and the city buildings looked better if they were crumbling and messy ;)

At the party the kids started with Superhero Training by going through a huge obstacle course complete with trampoline, balance beams, tunnels, a huge roller to slide on your tummy onto a mat, ladder, etc.

Next the kids had to learn to Fight Bad Guys and throw foam squares at each other!
I couldn't believe that he kept his mask on the entire play time :) so cute

We had mini corn dogs for lunch because Asher was insistent we have them (no, he hasn't eaten one since he was 2 - not really sure why), opened presents (which he got a billion of thanks to his friends!!), and ate cake. The kids got to take home their bags and a balloon. All in all, laid back and superhero approved fun!!

Asher is 4!!

2010-06-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already 4!! We had a fun day - spent time at the Children's Museum

I brought him to the grocery store and told him he could choose whatever he wanted for dinner.
He said "rice and apples!! Green and red apples!!" So that's what we ate :)

He helped me make grey cupcakes with red sprinkles and transformer paper cups

He got lots of presents like always - mostly batman toys because he loves superheros. He did get some water guns and a gun with foam darts which he loves too.

He also got a batman costume to wear during his party! He was lucky to get it because all month he said he didn't want one...until 2 days before his birthday when all of a sudden it was all he wanted...thank goodness for the internet and overnight delivery is all I can say :)
"Just what I wanted!!"

Mother's Day

2010-06-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Every one knows that this is one of my favorite days of the year and this year was no disappointment. I started the day relaxing while my husband cooked a fabulous breakfast of french toast (using cinnamon bread = genius!) with all the fixings: pure maple syrup, real whipped cream, powdered sugar, and strawberries! with bacon and OJ on the side :)

The kids made me cards and we so concerned all day that I had everything I needed/wanted and was showered with hugs and kisses and love - Keely sang to me at church but Asher was too scared to go up - and my annual new jammies from J!! Love this Day!!

Campfire

2010-06-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Joe finally put in the new fire pit in the backyard, complete with a second grill, so Justin decided to surprise me the night before Mother's day with a little dinner

He grilled up some steak, Parmesan zucchini and tomatoes, and strawberry pomegranate juice complete with cut up strawberries thrown in :) it was so romantic and thoughtful - plus g'ma had picked up some giant marshmallows at the store which we quickly put to the test in humongous s'mores :)

Failure to Launch

2010-06-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

G'ma S bought the kids new kites so the first sign of a strong wind Keely and Dad headed out to see if they could get hers into the air...

Unfortunately the wind kept changing directions

We'll give another try later...

Spring???

2010-06-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

This is what we woke up to on our first day of spring break :(~

We made the best of it and had a tea party indoors :)

Easter

2010-06-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Easter was a little odd this year because it was so freezing outside that the Easter Bunny hid all the eggs inside our house for the first time ever

And General Conference landed on Egg day this year so there was no church or dressing up in our cute Easter clothes :(

Ghetto as it felt it was really fun - the bunny found all sorts of new sneaky hiding places and hanging out with family was great

We dyed almost 70 eggs, had at least 20 plastic eggs filled with candy, and a huge chocolate bunny and suckers were left from Mr. Bunny for each of them - I think they made out pretty good this year :)

Monster Eggs

2010-06-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun decorating Easter Eggs this year - Justin picked up a
monster kit and we used double drops to make the dye brighter

Even with our crappy camera the colors are pretty :)

I think we spent over 2 hours playing together!

Who Says Errands are a Bore?

2010-04-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that 2 hours at the doctor's office could be so fun :) Keely decorated the inside of the tee pee and moved the table to play house and restaurant :)

These aviators were just too cute to pass up :)

And of course what Keely gets, Asher wants - plus they are lightning macqueen and he never get enough of him :)

Asher stopping to smell the flowers outside of the bank...and yes, he had to smell one of every kind :)

Grandpa's Farewell

2010-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

After the wedding we rushed home, packed, and headed out toward Wisconsin to attend my Grandpa Quayle's funeral. It was the first time in years that I had seen my sisters and had a chance to really meet three of my four nieces. (My pictures sucked so I stole a lot of the above ones from my sister's blogs :) thanks guys!
I was so blessed to live near my grandparents during my entire childhood and have so many fond memories...their home was our second home we were there so often. His passing was not shocking to any of us but I still can't really wrap my head around a world where he is not.
I cherish the books my grandmother let me have from his collection (especially his Shakespeare) and his Manx tee :) When his blanket is passed to me (the one I always wanted when we visited) I will wrap myself in it and think of our times together :) I am looking forward to his warm hugs and the sound of his laughter once again...until then my memories are so numerous and his character such a force that it will be simple enough to think of him and inevitably feel him near. I love you 'Grampa!'

A White Wedding

2010-04-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Justin and I have been friends with Richie for about 5 years and he got married!! We went and watched them exchange their sweet vows. He cried. It was sweet. After the small ceremony we took pics in the color photo booth they had outside (got to keep a strip and put one in their wedding book....we did it 3 times :) Then the kids needed a break...goofing off with ice cream did the trick

The kids had a blast at the reception afterward - mostly because of the dessert bar...

Complete with chocolate fountain and gluten free brownies and cookies!! They were in heaven :)

"The Good Ole' Boys" are Richie's fav. band and they offered to play for free - Keely had a great time dancing with her daddy :) Asher spent time on his favorite "Uncle Dan's" shoulders

Valentine's

2010-03-04T12:06:00.001-08:00

I love Valentine's day so I tried to be cute and put a heart in Keely's hair for church :)

I made our traditional red heart pancakes for breakfast. Asher needed a little convincing that they would taste the same...but now they are his favorite :)

Build and Grow

2010-03-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Amber told us about Lowe's free building projects they do every other Sat. (Home Depot does them too)

It's so neat - the kids get a packet that has all the wood, nails, and a blueprint. They get tiny hammers and build. takes about an hour and we all love, love it.

This week was the day before Valentines, so they built these jewelry holders and on the back is a big cupid sticker where you can write a note to someone and give it as a present. Asher gave his to grandma Staska and Keely gave hers to me. She wrote:
Dear Mom,
I love you.
You are the best mom in the wole wide wrld
From, Keely

When you finish, you go show the lady your project and she gives you a patch that you sew onto your apron that you get to keep and bring back each time - they have earned 2 patches so far. the other was a Lowbot...a wooden transformer (half car, half robot)

Bowling Fun

2010-03-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

They opened a new lane near our house and Keely had a blast at a b-day party there so we decided to check it out on the best day of our week - family fun day!!

Her smile is getting put back together slowly but surely :) only a few holes...hasn't lost any new teeth for a while either

Oh and can you see how beautiful a job she did cutting off her own bangs...this is the second time...don't worry, we got them fixed...after she walked around for 3 weeks like this that is (silly girl)

Trying to bowl without the metal helper :)

she was awesome without the helper thing, but didn't think so, so she only did this one or two times

This is about 3 frames till the end of the game...yah, she's done I think ;)

A Crowd

2010-03-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

We tend to always have "someone" coming to meals these days. They take Daddy's spot and always need real food...when they each bring a friend the other becomes a baby and gets the highchair :)

Mommy Daughter Dates

2010-03-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Keely and I have been lucky to be able to attend 2 plays this year already. Here she is at "Singing in the Rain" - the stage had just gotten dried from the real rain they had come down from the ceiling!! We also went and saw "Kiss me Kate" a play about the actors in the Taming of the Shrew (those parts were my fav. - can't really compete with Shakespeare).

Christmas Eve

2010-01-12T11:17:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve was sweet this year...I really should take pics of the gifts we made each other...maybe I'll put them up in the next post. Our gifts that cost no money becomes more and more one of my favorite traditions as the kids get older...

I made Keely a blanket for her dolls with extra fabric we had laying around
Justin made Asher a wooden A for his room with extra wood he scavenged
Asher made me a picture frame with all my fav pics of him and little "I love mommy" writing around the edges (w/daddy's help)
Keely wrote Dad a song and sang it for him...I actually teared up a little it was so sweet

My Great Kids

2010-01-12T11:14:00.001-08:00

Keely is sooo good to me :) She is always telling me how I'm the best mom in the world and how much she loves me...this is just one of the things she does for me almost everyday...I have no idea what I did to deserve such a sweetheart for a daughter

Just being cute

Christmas

2010-01-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so fun this year!! The kids had a blast as always :) Asher was so excited to get the transformer slippers he'd been asking for that he tried to put them on as soon as opened the package...little difficult with all the tags joining the two together haha. He also got a marble set, a lift-the-flap see inside your body book, 2 transformers, and a remote control car (definitely a fav from g w's)

Of course I forgot to take pics of the kids with all their stuff like I always do (I was pretty sick) but you can see some of it in the background :) Keely is opening her "how to draw" animals and flowers books. She also got a science experiment book (her fav subject) and a learn about the insides of your body book complete with a human model that has sticky insides you can take out with forceps (curtesy of g'ma g'pa w)...definitely one of her favs of the day

So excited that g'ma and g'pa warren got her the ponyville movie theater she wanted :) She got so many gifts I can't remember them all...but she got dangly earrings from erica and us, huge butterflies for her to decorate and hang in her room, a game box from g'ma & g'pa quayle, littlest pet shops, and 3 ponyville ponies.

Asher also got quite a few books this year - he loves superhero books (especially batman and spiderman). You can see his woody to the side - it has a pull string that has 50 different sayings!

This was hilarious...he loved his books so much that he told dad to wait when trying to give him his next present...

Justin and I didn't buy each other presents this yr so the kids could have a normal christmas...but he surprised me with a cheesy snuggie as a joke :) You can see my coolest present - a new sewing machine that's amazing!! I'm going to read the entire manual to learn how to use the ridiculous number of things it does today actually :)

Keely's other fav gift was her 2 taylor swift cd's and a portable cd player to listen to them all day long :) she's playing with her mrs. potato head too :)

They each got a game - Asher got this fishing game (a big hit) and keely got operation from santa! Asher got the joker from santa to play with his batman cave..he also got a mr. freeze from keely

Playing Asher's Wii game from g'ma & g'pa warren...he was really good at too - beat keely a few times :)

All cozy in their Chritmas jammies and matching slippers :)

My awesome husband with his song from Keely the night before :)

This Snuggie rocks!!

We ended the best day of the year watching the kids new movies - meet the ponies for K and He-Man for A

Boys Night Out

2010-01-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Joe got tickets to the b-ball game last minute to a game that started at 9pm on a school night...since Justin was done with finals and Asher is at the perfect age to start having alone fun time with us it was the greatest excuse for a boys night out :)

Justin wanted to invite a friend that had a son around Asher's age...but since we don't have any...Dan went with them :) Asher was so excited when he heard the news "Mom, I love Dan all the time!!"

Bug loved this car but did not want to take a picture...

Cute a button and ended up having a friend to sit with after all :) they got ice cream and he really got into the game - he especially loved the mascot...they partied until 1 in the morning those crazy boys :)

2009-12-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

Keely surprised us yesterday by going up to bare her testimony at the end of sacrament. She walked up to the the pulpit all by herself, got up and said very clearly and calm: I love heavenly father and I know that he is there for me,
Then she ran back to me as quietly and quickly as she could :) I love that she didn't end it - pure, simple, and to the point :)

In contrast to that, here is a conversation with Asher just this morning.

I love my kids :)

Christmas Recital

2009-12-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

Keely said that she was "a little sick of jazz" this year and asked if she could just do ballet. She missed the first month and is the youngest in the class but she loves, loves it! I don't know if all pre-ballet is this easy...we might be shopping around for a different studio in the next weeks just to make sure she gets the best training since she likes this style so much more...enjoy the video!

Feeding Time

2009-11-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

On the way to school each day we pass by these 4 horses and the kids have been begging to stop and feed them

So we brought them carrots one day

and apples the next

The kids had a great time...but they really did do better with the carrots... ;)

Halloween!!!

2009-11-09T11:14:00.000-08:00

Always a favorite, Halloween was spooktackular this year! haha - yes, we all know I'm a huge dork..moving on...the kids had pre-celebration events as always (2 parties and 1 carnival)

We also had our traditional halloween dinner. This year we had vampire blood soup, witches' brew to drink (out of skeleton goblets) and pumpkin or bat shaped grilled cheese...(adults had yummy panini's)

Keely took a while to choose her costume this year...until she came upon this pink batgirl outfit - when she saw it she was hooked...the best part she thought was that the whole thing shimmered and sparkled so you could see her in the dark :)

If Asher's costume looks familiar that is because we could not convince him (and believe me, we tried exhaustingly to) to be something besides spiderman again...the good news is that this is the first year that they sort of match...superheros!

We are so sad - this is the last year that our neighbors are doing the harry potter extravaganza we look forward to every year :( and they went all out with lots of new characters in attentance...professor moody and snape, that creepy bad girl with crazy hair, jenny...you get the idea!! As for the sorting hat, Keely was put into Ravenclaw this year

And the boy...well you can probably guess...was told that he was full of mischief and put into Slitherin. He was pretty excited when Dumbeldore asked him if he could talk to snakes "Oh Yah!! They say ssssssssssss" :)

Then they both got goodies at the Weasley's store and then we trick-or-treated for 2 1/2 hours

Asher worked on his donut in between houses..it was pretty cute - he'd come back from a house and say "switch" and I'd give him his donut while he handed me his treat bag...this went on for a good half hour :)

This house had the longest corridor that looked like you were walking into a huge haunted castle...pretty cool

After we got home we did our usual tradition of drinking hot cocoa, eating caramel apples and candy, and watching a movie...the kids were up till 10:45 as they should have been :) Keely had asked if she could trick-or-treat with friends this year and I told her she had plenty of years to do that and I wanted my few years with her to be just with the family...I'm sure I'll miss this when it's gone...love it every year!!

Leaf Fun w/ Daddy

2009-11-09T11:11:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Patch Paradise

2009-10-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

All these years here and we never knew the coolest fall patch of fun was only minutes away

There's a bizillion things to do...ride bulls...

With lassos...

Play farm equipment music...

go down one of the 8 humongo slides...

Play at the park...

Get lost for an hour in one of the 3 corn mazes...2 huge ones the shape of edward's or jacob's face from twilight (we are in edward above and asher is not happy to be lost)...

Jump in the bouncy giant pumpkin...

or ride the pig/cow train...jealous now aren't you? ;)

Happy Halloween!!!!

Burning Marshmellows Over the Fire

2009-10-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

After all of Grandpa's hard work in the back yard we needed to celebrate by having a bbq and a faux fire pit where the real one will be next year ;) The kids love, love having a huge yard to run wild in, complete with huge rocks to climb and jump off of!

Survived 1st Season of Soccer!

2009-10-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Asher and I made soccer ball cupcakes for the last game of the season! He didn't think I was doing the detail right when I was just doing the outline of the middle hexagon on each one first so he said "no mom, not like that! you need to do it like Asher's soccer ball! (and he went and got his team pictures where he is actually holding a soccer ball that I could use for reference :) it's like a spider web with lines, see!?" after I filled in the first one he praised me, "yes mom, like that. Asher showed you how and now you do it!" See his proud face!

I love that even in the middle of running in an actual game he can pose for a picture :)

Can you guess which one is ours?

Refusing to wear the medal (he has a thing with stuff around his neck), he's still proud of his hard work and all the "Asher's friends" he made! We will definitely be back in spring!

Just Practicing before the game :)

Keely's Royal Ball!!

2009-10-02T09:47:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEELY!

Keely's party was soooo fun this year! She had a princess theme. When the guests arrived, we had a fancy royal luncheon fit for a princess with champange jello, heart sandwiches, fruit wands, golden princess chips, and sparkly marshmellow wands.

The girls each decorated a sparkle wand with jewels, ribbons, and a sparkly letter for their name. They were a big hit especially after we hot glued the stars to the wands...they sort of all fell off at least once during the party...whoops. :)

Then Princess Amerah came!!! She was AMAZING! She told all the girls her story, which included an evil Nana and her heroic dog Sadie, danced with them, taught them a birthday song, how to wave like a princess, played freeze dance, and made crowns with them all in the most engaging hour I have ever seen for 6 and 7 year olds!

Each girl got their picture taken individually with Amerah and Sadie :) you will notice that Keely is not in a princess dress - this is because she can't stand how itchy they are - so she asked for a tutu instead, which was her present from us and suprisingly she didn't find it itchy at all!

Princess Amerah had to leave with her prince and then we opened presents!! This remote control dog was awesome...Asher still sneaks into Keely's room to try to play with it :)

Ok, so I know I complained that the treasure box cake last year was the hardest cake ever but that was before I attempted a castle cake!! oh my gosh was this hard!! (Not to mention that gluten-free cake is even more crumbly than your average cake) But the look on Keely's face when it was done and her excitement was totally worth all 3 1/2 grueling hours :) Plus it actually stayed upright till the party (not really sure that was going to happen) and that's all that mattered ;) oh and we added blue sugar around the bottom after cause Keely wanted a sparkly moat :) The girls ate it with vanilla ice cream and sprinkles...the sugar cubes were a big hit!

I just love birthday parties! I added some videos below if you are interested...enjoy :)

The Freeze Dance Game

Dancing with Princess Amerah

Singing "Happy Birthday Princess"

Keely hits the big 7!!

2009-10-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is the first year that Keely actually had school all day (and swimming lessons) on her birthday so we really couldn't do much. We decorated some cupcakes to her specific orders and opened family presents. The big hit was the littlest pet shop set above from g'ma/g'pa staska. g'ma/g'pa warren sent money which she bought a huge littlest pet shop house to accomodate them all :)

Buddies

2009-10-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Meet "Calove" (Caleb), Asher's new best friend! They spend about 4 hours together each week - 1 day at our house and 1 at his. Asher is such a good little friend! Always sharing and looking out for him, it's soo sweet :)

Tie-Dye Fun

2009-09-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Alaya made the kids these tie-dye shirts! So sweet! They both put them on as soon as they came in the mail and love, love them! Thanks Alaya!!

Just Stuff

2009-09-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Grandpa came home from work on his birthday looking like this...a few of his co-workers decided it was about that time of year to get even...pink balloons all around his desk in the morning, 2 princess crowns, a wand, giant pen, and balloon fairy wings created by an actual clown...Keely decided it might not be all that bad to go to work some day...

Asher and I have been spending so much time together this year with Keely gone all day and I just love having our time :)

Justin brought me home the most gorgeous roses this time that I just had to snap a pic...I thought they were perfect for a prelude to fall.

Cultural Cusine

2009-09-23T08:30:00.001-07:00

Keely's grade had a big taste of the continents party where each kid was given 2 continents to choose from and then bring food to share that's native to that continent. Keely's choice was between Africa or Asia and I was relieved when she chose Asia cause not that in tune with what foods are native to Africa...anyway, we made Chinese fried rice together (I think because she had heard of China so felt it couldn't be all that weird) We had so much fun cooking it that she couldn't stop talking about it for 3 days :)

Asher did not have a good time at the party...crying and sulking (even though there was a huge gym and balls everywhere for the little kids to play with) until a life saver mom came over with "snow" from Antarctica...he ate one after another for the next 2 hours in this corner and was happy.

Little D'Ette

2009-09-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Keely danced with the high school drill team for a week and then preformed at the first football game's halftime! She did so good that Justin noticed her dancing before he recognized that it was her! Way fun!

First Grader!

2009-08-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

Keely's first day back to school! I can't believe she's gone everyday! Asher and I are having a bit of a hard time adjusting without her, but we're making it through...I get to volunteer in her classroom for an hour each week so that's really fun, her teacher is really nice, I am in love with the curriculum which is finally at her level, and I don't think I did too bad with the dress code regulations either :)

She wanted to get a shot of her backpack, which you will notice is a character! I know it, I'm going soft..next thing you know I'll be letting her wear them on shirts! Just kidding - there are just some places none of us can venture and character clothing is my never, never land. Back to the topic though...isn't she the cutest little first grader you ever did see!? She asked for the new school year haircut, I had nothing to do with it - she even insisted on aunt evonne cutting it and no one else! I think she did a darling job!

Vacation: The Zoo

2009-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

We had the best vacation this year in Minnesota!! (give it up!) with my mom and dad :) We were happy to just visit and hang out doing nothing but...they were insistent that we go have some real fun so we started at the zoo which was awesome because the one here is AWFUL!

These first pics are of us in the butterfly gardens - it was gorgeous - butterflies everywhere!
definitely Keely's favorite part :)

I love this shot because it's so classic: Asher trying to do something and Keely stopping him :)

We were at the zoo for 6 hours! yep, 6! We were all pretty wasted by the end of the day, but we had one more stop to make at the farm up the road - here we are on the tractor that takes you up there...I was greatful for the break from walking

The farm was cool - the kids fed goats, we watched a cow being milked, which Asher loved most...probably because he was thinking they were giving free milk at the end of the presentation :) He kept asking me questions the entire time the farmer was explaining the process and had a really good handle on it all by the time the guy was done.

We went to a movie on dinosaurs in 3D while we were there too - it actually made me like 3D again :) (fyi: raptors have feathers now)

Vacation: Children's Museum

2009-08-27T09:04:00.001-07:00

The next day my dad had to work, but mom took us to the children's museum, which was also awesome because the here is seriously lacking (if you haven't guessed it already, yes justin and i wanted to move back the entire week - driving "home" was rough)

They had so many fun dress up "become the animal" things in earth world it was really fun - the kid sized ant hills scared Asher a little though...

This girl kept getting closer and closer to him while he played with the tadpoles...cute.

Keely as a beaver

Turtle time

Unhappy, we've been here for 3 hours and I'm starving time

So proud of his vine color art while Keely created a glass mosaic nearby

Probably the coolest thing was that Clifford was there to visit all the kids! They had an entire room decked out as Clifford land: Keely loved the huge bone station and Asher had a blast delivering mail :)

Stirring up food in the kitchen for Grandma "Warm"

Making gigantic bubbles in the water works room

Asher spent quite a bit of time playing with the boats with Grandma

More Water Works...

Clifford came again in the main area to play with a huge parachute and teach the kids a dance. The entire day was so, so, so fun!! At the gift shop Keely picked up a baby kitty w/ a kennel and Asher grabbed a glitter ball that he still plays with everyday.

Vacation: Mall of America

2009-08-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dad (Grandpa) took another day off to be with us and we headed to the Mall of America (I was so sad to be a tourist there! It used to be MY mall! :( ...but we did see some things I probably wouldn't have had we not been tourists. First we went to the body exhibit...it was amazing! They had real bodies, tissue, organs, fetuses, you name it. The craziest was the nerve part...the bodies were actually stripped of everything but the nervous system and then they did the same thing with veins and arteries...it was so incredible! Keely only got upset at one part: they had a few deformed babies that didn't make it and she asked me if the mom who lost this one particular baby was so sad...but other than that she loved it and asked a million questions

Next, we headed to the underwater shark exhibit, which I have to admit, I'd never been in before...it was really cool...

Treasure shot...and Asher even had a shark on his shirt to match :)

Meeting Sharky - the kids got stickers and a high five...which I believe they both turned down...Asher was a little wary of the beast

After the sharks, we headed over to Lego Land, which I of course, have 0 shots of...(I think we're pretty lucky I took any pics at all) but the kids loved seeing all the huge Lego creations and playing at the Lego tables...Grandpa even bought them a huge bucket of Legos to bring home with them - I had no idea Legos have evolved into so amazing of toys! We can make a semi truck with the back actually swiveling, cars that when you pull back on them zoom forward on their own, a crane that actually can pick Legos up, I know! it's incredible right! I love to play with them now :)

This vacation was so, so, so, so great that the ride back was less than enjoyable and I'm trying to get Justin to let us go back for Christmas this year :) On top of the activities above, we went to the park, an indoor park with g'ma and g'pa "Whale", a resturant from diners, drive-ins, and dives, tasted a new sandwich shop that actually better than Davanni's, played the Settlement of Cattan 4 times (we all won once :), I taped and stayed up till 4 in the morning watching a project runway marathon, we ate ourselves sick everyday...you know, did all those good things that make a vacation a vacation...thanks for letting us come mom and dad and for making it full of memories!!

Soccer!

2009-08-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Asher is in soccer this year!! And Justin is his coach! It's so fun to watch my boys playing sports together!

After almost every play Asher runs over to me to give me a high-five and listen to me tell him how awesome he is before running back into the game :)

The Theater

2009-08-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have really dropped the ball lately on my promise to take the kids to plays as much as possible since Justin's surgery, but we were given a chance to attend the community theater with tickets from Joe's boss. Keely came with us to see "Lucky Stiff," a comedy that had us laughing the entire 3 (or however long it was) hours. I was so impressed with the singing and acting that we just might buy season tickets :)

Monster Thursday Tea

2009-08-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

Asher wanted monsters this week and Keely made me promise it wouldn't be scary, so we went with cookie monster muffins, deviled egg eyes, and we were going to make monster mouths out of apples, but my fridge decided to freeze everything in the fruit drawer, so we improvised with fingers and feet (which, as keely pointed out, look more human than monster-like, but what can you do?)
I especially love the clear cups that keely decorates each week - her pipecleaner monsters were perfect!

Back To School Shopping

2009-08-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

I got so sick of fall shopping this year, but we did get some great deals and some cute pics :)

Open House

2009-08-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Living in Utah does have some perks (shocking I know, but true) and one of these is being able to attend so many temple open houses. This is the Oquirrh mountain temple we toured last weekend with the whole fam. Asher believed me this time that the baptismal font was surrounded by oxen (not dinosaurs) but when asked 'what happens in there?' he replied that "you get dead." .....well, sorta... :)

It is a gorgeous huge temple and once you reach the sealing rooms they let you sit down for a little break accompanied by a short spiel from the missionaries. When we got up to see the last few rooms Asher was excited to get "a drink of water" but
Keely wasn't so serene about the news:
she looked up at me with shock and asked "Do we have to leave now?!"
I said "Well, there's a little more sweetie, but yea the tour is over.."
She bursts into tears and cries "I don't want to leave the temple!"
I try to console her and finally succeed when I tell her we get to see the best room of all last: a special room that's just for her and me. The bride's room where we get to be together just the two of us before she gets married and I get to help her put on her dress, do her make-up, and fix her hair...some special mommy/keely time.
That put a smile on her face and I think made the temple a even more magical place for her :)

One of my many perfect moments and the promise of more precious ones in the future.

Tea Time Thursday

2009-07-30T14:29:00.001-07:00

Most of our summer activities have come to an end and we didn't have anything to do today so mom came up with thursday tea :) the kids chose an ocean theme for our first party and we all helped in the preparation

We didn't really have any tea stuff, so Keely made our tea tray from clear cups and plates...I don't know if you can see but she filled the cups with 'seaweed' (tissue paper) and little fish. The bottom tier has 'fish eggs on seaweed' (grapes on lettuce). Our middle tier held the baby squid you see on the plates and we had blue ocean tea to drink.

For dessert we made these fish cupcakes and the kids made ocean scenes will jello, gummy fish, and 'bubbles' ....I know everything is huge for a tea party so I'll need to start buying up mini baking stuff and maybe get my hands on a tea pot :) next week: monsters

ARRRGGG...ENOUGH!!

2009-07-30T14:08:00.001-07:00

I had had it with Asher's ridiculously impossible hair!! He can sport the faux hawk when it's cool, but this retched heat melts the gel right out of his hair and what you get is what you see in every other picture of him this summer - a crazy mess, so this morning I buzzed it all off...I may have gone a little too short but I'm so excited to not have to do it at all for at least a few weeks!! yay!!!

best friends

Johnson Family Reunion

2009-07-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

The reunion this year was in Idaho. The favorite activities for the kids at the house were making mud puddles and throwing these rocks into them, the wagon,

and the bikes! look at that screaming face!

We went to bear country one day - took the blue bus around to look at all the bears and then got to go to the petting zoo

The animals were really neat for a zoo - our favorite was Bambi, but he had had enough petting for one day, so we found some more willing victims like warthogs and this tired deer

The best thing was the rides but it was so hot we couldn't stay long

Later we went to check out the gardens at BYU Idaho

The kids all had fun playing with the water - especially throwing leaves and sticks into it

In the shade at last...

Can you see how many teeth Keely has lost? She's getting so big and Asher is always a goofball...

At night we had a water balloon toss and fight. Here Asher is diving for the birdie in badminton

Keely tackling the um..whatever it is...

The 4th!!

2009-07-29T12:33:00.001-07:00

We started the day getting all ready to be in the yearly neighborhood parade - keely rode her bike in it for the first time this year

The parade ends at the park where there's tons of fun waiting: a clown making balloon 'animals' for the kids, free snow cones, a playground, and a huge potluck lunch

Keely got a magic wand that made noise when you shook it, but Asher was terrified of the clown and the clown wouldn't make balloons for kids who didn't come to him :(

After all the excitement of the morning we took a nap, ate a wonderful dinner with grandparents staska and johnson, then roasted marshmellows over the grill for...

S'mores of course! with a side of root beer float and another snow cone

of course the best part of the 4th is the fire works and Justin (and some other neighbors) saw to it that the kids saw plenty, setting off a bunch in the street - Asher was probably the most impressed and excited by it all...a perfect fun day as always

Movie Night

2009-07-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite family activies, friday is designated movie and treat night. The kids pick the movie, mom pops the popcorn, and dad shows up so that we can spend some time with him during his busy schedule at school :)

Memorial Day

2009-06-18T12:53:00.001-07:00

We decided to go to the zoo for memorial day this year...little did we know that the rest of the state was thinking the same thing...:) It was fun despite all the rude, obnoxious people. and true to form after 10 minutes of arriving, Keely needed to use the potty and Asher needed a "break"

The weather was perfect all day long...

How did I get such cute kids! After zoo fun we headed over to g'ma and g'pa johnson's for a bbq - can you even claim that you celebrated this day without one? Such a great relaxing day with lots of daddy time!

Asher is 3!!

2009-06-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Asher had an awesome birthday this year. We started out going to the grocery store - he got his own little cart and I told him he could fill it with whatever he wanted - he was in heaven grabbing fruit snacks, sugar cereal, ice cream, tons of other treats, and of course the dinner you see in front of him here :)

Later that night we opened presents and what a boy fest! Spiderman, Batman, transformers...it was "so cool and so awesome" as Asher would say. He especially loved his big spiderman that actually hung from his "web" when on the window.

I give the kids a choice for dessert on their actual birthday when their party is on another day - he was insistent on having "bananana" splits...

Complete with whip cream and sprinkles :)

One of the coolest presents, that Grandpa Staska picked out for him, was this spiderman scooter with matching helmet and knee pads - he wore his helmet all night, even when we ran to the store :)

His party was on Saturday and he desperately wanted a Spiderman theme - so these are his cupcakes...he said the spiders were "mad spiders...and scary spiders" :) He liked them so much that when he got to pick he didn't even choose the spiderman one meant for him!

Birdie and Lisel came to the party - we had spiderman mac and cheese, spider hotdogs, spiddy juice, and the cupcakes. After lunch we went to the indoor water park because he had been begging to go "swim" for his party. Unfortunately, none of the pictures from the actual party turned out, but the kids each got superhero water blasters, a spiderman beach ball, and a spiderman tube to play with in the water...it was a blast and the kids were all exhausted by the end of the day!

Happy Birthday Bug-A-Boo!!

My day!

2009-06-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

I love, love mother's day! I woke up to the smells of my favorite breakfast being made: french toast, strawberries cut into the shapes of hearts (awww, isn't my husband cute!), and of course hot chocolate!

I got presents all around too - Keely made me the vase you see the flower in and a story:

"My Mom and Me"
by Keely
I like to play gayms with my mom.
My mom helps me reech hithee thegs.
I love my Mom!

And of course, the tradition of new jammies from my hubbers - what isn't there to enjoy being a mom!? :)

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-05-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

What a fun year at dance for Keely! 2 silvers and at their last competition they did awesome and earned Lightning Gold!! To be honest, I didn't know if they were going to place because the other dances they were up against were so good...showed me didn't they :) We are so proud of the hard work and dedication Keely put in this year...but we are also really glad to have the summer off...haha - no one more than her! She's in gymnastics for the summer and has been loving it. She's also talking about really wanted to do ballet next year...we'll see, her plate is getting full awfully fast for a 6 year old! Congratulations Keely! I love you!

Showing Off

2009-05-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Race for the Cure

2009-05-27T12:08:00.001-07:00

We walked in Race for the Cure this year with Dan (Justin's best friend since childhood) and his mom (who has been fighting cancer for a while now). We went to celebrate her and my cousin Katie.

We had such a good time getting up at the break of dawn, walking the 3.2 miles, eating out to breakfast afterward, and taking a long nap...:)

You can see just how many people were there...bodies as far as the eye can see :) being involved with something so huge, everyone filled with so much love for others and for each other...it's really amazing...probably the first time I didn't hate being in a crowd :)

Family Ties

2009-05-27T12:01:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful visit with Great Grandma Quayle. It's so amazing that our children know 5 of their great grandparents! I just love it that my grandparents know my children and vice versa...we are so blessed :)

Pizza Pizza

2009-05-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Grandma decided to have a homemade pizza day...she made 4 pizza's crusts with the kids (2 gluten free and 2 thin crust) and then we topped them with whatever we wanted... the kids opted for loads and loads of cheese while we had prosuitto, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes, chicken, and mushrooms...it was soooo good - in fact it was so, so delicious (and so much work) that we decided we might start a tradition of making our own pizzas on christmas eve...we'll see :)

Hiking

2009-05-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, one of our favorite things to do as a family when the weather turns nice is to hike and even though Justin's leg is still on the mend it's so much better than last summer that it doesn't stop us from going on easy hike's close to home. Keely named this tree the rainbow bridge.

This is Asher's first year where he's really able to walk on his own - he's so funny because whenever he can he's off the trail purposely walking through bushes that are as high as him and climbing over rocks...wouldn't want it to be too easy or not exciting :)

Big Helpers

2009-05-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

One of the kids favorite thing to do on Saturdays is help out Grandpa in the yard

The kids were hauling dirt to the wheelbarrow- working hard and having a great time!

What a project...flattening out the entire hill to make room for grass...we are already excited to play catch and soccer on it

Potty Training

2009-04-20T08:50:00.001-07:00

Look how excited he is!! He's been averaging at least one successful potty time a day. Each time he does, he get a "happy - or the last one was actually sad - potty balloon", marshmellows, and a monster truck sticker...seems like a lot I know but the boy takes a lot of persuasion and I think we've finally the rewards formula just right to make this happen! :)

Easter!!

2009-04-20T08:40:00.001-07:00

We decorated so many eggs this year - 36! It was so fun, Keely picked out a glitter/stencil kit and Asher loved the glitter even more than she did :)

The Easter Bunny showed up after church as usual and they hunted for about a half hour (there really were a lot of eggs!)

The chocolate bunnies were the favorite, but they also each got a ball - keely's tinkerbell and for asher, spiderman

They went straight to opening the plastic eggs which held necklaces for the princess and squishy bugs for our little man. They both tore into their bunnies for lunch, we spent the evening with ruth and devon and of course Keely ended the day by saying that "this was the best easter ever!"

Neighborhood Easter Party

2009-04-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

To rev up the fun we had a party a few days before Easter to celebrate

Always a fun tradition, this year was no exception

Shake Your Tail Feathers

2009-03-21T18:34:00.001-07:00

Keely's first competition of the year was today. We had a lot of fun and she did awesome - as always...she worked really hard on this dance in particular because it's so difficult.

Her team won high silver (they didn't judge on difficulty so the easiest dance snagged gold - I know, so unfair) and a specialty award, "Stars of the Stage" (which I'm guessing has to do with best stage presence?).

We are excited to see how they do in a few weeks at a bigger competition at the Salt Palace...wish her luck! You'll get shots of her costume and a video of the whole dance as the year goes on :)

Just a Conversation

2009-03-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

This video is a couple of months old, but I just found it and it's so darn cute, I thought you might enjoy it too :)

X-Ray

2009-03-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had given Asher some "monies" about 3 weeks ago. He loved his penny - he brought it every where with him. He slept with it in his little hand. He freaked out whenever he dropped it...yah, he did all that for 2 weeks and then one day he came up to me and told me he "put monies is mouth and ate it in tummy." WHAT?! I started laughing and Keely informed me that "this was not funny!" O.K. so maybe it wasn't...I did a little research, called the doc...and learned that it's usually just fine, but there are rare occasions...so

we got an X-ray just to be sure :) he was really brave about getting his "picture of asher's tummy" until they put him on that table...poor guy cried and cried..but he layed still and the beloved penny was nowhere to be seen :) his favorite part as you can see, was the sucker.

The Temple

2009-03-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

A new temple opened last week and Rickie got us all tickets to go to the open house. We've taken Keely to the temple grounds quite a bit for weddings and just because..we talk about what goes on there and how she can go there some day if she wants...so she already has a love for temples..and when she's excited about something, well, so is Asher :)

I loved that she was old enough to understand some of our explanations - of course she loved the celestial room the best..who doesn't?

Oh that's right! a two year old :) he loved the baptismal font with "dinosaurs" around it and all the pictures of Jesus - which he yelled out often "Look! there's another one Jesus!!" It was the longest in a while that Justin was able to be out with us too which made it even better.