Update

This week has been a CRAZY week.....but, a normal week also - I guess what I am saying is EVERY WEEK AROUND HERE IS A CRAZY WEEK! We stated the week off with a goose egg on Laiklie's forehead. I was in the shower when she tore into the bathroom screaming that "Rhett did it!" After I got out I went and asked Rhett what happened - all the while Laiklie screaming in the background that "Rhett did it" and Rhett said, "She jumped off the couch and hit her head on that chair." As soon as he finished Laiklie stopped screaming and said, "Oh ya, dadt is what happened!" OH MY WORD!! What a funny girl. I guess her philosophy is - if you can't remember how you got hurt just blame it on big brother!!

Kinda hard to see in the pictures. And, yes, that is a swimsuit strap....we are back to living in them AGAIN!:)

So.....Monday I also decided it was time to dig in to redecorating Laiklie's room. I have been putting it off because of remodeling the basement and eventually moving her down there, but I decided that her room in the basement is still possibly a year away from being finished and so I HAD to do something about the one she is currently in. The paintable wall paper that my mom, sister and I put up when I was pregnant with Oakley has been painted over SEVERAL times and was starting to peel off. It had to go. It was actually the easiest wall paper I have EVER removed....all I had to do was pull! :) We have some kinda funny brownish bluish wall panels under it and so I decided to paint some purple and pink stripes. The painting is finished and as soon as I get pictures hung-up I will post pictures!

BEFORE: - You can see the wallpaper peeling off and the funny color underneath if you look hard.

This is Laiklie singing while the paint dries in her room. SUPER CUTE!

We had Dallin's Blue and Gold Banquet this past Thursday too! It was fun to sit and visit and watch the little cub scouts do their thing. (No pictures...sorry!)

On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a Regional Relief Society Meeting at BYU-I where Sister Julie B. Beck (General R.S. president) spoke. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. and I was so grateful for the things I took home from the meeting. You could ask 5 different ladies what they got out of the meeting and I promise none of them would have the same answers. She covered SO MUCH material and information. She actually opened the meeting to questions from the audience and I was BLOWN AWAY as to how well she knew her scriptures. It amazed me that she would say...."Oh, I was just riding about this in this book, chapter___, verse ___." She did it OVER AND OVER AGAIN!! So....I just wanted to share a few of the meetings highlights (for me!).

1. She told us that the message of the gospel is only shared if WE share it. We have to be willing to OPEN OUR MOUTHS and talk about the gospel. We can't be scared of offending others.

2. She said we need to NOT spend our time and money on things of NO WORTH! She said if we are spending them on things of NO WORTH than we are NOT spending them on things of WORTH! She said we choose if we sit down and watch a TV show for an hour or if we sit and read our scriptures and once that time is gone we can't take it back so we need to be choosing wisely.

3. She talked about being very intentional about what we allow into our homes and lives. She said to not be afraid to SHUT IT DOWN or to PUT UP BOUNDARIES. We are the target of the adversary and he is IN OUR FACE everyday. She said WE WERE BORN TO BE A PART OF THE LORDS DEFENSE!

4. She told us that we HAVE to be reading our scriptures. She said, "You have to have them IN YOU before they can come OUT OF YOU!" (In sharing the gospel)

5. And in closing she said something that I LOVED....She said that we have to Choose (today, right now, this minute) to live the gospel in a day and age and world that tells us NOT TO.

This experience was DEFINITELY a wonderful one that I am grateful I chose to take part in!!

So....when I got home Saturday afternoon the kids had MAJOR cabin fever from hanging out with the babysitter all day so I bundled them up and sent them out and they had a BLAST playing in the snow and I LOVED they weren't bouncing off my walls! :)

Oakley and Dallin in the background. They LOVED playing by this strawbale....it grossed me out because I KNOW how many mice live in strawbales. I was the good mom that bit-my-tongue and didn't say a word and just let them play even though it grossed me out!:)

Laiklie - eating snow....of course.

This is Mckenzie. She stays with us sometimes when her (single) mom is having a hard time. She has been with us off and on for the past few weeks. Usually the kids do great with her. Every once in a while I have to remind them to be nice because they are feeling like their space has been invaded. It usually works out fine though!

All FIVE of the snow crew!

Laiklie, Oakley, Mckenzie, Rhett and Dallin

Montana Trip

On Thursday evening after Oakley's dance class we loaded up for the 5 1/2 hour drive to my brother Travis and wife Rebekah's house in the middle of Montana. We got there super late, but spent Friday and Saturday morning playing and visiting and touring the ranch. It was so much fun. The kids LOVED playing with their two little men cousins, Emmett and Casey. And I am thinking from the giant crocodile tears Emmett cried as we left Saturday that he had a good time too.

Dallin and Emmett - BEST BUDS!
Baby Casey! We LOVED that he was so super friendly and loved us as much as we loved him. He followed Oakley around EVERYWHERE. I seriously could have brought him home with me!

SLUMBER PARTY....I love Casey's smile!:) Oakley chose to sleep in the bed this night. Wonder why?
Saturday was Ryan and I's 12th Anniversary. It is CRAZY how fast the years come and go. About 4 hours into the 5 1/2 hour drive home we wondered WHAT WERE WE THINKING doing a family road trip for our anniversary?! We love taking time away even if it is a short break. So, in the spirit of anniversary I decided to list a few things that I have learned about Ryan over the years.....things that maybe I didn't know when I married him! (Scary!!)

1. I had NO IDEA that Ryan could win 1st place for worlds worst back and a close 2nd for worlds worst sinuses.

2. I didn't know what kind of a dad Ryan would be and.....I am not gonna lie to you....at 7 months pregnant with baby #1 I cried my eyes out when he announced to me that "he didn't like kids!" I learned that he LOVES his own kids....it is other peoples kids that drove him crazy, and actually they don't even bother him now.

3. I had NO IDEA that Ryan doesn't know how to communicate. (I am not being mean on this one....it is just the facts and you can ask ANYONE in his family -including Ry- and they would tell you this is true.) Alot of times I have to ask him, "Are you even listening to me?" Because there are times that I get nothing from him, not even a blink during the conversation.

4. I didn't know that Ryan was so committed to his farm/ranch and that he is actually VERY good at his occupation. I also didn't know that he is good at making "big" financial decisions. The first time Ryan wrote a HUGE check to buy cows THE DAY BEFORE HE WENT AND TALKED TO THE BANK it made me super nervous. Now, I just know we are going to be okay no matter what....he knows what he is doing.

5. I didn't know that it is NEVER a good idea to play any sort of "knowledge" game with Ryan because HE KNOWS EVERYTHING AND EVEN SOME SUPER WEIRD THINGS!!! He ALWAYS wins!

6. I also didn't know 12 years ago when I married Ryan that it was possible to love him more than I did that day. I had no idea that I would come to rely on him so very much. I had no idea that when the hard times came in our life that I would need him more than ever. He truly is my VERY BEST FRIEND. I can't imagine life without him and I always tease him that "he is lucky I still like him!" but, in all reality, I am definitely the lucky one!

Happy Valentines Day 2011

This is the girls in their new valentines day shirts from Grandma. The were super cute in the stripes! (Yes Laiklie is wearing jammie shorts....she went out earlier in the day and enjoyed a good "jump in the mud puddles" so this is what she changed into.) Nothing too eventful here on v-day....a heart shaped pizza dinner and a ton of yummy candy from the school parties is about the total of it! We LOVED that the weather warmed up enough to send the kids out for the afternoon - even if they found the mud puddles!:) It was worth it!!

Our Basketball Player

Dallin started playing basketball on an Apple Athletic team about 4 weeks ago. He has absolutely LOVED every minute of it. He plays with a team full of boys from his class that are some of his best buds! I have had to miss 2 of his 4 games....good thing daddy is around a little more this time of year and it has actually been REALLY good bonding for him and Ryan. Ryan loves to take him over to the church after his games and show him a few "moves." Ha, ha! Boys make me laugh! :)

Dallin and his good friend Taveh waiting to start. (Sorry the pictures aren't very good. I set my camera to the sports shots and I am not real happy with the way they turned out. Guess I know for next time!)

Dallin showing off his new dribbling skills!....Yes, we are playing an all girls team this game. I felt bad because we beat them pretty badly....but some of them were some pretty aggressive girls!

This is one of the baskets he shot at the last game - he missed it obviously, BUT he did make another basket that I missed with my camera - of course! He is doing so good learning how to be a ball player and pretty much DRIVING ME CRAZY with his basketball on my kitchen floor! I am sure proud of him though! I am guessing this is the 1st of many basketball seasons!

Being a Mom....

Today as I was fixing Laiklie's hair she asked me, "Mom,.....do you like being a mom?"

DO I LIKE BEING A MOM?

Being a mom is ALL I EVER WANTED! I didn't grow-up wanting to be anything other than a "mom!" Being a mom is the best part of EVERY day. Being a mom has taught me more than I ever thought possible. Being a mom allows me to try out just a little bit of every other career. Being a mom lets me experience all the different emotions all along the way. I wouldn't trade the opportunity to be a mother for ANYTHING in this world. So,....do I like being a mom? I could seriously, hardly hold back the tears as I explained to my sweet little 4 year old just how much I LOVE being her mother. It truly is one of those things that is PRICELESS!

(Probably not the answer Laiklie was looking for! Ha, ha!)

Laiklie's Own Little Personality

So this morning Laiklie came out of her room having dressed herself and fixed her own hair (yes....it is EXTREMELY STATICY in the picture) and this is the conversation we had:

L: Mom....I got dwessed awll by myself....do you like it? (Sticking her little hip out to one side with hands on hips!)

M: Yes....it is perfect!

L: Does it match?

M: No, but that is okay. Did you think it matched?

L: Ya, becawse dhese pants have pink on dem.

M: Ya, but your shirt is red.

L: But I will just cawll it pink.
FASHION TIP 101: If you need a top to match your pants you just have to "cawll" it the color that you would like it to be!:)

Quick Utah Trip

Friday we grabbed the kids early from school and braved the slick roads and headed to Utah. We dropped the kids off at my sister Jenny's house (Thanks again Jenny) to play with their cousins for the night....which they LOVED! Then Ryan and I headed off to the Jazz game. (No pictures of either....I forgot my camera...bummer)

The next day we decided to meet up with some of our close friends that recently moved to Utah. We met at Cabela's and tried out the giant chair..... (pictures from Ry's phone...sorry, not best quality!) And the lounger....
Then after a quick lunch we headed to a huge dinosaur museum. The kids LOVED all of it. The dinosaurs were HUGE!!

The kids had a great time not only being at the museum, but seeing their friends again!
There was this cool kinda indoor water/sand box for the kids to play in. They put on these handy black aprons to stay dry and then went to building islands for the dinosaurs.
Even the big girls had a great time with this!

The museum also had a fossil brushing site. The kids took off their shoes and dug in. They each took a paint brush and dug through the sand to find fossils and then brushed them off just like the professionals!

SO FUN! Thanks Arfmann family for being some GREAT entertainment!

We then finished the day at IKEA.....OH MY WORD....it was HUGE! If Hollie hadn't been there to show us the way out we may have had to find one of their cozy beds for the night. After marching through their gigantic store the kids were exhausted and 3 of the 4 slept the WHOLE WAY HOME. Rhett announced once we got home that the ride home from Utah wasn't as long as the ride to Utah....that's what happens when we sleep from pure exhaustion! :)