ABBOTT FAMILY

utah trip-travel and the wedding

2011-01-30T18:42:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun trip to Utah! I'm am so glad that Marty and Wendy got married because not only do I now have another sister, but it gave us the perfect excuse to come and visit everyone! The vacation itself was really fun but I do have to say that the traveling to and from Utah was really not fun. But we made the most of it. I am sure that lots of people in the airport thought that we were crazy and/or annoying but you do what you have to do to keep kids entertained haha.

After we arrived in Utah we were able to settle in a bit the first day and then we were off to Logan for Marty and Wendy's wedding ceremony. We got to stay in a hotel the night before the big day. We went out for a pre-wedding dinner with everyone and did a mini celebration for Kayla because it just so happened that her birthday was the same day as the wedding. After dinner we went to everyone's room in the wedding party and handed out birthday cupcakes. I totally forgot to take pictures of that part but Kayla thought it was lots of fun. She did get a little carried away and I had to explain to her a few times that there were only certain doors that we could knock on haha.

I woke Kayla up a little earlier on her Birthday so that she could open her presents before all the wedding craziness began. I had to make a pit stop at a store though because you know how there is always one thing that you forget to bring on your trip, well the thing that I forgot was Kayla's Birthday present that was sitting nicely on the Dryer so that I wouldn't forget it when we left haha.

The Ceremony was just beautiful! I am so glad that we were able to make it. After the Ceremony was over and snapped some pictures we were off again to Bountiful to the Luncheon. And then took off to This Is The Place in SLC where the Wedding Reception was held. I think that we were so blessed because it seemed like we left each place just in time to miss the blizzard that hit Utah that day. Despite the bad weather, it was such a great day. The kids had fun exploring everywhere and looking all fancy in their Flower Girl and Ring Bearer outfits. Kayla said that the best part was "Eating the ice cream with ANY topping I wanted! I even got TWO cherries on top!". Kayla and Teyton's eyes seriously got so big when they saw the Ice Cream spread that was put out during the reception haha. After the day was over there were OUT!

our crazy month

2011-01-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Things have been so crazy for us since we came home from our trip from Utah. We found out that the waiting list for a house in Colorado is 6 months! We really don't have that long to sit on our hands and wait on a house so we have been house hunting online. Every time I get on the computer wanting to work on the blog I will get an urge to look at more houses, get prices on salon equipment, or look up schools and the school districts, google map the area, etc. I'll talk more about our house situation on a later post mostly because I don't want to think about it right now haha. Anyway, to escape or turn off my brain from our current moving situation I have been reading. Well....the reason that I don't read too much is that it is SO addicting to me. I have read 7 books already this month. So I have had to ground myself from reading for awhile haha.

Other than crazy PCS (permanent change of station) stuff the only other major thing that has been going on is Corey has been gone a lot because of his work. He has been having lots of fun up in the mountains basically playing a hard core version of laser tag to help some infantry soldiers train for an upcoming mini deployment.

Teyton has been the same crazy boy but I am happy to report that the only major disaster we have had this month was while I was giving a friend a haircut he decided to get the tub of Koolaid mix that was in the pantry, fill it up with water and make a paste. He then tried to pour the paste it in one of Kayla's tea sets. When that didn't work out like he planned, he rubbed the paste all over the dining room floor....I'm pretty sure we are NOT going to have carpet in the house we end up purchasing hahaha.

Kayla has been having fun at school and is soaking up everything like a sponge. I am so grateful for the technology we have these days because that girls asks so many questions about the most random things at random times. But whenever I don't know something I can just look it up on my phone no matter where we are. Kayla told us "Those phones you have are really smart....maybe that is why they are called smart phones."

christmas 2010

2010-12-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

We are getting spoiled this year for Christmas! Not only did we get some awesome Christmas gifts, we also get to hop on a plane tomorrow and visit our wonderful family in Utah! We have missed them all so much! Corey got some awesome Oakley sunglases and lenses to use at work {and for personal use}. They are really so nice and he has needed a new pair for so long! He also got the Star Wars IV V & IV DVD set. I got the most amazing sign that I have had my eye on for the longest time to remember our years living in Hawaii. I just LOVE Haleiwa so I just had to have it! And I also got the movie Eclipse and the fabric I used to make my beautiful ACU purse, and a nice warm coat for Utah. Kayla got a pink and purple Mobigo from Santa, along with 3 fun games. A Rapunzel doll form the movie "Tangled", a Jessie and Lotso doll from "Toy Story", a beautiful new gold journal to write all of her wonderful thoughts and stories in, and a Tinkerbell bracelet. Teyton got a "Cars" scooter, and a Black and Decker tool bench from Santa. Slink the dog, Rex {which turned out small that we had wanted but since I ordered everything online I didn't have time to return it and get a bigger one, he still loves it though and that is all that matters} Buzz Lightyear, and Woody from "Toy Story". Here are some pics to enjoy of our Christmas morning and the wonderful lunch I made for our little family to make our Christmas feel a little more "traditional". I didn't want to go to all the trouble of making an entire turkey when we are going to be leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks, the leftovers would just go to waste. So we did a Chicken instead.

christmas eve

2010-12-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Christmas! It is just such a wonderful season and gives us all a chance to forget about ourselves and focus on serving and giving to one another. I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and all of the wonderful blessing we receive each and everyday because of his teachings and the sacrifice He made for us. I cannot wait though to be in Utah to be able to go to Temple Square in SLC and show the kids the beautiful lights and Nativity scenes.

We had tons of fun baking cookies for Santa and this year McKayla and Teyton got a special call from Santa and he requested french fries to be left out. So we decided to have home made french fries and cheese burgers for our Christmas Eve dinner. I also have to say that I loved how after Teyton had finished frosting his cookie he looked at it with an extremely loving look and said "mmmmmmmmm doodie...."

Each year on Christmas Eve we get together as a family and tell the story of the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. This year was no exception. However we did do it a little differently to capture the attention of our little ones. We popped in the DVD Joy to the World. We all loved it and I think that we are going to have to do that every year from now on.

We also have some gifts for the kids to open up on Christmas Eve to help ease the excitement. That is the other thing I love about this season. It is just so fun to see my kids light up at the thought of Santa and all the magic that it brings into the home. Anyway, we open up the traditional Christmas PJs, a new Christmas book {this year the kids got "Llama Llama Christmas Drama"}, and a new Christmas movie {we are movie junkies at our house, we picked out "Elf" this year}. After we enjoy the book and watch the movie we let the kids pick out one present from under the tree to open.

catching up on dec. happenings

2010-12-25T14:24:00.000-08:00

This month has been a whirlwind! It just has seemed to have gone by so quickly. So here is what's happened so far in a nut shell.

Corey got promoted to Sergent!!!! I am so incredibly happy and even more so, proud of him and his accomplishments and dedication to his career no matter how crazy it can be at times. After the ceremony we went to the Pearlridge Mall and let the kids go on the Christmas train and then we had a celebration dinner at Farrell's.

Teyton has just been being the cute little boy that he always is. He has been acting like a dog a lot lately. In the morning he will set his cereal bowl down by the dogs bowls and eat breakfast right beside them on his hands and knees haha. I didn't get a pic of that because Koa is SO scared of cameras it is ridiculous! I didn't want him to freak out and trample poor Teyton.

Kayla has just been loving life and loving playing with all of her friends. They are so much fun to watch. I love that all the kids come to play at our house. They all say and do the funniest things. I am really going to miss them. Good thing Kayla is such a social butterfly like her Daddy. It won't be long after the move before she has a whole new group of cute kids coming over to play.

We got together as a family and did our traditional Gingerbread House making. It was so much fun. The kids were so hyped up on sugar afterward. I get a kick out of them when they get super hyper. I think Corey did a better job than I did helping Teyton out with his house {just don't tell him I said so ;)}. We also had a few mornings where it was actually pretty chilly outside so the kids and I made some yummy hot cocoa topped with whipped cream.

I've been busy with lots of little projects. I have been LOVING this new site that my friend told me about {www.fabric.com}. I wish I had known about it sooner! I really haven't done too much sewing because there aren't any good fabric stores that are ridiculously expensive or filled with Hawaiian print things, which is nice but I do like to have a variety. I've kind have gone a little crazy with it, but have had oh so much fun! I'm also working on a warm quilt for Kayla right now, I'll post pics when it is closer to being finished.

Corey has been super busy with his new job as a NCO. He has been working so many long shifts this month. But he still manages to come home and have fun playing with the kids and is always ready to make us all smile and laugh. I love him so much!

We had so much fun at our Ward Chistmas Party. The decorations were just beautiful! Kayla was so excited to see Santa this year. She wrote him a special letter and drew him a picture to give to him at the party. Teyton on the other hand only got close enough to get the little presents he was giving all the kids. He refused to sit on his lap.

my crazy family

2010-12-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

Just some random pictures of us having fun together.

Yes she really did wear this outfit all day long. There are some things in life that just aren't worth putting up a fight over.

Kayla wanted to have a "rubbish fight"

Teyton loves my new hat that I bought. He has claimed it though, there is no way I am putting in on my head again. He decided that it would be a swell idea to pee in it. I washed it of course but I am NOT going to wear a hat that my son has peed on hahaha!

The kiddo's in their play truck that we got at a yard sale for next to nothing! I love how people just give things away in the Military. They thought that the battery was about to die because it moved so slow. But my amazingly handy husband fixed it by just removing a single bolt. I love that it was such a simple fix. Now it goes so fast that I have to jog to keep up with them, AND it has a real radio.

trimming the tree

2010-12-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun as a family setting up the Christmas decorations. Corey was in charge of putting the tree together while I did the garland up the stairs. I have had this garland for years now and have been hoping that one day I'd have a house with a banister to put the garland up during Christmas time. I know it is a little strange to be excited for something like that, but I think that it just looks so pretty!

While we did that Kayla was ever so helpful keeping Teyton occupied by playing in the boxes that we keep the decor in. I love that they play together so nicely.....well most of the time.

After the tree/lights and garland was up the kiddos got to help put up all of the fun ornaments and such. We have a tradition that every year we go out as a family and each pick out one new ornament to add to our tree. I think that it is fun to look back and see what our kids loved each year that has past. And I can't wait for our collection to grow each year!

Kayla has been wanting snow so badly and keeps telling me how she "can't hardly wait to be in Utah to play in the snow". So I decided to make snowflakes with the kids and got a can of that spray on frost to put on the windows. I just LOVE Christmas! The smells and music and the wonderful spirit it brings. I have to agree with Kayla though, Christmas doesn't feel quite the same without the crisp cold air of winter and a nice cup of hot cocoa after playing out in the snow. Not too much longer though! We will be in Utah soon and I couldn't be more excited!

lost dogs

2010-11-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

About a week ago during one of Teyton's escapes he managed to let Moki and Koa out. By the time I got Teyton inside and dressed to go find the dogs they were out of sight. Corey tried looking in the regular spots they like to run, but it has been a week now and there has been no sign or word of them around. I have been missing them so much. I keep hoping that I'll get a phone call, but every lead I have received hasn't been my dogs. I told Corey that if we they don't come home I don't think that I can handle losing of having to give up another dog for one reason or another. I get way to attached to those dumb animals.

These two were my shadows everywhere, and loved to rough house with each other.

I bought Moki as a pup and we've had him for 1 1/2 years now. He is a mix of a Ridgeback, Akita, and some sort of a Hound. He is definitely my dog and I love him. He is such a good watch dog. Whenever Corey is gone for an extended period of time he will pace the house sticking his nose through all of the blinds growling at the darkness. He is a little intimidating to most people who first meet him but he really is a sweetheart. He thinks that he is one of the kids and is always right by there beside Kayla and Teyton prancing around like a Jackalope when they run around the house. The only thing that Moki is truly afraid of is Teyton haha. I can't say that I blame him. Moki thinks that he is a lap dog and every chance he gets he will cuddle up to me or the kids. He knows that he isn't allowed on the couch so when I am sitting or laying down he will stretch his long neck out and lay his head on my lap or chest.

We adopted Koa and have had him for a year now. He is 10 yrs and a mix of a Lab and Ridgeback. He always plops down at my feet when I do the dishes and will not move! Sure he will lift his head up here and there so I can open the cupboard door he blocks every single time, but that's it. The dog is afraid of everything! The dark, vacuum, water, any sudden or loud noise, and most of all he was afraid of my camera haha. These are the best two pics I have of him. He was such a good dog and was so good with the kids. They could lay, roll, pull, sit on him and he would take it and love every second of attention he got from Kayla and Teyton.

I sure miss these two animals.

the joys of raising a boy.....

2010-11-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

Alright, first off I must say that I love Teyton more than any other little boy in the whole wide world and when it comes down to it I would never EVER change him in a million years. That being said....OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! That boy has so much energy and is so inquisitive about life it is a wonder he and I are still alive! November has flown by to say the least because of all the little adventures Teyton has had {and I have endured}. Feel free to laugh at all of this because I myself am laughing while I write this. It may not be so funny in the moment, but I have been getting in some good laughs now looking at the pics and recalling the stories.

Let's start from the top. It started with Teyton learning to climb amazing heights without any aid or stepping stools of any kind. How does he do this you might ask...I have no idea! He is so fast I have yet to witness these miracle stunt maneuvers he does. He is so stealth, seriously that boy is like a ninja! That combined with trying to potty train that child has not been good! We have been inside most of the time and despite my best efforts Teyton gets bored often with my games and wants to have fun of his own. I still take him outside to burn off some energy, but not nearly as long as we usually do because I am determined to have this boy potty trained!

The beginning of the month started out innocent enough. He wouldn't cry after nap time and instead destroy his room. I knew he was awake when I heard loud crashes coming from upstairs and come to his room looking like a tornado just hit it. Or going into Kayla's room and emptying out her toy chest to hide inside from Mommy. {He LOVES to play hide and seek} Or he would throw his food to the dogs getting a big kick out of how silly they look jumping up trying to catch bits of food here and there.....all those things I can handle. My house may look like a disaster 95% of the time but hey I'm a Mom right?

Next he upped his game a little. He now was trying to become an escape artist. Sneaking outside to try and play in his Little Coupe usually I run outside finding a little nude or underwear boy giggling and laughing while I chase him down. I'm pretty sure my neighbors think that we are crazy. He also started running into Kayla's room, my room, or the bathrooms and will lock the door and in the time it takes me to unlock it he has either destroyed the said room, or clogged the toilet/sink up with whatever he has on hand. This is all still things that I can handle, he is a little boy and a miniature Corey so I have had time to prepare myself for this {and I grew up with 5 brothers so that helped too}.

Here is where he takes everything to a whole new level. He now will start the day really nice, happy, smiling, no real major disasters or shenanigans to speak of. Then he will strike. First was the baby powdering of his room. Which was more comical than anything. He was so proud of himself. And little Miss McKayla was such a sweetheart, instead of tattling on her brother she just started dusting off all of his toys with her makeup brush.

Then he figured out how to open his medicine cabinet to get to the kids mouth wash. He took it and decided that it would be a great idea to spit it out on the carpet randomly in each room. I didn't get pictures of that because I was afraid that it would stain the carpet. I'm happy to say that it didn't.

Next he must have snuck out the vaseline and hid it in his room after getting into the medicine cabinet because while he was suppose to be napping he decided to give himself and his room a makeover with the vaseline. I was able to get out the stains on his bedding {YAY} his hair on the other hand didn't quite make it...

While I was cleaning up the mess he made,{and others I am listing} he made a number of other messes. Dumped his strawberry milk out on the couch, colored his body with markers, and painted his newly bald head and the couch with finger colors. I swear I couldn't keep up with the boy! He had so many baths in one day it was ridiculous! I was so done by the time Corey came home I just had to get out of the house! Corey was nice enough to let me go and got the kids dinner and even put them to bed, sweet right!? I came home that night feeling so refreshed and fell asleep ready to take on the next day.

While Corey had the best intentions taking care of the children he made one tiny oversight....he didn't put a Pull-Up on Teyton! There was pee everywhere! So much for a brand new day right! He must have liked the freedom he felt sleeping without a Pull-Up on because later that day when I got him up from his nap his Pull-Up was off, and he was using his....um.....#2 as finger paint on the door. {don't worry I did NOT take any pics of that, I was too busy trying not to throw up while cleaning it off} I threw him in the tub and he was having a great time playing in the bubbles.

Teyton "thinking" about what he just did...I think he just may be a little to young to understand what I meant, he looks far too happy in his thoughts

He may have made a small lake in the bathroom but I will take that any day over the other mess he had just made. I gave up on the inside routine for the day and we played outside and I ran him ragged! Then the next morning I tried to wear him out with inside games so he could still use the potty when needed. We did somersaults, danced, made towers out of plastic cups and then destroyed them, wrestled, I had him run around our kitchen island for awhile, we played hide and seek...needless to say I got ZERO house work done all day.

BUT it was so worth it! I wore him out good! He took such a good nap {and so did I} he actually resisted my attempts of waking him up from his nap. Believe me I didn't want to, but I had a Dr appt that I had to go to {just a check up}.

We have ended this month with Extreme Toddler sports it would seem. Teyton somehow got to the popcorn and treats that I thought were far beyond his reach {silly Mommy, you should never think something is impossible for Teyton to do}.

And then tonight while we were reading bedtime stories, Teyton snuck out of the room we all heard one big thump on the ground and then Teyton's little feet scampering out of his room into Kayla's just beaming with what he had just accomplished.

I have no idea how he got this Piggy Bank off of his dresser. I inspected his room and none of the drawers were pulled out to use for assistance, not toys or books stacked up. Everything was in it's place except the Piggy Bank Teyton held in his hands. I'm thinking that he did some sort of a tuck and roll with how loud of a thump we heard. Oh the adventures of having a little boy....

vivid imagination

2010-11-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Kayla has such an amazing imagination, I just love hearing what goes on inside that little head of hers. She just cracks me up with the things she comes up with everyday. Unfortunately there is a negative side to having such an amazing imagination when you are so little. She has been having the worst nightmares the past few months, and when she describes them to me I can honestly say that they are things that would scare me. I have been racking my brain and talking to friends about how I can solve this problem because they had gotten so bad that she was starting to have accidents in her bed. She has NEVER had an accident before at night, not even while she was potty training. Well I think that finally between some suggestions from friends, many prayers, and a little of my own imagination I have found a solution!

Every night for the past week she has been waking up multiple times during the night with bad dreams and has ended up sleeping in our bed. I was talking to one of my friends the other day and she suggested that I give her some "Monster Repellent" spray to keep by her bedside when she gets scared. I was afraid that that would just reafirm her belief in monsters. But I did like the idea a lot so I decided to change it up a bit. I got some body spray that smells like pears and gave it to McKayla telling her that nightmares hate the smell of pears. She got a big smile on her face and we sprayed the room and her pillow with the pear spray and said our bedtime prayers and read a story. Well she was telling me that she wished she could have a friend or sister that could always sleep with her and keep her company at night. I asked if she wanted one of her stuffed toys to sleep with, she said "I like sleeping with my toys but none of them keep the bad dreams away." Right then an idea popped into my head.

McKayla is obsessed with the Pinkalicious books and ever since we read the very first book she has told me that she wished she had a dolly like the girl in the book had. Well I was at WalMart the other day and saw one! I grabbed it thinking I would give it to her as a birthday or Christmas present {I like to get my shopping done before the Christmas season starts, it gets way too crazy out there during the holiday season haha}. Anyway, I told her to lay by her Daddy for a minute because I had something special for her. I ran out to my stash of hidden presents and grabbed the doll I had bought for her. She was so excited she looked like she was going to cry. The doll has a little wand so I sprayed it with pear and tucked McKayla in bed. She slept the entire night in her own room! The doll has not left her side since I gave it to her.

veterans day

2010-11-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun on Veterans Day! We were invited to participate in the Wahiawa Veterans Day Parade riding on a fun little train. Afterward the kids {that were in the parade} were given some free wristbands to play in the bounce houses, and go on the rides that were available to the public after the parade was over. We were all wiped out afterward, but it was so worth it with all the fun and smiles the kids had!

I am so thankful for all of the Veterans out there and the service and sacrifices they have made for this country. I am especially grateful for my Husband and the service he continually gives. And also my Grandpa Willis who I miss dearly. I cannot wait for the day that I will be able to see him again and give him a great big hug. They are two of the most wonderful, loving, and giving men that I have ever had the opportunity to have in my life.

veggie tale giveaway

2010-11-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

"If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smiiiiile, if you like to waltz with potatoes up and down the produce aisle…..have I got a giveaway for you!" My kiddos just LOVE Veggie Tales and sharing this with all of you is one way I am able to win this awesome giveaway for them.

http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/2010/11/08/veggie-tales-complete-dvd-collection-giveaway-wingiveaways/comment-page-8/#comment-45306

getting ready for the father-daughter ball

2010-11-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Kayla and I had so much fun getting her all ready for the ball today. She is so stinking cute! I was actually surprised how much hair I had to work with. I forget how long and full her hair is getting. I have a problem that I'm sure many other parents can relate with, I see her as a baby still. She is growing up into a little lady though. She gets to go on her first special date with her Daddy so he can show her how a real gentlemen should treat her when she is old enough to date.

the book

2010-11-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! Kayla was so excited that her very own real book has arrived! She loves reading it and told me that I need to get her more watercolors so that she can write her next book haha.

halloween day

2010-11-06T22:07:00.001-07:00

The kids had a ton of fun on Halloween day. We let Kayla and Teyton get dressed up and help Corey and I pass out some candy after trick-or-treating around our little circle. Kayla was disappointing that we didn't trick-or-treat longer at first, but after I showed her how much candy she had between 3 days of celebrating Halloween, after that she had no problem passing out candy. Both kids had fun talking/playing in the haunted house with all the kids, and seeing the fun costumes.

Teyton decided to be Darth Vader this time

Kayla being her cute crazy self

The Mermaid Princess, Darth Vader, and Curious George

Kayla loved passing out the candy, probably because she got to snack on it too

This is what happens when Teyton has a full on sugar high...

pumpkin carving/coloring

2010-10-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had tons of fun carving and coloring pumpkins this year. My kids are such wonderful little artists! They colored 5 mimi pumpkins/squash, and the big pumpkin that we carved was a family effort. We all voted to do Jack Skellingtons face.

trunk-or-treat

2010-10-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

.......well, it was suppose to be a trunk-or-treat. I must have missed the memo that was sent out changing it from an outdoor trunk-or-treat, to trick-or-treating inside the Church due to weather. So sad, I decorated the van and everything! Oh well, the kids still had tons of fun and I just took pics of the decorations with Corey and the kids. Kayla and Teyton got quite the haul though. Full Buckets of candy for both of them!

annual abbott halloween bash!!

2010-10-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Every year we throw a Halloween party and this year was no exception. We had a HUGE turn out and I am so glad that we did! This will be our last Halloween on Island and so it was great to have everyone together at least one more time before we move this coming May. The kids were so good, so that gave us adults more time to mingle with each other instead of chasing the kids and breaking up fights haha.

The kids getting ready to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas

The train table was a big hit with the toddlers!

Some of the kids being chased by a Ghoul that decided to join our party.

The kids enjoying the Haunted House and fog machine.

And then here are all of the couples!
First we have the The Garcia's

The Kamauu's

Half of the Ramos fam {Oly acted as stand in husband for Michael ;)}

The Loder's

The Shaffer's

The Gwin's

The Ormond's

The Abbott's

The Orr's

The Downer's {I took the pic before Daryl came and just forgot to take another one, sorry!}

The Brown's

The Cox's

half of the Rees couple {Deven was the stand in husband for David ;)}

The Pollock's

half of the Allred fam

and last but not least the Rueckert's

We were able to get a pic with all the ladies together, but apparently only "highschool/college type guys who take their shirts off, take group pics together." I think that Corey was just being a boob though haha ;)

All the adults mingling, and kids raiding the candy bucket. Seriously the best party ever!

Now onto the Costume Awards!
JT Gwin won "Scariest Kid Costume" just for being an all around tough kid, haha

There was a tie for "Prettiest Kid Costume", the two Cinderella's Lauren Kamauu, and Juliana Skaf. {I had to get a pic with them!}

"Coolest Kid Costume" {no bias here or anything ;)} went to Teyton Abbott, I swear he was in his Spiderman costume at one point, but as soon as dinner started he stripped down and just had fun running around in his Pull-Up haha.

"Funniest Kid Costume" went to Oliver Allred who came as a Hamburger.

"Best Couple Costume" award turned into the best family theme, and that was the Orr Family

"Funniest Adult Costume" went to Jason Loder who came as a Luchadore, and turned into our Ghoul that stalked the kids at the party.

"Scariest Adult Costume" was awarded to Kia Kamauu, because Corey {a typical caucasian male ;)} was giving out the awards, and Kia came dressed as a Token Black Guy

"Most Creative Costume" went to Shawn and Tara Ormond

take me....

2010-10-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

Thursday was just one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. I had a long list of "too dos" and it seemed like my kids were tag teaming me the entire day! Lets just say that there were a total of 6 baths, 3 loads of bedding to be laundered, and lots of mopping/cleaning of the carpet that day among many, MANY other happenings.... I was really trying to stay positive, I know everyday won't always run smoothly especially being a Mother. Well, it wasn't working very well for me haha. Just when I thought that I was at my wits end and just wanted to cry, Kayla gave me a good laugh. I just love my kids so much.

In the Military we are kind of like a big family and so if we are going to give something to the Salvation Army or something, usually we will put it out by the road in our front yard for anyone to take, you know give them first serve. Anyway we had a toy car that we wanted to get rid of. Well sitting out in the yard it looked like it was a toy that a child just left out, so I decided to make a sign so that anyone driving by knew that they could have it. I asked Kayla if she would put on the car and being the helpful little girl that she is, she was more than happy to help. In fact she was so helpful that when she couldn't get the sign to stay because the wind kept blowing it off, she decided to hold the sign herself and stand by the car. I didn't know this was going on and just figured that she was playing with her friends in the front yard like they normally do. Well a few minutes later the door swung open and Kayla ran into the room tearing up. When I asked what was wrong this was her response, "A man stopped and told me that you wrote the sign wrong Mommy. He told me to go inside and change it. He said that it said to take ME Mommy! Why does the sign say to take ME!?" and then burst into tears. Poor little traumatized girl. So I calmed her down and explained the situation to her. I couldn't help but laugh though. She is just too stinking cute!

spirit week

2010-10-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last week was Kayla's school Spirit Week. She had so much fun and Teyton wanted to get in on all of the fun too. He started to get really frustrated by the end of the week though. Every morning he would see Kayla getting all prettied up and so he wanted some pampering too. He would get all ready and put his slippas, and Thomas the Train backpack on, run to the bus stop with Kayla yelling "YAY YAY YAAAAAY!!!" the whole way, and mean old Mommy wouldn't ever let him get on the bus with his Sissy.

Monday was Beach Day.

Here's Tacky Tuesday.

Wednesday was Patriotic Day.

Thursday was Sports day, we didn't have any sports things for Kayla so we went for a
home-made Team Princess hat with her initials.

Then Friday was Costume Day.

vanilla cupcakes w/ nectarine frosting {only 2 points!!!}

2010-10-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sinfully delicious cupcakes revised {by yours truly} from Curtis Stones 100 Calorie cupcakes on last weeks episode of "The Biggest Loser". I had read some reviews on the original recipe and it seems that most people who made it were unimpressed. So I took it upon myself to change a few things here and there to make these yummy treats. I'm not sure how many calories it is, but as far as Weight Watchers Points goes it is only 2 each! I hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I did! =]

Here is a link to the original recipe. =] http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/exclusives/nutrition/curtis-stone-recipes/vanilla-cupcakes/

Prep Time: 20{ish} min
Cook Time: 15-20 min
Servings: 12
WW Points: 2

Cupcake:
5 egg whites
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp Splenda Blend Sugar
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, {can substitute 4 oz Yoplait Fiber One Vanilla Yogurt}
1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder

Frosting:
1 c fat free cream cheese, at room temp
1 c fresh nectarine {1 large}
2 Tbsp Splenda Blend Sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
dash of lemon juice
Fresh raspberries to garnish {opt}

* Preheat the oven to 325F.
* Place the egg whites in a large bowl and using a hand held mixer whip the whites on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until the whites begin to lighten up and hold their shape.
* Increase speed to high and whip in the salt, 2 Tbsp Splenda, and honey until the whites hold a soft peak, then add 2 tsp vanilla extract.
* Fold in the yogurt.
* In a separate medium mixing bowl combine the flour and baking powder and mix well.
* Sift the dry ingredients into the egg whites a little at a time, gently folding them in with a rubber spatula.
* Once fully incorporated, scoop the batter into cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers.
* Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes or until they have colored and gently spring back when pushed with a finger.
* Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes at room temp.
* While the cupcakes are baking, puree the nectarine, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.
* Place the cream cheese, and 2 Tbsp Splenda into a medium mixing bowl and beat until well combined, then fold the puree into the cream cheese mixture until fully mixed.
* Once cupcakes are cool, spread a little of the nectarine frosting over the cupcakes
* Garnish each with one raspberry and serve. {opt)

cutest kids ever!!! {and a great coupon!}

2010-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

The above Halloween Collage 8x10 was free {and there is no sitting fee} at Sears Portrait Studio! click here for coupon {no purchase nessesary, but if you want it printed out the same day then there is a $3.99 fee, not too shabby!} They have this special every year too, I love it!

through the eyes of a 3 year old...

2010-10-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Teyton gets a hold of my camera. He was so proud of himself. I am actually relieved that he showed me after he was finished taking his beautiful pictures, and that I did not catch him in the act. Usually when I catch him doing something he knows he shouldn't be doing, his first reaction is to throw whatever he has that incriminates him as far away from his body as possible. Um, not so good for my camera, especially since my warranty has expired haha. I can't blame him though, I loved taking pictures when I was younger and still remember the first time I took pictures on my Grandma and Grandpa Willis camera {that I should not have been using} when they were visiting us in Utah one summer, unfortunately those were the days that when a child got a hold of your camera film was wasted. {I love digital cameras!} It was a hard lesson for me to learn, and I still feel bad.

costume preview

2010-10-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

I am sad to say that Corey has not put up his Halloween decorations outside yet. Unfortunately we have a new "Sara" in the neighborhood. There always has to be one I guess. "Sara" is the term we Abbotts have adopted for that one child in the neighborhood who is constantly inviting themselves into your home, volunteering your food {snacks, dinner, or just whatever they feel they are in the mood for haha} to all the other kids that might be playing outside, and destroying anything nice that you may have in your yard {front or back}. Our last "Sara" actually mauled our bunny to death {literally}....I promise I am not a child hater and I love that the neighbor kids love to play at our house, just not to fond of the "Sara's" out there.

On to happier things now haha. Kayla and Teyton LOVE their costumes! This is just a preview I am actually going to take nicer pictures to send out to my family, so I'll add those on here later for everyone to see.

First we have Corey, the Yellow Peanut M&M

I am the Green M&M, I feel like Violet on "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" when she turns into a blueberry in this costume...

Here we have Miss McKayla Bayla the beautiful, magical, Pink Princess Mermaid

And finally we have Teyton as Spiderman. He picked out his own costume this year and let me tell you how hard it was for me to get this off of him after taking a picture of him haha. He loves it!

getting ready for halloween!!!

2010-10-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Teyton was not happy at all when I finally took down all of his fun train birthday decoration. His mylar train balloons are actually still floating so I put them up in his room so that he could still play with them. He protested by bringing them back downstairs time and time again {I gave up after him bringing it down for the 3rd time}. After he saw that I was replacing them with other fun decorations he relaxed a little bit and started getting excited for our next fun celebration.

Kayla on the other hand was elated when I started taking down his decorations...she has been a tad jealous that it was Teyton's Birthday and not hers. She has been begging me everyday "Please can we take them down now Mommy?" and "When are you going to get rid of the trains and get decorations for MY Birthday??". Then she saw me bring out the spiderwebs from the Halloween decorations she became very concerned and saw over the whole process to be sure that the decorations weren't too scary. She was very happy with the finished product, and loved that everything was shiny and glittery inside the house. Now all I've been hearing is "Why is it taking so long for it to be Halloween?" Next weekend I think that we will be putting up the outside decorations.

re-enlistment

2010-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Corey had his re-enlistment ceremony Friday and it was really neat to be able to participate with that. General Casey was actually the one who was suppose to over see and congratulate all of the Soldiers who were re-enlisting that day, but unfortunately he had to leave Schofield Barracks Friday morning due to a family member passing away. But it was still really neat and General Casey felt bad that he wasn't able to participate in the ceremony so he had General Terry (the Commander of the 8th TSC) take his place and present all of the Soldiers who were re-enlisting that day with a special coin. That may not seem like much to the everyday Civilian. But Military members (Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Army) earn and collect these coins very similarly to the way that they earn ribbons. They keep and sometimes display them in their offices/homes as bragging rights, some being harder to get than others. Well this one in particular can only be given by General Casey himself so that was really neat.

We were all so proud of Corey and how willing he is to not only take care of his family so well. But also how selflessly he gives of himself no matter the costs, and the pride that it gives him to serve his Country. I really am a very lucky girl. The kids sat surprisingly quiet and still the whole ceremony....I did resort to bringing a ridiculous amount of fruit by the foots and every time one child ran out I quickly replaced it with another. But hey, what ever works right!?

Afterward we decided to take Daddy out for dinner to celebrate this new milestone in our lives. Kayla wanted to take him to Chuck E Cheese (surprise surprise) but we decided on Ferralls instead and then played at the Arcade after.

corey's new toy, and my worst nightmare.....

2010-10-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

Okay well maybe it isn't my worst nightmare, but it's up there. I am SO scared of motorcycles....I can't tell you where my fear has stemmed from, but I can tell you that it is up there with spiders. Those of you that know me know how I get around spiders. I think that spiders and the thought of riding a Motorcycle (by myself) are the only two things that can, and have brought me to tears. Yes Corey did try to teach me, once upon a time, how to ride his Moped in an abandoned parking lot...note the "try". It really is silly when I sit here and think about it, but there it is.

While Corey has been working with me in the garage with just sitting on the Harley (engine off!) leaning with him back and forth while I sit calmly on the back with him. I am so proud of myself...maybe soon I will graduate to taking a real ride with him on it. Kayla, my fearless girl who loved it when Corey took her on rides with his Moped, was SO excited when Corey asked if she wanted to take a ride with him on his new (to us) Motorcycle. She had tons of fun and was grinning ear to ear the entire time. I'm proud to say that I was able to let her ride off and be of a sound enough mind to take pictures of them on their first ride together. She really was very cute to watch get ready. And she says she can't wait to go on her next riding adventure with her Daddy.

play-doh fun!

2010-10-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Teyton has been LOVING all of his fun presents that he was given for his 3rd Birthday. One of his favorite things to do, is play with his new play-doh set. I have to say that I was a little bit apprehensive when I saw that he received play-doh as one of his gifts. Memories came flooding back of when Kayla had turned 3 and I decided that she was old enough to play with it. Well...it was not so much a toy as it was a nice snack and a very fun tool for smashing into any small crevice she could find in our home. She also loved experimenting on what every color would make if you combined them together, only to be brought to tears when she realized that it wasn't so easy to take those colors back apart.

I am very happy to report that Teyton is very good at playing with his play-doh. He loves smashing it into pancakes and then using our different cookie cutters and stamping tools to create wonderful 3 year old masterpieces. And as far as mixing the colors together, he actually gets really upset when any two colors even touch each other. So I'm happy to say that I no longer have my anxieties with letting him play with it all by himself....and Kayla is allowed to play with it also now that she understands how it is suppose to be played with. ;) This has turned out to be the most entertaining set of gifts that he has ever received. I can't believe how much I have been able to get done around the house now that he has some toys that satisfy his curious and imaginative personality!

babies babies babies!!!

2010-07-10T01:50:00.000-07:00

It seems like EVERYONE is pregnant right now. A couple of my friends baby showers are coming up and I was looking online for some new creative ideas for presents. I had SO much fun putting these gifts together. I got most of the supplies that I needed at Ross and I swear they must have known I was coming, because everything that I found matched perfectly! It made my job so much easier. I am probably way more excited about doing this then I should be, but I have been VERY baby hungry and with my medical history....well only God knows what will happen down the line for me and my family. Until then I will just enjoy everyone's little babies that are coming into the world right now!

I wish that I could say that I was clever enough to have come up with this idea, but at least it helped out with the trial and error process. Here is the link that I found the tutorials on. I did simplify some of the steps on the lollipop and folded it smaller to make it look more symmetrical.

The lollipops are made out of receiving blankets,

the candy is made out of wash cloths, {I don't know why this pic wants to load sideways}

and the cupcakes are made out of burp cloths and socks.

This is a project that I have been waiting so long to do. I saw a pic of it here and thought it would be so cute on a onesie.

make-over night

2010-06-10T11:59:00.001-07:00

Last night Kayla decided that it was her turn to play with my hair. So she got out some tools and went to work. She did a pretty good job with the sponge rollers for her first time! She's a wonderful photographer too. =]

hide and seek

2010-06-10T11:43:00.001-07:00

Teyton and McKayla love to play hide and seek together. Teyton always chooses one of two places to hide. Behind the Love Sac, and here...

I love how he yells "TA DA!" when he's been found.

I have also found that this is his favorite place to hide all of his toys. =]

back to the blogging world

2010-06-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

I realized today lying in bed sick bored out of my mind that I have not made a post on my blog for a very long time. So I figure now is a good time to start over. I'm not going to even attempt to catch up everything haha. I did however find some pics on Corey's laptop that I haven't posted on FB so I know that no one has seen these yet.

These kids LOVE to wear Daddy's Army beret when he comes home from work. I know that I'm a lot biased haha but I think they look stinking cute in it! In Kayla's long list of future occupations one of them is a Soldier just like her Dad. Now I am not all for that idea, but I think that that is a pretty high compliment to her Daddy.

Birthday morning dance. These are back from April on my 26th Birthday. The kids helped Daddy make breakfast and we had fun doing a yummy dance while eating.

My beautiful flowers and cake that I got for my Birthday. I love my family!

Kayla had a sleepover at our house with her "BFF" little miss Brooklyn. These two girls are so cute together. I am so glad that she found such a good friend right after we moved out of our house in Helemano!

Teyton had some "man time" with daddy while us girls had fun dressing up and such. Teyton LOVES his Cars toys and is lucky to have a Dad that feeds his obsession and is always on the lookout for one of the Cars in his collection we don't have yet haha. They are so fun to watch.

The girls decided to watch The Princess and the Frog and broke out Kayla's Tiana and Charlotte dolls and I kid you not they were quoting the ENTIRE movie with these dolls haha. Teyton and I were very entertained haha.

The next morning we decided to make some easy chocolate chip cookies using cake mix for the girls to bring as a snack when they went to the splash park with Brooklyn's Mom. I'm pretty sure they ate more of it in dough form then when it was baked. I don't blame them though I love cookie dough!

moki

2009-08-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks after we came home from the mainland we bought a puppy. He is a mix of a Ridgeback and Akita. We bought him when he was just 8 weeks and was such a cute and cuddly little thing. He has grown like a weed and is so tall. When we bought him he weighed just under 10 pounds and no he is weighing over 35 and still growing haha. He has been such a good dog for us and is very protective. He is so good with the kids and they just love him to pieces. I have been taking him to obedience training and he is such a smart dog. After just 2 days of working with him he had learned sit, down (lay down), and shake. I am so glad that we got him. He has made my nights a little less lonely while Corey has been gone. and he definitely makes me feel more safe.

goobers

2009-08-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

These two always have so much fun together no matter what they are doing. This whole day they were playing so good together from the morning thru lunch where they got super crazy with their pizza until they passed out on the couch at the end of the day. I am so lucky to have such wonderful and loving kids!

faux hawk

2009-08-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

I just love Teyons faux hawk. And I love even more that when he sees me fixing my hair or Kayla's in the morning he will back his little butt into me while pulling on his hair until I style it for him lol. He is such a stud!

annual pass!

2009-08-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

One of the very first things we did when we came home was get an annual pass to the very beautiful Waimea Valley. We love going there. It is just so beautiful and peaceful.

last day in Utah :(

2009-08-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Utah we met at Dad's work to have some lunch. We were able to get everyone there except Jake, although he did come over the night before. Chris had to leave early for class so I didn't get a pic of him there. It was nice to have everyone together one last time to talk and laugh together. I miss everyone so much! Thank you all for making our trip so wonderful.

fun project

2009-08-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun putting this room together at my parents house. I just wish that I wasn't so a slow poke and finished it sooner than I did. I really liked having an ongoing project for most of the time that I was there. That way whenever I just needed to release my mind and think of nothing I would head in this room and work. Art does that to me and that is why I love it. I compare it to how Corey likes to escape sometimes to video games....well this is what I do, paint draw, create. I also loved that I was able to do this at a house that I know my kids and other kids will get use out of. Who knows when I will be able to do this to a house that we actually own...that may not be until grand kids come around if we keep moving around so much lol.

time with grandparents

2009-08-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Bastian took the kids to the pond to feed the ducks. They had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Just from looking at the pictures and videos and hearing Kayla's stories I can tell that they had a blast. Teyton was so cute trying to get up as close as he could to the ducks the little daredevil. And Kayla just loves anything that involves animals so she of course was in heaven the whole time.

Grandma Bastian was so nice and very brave I might add to take the kids to the zoo while I tried to organize and finish packing everything up before our flight home. I really wish that I could've gone but the kids still had so much fun. I have the best Mom! I know that these two can be a handful at times, she was really a lifesaver.

fun with the abbott's

2009-08-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun going to Classic Skating playing with the blow-up toys with the Abbott's. Bouncing on huge toys + loads of sugar = a ton of fun and a major energy crash for us all at the end of the day hahaha. We were lucky enough to be able to spend a few days over at the Abbott's house to spend some quality time before we headed back home. I just wish that I had remembered to pull out my camera to take more pictures. At least I remembered the last night lol. We all miss them so much and are so grateful for all the time they let us invade their space. ;)

25th Birthday

2009-08-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Kayla planned the best birthday for me. She took me to the food court for lunch and then we played at the indoor playground there with uncles and Grandma. Teyton and Kayla picked some flowers out in the backyard for me and helped Grandma decorate the house. Later that day Corey surprised me with a delivery of the most beautiful bouquet of wild flowers...my absolute favorite! :) Then we finished the night with some Chinese and a yummy cake that Kayla made and decorated herself. Such a fun and memorable birthday. It is nice to be loved by my kids and wonderful husband....and of course my brothers and Mom and Dad. I'm so glad that I was in town to celebrate with them.

happy fathers day to the best daddy in the world!

2009-06-21T00:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day! I cannot tell you how much I wish that you could be here so that we could shower our love all over you, pamper you, and give you a much needed and deserved break. Don't worry we will make it up to you I promise! We miss you so much! You are the best Daddy that anyone could ask for. You are our hero and we are so proud of you and all the sacrifices you make everyday. We love you tons and tons! MUAH!!!

swim time!

2009-06-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

I still have a lot of past events to post about and I was wanting to keep everything in order, but these were too cute to wait on. Last week we went to the pool with some friends. The little kiddie pool was shut down because the chlorine wasn't working so we had to swim in the big pool which doesn't get any more shallow than 5 ft. So I strapped on some life vests for the kids and we went swimming. Kayla loved it and didn't want to hang onto at all, Teyton on the other hand hated it, haha. He wanted to be in the water, but would freak out when he couldn't feel the ground beneath him, hahaha. When it was time to go home, the girls got a little distracted while taking off their life vests. They just couldn't help but dance to the music that the life guards were playing. I'm so glad I got it on video!

arizona

2009-05-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun going to Arizona, I only wish that my trip could've lasted longer. I haven't seen a lot of my cousins, uncles, aunts, and Grandma in 3-6+ years. It was really nice to be able to catch up with everyone. Hopefully next time it won't be such a long stretch of time.

Playing with Hendrix and Milabelle.

swimming with Lindsey and Amy with their kids; Liberty, Kallie, and Preston.

Having fun with cousins.

From top left clock wise: Uncle Frank and Aunt Diane who were nice enough to let us stay at their place, Grandma Willis, and Grandma Willis again (isn't she so pretty!), and My Aunt Janet who has just Graduated from college in Nursing!

Top left clockwise: Tait, Heidi and one of their boys, Aunt Claudia, Lindsey and her kids Kallie and Preston, and the last pic is of me with two of my cousins Lindsey and Amy.

Making bows with Lindsey and Amy, and eating lunch at Krazy Sub.

spring in utah

2009-05-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

I was such a pretty day outside that we just couldn't let it go to waste. Too bad it didn't stay nice and warm for long.

easter

2009-05-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun painting Easter eggs. This was the first year that we did hard boiled eggs. We started out with like 20 eggs and was only able to paint like 12 of them because most dropped on the floor during the coloring process. Kayla's were always accidents but after while Teyton thought that it was a very fun game. So with all of the cracked eggs we had egg sandwiches, hahaha. When it came to finding the eggs that the Easter bunny hid for them Teyton wanted nothing to do with it because the ground was too cold. The whole time he had a scowl on his face, lol. Kayla had lots of fun though picking up all of the eggs and the surprises that the Easter bunny had left everyone.

Later that day Jace and Andrew came over for dinner. We did an easy dinner so we could just hang out and have fun. They introduced me to the electronic game 20 Questions which was a lot of fun and also Scrabble the card game. Even though 1/2 of our family wasn't there to celebrate Easter we still had a lot of fun.

sri sri radha krishna temple

2009-05-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Kayla Teyton and I went to the Hindu Temple in Spanish Fork in the beginning of April to see all of the fun things they have. We actually went on a very cold day so all of the pretty birds were inside keeping warm. Maybe next year we will be able to catch them. We did get to feed the lama's and went on a tour. It was a lot of fun. Teyton just loved having the lama's eat from his hands. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. Kayla thought it was pretty neat too. She wouldn't let us leave until she had seen every last lama and they had eaten all of the apples that we brought for them, haha.

more at the park

2009-04-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post these clips of Teyton going down the slide. He has never gone down the slide by himself before without holding onto a hand or something.

fun at the park

2009-04-10T20:22:00.001-07:00

This is just a picture post. We went on a walk today and decided to take a break at the park. The kids had so much fun!

backyard fun!

2009-04-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Kayla and Teyton LOVE playing outside. So we have been really excited for the nice weather we have had the past couple days. Kayla wanted to dress up like a princess "because princesses love the springtime flowers" haha, she is my cutie! And Teyton really doesn't care what he plays as long as it is outside. It is so different for me because he totally entertains himself, where Kayla can't seem to have fun unless I am out there with her or other kids. But despite their differences, they are both the most beautiful kids ever! Look at those blue eyes!

So Kayla just pranced around the yard like a princess trying to avoid wild the Teyton man. He was having so much fun playing swords with himself. Actually I think that he was fighting someone because he was really getting into it. Then after he was finished playing he sat down the sword and waved/said bye-bye to his imaginary friend. Could he be anymore cute!?

easter pictures

2009-04-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

The kids got some Easter pictures taken at Target and they did a wonderful job as always. While we did it I thought that Kayla, Mom, and I would get a 3 generation picture taken.

my progress

2009-04-05T23:29:00.001-07:00

I am about half way to my goal weight. I see the scale moving but I haven't really felt like I look much different. So I decided to look at some pictures of me before and after losing the weight so far. It has made me feel a lot better.

st. patty's day

2009-03-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun putting together traps to catch us some leprechauns on St. Patricks day. Kayla was so animated about everything that we were doing. She could not wait to find a pot of gold. When I asked her what she would do with it she said she wants to put it in her piggy bank, haha. At least she is a saver! She woke up at 3:30 in the morning to go potty and saw that the leprechauns had come. She could not sleep after that and would try to convince me every five minutes that it was morning time. At about 8 am she was playing in the front room and it became really quiet so I went to check on her. She was dead asleep on the couch covered in candy wrappers, haha.

While Kayla was asleep Teyton was such a big helper with making breakfast. Kayla woke up and discovered that the leprechauns had turned all of our food green! I took her to the bathroom to wash up and when we came back those leprechauns had been at it again and spilt all of her green milk on the table and floor. Kayla was stunned. Teyton had a mischievous grin on his face. Apparently he was very close to catching a leprechaun. :) They loved their food and Kayla was convinced that it tasted even better green, haha.

After nap time we took a walk over to the University Mall and played in the tree house. They had so much fun. Teyton couldn't get enough of the slides, until he saw the giant globe in water. He would've jump right into the water if I would let him. He loves water and balls, combine them together and this boy was in heaven! Kayla just had fun running around being crazy and playing with all of the other kids at the play area. She is such a social butterfly!

corey's r and r

2009-03-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

We loved every minute of Corey being home for the past two weeks. It just went by too quickly. We were able to do a lot of fun things while he was here. I think that we were able to have more fun because we just kind of did what ever we wanted when we wanted. We didn't plan anything except for Disneyland and even then we left for that trip when we felt like it. It was so nice to just relax and have fun without having to worry about being anywhere or do anything. Just warning you that there are a lot of posts to look at from Corey being here, so I will understand if you just look at the pictures. ;)

disneyland!!!

2009-03-09T21:45:00.001-07:00

Our ride to Disneyland the first day was so much fun for both the kids. Every time Kayla heard anyone mention the word Disneyland she would start bouncing in her chair uncontrollably. Teyton would get really excited too but I don't think he knew what he was excited for. He was just having fun with his big sissy being crazy.

The first thing we had to do was have breakfast with Minnie and her friends. Teyton LOVED Winnie the Pooh. He would not stop smothering him with loves and kisses. Kayla's favorite was the Fairy Godmother. They were both a little scared when Captain Hook came around though, haha.

Kayla's favorite ride was the Tea Cups. Teyton loved all the rides. We couldn't go through the lines fast enough for him. They were both so cute to watch. Disneyland is much more fun when you go with two little kids.

Teyton seemed to sleep through everything except for the rides, so he didn't get to meet very many characters. But Frozone was nice enough to ask to have his picture taken with Teyton sleeping. We are kind of thinking that this guy knew Corey because he seemed to recognize him. We came back around his way a couple hours after this picture was taken and he reached around a group of people to tap Corey on the shoulder as we passed by. Too bad they can't talk so we could've found out who his secret identity was. ;) Kayla got to see her favorite princess Aurora. She was so happy after seeing all of the princesses. She looked like she was in heaven the whole time.

These bumper cars were the only ride that we weren't able to take Teyton on. He was not happy about that at all. The entire ride he was doing everything in his power to get over the wall blocking him from these fun cars. At one point he got his foot caught in a trash bin, haha. He is one determined little man!

The kids had so much fun the three days that we were there. You'd think that they would be sick of it after so much. But since we have left Kayla has been trying to talk me into going back. She has even tried to bribe me a couple of times, haha. She said "Mommy I have a secret, we will wake up and then we will go to Disneyland and it will be so much fun!" I told her that it would be awhile before we will be able to go back. That didn't stop her though. She said, "But I will give you $100." I told her that we will go if she gives me $100. She thought for awhile and said, "First we go to Disneyland, then I'll give you $100." I don't know where she got the idea of bribery from, haha. It sure was cute though.

playing with daddy

2009-03-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Kayla and Teyton have so much fun with their Daddy. I came upstairs after getting ready for the day to Kayla riding on Buddie and Teyton being flipped around over and over again by Corey. He will never get tired of that game.

Kayla wanted to take her Daddy to see the fishy's. She had a lot of fun showing him around and looking at all the cool fish and other things. I don't think Kayla or Teyton will ever get tired of that place.

our date

2009-03-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Corey and I had such a fun time on our date. We were trying to celebrate both our Birthdays and our Anniversary all at once.

First we went to see Twilight at the Dollar Theater. Corey had read all the books while he was in Iraq and one of his friends bought a bootleg version of the movie that he watched there, but it wasn't very good quality obviously being bootleg, haha.

We stayed the night at the Anniversary Inn which was just beautiful. We would never be able to afford to stay in the room that we got, but they do a special for soldiers who are going to be deployed, have come home from a deployment, or are on their R and R during a deployment....$99 for any room! So we booked the most expensive room they had, haha. It was so nice!

The next day we went to do some indoor skydiving at iFLY. It was so much fun! We were really bummed that our video didn't workout for us. We did get compensated, but the first video would've been so much more fun than the one we ended up with. We did get a lot of great pics though!

Last we went to eat at the Mayan. Corey had never been there before. It was nice to have dinner and a show. This was definitely the funnest date we have ever been on!

iFLY

2009-03-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

After Corey and I had finished our date we went to watch our video to see how we looked at iFLY. We were so bummed that the DVD didn't work. We called them up expecting them to have kept the flight video for the day and just burn us another DVD but they don't keep those things. So they told us to come in for another session for free! We had to bring the kids along with us and Kayla kept begging us to let her fly too. So we let her. She was so stinkin cute as you can see! The way that it works is that you get two minutes in the tunnel, one minute at a time. They give you a chance to rest in between. Believe me you need it the first few times. But Kayla would only do it for the first minute. The second minute she had a death grip on her trainer. He tried to pry her off of him but was unsuccessful, haha. She did better than I thought. I thought that she would only make it for the first 30 sec. But she says that she loved it and actually when she was looking at the pictures the other day she asked if she could fly again. We'll have to try it again the next time we are in town.

applebee's

2009-03-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are most of the boy's. We really missed everyone who wasn't able to come.

We were lucky enough to get together with some of Corey's friends. We met up at Applebee's and had such a fun time talking and catching up with everyone's lives. We only wish that he could've been here longer to be able to see everyone.

swimming

2009-03-09T20:53:00.001-07:00

We went to play at the Clearfield Aquatic Center a couple of times while Corey was here. The kids really loved it. They have really changed the place since I have been there last. Teyton just loved to hang onto his Daddy's shoulders while he walked around the deeper parts of the pool, and Kayla loved to be chased around by the "Daddy shark".

last days

2009-03-09T20:43:00.001-07:00

When Corey got here we figured out the dates that he would be here so that we could do all of our planning to fit things in to the 2 weeks. Well on Saturday morning we were all emotional that Corey was leaving again. After I had dropped him off at the Airport and was heading back to Orem I got a phone call from Corey telling me that we had figured the dates wrong and he had an extra day with us! I didn't have my camera along with us for our real last day, but we had a lot of fun. It made it easier to send him back to the Airport on Sunday because we got to say our goodbyes twice. For our bonus day we went to Nicklecade and then took the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Bastian to see Bolt. We miss him so much already and hope that these next 8 months fly by.

funny things kayla says

2009-02-13T19:18:00.001-08:00

Kayla has said some of the cutest things the past few days. The other day we were walking through the mall and we past by the Cologne section of a department store. She looked at an advertisement for Acqua Di Gio And said "Wow! He is so cute!"

We were planing to go to SLC and I ask Kayla if she wanted to go on the Trax. Kayla said "The Tracks? But then the train would run me over and I would get a boo-boo on my knee!" I guess that I should be a little more specific next time. :)

Kayla has really been missing the warm weather and has made a couple of comments about it. "Where is the spring? The winter needs to turn off and then spring will come on." and my favorite she said today while we were running some errands, "The snow factory is broken Mommy, now it can be spring again." me: "The snow factory is broken? Who broke it?" Kayla: "I did cause I was tired of the snow!"

She is such a clever girl and says things that I never expect her to day everyday. I need to start writing them down more! :)

Happy Anniversary!

2009-02-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

(Sorry, I don't have any pictures of Corey and I together with me. They are on my computer at home.)

February 13th, 2004 Corey and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple. These past 5 years have gone by so quickly but at the same time I feel like Corey has always been in my life. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

the living planet aquarium

2009-02-02T11:10:00.001-08:00

A few days ago we went to the aquarium with Grandma Bastian, Jace and Andrew. It was so much fun! Kayla and Teyon both love to look at fish so much. I actually decided to get an annual pass because it was just like buying two tickets. So I figure this way we can go as much as we'd like and not have to worry about breaking the bank. Kayla has asked me mulitiple times everyday if we can go back to play with the fish.

They had a pool where you can stick your hand in and pet the manta rays. That was Teyton's favorite part. If we would've let him he would have jumped right in the pool with them. They had so many beautiful things to look at. I am so fascinated by coral so that was my favorite to look at. Kayla like driving the little boat that they had set up for the kids in the marshlands and the upside down jellyfish, which I have to admit were pretty cool also.

When we were packing the kids up in the car to go home I realized that Kayla hadn't taken a potty break in awhile so I went to take her back inside. When I got out of the car I realized that Corey's parents were parked right behind us so after the potty break we took a sweep of the place and found them to say a quick hello. Kayla was very excited to see them and for a minute she thought that we were going to go around and look at everything again, haha.

fun with the bradshaws

2009-02-02T09:39:00.001-08:00

Last week Matt and Becky came over to the house so that Rachael and Kayla could play together. When they first met at our family get together they were immediately inseparable. They have so much fun together and everyday since Rachael left Kayla has been begging to play with her again and again and again. Good thing they live close by!

cuties!

2009-02-01T14:32:00.001-08:00

These two just crack me up! They have so much fun together. I caught Teyton scratching Kayla's back and she way so relaxed, it looked like she was going to fall asleep on that horse! Kayla has loved playing with grandmas makeup and as you can see she loves putting on lipstick! Of course she always chooses to put on the bright red lipstick, the hardest color to get off of such fair skin, haha. Good thing she is so cute! Teyton just loves to play with this little driving interactive toy. He loves to hear the throttle go and will turn the little radio station and sway to the music while he "drives".

tagged

2009-02-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Breanne to list 6 random things about myself.

1. When I am bored I click my tongue on the roof of my mouth. I actually never realized that I did this until meeting Corey. I think that it bothers him. But when he is bored he wiggles his legs like crazy, so it evens out in the end. ;)

2. I love spa treatments, but can't afford to go to the spa as often as I would like so I do a lot of spa things at home. Since I've been in Utah my brothers have commented that I always have something weird on my feet or face, haha. (They work and are at school during the day so they only really see me at night). I tell them that it is the price of being a girl. And the price of being a boy is that you have to looks at us. ;)

3. I hate having anyone step on my feet. It is the most annoying thing to me. The funny thing is that both of my kids love to use my feet as a means to get up on my lap. It drives me crazy! I don't mind if they crawl all over me, just leave my feet alone.

4. I have to have noise on when I am in the house. It makes me uncomfortable to be in a quite house. So I'll turn on the radio or TV and not even watch it just so that there isn't nothingness in the house. If there isn't a TV or radio around then I find myself humming. I think that Kayla has picked up this trait.

5. I can't remember the last time that I have actually sat down and watch a movie the whole way through (outside of the theater). It takes me 3 or 4 times to finish a movie that I start. I have a hard time sitting down and not doing anything except staring at the television. Even if I am really interested in the movie I just can't do it and I don't know why.

6. I am so scared of any spider that is bigger than a nickel. It is a real problem for me. I seriously don't know what I'd do if a spider came in the house and I was the one who had to take care of it. When we lived in Oklahoma this huge spider was crawling across our wall and I completely froze. Corey was at work and I didn't know anyone in the neighborhood who was home so I called up Corey in tears because I didn't know what to do...yes it's that bad, haha.

So now I tag Mandy, Annemarie, Keri, Libby and Aleca.

super hero training

2009-01-31T22:35:00.001-08:00

The past two weeks at gymnastics Kayla has done Super Hero Training and this week they graduated. It was so cute after the day was done they put on some capes and did a fly by around the room.

Kayla has been learning lots of fun things. Her favorite part of Super Hero Training was the trampoline of course. Right now they are working on holding themselves up on the bar, somersaults (backwards and forwards), cartwheels, and the balance beam. She has a long way to go because the poor girl has inherited my clumsiness and poor balance, haha. But that doesn't stop her from trying her hardest and having tons of fun in the process!

uncle jake's

2009-01-31T22:02:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of fun playing at Uncle Jake's house. He is one of the few people who can play rough enough for Teyton. Jake had him at the first head bonk, haha. I have to say that I need to have Uncles around more often to wear out my kids. They are always so exhausted when the day is over and sleep so hard the next night.

The kids had lots of fun playing with Taz and Booger. And I am happy to say that there were no incidents with the animals this time. Last time we were there Kayla was clipped by Booger when he was running to catch his ball and she did a flip in the air and face planted it in the snow. Thank goodness there was snow on the ground to break her fall. He didn't even hit her that hard, but she is so petite and he is such a big dog that she didn't stand a chance.

This time we played with blocks and Jake introduced Kayla to Mouse Trap. I don't think that she was able to fully appreciate the game because Teyton was always setting off the trap before it was time or stealing the balls, haha.

chairs

2009-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Teyton is such a mischief maker and loves to climb. The very first day we got here he started moving chairs around the house and standing on them for who know what reason, maybe to get a better vantage point to escape, haha. Well that wore off quickly so he moved onto using the chairs to get on top of the table. He gets up there every chance that he gets and will just dance and scream on top of the table, haha. It is funny but scares me to death because this kid has no fear. Well it got really old taking him down from the table every two seconds, so we now have to stack the chairs on top of the table to keep Teyton from killing himself. He is too smart for his own good though. when he saw that I did this he started pulling pillows and stacking them up to try and climb up that way, haha. Luckily he didn't succeed, but he seems to have some sort of radar. Every time someone accidentally leaves down a chair he is there within second to take full advantage of it!

gymnastics

2009-01-31T20:48:00.001-08:00

Kayla had been aching for some extra-curricular activity so I signed her up for a gymnastics class and I am so glad that I did! I love this class and I will be so sad to leave it in April. The first week they did Trains, Planes and Automobile Training. Kayla had so much fun and I have never seen her play so hard. She fell asleep on the car ride home and it wasn't anywhere near her nap time, haha. She has already learned so much and loves the interaction with the other kids. I just wish that they had a class that Teyton could be in because he would have a blast too!

jace and andrew

2009-01-31T20:15:00.001-08:00

I can finally put together my pages. Thankfully Brian helped me out or I don't think that it would've ever work. I have come to a decision that I don't like Macs and they don't like me either, haha.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Jace and Andrew's house in SLC. The kids had so much fun there and LOVED playing with their two pugs Bella and Beauty. They are so fun to watch and I think that Beauty has finally met someone who can wear her down because Kayla was playing hard with her.

I was able to see all of the changes that they had made with the house since I had seen it last, mainly the outside and I wish that I would've thought to take pictures but I'll have to remember to next time. I love going there, it makes me want to buy a house and fix it up myself...I'd probably be singing a different tune when it actually happens though, haha. It is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time.

When it was time for us to go Kayla said that she wanted to stay there forever, haha. She had so much fun and Teyton did to. They were asleep in the car the minute we drove away from the house.

american idol

2009-01-29T22:08:00.000-08:00

I actually have a lot to post about but I am have had some technical difficulties with my camera and and now that I figured that out I am having issues with the computer program that I use for my pages. So I thought that I would post about one of Corey good High School friends who made an appearance on American Idol yesterday, Chris Kirkham. If any of you watch American Idol than you probably remember him and Greg the pink rabbit, haha. I got this off of his blog because I thought that Corey would be more likely to see it here right away since he doesn't get a whole lot of computer time. I hope that you don't mind Chris.

Corey, Chris and another friend Blair use to jam together and had a band called, Can We Be Franc?. They didn't like him so much but I thought that he did a great job! I loved the whole thing, it was so funny!

happy birthday corey!

2009-01-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Corey! I know that the post date says the 14th but it is the evening here which means that it is the morning of your birthday where you are. I wish that we could be together on your special day. I have loved every moment that we have been able to share together. We both know that it hasn't always been easy, but that is what makes our life together so special. We have been together for such a short amount of time but have experienced and been through more than some people have in a lifetime, and more importantly we have survived ;) haha. You have been my rock through the hard times and are always able to make me smile and laugh even when you aren't here. Since you are turning 27 I thought that I would list 27 things that I love about you. They aren't in any particular order.

1. Your smile
2. Your unique eye's (for those of you who don't know this he has one blue eye and one hazel eye)
3. You will do whatever it takes to take care of our family
4. You are the best daddy in the world
5. Your voice
6. Your love for learning new things
7. Your incredible knowledge of the gospel and love of the Lord
8. You are headstrong (that may surprise you, but I do love that about you)
9. When someone tells you that you can't do something you never give up and prove them wrong
10. I love that you play the guitar
11. You make me feel like I am the most important person in the world
12. You're easy to tease
13. You tease me back
14. Your laugh
15. The sound of your voice
16. You support me in anything and everything that I want to do
17. You help me with my silly projects even though I'm sure you would rather be doing something else.
18. You are the hardest worker
19. Your integrity
20. You are not afraid to stand up for what you believe in no matter what
21. Your kisses
22. Your touch
23. I feel safe when you are near
24. You always make time for the kids even when you are exhausted
25. You spoil me
26. Your obsession with Halloween :)
27. Your outgoing personality

I could keep going but I don't want to make a novel out of this post. Corey I am so grateful that you were brought into my life. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without you in it. Thank you for letting me be a part of you.

snow day!

2009-01-09T20:17:00.001-08:00

I love the look on Teyton's face here. "You have got to be kidding me Mom!":)

We had so much fun playing in the snow the other day. Well I should say that Kayla, Brian (my brother), and I had fun in the snow. Teyton hates the snow! Actually he hates everything about the cold here. He hates wearing clothes and shoes and especially coats, lol! You'd think that he lives in Hawaii or something ;) So all of the layers of clothing that it takes to play out in the snow was pure torture for him, haha. The only way we got him to be happy outside was if he was on top of someone. Maybe the next winter we are here he will appreciate the snow a little better. Kayla had a blast though. We had a snow ball fight and made snow angels. She and her uncles made a snowman about a week ago which had been melting, but we got a bunch of new snow the other day which made our snowman turn into a snow-lady. Kayla thought that that was pretty neat. :)

baby shower

2009-01-09T20:07:00.001-08:00

I was lucky enough to be in town right at the end of one of my very good friends pregnancy! Me and my friend Chrystal threw the shower for her and it was so fun! I have literally missed every single one of my friends weddings and births of their children...except Britney's. I have amazingly made it to her wedding and now for her first baby. I was joking with her that she just really plans her major events around my coming in town. ;) It was so good to see all of my friends again. Some of them I haven't seen in about 5 years!

birthday parties

2009-01-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Presents at the Bastian house.

Kayla picked out the Birthday cake herself and it it had to be the cake with big pink and blue flowers. She picked it over the princess cake which surprised me since she dressed in princess clothes all day and even in to the night with her princess jammies. :)

Kayla wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, but since that is a little pricey we faked it by eating the pizza at home and then going to the Nickelcade where everyone had so much fun. Everyone was so nice and gave her all of their tokens so she really cleaned out the place. Her favorite prize was her "makeup" which was really just lip gloss, but that hasn't stopped her from putting it all over her face, haha.

Presents at the Abbott house.

This time she wanted to make the cake herself so we went to the store and she picked out the rainbow chip cake with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. She had so much fun decorating it and writing out the number four in candles and also making a little heart out of the candles on her cake. After the cake we watched Horton Hears a Who.

our christmas

2009-01-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

This has taken me too long to post but better late than never. :) We had such a fun Christmas with our family. We spent Christmas Eve and the early part of Christmas morning with my side of the family. And then we spent Christmas day with Corey's side. Kayla and Teyton were spoiled rotten by everyone! They had so much fun. Kayla helped me make the Christmas Eve dinner and had fun making the turkey talk and gave it a good rub after I "was being mean to it" according to Kayla, haha! As she rubbed butter on it she was saying "oh, that feels better. Rub rub rub now you will taste so yummy!" she cracks me up! While it was cooking we all had fun making Gingerbread houses, Christmas cookies for Santa (actually they were cheerio crispy treats with strawberry marshmallows - Kayla's choice) and then we made some special magical reindeer food so that the the reindeer and Santa would be able to find us since we weren't at home. Kayla was very happy that it worked. Teyton and Kayla had so much fun and played so hard that they fell right to sleep as soon as they hit the pillow. We actually had to wake them up in the morning to open presents, haha!

When we got to the Abbott's Kayla helped Grandma Abbott with the food and Teyton had fun playing with Buddie. Kayla was so excited to open more presents and was being so patient. We told her that she couldn't open them until Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Chris came. So she became the best greeter for everyone that came just waiting for them to come. :) Although she had to wait a bit longer than that, we had to eat first. She was the first one finished and could hardly contain herself while she waited for everyone else. Both of the kids were spoiled again by everyone. I think that her favorite gift was her Cinderella purse because after she opened it she went around to everyone asking for money to put inside it, haha! She actually made off pretty well. I think that she had somewhere around $8 in change, lol! Good thing she is so cute. Teyton slept most of the time because he was still kind of sick. It took him while to warm up to everyone but he took to Buddie (our dog) right away! I think that they have become the best of friends. He is such a good dog and we miss having him around. It was so good to be able to see everyone again. We have missed living close to family.

happy birthday kayla!

2008-12-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Kayla! I cannot believe that you are already four years old! You have been such a joy in my life. My best friend who is always there to give me a hug or make me laugh no matter how my day has gone.

McKayla has a love for all animals. Everyone who meets her is immediately taken over by her smile, personality and overall charm. She loves to dance and sing and is very good at making up little songs for whatever mood she may be in at the time. She is the best big sister to Teyton and showers him with her attention and love. Her favorite things to eat are Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets with corn and thanks to Corey she LOVES Dr. Pepper, haha. Her favorite places to go are the beach to hunt for sea shells and the arcade.

I love you so much McKayla and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures this next year will bring us!

getting ready for christmas

2008-12-28T15:21:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Bastian were very nice and let Kayla make fun decorations for the Christmas tree and then Teyton helped her put them up.

Teyton and Kayla got so sick the first week that we were her. We had to make a couple trips to the doctors office, they caught one nasty virus that passed on to everyone in my family. It was not a very fun few days in the Bastian home. Kayla and Teyton got it the worst and Teyton is actually still getting over it. They were so miserable. Kayla was not happy that I wouldn't let her play out in the snow. I caught her standing by the window singing a song that she made up about how she couldn't play in the snow. It just broke my heart.

we're here

2008-12-28T14:36:00.000-08:00

We are finally here in Utah! We arrived on Thursday the 18th of Dec. and things have been so crazy so I've been a little behind on posting. The day that we arrived is all a blur to me because I got little to no sleep on the plane ride. We had a red eye flight and thankfully both of the kids slept the entire time. Everyone who has watched our kids have commented on how well Kayla and Teyton sleep. There is one catch to that though....they don't liked to be touched at ALL while they sleep. So it was a little tricky for me on the plane. Kayla decided to sleep on the floor so I made her a little bed out of some pillows and blankets so that left Teyton the seat right next to me for him to sleep on. He likes to sleep sprawled out on his back so he kept kicking my legs away from him so I squished as far over as was physically possible. Then Kayla started kicking at my feet because they were too close to her so I had my feet in the isle. As you can imagine this was not very comfortable and for a good part of the fight I just decided to stand. I do have to say that I would gladly sacrifice my comfort for these two kids to sleep so that I didn't have to deal with them being up and cranky all night, haha. At least I was able to sleep when I got to my parents house. :)

When we arrived Kayla was sooo excited that there was so much snow everywhere. The first thing she did was put on her winter gear and played in the snow with Grandma Bastian and some of her uncles. She had a so much fun making snow angels, having snowball fights, and being pulled around on a sled! Teyton was a little cranky still and was unsure about all of these new people so he played inside with Grandpa who was the first to win Teyton's heart. It is very easy to love Grandpa. He kind of looks big and scary at first but once Teyton got to playing with him he saw how fun he really is.

kisses

2008-12-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

So I don't have any pictures to show this because my camera broke half way through Kayla's party and I won't be able to get it fixed until I am in Utah because apparently here in Hawaii we have to ship the camera to the mainland to get it fixed. So I figure it will take less time if I just take it to the Best Buy in Utah to be fixed.

Anywho, Teyton has been such a little ladies man lately. Any time he sees a little baby girl he does everything in his power to get to her. He actually gets quite forceful and it kind of scares me because he can be really rough. But when he finally gets to the baby girl of choice he is just so gentle and coos and gives lots and lots and LOTS of kisses and hugs. I think that he attacked just about every little girl in our ward on Sunday.

He has also learned how to blow kisses. It is just so cute. His favorite time to do it is after I lay him down for bed or a nap. He will say "ni ni" and then blow me a kiss and then he will giggle at himself, haha. He just thinks that it is the neatest thing to do.

kayla's pre-b-day party

2008-12-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

McKayla had so much fun for her Pre-Birthday party. I had promised her when we moved here that she could have a friend birthday party this year. So we sent out the invites not expecting to get too many RSVPs because it had been really bad weather that week and the holidays are just around the corner. We ended up having 8 kids that RSVPed and 17 kids that showed up to the party....yikes! I was not prepared for so many little 4 and 5 year olds running around. I would've rented a building and recruited some of my friends to help out. It turned out to be a lot of fun though and I did get a lot of help from the parents that came. We were able to take the party outside for the pinata but right after we were finished, the rain started up again and was going all the way up into our car port, haha. I had a couple of fathers who helped me with the barbecue and right after the food was served they were out of there. :) I'll admit that it was a bit of a mad house...but the whole point was for Kayla to have a good time and she had a riot! Teyton had a lot of fun too. At first he was a little overwhelmed with all of the people that were in our house, but after he saw all the kids playing with toys he was in heaven! First we played pin the tail on the donkey then ate lunch and did presents. After presents we went outside to break the pinata and as you can see in the picture Kayla was giving it her all to break that thing, lol! I let her have a couple extra swings since it was her special day. It took for ever for that thing to break, we had to help it along. After the head came off and still no candy fell we just ripped it apart. After that we went inside to sing Happy Birthday and eat the cake. Kayla was so sweet and told everyone thank you for coming and made sure to tell everyone Happy Birthday when they left, haha. I love that little girl so much.

rain!

2008-12-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

The past few days here have been sooo rainy! Not just your everyday bad weather but seriously some hard rain. A few days ago I was pretty much stuck in my housing area because there was so much flooding going on. The street that leads up to our gate was covered in at least 2 feet of water. A lot of places were shut down because of the rain and even into the next day because the buildings were flooded. I don't have any good pics to show how much rain there really was because our house has pretty good drains right in our back yard. Kayla looked out the window and saw the drain out back and said, "look mommy a waterfall!" haha. A guy in our ward said that he left for work early in the morning to try and go to work but was unsuccessful because traffic was either being stopped or redirected so when he turned around to go home he couldn't get back to his house because the road to his house was blocked off. There were a lot of stranded people that day.

fire safety

2008-12-15T00:09:00.001-08:00

Kayla's class had a fire safety week and they were able to take a field trip to the local fire station. McKayla LOVED it! She is now always talking about what she learned and I am amazed at how much she remembers. We were walking by the station house a couple days later and she just had so much to tell me about why we have fire stations and fire men, what everything does, and what we need to do if there is a fire or if we are in trouble. It was so cute! She is such a little sponge.

santa at school

2008-12-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today when I dropped Kayla off at school we saw that Santa had come to visit the school. I had to run home and grab my camera so I could get some pictures Lucky for me we live just down the street. Kayla was so funny she would not let Santa out of her sight. He gave all the kids a fun little coloring/activity book. I even got a chance to snap a picture of Teyton in his lap. I caught him right before he started to cry, but as you can see he didn't want anything to do with Santa. Maybe next year he will warm up to Santa when he understands who he is and what he does.

car wash

2008-12-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Kayla and her friends helped me wash our van. They had a lot of fun and I have to say that I have never heard a bunch of kids arguing about helping out with chore so much, haha. It was really nice to have so many helping hands. After we were finished and I was drying off the van I glanced over and the girls were playing in the dirty gutter water, yuk! Oh well at least they had fun. We had to give her a really good bath before bed, she was sooo dirty.

always smiling

2008-12-10T01:14:00.001-08:00

This little guy is always happy. Even when he has just woken up he has a big smile on his face. I love, love, LOVE my little man!

dance recital

2008-12-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

Kayla finally had her dance recital that she has been looking forward to. She was so cute up there dancing like such a little princess. For the most part she kind of did her own little dance. But she was still so cute. While we were waiting for her turn we watched all of the other performances and there was a bunch of kids that were singing solo's. Kayla kept asking when it would be her turn to go up there and sing. :) I guess that we should try and find a singing group for her in the summer.

After the recital was over we changed her out of her costume and let her do all of the fun activities that were going on. She made a beautiful Christmas picture for her daddy and a little gingerbread house for herself to eat at home. It was so fun to watch her put everything together it was like she was in her own little world. Then she played for awhile in one of the bounce houses. We tried to find Santa for her to see again, but we weren't successful. We did however find the Christmas Frog, haha. Kayla thought that was pretty neat so she talked to him for a little while. Teyton was at home being babysat because all of this was right during his nap time and I wanted to make sure that I got her dancing on tape and be able to take lots of pictures for Corey.

decorating with friends

2008-12-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

We were at a friends house the other night. Kayla's friend McKale wanted her to help him decorate their Christmas tree. They are so cute together and apparently he is her new "boyfriend". We're going to have to keep a close eye on these two. ;) I guess that there has been some kissing going on during primary, haha. She is starting early...good thing Corey isn't here to see it!

santa

2008-12-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

The other day we went to the library to go see Santa. While we were waiting Kayla and Teyton had lots of fun doing some Christmas coloring pages. After they were finished coloring Kayla watched a movie that was playing for the kids, and Teyton had fun walking around exploring the library.

Kayla could hardly contain herself when it was her turn to sit with Santa. She was very specific with what she wanted for Christmas. She asked for a pink My Little Pony with wings and diamond sparkles on the legs. I guess that Santa has his work cut out for him this year haha. Teyton sat in Santa's lap for a little bit and was checking him out but when he saw me back away to take a picture he freaked. So our little camera girl Kayla took a picture of Teyton, me and Santa. When we were talking to him I have to admit that Santa looked very familiar. And it seemed that he thought the same thing because he asked us if we had come by earlier, and then switched back into Santa mode when I said no and said it must have been last year when we talked to him. :) The next day was my Weight Watchers meeting and it seems that Santa is in my group. I don't know what we will do with a skinny Santa next year, haha.

singing

2008-12-02T01:51:00.000-08:00

These two just love singing! And once I pulled out Kayla's Hannah Montana microphone (it is suppose to go with her costume for next halloween) for them to play with they just got more and more dramatic, haha.

car trouble

2008-11-30T23:26:00.000-08:00

It seems that since Corey left everything that can go wrong has and I'm sure that more bad luck is one the way...but on the positive side it has really helped me grow in the long run. I guess that sometime bad things have to happen to gain experience right? Haha, I guess that I'm in need of a lot of experience!

The other day I was out to pick up a phone and a couple of other items that should've only taken me 30 minute to finish. When we went to the car and I loaded the kids and everything else in, I went to start the car and it wouldn't start at all...not even a little turn. So I grabbed some random guy in the parking lot and asked if he could help me out. Well he didn't have a car to jump me but he looked under the hood to make sure that it was my battery that needed the help. When he looked under the hood the little metal thing that connects the battery to the tubing, haha you can tell by just reading this that I have no idea what I am talking about. Anyway it was super corroded. So I called my roadside assistance because I didn't want to wait around to try and find someone else to help me out (I was parked way in the back of the parking lot to avoid all of the Christmas shoppers).

So as I was waiting for the roadside assistance people to call me back and let me know if someone would be able to come and help me out (because I was on a military instillation and she wasn't sure if she could find anyone who could go on base) I looked over and realized that one of my friends in the ward was parked right next to me. So I asked her if she could give me a jump. Well as we were cleaning the gross stuff off of the battery we saw that it was completely snapped in half! Finally after a couple hours of waiting, the people came to try and fix my car. After they fiddled with it for about another hour or so there was no result. Well luckily my friend knew more about cars than I do and she not only offered to keep my kids her her nice air conditioned car during this long process but also to go and get the part so we could fix it. While she was gone some other random guy came and helped to jump start my van (I wanted it jumped just in case Kellie wasn't able to find the part that I needed) luckily he knew what he was doing because he was a mechanic. So he told me what I needed to do and continue to do so this doesn't happen again. I guess that this is a normal thing to happen with the lovely humidity here.

When Kelly came back with the part we cleaned everything off as well as we could with what we had and tried to fix it, but we just didn't have enough muscle to get the bolt to budge. So she had to jump start me again. Kellie took my kids home with her so they could nap, and I headed off to Checker to see if they could help me out. By this time it was too late to go to the Dodge Dealership to have them fix it for me. The whole way there I was just praying that I would be able to make it to the store in one piece and that someone would be able to help me out. Well I talked to the guy at the counter and he said that they weren't allowed to touch the vehicle because of all the sue happy people in America but he could let me borrow the tools needed to fix it. Lol that's a good one I was thinking. If I tried to touch it I would most definitely make it much worse! So as I was panicking I turned and noticed that Oliver (another friend from church) was standing at the counter. Thank heavens is what I was thinking so I asked him if he could help me out. Well he did, and did a wonderful job! After all was said and done it took about 6 hours to get my car fixed and thankfully the parts only cost like $5! I was very blessed that day with a lot of help from friends who seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

our thanksgiving

2008-11-30T20:29:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of fun on Thanksgiving Day eating over at the Gibsons. The dinner was so yummy! I think that I was full until dinner the next day, haha. Kayla and Teyton always have a blast whenever we are over there hanging out and are very sad when it is time to leave. Kayla usually cries because her friends aren't coming home with us to play some more, haha. Kayla said that her favorite part of the day was coloring turkey hands and reading the princess story. Teyton really like the fake fruit under the coffee table, but I'm sure that his very favorite part was hands down playing with Calvin. He was so funny to watch. I think that they did a good job at entertaining each other. Teyton could've thrown the ball for the dog all night long if I would've let him. Here is a little clip of Teyton and Calvin playing with the ball.

playing hooky

2008-11-26T17:40:00.000-08:00

Kayla has been having a really hard time the past week or so with her Daddy being gone. She is having major separation anxiety and is soooo clingy to me lately. I really don't mind it and I completely understand why...I just feel so bad that there is nothing I can do to make her not miss Daddy anymore. She normally just LOVES going to both Primary and Preschool but lately she just cries and cries when it is time to go and wants me to sit with her and has to at least give me dozen kisses and hugs before it is okay for me to go. And as the days have gone by it seems like it is just getting worse and worse. On Monday she had an accident at school which NEVER happens. This little girl is super good at going to the potty when she needs to go....except when daddy is gone for a long time. We actually went through this when he was at AIT and NTC. So when I picked her up and went to the car we had a little talk and when I asked if it was because she missed her Daddy, she just broke down in tears and said that we needed to bring him back home. I felt so bad and all I could do is comfort her and tell her that everything will be okay (while trying to include the lesson of not wetting her pants). Well the next day she would not let me leave her at school. So I told her that I would spend the day at school with her, but I needed to get a babysitter for Teyton first and also run to the Clinic to get my immunization record (they require that here to make sure that we have had our TB test) Well when I got there the computers were down so they couldn't print it off or even view my records. So I decided that since I already had a babysitter for Teyton I would just check Kayla out of school and we would have a fun Mommy Daughter day. She was so excited so I asked her what she wanted to do. She said that she wanted to see WALL-E, but since that isn't out anymore I told her that we could see a different movie. So she had decided on Bolt and as we were waiting for the ticket booth to open up we went to a store nearby to get her some candy to munch on. As we were coming back she saw the arcade that was next door and decided that she wanted to play there instead. So she had lots of fun riding the merry-go-round and playing the games and won some cute little prizes (everything that she picked out had to be pink) and then we went to get some food and finished our day off by eating pie at Ted's Bakery (they make the best pies on the island!), she wanted the strawberry guava and I got the chocolate haupia. She was so happy and exhausted by the end of our morning that she past out on the car ride home. And I am happy to say that today when I dropped her off at school we had zero problems. I guess that we will have to make our girls day regular thing. It may not make her miss her daddy any less, but it will help her take her mind off of it. I also made sure to put up a picture in her room of her hugging Corey right where she can see it everyday when she get ready for the day and for bedtime. She was very excited about that when she came home from school today.

new style

2008-11-25T00:45:00.000-08:00

So I know that I have been telling everyone that I have been waiting to cut my hair off until the winter is over so I don't freeze to death in Utah. And I was really planing on it. But today I just couldn't take it anymore. I have been getting so many headaches lately because my head is so heavy with all of my long thick hair so I was just going to thin it out and add some layers to lighten it a little. Well for the past week now I have had both Teyton and Kayla pulling my hair constantly. Neither one of them are trying to hurt me. Kayla is just trying to be like mommy fixing my hair and Teyton loves to run his little fingers through it but it seems that they are getting rougher and rougher with my head as the days go by, haha. And today I just snapped after they were taking turns pulling my braids and whipping them around...so I chopped it all off. I did save my hair to donate it to Locks of Love though. The total amount I chopped off is 14"! Can you believe that my hair was that long! I actually didn't know that until just now when I measured it, haha. I know that Corey is probably mad that I didn't cut if off while he was still here. He has been bugging me for awhile about cutting my hair like it was on our wedding day, but like I said I had been planning on leaving it long until the spring. Oh well, sorry Corey.

scrapbooking

2008-11-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

So I thought that I would let you all in on how I make my pages for this blog. I have told some of you, but not all. So the main program that I use is the Scrapbook Factory Deluxe which you can buy online or at most computer stores for around $40. On top of that I go to some sites online that have very cute free downloads of paper, ribbon, other embellishment, lettering and even fonts. You will need some sort of a program to be ablr to put them together. I actually just discovered a site today that will give you a free download of their scrap booking program already loaded with all sorts of good stuff (they also give you an option to have them mail you a CD for backup purposes which is free also, you just have to pay for shipping and handling). It is www.scrapbookflair.com and they have tons of cute things. I don't personally love the pages that they have pre-made, but I really like the papers and embellishment individually. The other site that I LOVE (it is probably my favorite) is www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com they also have a tons of free downloads and I really like the fact that they also have free tutorials for Photoshop (if you have that program). They also offer pages and embellishments that you can purchase at extremely affordable prices and they will download to your computer right away. You can also google free digital scrap booking to see if there are any other sites that you prefer, but you have to be careful. Some of these sites aren't really free, you have to pay an annual fee or commit to something, which you may not mind...but just in case. But these two sites that I listed are totally free (other than what I mentioned about the freedigitalscrapbooking.com above).

I hope that this helps everyone out and if you need help figuring anything out you can give me a call or email me and I can help you. This is one of the things that I can actually figure out when it comes to computers, haha. It does take time to put the pages together just like regular scrap booking does...unless you download the pre-made pages and then just click and paste the photos that you want on. Here is a sample of the kind of things you can get on these sites. I just downloaded the pieces onto my computer and there you go. This is a combination of things I have downloaded from both of the sites that I listed.

so cute!

2008-11-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

Kayla and Teyton just LOVE music! It has been sooo rainy outside lately, so the kids haven't been able to play outside as much as they would like to. Instead we have been doing lots of puzzles, games, coloring and watching movies together and having so much fun while doing it. The kids have been on a musical kick lately, High School Musical, Hairspray, Sound of Music, Fiddler of the Roof, etc. basically as long as there is singing and dancing Kayla can't get enough of it. And Teyton just loves it too! They both go crazy laughing, singing, and dancing along. The first one is of Teyton dancing to Hairspray, he was going really crazy at first waving his hands around and bouncing....then he saw the camera come out, haha. The other two are Kayla and Teyton dancing to High School Musical.

outside fun

2008-11-19T21:47:00.001-08:00

The bottom pic we have McKayla, Mimi, Kat and Hannah. Kaylin was here for a little bit, but had to leave before I could get her in a group shot. These girls are always running around together.

Today we had a lot of fun playing outside with the neighbor kids. I love it when they come over because we always have the most beautiful artwork on our driveway by the end of the day. I actually brought the camera out so I could take pics of them drawing, but when the girls saw me they wanted to do a photo shoot. So I let them pose however they wanted to and we all had a blast. They are such good kids and Teyton just loves playing with them. The girls just adore him too. It is so funny to watch because where ever Teyton goes he always has a line of girls following him around. He has a lot of fans around here, haha!

a new pet

2008-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Kayla has been wanting an animal so badly since we moved here. We did have a cute little lop eared bunny for a few months (Honi- it is Hawaiian for kiss because she loved to kiss our noses). We had a big problem with a lot of the neighbor kids sneaking to play with her while we were gone. Her house was outside so our house wouldn't stink of bunny droppings. But she spent most of her days in the house hopping around. We just loved her. Anyway, we came home one day from a trip to Honolulu and found that she had died, we aren't sure but we think that the kids mauled her. We were all devastated. I hadn't wanted to get another little animal until I knew that they would be safe and now that all the bad neighbor kids have moved away we are getting too close to our trip to Utah for me to want to get an animal and leave them. Hawaii has really strict laws on animals coming on the island otherwise I would just bring it along for the trip.

So for the longest time Kayla has had a fascination with fish and going to the aquarium has just made her want to have one more. I was thinking that a fish wouldn't be bad at all because they don't know the difference of who is taking care of them anyway. So the night that Corey left I was asking Kayla what kind of a fish she had in mind. She said that she wanted a blue and pink fish. So we talked about it and what kinds of things she wanted to put inside the fish bowl she said that she wanted rainbow colored rocks. Well the next morning we had a little knock on the door. One of Kayla's friends came over to ask if we wanted her fish. I asked if her Mommy knew that she was trying to give away her fishy. A couple of minutes later Kaylin and her Mom were over with a fish bowl in their hands. They are getting ready to PCS (military for change of station) and are downsizing their items. Kayla was so excited because it was a blue and red Beta fish and it had a big rainbow rock in the fish bowl for the fishy to sleep in and lots of little rainbow colored rocks at the bottom of the bowl. I thought that was pretty lucky for us, we got the fish that Kayla wanted and didn't have to pay for it, haha. That is one of the benefits of military. Because everyone moves so much it is easy to find things for free or dirt cheap because we have limited amount of weight that we can bring with us. Kayla has been so excited and talks to her new fish everyday and is really good at feeding her. Oh, I should tell you that she decided that it was a girl and her name is Blueis. She is so creative with her names.