Just Us Wrights

2011-08-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

What a week! Last Thursday I woke up and took the dogs out to go to the bathroom, like usual. I looked down at Hephaestus and his left eye was completely swollen shut! (didn't we already have this post about Hermes) He was also covered in what looked like hundreds of little bits all over him. He was itching so bad he was crying about it. SO SAD! My mom, Mai, and I took him straight in to the vet and they had to keep him for the day. He had to get a couple shots of Benadryl and steroids. He's all better now (and I am so happy we have "puppy insurance" because all this was free) but I guess he had an allergic reaction to a bug bite the night before and swelled up like crazy. These aren't the best pics but its hard to get a 3months old puppy to hold still, especially one who is itching like crazy. And you can't really see the welts all over him, but you can kinda get the idea of what he looked like by looking at his eye.

I've also been working on Mai's room quite a bit the last few weeks. I repainted her bed from pink to white(using the paint samples you can get at Home Depot, so it only cost $5!), re-painted you room (that only cost $10), and made this cute little canopy for her bed out of a lamp shade (this only cost .50 for the lamp shade from a yard sale. I already had everything else for it). I'm still working on some other stuff for her room but here it is so far.

And we have also been "babysitting" my brother-in-law's and sister-in-laws dog. Poor Ollie was a little over whelmed when he got here last week but has totally warmed up to the dogs. He keeps hiding under the kitchen stools and Hephaestus cries and cries because he thinks he can't get Ollie when he's under there (he seems to forget that he can fit under there too). Melissa came over today with the kids and Lacey keep saying "where's Wal-E". SO cute!

And a side note, I just reupholstered those kitchen stools and re-stained them.

Hephaestus

2011-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our little family. This is Hephaestus. He is an American Bulldog born April 6, 2011. Of course we had to go with a Greek God for the name. It took us a couple of days to decide but Maibel finally agreed with us. :)
Hephaestus was a Greek God whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece.

Our New House

2011-06-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

I am FINALLY posting pics of our new house. I know its been a little over a month, but you know how it goes.

our stuff packed and ready to go at Kieth and Hariella's

more stuff!!

We had to move to Clif and Rose's for two weeks, so we got to move ALL out stuff twice! Aren't we lucky! (Or should I say aren't our families lucky for getting to move us twice in two weeks)

Our stuff packed and ready in Mom's garage.

Our stuff in OUR new garage

The laundry room

living room

food storage area

family room

kitchen

our bedroom

Playroom

Mai's bedroom

We were able to spend the night in our new house the night before we actually moved in. It was fun to "camp out" inside.

Mai and Hermes sleep in the playroom

Brent and I sleep in the family room (which is connected to the playroom.)

Man's Best Friend Revisited

2011-06-01T22:27:00.001-07:00

I know most of you remember this post from last year, but please take to time to read it before reading the following post. Thanks

Dogs are know as mans best friend for a very good reason. Everyone who has had the blessing of a dog in their life, knows why that is true. Most dogs are mans best friend....and then there is Artemis. I call her my baby, Mai calls her the royal dog (because every princess has to have a royal dog to dress up), my nieces and nephews call her Ardo. What ever she is called, she is loved.

Ten years ago (almost exactly), I was struggling in my life, trying to figure out the transition between being a teenager and becoming an adult. My little sister Sarah was struggling with going from a full house of siblings to basically just her and my parents. She really needed a friend and she was able to adopt a dog a friend of hers found. My parents kept her for a "trial period" of two weeks. Well, life being life, she was in heat during that trial period and ended up getting pregnant. Two months later she was really having a hard time delivering the puppies. She was in intense labor all day and finally just kinda gave up and laid there. I remember my dad saying she needed help, so I helped. I pulled out the first puppy, who , unfortunately, had gotten stuck in the birth canal and was dead but was causing the problems. Poor Dixie was so tired she could not deliver the rest of the puppies with out help so I helped her deliver the other ten puppies.

We rocked and cradled all those puppies everyday. I remember more than once coming home to my mom sitting in the rocking chair with 2 or 3 puppies in her arms rocking and singing to them! We ended up being able to give away most of the puppies but we were having a hard time with one in particular because she was so bad! I convinced my oldest sister Rhonda, who I was living with in Logan at the time, that I HAD TO HAVE THIS DOG!! I had always wanted to name my dog Artemis after my favorite Greecien Goddess the Goddess of the Hunt. So Artemis became part of my life. I brought her up to Logan with me and would spend all my time with her. I would take all my breaks at work together so I would have time to come home and take her out. Rhonda took her running everyday and would also come home on the lunch break to let Artemis out. After I lived in Logan, I moved in with my friend Ruth, who had two dogs, and our life revolved around our dogs. We let them sleep with us every night and took them roller blading everyday.

Brent and I got married just after Artemis turned 1 and I think he was a little worried about his crazy wife who was obsessed with her dog. :) But he too soon realized why I loved her so much. A few months later, we moved to Arizona for a few months and Artemis keep me company during that lonely time. She was always there to love me and comfort me. I seriously don't know how I would have gotten through these past ten years with out her. I know a lot of people thought I had lost it because I felt like she was my child. But it was because she loved me that much!

After my divorce, I was a brand new mom and living with my parents. They were so understanding and knew that I could not live with out my Artemis, so they let her become a part of our family life there. She let Maibel crawl all over her and pull her tail. She was so patient with us all. When my dad got sick, she was there to listen to me cry. She would sleep next to my dads chair all day by the fire. I hope she was a comfort to him in his final days on this earth. Then I had to move out and leave my Artemis. It was SO HARD!! I had never lived away from home with out her. Luckily I was close and was able to see her daily and have her come stay with me. When my dad passed away, I found comfort that my mom wasn't alone in the house because Artemis was there. My mom was able to take Artemis everyday on walks and she was able to be loved by Artemis how I was loved by Artemis. All the grandkids have come to love her too. She watches over them and lets them love on her. When Brent and I got remarried he was able to be a part of her life again and she loves him as is he has never been away.

Last week my mom and I took Artemis to the vet because she just hasn't been doing good. We found out she has a brain tumor and will not live more than a few weeks. I have literally been just sick these past few days. I have had a hard time eating, sleeping, or even functioning knowing that she would not be with us much longer. The love that she has given to those in her life is incomprehensible. The love she has given me is even more than that. I do not know how I would have gotten through some of the times in my life with out her. She has been an angel sent straight to me to help me along. I was there when she took her first breath in this life and I hope I will be there when she takes her last. I know my life will have to go on without her but I can't lie, it will be hard. I am just so grateful I was able to have her in my life for ten years. She is such a great example of love and forgiveness. My mom keeps reminding me of a song we used to sing in joyschool when we were little. I can't remember the exact words but it is about all the things animals do for us- Cows give us milk, chickens give us eggs, and dogs give us love. Artemis has fulfilled her job of giving us all love!

Mans Best Friend Part 2

2011-06-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

One week ago today, my Artemis past away. I was indeed able to hold her in my arms as she took her last breath on this earth.

2011-05-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about today, but I just keep thinking about my family. My patient Dad, my crazy mom, my always-have-it-all-together oldest sister, my athletic older brother, my peace maker older sister, my sensitive but protective little brother, and my out going little sister.
I had a dream the other night. We are all sitting around a table, having family counsel. (we used to call it family fight night when we were little. LOL, we really thought we were funny.) It was my mom and dad, all my siblings and all our spouses. My Dad was at the head of the table telling us all how much he loved us and that we all needed to make sure that we were working on getting back to him. He than took each couple aside separately and gave us advice on how to make our families stronger.
I am so grateful that our Father In Heaven has given us a plan to be together forever. All we have to do is the best we can, and we will be together. Sometimes our best really is close to perfect, but most of the time, its no where close. That is what Christ gave us. He already made the difference up between being perfect and what we really are, so that we ALL have the chance to be together forever.
These are my thoughts today as I work on getting ready to move. I am also thinking about Brent's side of the family and how we are going to be together again soon! Kieth and Hariella get home next week!! I can't believe its already been 18 months. I truly do love ALL my family. My siblings, my in-laws, my aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, etc... I love you all!!

2011-05-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

I know its been forever since I have posted but here I am!

Maibel has out grown her last bike and has needed a new one for quite a while. So the last couple weeks she has been selling some of her old toys on ksl.com to earn money for a new one. She finally saved up enough and we were able to go get it on Saturday. Its really cute and I am so proud of her for earning the money and saving it!

It's also been her Spring soccer season. She's been playing in Spanish Fork so we are able to watch Cesia's games at the same time. Her team name is "The Fireflies." Her coach commented to me what a good boot she has. I told him that comes from my side of the family. She also loves to play goalie. I think that one comes from Brent's side of the family.

Last week she had a Nursery Rhyme Picnic at school and she got to dress up as a Nursery Rhyme and than repeat it for the class. She was Little Bo Peep.

And its FINALLY Spring here in Utah! It snowed last week but today is suppose to be 75.

2011-02-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday we were able to go up to Salt Lake and see Rose get her citizenship. What a blessing!! I am so proud of her. It took a lot of time, money, and patience but she finally did it! Its been something she has wanted for a long time.

And I HAD to share this note I received from Maibel. Why is she SO cute? (It says- I'm trying my best. P.S. I'm Having a good day. P.S. I love you with all my heart.)

2011-02-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

WOW!! Its been a long week. It started with Brent not feeling well last Saturday, and than throwing up all day Sunday. Oh, but on Saturday Brent bought me a nook! Needless to say, it is the perfect gift for me. I love it!! Of course Monday was Valentine's Day and I got woken up at 6:30 with a kiss and Mai saying "Happy Valentine's Day." Then she ran over to Brents side of the bed(he was already at work) and climbed up in bed with me. She also put a Valentine that she made all by her self on Brent's night stand. About an hour later she woke back up and told me to stay in bed. She came back in about 30 min later and told me I could come out now. She had decorated the house for Valentines Day!!!! It was SO SO SO SO cute!! I had a huge Santa picture I keep forgetting to take down and she even took that down. She is so adorable.
When Brent came home from work, he brought me a rose and Maibel got a HUGE singing balloon and a teddy bear. My mom came over and spent the night with us. We went walking in the morning and just kinda hung out. It was lots of fun. Maibel had gymnastics after school and Grandpa Wright came and watched her. Grandma Swain even stayed for a little bit of it so she had quite the adience this week. Than we went home and Steve played Sorry on the WII with us and we had tons of fun. He spent the night with us Tuesday night and when Mai got up in the morning and Grandpa was already at work, she cried and cried. It was really sad and she keep telling me all day that she just missed Grandpa. I started not feeling that great Wednesday evening and woke up in the middle of the night throwing up. Thursday I couldn't keep anything down and also started having some not normal girlie issues. I called my doctors office about 4 and they told me to go to the ER. I called my sister Sarah (Brent doesn't handle hospitals very well. Of course neither does Sarah, so I don't know what the heck i was thinking having her take me!?!?). Brent stayed with Mai and Sarah drove me up to Orem. They were really kinda stupid at the hospital and basically told me I was crazy. I was NOT happy at this point. But at least the bleeding had stopped. I was still throwing everything up and by Friday morning I was so sick I could barely walk. I somehow drove myself to my doctor and they started an IV. They wouldn't let me drive home, so I had to call my mom (I called Brent too but he was already at work so he couldn't make it down to Payson for at least an hour.) They gave me two bags of fluid, IV antibiotics, two shots of promethazine, and something for pain. I had the flu, strep, and the doctor said I had really low blood pressure from throwing up so much and losing so much blood the day before that it was making me throw up more. I know I looked awful because the doctor I see is a PA and he called the other doctor in on his day off to come check on me. Brent took care of my all day and my mom took Mai for us so I actually was able to sleep. It was a long weekend but this morning I woke up and FINALLY had my voice back and felt like I wasn't going to die. I hope I feel well enough to go to my coed soccer game tomorrow night. I know I won't play but I want to watch since it is our championship game and we might take a season off. I have to say thanks again to everyone who helped us survive this weekend!!

2011-01-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Where to start?!?! It feels like years since I last blogged! WOW!! We have been so crazy these last few months that I'm not even sure if I can catch you up. I will just post some pics and try to fill in our lives of the last few months.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! We have a ton a Halloween parties this year for Mai. On Wednesday, Oct. 27 was her school parade and party. So that is the day we decided would be the most made-up day. She was a mermaid this year and was very cute. I made a wig for her from hair pieces I found at the dollar store. She had her school party Wed., a friends Halloween party on Fri. from 3-5, Rich and Kristin's Halloween party from 6-9, and then Clif and Rose's Halloween party from 8-11. It was a long night! Than Saturday was the actually trick or treating. Of course it POURED rain right when we were ready to go. And SO windy. My mom came with us and Brent had to pass out candy at the house. I drove her around, than Grandma and Maibel would get out of the car and run up to the houses. It was pretty funny. We did about 6-7 houses this way, and than, thankfully, the wind left and the rain died down. Grandma went home and Maibel and I walked with one of her little friends Kate. Oh, and Hermes too. It was really fun. Those girls just crack me up!! Hermes was not very impressed with any lawn decoration that moved. Scared the tar out of him!! It was so funny. One witch on someones front door step took the girls be surprise and they froze! They didn't know what to do. So Hermes, being the brave one he is, crawled on his belly past the girls, and over to the witch, (growling all the way) to check it all out. Than the witch spoke and started stirring her cauldron and he high tailed it out of there so fast, he KNEW she was gonna get him!! It was so funny. I was cracking up but so were the girls, so they forgot that they were scared of the witch and up they went to knock on the door. We were almost done with our little ward area when Kate started throwing up. Poor girl. It was really sad. :( We walked her home and only went to one more house and than called it a night. We had tons of fun.

Lost a Tooth!

2010-10-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

So last Wednesday Maibel lost her FIRST TOOTH! She was SO excited. The tooth fairy came and left her some quarters. I can't believe she is old enough to have lost a tooth!

Lol, this pic cracks me up. She was SO sick. She had gotten up at 3am and we took this pic at 5am.

We also had Red Ribbon week last week, so Mai got to dress up every day.

Monday was wear red day. (note the socks! She was very proud that she found red socks to wear)

Tuesday was Formal Day, which to a 6 yr old girl, means Princess Day.

Wednesday was Pajama Day but Mai was home with the flu (and her first lost tooth!!)
Thursday was Crazy Hair Day. I did our neighbors, Kate, hair as well. We take her to school every morning and her mom brings the girls home. They are also in the same class.

Friday was school spirit day but I guess I forgot to take pics. Oh well. We have school spirit every Friday so I will take some pics another day!

Crafts

2010-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Maibel and I have been getting REALLY excited for Halloween time so we can start doing some Halloween crafts. We have quit a few picked out to do and I don't think I can wait any longer to start them, so we may be starting some of them today! But, we have been working on a few other crafts that we wanted to share with you.

First is Maibel's sock puppet. She is extremely proud of this and it is SO cute, I had to share it with everyone.

Next is Maibel's wood bears she painted. The rainbow one is named "Rainbow" and sits by her alarm clock. The pink one is named "Little Kari" and has to be in Kari's lap at all times (not at night though because Kari has to sleep with Mai every night.) I thought that fact that she wanted to paint one like Kari was very creative and smart. She's so cute.

Next is strickly for Rhonda. Here is my first attempt at those flowers we were wanting to make. I found this adorable fabric at Wal-Mart! The more I make, the better they turn out. These were my first so they really aren't that great. For the rest of you, here is an awesome tutorial on how to make these.

We have been working on a lot of hair bows/hair flowers but that would have to be a whole other post because I have been making WAY too many. Also, have been making tons of toys/treats for Hermes. I should start taking pics of some of those too.

I did cover a shoe box with paper to hide all our computer cords. It's not the cutest thing but SO SO much better than all those ugly cords every where.

And This really is just so Hariella can see it. ( it comes off very easily if you don't want it anymore when you get home.)

The Frog and The Book

2010-09-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

So this morning Maibel decided to write a book. It is a book about the seasons and yes, she did it ALL on her own. It is SO cute and she is extremely proud. She keeps telling me "I just can't believe I wrote my first book."

Hermes has this stuffed animal frog that he loves! It is suppose to look something like this but its a well loved toy and so no longer looks even close to this.

He carries it around all the time. He was watching out the front window when Brent came home from work(like he always does, if you can't tell by the nose prints all over my window) and when he left, he left the frog sitting there. It was so cute I had to share it with you!

First Day of School

2010-08-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well, its official. Maibel has started Kindergarten.

Last night, when I was tucking her in, I read her a story from the Friend and it was about a boy who had to start in a new school and he didn't have any friends. Some kids were not very nice to him and I started crying thinking about Mai having kids not be nice to her!! But the little boy went home and told his mom he had no friends so they decided to start praying about it. They prayed for a long time and eventually the little boy had made lots of friends. But after the story, when Maibel was saying her prayers, she prayed that she could find someone at school who didn't have any friends and she could be their friend. So sweet!

She was so excited that she woke up at 4 a.m. and told me she couldn't sleep anymore. We had her outfit all picked out yesterday and waiting for her this morning on the foot of her bed. Her backpack was packed and waiting by the front door. We even had her hair bows picked out and waiting by the brush and comb in the bathroom. I made my mom walk with me to drop her off so that I didn't have to do it alone. We walked to school and they had a little red carpet set up for for the kids to walk up to the door on. Then they got to say their name into a microphone and go on in the school. We have quite a few kids from our ward in her class so that was good. We got her name tag on her, found her cubby and put her backpack in it and then she sat with her class and I left. It was kinda sad!!

2010-07-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted very much this summer, so I thought I would just post a few pics of our summer!

2010-07-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was pulling weeds in the yard, Mai was swimming, and Hermes was just being Hermes. He came and sat down by me and I reached down to love on him. When I started rubbing his lips, they felt weird. He usually has really floppy lips but they felt really tight. With in five minutes, his lips were so swollen, they barely covered his teeth. His eyes were so swollen he couldn't open them! I had to run him straight to the Urgent Care for Pets (which I didn't even know they had Urgent Care for Pets, but they do!). Apparently, he was bit by a spider or stung by a hornet. It scared the heck out of me! They gave him benadryl shots and a steroid.

Princess Festival

2010-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last week I was able to take Maibel to "The Princess Festival" in Lindon. Its a very fun little charity event that the girls LOVE!!! Rather than try and explain exactly what it is, I am just going to post the link to the site. You really should check it out because it is amazing. I can't believe how much these people are giving! They do not make anything on the Festival. It all goes to the charity. Click here for the link. My favorite part of it was the fact that only about 15 girls go on their "adventure" at a time. (They have to help Cinderella defeat the mean witches. They end up being able to help them by showing them all love and turning them nice) But the girls are all able to spent one on one time with each character. We walked in and "Alice" immediately came up to Maibel and asked her to come have a tea party with her. She took Mai by the hand and they skipped over to have a tea party. Than the Mad Hatter took Mai and her cousin Sophie over and pushed them on the swings. See, one on one time. All the girls had name tags, so the characters all called them by their names, which was really nice. Princess Maibel is very shy and them calling her by her name helped her relax and have a good time. I can't even explain everything we did, so I will just post a million pictures about it now!

Snuggies!!

2010-05-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

We have ALL seen the commercials about "the snuggie" and I think every child wants one. Mai asked Santa Clause for one and he brought her a pink one. She loves it!

After Santa did such a good job bringing her one, she REALLY wanted one for Hermes. (Yes, for Hermes because they have dog snuggies.)

As we were walking around Petsmart yesterday, they had the dog snuggie for $2.50 on clearance. Mai could not believe her luck!! She really wanted to get him a pink one but I was able to convince her to get him the blue one. HAHAHA it's SO funny!

PS As I was looking for those official snuggie pics,

I found a brand new snuggie they just came out with!! WOW

First Stitches

2010-05-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess Mai is officially a normal child. Poor thing. We were at Sarah's house on Friday and she has this old milk door by her front door. The kids LOVE to play with it because it has a door on the inside and outside. (this is not her door but a picture I got off the internet. It pretty much looks like this but the corners are a bit sharper).

Anyway, they were all playing with it and I heard Mai start crying. I came down stairs to see what was the matter and she was standing outside, next to the door, holding her head. Of course all the kids were yelling that Mai hit her head on the door. I went over to her thinking that I would kiss it and than she would feel better. This is what I found when I moved my hand...

This picture was taken after it was cleaned up at the hopsital, but you get the idea. Luckily Brent was there with me and we were about to take her straight to Instacare. Brent was really sick and actually had to pull over to throw up on the way! We went to Instacare and they took one look at it and told us we needed to take her to the ER so a plactis surgeon could take a look at it. I am SO gratefull they said this. They were worried because she is such a beautiful :) little girl and this was on her face, so they wanted as small a scare as possible.

We went to UVRMC, (the pic is of her waiting for the doctor,) and they were very nice. She was FREAKED OUT about them having to "sew her up" and they were able to give her a sedative. SO MUCH BETTER! They just gave her a shot in her bum, and she was out in about 15 seconds. Brent had to leave because he was so worried about her. Its kinda weird to see the sedative working because she looked dead. Her eyes were barely open and you could tell she was out. But a nurse monitored her oxygen levels and heart rate the whole time. They did an awesome job sewing it up. The doctor put 8 stitches in it.

The last picture isn't very clear, but its of the "final result". The stitches come out Wednesday and that should be interesting. I hope she will hold still and let them do it. She really has been very good with everything. I was scared and it wasn't me who had the injury! That's the whole, long, story of her first (hopefully last) stitches!

( Apparently I lied about the last pic! I guess it turned out well!)

The Playhouse

2010-04-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ever since we went to Carl and Danielle's for Easter, I have been wanting to get Mai an outside playhouse. They have one and Mai LOVES it. I never had a yard so I don't have any outside toys for her. I started looking at all the stores, because they are all on sale right now for spring, and found out really soon that they are REALLY expensive. The little ones for toddlers aren't too bad but to get one big enough for Mai, its rediculous! So I have been checking KSL every minute to try and find one. I finally found this one for $60, which is SO CHEAP! We brought it home, scrubbed it clean and repainted it. I am really happy with it and, more importantly, so is Mai. We had lots of fun doing it. Maibel loves to do projects with me like this. Now, if it would stop raining today, maybe she could actually play in it!

Man's Best Friend

2010-03-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

Bowling

2010-03-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Maibel is obsessed with bowling these days, thanks to the Wii. She plays it all the time and LOVES it when we get to go "real bowling". We were able to go Saturday night and, of course, had tons of fun. We got there around 7:30, so there were no lanes open with bumper (much to Mai's dismay) but we worked threw that melt down and she actually did very well! I was so proud of her. Brent showed her how to roll it in between her legs. I only had my cell phone with me, so the pics aren't that great but oh well. PS love ya Sarah!

Sad Days

2010-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Well, last week I was SO sick I literally could barely get out of bed. I had the flu(couldn't even keep a tsp of water down!), a fever of 103, strep throat, sinus infection, and an ear infection!! I WAS SICK!! So obviously Maibel's hair was horrendous!! By the time I was able to actually do something about it, it took me two hours to brush all the knots out. It was bad. Than on Sunday morning, we were late to church because she would not let me get her hair done. I finally told her she would have to go without her hair done. We park and she freaks out because she does not want to go in with out her hair done. So Brent went in and I sat in the car, trying to do SOMETHING with her hair. She ended up with a bun that was FULL of knots. I just have this thing about her hair. If we are going anywhere, it has to be brushed out and done! I love doing her hair and I just feel it needs to always be done. It was a very low point in our hair life. :( So, we decided it was time to cut her hair. I know! I can literally hear the gasps as you all read this. I want her long hair, she wants her long hair, but I don't want it to be a struggle every single day over something as small as brushing her hair. I would rather save my patience for things that are more important-like struggling over getting her to eat anything other than pizza, or putting a coat on when its literally 20 outside. You get the point. So off it came! I wasn't going to cut it so short but we decided we might as well donate it. I thought the length to donate was 12" apparently its only 10". Oh well. They get two extra inches. She was very excited about it. My hands were shaking like crazy while I was starting to cut it. We got it all cut and than it took her another half hour to look in the mirror because she was so nervous! She is SO funny! It's done, it's short, and it's SO easy to do. I did cry but it will grow out and more importantly, Maibel is happier

Earrings

2010-02-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Brent and I have been trying to get Maibel to pierce her ears for a while now but she is just too scared. Finally last week she told me she was ready and she would be brave now. So we went and got them pierced and she was brave. No crying or anything!

When it was time to pick out the earring at the store she found the biggest ones she could. Luckily we were able to talk her out of the huge diamond ones and she found multicolored flowers. She is so funny.

They are so cute and she has totally loved them. We just have to clean them 3 times a day for six weeks.

2010-01-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

Maibel informed me today that she was now going to be "a really good drink maker". She loves to cook because she see's me doing it everyday. She "cooked up" this drink today. I'm sure you can order one if you'd like!!

2009-12-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today we got brave and made Christmas cookies! We had SO much fun. Here are the finished product. They turned out cute and were really yummy! The Santa ones are all for Santa tomorrow night. Maibel wanted him to have them so he would know what he looked like. She's so funny.

2009-12-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally got Internet thanks to my extremely smart husband. He had to convert a phone jack or something or rather. I don't really know, but I do know, he stayed up really late (till like 10!!!) getting it put in for me. We have had SO much going on this past month that I really haven't had time to even think. We did get a new camera, which I haven't figured out how to get the pics off of yet, so no pics until my extremely smart husband can show me how.

The week of Thanksgiving started our craziness. We spent Thanksgiving with Brent's family in Payson. I love having my in-laws again. I was so excited to be able to spend a Holiday with them once more! I just wish we could have stayed longer(we flew to Cali the day after Thanksgiving). But the hardest part of this month has been saying goodbye to Kieth and Hariella, who left to Hawaii to serve an 18month mission. I am SO proud of them, but miss them tons. Not that I feel to bad for them, since they do get to live in Hawaii! Being a senior couple, we do still get to talk to them whenever we like. That's VERY NICE but still hard. Now that we have Internet, I hope we can get a web cam set up so Maibel can still see Grandma and Grandpa.

We were able to go to California for a week in November. The first few days we stayed with one of Brent's mission companions and had tons of fun with them. Jake and Fran have three adorable little girls, so Maibel was in heaven. I really hope they take us up on our offer and come visit us in Utah. Than we went to Disneyland for THREE DAYS!!! We went with my whole fam minus Rhonda and Greg. We all even stayed in the same hotel. It made the trip so much more fun to have everyone there. I thought 3 days was great but Brent was good at 2. Hopefully by the next time we go, he will have forgotten how tired he was the 3rd day and we can stay that long again (or longer).

The day we came home, we starting moving in to Kieth and Hariella's house in Payson. They were kind enough to let us stay here while they are gone. I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait to be done cleaning the apartment in Orem, but I am in love with having so much space! Sorry Hariella, we might have to live with you guys forever because I love this house!

Well, this is a long and boring post but sorry! I promise pics as soon as I can! It was nice to update everyone though! I haven't updated Mai's hair blog in a long time, so sorry about that too. Love to all and Happy Holidays!!

Maibel's Imagination

2009-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, we have had a very busy week with all the packing we are doing. But Maibel has kept us very entertained! She is SO funny. So, two nights ago I hear a big thump and I knew Mai had fallen out of bed. I waited for about ten minutes for her to come in crying to me but she never did. So, I went in her room to investigate and this is what I found. She was SO sound asleep.

And than yesterday morning Maibel informed me it was Annabelle's second birthday and that we were going to have a surprise party for her. (Annabelle is one of her dolls.) She went in her room and very quietly, so Annabelle couldn't hear, talked to her other dolls about coming to the party. We than went to the grocery store and we got a few snacks for the party. After that, we came home and make some decorations out of paper and markers and hung them up. We than went to Party Land and Maibel picked out a lai to give to Annabelle and a flower balloon. To top it all off, Brent brought home a little birthday cake for Annabelle. Hope Annabelle enjoyed her surprise party! I know we did! I love Mai. She is so cute. This party was VERY real for her. She even made Annabelle thank everyone!

Last but not least, Maibel went over to her cousins house today and they were playing monsters. Of course they were all so brave in the light of the day but tonight we were not so brave around our house. Maibel would not leave the room I was in because she just knew there was a monster in her room. Than I looked over and realized I had an extra bottle of Magic Monster Spray! What about that!! I told Mai she was very lucky because Mommy happened to have an extra bottle of Magic Monster Spray and all she had to do was spray it in her room and it would make the monsters melt away. She was very excited about the spray but then asked me why I had Magic Monster Spray if I said there was no such thing as monsters! (Whoops! Wasn't excepting that question!) So I told her that was why it was magic. I don't think there is any real monsters, but just in case there was, the Spray would know and get rid of them. She couldn't believe her luck!

New Moon

2009-11-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

Maibel and I were in Albertson's the other day and we see these AWESOME New Moon cups. I got one and Maibel really wanted one so I had to get us two. Now Maibel will only drink out of her "Edward" cup. Its really funny.

Halloween 09

2009-11-02T20:19:00.001-08:00

Well Halloween has now officailly come and gone. That's so crazy I can't believe it! My family had a big Halloween party at Clif and Chayo's on Friday night. It was a costume party so I was busy all week sewing and baking to get ready for it. As you can see Maibel was a butterfly, I was a witch and Brent was a spider. It was SO much fun.

She even let me put fake eyelashes on her. They were HUGE!

Here are the cupcakes we made. Maibel was so helpful all week and she even helped me put the eyes and the mouths on all the bats. When I was making Brent's costume, she stuffed one of the legs for me too. It was a GREAT week. It was so much fun to spend so much time with Maibel.

The Party

2009-10-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics from Maibel's party. I am warning you now, there are a lot. I HAD to put them all on here because they were all so cute! Here is Mai standing next to the table, waiting on everyone to get here. She is SO excited! That big purple and pink thing on the table is the pinata. It is a nail polish bottle. It was a Barbie party so of course we had to have a Barbie cake (which ALWAYS reminds me of Sister M and my baptism). The cake was totally stressing me out so Melissa came and rescued me and finished it for me! What would I do without my sisters?
The pinata. It was SO funny!! We started with Ruthie and finished with Becca. Sweet Ruthie and Caleb went and barely touched the pinata and than it was Jaxon's turn. I told Brent to watch because I knew he was hit it HARD. He walked up and before Brent could even raise the pinata, he hit the crap out of it. It was so funny.
You can't really see Mai in this pic but oh well. Cesia was so funny. She was getting so mad at Brent because he kept moving it. LOL. Look at her face, she was so mad at him.
Inside the bags I put in the pinata, I gave all the kids stickers. We went inside and I started getting the cake ready to sing and when I turned around this is how I found Ruth.
Mai opening gifts. Clif had given her this little toe nail painting kit and she LOVED it. This was the look on her face when she opened it.

The Tent. We put all the kids in a tent in the living room. They watched Barbie and The Three Musketeers from inside the tent. They are so funny.
Saturday morning we had grits & cheese, and eggs and bacon. Than we went out front and played with bubbles.
For the past year Maibel has been asking for a "Build-a-Bear card". (gift card) We gave her one for her birthday and we went Monday night and did it. This is the bear she choose and its birth certificate. She named her bear Kari.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAIBEL

2009-10-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Maibel

Since today is Maibel's birthday, I decided to ask her what a few of her favorite things are. I couldn't find pics of her with them on all of them but you get the message.

1-GoGo. Mai received GoGo as a gift on her first birthday from a friend of mine. She takes this doll everywhere. This is also to tell you how obsessed she is with babies. Any and all babies, she has to hold and love.

She has such a big heart and really just wants to "mother" anything she possibly can. Pill bugs are continually being brought into the house because "they just needed to be with me Mom." They receive names and are cared for as if they were human babies. When my niece was born last year, Maibel would sit on the couch and hold her for 30-45 min no problem. I love her caring personality.

2- second thing she choose was her sleeping mask. I know I have posted about this but she still wears it to bed ALL the time.

Its so funny. That's just Mai for ya. Last week she was sick and had to have a chest x-ray. They made her wear a mask in the hospital so she wouldn't get anyone sick. She faithfully wore that mask for the next three days because she didn't want to get anyone sick. Only Mai.

3-Next is our Little House on the Prairie books we read together each night. We went all over looking for used books in this set. We did pretty good. We are only missing Farmer Boy and By the Shores of Silver Lake.We read a chapter or two every night and Mai loves it. She will not go to sleep with out it. Its SO sweet. And of course I am so happy that she enjoys reading!

4-She recently was given these pajamas as a hand me down and she will not wear anything else to bed. They are so cozy and soft. Her pair are actually purple but they are the same Carter's Cozy Fleece Set. She just loves cuddling with anything. She has to sleep with her blanket and GoGo and a stuffed animal every night! It get rather crowded in there sometimes.

5-And the last one is her Barbie bike. She loves this thing. Brent got it for her last year and she

rides ever day! Not only is it pink and purple, and not only does it say Barbie on it, It has a little barbie bike on it so your barbie can go with you on rides!

New Baby!

2009-10-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have been SO busy this week, this is the first time I've even had a minute to post these. My sister Rhonda had her baby last week!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! Little Caroline Gail Spears came on Oct. 7 at 1:12pm. She was 20" long and weighed 7lbs 1ounce. Its been a little hard for us stuck in Utah because we haven't been able to see the new baby yet but she is CUTE! Here are the pics that Greg sent out.

Felicity, Hank, Caroline, and Bobby.

You Can't even tell she just had a baby! She looks great.

Family pic!

Caroline and her dad (Greg)

Camp Out

2009-09-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

So last night Brent decided that we should have a camp out in the living room. We had put our blow up mattress in the storage unit so we just took our mattress and used that! It was so fun. Maibel could not quit laughing about it because she was so excited. At about 4 am Maibel was laying across both of us at the same time. I was awake and she kinda woke Brent up. He reached over and tickled her and she says, with her eyes closed, "Dad, this is not the time for that. It is way too late." It was so funny. Neither of them remembered it this morning.

Things that I love

2009-09-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

So, as I am cleaning the house today, I started thinking about some of those little things that just make my life easier and I thought I would share some of them with you all!

1- My Dyson vacuum. Seriously the best vacuum EVER. I bought it for myself a year and 1/2 ago with some of my tax return money. It was my present to me.2-My heating pad. I sleep with it almost every night! Besides the fact that Brent tries to freeze me to death by sleeping with the windows open and this thaws me out, it is my saving grace for my arthritis in my back! On the days when its hard to move because my back hurts so bad, all I want is this!
3-My new cook book! Not only does it save us tons of money because we don't go eat out, all the recipes are SO good. I find myself sitting down and reading it like a novel.
4-My scentsy. I'm obsessed, I know. I love having my house smell good and I love scensty because you don't have to worry about it burning your house down. :) AND I can change the scent everyday if I want! PS- this pic is the one I have in my living room!
5-My newest find. Instead of dryer sheets, you just stick this in your drying with the sticky back and it last for at least two months. Its awesome. It was only like $5 dollars and no sheets to throw away or forget to put in your load of laundry. Plus, it works SO well.
6-And last but certainly not least, Crystal Light On The Go Energy. YUM!! I love these. Its only like 5 calories a serving and on those days you just can't get going, they are awesome. Danielle and Jenny can testify!

She's A Swain!

2009-09-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

She might look more like a Wright but she's played soccer like a Swain!! Yesterday was Maibel's first soccer game. It was literally the first time she has ever played soccer and she did awsome! She even made a goal. It was SO cute to watch her out there. She stayed in the game almost the entire time. I told her my dad would have loved to watch her play and she said "But Mom, he is watching me." I wanted to cry!

She was so worried bc I had signed her up late to she doesn't have her uniform yet. I just put her in a pink shirt to match her team but she was convinced that they wouldn't let her play without "a real soccer shirt". She just cracks me up!

Everytime she would kick the ball or anything, she would look over at me to make sure what she did was ok. I love how innocent these kids are.

Happy Birthday To Brent

2009-09-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's here again, Brent's birthday! His is 32 yrs old today! Since he is 32, here are 32 random facts about him
1-His birthday is 9/9/77
2-His favorite is chicken rice a roni with fish sticks
3-His middle name is Warren (named after his Dad's Dad)
4-He graduated high school in 1995
5-He went on his mission to the Florida, Orlando Spanish speaking mission.
6-He lived in Bolivia for two years when he was 13.
7-He knows everything there is to know about concrete.
8-He is amazing at woodworking.
9-He likes everything neat and organized (I'm not very good housekeeper so feel bad for him!)
10-He had to wear a patch over one eye when he was 5.
11-He is not afraid of anything.
12-He tried to wax his hair once, and only once!
13-He used to sneak out of his house ALL the time.
14-His first car he bought was a black jeep.
15-When his family lived in Bolivia, he was the first one to learn Spanish and his mom used him as her interpreter because he was so good at it.
16-He has lived in 4 states.
17-He is the 3rd of 6 kids.
18-He has beautiful green eyes.
19-He is a WONDERFUL husband and father.
20-He's not a big TV fan.
21-He played football in high school.
22-He has had two back surgeries.
23-He had to have 9 staples 6 yrs ago when a water bed frame fell on his head.
24-He can fix just about anything.
25-His favorite colors are blue and black.
26-He has a Honda Shadow.
27-He has read all the Twilight books. :)
28-He sewed his own curtains for his last apartment and owns his own sewing machine.
29-He is an electrician.
30-He saves every box that things come in so he can pack them back up in the right box's every time he moves.
31-He loves dogs.
and finally, last but not least....
32-I LOVE HIM!!

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you and I am SO happy we are married.

San Diego

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

This past week end we were able to go to SanDiego for Brents fam reunion. It was SO much fun. We camped at Camp Pendelton and spent a lot of hours on the beach! We flew out there Thursday and got home late Monday night. All of the Brents siblings were there and four of Kieth's kids were able to make it as well.

2009-08-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

So on our way home from my soccer game I saw a dresser in front of someones house and told Brent to pull over. I went and asked them if they were getting rid of it and they gave it to me for FREE!! (I know, I'm turing into my Dad. I can't tell you how many times I had to go ask people if they were selling their car!) Anyway, Brent spray painted it white and I just thought it needed something else, so I decided to use some scrapbook paper and voila. I am actually pretty happy with how it turned out and now Maibel finally has a dresser!

The Wedding

2009-08-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

I started this post a week ago but I have been fighting with my computer ever since and haven't been able to finish it. So, now I will see if I can! Yes, Brent and I went to Vegas two week ago and got married! We decided that since we were already sealed and we've already had a big wedding, why not? I was so happy we did. No hassel of planning a wedding but the same end results! We went to The Little Chapel of The West, which is where Ana and James got married. It was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Ana and James came, Carl and Danielle, and Sarah and Jon. Thank goodness Sarah and Jon were able to come bc Sarah helped me not freak out and get ready. After the ceremony, we went to an Italian resturant with every body and Rich and Kristin met us there. In the resturant was a guy playing the piano and Carl requested "can't help falling in love with you" and Brent and I danced. It was really awesome. We are still SO happy. I am loving being married to Brent again and he mostly is adjusting to life with two girls. :) He actually is doing very well with living with a four yr old.

I wrote that last part last week. Brent chucked my computer and set his up (thank goodness!!) so hopefully no more fighting between me and the computer! So here it is, FINALLY!!!!

Brent and Me

The Inside of the Chapel

The Chapel

Hair, Hair everywhere but not a lot to do with it.

2009-07-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is post is just because I was so excited of this new blog I found. It is all about hair styles for little girls. I have SO much to do today and of course, I just spent like two hours on this darn blog. Oh well. Check it out, hair4myprincess.blogspot.com LOVE IT!!! Here is what I did on Mai's hair today.

engaged!

2009-07-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!

So this evening we were at my mom's house for dinner and when Brent got off work I told him to just meet us there(for those of you who aren't observant enough to realize what is going on with Brent and I, or for those of you that do not live in Utah, Brent and I have been dating and are working things out. ). My mom has Clif and Rose's 4 kids for a few days so I was over there kinda helping and getting free food. Anyway, so Brent came over and was eating. My mom said she was going up stairs to bath Sam but Brent told her to wait. Than he said "So, I lost my job today." My poor mother just starred and I, of course, told him he was full of it. and than he said, "alright, but" pulling a box out of his pocket, "but will you marry me?" SHOCK!!! It wasn't a shock that he asked, just a shock when he asked. I said yes. No plans set in stone at to the big day but we'll let ya'll know. I am so happy! Maibel is so happy! All she wants is for us to have more kids. Brent is truly an inspiration to me. He has worked so hard and come so far, how could you not love him for all he's done? I am so proud of him!! I love the gospel and for the miracle of repentance and forgiveness. We will have a wonderful life and eternity together and I am SO grateful to him for never giving up, even when he knew giving up was easier. I just wish my dad was here, but I know a part of him is. I could feel him in the room when Brent proposed. I love my family and would like to thank them for all the love and support they have given both Brent and I. And I also want to thank the Wrights for all the love they have given me and for all the support they continue to give Brent. We are truly blessed to have such families supporting us!

Bear Lake

2009-07-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went with the Wrights up to Mount Pillair ID for a family reunion. It was so much fun. Brent and I drove up Thursday night and left Sunday afternoon. We just hung out with family the whole time.

Sarah's Wedding

2009-07-15T20:25:00.001-07:00

Sarah and Jon

Sarah and Jon with some of the grandbabies

Sarah and Jon with all the grandbabies. CUTE!!

more with the babes

Sarah and Jon hugging Lt Governor Gary Herbert. Yup, our gov.

Jon and all the boys. Hunter, Hank, Bobby, Sam, Nash, and Caleb

Sarah with the girls Top row Elena, Felicity, Lacey, Becca, Ruthie

Second row Sammie, Cesia, Maibel, and Kaizer

Independence Day

2009-07-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

WRIGHTS FAMILY FOURTH OF JULY

Wow, we had a big 4Th this year. It started on Friday night when we went with the Wright's to the Owls game. After the game they had a fireworks display. It was SO much fun. And than on Saturday morning we went with the Wrights to the Provo Parade. It was SO MUCH FUN. After the Parade, we went over the Doug and Stasha's for a BBQ but we had to leave early to make it to my family BBQ.

SWAIN FAMILY FOURTH OF JULY

Then we went over to my moms for a BBQ over there. We did a bunch of water relays, water balloon toss, and ate a lot. Than we went over to Sarah and Jon's new house and ate KFC and watched Stadium of Fire from the hill. It was the perfect spot. we were so close we could even see the performers. Nice. But the fireworks were amazing!! We started this day at 8 and didn't get home till midnight. We are still recovering.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is what Maibel gave Brent this year for Father's Day. It was really fun to make together. Its just made out of a six pack of cream soda and paper, basically.

ENOUGH

2009-06-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those times when you just feel terrible? That's me right now. I have been sick with the flu and I really thinks its just plan sent me over the edge! I am so sick of being sick (I seem to catch EVERYTHING that is even considering going around), I hate my job, Mai is for sale most days right now, I am eating like crap, haven't been working on my spirituality, etc.... Needless to say, I am really struggling right now. I don't know why I am, but the fact is, I am. And than today I was on the computer, avoiding starting my day, and I started reading a popular blog I like to read. It's called nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. It is a blog by a girl who is the mother of four, married, and is very entertaining. She started blogging to stay in touch with her family and now has one of the most popular blogs. She has a VERY positive outlook on life and I really enjoy reading about her life. Well, about ten months ago, her and her husband were in a near fatal plane crash. Over 80% of her body was burnt, but her and her husband survived. She is now home, but quite obviously, is dealing with a lot of change and pain. She was updating us on her latest appointment to see her burn doctor and said her doctor told her "and this too shall pass." and she wanted to slap her doctor for saying such a thing. But than she continues to say that she must have needed to hear that because she keep thinking about it all day. WOW. I don't know why that has hit me so hard today, but I can't seem to get it out of my head. I feel like I was truly inspired to read that this morning. If she can have that attitude, than I can have that attitude. I kept telling myself I needed to figure out why I have been having such a hard time lately but than I realized, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter WHY I am struggling, it only matters that I try to better myself everyday. (something I have most definitely not been doing.) I don't always need an answer, sometimes I just need to get out of bed. I should already know all this, but it has just really hit me hard again. The Lord has such a good way of patiently reminding us what we should be doing. Kinda embarrassing for me to admit all of this, but I really wanted to share it. What a great example she is! What a wonderful, loving Father in Heaven we have!

New CAR

2009-06-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

yup, here it is

Ice Cream Man

2009-06-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

So I had Clif and Chayo's kids last night and the ice cream man came by. They all were able to get a treat, even Sam, and sat outside and ate them. It was really cute. I actually got one for Sam thinking we could share...yeah right. I tried to take a bite and he growlled at me!! Too cute. He ate the whole popsicle by himself!

2009-06-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

I finally changed the curtains in Mai's room to white. Well, the curtains around her bed. So I took her purple ones and decided that since I can't paint my walls, I would use the curtains instead. Here's the finished product. I was also able to get a plant for my room for $13!! I just got four of those command hooks, put the curtains on some metal pipe, and done! I was so easy but adds some much needed color. And yes, that is Edward. He protects me every night.

FABLEHAVEN

2009-06-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

So I just finished the fourth Fablehaven book last night and I have to say, it is one of my all time favorite books!!! I had to post this so everyone would read it!! Seriously, SO GOOD!! I very highly recommend it to everyone.

2009-06-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

SPI INDOOR COED SOCCER TEAM

Our Soccer team!! Yeah, we're good. Well, the boys are and some of the girls aren't bad. Clif convinced us all to join the SPI (Swain Plating Inc.) coed indoor team this season and surprisingly enough, we all LOVE IT!! It is SO much fun to play with all my siblings. Our team consists of me, Rose, Clif, Melissa, Sarah, Jon, Jeremy(Clif's friend since high school, who got kicked out-hehehe-by the indoor arena for the last few games), Jeremy's sister Tanya, and Tanya husband Jeff. It really is the most fun we've had in a long time.

Me, Sarah, and Rose taking a breather

Jon

Mel

Sarah

2009-05-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Mai's Recital

She did two dances but Brents vidoe camera broke right before the second one started but its still adorable!! I wish everyone could have seen it. It takes about 25 seconds before you can see it but its there, I promise, and worth the wait!

2009-05-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sammie and Maibel
Maibel
Maibel
Maibel
Sammie and Maibel

Back Again

2009-05-18T17:45:00.001-07:00

Back again!! I know everyone thought Mai and I had ran away to Mexico and perished in the swine flu epidemic....but we did not. We just have not had Internet for about six months. I finally broke down this past week and started it up again.

Lets see. Not much had changed round here. Although, SUMMER HAS ARRIVED. I am so happy. It was 90 today and I couldn't of been happier. Bring it on.

Mai just finished her recital for the year. It is her absolute favorite part of dance is being on stage. How that works, we don't know because she is the shyest little girl you'll ever met but put her on a stage and she shines!! I'm not just saying it because I'm the mom. She smiles the whole time and wiggles when she needs to and steps in rhythm. It really is very cute! So if anyone has and dance clothes in size six they don't need anymore, we would be glad to take them off your hands. She has totally out grown every single dance outfit we have.

Sarah's wedding is fast approaching and we are all getting very excited. Can't wait to have Jon in the fam for permanent. (evil laugh here) He's been forewarned about what he's signing up for. Like just last night, we were playing games at my moms house and it was a game called Sorry Sliders. Only four can play at a time so we had four teams of two. The problem started when

Clif knocked one of Jon's pawns over to the black corner(which is bad) and if the pawn it touching any part of that black line, its out. Clif said it was on the black line, Jon said otherwise. So we all started giving our opinion on where the pawn sat. I grab my camera, Mom grabbed the magnifying glass and some else grabbed a flash light. We had Jon, Clif, Mom, and Mel on the table trying to figure out if this piece

was indeed touching the black line. HAHAHAHA It HILARIOUS!!! We know Jon didn't leave our house last night crying because he was scared of all us weirdo's because he was the first one who jumped on the table to take a closer look. It was SO SO SO funny.

The Bed

2009-02-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

So I've been looking online for a few months now looking for a cheap way to make Mai's bed a little more fun. I wanted a canopy or curtains around it so it looked like a princess bed. I finally found the perfect way!! I emailed it to Brent and he was able to make it for her. The curtains are from Ikea so the whole thing was really really cheap! here are the instructions I found on the internet...

".....You can also use some small PVC pipes, using the elbows, make a rectangle with the same measurements as your bed. You can paint them and either hang them from the ceiling using decorative chains or use the 3 sided fittings on each corner you can add 4 pipes and fit them in between your mattress and the bed frame. "

It turned out SO SO cute and Maibel LOVES it. It makes me want to have one too!! Its so fun!!

Sweet Dreams

2009-02-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Maibel and I were at Target the other day and she really, really wanted this sleeping mask they had in the dollar section. So I bought it and she now has traded in her night cap for this sleeping mask. Its so funny. She wears it all night.

kangaroo zoo

2009-02-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Maibel And Cesia
Thats the boy!

Maibel has sticker chart that she puts stickers on when she does her chores. She has been working on this chart for a very long time and the prize was to go to Kangaroo Zoo when it was all full. Well, today she was able to go to Kangaroo Zoo!! She was able to take one friend with her and that was Cesia. They were SO excited. Cesia spent the night last night and than we went this morning. They played there for two and half hours!! She is so tired. There was a little boy following Maibel everywhere and finally Cesia had had enough and she came and told me that if he didn't stop following Maibel, than she wanted to just go home. It was funny. So, I told her I would go watch them play and sure enough, that little boy went EVERYWHERE Mai was going. I kinda had mixed emotions about it because it was really cute but boys following her already!?!? Really?!

2009-01-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning opening presents with Uncle Dan.

Mai was so cute. When she came out to see all her toys from Santa,

she just hugged me and hid her head in my shoulder.

Dress Ups

2008-12-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went over to Grandma's to watch the BYU bowl game (grrrr) and Maibel was playing Mommy. She was our mommy and was also the "hat giver". She was giving us all hats according to what we said we needed them for. She came up to all of us, using her best "hat giver" voice and asked what we needed a hat for. Than she would run into the play room and return with our hats. Aunt Sarah got a blue fuzzy hat, Grandma got what I think was a piece of white fabric, Jon got a doll dress, Artemis got a pillow, and I got the Trick-or-Treat pumpkin. We all had to wear them or else we got in trouble. Artemis wasn't too fond of the pillow she had to wear but other than that, we all wore them proudly.

Jon is Aunt Sarah's boyfriend and is so good with Maibel. Everytime he comes over he is Maibels little boy and he has to call her Mommy. Only Jon would wear a pink doll dress on his head while watching the game because Maibel told him he had to.

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we went to Grandma's house for dinner and made Christmas Cookies after. Mai had so much fun. We made the dough and she helped cut them all out. Than came the best part, decorating. We decided to put the sprinkles on before we baked them and they were covered. It was fun. Mai has the best Grandma ever!!

The Night Cap

2008-12-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

Maibel got a little flannel cap from her last ear surgery that they let her take home. She wears it every now and than but has now decided it is to be her "Night Cap". She informed me of this last night and has now started to insist on having it on before she will go to bed. It is SO funny. I have no idea where she comes up with some

of these things.

In the middle of the night last night she climbed in bed with me. Well, this morning I was getting her dressed and she was still half asleep. She suddenly jerked her hand up to her head where she started frantically searching for her "Night Cap" with her hand (mind you, her eyes were closed the whole time) and when her search turns up nothing she says, "Mother, what have you done? My night cap is gone." It was SO cute.

Santa At The Mall

2008-12-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I figured it was about time I set a blog up, since I very well maybe the last mom in Utah County to set up a blog. Since I am only sending this blog to those who know me, Ireally don't feel the need to give any background on my life, which would kinda just be depressing anyway. This Tuesday we went to the Mall for visitation with Brent and took Maibel to go see Santa. It was really cute. She was very excited until it actually came time to go see him. She was a bit apprehensive but she did it. She talk with him for a while and actually answered his questions!! Very proud of that. She asked him for a new dolly this year. But the cutest part was when it was all over, she climbed off his lap and turned around and gave him a huge hug. SO SWEET!!!