Kaitlyn and her many faces

Kaitlyn is a fun girl!!! She has a cute personality and has funny expressions and says hilarious things daily. I sat on the chair and discreetly fired away while her and Derick played Wii Mario Cart. It was hilarious!

New craft area

In our master bedroom we have these alcoves that are a waste of space. So on one side we did shelves for food storage and then put doors over to cover it. On the other side we did a craft area for all of my craft stuff with a desk to sew, scrapbook or whatever. It turned out so great and I am going to add more stuff a little later.

Beehive surprise

My church calling is the Beehive advisor. I picked up some of my girls and went and decorated an incoming beehives room. We had a ton of fun, these girls are just adorable!!! Notice Kaitlyn in the front, she was so excited to go with us and the girls were so sweet to her. In just 2 years she will be a beehive.

March Madness

We love watching March Madness in our house. James' family all fill out brackets to see who will win. I'm doing horrible but I'm ok since BYU is still in it!!!

All YOU Brett

So the puppy thing is going great. Much easier than I thought. He is a good puppy and we are having so much fun with him. However for Brett it is like a new kid and he sometimes feels a little left out. If I'm on the floor playing with Jake (the puppy) Brett will come over and sit on my lap and hug me. We are on spring break and it has done nothing but rain. I'm over the rain and need some sunshine, and so do my kids.
Here are a bunch of pic's of Brett lately.

Brett was hitting Kaitlyn and so she put him on the windowsill for "timeout". He looked so cute and we all got a good laugh. Below Derick and Kaitlyn are giving him "the talk".




Brett watching the rain and contemplating life.


Playing golf / basketball

Helping me make some chocolate chip cookies, which only lasted a few days.


Brett likes Jake, especially when he is in the crate and can't get to him.



Playing the piano forte.

Getting a puppy

So after many years of my kids begging for a dog we finally got one. I never wanted one because I didn't want to be cleaning up pee from the puppy and him chewing up everything in the house. Then I started reading about the crate training and I thought that sounded perfect. So we researched what dog would be best for our family and we decided on a golden retriever.

I found a seller online that had 6 week old pups in Sacramento. So on Friday we went to pet Smart and bought all of the dog supplies and then we were off to Sacramento. We named him Jake and as the little girl on Despicable Me says. . . . He's so fluffy!!!!! He loves the kids and outside and has a very good temperament. The first night I was prepared for the worse but he did so good and only whimpered and barked a few times and we took him out twice to go potty. Actually I say "we" but it was Kaitlyn and Derick who slept downstairs and took him out. We are having so much fun with him and it is so fun to see the kids having a pet that actually plays with them and runs toward them instead of hide from them.
I wouldn't be able to do this however if it wasn't for the crate training. The kids know that when he is in the house he has to stay in his crate and it just kills them. In fact as I write this Taylor just brought him in from outside and instead of getting him right in his crate she just started running around and "Jake" is chasing her. When we put him in the crate he whimpers for a little bit but then is fine.
I'm so glad that we got him and I am excited to see all the fun things we get to do with him.

Just look at that face!!!




Out hamster in his ball rolling around entertained Jake




Jake was so worn out and this is when Brett would get close to him. Brett isn't too fond of him right now since he is cute and cuddly and therefore. . . . competition. Jake loves running after Brett and playing with him but today Brett fell and Jake was licking and jumping on him and BRett was not very happy. Brett's favorite is when Jake is in the crate and he can just look at him.

Brett the ball of fire (Kaitlyn's idea)

Brett is quite the active little guy. I'm now remembering how Derick was when he was this age. . . . . a handful!!!! He is everywhere, climbing, pulling stuff off, running from me and so on. My girls were definitely easier during this stage and when Derick was this old I was 23, I'm a 10 years older now and I'm exhausted. Be glad I started having kids when I was young because Derick would of been an only child!!! Here's some pictures when it's been nice weather playing outside. Brett climbs up the ladder by himself and slides down. He also loves the tramp and the swing. However our swing set broke and so now we are saving up for a new one. Anyways just wanted to let you know about what little Brett was up to!!!

Sport court is done!!!

For the past 4 years our side yard has been the mud and "stuff" pit. You know where you put things you don't need and say you'll take it to the dump. Well we finally got it all cleared out and put in concrete. I love it so much however there are a few mud holes around it where we need to put rock and guess who found it and heads straight for it every time HE is outside. Yes you guessed it, Brett!!! Here are some pictures of the process however they are backwards so start from the bottom.

Taylor selling Girl scout cookies

Taylor is a Daisy and loves it!!! She is selling girl scout cookies this year and the pictures are in front of Safeway. So if you want some cookies give me a call, PLEASE I need to get them out of my house. . . .it's dangerous!

Derick turns 12

Derick turned 12 last week. He chose to eat at Red Robin for his birthday dinner, then $1.00 ice cream for dessert. He got some church clothes and a suit, and Mario cart for the Wii. Derick is out of primary (for our church) and now in the Deacon's quorum. I forgot to take a picture of him Sunday morning in his new suit (fluffy died and I forgot) so I"ll get one next week. Derick is a good kid and I'm proud to be his mom! I always tell him to not turn "weird" as he gets older and to still talk to me and hang out. He says he will. . . and I believe him.