Celebrating the 4th of July!

This year our little family had such an enjoyable time celebrating the 4th! Mark was able to have Friday off. It was a wonderful treat to have him home. On Friday morning, Mark watched Karmindy, while Kaleb and I decorated his tricycle with some of our good friends for our Wards bicycle parade. Our ward has a 4th of July breakfast every year at our neighborhood park. After breakfast all the kids ride their decorated bikes around the park while all the parents line the side walks and cheer them on. It is a really cute idea! Kaleb loved decorating his tricycle with his friend Matt and begged me constantly to let him ride his bike all day after it was decorated!

Kaleb and his friend Matt showing off their decorated bikes!

Friday night Mark and I were able to get out and have date night and double with some friends! It was a lot of fun and was so nice to leave the kids with a little gal in our ward and get some couples time. For our double date, we went and tried a new pizza place called Sweet Home Chicago! It was delish. After dinner we went and saw the movie, 'The proposal." It was cute!

Miss Independence!

Our little "Miss Independent" has been walking non-stop for the past few days! She definitely tries to keep up with her big brother and can't be out done by him!

Kaleb on his way to the bike parade!

Kaleb getting so excited for the bike parade!

Karmindy didn't want to be left out and had to take her turn riding her big brothers cool 4th of July bike!

On Saturday, we got up early and went to our ward breakfast and watched Kaleb ride his decorated bike. In the afternoon we headed up to Daybreak with some friends. They have kayaks and we went kayaking and let our kids play in the sand by the lake. It was a really fun outing.

This is probably one of the few pictures that I have of Karmindy playing in the sand. Karmindy loved the water and had absolutely NO FEAR!! She kept crawling toward the water to play in it. She would have kept crawling into the deep areas if I would have let her! Karmindy is our little dare devil!

Our little water baby playing in the sand!


Mark and Kaleb getting ready to take off in the Kayak!

Me, Mark and Kaleb enjoying Kayaking!

In the evening we had a BBQ with the same good friends that we went kayaking with and then went and watched fireworks with the rest of our neighbors and friends. Our neighborhood has the tradition of getting together in someones front yard and pooling everyones fireworks together so everyone can enjoy them. Our neighborhood fireworks show lasted for two hours! It was also fun to watch other neighbors launch illegal fireworks neighbor hoods away! (A big no-no but so cool! :) ) We had front row seats to see everything!

Our 4th of July Holiday was a wonderful one and I am truly grateful to live in a country that is free! I wanted to personally thank my two brother in laws, Kevin and Caleb for serving our country at this time and protecting our freedoms. Happy 4th Everyone!

Family Pictures Summer 2009

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to the Sugar Factory in South Jordan to have some family pictures taken. One of our dear friends and neighbors has been working on his talent in photography and said he would take our family pictures for free! He is a wonderful photographer and I love checking out his blog each time he adds a new post of pictures, he is really talented and does such an amazing job. Feel free to check out his work. (I hope you don't mind Brett) We had a lot of fun getting our pictures taken and checking out the old sugar beet mill. It really is a cool place with worn down buildings and railroads. What a piece of history!! Kaleb had a fun time exploring, Karmindy enjoyed playing with the rocks on the ground and also being able to walk hand and hand with us. She has been starting to take a few steps on her own and feels so grown up if she can hold Mark, Kaleb's or my hand while we walk! Mark and I enjoyed checking out the old rustic antique buildings. It was a perfect place for a photo shoot. Thanks again Brett for taking time out of your busy schedule and also spending your valuable time away from your family to be with ours on a Saturday morning. Here are a few picturs of our family photo shoot...

Laundry Basket fun & Little Karmindy Lou Who!

This past weekend since I haven't felt well, I haven't been up to doing much cleaning or laundry so Mark pitched in and did a couple loads of laundry to help out. While he was folding the clothes for me the kids decided to jump into the laundry basket so their dad could take them for a ride. They love when I have given rides in the past so they seized the opportunity. Mark is such a good dad to our kids.

Karmindy going for a ride in the laundry basket!

The kids enjoying their Laundry basket rides!



Today (June 9th), I decided to see if Karmindy's hair is finally long enough to do pony tails! Sure enough, her hair is long enough! Hurray! I have really looked forward to this moment where I could start trying cute little hairstyles on her! It still is a little short for a lot of hairstyles but this is a milestone! Here are her first pony tails! Isn't she cute? I think she could try out for the role and play Little Cindy Lou Who in the cartoon The Grinch that Stole Christmas. Here is Karmindy with her first ponies!

Living Planet Aquarium

On Saturday afternoon, we all decided to go to the Living Planet Aquarium! It's not Sea World but it was actually really fun! The kids had a great time and I think all of us adults did too! Kaleb really enjoyed seeing all the fish, snakes, lizards, and the Octopus! A favorite of the adults was petting the sting rays! They were so slimy but so cool! Here are a few pictures of our adventure!

Kaleb checking out the huge fish!

Me petting the sting ray-Yucky!


Kaleb holding a stuffed alligator-the only kind his mom will let him hold!

My sister in law Amber petting the sting ray!

Kamberee's Turn!

Kaden's Turn!


Mark and Kaleb checking out the piranhas!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

My brother and sister in law and one of my little sisters came up Friday night (June 5th) to see us! I think I was more excited for my brother and sisters to come up then for my own birthday which was the day before. It has been since March since I have seen them and I miss them so much. It was really nice to see and spend time with them on Friday and Saturday night. Luckily the kids and myself were feeling a lot better. On Saturday morning, Mark, Kamberee, me and the kiddos went to the Temple Open House! It was a wonderful experience to go and take the kids and let them see what the temple looks like on the inside and out. We really wanted to take Kaleb to the Draper Temple open house but time got away from us and we weren't able to go. Kaleb has been reminding us ever since that we need to go see the "new temple on the hill." I was bound and determined to get tickets this time around and felt so lucky that I could score a few so our little family and also one for Kamberee so she could join us. The kids did beautifully while we watched the movie that they show before hand and did pretty good while we walked through. It was really nice that we could take Karmindy and wheel her around in her stroller inside the temple. She did really well and was very comfortable in her stroller. She was so comfortable that she took her shoes off and propped her feet up on the stroller tray, laid back and enjoyed the beauty of everything. (We had a lot of people just smirk as we strolled her by). Kaleb loved going inside the temple! I reminded him before going in that we needed to be reverent because it was Heavenly Fathers house and if we were really reverent we could feel the spirit. When we got to one of the sealing rooms and we were all sitting down admiring the mirrors that go forever and ever, Kaleb said in a not so reverent voice said, "I want to feel the Spirit!!" The people in front of us and in back just chuckled. I was a little embarrassed but it was cute that he was trying really hard to feel the spirit and be reverent. His favorite part of the temple was seeing the pretty chandeliers, the water feature out front and of course getting his own bottled water and cookie in the reception tent afterwards. Mark and I were really glad we could go and take the kids and have Kamberee come and enjoy this experience with us! It was such a wonderful experience and we are so lucky to have such a beautiful temple within a five minute drive from our home. We can't wait to go and take in a session when it is dedicated!

Happy 28th Birthday to puking me!

This past week or so has been pretty crazy for our little family! Last Tuesday (June 2nd), Karmindy came down with the flu, followed by Kaleb on Wednesday and then I came down with it late Thursday night (I think it was inevitable that I would get it since I was the one cleaning up the gunk for those two days). I was so lucky to get it on my 28th birthday! What a fun birthday present to receive! Mark had planned to take me to the Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant and had made reservations for Thursday night but we had to postpone my birthday dinner to another time. Hopefully in the next week or so we can go. I did have a good birthday despite having the flu! I received lots of birthday wishes from family and friends and it was nice to spend time with my little family, even if me and the kids were puking our guts out the whole time. While I was taking care of our kiddos Thursday morning, there was a knock at the door and I received some beautiful wild flowers. They were from some of our dear friends in Southern Utah. Thanks Bensons for thinking of me!

Later Thursday night, Mark and I ordered Chilis in because that was the only thing that sounded good. I wasn't sick at this point but later that night, lets just say, "I tasted my birthday dinner twice." I told Mark that I won't be eating at Chilis for awhile. =)
Mark got me this beautiful painting to hang on our huge wall in our living room above our stair way. I have been wanting a painting of some sort to hang there to fill in the empty space and we found a really pretty one at Hobby Lobby that I loved. In fact, it was a great deal and we got it for 50% off. You guys all know me! I am always looking for a great deal! Here is my painting:


Mark was a sweetheart and took a half of a day on Thursday and all of Friday off to take care of me and the kids. I really am a lucky girl to have such a great husband who will step up to the plate and help out- even if it means cleaning up puke! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who sent me emails, called me or stopped by to wish me a "Happy Birthday!" It really made my day despite me being sick and not feeling well. A special thanks to my incredible husband. I don't know what I would do with out him! I love you honey!

2009 Summer Craft Projects

So lately I have been itching to do something crafty! Last year prior to moving up north my old ward did some really cute Super Saturday projects and since I was busy packing our little family up, I didn't have the opportunity to go and finish the stuff I ordered. It feels like our little family has had our share of colds, the flu (hope it isn't the swine one - Wink, Wink. Just kidding.) and teething babies over the course of the past two weeks!! I have been going crazy just staying here at home so I decided to finish last years Super Saturday projects and threw in an additional project to work on too. It has given me something to do since my kiddos and myself have felt a little under the weather. (My hunny Mark never seems to get sick. I tease him all the time that he must have a cast iron immune system because nothing ever makes him sick or seem to phase him.)

The first project I tackled was my tile wreath. I made a tile for almost every holiday during the year. I would like to try cutting some additional wood tiles and make a St. Patty's day tile and Valentine's Day tile to add to the mix. Here is the finished project~


My next project was my Artwork board. I have been really looking forward to making this so we can free up our fridge a little bit with the array of artwork that we have on there and have another place to display Kaleb's masterpieces (and eventually Karmindy's when she gets old enough). I thought it turned out cute. I painted it brown and it has beige lettering to match the rest of my black, brown and beige decor throughout my home.


My last project I found off of the internet. I know, I know as much as I want to take credit for the idea I can't. I didn't want you all to know that I have to copy things because when it comes to thinking crafts up I am as crafting impaired as they come but I went for it and did it. I am good at copying things though and I thought my monogram tile project turned out so cute. I made a couple of monogram tiles- for one of my dear friends and one for my sister in laws. Their birthdays were coming up so I wanted to make them something crafty for their homes. This project was really easy! Click here to go to the instructions on how to make your own monogram tile. I did make some changes just with the backing. I know press board doesn't cost much but to help cut costs I used chip board instead. I think it worked just as well and is just as sturdy. I also mod podged the scrapbook paper on to the chip board. I didn't use too much for the fear of getting the chip board all wet. It turned out really cute though and I just put the finished project on a cute easel.
I really love doing crafts. I feel so self fulfilled and Martha Stewart like! I really enjoyed doing these projects! Hope they inspire you like the inspired me! =)