Hammons

Cru funnies

2010-10-03T20:35:00.000-06:00

Two funnies from Cru ...
Trey: "Where do olives come from?"
Dad: "From a tree."
Trey: "Oh."
Cru: "Hey! No they don't, they come from Olive Garden."
And another,
Cru:"Mom, why do girls give boys kisses?"
Mom:"Boys give girls kisses too. Daddy kisses me."
Cru: "Ewww mom, that's gross."

Stake Girl's Camp 2010

2010-08-24T16:55:00.004-06:00

I was called on the Stake Girl's Camp board this year and at first I was slightly nervous about the whole thing. We got right to work and with a team of about 8 of us we hashed out every detail of that whole week up there. It only took us 6 months!!! Hours and hours of meetings and projects, it all turned out wonderfully, as I knew it would. Great thanks to our director, Kim. (Pictured below in the hat) Our theme this year was "Anchored in Safe Waters" and we went for everything nautical. And I can't go into something without a whole themed out idea... I showed up at camp with a revamped Tshirt with nautical buttons and ribbon on the sleeves and handmade button earrings of sailboats. A glance at most of our girls...
Stake leaders
This was one of our speakers that we had... he was GREAT! He was a seminary teacher and the kids related to him very well. He did an object lesson shown here about reading in your scriptures with using toothpaste and toothbrush. He contected them by saying that you can't put all your toothpaste for the whole week on at once and expect it to keep your teeth clean for the whole week. You need to do it daily (or more!) for it to work for you. Reading the scriptures is that important too.
Lisa and I were tent buddies and we had a great time sharing the tent with just us two! Check out the earrings...
I was asked (ok, I volunteered!) to make our stake flag this year. I LOVED how it turned out. I worked hard on that thing!
Ok, this is a funny picture! I wish I had more pictures of our skit we did as stake leaders during this night, but none of us passed our camera to anybody while we did ours. I was paired with Mandee and we were the "commercial girls" announcing all our commercials in our skit. You had to be there...
S'more time!
Check out the back of our shirts. They look awesome.
Our guest speaker on the last night was a famous blogger, CJane. Some of you may know her sister Nie Nie from her blog as well. She did great and she was wonderful in person to meet.
I can now breathe!!! Camp took up a lot of time, but was all worth it in the end. We had many spiritual experiences as well up there in those woods. Our faith walk through the woods was an awesome time as well, I wish I had pictures of that because it was so special to see. Thanks to all our leaders! Until next time.

Pioneer Day-July 24th

2010-08-24T15:03:00.002-06:00

Pioneer Day this year was on a Saturday. The boys had a blast being in the parade around town here. Our ward had a float and had some kids ride their bikes, that's what the boys wanted to do. They took it very serious and didn't look up once while we were yelling for them on the side of the road. We celebrated by going swimming that day and did fireworks that night. They LOVED all the different fireworks.How safe of a mother am I letting my shirtless kid hold sparklers??!!! He was too cute though. Check out this cool picture!

Dental Trip to the DR

2010-08-22T20:26:00.006-06:00

This year Matt and I traveled to the Dominican Republic together to work for a week on a humanitarian dental trip. Matt has gone on several of these before down there, but this was my first time. I was excited to experience this with him and to see the country for myself! We had an early start to the trip and successfully got to the DR with no problems. Here we are waiting for our luggage to come... A sweet picture of what a horrible start of the trip. Right after this, we headed down to wait for our ride and we all put our stuff down to sit and wait. After awhile our ride arrives, I meet Walter (our dentist connection down there) and I walk off without my purse. I get to the van not 3 minutes have gone by and I realize what I had done. I RUN back in there to find nothing where my purse used to sit. Really?! 3 minutes? My trip was off to a horrible start. Luckily Matt had grabbed our passports from me and so I only lost my phone, charger, camera, magazines, sunglasses (2 pair!), and chapstick. Thoroughly annoyed and almost ruined my trip, but Matt got me out of my funk and told me to just let go of it or it would ruin my whole week. I was so mad at those sleezes, I know it was you boys sitting next to us!!!! Oh well.

Be warned... picture overload!Check out the potty stops... umm, not my favorite part of the trip. We had to throw our toilet paper in the trash next to the toilet, no flushing. I got a good workout trying to hover over all those toilets.
We had a body guard down there... Victor. He was a great help with using force to get people to back away when they got too out of control. We needed him!
Lunch break! I felt a little bad taking a break to eat since most of the people waiting for dental work were basically watching us and waiting for us to be done. A little awkward, but I got over by the end of the week.
Matt and I working... it was fun to see how dental work gets done up close. I had fun being his assist for the week. I felt like I could prep that cavity filling myself by the end of the week.
The traffic was driving me CRAZY! Since I was not used to how they drive here in the DR, they made me quite nervous. They make how ever many lanes they want, drive in the middle of two lanes, cut people off like it's nothing, and honk at just about everything and everyone! It was quite the experience.
We were able to take a walk one of the nights down by the Santa Domingo temple. It was gorgeous all lit up at night. We were hoping to do a Spanish session in the temple, but we were giving wrong information and the temple was closed by the time we got there. Next time. But we did meet the temple grounds attendant and he ended up finding us one of the days to get some work done.
A view of some of the lines we had throughout the trip... free dental work creates some craziness in the streets!
Check Haley out! Matt showed me how to give a shot and I gave this girl my first one. Not as bad as I thought it would be, pretty fun.
This was the temple worker we helped. He was such a nice guy, came early and helped us set up and waited around ALL day to get work done. Felt good to help out someone that you knew needed the work done that deserved it.
This was a special trip to the Dominican Republic. Matt usually goes down in January, once a year. But this year the senator (pictured down in the yellow, middle) asked the G3 Foundation (the group Matt goes with each year) to make a special trip for his campaining. He is up for re-election and we basically promoted him. It's a win/win situation for the foundation since he is the one who coordinates transportation for us and lunches while we are down here. If he gets elected he will be running for president in the next couple years... that would be cool to say that we've met the President of the DR! The other people in the picture are Dominican dentists and lab workers.
The trip was never lacking fun times... this is one of the times I helped hold down a kid to get a tooth pulled. I actually think this one ran off after a while and he's probably down there hurting still from a half pulled tooth!
Check out the BEFORE on this one...yikes.
After... much better. So nice to help these people out!!
All and all the trip was a blast!!! I was glad to go and experience the Dominican Republic for myself and know what Matt talks about each time he goes there. He served his mission for our church there and I have a great appreciation for what he lived through those two years, almost.

Water, water, and more water

2010-08-16T12:01:00.004-06:00

If you live near us you know you have to go swimming A LOT in the summer! This is a trip we took to Lake Mead with Matt's parents. We found this awesome beach where the kids could swim in the shallow and play in the sand, they thought it was great (and so did we)!
Matt started "throwing" the boys from the boat... again, so much fun!

Cru posing during one of his jumps from the boat... cute kid.
Our future Christmas card... everyone is looking and we all look pretty decent. Ha ha.

Las Vegas Mini Vacation

2010-08-16T11:03:00.003-06:00

Matt and I got away for a mini vacation the beginning of July. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and had a blast! We were unaware that the Hard Rock pool was quite the party place and a RIP-OFF for any kind of beverage! We ordered a lemonade and a water and paid $26!!!
It was so nice to get away and not have to worry about children...
We got to experience the Blue Man Group... very interesting and entertaining. Thanks to Jamie and John for taking the kids, we will be returning the favor very soon!

Manti Trip

2010-08-11T16:33:00.004-06:00

We traveled to Manti, Utah in June for the pagent that they put on every year. We had tons of fun swimming, hiking, and hanging out with the Aste family. We have become familiar with the Aste family through the dental humanitarian aid trip down to the Dominican Republic each year. Len and his daughter Whitney have gone on most all of the trips.

This is where the pagent is held, right alongside the temple in Manti. Gorgeous! It was awesome to see the pagent and to see the kids enjoy it as well. The pagent is about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and the pioneers crossing the plains.
A fun day hiking!
Thanks Aste Family!!!

Silly Macey

2010-08-11T15:01:00.003-06:00

These are some of the funny places I have found Macey asleep at...
I know, I know, she still has a binky! That is next on our "big girl" list.
This one is funny because she climbed up and couldn't figure out how to get down so she just hung out and finally fell asleep! She is so silly...

Hiking in Snow Canyon

2010-08-11T14:56:00.006-06:00

We have loved getting out and exploring our "back yard"! Snow Canyon is a state park here and it's literally less than 3 miles from our house. There are lots of hikes there and we want to experience them all. The kids are having a fun time exploring and climbing through these trails and rocks. It's been a lot of fun.

Kindergarten Graduate

2010-08-11T14:42:00.004-06:00

Treyson has graduated kindergarten!!! He has thoroughly enjoyed this year and has made many friends. He is a reading machine now and excels in it.

A few stats:

Teacher: Mrs. Moore, AM class

Fav Friends in class: Teryn, Matt, Carter

Good times: MANY play dates, park days, recess

Not most favorite: Being late to school (no tardies though!), gym

Macey's Kitchen

2010-05-03T15:46:00.003-06:00

Here is the top of the "stove" and "sink". I purchased the sink from Family Dollar, it is the large size dog bowl. The faucet is the letter "J" painted silver and turned upside down and screwed in. The hot/cold knobs are from Michael's wood section, they are "men". The knobs for the stove are also from Michael's, just wood knobs painted silver. I used my duct tape to trace out the circles for the stove and again, painted them silver.
This is the oven mitt I made to match the whole thing. All I did was trace my little girl's hand around and added about 1 inch to allow for room and seam allowance. I used white felt to bulk it up, cutting two pieces of the cupcake fabric and two pieces of felt. I sewed the diagonal pattern to hold the pieces together and then sewed around putting right sides together, flip, and folded bottom under to finish it off.
I added the fabric in the glass windows by stapling them in.

The back drop and shelf came from Home Depot in their remnants pile. I purchase the shelf piece for 50 cents and the shelf piece for $1. It was white so I taped it off to create the pinstripe look.
Here we are sanding it down and cutting the hole for the sink.
Here is was before we started, purchased off Craigslist for $20.

Total cost for project was between $35-$40!

Macey is TWO

2010-04-08T16:58:00.003-06:00

This is the kitchen I made for Macey for her birthday! It was so fun to do, I love it more than she does I think.
Macey has her brothers right where she wants them...
I took her out while the boys were gone with Dad for a night so we could capture her second milestone. She was so much fun to hang out with and what a smile on this girl!
Isn't she the cutest little red head?!
Macey @ age TWO:

Loves: Babies, strollers, "wiggles" (her wiggle car), teasing her big brothers, "lips" (putting on lip gloss or chap stick), anything her brothers are doing, flip flops

Hates: Being told what to do without her being in the mood to do it, brushing her teeth, naps (but takes them very well), not getting what her brothers have

Favorite Foods: Yogurt, chips, grapes, strawberries, "spicy" cheese, mashed potatoes, all cookies, gum of all varieties

Favorite Shows to Watch: Dora & Max and Ruby

Things to Do: Go to the park, swim, wrestle with the boys, go on errands with mommy

Milestones: Can count to 10, graduated to a toddler bed, runs like a champ!

Macey had a small family party with cousins and aunts and uncles at grandma and grandpa Hammons' home. She got lots of kitchen supplies, dishes, and a soccer ball, which she loves. Happy Birthday happy girl, we love you!

Broken Arm

2010-03-27T16:34:00.003-06:00

I'm a little late on the post, seeing that he already got his cast off, but I should probably write about it. The end of January we were preparing for a trip to Brian Head to stay at a cabin with some friends for the weekend. We were going to sign the kids up for ski school and take off for the day! We were so excited for this!! Well the day we were suppose to leave I got the dreaded call from school that morning saying that Treyson was in the nurses office and they think that he may have broken his arm! Oh great!! He was playing at recess and fell off the top of the slide. He said he fell, but one of his friends told me that they were jumping off. Hmmm. So I rush to find a babysitter for the other two kids and take him to the doctor to get checked out. After a long wait and no lunch, I had Treyson a banana to tie him over before we can get something to eat. We head in to talk to the doctor and he tells us that he has fractured his wrist and his radial head near his elbow. AND that the bone was slightly angled wrong so they needed to get him into surgery to push it back into place. He asks, "When's the last time he ate?" "Oh, breakfast," I say. Totally forgetting about the banana. Once I remember I rush out there and tell them. Now because of that banana we had to wait another 4 hours to have the surgery AND no more eating. I'm dying, I can imagine how Treyson is feeling. So I head to Target to get a "I'm being Brave" toy to help calm him down. We head back to the hospital where they have to prep him for surgery. Matt meets me there and we switch off so that I can go home and get the kids and pack our stuff for our trip. We had prepaid for this thing and we were going to go! We got a babysitter to go with us so we could still go and she stayed and watched the kids while we boarded all day.

Treyson did great with the cast and after 6 weeks now has it off and he is back to being a boy! He is hopefully competing in his first "Kids Triathlon" this coming Saturday! Go Trey!

Tuachan Duathlon

2010-03-02T14:50:00.003-07:00

They had a kid's race after the adult one and all the kids ran in it. It was about 1/2 mile!

I did it! I had been thinking of doing the annual Tuachan Duathlon race near my house for a while and just finally signed up last week, just 5 days before the race. I know, I'm crazy. I work out often enough that I thought I could be in good enough shape to just do it. And that's what I did. It was a sprint distance of 1 1/2 mile run, 12 mile bike ride, and another 1 1/2 mile run. Checking the weather the day before called for rain, great. But upon arriving it was clear and brisk. I had two shirts on and fleece liner biking tights and I am so glad I did. I like to be warm! I borrowed Matt's sunglasses to block the wind on the ride and put them on my head before the race started. We took pictures, talked, and shivered while we waited for the race to start. Everyone started all at once, the Sprint and Olympic distances. On your mark, get set, GO! I start off my first run just fine, so glad to turn around and not follow the others to the longer distance. I can run, but I don't love it at times. I race to my bike for the next transition and I put my helmet on... only to find out that it is so tight. I brought Treyson's helmet because my head is tiny and it fits me the best, but it was tighter than normal. I tried to pull on it, but nothing budged. Oh well, no time to fix it I have to go! I'm cruising on my bike and hit the turn around spot with enough time to wave at the family. Next obstacle is to "climb" Snow Canyon. Not bad, adrenaline helped. On my way back down Snow Canyon I realize that the wind makes it so hard to see good. And it's right at this moment that I remember that I was wearing sunglasses on my head at the beginning of the race. OH! That's why my helmet is so tight. I have sunglasses on my head hidden under my helmet. Way to go. No time to think about that... I make it back to the starting point again and head out for my last run. I start out and woah, my legs are jello. I fight it and try my best to run. As I'm running, I'm counting the girls I see in front of me.. 1,2,3,4,...5, only 5. I think, that can't be right. But I finish as strong as I could. All and all I liked the race and I felt okay doing it.

Awards were given out after a while and to my amazement, I got 2nd in my age group!!!! So exciting, huh?! I can't wait until the next one! Here I come...

I am NOT blog savvy ...

2010-01-13T15:22:00.002-07:00

Does anybody know where to go to get blog template help???? I am trying to change my blog look.... much needed. I grabbed a free one, but it's not working with how my blog was set up and I am clueless on how to line it up. Any advice??? Thanks guys!

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-24T16:35:00.002-07:00

Wishing you all a VERY Merry Christmas! Peace and joy to all...

Treyson-isms

2009-12-10T15:04:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's been TWO months since I've posted something. I am such a slacker. I have lots to post, but not so much time. I had to post this since I did not want to forget some of the funny things kids say. These ones are from Trey..... enjoy.

One morning the boys came into Matt and I's room and woke us up. We snuggled for a bit and jumped up out of the bed to make the bed. Matt asked Treyson to help with the pillows and asked him to hand him his. Treyson said, "Oh, I know which one is yours! The one with all the boogers on it!" (Just for Matt's defense, there isn't any boogers on his pillow, Treyson just thought he was being funny.)

I guess we've been watching too much SpongeBob lately because the other morning at breakfast Cru was not eating as fast as he should and Treyson said, "Cru! Eat, you crabby paddy!"

Last week I made broccoli cheese soup with garlic bread. Trey took a little bite when he got to the table and says, "YUM mom, this is good!" He is going on and on raving about this soup. Even tries to convince Cru to eat it because he took one look and refused. He continues to say, "Mom, you REALLY have to make this more often." Okay, he likes it. And then it comes... "But mom, there's just one problem, I HATE broccoli." And he doesn't touch it for the rest of the meal. Funny kid.

He is TALKING!!!

2009-10-08T11:18:00.003-06:00

Travis celebrated his 19th birthday this last week! He was able to come home for a couple hours during the weekend to celebrate with family and friends. About two weeks ago he spoke his first word and now he is carrying on a conversation!!! We are all so excited for his progress. He is now wanting to try to stand, which is an improvement. The picture above is him at home trying to stand (with help). I think he was a little too excited about that because that night when he went back to his rehab center he fell out of his bed, which is probably from trying to stand up. Who knows! My parents are trying to get him reevaluated to see if he can try to swallow on his own so he can eat by himself and maybe start some physical therapy. We are so happy for his improvement and hope he heals quickly! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Treyson is SIX

2009-09-27T21:09:00.002-06:00

Treyson requested a "Bakugan" party and for those of you who don't know what it is, all I can tell you is that it's a bunch of balls that get 'activated' when touched by metal to create creatures. It's also a cartoon and a game, but I get lost on how to play!

Here are some of his friends waiting for the others to arrive by coloring their favorite Bakugan picture.
Eating their Bakugan lunch-- hot dogs, watermelon "balls", and cheeto "balls".
Blowing out his candles... (cake from Costco that got "decorated" Bakugan style with Dan (main character)... who knew the rainbow would be so popular, everyone wanted a piece with rainbow in it!
Could NOT wait for present opening!
Matt and Grandpa took the boys bowling too. They all had a blast. The bowling alley had some new features that let you choose if you wanted bumpers or not and when it was the boys' turns, the bumpers just popped up. Pretty cool.

Later that night we headed over to Red Robin for his birthday dinner, requested by him. He was not thrilled to be sung to by all those servers, but he graciously said thank you, under his breath.

All and all it was a FUN day for Treyson, who was sick the day before and magically appeared better on his birthday! It was short lived though, he went back to a fever that night!!! It's tough being six, I mean sick.

A little bit about Treyson...

Loves

His little sister to death!

Lots of fruit

Caesar salad

Bacon

Bakugan

Wolverine

Spiderman

Playing with friends

Swimming

Hates

Tomatoes/onions/celery/cream of wheat... anything strange looking or smells weird

Sharing with his younger brother

Taking baths

Being late to kindergarden

Button shirts and any pair of pants (He would LIVE in shorts all year long if he could)

Having the attention on him!

Any form of medicine... you can not even bribe the kid, doesn't work.

Enjoys

Riding bikes (when we make him!)

Alone time with grandma and grandpa... and mom and dad too ;)

Getting new toys, even if out of a quarter machine

Kindergarden

Lego time during his 'quiet time'

Excels

In kindergarden... he will be reading by the end of the year, I just know it!

In sports, he played in his first soccer season this spring and he did great.

Math. He is always quizzing us on "What's ___ + ____?"

Master of persuasion (He can get Cru to do ANYTHING by making it sound awesome and amazing, even if it's collecting trash.)

Latest on Travis

2009-09-21T14:22:00.003-06:00

Here are the latest pictures of Travis... this is the special blanket I made for him!!
Looking good Trav!

For those of you who are not on Facebook, I apologize for not keeping you in the loop with the updates on Travis. Whenever I get updates from my parents I usually post them on there and forget about my blog. Sorry!

Travis is now out of the hospital and is now residing in a rehab center in Burien, WA. He was put in a different rehab center a few weeks past, which turned out to be almost a horrible mistake. One night while his girlfriend was there he started throwing up all his "food" and medicine. His vitals were all over the place and he had to be rushed back to the emergency room at Harbor View again. Needless to say, we did not send him back to that place! Lack of attention to say the least.

So now he is settling into his new center. He is doing okay as far as healing is to be concerned. He is opening his eyes every day, but has yet to communicate or eat on his own. He will respond to commands by giving thumbs up, high fives, blinking once for yes, two for no, etc. He has even slapped a few hands away!! We think this is good progress, slow, but good. We are anxious for him to start talking again and come home. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, and fasting.

Visit Home

2009-09-21T14:12:00.003-06:00

I was able to come home (via Buddy Pass... which is a WHOLE different story) with my older sister to visit family and of course, Travis. We flew in on Friday evening (almost a whole month ago...) after a whole day of waiting in the Salt Lake airport for a flight. My dad had a whole plan worked out to surprise my mom, but the plans fell through a little bit so we had to force her to stop off for ice cream at Red Robin to give us some time to catch up. We were able to catch her off guard and completely surprise her with our visit! She was filled with such joy that she balled! The visit was FULL of GIRL time, shopping, pedicures, eating out, more shopping and NO sleep. We couldn't sleep, there was no time to waste! My sister and I were so thankful for the quick trip and the time we were able to spend with the family and visit Travis numerous times. A big thanks to Matt and my friends who help make this trip possible by watching my well behaved children (snicker.).

Travis Updated

2009-08-07T14:20:00.003-06:00

Here's the most recent picture of Travis. He is still unconscious, but having little improvements that give me lots of hope. He is now out of ICU and in Acute Care. The nurses say his road rash is healing very well. He is still moving around a bit. He now opens his eyes for brief times, yawns, coughs, and lots of rapid eye movement. Wish I could say he was awake now, but hopefully soon! Thanks for all your prayers. I will update when I have more!

Travis update

2009-07-30T13:22:00.002-06:00

The latest update on Travis is that he is still in a coma, but he is now responding to touch and has moved both arms and legs!!! He is such a strong young man that I have complete faith that he will pull through. I was told that he they suspect a left heel fracture. His brain is not a "blooming" injury and has not spread. He will respond to talking by squeezing hands. I am very hopefully at this point, my only wish is that I could be up there with the rest of the family! Thanks for all the prayers, they are working!

Travis

2009-07-29T01:01:00.002-06:00

This is my little brother Travis (with Macey, she's SO little). Please keep him in your prayers! He was in a bad accident tonight. Him and my sister were riding on the tailgate of a truck and the driver turned too quick and he fell off the truck. He hit his head really hard and he had to flighted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He had surgery to remove blood around his brain and now he is in a coma. Not sure what lies next... please keep your thoughts to him. Love to all.

Washington Family Trip

2009-07-15T09:04:00.006-06:00

Visit with Grandma Julich and all the grandkids! I love Treyson and his cousin Blake in this picture, they are precious!
A little pizza and ice cream stop after Great Wolf Lodge.
My sister Ashley and me at Meeker Days. We did a booth and sold various baby items and watches. It was fun, but a lot of work! The weather in WA is so unpredictable and we didn't know what to except.
A little close up look at the booth.
Here it is! Somebody needs to put that laundry basket away... We did pretty good at putting it together in just a couple days. We were constantly asked if we had cupcakes for sale or if we sold aprons, they were a hit!
Macey is showing off some leg warmers and flower clips! Not too happy to take a picture though...
Macey and mom at Great Wolf Lodge.
Dad and Cru posing for the camera. Too bad it's so blurry... I guess I should have checked that!
Visit with Grandma Slaughter, always a fun visit to see all the fun things at her place.
Penguins were a hit! We had just finished watching Happy Feet so they were excited to see them.
The boys and Mr. Elephant
Our visit to Woodland Park Zoo sounded like a great idea in the morning when it was nice and sunny and then it turned to rain on our way there. We went anyways and it actually stopped just after we got there. So nice of them to stop the rain for us.
We couldn't leave without a baseball game! I was lucky to find a great deal on 4 tickets off of Craigslist and we were able to go. We took my dad for his Father's Day outing. We had pretty good seats and it was even a nice day for the game.
Cru, Treyson, Camden, Riley, Noah, and Macey. These are one of good friend's kids from WA. We went and visited them one night and enjoyed some outside fun and pizza. Macey got way too much pizza sauce on her so she enjoyed one of the boy's shirts.
Macey giving Camden a big smooch! MMMMwah! So cute.
Me and Nicole with the little kiddies. So nice to see you guys.

Matt's first TRI

2009-07-14T22:59:00.003-06:00

Matt competed in his first sprint triathalon on June 14, 2009. He tried really hard to squeeze in his workouts without being gone too much from us, such a sweet dad. But for being his first race he did excellent! He finished 7th in his age group!!! We were so proud of him. He raced with his sister, Jamie and her husband John. Jamie finished 3rd in her age group and was the winner of the three of them. Nice work guys!

Here's Matt on his finish!

John, Jamie, and Matt after the race.

The family congratulating dad

on his awesome job!

Camp Out with Dad

2009-07-14T22:41:00.002-06:00

The boys were in for a nice surprise when Matt offered to camp out in the backyard with them! It was so fun for them. We didn't get any pictures of Father and Son's camp out for church (dad forgot the camera... or didn't think about it, either one) so we needed to recreate it. Or something like that. They talked dad into a late night movie too so they didn't fall asleep until after 11PM. I wished I caught Cru still snoozing away still at 9:30AM! Matt put away most everything in the tent and he didn't move a muscle. It was a fun time for the boys!

Cru Happenings

2009-07-14T22:19:00.004-06:00

Cru has become a BIG boy overnight! He decided to wear underwear, talk A LOT faster and more, a few boy tumbles and falls, and he's driving (okay, maybe not)!

Potty training was akward for the first couple days, but he figured it out pretty quick. He's been doing awesome during the day, but night time still requires some pull-ups. He fights us tooth and nail, but we tell him when he wakes up with a dry pull-up he can wear just underwear. On May 1st, while getting ready for cousin Kole's first birthday, Cru was playing on our exercise ball and rolled himself right into the corner of the fireplace. Ahhhhh! Matt ran and caught him before blood got all over everywhere. Matt called in a favor to an oral surgeon friend and got him into his office on a Friday afternoon to get him all stitched up... 6 stitches later! And just a week before that he fell on the granite countertops and cut his chin open, but we opted not to get stitches for that. He probably should have, but it healed okay.

Cru is definitely growing up fast and tells most people that he's THREE already, holding up five fingers. Just today Matt told him that he's so cute and he told him, "I'm not cute, dad!" Okay, but you are such an awesome boy to have around!

Macey is WALKING

2009-07-14T22:07:00.003-06:00

Macey just decided one night (14 months old) that she was ready to take off all by herself... with the phone, of course. I guess she needed something to "hold onto" and the phone was perfect for her. I hope it's not because she sees mom on it too much! Way to go, Macey!

First Word

2009-04-22T16:29:00.002-06:00

Well, it's official, Macey's first word is SHOES ("shoooosh," as she says it)!!!! It couldn't be more appropriate since she IS a girl and she has tons of them already. It was meant to be. Or it could be because she hears me yelling on a daily basis... "Get your shoes on!" or "Go find your shoes." or even "Go put your shoes on if you are going outside." Yeah, it's probably because of that. But I think it's a pretty fun first word.

JAM, jam, everywhere!

2009-04-21T15:26:00.005-06:00

I went to WalMart after my Monday workout and stumbled on a great SALE of strawberries! They were only 75 cents for a 1 pound package!!! So off I went to make freezer JAM... I did four batched of it. For those of you who haven't made it, it is soooo easy. All I did was fill up my blender with strawberries, blend, add the pectin and sugar and it is all done in less than 10 minutes. Our family loves freezer jam and I've been trying to find different ways so I can eat it. I even tried blackberry/strawberry combo as well, so yummy.

Kid-isms

2009-04-11T22:40:00.004-06:00

I really want to get better at writing down all the funny and clever things the kids say because, let's face it, kids say the darndest things! They just so happend to say TWO funnies today and I jumped to write them down so I would not forget this time (Because I most likely always do!). Enjoy...

Treyson was sick today so I was snuggling with him on the couch while Grandpa was watching golf and I had briefly mentioned "Co-Leader" (there were two guys tied for first place at the time) and Treyson says, "Is his name really 'Co'?"

While talking to Cru today I decided that it was time for him to learn to spell out his name... it's really simple so I figured he could handle it. I started to tell him C-R-U. He says, "C-R-Me!" I got a great laugh out of that!

The other morning the boys were joining Matt in the bathroom while he got ready for work. He had just hopped out of the shower and they thought it was pretty funny to give dad some good swats on the behind. Matt responded by saying, "Be careful you might hurt your hand...it's rock solid." And Treyson said, "Then why is it jigglin'????"

Macey's ONE year photo shoot

2009-04-08T15:14:00.008-06:00

I found this awesome photographer here in St. George (www.tamiartphotography.blogspot)that I think does a great job! It's sometimes hard to find photographers that are a reasonable price and it just so happen that right now was her "Spring Special" --5 pictures for $25 (color & b/w)!! I think they turned out wonderfully. She is too cute!!

Soccer Time

2009-04-06T13:32:00.002-06:00

Treyson, they are going to throw it UP toward the goal....move that way!

This is Treyson's FIRST ever soccer league!! He is loving it and having tons of fun. They have had two games already, the first one was a bit rough... we got creamed (could have guessed that by seeing them warm up ---they were ALL Hispanic) and they lost the second game too, BUT Treyson scored his first goal, hooray! We are so proud of Treyson! Can't wait for the rest, they are so fun to watch!

Miss Piggy Birthday Celebrations

2009-04-02T14:33:00.004-06:00

Macey enjoying her cake and willing to share some with mommy! Again, not sure WHY it is not turning these pictures because they are turned on my computer. So frustrating.

Treyson and Macey

Happy Birthday present time!

Our piggy cupcakes, so easy to do...just some marshmallows and M&Ms!

This little piggy likes to dance.

This little piggy wears pink pants.

This little piggy wiggles her toes.

This little piggy wrinkles her nose.

This little piggy is turning ONE!

This little piggy had lots of birthday FUN!

We had such a fun time with Miss Piggy's birthday party. We kept it very low key and only had Grandpa Hammons, Aunt Jamie and her cousins Koda, Kallie, Kaden, and Kole. Treyson had a soccer game that night and kindergarten open house so it was a crazy night to squeeze a party in, but we did! We started off with dinner before the soccer game, complete with "Pigs in a Blanket", salad, strawberries, chips and pink lemonade. Then we headed over to the soccer game, where we got our little bums kicked (no pun intended) and Treyson and made it to the open house with 15 minutes to spare! Next we headed home for presents and our piggy cupcakes. We all sang to Macey, which she loved, and she dove into her pig! She loved it all! Happy 1st Birthday to Macey, we LOVE this girl!

Miss Piggy turned ONE!

2009-04-02T14:23:00.003-06:00

Macey

Red hair/Brown eyes

16 lbs. 14 oz. (2%)

28 1/2 in. (28%)

This month you...

Can now say 2 words --Da da & Uh uh
"Walking" with help
Socially laugh with everyone
Done with "mommy milk"
Starting to climb up and down stairs GREAT (mommy isn't so worried about you)
Drink your milk in a sippy
Had your first photo shoot! (Mommy will share that later.)
Mommy still carries you in our Baby Bjorn and sometimes even your infant carseat (crazy, I know)
Talk and jabber really loud!
Still a HUGE momma's girl
Your big brothers nickname for you is "Squirt"

Happy Birthday Macey!!

Creative Blog

2009-03-23T15:53:00.002-06:00

I just put a few posts on my creative blog.... CREATIVE JUICES down below. Forgive me, I haven't quite figured out how to do links on here yet.
Stay tuned for a couple more projects that I am sooooo excited about! I am redoing the boy's room and I can't wait to share!

New Hairdos

2009-03-20T10:00:00.003-06:00

Don't be scared! We've done mohawks in the bath, even done them for sometimes for fun on crazy days, but not like this! Matt took the kids last night after work to all go get their haircuts and the boys (just the little ones, not Matt) came home like this. Woah. Not quite sure how long they will have these hairdos...they've been getting some strange looks from almost everyone. I think we'll save it for Gma and Gpa Hammons to see!

At least they are still very cute!! Maybe I need to do a full photo session with their little guitars, what do you think?

Sleep Over on St. Patty's Day

2009-03-19T16:13:00.003-06:00

This was our TREASURE that the Leprechaun left us...fancy treasure box, huh?

We had our cousin Koda stay over at our house on Monday! It was so fun to have a sleep over (after they FINALLY went to sleep). Koda and Treyson both slept on the top of our NEW bunk bed (pictures to come soon). Cru was having a hard time with it since he just had his binky "broken". He actually finally fell asleep before the big boys did. The Leprechaun stopped by our house this morning and left our milk green and we found some of his gold he left behind as well. It was so fun to have a sleep over, thanks for staying Koda!

Macey 11 Months

2009-03-04T12:35:00.002-07:00

Macey

11 Months

16lbs. (according to the bathroom scale)

Red hair

Brown eyes

This month:

You still LOVE to be with mommy, especially in the baby bjorn.
You were really sick and had a temperature of 102 degrees and slept all day, it was scary for mommy.
Making messes is your new favorite thing.
Working hard to use your sippy cup.
Love meat, anything and everything meaty.
We joined the Rec Center and you love to go to Day Care.
You are an awesome waver, bye-bye/hello/nite-nite

I can't believe you are already 11 months old! We will be celebrating your birthday quicker than we can imagine! You are such a bundle of joy in our family and bring smiles to all!

Jacob Hamblin Home Visit

2009-03-03T16:09:00.004-07:00

In front of the home.

Mommy and Macey

A cool thing to take a picture by.

Taking a break from the walk for a photo-opt

We had our Stake Conference last week and since all the kids were still recovering from sickies we thought it would be fun to go check out the Jacob Hamblin Home. This is a church historical site here and just minutes from our house. Since we drive past it everyday we thought we should go see what it's all about. Jacob was an early settler in Santa Clara, Utah. He was a great friend and peacemaker to the Indians and a wonderful missionary. It was interesting to find out more about him and his life and how he fits into our community. He had several wives and had a total of 24 kids, woah. He helped to build a fort in Santa Clara, which is not here anymore, but there is monument that represents that. We walked from his home to the monument to get the whole experience... I was surprised the kids walked the whole mile!

Mask Time

2009-03-03T16:02:00.003-07:00

Don't be scared...

Matt and I decide to search the internet for a homemade mask for a much needed facial. Matt's skin tends to be a bit more oily than mine so we settled on a combination mask. This one asks for 1 banana and 1/3 to 1/2 C oatmeal. Blend and Picasso time! It was quite a weird feeling, but something fun to do together!

Spread the Love

2009-02-16T09:32:00.003-07:00

I thought this would be something fun to do. I saw this on my friend Lauren's blog...

{Lucky you!}
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! (Ha, I don't paint or write poetry or do masques so it will be something different)
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!}

Macey 10 Months

2009-02-04T21:02:00.005-07:00

Macey Moo

Red Hair/Brown Eyes

Didn't take you in for a 9 M check up so not quite sure how much you weigh...again.

This month:

You are starting to shy away from baby food.
You think head-butting is really fun, yikes!
We were finally able to put your hair into a tiny pony tail and antennas on your head.
Speed crawling is your game...
Get carried around by BOTH brothers.
Still a major "momma's girl".
You can still fit into size 2 diapers and size 3-6 M clothes, grow girl!

We are all so excited to watch you grow and learn, Macey! We all love you so much.

Anybody want a VACATION?!

2009-01-12T14:57:00.003-07:00

Alright, I won't be paying for your plane ticket or anything exciting like that, but if anybody wants to get away for a bit I am home alone (with the KIDS) starting this Thursday for a week. Matt is going down to the Dominican Republic to do humanitarian dental work. I wish we were a bit warmer so I could intice you more to come visit, but we DO NOT HAVE SNOW (okay, we have a tiny leftover patch in our front yard, but none anywhere else)! Just a thought...

Funny Pics

2009-01-12T14:48:00.003-07:00

Okay, this one isn't funny...but stinkin' cute! First time in a little pony tail, cuteness.

We just rotated our church time at the beginning of the year to 1pm... doesn't sit well with a two year old, fell asleep during cleanup of dinner. Even slept through the wipe down. Poor kid.

I'd like to introduce Handy Manny's assistant --Handy Macey! Treyson thought he was hilarious when he shoved these tools down her pants. I have to admit that I thought it was pretty funny myself!

Want a FREE photo session?!

2009-01-07T13:38:00.002-07:00

Meet my lovely friend Tyra.... she is giving away a FREE photo session! How nice is that?! Visit her photo blog {Moments by Tyra} on my sites visited often and leave a comment and you could win a session. She lives in Idaho so she is only giving it away to people living (or visit!) in Idaho, Utah and Washington. Good luck!!

Macey 9 Months

2009-01-02T09:39:00.002-07:00

Cru wanted to get in on the action of picture taking so he hopped in the seat!

Macey

9 Months

Red hair/brown eyes

Not sure what you weigh, but you are very petite.

New Findings and Happenings this month...

You wave bye-bye and hello.
You now clap!
Saw your first snow.
First Christmas...you loved the tree and all the lights.
You LOVE to eat "big people" food!
Still won't drink anything but "mommy milk" or use a sippy yet.
You crawl around to try to find mommy all the time.
"Vacuums" up both her brothers messes after meals.
Takes baths with her big brothers.
You love when mom sings to you.

Christmas Eve at the Hammons

2008-12-31T11:10:00.003-07:00

Kaden (cousin) and Cru

Grandpa and Grandma Hammons and grandkids (minus Shelby and Libby)

Macey and her cousin Kallie

Our Batmans!

Mommy and Macey

We had a fun night celebrating Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Hammons' house! We ate a very yummy ham and potatoes dinner complete with rolls, salad, jello and peppermint ice cream dessert shared later. The kids played a story game called "Left Right" where they had to switch presents left or right depending on what happened in the story. It was interesting to see two year olds try to figure that out! But they loved their new toy in the end. The adults continued with gift giving with our own white elephant game of sorts. We each brought a present worth $15 and picked a number out of a hat to see what spot we were in the game. First person opened a present and the next got to steal it or open a new one. It was fun! It would have been a bit more fun with ALL the adults in the family, but Annie and Jon stayed up north in Boise and Molly and Elliott were on a small little vacation in ROME! We missed you guys!! The night ended by the traditional jammies presents... a whole pack of Batmans and Christmas girl treats. (We opted not to get the girls Batgirl pj's because we figured they wouldn't want them because they are "boy pjs" SO they got Christmas ones.) What a fun night spent with family. On our way home it started snowing and the flakes got bigger as we headed in Ivins and we woke up to our white Christmas! Treyson was a bit disappointed because he couldn't ride his new skateboard Santa brought him.

Mommy and Treyson Project

2008-12-17T16:12:00.003-07:00

Treyson and I decided to do a project today and we whipped out this gingerbread house. I think it turned out pretty good considering I found all this candy in our "sweets cupboard". I think we might like candy a little bit too much if I can have enough candy for this on a whim, don't you think? For speed ease we hot glued the graham crackers to the milk carton (thanks for the tip, Rachel) and used a good ol' plastic bag for our frosting piping. How do you like it????

Let It Snow...

2008-12-17T16:07:00.003-07:00

Check it out! We had an early snowfall this year and mother nature dropped almost 4 inches on us. This is a huge rare occasion and Treyson was all about getting out and playing in the snow. He had asked me a couple weeks back when it was going to snow, but I had to let him know that it doesn't snow that much here. I think last year it snowed ONCE. So this is weird! I have heard that it has never snowed this much before Christmas. Maybe we will have a white Christmas in St. George this year! I'm just glad it doesn't stay too long!! We left our shovels in Cleveland...

Thanksgiving Boise Style

2008-12-02T10:23:00.002-07:00

Let the Mario Kart begin... Aunt Molly with Macey and Grandma H with Libby

Fun with their superhero capes!

This year we drove up to Boise to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's sis Annie and her family. It was a long 10 hour drive but it was so fun to be able to do that! On our way up we drove half way and stopped off at our old friend's, the Gronemans to say hi. We ended up just spending the night there! It was a blast to catch up and have the kids play together. They had so much fun having a sleepover in Hadley's room that they forgot to go to sleep... until we had to put them in their own beds around midnight. Thanks again Gronemans for letting us invade!! (I need pictures, BTW!)

We finally made it to Boise and cousin Shelby was thrilled to see her cousins. Cru and Treyson were so excited to see her that they overwhelmed her just a bit. By the end she was sad to see them leave. We got to see Aunt Molly too, who joined us from Florida... but she came without Uncle Elliott. :( The boys were sad not to have him there.

We had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner (lunch) and spread out the food all the way through the weekend. We found out that our families are just not that big for that much food yet. The girls snuck out a few times for shopping trips here and there and the boys managed to get enough football in to last until next year (it seemed!). It was just so much fun to be together with family and be thankful for the many blessing that we have. Thanks to Annie, Jon, Shelby, and Libby for letting us invade your lives with our masses. You guys are awesome, I had that we live so far away. Thanks again.

Macey 8 Months

2008-12-02T09:20:00.003-07:00

Macey Moo

8 Months

A few things about you this month...

You found out how to scream-- very loudly.
You still wear size 2 diapers!
You love to be involved with your brothers and won't let mom out of your sight.
You are pulling yourself up on anything and everyone.
You got your first tooth!
So glad when daddy comes home, big smiles!
We went on a trip to Boise for Thanksgiving and you did really good, despite some screaming.
Tried mashed potatoes, french fries, pumpkin pie and whipped cream, yum!

Macey, I can't believe you are already this old! You are growing up and looking older everyday. Such a cute little girl... we all love you Mace.

{Holiday Boutique}

2008-11-11T14:46:00.002-07:00

Come one, come ALL to the Holiday Boutique! My friend and I are in a holiday boutique THIS SATURDAY so if you want to get a jump start on your holiday shopping, come see us! We will be having "show prices"!!!

Shani's
Holiday Boutique
A perfect way to start your Christmas shopping!

Open house Saturday, November 15th 1 - 5 PM
724 W. 1300 S. Hurricane, UT
Everyone Welcome!

Door prizes, free goody buffet!

Scentsy Candle warmers,
Beautiful, amazingly priced bags and totes!
Vinyl lettered decor,
Cosmetics, Homemade soap,
Gift baskets, growth boards, Tu-tu's, baby bracelets, headbands and much more!

There will be something there for everyone!

Crazy Eights TAG

2008-11-03T14:37:00.004-07:00

I was tagged by old roomie Adrienne... enjoy my eights!

8 TV shows I LOVE to watch:

1. Prison Break

2. CSI Miami

3. Anything on HGTV

4. The Office

5. Biggest Loser

6. So You Think You Can Dance (I know it's over, but I LOVE it!)

7. Ellen (even though I hardly ever get to watch it...)

8. Jay Leno (We love a good "Headlines" and "Jay Walking")

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Round Table Pizza (Mmm, lunch buffet)

2. Jimmy Johns

3. Cafe Rio

4. Pizza Factory

5. Chipolte

6. Olive Garden

7. Panda Express

8. Red Robin (opening soon here!)

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1. Went to church

2. Got woken (is that a word?) up by loud thunderstorms

3. Slept an extra hour (I wish)

4. Was a referee in Primary between a teacher and child

5. Made some cute new watch bands (you need to check them out!)

6. Watched THE HULK

7. Took down Halloween decorations

8. Talked to friends on Facebook

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. Thankgiving and seeing my sister in law's new house and family

2. A potential trip up to Salt Lake over the 21st...

3. Twilight movie (is there anybody that is NOT?)

4. Christmas decorations, music, goodies

5. A little bit cooler weather so I can wear a sweater

6. Finding time for doing more projects

7. A clean house

8. The ADA Conference in Hawaii next year (anybody going???)

8 Things on my wish list:

1. A bigger house

2. Finding ways to further my photography knowledge

3. Completing a marathon (just don't know when...)

4. A vacation with us Matt and I for more than 3 days

5. A firm tummy after all these kids!

6. A new pair of jeans

7. To have a garden

8. More shopping $$$$

Okay I'm done thinking now so I don't want to think of who to tag... if you want to do this, go for it!

{Happy DENTAL Halloween}

2008-11-01T21:08:00.002-06:00

Treyson and all his loot!

My cute little dental floss...with his "C" coming off from 2 year old fingers. Leave it alone Cru!

Me and Macey (she was mesmerized by my wand and earings the whole night)

Here we are!!! My hard work paid off (by cupcakes) and our family won first prize at our church's Halloween party! Everyone just loved it all. I was still working on Treyson's that afternoon and Grandpa still had to help me figure it out on our way out the door. We had a blast "Trunk or Treating" to all the cars and the boys LOVED how they loaded up on all that candy! Cru officially has a sucker addiction though. He had Grandma open just about every sucker he got and he stuck them all together. Then he took a few licks of one and went on to the next... funny kid.

{7 Months}

2008-10-31T14:38:00.004-06:00

Macey Nicole

7 months

14.24 lbs. (10th percentile)

26.5 in. long (64th percentile)

This month you...

Started CRAWLING!
Saying more "baby words" (da,ba, etc.)
Sleep more through the night (8pm-8am!)
Still wear your 3 month clothes.
Are sad if mommy leaves you.
Sitting up like a big girl in your high chair to get your Gerber Puffs (those things are GREAT!).

We are in trouble...

2008-10-29T20:13:00.003-06:00

Macey decided to finally take off crawling! She's been at it for a little bit, but has finally taken off officially... watch out world, she's coming!!

Halloween Outings and In

2008-10-28T16:52:00.004-06:00

BOO!! Pumpkin carving time! Dad started with the messy job and mom carved out the faces... Treyson claims his to be the scary one, but mom did all the work. ;)

Mom did all the work because Treyson and daddy couldn't handle the mess, Treyson said it smelled like tomatoes and he hates tomatoes.

The boys riding the "train" at the Staheli Family Farm.

Just a random picture, but how cute is she?!

We met the Henderson Fam at the Staheli Family farm this year and we had such fun wandering the corn maze, the dads pretended to, and with a brief FHE lesson squeezed in we made it through the maze!

And for your Halloween pleasure...

We were talking to Treyson about our plans this upcoming weekend and how we would be attending the church's "Trunk or Treat". He was very confused and we watched him stew with that thought for a little bit. And then he finally said, "But trunks are for elephants, Mom. We say "Trick or Treat!"

Hope that brought a good chuckle for you as it did me!

San Antonio Trip

2008-10-22T14:05:00.004-06:00

Matt and I are back from our trip to San Antonio! We had such a fun time there. We ended up staying with friends (the Atwoods) from dental school and caught up on everything except sleep. (I'm still catching up on that...) JJ Campbell stayed with them too so we had a grand ol' time! Thanks for the dice game, good times.
First off I have to tell you all about our trip to the Vegas airport to leave... wow. We gave ourselves an hour and a half to make it down there and we had to stop by Matt's office on the way out, go to the bank, pick up lunch, etc. etc. So really we only have less than an hour by then, oops. So Matt made up time by speeding, really speeding. Okay, he didn't speed too much! But we did make it into Vegas in about a hour and 20 minutes, which it usually takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. We are feeling good about making up time and just about that time traffic comes to a dead stop. Umm, what is the problem? I'm scanning radio stations to see what the deal is, mind you, it's 130pm in the afternoon, not time for traffic. Found out that the freeway goes down to 2 lanes, not good. Sooo, we sit in traffic for a good 45 minutes, maybe longer. So much for making up time. And we decide to get off and take back roads, not a good idea. The city streets are just as bad and the lights are totally not timed right and we miss just about every one. Right now we are sweating bullets and I'm frantically calling the airlines to see what we can do, which is not much. We finally pull up to skycab check in with 25 minutes until take off. I'm thinking there is absolutely no way we are making our flight. And I already checked to see about the next flight out, totally booked. Sooo, I check us in and Matt raced to park the car, meanwhile I book it (Macey in tote) racing down the Vegas airport. Standing in security line was brutal! Right when I go through the first security check, Matt shows up, too late to step up with me. He has to wait in the line just like I did. Right now there is about 10 minutes until take off. I figured my best bet is to go through security by myself and run to hold the plane for Matt. So I again, race to the gate. And why is it that whenever you are in a hurry the gate you need to go to is the last possible one?! Ahhhh! I finally get to the gate, totally out of breath, and ask them to please hold the gate for my husband because he's like 2 minutes behind me! Okay, maybe 10, but if they hold it for 2 they might hold it for 10. Matt finally shows up and I can breathe. We don't get to sit together, but we are only a row apart. Our plane leaves like 2 minutes later. I had my prayers answered on that one!! That was too stressful for us so we made sure we were at the airport plenty early on the way home. But our time there at the conference was really fun. We ran into Case alumni while we were there. Macey was a huge hit at the conference, she got her picture taken twice by the ADA daily newpaper and made the paper one day! I got to hang out with my sister Carey and her husband Erick, saw where she works, met her friends at work, and we occupied our time by bead shopping and eating! Thanks to Carey and the Atwoods for putting us up and toting us around town. I hope it isn't too long until we see you all again... good times.

CRU is 2!

2008-10-19T21:38:00.003-06:00

Cru Bradley

Blond Hair & Blue Eyes

27.2 lbs. (42nd percentile)

34.7 inches (58th percentile)

{Favorite Foods} Cheese, cereal, pb&j sandwiches, chips, ANY dessert

{Some of your Favorite things} Hot wheel cars, wiggle racer (you are FAST), BINKY, showers in mommy and daddy's bathroom, haircuts, and anything Treyson is doing...

{Words} NO, Mine, Dose (Adios), Bink, Treat, and anything else you ask him to say!

{Shows} Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Higglytown Heroes, SpongeBob, Scooby Doo

{Hates} Getting teeth brushed, going potty, when Treyson doesn't share

{Things we LOVE about you} Your smile, the way you love your brother and sister, your hugs and kisses, the way you always keep us on our toes, the way you kill bugs for us (our little bug stomper)

{Accomplishments} Counting to 10, Riding the Matterhorn at Disneyland, gets his own water (not something mommy loves), zips own pjs up, tells us when he needs to go potty (but doesn't love to go on the toilet), swimming with floaties

New Blog

2008-10-13T13:20:00.005-06:00

I've decided to have a new blog just for ME and my new projects! I'm excited to have a place just for me... check it out! Click on my "new blog".
AND I've also launched another site to sell some of my new favorite things! My friend and I are getting together to create some fun girly things for you and your little one...
http://twirlygirlboutique.blogspot.com/ Stay tuned for more to come!

ADA Conference

2008-10-07T14:41:00.002-06:00

Just seeing if any dental school buddies are planning on attending the Dental Conference this year in good ol' Texas. Matt and I are going this year and we are seeing if there is anybody else in attendance with us...

One HALF YEAR Old

2008-10-01T13:51:00.004-06:00

{Growing with piggy} Sitting up!
6 Months

Red Hair

Brown/Green eyes

{Not sure how much you weigh yet...it won't be much though}

Macey, you are 6 months old already!

Loves: Her brothers, good naps, being in on the "action", to watch football with daddy (or so he thinks), her feet

Hates: Being rocked to sleep, Rice cereal (but getting better everyday), to be given her binky when she doesn't want it, being alone, pulling her headband over her eyes

Accomplishments: Sitting up (with several stumbles), on hands and knees (yikes), eating "solids" (including an Olive Garden bread stick), steam rolls around the room, sucks her feet

Nicknames: Mace, Macey Moo, May Mace (Cru), Missy

You are our little petite girl and we all love you! Happy Half!

Photo Help

2008-09-30T14:04:00.003-06:00

I recently took a short photo class through the community and now I'm all about photo everything! Now poses my question... Do you have a photo editing program that you love??? I have never had anything to "touch up" my pictures or do fancy card, layouts, etc. and now I really want to get into that. I don't have the slightest idea what to get or how to learn it so that's where you come in. Tell me what you have, love, or wish you had and how you learned all your knowledge. Thanks for helping guys! One of my recent pictures of Macey... untouched and unedited.

Party with the HULK

2008-09-29T14:04:00.003-06:00

I saw this idea online and decided to take a stab at drawing the Hulk, I had all the kids stick their head through to "become the Hulk" and show me their mad faces. I thought it turned out pretty good and they all loved it! It ended up being our bean bag toss game too.
It's so hard to get all the kids picture taken together, we were missing a couple.
Our GREEN cupcakes... looking at pictures makes it look like a big tree, huh?
Trying to light the candles in windy Ivins...
The park in the back works out great to have the kids play while we get ready for the party to start. We had all the kids wear their green to get in the Hulk mood...

Since GREEN is the favorite color these days we decided to go for a HULK birthday party for Treyson this year. He loved helping me find green things to have at his party. One day he said, "Hey mom we should go to the store to get more green stuff for my party, but not green beans." We opted to have the party at the park last minute because I didn't think that many people would be so comfortable in our house at the same time. It worked out great since Treyson got a new Razor scooter from G&G Hammons, he got to ride outside. The party went great and I'm so glad I only planned for an hour because we actually ended early and I had to come up with our bean bag Hulk game at the last minute. Since I didn't have bean bags I ran home to put beans in ziplock baggies and presto... bean bags. We had a lot of fun partying all night!

{Treyson's 5}

2008-09-29T10:42:00.004-06:00

Treyson Jay

September 26th

Brown Hair & Brown Eyes

41 pounds

45 inches tall

Favorite Color: The color of the day is GREEN!

Favorite Number: FIVE, duh, did we think it would be anything else?

Favorite Foods: Ice Cream, Pizza, Cheddar Cheese, fruit

Favorites: Watch Cartoons, Mario Kart, Legos, Ride Bikes, Wrestling

Hates: Button shirts, pants, sharing with Cru, Getting woken up, Bugs, onions and green beans

Wears: T-shirts & shorts

Happy Birthday Treyson, we love you!

Squeezing in one last LAKE trip

2008-09-24T14:27:00.004-06:00

The trip started out with a blown tire on the boat trailer....not fun.
Check out how windy it is! The waves were a lot bigger later in the day.
Me, braving the innertube and rocky water.
Grandpa and Macey (my poor fair skinned, red haired baby!)
Daddy and Cru watch Treyson on the tube.

We braved the wind and went for a trip on Lake Mead. Since Matt's parents have been up in Idaho all summer helping his sister Annie, we didn't make it to the lake. The kids were sooo excited to finally get on the water and enjoy the warmth. BUT the wind was just a little too fierce and we ended up only staying a couple hours. We picnic-ed on the water in the boat and had a few inner tube trips. On the way back to the marina Matt and Treyson (equipped with scuba goggles) sat up front on the boat and "enjoyed" many waves in their faces... Treyson lured Matt up to the front saying, "Dad, you are missing out on all the fun. This is AWESOME!"

Hammons Dental Swim Night

2008-09-15T10:55:00.004-06:00

Cru and Dr. Hammons (aka Matt or daddy)
Bradley and Autumn Best eating the yummy hotdogs... this kid won the biggest prize we had, $300 in free dental work, whitening trays, and a basket full of toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste.
Casey (Kristin's husband) MANing the grill, thanks again for doing that Casey!

Brittany (one of our assistants) and Kristin (office manager), looking great guys!

We had a patient appreciation night at Sand Hollow Aquatic Center a week ago. We rented out the whole place for our patients and their friends and had hotdogs and extras for dinner. Kristin was our mastermind in organizing the event, down to wrapping out the prizes. Our theme was beachy and I went out and bought beach towels, sunglasses, beach toys, balls, squirt guns, etc. for the prizes, in addition to "big prizes" of whitening trays and free dental work. It was a blast to do and we are already looking forward to next year and hope to have more patients join us in the fun! Thanks again to all who helped!!

Tagging Time

2008-09-09T10:38:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've been tagged... probably because it takes me FOREVER to actually do it. Well, here goes. I was tagged by Nancy and you have to state 6 quirky things about yourself. And then you have to tag 6 more people to do the same, just remember to post a comment so they know.

1. Even being married to a dentist I HATE to floss my teeth (even though it feels great when I do it) and I don't do it as often as I should.

2. I am very cheap!! I always am cutting coupons and one of the first to know of the latest sale. I know it's sometimes a good thing, but when you won't buy something because it's not on sale it gets annoying.

3. I secretly enjoyed having my baby girl a natural childbirth. It's a bit weird, I know, but it was the easiest birth and the fastest recovery.

4. I used to only get my haircut about twice a year. Again, it's the cheap thing, but I now have to cut it about every three months.

5. I love finding new and fun projects to do, but I am the queen of unfinished ones. I think I still have a Merry Christmas sign from the first year of dental school still unfinished.

6. When I cook meals for myself or the whole family I have to have at least 3 things (i.e. grilled chicken, rice, salad) no less. If I don't have three it doesn't feel complete. Does dessert count as an item????

OKay, now for the fun part.... I TAG ---------> Kiley, Laura, Sabrina, Loralee, Tia, and Molly because I miss these girls and want to read about them!

Macey's 5 Months

2008-09-02T15:41:00.004-06:00

Macey is 5 months old!

Auburn hair

Greenish Brown eyes

12 pounds 7.5 ounces (14th percentile)

This month:

You tried rice cereal and some squash, but HATED them both!
You are now "steam-rolling" around the living room.
You love to pull Mommy's hair... mommy doesn't love that since she is now losing all of it, it seems.
You still hate the bottle.

Cereal Attempt

2008-09-02T15:37:00.003-06:00

What are you feeding me mom???

Since Macey is on the petite side and since she is now 5 months we have decided it is time to start a little "solid" foods for her. She wasn't too impressed with the rice cereal or the squash... maybe we'll try another day!

First Day of School

2008-09-02T15:31:00.005-06:00

Today was Treyson's first day of preschool, hooray!!! He is in need of some fun, creative things to do that mommy doesn't have a lot of time for. He goes to Leapfrog preschool just down the street offered by a lady in our church. He has a lot of fun there. He was excited about meeting new friends (a little nervous though) and most excited about wearing his new shoes... he MUST be Matt's son.

And this is MY first day of school too!! Not really that big of a deal.... I am taking a basic photography class offered through the community with a friend from church. We are excited to learn some techniques and hands-on instruction. Should be FUN.

7 years

2008-09-02T15:22:00.003-06:00

A little late on this, but Matt and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on the 22nd. I was sooo sick and didn't feel very good, but we had a babysitter and so we went out anyway. We went out to eat at Gun Barrel (a "game" place... think buffalo) because we had a gift certificate and we ended up only spending $2, my kind of anniversary dinner! Because I was so stuffed up I decided to just get chicken, and I could barely taste that. Matt opted for the steak, yum. Our next adventure took us somewhere near our home... Tuachan Ampitheater to watch Les Miserables! Matt tried to keep it a secret, but the babysitter spilled the beans a little bit. It was a good night and we even left Macey at home too! (I fed her before we left and put her to bed... she HATES the bottle) Here's our anniversary picture at Tuachan even though it was too dark to see anything else!!!

Miss Libby

2008-08-21T09:32:00.004-06:00

We officially have a new baby neice in the family! (A little late...) Matt's sister Annie gave birth to Libby Marie on Tuesday, August 12th at 12:12pm. She weighed in at 5lbs 5 oz. and she was 18 3/4 inches long. She was born at 35 weeks so she was put in the NICU because she was not breathing or eating on her own, but she is such a fighter and she is now breathing on her own already! She just has to eat on her own and she's home free! We are sooo excited to welcome sweet Libby into the family and can't wait until we meet her. Congrats Scott family.

Trip to Washington

2008-08-19T10:38:00.004-06:00

Sarah's boy Drew, Cru, and Trey
Me and Sarah at Clear Lake

Mt. Rainier
Tubbing

We had such a fun time visiting family and friends on our trip to Washington. Time was mostly spent hanging out with cousins and playing together. We hiked by the Carbon River, took pictures of all seven grandkids, went swimming with the Pitschs at Clear Lake, made numerous watch bands from beads, had family and friend gatherings, went shopping, ate at favorite places, and laughed a lot! Thanks for the good time everyone!!!

{***Warning: Picture OVERLOAD***}

2008-08-19T10:26:00.004-06:00

Me and Macey on the hike
The gorgeous mountain and river
Show me your silly face!
Natalie and Macey, the only girls
Grandpa Jim and Macey loving his drink

2008-08-19T10:05:00.002-06:00

Grandma and Macey
All the grandkids with Great Gma and Great Aunt Jayne
Haley and her good friend Nicole and brand new third baby boy
Tree fallen in big wind storm years ago

Our hike up by the Carbon River

2008-08-19T09:55:00.002-06:00

Macey's cowgirl giddy-up outfit
Treyson, Aunt Ashley, and Cru
Uncle Travis loving on Macey
Grandpa Jim, Trey, Great Gma Julich, Cru, Haley, and Macey
All the cousins minus Treyson because he was just too good to take a picture! Natalie thinks it's Halloween...

Macey 4 months

2008-08-01T10:17:00.003-06:00

Macey is 4 months already! We haven't made it to the doctor yet so we don't know weight/height, etc., but I'm sure she's on the smaller end. Her cousin Kole is just a month younger and he's already bigger than her.

{At 4 months}

Auburn hair
Eyes are turning greenish/brown
You can roll over tummy to back, but not often.
You still LOVE your hands and anybody elses too!
You love your brothers, but sometimes they love you too much and make you cry.
You don't like to be left out of the fun! Love when mommy holds you.
Made your first trip to Disneyland, rode some rides, and you even put your feet in the ocean!
If anybody gives you attention you will smile at them.
You are sad when Treyson doesn't pay attention to you in the car... When mom tells Treyson to sit all the way back he says, "But Macey needs me!"
You are always trying to "sit up"

We love you Macey, you bring a new light to our house!

California Vacation

2008-07-28T14:14:00.005-06:00

Disneyland
All the kids... is that a smile from Cru?!
Mom and Macey at the beach
Dumbo ride for all
Fun Newport Beach times... "I can't feel my legs" -Andi

We traveled to southern California for our family vacation this year and met up with our friends the Jenkins from Tuscon, AZ. We arrived on Friday and got settled in by taking a dip in the pool.
Saturday was our big beach day and we woke up to a hugely overcast cloudy day. We had already planned out the rest of the trip so this was the day to go to the beach. We decided to just bite the bullet and go anyway just to say we went. We headed to Newport Beach and surprisingly couldn't find one parking spot! We decided to take our chances and park in the Albertson's parking lot. After a little walk we finally arrived at the beach ready to take in the water... it was FREEZING! I forgot how cold it was so most of us just made it to our feet and that was it, except Treyson and Andi. The kids loved chasing the waves! Our lunch was just as fun... have you tried to make PB&J in the sand? Needless to say the kids ate "crunchy" sandwiches. They just couldn't resist putting their hands in the sand. And another funny part of our beach day was trying to figure out how to clean all the kids off from all the sand. We finally asked some locals and they told us that we could use their hose if we wanted, THANK YOU! I'm not quite sure what was more entertaining --lunch or the hose down?! It was quite the adventure.
The next four days consisted of getting up early to make the gate open to Dineyland and Legoland, but almost never actually making it. We were close though! All the kids had a blast, despite the usual nag for toys, the "I'm hungry" or "I'm thirty" or "I'm hot", and the worried looks from Caden for the scary rides! It's okay Caden, we still love you! We had a lot of fun with the Jenkins, thanks for planning it with us!

Annie Update

2008-07-17T15:10:00.003-06:00

Well I was optimistic and was going to post an update a few days ago saying that things were mostly okay. She still is not eating on her own, Jon has to put the IV in her at night before bed (to get her 1200 calories to at least sustain life) and then Annie's parents are there to take it out in the morning. BUT yesterday morning we got word that she was running a fever and she was throwing up SO they called the doctor and he told her to head back to the hospital. AHhhhhh! She found out she has an infection so she is getting antibiotics and they are taking some other cultures to see if there is any others. I haven't heard any news on the baby, other than they are hoping to reach 36 weeks before they think of doing anything with her. Once the baby is out they will take out the gallbladder too, I guess. Not quite sure why they don't take it out now!

TWO Wheeling and Trailing

2008-07-16T15:05:00.003-06:00

Treyson is officially riding TWO wheels! We are so excited for him! He has found a new confidence in himself and he is loving the new freedom of riding on his own. I know I had mentioned this before, but I wanted to show his picture and tell him how proud we are of him! Way to go TREY!

So now we are able to take Macey on our rides, she loves it most times, and usually just falls asleep!

Expensive Experiment

2008-07-15T16:04:00.005-06:00

Matt and I love to watch the Next Food Network star and as one of their weekly challenges they were asked to pick an unusual ingredient to create a dish with Tilapia (fish). Well, Kelsey won with her Macadamia Crusted Tilapia with White Chocolate Buerre Blanc--sounds fancy, huh? And as a non-fish lover I thought it looked and sounded really yummy, despite the fact that it was fish. As some of you have had dinner and such with our family you know that we don't do seafood and we really wondered why... so we decided that on our next date we would venture into Red Lobster and let the experts cook for us and then decide if our relationship with seafood/fish would change. We finally got that chance on Saturday night! Matt decided to go for the gusto and get the Ultimate Feast --crab legs, lobster tail, breaded shrimp, and shrimp scampi and I opted for the tilapia winning recipe by Kelsey. I, myself, was very nervous!!! Our food came quickly, which I don't know if it was blessing or a curse... because I went right in to try my dish.... AND... I am still not a fish person. Matt ate most of his food, as did I, but our experiment proved that we really aren't huge fans of the sea friends. Oh well.

A Funny

2008-07-14T13:34:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we took our Sunday nap and happened to all sleep until 6:30pm...oops! Since we were anticipating being up late we decided to watch the Miss Universe pagent (starting at swimsuits --just in time, Matt says) Well after they showed us all the remaining finalists in the swimsuit part we all had our favorites...

Matt-- "My favorite is Australia."

Treyson-- "I like ALL of them!"

We couldn't help but laugh! He's definitely a BOY.

FOURTH of July

2008-07-10T15:52:00.002-06:00

We started our fourth of July out by taking a family bike ride (sorry no pictures on that I temporarily forgot where the camera was) because Treyson is riding his own bike on TWO wheels, way to go Trey! After we were hot and sweaty we decided we would go swimming and have a picnic at the pool so we packed everything up and headed to cool down. Treyson has been taking swim lesson so his new found bravery made him fearless and he jumped right into the pool without his floaties and started swimming. Cru swam a little, but mostly wanted to eat red vines, oops, we shouldn't have taken those out until after lunch. And Macey was loving the water too, until she was too tuckered out and decided a nap sounded great. We headed home for naps, ALL of us, and met up later with the Hendersons for a little BBQ. The kids played hard and were very anxious to head to the fireworks. Finally at around 830pm (or whenever "Band Practice" was over!) we headed downtown, parked at Brandon's office and walked a couple blocks to the park where the fireworks were. It was a lot of fun!! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Rock ON!

2008-07-08T17:14:00.003-06:00

Matt and Brandon (Henderson) having band practice!

We've ventured into the world of the Wii and found out we NEEDED to have Rock Band too. It's been great fun for Matt! I found out that I am pretty retarded when doing the drums so I might just stick to the back up singing!

Tagged

2008-07-08T15:14:00.002-06:00

Tagged
"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had just graduated high school... can you believe it's been 10 years already???
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Work on my talk for church
Primary stuff...too much to name
Go to Old Navy and go shopping (is that a "to-do"?)
Plan my menu for the next 2 weeks
Possibly go grocery shopping... I'll see how I feel later.
3. Snacks I enjoy
Fruit --apples and peanutbutter, yum!
Lorna Doone cookies --soooo glad they came out with 100 calorie packs on those!
Salsa Verde Dorito Chips
4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Invest WISELY
Pay off all our debt
Go on an awesome vacation ...or two
Buy a slightly bigger home for CASH
5. Places I have lived
Tacoma, WA
Rexburg, ID
St. George, UT
Cleveland, OH
Ivins, UT
6. Jobs I have had
Cashier at Grandpa's Bakery
Teller at Key Bank
Host/Salad Girl at Olive Garden
Carhop at Sonic
MOM
7. People I want to know more about (the challenging part..not tagging twice)
I decided not to tag anyone... if you wish to be "tagged" go for it!

Cautious Optimism

2008-07-07T10:45:00.002-06:00

We got news yesterday that Annie is doing much better! We've heard that before and then she has gotten worse so we are taking it with caution. She is now off pain meds, her heart rate is down to normal and so is her breathing. She is still needing a little oxygen, but has much improved. The baby is still virtually unharmed, amazingly!! Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers... they were felt.

Annie

2008-07-03T12:49:00.002-06:00

For those of you that know Matt's sister Annie I thought I would put a little post on here for her! About a week and a half ago she was having huge pains and it was bad enough that they decided to take her into the hospital to get checked out. Well, it turned out that she had gall stones, pretty painful I hear. And then that stone got stuck in the duct where the pancreas and gall bladder meet together and basically plugged it up. Because of that it caused her pancreas to get inflammed. Meanwhile (did I mention she is about 30 weeks pregnant???!!) her body is giving out a bit and her lungs are making it hard to breathe. (Can you give the girl a break, please?!) So as today stands she is in ICU taking it one day at a time. PLEASE keep her in your prayers if you can. We love you ANNIE! Keep fighting!!

Macey 3 Months

2008-07-01T14:58:00.003-06:00

Happy 3 Months Mace!

You have dark blue eyes and auburn hair.

This month you went for your first swim and you loved it.

You are a lot more aware of your surrounding and you are starting to grab toys if we hold them close to you.

You hate to sleep in your room for naps, but love to snuggle with mommy!

Bunny Troubles

2008-06-29T15:48:00.004-06:00

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bunny,

It is with great regret that I must tell you that your little bunny's life has been cut short by a careless driver, myself. I am truly sorry to tell you this. I was briefly glancing off in the distance and your little one jumped right in front of my vehicle. There was no time to react and I'm sorry that bunny did not make it across the street. I feel terrible about this! I thought I should let you know that I have never done this before and I hope it never happens again. I apologize again for my actions and I know that words can not fill the empty space in your bunny home. I hope you with find it in your hearts to forgive me.

Your Neighbor

{It's happened!!! I have run over my first road kill... and I felt terrible! I had to get it off my chest...}

Mr. Naked

2008-06-23T22:02:00.002-06:00

Anybody that has been around us lately know that Mr. CRU likes to always pull his shorts down and then proceed to take off his diaper if I don't catch him in time. I know it is a little funny but it's driving me nuts!! He is always coming back to me with a wet leg or two and then I have to search the house to find his little "marking". You would think he is a dog for as much as he does!! Gotta love the kid though because he's so darn cute...

Macey 2 Months

2008-06-12T11:39:00.003-06:00

Macey Nicole

2 Months

May 31, 2008

10 lbs. 6 oz.

22 1/2 in.

This month you've learned to smile (5 weeks) and you love to "talk" to us.

You love to suck on your hands!

Enjoys being sung to, playing pat-a-cake, and watching your brothers.

It's a TiVo life

2008-06-05T09:40:00.002-06:00

TiVo was on our "wish list" when we graduated dental school and moved and we had no idea that it would be sooo great! Well, we had some idea, but didn't know the impact it would have on our lives. Living on the east coast all our TV shows started around 8pm or 9pm so we could get the kids in bed by then no problem, but living here they start at 7pm. So here's where TiVo shines... recording our shows so we don't miss a moment of the latest vote off, basketball score, or the funny joke. How did we live without it before? Am I the only one that is totally in love with this ingenious invention?!

I had mentioned that it has had an effect on our family as well... What kid do you know pauses the TV while he runs to the bathroom? Mine. What kid is asking to pause "real life" because he is a bit confused and forgets that life is not TiVo? Mine. And who thinks about rewinding the cutest smile from the baby or the funny thing that a kid has just said? That would be me. I forget the difference from real life to TiVo too... oops.

So for those of you that have not taken the plunge and done the TiVo thing, you are missing out! Who would not want to fast forward through all the commercials and watch your show in a fraction of the time????? You have to get it! Enough said.

Memorial Day Fun

2008-06-02T12:58:00.003-06:00

This year we had Matt's whole family in town together so we took advantage! We headed up to Zion's National Park and went hiking. We had quite the group with two newborns, three one and a half year olds, and three preschoolers, with one pregnant aunt. It was a lot of fun to see all the beautiful colors up there and take part in a fun family outing. After the hike we rode the shuttle bus back down and headed to Oscar's restaurant, a favorite of grandma and grandpa Hammons. Despite our hour wait for food (which is whole different story), we had some yummy food.

After heading home I was stricken with an upset stomach all evening. I felt like I was going to "lose my lunch" the whole night. I was finally able to go to bed, but was awaken with a mad dash to the bathroom. There went my lunch...

It still was a fun weekend with the whole family. We loved the visits from Aunt Molly and Uncle Elliott and Aunt Annie, Uncle Jon, and Shelby!

Big Blessing Day

2008-05-25T21:54:00.004-06:00

Today was Macey's big day... Blessing Day! She did great! We bathed her the latest we possibly could to avoid any blowouts or spit-up messes in her pretty dress and she was a happy girl getting ready. She probably knew it was her special day and she was excited. (I'm sure!) We made it to church 20 minutes early, which is a small miracle in itself, and Macey stayed awake and happy all the way through her blessing and then dosed off for a small nap until lunch time. Daddy gave her a beautiful blessing along with Gpa Hammons, Uncles John, Jon, and Elliott and "Gpa" Bruce. Great uncle Glen couldn't make it due to upset stomach.
We were so blessed to be able to have all the family in town that we did, sad to have our other family in Washington miss this special day. Wished you could have come!
Cru and Grandma Hammons
Grandpa Hammons and Treyson

{We would have got a picture of Macey and dad, but he was too quick to get out of his suit that I didn't catch him in time...}

Fun in the Water!

2008-05-22T15:28:00.003-06:00

Last week we decided to get together with friends and head to the water park downtown. It's a fun little place where the kids just love! Treyson said "That was the best day ever mom!" It is always fun when they really enjoy themselves! Let the heat begin...
Treyson and his buddy Isaiah
They are having tons of fun!
Cru and his buddy Dallin... which one is which?! We get them confused all the time because of their blond hair!
Treyson and Isaiah again... the water was pretty cold, brrr.

Batman, Bubbles and Babes

2008-05-22T15:18:00.001-06:00

Cru is so thrilled to have his very own batman cape now-- I found one in my stash!
Fly away Batman! Off to fight crime... or just get the bubbles.
Blow hard, but soft. It's so hard to try to teach kids to blow bubbles. Keep working Cru.
Macey is now smiling away!
Macey and her new cousin, Kole Brandon, who is just a month younger than her.

New Kids... and they aren't mine!

2008-05-14T14:22:00.002-06:00

This morning I let Treyson talk me into turning on the TV before morning "chores" were done {i.e., make bed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed} but the catch was that mom got to pick... and I of course picked something that I NEVER get to watch anymore, the Today's Show! Since cartoons rule our lives it seems these days, I took my chance to get a little "me TV".

Anyways, I just love how the Today's Show does music concerts on their show and I was surprised to see that this Friday The New Kids (on the Block) are preforming!! I was taken back to my childhood when I was obsessed with Jordan and the New Kids. That was my very first concert I ever went to, ten years old, without mom and dad. Two of my friends, Trina and Colleen and Colleen's older sister went to the concert. We even rode the bus up to Seattle and went to the concert in the old King Dome... now that was a long time ago, that building is since been taken down.

So for all of you New Kids fans, or shall I say old New Kids fans, reminisce this Friday with a walk down memory lane. I know I will...for old times sake.