Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Goodbye Sweet Curls!





Jackson's hair was getting too long. Billy said he was getting a mullet. All I could see was cute little curls. I think it is a "mom" thing. But, I didn't want people to think he looked like Joe Dirt......soooooo no more curls. I cut his hair while he was playing in the tub. I am a genius! Why has it taken me this long to come up with this!!
I wanted a before and after pic. This is the first time when I said "say cheese" that Jax has scrunched up his face so tight that he can't see. He was making me laugh so hard!

Thankful!



Tonight Mia (Carson's BFF) was over. Carson kept stealing her bread and Mia said "First, let's pinky promise to always be friends." They pinky promised! Then, she said "Now let's pinky promise not to steal each others bread." And they pinky promised again! I just LOVE this girl! Mia and Carson play so well together and they say the funniest things. Today they were sure they were seeing Santa's elves. They had a running total of how many elves they saw.

Carson 20
Mia 20
Jackson 18
Mom 1

It really is a pleasure to have her at our house. If I could, I would adopt her....and I'm not kidding! Her and Carson don't really have fights, they have disagreements and work it out on their own. (I wish my kids knew how to do that!)

So tonight I am Thankful for Mia and Carson. Here's some pics of them after their Thanksgiving party at school. They came up with the poses all by themselves! (Yes they have swords made out of markers!)

Oh, and you have to check out this website. You can make a video email from Santa. Carson can not stop talking about it!

http://portablenorthpole.tv/home/

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Love!


Ohhhhh! I just love this kid!!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Happy Halloween!



This Halloween Austin said he wanted to be a skeleton. I tried to get him to be something less scary but caved in when I saw the skeleton shirt at Walmart for $5. Carson said he wanted to be Scooby Doo. I went to get his costume and walked out of the store disgusted that anyone would spend $50 on a halloween costumes. CRAZY! Carson's next choice......skeleton! REALLY! UGH!.....Oh that was my thought until I found Jax a skeleton shirt that had candy on the inside of the bones. OK now that is CUTE STUFF! All three boys costumes thrown together in one day (Thanks to being sick for a week with the grossest flu you can get....Swine Flu!) all for under $15 total! GO ME!!

We grew a TON of pumpkins this year! Austin decided he was going to sell some and earn $ for his mission fund. Thank you friends for helping him out! We still had tons left over to carve! I think we did a great job! Fun stuff!

I could really use a day like this today!

I am missing the summer days! A few days ago I broke out in itchy hives. From what you might ask? The cold!
In high school, my P.E. teacher Coach Park use to make fun of me saying I was full of crap and there was NO way I was allergic to the cold. He thought I was trying to get out of playing soccor or softball on the cold fall days, in those ever-so-warm P.E. t-shirt and short uniforms. I seriously considered taking a picture of my red blotchy tummy when the weather changed from not-too-bad to FREEZING and sending it to him as proof!
Last month we had some good days. On one of those days, I took Carson and Jackson to the river and to feed the ducks. Here are a few shots of the perfection of that day.



This is apparently what it looks like when you are backing up to take a pic and you trip! HAHAHA
So, I handed the camera off to Carson.....not too bad...I'm only missing my head.

Carson had fun feeding the ducks and geese. They were very aggressive! Here is Carson telling the goose to get back.
And here is the duck telling Carson what he thought. These geese are fed WAY too much! I really thought for a minute the goose was going to start attacking. Luckily no kids or geese were harmed.

P.S. Couldn't you just eat this kid up!! YUMMY!!! I am in love with his eyelashes!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

First day of school





I am having major issues with trying to post. I hope this works. I know it is old news. HAHA - what can you do?

Here's Austin and Carson on the first day of school. They have already changed so much! I went and helped out in their classes the other day and they love school and seem to be having fun! I am so lucky to have such good kids!

Rodeo Night


I am SO far behind! I don't know where to start! Here is a pic of Carson before the Rodeo. He had so much fun with Mia! It was wierd waiting up for him to come home. I thought it would be YEARS before I had to do that. :) He came home and said he was tired and going to bed. I'm so glad he had the chance to go.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Stand by Me!



I love this video and song! I was listening to it and made Billy dance with me. Everything will be alright as long as I have somebody to stand by me!

vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

Thanks Jen for sharing!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Triathlon! Yeah Baby!





Billy and I signed up to do the Titanium Man Triathlon here in Kennewick. It was really fun to train for, but it kind of took over my life. I went to bed thinking about the transition from swim to bike and dreamt about biking hard and woke up thinking about the transition from bike to run. I love the workouts, but hate doing it over and over in my head.

Billy did amazing!!! He has improved so much in the swim and did great in the bike and rocked it on the run! I'm glad we had so many friends doing it with us. It was great to encourage each other all along the way. Great job Annette, Jacob, Sonja, Cory, Terry, Jared, and Eric!!!

I liked the swim, loved the bike, and thought the run was WAY too long! I just wanted to be done at mile 2 and we had to go 6.2 miles. Next time I think I want to try a Sprint Triathlon instead of the Olympic Distance. I am just not a runner. :)

Austin and Carson ran the last little bit with me. They were so sweet to come out and support us. Thanks Penny for watching them, I loved having them there!! Thanks Lisa for watching Jax and supporting us!! It is so great to have such good friends!
Thanks Pam for the pics and yells and screams!Thanks Wendy for cheering everyone on...we need to hang out more!

Overall a fun time, and even better time training for it! Thanks again Annette and Sun!

Friday, August 28, 2009

HaPpY bIRtHdAy JAX!!!! I LOve YoU!!!






My baby is 1! I can't believe it! Really.....a whole year has passed since I birthed him! I always think I don't want him to grow up, but then he gets to a new stage and just seems cuter. How is this possible?!?!?

Jackson has so many nicknames right now. I love that his brothers love him endlessly and are always coming up with new names. At first Austin called him "fragile football" and Carson called him "Jackson Wackson". Now it is either "Jack Jack", "Jax", or "Bubba". (I always wondered why some kids have the nickname Bubba. Now I understand it is a very loving way of saying "Brother".)

Jax now weighs 22 lbs., but feels like 40 after having him on my hip all day. He is not liking the sipper cup and misses his bottle, so yes I let him have it now and then.

* Sidenote - Do you know of a sipper that does not leak or is easy to switch to after the bottle??????? Anyone??

Well, Carson just got home from his first date (he went to the Rodeo with Mia...more to come, he looked adorable in his cowboy hat). I am so wore out from swimming a mile, biking 22, and running 2 miles today. Only 1 more week until the Triathlon!!!

Night Night! :) (Can you tell I'm tired?? HAHAHA)

Thursday, August 6, 2009



My Sweet little Austin turned 8 and didn't really show much interest in the "cake and presents" part of it. He was just sooooooooo excited to be baptized!!!
We knew we would be camping on his birthday, so we asked him if he wanted to be baptized in a river. He was VERY excited until the night before when Billy, Billy's Dad and Austin went and picked out a spot. His grandpa told him it was the coldest spot it the whole river. WHY!?!? I don't know?!?!
From that time on he kept saying "the coldest spot in the river".

The next morning, I got the boys dressed in their church clothes, which is NOT what Carson thought he should be wearing on a camping trip. :)

My parents drove up to Lava Hot Springs to be there for the baptism. After breakfast, we all headed down to the Portneuf River. Billy's Mom did a quick talk on Baptism. Then Billy got in the water first and REALLY had to hold back a gasp at how cold the water was. Austin got in next and did his "this is SO cold, it takes your breath away gasp". Billy was amazing and did a perfect baptism in record time. I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming feeling of the spirit. I thought that with everyone in camping clothes and dirty, it wouldn't be as spiritual. But, it was by far the best baptism I have ever been to! Tears came to my eyes and feeling of gratitude and peace came over me. I am so blessed to have a husband that is worthy to hold the priesthood and naturally uses it to bless our family. I have the best boys that try so hard to do what is right. I loved that Austin was able to be baptized out in nature. What an amazing earth we have to enjoy! While Austin changed into his church clothes, my parents gave a talk on Confirmation, and then Billy confirmed Austin a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Austin, I am so proud of you! I love you soooooooooo much. You are so smart and active. I feel so lucky to be your mom! I love you Pumpkin!


I wish you could see his face here. So funny!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Summer Time Fun!

We have had a lot of fun this summer so far. I will be so sad when it starts getting cold. I LOVE SUMMER!! We went to Lava Hot Springs for the Gilbert Reunion (Billy's Moms side) the middle of June. And then I flew out of SLC with my 3 adorable boys. We went to North Carolina and stayed at my sister Dani's lake house. I didn't think my boys could possibly love the lake house anymore than they did (they talk about it ALL year long) but my amazing brother-in-law Darrell built a waterslide from the house to the lake! The boys LOVED it! My sister Camine was also there, and it was so great to see her before she left for another river trip for a month.
I was able to do one of my favorite things in life ~ ski on glassssssss! The water there is so warm and sometimes when you stretch out, you can see your reflection in the lake. And yes, in that reflection my smile can not possibly get any bigger! :)

Then I spent some time with my amazing sister Mikkel in SLC. I'm so lucky to have such a great family!

Then it was off to Bear Lake for the Neff Reunion. Billy bought a Jeep in SLC and the boys loved driving it on the sandy beach!

It was wierd to be home after being gone for more than a month! Next stop is Tremonton for my brother Jake's Homecoming. I am so excited to see him!! The other night while eating dinner with the missionaries in our ward, I thought there is no possible way my brother can look as old as these guys!?!?!?

After that we are heading to Flaming Gorge for Billy's Mission Reunion......

I made a photo book for my sister Dani. It is kind of hard to see, so I will try to post a few more pics. I hope you all are having an amazing summer!!!

BEAR LAKE



LAVA HOT SPRINGS (with billy's nephews)


LAKE HOUSE
(my friend from BYU-Hawaii lives in NC now, and came out to play with us and brought her 3 cut kids. Thanks Candis!)

Danis Book 2009

Click here to view this photo book larger

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Things I LOVE about my HOT husband!




- loves me back
- loves his kids
- adventurous
- athletic
- has a hunger for learning
- works hard for us
- gives GREAT lovin'
- HOT
- my best friend
- ambitious
- strong
- plays hard with the boys
- loves the outdoors
- hard worker
- helpful to others
- knows the mornings I REALLY need him to get up with Jax
- SMOKING HOT
- worthy to hold the priesthood
- cleans up after himself
- amazing
- always complimenting everyone
- great kisser
- HOT
- loves life
- great dad
- love of my life
- soul mate
- loves nature
- looks HOT in a suit
- smart
- makes me laugh hard
- gives me a kiss and hugs me so hard that he pops my back before he goes to work
- Oh, and did I mention that he is HOT?!?!?

Here are a few pics from his latest trip to Peru. I'm so glad I get to spend the whole weekend with him!! We are going to have so much fun camping with the family!
I hope you have the best Father's Day ever!! I love you Babe!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Field Day!

Austin was so excited for field day! That morning he was out front waiting for his ride to school. I looked out the window and he was dancing and singing. I took a video of part of it (I can't get it to download right now). I am so glad I have such a happy kid that gets excited for activities at school! I love you Austie!!!

I had a great time helping out at field day and then having lunch with Austin's class. Everyone LOVED having baby Jax there. Especially Austin - what a proud big brother!

So, Austin had his field trip today and after they ate lunch they played at the "Playgoung of Dreams". Well I got a call from school to go pick him up from the field trip...He was swinging on the round tire swing really fast and threw up on himself and 2 other kids. I felt so bad for him, but he didn't seem to care. He said he was dry and wanted to play again, but I'm a mean mom and made him come home and take a bath.

I can't believe he is going to be in 3rd grade next year! WOW! He talks constantly about his baptism in a few weeks. He is so excited and so smart about baptism. I am very impressed!


Thursday, May 28, 2009

Coldplay & Taylor Swift



I love it!
Thanks Karen for sharing!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Pic for Mikkel



Oh yeah,
PS. They got all the cancer out!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

TRAPEZE and SD!!!

OK, so crazy story...
I have always loved anything to do with gymnastics or cirque du soleil. I LOVE the feeling of being weightless. About a week before I left for my trip, Billy and I were talking in bed one morning and he asked what one dream I had that I really wanted to do. I think he expected me to say "go to Greece... or go to Australia" because if any of you know my husband, traveling is the only thing that enters his mind. Yeah, I said trapeze!I just want to be caught by someone in the air! He was SHOCKED! That was the last thing he thought I was going to say. I had been thinking about it A LOT the last couple of weeks. Then on the way to LA, I was reading a magazine about aerobic trapeze classes and told my friends I would really like to do something like that.
So fast forward 1 day later .... Our relay team had just finished running our legs of the race and we had time to hang out. After going to the beach, we went to our next stop, Santa Monica Pier. We had no idea what to do with our time... we just wanted to shower and sleep. All of the sudden we are looking up at a trapeze class in progress. My friends said, "You HAVE to do it!" After a few minutes of back and forth. I was like...here's my chance, if I don't do it now, I don't know when I will EVER do it.
Just telling this story, I am getting butterflies in my stomache again!!!
So Efe (the instuctor and amazing trapeze artist) gave me a two minute intro and told me to climb up this tall skinny ladder. When I got to the top, he swang out and showed me how it was done.



They did not give me much time to think about what I was going to do. The guy that was helping me at the top was NOT emotionally helpful. He turned this hat to the side and started talking like a hick and saying how this was his first time doing this and acting funny. I kept telling him to knock it off, but that just made him do it more. AHHH! REALLY! He was making me laugh and maybe that helped me....I don't know.
Let me set up this pic for you. The guy told me to reach out an grab the bar with one hand and push my hips forward with my toes hanging over the edge. But really I am thinking... "I am for sure going to pee my pants!!"



Then I had to grab on with the other hand and trust the crazy guy to hold me. They shouted orders to me and it was hard for my brain and body to work together. When they say "SET", I am suppose to bend my knees. When they say "HUT", I am SUPPOSE to JUMP. Easier said than done....."HUT"



On the first swing out they tell me to hang on by my legs, on the second time they are telling me to hang on with only my legs AND do a backflip. The backflip was the hardest. I do backflips all the time on the tramp and thought it would be no big deal...It was HARD, but I did it!



They said that most people only get to swing out and put their legs up on the bar the first class. But they said since I did so well, they were going to let Efe catch me!!!!!!! Yeah, I was EXCITED!!!



Efe told me to wait for him to grab on to my arms and say "I got you" and then let go with my legs. This was the easiest and funnest part!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED it. I want to do it again so bad!!!



I am so glad I had the opportunity to do this! I love thinking about it and getting the excitement all over again. My next dream I want to accomplish is......wait for it......Skydiving!!!



Not only did I get to fly throught the air with the greatest of ease, but I got to see my amazing sister Denise!!! She just had a little baby girl, Leah! She is so precious! I am so glad I got the chance to hold her while she is still little. Denise is the best mom! She wants to do everything perfect. I am so proud of her. Hopefully she we be able to get some sleep soon. Everytime I woke up at night, Denise was wide awake as if it were the middle of the day. I hope she had a good time while I was there, because I sure did. I LOVE seeing my SEESTERS!! Denise and I hiked Torrey Pines, went to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall, and went walking on Mission Bay. I miss SD so bad! It is wierd that I have lived in the Tri-Cities now longer than we lived in SD.
I also went for a bike ride with Patrick...so fun! Thanks again Denise and Patrick!!!

My Ragnar Race Post is a few posts below. If anyone knows how to change the date so I can move it up let me know. Thanks!