THE NEFF FAMILY

Belize~ Days 7-8

2011-01-15T16:12:00.001-08:00

Belize was GOOD to us! We were able to relax and pack in a ton of fun! We did 6 dives in 3 days! I was kind of nervous to get Scuba Certified, but I DID IT!!!! Yes, I am really proud of myself! The Scuba instructor (Scuba Steve) was very laid back and took all the stress out of it.

Our first dive down was AMAZING!! We had been underwater only a few minutes, Billy and Scuba Steve were trying to show me an eel hiding in some coral, when I here a muffled yell. I look up to see Scuba Steve frantically motioning me to come toward him. I start swimming toward him and look over my shoulder to make sure nothing is behind me. I see something swimming right towards me! I think my heart might have stopped for a minute until a dolphin swam right by me! Yes, shark was my first thought! There was another guys diving with us and he went back to the boat and got his underwater camera. He filmed and took pictures of these amazing dolphins for about 15 minutes!

The dolphins were incredibly smart! There was a fish trap and they would turn the trap over and over and work together to release the fish and then eat them. The dolphins would swim within just a few inches of my outstretched hand. I think Billy touched them a few times. When we came up out of the water, Scuba Steve was SO excited! He said he has never seen anything like that before. We don't have any of the footage yet, but I hope we will be able to, cuz it was incredible.

The pic above is taken from a restaurant where we had breakfast. Below is from our hotel at sunrise!

All the dives were amazing! We went down about 80 feet.

We saw sharks, eels, sea turtles, sting rays, all different kinds of fish.

I think one of my favorite things about our trip was riding cruiser bikes in Belize!! We would ride them on the beach in the morning and then again to go Scuba diving.

We stopped at a road side fruit stand (Pupusa's) for most of our meals. They would cut us up some fresh pineapple. (I think we easily ate a pineapple a day). They were so sweet to us! Mama Pupusa made these fresh tortillas with beans or meat in them. It would get dark before 5:00pm. So usually on our way home from diving, we would get a pupusa and go back to our hotel and relax.

The roads were all cobblestone. There were a few trucks and vans, but for the most part everyone drove golf carts or rode bikes.

When we first landed in San Pedro, all the parents were taking their kids to school in golf carts. It was so cute! I love it!

I wish I lived somewhere warm year round!!

Belize~ Days 5-6

2011-01-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

We arrived in the boarder town of Corozal late at night, we didn't know where else to stay. So we stayed at the hotel above. I would not recommend it.....enough said. Also in the pic is our rental car that survived the speed bumps. :)

We boarded the first flight that morning and enjoyed the 20 minute flight to San Pedro.

The air strip is in the middle of the island, which makes it right in the center of town.

Their luggage carts!

I loved the sign for Baggage Claim below! I was taking a pic and a guy said, "You like it? It was my idea." SO GREAT!

At the airport!

We knew our hotel was only a few miles away, so we skipped the $6 taxi and decided to throw on our back packs and walk. We asked someone where a bike rental shop was (our first mistake). We walked a mile north to the shop and decided maybe it would be better to just rent them at our hotel. Sooooooo we went to beach, had an amazing breakfast of fry jacks, eggs, and fresh grapefruit juice. By the time we got done eating it was about 10:00am. We were so excited to be on the beach that we decided to walk in the sand to our hotel. Whenever we would talk to someone, they would ask if we wanted them to get us a taxi. We kept saying, "we're fine, it's not that far". They would look at us like we were crazy. We only walked about 4 miles since leaving the airport, but with all we packed for 10 days on our backs and walking in the sand, it took us much longer than expected. By the time we finally got to our hotel, we were hot, sweaty, and tired. We changed right into our swim suits and jumped in the ocean!!

In Mexico we didn't see any conch shells, but in Belize they were not hard to find. Conch is a main seafood there. I still couldn't bring myself to order it. When we went out to eat, I would get the shrimp ceviche (which by the way, was SOOO good! We have been making it since we got home) instead of the conch ceviche. In the pic below is one I found. Billy took a pic of one coming out of its shell for the boys..... gross!

We relaxed the first day! I will tell you about the rest of Belize in the next post! Overall, we had FUN, FUN, FUN!!

Day 4 ~ Chitzen Itza

2011-01-08T14:01:00.001-08:00

Day 4 was jam packed with driving, ruins, driving, ruins and then crossing the Mexico boarder into Belize. Most people would have taken a few days or even a week to do this. My husband is definitely not like "most people".

We checked out of our hotel early in the morning, rented a car and drove 2 hrs. to Chitzen Itza. Chitzen Itza is one of the 7 Wonders of the World for good reason. All the architecture was amazing. They have many huge buildings still standing and some are in very good condition. It truly is remarkable that the Mayans were able to build these structures and lived and worshiped there.

Billy in heaven!! He loves architecture, history, and traveling!!!

Juego de Pelota is the main ball court in Chitzen Itza. It is the largest and best preserved ball court it the world. This court really did amaze me. I would love to see how the game was played and see someone kick or throw a ball through the tiny holes.

After leaving Chitzen Itza, we drove though Valladolid, and decided to stop in Coba. We knew we didn't have much time, but it was fun to climb the tallest Mayan Temple in Southern Mexico.

There were locals at the trail head offering to pedal you to the ruins, but that's not how we roll. We ran/walked the 2 miles to the main temple. This was my favorite ruin. In Chitzen Itza, we weren't allowed to climb the large temples. In Coba, we climbed the eroding steps to the top. The view was incredible. It was hard to make out all the other ruins we passed along the way. The jungle goes on forever. I do wish that we would have rented some mountain bikes to zoom down the trail after climbing and sweating in the humid weather.

After leaving Coba, we headed for Belize. It really wouldn't take that long if it weren't for all the speed bumps. Billy counted on the way back and it was something like 60-70 speed bumps.

Billy would go really fast until right before the speed bump, so the "back seat driver" that I am kept telling him there was a bump. I knew he had to be getting sick of me saying it, and it was dark and I decided to let the reflectors tell him instead of me. Well................. we went up one of the speed bumps like a ramp going 110 mpk!!!! The wheels kept spinning in mid-air, we lifted out of our seats so that we could feel our seat belts holding us in, the backpacks hit the top the trunk......when we came down from our "Matrix" slow motion experience, the car bounced back to the ground and made a vrrrrooommm sound, but we didn't keep going forward, I truly thought this is where we get stuck and die.

The car had come out of gear and was fortunately fine and took us all the way to Belize that night. It took 2 hours crossing the boarder. Luckily we picked up a Boarder guy "Shaddy G" that rapped his latest songs to us while we waited.

That night we stayed at a "Shaddy" hotel. I will show you pics in the next post. All I can say is I do NOT miss the silky bright pink blanket that was a little too silky, cuz it slid right off us, or the coils that would jab your ribs if you layed on your stomach. As Billy would say....."Good times, good times"!

Cancun ~Day 3~

2010-12-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

Day 3 started out with an amazing sunrise down at the point of the island where we snorkeled the day before.

Panoramics from all sides of the point.

Blow hole!

During the day, we went swimming and read our books.

We also played some great games of Speed (cards) while we ate nachos with some awesome salsa that made my mouth burn for an hour after. YUMMY!!

I am such a lucky girl!!

LOVE IT!!

We did a lot of walking on the beach. We found some fun shells to take home to the boys. Here are some pics of our evening walk.

We woke up early most mornings, and the earliest reservation for the restaurants started at 6:30. We would be exhausted from a day of playing and go to bed right after we ate.
I love having a ocean view and listening to the waves roll in at night.

It always reminds me of the college nights in Hawaii.....so soothing!

Since we ate so early, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

Which meant GREAT service and Spanish lessons from the waiter. :)

We even danced to the music!

The food was AMAZING! My mouth is still watering from the shrimp wrapped in Mahi Mahi. They must have cooked it in butter, because it was to die for!

Billy's beef tenderloin and rack of lamb was great also!

.....Another great day in Paradise with my baby!!

Cancun ~Days 1-2~

2010-12-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

We're back from our amazing trip to Mexico and Belize!! It is great to be back with my sweet boys, but I miss the warmth of the sun! This morning I woke up to snow on the ground; it just isn't the same after you have been able to have warm sand between your toes and know that there are endless possibilities for fun in the warm weather. It was so nice to wake up and decide if we going to ride the beach cruisers on the cobble stone roads and pick up a pineapple for breakfast, or ride them on the beach and take a little longer to where we want to go.

We did a ton, so I am going to break it up in a few posts.

We took the red-eye out of Seattle and landed in Cancun on Dec. 5th. We learned rather quickly that it wasn't going to be cheap Mexican prices like Billy had planned on. The government won't let taxi drivers pick people up at the airport. It cost $30 for a ride to our hotel, which was 3 miles away. Once we arrived at our hotel we took plenty of walks on the beach and a few on the road, but didn't venture out too far. Our hotel was great, we liked the food and it was nice to get some sun and read our books on the beach. We most likely had at least 5 pina-coladas each day! YUM!

I was excited that they had tennis courts, and we had fun playing most days. The water was absolutely beautiful and we would go swimming, get some sun, swim, get more sun, go snorkeling, swim and boogie board.

EXCITEMENT!!

2010-12-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

I am so stinking excited!! I will tell you all about it in 10 or so days!
Enjoy the Holiday Season! Love you all!

Bowling with the Fam!

2010-11-10T21:58:00.001-08:00

Yep, Austin got the highest score!! Sadly for Billy and I, Carson beat us as well! And luckily Billy and I tied! Always a fun time hanging out with my boys!

Halloween Batman Style!

2010-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Carson really wanted to be Batman for Halloween, so I thought it would be cute for Jax to be Robin. (Which it is! Those 2 boys running around the house in their costumes = adorable!) The boys wanted me to be Cat Woman..... I can be a good sport sometimes. :)
Austin changed his mind from a 4 armed alien, to a mummy and finally decided on a Mad Scientist!
Billy has a Halloween Party at his work every year. This year it happened to be on a Thursday because everyone had Friday off.
I helped out at Austin's school in the morning and told Austin to get Carson after school and meet me out front. Well................ he forgot and went to Chess Club with Carson.
I pull up to school in a black shirt, my spandex workout pants, and my high heal leather boots to wait for the boys to come out of school. After waiting a while in the car, I psyched my self up to walk in to school to get my boys. I tried to look down to avoid eye contact, because I had on a little too much make-up to be wearing my workout pants! I don't mind being dressed up with everyone else, but to be dressed up and people not know you are going to a Halloween Party is a bit embarrassing.
The things I do for my boys... :) I must be madly in love with them!

1st Day of School!!!

2010-11-10T15:01:00.001-08:00

There were more tears from Jax than me on the 1st day of school. He didn't want to leave his big brothers and didn't understand why he couldn't stay and play on the playground. He has adjusted well to them going to school and I love my alone time with him.
Carson started 1st grade and LOVES it. I asked him a few weeks into school if he liked his teacher, Ms. Sherman. He said, "Like? I LOVE my teacher! She gives me love notes!"
I am so glad he likes school! He makes friends easily and is always telling me sweet things he does for other kids.

Austin and his teacher Mrs. Maxson. Austin is in 4th grade!

Dang, I have some handsome boys!!!!

Silverwood!

2010-11-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Austin won tickets to Silverwood and a $50 gift card. YAY! I love the library! He was so excited and we all had a great time! Austin kept going up and down the waterslides even though it was FREEZING! (reason for only having one pic of Austin)
Thanks Annette for watching Jax, so we could go on the rides with the boys!

Baby Jax

2010-11-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

On August 25th, Jax turned 2!!! He will always be my baby, and I can not believe how fast the last 2 years went! He still doesn't talk that much. He loves to point at things and say the name or sound. He loves building trains, so I decided to make him a train cake. It turned out better than I thought it would. He loved it, but I must be a very strict mom, because I dished him up first and then dished everybody else up, when I sat down by him, he hadn't taken 1 bite yet. Really! A two yr. old not attacking cake with oreos and M&M's on it????? I had to tell him it was o.k. before he had some. And even then he didn't have very much.

Jackson gives the best snuggles and is very much a "Mama's Boy". I go to the gym every morning and he still has a hard time with me leaving him there for the hour. Luckily, by the time I pick him up he is having a great time and sometimes doesn't want to go.

He is truly a miracle and I love his guts!!

Austin

2010-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

WOW! It has been FOR-EV-ER since I have blogged. It has been kind of nice, but I feel like I need to journal more.

Summer was nice, but truly not the same. The kids and I have an empty spot in us from not going to the Lake House in N.C. It just makes it that much more important to make it happen next year. My kids talk constantly about it.
....Dani, next summer FOR SURE!

Austin turned 9 this summer, he is by far the smartest kid I know. I wish I could record some of the things he says, because his thinking is very complex. He wants to build a flying car, own businesses, and invent things. He is in the KOG program this year, which is perfect for him and his way of thinking. It is a little hard for him not to be the smartest in his class, but he is still the best reader and likes the challenge. He is just like his dad and always want to go rock climbing, camping, fishing, hunting, and hiking with him.
For his birthday we sent him on a treasure hunt with clues and the last place he went had a new bike waiting for him. He was SO excited!

Austin asked me to week ago to teach him how to knit. I am SO impressed! He has been knitting scarves like crazy. He always wants to go to the fabric store for more yarn.
His scarves look just like mine. He says he wants to sell them to Macy's or J.C. Penny. :) So cute!
So, if you want a scarf, he only charges $2 dollars plus the cost of yarn....yep he came up with the pricing. I would think 7 hrs. of his time would be worth more. :)

I feel very privileged to be his mom! Austin, I love you more than you will ever know!

"Mom, I lost my tooth!"

2010-06-26T00:20:00.001-07:00

We were able to go to the Oregon Coast on Wed. and come home today(fri). It was a quick trip, but TONS of fun! The boys loved digging and swimming in the swim pool. Austin liked playing in the waves. Carson on the other hand got knocked down by one and was done with the cold water. :)

Last night Carson lost one of his top front teeth and was SO excited! And even more excited to have $ in the morning from the tooth fairy. Then on the way home from the beach today, he pulls out the other top front tooth and we get him a napkin for the blood and talk about it excitedly for a few minutes. Then less than 5 minutes later, Carson says, "Mom, I lost my tooth!"
I am thinking he either has short term memory loss or wants more attention, so I say, "That so great! 2 teeth in 2 days! You should call your dad and tell him!"
"No Mom, I lost my tooth! It fell down and I can't get it with out taking the car apart."
Sure enough, when we got home and he showed me where he dropped it, we would have to take the car apart to get it. Silly kid....How many teeth can he loose in 2 days? Apparently 3!
I hope we have a nice tooth fairy that will still give money with out the tooth! :)

Happy Birthday Carson!!!

2010-04-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Carson,

WOW! I am so in love with you! Thank you for snuggling me every morning and telling me you love me to Jupiter and back and the sun and back.......! Thank you for telling me you "love me like a princess". I wish you knew how my heart swells a little bigger when I hear sweet words like that and my eyes don't know what else to do, but tear up.
Thank you for still hugging me everyday when you get off the bus! Thank you for being such a joy to be around!
I love how you protect me and other girls. Yesterday, you and Mia were outside playing when you saw a bug. Mia screamed, and you opened the door for her to get inside before you. Mia says you are her bodyguard. I hope you always treat girls this way....thank you!
I love our little nightly routine after you are in bed...
1. "Tucka Tucka"(tuck you in)
2. Sing Bushel and a Peck
3. Measure (first measure head to toe and then again once your toes are pointed)

Today is your birthday and just like last year, you wanted us to surprise you in the morning. It was fun hiding before you came down stairs and jumping out and singing Happy Birthday! You have decided that when it is someone's birthday, they are the BOSS of the HOUSE for the day. I'm sorry the BOSS doesn't get to decide if your wear a shirt to school or your hair is combed....haha!
It was so fun coming to your class today. All the kids were so excited that it was your birthday and kept coming up to you to wish you a happy birthday. I'm glad you and your class mates liked the cupcakes inside the ice cream cones that I made for you.

Sweetheart, please don't change! I hope you stay sweet and always love your mama like you do! Because it is the BEST!

Happy Birthday Carson!!

Love,
Your biggest fan

So much to learn!

2010-04-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Jax has been learning and doing so much lately. I always think "I need to write that down". But maybe the reason I haven't got around to it, is because he keeps me BUSY!
He is starting to say a few more words now. He has been saying "Hi" and "nana(banana)" for a while now. The only signs he will do is "more" and "please".....yes, he loves to eat! :) He moves his tongue back and forth to make the lalalala for Elmo, he knows the sound for tiger, bear, dog and cow. My favorite new word right now is "thank you", it sounds more like "ta too"! So STINKING cute!
I think it is so funny how he says "baby" and is so excited to see other babies. A few days ago, I was holding Tiff's sweet little Stockton, and Jackson HAD to hold him. He sat down next to me and spread his little legs apart and would pat the chair until I put Stockton there. Then he would sit and hold him and say "saaaa(soft)". What a little sweetheart!
For Easter, he got a little stuffed Elmo. I knew he would like it, but he LOVES it! His face lit up so big when he got it.
Today, he was putting all the train tracks from the basket they belong in to the laundry basket and back again. He was determined to get them all moved and was so proud of his work only to move it back again. What is it about kids and laundry baskets? All my kids have loved them!
Even though Jackson is learning....I think I might be learning more. I am in awe at the love I have for him. He truly is a miracle, and I am so fortunate to be able to spend time with him and soak in his love that he offers freely. I am amazed it has been 19 months since I took him home from the hospital as a teeny-tiny newborn. I am so glad I have been home to enjoy every moment of this journey so far. I am very blessed to be called "MAMA"!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

I really do love Valentine's Day! What a fun holiday! You get to tell those that mean the most to you that you love them....what could be better!

Some of my favs this year include:
~Staying up late decorating sugar cookies with a dear friend for our boy's classrooms.
~Seeing the boys' loot and smiling faces as they came home from school with lots of cards and candy.
~Carson telling me I can pick out any Valentine of his I want.
~Going to the Stake Dance and dancing with my honey!
~Wrapping Billy's present and making Valentine's for my 4 heart-throbs!
.....and I still get to celebrate all day tomorrow! So fun!

I hope you all have a very Happy Valentine's Day!! xoxoxooxoxoxo

Jealous Much!

2010-01-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

How would it be to have someone read you a story, then sing you songs while rubbing your back and rocking you until you fell asleep?!?!?..... AND then while you are sleeping, they hurry to get as much laundry, dishes, mopping, and scrubbing as they possibly can, all the while being so careful not to wake you up..... AND then they let you sleep until you are FULLY rested!?!?.... AND then when you wake up they have a nice hot meal waiting for you?!?

Jealous Much!?!?!

Well, I sure am! This is what my little Jax gets most of the time and the crazy part is.....when he is drooling and fully asleep, I carefully lay him in his crib and he wakes up and starts screaming that I would dare lay him down on a nice soft bed!

I wish I could tell him that he has it good and that there are kids in Cambodian orphanages that don't get any physical contact and he is LUCKY!
Yeah, well that is kinda hard to tell a 16 month old.

I guess I will just keep on doing it....cuz I can not possibly give up the snuggle time. I LOVE IT!!!
And I love you Jax... thanks for paying me back by laughing your cute laugh and giving me the most slobbery kisses EVER!!

Am I the only one.......

2010-01-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

My life is finally getting into a routine, but for some reason I still can't find a way to get ahead of all my chores and projects.
Like today, I got the kids off to school, went to the gym, came home, rocked Jackson and layed him down for a nap, then started cleaning. While I am cleaning, I am thinking...."today is going to be the day....today I am going to clean everything....today I will get more than the kitchen and laundry done...." As I am half way through mopping the kitchen floor, I look at the clock and realize Carson will be home from Kindergarten in a few minutes. I make him a quick lunch at the same time detailing my grand plan in my mind on how I am still going to get so much done.....and then Jackson wakes up from his nap....."OH yeah, this is why I never get anything done! Why do I somehow always forget that it is not my schedule? Someday I guess I need to clean my room first and have the rest of my house look like 3 boys live here.
I'm just wondering if I am the only one that feels this way???

I guess when I am old and my kids are gone, I will sit in my sparkling clean house and wish they would come mess something up.....

Goodbye Sweet Curls!

2009-12-08T20:26:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-12-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

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/

Love!

2009-12-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ohhhhh! I just love this kid!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

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!

First day of school

2009-10-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Stand by Me!

2009-10-06T12:13:00.001-07:00

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!

Triathlon! Yeah Baby!

2009-09-06T16:02:00.001-07:00

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!

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

2009-08-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-08-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

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!

Summer Time Fun!

2009-07-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-31T11:42:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Things I LOVE about my HOT husband!

2009-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

- 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!

Field Day!

2009-06-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

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!

Coldplay & Taylor Swift

2009-05-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

I love it!
Thanks Karen for sharing!

Pic for Mikkel

2009-05-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

TRAPEZE and SD!!!

2009-05-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

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!

Crater Lake

2009-05-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

I found a pic of Billy and Wyatt. They had a great time.

Late Post: April Spring Break

2009-05-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

I know this is from over a month ago, but wanted to post some pics. Billy went snowshoeing around Crater Lake (picture to come later) for Spring Break, (I didn't want to be home alone with the boys all weekend) so I took the boys to Stoneridge. 5 other families went and the boys had a blast. They got to play racquetball, mini-golf, shuffle board, and of course SWIM! It was hard being alone with all 3 boys, but I'm glad they got to have a good time. They would wake up asking to swim and fall asleep at night exhausted! I love that my boys know how to play hard. I can't wait for North Carolina! They ask about it all year long....

Poor Jackson was in his stroller most of the time.

Landon and Carson playing racquetball.

Carson turns 5!!!!

2009-05-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Carson, Carson, Carson,
WOW! 5 yrs old! What am I going to do when you start kindergarten??!?! You are so much fun to be with! When you called me during my race in CA, I couldn't believe your voice had changed so much. You are usually attached at my side all day long. When you called, I could tell you really missed me..... THANKS...cuz I missed you!!
I love it how you say you love me more - then I say I love you more - on and on- until you finally call it a tie. Buddy, it will never be a tie! I can not express how much I love you and how much all the snuggling means to me! You are always concerned for me and that makes me feel so good!
You are such a crack up and will do anything for a laugh. You and Austin have been trying to sneak up and scare everyone lately. Well, you got me yesterday when I was planting corn. You truly scared me, but the smile on your face was just as good, when you realized how good you got me! Thanks for all the laughs and smiles.
I am glad you make friends easily. You and Mia can play for hours... and days... without fighting and the games you come up with take true imagination.
Carson, you are my buddy and I love you so much. Thank you for all you teach me. I hope you had a great birthday!

Love, Mom

Before Carson went to bed the night before his birthday, he said "I can't wait for you guys to shout surprise in the morning!" I'm glad he let me know! So, in the morning we put balloons everywhere and when he came downstairs, we all jumped out and shouted "SURPRISE". He didn't look surprised, but he sure was happy. Carson wanted a Ninga Turtle Party. He LOVED his cake and presents. I thought it was so cute how he wanted to invite his friends and their ENTIRE family. He said everyone by name. I am so glad we have such good friends that it is only natural for him to want families to come to his party.

Easter!

2009-05-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

I thought I better post this before another month goes by. Yes, I know I have the cutest BOYS ever!!! How did I get so lucky!! (Poor little Jax, we had to wake him up for church.)

RAGNAR RACE!

2009-05-02T21:48:00.001-07:00

What could be better than 12 girls running 178 miles in California?!?!

Not Much!

I was really excited about this race! I trained for 4 months. I went from running one mile and thinking my insides were going to fall out (I don't know why, but after having a third baby, my body did not bounce back the way it did before) to running almost everyday and sometimes loving it! I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love it cuz it makes me feel better about my self and is a big stress reliever. I hate it cuz it is hard! It does not come easy and sometimes I think "Why am I doing this?" BUT, there is nothing better than the first few energized steps listening to good music, getting my heart pumping, feeling the sweat drip down my elbows and the finish.....I really think I do it for the end of the run....my mind is clear, my stress is gone, and I feel like eating healthy because I want to, not because I have to!!

Any who.... we started the race on the 24th at 10am. in Santa Barbara with a lofty goal of reaching Dana Point. We were all so excited to run. It was hard for us to save our energy for our own legs of the race. It felt good to jog around at the check points, a few girls ran with me the last mile of my 1st leg.
We had 2 vans, each with 6 girls. One girl would run 4-10 miles and then pass off the wrist band to the next girl.
Van #1 Rocked! Everyone was so great!
Laurie, Annette, Brooke, Me, Penny and Noel!!

All the teams had team names and decorated their vans. It was fun to see all the fun ways people decorated their vans and wore costumes. We were the Ragnolians.

Ragnolian: (n.) A woman possessed with the wisdom of Athena (without the Heft), the beauty of Aphrodite (without the negative side effects), the hunting instincts of Artemis (road kill ahead), the speed of Nike (the goddess not the shoe) and the kick butt mentality of Medusa (but with better hair!)!!!

Oh yeah, and Noel was pregnant! She did so amazing... I could not believe her pace!

Here is our whole team at the finish! Below are some pictures Noel took. For some reason they are really small.
(Noel, Thanks for the pics and for letting us stay at your house!!!)

All in all a FUN race. I did not like all the waiting around and driving. I think I got a half hour of sleep that night. Which is 20 minutes more than Annette....she was our main driver and did an AMAZING job! THANKS Annette!!
I do not do well on no sleep. I found out on the 21st about the Melanoma Cancer and did fine during the day, but at night that is all I could think about. I know I would have liked my last leg of race better if I would have had a good nights rest.
I liked the night run. It was funny running at midnight and people were still out (Friday night and all). One guy yelled from his window, "Where are you running to?" I said, "Dana Point" he said "Where's that?" and his friend said "No way! That's FAR!" - Didn't get to tell him I was only running parts of it....
I ran a total of 16 miles (3 legs). I have been thinking about doing a half marathon, but I don't know.
Would I do this over? IN A HEARTBEAT!
Would I do again? .....
I don't know. I think I would prefer to just run straight instead of having long enough breaks to start feeling sore from the last leg.

Sorry if this does not make any sense... it is late and I need my sleep. More to come on the rest of my trip to CA.....

Wowzer!

2009-04-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

So many thoughts have been racing through my head since yesterday when my dermatologist called me with news that one of the 2 moles they removed had melanoma cancer. At first I wasn't scared, then a little bit of reality and tears hit me. But within the hour, I was jumping on the tramp with Carson and Austin.....then feeding Jackson.... and off to Carson's T-ball game. It's amazing how life just goes on.

It seems odd that one of the things I love most in life (the sun) would be the thing to cause me pain. I just hope that yesterday morning when I went outside and did back flips on the tramp and layed in the sun for a few glorious moments, that it will not be the last time I can feel relaxed and one with the environment around me. I just don't want a nagging constant feeling that I have to be afraid of my dear friend, the sun.

I don't have very many answers right now. What I feel is that I will be fine. I go back in on Thursday, and they will probably do more biopsy then. So, after that still more waiting.

I have this strange feeling. Hard to put into words....more energy.. more understanding of the big picture...more love...more wanting the best for everyone around me...gratitude that it is me and not my kids or husband.

I know this will be a hard experience for me, but I am sure there is something I need to learn and am excited if I get to be a better person in the end.

I get to fly to L.A. tomorrow for my race. (12 girls running 189 miles from Santa Barbara to Dana Point) I am sooooooooooooooooo excited!!! I am so glad I have something like this right now to take my mind off what is going on. (Yes, I will be putting on sunblock.)

I have been training so hard and hope that my efforts will pay off! I am so lucky to have such amazing friends that will help watch my kids while I am gone. THANKS GIRLS!! I will miss ALL my boys tons, but I also get to see my little sister Denise in San Diego that just had an adorable baby girl. I can't wait!!!

He's crawling and climbing!!!

2009-03-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

I really thought I could prevent Jackson from following in his older brothers footsteps by not letting him become mobile for a while. Well, that did not happen! For some reason, all my kids have a need for getting into everything they possibly can - as soon as they possibly can! At least Jackson waited a little longer than the other boys. Austin was standing up against furniture at 6 months. I just don't think 6 month old babies should be doing this. Why can't my boys just learn to sit? Carson is turning 5 and still has not mastered that skill. (Those that have seen him at church have witnessed this!) :)

You have to admit he is pretty darn cute! Even if he is into EVERYTHING! :)

Here is one of him crawling.

This is a video of Jackson just a few weeks ago. He was able to scoot but not crawl. Where is my little baby??? He is so big now!

FREE SOMETHING!!!

2009-03-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. You must, however, post this offer on your own blog if you're signing up on mine... 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. (I won't take the whole year...don't worry)
4. You have no clue what it’s going to be. It may be a story. It may be even some creation I haven’t even invented yet. I may draw or paint something. I might make an apron or a skirt. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
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!

I am so stinking excited, and you should be too, because I can be really crafty!!

Bros & Cuz

2009-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

Cousins!

Best Buddies!
Parker

Carson

Austin

Tiffany took some amazing pics of the boys! I love how the turned out! Thanks Tiff!
We had such a fun time with Mikkel and Parker when they came and visited. Thanks Mikkel for all you did for me. I am so lucky to have such amazing seezters, and that my kids have cousins close to their age!

Holy Betty!

2009-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

I stayed up really late the other night making and decorating cookies. It was really fun! I like creating things and feeling like I got something done. I had one of those rare moments where everything went right:
1.Not one burnt cookie!
2.Exact amount of frosting - when does that ever happen?!?! Luckily not a drop left over to nibble.
3.Just enough saran wrap - I really thought I would be making a trip to the store for just saran wrap.
4.My kids and husband were sleeping, no interuptions and no little hands.
5.1 batch of dough made enough for Austin's school party, Billy's work, The Hospice House, a special friend's birthday, the ladies I visit teach, Billy's home teaching families, and fortunatly none for me.

I had my own little Betty Crocker moment making cookies in an apron I made a few months ago, until I realized that someone had to clean up the mess and that someone was me! HAHA
- I hope you all have a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Jax Update

2009-02-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

My little baby is getting so BIG! The first year goes by so fast. I can't believe he is 5 1/2 months old. WHAT! And just when I don't think he can get any cuter - HE DOES!

I love his eye lashes! :)

Jackson is now eating solid food and loves it! He eats peas, beans, squash, carrots, rice cereal and bananas. He can roll over both ways, but now does NOT want to be on his back. At night he will turn over and won't go back to sleep because he refuses to rest his head. Funny baby! I love this child so much and am thankful for every moment I get to spend with him! I am trying to prevent him from crawling. Austin was crawling at this age. I am surprised how far he can get by just rolling and wiggling.

6th Picture in the 6th Folder Tag

2009-02-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

I got tagged to post the 6th Picture in the 6th folder on my computer. So here it is...

It's crazy how you can forget about old pics. This was fun to see what picture would show up. This is Carson at age 2. He is so stinking cute! I love taking the boys to the park and playing outside.... When will it ever WARM UP?????
Jackson is going to be this age in no time and not sitting here on my lap trying to push all the computer buttons...is that a tear in my eye?? Wow... so many emotions in one little picture.

I tag Linsey, Brooke, Pam, Jandi, Sherin, KT, B.J. and whoever else hasn't been tagged or would like to do it. Let me know!

2009-01-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

Can this kid get any more adorable!?!?!?!

Mia and Carson crack me up. They are always side by side. It is so hard not to take pictures of them.

I LOVE my kids!

2009-01-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sitting here feeding Jax, and Austin comes in and has two baggies with coins in them and says he has separated some of his money. One for him and one for his little brother Carson to spend at the Family Night at the school tomorrow. I just think it is so sweet that he would give his hard earned money to the kid that can not possibly annoy him anymore on any given day. Then he shows me all his school work - almost everything is 100%, then sits down and does his homework with out being told! I LOVE this kid! He just picked up Jax (for the 2nd time ever) and is making him smile. Now, (this has taken me a while to write, cuz Jax keeps needing something) he is taking out the trash. WHAT! I LOVE this kid! I do not know what I did to deserve my kids. (Do you think he wants something?)

My kids are earning beans for different things such doing their chores or practicing piano. They get to spend them on things like going to a movie or a toy. Carson is my little helper during the day and waits for me to change Jax's diaper and then shouts "BEEEEEEEEEEEAN"! It makes me laugh every time. His friends always seem so confused as to why someone would be happy about throwing a diaper away.

AND, Jax slept though the night!!!!!

So, for those of you that are worried about me while Billy is in Antarctica for almost 3 weeks, I am doing good. I do miss Billy, but I hope he is having fun freezing with the penguins.

I was going to put a cute pic of penguins making a heart with their beaks, BUT this was way funnier to me! I am laughing my head off! Maybe I am not as good as I say I am?!?

Bringing in the New Year! or as the P90X workout would say it "BRING IT"!

2009-01-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve, some of my best girlfriends and I decided we were going to get all dressed up and go dancing with our husbands. We had a great time, and our poor husbands were great sports. (THANKS Billy! I did not even mind you watching the sports game, while at the same time dancing with me - I'm just glad you were on the dancefloor. I know this was MY idea of a fun date, not yours.)

Da Girls!
(Annette, Brooke, Me, Pam, and Sonja)

Da Crew!
(Roses, Pecks, Roses, Hansens, Prunedas, and Neffs)

Big Shout Out to Pam for bringing a camara and taking some great shots. I love you!
HALLLLLAAA!

Neff Snowman Family!!!

2008-12-27T12:51:00.001-08:00

My kids have been waiting for-ev-er to build a snowman. It hasn't been good packing snow until today. They built a huge snow man and then we were having so much fun that we just kept building!!

Here is Snowbaby Jackson.
Oh yeah you see it right- Billy gave my snowwoman some snowcones!!!

My sons are full on BOYS. They could hardly wait for me to take a picture before knocking them down. - BOYS :)

Santa Baby...Hurry down the chimney....

2008-12-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

The kids were so excited for Christmas! They were able to open 1 present on Christmas Eve. (Their jammies from Grandma and Grandpa). They tracked Santa on the Internet all day and wanted to stay up to see Santa come. We made cookies for Santa and Austin wrote Santa a letter.

Dear Santa,
Have one cookie, give one to Rudolph, and leave 4 for us.
Why is Vixen always always wet? Because he is a reindeer!!
Love, Austin Jacob Neff

Carson has been so fascinated by Santa this year. He was so excited to see Santa and sit on his lap. Both times he was so happy and just kept looking at Santa.
The only thing he asked for was a pterodactyl, and was very excited Christmas morning to open up 3 pterodactyls. He also got a "Woody Doll" that has a sleeping bag and lantern. It is fun to see him carry it around.
The boys also got a race car track. It is tons of fun for all of us!
We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I know we did!
Oh yeah, Billy got me a trip to Mauchu Picchu. So if anyone wants to watch my kids - PLEASE let me know!!!!!!

I cut my hair and LOVE it!

2008-12-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

So, I could not take it anymore. My hair was falling out in clumps! (It does everytime after I have a baby.) This is the shortest I've ever cut my hair. It is so freeing and I don't know if it was the hair or not, but I lost a pound and a half! YEAH!! I love it! Billy - not so much- .

Winter Wonderland!

2008-12-21T15:59:00.001-08:00

Every chance Carson gets, he wants to be out playing in the snow!
He has had a blast! I love getting him all bundled up. He gets so excited and has a hard time waiting for me to put on his gloves and boots.

Yesterday we took the kids sledding. We had a ton of fun. Mia and Maddi came with us and had fun sledding down the hill and then we went to a big open field and played "fox and geese".

Maddi getting snow down her neck! BURRRRRRRRRRR!

Best Buddies! Mia's grandma told me that after we brought her home she slept for 16 hours straight. I didn't realize it took so much energy to keep up with the boys. They definitely played hard!
I have really been enjoying the snow this year. (We usually don't get this much) The first night it really snowed, I stayed out til after 1 a.m. shoveling snow. It kept snowing and I just kept shoveling!
The kids had a 2 hr. delay for most of last week. It was so nice to have time to make a real breakfast and get all bundled up with the kids and walk to the bus stop and have snow ball fights while waiting for the bus. Yes, I know I'm a dork, but the kids loved it! Carson thought he was really big by being able to hang out at the bus stop.

For those of you who need your Jackson fix.....

2008-12-12T17:26:00.001-08:00

Crabs, Crabs, Crabs....

2008-12-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

Billy took the boys to the coast to go crabbing. They went with the Hansen's and Scott's. From the looks of it, they had tons of fun!!
I wish I could have gone, but I didn't want the baby to be cold.
We had a crab feast and it was GREAT!
Carson is pretending to be sicked out, but really he couldn't stop touching them.

Austin was so proud of how many they caught.
Carson was a trooper. Billy told me that after the long drive to the hotel, the kids were all sleeping, and Billy asked "who wants to go crabbing" - Carson woke right up and was so tired and said "I do, I do!" In the morning they had to get up really early to head out, Billy asked the same question and Carson was out of bed and putting on his shoes saying "I want to go crabbing.. don't leave me." All the other kids were still sleeping...hahahaha
He is such a sport and ready for anything!

And of course I had to post this pic of Maddie! She is so cute!

Thankful

2008-11-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

Today I made a 2nd Thanksgiving Dinner for my family, as if making it once all by myself wasn't enough. But, we are so blessed and have so many things to be grateful for. We went around the table and said things we were thankful for. Here are few things:

Carson- Thankful for food, juice, family....
Austin - Thankful for our house, mom, plants, gospel....
Amanda - Thankful for ALL my boys, water to play in (I asked the boys what we do when we go to North Carolina and at the same time said "Jump off the dock!"), good friends....
Billy - Thankful for family, all our freedoms, gospel....

We are all very thankful to have Jackson in our family. He is still the best baby. Every time I look at his perfect little face, my heart swells. I just love him so much!!!!!! Too bad he couldn't have some yummy food on Thanksgiving!

Life is good

2008-11-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

I just got the news that I have been dreading to hear since last night. My uncle Mike's plane was found and he did not make it. Since I use this blog as part of my journal, I thought I would write about it. Mike Loveless is the real person who coined the phrase "Life is Good". I would hear it dozons of times each time I was with him - way before all the t-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs had it printed on them. I am going to miss him so much, but I know this is exactly the way he would like to go, doing something he loved and living life to its fullest. I am amazed at the comfort I feel. I have been fasting and praying since I heard the news and I knew this would be the outcome and it will be ok. My heart goes out to my cousins Spencer and Mika, and my aunt Colleen, I have never seen a couple show affection so openly. They are like a couple of newly weds non-stop!
Mike has taught me many things like:
*how to waterskii
*that it is possible to eat food off a street corner in Mexico and not get sick
*that it is a lot more fun to hang out on a beach on Christmas instead of doing presents
*really take in the moments around you and live it up
*find the true beauty in Lake Powell
*that a 50 yr. old can do more back flips in a row on a wakeboard than his 20 yr old son just to prove he can - what is Mike's record 8 ?!?!
*and most importantly to live each moment to its fullest and show the ones that mean the most to you that you love them and love the time you get to spend with them. I know there isn't one person that he knew that doesn't know that he loved them, because I know he loved me. I love you Mike.

Dancing

2008-11-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

I think in another life I must have been a dancer. I wish I could do it more and just LOVE watching REAL GOOD dancing like this. I was watching this and Carson started watching with me. He said "I like the mom best, because your a mom and your beautiful." OK, can you not just die when you have your best buddie tell you that!! I love you so much Carson! You are such a little sweetheart and made your mothers day!

Columbia River Temple

2008-11-07T11:42:00.001-08:00

So guess who forgot about the time change on Sunday? Yes, you guessed it. US!!
When there were no cars in the church parking lot it dawned on us. So we went to the temple and for a drive to over look the city and see all the leaves changing colors. It's amazing what you can do with an extra hour!

Jackson's Blessing

2008-11-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband that is always worthy to bless our family! Babe you mean the world to me!

Billy gave a great blessing and we had fun having both our parents and our friends over to celebrate. Thank you everyone for coming!

My Aunt Carol and Uncle Lee made the trip down from Zillah. She made this beautiful cake. I really think it was the best cake I've ever had! Thanks Carol! So good to see you, Lee, and Becca!

Jackson, you will never understand how much you mean to me. I am blessed beyond measure to have you in my life. Thank you for your sweet spirit and for being such a joy in our family. I lova lova you!!!!!!!!

2008-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

You can't beat a good donut game! I was wondering why all the kids had white powder on their faces - too funny! Marshall ( a young man in our ward that my boys adore) had way too much fun teasing Austin and Carson!

Carson's 2nd attempt!
The little cheater!

Halloween!!!!!!

2008-11-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

Stoneridge Resort

2008-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

We went for a mini vacation in Oct. to Stoneridge in Idaho. It was last minute and we were only able to stay a day and a half, but it was wonderful every minute. Even the drive was pleasent. I never knew that having the 3rd row to seperate the kids would be so great! It was very secluded and beautiful there. We played wally ball, pickle ball, twister, mini-golf, and horse shoes. The kids were swimming most of the time, they also did a craft and played air hockey. We took a walk before we left. The trees were so beautiful. It was so fun hanging out with the Hansen's! Thanks for the invite guys! Can't wait for next time!

Smiling Baby! :)

2008-10-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Lots of Energy!

2008-10-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Jackson's growing before our eyes!

2008-10-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little angel is growing and I know I have been hogging him all to myself.

3 cute boys!

What a concerned baby!

Loves to hang out with Dad!

Air Show

2008-10-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Carson went with Billy to the air show in Pasco. They said it was LOUD, but a lot of fun.

Automatic Sprinkler

2008-10-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guessed it - he got me today! The funny thing is that I had this onesie ready to put on him after his bath. I think it is jinxed. Thanks Sonja!

Win a handbag!

2008-10-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm all for trying to win a handbag .
Check this out! You can enter to win a free handbag and they are cute! http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Jackson's Pics

2008-09-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

It has been so great to have this little bundle of joy in my life. Jackson has the best expressions and I love to look at him even when he isn't doing anything. My neck will start hurting from looking down at him and I wonder why I don't just relax while I am feeding him. But I can't, he is just too precious. I love to sit and cuddle him. My house is really lacking in the orderly department. But amazingly I don't care that much ( sorry Billy). I hope you enjoy the pics!

I am soooooooooo excited about Jackson's pictures! Tiffany took them and did an amazing job! Thank you so much Tiff! (Check out her web site at www.tiffanyparrishphotography.com.)

All about the big day!

2008-08-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, I was scheduled to go in to be induced. Time seemed to slow down. I was all packed and ready to go and still had 5 more hours. It was very hard to wait, I just wanted to go have my baby. We checked in about 10:00 pm. They started me on cytotec which started contractions. The contractions were getting more and more uncomfortable and they told me I was in active labor. Then they asked me if I wanted a sleeping pill, which I happily accepted. When the nurse came back to check on me, she asked me my pain level. I said "zero". So then I had to wait til morning for the Dr. to give me pitocin. When the Dr. came in, he broke my water (yes! I love my Dr.).
Well, things progressed really well and the contractions were getting painful. I have been scared to death of an epidural. With my other 2 boys I opted for the pain vs. having a needle in my back. Yeah, I know, I'm not the smarted girl. The pain started getting bad and at 10:00 am Dr. Gabe came in to give me an awesome epidural. It was not as bad as I thought it would be.
After an hour, I started feeling some of the contractions. So I pushed the little button and felt much better. The Dr. checked me and I was dilated to an 8! The Dr. and nurses left to start getting everything ready. They thought the baby would be coming in a few hours. Well, a few contractions later, I felt some pain and "something" "down there". My good friends Annette and Sonja were there helping me and I asked Annette to look. Yes, she is a very good friend! She was very surprised to find that his head was out! Billy came walking in from telling a nurse to come in and he saw the head as well and yelled for the nurse and came over and caught little Jackson on his way out. Jackson had an arm up by his head and the cord over his head. Everything happened really fast and by the time Dr. Morrison came in, they were cutting the cord. He had said at one of my previous appointments that it would be easy-peasy-Japaneesy. Boy was he right! It was hard to watch them clean him up - I just wanted to hold him. He is everything I could ever dream or wish for! He is such a special baby and I love him more than I could ever say. Welcome to our family Jackson! You have made our family complete!
I can not tell you how excited the boys were to see their new baby brother. Austin said he wanted to show me how excited he was, yes a picture is worth a thousand words!

I could not sleep or stop smiling for a whole 24 hours after he was born. I am so excited to be a mom again. I love all my boys sooooooooooo much! They mean the world to me and am so thankful that I get to spend eternity with them. I love you Billy, Austin, Carson, and Jackson!!!

Jackson is finally here!

2008-08-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jackson Jay Neff

Born 8/25/08

6 lbs. 11 oz.

Welcome to our family Jackson! You are perfect in every way! We love you!

TAN LINES!

2008-08-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

OK, so am I a bad mom for posting this? It is seriously one of my FAVORITE things about summer! It just makes me laugh. I love how they get so blond. I am amazed that they can still get tan with me rubbing SPF 50 on them all the time.

Brookes' Pool/ AquaMan

2008-08-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

We went swimming at the Bishop's pool. I think everyone had a great time.

It was a very HOT day! (Above in Brooke DeCoria with her darling kids.)

Ty loved to be around the water.

Billy did the "AquaMan" and did an amazing job!

I really do admire Billy's competitive spirit and want to support him in all he does, but I was not the best sport I could have been on this particular day.... I had to do quite a bit of walking to get Billy his stuff. ( It was a run- swim- run, so he needed his shoes brought to a different spot) and I had 2 boys saying they were hungry and not wanting to follow directions. It was a very hot day and I guess I did not have a smile on my face while I was walking, because this random lady said, "Smile Mom, it's not that bad." Well my first impulse was NOT to smile, some women must forget what it's like to be pregnant, if I would have responded, it would not have been nice. I am so excited that I have less than a week left. I have been having some false labor and have been uncomfortable the last few days. Yes, more than usual.

Billy finishing - He did great!

MY BOYS!

2008-08-14T15:44:00.001-07:00

I just want everyone to know how much I love my boys! They are the best! I am so lucky to have each of them.

What cuties!
They are just like their dad!

I love this man sooooooooo much. I hope he doesn't mind when I call him one of my "boys"!

Swim Lessons

2008-08-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Carson and Landon playing games at swim lessons.

Here is a video of Austin diving. He LOVES to swim. I really think if we had a pool, he would be in it all day long. Usually he does a belly flop, so he has improved.

Summer Days

2008-08-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

The boys love playing with this rocket that my sister Dani got for the boys.
Carson loves watching the bees. There are a ton by our mint plants. I am surprised the boy have not been stung yet. They don't alway just sit and watch them.

Carson eating a tomatoe out of the garden. (Austin does not like his picture taken lately - I am not trying to only get pics of Carson) Austin wants to see what we can pick out of the garded every day. I love it.

Preg Pics

2008-08-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know my son has a hard time matching.

I know I love to see friends bellies growing, but I just don't like to see mine. I thought I would post a few. This is at 37 weeks.

2008-06-30T15:14:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in N.C. I don't have all the pics yet, but here are some of the boys.

2008-06-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a Blogger!

2008-06-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is all new to me so don't expect much. I think I am the last person on earth to set up a blog. I thought it would be a good idea to start, since the baby will be coming soon.