The Brinton Crew

Goodbye Summer

2011-08-12T12:04:00.002-07:00

It has been a good week. All is well in the Brinton home!

I'm a dork

2011-05-13T13:04:00.002-07:00

For those of you not on facebook I thought you'd get a kick out of this. The other day I drove around for 2o minutes not realizing that I was missing one of the lenses. I turned around to say something to Gemma and she was like mom whats wrong with your glasses. I felt like such a dork. Oh well. Maybe I should get my eyes checked.

Happy Easter from Tanner

2011-04-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Project Complete

2011-04-08T20:34:00.003-07:00

I'm finished. It took a little longer than I anticipated, but I'm happy with how it turned out. We decided to take the mirror out of the door, and we lined it with padding and material. Well Rob did all that. He also lined all the drawers with material. Thanks babe for all your help! I'm just thrilled to have a place for my purses and necklaces. Rob is too! He thinks it's obnoxious that I have ten purses:)

New Project

2011-03-22T21:06:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to get to work on my new craigslist find! I've been looking for months for something to store all my purses and jewelry in and I finally found it. Now I just need to find some cute material and knobs. Of course I will show pics when I'm done.

2011-02-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

HaPpY VaLeNtInEs DaY!

Where Have I Been?

2011-01-31T13:34:00.002-07:00

2010 was kind of a crummy year for me and I have been writing about it on my other blog http://www.findjoytoday.blogspot.com. My last post on this blog was March 9th, 2010. The day before I found out I was going to lose the baby that I was pregnant with. And like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air my life got flipped turned upside down. You see after I had my daughter 5 years ago I struggled with a form of postpartum depression known as PPOCD. I was too ashamed to talk to anyone about it and so it went untreated. After my miscarriage it all came back and it was a really scary time for me. My husband tried to keep up the blog, but I think May was the last time he posted anything. Something about minivans being cool. With the help of medication and therapy I have come a long way in the last 11 months, but you can read about all that on my other blog. I just wanted to let you know that I am back. I'm feeling more like myself, and I'm excited to start posting cute pictures of my kids again and the funny things that they say. Have a great day!

This goes out to all you minivan families

2010-05-11T12:18:00.002-07:00

This has got to be the best comercial/ad I've ever seen. Give it up for minivans!

2010-04-06T19:15:00.004-07:00

"Mason-isms"

For a while my sister Staci used to record some of the funny things Mason used to say, as she had kids of her own her focus rightfully turned to her own children. But Mason continues to humor us daily with his phrases and thoughts on life, I'll try and do better at recording some of them;

Tonight at the dinner table:

Rob: "Boys you need to hurry and finish your dinner, Gemma is already done with hers"

Mason: "Dad I just like to take my time" (No kidding, mason has always bee a very slow eater)

Mason: "You know what they say dad, you can't rush art"

Rob: "what does that have do to with dinner"

Mason: "This dinner is a work of art"

Last Week:

Mason: "Dad, I know the secret to being a parent"

Rob: "oh yeh, whats that?"

Mason: "pretend like you are listening"

Letters from Craig

2010-03-26T14:42:00.003-07:00

We have a blog up for those that want to read Craig's weekly letters and emails. It's pretty basic right now, we'll make it "prettier" later, but for now you can read his first couple of emails. He did write a couple of hand written letters prior to these two emails, we'll see if we can type those up and put them on the blog also. Go here to see the blog.

Princess Gemma

2010-03-09T11:08:00.004-07:00

Even though we really miss Craig around here, us girls were excited for him to go. Emily and Gemma have been sharing a room for the past 3 years. It was pretty crowded in there, and Emily had given up on trying to keep the room clean. Now that Craig is gone they each have their own room! I think Emily was moved into her room before Craig even boarded his plane to Utah! I was excited because my mom and I made this tent for Gemma for Christmas and I finally had a place to hang it up. It has been nice with Gemma being immobile because she can't make as many messes.

This is Gemma's foot 9 days after the accident. Not good. I got her in to see an orthopaedic Dr. last week and they felt like there might be a crack in her fibula, but with all the swelling it was hard to tell. They put her foot in a cast splint and wanted to see her back in 4 days. I had to cut her pants to get them off of her that night. Wouldn't fit over the cast.

So here is Gemma's leg after her appointment yesterday. So pretty! Just for St. Patricks Day! Gemma loves it! I was amazed at how much better her foot looked when they took the splint off. All the bruising that you see in that picture was pretty much gone and the swelling had gone down a lot. They decided to treat it has if her fibula is broken. She will have this cast for 2 1/2 weeks. After that they will x-ray it again and be able to determine if it really did break. Either way this cast is giving her ankle the support that it needs to heal. My goal this week is to get her walking again!

Get Ready to Rumble!

2010-03-09T11:01:00.003-07:00

Rob took Mason to Monster Jam again this year. I think that makes 4 years in a row now. Mason still loves it! This year he took a couple of his friends from church. It's hard to tell from the video, but I think they had a good time!

Farewell Elder Roberts

2010-02-27T22:06:00.007-07:00

Here are just a few pics from Craigs open house last Sunday. THANKS again to all those who came and supported him. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends!!!

Poor Pookie

2010-02-27T21:49:00.007-07:00

Emily is always so good at playing with the kids and keeping them entertained, there is nothing they would rather do than spend time with Aunt Emily. One of the fun things they like to do with her is ride on the back of her bike. Well, the other night it was Gemma's turn and some how she got her foot caught it the wheel spokes of the back tire as they were riding down the street. And well, the pictures tell the rest. Immediately it was bruised, swollen and bleeding. We thought for sure it was broken because of the large bulge and the way her ankle looked so bent.
Rob took her to urgent care while the rest of the family met for dinner for Craig’s last night home. Fortunately it was not quite as bad as it looked and according to the x-rays it is not broken. Just a pretty good sprain, with some tearing of the soft tissue around her ankle and of course some really good bruising.

Elder Craig Roberts

2010-02-27T21:35:00.004-07:00

When Craig received his mission call to serve in the New Jersey, Cherry Hill mission, Spanish speaking it seemed like his departure date was so far away, but just like always time flew by and this past week we took him to the airport and just like that he is gone. We are so proud of him and his decision to serve a mission. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family these past few years and we are very grateful to all those friends, family member, ward members and leaders that helped him to get to this point. He has been looking forward to his mission for so long, and has done such a great job of preparing himself to serve. I think his suitcases were all lined up and packed in his room for almost a month before his departure date. And he would review his "list of items to bring" almost nightly to make sure we were not forgetting anything.

We can’t wait to hear from him and how his first few days in the MTC are going, we will try and get a blog started for him where we can post his letters and emails for friends and family to read.

Love Advice From Mason

2009-09-13T13:46:00.003-07:00

We were sitting at the dinner table talking about how cute it is that Tanner thinks he has two girlfriends. Mason asked Tanner if he would like some love advice.

Mason said, "what do you want to know first? How to love a girl, or how to dump a girl." Tanner picked love.

How to love a girl according to Mason: "First lay down on the ground and pretend to be dead. When the girl leans over to pick you up, wake up and tell her she has beautiful eyes and that you love her."

How to dump a girl according to Mason: " Tell her she has smelly armpits."

What a Lovely Day!

2009-08-12T10:26:00.003-07:00

Goodbye summer!

Hello 2nd grade round 2! Mason has been soooo good about me deciding to hold him back. It was a hard decision. One that I thought about after kindergarten, and 1st grade. His teachers just kept saying Mason is so smart don't hold him back. I know he is smart. His IQ is in the 99th percentile but it wasn't showing in his work. He has struggled every year. So I went against the teachers advice and made a MOM decision to hold him back. He used to be the youngest in his class now he will be the oldest. He was one of the tallest kids in his class last year, so I hope he doesn't stick out too much this year. I love you Mason. I hope you have a great day and make lots of new friends!

These 2 will be in the same preschool class starting in a couple of weeks. We are all very excited! Bless their teacher. They better behave themselves!

9 amazing years down, an eternity to go

2009-08-10T12:23:00.009-07:00

Today it’s my (the husband of the most beautiful bride in the world) turn to use this blog to publicly tell my wife how madly in love with her I am. It was 9 years ago this very day that she made me the happiest man in the world. At that time I was sure life could not get any better, I mean what could be better than marrying your best friend? Well I was wrong, it does get better! Better every single day for 3,285 days! I never could have even imagined back than the absolute joy she would bring into my life. She has been so kind, so patient, so loving and so supportive. I know for many, 9 years is nothing, but when you’re putting up with all that she has, me included, she gets credit for at least double that amount of time. Besides she shared with me her love and friendship for 5 years before we were married.

Julie has given me 3 beautiful children who light up my life, she is so good with them, and they love her so much. She is so good and patient to put up with taking care of their every need. I know it’s not easy, they sometimes try my patience and I’m only with them a fraction of the time. There is no greater sacrifice than that which a mother makes, and I want her to know I will love her forever for being willing to give of herself so selflessly. She has also been a shining example for her siblings as we have been blessed to have them become a part of our family.

Julie has always stood by my side, a couple of years ago when the opportunity to open our own business arose; it was her support that made it all possible (and a gracious loan from loving parents). I know she was nervous about the amount of risk we were assuming but her vote of confidence made me fell like I could do anything. That means so much to me, I am so blessed to have someone that believes in me and supports my dreams. Sometimes at night while she is sleeping I lay there staring at her, wondering how it is that I am so blessed, surely I don’t deserve all that she has given me.

Happy anniversary Julie, I wish I could say it in better words, but always know, I love you, oh so very much!

She was hot back then, but somehow she just keeps getting prettier each day!

That's Better

2009-07-21T14:19:00.003-07:00

So I know you all thought to yourselves wow she really does look like JoJo. It has been requested that I post a picture of myself all made up. So here it is.

Just kidding. This picture was taken at the youth museum where we just got a membership. The kids loved this place and the exhibit right now is about monsters. We can't wait to take cousin Parker with us, but it will have to wait until the monsters go away.

Here I am all made up. I like the darker color. I don't think my husband loves it though. His response was, "you mean you're going to keep it that way."

This is my brother-in-law Matt. He told me that I must have a lot of self confidence to post a picture of myself looking the way I did. He also said it's great that I know how to laugh at myself. I'm pretty sure Matt is the same way.

Good Morning!

2009-07-16T09:09:00.004-07:00

I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror, and this is what I saw.

I turned to my husband and said "I look like the mayor's son in Horton Hears a Who."

He started laughing and said "you sure do, go take a picture."

So here I am in all my morning glory. I'm gonna go shower now, put on my makeup, do my hair, and try not to think about JoJo the rest of the day.

We Love You DAD!

2009-06-21T15:22:00.003-07:00

(My wonderful SIL Kylie took these adorable pics. My kids don't like getting their pictures taken, and Kylie is so patient. They turned out so cute. Thanks Kylie!)

Free Giveaway

2009-05-17T15:41:00.002-07:00

Look at how cute this is. I love the polka dots. Go here to check it out. fancyschmancydesigns.blogspot.com

Pretty Princess Ballerina

2009-05-16T16:08:00.005-07:00

Gemma performed 3 different dances and I couldn't decide which one to post so, they're all here for your viewing pleasure. I love having a daughter!

Arrrrgh Matey!

2009-05-16T14:46:00.004-07:00

Tanner took a pirate exercise class at the community center. They performed for the parents on the last day. Tanner was extremely concerned with the boy next to him. He kept saying teacher teacher, and telling the boy to take the shirt off his head through out the whole performance. I love this kid!

SURFS UP

2009-05-16T13:53:00.004-07:00

Mason was really nervous to perform with his class in the talent show. He did a great job. You can tell how focused he is on getting all of his moves right. Mason is in the back row dancing with the girl in the orange shirt.

Sweet Sixteen

2009-03-29T13:00:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that Emily is 16 now! We have absolutely loved having her in our home for the past 4 years. I'm not excited for the dating years ahead of us. I will protect my baby sister from silly boys! Since this was a BIG birthday we wanted to make it special, so we surprised Emily and her friends with a night out on the town. Being chauffered around in a limo. Myself, our sister Susan, and my SIL Staci came along to make sure that the girls were on their best behavior. Really we just wanted to ride around in a limo too.

For dinner we went to Organ Stop Pizza. I worked there for 3 years during and after highschool. It's nice to go back every once in awhile to enjoy the food and music, but I don't miss smelling like onions every day.

These girls were lots of fun! Here they are outside OSP waiting for the limo. It was fun having everyone looking at us and wondering why we were so special.

Our next stop was Mesa Frozen Yogurt for desert. Yummy! Then our driver Russel drove us around while we did silly girl things. Our last stop was Fry's. We picked up some treats and popcorn for the girls to have while they watched Twilight at our house afterwards.

Good thing the ride was almost over. It started to get a little crazy in there! Happy Birthday Emily! We love and appreciate you!

I'm OLD!

2009-03-20T14:18:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that I just turned 30! My wonderful husband planned a super fun surprise party for me on Tuesday. Two days before my birthday. The key to a surprise party is to not have it on the actual b-day. I was lied to many times that day by many different people. You all know where liars go. Even the ward executive secretary called and woke me up at 7:30 am to lie to me. He apologized several times as he was lying to me. "I'm so sorry but the Bishop wont be able to see you tonight. I hate to do this to you, but can we move your appointment to Sunday. I'm so sorry again." I think he felt guilty. Hee Hee. That's alright I forgive you all. We had a wonderful luau party at my in-laws. For dinner we had yummy Hawaiian haystacks. One of my favorites.Thanks to everyone that was there and that worked so hard to pull it all off. I feel so special. Oh and to Staci who lied to me 7 times that day I still expect to go house hunting with you.

Monster Jammin Fun

2009-03-20T13:53:00.002-07:00

Rob and I took the boys to Monster Jam back in January. We had a blast! I love this picture of Tanner. I can't get enough of this sweet boy.

This is Mason's 3rd time going to Monster Jam. He now expects it every year.

It was a long night and a peaceful drive home.

A little survey

2009-01-24T09:26:00.020-07:00

1) What is something mom always says to you?

Mason: I love you.

Tanner: Thank you.

Gemma: You're a princess.

2) What makes mom happy?

Mason: Doing homework and cleaning up.

Tanner: Giving you stuff that you like.

Gemma: A princess.

3) What makes mom sad?

Mason: Not doing work and homework.

Tanner: Fighting.

Gemma: I'm a princess.

4) What does your mom do to make you laugh?

Mason: I don't know. You've never made me laugh before.

Tanner: Tickle me.

Gemma: Make funny faces.

5) How old is your mom?

Mason: 29.

Tanner: 7.

Gemma: 3 like me.

6) What was your mom like as a child?

Mason: Happy.

Tanner: A girl.

Gemma: A piggy.

7) How tall is your mom?

Mason: About 15.

Tanner: Huge.

Gemma: Big.

8) What is your mom's favorite thing to do?

Mason: Clean. That was just a lucky guess.

Tanner: Play with me.

Gemma: Draw pictures.

9) What does your mom do when you're not around?

Mason: Party and clean.

Tanner: Play with Gemma.

Gemma: A princess.

10) If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Mason: Earning tons and millions of money.

Tanner: Helping Mason do his homework.

Gemma: A princess.

11) What is your mom really good at?

Mason: Helping me do homework.

Tanner: Buying stuff.

Gemma: Snapping pencils. (?????)

12) What is your mom not so good at?

Mason: Hmmm thats a tuff one. You never mess up.

Tanner: Buying beanbags. It's too heavy for me.

Gemma: Nothing.

13) What does your mom do for her job?

Mason: Clean up the house.

Tanner: Cut out papers.

Gemma: Cook food.

14) What is your mom's favorite food?

Mason: Noodles

Tanner: Pandas.

Gemma: Noodles.

15) What makes you proud of your mom?

Mason: You do lots of stuff with me.

Tanner: Playing with me and my toys.

Gemma: Brushing teeth.

16) If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Mason: Transformer.

Tanner: An angel.

Gemma: A princess.

17) What do you and your mom do together?

Mason: We do too many things. They are all good.

Tanner: Buy cute stuffed animals that are soft.

Gemma: Play.

18) How are you and your mom the same?

Mason: We like the same things.

Tanner: We wear clothes.

Gemma: Girls.

19) How are you and your mom different?

Mason: We don't like the same things.

Tanner: We have different beds.

Gemma: Our eyes.

20) How do you know your mom loves you?

Mason: Because you're my only mom.

Tanner: Because I like you.

Gemma: Because you do.

So what did I learn from doing this?

1. My kids don't like to be asked questions.

2. Even if we never call Gemma a princess again, she will always know that she is one.

3. I need to make Mason laugh more.

4. Homework has become too much of an ordeal in our house.

5. The house should be cleaner than it is. After all cleaning is my favorite thing to do.

Mermaids and Sickness

2009-01-21T11:02:00.003-07:00

Gemma has requested that her friends Hallie and Sydney come over for Princess Ariel School. What might Princess Ariel School consist of you ask. Well dressing up like mermaids of course. Watching The Little Mermaid, and coloring pictures of the Princess Ariel. All Gemma's idea. I'll admit that Ariel was also my favorite princess. I can still belt out the look at this stuff isn't it neat wouldn't you think my collections complete song from memory. And when they replayed the movie in the theatres back in 1997 I made my boyfriend/husband take me to see it. I think Princess Ariel school sounds like so much fun. I might even have to get one of those fabulous Little Mermaid cakes that turns your poop magical colors. Oh I can hardly wait. We are so having this mermaid party when we are all done with this darn sickness. Emily hasn't been feeling well. Tanner is waking up with crusty eyes. My eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head, and my teeth feel like they are being smashed with a hammer. I finally made Rob go see a doctor because he hadn't slept in like 4 nights and his constant coughing and throat clearing was driving me bonkers. The doctor thought he might have bronchitis and put him on 3 different meds. I'm not complaining though because last year at this time I was pregnant and knee deep in throw up, and for me there is nothing worse than throw up. Wouldn't I love. Love to explore that world outside our house. Someday we'll be. Healthy and free. Back to ourselves.

2009-01-12T11:42:00.002-07:00

I got tagged by Staci. Because I haven't posted in a long time. You have to answer these questions with one word answers. It's pretty fun.

1. Where is your phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? Matage
3 .Your hair color? brown
4. Your Mother? kayaker
5. Your Father? alone
6. Your favorite thing? children
7. Your dream last night? scary
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? kitchen
10. Your hobby? creating
11. Your fear? death
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? working
13. Where were you last night? dinner
14. What you're not? daring
15. One of your wish-list items? flooring
16. Where you grew up? Mesa
17. The last thing you ate? tamale
18. What are you wearing? purple
19. Your TV? gift
20. Your pet? never
21. Your computer? slow
22. Your mood? thoughtful
23. Missing someone? husband
24. Your car? transformers
25. Something you're not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? boring
28. Love someone? Rob
29. Your favorite color? brown
30. When was the last time you laughed? Saturday
31. Last time you cried? weeks
32.Something you crave? pretzelsncheese
33. Why you blog? connection

I tag Cheryl, and whoever else wants to do this. I promise to post more often now that the month of December is over.

The thought process of a 3 year old...

2008-11-22T22:25:00.009-07:00

"I'm thinkin' maybe I shouldn't have cut my little sisters hair..."

"I know, I'll glue it back on and nobody will notice"

"Hum...I wonder what I could use for glue"

"hey, I bet toothpaste would work...it's sticky"

"yep, Good as new, mom will never notice"

Gemma Stays

2008-08-24T09:05:00.006-07:00

These kids crack me up. I love this picture of Gemma because even though she is a girl and may seem so sweet and innocent she is also my sneakiest and conniving child. Yesterday Tanner and Gemma woke up before Mason did and they started playing with some of Mason's toys. When Mason woke up he was very upset because he found that Gemma had broken one of his toys. Now I must say that Mason has been a very good big brother and he is so patient with Tanner and Gemma, but sometimes they push him past his limits. So I have all three kids standing around me and Mason who is crying says mom we have to get rid of Gemma. I want a new baby. A new baby girl. Then Tanner gets this sadder then saddest face and starts to cry tears and says I don't want to get rid of Gemma. SO SWEET! I say Tanner it's ok we are not going to get rid of Gemma. She is staying here. Then Gemma gets upset and says I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE!! All right lets have a family vote. Does Gemma stay or go. Sorry Gemma. You are stuck with us forever!

8 Years

2008-08-10T10:10:00.004-07:00

Happy 8 year anniversary!! I often wonder how I got so lucky. I have the greatest husband that there ever was. He is so patient and kind and loving to me. We have had a lot to deal with since day one and I am so grateful that he has been there for me every step of the way. We have been kind of bummed the past couple of days. About a month ago Rob had a really big order of about 200 pictures that he had to have shipped to a clients house in California. He stayed up late and worked really hard to get it all done. He shipped the pictures 3 weeks ago and they arrived safe and they looked great. The pictures have been hanging on the wall so beautifully arranged. Mind ye this is California so the pictures are stuck to the wall with something called earthquake putty. We hope the pictures come down easily. Rob got a call Friday night saying that some of the pictures are starting to ripple and that he needs to come right away with all his equipment and fix the pictures. All 200 pictures need to be taken apart and put back together and it all has to be done before this Wednesday. I have never seen my husband be so overwhelmed. He rented a cargo van and loaded up all his stuff and arrived safely in California last night. He will be working very hard all day today and tomorrow and will hopefully be home to us by Tuesday. He was able to take his brother Matt with him which we are very grateful for. Thank you Thank you Amy for letting Matt come. You can have whatever picture you want. Rob was so sad to be missing our anniversary and Mason & Tanner's first day of school:( I'm ok with it. We were just going to go out to dinner last night since our anniversary is on Sunday, but now he says we are going on a cruise because he feels so bad for not being here. CRUISE DINNER CRUISE DINNER. Hmmm which one do I want? No really. We'll see. I would probably rather just fix up the house a little bit, and save the cruise for our 10 year. Anyways Rob did say that he wished he could go over to California to see this house. We hear it is crazy big, and in one of Oprah's neighborhoods. Take lots of pictures. I love you Rob!!!!!!! Thanks for being such a hard worker and for providing for our family. Speaking of anniversaries and picture framing . . . . . . . .

Want to WIN this BEAUTIFUL picture!?!

We are having a HUGE ANNIVERSARY SALE this month!!! It has been 1 year since we opened our Custom Framing Store & we are having a SALE to celebrate! Have you been down to the Mesa Temple Visitors Center to see the REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST Exhibit, by Mark Mabry? All the pictures are absolutely AMAZING! This past week was the last week of the exhibit, so you can't see the pictures there anymore:(
Well...GUESS WHAT!?!
We are NOW SELLING the "Walking on Water" picture & are the ONLY distributor of this picture.
Also...we have MANY other PRINTS for GREAT PRICES!
Check out our website for details of how to receive 15% off your next order AND be entered into a drawing for a FREE REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST PICTURE!!!
www.matageframing.com

2008-08-09T22:49:00.006-07:00

My sweet Mason turned 7 in July. I'm just now getting to it. You have probably already seen pictures of the festivities on other family blogs. They are much faster then me. Let's take a stroll down memory lane. I love this kid so much. He has brought me so much joy. Love ya Mase.

Mason Worth
8lbs 6oz
First grandkid on both sides.
Spoiled rotten

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

5th Birthday

6th Birthday

Gotta show the cake!

7th Birthday

And the rest of these pictures are just because they make me smile!

Our 4th of July

2008-08-09T19:01:00.007-07:00

We decided to take a last minute family vacation, and we had a lot of fun. We flew over to San Diego on Wednesday night. Then we spent Thursday at Legoland and flew back home that night. When we woke up the next morning we drove up to the ranch and spent a couple of days up in the mountains. We are glad that we were able to spend some time together as a family. We haven't been able to do much of that since opening up the store. Here's the pics.

Money well spent.

Didn't want nothin to do with the princess.

We left the kids with this guy so Rob and I could ride the roller coaster.

Mason used to love Star Wars. He's moved on to Pokemon.

Mason hopped right up and posed for the camera.

We got so wet on this ride. Tanner and Gemma were both crying at the end.
The girl helped us off and said did you have fun? Does it look like we had fun? Duh.

I think this was the only ride we could all sit together.

Our 65$ lunch and they ran out of toys for the kids meal. They told Rob uh you can
have an apple or banana since we ran out of toys. Ya the kids loved that.

Family pic. at the deer farm.

She was not very happy about this.

So sweet!

Mason taking the little kids on a ride.

We really aren't the farming type.

Tanner really didn't enjoy feeding the dear.

He liked this much better. Thanks Grandpa!

Grandma playing with the kids on the cinder pit.

Rob still thinking about paying 65$ for grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh well. Like I said we had
a lot of fun, and it's always a plus when nobody throws up all over themselves.

Uncle Brian the Missionary

2008-08-09T17:09:00.002-07:00

Well it has been almost 2 months since my little brother Brian left on his mission to Brazil. He is doing great! I am so thankful to my in-laws for taking Brian into their home for the past 3 years. It was hard to ask them if they wouldn't mind adopting a 15 year old boy, and they so willingly agreed to do it. I know it wasn't always easy, but they loved Brian as their own son & brother. Thanks Jeff, Heidi and Tate. Hopefully Brian wasn't too much of a pain! Thank you Robert and Nanette. You are the greatest parents ever! We love you Brian! Thanks for being a great uncle to Mason, Tanner, and Gemma. They miss you so much!

RANDOM

2008-06-28T16:51:00.002-07:00

My sister Emily tagged me along time ago, and has been bugging me ever since to post 5 random things about me, so here you go.

1. I have had 6 operations in my 29 years of life. Four of those operations were for my dysfunctional ears. The other 2 we wont talk about.

2. I used to have 3 piercings in my right ear. Luckily there are no pictures to prove it. Shhhhhh! Don't tell my kids.

3. Because of Alice and Wonderland my favorite flower is the pansy.

4. I kissed more boys before the age of 8 then I did through out the rest of my life. What can I say. I was the only girl in the neighborhood.

5. I do not eat dairy unless it is ice cream or melted cheese. I will seriously throw up if I eat something with sour cream or mayo in it.

There it is. Go TAG yourself.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER KID

2008-06-28T16:31:00.005-07:00

Mason wrote me this nice letter after I got upset with him today.

Translation: Dear Mom I have left. I want to be alone. PS Find another kid to love.
Mason is doing so much better with his writing. He is spacing his words apart and not leaving out as many letters as he used to. We just need to work on capital and lower case letters. I LOVE THIS BOY!!!

I've got a floater!

2008-06-10T10:42:00.005-07:00

The boys are on their 5th day of swimming class and it's not going so well. The 1st night they started in the baby pool which they thought was great! After the 1st night they moved to the big pool. The instructor still can't get the boys to go under water. There are 3 instructors for this group of 12 kids. 2 instructors each have 5 kids while the 3rd girl gets Mason & Tanner. All the other kids are learning how to swim and my boys are sitting on the steps blowing bubbles in the water. Last night Mason made a big scene by standing on the edge of the pool just screaming because he was afraid to jump to the instructor. He wouldn't have even gone under water because it was the shallow end. Needless to say he did not get his promised reward for being a good swimmer. He got home all upset and ran into the bathroom and started splashing water all over his face trying to show us that he could go under the water. It's a little too late buddy. Mason said, "I guess I'm just a dead fish that's never going to learn how to swim!" I think we might need to find a private instructor. On a good note, I guess, Tanner qualified for the preschool program. They didn't diagnose him with anything. They just told me to research autism spectrum disorders, because he has a lot of those symptoms. I think that Tanner will be a lot like Mason. There both really smart it's just figuring out how they learn so that we can be better teachers. Happy summer!!!

My little blue man

2008-06-01T12:50:00.004-07:00

So I ordered this off of ebay last week. It's called a body sock. Mason used something similar to this in occupational therapy at the school, and I thought that Tanner might benefit from using it. He seems to like it. Tanner goes in this Friday for a complete evaluation with the school system. If he qualifies then we wont have to pay for preschool and he will get additional help depending on his strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of whether or not we have to pay for preschool he is going. I'm just looking for some help with how to handle my son. It has been a frustrating couple of years. I just want to understand what is going on with Tanner and why he does all the things he does, so that I can help him to have a normal happy childhood. I love this boy so much!!!

Some of you have asked what the heck is that blue thing your kid is in. Here is what one website has to say about it. Body Sox (tm) will help children with sensory processing disorders to work on "position in space" skills. They must kinesthetically feel what their bodies are doing and how they are coordinating their body movements. Watching themselves in a mirror, or creating shadows, will help them develop this proprioceptive sense , which is often dysfunctional in children with sensory integration dysfunction / sensory processing disorders .

The last critically therapeutic activity the "body sock" provides is heavy work/deep pressure input that is both calming and organizing. Through all of these movement activities in the lycra "body sock", they will have comfortable, resistive material to push against and have pushing against them. This will benefit both children (or adults) with tactile defensiveness as well as the sensory seeking kids (you know them...the movers, shakers, crashers, endless "energizer bunnies"!)

We were having such a good day.

2008-05-13T21:56:00.002-07:00

Gemma was having a good day and then around 5:30 tonight I was carrying Gemma from the kitchen into the family room when I slipped on the tile floor sending Gemma face down into the floor. Immediately blood started coming out of her nose and mouth and she had a big goose egg on her forehead. I lost all control and just started crying. I know that's not good because it just upsets the kid more to see mommy crying, but I couldn't pull it together. I called my sister-in-law who lives down the street to see if she could come over to help me get a hold of myself. With me crying and Gemma crying in the background the only thing that she understood me saying was come over, and she did. Thanks Staci!!!!! After I called Staci I called Rob and told him to come home because we needed to take Gemma to urgent care. I don't think he really understood me either, but he also closed down shop in a hurry and came home. So what do you think. I thought for sure she broke her nose and lost half of her teeth. It was so sad.

Well Gemma was such a good girl at the doctors office. She actually slept through most of her exam. She didn't have a nap today and after all that she went through she was so tired. The doctor said that the nose looks straight and she has all of her teeth. She is just going to have a really big bump on her forehead, a swollen nose, and a puffy lip for awhile. Gemma told the doctor my mommy dropped me. It made me feel so good. The doctor was very kind and gave me a hug, and let me know that Gemma was going to be fine. Good thing we got family pictures out of the way last week!!!

I'm throwing this picture in for fun. Rob made me this plate shelf display case for me for mother's day. I've been wanting something to display my cute plates and mugs, and this is perfect! It's going to look great on my kitchen wall. Thanks honey for a wonderful mother's day!!

Happy Glazy Day's!

2008-05-13T21:36:00.004-07:00

We have been counting down the day's. We arrived at Krispy Kreme this morning at 5:15. We only had to wait for 45 minutes to get our donuts. We walked out of there with 3 dozen donuts, a couple of free t-shirts, and a frisbee. Never leave me again sweet Krispy Kreme!

It's about time!!!

2008-04-22T12:44:00.009-07:00

A wonderful man named Dan Brinton has decided to reopen Krispy Kreme out at the Superstition location. I wonder if we are related. I sure would love to have free doughnuts for life. Krispy Kreme will be opening on May 13th. I ate these delectable gems all the time, and especially when I was pregnant. When they closed down shortly after I had Gemma I said it's a good thing they didn't take away my doughnuts while I was pregnant, or there would have been some serious trouble!! Hot n ready glazed doughnuts here we come.

Gemma, Gemma, Gemma

2008-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

I love this girl to pieces, but if we don't have anymore kids it will be because I'm too exhausted from chasing Gemma around and cleaning up her messes. I know you are thinking wow that is quite the ring around the tub.Oh ya. That would be squeeze butter. Tanner was taking a bath and I was obviously not paying very good attention because Gemma emptied out a bottle of squeeze butter into a bowl and then dumped it into Tanner's bath. Tanner was like a greased pig afterwards. The longer I wait to get this post up the more messes she makes. Some of these pictures are from last year. It's hard to get mad at her. Just makes me feel like a bad mom. If I had just watched her every move.

Gift for Gavin

2008-04-21T12:31:00.003-07:00

Rob's cousin Bethany's little boy Gavin is on the liver transplant list and they are having a yard sale to help raise money for all the expenses they are going to have. Medical bills wont be cheap. Gavin is such a cutie. If you can help out by donating items for the yard sale or shopping at the yard sale the family would really appreciate it. You can also donate by going to giftforgavin.org

Free Framed Art Giveaway!!!!

2008-04-18T11:49:00.002-07:00

Check out our Matage Framing blog for details on how you can win this beautiful picture! Thanks to everyone for helping us spread the word!

This is the picture you will receive if your name is DRAWN!
A beautiful piece of art, titled "Mary's Heart 20" x 33" Including Frame. $350 value
Here is a closer look at the artwork...

We are so not ready for this!

2008-04-01T14:15:00.004-07:00

Tanner said look mom I'm a deviled egg. So cute Tanner, but that is a toilet seat you are putting around your head. Gross! I thought that yesterday might be a good day to start potty training. I would really like to just work with Tanner right now on this issue. He turned 3 in December and is definitely old enough to go potty in the toilet. One of my problems is that Gemma thinks that potty training looks like fun and she wants to try too. At first I thought it would be great to train them both at the same time, but after yesterday, I don't think so. I let Tanner run around in underwear all morning. Which isn't any different than what he usually runs around in. Tanner HATES wearing clothes, so he's always running around in a diaper. I would put him on the toilet every hour to see if he needed to go. Apparently Gemma saw all this going on and so she took off her diaper. I didn't know that she took it off because she was wearing a dress. The kids had just gone into the backyard when Mason came running in to inform me that Gemma had just pooped outside and that he had accidentally stepped in it. Disgusting. I got it all cleaned up and put underwear on Gemma. I figured I might as well see what happens. I put Tanner back on the toilet. Nothing. Five minutes later he wet his underwear. Thirty minutes later he pooped his underwear!!! While cleaning up that mess Gemma wet her underwear. 2 poops + 2 pees + nothing in the toilet = 2 diapered children. I don't remember it being this hard with Mason. I don't really even remember having to potty train him. Mason went to his Grandma's at least two days a week while I worked. Maybe she is the one who got Mason potty trained. That sounds like a good idea. Lets go to grandma's house everyday for a couple of weeks and see if she can help me get these other two kids trained. Tanner absolutely positively has to go to preschool this fall, and I would love to get him into a summer preschool, so really I only have 2 months to get this all taken care of. Oh man! This is not going to be pretty, but so worth it when we wont be having to buy diapers and wipes anymore.

Double the pain

2008-03-29T13:11:00.005-07:00

You gotta love those middle of the night ear infections. Tanner has had a cough for about a week and I have been loading him up with cough syrup every night so that he can sleep. The past couple of nights though he hasn't been sleeping very well, and I just attributed it to the cough. It was very evident last night that it was more than just the cough. We brought Tanner into our room because he kept crying and couldn't fall asleep. He started holding both of his ears and hitting them really hard with his hands. I put numbing drops in his ears, and gave him some tylenol, but after a couple of hours he was still up crying, so off we went to Goodnight Pediatrics. This was our second time going there and both times have been a good experience. Besides being really tired it's a lot easier for me to take the kids to this place because I don't have to worry about what to do with the rest of the kids. Their all in bed sleeping. Both times we have come there hasn't been anyone waiting. Another plus for us is that the doctor at the urgent care was my kids pediatrician for the past 2 years. He just recently left the practice he was at and started working for Goodnight Pediatrics. That makes me feel a whole lot better. I hate taking the kids to just any doctor. So the doctor looked in Tanner's ear and said oh ya he has a bad ear infection, and then looked in the other ear and said yep it's in both ears. Poor kid! By the time we got home at 2 a.m. Tanner was wired. He ran in and woke Rob up. Tanner said dad I went to the doctor and watched a movie and better than even that I got a Diego pillow. I bought him a Diego pillow at Walgreens while we waited for the meds. I'm such a sucker. The whole time Tanner was talking to Rob he was jumping up and down and he had a big cheesy grin on his face. Rob was certain that they must have loaded Tanner up with something good at the doctors. I don't know what got into him but he was up the rest of the night. I sure hope we sleep better tonight. I love being a parent. I love being a parent. I love being a parent.

Fun family night

2008-03-24T23:08:00.004-07:00

Just so you know I stole the following post off of my SIL Staci's blog. She is so good at posting, and you can probably read more about my kids from her blog than from my own. I love my son Mason. He says the craziest things. Enjoy!

For their FHE lesson, Rob explained the "Plan of Salvation" to their kiddos.

It was really cute.

They are the best parents.

The kids had fun coloring.
Parker had fun eating the crayons.

I'm still laughing about this lesson.
Mason(above in yellow shirt) is 6 years old & he is so funny!
Rob was explaining the 3 degress of glory & explaining them as the "Sun" "Moon" & "Stars"
1st of all...Mason caught on that his dad said that you must be baptized to go to the Celestial Kingdom or "Sun"...so now Mason wants to be baptized:)
He has been afraid of the whole "dunking under water" part of a baptism...good job Rob...you cured your son with one FHE lesson!
Next...Rob goes on to explain that if he goes to the "Sun" he will become a King.
Mason excitedly tells us that "I will tell all my servants that EVERY day is my birthday! and "I will carry a wand" and...and...and...other "king-ly" things he was going to do.
Rob goes on to say that he can create his own world...
to which Mason tells us that his world will be "Cybertron Planet!"

Happy Birthday Emily!

2008-03-24T22:20:00.006-07:00

I feel so blessed to be able to have my brother and sister living with us. They are such good kids. So far I haven't had to worry too much about them dating and driving. Craig is 17, but no license and hasn't really dated because of the whole drivers license issue. Emily just turned 15 on the 21st, and let me just tell you that I am dreading next years birthday. Rob is going to have to buy a shotgun, and write up some interview questions for any boy that wants to date Emily. I wonder if my parents had those same thoughts when I turned 16. My sister-in-law Heidi, who by the way is so cute, turns 16 next month and she is sooooo excited to date. Last night we were over at my in laws and Heidi was saying how she can't wait to turn 16. Heidi's older sis Staci informed her that she was still going to have to wait for the boys to ask her out. Heidi said, "Oh that is not going to be a problem. I already have like 6 dates lined up." Watch out. Is this what I have to look forward to? Anyways back to Emily's birthday. Emily was super busy on her actual b-day, so the next day we picked up some of her friends and we went to MFY for frozen yogurt, and then we went next door to the nail shop and we all got pedicures. It was so much fun! Here are some pics. from our fun day. I'm bad and forgot to bring our dig. camera, so these are pics. from my cell. Hope there ok. Thank you Emily for being a great kid! Love ya!

Have a Happy Day!

2008-03-18T11:31:00.002-07:00

The other day we went to McDonalds. I ordered chicken nuggets and hamburgers for everyone. The kids all started yelling at me that they wanted happy meals. I said sorry guys not today. When we pulled out of the drive thru my six year old son Mason said mom I'm not in the mood to eat my hamburger. I said that's ok you can eat your chicken nuggets. He said no mom. I'm not in the mood to eat my lunch. Happy meals make me happy and sad meals with no happy meals make me upset. I am not in the mood to eat anything. All righty then. I just smiled to myself and thought have a happy day!

And we waited

2008-03-07T21:59:00.014-07:00

So last week Crystal asked if I wouldn't mind watching her kids while she went to the hospital to have her baby. She was going to be induced on March 6th if she hadn't had her baby by then. I love having Caden and Sydney come over. They keep my kids busy, and it is so much fun to watch Gemma and Sydney play together. I hope they grow up together being best friends. Crystal and Shawn dropped the kids off around 9:30 in the morning, and the waiting began. We were all so excited to find out what this new baby was going to be. Here are some of the things we did to keep busy.

We played with the kitchen.

We had a picnic lunch.

Sometime around 2 o'clock Crystal called to let us know how things were going. She was doing well and was dialated to a 4, but that the nurse thought the baby would come by 5 o'clock, so we waited some more.

We sang some songs.

Caden & Tanner rowed across the big blue sea.

Around 7 o'clock we heard from Shawn. Crystal was only dialated to a 6, and wanted to see if the kids were ok staying the night. Absolutely, we love a great sleepover, but before we could go to sleep we needed to clean up from our day of fun.

I don't have an after shot because what's the point. It only stays clean for a couple of hours. After we cleaned up the boys laid down for a movie while the girls went to bed. It was sooo cute. There first little sleepover.

Around 8:30 I called Shawn to find out if I should come to the hospital to get Caden's mouse out of their car. I was afraid that Caden would be up all night with out the mouse. Shawn answered the phone and shouted it's a boy! I thought he was messing around since I had just talked to him and Crystal was only at a six. I thought it was going to take all night. So not only did we go to the hospital to get the mouse. We also got to see their beautiful new baby boy,Thomas Dean. He was so cute. Congratulations! Thanks for letting us watch your kids. We had so much fun!

Looking for a new hairstyle

2008-03-04T14:02:00.005-07:00

Rob said if I wear a flower in my hair everyday then he could go for the 1st picture, but he likes the short straight look the most. What do you think? The color isn't quite what I'm thinking, but I do like the hairstyles.

Spring is here!

2008-03-04T13:42:00.002-07:00

A little birdie told us so. We have been in our house for almost 2 years now. This will be our 3rd spring here. Every spring a bird will build its nest right outside our front door. Fun for the kids to see. You have to watch out for the bird. It will dive bomb you. The 1st year here a baby bird fell out of the nest, and eventually got ran over by a tractor that was leveling out our back yard. Last year a wind storm blew the whole nest off the pillar. Better luck this year birdie.

A Nice Surprise

2008-02-27T16:38:00.002-07:00

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for the beautiful flowers. That was so thoughtful of you. I thought you would like to see what you picked out for us. It's a really nice arrangement. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We really are doing quite well. We love you! XOXOXO

First Post Take Two

2008-02-26T15:33:00.002-07:00

Here we go again. For those of you who saw my first post announcing that we were pregnant, we are not pregnant any more. With in two days of our announcement I had a miscarriage. I am doing well just a little bit confused about what I am supposed to learn from this. Through prayer I'm sure I'll figure it all out. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Thank you mom for taking the day off work and coming over when I didn't want to be alone and cleaning my whole house and playing with the kids. They had fun and I appreciated it more than you will know. Thank you Heather for the yummy dinner. Everything happens for a reason. I'm thankful for my health and my family just the way we are. Well I'm excited to get this blog finally going. We look forward to sharing our lives with you through the wonderful world of blogging!