Say CHEESE, (or at least cheesy)

I have already blogged about our trip to Logan and Bear Lake. I think I've even mentioned a thing or two about the Ute Stampede, so here is the week in review picture style!

Why wouldn't my baby girl wear motocross pajamas?


I Love That Man!


I kind of like him too :).


No explanation necessary


This little guy is the king of meltdowns. Lucky for him, he also has a melt-your-heart smile and a few adorable speech impediments. The combination of the two seem to allow him to get away with A LOT more than he should!


Grandpa Ivers would be SO proud!


I am surprised that these two actually stopped long enough for a picture, they were going strong all night long!


This sweet little zoo holds a soft spot in my heart. When we lived in Logan, we went there so often Luke thought it was his own personal zoo!


One HOT Granny and two adorable babies!



This is the only picture we were able to get of Luke, he could have lived there if he had the choice.

Lessons From the Unlearned

(Baby Nixon)

I recently loaded up my three terrific tots and headed northward to the land that I love, Logan, Utah. My sister and her husband have been attending my Alma-mater, USU, so they have intermittently taken up residence there. In order to make some extra cash to stuff in their student-sized bank accounts, they spent a few days delivering phonebooks to the fine citizens of Cache Valley.

My sweet mother had been recruited to help with little Nixon, and we were kindly invited to be a part of the hullabaloo.

(I know, this seems like it is going nowhere fast, but buckle your seat belts, here comes the point)

As soon as I exited Sardine Canyon and made the downward decent to my former home, I was immediately taken back to simpler times. When Launey and I lived there, we were both going to school, and Luke was just a knee-height-to-a-mite.

Now my little sis is in a very similar situation with a family of her own. They always say hindsight is 20/20, I wouldn't go that far, but I wanted to share with Kylee a few lessons of motherhood I have learned along the way.

When it comes to raising kids, always have a plan and a few backup plans. Try your best to execute the plan closely as possible, however, the key is realizing that life's most precious moments are often the unplanned ones.

Love the simple things. There is nothing better, in my opinion, than the dimples in a baby's tiny hands. Before you know it, you will look at those baby hands holding a crayon and realize that the dimples are gone. I am always amazed at how fast they disappear and how they could have left without me even realizing it.

Try not to stress. (I know, like I have any say in this matter). It is amazing how life seems to work itself out. I think back to life with one baby, why on earth was I always so stressed? Those times , the simple ones, when your family is just starting out and that one baby is your whole world, those times will be gone before you know it.

Don't forget, as much as you love your little guy, it is so comforting to know that somebody else loves him too. So much that He was willing to suffer for his sins. Someone who was willing to feel all of the sorrows and pains that your children will feel, so that they will never have to walk alone. And somebody else, our loving Heavenly Father, who was willing to sacrifice His own son to save our souls, because He loves us all too. Isn't it great that if you do happen to get stressed, or concerned about your family that you can pray to somebody who cares just as much about them as you do.

Enjoy the journey. I know it's cliche, but it is critical. That's all there is. Every step of life is a journey. If we spend so much time waiting for the next step, the enjoyment may never come.

Take comfort in the fact that it takes kids a few years to realize that you don't know everything. I fear the day that my kids realize that I have NO idea what I am doing and that I have spent their entire lives pretending that I do.

Lastly, take this for what it's worth, or don't take it at all. Everybody's journey is their own, filled with their own lessons, theories, and memories! Good luck, I know you'll do great.

Sometimes She Tells Me I'm Hot

Sometimes my sweet sister-in-law Linzy tells me I'm Hot.

Sometimes I believe her. Well, sort of.

But it seems on those special occasions, the ones that I spend some extra time doing my hair, applying my make-up, and picking out just the right outfit, the same occasions that she sometimes tells me I'm hot, somebody snaps a picture.

Like this one. . .

and I am hit with reality like a ton of bricks! The reality that I am now stuck in a rut of a different color. It is a terrible place that I didn't even know I was residing in . . . it is a fashion disaster rut.

I began to get the hint when I saw an advertisement for the bump and thought to myself, "that looks cute." Yes, I know, a red flag.

I think that I have been in this particular rut since, oh, about 1985 or so. So I am pleading, SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP! Every time I look in the mirror, or see a picture, like the one posted above, this is how I feel. . .

Yes, gaggy.

So please, search your hearts. Think back to a moment, any moment, even if it was a brief shining moment, that you may have thought, "she looks cute," or something of the like. At that moment, what was it that I had going for me? The hair, the make-up, the clothing, the socks, anything.

(Me having an Epiphany)

But then again, that may be precisely my problem. Maybe I am in this rut because I hold on to those shining moments, the cute ones, and try to recreate them, regardless of the time period they first occurred in. Just because my volcano clip and neon spandex shorts were totally awesome in 1986, it doesn't mean I should slip into the same groove tomorrow for a day out on the town.

So, I guess what I am looking for is suggestions for recreating myself. New hair, new make-up, a new style.

I am asking for LOTS of comments.

Lots of suggestions.

I don't want to hear, "oh you are totally cute the way you are." That is precisely what got me here in the first place.

Please real suggestions. Especially about the hair WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

I am leaving it up to you, help me get out of here.

Help me get out of this phase. . .

Yes GAGGY!

FaceWhat?

It's official. I am a member of Facebook.

Apparently I had created a profile some time ago without fully realizing what it was I was doing, and since then, messages requesting my friendship have been popping up in my inbox.

For a while I blew the messages off, never deleting them, just not knowing what to do with them. Then one day, I decided I would dive in.

I realized that I had created a profile a while back which sat there blank, not a single picture or description graced my pages, there was no face to go with the name, but still people wanted to be my friend.

It was perplexing.

I got to work uploading pictures and describing a few highlights of my life, then I began to browse. I searched through the profiles of my friends and began to notice how many friends they had. Soon my measly collection of 15 friends seemed to be an instant signal that I was in the "loser" bracket on the sliding scale of popularity. I became a little panicked.

Suddenly I was transported back to some other time, some other state of mind, way before kids, husbands, mortgages, and maturity, and I felt determined to add as many friends to my collection as possible.

I browsed rapidly through everybody else's support systems, took the suggestions provided by the facebook team (who know me so well), and even did some organic searches just trying to increase that ever-so-desirable popularity. I couldn't send out the requests fast enough, it didn't matter who the potential friend was. I even request friendship from a man who coached football with my husband. I'm pretty sure we met once. I'm pretty sure that's grounds for friendship.

And then I waited . . . a friendship request sent to my own brother still hasn't been approved. I feel like the last kid picked for a game of dodge ball. Earlier today I checked my friend list. . . 43 . . .pathetic.

Then, I glanced out the window at my two little guys playing together, and saw my sweetly insane baby girl holding out her sippy cup saying "moke," over and over, then suddenly I was plummeted back into reality.
THANK GOODNESS.
How had I let that drive for "popularity" overcome me like I was a 12 year old school girl proud as punch of her new training bra? To my three little kids, and my 1 loving husband, I am pretty darn cool, at least most of the time. As long as I win their popularity contest, that's good enough for me!

Let Freedom Ring, Let the Birthday Boy Sing!

Please forgive me for the ridiculously lame title. I couldn't think of anything the slightest bit creative.

Many of you already know that the 4th of July is an extra special holiday for my little family. The reason is that my first born made his grand entrance into the world on the 4th of July at 4:40 pm 6 years ago. Wow, I can't believe it has actually been SIX years!

This son of mine has grown accustomed to the longest most extravagant birthday celebration in the world. We have stopped doing his party on the 4th because there is already so much going on, so he had a family party on the 5th, then on the 6th he had a friend party. That was a first for us! Needless to say, I am glad the extended celebration is over, I am completely exhausted! :)

We started off the morning of the 4th in Nephi. I just love the 4th of July Nephi style. The kids had a blast, and this year Launey got to get in on the fun himself. He played in a b-ball tournament with Karson, Conner, and Rex. I will not disclose their record but we'll just say that they had a lot of FUN!

During Launey's last game I let Bampa herd the boys around the park. Perhaps you can imagine my surprise when I saw my two boys come walking around the corner looking like an American flag pooped on their heads. Apparently they have already learned the secret of life, "if you want something, just ask Bampa" he seems to be the only sucker that can't say no! They had a great time, and they looked VERY patriotic, so that's all that mattered.

They had a blast playing on the "jumpy things" and climbing the rock wall.

Brielle spent a good portion of the morning absolutely content in her infamous red stroller.

Well, as long as she had some kind of sugar to keep her occupied she was happy.

After the Nephi celebration, we headed north to have lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Ivers' house. The kids love playing and swimming with their cousins. Here they are working on their summer tans.

On Sunday we had the family over for cake and ice cream. I love making fun cakes for my kids on their birthdays. I always picture them so much cuter than they turn out, but I think the kids enjoy them regardless. Luke wanted me to write "Luke Heavy Hitter" on his cake because that is what his coach called him this year.

Needless to say, he got absolutely spoiled, and he loved every minute of it!



FINALLY, on Monday we hosted our first ever friend party. The kids were great and I feel really blessed to live in an area with such great families who raise such great kids. I look forward to seeing the friendships my children will develop as they grow.

Tanner even got to get in on the action!

Here is Luke and his buddy Brock.

And finally, Ellie Bean, enjoying some birthday cupcakes.

I am glad to say that we all survived the craziness, and I would do it all over again for my special little boy.

Luke has been such a joy to raise. He is so smart and his faith amazes me on a daily basis. Just today Launey caught him in the front yard praying that the balloon he had just let go would land safely. He didn't know Launey was watching, it was just a tender moment between Luke and his Heavenly Father. He is a great big brother. It's so much fun to watch him and Tanner play together. They both claim the other as their best friend, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Luke is also my deep thinker. He can never just take something for face value, he always has to analyze it until it makes sense in his mind, then he can accept it. He teaches me SO much, I hope that because of him I can be a better me. I love you big boy! Happy Birthday!