The Importance of Following the Directions

Tonight Carly wanted to make chocolate chip cookies by herself. (I was helping Ridge with a project in the other room and couldn't help her.)

Uuuuummmm. Ooooh. Ok. (You know how I felt, right?!) You know this has the potential to be.... interesting. But, time to let go and let her fly on her own a little. She was excited!

She got out all of the ingredients, read the directions and got to work.

We were out of brown sugar, so we tapped into our food storage bucket. (love that.) She put the bowl of sugar on the counter and Reed helped himself to it, dumping the contents on the ground.

Yuck! She came into the office a few times to ask questions and I thought it was going well....until I heard some thumping in the kitchen when she turned the mixer on. Ooops.

I went in to find she had dumped all the ingredients into the mixer at once, right down to the chocolate chips!

We talked about a few life lessons we could learn from this experience, had a laugh and a cry, and started over.

Her second time around went a lot better...minus some extra salt and baking soda that mysteriously made it's way into the batter! Reed didn't mind the extra flavor though!

God job Carly! You are awesome!

Spice up Date Night...one week at a time!

I just wanted to pass on another fun blog that I recently stumbled upon. Sean and I hardly ever go out on dates anymore, however I do think it's important to keep dating my hubby...time and budget and life just seem to get in the way. I know many of you probably feel the same way. That's why I am so excited about this new (to me) blog. The Dating Divas http://www.thedatingdivas.com/ Eleven women take turns posting a creative, inexpensive, (and sometimes spicy) date idea each week! /Their Mission statement: We are wives, mothers, sisters, and friends who strive to enrich marriages everywhere.We want to celebrate the gift of marriage while inspiring others to do the same. It is our goal to provide creative, inexpensive, and innovative dating ideas that will bring joy, fun and excitement back into the relationship. We encourage all married men and women to take a conscious and proactive approach to investing in their spouse. By putting our spouses first, we are taken back to the simple magic of being head over hills in love again. We desire to help make lasting marriages, which in return will create everlasting families. Check out their "date in a can" idea! Fun! Take a look and do something fun with your spouse this weekend!

Family Home Evenings

Hello there. This picture has nothing to do with this post, I just don't have one that does! Keri requested a recent picture of Reed and this is him from last week, enjoying his cream-of-wheat!

I was just preparing a family home evening lesson for tomorrow night and I found a great website with lessons on it. It has the lessons separated by age and includes a coloring page for the kids to hang in their room for the week to reinforce and remind them about the lesson. My kids each have a bulletin board in their room so I thought this was perfect for them! It also has some object lessons listed as well. Just thought I would pass it on. Do you have a favorite source for FHE lessons or ideas? Please share!

http://www.familiesinzion.com/

Here are a couple more sources I found:

http://www.ldssplash.com/fhe/fhe_lessons/family_home_evening_lessons.htm

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2091&Itemid=200041

Whew! That was a close one!

Tuesday afternoon, Ty and I drove to my mom's to pick up a piece of furniture and on our way home we had ourselves a little adventure...and I'm pretty sure we received some help from above! We were traveling down I-10 in the HOV lane during rush hour traffic when all of the sudden the back end of the truck started making a horrendous noise and bouncing a little. I thought "Oh no! Not a flat tire here!" I had little visability due to the load in the back, making it difficult to change lanes, but I knew I didn't want to pull over on the left. It's one of those moments when time seems to slow and you think a million thoughts in one moment. I put on my blinker and began to slow down so I wouldn't damage the wheel when all of the sudden it started driving smoothly again, so then I thought maybe I had just run over something, but I never saw anything go in or out. I continued to exit and the traffic seemed to part for me to cross all three lanes and get off at the next exit with ease. I am telling you it went from rush hour to 11 o'clock traffic so I could exit. That in itself was a huge blessing.

We pulled over at a gas station and I couldn't believe my eyes. My back right tire had stripped the treads right off and was down to the mesh underneath, but the tire was still full! In the process of the treads peeling, they must have caught the tail pipe and pushed it up against the bed of the truck, clamping it shut, and it just crumpled the metal on the truck body like it was a tin can! It also tore down the protective rubber lining in the tire well and the metal piece it was attached to.

Sean had to come to our rescue and bend the tail pipe out, remove some dangling pieces and change the tire so we could drive back home. Ahh. My knight to the rescue! (Even though he was in a white work truck and not on a white horse, it still has the same effect on a girl!)

This just adds to my testimony that Heavenly Father is aware of us and watching over us.

Hiking South Mountain 2010

Look how chunky Reed was! I love the last one of the boys.

Summer trip to Utah

Wow! I have some catching up to do. We'll start with this summer. It was awesome!

We took a trip to Utah this summer to visit my sister Keriann and her family for a couple of weeks. Sean was able to come with us this time and I loved it! My mom and dad, Cindy and Christian and Cooper went as well. We started the trip with a float trip down the Provo River. We LOVED it! Ridge was very timid and asked several times if he could get out and walk back to the cars. Finally Sean told him he needed help paddling with the oars. Ridge loved having that responsibility and I don't think he complained one time the remainder of the trip down the river.

Five Months!

Reed is now officially 5 months old and he is so cute! He is looking different everyday. His eyes are rounder and lashes longer and cheeks bigger...if that's possible! He is a professional roller now and sometimes often ends up in the opposite direction I lay him down in. He loves chatting with the kids and laughing at Ty. He wants to be in the action...which translates, he doesn't want to be put down. He is perfectly happy to be toted around! He has an amazing sense of knowing when I am not near him. He can be in a dead sleep and I will move away from him and within seconds he wakes up...ahh, he loves me!

He is teething and usually has at least one hand in his mouth, if not both fists. He is practicing sitting up and can actually balance for a little while before he falls. I think it will be a while until he has that one mastered.

He has a deep little voice. His favorite activity is eating. He eats rice cereal and as of last week, Ridge informed us he is eating hamburger buns as well! Evidently Ridge decided to share and Reed didn't turn down the offer. He grabs at whatever we are eating or drinking now and tries to help himself to a taste. He also really enjoys some good toe jam!

Four Months!

Reed is growing so fast...and I'm not just saying that. At his four month appointment he was at 97% for weight (18.10 lbs.) and over 100% for height (28 inches). He is such a happy little chunk and loves to be with his family. He loves to be held and has been playing with his teething toys. Ty thinks it's hilarious when Reed gets excited about the toys and holds them up above his head screaming. (Sometimes he startles himself with his own voice!) He watches the kids to see what awesome thing they are doing and he mimics them when they make noises with their mouths, mostly just making bubbles with his tongue. (Just don't stand too close to his face or you will get sprayed!)

He is awesome and we love him. What a blessing he is to our family.

Sean's Birthday and Reed's Blessing Day

January 3rd, was a fun and special day at our house.

Sean turned 36! Woo Hooo!

(The boys think he is SOOO OLD!!!)

Reed had his baby blessing.

Our family came over for the blessing, birthday, fun and food.

I think the picture of Katie and my dad is cute. (Dad had a black eye. He claimed Grandma gave it to him. Oh well, I guess someone's got to keep him in-line!)

Mom and Cindy and Christian made DELICIOUS chalupas and enchiladas!

It was a wonderful day and I'm so grateful to live by my family so we can share these fun moments in life together! Love you guys!

3 Months!

Just catching up on some posts! This is Reed in February at 3 months. A happy little cutie pie!