My Young Life

It's the holiday season...

2009-12-17T11:23:00.004-07:00

Our Christmas tree will probably not make it to Christmas morning. Jaxon has taken to systematically removing every ball, ornament, piece of ribbon, etc. from the tree. Thankfully, he can only reach the bottom two-thirds of the tree, so the top third looks pretty.

When Donnie first put up the tree, the ribbon was neat and even, the ornaments were well placed, and the balls were evenly spaced. Donnie did a really good job. Now, he would prefer that I not mention he put up the tree himself.

Hip Hip Hooray!

2009-12-17T10:12:00.004-07:00

For months we have been trying to convince Sydney to help out around the house. We gave her a little chore chart (only three a day), and a piggy bank to collect her allowance (a quarter a day if she completes all three tasks).

Everyday, I would remind her to do her chores, but she never lifted a finger. Finally, I gave up. I haven't said a word to her in probably three weeks, and her piggy bank still sits with 50 cents in it (that was our starting gift).

Yesterday, I walked into her room to find her singing a clean up song, and picking up her toys. Then she pointed out that she made her bed, and was almost ready to vacuum (we have no carpet in our house, only two little area rugs). It was one of the greatest days ever.

What every little girl aspires to be

2009-12-09T18:08:00.002-07:00

Today as we walked around the zoo, Sydney turned to me and said, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a komodo dragon."

I wasn't sure where to start - people do not grow into animals, or of all of the animals to choose from, why would anyone choose a gross, scaly, belly crawler with a pitchfork for a tongue?

Two Months in Rapid Review

2009-11-29T16:51:00.008-07:00

We have not given up on the blog, we have just been REALLY overcommitted lately.

Between work, school, church callings, date nights, babysitting, and trips to th elibrary, zoo, and Stone Mountain, we have little time for computer fun.

That said, here is a little update on our fam.

Sydney started taking gymnastics and ballet the second week of October. She loves going to class, and even has a little friend who calls her Miss Sydney and smothers her with hugs each week. There are five little girls in her class. They are having a recital in mid December.

She has also been diligently working on her block-building and people-drawing skills. She has decorated her walls with pencil marks, and her floors with giraffes made out of blocks.

Jaxon is diligently working on his block-deconstructing and tackle-your-sister skills. He is pretty talented in the latter.

Jaxon is still the most mellow kid ever. He is so sweet and loves to cuddle too. He likes to play with Sydney, but can sometimes be a little rough. He likes to follow his dad around the house and copy him which is super cute.

Donnie is pretty busy with school these days. This semester will be over in three weeks, and then he only has one more semester of classes, so the excitement is building (too bad he still has another three years after that!).

Here is what we have been able to cram into our schedule:

OCTOBER
We took Sydney and Jaxon to Disney on Ice. Sydney calls it Ice on the Hedge (I have no idea where that came from). She absolutely loved it, and we did too.

For Halloween this year, Donnie carved a pumpkin, and Jaxon and Sydney painted one. I was on clean-up duty - it was almost as fun. Sydney dressed up as a kitty and Jaxy was a puppy.

We went to my parent's ward party from 4-6 p.m. and then we trick or treated for about 2 hours. It was cold and rainy, so Jaxy and I mostly stayed in the car while Donnie, Sydney, and our niece Katie knocked on doors. We ended up with over 7 pounds of candy - yes, Donnie weighed it. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera that day, so I will have to get pictures from my mom.

NOVEMBER
We went to Katie's birthday party at Michael's and Sydney made a jewelry box. She calls it her treasure box, and has it filled with stickers and paper dolls.

We spent Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house visiting with family and eating lots of yummy food. I went shopping Thanksgiving night with my mom, three sisters and three sisters-in-law. Old Navy was open so we popped in after dinner to buy some clothes.

The real shopping started at 3:30 a.m. Friday. My mom, Al, and Jana and I met at Wal-Mart and by 7:30 we were finished and eating at Cracker Barrel. Donnie and I are done shopping for the year, and Santa is finished with our kids as well. The biggest shocker is that I actually came home with almost half of the money that I left with, so Donnie was pretty happy.

We finished up the weekend watching BYU beat Utah with some friends and eating more yummy food, so it was a great week.

Now if only magic little elves would bring all of the Christmas decorations down from the attic for me...

Pictures

2009-09-29T11:43:00.003-07:00

Jaxon will ham it up for the camera at home, but take him to an actual portrait studio, and tears will follow. I learned this truth the hard way.

I wanted to take Sydney and Jaxon to Sears for pictures, so I made an appointment at the one Allison takes Quin to and we decided to make a family trip. When we arrived everything seemed okay, but as soon as we walked to the spot where the camera and lights were set up, chaos ensued.

Sydney wanted to touch/hold/climb on every prop available ( she especially liked the random fake flowers). Jaxon... well I can't really describe the way Jaxon reacted other than this: you know that scene in "The Grudge" where Sarah Michelle Gellar is washing her hair and then suddenly realizes that someone else's hand is masaging the shampoo in? You know, and then she starts screaming like her worst fear ever is coming true? Yeah, that was Jaxon.

My anxiety about the whole situation was not appeased by the fact that Allison could just set Quin on the platform and he would smile, and giggle, and look super cute. Why couldn't it be that easy for my children?

We ended up with only three of Sydney and one photo of Jaxon. Sydney did well for her first three shots and then she just wanted to play with the props and so she was completely uncooperative for anything more. In Jaxy's one shot you can only see one hand - the other hand is tightly gripping my chest, and appropriately cropped out.

Next time Donnie is in charge of picture day!

Go Cougars!

2009-09-06T18:24:00.004-07:00

We are so excited for college football! We love, love, LOVE football. We also really LOVE BYU! Now with satellite, we can watch every game this season!

We went to dinner with three other couples last night, and then headed back to one of their homes to watch No. 20 BYU take on No. 3 Oklahoma. We were not disappointed - BYU won 14-13.

Most of the headlines today focused on the injury Sam Bradford (OU's quarterback, and reigning Heisman trophy winner) sustained, but for us, it was all about BYU's victory.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705328123/cougars-stun-sooners-14-13.html

Haircut

2009-09-06T18:19:00.004-07:00

I knew the time would come eventually, but even with all of the mental preparation, and the realization of the obvious need, it was still hard.

Jaxon had his first haircut. Donnie was so kind as to do the honors. I know that Jaxy needed a haircut so that he could see, but it was still hard to see him with a “big boy haircut,” and not my cute little crazy-haired baby.

Hanging Out

2009-09-06T18:08:00.005-07:00

I finally have a little extra time, so I thought I would post pictures of Jaxy and Sydney during their free time – aka every day of their lives.

Jonas Brothers concert

2009-09-06T16:53:00.004-07:00

For Emily's birthday, Jana bought 4 tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert. Jana didn't want to be the only adult, so they invited me to tag along (thanks so much!). Of course I went as an "adult," but secretly (or not so secretly really) I was excited.

We listen to a lot of Radio Disney with Sydney around, so I actually knew some of the songs. They had three opening acts - Honor Society, The Wonder Girls, and Jordin Sparks.

I really like Honor Society (well, now). They are kind of a poppy punk group. The Wonder Girls only sang one song, and it was a little too much for me. Jordin Sparks was enjoyable too.

Then, the Jonas Brothers took the stage. They played a concert in round. The stage was in the center of the arena, and the main platform rotated 360 degrees. They had two side stages as well. They played a lot of songs - close to 20 I think.

They were entertaining - spraying foam at the audience, jumping on trampolines, dancing, jumping over microphone stands, playing guitars, pianos, drums (the brothers themselves, their band also played a little bit of everything), not allowing any dead moments on stage...

They opened the show with Paranoid, but with all of the pre-teen girls screaming, it was hard to tell!

A Date with Daddy

2009-09-06T16:01:00.007-07:00

Donnie decided that he and Sydney need a little more quality time together, so one Saturday each month they have a special date. They spend the whole day together doing things just for Sydney.

Their most recent date was a trip to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta to see Dora the Explorer live. Dora lost her teddy bear and she had to travel to The City of Lost Toys to find him. She had help along the way from Boots, Bennie the Bull, Azul the blue train, Map, and Backpack. She also had to watch out for that sneaky old fox Swiper.

Sydney ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! She tells me about her little trip everyday. She walks around the house singing songs, and pretending to be Dora.

After the show, they went to Krispy Kreme for smoothies and doughnuts - lucky!

Prepping for the future

2009-07-28T19:16:00.003-07:00

Sydney has found her calling in life. Donnie and I were talking about careers we should encourage our children to pursue ( I know, they haven't even started kindergarten yet...). As we began shouting out what we thought would be winners, Sydney interrupted us and informed us of her choice - "Mom, how about I be a veterinarian."

Donnie, curious, asked Sydney what veterinarians do. Her reply?

"I will help animals feel better, fix their owies, give them shots, feed them, and put them in cages," she said.

Donnie asked, "Why will you put them in cages?"

"Dad, that's where animals belong," she replied matter-of-factly.

Do you think we spend too much time at the zoo?

Regardless, we feel pretty comfortable with Sydney becoming a veterinarian. We need to work with Jaxy still. He spends his days walking around the house carrying a football and wearing Sydney's princess necklace.

I'm not really sure what career that prepares him for.

Game Give-away

2009-07-28T19:05:00.003-07:00

Cat over at 4 Nuts in a Nutshell is sponsoring a really great contest with the help from Thinkfun. Don't miss your chance to enter and win a game! You can also check out Thinkfun's site and preplay a few of their games. They have really great products.

Of course the best reason to check out the contest is to check out 4 Nuts in a Nutshell!

The Little White House

2009-07-20T20:36:00.007-07:00

My cousin Holly has spent the summer filling an internship at The Little White House in Warm Springs, GA. Saturday, we went to visit her there. This was Donnie's first time, and my first time in 18 years. We had a great time and learned a little too.

We went down there with Jaxon, Sydney, my grandmother, and niece Katelyn, and we met up with Holly, my aunt Kay, and her new daughter-in-law Amber. Holly gave us the grand tour and answered all of our crazy questions.

You enter the property through a museum of sorts. They have a timeline of FDR's life and then quite an extensive collection of things he used/had/what ever at the Little White House. There is a lot of information available about the president and his life - before and during office.

We watched a video about FDR and his affinity for the home in Warm Springs. When he was 39 he contracted polio after attending a boy scout camp, and remained paralyzed until his death. He had a car designed with hand controls so that he could drive around in GA, and they had the car on display. It was pretty neat.

FDR helped turn the resort town of Warm Springs into a rehabilitation center for children with disabilities. The natural springs ( and not so natural pools) helped the children and president move around and enjoy a little bit of freedom.

After seeing the activities he enjoyed in GA, and seeing him drive around town, a lot of people thought FDR could walk and would send him canes. The museum had quite the display of ornate, hand-carved canes intended for FDR.

They also had a display on FDR's fifth cousin - Teddy Roosevelt. His big stick was a little intimidating with all of the spikes.

When you leave the museum, you walk on the grounds, passing a "hall" of flags, and a fountain. The kids loved throwing pennies into the fountain. After they cleaned out aunt Kay, they hit grandma up for her loose change too.

Finally you make it to the Secret Service and Military Guard posts (unmanned now because their is not a president to protect). Passing through the gate you see the servants' house and guest house, and then the white house behind them. The white house isn't very big:

There is a small kitchen with a pantry (mostly filled with dishes now).

The dining room and den/study are attached. They still have all of the furniture in there

from the day FDR died.

FDR's secretary had a room with a private bathroom attached.

FDr's bedroom is just off the dining room. His bathroom links his room to Eleanor's - only she

didn't stay there very often.

There is a lot more to say, but it is late, I am tired, and I am already rambling, so...

After catching up on the history lesson we headed over to Kay's house for food and fishing (must be nice to live on a lake :-)).

What a stud!

2009-07-20T20:32:00.002-07:00

The pictures say it all...

4th of July

2009-07-20T20:14:00.004-07:00

We are very thankful to live in this country, and for all of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. We are very grateful for all of the men and women who serve in the military - past, present, and future - and for the sacrifices they have made so that we can live in a place where democracy prevails.

To celebrate the 4th, we headed up to the north Georgia mountains with family to relax and spend time together. This was such a great trip, and I must give credit to my sister-in-law Kat for pulling it all together. She found the place and invited the rest of us to join in the fun.

The house we stayed in was perfect! It had absolutely everything you could need and then some: 6 bedrooms, pool table, ping pong table, air hockey, foosball, giant projector screen, Wii, movies, plaground, lots of outdoor living space, grill, swimming pool, and a hot tub. We had such a great time!

AND...if all of that wasn't enough, the house is just down the road from Babyland General - the place where Cabbage Patch Kids are "born" and "raised" until they are "adopted" by a loving family. It is pretty neat and all of the kids loved checking out the hospital/museum.

Plus, we saw the "birth" of a Cabbage Patch Kid while there. A CPD (Cabbage Patch doctor) enters the cabbage patch when the magical crystals begin to glow. He hooks the mamma cabbage up to an IV of imagicillin, and the bunny bees (pretty self explanatory) sprinkle magic over the patch.

The CPD tells the story of Xavier Roberts and how the cabbage patch came about. As he finishes the story, the CPD presents the new baby and asks for name suggestions. People shout out their ideas and that's the name the new kid takes. It is pretty entertaining.

Jaxon's birthday

2009-07-15T06:44:00.004-07:00

We recently had a party for Jaxy's first birthday. I can't believe how fast the last year has flown by!

Jaxon is such a great kid. He is funny, sweet, and the best cuddler (is that a word?) EVER. He is very laid back, and has the best smile. We feel so blessed to have him in our family. We love him very much.

Jaxy is adventurous, curious, fearless, and bites like a rabbid dog in a Stephen King book/film. That last trait we could probably live without... Like Sydney, Jaxy loves animals and likes to bark like a dog and growl like a lion/bear/dinosaur/monster (they all sound the same).

For his big celebration we had sandwiches, fruit, chips, cheesesticks, and cake and ice cream - the ice cream was Jaxon's favorite. We had bubbles, water balloons, and a kiddie pool set up to entertain the kiddos. It was a nice relaxing day - if you don't count all of my crazy "Donnie we have to cut the grass, clean the ceiling fans, and rearrange the furniture before any one gets here" nonsense!

We're getting closer

2009-06-20T16:14:00.002-07:00

Only one week until his birthday. Do you think he can do it?

Family Reunion

2009-06-18T20:10:00.009-07:00

Last week we had a family reunion with Donnie's family. His parents came out and his two sisters and their families came as well (one sister lives here in GA).

It was nice to visit with family we haven't seen in a while. In fact, this was Jaxon's first meeting with his paternal grandparents. It didn't take him long to warm up to Grandma Y.

Donnie was in charge this year, and he wanted everyone to get a feel for Atlanta. The first day, we went to Zoo Atlanta. I think all of the kids really enjoyed the parakeet house the most. There are more than 500 birds, and if you hold out a seed stick (you purchase it there) they will come and eat out of your hand. It is pretty cool.

We checked out most of the animals (we skipped a few because of time and hunger constraints), and then headed to the kid's zone. The kids rode the carousel, we all rode the train, and then the girls jumped in a bouncy castle while the boys climbed a rock wall.

I was impressed at how quickly the boys were able to scale the wall!

The next day was Sunday, so we all went to church and then took the rest of the day easy.

On Monday, we went to breakfast at Waffle House, and then headed downtown to check out the Aquarium. I really like the Aquarium, but more importantly, Sydney and Jaxon love it! Jaxy really likes the giant viewing room.

After the Aquarium we walked over to the CNN center to eat, and then let the kids play in one of the playgrounds at Centennial Olympic Park.

Tuesday Donnie had to go to school and his brothers-in law were working, so we took a day off. It was also my dad's birthday, so we spent that evening with my side of the fam eating Mexican food and birthday cake.

Wednesday we all met up at Stone Mountain Park for a day of fun. We rode the tram to the top of the mountain and back - the men and boys walked the 1.3 miles back to the bottom. Then we played a round of mini golf and rode the Stone Mountain Express.

We had a picnic lunch and the went back out for more action. We watched a

4-D movie, listened to story time (twice), played at the barn, toured the plantation, and the kids, Donnie, Deidra, Deanna, and Lorin took their chances on the Sky Hike.

Around 8 p.m. we headed back to the lawn for a picnic dinner and to settle in for the laser show. I love thelaser show! Like a lot of things, I am not sure if it is because it is a great show, or because I have so many happy memories associated with it, but a trip to Stone Mountain isn't complete without

watching it.

Thursday we headed back dowtown to watch a Braves game. Not everyone was thrilled to see the team in action, so we split up this day. Donnie, Sydney, Jaxon, and I went. Donnie's two brothers-in-law came, and their sons came too. Basically, it was a boys plus Sydney and Amy activity.

It was fun, and we had good seats. When the game started it was really sunny and hot, but by the top of the 8th the clouds started to roll in. Finally, just as the final batter struck out in the bottom of the 9th, the thunderstorm pounded down. The rain came so quickly and so heavily that everyone was caught off guard.

There is nothing like a GA summer storm!

The girls used Thursday as a mani/pedi day. They all came home with fabulous nails!

Friday we went to the Dekalb International Farmer's Market. Each family bought items to take back to Donnie's sister's house and make for our Farmer's Market Pot Luck.

We had carne asada with fresh salsa; chicken curry with potatoes, sugar snap peas, and broccoli; pork curry; strawberry spinach salad with a variety of toppings; rice; lime water; and peppers with a cheese stuffing wrapped in proscuitto. It was all very yummy!

Saturday we spent the day at the temple. It was our last day together, as everyone started leaving Sunday.

It was a nice visit, it just ended too soon!

Graduation

2009-06-18T19:29:00.005-07:00

I can hardly believe that I have nephews who are grown up and heading to college in the fall, but I do. The oldest of our 31 nieces and nephews graduated from high school this year.

Corey is the oldest, and since he lives in GA we were able to attend his commencement ceremony. It was nice to be with family, and to see all of Corey's hard work pay off. He starts college in Savannah in just a few months. I know he will do well. He is very smart - and I am sure he will work hard.

Tyler is the second oldest (they are only 3 months apart). Tyler graduated from a high scholl in Guam, so we couldn't quite make that celebration. I'm sure it was lovely though. We are also proud of Tyler. He too is smart and a hard worker. He starts college in Hawaii this fall.

Savannah and Hawaii - I think we need to plan trips to visit our two nephews at school this next year!

Here are a few photos from Corey's graduation:

Here are a few pictures I stole from Tyler's Facebook page :-)

Destin

2009-05-26T22:23:00.012-07:00

Last week we went to Florida for a little vacation. We had such a great time! I absolutely love the beach, and I especially love Destin. Growing up, we went there for family vacation every summer (well, starting when I was like 7). I have so many good memories there - Donnie and I even went there on our honeymoon.

This was our first time back to Destin since our honeymoon, and it was the first time for Sydney and Jaxon. They loved it, and we hope to make it a family tradition to visit the panhandle every summer.

My parents came with us to enjoy the warm Florida sun and relaxing beaches. When we first arrived it was super windy and a little chilly. We were okay with it thoughbecause as my Dad always says, "A bad day in Destin is still better than a good day anywhere else." The rest of our time there was absolutle lovely!

Before checking in to our hotel, we stopped off at the beach. Donnie took Sydney and Jaxon to check out the ocean.

Jaxon loved the feel of the water rushing over his little feet. Sydney, on the other hand, would rather just look at the water.

The next day it warmed up a little and we strapped on our swimsuits and hit the beach. Jaxon loved playing with the sand toys, and Sydney decided to give the water another try.

After a few thrusts of the shovel Jaxy was worn out and ready for a nap. Sydney worked up a thirst chasing waves.

After splashing around in the water, Donnie too decided to try his hand at sand castle building. It didn't take long for Sydney to attack and destroy the masterpiece either!

After playing on the beach for a while, we all decided to check out the beautiful water.

By the next day, Sydney and Jaxon were helping Donnie build castles, and no longer trying to destroy his hard work.

So when you are in Florida, you have to eat seafood - well, Donnie, the kids, and my Dad need to eat seafood, my Mom and I can pass. We ate at a lot of really good places. One of those places is The Crab Trap. It is right on the beach, and after we ate we went to check out the ocean views.

Another yummy place we ate at was Fuddpucker's. It is absolutely huge! They not only have three levels of seating, but they have over 80 live alligators too.

Lest you think we spent our entire vacation sleeping on the beach or eating, I better move on. We went to this family fun park called The Track. I always loved the track! Our main purpose was to play mini golf, but Sdney wanted to check out some of the rides too.

I could not believe it! Sydney is not much of a daredevil, but she chose to ride some of the "scary" rides, and loved every minute of it! Donnie took her on the bumper boats and race cars, and then she hit the ferris wheel, swings, and airplane solo.

After Sydney used all of her tickets we hit the mini golf course. About halfway through the Mountain Safari course (complete with waterfalls and exotic animal statues) Sydney found a giant giraffe. She was so excited!

She ran up and stood right underneath it. Water from one of the nearby falls splashed Sydney from behind, but not knowing the source of the wetness, Sydney yelled, "Hey! This giraffe just peed on me!" Oh Sydney...

In the Sandestin resort there are tons of hotels, shops, restaurants, golf courses... anything you might want. There is also a place called Baytowne Wharf. This is where the nightlife is (I guess, we went during the day :-)). This is where you can find the trendy shops, expensive restaurants, yummy saltwater taffy, and apparently surfing alligators.

You can also walk out to the bay and feed fish, but we actually just fed fish food to the birds.

We also spent a day (rain day) at Destin Commons. This is an outdoor shopping complex. They have a play area for kids in the middle of the "mall." Sydney liked the playground, until she saw the jumping fountains. The other kids playing in the fountains were in swimsuits - but that did not deter Sydney who attacked the water with no fear.

It was such a great vacation!

If at first you don't succeed...

2009-05-11T20:10:00.007-07:00

If at first you don't succeed....

try again.

Never too young to start learning how to mow the lawn. Keep it up.

Peek-A-Boo

2009-05-04T13:30:00.002-07:00

April in pictures

2009-05-01T13:58:00.012-07:00

Like I said earlier, we had a busy month. The weather was really nice and so we had many trips to the zoo, and lots of play time in the backyard. We spent a lot of time running errands, visiting family, and cleaning up small disasters around the house.

Going for a wagon ride

Jaxy driving the big red car

Yelling at the crazy woman driver who cut him off

One of our neighbors gave us a play kitchen to use outside. It has become a favorite of Sydney and Jaxon.

Jaxy's first tooth broke through March 24. It was his bottom right tooth. His top left tooth, the next to come out, appeared the next week. He had only these two teeth until April 15, when their mates came through. I have no idea why my children have crazy teeth schedules!

One day, I came out of the restroom and noticed that Sydney's bedroom door was closed. I started walking toward the door, telling Sydney to open up and not play with the door closed. As I neared the door, I realized she was not in her room, but at my computer with Jaxon - and a full bottle of powder. This is not a good combination.

Jaxon had his first encounter with a caterpillar at the zoo. He liked to look at the furry little bug. He didn't even mind when it crawled on his arm, but when it took off on his shirt, that was too much.

Sydney never stays still for very long, so she isn't in too many pictures on our computer right now. However, here are two from the zoo. She loves the statue of (the late gorilla) Willie B. and pretending to be a bird in the lemur's tree house.

Every morning this is the first thing I see.

It is soon followed by this

I think I am pretty lucky.

Easter

2009-05-01T10:53:00.005-07:00

It has been a busy month, so I am just now getting around to Easter pictures. I still need to upload pictures from the camera, so this isn't all of our pics, but it is enough!

We went to church with my parents and then over to their house for dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. It was nice to spend time with the fam, and Sydney and Jaxon came home with a lot of candy.

Here we are decorating eggs. We decided to buy plastic eggs and then decorate with stickers. This way we don't waste hard-boiled eggs, and we don't have to wait for dye to dry. It worked out really well for us. No mess, no fuss.

What would egg decorating be without ice cream?

The egg hunt

Never move to Mobile, Al

2009-04-12T18:42:00.002-07:00

This is just a note to myself.

If anyone else needs a reason to not move to Alabama, please watch the following video. You can then thank Jana for sharing this hard hitting news story with you, and hopefully preventing you from moving to Alabama too.