Yummy!

We love pictures of our little cranky baby eating!

Vegas Snow Babies!

And it is STILL coming down!!! We are snowed into the valley-- all the roads out of Vegas are closed and the airport has canceled all departing flights. Hmmmm- trapped. Crazy! Oh, and no school tomorrow-- a snow day!

SNOW?!? In VEGAS?!?!

Yes!!!! Can you believe it? I never thought I would see snow on a palm tree, but here it is!

What's Next?

So in answer to the questions of "What's next?", I don't really know. This is what I am hoping for:

A Job

A House: A Happy Family!

We'll keep you updated!

New Background

I just wanted to put a plug in for this new website I found for free blog backgrounds. Sooo cute!

http://smittenblogdesignsgallery.blogspot.com/

Smitten Blog Designs

Sisters!

Kendi is finally old enough to play more with the girls. And she LOVES every minute of it!!!!

(I know, I know. Another great example of my extraordinary photography skills!)

Rice Krispie Houses

Okay, so I am kind of embarrassed to publish these after seeing Lacey, Ayva & Cheyenne's darling gingerbread house and Brooke's unique gingerbread creation, but here it is. We have tried gingerbread houses in the past and I can't even figure them out, let alone the girls, so this year we opted for Rice Krispie Houses. They were much easier to make and then I let the girls go to town on the decorating. And no, the lid did NOT fall off the sprinkles-- it is supposed to look like that! ;0)

What it is supposed to look like-


Kira's version-




Kamber's version-

Graduation and Boards!

Yeah!!! I can't tell you how excited I am today!!!! Yes! Hip-hip-hooray! Hallelujah! Wa-hoo!

Brandon graduated on Sunday, (clears throat, with proud look on my face), with honors. I can't contain the happy little smile on my face!!!!

AND. . . . drum roll please!

He PASSED the board with flying colors!!!!

We are so proud of our hubby and daddy!!!! Thank you so much for all the hard work you put in -- you are AMAZING!!!! We love you!

Truffles-- Frickin AWESOME!!!

Okay, so I found this (simple) awesome recipe on Kraftfoods.com for truffles!!! I didn't know that you could MAKE truffles-- at least not without HOURS of work. I tried three different kinds. . . Oreo, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Raspberry Chocolate (my favorite!). I am not much of a cook, but these were easier to make than I imagined and turned out rather well, even the first time. Perfect for Christmas treats!!! Here are the recipes: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/chocolate-peanut-butter-truffles-55254.aspx http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/simply-sensational-truffles-107529.aspx http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx

Hidden Treasures

This is one of my very favorite things about being a mom-- it always makes me smile!!! I opened the fridge yesterday and this is what I found:

I guess my girls need their own play kitchen. ;0) I also love sticking my foot in my shoe and finding a little toy, or taking the cover off of my sewing machine and finding hidden buttons throughout. I love how kids minds work and I love seeing their creative play!!! Thank goodness for those hidden treasures- it makes up for all the craziness they create (sometimes ;0).

Four Month Check Up

Kendi had her 4 month check up the other day. Any guesses on how much she weighs? Only 11 pounds, 12 ounces!!! She is a light-weight. But other than that, healthy, healthy. She is eating cereal pretty well now, but unfortunately it isn't helping her sleep any better. We still get up 2 or 3 times a night together. . . (sigh). Any suggestions on better sleeping habits would be great.

Isn't it amazing how quickly babies change? Since my last update, Kendi likes having her diaper changed, she isn't quite as fond of her bath as she used to be. She absolutely LOVES watching her sisters play. I am begining to think she like them better than me-- and I am the one that gets up with her all night! Rude! But her sisters really do help with her-- and they love her just as much as she loves them! Aren't sisters great?

We have finally decided that Kendi is pretty high strung for a baby. I can't remember if this is common for all babies, but Kendi holds her fists SOOO tight all the time. And according to Grandma and Grandpa Payzant, her daddy did that as a baby, too. And he is also high strung. Like daddy, like baby! She just never can relax.

We put Kendi to sleep on her tummy-- I know, I know-- but she sleeps so much better that way. But anyway, she has figured out how to roll over in her bed, so when she wakes up she will roll over. On the rare occasions that she is in a good mood, she will immediately smile up at you the second you get in sight, even if it is 3:30 in the morning! Little stinker!

Most days, Kendi's only good quality is that she is so stinkin cute-- but I LOVE her so very much anyway! I still can't get enough of her. And really she isn't that bad of a baby-- just a little fussy.

Progress!

I love it when I see little signs that my girls are progressing! Today we had our primary program in sacrament meeting. The girls both had parts, of course. And Kira, who a year ago refused to say one word to her teachers, let alone stand up in front of anyone and speak, got up to the microphone, loudly whispered to the Primary President that she didn't need any help, she could do it herself, and then spoke her part word for word from memory perfectly! Yeah! Go Kira! She is becoming such a beautiful, big girl! We are so proud of her!

Kendi's Cereal

Oh, I just LOVE it when babies get to start eating rice cereal!!! (Did you catch the sarcasm in there?) Kendi just started with her cereal the other day and we caught some pics of it. She did pretty well, considering. However, there was sticky paste all over her and me and the kitchen. What's a mom to do? Oh, and she seems to confuse her fist with the spoon??? How does that happen?

Finally. . . Halloween Pictures!!!

Snow White. . .

Belle. . .

And a little bit of pixie dust. . .

And they all lived happily ever after. . .

Best Friends

We love you guys!

Soccer

Kira's soccer pictures. Soccer season is all over now. It was a little long for me, but Kira seemed to like it. She never really decided to get aggressive or even really figured the game out, but she loved the associations. I guess we will try again next season and see if we can figure it out. . .

Some Catching Up. . .

So, I know we are four months late, but here are a few more pictures from the day Kendi was born. This is me that afternoon-- nine months prego!!! My tummy looks kinda HUGE!!!

Here is me and Brandon on the way to the hospital.

And the girls' first sleepover! They had so much fun, but stayed up until like 11 or so. They have literally NEVER been up that late and they didn't handle it too well the next day, especially Kira. Thanks again Brooke for taking such good care of our little ones!

The Big 4 Year Old!

I know I am a little late posting, but on November 2, Kamber turned 4. She was so excited about having a birthday. Now that they have finally figured out the whole birthday thing it has been really fun!!! We had a Tinker Bell theme, as the new Tinker Bell movie was out a few days before, which we had all been looking forward to for some time. She wanted a green cake with green frosting but I was able to convince her to have a chocolate cake with green frosting (I know, I am so bad!). I found an awesome recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lisas-Chocolate-Chocolate-Chip-Cake/Detail.aspx. Mmmmmm, so moist and yummy! Here is my pretty little birthday princess:

Kamber was born around 1:00am on election day in 2004. It was the day Bush beat out Kerry. I remember that she didn't cry at all but just kept looking around with her then big blue eyes.

When Kira came to the hospital to see Kamber, the first thing she did was point at her and say "Baby!" This was one of her very first words and so, it stuck. She was nicknamed "Baby" until about a year ago when she started telling me she wasn't "Baby", she was "Kamber."

She was a great baby! She ate well and slept well (compared to Kira). She loved being on the go with Kira and me. She didn't get any teeth in until she was a year old, but still wanted to eat everything the Kira did. She figured out how to eat quesadillas, mac & cheese, crackers, just about anything without teeth. She would just keep it in her cheek for quite a while until it was mooshie enough to eat with her gums. Even when she was older she would keep food in her cheeks, sometimes for hours! She was a little chipmunk.

When she was really little, Kira and I started doing lots of puzzles. Kamber, not wanting to get left behind, started doing them too. She was awesome at them and could remember where every single piece went on all 20 or so puzzles we owned. Her nursery teachers were very impressed!

She is a sunshiny, fun-loving, athletic girl that we all love! I am so glad she came to our little family. Love ya, Kamber!

How to make a Cranky baby even Crankier. . .

Kendi has finally succombed to the rampant illnesses that have inflicted our house as of late. With Kira starting Kindergarten we have been sick week after week and amazingly, Kendi has not gotten any of it-- until now. She has a sore bum and a yellow, snotty nose. And she is not sleeping well at night. So now we have a cranky baby and a cranky Mommy. I am sure we will survive. . . somehow!

Quirky!

The newest tag-- seven weird or quirky things about yourself.



Ummmm, this is a hard one Steph. And like you, I am nervous to expose myself to the world. Here goes:



1. I think one of the weirdest things is that I have 3 plates, 15 screws and 2 pins in my left arm. Sort of a bionic woman arm.



2. I am STILL scared of popping balloons. Whenever I am around balloons that kids are playing with, I get a queasy feeling in my stomach and can't take my eyes off of the balloon.



3. My hair falls out like crazy! Every day in the shower I pull out handfuls of hair-- handfuls! It drove Brandon so crazy to have my hair everywhere that I finally moved to the girls' bathroom to fix my hair. It helps a little-- it also helps to have short hair.

4. I have chronic bad breath (I am totally blushing and wishing I WASN'T sharing this!). I hate it and my husband hates it even more. And it is not because I don't brush-- I totally brush, floss, gargle- all of it! But it still doesn't work. So sorry everyone! Just don't sit too close. . .

5. I really suck at taking pictures! It seems as though all those people that have a creative side and either sew or scrapbook or whatever can also take decent pictures. But not me! My pictures truly are not worth looking at.

6. I am addicted to chocolate and sugar. I don't just like or love it, I am truly addicted. If I buy a bag of candy, it will only last for about a day and a half. I also horde it-- I hide it and don't let anyone share!!! Darn it-- how am I going to lose weight this way?

7. Hmmmm, I am running out of weird things. . . maybe that fact that I am 29 and I am still completely naive. If Brandon hasn't explained something to me, I still have no idea what it means and will be completely oblivious to it. Ummm, yeah. . .

Now, to tag a few others to share their weird and quirky ways . . . Lexie Hogan, Brooke Reeves, Lyndsey Payzant, Rachel Holdaway, Kira Lippy, Brianne Groesbeck, and anyone else reading this!!!!

I feel so LOVED!!!

You are all so amazing! You have all sent me so many boxtops already!!! I am still amazed that you all helped us out so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Round 1 ended this week, but they are starting up again immediately, so if you are having fun saving them and want to keep sending them to me, I would love it!

Thanks again everyone!

FABULOUS weekend!!!

We had a great time this weekend-- crazy busy!!! Friday my sister Lacey and her friend came to Mesquite for a two on two volleyball tournament. The girls and I decided to go meet her there. So, Friday after school we drove to Mesquite. Just in time for the trip Kendi decided she no longer likes her car seat so she cried for at least 30 minutes of the trip. But other than that, we did pretty well. I was starting to feel pretty proud of myself for being able to handle all three of my kids by myself on a road trip. . . and then we arrived. For anyone that has not been to Mesquite, there is not much there. There are four casinos and, well, that is about it. And the casinos are not that great. I have an aunt and uncle that live there and they were able to get us a free room at one of the casinos. It wasn't a great hotel, but not too bad. Lacey and I decided to take the girls swimming, since we really didn't have much else to do. Yeah, so I forgot to bring sunscreen (of course) and the swimming pool was freezing. We couldn't check into our hotel room yet because it was too early, so I had to feed Kendi in the restroom (yuck!). My little feeling good bubble was popped. But the girls seemed to be having an okay time. Finally we were able to check into the hotel, which the girls thought was the greatest thing ever. And Lacey cut our hair (yea!). I think this was one of my favorite birthday presents. Ever since breaking my arm, I have just pulled my hair up in a twist on the back of my head, now I am forced to fix it everyday.

And Kamber got the cutest cut! The pool has ruined her hair this summer, so it is a lot healthier now-- and cuter than ever!
After cutting hair and getting everyone dressed we went to dinner and took the girls on the go-karts. Kira is usually so scared of things like that, but they both loved it! The next day we watched Lacey play one game and then headed home. Thanks Lacey for the great trip!

When we got home, Lexie, Shane and baby Jaxon were in town and came to see us for a while. We chatted and then went to dinner. Here is a picture of all of the grandkids. Jaxon is 6 weeks younger than Kendi, but far outweighs her! Thanks for visiting guys!

Then, Brooke took me out for my birthday. We went shopping and then went to dinner. We went to Claim Jumper. And they have the freaking best chocolate cake ever!

It is six, yes six, full layers of cake with fudge frosting and chocolate chips mixed into the cake. WOW!!! I definitely recommend it! Definitely perfect for a dieting, chocolate-loving, mommy birthday girl. Thank you, Brooke! I loved having a girl's night out!

Whew! What a fun, crazy weekend! Now everyone is sitting at home, bored. Oh well. That is how the roller coaster of life goes . . .