Finally, some pictures! Tyce was born very quickly...only about 30 minutes after I was last checked and dilated to a 4. I gave 3 pushes and he was out and crying! His face was a little bruised since he came out so fast (I guess the faster they come out, the more banged up they get...poor guy!) Anyways, he is healthy and is as cute as ever...if I may say so myself! Thanks to all those who have helped out with the kids and brought dinners...I so appreciate it! I'm so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends!
Yesterday, Tyler's brother Max got home from his mission to Uruguay. All of the family went to the airport to see him arrive. The kids were so excited! Zoey went up to him and he picked her up and she wouldn't let him go. It was so cute! After the airport, we all went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Yum! We're so glad "Uncle Max" is back! We sure missed him! Zoey and Uncle Max!
I had my last doctor appointment today. Good news...I'm still dilated to a 3 and I'm 80-90% effaced. So, I think the baby is going to wait until Monday to get here! Yeah! Just to let you all know, I do have a car seat now and we got our 3rd row installed in our SUV, and now he will fit in the car! Yeah! Dylan and Brayden will be excited that we won't have to leave 1 of them home every time we go somewhere!;) Now, I just need to get packing for the hospital stay. Too bad I'm such a procrastinator!
I went to my doctor appointment this morning and I'm about the same as I was last week. I am dilated to a 3 and am 80% effaced. Yeah! I could have had my membranes stripped today to speed up the process, but I've got way too much to do before this baby comes; ie, B-day and Christmas shopping, breakfast with Santa, going to the airport to see Tyler's brother get home from his mission, buying a car seat, and getting a 3rd row installed in our SUV so that we can even fit the baby in the car! The doctor was pretty surprised that I wanted to wait to be induced until only 2 days before my due date, but that's the way it goes. I guess by the time you're on your 4th, you figure you can wait! So, hopefully I'll make it to the 8th so that I can make it to the hospital in time to get an epidural and not have to go natural like I did with Brayden...ouch! And I would like to have the baby on my mom and sister's b-day!!!
People have been asking me to take a picture of my belly. So, I decided I'd better do it before it's gone. This was taken when I was 35 weeks pregnant...about 2 weeks ago. I've decided to get induced on Dec. 8th. At my doctor appointment last Wednesday, I was dilated to a 1 and 70% effaced. I go again this Wednesday, so we'll see if I've progressed anymore. But, things are going good with the pregnancy. I'm pretty much at that uncomfortable stage now, where it's not comfortable unless your standing or lying down, since sitting puts my stomach into my chest! The baby moves a ton when I'm lying down...he likes to kick my lower stomach really hard and make me jump. I hope he's not this active after he's born! The countdown is on...3 weeks from today. I can't wait!
Last Wednesday we had our first big snow storm. I even had to shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Yuck! Anyways, Brayden and Zoey wanted to go outside and play in the snow so bad, so we got on their snow clothes and they headed out in the cold. They had so much fun. Later we got some fresh snow and made snow cones and when their daddy got home he helped them build a snowman. That was fun the first time but luckily the snow is all melted now. I'm sure the fun will wear off with the next few snowstorms...at least for me!
I'm finally putting a post up of Halloween! On Halloween night, Grandpa and Grandma Bolda came over and we ate Jack-O-Lantern pizzas, orange chocolate chip cookies, and then went out trick-or-treating. It started raining right when we were going to leave, but we grabbed our umbrella and braved the weather! The kids loved it! Zoey kept running to keep up with the boys and saying "I love trick-or-treating!" Dylan dressed up as black spider man, Brayden was Iron Man, and Zoey was a witch! They each got about 5 lbs. of candy and were on a sugar high for about the next 3 days! Lucky me!!!
Our final Halloween activity, before Halloween, was going on a Witch Hunt at Gardner Village. My mom and I took the kids on a scavenger hunt to look for witches doing different things. After we found all of the witches, we took our completed papers and got the kids cookies. We had dinner a cute little bakery there and afterwards walked through the shops. Then we heard some music playing and realized that there was a DJ and tons of people dressed up as witches, as it was "Witches Night Out!" We all danced and the kids loved it! Zoey especially loved dancing with her grandma and didn't want to leave...even though it was already 9:30. I think she takes after her mom!:) Here are some pics of our adventure:
This past Saturday, my mom and I took the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. The kids had so much fun! They got to go on the blow-up slides and trampolines, play games, get their faces painted, and even got to take a picture with ex-NBA player Shawn Bradley. I can't believe how tall he is! Anyways, I took lots of pictures so here's another slide show for your enjoyment! And let me add, we made it through the festival without any accidents this time! (Knock on wood!)
Last Friday we went to the pumpkin patch in Santaquin. We picked up Papa Blair on the way, got some Fat Jack's pizza, and headed out in the 40 degree weather to go on a hay ride to get our pumpkins. Right before we got to the pumpkin patch, and as we were riding in the wagon that was being pulled by the tractor, Brayden got excited and pointed to the pumpkins. He let go of the wagon and flew off the seat and hit another wooden bench across from him face first, on his chin. So, he had a bloody chin and a nice bruise to show for it. But, he was able to still pick out his favorite pumpkin, as well as the other kids. After we got back to the barn from getting our pumpkins, we decided to warm up in the freezing weather with some ice cream cones! The kids had a ball, and we look forward to this tradition every year...even if it is cold!
Ok, so this is a picture of Dylan's new cast that he got today. He broke his foot during the Ridgeline Run this past Friday, after he tripped over a cone. The weird thing is that his teacher never called and told me. My neighbor picked Dylan up from the bus stop after school and carried him into the house. I guess that he crawled out to the bus from school, the bus driver carried him off of the bus and gave him to my neighbor. So, I called his teacher today to see why she didn't call me and she said she just thought that he "twisted his ankle." If she knew it was that bad that she would have called me. Hmmm. Is it just me or is this kind of strange to everyone else too? I just think it should be up to me to decide if he should come home or not. I took him to InstaCare that day and the doctor couldn't tell if it was broken, since it was near his growth plate at the top of his foot. I took him to a specialist today, and he has a "buckle fracture." So, he will have his cast on for 3 weeks, then they'll take another x-ray and hopefully it can stay off. So with that, Zoey's broken toe is getting better, although she's still limping. The day after Zoey broke her toe, Brayden slammed my foot in the car door, which had me sore for a while. Then on Friday, Dylan broke his foot. So, since we've had 3 foot mishaps, I'm hoping we're through. I think it's time for some good luck, anyone agree?!!
So, my sweet little Princess, Zoey, might have a broken toe. Her big brother Brayden decided to drop Tyler's 20 lb. dumbell on her foot last night. She came upstairs crying...I thought she was in bed. So, I took a look, and sure enough, her second toe was swollen and bruised. She just keeps limping around now and walking on her heel. I'm just hoping it's not broken! I don't know if the picture really does her foot justice, but you might be able to see it a little bit. Poor girl...it's hard having only brothers!
This past Friday, Tyler and I, my parents, and our friends Jared and Kelly, went to a "Celebration of Marriage" seminar at Thanksgiving Point . The topic was "Rekindle the Flame." We paid $50 to go to 2 classes, hear 2 keynote speakers, and have a great dinner and entertainment. I was really glad we went because the seminar was really good. My favorite part was one of the keynote speakers, Richard Paul Evans, who is the author of many NY Times best seller books, like "The Christmas Box" and "The Gift." He is an AMAZING speaker. He talked about how his marriage used to be in major turmoil, and literally on the brink of divorce. He and his wife had agreed that they couldn't live like they had been anymore and that they needed to get the paperwork going. Then it dawned on him, "If so many people love this girl and want to be around her, then I must be such an awful person to bring out the worst in her. How can I improve? Some of the important things that really stood out to me, on what he did to improve his marriage, and that we can do in ours, is to: 1. Ask our spouse each morning when we wake up "What can I do to show you I love you today?" Then, do it! When he did this with his wife, she first rolled her eyes. Then, once she saw he was serious because he was doing it every day, she had a change of heart. She told him that she didn't deserve him. She started changing her ways, and being more compassionate and loving to him. He realized that he couldn't ever change her, but he could change himself, and when he did that, she started to change also. 2. Forgive others and let it go. Don't hold grudges. The person that usually suffers is the one who needs to do the forgiving, not the offender. It puts such a weight on your shoulders when you carry that animosity around. Who needs the extra stress? So, just be the better person and let it go! 3. Think positive things about your spouse. If you focus on the negative, then they will be those negative things. If you focus on the positive, the positive things will come out. And give yourself some quiet time to think those positive things about your spouse each day. It could be in the car, on your way home from work or the grocery store. Your mind is a powerful tool and it can do wonders for your marriage! Those are just a few things that he talked about. His marriage sounds like it is amazing now...he and his wife have so much love for each other. They are constantly serving each other and always thinking about the other person. I wish you all could have been there to hear him, but I think the few tips I told you about are very important and helpful, which is why I wanted to share them with you! For those of you in Utah, there is another "Celebration of Marriage" seminar coming up in February. Tyler and I will be there again, so there is an open invitation for anyone that wants to join us!
Today, Brayden went back to preschool. He was very excited, as his big brother has already been in school for a few weeks now. Brayden's teacher is Miss Mikki, and she lives in the subdivision right next to us, so it makes it nice and convenient! We're excited for Brayden to continue to learn and prepare for Kindergarten...and I'm sure he's excited to finally get a break from his mommy and baby sister!
The answer is...yes! I didn't even have to ask my 4-year old that question. As I was cleaning out the drawers in my boys bedroom, Brayden came walking in. I was standing, turned away from him, when he walked by and said "Mommy, why is your butt so big?" I really thought that I didn't hear him right, so I said "What?" Well, he repeated it again. I think I stood there with my mouth open, dumbfounded for a minute! I couldn't believe he said that! Well, I guess it's time to face the facts. I have gained a lot more weight this pregnancy & gained it in places that I never knew I could gain it before! So, there you have it. I really AM bigger & showing a lot sooner this time than with my other kids. So, I wonder if that means that I'm really going to have to work myself out to death to get this weight off, and get my bum back to it's normal, small size? I hope not! So, I just want to thank Brayden for giving me a reality check! I just love how honest kids can be...or not!
Wow! School has started! I can't believe how fast the summer went by! Dylan is now in 2nd grade. His teacher is Mrs. McLean. When he and I went to the open house last week to meet his teacher, we couldn't find his classroom. Finally, after circling the school twice, we found out that his classroom is in a trailer this year. Darn...a new school and Dylan gets to be in the trailer. Well, at least the trailer is new! Anyways, he's really excited about going back. He's been counting down the days! Now...how to keep Brayden and Zoey entertained while he's gone?!!
On August 7th, Tyler and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! I can't believe it's already been 9 years! I was thinking back to how we met. Here's the scoop: Tyler and I met at a pretty hip dance club in Provo, called "The Edge." I was 17, he was 16. (Yes, I robbed the cradle.) My friend actually met him first and thought he was pretty hot. I agreed. We hung out for years as friends and even though we both secretly really liked each other, just stayed friends until after our missions. Tyler went on his mission to Jamaica and I went off a short time later to Brasil. He had a girlfriend at the time and I was hoping that she would find somebody else while he was gone, then he'd come home, date me, get married, and we'd live happily ever after! Guess what? My plan worked! Tyler and I wrote to each other during our missions. His parents even wrote me and said that they wanted him to marry ME! Wow, was I excited?!! He proposed to me and 3 months later we were married and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple! We now have 3 beautiful children with one more on the way. I want to tell Ty how much I love and appreciate him! I'm so lucky to have him as a husband and as the father of our children. He's such a beautiful person inside and out, and I still think he is just as hot today as he was the day I met him...actually he's hotter!!! Love you Ty!
If not, here it is: I'm pregnant, and am having a.......BOY!!! Can you believe it? We found out on Tyler's birthday what we are having. I'll have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I really wanted a girl so that Zoey could have a sister, but that's ok. As long as he's healthy, that's what's important. My due date is December 10th, but I'll probably have him before that. I told the doctor that my babies come really quick, so he told me I can be induced up to a week early. Anyways, just wanted to share with all of you! Have a great week!
Since I haven't blogged in a while, I decided to hopefully help a few of you out by letting you know how Tyler and I just saved a bundle of money! Who doesn't need to with today's economy? Tyler has been reminding me, for probably over a year now, to call around to see if we could get some lower auto insurance rates. Well, I've been procrastinating doing that because I hate making phone calls... especially those kind! Come to find out, I wish I had done it a lot sooner because I just saved LOTS of money! I ended up calling AAA and asking about their auto and homeowners insurance rates. (We've had State Farm for our auto insurance ever since we were married.) When I told the guy at AAA who I had for auto insurance, he said "We are going to save you a TON of money!" Well, turns out they did. They are actually saving me $1100 A YEAR on my auto insurance, and $90 a year on my homeowners insurance. I did combine the 2 insurances to get a cheaper rate, but even if I only did auto insurance with them, it would have only been $70 more a year. Crazy ha?!! I was pretty excited when I got the quotes and just kicking myself that I didn't do it before! Anyways, we ended up calling State Farm to cancel our auto insurance and the guy at AAA told me that they probably wouldn't be too happy about it. Well he was right...they weren't! The lady that works for State Farm actually laughed at Tyler because he wouldn't tell her who we were switching too...he didn't want to give her the help of knowing since all they ever did was rip us off! After she laughed, she said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. Tyler had more questions for her and tried calling back a few times, with no answer. He called again, left a message, told her not to take it personally and that he didn't appreciate getting hung up on. She immediately called him back, nervously apologizing for not knowing that she hung up on him. (Tyler called her on that too. Brave guy!!!) We got our questions answered after that and everything is good now. So, to all of you who need to save some money, and especially those of you who have State Farm insurance, I'd recommend giving AAA a call or just shop around! Trust me, it's worth the time!
Oh, how the time flies! My oldest child, Dylan, was born 7 years ago, on July 5th. He weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was born at 4:02pm. Now, I actually have a kid that's 7? Do I feel old or what??? We had a birthday party for him at the park, where lots of family and friends were in attendance, but we missed our family from California this year. We had lots of fun visiting, eating cake, and breaking open a transformer pinata! Dylan loved his presents...especially his new Nintendo DS. Lucky boy! Here are some great qualities about Dylan...
Dylan is...
1. A very loving and helpful boy. He loves his mom, dad, brother and sister and helps his mom out by taking the "oldest child" role and helping her out with them. 2. A comedian. He has got such a funny personality and is quite the class clown at school. He has lots of friends (and lots of girls) that like him!:) 3. A good student. He reads and writes so well! His teachers always tell me how impressed they are with how well he does in those areas. It sounds like he's above average! 4. A good baseball player. He loved playing baseball this year and improved so much from the first couple of games. He can hit the ball so hard...past 2nd base! 5. A daddy's boy. He loves to go places with his dad! He loves to golf, camp, fish, hike, rappel, and rock climb. Does that sound like Tyler Jr. or what?!! Oh, and I'm sure hunting will be added to the list within the next year or so!
I'm so grateful for Dylan. We are so lucky to have him in our family. He's such a good boy and I'm so proud of him for the person that he is. I still can't believe that in only one more year he will be getting baptized! He can't wait! Love you Dyl!
My sister Lisa, posted the story of my brother John on her blog, who died 16 years ago today. I couldn't have put the story together any better myself, so I'm giving you the link to her blog so that you can read about him. I love and miss you John!
Hi! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'll make it up to you by posting lots of pictures! So, the last couple of months have been pretty busy. In May, Brayden graduated from preschool, or should I say, his first year of preschool. He still has one more year to go. The graduation went good! Brayden sang especially well and loved the stuffed toy that he got from his teacher.
Dylan graduated from 1st grade. We went to his dance festival and his "monkey dance" that he did was really cute!
My brother and sister-in-law and their kids came for a visit from Kansas. The cousins had lots of fun together! They don't get to see each other very often, so we took them to do lots of fun activities together to make up for lost time! We got to go to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point, the zoo, Chuck-E-Cheese, and celebrate cousin Chloe's birthday party at a family picnic at Thanksgiving Point. We all had a great time together!
In June, our family got to go to a family get-together with Tyler's dad and siblings and their kids at Fish Lake. We were excited to go, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. It was cold and windy and we even woke up to snow. So, we didn't get to fish much, but when we left we drove to Otter Creek and the kids got to catch some fish there, so that made up for it! Even though we weren't outdoors much, it was still fun getting to be with the family!
A couple of days ago, Tyler got a new motorcycle. It's a Honda VTX. He justified buying it by saying that it would save on gas money. I sure hope so, because I'm not a big fan of motorcycles. I'll have to admit, it does look like a nice bike though!
Tyler has been working lots on a cabin in Timber Lakes, near Heber, Utah. We are going in on a timeshare with some friends from work. It should be done in August. I'm really hoping so since I don't get to see my husband much! But, the time that we'll be able to spend together at the cabin should be worth it!
As for me, I'm trying to keep the kids busy with summer vacation finally here! Dylan and Brayden are in reading and math classes. I'm trying to take them swimming at least once a week to the local pool. We went for the first time yesterday and the kids loved it! Well, I hope you're all having a great summer! I'm loving the sun and warmth and enjoying it while it lasts!
Tyler, Zoey, and I got to go to St. George this past weekend on a "friends and babies" trip! We had a great time! The weather was nice, even though it was a little cooler in the mornings. As we were driving there, I was looking out the window and noticed an "In N Out" sign. I about died! Luckily for us, In N Out in St. George had just opened 2 weeks ago and so of course we went and had dinner there on our first night! It was heaven! How I miss In N Out! Now I don't have to drive all the way to Vegas or California to get it! Yes! On Saturday the guys went golfing to an amazing course! Tyler said it was the best golf course he'd been to in years...and believe me, he's been to alot! He even played extra good, so I think that will now be his new favorite course! While the boys were golfing, the girls and babies went shopping at the outlets. It was fun. I think my favorite part at the outlets was going to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and getting caramel apples and chocolate covered gummy bears! Yum Yum! The boys and babies went swimming later that evening. Zoey and her friend Ava had a blast! You'll have to check out the slide show to see all of the fun that they had in the pool! All in all, we had a great time and want to thank our friends Sara and Wes for inviting us and for the gorgeous home we got to stay in! We had fun with all of our friends and missed Mindy and John since they had to go home early due to a sick baby. Thanks again to our family who watched the boys while we were gone! Enjoy the slide show!
Ok, so I'm wondering, "Why is it so hard for me to say no to a salesman?" For example, today I was planning on running some errands and taking the kids to the park, since Tyler is working on the cabin in Heber. Around 11am this morning, my doorbell rang and it was a cute little girl asking if I wanted a free carpet cleaning. She started talking to me about my kids and where I'm from and about my neighbors who were all getting their carpets cleaned. Turns out she's from California too, San Dimas, the city of my birth. So that was a great relationship builder and for some reason, I felt that I couldn't hurt this girl's feelings and tell her no, after we had so much in common! So, next thing I know, she's coming in my house, wandering through, looking at my carpet, and finally finds a spot to clean. She said that I wouldn't have to listen to a demonstration because they had so many people on their list to get their carpets cleaned, that they wouldn't have time for that. "Great", I thought! I have been through the "Kirby" vacuum demonstration before, and it took hours, so I guess I could just sit for a few minutes through a carpet cleaning. So, do you think it really turned out like that? No, of course not! The cute little girl came back, about 20 minutes later, with another guy, and left him to give me the demo and carpet cleaning. That definitely wasn't smart of me to let some guy in my house when Tyler wasn't even home, but I thought that the girl was staying with him, since she came in with him. Wrong! Thank goodness nothing happened! Anyways, I got the whole spiel and he demonstrated every single thing that the Kirby does and asked me tons of pointless questions. It was really boring. So, 2 hours and 15 minutes later, he finally left my house with my living room carpet cleaned and me purchasing absolutely nothing. By the time he got out the door, it was really windy so I couldn't take my kids to the park, and Zoey needed her nap...so errands had to wait. What a waste! Hopefully I've learned my lesson for next time and I can "Just say no!"
Hi everyone! Well, I guess it's time for the updates...I'm sure you're all dying to hear about my NY trip!:) Well...it was SO fun! I can't believe all of the stuff that we did in such a short amount of time! When we got home, it was definitely the "we need a vacation from the vacation" scenario, but it was worth it! The day after we got there, we went to "The Late Show with David Letterman". We stood in line, waiting to get our tickets. One of the show employees asked us a couple of questions and gave us our tickets. He told us what line to go in and a girl came up to us, and about 6 other people that got put in the same line, and told us because of our "sparkling personalities and great smiles", that we got to be seated in the front row and be an "example" to all of the rest of the audience! We were SO excited! Yeah for upgraded seating! We got to sit right in front of the band and had a great view! It was awesome! Oh, after the show, we went next door to the "Hello Deli" and took a pictures with Rupert! On Friday, I got a taxi and went to the expensive stores...to windowshop of course! I was told to go to "Tiffany's" and... wow! Amazing! I was tempted to get a cute NYC charm bracelet, but when I found out it was $500, I decided otherwise! Friday evening, we walked through a small piece of central park. I can't believe how quiet and peaceful it is there, being surrounded by the city. Then we went and did a session at the Manhattan Temple. It was so neat! It really blended in with all of the other buildings around it. It's a lot smaller than other temples but it was so pretty! We were lucky to have the opportunity to go there! On Saturday, Tyler and I went to "Ground Zero." That was really intense. We looked through a hole in the fence at where the old "Twin Towers" used to be. Then we went to the Ground Zero visitors center, and saw artifacts, like the metal outer casing of an airplane window, a fireman's mangled hat and jacket, a laptop case, keys, silverware from a cafeteria, and a tattered and torn U.S. flag that was found in the rubble. It was emotional, especially after seeing the pictures of those who lost their lives, and the "missing" posters that were put up. I am so glad we got to go there and see how real it was. After Ground Zero, we got to go on a "walking tour" of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really neat and the best part was hearing all of the history of the city and of that bridge. I can't believe how many people actually lost their lives building that bridge. On Sunday, we got to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was so neat to see it up close and in person. When we went to Ellis Island, I got to look up the names of some of my relatives who came in on boats. That was really a neat experience and made me want to get going on my geneology. By the way, you can look up your ancestors online at www.ellisisland.org. You can even see the manuscript and the ships that the people came in on! After Ellis Island, we went and saw a Yankees baseball game. It was fun...now I can say I've been to Yankees Stadium! On Monday, I went out and did lots of shopping! I found some great discount stores and got lots of clothes...mainly for the kids! But again, I had lots of fun...even though I was by myself since Tyler was working. It was probably better that he wasn't with me on my big shopping day, or he would have wanted to leave about 10 minutes after we got to a store!;) So we were both happy! Later that night, we went to the Bronx, to "Little Italy", and ate at a "real Italian" restaurant with some of the people that Tyler works with. Now when I say "real Italian", I'm talking about owned by the mafia, no menus, no prices, etc. They tell you what they are making that night, and they come and tell you what your total is after you are done eating. The food was really good and a cool experience. After dinner, we went and got dessert at an Italian cafe next door, and the kid that worked there looked just like "John Gotti Jr." ...his hair especially. Of course, I had to take a picture with him so you'd all believe it! (That was Tyler's suggestion by the way!;) Anyways, we ate lots of good food (not to mention cheesecake at Juniors almost every night!) and did lots of walking (so I didn't feel too guilty!) We had lots of fun and I'm so glad I got to go with Tyler! And now for the thank you's...Thank you again to our family who watched the kids! You guys are the best! And thank you to everyone who responded to my last blog entry about the places that I needed to go see! That was such a help! Enjoy the slideshow!
