Our Family

New Year, New Post

2012-01-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

As with every year, we all make our New Year resolutions. So this year is no different. This year I am going to enjoy the simple things, I'm going to slow down and take notice of the things around me, I'm going to develop a new talent, I'm not going to feel guilty about not pleasing everyone (it's exhausting), I'm going to strengthen my relationships with my children and my husband, I'm going to organize myself and my home, I'm going to finish my projects, I'm going to be a better friend, I'm going to teach my children the importance of service by example. I guess what I'm hoping for, is to improve my life along the way and to touch the lives of those of you who have come into my life and those that I will meet this year like I have been touched by each of you. I am grateful that I have so many wonderful people in my life.

It's going to be a great year!

Running, Zoo, and Halloween

2011-12-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Milan is big into
running. On a few occassions, he has
been able to talk our boys into running
a race or two with him.

Milan has even talked a few of his friends
into running with him.

Dallas Zoo
We decided since we hadn't been to the Zoo
in the 3 years that we've been here, it was time.
Milan took a day off from work and we took the
kids to the zoo for a fun filled animal day.

Carson and his buddy.

I thought this was the funniest sign.

The staff at the Dallas zoo have been working with the giraffe's,
trying to train them to eat out of your hand.
Some of them do well and aren't too afraid of people,
a few of them are still too scared to get close.

The kids thought this was the best part of the zoo.

Halloween
These are the costumes my kids finally decided on this year.
Its always such a pain to pick costumes,
I think that's the part I hate most about Halloween.

Carson was a death eater from Harry Potter

Ethan was Harry Potter

Paytie was a witch

I signed up to bring drinks for Payties preschool party.
I thought I would jazz them up a bit.
They were a hit with the kids.

Galveston

2011-11-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

We went to Galveston, TX, back in August, but my computer has been a little bi-polar so sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. So I am just now getting my pictures onto my blog. I'm going to try to play catch up this week so you might get bombarded with posts.

Galveston has become one of our favorite places to vacation here in Texas. We have made it a tradition to go down at the end of the summer with friends and rent a beach house. The best part is we don't have to worry about the kids or find things to do. It's the perfect way to have a relaxing and fun vacation.
Here are some of the fun highlights from our vacation.

It took all 3 men to light the grill, it was funny to watch them all attempt to do it.

The kids were always having a good time.

The kids were patiently waiting on the balcony to go down to the ocean.

Paytie and Cooper were loading up their boogie boards with things to take down to the beach.

The Beach House in Galveston

The sand looked like poop on her suit, she's going to hate me one day for taking this picture.

This is pretty much what I did the whole weekend.

Ethan spent his day diggin this hole so he could hide inside of it.

All the kids and Dads playing football on the beach. It was so funny to watch.

Football on the beach

I swear this dolphin and his friends were putting on a show for us. They stayed out there jumping for quite a while.

Milan and Mark showing us their poses. What dorks!

This was the other thing I did most of the weekend.

Mark sleeping on the hammock. He actually fell off it.

Mark sleeping again, he really likes sleep.

The Shumards, one of the fun families we got to go with.

The men were afraid to get too close for a picture, big babies!

The women weren't afraid.

Our family on the beach in Galveston

Me and my little man Ethan

Carson, trying to catch these little eel fish

This is the whole group we went to Galveston with. We're all so brown. Wish that was my natural skin color.

3 little monkeys jumping on the bed

2011-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

I finally talked my husband into getting me a new mattress after years of neck and back pain from our last one. The sales guy at the store told my kids that he was giving them a one time free pass to jump on my bed to break it in. Oh and they listened. I was in the other room and heard laughter, this is what I found......

Three little monkeys jumping on my bed!!!

Catch up

2011-09-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

So I am playing catch up again. My computer has been down for a while and for a minute it is working, so I am busily adding posts. I still have more to catch up on, but for now I hope you will enjoy these last few new ones. If you don't see anymore for a little while, you'll know my computer was being bi-polar again. Thanks for reading, it is greatly appreciated.

Wendy

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

WENDY

16 years ago, this beautiful angel finished her earthly mission. While on this earth, she accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime. Diagnosed at the young age of 14 with Ewing Sarcoma, she spent many years going through Chemo and fighting for her life. She is a hero. She saved my life in many ways. Her life was dedicated to serving the Lord and helping those around her. I am one of those lucky recipents of her dedicated service and love. I have spent the last 16 years trying to repay her by paying it forward. I'm sure I have many more years to go before I come close, but I am grateful for her example and the courage that she showed. I miss her everyday. I miss her contageous laugh and smile that brightened my days. When we are lucky enough to have someone like this in our lives, we hold on to the memories a little tighter and treasure them even more. Wendy, I am blessed that you came into my life. I love you!! 477

Payton's MRI

2011-09-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Payton had an MRI. It was a follow up to check on the changes in her spine. To start at the beginning, when she was born I noticed a small bump on her lower back. I took her to the doctor, who then sent me to a surgeon. They did an MRI and said it was a lymphangioma (a pocket filled with fluid). We were told to check back if anything changed, but that it would probably go away by the time she was 5. It didn't, it actually got larger so we went back to a different surgeon due to insurance changes and with a fresh pair of eyes, the surgeon found something suspicious in her spine. He ordered another MRI to get a baseline to compare future MRI's to. They called it a Syrinx or fluid in the spinal cord. The fluid is supposed to be on the outside of the spinal cord, not the inside.

They asked us to come back in a year to see if anything had changed. I put it off by almost 6 months mostly out of fear that it would be worse or that the news would not be good.

Yesterday, my prayers were answered. The Neurosurgeon couldn't explain the results. The fluid in her spinal cord was almost completely gone. He couldn't explain it, but I can. The power of a priesthood blessing and many prayers. I saw the hand of God in our lives. I know He is always there, watching over our every need. He answers our prayers today.

Payton is a stong little girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family. I love you baby girl!!!

First day of School

2011-09-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was a little unsure how the first day would end since it didn't start out so good. It started with her waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but I was able to get her excited about school when I told her we could paint her nails. Even after we got to school she was still excited, she even walked in tall and proud. As we got to the classroom, she noticed one of the kids crying and upset. That's when she looked at me, looked at the boy, then back at me and the tears started. I picked her up to sooth her, not a good idea. They had to pry her off me. She had a good hold on me and my hair. I had to just walk away and let her cry. You could hear her all the way down the hall. All day, I waited for the school to call, but they didn't. When I picked her up, she was smiling and asked if she could come back. She said it was the funnest day. YAY!!! A successful day! It's been all she can talk about. This will be good for both of us since we spend so much time together.

I didn't get a really good picture of her because of the tears, but this was the moments right before she fell apart. You can almost see the concerned look on her face as she's about to start crying.

She really has loved going to school. She askes me everyday if she can go today. I wish they stayed this excited about school.

Birthday Girl

2011-09-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

This beautiful little girl just had her 3rd birthday. She blesses our lives everyday with her funny attitude, big smiles, bear hugs, and kisses. She's almost always happy and laughing. We love her very much and can't imagine life without drama, girly squeels, and all the frills. Happy Birthday baby girl!! We love you!!

After she opened each present she would stand back, pose, and tell me to take a picture.

She spent hours playing with Barbie's hair.

Utah trip week 2 & 3

2011-08-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little slow in posting, but I lost a few pictures and didn't want to post till I found them. Guess what? I found them. Yay!!!

WEEK 2

Week 2 started off with a specail invitation to visit the jerusalem movie set in Goshen. It was so awesome walking thought the set, hearing where each story would take place and actually being able to visualize the stories like you were there. As amazing as this was, the very best part for me was at the end when we were getting ready to leave and we were extended an invitation to visit the garden of gethsemanie. Goshen isn't exactly the greenest place, so among all the weeds and brush, I wondered where in the world they would put such a beautiful place, but as you come over the hill it takes your breath away. They've planted grass and trees and made these beautiful stone walls that take you to this large old oak tree and you can't help but feel the overwhelming feeling of the spirit. I could imagine the savior kneeling at the base of the tree and feel his love for me. In that moment, I gained a deeper understanding of the atonement and what it meant for me. This is a picture of the oak tree and the court of the gentiles. They were even better in person.

My kids really loved helping grandma in her garden. Payties favorite part was her hollyhocks and her daisys. The boys took what they picked and each made their own soup for lunch. They had a great time gathering eggs and tyring to catch the chickens too.

There are some cool places (among the weeds) to take pictures, so these are some of our fun pictures in a wheat field, a cherry orchard, and the sinclair gas station.

It was fun to see some of our friends and go to some of our favorite places. The kids even got to go to the zoo.

Lunch with the Petersons. We miss them so much.

I always enjoy seeing my grandma. It was funny to see her helping Ethan with his video game.

We ended the week by heading up to Park City and Milan flying in to join us. Milan's uncle passed away last year and the family decided to go together and do his work. While we were in the chapel waiting to start our session, we ran into Elder Taggart (I guess it's not Elder anymore) who was also in the chapel waiting for the same session. It was so fun to see him, but weird to run into him.

WEEK 3

Park City is always so much fun. we love coming here. This year we were there on grandma's birthday so we went bowling. This kids loved it! It was fun to watch Payton try to figure it out.

We always try to ride the slide and the mountain coaster, but this year Carson finally weighed enough to ride the zip line. He was sooo excited.

My little buddy Kinley

The Owens Kids and The Evans Kids

Milan, Craig, & Rebecca
This has trouble all over it.

Mills Family Reunion and Grandma's Birthday

The in-laws (the favorite children)

Mills Family

It was this beautiful ladies 80th birthday, which is why we were all together.

This is Monty, this is how he wore his gun the whole weekend. So funny.

My Grandma and Grandpa Mills

It's hard to see the picture on the shirts, but it's my little sis dressed as a mexican.

This is what's on our shirts

The reason why you NEVER fall asleep in my family. This is what happens to you.

My beautiful little sister Annie.

This was a great ending to our great trip to Utah. Probably the thing I miss most about home is my family. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy lives to spend time with us, those who fed us and housed us. We really appreciate all of you and love you very much. We couldn't do these trips without all of you.
To those of you we didn't get to see, we love you and wish we could have had more time to fit more in. The invitation is always open for anyone to come visit us.

Week 1 of our Utah Summer Trip 2011

2011-07-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

We love going home to visit Utah, but we don't love the 21 hour drive. Along the way we saw many of these buildings. I think they look so cool, so I took a few pictures. The kids, luckily fall asleep for part of the drive and of course, I have to take pictures.

My Mother in law has the prettiest flowers outside her house and Payton was admiring them, smelling them, touching them, and picking them.

Carson and his cousins
Riley, Carson, and Kaden

Easton and Ethan

BOOT CAMP

My Mom loves to do Boot Camp for the grandkids every summer. She always has a theme day and activities planned accordingly. This year she did American day and Hawaiian day.

American Day

For American day, we went to the dump to learn about keeping the areas around us clean and how we can help do our part. We then went over to the firestation to learn about firesafety. We went to the cemetary and listened to a veteran tell us about our american heros and how we can be a hero too. We then went to the park for a picnic lunch, a pinata, and a game of all American baseball. After lunch we prepared for our festive parade. We finished off the day with an all American dinner of Hot Dogs and then the kids made homemade ice cream. These are pictures from our American Day activities...

Grandpa telling the kids about his grandfather who was a war hero

Goshen Fire Station

Carson and Ethan helping with the Flag

Paytie and Heidi

Pinata time

Picnic

My Mom, the lady who make boot camp lots of fun for the kids.

My little sis, Annie, who is such a good sport to let me tease her endlessly

Hawaiian Day

Hawaiian day was filled with learning how to hoola dance, maori dancing, limbo, and hoola hooping contest. Carson can really shake his hips. For lunch my mom made spaghetti and they had to draw a number that coordinated with a certain kitchen tool with which they had to eat with. There were things like...spatula, mellon baller, ice cream scoop, lattel, pie spatula, whisk, measuring cup. The kids loved it. Here are some of the highlights of Hawaiian Day.

I have been friends with these ladies since we were 3 years old. They are awesome.
{Susie, Sarah, Kim, Dixie, Keri, and Jami}
It was so fun to spend and evening with them. We were only missing one friend.

Posting for week 2 of our Utah trip will be coming shortly.

My Computer is Working again!!!

2011-07-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

If you have been wondering if I fell off the face of the earth, no I haven't. My computer was having some major issues and I haven't been able to import any pictures, but thanks to my BIL Brian, I now have my computer life back. Look for future catchup posts coming soon - there will be alot of them!

Whirl wind weekend

2011-05-03T13:04:00.001-07:00

I have the best husband. He sent me Home for the weekend so that I could spend time with my family.

When I got to the airport in Dallas, I ran into a childhood friend, Jennifer. I haven't seen her since we were probably 18. We changed our seats to sit by each other on the plane and catch up, it was so much fun. She actually lives in Texas. What a small world.

My little sister, Annie, didn't know I was coming so when I got to my moms house, I hid in the closet right as she was getting off the school bus. My mom asked her to put something away for her in the closet and as she opened it I jumped out. I thought I was going to die of laughter. I love surprising people.

This is me and my 2 sisters.

My mom had a birthday party for Annie while I was in town and she had them decorate hats since the royal wedding was the same day and they were all wearing hats to the wedding. My Dad joined in on the fun.

These are my cute neices whom I have missed terribly. They all begged me to take them home with me, which I gladly would have taken any and all of them.

One of the reasons I came in town was to visit my Uncle Dave, who was recently diagnosed with Lung cancer. He is such a sweet man and a fighter. I love and admire him.

This is my Aunt Sherry. She is amazing too.

The main reason I wanted to come Home to visit, was to see this sweet lady, my grandma. She was diagnosed with alzheimers and has been rapidly declining. I wanted to spend some time with her before she forgot who I am. I wanted to make sure she knows how much I love her while she still remembers. She is an angel.

My parents had tickets to the Yanni concert while I was in town. I can't say that Yanni was my first choice of concert, but we had a lot of fun together, and the concert ended up being good.

Furniture Makeovers

2011-04-26T10:51:00.001-07:00

I wanted to find a cool frame that I could turn into a chalkboard for Payties room. I found this golded beauty at the trift store (for only $3.98) and painted her up. It turned out better than I thought it would.
BEFORE...

AFTER...

Green with Envy

This little treasure was in my neighbors garbage. Yes I pulled it out of the trash, well actually my son did. It had a broken leg, but with some wood glue I was able to fix it. I think it turned out good.

BEFORE...AND AFTER...

New Floors!!!

2011-04-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have wanted wood floors for a loooong time and I now have them and I LOVE THEM ! ! ! They are so beautiful and so I wanted to share the before and after pictures of the floors.

Pouty Payton

2011-04-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

My very talented friend Mandie took these pictures of Payton a little while back. She was being a little grumpy that day which is why there isn't one smile. I actually like the candid straight face looks. Either way she still looks beautiful.

Easter decoration and Armoir Makeover

2011-04-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to use the standard plastic eggs for my jar so I came up with a solution. I tried painting them with regular craft paint, but the paint wouldn't stick, so I spray painted them first and then applied the craft paint over that and it worked. I think they turned out ok.

ARMOIR MAKEOVER

I bought this armoire from my neighbor a few years ago and was using it for Payton's closet, but when we moved her up to her big girl room she no longer needed it. I was debating whether to refinish it or leave it as is. Payton decided to pull the fabric panels off the doors so the decision was made for me. I didn't have a picture of it with the panels on it, but you get the idea . . . it was in need of a makeover. The paint job was terrible before.

Jump for Joy

2011-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, we love to have fun and be crazy at our house, well here are some more pictures of just that. The kids had lots of fun jumping up and down and I was enjoying wearing them out so they would drift off to sleep shortly after our picture session. Here are some of our best shots......

Carson and crazy fun

2011-02-28T08:39:00.001-08:00

Why can't kids be good all the time? Carson is such a good kid, most of the time, but it's moments like this that make me so happy.

Payton wanted to play outside and Carson volunteered to watch her and play chalk with her. She loved every minute of it. She really loves her brothers, especially when they pay attention to her.

One thing we like to do at our house is let loose and be crazy, although we haven't quiet convinced Mr. Milan to join in on our fun yet. These are a few of our finer moments...

No more DIAPERS!!!

2011-02-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's official, little miss Paytie is potty trained. She started out stealing Ethans underwear and refusing to give them back to him so we decided it was time to give her some of her own. It took us a while because just as we were getting the hang of it, her back got infected and it was too painful for her to climb onto the potty. Once that healed, we were back at it and she has caught on fast. We have only had a few accidents, which were probably my fault. She has been alot easier to train than the boys were. I hope I haven't jinxed myself.

Random January

2011-01-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

I'm playing catchup like usual. We've had a busy January and the month isn't even over yet. The kids were so excited that it snowed, especially Miss Payton. Even though she has been raised in Texas, there is a Utah girl down inside of her. She absolutely LOVED the snow and screamed when I brought her inside to warm her up.

Company came to town and boy did we keep them busy. The boys both recieved awards at pack meeting and Ethan was so excited to race in the pinewood derby for the first time. This is the crew enjoying the race.

As Ethan enters into the boy scout program, he starts off as a bobcat. They had his dad hold him upside down while I pinned on the bobcat pin so that when he was upright the pin was upside down. When he does a good deed, then he can turn the pin the right way. He didn't waste anytime. He stayed after pack meeting with his dad and helped clean up so he could turn his pin around. He's definately not a procrastinator like his mom or dad. Wonder where he gets it from.

Carson crossed over from cub scout to boy scout. What an exciting day for him. He finally gets to be with his best buddy again. He is also excited to go on campouts, his dad-not so much.

This is Ethan's car, the silver shark. This kid has moved on from pirates to sharks. I think he likes the water or something.

Ethan couldn't have been more excited for his baptism. We gave him the option of doing it in Utah where all of his family could be there or doing it in Texas and only a few family would be able to come. He opted for Texas so that his little buddy down the street could come (and he did come). It was such a great day.

It was so nice to have my dad and sister come visit us again. Not living close by, I feel like I miss out on a lot of quality time with him. There is something comforting about a Father and having my dad here visiting was just that, comforting. Thanks Dad, I love you!!!

So, I probably embarrassed Annie to death and she'll probably never come again, but it was fun. There is a boy here in Texas that she's friends with and the sister that I am, didn't want her to feel like she missed out on any of that sister teasing that sisters do. I love you Annie!!! It was fun having her here to go shopping with and stay up late chatting with and playing board games with. Come back Annie!!!
Isn't he just the cutest father in law? I love this man. He comes to visit and my honey do list seems to shrink, even the things not on my list get done. Its wonderful.

Payton and Grandma were sitting at the counter and every move grandma made, Payton copied. It was so funny. She looked at me and said, "take picture", so I did. She loves her grandma.

And then we have Payton's back. I noticed Paytons surgery site was looking a little red, so I watched it. It started to get bigger, more red, and more painful. We went to the Pediatrician, who put her on an antibiotic and told us to go to the surgeon. So we are, today, hopefully he has good news for us. She doesn't usually complain, but she has lately so you know it hurts.

2011-01-04T14:51:00.001-08:00

This is the first couch we bought when we moved into our first house about 13 years ago. It sat in our formal front room unused except for when the home teachers or visiting teachers came over, so it was in great shape. I decided to recover it instead of getting a new couch and I'm happy with the way that it turned out.

This is the BEFORE pictureAnd this is the AFTER picture.

Bring on 2011

2011-01-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

I am excited for 2011 and happy to have 2010 behind us. I'm hoping that 2011 brings our family a healthier year. Payton will have to have an MRI in May, just for a follow up to the Syrinx in her spine, but otherwise I hope to have a quiet year. Some of my goals for the year are to get my house organized, learn to be more patient with my children, and more thoughtful of others needs. Each year we all make resolutions that we can't keep, I am guilty of that, but this year I want to try to be a little more simple in my resolutions. Maybe then I will be able to keep them. I hope the New Year will bring you happiness and joy. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people who have come into my life over the years and who I still think of often. Every one of you is a very important part of who I am. I love you and am blessed because of you.

Have a wonderful New Year!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the KITCHEN you have all been asking to see. Finally finished!!! And I'm so happy that Payton loves it. She has played with it nonstop today. Milan asked me, now that I am done with it, would I do it again? and yes I would. It was alot of fun to build and seeing the look on her face was worth it. These are my favorite expressions today. Payton lay on the ground for a little bit while trying to wake up, but once she got the hang of presents, she just wanted to open all of them hers or not. Ethan and Carson were so excited to get the number one thing on their lists and they showed it. Now if I could only keep these expressions when I ask them to clean their rooms.

We are so grateful for wonderful family and friends who love us and are always there for us. We are so blessed this holiday season to have you in our lives. Merry Christmas!!!

Payton's Surgery

2010-12-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

Payton had sugery to remove a Lymphangioma on her back and to have her hernia repaired. Surgery went well and she is doing amazing.

We noticed a few months ago that the mass on her back was getting bigger and changing color so the Doctor told us it would need to be removed. His concern was it becoming infected since it was bleeing into the mass. She must have bumped it and caused it to start bleeding. We're glad it's over with and that she is doing so well. She is one tuff little princess.

Payton's photo shoot sneek peek

2010-11-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

I had the kids' pictures taken yesterday since I haven't had them done since Payton was 6 months old. Mandie was kind enough to give me a sneek peek of Payton. I had to share because she did an amazing job capturing her.Thank you Mandie!!!

Phone Books

2010-11-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why we get so many phone books? I do. We have only been in Texas for just over 2 years and this is how many phone books we have collected in these 2 short years. A little excessive don't you think. I counted 13 books in my cupboard. Who even uses these anymore with the Internet. Big waste of paper.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T11:36:00.001-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! My kids look forward to this holiday for months prior. Carefully planning what they will dress up as. This year Carson really wanted to make his costume. He finally decided on sherlock holmes. We found the hat and then went to the salvation army and found the jacket and trimmed it down to fit better and then made a vest to go with it. He was pretty excited about it.

Ethan is our indecisive one. He changed his mind so many times before finally deciding on being a SWAT member.Payton was the cutest little dorothy. She has been wearing her costume any chance she gets and throws a tantrum every time I try to take it off.

I finally got Milan to dress up so I had to document the event with a picture. This may never happen again, especially now that I've posted a picture of him.

Time Out for Women

2010-10-10T11:20:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to attend Time Out for Women this past weekend with these amazing women. It was so great to be reminded that we are doing a good job and we are of worth. I feel like I left this weekend feeling rejuvinated and refreshed. I even feel motivated to do better and to be better. We need these reminders every once in a while because its so easy to feel frustrated with the things in our lives. We heard music from the talented Hilary Weeks. She shared stories, sang beautiful songs, and threw in a few jokes as well. She's a great performer. She is the other blond in the picture.

Chieko Okazaki was supposed to be one of the speakers, but due to health reasons she was unable to attend. In her place was Mariama Kallon. Chieko is a wonderful speaker, but I thourghly enjoyed listening to Mariama share her stories of survival and hope. She has a CD out with her story and if you really want to appreciate your own life more, you should get it and listen to it. You will find your life is so much better than you thought. Despite the horrible circumstances in her life, she is such a loving person. We walked up to meet her and she greeted each of us with a loving embrace. I am inspired by her, who wouldn't be.

We also had the opportunity to hear from DeAnne Flynn. Mother of 7 and she is fantanstic. She reminded me that life doesn't have to be perfect and I am doing amazingly well even though I don't feel like I am doing amazingly well. Life is about being happy with where you are and with what you've got. I wrote down one of her quotes that I loved...

"Where there is life, there is hope. Where there is hope, there is life. Where there is hope, there is Christ, Where there is Christ, there is hope."

DeAnne is the tall blond in the middle on the back row.

If you've never had the opportunity to go to a time out for women, I suggest that you go. It's a great way to feel the spirit and to learn more about yourself. And speakers have a way of making you feel like their message is just for you. I feel ready to take on my life again with a new perspective.

One last thought from Sister Emily Feeman, learn to see good days, not just have good days.

Each life that touches ours for good

2010-09-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

I believe that everything happens for a reason and people are placed in our lives just when we need them. 23 years ago, one of those people come into my life and changed me. Her name was Wendy. She fought hard for almost 6 years to beat cancer, but unfortunately 15 years ago today the cancer won. She was 20 years old. Sometimes in the midst of darkness, there is light and she always seemed to find it. She was able to use her cancer for good and to help others.

In her journal she wrote, "why me, why anyone else. Cancer isn't something you put on your list of things to do today."She never placed blame on anyone for having cancer, instead she wanted to use her cancer as a way to help others. She would spend her time visiting the other sick patients in the hospital giving them hope, she served in the community, and she served her friends. How can you not be inspired by someone like her. She showed me there was so much more to this life and instilled some of the greatest gifts. One of those being service.

In such a busy world it's hard to find the time or remember simple things like showing kindness or little acts of service. Today I was reminded of this. Each year on the anniversary of her passing, I try to find some way to honor her. This year, I asked the Young Women in our church to help me make puppets to donate to a children's hospital. I was touched by their excitement and willingness to help. Wendy would have been proud of them.

Payton on the phone

2010-09-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Payton loves to talk on the phone, but especially to Lucy the dog (aka Grandpa). This is one of her usual Sunday conversations with Lucy.

Fall

2010-09-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year when the leaves are changing and the weather starts to cool off. The only problem is, the weather is still hot and I haven't seen any changing leaves yet. Even though we have been in TEXAS for 2 years now, I still haven't gotten used to a warmer fall. It seems strange to be able to trick or treat without a coat on. I have to admit, I like the warmer fall weather.

First day of School and a flat tire

2010-09-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to post about the boys first day of school yet. They are starting their third week and both boys are loving school so far. The boys are now in different schools, we thought we would have a few more years with them together, but they seem to be fine with it. Carson finally gets to ride the bus. He has been waiting for this moment since he started school. Grandma used to drive buses and would give the boys rides on them so when we lived too close to the elementary school in Utah, he was very disappointed. Then again here in Texas, we were too close to the elementary school, big disappointment. I walked him to the bus stop the first morning, but then he was too cool for Mom to walk him again. I guess I gotta let him grow up some time. Last week, Milan was out with the missionaries and was just dropping them off when he realized he had a flat/low tire. He drove on it home and we looked at the tire to see what the cause was, on the inside of the back tire, the tread was about gone and there was a long hole in it. As we changed the tire I noticed there was also a nail in the tire. So I guess we are lucky there was a nail in the tire or he most likely would have had a blow out on the freeway. I feel like we were blessed.

Payton turns 2

2010-08-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is my beautiful birthday girl.

and here is a little birthday movie for your enjoyment...(you gotta watch it til the end)

She really loved her cake and she did really good not getting too messy.

She is so much fun, but at the same time she is so hard. It has been fun dressing her up especially since she loves it too. She is definitely a girly girl, with a tough side. She loves to have her hair done, dress in dresses, play with her babies, dance to music, take bathes, and have her nails painted. She also loves to rough house with her brothers, play in the dirt, play basketball with her daddy, and play outside. She can definitely hold her own. She is very smart and has figured out how to get her way, most of the time. This is a picture of one of her tantrums because she didn't get her way... who said terrible 2's start at 2, we were there at 1.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!

Galveston

2010-08-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

I am definately a beach person, so we have really enjoyed our new tradition of driving down to Galveston with friends and staying in a beach house. With the beach right out the back door, warm ocean water, boogie boarding, sand castles, catching sea creatures, collecting shells, and good company, it makes for a great weekend.

This is a picture of the Beach house we stayed in and a picture from the beach house of the ocean and beach.

On the first day we had some big waves which made boogieboarding a blast. The boys had so much fun looking for crabs and catching them, watching the little clams bury themselves under the sand, collecting shells, trying to catch these weird eel looking things, and boogie boarding. They would wake up early to get out on the beach and stay out as long as we would let them. I loved the convienience of having the beach right out the door, it really made nap time alot easier.

On our last night, the kids enjoyed Blue Bell ice cream and a balloon fight. It was so fun watching them laughing and having a good time. We let them stay up late since they were having too much fun and hoping they would crash on the way home.

Milan and Heath sunk their feet into the sand. This is what it would be like to be married to a shorter man. I'm not used to being taller than the guy.

I had so much fun with these two ladies, thanks Jennifer and Tanna.

Thanks Shumards and Petersons for the good times and for playing along with our practical jokes. It really was a lot of fun.This is a picture of the seagulls flying away after I ran toward them.

Utah Trip week 3

2010-07-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

Our final week in Utah was a bittersweet week. Anxious to be going back home soon and back to normal life, but sad to be leaving our families and friends again. We were lucky enough to be in Utah the same time that one of the missionaries from our area was coming home. We were able to attend his homecoming and visit with him and his family. Living outside of Utah has had its perks. We've been able to have the missionaries over for dinner and Milan has been able to go on splits with them. I think it's great for our boys to see the missionaries in action and hopefully it gets them excited to go on a mission one day.

Park City is always our favorite part of the vacation because that's when Milan is with us and the fun stuff really begins. We love going to the resort and riding the alpine slide, the mountain roller coaster, and the zip line. My favorite part of coarse is shopping at the outlet stores. I get to go without kids and have a little quiet time.

Milan's family was able to come up a few times to spend some time with us. Grandma is always so wonderful to help with Payton so we can go and enjoy the rides and to swim without her. Maybe by next year she will be a little easier to handle.

Another fun thing we love to do is go to the Jordanelle Reservoir. Milan's brother brought his boat up and we were able to spend some time with his family and have fun. The boys can't seem to get enough of each other.

To end the trip we drove home over 2 days which seemed to take forever, and we only had one incident. My brand new laptop, which is only a month old, got run over and ruined. No warranty, no insurance. I guess it wouldn't be a memorable trip unless something went wrong, and we definitely will remember this one.

Utah trip week 2

2010-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Week 2 was more about spending time with friends and seeing Milan's side of the family. I was able to get some shopping in and lunch dates with friends while the kids spent time with grandpa and grandma. The kids love spending time with them. Grandma is always teaching them something new, like playing the piano or crocheting. Carson really eats it up.

I got to spend an entire day with my sister, and for those of you who know my sister, know that this happens very rarely. She usually has so many things going on and is hardly ever home that even when I did live 5 minutes away from her I never saw her. So to actually spend an entire day with her was so amazing and so much fun. I wish we could do it all the time. I really miss my sister. This is a picture(from last summer) of me and my two sisters, Alesha(on the left) is a year older than me, and Annie (on the right) is 20 years younger than me(Yes, I am old enough to be her mother)
I am amazed at how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. It's hard to feel like I am on vacation when I am constantly running from place to place, but to be able to see these wonderful people in my life, it's well worth it. My cousin Brooke drove all way up from Vegas to see me, it was good to catch up on life and see her, but what a sacrifice to come just to spend a few hours with me.

Its always hard going back to Utah for visits. Part of me feels like I'm home again and I love being there and part of me feels like I don't belong anymore. Its always a mix of emotions and it really makes it hard to go visit. It also seems like no matter how long I am there, I never have enough time to see everyone I want to see or to do everything I want to do, so I am really sorry to those of you that we didn't get a chance to see or visit with. We really do have the best intentions in mind.

I had to say goodbye to my family this week and it's always hard to say goodbye to them. I only get to see them 2 times a year and its really hard because we are close. My dad has had some health problems this year and it's been hard not being close by to be there for him. The one thing that has helped me through those tough times is something he told me. Give service to someone who needs it, do it as if you were doing it for me. That has been some of the best advice he has ever given me. It has helped me grow is so many ways and has given me peace of mind when I couldn't be there with him.

The best part of this week, was Milan coming to be with us. He flew in Saturday morning and then we headed up to Park City for the rest of our vacation. Which is to come in week 3.......

Utah Trip week 1

2010-07-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

To avoid a very long post I'm going to do this in parts. This post will be about our first week in Utah.

We spent our first week with Grandpa Craig and Grandma Lydia. Grandma Lydia always has fun things planned for the kids. She likes to do "Boot Camp" with all the grand kids. They all come the night before it starts and they sleep on cots in the basement and then she blows her whistle early in the morning to get them going. They have breakfast, do chores (grandma really benefits from this one), learning time, games, activities, and of coarse lots of fun. It's usually 2 days long, which is plenty.

The first day was Mexican Fiesta day, they learned Spanish words, ate Mexican food, played Mexican games, did Mexicans dances, you get the picture.

The second day was Circus day, they played games, practiced for their circus and then performed for my moms neighbors kids, and then my brother did a magic show for them. My kids could have done boot camp all week long.

My mom planned a little birthday party for Payton, since she wouldn't be able to celebrate her real birthday with her next month. Payton loved it, especially the cupcake.

Other than the two days of boot camp, my moms house is pretty quiet and relaxing. They don't have TV reception and I don't usually get cell phone reception so it makes it a great place to get away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It helps that my mom loves to help with the kids and play with them so I can have a break.

At the end of the week, we of coarse had to fit in some friend time. Carson and Ethan love to see Colton and Kassidee every time we go to Utah and were anxious to spend as much time as they could together. They are so cute, every time they see each other its as if no time has passed and they just pick up where they left off.

After seeing friends, the Evans family got together for some fun at Pirate Island. Ethan loves pirates so this was heaven for him. They have games to play, a gift shop, and of coarse food. The waiters were dressed as pirates.

Friends of ours invited us to go to the Riverton fireworks and they were awesome. We don't really do things like that very often because its such a pain to drag the kids and then fight the crowds, but it was alot of fun.

That was alot longer than I thought it was going to be(it was even the condensed version), imagine if I had done the whole trip in one post, you'd be reading this for a while.

Stay tuned for week 2.....

Grandpa and Annie come to town

2010-07-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to have my Dad and my little sister Annie come visit us in Texas. The flew in to help me drive back to Utah to visit for a few weeks. We had so much fun, but the best part was the expressions on my kids faces when they got here. They had no idea they were coming. I had Ethan with me when I picked them up at the airport and he was watching out the window and saw them walk by and turned to me and said, "that was weird". (meaning I think I just saw someone who looks like Annie and grandpa). Then they opened the back of the car and put their stuff in the back. He was was so confused, but so excited. Carson was at camp so when he got home and knocked at the door, I let Annie open it and he stood there just staring at her. Payton just stared at them for about 5 minutes not sure who these people were and why they were in the car with her, she has since warmed up to them.

I loved being able to show them around Dallas, I got to show my dad southfork (it was my moms favorite show back in the day) and take pictures to bring back to her. Here are some of the hightlights from our daytrips around town. Here are some random pictures of our sightseeing adventures to the wax museum, South Fork Ranch, the Holocaust Museum, and Dealy Plaza.

Driving to Utah wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was worried that Payton would cry the whole time or the boys would argue, but they were all really good. 3 days of being in the car, we are glad to be out of the car and visiting with family and friends.

Ethan's doctor visit

2010-06-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

For about 2 months Ethan has been complaining about feeling sick all the time and you know he's really sick when he would rather lay on the couch than play with friends. I took him into the doctor and we tried several things before he finally referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist. We tried several other things with him before deciding to do a COLONOSCOPY and an ENDOSCOPY to look for possible causes. So after a very clean colon, a few biopsies, and lots of money later, we finally got the results back, he has REFLUX. Simply treated with over the counter Prilosec. How frustrating!!! (at least we have answers and its not life threatening)

Prisoner Payton

2010-06-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Payton has learned to climb out of her crib. We had a babysitter over about 2 weeks ago and she called me saying Payton was crying and she couldn't get her to go to bed. So I of course said just put her in her crib and let her cry it out. Well she had tried 5 times already and each time she climbed right out. We got home that night and I thought for sure she would be exhausted enough to just fall asleep, wrong! It was almost midnight and we had to sit next to her crib until she finally fell asleep. Needless to say it was a very long weekend. First thing Monday morning I ordered a crib tent which a friend of mine was telling me about. It has been a lifesaver. We can actually sleep now. Before the tent, Payton would wander around the house in the middle of the night looking for us and crying, but once she found us, she wanted to stay up and play till about 5am. This doesn't work when I have to get up at 6:30 to get boys ready for school, not to mention I am not a morning person and I get really grumpy with little sleep. We are so happy to have our crib tent and sleep much better at night knowing she can't escape her little prison.

13 Years

2010-05-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today Milan and I celebrate our 13th Anniversary. It seems like the years just fly by and here we are 13 years and 3 kids later. So much has happened in the 13 years we have been married. We have laughed together and cried together, we have been through tough times and good times, we have lived in 3 different places, traveled to fun places, we have lost loved one and gained new family members, had friends come and go, but we have always had each other. We have learned so much from each other and gained so much from each other. No matter what, he is always there for me and I love him for it. This is us on our wedding day and the other picture is us now. My how we have changed in 13 years. I Love You Mi!

Mothers Day

2010-05-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

I love Mothers Day, just for the fact that I get to celebrate being the mother of 3 wonderful children. Motherhood is one of the hardest and greatest jobs ever, but I couldn't imagine not being a mother. I am so blessed to be their mother.

I couldn't have been a good mother without the influence of my own Mom. She is the kind of mom that makes me try harder to be a better mother. I'm sure most of us can say that about our mothers and we all feel biased about our own mothers, but I have the BEST mother! My mom is amazing, she has always been there for me and seen me at my worst and at my best. She has shared in my accomplishments and been there to lift me when I failed. She has shared in my joys and also in my sorrows. My mom loves me no matter what, even when I was a rotten teenager, thats true unconditional love. She is the BEST. Mom I love you and hope your Mothers Day was as amazing as you!

My husband also has a wonderful mother, I am so grateful that she raised such a wonderful man. He is amazing. He grew up with a temper, but you would never know it because he is so patient and kind and I know that its because of his loving mother. She taught him how to be a better person and to be kind to others. Thanks Holly and happy Mothers Day!

To all you mothers who are reading this, you are amazing and your children are so lucky to have you as their mother. Thank you for also being examples to me. I know I have asked for advice over the years from many of you and that is what is so great about women. We are always helping each other become the women we are meant to be. I love you all. Happy Mothers Day!

Birthday surprises

2010-04-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

This might be a lengthy post since I have been slacking on posting. First of all thank you for all of the great birthday wishes. Its always nice to be remembered on your birthday even when you are trying to forget about it. I went to pick up my boys from school and returned home to my neighbor friend decorating my house Barbie style.

And for my birthday, my wonderful husband surprised me with a trip home to see my parents. In return, I decided to surprise my mom and sisters and just showed up to a family get together. I wish I would have captured their faces on camera because it was so priceless. They all sat there and stared for a minute trying to let it sink in or maybe trying to figure out if I was actually standing there or if they were imagining it, but then they all jumped up at once. That was the best birthday gift ever, thank Mi. (Sorry to those of you I didn't get to see, I only had 2 days, but summer is coming)

On my actual birthday, he sent me a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries, which he know I love, I didn't even know you could do that, but they were soooo good.

Moving on, Ethan got an award at school. Every six weeks they pick a student who has shown kindness and fairness and Ethan got picked. He was so excited. Way to go little man!

Ethan tries so hard to be independant and I try really hard to let him. He wanted to make toast, which he has done many times before, but he will only eat it if the butter is completely melted. Well on this particular occassion, it wasn't so he wanted to melt it in the microwave, he asked, "How long do I cook it?" so I said 10 sesconds. Well 10 seconds wasn't long enough for him, "How long now?" so I told him 5. I assumed he knew I meant 5 seconds, but oh no, he put it on for 5 minutes. After about 3 of those minutes I started to smell smoke and saw a small fire in the microwave. Lets just say he found another snack.

Carson has been studying hard to prepare for the TAKS tests, which he is happy to have over with. He can't wait for summer to get here so he can go to Utah on vacation.

Payton is as busy as ever. Yesterday she learned how to climb out of her crib and the day before that she learned how to climb into her crib. We are in BIG trouble now.

One thing she does love and that is getting her hair done. She will stand by my vanity or now she climbs into my sink and waits for me to do her haif. If we could only do something about those teeth of hers:).

Paytons Results

2010-04-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Payton has a mass on her back. Its a hemangioma, which isn't harmful and will go away on its own by the times shes about 5. When they did the MRI to find out what the mass was they found something else on her spine, a Syrinx. To confirm, they did a second MRI. A syrinx is fluid in the spinal cord. They aren't sure what caused it or where the fluid came from, most likely a birth defect, but they will have to monitor her every year to see if it changes. For now we feel very blessed that they found it. It was by chance that they did and now we can make sure she doesn't have any long term affects from it. You would never know she had anything wrong with all the energy that she has.

Spring Break

2010-03-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a lengthy post since we did so much over spring break.

Grandpa and Grandma came to visit for the week and every time they come we like to go somewhere we haven't been. We drove down to the new cowboys stadium to do the tour, but unfortunately for us a bunch of tour buses bought the last of the tickets. It was still cool to look at.

We drove back down to Grand Prairie to go to the Wax Museum and Ripleys Believe It or Not Museum. Here are a few fun pictures from our day at the museum.

These first ones are from the wax museum...

These are from the Ripleys Museum, Milan is standing next to the worlds tallest man. Milan is 6'2" and he looks little next to this guy. I don't remember how tall he was.

We let the boys pick the dinner spot and they chose the Magic Time Machine. Its a fun place to eat, but the food is just ok. Ethan had to track down Jack Sparrow and get his autograph and picture taken. We still haven't outgrown the pirate obsession. I'm still waiting for that one to happen.

The kids had so much fun with grandma and grandpa. Grandma taught carson to crochet and to sew. They made pajama shorts and carson made alot of crochet ropes. Grandma also worked on the piano with Carson. It was great to have the extra help and I even got some more painting done.

One thing I learned when I was growing up is if you are one of the men folk, never fall asleep because this is what happens...

Look closely at the fingernails!!! Grandpa was a good sport!

Payton Posing

2010-03-03T14:04:00.001-08:00

Paytie is so funny! The other day Carson was leaning against the wall talking to me and Paytie stood next him trying to get our attention. He moved to the other wall and she followed him, whatever Carson did she was going to do too. We started laughing at her so she started doing funny poses. She's such a ham and she knows it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Don't
you just love the mowhawk!

Canton Trip

2010-03-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

If you live in Texas, you have to go to Canton. This is the coolest place. Its like an endless garage sale and boutiques galore to browse through. You can't see the whole thing in one day because there is just so much to see and the place is enormous I had so much fun with the ladies I went with, besides who wouldn't like a day out with friends, shopping, and no kids. Here are a few fun pictures from our girls day out.
This is my favorite tent to shop at. They have all kind of cool things, like old windows, shutters, doors, cupboard doors, and old metal hardware.

You can never have too many pairs of sunglasses right.

Lunch in Canton can take forever. Make sure to get in line before you are actually hungry or eat early.

This is our cart at the end of the day, packed as high as we could. That wasn't even all of our stuff, we carried some of it. Thanks ladies, it was so much fun!

Paytie and her sweat bands

2010-02-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Do you think its time we buy the poor girl some bracelets? Every time we turn around she is in our closet digging out her dads wrist band and headbands. They are usually lined all the way up her arms and on her head. I also find them stuffed in her purse and in her toy box and Milan can't seem to find them when he's ready for his run.

Snow Day!!!

2010-02-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to feel like Home. As much as I have loved living in a warmer climate, I have to admit that occasionally I miss the snow, but only for a minute. It started to snow yesterday and I thought it would only be a little skiff and be gone by afternoon, but then it kept snowing and snowing right on through the night and this morning, this is what we woke up to...

And this was yesterday...

My kids have been playing like crazy in the snow and yes, we are prepared for it. We have our BOOTS, SNOW PANTS, GLOVES, HATS, and COATS. Now who's laughing, for those who laughed when we brought our "snow things" from Utah.

I took Payton out to play in the snow since she has never really seen the snow. She loved it for about 5 minutes. She's definitely a Texas girl.

There is hours and hours of entertainment outside which is a good thing since they cancelled school due to the snow. It seems so silly to cancel school for this much snow, but in Texas they are not equiped to handle this much snow. I heard they haven't had this much snow in a long time, like over 30 years. The great thing about this snow is probably by tomorrow it will all be gone and it will warm back up. This is the best way to have snow.

Are you Prepared?

2010-02-01T13:26:00.001-08:00

We learned a valuable lesson this week. We are not prepared for intruders. Someone tried to break into our next door neighbors home 2 nights in a row. It was a little terrifying to get a call in the middle of the night from your neighbors saying "someone is trying to break into our home, were hiding in the closet, but the police are on their way." I'm glad they were comfortable enough to call us because I would have felt worse had they not called. It's comforting to know that we have good neighbors we can call in case of an emergency. It was a little difficult to back to sleep since we jumped at every little noise in the house, but I think this was a great wake up call for us to get prepared for an intruder should it ever happen to us. The first thing I did the next day was buy some door alarms and locks. On the bright side, it gave us a good idea for FHE this week. I don't know about you, but my kids will open the door for anyone. Most burglaries happen during the day sometimes even with the people home. So due to the past days events, we are a little more prepared if something were to happen. It doesn't hurt be a little more cautious these days. Are you Prepared?

Random January Fun

2010-01-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of random pictures from this month so here they are in no particular order.

It seems like something is always happening to Ethan or he is doing something crazy. He had a run in with the entertainment door and has a nice scratch to show for it. He also begged to shave his face so for christmas, Carson was kind enough to buy him his own pretend kit. Thanks Carson. He also recently lost another tooth. He is so excited for his teeth to fall out. One day that will change.

Our little crazy Paytie princess. She loves to put my headbands on her head like a crown so I finally bought her a real pretend crown. She also loves to help with the dishes, one day that will change too. Sometimes she's too smart for her own good.

Carson raced his car in the Pine wood Derby and took 2nd place in his age group out of 3 boys. He was just happy that his car made it down the track this year so were we. Way to go Carson. He also finished his bear requirements and gets to move on to Webelos, he is so excited.As for my New Years Resolution, I have started on m 72 hour kits, I still have a ways to go, but I haven't given up on it yet. I will get them done this year!!

Happy New Year, welcome to 2010!!

2009-12-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again to reflect on the past year and look forward to what the new year will bring. It's also time to make those new years resolutions that most of us never keep. I thought this year if I think of realistic goals, ones I know I can do, then maybe I will be able to keep them.

This year my goals are SERVICE. Serving my husband, my children, my family, in church, and those around me. I think this is a realistic goal. Its hard to be unhappy when you are serving others and when we are serving others we learn to love them more. FAMILY, spending more time with my family and strengthening the bonds that are already there. Last, but not least BEING PREPARED. I have been working on this one for years, but I don't feel any closer to being done yet. This will be the year that I will finally get our 72 hour kits complete. I don't want to only be prepared with the necessities, I also want to be spiritually prepared as well.

These are my New Years Resolutions, I'll let you know how it goes.

Merry Chirstmas

2009-12-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

We hope ya'll had a Merry Christmas. I love this time of year and the spirit that is here. I love to see the excitement on my childrens faces and to smell all of the wonderfuls smells of christmas, but I especially love being with family and friends.

On Christmas Eve it started to snow and Carson came running over to me to tell me. He said, "Mom, it's snowing outside, it must be a Christmas miracle!" I had to laugh because it was so sweet. It doesn't snow much in Texas if at all and he thought this was a miracle to get snow for christmas. It helped him feel like the Christmas' he had experienced in the past. It was like a little bit of home here in Texas so I guess in a way, to him it was a Christmas miracle. I wish everything else could be so simple.

We told our kids they couldn't come down until 8 am (mean I know) since Payton wouldn't be awake yet, but by 7am the boys were downstairs oohing and awing over all the presents and what they thought might be inside each of them. By 7:30 we were opening presents. We were too tired to fight back.

We had to wake Payton up on christmas morning, so she was still sleepy when we brought her in the family room. We were so excited to see how she would react to opening presents and to seeing her pink coupe car, but she was still sleepy so we just set her in it and she just sat there for a while, then we tried to give her other presents to open, but she just wanted to sit there in her car, and to even think about trying to take her out of it was a mistake. She just screamed at us so we left her in it most of the day.We were able to spend Christmas with my Brother and his wife before they move back to Utah in a few weeks. We are sad to see them leave, but are grateful we got to live by them for the year and a half. It was a blessing to us.

Thanksgiving and Birthdays

2009-12-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

Payton gets pretty crazy when she plays, here's some entertainment for you.

The boys recently celebrated their birthdays and Grandma had sent them presents, unfortunately Payton found them first and ripped them open. This is me trying to salvage them.

We made a quick trip to Utah for Thanksgiving (Sorry to those of you we didn't get a chance to see)here are a few highlights from our trip. Temple Square, the moon was so pretty that night so I had to take a picture.

This was carsons expression the whole day because he was sad the trip was almost over, but the lights behind him were awesome.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-04T15:44:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Family pictures

2009-11-18T09:17:00.001-08:00

We had a friend of ours take our family pictures and she did an awesome job. Check them out....

Halloween

2009-11-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun pictures of our family this year for Halloween. This is the first time in years that Milan and I have actually dressed up. The boys of coarse had to be something scary. Payton didn't want anything to do with them when the costumes were on. She was a cute little lady bug. We have been using Carson's scary mask as our baby gate. Payton wont go near it so when our baby gate was a few inches too short to fit on our stairs we turned to the mask to keep her off of them and it worked. She wont go near the stairs.

This was the disgusting hand that Carson got from a Halloween party. It was gummy, but had a hard candy inside to make it feel like it had bones on the inside. It felt real. It was creepy. My boys loved it!!

2009-10-29T09:18:00.001-07:00

I love this time of year, especially when the leaves change colors, but here in Texas, not many leaves change. I miss that about Utah. Looking up at the mountains and seeing all of those beautiful autumn colors. However, one of the perks about being in Texas is the warmer weather. While grandpa and grandma were visiting, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium, the kids loved it.

While we had our built in babysitters for the week, Milan surprised me with a date night, which consisted of getting all dressed up and going to dinner and seeing Mary Poppins the broadway musical. I haven't been to a musical or play for a long time and it was wonderful. It was a pleasant surprise. Milan had left a card on my bathroom counter inviting me to spend an evening with him and to go buy myself something nice to wear for the occasion. What a wonderful husband I have.

Fun Halloween Treats

2009-10-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

I found some fun Halloween recipes and thought while grandma and grandpa were here this week visiting, we would try a few. Let's just say grandpa wasn't impressed with the worms. If anyone would like the recipes or you want to know how to make any of these, let me know.

I made eyeballs the first night, which were really easy to make.

The next night I made worms on top of dirt (crushed oreos). The worms look real and my kids actually thought I was feeding them real worms at first and protested eating them. I have to say they look really disgusting and feel really creepy too.

A few nights later (we had to give grandpa a break)we made Candy Corn Bark. Grandpa liked this one best.

2009-10-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for Halloween at our house and to get you into the Halloween spirit, we wanted to share a little movie clip of our family. Enjoy!

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Dad update

2009-09-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

My Dad is continuing to do better and is ahead of schedule for recovery. It looks like he will be able to go home this weekend if he continues to improve. They have been able to keep his pain somewhat undercontrol, but he is very tired from the nurses waking him up every hour to walk around. I appreciate all the prayers that have gone out on his behalf. There is definately power in prayer.

FAMILY- there's no greater blessing

2009-09-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Family truly is the greatest blessing in my life. I could not have gotten through the hard time without them. In return, there are times they need us when they themselves go through trials. The past few days have been such an emotional rollercoaster ride. My dad had a mild heart attack on Sunday night which should have just been a minor thing right. Well after doing the heart test where they put the balloon in the artery to clear the block, there were some complications. The balloon broke off. Now he needs open heart surgery. This morning he underwent open heart, bi-pass sugery to fix the block and retrieve the broken 15" balloon and wires. He is recovering from surgery, but he is in extreme pain. The hardest part of all of this is not being able to be at his bedside and supporting him as he has always done for me. I know my dad is tough and he will get through this, he has always been so strong. Please keep him in your prayers as the next few hours and days are critical.

I LOVE YOU DAD!!!!

The Sound of Rain

2009-09-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

I love the sound of the rain. It reminds me of being a kid and playing in the rain till I was soaking wet. The rain in Texas is more dramatic than the rain in Utah, I love it.

1 Year Anniversary

2009-09-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

We've made it a year in Dallas. At times it has been a little overwhelming and a little scary, but we have come to love our new home and the people we have met. It was a year ago that we made the 20 hour drive to our new home in Texas. We have had so many great experiences and met so many wonderful people here. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I feel like this has been a good opportunity for us to grow as a family, it has forced us to rely on each other more.

Galveston Getaway

2009-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in posting this, but a few weeks ago we took a trip down to Galveston with some friends from our ward. It was a good opportunity for us to see more of Texas and to just have fun with friends. The only thing I would have changed about the weekend is more time there. We were able to stay in a nice beach house with a private beach, which was nice to be able to keep an eye on the kids. Most of our time was spent in the water which was really nice.

Milan Wakeboarding

2009-09-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Milan was a little upset that I didn't post his waterskiing picture when I posted about our Utah vacation so here is the long overdue WAKEBOARDING picture.

GO MILAN!!!!

School is here at last!

2009-08-25T15:19:00.001-07:00

The boys started school yesterday, boy was I ready for them to go back. It has been a crazy, packed summer and I think we all need a break from the summer adventures.

Both of the boys were anxious and nervous to start school and wondered if they would like their new teachers or if they would make new friends. So far so good.

Payton Walking

2009-08-13T12:14:00.001-07:00

Payton started walking while we were in Utah, taking a few steps here and there, but she has started walking much better and we were able to catch some of it on video.

My baby turns 1

2009-08-13T10:55:00.001-07:00

My little girl turned one yesterday. It seems like yesterday we were bringing our sweet little angel home from the hospital. So tiny and cute and quiet. I can't believe how much she has changed. She is no longer tiny or quiet, but she is definately still cute. She is always smiling unless she's had enough of her brothers and she is a happy baby and a good sleeper. When she looks at me with those big blue eyes, I just melt. I am so blessed to be her mother.

I took her in to the doctor today for her check up and her stats are:
Weight 19.5 lbs (25%)
Height 29 1/4" tall (55%)
She had to get 3 shots and a finger stick. She was not a happy girl. I can't say that I blame her. I don't enjoy needles either. All was forgiven once the nurse gave her a purple duck for being a good patient.

These are a few highlights from her birthday. Eating a spaghetti dinner, which makes a good wig too. Eating chocolate cake, a girls favorite food and opening presents. The favorite part being the colorful wrapping paper.

Here are some home movies of Payton's birthday.

Carson and Ethans first race

2009-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Milan joined a running group shortly after we moved to Texas and each month they have a 5k run. This month they also did a kids 1k run. Our boys were so excited to try it. They both ran so hard and did so well, I was impressed. Carson took 3 place overall, and Ethan, well I'm not sure what place he took. I just know it wasn't last. I'm not sure if we'll ever get them to do it again because they both said it was really hard, but I'm hoping they liked enough to do it again.

Our Utah Vacation

2009-07-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

We are finally home from our month long vacation to Utah and it is bittersweet. We have missed the day to day things in Texas and our friends and having somewhat of a normal schedule for Payton, but we really miss being in Utah. There really is no place like home.

We were able to do a lot of fun things while we were there and see our family and friends and that probably made it harder for us to want to come back to Texas. I want to say thank you to all of you who made time from your busy schedules to see us. I know there were some of you that we didn't get to see and wanted to and I am sorry. I wish there had been more hours in our days.

Here are a few highlights from our trip...

My dad loves bagpipes so we had to take a picture of him with the men in kilts. We stopped to visit an airplane museum while driving to Bear Lake.

Me and my sisters.

We had a lot of fun playing in the beach. Payton even enjoyed eating the sand.

Payton really likes my brother in law and if he was around that's who she wanted. I think he loved it too.

These are all of the Arrington cousins. The only people missing are Milan and my sister in law. Not bad.

Payton and her great grandma's on my side.

We can't come to Utah without seeing the kids' friends Colton and Kassi. It's so fun to see them together. Carson couldn't get out of the car fast enough when I pulled up to their house. It was really cute.

We stayed at my mom's house part of the time and the kids had so much fun doing crazy games and activities. My mom is always full of fun things for them to do. She had a jungle day where they dressed up and did jungle dancing in her garage. They also got to spray my little sister and my nephew with whip cream. I even wanted to join in on that one.

Ethan loves to dress up and found one of grandma's wigs.

We didn't all wear green on purpose. I got dressed first, really.

We went on a fieldtrip to a musem by BYU, the bean museum with stuffed animals on display.

We even had time for family pictures. My friend Mandie from Texas was visiting in Utah and was kind enough to take our family pictures. These are some of my candid shots and I'm sure hers are much better than mine. Thanks Mandie.

Of coarse we had to ride the rides in Park City. These are a few shots of the roller coaster and alpine slide. Milan and I actually tried the zipline this year. The anticipation was a little scary, but once you start going it wasn't scary at all.

Milan's brother was kind enough to take us boating. We had so much fun riding the tube and playing on the beach. Grandpa even took a turn which was sooo funny. He couldn't stop laughing the whole ride.

I am grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life, who make my life so much better. Thanks to all of you who a part of it in someway.

I Survived Girls Camp!!!

2009-06-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a while since I last blogged, but it has been a little crazy around our house. I just got back from girls camp and my in laws are here visiting us. They are wonderful. They came to help with the kids so I could go to girls camp. THANK YOU grandma and grandpa!!!!

Camp in Texas is a little different than camp in Utah. First of all it never cools down and I felt like I was going to melt like the wicked witch on the wizard of OZ. It was like 95 degrees and 70% humidity. I'm not used to that. Then there are the bugs. Everythings bigger in Texas, including the bugs. There was no point in even attempting to put makeup on since you were constantly wiping you face from all of the sweat dripping down your face. And my hair, it would never stay strait in this kind of humidity and you can't leave it down cause it was too hot so all week I wore it up in a "sweet" bun. I actually loved not having to do my hair or makeup all week long. Well, I thought I would share a few pictures from girls camp.

Carson's last day

2009-06-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Carson's last day of 3rd grade. He moves on to be in the oldest grade at his school, 4th grade. He starts off the next year on the safety patrol which he is so excited about. He has had a wonderful teacher who has been so loving and patient with him and I have seen alot of growth this year from him. His ticks continue to make school challenging, but he is learning to push through it and achieve his goals. He has decided to try writing a book about tourette syndrome as seen through his eyes. I'm not sure he will ever finish it, but he really wants others to be aware of it and know what its like living with it. He makes me so proud to be his mother. Here is a picture of Carson and his teacher, Mrs. Douthit. He's almost as tall as his teacher.

Graduation Day

2009-06-04T09:13:00.001-07:00

Today Ethan graduated from kindergarten. He is so excited to be going to first grade. I can't believe how fast time is going by, before I know it he will be graduating from high school.

This is his teacher Mrs. Shehane.

These are some of the friends he made this year.

He has changed so much this year and I'm kind of sad about some of the changes. For instance, he is now too cool to be seen holding mom's hand, he has to walk at least a few steps in front of or behind me, heaven forbid he be seen walking right next to his mom. He is so independant and wants to do everything on his own without any help. I can still get hugs and kisses from him if no one is around to witness it. I miss my little snuggler, but I'm so proud of him. He has come along way since we moved to Texas.

My new niece

2009-06-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today I have a new little neice. She was born to my brother Matt and his wife Kolene this morning at about 8:30, 7lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. She has yet to recieve a name, so for now she's baby girl. I have to wait 3 more weeks before I'll get to see her and hold her for the first time, I can't wait.
Today is also the 6th anniversary of losing my Grandpa Lewis. He was an amazing man and a hard worker. I used to always look at his hands and see how rough they looked and felt. It was proof of the many hours he spend working and helping others, but somehow they we also so gentle and loving. Carson has his hands, maybe they will be just like grandpa's someday.

My boys were so young when he died, Carson 3 1/2 and Ethan 6 months, so they only met him a few times. My grandpa must have made such an impression on Carson and I will tell you why. My grandpa died of Cancer. He had been sick for a little while, but I didn't really discuss it with my kids. I guess I didn't think they were old enought to understand.

Carson climbed on my lap one day and looked at me and asked, "Mom, why does Jesus want Grandpa Lewis to come live with him?" I wasn't sure what to think of his question and didn't really worry too much about it until I recieved a phone call about an hour later from my Dad saying that they didn't think grandpa would make it throught the night. My grandparents lived about 4 hours from us, so we headed up to Idaho and I took Ethan with me and left Carson with Milan. As we were getting off the freeway, Ethan woke up and was fussing, he'd had enough of his carseat. He continued to fuss until we walked into my grandparents house and he saw my grandpa laying on a bed. His eyes lit up and he couldn't stop smiling. I know he knew what was going on.

Kids are smarter than we give them credit for.

This is the last picture taken of my grandpa. Ethan was meeting grandpa for the first and last time. I love you Grandpa and I miss you.

Awards assembly and Memorial Day

2009-05-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today, both of the boys recieved different awards at school. Carson recieved the award for Citizenship... He also got picked to be on the safety patrol. Every 6 weeks they pick a new group, but he gets to be in the first group to start out the school year. He is so excited. Me, not so much, since this means we have to be to school even earlier.

and Ethan recieved an award for "Sweet as Apple Pie". Kind of sounds like a made up award, but hey it's still an award. His teacher said he always has a smile on his face and is always so kind and sweet (like apple Pie)...
We took the kids swimming on Memorial Day. It was Paytie's first time swimming. The water was a little cold, but it didn't seem to bother her at all, in fact she seemed very relaxed and happy in the pool. Later we let her crawl around on the trampoline with Carson and she loved it.