What a guy!

I just had to take time to brag about my wonderful husband. The kids seem to get most of the attention on this blog but I am grateful to TC for everything he does for our family. He works hard aand is a positive person who is most often in a good mood. Yesterday I was very appreciative of him. I drove down to Provo to volunteer to make calls for the Mitt Romney campaign to Florida voters (GO MITT! PLEASE GET FLORIDA!) and on the way phone Clark threw up all over himself. He seems totally fine now so I think he just got car sick. He was looking at a book and he has thrown up in the car once before awhile ago. Anyway, by the time TC got home I had gotten Clark's clothes and blanket in the washer and was giving him a bath. TC came home and told me he would take care of cleaning up the car and the car seat (and the diaper bag that also was affected). It took him about an hour but when he was finished he came in smiling and asked if I was upset that it took so long! I said, "Of course not!" The only half complaint he uttered was "The joys of parenting huh?" I love you TC! I wish I was more like you in a lot of ways but I guess we complement each other well right.

More Savanna Quotes

Ok so this girl has been cracking me up lately and has been saying the funniest and sweetest things. I just had to share more. She still has her whiny, annoying moments like most kids I am loving Savanna being 4! She is very sweet, inquisitive, and says what is on her mind. I sure love her!

• "Mommy is Satan trying to kill us?"
• "Mommy what is the name of that guy in the war in heaven?"
• "Mommy you are beautiful!"
• "Mommy you are the most beautiful girl in the whole world!"
• "Mommy you are so sweet to us."
• "Mommy aren't you lovely?"
• "Mommy that necklace is just the right touch!"
• "Mommy that is a cute outfit you picked out for Clark!"
• "Your outfit is so cute Mommy!"
• "Mommy I love you!"
• "Mommy if I have a CTR ring and I'm about to hit Clark and I see my ring then I will not hit him. That is Choosing the Right!"
• "Mommy tomorrow I will choose the right. I will help fold the laundry, do the dishes, make dinner. That is choosing the right!"
• "Mommy tomorrow if I ask you to watch a movie and you say no. I'll say, 'Ok. I will just play with my toys.' That is choosing the right!"
• "Mommy I helped Clark on the trampoline. That is choosing the right!"
• "Mommy if we do not choose the right we will turn into bad guys."
• "I love my little brother."

Proof that TC and I have become political...

Here is a picture that Savanna drew in Primary this past Sunday. When we asked her who the people were in the picture this is what she said. (From left to right: Clark, Daddy, Savanna, Mommy, and Mitt Romney). Ha Ha, we just cracked up. The funny thing is that we don't even watch the debates with her. We watch them at night after her and Clark are asleep but apparently we must talk about Mitt Romney a lot for him to appear in her family portrait... And while I am thinking about how hilarious Savanna is here are a few more funny/cute things she has said in the last few days.

• (When she came down from her nap and saw Newt Gingrich talking on the debate) "He looks mean. I don't like that mean prophet. Push him down so he'll stop talking." (LOL-I'm guessing she thought he was a prophet because the debate looked like general conference?)
• "You are the best mom!"
• "Clark I am older than you! I am 4 and you are only 21 months."
• (When she shut her door with Woody in there) "Mommy I think Woody is alive in there."
• "Mommy Woody does not have a spirit. But in Toy Story he does have a spirit."
• (One night when I was going to the church for enrichment) "Mommy I don't want you to go. I want to be a family."
• "Mommy, Jesus gave us a family. He gave you a family. He gave me a family and he gave Clark a family."
• "Mommy does April have any babies yet?" (about TC's sister who got married a month ago.)
• "Mommy your belly looks huge when you were pregnant with me!"
• "Mommy I want a sister because I already have a brother. When you have another baby please make sure it is a sister." (And no still no big announcement there. Savanna has just been wanting a sister for awhile.)
• "Mommy how are you going to get two babies in your tummy?" (Again not sure where the twin thing comes from either. I think because one of my good friends, Cassie, had twins and we all went to the baby blessing. It is ever since then that she will randomly say something about me having two babies.)

Family Fun

Here are some of the fun things we have done lately as a family. Last Monday for Family Home Evening we went to the Auto Expo. I unfortunately did not bring my camera though. We had a great time though especially Clark. This kid is seriously obsessed with cars so he was in heaven. He cried when we left. He ran around excitedly the whole evening yelling, "Cars! Cars! Cars!" When he especially liked a car he would even say, "Whoa cool car!" What a funny kid!

Then these pictures are from last night. We went to Hollywood Connection. The kids really loved this place and I would recommend it as a fun family activity (They have groupons for it frequently). There are several rides, mini golf, an arcade, roller skating, laser tag, and a movie theater. This was actually the second time we went. The kids loved riding the rides and Savanna roller skated with me again. At one point when I was taking Savanna to the bathroom she said, "I love this place!"

Here Clark is playing a game with TC.

Waiting to ride the balloon ride (It spins a lot so I did not go on. I get motion sickness very easily with rides that spin.)

Bus ride (This was Savanna's favorite)

Balloon Ride

Clark riding the school bus at the arcade.

(Picture above) Savanna enjoying the snow that came on Saturday. It took about 10 minutes to get her all bundled up and that is about how long she stayed out there until she said she was cold and wanted to come in but it was worth it. She just ran around over and over again making foot prints.

(Picture above) Here Savanna and TC are "sleeping" in her Princess tent. We had the missionaries over for dinner on Friday and when Savanna came back from driving with TC to take them somewhere she yelled, "Mommy we are going to sleep outside in my tent tonight!" I convinced her instead that she could sleep in her tent in the living room. She was so excited and really wanted Daddy to sleep there all night with her. Well TC slept for a bit but after about an hour Savanna said the carpet wasn't comfortable and wanted to sleep in her own bed.

Recent Savanna Quotes

• (In her prayers) "Please bless us not to go to jail."
• (In her prayers) "Please bless Mommy to fix her earring."
• (In her prayers) "Our Kind Heavenly Father"
• (To the elder missionaries who came to dinner when she opened the door and let them in) Groan, "I want the girl ones."
• "Mommy I passed gas in my room."
• (While looking at a picture of Jesus getting baptized) "Oh look Mommy! Jesus is getting baptized. Is he eight?"
• "Mommy did Heavenly Father kill the dinosaurs?"
• "One day we will all be resurrected."
• "Mommy I'm better at drawing than you."
• "I'm a girlie girl!"
• "Mommy my favorite color is blue, brown, white, orange, pink and gray."
• "You look like the best mommy ever."
• "Maybe when I go to preschool I'll have more friends than Elle." ( We are trying to teach her not to say she is better or has more than other people but we are still working on it.)

Great Article!

Loved This! My friend, Candace sent me this article and I totally can relate to where this mother is coming from who wrote this article. I spent quite awhile trying to enjoy every moment with my children until I finally realized that some moments just plain stink. But I don't need to be telling myself during a difficult moment that I must enjoy every moment because it is these difficult moments that make all the wonderful moments worth it.

Savanna's Princess Party

We hosted a princess party for Savanna and some of her little friends this past Saturday. She had a great turn out-10 of her girl friends came to the party dressed up as different princesses. Savanna has been looking forward to this party for and she had a great time. She dressed up as Snow White for the beginning of the party and then changed into Cinderella while she openWe started off the party by having all the girls find Cinderella's lost glass slipper, then we played pass the glass slipper followed by Royal Freeze Dance. Then Tiana (aka our friend, Kristine) came to read stories to the girls and paint nails. Savanna unfortunately did not buy though that Kristine was Tiana since she recognized her. She seemed really confused at first and after Tiana had been there for about a half an hour I said to Savanna, "Isn't it so nice that Tiana came to your party?" Savanna narrowed her eyes and said very firmly "It's not her." She understands that princesses are just dressed up so we thought it would work. Oh well! Later she said proudly "Kristine came to my birthday party!" so I think she got over it and was happy that she came. While Tiana was taking turns painting the kids' nails the other girls decorated door hangers with foam stickers and glitter (This was finally the craft I was able to come up with thanks the Dollar Store. Though I think the glitter may have been a mistake. I think we may be finding glitter in various places for awhile...) After the craft the girls had cupcakes, ice cream and then Savanna opened presents. She got a lot of fun princess stuff, some Pet Shop stuff and Zoobles (spelling?). Overall the party was a success! I tried to keep it simple but I was pretty tired by the end of the day. It took up most of the day. It was worth it though to see how special Savanna feels and how much fun she had! Anyway, enjoy the pictures of these little cuties! (And yes Savanna does have a black eye in these pictures and no I didn't do it! Not 100% sure what happened because I was cooking dinner and she was in the living room but she said she was swinging on the arm rests and fell and hit her eye in the corner of the end table. Sad!)

Suprise Date

So TC surprised me this past Friday with tickets to see the comedian Jim Gaffigan. It was really hilarious. He is usually clean but there were some slightly risque parts. Anyway, thanks TX for surprising me with a fun date! It is always great to get out and spend time with you. Love you! And of course I forgot to take any pictures.

This is one of the reasons I am not crafty..

So we are having a princess birthday party for Savanna this Saturday and I decided I would venture out and do a little craft as an activity for her and her friends. So I researched online and found a mom who had made princess mirrors at her daughter's Snow White party and she had all the materials I needed listed. This is exactly what I needed because I was not even sure what I needed to decorate them. So she told me I could purchase these foam princess mirrors at Hobby Lobby. So Tuesday after music class we headed over there. After asking about three different people where these mirrors are located because I can never find my way around a craft store I finally found the right aisle. They do not have foam princess mirrors. Then I ask a snotty lady where they would be and she rudely informs me that they have never carried them. She goes to another area to see if they have wooden mirrors-no they are all out. So I think maybe they can paint a sun catcher they can hang on their window. I find 4 princess' sun catchers but there are 11 little girls invited to the party. I ask a male employee who is next to snotty lady if they have any more in the back and he says no and apologizes. I laugh and just say, "I'm striking out today aren't I?" Snotty lady rolls her eyes and gives me a very annoyed look. I decide to just get the "Mess Free Color Wonder" princess pages for the girls to color and call it quits. However, the next day at Wal Mart I thought I would just check to see if they had the foam princess mirrors-nope not there. I may try the dollar store but after that I am done. I just do not have the patience for going all over creation to find the perfect craft for my daughter. This is one of the reasons why I struggle with crafts-they take so much materials and so much time and I guess I just don't like to do them or I would take the time because I take the time for the things that I like to do. For those of you who love crafts, I admire you. For now, I think I will just continue to be nicknamed the "Anticraft." If my kids seem to have an aptitude for creativity I will get them some painting lessons.

This is what happens when you have an older sister...

Poor kid! Savanna has been into dressing Clark up lately and he seems to think it is fun. Right before I took this picture he even had more jewelery and a sweater while carrying a small boutique of flowers from Cinderlla's toys and walked up to me opened up his arms wide and said, "Ta Da!" Savanna announced that he was ready to get married. These will be black mail pictures when he is older!

Savanna's Stats

I took Savanna to her 4 year check up the other day and she is doing well. But wow she did not like getting her shots! She got 5 shots including the ones she has to get before kindergarten and she fought with me and the nurse while we were giving them to her and announced when we were done, "Mommy, I am never doing that again!" She also was a bit more tired the last couple days from it and had a slight fever but seems back to normal now. Anyway, Savanna is a fun little 4 year old. She seems to get more mature in the things she says every day and I love being her mother. She is just such a fun little girl. Here are her 4 year stats: Height: 43.5 inches-Off the charts Weight: 44 pounds-95% *So she is still a big girl. Though the doctor said she is slightly skinny but it is totally fine! That is just the first time I've heard skinny with Savanna since she was honestly one of the chubbiest babies I had ever seen! (Though boy how I loved it!) But because she is taller than heavy the doctor said she is not chubby at all now. Yeah not sure how are kids are so tall. Maybe I was the runt in my biological family... Anyway let me leave you with a few more funny/sweet things Savanna has said lately. I just want to remember all of them. * (When I was praying out loud to find something that I needed)"Mommy stop you are freaking me out." *(During this same time when I was looking for something.) "Maybe Heavenly Father has it." *(When I told her about someone getting married) "What? Is it because they had babies? Aunts don't get married." *(When talking about jealousy) "Mommy when you took Daddy's book and walked away I think he was jealous." *"Hi Cute Little Ash!" (Yes she was talking about me. She has had this thing lately with calling TC and I by our first names and now sometimes she even calls me Ash. Yes and the "cute little" thing comes from me. *"Mommy you are the most wonderful mommy ever." (That one is my favorite!)

Clark Update-21 Months

So Clark is 21 months as of yesterday and what a fun little boy he is! We just love having him in our family. Clark is doing well and is growing and learning every day. He is very affectionate and we love getting hugs and kisses from him. His favorite things include: his family, dogs, cars, planes, babies, buses, planes, boats, and cars, cars, cars. Seriously this kid is all boy. He got upset the other day when we were driving and he saw a bus on the road because we did not go on it. Clark still loves to sing and dance which makes us smile. Clark has a cute little "machine gun" laugh and it is so easy to make him laugh. We have definitely noticed this month that Clark has started putting more words together and his words are starting to sound clearer. Some of his favorite phrases to say are: "Oh gosh!", "Cars crash!", "Right there", and "Momma's car". We also have heard him say, "Fix it!", "It's broke", and "I'm not." The other day too I printed him a picture of a car to color while Savanna colored a picture of Cinderella at the ball and Clark pushed his picture aside and said, "No dress ball." (because he wanted to color that picture). Clark also says "yeah" in response to questions when he wants something and "uh uh" when he does not want something. Clark loves being with his big sister, Savanna. The other day she went to play with a friend's house and when we left her there to come back home he said in a whiny voice as he was looking around "Adas (Savanna) play)". It was so sad and cute at the same time. I love to see the special bond they have. We love our Bundles of Love! (This has become my recent nickname for him. I know it is corny. I come up with pretty crazy nicknames. TC does not like all the ones have for him either...) Anyway, Happy 21 Months Clark!

New Year's Resolutions 2012

How on earth is it already 2012? Seriously? I sometimes feel like I am living in the future and I am still 17 but no it is really 2012 and I'm definitely not 17, married, two kids, etc, etc. I really just sometimes do not know where the time goes. Anyway, so last year I posted some New Year's Resolutions for myself in hope that I would be more likely to accomplish them and I think it helped. I just reviewed my goals for last year and I did pretty well at accomplishing them or sticking with them. So I thought I would do that this year as well. This year I do want to focus on my character and improving my weaknesses but I don't think I will share all of those but here are a few more temporal ones that I thought were worth sharing. 1. Contribute one item to food storage weekly. 2. Run another half marathon OR maybe a marathon Or maybe the Ragnar. ( Sorry, not super specific-I have not decided whether I have the time to invest in a marathon right now but it is something I definitely will do that some point in the future!) 3. Go the temple once a month. 4. Date nights with TC at least twice a month. 5. Write monthly in my journal. (Since I've started blogging I've not been writing as regularly in my journal. Blogging is journaling but there are important things I should be recording there too that I would not post on my blog.) 6. Teach Savanna to read. (We have already started and she knows all her sounds! It is fun.) 7. Potty train Clark by the end of the year (well if he is ready. He'll be over 2.5 years by then so you think he would be but we will see) 8. Read at least one book in the social sciences per month. 9. Learn to bake bread (Seriously this is the BIG thing here in Utah and I feel like it is something useful to learn. Oh gosh, I think I may be trying to jump on the "Domestic Mom" wagon! (I'll probably fall off and break my arm .) These things definitely do not come naturally to me though it's worth a try right? 10. Sew Clark a quilt. (Again with extensive help from my friend, Marthe because I am not a natural at these things.)

Christmas and New Year's Recap

So I'm finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas. We had a great November and December and we are exhausted but now getting back into the routine of normal life. January is always a bit of a downer for me after all the holiday festivities but it is nice to be home again and American Idol starts in a couple of weeks! But I always say I don't have time to watch it...but I probably will get just as addicted as I always do. Anyway so after getting home from Hawaii and celebrating Savanna's birthday we were home for two days before we went and stayed with my family in their house in Utah for a little over a week. My cousin, his wife and their two kids were there also along with my brothers and my parents. We had a fun time all together and boy were my kids spoiled this Christmas! We headed down to my parent's on Christmas Eve. We spent some time at the mall that day and Savanna rode the train and the carousel. Then we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Red Robin. After heading home we read the Christmas story, had the kids set out cookies and a letter to Santa, put them to bed and help my mom finish wrapping the presents she got for everyone. Christmas morning the kids really enjoyed opening up their presents and having pancakes for breakfast. We were not able to open up all of them though before TC and I had to head to our ward for church. I was playing the organ and accompanying several people for the Christmas program. After church we opened presents, the kids played and we enjoyed a nice roast beef dinner. The rest of the week was spent hanging out with family (TC had to work Tuesday-Thursday) hanging out as a family, going bowling, seeing the lights at Temple Square, going to Jump On It, and to the movies and the mall. For New Year's our little family went a place called Hollywood Connection and the kids had a great time riding rides, going roller skating, playing games, and going mini golf. That night we hung out with some friends and played games and then TC's brother was here and we spent the rest of the evening with him. We always love being with family! I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!

Temple Square

Savanna and Jaslyn (my cousins' daughter) at the Cracker Barrel

Temple Square again

Christmas Day!

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Playing in her princess tent from Nana

Santa presents-Savanna got a Cinderella set with clothes and accessories and a mini van for her doll house family. Clark got a car track and toy story play things.

Christmas Eve

Enjoying doing a puzzle with Michael

Jump On It