We're Quirky and We Know it:)

Curling Katie's hair for family pictures!

 Tavin going along with grandpa's crazy idea to put him in a trash bag and suck the air out with the shop vac:)

The "get-along" shirt. I got this idea of pinterest-whenever Katie and Tavin are caught fighting with each other-they have to get in the "get-along shirt" until they are ready to do just that-"get-along!":)


Oh the fun we have! Usually kids end up being the Ginny pigs for their parent's (and in many cases-relatives') "bright ideas" ! Luckily-our Ginny pigs are good sports and up for the challenge and our ideas are all quirky ones-not anything harmful.

While on a visit to Daniel's home to see his family for his sister Deedra's mission farewell (she is off to the West Indies in April)-we had the kids try out some of those crazy-out-of- the-box ideas!

Daniel often shares with me-stories of his dad teasing him and his siblings-one such time, he put them in giant trash bags and used the shop-vac to suck out the air-with their heads out of course. Upon recalling this event-Grandpa Larry decided that it was still a great idea and found a willing subject in Tavin. We all had a good laugh as we watched the madness:) Ah the memories we share.

Katie's hair turned out so cute from the curlers I got at a expo. She looked like such a little lady for the pictures Marlene took and I am crossing my fingers that we got at least one really good one to hang on the wall in our house. She has quite the personality and the pictures really captured that.

As for the "get-along" shirt the jury is still out on that one....they think it is fun and funny right now-but I suppose it will work over time-or just give a lot of laughs!

Tender Mercies in each Day

 Getting down and dirty with finger painting-Katie really gets into things like this!

 Tavin showing off his messy hands during our art project

 Livy pulled herself up to the window to look out-she LOVES outside-I can't wait till spring so we can go out and play more. Whenever we go out-she laughs with joy to be in the sun.

 Livy has also befriend our furry friend tuff and often joins him for his meals:)

 Our valentine's day project was to put read lipstick on and give livy kisses all over to take pictures to send out-Katie and Tavin did a great job helping! And Liv laughed as we tickled her with our kisses. I was able to get a few good pictures thanks to the lolly pop!

 Our LOVE baby!

 Hope you all had a fun LOVE day! And made sure to tell those you most care about how much you love them!

 Yummy and slobbery with lots of red gooey drool!

Heart attacking Grandma and Grandpa's Bedroom door as a valentine's day surprise~

Sometimes life has a way of throwing you curve balls that you aren't quite sure how to handle and the past month has been one of those tricky unexpected curve balls for me. There is always something to learn from each trial in life and this trial has taught me A LOT! but two things that have stuck out to me: "You can't keep licking your open wound and expect it to heal!"-as I try to leave the past behind and find some way to move on-I am ever aware of the little tender mercies of the Lord in each day! These tender mercies OFTEN come in the form of my three sweet little children. Through their words and actions-I know I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and is aware of my pains and sufferings. He has sent them to me to bless my life daily-they complete there job -and happily too!

At Karate yesterday (Tavin was testing to get his yellow belt advancement with his cousin Ethan) my mom suggested to Tavin that he say a little prayer to himself that Heavenly Father would help him to remember the things he had learned during his test. She turned around to go find a seat and when she sat down, she noticed that everyone else was lining up to get started-where was Tavin? Don't worry, he took my mom very literally and was kneeling in the middle of the floor talking to his Heavenly Father. This one little act-made my heart fill with overwhelming joy and my eyes well up in tears of awe. He and Ethan both passed their test with flying colors by the way:)

Katie quietly and very efficiently unloads the dishwasher like mommy has shown her-but this time all by herself. After she is finished putting the silverware back in the drawer and all the dishes on top of the counter, she comes over and announces-"Mommy I did it! I did it for you!" 

During a tea party Katie opened her little hand and stated-my soft little mouse dad pet him:) She demonstrated by pretending to stroke the invisible creature in her out stretched hand-Dan pet him too with a grin on his face and then she invited him to the tea party:)! 

When Driving the kids in the car one day on our way to do some errands around town, I heard Katie say to Tavin, "BROTHER HANDS UP! HERE WE GO!"  I glance in the mirror to see what they were up to-and find they have their hands raised above there heads as if they are going down a big hill on a roller coaster ride:) When we drive down the hill, both start to squeal! "Where did you learn that!?" I asked smiling.  "No one taught us mom, we made it up on our own! Hands up mom!"

Livy, I can say that one name and it is everything joyous, pure, and innocent. From the time she wakes in the morning to the time I lay her in her bed at night, she changes my world. She is now crawling-started the day she turned 9 months old exactly, she can pull herself up on things, when she wants Dan or me to pick her up, she bonks her head against our leg:), we have started to introduce baby food and solids-slowly weaning her off breastfeeding....speaking of breastfeeding, she has 3 teeth now-and one coming in and she has started to bite me every so often while breastfeeding-Dan and I tell her "No" sternly when she does, the other night-when this very event occurred, I had to cover my mouth so she wouldn't see me laughing because she has figured out how to shake her head back and forth when she hears the word "no":)

 She also has made up her own wiggly dance when Dan sings to her or when we play her leap frog dog-that sings different nursery rhymes. It is quite the belly dance! I love to watch her in church-whenever a hymn is sung in relief society or in sacrament, she is doing that wiggly dance!

 She can say both mom-mom and da da. And has acquired the habit of sucking on a blanky like her sister-unfortunately.....but instead of a blanky she has adopted my dark purple robe! She loves it when we take her with us to chase her brother and sister around the house and she is filled with giggles and squeals. And she LOVES bath time-she is often the last one in the tub because the others get out before her. 

If I die without accomplishing anything but bringing these beautiful children into the world and Loving them like crazy-it will be enough for me! 

Inspirational! Incredible! Eye Opening!

Strongest Dad in the World by Rick Reilly 

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."

"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."

That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 – only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."

There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right. Think good thoughts for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of LIFE...Getting back up is LIVING...Have a great life. And if you liked this post , PLEASE SHARE AND LIKE THIS PAGE and continue to be inspired with sayings that lift us and jokes to laugh at.

A Thank U to The Man In Red

We are at McDonald's play place and I look over to see Tavin standing next to a old man-he is staring up at him with his mouth open....Then I realize the old man has a beer belly, and long white hair, with a long beard....guess who Tavin thinks he is:) Yep Santa Clause! Then I hear him say to the man...thanks for my presents....the man looks down and says: " your welcome-did you get what you wanted?" Tavin nods happily and then is off again to play, the old man smiling. I love my boy and the joy he brings.

New Years Eve 2013

I am considered the "lucky One" in our family because I tend to win things....well for New Years Eve, I won a game party pack from a club called "House Party." (Since I seem to be in the mood to recommend things I really like in my posts lately, I will take a second and recommend you join this club! U can find it by entering it in on google. It is free and only takes a second to apply. I have been doing in for about 2 years now and have hosted 2 parties for them. A Philadelphia Cream Cooking Party and this Hasboro Game night one. You apply for parties you want to host-they send you emails telling you what parties they have out and what days they would like you to host it. If you are chosen to host one, they send you a BIG package of FREE stuff you get to keep. Like in this pack, there was 5 games plus coupons for 8 dollars off one game etc. And then decorations and a voucher for a free food item to serve. All you have to do is invite at least 10 people and take pictures and upload them to your site:) It is a way to advertise new products for companies by allowing consumers to throw parties to introduce things to groups of people. The best part is no one has to buy anything. 

Anyway, I had all my family over to help celebrate with me-my Aunt and cousins were visiting from California so it made things extra special and fun! My dad made waffles for dinner (a tradition we have done for years on New Years Eve) Then we got to playing games- and if you know our family, you know we are a GAME PLAYING family! Twister was the hot game to play with the kids-its a new version with some fun twists. And Scrabble catch phrase-seemed to be the favorite among the adults. It was a great way to bring in the New Year! Tavin and Katie were quite flexible at Twister! it must have been the young age-they can bend in ways I can only imagine getting into:) Livy had fun playing with the decorations-or should I say wearing them. 

Being Miss Crafty Pants!

One of the things that I enjoy doing with my sister Krisha and my kids-is crafts. I can't say that I am very good at it-or that what I set out to do always comes out the way it looks in my head-but I attempt it anyway. Usually the outcome is fairly good. Here are some of the crafts we did over the holidays. A candy cane wreath made out of bath Loofahs, a Christmas stocking hanger (I really liked how this turned out), marshmallow snowman and candy cane cards, paint ornaments, and the craft that was a hit with all the kids: GAK.

My mom used to make this with us when we were little kids-we loved it just as much then as these kids do now:) There is just something about gooey messy jiggly stuff that a kids can't resist. I highly recommend this activity-very easy, inexpensive, and lasts for multiple play times. All these craft ideas were thanks to Pinterest!

The Magic Of Christmas

There is just something about the Christmas season that makes me feel so happy and joyful inside....maybe it is the giving, the being with family, holiday traditions and all that it stands for-or the MAGIC of it all! I Especially LOVE Christmas now that we have kids that are the age to enjoy it all! Tavin was particularly awed by everything and wanted to be apart of it all. 

My most Favorite Memory of this Christmas and Holiday season was watching the movie: "The Christmas Orange" (if you and your family haven't watched this movie yet, I HIGHLY recommend it! It was an excellent movie-well made-and captures the true spirit of  giving.) I wasn't sure if Katie and Tavin would sit for this type of movie-considering that it wasn't a cartoon or animated-it was about real people with real life problems-and I was hesitant about the seriousness of it....Tavin tends to get too wrapped up and worried about things. But I was pleasantly surprised as we all cuddled on the couch and they sat enthralled the entire time. 

The basic gist of it-a girl who was given away as a baby by her mother-first to a kind older woman who ran an orphanage-where she grew up happy and loved the other children and old lady as if they were her own family. Influenza sets in and many of the children, as well as the old lady die. She is separated from her friends and is placed in an orphanage owned by a bitter and mean old man. She quickly wins the love of the children there and eventually wins the love of the old man-but not until after losing her chance at a Christmas orange-something that she has never before tasted. It was coveted by all the children as a prized gift that they only received at Christmas time....their one and only gift. The children decide to split all their oranges to give her a whole orange as a surprise and gift of love.

Tavin and Katie cheered and ohhhhhhhed at all the right places, and I could tell their little hearts were warmed and touched by the message of this movie. Tavin talked about it the rest of the night-as we ate brownies together and even into the next day. Little did he know that I planned that movie right before telling them the next day that I would like them to gather up the toys they don't play with anymore to give to boys and girls who do not have any toys and would not be getting a Christmas this year-maybe like the boys and girls in the orphanage in the movie. I expected tears and rebellion but was SOOO proud of my three and five year old. There was no tears or tantrums....each carefully debated each toy and by the end of the hour of sorting-all on their own-we had 5 bags of toys to donate. My heart swelled with joy. 

I know that something good was imprinted on Tavin's heart by the whole thing-when his Aunt asked him what his favorite part of True Christmas was-Tavin promptly replied-giving my toys away to kids who need them. They are never too young to teach-they get it.

OTHER HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS:

 Mom spent an hour and a half making the body of this snow man with sporadic help from Katie and Tavin-they would give a little here and give a little there-then they were off sledding and making snow angels...I think I got my exercise in that day! Making a snowman isn't easy:) Next time mommy will wait for a day when Daddy is home to help. We used a "Snowman Kit" I put together last year-made out of wood pieces and snow apparel from a thrift store.

 Beautiful sugar cookies that Aunt Kimberly made with the kids while mom and dad were on a date-Dan's work bought tickets to the Forgotten Carols-another really great activity for Christmas time-I highly recommend this also! Maybe this will become one of our many traditions.Thanks Aunt Kimberly! She said that the kids would put some on the cookie-and A LOT in their mouth-as they decorate....mostly Katie-Kimberly would try not to look-but if she did-Katie would act shy and as if she wasn't doing anything naughty:)

 We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in Idaho at Grandma Marlene's house. So many cousins, aunts, uncles-to be loved and adored by-it can be down right tiring:)

 A very happy Tavin showing off his new soccer goalie gloves, captain america hat and M&MS from his Aunt Deedra, Uncle Dawson, and Great Grandma Bauman-we were so lucky to have her there to spend time with us.

Livy was taking it all in-excited and happy for it all! A new hair accessory for her to wear! And she wears it well!

 What Santa brought for Tavin: A soccer goal, REAL soccer ball, REAL soccer jersey and Wii soccer game. For those who don't know: REAL is the professional MSL soccer team of Salt Lake-and we go watch their games-My sister and her family got us hooked on it:) Tavin is a BIG fan.

Santa brought Princess Katie her very own princess castle, and princess sleeping bag, with a Dora flashlight, and Kids Yoga video:)

 Grandma Marlene spoiled them with their very own bean bags! They LOVE them-Katie drags hers around the house with her

Our Princess Diva-sporting her ear warmer crown that her and Liv got