This, That, and the Other...

I know I have been a blog slacker lately, but I have a really good excuse. His name is Cole and he likes to turn the "Master" switch off on my computer any chance he gets...and he thinks he's hilarious! But how can you get mad at a face like:
He is a naughty little stinker though. The other day I was in the shower and I looked out to see him like this:

Excuse me? What do you think your're doing there buster?

Anyways, since I've posted last we've had 2 birthdays and Halloween. I thought I'd post a few pics so that I don't feel like a B.M. First was Alex's birthday on October 25th. He turned 7 and wanted a vampire cake.

We surprised him with a 4-wheeler for his birthday and he loves it! We don't usually spoil our kids like that, but we justified it because he only wears hand-me-downs (cute ones though) from his older cousin Graeme.

Next was Halloween. Alex was a vampire, Rachel was a devil (her choosing!), and Cole was a skunk...and a cute lil' stinker at that!

Finally, we had Rachel's birthday on November 19th. She turned 5 and REALLY wanted a devil cake, but she got this instead. My first experiment with fondant...I ran out of white and didn't have time to make more. It coulda been tons cuter, but lesson learned - don't leave it to the last minute!Her Nana Ann made her this darling apron for her birthday...man, I wish I had her skillz!She insisted on wearing this crown all day because she was the "Birthday Princess". Girls, I'll tell ya what...So, that's the update for the last little while. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving and eat lots of turkey!

She's a Freak of Nature but we Love Her So!

What are the chances that I, little ol' Nanci, would have 2 freak accidents within a years time? Probably not great you'd probably say. Well, I've got news for you.

I worked an extremely long night shift Wednesday night and was excited to get some sleep while my kids went to JoRae's house for a few hours. I tucked myself into bed around 9 am only to wake up to myself falling down in severe pain at 11:15 am. Yes, I was sleepwalking. I never knew I did this, maybe it was the first time. What I did know was that my foot hurt...BAD! I lied on the ground and bawled like a little baby for a few minutes, then talked myself into getting back into bed and going back to sleep. I lay there thinking, there's just NO WAY I broke my other foot. NO WAY! But the pain was severe (and I hadn't stopped crying) so I looked down at it and saw something like this:

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Damn girl, you need a pedicure!" But that's besides the point...

I picked up the phone and called my trusty friend JoRae to take me to instacare. I couldn't bring myself to call Jason for fear of what he would do (my broken foot last fall nearly put us both over the edge). She arranged for a babysitter for our kids and took me to instacare. We couldn't stop laughing about how this dang injury had happened. Then I got the coocoo-iest doctor they could find (at one point JoRae pretended to read a funny text b/c she couldn't hold the laughter in any longer). Come to find out it isn't broken (phew) but sprained. Dr's orders: R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevate) - and don't forget the "R" - he reminded me about 10 times!

It looks ugly and it hurts, but THANK GOODNESS it isn't broken!

Friday's View

Saturday's View

Sunday's View

(Is that not the ugliest angle to take a picture of your foot? Hello Tree Trunk Legs!)

Punkins o' Plenty

We decided to harvest our pumpkins last Saturday. The kids were so excited to finally be able to pick them. We gave one to my mom and one to Kate. After we pick out our favorites we are going to have a pumpkin stand and sell the rest. It should be tons of fun for the kids!

I'm scared of this man!Oh yeah, I got in on the action too!Cole was not so impressed with any of itAll in all, we had around 40 pumpkins! Crazy!

I'm Back! (I think)

Hello to all my blogging friends! I have been lost and gone forever it seems! We are finally in our house now in Herriman. I absolutely LOVE my house. I'm still trying to get used to the drive out to Herriman, but once I'm there it's great! We moved into our house over Labor Day weekend so we're still somewhat in boxes. Our house is on a 1/2 acre and to our surprise, it came equipped with about 20 pumpkins growing in the flower beds. We also have what I thought was a weed patch at the back of our yard . . . turns out is a garden! We have about 15 tomato plants, corn, carrots, onions, tomatillos, garlic, basil . . . basically the salsa garden I have always dreamed of planting! DREAM COME TRUE!

I'm working double what I'm used to, but so far it's been okay. I found the cutest babysitter and my kids love her. The best part is that she comes to us, so no hauling kids around (2 thumbs up).

Alex is already roaming the neighborhood as soon as he gets home from school. We were lucky to find another neighborhood that is "kid central" and he has already made some friends. He likes his new school and teacher and LOVES that he gets to ride to bus (probably not as much as I love it, but close)!

Oh, my little Rachie. Love this girl. She's my little buddy until our house sells and we can afford preschool again (double house payments are a killer!). I really don't mind having her home though because she entertains herself so well. The only things she has done "entertaining herself" that I haven't approved of are cutting her hair (3rd time, don't worry), writing on her bedroom door with a marker - her name of course, and writing pencil on the wall - her name once again. She needs to learn that writing her name on anything but paper will only get her in trouble!
And these two are just happy to have each other back! I love to watch Jason and Cole interact. They just love each other and laugh at each other and GET one another. Cole was having a hay day helping his daddy wash his truck.

So, that's us for now. I should have Internet in my house by next week, so I'll be back in the blogging game soon.

Holy Cannoli!

Anybody watch "Cake Boss" on TLC, anybody? Nobody? Nope? Okay, I guess you missed out on the giant cannoli he made . . . but that's besides the point.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (LAST SUNDAY)!!!! I spent it in Springville with my whole family - it was a great time!

Second, Jason started his new job on Monday - I can already tell commuting would not be an option for our family. One week and I'm already going crazy!

Third, Mr. Cole decided he would start walking last week (but still mostly crawls - his balance still isn't great)!

Forth - My house is officially up for rent . . .

Fifth - Alex lost another tooth.

Sixth - I lost my wedding ring :( (somewhere in my house most likely)

Seventh - I finally read blogs for the first time in weeks!

Eighth - My DVR has 1% left and I have MANY-a-shows to watch in my "spare time" - ha!

Ninth - Rachel is asleep under the desk, Alex finally fell asleep in my bed (after going on and on about how a robber was going to break into our house and shoot him in the head, and how we really need to get a security system . . . ), Cole keeps on waking up and thankfully I'm still awake because his room is painfully far down the hall when I'm asleep and have to drudge my way to see what's wrong - and I'm not the least bit tired but should probably go to bed because it's 12:35 . . .

My life is a whirlwind right now so I may not post or check your blog for a while, but just know that I love you all and will be back in touch when my life settles down. Until then . . .

Ah, where to begin?

I don't even know where to begin. My summer has been anything but ordinary. It began with the bad news that Jason lost his job a month ago. Since then we have been on 2 camping trips in our new motorhome - purchased before he lost his job thank you very much! - (we were actually on one when we found out about his job), a trip to Salt Lake, I stayed home with the 3 chillins while Jason took another trip up to Salt Lake, and I've been working like a mad woman. Throw in a boating trip and about 50 loads of laundry and that pretty much sums it up. My head is spinning!!!!!

To add to the whirlwind, Jason accepted a job in Salt Lake this week and will be starting on Monday. Yikes! We have no idea what-in-the-crap we are doing! I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't like the idea of him commuting. I think it would be bad for our marriage and my own personal mental health. I'm not ready to quit my job (especially considering that they aren't hiring in Salt Lake - Labor and Delivery right now) or walk away from my house. And, school starts soon. It's gonna be a mess until we figure things out, no doubt about it!

So, if you or someone you know needs/wants a house in Santa Clara (the best neighborhood in town!) 4 bed 2.5 bath . . . it's for Sale/Rent.

What I've Learned

We went "up north" last weekend as a family and I learned quite a few things during my stay there. I thought I would enlighten you with my new knowledge:


1. My sweet, cute, lovable, squeezable baby has turned from . . .

into . . . He has the most high-pitched, ear piercing, drive you crazy, embarrass you in public - SCREAM that surfaces every few minutes whether he's happy, mad, or otherwise. Jason and I solved this problem by listening to our ipods while in the car but the rest of the time we experienced severe ear damage. Oh, just another thing to correct . . .

2. A shopping trip to the new Harmon's in Draper on a Saturday can be considered "An Event" - as described by one of Jessica's neighbors that I ran into there. Okay, my Albies doesn't sample tomatoes with fresh mozarella cheese and fresh basil . . . EVER! It was DELUXE! I also realized that "normal" people spend a lot of money on groceries. I was shocked and flabbergasted at the amount of money my friends spent on groceries (they need to be schooled in couponing).

3. REAL games are FUN - for real! I've never been to a professional soccer game before so I didn't know what to expect, but it was so fun! "Flag Man" was a few seats away from us and we got to watch is big beer belly dancing around, waving his flags with his mismatched outfit topped off with black socks and house slippers! Okay, so JoRae and I probably looked a little silly too with our matching t-shirts, but what can I say?

4. You can purchase a Gender Prediction Test for $30 at Walgreens (one of my favorite stores!) and know the sex of your baby at around 10 weeks. Not for me of course, for Jessica. I guess we'll just have to see if it was right in about 7 weeks! (I hope for Mallory's sake it was wrong)

5. My BFF's will always be my BFF's no matter what happens in life (okay, this isn't new knowledge but I had to put it).

6. After having a vacation with the family, I need a mommy vacation. No kids, please!