i had to laugh...

some times you do stupid things that simply make your life difficult...

it can only be funny after the fact right?

so i had a dentist appointment on monday, which has been scheduled for 3 months now, and i had the reminder card on the fridge..for some reason, even with my little reminders i never got around to getting someone to watch daniel...so on the morning of (the appt was for 9) realizing john had to work a mid and he wouldn't be able to watch him, i called to try to cancel, but they require 24 hour notice, otherwise you are penalized...so they said i could bring dan with me...to my teeth cleaning...

i know i know...am i CRAZY! bringing a 2 year old to My teeth cleaning! well, i said a prayer on the way that it wouldn't be a disaster hoping for the best...and when we got there, daniel's stranger anxiety kicked in...and he clung to me like a lil koala. when we got called back, he held on tighter. even for the x-rays he wouldn't let go, so he got to be under the apron...and he never said a word. it was really funny. he just laid there resting his chin on my chest watching everything being done, but no fussing, no trying to grab for things, no trying to run like a wild child...he just laid on mommy and watched and i wrapped my arms around him while they cleaned my teeth. i thought that was amazing, even though i will never do it again! haha.

so another stupid thing...something you just have to learn? lol. i recently swapped towers for my computer. after i did that i haven't gotten the sound to work, and tried everything aside from buying a sound card... and nothing worked. there were no errors any where, nothing muted, drivers updated, etc. well, just as i finally cave and bidded on a sound card (i had my old pc out recently cuz i was working on my sister's) i glanced over at the old tower kinda grimaced at it, when suddenly a light went off...on my old tower there were sound plug-ins in the front as well as the back...well the ones in the back are attached to the motherboard, so i figured i didn't need the ones in the front besides they had no spot in the new tower...but they had a plug that went into a spot on the motherboard, so i thought, i'll just hook it up and see...VOILA!!! the stupid sound works now!!! after all the time wasted researching and trying everything, all that needed to be done was to plug in the removable audio ports! ahhhhh!!!! and i already bidded on a sound card which i don't need and ended up winning....lovely. Laugh out loud. oh well, lesson learned?!?

i've really taken to "fixing" pc's, the only problem is...i do it the easy way and wipe it, rather than try to fix the problem... oh well!

with my eating goal...i started it about a week ago? and i have already lost 1.5 lbs. it's actually getting easier to avoid the annoying voices telling me to eat. i've found this super cool website called caloriecount.com that lets you log you calories and what you've eaten, and what your weight track is and activites too. i like this since i don't have an iphone! i like it becuase you can save the nutrition facts of foods you eat regularly (sandwich, cereal, milk, oatmeal) and all you do is add it to the day you ate it...anyway, it's easier than writing it down by hand and saves time and calculations! not to mention it has a great database of foods ready to be added. so supposedly, as long as i don't go over 1900 calories, i should be able to reach my weight goal in 3 1/2 months? or something like that. so we'll see.

well, i'm busy as usual, pictures next time?

victory tastes so much sweeter

well, it's true, victory tastes so much sweeter than you could ever have imagined.

what am i referring to?

well, first off, i am attempting to be more healthy, so i want to eat healthy, and exercise more, which brings about weight loss... but the "eating healthy" part...food is my weakness by far. especially sweet foods... if my mind would wander to "candy bar" it wouldn't take me but a second to find one and start eating...i love sweets. i don't know how else to put it. do i eat junk all day? no, i attempt to balance everything, but i have had no problem rewarding myself for finishing lunch, with ice cream. lol.

so as i was reading in the New Testament, where Jesus went into the desert to fast for 40 days and nights, and after fasting, Satan comes to him and tempts him 3 times, and each time Jesus snapped a nice fitting answer to shut him up (so to speak) and finally the last time, Jesus is sick of him, so he says "get the hence Satan" anyway, as i was "pondering" these things, in the study manual, i found a quote from Elder Neal A Maxwell that talks about how Jesus "gave no heed" to Satan's temptations...meaning, as soon as he was tempted, he dismissed it with his reply, he did not stop to ponder it... Elder Maxwell says "we may not always be able to keep an evil thought from entering our minds, but we don't have to offer it a chair and invite it to sit down." bingo!

i must have just really not been with it, but i read this and went "ah ha!" and i thought back on the many temptations and the ones i gave into, and 9 times out of 10 it was becuase i thought about it instead of dismissing it imediately... point is...on some aspects of life, i guess i don't think of the "thoughts popping into my head" as temptations...like what food to put in my mouth! i have gotten so used to acting on the thought of food, i don't even give myself a chance to say no! and that is where my downfall was...WAS...

becuase i am going to change that! Satan wants me to be miserable, but i have power over him, if i let the spirit be my guide and choose the right...i can succeed.

so i decided, i was going to seriously focus on telling those thoughts no today...i prayed about it last night, and when i woke up in the morning to pack kathryn's lunch and walked in the pantry to the open pack of cookies waiting for me to eat them...i said NO! even though it felt like spam in my email...the thought came over and over and over, but finally i dismissed it and it felt great! i decided i was going to count my calorie intake and intake of other nutrients for the rest of the week... and see how much water i am drinking...

i am happy to report that i have had NOTHING ZERO ZITCH NADDA sweet to eat today. that is HUGE for me. and i after every meal i felt very full! i had no snacks (partly b/c i wasn't home to get some or wasn't hungry). i ate pancakes with syrup for breakfast 313 calories, chicken pot pie leftovers for lunch 346 calories, and tilapia fillet with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots for dinner 295 calories...for a total of 954 calories!!!!!
are you suprised? i am!!! and i drank 72 oz of water (9 cups)...so i am very proud of myself!!! i was oooo sooo tempted today several times, i had to wait 20 mins in the carpool line before i could get kathryn...and all i had sitting around in the van was candy! it would have all been gone normally, but i didn't even touch it! YAY!!!! i even went grocery shopping while i was hungry and came out with bare minimum... oooo, it feels so good! i will try to keep this up for a week and see how i do...my goal is to stay under 1300 calories a day...

so that is my first victory....my second victory...John got his bonus check in....and our bank actually cashed it instead of putting a hold on it like they normally do for checks this size....sooo..WE PAID OFF THE CAR!!!! WOOOOO HOOOO!!! ok, so we only owed $1950, but to have a $300 a month note gone....oooo, soooo sweet!!!! i made john watch as we transfered the money online, and waited to show balance of $0...then we both laughed. ahhh, we can't wait to get out of debt!

turn over a new leaf

so i wanted to recap on this last week.

sunday was a great day. not only was it John's first sunday back in 3 months (thanks to his work schedule of having no sunday's off) but we actually made it on time, nay EARLY! we got to sit in the chapel as a family, and i got to listen to the testimonies and the kids were pretty good. i convinced kathryn to lay in my lap so i could rub/scratch her back like my mom always did with me...she loved it, and just laid there letting me run my fingers through her hair and across her back. that was special to me. cuz i remember when i was (slightly older) on the receiving end.

oh yeah, and let me not foget to mention the Bishop caught me before church and told me they were calling a new nursery leader and were going to release me. wow. i've been in there without any offical help for the last...9 months or so. and now they found someone to take the calling, and they are releasing me. the first thought was...i'll be able to go to relief society and hear the lessons! and to sunday school and study the scriptures!!! yay! but then i realized that the new nursery leader didn't have any help either, and i needed to stay for a few sundays to get her used to the routine to takeover. and then i remembered how Daniel has separation anxiety really bad...he's the kind of kid you don't want in nursery, i guess i'll have to try to phase him out of this. so looks like i'll still be in nursery and i won't be getting to attend class like i thought after all. that's ok.

of course the superbowl was also last sunday, and i watched it, that was an amazing game. who woulda thought the Saints would win? i'm so happy for them. they played really well. what a year to remember.

this past wednesday kathryn stayed at school for the whole day. we just wanted to see how she would do, since she turned 4 she can stay all day. Mrs. Katie was happy to report she did excellent, and would love for her to stay all day everyday. she mentioned that kathryn aside from her speech delay is one of the quickest learners in the class and they have seen a drastic improvement since she's been going. (i have seen this too!) i am so thankful for her teachers and their special ability to work with young kids. kathryn is my first child so i have nothing to compare her to, but i am amazed at the things she has memorized since she started school august 18... she knows her numbers and can count to 17 (as of yesterday, she did that out of the blue) she knows her alphabet upper and lower case and can identify what sound each letter makes either by replying to "what sound does the letter T make" or "what letter makes the "sssss" sound... she also has quite a few nursery rhymes memorized and a handful of words memorized... when she sees the written words dog, duck, shoe, kangaroo, hat, cat... she names the word. she's at the stage now where i can point out words and spell them out and she helps me sound them out... it's so exciting watching her learn! and one thing she drastically improved on was responding to questions with a proper answer... she used to just give you the blank stare, but she is conversational...if that is a word. i could go on about things she has learned from school but i have a hard time explaining things in few words, so...needless to say, she is definitely going to go full days. daniel will miss her terribly, but now i'll get time to teach him? he's a hard one.

i also got to go over to my sister Jenn's house on Wednesday night. i have been wanting some time away from the kids and John was off, so away i went. my intentions were to watch this DVD that my friend Amanda let me borrow... DNA evidence of the Book of Mormon... well, we didn't realize it was 4 hours long! we got started on it and both of us were interested in what the rest of it is about. between that and some testimonies i heard in church, i was re-energized to study the scriptures. not just read, but study. and so i started the next day (Thursday) but i decided to start on the new testament and study it (i failed to attend seminary the new testament year so i am lacking in that knowledge) i must say, before now, (except in seminary) i have never had the burning desire to read more and study more. i feel really connected this time, and can't wait to read more. obviously with the kids, i have to limit my time, but i'm taking time out of the middle of the day rather than waiting till before i go to bed where i never absorbed much because i was so exhausted. it's only been 2 days, but i can feel the difference. this is what i've needed for a long time!

i also looked back on my goals...

1. be more grateful -
once again, this week i had to realize that i was praying for the wrong reasons or with the wrong intent...i got to hear a talk last sunday on byu tv about praying to hear the Lord's counsel not praying to counsel the Lord on what He should do for you. at least i was receptive enough to receive the answer...and as i looked at what we had in that respect, compared to others, we were going to be just fine. have faith. and put your mind to work on something else. so i did. and if only i could choose to stay grateful (which puts me in a good mood) it's a mind game!

2. get organized -
well, i haven't really gotten to work on this so much, i feel like i am constantly trying to just keep up the regular chores of dishes, laundry, dinner, toys put away, vacuuming, that i don't have time for new projects. i have things i mind tho. i have found that i really should only have 1 main project aside from daily things (chores, scripture study) going on at a time, otherwise i get nothing acomplished. so the doing things weekly has changed.

3. working out -
i have been going about once a week to Foxy's, but since it will expire in April i am trying to do things at home, and that is where the trampoline has come in totally handy. it in itself is a full body workout, but with it's springyness, it is easy on the joints...so push ups, and other things are much easier to do. it also is a great cardio exercise and i have fun while i'm doing it!!! i have lost 1 pound since the new year (may not be much, but with the 2 king cakes, birthday cake and other junk, i think losing anything is awesome!)

4. read scriptures -
i've already touched on this one

5. take time to take care of me -
i should do better at this, but i am slowly improving. it's the little things.

6. FHE -
well, i haven't done it every week, i keep getting discouraged, but i think if i don't try to include daniel, (he seems to wreck the plan) and focus on Kathryn i'll see results? i just don't know how to handle Daniel. Kathryn can sit and take in more, but since Daniel is there, it seems like i have to cut it to a brief summary and fighwith him to get off the table etc. and nothing was really learned. it seems like if i focused on Kathryn, and let Daniel listen in on his own free will, it would be more successful.

7. focus on the kids happiness -
well, i still find myself with no new ideas sometimes, but i feel like i've gotten closer to kathryn (daniel was never the issue. lol)

8. forgive and forget -
lately i seem to be holding grudges against my hubby...i see myself getting aggravated when he's home and not helping with this or that, and really try to see it from his perspective and tell myself he needs a break or whatever, then i hear the words of my dear friend Amanda in my head "are you asking him to help? cuz men don't look for ways to help, they have to be told" or something like that, and realize, i never asked him to help me. so this week, i have been giving him chances to help, and he definitely has. yesterday was wonderful. i feel like i asked a lot of him, but he did it without the annoying sighs or delays...so that made me so happy. i have to remember to stop the silent frustration and ask for help

9 visiting with family -
well, i have done well with this, taking oppurtunities as they arise, and i'm glad. i'm trying to keep up the monthly game night with both sides of the family, and that is my favorite. we played "buzz word" and that turned out to be a fun game!

10. go to the temple at least once a month -
i went January, and hope to keep that going.

11. be debt free except the mortgage -
well, we took on new debt with buying the van...but soon will have both vehicles paid off...

12. work on scrapbooking -
so this is one of those things i have decided to put on the side...i decided first i want to go through my pictures (digital) and decide which to keep and what to delete...i have thousands...after i choose which to keep most will be printed (when the funds are available) for scrapbooking, then i can tackle all those scrapbooking pages and feel much more organized about it, knowing what pictures i have.

well, that is my update for February.

my big project for feb/march is going through digital pictures...hopefully it wont take forever.

trampoline and videos!

so we have had lots of fun on the trampoline. i'm going to post some pictures of that fun mostly without captions, and i'll try to post a video of Daniel, he at 20 months, has learned how to do the "booty bounce" where you bounce on your butt and stand up...at first i thought this was just an acccident, but he kept doing it over and over! so he must know how! too crazy.

this video is me bouncing with daniel. notice at the end, he tries to count with me.

this video is daniel doing the booty bounce all by himself! woah, this kid has the talent of his uncles (jake and nick!)

this video is how daniel gets on the trampoline by himself and gets double bounced by mommy!

this video is daniel kissing the camera too cute!

this is how i workout my legs. woo, in just 30 short seconds my legs are about to collapse! (when i do it consecutively). it also works out my abs holding the pike and tuck positions.

this was one of the videos that daniel thought was funny. it's me having fun. doing some gymnastics again! i can't tell ya how good it feels!

this video is as close as i got to a layout (straight body during flip) but i piked at the end.

this video is me doing a front flip then back flip. i'll connect them one day.

so i have been wanting to try some stuff on the trampoline, but i have always liked to know how the skill is supposed to look and how your body is supposed to move throughout so i can be sure i'm doing it right...blah blah, since i don't have a spotter, i have been checking out some youtube videos of aerial's and barani's, and this was one video i stumbled across that i thought was amazing. it had some good tips for when you try something new (if you know what you're looking for) and i wanted to share how awesomely perfect this guy's form is. this trampoline must have really loose springs to be so bouncy. it's $10,000! anyhow, if you start the video at 3:10 you'll see a few mins worth of super cool trampolining. the first section is just talk so skip to 3:10

i was watching his videos and i saw this and decided to try it. and after 45 mins (lol) i taught myself the back kaboom (of course it doesn't look nearly as pretty as his. skip to 1:45 to see it.

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

So i know i am a bit behind, it seems like i never get to finish a blog when i sit down and get started. so last friday (feb 5th) kathryn turned 4! this year she really understood the concept of it being her birthday, so i wanted to make it really special. since she had school i wanted to do a cupcake party, so i baked cupcakes the night before, and she saw them and wanted one when she woke up. well, unfortunately, only 12 survived the night (::wink wink::) and there are 9 kids and 3 teachers in her class and i wanted to make sure everybody got one, so i told her she had to wait till we could share with everybody. she didn't like that so much and was upset. i should've just let her have one...if only i knew what it would do... suddenly she didn't want to go to school, she wanted to go to mimi's house (where we were having her "party" and eating bday cake) i tried to explain that school would be fun, they were going on a field trip, and we can't have the party at mimi's until she gets home and she wasn't home yet... well, she pulled the whole "i tired" in the nearly in tears voice, which is the clue that she is in a super grumpy mood which is nearly impossible to break... somehow i got her to school. i hoped she would cheer up so we would have a better day.

well, she had a field trip at school (yay!) to the library that i figured would be super cool, and of course i signed up to go. well, since john had to work at 11 that meant i had to bring daniel with me. he never behaves when we are in public. for some reason, he feels like he has to act like a wild animal... anyway, since i signed up to go, kathryn was going to ride with me, instead of on the school bus (which she is in love with) so seeing all the other kids going on the bus and she didn't get to....only lead to more disaster. so we get to the library, they get started singing songs and reading stories, and the first 5 mins, daniel was paying attention, then he decided to be loud when i tried to get him to sit back down, and crawled under chairs and so when i got up to get him...kathryn got really sad and kept the sad sappy mood saying she wanted to go home, then she didn't, then she did, etc. so we are finally done and are taking a tour of the library, when she says she has to go pee, so i try to take her in the bathroom, then it's NO, i don't have to pee pee, so i walk away and NO i DO i DOO have to pee pee.... ok, well, lets go, NO i don't...etc. i was at breaking point, and took her hand while daniel was trying to wriggle free and run away and brought her in the bathroom and after going through the same yes no yes no, i finally went to find one of the teachers to tell them i can't do it, i'm taking her home, or leaving...either way i was done. and so they tried to talk to kathryn and she just started to cry about wanting to go home, so in the van we went...i took a good 10 mins clearing my head of the aggrvation so i could deal with kathryn's bad mood appropriately... i called mimi so kathryn could talk to her, but that didn't really help, so after talking to her about whatever (i don't remember) she started cheering up, and i decided we would go meet the kids at school and try to finish. well, when she got to school (and knew she would finally get to eat a cupcake (and there were only 5 kids there! i totally could have let her have one in the morning and there would have been enough)) she was jumping around all excited. so she was happy and it was so cute seeing her play in the individual centers... i had to keep a close watch on daniel...he is famous for dumping all the toys out and walking away to the next pile...he didn't like me so much for making him pick up toys before he got more out...but i am determined to get this little boy to understand he has to help pick up what he gets out... it took him 5 mins of fussing and pouting and sprawling on the floor to finally get up and pick up the few cars before he got blocks out in the next center. kathryn loves being in the kitchen center... pretending to wash clothes and switch them to the dryer, then walk over to the sink and scrub some dishes and load them in the dish washer, then over to the stove to take a pot out to add spices and veggies to and cook...it was so flippin cute. and she was doing the whole "do do do" singing and bouncing around. daniel took to the puzzles...he loves the wooden puzzles. and he is really good at them. he matches stuff really well, shapes and all. so we finally left and she was finally cheered up. i got to talkin about what my plans were for the day and she was talking to me about them too. lol.

toward the end of the day, we wen to mimi's ate rice and gumbo (she loves rice and sausage) we sang her happy birthday, she opened some presents, and had a good time. i got some good pictures and video, if only i could find my camera... i'll keep looking and post pics/vids later.

needless to say, i kept thinking of the song "it's my party" (i can cry if i want to)...maybe she'll do better at her party with friends.

lots of pics funny stories...

what an evenful few weeks we had. funny stories and all.

i guess i'll start chronologically.

a few Friday's ago i was messing with my newly built PC (one of the reasons i was so encouraged to get the thing running) to get some programs on it that can make copies of my DVD's, well, i finally found what i wanted, it has a free trial, i tried it, and i love it! DVDFab...it's $50 regular, i dunno if i will buy it, but, all of the kids DVD's are so scratched they won't play, so i just wanted to see what would happen, popped one of the really scratched ones in, and it copied it fine, better yet, i put it in the player for the kids to watch...NO SKIPS! it copied a scratched disc perfect! i was so impressed! i thought for sure i'd have to buy another DVD, but that was a relief. so now i am copying the rest of them...this is so exciting!

a few Saturday's ago, after watching the Saints game at the in-laws (YAY! they won), i came home and put a sleeping kathryn to bed, and decided i would take a soak in the tub! Daniel was still up and not ready to sleep yet, so i told John i was locking the door so i could have some peace. well, i for some reason, decided to lock both bedroom and bathroom doors. 30 mins into it, (about 11pm) i hear the lock turning on the bedroom door, then the bathroom door, and then Daniel appears! what the! he had the real "pretend" keys in the slit of the lock and turned it to open the door... i got out of the tub to bring him back to John, still puzzled with how he got the keys in the first place...they were (i'm positive) in a dark kathryn's room...and that's when i figured it out.

the day before, i organized all the toys and sorted them in each individual basket, with the "purses, accessories" in one box and that's where the "pretend" real keys were(old keys we didn't use anymore) and that box was in kathryn's room, and earlier in the day, the kids had dumped all the baskets in kathryn's room and made a big mess (big surprise) but everything stayed in kathryn's room. so this little boy, went in her dark room, climbed up on her bed, crawled to the end where he flower wall light is (ikea) flipped the switch (the light was on when i checked) came back down, rummaged through the mess on the floor to find the keys, then came to open the lock...cuz somehow he knew that the keys opened the lock and he knew how...that is just too smart! i couldn't believe it! i had a good laugh. i guess he learned that from kathryn. a few times i have "locked" myself in the craft room to get something done, and kathryn has come banging on the door asking to come in i tell her no (daniel being right next to her) she says, "ill get the keys" goes to find these keys and voila, unlocks the door...haha. oh geez. i love how smart kids can be. but i guess this is one quality i won't complain about. it could come in handy when there is a crisis, so better they know how to unlock a door than not.

then a few sunday's ago i went to church, a bit late, but we got to sit in sacrament which never happens, of course John was working, so i was by myself, big surprise...(john hasn't had a sunday off since beginning of november) and i actually got a chance to "doll" myself up...makeup, hair fixed, perfume...it was nice to feel pretty. i stayed positive about a wild daniel wanting to run everywhere, and that made all the difference.

that same sunday i got to get a quick visit in with my sis Jenn and check out her awesome scrapbooks (that is one of my priorities this year) to get some ideas. then i went to pick John up from work and i had arranged to get Lydia and have her spend the night. (no school for MLK day) and so we went back home and the kids had fun. they all needed a bath, so they got to go in the master bath tub and they had fun in there. lol.

Daniel kept kicking around and got Lydia excited and he she is getting excited at kathryn. lol.
and of course they were feeding each other. it was so stinkin cute, kathryn would ask Lydia "what you makin" "some noodles and sauce" "oh, may i have some pleaseee" "oh yes," and she would feed her. it was so adorable. then they would get excited about how "yummy" it was.

and daniel meanwhile kept belly floppin in the tub splashin everywhere. here you see how happy he is to do it.

Daniel crawled under the covers and thought he was going to sleep with them. he was so upset when he had to go in his room and be alone. he wanted to be with the girls so bad. he's so cute. he wants to be included.

anyhow, the next morning...daniel woke me up at 9 by mumbling trying to climb in bed, then walking out. but 9 is really late for them, which could only mean one thing...

they had been up to something.

his hands are covered...which means it got EVERYWHERE! what is that you ask? oh, only the 3 CUPCAKES leftover from my Aunt Linda's birthday party, which were hidden in the pantry, and some how Kathryn remembered! shame on mommy for forgetting to close the pantry door the night before!
these pictures were taken with my blackberry hence the poor quality, and the lack of detail. they don't even do justice to what was really there. lol. Lydia appeared clean, but her sleeper is covered, and so is the back of her hair which i didn't get pictures of...i was trying to go quick so i could throw them in the tub!

the instigator that started it all...kathryn also had it in her hair, and i managed to get a shot of it...
since this is blue and daniel had purple hands...this must have been Lydia?? lol it's like solving a mystery in one of those word puzzles...

and it all took place in kathryn's closet. yes, that is a cupcake turned completely upside down...and no, they color didn't come out of the carpet...but oh well...like the burn marks on our linolieum floor growing up, it will be a reminder of what took place here. (HAHAHA) and no we don't keep a broom in kathryn's closet...dunno what they wanted with it! but it got all over her closet walls and walls in her bedroom, luckily the closet painters were lazy and instead of just spraying the shelves white gloss they sprayed the whole closet, so it wiped right off! yay! however, the flat paint we weren't so lucky!

yes, that's right, a tube of toothpaste amongst the rubble...and that would be kathryn. she has an obsession with sucking the toothpaste out of the tube, this was the one in their bathroom, once again, shame on mommy for not putting it up on the shelf where they can't reach...oh wait, i DID put it up on the shelf...and somehow with kathryn so determined to get to it, she got a stool, chair whatever, and reached it. this isn't the first time, it's only like the 3rd full tube she's gone through...hence why it's a travel size. lol. oh, thank goodness she doesn't know where i keep my stash of extra toothpaste!
they also decided to get on her bed with it, and so it was everywhere...
crumbs on the sheets and icing in places you don't even think to look...
and the best part...when daniel came in our room, this chair was in there and he stumbled on it, then left nice little hand prints on our...

sheets. lol. luckily most of it washed out, it was just time consuming trying to clean it all up! but i have taken the blame for this one

this little boy is so funny. he decided he wanted some french fries so he climbed on the table to reach over instead of walking around. lol.

so after cleaning up the mess, Jenni came over with Zeke and needless to say, the kids had SO much fun together, especially on the trampoline. and leave it to Zeke to teach the kids how to get up on the trampoline by themselves...

this was i am assuming Lydia's first time on a trampoline, and it took her a bit to figure out how to jump and keep her balance, but she did good, and she LOVED sitting and being bounced up high when i would jump next to them...the double bounce thing...
i was taking the picture while i was jumping so it didn't come out great, but this is kathryn and Lydia being bounced and as you can see they are so excited! check out lydia's legs together and pointed toes! perfect form lol!

this one is great! i love a good action picture! jenny looks like she's just floating on air. so cool

Zeke loves Daniel. he just has a thing for him, and Daniel loves his attention. they look so cute here.
Zeke was bouncing him around...and Daniel loves it.

Zeke's front flip! woo! luckily none of the other kids wanted to try it! haha.

and of course they loved playing ring around the rosie, and kathryn loves doing it bouncing around in a circle.
jenny was trying to bounce on her booty while holding zeke's hand and Daniel in her arm! lol. Zeke liked it

and i was bouncing with daniel, which is actually quite hard to do... as you can tell by my face, i'm trying to make sure he doesn't face plant into my shoulder...

i wanted a break but he didn't. lol.

and i taught kathryn how to do this^ so Lydia wanted to try it too...so i tried with both of them but it didn't work. basically i stand up hold kathryn's hand who is sitting, and on the count of 3 bounce on my booty and of course they bounce up while i'm down and they try to stand up when the come down, as i come back up...anyhow, kathryn has really figured it out, i'm proud of her! apparently it's harder than i thought.

the boy's attacking Aunt Jenni
more ring around the rosie. they loved it.
all fall down! check out daniel! he really fell back! lol.

so we had a lot of fun with all the kids, and when it was time for Jenni to take Zeke back home, i was telling her, on the next holiday i should take Zeke and let him spend the day with us and he replied "yeah, or in the summer, i could stay the whole year over here cuz i don't have school!" it was cute, like the summer lasted all year or like he would want to stay here for a whole year. lol. it was cute to see how much he wanted to come back and play. i love Zeke and really want him to come around more! so maybe Mardi Gras i can take him.

so another funny story... i was at Corine's house after kathryn got out of school to show her Mimi wasn't home...and while we were there i was fiddling with papers, and she comes up to me and says "i have to pee pee mommy" so i said, "ok gimme a second i'm almost done" and she replied "um, ha bout you give me fruit snacks and i give you a second" (in her kathryn language) i busted out laughing. o, that was is too cute to forget.

she is getting so smart. things she knows i didn't even know she knew...like identifying what letter a picture of a thing starts with! haha. and she sure has a mind of her own. when we pray she knows exactly what she wants to pray about. and she talks to me about what hurts her feelings. lol.

so we mailed our fed tax return off on Jan 29th! wooohoo! i'm glad i didn't do it sooner, cuz turns out we had more to claim than we thought. anyhow, i had done alot of thinkin, and i had decided we could use the tax return to find a 2nd vehicle. i wanted a van for my own reasons, so i started looking. i decided maybe we could look for a cheaper van than we had thought, and i stumbled upon this one van... 2004 Honda Odessey EX-L that was awesome, i mean it had sooo many features and looked clean and had leather seats! easy to clean...but the best part, was the price...i started thinking about it, and realized, if we liked it...we could get it! we would finance it and have it paid off before the first note was ever due. rather than wait for our taxes...they were offering 4000 less than kelly blue book value, so we got it!!!! January 30th! it all happened so fast i can still hardly believe it! it's soo nice. big spacious...i can park in a spot, get out of my seat and walk back to Dan and put his shoes on without ever getting out of the car! and it has a DVD player! perfect for those cross country trips! lol. oh it's great. still getting used to the automatic doors, they have their pros and cons. lol.

oh, and one last thing, i started some seeds. cuz i love to garden, and they are sprouting! yay. i love watching things grow.