The Big 4

Kennedy had a full day of birthday festivities. I loaded the pictures weird so it will be a bit out of order but ah well. Here is Kennedy and her friend Audra at Sweet and Sassy where they got the full treatment (make-up, hair, nails and walking the runway). Nice poses girls! So cute!
You go girl!

Getting a nail "touch up" after the hair.

We invited a bunch of our friends to celebrate with us at night.

Greg entertained the kids with his huge gift that had MANY boxes and ended up being a CTR ring. It was a big hit with the kids!

Kennedy opening gifts from her friends.

Little princess getting her hair done.

I made Ken a little shirt that had a cupcake on the front and a 4 on the back...she worked it!

She wasn't too sure about the beginning of her hair makeover..she kept looking at me with a very concerned face.

Getting her sparkly eyeshadow on.

A lovely day at the spa for two gal pals.

Almost all of Kennedy's toys were outside toys and so we would of course get a HUGE snowstorm the day before her birthday. She played a lot of hopscotch inside.

It is nice that we have hardwood floors because she rode that new bike around as much as she could while avoiding Sophie...who followed her around all day!

Kennedy woke up and saw all the pink and purple decorations and was thrilled. She was so sweet and thankful for all of her gifts. She kept saying that every gift was "what I always wanted Mom." She was spoiled by family and friends. Thanks everyone!

Hernia

My poor little Sophie has a horrible hernia, Kennedy had one also but it fixed itself. I also had two in college that I had to have surgery on. The pediatrician said that it is getting so big it probably won't fix itself so she will have to have surgery on it. I just had to document it with some pictures.

Sweet and Sassy

For Kennedy's birthday she got to invite one friend to go to Sweet and Sassy with her. It is a little salon for girls. They got their nails done, a fancy hairdo and make-up. They even got to walk the runway when they were done. I am soooo tired after all the birthday festivities but I did want to leave this little gem before I went to bed. I will blog and post more pictures later.

Bloggin fool

I am a little out of control with the bloggin here but I had to post the pictures that my brother just sent for Kennedy's birthday. I am so excited about them and can't wait to see her reaction.

Check out more of his amazing art at his website and blog. Thanks Blake!!!

http://www.blakeloosli.com

What's for dinner?

My good friend and neighbor has started a website that I thought I would pass along. Check it out for recipes and dinner ideas. I am really excited for her!

http://www.meals4yourweek.com/

Hoping to Adopt

We have friends in our ward that are hoping to adopt. Here is there information if you know of anyone.

http://www.parentprofiles.com/profiles/au24087.html

https://beta.itsaboutlove.org/ial/ct/eng/site/pregnant/( Click 'View Adopting Family Profiles' Search as a Guest, Search by 'Profile ID' #22242098)

http://tommyandannie.blogspot.com/

annie.tommy@yahoo.com (email them directly)

Weekend in Fruita

We left Wednesday night for Fruita, Colorado to stay with Mike's brother. We brought the kids and Justin, Lacey and their little boy Holden and our friends, Matt, Greg and Jim. The guys went mountain biking in Fruita on Thursday and then Friday they went to Moab. Mike and Jim went on another trail on Saturday after the race. Pictures of their mountain biking are coming. They had a great time and were completely exhausted when it was time to go home. They were all scraped, bruised and sore...I think that is a good sign for a mountain biking trip. Kennedy had a wonderful time hanging out with her cousins and playing non stop! Doesn't she look thrilled? Sophie had fun trying out the trampoline and laughed hysterically when Kennedy bounced her.

Moab Half Marathon

Well I finished the half marathon. It went well until about mile 8 and then I got really sick. I don't know if it was the heat, gatorade or the jelly belly energy beans I took but I had to stick real close to the bathroom from mile 8-13. I did finish though and that was the goal. It took me much longer than I had hoped for and I am hoping to train better and do another one so that I have a pleasant half marathon experience. The race was beautiful and I saw quite a few people that I knew. Sadly this was the best post-race picture.

On the left is my sister in law Kristen and her friend Andrea. We all drove to Moab together the morning of the race. They both finished in under two hours, they did awesome!!!

This is a picture of the finish line, the beautiful mountains in the back and the blossoming trees. This was taken while I was laying on the grass after the race.

Tradition

This morning I told Kennedy that it was St. Patricks day and she wondered why we didn't have clues all over our house like last year and why didn't the leprechaun visit us. So after feeling incredibly guilty I threw a little treasure hunt together after naps. I told her the leprechaun visited while she was sleeping and her friends Mack and Audra helped her read the clues and figure out where the gold was hidden. The ended up in the dryer where the gold, treats and the new Barbie Thumbelina was.
The girls were so funny, they kept asking each other if they thought the leprechaun was still there and whenever they saw a scrap of paper on the floor they thought it was a "clue". While they were coloring at the table I overheard a hilarious conversation they were having. Audra was talking about her Dad and Kennedy said "Oh ya I know Audra, it takes him a whole newspaper to go to the bathroom"

St. Patty's Parade

The fam went downtown this Saturday to enjoy the St. Patricks Day Parade. It was fairly cold in the morning but we still managed to have a great time. Next time we will sit on the sunny side instead of the shady side of the street. The pictures were taken with our new Canon HD video camera, which we love! I have been video taping like a mad woman. Sitting along the parade route
The bagpipers (there must have been 5 sets of these).
Sophie and Daddy.

Kennedy and her trumpet...a present that I regretted buying a few seconds later. But she was feelin' the spirit of the Irish so she was (to be read in an Irish accent).

Check out this cute picture my brother Blake did of my niece Hannah. She is obsessed with horses, just to explain the scene. You should check out his website and his other work too...talented boy! http://blakeloosli.blogspot.com/

My other brother Peter has done some great work for some models needing headshots...check 'em out. http://looslitaken.blogspot.com/

I'll never get that hour back

Horrible, horrible, horrible movie! Mike and I went on a date Friday night. We had a lovely time at Joes Crab Shack, laughing when he hit a guy sitting near us with a shard from his lobster and sharing in our horror at how messy he got as he finished off the large bowl of seafood nastiness. Then we headed to the movie Shopaholic. About twenty minutes in we kept glancing at eachother in horror at the awfulness of this movie. Now you have to understand that Mike can sit through, and usually enjoy ANY MOVIE! We tried to stick it out but left about an hour in...it was soooooo bad!

Projects

I have been breakin in the new sewing machine and so I've made some pajama pants for birthday gifts and some for Ken. We also got this cute sequin iron on that we put on a t-shirt for her. The pajama pants had unicorns on them and we found a silvery iron on to match for the shirt. Doesn't she look thrilled? Sadly this was the best picture we took.
We had the girls over for preschool today. We learned about shamrocks and rainbows. I made green milk and green cream cheese for their english muffins. Kennedy was the only one that would eat the green food. I also told them that we had a Leprechaun visit and he left them a pot of gold...they weren't fallin for it.

The half marathon is not this weekend but next. I ran almost nine miles this past weekend it felt surprisingly good. I run 10-11 this weekend and then do the race. Mike and his buddies all got together tonight and cleaned and tuned up their bikes for their moab bike riding...they are as giddy as little school girls.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam!!!

Kennedy's primary class was chosen as the most reverent this past week. I just wanted to post the picture of them because they are all so darn cute. Funny thing is, when I looked at this picture I thought to myself "I don't remember Kennedy wearing tights last week." Oh she wasn't, her legs really are that white. Michael, Abby, AJ, Kennedy, Annabelle, Rachel, Jackson and Kristen.

Time Out For Women

I got to attend Time Out For Women today. I had a great time, sitting in a row full of fabulous women from my ward, going to lunch and getting a little break from the kiddos. It reminded me of going to Education Week with my mom, aunts and cousins each year. They had really good speakers and despite the over the top and odd comments from a certain musical talent (he kept calling things delicious and being sooooo cheesy) I had a nice time.

I wanted to write down a few things they talked about.
Deanne Flynn spoke about the over scheduled family.
She talked about focusing on what is important and to not busy ourselves or our children with too many things that really don't matter. Make sure we make time for FHE, scripture study, prayer and having dinner together. Take time to focus on time with family, memories and moments instead of spotlight opportunities focus more on service. Do more talking, laughing, reading and playing with our kids instead of running them from one activity to the next.

I liked how she phrased our meeting the savior and asked us if we thought he would be concerned about how many lessons our kids took or if they could sing, play the piano etc. Rather he would be more focused on the time we spent as a family and how we helped our children strengthen their testimonies and learn about the gospel. A quote and poem she also stated were;

"Mothers who know, do less."

Ice cream melts,

Flowers wilt,

The leaves of autumn fall.

Sunsets fade,

Seasons change,

And children don’t stay small.
Balloons pop,

Snowfalls stop—

Do summers last? Never!

Weekends fly,

Today will die,

But … FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

At the beginning they asked us to write down what we know for sure so I thought I would write a few of mine.

1. I know God lives and that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

2. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus are with me through all my joys, sorrows and trials.

3. I know my husband is a very sincere and GOOD person.

4. I know that being a mom is much harder than I thought it would be but that I would not trade it for anything.

5. I know that I was lucky to be born into the church, into my wonderful/hilarious family.

Never a dull moment

On Monday at ballet class the parents got to come in for the last little bit to watch the girls practice their dances. My friend Mary and I were sitting in the front and as Kennedy was dancing she was making the crustiest, sassiest, most annoyed faces like she could not be bothered with this whole "ballet" business. Mary and I were just giggling, what a ham!
Today Kennedy wanted to play doctor and I was in the middle of something so I told her to get her dolls and do "surgery" on them, to which she replied.

"Mom I am giving them up"
"What do you mean your giving them up?"
"I'm giving up my dolls for lent"
"What in the world, how do you know what lent is?"
"Well mom, Audra is giving up Barbies, Mack is giving up pancakes and I am giving up dolls."
What a faithful little Catholic she is...oh wait, we're not Catholic.

Another gem I forgot to mention:
I was eating raspberries and going on about how good this particular batch was so Ken wanted a try, after eating a few she said, "You know you're right mom, they do have that certain something don't they?"

Help

Two questions:
1. I usually love to read but can't get into a book lately to save my life. What is your favorite book? I don't really get into mysteries or sci fi. I love books about any older time period, romance or funny books. My favorite book is The Glass Castle.

2. Kennedy's birthday is coming up and I am stumped as to what to get her. She has plenty of toys and they are taking over the playroom. I was thinking of getting her a new bike but I also wanted to get some outside toys/activities. Any ideas? What do your kids love to play with outside? Also any favorite children's books or movie suggestions would be helpful too!

Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite things...

I have gone through MANY headphones for working out. I hate the little ones that go in your ear, they never stay in and they drive me nuts! I finally splurged and spent a bit more for these Nike Aero sport headphones and I am in love! After having children my hair always falls out and then I get the re-growth that results in short little spikey hairs poking out of the top of my head. I love this Textureline shine goopy stuff. It's not too greasy and it does the trick. I have tried a million of these types of things and this is my absolute favorite. A little pricey but it lasts forever and only takes a little bit to work.

Usually in the summer I don't wear foundation but in the winter when I am pale as all get out and any imperfections seem magnified and scary I like to wear Clinique repairwear foundation. It has spf 15 and I only use a tiny bit and so it lasts a long time.

Do you have any favorite shampoos, make-ups or other products that you love?

What a week.

My parents and niece Sydney came to visit us this weekend and we had a great time with them! We went to build a bear, Casa Bonita, swimming and out to eat. We also had fun just hanging out at home and watching and laughing at the kids. Syd was so sweet to play with Kennedy non-stop, when I would come in and tell them it was time for bed there was an obvious sigh of relief from Sydney. We have really missed having family around so it was nice to have them visit.

Syd and Sophie! Grandpa Terry, Ken, Sophie and Syd.

Here the girls are at Casa Bonita, they look like they could be sisters eh? The restaurant has cliff divers, a cave to wander through and arcade games. They had a great time!

They went through the cave several times, Kennedy even led the way the first few times because Syd, the ten year old, was a little afraid. We made sure we gave her a hard time about that.

Here we are at Build-A-Bear. Kennedy made a pink bear with a wedding dress after trying on at least five other outfits.

This is my very first sewing project on my new sewing machine, using a pattern all by myself. I made a robe for Ken and next we are making a nightgown. All my past sewing projects have been lead by my mom so it was fun to finally figure one out and complete it on my own.

In other news:

-The moab half marathon is three weeks away and I am up to 8 miles. I am hoping to run 10 before the big day. I am nervous and excited, it has been fun to get back into running and it feels great!

-Since the beginning of January I have lost 15 pounds doing weight watchers and training for the half marathon

-Today we got to share in an incredible experience with my good friend Erin. Their family adopted a baby and are at a hospital just down the road from us. They named him Keeler Manuel and he is an absolute doll. We are thrilled for them. We were there just before their kids, twin boy and girl, were headed down the hall to meet their little brother- they didn't even know why they were at the hospital! Such an incredible day. Erin, thanks for letting us be a part of it!

-After attending our ward talent show this weekend Kennedy told me "Mom, I should have sung Apple Bottom Jeans for the talent show" I thought to myself, "it's not really that kind of talent show"

-Tomorrow we are meeting Uncle Ben and g-friend, Aunt Leah and Uncle Nate at the airport for breakfast. They have a long layover on their way to an exotic warm trip (can't remember where). Can't wait to see them!