Lindsey

Cute little Lindsey had her fourth birthday on Tuesday. I cannot believe that my baby is 4 I am kindof freaking out. When she heads off to kindergarten I am going to be an absolute wreck!! Anyway, she had a fabulous day starting with opening her presents at 7:00 a.m. (we didn't have the heart to make her wait until everyone got home from school & work.) You will notice that this is the absolute first thing we did in the morning! Who wants to do their hair & get dressed when there are presents on the table. For dinner it was off to Steak & Shake. This decision made Derek & I very happy, because for days she had been saying she wanted Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner. I don't know about you, but Chuck E Cheese's was one of the last places I wanted to be, so with a little persuading we were able to change her mind. After dinner it was time for cake, Delicious! THANK YOU to all of our friends & family who remembered Lindsey on her birthday & sent cards, packages & made phone calls. We love you!!

Honey Nut Cream Cheese

Yesterday, I was telling my friends that the kids & I made our own honey nut cream cheese. Our family loves cream cheese & bagels & the other day we had bagels but no honey nut cream cheese. Well what is a mother to do in this crisis, but try & make her own. Grayson was skeptical that we could pull this off, but I am pleased to say that we did & it was DELICIOUS. Not only was it delicious, but it was CHEAP. Who doesn't love that? I thought I would share our recipe for any honey nut cream cheese lovers out there.
Honey Nut Cream Cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T honey
1/2 t vanilla
2 T brown sugar
pinch of cinnamon
chopped nuts (I used pecans because that is what we had.)

Put all ingredients in a bowl & mix it. TA-DA you have honey nut cream cheese!!!

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

For a couple of years I have been telling Derek that whenever we go on another trip, it needs to be to somewhere warm where I can just lay on the beach. We like to travel & be able to see & experience new things, and it came to my attention that wherever we go most of the time we are walking through museums, walking around the city, walking from one place to the next, walking...walking...walking. Don't get me wrong I like to walk around & see things, but I was pretty sure that I would also like sitting in the sun on a beach chair drinking a pina colada. Lucky for me I have a husband that listens & likes to plan BIG surprises. So for our anniversary he planned a trip just for the 2 of us to Mexico. Five glorious days of spending time together, eating anything & everything, a little walking (we did want to shop & experience life outside of our resort),massages on the beach, snorkeling & laying in the sun!! It was absolutely fantastic & it was so great to be able to spend time together. I am already looking forward to next time. We are forever grateful to Grandma for flying out & watching the kiddos so we could spend time ALONE!!!
My first time snorkeling, I was a bit nervous!!
Mayan Ruins
Our resort was amazing
Couples massage on the beach. We could have done this all day long!!

Happy St. Patricks Day

You will have to excuse Gray's enthusiasm, he has been home sick for 2 days.
Before I went to bed last night I went to check on the kids to make sure they were safe, covered, etc. When I opened the door Abby rolled over & said, "Mom, Lindsey & I changed into our green shirts for tomorrow so that we don't get pinched in the night!! Leprauchans could be hiding under our beds!!" I told her that was fine, no problem & then Lindsey rolled over & said, "Mom, I don't want to get pinched so Abby & I changed clothes now no one will pinch us!!" This morning when they woke up I asked if they had been pinched. Lindsey said,"Something pinched me on my little toe! How would a Leprauchan get in my bed? I bet he would just climb up. I am going down to check the milk!!" Lindsey is worried about the milk because every year we have sneaky Leprauchans that turn our milk green & our muffins or pancakes green. And sure enough they did it again this year. Abby was so excited about all this green food, that we packed her green muffins & milk in her lunch box.

13 & Counting

Yesterday Derek & I celebrated our 13th Anniversary. I do not know where the time has gone. I cannot believe that we have been married 13 years, that we are the parents of 3 children. It seems like yesterday that we were newlyweds living in Logan, UT. Derek attending Utah State University during the day & working at Gossner cheese at night. I worked at Lewiston State Bank full time & we saw each other on my lunch hour when I would pick him up from school & take him to work. Oh my goodness how things have changed. Now we live in Illinois where Derek works for Takeda & I am a full time mom. We see each other on weekends & some times during the week in between YW, basketball practice, gymnastics, cub scouts, brownies & out of town trips. It has been a wonderful 13 years & I feel so blessed to have Derek, Grayson, Abby & Lindsey in my life.
Then...


Now...


If you ask me, I think we are getting better with age.

Sledding

A couple of weeks ago we went sledding with our friends Shawn & Ashley. I am not a sledder, something happens to all of my coordination when my bottom meets the sled. The first time I went sledding I ended up with a concussion & well there hasn't been a time when I haven't been injured...including this time. This time about 1/2 way down I totally biffed it, unfortunately for me I was able to some how keep heading down the hill. Little did we know that there was a huge chunk of ice under the snow at the bottom of this hill. As I was coming to the end of my ride I somehow biffed it again & hit my knee on this big chunk of ice. It hurt so bad, that when I got up I thought I was going to pass out. I told Gray who had slid down after me that he was going to have to carry my sled back up the hill to dad & Shawn because I couldn't walk (Thanks Buddy). Needless to say I didn't experience going down the hill a second time. Oh sledding...isn't it so much fun!! I will say though that the kids, Derek & Shawn had a blast. The kids were troopers, they loved every minute of sledding in the below zero temperature. Ashley was deemed the designated photographer since she is pregnant & unable to sled. Thanks Ashley for all the great photos.
Cute Little Lindsey

Derek & Shawn
I share this photo only so you can all have a good laugh
Abby screaming in joy & misery
Grayman

My friend Angela sent this video to me & I loved it & thought it was worth everyone else seeing. Instead of e-mailing it to everybody I figured I would try & put it on my blog for your viewing pleasure. So please enjoy The Mom Song.