The Ethington's

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

I have some time to spare and thought I would catch up. Reese is a doll, she will be 7 weeks tomorrow. She is a pretty easy baby, however her and the twins...that's another story. There is not a dull moment in our home, ever! Gavin is such an amazing big brother. He is very helpful and loves holding Reese. Speaking of helpful, I have the most wonderful mother. She is constantly checking up on me and she has gone to the grocery store for me more times than I can count. She also has given me a few nights off when I am alone. She doesn’t read my blog but, I have to publicly thank her.

I love the Holidays and am so excited for Christmas! This year I will be hosting Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day for both sides of the family. To some this might be a bit much, to me hauling 4 kids ( 3 of which are babies) is more work. So I am MORE than happy to host things here.

P.S.

Next year is the year, the year I will participate in the Holiday cards. I say that every year but this time I mean it. I am bound and determine to do so. I will have to take some lessons for Lynn on how to create them. I adored he card this year!

Introducing.....

2011-11-14T14:10:00.001-08:00

So it is about time I introduce our new addition

Reese Adele Ethington

6lbs 15oz 19inches

11-01-11

We are so grateful to have such a beautiful baby girl bless our lives. I am not going to lie, juggling the craziness has been difficult. I am so lucky to have such amazing family! They have been a huge help to me and especially the kids. I also have to say I have an amazing ward! They have brought me dinners for a whole week! Not having to worry about making dinner is a HUGE help. Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful. When I can I will update more..... baby crying :)!

Halloween

2011-11-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

This Halloween was a Star Wars theme for our family (don't they all look cute). Gavin had a blast trick or treating and scored some good candy, which I later enjoyed. The twins enjoyed it for a short period of time. At least they were able to experience it right?! We couldn't be out too long we had a very big event they next day. This post will come soon..... Happy Halloween!

Troy turns 31 and Lincoln and Ameree Turn 1!

2011-10-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, it is evident I’m a blog slacker. I try to remember to take pictures when I can. So my poor husband’s birthday was only documented by my sister in law. At the end of the party she asked why I hadn’t taken any pictures. Again, my mind is not only constantly filled with things I need to get done but, being pregnant makes me forget everything. Thank you Brooke for taking the only pictures I have of Troy turning 31. I don’t think Troy really would care if his aging was documented or not.

For Troy’s birthday (back in July) we had family over for dinner. Followed by my husbands favorite cake, German chocolate. I have to add this is my least favorite cake!

The twins, they turned 1 (in June). Again, I am awesome at blogging. I wasn’t planning on throwing a party since, they wouldn’t remember it anyway. However, my sister said I would later regret this. Honestly, I would have! Lynn, also gave me motivation with he post on Jack turing 1. The pictures were adorable and I knew I had to do a little something. I use “little” lightly, being that Troy has a large family as do I.

I can’t believe they are a year! Time has flown by. It’s a bittersweet feeling, one filled with excitement and fear. Having a 7year old I know how quickly life passes you by. I just forgot how quickly. Good thing in 3 weeks I can start the whole baby process all over again. Yes, 3 weeks and our little Reese will be born. Husband (amazingly helpful), 7 year old (extremely helpful), twin 16 month olds (a little less helpful), and a newborn, piece of cake. Sarcasm, just in case any of you were wondering!

I also need to add, my ADORABLE little man is in 2nd grade this year, SECOND!! I am so proud of him and all that he does.

4th of July

2011-08-11T12:10:00.001-07:00

We were able to escape the heat this 4th of July to some place cool, Pinetop. I love the afternoon rain and of course the view. Our cabin is currently under construction so we rented one with my sister and Giselle. Gavin was so excited because every morning he got to play with Elijah. I was so excited because going with my sister and her family means I get to enjoy Wade’s delicious cooking! It was close quarters but, it worked perfectly.

Although it was a vacation for me I don’t know how much of a vacation it was for Troy, Wade, and especially my dad. The worked liked dogs at the cabin, which is turning out beautifully. I can’t wait to enjoy more time up there when it is all completed.

We drove to Hawley Lake enjoyed some family time and some good old fry bread. This is something I look forward too every time we go up there. I am aware that I could make my own or buy some at the many road side stands however, it is NOT the same. The atmosphere is different and I believe it makes the fry bread taste better.

The boys rented a boat and went to fishing, while we had a picnic by the lake. Mother Nature had other plans and it was moved to the back of the car. No fish to cook that night but the experience will last forever.

It was a wonderful trip filled with great lasting memories. Thank you to the cook, the babysitter, the help, the comedians, and the host. In other words, thanks FAMILY!!!

Catching Up

2011-06-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Time moves too quickly these days! We are FINALLY in our home. As to be expected there are many “little” things (and big) that still have to get done. I lived in my last home for 3 years and when we moved out there were still things left undone. I’m not expecting this to be a fast process. I am however extremely excited to be able to unpack boxes that haven’t been touched in 2 years. I use the term loosely because I am also scared for what has been living in them. Throughout my box opening adventure I have come to realize I keep way too many things. Next step, I need to have a massive garage sale. So that is what I am trying to do. I have a slight feeling it’s going to take me awhile.

For Easter I was able to visit both families. We have a true Lebanese dinner at the Saba’s, it was delicious! We then headed over to the Alvarez’s side for some more food (of course) and family time. It was a wonderful day!

Other events included Gavin turning 7 ! I can’t believe how big he is getting, he grows up too fast. We had a small family dinner at home on the day of his birthday. I made a cake and let Gavin choose what he wanted for dinner, he picked Rubio's. For his 7th birthday he went camping with Troy, Travis, and Kaden. Troy surprisingly didn’t take any pictures, but said Gavin had a terrific time. I packed a cake and candles so they could have a celebration in the forest! He came home exhausted and dirty but couldn’t stop talking about all the fun he had.

Gavin also had his first grade end of the school year performance. He did awesome and all their songs where original. They put together a great performance!

Lincoln and Ameree will turn 1 in a few short weeks! I am so excited and devastated at the same time. Why does time fly so fast!!!! I guess I will be able to do all over again come November. As most people know we are going to have another baby. I am going to loose my mind having 3 children under 2. I’ll be eager to know how it all works out!

Stuff and More Stuff........

2011-03-02T13:56:00.001-08:00

Time seems to fly by so incredibly fast these days. The twins are now 8 months old and growing! Troy and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in none other then Disneyland. I have to say this was NOT my husbands idea. In fact, he hates Disneyland! I am sooo obsessed with it, that our honeymoon took place at Disneyworld. Originally our plan was to go to Sedona but, we got invited on a trip to the magic kingdom that I could not refuse! Since my husband was such a good sport I deiced to go on Screamin California and The Tower of Terror. I probably have one of the worst stomachs of anyone I have ever met. Sure enough, I threw up after the roller coster! At least I tried right?! Troy of course said, “I knew you were going to get sick.” I did it all in the name of love!!! We were also able to see the new World of Color show in California Adventure. It was amazing!! I can’t believe that one, someone can come up with that and, two that they are able to put it all together so flawlessly. It was a great trip.... expect for the hotel, NEVER stay at Hotel Menage! First what an awful name and second it was like entering a club in the 80’s! Nice members only jacket, dude! I forgot my camera so these are the only pictures I took on my phone (not the greatest)!

For Valentine's Day, I deiced to make a red/pink inspired meal. I tried to think of all the food I could dye red. So, I came up with pink twice bake potatoes, pink butter for rolls, and red meat. I know not really the healthiest meal I could make but, Gavin loved it! My sister however, said that twice baked potatoes have never looked less appetizing.

In January, I was able to go to Virginia and see Lynn. I was so excited to see the whole Halladay family. Virginia is beautiful and the weather was something I was not prepared for. I must have been the only person who got off the plane in open toed shoes. Not my brightest moment! I have seen all the sights in D.C. before so it was relaxation time. We shopped, had a day at the spa, and ate at the Nordstroms cafe a lot. I am obsessed with the salad’s there. I also got to see where Jake goes to school, George Town. It is an amazing school, the building is just breathtaking! Seriously, a phenomenal trip. I am so glad the I have a wonderful husband and family that watched over my kids so I could spend some much needed time with a great friend. I have to thank the advanced in technology, I was able to face time with Troy and the kids throughout the trip. It definitely helped with my homesickness!

I have zero pictures from New Year's Eve but, I would like to say we were able to have one amazing fire work show. I mean HUGE fireworks! Thanks to my husband who bought the giant fireworks in New Mexico. The kids all loved them expect, when Gavin was worried about his dad getting arrested. This was because in Gavin’s words “They’re way la legal.” Thank heavens that the cops were to busy arresting drunk drivers to bother with some guys setting off fireworks. What a show!!!

I never posted last month, so this month I have to catch up. Lincoln still out weights Ameree. It better stay this way! Lincoln is army crawling everywhere and just today started to do the “regular” crawl. Ameree is the most observant baby ever. She picks things up and just studies them. It is so neat to really see the difference between a boy and girl. She has made little attempt to crawl. Although now she is getting mad because she wants to go. No teeth yet... this is not surprising since Gavin was 14 months old when he broke his first tooth. Gavin of course is an amazing and helpful bother and little boy. Expect I am not allowed to call him a little boy. I love him, he really has a heart made of gold!

So for now that is all, hopefully next time I post it will be from my new house! I was planning to be in there last June, October, end of January, beginning of March, and now the second week in April. Oh, how I love my husband!!!!!

Christmas

2011-01-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

We had some great celebrating in the last couple of weeks. First with Christmas Eve, which was wonderful! I sadly did not have Gavin this year but I know he had a wonderful Christmas Eve as well. This year we were able to again engorge ourselves on my grandmas ravioli’s. The recipe is classified and one of the best by far. We all got together a week before to help make them. However, my grandma is very particular about the way she does things so she of course did most of the work. It is a sight to see a such a small frail old women rolling out dough. She works at a quick and exhausting speed, it’s amazing. On Christmas Eve we all were able to partake in her labors. I can’t describe how delightful this dish is, so I’m not going to try.

Aaron and Briana

The best aunt in the world!

Lance and Anna

Billy and Ameree

My darling Grandpa

Shocking as it is the twins did not make it until midnight to open their gifts. We were able to grab a few photo sessions in before they hit the sack. Giselle got these adorable little hats for them, I just want to eat them! We ate, played some seriously hysterical games, and just enjoyed each others company. Thank you to all my family members who help put such an amazing night together, can’t wait until next year!

So cute, thanks Giselle!

I tired to tell Troy that this year we are not to get gifts for each other, kids only! This not only helps the budget but selfishly helps me from having to search far and wide for a gift. Troy is the HARDEST person to shop far. Not only does he have almost everything he wants but, if I were to try to get him something he would tell me he could have bough it cheaper on craiglist. This to my dismay, is very true. He is always getting the best deal on everything and is such a bargain shopper. It really counterbalances me but, I am learning. Anyway, in passing he had mentioned something about wanting an iPad (followed by “I am sure I could find a good deal on criaglist”.) Being that he is always using mine, I decided to make an executive decision and get one FROM Gavin for Christmas. I took Gavin with me to pick it out, that was my first mistake! I told Gavin repeatedly not to tell daddy what we bought him. Later the next day I get a text message from Troy that said, Gavin spilled the beans, take it back. Apparently Gavin said “Daddy can you hand me the i...... Oh I almost said what we got you for Christmas.” My dear sweet little Gavin, oh how I love him! Obviously, I did not take it back and Troy did not follow my “kids only” rule!

Troy’s surprise face!

Ameree loves Gavin

Gavin so excited about his gift from Santa

Christmas was Breakfast at the Ethington’s and lunch at the Alvarez’s. More amazing moments and time shared with family. I am so grateful to be blessed with so many wonderful people in my life! I love each and every one of them!

The twins are now 6 months! Lincoln is on the verge of crawling any day. He mostly army crawls everywhere! Amee is perfectly content just watching him move. Lincoln loves feet any chance he gets he will play with Amee’s feet! He weights 17lbs 3oz and Ameree is 14lbs. Lincoln also has two teeth coming in! I can’t believe how much they have grown. These photo shoots are getting harder and harder :)!

Merry Christmas....

2010-12-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

For years I have been promising myself that I would send out a Christmas card. Yet again, another year has come and I am Christmas cardless. So this is as much as a card I am doing this year but..... next I swear :)!

Merry Christmas,

Love The Ethington’s

5 Months!

2010-12-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

First of all, I can’t believe that it is almost Christmas and that my babies are 5 months. I can’t handle how quickly time has passed! In keeping with order I will start with Thanksgiving. What a crazy/enjoyable day of family hopping (most of which was alone)! We started off at the Saba’s where I distended my stomach muscles almost to the point of no return. Seriously, some of the best food! Troy and my father had to leave after dinner for an important date with an Elk. I mean Elk don’t wait, do they. The moment you receive that blessed tag form the department of game and fish you have to take advantage of it, right. Well, according to my lovely husband and father you do. I would like to add this is still where the two are camped out. Only one Elk so far, which means it’s not over until there are two dead.

Pressing on, after the Saba’s was dessert at the Alvarez’s and games, followed by bow making at the Ethington’s and more dessert. It’s Thanksgiving no judgement here (except by the scale the next day.)It wasn’t that bad alone since I have so much family that are like baby vampires. They can smell them coming to the front door and are anxiously awaiting to rip them from my hands. My sweet Gavin wasn’t with me this year but, did inform me he had an AWESOME sleep over and roasted marshmallows with his cousin. It was comical as he tried to explain to me what roasting marshmallows was. When we picked him up he had to show me his Evil Canevil skills on the bike. He pedals as fast as he can and then turns sharply, stopping with his foot so that you can see he screeching tire marks! All I could see was a head injury waiting to happen.

Unfortunately, I have zero pictures from Thanksgiving. Here are some of Lincoln and Ameree at 5 months. Things I want to remember....

Lincoln-

You have the cutest joker smile. Your laugh is so captivating and raspy I might add. You out weigh you sister by 3 lbs. You look just like your dad with mommy’s skin and hair color, so in essence perfect! You roll all over the place and have figured out how to soothe yourself but sucking your thumb raw! You sleep on your stomach and know how to get what you want.

Ameree-

Your cry melts your dad’s heart and he spoils you! You have the cutest open mouth smile. You are such a happy little girl, also one of the most beautiful (I know I am bias.) You also have the most sensitive stomach (my fault). You were the first to roll over by a week (4 months). You cry HUGE alligator tears that are so hard to bear. You have no hair, you’re my bald eagle!

Gavin-

You are a great big bother, and son. You have such a big heart, and always willing to help me in the house or your dad outside. A little reluctant when it comes to throwing baby diapers away (I don’t blame you though.) You say the funniest things! I love it when I ask you to do things you respond by saying, “You got it mom!” You use words you don’t know the meaning of but in the correct context and then ask me what it means.

Halloween and Another Month older!

2010-11-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

So this years Halloween was really low key but just as fun. I searched high and low for costumes for the twins and Gavin. Gavin had his heart on being an evil jester, much to the dismay of my sister. Unfortunately, the costume only came in size 8-10. Yeah.... that’s not even going to kinda work. So we opted for another scary choice, a mix of the grim reaper and a mask. Who really knows what to call it but Gavin loved it of course. On Friday night I braved the trunk or treat by myself, since my husband was gone for the second time in two weeks. It wasn’t that bad and we were able to score with some of my favorite candy. I went to Costco and picked up two huge bags of candy for the event, thinking there would be plenty but I was wrong! I was wiped clean! That’s a good thing because I would have eaten the remainder. On Sunday we went over to my aunt’s house to eat, pass out candy, and roast marshmallows. Gavin and the twins loved it! That’s a lie the twins passed out cold after they ate but, I loved dressing them up!

Lincoln still out weights Ameree by a good 4 lbs. Ameree has the saddest cry ever and it’s hard not to rush to pick her up. My brawny boy Lincoln has a very mad cry or a “you just cut my arm off” cry. I love to hold them and make them laugh! They both smile constantly. Linc has a joker like smile while Ameree has an open mouth smile. THEY’RE ADORABLE! Every day I see Lincoln looking more and more like his dad.... who I think is so cute!! Especially when Troy hold him up to his face! Ameree still melts her dad’s heart and I am really worried she will get away with anything. Guess I will have to be the strict parent! Gavin is loving school and soccer, well most days. Troy went hunting a few weeks ago and Gavin was devastated that Troy would even think about going camping without taking him. The whole time Troy was gone Gavin kept telling me “Daddy shouldn’t be gone this long, I miss him!” Every day I would have to tell him how many days until his return. Troy planned to be gone a solid 4 days but to my surprise he retuned at 4 am on day four. He said he missed us too much! I think he missed his kids more then me, but that’s okay!

3 months

2010-09-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well, today the twins are 3 months old. I can’t believe how time flies! They are growing like weeds. Lincoln is almost out of 3 months clothes and Ameree will be in them for a while longer. When one of them is crying the other one will usually sleep through it. Even when Lincoln punches Ameree in the face. She is going to be one tough cookies with two older brothers. Sometimes I take one out of the crib and the other one will notice. I think the sense each other. They both smile a ton and have the cutest smiles. They love their big bother Gavin, and he loves to entertain them. Who would have thought?! I have also started to make Amee’s bows. This is one, because bows are too expensive and two, so that I’m able to have one for every outfit. This is not an easy task for me! I am not very good at it, and tend to get hot glue every where. My wonderful husband thinks I am insane. He doesn’t like bows that cover half of her head, and wants me to make them smaller. I have no idea why he wouldn’t, oversized things have been in since 2000, get on board honey! Needless to say I am trying not to make it look like a growth from my daughter’s head.

In their lifetime they have taken two trips to cooler places. We went to the cabin and the Ethington reunion. My husband has taken several trips too, 3 to be exact. I use the term trip loosely, although he is planning two more hunting trips for the next two months. Please don’t mistake my tally of these vacays to mean I am upset because I’m not, honest :)! No worries, I will take some of mine own, once I am not a slave to my pump! We have been chugging along quite well. Although they take up all of my time the twins are pretty easy babies. They sleep through the night and take good naps. They are cute and happy and I love them!

Gavin is in soccer again but has had to sit out last week because he had pneumonia. I thought he was fine and just had a little cold but I was wrong. The poor kid sounds like he had been hacking up a lung. He is doing much better though, thank heavens. This year Gavin is the luckiest kid on the team, both of his dad’s are his coach. Ryan is the coach and Troy is the assistant coach. He is doing well, and playing his usual defense. I swear that kid is the best goalie. That is Gavin’s strategy and he plays it well.

The Ethington Reunion

The Twin's Belssing

2010-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

On September 5th we blessed Lincoln and Ameree. It was such a special and eventful day! Troy spent most of the morning preparing himself for the blessing. I of course spent most of the morning getting children and myself ready. Which, now becomes a task in itself. There was other blessing that was also taking place that day however we were scheduled to go first. As I am sitting there waiting, I get this overwhelming smell. Yep, Linc decided this would be the perfect time to do me a solid (pun intended). So I run out to change him as fast as possible and happened to walk in right as they were saying okay I guess we will do the other family first. It all worked out and Troy gave two amazing blessings. When Troy held Ameree up at the end of the blessing everyone said she looked like an angel because you couldn’t see Troy’s hand with her puffy dress. I have the cutest kids!!

After the blessing we went over to my parents house for a lunch. I have to first thank my amazing family for having everything put together by the time I got there. It looked so yummy!!! Thank you all so much!! My aunt made cupcakes for the occasion and they were delicious, everything she makes is delicious! While getting everything ready my mother in law and Kristen took some bags of ice to my parents freezer. Unfortunately, my mother in law slipped and did something to her back. So we had to call the ambulance. So that was very eventful, thank you Dr. Vance for helping my mother in law!

It really was such a wonderful day! I love to have all my family around me and appreciate all that they do for us. Thank you so much!

2 Months and a Little More.....

2010-09-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

It has already been two months! Time just flies by! Amee (our nickname for Ameree) is 9lbs 1oz, far ahead is Linc at a whopping 11lbs. Who do you think takes after Troy? Lincoln is already rolling over from stomach to back, he has been doing this for about two weeks now. He is ridiculously strong and has to eat all the time. My sweet little girl can go forever without eating. This however is a problem because she is only in the 10th percentile she needs to pack on the pounds. If only someone would tell me that, I would feel a lot better about myself.

They are actually really good babies and sleep usually from 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. Most of time it is Linc who is starving in the morning. My life revolves around changing diapers, pumping, and feeding. I run on a 3 hour clock which just seems to fly by.

Gavin is doing okay in first grade. We have had a little (I use the term lightly) problem talking. Apparently, my kid is tied for first place for talking. I have no idea where he gets his social skills. He is learning to save his stories for the playground (sort of). He is a class clown and loves attention?! No not my kid! I have no idea where he gets it, this is NOT in his genetic make-up! On the bright side the teacher does say what a kind person he is and helpful. A quality that Gavin has always had and one that is most important in my eyes. I love him!!

About a month ago we did a newborn photo shoot and it turned out great. It took about 4 hours, and by the end I was loosing my mind. I also must have lost about 5 pounds of water weight just being there because it felt like a sauna. The photographer told me it helps the babies stay nice and cozy during the shoot. It really did and it was so worth it! I love my kids and loved that Camille was able to capture such precious moments!

Moments

2010-08-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

So I missed a few moments of life.... I can’t imagine why, and want to catch up on them. First my wonderful husband turned 30!!! This is a huge event, or would have been a much bigger one if I wouldn’t have had twins two weeks before! I wanted so badly to throw a big party for him but just couldn’t pull it all together. I did however try to throw a small party, which he informed me he didn’t want. So it was just family and a night at the Cheesecake Factory. I promise at some point in his life I will throw a surprise party for him. I deem myself a bad wife for messing up that but, Troy a party ruiner (not a real word) for messing up my unsurprise party. Oh well, life goes on!

Right before we left for that party I thought we should have a little boy photo shoot. Looking back on the wonderful men in my life, I can’t help but notice how much one has grown in just a month. No not Troy, Lincoln (haha so funny)!

Another milestone was my baby boy went to 1st grade!! I was torn up and still cry when thinking about how big he is. He switched schools this year so I was worried how he would like the change. The school is so close that Troy and I were able to walk as a family to take him. On the way to school he met up with a boy in a ward and we all walked together. Standing there waiting for the bell to ring was a moment I was terrified of. I was so overwhelmed by the system and, didn’t know how Gavin would handle it all. The bell rung and all the kids lined up and started the walk to class. Even though the teacher asked us to say good bye at the playground, I did not. I actually walked all the way up to the door where the teacher stood there and said “All right, see you later.” Am I am overprotective mother, yes! Do I not let go very well, yes! Do I care that I seem crazy, no! Will Gavin one day love me for it, probably not but it’s okay!

When Gavin got home he said that the day was long but good. I wanted him to just go off on every detail about school but he didn’t! I have been trying to make him do this everyday since school started but have had no luck! I don’t think this will change and most likely an indication of our future conversations throughout jr. high and high school. I guess I will have to pry myself into his life!

Funny story I don’t want to forget so I need to write it down. I know kids can be mean and it breaks my heart when I even think about someone being mean to Gavin. I do know this will happen throughout his life and I will die a little bit inside each and every time it does. However, I will teach him not to care or be mean back. Gavin told me some kids were playing Star Wars on the playground and he and his friend asked if they could play. In which the mean little boys said “no, we don’t know you.” Then they started to walk away from Gavin and his friend. Gavin then started to follow them and said “haha, you got followed.” I was cracking up when I heard this story but, told him not to do that. I said just say okay too bad, would have been fun. I am just happy he handle it in such a hysterical way! My kid is awesome and I love him!

Here are a few pictures of the twins because, I love them too (and they're so CUTE!!!)

First Month

2010-08-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I recently have lacked the time it takes to sit down and write a post, so I am going to do as much as I can in a short amount of time. I still have past post to do so I will be back posting soon. In the 5 weeks so much has changed for the better. Lack of sleep and time aside it has been so rewarding. Gavin is an amazing big bother and I love seeing him with them. He of course likes Lincoln more then Ameree however, in the words of Gavin he “wants to eat them up!” Not only was this pregnancy easier than any other these babies sleep better at night then Gavin did. I also have a wonderful husband that gets up with me. This is very important being that the few night feeding I have done by myself it takes about and hour and half to complete. Now don’t be mistaken I have had many breakdowns and moments filled with tears but, it comes with the territory. I might be giving away TMI but trying to get enough milk for these babies is a story within itself. I have to say thank you to the doctors that informed me the my daughter has acid reflux. I am grateful to know that this is why she spits up and seem so sad when she eats. On the upside he also informed me that I have to limit my milk, wheat, and, peanut intake. This left me with a wondering question...... “What will I eat?!?!” I am not as good at following this as I should be but, I am trying. I also hate baby acne which right now both my kids are suffering with. I only hate it because I have always enjoyed popping pimples and it is a huge temptation not to do this. I will admit I popped one!

Moving on we have taken the kiddos on two major trips thus far. We went to our cabin, which was so relaxing, cool, and raining the whole time. We also traveled to California to see baby Jack. Lincoln’s best friend and Ameree’s husband. The cabin was so much fun and the kids loved the weather. We took several drives in the rain and just relaxed. We also ate ourselves to death, thanks to my awesome bother in law. This was just what a post pregnant mother needs :)! We took them to Hawley Lake and enjoyed good old fashion Indian fry bread. I know I talk about food a lot (this is explains so much to me) but who invented deep frying bread and adding honey and powder sugar on top, is my best friend!

During one of our night feedings at the cabin I heard someone outside our bedroom. I asked Troy to go look and he said he saw nothing. Then there was a huge crash and I ran to see who was out there. Standing in front of my car was a huge black bear helping himself to our leftovers. It was so awesome to see and my husband ran outside to chase it away. So my father gathered all our trash up and tried to seal the lid. Then following night he came back and left a HUGE present right behind my car. I don’t want to post the picture for fear some might find it repulsive but, it was bigger then my foot and I have big feet! I was o glad we went and thankful to have a enjoyable place to escape to whenever I need to (I don’t take advantage of this enough)!

Our other trip to California was to welcome baby Jack and see him blessed. Also, Lynn is moving to Virginia and although I plan to go visit her, it is a little more difficult. I am so happy I we went and it was great because for the most part all three babies were on the same schedule. Yep thats right, THREE little babies in one house! Really is wasn’t bad at all, at least I didn’t think so but I am use to multiple babies crying at once.

Jack’s blessing was so special and he looked too cute for words. After the blessing we did a little photo shoot and as you can tell from the picture, Jack was hungry and was confused by Ameree’s head! It was adorable! I am so blessed to have such a great friend and so grateful we were able to share such a important times in our lives together. Being able to welcome our babies within a few short weeks of each other was amazing. It is always nice to call someone with concerns and they know exactly what you are feeling, thanks Lynnard!

So that about sums up month one, I am sure we will have many more things to post about in the following months.

The Twins!!

2010-07-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

In the waiting room of the hospital, I love this picture!

First bath, don't they look thrilled?!

So now that the twins are officially two weeks old I need to find a moment to tell the story about their birth. On June 28th at 1 pm Troy and I went to the hospital for my schedule c-section. I have to say I think it is great to know exactly when their ETA was, due to the fact the I have a 6 year old. All went smoothly but I tend to get extremely nauseous and had to be given extra medication that made me really sleepy. In the operating room Troy came over to show me the twins and I was so out of it that I said, “Something must be wrong with my eyes I am seeing two?” In each my husband informed me because there is two. I was also informed that Ameree had a full on knot in her umbilical cord?! How in the world that happened I don’t know. While they were sewing me up I asked where did my husband and the twins go? The nurse told me that they went to get something done (I don’t remember) and that my husband went with them, then she said that I think your husband is just a little overwhelmed. “Oh, because he is crying?” Yes, she said, and I told her well that is just my husband. Troy was overcome with so much emotions he could barely smile ( I thought about posting that pic but, I don't think he would like that so much). This is something I admire about Troy, you can cut his arm off and he wont shed a tear but, when it comes to his children he is a little baby.

We spent four days in the hospital and had many visitors. Thank you all who came to visit and share that moment with us. Gavin came several times and only wanted to hold the boy. This does seem odd being that Gavin loves the ladies! He was adorable with them and was so excited to be a big brother. While in the hospital they come around and take pictures of the newborns and over the years they have really stepped this photography session up. We were able to make Gavin and officially big brother button. The twins also bought Gavin an awesome Nerf gun Wii game. This was a big hit when we got home!

It was such a great fulfilling experience and I am so glad to have two more adorable additions to our family!!!

Welcome Lincoln and Ameree!!!

2010-07-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Dean

6/28/10

3:20 pm

5 lbs 15 oz

19 1/2 inches

Ameree Denne

6/28/10

3:21 pm

5 lbs 5 oz

19 1/4 inches

We are so excited! I will write all the details when I have had more sleep!

Baby Shower...... THANK YOU!!!

2010-06-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

I don’t even know where to start for this particular post. I first need to express my overwhelming appreciation to all those who helped with my baby shower. I had one of the most beautiful showers of all time. It was such a spectacular day and to be honest a very emotional one too. Not only am I pregnant and emotional all the time, it was just a wonderful fulfilling moment. In case you can’t tell yes that is Lynn and I crying as we try to take a picture together. This is because it is the first time and most likely last time we will be pregnant together. Also, we have been though so much it was an overwhelming joyful moment.

My aunt Liz (I have said it before and will say it again is AMAZING) made the most perfect cake. She had such a talent! You can’t deny it, the cake is exquisite! I have such remarkable friends who did the decorations. Lynn came up with the idea, where she gets these ideas are beyond me! My sister in law and mother in law put together this adorable candy bar as the favors. I later found out that they hand pick out all the pink and green m&m’s! My unbelievable sister, mother, aunts, cousins, and in laws brought the food. I am a huge fan of appetizers and requested a few! I can’t forget about my dad and bother in law who helped set up tables. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

I am so fortunate to have such awesome and loving people in my life. This pregnancy has been a long time coming and I am so grateful for all the support in my life. If I don’t stop this post soon I wont be able to finish it because I am already welling up!

We are just a little emotional

My beautiful sister

I cried while I was opening the gift.... EMOTIONAL!!

Christmas 09'

2010-06-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

This year for Christmas we decided we would make capalletti’s. They were delicious as to be expected. I honestly have to say my family makes the most phenomenal food. We are so blessed to have such amazing cooks! We all got together to make the main dish at my aunt Liz’s home. Being pregnant I had to have some during the process because I am like a ravenous pig at times. The result, a happy and full pregnant women. It was a wonderful time together. Having the women in my family helping makes you really appreciate one another. There are many times throughout life that are embedded in my mind and this makes the list.

Christmas Eve was amazing and full of love. After enjoying the scrumptious meal we gathered around the family room for some stories and games. We always try to wait until midnight to open any gifts, which is huge challenge for the kids. After which we enjoy stuffing ourselves more with dessert. It is filling just thinking about the amount of food we eat. It was a lovely Christmas Eve with wonderful family.

Gavin helped me make Christmas cookies for Santa and dessert. As you can tell I did not make home made cookies, it is was a lot easier to have Gavin help this way. So when we got home from Christmas Eve we set the cookies out and went to bed. As usual we had to wake Gavin up for Santa. This could be because we stay up so late the night before. Gavin was so excited for his gifts but, to be honest he always likes the small gifts the best. I really love this about him! Don’t misunderstand me he definitely enjoys his larger one too but he was more excited about candy land and a foot ball then his razor.

Troy bought me a rug doctor for Christmas which was so thoughtful, being that I have been wanting a professional carpet cleaner forever. Oh how life changes as you grow up, I now am more excited about new cleaning products and amazing ways to clean them then anything else. That is most likely because cleaning is all I seem to do these days!

It was another great holiday!!!

Santa left a note for Gavin on the tree

Priceless expression

Halloween 2009

2010-06-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

Trying to catch up again!! Last year I didn’t have Gavin for Halloween but was able to take him to my parents Halloween party at their ward. Since I wasn’t planning on trick or treating I never bought a Halloween costume for Gavin. So, last minute I had to run to my favorite Halloween store and pick one up. I have to say I think it was one of the cutest costumes! My kid looks so adorable as Maverick and I love aviator glasses!

We took Elijah with us and the boys had some fun before we left. I bought each of them their weapon of choice at the store! Boys will be boys and they spent most of their time play fighting with their bloody knifes. I personal find it hilarious although so might not :)!

Easter 09' and 10'

2010-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Since I am incredibly awesome at posting I am now having to make up for it by posting two Easter’s in one. I can’t miss anything or I know I will regret it later down the road. First Easter of 09’.

We had Easter at my aunts house which of course was lovely. It wasn’t our Easter with Gavin but my awesome family waited until we picked him up later that day to have the hunt. As usual in our family we had an abundance of eggs and only a few children to hunt. Oh well, I guess the adults can help the kids out by eating some of their candy (what a shame)! I have to be honest I am having a hard time remembering what happened that year. I do remember a few days before Gavin got a huge goose egg on his head from falling off a couch. I wasn’t there so I don’t know the whole story but I do remember being told it was a bad fall. Poor kid! I am sure the massive amounts of candy he got made up for the minor mishap.

This Easter again was at Lynette’s house. I usually swap holiday’s with my mothers side however, being the I am pregnant I had no energy and didn’t that much I just stayed put. Our family grew a lot this year! My cousin Chase got home from him mission in Spain last November and all my little cousin got boy/girlfriends. While one this subject my little cousin Briana just got hitched on May 14th and, Chase and his girlfriend just got engaged. I am sure with all these new people and this includes my babies next Easter will be one for the books.

Getting back to this Easter....

The kids had a blast and again too many eggs. I really have to blame this on myself, I always buy too many because for some psychotic reason I am worried that there wont be enough?! This over obsessive behavior will one day come in handy, I promise! As we were hiding the eggs my brother in law thought it would be fun to make the hunt more challenging this year. So he hid the eggs is some extremely difficult places. So difficult in fact he had to throw the egg on top of a drain. Some how it didn’t roll off! However as genius as an idea as this was we knew no one could get the egg. So with a little help from my husband Wade was able to finally retrieve the egg. By the way no one in the family could believe that how he got the egg up there. Honestly he threw it and it didn’t roll!

Another great Easter and a very special one at that! Thank you to the wonderful cooks in my family and the amazing company!

Saba's Grand Opening in Queen Creek

2010-05-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last year Saba’s opened another location up in Queen Creek. They had a big party for the grand opening, with food and everything. Of course we went to support the store. Gavin loved dressing up like a cowboy, what little boy wouldn’t right? After getting fully dressed in cowboy attire we enjoyed some good old fashion cowboy food. By the way my son wanted to wear his boots, hat, and jeans everyday after that. It was a great day and the kids loved every moment!

Just FYI be careful if you are zipping up your little boys cowboy jeans. I accidentally made a mistake that I personally could never comprehend the pain I caused. No worries all was okay but I did get the fifth degree from a few men in my family.

Gavin's soccer 09'

2010-05-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 09’ Gavin (I have to say it felt more like summer), completed another round of soccer. The previous year he was in Gilbert and last year we enrolled him in the Chandler league. I love watching him play sports, I can deem myself a soccer mom! He had and amazing coach and a great season.

In case you are wondering why he is the only one wearing a 1980’s white headband, it’s because he liked it. It was so adorable and at times slightly distracting but none the less super cute. I am hoping to enroll him again this fall and trying to find a indoor league for the summer. I love watching and supporting but not in 115 degree weather and with two newborns.

My sunshine

I think he looks so cute standing this way

Apparently he and the coach were deep in conversation

Gavin turns 5.... (although he is now 6)

2010-05-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is Gavin's 5th birthday party at Grandma's Lorraine's home. Yes, I know he has already turned 6 and I will be posting those pictures after this weekend. Anyway, his 5th birthday was awesome. Tons of family and friends came to eat and watch the kids play on the water slide. My aunt (as always) made Gavin's cake, his request a motorcycle. Boy oh boy does she know how to deliver!

After a good old fashion water balloon toss the kids, followed by the grow ups had a donut eating contest. We were able to score some of my husband's favorite donuts from Krispy Kreme (thanks Claire)! FYI by the time the party started a whole box had already been eaten?!?! I wonder who was responsible for that :) ! Gavin's party happened a little while after my bother in law's horrible accident, where he fell off a cliff. So at the party his mouth was still wired shut. However the temptation of a Krispy Kreme seemed too difficult to resist and he had to take one off the string during the game. How he manged to eat it was a task in itself.

It was a wonderful party and a sad reminder that my little boy keeps getting older. I cry about this all the time by the way, I really wish I could lock him in a time capsule and he would stay my little boy forever!! I know I am really weird but what can I say, I just love him so much!!

I'm Back!!!

2010-05-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, this process might take me awhile. Being that I have not updated my blog in some time I have a lot of catching up to do and might need a few (hundred) posts do to so. So here it goes......

So what has happened in the last two years? First Troy and I moved!! A much needed moved I might add. No more 45 min drives and excessive gas bills, over the top mileage, and trying to stay awake while driving home. We were able to move close to our families and friends, just in time I might add. The whole process started when Troy was helping some people move in down the street from us. We have wanted to move for some time at this point but, our house was not on the market. Troy half joking half serious said “if this doesn’t work out for you let me know, we want to move from our home.” Roughly about two weeks later they called and asked us if we were still interested. Without much hesitation we were out a month later! I took an abundance of photos just so I would always remember our first home together.

For fear of writing a novel I will sum up the rest of the story. We moved into my parents house while we looked for a home. The moved happened relatively fast and I am picky so we needed more time to find a place. Finally a month later we found a house. It just so happened to be the a home Troy’s grandfather built some 27 years ago!! Needless to say a lot of work needed to be done! So the small remodel that was only going to take about 2 months, has changed into almost a year long rebuild! Oh well, I have enjoyed the ride! Our potential move in date is October, YEA!! I only say potential for my husband’s sake but, if this drags on any longer I will pull my hair out!! I can’t blame the entire thing on Troy, apparently getting a permit this day and age takes months. Why, I have NO CLUE!!! But come October I will be home in my forever house happy and healthy so that it what really matters.

On to other news, stories, holiday, birthdays, and major life changing events. Troy and I are expecting twins the end of June! We are elated along with the rest of our family and friends. After such a roller coaster it is nice to be expanding our family by two in one shot. Gavin can’t wait to be a big bother and tells my belly “I’m your big bother!” I told him he needed to shout because they can’t hear well right now. It truly is so adorable and sweet! We are having a boy and a girl which came as a shock to me. I thought as well as the “necklace” thought we were going to have two boys. I made my peace with never buying cute girl clothes and moved on. However much to my surprise (although not my husband’s apparently) we found out it was one of each. I went to my mother in laws house later that day and my sister in law had already bought the cutest dress for her and a adorable outfit for him. Needless to say I cried and couldn’t believe I was really having one of each.

So far those are our most recent events. Now I do fully intend to make a blog book so I can’t forget to catch up on everything. My plan is to start with start posting pictures, even if they were taken a year ago and write a little about each one. So here I go...

Fun Weekends!

2008-10-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am desperately trying to pull myself to the computer to post more, but lately I hate the computer and can’t stand the Internet. This feeling exists because of several reasons one my computer is alarming slow (which I should get checked out), it hurts my eyes, and I seem to be a lot more busy lately. However despite my negative attitude towards it I will soldier on for that sake of memories.

Now that, that is off my chest I will be more pleasant. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Zoo Walk this past Saturday. The walk helped raised money for Autism research. Weston had so many supporters and awesome groupies. I have to admit we had the coolest shirts out of any group (thanks Giselle). Although the walk was short being that it is only 1.1 miles around the zoo, it was so neat to see all the supporters. I am so grateful to my family and friends that came out to support such an important cause. It is always helpful to have life’s purposes refocused at times.

I want to say thank you Chari, for being such an advocate and involving me as well as opening my eyes along with many others to such important issues. If I could just say I have the most amazing sister! Not only is she the sweetest most humble person I know, she is an amazing mother and aunt. My sister is so proactive it amazes me and I can only hope to be more like her. I love talking to her and listening to all the information she holds in her brain. I am lucky to have you as family. I love you!

Now for the second part of my post the SYTYCD concert. I lacked in pictures due to the fact that I never charge my camera. So my lovely photographer friend Tricia took the majority of the pictures. It was so much fun and we stood out like a sore thumb, which is exactly what we wanted. We all had shirts made the night before that spelled “WE Love S Y T Y C D”, they were awesome. It was so much fun and the concert was GREAT! My vocal cords were killing me from screaming so long and loud. Tricia’s wonderful husband Jared even got us Twitch glasses, for those of you who don’t know they are glasses with no lenses. Thanks Jared!! I don’t want to go into too much detail but some other highlights of the night were an incriminating picture some one took and a two really nice female who TRIED to cut off Tricia, it was classic! It was so much fun can’t wait until next year!

A little late

2008-10-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

Okay so I am going to make this a really short blog for two reasons. One I have to blog about something else and still need to get some other things in the blogger book before. Two, I am in a hurry!

Gavin started soccer again this year in the Gilbert League. He loves it and I love the outrageously loud colors of the uniforms. Seriously you can see them from a mile away. It makes it really easy to find them on the field. This season we have had some really intense opposing teams and I am slightly shocked. Some four year olds look six, and some players look like they are preparing themselves for high school soccer.

If you can’t tell these are two different games, my son is bald in one. We have officially shaved his head again and the long process of wanting the surfer long hair will have to wait. Gavin’s hair just doesn’t seem too grow that fast. Oh well he is still a cutie!

Secondly, the Ethington’s had a family reunion. This is a foreign concept to me because my family reunions consist of Sunday’s at my aunt’s house. There aren’t tons of people in my extended family so there is no need to have a vacation for our gathering. Well I married into a family were there are so many grandchildren you loose count. So a reunion is in order. I have to admit I do enjoy them, I have never seen so many kids for Gavin to play with other than school.

It was a camp out however; it was only for two days so Troy and I didn’t feel like hauling up the camper and setting it up for only two days. So we stayed in a near by hotel which we used to sleep. It might seem a little ridiculous but at least I got a shower. There was so much to do and Gavin really enjoyed himself. Can’t wait until next year!

One long Vacation!

2008-09-14T15:17:00.001-07:00

I was able to take two awesome vacations back to back. Well, actually I would almost say three rolled in to one. The end of August my best friend Lynn flew me out to California to watch Annabelle while her and Jake took a much needed weekend away. Since Lynn lives far away I don’t get the chance to see Annabelle enough. So needless to say I was so excited to have a chance to spend a whole weekend with her.

First Annabelle is one of the most well behave babies I have ever been around. Not only does she have a smile that melts your heart but, she hardly ever cries. Even when she does cry it is only because she sees you making her bottle and she wants you to hurry up. So in reality she is just telling you to speed things up a bit. I really had great time with her and am so happy that I had the chance to spend some quality time with her. Thank you Lynn and Jake for going on vacation so that Annabelle and I could hang out. I miss her and can’t wait until I see her again.

Now for my second vacation, this started when Jake and Lynn came home. I got to spend some much need time with Lynyrd Skynyrd (aka Lynn). We spent most of our time laughing. I seriously forget how much we make each other laugh. Lynn and I got hook on this show “Gossip Girl”, and I am now a devoted fan! We watched season one and ate sushi. Which is a passion we both have, we ate it three days in a row! I think the best time was on her bed while we watched Gossip Girl on the computer. Thank you so much Jake and Lynn for allowing me to invade your space.

On Wednesday I was able to pick up Gavin in California, which worked out perfectly I might add. Gavin was on a vacation as well and then was able to join me for our third vacation but, before that started Lynn, Jake, Annabelle, Gavin, and I got to spend a little time with each other. Gavin loved Annabelle so much, he tried so hard to make her smile and when she did he would beam with excitement that he achieved a smile. It was so CUTE!! I was also glad that Lynn and Gavin got to hang out because he doesn’t get to see his Auntie Lynn much either. By the way the whole next week he kept asking me where was Auntie Lynn. I had such a wonderful time and am so glad that I got to spend time with the Halladay’s, I miss you guys!

Now last but not least the third vacation. My mom, sister, nephew, cousins, and aunt’s all joined me in California to have a girl and kids trip to Disneyland. Gavin and I have been to Disneyland before but never when he is tall enough to ride all the awesome rides. He only missed out on two, Indian Jones and Bear River. I was debating if I should take him on Thunder Mountain Railroad, I did and he loved it! The neat thing was while we were on the ride they were having the fireworks show right above us. So we had the best seats and were able to see Tinkerbelle fly across the sky. He also loved Splash Mountain, we rode it five times it was great!

I had so much fun and loved spending time with my family. This was Weston’s first trip to Disneyland and we all were so excited for him. He did great and I love to see how happy he got on the train. It was so much fun! We went at the best time, there was no wait and it wasn’t too hot. Oh but note to self I HATE THE FINDING NEMO RIDE!! We got suck and were in the cramped submarine for 10 mins. I will never ride that ride again. Not to mention I am slightly claustrophobic.

I loved all my vacations and am so glad I went! Troy was dying for us to come home it is the longest time we have ever been apart. He was going crazy so much that he called me to ask if I missed him because I only said it once. It was cute!

The Start of School and a Trip to the Hospital!

2008-08-21T09:43:00.001-07:00

Okay so these past few weeks have been packed with new things. First my baby boy went back to school; he now is in Pre-K. It is a private school at a Lutheran Church. It is an awesome school and the teachers and staff are extremely friendly. I feel like he is already learning so much. My sister enrolled my nephew at this school as well and I really wanted them to be in the same class. At first they weren’t and a week before school started a spot opened up in Weston’s class so Gavin was able to get in. So now our little babies are off to school and growing up. How time passes you by!

Our next awesome little adventure was one that landed Gavin in the hospital for two days. He got a very bad case of Cellulitis. He has actually had this about 4 times before one of which made him look like the Hunchback of Norte Dame. However, this time they where really afraid because it was in his hand and the anatomy of the hand is so small that it can become more dangerous at a faster rate. His poor little hand looked like a mallet. I didn't get any before pictures of his hand but it looked like it was going to explode!

It was his first time in the hospital and at first he was scared, but Mercy Gilbert is an awesome hospital and by the end he didn’t want to leave. I love that hospital it was so nice and a great staff. I highly recommend going to Mercy Gilbert for your next accident or birth.

He is now back at home and doing well. Unfortunately the doctors think he has bacteria called MRSA and that is why he keeps getting it. It most likely originated from the first time he had Cellulitis. There are some interesting methods on how to kill this super bug and we are going to try them. For starters a bleach bath is one, not all bleach but bleach and water. I have to say I was a little scared when the doctor told us that one. I really hope that it goes away because every time he gets bitten by a mosquito he gets Cellulitis. It is starting to get to the point were I am always worried when he goes outside to play. This is a horrible thing considering my boy is an outside boy.

Sorry there are not a lot of pictures I can’t find my camera charger so I am relying on other people to take pictures for me. I also wanted to include a picture of his very first Cellulitis.

The Great Escape!

2008-07-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my whole family went up to our cabin to escape this dreaded heat and enjoy the pines. I have to say that I found the forest so relaxing and enticing. I literally love to get lost in the scenery and enjoy a good book outside. Which is precisely what I did all weekend, that and eat.

Gavin loves the woods as well and always calls it camping anytime we go to the forest. Although we have never truly camped. Oddly enough it is my manly husband that refuses to sleep in a tent. Thank heavens we have a trailer otherwise we would never get to “go camping.” This weekend was filled with lots of little surprises. The first one was that my poor baby got stung by a bee. For those who know me I am dreadfully afraid of this one inch flying killer. Every time I see one I run and scream, I can’t help it I am just so terrified of being stung. Luckily I have been able to escape this irrational fear; unfortunately I can now say my son has not. The moment I heard him scream I thought that he was just wining, and then it occurred to me that he and Troy were shooting the gun outside that’s when the panic mom sunk in. I rushed to him with alligator tears streaming down his face. It had stung him through his clothes on the side of his chest. Wade found the bee and the stinger was still on, which is a good sign that sting wasn’t too bad. Gavin cried for a moment and then he was fine. I was shock to see how well he handled something I would have completely overreacted too. When I first saw the bee on the floor it wasn’t dead yet but dying and this is sad to admit but I desperately wanted to hurt the thing for stinging Gavin. I want to make the bee feel pain. As if dying isn't enough I wanted him to suffer. I am terribly weird and apologize if this come to a shock to anyone. I however did nothing but comfort my son.

The next exciting and ten times more serious situation we had was that concerning my brother in law Wade. He and Gavin we playing outside while I sat in the hammock close by. They were making some type of sling shot with a rope or something. Then they would sling sticks into the air. All of the sudden I heard a rather short “aaaa.” I looked over and Wade was on the ground. I didn’t think much of it at first because I thought he was playing dead for Gavin’s entertainment. Then I asked him if he was okay, no answer. I then managed to remove myself for that remarkably comfortable position I was in. I walked over and asked the same question with no response but a hand in the air. Then he got up and walked away. Gavin relayed the story to me and said the he was pulling it back and the stick went and stuck in his eye. (What an imagination) As Wade continued to walk off the pain my sister chased after him to make sure he was okay. Well to make a long story short, he wasn’t. He had torn off the first layer of his eye and sliced through the first three. His eye filled up with blood and pieces of stick were embedded into his eye. He went to the doctor where they had to “rise” it out. I wasn’t there for this part by was told it was painful. He now has to see the eye doctor here for a little while to see how his eye is healing and make sure there is no loss of sight. FYI he has a great eye doctor here! (Plug for Dr. Lambson)

It was a great trip with only a few set backs. I spent a good majority of the time reading and laying in the hammock. I love hanging out with my family and just laughing. I can’t wait until I go again. Which will be soon, and I am bound and determined to learn how to snowboard this winter. So that means more cabin trips YEA!!!!

4th of July At The Beach!!!!

2008-07-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

So I guess I will jump on the bandwagon and make a post about the 4th of July. This year we took a trip to Newport Beach with the Patterson’s. We went to California last year with them all we wanted to do was stay longer. So this year we rented a beach house and stayed for a WEEK!! It was so nice to get away and being that I am a big fan of the beach/tanning it was a perfect place to go. We could see the beach from our porch and 20 steps would take you right to the sandy escape.

We arrived at the beach house late Saturday night and the very next morning, first thing we went to the beach. I have to explain a little something about my husband, this will come as a shock to most but he hates the beach. I know how can anyone hate the beach, well he does?! He doesn’t tan he burns and he hates getting sand everywhere and he thinks it is more relaxing to sit inside then in front of the ocean. Needless to say we got in a few disagreements over this but he was a trooper, most of the time. I on the other hand was elated to get some natural sun without melting and giving up like I do most of the time here in Arizona.

Most everyday was spent on the beach getting a tan. FYI I have an awesome tan although my sister thinks I am too dark. However I am now peeling excessively on my back and chest. I don’t mind as long as my arms and legs don’t peel. To my horror I learned yesterday that the back of me legs started to peel. I guess that is the result of not wearing any sun block and lathering my self in tanning oil. I did wear SPF 70 on my face because I am freak about getting my face too tan.

So to move on we went to the beach almost every day except on Thursday when the boys decided to meet Harold (Ed’s brother) down in San Diego and go deep sea fishing for the day. Much to my surprise they wanted to take the kids. Which of course meant a day of shopping for the girls; I must say I love it when that happens. The boys spent too much fishing and I thought I made out like a bandit shopping. It usually is the other way around so no hard feelings. Troy called me that night and told me he got two hundred dollar fish. In my mind I thought that the fish must be huge for a hundred dollars a pop. No they were tiny little fishes, so this was a big waste of money but the kids still enjoyed it.
That night after the fishing the boys took the kids to Belmont, much to Gavin’s disappointment he was the only kid not tall enough to ride the rides (you have to be 42 inches Gavin is 40 inches). He did however stand on his tip toes to get into the bumper cars and made it on because the guy measuring people failed to notice.

I also got the chance to spend time with Lynn, although it was only one day it was so much fun. Lynn and I spend most of our time laughing. It was so nice to get to spend some "girl only" time with her. We went to the beach with everyone and later that night went to dinner just the two of us. When she was driving me back to the house we thought we saw a UFO but it turned out to be a helicopter and we stopped right in the middle of the street, which displeased of the officer behind us. Luckily the cops are more concerned with the crazy drunks/hilarious drunks that flock to the beach on the 4th.

The whole time we where there we heard people talking about 20th and Court Ave for the parties. We were on the corner of 20th and Court, so we had some awesome shows for entertainment right out side our window. One show that happened was on Friday night around 3:30 am, when an electrical power wire fell in the middle of our street and caught the tip of on of the party house on fire and burned two HUGE holes in their roof. No one got hurt and the fireman came shortly after but, I woke up form that loud noise and the wasted people freaking out about the wire lying in the middle of the street. Let’s just say they said some pretty funny things.

Well to wrap up this long post it was a great trip and I can’t wait until we do it again next year!! I love the beach and so does Gavin so sorry Troy you are out numbered!

Grandpa's 90!!!!!!!

2008-06-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since my last post; well it hasn’t been that long. I have waited because I desperately wanted to post about my Grandpa’s 90th birthday and I had to wait until I loaded the pictures. For all my family that is reading this you will receive your copy of the pictures this week. So don’t be mad that I posted about this first. On May 31st we celebrated my Grandpa’s 90th birthday. It was a surprise party with an Argentine theme. Everything was blue and white (Argentina’s colors) and my aunt Liz made a GORGEOUS cake. You might not understand what is on the cake if you are not from Argentina. The food was fantastic and as in true Alvarez style we made enough to feed an Army. I am not kidding; we still have food that we haven’t eaten. In the old days my Grandpa BBQ over coal on a rack and to mimic this tradition we did the same. My dad and Wade were in charge of roasting the pig and BBQ on the racks, while my cousin Shawn was in charge of using the grill. We had chimichurri to top of the meat. My dad also bought something called Sweet Bread, why they name it this I am still clueless however it is some kind of gland from a cow. I had to steer clear of that on a count of my stomach would most likely reject it.
As my family stuffed their faces and talked I was in charge of taking the pictures, Hence the lack of my face in many pictures. Everyone enjoyed themselves and ate until their hearts content. My father, Wade and Shawn on the other hand worked fast over the heat. I was afraid my dad would pass out from exhaustion from working so hard. In the end though it was all worth it. You don’t get the chance to see your Grandpa hit 90 every day and still be kickin’ and screamin’ I might add. By the way his reaction once he was walked into that surprise party was a peace sign. It was so cute!! After we all ate we all gathered into the family room to watch a picture video that my sister worked so hard to but together. In the end though we didn’t have the soft wear to complete the project so we had to surrender it to someone who did. The movie was a huge success and it was so fascinating to see all the old pictures. I love learning and seeing what my family looked like growing up. It was such a special moment for everyone.
I have to say that I have an amazing family, who always looks out for each other. I would say almost to a fault but that’s my family. I am so grateful for my Grandpa and that he always showed his grandchildren how much he loves them. I vividly remember sitting on his lap and him singing me songs and always telling me to “Remember the Alamo.” It is something that he still tells me every time I see him. I love you with all my heart Grandpa and am so lucky to have such an awesome Grandpa!!! I will make sure that Gavin always “Remembers the Alamo!”

Graduation Day!!!

2008-05-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

So on the 22nd of this month my little boy graduated preschool. I was so sad but happy all at the same time. I still can’t believe I have a 4 year old and now he is up and graduated! I should prepare myself though; I will have a few more graduations to get through. Now I am faced with the daunting task of finding another preschool or pre-K to put him in. I had no idea how hard it would be to find a good one that also fits into my schedule. I did find one lady out here by me, and she said she had a little bit of a waiting list. My next obvious question was, "what is the probability that my son would be able to get in." She expresses to me to not get too freaked out but she had a waiting list of 80 people. 80 PEOPLE!! I then replied “oh so you’re saying there’s a chance.” She informed me that some mothers put their children on the list the day they are born, I guess I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I guess I will have to put him on the list for Kindergarten now! I am prepared, or at least I plan to be. I have however run across a few private schools but they are in the $600-$800 range (FYI that’s a month). I guess money doesn’t stand a chance against a good education. Wait am I talking about preschool here or Harvard, I will rethink that. So if anyone knows of ANY good schools here in Coolidge/Casa Grande, on MWF let me know. Or any good schools in town during the morning on TTH, please let me know. I am desperate!
Okay now on to Gavin’s graduation day. He had a great graduation and looked adorable in his little cap that had a tassel. Although I must say that the room we were in had this HUGE mirror on one wall, it wasn’t the most pleasant sight to constantly be starring at myself during the program however; can you guess who didn’t mind. That’s right my incredibly vain son discovered the mirror right off the bat. Throughout the performance he kept looking back at himself and I tried in a quiet yet firm way to get his attention. It was quite comical I have to say. His part in the whole program was to repeat the poem “Jack and Jill.” We practice and practice and he got it down pat but, the teacher was helping all the kids so Gavin kept pausing so that she could say the next line. He did great thought and I am so proud of him. It was the cutest sight I have seen!!

Here is the point he discovers the mirror, its classic Gavin!

Gavin's Party

2008-05-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Bounce U for Gavin’s 4th birthday party. Everyone had a blast and it was a lot of fun. Bounce U (for those of you who don’t know) is this giant place with all different kinds of inflatable bouncers. It was nice to have a whole room just for our guest. It had a huge slide, obstacle course, a boxing ring, and one where you can strap yourself and an opponent in and try to pull the other one down. Gavin and all his friends enjoyed the slide the best however; I think the adults enjoyed the boxing ring more. Troy and Ed had and all out boxing match, it was apparently very intense because they both came out sweating profusely, YUCK!! I have to say it was pretty entertaining to watch. It seems those boys are VERY competitive (who would have guessed ;)!) FYI that is sarcasm they are the most competitive people I have ever met, almost to the point of arrogance, almost!! After the bouncing portion was over we had pizza, cake, and ice cream. I have to thank my wonderful aunt Liz for making Gavin’s Ninja cake. It is what he wanted so I tried to deliver. Gavin got tons of presents, so much in fact that I now am in the process of organizing and discarding the old toy in the playroom. He got this awesome drum set from my parents, which he loves. Everyone thought I was crazy for allowing him to have one but Gavin loves music so if he wants to be the next Tommy Lee I will let him. Strictly in the drumming sense not the lifestyle (had to clear that one up)! He received tons of other gifts that he loves, thank you so much for all those presents. He won’t need anything for next 2 birthdays!! :) I am also sorry that some of the pictures have dust on them, I need to get my camera cleaned!

Ed and Kingston, this is after the boxing match as you can tell!!!

Papa and Gavin, oh how he loves his papa

My beautiful mother, what a cover girl!Troy and Ed boxing, again I need to clean my leans SORRY!!Family and Friends watching Gavin opening his MANY gifts!!Gavin's best friend and the greatest Auntie Kendra and her goodie bag (Gavin talks about Kendra all the time)Waiting for food, people get angry when they are hungry! Or maybe that was just me?!Gavin trying to stick his finger in the awesome cake Aunt Liz made!What a Ninja cake!Crazy kids on a crazy slideWade and Weston on the slide, who is having more fun?!The adults! Thanks Kristen and Scott for coming even though you don't have kids, you can barrow mine until you get your own:)!Emmy and Anna getting ready to bounce Grandma and Grandpa Ethington Bethany clearly didn't want Troy to take her picture! The people who didn't want to bounce, go figure!
I wanted to post a little clip of Gavin rockin’ out on his drum set. For some reason though the camera didn’t pick up the sound very well, sorry!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!!

2008-05-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

From this to..................................

.................................THIS!!!!!!!

Warning this is a long post but I want it for my scrapbook, sorry!

Gavin has brought such an extraordinary light into our lives and this Saturday he will turn 4. I have no clue how I ever understood what life was really about before he came along. Two weeks before Gavin was born I made and appointment for May 10th at 5pm. I have to say it was nice to know the exact day and time I would go to the hospital. I was not allowed to eat for nine hours before surgery so that morning my mother, sister, and I all went to Mimis Café to eat. I was nervous but I was still pregnant so eating until I could barley move was not too hard. Being pregnant I could barley move anyways. Then we ran some errands and all I could think about was tonight I am going to have a baby! Eventually the time came and we drove down to Banner Desert Hospital. They started to prep me for the c-section and all of the sudden I started to have contractions. Now I know they weren’t as bad a full blow out labor but still I was in some pain. They hooked me up to a monitor and sure enough I was having contractions. Although they did tell me since I hadn’t had anything to drink in 7 hours and was slightly dehydrated it added to the effect. I got up to walk to the OR and had to sit down about a million times because I swore the pain was so bad. At 5:30pm they took Gavin out and the first thing I said was is he cute?! I was a little delirious at the time but could see this perfect little baby and heard him cry, it was the sweetest sound.Gavin weighted 7lbs 10oz and I thought he was huge. He came out ready do eat and that is what he did for the next 2 hours. It was an experience I will never forget and am so grateful for my little Gavinos!! Oh and for the record the name Gavin did come from Gavin Rossdale I really liked the way it sounded. However I almost named him Staten or Austin. I am glad I vetoed Austin though.

I know that Gavin won’t be able to read this but one day he can read my scrapbook and read this letter to him so this is for you Gavin.
Gavin this Saturday you will turn 4!! Time has gone by so fast and seems to just past quicker and quicker every year. I want you to know how incredibly grateful I am that you are in my life. I can still remember the day you where born, I stuffed my face at Mimi’s Café early that morning so that I would be full until 5pm when I had to go to the hospital to have you. I was so nervous that day and could not sleep at all the night before. You were so strong from the moment you came into this world. The nurse walked over to you to check you grasping reflex, you held onto her fingers so tight that you lifted yourself off the table. Talk about strength!!! I am so happy that life turned out the way it did, and that I was able to be blessed with such and amazing little boy. Thank you so much Gavin, for teaching me humility, true happiness, love, fullfillment, and for allowing me to be your mother. I don’t feel I deserve you but thank you for hanging in there with me. I am forever indebted to be blessed with you, and don't know how I will every be good enough to be your mother. I love you more than words can describe and could write a novel on what you have brought to my life. I will save you the reading but just know how much I love and know that you are such a strong individual and have so much to offer. You are so amazing now I can’t even imagine what you will be like in the future. Slow down and stop growing up so fast! I love you and you are the GREATEST kid in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love your Mommy!!

Weekend with Teeagers!!

2008-05-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am in this time period right now where I don’t want to post but I am going to drag through it for the sake of my beautiful scrapbook that will come from this blog. I really need one because I am not creative enough to make a really cute scrapbook and get board with it ever time I start. So to keep a long story short I went to Pinetop with my sister in law and her friend last weekend (Jennifer was asked to Pinetop prom.) Being that she is only 17 and tends to be a teenage girl all of the time, my MIL wanted me to take her. Well I did not want to go with two teenagers and myself so I brought my friend along for the ride. It was very interesting to say the least. I love my SIL but have decided I don’t want a teenage girl, or at least I will keep her alienated from most of modern technology. I had no idea how much teenagers these days TEXT!! I hate it, don’t get me wrong I use text messaging for short conversations or when I am in an environment where talking isn’t exactly smiled upon (aka doctors offices and waiting rooms). However I had no clue that cell phones are no longer used to talked, just to text your friends hundreds of times. I swear to you they must have texted at least 2-3 hours of the 4 hour ride home.
So on with my “short” story we got to Pinetop late Friday night and had to turn on the power, water, and gas. I am posting a picture of the water knob to prove to my father it was not as easy as he thinks it is. (Again scrapbook purposes my dad doesn’t read my blog.) It took Tricia and me a little while to open the door where the T-Bar was so we could use it to twist the knob. Then I had to dig through wonderful bugs and use my finger nails just to find the dumb knob. This really wouldn’t have been a problem but I kept telling my dad I couldn’t find the knob and he said “Marci, I can find with my eyes close”. Tricia can tell you it wasn’t as easy as it may look, also it was 9:30pm so the lack of light didn’t really help. Well eventually I found it and we were able to turn the water on.
So on Saturday Tricia and I went out “on the town”, while the girls went on their day date. FYI I really wish I could go to prom again, I forgot how fun it is to get all dressed up, I didn’t really get to enjoy me prom/high school days enough. When they got home from there date Jennifer’s dress wasn’t completely done so thank heavens Tricia can sew because she finished the dress while I did hair and make up. I feel like girls these days tend to go more casual dressing at prom so I wasn’t sure how my Barbie Doll SIL would look in her VERY pink dress. Apparently Pinetop is a different world because we saw a bunch of girls is very interesting dresses. We thought it would be fun to see what all the girls were wearing. It was pretty easy to watch them all too, we just had to sit in front of the movie theaters. That’s right the prom was in the concession part of the movie theaters. However they closed down all the shops along side of the theaters so that the kids could have free food along with the dance. Anyways we saw a neon green dress and a camouflaged dress; it’s the least I could expect.
My short story is dragging on to much so to wrap it up, it was fun. I have learned a lot about what I might have been like as a teenager. Although I have to say I thought I was a lot more mature at that age, may be I wasn’t I probably just thought I was? I was glad I had the chance to spend some time at my cabin. I love that it is always quite and peaceful there. Even thought there where some minor set back all in all it was a great trip. Thanks Tricia for helping me tame the wild ones and sewing Jennifer dress. G T G T!!!!!

Gone for 2 Years

2008-04-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

On Monday we all went to celebrate Trevor’s last dinner with the family for two years. I have only really been attached two missionaries that I have seen off. My cousin Chase left in November and that was extremely hard because I finally realized that my little cousin had grown up. It is a bit of a shock when you realized how fast life passes you by. Well, now it is my second time around and it is still hard. I can’t really grasp the fact that they can’t talk to you on the phone or we can’t just call to see how he is doing. Nor can I grasp that he won’t be back for another two years. I kept telling him when he gets back Gavin will almost be 6! That is crazy within itself for me. I am really still fascinated by the concept of being gone for such a long time, it’s not like they went away to college and you can go and visit them, there gone. I don’t know why it is so interesting / difficult to sink in.
Now on to the more uplifting reason for this post, on Monday we all had Mexican food and sat around talked and stuffed our faces. It was really nice to have one last big dinner before he left. I am very happy for him and I know he will do well. I myself have obviously never been on a Mission but I can imaged it would be really difficult at first. Especially those Ethington boys who are such home bodies, according to Troy he along with the rest of the brothers on some level all got home sick. I am sure Trevor will have to endure some of those feeling but they will quickly diminish when he doesn’t have any time to dwell. I will be completing this post in another two years when he returns :) ! (I will also make a post for my cousin Chase, I never took any pictures due to the fact I didn’t carry my camera around like I try to now. I wasn’t really into the blogging world as much then either. Needless to say I am very upset that I don’t have pictures, so I will post something later so that it will be in my future scrapbook. I love you Chase and miss you!)

Ironman Weekend

2008-04-14T13:56:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was so much fun, Scott did the Ironman and Lynn and Jake came down form California to show support. But, before the Ironman on Sunday I had a few friends over for a BBQ. I am so glad to have such amazing friends that I am able to be myself around and laugh until I pee my pants. I had everyone bring something and they all did, which was a great help. I gave the assignment to Jared to bring a dessert, holy cow it was amazing. Everyone at the party loved this chocolate cheesecake and it looked so pretty. I am really big on the way foods looks only because I enjoy the presentation so much.
Well, we ate and they played games after. We played this gamed called Buzz and did boys against girls. When it came time for Regan’s turn she was laughing so hard she was crying so she lost us a good turn. In Regan’s defense she loves cats and that was the buzz word, and so for some reason we all thought that was hilarious. I had a blast and was glad that everyone was able to stay late.
On Sunday I went to support Scott in the Ironman, which is an amazing sight. I really am so proud of Scott and everyone else who did it. Last year when I went I missed the swimming portion of the race and Kristen told me that was one of the best parts. So this year we all went early to see the race start. It is amazing footage to see all these people in the water preparing themselves for the day of endurance. The energy is overwhelming and it really was a sight to see. The most humbling part of the race is at the very end when you watch the racers cross the finish line and collapse right after. Everyone was emotional at the sight and a very emotional ending. I was so glad that I was able to be there and was in complete awe of the determination of the racers. GO SCOTTIE!!!

Sand Dunes

2008-04-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had a weekend to myself because Gavin and Troy went to the Sand Dunes with a few of his friends and their kids. I was so excited to have a weekend with myself, although I didn’t spend one moment by myself. Unfortunately this post will be short because I gave Troy the camera to take pictures and they took 4! Oh well, I expected that to happen.

Gavin has been talking about the Dunes for about a month now and I used his excitement as leverage when he would miss behave (too bad it doesn’t work anymore). Friday morning came and at 4am I got Gavin up to get ready and load up. I just want to inform every one that Thursday night I didn’t go to sleep until 1:30am, I don’t know why. Well when I went to Gavin’s room his light was on and he wasn’t in his bed. I was freaking out and thought that someone kidnapped him. I know I over reacted a little. Well I ran in our room to find that Gavin had came in early that morning, I didn’t remember hearing him. That is most likely because he knows that if he comes to my side of the bed I will put him back to in his room. Well he was so tired and didn’t want to get up so Troy pretended he was going to leave that without him. I guess he must have been really tired because he said okay. Eventually he got excited and realized where he was headed. When they all finally left it was about 5:30 and I was so excited to go back to bed and sleep in for a little while. Much to my surprise I couldn’t fall back asleep. I was so tired and knew that I had to leave the house by 10. I finally went back to sleep at 9 and woke up an hour later.

Troy rented a rhino because we thought that the kids would get sick of riding their 4-wheelers. Well they did and they all loved to ride around in the rhino. Gavin came home one Saturday evening and Sunday morning told me how much fun he had. He also mentioned that he loved to watch the bikers jump the hill (his words) “Mom the motorcycles jumped over the mountains and they went vroom vroom just like that.” He has so much fun, I am sure he is looking forward to next time.

Ed and the girls in the rhino at the dunesGavin in the morning just before leaving... it was 4 in the morning that is why this pic is so dark

I thought this was so CUTE!

2008-03-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted yesterday but, on the way to school this morning Gavin started singing and I wanted to record it so I did. I also had forgotten about a video I recorded earlier on my phone of him dancing in my bedroom so I am putting that up too. For those of you who know Gavin, know how much he loves to dance and sing. I really have no clue where he gets it from. He also loves break dancing and I really have no idea how he learned to do that?!

Gavin the ladies man, Easter, and my "so vain" son!

2008-03-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

To start off last Friday I had the pleasure of watching the Patterson girls because, baby Kingston finally arrived. I really do love having them over, Gavin loves them and gets to have playmates all day. We spent most of the morning outside playing on the slip n’ slide and the inflatable water slide. I went to make them a snack and came out to find they all had made little beds out of my chairs. It was so cute; they wanted me to put the snacks in the center and just sat there enjoying the outside. Okay now I need to explain why Kendra and Gavin are the only ones who are in there gender appropriate swimsuit. Bethany didn’t have Kaili and Kennedy’s swim wear out for the summer yet, so they wanted to wear Gavin’s old swimsuit. It was so cute!
That afternoon they all decided to make a store/office in my office bathroom. I cleaning and didn’t realize what they were doing until I heard a bunch of noises in the bathroom. I went in to find three chairs in the shower and Kendra on the toilet with the table in front of her eating a play dough sandwich. Again very funny, I am so amazed with the imaginations of children. When they had to leave Gavin was devastated and wanted them to come over that night. Oh and a little side note I was listening in to Gavin and Kennedy’s conversation which went something like this.
Kennedy: “I have a boyfriend that I am going to marry”
Gavin: “Who?”
Kennedy: “Tory is my husband I am going to marry him,”
Gavin: “I can’t marry him, I don’t’ have a boyfriend, Tory can’t be my boyfriend he is my dad.”
I chime in with you can’t marry him, I am married to him.
Kennedy: “I am going to marry him.”
I really love to hear kids talk it is very entertaining.
Now on to Easter I forgot to take my camera to the Saba’s Easter so I only have pictures of Gavin waking up and finding his Easter basket. He loved it and wanted to color right away. Later that day Troy and I went to my Uncle Kent’s house for Easter. They have a gorgeous house and quite large, which was helpful because almost everyone in the Saba family comes to Easter. (That’s a lot of people) Easter started at 1pm and I didn’t pick Gavin until 4 so I thought he would miss the Easter egg hunt. Well, lucky for me we didn’t start eating dinner until 3 so he was able to participate in the hunt. Gavin is now almost 4 and I still thought he might need some help looking for eggs. All my thought quickly vanished when I saw him find all those eggs. I think he found the most eggs out of anyone. I had to tell him to let other kids get some. He seriously is a good “hunter?” I guess that is what I would call him in this situation.
Early that day when we pick him up to bring him back so that every one could see him, they were thrilled. The Saba’s do not get to see him much because I have him every other holiday and that always seems to land on the Saba’s holiday. Anyways my grandparents where so excited and my grandpa Roger asked Gavin if he wanted a dollar. Of course Gavin said yes, and my grandpa pulled out a buck and gave it to him. While Gavin was inspecting the dollar he noticed the pyramid and the back of the dollar bill which he said “Grandpa great look the temple.” It really was so cute!

I also wanted to share these cute pictures of Gavin. This morning I gave him a bath in my tub. I like to clean my bedroom while he is taking shower or bath. Well this morning I went to get him out and I found him starting at his butt in the mirror. Either my son is a comedian or very vain. I think he is a mixture of both. I thought it was cute so I wanted to post pictures from it. I also taught him to plug his nose and hold his breath so that he could go under water. SIDE NOTE: I am now obsessed with two new shows, one of which has gone off the air but you can still rent the seasons. The other one just wrapped its first season. They are………. Arrested Development and Lipstick Jungle, I love them!

Weekend with the Halladay's

2008-03-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Kristen and I went to Lynn and Jake’s house in California. We left on Friday and came home Tuesday, you would think that it was enough time but I could have stayed there for another week. I do however have a child and a husband to get home to, so that would have been impossible. If I’m making whishes I would like to move there with my family and downsize the population so that traffic wouldn’t be so bad. That will never happen but I can dream. Anyway, on Saturday we walked down to a little pizza place and met up with some of Lynn and Jake’s friends. Then we walked around to this shopping center and did what we all had been saving up to do, shop! All the while my adorable little niece Annabelle chilled in her stroller. She really is such a great baby.
Later that night after all the shopping had exhausted us Kristen and I drove around to find a fruit smoothie. (A little side note, for some reason I was so sick this past weekend and couldn’t find anything to soothe my stomach, so a fruit smoothie sounded great). While out on our adventure we came across this AMAZING store call Whole Foods Market. I am almost positive that there is one here or at least I hope there will be. I can’t even describe to you how awesome this “grocery” store is. I can’t even really call it that because there was a smoothie bar, tea bar, sushi bar, sandwich bar, and a variety of other foods. Plus that most indulgent selection of dessert you could ask for. Well to make a long story short we bought some dinner and Pirate Booty and headed back to Lynn’s. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pirate Booty you should get some it's great and healthy.
On Sunday being the wonderful people that they are, Lynn and Jake went to church while Kristen and I were sinners and went shopping and to the beach. By the way I really did have every intention on going to church with Lynn and Jake but I was so tired from the night before my body wouldn’t allow me. When Kristen and I got back from our little detour we all went to LA to drive around and to see if we could spot any celebrities. Again Annabelle came with us and she just drove around celebrity watching, I know she loved it too. We didn’t find any celebrities but we did buy a star’s map and drove around to look at their homes. Being the private people they are all there homes had huge gates that blocked your view of the house. But for those of you who are interested here are the gates of…….
David and Victoria Beckham
The Playboy Mansion
The Late Aaron Spelling
The old house of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt

Star stalking was so much fun, not because I would wonder what they are doing, or because you could see their gates; but because we where all laughing and breathing in the fresh air ;).
On Monday we shopped in the Morning and then Lynn, Annabelle, Kristen and I all lounged out by the pool in the afternoon. That night Jake came with us and we all ate at Ruby’s on the pier. It has great views! I have always herd people talking about his place and how it is so great to eat at, so I was glad that I was able to do that. Then we went home and put precious baby Annabelle to sleep and stayed up talking and laughing. We also renamed our snack friend “butt pirate booty”; you kind of had to be there to find it as funny as we did.
Tuesday morning we all got up and met up with Tricia and her kids at this great little breakfast place. Then Kristen and I drove home but not without stopping by the outlets first. It really was a great trip, and I can’t wait until we can all hang out again. Now, for the part where I get to brag about Annabelle, she really is one of the cutest little babies EVER. I know that she misses me! She is so relaxed and I love the way she smells, most all babies smell good but Annabelle smells so sweet I just want to eat her. I am so glad that I was able to go and see her. I am so excited that Gavin has another playmate. (Well, she can’t play with him yet, but soon) He kept asking me if he could go to Calibornia (his word) and see baby Annabelle. Thank you Lynn and Jake for letting us stay with you and thank you Annabelle for being so cute that I can hardly stand it. Oh and while I am on my list of thank you’s, thanks Kristen for being a fun road tripper and for getting us home in record time. Love you girls!!!

This is for my sister who hates me for not blogging enough!!!

2008-03-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

Okay to start off it was Weston’s birthday on the 25th of February and we had a great birthday party for him at the park across from my parents house. Chari rented a bouncer and we had pizza and a cookie cake. Everyone had a blast and the kids loved the bouncer. I bought Weston a bubble machine because he loved bubbles. I have a problem with immediate gratification and wanted to see how Weston liked my gift right away. (It is a problem I have suffered with my whole life, oh well!) Well Weston loved it along with the rest of the kids. It actually was a mesmerizing gift, I sat there and watched the bubbles within bubbles machine way to long. I had a momentary lapse into my childhood, getting so excited when three bubbles would be contained within one huge one. It was pretty neat (I wasn’t the only adult watching it).
Well I can’t believe how much Weston has grown. It seems like just yesterday when I would be getting ready in my bedroom and trying to entertain him at the same time. Or when I would have him sleep with me in the morning and watch Friends with him. He was the cutest baby ever, and yes he was more attractive as a newborn then Gavin was. Gavin is adorable now but not all newborns are cute, despite what people tell you. Oh and I must also say my best friend Lynn’s baby Annabelle was another very cute newborn. Anyways, I am so honored to say I am the aunt of and amazing nephew. I love him so much and am so glad that he and my son are so close. I LOVE YOU WESTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay now on to yesterday, I know that it is March but we live in Arizona and I laid out all yesterday while Gavin played in the water. It was so nice I really love that I can start on my tan early before I go to California this weekend. Gavin is obsessed with being outside so I thought what a good time to tame my white skin. Well it worked (a little) for me but, Gavin can get tan in two seconds. I do love to see children have tan lines, it is so cute. Here are some pictures of Gavin being Gavin!

Sunday Funday!!!!!

2008-02-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Grandparent time!!!!

Every Sunday my family usually gets together at my parents house to hang out and have a big family dinner. Well Last Sunday I decided to have everyone come to my house so that I didn’t have to drive in to town. Troy cooked on the BBQ and everyone brought a side dish, the food was great! We ate outside while Gavin and Weston played in the backyard. I love watching the kids enjoy themselves so much and I also love that it was still nice enough to eat outside. After dinner we played games and had dessert by the fire. It was a really enjoyable time. I am really lucky to have such a great family!

Gavin playing baseball with grandpa I think he was really in to it?! Weston playing soccer, he was great at it!!

My husband grilling up a storm, what a tropper!!!!!!

Guess who cleaned up the mess?

EVENTS!!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

This past week was very eventful. On Tuesday, I went to a vigil at the state capitol for a bill that mandates insurance companies extend coverage for behavioral therapy for children with Autism. It was very moving, and gave people a better understanding about how expensive this burden is for parents. I hope it is made known that Autism is treatable. That is why it is extremely important for this bill to pass. I am so grateful to my mother in law and sister in law who came out to support the bill. I want to thank all of you who signed the petition or who called your district office in support of the bill. My beautiful, delightful, intelligent, and spirited nephew Weston thanks you as well.
Now for the other events… On Wednesday I had my vendor party-- which went okay. I enjoyed being able to shop from the comfort of my mother's living room. I had fun, and I hope those of you who came enjoyed yourselves as well. Although it was fun, I will not be throwing a party for some time (They are a ton of work to organize). I'll still go to them, I just don’t want to have them :).

Okay now on to event three; London’s run. On Wednesday my husband decided he wanted to run a ½ marathon with Tricia and Jared. By the way, Tricia and Jared decided to run the ½ marathon a while back, so the fact that Troy decided on Wednesday is a bit comical. So I signed him up, and on Saturday he ran 13 miles. He made it in 3 hours 17 minutes, which is not too bad for not training and deciding three days earlier. I have to say I am so proud of him. I told him I would join him next year in the run after I train and look better in my gym clothes. Jared and Tricia did very well, in fact I am so impressed with Jared, he did awesome! I am also very proud of Tricia as well. She ran the whole way and looked good the entire time. Kristen and I had a great time driving from mile marker to mile marker cheering them on. - Being a supporter sure was exhausting!! After the race we went to Logan’s Roadhouse so the runners could eat all the calories they burned off. The funniest thing was when the waiter seated us we had to warn him that the racers might smell and not to think these people dressed like this for fun. It was hilarious to see them walking around like they were dying, which they were. I can’t wait until next time when I am able to run myself to death! Awesome day and an awesome run!!!

It was so exciting to see them win!!!!! Troy before the race!! The prepared runners and one crazy guy! The supports and a good lookin' runner
Jared running his heart out!

Troy at the 5 mile marker Tricia running her heart out at the 10 mile marker

The Aftermath

Trying Something New

2008-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

I don't normally do this but I thought I might give it a try; I am throwing a vendor party on the 30th of January at my mother's house. I went to a Cookie Lee party a while back and the Lady said I would get 50% off if I threw a party so I thought why not. I will have Cookie Lee (jewelry), Mary Kay, Gold Canyon, Pampered Chef, and Not So Perfect Tin. If you want any thing from those vendors come and bring who ever you want. I don't have everyone's address but I am sending out invitations soon so if any of you want to come email me your address at Mar21Sea@aol. I am crossing my fingers that it goes well. Hope to see you there!

This weekend Troy and I went up to California for our two year anniversary and for Lynn's baby shower. We had a very eventful weekend, I can't tell you what happened yet because I feel like someone else should post it before I do. Lets just say I am so glad I went and had an amazing time. Newport Beach is such a nice place and the weather was great. We also went to the Target in West Hollywood which felt like we where in another world. There are some of the most intresting people there. I have to say I love California but don't know if I could handle the amount of traffic. It took us a half and hour to move ten miles, ahh the joys of freeways. All in all it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back there soon!

Weston and Gavin

2008-01-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

I am writing this post to my nephew and son; I am in the mood to reminisce. First of all I want to say how lucky I am to have such and amazing nephew and what a blessing he is to my life and Gavin’s. Although my life doesn’t always go according to plan (who’s does?) I am so glad that my sister and I where able to be pregnant with in a few months of each other. Gavin and Weston have always been best friends and will continue to be the rest of their life. I am in complete amazement they way they bonded when they were just months old. I know that every parent thinks that there kid is the greatest and I am no different however; I love my nephew just as much as my own son. I can’t believe I have been so bless to have two wonderful little boys in my life. I know that they share such a special bond and I am so grateful for that. Here are some pictures from when they where younger.

I don’t want to ruin this post by telling everyone how mad I am that I lost my new phone yesterday at the movies theaters. So for that sake of an angry post lets just say I lost it and I was very upset. Sorry to Tricia for having to witness my outraged at every teenager in the parking lot (one in particular). I am also sorry that you had to hear me yell about how mad I was the whole way home. Okay that is enough of that; I will be getting a new phone soon. NO MORE WORRIES!!!!

Gavin's First Date!!

2007-12-28T13:35:00.002-08:00

Okay so it wasn't really a date but Gavin and Brooke sure acted like it was. We went to the Temple Lights with Chari, Wade, Cindy, and Brent (oh and all the little ones)! Well it was a fun night but I couldn't help but notice that Gavin and Brooke wouldn't leave each others sides and held hands the entire time, it was so cute. Cindy took a picture of the two standing under the Christmas wreath however; Cindy forgot to include the wreath in the pictures so you can use your imagination. It was s great night!

Oh and a little side note that I thought was so funny. As we were waiting for Cindy and Brent to arrive a group of mutual kids had just finish walking the grounds. A diver in a car stop in the middle of the road (he had just finished walking the grounds as well) to yell at a young man who had flashed him with a laser. The Leader of the young man said I will take care of this and that he was sorry. You would think that comment would have satisfied this driver but it didn't. He proceeded to tell the Leader to control his youth and that he wanted to make sure he took care of it. After a very uncomfortable 5 or so minutes of this driver glaring at the Leader talking to the young man he yelled "you are not taking care of this properly." The leader then walked up the man to try and diffuse the situation. This not only mad me laugh that the annoying man thought he could handle the situation but that he also stopped in the middle of the road for five minutes. I tell you if I would have been the driver behind him I would have gotten out and yelled at him. I am not one who diffuses situations to well I guess. It was pretty funny :)!

Birthday Dinner!!

2007-12-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

So tonight was my birthday dinner with my family. My sister and her family along with my parents came out to my house for dinner. Troy, Wade, and my Dad went pheasant hunting a few weekends ago and shot some birds so tonight that is what we had. To be perfectly honest it wasn’t that good it was a little dry but I still ate it. The best part was of course the cake; Troy bought two different kinds from cold stone since he wasn’t sure which one I would like. Well, I enjoyed them both and so did everyone else. It was a nice change to have my family come to my house since every Sunday we go to my parent’s house and then we have to drive the forty minutes home. I am so grateful for my family they truly are some of the most good hearted people I know. By the way if you are wondering why I am wearing such festive pj’s they are complements of my mother, it was part of my birthday present. They look extremely comfortable so I had to wear them for dinner. Thanks mom I have always loved flannel pj’s. I also thought it would be cute to get a picture in front of my Christmas lights which I am so proud of. I helped hang a few but Troy did most of the work. I just love this time of year and love decorating for Christmas. Also last Thursday was cowboy day at Gavin’s preschool so I took some pictures because he looked so cute. I didn’t have any boots for him (considering who my family is aka Saba’s you would think I would have a pair for him) so I had to make due with his skater shoes as Troy likes to call them. They learned all about the letter “C” and took some pictures on a saddle his teacher decked out with ropes and everything. It was a really fun day for him and he played the cowboy part perfectly!

Playing in the Rain & Tag Questions!!

2007-12-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from last week when it rained. Since rain is an infrequent sight in this lovely state I decided to be a non obsessive mother and let Gavin enjoy this rare occasion. He had a blast and played in the rain for at least an hour. Being that I had some where to go that night I choose to stay inside and keep the door open. Although I hate the summer and can’t stand June, July, August, and September’s radiant heat, I do love that it is so spectacular when it rains.
I also want to say that I had a wonderful dinner tonight with some awesome friends. Thank you so much Chari, Regan, Tricia, and Kristen for taking me out and I appreciate your friendships so much. I also want to add that although one of my dearest friends Lynn lives out of state and was not able to come I announced that she was there in spirit.

Okay now it is on to the tag that I need to get done!! Six interesting facts about me:

1. I hate FEET!!! I can stand my sons and a few other people’s feet (this includes my own) but other then that I can’t stand them. I tend to actually stare at them if they are exposed and really would break up with a guy if he had ugly feet. It is a problem I have been dealing with my whole life.

2. I don’t like it when anyone touches my face. My esthetician being exclude of course. I can’t help but think about all the germs and oils that are on peoples hands and am terrified that I will break out because of it.

3. This brings me to my next fact I am obsess with popping zits ask any of my friends (I use tissue so the oils on my hands don't get on there face too). I have popped many peoples zits only if they ask me of course. I have no clue why I feel the need to find one. It is a sense of accomplishment if something comes out, Gross I know!!!

4. I have this wired fear of dying. Well not just dying being murdered, since I was a little girl. I think it stems form all the horror movies I watch as a child. When Troy goes out of town and if I don’t have Gavin that weekend I sleep with my gun loaded next to me. I also stuff pillows under the covers to make me feel like he is home. I have a good aim so if some one does break in I am prepared. I need to clarify that I will not just shoot at anything that moves, I do understand gun safety and practice it.

5. I am particular about what my son wears. I feel it is completely justified being that I don’t have a girl and don’t get to experience that fun of dressing them up. So because of this I find a lot of satisfaction dressing up Gavin. Boy clothes are not nearly as fun to buy as girls though.

6. Finally I am crazy about my family and my friends. If someone hurts them in ANY way I get EXTREMELY protective. I care and love them very much and will hold a grudge against that person of a long time. It is a fault I am not saying that this is a good thing I am just warning people not to hurt my family or friends. To also clarify this I am an adult and let needed things go…… well not too much!!

I TAG LYNN, KRISTEN, TRICIA, REGAN, GINA, CHANTEL, TRICIA G., MARIE, MARIE C., CINDY, AND ANYONE ELSE I HAVE FORGOTTEN!

It's Christmas!!!!

2007-12-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we put up our Christmas tree, YEA!!!! Well to be perfectly honest my husband put it together because I am too short and I had to unfold all the branches and decorate the tree. Gavin did help by putting a few ornaments up. I love this time of year and I love my Christmas tree. I know so people have to have real trees but I like the fake ones. I much rather not worry about keeping the tree alive. Anyways here are a few pictures of the tree. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Oh and I almost forgot that big red snowflake ornament was a gift from Kristen, it's a friend ship ornament and I love it!!

No More Soccer :( !!!

2007-11-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was Gavin’s last soccer game, they will be greatly missed! He scored two goals (although one was in the other teams net), it was awesome. He had some much family there that it was a little distracting for him. At the end of the game he got a trophy which is now proudly displayed in his room. I am going to miss the games but will be sure to sign him up for more sports now that I know he loves it so much.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T10:20:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we went to Saba’s for dinner and the Alvarez’s for games. It was a blast my Aunt Alison and Uncle Roger hosted. It was a great meal of course and even better dessert. The amount of pies we had was insane; I couldn’t help but take a picture of this memorable moment. Roger and Alison have horses on their property and my nephew Weston got to feed them. It was such nice weather that most of day I was outside. That evening we went to my other family and played scene it battle of the sexes. Well, the women lost but I am bound and determined to win the next time. We didn’t have Gavin Thanksgiving which was a bummer but I know he had fun. He also came home with a big bruise on his ear which being a typical mother I over reacted and was so scared he would lose his hearing. It was a great Thanksgiving and I can’t wait until next year when I have another excuse to eat myself into oblivion. This is my Cousin DeaAnna and her Husband Jacob and their cute little girl Brooklynn.This is a picture of where most of the men spent Thanksgiving!!

Field Trip to BASHAS

2007-11-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went with Gavin and his class to his first field trip. We went on a tour of Bashas, I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was so neat and all the kids loved it. I never knew you could get a tour of Bashas and that it is free, they also give you pizza and cookies for FREE! First they watched this lady make cakes, she was so fast it took her five minutes to make one cake ( to decorate ). They gave all the kids little turkey rings then it was off to watch then make pizza’s. I still can’t get over that they just gave us two large pizzas for taking a tour. The tour guide took the kids to the sea food area and let the kids touch a lobster. It was really a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed themselves so much. At the end of the tour they brought the pizza and cookies out for everyone to have. By the way my kid was the only kid who asked for FOUR slices of pizza. I only gave him three but he still wanted a fourth. I have no clue where he puts it?!