Life's a Gamble

Reminder

2012-02-01T00:22:00.003-07:00

I just want to remind everybody that I am no longer going to be posting on this blog. Go to this link to check out my new blog and remember to change your blog roll to show my new blog so that you will know when I write a new post.

Thanks,
Nanette

I'm Back

2012-01-20T00:03:00.001-07:00

I'm back and I've decided to start a new blog. Therefore, I will no longer be posting on this blog. To follow my new blog click here.

Thanks,

Nanette

Apology

2011-09-25T22:35:00.000-06:00

I just want to apologize to every for not being good at blogging recently. I feel bad that I haven't been commenting on blogs like I usually do. It's been in the back of my mind a lot, but I've been so busy with school that I keep forgetting.

So here's my post for the month... well, hopefully I will at least get in one more before October.

Here's some pictures from the last week of what we've been up too.

Ethan with his first homework from kindergarten.

We have so many funny pictures of Logan sleeping. When he's tired, he's going to sleep. No matter what he's doing.

My baby is getting so big and he loves getting his picture taken. He still refuses to walk more than a couple of steps at a time, but I think he is getting close to walking.

Chris went out of town for a week and when he came home he brought me these. So sweet!

I've been so busy with school that I've really had to try to get organized. Of course, getting sick completely throws off one's schedule. I had a sinus infection while Chris was out of town and so I took a couple of days off from school work. Luckily I am caught up now and I am loving my major and my classes. I feel like I have picked the right major, because I'm reallly interested in what I'm learning.

So life is busy, but overall it is good.

Why is everything underlined? It's driving me crazy, but I can't figure out how to fix it.

One post

2011-08-29T22:00:00.001-06:00

That all I'm likely going to write for the month of August.

It's been a busy month filled with excitement and anticipation.

And you want to know what makes me feel old?

My oldest baby starts kindergarten tomorrow.

I'm very excited and proud of him, but I'm also wondering where the last 5 years have gone?

Here he is at about 5 months old. He was such a little cutie.

Now he is all "growed" up!

I'm also back in school after a year and a half off.

So far I'm loving my classes and I'm also excited that I could be graduated this time next year. :)

It's so nice when they actually all play together. I love my kiddos!

To do... to do.

2011-07-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about things that I want to accomplish or experience in my life.

I think I should write them down. Hopefully this will make me more likely to do it.

Here it goes...

*Take singing lessons.- I have an okay voice, but I would like to have an amazing voice and hopefully this would help.

* Learn how to skate backwards. -They make it look so easy on T.V., but I've tried and I have no clue how to do it.

*Travel anywhere and everywhere. - I want to travel to as many places as I can. I love history and I love experiencing new cultures.

*Get my passport and use it.

*Become fluent in another language.- I would probably pick German, because I already know some of it.

*Have enough money that I can travel places and do philanthropy. - I would love to have this as a full time job.

*Write and publish a novel.- I've always wanted to publish a book. I'm so excited about this one. I have an idea and I've already started working on it.

Get my Bachelor's degree. - Hopefully I will have this accomplished within a year.

Be completely self-sufficient.- No debt. This one will definitely take a long time to accomplish, but I intend for it to happen.

Those are all the ones I can think of at the moment. It's a pretty good list to start with though.

What would you like to do or accomplish?

Pondering life at Downtown Disney.

Recent Projects

2011-07-24T15:00:00.000-06:00

I took a year off from motivation.

At least that is what it felt like.

Once Colin was born most of my projects were put on hold. I was either too tired, busy, or unmotivated to do the things that I normally love.

I've finally been catching the crafty fever again.

Part of it is because I have been watching HGTV (my favorite channel) a lot more and I've been feeling inspired to create.

The other reason for my recent resurgence is that I had left so many unfinished projects sitting around and I wanted to feel the satisfaction of having them complete.

After a year of working on Colin's room I am proud to say that his room is pretty much complete. At least I got it done before he grew out of it. The only thing left that I want to do is get a couple of more pictures of him put in there and a picture of Jesus.

COLIN'S ROOM:

CRIB BUMPER

I actually finished his crib bumper right after he was born, but I recently had to fix it because the ribbon had frayed on some of the ties.

I cut out the animals from a different fabric and then sewed them on to the blue and green dot fabric.

PLAY RUG

I made this rug from some remnant material I got at Joann's and then sewed ribbon around it.

CURTAINS

The curtains were the easiest part. I got them for $3.99 a piece at Ross (love that store).

CHANGING TABLE

I painted the changing table a darker brown to match the crib.

WALL STICKERS

I found these cool wall stickers at the Dollar Store and they matched his room perfectly. I put them upon his closet.

ROCKING CHAIR

The rocking chair was definitely the most time consuming project. I had to reupholster and paint it. I painted it a dark brown to match his crib and changing table. Thanks to the expert help of Chris' mom, I was able to reupholster it and have it turn out really nice.

Cutie Colin

I also made this cute pillow to complement the rocking chair.

BAG HOLDER

I bought this at JoAnn's and painted it to match his room.

MAGNET BOARD

I love magnet boards. They are so fun.

SHELVES

I ordered this cute canvas of Colin online and then I painted his piggy bank to match his room.

OTHER DECORATIONS

This elephant canvas was my inspiration for the whole room. I got it at Ross for $2.99. Awesome! I made his cute mobile out of string and scrapbook paper. I got the idea at JoAnn's.

I used scrapbook paper, modge podge, and wood to make his letters.

CUTIE ONESIE:

I threw a baby shower for my friend about a month ago. She is having a girl and so I was so excited to make something girly since I don't get to very often. I got the idea for this onesie at JoAnn's. It took a lot longer then I thought it would, but it turned out great.

What do you think?

The last couple of weeks my focus has been on decorating my bedroom and living room.

Hopefully I will get them done faster than the year it took me to do Colin's room. I will post pictures soon.

Odds

2011-07-08T14:05:00.003-06:00

My kids are all odd numbers.

They are currently ages 5, 3, and 1.

Colin celebrated his 1st birthday on the 1st.

He seems so much more grown up now that he is one. (Outfit and Crown provided by Target. Shoes provided by Nana).

We started out the celebration with a party on June 30th at the South Ogden Nature Park.

He likes the water as long as it isn't getting in his face.

He wasn't too interested in opening his presents. He just wanted to play with the wrapping paper.

The ice cream cone cupcake cake I made.

We bought this cookie monster cake for Colin to eat.

Me and my birthday boy.

He dove right into his cake and loved it.

The cake monster all clean.

On his birthday we took him to Toads Fun Zone to get his free $25 gift card. He isn't really old enough to do stuff there, but the other kids had a lot of fun.

Riding the Merry Go Round

We squeezed our family into a tiny photo booth. It was cramped but a lot of fun.

We sang happy birthday to him again and let him eat a cupcake. He devoured it. While we were singing to him he said, "Wow". It was so adorable and I'm so glad I got it on video.

My three cute boys.

Playing on one of his presents.

He was mostly more interested in playing with the wrapping that the presents came than the toys themselves.

My baby is getting so big and I can't believe it!

He doesn't walk yet, but he can crawl really fast and he likes to pull himself to stand on everything.

He loves to clap, wave, make funny faces, shake his head yes and no, click his tongue, stand on his head with his bum in the air, and eat and play with cat food (I have a hard time keeping him away from this. He is so fast.).

He is such a curious little boy and loves to explore and examine and eat everything that he can find.

He loves stuffed animals and blankets and loves to suck his thumb when holding them.

He loves to jabber. His favorite things to say are: "mommommom", "dadada", and "nananananana".

He has such an amazing personality. He is very easy going and will smile at anyone who will pay attention to him.

Colin:
We are so glad that you are a part of our family and we love you so much! We are excited to see what this next year will bring and the many new things that you will learn.

5 already?

2011-07-03T17:58:00.005-06:00

Once again I am getting behind on my posts.

June just happens to be the busiest month of the year for our family.

So many birthdays.

It is fun, but a lot of work.

One of those birthdays was Ethan's.

My oldest baby turned 5 on June 27th. I can't believe I am the parent of a kindergartner. He has been counting down his birthday for a few months now.

The cute birthday boy! He had a star wars themed party.

The cake I made him. This is the first time I have put a lot of effort into a cake. I think it turned out pretty good.

With some of his presents. We had a party with some of his cousins.

We took all of the kids to Toad's fun zone to play arcade games. Ethan and Blaine were tall enough to ride on the go-karts as a passenger.

Having a blast.
I think he was having a good day because pretty much every picture I took of him he had a funny expression on his face.

Logan having fun on the Merry-Go Round

Happy Birthday Ethan. We love you!

Embarrassment

2011-06-19T20:43:00.007-06:00

Chris celebrated his 29th birthday on Wednesday.

I embarrassed him by calling him "cupcake" on Facebook and hanging this sign for him to see when he came home from work:

He didn't see it and so I made him go outside to look and it and then he said he was embarrassed.

We had Navajo tacos for dinner (my favorite) and then we watched the Stanley Cup Finals (per his request).

I continued to embarrass him by making him wear this at dinner:

I think this might be a new family tradition! :)

To make it fair I made everyone else there wear the glasses too.

I look like the biggest dork.

I will save the others from embarrassment and keep their pictures in my secret file for future blackmail (Joking).

I was so busy that I didn't make him a cake and so I was lame and bought him some cheesecake at the store.

Happy Birthday Chris! We love you. One more year until the big 30!!!!

Nano Rocks

2011-06-02T20:49:00.000-06:00

Nanette is the one who usually writes a blog about various things and I enjoy reading the stories about the kids and what she has been doing. So I thought I would surprise her and do one about her.

Isn't She Beautiful?

I think so.

Nanette is the glue that holds us together. When the kids haven't gone wild, she has done her best to make sure the house is clean and comfortable. I know she is doing a great job because the kids love her and somehow can't get enough of her. :-)

Really though, the best part about Nanette is that she loves me enough to marry this stubborn bald guy.

I Love You Nanette and Thank You For Everthing!

Tubed

2011-05-19T11:34:00.003-06:00

My boys have the "ear infections/huge tonsil" genes.

Two weeks after Logan had his tonsils out, Colin had to get tubes in his ears.

Now all three boys are "tubed".

No more ear infections (at least until the tubes fall out).

The hardest part about a baby getting surgery is that they can't eat after a certain point and they aren't old enough to understand why.

I wasn't too worried, because Colin usually sleeps all night.

But he must've known something was going on because he woke up at 4 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. We didn't have to be to the surgical center till 7:15. We were relieved when his surgery was over and he got to have a bottle. He gulped it down so fast.

We definitely took a nap when we went home.

"Me want a bottle". -In the waiting room

Trying to keep him entertained so he doesn't cry. He was pretty hungry.

After: He was restless for about 30 minutes and then he wanted to play and acted like nothing had happened.

He is doing great now, except of course he is teething. There is always something.

So behind...

2011-05-16T17:00:00.002-06:00

...on blogging.

I honestly think about doing it every day.

I have my awesome sister Katie as a good example for blogging. She is so motivated to do it.

I will try harder.

By Small And Simple Things (The theme for the conference):

I had the opportunity to go to the BYU Women's Conference a couple of weeks ago.

This was my second year going.

It was an amazing experience.

You should definitely make the effort to go if you can.

I felt so spiritually uplifted the whole time and I came home wanting to be a better wife, mother, friend, and daughter of God.

And believe it or not... I still feel the same way 2 weeks later.

I took a ton of notes and I've enjoyed reading back through them and remembering what I learned.

I hope that I can be a better friend to you who read this and to anyone I may come in contact with.

Here are a few pictures from the fun weekend:

My mom's cousin Lisa, Me, and Naomi

The 2nd day. We were so tired.

Waiting in line for a class at the Smith Fieldhouse.

We were bored and we provided entertainment for the people behind us in line.

Ha ha.

I like to embarrass myself.

We took this picture in honor of Katie who couldn't come with us. We imagined you acting out this picture Katie. :)

We thought this picture looked like our brother Nick before he got a hair cut. :)

My Dad holding up the Marriott Center roof. He was one of the few men there and was such a good sport in driving us around.

E.B. was here

2011-05-02T16:00:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter.

It gets more fun every year as the boys get older.

They had 2 Easter egg hunts and were spoiled by their grandparents.

The hardest part about holidays is making sure the kids understand the real reason for celebrating them.

Ethan was so excited for the Easter bunny to come. He was hoping that he could catch a glimpse of him and watch him "poop" out jelly beans (We went the the movie "HOP" a couple of weeks before).

On Easter Sunday I asked Ethan if he knew why we celebrated Easter. He told me no. I asked him if he wanted me to tell him. He told me no. Of course, I told him anyway.

Ethan had his face painted like a baby chick at the primary party.

Logan finding Easter eggs.

Colin and I after the egg hunt.

Ethan and Chris coloring eggs.

Colin in his cute Easter outfit.

I can't believe how big my baby is getting!

Happy May to everyone. I'm so glads its here. It's one of my favorite months for many reasons.

Loges

2011-04-21T20:52:00.006-06:00

My sweet Logi Pogi had to get his tonsils out today.

They've been enlarged for sometime.

Waiting for the doctor to take him back. He was happy, but anxious.

Logan took a funny picture of Chris.

Right after he woke up from the surgery. He was still sleepy. After about an hour of going in and out of sleep, he woke up, played with cars, and was surprisingly happy.

The IV in his foot. Poor guy. I told him the nurse was going to come take his IV out and then we could go home and he said worriedly, "I don't want her to take my eye out".

With his cow that he got at the surgical center. He named it "Cookie".

He's done pretty good since he has been home. It's amazing how tough kids are compared to adults. Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery.

Two kids down; 1 to go. I'm guess that it will be colin's turn in 2 years when he is 3.

Daddy's bowling

2011-04-07T15:57:00.010-06:00

Chris joined a bowling league a few months ago.

It's been fun for him to go. He is actually a really good bowler, which is certainly the opposite of me.

The boys love to go to "Daddy's bowling"; especially Logan. He will beg all week to go. The reason he wants to go so bad is not to watch daddy, though, it's because there is a mini arcade there. The boys love playing games, winning tickets, and getting prizes.

The last couple of times we have gone they have won around 500 tickets each time. It is amazing. I know I never won that many tickets growing up. The only bad thing about it is that they will probably expect to win that much next time too.

Cute boys with their tickets

Ethan eating his tickets and Logan counting his

On to other news:

My sweet babes turned 9 months on the 1st.

He is growing up so fast and is such a joy in our lives. He has such an easy going, happy personality.

When he went to the doctor for his checkup he was only in the 14th percentile for his weight, which really surprised me because one of his nicknames is "Chubs". His head measured in the 100 percentile, though, which means he is going to be really smart. LOL. The most important thing, though, is that he is healthy.

I love how he is holding his hands and legs in this picture. If only he was looking.

Where are you?

2011-03-28T22:40:00.005-06:00

Spring.,

Where are you?

The Groundhog said you would be here 6 weeks ago.

I am so done with this weirdo weather.

Why is it sunny for an hour, rainy the next, and snowy after that? (Repeated over and over again).

I'm getting depressed being cooped up in the house.

Please bring warm, sunny weather ASAP.

Sincerely,

Dislikes snow after Christmas

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the 1/2 of a day last week that it was sunny and somewhat warm, I took the boys to the park. It felt so good to be outside. The boys were so excited.

My sweet babes. He loved the swings the most.

Ethan, my soon to be kindergartener

Logan the monkey

Three cutie boys

What cute smiles!

Lovin' it

2011-03-24T15:08:00.001-06:00

I got my hair done last week by my sis-in-law Chelsea.

She works at a salon in Logan and I was up visiting my parents and thought it was the perfect time for my hair to get some much needed attention.

She dyed my hair darker and put highlights in the back and I also got some more bangs on the side.

I love, love, love it!

Thanks so much Chelsea. It was fun talking to you and getting pampered.

My hair. Voila.

The back. This picture doesn't show the highlights very well.

I have never been good at doing my hair. Just ask my sister Katie or anyone else for that matter. So I was thrilled when it turned out this good on Sunday. Of course I had to take a picture.

I'm so blessed to have a sister and sister-in-law who are so talented with hair. Now I just need to live closer to them so that I can pay them to do my hair everyday! :)

Renactment

2011-03-20T23:25:00.005-06:00

On March 27th Chris and I will have known each other for 7 years.

We met on a blind date.

Yesterday we decided to relive our first date.

I don't remember as much as I would like to of our first date.

I do remember that my cousin Ashley was trying to set me up with a different guy, but then he couldn't come and so I told her not to worry about it and that I didn't need to go.

Well, then my cousin Josh found his friend Chris Gamble to go with me.

I had been on 4 other blind dates before so I wasn't extremely nervous... until I got to Josh and Steph's house. Chris was "hiding" in the basement when I got there. It's always weird when you meet your blind date for the first time. You have no clue what they are going to look like or what they will be like.

I remember that I was the chauffeur for the date. I drove my awesome Ford Explorer because we could fit all six of us in it. We started out with small talk... and I soon found out that Chris was unemployed; well, in his defense he was between jobs and was going to start a new job the next week. That is all I remember about our conversation in the car. Chris and I always joke about how this is a good way to start out a date by telling the other person that you don't have a job.

We ate dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square. I don't remember anything expect that Strawberry Lemonade came out my nose. I don't recommend laughing and drinking at the same time.

After dinner we stopped at the Tesoro Gas Station on Beck Street in North Salt Lake. I think I had to get gas. Then we went to the Walmart in Harrisville and walked around for an hour. I don't even remember why we went there. We did sit on one of the couches and stare at the camera in the ceiling. Good times.

I honestly can't remember what we did after that. I think we went back to Josh and Steph's house and either played a game or watched a movie. Do you remember Ashley? I wish I would've written this stuff sooner.

Anyways, we might never have seen each other again, but I stayed over at Ashley's house that night and went to church with her on Sunday. Ash's mom asked me if I wanted Josh to invite Chris over for dinner.

Chris came over. He spilled red punch on their tablecloth. I spilled chicken on my shirt. Chris ate it off my shirt. We went to a Jericho Road fireside. We sorta held hands. Chris got up the courage to ask me out again.... and the rest is history (well, we obviously went on a lot more dates before we tied the knot).

I don't have any pictures of us on our first date, but my Aunt did take a picture of us at dinner that Sunday. I will scan it soon and then you can see how young we look.

Back to yesterday:

We reenacted our date a week early because we had a babysitter and when you have kids you can't pass up those opportunities.

We first went to Home Depot. We walked around without the kids driving us nuts and we talked about different things we want to do to our house.

We then went to IKEA. I wanted to buy everything, but we were good and just window shopped.

Next we arrived at the Spaghetti Factory. We only had to wait about five minutes. We were seated in the trolley. I was excited to sit there, but then I realized that it was pretty crammed. So, we can say that we have eaten in the trolley car, but never want to do it again.

My handsome hubby

I love spumoni! Can you tell my hair is darker? Thanks Chelsea for coloring it. I will show a close picture of it once I get a picture.

Sadly...Strawberry Lemonade did not come out my nose, but we had a really enjoyable time strolling down memory lane.

On our way home we obviously had to stop at Walmart. Their furniture is up high now, so we couldn't sit on a couch. We went over to Lawn and Garden thinking we could sit on a patio chair, but they have those up high now too. They must have gotten sick of people making out on them.

I remembered that they usually have benches by the pharmacy and so we headed over there and sat on one for a couple of minutes.

I bet people thought we were weird taking a picture of ourselves on a Walmart bench. They just don't understand that it holds sentimental meaning to us. Ha ha.

I can't believe we have known each other for 7 years. I also can't imagine that we went most of our life not knowing each other. But now we are family... And we have a lot to show for our 7 years together. Most importantly... we have created 3 adorable boys.

It has been a rocky road at times, but I am certainly enjoying the ride.

I love you Chrissy.

What did you do on your first date with your spouse?

P.S. My baby has started crawling. He is getting into eveything!

Blessed

2011-03-15T14:32:00.007-06:00

I think of myself as a whiner.

I'm always complaining about how hard things are or how I wish things were different.

I dislike this trait of mine. It is a definite weakness.

But... As I was laying in bed last night, tossing and turning, I became overwhelmed with love and gratitude for all the I have.

I am so blessed.

.....So blessed to be the mother of this sweet cutie. As you can see, we can't leave him in his car seat unbuckled anymore.

He decided he had enough and was almost all of the way out before I grabbed him. He is getting so mobile. He does the army crawl and also likes to scoot on his back. It is pretty funny to watch. He says Mama a lot, mostly when he is sad. I have also heard him say hi and dada.

He is such a sweet baby. He loves to hold his doggie or a blanket when he is tired and suck his thumb. I love you Colin Babes!

...So blessed to be the mother of this adorable 3 year old. Doesn't he look so cute in his bowling shoes? He asks to go bowling every day; not really because he wants to bowl, but because he wants to play the arcades there. He has the cutest little voice and always says the sweetest things. He always tells me that different things are beautiful... like my hair or other things. He is also very sensitive to when others are sick or hurt by giving them hugs and kisses.

A couple of conversations we have had with Logan lately:

Chris was reading a book with Logan (He has been obsessed with reading books lately.). Logan pointed at a picture and mentioned that it was Chris.

Chris: No. That's Jesus. Did you know that Jesus loves you?

Logan: Yah. He died me.

Me: He died for you?

Logan: Yah. But he will get up again.

So precious to hear from a 3 year old. I can tell he has been listening in primary.

Another conversation from this morning:

Me: You know I love you right?

Logan: Ohhhh.

Me: What?

Logan: You're so funny.

Me: Do you love me?

Logan: No. I love Ethan.

Me: Well do you love me too?

Logan: No. Just Ethan.

Me: Okay. Well, go have fun playing with him.

Logan: Okay.

Me: Love you.

Logan: Love you too.

What a sweet boy.

He is becoming such a good, big brother to Colin. He always wants to hold him and give him his bottle. He actually looks smaller than Colin in this picture. I just noticed that. He is pretty small for his age, but such a cutie. I love you Loags!

....So blessed to be the mother of this smartie pants 4 year old. Ethan loves going bowling too. He has become obsessed with Star Wars lately. He loves watching the cartoon and also the real movies. Him and Logan pretend they are fighting with light sabers all day. He is very interested in numbers and already knows basic addition. He is obsessed with doing puzzles and can put together 100 piece ones by himself. I can't believe my oldest baby is going to be in kindergarten this year!

We are at Nana and Papa's house right now. Ethan was taking a bath last night. He wanted the jets turned on. I left the room for a minute and came back to find him completely covered in bubbles. It was hilarious. He is such an amazing big brother to baby Colin. He always makes Colin laugh. He also loves to help me clean. I love you Ethan Vader!

...So blessed to have a wonderful husband. He is an amazing bowler. He is so good at providing for our family. He is an awesome dad to our 3 boys. He always has so much on his plate but somehow he manages to deal with lack of sleep and free time. He makes me feel so special and loved. We have many differences, but also so many things in common. We love watching sports together. We love scrapbooking together (ok. Well, he probably doesn't love it, but he is willing to do it to spend time with me). Most of all we love spending time together. I'm so glad I found you Chris. I love you and can't wait until you come home from 'Bama.

...So blessed to have the knowledge of the true gospel.

...So blessed to be sealed to my family for eternity.

...So blessed to have a Savior who loves me.

...So blessed to know and love so many good people. I would mention you all, friends and family, but then this blog would go on for eternity. Just know I am thinking of you.

..So blessed for so many things.

When I feel like whining again, then I will remind myself to read this post.

So blessed.

Writers Block...Ugh.

2011-03-03T21:08:00.007-07:00

I have writer's block and am having a hard time coming up with things to write so this will mostly be a picture post.

My sweet baby turned 8 months old on the 1st. He is the sweetest little boy. Always smiling.

Chris gave me these beautiful tulips on Tuesday. I love it when he surprises me with flowers; especially tulips. They are my favorite.

Chris helped me make a delicious dinner tonight. We made Chicken Marsala and also had Gorgonzola Cheese Fondue for our bread. Very stinky cheese, but SO YUMMY! I even got out the place mats and put our salad in a bowl instead of just getting it out of the bag. Talk about going the extra mile for once. J/K.

I found this picture on my camera. I guess Ethan took it while I was making dinner. As you can tell I am cooking by "lamplight". Our kitchen light decided to stop working last Saturday. We replaced the light bulbs and switch, but it still isn't working. Chris is going to take it apart tomorrow and hopefully we will have light again. It's not so fun doing dishes in the dark. Unfortunately we don't have a window in the kitchen.

Overall it's been a good week.

I've been to the gym 4 days in a row.

My teeth are getting whiter every day.

I haven't cried or gotten depressed for a few days.

One of the downsides to this week is that my friend Leah moved to California. I had so much fun hanging out with her, but hopefully I'll will be able to go on a road trip to see her sometime.

Leah, Me, and my friend Kasey

I've learned this week that exercise really does give you energy, motivates you, and makes you feel better about yourself. So if you are feeling down, do some jumping jacks or something.

Wow, this turned into a more productive post then I was expecting it to be.

Hopefully I can get myself to write another one soon.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Mommy I'm happy

2011-02-15T12:50:00.003-07:00

I have been desperately wanting to get Logan potty trained for some time now.

He is almost 3 1/2 years old and we are tired of changing his diapers. The only problem is that he seems to be pretty content.

One day I was changing an extra "awesome" diaper of his and I asked him if he was tired of having to get his diaper changed and if he wanted to go in the potty. Without skipping a beat he replied, "No Mommy. I'm happy".

How are you supposed to potty train a kid when he is "happy" with wearing diapers?

I have gotten him to sit on his potty a couple of times. He is a very patient kid when he does sit on it. He sat on the toilet for 2 hours straight once. Crazy kid!

"Mommy, stop taking pictures of me on the potty!"

Hopefully I will have a breakthrough soon.

P.S. Colin is all better from his RSV, but now the poor kid has an ear infection. :(

No-Mo For Me Please

2011-02-03T19:39:00.005-07:00

RSV + Chris out of town = A Crazy Week!

That's right.

My poor, sweet baby Colin has RSV. We avoided it with the other two boys when they were babies, but this time we weren't so lucky.

7 months old and sick :(

I took him to the doctor on Tuesday because he had a cough that kept getting worse, he wasn't eating much, and his feet looked a little purple.

After getting a chest x-ray( Have you seen the contraption have to put babies in to make them hold still? It's awful), a breathing treatment, and his nose swabbed, the doctor determined that he most likely had RSV.

He referred me to the RSV clinic at Mckay Dee Hospital. I took him their where he had his nose suctioned and was given another breathing treatment. Of course he did not like having to do any of this. The next day I found out from the nose swab that he did indeed have RSV. :(

Since Tuesday evening I have taken him back to the clinic 2 more times; including this morning at 3 am. I am exhausted, but I am hopeful that he is finally on the mend and am also grateful that so far he has not had to be admitted to the hospital.

Have any of you had baby's with RSV?

As you can tell from the top of this post, Chris has been out of town all week. Awesome timing... isn't it? Thankfully Chris' mom has been such a big help. I don't know what I would have done with out her.

The biggest bummer is that we were going to head to Wyoming on Wednesday to hang out with my mom and Katie. I will just have to do redo trip when everyone is feeling good.

To top everything off, Logan started throwing up today. I have no clue why.

When it rains it pours.

I just have to keep telling myself, "It could be worse".

Chris... I know you are enjoying sunny Florida, but I'm ecstatic that you are coming home tomorrow. I know you would have been here this week if you could.

No-Mo For Me Please :)

P.S. You must be proud Katie! This is my 3rd day in a row :)

Switching Places Might Be Nice

2011-02-02T22:44:00.003-07:00

THIS IS ME:

THIS IS CHRIS:

This actually kind of looks like him. Ha ha.

Chris is in Tampa, Florida right now on a business trip. While he is enjoying 80 degree weather, I freeze my hands off every time I go outside.

Lucky him!

NO FAIR for me!

I wish my full time job as a stay at home mom would send me on a mommy convention to somewhere warm. :)

We miss you Chris and hope you are having a good time!

Month of Blogging

2011-02-01T22:38:00.003-07:00

I have been such a slacker on blogging lately... so I have decided that February will be my month for blogging. We will see by the end of the month how well I did.

A couple of quick pictures to show what we have been up to.

The boys have been spending a lot of time hanging out with each other. It is so fun to watch them bond together and become good friends. Ethan and Logan love Colin so much and are so good at helping me take care of him.

My sweet babes got his first two teeth on the 19th. The picture is somewhat blurry but if you look close you can see the teeth popping out.

That's all for today. Gotta save stuff to write for tomorrow. :)

Sweet Baby Toes

2011-01-14T14:09:00.006-07:00

I love baby feet; especially toes.

They are so adorable and since little babies don't walk, their feet usually don't get stinky and sweaty and so I can kiss them without feeling grossed out.

My sweet baby's sweet toes

Some of you might think this is weird, but I love taking pictures of baby feet. Mostly so I can remember how adorable they used to be once they've grown big and sweaty.

My sweet baby turned 6 months old on New Year's Day. He is my best baby so far (sorry Ethan and Logan). He loves hanging upside down, being bounced, and being tickled. Most of all he loves cuddling and attention. He had his first vegetables a couple of days after that. I start him out with green beans.His first bite... he wasn't quite sure what to think.

Second bite... all smiles! He loves green beans and every vegetable I have given him since.

We really enjoyed the holidays. Christmas is so much fun when you have little kids. I have never seen Ethan so excited. He had the hardest time getting to sleep on Christmas Eve. We also enjoyed hanging out with family; playing games and building puzzles.

The three boys in there new pjs on Christmas Eve

Ethan with his new Buzz Lightyear Wings on Christmas

Well the new year has already brought some changes to our family: new diets, new commitment to saving money and getting out of debt, and a new member to our family.

Introducing Marshmallow.

That's right. We got a cat. He was a stray cat who needed a home. He is already litter box trained and is such a good cat. The boys absolutely love him. We tried having a dog a couple of years ago, but that didn't work out. I'm pretty sure that Marshmallow will be staying with us for a long time. He us such a low maintenance pet and so cute. Chris named him marshmallow because he is white with a little bit of tan on his tail, ears, and nose.... so he looks like a toasty marshmallow.

One more picture and then I am done for the day.

I love how they are both looking. Well, you expect Chris to look, but Colin is iffy sometimes.

I love my family!

A VERY Late Halloween

2010-11-23T12:01:00.007-07:00

I'm finally posting about Halloween. I decided it's better late than never, but I definitely want to do it before Thanksgiving which is only 2 days away. Yikes!

The last 3 years we have had an awesome Halloween party at my parent's house. This year we decided to have a Harry Potter themed Halloween. All of the adult's dressed up as a character from Harry Potter. We did the sorting hat, had a potions class, and ate a mystery dinner. We also took the kiddos trick or treating.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall

Hagrid

Professor Trelawney and Doby the Elf

Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, and Professor Snape

Batman

Professor Sprouts, Bellatrix, and Ginny Weasley

Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter

Knight in Shining Armor

Luna Lovegood

Winky and Doby

My sweet little pea pod

Colin wearing Hagrid's wig. So Cute!

I hope everyone had as good of a Halloween as we did and I hope you have an awesome Turkey Day!

Logi Pogi

2010-10-31T21:47:00.007-06:00

My little Logi Pogi turned 3 on Tuesday.

We threw a Halloween themed birthday party for him last Saturday.

Ethan dressed up as a pirate. Logan didn't want to dress up.

Colin was a cute little pea pod!

I made these pumpkin cupcakes for his party. They took me forever to make. My friend Kasey helped me. I think they turned out great!

The kids did a pumpkin walk

So did the adults.

The kids had a donut eating contest. Ethan won.

The adults also had donut eating contests.

I won my round.

I didn't realize how hard it would be to eat a donut hanging from a string without hands.

On Tuesday, October 26th (Logan's actual birthday), we had a party for him at my parent's house.

His favorite thing to do was blow out his candles.

I can't believe my middle baby is three and will be in primary in a couple of months! We sure do love having him in our family.

Wedding Bells

2010-10-19T14:12:00.006-06:00

My little brother Dane got married on Friday.

It was an awesome day.

He married Chelsea... a really cute girl.

Wedding Breakfast

All the boys had matching shirts and surprisingly they cooperated for a picture!

Finally a picture of my whole family together

So sweet

I love the look on Chris' face

The boys got to wear tuxs

So cute!

I can't believe my little brother is married and I really can't believe I have 3 kids!

On another note:

I made this cute baby boy stuff for my sister-in-law's friend. It includes a nursing cover, 2 burp cloths, a wipes case, and two bibs.

For more pictures of it click here

I ate it all gone

2010-09-27T13:56:00.004-06:00

"Mommy, I ate it all gone!"

Usually when you hear your child say this you tell them "Good job. I'm so proud of you!"

Well... is a mother supposed to be proud when her son comes in the room, says the above phrase, and hands her an empty thing of chap stick?

So as not to make him (Logan) feel bad I said "Good job", gave him a strange look, and threw the chap stick in the garbage.

The kid is almost 3 years old. I thought by now he was over eating things that aren't food, but I guess I still need to keep an eye on him. If you have read previous posts I have written you might remember that he has eaten things such as diaper rash cream, dishwasher detergent, and fish cleaner. Luckily he doesn't usually swallow things, he just likes to lick them (except the chap stick of course).

I didn't realize that I had gotten a picture of Logan eating the chap stick until I was looking through my pictures.

This cute boy slept for six hours straight last night; the most he has slept in a row since he was born. It was wonderful!

Ethan loves hanging out with Colin!

Have your kids eaten weird things or is my child just "special"?

Colin's Blessing

2010-09-13T09:28:00.004-06:00

Our sweet little boy was blessed yesterday by Chris.

Everything turned out great.

Cutest Smile Ever

Our family minus Ethan. He refused to be in the picture.

Four Generations: Grandpa J, Dad, me, Colin

Four Generations: Grandpa and Grandma J, Mom, Chris, and Colin

Thanks to all who came. We appreciate your love and support!

Smithfield

2010-09-06T15:17:00.004-06:00

I've been staying at my parent's house in Smithfield this last week.

I have still been having a hard time adjusting to three kids and so they have been graciously helping me out. I feel like I'm a weak person, but I am hoping this experience will make me stronger. Anyways...

Just a couple of pictures from the week:

Colin loves his bath time in my mom's sink

Chris gave Colin his first bite of potatoes. He didn't know what to think of it.

Getting ready to go on a Sunday walk

Two of my boys taking a Sunday nap

What an adorable face!

Me and my little sweetie!

I made this centerpiece for the table from a stalk of celery, because it looked like a flower. I know. It's pretty dorky.

I made this cute wipes case for Chris' aunt. If anyone wants me to make them one, just let me know! :)

Lack of Sleep

2010-08-30T21:27:00.009-06:00

My lack of blogging lately can mostly be attributed to lack of sleep.... and also the fact the I have 3 kids now and I haven't quite figured out how to get everything done that I need to in a day.

I had forgotten how hard newborns are to take care of, but also how sweet, cuddly, and adorable they are.

I have taken some awesome pictures lately. In an effort to save some money, I decided to try to take pictures of Colin myself and make my own birth announcement. I'm definitely not a professional, but I think they turned out pretty good.

I love this picture because he looks so chubby! I think he is going to be my biggest baby so far.

His cute birth announcement. I love how it turned out!

My sister Katie bought these awesome shirts for my boys. I think they are adorable:

Big Brother

Middle Brother

Little Brother

I can't wait to buy a frame for this picture. It is so cute!

I haven't edited the other pictures of Colin yet, but they turned out really cute. I love my boys!

Ethan is starting preschool on Thursday at Children's Classic School by our house. I'm so nervous for him because he is really shy, but I think it will really help him to get ready for kindergarten next year.

Time to Blog

2010-08-17T13:32:00.014-06:00

Life has been crazy busy lately.

It is quite an adjustment getting used to three kids again. Newborns are definitely a lot more work and I've gotten a lot less sleep since he has been born.

I think I am finally getting used to things again.

Colin has started to sleep a little better.

My baby is 6 weeks old. Crazy!

My 2 older boys have been with my parent's camping for a week, so it has been a nice little break. I certainly miss them though and I'm excited to see them tomorrow.

We had an opportunity to go to Las Vegas this last weekend. My father-in-law recently retired and was celebrating by getting to drive 80 laps in a Nascar car at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

We had forgotten how much we hate Vegas. The smoke. The gambling. The immodesty.

I do enjoy taking in the sites though and I wish we would have had more time to go to some of the cool hotels on the strip and walk around.

It was so much fun hanging out with all of Chris' siblings and a couple of my nephews and niece.

All and all we had fun. We were just reminded that Vegas won't be our first choice for where we want to go for our next vacation.

Hoover Dam. Chris' dad, Step-mom Jeannie, and Colin

Bryce and Shanna. They were having a blast getting a break from their three cute kiddos.

Shanna holding her gum to stop the leak in the dam.

Sibling love is so sweet!What a cute family! Nate, Alison, and Kaiden
Grandpa holding baby Collie

Standing in front of the amazing Hoover Dam

Chris agreed to hold up the massive bridge while they were working on it. :)

At the Pawn Stars Pawn shop. We were hoping to see the main guys from the show or a least Chumlee, but they were probably in the back room. It was awesome to be there though.

Chris holding our $13 a pound bag of m&ms at The M&M Factory. We didn't know how expensive they were until we had already filled the bag.

Hanging out at the race track.

My sweet niece Braylee. She is 13 days younger than Colin.
Chris' dad with his driving instructor

Posing by a race car

We each had the opportunity to ride in a car for 3 laps at 165 mph. It was awesome!

A Binky Baby

2010-07-27T14:35:00.008-06:00

Colin is a binky baby.

He is so good at holding it in his mouth by himself.

My other two boys never really liked a pacifier or maybe I just didn't offer it to them enough. I don't know. At least I didn't have to wean them off of it.

This is Ethan trying to burp Colin. It looks like he is trying to feed him. :)

Here is a sweet picture I took of him today. He will be a month old on Sunday!

Chris is on a mini-business trip to Dallas right now and so I am hanging out at my parent's house. I don't think I am quite ready to handle three boys alone just yet. The good news, though, is that I think I am getting over my baby blues. I haven't been as anxious the last few days.

I finished the crib bumper for Colin's bed. I think it turned out pretty cute.

To See more pictures of it... check out my craft blog here.

A Baby Story

2010-07-15T13:14:00.008-06:00

I can't believe Colin is already 2 weeks old! Today would've been my due date.

Overall, he is a wonderful baby. He sleeps pretty good and only cries when he is hungry or cold (I hope this doesn't change). He did have jaundice and had to be on the lights for a week, but he is all better now.

Strapped to the Bili Bed. Since he was glowing Chris kept saying, "Take me to your leader." It was funny. Poor Colin. Luckily, he is too young to know what is going on.

I decided that I wanted to write a little bit about my experience starting a couple of weeks before he was born up to when he came into this world. I writing this so that I can look back later on and remember the details that I would otherwise forget. (I wish I would have done this with my other kids.)

I love this picture. It was taken pretty much right after I saw him for the first time. It is such an amazing experience seeing you baby for the first time. Chris and I both thought he looked like Logan.

I had a ton of Braxton-Hicks Contractions with this kiddo. They started to get pretty strong and painful the last couple of weeks. I thought I was in labor numerous times starting around 35 weeks pregnant. It got to where pretty much every time I was walking I would start having contractions. A lot of the times I would get shooting pains through my bladder (especially when I was at Wal-mart. No idea why.)

Starting Friday June 18th I began having regular contractions. I thought for sure I was in labor. I even laid down for awhile to see if they would go away and they didn't. We decided to go to Target to go for a walk to see if they would get stronger. They did, but on the drive home they went away. It was so frustrating.

Sunday June 20th I started having regular contractions again, for about 3 hours, but then they went away all of a sudden. I thought for sure these contractions must at least be dilating me or something.Wednesday June 23rd we finally went to the hospital at about 3 a.m. because I couldn't sleep and I was having regular, painful contractions. To my dismay I was only dilated to a 1! They sent me home after a couple of hours. I went to sleep for about 4 hours and when I woke up I was still having contractions. I had a doctor's appointment that day and was surprised to find out that I was dilated to a 3 when the doctor checked me! Finally my contractions were doing something. At this time I was 36 weeks and 6 weeks pregnant. The doctors told me to go home and when the contractions became more regular and painful to come back to the hospital. I thought for sure I was in labor and going to have the baby. That evening around 5 we decided to go back to the hospital, because my contractions were still regular and painful. To my dismay again I was still only dilated to a 3. (I had this problem with my other 2 pregnancies. I would be having regular painful contractions and not dilate at all). After a couple of hours the nurse sent me home saying that there was nothing they could do and that they couldn't induce me because I wasn't far enough along. I was pretty frustrated and cried for awhile that night. My contractions eventually went away. I decided that I wouldn't go back to the hospital unless my water had broken or the baby was practically coming out. It was so embarrassing to me to have to be sent home twice. After all, shouldn't I be a pro? This was my 3rd kid.

Well, I went throughout the week and weekend with still no sign of baby. I guess it was a good thing, because Ethan's birthday was on the 27th and I'm glad I was able to be there for his party.

I went to the doctor on June 30th thinking that I must be more dilated or effaced because of all of the painful contractions I had been having. At this time I was 37 weeks 6 days pregnant. Unfortunately I was still only a 3 and still pretty thick. I think the doctor felt bad for me though, because he decided to strip my membranes. He said that he wasn't sure if it would do anything, but he would do it anyways.

Well, pretty soon after the doctor's appointment I began having painful contractions. After a couple of hours they became very regular and more painful then I had had so far in this pregnancy. At around 5 I decided that I would take the chance and go back to the hospital. I had laid down for an hour and my contractions had continued. Chris' mom came and got the boys and we headed to the hospital.
Before being admitted I told Chris that I needed food. Once you are admitted they won't let you eat until the baby is born and from past experience of being in labor forever (Ethan 37 hours, Logan 25 hours) I wanted to make sure that I got something to eat. We decided to eat at the hospital cafeteria (Mckay Dee has yummy food and my contractions were getting more painful). I checked in at 6:00 p.m. and to my delight I had the same nurse, Lisa, who was working the first time I had gone to the hospital. She was so nice and I really did not like the nurse the second time I had gone to the hospital. She was rude and not sympathetic at all.

Anyways... Lisa checked me and I was dilated to a 4! I was so thrilled. I still wasn't effaced much though. After monitoring me for a while, the doctor decided to admit me. I was so excited. My doctor happened to be at the hospital, so once I was moved to a delivery room he came to check on me and break my water. Unfortunately, the baby was still really high up and so he didn't feel comfortable breaking my water at the moment. The nurse would come in and check me every couple of hours and I still wasn't dilating any more; even after being put on a heavy dose of pitocin. At midnight I decided to get an epidural. It was wonderful and helped me relax so much. At 2:30 a.m. I was finally dilated to a 5 and so a resident doctor came in and broke my water for me. Usually once my water is broken I begin to dilate faster.

I was excited to have my water broken, because I then knew for sure that they wouldn't be able to send me home without having the baby. Finally by about 6 a.m. I was dilated to a 6. Yep, it took about 3 1/2 hours for me to dilate one centimeter from when I had my water broken. How sad is that? Well, soon after I started to feel the urge to push. The nurse came back and I was a 7. She came back 15 minutes later and I was an 8. 15 minutes later and I was a 10. She told me not to push, while she called the doctor. He lives in North Ogden so I had to wait about 1/2 an hour for him to get there. I thought the baby would come out with one push, but his head was still up a little high and so I had to push for about 30 minutes.

But... finally Colin arrived at 8:22 a.m. ... after only 19 hours of regular labor. It's an improvement from my other two kids! :)

If any one needs an ob/gyn I would definitely recommend Dr. Arrington. He delivered all 3 of my babies and does such a good job!

Well, I guess that is all of my story. Sorry for the novel. I won't feel bad if you skipped most of it. It feels good to finally get it written down, though.

Colin- 2 weeks old

What a sweet face!

P.S. Has anyone struggled with the baby blues after having a baby? I think that I might have it. Hopefully it is just my hormones changing and will go away soon. Luckily, I have wonderful support from Chris and other family members. I would be lost without them.

CALLIN' HIM......

2010-07-05T21:37:00.010-06:00

COLIN! :)

Our sweet baby boy was born on July 1st.

We are so excited he is here.

He was born at 8:22 a.m. after 19 hours of labor.

He was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

Colin Kent Gamble

What a sweet face!
My four boys
In his 4th of July outfit

Ethan has loved helping us with Colin. He is such a good brother.

Speaking of Ethan... he had a birthday! He turned 4 on June 27th. We had a party for him with family and friends. I can't believe my baby is so old.

The birthday boy
The boys being silly
Ethan opening his presents with his cousin Blaine watching

Handsome fellow I know

2010-06-15T11:29:00.003-06:00

The Day is GREAT...

because...

look who turned 28!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet hubby Chris!

I can't believe this is the 7th birthday I have shared with you. I hope you are having a fantastic day at work and when you get home I will take you on a date (Don't worry. I won't tell everyone that I am taking you to Chuck-E-Cheese as you requested. Oops.)

I love you! :)
Love,
Nano & boys

Logan's new friend

2010-06-10T16:58:00.004-06:00

Logan has a new friend.

Guess who it is?

Himself in the mirror.

I have caught him a few times talking to himself in the mirror. He likes to make faces and kiss himself.

If he was older, people might think he was narcissistic, but because he is so little he is just plain adorable.

A couple of days ago I caught him saying to himself: "You want to vaccumn? Do you? Yah? You want to vaccumn? Yah?". It was hilarious. He had no idea I was watching him.

I love my kids.

I can't wait to read these posts in a few years and smile at the cute things that they did.

I am down to 35 days left until my due date. Crazy!... but exciting. :)

On another note:

I have decided to open an etsy shop. So far I have just listed a few baby items, but I am hoping to expand to other things also. Check it out here.

Drive-In and Risk

2010-06-06T19:41:00.004-06:00

We had a busy, but fun weekend.

Friday we went to the Drive-In movie with some friends from our ward. We saw Shrek 4 and then Letters to Juliet (I was the only one who stayed awake for this one. It was okay.)

We got to the drive-in 2 hours early so we could get a good spot. The kids had fun playing in the van with their friends while we waited.

All smiles!

Ethan fell asleep on the way there. Poor kid was so tired!

Cal, Emma, Logan, and Ethan

The guys hanging out: Joey, David, Chris

Saturday we went to Village Inn with some friends and than they came over to play games. Of course, the guys had to play Risk.

Mike and Chris

Jonathon and Aaron

The wives mostly talked and took care of the kids. We probably had as much fun as the guys though.

Sunday Jonathon and Aaron came over for round 2 of Risk. What is it with guys and this game?

We were all so exhausted from the weekend from staying up late and not getting enough sleep.

Shrimp on the Barbi!

2010-06-03T12:29:00.006-06:00

We have been trying to eat out less in an attempt to save money and eat healthier.

We have been doing pretty good lately and have enjoyed trying new things.

With the weather be nicer we have been able to grill more. I especially enjoy grilling, because I don't have to do it; after all, it is a man's job. Well, not really, but I think Chris likes to do it.

While grocery shopping on Tuesday, Chris decided he wanted to buy some fresh shrimp. (I know... not cheap... but its okay to splurge every once in a while).

So yesterday for dinner we had steak and shrimp on the barbi. I usually only like breaded shrimp, but the grilled shrimp was actually pretty good.

The baking/grilling king himself, Mr. Christopher Gamble!

All done and ready to eat

In other news:

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately in preparation for the baby. It has been so much fun! I just finished a diaper bag yesterday that I have been working on for awhile. It turned out so cute.

To see this and other crafts I have been working on, check out my craft blog here.

ThOmAs

2010-05-31T21:35:00.005-06:00

Saturday we took the boys to see Thomas the Train in Heber City.

We stayed at a condo the night before in Park City with our friends Ben and Andrea and their two kids.

The condo had a loft and the boys loved playing up there. -Ian, Ethan, and Logan

Me- I got my hair cut- I needed something easier to do, because I have been too tired to spend much time on it.

The boys were so excited when they saw that there really was a Thomas the Train.

Boarding the Train.

I love this picture because we are all smiling!

Andrea, Ben, Ian, and Sadie

Ethan had so much fun!

Logan pretending to take pictures with his Thomas camera.

After we got off the train, they let us take pictures in front of Thomas.

You could get pictures with Sir Toppin Hat, but the line was too long so I just decided to take one of him by himself.

I don't know if it was worth the money we paid, but I'm glad we went because the boys had a blast!

We had a nice barbecue with some family today. It was such a fun weekend. Too bad tomorrow it will be back to life as usual. :)

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.

Weekend Retreat

2010-05-26T13:03:00.005-06:00

We were able to get away for the weekend and visit my grandparent's in Nampa, Idaho. We were even more excited to go because we got to bring our van and it has so much room in it for traveling.

We stopped in Twin Falls on the way and visited the Shoshone Falls (below)

The water level was pretty high. The boys loved it.

Grandpa took us to the Wahooz Fun Zone in Meridian, Idaho. We were excited to find out that Ethan was tall enough to be a passenger on the go-karts.

The go-karts were too loud for Logan, so Grandpa took him inside to play arcade games. Grandpa is 87 years old, but he is still as active as ever.

Ethan was a little unsure of the car at first.

Nick had already been staying at Grandpa's house for a few days and so he got to hang out with us.

Ethan loved every minute of riding in the go-kart. It was so cute!

Boys swimming in the pool at our hotel.

I didn't take pictures of the other things we did. We went and saw Shrek 4 at the theater, we went out to eat, went shopping, played games, went to church, and then Grandma made us a yummy roast beef dinner.

What a great retreat from normal life!

ThirTy-TwO Weeks

2010-05-20T09:39:00.003-06:00

I am 32 weeks today!

I can't believe it.

I got to have an ultrasound yesterday and see my sweet baby boy.

He wouldn't let us see his face. I think he knew we were looking at him.

Everything is going great, though, and he weighs about 4 pounds now.

Logan got to go with us to the doctor's appointment and I think he was excited to see pictures of the baby.

Here is a little conversation I had with Logan yesterday:
Logan was sitting on my lap and he saw me yawn.

Logan: Mommy... you tired?

Me: Yes

Logan: (in a concerned voice) Ohhhh

He then leaned over and gave me a kiss. It was so sweet. Since getting his tubes he has started talking so much better!

Quarter Century

2010-05-14T10:42:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I became an old woman.

Well, not really... but it just feels like time is slipping away so quickly.

It seems like I was just in high school and now here I am a quarter of a century old and the mother of soon-to-be three boys! :)

25 years old and 31 weeks pregnant.

Okay, so I'm really not complaining, I just wish I could freeze time and stay the same age forever.

Anyways, I had a great day.

I spent the morning and afternoon hanging out with the boys and doing crafts.

Chris surprised me with a date in the evening. He had his Mom come over and watch our kids. Thanks Lori! We went out to eat and saw Iron Man 2 at the theater. We don't get to the movies too often, so it was a lot of fun.

When we got home I opened my presents (well actually my kids opened them. Ha ha. :) ) and then I blew out a candle on my birthday donut.

It was a great day and it's good to be alive!

Gifts

2010-05-12T12:58:00.004-06:00

Happy Belated Mother's Day to everyone!

I'm grateful for the gift I've been given of having such a wonderful mother.

I am also grateful that I have been given the gift to be a mother to my 2 (soon to be 3) boys!

For Mother's Day Chris gave me the gift of a beautiful garden with flowers and vegetables:

Thanks Chris! :)

The Baking King

2010-05-06T21:31:00.003-06:00

This is our mixer:

The Sunbeam Mixmaster 2000... or something like that.

We got it as a wedding present and unfortunately it hasn't been used very much. Not that it is a bad mixer. We have just been too lazy to bake and we usually resort to frozen or store bought stuff.

Well, things are changing at the Gamble household.

What has caused this changed you might ask?

The arrival of the Baking King.

That's right. Chris Gamble is officially the new Baking King. At least at our house.

He has always liked to bake, but just the last couple of weeks he decided that it was time we do it more often. He is really good at making homemade cookies, cinnamon rolls, and bread. He also told me that he used to make pretzels. I can't wait to taste those. Yum.

Luckily, I'm pregnant so it's okay for me to gain weight... for now!

"Choose Ye This Day Whom Ye Will Serve"

2010-05-02T17:24:00.010-06:00

This post should be more uplifting than my last.

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the BYU Women's Conference this past weekend.

It was just what I needed to motivate me to do better in my life; not only spiritually, but also as a mother and wife.

This was my first time attending the conference, but hopefully not my last.I attended some great sessions about marriage, motherhood, and living a righteous life.

One thing that really stood out to me was a title to one of the sessions which was, "Choose Your Love, Love Your Choice". I didn't understand what it meant at first. It means that we choose the people we want to be around and love (especially our spouses) and once we have made this choice than the Lord requires us to do everything in our power to love them.

I was also reminded that I need to do more to serve others and be less selfish.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke at the closing session and he stated that, "We should not preoccupy ourselves with a bad hair day. Don't let it stop us from serving and doing good". This is so true. I always get caught up in my imperfections all the time; not realizing that it has been keeping me from serving others.

A few pictures from the weekend:

Katie sitting at the Wilkinson Center
Mom and her cousin Lisa

Naomi and I

We went to an awesome concert the first night. We were dead tired, though, and so Naomi was showing how she felt.

Katie pretending to sleep

My mom and I were able to get a picture with Alex Boye

I mentioned above that we went to a concert. There were a lot of artists who performed including: Michael McLean, Hilary Weeks, The Fab Five (cloggers who were on America's Got Talent), and Alex Boye.

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Alex Boye. He is British and was in the teen pop sensation "Awesome". I know... dorky band name. He moved to the U. S. in 2000 and is now a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He is also an excellent dancer.

Ready to go home. Naomi, Mom, Me, and Katie

A picture of the whole gang. We met up at the conference with my mom's aunt, 4 cousins, and two of their children. Most of them live in Montana and I haven't seen them for a long time. It was great to get to know them! From left to right: Cassy, Abby, Naomi, Mom, Murlene, Me, Lisa, Katie, Cammy, Linda, and Lelani.

I hope to be able to come again next year. Any one who wants to join us, feel free to come. It was a spiritual and uplifting experience. I plan on changing a lot in my life to gain better relationships with God, family, and friends.

My only piece of advice if you do go: Get more then 3 hours of sleep the night before the Conference. You will be able to enjoy it more and won't be walking zombies. (The BYU campus is huge and you do a lot of walking). We learned that lesson the hard way.

Thanks to my Dad and Chris for watching the boys. You are awesome! :)

P.S. I still can't figure out why the pictures are spaced so far apart. If any one knows why, let me know. Thanks.

I'm drawing a blank on a title name

2010-04-28T14:49:00.003-06:00

Being a mom is hard.

I always thought it would be easy... like playing house with dolls.

I obviously took my mom for granted; not understanding how hard her job was.

I understand now.

Thanks mom (and Dad) for putting your life on hold to take care of my every want and need.

I have been struggling with patience, stress, and frustration lately. Partly because I'm pregnant and partly because I am the mother of a 2 year old and 3 year old.

I feel like I am the only mother who yells at her kids or lets them cry when I need a little break.

And I am seriously going to have another????

But....

The hugs, kisses, and I love yous make it all worth it.

I love being a mom and wouldn't trade it for the world and I am so excited to bring another little boy into our family.

I vow to be a better mother with more love and patience.

The end.

P.S. Thanks Chris for putting up with my ornery, pregnant self. You are a wonderful husband and I appreciate you more than you know. Love you. :)

My Sweet Pea

2010-04-26T21:03:00.005-06:00

My sweet pea Logan had tubes put in his ears this morning.

He had tons of fluid in his ears and it was affecting his hearing and his speech.

Waiting to be taken back to surgery

Logan was getting restless while waiting and so I let him take pictures with my camera. He took this funny one of Chris.

All done! He was so good and didn't even cry until he wanted his ankle bracelet off. When we got home he was tap dancing in the kitchen; acting like he hadn't even had surgery. He didn't crash until 6:00 this evening.

I'm so glad that he will feel better now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I've been done with school I have had some more time to work on crafts and stuff. I made this cute clock with fabric and mod podge for my craft room. It was really easy.

I bought the clock at Ross for $5.00

The fabric and embellishments that I picked out.

The finished project. The pic is kinda blurry, but I think it turned out cute!

Funny Faces

2010-04-23T14:02:00.007-06:00

I love it when my kids will let me take their pictures. Usually they turn their faces and hide, but every once in a while I will catch them in the right mood.

Logan is the king of funny faces. He always makes me laugh.

He does this face when he is excited about something.

Ethan can make some pretty funny faces too

What a goof!

The smiles that melt my heart:

Notice how he has some bald spots in his bangs. Ethan found some scissors while I was in the shower and gave Logan a hair cut. Luckily, he is a boy so I will just give him a buzz.

I love these boys! Now that I am done with school for awhile I will get to play with them more. :)

Logan has to get tubes in his ears on Monday. Poor guy! Hopefully, it will be the end of ear infections for both boys for a long time.

WHAT IF SPRING WAS 365 DAYS A YEAR?

2010-04-20T14:29:00.008-06:00

I for one would be in heaven.

I feel like I am always in a state of depression during the winter and as soon as the snow melts and the temperature warms up I come back to life.

Something about the sound of lawn mowers and kids playing at the park puts a smile on my face.

I love it when the flowers begin to grow and I can go for walks with Chris and the kids without wearing a jacket.

Would it be too much to ask to have Spring year round? I guess I would allow it to rain every once in a while so we could have water. :)

I would be so content.

Since the weather has been so nice this week we have been taking the boys to the park in the evenings. I think the boys would play at the park all day if we would let them. It is fun to sit on a bench, relax, and watch them enjoy being little boys.

Yesterday we went on a picnic to the South Ogden Nature Park. I remembered to bring the camera a long.

Ethan and Chris eating their sandwiches

Me and my little cutie

My little explorer

Logan always makes the funniest faces! :)

My three boys. :)

Aren't we cute?

YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN OLD LADY WHEN....

2010-04-17T18:00:00.007-06:00

.... You buy a MINIVAN!!!!

That's right.

We are now the proud owners of a Honda Odyssey.

I fought getting a van for a long time, but Chris kept telling me how much better it would be then to just get a bigger SUV.

Of course he's right.

I was just letting my vanity get in the way.

I will have to say that it is pretty nice on the inside. It has a lot of cool features and plenty of room for the kids.

One last goodbye to my beloved Ford Escape!

Chris loves his new toy

What have I gotten myself into?

Twenty Seven

2010-04-15T17:43:00.006-06:00

I decided it was time to post another pregnancy pic of myself. I finally look like I am pregnant. I am 27 weeks today and also today is the first day of my third trimester. I can't believe I only have three months left until my baby is born. Luckily, today was my last day of school for the semester and so now I get a break for a while. :)

I have been trying to make some cute craft stuff lately. While searching the web, I found an easy idea for decorating clocks using mod podge and fabric. The first clock I did was fairly simple, but I plan on making more with cute embellishments. To see where I got the idea, click here.

Here is the side of the clock:

Front of the clock:

It will match my dining room curtains perfectly!

P.S. Has anyone else been having problems with the way blogger is formatting? It keeps spacing my pictures too far apart and making my font really big, and I can't figure out why.

NESTING

2010-04-12T11:15:00.009-06:00

I have totally been nesting the last couple of weeks.

I thought this wasn't supposed to happen till the very end of my pregnancy.

I don't think I ever nested with my other two pregnancies; probably because I worked and was too tired.

I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done that I want to do. Not only do I want to deep clean my whole house, but I also want to catch up on my scrapbooking and make crafty things for the baby. I am currently making a diaper bag and crocheting some cute little loafers (I will post pictures if I ever get it done. LOL.). I'm not very good at sewing or crocheting, so hopefully I can get them done before the baby is born. Luckily, my Mom is amazing at both things, so I can call her if I need help.

Does anyone know of anything else I can make for my baby... or of any cool websites that give cute craft ideas? If so, let me know.

I also just finished my curtains for my dining room. I bought them at Ross for a bargain, hemmed the bottom, and sewed a cute ribbon on the bottom. It wasn't very hard, but I still feel proud of myself.

I couldn't get a good picture of the curtain as a whole, so here it is in three parts:

The top with cute buttons

The middle

The cute ribbon I sewed on the bottom

Chris was in Alabama last week and so I spent a bunch of time at my parent's house. Here is a couple of pictures of my cuties:

I have been meaning to post a picture of my prego belly. I finally have one! I will have Chris take a pic of me when he gets home. I'm now 26 1/2 weeks along. Crazy!

Holiday Picture Overload

2010-04-07T17:34:00.009-06:00

I got my computer back! Thanks to my dad for fixing it for me. :)

Over Easter weekend we went down to Lehi with our friends Ben and Andrea and their kids. Friday night we went to Chris' mission reunion. He really enjoyed seeing some of his old companions and his mission president.

Saturday we went to the Petting Zoo and Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, Cabelas, The Living Planet Aquarium, and swimming at our hotel. We also enjoying watching and listening to General Conference. Here are a few pictures:

Logan riding a pony. He wasn't too thrilled... probably because it was icy cold outside.

Ethan riding his pony

Ian absolutely loved riding his pony

Logan liked to pet the animals

Andrea and Ian at the dinosaur museum

Me

Cutie boys watching a movie at the hotel

Easter evening we went over to Tracy's house for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

All the kiddos looking for their eggs

Logan got these sunglasses in the Easter egg hunt and wore them the rest of the evening. What a cutie!

HaPpY EaSter Everyone!

Girl's Trip/Tonsils

2010-04-01T18:50:00.009-06:00

I borrowed my mom's computer so that I could finally blog. Hopefully my computer will get fixed soon. We have had a busy couple of weeks; some fun things and some not so fun things.

Two weeks ago today Ethan got his tonsils out and tubes put in his ears. He refused to take his pain medicine, because he didn't like the taste of it and so I was worried that he would be in a lot of pain, but he did really well! He only acted sick a couple of times and he is doing really good now and hardly snoring at all.
Here is a picture of him right after his surgery:

Poor Guy!

My awesome hubby, Chris, gave me a cool valentine's present. I mention it now, because I was just recently able to use it. He gave me one night getaway to a hotel in Salt Lake with my sisters and Mom. It was so much fun! We started off the trip doing what girls do best--- spend our husbands hard earned money on shopping. J/k. We did have fun, but we promise that everything we bought was a good deal.

Trying on clothes at Ross

After that we headed to our hotel in Salt Lake. We ordered pizza and then headed over to the melting pot for dessert. It was delish. Thanks Chris! As Naomi stated, "I like Nanette's valentine presents. Chris can give her this every year."

This cool dessert tray was delivered to our room as a part of our hotel package.

At the Melting Pot. My mom wasn't feeling the best so she stayed at the hotel.

Our plate of goodies to dip in chocolate

Cheers!

Katie cut and styled my Mom's hair while we were there. She looks so cute!

Having Issues

2010-03-25T18:16:00.003-06:00

I have been wanting to blog for the last few days.

Unfortunately, my computer is making a loud noise and Chris thinks that there is something in the fan. For some reason his computer won't read memory cards, and so I have to wait until he takes my computer apart to be able to upload photos.

Oh well. I guess I just wanted every one to know that I am still around. :)

P.S. This is Nanette writing. I just realized that I am logged in as Chris.

HaPpEnings

2010-03-14T13:56:00.008-06:00

My goal has been to blog more. The problem is that time goes faster than I can blog. I've been so busy, but I'm happy to say that this week is Spring Break! I'm so looking forward to no school for a week.

Here's what we've been up to:

LOGAN:

He is such an easy going little sweetheart. Recently he decided that he wanted to start going potty. We bought him a potty chair and he has already gone #1 in it around 10 times. My goal is to have him potty trained by the time we have our baby. So far, he has been so much easier to potty train then Ethan. He doesn't need bribes or prizes. He just wants to be a big boy!

ETHAN:

He has been going to preschool 2 days a week and has already learned a lot more letters. He is my little smartie! He will be getting his tonsils & adenoids out and tubes put in his ears, this Thursday. I'm hoping that once he recovers, he will be able to get back to his old self and being the sweet 3-year old that he is.

CHRIS:

He took the GMAT on Friday and got a good enough score to get into the Master's program at Weber. I'm so proud of him! He helps me so much with the kids and is very understanding when I don't feel good.

My stud!

ME:

I've been very busy with school, being prego, and taking care of the kids. I've also been trying to get my house deep cleaned and organized by the time the baby comes. We deep cleaned our bedroom this weekend and it is spotless. Sorry Chris for being a "slave driver". Thanks for helping me clean.

My new favorite channel is HGTV. It makes me want to remodel and decorate my whole house. Of course, we are planning on moving in the near future, and so I don't want to do too much on this house. I did, however, buy some curtains for my dining room and I am in the process of sewing a cute ribbon on them. I will post a picture when I am done. I also bought two of these nightstands to go in my room. I was so sick of looking at the nasty ones that we had.

Anyways, enough about us. I just want to say that I love my family and I'm grateful that they put up with me! :)

Fishing Buddies

2010-02-23T19:44:00.003-07:00

Ever since about noon yesterday, I have been excited. As Nanette's latest blog has indicated, we are expecting another boy and I can't wait. Initially I was wanting a girl. It would be nice to have a "Daddy's Girl" relationship but the more I think about it the more I realize that I get another 'Fishing Buddy'. So now that the boys are getting a little bit older, "Gone Fishin'" will not just be dreamed up phrase by some retiree trying to sell crafts at the Quilted Bear. Nanette of course will have to suck in some bravery and learn how to place a worm on a hook but it will be fun. :-)

The verdict

2010-02-22T15:10:00.005-07:00

Well, the verdict is in and it looks like we are going to have:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....another BOY! :)

So... no girl for now... but we couldn't be happier. The baby is healthy and growing and that is all that really matters.

As soon as the ultrasound was done, Chris and I went to the store and bought a cute outfit for him.

I think it is adorable and I just had to buy him some little shoes!

The hard part, now, is trying to decide on a name. Any suggestions?

I'm alive!

2010-02-15T13:32:00.005-07:00

Well, I decided that it is time that I start blogging again. I've had the blogging blues for a couple of months. I'm not sure why. I don't know if it is because I am pregnant or in school or what, but I really appreciate Chris writing a few blogs to keep it going! :) Thanks Sweetie.

I have been extremely busy with life. School is very demanding, but I have to say that I am enjoying this semester more than any others I have gone to. I think it's because I am taking more classes that pertain to my major. Being pregnant and taking care of 3 kids (Chris included :) ) is also a full-time job. I can't complain though. Life is good.

Below is a picture of me, 18 weeks pregnant:

Where is my belly you might ask? I'm not sure yet. It hasn't decided to pop out yet, but I know for a fact that the baby is growing at a normal rate. We find out in 7 days what we are having. I can't wait. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a girl.

Chris gave me these beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day:

Tulips are my favorite. Thanks you so much Chrissy!

Also thanks to my family for watching the boys so we could paint Logi's room and go see Avatar. It was such an amazing movie. I was skeptical, but I loved it. If you haven't seen it, you should definitely go! :)

Bun In The Oven

2010-02-06T08:49:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago Nanette asked me a question, "Does it make you jealous that I'm having the baby and I get a lot of attention because of it?" The first part of the question is an easy answer, NO. What man in their right mind would want to carry around a baby for 9 months? Not me. Although, no matter what I can do to ease the burdens that Nanette carries that is one burden that I just can't help to ease. I mean we can't take turns in who carries the developing baby. As far as the attention, I'm not sure if I want the attention it brings. When woman are pregnant they often share the "DETAILS" with everyone. I don't want to hear the details. BLAH.

There is one question Nanette hasn't asked me and it's an important one: "Am I happy to have another one on the way?" This is another easy answer, YES. I can't wait. It's going to be fun even though we will be walking zombies for a few months.

The Finer Things of Life

2010-01-16T17:25:00.005-07:00

During a trip to Huntsville, Alabama, I had a chance to enjoy the "finer things of life". There is a restaurant called Grille 29. It's not a place where a person would enter in with jeans and a t-shirt. After enjoying the fillet Mignon, a dessert was in order and the one that I chose was the Chocolate Mousse Pyramid.

Though this isn't the greatest picture, the top of the pyramid is edible 24k gold. Gold doesn't taste like anything but the pyramid was delicious.

Choo Choo

2010-01-05T19:36:00.002-07:00

Since Nano has been a little slow and unmotivated to write a blog, I decided to write a quick one about our family's train ride to Salt Lake.

On December 23rd, Nanette and I finally found the time to just hang out with the boys and take a train ride down to Temple Square. We had been getting Ethan and Logan very excited for the whole adventure so when we arrived to the train station in Ogden, Ethan just perked up and was anxious about getting on..."It's going to leave us, we need to get on." It was funny. Eventually, after purchasing the tickets, we sat on the top level of the train and waited for the departure. These are pictures of us. Ethan never stopped smiling the whole train ride down.

Ethan "Cheesing" it before the train left.

Nanette and Ethan enjoying ride.

Logan is just "whatever."

So as it turns out we finally made it Salt Lake. We first headed to the Gateway Mall for a quick meal. Nanette and I had subway, Logan had a corn dog, and Ethan at a hamburger at McDonalds. Of course it was the usual spill the water all over the floor and the kicking and screaming for not letting them go on the small rides. My favorite 'usual' that night is asking Ethan if has to go the restroom and he says "No!" Then we walk for a few minutes and he says, "I need to go potty bad." Gotta love it.

So we finally made it to Temple Square. It's a beautiful sight to see every time. Of course the hoard of sister missionaries trying to do "member missionary" work that drive me nuts because I just want to see the lights. Also, it's now official too that I don't have to go to my 10 year reunion because I saw enough people from high school there that I don't really care to go to it now :-).

www.panoramio.com/photos/original/6996862.jpg
Temple Square during the Christmas Season

I hope everyone had a fun Christmas Season and did some fun things with your families.

A Busy Week

2009-11-02T13:12:00.008-07:00

Last week was crazy!

Chris took the whole week off because we had a lot going on and he was hoping to get a break from busyness.... but he was actually looking forward to going back to work today, just to get back to normal life. SAD. :( This week shouldn't be so crazy!

Here is the timeline of our activities from last week:

Monday: Logan's birthday. Our sweet little boy turned 2! I can't believe he is that old. We wanted to take him to the tree house museum, but we were worried about getting the h1n1 virus because of all of the kids that like to slobber on toys. So instead we took them to see the movie "Astroboy". It was a cute show. That evening we had a little party for him with just our family.

Wearing his cute superman cape that his Nana made him.

Tuesday: Dane came home from his mission. We were able to go to the airport to pick him up. I immediately began to cry the second that I saw him walking out of the terminal. It was such an amazing experience. I love my family! Dane has grown up so much. I am so grateful he is my younger, but taller brother! I didn't get any pictures from the airport... they are all on my mom's camera. But I do have a picture of Logan sitting on Dane's lap the next morning. Logan was born two days after Dane left for the mission and so he had never met Logan.

Wednesday: Hung out with Dane and the fam. We stayed at a hotel in Logan Tuesday night and than hung out with my family the next day. We went over to the church and played basketball for awhile. That was so much fun! I wish I could play more often. Chris hurt his ankle, but it is doing a lot better now. That night we went swimming with my family at our hotel. Dane hadn't been swimming in two years and so it was fun to take him.

Thursday: Elder's Quorum Pumpkin Carving. Chris is the Elder's Quorum President and he put together a pumpkin carving party at the church. It was a lot of fun, but we spent the day getting ready for it.

Friday: Halloween party at neighbor's house. We spent the day running around looking for halloween costumes. We always like to put it off until the last minute. We also took Logan to the doctor for his 2 year check-up. He had to get 4 shots. I was worried that he would scream, but he barely even whimpered and was smiling when it was all over! Chris' mom watched the boys and we went to a party at a neighbor's house. We had fun.

Saturday: Test and Halloween with family. Saturday morning I spent studying and taking at test and then we rushed up to Smithfield to hang out with the fam. Katie had planned a fun party for us. We all dressed up in our costumes, played some fun games, went trick-or-treating, and watched a movie. It was a lot of fun and I think that boys really enjoyed it; especially Ethan, because he knew what was going on. Thanks Katie for throwing such a cool party!

Cutie Logan in his ninja costume

Ethan in his Handy Manny costume. He was so excited to put it on!My mom as "Super Mom" and my dad as "Super Bishop". He is wearing tights! Awesome!

Caleb as "SuperFan", Dane as "Super RM", Nick as "Super star". They are all wearing tights. Ha ha. :)

Katie as "Olive Oil" and Aaron as "Popeye"

For some reason I didn't get a picture of Naomi and Raulon. I think that my Mom took one.

Sunday: Baby blessing and another party for Logan's birthday with Chris' fam. I stayed over night at my parent's saturday and went to my friend, Hilary's, ward to see her baby be blessed. Then I rushed back to my house so that we could have a party with Chris' family for Logan's birthday.

I am exhausted after writing all of this. I better go take a nap. J/k. You probably didn't want to know so much detail about what we did, but too bad! :)

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I am now looking forward to Thanksgiving!

A CONTINUANCE.....

2009-10-25T23:10:00.008-06:00

...of the TERRIBLE THREES!

Just when I think I am getting things under control and that my kids don't do anything too bad, Ethan has to go and do a whole bunch of things in one night.

Last night we were watching a movie and Ethan was supposedly in his room going to sleep. He came up later and said that he wanted to watch another movie. Chris took him back to his room and found out what Ethan had really been doing. Chris' dad had given us a present to give to Logan for his birthday. Well, apparently Ethan had decided to open the present... not just unwrap it, but open the box that the toy was in and take it all apart. He also had opened a cookie mix and spilled it all over the floor. We were upset, but put him too bad and thought that that was all he had done.

Well, this morning when Ethan came into my room, I realized that he had dried paint on his hands. I went downstairs to investigate and found out that he had gotten into my box that had some craft paints in it. He had gotten a little on the blanket that was on the bed in there, but I didn't realize that he had gotten it on other places too. Later I realized that he had started painting some of Logan's present, had gotten a little on the carpet (Ugggh!) and had gotten some on a leather couch. We were pretty frustrated at that point and then Chris opened up his laptop and realized that 6 or 7 of the keys had been removed from the keyboard. Chris was able to find all of them, but the F key... which is still MIA. I think Ethan understood how upset we were and eventually he told Chris that he was sorry. I sure hope he learned his lesson. We are going to put a lock on the extra bedroom so that he won't be tempted to get in there.

Oh the joys of having a three year old! I just hope I can get the paint out of the carpet. I'm thinking not likely.

:(

In other news: Little Logi will be 2 tomorrow! My little baby is growing up. We will now have a 3 year old and a 2 year old! Oh goodie.

Here is the birthday boy himself:

WHAT A LITTLE STUD!

OTHER CUTE PICS:

Brotherly Love

How Sweet! I love it when they actually want their picture taken!

We carved pumpkins with our friends Ben and Andrea. Their son Ian loves Chris!

Me with my awesome flower pumpkin!

P.S. My brother, Dane, comes home from his mission in 2 days! :)

friendship

2009-10-16T16:35:00.005-06:00

I have been having a hard time deciding what to blog about. School is sucking all of the creative juices out of my brain. Aaahh!

Lately I have been on a quest to be a better person. I have always wanted to be a good person, but I have many weaknesses and sometimes I let those get in the way of things.

Family and friends are so important too me and so i have really been trying to be a better friend to others.

I just want anyone who reads this to know that I love you and that I am so grateful for your friendship! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Speaking of friends.... I just got back from a luncheon/shower with some of my friends from high school. We don't get together very often and it is always so fun to see them. We all have kids now or at least kids on the way!

A girl needs a nice outing with her friends every once in a while. Thanks Chris for watching the boys so I could have fun! :)

The gang: Angie (she is about to have a baby girl. Woo hoo!), Hilary with Easton, Brina with Brinleigh, Addie with Jackson, Me with Kash, and Mikela with Isabella. We are just missing my two boys, and Brina's boy Josh.... and of course Katie! Too bad she is so far away.

P.S. How do you keep your house clean with kids? I need pointers, because mine make it so messy and it is a huge uphill battle to keep it clean.

I want foo!

2009-10-08T14:26:00.007-06:00

Lately, Logan has been a bottomless pit!

He walks around all day saying, "I want foo". He gets upset if I don't immediately find him something to eat.

I have found that if I don't get him food that he will get desperate and start eating anything he can find. He has eaten lotion and soap on many occasions. He forgets how nasty it tastes. I caught him trying to eat the outside of a zucchini this morning. He even decided that he would sample the dishwasher detergent yesterday.

Usually, it is locked up under the sink... but my lovely son Ethan decided he would break the lock. We use Cascade Action Pacs and yesterday I found that Logan had bitten a package open and had the powder all over his mouth.

He was trying to spit it out. I am sure it tasted nasty. Well, I didn't think it was a big deal, because I thought it was just soap, but I decided to read the back of the package and found out that if it is swallowed that I should call poison control immediately.

Well, I was really scared after that. I wiped all of it off of his tongue with a paper towel. I don't think he swallowed any of it. I think he just put it on his tongue and realized it was nasty. So, anyways, he is fine, but I thought he was old enough to not put that kind of stuff in his mouth anymore. I just need to make sure he always has food in his mouth so he won't try to eat stuff he shouldn't.

Lesson Learned.

On another note: Ethan has become obsessed with playing a toddler computer game at my mom's house. He always wants to play it at my house, but we only have laptops and I don't think he could use the built-in mouse. Today we went to the store and bought a mouse to connect into the laptop. He was so happy! It made his day. He is such a smart little kid.

A good month!

2009-10-05T23:44:00.004-06:00

My brother, Dane will be home from his mission in three weeks! Logan will be 2 years old in three weeks... and it is almost Halloween! What a great month!

Well, except for the cold weather. I can handle the 50s and 60s but when it drops down to the 40s then I really start to moan.

I haven't decided what to be for Halloween yet. Ethan is finally old enough to tell me what he wants to be.

He wants to be Handy Manny. It is one of his favorite cartoons.I always ask Ethan what Logan should be for Halloween. The first time he told me a chicken. It was funny. Now he always tells me that Logan should be Barney. I am not a huge fan of Barney so I am pretty sure that is not going to be happening.

Ethan also says that Chris should be a penguin (I have no idea why) and that I should be a dinosaur.

Any ideas for what I could be? I want it to be creative, but not too hard to make. What are you going to be for Halloween?

P.s. General Conference was really inspiring and motivating! I really enjoyed it! :)

Chris and Junk

2009-09-28T21:39:00.006-06:00

So now that I'm home, Nanette wants to move. Okay! Moving! That doesn't sound too easy. I mean we have bought and have been given way too much junk, which means we are now de-cluttering the house to get it in the process of being sold. Therefore, on Saturday, I faced my fear of spiders and went under the house and pulled-out bins that are storing our junk. We went through four bins and ended up with a half a bin full of stuff to keep and the rest of the stuff taking up our garbage can that won't be emptied until Friday. Great!... we have three more bins. NOT! Nanette and I went up to Logan's room and put the clothes he can't fit in anymore into two of them and threw away a bunch of junky toys. While this is going on, Nanette is getting mad at me because I'm just throwing it away and not donating or doing something productive about it. When it comes to deep cleaning, my policy is to throw it away. Don't believe me? Ask my Mom. Needless to say, Nanette and I got a lot of junk thrown away. That is nice.

Lesson to be learned...Don't buy junk. Second lesson to be learned...Don't let me clean it or I will just throw it away.

P.S. Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to a Denver Broncos game with an old mission companion. Here are a couple of pictures:

Chris and Chris.... ready for the game!

Of course, we sat way up in the nosebleeds, but we still had a blast! Thanks Nanette for letting me go! :)

Tired but THANKFUL!

2009-09-24T13:50:00.003-06:00

Once again I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks; partly because I don't know what to write about and partly because I have been sick and really busy with school.

I do want to say, though, that I am grateful for many things.

I'm tired of being sick, but I am thankful for when I have good health.

I'm so tired of school, but I am thankful that I can go and get good grades.

I'm tired of my house being a mess, but I am thankful to have a house and that Chris has a good job to support us.

I'm tired of the boys making messes (including putting stickers all over my T.V.--really hard to get off!), but I am so grateful that I can have them in my life. They are so sweet. Ethan is being braver around strangers and Logan is starting to talk more!

I am not excited for cold weather, but I am looking forward to the holidays and my brother coming home! :)

What are you tired of but also grateful for? :)

Fear of Swimming

2009-09-09T13:17:00.007-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend we headed up to Park City with the boys. First, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. The boys loved seeing the fish, frogs, and other animals. I would recommend the aquarium to anyone with little kids!

Looking at the fish

Ethan pointing to a stingray

Lovely fingerprints all over the glass!

When we made it to Park City, Chris was a nice husband and allowed me to shop at a couple of the stores at the outlet mall. He kept the boys happy while I got good deals on clothes.

After that we went to the hotel and got ready to swim. Ethan was really excited. He loves swimming. Of course, he won't go under the water, but he will at least get in it. Logan is a different story. He is terrified of swimming.

Ready to swim

Usually when we take the boys swimming Logan sits on a chair and watches, because he gets upset when we bring him near the water.

This time I held Logan close to me while I stood in the pool. He cried at first, but after about 10 minutes he started to relax. Pretty soon he was letting Chris hold him while he swam on his stomach. A little while later he saw Ethan jumping off the side of the pool and he decided he wanted to do it to.

Having fun

A surprisingly happy Logi

Logan is no longer afraid of swimming! Hurray!!

We stayed in the pool for an hour and when we got out the boys didn't want to. What a nice change and the highlight of my weekend.

If only I could get over my fear of spiders as easy as Logi got over his fear of swimming!