Playing Catch Up

So I'm a little behind on my blogging. First off, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Reno with my brother-in-law and his family. They have the CUTEST little boy you've ever seen named Lucas and my sister-in-law Melissa is (I'm convinced) one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. (I know she is probably ready to kill me after reading this!!) And she is funny (you should see her dance)! And smart (she and a friend started their own company which they run out of their homes). Anyway, we had a great time making Thanksgiving dinner, the kids had a great time playing on the golf course behind the house, we drove around parts of Tahoe, and we even squeezed in some skiing for the husbands and boys and massages for the ladies! The morning they left to go back home, my son Jacob woke up crying because he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to his cousin Luc. I think we ALL missed them once they left. (We especially miss "the goggle." -- Melissa, this joke is for you!! :) )

As a side note, I don't think I have EVER seen Dallin so happy as when he came home from skiing with Jacob. I think Dallin has been waiting his entire life to go skiing with his kids so the fact that Jacob has loved skiing so far and has been pretty good at it has made Dallin's year.

Jake and Luc on the slopes

Now I'm going to fast forward to recent events. We just got back today from my niece's baby blessing this weekend. My little sister Becky had a baby girl about 2 months ago (my niece looks JUST like Becky and is SOOOO cute!) so my parents, sisters and I went out for the blessing. We had so much fun seeing Becky and her family and seeing my parents and my sister Ligia with her daughter, who is also the cutest and most happy baby I've ever seen. We went to a local petting farm with the kids, ate yummy food and just spent time together. We were only there for the weekend so the trip went by much too fast.

On the drive home, we got a flat tire. It was late at night on Sunday so EVERYTHING was closed. And practically NOBODY (I'm talking taxis and cabs) wanted to come and pick us up because of where we broke down. Anyway, after several calls to AAA, a local hotel and a towing service, we were finally able to get out of there safely. We had to get all of our tires replaced and we weren't able to come home until this afternoon. But like I said, we made it home safe and sound so I guess we should be grateful for that.

Including some fun, family pictures below....

Garrett with baby Adeleine
The happiest baby on the planet!

Aubrey and Evan enjoying a swing at the beach

Jacob and his "Papa"

Storytime

So most of you will have to forgive me for this post. But I use my blog sort of as my journal and I wanted to include a couple of stories about my kids that have occurred over the last few months so that we remember these when we're older. First off, my Jacob.

A few months ago, Jacob was in primary during sharing time and the teacher was playing some sort of game and choosing kids to help with the game. Apparantly, Jacob was not getting chosen and he was very upset about it and making all kinds of loud comments about not getting picked. After not getting picked again, Jacob stood up, stomped his foot, and yelled, "That's it. I quit this church!" And then he proceeded to walk out of the primary room, down the hall and out the front door of the church with a row of primary teachers and leaders trying to catch him. I heard about this story from virtually every teacher in primary that day because they all thought it was hilarious! Yeah, hilarious is not the first word that came to MY mind when I heard that story. But moving on...

A few nights ago, I was tucking Aubrey into bed and I asked her if she wanted me to read her a book or tell her a story that night. She chose a story so I began the usual way:

Me: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Princess Aubrey.

Aubrey: Mommy, make sure princess aubrey gets put in a castle by a witch.

Me: Okay, once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Princess Aubrey who was locked inside a castle by a wicked witch.

Aubrey: Mommy, make Princess Aubrey have a beautiful voice so she can sing.

Me: Okay, Princess Aubrey had a beautiful singing voice and all of the birds and butterflies in the forest liked to hear her sing.

Aubrey: Mommy, make the birdies love her singing.

Me: [starting to get frustrated by all of her 'interruptions,' which are preventing me from finishing the story and getting out of there]. Okay, the birdies in the forest loved Princess Aubrey's singing so much that they wanted to save her from the castle so they could hear her sing some more.

Aubrey: No, Mommy. The King has to save the princess.

Me: Oh, sorry. The birdies loved to hear Princess Aubrey sing. So one day, there was a king riding on a horse in the forest and he heard Princess Aubrey's voice from the castle and he rode to the castle and saved her from the wicked witch. The End.

Aubrey: Mommy, you forgot to say that they king married Princess Aubrey and they lived happily ever after.

Me: Oh, right, the king married Princess Aubrey and they lived happily ever after.

Aubrey: [a content smile crosses her face] I like that story

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Stories on demand.

And finally, Aubrey is a typical girl: moody, pouty, and likes to talk to me about the most random stuff. In fact, she likes to talk so much that I catch myself saying "uh-huh" every now and then because I'm not really paying attention. And she'll, of course, catch on and say, "Mommy, TALK to me!!"

Aubrey Turns 3!

Aubrey turned 3 yesterday. Where did all the time go? She was so excited about her birthday. She's been talking about it for the last 2 months. I would ask her what she wanted for her birthday and she would always say, "Starbursts and Smarties!" After she woke up yesterday, we made her a big pancake for breakfast. Then we painted her nails and toenails because that is one of her most favorite things to do. Then we headed over to her favorite restaurant where we ate lunch, opened gifts and the waiters brought out some ice cream and sang her "Happy Birthday." She had such a fun day.

Then on Sunday, we wanted to have a family party with cake and ice cream at home. So we invited our neighbors over because she adores them. She calls the neighbor girls her "sisters" which I think is so sweet. So they all came over to sing to her and have dessert. She was on cloud 9 the whole night.

Every girl deserves her own pancake on her birthday!

Giving big brother a taste of her dessert

The whole family at Red Robin

Aubrey with her "sisters" and neighbors

The NEW Love of My Life

When I was single, one of my roommates (aka "Bussie") would make 2 homemade loaves of bread every Sunday night. My other roommates and I would salivate in the kitchen anxiously awaiting the loaves' departure from the oven and into our watering mouths. I swore at the time that I would never make bread because even though she made it look effortless, it still looked like too much work for me. So I swore off bread making forever.... until last year. My friend Whitni loaned me her mother's BOSCH bread mixer over Thanksgiving. She came over a week before Turkey day and gave me a quick crash course on how to use it. (It wasn't that hard... it only really had one button to push). Anyway, I made the most delicious rolls using this Bosch machine. In fact, I held onto the Bosch mixer for a few extra days and made rolls several times because it was so easy to do with this thing. There was no kneading involved... at all. Who wants to mess around with a sticky ball of dough... no, not me.

So, for the last year, I have been on the hunt for the perfect Bosch machine for me. I didn't want one of the new ones with all of the bells and whistles (some of them come with blenders, and choppers and all kinds of other things). But I just wanted the same simple bread machine that my friend Whitni had. And today I found it. I bought it. And I cannot wait to use it!! It's a little pricey but if I end up making rolls and bread as much as I think I will, then I'm sure it will be worth every penny!

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was filled with all of the usual fun: carving pumpkins, going to our ward's halloween party, and of course trick or treating. Jacob wanted to be batman this year and he absolutely LOVED his costume. The second he put it on, he was "in character" -- and was running around the house pretend saving people from catastrophes. Aubrey wanted to be Cinderella this year. Like most girls, she's WAY into the princess thing right now. Her favorite thing about her costume? The MAKEUP! She was so excited to wear lipstick... she kept puckering up her lips and looking in the mirror. Iit was pretty funny. And finally, Evan got to be a lion and wear the much used costume that ALL of my children wear when they're almost 2. Personally, I LOVE this costume because the mane on this costume is great. I've never seen another one like it yet. So I'm holding onto it!

Batman giving his "mean face" to ward off any "bad people"

My favorite lion

Cinderella showing off her red lipstick

At the ward's halloween party


Carving and painting pumpkins

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last week, I flew out to SLC to attend my friend Whitney's wedding. The bride looked stunning, the location was breathtaking and the wedding was one of the nicest I've ever attended. One of the things I loved most about the wedding was seeing all of my girlfriends from DC, most of whom I lived with at some point during my single life. I don't think I will ever find a group of friends like this again. They're very dear to me because we lived together during a fun, but sometimes difficult time of life. It was so fun catching up with them that we are (hopefully)planning another girls trip next year. So here's looking to Girl's trip 2009!

The DC crew outside the SLC temple

Whit with the DC and New York girls

Me & Mauri at the dessert reception

The most beautiful bride I've ever seen
The "shoe" shot -- we always gotta have one of these!

The new Mrs. Gourley

Halloween -- Amazing Race Style

So this blog entry is dedicated to some good friends who KNOW how to throw a party. A few weeks ago, Dallin and I noticed an envelope sitting on our windshield after church. We opened it up and found a cryptic invitation to a halloween party. We had no idea who was throwing it and what it would entail. As the week progressed, we started getting even more cryptic messages via email informing us that this party was going to be like the Amazing Race. We would be split into teams and given clues that would take us to different locations where we would have to perform tasks to get the next clue. As the days progressed, we got a packet of information outside our doorstep. Mind you, we still had no idea who was throwing the party, although I was starting to have some suspicions. This packet of information told us some more of the details and asked us to bring the following items: shovel or pick ax, long rubber gloves, flashlight, life jacket and protective head gear. At this point, I'm like, "OK, should I actually be WORRIED here? I mean, a pick ax? Protective head gear? Yikes!"



Finally the night of the party came. It was last night and Dallin and I had SO much fun. We dressed up... you'll have to see if you can guess who we were (see the pictures below). And we really did have to act like we were on the amazing race. It was awesome. They had us meet at our local Costco and then we split into our teams. We opened our first clue and off we went. Our teams had to search for and break open a pumpkin which contained our next clue, run through the new Scheels store and find our clue, eat some slices of pizza loaded up with a ton of hot chili peppers and hot sauce and then swing off of a 185-foot tower (think half swing, half bungee jumping). We seriously loved every minute of the night and as a reward for completing the race, headed over to Claim Jumper for dessert afterwards.

We seriously have some pretty creative friends so thank you for an adventurous and unforgettable evening!

Can you guess who we are?

Here's another shot in case you still haven't guessed. By the way, our buttons say "Vote for Pedro." If you STILL don't know, then there's nothing I can do for you, my friends. I seriously would bust up laughing after each picture and it took me about a minute before every picture to get my "game face" on.

The Great Pumpkin

Yesterday, Dallin took the day off of work and we escaped the cold weather here in Reno and drove to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in California. Because it was a school day, the pumpkin farm wasn't very crowded, which was wonderful. At times, it felt like we kind of had the place to ourselves a bit. The kids had a blast. We took a hay wagon ride, went to the petting farm at Bishops, rode a train, picked pumpkins, played on all of the fun slides and other toys there, and ate yummy food. We even brought home fresh apple cider and the MOST delicious apple pie -- I'm talking ripe apples, thick, flaky crust and caramel goodness all rolled into 1 pie. Evan loves trains and was in heaven, I think, during the train ride. He just kept saying "choo choo" throughout the whole ride. Very cute.

We thought we might get stuck there because it was snowing back home in Reno and we weren't sure we'd be able to make it through the pass. But we lucked out and came home and enjoyed a little bit of snow in the backyard. The kids loved every minute of the day and Dallin and I were rewarded with 3 kids in bed by 7 p.m. passed out cold!

Every year I long to get that "perfect picture" of my family surrounded by pumpkins but we unfortunately were unable to get it this year. I took 36 pictures of my kids by the pumpkins.... you heard me right, 36!! But there was not ONE where all of my kids were looking and smiling at the camera at the same time. I guess there's always next year!

YeeHaw! Dallin and Evan playing in the cowboy village


One of our "better" pictures

Mommy & Aubrey by the pumpkins

My boys

Posing by some of the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen

The favorite of the day: train ride

The Power of Positive Thinking

Whenever our kids get frustrated with something, we encourage them to keep trying and to not quit. And we always say to them, "DeMordaunts don't say 'can't!'" This morning at the breakfast table, Aubrey kept asking Dallin if he was going to work. And then she asked him (in her most pouty, melt-your-heart voice), "Daddy, can you stay home with me today?" He, of course, said, "I'm sorry. I can't stay home today." And then without a moment's hesitation she spouted off, "Daddy, DeMordaunts don't say can't!" It was so cute and Dallin and I just busted up laughing. I guess they really do pay attention... some of the time.

On another note, the past 2 weeks have... well, stunk, to say the least. We've all seemed to have either bronchitis, the runs, a high-grade fever, or pink eye. But we do seem to be on the mend, thanks to some good antibiotics and lots of rest this weekend. As I was cleaning house today, I kept running into old miscellaneous pictures from this summer. This past summer has been one of our more memorable ones filled with lots of road trips and local day trips, family reunions, and lazy days by the pool. So I threw them all into a slideshow. Enjoy!

P to the O to the T to the T to the Y... trained!

I honestly feel like I should be given some medal of honor for successfully potty training my second child. This was a llloooonnnnngggg haul, but we have finally made it. I have to give many thanks to Walmart for selling a wide variety of Dora and princess underwear, princess stickers, and the Fisher-Price Fun-to Learn Potty. (see picture below). Hey, I think we all would use the potty more often if it played music every time we sat up or flushed it.



So, congrats to my big girl Aubrey and her big accomplishment!!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

So, for those of you who know me, I love The Sound of Music. And I love that musicals are making a comeback. I'd love to break out in song and dance throughout the day (if I knew how to do either)about the most random, trivial things going on in my life. This whole week, I've had this song in my head from the Sound of Music, so I thought I'd entitle this week's blog entry as such.

First, one of my most favorite things here in Reno is the annual Hot Air Balloon Races. I absolutely love going to this every year. I really do. Sure we have to wake up at the crack of dawn with our 3 tired and cranky kids. But once we're there, it's fantastic. There are what seems like 50 balloons going up at once and they land all over Reno. Last year, one almost landed in our backyard. My kids were going crazy about it. Anyway, I love that we all have to bundle up in our warm clothes and we just sit back and watch the sunrise with all of the balloons. I love the colors and I especially love watching my kids react to the balloons. And one of my favorite parts is that we always go out to breakfast together afterwards. This year's restaurant pick: Peg's (which is right down the street from us and serves up the best eggs EVER!)

Taking in all of the sights at the Balloon Race

Two of my handsome guys

Aubrey and Mommy (although Mommy doesn't quite look awake yet!)

Bird's eye view of the balloons

Second item on my favorites list is visiting family in Boise last month. We stayed with Reed, Gayann and family and had an absolute blast. Is it possible to be with Reed and Gayann's family and NOT have fun? I don't think so. We went bike riding with all of the kids along the river, went out to eat at PF Changs, went to the Shakespeare festival at night, and were served up some pretty delicious gourmet meals. (Olivia, your german pancakes were THE BEST I've ever had!) Anyway, we had so much fun the kids were begging us to let them stay. Jacob was even refusing to get in the car as we were leaving.

Olivia playing dress up with Aubrey


Cuddling up with Aunt Gayann for bedtime stories

Jacob DeMordaunt, Come on Down!

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Jacob's kindergarten teacher advising me that I should try to attend Thursday's chapel services. (He goes to a bible church school and they have a chapel session every thursday where they sing songs, learn about Christ, and give out the Student of the Week awards). She told me that he earned the award this week! So, I brought along my camera to capture the moment. And a moment it was. It honestly was so cute. When they called out his name, he jumped up excitedly and squealed with delight, then he ran by the rest of the kids in his class and zipped up to the front to collect his student of the week certificate, and then he gave the pastor an enthusiastic, BIG hug. He honestly reminded me of a Price is Right contestant (for all you Bob Barker fans). It was awesome. I was beaming with pride, of course, like he had just made the Dean's list at Harvard. But even Harvard students have to start somewhere, right? So, congrats to my Jacob!!