Happy Birthday, sweet Ava!

Ava turned 3 last week! I can't believe how fast she's growing up...she's already started liking Hannah Montana and High School Musical stuff more than her dolls and princess toys! I thought that would start happening when she was like 5 or 6...or 7? She's been such a blessing to our family! She's our little miss sunshine, and makes us laugh many times each day. We love you sis!
Some fun facts about Ava:
-She would rather munch on veggies and fruit than eat a piece of candy...with the exception of Gum! She would have a piece in her mouth every second of the day if I let her, and even sneaks pieces into her bed at night, which I usually find the next morning on her pillow or in her hair! One of the presents she got was a gum ball machine, which we bought thinking that maybe if she had one she could learn some self-control...but that didn't really happen. With some help from Cael and the neighbor kids, it already needs a refill!
-She loves to sing and dance, but once she sees anyone looking at her while she's performing, she'll say; "Don't see me!".
-She is such a peace maker at our house, she'll give into Cael's requests EVERY time. Lately, she has a rope permanently tied around her waist from the time Cael gets home from school till she goes to bed...he likes to pretend he's Santa, and she's one of his reindeer, they run from room to room "delivering presents". Even though I don't really think she enjoys it that much, she wouldn't have it any other way because she knows it makes him happy.
-Sometimes in the middle of the night she likes to go downstairs and climb into bed with Cael. She used to come and get into our bed, but I would always take her back to her own. Cael is such a deep sleeper he never even knows she's there until he wakes up the next morning, but is always happy to see her.
-She's such a smart girl, and knows how to count to 20 and sing her ABC's. She's really excited to enter Primary in January, mainly because now she can go to the same place Cael does, instead of being dropped off in the nursery.
Happy Birthday Ava!

Will has finally started crawling, and so now I really need to watch what Cael and Ava leave on the floor. Last night, just after his bath, he found an OREO and ate the entire thing while I wasn't looking.

GNO!

When the boys are away, the girls will play!

Andy went with a bunch of his friends on their annual trip to Vegas for SEMA (a car show), and so us girls got to have a night out full of shopping, dinner, and great conversation. I don't know why we don't ditch the guys more often!!!

Happy Halloween!

A ballerina, a bumble bee, and a Power Ranger.

Andy took the kids trick-or-treating while I stayed home to pass out candy.

We had to snag a quick pic of this cute little bee. He was miserable in this costume, so needless to say it wasn't on for long.

Cael with his "Pit Crew" buddies: Grant, Brock, and Cade.

Ava's the one we have to watch closely when it comes to her candy bucket...we always find her hiding behind some couch scarfing piece after piece. This year her costume was a little last minute because she'd been wanting all along to be "Belle", so after getting her costume all ready with all the right accessories, she decides the day of Halloween that she HAD to be a ballerina.

Pumpkin Carving contest...Andy wins every year (we have our neighbor friend be the judge), and so no one ever wants to be on my team. But not this year, I finally won!!

Making a witches brew.

My Grandma Beardall

My sweet Grandma "B" returned home to our Heavenly Father Tuesday. We love you and will miss you so much.

Billie Irene Blake Beardall, 78, passed away October 21, 2008. Irene was born on September 17, 1930 in St. George, UT, to Reed E. and Ethyl Harris Blake. She married Clyde LaVoy Beardall on May 28, 1949. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. They recently celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. Irene attended St. George schools, and in high school won three state championship tennis titles. She graduated from BYU in Home Economics. She earned her Masters Degree also from BYU in Library Science, taking some of her classes at Long Beach State and Cambridge University in England. She taught in Provo School District for 25 years, at Dixon Jr. High and as the Media Specialist and Librarian at Timpview High School. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed many things including traveling, shopping with her children and grandchildren, quilting, and crocheting. Irene was an excellent seamstress and quilter. She also played in Contract Bridge Tournaments, but her passion was reading. There wasn't a book that she hadn't read, and she always had a new book to suggest to anyone interested. She and Clyde enjoyed years of traveling the world together. Their congeniality attracted many life-long friends. She took pride in the beauty of her home and had a talent for interior decorating. She never met a house or room she didn't want to decorate. Irene is survived by her loving husband Clyde; one son, Douglas, two daughters, Gayle (Bryan) Christensen, and Lisa (Bruce) Murdock; 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren; siblings Reed H. (Katie) Blake, Kathleen (Robert) Mitchell, and Karen (John) Frei. The family extends a special thanks to the compassionate caregivers of VistaCare Hospice, for their loving care. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 24, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. in the Suncrest 10th Ward Chapel, 90 North 600 West, Orem. Family and friends may attend a viewing on Thursday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State St., Orem and at the church on Friday one hour prior to services. Interment will be in the Provo City Cemetery.

This past week I've sort of had a little "awakening" if you will. I was busy cleaning our house, Ava and Will were both napping, and Cael had been following me from room to room asking me to play a game with him. I was trying to hurry and just kept telling him I would play when I was finished. Well he kept at it, trying to get me to stop what I was doing and just sit and play. Finally he said, "Mom, I'll pay you four dollars if you'll play with me." Are you kidding me? I about lost it. I had been so caught up in what I was doing, and what I thought was so important at the time I didn't even see an opportunity to spend some one on one time with him.
When all is said and done, and my kids are all grown, will I look back on this time in my life and say, "I wish I had cleaned my house more", or "I wish I'd spent more time at the mall" or "I wish I would've watched more episodes of....". The answer is NO. The only thing I will wish I would've done more is spent more time with my kids, played with them more, laughed with them more, taught them more, showed them more love and patience. I can't risk the chance of ever having those regrets.
Whenever I get frustrated with all of the responsibilities that are placed before me, or anything really that would distract me from my most important role, a poem comes to mind that my mom often says. It goes like this:
"I hope that my children look back on today, and see a mom who had time to play. There will be years ahead for cleaning and cooking, for children grow up while we're not even looking. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep. I'm playing with my children, because children don't keep."
-author unknown

hOgLe ZoO

Happy Sumo

Bobby Jo, Allyson, Melissa, Me, Tara

Grant, Andy, Jesse, Ben, Nate


I've really tried my hardest to like sushi...but I just can't seem to stomach the thought of what it is. I feel so uncultured when I have to order a chicken dish at a sushi restaurant, it's almost embarrassing (almost :).

BEAR LAKE

School Days are here!

Cael started kindergarten and is really enjoying it. He even happily does the homework he's assigned to do each night. The first day of school I was holding back tears when I took him to his classroom, and I still want to cry every time I have to drop him off. However yesterday he said to me "Mom, I like when Dad takes me to school", and when I asked him why he doesn't like me to do it, he said; "Well, dad's cool, and sometimes you're embarrassing." WHAT?? I couldn't believe I'd crossed over into the category of an "Embarrassing Parent" already. Maybe it has something to do with how many kisses I try to give him before he gets out of the car, or how many times I yell "Be good, I love you", as he's walking into the school. Or maybe it's my robe, slippers, and hair up in curlers that does it. (j/k -I don't do that yet)...so from now on I'm going to try not to be so weird.


Ava started her Joy School. We hold it once a week and there are 5 kids in the group, I was able to teach the first rotation, and I actually liked it a lot. Ava loved being in "school" like Cael. We went to go buy her a little backpack, but she was adamant that it be a purse she takes with her to class. So she picked out a new one with blue sequins all of over it. She carries it EVERYWHERE!

Build-A-Bear

My poor, deprived children FINALLY got to make a bear at Build-A-Bear Workshop, and only because their Grandma spoils them rotten (she says Grandma's are allowed too). There have been so many times we've walked by that store while at the mall, and every time they beg me just to go in and watch the other kids make their bears. And each time I'd tell them; "Maybe next time you can do it". I've always put it off because I just knew it would end up being an expensive outing just to buy a teddy bear. Because once you've had it stuffed, then they rope you into buying an outfit for it, and shoes, and accessories. Well, Grandma sure let them go crazy, and so they walked out of that store with some pretty cute teddy bears. I can't believe how much fun they had doing it.






Thanks for a fun day Mom!

My son, Cael.

Tonight we went to watch Andy play in a double header in his Provo league. I laid out a blanket in a grassy area between two of the fields, where we ate, and I spent most of my time there holding Will. At one point during the 2nd game, I had just sat down to feed the baby and I looked over to see that Ava had run clear behind the field Andy was playing on, where there was a little dirt path. A little further down that path is a pond, and so I "semi-urgently" asked Cael to run and get her before she got out of sight. Obviously I wasn't that worried because I could still see her, so I stayed on the blanket with the baby and just watched as Cael ran away. A few seconds later I looked over to see if they were heading back, but now I could just see the top of their heads, which meant that they were sitting down on the dirt path. I wanted to see if Cael would follow through on my orders so I just continued to watch them, and waited for them to head back. After a few more minutes had past and I could still see them sitting there, I started to yell Cael's name but he couldn't hear me. So, a little frustrated, I picked up Will and began walking over to them, totally ready to get mad at them both for not minding, and all the while asking myself; "what in the world could they be doing over there?". Once I got around the fence and could see what was going on, I saw Ava sitting there in bare feet with tears in her eyes, and Cael right next to her pulling out these very sharp stickers that she had walked on, and had poked through her cheap foam flip-flops. I got a little lump in my throat mainly because of what I was seeing, and partially because I was also a little disappointed at myself for being so impatient, and almost yelling at him. I'm so glad I didn't, and was able to watch him finish getting each and every last "prickly" out of her shoes. When he was all done he helped her put them back on and then asked, "Is that better Ava?" It was just a little moment that meant so much to me. He's such a great big brother. I love you Cael.

4 months old!

The past four months have been sort of a blur. Will is growing up so fast, and I feel like I'm missing it! With other kids in the picture, and a million things to get done everyday, I have to force myself to just stop what I'm doing, and sit down and play or talk with him. It's not that I wouldn't love to spend every minute of the day doing that -because I would, it just gets hard when we have such a busy house. So, he really is such a good little baby, and loves any attention he gets from anyone. He hardly ever cries, except when he gets hungry. He now sleeps through the night from about 10:00 till 5:00 (which is pretty great). He loves to be held and loves to snuggle which is so much fun too. Ava has done a 180 and really has become a "little mommy" to Will. She's always the one to let me know when he needs me, and she's always willing to play with him when I ask her too. Cael's been a really good big brother too! We sure do love our little guy, he's been such a blessing to our family.

LAKE POWELL 2008

Lake Powell is like no other place on earth! And each time we go, our trips get better and better. So, after such a great week, I feel a few thank yous are in order...

-Thanks Andy for the awesome homemade water slide. I was trying to talk him out of buying the industrial strength water pump he needed as we were driving out of town last week. I'm glad he didn't listen to me.
-Thanks Burke for fixing the A.C. on the houseboat. Luckily we were only without it for a night. Did I honestly use to camp out there when I was in college? I think I become more high maintenance as I get older.
-Thank you "Mother Nature" for the wonderful weather, and calm water the entire time we were there. We usually come home with one near-death story to tell due to a storm, but not this time.
-Thank you trusty ol' jet skis for being so reliable -this trip. They just keep on going! I mean yah, they've had their problems, and their fair share of repairs, but what do you expect from 2 machines built in the 90's sometime, I'm sure! :) They've far surpassed any expectations we had of them. And any of you that really know Andy, know that as long as they're running we have no plans to replace them. We look forward to many more Powell trips with those bad boys, with their aqua/hot pink stripes and all!
-Thank you Taylor & Kenna for coming, and for being such awesome babysitters. It made my trip so enjoyable having extra help. And it's kind of fun to watch two girls fight over who gets to hold your baby next.:)
-Thank you Will and Andy for the spectacular fire works show, and for the "accidental" after-show sage brush wild fire. I think under any other circumstances they would've been sweatin' it. But with the lake right there, it just added some excitement!
-Thank you Ramsay Tire & Service Center in Kanab, for being so willing to help us fix our popped tire on the jet ski trailer (at closing time, on a Saturday). They were SO fast, SO friendly, and SO cheap. I would give my testimonial on a commercial for them, for FREE, if they ever asked. They were great.

Good Friends. Good Times. Good Memories. See ya next year! Same time, same place.

4th of July Weekend Highlights!

Freedom Festival Parade
We had a a big, nice spot right outside Andy's office on University Ave., which he worked hard to secure for us the day before. Grant, Tara, and Banks joined us. It's by far my favorite parade in the county. But I've decided I will only do 1 parade a year, at least until the kids are old enough to want to sit through the whole thing. A few floats that got loud cheers from our group was the BYU float & semi-truck, Timpview H.S. (of course), and it was fun to see Glenn Beck ride by and wave. I also enjoy seeing the different City Royalties. But my absolute favorite thing was when the 4 jets flew right over top of us. So impressive!



Mona Lake
We went with the Harris' on their new boat to a little "hidden gem" of a lake in Mona. It's quite small, and not very many people know how to get to it, so it wasn't crowded at all. The water felt as warm as Lake Powell to me, and it was much cleaner than Utah Lake, so I think whenever we talk about going boating from now on, I'm going to vote we go to Mona every time!



Dinner and Fireworks at the Jackson's
We had a great time enjoying dinner and watching the "Stadium of Fire" fireworks show from the back lawn of the Jackson's home. Grant's mom was so cute and very determined to have everyone be able to see the fireworks, so the guys had to do a little pre-show pruning of the big tree and shrubs in the backyard. Grant, Andy, and Warner took on the task like "REAL" men. :) Their house is the perfect place for a party, and the view of the fireworks was amazing! Then just like every other year, if you aren't in the car by the time the finale starts, Andy will leave you just to beat the traffic. I don't think I've seen a fireworks show from start to finish since we've been married!



Jesse turned 30!
No more teasing the older guys about their age, because he's officially one of "them" now! We had fun hanging out, eating pizza, and seeing their cute new baby -Avery Paige. And of course the kids had fun playing with each other...in the mud! (Hence the picture with everyone half naked. We had to hose them all off.)