Life with the Richardsons

Valentines Decor

2012-01-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

I got a early start on my Valentine decor this year! I've been searching for decorating ideas on Pinterest and blogs and this is what I came up with. Did I do ok? The only thing I had to buy was the rose petals and candy thats in the jar.

I saw this idea of hanging a frame in the center on the wreath and loved it! So this is what I came up with, nothing fancy, once again I already had all the stuff to make this, printed the subway art I found online, so easy!

A closer look at my table. I love subway art! I printed a different one and stuck it in this frame I already had. I bought a small bouquet of roses at the dollar store and cut the petals off, much cheaper than buying rose petals already off the stem, candy was also a dollar. I might do more, there's a couple of things I want to make to add to my V- decor, I'll post if I make them.

Joy To The World, Christmas is here!

2012-01-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 was a fun filled day! We woke up about 7am, came downstairs to see if Santa left us anything...

He did!

The girls on Christmas Eve opening their pjs, unfortunately Kayla's didn't fit her :(

He left for Kayla a chair, PS3 video game, a watch, some candy, she also got a wolf shirt, a plush Bolt, a purple pillow and some other fun stuff.

Samantha got from Santa a Fijit Friend toy(video below in case you don't know what it is), a Perry the Platypus plush with a Perry shirt, some candy, she also got some clothes, a movie and other fun stuff.

Our Christmas mess! I got a sewing machine, a tool box with my own tools and iTunes card!

My mom and stepdad Jerry came over to our house for dinner and more presents!

Kayla opening a present from grandma and grandpa, a jewelry box!

Kayla just havin fun!

Jake opening his present, a paint spray gun to paint his car!

Mother and daughter! Wish I could fix this picture so my bra wasn't showing through my shirt!


Jake having so much fun!

New Years/Christmas with the Richardsons! We went to Safford for New Years to be with Jake's family, this is most of us, missing Isaac and his 2 kids, Lorena Matt and their kids and Shera's husband Tom with his 3 kids.


Korbyn, me, Shera, Paul and Mary just hangin out at our Mexican fiesta party. I don't know what Paul is doing here but he sure looks funny!


Jake's mom Joyce planned some activites for all of us to do and one of them was to make houses out of recycled items. Interesting acitivity, not my first choice but it was fun doing something together. This is Mary, Tyra, Jonathan and Rilee making their house.

Going back in time.........

2011-11-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post some things that we did this year and LAST year! How could I have forgotten! I'm so ashamed! So I'm going back in time.......

I'll start with our trip to Washington that we took the beginning of August this year. Our first day driving went pretty well, we drove through Flagstaff, stopped in Page for lunch at a park. We didn't stop very much because we just wanted to get to my sister's house in Orem Utah as fast as we could. We got to her house around 7 or 8 pm and it was still light out so we ate dinner and Jake showed off his flying skills with his plane. Everyone loved it, they thought it was the coolest thing ever! I just knew the planes would be a hit with my family! Then we visited some more with my sister Emily, Mark, my brother Cody and Jillian and all their kids. Woke up the next morning not having much time to visit because we had a long trip to Washington. Our trip to Kennewick Washington seemed really LONG! Its actually a shorter trip than the one from Phx to Orem, its just that there's nothing to see between Utah and Wash. mostly just fields and cows! So it feels longer. When we finally got to Kennewick we were relieved and happy to be there! My sister Sharlee just got back from the Ukraine and brought home this furry hat, so everyone had to try it on along with the funny nose and glasses!

Samantha

Kayla

Ben


Nathan

The next day we drove to Hermiston Oregon to go swimming. It was nice to cool off and we had lots of fun. I got to see my dad jump off the diving board! He's 68 years old and he did a dive off the diving board, twice! Go dad! Later that day we took a little trip to see the windmills near my dad's house. The windmills are on this hill that gives you a great view of the town and the Columbia river, it was pretty awesome!

Getting a closer look at the windmills

After looking at the windmills, my brother Nathan took Jake and I to see the Harry Potter movie that I was DYING to see! It was awesome, awesome, awesome just like I knew it would be! The next day was our all day trip to see Mt. Rainer. It was a long drive but it was worth it! It was so beautiful! We started seeing snow about 1/3 up the mountain! Crazy!

The top of Mt. Rainer

We stopped to look at a visitor center and then we hiked to the top of this hill in the snow! Samantha and I were the last ones to make it to the top. We were slipping and falling the whole time!

This is the view from the top of the hill, the visitor center is to the right.


We saw a fox roaming around looking for food. We got really close to him! He stayed a long time, he didn't seem afraid of the people at all!

We had a fun time being around the beauty of Mt. Rainer! It was a long tiring drive home! We slept like babies that night.

The next day we went hiking in the afternoon, it was me, Jake, the girls, dad and Randee. It was so hot! But we toughed it out! Jake, Kayla, dad and I made it to the top! Randee and Samantha only went half way and played at the park near the hill while waiting for us to come down. Later that evening we went to the Columbia river and went boating. A friend of the family took us out on his boat and let us use his tubes and water skis. We all got a chance to go tubing. I rode with my sister n law Nina, Jake went with the girls one at a time, Ben and Nathan went a couple of times, Nathan and Nina and their boys, Nina and Ben went water skiing, everyone else just watched. It was a lot of fun!

Daddy and Samantha, this was Samantha's first time riding on a tube and she loved it! She kept wanting to go again and again! She even wanted to try water skiing but we had to say no to that!

Kayla and her dad, this was Kayla's second time tubing in her life, she loved it too!


Sharlee and Kayla

This is Rooney, Sharlee's dog. The girls took her for walks, brushed her hair and played with her! They love Rooney!

Samantha loves her uncle Ben!

Samantha loves her aunt Sharlee!

On our way home from Washington, Kayla found interesting things to do to keep herself entertained! It was a fun trip and can't wait to do it again!

Halloween

2011-11-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween celebration started Oct. 22nd with our ward's Trunk or Treat party. It was early because the other wards were using the building Halloween weekend. Lots of fun with great food, activities and of course the kids trick or treating around the parking lot getting candy from everyone's trunks! Jake and I decided to dress up as Princess Buttercup and Westley from the Princess Bride. Kayla was a angel and Samantha was a black cat for a second time(1st time was 2 years ago). I was worried that no one would guess who Jake and I were but I was happily surprised that most people guessed right! So that made me feel good that we did ok putting our costumes together.

Our scary pumpkin! It was a challenge carving this face because I didn't have the right kind of knife. I messed up in two places but I don't think anyone can see it. I think it turned out pretty good!

We painted these small pumpkins for FHE. These two are Kayla's and Jake's .Kayla's is a devil angel, she did a great job! Jake's is a creepy face.

These are Samantha's and mine, mine is the Harry Potter one if you can even tell its supposta be Harry Potter. Clearly I'm not a good pumpkin artist! Samantha kept changing her mind on how she wanted her face to look, finally she chose this face, not sure what it is but its cute!

"As you wish...Is this a kissing book?"
I think Jake looks kinda funny with the mask on because it doesn't form around his nose so his nose looks flat! I look nothing like Princess Buttercup but I had fun dressing up from one of our favorite movies.

So angelic!

Cute kitty! Meow

Having a little fun

Don't we look awesome!

Our outside Halloween decor.

All ready to get some candy!

The 411

2011-10-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well I guess I should update on whats been happening in the Richardson household. Lets see....

Homework, (well not sure if that counts cuz there's always homework), painting the kitchen and currently painting the upstairs, Samantha's 7th birthday, Fall Break where we celebrated Samantha's birthday, Samantha losing her teeth, Samantha getting her ears pierced, decorating for Halloween and getting our costumes ready, theres stuff in between that I can't remember. I probably could of blogged sooner but either forgot about it or just didn't feel like it. This past weekend we bought a camera since our other one was donated to Jake's sister who is on her mission. The camera is like 6 years old but we don't care, its a camera and it works fine. We also bought a new dresser for our bedroom! I only paid 80 dollars for it and its huge and in great condition! We've been needing new bedroom furniture for a really long time so thats why I'm so excited! We played with our "new" camera, don't let some of the pictures fool you, we are a perfectly normal family!

Christmas dog with pumpkins?

Sparky!

My new dresser! Bad lighting on that one!

The next 11 pictures below were taken with my camera phone.

Samantha's birthday party!

The ones below are from the "new" camera that I just took.

Thats it folks! Have a happy Halloween and enjoy the cool temps! Bye!

First day of school

2011-08-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

The girls had their first day of school last Monday August 8th. They were nervous at breakfast but seemed ok and ready. We had no idea where they were suposta line up because we missed meet the teacher night because we were in Washington visiting my dad and family.* Side note: we don't have a camera right now so all we have is our phones but hopefully and I mean HOPEFULLY we get a new one soon! Pictures on my phone don't look that great.

Anyways back to the first day of school, we walked over to the 6th grade line up area and it was crazy! So many kids, No sign with her teacher's name, had no clue what her teacher looked like. I was just like what am I going to do, I can't stay here because I have to walk to the other side of the school to find out where Samantha lines up! Just then this sweet girl Maddie from church who is Kayla's age asks us what teacher do you have? Turns out they have the same teacher but Maddie doesn't know where they line up either so I said "you girls figure it out, its almost time for the bell to ring I have to take Samantha to her class, bye, have a great day!"

So Samantha and i walk over to the 1st grade line up and man it is getting so hot, I'm sweating like crazy! Luckily I know what her teacher looks like so I'm just waiting and waiting for her teacher to come out. All the other 1st grade teachers are out but not Samantha's. So I ask a teacher where does Mrs. Boatman's class line up, she points me where to go and says Mrs. Boatman had recess duty or something thats why she's not here yet. When her teacher comes over she is so sweet and loving to the kids! I'm immediately impressed with her! So I follow them to the classroom, at this time I'm in heaven with the cool air! I say bye to Samantha and watch her go into her classroom. When I picked them up after school they both said they had a good day and like their teachers. Kayla has 4 teachers, one for every subject, she also has to dress out for PE which I did not expect till 7th grade, I guess its because the school is K - 8. She was not happy about that at first, now she's ok with it mainly because she doesn't have to undress in front of the other girls. They change in the stalls, makes me feel a little better.

They didn't have homework the first week, is that weird or is it just me? I guess I'm used to their other school giving homework the first week, at least a review sheet or something. Actually Samantha hasn't had any homework at all yet and its the middle of the second week! Makes me a little worried, not that I'm a homework pusher but there should be at least something! I'm beginning to wonder what kind of school did I put my kids in? I have heard that Higley schools are behind Gilbert but didn't think it would be like this. I just want my kids to get a good education. We will have to see...

Samantha said some funny things to me concerning the bathroom she uses. One day she said to me " There are no bathrooms in my classroom, I have to wait a long time to go and once someone left pee and toliet paper in the toliet, gross! It wouldn't go down! I don't like 1st grade that much." Then one day she had to put on her tennis shoes because she had PE that day. Well her shoes are black and yellow which are boy shoes that Jake picked out for her and at the time she was ok with them and wasn't happy with any of the girl shoes she had tried on. So she told me "I don't want to wear these shoes because I was in the bathroom and some girl looked at my feet in the stall and said "is there a boy in here?" It made me feel bad, I want girl shoes! I told her she has to wear them because thats the shoes she picked out and she could get new ones when these wear out and are too small. I also said you could wear girly socks so no one will make that mistake again, and she was ok with that. Then last night she said some girls were looking under the stalls, like putting their faces under the door, when Samantha was using the toilet. She was not happy about that, she didn't understand why they would do that. I just told her to tell them not to do that or tell her teacher. Poor kid having some bathroom issues! LOL

Happy School year for everyone!

May

2011-07-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

In May there were a lot of things going on, mostly school stuff. Here are some of those things.

Kayla had a big school project where she researched a famous person and she chose Mary Cassatt. She made this poster and dressed up like an artist. I made the beret which was my first time really sewing something. I think it turned out ok for being a beginner! I splattered paint on a white tee shirt and Jake helped her made the palette. She looked great!

One of Mary Cassatt's paintings titled The Bath

There were a lot of other great costumes, like this one as Leonardo daVinci.

Some famous princesses and queens like Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana.

This one was one of my favorites! Brigham Young! I was surprised he was able to do his project on a religious person! Another reason I really liked this one was because I used to be his Primary teacher.

Another good one was this girl who was Sacagawea, I also used to be her Primary teacher. You can't tell but she's wearing one of those baby carriers on her back, it looked like the real thing! I should of taken a pic of it.

Kayla was honored at Academic Night which was for kids who got all A's and only one B the whole year! We are so proud of her for this great accomplishment!

On the last day of school Samantha's kindergarten class had their end of the year program where they sang songs, it was really cute!

Samantha excited to sing!

Her teacher gave all the kids scrapbooks she made full of pictures and things they had made in class! She was a great teacher, Samantha loved her teacher and kinder so much!

A hug from her teacher!

Samantha lost her top tooth!

And last but not least...we got a kitten! His name is Sparky and we love him a lot!

Fun stuff and Easter

2011-05-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

The kids had their school carnival in April. It was a lot of fun! They had blow up bounce houses and such. Here's Samantha waiting in line for the slide.

Kayla having fun!

Weeeee!

They had pony rides too!

This was how the girls felt after not winning anything in the raffle.

This is a picture Kayla drew in art class that was selected for the school's art show! She also received a medal! We are so proud of her!

Easter at my mom's house. There was a egg hunt, great dinner and a awesome time!

Samantha with her money that grandma and grandpa gave her along with all the candy she found!

Kayla's money and candy!

Jake and I enjoying ourselves!

Spring Break

2011-03-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Spring Break was this past week and we just stayed here at home. It would of been so much fun if we could of went out of town like so many people do but we couldn't afford it this time. We ran into some unexpected bills to pay recently so staying in town was the only option. I worked most of the week but only at night. But I did find some things for us to do. Monday we really didn't do anything because I had to do laundry and other stuff so the girls just hung out at home. Tuesday I took them to the Arizona Art Museum for Youth in Mesa. We've been there before 2 years ago but they've changed it since then. In my opinion it doesn't feel like much of an art museum, there is some art displayed but it's geared for younger children like Samantha's age so there's a lot of hands on stuff to do and see. Kayla was kinda bored but she did find a couple of things she liked such as the giant eraser board and the IPad art table. They had a section for Fairy tales so there were a lot of dress up areas, lots of little craft tables. Then there was a baseball section, which was mostly about the Chicago Cubs training ball field in Mesa. Wednesday we cleaned the house from top to bottom! The girls helped me by cleaning the bathroom, dusting and cleaning their rooms which were so messy! Thursday we went to see a movie with some friends at the mall, had lunch and walked the mall. Friday we didn't do much, just the park and out to dinner and rented movies. Saturday I was at work while Jake babysat the girls and their friend, worked on his friend's truck while his friend planted a tree and some plants in our front and back yard. So it wasn't too bad of a week. Samantha is happy to be going back to school, she told me "I think my teacher missed me!" I'm sure she did.

Samantha in the glow and dark room at the Art Museum. The theme was Alice and Wonderland.

Kayla in the glow and dark room.

This was the Princess and the Frog corner, I added the hair garland for fun.

The Three Little Pigs! They wanted me to be the 1st pig but I got out of wearing the hat by telling them that someone needs to take the picture! Clever me!

This is in the playroom where the girls built a fort out of these blocks.

Goofy face time!

Our new tree in our back yard!

A little tree planted in the corner of our drive way. The potted plant will be planted next to the tree at a later time.

This was planted in our front yard.

In my last post I showed a picture of my end table that I was working on. I finished them! I sanded and painted them (this was a few weeks ago). My next project is painting Kayla's desk white. I sanded it a while ago and Jake painted it for me. He spray painted but it doesn't look very good so we might have to get a different kind of paint. So its been sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks. Hopefully soon we will finish it so I can move on to my next project!

Valentines Day

2011-02-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Pretty roses Jake gave me for Valentines Day!

Cards! We feel so loved!

Valentine cookies!

Last but not least...on Valentines Day I decided to start my first wood refurnish project! I sanded my end tables and painted them a dark brown to match the entertainment center. Jake coached me on how to sand and paint, cuz I know nothing! After the paint dried, Jake painted on the polyurethane which gives the table protection from scratches etc. Well, we(meaning Jake) ran into a little problem with the polyurethane. So Jake is fixing the problem and once he is done I will post the finished project!We went out to dinner the Sat. before because I was going to be at work on V-day night. But Jake stayed home on V-day cuz he wasn't feeling too good so we went out for lunch. So it was a nice day spending time with him (even if he wasn't feeling his best). We got the girls some little gifts(candy, V-day socks) they got lots of candy and cards from school! Hope everyone had a nice V-day!

Decor changes

2011-02-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

I've made a few decor changes in our house. We painted the front room back in Nov, to be exact Thanksgiving day! We wanted it painted before we had my mom come over for Thanksgiving dinner so nothing like waiting to the last minute! Then last month I bought this dark brown scarf curtain, I've never had to hang a curtain like this before so it took some time to figure out how to keep it from falling down because the material is sooo slippery! After stressing about it for a while, I got the idea to pin it in place, easy! As you can see I got an early start on my Valentine decor!

Back in Nov I think we bought this tv stand, we tried and tried to find something on craigslist for real cheap that we liked but we couldn't find anything. So we broke down and bought this at Walmart. We love the dark color and plan on changing the rest of our family room furniture to match. Oh and we just recently painted the family room the same color as the front room.

Last month I put up some objects above our cabinets.

Thats a pillow in the right corner, one that Jake's grandma made years ago. For the longest time I didn't know what to do with it because it didn't go with anything. So I just held onto it for sentimental reasons all these years. I recently became interested in vintage/old decor so I thought this was kinda vintage looking. I don't know maybe it looks weird up there. What do you think?

Just the other day I told Kayla and Samantha to bring down every single Valentine stuffed animal they had to decorate the front room! So this is want they came down with, 9 animals! Is it too much?! *I just noticed that that picture looks really small on that wall, hmmm need to fix that!

This one is my favorite! Love Puppies! Its actually mine from when I was a little girl but somehow Samantha ended up with it!

A close up look at our decorated windows!

Samantha made this calendar for me and gave it to me at Christmas! Every month has her hand prints, talk about creative! I love this one for April!

Cute little ghosts for October!

Of course the classic turkey hand for November!

The one for this month, hearts! Happy Valentines everyone! Love ya!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

So I guess its time to update our blog, we've been or should I say I've been so busy these past 3 months. Trying to get unpacked and settled into our new house, helping kids with homework etc, Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, traveling, and working. Working at Kohls during the holidays is like having your limbs streched! Endless lines at the checkout, picking up "crap" everywhere that people dump in your dept! Piles and piles of clothes coming out of fitting rooms faster than you can say "why do you even bother to try on those clothes when I know you're not going to buy any of it!", Yep, Tis the season to drive you crazy! You can tell I love my job! Its nice that work has slowed down a lot and I can feel like a normal person again. I've been able to spend more time with the girls, decorate the house more, fix up the girls rooms, and just relax watching a movie with my hubby.

Our tree!

Samantha with Santa from our ward party

Jake and Kayla looking at the Mesa Temple lights

So Pretty!

The girls in their new PJ's that they open on Christmas Eve

Samantha excitedly ripping open her Santa gift! Its Zhu Zhu Pets! She also got a Webkinz Husky, LPS toy, and a bunch of little things.

Kayla got a Wolves calendar! She also got a new bedspread, a 1000 piece puzzle, a bunch of little things.

Jake got the Gran Turismo 5 PS3 game! He loves this game!

Jake took a picture of me opening a gift from Samantha but I look too hideous to post on here. She gave me a calendar that she made in school! I love it, its hanging on our kitchen wall. We spent Christmas night with my mom and stepdad. We had a yummy Italian dinner and opened presents!

We also went to visit my grandma who lives is in a home where she needs help with almost everything. This might be her last Christmas because her health is really failing. We had a nice visit with her!

Kayla had her fist strings performance the beginning of Dec. She did awesome!

We just celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary last week on Jan. 5th! 15 years makes you really reflect on your marriage. First you think, wow has it really been 15 years, its gone by so fast! And then you think, wow I can't believe we're still together! haha Not really! Its been a great 15 years! But just like any marriage, we have our ups and downs. A disagreement here and there but we always kiss and make up!

Love you Jake and can't wait to celebrate another 15 years together!

HAPPY NEW YEARS! I hope 2011 is a good year for everyone!

We've Moved!

2010-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

Our new house!!

It has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, just over 2000 square feet and right across the street there's a nice big park!

Before we moved, Kayla made a boat for school, she had some help from dad. At school they raced the boats and she got third place! Great job Kayla!

Last weekend we went to Safford to spend time with Jake's family. We first went to the County Fair, it was just us with Jake's 2 sisters Jesa and Tara. We rode some rides, looked at the exhibts and the animals! Lots of fun!

Riding the spinning bear!

The girls and I rode the ferris wheel!

Jake and his sister Jesa rode the flying swings!

Weeeeeeeee!

We celebrated 2 birthday's, Samantha(6 years old) and grandpa's(62 years old)...I guess cousin Matthew thought we should be celebrating his birthday too! haha

Kayla and Samantha hanging out with their cousins.

Cute and crazy cousins!

Jake and Tom having fun at my sis n law's baby shower.

All the cousin's watching grandpa open his presents and hand made cards by the kids!

Everyone who came to my niece(Kailyn) blessing on Sunday!

Samantha had her 6th birthday on Oct 12th! We had pizza, presents and a Oreo ice cream cake! Didn't have a party with friends like last year because things were hectic with the move so it was just the 4 of us.

Opening presents!

She got a LPS toy, Halloween pjs and socks, silly bands and a puzzle!

On Samantha's birthday I took the girls to the Sea Life Aquarium in Tempe. There were lots and lots of different kinds of fish! The coolest things to see were the stingrays and sharks! So it was kinda fun but WAY to expensive for a little place at the mall! I think one time is enough for me!

So silly!

2010-09-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

In case anyone doesn't know, Silly Bands have become the latest tread amongst kids! They come in all different sizes, shapes and colors! My kids have been begging for some for weeks and I finally gave in and bought them some today. They chose Harry Potter, which is cool I guess but I thought they'd pick something more girly, well knowing them they'll be asking for more. I feel another collection coming on.....yay.

Utah (days 1 and 2)

2010-07-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Utah Sat. night just in time to watch the fireworks! We had great seats right in front of the BYU stadium where we listened to Carrie Underwood putting on a concert.

The girls sitting on top of the cougar while waiting for the fireworks to start.

Fireworks!

We were right beneath them!

On Sunday we went to Temple Square.

Salt Lake Temple

Kayla and Samantha sitting by the pond at Temple Square

Jana and her fiance Steve, what a cute couple!

Jake and the girls, so many pretty flowers everywhere at Temple Square!

Jake and I next to one of the Joseph Smith statues

More statues of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith

A pretty fountain!

After Temple Square we went to Bountiful to visit with grandma Anderson and eat dinner.

Jake and my dad playing with dad's little helicopter. He was flying that thing every chance he got! I think he's obsessed!

Ben, Mark and Emilee just hanging out

Jillian and Cody taking it easy

Little Jack found some big shoes to walk around in!

Cody and Jillian with their cute baby Joseph posing for a picture on grandma's balcony, the sunset was so pretty, that everyone decided to take a picture!

Samantha didn't want to have her picture taken, oh well it still turned out nice.

Ben and uncle Tyler

Grandma, Randee and dad

Emilee and Mark with their kids Jack and Lucy

My crazy brother Ben!

Our VACAY

2010-07-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Our vacation was originally going to be 2 days in northern Utah for a family reunion with Jake's family and then 3 more days in Orem Utah with my family. But the reunion got canceled so we decided still go to Utah but take our time getting there stopping at some sights along the way.

It started on Friday July 2nd with lots of non stop fun! Our first stop was Flagstaff. We stopped there to look around and find out directions to the Lava Tube Cave just north of Flag. After we got a bite to eat we headed to the Lava Tube. Jake and I were there years ago but didn't remember exactly how it was, but we were told to bring our jackets and flashlights because its pitch black down there, cold and very slippery! Well when we got there, and realized that we forgot to pack good flashlights, we just had 1 ok one and 1 that was about to go out. Well we thought maybe we would be okay and just see how it goes. As we started climbing down which was very rocky and slippery, we decided to not go very far through the tube because it would just be too dangerous for the kids. So just as we were about to leave, a very nice group of people started climbing out and asked us if we needed some flashlights cuz they didn't need theres anymore. So we said sure and took their flashlights and hiked some more through the tube! Thank goodness for those kind people because the girls loved it! Well somehow as I was climbing, I banged my left ankle really hard on a rock and it bruised up from above my ankle to the bottom of my foot! I couldn't believe it! Here I was worried about the girls getting hurt, geez! Anyways, when we finished hiking through the tube, my ankle started hurting more whenever I walked and even when I sat down. I knew it wasn't sprained or anything serious, I knew it was just bruised really bad. Thankfully it started feeling better the next day and wasn't too bad on the rest of our trip to Utah!

We took a picture of us on Jake's camera phone cuz I didn't have our camera with us at the time but he accidently deleted it. So these are pictures off the internet. Yep its just a big hole in the ground!

Here's the opening of the tube, its bigger than it looks.

Inside the tube!

Next stop...

THE GRAND CANYON!

My first time to the Grand Canyon and I've lived in AZ my whole life! So beautiful!

So Grand!

Jake went when he was a kid and of course it was the girls first time too and they loved it!

Looks like we're standing too close to the edge! Ahhh!

We hiked down to a lower point where we could get a closer look. See those brave people behind Kayla...they hiked down even lower! Not me! I'm not that daring!

After our oohs and ahhs at the Grand Canyon, we left and got something to eat, looked in a couple of gift shops and then headed to our campsite there at the GC. The girls helping Jake put up our tent, they did a great job!

Kayla being such a big help to daddy!

Samantha having fun putting up our tent!

Inside our tent, Samantha just before bed!

Kayla just before going to sleep.

On Saturday morning we stopped at another GC viewing point. We are at the top of a old tower and your able to see just how HUGE the GC really is! It looks like it goes on forever and ever!

Jake's Birthday and Eclipse

2010-07-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Jake had his 37th birthday June 20, same day as Father's Day! He was showered with birthday gifts and Father's Day gifts! Since his birthday was on Sunday, him and I got a babysitter and went out to dinner and a movie. We saw Prince of Persia, it was pretty good!

Jake blowing out the candles! He doesn't like cake very much so he got a birthday pie instead!

My friend Jackie and I standing in line to see the midnight showing of Eclipse! It was hot but the theater had tents for us to stand under which helped a little. We really didn't stand outside too long, only 2 hours then they let us in to sit in our seats.

Some of the people who stood in line with us, it was fun but I don't think I'll do a midnight showing again! I had to get up early the next morning with the kids and I only had 3 hours of sleep! I was so tired the whole day so I'll just stick to normal morning or evening showings! Oh and the movie was AWESOME! Can't wait to see it again!

Someone slap me...

2010-06-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Because I haven't blogged for 3 months!! Whats wrong with me?!!!

Well I'll tell you whats wrong with me, I'm lazy! A lazy blogger! I'm not just lazy about it, I stress over it. "What should I say?" "What pictures should I post?" etc, etc. So I'm making a goal for myself to blog at least once a week. Sounds good. Wish me luck!

OK so this is whats been up with us these past 3 months. Samantha had fun playing soccer even though after her first game she didn't score any more goals, I know sad. There's always next time! I had my 35th birthday in April, went to a Daughtry concert which was AWESOME! School let out the end of May and then a few days later we went camping with Jake's family over Memorial weekend. We had fun visiting with family and relatives we don't get to see very much. Also in May was the Gila Valley Temple open house and dedication which we went to see. Beautiful! My dad and stepmother Randee came to visit from Washington, they were here for my cousins wedding, so fun to see them! The beginning of this month Kayla took a 4 day art class where she learned some drawing techniques. We've done some swimming, kids have played with friends almost everyday, we've gone on bike rides since I just got a new bike(used but new to me) and visited some parks. Those are just the highlights, enjoy some pictures below!

Dad and Randee at the Mesa Temple

We were at Mimi's Cafe with family after my cousin got married. Yummy food!

Kayla and Samantha on a spidery looking climbing thingy at this new park that opened up in Chandler called Paseo Vista.

Samantha painting a ceramic frog at our family campout.

Kayla painting a penguin, she also painted that eagle there and a frog. She loves to paint!

My sis n law Lorena and I set up a fishing pond for the kids. Samantha is getting her goody bag.

Kayla reeling in her goody bag.

Jake helping his uncles and cousins dig a huge hole for something they were working on. (His family have their own property where we camp every year)

The Gila Valley Temple

When we visited the Temple

Go Samantha!!

2010-03-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

I signed Samantha up for soccer thinking she would have so much fun! But after her first practice, she didn't want anything to do with soccer! Nothing! Nada! Zilch! I felt so frustrated and upset because I didn't want my money to go to waist! The next 2 practices she missed because she was sick and we had family visiting and had too much going on that day. So the first game came and she still didn't want to play, not even try! But I knew that Jake and I had to keep trying, keep bringing her to practice and the games, and hope she decides to get out there and play. So Jake and I kept practicing with her at home and she started to feel more comfortable with it. I took her to her next practice and she still wouldn't practice with the other girls and her coach. So her and I just had our own practice off to the side of the field. Then toward the end, some of the girls ran up to Samantha and started talking to her. They talked about Littlest Pet Shop, Webkinz etc and then they all started kicking the ball around! I was amazed and so happy! I thought to myself, I think she's going to play in the next game! So the next day was game day and when we got there, she was still acting nervous and shy again. But then Jake told her that if she played in the game, he would buy her a Littlest Pet Shop toy. It worked! She went out there and had a blast! And she was pretty good too! She attacked the ball and made 2 goals! Oh what a happy mother I was!! She just had this big smile on her face the whole time having so much fun! So yes we bribed her, some people may think that was not the right thing to do. But we were desperate and knew that all she had to do was try it. So hopefully she won't need a bribe again to get her to play next time. I don't think she will, because she had so much fun! Go Samantha!

Wazzzup!

2010-02-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

My kids have been saying "Wazzzup" over and over again because daddy decided to show them this funny video he found on youtube. Its not the original one that was made 15 years ago, its a different version that I think is funnier! They even wanted to say it at church but we told them that it wouldn't be appropriate because #1 its not a reverant think to say #2 the phrase comes from a beer commercial...they got the picture.

So they've been saying it to each other, to us, we've even gotten into it! Its been fun but now its getting a little annoying. Hopefully it will stop soon so we can all start talking normal again.

*I don't know why the video is so big, I tried to make it smaller but it wouldn't work.

Yay for Samantha!

2010-01-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

Samantha FINALLY learned how to ride her bike! Yay!

New Years Weekend

2010-01-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

For New Years weekend we went to Safford to be with Jake's family. All of Jake's brothers and sisters were there, well except one who couldn't come down from Las Vegas. On New Years Eve we just hung out Jake's uncle Clay's house. We really didn't do a lot because I think a lot of people were too tired. Some of the guys just sat on the couch watching old movies. I tried to get some people to play games but no body seemed in the mood. So we left there about 10pm to go stay at a hotel. We usually don't stay in a hotel there but our good friend JJ and Natalie gave us their coupon for a 1 free night at the Comfort Inn. Very nice of them! Jake and Samantha both went to sleep about 11pm while Kayla and I stayed up till midnight parting it up in the lobby! haha All we did was play on the hotel computers till midnight and then went to sleep. So pretty much our New Years Eve celebration was pathetic.

The next day, New Years day we had a fun day! We went up to Mt. Graham and played in the snow. The girls were so excited since they only get to play in the snow once a year! We did a little bit of sliding down hills and I got to make yellow snow! LOL I tried to get Samantha to join me but she chickened out! We ate chili beans that Jake's mother made and hot chocolate, yum!

Me looking like a dork, and the girls looking cute all bundled up!

Kayla enjoying some hot chocolate!

Samantha ready to throw a snowball!

Jake sliding down the hill with Kayla!

Jake and the girls waiting to eat some chili.

Everyone enjoying the good food!

My niece Rilee climbed into this hole that someone made! Maybe it was her, I don't know. But I thought she looked cute laying there so I took a picture!

Later that day we hung out at uncle Clay's house again, ate dinner and had a slide show of old pictures of Jake and his family. Jake's family are big on slide shows so we always look forward to seeing them! The next day, Saturday, we got up early and had our Christmas gift exchange, lunch and took some pictures at an old building that used to be the Safford library. We had fun time, the pictures outside didn't turn out as good as we would of liked because the sun was shining in our faces. But there were some pictures we took inside that turned out ok.

Our little family.

Jake with his parents and siblings.

This is how it was for us outiside, way too bright!

The girls drawing pictures for their great grandma and grandpa

Kayla and Samantha's cousins, Brendan and Tyra

Later that evening my nephew Brendan(above) got baptized. He's living in Texas with his mom and stepdad but because we were all together and most of his family lives in AZ, they decided it would be best to have the baptism in Safford. On Sunday we headed back home, it was a nice visit and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Christmas Time

2009-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

I started this post weeks ago but kept putting it off so here I am FINALLY finishing it! December was busy for us (like it is for most people). Busy taking care of the house, kids, shopping and Christmas shopping, and working almost everyday at Kohls. Pretty much everyday at Kohls was super busy! Lines and lines of people in the checkout line, cleaning up after people who leave piles and piles of clothes on the floor, people dumping stuff in the department because they decided not to buy it, babysit children because the parents don't pay attention to their kids climbing over and under the racks, the list goes on...don't get me wrong I like my job but during the holidays, I don't. December was also good with getting ready for Christmas, enjoying the nice weather, seeing how happy and excited the kids were for Christmas, looking at the Christmas lights and spending time with family on Christmas day! Here are a few pictures of what we did...

Kayla and Samantha making Christmas cookies

Kayla's 4th grade Christmas program. The theme was "The Night Before Christmas" where they wore their pjs, recited the poem and sang cute songs! Kayla is wearing pink and brown pjs close to the middle. They all did a great job!

The girls with their new pj's that they always open on Christmas Eve. Kayla's are Christmas/Wintery and Samantha's are Hello Kitty

Milk and cookies left for Santa...Santa thought they were delish!

The reindeer food Samantha left out on our walkway.

Christmas morning the girls woke us up about 7am and we all headed out into the living room to see what Santa brought. They first opened their stockings, then Samantha checked outside to see if the reindeer ate the food she left. Her reaction was priceless! She screamed at the top of her lungs in excitement! I got in on video but the file is too big to upload on here. Then we opened the rest of our gifts. The girls got a lot of the same gifts like 2 Webkinz, Webkinz t-shirts, and a necklace with their initial. But the BIG present they got was a Wii! They had been asking for a Wii since last Christmas! They were so happy to get a Wii that I don't think they really cared that much for the rest of their presents! HaHa Jake and I didn't get much for eachother, he got a wallet, and pjs with some candy and nuts. I got a popcorn popper, a pillow and a tennis racket. I don't play tennis but I guess Jake thinks I need to start taking it up!
Anyways, this is the only picture I took on Christmas morning. I took a lot of video but they are too big to post here. I really should of thought about taking more pictures.

Later that day we went over to my mom's house where we opened presents, ate a Italian dinner, and visited with family.

Samantha and Kayla opening presents from their grandma and grandpa with my mother's bright yellow furniture in the background. Ugh I hate this furniture! She's had that since before I was born! I keep telling her to get rid of it, but for some reason she won't part with it.

That's all for now, more later coming soon!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Richardsons!

For the month of November

2009-11-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

We did this...

Samantha started a preschool class at the rec center. She gets to bring her own lunch and so we went to the store to find a lunch bag. She chose a Hannah Montana bag, gee what a surprise! (not) Even though its only once a day for 6 wks, she loves going and having her friend Kami with her!

We went to the Phoenix zoo on Veterans Day with some friends. Samantha didn't go because she had a birthday party to go to. So it was just me and Kayla! It was a beautiful day for walking around the zoo! But it was SUPER BUSY!

Kayla and her friend Lexi.

One of the few peacocks that were roaming around the zoo.

A Komodo Dragon!

The orangutans are one of my favorite animals to look at! This one is laying under a blanket! So funny!

Lots of monkeys to see up close in Monkey Village!

This was so cool! We got to pet stingrays for the first time!

Kayla just about to pet a stingray!

Kayla and her class were learning about electricity so they all got into groups and made their own houses with lights. When the parents came to see them, the room was dark and all the houses were lit up like it was Christmas! I thought that Kayla's group had the best house, and I'm not being biased at all!

A closer view of their house.

The best day of the month was Nov. 20th when I went to see the most anticipated movie of the year...NEW MOON!!! The movie was AWESOME! The actors were AWESOME! The wolves were AWESOME! The vampires were AWESOME! My friends Alacey and Jackie and I had a AWESOME TIME!!

Thanksgiving at our house. I cooked the turkey which I hadn't done in years! So I was a little nervous about it but with tips from my mom, it turned out really good! We just had my mom and stepdad over because my grandma and aunt and uncle couldn't make it. So we had LOTS of food left over! We stuffed ourselves till we almost popped! I was going to take more pictures but forgot about it. Oh well, I'm just thankful that we had a yummy dinner and a nice visit with my family!

Last but certainly not least...we put up our Christmas tree! We bought a new (used) tree a few weeks ago at a yard sale for only 15 bucks! Its taller and a lot fuller than our last one! We are really excited for Christmas!

Halloween

2009-11-05T08:54:00.001-08:00

We had a great time with Halloween this year! I decorated the outside of the house more than I've ever done! In the past I would just put up a couple of things in the window but this year I got motivated to do more. I put up spider webs, a picture of Frankenstein on the door(which was actually suposta be tied on the tree but our tree is too crooked), I hung a freaky monster head by the door and we had spooky music playing. I wanted to do so much more but I waited too long to buy decorations so a lot of stuff was gone. Even the black spider rings were gone so I had to use colored spider rings to put in my web...oooh scary!

Our scary decor!

A few days before Halloween, I got a package of these push in face pieces for the girls to decorate their own pumpkins, they had so much fun doing this! Then on Halloween we put them in the front of the house. I carved a pumpkin on Halloween but I forgot to take a picture.

Friday(the day before Halloween) was our ward's trunk or treat. Actually we aren't in that ward anymore because the ward split but we were still invited to go. Kayla and Samantha were cats, Kayla a tiger cat and Samantha a black cat.

The girls and their friend Lexi that came with us to the trunk or treat, goofing around and decided to do some funny poses! (look below)

The devil petting her pet cats!

I told them to pose like this! LOL

Jake and I dressed up as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. When we first arrived to the party, it was so cold so Jake left to get our jackets. So I'm walking around with the girls and no one knows what I'm dressed as! So when Jake came back, then people figured it out! I knew it would be hard for people to know who I was without him, but all they had to do was read my press pass around my neck! LOL

Halloween night! I made this tutu to go with Samantha's cat costume. She told me she would wear it but then when Halloween came she changed her mind and refused to wear it! I spent 5 whole dollars on making this tutu and its just went to waist! I thought about forcing her to wear it but I don't want her to hate me. So I said let me take a picture of you wearing it. She looks happy in this picture but she really had to force that smile!

Just before going out trick or treating!

Jake and I got a little crazy with the camera!

Don't we look so cool!

Look how strong he it!

My hero!

Jake doesn't usually like to dress up for Halloween. We talked about it about a month ago and he wasn't really thrilled about the idea and so I stopped talking about. Then the day before Halloween I was like I really want to dress up! So I thought it would be easy to find a few items for our costumes as CK and LL. Well I went to Good Will and found the white shirt and black blazer, looked for a Superman t-shirt and glasses but found nothing. Called around to all kinds of stores and nothing! So I was getting bummed out that this wasn't going to work but then Jake calls me from a differnt Good Will store after he gets off work and says he found a Superman shirt and glasses! Yay! So I found a picture of a Press pass for Lois Lane on the internet, printed it out and stuck a picture of myself on it! Used my friends lamanet machine and lanyard and my Lois Lane costume was complete!

The Arizona State Fair!

2009-10-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Arizona State Fair last Friday and we had a great time! The weather was beautiful! It was a discount day so admission was 1/2 off and the rides and games were a dollar and some of the food was a dollar too! The girls rode a few rides, there favorite was the Ferris Wheel! There were 2 huge Ferris Wheels and we rode on the tallest one! At first they were nervous about it but once we went up to the top, they thought it was so awesome to be able to see everything down below...I just wish I thought of taking a picture! We looked through all the exhibits but we skipped the animals because we ran out of time. We had plans to watch Figure 8 car racing later that evening so we wanted to get there kinda early to get a good seat.

Kayla enjoying a HUGE snow cone!

As you can see, Samantha spilled some of her snow cone, it was just too big for her!

Jake wearing his MANLY green shirt! haha I don't really like this shirt, so I always pick on him for wearing it!

This ride reminded me of the Dumbo ride at Disneyland but its smaller and doesn't go as high.

The girls played on this fun house. They went through 2 of them and this one was the best one. The other one lasted about 5 seconds, I told them it would be real short but they didn't listen to me.

Wheeeee! She looks so funny coming down this slide! LOL

Kayla practicing her farmer skills! haha Its not a real cow!

Samantha squirted a little "milk" on her shorts!

We had fun looking at ourselves in these crazy mirrors! We look like Oompa Loompas in this one!

Kayla, Samantha and I went down this really tall slide. It was a lot of fun!

Woohoo!

Samantha rode the carousel

Round and round we go!

Watching Figure 8 car racing!
I took this short video and as you can see the cars come really close to crashing into eachother in the middle! Later on there were some crashes, thankfully no injuries.

Samantha's Birthday Party

2009-10-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Samantha had a birthday party with her friends at a park on Sat Oct. 17th. This was her first friend party, I thought it went pretty well, they played and played and ate some snacks and then Samantha opened her presents. She had a lot of fun! But toward the end of the party, one of her friends got sick. Poor thing was throwing up all over herself! I tried my best to clean it off of her shirt and shorts but all I had were some napkins. I felt so bad for her, but she was a real trooper and didn't cry much, then she fell asleep in our lawn chair waiting for her mom to pick her up.

Samantha with her friends, Lexi, Rachel and Jack

Cheers!

Say cheese!

Cupcakes, pretzal goldfish, and Cheeto puffs that make your tongue blue, washed down with Hawaiian punch! Yum!

This is the only picture I took of her opening presents...I took video after this but the file is too big to post. She also got a fish Webkinz and a koala beanie baby, little plastic bugs and lizards, a Snow White figure set, a baby doll and a jump rope.

Jake having a blast at the party!

Samantha's 5th Birthday

2009-10-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Today was Samantha's 5th Birthday! I can't believe she's already 5!! She had a pretty fun day! We went to the store and bought some lunch and a little toy for her because I had a coupon for a dollar off of any toy. I didn't want Kayla to feel left out so I bought her a pumpkin cup. So after we ate our lunches at home, some kids came over to play. First it was 2 kids, then a few minutes later 3 more came over! I was feelin' a little nervous with some many kids, I'm only used to 2 at the most come over. But it worked out fine, nothing got broke, nobody got hurt and most importantly the kids had lots of fun!

Since last year, Samantha has requested to go to Chuck E Cheese for her next birthday. I said that was fine so when I looked up to see where the nearest CEC was, it was too far away, well its not like it was a hour away but when Peter Piper Pizza is just down the street, the logical choice is the closer one. So I asked her if PPP would be ok and she said yes. We had a very nice time there, got our food right away and the kids didn't have to wait to play games. After we were done at PPP, we came home and Samantha opened her gifts from us. She loved them, epecially the Littlest Pet Shop! Thats her favorite thing right now!

Shootin' some hoops!

Kayla having some fun!

I was surprised she wanted to play this big kids game!

Pajamas!

Littlest Pet Shop!

Make a wish!

We love you Samantha and are so glad you are a part of our family! Happy Birthday sweetie!

Field Trip to the Fire Station

2009-09-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

We went on a tour of the Fire Station with some friends today. My friend Stacey has a preschool group and invited us to go along. It was so much fun! The firemen showed us where they eat, sleep and relax. They talked to the kids about fire safety like "stop, drop and roll", to not be afraid of firemen if they are rescuing you and other safety issues like wearing a helmet when you ride your bike or scooter. Samantha came up to me right away and said "mom I need a helmet" and then sat back down. It was funny but made me realize how important it really is for her to have one when riding her scooter. Some mother I am.

Listening so good to fireman Jesse talk about fire safety!

Then they took us outside and showed us the fire truck, they got to climb inside and look around.
Samantha and her friend Jack held hands most of the time. So cute!

After that one of the fireman put on all the gear they wear and as he was putting the oxygen tank on this back, he asked "do you know what this is?" And Samantha spoke up and said, "a jet pack?" Such a funny child I have!

Samantha and Jack!

Samantha was disappointed that she couldn't sit on the truck when we took this picture. The fireman said to her, " you can stand because you're tall" But it didn't stop her giving us a big smile!

The whole group, well minus one. Samantha's friend Kami was there but didn't feel like getting in the picture. At the end the kids got a coloring book, a pencil with a fire hat eraser and a pencil bag along with the hat and sticker badge! What a fun field trip!

Kayla's Dental Experience

2009-09-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Kayla had her turn at the dentist yesterday. It went well except she had a small cavity and some plaque behind her bottom front teeth. The dentist was stern but very nice when talking to her about how she needs to brush better and floss more. I blame myself, I should of been monitoring her better. I haven't been too strict on flossing with my kids and myself just because they would give me a hard time about it so I just let it go. With myself, its laziness. I don't know why I became a slacker because last year I had 2 fillings, which was not fun and would not like to repeat or have my kids experience! So our goal is to floss every day and brush better so we can keep our teeth healthy!

Kayla getting her teeth checked out.

Samantha posing in front of the glass window water fountain.

Just after getting pictures taken of her teeth. We went back to the dentist today so Kayla could get sealants in her four back teeth. They gave her "happy gas" to make her relax during the procedure. She did really good and it went by really fast! I took her to McDonalds afterwards and then back to school.

Freaky Eye

2009-09-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Samantha does this freaky one eye cross thing sometimes and it creeps me out! She was doing it this morning so I decided to take a picture. She's sitting right next to me right now laughing at herself in this picture!

Samantha's Pearly Whites

2009-08-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

Samantha went to the dentist for her first time last week! At first she wasn't too crazy about the idea. I told her it was going to be a fun place but I'm not sure if she believed me until we arrived at the office. There were toys, a big screen tv showing a movie, a upstairs room with video games, a cool looking glass water window thing...she was excited!

I'm ready for the dentist!

Open wide! What healthy teeth you have!

Getting pictures of my teeth is fun!

Lots of goodies for being a great patient!

A No Daughtry Concert :(

2009-08-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is what I was SUPPOSED TO see on Tues Aug. 18th BUT Mr. Chris Daughtry got sick and canceled the concert. I was sorry to hear that he was sick and wished him to get better but I was also disappointed and bummed out because I had been looking forward to this concert for months! But life goes on and so I stayed home with my family and made a nice dinner and watched some reruns of Smallville with my hubby. THANKFULLY Daughtry rescheduled the concert to Oct. 13th. So I will get to see them...I just have to wait a little bit longer.

First Day of School

2009-08-11T14:23:00.001-07:00

Kayla's first day of school was great! She's in the 4th grade and has a male teacher(her first one) Mr. Berlin. He's a really nice guy who I think will be good for her. There are a few kids in her class that she's friends with but not her friend Emelia. But that's ok, they see each other at recess. Right now she sits next to 2 boys, I know Kayla is hoping that changes SOON.

Here comes the bus! I'm so glad the bus stop is like 5 seconds away from my house!

There she goes off to a new and hopefully a wonderful school year!

Kayla's 9th Birthday

2009-07-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Kayla's birthday was Sunday July 19th where she turned 9 years old! We decided not to do a birthday party with lots of friends and activities since money is tight right now. So I said she could have one friend over for all day and a sleepover. So Saturday the 18th she had her friend Emelia come over. We went swimming at this really cool public pool in Chandler called Mesquite Groves. Then we came home relaxed, played for a few hours before dinner. For dinner we ate pizza. Then went to see the movie "Up" at the theater. It was a cute movie, we all enjoyed it.

Emelia gave Kayla this dragon Webkinz for her birthday.

After the movie we came home and the girls built a fort with Jake's help.

Later they ate some ice cream, played on the computer and by 11pm it was time for bed. Kayla had a lot of fun with her friend. I hope they can be together again in the same class at school.

On Sunday, her actual birthday we took some pictures before church. I gave her a necklace which she's wearing in the picture but you can't see it very good. It has 3 charms, one is a K and the others I can't really remember. She saw it at Claries and liked it. For the past month I've been trying to talk her into getting her ears pierced. I got mine when I was 7 yrs old and she has friends with their ears pierced so I thought she'd be ready. I know she wants to but she's still a little nervous about it. Maybe next year.

Later that day my mom and my stepdad came over for Kayla's birthday. She opened our present which was a new backpack, 2 shirts, shorts, a cat Webkinz, a Webkinz kinz clip, and lip gloss.

Reading her birthday card.

Here she is opening a box of money from my mom.

Kayla with her birthday cake. I decorated it with a W for Webkinz.

Blowing out her candles.

The cake I made, it looks a little weird...the ring around the W is crooked because I made the W too big, oh well at least I got the colors right. She had a nice birthday, nothing fancy, just a simple fun weekend with friends and family. Next year will be double digets!

Sedona, AZ

2009-07-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip to Sedona yesterday with our friends JJ and Natalie. Jake and I had never been there so we were really looking forward to it! We've heard its known for being one of the most beautiful places in Arizona! I agree!

My pictures don't do them justice so anyone who's never been, you must go!

Our friends JJ and Natalie have 3 kids and their oldest Madelyne who is one year younger than Kayla had such a blast together! They don't see eachother very much but when they do its like they're best friends evertime!

Madelyne rode in our car with us, so much fun!

Samantha was kinda lonely without Kayla sitting by her but she was able to still enjoy herself.
When we got to Sedona we decided to just head up to Slide Rock and picnic there and have some fun playing in the water! We ate a good lunch at one of the picnic tables, changed into our swim suits and walked up to the swimming area. It was really crowded there and the water was freezing!

But that didn't stop Kayla! She immediatley started sliding down the rocks!

At first Samantha didn't like the cold water and slippery rocks, she kept saying "I don't like this place, I wanna go home." :(

But after a while she warmed up to the idea and got in the water. Here she is playing with our friend's two boys.

Time for a family picture!

The girls and I having a fun time!

Madelyne and Kayla having a fun time!

Kayla sliding down the rocks.

As you can see Samantha's not happy. Jake and Samantha were holding hands walking next to the water, he slipped and fell and she fell hitting her face on the rocks! Daddy felt so bad! We decided it was time to go.

Our Friends JJ and Natalie with their kids at Slide Rock.

The valley of Sedona behind us!

On our way out we stopped at this UFO store. It had this creepy looking alien statue by the entrance. We didn't have time to go in but they had that song from the X-Files playing outside!

A alien space ship crashed landed in front of the store while we were there! Ha ha

That was pretty much the end of our trip to Sedona. We hope to go back there and check out the things we missed.

Richardson Family Reunion

2009-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

We just got back yesterday from the Richardson family reunion where we went camping up at Cedar Ranch(Jake's grandpa's land) which is between Heber and Holbrook. We go there every year and its usually Memorial Day weekend but they changed it this year to 4th of July weekend because some family had other things planned. We had a lot of fun hangin out with family that we hadn't seen in a long time. It would of been nice to see fireworks but the kids didn't seem to miss it that much. The weather wasn't too bad, it was hot at times but we had some cloud coverage and rain which definitely helped make it cooler.

On Friday July 3rd we left early in the morning and first stopped to pick up our neice Korbyn to take her with us to the campout. We were a little crammed in our van but it worked out ok. She was very quiet, just listening to her I-Pod, thats teenagers for ya. I hope she wasn't too bored with us, we're not that exciting when we're traveling.

But then Samantha started making silly faces, making us all laugh our booties off! I couldn't stop laughing at this one!

She's gone coo-coo!

Then Kayla started making funny faces too!

Jake spotted a 1967 Cobra hard top convertable way up ahead of us. Its his favorite car so he wanted to get a better look at it. He kept trying to drive closer to it which took a while because of all the busy traffic.

We got closer and closer and...

Finally we made it! Jake was very happy!

After we passed Payson and Heber and all those beautiful trees we saw a lot of this...

and this...I know its not pretty but the land was cheap when his grandfather bought it. I probably don't have enough pictures that show what his family has done to the property but they really have made it into a fun place for the family.

The campout was a Western theme, Richardson Roundup. Jake's parents were in charge of the activities. And one of the things they planned was taken from the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. Jake and his family can quote every line in this movie! Well his crazy parents came up with the idea to build a trojan rabbit just like the one from the movie! And wheel it around to everyone's camps and welcome them to the reunion. They recorded the sqeak and played it over and over, it was hilarious! I think everyone thought we were nuts!

My wonderful talented husband was elected to build the rabbit and he did a awesome job! It looks just like the one from the movie! Look below, great job Jake!

"Well, now, uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, wait until

nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the French, uh, by
surprise. Not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!"

Its the Welcome Rabbit!

"Run away! Run away! Run away! Run away! Run away! Run away!"

The next day July 4th we played some games. Jake, Samantha and I were on the purple team and Kayla was on the orange team. First we got into our teams and had a list of things to clean in the lodge, and whoever finished their list first wins. Our team didn't win but we got the place clean! After that we did relay games outside, I didn't get any pictures of this but it involved cow patties, eggs, potatoes and water balloons! It was a lot of fun!

After lunch it was kid craft time where the kids made little instruments out of cans.

Samantha making her maraca.

I did Samantha's hair all pretty for the 4th!

Kayla is enjoying a piece of cake!

Kayla couldn't get enough of playing foosball! She played it all the time with her cousins. I played a game with her and she was pretty good! Me not so good!

Later we rode the famous Richardson train! All aboard choo-choo! The girls love riding the train, they could ride all day! They played their instruments and sang patriotic songs.

Jake having fun on the train!

Jake, Shera, Tom, Matt and Grant decided to go on a bike ride. They kept asking me to come but I kept saying no because it was too stinkin hot! I thought they were crazy! But then at the last minute, someone twisted my arm and I said I'd go. I used to go mountain biking with Jake all the time before we had kids and was pretty good. But its been many years since I'd gone on any rough trails so I was a little nervous. But I did ok, didn't fall or pass out. It was fun!

Yee Haw! Time for our Richardson Hoe Down! Mostly everyone dressed up in their western duds and had a good 'ole time! There was laughing, singing, guitar strummin', square dancin' and other types of fun dancin'!

Kayla lookin all westerny!

Its Club Cedar Ranch!
Kayla and her cousins getting their groove on!

Jake's parents singing "Ghost Rider in the Sky" but they replaced the word Rider to Chickens to fit the western theme. Funny!

On Sunday we had church at the lodge which is like sacrament meeting but without the sacrament. Afterwards we took family pictures, this is a picture of Jake's grandparents in the middle with all their children. Jake's dad is second oldest and on the far right. I always have such a good time when I'm around them. I love listening to Jake's uncles and aunts tell stories about when they were kids, they make me laugh all the time! They are such a close family helping and supporting eachother. And Jake's grandparents are so loving, accepting everyone with open arms! I feel like their my own grandparents and love them very much! I feel so lucky to belong to this awesome family!

Later we relaxed and sat around visiting, saying bye to family who left and then we decided it was time for us to leave too. So we packed up our things and said our goodbyes. We had fun and can't wait to do it all over again!

Jake's Birthday/ Father's Day

2009-06-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

Jake just had his birthday June 20 where he turned 36 years old! We had some fun just hangin out, going to the Temple and swimming. I unfortunetly had to work that night but he was ok with it. He got to fly his plane, fix his car(above) and drive it which hasn't been working for awhile. So he had a good day!

Flying planes is his passion right now! He was introduced to this when we first moved back to Phx 4 years ago. And ever since then he goes out almost every week flying with friends or by him self. He has 6 planes now after just recently building the two below. He really has a talent for making planes, he makes it look so easy!

ooooh pretty colors!

Then we celebrated Father's Day on Sunday June 21st. Funny how that worked out! I made him one of his favorite dinners, roast potatoes and carrots. Yummy!

Then I made a upside down pineapple cake, also one of his favs. Since his birthday and Father's Day were back to back, I just decided to make one cake. I put candles on the cake, 3 on the left and 6 on the right. It would of been fun to see him blow out 36 candles but I didn't want to risk setting off the smoke alarm! LOL

Yay he blew them all out! I knew you could do it hunny!

The girls made him cards which he loved! They love their daddy so much and have so much fun with him! I feel really lucky to have a husband who is so loving to our precious girls! We love you Jake/daddy!

My Hula Man

2009-06-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

Jake showing off his hula dancing skills!

Daddy Daughter Time

2009-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday Kayla and Jake went to a Daddy Daughter activity at the church. The theme was "The Temple is a Paradise" They had tropical/Hawaiian decorations and some girls and their dads wore Hawaiian shirts/clothes. Kayla only had a shirt with a palm tree on it so that was good enough, Jake had nothing and I wasn't going to buy one for him when I know he'd only wear the one time. They combined the activity with a Recognition Night which is where the girls display a goal they've worked on or it could be things that show their talents. Kayla decided to display things she collects and her talent for drawing. I told Jake to make sure and take lots of pictures and videos. He did good! He got some videos of him and Kayla doing the hula which was hilarious to watch! They had a lot of fun doing the limbo and other fun things!

Yum, Yum eating some good food!

Kayla with her display table.

A closer view, her Webkinz collection(she has more at home), her rock collection(more at home), things from her favorite store the Rainforest Cafe and a folder with some of her drawings.

A couple of her drawings.

My Dancing Princess

2009-05-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Samantha just finished her dance class last week where she learned tap, ballet and tumbling. She took the class with her 3 preschool friends; Rachel, Kami and Joelle. They had so much fun together! They had their recital last Friday and I thought she might get stage fright and not want to dance because we had problems the last time she took dance. But she was so excited and followed the teacher's every move as best as she could! I was so proud of her! They even made their own T-shirts for the recital. If you look closely Samantha wrote SAM at the top of her shirt, with the S written backwards! And I love how her tutu is on crooked! What a cutie pie!

Getting ready to tap dance!

Doin a little pose before the music starts!

Listening to the teacher very intently!

Mother's Day

2009-05-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

I had a really nice Mother's Day! Right when I woke up the girls said "Happy Mother's Day!" and showed me the gifts they got me. Kayla made some things at school; a card in the shape of the word MOM, some stationary with little thumb print ladybugs in the corner of the paper and some coupons for free hugs and kisses. And then from both Kayla and Samantha, they got me some chocolate covered Oreo's in a cute little box. They were so yummy! Then Jake got me a hanging flower plant that I ended up hanging outside in our back yard. It makes my back patio look more homey I loved all my gifts! It really made me feel appreciated and loved! Jake wanted to make me breakfast but he wasn't feeling to good, so hopefully he'll make it up to me next Sunday! :) Then we went to church and the young men and young women handed out big yummy chocolate bars.
After church my mom, stepdad and grandmother came over for dinner. We had steaks, baked potatoes, and vegies, the steaks were awesome! And then later dessert was a stawberry cake with ice cream! YUM! We had a really nice time and I am so thankful to have such a caring and loving mother! I appreciate everything she has taught me and done for me. And I'm so thankful to have 2 beautiful daughters who bring such joy in my life! I feel so lucky to have such good sweet girls! (picture below is from 2 years ago, I forgot to get a picture of just me and the girls on Sunday but I really like this one anyways.)

Catch Up

2009-05-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Wow its May already? Where has the time gone?! I'm trying to think about whats happened since my last post hmmm...

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago on Sunday the 26th where I turned 34 years old. I know a lof of you are thinking, "34 years old?! Wow you look so good for your age!" Well thanks everyone, you're too kind. Anyways, we went out to dinner with the kids at TGI Fridays the night before. I had never been there before, the food was good, it was a lot of fun. Later we ate my birthday cake which was cheesecake, yum! Thats about all we did, nothing fancy, I got some birthday money that I spent on myself. We didn't take any pics of my birthday celebration but oh well, there wasn't much to take pics of anyways.

Jake got his hours cut at work to part time so for the past couple of weeks he's been looking for another job or another part time job. It was kinda scary at first, worring about money, making sure we have enough food etc. and if we can continue to live in our house. But I know Heavenly Father is watching over us and is mindful of our needs. Just the other day Jake told me that a couple of people quit. So they've been able to let Jake work 40 hours again. Its not official but its something until Jake can find a better more stable job. I just hope and pray everything works out for us because my biggest concern is being able to stay here in this house because we love it here SO MUCH that we don't want to move anywhere else. The girls have great friends and we love the people in our ward and our neighbors. I know whatever happens, we will just have to have faith that things will be ok.

On April 30th I went with Kayla on a field trip with her 3rd grade class to the AZ Mining and Mineral Museum. She had fun learning about all the different kinds of rocks and minerals. They taught the kids about the rocks and minerals that are used to make different kinds of products like Lava soap, pencils, soda cans and I bet you didn't know this but your toothpaste and possibly your makeup has rocks in it. Well at least the good expensive kind of makeup otherwise your makeup might have fish parts in it. I have the cheap makeup so I'm putting fish guts on my face! Ewwww! I forgot my camera so I found some pictures off the internet.

This is a really cool looking rock. There were a lot of these around the museum.

This is in front of the museum. These are the tires that go on the mining trucks! Yikes!

I took Samantha's preschool group on a little field trip to the Riparian Preserve last week. Its a habitat for birds, fish and other animals. There's lots of trails to hike and ponds where you can feed the ducks. Theres a little play area and a place to dig up dinosaur bones. My kids love it there and the preschool girls had so much fun.

Samantha posing for me.

Feeding the ducks.

These girls are a lot of fun, when they're getting along. LOL

More Easter Fun

2009-04-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

So after being in the rain Saturday morning, we came home and changed the girls into some dry clothes and continued our Easter fun. We started with making Easter cookies. The girls always love to help make cookies for all the major holidays like Christmas, Halloween and Easter. We made little bunnies, butterflys, carrots and egg shaped ones. But we didn't frost any of them even though I made the frosting. I had to work later that day so I didn't have time to help the girls decorate them so the frosting is in the frig and the cookies are sitting on the counter. And no one is really eating the cookies because of all the candy we have! Oh well. Then the girls colored eggs which was fun!

Easter morning the girls woke up to their Easter baskets, actually they had to find them. Jake said thats what the Easter bunny did when he was a kid, so I thought it was a good idea to try on our kids. They liked that!

Then we did a little egg hunt in the house where they found eggs filled with fruit snacks, fruit rollups and money. They liked the money! I was only able to get Samantha a Easter dress this year which I bought months ago. I couldn't find a dress I liked for Kayla that was in my price range so she just wore something she already had. Oh well, it doesn't really matter if they don't get a new dress every Easter. I tried to take some pictures of them before church but all I could get was Samantha. But later I got Kayla when we went over to my moms house.

Samantha is holding her new ally cat Webkinz that she bought with her own money. When I look at this picture, it just amazes me how much she has grown! She loves to pose like this, what a cutie-pie!

Kayla also bought a ally cat Webkinz. She looks so pretty is this dress!

After church we headed over to my mom's house in Phoenix where they had another egg hunt in their backyard. It was us with my mom, stepdad Jerry and my grandma. We had a lot of fun watching the girls hunt for eggs!

Egg Hunt , Rain or Shine

2009-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our wards egg hunt this morning. We woke up to a cold and raining day. We thought for sure the egg hunt would be canceled but we decided to go to see if anyone showed up. And sure enough, people were there with their ponchos, umbrellas and baskets! They had a good turn out for being in the rain. We first had some muffins, fruit and juice and then they gathered all the kids together to start the egg hunt. The big field where they originally were going to hide all 1,000 eggs was all muddy so they found a small area next to the playground to look for eggs. As they were running all around gathering eggs, Samantha fell on her bottom and got muddy. But it didn't stop her from having fun. They both got a lot of eggs, probably triple in what they would of got if all the kids showed up. So we learned that it doesn't matter what the weather is like, kids will do anything for candy!

Our wet happy kids!

4 Easter Egg Hunts

2009-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

The girls are participating in 4 egg hunts this year! First one with our neighborhood, second with our ward, 3rd with us and 4th with grandma and grandpa Nielsen(my mom and stepdad). On Friday was the neighborhood egg hunt at our park which is 5 seconds from our house. Each mom contributed about 10 eggs for each of their kids who were going to participate. It ended up being over 200 eggs! It turned out really good, everyone had so much fun! In the picture above, Kayla and Samantha are right in the middle.

Kayla and Samantha seeing what they got with their friends.

Mesa Cannery

2009-04-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

Today I went to the Mesa Cannery for the first time and had a lot of fun! It felt really good to be canning your own food that will help feed your family. There were probably about 20 of us there and we canned about 200 or more cans in less than a hour! I don't know if thats normal since it was my first time but I thought we'd be there longer. I even saw Jake's uncle Gary there working by the silos. It was funny because when I went up to him, he couldn't remember who I was. As soon as I told him, I think he felt a little embarrassed but that's ok, I probably looked really different with my hair pulled back and sunglasses on. LOL It was a really neat experience and I'm looking forward to the next time I can go!

Bounce U

2009-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is Spring Break week and yesterday(St. Patrick's Day) the girls and I spent time at Bounce U. Its a place where kids (and parents) play on those bounce structures and slides, the slides were the girls favorite. My neighbor Tracey invited us and got us a discount, it was a lot of fun! I think Tracey and I were the only parents jumping and sliding, which is sad in my opinion. Its boring just sitting around for 2 hours while your kids play, why not enjoy this time with them. Anyways, I'm totally sold on going again and again, especially during the summer when its blazin hot outside.

Samantha made a new friend.

Me being a dork but having fun.

Discovery Park

2009-03-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Discovery Park for family home evening. Jake flew his radio control plane which he built and the girls rode their bike and scooter up and down the grassy hills. We also had a lot of fun at the playground, its not that big of a playground but the kids still like it. They like to climb the rock formation, which really isn't that hard to climb but it makes them feel good like they've climbed Mt. Everest!

This park is actually just across the street from where our new Temple will be built! We will only be like 2 minutes away from the Temple, we are so excited!

Here's the plane Jake flew, he built it himself out of foam. Its not completed in this picture but I just wanted to show a up close picture of it. I'm so impressed that he built a plane out of foam with a little motor attached to it! And it flys fast!

Jake flying his plane.

Help!

2009-02-27T14:32:00.000-08:00

I need help finding a tray or trays to organize this messy drawer thats in my kitchen. I've looked at Walmart, Target, the dollar store but all they have are expensive ones. I need something cheap! I've looked online at different sites but I don't want to use a credit card. I don't understand why its so hard to find something so simple! Help!

Samantha's Preschool

2009-02-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

This week it was my turn to teach preschool. We have preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays for 3 hours each, it seems like a long time but when you plan lots of activities it goes by fast. They learned about the letter "P" and my theme was about painting and pigs. I decided it would be fun to have the girls put on a play for their mothers of The 3 Little Pigs. So I incorporated painting and pigs by having the girls paint the houses on cardboard boxes. They also made their own snouts, ears and tails. They did other types of painting like finger painting and water coloring.

These girls are the most dramatic and emotional 4 yr olds I've ever dealt with! One minute they love each other then the next minute their fighting like they hate each other! Its so frustrating! When we were practicing the play outside, one by one they started arguing and crying saying they didn't want to do the play anymore. Ahhh! But after we all calmed down, we tried again but this time inside the house and everything was fine. It was a really warm day so maybe that was the problem, I don't know. When the mothers came, we did the play and it turned out really cute!
I have a video of the play, but its too long to post because the camera was set up recording after the play was over. Is there anyone who knows how to make videos shorter?

New addition to our home/Valentines Day

2009-02-17T09:41:00.001-08:00

I know its been awhile since I blogged but life just keeps me so busy that its so hard for me to find the time. Or there were times where I just didn't feel in the mood. I'm probably just making excuses. I want to blog more, really I do, so its my goal to find time everyday or almost everyday to blog about my kids, husband or anything else that happens in our lives.

Just this past Saturday we made a big purchase, which is something we hardly ever do! But we just couldn't pass up this great deal. We've been wanting to get a big screen tv for the longest time but never could afford over a thousand dollars to buy one. Jake found out last week from a friend at work that Costco had a 42" tv on sale for 700 dollars! So we went to check it out, when we got there we said we have to get this or we will never get one. When we talked to the sales clerk we found out that there was a coupon for 100 dollars off on this tv! So we ended up paying just a little over 600 dollars for a Vizio 42" tv! We just love it! Although it sticks out on the sides a little but thats ok, maybe next year we can buy a new entertainment center to fit it in.

Before...

After!

These are the roses Jake got me for Valentines Day, aren't they beautiful! We got a babysitter from our ward to watch the girls and then we went to a Valentines party that was hosted by someone in our ward. There was lots of good food, cute decorations and lots of fun people to visit with. After about a hour we left and went to see a movie. We had no plan as to what movie we were going to watch, we just hoped there was a good one available starting soon. We agreed to seeing "Push" with Dakota Fanning, it wasn't too bad. Then we headed back home. It was really nice to go out with my honey which we don't get to do very often.

Samantha's scooter

2009-01-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Samantha loves her scooter! She rides it everyday in our neighborhood. Most of the kids in our neighborhood ride bikes but she prefers her scooter. Its kinda funny to watch her follow Kayla or the other kids on their bikes because she's trying so hard to keep up with them. At least her legs are getting a good work out.

Today before she went out to ride, she put on a helmet all by herself. She normally doesn't wear a helmet but for some reason she decided to put it on. I thought she looked so cute that I just had to take a picture or two.

New Years Eve

2009-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post our New Years Eve party we had with the kids. Originally we had planned to go out with friends but they got sick. So we took the kids out to dinner at Some Burros, went to see the Temple lights, got ice cream, and then came home and partayed! We played with streamers, played with those little things that pop when you throw them on the ground, blew our horns and watched the ball drop in NY. The kids had a lot of fun staying up till midnight, well Samantha fell asleep about 3 mins to midnight, but we woke her up with our loud horns and she wasn't happy about that!

Then my husband started getting a little crazy!

Maybe its because he started drinking too much!(don't worry its just Martinellis)

Or was it?

Tonto Natural Bridge

2009-01-21T12:08:00.001-08:00

On Saturday after playing in the snow, we went to the Tonto Natural Bridge which is just south of Payson. We were just planning on going home but saw the sign saying it was just a couple of miles away and we had some daylight left. So we decided to drive down to the park and check it out. Actually Jake and I had been there before years ago and liked it so we thought the kids would enjoy it too. I've always liked to hike, I just don't get the opportunity to do it as often as I like. Anyways, the trail wasn't too hard to walk down for us, Kayla did fine on her own but we had to hold Samantha's hand. When we got there, this is what we saw. A pretty little rainbow with the water falling off the bridge.

Most people hike under the bridge over the wet rocks but we knew we couldn't do that with the kids. So we just walked over a few rocks and I had Jake and the girls climb into this small cave to take a picture. The hike back up the trail was tough, especially for the kids. But we all had a fun time seeing nature and getting some good exercise.

Snow Day

2009-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we drove up north to play in the snow. When we got to Payson, there was no snow. So we were getting concerned that we weren't going to find any. After eating lunch we decided to keep driving till we found some. Just after Strawberry where the turn off is to Camp Verde, there was a big hill covered in snow and lots of people were already there playing in it. So we stopped there. And we had a lot of fun sliding down the hill, making snow angels and throwing snowballs at each other! It wasn't even that cold, I had to open my jacket a few times cuz I was feeling hot. It was Samantha's first time playing in the snow and she loved every minute of it! By the time we were ready to leave, poor kid was soaked from the waist down! But she didn't care, she had so much fun. And Kayla loved it too! It had been a bout 4 years since she was in the snow. I'm glad we didn't have to drive all the way to Flagstaff to find snow cuz that would of been too long of a trip!

Me sliding down the hill.

Jake and the girls sliding down.

Its a Boy!

2009-01-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

Friday Jan. 16th, my brother Nathen and his wife Nina had their baby. They named him Benjamin Elijah which is my youngest brother's name. My brother Ben is on his mission right now is Guatemala. I don't know why they decided to give their baby the same name but another intersting thing is that Nina has a brother named Benjamin too. I guess they really like that name! But he sure is a cutie!

The proud grandparents!

Safford Trip part 2

2009-01-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

While we were visiting Safford, we took a little trip down memory lane. We first visited all the places we lived in. In the 9 years that we lived in Safford/Thatcher, we lived in 6 houses/apts. This was our house before we moved to Phoenix 4 years ago. We lived in it for about 2 years. We think back and wonder why did we move here, because the neighborhood was kinda trashy, it was in a flood zone (which a couple of times there was a flood that came through our back yard but thank goodness it didn't flood our house) and it was far out of town. But other than all that we enjoyed the ward and living close to Jake's family.

This tiny house(we call it the closet because its so small) is the 3rd place we lived in. Its in Thatcher and we moved here to save money and because Jake was going to EA so it was nice to be closer. It was about a year or so before we had Kayla. It was a one bedroom house with a small kitchen and living room. Jake built a little storage room under the driveway to store all of junk. Again I don't know what we were thinking! It was cramped, everything was old and needed repairing. We'd get a lot of cockroaches coming in and it was cramped. Did I mention it was CRAMPED! Ah, the stupid things you do to save money!

The beautiful place was our first home. Isn't it lovely! Its a duplex and ours was the one on the left. When we were engaged we hardly had any money so this little gem was the cheapest we could find. We had no electricity our first night and being married in January, it gets a little cold. We had all sorts of problems with the plumbing and heater. We moved out a month later.

After the tour of our old homes, we drove around Eastern Arizona College where Jake and I went to school. Here is middle campus. These buildings weren't there when we were going, it was just a sidewalk and a bunch of trees.

Here I am peaking in the window of my old dorm called Nellie Lee. It was a all girls dorm, thats where I had some really awesome friends. It looked a little different inside like where the security person sits, its now a small room with a window. The tv/game room window I'm looking in was about the same. It brought back A LOT of memories!

Here I am in front of the my dorm. Its really small compared to the others on campus. To the left of it used to be a Archaelogy building but now its a 3 story dormitory.

Here's the backside of Nellie Lee along with the really tall dorms next to it.

Here is the Auditorium on south campus.

Here I am at north campus next to the big sign. It was fun to see how much EA had changed and to remember all the fun times I had there.

January 5, 1996 Our Wedding Day

2009-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

I just thought it would be nice to post some pictures of our wedding day since we just had our 13th Anniversary. We have definitly changed a lot since then! Here we are in front of the Mesa Temple. I remember Jake wasn't feeling that good, so he was having a hard time...poor guy! But it didn't stop him from having a good time on our honeymoon!
*The pictures below are pages from our wedding scrapbook.

Here we are in the traditional cutting the cake picture. My mom spent a pretty penny on our reception including this really tall cake! As you can see my colors were purple and white. The recepetion turned our really pretty!

My wedding gown! That dress had so many beads and sequence on it, it really was a beautiful dress! My favorite part was the train!

Our photographer made us take sooo many pictures of us kissing! We didn't complain, I love kissing Jake, but it was kinda embarrassing to kiss in front of everyone!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

On Jan. 5 1996, Jake and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa Temple. Its almost hard to believe that its been 13 years! Where has the time gone! We weren't able to celebrate yesterday so we are going out for dinner this Friday. Happy Anniversary honey, I love you!

Safford Trip part 1

2009-01-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Dec. 27th we went to Safford for a baby blessing. Jake's brother Austin and his wife just had a baby boy and they named him Trayven. The blessing was real nice and we had a fun spending time with Jake's family.

On the way there we saw lots of mountains with snow on them. It had snowed the day before. It was a pretty site to see.

Kayla just chillin in the car

Jake and I on Tom's Harley(Shera's husband), it was so cold! But it was a lot of fun! Its been so long since I rode on the back of a motorcyle. Jake had a motorcyle not to long ago but it had no back seat. See the snow on the mountain behind us?

The reason we were all there, little baby Trayven. What a cutie!

The whole family after the blessing. See my little nephew in the front...what a stinker!

Jake's grandparents with Austin and Mary after the blessing.

Jake's parents, Paul and Joyce with Trayven.

All of us at Clay's house Sunday afternoon. This picture was just supposed to be just our family but for some reason Mary's neice got in the picture on the far left.

Part 2 is coming up soon!

Christmas Day

2009-01-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Our tree a few days before Christmas. We usually only put a few presents under the tree and all the rest Christmas Eve night. I think it makes it more exciting for them to wait till Christmas morning. I wish I had thought of taking pics of the what the tree looked like Christmas morning before we opened gifts. We woke up about 7am and right away opened our presents. The girls were so excited! Jake and I just got each other a few small things while we gave more to the girls.

Kayla got a Frog Webkinz and a Orca Webkinz. She also got clothes, bag full of little toys, and a bike. And lots of stocking stuffers.

Samantha got a Pig Webkinz and a Rhino Webkinz. She also got a Littlest Pet Shop Club house, clothes, bag full of little toys, and a bike. And lots of stocking stuffers.

Opening presents!

Jake got me these end tables that I've been wanting for a long time. Jake bought them at a yard sale and the girls helped fixed them up really nice.

Their bikes from Santa! They have been riding them everyday since Christmas. Samantha's bike is a little too big for her so I have to help her so she doesn't fall over.

Later we went over to my mom's house for dinner and to open more presents. We first opened presents and then ate some delicious Mexican food. It was just us with my mom, stepdad Jerry and my grandma. We had a really nice time.

Kayla got walkie talkies from grandma and grandpa.
My mom gave Kayla her rock collection from when she was a little girl. Kayla loves to collect different rocks so this was a really special present. She also got clothes and a couple of small things.

Samantha got a princess bank from grandma and grandpa which makes sounds every time you put in money. She also got more LPS, My Little Pony, a Little Einsteins bingo game and some clothes.

We hope everyone had Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Joy School

2008-12-17T12:59:00.001-08:00

Samantha started Joy School this week! For those of you who may not know what Joy School is its a do-it-yourself preschool which involves from 3 to 6 mothers who rotate as teacher, holding school in their homes twice a week. A lady I just met like 3 weeks ago at church told me that she and 2 other ladies from our ward were doing this with their daughters. I had told her that Samantha wasn't in preschool cuz I couldn't afford it. So she invited me and Samantha to join! Oh I was so happy and excited! I had never heard of Joy School so its been an intersting thing to learn about. So Samantha just got done with her first week and she absolutely loved it! The other ladies are so nice and I am just so thankful that Samantha is a part of this because I felt like I wasn't teaching her enough of the things she needs to know for kindergarten. And plus it will help with her social skills. She can be really out going and funny but she can also be really shy. The only social life she has is once in a while with some neighbor kids, primary and the library once a week. So preschool will be so good for her in so many ways! And I'm also excited to teach these little girls...and a little nervous. Luckily one of the ladies used to be a preschool teacher and has a lot of ideas and materials to use. We start again Jan 5th when kids go back to school. I wish I had thought of taking pictures today at preschool so I took pictures after we got home.
Samantha working on the letter I, they learn about a new letter every week. You can see she didn't want her picture taken. I don't know why cuz she usually likes to have her picture taken.

Luckily I was able to get another one with the crafts she made today. The theme was island like Hawaii. So they made a island, turtle and grass skirt. The grass skirt is really cute, its made out of different colored streamers!

YUM YUM!!

2008-12-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Every year the girls and I make Christmas cookies. Most of the time I make about 3 different kinds of treats and hand them out to friends and family. Well this year I had to cut back on Christmas expenses so I chose to just make one treat and I chose sugar cookies. Its the girls favorite thing to make. Monday night we made the cookies and decorated them but mommy forgot to capture this wonderful tradition on her camera! So yesterday when Samantha and I were decorating more cookies, I snapped a pic or two of her. But I feel bad that Kayla isn't in these pictures, but she wasn't there and I knew I wouldn't have time later that night
cuz I had to be at work. I will be making more next week so maybe then I will remember to take pictures. They turned out really cute, the girls are such good helpers! Samantha loves to pile a bunch of frosting and sprinkles where as Kayla is more detailed with her frosting and just a little bit of sprinkles. Don't they look so yummy!

Santa

2008-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I took the kids to see Santa at a Frys grocery store. They took pictures with him, colored Christmas pictures and decorated cookies, but the best part was, it was all FREE! When I told my kids, Samantha was sooooo excited! Kayla wasn't all that thrilled about the idea(since she knows the truth about Santa) but she had fun anyways. I thought for sure there would be a long line when we got there but when we walked up to Santa, there was no one in line! They should of got a older guy to play Santa but oh well, its better than nothing and paying high prices at the mall.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-02T15:26:00.000-08:00

We went to Safford for Thanksgiving this year because my sister in law who lives there couldn't travel because she's gonna have a baby any day now. We all met at Jake's uncle's house where there was about 50 people. His parents drove down from Las Vegas and his oldest sister drove from Dallas Texas. For the past 8 years or so we have spent Thanksgiving with Jake's family and then Christmas with my family. It works out very well. We eat our Thanksgiving meal usually about noon and then visit, eat more, visit and eat even more for the rest of the day. Then the next day we have our Christmas gift exchange and play games. I already talked about what game we play in my last post where I didn't know the name of it but now I do its called Christmas Basket. We played it a little different this time because one, we had a lot more people and two we didn't just yell out names we yelled out things like, anyone who has a red shirt on switch seats. I thought it was a lot more fun that way!

Some of Jake's family from left to right: Jake's dad Paul, uncle Clay, sister Shera, brother Austin, sis n law Mary, Jake, Jake's mom Joyce, sister Jesa, and sister Tara.

This is Kayla and her cousin Erin, these two are about a year and a half apart but they best of friends! They played the whole time we were there, whether it was getting dirty or playing with dolls. Seeing them like this makes me kinda wish we lived in Safford again.

Samantha getting a makeover! Jake's aunt Shelly's sister who came for Thanksgiving had a bunch of left over Mary Kay makeup where she showed some of the girls how to properly apply on makeup. This is Samantha's before picture.

Samantha applying eyeshadow. She also put on blush, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick! Of course mommy had to help her, she's not that good yet!

Samantha's after picture, doesn't she look gorgeous!

Jake was playing with different settings on our camera. I thought this one was kinda cool. Its just pics before we started playing our Christmas Basket game.

Samantha looking so pretty in front of the Christmas tree!

Thanksgiving 2007

2008-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some pictures from last year and came across these. We are all at Shera's house(Jake's oldest sister) for Thanksgiving in Mesa. She doesn't live there anymore because she got married and moved far away to Texas. :( Anyways, we had a fun time! Lots of good food cuz we have some of the best cooks in our family! Ok so I'm a little bias! Then the day after we exchanged Christmas presents to the family we've been assigned to because we all can't be together for Christmas Day. But before the wrapping paper flys off the presents we played a game. I don't know the exact name of the game so I'll call it the "Switch a Roo" game. It started a couple of years ago with Jake's mother. I don't know where she came up with this game but I'm glad she did because we all have such a fun time playing it. We all sit in a circle(on chairs) and one person stands in the middle and yells out two names. Then those two people try as fast as they can to switch seats along with the person in the middle which leaves someone in the middle again. And it keeps going until you want to stop. Its a good game for everyone, Samantha was 3 at the time and she loved playing it. So if your looking for a fun game to play with your family, you should give this one a try.

All the cousins anxiously waiting to open presents.

Uncle Matt throwing down candy to the kids. I think we didn't have a pinata so this is what we came up with. Whatever the reason was, the kids had a blast!

Then later that night we went to look at the Temple Christmas lights. For some reason Samantha wasn't happy.

I'm looking forward to doing it all again this year!

Halloween Night

2008-11-02T22:54:00.000-08:00

Some cute pictures I took of the girls Halloween night before they went trick or treating. I reminded the girls to say Thank You to every house. And Samantha made sure of that! She would say Thank You really loud, more than once if they didn't hear her. It was so funny!