Tim saying Thank You!

Lately when saying Thank You Tim has decided to drop the You and just say Thank. He doesn't say thanks in the traditional way, but just thank. I find it hilarious and Justin tried to correct him but I told him to just let him say it that way for a little while and it will correct itself! My little boy cracks me up all the time.

Also, many people comment on this but those of you who don't get to be around Tim, almost every phrase he says ends with a little raise in his pitch. Everyone in church knows when Tim is talking because he has such a unique way of talking. I love my little boy!

Snow driving scare!

On Monday I was driving home from having lunch with the Salt Lake Council of Women in SLC and it was snowing and slushy/icy on the freeway. I was feeling pretty confident in my driving skills and driving at 65 MPH in the fast lane heading north on I-15 between Bountiful and Centerville. All of a sudden my car started to slide and I lost control. My car started to spin and I made an entire 360 degree turn across all lanes of traffic and my car finally caught some traction right before I hit the cars entering the freeway. I was able to stop in the middle section between the cars getting on the freeway and the cars on the freeway although I felt as though I would continue until I hit the barrier on the right. What a feeling!!!

I am so lucky I didn't hit anything or anyone in my crazy driving experience! I truly do not know how I did not hit anyone because there were cars all around me and I was definitely not the only one on the road but I am so grateful that I am safe and well! The Lord must have been really looking out for me and there must have been hundreds of guardian angels paving the way! After this happened, I drove home in the slow lane only going 50 MPH and I am definitely going to be more careful in the future when driving in the snow!

Update!

It's been a while since I have posted so I figured it was time for an update. First of all, Tim is still sleeping in his bed all night and he only wakes up and cries when he is not feeling well...it's awesome! I have also finally stopped feeding Allison at night and let her cry it out and she now sleeps through the night with just an occasional cry now and then. I am loving my sleep!

Justin just finished up his semester at BYU and is finally going to be around a little more. Last week was especially busy for him with homework and Young Men's and group projects and studying for finals...what a crazy week it was for me and him.

My brother and sister-in-law had a new baby boy named Tomas and in the McMurray family there were 2 baby girls born to Shannon and Deanne. What a time for babies! Justin figured out that by next March when all the babies that are due are born, there will be 7 girls in a row in the McMurray family.

Justin and I were able to attend his work Christmas party this past Friday and on Saturday we took our family to see the Festival of Trees. I always love attending the Festival of Trees and this year was no different. For Thanksgiving we had dinner with the McMurray family and it was very tasty with 4 different squash/sweet potato dishes to choose from, yum! After that we visited my sister Sherri's apartment and had pie and then we visited my dad and grandma for a bit. That evening Liesl and her kids spent the night and then I went black Friday shopping with Liesl and Brynn at 4:30 AM. Then Justin and I went to test drive some vans and then I picked up my brother's kids and they spent the night Friday night. We took them home on Saturday and finally relaxed Saturday evening, I was very tired!

I'm sure more has happened but that is all I can think of for now....Merry Christmas everyone!

Tim sleeping in his own bed ALL NIGHT!

So, my sister-in-law Heather gave me the best idea to keep Tim in his bed all night and it has now worked for over a week! She suggested that I offer to give Tim 3 pennies each morning when he has slept through the night in his own bed and not come in our room. He absolutely LOVES it! Every morning he wakes up so excited and comes running in our room asking for his 3 pennies.

After he did this for a week straight, I rewarded him with his 3 pennies like normal plus a nickle. Currently Tim is using my piggy bank until I can find a cheap plastic one for him to have. Any suggestions on where to find one? I strongly encourage this method if your child loves money like Tim does. He talks about it during the day and whenever we ask him what he'll get when he sleeps in his bed all night, he yells "Pennies, 1, 2, 3 Pennies!" By the way, Tim did a pretty good job sleeping in his bed all night but every 3-4 nights he would wake up and come in our room and want to sleep with us. We rarely let him in our bed and would just take him back to his room, but since we're still up with Allie 1-2 times each night, it was getting hard to be up with Tim also. Thanks Heather!!!

Happy Halloween!

Well, Halloween was a busy day for us! In the morning I took the kids over to Justin's work to give him his laptop that he forgot and on the way home stopped at the Post Office to mail a package. Then I sent Timmy over to Sammy's house for her party and took Allison with me on errands. We went to Honda on Riverdale road and bought a new sunvisor for my car. Then we went to the mall so I could try on some shoes that I was thinking of buying 2 for 1 online for my birthday (I actually went home and ordered them, cute Skechers mary jane black and brown shoes).

Then I grabbed the kids and headed to Bountiful for the cousin Halloween party at Heather's. It was a lot of fun and then we finally made it home to relax for a bit. Then Justin and I went to our ward's trunk or treat and then home to take Tim trick or treating. We didn't stay for the chili cookoff because we wanted Trick or Treaters to be able to come visit but we didn't get very many and should've just gone to the ward party instead. We watched some goosebumps shows, sent our kids to bed and finally went to bed ourselves. A busy but fun day!

Pumpkin Allison and Justin



Timmy after getting home from trick-or-treating

My budding photographer Timmy!

So, I finally decided to put the pictures from our camera onto the computer so I could post Allison in her Halloween costume (Tim really didn't want to dress up and we finally got him to put on a Spiderman costume that was too small to go trick or treating but forgot to take a picture). Well, it has not been very long since I downloaded pictures but saw that there were 87 pictures to download. When I browsed through them, I realized that Tim had taken most of them and it just cracked me up. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure!

Tim holding batteries



Our mess of cords



The view through my red headband



Another battery shot (Tim loves batteries!)



Our bedroom wall and vent



My favorite, my jewelry box...cool picture!

Hunt Murder Mystery Dinner Theater

On Saturday night I was able to go with my family to the Hunt Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at the University Park Marriott. It was a lot of fun and while we didn't try very hard to figure it out we still enjoyed getting out! Here are some pictures of the event.

Witch and Vampire (Janelle & Justin)



Marilyn Monroe and Boy Scout and the Bride of Frankenstein (Sherri & Bill)



Marilyn Monroe and Boy Scout (Sherri & Bill)



James Bond (Rusty)



Vampire and Vampiress (Peter & Amber)



Bella and Edward (Liz & Brian)



Vampiress Queen and Vampire (Aurora & date)



Zorro and Elena (Paul & Jennifer Pickett)



Cruella Deville and 102nd Dalmation (Prows')



Vampire's wife Luna (in the pink dress) with Puppy.....Luna took a liking to Brother Prows and teased him all night long, very funny!

Vacation and Pink Eye!

Well, we just got back from going on our annual vacation with the McMurray family. We normally go to Jackson Hole in October for 4 days but this time we decided to go to Zion National Park and stay in a few cabins down by the east entrance. The car ride down was a bit long with some whiny kids but once we got there the cabin was awesome and we enjoyed being with the family.


On Thursday when we got there we relaxed, unpacked and went on a small 1 mile hike with several members of the family. Then we came home and had dinner before going to bed early because we got up at 5 AM!

Our family at the end of the hike



Me and Timmy hiking



On Friday we went on a longer hike to the Emerald Pools and it was a lot of fun (thanks for the use of the Snugli Heather!) After the hike we had a late lunch and headed back to the cabin. Justin went on some small hikes with his brother in law Christian, we had dinner, put our kids to bed and went in the hot tub, I mean warm tub! It started out at 100 degrees but by the time we got out it was only 96 degrees, bummer!

On Saturday Tim had gunk in his eyes and we cleaned them out before meeting up with the family to have the kids go on some short horseback rides. Tim wouldn't go and we looked at the petting zoo before heading into the park. We went on a few short hikes to the weeping wall and the riverwalk at the end before the Narrows and then headed back to have lunch at the picnic tables at the visitors center. We went home and then Justin watched the kids while I went on a hike in a slot canyon with my brothers-in-law Christian, Ted and Rich and my nephew Jake. It was awesome, my favorite hike by far! We went home and had dinner and put our kids to bed for another fairly sleepless night. (We were up several times most every night there!)

Me hiking with my brothers-in-law



Timmy smiling near the weeping wall




On Sunday Tim was really struggling with gunk in his eyes and we had a small sacrament meeting with the family and started home. My car broke down just outside of Scipio so we called roadside assistance and had our car towed to Nephi. My dad and Rusty met us there and we towed my car back to Murray. We had dinner with my family and then my mom took us home. Because she was going to come and help me with some babysitting on Monday anyway, she decided to just spend the night. Sunday was such a long day and we were soooo happy to be home. Our kids did much better sleeping that night and we were very grateful as parents.

On Monday morning I took Tim to see Dr. Silas and he was diagnosed immediately with pink eye. We got the drops and started attending to his eyes! My mom had some crusty eyes on Monday morning and my eyes are a little red so we are taking the drops a bit too. Even Justin has had a dose to make sure his eyes don't get it. What a bummer! At least we didn't get the stomach flu like several other members of the family!!!

All in all it was a fun but long trip. If we knew he had pink eye earlier in the trip we would have gone home to have Tim treated instead of having him suffer all weekend long and potentially infecting several other members of the family. Oh well, he is started to feel better, yeah! I will add some pictures another day when I'm not sooo tired!

Feeling down.....

So I've been feeling a little down lately, and I hope that I can get out of this funk soon. There have been several little things that have happened to put me in a negative mood and while none of them is big, all combined it has put me a bit of a sour mood. I know that I should react better to all of these little things and I am in charge of my own attitude but it's sometimes hard to not feel down.

First of all Allison has not slept through the night in months and I am tired of waking up 1-3 times every single night! I had a little break down at 2:30 AM last night. Good thing Justin is so kind and nice to me! Plus Tim will wake up every few nights or so and all we have to do is put him back in his bed (and Justin usually does it because Tim wants him to) but it still wakes me up. Will it ever end? Will I ever sleep a solid 8 hours again in my life?

Second, I sent out an email to several friends a few days ago and have not heard back from anyone yet. I know it has only been 3 days but I am really not feeling the love right now.

Third, Justin is in school so I have the kids a little more than usual and Timmy can be quite whiny and he is a big daddy's boy so I don't always fulfill his daddy needs.

Lastly, I tried so hard to be on time to church today but with Justin having to go 30 min's early to set up chairs I always end up running around doing last minute things that take longer than I think they will so I end up being late. I was only 1 minute late today but it made me bothered because I wanted to be early! Plus, I have choir at my house after church on Sundays now and I have to have my house clean and organized for that, what a pain it can be! Plus, I found out that our ward is having a Halloween party on Halloween night at 5:30 PM. Who does that? We are having a chili cookoff and trunk-or-treat but I feel bad not being home to greet trick-or-treaters or take Tim in the traditional sense. I don't like having several dark homes when kids are wanting to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I know I can take Tim and Allie after, but it still was a bit bothersome that it was even planned the same day as the actual holiday. Am I crazy for feeling this way?

Okay, enough ranting and complaining....life will get better. After all, I get to go on vacation to Zion National Park with the McMurray's this week....always a good time.

Sickness...blah!

This morning both Justin and I were not feeling well and we were not sure if it was due to the kids being up so much in the night or something else. We finally figured we both caught a little flu bug and we have been feeling a little crappy all day. Plus, Justin had a work lunch at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant and couldn't get out of it because it was for him so he had to eat something greasy and cheesy!!

I actually took a nap when my kids napped and it felt really nice. I slept this morning for an hour when Allison napped and Tim did his own thing although I remember him bringing me batteries and his sippy cup to put together. Then both of my kids napped for a few hours this afternoon and I rested in bed watching Gilmore Girls. Poor Justin just had to work and no rest for him!

We had planned to attend the temple in the evening and because we were both feeling okay, we decided to go and just do sealings for an hour rather than a session. Overall, we felt okay but probably won't go again if we're not feeling in top shape.

Hopefully this will all be gone tomorrow and we can get rid of our illnesses before going on vacation next week to Zion National Park with the McMurrays!


*On a side note, I went in to see Allison after her nap and she was standing up in her crib! She has a sleep sack but was still able to stand up, go Allie! She is also crawling like crazy even though she just turned 7 months a week ago.

Random Thoughts

I am excited for October because Justin gets 3 paychecks and I have a little extra wiggle room to buy extras that I normally pass up on. I am also planning to start Christmas shopping and I love doing that! Also, Justin has been working on loan doing a job for 6 months now that he officially applied and interviewed for and is now officially doing the job which means a little pay raise, yeah!

In other news, Allison has started to crawl and isn't very fast yet but really enjoys being able to move. This means that I need to put up the gate soon and keep little things off the floor. She already choked on something this evening and spit up half of her dinner trying to cough it out. It was a little piece of slate rock from our fire place with jagged edges, ouch!

I was able to go to Lagoon with my mom and sister Sherri last Saturday, it was fun! I haven't been to Lagoon in over 3 years and I wanted to go all summer but finally got my chance in September. I highly recommend going in September when the summer crowd has died down.

This past week has been a rough one for my family and things have been weighing heavily on my mind. Please send any prayers you have our way.

Lastly, Tim is getting old enough to go play with friends. I really enjoy when his friends (or their moms) call and ask him to come over and play because then I get a break and he's not being baby-sat. What a fun stage!

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to Me!!

On Saturday Justin bought me my birthday and Christmas present....a beautiful Entertainment Center! I have been drooling over it at Sam's Club for months now and it used to cost $1,000 but since the price dropped to $650 Justin finally agreed to let me buy it for both my birthday and Christmas present. I just love it!!

(By the way, the small black entertainment center to the side is now for sale for $50 if anyone is interested!) - SOLD!

Ahh, the changing of the seasons!

You know how people always ask which season is your favorite? Well, I must admit that my favorite time of year is when the seasons are changing. I enjoy every season almost equally but I especially love it when we are moving from one season to another. While I really love fall and winter, I usually get sick of the seasons either waiting for it to snow and then waiting for the snow to melt and warm up!!

There always seems to be a special smell in the air when the seasons change and I really love it every time it happens. It really puts me in a good mood! The only season I really love the whole season through is the Christmas season!!

I must admit that I am quite partial to fall because I do not love the sweltering heat of Utah and I love it when a chill starts to develop in the air. I also love fall because it was when Justin and I started dating 6 years ago and I absolutely love Halloween!) Yeah for fall!!!

Scared Tim!

Tim woke up from his nap while I was feeding Allie applesauce and asked to watch a Little Einsteins show....I agreed because he had not seen one today. He asked me to get his blankie so I did and he started watching his show. When I finished feeding Allie I went to say hi to Tim and he was not on the couch. I started looking around and found him lying on his blankie in the hall outside of his room. I asked him what was wrong (thinking he might be sick) and he didn't answer right away. I then asked if he wanted to watch another show and he said yes and said he was scared! He didn't like that particular episode about good and bad knights so he was not watching....too funny!

I turned on a different one and he watched on the couch happily! I don't think I've ever encountered him not watching a show because he was scared!! What a sweet boy :)

Blanket Obsession!

Tim has always loved fleece blankets but lately it has turned into an obsession! He wants his blankets with him (thankfully not everywhere we go) but whenever he is watching a movie and especially when he takes a nap and goes to bed at night. After I put him to bed last night with his blankets piled up next to him against the wall, this is what I saw when I went in to check on him before going to bed myself:

(His favorite blanket is the red, black, white and gray one which was the only one on him when I left the room!)



Tim up close:



My happy kids:

Justin starts his MBA!

Well, it has finally started. Justin started his Executive MBA with a week long orientation down at BYU in July (I was able to go down there for an evening and have dinner when the spouses were invited and spent the night and went shopping, thanks again mom!) and then started classes officially last weekend on August 15. He will be going to school every other Friday and Saturday and will attend classes at BYU in SLC at the triad center downtown. He will be very busy and hence, I will be very busy taking care of my family and doing a lot more on my own. If you see him, wish him luck!

Here goes nothing!! I wasn't nervous until I went down to BYU for dinner with Justin and they talked about how much homework the students will have and how to cope as a spouse...sheesh! I am proud of him though and know the next few years will be challenging but ultimately rewarding!

Private!

I have finally made my blog private! I appreciate everyone responding, it is fun to see who is reading my blog!

Going Private

In a week, I am going to turn my blog private. I am a very open person and wouldn't do this normally, but I read an article and it just said if you didn't want to share something on your blog with some stranger in the road at night, then you don't want it available to share on the web with everyone. Since I don't want to be extremely careful about what I write on my blog, I am going to go private. Please send me an email with your email address or respond to this post with your email address so you can continue reading about my life!

Thanks!

Memory Game

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Goodbye Ivan!

Well, Ivan has gone home and we are all a little exhausted! After we went to the Roy Aquatic Center on Thursday Ivan left with the girls in our ward and was gone until 3 AM. We didn't mind though because I had my cooking group that night and we just had leftovers for dinner.

On Friday I took Ivan to the dinosaur park in Ogden and Tim was afraid of all of the dinosaurs, it was pretty boring but kind of funny watching Tim. That night my parents took us to dinner at Garcia's and then he went out with his new friends.

On Saturday Justin took Ivan to hike Mt. Olympus with my brother, his wife and my sister. Then we all went swimming at my grandma's house and then to dinner at Mueller park with Justin's family since his sister Shannon and family are in town. Then we went to the Ogden Rodeo...what a crazy busy day! On Sunday we went to church and then took him to the airport and he was off!

This week I am going to catch up on everything and relax at home!

Sooo busy!

With Ivan here, we have been extremely busy with many activities. Here is a list of the stuff we have done (or others have done) with Ivan:

* Temple Square
* Mount Timpanogas cave
* Classic Fun Center in Sandy
* Be School
* Eat at Hire's Big H
* Young Men's (gun safety class and ice blocking)
* Lagoon
* Uinta's to fish and hike
* Hiking
* Potato Gunning
* Clinton Fireworks
* Hang out with the girl's in our ward several evenings
* Hill Aerospace Museum
* Mall
* Cherry Hill mini golf
* Clark Planetarium IMAX movie
* Walk around the Gateway

Today we are headed to the Roy Aquatic Center to swim and then Justin is going to take him to the Ogden Nature Center. He is also going to go to the midnight showing of the new batman movie with some girls in our ward. It truly has been a whirlwind but lots of fun. Here are some pictures!

On the left

French Foreign Exchange Student

Today we are getting a 17 year old French foreign exchange student for two weeks. His name is Ivan Chwetzoff and he lives near Paris. Actually, Justin just barely picked him up from the airport and I am looking forward to meeting him. I was planning to pick him up but then we realized we had the time wrong for his flight and his flight was landing at the moment we looked it up so my husband rushed out of work to go meet him and luckily got there just in time. I actually put my kids in the car to go as well but Allison was bawling five minutes into the drive so I turned around and went home.

He is here on a individualized program and gets to do whatever we want. He does not have any scheduled plans with a tour group so it will be busy and fun. We are planning several activities to do in the next two weeks! I will post more when I meet him!

Name Game

Find out your true alter ego names!

1. Your Rock Star Name: (first pet & current car)- Kitty Civic
2. Your Gangsta Name: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)- Rocky Road Chocolate Chip
3. Your "Fly Guy/Girl Name: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)- J McM
4. Your Detective Name: (favorite color, favorite animal)- Red pig
5. Your Soap Opera Name: (middle name, city where you were born)- Kathleen Salt Lake City
6. Your Stars Wars Name: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)- Mcmja
7. Superhero Name: ("The: + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)-The Aqua Hot Chocolate
8. NASCAR Name: (the first names of your grandfathers)- David Russell
9. Stripper Name:
(the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)- Miracle Snickers
10. Witness Protection Name: (mother's & father's middle names)- Ann Russell
11. TV Weather Anchor Name: (Your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same name)- Nelson New Orleans
12. Spy Name: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)- Fall Rose
13. Cartoon Name: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y")-Banana Caprisy
14. Hippie Name: (What you ate for breakfast today, your favorite tree)- Pumpkin Bread Russian Olive
15. Your Rock star Tour Name: ("The" + your fave hobby/craft + fave weather element + "Tour")-"The Reading Thunder Tour"

Funny Answers

When I was in Primary on Sunday, the Primary President Cheri Criddle asked the children to share what they would like to give their dad for Father's Day as a gift. We heard the usual gifts like ties, candy and hugs and then one kid blurted out scissors and another yelled out Keep the Commandments! I thought it was hilarious, especially the kid who yelled Keep the Commandments because he was obviously not paying attention to the question :)

My cute girl!

5 Years!

Justin and I just celebrated our 5 year Anniversary on Saturday, June 7th and it was such a nice weekend! My mom took the kids on Friday night and Saturday and we went to dinner at TGI Fridays and then went shopping at the Gateway and saw Indiana Jones at 9 PM. We decided to go to a late show since we never get to do that anymore! We stayed at the Scenic Motel because I bid on a silent auction a few months ago and won a 2 night stay plus a $20 gift certificate to TGI Fridays for just $45! However, the motel was just okay and not really a great place to stay.

On Saturday we got a dozen free donuts at Banbury Cross which I also won at the same silent auction as a door prize and got some chocolate milk for breakfast. Then we went to the Salt Lake Temple to do sealings but then Justin remembered that it was a Saturday in June and they would not likely be doing proxy sealings since they would need all of the rooms for live weddings which was true. We did a session instead and it ended up being a live session. We had a nice time and then stopped at my parent's to give them Tim's carseat since we forgot the day before. Then we ate lunch at Moki's, a fabulous little Hawaiian restaurant in Taylorsville and then visited Mark's Arc because Justin loves strange animals and he hadn't been there in years.

Then we headed to Park City where we shopped and shopped at the Outlet Malls and then we visited the Olympic Park for a bit and then went to Main Street and had dinner at Taste of Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant that was pretty good. We stopped at Scanlan to look at their beautiful pictures and then headed home after making a quick stop to buy a shirt at the VF Factory Outlets in Draper. As Justin would say, it was my kind of vacation! Going out to eat, shopping, and going to a movie :) I would agree and I loved it!!!

For my present, he gave me 5 dozen roses, they are gorgeous! I got him a new bike seat.

Budgeting revisited!

So, the month is over and I have to admit that I did not completely follow my budget. I tried my best but there were just days when I threw the budget out the window and had fun and there are always expenses that come out of nowhere. Instead of saving $500 like I planned, I only saved $150 but at least I did save some! Plus this month Justin got an extra paycheck and a check for doing some outside work which we saved all of which is great.

Some of the things that cut into our savings were Justin going to St. George for a wedding and hiking, wedding gift, bachelor party stuff and dinner, Mother's Day gifts, Justin bought a new processor for $100, GAS!, a donation to aid those in Burma, clothes for a family picture and some shoes for Tim and summer clothes for Allison. Man, we sure do have a lot of things to pay for each month!

Antelope Island Hike

On Saturday, I went hiking with Justin, Dave Sullivan, Peter and Amber to the top of the highest peak on Antelope Island called Frary Peak. The hike took about 5 hours round trip and it was a hard hike for me. The first mile or so is fairly steep and I was exhausted pretty quick. We all called it the hike that would never end. I also felt bad because our babysitter ended up babysitting for 7 hours instead of the 3-4 we told her and I also missed my niece Kyara's birthday party. All in all it was okay but I don't think I'll ever do the hike again!