One day at a time.

Christmas

2011-12-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

This year my parents came up for Christmas. They were able to come from the 12-27. Part of that time was spent in Fairbanks with my sister, Kim, and her family. My nephew turned 12 on the 18th so he was ordained with the priesthood. I am so proud of him. Kim and her family came down to Anchorage on the 23 and stayed until the 27th as well. It was nice to be around family. I love my family so much and was so glad we could all be together minus one sister, Amanda. :( Our Christmas was quite eventful. At around 8pm on Christmas eve Grayden began throwing up and at around 1am Connor joined in. My poor little guys. Grayden stopped probably at 2 and Connor at 8am Christmas morning. They both opened their gifts but slept most the rest of the day. I got my coveted kitchenaide for my main present. I am very excited.

On Christmas day we don't do the large meal. Instead we get a huge deli tray, croissants, veggies, and snacks and graze all day. By the end of the day I was feeling pretty sick. I had eaten way too much and my tummy hurt. I went to bed just feeling so full and awful. When I violently hurled up everything I ate that day I realized I was confusing a full tummy with a sick tummy. It.....was.....awful. I feel so bad that my kids had to go through that. I slept most the next day like the kids the previous day. By this time they were bouncing off the walls. Good thing it was only a 12-24 hr flu.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

Almost every year since I can remember we have gone to the church for Thanksgiving. Always the same core group of people with added people that needed a place to go. We make a big dinner, play games, and enjoy one another's company. Each year we have gotten older. The kids have become the adults, etc. As years have passed the group has gotten smaller and smaller as people move away or create there own traditions. This year the only people left were my family, my sister, and our good friend Ronda and her children. We opted to get together at Ronda's house instead. It was nice and low key. I'll always cherish the memories of Thanksgiving at the church but it looks like they will be no more:( I'm sad but also just so thankful for the family and friends I was able to spend time with this Thanksgiving.

Connor enjoyed a whole turkey leg to himself.

James played in the Turkey Bowl with the missionaries, Elders Quarem, etc. He got a boo boo. It was hard for him to eat:(

Someone is old enough for nursery!!!

2011-11-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

FREEDOM!!!!! ha ha ha

The Grand Opening!

2011-11-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

Just over four years ago me and two lovely ladies decided to branch out and open our own salon. We found a quaint little mid town location that allowed us all to have our own rooms as well as a little extra room to have some employees and set to work opening Modify Salon. After a few years and many cases of annoyance later I found us a new location. One that had exterior windows, a washer and dryer, no drunks hanging out outside, no lame management company, etc. It was perfect! The only problem is we were legally bound to our other location because of the lease. I had explored all legal options and found our way to get it out but it looked like it was going to be a long hard journey and I was worried that this place would be snatched up. Thankfully Holly was able to find someone just to take over our lease and we were out within just a few weeks. We have been at the new salon since the end of September and we are LOVING it! We have been able to hire on more people and turn into a day spa! On November 12th we had our Grand Opening/Open House to show off the new place and introduce all of the new employees. It was a blast:)

This is the design that I came up with for our fliers and James helped me make it happen. He is much more computer savy then I am.

This is the entry way to the salon. You come in and either go upstairs to the esthetics floor or go down four steps into the salon. The handsome guy on the right is my hubby:)

The three owners. Holly Russell, Carolyn Western, and Carolyn Easton.

The crew from upstairs. Kaelin Gillet is our sugar waxer. She focuses just on make-up and body sugaring. Jessica Pannone is and esthetician as well as Noura Obeidi. Jason Palmer is our massage therapist who specializing in all kind of massage techniques. It is so fun to have them just upstairs for all of our skin care and massage needs. :)

All of the food was put on out the main salon floor, hence the mirrors. We moved the stations and chairs around though so we could have more room for everyone. Our event was catered by Hailey Fike from the Smokehouse BBQ and Catering. It was AMAZING. She is the one who made the party. We are so thankful for all of her hard work. She went above and beyond.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

Once again I took on the task of making costumes this year. I get so frustrated sometimes but I love doing it. I wanted to make ones for James and I as well but just ran out of time. Time is something I feel I have very little of anymore. It seems like I am always running somewhere or doing something. However, I got the kids finished and that was what was most important. Connor really wanted to be an angry bird so I just made angry bird costumes for all of the kids. I think all of the birds are boys so I just put a bow on Scarlett's to make it more feminine. They were a big hit! Most importantly though, they were warm. I decided to make them out of polar fleece because I knew it would probably be cold. Boy was it ever. It started out okay but by the end of trunk or treating it was a blizzard. We were all covered in snow. We came home and enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate before sending the kids off to bed.

Pictures of my babies.

2011-10-23T23:11:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get some pictures done of the kiddos but decided to go out and try to get some good ones myself. It was hard. I think maybe if I would have had another person there to help me direct them it would have been easier. Thankfully I got a few good ones. It made it all worth it. I love my babies:)

Employee Appreciation Week

2011-10-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

For employee appreciation week Pepsi had a spaghetti feed for their employees and families as well as had a party at Putter's Wild, one of the new local mini golf places. Since Deborah works for Pepsi we were able to tag along and enjoy these functions. We had such a great time. Scarlett really enjoyed the spaghetti :)

Putter's wild is a 3D/black light course. It was pretty cool. The kids had a blast.

My First Marathon

2011-10-09T23:33:00.001-07:00

I am almost 29 and in September I ran my first full marathon! I didn't run the entire time considering the fact that it was up the side of a mountain but I ran a lot of it and I am super proud of myself. I finished in just over 5.5 hrs. I'm not gonna lie...it was hard. I went through every emotion. At about mile 19 I started to cry, then I got mad, then I went back to weepy. I felt completely hopeless at the fact that I still had a good 6 miles. I thought I wanted to give up but of course couldn't. I wasn't going to run 21 miles and give up at the last 5. It took everything I had to run the last mile to the finish line, but I did. These pictures are from before we started. Hence the smiles :)

Part of the steep trail.

My sister Kim on the way in to the finish line.

She is finally walking,

2011-08-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Scarlett has been taking a few steps here and there but on the 14th she took her first 3 in a row. Since then she is getting braver and braver and walking more and more. I'm so excited!! I can finally put her in all the cute dresses that we have!

Out of order

2011-08-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my posts are going to be out of order until I can catch up. I didn't want to post anything new until I got the olds done but so much is going on and I don't want to get even more behind.

Hatcher's Pass

2011-08-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

About 45 minutes out of town is an old mining village. A few years back we asked Connor what is was called and he called it, "Broken drun druns." So now every now and again we take a drive out the the drun druns and walk around. Here are some pictures from this time around. Its up in the mountains a bit and it was a cold rainy day so we are pretty bundled up...and we were still cold.

Hanging out at the lake.

2011-07-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

We live right down the road from a lake. We have been having some absolutely beautiful weather so we decided to take the kids to the lake. I figured it would be pretty cold and they wouldn't want to get in too much but I was wrong. The water was actually not too bad. We waded in with the kids and dipped Scarlett in. I thought that she would think it was too cold for sure. Again, I was wrong. She had a blast. They all did. It was a fun family evening.

Out visiting the cousins.

2011-06-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

James' sister and her family lives out in Roosevelt. We were lucky enough to be in Utah during the time her oldest son was getting baptized. We hung out a few days there, went swimming with them, and just enjoyed their company. I really wish we lived closer. We have so much fun with them.

Digging trenches and planting trees.

2011-05-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

While I was at my parents house I was able to help out with some of the things they needed done around the house. One of them being digging a trench so my dad could work on the sprinkler system. The boys were out there along with us the whole time trying to help. We came across a ton of earthworms. The boys don't usually dig around in the dirt so they were having a great time getting dirty and playing with the worms. We also dug a few holes and planted some fruit trees and tomatoes. I thoroughly enjoyed working out in the sun. However, my pale white Alaskan skin didn't so much. I got quite the sunburn.

Cafe Rio with the Yerki.

2011-05-23T00:29:00.000-07:00

We were able to meet up with some friends of ours, Brett and Rachael Yerkes, and eat at our favorite Mexican fast food restaurant, Cafe Rio. We decided to just get it to go and eat it at their house so the kids could play. We ate and sent the kids off to play so we could get an intense game of hand and foot going. We spent a good few hours there and the only pictures I took were of Scarlett trying on Lexi's headband. I thought it looked like a turban :)

Peek-A-Boo!

2011-05-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Scarlett has recently started sticking out her tongue a lot. It's so dang cute. This is her at Grandma Sue's house.

Headed to Utah!

2011-05-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

This summer the kids an I headed down to Utah for a month. James went to a conference in Texas then stopped there on his way home so we got to spend our first week in Utah together. The flight down was pretty eventful unfortunately. It was a red eye. I like to do red eyes because it makes the long flight easier if they are asleep. However, this was not the case. Thankfully Grayden fell asleep after about 30 minutes. Connor finally settled down and fell asleep about and hr and a half into the flight. Scarlett would not sleep at all. I tried and tried and she fought it like no other. After another hour Connor woke up and complained that his tummy hurt. I looked for a barf bag but couldn't find one quick enough. I had just enough time to put Scarlett on the floor, cup my hands together and catch his vomit. Yuck. It was in the middle of the night, every one was sleeping. I had no way to push the call button. Thankfully the lady across from us saw and ripped open a blanket bag for me to poor the contents of my hands into. We called a flight attendant and she brought some hot towels to help me clean up. It was awful. Connor fell back asleep afterwards and him and Grayden slept the rest of the flight. Scarlett finally fell asleep about 45 minutes til landing. I'm definitely done flying alone with the kids for awhile.

One of the ways I kept Scarlett occupied was putting her sunglasses on her. She take them off and Id put them back on repeatedly. Oh the things that keep kids entertained.

Bye Roxy :(

2011-05-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Two months ago I took in a doggy because she needed a home. I tried to make it work because I felt so bad because of her history and it just wasn't. After a lot of searching and "interviews," I finally found her a suitable home. I cried, a lot. She was such a sweetie, I really wanted to keep her but I know it's better this way. Bye Roxy :(

Another baby shower!

2011-05-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

Im doing another baby shower. My sister Deborah is having her first and I am super excited that its a girl! I am throwing her baby shower and its lamb themed. Here is the invite.

My diaper cake.

2011-03-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

So a few posts back I showed my first ever baby shower invitation. I also made my first ever diaper cake for that shower. I wanted to use the same colors I used for the invitation to tie it all in. I decided to make it square and use flowers on it to make it look more elegant. I also made center pieces out of similar flowers and got table cloths to match. I think all in all my first baby shower was a success :)

My new toy!

2011-03-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

I have been bad mouthing my Explorer pretty much ever since I got it. Dont get me wrong. It has been quite helpful at times. It was just that I had a 7 seat car and only 5 of the 7 seats were easily accessible. Plus, it was quite the gas guzzler. With the gas prices going up its been even worse. I've been wanting a mini van for sometime now. I know it makes me such a "mom," but they are just so convenient and roomy. I checked one out the other day and finally convinced my husband its what i need. :) Its so nice!! The doors open at the push of a button, the seats are leather so its easily cleanable, and the kids favorite...a DVD player. So now I am the proud owner of a Toyota Sienna. It is a few years old, has a few dings and dents, but its perfect for me.

Chuck E Cheeses'

2011-03-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

He pooped!

2011-03-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

Today when I went to pick up the kids from the sitter Grayden had some very exciting news to tell me. He pooped on the potty at the sitters house! I could barely contain my excitement. We are going to Chuck E Cheese tonight.

Potty Training

2011-02-16T15:45:00.001-08:00

Grayden is 3 years old. He will be 4 in June. He has been "potty trained" for quite awhile now. Except poop:( He will wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and everything. He just wont poop in the toilet. He wants to put on a diaper to poop. I dont understand it. Ive tried every form of bribery and reward imaginable. Ive been the understanding mommy, Ive been the mean mommy. I dont know what to do. Im at my wits end. The only time he has ever pooped on the potty is when I gave him and enema. I have done that twice now. Anyone have any suggestions?

My little sniper loves her graham crackers.

2011-02-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Why do I do it to myself?

2011-01-29T20:33:00.001-08:00

I'm a silly girl, thats why. I blog stalk. I read peoples blogs that I don't even know. I sit, read, and bawl. patrickandashley.blogspot.com is where it started. Someone had posted a video on facebook off of this blog that brought me to it. Now I check it regularly and read all of their new posts. They talk about their lives, the passing of their child, and the grieving process. I have had two people close to me lose children. I never know what to do to help them. I wonder sometimes if I should share my blog findings with them or if it would just make things worse reading about someone else's loss. Tonight I started reading stories off of http://www.agoodgrief.com/index.php I hurt. My heart, my head(from trying not to cry), and my nose(from blowing). I love my babies so much. They are my world, even when they make me want to scream. I cant even imagine how lost I would be if they were ever suddenly stolen away.

Nothing really to say. Just love these kids!!

2011-01-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

Playing with iphone apps!

2011-01-16T22:16:00.001-08:00

I love that I have my phone with me all the time, which also means I have a camera. James showed me a program that you can tinker with your pictures. Here are some things I came up with. I love it!
Before:

After:

She's a sitter.

2011-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

She's been sitting for since around 7 months. She is almost 8 months now but I am just getting around to posting some pictures. I think she's gorgeous with her big blue eyes.

Baby Shower

2011-01-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm working on throwing my first baby shower. I'm not a party planner type or anything, but I get a little picky sometimes. I just want things to be perfect. My friend Anna Dawn walked me through making my invitation on photoshop. She was very, very helpful. I definitely think it turned out okay for my first one, I'm even proud of it! :)

Swimming with the dolphins.

2011-01-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

Need I say more? It was so cool. After all the crappy news we needed a pick me up and Deborah found out that they do swimming with dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium. We took a cab over and walked around and looked at the animals to kill time before our turn. We then sat through a little class about dolphins and hopped in. We were wearing wetsuits, but it was freezing. It wasnt a very beautiful day anyway. But it was all worth it. The dolphins were just beautiful.

Stop 6...Aruba

2011-01-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

So, after our amazing day in Bonaire we had a less then stellar night. At dinner we figured out that we had booked our return flights the wrong day and had to change them as well as my sister found out she no longer had a room mate when she got home. Her room mate had up and moved out while we were gone with no notice. Jerk. So needless to say, today was kind of somber. We walked around a minute then decided to just take a tour of the island. It was nice. Nothing amazing....but nice. All the pictures of that was on my sister camera so when I get them I will add them to this post.

Stop 5 Bonaire

2011-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

We got off the ship in Bonaire and right away caught a water taxi to Kline Island. We were dropped off and snorkeled off of no name beach. It was by far the best snorkeling I have ever done. It was amazing! So many colors and so many different varieties of fish.

Stop 4 Grenada!!

2011-01-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Grenada!! Its so beautiful. We were supposed to go on a river tubing excursion but the river was too rough because of the storms. We were approached and offered a boat tour as we were walking through the mall and decided to do that instead.

We road to an area called Halifax. It was where Christopher Columbus hid his ships when he was out on his adventure. We anchored there and jumped out and snorkeled. The snorkeling was only okay. I think it was because the snorkel equipment wasn't very good. If we would have known what we were doing we would have brought our own.

After snorkeling we went to a white sand beach. We actually had to swim in to it. Both times we got out of the boat we jumped out. Therefore we had to muscle our way back in. Well, as you can tell by the pictures, Im neither muscley or skinny, so it was quite amusing. At our second stop I ended up going under water and standing on the ocean floor so Deborah could stand on my shoulders to help boost herself in, then help pull me in. Like I said....very amusing.

The tour lasted longer then it was supposed to so we had to literally run back to the ship. It was so fun and so worth it though.

Stop 3... St. Kits

2011-01-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

We had to do our route backwards as well as skip our stop in Dominica because of tropical storms. Instead of Dominica we went to St. Kits. When we got of the ship we were bombarded with people wanting to sell us tours and such. We also got suckered into taking pictures with monkeys for way more money then it was worth. The monkeys were cute though so we got over it.

We ended up just taking a tour of the whole island. It was a good tour. St. Kits was a very dirty place. Lots of garbage everywhere, but it was still very beautiful.

Part of the island is a rain forest. It was so green. While we were in that section it started pouring rain so hard. Every time it rained like that it make me laugh. I loved it. I had never been in rain like that before this trip.

Lava rock.

Stop 2... St. Thomas

2011-01-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

All I can say is two words....SCUBA DIVING!!!! Absolutely amazing. Love love loved it!! It was just basic scuba class and then we went under to about 25 feet. It was one of my most favorite parts of the trip. It was kind of hard to get used to at first. There I was, breathing under water, but I wanted to go up for air. It was a weird feeling but I got used to it. St. Thomas is known for its bargain shopping in fine jewelry. We didnt have that kind of money to spend but went shopping around anyway. We got some more sunscreen and some water shoes:)

Sexy scuba ladies!!

Some people in the group just didn't get it. I don't know what there was about it that was confusing but we had to wait quite awhile in shallow water for the instructor to help them. I guess if it was me Id be thankful to get all the kinks worked out first.

Cruisin baby!!

2011-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my posts are all out of order but at least I am posting them right? I was able to take off and go with my sister on a 10 day cruise at the end of October to the beginning of November. It was awesome. We did the southern Caribbean. Our stops were in Princess Cays (Bahamas), St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. My favorite places were Grenada and Bonaire. They were just beautiful! Princess Cays is just for sunbathing, swimming, and snorkeling. I have been snorkeling in the Philippines but it was nothing compared to this. The fish were awesome.

There were some locals on the beach that were doing watermelon carvings. They were so cool! Then they sliced it up and gave it to use for lunch.

This is the picture of our ship. It is called the Emerald Princess. It was huge and very nice. Princess definitely caters to an older crowd and we really liked that. Didnt want to deal with a bunch of rowdy 20 something year olds. We just wanted to relax.

My sister and I on our way out to the island.

An empty house.

2010-12-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had to put my husbands dog down. He's been with our family over 10 yrs. It was just time. He had many things wrong with him but they were all things he could live with. The problem we ran into is he became agressive when he felt the kids were in his space. I dont blame him. Hes old and didnt want them to mess with him, but I couldnt risk him overstepping boundaries and seriously hurting one of them. He's bitten twice now and it was only time before it happened again. I miss him so much all ready. I complained about him all the time and told myself I didnt like him. But deep down I loved him, we were buds. He was so annoying while I was trying to cook. He was always in the kitchen trying to get into everything. This morning while I made my sons lunch, I missed him annoying me. I know its better this way, he was hurting and old, now he is free. It still hurts. Goodbye old man.

Halloween

2010-12-09T11:34:00.001-08:00

I know its almost Christmas but I figure late is better then never. This year I was gone for Halloween but James did a great job getting the kids out. In Alaska we always have to do costumes that work with snow clothes. Connor had been saying for awhile that he wanted to be Wall E so I let the creative juices flow and made him a costume. Except for the body everything is made out of diaper boxes. The body was just an old box we had laying in the garage. Grayden wanted to be Woody. The only Woody costume we could find was a few sizes too big. Thankfully we went ahead and got it, it fit perfectly over his snow clothes. Scarlett didnt get a choice, but she was the cutest little lady bug ever! :)

Walking with Dinosaurs!!

2010-08-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

We got a sitter for Scarlett and took the boys to a show that is currently in town. It is called Walking with Dinosaurs. It was awesome. The show gave a history lesson on dinosaurs, when they lived, and how the earth was during that time. The special effects were pretty cool but the dinosaurs were amazing!!! They were so life like. The boys loved it. I took some pictures but they dont even do it justice.

Gabbing with Grandpa

2010-08-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

Love listening to my baby girl talk!

2010-08-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

I cant believe how fast she is growing up!

H20asis!!

2010-08-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

My niece Katie came to stay with us for a few weeks. Well, actually she shuffled around between us, my parents, and Deborah. It was crazy sometimes but a lot of fun. We were constantly going and doing. One of the things we were able to do while she was here was go to H20asis. Its an indoor water park. It has a wave pool, pirate ship, lazy river, and 3 different water slides. Connor went down the Master Blaster finally for his first time. That is the biggest and scariest slide. He loved it. We went down multiple times. :) I dont think Scarlett is ready to brave the waters of the pool quite yet so she hung out in a bouncy seat on the pool deck. Grayden is pretty fearless in the pool. James had to constantly chase after him. So, it doesnt make sense that he freaks out if my arm isnt under him while bathing. We had a great time.

This is Grayden on the pirate ship. He hid up there two different times to go to the bathroom. Good thing they sell swim diapers there!

Down the slide!

Love my boys!!!!

More photos from the shoot.

2010-07-08T23:58:00.001-07:00

Ok, time to start blogging again.

2010-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, so its been close to a year since my last blog entry. I have no excuses but laziness. Lets see....whats happened....LOTS! My most important and favorite thing though is Scarlett Kay. She was born on May 20th. She is 7 weeks old today and is one of my favorite things about life. She was my most painful delivery. I think the epidural wore off. She had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice and then tucked under her arm. It was very scary. Everything ended up being okay though and she is healthy and beautiful. Connor and Grayden cant get enough of her. Connor is constantly kissing on her and saying how cute she is. She is a very good baby. Im so lucky. She sleeps about 6 hrs at night then wakes up every two after that. I really need to start going to bed when she does but all of the kids are asleep at the point so its nice to have some alone time.

These pictures were taken by a girlfriend of mine. She is just starting out her business as a baby photographer and did an amazing job. You can find more of her work on her website sweetshotsalaska.blogspot.com/ She is working really hard to build up her portfolio and could use more people to gain more experience. If you know anyone who wants newborn shots she is very reasonably priced and will come to your home to take the pitures. Scarlett was a week old when we did them.

Bella

2009-08-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

For James' birthday/anniversary present I got him a puppy. He has wanted a mastiff for the last 9 yrs and I finally got him one. Her name is Bella and she is awesome. She is over 30lbs all ready and not even 3 months yet. She is super cute. Everyone stops to look at her and pet her while we are out. I have been taking her to the dog park the last few days. She does really well off leash. The first picture is when we first got her, the second is yesterday when she decided to ride in Graydens carseat to the dog park.

Time to play catch up

2009-08-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on lately. I've decided to get back into the swing of things now and get caught up. About 2 months ago my dad had a double bypass surgery. He is doing great. He still gets tired easily and his scar bothers him to have anything on it including shirts, but given the fact that they opened his chest and operated on his heart he is amazing. He is back at work now but taking it easy.

Sadness surrounds me.

2009-05-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Today one of my best friends 3 month old died. When she woke up he was discolored and not breathing. I am sad.

Vocanic Eruption

2009-04-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of activity recently from Mt. Redoubt, a local volcano. There were a lot of false alarms before it finally blew, and blew, and blew. At first we were not directly effected in Anchorage but then flights were being canceled left and right. People trying to get home were stranded in Seattle. People trying to get out, stuck here. On 3/28/09 Mt. Redoubt erupted yet again sending a layer of ash covering Anchorage. Here are some pictures of the eruption as well as pictures of the ash in Anchorage.

A little update.

2009-03-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

There isnt really any new news here. Everyone is doing great. Connor is in pre-school and loves it. Grayden enjoys the quiet time when Connor isnt there. He also is picking up quite a few words but still jabbers a lot. He knows exactly what he is saying. Wish I did. :) I still am doing hair here and there but get to hang out with the kiddos the rest of the time.
My sister and I volunteered again this year at the American Diabetes Associations bachelor auction. Even with the economy being bad it was still a success. We were able to raise $70,000.
James is still enjoying work and watching sports. He tries to get Connor excited about watching basketball with him.
The weather here warmed up quite a bit for awhile giving us hope for spring, however, it started snowing on Monday and hasnt stopped for more then a few hours at a time. :( Thats it for now.

Just so you know...

2009-01-21T00:57:00.000-08:00

The last post was just really late. We didnt just get back. That was November.

New Orleans!!!

2009-01-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

New Orleans was such a blast. We saw so many sights and did so many fun things. I think the best part of the trip was that it was just James and I. I missed the little guys a ton but it was so nice to go and come as we pleased.
We started off our trip in Utah. We were able to stay there just a few days so the kids could settle in. We then continued on to New Orleans. The first day there we walked along the Garden District. We saw one of the oldest cemeteries there. We also saw Eli Mannings house. ( we didnt know it was his until later when I took a city tour) We were getting hungry and decided to eat and the Commanders Palace. We did not realize beforehand that it had a dress code and was quite nice. Thankfully we were in nice enough clothing. The food was amazing as well as the service. It was my first experience with "fine dining" and I LOVED it. We had like 3 waiters. If the ice started to melt in our water, they brought a new glass of water. Since I love food, I was in heaven. We then caught the street car down to Audobon Park. We walked all around the park and down to the zoo. It was beautiful. Lots of wildlife. We took the streetcar back to the hotel and then walked around the French Quarter. It was getting dark so we didnt take too many pictures but will come back when its lighter. We went in the St. Louis Cathedral. It was amazing. I have never been in a catholic church before. It was very ornate.
The next day we had brunch at Cafe Du Monde. They are famous for their beignets. Pretty much a type doughnut with lots of powdered sugar. Dont wear black pants. They were good. Nothing to make a special trip daily for, but good. We walked all around the French Quarter and decided to stop at Market Cafe for some po boys sandwiches. The sandwiches were good but the service was terrible. We probably waited a good 30 to 45 minutes for sandwiches! Our waitress would disappear for 20 minutes at a time. It sucked. James had to work today so I thought I would walk around a bit but we have been walking non stop. I guess my shoes weren’t supportive enough because I had shin splints, so I decided to nap a little and catch upon business calls. When James got done we went to the Garden District and ate at a crepe restaurant. It wasn’t very good but we enjoyed the atmosphere and the cat that hung out with us throughout the meal. We saw some missionaries on the way home and talked to them. Its always fun to hear missionary stories.
James had to work again so I went touring alone. I went across the Mississippi River to Mardi Gras world where all the floats are made. It was pretty interesting. It was cool to see all of the floats. I then walked around to different shops and to Harrahs casino until it was dinner time. For dinner we went on a riverboat cruise. We had Creole food and listened to Jazz while we floated down the Mississippi. I loved it.
James worked again the next day so I took a city tour. It was awesome. I learned so much about the city and some of its history. We went to the 9th ward and saw the destruction from hurricane Katrina. It was so sad. I almost cried. There was just so much devastation. After the tour a group of ladies invited me to lunch with them because I was alone. They were really nice. After lunch I walked around and explored different art galleries. I love looking at art but it makes me sad that I never followed that path in my life. The artists were there and it was so great to talk to them and hear what they had to say about their experiences and inspirations. That night James and I went on a ghost tour. It was totally creepy. We took pictures of ghosts and learned about different haunted places. We went to the Lalaurie Mansion. It was really creepy, google it.
Today was my favorite day! We took a bus out to the Oak Alley Plantation. It was nice. Then we took an airboat bayou tour. It was so AWESOME!!! We saw all kinds of wildlife. I got to see alligators, birds, and an armadillo. Best of all, I got to hold a baby alligator!!! I loved it. She was so dang cute. Her name was Marshmallow. That night we had dinner at Dickey Brennans steakhouse. M-A-ZING!!! I tried fried oysters. Delish.
The next day we just kind of walked around and saw the different sights. We packed our bags and got ready to return to reality. We ate at Nola. It is one of Emerils restaurants. It was also really good. It was an amazing trip. One that I will always remember. New Orleans definitely has something for everyone.

Okay, Im lame.

2008-12-10T19:52:00.001-08:00

Life has been so busy with Thanksgiving, cheerleading tryouts (Im the coach), and vacation. I have so many pictures I want to post and talk about. Soon, I promise, very soon.

Graydens first haircut......by Connor

2008-11-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cut both of the boys' hair and bought them matching outfits so I could go get their pictures done. Last night James needed a haircut so I brought everything home to do some kitchen hair. I left everything up on the kitchen counter. It was high so the boys couldnt get it right? WRONG.
I was checking my email when Connor came up to me and said, "Mommy, I cut Graydens hair!"
My first thought was that he had found some scissors. I ran down the stairs hoping that it was all pretend, but then worried that the boys might have hurt themselves or something else with the scissors. I never once thought that Connor would pull my clippers off the counter and buzz his little brothers hair, in patches, down to his scalp. Enjoy the pics.

Halloween

2008-11-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

For Halloween James and I took the boys to "trunk or treat." It is as it sounds. All the members park in the church parking lot and hand out candy from their trunks. It was super cold this year. Im thankful that we could do that instead of going door to door. It was fun seeing everyone and their costumes. After trunk or treating James stayed home with a cold and I ran around with a few friends for a couple of hours enjoying the downtown scene. There were some pretty amazing costumes. I dressed up as Katinka from Zoolander and my good friend Pat dressed up as Mugatu. It was fun, however, I can tell Im old. I left early to watch t.v with James. :)

Onyx, the toeless dog.

2008-11-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

Onyx had his toe amputated on Halloween. He had a fast growing tumor that was making it quite painful for him. He is all ready up and runnung again and looks like he is feeling a lot better minus the toe. Im glad that he is feeling better.

Trick or Treat Town

2008-10-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

James and I took the boys to "Trick or Treat Town." Its where local businesses set up booths in the ACS warehouse so that kids can trick or treat and stay warm. There we a lot of really cute costumes there. Connor is at such a fun age. Everything is finally making sense to him. Grayden isnt quite there but he sure liked the candy. We had a fun time.

"Ugly Tracksuit" Birthday

2008-10-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

I think the pictures say it all.

More funny things from the mouth of my first born.

2008-10-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

We were sitting at dinner the other night. Grayden was being cranky so I was shaking up crayons in the box to try to entertain him. He grabbed the box from me and chucked them to the ground. Connor the said, "What a good idea!" And chucked his to the ground as well.

Recently a close friend lost her baby girl. It is very sad. While we were shopping Connor asked me where Ronda(my friend) was. I told him she was at home. He then asked where Lilly(her daughter) was. I told him that she was also at home. Then he asked where Gabe(her son) was. I told him at school. Then he asked where Lucy(the daughter that she lost) was. I told him that Lucy went to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus. He didnt quite understand. I didnt know how to explain, so I asked him if he remembered the time he lost his balloon and it went way up high in the sky. He remembered. I told him Lucy went up to live in Heaven like the balloon. He thought about it for a second and then asked if she took an airplane there. I giggle a little and told him no. He then asked, "Did Ronda throw her up there?"

Yesterday while driving Connor asked me if I was a sister. I said, "Yes." He then said, "Im a brother." I again said, "Yes." He then replied, "Grayden is a brother too." I said, "Yes he is." To that he replied, "The church calls us all brothers and sisters, huh?"

Sick Parents

2008-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

It happened. Going to bed on Saturday night I felt off and by the time I got up Sunday morning I knew I had got the bug. I was down all day Sunday. I felt a little better on Monday, but James was home from work with the bug. Being sick is lame. James went back to work yesterday feeling better. I was better as well. Now I am feeling worse again. Why is it so easy for kids to bounce back? I guess I would be prefer to be sick longer though and have my babies better though. Thankfully I have really good kids and sitting around for a few days to get better isnt a big deal.

Sick babies.

2008-09-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

I dont think anything makes me feel more helpless then having both of my boys sick at the same time. Connor is finally getting to the age where he understands being sick and what he needs to do. But poor Grayden. I held him in my arms almost all night while the dozed in and out, throwing up all over the both of us multiple times. He doesnt understand what is happening and all I can do is clean him up and try to make him as comfortable as possible. Thankfully their periods of throwing up only overlapped about an hour. Grayden started at about 9pm and lasted till 3. Connor started at 2 and went til 7 or 8. They are both doing a ton better now. I think it was just a 24 hr bug. Thank goodness!

New post

2008-09-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

I dont really have much to say. It has just been awhile since I have posted so here is a little update. Not much has been going on. I have been painting more and hope to really get more into it soon. As I complete paintings that I like I will post them so you can see what I have been up to.
The dividends and energy check came this month. Hallelujah. It was nice to get some bills paid off, and a 52'' screen t.v never hurts. We just have to find a stand for it now. One that is tall enough that the boys cant get their finger prints on it and that is sturdy enough to hold it. We were really picky at first as to what we wanted. We have checked every furniture store in Anchorage and have yet to find it so we are being less picky now.
The leaves have all started turning here. Its very beautiful. Its getting cold though and I dont like that. I wish the fall lasted longer like it did in Ohio. It was absolutely beautiful during this time of year. It was like being in a movie.
Well, I guess thats it for today. Hope everybody is doing well.

Graydens stitches.

2008-09-11T11:45:00.001-07:00

I think the worst experience I ever had as a mom was when Connor was two. I was on my way to work when I got a call from my sister who was watching him. She was frantic and said Connor had hit his head and that they were going to the ER. When I arrived I had to sit there while 4 grown held him down and stitched my childs forhead. It made me sick. That experience was replaced by Grayden and his stitches. This time it wasnt because he hit his head. It was because he startled our old family dog and he bit him on the head. My immediate thought was that we were putting the dog down. After 10 days in quarentine my heart softened for my husbands "best friend" and I said he could come home as long as he became an outside dog again. Grayden was fine. He quit crying before we even got to the hospital. However he was quite upset at being held down and stitched. Thank goodness he wasnt as strong as Connor and the process went quickly. He now is healed up and has a cute little scar to match Connors. After time Im sure it will almost completely disapear as Connors has. His is very faint. With two little boys its always something. I wonder whats next.:)

2008-09-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

This was the first year that we got to go to the fair as a family. These pictures are from two seperate days. Connor had a blast riding all the rides and Grayden enjoyed all the new sights. I enjoyed the food. :) I think James was just along for the ride. It was a lot of fun and we are excited to go again next year.

Not very lighthearted.

2008-08-31T01:50:00.000-07:00

So far I have been trying to keep this blog very light hearted. Just letting people know whats going on etc. However it is time to write a post that wont be. I think I need to just complain. Its therapy for me. I have chosen not to write about Lucy Latta passing away til now. It is something that hurts me so much. I think the reason I was holding it away was because I felt like maybe I shouldnt be as upset as I am. But I am. I am upset. I am angry. I am hurting for her family. I just want answers. I know that she is a perfect little angel now in heaven, but why? Why let her fight so hard? Why let her go through so much, just to take her? Why did she not die of her disease, but from damage to her lungs? I guess I just thought it would never happen. That the bone marrow transplant would work and she would get better. The transplant did work. Why is she gone? Never once did I think that they would be coming home from Seattle without her. Never did I think that the little baby, only two weeks older then Grayden would die. I guess I was just in denial, like I am now. Its like its not real. However, I cry everyday. Im not sure why. Maybe its just the simple fact that I wouldnt know what to do with myself if I ever lost Grayden. I hurt for their family so much. I wish I knew what to do to help them. For those who have no idea what I am talking about... withloveforlucy.com

I like to ride my bicycle.

2008-08-31T01:46:00.001-07:00

Connor loves to ride his bike. He never rode his tricycle very much so he struggles with leg strength. We have been out a few times though and he is getting better. Next summer he will be a pro.

Connors 4th birthday

2008-08-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

Connors fourth birthday was August 16. Better late then never right? He was very excited. He loves birthdays. It doesnt matter whos it is. I think he liked the fact though that he was the one who got to actually open and take home the presents. We started off with pizza then birthday cake. The cake had five big balloons made out of frosting. Connor wanted the blue one and that was all he ate as far as cake goes. He is very in to Thomas the train right now. He received two tracks that hooked together, a movie, a book, some Cars stuff, and a new bike!!

The things kids say...

2008-08-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

James and I love to watch the Olympics. James more so then I, but it is still on almost constantly at my house. The other day while I was working, James was watching rowing. Connor looked at the screen for a minute, taking notice of the boats. He then went upstairs to play with his toys. A little while later James was watching a swimming event. Connor came down, looked at the TV again and laughed. He then said, "Daddy, they lost their boats!"

James and I decided to take a Sunday drive yesterday. On the way home we to drove by one of the construction sites that his company is working on. Connor kept telling me he was hungry. I would brush it off becuase it hadnt been that long since we had eaten. He was persistant. So I told him that he would have to wait. We were going to Grandma and Papas for dinner and he could wait. He said it again, so in frustration I said, "Connor! You will have to wait, we dont have any food!" It was then he replied with, "Well McDonalds does!"

Starting over

2008-08-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, hopefully this time I will really keep up with this. There has just been so much going on with life I havent found the time. However, I just quit Chilis. YAY. I now will be home in the evenings to enjoy family time. I will also have weekends if I schedule my hair appointments right. This last weekend we were able to go camping with some friends. It was a lot of fun. That is something we NEVER do. I could name the times on one hand that we have been camping since the kids have been born. Twice actually. Hopefully now we can do more of that kind of stuff. Im excited for all of the family adventures that are to come.

Funny stories about the first born.

2008-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Connor cannot say anything that starts with an F without adding a B. Fun is F-bun. Food is F-bood. We all have gotten to the point where we add the b in just because it sounds funny.

The other day Connor came up and asked me for help with something. I was nursing so I told him to hold on because I was feeding Grayden. His reply was, "Oh.... He's eating you right now?"

Connor cannot wait till he turns sixteen so he can drive. If we talk about going somewhere he makes sure to tell us that when he is sixteen HE will drive.

He thinks that he will wear diapers again when he becomes a baby again. I dont know where he got it but when I was buying diapers for Grayden he told me over and over that when he wears diapers again that he wants McQueen ones.

If he doesnt like what you are saying he says, "You dont say!" If I say "Connor, time for bed." He replies with, "No! You dont say!"

Instead of my he say "Mine." Are we going to mine house? That is mine toy!" It sounds a lot cuter when he says it.

There are so many more but thats all I could think of. Some of them may not seem funny to you but its halarious at the time. He is catching on to so many things. He is so entertaining.

Blogging or Boggling?

2008-04-08T15:48:00.001-07:00

I am completely computer illiterate, however, I am trying to learn and figure out more. Some of my friends have been doing this whole blogging thing and I really enjoy reading all of their stories and seeing what is new in their life. So here it is. The Easton family blog. Hopefully I will become a pro and be able to share pictures and videos too. I think I am going to have to ask for help with those though. I am hoping to figure it all out so everyone who wants an update on us can just stop by and see how we are and how the boys are growing and developing. Life is such a new adventure everyday. I just wanted to share it with everyone else. Enjoy!!