First Haircut!

I decided it was time to give Troy a haircut when someone thought he was a girl. He does have a very adorable face but he IS a boy. He was so good for his cut. I used the clippers and he didn't even scream! He actually giggled a little when I first put it on his head. He is a great sport and he looks so handsome! I do have to say that I was actually a little sad to see his curls fall to the ground. I left the top a little long in hopes that they would still have a chance of showing up.

Leah's First day of Preschool

Here she is! She had a great first day of preschool. She goes to preschool up at our rec center and she feels very big doing so. She takes all of this very seriously. On the first day she was a little shy so my friend's daughter, Kenzie, took her hand and they both walked over to their seats. Here they are sitting together. These girls actually have known each other for a while, they just didn't know it. We used to be in the same ward, but have since both moved out of that ward. It has been fun to hang out with them again. We even went to McD's. I told Leah it was in celebration of her first day of school. She loves it so far and continues to tell me stories about what happens at school. I'm not sure they are all true, but at least it is a great place for her imagination to draw from.

Shaunie's Lists

Here is Shaunie's list of things she wanted me to write up in a recipe book. You can see how she crossed the items off as she made them with her dad. She must think I have a huge appetite! She also wanted to have a bake sale and here is another list of things she wanted me to pick up or write down how to make. She keeps me busy with her little projects and sales. She always has something planned.





In this picture she is having a juice sale with her friend from the ward. This is just one of the many sales we have set up outside our home. Thanks to all the neighbors and ward members who support our entrepreuner daughter.

Great Husband

Thanks Jeremy for surprising me! I didn't even know he had posted anything until I started receiving emails about comments people had written. He is a great husband and I am so blessed to have him. Thanks to everyone who wrote comments. You are all so complimentary! Just so some of you know, my birthday was on Saturday, Sept. 13th. It was a busy but good day. Jeremy took the day off (the best present he could've given me) and the kids made me breakfast in bed. It was a good thing Jeremy was home because on Friday Shaunie had given me a list of things she wanted me to write up in a recipe book. The list was all breakfast items, so I am sure she was going to attempt breakfast on her own. My good friend brought me beautiful flowers and Jeremy took me out to dinner and a little shopping. Jeremy's parents sent a beautiful and yummy fruit bouquet too. Thanks to everyone who called to wish me a happy birthday. You are the best!

Happy Birthday Meu Amor!

I know I don't get on here very often, but I wanted to make a surprise post to Rachel's blog here and say, "Happy birthday Rachel!!" Her birthday was actually a few days ago, but I just haven't had much time.

Rachel and I met in 1995, started dating in 2000 after returning from our respective missions in the beautiful country of Brazil. We were married in 2000, a year later she graduated from BYU and a year later I dragged her to the desert heat of Las Vegas so I could work on my schooling. Not only did I bring her to Las Vegas, but I brought her during the summer months and 7 months pregnant with our first child. . . Sorry honey!

We've been through a lot together in 8+ years. You've stuck beside me throughout my undergraduate studies and now through graduate school. You've been the most awesome mother to our 4 beautiful and amazing children . You've been there to push me along, when I needed encouragement the most. You teach our children about the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ and instruct them in modest living and making righteous decisions. You're an example to me of living the Word of Wisdom through regular exercise and healthy eating habits. You help me to appreciate the need for higher education, learning, and appreciating good books and good music. I even went with you to my first Neil Diamond concert for New Year's Eve one year. You lovingly put up with my seemingly endless research into neurological fMRI studies, and even still wait up for me late at night.

I could go on and on about all the things you do for me and the kids, but there just isn't enough time to type it all. I guess the biggest purpose behind this is to tell you, and the rest of the world how much I love you, and am glad you said yes to marrying me on that cool evening in American Fork Canyon in 2000.

Thank you for everything you do! I love you!!!

Jeremy

Super Saturday!

Okay, so I just put together my annual Super Saturday post for my ward. I am hoping that the sisters stop by and check out what we are doing and that they get excited about it. I still have a few more things to add but should have it all done very soon. Click on this link to check it out. Super Saturday Blog

Misunderstood

Ok, I usually don't like to write about myself. It just makes me feel weird, but there is something that has been on my mind a bit lately. It is more a question. When you feel like someone who should know you pretty well totally has you all misunderstood, what do you do? Does that make sense? Sometimes I feel like some pretty major people in my life have me figured out all wrong and I don't know what to do about it. I have heard someone say that "It is not who I think I am, or who you think I am, it is who I think you think I am that matters most." Think about that one for a while. You may have to repeat it a couple times, I did. How do you change someone's view of you? Is that even possible? Should I even worry about it? Just asking.

Milestones

Troy has passed some fun little milestones this past week. I say they are milestones because they are things every little kid does (at least mine have done) sometime while growing up. I hope you don't mind me sharing.

First, he has taken up to 7-10 steps on his own. He is still a little wobbly, but he is having so much fun doing it. It's actually kinda inspiring to watch him fall and then be so anxious to stand up and try again. Second, he has started to say "uh-oh" when something falls or when someone else says it. His little voice is so tender and cute! Third, he has mastered the art of crawling up the stairs. He is actually quite balanced and can go up pretty fast. Lucky for Mom he is still a little shy about doing it, though I'm sure that will change. Finally, he has decided that he likes his bed when he is tired. I say finally because my other kids knew early on that their bed was a great place when you were tired, but it took my little Troy a little longer to get it. Now he will reach for his bed when he is in his room and tired. If I mention his "bear" then he'll even sometimes start doing that little excited whiny giggle. (If ya know what I mean).

Please Vote...

Lots of people are coming by to check us out. Please write why you came by... feel free to leave any comments too. I love hearing from you.

Family Picture

I had to share this great picture. Sam drew a family picture at school. You can see everyone, even Troy in his walker.

Star Wars

This is my Sam. And this is Star Wars. Our neighbors have loaned us their Star Wars movies and Sam really can't get enough of them. He has even decided to be part of the action by getting the Star Wars gun his cousin gave him and helping to shoot the "bad guys". You can see his gun in the top picture and the shadow of it in the bottom one. I love my boy.

Two-Headed Bus

Some of you may be wondering what a two-headed bus is. Well, the picture is above. Actually, the picture above is of the Las Vegas RTC's Deuce Bus. It is a double-decker bus that you can find on the streets of Las Vegas. We were on our way to Henderson when we overheard Sam explaining to Leah that THAT kind of bus was a "two-headed bus". Not bad, huh.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

Cute baby Shaunie

Here are some pictures of her party. I decided to throw a little friend party with just the ward members because she is such a good girl. I wanted to let her know she was appreciated. We invited just kids she knew well in the ward and had about 17 kids show up. That was with about 5 kids who couldn't come because it was a holiday weekend and they were out of town. The kids age range was from 3 years to 12. We painted jars, played Duck, Duck, Goose and had a Birthday BBQ. The kids had fun and Shaunie felt like a queen for the day. It was all worth it! She got lots of fun toys and a lot of money (she says she's trying to save up $1000) . Thank you to everyone who came and had so much fun with us. I know Shaunie appreciated it and that she loves you and your friendship.

Sorry, I can't get this cake to go straight. I guess you can just turn your head to the right a bit.

My Shaunie Rae turned 7! She is just getting too old! I have been asking her for about 5 years now "Who said you could grow?" She used to just smile and say "Nobody." Now she still smiles but instead of saying anything she just rolls her eyes.

She is... my first born love ...the first child who stole my heart and still hasn't given it back ... everybody's friend, everybody's shoulder to cry on, and everybody's example on how to treat others ...is very mature and a natural leader ...a cuddlebug ...the best big sister in the world!

...a great example of unconditional love.

She teaches me on a daily basis how to be a better person. She gets along with everyone. I always hear from her teachers and parents of her friends that she has a very special spirit about her. She loves to get and give hugs and loves. She has always had a natural care-giving love for children. Troy adores her, Leah runs to her when she is sad, Sam looks up to her as a friend and a role-model, and they all love to hear her read. Thank you Shaunie Rae for all you have done for your family. We are blessed to have you and learn from you every day!

Welcome Baby Miles

My sister Lindsay just had her second baby boy. His name is Miles Jay Noble. He is handsome and oh so small! I stole these pictures off her blog. You can go to her blog if you want to see more and get more information. He is a cutie-patootie! Congratulations to Lindsay and Andy.

First Day!

We have finally started school! We started yesterday and it seems like this year is going to be great. We were finally able to get the kids on the track 5 since our school went to year-round. That is the track that is most like the 9 month calendar school year and the track that most of our ward is on. We are so grateful to be on this track! I only had to promise the assistant principal that I would be on the PTA this year. That is actually easy to do because my ward IS the PTA. I am even the PTA president's visiting teacher!

Anyway, the kids had a great day. Sam had his first day of Kindergarten with the cutest teacher. Her name is Mrs. Hernandez and I am so glad he got into her class. He seems to really be liking school and is very excited to get up and get going. Shaunie has a great teacher too. She has Ms. Ramirez who is excellent too. Here are some pictures of the first day of school.

Later that day we had a special Family Home Evening. Our treat was my pencil cake (not it's not made of pencils). It didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but it was still fun and very yummy.

What'cha bin doin'?

Here's what we've been doing since we've been back from our vacations. We've had lots of fun. The kids are in little classes at the community rec. center up the road. Leah is in Tiny Tots Ballet, Sam is in a sports class that does all sorts of sports, and Shaunie is taking a basketball skills class. They each go once a week and they are loving it. It has been a nice break from being at home. Vegas weather doesn't really let us go outside in the summer time very much, so this is what they are doing. We are having fun watching them develop their new talents and skills, too.




I also had a ton of fun visiting with my long, lost, MTC companion Taralyn Poll. She is now Taralyn Hadley and she has two adorable children with a third on the way. Here are some pictures with her kids. The boy in the middle is her son Jed, and the boy with Troy is Andrew. We spent some time with them on a Saturday and got reacquainted and laughed and just has some fun. She is still so much fun to be with. We also invited Jenny Hodge over. She was in our district too and she was our roommate. Jenny is a lawyer here in Henderson and I am so glad she is so close. We ran into her almost a year ago at a BYU/UNLV football game. I didn't even recognize her at first because she has changed so much. She has always been beautiful, but she is gorgeous now! She is also a lot of fun to be with and it was so much fun getting together. I am so blessed to have such good friends. They are people who I can truly say know me and STILL like me. Thanks to them for all the good times and memories. I hope we can get together more often.

National Night Out

We went to an event in Henderson called National Night Out. I'm not sure what it is for except there were a lot of booths and a lot of cops. It was geared towards families and safety and the community. Michelle told us about it. We had a lot of fun gathering pens, pencils, papers, eating free food and making projects. Shaunie and Sam made flag holders while Leah made a boat. We also had Uncle Clint etch our vin number into our van windows for FREE! Thanks to Henderson PD and to Michelle for a fun, family night out. Here are some pictures.

Happy Birthday Troy Boy!

We had Troy Boy's birthday party. I am finally getting this up. Here is his cake. I always have fun making cakes. He didn't enjoy his own personal cake very much. Jeremy ended up taking it apart for him so that he might find some part of it appetizing, but that didn't even work. Notice the picture where he is happily holding a saltine cracker instead of chowing down on his cake (maybe he thinks it's a Mint Milano! thats for my family, it's an inside joke). This ball ended up being one of his favorite presents. He got it from his cousins, the Petty's. He actually really loved all of his presents. He has played with all of them. I don't know if my other kids were just different or that Troy is different, but he actually PLAYS with his toys! He even dances to the music from a little truck he got. I love to see him play with them and really get into it.

Another highlight of the weekend was visiting Jeremy's uncle Eric who works at the church office building. We rode up to the 23rd floor to say hi and then he took us on a little "insiders" tour of Temple Square. We went to the top of the church office building and took some awesome pictures. What a way to get a new perspective of life! Also, we got to go under the church office building and see the tunnels that the members of the 12 Apostles take to go to the temple and other locations. It was amazing and fun. Thanks to Uncle Eric for taking some time from his busy schedule to show us around. We really loved it!

Also, while in Park City, the boys spent a morning golfing. It was Jeremy's first time on a real golf course and I was told he did great (with a few minor tumbles). I think it was a great little get-away for the men and I am glad they were able to go. Thanks to Dad for setting that up.

Park City 2008

We also visited the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. Here is a picture of Uncle Andy and cousin Eli pushing a replica of the handcarts. The museum has a hands-on, interactive display called "I Am a Child of God" it is for the kids. We spent a long time playing with the dolls, setting up a primary class, taking part in the manger scene and many other fun things. It is a must-see for the kids. Part of our Park City adventure included swimming and going to the Park City City Park (yes, that IS the name). The only ones daring enough to climb to the top of the rope web were Leah and Russ. Don't they look triumphant!? We had a really fun time and look forward to the next reunion.