The Barb Bunch

Merry Christmas!...Love the Barb Family!!

2010-12-25T00:28:00.000-05:00

Our New House

2010-09-03T00:46:00.005-04:00

So our newest news is that we bought a house! We moved in officially August 21st and are still slowly getting settled in. Here's a pic of our new home...Now that we are moved in I'll have to take updated pictures of the inside and post them. We are adjusting and enjoying....:) Come visit!!

Trip Out West

2010-09-03T00:03:00.005-04:00

I have been soooooo bad about blogging lately!... I haven't posted in nearly two months...and so much has happened since then. It's hard to do a nutshell version, but I'll try:) At the end of July we went on a vacation out west for two family reunions. We drove to southern Utah near Zion's canyon for the first reunion (my dad's side), then up near yellowstone park in Idaho for the second reunion (my mom's side). It was an amazing trip!...We did soooo much in those two weeks and had such a fabulous time! I love all my family so much and am so grateful for this time we had with them reconnecting and having amazing adventures and tons of fun!! Here are just a few pictures of the hundreds that I took!!

We did LOTS of swimming in lots of different pools at the various hotels and resorts!!
Mallory and Preston cuddling up in the hotel bed in SLC. We stayed in seven different places over the course of the two weeks:)

An intense family game of fuseball

Par of the "Lowe" family...missing Tami, Kathy, and Brian and families (wish they could have timed the birth of their babies better:) haha!!

Most of my dad's side of the family

Our little fam...you can tell the kids love picture time:)

My lil sis Brenda and I!! Loved spending lots of time with her

Picture of us on the cabin balcony with the beautiful view in the background

Our whole family

My little fish...they LOVE swimming!

Finally in Utah (after 30 hours of driving or so)...

Swimming in a hotel in Madison, WI on the way home

We visited Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota on the way home

Family picture at the Johnson Reunion

Whole group (I picked the wrong picture here...not sure what I'm doing in this one:)

Relaxing in the hammock (babies don't seem to be loving it)

Four generation picture. We are all the oldest daughters and all have the middle name of Renee

Tanner indoor rock climbing

Just before we went whitewater rafting

Visiting my brother Brian and his wife Kelsey. Since this picture was taken, Kelsey had her baby...my new niece, baby Kensi:)

Happy 6th Birthday Tanner and Logan!!

2010-07-10T01:55:00.001-04:00

Last Day of School Party

2010-07-10T01:50:00.001-04:00

The boys graduated from Kindergarten. Here they are with their class at the last day of school party...

Wacky Hair Day!

2010-07-10T01:48:00.000-04:00

Acting "wacky" in honor of wacky hair day at school:)...

Brighton Fishing Derby!

2010-07-10T01:37:00.001-04:00

Here's us at the fishing derby in downtown Brighton at the Millpond...we always love this fun event!

Old Navy display

2010-07-10T01:36:00.000-04:00

Do you recognize the kids in this Old Navy display:)??

Mallory's "Haircut"

2010-07-10T01:26:00.002-04:00

So, when I was out grocery shopping a couple weeks ago, Scott called me to tell me that Tanner had given Mallory a "haircut". Apparently Tanner was playing beauty shop with Mallory and combing her hair and it got stuck (he was wrapping hair around the comb trying to curl it). When he couldn't get the comb out, he went and got scissors and cut the comb out. Yikes!! The pictures are turned, but you can clearly see the mullet haircut Tanner gave Mallory on her left side (the first picture is of her right side for comparison). I guess we're going to have to get really creative with her hairstyle until it grows out!!

Memorial Day Parade

2010-07-10T01:19:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day.....terrible picture, but the only one I have:) Kids are sweating and tired of waiting for the parade to start. I told them it would be worth it......then the parade was only like 5 minutes long......awesome.

Bounce in Hartland!

2010-07-10T01:11:00.002-04:00

We went to a great place for kids in Hartland called Bounce! It is filled with trampolines, climbing things, ball pits, etc. It was our twins club's annual spring party...and we had a great time!!

Young Womens!!

2010-07-10T00:59:00.002-04:00

Ok, so it's been FOREVER since I last blogged about anything. Not sure why...I just have kind of forgotten about it. So tonight I'm going to play catch up and post some things from the past couple months.

I was called to be the Young Women's Presidency a few months ago. Here is the presidency...me with Angie and Sally (we are missing our secretary Robi)

The whole Young Women's group (or at least those who were there that night:)

Me with some of my Beehives:)

I LOVE Young Womens!!!

Eye Issues

2010-05-02T17:56:00.001-04:00

I'm posting this so that all of you can give me some attention and sympathy:)

And I could use some prayers...

On Thursday I went to bed at like 7:00 that night and then didn't get up til 7:00 the next morning...so I slept for 12 hours straight with my contacts in (accidentally). In the morning I took out my contacts and then all day Friday my right eye was red, irritated, swollen, very sensitive to light, and in EXTREME pain, and seemed to be getting worse. I've had to be in the dark with sunglasses on and can't open my right eye at all. So yesterday I debated about whether to go to urgent care or an optometrist or opthamologist. I knew it was something way worse than pink eye. So I had Scott take me to an optometrist. Anyways, apparently what happened is when I slept with my contacts so long, they stuck to my cornea and when I took it out, it ripped part of my cornea off. The doctor said he saw corneal abrasions all over my eye. He gave me an antibiotic that is 10 times as strong as the normal pink eye antibiotic. However, he said I really won't have complete relief for about a week because it takes time for the cornea cells to regenrate. I will go see him on Monday and again at the end of next week where he will be able to tell if I have any permanent damage and scar tissue. Scott gave me a blesssing tonight and I just hope and pray there is no permanent damage and that I will be able to have my normal vision back (and hopefully be able to wear my contacts again). Only time will tell. In the mean time, I can't open my eye or be in any light so I can't really drive or go anywhere which is really frustrating. I'll keep you posted but could use your prayers.

Thanks!

Julie

Easter Weekend...

2010-04-05T14:52:00.006-04:00

I have been soooo bad about blogging lately...so for the two followers I still have left...here are a few pictures from this last Easter weekend:) Sorry a few of them are turned (once again...lazy:)

Here are the kids the Sunday before Easter...My mom sent Mallory her new Easter dress which she loves. Someone at church commented on her dress and Mallory said, "my Grammy sent it to me" all proud-like:)

Easter baskets...

We made resurrection cookies the night before Easter. They worked (kind of)...

fun and easy Easter treat

the kids after the Primary Easter egg hunt/activity

Mallory showing me the eggs she gathered...

getting ready to jump in the sack race

coloring...

Mallory likes her new sunglasses she won at one of the games...

listening to a story...

cookie walk...

pin the tail on the bunny...

dyed Easter eggs...finished product...

The highlights of our Easter weekend, we couldn't really photograph...we did some spiritual lessons, preparations, and discussions about the resurrection of Jesus. We watched four General Conference Sessions Saturday and Sunday (so thankful for byu tv to now watch them at home...I liked it better than watching them on the computer)...and a delicious Easter dinner that Scott called "Stellar" which made me feel good:) It was a great weekend to be able to spend together as a family.

Kensington Field Trip

2010-03-19T02:39:00.002-04:00

Today I went on a fieldtrip with Logan and Tanner's kindergarten class to Kensington to see how maple syrup is made. I love the last picture...Logan tripped over a tree root and hurt his knee and started crying...so his teacher Mrs. Tamblyn was comforting him. I know it was bad that I took a picture...but I thought it was precious:)

We had a perfect weather day...beautiful sunshine. I'm loving that it is warming up...welcome spring!!!

Hartland Pool

2010-03-04T01:53:00.002-05:00

Today the boys didn't have school due to a teacher development day...so we headed to the Hartland Pool to beat the winter blues:) We had a great time! It felt like summer, if only for an hour:)

French Pedicure

2010-03-04T01:44:00.003-05:00

I am 34 years old and I just got my first professional pedicure yesterday:) It was wonderful! Thanks to my friends Alison and Laurel for passing on a gift certificate to me and watching my kids...I became the lucky recipient of a morning of pampering getting a pedicure. I chose the french pedi since I can't really do that myself. The rest of the day I kept rubbing my feet together because they were so silky smooth:) I feel thoroughly spoiled! I know this is probably a funny blog post...but I figure if I don't put it on here, probably no one else will ever see my toes because it's so stinkin' cold here that I won't be wearing sandals for about another three months! haha

Happy Winter!

2010-03-04T01:35:00.002-05:00

This post is for all my friends and family that live somewhere warm. See what you're missing out on!...making snowmen, shoveling the driveway, snowball fights, snowdays, and much more! (My sister Brenda who lives in Arizona is probably cold just looking at these pictures:) While I may complain a little about the snow, Scott and the boys have fun in it:)...Notice in the second picture the snowball headed straight for Scott's face?:) What a good dad to go out and play with them in the freezing cold:) Mallory and Preston and I were just wimps and watched from inside:) Happy Winter!

Holocaust Memorial Museum

2010-02-18T02:48:00.002-05:00

On Monday, Scott had the day off for Presidents Day so after the boys came home from school we went to the Holocaust Memorial Musuem. Unfortunately they wouldn't allow cameras in the museum so this is the only picture I have, but it was a very interesting field trip for us.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

2010-02-18T02:28:00.003-05:00

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone! I love Valentine's Day...it's just one of those low-stress, fun holidays that makes everyone smile. Our Valentine's Weekend started with Logan and Tanner's class party at school that I was able to help with. They loved writing out each of their Valentine's to their friends and getting them from their friends that day. I made some fun Valentine Goody Bags for the kids to wake up to that morning. Scott spoiled me with beautiful flowers, yummy chocolates, and some romancin';) Logan asked if he could stay up late the night before Valentine's Day to make a heart cake for his siblings...I thought that was really nice of him to be thoughtful like that. All in all it was a great weekend with lots of hugs, kisses, and love. (most of the time;)

Julie

Sledding at Kensington

2010-02-18T02:12:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday Scott and I took the kids to Kensington to do some serious sledding. We bundled up, grabbed our sleds, and were off. I'm not much of a "winter outdoors-y mom" and usually don't enjoy snowball fights, snowman building, or anything that may get me cold in the slightest...but I have to say I had more fun sledding than I have had in a long time. It was such a blast. Kensington has by far the best sledding hills around. They have a baby hill for toddlers, a bunny hill for beginners, a medium hill, a medium/advanced, and advanced, as well as two toboggan runs. We tried all of them multiple times. Logan and Tanner were so brave and just went down all by themsleves so many times. They didn't even really mind the walk back up because it just meant they got to go down again! (Although I have to say, the walk back up for me was more exercise than I've had in a Loooong time!)...I was sore the next day. Between the sore leg muscles from walking up the hills and the bruised rear end from hitting all the bumps going down, I was quickly reminded that I'm getting old! But it really was fun...good old fashioned, michigan winter fun...and we loved every minute of it:)!!!

The Story Behind our Kids Names...

2010-02-18T02:07:00.001-05:00

I posted this on our extended family website...so I thought I'd post it here too. This is the reason for our chilren's names:

TANNER MCKAY: When Scott came to visit me at BYU we went to church where my ward met in the Tanner Building. We were at church and both mentioned that we liked the name Tanner. As we later walked around the BYU campus and I showed him the McKay building where my education classes were held, we mentioned that we liked the name McKay and that David O. McKay a favorite prophet for both of us. We especially liked the way he always treated his wife like a queen (a quality we hoped our future son would have). Later when we were first married I had a little boy in my sunbeam class named Tanner who was just darling that reminded us how much we liked the name Tanner. I'm not sure of the meaning of either name.

LOGAN TAYLOR: When Scott and I were in Utah we visited Logan, Utah and the Logan Temple. While we were there we both commented that we liked the name Logan. It just kind of stuck as a name we liked. Taylor came in Stake Conference while I was pregnant. We were listening to the speakers and writing/doodling names back and forth to each other trying to think of a middle name. We had decided since Tanner's middle name was after a prophet, we thought it only fair that Logan's was too. So we wrote down all the prophets first and last names and decided that out of all of them, Taylor was the best one. I know, kind of weird, but true:) I'm not sure of the meaning of either name.

MALLORY RENEE: We picked Mallory because that was our ultrasound tech's daughter's name...hehe. When we were getting the ultrasound I told her that I had two boys already and that I was hoping there would be a girl in there this time around:) I jokingly said that if she could tell me there was a girl in there that I'd name it after her:) Well after telling us we were having one girl, she mentioned that her daughter's name was Mallory. I really liked it and it stuck. The next time we went in we told her that we were naming the girl Mallory:) And then for her middle name...I never thought of naming her anything but Renee. That is my middle name, my mom's middle name, and my Grammy's middle name. We are all the first daughters...so I knew if I had a daughter I'd give her the middle name of Renee. Perhaps she will pass on the name to her first daughter I hope.

PRESTON SCOTT: Scott was very close with a family from Virginia that also moved to Michigan around the same time he did. They were kind of his family when he came here...his "home away from home". They had a little boy named Preston that was adorable. After visiting their family one time we talked about the name Preston for a boy and that has always been a favorite name of ours. And obviously Preston's middle name is after Scott:)

So I guess I don't really know the meanings behind the names, but they have stories kind of:) What are the stories behind your children's names??

Julie

Popcorn Popping for FHE

2010-02-10T04:59:00.002-05:00

Monday night for Family Home Evening I taped the kids singing popcorn popping (all except Tanner who was too shy to do it for the camera:) It's kind of dark because it was night time and my camera doesn't do too well with videos...but thought it was somewhat blog worthy:)

Julie

Happy Birthday Scottie!

2010-02-10T04:40:00.002-05:00

Happy Belated Birthday to Scottie:)! His birthday was last Saturday so we went to Outback (his favorite restaurant) for dinner and had cheesecake...here are a couple pics...

Julie

"Fancy Mallory"

2010-02-10T04:27:00.002-05:00

I have terribly neglected my blog lately...sorry! (As I know you are all waiting on pins and needles for my next blog entry:)

Last week we went to the Milford Library for a "Fancy Nancy" party. For those of you who haven't heard of Fancy Nancy...she is a little girl in a book series that dresses up all fancy/mis-matchy...it's really cute. So all the little girls were to come dressed up like Fancy Nancy. They had crafts, tea party food, games, stories, etc. Lots of girly fun:)

And Preston had to come and party with all the little girls...the first picture is of him being gross showing me his food...isn't he so proper and polite??

Sorry the pictures are turned...I'm too lazy to turn them, so just turn your head:)

Julie

Sibling Rivalry

2010-01-22T23:13:00.001-05:00

Just before bedtime last night, Mallory and Preston were playing downstairs. Scott and I were upstairs and suddenly heard Preston screaming. We ran downstairs to find Preston looking like this. We're not sure what happened, but Mallory looked very guilty and Preston kept saying Mallory's name. We assume she pushed him down or into a wall or something, but because they are too little, we couldn't get the whole story from them. They usually play sooooo well together, so I'm not sure where this sibling rivalry came from...but we'll save this picture to show them when they are older:)

More Great News!

2010-01-05T04:10:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I recently shared that my brother Brian and his wife Kelsey are expecting their first baby in August.....well, I have some more great news! My sister Kathy and her husband Jeremy are expecting their second baby in August as well!! Kathy and Kelsey's due dates are only 5 days apart! They are both due at the beginning of August (which I selfishly am a little bummed the timing worked out that way because they probably won't be able to go to our family reunion in Idaho this summer:(.....but am WAY excited for both of them and am looking forward to meeting these two new members of our family! Also, for those of you that know Kathy....they are moving to Barstow, California in Frbruary where her husband Jeremy took a job promotion. Congrats to the Twitchells!!

Bennigan's Fundraiser for the Women's Resource Center

2010-01-05T02:36:00.000-05:00

Come One Come All!!! Bennigan's is hosting a FUNdraiser on behalf of the Women's Resource Center!!!!

Thursday, January 28th ALL DAY!

3950 E. Grand River in Howell (on the corner of Grand River and Latson Rd.)

20% of all sales go directly to the Women's Resource Center to benefit families in many capacities. Just mention when you go in that you are there for the Women's Resource Center Fundraiser and they will donate 20% of your bill to the WRC. Or you can stop by the WRC or e-mail juliebarb@hotmail.com to get a flyer to print out to take in when you go!

So please consider heading to Bennigan's on the 28th to support this cause! Thank you for your support!

Washington DC Temple's Festival of Lights

2010-01-04T14:45:00.002-05:00

One of the highlights of our holidays was visiting the Washington DC temple while we were in Virginia. Scott and I were married there almost 13 years ago and my sister Tami was sealed to our family there almost 17 years ago. For me it is my favorite and most special temple for those and other reasons. We always go to Virginia, but have not been back to the DC Temple in a while since it is about an hour and a half from Scott's parents house. We decided to take the opportunity while we were there to visit and attend the temple's "Festival of Lights" that they put on each Christmas season. It was so beautiful. They had so many Christmas lights lit up all around the temple as well as a large nativity display, various decorated Christmas trees, a large nativity scene, musical performances, Christmas movies, etc. Mainly, we just wanted to show our kids where mommy and daddy were married and how special this temple is to us. We had a wonderful time visiting and Scott and I reminisced-sp? of the day we were married there.

The Brighton Ward Nursery Nativity:)

2009-12-20T15:52:00.002-05:00

Mallory's nursery did the cutest thing today. Their teacher sister Stoffer's (who is amazing!) had costumes for the kids and they all dressed up and did the nativity for the primary kids. It was really cute!!

Mallory's Doll Obsession

2009-12-17T02:59:00.002-05:00

Mallory LOVES her dolls! She walks around all day saying "wrap baby" (wanting me to wrap her baby in a blanket)..."shhh, baby's sleeping", "hug baby"....

She rocks her baby on the rocking chair for like 15 minutes at a time just singing(babbling) to her. She puts her on the piano bench and plays her baby music. Her dolls have assigned blankets and names...it's really cute. I love having a daughter. Mallory will make a very good mother someday...she is very kind, loving, patient, and nurturing. I could learn from her:)

Tanner and Logan's Christmas Program

2009-12-17T02:49:00.003-05:00

The boys had their Christmas program today...it was seriously the cutest thing...saying their little lines, and singing all their songs, doing the sign language...just adorable:)

WWDRD (What Would Dave Ramsey Do?)

2009-12-10T09:09:00.001-05:00

I read this on a friends blog and thought it was good...it's a letter written by financial guru Dave Ramsey...

I subscribe to a couple of online newsletters. One of them is from Dave Ramsey. He is a voice of reason in the very materialistic world we live in. He puts things into perspective and helps me exercise financial control. When I am tempted to buy something I don't "need," I think WWDRD?
(What would Dave Ramsey do?)

I am including a letter he wrote in his December newsletter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

"No matter what your budget is this Christmas, remember to be thankful. Take a deep breath in the middle of all this craziness.

You might have a lot. You might have a little. If you are driving a beater, be thankful for that beater. You would rather drive that than walk, wouldn't you? There is always something to be thankful for.

That's what contentment is all about. When you understand and really grasp contentment, it becomes easier to save money and invest. Stress slowly disappears. Budgeting is easier. Relationships improve.

Be happy with what you have. More than three billion people, almost half the world, live on $2.50 a day. Sometimes we need a little perspective to become content with our current situation.

Without contentment, it's easy to be bitter and apathetic. Happiness is sold to us, especially during this time of year. We think if we can just get one more piece of stuff that "true" happiness will be right around the corner.

We say things like, "I'll be happy when I get that house!" or "I'll be happy when I get that new car!" But happiness cannot be bought. Sure fun—in the form of a house, a car, a new LCD television—can be bought, but fun is temporary. True happiness, or contentment, is lasting.

You can get out of debt, save money, and get on a budget, but until you realize that stuff doesn’t bring contentment, you will always feel stressed and unhappy. Contentment brings peace. And isn’t this time of year about bringing "peace on earth and good will toward men"?

Remember what this deal is all about. It's not about trees, lights, gifts, baked hams, and shopping malls. It’s about a little child who was born in a manger and grew up to die on a cross. It’s about peace on earth and good will toward men.

So if the Christmas frenzy is wearing you out, you've missed the point of Christmas. Make a plan with your money, and make a plan to get back in touch with the true meaning of this special day."

Negotiations:)

2009-12-09T23:57:00.003-05:00

How's this for negotiations? Last night Tanner didn't want to take a bath (strange cuz usually he does). I told him too bad, so sad...that he would indeed have to take a bath. While I was bathing Logan, this note that Tanner had written me appeared under the bathroom door. In case you can't read it, it says, "Dear Mom, If you would let me go to sleep I would be happy to wake up happy, and if you would let me not go in the bath tub I would be happy to go to bed".....basically he was trying to negotiate not having to take a bath by saying he would go to bed right then and wake up happy:)...nice try...it didn't work:)

Great News!!

2009-12-04T15:20:00.001-05:00

My little brother Brian and his wife Kelsey are expecting a BABY!!!! Kesley is due in August...we are so excited for them!!!

I agree!!

2009-12-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

I saw this on my sister's blog and really liked it

If you see injustice, STAND UP
If something needs to be said, SPEAK UP
If you make an appointment, SHOW UP
If you make a mistake, FESS UP
If you’re overstepping, BACK UP
If you get behind, CATCH UP
If they knock you down, GET UP
If you’re out of line, STRAIGHTEN UP
When your boss instructs, KEEP UP
When your elders speak, LISTEN UP
When your teachers teach, SIT UP
When your preachers preach, WAKE UP
When your country calls, MAN UP
Ladies too... WOMAN UP
When the fight is over, MAKE UP
If you’re being hard, EASE UP
If your heart is closed, OPEN UP
If you want to buy something, SAVE UP--
If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP
If you drop trash, PICK IT UP
If a car is waiting for you to walk across the street, SPEED IT UP
If you’re cold busted, GIVE IT UP
If people fall down, HELP THEM UP--
If people start fighting, BREAK IT UP
If the music is wholesome, TURN IT UP
If the message is poisonous, THROW IT UP
If your words are vulgar, CLAM IT UP
If your words encourage, KEEP IT UP
If your pants are baggy, PULL THEM UP
If the belt’s too loose, CINCH IT UP
If you’re dressed half naked, COVER IT UP
If you can’t afford stuff, PASS IT UP--
If you made a promise, you BACK IT UP
And you can take your whining and PACK IT UP
It’s called personal responsibility, so TAKE IT UP
When life gets boring, you SHAKE IT UP
When life is good, you SOAK IT UP
When life’s unfair, you SUCK IT UP
When life is funny, you can YUCK IT UP
When life is sad, just LOOK STRAIGHT UP

Tanner's Testimony

2009-11-24T01:33:00.004-05:00

Here is a video of Tanner sharing his testimony during Family Home Evening tonight. It was his turn to bear his testimony in Primary this last Sunday and he wanted to have it written out so he could do it all by himself without help. Scott and I were so proud of him as he confidently went to the podium and read his testimony. He looked so cute in his white shirt and tie reading his testimony...so we wanted to have him do it on video during FHE tonight. Sorry, it's a bit of a dark video...I should have turned on more lights:) Julie

MSU Museum of Natural History

2009-11-20T02:53:00.002-05:00

Logan and Tanner have had the last two days off of school for parent-teacher conferences...so I wanted to do some fun things for them for their days off. Yesterday we went to the mall and saw Santa and played at the mall playland, went out to lunch, got Christmas pictures, etc. Today we headed to the MSU campus in Lansing to visit the MSU museum of natural history. We'd never been there before and we really enjoyed it. Here are some pics from our days adventure.

A Visit with Santa

2009-11-20T02:37:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a vote....which picture is worse?...the one with the screaming two-year olds on Santa's lap....or the one where only 1 out of 4 kids are smiling??? Tried twice yesterday to get a cute Christmas picture of the kids....and as you can see...that was not successful!! Oh well, at least they had fun playing at the mall playland afterwards:)

I heart coupons

2009-11-17T05:19:00.002-05:00

12 boxes of wipes for $3.50.....gotta love coupons!! I'm hooked:)

Women's Resource Center

2009-11-13T04:03:00.002-05:00

I was recently asked by Polly Mallory, a lady in my ward, to join the Women's Resource Center Board of Directors. At first, I wasn't quite sure what I was agreeing to, but decided to go ahead and commit to be on the board, and I am really glad I did. The Women's Resource Center is a wonderful non-profit organization in the county that offers many types of counseling services (individual, career, couples, financial, pregnancy, legal, eating disorders, etc.), support groups, workshops and classes, resources and referrals, career boutique for women to get free professional clothing, cinderella's closet (for teenage girls to get free or low-cost dresses for prom and homecoming), lending library, etc. It's just a wonderful resource for women and families in the county. So, part of being on the board of directors is planning fundraisers, publicity and advertising, making decisions, etc. I am really enjoying this opportunity. I feel like I am able to use some professional skills that often go by the wayside as a stay-at-home-mom:) and I also feel like I am volunteering and helping contribute to society. When I went to BYU...the tag line on the signs said..."Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve". I feel like I am serving:)

So, I am the "Social Media" person on the board of directors (a.k.a. website, blog, facebook, twitter, etc.)...which is a big part of the advertising/publicity aspect. I just started a blog for the WRC. Please go visit it... www.wrc-livingston.blogspot.com and visit the website at www.wrc-livingston.org
Please follow the blog and add it to your google reader. I'm trying to start getting publicity through my own blog and facebook...so please help me out!!:)

We have an upcoming event that you are all invited to. It's called the "Fantasy of Trees". It is Friday, November 27th...the day after Thanksgiving from 10-10 at 108 W. Grand River in downtown Howell. You can come in and buy decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, centerpieces, baked goods, candy, hot chocolate, and other things for the holidays. All proceeds go to the Women's Resource Center. The Fantasy of Lights Parade is that night...so if you and your family are there at the parade, please stop in!...I'll be working the bake sale from 4-6:) If any of you are interested in volunteering or helping out with this event...even just working as a greeter, let me know!

Lastly, the Board of Directors is looking to recruit a few more board members. If any of you in the area might be interested in serving a non-profit organization, consider joining the Board of Directors for the Women's Resource Center. It is a great volunteer opportunity!!

Julie

Sibling Rivalry

2009-11-09T00:06:00.002-05:00

There's really no story with this picture...I just thought it was funny...caught red handed!!!:)

Mini-reunion

2009-11-08T23:57:00.002-05:00

Last night I had a mini-reunion with some of my former teacher friends and grad school buddies:) I used to teach in Hartland with Theresia and Lisa and the three of us went to grad school at Marygrove College to get our Master's. We made some really great friends there! There were 35 of us that were a "cohort" and we took all the Masters classes together. Because we were together for every class, we became VERY close. We spent every weekend together, stayed overnight, studied together, stayed up late talking about everything under the sun. It was just a magical connection between many of us that you don't find too often...we all just clicked. So....I stopped teaching 5 years ago, and although we've sent Christmas cards, and are friends on facebook, we haven't gotten together too much. So last night a few of us met up...and it was so fun...like we never left each other. I've missed these girls.

Michigan Historical Museum and State Capitol

2009-11-08T23:24:00.002-05:00

Last Friday we took a Field Trip to the Michigan Historical Museum and the State Capitol. The boys didn't have school, so it was a perfect opportunity to take them. We had gone this summer, but part of the museum was closed because of renovating, so we went back to see the part we missed. It's a great museum that walks you through time from the Native American's to present day. We toured the state Capitol too, which is such a beautiful building. We went with our friends the Cheney's and the Aeschliman's...we always have fun with them!:) Here are a few pictures of the day...

Sisterhood of the Traveling Gift Bag!!

2009-11-05T03:15:00.002-05:00

Ok, you've all heard of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" right?....Well, my friend Angie and I have the "Sisterhood of the Traveling gift bag":) It all started before Tanner and Logan were born. Angie helped throw me a baby shower and had given me a gift in this bag with three angel babies on it. I saved the bag like I always do. Well, a little later Angie adopted her second child...her son Max. I was looking for a gift bag to give her an engraved photo album for his adoption and came across the bag she had given me. I kind of thought to myself that the three babies on it looked like Tanner, Logan, and Max...they even had the right skin tone....so I wrote their names on it and wrote "Our Angel Babies" on it...and gave her the gift bag back. Then it started to become like this little tradition...when one of our kids had a birthday, we'd use the bag to put the gift in and pass it back and forth...then Mallory and Preston were born...I got the bag back...and added their picture, India's picture....then Sidney was adopted...so he was added to the bag and it was given back at his adoption......then today I got the bag back at Mallory and Preston's birthday party...and so it continues:) It may be a silly little thing...but everytime I see that bag, it makes me smile:)...because whenever we exchange that bag, it's because of a new addition to one of our families, a birth, an adoption....or a birthday or milestone. Angie and I have been friends now for a LONG time...and it's so fun to watch each of our families grow...we now have 7 kids between us. Quite a few years ago, we both wanted kids and it was a challenge for both of us to get these sweet spirits to come to our homes...so it's fulfilling to see each of our families full now:) So anyways, kind of funny to be sentimental about a giftbag...but every time I see it...I truly do smile inside at what it symbolizes:)

Mallory and Preston turn TWO!

2009-11-05T02:54:00.004-05:00

Today Mallory and Preston celebrated their second birthday with a party at McDonalds with some of their friends! Below are some pictures from the party today....and a few are of this evening...we sang to them again, and had cake and opened all the presents from their party today (we ran out of time earlier).... Tomorrow we plan to go to Chuck-e-Cheese for a family party for them:) Happy Birthday Mallory and Preston!...I can't believe it's already been two years!

What to do with all that CANDY!??

2009-11-02T00:17:00.002-05:00

I love taking my kids out trick-or-treating, but I hate having buckets of candy in the house afterwards.....I try to hide it and ration it out....but it's a pain...

They get so much candy and I just don't want them eating all of it...especially because Tanner gets major migraine headaches from eating excess sugar and chocolate. Because this week has been Halloween week with lots of parties and candy, Tanner has gotten quite a few headaches in the last couple days. And I'm not talking little headaches...I'm talking crying, throwing-up, major migraines.

So, this being my dilema, I was thinking tonight (after another migraine day for Tanner), about what to do with all the candy.

I know some people take it to their dentist who buys it back for the troops at $1 per pound, which I thought about doing...but then I gave it some thought and decided to keep it and use it for various purposes (other than my kids just eating gobs of candy). So I told the boys my plan. They each got to pick about 25 pieces to keep and then they helped me divide up all the candy into piles and this is what I did with it:

*collected all the M&M's to be used to make M&M cookies for the holidays to give away

*gathered all the Snickers bars together...I cut these up and mix them into my
brownie mixes to make them extra chocolate-y...the brownies will go to the people I visit teach

*collected the York peppermint patties to break up and stir into hot cocoa to make it minty hot chocolate

*All the bags of cookies/crackers I'm saving as church snacks:)

*I gathered up all the fruit snacks/gummy stuff and put them in my diaper bag to use when I'm in the grocery store and need to keep Mallory and Preston busy:)

*I gathered up all the Skittles in a bag to use as potty training reward candy in the (hopefully)near future

*I saved all the good candy bars to give out to the Young Women in my class as treats:)

*Collected the plain Hershey bars to grate up and put on top of cakes or hot chocolate with whipped cream

*took all the Burger King and McDonald's coupons and put them in my purse for when we are around town.

*And lastly, I saved all the hard candy, colorful taffy, Nerds, licorice, etc. to decorate Gingerbread houses with in December!

Ok, I think that's it. Anyways...below are pics of the boys helping me divide it up...along with our finished product. Now all the candy is in its respective place...and it all has a purpose...I feel much better now...despite the major sugar overload, all is right with the world once again:)

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-11-01T02:56:00.000-05:00

Photography by CK

2009-11-01T02:35:00.003-05:00

Last night our family had a photo session with my friend Christina. She was wonderful and spent so much time with our family getting lots of different shots. I'll be very excited to see all of them, but for now, she has sent a few as a sneak peak...here they are! I think she did a great job! If any of you are looking for a photographer this fall fo do a photo session, let me know and I'll get you her contact info...shes great!

Playing in the Leaves

2009-10-31T02:19:00.002-04:00

The year just wouldn't be complete without some pictures of the kids playing in the leaves. I took 67 of them:)...I'll spare you and just randomly post 5 of them: I was trying to be all "photographer-wannabe" but with no luck. Then last night we had a photo session with a friend of mine who is starting her photography business. She sent me a sneak peek with a few pics from last night...and man did she blow me out of the water! They turned out darling. I'm going to make sure it's ok with her before I post them on here... But she was wonderful! She spent so much time with us and went the extra mile to get the great shots. Stay tuned...

Tanner and Logan's Halloween Party

2009-10-31T01:48:00.003-04:00

Today was the boys Halloween party at school and they had a great time! (And I have to admit that I did too!) I absolutely LOVE their teacher Mrs. Tamblyn. She has been teaching for 23 years and is just amazing. About a month ago she asked if I would be the PTO parent rep. and room mom for the class. And since I'm a "I-don't-know-how-to-say-no" kind of person...I agreed!:) Seriously though, I am really enjoying being able to help out in the classroom so much. When I taught fourth grade, I so appreciated parent volunteers, so now I feel like I can "give back" in a way. Having been a teacher myself, I feel comfortable stepping up and doing all the things she asks me to do...planning the holiday parties, being the book order mom, etc. because I have done all those things before and feel confident in a school/teacher type setting. So, for the Halloween party, Mrs. Tamblyn basically handed me the tub of Halloween stuff and said..."here ya go, plan whatever you want and let me know if you need anything:)" So I came up with 6 games that I think were a hit, along with food, decorations, etc. Here are a few pics from the party. Happy Halloween!

Twins Club Halloween Party

2009-10-25T02:10:00.002-04:00

A few pics from our Twins Club Halloween party tonight at Northfork Outback Ranch. It was kind of a washout because it was raiaing all day so we couldn't go outside to ride the horses, do the hayrides, the Indian teepee, wild west mini-village, etc. but the boys liked riding the miniature horses in the arena, petting the animals in the little petting area, and of course the food:)

Brian and Kelsey's wedding

2009-10-13T03:20:00.006-04:00

My little brother Brian got married this last week to Kelsey Hansen. They were married in Salt Lake City, Utah and I was fortunate to be able to fly out to the wedding. Scott willingly watched Logan, Tanner, and Mallory and I took Preston with me. I had friends help me watch the kids while Scott was at work.

It was a fabulous couple days and I really enjoyed seeing much of my family and being there for Brian and Kelseys special day. I took a gazillion pictures...here is a sampling.

Now all six of us siblings are married!! We are so old and adult-like;)

Congrats to Brian and Kelsey!

Fall is Here!!...A Visit to Three Cedars Farm!!

2009-10-03T03:56:00.004-04:00

I LOVE Fall...it is by far my favorite season! The colorful leaves, the crisp cool temperatures, visits to the cider mills and apple orchards, the excitement of the upcoming holidays...the list goes on. This last Thursday was the first day of October and just a gorgeous fall day...so we took the opportunity to head to one of our favorite places to visit in the fall...Three Cedars Farm. This farm in Northville just oozes with charm and is so much fun! It is decorated beautifully...has yummy donuts and cider, hayrides, apples, pumpkins, a great country store that is just darling. We love it there and visit a few times each year...especially at Christmas when it is all decked out for the holidays. Anyways...here are some pics from our days adventure...Happy Fall everyone!!!!

Note from Mallory's Nursery Teacher

2009-09-23T02:33:00.002-04:00

We have two nurseries in our ward. It's funny, but they have them divided kind of into a boy nursery and a girl nursery:) So Preston and Mallory have different nursery teachers. Mallory's teachers are Linda Stoffers and Lavon Maiersperger. They are so sweet and loving, they plan so well, and give them laminated handouts each week:) They truly are amazing. They send her things in the mail when she misses a Sunday. Mallory smiles whenever she sees them.

Anyways, today Lavon was telling me about Mallory when I picked her up, saying she was such a helper:) Then tonight she sent me this message on facebook. I thought I'd share it. I know this is a totally "mom-bragging" moment, but I hope you don't mind. It's just nice to hear and brings me joy. I love Mallory so much and am glad she is so loved by her primary teachers. Here is what Lavon wrote:

"The other thing I was going to tell you about Mallory is today when Linda handed out props for a song, she would hand one to Mallory and she would look around and give it to one of the kids who didn't have one then go back to Linda to get another one for someone else. That is NOT NORMAL!!! Especially for a less than 2 year old!!!! When you give something to the kids most of them would be possessive and keep the one given them. Your example has been AMAZING for Mallory. She is going to be a little Relief Society President when she is 5. She'll probably be class president every year. At first I thought of her as one of the littlest ones there where you just hope they get something from the older ones listening but she sings along with the older ones, knows words to hard songs, and just is so engaged in everything we do. Not just to listen but she seems to be thinking "what can I do with this information". I mean I see her over and over act on things that are said in ways that are beyond her age. She is a DOLL and Amazing. Today was also SO cute. When we went to put the toys away in the closet some of the kids carried the little bins and I was in the hall when I saw 2 full big tubs being pushed out the door and once they were out I saw it was Mallory pushing them. I couldn't believe it!!! She chose the biggest thing to help with and just pushed it along slowly even steering it in the right direction. She must be such a great help at home already and I can only imagine how much fun you are going to have as she gets older. Thanks for sharing her with us!"

Isn't that so nice of her to write that!

Ladies Man!

2009-09-23T02:08:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure I'm ready for this...but Tanner has a girlfriend! haha It's only been about two weeks of school, but I keep hearing from Tanner more and more about a little girl named Elisabeth. Tanner comes home and tells me about Elisabeth...how they play together at recess, walk together in the line at school, sit together everyday on the bus, etc. It was Tanner's day to go get the milk from the cafeteria and pass out the snack, and he picked Elisabeth to help him. But I'd never met her until tonight. This evening was Tanner and Logan's school open house and family picnic. While we were there, Tanner saw Elisabeth and just lit up when he saw her:) They proceeded to spend the entire time together playing and talking. It was soooooo cute. I met her parents and they seem like a nice family. Her mom said, "from what I hear from Elisabeth, her and Tanner are attached at the hip".

The thing that is weird about this is that this friendship is totally Tanner and Elisabeth and doesn't include Logan. While Tanner and Elisabeth were playing, I could tell Logan felt totally left out and didn't know what to do with himself. He's not used to being by himself without Tanner. The boys had another little girl that they both played with in pre-school that we did some playdates with, but this time....it's just Tanner and not Logan...interesting dynamics...maybe this is foreshadowing for what highschool will be like:) Anyway, here are a few pictures of Tanner with his new friend:)...

Brian and Kelsey!

2009-09-23T01:56:00.004-04:00

My little brother is getting married! I can't believe it...to me, he is stil 12 years old:) I still remember when my mom brought him home from the hospital...we would set the timer and each take turns holding him throughout the day because we all wanted to hold him:) I am 11 years older than Brian so I spent alot of time actually taking care of him:)...and now he's old enough to get married!

I am so excited to fly out for the wedding...it's exactly two weeks away (October 8th). Brian is marrying Kelsey Hansen. He met her here in Michigan before he went on his mission and then they have dated the past year in Utah where they are both going to school. They are getting married in the Salt Lake Temple. I've never been inside the Salt Lake Temple, so I am excited about that too! I'm also looking forward to seeing alot of my family again. So stay tuned for two weeks from now for wedding photos:)....

oops!

2009-09-23T01:43:00.001-04:00

Oops! My previous post was totally out of order...the text and pictures don't line up...I think it reversed everything somehow. One of these days I'll figure out this blogging thing:)

Julie

Relief Society Women's Retreat in Kirtland

2009-09-23T01:02:00.004-04:00

This last weekend our Relief Society had a wonderful retreat to Kirtland! It was such a wonderful weekend. It was so nice to be able to spend time bonding with other sisters, having fun together, touring Kirtland, and having a wonderful spiritual experience.

We started out by meeting up and getting into our assigned cars. I really enjoyed getting to know the sisters in my car that sometimes I don't always get a chance to get to know that well. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive until we got to Kirtland. We were delighted to arrive at the place we stayed. It was a sprawling, beautiful home that belongs to friends of our retreat organizer, Lavon Maiersperger. Our hosts opened their home generously to about 40 women...and we had a blast. We started the night with hot-tubbing, eating junkfood:), making smores outside at the bonfire, talking, laughing, playing games, and just generally having fun. Here are a few pictures of the night...

The next day we got up early, got ready, enjoyed a yummy breakfast, and headed out to tour Kirtland. We visited the school house, the visitors center, the ashery, the Morley Farm, school of the Prophets, Newell K. Whitney store, etc. and heard misisonary speakers and things. It was neat to learn more about the early saints of the church and all their sacrifice.

After touring Kirtland, we returned to have a yummy gourmet lunch. Then we finished the retreat by going to the Kirtland Temple grounds for a wonderful talk by our stake president and a spiritual testimony meeting. It was a really great weekend! I came away feeling uplifted, rejuvinated, and connected.

Henry Ford Museum

2009-09-11T03:10:00.002-04:00

On Monday, for Labor Day, our family went to the Henry Ford Museum. We had a great time. I love learning about history, and Logan and Tanner just soak it up whenever I explain anything to them about history. We enjoyed seeing so many things there. Here are just a few pictures...I took way too many....as usual:)

Logan and Tanner's First Day of Kindergarten

2009-09-11T02:36:00.003-04:00

Today was the long awaited day!....Tanner and Logan's first day of kindergarten! We went yesterday to the orientation where Scott and I went with them to see their classroom, meet their teacher and get all the needed info. Then today the boys got on the bus for the first time...which they have been sooooo excited about. They were prepared with flowers in hand. Having been a teacher myself, I believe in kissing up right from the start:) It was kind of funny...this morning Scott went in late to work so he could video tape the boys getting on the bus. Well, after they got on and rode away, he looked down and realized the video camera was on pause the whole time....bummer!

I've had such mixed emotions. All week I've been a little bit sentimental about them going off to kindergarten...while at the same time rejoicing in the new found "freedom" of the prospect of only having two kids each morning. Today I went to Target and it was like a dream! For those moms of one or two kids...they may take this for granted, but after having to pack up and take four kids with me to every store all over town and just trying to manage getting things done while meeting the needs of four little kids...I am so excited about this prospect of not feeling quite so "stretched". Am I a selfish mom for not crying as they rode away today?? haha

When they came home, they were so excited to tell me about every part of their day. Anyways, here are some pics of them waiting for and getting on the bus. Sorry they are turned...I keep forgetting to turn them before I upload them and am too lazy to fix them right now:)

Our Nation's Capitol

2009-09-11T02:12:00.003-04:00

We recently went to Virginia to visit Scott's family. While we were there, the weather was gorgeous, so we took advantage of it and headed into Washington DC to see the mall and the patriotic sites. We saw the national monument and went all the way to the top of it. The boys liked that the best:) We also saw the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, the new World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the reflecting pool. We did ALOT of walking that day. The boys were good sports and didn't complain at all about having to walk so much...

There is so much to see and do in DC. We try to take one day each time we go to VA to do something in DC (about 1 1/2 hours from Scott's parents). Next time we are planning to tour the White HOuse and the Capitol Builing....and go back to the temple we were married in at in DC to show our kids where we were married:)

Time to Make the Zucchini Bread

2009-09-11T01:59:00.002-04:00

It's harvest time and we have been pulling things out of the garden to use. These pictures are from a couple weeks ago...Logan and Tanner helped me shred all the zucchini so we could make six loaves of zucchini bread. We decided to do "doorbell ditches" or "ring-n-run's"...and this has become one of the boys favorite Family Home Evenings:) We dropped zucchini bread at various ward member's houses and then rang the doorbell and ran and tried to get away without them seeing us. The boys loved the excitement of trying not to get caught (although three of the families "caught" us:). Oh, and I think I put on a pic of our beans and chives....anyways...

Greenfield Village

2009-08-19T03:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went with our friends, the Aeschliman's, to Greendfield Village. I hadn't been there since I was about ten years old...and really enjoyed going there again. Our kids get along so great and a wonderful time was had by all! Some of the highlights included: riding the old fashion bus around the village, riding the carousel, making hand-dipped candles, visiting the old fashion candy store, seeing how they blow glass, make pottery, make yarn, weave on looms, print newspapers, etc. We also took the train around the village, a horse-drawn wagon ride, and a model-T car ride tour around the village. I loved seeing the different people dressed up in time period clothing. So much more to tell...but in a nutshell, we had a fabulous time!

Beating the Heat at Indian Springs Splash Park

2009-08-16T02:45:00.002-04:00

Coupons!

2009-07-30T00:38:00.003-04:00

Tonight after Young Womens a few of us were talking about using coupons so I thought I'd blog a little about my coupon adventures...

I feel like with a family of six we spend so much money on groceries/toiletries/diapers, etc. and I have been trying to figure out how to use coupons effectively to really save money. I have been doing it the last three or four weeks and am starting to see real savings. At first I was frustrated and kept thinking the following excuses...

*it takes too much time to clip coupons
*coupons are only for products I don't use
*I don't have time to go to five different stores and sort through coupons while I shop
*I'll end up buying things I don't really need
*It's cheaper just to shop sales and buy generic
*I shop at Walmart which is probably just as cheap
*the list goes on...

Anyways, my sister Brenda showed me a website called www.couponmom.com that does all the work for you in matching up the sales at the stores with the coupons. At first I was skeptical, especially since at first I didn't have all the coupons saved up from the newspapers, but each week I am buying more and more using coupons and saving a ton of money. For example...Below I put a picture of a "coupon run" I went on today to Kroger. The total retail value of all of this (plus two more yogurt packs and another toothpaste I forgot to put on the table) is almost $80. However, with coupons I got it all for $25.33. I felt like I was stealing as I walked out of the store with such good bargains (all the yogurts and toothpaste was free, butter for 11 cents, etc.)

The things I have learned so far and tips I have for anyone aspiring to be a coupon queen like I'm trying to be:) are these...

*I've had to learn to shop differently by buying lots of something when it's a really good price instead of when I need something...stockpiling
*it takes about an hour or so to plan my shopping trips. I go on coupon.com and look up the various stores and plan what I am going to buy and get the coupons I need from the coupon booklets. However I figure that if I saved $50 in a shopping trip, than I just made $50/hour...so worth it!
*I follow a couple coupon blogs as well that alert me to great deals at each store.
*I'm used to going grocery shopping once a week at one store (usually Wal Mart)...now with coupons, I go to Kroger, Walmart, Meijers, Target and even the drug stores...but I just go in and get the things I have coupons for on my list for that store...so I spread my shopping throughout the week since it's too much of a pain to go to all the stores in one day. But I like shopping so I don't mind:)
*Each week I get a little better as I am figuring things out and learning tips as I go.

Anyways just thought I'd share...I have really felt lately that it is important to be frugal, be a good steward over the money God has given us, and stockpile for our three month supply as well... And I have found that my excuses were wrong...cuz I don't spend hours clipping coupons...I only buy products we will really use...I don't buy things I don't need...and it's way better deals than shopping generics and Walmart. There have been times in the last month when I've been frustrated because they didn't have the products I was looking for and other things, but over time I am slowly learning. I think it just takes time to master the art of saving money using coupons...hopefully I am on my way!

The Garden in Full Bloom

2009-07-30T00:31:00.002-04:00

The garden is in full bloom...zucchini and pumpkins are really starting to grow. I am constantly amazed at what Heavenly Father, some water and sunshine, and a little help from us, can do! When I eat things from our garden, I have more appreciation for it because I have nurtured it and watched it grow...

Michigan Historical Museum

2009-07-30T00:16:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday we took the kids to the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing. When I taught 4th grade we would go to the museum each year as well as take a tour of the Capital building because our social studies all year was about Michigan History. I love this museum and thought the kids were old enough now to visit it. The museum shows everything about Michigan's history from the glaciers, right up to present day. It really is pretty great and the kids loved it. Unfortunately one of the floors was unders construction so we'll have to go back to see that sometime. Anyways, for anyone that lives around here, this makes a great educational field trip for the kids...so many cool things to look at, and it's FREE! (with free parking on the weekends and only $1/hr on weekdays...so it's a bargain)...and the Capital building gives free tours every half hour...anyways, we had a great time...here are just s few pics...

Tanner's Mowhawk

2009-07-29T23:58:00.003-04:00

Tanner is so funny...every night when he gets out of the bathtub he wants to comb his hair into a mowhawk:) After a few nights of this I was getting a little concerned about his desire to have a "rebellious" hair style and asked him why he combs it that way...to which he replied that he wants to look like a dinosaur...and the mowhawk is like the spikes going down the dinosaurs back:) Fine...I can handle that...no biggie...then we went to the zoo and he wanted to gel his hair into a mowhawk...hmmm:) (See pictures below from our recent trip to Potter Park Zoo...they love to have their pictures taken in those little peek-through things)... Anyways, so I'm allowing him freedom of expression in his dino-mowhawk. Hoping this phase will pass quickly. It surely can't last as long as Logan's goggle phase, for those of you that remember that one:) Gotta love kids!

yet more pics:)

2009-07-15T02:57:00.000-04:00

more pics

2009-07-15T02:53:00.000-04:00

More pics by Kirstynn

2009-07-15T02:49:00.000-04:00

Photos with Kirstynn

2009-07-15T02:38:00.003-04:00

My friend Kirstynn Evans was offering free photo sessions in order to practice photography and build her portfolio...so yeah....ummm...free photo session...don't have to ask me twice!...yes please!! She met the kids and I one morning downtown Brighton and took some pictures. I think she did a great job! Check out her blog at www.neshotsphotography.blogspot.com. She took 106 pictures so I can't put them all on here...but I did put a few more on facebook to check out... Thanks again Kirstynn!!!

Coupons...

2009-07-07T01:41:00.002-04:00

As kind of a continuation of the theme of my last post (self-reliance)...I have decided to try grocery shopping with coupons. I follow a few blogs of people who are saving hundreds of dollars each month just by doing coupons...they try to basically match things that are on sale with the coupons they already have. I've never given coupons a real try...seems like such a hastle...but according to some of the blogs I read, if you take the time to clip coupons and print them online, it can save soooo much money.

Is anyone else using lots of coupons and trying to save massive amounts of money?? I'd love to hear any tips:)

Julie

Happy Gardening...!!

2009-07-07T01:22:00.002-04:00

I know that each of your summer's just wouldn't be complete without a little update on our garden (hehe)...

This year we are growing:

lots of corn
pumpkins
mini pumpkins
gords
spaghetti squash
butternut squash
4 kinds of tomoatos (roma, beefsteak, grape, and cherry)
zucchini
green onions
carrots
cucumbers
chives

Some things we did last year, and some are new...we'll see if they work:) Last year we really enjoyed working in the garden...it has become a family affair. Somehow, though, I end up doing all the weeding, and the boys do all the watering?...hmmmmm...

Happy Gardening:)...

Julie

Farewell Mom and Dad

2009-07-07T01:12:00.002-04:00

I said goodbye to my parents early this morning after a nice 10 day visit with them. I always get weepy when they leave and I feel a little "empty" inside for a few days after they go. We had alot of fun with them doing various things... and I am always so appreciative of all the service they render while they are here...yardwork, mending, cooking, cleaning, babysitting...the list goes on:) I feel really spoiled when they come. Most of all, I always feel inspired to be a better person after spending time with them. I sure love my mommy and daddy!!!:)

Hope You Had a Good One...

2009-07-05T23:41:00.001-04:00

Happy Independence Day!

Feeling Sentimental....Pre-Birthday Celebration...

2009-07-04T02:13:00.003-04:00

I am feeling very sentimental as I think about Tanner and Logan's upcoming birthday. Next Wednesday, July 8th, they will be 5 years old! I know this sounds like such a chiche, but it really has flown by...it seems like just yesterday they were born! Their birth was such an exciting time that brought so many changes and joys to my life. I put a picture on of me almost exactly 5 years ago...it was taken just a couple days before I delivered. Man was I huge and uncomfortable...and it was so hot! Tanner and Logan's delivery was incredibly hard...22 hours of labor, lots of little things that went wrong, and just lots of pain involved! (Mallory and Preston's delivery by contrast was such a breeze!)... Anyways...I also put on a picture of me with them when we came home from the hospital. They were so cute and tiny! Don't let my smile in that picture fool you...The day of that picture, I remember non-stop crying from the hormone drop, major lack of sleep, and just general overwhlemed-ness:)....but it has all been so worth it! I love my little boys and all the joy they have given me this past five years! Today we were outside and I was just watching them play and thinking about them turning five. I started to tear up as I thought about the love I have for them and how much they have grown and changed in five short years.

Each year I write a letter to my kids on their birthday recapping the highlights of the year, telling of all their new and exciting accomplishiments and milestones, and just generally expressing my love to them. I save all the letters and am going to give them all the letters at once on their 18th birthday.

Last night we had pizza and cake and celebrated the boys birthday early with my parents since they won't be here on their actual birthday. So here they are with their birthday cake.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2009-07-04T01:56:00.001-04:00

I love this picture of Mallory with her cousin Jackie. They are the only girl cousins on both Scott and my side of the family. Between both sides, there are 10 boy cousins and only 2 girl cousins...so Mallory and Jackie have to stick together! My sister Kathy edited this picture...she does a great job:) Love it!

Our trip to Indiana

2009-07-01T03:52:00.002-04:00

This last weekend we had a great time visiting my sister Tami's family in Indiana for my niece Jackie's baptism. It was so nice to be together with family...to enjoy Jackie's special day with her and just hang out and enjoy being together this weekend. We all had fun swimming, eating, talking, playing games, going to the baptism, going to church, and hanging out:)

Hangin' Out in Indy

2009-07-01T03:33:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2009-06-22T00:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!!:)...I wasn't able to spend Father's Day with my dad this year since my parents live in Utah...but they are coming this week to visit for 10 days:) My dad is such a wonderful father and example to me. He has taught me so much throughout my life and I am so grateful for him and all he does for me. Here are a few pictures of him:) (I didn't have too many, so I grabbed a couple from our family website that my sister put on:)...One of them is with his new 8th grandchild, my sister Brenda's baby Brody...another is of him in his scrubs (he volunteers in a hospital:)...and the other two my sister Kathy did of my parents. Love ya Dad!!!

Happy Father's Day Scott!

2009-06-21T23:58:00.002-04:00

Ok so it's 12:05am Monday morning...so I guess it's not technically Father's Day anymore...but I still wanted to post a Happy Father's Day to Scott:) We had fun celebrating father's day with good food, a delicious cake that the boys had fun decorating, and some nice gifts (shirts that the boys helped me pick out:)...unfortunately I am lame and never took my camera out for any of it (very uncharacteristic of me:) So here are some past pictures of Scott...dressed up for church, building at Home Depot, holding the babies, on his birthday, and of course Scott pretnding his arm is being eaten by a dinosaur at the museum:) hehe Happy Father's Day...we love you Scott!

The Modern Polkadot

2009-06-21T23:07:00.002-04:00

I want to give a little shout out for my sister Kathy...she has a blog www.themodernpolkadot.blogspot.com She creates customized invitations, announcements, blog headers and backgrounds, and much more! She has tons of examples on her blog...just send her a picture (or not) and she will create something for you for FREE! She accepts donations if you'd like, but does not charge anything as she appreciates the opportunity to learn and create new things. So go check out her site and e-mail her your request:)! She just gave me a "blog lift:)" with the above patriotic blog header... Thanks Kathy!

Brian and Kelsey-officially engaged!

2009-06-09T02:25:00.002-04:00

It's been an exciting week or so...my sister had a baby... and my baby brother Brian is officially engaged! Brian and his fiance Kelsey are still settling on a date, but probably either mid-August or early September....they will be married in the Draper temple. Here are a few pictures of them:)...I think they are a cute couple!

Just can't get enough:)...more baby pics:)

2009-06-09T02:13:00.002-04:00

Brody Legend Hatch

2009-06-09T02:03:00.003-04:00

Let me introduce you to my newest nephew...Brody Legend Hatch 7 lbs. 4oz. 20 inches long...born 8:41 on June 6th, 2009. I think he is pretty darn cute! By the way..."Legend" is the cruise ship he was conceived on":) He is perfectly healthy, and after about a day is doing well nursing...and he even gets an extra day in the hospital due to jaundis:)

Brenda's delivery

2009-06-09T01:46:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned before, my sister Brenda gave birth to a beautiful baby boy Saturday night...Brody Legend Hatch 7 lbs. 4 oz. She live in Arizona so I wasn't with her, but my mom, dad, sister, and Brenda's husband were so I was able to get the minute by minute updates throughout the process. Brenda had a VERY hard delivery and it was agonizing hearing the details. I just wanted to cry. Her epidural only took on one side and during the end she had no epidural....so she was in lots of pain...she pushed forever and had three VERY long pushing sessions and he wouldn't come out...they were talking possible C-section cuz he was stuck. Anyways, I'll spare all the details, but I appreciate my sister Kathy taking so many pictures...I think she captured the true raw pain, sacrifice, and emotion of childbirth. Here are a few pictures of her delivery...makes me glad I don't have to go through that again!

Love of Lollipops

2009-06-09T01:38:00.004-04:00

I love this picture in my blog header of Tanner...the bright blue eyes with the colorful lollipop:)...she captured Tanner's love of sugar perfectly! haha This was taken by my friend Kirstynn who took some pictures of the kids a few weeks ago. She is learning photography and is trying to build her portfolio...so she gave us a free mini-session!...how awesome is that!...check out her blog at www.neshotsphotography.blogspot.com Can't wait to see the rest of the pics. She recently moved to VA...miss you Kirstynnn!

Tanner-US States Song

2009-06-08T14:15:00.004-04:00

Here is a video of Tanner singing the US states song. Please excuse the fact that he doesn't have a shirt on and his hair is spiked in a mowhawk:) This was after his bath this morning...spontaneous:) He came to me and said..."Mom, can you take a video of me singing the states song?"...so I grabbed my camera...gotta go with the flow when the moment calls:) Also, as an update, my sister Brenda had her baby Saturday night...my next post will be all about that... And my brother Brian just got engaged...so the following post will be all about that:)...too much excitement this week...I can't keep up!

My sister Brenda is having her baby!!!

2009-06-06T21:26:00.002-04:00

I just got word that my sister Brenda is having her baby!!!!...like right now! She is 10 cm and pushing as I type!!! For anyone who knows her...I'll keep you posted!!

Julie

Memorial Day in Virginia

2009-06-04T02:35:00.002-04:00

Over the Memorial Day holiday and all last week, we went to Virginia to visit Scott's parents. We were there for 10 days and did lots of things and took lots of pictures...I've been meaning to blog about it, but have become a lazy blogger I suppose and have decided that it's too much effort to look through my 150 pictures and blog about all the trip highlights...am I lazy or what!? Anyways, I thought I'd post this one...I kind of liked it with the boys wearing their red, white and blue in front of the Washington Monument...patriotic:) We toured around Washington DC a bit and enjoyed the National Museum of Natural History and especially the National Museum of American History. It was enjoyable to be at our nations capital around Memorial Day and see all the sites and monuments. Ok, I'm vowing to be a better blogger in the future...but for now...Happy belated Memorial Day:)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-11T01:38:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! I feel so blessed and spoiled this weekend:)...as I rightfully should on Mother's Day, haha! Scott and the kids did a great job of making me feel special... I went to Women's Conference yesterday which was a nice way to start out the weekend...very uplifting and rejuvinating and a nice break for me. Then I came home and fully expected to be hounded when I walked in, but Scott was like...why don't you take a nice nap (um, ok!...don't have to say that twice!)... Then he got me beautiful flowers and a nice gift card from Kohls (he knows I'd rather go shopping and pick something out myself:) The boys were excited to give me their hot pads they made for me at pre-school and all their little cards and candy bars and things from pre-school and primary at church. What a fun day!

I feel like I appreciate Mother's Day so much because it wasn't too long ago that I had a few Mother's Days that were very hard for me. When Scott and I were trying to get pregnant and were having trouble, there were a few Mother's Days that I didn't want to even go to church. It was too hard seeing all the happy mothers and feeling dumb as they would pass out the flowers to the mothers and they would bring one to me even though I didn't have any kids. I remember one Mother's Day specifically where I just cried through the whole sacrament meeting....so hard:( But as I look back, those Mother's Days in which I longed for children have made me more appreciative of the Mother's Days now in which I can celebrate and cherish being a mom.

Also, I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful mother myself. She is the most patient, kind, compassionate, righteous, selfless person I know (and I'm not just saying that!...she is!)...I love her soooo much! This mother's day, all of us siblings bought her a new computer...so she can communicate with us more through e-mail, pictures, etc. I wasn't able to be there when received it, but apparently she loves it:)

I am constantly in awe of so many mothers that have touched my life and that I try to emulate each day...my grandmothers, mother, mother-in-law, aunts, sisters, friends, etc. To all of you...Happy Mother's Day!

(Here are a few pictures of me and the kiddos before church today:)

South Lyon Kite Festival

2009-05-04T03:23:00.002-04:00

On Saturday we went to the South Lyon Kite Festival. It was a perfect day...lot of great wind. The boys got to decorate their own kite and learn how to fly it...they both got them up really high and were so proud of themselves.

Webkinz

2009-05-04T03:18:00.002-04:00

We've joined the webkinz craze! The boys got their first webkinz on Saturday...we went to the webkinz extraveganza and they each picked out one. Tanner wanted the dinosaur (of course:), and Logan picked out the turtle. And since it was "buy two and get a third for $1" I got a little pink pig for Mallory:) Now we just have to figure out all the games and everything on the computer that goes with them:)

Home Depot Kids Workshop

2009-05-04T03:10:00.002-04:00

Every first Saturday of the month Home Depot has a kids workshop where the kids can go and make a project. They get a certificate when they complete it and a pin to add to their apron...and it's free! So we took the boys there and Saturday and they really enjoyed it. They made Mother's Day planters...it was a fun Father/Son bonding activity:)

US States

2009-05-04T03:01:00.003-04:00

Tanner and Logan are really into the US states right now, especially Tanner. And when Tanner is into something, he is REALLY into it! He can read all the states names and know where all of them are on the US map! It's fun to be able to show the boys where our family and friends live around the country... Now they always want me to tell them things about each state...man, they keep me on my toes! So proud of my boys:)

Miss Mallory

2009-04-27T03:03:00.003-04:00

I am really enjoying having a girl and doing girly things with Mallory...like dressing her in tutus:) Ok, Scott thinks I'm a little ridiculous, but I got this little tutu for Mallory this week at Next Generation. It is the best, most darling, adorable store ever for little girls! The whole store is filled with delightful little dresses and outfits, cute tights, hairclips, headbands, and so much more...Love it! Anyways, I'm not sure really why I got it, cuz there's really no practical place for her to wear it...but I think she looks cute in it:) So tonight after the kids went to bed I took Mallory outside and took pictures of her in her tutu:) The pearl necklace she has on actually belonged to my great-grandmother...so from her, to my grammy, to my mom, to me, and I will pass them down to Mallory...so five generations! Mallory's middle name is Renee...just like me, and my mom, and grammy...so the pearl necklace is getting passed down with the name:) I just love Mallory so much...her sweet disposition... This may sound cheesy, but as I was taking pictures of her outside tonight, I started to think of the many times I would take pictures of her like that...at her dance recitals, her baptism day, school dances, her wedding, etc...and I started to get teary-eyed and just filled with love for this little girl of mine...thank you Heavenly Father for sending me this precious girl. I love my darling daughter:)

Garden/Trampoline

2009-04-27T02:47:00.002-04:00

It's almost planting time again! Our friend from church, Troy Anderson, came and roto-tilled our garden this weekend. I had him take it a bit bigger this year. Last year was kind of an experiment, and now that I know I like gardening and can actually do it...I want to plant more this year:) So we went from a 15x20 garden last year, to a 20x25 one this year....and it may continue to grow each year:) I am excited to get started. Tomorrow for FHE we are talking about our Earth (I've been inspired by earth day)...we are going to talk about things we can do to help the earth...like use reusable grocery bags, do things to save energy, plant a garden, and we are going to set up recycling boxes so we can take things to the recycling center. I thought this year I'd try giving Tanner ang Logan their own mini-garden where we block off a little plot of the garden that is specifically theirs to pick what they want to plant, and they have to plant, water, weed, and harvest their little plot:) So here's a pic of the garden taken from the house.

Also, on Saturday we got the kids a trampoline:) (No, that is not them in the picture:)...that is the picture on the box...Scott will put it together soon. We had decided to get Tanner and Logan a trampoline for their 5th birthday this summer, but thought we'd get it a little earlier (rather than mid-July), so they could enjoy it for the whole summer. So it is an early 5th b-day present. They are very excited. I believe with four kids, they will all get many years of use out of it:) We had a trampoline when I was a kid and I have many good memories of many hours spent outside in the backyard on the trampoline.

Happy 5th Anniversary to LAPOM!!

2009-04-27T02:22:00.002-04:00

On Friday our twins club celebrated it's 5th anniversary. When I joined the club, the Livingston County chapter had just started and I was pregnant with Logan and Tanner. These ladies welcomed me into their group, brought meals, offered advice, passed down their matching clothes, and just basically became good friends. I think being moms of twins, we always have that in common which unites us in a way. Anyways, in honor of celebrating the club's 5th anniversary they had a party at Rainbow Recreation and rented the place out, ordered pizza, etc. It was alot of fun. Also, the club planted a tree at Baldwin park in a kind of "anniversary ceremony" to commemorate the event. (We weren't able to go because it's Sunday and we had church:) Here are a few pics of the party at Rainbow Rec. Tanner and Logan begged me to go on the trampoline with them...I think they were sorry once I got on there because they discovered I'm a total trampoline hog (as you can tell from the picture:) Anyways...Happy 5th Anniversary to LAPOM (Livingston Area Parents of Multiples)!!