Carter dressed himself for church today..

Yes those are cleats and yes he did wear a jacket when it is 90 degrees outside. And yes I walked through the halls with him, holding my head up high, all the while being so embarrassed!

Our day...

Today was such a busy day. First I went on a bike ride with Marlee on a bike ride and run (trying to cram for our triathlon next weekend!). Then I went straight to my friend Nikki's house to pick her up to go get pedicures and manicures for her wedding that was tonight. Sean's family came over at 9:30 for breakfast and to hang out with his Dad. I put Carter down for a nap at 12:30 and cleaned up the house, got ready for the wedding, woke Carter up to get ready and then went and had Carter's pictures taken. He was the ring bearer. Well, he was supposed to be the ring bearer! He did really well at the rehearsal yesterday and was already to do it today, but then I think it just took too long before it was his turn to go and he got shy with all the people there because right before it was his turn to go down the aisle, he lost it. He did not want to do it and didn't even want me to walk him down the aisle, so there was no ring bearer at this wedding, but at least he looked cute for pictures with the flower girl!!! Stephanie (my SIL) did such a good job on the cake. It was so pretty and DElish!
The gang: Grandpa Jerry (Nikki's grandpa), Dad, Mom, Grandma Jo (Nikki's grandma--my parents old neighbors for 25 years--this lady taught me how to tie my shoes with a shoebox!), Marlee, and Spencer. 
Nikki, me, and Carter at the reception. 
Carter was as happy as could be once he was outside climbing on the rocks. 
Carter, Nikki, and Holly
Jeremy and Carter

Who is this kid?

I had to capture on video what Carter did this morning when we were coming inside. I shut the garage and he ran over to it and hit the sensor so it went back up automatically, and as the garage opened up he grabbed on. What? Where did he learn this? Check it out...(don't mind my voice...I'm a little sick)

Go Coyotes!

We went to the Coytoe's Hockey Game with my parents. It was so much fun. I haven't been to a hockey game since college and Sean and I have never been to one together. Thanks Mom and Dad for the fun night!!

Bridal Shower

Today I threw my friend Nikki a bridal shower. They actually got married a couple of months ago but their official wedding ceremony is in 2 weeks. We had lots of fun at the shower and lots of good grub! 

Conference Weekend at the Cabin

Spencer, Parker, Ashton, and Carter roasting marshmellows.
We went up to the cabin last weekend for conference with Sean's twin brother brandon and his family. We had fun cold Ranger rides and fun roasting marshmellows. The four little boys had so much fun playing with each other outside. 

Love it...

Be Your Best Self

Last night, I went to hear Betty Sue from last year's season of Betty Sue talk at Poppy's Home Decor in Gilbert. She was so funny. She talked a lot about her experience on the Biggest Loser and her relationship with her daughter Allie, who won the show. And she talked about little things you can do to be happier with yourself. My favorite part was when she was talking about being in a hotel room sitting on the bed waiting to find out if they were going to make it on the show, eating a whole Large pizza by herself and then saying, "I wonder how I got fat?" Her life changes have been amazing, very inspirational. My other favorite part was when she apologized for cussing in one of the episodes and someone called her and told her to have her mother leave the room because they did not edit it out; Betty Sue said, "my mother, what about the Prophet?" I didn't know she was LDS and now she is going around to different stakes/wards in the state talking about her experiences. Pictured: Me, Katie, Betty Sue, Stephanie, my cousin Mendy, and Wendy. Thanks for the fun night out girls! (except for the getting lost part on the way home!)

Making Jelly

We started with A LOT of peaches...We sliced and boiled them and added in the other ingredients...
We boiled the jars...
We made a pretty big mess...
After a few hours here was the final product...
36 jars of peach jelly! Yum!
Last night reminded me of the this...



Nikki and I grew up together. My parents lived next door to her grandparents. We probably spent every day together as kids, until her family moved to Vegas. I went and visited her though and she would come back to visit her grandparents. A few years ago she moved back to Phoenix and two years ago we introduced her to Sean's best friend from high school, Jeremy, and now they are married! Last night, Nikki, asked Sean and Jeremy if they ever thought in high school that their wives would be in the kitchen together making jelly! 

Farmer's Market

My friend Nikki found a local farmer's market that is open every other weekend. We went on Saturday and for $17 look at all the goods!

*Peaches
*Asparagus
*Green leaf lettuce
*Plums
*Apples
*Bananas
*Homeade bread
*Tomatoes
*Bell peppers

We started eating the fruit right away!

Funny kids

Friday morning: Carter came into my office and sat at my computer. He then said, "Bye Mom, I have to work."

Friday afternoon: Caitlyn (my 7 year old niece) called me and said, "Do you still want me to spend the night tonight."

Of course we want you to spend the night Caitlyn--anytime!!

HOT Pneumonia

No the Pneumonia isn't hot, but Sean is feeling hot and so is the house. Yesterday, I forced Sean to go to the doctor after starting week 5 of being sick (sore throat, lots of coughing, fevers off and on, etc...). Turns out he has pneumonia. The doctor gave him lots of meds that seem to be helping already. Yay! Although, I must say, he has been quite the trooper for how sick he is. He has been out mowing yards, staying up late studying, and helping to clean the house. I was out on the couch when I had pneumonia--it wasn't fun. So anyways, I came home from work today and walked into a very warm house. I checked the AC and it was on but not working. Sean was still a few hours from being done at school, so Carter and I quickly ate dinner outside, (yes it was cooler outside in Phoenix than in my own house!) packed our stuff and headed to my parent's house to the igloo. I packed sweats and long sleeves as we usually freeze over here but it's better than sweating it out right?

The Dingbat's Agenda

Check out this great giveaway at The Dingbat's Agenda. The card's are so cute. I can only wish I were this talented! Instead, it might be easier for me to hope to win the giveaway!

McCormick-Stillman Train Park

Statements from Carter during the last week:
*"I want to ride Grandad's boat"
*"I want to ride the Ranger"
*"I want to ride a tractor"
*"I want to ride a train"

These statements were stated MULTIPLE times!

Apparently the kid likes to ride things! So yesterday I was able to meet one of his requests by taking him to McCormick-Stillman Train Park where we rode the train, over and over again, with a few carousal rides in the mix too. We had a fun picnic and did lots of playing on the playground. It really was a fun day. All night long Carter was talking about the "choo choo ride" and saying "All aboard." Hopefully, this will give him his fill on rides for a little bit!

I'm in love with my crockpot

Have you checked out this crockpot recipe blog yet? A crockpot recipe for everyday? Nice. I am in love with it! I have always had 1 meal that I use my crockpot for, Cream Cheese Chicken which is so good, but anyways with this being my busy season for work, when I get home at night I am in no mood to cook dinner. So to avoid eating cereal every night for dinner I decided I should start using my crockpot more. I have made 3 meals in it this week and am in Heaven! It has been so nice to come home from a long day at work and smell dinner as soon as I walk in and really only have a couple of minutes of prep work for dinner before we eat. Monday night we had this. So good! I also recommend this and this. 

So now that I am in love with my crockpot--I want more recipes! What are your favorite crockpot recipes?

Biking Group

I biked 40 miles this morning with a group of 25 women and I feel great! I usually bike alone so I was a little nervous at first. I wondered if I would be able to keep up with everyone or would I embarass myself? We started out and all my nervousness went away. I quickly found another girl who was keeping my same pace and we led the pack. That was great except for when we didn't know where we were going and realized we had missed the turn-off!

Our Weekend

We spent this last weekend with my parents, Amy, and Keith and Steph with their boys, at my parent's cabin in Pinewood. Here are some of the highlights from the trip:

Baseball at the park!
Great pitch Grandad!!

The newest addition to the cabin--a wood carved bear that my parents picked out while we were there. Maybe this will help Carter not be so afraid of bears. (the last time we were at the cabin and on a picninc in the forest Sean said, "Carter there's a bear" which then lead to the conversation what would we do if we really saw a bear--obviously we would book it to the Ranger and get out of there. Fast forward to later that day--Carter was outside playing and started screaming -really screaming like he was hurt--I run out there and he is running to the Ranger screaming "bear!." It took all my convincing skills to get him to go outside again. That night he had a nightmare-about what? You got it, bears!! And he has had a few since then).

Of course we had lots and lots of fun Ranger rides!

What cute boys all ready for bed in their jammies after their bath. Too bad they didn't go right to bed as we had planned--it's too much fun up at the cabin with all the cousins!!

pictured above: Carter, Spencer, Hunter, and Tyler

Boot, scootin', boogie!

Amy broke her foot last week (I'll her share the story with you of how she did it!!!) and is now confined to a walking boot and a scooter (and our parent's house)! I don't know who enjoys the scooter more, Amy, the kids, or me!! Carter had so much fun riding a little bike while I chased him around the house on Amy's scooter. We hope your foot heals quickly Amy--just not too quickly so we can keep playing with your scooter!!

It is a convenient way to carry things through the house!

Run for Nie

I know many of us have heard this family's story and the situation they are in. I am not sure why this family that I do not know has had such an impact on me. I had some time to think on my 3.5 hour drive to work this morning and was thinking about why this was impacting me so much. I realized that I have learned a great lesson from their accident. I have learned that I take too many things for granted; my loving husband who supports me in all I do-do I return the favor to him? My two year who has such a love of life-do I share his love of life or am I too impatient at times? Do I recognize what a great family I have that supports me in so many ways (taking care of Carter on a daily basis to name one!)? I realized I take it all for granted. I have been blessed in so many ways and do not show appreciation to those around me or to my Heavenly Father. The lesson I learned from the Nielson family has compelled me to want to help them in some way. I found this "Run for Nie" today and am definitely going to do it. It is still in the planning stages but check it out and let me know if you want to do it too. I cannot imagine what they will face in the next year but I hope that in some small way the sacrifices I will make to train for the run and then complete the run will help. 

Soccer Time

Carter is playing on a soccer team right now and is loving it. Here he is at practice today. His favorite thing to say is, "Hi Coach."