New Bad Habit

Well... I think I have a new bad habit. Since Justin has been working nights I find myself staying up later and sleeping in! I keep telling myself that I am going to get to bed early so that I can get up a little earlier to workout... HA! Yes, sometimes I am up blogging , mostly I have started to watch a little too much TV. Collin is my little night owl. He was told to go to bed but, he is one of those kids that finds every excuse in the book to get out of bed, " I need a drink of water" or " I gotta go potty" or " There is monsters in my room" you name it he has probably told me it. I was just going to let him stay up with me and fall to sleep on the couch but, instead he hid behind the couch and fell to sleep there! It just goes to show you kids can sleep anywhere. I thought he would wake up and move to his bed, after a couple hours of sleeping on the hard floor, I finally picked him up and took him to bed. As for right now Jaden and Cutler seem to be good at going to bed. Cutler is about the same time every night, about 8:30he starts to get fussy and then it dawns on me it is his bed time. Lately he has been sleeping until 7:30 or 8:00am. Watch, tomorrow(or today) he will be up at the butt crack of dawn! Jaden is my early riser. He is always the first one up, unless Justin doesn't work nights, then they are both a wake and thus, wakes the rest of the house up! I know it will all change when school comes for us but, I might as well take advantage of it while I can, right?

I am starting to get tired now so, I guess it is off to bed for me!

Boys Fishing, Mom shopping!

We had the chance to run up to St. George this weekend. It was so nice to get out of town. We left Friday evening and spent the night and the next day. Justin and the 2 older boys went fishing with Papa Steve , Uncle Brady, Bradley, Ethan, and Jackson! I took Cutler with me and went shopping!

Collin caught the 1st fish of the trip! Justin said he was so excited when he got the fish on but, when he got it off the hook Collin didn't want to touch it! I was suprised to see the pictures of Jaden holding the fish that he caught. The last fishing trip he went on with Papa, he didn't want to touch the fish at all! They were both so excited to go fishing thats all they talked about for 3 days! They all went up to the Quail Creek Resoviour, in Hurricane, UT. It was pretty windy out on the water so they cut their fishing trip short and came in at about 12:30. All together they caught about 10 fish! Way to go Guys!

Meanwhile... I was shopping! I took Cutler with me and we went to Tai Pan. I love that store!! I spent a little too much there but got a lot of cute stuff. When I get it up in my house I will take pictures and post them. I mostly got things for my kitchen. I really haven't done anything to my kitchen since we moved here (5 years ago). I am excited to get it painted and all my new decor up!

After shopping, Cutler and I went over to Rick and Kay's new house to have a look around. It is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for letting me barge in on you Kay! We got to visit with Janette, Boston and her Mom while we were there and also said a quick Hello to Jessica. Then by that time I was getting a message from Justin to let me know that they were ready to go.

Fishing really tires the boys out. While Jaden and Collin were sitting in our car, waiting to watch the boat be pulled out of the water, Collin fell asleep. I was the funniest thing! Before we got to the freeway, all 3 of the boys were asleep. We made a quick stop back in St. George for lunch and driver change, then we were headed off for home. Before we got out of St. George, all of the boys were asleep again, including Justin!

What a fun weekend!

Easter Sunday

It feels like Easter has come so early this year! We had a great Sunday! Well... with normal Sunday chaos. It was so nice to be able to go to church and be reminded of the REAL meaning of Easter! We had such great speakers in our ward today. They gave great talks on the Atonement. I was grateful to be able to listen to the speakers today, the Lord always has his way of answering prayers and helping us to remember gospel principles. It was so neat to be with the Sunbeams again today. They are so special! They know what it feels like when the Spirit is in the room. They know how much Jesus loves them. It reminds me why Jesus wants us to be like little children. They are so willing to learn and they always want to learn! I love being with them on Sundays!


On Sundays, we ALWAYS take a nap! It is one of my favorite things to do on Sunday. The boys actually take longer naps on Sundays than they do on any other day! It doesn't seem like it would but, I love the 9:00am start time for church. It is a little early for me and I am almost always late for church. But, it gives me more time to take a nap after our block. I don't have to worry about cleaning, work or anything else! It is GREAT!


After our naps, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Grondel's for dinner. The boys got to color eggs and then Uncle Donny took them on a Hunt! They ate most of the candy already, come tomorrow, what is still left is getting thrown out!


Then, when we got home from the Grondel's, the Easter Bunny( Grandma Trassie) came by and paid us a visit. Collin, again, was hesitant! He didn't know quite what to think! Cutler was a little confused too! Grandma Trassie made this costume last year for Easter! It was such a big hit!

PIGS!!!

Spring Break has been so nice!! We just been doing what ever we want, not worrying about a school to go by. We went over to the Bently's to see The Benites girls' pigs. The girls are getting the pigs ready to take up to Logandale to show at the fair. Good Luck Sam, Missey, and Emily! The kids had so much fun! Well... except for Collin. He held on to my pant leg the whole time. I knew when a pig was coming close because he would wrap both arm around my leg and hold on for dear life! Besides pigs, the kids got to see horses and chickens. Jaden really got a kick out of the whole thing! When we got in the car the first thing that he said was, " when are we gonna go back, Mom"? He had a good time chasing the pigs around and watching the horses in the round pen! Collin wandered off a little but, would start running when he felt that one of the animals was getting a little too close, (i.e., with viewing distance for him). Cutler just enjoys anything. He really LOVES being outside. What baby doesn't? Thanks Girls for letting us come by and see your pigs, it was so much fun. We will definitely have to come by again!

I Got tagged.....by Kim

10 years ago...

I was a very inactive member of the church. I worked for a paving company making more money than any 20 yr old should. I though I had life pretty much figured out...... wrong! My brand new dodge diesel pickup was all I would ever need. Thank goodness for the Book of Mormon, and more importantly the Savior!


Snacks I enjoy...
1) Reeses peanut butter cups
2) Apples
3) Stacy Perry's choc chip cookies



5 things on my to list:
1) Find a new car for work
2) Take the boys fishing
3) Get home from work in time to wake Kim up
4) Plan anniversary
5) Schedule appointments for Bishop (please answer your phone)



What I would do if I suddenly became a billionaire...

Take the whole family on an Alaskan hunting trip. Hire Kim her own nutrisionist and build a HUGE indoor gym(I don't want to know how many more points she has left for the day). Go hunting then when I get back go hunting again!

3 Bad Habits...
1) Biting my finger nails
2) Teasing(says Kim)
3) Not reading my scriptures enough


5 Places I have lived...

1) Las Vegas, NV
2) Niles, MI
3) Many cities in Indiana

5 Jobs I have had...
1) Horseshoer
2) Old lady shoes salesman
3) ungerground utilities
4) Operating Engineer

Something people don't know about me:
I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I grew up around horses and mules. I actully learned to shoe horses when I was 5 yrs old(thanks grandpa). I love to get up early! And no there is nothing wrong (chris lichty) with a full grown man taking a bubble bath!



Now I tag any other husband that want to "MAN UP" and admit that they read other blogs!!

You have to check this out!

I was looking at a friends blog and she posted this youtube link. She said one of the boys in the video is in her ward! I haven't seen something this funny in a long time!! Have fun Watching!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faiukM0eHmg

This is for you Blayne!

Ok, My brother Blayne wanted me to post a pic of him on our blog, so I did. I put it on the side as one of my widgets(or what ever they are called). He asked me the other day if I had gotten any comments about him. I told him no that no one can comment on it, it wasn't a post. So this is for him!



Blayne is a senior at Las Vegas High School. His is currently playing baseball on the Varsity team. He played soccer this year and last. He is really good at soccer and helped take his team to the playoffs the last 2 years. For baseball he had a tournament last weekend in Yuma, AZ and won 4 out of the 5 games. He hit a home run in one of them.

I am so grateful he is my Brother. I have 3 really awesome brothers. Travis, the oldest of the 3 is on a mission in Indiana. He loves it there but, excited to be able to come home soon.

He has grown, spiritually, a ton since he has been gone, like all missionaries do. We are excited for him to come home. He will have 2 new nephews when he gets back Cutler and Michelle's little boy that will be here in June.

Then there is Donny. AAAHHH Uncle Donny! He is a bit younger than Travis and Blayne so, they/we like to pick on him a little too much. He is a good uncle. He likes to give Jaden and Collin money. Which is OK... let him play rich Uncle Donny as long as he can! He is 11 years old now and likes to play baseball and is on or was on the school bowling team. He also plays in the school band and got a new trumpet for Christmas! Even though, Donny, you may think we don't love you, we do!!

Yes, I do have 2 sisters but, they have their own blogs! I love them and grateful for all they do for me and my family. It took growing up and moving out, but I really do Love my sisters!

Update

I guess it is time to post again. We have been pretty uneventful around here lately. No soccer practice or games, I haven't cleaned, I just went shopping today and I can say I have pretty much been a bum! I have been caught in a funk lately. I know I am not depressed or anything... just in a funk. Hopefully it is just PMS and I will snap out of it soon!

We did get out of town for a little bit this weekend. We took a short trip to Logandale. One of Justin's best friends got remarried to a really sweet girl. They look so good together... Happy! They had a little get together at a park up there, it was really nice to get out of town, even though it was only 45 minutes away.

A funny little story about our trip to Logandale. As most of you know... Jaden has a really good memory. I told him earlier on in the week that we didn't have soccer games and that we were going to Logandale. He asked me on Friday night, on the way home from the stake basketball game if we were going to "Chip and Dale" tomorrow. I was a little taken back and kinda embarassed. Justin was in the car with us, I didn't know what to think. He asked me again, "mom, are we going to chip and dale tomorrow"? I told him that I had no idea what he was talking about and quickly changed the subject! On the way up to Logandale the next day he asked where we were going. Of course I told him "Logandale". About 20 minutes passed when he asked the annoying roadtrip question,"are we there yet"? I told him know that it would be about 20 more minutes or so. Then about 10 minutes later he asked, "are we at chip and dale yet? Then... it dawned on me! He meant Logandale! Whew... I was getting a little worried there!

Cutler is now in an all out crawl. He still does the occasional army crawl but, I think now he has finally got it. He is so funny... when he starts to get on his knees and crawl he gets this little grin on his face like "ah ha, I got it". I think he is finally relieved that he is not going backwards anymore! Along with Crawling, he has started to pull himself up to just about everything.He likes to pull himself up and start to make his way around things. He really gets a kick out of himself. His other new thing is reading the Ensign. He has discovered that he likes to shake it back and forth and listen to the noise that it makes. He also likes the Ensign because, the pages tear out easier! He thinks they are pretty tasty!

Collin is Collin. We are having trouble with getting him to bed. He is off and on when it comes to bedtime consistancy. He is having trouble with MONSTERS! He came in to me the other night, pulling down his lower eyelid, saying that he had a monster in his eye. I told him to tell the monster to get out and go away and he did. Then about 2 minutes there was a monster in his other eye. I finally figured out that he was seeing the monsters when he closedhis eyes! I tried to help him think of something funny or his favorite movie (CARS)so he would be ok. It didn't work too well, I finally gave up and let him sleep with me! Oh well!

I am so glad I got into blogging. I count this as journaling now. It help me not feel so guilty for not writing in a journal!

Gonna Stay Put.....

For right now anyway. We have decided to take our house off the market and stay here for a while, or until we know, for us, that it is the right time to move. We know EVERYTHING, good or not so good, happens for a reason. We aren't sure yet why we aren't supposed to move but, we are sure in time that the Lord will let us know. The only thing that really stinks, is that I have to unpack all the things that I had already packed away. Oh well.... it will give me a chance to really get a good cleaning done before I put things away.

So, with staying in our home we have decided that we will be doing some work to make it look nice again. We are thinking we are going to tile the kitchen and bathrooms and paint the garage walls and floor (you know, the speckled stuff)and get new carpet. Our back yard definitely needs some work done to it. We have neglected it for a while now, thinking that we were going to move. I think I'm going to get some trees and bushes to put around the grass and get the grass to start growing again or just re-sod. I am looking forward to getting it to look nice again! I know the boys will enjoy it and it will help Justin and I get out into the backyard more. So, we gotta a lot of things to do. I'm really excited to be looking forward to something again.

Thanks to all of you that prayed for us... whether it was for us to sell our house of for us to stay!;) The good thing is, is that we really love our ward and all the friends that we have in it. I think that was going to be the hardest part for us, was leaving the ward. We know the Lord knows all and is always looking out for us in all we do. I'm sure not selling our house right now is just another one of those "Blessings in Disguise"!

I've been tagged

10 years ago...

I was a freshmen in high school. I was in the Marching Band, I hate to admit that! I played the Baritone sax. I was 15 years old, seems like so long ago! I really didn't care for school. I played on the Softball team for Las Vegas High School, then I started playing on a traveling team, it think, that summer.

Snacks I enjoy...

1) Chocolate
2) Snickers
3) Oreos
I am a Chocoholic!

5 things on my to list:

1) Exercise
2) Finish the laundry
3) Clean the house (it is never ending)
4) Schedule surgeries
5) Make dinner..... well, maybe it is a fend for yourself night!

What I would do if I suddenly became a billionaire...

Send Justin on a Hunting trip. Go on a Cruise. Shop...enough said! New house that is paid for. Hire a maid,cook, taxi driver and physcial trainer since I will be doing nothing, I need someone to keep me in shape!

3 Bad Habits...

1) Procrastinating
2) Sleeping longer than needed (so says Justin)
3) Recently... staying up too late blogging

5 Places I have lived...

1) Las Vegas, NV
2) Henderson, NV (I know it is pretty much the same thing)

5 Jobs I have had...

1) City of Las Vegas, recreation
2) Medical Assistnt
3) MOM
4) surgery scheduler
5)

Things people don't know about me...

I really am pretty open, I think. I love to watch Batman movies, seriously! Mostly, every night the boys and I watch the Justice League. I love to travel in the car, with co-operating kids of course. I love to look at all the scenery and just take it all in.

I tag Justin, Keli, Michelle, Stacy, Melinda and Janette!

Weekend Fun!

We had another exciting weekend! It of course, started with soccer games and then a birthday party(Happy Birthday Brinkley)! We have so much fun watching Jaden play. He scored another goal this weekend! It is so rewarding to see how much fun he is having! Then we got to spend some time at Chuck E. Cheese. The boys always have so much fun when they get to go there but, then again what kid doesn't! Cutler thought that the life size Chucky was interesting! He just kinda starred. He had tons of fun playing with one of the ballons that someone cut down for him, it kept him happy! I think that was the first time that he had experienced ballon fun! On Sunday we, or should I say, I forgot about the time change. I was taking my sweet little time getting ready for church, when Justin reminded me that the time had changed and I was an hour behind. We did make it to the baby blessing that we were headded to on time but, not without a little chaos and crying boys(they were awakened too early).Collin didn't handle to time change to well, he totally crashed on the way home! He was still able to take a Sunday nap, thanks goodness! I love Sunday afternoon naps! AAAHHH Bliss! It was so nice to have an easy going weekend!



How was yours?

Hot Chocolate

I just wanted to share an e-mail that I had received from my sister-in-law (Thanks Amie). Some of you may have heard or seen it before. I thought instead of forwarding it along to everyone I know, I would post it here!! Love You all! Enjoy!

____________________________________________________________________

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: 'Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.

Weekend Mayhem

What a weekend! We definitely had a busy schedule this weekend! It started off with soccer games. Well... with a soccer game I should say. Jaden had his first game out at the Silver Bowl. His team is called the Lil' Monsters. They are so cute! Score isn't officially kept but, they did get their butts kicked. It was so fun to watch them, they didn't know that they were losing. I thought that it would be total chaos but, it wasn't too bad. They only play 3 on 3. He gets to play with his cousin Jackson. Aunt Amie and Uncle Brady couch all the Lil Monsters!

The Lil Monsters only ended up scoring one goal and Jaden was the one that scored it. I was so excited for him, he tried his hardest the whole game! He didn't ever give up! Way to go Jaden!!

The next thing that was on the agenda for the day was a baptism. We didn't end up making it there because, of Jaden's game being later in the day than we thought. We were really looking forward to the baptism and hope that you can forgive us, Danielle. Then it was off to a birthday party, which we were late to(that seems to be the story of my life lately). The boys had fun playing with Chrissy kids and all the other kids that were there too! Collin didn't want to leave because I was making him leave the ice cream. He was able to get anyone there to give him ice cream when ever he wanted it. I'm sure he would ask different people every time so, that no one could say that they already had given him some. Then Justin and I got to go on a date! Without any kids. Usually we take Cutler but, we left him home this time. It was nice to get out and just spend some time with Justin. I'm sure I drove him crazy. Every time we go out I end up talking his ear off. It is nice to be able to talk to your husband without your kids either cutting in or screaming so loud that you can't get a word in when you are at home. Thanks, Justin!

Cutler just enjoys himself were ever he is. He is such a happy baby. He is almost 9 months. Time has gone by so fast. It seems like is goes faster with every kid you have. He is starting to do the crawling thing. He has been pushing himself backwards for a couple weeks now. He has figured out how to do the army crawl. He defaults to that when he is tried of trying to crawl forward.

I just wanted to add this pic of Collin. He was over at the Perry's while I went to the Doctors office. Brianna was asleep so, she wasn't coaxing him to dress up, he did it all by himself! We don't need to have any girls!

On an ending note, what a great Sunday. It Definitely started out a lot better than last Sunday. It was nice to be able to enjoy sacrament meeting and get there in time to partake of the sacrament. I prayed that I would be able to get myself and our family there on time and we did! Hallelujah!!