Ian's 7th Birthday....

Well, the party was a HUGE sucess. Ian invited 2 boys from his school class, Carter and Quinn. Also, Nate, Alisa and Soren and Jeff & Nicola joined us. We went to Fat Cats which is a really fun bowling alley with great food! The kids bowled (including Jeff and Nicola!) and ate lots of pizza and breadsticks. Then we opened presents and had cake. It was a great time and Ian never stopped smiling! Here is a slide show of the day for your enjoyment.

An Update....kindof Late

Well sorry for slacking on the blog this last week. I feel like I havent had much time to breathe let along sit at the computer for an hour. No major trauma's this week thankfully. In fact I cant figure out why I feel so busy..... I guess it's just that time of year. It is 7am and I just got home from work. Why am I up you ask? Well, today is Mr. Ian's birthday.....he is officially 7 years old. We are having a party for him at Fat Cats (bowling alley/pizza joint) at 11am and I still need to finish up the cake. That is whyI havent gone to bed. Right now I am waiting on the frosting to come to room temp so I can frost the cake. Luckily I was on top of things yesterday and did all the major prep work so this morning I just need to put it all together. IT is going to be one very COOL cake....if I do say so myself. I will post pictures of it and the party later today or tomorrow. Anyway, I still have to shower too so there is no point in going to bed now. I will try to get a nap in after the party before Denver goes to work.

Tonight as I was getting ready to leave for work, the boys were in the bathtub. You know Ive mentioned how much of a little fish Addison is....she loves the water....well, she really wanted to get in the bath too. It was all I could do to keep her from climbing in with them. THen I went upstairs to get my shoes on........well, you can guess what happened next. Here is a picture of the little guppie in the tub with all her clothes on. She is crazy! So cute....but nuts. She cracks me up daily with her little faces she makes and her singing and babbling. She has really got a personality. It will be fun to watch her grow and start really talking. She is just so much fun. I am so glad to have her in our family.

So, here are some cute pictures of my nephew Soren. He is growing fast too. Babies dont stay little for long. He is such a cute one too! Nathan and Alisa are settling into parenthood just fine it seems. It is fun to watch them all goo goo and in love with their little boy. Its just something you cant describe until you have one of your own!

So I finally made it back to the gym. Yes, I know I posted a while back that I was going to lose a certain amount by Christmas. Yeah....well, forget about that. But, I am finally doing something about it, so maybe by spring I will get there. I met with a trainer the other day while he weighed and measured me (fun times) and told me I was obese.....ok he didnt say that, but still. He is a cute kid (probably only 23 years old) who competes in body building. It was torture standing there on the scale.....oh well. I got it over with and have a starting point so now begins the long arduous work that is getting in shape. My body loves it's fat and hates losing it so Im sure Im in for a long year with not a lot of results. I just want to be healthy again and mostly I want Addison (and the boys) to see mommy practicing good habits so that maybe they wont have to suffer with weight issues one day. So, even if I dont get nice and skinny, at least I will be exercising and eating good and feeling healthier right!? Oh who am I kidding.....I REALLY want to fit in my skinny jeans again.

So work is going pretty good. I really like the job itself. I guess Im doing pretty good because tonight I had my 30 day evaluation and what takes most people the full 90 days to reach I have already reached (speed/accuracy). My supervisor was so impressed that she is allowing me to listen to my ipod before the 90 days are up (usually you have to wait). So, I was pretty happy about that. Im still trying to get used to my funky schedule though. This weekend was rough actually. You see Friday, I get up at 6:45am to get the boys off to school. By the time I get back, Addie is up so there is no going back to bed. Im such a horrible napper that I dont get around to napping later in the day either (so much to do you around the house) so then by the time I go to work at 10pm and work 8 hours, Ive been up literally for 24 hours straight. Saturday I would normally sleep until about noon or 1pm but this weekend Denver had to work on Saturday. So i was up at 11am after going to bed at 7am...4 hours of sleep. Then of course no nap during the day and off to work again that night and Sunday I have to teach a primary class at 11am so I only get about 2 hours of sleep on Sunday. I would have taken a nap after church except I needed to get Ian's cake going. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap later that night and then off to work again. Which now of course I am home and not sleeping..... so, 6 hours of sleep in the past 3 days! Yikes. Im thinking that Im going to crash big time this afternoon. Anyone want to come and get my kids so I can sleep! Ha ha. Wouldnt that be great. Anyway, Ive got to start taking naps I guess. Im just so horrible at it. But, I do like the job and the hours work out great. I love being home during the week and I get so much more done.

Well, not a huge update really but I will post again later with pictures from Ian's birthday and of course I will post again on Thursday with Halloween pic's.

An Ode to Ian...

This post is dedicated to my first born...Ian. A friend of mine said the other day that our children will hate us one day when they find out what we posted to the world about them on these blogs. Then today I told the kids we were going to go the city library this weekend to get our own library cards. This reminded me of THE MOST hilarious story about Ian. And, being that this blog is a sort of journal for me and mine, Im going to put it in here just so I never forget it....here it goes.

~We are at the public library in Mesa, Arizona. Ian is 3 years old (maybe 4). I am in a huge line to check out books and of course Ian starts the bathroom dance. At this point in his life, he will only go to the bathroom when it is coming out and there is no other choice but to go or change pants. I point to the bathroom which is technically outside of the library. It is within sight while standing there in line so I tell him to go ahead and I will be there in one second.... When I get to the clerk to check out my books and begin discussing my late fee from the last visit I hear giggling. I look up to see my beautiful child standing in the middle of the outdoor plaza....pants (and underwear) down to his ankles, shirt pulled up to his armpits....screaming "mom I need you to wipe my butt!!!!!" over and over and over. I remember feeling nauseated for a second then humiliated then I just started laughing. Im sure there were some in line that didnt find it so hilarious but really....what was I supposed to do at that point. The clerk graciously held my place in line so I could attend to my son. And then, she even more graciously waived my late fees. What a doll. The worst part about this story is that it wasnt the first time it had happened. Yes.....repeat the scenario only change it to McDonalds. I didnt even realize that he had run off to the bathroom and as I sat there eating french fries I heard someone screaming mom! mom! mom! I thought it sounded vaguely familiar so I looked into the restaurant (from the playarea) and almost threw up. There he stood in the middle of the restaurant butt naked (yes he had taken off his clothes) begging me to come and wipe his butt. So, I guess I deserved it the second time for not assisting him right when he needed to go. Needless to say, after the library, it NEVER happened again. My only regret......no camera to capture such awesome memories!!! ~

Ian, when you read this blog 10 years from now my only hope is that you will laugh as hard as I did over it. ILOVE YOU!!!

I threw in these 2 pictures taken tonight at Ian's soccer game. She was flirting with anyone who would look at her. Then she got a hold of my phone and wouldnt give it up. In fact she threw herself upon the ground screaming when I took it......bad sign of what is to come!!

Halloween, Graveyards (shifts that is), and Zombies

So, Halloween is coming up and everyone has dilligently decorated their houses except me. In fact Ian asked me the other day why we didnt have anything up? He said "our neighbors house is creepy and they dont even have kids!" Well! This, sadly, is true......they do not have children and yet their house is decorated in the required Halloween attire...if you can call it that. So, feeling badly that I wasnt accomplishing the requirements of the "cool mom" like MY mom did all those years ago, I went to the store to pick up some additional decor and made our house look a bit more creepy than it did the day before. Happily my children are still young enough that $1 skeletons and 'make it yourself ghosts' are good enough for them! Im not sure where I got my boring attitude towards Halloween. Any of you that knew us when we were kids can attest to the fantastic creepiness that was the Ries house on Halloween. My mom knew how to do it. SHe didnt hold back either. We had fog, and tombstones, and creepy monsters that glowed in the dark....and lets not forget the scary music she pumped through the window on a record player stereo! I knew a lot of children in our neighborhood that wouldnt even come to our door for treats. We always had a lot left over because of this fact....hmmmmm....maybe thats what moms game was.....scare em off so she can keep the chocolate. I'll have to consider that one. Really though Halloween was a blast when I was a kid so I cant figure out why I dont care for it now. My inner psychologist says it is because I lost a pivotal costume contest when I was 18. Perhaps.......I am still bitter about that...ha ha.

Well, anyway, this year my kids are going for the goulish look. Evan will become a mummy and Ian will transform into a zombie on Halloween night. Fun fun fun. They want me to dress up too but, that may be going too far for me this year! Funny story though, Ian asked me the other day if it was scary working on the "graveyard shift"....hahahahaha. I love kids.

Speaking of my graveyard shift, I did start it on Saturday. It was OK the first 6 hours but the last 2 I nearly died (maybe thats why they call it 'graveyard' ha ha ha... Ok no more graveyard jokes). It will take some getting used to. Thankfully last night was my last one for the week. The job itself is very easy....monotonous but easy going. I will be glad when I get off of probation so I can listen to an ipod. That will help pass the time. I think I am going to be a big fan of audio books. Right now I think they are a form of cheating~ I love to read and feel like listening to someone else read just doesnt cut it. But, I am willing to try it because I hear it really helps work speed by.

In other news, Addison has embraced her inner actress. SHe has started that stage where toddlers start make believing.....I caught her holding a little baby doll yesterday and she was bouncing up and down saying "shh shh shh shh"....so cute!! She is the sweetest little girl......sometimes. SHe can also be a stinker but that goes along with her fun personality so I forgive her! I took these pictures of her thinking the black and white would kindof hide the black eyes but unfortunately she looks like a zombie herself. Oh well, I have decided to give her the "mohawk curl" on top since she refuses to grow anymore hair up there and bows arent even an option right now. At least she has some curl and it helps to make her look a little more girly!

Have a good week!

Cool Site

So, tonight while I was stalking other peoples blog sites, I found a link to a really cool place. Its called Tangled and True....the blog that I found it on made the comment that she was probably the last one to catch on to this site but Im here to tell her that NO, in fact, Vanessa Shannon is the last person to catch on. Nothing new but better late than never. Anyway they have fun giveaway's and really unique stuff on there. Its window shopping for me but still FUN!.....just passing it on. www.tangledandtrue.com You can also find it in my "Links that I Love" section of this blog!

Addison update....

So, yesterday I noticed Addie was not as sure on her feet as she normally is. She kept losing her balance and falling down. This, combined with a random pile of throw up I found in my dining room and the fact that the bridge of her nose was looking 3x the size it normally is, made me call the doctor. He looked at it and decided it could be fractured (her skull) and possibly bleeding underneath the skull....hence the wobbly walking. He sent me right away to Primary Childrens Hospital for a CT scan of her head. She really didnt like that much since they straight jacketed her to the platform. She was very angry to say the least. Anway, it turned out OK. The doc said it looked like there may have been a hairline fracture but that it was already healed and she should be fine. No broken nose....which was what I thought was wrong.....no bleeding skull (can skulls do that?) Just banged up really good. We are very relieved and hope not to have to go through this again.... Here are a couple more pictures of the beautiful girl and her nasty bruising! Luckily she wont stay this way....poor baby......

Near death experiences.....

Well, it has been one eventful week as far as accidents and injury go. First, I thought we had lost Addison the other night. She woke up around 4am coughing horribly so I gave her a little cough medicine and Denver said he would take her downstairs and watch TV a bit....maybe she would go back to sleep. The next thing I hear is Denver falling down the stairs.....then came the scream no mother wants to hear. You know the one that gives you chills because you know your child has been seriously injured? So, I jump out of bed nearly slipping and falling myself to see what is going on. Luckily the way Denver fell he didnt land on top of her which truly might have killed her.....a 25 pound baby is no match for a 250 pound man. No, instead he fell up and flat on his back which cause her to smack her forehead into the staircase....or wall....or railing, not sure which one really. I have never seen a goose egg so HUGE in my life. I was so scared she was seriously injured but, she seems fine and I was told unless she was acting strange or falling asleep a lot then it is most likely not an internal injury. 3 days later, the goose egg is getting smaller, the bruises are turning a hideous green/yellow color and today she started developing 2 shiners. Yes, black eyes. That tells you how hard she actually hit. Thank heavens the stair case was carpeted! It could have been much worse. I have vowed to find some type of plastic runner for the staircase to prevent this from happening again. This picture does NOT do her injury justice. You cant tell how incredibly mis-shapen her forhead is....and she hasnt developed her black eyes yet. You can't tell but her entire forehead from the left eye over to the right temple is completely bulging out.....ugh.

So, yesterday I get a call from my brother Jeff. He is stranded in Filmore because he and his girlfriend have gotten in a car accident and totalled his jeep. I drove down there to get them and when I saw his jeep, I realized that a higher power was definitely watching over them. I actually felt sick to my stomache to realize how closely they came to being seriously injured or killed. What happened was..... they hit a patch of slush on the highway from the morning snow/sleet storm and the jeep spun in circles off the highway and hit a highway sign head on. Not one of those little whimpy signs but the big huge ones with the thick metal posts. Both of their airbags deployed and amazingly only Jeff was injured with a large bruise/abrasion on his forearm and a cut on the side of his neck. Nicola doesnt have a scratch on her and Wiley (their doggy) was fine if not a bit traumatized. I was so thankful last night that it turned out the way it did. You just never know when things like this are going to happen. If they had spun the other direction and crossed traffic......or hit the sign on either side of the jeep.....well, I dont want to think about that. I am happy that they are home safe.....car-less, but safe.

So, the yucky week doesnt end here. I received a call tonight from Liz, a girl in my Chandler, Az ward. For those of you reading that know a little about my life there, she was the one whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack (age 35). It was so horrible and sad. Anyway, she was calling me tonight on behalf of Julie.....a really good friend of mine from that same ward whose parents live here in Murray. We get together any time she comes here to visit her parents. In fact it was just about a month ago that we met Julie and her hubby Steve at Lone Star Steakhouse for lunch and had a nice visit. Anyway, Liz called with the bad news that Steve....Julies husband had passed away last night. It is so heartbreaking..... I wish that I was there to hug her. I started thinking about how short life really is and how the people you love can be taken at any moment. It is just a heavy reality that I have been protected from in this life so far. So, I vow to take the time to keep in touch with friends and family and try to let the people close to me know how much I love them whenever I can. I am so greatful for the blessings that I have in my life and I dont ever want to take them for granted. When I am feeling low and sorry for myself I am going to do my best to remember that I have it really good despite any struggles that I am experiencing.....there are always worse struggles to be had. A good friend of mine recently said in an email that "the grass always looks greener on the other side...... so we should just stay put and plant taller trees and prettier flowers". I will be using that as my quote of the week. I dont know if Cathi got the quote from someone else or not but since I have never heard it before, then I am going to use her name as the author.

Well, for better news, my aunt Chrissy and Uncle Pete were in town from Arizona for General Conference and I took the kids down to their hotel for a little visit today. It was so nice to see them again and I wish we could have visited a little longer. I am so mad because I brought the camera to take pictures and then totally forgot. It was such a nice day today (unlike yesterday...) and I was going to take pictures of the kids downtown as well. I guess I was a bit scatterbrained today. Oh well. Anyway, Chrissy, when you read this blog then you can know how happy I was to see you today and I sure love you guys.

Here's hoping for a safe, injury free week! Sorry for the pictureless blog, I will do better next week.

Wap Talk.

Well, my adorable first born has just informed me that I failed to mention his "great wasp speech" in my latest post. Apparently he reads the blog and although I mentioned he was going to give the speech, I never said if "he did a good job or not". So, this post is dedicated entirely to his wonderful speech. He did a great job and taught his class everything they needed to know about wasps and their relatives. For instance, did you know that if you step on or injure a yellow jacket that you only have about 3 to 5 seconds to get the heck outta dodge before the whole hive comes to its aid? Which means you get the stink stung out of you! I did not know that and will now forever be fearful of the yellow jacket ( as if I wasnt already deathly afraid). And did you know that the male wasps dont have stingers and cannot sting you? If only you could easily tell apart the males from the females! Well, I didnt know that yellow jackets and hornets were actually wasps? Did you? I guess I didnt pay attention during biology because I feel a little dumb whenever my son starts talking about bugs. Ian's favorite part of the speech was telling the class that the famous Charles Darwin once laid motionless on his couch to allow a wasp to drink out of his eye......lord have mercy. Ian is mad at me right now because I told him the story about when we lived in Kentucky. Kentucky has these incredibly HORRIBLE looking wasps....they are red and black, as if a normal wasp doesnt look scary enough! Anyway, in the spring they are everywhere! You cannot escape them and Ian was So afraid of them. Once he was crying, or should I say completely freaking out, and my father in law asked him what was wrong....his response was "Im afraid that the wap's will sting me and get their wap juice in me!" Ian says that story is wrong because he "knows how to pronounce wasp.....Duuuhhhhh!" Ive been laughing all afternoon over this statement. Long live the WAP's with their nasty WAP juice........