I absolutely adore my children. It took eight years, thousands of dollars in infertility treatments and tests, and the tremendous heartache of two miscarriages to get them here. I feel so lucky because I know there are many, many women who have gone through more than I have and don't even have two precious angels to show for it. But sometimes, just every once in awhile (actually, a lot more often now that Christian's two!), that proverb about being careful what you wish for comes to mind. :) On Sep. 17th, my little stinker got into my makeup bag! But at least he's a hard worker: he managed to coat his face, the bathroom floor, cabinet doors, bathtub and his baby potty in cover-up stick and liquid eyeliner in 5 minutes flat. He's so smart that he picked the two items that would be the most difficult to remove!

On the 19th, Christain and I got invited by my dad to attend "Real Men Can Cook" for lunch. It's a charity event, held at Ogden's Union Station, where men volunteer to cook up their best dish and you pay $10 to sample everything, with all the money going to the YCC Women's Center. It is so fun to try all the food and such a worthy fundraiser, I encourage everyone to get out to it next year! There was a bunch of my family there, and after the kids were done eating (they were so well behaved that day!), Jordan took Christain and his daughter Sierra out to play on the train they have on display. The kids obviously loved it!

On the way back to our car, Buddy wanted to see this "neigh" and struck such an interesting pose for the picture with it:

On Saturday, the 20th, we decided to try out the brand new Chuck E. Cheese that opened in Layton. First, we had some pizza, and then we started playing the games.

Christian loved one where a light goes around a wheel and you push a big button to stop it. If your light lands on certain spaces, you win tickets. As luck would have it, the first time he played he won 100 tickets!! I don't know if he understood about the winning part, but he sure loved watching it (<---) and pressing the button!

Faith's favorite was, of course, Deal or No Deal, but she and Buddy also loved this half virtual "bowling" game. It was too packed in there for me to get a good shot of it, but you bowl the ball into what looks kind of like a skee ball game, and then the top part is a computer screen which uses a censor to determine what your ball would do from about half the lane, on. Clear as mud? Anyway, it was fun!

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That evening, we thought we would have a quiet movie night and rest from our game playing and crowd dodging day. Tony, Faith and I watched Nim's Island while Christian quietly got into trouble and made a mess. When I got up to make popcorn about halfway through, I found that he had gotten all the pasta out of my lazy susan and had built this great tower. I also found the floor covered in little pasta bits because he had discovered that the box of fettucini was open and that it's super fun to break apart. By the end of the movie, he had unwrapped the multi packs of maccaroni and cheese and had laid out the individual boxes, plus the boxes from his now deconstructed tower, in a 20 foot long winding pathway down the entry hall. At least I got to watch a movie in peace!
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I must have forgotten to get my camera out for awhile because this next pic is from Oct. 3rd. I had just cleaned (Faith's Beta fish) Ed's bowl and Christian was having a ball watching him. He is usually kept on top of Faith's armoire and completely out of his reach because he likes to "feed" Ed crazy things like paper, little toys, food from our pantry, and everything else that he can find that will fit through the neck of the vase.

I actually started taking pictures that day because Christian had gotten out a little elastic band like the one he had seen me put in Faith's hair and wanted one in his, too. I obliged and gave him a tiny pony tail in the back. This was the cutest photo of the bunch, but it's a shame that you can't see his hairdo.

Last Saturday (the 4th), we took a drive up to Logan to see the pretty leaves for Conference weekend. It was raining, and the trees and mountains had an etherial beauty because of the low hanging clouds. Unfortunately, the rain also made it impossible to get a decent picture. We bought some delicious local raspberries from a truck on the side of the road, but Gossner Cheese Factory was out of cheese curd! The nerve!!

When we got back to town, we stopped at the Newgate Mall for some See's chocolate and to let the kids play on the squishy playland.

The kids had a great time, and I had a blast talking to my friend Kim, who just happened to be at the mall having a girls night with her daughter.

Christian was dying the whole time to ride the pay rides, so we finally let the kids do one at the end. I personally think that 50 cents for one minute of being shaken back and forth is totally rediculous!

Tina then called and asked us to stop by her house. She gave the kids and Tony Steeler ball caps that she had gotten from Fanzz warehouse sale for $1 each! She is so sweet to think of us!!! You can see that the kids are also enjoying their chocolate See's suckers in the car. It was a fun day!

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A messy playroom pic as an addition to my ongoing effort, "Keepin' it real":

On Sunday, the kids and I went over to my mom & dad's for the second session of conference and some delicious ham and funeral potatoes. Tony was out in the cold, bonding with his dad and nephew while hunting ducks and geese. Luckily, they didn't hit any :D

Since we were there awhile before the cousins showed up, Faith and Christian collected leaves in the front yard and Faith made this cute "fall leaf crown". Christian made "a huge mess with globs of Elmer's glue on a piece of paper and then threw a ginormous fit while wadding it up and throwing it on the floor when I tried to take it all away from him". See, he's just creative in a different way.

When the cousins arrived, Christian played cooking set with Lily and was so cute "feeding" her with the fork that Jordan asked for my camera to get a picture of it from his vantage point. How adorable!

Later, when we met up with Tony over at his parents', Christain got ahold of my camera. He got cute shots of Tammy

and Tony's dad,

but then the rest of us did what you're supposed to do when a two year old repeatedly takes your picture--make crazy faces!! Here's my wacky fish face,

Tony's "my eyeballs are burning from the flash!" face,

and Tony's mom's menacing toothy grin. I must say, Christian is getting pretty good with a camera!

Faith spent the evening with paper and markers creating this adorable little trick-or-treat bucket complete with paper candy (she's holding the "Smarties" in this picure). She, as I've mentioned before numerous times on this blog, is amazing at three-dimensional art!


Finally, I wanted to include this movie of the kids watching America's Funniest Home Videos. We were watching a montage segment featuring animals, and Faith, as usual, was providing extra commentary and sound effects. Christian was laughing so hard that we had to rewind it and watch it again. I finally got my camera on the third time through, so he wasn't laughing as hard, but still completely enjoying it.

Sorry for another non-family-picture-related post (I'm getting crazy with these lately, no?), but I was telling my family about this YouTube video on Sunday and then saw it posted somewhere again today so I thought I'd share.



You can find the complete story from snopes.com here.

I was invited to a neighborhood girls' night last Thursday and got better aquainted with some awesome ladies!!! I had such a blast and was so excited to get their blog addresses so I could learn even more about them. On my new friend Brandi's blog, I found the "which Austen heroine are you?" quiz.

My results were: "You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed." Not exactly accurate (except the parts about me being intelligent, witty, and the lone beacon of reason, hehe), but fun to do!

Take the Quiz here!

WOW!! That's about all I can say about Lance Bass on Dancing With the Stars Monday night (which I just watched late last night). And especially for those blog readers who might be offended that I added Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" to the top of my music playlist--take a gander:



Now, I used to feel a little weird about this song as well--I'm usually against kissing someone outside of your preferred gender attraction just for kicks (especially if you're in a relationship)--but that was before I heard it in this context! I'm still fanning myself!!!! I'm also against crazy texting/internet chat spelling of words to exaggerate them, but I'm sorry, Lance doing that Paso Doble (and specifically the kiss) was hawt.

Sorry to all those (non-gay-man-loving) readers that I may have offended, but I just had to break up all the cute kid pics and churchy packet goodness with something from my spicier side! :D

I just wanted to post this awesome conference packet for anyone who's interested: . . . . . . . . (it came from this blog)

October Conference Packet - Upload a Document to Scribd

edited to add: I just found another really cute one from Deseret Book - click here.

How fast do you type?

I found this fun little typing test and had a go at it. Made me a little sad that my skills have slipped so far from the 78wpm I got up to in my college speed typing class (I know, still not an impressive speed), but still enjoyed it and wanted to share!

63 words

Typingtest

Aren't kids (& pets) so precious when they're sleeping?

One morning last week, when I went to wake Faith up for school, I found this sweet, perfect angel instead. I just had to go get my camera and take a picture! It's so funny to me that no matter how much they act out/sass/pretend to be deaf the day before, all is forgiven in an instant when the image of your sleeping child melts your heart.

The next couple of days, I got pictures of the rest of my babies sleeping. Here's this little stinker snoozing away the early morning in my bed. Luckily he usually sleeps through the night in his crib and only wakes up and wants to snuggle after Tony has gone to work.



Here's Misty sleeping comfortably (???!!!!!??) in her number "6" position with her back feet resting on a chair leg. She has a bunch of crazy sleeping positions. Of course, she is a cat, so she's no amateur.





And Crumpet in her favorite spot--on top of the sofa back cushion. Don't worry, if you want to sit on the couch, she won't mind, at least not very much.

Faith was so excited to be starting soccer!! Here she is at her first practice on Sep. 4th.

She has a great coach who really works them and teaches them about the game. The day after, Faith said that she sure wished she had soccer practice every day! She was really looking forward to her "big game". I thought that maybe she called it that because it was her first, but later heard her talking about the other games and was calling them all "big games" :D

The "Purple Pixies" had their first game on the 13th because they had a bye-week on the 6th. Faith looked so cute all decked out in her uniform!

They lost 2-3, but had a fun time and did great both individually, and as a team. Faith was really dissapointed that she didn't make a goal, but I was impressed that she was always right in there by the ball and got in some good blocks and kicks. When the other team had the ball, Faith was one of only two who always ran hard to get ahead of it.

Christian had a hard time at the game. When we got there and Faith went out on the field to practice, he tried to follow her. I showed him the white line on the ground and told him that we couldn't go past it. He was so upset, he started throwing a fit and screaming, "line . . . line . . . LINE!!!!!" Then Tammy took him over to the nearby playground to distract him. Later on, he came back to watch Faith play, but kept defiantly touching and putting body parts across the line. What a stinker!

That weekend we also went to Arctic Circle to eat and let the kids play. Christian had fun stealing, and then wearing, Tony's ball cap.



He even plopped it on his sister.

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We also went to Lagoon. It was still a little hot, but definately nicer than in the middle of summer!

We had lots of fun, but are also looking forward to Frightmares in October when they have up the Halloween decorations and trick-or-treating.

It sure made these two cuties happy!

I hate politicians

Because I don't want to offend anyone, I purposely limit the amount of political material I put on my blog, but I have to post something about how frustrated I am by both the Democrats and the Republicans. It seems to me that both sides consist almost entirely of sleazy liars who reside firmly in the back pocket of big business and want the governemt to control absolutely everything in our lives.

I hate how both condemn the other party for any little thing they can find negative about it, but defend those very same things about themselves. Like how the Republicans bashed Obama for his lack of experience, and then brought in Palin for VP, and now the Dems are bashing her for it! Experience is usually a good thing, but in politics, it just seems to corrupt. I really wish that we had more than two major parties--it wouldn't solve all our problems, but at least it would give us something more than just the two extremes.

In this sea of craziness, ironically, the only "fair and balanced" news program I have found is actually a fake news program. Jon Stewart & his team at The Daily Show make fun of both sides and do a great job of it. I especially enjoyed this the other night when they were reporting from Denver: (my favorite part starts at about 7 minutes in, also be warned that it may not be for kids)



I would post my favorite Daily Show segment making fun of the GOP, but it was a gag about the reason they held their convention in Minnesota (answer: so Republicans can party in the Minneapolis airport men's room--"the Larry Craig" bathroom), and I try to keep my blog family friendly ;D But I also loved it the other night, when, at the end of his interview with Mike Huckabee, Stewart summed up, "So, you think that your party is the only one that can fix the damage that your party has done." Huckabee responded, "Um, . . . yeah, I guess you could put it that way" and chuckled.

I'm still not sure who I will be voting for (to the frustration of my staunchly Republican, O'Reily & Hannity-loving mother), but over the next few weeks I will do my best to figure out which is the lesser of two evils. Feel free to leave enlightening comments.

First grade & a 2nd birthday!

Isn't Christian absolutely adorable in this picture, looking so clueless? Don't worry, kid, I often feel that way during scripture study!

Now, lest you think that we are the kind of family who reads our scriptures every night, I want to assure you that we are not. We try hard to do it, and even get on kicks where we are reading every night for a few weeks or so, but alas, we aren't perfect, yet.

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I just wanted to point this out to "keep it real" because last time I posted about scripture reading, I had people thinking that we were the epitome of rightous behavior, a saintly family letting it's light shine down on the poor little sinners, grasping at whatever we may to keep from being translated. Just kidding, but I did have someone comment about how great it was that we had nightly family scripture study.

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Obviously, I'm putting pretty much just the good stuff here in the blog and bypassing entries like, "This day we never got off the couch, except to fix unhealthy snacks." That way we sound like way more awesome, fun and productive people than we actually are :D

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The one thing Tony & I have been doing every night is solving Sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. Tony usually beats me on the 1 & 2 star puzzles, and I usually win on the 3 & 4 stars, but not always. I highly recommend them, they're fun and exercise your brain! (My brain is size 2 & "Maxim" hot, in case you were wondering.) I even printed some beginner puzzles for Faith and she is catching on quick.

To completely change subjects, Christian's new favorite website is Cute Overload, and specifically the section titled, " Cats 'n' Racks™ " (title is clickable). It is a collection of cute little kitties nestled all snug as a bug in women's decolletage (e.g. cleavage - hence the "racks" <--This pic was lifted from their site). When I was looking at it the other day, after being directed there by Cake Wrecks, Christian started exclaiming, "Key!!! (kitty) Bubs!!! (I'm sure you can guess this one) Key!!!!!!! Bubs!!!!!!!!!!!! He loves seeing any kind of animal, but especially kittens & puppies, And having been weaned less than two months ago, I guess he's just experiencing a normal amount of withdrawl from "bubs".

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Faith's first day of First Grade was on August 25th. She was so excited!! She dressed up in some new clothes (some of her few new things which wouldn't be too warm) and got beautiful (I wish it was so easy, or actually even possible, for me to get beautiful like Faith ;) and was ready to go.
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She walked to the bus stop, (which is one entire house away--she has it sooooo rough!) with her brother, Crumpet & I trailing behind her. **Note Buddy's "bus stop attaire", which did not include shoes or pants. Fortunately for the neighborhood, mine included pants.
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The kids played some tag (although in this picture it looks more like a crazy tribal dance, or maybe moves from Saturday Night Fever) and waited for the bus.

Faith was so excited to ride the bus that she wouldn't let me drive her to school, even though all the other kids at our stop rode with their moms. We didn't know where her class would be, so I told her that Christian & I would follow the bus to school in our car and be there to help her find it.

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Unfortunately, there were no parking spaces within a block of the school, so by the time we hiked in, Faith was long gone. I found her class, but there was no Faith! Then I ran crazy all around the school, holding my 3 ton shoeless child, looking for her. Just before I went to the office to issue an Amber alert, I rechecked her classroom, and she was there! She said that she waited for awhile since there was nobody there to help her, and then a nice mom came up to her and asked if she needed assistance finding her classroom. I guess I must have passed them in the hall along the way, with the place being packed with kids, parents, and younger siblings and all. I'm just so glad that someone nice helped her!

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Later that morning, without his trusty sister/nanny, Christian got into the lotion and proceded to protect his entire body (and shirt) against fine lines and looking older. It's hard to tell with this pic being such a small size, but I purposely left his eyes red to convey his devil-licious nature. He actually isn't scowling, this is his new "smile" for the camera! He was quite proud and, like me, wanted to preserve this moment for posterity.

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Interesting observation: his shirt reads,

"Why I'm in TROUBLE .

1. won't share anything

2. won't give mommy a break

3. keep getting caught

4. won't take a nap

5. made a huge mess"

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Can you say "self-fulfilling prophesy"?

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Because taking Faith to the bus stop was such a big hit the day before, we decided to do it again on Tuesday! (Snaps for me--Christian was wearing pants that particular morning.) Faith's wearing a dress, which she is really into right now.

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These next three are from Wednesday. Standing with Faith are her friends Maura & Brooklynn.

The kids saw the bus coming and lined up. Good boy, Christain! Way to retrieve the newspaper!

Faith waved to her little bro, and they were off. I thought Christian would be upset each day, watching his sister go off to school without him. But he loves to see the kids & the bus and I guess that cuts the sting a little bit.

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And the next two are from Fri, the 29th. The kids at the bus stop love to pet and try to pick up Crumpet. For an old girl (13--that's supposedly 91 in dog years) and such a small dog she's amazingly tollerant. She does snap if she doesn't want to be messed with, but has only accidentally gotten skin between her teeth twice (both times with Faith when she was younger and much more of a dog terrorizer) and Crumpet looked more surprised about it than Faith did!

She even let Christian hold her this particular morning, will wonders never cease?

On Saturday, I went to Swiss Days (a huge outdoor craft fair) in Midway with Lana & Tammy. I didn't buy anything other than lunch and a few goodies from the bakery, but had a lot of fun just looking at the wares. Tammy bought these fish shaped cookies from the bakery for the kids.

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Monday, September 1st was Christian's 2nd birthday!! I made his cake, and he helped me clean up.

It was my first homemade

"shaped" birthday cake, ever. If you can't tell (and I couldn't blame you) it's Thomas the Tank Engine. Christian loves playing with his Thomas train set and sometimes watches the show. As I was making it, Faith kept saying, "that's not like Thomas" and "I think it needs _____" to which I replied, "I know, but I'M NOT SARAH!" My sister Sarah is the queen of exquisite birthday cakes and never ceases to amaze me. I lack the skill, effort, patience and dedication to even approach her level of ability. Still, I'm proud of my work!

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That evening, we went over to mom & dad's for BBQ ribs. My family gave Christian a bunch of fun gifts, including a book, foam disc shooter, lion play set, an outfit and the two toys in the following video that didn't come from the same person (dragon from mom, sword from Joy's family) but went well together: (make sure to turn your sound down as to not be anoyed by my disturbingly high pitched giggling)

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After that, we went over to Tony's parents'. Tammy went all out!! She loves party supplies and decorations in ways that are illeagal in some states, and boy do we appreciate her for it! Christain was awed by the balloon bouqet and immediately wanted to play with it. I thought he was hugging Thomas until I noticed that he seamed to be straining and then he said, "pop??!!!!" Don't worry, the mylar was too sturdy to succumb to a 2 year old's vice-like grip, and we are still enjoying the baloons to this day.

Again, with Christian's "smile for the picture" face . . . sigh. Anyway, they & Tammy gave him lots of great stuff, including several cute outfits, a big Thomas coloring set, and "Cranky" the crane and "Billy" the orange engine to go with his train.

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At home, we gave him a scooter, helmet & knee pads. Because Faith had outgrown her scooter, and her birthday is not as strategically placed for gifting warm weather play equipment, we gave her her birthday presents early also.

Last night, when we got home from getting Faith a soccer ball and shin guards (thank you soooo much, Tammy!), the kids got on their scooters

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and rode off into the sunset . . .

and Tony was jealous of Buddy's cool Thomas helmet.

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The end.

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p.s. .Several people have asked me where to post a comment. I'm just so excited that some of you were at least considering leaving comments! Thank you, past commenters, and those with good intentions!!

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It's right below this paragraph (at the end of each post) where it says "Posted by Emily" and the time and the # of comments. Just click on the word "comments", type whatever you want in the box, and then click on the circle next to Name/URL. Type your name in the name box and just don't worry about the URL box. Lastly, click "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT". There, that wasn't too hard, was it? (Blogger users, please feel free to just use your Google/Blogger id like usual, this tut is just for those new to the process ;)