Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to everyone....

I am thankful for all those that have served our country, past and present.  To my Dad, THANK YOU!  you are a great example to all of us...

To my husband, my MARINE, THANK YOU!

I am proud to be your wife.

May we remember all those that have given their lives in the service of our country.  Who have made it possible for us to worship as we please, to choose for ourselves and to live in PEACE.

Happy Memorial Day!

they've got it BAD!

Yup! the girls have got it bad... BEIBER FEVER!

This is Sydney's new wall decor....

JUSTIN BEIBER

I remember being a preteen and LOVING NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.... 

It makes me smile and brings back memories.

I have to admit though... he is NOT my favorite.  He sings like a GIRL

Tiffany doesn't have to hurt anymore

This is sweet little Tiffany Searle (our little cousin).... years ago when she was healthy and able to run... she became ill 5 years ago with something the Dr's and specialist couldn't ever figure out.  No matter her circumstances, she always had a smile on her face.  She was a happy little girl and you couldn't be around her without smiling yourself.  She brought joy to so many and touched many hearts. Including my girls.  Everyone LOVED Tiff!

She is the youngest of 6 kids... born to my cousins Scott and Valerie Searle.  I have always felt a special bond with Scott.  He is one of the greatest examples of strength.  So is his wife, Valerie.  She devoted her life to taking care of the needs of this precious little girl.

A few months back Make a Wish foundation made it possible for Tiff to fulfill her dream of running a mile.... She ran in a special stroller.  But she finished her mile and now after fighting the battle for years she has FINISHED HER RACE HERE ON EARTH!  She left this life to return to Heavenly Father on Tuesday, May 25, 2010.  I know she was greeted by all those who loved her who have gone before.  She now gets to run and play as NOT HURT ANYMORE, according to my sweet little 6 year old, Kelsee.  The hardest thing for me was telling my girls.  They loved Tiff.  Although I had prepared them for this time it was still a shock at first.  The tears ran down their face and each one then said
She doesn't have to hurt anymore
But now she gets to be with Heavenly Father and Jesus  and
Now Great Gramma and Papa Christensen get to take care of her in Heaven.

We love you TIFF and sure will miss your smile :)

You spent how much? Its more like YOU SAVED WHAT?

I went to the commissary on Saturday to do some shopping.I took Kelsee with me and Haylee stayed home with Delaney while she napped (dont worry I didnt forget Syd, she was at her friends house)... Ok so my actual plan was to just get a FEW things... but it didn't work out that way....  I FILLED the cart!  I haven't done that, well since we moved here and I had to replenish or freezer and fridge stuff!  I couldn't help myself... so many things had gone on sale and they had just added coupons right on the shelves for things we TOTALLY use!  Fruit snacks..... for $1.50 with a 0.75 off 1 package coupon... are you kidding a box of Betty Crocker fruit snacks for 0.75 a box... could you pass that up?  I sure couldn't so in the cart went a box or 10!  Then I had coupons for a FREE box of facial tissue... yes there was 4 of those.  Then a FREE Relish jar, a FREE BBQ sauce, $1.00 off 2 boxes of Lucky charms, oh but then I had another $1.00 off 2 boxes AND when you bought 4 boxes you got $3.00 off MILK!  Sweet another thing FREE!!!  Then I had a coupon for $1.00 off 2 Kraft cheese... they of course were on sale a pound of shredded cheese for $2.50 then when you buy 2 get a FREE box of Ritz crackers.... (Are you sensing a pattern here???? LOTS OF FREE STUFF in this shopping trip!) yup!  that's right.  I even splurged and let Kelsee pick out a body wash for the girls.... oh but you say no biggie, well for me it was, I DIDN'T USE A COUPON for it! Ouch!  $1.79 hit me hard :)

OH! and my favorite new snack for ME and ONLY ME..... Edwards brand Hot fudge sundae treat.... its a 2 pack.  They are on sale for $2.04 and I had $1.30 off coupon... Yes I am stocking up!

Well when all was said and done and my cart was OVERFLOWING I headed to the check out.  Now at this point, the cashiers see me coming and just wait in anticipation for me to come to THEIR lines..... No really I have been told by a few that they actually see what line I go in and then call to that register after I leave to see how much I saved.  It made me smile when they told me that..... Oh sorry I was kinda patting myself on the back for a minute. :)

I unloaded my cart with the "help" of Kelsee as she threw the stuff on the conveyer belt, then the fun began.... scanning it all and then the coupons.  My total WAS $205.86------  2 FULL carts after it was all put in the bags.  But what did I actually pay, and how much DID I save you ask.... Oh I WILL tell you!  I SAVED $105.28 and I spent $100.58.... yes I got meat, milk, cheese, bread, fresh fruits and veggies and MORE!  

Then it was the not so fun part of putting it all away!

**sorry no pictures, I hope this post didnt bore you.  It made me smile :)**

I'm A BIG girl NOW!

Ok so thinking back.... I don't think I have ever done this before with any of my girls, but hey, there is always a 1st time for everything right???

Delaney has made the JUMP into being a BIG GIRL!  Drum roll PLEASE.....

She's been wanting to sit on the potty lately.  Even pulling on her pants and moving backwards towards the big girl potty.  In getting her ready for a bath the other day, Haylee asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty.  She nodded her head so Haylee helped her up and SURPRISE SURPRISE!  she went :)  What a big girl.

So I went out and got her a potty of her own.  And of course it had to be pink.  She has sat on it everyday since... with or without clothes. For your sake I got this picture with clothes on.

the result....

Oh yes.... I am one proud mommy :)  I would LOVE to have her potty trained before she was 2!

thanks for letting me share a proud mommy moment.

Can you take a guess?

How many times does she have to be told..... Oh I dont know!  I think I have told Haylee more than her fair share, "take the water bottles outta your room!"  She FINALLY cleaned her room on Friday and this is what I found when I went in to check on her PROGRESS

 Yes that is a medium sized tote FULL of water bottles.  Some still with water in them!  Are you kidding me??? Those things COST MONEY!  Can you take a guess at how many she had hidding in her room?

Here is another look

Do we have a WINNER??? 

I really DO know what I am talking about... I think she is a water bottle HOARDER!

My ransom note

Isnt this the sweetest thing?? It made me wanna cry.  Kelsee is the "ransom note" writer.... she made it at school for me.  Just had to share it
I am a lucky mommy :)

Kids say the cutest things....

So I was driving with Kelsee today to get newspapers.  

Just mommy and Kelsee time! (she loves that)  Of course, she wanted to watch a movie. There were no other sisters to fight with over which one to pick. So she picked, Kim Possible the movie. So much for mommy and Kelsee time....

So as the movie starts she says to me, "Mommy, I LOVE the NICK A MORA song on Kim Possible. Its my favorite."  I thought for a minute, confused at what song she was talking about. I have only seen that movie a MILLION times!  I never heard a song called NICK A MORA.  So I asked her, "who sings that?"  She replied

"the pink little guy"  Then it hit me.....

NICK A MORA= THE NAKED MOLE RAT!

It made me laugh.  I love sure do love my Kelsee 

5 hours later.....

Sydney has been had a nasty cough for the past 4 days... I have been telling her she NEEDS to go to the Dr.  Her response to me "I can't miss school.  I wanna get my 10 tickets to the Spring Carnival and I have to be there everyday to get them!"  WHAT???? Are you kidding me.  She would rather go to school and be sick then be sick at home and miss out on tickets.  Thats Syd for you!  SHE LOVES SCHOOL!!!

So after ALOT of coughing fits to were she had a hard time breathing Sydney FINALLY gave in and said she wanted to go to the ER last nite.  So we checked in at 7:45pm and SAT... and sat and sat some more! Just a little side note.... WHY is it that they (the ER people) feel it is OK to put on THE GREEN MILE with Kids in the ER??? Are you kidding me?  It was on TNT last nite and it replayed after the first showing. Lots of language and shootings.... NOT what I need my daughter to be watching LATE at nite!  THANK YOU!  I even asked a corpsman to change the channel, when we were the only ones sitting in the waiting room.... no such luck!  So there we were STUCK watching/listening to YUCK!  And to top it off, the other ADULTS that took their turns waiting too had some nice WORDS (if you can actually call 4 letter nastiness Words) to share as they sat and waited their turn.  Really people if you wanna talk like that FINE so be it!  I DONT NEED my daughter to hear it!  Sorry for getting sidetracked! LOL

OH!  and she got to wear one of these cool masks with Disney characters on them.  She went through 3 of them while waiting... as she sneezed in them and well ya know what happens when you are sick and you sneeze.

So were FINALLY called back into a room at 10pm.  The Dr. came to see her FINALLY at 11:15pm.  He determined after listening to her chest and her cough.... Bronchitis!  I knew it.  that is totally what I figured it was.  Yes thank you! I AM a mom of 4.

So after our 6 minutes with the Dr.  he said  "we'll get ya outta her in a couple of minutes... gotta get the papers for you to sign"  38 minutes Later! (seriously someone needs to teach them TIME... cuz last time I checked that wasnt a few minutes.  The funniest thing was Sydney was the one who said that to me :)  We then headed to the Pharmacy..... YES oh YES another 20 minute wait for her meds.  Are you kidding me?  Its midnight and NO ONE else was in the pharmacy!  So here is what we came home with

I REALLY hope this stuff works!

So that was Our adventure for the night. and to think I was gonna go to the Midnight madness caselot sale.... Totally missed that.  It was from 6-midnight!  Oh well my baby girl was WAY more important

It was a Success yet again :)

Ok so yesterday was the big day.... well its MY big day!  The day I look forward to all month long.

DOUBLE COUPON DAY!

Here are my totals for the day.... I will add pictures shortly... when I can gather all my GOODS together :)

My totals were..... My 1st trip $324.10 I paid $52.18 

My 2ndtrip $153.51  I paid $9.28

 (this is what I got for $9.28)

My 3rd trip $66.91 I paid $7.91 

My 4th trip $218.17  I paid $31.77 

My 5th trip $235.51  I paid $31.01 

My 6th trip $126.63 I paid $3.45 

My Grand Totals SHOULD'VE been $1124.83 and I spent $135.60 for a total of 12% of my bill.

I couldn't even fit everything on the table stacked up!  After taking all the pictures I realized I forgot to full bags of stuff!

lots of batteries for $0.38 each... Lysol wipes for $0.58 each...

All the Razors.... most were $0.87 (except the Mach3 refill cartridges were $3.48 each) 

I think this is the most product I've gotten at once.   

Happy Mother's day Mommies!

to all of my friends and sisters who have been such a great example to me over the years.... I have been so blessed to have you in my life!  You don't know it but you have helped shape me to be the mom I am today..... in small and simple ways.  Thanks for you examples.

I am so thankful especially for MY MOM! and GRAMMAs who are my greatest examples in life! 

Its a secret message

It was SOOO hot yesterday as soon as I picked the girls up from school they wanted to play in the sprinklers.  And that is where they were for the next few hours... til dinnertime. Then back out again after they ate.

At one point Kelsee called for me to COME SEE THIS MOM!  When I got to the front door, this is what I saw

Do you see it?  Its a WATER HEART.  Thats what Kelsee called it.  It was on Haylee's shorts.  Kelsee said it was for me... to tell me they LOVED me!

How sweet is that?

It was One FABULOUS week!

Kelsee stayed home from school sick yesterday. Our Rule is your REST! all day.  Laying on the couch was BORING she said.  After a few hours of laying there,  she was rustling around on the couch and guess what she found???? My camera!  Oh thank Heavens! She said it was smashed in the cushions of the couch. Then  I remembered... I had put it on the couch as I was packing the last bag before heading to Utah for Womens Conference last week.  

We got all the way to Mesquite, NV to the hotel, before I realized it was NOT packed! Thus not many pictures of our vacation!  The only ones I do have are those that my friend took with her camera.

We left our house Sunday after church to make the drive up.  We stopped for the night in Mesquite, NV.  The girls were tired cranky and I had a MASSIVE Migraine! after checking into our hotel room, we drove around trying to find someplace to eat.  We settled on Little Caeser's Pizza...... Why you might ask PIZZA???? Because they had a DRIVE THRU window and I didnt have to get all the girls out of the truck.

(if I wouldve had my camera, picture of drive thru window would be inserted here.... so just imagine it)

We had a fun night of playing in the hotel room..... Watching Tv and laughing.  

We left Monday morning and drove the rest of the way to American Fork, UT. It was a beautiful drive. So green and full of so many colors in flowers and rocks. It amazes me the beauty of this world.

We had monday night and all day Tues and wed to play with our cousins.  Wednesday night we made the trek to Salt Lake to pick up Aunt Jeanne, Gramma and my good friend Tammy Pitts (we've known each other since we were 8 and haven't seen each other in over 10 years)  We stayed up late that night talking and laughing like teenagers at a slumber party.  It was so fun!

Thursday morning we woke up to COLD rain/SNOW (yes really SNOW on April 28th!) we headed out to Womens Conference at BYU.

The opening session was held in the Marriot Center.

This is me and my big sister Jeanne.  We are 15  months apart.

The classes we took Thursday were AMAZING!  Learned alot and realized I gotta work on some things to be a better mommy and wife.  (just a sidenote, when I told my husband Matthew that, he said I dont think there is anything you need to work on! Nobody is perfect! - I know AHHHHH how sweet huh?)  What a great day with my sister and friend.  I was sad that my mom got sick and couldn't be there with us and my sister Julie had stayed home with her so she missed out too.

Thursday night we had the opportunity to go to a concert at BYU.... LOTS of fun performers and music.  Michael McLean, Hilary Weeks among others.

We were all like a bunch of little girls, screaming for our favorite singers.

Friday morning we woke up to More SNOW and COLD!  Again it was only Tammy, Jeanne and I that went to the Conference.  Julie and my mom were still sick :(

(L-R) Tammy(my good friend), me (Jenifer) and Jeanne (my sister)

yet another day of AMAZING classes that were FULL of the spirit and so much good stuff. I took LOTS of notes.  

For the closing of the Conference we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Dallin H Oaks

and his wife. How amazing to be in the same room as an apostle of the Lord.  There was chatter and such until Elder Oaks walked in and an immediate HUSH came over the crowd as everyone rose to their feet.  The spirit was so strong.  It is an experience I will not soon forget.

After the Conference we wanted 1 last picture in front of the Beautiful blossoming pink trees.

The colors of the flowers were amazing.  after so much BROWN and dirt of the desert it was a beautiful site!

Later that night we had the opportunity to go visit another Great friend and her kids. On the way out there we passed the Great Salt Lake and saw this beautiful sunset...

We again had a great time talking and laughing with friends.  I am so blessed to have great people in my life!

These are my good friends Tammy and Bryna

I am SOOO grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Utah with my girls.  grateful for my daughter Haylee for stepping up and watching her sisters so that I could go to the Conference.  But most of all Thankful to my Savior and my Father in Heaven for all the beauty of this world and the blessings of such a wonderful family! I am a LUCKY girl!

It's hard to believe

It's so hard to believe that my "baby"  started out this tiny..... 

18 months ago today Delaney Nicol was born.  Where has the last year and a half gone?
It has ZOOMED past!

You might be saying to yourself.... WHATs so BIG about being 18 Months? 
WELL- This is a big day for us.... she is now "LEGAL" for NURSERY!  The question is.... IS MOMMY READY FOR HER TO GO?

 She has brought so much joy to our lives.  She is so happy. Her smile is contagious.

She has been growing more teeth, and learning new words.... her latest are Haylee, HELLO, NO! and MINE!

she loves to make faces and loves to laugh.  She is very ticklish. She loves her big sisters and loves getting into their stuff!  NOTHING is sacred when she is around.

 But who could resist this face?  I sure can't.  

Happy 18 month Birthday Delaney!  and NURSERY Here we come!