Our Friendly Night

Thursday night we received a last minute invitation to hang out with some friends and roast ourselves some dinner over a newly acquired fire pit. What fun! It was a really great idea, even if I felt like my skin would melt right off my body while trying to cook hot dogs over a fire in the sweltering 90 degree weather. I did have to slip away to attend my niece's bridal shower, which was themed so cute (great job, Vicki!) But then a short hour and a half later, to everyone's dismay, I returned to rejoin the party. The funnest part of the night was simply being with our friends. After pulling out the camera, I'm afraid I went a little bit picture crazy. I can't help it, it's just too much fun how we all have kids around the same age and that we all just happen to get along smashingly. So here's picture after picture of all the good friends, grouped into the fabulous threes that we are!

The GUYS (Oooooohhh baby! We could create a best-selling calendar with these men.)



The GALS (Eat your heart out Victoria's Secret Angels!)



The BOYS (My poor son, his noggin is just extra massive next to these cute little boys with the normal sized heads.)



The GIRLS (I LOVE this picture. It totally captures what they're always doing together - giggling - like the girly girls that they are.)



The BABIES (I totally forgot to get a picture of the babies that night, so this picture is a few weeks old. Bri's baby isn't pictured, considering he/she is only about the size of a jellybean right now.)



Then here's a nice pic of some of the crew roasting their food (and themselves) by the fire.



Once the fun started winding down, the girls all begged and begged to have a sleepover. And Amanda being the trooper that she is, offered to host the crazy event. Amanda's poor little boy Owen was so sad to not have a sleepover of his own, that we caved and let Mathew enjoy the fun of his first sleepover too. Heaven only knows what was wrong with Amanda (I think she may have been delusional from inhaling fire pit smoke) to allow 3 kids to sleepover at her house on the same night, but I'm glad she did. They had so much fun.

Here's the girls and the boys all set for bed in borrowed jammies.





A couple more random pictures, and then I promise...I'm done!

The girls looking at stars (and wincing at the horrible brightness of my camera flash, I'm so mean.)



And finally - my cute little Nater, starting to sit up all by himself. I love this age!



As promised, that is all! Thanks Kurt and Amanda for hosting such a fun night. It sure beat the action-packed night of TV watching we would have entertained ourselves with otherwise.

TAGGED - Picture Me!

***Warning!!! Another "I've been tagged" post is below. Proceed cautiously if you are sick to death of me going on and on about myself.****

This one was hard, please excuse some of the lame-o pictures I was forced to come up with to answer the questions. I have little patience with searching Google for something better.


My Favorite Food...



Middle Name...
The Lee part. I have no idea who Lee Evans is. Hopefully no one controversial, seeing as how he's getting free advertising on my blog...



Favorite Place To Be...
Is it sad that my favorite place to be at this point in my life is in bed sleeping??



Favorite Color...
My favorite color changes depending on what the color is being used for. So this beautiful picture of a rainbow will have to do.





Favorite Place To Visit...
This is a picture of Disneyland at night, but really any amusement park will do. Disneyland just tops it while my kids are still young enough to find it magical.



My Career...



Name of a Pet...



My Age...



Fascinating! Again, I tag anyone who's up to the challenge of actually trying to find pictures to answer these questions. It's not easy...unless you're like me and will just settle for pretty much the first image that shows up in your search.

Finally...Some Summer Fun!

After experiencing a harsh winter that would just NOT give up, we're finally hitting weather warm enough to start having FUN! Saturday, Brandon hooked our hose up to the hot water from the washer (my husband is a genius) and filled our little pool up a bit before adding the cold. The result of this formula? Wonderfully cool (but not freezing) water. After McKenna and Mathew splashed and played for awhile, the rest of us decided to climb on in and we had some fun family pool time. For your viewing pleasure, here's some pics. I refrained from being in the pictures myself, because a picture of me + a bathing suit = no more visitors on my blog. And I love visitors on my blog. You can all thank me later.











We wrapped up our fun day in the sun with what else but barbecued hot dogs. I love summer. And I will eat my hot dogs all summer without an ounce of guilt, because you just have to live a little. Even if it means avoiding pictures of me in a bathing suit so I don't scare off all my blog visitors.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I know I claim a lot of bragging rights with my family, but I seriously wouldn't do it if every statement wasn't absolutely true (at least in my eyes.) So to give you the basic idea of my dad's character, I'm going to tell you all a little (way too long and boring) story.

The week after I had Nathaniel, I went to take McKenna to the bus stop on one of the many crazy snowy days we had this last winter. It was McKenna's last day of school before the Christmas break and I was really looking forward to having her home for awhile. I should first tell you that I do not do well the first month or two after having a baby. I am an absolute emotional basketcase. I have horrible anxiety and seriously cry almost all day long. That being said, when McKenna's bus didn't show up, I was already having to take deep breaths to calm myself at the prospect of having to load up all three kids and drive in all the snow to take her to school myself. But take her I did. On the way home, I drove over some slush in the road, heard something large hit the underside of my van, and suddenly it completely seized up and I was stranded on the side of the road. I, of course, immediately started bawling. We were all in our pajamas and slippers and my little newborn was hungry and making it known with his very loud crying. Thank heavens for cell phones. What did I ever do without one? Since Brandon works at a hospital, it's pretty much impossible to get a hold of him. So I called the people I always know I can count on, my parents. They were out to rescue me in a flash.

Leaving my van on the side of the road, my parents drove me home. The first thing my dad did when walking into my house was get on the phone and start calling tow-truck companies and auto-repair shops. Which was a HUGE blessing to me. I mentioned before that I have a phone phobia, and I absolutely hate calling any kind of company for anything. I always make Brandon do it. My wonderful dad not only secured a tow-truck and a place to fix my van, but he drove back to my van and waited himself for the truck to show up (which ended up being a horribly long wait for him, sorry Dad.) I felt so taken care of.

The next day, I received a call from the repair shop letting me know what was wrong and also the estimated cost to fix it. The amount was so high, I immediately started bawling (again) and Brandon had to take over to finish the conversation. Not 5 minutes after we hung up the phone, my mom called to let us know that they received the call themselves and that my dad insisted on covering the cost of the repairs until we were able to pay them back - even if it took years or never happened at all. You have to understand that after Brandon's long absence from work due to the chemotherapy, after having a baby, and after paying for Christmas, we were struggling financially to say the least. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to know that my family knew we were struggling (in so many ways) and that they were there to take care of us.

My dad takes care of us, he always has. When I was little, he was always so attentive and sympathizing whenever I was sick (which always made me feel so guilty whenever I was totally faking to stay home from school.) It's nothing to him to join us when we invite them out to dinner, and then insist on covering the bill. (And then he always has some weak excuse why it was necessary for him to do so.) He's also always making fun little jokes. My sister, D'Ann, keeps a little file of all his sayings. For example: "This food tastes a little musty." And once all the offended looks have passed, he'll add, "Like you must have more of it." Or when someone announces they have to use the facilities, he'll quote, "You better go when you gotta go, cause if you don't go when you gotta go, when you do go, you might find you already went." He has a million others and he's always repeating them and it never fails to make us smile.

So Happy 29th Birthday (again) Dad!! Know that we love you and always appreciate everything you do.

Another game of TAG!

My popularity grows! What can I say? I have an infectious personality ;o) So, for your reading pleasure, 5 things you were just DYING to know about me in various categories.

5 things on my to do list:
1- Laundry, it's always on my to do list
2- Go to the gym, it's also always on my to do list, whether or not it actually gets done is another story.
3- Finally get my shelf painted and decorate my cute chocolate wall that Bri painted for me months ago.
4- Run my 5k this summer in 35 minutes or less (Right, Katie?)
5- Take my kids somewhere this summer that is a little funner and more exciting than fastfood playlands and the backyard.

5 jobs I've had:
1- Lagoon as a ride operator, area supervisor, and ride office supervisor (and shameless flirt)
2- JCPenney as a credit and catalog associate
3- Dental office as a receptionist (Oh, how I hated that job)
4- Peck Aubry Paperdolls as a warehouse "manager" (since I was the only person who worked in the warehouse, I therefore dubbed myself the manager). And a receptionist.
5- ACS doing data entry first from the office and then from home

5 Places I have lived: (Boy, this one should be fascinating considering the vast majority of incredibly interesting places I've lived...)
1- West Jordan, UT
2- Layton, UT
3- Bountiful, UT
4- Taylorsville, UT
5- West Jordan, UT

5 Favorite snacks: (or in other words...5 reasons I have a chubby belly)
1- Very buttery and salty popcorn and a Coke
2- Chips and salsa and a Dr Pepper (Mexican is the only food I prefer Dr Pepper over Coke...I have no idea why)
3- Pepperjack cheese and crackers and a Coke
4- Fried Zucchini with Ranch and a Coke
5- Chocolate covered peanuts and a....nope....MILK

5 Favorite Desserts:
1- Breyers Reeses Peanut Butter Cup ice cream mixed with milk
2- Snelgrove's Canadian Chocolate ice cream mixed with milk
3- My mom's lime jello cheesecake
4- Hot brownies and vanilla ice cream topped with my mom's homemade hot fudge
5- My mom's homemade chocolate ice cream (yes, my mother is a VERY good treat-maker and cook)

5 things you don't know about me are:
1- I have a horrible phone phobia and never call anyone unless I have a specific reason I need to talk to them.
2- I wrote down every date I ever went on in a special journal, along with every guy I ever kissed. (Don't ask for numbers, I'll never tell)
3- The "Bloody Mary" ghost story scared the CRAP out of me when I was young, and to this day I hate standing in front of a mirror in the dark.
4- I used to read trashy romance novels until I saw that episode of Friends where Joey found Rachel's trashy novel and called it porn. I thought, "Holy cow! He's right!" And I haven't read one since.
5- I was only 3 lbs 11 oz when I was born. I wore doll clothes and my diapers strongly resembled maxi pads.

5 thing I would do if I was a billionaire:
1- Tell Brandon to quit school and go do something he would REALLY love
2- Pay off all our debt and spend a bunch on totally materialistic things. Like a slightly bigger house (with big rooms we could use for a library, home gym, and home theater) and a new car and a weekly maid and chef (I'm with you on that one Shayleen) and a personal trainer and perhaps some mild cosmetic surgery and a new wardrobe...ok, I'm having too much fun - time to move on.
3- Buy my parents a new house with a much larger dining room and kitchen to fit their ever growing family. And I would hire movers to take care of all their belongings since my dad swears he'll never move because of all the stuff they'd have to pack up after being in their house for 30 years.
4- Take care of all my family's debts and mortgages. My brother deserves to not work his tail off for once, and my sister deserves something a little bigger than her gingerbread house.
5- I suppose if I had any left I should probably donate some to a worthy cause...and I'd also petition for world peace.

5 things I love: (I'm not including family, friends, or religion, because that's a given)
1- I love sitting in a quiet room, curled up with a blanket, and reading a good book for hours.
2- I love the smell and sound of rain. Summer thunderstorms are heavenly.
3- I love listening to all kinds of really good music. Sometimes I close my eyes and I can feel the music tingle every nerve in my body. Sounds "roll your eyes" cheesy, but it's true.
4- I love the almost paralyzed feeling you have right after voluntarily waking up from a deep sleep.
5- I love the triumphant way I feel right after finishing a workout that I thought was going to kill me.

5 people I tag...I don't know! I know not everyone likes to be tagged (even if I love it) so I tag anyone who's like me and actually likes to fill these things out. I'll be checking all your blogs!! Someone better do it!

A Day for Daddies

We love our dads, or at least I do! And that includes my wonderful husband. He works so hard to support us in every way. Brandon is an amazing spouse and such a fun dad to his kids. I'm so thankful for him, especially because he gives the kids the goofy attention that they love. I feel such the adult with my kids. I honestly really struggle to just get down and the floor and play with them and make them laugh. Brandon is fantastic! He can play annoying kids games with them for hours sometimes and still have a great time. You know how kids can say something really lame and think it's hysterical and just want to repeat it over and over? Brandon is so great at that. Him and the kids will just go in circles saying all the dumb kid things that drive me crazy and they'll all just laugh. While I, on the other hand, am the boring mom who excuses herself to go read a book or play on the computer. I think my kids will forever remember their Dad for how much fun he is.

Our Father's Day weekend was filled with lots of family and, of course, lots of good food. Saturday we attended a Staten family picnic where I was able to snap a fabulous 4 generation picture. My boys with their daddy with his daddy with his daddy.



I find pictures like this especially neat because none of my grandparents lived long enough to see me get married, let alone meet my children (at least not on this earth.) Family is an amazing thing. I love to think about our ancestors and wonder if they had any idea what they were creating when they brought children into this world. You really can see the future when you look into your child's eyes.

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there!!

It gets worse...

This future blackmail picture is worth at least two more months of good behavior. The wings alone are worth a month. Maybe having McKenna home all day to play with Mathew isn't such a good thing. I have a feeling it's going to be a fun summer full of horribly embarrassing pictures.

The Art of Blackmail

I think I've got enough pictures of Mathew wearing McKenna's dress-ups to get a few months of good behavior out of him once he hits the teenage years. It's the curse of having an older sister.

I wanna talk about meeee!

I am in the best shape of my life. I love my body. I fit perfectly into my size 6 jeans. I look fabulous in a swimsuit. I am totally full of crap and am just trying to take "The Secret"'s approach to manifest myself into my dream body. I have a feeling it's just not going to work considering I can't help but laugh and make fun of myself every time I try repeating these phrases. Oh well, can't hurt...right? It's hard to believe (especially for me) but I am on week 2 and STILL exercising. I had to take a moment to document this because I surely won't believe it later. Another big thanks to Bri for dragging me to the gym 4 days a week even though I've tried weak excuses to get out of it. I think she was put on this earth for the divine purpose of getting me back into shape. So week 2 and I'm still just as sore and winded as ever, but I'm doing it and that is something in itself right there.

Now I'm going to take a moment to realize that my little blog here is titled, "The Statens Say..." not "Sheri says...trying to lose weight sucks", so I suppose I should spend some time updating you on the rest of my family and not just my vain pastimes.

Brandon has just been busy with nursing school, like always. He makes the occasional appearance at work (which results in only an occasional appearance of a paycheck -- thank heavens for student loans). When he's home, all his time lately has been spent outdoors getting our yard spruced up. His work is paying off and I'm actually starting to take a little pride in looking at the outside of my house. The inside still leaves much to be desired since I am no where near as efficient inside the house as he is outside it.

McKenna officially finished her Kindergarten year and I felt a little tug at my heart after picking her up from the bus stop that last day. In a little over a month, my little girl will be in 1st grade and be gone aaallll day. Which, right now, makes me a bit sad. But I'm sure that after a couple weeks of her being home aaallll day, it will start to sound heavenly.

Mathew is getting more and more talkative everyday, which I'm thankful for...sometimes. It's so strange going from having McKenna, who talked non-stop since she said her first word, to having Mathew who grunts and uses hand gestures to communicate. It's nice to learn that at the ripe age of 4, he's finally learned to put together a complete sentence.

Nathaniel is soooo much fun. He's entering (and I'm sure will be exiting all too soon) my favorite age span. The age where he's interactive and fun and can entertain himself, yet still isn't quite mobile enough to raise my blood pressure. He giggles and squeals and rolls over...all kinds of fun stuff. Now if he'd just start sleeping through the night already, I might be able to cross off my number one complaint.

We haven't been up to much else. Just living life one day at a time, which is all you can do sometimes. We did take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda today. I got several good laughs and the kids LOVED it, of course. The whole drive home was filled with lots of "Hiii-YA!" and "Hwhaa!" and "Pshoo!" I'm sure those of you who have taken your kids to this movie can sympathize.

Now that summer is upon us, hopefully we'll have some adventures that could actually be classified as exciting, or even just interesting. I'd settle with interesting.

It's only Wednesday??

Have you ever had one of those weeks that seem to last and last and last...?? Obviously I have or I wouldn't be asking you dumb rhetorical questions. I swear to you, it should be Friday and I'm still having a hard time convincing myself that I still have another two days to go before the weekend. I bet you're all dying to know why my week has seemed so long, so let me relieve the anticipation for you and begin with Monday.

Monday marked a milestone that a part of me has been excited for and another part of me has been dreading - Nathaniel became close enough to 6 months old that I didn't feel guilty fibbing a week or so and putting him in my gym's daycare. So I had to say goodbye to my "I can't work out because my baby isn't old enough to go to the daycare" excuse and I dug out my musty-smelling gym clothes and headed out. My good friend and personal motivator, Bri, gave me strict instructions that I was to meet her at the gym at 9:00 sharp and we were to begin a new exercise program that would kick my flabby butt into shape.

Now, on a completely serious note, the first thing she informed me of upon my arrival, is that a good man in my ward and neighborhood had been killed in a motorcycle accident early that morning. Though I didn't know him well, I was shocked and devastated. It took only a few moments for the shock to pass and the tears to start falling. I can't say I was completely focused on the workout that followed because I could not stop thinking of his wife and six young kids. Even throughout Brandon's cancer scare and chemotherapy last year, it was never even a possibility in my mind that he might not make it. Bad things like that simply don't happen to me or people I know...they just don't. I live in such denial this way. It really hit me that morning that things like that do happen, and you never know when. The first thing I did after walking in the door from the gym that day was to wrap my arms around Brandon (who had the day off work) and tell him over and over how glad I was that he was still here. My love and prayers go out to this family whose lives will never be the same.

I had every intention of conquering the world (which in this case simply means the laundry) after I got home from the gym that morning, but after hearing such shocking news, I simply spent the rest of the day enjoying my family and friends. Our good friends Kurt and Amanda came over that night with their fun kids and we enjoyed some cheap Little Caesar's pizza (can't beat 5 bucks!) while Kurt hooked us up on a few household projects with his fabulous trade talents. The kids enjoyed their pizza on the tiny platform of their swing set and loved every minute of it. How cute are these kids??



Tuesday I got another serious butt-kicking from Jillian Michaels (you know, the tough-love trainer from Biggest Loser) who gave Bri and I orders via her new book. Let me just take a moment to say that Bri is the best personal trainer I could ever ask for, even if she's not technically a personal trainer. She's knowledgeable, motivated, and isn't embarrassed to do (and make me do) the ridiculous exercises we have to perform in our very public gym. She knows just when I'm being a wimp and need to pushed harder, and just when I can't take anymore and need to be cut some slack. Tuesday's workout was hard and I seriously had to use some serious concentration to keep myself from puking and passing out. I came home that day so sore I could hardly move. I managed to make the kids and I some lunch, lay Nathaniel down for a nap, and then I vaguely remember threatening the kids with their lives if they woke him up before passing out on the couch. That night we enjoyed a visit from Brandon's mom and step-dad who brought Andrea's kids to mess up our house instead of theirs' (just kidding). The kids had fun playing with their cousins before going to bed much too late...again.

Today was a most needed day off from the gym, thank heavens. I can't even lower myself onto the toilet without whimpering in pain. Please tell me there's someone out there who is a bigger wimp than me. And since it was a rainy day, I participated, once again, in my favorite rainy day pastime of eating fast food while the kids play on the playland -- we've had this discussion, right? Bri and I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A and the two of us promptly ate what I'm sure was more calories than we burned off in our 3-4 hours at the gym that week. Counter-productive? Maybe. But much more enjoyable than doing a crab-walk past cute, buff guys in tight pants at the gym (and yes, we really did have to do that). When the kids got bored with the playland, we moved the party to my house and played until it was so late I was forced into only having time to have hot dogs for dinner. How am I ever going to lose weight. Seriously.

Now I'm sitting at my computer at 10:00 at night, when I should be cleaning up the mess the kids made or working on that formidable mountain of laundry I was supposed to conquer on Monday. Oh well, life's too short to worry about how bad our clothes will stink tomorrow. I think I'm going to bed to ready myself for yet another humiliating whipping from Jillian Michaels tomorrow. She's so brutal...even in book form. You can make fun of me all you want, but I'll be the one laughing after I post a picture of me looking smokin' hot in a bikini**

**The "smokin' hot in a bikini" picture will not be posted for a good 10 years, after I receive all my desired plastic surgery.

Sisters day out

I'm sure this is a statement which others might wish to debate, but I seriously have the BEST sister in the world. I know I'm supposed to say that my husband is my best friend ever, but he really has to put up a fight to stay up there with D'Ann. I don't think there is a single person on this planet who knows me and all my dirty little secrets as well as she does. For those of you who don't already know (though I think most of you do, since I'm sure I never shut up about it), my sister and I are really close and maintain our close friendship by going out to the same Mexican food restaurant for lunch every Monday. Which we have been doing for the last 10 years or so. But sometimes, that just isn't enough and we chose to have our own little days out together to spend some quality time that doesn't constantly get interrupted with statements such as, "Mathew! Get off the floor!" or "Mommy, I have to go potty!" or more recently, "WAAAAAA!" (That's supposed to be the sound of Nathaniel crying). So Saturday my fabulous husband stayed with the kids while D'Ann and I enjoyed a few wonderful, childless hours seeing a movie (while enjoying a HUGE bucket of popcorn saturated in extra butter) and eating lunch. I think it is our motto that "The sisters who eat too many calories together, stays together."

I just wanted to take a moment to thank her for the amazing support she has always been to me. She has saved me thousands upon thousands of dollars over the years both by constantly refusing to let me pay for 98% of our meals (which I WILL get back at you for) and by listening to me vent way more than a person should, thus saving me having to pay a therapist. The best thing is, I know I can tell her anything and she'll always be supportive and never judgemental. She loves my kids like they were her own, which they practically are, and they think she's the super coolest aunt around.


I meant to have someone take our picture that day, but like always, I forgot. So here's the fabulous Squire girls back in 1994, our 1st year working at Lagoon together. And believe it or not, that scrawny little brace-faced girl is indeed a 15-year-old me...back when my hair was still naturally blond and my style was very questionable (wait...I'm not sure that part has changed...). Though don't blame the ugly uniform on me, that part I couldn't help. Funny story that no one cares about, that picture was taken right after I received my first gold badge. It was tradition to play some sort of prank on anyone who had earned their gold badge and they really got me. I was told D'Ann fell off the track while trying to retrieve something from the Roller Coaster and that she was badly injured with a broken leg and such. They were so convincing that by the time I reached the back side of the Roller Coaster I was shaking and bawling only to see D'Ann running down the back stairs as whole as can be. I was mortified and wanted to make her phantom injuries a reality. Ah, good times.

Enough rambling for one night. Love ya D! Thanks for being you.

Memorial Day Weekend

Awww...Memorial Day. A wonderful holiday for remembering and paying tribute to those we love who are no longer with us. And what better way to remember those wonderful people than by making ourselves sick by eating way too much barbecued food. At least, this is my favorite way to celebrate this wonderful holiday (and every holiday...and weekend...and Monday...and, well, let's just move on). I'd like to think of my overeating this weekend as an attempt to break the record of most weight gained in one weekend -- everyone has to have something to aspire to.

I started off this weekend on Friday night by ordering a large pizza for myself and the kids (as Brandon was staying late at Primary Children's Hospital doing clinical rotations) and having a picnic on the family room floor -- complete with popcorn, sodas, and a Harry Potter movie, of course. The next day, after recovering from the stomach ache popcorn always gives me (but always sooo worth it), Brandon and I headed to Chili's for lunch where I enjoyed a large plate full of chips, salsa, and Queso dip as an appetizer; four mini hamburgers for my meal; and a Coke to drink (and maybe a couple of refills...). That night we may have enjoyed a bowl of ice cream, but I'm not making any definite confessions.

Sunday we had the usual family barbecue over at Brandon's mom's house, where I enjoyed yet another absolutely fabulous hamburger, along with even more Coke, a bag of chips, a Creamie, and possibly a glazed donut. To break up all this nauseating over-indulgence of fattening foods, I will now include a couple pictures of McKenna and Mathew enjoying said food with their cousins. Thanks to Andrea for the pictures.





Now, back to the food...Today we headed over to my parents' house for a delicious meal of dutch-oven pizza. Oh yes, and it was just as good as it sounds. I, of course, washed down that pizza with yet another Coke (or two - don't judge me). And what better for dessert on Memorial Day than an Orange Dreamsicle. Wow, it just dawned on me that my "diet" this weekend consisted mostly of pizza, hamburgers, and Coke...I think I'm going to be sick.

So I end this weekend with a full, upset stomach but a happy heart. The diet starts tomorrow...like always.

I have been accepted!

That's right, I have officially been accepted into the blogging world. I was tagged! Now I know I really belong. It's like getting asked to sit at the cool kids' lunch table in middle school (as my high school never had a cool table). So heeeeerre we gooooo...

*How did you meet your man? At an LDS church singles dance. We are the ultimate Mormon cliche.
*What is his name? Brandon
*How long did you date? For 2 months, then we quit seeing each other for a year, then we dated an additional 5 months and had a quick 2 month engagement.
*How long have you been married? 8 years and counting
*Who is taller? He is
*Who eats more? Now that depends on what we're eating. Vegetables - that would be Brandon. Greasy, fatty foods - ME! (No wonder we're the rhyme "Jack Sprat" personified. Just kidding, I hope I'm not that bad)
*Who is the better singer? I always said I would marry someone who sings. (Ditto Melissa) Not that's it's saying much in this case, but I am most definitely the better singer. (No offense babe)
*Who does the laundry? Me, and I'm really weird about it. It's the one household chore I can't stand anyone else to do or even help me with. I'm very particular and for some reason it makes me crazy if he tries to help me with it.
*Who pays the bills? I do, Brandon has an anxiety attack anytime he's confronted with our disturbing financial situation.
*Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
*Who mows the lawn? He does. I've never mowed a lawn in my life and I am very intimidated by the whole process.
*Who cooks dinner? Papa Johns...and various Mexican food restaurants. Ok, if we MUST eat at home, I usually cook. Unless it's the all-time manly art of barbecuing.
*Who drives? Brandon. I am a very self-conscious driver and like to avoid it any chance I can.
*Who is more stubborn? HE IS! (And there is NO WAY you are going to convince me otherwise!) **I loved Melissa's answer on this one so much, I'm totally stealing it.
*Who kissed who first? Honestly, I'm not sure. We were laying on a bed (this sounds bad...) in complete darkness and it just kinda happened. Don't worry, we weren't on the bed alone. Eric and Bri were with us (now it really sounds bad) Totally innocent, I assure you.
*Who asked who out? He asked me out, once we finally cleared up which Brandon was calling me.
*Who proposed? He did. On the Millennium New Year's Eve, at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, overlooking the Salt Lake Temple. Awww...our story should be featured in some sort of Hallmark television special.
*Who is more sensitive? I am. Though looking at the absolutely ridiculous things that make me cry (at least once a day) I'm afraid that's not hard to do.
*Who has more siblings? It depends on how you look at it. We both have quite the interesting conglomeration of siblings. Overall, my 7 siblings beats his 4.
*Who wears the pants? That's a hard one, but I think it would mostly be me. Only because I do take care of all the finances, and Brandon always likes to have his ideas acknowledged before following through with them.

Ta-da! That's it! I now tag: Ameila, Julie, Katie, and VerNeita. Welcome to the cool lunch table girls! (Though I'm not sure if some of you already sit there...)

Playlands and rainy days

This blogging thing is starting to become a little harder for me. It's my goal to try and post something new each week, but I've realized quickly that my life is simply not interesting enough to keep a fun, fascinating, and frequent blog. I mean, how many times can I really say, "McKenna hung out with her cutie friends" and "Tonight we went out to dinner....again". But I did have a fun day, regardless of its rank on the "interesting" scale.

On a quick side note, the weather here has been driving me absolutely bonkers. Can I please just have a few nice weeks of decent, sunny, non-windy, 75 degree days? Ah, whatever. The past few days were nice, but we got hit with a big rainstorm today. And one of my absolute favorite things to do with friends, when the weather isn't friendly for outside play, is to eat at greasy fast food chains and let the kids play on the playland. I can have hours of (mostly) uninterrupted chat time with my friends and I can eat my hamburger and drink my soda without worrying about keeping my kids entertained. Today I spent a disturbing 4 hours at Arctic Circle with my good friends Brianne and Amanda while our kids ran, played, and screamed to their hearts content. Good times. Its so fun to have friends with kids the same age as mine. Unfortunately, I never really thought to pull out my camera. But I guess I have plenty of pictures of McKenna, Sydney, and Savannah together already.

In other over-saturated McKenna news....she had her Kindergarten assessment today and I'm happy to say she passed with flying colors. Her teacher gave her the cutest little "diploma" with a picture of her in a cap and gown. My big girl is officially ready to graduate from Kindergarten. That is, as soon as she finishes two more pointless weeks of fun.

And I think that covers our excitement for this day. I guess I should quit stalling and go tackle at least a small portion of the mountain of laundry I have to do. I think I would be willing to do something highly illegal to attain a new washer and dryer right now.

McKenna, McKenna, McKenna

Ok, so I realize that my blog is seeing a little bit of McKenna overload lately, but what can I say? This is an exciting time of year for her. We had the insane experience of attending her Kindergarten program last night and I once again have cute pictures to share. And a little clip from the program, if I can manage it. Uploading video makes me crazy, but it's so worth it once I get it on there. Her program was super over-crowded with parents, (we must've missed the news that you had to camp out several hours before to get a seat) and miserably hot, but very cute all the same. There were so many people there, we spent the entire time standing at the back of the room. Which actually ended up being the way to go, because it was impossible to see anything while sitting down. But enough whining, let's move onto the video, shall we?

Now, a warning...the video is taken from my digital camera (as I still have not mastered the mystery of downloading from my camcorder) so the quality is horrible. I also had to zoom in so much to get a glimpse of her that every tiny move becomes a major jolt while observing -- you may want to take some Dramamine before watching. And you can hardly hear them singing. (Why am I even bothering to post this?) If you are able to catch the sound at all, it was the funniest song. I just giggled and giggled, as you'll probably hear on the video (unfortunately, you can hear my geeky voice just fine). Anyway, now that all your disclaimers have been given...McKenna is on the bottom row, and you can't see her once she bends over. Oh, and you'll probably want to pause my music (at the bottom of my blog) so you can hear.



I would post pictures of the actual performance, but they're too dark to really be much fun to look at (and I'm pretty sure no one really cares anyway). But here's some pictures of McKenna and her best-bud classmates after the performance.





I hope McKenna stays friends with these girls forever. It would be so fun to show them all these pictures when they get older.

7 months out, and all's well!

**For those of you who have been wondering how Brandon's doing, this post is for YOU!**
Brandon recently had his first follow-up PET scan since being declared cancer-free 7 months ago. His check-up was today and he received the results - still free and clear! Hurray! We didn't really expect anything otherwise, but its nice to get some definite verification. It's so strange to think back and realize that at this time last year, we were informed of Brandon's cancer and still very ignorant as to what was going to happen. We were terrified and insecure, especially since it had only been a couple weeks since we had learned we were expecting our third child. Chemotherapy was this horrible process I had only seen in movies, where people never left the floor by the toilet and always looked as if they were one breath away from death. Luckily our experience wasn't nearly that bad and Brandon endured like a trooper. I sometimes wonder if I complained about it more than he did...but I'm blaming that completely on pregnancy hormones. I would've been a bright beacon of hope and sunshine had I not been dealing with my own nausea and exhaustion, or at least that's how I'm going to justify my attitude during those dark months. Now I look back and the whole experience seems like a distant nightmare. We have every confidence that it's a nightmare we'll never experience again. We're hoping the only reminders we'll ever have at this point are his 3 month checkups. Thanks again to all of you for your continued love and support. Our cup definitely overfloweth.

Ode to Mom

I know that just about everyone out there thinks that they have the best mom ever, but I'd like to throw my own mom in for consideration. You hear all the time that you never really appreciate your mother until you have kids of your own, and I agree with that completely. I feel heartbroken that I ever took for granted the amazing person that she is and how lucky I am that have her in my life. This Mother's Day, I just want to give my mom a heartfelt "thank you" for all she does for me and my little family. My mom always knows just when I really need someone and is adamant about helping out in any way that she can. I am so grateful for her never-ending babysitting offers. Anytime I need someone to take the kids, she's the first person I call because I know that not only will she be willing to take the kids, but she'll be genuinely happy to do it. And she does take them pretty much every time, unless she has previous plans (and sometimes even then she'll cancel or find a way to include them). She is the most selfless person I know. I can't tell you how many times I've said to Brandon, "I really hope that when our kids are older that I'm that supportive." Or, "I want to be like that when I have grandchildren." She's such a great example to me.
I'm so grateful that as I've gotten older, she has become not just my mom, but one of my best friends that I love to talk to and share experiences with. Thanks so much Mom for all that you do! It's impossible for us to appreciate you as much as you deserve. Happy Mother's Day!

Why 6-year-olds shouldn't wear makeup

McKenna must think I'm the lamest mom ever. All her friends have their very own makeup and I simply won't budge every time she asks if I'll buy her some. I just think some things are better left for when they're older. Unfortunately, McKenna is very good at getting what she wants from her Grandpa Larry, who picks up the kids for an hour or so every couple of weeks. He always takes them out for ice cream and then to a store to buy toys and basically spoils them rotten. This time she managed to come home with a little fake cell phone filled with makeup (I'm sure some of you with girls know what I'm talking about.) So she was very excited about her newly acquired gift and rushed upstairs to try it out. This is what she looked like after coming back down.




I immediately started laughing when I saw her and she asked me why. I replied, "You look crazy!" And she gave me a slightly hurt look and said, "I don't look crazy, I look pretty." Whatever you say kid. I sure hope this isn't a glimpse of her fashion for the future.

McKenna's Engagement

I may have mentioned before that my little 6-year-old McKenna is already boy crazy. I know, we're doomed. So she's had a crush on this little boy in our ward, who's also in her kindergarten class, for quite awhile now. Apparently the feeling is mutual. McKenna recently informed me that he has asked her to marry him and even kissed her on the lips. Oh my. Am I horrible? I think its the cutest thing in the world and I tease McKenna about it every chance I get. It is SO hard to not encourage this kind of behavior when they're just so stinkin' cute and innocent. I just can't stop myself asking about her little "boyfriend" and talking to her like we're both teenagers. I can't wait until she's actually old enough that I can talk to her about her dating life and not feel guilty for thinking it's so great. Of course, by then, she'll want nothing to do with talking to me about boys she's interested in. I did become a parent long enough to inform McKenna that she can't kiss boys until she's at least 16 (though I wanted to say 21) and that she can't get married at age 6. To which she replied, "We're not going to get married now Mom. When we're OLDER." (Spoken in the annoyed voice of a teenager...when did my daugther turn 13?) There's more drama than this though. Bridger (the boyfriend fore mentioned) also has a big crush on McKenna's friend, Sydney. My poor daughter is already being two-timed. This must all start earlier with every generation.

On the field trip, I managed to get a picture of the happy couple. I think they were mortified I was making them stand alone together in a picture.



Now I know you're all thinking it...although she is standing a little uphill from him in the picture, she really is THAT much taller than him. If I'm being honest, I really hope she'll pick a new love interest soon. McKenna is very tall for her age and Bridger is very short for his age. I think they look at least 2 years apart in age, but love is blind. He is a very cute little boy, even if McKenna towers over him like a giant. My daughter is seriously growing up too fast.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

I am officially a mother. I was a volunteer yesterday to go with McKenna's kindergarten class to the zoo for their field trip. For me, this was one of those moments where I really felt how much time has passed and how old I really am. I am old enough to have a daughter that goes on field trips. I got to ride the school bus for the first time since high school and I bounced around in my seat and giggled with my friend Bri like a giddy little kid. I think we were almost excited as they were. However, once we got to the zoo, the responsibility of what I was doing hit me over the head and crushed the giddy little kid feeling right out of me. I was placed in a group with another mom and we had a total of 6 kids to chaperon around for 2 1/2 hours. I'm sure this doesn't sound hard, but I swear I was ready to be admitted into the hospital for an anxiety attack by the time we were done. I spent the whole time looking around in panic and counting the 6 kids in my head over and over. The worst moment being when we finally made it back to the bus, thinking we were finally done, and one of my kids was missing. Apparently my mom partner and I had a little problem with diffusion of responsibility, each of us assuming she was with the other. Luckily she had only been out of our sight for about 1 minute and I was able to fly off the bus and find her almost immediately. Yikes.

Here's my rambunctious little group. I can't believe I got them to sit still long enough to take a picture.



So we're at the zoo with a large variety of fun and interesting animals to look at, and the only thing they were interested in the whole time was when we were going to stop and eat lunch. We caved after only an hour and let them eat, then made our way to the train (their next biggest interest), and after the train, you'd think they would be ready to see some animals....no. They spent the remainder of their time there playing on the playground. So glad we traveled over a half an hour to do something they get to do at school everyday. Kids.

A few more pictures from the day...

McKenna with her bestest buds (all of whom were put into a group that McKenna got left out of, totally unfair)



McKenna, Sydney, and Taryn on the way home.



Bri and Sydney, the 2nd cutest mommy/daughter duo on the bus. (We can all guess who the 1st cutest is...)



And here we are (though it's a horrible picture of me, I'm going to be brave and put it up anyway. It is proof why I'm normally behind the camera)



At one point in the day, one of the other moms looked at me and said, "Our teachers don't get paid enough" and I couldn't agree more. After only a few short hours with all those kids, I came home and immediately fell, against my will, dead asleep on the couch. I haven't been that exhausted in awhile (said the women who is still getting up 1-2 times a night to feed her baby.) So here's my tribute and warm thanks to all our teachers out there. They put up with a lot and deserve some serious recognition.

On a side note, McKenna had her big dance performance on Monday (which went really well) but I'm waiting to post that one until I can get an import cord thing (can't for the life of me think what it's called right now) for my camcorder. Keep an eye out, it will be coming soon!