Amika's 3rd Birthday

WOW! Amika is 3 yr old already!! Where has time gone! She is 3 going on 13! She has already kissed her first boy (Jordan Miracle) and she LOVES to change her outfit 1000000x a day.  I asked her a couple of questions today and these were here answers. 
Fav Food: Rocky....she's so silly
Fav color: blue and pink
Fav treat- kisses from dad
Fav toy- babies
How old are you- 5......no 7.....(she's 3) she just likes to say the wrong answer to be silly:)
When are you going to get a job- I'm gonna get a job on the Ipad
A car or a motorcycle - A car
Fav thing to do outside- Swinging on my belly button (thought that was funny how she said that)
Fav thing to do inside- looking at pictures on the phone, ipod, ipad or camera
Thing i'm best at: singing
Fav book- Minnie Mouse
Fav Movie: FROZEN
Fav animal: Kitty Cat and puppy
Fav Sport: didn't know....working out and running
Best friend: Annalise Kenney
Fav holiday: my birthday
Fav song: I love to see the temple and Let it go
We had such a good birthday today.  She woke up and said, "I'M NOT 2 ANYMORE, I'M 3! I'M SO EXCITED! She kissed and hugged her streamers hanging from her door, and was so excited to come downstairs to see if there were presents for her.  She was so excited for all of them.  We watched Thomas the train (where he dresses up like santa...it's her favorite episode) while we ate her chocolate chip pancake breakfast with strawberry and chocolate milk.  Then we all got ready so we could go to the mall and play.  We stopped at the $1 store to get her birthday balloons and some matches, where I was asked if I was 18 years old.....hahahahha at least when I'm 60 hopefully I will look 40:) Taelin and Amika were making deals and telling secrets to each other the entire time at the store.  They were so excited to go to the mall and play.  Amika had her black  Elsa doll sit in her seat while we were playing.  Then she gave her a hug and a kiss and told her that we would come back.  I love how loving she is! We first went to JC penny and I FINALLY found me some new church shoes.  I have been looking for some new ones since Oct or Nov (Rocky chewed mine).  They were 50% off too! I was super excited! On our way to the play area we stopped at See's candy and got their free chocolate covered peppermint candy.  :) The kids were so excited to play.  I was happy that I had some change so they could ride one of the cars.  Taelin is so sweet and said that he was driving Amika to disneyland for her birthday.  They played tag for a little bit and then wanted to go to the play area next door where you play those quarter games and get tickets.  They each got $1 and they were in heaven! They ended up with 20 tickets each at the end, which got them a thing of Nerds....hahaha Amika's spilled on the mall floor becasue she got so excited over something and started running.....whoops.....we put what was left...which was like 20....into her jacket pocket.  I'm glad that she didn't seem to mind.  When we got out of the mall she said the funniest thing.  She said, "My hands are gone." I asked her where they went and she told me how they fell off and how they are at Annalise's house.  I told her that when she sees her next that she needs to ask for her hands back:) it was just such a funny story becasue then when we got to the road I  told the kids that we needed to hold hands to cross the street (and for some reason my kids HATE holding hands to cross the street), and Amika looks at me with her hands behind her back and says "BUT MOM MY HANDS ARE GONE! THEY ARE AT ANNALISE'S!" I couldn't believe that she had thought of that story ahead of time becasue she knew that I would tell them to hold hands! She amazes me everyday with how smart she is!!!! Got into the car and of course she wanted to listen to FROZEN. We all ate our lunch in the car, Taelin gave his orange to the marine at the gate (he has always been so kind and always wants to give them something...he even tries to give them his toys...silly boy) and came home with just enough time to finish eating and then go to school.  Amika wanted to ride her bike, and is seriously getting so good at it.  Her black Elsa doll is to big for the baby carrier, so I carried her.  On the way home she even SHARED her bike with Annalise! They took turns! Who is this 3 yr old.....She now shares her things? I hope it stays!!!!!! I was so proud of her! We came home and she wanted to watch FROZEN...so I cleaned up the house for the party tomorrow, made cupcakes for the party tomorrow and made some lunch for me.  She had to wear her new Elsa dress while watching Frozen too.  I swear she has to have that movie memorized by now! She was so excited to ride bikes with Annalise to school to get Taelin and Kallista.  She tried to help Annalise go (by pushing her bike) and made her fall off onto the street. SHE SAID SORRY RIGHT AWAY.....wow......my girl said sorry right away.......this is a new girl! she is so much smarter now:) When we got home from school she wanted to listen to Frozen on the ipod, but I had promised Taelin he could watch Pokemon (becasue he gave his sister a hug at school....he has always hated physical affection, and every day Amika wants a hug from Taelin, but he never wants to give her one because he doesn't want people to see....so today I told him that if he gave her a hug becasue it was her birthday and it would make her really happy then he could watch Pokemon....he thought about it and then decided to give her a hug.....hahah it was so cute) so she went upstairs to go listen to it, and then came downstairs with it turned down so she could still be with us.  Then she turned it to Despicable Me (her other favorite movie...she calls it the Funny Movie) and fell asleep watching that cuddling with me on the couch.  while she was still sleeping Taelin and I started on making the homemade pizza...Annette and Mom helped me over the phone so it could turn out good:) Amika woke up crying becasue she fell off the couch.  After she calmed down she came and helped us make the pizza.  They did tricks on the couch and we watched SUPER WHY.  Amika said she had a good birthday which makes me so happy.  She even got to talk to Daddy for a couple of min.  :)
I am so happy that she is in our family.  She helps me remember to not take things so seriously, and to be funny.  She is so super kind and she has such a sweet spirit.  She loves nursery and loves to sing the songs and tell me all about Jesus.  She loves to talk and she loves to snuggle.  She loves to copy her older brother and loves to play house with him.  She LOVES rocky, and loves taking him for walks.  I love her so much and I wouldn't change anything about her.....accept maybe that she didn't want to change her outfit so much....lol
HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY MY PRETTY LITTLE PRINCESS!!!!!!!!!!! I'm excited to see how much you grow and learn this next year!:)

beware....LONG POST

I need to catch up on this blog...BAD....but for now, I just want to post about life right now...and boy can I just say that life is GREAT! But my life must be more hectic and crazy becasue I swear I see more and more white hairs on my head then I have ever seen!! GO AWAY WHITE!! I am only 26!!!! Guess it's time to dye my hair again!
Anyway, today has just been such a GOOD day! It all started at 5:38 this morning when I got a call from my friend Lauren Miracle.  She is a surragate mom and is due to have her baby any day...so I knew when I saw her name on my phone that she was probably going into labor.  I answered and she asked if I could come over and stay with the kids while they went to the hospital because she couldn't keep anything down. I of course said Yes and quickly took Rocky potty, grabbed clothes for Taelin and Amika, Taelin's school stuff, and made me a protein shake and then was out the door.  All of her kids were still sleeping when we got to her house, but Amika and Taelin were wide awake and were ready to watch TV and lay down on the couch.  Slowly each kid (she has 4...and a dog) would wake up and want breakfast.  Her friend brought over her dog as well, so I was watching 2 dogs, my 2 kids, her 4 kids, and Hailee (a girl I babysit).  They all had a good time watching cartoons and singing songs on the ipod.  Of course when it was time to leave to school one of the dogs needed to go potty, Amika had to poo, and 2 kids didn't know how to put their socks and shoes on, and then I realized Amika didn't have shoes....thank heavens for a laundry basket full of shoes right in my face....she just wore some of theirs.  :)  looked like quite the clan going to school.  They got their just as they were closing the gate....GO US! On our way home we stopped at a park and played for about 10 min....Amika was so scared to go down this big slide...but she did it and I'm so proud of her.  :) They had fun sliding and swinging! Then we made it to the house where the kids played and housing in FL called me to answer some of our questions about moving their.  Lauren got home, talked with her, and then went to the commissary to get some food to make Lauren and her family dinner and dessert.  Amika and Hailee were so cute in the car and loved singing FROZEN LET IT GO! Amika LOVES to talk on her cell phone while in the car and asks me to pause the song so she can finish talking...seriously that girl cracks me up! The kids drove the cart, and we got our food.  Amika had a hard time sharing her phone with Hailee.....it's a work in progress with this girl.  She is so dang smart and can just say way to many things for only being 2 yrs old! When we got home Rocky was so excited to see us:) I got dinner in the crock pot for Lauren, made the girls lunch, put Frozen on for them, got a dress up outfit for Hailee, got Amika's new Frozen Elsa dress ready for her to wear for when she was done with lunch, made my lunch, talked with my friend Caitlen Bacus (she made Lauren some homemade applesauce) about their move coming up, our move coming up, our kids, all while making brownies for Lauren.  Then Amika was getting tired, they needed lunch, so I cuddled with Amika for a bit while watching Frozen.  Laid her on the couch so I could vacuum and then it was time to go pick up Taelin from school.  HAVEN'T EVEN SHOWERED OR WORKED OUT!!! AHHH!! STILL IN MY PJ'S!!! But whatever!!! Taelin had a great day at school doing the hula hoops and the catch and ball (whatever that is), and riding the bikes.  He loves school! He got a bull dog buck today so he was pretty happy about that:) He loves doing well and loves to tell me what he did at school...on his own time frame....sometimes right after school, sometimes at the dinner table, and sometimes when i'm putting him to bed.  I love him so much! We came home and he watched Pokemon (his new favorite show), and Hailee and I put Amika down for a nap. She wanted a protein bar first, and then wanted to sleep in her Elsa dress in my bed.  Such a pretty little diva! Her favorite songs I sing to her are I love to see the temple and Twinkle Twinkle little star.  She always has to have the door open when sleeping, when a couple of months ago it HAD to be shut! Hailees sister came and picked her up a couple min later and then it was just Taelin and I:) We battled with his Pokemons and played with his hot wheel track.  We crashed cars, and also played a game where we took score if our hot wheel could do the loop all the way through and finish the track:) It was a fun game where I got to teach Taelin about scoring and then counting afterword and writing on the chalkboard.  it was a lot of fun!! After that he came and helped me vacuum and clean out my car. He is seriously such a good helper.  I gave him .10 and taught him about tithing too. He seemed pretty excited:) While we were cleaning out the car I had Dalin's bike running as well.  Then Taelin went inside to play some video games while I took down the Christmas decorations I could take down.  Caitlen and her daughter Ruby came over to help me finish the wands for Amika's party, and Amika changed her outfit about 5 times before  Ruby left.  This girl cannot just stay in 1 pair of pants.  She constantly has to change them! Welcome to the life of a girl!!!! I finished the dinner for Lauren and then I told the kids that we needed to take Rocky for a walk before it got to dark.  Amika was to busy doing Elsa's hair becasue it was in her face and it made Elsa cry and she needed it out of her face.  I told her that I would help her fix it when we got back from our walk, that seemed to be okay with her....but then as we were leaving Amika ran back into the house and then said, "I needed to give her a kiss and a hug." gosh she is so dang sweet!!!!! We took Rocky on walk, Taelin and Amika both riding their bikes, Amika carrying her little baby on the back, and we saw the most beautiful sunset! Sky was blue, pink, purple, white, red, orange!! So pretty!! I love sunsets like that! God makes things so beautiful!! I love this world that we live in.  Even though their is so much bad going on, if we look for the good we will see it.  My day has been so long and I did so many things today, but I know that the Lord was watching over me.  I prayed for His help through it all, and I see how He helped me stay calm and collective and learned that doing service for others is truly what the Lord wants us to do.  When you are in the service of your fellowmen you are only in the service of your God.  I love doing service.  I love the feeling I get inside and I love seeing their faces when I help them.  As a mother I hope that I can teach Taelin and Amika how important it is to serve.  I love the gospel so much and I love my testimony of prayer and service.  I am off to bed now, hopefully can find ways to serve tomorrow:) good night!

Thanksgiving in AZ

The day after my LuLaRue party we loaded up the car and made our trip to Ty and Heidi's for Thanksgiving. Tyler was so kind and flew in Wes, so ReNea go to spend time with her hubby!:) YAY!! The drive there wasn't that bad. We had a great time driving fast, and then slowing down by the semi trucks and teaching the kids how to get them to honk their horns. The kids thought it was the greatest thing EVER, the LOVED it!! They watched movies, read books (Taelin took his most favorite book, POKEMON, he is OBSESSED now, and he just got it at the scholastic book fair), sang songs (frozen, wicked, Les Mis) and slept.  They did a really good job for how long it took us to get there.  We were SO happy to be out of the car when we got to their house!

Sleeping:)

Traffic....but we were almost there...we did a good job with our drive!

MEETING HARRISON!!! gosh he is so handsome!

Grandma couldn't be happier!

The kids were so excited to play with Viv

Amika liked to pet his head!

Playing in the back

Park time!:)

Her Chocolate Chip cookies are BOMB!

we missed Rocky so much! So happy that Amanda Reading and her family watched him for us! :)

Gilbert Temple. They were so kind and watched my kids so I could go and do a session:) It was BEAUTIFUL!

Snuggles

So happy to be with papa too!

Found out that John and Ashlie are having another boy:) CONGRATS!

Tons of cute faces by baby harrison! Double chin!

Wow double chin!

1 day after our work out at LA fitness (Tyler got ReNea a week free:) my tire was flat.......so not good!!!!!! Seriously I think I had angles watching over me, becasue as we were pulling out, a car pulled in and told me that I had a flat and said that they had a shop right behind LA fitness where they would look at it and replace it for me for FREE! Wow talk about KIND! They were motorcyclist. ...Dalin would have been very happy that they were the ones that helped me:)

WOW!! That's huge!!!! So happy that we made it to AZ safe and this happened when it did.....cuz that was scary!

full tummy!

Amika LOVED holding him!

Such cute little feet!

Taelin LOVED sitting with the boys!

 We went and had a picnic lunch at a park, while the boys went golfing.  We had a fun time feeding the ducks and walking around taking pictures:!)

Taelin was super tired after a hard day at golf!

RENEA AND I DID IT! WE WORKED OUT ON THANKSGIVING DAY!! WE LOVE TO SWEAT!!!! Gotta get ReNeas hip well!

BEST DEEP FRIED TURKEY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taelin became best buddies with Heidi's brother Chase....Taelin wanted to be EVERYWHERE he was and do EVERYTHING he did! You can tell that Taelin misses his daddy A LOT!

looking through the magazines to see what to get for the day after thanksgiving:) he's such a stud!

 Dalin's birthday was weird. I hated celebrating it without him.  And it was his GOLDEN birthday too!! The kids and I made him cards and sent them to him! We were happy that he was able to call us and talk to the entire family:) We sure do miss him and cannot wait for him to come home!

 TEMPLE LIGHTS AT THE MESA TEMPLE ARE BEAUTIFUL! THEY DO JUST AS GOOD OF A JOB AS TEMPLE SQUARE. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LIGHTS, and so does VIV! She wanted to touch all of them too!!!!!

SO AWESOME!!!! SAW OUR REALLY GOOD FRIENDS THE BAKERS THERE!! WE MET THEM IN JAPAN AND HAVEN'T SEEN THEM SINCE JAPAN. THEY ONLY HAD 3 KIDS WHEN WE LEFT JAPAN AND NOW THEY HAVE 5! WHAT A SMALL WORLD! THEY SAID TO SAY HELLO TO DALIN!

Looking at the nativity, i love amika's curls!