Fabulous Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful dads in our lives! The kids and I didn't get any gifts for Chris, which was decided on previously so we can pay off our Volvo, but he was able to get 2 seasons of Family Guy on dvd thanks to our Costco check we got in the mail (it's from our membership, you get a percentage back from the purchases you make throughout the year). In the morning, noah overheard me tell Chris happy Father's day and he just ran up to Chris and gave him a huge hug and said happy father's day. It was cute. I think that is present enough, to have your kid love you so much and I know that Chris would agree.

Chris was able to go on a nice long bike ride, and then we went to Margie's for dinner. It was a full house yesterday and lots of fun. We had steak, shrimp, corn on the cob (which is ALL Bostyn ate for dinner, by the way. She just walked around with her corn, chomping and chewing....) veggies with Margie's fabulous dip, chicken, salmon, salad, and pie. I think that's it. Chris ignored his diet so he could enjoy the food and we both ate so much by the time we left that we were literally sick to our stomachs! I think we might need a few days to recover, ha ha! When we got home, the kids signed their card to dad and gave him big hugs and kisses.

Chris: you are a wonderful father, and I have always felt so lucky to have such a great man in my life who is willing to do whatever it takes to support his family and be there for his kids. We love you so much!

Domino's pizza party!

A while back, I signed up at HouseParty.com, which is a web site where you can apply to be a host of parties for new products, events or even season premieres of TV shows. I don't know much about it but when I saw that you could apply to host a Domino's pizza party, I jumped on it quick! I was one of the first to be chosen and reply back and here is what I got in my Domino's pizza party pack:

$75 Domino's gift card
a free card game called Would You Rather? or something like that (we did not end up playing this because the cards got dumped out and scattered all over my living room)
a bunch of coupons good toward the card game & 2 others
a bunch of coupons to AMC theatres for a free large popcorn when you buy a drink Unfortunately the closest AMC movie theatre is in Layton, but Chris is willing to drive all the way out there to get free popcorn! When we picked up our pizza order, they had a bunch of these coupons there too, so you can pick some up if you want some.

It ended up being Chris, me and the kids, Margie & Wade, Aunt Liz and cousin Solano and my mom. We tried 3 of the new Domino's American Legends pizzas, which was part of the deal for the free food but also got a bunch of other good stuff from them, like free Cinnastix thanks to an online code we found. I think we foud a new favorite pizza from them and we plan to order it the next time we order pizza:

Memphis BBQ Chicken (amazingly good!)

Margie was a great sport and let us have the party at her house since our place isn't very big, and she even hung up party banners- thanks Margie!!! It was a lot of fun!

Sorry it's been so long!

Things have been a little crazy around here the last few months. It seems like since Noah started soccer, I haven't been able to catch up very well, even though his soccer is over! We didn't get soccer pics due to that day being rained out, but we got a lot of great memories and a really nice trophy to boot. 

A few things that we've been up to:

We finally managed to make it to a Bees game this year. We didn't win, but we had a lot of fun and they did a really good fireworks show afterwards. My friend Judith from my work and her mom sat on the field with us while we watched the fireworks. Bostyn just had to sit in Jude's lap for a while, but then she sat in mine while Noah sat in Chris's, holding his hands over his ears because "the fireworks were too loud". He still loved them, however, as he yelled at me at the top of his lungs, "We should get some of these mom! These are cool fireworks, we should buy some!" and Bostyn had her hand on his head, petting him. It was a lot of fun. And really cute.

I started school last week. I won't be able to take as many classes as I wanted to, but I'm really grateful that I am able to go. This semester I will fulfill my last requirement for my Associates Degree and I am finishing my pre-requisites for Dental Hygiene this and next semester, and hopefully that's the last semester before I start the Dental Hygiene program. I haven't applied to the program yet for 2010, but I will, and hopefully I'll be able to begin the program Fall 2010. It is a 22 month Bachelor Degree program. I will be ecstatic if I can graduate before I am 30!!! Chris also hopes to start school at SLCC fall semester. It will be much harder for him because he works 50+ hours a week and doesn't want to lose any income while he is going to school, which he wants to do full time.

Chris & I are working really hard on paying off bills so we can buy a house before the end of the year and not stress if the economy gets worse and affects our jobs. We are so excited that we sold the Volvo and will no longer have that car payment! 

And lastly, Bostyn's birthday is coming up. It falls on a Saturday, so we will probably have it then. Hers will just be a family get together, probably at a park or water park. Somewhere fun! We will keep you posted.

BUT don't be surprised if I don't keep updating too often. We have a lot of fun stuff planned over the next few weeks with summer and the holidays and birthdays and with school.....

The newest addition to our family:

Here is our new kitten right after his first bath: Zuko! Maybe his energy will help lazy old Frenchie lose some weight, ha ha!

Noah's final soccer game is Tuesday May 19

Noah's final soccer game is tomorrow! Anyone that wants to see him play should come out and join us at 6:30 pm at:

Hillview Elementary School

4405 South 1025 East

Hiking Mount Olympus

One of the reasons I love Utah is the mountains, and even though I don't take advantage of the outdoor activities Utah has to offer, they sure are beautiful to look at! Over the last few months Chris has been riding his bike to & from work, along trails near the Jordan River, to Oma Margie's house and just all over. This past weekend he was invited on a really super long bike ride but he decided to climb Mount Olympus instead! After basically being told he couldn't climb to the top, of course he had to prove them wrong by climbing all the way to the top and along the way he took a lot of great pictures. If you click on the picture below, I think another window will pop up and I put some of the pictures into a scrapbook.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Update

Number of sick kids: 2
Days of school missed: 3
Soccer games missed: 2
Number of hours Noah slept Tuesday night: 17
Days of work missed: 1
Trips to the doctor: 2
Rx for both: 1-2 eyedrops in each eye for 5 days
Trips to Primary Childrens Hospital: 1
Hours spent at hospital: 4-5
Tubes shoved up their noses: 2 for each of my babies
Diagnosis: the flu

So yes, my babies have the flu & its been a little over a week now. I was finally able to stay home with them today so they could stay home & sleep in their own beds & lay on the couch. Aunt Arn is being the wonderful aunt that she is & will be coming over so the kids can stay home again tomorrow and also won't risk getting Oma's mom sick too.

We'll see how Noah feels on Saturday but there won't be much of a soccer team because a lot of the kids will be going to a church-related event. It has been announced there will be a final game on Tuesday May 19 to make up for being rained out on the 2nd. He will definitely be attending the final game, so everyone is invited to come out!

finally I am blogging again!

This has been a long time coming, but it's time for me to stop putting it off and post some news on here!!!! The last month has been crazy for all of us in our family, right down to Bostyn's teething. I tried to post the more important things but I still have Easter to write about. I am working on putting together a slideshow of Easter pics and since there are so many (thanks Mo!) I haven't finished it. I hope to complete it by Sunday, so stay posted and check back!

GO GIRAFFES!!!!

We have anxiously been waiting to get Noah on a sports team and when Olivia's mom invited Noah to play on the soccer team she was coaching, we were SO excited! Noah did not have any experience playing soccer, but to me that doesn't matter because it is so stinking cute to see a group of 3 and 4 year olds not knowing what they're doing, running the wrong way, scoring for the other team, running off to the nearby playground in the middle of a game, or just standing in the middle of the field in la la land. Noah does good most of the time, he just kind of spaces out a little bit and gets distracted but he has only had 3 games so far and with each game, he is learning more and more and I think getting better and better. In the end, I think this will be a great experience for him and I love that he is getting to have fun and play with his friends and we can support him and cheer him on for something. 

I also have to say that he is such a stud in his soccer uniform and that he is such a caring little boy. If another player gets hurt, he is the one of the first ones to stop and see if they are okay, or stops to let us know if he thinks something is wrong, even if he should be trying to score a goal! He is just such a wonderful little boy with the biggest heart and I can't be more proud to have him as my son!

*bonus: at Noah's first game, all of the parents got a voucher for 2 tickets to a Real Salt Lake soccer game! There were only 3 dates to choose from: April 25 but Chris and I took a trip to Wendover for a night away, May 6 but that is the All That Remains show, and May 16 against the Kansas City Wizards. Sadly, no David Beckham, but we will manage and take Noah to the game with us to celebrate his season!

April birthdays

Because I haven't been blogging, I failed to do my birthday posts for Margie and Amber. We had a great time celebrating at Margie's birthday Italian-themed dinner that yes, she cooked herself, with the whole family, including Uncle John and his family. We hope that Amber enjoyed her special dinner out on her birthday!

They both do so much for the kids and we are extremely grateful to them for being such fun and wonderful family to Noah and Bostyn. They both love Oma and Aunt Arn lots and so do Chris and I. I'm sorry this post is late, but these birthdays are definitely worth mentioning! Thanks for everything, you two and we hope you had great birthdays this year!

Noah's field trips

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures and I won't get pictures of Noah's school field trip tomorrow, but it's nearing the end of Noah's first school year and with the warmer weather, they are getting to take class trips. Last Monday it was to the fire station. They walked there and back and Noah said he was so tired afterward and needed to take a nap. It was cute. 

Tomorrow, they are going to Wheeler Farm. I need to pack a sack lunch for him (my first ever!) and because I keep forgetting about it, I will probably end up picking up a lunchable since we have no bread to make a sandwich anyway. He will be painting a rock while there too, so I will post a picture of that later in the day. *sigh* my baby is growing up...

Easter & such

Forgive me, I've been a late blogger lately! Why, you might ask?

* my work schedule has changed so I work only afternoons. You would think this gave me more time at home to do blogging during the day, but its the exact opposite. Instead of running most of my errands on Friday, (my day off) they are just split throughout the week. Working Mon-Fri sucks! I will never understand how Chris manages to work Mon-Sat every single week. He is such a trooper.

Noah O'Keeffe

Noah's school had an art exhibit on Monday. We got to walk through her house & see all of the student's art hanging up on the walls. It was really cute, and my favorite work of art is the last picture on here, just because of what he said he sees out of the window.

Next week: Noah's on Spring Break!!! I would love to take him to Monsters vs. Aliens.

And here, my son looks like a model with his snowman in a cup:

I Love You, Man

This morning Aunt Arn & Uncle Matti took Noah & Bostyn to Ogden with them to visit Oma Els & Opa Gos. They had a great time playing & eating fruit and Chris & I had a great time at the movies! We saw I Love You, Man and no joke, we were laughing the entire time. Laughs big & small. And it was cute! We highly recommend everyone go see it, it was really good.

Due to the strong winds & rain, we weren't able to go kite flying like Chris wanted to, but maybe next week.

Discovery Gateway

Yesterday we went to Discovery Gateway for FREE to enjoy the museum and a special Chocolate & Chemistry event they were having. I felt the event was better for older kids but Noah liked the idea of drinking chocolate milk if his stomach is upset or instead of Gatorade when he's been playing out in the sun for too long. We couldn't stay for too long because we had some errands to run, and the kids and I had to be to Margie's at 5 for her dad's bday bbq. Chris went to a reception in Layton, where he & his friends crashed the wedding dressed in Hawaiian print shirts, shorts, flip flops and 80s sunglasses. I wish I had gone just to see that!

We had fun at the bbq, but one of Margie's dogs got too excited and got in Bostyn's face and scared her, then took a bite or something at Noah's neck. It didn't puncture skin or anything, Noah just got dog slobber in his hair but was really scared. Missing a nap earlier in the day didn't help the situation one bit either. Bostyn passed out on the way home but Noah wanted to have a "camp out" in the living room while watching Bambi. He did not fall asleep, like I knew he wouldn't, but at 10:00 he told me "you can watch Bambi mom, because I am going to sleep. You can tell me when it's over." OK, time to go into actual bed now! I thought it was really funny that he finally decided that it was time for him to go to bed. Now I think it's about time for me to go to bed. So peace out!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

A special "gift" as Noah called it, was dropped off on our doorstep this afternoon. Noah's favorite cereal is Lucky Charms, which he already had for breakfast this morning, but as soon as he saw the box he asked if he could have some right then. I dressed the kids up really cute in green outfits, and I will take pictures and post them tonight. *UPDATED*

Bostyn picked out her own outfit, and she loves her new "pretty shoes" as she calls them:

And here is a picture of our green dinner! We had chicken marinated in green colored caeser vineagrette dressing, mashed potatoes, peas, green milk and (not pictured) lime tart.

Disney On Ice

Thanks to a special treat from my mom, the kids & I got to go with her to Disney On Ice tonight! Chris had a bachelor party dinner to go to at Iggy's (jealous!) and it was a girls-only-trip from my work plus our children last time, so I am making Chris go the next time, and we are going to try to get some seats closer to the ice to make it even more fun. And thanks to my new-found frugalness, I will do what I can to get those close seats for a good deal! Tonight wasn't too bad. I wasn't able to find anyone on craigslist selling their tickets for cheap, but I did get a phone number of ticketexchangeutah.com and the guy was really nice and gave me a code to use at the box office for $4 off per ticket! Bostyn was free since she is under 2. 

While I was at the concession stand to get a drink & popcorn, an Energy Solutions Arena worker came by and gave me a voucher for free food, so I didn't have to pay! It was so nice & I hope to find the opportunity to repeat the kindness & pay it forward.

My mom was able to find a really cute Tinkerbell toy at Family Dollar earlier in the day but she didn't find anything for Noah there. So when we saw that the toys at Disney On Ice were over her budget, she was reluctant to spend the money. I offered to pay the difference of what she wanted to pay but she caved in and bought him the toy he wanted anyway. Of course, it made him really happy and Bostyn jealous, until my mom pulled the Tinkerbell toy out of her purse and gave it to Miss B. Smooth move! and great idea, because it really is ridiculous what they charge for those toys.

So, with the discount code, Bostyn being free, eating dinner before the show, saving $ on one toy but not so much on the other, and my parking voucher for 3 hours of parking for $1 at The Gateway (*phew*) my mom came under budget, and we all had a REALLY great time. Of course I forgot my camera (which it ended up dying after I turned it on when we got home) so I did the best I could with my camera phone. It looks like we are much much farther away than we really were, so don't be deceived, ha ha!

Can't wait to go again!

HOLY CRAP!!! No March post?! **UPDATED**

Woah, have I been slacking on the blogging! Chris would say that's a good thing :) I have just been way too consumed with my other blog, and not much has been going on that I have been dying to write about. We did attend Connor's 4th birthday party last Saturday at Chuck E Cheese and Mo was kind enough to send me some pics that I will be posting later when I am home. 

My work has slowed down quite a bit due to the economy and as of next Monday, I will be forced to go part-time. I haven't been too active in searching for a new job, although I do browse the help wanted listings and craigslist.com. I wish I could work part-time, it would give Margie a break and me more time to spend at home with my babies. But, if we ever want to buy a house, pay off debt, and finish school, then working part-time will have to wait. I love my job and everyone that I work with, and I have a great boss, so I don't want to quit. However, I am going to look at this as a good opportunity to get another great job, meet more great people, and hopefully get paid more in the process. This would mean a possible venture into other things, such as dental instead of orthdontics. Expanding my knowledge will only help me in the years to come when I finally attend Dental Hygiene school. Wish me luck and I will keep you posted.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Stinkin cute!

Amber took Bostyn for a few hours last week and straightened her hair. I didn't get to see it personally, but I think the picture shows well enough how freaking cute she is - and how long her hair is!

Noah went to St. George this weekend

This past weekend, Noah got to travel to St. George with Oma and Opa! He had a great time playing Battleship and jumping on the trampoline with his cousins and seeing the sights. Bostyn missed him terribly. So much so that the first night Noah was gone, Bostyn wouldn't go into her bed until I walked her around the condo to show her that Noah was not hiding anywhere. We had to call Noah and have him tell Bostyn good night. After that, she fell sound asleep. This continued to be a nightly ritual until Noah came home on Sunday. 

We met in Eagle Mountain, at the townhouse that we are under contract on again. We walked through it, showing Wade and Margie what it looked like. Noah had a great time climbing rocks, throwing small rocks into the pile of snow from the plows, and playing trucks at the bottom of the driveway. It was really super cute and made me want a house even more. Bostyn had a bit of a hard time getting down the stairs but I think I will just dress her in scoot-friendly pants until she masters them.

When we got home, Noah was way excited to see all of his toys! He couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to play with and kept bouncing from one toy to the next. I swear in less than an hour Noah had played with half of all of his toys. Him and Bostyn had a fun time just running around chasing each other too. And tonight while Noah was sitting on his potty, Bostyn wouldn't listen to me to "leave brother alone" and she kept giving him hugs and kisses. Let's just hope that they always love each other this much!