I want to suck your blood

Ok- so I think everyone in the nation is on the Twilight bandwagon. If your aren't on it then hurry and jump on. Everyone has been giving me a hard time because I haven't read the book Twilight so I finally started it Sunday after church and I couldn't put it down! It is the first book in a series of three- the third book just came out last month. It is about vampires- not my subject of choice but it turned out to be good. I was up until 3 o'clock in the morning last night reading and then Nate woke up and saved me so I fed him and went to sleep and finished the last 2 chapters today.
I realized that I would like to become a vampire, they don't sleep at all. I was thinking of all the things I could get done at night while my family slept. I know sleeping is one of my favorite things but think of all the books I could read, scrapbook pages I could do, and projects I could finish. That's not even talking about cleaning, laundry and everything else. Then during the day I could just hang with my kids and shop (all of the vampires had a lot of money). I know there would be drawbacks- I would probably suck my kiddies blood and couldn't go in the sun (which would be a hard one). I guess maybe it wouldn't be worth it, so let me rephrase- If I could have a quality from the vampires I think the no sleep thing would be nice.
If you haven't read the book Twilight, head for the library or book store NOW! I guess now I will need to read the next two even though I have heard they aren't as good. I've got to see what happens to Edward and Bella!!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

So today- not the best of days around here and it got me to thinking about decisions or choice we make. When we were coming home from our trip to Utah I was at the Las Vegas airport with my three kids. We were walking to the terminal and McKell wanted to go on a moving walkway so she got on and I keep walking with the stroller(Nate was in it) and Alyssa was walking right behind me. McKell was about half way down the walkway and Alyssa decides she wants to get on, she runs over and doesn't quite know how to get on. So she is screaming and falling down, I have Nate and all our stuff that I can't leave and now McKell is getting to the end of the walkway- which is kinda far away. So I think to myself- who do I save? They would all be good choices- Stay with Nate- he is the most vulnerable, push Nate up and get McKell before someone runs off with her (then I would save two), leave Nate go back and help Alyssa and hope no one takes McKell. I stood there for a few seconds, all these things going through my mind and then a nice lady stood up and helped Alyssa on the walkway which was just enough help to save them all.
I think I was thinking about this today because it was a bad day. Am I making the right decisions? I think I have come to the conclusion that when you are choosing between good and good you have got to try and weigh the outcomes and maybe hope for some help.
I won't stop going to the gym just because Alyssa (who hasn't had an accident for many days) pees on the slide while I am working out. She has got to get it sometime, right? They got me out of a class and after I helped Alyssa, Nate started screaming so I left and went home. Thanks Jessie for cleaning up my stuff.
I guess maybe I'm not making much sense but hopefully it kind of is. Anyway, with the little things in life- it is really nice to have friends and family to be the ones to help you out a little here and there, it seems like sometimes all you need is that little help to be able to save everything important.

Phils Birthday!

I don't know why I feel wierd having a child old enough to be in school, I mean Phil did just turn 32! Wow that is old! ( I have to give Phil a hard time!) Phil had a good day at work and was done at a decent time to get home for his PARTY! Well it was dinner any way. The girls and I had gone and gotten him some balloons and McKell placed them around the room. I made a yummy cake that he loves and we bbq'ed with some friends. Phil even got to watch some football.
Here is the recipe for Awesome Chocolate Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1/2 c sugar
1 (3.3oz) instant fudge pudding mix
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water
4 eggs
1 c. sour cream
12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except choc. chips, in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add choc. chips and mix. Pour into a well-greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for about 60 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!!

First Day of School

McKell has been so excited for Kindergarten to start. She had a good time at her ice cream social with her teacher last week. She kept asking the teacher questions and showing Alyssa around the room. Alyssa was ready to start as well, she felt very big being there. I guess we don't really have to worry about our girls being the shy ones cause McKell wasn't even a tad bit scared about heading off to school. I asked her "Are you scared or nervous about going to school for the first time" and she looked at me and said "No, why should I be."
So the first day was yesterday, the night before her and Alyssa both were bouncing off the walls cause they were so excited. Phil gave McKell a school blessing and she thought that was very cool. Monday morning came and we took her to school and she was totally fine with it all. When we picked her up she said she had a fun time and told me about her day. Nothing too exciting happened, which is great for the first day. She was so excited again today that she woke up at 6:30 am and started to get ready. So I guess we officially have a child in school.

California

Our trip to California was very fun. Ever since we went to Hawaii in February McKell askes 'when are we going back to Hawaii?' She doesn't like my answer of 'it will be a very, very long time!' So we took her to a closer beach, southern California. I love southern California!! I would love to live there! I have been going there all my life spending tons of time on the beach. We went to Huntington Beach and walked the pier and spent time in the ocean and the sand. The girls had a blast, McKell is just like me loves every minute of it. Nate even had a good time! We found him some little glasses which he liked so he could open his eyes outside. I read the 6th Harry Potter book and got a nice tan. My parents were enjoying their grandkids and spoiled them every chance they could. We swam at the hotel and McKell became a great swimmer. She can swim by herself the entire width of the pool under water. This just happened all of a sudden, it might have been because her younger cousin, Austin, was learning to swim. She must have a little competitive edge in her- I don't know where she gets that! Alyssa is a little swimmer as well- with her tube of course. She goes all over the pool with her tiny legs kicking so fast. She can keep up with the big kids as long as she has her tube.

St George

We went down to St George Wednesday. Phil had a early morning tee time Thursday morning that he was very excited about. My dad got him a new putter which Phil had been wanting, so that made him even happier. That same day we each got a massage as well, it was a very nice and relaxing day! While in St George we did a ton of swimming and the kids loved playing with my parents' dog- Ozzie. They also couldn't wait to see their cousin Austin, who is 3. Phil did some more golfing with my uncle and cousin as well- Phil's dream vacation- golfing, golfing and more golfing. My parents and brother have this thing called a Rhino-see picture- Phil and McKell had a blast on it- Alyssa not so much. James what do you think of this?- a "safe" version for Phil of motorcycling.

Phil was only able to stay until Sunday and then he headed home. We stayed on a bit longer and did some more traveling. We went to Southern California for a few days and then came back to St George for a week before we headed home. We were also able to go to Tuacahn to see Cinderella and the girls loved it. Tuacahn is an outdoor theater in St George with the back drop the big red rock, it is beautiful out there.
The girls liked the show, but McKell thought there was 'too much kissing, way more than the book'.

Playing in Centerville

We stayed in Centerville for the next 3 days and lived up every minute. The kids had tons of fun with their cousins and it was so much fun to see and talk to Phil's parents, siblings and in-laws. Phil went golfing with his brothers and we ate some Cafe Rio! Mike, Phil's brother, had a huge blow-up slide they brought over and everyone had a blast on it. After much bribing from us and screaming from her, McKell finally went down it and LOVED it. I have to post this picture of Alyssa cause it is too funny.
I will also post a picture of Phil's whole family so you can all see how many people there are when we all get together, the last two of his siblings just got married this past year.
Phil's parents just got their mission call and they are headed to Rochester, New York for a 12 month mission. We are excited cause they will have to drive right through Iowa to get there so we will get to see them in a few weeks when they are traveling.

Nate's Blessing

We flew to Las Vegas and drove to St George that night and then drove up to Centerville, where Phil's from, the next morning-Saturday. We blessed Nate that night at Phil's parents house with all of his family able to attend and my mom drove up as well. It was a very nice time. Phil's dad had all the grandkids sit down on the ground and talked to them able being a child of God and explained that Nate was just living with our Father in Heaven and now is here with us. We then sang "I am a Child of God" it was fun to see all the kids singing. He then talked about being a family and then Phil gave Nate his name and blessing. Phil is a great dad and did an awesome job. All of Phils brothers were there- there are 6 boys in the family, a brother-in-law and Phil's dad and grandfather. A great time with all the family together. It was also nice to do it at home, since we weren't doing it at our house and we had so much family there.
What do you think of Nate's little blessing outfit? I was tring to find something all white but didn't like the few things I saw. So I was very glad to find this even though it had some light blue. I forgot his little socks and white blanket- the issues of being on the road, I guess.

Nauvoo

Well I have really enjoyed the past month. We have traveled and traveled and have had a blast. Sorry I haven't kept up the blog while away but not a lot of extra time with the three kiddies in tow. Anyway, here are our adventures! We started out July 11th with my mom and a bunch of my family- aunts, uncle, cousins, cousins kids coming to Coralville and then we headed to Nauvoo. With our party of 9 adults and 9 children we toured through the city and went to the Nauvoo Pagent. It seemed to be a lot more kid friendly than Palmyra. They had fun with the pioneer games and plays and especially with one another. It was a lot of fun to spend time with my family and to have a chance to see Nauvoo. Phil was able to come down to the pagent Thursday night and was glad he was able to see it.
We came back to our house after two night there and spent some time with family. They flew home and my mom stayed behind. We then drove up to Milwaukee to stay with my cousin for a few days. They have two little girls that McKell and Alyssa had a blast with. It's too bad we had to move from Milwaukee the same time they moved there- just my luck!
So after a few days there we drove back to Iowa to get packed up and head to Utah. Phil was able to get a week off of work and my mom was with us so we had a grand time. The flight was good, Nate had his own seat and slept most of the way. My friend from Iowa was on the same flight with her kids and so McKell and Amaya had a good time putting make up on and listening to ipods- yes they are only 4 and 5!
So here is my plug for Nauvoo to those of you who don't live here- come visit and we can drive to Nauvoo- it's like 1.5 hours from me and I have a bed for you to stay in at my house, I will even make you dinner!