Dona is getting better with age

If you haven't seen Dona in awhile, she looks really good. She has been on an amazing weightloss plan and has lost over 35 pounds. I am so impressed. She has done so good at sticking to her regime.

The "Krew" kids

Porter and Madison really had a lot of fun with Krew. Porter especially liked any boy cousins. Of course, it was all fun and games until Krew broke his leg. The threesome were jumping on the trampoline. Jaymi no sooner put Krew up on the trampoline, turned toward me and Mom and said, "I hate trampolines." We suddenly heard a horrible scream. Porter and Krew were both on they're stomaches, lying next to each other. Whatever happened (I suspect Porter's hard head) Krew ended up with a hairline fracture below his knee. It was so sad. He was hobbling around pretty well before we left.

Aunt Kim's (and Uncle Jake) house

We were able to celebrate Kim's birthday while we were up there. They are moving to Texas for the summer. I am so glad we got to see them before they left. Poor Kaylor was not feeling well and cried a lot. Maybe it's because her Mom hangs her upside down all of the time. J.K. Kim. Madison hit the jackpot with Kim's jewelry box. She loves jewelry.

Back from Utah--Save the Drama for your Mama

We finally made it back. It was good to visit family. This was my first trip since I have been married--or since college--that I haven't been tied down to a job. I had the luxury of not having to get back because of work. We were able to visit family in Provo, Mt. Pleasant, and St. George. I have to say I was not too excited about spending a lot of money for a camera for my birthday last October, but the home videos we now have are worth every penny!
The kids were really glad to be home. They missed their Dad alot. Even Lane was very excited to see Brant. I am uploading pictures to the computer and will have to editorialize on each of them. We are going back to Mount Pleasant on Monday.

St. George pics

Porter and Lane on the walkway.

Madison on the walkway.

Brian and Taylor Lane (pictured above l to r)

I don't know what the kids are going to do when we get back to Vegas. They have been having so much here. I am trying to update the pictures we have taken on the trip. These are the St. George pics on our first day out. This was last Sunday when we stopped at Mom and Dad's condo in St. George. They had so much fun traveling. They were really good. Madison got a little moody on the way up to Mt. Pleasant.

Pictures in Utah

Bobbi had her baby. Their fourth child and first son--Kai Taylor Frampton. Born April 23, 2009. Congratulations!

Excited sisters welcome Kai. From l to r (Briann, Averi, Emyly, Jeremy, and Kai)

My little city slickers out on the farm. They were helping Uncle Brian feed the horses. Madi looked around and said, "Ooh! This is messy. Somebody made a mess."

Who put who to sleep? I don't know. The twins fell asleep with grandpa Lane in St. George.

...more pictures and update later. I don't have easy access to a computer. I am in the country.

Utah vacation

The kids are having so much fun in Utah. We spent most of Sunday on the road and in St. George. They were so sick of being in the car. I think they did good considering.
We went to Provo first thing on Monday and didn't come back until dark. We took Kim out to lunch at the Olive Garden. Mom, Jake, Kim and Jake, Jaymi, Bobbi, and me were all there. The kids included: Porter, Madison, Lane, Krew, Averi, and Brianna.
We went to Bobbi's house afterwards and visited. Taylor stopped by on his way to work and he talked with him for awhile. We stopped and Kim's house on the way out of town. Just had lots of fun visiting.
Today the kids spent most of the time with the animals. All three of them are out cold right now. They love the outdoors and the amount of land they have to roam is almost as big as the block we live on in Vegas. They have seen baby puppies, baby goats, chickens, roosters, horses, goats, cats, and a lamb. I have taken a lot of pictures. I'll have to post some more later.

Spring weather

The weather has been so nice lately. We have really enjoyed the backyard. Flowers are blooming the gardening is growing. The kids love it. I took the twins to Jack in Box the other day. They were really good. Other than announcing very loudly that they had to go poop. They are the friendliest little kids I have every seen. They wave and say hello to everyone they meet. They also go up to the counter and thank the employees. I don't know where they got that from. They just do it.

We're leaving to go to Utah tomorrow morning. I have everything packed and ready to go. We're picking my Mom up in St. George and then driving through to Mt. Pleasant. Bobbi is having her baby soon and Kim is moving to Texas for four months. So, we'll get a chance to visit with everyone for awhile. I think I'll be gone about 10 to 14 days.

Easter Egg Hunt

This was the exciting Easter Egg Hunt. Lane wasn't too interested, but Porter and Madison had a good time. We had fun watching them walk right past the eggs. You can see alot of the eggs they missed while the filming is going on.

More Easter

I had trouble with my camera on some of my pictures. I was afraid I lost this one--and another video we filmed. I got them today.

T.E.A. Parties everywhere

How about all of those T.E.A. (Tax Enough Already) Parties all over the United States yesterday? I was so excited to hear all of the reports coming in from the thousands and thousands of people who joined together in their own cities to protest again the taxing of the government. We are now paying almost 50 to 60 percent of our income to taxes. No wonder the economy is in such a hurt.

Can you believe there were actually anti-tea party protestors? They held signs supporting Obama and applauding this great country that uses our tax dollars. One lady said that the taxes were necessary for us to live "in a civilized society." This is not about a person, this is about a system that has become corrupt.

I personally don't have a problem with taxes per se. The things I take issue with are the pork barreling, brown-nosing, self-raises that go on in government. Did you know that in one state the wife of a governor thought it would be a good idea to plant wildflowers in the medians of their highways. First of all, planting wildflowers is a bit of a oxymoron--or oxymoronic in this case. Secondly, guess how much it cost? 17 million dollars. Wow! There are millions of examples of government misuse of funds and taxes. Why can't they be more accountable for their funding like businesses have to be? There is no way you would see a business doling out money in this fashion.

I'm proud of the Americans who are standing up and doing something about this. I hope something happens that will cause a revolution in the change of our government. It is way past due.

And as a postscript...if you haven't read the Constitution of the United States of America, you might want to refresh your memory. This is what are country was founded on, with Divine inspiration. Back when it was okay to be proud to have faith and believe in God. Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution

Just Plain Funny

Yesterday, Brant and I were sitting at the table eating. Madison and Porter come in at a full run. Madison is chasing Porter. She's yelling at him, trying to get him to stop. After they've made two full circles through the living room, kitchen, and entry way, I tell them to stop. I ask Porter, "What did you do? Did you take something from her."

He says, "No!"

"Madison," I say. "What happened?"

She replies, "I just want to be a princess, Mom."

I think for a minute and say, "Okay. You can be a princess. But what does this have to do with Porter?"

"He won't hold my hand!" She whines. "And if he doesn't hold my hand, I can't be a princess!"

Porter jumps in, "But I don't want to hold her hand!"

I talked to her into letting Lane hold her hand so she could be a princess. That was a satisfactory arrangement to all three.
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I fried eggs for the kids yesterday morning. While I was cutting Porter's eggs, he starts screaming, "Aaahh! Aaahh!" (like someone is killing him.)

"Porter!" I snap. "Stop screaming bloody murder."

"It's not me!" he says in agony. "It's the eggs! You're killing them."

Madisonisms

There's nothing worse than hearing your children repeat back phrases you say to them all of the time. This morning Madison said, "Mom, you need to change your attitude." (I was getting mad at her for making a mess.)

Yesterday, she said, "I am NOT tempermental!" She can be a drama queen--especially when she is tired and cranky.

Easter Sunday

Can you guess which egg carton is Porter's and which is Madison's?

Lane kept himself busy in the cupboards while we did eggs.

Making the dye was a big part of the fun.

What a wonderful holiday to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a great opportunity to teach our children more about the life of Jesus. In addition to the reverence of the holiday is the fun and excitement the kids have from painting the eggs, easter egg hunting, and getting candy. Hopefully, they have memories of both.

This is their first Easter that they are aware of what is going on. They also were able to color eggs with supervision this year. Just like with Santa, Porter insisted on staying up to talk to the Easter Bunny. I kept telling him he couldn't. He finally gave way to sleep.

Easter morning they were so excited for the egg hunt in the back yard. Brant and I were laughing as they would go so quickly they would look right past an egg that was in front of them. At one point, Brant told Porter to pick up Lane's toy and give it to him. He did, without evening noticing the egg that was under it. We enjoyed a good laugh at their excitement.

I'm so busy...but can't complain

Tuesday was our 7 year anniversary. As much as we wanted to, it is still hard to squeeze some time in away from the kids. We were able to go to dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. It had nothing to do with the last post I made. Just a coincidence.

I have spent every spare moment learning about credit restoration and finance. It is so much fun. I love it. I am excited to get some real clients and help people clean up their credit.

The kids are having fun--as usual. They spend their days playing in the yard and in the loft with their toys. I try to have them watch a B of M movie every day. They are at the stage where they like to watch movies. It's a nice break for me. Madison still takes a nap every day. Porter does not. Porter sleeps in, and Madison wakes up instantly. Lane was sleeping through the night until he got sick. Now, I am in the process of re-training him. Ughh.