Good friends

I'm so grateful for good friends. Darcy, Michelle, Sherri and I served in primary together for years and have had such a close connection since I moved here 5 years ago. Since I had lived in St. George my whole life, I had a hard time moving away, so it meant a lot to me that these 3 girls made me feel so welcome in the neighborhood. I love our regular girl time together. My favorite is when we have girls night out sans kids, but for Michelle's birthday, we met for lunch at Costa Vida and brought the kiddos along.
They had crazy fun together as usual! Here's Salote, Em, Zack, Jonny, Lacey, and Niki. They lined up against the wall on their own, so I snapped a quick picture, and it turned out pretty cute. I'm glad they have each other as friends just like their moms have each other. Because friends are pretty special.

PS) Of course I'm crying right now because my closest friends mean the world to me AND because of pregnancy hormones. Man, I cry a lot these days. ;)

Jonathan turns 3!

How did my baby boy get to be 3 years old? I made Jonny some Prince Phillip cupcakes just as he requested and served them to his preschool class. It was much easier than throwing a big neighborhood party with a dozen 3 year-olds. Although his Thomas the Train Party last year was a blast, I decided to just do a friends party ever other year to keep life simple.

Wade and I gave him a homemade sword and shield...

...and a homemade superhero cape that my friend, Traci, sewed together. My mom was in town the weekend of Jon's birthday to help my sister move, and my dad suprised us all and joined in on the fun. Here's Jonny excited about the train quilt my mom made him as well as some Rieces Pieces candy. :)

Uncle Austin teaching the nieces and nephews how to use the golf set he and Ruthanne and Jason and Margaret gave Jonny for his birthday.

Golfer Jonny walking off into the sunset or something like that...lol

Shivers

I'm amazed that we have lived in Salt Lake for 5 years, yet are still discovering hidden treasures in our area. I think it's because we've had to be disciplined on a student's income and haven't spent a lot of money on dining out or children's museums and play areas. We adore the wide array of city parks, Wheeler Farm, and other places that are FREE, and have been grateful for our family pass to Hogle Zoo because let's be honest, it's nice to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and PLAY! I think we just enjoy it more when we're not spending money doing it.

Last month, we found a true treasure that we're all crazy about. It's this little local restaurant called Shivers, 10 minutes away from our house. There's a huge train in the middle of the restaurant that the kids can play on while I enjoy my $2 fruit smoothie. It's awesome. And because we're pretty heathly eaters and rarely have fried food, we'll go and just get a fruit smoothie to share or a 30 cent kiddy cone. I am especially excited to have found Shivers because my kids don't throw tantrums when we leave like they do at McDonalds. I usually DESPISE McDonald's, but we've gone there several times with friends this winter after storytime at the library so I could have some mommy time while the kiddos played. I always bought a snack wrap for me and one for Emily and Jon to share and spent just $3. With Wade and I both starting new careers this year, we chose to limit our spending as much as we could. During lunch, Jon and Em seemed okay with not getting the happy meal because they love the grilled chicken snack wraps. But each time as we would leave, they would recognize that they never got a happy meal toy like their friends did. And then the tantrums would start. And they were ugly tantrums. I know you've dealt with it, too, so you know what I'm talking about. They're not fun.

So I have this love/hate relationship with McD's because it's nice to have a free, warm place for the kids to play in the winter while I enjoy some mommy time with friends. But I have never liked the food there, the fact that even with the healthier options, I'm still TEMPTED to get a root beer and fries, and then there's the germs on the playplace I don't want to think about, how busy it always is, etc, etc. But now, I can ban McD's from our vocabulary and choose Shivers instead when we want to get out of the house and have a little ice-cream.

Have YOU had some interesting experiences at restaurants? Please share. I would love to hear about it!

Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Farm is just about my favorite place in Salt Lake. I never get sick of this place, and neither do my kids. I'm such a small town, country girl that SLC just seems so big at times. So this is my escape...the open spaces, the farm animals, the barns, the tractors, the smell, the fact that I get John Denver songs stuck in my head whenever I go there. Bring it all on! The best part is that it's free. We've already been two other times since these pics were taken.

These are Jon's "Farmer Jed" overalls he insists on wearing whenever we go to Wheeler Farm. He got the name "Farmer Jed" from the DVD that came with his Fisher Price Barn. Anyone familiar with that?

It was fun to meet up with a few friends there as always. Good times.

I Could Have Danced All Night

Emily absolutely adores the show, High School Musical

(confession: so does her mom)

She likes to sing and dance along with Troy and Gabriella as she watches the movie. And she often convinces her little brother to dance with her. It's pretty cute to see them dancing together rather than wrestling/body slaming one another. They're truly typical siblings, best friends one minute...fighting partners the next. Such is life. ;)

Retreat

I love being the young women's leader with the cool red van. The girls all want me to drive them home after activities and turn up the music on my stereo. It's a good thing most of them like country because you know I enjoy my Carrie, JoDee, and Martina! The cool red van was especially useful last month when we drove up to Heber to stay at the Rasmussen's cabin for a weekend retreat because we could fit so many of us in it. Yeah!

Apples to Apples, always a fav (still laughing about the time we played with the young men...they were so immature!)

Our morning devotional was amazing! Marianne Jones showed us a homemade quilt, explaining that each quilt piece represented a part of her life. She pointed to a beautiful purple and blue square that represented the time she slapped her younger sister when they were kids. She said, "You would think that piece would be dark and ugly because it was such a dark and ugly experience. But that's the the wonder of the atonement. I went to my Savior and he helped me feel true sorrow and make amends with my sister. So that piece is as beautiful as it is because of all I learned from it." So powerful! Zoe, Allie, Melanie, and Sage getting ready to go sledding

Crazy Sister Reed racing down the hill on the little black sled

PS) I don't miss Primary as much anymore...this is way too much fun!

Seriously though, this retreat was exactly what I needed. I had some really good time to think and mediate and figure things out spiritually. And while I was away, Wade made the kids Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast and took them to the Zoo. He really enjoyed his daddy time with them. We're both already looking forward to my next weekend retreat, BYU Women's Conference next month!

Memoires of a Happy Husband

So, I've been thinking about how lucky I am to be married to Catherine. It is no secret that she is an amazing woman, right! Well, in case you didn't know it, she is! I have had the privilege of knowing her for over 7 years now. During that time she has never ceased to inspire me by the way that she opens her heart and hands to all who cross her path. She makes friends with just about everyone she meets instantly, and is willing to do anything to make their lives better. So, when you have the privilege of being her best friend, you can only imagine how great life is.

I have no idea how many of you know, but when we met it was quite literally "love at first sight." It was crazy! I mean, I had only been home from my mission 3 weeks when we first met. As I was in missionary mode still, I followed an investigator up to the Gospel Principles class. Catherine happened to be teaching that day. I immediately knew that she was someone that I wanted to get to know. Two days later, we met again at a "meet and greet" activity at the Institute. From that day on we were inseparable!! We not only hung out, but we started running into each other all over the place. I made her lunch AND dinner most days of the week so she wouldn't have to drive the 15 minutes back to her house in Santa Clara in between classes and evening activities. We had a blast together.

One day, while we were at my place for lunch, she was sitting on the couch while I was cooking…she did that a lot (love ya babe)…I asked her if she wanted an orange. Well, without making sure she had heard me, I tossed the orange to her. I lobed it just perfectly…and wham! It smacked her in the heard. That was the first of many memories like that for us. Others include oreos and cake being smashed up my nose.

Some of my favorite memories include our casual walks on campus, around our neighborhood, or to a park. We like to go on "dream drives" where we drive around in neighborhoods where we would like to live one day and look for houses that we would like to live in. We are huge fans of the old European architecture of Harvard/Yale, as well as in Holladay and some other Sugarhouse surroundings.

Catherine, I love you! Thanks for being my best friend, wife, and the perfect mother for our children.

Dessert Auction and Summer Haircut

I was especially excited to help out with our ward's Annual Scout Fundraiser this year because the young women did half of the work and received half of the proceeds for our Girls Camp. Wahoo! So after a nice dinner, we had the dessert auction which is always a hit. I made a Dinosaur Cake just like the one I made for last year's dessert auction. Easy, easy, easy, yet was still one of the highest bids of the night. Here were some other favorites...

Alice in Wonderland Cake

Berry TrifleGiant Cupcake

Cinnamon Rolls, Caramel Apples, and Rice Krispy Treats sold individually for smaller amounts

The St. Patrick's Day Cake that made Emily and Jon's eyes light up...

...which I ending up buying and spending way too much money on! But it's all for a good cause so Wade didn't kill me when he found out. haha And personally it felt good to earn the"best mommy" award that day by spoiling them and getting them exactly what they wanted. It doesn't happen a lot so they better not get used to it. ;)
Jonny tasting his first caramel apple and loving it,
plus a view of his nice long hair before Wade took the buzzer to it...
...to give him this summer haircut.

I was devastated when I came home from the Relief Society Enrichment Dinner to find my little boy like this. I loved his long, healthy hair, but I have to admit, it's much easier to manage like this. Talk about LOW maintenance haircut, people. I highly recommend it. lol

Disney on Ice

How do I get 2 months behind on blogging? Sheesh! Maybe it's because I finally joined facebook and update that more often, but I promise I will keep my blog rollin' if nothing else than for the fact that I print it each year as a scrapbook. :) And I feel like I can be more authentic and vulnerable with you guys since this is a private blog.I am such a Disney finatic, it's not even funny. I've been wanting to go back to Disneyland since our last trip 4 years ago. But we figured we better get Wade stable in his new job and then save up for a Disneyland trip next spring. But since we've all been craving some Disney magic, Wade and I took the kids to Disney on Ice in March (much cheaper than a trip to Cali!) Emily dressed as Belle and Jonny dressed as a prince. :)

Lighting McQueen was the favorite for all of us!

It was fun to have Jason and Margaret and their kids join us for the show.

My silly nephews Taylor and Alex with a happy Emily and Hailey

My 7pm bedtime kids were plain worn out by the time the show was over around 9:30pm!

Guess what?

We're finally sharing the news, and with only 6 months to go, we're really looking forward to welcome baby #3 into our home! Wade actually wore these pajamas when he was a baby. His mom embroidered the #3 since he was the third child in his family, so we thought it fitting for our third child to wear them as well. :)

We were really hoping to have the baby in the summer since I'm a teacher, but Heavenly Father must have a different plan because the baby is due September 16, two weeks AFTER school starts. We're so blessed to have good friends who have helped us work things out. My friend, Jordan Mabey, will teach my preschool class when I have the baby and while I recover for a few weeks. And my friend, Kristal Joy, will watch the baby while I teach the rest of the year. It was a difficult decision whether I should teach at all, but after fasting and praying, we felt I should. I just love teaching too much to quit! And fortunately, I'm just teaching two mornings a week to help keep life simple.

I still can't believe it, but it's true. And Emily and Jonathan couldn't be more excited!

Mothers Who Know

One of the trade offs of being busier this year is that I haven't baked as much (or cooked as much for that matter...cereal for dinner anyone?) But when I saw Brittany's recipe for The Best Cookies on Earth, I knew I HAD to give them a try, especially since I love rolos so much, and there is a rolo in the middle of every cookie. Oh.my.word. They are good and super easy to make.
1 box chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 bag rolos
small bowl of white sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil. Take a small spoonful of batter and wrap completely around a rolo. Repeat until batter is gone. They will be very small, just big enough to totally cover the rolo. Then roll each ball in the sugar. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.
A week later, I made homemade bread and strawberry freezer jam. The week after that, I made lasagna for dinner and apple pie for dessert. I think I just got the January blues and started baking to help cheer me up. Does anyone else get that way in January?

In the background of this picture is my new "Mothers Who Know" plaque. A few months ago, Cjane reminded me of this powerful talk by Julie B. Beck. I read it and then printed it so I could read it daily. It was/is such a pick me up! Then I asked Stacie Talbot to make this plaque for me of the outline of Sister Beck's talk so that every time I walk into my kitchen, I could see it and be reminded of my goals as a mother. I know it's hard to see in the picture. It says:

Mothers Who Know

Bear Children

Honor Sacred Ordinances & Covenants

Are Nurtures

Are Leaders

Are Teachers

Do Less

Stand Strong & Immovable

Celebrating New Years St. George style

Since we spent Thanksgiving in St. George, we weren't originally planning on going down over Christmas break, but Wade had some business appointments and the kids were dying to ride their new bikes and couldn't in our cold weather, so we headed south to sunny St. George. I really do love living in Salt Lake with the four seasons, but it's fun to visit a place in the winter that looks like this...

Beautiful, eh?

Em did not stop riding her bike the entire trip!

Steve and Stacie had our family for Christmas, and they made Emily SO happy surprising her with her first pair of dress up shoes.

And Jonny is still playing catch with me on a daily basis with the ball set they gave him. They gave Wade and me a beautiful framed picture of the Resurrected Christ. We love it!

Wade had no idea my mom and dad were giving him a GPS for Christmas. He's having so much fun with his new toy! I just think it's hilarious when he uses it to find the house next door.

On New Year's Eve, we put the kiddos to bed, and my parents kept an eye on them while Wade and I enjoyed First Night. Brandi was awesome dancing with the Zumba girls. Proud of you sunshine! And we also bumped into Katie's younger sister, Lizzie, which made me smile so big because she reminds me of Katie, who I miss a ton since she lives in Tennessee.

As is tradition in our family, we went for a hike on New Year's day. Wade couldn't resist jumping for joy being with his lover girl.

Aspen and Emily

Finally, here's some comedy relief for you

Who is that poser nerd? Sheesh!

Christmas at the Reed's

Every other year, Wade's mom and step dad find a family or two we can provide Christmas for instead of getting gifts for each other. It just keeps getting better and better each year because as the children are getting older, they are understanding how good it feels to serve. On Christmas Eve, we had a yummy dinner, program, and then exchanged the craziest white elephant gifts you've ever heard of...foot odor pads, old vacuums, blank gift cards, the list goes on and on. :) lol
Grandpa and Grandma Stoney then surprised all of us with new pajamas.

Christmas at our house is simple, which is how we prefer it to be and definitely easier on the budget. We gave the kids a few books I had received for free from a book fair I hosted at my preschool. And Santa brought them both new bikes. Thanks to my nephew, Alix, who gave his old hand me down bike to Santa to give to Jon. ;)

walking in to see the surprises under the Christmas tree...

Em loving her new book

and excited about her big girl princess bike from Santa and princess helmet from Grandpa and Grandma Reed

Here's Jonny going to work right away with his new tools from Papa and Grandma Lang, while sporting his cool Spiderman helmet from Grandpa and Grandma Reed.

Wade is finding Pirates of the Caribbean in his stocking for the 5th year in a row...it's an inside joke between us, makes Christmas fun, and doesn't cost anything to give him something we already own...haha

Em snuck away for a few quiet moments to put her new baby doll to bed. Thanks Papa and Grandma Lang!

Wade surprised me with a book I have been wanting for months, A Mother's Book of Secrets, written by one of my favorite authors, Linda Eyre and her daughter, Shawni Eyre Pothier. It's very enlightening. I highly recommend it.
Wade modeling his new "man apron," which turned out to not be that manly after all...the bottom flows out like a skirt. Yikes! I went to 6 different stores because I didn't have time to make one, and TJ Maxx had this white one, which is better than my Strawberry Shortcake apron he has been wearing. haha Fortunately, on Christmas Day, he ordered a black apron online and looks very manly in it.
Christmas Morning Caramel Rolls for the 3rd year in a row from the Tokita's

So tasty!