The Evolution of Dude

Unfortunately, Dude's work had a beard growing contest. Unfortunately, Dude decided to participate. Fortunately, my threats to not let him kiss the coming baby worked. Fortunately: Scott didn't like daddy's beard and began to hesitate when a kiss was requested. (And mommy taught Scott that beard was "yucky") Fortunately, he FINALLY caved and shaved!! Here is the progression back to his usual, irresistible, greatness!

Yeti
Less Yeti

Dirt'e

White Trash

My young, handsome hubby returned!!

Ahhh! Smooth skin. No more scratches on my face!

Love him!!

Dabe

Since November, we have had a family friend, Dave Stone, rooming with us while he works a job in Phoenix. His wife, Stacy, stayed in Utah to work and complete her cancer treatments. The plan was that Dave would work here in Phoenix for 6 months, til the company allowed transfers, at which time he would apply for a transfer to their Utah office.
It has been a blessing to our family to be able to help our friends, and Dave has been a rockstar babysitter, dish scrubber, and buddy to everyone!
It took Scott a while to warm up to the strange, huge man hanging around... but now hears a door open each morning and says "Dabe!", knows which car is his, which bathroom is his, and which chair at the dinner table is his.
We are happy to announce that Dave has the chance to get back to his wife sooner than expected, and will be heading home Feb 25. Stacy is mid chemo treatment, and she is in our prayers! We are excited to be sending her husband back to her, so that he can take care of her and be where he is needed!! God Bless the Stone Family!! We love you guys!!

Ring Around the Rosie

There is no joy as great as watching your child smile and laugh! Scott has been buddies with these kids since before they knew they were buddies, and they are FINALLY starting to like each other!
The only challenge was getting the kids to hold hands with two other kids. They were all trying to just go up to one kid and hold both hands. Once we conquered that hurdle, it was nothing but FUN!

Mom's did the singing, kids did the turning and the falling. Then, the hopped right back up again and gathered to do it again! Red shirt: Scott, Purple shirt: Ryland, Blue shirt: Anderson, White shirt: Rylan. Cute kids all around!! Heart meltingly cute!

A few times, one child wandered off and didn't begin the game with the others... leave it to Scott to stop mid-game and go retrieve the wayward friend. He didn't want anyone to be left out of the fun.

The girl's werent quite as interested as the boys... maybe they didn't want to get their outfits dirty with all that falling down. But Scott and Anderson could have done it all day!!

Monkeys at the Zoo

I hadn't wanted to risk it, thinking that the zookeepers would catch on and I would be going home alone... but I decided to take my 2 monkeys to the Zoo! Luckily, they narrowly escaped being put into cages, and we all came home together!
It was a fun day!! Beautiful January weather in AZ, sunny and 65 degrees! The only problem: it was nap time...

Of COURSE, Monkey #2 HAD to sit on the tractor... which he insisted was a gator because of it's green color (Grampy will be proud to know the kid has green in his blood!)

This is where I was reminded, at the end of our zoo day, that there were no Gorillas at this zoo!! Luckily, the Orangutans and spider monkey exhibits were so cool I had to be face to face with a bronze gorilla to notice he had been missing from our day.
Test: can you tell which hairy beast is the bronze gorilla, and which one I got to bring home with me??

It was such a fun family outing! Scott thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the animals. Particularly a pigeon eating some fallen popcorn. Scott chased that bird around, but the bird would not give in (he really wanted that poocorn) so mommy and daddy spend a good 3 minutes watching this chase scene before realizing WE SHOULD BE FILMING THIS... just as the pigeon gave up! Scotty won, and we didn't get any footage. Trust me tho, it was cute!

And no, walking the zoo all afternoon did NOT put mommy into labor!

Ketchup Art

We are considering branching into other mediums soon. Mustard and BBQ sauce are high on our interest list! This particular piece will be up for auction in the near future. Please check back soon for more details!

The Power of Elmo

The master: Daddy
The skill: cutting hair
The knowledge: trial and error on 19 year old guys in Uruguay
The challenge: using this knowledge and skill on a wiggly 2 year old


The secret: Elmo

Lots of hair fell to the ground, and there were a few visible lines due to fine hair, random wiggles, and rusty skills, but no blood was shed, and I have $5 in my pocket that wouldn't have been there otherwise. Thank you Daddy, and let's not forget the real hero... Elmo!

Due to Bloom: Feb 2010

I am surrounded by the most amazing friends! I wasn't expecting a THING to be done for me this pregnancy, since this is my second child, and second boy! But, that didn't stop Amy from throwing me a fantastic "sprinkle"! The original plan was for everyone to meet at Entree's Made Easy and for everyone's gift to me to be a frozen meal that my family could use in the days/weeks after the baby is born. What a wonderful idea!! Too bad Entree's Made Easy called and told Amy they were closing their doors and couldn't host my Sprinkle! And so, with much more work and stress on her plate, Amy hosted the shower at her home!!

Everything was perfect! The food, the friends, the decorations and theme... she sure went all out, and words cannot express how much it meant! All of my friends still brought me frozen meals, and my freezer is filled with proof of the amazing people I have in my life!

The only thing that could have been better about this day is if someone had remembered to take pictures. I was too content enjoying myself to remember that I have a digital world of fan's who want PICTURES! So, no group pictures... the only picture of a person is of me, with my cute little flower cupcake!

Thanks to everyone who came, brought food smiles and laughter, and made it a great day. And Amy, you ROCK!

Showered with Love

It was a Wednesday. It was probably the worst day of the year so far. I had spent all day at the vet, spending large amount of money and stressing/worrying that my dog was gonna die (which he didn't, ended up spending all that money to find out he was fine, just a wimp). The Young Women were just having a planning meeting to choose their activities for the year, and I considered calling in sick. But... alas, I am devoted and filled with a conscience the size of Arizona; so I went. As I walked in, I could tell that all of the leaders were already there, but there were no girls to be found yet. Until I got further in to the house and they all jumped out to yell SURPRISE!

My wonderful friends had planned a surprise baby shower for me, and it's a good thing I showed up (with unwashed hair and no make up... but still!) They had all brought gifts for me, there were blue balloons and blue cupcakes, games and all sorts of fun!
I don't think I will ever tire of getting new little clothes for my kids. No matter how many kids (or boys, for that matter) I have... who could resist these cute little snuggly outfits. Soon to be filled with a cute little snuggly dude!
The awesome ladies! Front row L-R: Whitney Smith, Shanna Liles Middle Row: Me, Bridget Back Row L-R: Erica Hanks, Sonja, Tori, Tatiana, Sarah, Amber, Kendal and parts of Cheyenne!
It was such a great ending to a not so great day. These girls really know how to throw a party, and how to cheer a girl up! Thanks so much, Brimhall Babes, for being so totally awesome!! Love you!

I'm Dreaming of a Humid Christmas!

We were blessed this year to travel to Florida and have Christmas with family! The winter has been a little unusual for me since I am accustomed to seeing white and feeling cold for 5 months of my years in UT. But it was GREAT to have nice enough weather that Scott could take full advantage of Grampy's 16 acres and get some energy out each day!!
We traveled EARLY Christmas eve morning and arrived in Florida by 3 pm. It was great to be able to make it in time for a delicious Christmas dinner and awesome spiritual program (which I got a copy of and will be using next year!)
Some highlights of the trip:
We got to meet the newest member of the Bori Family: Julia Pearl Duncan! She is just the sweetest little bundle of cute and we all took to her instantly! Scott loved to watch Uncle Mike give Julia her bottle, he was ALL ABOUT giving her kisses on the forehead, and even let her "kiss" his finger better when he hurt it once. We are so overjoyed for Michael and Elena, and couldn't have wished them any better gift this holiday season!
Scott was old enough to follow, imitate, play with, and torture his older cousin Alyssa Jade: He thought she was the coolest thing invented, and she tolerated his excitement pretty well! He always wanted her to be playing with him, and was often seen right on her tails when she was out and about doing big kid stuff! He wanted to be in the action, and it was awesome that she let him. Scott just loves his cousins!!
Scott on Christmas morning: His stocking was STUFFED to the brim with cool toys. Cars, playdough, a watch, coloring book, etc etc. BUT... the thing on top, happened to be a banana. And he wouldn't even consider touching the rest of his stocking til the banana had been devoured. He then proceeded through the stocking til he found a crunch bar. Again, progress was halted and the candy was eaten. Note to self: put edible items at the bottom of Scott's stockings!
The Gator: From the moment his eyes opened til the time I dragged him in from the dark kicking and screamin... he wanted to be on the gator. Grampy has a John Deere Gator that he uses to get everywhere on his huge property, and Scott is a FAN! Grampy has also purchased a gator power wheels, and this trip was the first time Scott was big enough and brave enough to push the pedal and drive it! (steering... we'll work on that next time)
A Walk down memory lane: Dude and I were able to go out on the town and leave Scott with his grammy and aunts. Downtown Disney, which is where many of our first dates were. Holding hands, drinking hot chocolate, watching magic shows, playing with legos... all the good stuff! It was nice to reminisce and spend some quality time with him back in the place where the memories began!
Conference call with Virgin Gorda: Despite being across the country from any Francis', we were lucky enough to get to listen in on my brother's missionary call home Christmas morning! He is a total Missionary Rock Star, and sounds like he's making the most of his time and having the time of his life! I am so blessed by his service and grateful for the things he is giving up to serve the Lord. Proud sister, what can I say?
Puzzles: I remember from my childhood there always being a puzzle up and going during the holidays. So, I inflicted that tradition upon the Bori's and bought, quite possibly the most difficult puzzle in the history of the world. It didn't get finished, and even if it did... Mike has a piece of the sky held hostage! I don't know if anyone ever took a picture of it, but I thought it was fun to do together! Thanks for bearing with me, Bori's!
Bounce House: We took Scott to a place that was like a big wearhouse with ~10 huge blow up playsets! Slides, trampolines, obstacle courses... you name it. Talk about an energy release! We all needed a nap after that!!
Christmas Crafts: Grammy totally rocks! She made every girl in the family their own, patchwork purse. Color coordinated with our personalities, designed to fit EVEN a sippy cup! I just love my new purse and totally wish I had that kind of talent! Thank you Grammy!
New Years Eve FIRE: unusual again to my idea of the months of Dec and Jan... we had a bonfire New Years Eve. We roasted hot dogs and mallows and had a great time visiting and staring at a fire! In my history of New Years, this is the first one spent outside for more than 5 minutes to bang on some pots and pans. So much fun!
Time out with my family: 10 days of 100% family time! Dude didnt have work, a meeting, a game night, a NOTHIN! We spent our time playing together and soaked it all in!! And as long as it was, we were ready to do it all over again when it ended!
Merry late Christmas, Happy late New Year. Love to you all!!

Friends Adopting

Some friends of ours are in the process of adopting 2 kids from Russia, and are having a raffle to earn money for the costs. Donate $5 to be entered to win a big screen TV and help an orphan get a home!!