Happy 31st Birthday to Me!

Rob started out my birthday by running to Village Inn at 6:45 in the morning to get all of us breakfast. The only thing better in the morning than breakfast in bed, is having absolutely no mess in the kitchen from cooking. This year I asked Rob to take our family to the Melting Pot for dinner. For those of you who don't know, it is a fondue restaurant. I had never eaten there before, but I have wanted to ever since I heard about it a couple of years ago. It was sooooo yummy and sooooo fun! We way over-ordered...I guess we will know better for next time:)Hunter and Ashley ate the least...until the dessert of course! Why do adults open their mouths when they are feeding babies??? Anyway, Hunter was really naughty. My girls are so good when we go out, but apparently they haven't rubbed off on Hunter:(
Do you like Brooklyn's look of disgust? It took them a minute to get used to the idea of cooking their own raw meat. I told Alyssa if she would try the shrimp, but didn't like it, I would give her $50. I was so sure that she would like it, I was never really planning on giving her any money. She finally agreed to try it and she gagged as she spit it out. I of course didn't pay her $50 either...I guess I won't be able to bribe her with money any time soon:(

Remember how I said that Hunter was naughty? Well, this is him trying to get Ashley to give him a piggy-back ride.
This is Hunter playing swords with the fondue fork and the light. And, guess who got Diet Coke spilled all over her nice clean khaki pants? Me...the birthday girl! Hunter, next time we are leaving you at home with a babysitter! Dinner did take two hours to eat, so I guess I should give him a little credit. At least he was quiet once the dessert came out. I think the only thing any of us said at that point was, "Mmmmmm, this is soooooo good!"
Rob picked out this cute Hannah Montana birthday cake for me. I still can't believe I am 31 years old:(

I must say, one of the highlights of my birthday was my girls singing happy birthday to me every time they saw me:) That makes getting older worth it!

Hunter's 1st Set of Stitches...Hopefully His Last!

Yesterday, my handsome little guy had to get stitches:( At least he cut the back of his head and didn't risk scaring his beautiful face:) We had just gotten to our friend's house (the Malletts) for family home evening, when Hunter ran in front of Alyssa while she was swinging. I didn't see it happen, but Alyssa said she knocked him down and he hit his head on the rocks. We first ran to the emergency room at the hospital and there were probably 75 people waiting in the waiting room. Seriously, who goes to the emergency room on a Monday night at 6:00. Hunter was the only one that was even bleeding. The lady at the front desk informed us that it was going to be a while. After waiting for 5 minutes, I realized Hunter's pediatrician's office has after-hour care. I called and asked if the doctor could do stitches that night, and she told me he could and we wouldn't have to wait very long to get in. Wonderful!!! 3 minutes later we were in the waiting room at the doctor's office. FYI-most parents seem to keep their sick kids on the "sick" side of the waiting room during office hours, but let me tell you...nothing was off limits last night. All of the kids there with runny noses and fevers were playing with the toys. Seriously...what were those parents thinking?!!! "Sick entrance" means sick entrance!!! Anyway, it was so sad when the doctor stitched him up. They had to strap him to a papoose board face down while Rob held his head still:( He kept crying, "Mom...Mom...Mom!!!" It broke my heart to sit there helpless:( He ended up with 7 stitches and was back to himself in no time at all.

Meet "King Kong"...My New BFF!

We bought this gorilla backpack at the zoo a few years ago, and it has mostly gone unused. A few days ago I got it out and tried to have Hunter put all of his matchbox cars in it so he could carry them around the house. When he first saw it, he was horrified...scared to death! I tossed it to the side and forgot about it. The other day I asked Hunter to go and get me a diaper (which he always does for me:), but as he got near he backed up, started to whine and said, "scary"(more like eey). The gorilla backpack was sitting on the floor in front of the diapers and he wouldn't walk over it. I got a wonderful idea! As most of you know, Rob works from home. My girls have always been good at staying out of his office when he is working. Hunter...not so much. Problem solved...I took my new BFF, "King Kong", and placed him outside of Rob's office to guard the door. Now, Hunter won't even go into the hallway that leads to Rob's office:) That same night, Hunter was in his favorite place in the house (the pantry), pulling all of the cans and snacks off of my shelves. I took him out of the pantry and grabbed King Kong and placed him in the pantry to stand guard for me there. Worked like a charm! Hunter wouldn't even cross the tile into my kitchen if "King Kong" is near. Why didn't I figure this out sooner?!!! I may have to pay for him to have therapy later (major gorilla phobia), but for now, it will just have to do:)

Hale Centre Theatre

Since Rob was nice enough to let me go to a scrapbooking late-niter on our anniversary, we didn't actually celebrate it until Saturday. This year we decided to take the girls with us to go and see The Music Man at the Hale Centre Theatre. Since Ashley just turned five, she has never been to a play there. It was so much fun...I have never seen The Music Man. The girls were definitely one of the few kids there...Alyssa said, "Mom, everybody here is OLD!" The majority of the people were definitely 50 or older. Their children's theatre is starting again in Sept. They are doing Cinderella. We are planning on going, so if anyone is interested in joining us...let me know. Next month's play is Wait Until Dark. That movie is one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies of all time! We are also going to see that next month. Kyle said she's in to go with us...anyone else want to go?

Happy 12th Anniversary!

I can't believe I have been married for 12 years already! I am only 30 years old...how can that be? How did this strapping young man sweep me off my feet at such a young age?
Back in the days when anyone in the world could get passed airport security, Rob made this incredible proposal. We had finished school for the summer and he had gone back home to Arizona, while I stayed in Utah. At the time, his brother Kris was dating a girl that also lived in Utah. His brother had made plans to come to visit his girlfriend and called to ask if I could pick him up from the airport. I of course said I would and much to my surprise, Kris wasn't the only person I knew on the plane. Luckily I was on time! The first person to exit the plane was Rob's brother Kris. He came out carrying flowers. After he gave them to me, I noticed that every passenger coming off the plane was carrying a flower. Each person on the plane continued the bring me a flower as they disembarked. Surprisingly, my grandpa was also at the airport picking up my grandma who was also on the same flight (Thanks to him and a heads up from my uncle in Phoenix, I have these pictures!). Even the pilots and flight attendants came off with flowers. The last one off was Rob. By then, I had so many flowers I couldn't even hold them all. After he handed me roses, he knelt down on one knee and proposed. Ladies, who could say no to that?!!! It was the best decision I have ever made! Funny thing is, Rob may have thought I was old enough to get married, but he is already saying my girls all have to be 22 before they say "I do". And...they had better not move out of the state like I did. Go figure! Thanks for 12 amazing years!

P.S. Yes, if you are wondering, Rob does have a body wave...you should've seen the perm:)

Mom, I Want to Be a Call Girl...WHAT???

I love our rides to school in the morning. I always get so much information...some that I want, and some that I don't:) Today I asked the girls what they wanted to be when they grow up.
Brooklyn - a meteorologist and a fashion designer
Alyssa - a teacher and a fashion designer
Ash - a call girl???
Me - "Ash, did you say you want to be a call girl?"
Ash - "Yes."
Me - very interested in her response, I ask, "What does a call girl do?"
Ash - "She helps people get cars."
Phew!!! I really need to work on teaching her how to say her "r's" correctly. I listen to Fox News so much, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Oh, no...she was paying attention to the Elliott Spitzer scandal". Yikes! I didn't want little Ashley to become Ashley Dupre!!! I'm just glad we had this discussion before she gets asked that question at school. This week my job is to get her to have a different career goal that she can pronounce!

Today I Actually Had 10 Minutes to Make This...

Today I went to the scrapbook store to register for a late-niter and what do you know...I couldn't walk out of that darn store empty handed. I started with the intent of just browsing...my shopping usually starts that way:) I have needed to get new albums for all of my scrapbook pages, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I found a cute brown one and then started my hunt for coordinating papers and ribbons to decorate the front. I got so carried away, I almost didn't get home in time to relieve Rob of his babysitting so that he could catch his flight. I seriously completed this whole project in no more than 10 or 15 minutes. Super easy!!! Unfortunately for Rob, scrapbooking isn't the cheapest hobby...now I need to do albums for all of the other years that are currently bound in boring leather books. Lucky for me, I have a late-niter scheduled for this weekend:)

1st Day of School

Today my 3 girls all went to their first day of school. Brooklyn in 3rd grade, Alyssa in 2nd and Ashley started 1/2 day kindergarten. These were 3 very excited little girls! It should be a crime to have kids start this early in the summer...it was 113 degrees today according to my car thermometer. I was dripping with sweat after just standing in that heat for 5 minutes...I can't imagine running around on a playground in this miserable weather! Who is the moron behind starting schools in Arizona a week earlier every year? Next year we will probably start in July... Ridiculous!!! We walked the girls into the school to take pictures and help them find their teachers on the playground. We had to park quite a ways away...did I mention how hot it was? This is the girls once we finally got to the school. Ashley didn't even start until the afternoon, but she still insisted on carrying her backpack full of school supplies:)
Ashley is my only child that wakes up in the morning with food cravings...I don't know how she stays soooo skinny. She will wake up and the first thing she will say is, "I feel like an enchilada today." From Gecko's that is. Today however, she wanted wings from a whole-in-the-wall bar that we have gone to for years. They have the best chicken wings in the country!

I don't know if Ashley quite understood that we would be leaving her on the playground. She looked a little nervous but was still happy to finally be going to school like her sisters.
I have been sad and depressed for weeks in anticipation of this day...I still can't believe summer is already over! The girls all had a blast at school and love their new teachers. I am so happy about that!!! Time flies by too quickly...before I know it I will be sending them off to college:(

Hunter's 1st Day of Nursery

Just when I thought Hunter couldn't live without me, I found out he can:( Not one of my girls would ever go to nursery without me sitting in there with them. Ashley never went at all, I just had her sit by me in primary because I was the pianist. What do you know, Hunter loved it! His teachers said he loves anything with wheels...thank goodness he is 100% boy. I guess being around Barbies and baby dolls hasn't effected his manhood after all:)Isn't he the cutest little guy ever?!!!

Where Have All the GapKids gone??? Did Rob Wet His Pants???

Why do I have 3 malls within 15 miles from my house, yet I have to drive to the mall that is 20 miles from my house to get to a GapKids??? It was bad enough when Superstition Mall decided to pull out the kids line from their Gap, now I find out Gap has completely pulled out of Fiesta Mall (I know that mall is totally ghetto, but come on!) Gap has also completely pulled out of South Towne mall in Sandy, UT. What is going on? It just isn't the same shopping online...the clothes always look cuter in person than they do on a computer screen!

Did Rob Wet His Pants???

Where is my camera when I need it? I thought about taking it with me today...but I didn't:( At lunch Ashley spilled her Shirley Temple drink all over Rob's pants. You'd think she had drained his bank account by his overreaction to this more-than-common occurence. He was upset because we were going to the mall afterwards and I guess maybe he was afraid someone would think he wet his pants. After he wouldn't speak to anyone for a few minutes, the girls started to offer suggestions of excuses he could give to people to explain the gigantic wet spot on the back of his pants. Brooklyn's was my favorite-"Dad, how 'bout you just tell them you were camping with a bunch of boys and they were all too slow going to the bathroom?"

What the heck??? They all thought they were being so clever, I didn't have the heart to say, "How about just telling them that your daughter spilled her drink all over you?" I was the only one in the family thinking rationally! On our way into the mall I realized why Rob was so embarrassed by this wet spot right down the back of his shorts...he said, "When it is so freakin' hot out here, everyone is going to think this is sweat!" Bottom sweat that is...

What do you know, no one even said anything:) All that anxiety over nothing! Luckily we ended up at Fiesta Mall instead of Scottsdale:)