Family in town for 10 days and HALLOWEEN

Kate and friend Tamara at her wedding. My family all came in town. It's always such a fun late night every night party when they are here! I don't know how I did not get a picture of all of us with my parents that were here too but I didn't. Anyways it was fun and there is a bit of a picture overload...
Gator and Claire
Crew and Uncle GREG
Halloween is always a party with the Riggs and Bairs
We switched Crew's Costume up a bit to COOKIE MONSTER!
Our Scary BAT
Mar, Michelle and Katie
CUTE Single brother Greg who lives in SLC..(any takers!...)
Steve's bro Jimmy and Meghan and Daisey and Duke!
The crazy on candy trick or treaters!
Crew happy with a big plate of MAC
Shopping...Shopping....SHopping!

Ward TRUNK or TREAT

Kate wanted desperately to be a scary BAT and Crew whatever we could find him (hence the high water MONKEY!! But oh so CUTE) Such a fun night. I love this time of year more than anything. I love the smell of FALL, I love the cooler weather and I LOVE that Christmas music is all ready playing in my house!!

O

Should I be CONCERNED!!

Kate Loves to play with Harrison! I told them to KISS and there was NO hesitation at all! So funny!

the start of OCTOBER...

Love this little GIRL!

So Friday mid morning 11 am I was sitting in my recliner, breakfast had yet to be cleaned up. I was totally depressed That I was not in Utah for Conference weekend and to enjoy the crisp FALL weather and beautiful AUTUMN leaves. I must admit that this is THE time of year I really wish that I lived in UTAH. It's my birthday month and I think that I should just pack up and go for a month!! Anyways back to the recliner...Crew was sleeping and Kate was happily playing by herself cause MOM was out of commission. I had just got off the phone with a friend that had talked me into taking the kids to an open gym so they could run around and play. I was not excited but knew I should get out! Then there was a very loud KNOCK at my front door. Kate sprinted (anyone that could save her day) and lo and behold it was my sister for a SURPRISE visit!!!!!!! What this was the best thing ever! Suddenly the energy came flying out of my body and we startted to make all our shopping plans of all the places we needed to go and check out. It was such a treat! Thanks Michelle, the DR. that she works for for taking a vaca and Delta Airlines for having a last minute weekend fare so that you could bounce down here for 5 days! It was so fun to make Pies and watch conference together and just have you around. The kids loved it also!

Kate found the hidden TREATs! Or I guess not so hidden....
(those frames will be filled in a week we are getting family pictures taken..Sorry I got sidetracked!)
michelle and i
Steve Took me to DISNEYLAND for my b-day (you get in FREE on your day!). It was such a fun little getaway without the kids and then we went to an auction the next day! THANKS CAROLYN for watching the 2 year old and 1 year old.
Handsome little man loves MICHELLE

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to US!!

4 short, sweet years down, 400 to go!! I love you STEVE your the best! Cant wait for a kid free amazing night in Scottsdale!

I love my GIRLFRIENDS!

Katie, me, Ashlee (who is 9 months pregnant and ready to give birth in the next minute) and Alexis! We don't get together enough and it's such a party when we do!

IT WAS TIME!!

To DIP my head in bleach again!! You know I have always been a BLONDE, all growing up i highlighted my hair and then about 5 years ago I entered TONI and GUY cosmetology school and felt like I needed a bit of a change. And for me its all or nothing..I like to be dark or light and not so much in between! Its been a year and a half and it feels GOOD!

Photo shoot!

Love these Pictures that Lindsay took, THANK YOU SO MUCH! There are tons more amazing ones, here is just a few!

Love these little midgets..

They switch off pushing and it's there favorite thing to do! Crew loves the ride!

Utah once again!

It's always so much fun to go to UTAH!! I was up there for 2 weeks and got to play with all my friends and family!! Kate was in heaven cause she could play with her cousins around the clock!
Kate and Bryce!
Crew totally remembered Michelle and could not get enough of her

Melanie Jones, Michelle, Chelsa and me
Jayme, Michelle, Kristi and Greg

Forget the bathtub!!
Dinner in the mountains
Greg Birthday



Alpine slide, Kate loved it to death!
Kates victim with a black sharpie marker. The most special part of this is that we took family pictures that night!
Rowan and Crew

Sisters

Cousins

Every Sunday night we have big family dinners with the LeSueur family! So much fun. These are the cousins and Crew i think you are out numbered! Ella, Maya, Crew and Kate

CALIFORNIA July 4th!

Funnest trip to the beach for the 4th of JULy! We went with Steve's family. Ate lots of delicous food and had so much fun hanging out at the house we rented!! Good times!

Crew's first Birthday..PARTY!

LOVE this little man and all our family that came to his little birthday BASH!!!


Chelsa and CREW share the same b day so we celebrated at SWEET TOMATOES! YUUMM
Crew is officially WALKING and I love it!

OUR much DREADED day...

My sister Michelle moved in to our house the first of October. She said that it would be about 2 weeks till she found a place and moved in with room mates. Well 8 1/2 months later she is leaving us. She never found that place to go live with friends so we were lucky enough to have her here with us. We are so sad today and her room is cold and depressing. Kate is so sad too. Thanks Michelle for coming and staying with us. Thanks for all your blessed help around here. Thanks for swooping in after work and helping with baths, dinner and clean up. Thanks for always cleaning everything and always making sure all the DVD"S were in there right spot.!! We will miss you so much! We LOVE you and will see you in JULY!! CAN'T WAIT! (and i think i am going to need a nanny after this!!!)

Crew turns ONE!!!

June 3, 2008
Crew our little handsome snuggle man Turned ONE this week!! We love him so much and he has been NOTHING but a JOY in our life. He is so happy and such a good baby! Crew is all most walking and gets so excited for himself every time he takes a step he has to take a moment and CLAP! He LOVES his sister KATE to pieces and spends his entire day following her around. Crew' third tooth just cut through this week. We LOVE you CREW and can't wait to celebrate your birthday with lots of YUMMY CAKE on Sunday!!

Steve's Birthday BASH!!

Well not really a huge bash just dinner, cake and PRESENTS!! Year after year Steve tells me that he does not NEED anything and DON"T spend any money...Well I am sick of that. NO FUN. So about three weeks ago I started to smuggle my hair money away for something that he would love! We sent him on a wild scavenger hunt to find his gift that was sitting on the back patio! I think I did really good and I found it at a GARAGE Sale, only 6 months old!! Scroll down to see!

CHELSA, CHELSA, CHELSA

Kate and Crew adore her! She sings ANNIE and dances and always has time to play and read with them! Chels...we love you and thanks for being family here!!

OUR CUTEST HOUSE FOR RENT!!!

$1100.
As of JULY 1, 2009 our cute little house is for rent!!! I have LOTS of other pictures available that I can email to you!!! Well taken care of. Lots of well taken care of parks in the neiborhood! Located in Greenfeild lakes on Greenfeild in between Warner and Ray.(Right next to the new San Tan MALL) ANYBODY THAT KNOWS ANYBODY THAT IS LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO RENT...LET ME KNOW!!
1600 square feet
backyard with grass
3 bedroom
2 bathroom
updated cabinets in kitchen
HUGE great room!!
PET free
SMOKE free
Custom paint throughout

This will get me through today!

This was on my sisters blog today and I thought I would share it on mine..

Surviving On the Mercies of Motherhood

By Whitney Permann

People think I’m crazy when I tell them I love childbirth. It’s not that I like pain—I don’t. But there is just something about working really hard to get something really good. My husband and I have the routine down: we do whatever it takes to get through a contraction, then I slump back on the bed, as limp and peaceful as a noodle (as peaceful as a noodle can be) and rest before the next one hits. It’s hard work, but when the baby is finally born, the pain doesn’t matter anymore—and I experience joy beyond description. (Then I swear I’ll never do it again.)

It has recently occurred to me that childbirth can be one huge metaphor for motherhood. We “labor” day in and day out, moment by moment—scrubbing, brushing, wiping, flushing, buckling, holding, washing, folding—it’s a wonder more mothers don’t drop from pure exhaustion!

So here’s my theory: Heavenly Father knew how challenging motherhood would be for each of us—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. So He sends us “mother mercies.” You know the moments—the ones that sneak up on you and make you smile or laugh—or teary-eyed. It’s like the time I caught a whiff of my five-year-old and realized he’d put on his daddy’s deodorant that morning. Or when he used to pray nightly, “Please bless that morning will come in five minutes.” It’s the time I found a bar of soap in my bathroom with one (and only one) set of teeth marks in it. Or when my preschooler asked me, “Why did Jesus cover our bones with skin?”

Perhaps these little mercies are like the pauses between our contractions of motherhood—the moments that make us say, “Oh yeah. I really love this mothering stuff.”

Contraction: Baby spits up.
Mother Mercy: Three-year-old cries in alarm, “Mom! She’s spilling!”

Contraction: Five-year-old climbs on counter to find sweets.
Mother Mercy: He explains he was simply finding desert for “Family Home Ming-Ming.”

Contraction: Patting your squishy tummy left over from pregnancy.
Mother Mercy: Patting your baby’s squishy tummy that you got in return.

Contraction: Feeling overwhelmed and grumpy.
Mother Mercy: Oldest child says sweetly, “Mommy, if you say a prayer, Heavenly Father will help you feel better.”

Think about it—what an interesting phenomenon—in our very hardest moments of mothering, Heavenly Father sends us these little flashes of reprieve to help us keep going with a smile. True, we have diapers and back-talking and tantrums and spills, but we also get kisses and first steps and stick-figure drawings and hand-pulled bouquets.

Look for the Mother Mercies in your own life. I promise they will pop up everywhere—when your toddler trips the alarm at the library (like mine did) or when he pours pop down the bowling alley lane (yes, mine) or when you find your envious child stripped down to his nothings at the park, staring longingly through the fence into the city pool (Whose kid is that? Oh, it’s mine). The Mother Mercies are always there. Don’t miss them! One Sunday while I was juggling my three little ones, an older sister in my ward leaned over and said, “This will all end someday, believe me.” To which I replied, “Oh don’t tell me that! I’m having so much fun.” Who knew that doing something so hard could bring me so much happiness? And just like the finale of childbirth, I’m hopeful that this mothering thing—this exhausting labor of love—will someday bring us joy we could never comprehend was possible.

Whitney Permann is originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho but currently lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her husband Rock and their three children Braden, Gavin and Calyn. Some of her favorite things include reading, writing, singing, being a mom, Tide© laundry detergent, and homemade chicken noodle soup. She is also a member of Deseret Book’s newest recording group Mercy River, whose debut album released in April 2008. Visit www.MercyRiverMusic.com for more information.

Crewser's FIRST whocut!

Yes Kate calls it a whocut and she always wants one! Oh he is so handsome and looks like a little man!!

FIRST campout...hopefully not LAST!

I really do like camping. Ya I know that sharing a tent with babies might not be the best option but it was a blast. Kate woke in the night and started to cry of course it woke Crew up and then it was like dominos.....all the other babies. SO SORRY TO ALL! The weather was great! Crew was in heaven playing in the dirt and Kate got to roam FREE!

Easter Sunday

WHY??

Why... must I go in Kate's room day after day after nap time and she has removed every article of clothing including her diaper and is laying with her silk blanki draped over her body!!?? SERIOUSLY.. and I really do try to get mad..

PHOTO shoot...

Just a quick one of the kids to fill a few picture frames around the house!! Thanks Lindsay! Wel love them!

Disneyland!

Last minute trip planned to DISNEYLAND was a total blast!! Kate could not get enough. Thanks Steve for the fun family vacation!!

FIRST swimming adventure!!

This picture was taken two weeks ago!! It was 86 degrees..why wouldn't i pull out the pool and get the swim diapers on!!!

Another trip to UTAH

My sister in law Kelsey needed some company on the way to Utah so..why wouldn't we join her!!We all saddled up in the family wagon and were off! It was a really relaxing trip, lots of just hangin around and of course shopping and eating at the DODO..the one and only place that I crave(eww..I need some of that dipping sauce right now!!)

Kate and Ash
Delicious little man
Forest and Crew

Wyatt loved to ride Crew around!
And Kel!! Thanks so much for letting us stay..it was a party and I still dream of the sugar cookies!!

GARDEN...

So Much work! Good job Steve and a little of me!!

Girlies trip to PALM SPRINGS!!!

Jen and Laura flew here from SLC to hang for 24 hours before we went to California. So fun..we had a big slumber party just like the old days!! Palm Springs was beautiful not to mention the swap meet, good food, shopping and talks till 2 am! It was so much fun!! Thanks Jen for the Condo!!