Hitching a ride

We went to the mall last week and Zoee got a little tired of walking so she climbed in the bottom of the stroller. It was really funny seeing her curled up like that. She rode around like that for awhile. It was actually nice because we didn't have to keep track of her, we knew where she was the entire time!

For my dad

Apparently, when we were babies, my dad would stack things on our face when we where sleeping. He thought it was pretty funny. I was holding Gus the other night and picked up a few of Zoee's toys and stacked them on his face. Nate and I both laughed and then I remembered that my dad used to do this to us and quickly took them off. Sometimes I find myself doing things my dad would do and it scares me!

What Is Family For?

Dear Tanner Family (Jodie and Garrett specifically),

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for allowing us to come down and invade Mesa and your homes on your behalf. We are so very grateful that you all allowed us to finally make it down to help with what we could. Jodie, I know things have been really rough over that past several months (much more than I can imagine,) but being able to come down and help on the house for you, was a total blessing to not only you but the rest of us more so than you. I feel so glad that I was able to make it down and help with what little I could. I still wish more of us could have stayed down and accomplished more for you, but I sure hope what we got started will be to beginning of your new life and new(ish) home (with adjustments of course.) I hope things will become a little easier with time and you'll all be able to focus less on what needs to be done and focus more on how Garrett can be helped in his recovery. G, you impress me. I've followed your recovery through emails Jess sends out and myspace posts, but I guess I never stopped to think about how different things really have become for you. Yet, your constant smile and reassuring remarks remind me of how determined you are to get your life back, no matter how long that might take. I really was happy and super excited to see you wheeling around the house this afternoon. I can honestly say that that was enough to make me know in my heart that what he had done was a lot and that it will make a difference to you. I'd do it a thousand times if i could. I was stoked to know that you actually can get in and out of the rooms, get in and out of the kitchen; I mean, we actually didn't screw up too badly! I got a little emotional when you came in to see and just took it all in. Your grin said it all.

I feel like I should acknowledge everyone else who was there helping, regardless of how much (yes, the women folk too), and thank you all for making the same sacrifice in the name of Family. Dan, Dustin, and Mark, I think you all deserve a special thanks for all of your know how, expertise, direction, example, and being there; without you guys, none of what we got accomplished could have happened.

I love this family. I would hate to say that I'm glad something like this gave us the opportunity to all get together, so I won't; but what I am glad for is that we could all help to ease the burden of one of our own. I loved helping and being a part of it all. Hard times and good, I am constantly reminded of how great it is to have such a kick ass family like I do and you are all one of the greatest blessings of my life. Our prayers are with you Tanner Clan as you go through this, and know you'll be stronger than ever whenever this all is through. We're here for you guys.

I love you all,
Nate

WELCOME!!

My good friend Lindsey had her baby girl on Valentines day. She is so beautiful!

Bentley J Ketcham

My Brother and his wife Melanie had their baby boy the next day. He is adorable with those chubby little cheeks!

Max Graham Layton

Welcome to the world sweet babies!

I can't wait to meet you both!

It wasn't me.

Just so everyone knows, I am not the one who wrote the Doodlebop post. That would be my sweet husband, Nate. Although I hate the Doodlebops, I don't want to punch their lights out.

Doodle Freakin Craps

K, so as parents of a getting-old-enough-to-get-up-and-entertain-herself-while-mom-and-dad-get-the-last-necessary-30-or-40-minutes-of-sleep-that-we-need, we have totally (good or bad) relied on morning cartoons to entertain and keep her out of trouble. And many mornings (well, okay..... most) we let Zoee watch cartoons usually for a couple hours. She's to the point now where she'll sing along with most of the songs at the beginnings, and she gets excited when some of the better one's come on; it's pretty cute actually. She likes the Disney channel. So, to a certain extent, we consider that one of our blessings.

SOOOO, that being said.........

I FREAKIN HATE THE DOODLEBOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only put up with this CRAP since my daughter makes me. Whoever created these stupid things should be shot, whoever writes their stuff should be tortured, whoever decided to put them on at a normal morning hour (instead of, say, 4 a.m.!) needs to be fired, and all the people who support this bizarre and stupid show need to just go to hell- I don't apprecitate you supporting something that tortures the rest of the world and makes us hate life as we know it; I want to punch each and every one of you and the Doodlebops.

Drum Roll Please......

And the winner of the LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN drawing is.....

Nice job genius (Nate wanted me to use smart ass)!! They'll be in the mail soon.

Is it still winter?

I am having a hard time believing that it is still winter. In my mind, winter doesn't exist anymore. It became a thing of the past when I married Nate and moved to Vegas. I keep hearing how cold it is and how much snow is out there but it doesn't seem real because I am toasty warm here in Vegas where it is starting to get up in the 70's.

This seems weird to me. I think everyone is just making it up. I need to see some pictures from those people that are "snowed in" in Utah. Because in my mind, everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring weather.

First bath

This was a few weeks ago but I am barely getting around to posting it. Gus does not like the bath very much. He loves his hair washed but he screams for the rest of it.

Oh and check out my pink hair. I still love it. I think everyone should do it.

Happenings in our house

THE BOYS:


Nate is doing great. He put in his 2 weeks at Bass and Friday is his last day. He is excited to only have to work one job! He hasn't put his 2 weeks in yet at Mix but will soon. The academy starts on March 3rd at 0700. :) He went today and signed his acceptance letter and got his packet of information which told him what he needs for the the academy and what his benefits are. It was exciting looking through all the paper work. It just seems so strange that my husband is going to be a police man. weird.

Gus is doing great too. We had an appointment last week and he weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds 11 ounces and was 23 inches long. So for those of you that were concerned, our boy is NOT starving! He is growing like a weed. We had to switch formulas this week and the new formula makes him poop smell like a Mcdonalds cheeseburger. Not kidding. It's gross but good because now I never want to eat another Mcdonalds cheeseburger. He is getting strong and tries so hard to hold his little head up. He is doing good and we still love him like crazy.

THE GIRLS:

I am doing good. I am feeling normal again and I love it. It is so good to be able to go places and do things and not be exhausted. It is good to be able to get out of bed without having to stop and take a breath and think about it for a minute. It's nice. I do have some energy back but the nights are still kinda hard. I am usually ok for the the first feeding (around 2 0r 3) but the 2nd nighttime feeding (around 5 or 6) is so much harder for me. I find myself dosing off as I hold Gus in the rocking chair. It is safer and easier if I just lay him in bed with us for his bottle and then put him back to bed when he is done. If I don't do this, I am afaid I will fall asleep and drop him. I made dinner tonight and it was delicious. I will post the recipie in a few days. Things are good.

Zoee is doing great. We are trying to potty train but it's not working so well (post to follow). She had underwear on most of the night tonight but would never go. She finally peed on the upstairs patio. I was glad she did it outside. She is becoming her own little person and has to do everything by herself and she is very stubborn (another post to follow). She makes me laugh every day but also makes me want to pull my hair out. I guess that's what toddlers do. Love the girl.

My little helper

Zoee is so good to help with baby Gus. She is always willing to help whenever I need anything. It's nice because I can send her upstairs for a diaper or his binki and she will come right back with it. She really does help a lot.

The other day, I was in the kitchen making dinner and Gus started to cry. He stopped soon after and I looked over to see what had happened and this is what I saw.


She had covered him up with his blanket and had given him his binki. She was just standing by him rubbing his head. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

She is so cute and such a good little girl. (most of the time!)

Grandma Great

Nate and I took the kids to St. George to see my grandma last week. She stays the winter in St. George and I always want to go visit her and we just never do. We decided to take Gus up there to meet her and have lunch with her. I know that it made her day to have us come up and it was fun to spend some time with her and let her see Zoee and Gus. We only planned on staying a few hours and then coming back so Nate could go to work but Nate ended up calling work and they said he could stay home so we stayed with her for awhile. She took Gus around to show her friends and they just adored him. It was really good to see her and we had a good time. (and a delicious lunch at Tom's Deli)

Gus meeting his Great Grandma Layton

Zoee and Grandma Great. She calls her this because I always tell her that Grandma is her Great Grandma so now she just says Grandma Great.


Nate and Grandma. This isn't a very good picture because it is a little blurry and the light is too bright in the back but I liked it because Grandma loves Nate so much. He is quite the suck up but I think it is working because she loves him and he is one of her favorites.

We went and saw my friend, Josie and her husband after we left Grandma's. It was good to see them and catch up on things. They invited us to stay for dinner but it was getting late and we wanted to get on the road so we didn't go. We left and were just going to go home but as we were passing the exit for Cafe Rio we decided to stop and grab something to eat since the Cafe Rio in St. George is the best. Well, as we were standing in line to order our food Nate says to me, "is that Bishop?" I look and sure enough my bishop from Huntsville is in line a few people in front of us. I was super excited because I LOVE this man. He is one of the greatest people I know. I can honestly say that he is my friend and not just my bishop. He has helped me so much in my life and he marred us so I will always have a special place for him in my heart. I can not say enough good things about Bishop Mckay.

We ended up having dinner with him and his wife. It was so much fun! He had actually been in Vegas that day and kept thinking he should call me but never did. What are the chances we would run in to him at Cafe Rio in St. George?!

A little bit of Heaven...

Someone shared a little bit of Heaven with me. It was so delicious and I thought to myself that I wanted to share it with all my friends.

Meet Heaven.

For those of you that have had these little babies know what I am talking about. They are so good! (That's only if you like white chocolate...if not, you probably won't like them.)

I wish I could send one to everyone but I cant so I decided to steal Erin's idea and do a giveaway. However, since these are so scrumptious they don't come without a small price. You have to do a little work. Don't worry, the reward is worth it.

Here is a little quiz. Read the questions and then email me at stac3031@yahoo.com with your answers. Then leave a comment telling me you sent an email, just so I can make sure I get everyones email. The person that answers the most questions right will win a bag of the delectable delights. If several people get them all right then I will randomly chose one of the people to win. I will leave it open for one week so next Saturday I will pick a winner.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

3. What fruit has its seeds on the out side?

4. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

5. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

6. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

7. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'

GOOD LUCK!!

Gus in his car seat

Bonnie Springs

My parents were in town again this weekend and I really wanted to take them to do something instead of just sitting around the house all day. I talked to my neighbor and they told me about a place called Bonnie Springs. They said it was so cool and they really liked it. I checked it out online and thought it looked pretty cool. They have a petting zoo and a few shows. I decided that we would go do that. Here are a few pictures from out adventures in Old Town Nevada.

Popits and Zoee in jail. Nate jumping in behind them for the picture.

Ok, I didn't notice we were on the wrong side until after the picture was taken. Nate knew and he thought it was funny. Check out Nate's body.

My parents. I love them so much!

Zoee on the horse.

She was about done at this point. It was cold and she was tired of looking at everything.

The train ride. All Zoee kept talking about was the train. She wanted to ride it so bad so we did. It was so old and loud and it scared her really bad but it was fun.

The petting zoo was cool. There were lots of animals just running around that you could pet. Zoee loved looking at all of them. She hated the ducks though.

I couldn't resist. I do feel bad for this helpless little goat. He had no idea what was going on.


We really had a great time. I had heard some postive things and some negative things about Bonnie Springs so I was a little unsure of what it would be like but we had a great time and I would go there again.

Making a baby

My friend Audra, sent me this. I thought it was really funny. Maybe it's just because I have a sick mind.

The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said,

"Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon."

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale.

"Good morning, Ma'am", he said, "I've come to..."

"Oh, no need to explain," Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, "I've been expecting you."

"Have you really?" said the photographer. "Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?"

"Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat".

After a moment she asked, blushing, "Well, where do we start?"

"Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there."

"Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!"

"Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one everytime. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results."

"My, that's a lot!" gasped Mrs. Smith.

"Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be in and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that."

"Don't I know it," said Mrs. Smith.

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. "This was done on the top of a bus," he said.

"Oh, my Gosh!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.

"And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with."

"She was difficult?" asked Mrs.Smith.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look"

"Four and five deep?" said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Yes", the photographer replied. "And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in."

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. "Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?"

"It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away."

"Tripod ?"

"Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long."

Mrs. Smith fainted!