Family fun in Hawaii

We had such a wonderful time in Hawaii this year. We are so grateful that we get to go each year with Ryan's company. I can't imagine we would go very often without the company. I posted the pictures from Hawaii yesterday, but I wanted to add my favorite stories in with a few select pictures.

When we were waiting to check in and get the luggage handled Madison asked for a penny to throw in the fountain. I gave her one and told her to make a wish. I stood by her and she grabbed the penny so tight, pulled it close to her heart and wished to be a princess. I about died. It was the sweetest thing, and who knew that a 4 year old actually knows how to make wishes. So, for my dear, sweet little girl, you are my princess.

Hunter just had so much fun in Hawaii. He just took to water like a little duck. We put him in the first day and he fell in love. He also fell asleep, but that is a different story. At the resort there is a great kids pool. It is only about a foot deep. The kids all congregate there and share toys. It really is wonderful. Well, he figured out really quick that he could walk in his whale, so the entire time we were in the pool he walked around. Sometimes he would grab the black handle in the front of the whale and look like he was driving. It was the cutest thing! This is the only video that turned out, enjoy, he just had so much fun walking around.

My other favorite Hunter moment was the day we took the kids down to the beach. Every other day there were jellyfish in the ocean. We took the kids in the water and let them ride the waves and then we hung out in the sand. Hunter REALLY, REALLY dug getting dirty. He put sand all over him and then played with the toys. It got all over his hands, then he decided he was tired and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Now, did I take it out and say no,no? Nope, I took a picture. I nominate me as mother of the year......

While Hunter was covering himself in sand and then proceeding to eat it, Madison was building a little dam to stop the water (trickle) fall by us. She had so much fun and looked to cute and intent on what she was doing. Ryan helped her a little bit, which she enjoyed. She idolizes her daddy.

Hawaii Pictures

Here is the link for all of our Hawaii pictures. We had such a great time this year. The pictures are in reverse order, I haven't figured out flickr yet, but I wanted to be able to share them. I have so many funny stories to share about our trip so I will blog those when I have a sec. Until then, enjoy the pictures!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28609875@N03/show/

Last bits

Goofy sleeping pictures are my favorite. I went in to check on Madison the other night and this is what I found. I just cracked up. I can't figure out how her leg didn't want to fall off, but she slept all night long.

This is Hunter's version of "The Crawl." He shows off all his mad skills in this video, yes, that is my son squealing, not my daughter....He gets up in the crawling position, rocks back and forth, then proceeds to plop back down on the ground and army crawl to whatever he wants. He also growls when he gets frustrated....I love it.

Here comes the bride, all dressed in white.....

Parker and Jessica finally got married! Yeah! We are so excited to have Jessica join our family. We absolutely adore her, and we like Parker too. They had a wonderful wedding day, everything was perfect. This is our favorite picture from the wedding. They were walking towards us to come say hi and have some pictures taken and Parker got to hold the bouquet and I guess wanted to smell it. I got him to reinact it so that I could get a quick picture. It has become my favorite, so thank you Parker for humoring your crazy sister-in-law, and congratulations for deserving such an amazing girl.

Parker and Jessica had their reception in Craig and Kathy's back yard. It was beautiful. In preparation for the big day Craig mowed the lawn countless times. At least this time he had a riding lawnmower. For Ryan and I's reception it had broken and all 3 boys were out there with Craig using hand mowers to do the final mow. Ryan still complains about that....yes, that is probably the big reason that we have a yard guy now. He gets a yard guy and I get a cleaning lady, it's fair in this household. Anyway, back to the story. Madison got such a kick out of the lawnmower and Craig offered to take her for a ride and let her drive, she was a little nervous but jumped right on and had so much fun. They had to stop after a few rows and empty the grass bags. Madison was so funny, she would pick up the few grass blades that would fall out of the handful and put them in the garbage can. I kept telling her that is was okay if a few got away, but she appointed herself in charge of getting every shred off of the lawn.

Oh, the things we do....

Well, we are leaving for Hawaii tomorrow morning, EARLY, and I can't leave without updating the blog....we have been here, there and everywhere with lots of fun stories to tell.
I got so tired of looking at the hole in Madison's hair, so I finally took her to the salon and got it fixed. I knew we would be taking tons of pictures with the wedding, and hopefully a family picture too. I think she looks great, and I am finally figuring out how to style it so it looks cute. Here are some before and after pictures.


Hunter has started doing this thing with his tongue, it cracks us up....he just sticks it out and plays just happy as can be. I got him on camera after about 10,000 trial pictures. He gets so excited when I get the camera out that he just stops what he is doing and smiles really big. What a ham.....I was trying to get him on video doing zerberts with his mouth, he entertains himself forever when he gets going. But every time I try he stops. I have to sneak up on him and get it that way.

The framing was supposed to be finished on our new house this week. I haven't had time to go out and see it, but here it is with the first story completed. I love seeing the progress on it. Not much longer and we will be all moved in! Yeah! we noticed on this trip out that the house is quite a bit closer to the road than any of our neighbors. That means we get a larger back yard, we are super excited about that. We figure we could care less about the front yard, it's not like we use it like we do the back yard. And....we still have the handicap parking sign up on the wall. I think I might ask the builders if we can keep it since Ryan loves it so much, hmmmm.

Our new house.....

They finally broke ground on our new house....YEAH! We went and met with the contractor on Friday and got to see the cement slab, woo hoo! I didn't take a picture of the cement slab when we were there last week. Ryan's favorite part of the lot we ended up with is the Handicap sign on our fence. Personally, I dig the port o potty. We got the very last home in the neighborhood (which is how we got a killer deal), our lot was previously the sales office location.

They start framing this week and we should be able to move in at the end of August, beginning of September. We are so excited! We have a great house now, but it is just so cramped. I tell Ryan all the time that we are "stuff" people. We just can't get rid of anything (books, movies, cds). You can click on this link and take the interactive tour to see what our house should look like finished. We are not in Timber Creek (don't actually even know where that is, but it shows our floor plan). We are excited......I get a project room!!!!! No more sewing at the kitchen table and eating at the coffee table.

http://www.pulte.com/communities/nv/las-vegas/timber-creek/plans/3799.aspx

Blog templates

So, if you haven't noticed already I cannot stop playing around with the template on our blog. I am just trying to find something that I absolutely love. Any good ideas for websites that offer free templates????? I see all the cute ones ya'll use and I want some good ones to choose from....help a girl out!

Antics in Aingeworld

This week has been crazy!!! My kids have kept me rolling with all of their antics. They definitely get cuter every day.

Madison was getting ready for church on Sunday and we asked her to get 3 books to take with her. She looked up at Ryan and said, but Daddy, I need 4 books so I won't get grumpy. Ryan looked at me and we about died. It is hard to get your kids to take you seriously when you laugh at the things they do. So here she is holding her books and her princess doll that she took to church.

Hunter has been going crazy on his jumpy chair. He gets going on that thing and just has so much fun! Here is a video of what I hear all day long. I call him my little jumping bean!

At the end this is what he looks like.....

He also got his first cookie to gnaw on this week. He has been teething and he just wants to gnaw on everything, so hey, why not the biter cookies right? He made a mess! But he had so much fun and Ryan and I got 15 min of quiet time together. Pure bliss.....

We are so close to having a crawler on out hands! He is trying and trying. Today he started moving one knee, he just hasn't figured out to move his hands. He will get in the crawling position, grunt and groan because he is a boy after all, rock back and forth then fall forward a few inches. It works, he gets to his toys. Every time I try to get a good movie he just looks at the camera and smiles. He definitely knows what to do! He just won't move for me!

Parker and Jessica

Madison just loves her Uncle Parker and soon-to-be Aunt Jessica. They came to visit us a few months back and just kept us rolling with her funny comments. These are my two favorite stories from that weekend. Thanks for reminding me about them!

Parker, Jessica, Madison and I were sitting in the living room talking. Madison was playing with her activity book, seemingly in her own little world. We were joking around and Parker quoted Scarface and said "Say hello to my little friend." Even if you haven't seen the movie I can imagine you have heard the phrase with the accent. Madison just pops her little head up and as sweet as can be says, "I can say hello to my little friends." We about died. It was so entertaining.

Madison is just so in love with Jessica. She loves to give her hugs and show her all of her toys and get her to read stories. When they were here the last morning she went in and woke Jessica up (sorry!). They played on the tv room couch for a little bit while Parker slept in the den on the other couch. After a bit Jessica tells Madison that she is going to take a shower and get dressed. She goes in to the bathroom and about 2 minutes later, if that, Madison goes and sits outside the bathroom door. She starts calling out, "Jessica, are you dressed yet" over and over again. Parker said he started counting and quit after 20 times. If you have ever been around Madison you know how she will repeat herself indefinitely until she gets an answer. After her 20-some odd times she stops. Parker was so relieved. However, about 30 seconds later it starts up again. He said he got so fed up that he finally got out of bed and went to play with her. Poor Parker! Where was I, you ask? Sleeping of course. It wasn't even 8 o'clock in the morning yet! I didn't hear a thing. If children can have parental deafness, I say parents can have child (?) deafness.

It's Hunter Time

There have been so many postings of Madison, I figured it was only fair to show off Hunter.

Yesterday he was in his jumpy chair and started getting tired (he goes to bed at 8pm on the dot), so he folded his hands and laid his head down. It was so sweet. I grabbed the camera, but he got so excited when he saw it that he started jumping up and down and smiled so cute. At least you get to see his cute smile!



He just loves being a big boy and sitting all by himself. He will only play in his chairs for so long before he lets me know that he wants out and wants to be a big boy. He likes sitting on the floor and playing with toys. Could be worse, he could want to be held all the time....

Magnificent Madison

During graduation Mrs. Joy shared a name for each of the kids and how that was applicable to their personalities. Madison got Magnificent, I really enjoyed the description of her, which was dead on.

Peanut Butter & Jelly

This is Madison's funny story from preschool that her teacher shared with us. I was expecting her to say she had a little brother during Thanksgiving.

Preschool Graduation

Madison had her preschool graduation last week. It was so darling! They sang the parents a few of their favorite songs and each kid got a medal and graduation certificate. The song in this video is one she sings all the time around the house, and my favorite part of this video is how the other kids are standing still or sitting down, and there is my little girl dancing all over the place. I think it is about time for dance classes.

This one just has her being little miss helpful with one of her preschool friends. This just shows her personality.

Feeding time

We give Hunter a bottle once a day. He just started holding it himself, which I think is one of the cutest things little babies do. He is just growing up so fast!

Let's go to the movies

Madison is not one to watch movies. She just can't sit still(hmmm, wonder where she got that???) We took her to see the new Indiana Jones movie...she was great during the previews when she had her own popcorn and drink and candy. Once she finished that off it was all down hill. I have to say, it was the best she has been, but trying to keep her from distracting other viewers about takes everything out of me. She did fall asleep the last two minutes of the show, go figure!

Nap time in the car

I never get tired of all the cute ways kids sleep. This is how Madison slept in her booster when we were driving up to Utah for Collin's graduation. I had to snap a picture, it was just too funny.

computer games already?????

I walked in the tv room where Hunter was and found that he had scooted himself over to Madison's computer keyboard. Now I worry that this is a hint of what is to come...boys and their computer games.

Which shoe are you?

You Are Cowboy Boots

This doesn't mean you're country, just funky. You've got a ton of attitude and confidence. You're unique, expressive, and even a little bit wacky. You wear whatever you feel like – and you have your own sense of style. You are straight shooting and honest. You tell people how it is. Low maintenance and free wheeling, you're always up for an adventure. You should live: Where you can at least get to wide open spaces You should work: In a job that allows you to take change

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Bathtub time

Madison cracks me up on a daily basis. The other day I go in to check on her during bathtime and what did I find? She put her bath toy bucket in the water and decided to sit in it. Has she been watching old western's without me knowing? Oh no, she wanted to have a bath like her little brother. Since I won't let her get in my sink (I know, I am a such a mean mom. But comeon, she is almost 4, she can get in the real bathtub) she made one of her own. Shouldn't it be the other way around, Hunter trying to do what she does, not her following Hunter around? Can you see the resemblance?

Memphis Canoe Race

I took the kids to the annual Memphis in May canoe race this year. Dad and Herman did great, they got 1st in their division and 7th overall. We were proud of them. It was a gorgeous day! A bit windy and cold when it first started, but we had so much fun hanging out in the park afterwards. We got a little sunburned, but it was so nice!

Rockin' out

Ryan and I went to the Avril Lavigne concert recently. Last time we saw her we were the only ones there over 12, this time was much better. It was a fun concert, but the best part was her guitar. I am obsessed with it. She went crazy with the bedazzler, I think. Her shoes, her microphone and her guitar. It was awesome! I took a picture of it. Now I want to learn the guitar so I can put pink crystals all over it.

I'm a big kid now!

That's right, Hunter can sit up now! He LOVES being able to sit up on his own. He doesn't like to lay on the floor anymore or play in his chair, he wants to sit up all by himself. So, we have been "practicing" sitting each day. He is getting pretty good. He is about ready to crawl, too. He is just growing up too fast!



We just started giving him rice cereal. He loves to open his mouth and play with the spoon, but he is still not quite sure if he likes eating the cereal. It has taken lots of practice to learn how to eat. Madison just took to eating like a duck to water, but he is not quite sure about it. I can't say I blame him much, I can only imagine it tastes like paste. He loves sitting in the high chair though.

Time out!

The last few days have been kind of rough and I needed a pick me up. So, I watched my favorite comedian on YouTube for a little bit. I am putting in my favorite clip just in case any of you need a laugh today. This is one of my favorite bits that he does. Enjoy!

Splish, Splash

He still hasn't quite decided if he likes bathtime, but he is just so cute in the sink trying to figure out how he can push himself out!

Well, she finally did it

Madison finally cut her own hair. I just can't believe it. She knows better than to use the sissors we have out of her reach, but the other day she found the little tray in my sewing machine, which, of course, has the little sewing sissors in it. I asked her why she did it and she told me that "she wanted to see if they were toys." Smart, but at the same time why did she decide to try it on her hair????? I trimmed the front chunk to give her wispy bangs, not so bad, but she also took a chunk out of the back of her head. I can kind of cover it up, but it just makes me so sad....her hair just doesn't grow very fast. She will be 8 before it recovers!

Mommy, take our picture!

Madison is constantly sitting down by Hunter and yelling, "mommy, take our picture!" It is really cute, most of the time she mimics whatever he is doing. Except, the other day, she was laying down on him saying, "remember when we got our pictures taken like this?" I told her that Hunter laid on her back, not the other way around.

Look what I can do now!

Hunter can just about sit himself up now, YEAH!!! He still needs a little bit of help, but he is gettting pretty good at this sitting thing.

Girl's day out

Madison is such a girly girl. She loves makeup and dresses and pretty shoes. Most days I have to put chapstick on her lips (she prefers lipgloss, but I negotiate down), sheer eyeshadow, and mascara. I finally figured out that she can't tell if she actually has mascara, so we pretend. Well, we went in to Ulta the other day (it's my happy place) and she went a little crazy with the eye makeup. I had to get a picture 'cause it was just so bad! She just thought she looked so pretty.

Slackin' blogger

So I have gotten really behind on our blog. I have all of these projects that are sitting around driving me crazy. I have learned that if I leave a project out long enough two things will happen. Ryan will start to get on me, and I will finish it eventually. Well, I finished this one over the weekend, finally! I was quite excited.....on to the next one now.

So, here are my updates. Enjoy the antics of the past few weeks.

Nap time for Madison

I totally still bribe Madison to get her to take naps. Usually she gets some sort of little treat, but that hasn't been working. So now she gets to watch a movie or a show. I am not huge on letting her watch a ton of TV, but really, one show a day won't hurt, and she gets her sleep. It has saved my sanity.

She was trying to watch her movie today and Hunter would not stop crying. She wanted him to sit next to her. Low and behold, he calmed right down when I sat them next to each other. This lasted all of 3 minutes, but hey, I'll take it.

My favorite part of this picture is the fact that Madison is holding his hand. I thought that was soooo adorable.

Memphis, what happened?????

So, apparently dining on gummy bears and skittles instead of real food isn't championship behavior, ROSE!!! There was a day of mourning in our home when Memphis lost the championship to Kansas. Seriously, what happened???? Anyway, I had taken a picture of the kids in their Memphis gear as we supported the team all the way out here in the desert. It was a sad day for us all. I would say better luck next year, but Rose and CDR are going to the NBA. Yeah, good luck with that since you neither could make one of the four game winning free throws!

On a lighter note, the kids looked cute....Madison is still obsessed with her Memphis socks. I have had to tell her that you don't wear socks with flip flops. Its not like we live in Utah!

Madison, stop torturing your brother!

...but mom(the most heard phrase in our house), he likes it, see he is smiling....aargh!

Dress up

Madison loves playing with her friends. Her favorite thing is to play dress up. She went to one of her boy friend's homes to play and was so excited because he had dress up clothes. Today a different boy friend came over to play and she was trying to convince him to put her scrubs on and play doctor. He just looked at her funny and they found something else to do. She is funny, when she plays with girls she puts on her princess stuff, and with boys she goes for her scrubs.

Nap time!

Okay, so here is our little guy sleeping. This is one of my favorite things about babies. He can fall asleep anywhere, see above where he fell asleep while he was playing.

Here he was sleeping on his chin! He had his head propped up on the edge of his crib, I was cracking up, after I checked to see if he was still alive!

Lately he wants to sleep on his side at the very end of the crib. If I put him anywhere else he wiggles around until he gets in this position. I finally got smart and just put him this way when he goes down for bedtime.

Once he falls asleep this is what he looks like. I love this picture. He likes to kick off his blankets and put his feet in the air, all while sucking his thumb. It doesn't get much cuter than this folks!

Ellen in action

This is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. Thank you Emily for sharing this on her blog. I laughed so hard I cried, both times I watched it. Enjoy!

Say cheese!

Madison got a camera for Christmas this year. She loves taking pictures. She likes to play with it in the car, and ends up taking pictures of her movies. This picture reminded me of one of the funniest things she did.

She was watching Little Einstein's one morning, and they ask interactive questions. They asked a yes or no question and she answered no. Obviously they expect kids to say yes, so they said great, lets go (or something to that effect). Madison gets so upset and says to the tv, "I said no!" I about fell down laughing, you had to hear her when she did it, she just expected the tv to hear her and the Little Einstein's to act accordingly.

Playing the big bucks

So, Madison LOVES money. She carries pennies around almost every day. Yesterday I went in during nap time to see why she wasn't sleeping. She was playing with her money. I still remember almost two years ago her Great Grandpa Jerry gave her a $5 bill to buy a toy with. She took it from him, put it in her pocket, and held out her hand for more. It was embarrasing, but something to laugh about.

I wonder if I should worry about that trait. She has already discovered the slot machines. It is her favorite toy at Grandma Ainge's house.

Which Princess are you?

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?