Trip Tips!

Ok so I know many of you are getting ready for a road trip so here are a few tips I have found to be helpful for all ages!

Go to the following link and print off some fun activities.  You can find everything from car bingo to tick tack toe boards.  I remember as a little girl we played the license plate game on the way to Disneyland.  We found a plate from every state, including Hawaii (which we finally got in Disney's parking lot)!  We had such a fun time doing it and it really kept us from bugging my mom and dad!  (Hint, hint!!)  There is a checklist with all 50 states on it that you can print off!  Click the link below to get there!

Car Games

Another thing to do on the road that I actually just read about is taking a roll of tin foil with you and the kids can make tin foil art.  Circe, I can just imagine the masterpieces your kids would create.  I think this sounds really fun and much cleaner than other things!  Also, we like to bring colored pencils instead of crayons or markers.   We have had too many crayons melted by the sun or heater under those seats and the markers always seem to get dropped in their seats and make a nice spot on their bums or on the seat of the car!

Another helpful tip I learned driving back and forth from Vegas was to make a master packing check list.  I hate to get somewhere and not have everything I need (I am not a very good light packer) and I found myself jotting down things I just couldn't forget for days before we left.  There is nothing worse than arriving somewhere without a tooth brush, your camera or worse, underwear!!  One time I finally got smart and made a master list on the computer.  Now when we go anywhere, I print it off and start packing.  It really has taken a load off of my mind when traveling.  I also added a trip to do list that has things like stopping the mail, taking out the trash, turning down the air and starting the dishwasher.  I know, I know, this is all starting to sound a bit anal, but it really is a big help to get these things off your mind.  Jennie, I know at least you have to be with me on this one or is it even too anal for you???

 So my suggestion, make your list this time so you have it next time or let me know and I will email you mine!  I tried to find a way to attach it to this post but I couldn't.  Does any one know how to attach a file that's not a picture???

Another tip for when you are stopping somewhere along the way is to pack a small one nighter bag so you don't have to unpack the car and lug it into the hotel for one night just to turn around and pack it all back in the next morning!

Get movies at red box, the kids will have something new to watch and you can return them anywhere!

Save the candy for the car emergencies when the kids just can't take it any longer.  This always happens to us about 50 miles out of Vegas on the way there and Provo/Lehi on the way back.  Don't let them know you have the candy before then or you will never hear the end of the begging!!  Nerds are great for this because they take a long time to eat and aren't sticky if they spill.

And my favorite thing is to bring paper or plastic bowls.  They are great for passing snacks back or can even be used to hold crayons, stickers, Nerds, etc.  I never take a road trip without these.  They are even great to put their drive through lunches in.  It really cuts back on the mess!  It also helps to have a few grocery bags on hand for trash.

I know I am no expert but I thought I would share some of my tips we learned from our many trips back and forth from Vegas!  Hope they help and feel free to share your own!

My Sunshine!

I am so happy to see Neeley and Kayla with good friends. Neeley has dance with Jocelyn who is her age and she has a younger sister Amy who is Kayla's age. We have become good friends with their parents Angela and Cody so we all get along well. It is so fun to see the girls get together and play. Today they were all playing dress up. They all looked so cute in their princess dresses!  I think Amy and Kayla had on a few layers of cuteness!  What a ray of sunshine to see good friends playing together!

Angela, their mom, made us this scrapbook for Lilah.  I was amazed to see how much time she spent making an entire scrapbook!  I don't even take the time to make them anymore so for someone else to do it for me, I can't believe it!  Every page is just perfectly crafted with the cutest things and they all have a part of the song you are my sunshine!  Today, this book is my sunshine!

And the last little ray of sunshine I am sure even Nikki can relate with.  Jeremy loves to put the girls on the fridge.  They think it is so fun!  Kayla never wants to come down.  We were just making cookies together and Neeley is still licking her "gator"!

10 years ago!

Ten years ago:

gas was about $1

I was a student teacher

Jeremy was in college 

we made less than 20K

Cost of a stamp was .32

Talks of Pres. Clinton being impeached were going on

NBA Championship - Chicago beats Utah Jazz 4-2

NCAA Championship- Kentucky beats Utah 78-69

Titanic was the highest grossing film

Frank Sinatra and Sonny Bono died

Viagra is approved by FDA (as if we've needed it!)

1675.88 Billion is federal spending (no clue what it is today)

5750.4 Billion is the federal debt (ditto)

And....................................................

Jenny and Jeremy were married for time and all eternity on February 21st in the Bountiful Temple!

I love you baby!  I can't wait for the next 50 together!  What a fun ride this has been!

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

All you loved ones out there we just wanted to wish you a belated Happy Valentines Day. We had a fun day. Neeley had a party at school and Kayla and I went to my sister in law Nikki's house for a V-Day party. Kayla had fun playing with cousins and decorating cup cakes. Neeley thought it was like Halloween and couldn't wait to show us all of her loot! That night Jer and I tried to have a romantic evening by the fire which kept getting interrupted by some newborn cries. (and of course all at the wrong time!!) In all it was a fun day to think a little more about the ones we love. I talked to Shauna and Suzy to see how their kids were enjoying their snow day. I remember watching the TV intently as a little girl just hoping they would say our school when they listed off snow days. We really don't get those much around here so I am sure your kids enjoyed it. Suzy I hope you are feeling better and that the rest of the fam didn't come down with that yucky stuff! Love you all!

Dedicated to the ONE I love!

Being Valentines day and all I thought I would make a tribute to the ONE I love most!

Jeremy, you keep me sane in a sea of pink.  You are the one I turn to when I need to be grounded.  You have taught me how to dream and take a leap in life.  With you there has never been a dull moment!  I would follow you anywhere, even to Las Vegas!

I love the way you tickle the girls and take them into the ring when you get done with work for the day.  I love when you go shopping and come home with lots of gifts for me just because and not even one thing for yourself.  I love that you love shopping!  I love that you know what will look better on me than I do!  I love that you have been letting me sleep in since the baby was born.  I love to hear you talk business.  I love how you treat your mom and dad!  I love that you are always researching for our next great trip!  I love that you call me before you go into and meeting and then again when you get out!  I love it when you fall asleep while I scratch your back each night.  I love that you know me better than I do.  I love it that we like to watch the same shows and hate the same shows too!  I love your scruffly kisses!  I love how you bake bread ;)   (Ryan you know what I'm talking about here!)  

But most of all, I love that you love me!!

Don't ever go there!

Ok so I thought I would send out a little warning to sippie cup users!  Of course you are all probably much smarter than I am and would never think of going here but just in case....

Kayla's favorite Dora sippie has been missing for who knows how long.  Yesterday Kayla was elated to find it under my bed.  Luckily I managed to stop her from taking a sip just before it hit her lips.  She couldn't figure out why I was making such a big deal of her not drinking it and she started to cry.  Feeling bad I said, we will just wash it and you can have it later!

BIG MISTAKE!  BIG ONE!  I thought it had had some orange juice in it so I thought how bad could it be.  A little mold never hurt anyone right?  Seconds after opening it I knew it wasn't OJ it was milk.  Or should I say cheese?  Making it this far I thought, I can't just give up now so I continued on with the task of washing it out and stuck it in the dish washer.  Then I spent the next two hours trying to get the smell out of the house.  Even the sink stunk and my hands, now thats a whole different story!!  Most of you are probably thinking by now, how stupid is she.  Well, not dumb enough to throw the thing away yet!

I thought I better get that dishwasher started pretty quick so I held my breath as I opened the door and poured the detergent in as fast as I could.  At least I was smart enough to put on the extra hot option, right??

Today I opened  the dishwasher to unload the dishes and it hit me.  The smell was still there.  Feeling defeated, I finally got smart and threw the dumb thing away.  Then I spent about 10 minutes sniffing everything else in the dishwasher to see if the stench rubbed off on them.  Luckily it didn't but I'm not taking any chances!  I am now waiting for that load to rewash!

For some reason this whole senario brings to mind the old commercial they used to play at the movies (and I think they still do at Kaysville theatre) of the janitor that goes to open the theatre doors and everyone yells "Don't open the door" just as he gets bombarded with trash as soon as he opens it.  So in honor of this....DON'T OPEN THE SIPPIE!!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Dad came home from his business trip from Vegas and kept up with his presents tradition.  Somewhere along the way it became tradition (or law if you ask Neeley) that when Dad goes on an airplane he brings back a gift.  I think this happened before he went on airplanes so much!  Anyway, this time he brought them Hello Kitty purses.  You can see in the picture that they have their bahama tee shirts on from the last plane ride gifts!  They looked so cute shopping around Wal-Mart with their baby dolls in the front of their miniature shopping carts carrying their new purses.  We were quite the spectical!

Last night while I was feeding the baby I started thinking about things that I just love and can never have enough of.  This all came about while we were tucking Nells in for bed.  She has been begging to sleep in her tent and we finally let her last night.  Kayla was going to sleep their too but was a little unsure about the whole thing so we put her in her own bed.  Since that left Nells alone she got scared and wanted another  night light.  After pulling one from another place in the house it got me thinking about night lights and how you can never have too many.

That's what got me thinking about a lot of things that are my favorite things.  They are all things that are not really a necessity but could be.  For some reason they all seem very decadent to me.  I think it all stems from my childhood.  They are all things that I loved but never really had very often since they were not a neccesity.  So for those of you that know of my strong feelings against getting garments as a present (it literally makes me cry just thinking about me or anyone else getting garments as a present) you may be surprised to hear how wonderful I think these items are.

So what do I think is so great.  Well for starters night lights. You can never have enough.  Given the chance I would have one in every socket!  Then there are tissues (but they have to be the really soft ones with lotion), new pairs of socks (I know Clint agrees with me on this one!), Ziplock baggies (you have to have an assortment of all shapes and sizes in the cupboard.  I hate cling wrap, although the new press and seal is growing on me.  As a kid all we ever had were the kind of baggies that folded over.), Downey fabric softener, and the good kind of floss which is Glide! And my newest things to add to the list are the really soft bath robe and blankie that Jer gave me for Christmas.  They just scream pamper me!!  What can I say I am easily pleased or maybe this makes me look a little picky!  In any case, I got to thinking about these things at 3 in the morning while I was up feeding little lamb.  For some reason when I have any of these things it feels so decadent to me.  I am sure if you think about it you may have your own decadent things.  Or am I the only crazy one????

So if you ever need a good idea of what to get me skip the garments and go for the good stuff!