Serious!

Reading the newspaper is serious (and apparently tasty) stuff! 

I love to see the temple!

Me, Lilah, Neeley, Kayla, Grandma Dopp, Cade, Nikki and Austin

Just me and the girls

While I was in high school the Bountiful LDS temple was built.  I got to tour the temple before it was dedicated.  I was so impressed by it and found it so beautiful that I decided that is where I wanted to be married.  Jeremy and I were married in the Bountiful, UT temple back in 1998.

Today I had the opportunity to take my girls in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah.  It was so fun to tell them about all of the beautiful rooms in the temple and what precious things we learn and promise there.   We showed them all of the crystal chandeliers, the beautiful flowers, the paintings, the eternity mirrors and more.  When we were all done we asked what they liked the best and they said it was the dressing room with all of the lockers.At least it wasn't the cookies!  Gotta love kids! 

Nikki and her boys

Tumbling!

Neeley loves to tumble and has been known to do her tricks all around the house. She has been in tumbling for the past 2 years and just had her recital recently. Cade, her cousin, is in the same school so she was lucky enough to be in the same recital as him. They both did very well and had a lot of fun. Neeley's routine was to the Tigger Bounce song and she loves her outfit for it!

My big helper!

I have become a coupon shopper through and through. It comes with some great savings and a thrill when I find those bargains but clipping those coupons on the other hand - not so fun! That is when I discovered that even though it may not be fun for me, it really is exciting for a 5 year old - or so I've convinced her!! Neeley loves to help me with everything and this is just my newest most favorite thing for her to do. She loves it and feels really grown up doing it and I get my coupons all done without doing them myself. Do you think this is borderline sweat shop??

School Daze!

I like to think that I am a dedicated mom who would do most anything for her children, but when it comes to sleeping out all night in line to get a spot for you daughter in the preschool of choice- I even think this is a little much. But apparently not too much though because I did do this. There is a really fun preschool here in the area where a lot of the kids in the ward are going to. I thought it would be really fun for Kayla to be with friends and it was a good school so I went against all logic and sat in line from 10 pm until 5 a.m. the next day just to secure her spot. I was so nervous she wouldn't get one and would have been so mad if I would have stood in line all night just to miss getting a spot (lots of parents actually did) that I had to be one of the first ones there just to be sure.

So Kayla, if there is ever any doubt that you are loved, remember this and know that I would do pretty much anything for you. Now get in there and learn those ABC's!!!!

Getting More Done!

Here is my super mom tip of the day!  Make a chore chart for you kids and have them do more work!  I decided it was time to put my kids to work a bit more and a chore chart just seemed to be the right idea.  Being artistically challenged and having kids that can't read I had to come up with some idea that they could know what their chores were.  So I came up with a picture chart.  I went around the house and took pictures of all of the chores I wanted them to be able to do.  Then I put velcro on the back of them and on a plastic folder for each of them.  The extra pictures fit neatly inside and their chores stick to the outside until they get them done.  They love it and I am really loving the idea of having four girls around to help out (eventually that is).

I have gotten a lot of inspiration from a book that I just love.  It is: The Parenting Breakthrough.  Basically what it is, is a plan to help your kids be prepared for real life when it is time to leave the home.  It talks about teaching them everything from making their bed or cleaning a toilet to changing a tire or balancing a check book.  My favorite part of the book is where it gives you a list of things for each age that they should be able to do.  If you follow the plan, by the time it is time for those little ones to fly the nest, they should be ready with the necessary skills.  Not really anything out of the ordinary but I like the way it helps you come up with a plan so nothing gets left out!

Beach Vacation!

OK, so our vacation to California and Vegas was so fun that I didn't even take one single picture.  I am a bit disappointed in myself but I guess we were just having too much fun to even think about stopping for a pic.  The pics here are from other fun times we have had!

I guess I'll just have to a paint a picture.

Lilah was covered in sand from head to toe pretty much the whole week.  She apparently loves the taste of the stuff because between that and the crayons she ate while waiting for dinner at the restaurants, she had some pretty interesting diapers (TMI I am sure!)  She finally decided that she loves rides and cried every time we got her off of one at Knott's Berry Farm.

Kayla was on cloud nine the whole week.  She didn't want to stop a minute to sleep.  On the beach she entertained herself with building sand castles with Cade and eating whatever snacks we brought along.  She too loved the rides at KBF and really enjoyed the pool in Las Vegas.  She finally jumped in by her self without holding on to anyones hand.  In fact she did it when no one else was really paying attention - thank goodness for floaties!

One of Neeley's favorite things was making a bunny at Build A Bear.  It instantly become her companion for the trip.  She loved it when I took her out to ride the waves at the beach and was determined to build a perfect sand castle.  They always look so good in pics but never turn out that good in real life.  She too loved the pool at the hotel!

As for Jer and I, we enjoyed the time away from home to forget the every day life.  10 days filled with the beach, pool and relaxation isn't too bad!  We had a 1 bedroom suite at the Marriott (thanks to you Michelle) so we even had some space of our own too!  We enjoyed a ride up to Hoover Dam, fireworks overlooking the strip (multiple shows going on at once) and of  course you can't go to Vegas without a nice buffet or the I-D-Claire at Claim Jumper (while on a double date with Nikki and Clint, I might add, without kids - thanks to Mom and Dad!)

Ahhhh, now back to laundry and real life.......