Boyer Family

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

November Excitements

2011-12-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

So I have been just terrible about posting... and have lots of pictures to catch up on! I will try to catch up with a series of pictures from the last couple months. Preparing for baby #3 arrival, we moved Sarah from her pink/green bedroom and put her in the 4th bedroom that wasn't really being used. We painted her room purple this time. We then painted tan over the pink in her old room and turned it to a jungle nursery for baby boy. Not wanting James to be left out of all the redecorating fun, we did extreme home makeover on his bedroom for his birthday. He got a rock and roll bedroom. Yeah, baby! Cause THAT'S HOW WE ROLL!

James and my dad share the same birthday. James picked creme brulee for his birthday "cake" this year. Here are the two birthday boys! Love both of you!

Yes, this is a straw and he is drinking milk through it. :)

November had some fun sister moments.

And teaching the maddening game of Risk to our kids.

November also brought Pinewood derby. James took 2nd this year. Good job, bud! It was sure a close race and I'm glad you had so much fun!

Love days like this!

2011-11-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

I love days where you really feel productive. This week, I repainted the bathroom (fixing a color choice disaster from a month ago). Looks MUCH better. Also painted this large tree on the wall in the family room. Turned out pretty cool. Have my paint ready to give a fresh coat to the living room... NESTING IS AWESOME. I think I should be pregnant all the time just for the motivation of getting all the projects done. Been a good day.

For the love of October!

2011-11-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

October is always such a fantastic month... not just cause it's my birthday month (although it does seem that people with birthdays in October are especially fabulous). I just love the weather changes... Fall is great. This October was a long month because of lots of details we won't go into now. However, we had some great moments! Chris and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! I don't know where the time went. Been an awesome 10 years. Glad I had someone uniquely wonderful to share it with. :)

Below are some pictures from Halloween:

Chris carved this "Barbie and the Frog" pumpkin for Sarah. She loved it. In fact, it was quite a hit. We had lots of trick-or-treaters stop to take pictures with the pumpkin.

I carved this goofy thing with the tongue sticking out.

James did a great job on his pumpkin!

Sarah was Ariel this year and made sure we knew she HAD to have red hair and red lips. Grandma Boyer brought over the red wig for her. She left it on a majority of the night.

James was a super creepy monster guy from Pirates of the Carribean. My sister was a cowgirl.

James and Sarah giving love! Sarah showing off her whip cream mustache after some yummy hot chocolate.

We've had Brooke over a lot this month and it's been GREAT! LOVE HER!!!!

Correction

2011-07-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I said "less tantrums". I take it back!!!

July updates

2011-07-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to this summer??? Swimming A LOT! Below are some pictures from 4th of July. We had some family over for food and fireworks.

Sarah thinks fireworks are "too loud". She covered her ears the whole time.

Sarah loves the swimsuit Grandma Boyer got her... she has to do her ballerina twirling in it every time she wears it.

James and Haleigh are best buds. They get along very well. The first picture below I told them to pose for a picture...

Then I told James to do a more manly pose. :)

This summer is flying by.... It will be time for school to start again soon. Sarah is getting more fun by the day... She is having less tantrums, which I think is because she can talk so well now (or maybe because I am doing such a fabulous job)... really, I don't know the reason, but whatever it is, I am grateful.

New Camera

2011-06-30T15:02:00.001-07:00

Testing out my new camera. Liking it so far... however I really need a class to figure it all out. This is like a foreign language.... the graph for color saturation, etc... I just don't get it. I have started to play with color adjusting... which picture do you like better?

Quick Mini Update

2011-06-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been very busy for us. Sorry for not posting pics! We took the kids camping in Pismo Beach last week (SO FUN - definitely going back). James had playoffs for baseball. His team did extremely well. It was a double elimination playoff and his team went into the championship game undefeated. They ended up losing the championship game, but we were all so proud of how far they went. We went to RiverCats game tonight. Our team won, kids cheered, fireworks show wowed, all left happy. We are happy. Life is busy and very, very good.

James' Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is James first year playing on the Minor As. He tried out and was one of the very few 8 year olds to make the cut. We are so proud of how much James has practiced and worked and progressed this year playing with the older kids (9-11 years old).

The transition from Coach Pitch to Kid Pitch has had a learning curve though. After being hit by a some wild pitches early on, you could see his batting stance change because he was afraid. He would do great at practices when the coaches would pitch, but didn't trust the kids pitching. But as the season has gone on, his confidence is increasing. At Wednesdays practice, he even challenged a kid to a pitching match. James bet that the kid couldn't get a hit off of his pitching. Pretty gutsy for being the youngest, smallest kid on the team.

Yesterday, I told him, "James, it's almost Mother's Day. When you get up to bat, tell yourself, 'This is for my MOM!' and smack it outta there!" AND HE DID!!! Woo hoo! Took half the season to find his groove in the new level, but Stella got her groove back. baby! He scored two runs for his team. They ended up winning 12-4. I am a proud mama!

Inspirational Quote

2011-05-06T00:12:00.001-07:00

Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne

Easter Party

2011-05-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

This year, our rose bushes (as ugly as they are) have provided us with an abundance of flowers! Which means that I have been able to keep the house beautified with fresh flowers.

Easter was busy this year. We went to two Easter parties the weekend before Easter and had two Easter celebrations the Easter weekend as well. The pictures below were taken at my girlfriend, Megan's, house. She and her husband have such a fun yard... complete with an entire petting zoo and pony rides. The property is big and made Easter hunting fun for the kids. Thank you, Megan and Sam, for such a nice time!

Megan's daughter is Sarah's age.

I love my friend!

My friend's hubbby

Our girls relaxing while checking out their finds.

Megan's younger daughter, 6 months old

Temple Choir's Easter Program

2011-04-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to Oakland to watch Uncle Robert perform in the Easter program at the temple. Normally, Chris and I attend alone (since young children tend not to sit very long) but this time, we decided to take James with us. He did remarkably well and made this mama proud! All three of us enjoyed the beautiful music and especially enjoyed listening to Uncle Robert sing... his voice never sounded so heavenly! Out of all the people that audition to participate in the Temple Choir, Uncle Robert was chosen to be a soloist, singing the part of the Disciple John. He was wonderful and made us all wish we could sing a solo like that without squeaking or totally embarrassing ourselves. James was even singing "hallelujah" in the car afterwards on the way home.

How bad is dad?

2011-04-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today, the song "Bad" by Michael Jackson was on. Come on, sing it in your mind.... "you know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it...."

Sarah thinks that the song says "my dad" instead of "I'm bad". It was positively hilarious to hear her singing around the house, "my dad, my dad". :)

Quick Pic

2011-03-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

James goes to "community day" once a week. It is a school within our home school program we are doing. It is SO MUCH FUN! The teachers are excellent. Today they arranged for various animals to be brought in. The kids had a blast learning about snakes, turtles, frogs, etc.... This is a picture of James touching the snake skin. He absolutely LOVES community day. And it will be the biggest thing we will miss if we go back to public school next year.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Just a couple snaps taken today. My corned beef is cooking and my green dessert is chilling. I'm taking James to baseball practice in a few and heading to the gym for a zumba class before eating our "healthy" dinner. Although our dessert is totally fat free (go me!)

Love to all!

Our Pinewood Derby Cake

2011-02-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

Finished product! Cake Chris and James made for cubs scout dinner tonight. They did a great job.

How to pick a good wife...

2011-02-23T23:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight as James and Chris were working on their cake for the Cub Scout Dinner tomorrow night, I am watching in awe at their handy work. I will post a picture tomorrow of their cake. Our conversation goes like this:

Me (Jill): James, your dad is kind of awesome!

James: No, he's so awesome, it makes our heads explode.

Me: Think I made a good choice in picking him to be my husband?

James: Yes!

Me: What kind of wife will you pick when you grow older?

James: A good one.

Me: How will you know if she's a good one?

James: I will take her to church and see if she knows the scriptures are true.

[Me and Chris SMILING] :)

My kid is awesome.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

My kids make me happy! And so does my hubby! Normally, I always make a heart shaped meatloaf for Valentine's Day, but this year, we switched up the menu a bit... and had an asian theme dinner. Sushi and edamame for appetizer, chinese chicken salad and green bean chicken over rice for main course. For dessert, chocolate dipped fortune cookies! The kids enjoy having a fancy dinner with sparkling cider and I think we had about 5 toasts (they just love clinking the glasses together). We ate way too much chocolate!
Life is good!

Dr. Who Fever

2011-01-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Naomi,
You have infected my household with Dr.Who fever. The kids go crazy for it... See below:

Thanks! Love ya!

Colorado: Part 3

2011-01-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

Chris and Jarum went to a Denver Nuggets game on Saturday with the big kids. Chris had never been to a professional basketball game before and was happy that the Nuggets won.

Last night before we left, we decided to make pizzas for dinner. Each kid got to make their own personal pizza. The bigger kids even got a lesson from Chris on pizza dough tossing. They thought it was so fun.

Funny faces!

Smiling (mostly)

Izzy likes to be wrapped like a burrito and sleeps like that every night. She looks like such a porcelain doll in this picture. What a cutie-patootie!

We will sure miss Jarum and Naomi & Co. Naomi laughs all the time and it is always fun to be around people who laugh! The kids are just sweet as honey. I got so many hugs and kisses! I will surely miss all of them. It is always such fun to see Jarum and Chris together because they are a lot alike. They play off each others jokes and they have the same funny laugh. It is even funnier to hear Naomi imitate their laughing! :) huh-huh-huh-huh LOL!

We love you, the other Boyers! Thank you for having us and we hope you know how much we love you!

Colorado: Part 2

2011-01-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

Colorado was great. The weather was wonderful. Jarum and Naomi were so hospitable and kind. We had a great time and are telling everyone we know to move there! Colorado rules! We took the kids to the Museum of Nature and Science. We wished we had had a bit more time to go through all the exhibits. Neat place.

We toured model homes (which is something I LOVE to do) and fell in love with a house I can't afford! All the houses there have awesome basements. Below is where we found Sarah and Josh hiding.

Josh and Sarah playing in snow at the model homes. By the 3rd or 4th day in CO, all the snow was pretty much melted. After that, the whole week was sunny and warm.

Cousins are GREAT!!!

We celebrated Kaylee's birthday. Chris and Kaylee did a joint effort decorating the cake.

Isabel Elizabeth

2011-01-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

More Izzy Pictures! Hooray! Can I just tell you what a perfect doll this child is?!?! I love you, Izzy!

Below is Kaylee's unmistakable red hair. She was making Isabel smile for the camera.

In the next picture, I see a lot of Jacob in her. Babies are so special. I am sad to think how much she will have grown by the time we will see her next.

Colorado: Part 1

2011-01-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

My new-found love...

IZZY!!!!! Tell me she doesn't melt you! She is just so beautiful and sweet!

Day one in Colorado: Laughing galore! James and Sarah LOVE the snow! They go out to play in it often. And since the backyard has a slope, the kids can just go in the backyard and sled around. I never was much of a fan of snow, but I have found that snow is MUCH more fun when it is in your backyard because you can just go inside when you get cold... having a house in the snow is just way cool.

The kids are having fun! And so are we!!!

Christmas 2

2011-01-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

Daddies aren't that good at doing hair, but bless them for trying! :)

Christmas

2011-01-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Just Dance

2011-01-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Christmas. My sister got the Wii game, Just Dance 2, for Christmas and we have all had a fun time playing. We laughed watching Haleigh and James perform duets together.

Freeze!

2010-12-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

James and Sarah, enjoying some of the x-mas gifts from their uncles (nerf guns), made me laugh:

James: (pointing his gun) FREEZE! F - B - I !
Sarah: (wanting to get in on the action) Four - Five - Six!

Letters, numbers... they're all the same. :)

And for those I haven't talked to... we had a Christmas miracle.... Sarah went potty in the toilet for the first time on Christmas Day. Hooray!

Giants and Gingerbread!

2010-12-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Just to show you a sneak peek at our tree. It isn't finished yet, but it is coming along nicely. We have all orange lights on the tree (thank you, Aunt Megan!). Our tree topper is almost complete... is is a GIGANTIC baseball. We have dozens of Giants logos in black and orange glittered up to the max all around the tree. It's been fun.

Below we have a couple pictures of our gingerbread making. Of course, as far as Sarah goes, the "one on the house, then one for me" was how she operated.

James Baptism

2010-12-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

James was baptized on Saturday, December 4th. I was misty eyed the whole week leading up to it.... I was feeling super sentimental about my baby, James, growing up. I was worried that I would be hysterical from start to finish of the baptism, but I did so well. No tears! I am so proud of what a great young man James is becoming. It was a great day surrounded by loved ones. Thanks to everyone who came and shared in the happy day with us!

Temple Christmas Concert

2010-11-27T23:48:00.000-08:00

No words are needed:

Our Thanksgiving Princess

2010-11-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was fun, full of good food, great company, but it was also Sarah's 2nd birthday. First we went to the Hampton Family Thanksgiving. She learned how to blow out the candles there. Then we went to Boyer Family Thanksgiving, where she made the most excited face I've ever seen when opening her presents. So cute. Grandma Boyer made her a princess cake. She said, "my cake, my pink". And it was really cute that she kept saying "Happy Day, Happy Day" all day long.

At my family's house, each Thanksgiving we take turns and each person tells one thing they are thankful for this year. I have felt especially blessed this year that we have been able to provide for ourselves on one income. Mark teared up as he said that he was thankful for such wonderful sisters. Lisa was thankful for Luis and her job. My Dad and Chris were both thankful for James and the choice he is making to be baptized. Mom was thankful for such a great family. I agree with all of them. I have felt blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life... I have had the privilege of being acquainted with so many kind, honorable, loving people that have had a big impact on who I am and who I am trying to be. I just feel so lucky!

James Turns 8

2010-11-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

James told me that this year was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! :) The day before, we celebrated with my family. James has been watching the TV show "Cake Boss" so we laughed when we asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he told us he wanted a two-tier cake with fondAHnt and flames around the side. He also reminded us that we have to "dirty ice" the cake before doing fondant. He decorated a special cake all by himself for his birthday buddy, Grandpa. They were so cute eating that cake together. The next day, we spent the day doing fun stuff and then we had his birthday dinner at Grandma Boyers. This year he asked for Mongolian barbecue style dinner. It was sure tasty.

Aunt Megan and Uncle Robert got this for him. Can you tell he's excited?

He got a new bike. Hooray.

Way back when...

2010-11-27T14:26:00.000-08:00

Chris, age 6

Chris, Age 4 1/2 (this is my favorite picture)

While going through photos, we found these pictures of Chris. Look how adorable he was! Hunny, I love you!

Chris is on the right with the plaid shirt. Cutie pie!

Our School Endeavors

2010-11-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Due to the school district changing classes mid-year (budget stuff), we made the decision to home school. I was really nervous about it and afraid to tell people, because EVERYONE has an opinion on homeschooling. But I felt that due to what was happening at the school district and more importantly, to James' education in class, I had no other choice.

So we have been homeschooling the past two weeks. It has been pretty awesome (and also tons of work). James has been able to enroll in a foreign language and is now LOVING Spanish. That has been most fun for both of us. We do science projects and art projects and are keeping very, very busy!

SF Giants Parade

2010-11-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Chris and I went to the SF Giants parade celebrating their first World Series win since 1954. It was CRAZY. People were everywhere, packed in like sardines. You could go nowhere to escape the crowd. Chris made us leave at 2:30 a.m. to be at the BART as soon as it opened at 4:00 a.m. It was funny to see the faces of the regular commuters looking around as the BART was filling up with Giants fans. They are used to having an empty BART train at 4:00 a.m. We got to the Civic Center and parked ourselves waiting for the action. We all came home smelling like marijuana. You would have thought Prop 19 had passed the way so many people smoked it out there. We saw some chick fights... and the whole crowd was yelling, "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry". And it did pretty much look like a Jerry Springer show. The day was hot, and by the time the speeches were going, the crowd was getting funky, lots of B.O. nastiness. I can't even explain the smell of the man's armpits standing in front of me - scarred me for life!

While we were sitting trying to nap in the morning time, I opened my eyes and standing in front of me was Chris' co-worker, Julia. We were so happy to see her.

Look how close together people are standing. Imagine standing like that for 3-4 hours.

Finally when the show started, it was cool. Inspirational all the speeches. Neat to be there, but I think watching on TV sounds good to me.

Giants are Awesome!

2010-11-02T01:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight was quite an exciting evening... with the Giants winning the World Series and all. It was very fun and we are looking forward to attending the parade on Wednesday in San Francisco. Truth be told, I am a weirdo about San Francisco and hate going to any type of massive gathering or event there. I have some very irrational fears, like all of us cheering and jumping crazily will trigger a massive earthquake or that if enough people gather together there, SF will fall off and disappear into the ocean. LOL.. I so wish I was kidding. Another fear - standing anywhere in the vicinity of Gavin Newsom, the mayor of SF, out of fear a stray lightning strike will hit me. Again... so wish I was kidding.

Anyway, Chris told me that he always thought it would be cool to go to a World Series parade and since the Giants haven't won since 1954, we don't know how many opportunities in our life we will have to experience the fun. So, I am trying to put the fears aside to have fun with my sweetheart. Gavin Newsom will be there. Wish us luck. :)

We baked this cake in honor of the Giants. Turned out mega awesome!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-10-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

It is our 9th anniversary today. As I was getting into the car this evening, the boys are making a fuss that I not look in the back of the car. I say, "Whhhhy? What's back there?" And James answers, "Some board games for you. I wanted to get you makeup cause you like makeup and its girly stuff, but dad got games so we could all play together." And Chris the whole time is saying, "James, your ruining the surprise!"

I was reminded in my giggling of when I was a kid. One Father's Day, I was so excited about this tie we got my dad. When you tied the knot in the tie, it looked like a big trout (fish) and for a kid that was really cool. As I handed the present over to my dad, I blurted out excitedly, "Dad, you're really going to LOVE this tie." Everyone laughed and I must have turned as red as a tomato as I tried to suck the words back, realizing I had ruined the surprise. I still get teased about that....

Chris and I celebrated by watching the Giants win the 1st game of the World Series. No, not in person. Just on tv, nice and boring. :) We are actually celebrating on Friday with a temple trip together.

Dog Poop and Tomatoes

2010-10-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

James is watching TV...

James: Look, Mom. That thing (on TV) will eat anything!
Mom: Just like you guys!
James: No. I don't eat dog poop or tomatoes.

:)

Bunk Bed Materpiece

2010-10-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

As I was tucking James into bed this evening, he said, "Come here, Mom. Check out my drawing." I knelt down to see that sometime during the day, he had drawn a big mural of a ship and a lighthouse ON HIS BED. Yes, I just bought him a bunk bed and the backside of the desk part, he decided looked like a big canvas awaiting it's masterpiece.

He could not understand why I was upset. In his mind, IT was a very nice picture and he did write on it "God is graet"(great). lol. I think he knew he did something wrong but figured that writing "God is great" on it made up for it. I will take a picture of it when he is not looking. I don't want him to see me snickering. I wasn't happy about it, but I also remember back in the day, my sister coloring a big witch on one of the kitchen table legs. I think it's still there. I don't think my mom had the heart to be rid of it. I also remember one of my brothers writing another brothers name on the closet door. It's a kid thing... color where you are not supposed to. In fact, when I was little, I hid under my bed and improved those boring black and white pictures in the library books we checked out, to full color. After that I was like a prisoner, the library banned me from checking out books for a while. :) lol. What are you gonna do?

P.S. Made brussel sprouts tonight with dinner. They were surprisingly good.

FEAR THE BEARD!

2010-10-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

Go Giants!!!! A couple of the Giants players have started this "Fear the Beard" thing and dye their bushy beards black. So for the playoff game today, we showed off our beards in support. And it worked!!! Giants won. So should you come over for the next game, you will see us all superstitiously donning our beards and screaming various chants, including, of course "FEAR THE BEARDS!!!"

Even Mama Boyer got in on the Beard action! :)

Sarah REALLY DID fear the beard!! Not liking it at all.

Giants win! Hooray! Should you decide to join us for the next game, be prepared. Fear the beard, baby! And down below, with the double clap in honor of SF! :)

My 10/10/10 Birthday

2010-10-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. It has been a great birthday. The date today is 10/10/10. Awesome, huh? I was born on my Aunt Heidi's 21st birthday and it has always been a special bond for me to have the same birthday as my auntie. My Aunt Debbie, who is the kindest, sweetest, most good-natured person I know has her birthday the day before. So we are all birthday buddies. We decided that for our birthdays we wanted to do things in 10. So yesterday we:

1. We got our 10 toes pedicured. We had my Granny (who has never had a pedicure in her life before this), Aunt Linda, my Mom, Aunt Heidi, Aunt Debbie, cousin Julie, and her daughter Samantha there.

2. We served lunch at my house to 10 adults. Chris won husband of the year for this one. While we had pedicures, he barbequed tri-tips and prepared the most awesome lunch spread for all the ladies.

3. I stamped 10 nails with cool designs.

4. My aunties and I gathered around the piano and sang 10 songs while my Granny played. Always so heart warming to sing pretty songs with the aunties. They sing so nice!

5. Had 10 people sing us "Happy Birthday".

6. We went to a choir concert where we heard 10 Michael Jackson songs performed. AWESOME! On a side note, my favorite part of the concert was watching this little boy lead the choirs in singing "We are the World". It almost made me tear up watching this little guy. He did such a fantastic job.

7. We took at least 10 people out to eat and to have dessert.

This is us birthday gals at 10:10 p.m. :)

8. We each held a new baby for 10 minutes. Cousin Jamie just had a baby boy and he was such a happy baby letting us "ooh" over him and pass him around.

9. We fit 10 family members on a bench.

10. We did 10 jumping jacks to discourage 10 pounds.

It was a great day, full of great belly laughs! It felt nice to laugh like that.

Today I spent my birthday at Chris' parents house.

Chris mom made an excellent dinner.

I got to give my nephew, Sammie, at least 10 kisses and hold him for way longer than 10 minutes.

I got "happy birthday" wishes and singings from all my favorite people and felt super loved and special. Thanks everyone! I love you bunches and bunches!

And P.S. The Giants won today! Hooray! Even the Giants know how to give me a happy birthday. LET'S GO, GIANTS!

The Man Trip

2010-09-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

My husband, my son, my dad, and my brothers went on a 3 day fishing trip this week. "Man" time. James caught the first fish and promptly exclaimed "I AM AWESOME!!!" He not only caught the first fish, but also caught the most fish and was named the "fishing champion".

Some picture highlights of the trip:

Holy cow!!! Look at the size of that one!!! Good job, honey! And down below, because we are fans of "The Office", they had to take a picture of the "$200 TV" that was in their hotel room.

Library Day

2010-09-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today, I took Sarah to the storytime for under 3 yrs at the Lodi Public Library. It was fun for the little ones (and short, thank goodness - 15 minutes is perfect for tiny attention spans). James is on school break the next two weeks. Woo hoo!
Poor lady in front of us got her backside photographed. Luckily, Sarah shielded us from the worst of it. :)

Happy Friday!

2010-09-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

My cute nephew:

This is him showing off his muscles. Tickets to the gun show, anyone?

Happy Friday. Today was fun. I took Sarah to Micke Grove Zoo with a friend of mine. The lorikeet exhibit was kinda cool. We did go when they first opened up, we were the first ones in, so the birds were extra hungry and went crazy for us when we went inside. I looked like the bird lady covered in birds - in my hair, covering my arms and shoulders. It was a bit nuts. Sarah thought it was pretty funny though.

After the zoo, we went to James school for "bring your parent to lunch" day and hit up the school book fair. And lastly, since Amy and Brandon are preparing to move out of the parent's nest and create their own, I got to babysit Samuel for a while while they packed up. His hair is getting redder the more it grows I think. He was a good boy (except when he tried to pee on me! He got the couch, but he did not beat the fastest hands in the west - I've had a boy already so I covered up quick). lol

P.S. Chris' mom recovered my window seat cushion for me. Doesn't it look fantabulous?

And a couple quick pictures of my cuties!

Projects of the Week

2010-09-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

I love smiling babies!

This has been a semi-productive week! I didn't get my house organized like I wanted... but I did work on lots of fun house projects. (Sidenote: I always thought when I was working that my house would be spotless if I was home. HA! Boy was I wrong.) This past week I gave my two week's notice to my work. I am officially a stay at home mommy! Hooray.

So my projects this week:

I found these "stretcher frames" at IKEA a while ago for $5. You could make your own though. You cover them with your favorite fabric and viola! Instant art for your wall. I recovered them this week with these cool fabrics.

I also recovered all my dining room chairs and they look so much nicer. No more food stains... hopefully these ones will clean up easier.

And I finally finished up vinyling up my laundry baskets to make easy sorting for the kids. These were cheap $3 laundry baskets from Walmart and I used my cricut to cut various fonts out to decorate them.

I also got my haircut today! It always feel so nice to get a hair cut. I am getting colored in two weeks... watch out - we might get wild.

Care Bear Bananza

2010-09-11T21:28:00.001-07:00

Sarah is nuts for Care Bears right now and cheers excitedly when I put the Care Bear movies on for her (thank you Netflix Instant Streaming). Today I went to some garage sales with a girlfriend of mine and happened to see these 2 gigantic bears. I HATE buying ANY stuffed animals at garage sales but knew how happy Sarah would be to see it so for .50 cents each we took them home. They are as big as she is but she takes them everywhere and cries when we leave the house without them. Love my girlie girl.

Dear Daughter...

2010-09-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Daughter,

Today is the first and LAST day that I will butter up your leg that is stuck in between the bars of your crib. Yes, it is true that in your efforts not to sleep, your legs have been getting stuck quite often lately, but we've never had to grease you up. Until Today.

So, no more buttering you down. I have taken those bars down and put up your toddler bed. Please behave yourself at bedtime and don't make me completely sorry that I didn't just keep a bowl of butter next to the crib instead. :)

I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Out of touch

2010-09-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful that Chris' mom works for a children's dentist and keeps me informed on the latest "cool" stuff for kids. She bought these bracelets for James and all the kids love them. Boys and girls in grade school all the way up to high school wear these plastic shaped bracelets and trade them around. I don't know what I will do when Chris' mom stops working there. I will be so out of touch with the "cool" stuff.

Babysitting was peachy

2010-08-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

After the sorry tasting cake I made a couple weeks ago, I didn't want to chance messing up peach pie. So, I invited my cousin, Julie, over to supervise me efforts and we had a great visit cooking. I learned lots of new things from Julie ... little cooking tidbits and shortcuts. Her husband, Skip, and two younger children came over too and the little girls were very adorable together. (FYI - Julie is pregnant with girl #4) Sarah and Evynn are about 6 weeks apart in age. When it was Evynn's turn to get her daiper changed, Sarah laid down next to her, I guess to give her friend some moral support. They were laying there holding hands and it was darn cute.

Today, I got to do my first babysitting duty with Samuel. He was, of course, an angel. Taking into account that this kid is related to my husband, it was totally expected that he had a poop explosion. :) I know he has grown, but next to my Sarah, he looks so tiny. Sarah looks like a giant next to him!

I had to put this next picture in to show his big dimples.

Too helpful???

Ahhh.... the sleeping angel

Happy Birthday, Brooke!

2010-08-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Today was my sister, Brooke's, birthday. She is 17... watch out world. So we went over to my parents and the kids made huge amounts of water balloons and had a great time making everyone look like they had wet themselves.

If any of you have seen the movie "Grown-Ups" that just came out, there is a funny part in the movie where the guys would all stand in a circle back to back and would shoot an arrow straight up into the air and see who would stay in the circle the longest. At my parents house, instead of arrows :), they used water balloons. First the "big boys" stood back to back and threw a water balloon up in the air to see who it would come down on... but their aim was SO bad, that the water balloon hit no one. So, they decided EVERYONE should have a water balloon and throw them all up at the same time. Result: STILL hit no one. They suck! But it was hilarious. Look at the faces of my brothers in the picture after they threw them up..

Down below: My latest painting project. Looks kinda cool. P.S. I just spell-checked this post: NO misspellings found. Dang! Made of AWESOME, I am. ;)

Latest Happenings

2010-08-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

My hubby turned 30 on Saturday. We celebrated by taking a group of 30 to the laser tag arena at the crazy hour of midnight to nearly 3:00 a.m. Everyone seemed to have a ton of fun... I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures.

On Sunday, we went to the Boyer's house to celebrate Chris' birthday. Sarah has found all Grandpa Boyer's candy stashes and heads straight for them when we visit. We had ice cream sundaes for dessert and boy, did Sarah like that.

Yesterday, Grandma Barbara (my Grandpa Doppelmayr's wife) came to my mom's house to visit. I have not seen her in probably 10 years, so the visit was long overdue and nice. The visit made my eyes a little misty as we reminisced and I thought of my grandpa and how much I miss him! It was a very nice visit and I am excited to see her again soon.

My mother-in-law just redid the tile backsplash in her kitchen. Doesn't it look fantastic? I love the tumbled marble look. It is so pretty.

Welcome Home, Samuel

2010-08-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Amy came home from the hospital today. So we had Samuel a "happy birthday" party to welcome him home. Chris helped me make a cake.... which turned out kinda cute looking... but dang, it tasted terrible! Thank goodness Samuel doesn't eat cake yet!! I don't think you can be the favorite aunt if your cakes taste like poop. So, I'll keep practicing. :)

Samuel has arrived!

2010-08-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

I am an Auntie again! Hooray! Chris' sister, Amy, had her baby today at 3:46 p.m. He weighed 9 lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long. He is so pink and healthy looking. The big debate is what color his hair is! We can't tell if it is blondish-brown or red. He has super cute dimples and is one handsome guy. They get to come home from the hospital tomorrow afternoon and we can't wait to shower him with love. Congratulations to Amy and Brandon on their healthy, happy little man. An awesome day all around.

On a side note, it was really funny today because I had told James on the way to school that maybe when he got home from school, Aunt Amy would have her baby. So when I picked him up and informed him that the baby was not born yet, he wanted to know why it had not happened yet. He said, "Doesn't she know she has to breathe?" lol

Sheesh!

2010-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

So I have been busy. Sarah had to have 3 baths yesterday due to mess making, the last bath was after she got into paint and painted all over her body. Please tell me that other kids have done this and not just mine. James at this age painted his body red... Sarah did white paint. I thought it might be hereditary because of the story Chris' parents told me about him painting his body green when he was a kid. Since the 3rd bath, she has broken a dozen eggs all over the kitchen floor. Agggh! And although they are driving me insane, I just gotta love em....

This is Sarah eating breakfast. She is such a cutie!

Arizona heat!

2010-05-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went to Arizona for my Uncle Larry's wedding. It was a short trip (sat-mon) and it was full of things to do. I did lose 5 pounds while there, mostly because I was busy and skipped 2 out of 3 meals each day. :) Anyway, here are some pics from the trip.

First day, I took Lexie and Dillon (Larry's kids) out shopping for clothes for the wedding. They showed me this... which of course I had to take a picture of for Chris:
Another cool palm tree? ..... No! It's a telephone poll! So awesome. I think cities should make them all look like this. Then, it was wedding time. They had the wedding in the backyard. This picture above is of my old bishop, Terry Williams. Have you ever met someone who simply radiated love? This is that person. He is so special because he makes you instantly feel loved. It just radiates from his being. I was so happy to see him!
Boy did we have a nice time at the party! Larry's closest friends came from far places too and they were awesome! They helped set up and we had a really nice time talking and laughing all day. I wished they could have stayed a bit longer. I wasn't ready for the fun to end, and I just enjoyed making new friends. I can't say enough about Larry's buddies. Kind hearted, fun guys. Enjoyed them all immensely. I got the see my cousin, Mary and her family while I was there. Her baby, Taylor, made me wish that I had brought Sarah with me. They would have had lots of fun together. I also got to visit with my old roommate, Haleigh. She is due to have a baby boy in 3 weeks and looks amazing! She looks no more than about 5 months pregnant. I just love that girl! Below is her daughter, Aubree. Isn't she a cutie? She is quite a smiley, happy little thing. All in all, great trip.

Summer is coming!

2010-05-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

So, school is almost out... and we are ready. Can't wait for the needed break for all of us. For Mother's Day, Chris helped get the back yard ready for summer. We planted some plants and spruced up, and we got out the pool cover and already I can tell such a difference in the temperature of the pool.
Abby is going on a diet... I don't know why they say she needs it as skinny as she is. :)Chris says he can tell when I get baby fever, cause I start getting the itch to adopt lots of animals. We saved this dog from the pound today... I love boxers and couldn't say no. You know what they do to dogs at the pound!!! He is not in pretty shape at the moment and fits his name, Rocky, because he is a little beat up. He was attacked by a pit bull. But he is a happy, nice guy.

Date Night

2010-04-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

This is Chris and I at his work's annual dinner/dance. We always have a pretty good time with his co-workers... and it is nice to have a date. This year was line dancing central on the dance floor and it was fun. Yeehaw!

Stake Conference

2010-03-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

We were in the midst of an apostle this evening. Tonight, we had Elder Jeffrey R. Holland come to out stake conference and share his powerful message with us of enduring well. It was quite moving and I wish I could convey to you the magnitude of the spirit there.

He started by telling us that he had a few things he had wanted to share with us, but that he was going to put that aside for now because he wanted to talk with us informally about hard times, pain, and tears. He told us that when hard things happen, don't panic... the Lord loves broken things.
Broken clouds bring rain
Broken ground brings grain
Broken grain brings brings bread
Broken bread feeds our souls

The Lord can fix all. He gave us everything He had and His Son to make sure we got fixed.

He talked about the law of sacrifice. Christ said, "you shall offer unto me a broken heart and contrite spirit." You can't expect to be a disciple of Christ without walking where He walked, feeling what He felt, and in some occasions, shedding some of the tears He shed. Elder Holland said that there is a high price sometimes for this education we receive, but that our tears help us to understand someone else's. He said, "It's OK if your heart breaks a little. It's supposed to. A sacrifice isn't a sacrifice unless it hurts a little." He told us to take up our cross, be strong, be hopeful, and endure well. He shared with us some touching moments in his service.

Elder Holland reminded us that we are children of God. That we have divine inheritance and that we are stronger than we think. He said that there is no simple way for us to realize this. It entails trials and pain - the refiners fire.

Elder Holland told us that the first sea men's rule: In the middle of a storm, STAY IN THE BOAT! He said that some people walk away from the gospel during hard times, when the need it the most. When the storms hit, you don't jump ship and try out your doggy paddle. You stay in the boat where you are safe.

He also asked, "You think because you suffered, God doesn't love you? Have you read the scriptures?" He spoke of people in the scriptures, past Latter-Day Prophets, and the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Did not the Lord love them?

Elder Holland stated that often we don't think of Jesus as ever getting tired. He spoke of Jesus' ministry and how exhausting and tired He must have been; so tired in fact that Jesus slept during a storm that was so tumultuous that the crew thought the ship was going to capsize. He said that we need to take up our cross and carry it.

The overall message was Overcome Fear and Increase Faith. Endure.

What a wonderful evening. Can't wait for tomorrow morning when we get to hear him again.

Pigtails, baby!

2010-03-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

This week had an exciting moment to document.... Sarah got her first pigtails ever! The hair is growing slowly, but surely. Chris' mom makes Sarah's hair so cutesy when she goes over to their house.

Lisa and Luis!

2010-02-26T23:13:00.001-08:00

Today was a wonderful day! My sister, Lisa, was married! She looked beautiful, happy, and ready to begin her new journey. The temple was great, and the pictures were short. It was raining so hard! There were lots of umbrellas around to try and keep the bride and groom dry during the pictures. It will make the memory of their day extra special. :)Our new brother-in-law, Luis, was hilarious and kept the crowd entertained during the reception with his dance moves and funny facial expressions. My Aunt Heidi made her cake (as she makes all her nieces cakes, I think). It was beautiful and always feels so special to have an "aunt heidi cake." We put a big parachute to hang down from the ceiling. It looked pretty cool. And afterwards, during clean-up, the kids had fun running underneath it. One thing that is great about weddings is getting together with all the family and friends! My Uncle Larry came in from Arizona and it was great to see him! We had FUN, FUN, FUN dancing the night away! Luis got to dance with him Mom, who came from Bolivia to see her son be married. The clean-up was especially fast with all the helping hands. A big THANK YOU to everyone that helped make this a special day for Luis and Lisa. We wish them such love and prosperity during the start of their journey together. We love you!

Temple Day with Lisa

2010-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

We went to the temple Friday with Lisa. It was her first time through and it was so wonderful to be with her, her sweetheart, my husband, my parents, and my Aunt Debbie and Granny. We even saw quite a few people we knew there, including my dad's 7th grade teacher. Whoa. I saw Sister Byrd from Stockton, who saw me with Chris and said, "you got married!" and when I told indeed, I had gotten married.... 9 years ago, I think she was felt old. When you don't see people for a while, time stops in your mind and you forget that the kids aren't small anymore.

Anyway, it was a sweet time to be with her and I can't wait for more of my siblings to enter the temple. Nice day!

I love my kiddos!

2010-02-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

Uncle Brendt and his girl!

I just love being a mom!

A reminiscing story..

2010-02-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

When looking through my journal entries, I came upon this one from 8/19/08. when I was pregnant with Sarah and we were in the process of buying our new house. It said,

"8/19/08 - When tucking James in tonight, he wanted to know if his sister (in my belly) could hear him. I told him that yes, the baby has ears and she can hear him when he talks. James talked to my belly and said, "Baby, you are getting a lot of clothes. We can't spend all of our money on you because we are buying a house...."

That made me laugh! I had to share! I had forgotten about that. Thank goodness for journaling and keeping all these precious memories alive!

Penguin Parade

2010-02-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today was the 1st grade's annual Penguin Parade. They sang cute little songs and recited penguin poems. But probably my most favorite part was watching all the kids waddle around. Very cute. Boys never can take a normal picture. They have to be crossing their eyes, or making some sort of goofy look. Although, at least he does it on purpose! I make funny looks in all my pictures and I am not even trying. :)

1/31/10 Ranch Dressing Princess

2010-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

When James was about her same age, I have a picture of him with a ranch dressing beard just like this picture of Sarah. It is one of my favorite pictures of James and now Sarah gave us an encore of that performance! Yesterday, her and James had a snack of carrots and ranch dressing. She didn't eat any carrots, just handfuls of ranch dressing, I think. After everything and everyone were covered in ranch, it was bath time!!! I had fun watching the kids in the bathtub! Being a mom is the best!

Bye George!

2010-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my good friend, George's last day of work. The lucky bum retired. It was so bittersweet. Of course, we were all so happy for him. He will travel with his wife and enjoy life! But, OH, how we will miss him!

The friendship has taught me so much and has left me feeling grateful for people the Lord places in your life and the handprints they leave in your heart. I hope someday to be as accepting and friendly as George. I will say hello to everyone I know instead of hurrying past in a busy day. I hope that I will be as non-judgemental and that I will continue laughing! I wish my good buddy more joy that the heart can hold!

Christmas Rules!

2009-12-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Christmas. We are trying to start some of our own traditions. This was the first year that we opened presents Christmas morning with our kids at home! It was pretty fun. We made our usual rounds to our parents house and everyone seemed to have a great time. My dad made his famous biscuits and gravy for Christmas morning... so delicious.

Chris was so excited about his best friends, Edd and Ron, coming into town for the holidays. Everyone got together to celebrate Nolan's (Edd and Heather's son) 2nd birthday that's coming up. I was sooo sad to have to miss because my employees were all sick! So I had to go into work. Boo! But I ordered Chris to take pictures of the kids, cause they grow so fast!

Ants in the Christmas Tree

2009-12-22T23:16:00.001-08:00

Note to self: Putting popcorn on the tree attracts ants in the tree. Not cool.

Faith of a little child

2009-12-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

James last night said he had prayed to tell Heavenly Father that he wanted to give Jesus a gift for Christmas. He prayed that his gift would be that he would be a good boy and that he would remember to read his scriptures every night. Awwww. Warms my heart!

Christmas Message

2009-12-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

This week I came across the First Presidency Message for this month and found it particularly inspiring. It is entitled "Home for Christmas". Click HERE to read it for yourself.

The part I felt most inspiring stated:

"Many of us have lost loved ones to death. We may be surrounded by individuals who seek to destroy our faith in the gospel and the Lord’s promises of eternal life. Some of us are troubled with illness and with poverty. Others may have contention in the family or no family at all. Yet we can invite the Light of Christ to shine on us and let us see and feel some of the promised joys that lie before us.

For instance, as we gather in that heavenly home, we will be surrounded by those who have been forgiven of all sin and who have forgiven each other. We can taste some of that joy now, especially as we remember and celebrate the Savior’s gifts to us. He came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others. That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.

When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn."

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I am grateful for the influence of the people the Lord has placed in my life. I hope that next year I can be a model of myself that is ever closer to what God would have me be. I welcome all support in that! :) This has been a hard year. But a new year comes, and a new beginning come with it. May 2010 be the best year yet.

Updates from the past month

2009-12-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

So, things have just been busy! To fill you in on our last month:

Chris' sister got married on 11/21. His brother, Jarum and his family came for the wedding and stayed at our home. We had a ton of fun with them and were happy for the visit. During their visit, James had his birthday, Sarah had her birthday, and we celebrated Thanksgiving. We also took a trip to the temple, which sadly to admit, was Chris and I's first time back to the temple since we were married. It was a really neat experience and it was special to be there with Jarum and Naomi. I have been really motivated about geneology so it was awesome to do some of my family work when I was there.

I was terrible about taking pictures during the visit... but here are pictures of Sarah's birthday.

My friend from high school, Megan, and her husband, Sam, with their baby, Hannah! Hannah is two months younger than Sarah. They play so cute together. They are such a cute family.

And this is a picture of Lisa's FIANCE... I know, weird. His name is Luis and we all adore him.

James had a loose tooth in the front that has been bugging him. He decided he had enough, so he pulled out his own tooth! I don't think it was quite ready, there was lots of blood... I know, gross. Sometimes it is hard to believe this is MY kid. I am such a baby - I would have been the kid that would have a tooth hanging by half a thread and would cry if my dad wanted to touch it. Luckily, he pulled it out, cause he had a tooth growing in behind it. My brave boy.

We put our Christmas trees up and our lights up. It is starting to feel like Christmas. Chris and James made popcorn strings for their tree, which Sarah thinks is her never-ending snack! I keep catching her eating popcorn off the tree. It is hilarious. Poor tree, has NO ornaments on the bottom half of the tree due to her grabby hands, and the popcorn string has bald spots of just string due to her appetite. LOL The sedcond picture below catches her in the act with the string in her mouth. :) Memories to hold on to!

Well, that's an update. Love to you all! - Jilly

Wicked Nail Art

2009-11-16T00:14:00.000-08:00

Ok. So lots of things are new around here. Remember I had posted that for my birthday, Chris took me to see Wicked and we just so happened to find a product that I fell in love with and so my mom and I opened a kiosk at the mall selling it... and we named our business after the reason we found it - "Wicked Nail Art". We are selling the funnest nail stamping kits. So, hence the reason I have not been posting! In addition to my regular full time job, and my piano lessons, and my classes at the scrapbook store, and being a mommy, we now have the business at the mall to run... and I just enrolled in classes again for the Spring. Yikes. Does it sound as crazy as it feels? LOL I wish there was more time in the day. So, anyway, this is our latest adventure. I don't know how long we'll do it for, but we thought we'd try something new. We have been open for a little over a week now and it is going well so far. If you haven't gotten a chance to come by and visit us, please do! We are at the Weberstown Mall by the Gap. Love to you all! - Jill

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T20:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the 1st grade had "scarecrow day". So I took a pair of James old jeans that were a size too small and glued raffia all around the bottom, ironed some patches on the knees, put him in a plaid shirt and sent him off too school. They got their faces painted at school and had a really fun time. Of course, he couldn't make it easy by being a scarecrow for Halloween... because "that is so LAME, mom." He wanted to be Dracula.
I had this idea that Sarah would be a flower fairy and then ... life was too busy! So she ended up being our island princess. She had a cute flower lei around her head, but it didn't stay on long now that she has discovered how to pull headbands off. Check out the pics! The first picture is my sister, Brooke, and Sarah. The next picture is my sister, Haleigh, and James.

My big birthday

2009-10-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, to catch you up on my birthday extravaganza: My husband is the bomb! Chris got tickets to Wicked for my birthday! So we woke up, went to Chuck's for breakfast (mmmm), stopped at the Carter's outlet in Tracy to buy cute baby clothes before getting to the BART station. I have to say that Chris said not one "hurry up, dear" or "aren't you ready yet" or anything (it truly felt like MY day). We rode BART to San Francisco and shopped around Union Square are the Westfield Mall. We had a nice lunch and walked around some more before heading to the show. We both loved Wicked, but the best part of the day was just being able to spend time together. It was a perfect day. Next year, my birthday will be 10/10/10. That means BIG party time. My Aunt Heidi (who has my same birthday) suggested we take a cruise! I love the idea! Who's on board?

Tooth #2

2009-10-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Sarah got tooth #2 today! Now we have two bottom front teeth. Hooray! So cute.

Sarah's Bathtime Adventures

2009-09-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight after feeding Sarah, I gave her a bath in the kitchen sink. Since she is quickly outgrowing the sink, I wanted to steal a few pictures of her to remember what a wonderful age this is. She is developing personality more and more! It is getting more fun (and more work) by the day. She is giggling more now and says a few words "mama, dada, baba" and does a whole lot a babbling that we don't understand at all. I can't believe that tomorrow she turns 10 months old. It is flying by! If you click on the picture above to enlarge, you can see Sarah's one little tooth coming in!Sarah trying to taste the water. My camera was a second too late. She was opening her mouth under the faucet and drinking. Funny. Splish, splash, I am taking a bath!
This last picture was taken on Sunday 9/20/09 morning. Sarah loves when I play the piano. She always has. When she was newborn and didn't move around, I would swaddle her in blankets and either lay her on the couch or cradle her in my lap and play. It would calm her. She likes music. Now that she can move around, she wants to play too. As soon as she hears the piano start playing, she crawls in, pulls herself to standing and plays any note her fingers can reach. I play the piano in Relief Society at church, so I have to have help now entertaining her while I play the hymns or she adds in lots of notes that don't belong.

Dodgers Stink!

2009-09-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

We were invited to take a limo ride to the Giants game tonight with some friends that play softball with Chris. The Giants played the Dodgers... and there were almost as many blue shirts in the crowd as there were in Giants colors. So the chants sounded like "Let's go, blah, blah" as people tried shouting their teams name louder than their neighbor. And of course since the rivalry between the two teams causes much excitement in the park, we saw lots of people kicked out of the game. That was entertainment in itself. Unfortunately, the Giants lost.... but at least we had a great Sheboygan Bratwurst and some garlic fries that were so strong, I may still taste them next week. Nothing like a Sheboygan at the ball field!

Sarah's first tooth

2009-09-11T00:16:00.000-07:00

Late breaking news... Sarah cut her 1st tooth today (9/10/09). Very exciting!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-09-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today was Sarah's 6 month follow up appointment at the Children's Hospital. Great news! They stated they could not tell at all which side her torticollis had been on, AND that she is DONE with physical therapy. I was so happy for the specialist to release us from any further physical therapy as the drives to Fresno have been such a pain in the neck (no pun intended). :)

3 day weekends rule!

2009-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for 3 day weekends! This weekend has been fun and the fun ain't over yet! To reinforce good behavior at school, James has a behavior jar. When he is good, we add marshmallows to the jar. When he fills up the jar, he gets to pick a reward. He likes this and the first reward he asked for was to have a camp out at Papa Hampton's house. So that's what we did this weekend. We had a barbecue and were so happy to have my Uncle Ron and his kids, Aaron and Holly; as well as my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Randy, Todd (just recently home from his mission), Scott & Rhonda with their children Jackson and Grace. It was great! Chris barbecued delicious burgers. We set up our little village of tents and the kids rotated back and forth between watching movies on the outside projector (just like the old drive-in movies) and roasting marshmallows by the fire. All in all, fun times. Today we had the kids over for swimming and fun. It was nice to have everyone together (even my brother Brent came up yesterday from Arizona to surprise the kids for a visit. We haven't seen him since Christmas so it is quite a treat. Anyway, here is some pictures...love to you! This picture is Claire (left) and Sarah (right) playing on the blanket. Sarah absolutely LOVED Claire and to be watched very carefully as not to maul her while trying to give her lots of hugs and kisses. This is Sarah learning to play Peek-a-boo repeatedly sitting and standing in this bucket!

Twilight

2009-08-22T14:58:00.001-07:00

So I just saw that Twilight's "New Moon" movie comes out in 89 days. We are under 90 days! I can't wait. Jacob is looking mighty hunky in the movie posters... although it feels a little wrong saying it because I think he is only 17 years old! Anyone else as excited as me??? Let's have a girl's night and see the movie together. You in?

Something Fishy

2009-08-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

James went to a birthday party last weekend and among the many goodies in the gift bag was a miniature phone book. He has gone around to the whole family getting phone numbers for his phone book. I was going to take a picture to show, but then realized everyone on the web would see your phone numbers. Anywho, after a few days of collecting phone numbers, he said, "Mom, by the time I fill this up, I will be ready to drive!" lol. Kids are so funny. James new word this week that I have never heard him say before.... fishy. His teacher did something he thought was "kinda fishy" - had them sit on the carpet when they came back from lunch. The fact that they broke the normal routine was "fishy" to him. :) I don't know that he truly knows what the word is, but he is taking it for a test drive. The little things just crack me up!

My big 1st grade boy!

2009-07-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today James started 1st grade. It was his 1st day at school ALL day. After school, he said he was tired and should go to bed probably at 6:00 p.m. so he could get a little more rest for tomorrow. :) James was super excited when the teacher told the class that on Tuesdays they would have music class and he asked his teacher if he could play the guitar. LOL The teacher told him he would have to wait until at least 3rd grade before that and so now, he keeps saying he hopes he makes it to 3rd grade so he can play guitar. :) funny. His desk is right next to a little girl he went to preschool with, Chloe, and he said she was hugging him all day.

Anyway, I am just so happy to have such a wonderful boy. James, I love you forever and ever and ever!

Giant Big Trees

2009-07-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we went to the Giants game. It was Sarah's first game and we think she must be a good luck charm. It was the first time I have been to a game that the Giant's won.

Today we went to Calaveras Big Trees and hiked around. It was a great day. Nice walk, beautiful scenery, fresh air, and of course, really BIG trees!

Aunt Terrie and Uncle Keith

2009-06-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

Last week, Chris' Aunt Terrie and Uncle Keith came for a visit. It was my first time getting to meet them and they are really great people. They felt so comfortable to be around and it sounds weird to say "they felt like family" because they are family, but I'm sure you understand what I mean. Uncle Keith found a big snake when out trekking with James and they brought it home. It took us a lot of bribing to get him to release that snake back into the wild instead of keeping it at home with us. Anyway, it was a wonderful time and we are excited to spend more time with the Boyer side in the future.

Sarah laughing

2009-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday that Sarah thinks ripping paper is funny. Listen to her laugh! :) I love my baby!

NEW BLOG

2009-06-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog for all my scrapbooking creations... http://jillybeanbug.blogspot.com/ I just posted some pictures of the baby's nursery on it... Check it out.

LAN Party 5/19/09

2009-06-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

I had invited our brothers over for a LAN party last night without Chris knowing. While he was playing softball, they came over to set up. I know it's nerdy, but I knew Chris would think it was fun (and actually, it looked kinda fun. Too bad I don't like computer games.) So Brendt, Ryan, and Eric brought over their computers and played games with Chris and James. James was so excited to be one of 'the guys'. The boys (except James who fell alseep) stayed up until 5:30 a.m.

James' New Word

2009-06-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

James' newest word is "insane!" Everything is insane or sick (and both words mean awesome to him). Last night I asked James if he knew what insane meant. He said, "Yeah, it means totally hot, like burn-your-tongue hot!" And then he went on to quote a movie where a guy ate something and then breathed fire or something and said "those are insane." :) He never misses a beat. :)

The little mermaid

2009-06-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

We started Sarah swimming on Monday with the Infant Swim Resource. If you have never heard of it, check out Infant Swim.com . Anyway, this is Sarah after one week of lessons. Next week I will post a video of her in the water.

Highlights of the Week

2009-06-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

This week, Sarah had her 6-month well-baby check up. She is 16 lbs 10 oz, 25.5 inches long. Getting big! Sarah learned some new tricks this week. She can't crawl, but she is moving around. If I set her down on her back, you'll find her on her tummy facing the opposite direction. She can turn herself in circles pretty good. Also, she has started this week to play her own version of peek-a-boo and it is darling. Another thing I have noticed is that she can twist and twirl her tongue around in her mouth- which is only interesting to me because I never could curl my tongue. She has me beat at that already.

James had his last baseball game of the season today. Chris told the kids that he didn't care if they won or lost, that he just wanted them to have fun today. So he let the kids play any position they wanted. James asked to play first base. It was his first time playing first base and he did great! It was a little bittersweet. Although I was ready for the season to be over, I will miss it too... until next year.

Tonight is the American Cancer Society's relay for life event. Chris and I will be taking our turn to walk at 1:00 a.m. My sister is spending the night with our kids. Is it weird that I am excited because it feels like a date? Ok it is a little weird, but when you have little ones, any time alone is exciting.

Sarah starts swim lessons Monday through Infant Swim Resource. Having a pool can be scary. It doesn't take a totally negligent parent for an accident to happen, so we are trying to be proactive about pool safety and survival skills. A couple years ago, I saw a couple children that had been through this program and it was amazing. I am nervous and excited. Wish us luck!

Cricut Cutting.

2009-05-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the card projects I am teaching tomorrow... I am loving the new cricut cartridges that just came out. So much fun!

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

So this is the moment he got his certificate and hugged his teacher! My baby graduated Kindergarten today and is a big 1st grader now! Grandma Boyer and Uncle Brendt came. They brought him a balloon and a toy. Aunt Lisa and Aunt Haleigh came too! After graduation, we went out for a donut, took James to the store and let him pick out a toy, and then went out to lunch. James said that this was the "best day ever!"

Just a moment...

2009-05-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this ever happens to you mommies out there, but today I had a moment. I was sitting on the bed watching my little baby make baby noises, funny faces, and wave her extremities wildly (I can just stare and watch forever) when it all of a sudden, it felt so surreal that "wow, I am a mom." And not only am I "a" mom, but I am HER mom and I feel so lucky.

Hot has arrived

2009-05-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

It was super hot out all weekend long and the pool is finally warming up. We had a great weekend of lounging by the pool with the kids and barbecuing. James is getting to be a great swimmer and Sarah seems to enjoy the water too. Fun times!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-09T20:10:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, James class had their Mother's Day Tea. The mom's went to the class and were served by their child lemonade and cookies. The kids sang cute little songs and recited a poem. I tried not to cry as the kids sang "You are my sunshine." The kids made a hand print mosaic for the garden and a couple cute cards. Here is the place mat James made with his fingerprints.James behaved himself so wonderfully the last two weeks. The last time we went grocery shopping, as I popped open the trunk to load the groceries, he said, "Mom, I'll do it. You just get Sarah into the car and I will load the groceries for you." And he did. Pretty nice for being only 6. Of course, like they say - All good things must come to an end. His angelic behavior the last couple weeks came to a screeching halt tonight when he was asked to clean his room. He wore himself out crying in his room and is now asleep in the middle of a mountain of laundry on the floor. Happy Mother's Day to all those Mother's out there! :)

Adventures in Baby Food

2009-05-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Sarah has mastered rice cereal and is ready to sit with us big people at the dinner table. Here is her 1st attempt at baby food: carrots. (I am happy that I finally am able to post a video! I am moving up in the blog world!) -Jill

New HairDo

2009-04-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Erin and Michael,

2009-04-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Erin and Michael,

I have to tell you what a profound effect your wedding had on me. The day that is expected to be all about the married couple, was also all about the Lord. I thought it to be a great gift you gave to all of us - that we all left your wedding feeling uplifted and edified.

At your marriage ceremony, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and I knew God was in attendance. Then at your reception, to hear the stories of Michael and his pilgrimage through Europe was absolutely amazing to me. It inspired me to re-commit myself to doing that daily, to look for how the hand of God touches our lives each day.

Another great moment was Erin's toast. When she talked about how Michael tries to be the "face of Christ" to everyone he meets. At that point, Chris turned to me and said,"Wow, this guy really makes me look bad!" :) It made me think of when you both came to my home after I had Sarah. That night, I was so affected by how kind Michael was to my son. He played with him and entertained him and was so loving. I can see how Michael lives his life as a "window to God's love." (Let me know if you never heard that song - GOOD one).

I have lived much of my life in awe of Erin. She is kind of like my hero. She always had such a confidence about her convictions and her faith. She was not afraid to stand up for what was right. She was a good friend and I love her. I am happy that she has found someone so perfect for her!

I just wanted to thank you for letting me witness such a special day. I can't thank you enough for the wonderful feelings I had and for the opportunity I gained to rededicate myself to good things. With all the kind feelings of my heart, I wish you two a long, joyous life together.

Love,
Jill

P.S. The purple candy table looked like Martha Stewart designed it herself! It was soooo COOL!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Easter is such a special time of year. A few days before Easter, James and I had a wonderful conversation about the reason we celebrate Easter. He found it very hard to comprehend why people would want to kill Jesus. After church on Sunday, James reported that they told him exactly what I said! My story of Easter was accurate. :)
Easter was a busy day for us and we are grateful that we have so many loved ones to share our lives with! We started the day by taking a drive to Fremont to make breakfast for Chris's grandmother and his Aunt Megan and Uncle Robert. We had a fun Easter egg hunt in the backyard for James. We laughed so hard when James put his hand almost on top of the egg hidden in the tree and didn't see it... And then laughed hysterically when he proceeded to climb the tree and climbed right over it without seeing it. After the hunt, Robert and I performed an impromptu duet (he sang while I played the piano) and Grandma cried. It was really lovely. We got to get Grandma on Skype so she could talk AND SEE her loved ones on the holiday. She was amazed at the technology. From my heart, I have to say that I LOVED spending that time with Grandma, Megan and Robert. We have never spent a holiday with them in the almost 8 years we have been married... and I don't know why. I plan to do so more in the future.After we left Grandma's house, we went to church and then off to my parent's home we went. We had lunch and watched James hunting eggs with Haleigh. We hope to get my parent's yard in order before next Easter so we can have a BIG egg hunt with all my cousin's kids too. It is just not as fun to have an egg hunt for only 1 kid. James trick was to follow Haleigh around until she found an egg and then try to be faster than her at grabbing it. Poor Haleigh was getting a little frustrated! I laughed about all Sarah's costume changes. It was like she was hosting the Oscars... she had her pre-oscar outfit, then the red- carpet look, then her after party outfit. Fun part of being a girl. (James did have a nice suit for church, but wouldn't pose long enough for any pictures and promptly changed back into his play clothes.)After the egg hunt, we went over to Chris's parents house for Easter dinner and had another egg hunt! James is a spoiled guy, that's for sure. Dad was so cute to Sarah and was teaching to "smell the roses." Aren't they cute? We want to thank everyone for helping make the day truly memorable. We love you!