Party of 5

Family Pictures

2009-11-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

We had Cala take our family pictures this year. She has a really nice 'fast' camera. Here are some shots we were able to get from the shoot. Thank you Cala!!!

Twick or Tweat!

2009-11-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

Daigen was Chicken Little, Bosten was a Giraffe and little Payten was a Bee

CJ didn't want his picture taken. He was tigger.

The kiddos and Grandpa Kynaston

He had a good Halloween again this year. The weather cooperated with us. We didn't have to put on jackets until we were more than half way through. Jordon was Belle and Sienna was suppose to be Ariel, but she changed costumes about 4 times. We tried Cinderella, then Aurora and finally settled on Tinkerbell. Collin was a zombie slayer.
We went to my Dad's to trick or treat there. Got pictures with the cousins and then headed back home to make our loop. We had bought 6 bags of candy and set the bowl outside. We did this last year and it worked out fine. This year not so good. We were only gone an hour. By the time we got back at 7:30pm our candy was gone. I was so bummed! I was looking forward to handing out candy. We had to shut our lights off for the rest of the night. The girls and Collin had a good time. We have 2 haunted houses in our neighborhood so Collin and I went in those.

Frightmares

2009-10-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we drove to Utah to take the kids to Lagoon's Frightmares. We try to go each year but it's been 2 years since we've made it. All the kids had a great time. We couldn't believe even little Sienna loved the rides. The weather was amazing. Grandma & Grandpa Baird came along with Mary, Hannah & Maren. Collin enjoyed being a 'big kid' and he and Maren went off by themselves and rode the rides.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

So for the last week we've been sick with the flu here. Collin started first last Wednesday. He came in at 6:30am and told me his throat hurt. Well since the swine flu is running ramped here that was a red flag he was staying home. Come that night he had a fever and just laid on the couch. His poor eyes were so red. You could just look at him and tell he didn't feel good. He was the same way the next day. By Friday we was feeling somewhat better. Then Sienna got it and a few days later Jordon did until finally it was my turn. I ended up getting it Wednesday. Yesterday was the worst day. I had the WORST sinus pressure, cough, sore throat, fever, body aches & pains. I would be freezing all day and when my fever broke I would have sweet dripping down my back, legs ... etc. Anyway, not fun to say the least.
Well, the kids have cabin fever. So we took a trip to the pumpkin patch tonight. It was really windy and cold but the kids had a great time. We went through the corn maze, walked through the pumpkin patch, played in the corn box, went on pony rides, rode the cow train, jumped on jumping pillows and froze our butts off. Nothing like good ole family fun!

Family Date Night

2009-10-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we took the kids to see Toy Story 3D. It was a double feature but we didn't stay for Toy Story 2. The kids had a blast. We went to dinner first then headed to the movie.
We got a large popcorn for the kids to share and I swear Sienna ate half of it. She did really good for the first half of the movie. The second half she was a little more restless. She wouldn't wear her 3D glasses though. Jordon was mesmerized throughout the whole movie. Collin seemed to enjoy it even if it was geared more towards Jordon and Sienna's ages.

Little Ballerina

2009-09-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Jordon has been taking ballet for 3 weeks now. She loves it very much. She can stand on her tippy toes like a mad woman! She amazes me. Her primary teacher is also a ballerina and her ballet teacher as well. She owns her own studio just 5 minutes down the road. It's called Treasure Valley Ballet Academy. I've been so impressed with how well Jocelyn is with the little girls. Here is picture of my little ballerina.

New Rig

2009-09-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

So I've been wanting a new vehicle for a while now and had my heart set on the Nissan Armada. I went and test drove one about 3 months ago and loved how it handles. I did my research and found that the 2005 is a sot after model. I figure if I'm going to pay $25,000 for a vehicle I want it to have everything I like. I didn't think I was asking too much wanting a sunroof, navigation system, dvd player, leather interior and it had to be the charcoal color and the exterior black. Well, it was much harder to find that then I thought. After searching for almost 6 months now I found one in Washington about 7 hours away. It had everything I wanted and only 40k miles on it. It was love at first sight!
So, Bruce and I went on a little road trip to Wenachee, Washington to trade in our GMC Envoy and come home with this beauty. Bruce and I absolutely LOVED our drive home. It was a smooth drive with LOTS of power. Nevertheless, I'm one happy camper!!

PreSchool

2009-09-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Today was Jordon's first day of PreSchool. She has been waiting for this day for months now. She was SO excited! She and Collin woke up at 7:30am played on the computers for 15 minutes or so and then got ready for the day.
When it was time to go I told her to go and get her new Dora backpack for school. She ran and got it and put it on. I took a few pictures and we were heading out the door when Sienna needed her Dora backpack. So she went to her bedroom and go her backpack too.
When we got to Miss Susan's I helped Jordon out of the car and we went inside. She gave me a big hug and told me 'I love you' and was off on her way. I can't believe she is 4 yrs old already and next year she'll be going to Kindergarten. It blows my mind. I got a little teary eyed when I got back inside the car. I told Sienna that next year she'll be able to go. She got a big smile on her face.

Salt Lake Days 3 - 5

2009-08-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

So Wednesday morning we went back to Thanksgiving Point since we didn't get to see the dinosaur museum. There was NO line and hardly anyone there. So much more worth it to me to pay full price and enjoy the exhibit than to pay $2 with a crap load of people. Sienna was a little freaked out at times from the noises of the dinosaurs. When we would walk by the exhibits she would say 'ewww gross'!

After Bruce got off work we went to the Aquarium in Sandy. It was so awesome! The kids really enjoyed it. We saw an octopus, jelly fish, sting rays, spiders, snakes, sharks ... etc.

On Thursday we hung out at the hotel in the morning. Then after Sienna woke up from her nap we went to Cowabunga Bay Waterpark in Draper. This was so much fun! It is a Hawaiian/California Surfin themed waterpark. They play fun music and it wasn't too crowded. The have a lazy river and the kiddie pool which are both heated. That was key! After going on a few of the water slides we would go back to the kiddie pool and warm up. Jordon had a blast and went down all the slides Collin did. Sienna went down slides with Bruce and loved it! Well worth the money!

Friday was a very low key day. We packed things up while Bruce was at work and checked out at 2pm. Bruce wasn't getting off work until closer to 4pm so I drove to Taylorsville to a park and let Collin & Sienna play. Jordon fell asleep in the car. Around 3:15pm Bruce text me to come get him. We picked him up and headed home. We all had a great time but was SO ready to come back home.

Salt Lake Days 1 & 2

2009-08-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

Bruce had to work in Salt Lake again this last week so we decided to take the whole family and make a mini vacation out of it. We left on Sunday around 5pm and made it to our hotel shortly after 10pm. We stayed at the Residence Inn @ Marriott. The room was perfect. It had 2 bedrooms with bathrooms in each room. Plus a TV couch area and full kitchen.
Collin and Jordon shared a bed and we brought Sienna's toddlers bed and put it in Bruce and I's room. After getting all settled in we went to bed shortly after 11pm. The kids were up bright and early for our continental breakfast. After breakfast we went swimming in the hotel pool. Put the girls down for a nap and then played some basketball while we waited for Bruce to get off work. We then ventured out to Temple Square (the castle according to Jordon) and toured the area. Went to get some dinner and then went swimming again once we got back to our hotel.

On Tuesday we headed out to Thanksgiving Point for the $2 for Tuesday special. The line to the dinosaur museum was outrageous. So we headed over to the garden area and walked around there. It was so beautiful. After an hour doing that we headed back over to the dinosaur area and the line was still just as long (probably and hour wait). It was getting close to nap time, so I made an executive decision to bag the museum and head back to the hotel. All 3 kids of course were in tears and withing 10 minutes of driving back all 3 were asleep. We headed to Payson, UT around 2:30pm to visit my cousin and his family. They have 2 little girls Jordon and Sienna's age. We stayed there till shortly after 8pm and headed home. Thank you Brian and Heather for letting us hang our at your place and feeding us a delicious dinner! It was so fun to visit with you.

Someone is 30!

2009-08-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my super hot sexy hubby a Happy 30th birthday! It's crazy to think that shortly after we met he was celebrating his 21st birthday. Now 9 years down the road we are married with 2 beautiful hard headed girls.
I surprised him last night with a b-day party at Red Robin. It turned out great and we had a great time visiting with great friends and family. Thank you everyone who came for making it a memorable birthday for him. Afterwards we headed on over to Meridian Lanes for some bowling. It was girls vs. boys. Yes, us girls dominated both games!!!
Cade & Tasha

Cala & Dan

Steve & April

Shem, Melissa, Kim & Kyle

Joe & Michelle and their daughters

The birthday boy!

Being sung to by the employees of Red Robin

Today the girls and I made Daddy a birthday cake. They were so excited to help. I frosted the cake and Jordon & Sienna helped me write and draw on it.

Things I love about my main squeeze:
1. His personality & sense of humor (we get along great!)
2. His smile
3. His passion for athletics and drive
4. The way he is with his girls and Collin
5. The love and support he shows me
6. The comfort and safety he provides me and our family
7. His SUPER sexiness!!!

2 going on 16

2009-08-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Sienna is growing up so fast! She has got the temper tantrums down to a T. Loves to torment her older sister and giggle if Jordon gets in trouble for it. She loves to play Mommy to all her babies and doggies. She has a VERY short fuse and gets mad very easily if something doesn't go the way she wants it. When not mad she is a very happy girl and loves to laugh.

Pierced Ears

2009-08-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

So Jordon has been asking to get her ears pierced for a couple of weeks now. So I decided we'd go and get them done last night. We gathered all the kids up and went to Claire's Boutique. We had Jordon pick out which ear rings she wanted. She chose a daisy with rainbow assortment of colors.
She was all excited sitting proud in the chair. The gal marked Jordon's ears with the marker and asked us if it looked okay to us. We agreed. She loaded the gun with the ear ring lined it up and SNAP! Jordon's expression was priceless!! It was a mixture of excitement, pain and shock all put together. She freaked out and started screaming. Bruce and I of course knew this would be the reaction as she is very much a drama queen. After about 5 minutes I asked Bruce to hold Jordon and together we would hold her head still (which she is SUPER strong)so that the gal could pierce her other ear.
Today she is super excited that she has her ear rings and shows them to everyone.

Mud Lake

2009-08-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a quick trip to Mud Lake this weekend to see G&G Baird, Uncle Rick, Terry & Leslie and some their kids Josh & Kristen, Scott & Christine and Mason. The girls had a blast playing with everyone. They got to ride the horsey, swing in the hammock with Grandma, run through sprinklers at Aunt Leslie's house and jump on the trampoline. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

My Birthday Girl

2009-07-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe at times that Bruce and I have now been married for 5 years. Three months after we were married we decided that we would try for a baby. It didn't take long till we found out shortly around my birthday that we were expecting.
Jordon decided to enter into the world on July 18th. Bruce and I had gone to bed and my contractions had started. I had been on bedrest for a couple of weeks with Jordon so contractions weren't rare. I kept telling Bruce that I think tonight might be the night after 3 other attempts in Triage. He then told me to just go to sleep. I laid there for almost 2 hours timing my contractions. Then all of a sudden I heard a loud SNAP sound. I thought 'what the hell was that'!? I turned over and asked Bruce if he heard that and of course he just mumbled something in his sleep. So I got up to walk into the kitchen and got about 4 or 5 steps and a HUGE gush of water came strolling down my legs. I then realized that the snap sound had been my water breaking. I told Bruce that my water just broke and he flew out of bed. This was finally it! We took Collin over to my sister Kim's house and headed on over to labor & delivery.
We got to triage and of course they made me walk around for an hour. Hated it! Then they moved us to a laboring room and I took a nice hot bath. That slowed my contractions a little bit so I asked the nurse if I could sit on the birthing ball. Bruce slept for a couple of hours while I bounced around on the ball and got my contractions going again. Around 5am I asked for an epidural and they hooked me up to poticin. Jordon made her big entry shortly after noon. She was perfect in every way!
Now she is 4 years old and has matured so much this last year. She loves gymnastics and to play with her older brother. She loves to dress in summer dresses and anything 'princess'. She is very dainty and loves to dance and walk around on her tippy toes. Happy Birthday sweet Jordon. We love you so much!

Jordon as a baby

Jordon 1 yrs old

Jordon 2 yrs old

Jordon 3 yrs old

Jordon 4 yrs old

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

We have enrolled the kids for swim lessons at the YMCA. Jordon is in her first class alone. Sienna is still in the parent/child class. I think she may be to excelled for it though. Jordon is doing great in her class and Sienna just wants to play. Collin is in a class in a different pool on the other side on the aquatics area. Here are some pictures from Monday night.

Artist's in the making

2009-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Bruce bought some water color paints for the girls and they were in 7th heaven! That is all Jordon wants to do. Sienna now paints her body, so we have to keep an eye on her.

Grandma Time

2009-07-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Grandpa & Grandma Baird came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Jordon and Sienna LOVE to play with them. They wear poor G&G out! One of the nights the girls cuddled with Grandma and watched a movie together. It was picture perfect!

Robison Family Reunion

2009-07-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago my aunts (Mom's sisters) asked me if I would plan a family reunion. It has been 6 years since we've had one. So here is a recap and pictures from it.
It started on Wednesday night. Everyone arrived around 7pm at Settlers Park. The kids played on the playground and splash park while the adults visited and had pizza & hawaiian haystacks. Afterwards we came back to my house (air conditioning ahhhh)and visited/rested.
On Thursday we headed over to Cade's (Tasha's hubby) brothers house to go swimming around 11am. The adults played a couple of games of volleyball as well. Everyone had a great time. Everyone helped clean up and headed out around 4:30ish and the rest of the day was free time. We came home and I made the kids some Mac N Cheese then I went with Cala to my Mom's grave and we got a few things for activity day at the park. I got home around 9pm and went to bed at 9:30pm I was SO done!!

On Friday we had activity day at the park. Cala and I got there at 9:30am to set things up. We had relay races and obstacle courses for the kids. They had a blast!! The adults played horseshoes and a few other games. Now keep in mind the weather is in the high 90's so the sun is SO draining. We took off from the park around 4pm. Went home and showered then met back over at Coltrins for dinner. We had our traditional gift exchange with the kiddos. Then everyone went home to put the kiddos to bed for 'adult night'.

The veteran adults were to meet over at Cala's at 9pm to be briefed on their part and everyone else at my house. Paul & Rodger were drivers and Jeanne, Lonie, Loanne & Al were at stations. The teams were broke up in 5 teams of 5. No spouses were together. We had people dressed in black, camo, do rags ... etc. It was awesome! So once the briefing of the veteran's job were done Cala met up with us and we headed over to my pool. I gave each team an envelope with a clue in it. It was a riddle of where the next clue was. They had a 9 minute head start before the 'drivers' (Rodger & Paul) started cruising the street to find people and pick them up. The object of the games was to get to the final check point with out being caught. The first check point was just envelopes taped on street poles in my subdivision so that each team was going in different directions. The following stations were Jeanne, Lonie, Loanne and Al. They were dressed up in disguise so the teams didn't know 'where' or 'who' their clues were. About half way through Cala was running down the street and Kim yelled 'car' so she was running up into a yard and a sprinkler head popped up and trip her. She went flying!! She landed on her chin and gashed it open along with braking her elbow and getting a concussion. So Dan who was a team captain for another team had to take her to the hospital. Poor Dan's team was stuck without a local! They did awesome though. They made it all the way to the last checkpoint before we found them. The course itself was about a 3 mile stretch. Everyone was dripping wet from sweat. It was a HUGE hit and we have tons of stories from it.

Come Saturday morning EVERYONE was exhausted! We were suppose to go to Eagle Island but we decided to keep it a low key day. Everyone came over to my house and we visited, played the Wii and Paul showed video's of Australia. We went over to Cala's for dinner and fireworks. It was a great reunion! We had SO much fun seeing everyone again. Thank you everyone who came it meant a lot to me. The next reunion will be on the east coast in NC in 2 years and I can't wait!

Father's Day

2009-06-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have the MOST amazing Dad in the world! No one in the world can compare to my Dad. He is the Jack of all traits. He can fix or build anything. He remodeled our first home we lived in, changed the oil in my car many times, had the best lawn in town. Everyone was envious ... still is! Now he is into pottery and makes gorgeous bowls, pitchers, plates .. what have you.
Dad would take me on business trips with him. I so enjoyed that time I got to spend with him. I felt so special! My Dad is very affectionate and I love that about him. I loved to sit and cuddle with him while we watched TV, or hold his hand as we walked. I never ever doubted the love that came from my Father. I always knew he loved me.
Dad thank you for all that you have done for me. You always stood by my side even when I made bad decision. You still loved and supported me. You AMAZED me as the love you have for my Mother was shown in how you cared for her when she was sick. You are a true hero to me in the obstacles you have overcome in your life. You still pressed on with a smile on your face. Thank you for that! Thank you for everything!

Happy Father's Day to my husband. What a great Dad he is. I love to watch him play with his girls and Collin. The way he teaches them to crawl, walk, their colors & numbers, the alphabet and to ride a bike. The big hugs he gives them when he comes home.
I know it will only get better in time.

I'm thankful for our Father in Heaven. For the love he shows me everyday. For the guidance he gives me to make it through each day. I know I couldn't make it through this life without him.

Happy Father's Day to ALL you amazing men out there!

New Moon

2009-06-01T19:31:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! I think this will be better than Twilight!

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

2009-05-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

First night at the apt complex eating popsicle's

Thanksgiving Point

Chilling watching a movie together

Hogel Zoo

Baird Family Reunion in Preston

Bruce had to work in Utah again this last week. So the kids and I drove down on Wednesday to stay a couple of days with him and then drive onto Preston for a Baird family reunion. This is how it went:
Took off Wednesday at 1pm. I put a diaper on Jordon because she seriously drinks about 12 sippy cups a day and pees at least every hour. Sure enough about 40 minutes into the drive she had to go. I told her to just pee in her diaper and she wanted a toilet. I told her I wasn't stopping so she finally peed and thought it was funny to have a diaper on again. We stopped at a rest stop around the Twin Falls area and I let the kids run around for about 10 minutes. Changed diapers and loaded up again. Sienna then poop about 20 minutes later and had to stop again and change her diaper. She fell asleep and the drive was SO much easier and quieter might I add. We stopped in Tremonton at the McDonalds and I let the kids play at the play area for about 30 minutes. Loaded back up and headed to SLC. We made it around 6:30pm and the kids were excited to see Daddy. We stayed at some apartment complex in Taylorsville called Springhill apts. It was so cheap, only $63 a night for a 1 bedroom apt with a living room that had a hide-a-bed and kitchen. It was perfect! Thanks Cala for the idea. :) It also had a pool, tennis court, volleyball area and a sweet workout room. The first night was hell though. I ended up sleeping with Jordon on the hide-a-bed, Collin on the blow-up bed and Bruce and Sienna in the bedroom. The girls didn't fall asleep until almost 11pm.
I took the kids to Thanksgiving Point on Thursday morning while Bruce was at work. They thought it was awesome. I attempted to take them to the Garden area shortly after 11am. Unfortunately that came to a quick end when all 3 started whining because they were so tired from lack of sleep. I loaded them back up and headed home. Sienna fell asleep within 5 minutes and had a sweet 30 nap on the way home. I attempted to lay her down when we got back to the apt. but she woke up. GREAT!!! Jordon wouldn't lay down either. So they played outside for a bit and I layed Sienna back down around 2pm. She finally fell asleep and took a little over an hour nap. That night went much better. Collin & Jordon slept on the hide-a-bed together and Sienna on the blow-up bed.
On Friday Cala & Dan and Tasha & Cade had shown up and stayed at the same place as well. They were there for a Thomas the Train thing for the boys. We all went to Hogel Zoo around the noon hour. The kids had a great time. We headed home around 4:30ish and then played a little tennis at the apt complex. That night we had the same sleeping arrangements and once again it was a good night.
Saturday morning we took off to Preston around 9:30am and arrived 2 hours later. Took the kids swimming at the resort pool which was about 90 degrees from the natural hot springs. Headed on over to the camp ground where the reunion was at and visited and had dinner. Collin wanted to camp with Grandma & Grandpa so he stayed there. Jordon & Sienna slept together on the bed in the room. Sienna woke up at around 2am and started whispering 'sissy ... sissy wake up'. It was cute but not at 2am. We kept trying to 'shhh' her but she eventually woke up Jordon. No crying thank goodness, just a bunch of giggling. They finally fell back to sleep around 4am (ish). We headed back over to the camp ground (15 minutes away) in the morning only to get rained out pretty much all day. I was able to get both girls to take a nap in the camper trailer for about an hour and a half. THANK HEAVENS! It got too cold from the rain so we headed back to the motel for the girls to warm up in the sweet tubby in the room. The played in it for almost an hour. We went to Artic Circle with G&G for dinner and the kids got to play in the play area. We decided to just come home that night instead of waiting till morning. It was a very good decision because we were able to drive the whole way home without stopping. I think the kids had a great time as did Bruce and I. We were pleasantly surprised with how well the kids did on not very much sleep. We are glad to be home and able to get back into our typical routine now. :)

5k then a 10k ... I think I'm crazy!

2009-05-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday the 9th I ran a 5k (3.1 miles) with Cala, Tasha & Karlene. It was the first race for all of us. It turned out to be so much fun that Cala, Karlene & I were crazy enough to think we'd ran a 10k the following Saturday.
Felt great after the race actually. It was a sweet sense of accomplishment. I finished in 30:40. Not too shabby for not being able to train much for it since I had a head cold that week. Cala came in at 28:15 (I believe), Tasha at 31 minutes and Karlene was around 35 minutes.
On Sunday my shin splints started hurting, but wasn't too unbearable. I iced them the next couple of days. Cala, Karlene & I ran on Tuesday evening and it took the first mile to get used to the pain from the shin splints. Cala ran 4 miles and Karlene and I took a wrong turn and only ended up running 3.5 miles, but it felt great. I wasn't able to running again that week before the 10k due to my hubby leaving out of town. Well, Saturday came around and I was very excited! We were in the front of the line and Cala and I took off in a mad sprint. BAD IDEA!!!! Don't EVER do this. It took about a half a mile to get my breathing down from sprinting. I did intervals in the my running. I'd run as far as I could then take a 30 second walk and run again. I did this throughout the entire run. After the 4th mile it felt like pure death the rest of the way. Keep in mind by now I had a chest cold. So I really had to focus on my breathing. Anyway, that last 1.5 miles was really hard but I pulled threw and finished in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I will probably try again in a month or two. I will FOR SURE train better though.
Woke up Sunday and felt like a truck hit me. My calves, shins, quads & stomach muscles were VERY sore. My shin splints hurt SO SO SO BAD!!! So I've rested as much as I could this week and will try to run a couple miles today and work back into it. All in all I'm so glad I did it!

Race for the cure (5k)

Tasha, Cala, Me & Karlene

Yes, we had a good time!

My 10k heading down the finish line

The whole crew! Cade, Dan, Cala, Jenny, Amy, Karlene & Me

Pinewood Derby

2009-05-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Collin had his pinewood derby on Tuesday. We used his car from last year (per his request). Bruce went with him this time along with Jordon. I said home with Sienna. Bruce helped Collin adjust the car some and what do ya know Collin took 2nd place overall. He was thrilled!!!

Mother's Day

2009-05-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day I got to sleep in till 9am when the kids came in shouting 'Happy Mother's Day' bringing me breakfast in bed. Bruce had slaved away making french toast and I was rather surprised at his presentation. I think some has been secretly been watching the Food Network. LOL
After we all got ready for the day we took flowers to my Mother's grave and spent the rest of the day chilling. Thanks hubby & my sweet kiddos!