Two blog worthy events

First big event! Last week my baby turned 3!! I know he is not such a baby anymore but he still seems that way to me. Can I tell you how much I love 3 year old birthdays? There are no expectations, no asking for huge presents, no planning gigantic birthday parties, just the simple little things. He loved every little toy we got him. His favorite presents were from Tyler and Sydney. They each gave him something of theirs. Tyler gave him his Flash wristband and McKay has been wearing it ever since! I think that was his favorite thing! Sydney wrapped up one of her old dolls, I am not sure he really loved that but it was sure thoughtful of Syd. We had cake and ice cream at the Jones home and celebrated McKay and Brooke's (cousin) birthdays together! I really am still in denial that he is already 3, but he is such a sweetheart, he is kind of the center of attention around here. He keeps us laughing a lot. He tells it like it is and sometimes that might not be such a good thing. For instance, he was playing at the neighbors house the other day and this is how the conversation went: they were talking about dads for some reason?

Neighbors mom: "Mckay, where is your dad or what is he doing, is he at work?" Something to that effect.
Mckay's response: "He is at home right now farting."

My neighbor didn't quite know what to say to that response, she thought maybe she misunderstood him, so she asked again and she said it sounded pretty straight forward. What a character, I am not quite sure where that came from but that's our little birthday boy!! We couldn't imagine life without this little guy. He keeps us on our toes and gives us comic relief daily.

Onto our next big event--We finally see grass growing in our yard! As many of you know, we have been putting our yard in and it seems like it has taken an eternity! Yes, we have learned lots, mostly in patience, forgiveness and humility! Yes, Brent did an amazing job, considering he really had no idea what he was doing in the beginning!! Yes, it has turned out beautiful! Yes, we have saved lots of money, but spent a lot as well! And Yes, we are still married! No, we will never do this again!! I repeat myself, hopefully we will never do this again!! Thanks to the family for all their hard work. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Here are some pictures for pure entertainment. I will say, I think the guys had fun driving the bobcat, backhoe, etc. and acting like they knew what ther were doing but I don't think anyone enjoyed digging trenches and shoveling what seemed like a million wheelbarrows of dirt.:) I am so thrilled this project is coming to an end, at least until spring right?!? There is always another project to be done!



Do you see the little green fuzz, yup that's grass!!


Happy Fall to all!

Another summer comes to an end!!

I know we are in the middle of September but I think I am in denial that our care free summer days are completely over!! We had such a fun summer and one day I might sit down and actually blog about it, but it probably won't happen!! So I thought I would at least post some pictures of my kids on their first day of school, I am always behind!!

Tyler started third grade and was very excited to get a guy teacher who he heard was very cool, we will see.

I could barely get Tyler to hold still for one picture, therefore here is the one and only picture!

Sydney finally started Kindergarten and could hardly stand waiting the extra week after Tyler's schoool started. She loves it and goes with lots of kids in the neighborhood. We live really close to the school so the kids walk to and from school.






McKay thinks he is in school as well because a few moms in the neighborhood take turns once a week taking the kids and doing activities etc. with them. It is good for him to be with little kids his age instead of living in a grown-up kid world of Hannah Montana/Super Mario Smash Brothers or whatever it is called. He thinks he is way older than he really is.:) For heaven sakes he is barely old enough to be potty trained, Yes we conquered it. He is officially potty trained! No kids in diapers, wow!


Now that summer is over I am sure there will be something else that I will use for an excuse when it comes to lack of blogging!

The 4th of July

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays if not my very favorite!! I love getting up early and going to the balloons (although this year we didn't quite make it, stayed up too late the night before doing fireworks), watching the parade, having BBQ's, swimming, doing fireworks. I love it all!! We had lots of fun this year! We were able to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Adams and just relax! Hope you all enjoyed the 4th!!


This face is so McKay.



Dad and Ty at the parade.

Sydney posing, what she does best.


Honestly Tyler, so gross!! Other favorite Uncle Mark.

2 Uncles at the same place, I guess we were at the cool place for fireworks.

Annual 4th of July family photo. :)

SPARKLERS!

At Grandpa and Grandma's.

The good old parade.

Summer Fun!!

Becca and Sydney lived in their swim suits.

  Jacob and McKay have a love/hate relationship.

Uncle Brady is the favorite.

McKay chilling with the girls.

A little too much fun at the lake.

Grandpa D. was always out in the lake with the kids.:)

Where does the time go??? Well a re-cap of the month of June. It seems like we were practically gone the entire month. We started with the kids swimming lessons. We are very happy to say, that with lots of tears and much drama, Sydney officially has conquered her fear of putting her head under the water. Actually by the end she was jumping off the diving board. This is HUGE if you know Sydney! :) My boys love the water so this was quite the event that I wasn't used to.

Next we had the Duncan Reunion. We had lots of fun boating and playing with cousins down south. My sis, Jen, and I also ran a 10K in the summer games and we had fun cheering for Todd and Brady when they did their triathalon. Watching it made me really want to do a triathalon, can someone please teach me how to swim, that part looks really tough!! I feel so lucky to have such great extended family who we really love to be with and have so much fun together! We missed two of my brothers and their families, we love you Paul and Clint and fams!!

June came to an end with a surprise. I ended up running the Wasatch Back Relay, something I have always wanted to do and probably never would have, but my neighbor knocked on my door at 10:30 the night before and said someone had dropped out last minute on their team and they needed someone to run. I am not sure what possessed me to say yes but I did and we had so much fun, I really want to do it again next year. I have lived in Utah all my life and I have never seen so much beauty. The scenery was amazing!! I was so sad I didn't have my camera.
As soon as I get some pics of this race, I will post them. I am sure I looked wasted in most of them seeing as I think I got a couple of hours of sleep over the 2 days.

Needless to say we are having a fun-filled summer and I can't believe it is already half over. I am not going to think about it yet and just enjoy the rest of our playing days.

Newport Beach

We have been home now for several weeks but I had to write about what a great time we had in Newport Beach. Brent's family rents a beach house every year right on the beach and we absolutely love every minute of it. Some highlights of the trip include:

-Playing in the sand and boogie boarding. My kids couldn't get enough of the beach!!
-Going to see the Newport temple, it was so beautiful.
-Putting kids to bed and playing games with the adults.
-Running on the boardwalk, it was perfect weather.
-Our little boat ride around balboa island. The kids driving the boat with Grandpa Adams.
-Squeezing in a day at Disneyland with the Hawkins cousins. Watching McKay's face light up every time he saw Mickey Mouse.
-Enjoying sitting on the deck and watching the sunsets while listening to the waves of the ocean. So beautiful, I was in my happy place.
-Spending time in Las Vegas with the Hawkins family.
-Just enjoying time with the Adams family since we don't see them as often as we would like.


Thanks Grandpa and Grandma A.!!

Here are a few pictures from our trip.



**Now back to real life and finishing the sprinklers so we can get our yard in. I am starting to wonder if the yard is ever going to come together. Every time we plan a big yard day the weather doesn't cooperate. Oh-well that's life, wish us luck!! :)

"I like Tyler" /Sydney's graduation

It's Mckay's new favorite line...."I like Tyler." Yes he does like Tyler but this actually translates to McKay wanting to do everything like Tyler these days. Every time Tyler puts on his under armor shirt, for soccer, McKay then goes and gets his swimmer shirt that he thinks is an under armor shirt. He follows these kids everywhere and thinks he can do everything they can do. His latest is getting on Tyler's powerwheel when nobody is watching and he is a crazy man on it. I will admit he is pretty good on it but I think my neighbors might think I am one of those moms who let their children in the road and allows them to be unsupervised way too much!! I think he might drive the other kids crazy when they are playing the wii because of course Mckay thinks he needs to play tennis, soccer or any of the above. Tyler and Sydney are really great siblings to McKay. We really get a laugh out of our little McKay, although I am realizing he is not so little anymore. (so sad)!!

The other night Tyler decided he wanted a buzz, he did need a haircut but I wasn't quite ready for the summer buzz yet, but of course Tyler talked Brent into giving him one so next thing you know McKay comes walking out with a buzz as well, talk about traumatizing, I am now used to my little scalped boys and I figure the maintenance is great!!:)
Here are some pics of Tyler and his sweet tag along little brother Mckay.




The BYU boys!!

My scalped boys!!!

And here is our preschool graduate:

My little Sydney is officially done with preschool and she is very ready to start Kindergarten after  going to 2 years of preschool. It has been so fun being able to have some alone time with Sydney. When she would come home from school McKay would be asleep and we would just talk or read together or play. I have really enjoyed being able to spend this time with her. Sydney has always been so good to entertain herself so at times I  sometimes feel guilty  and think I don't spending enough time with my middle child (maybe this stems from me being a middle child) :) so it has really been great for us to have this time together. McKay has also loved having her home with him to play. Here are some pictures of her.

Syd and the pig!!  Syd would love to actually live on a farm.

Sydney and her cousin Becca

Practicing the lip pose!:) We've both done better!

***Why is May so crazy busy, anyone else feeling it???

Spring Break Fun

Well this last week we went down south looking for some sun and warmth! We stayed at Jen (my sister) and Todd's house the first night in Cedar and then we headed down to St. George for a couple of days. My kids love to visit their cousins in Cedar City. Tyler could ride four wheelers and dirt bikes all day, and he did even though it was absolutely freezing. Sydney and Becca, her cousin, think they are sisters and love to be together and McKay loves to just be part of the party! We headed down to St. George on Monday and it was perfect weather. We had so much fun swimming and hiking. We also went and took a tour of the St. George temple. It was so beautiful!! I told my kids that when I was younger that is where I always wanted to get married. No, it didn't happen, we were married in the Bountiful. But I have always loved the St. George temple. The flowers were amazing and the sun was shining. Did I mention that I love the sun and I love flowers so it was a very therapeutic day! The next day was still warm but the wind about swept us away. Tyler and Brent went hiking on the red rocks and it was so windy that it was a little stressful. I didn't really want to see Tyler blow off of some cliff. McKay was distraught because he wanted to go with the boys on the big cliff but I said no way. Then there was Sydney, one little blow of the wind in her face and she was right back in the car! We had lots of laughs and just enjoyed a little rest and relaxation!

Easter Excitement

Just one little story that made my whole easter...a proud mom moment. We were doing an easter egg hunt at my parents and I put a dollar bill (I know I am a big spender!) in 3 of the eggs so each kid would get one. At the end of the easter egg hunt, Tyler and Brooke had found 2 of the 3 eggs with the money but Sydney did not have one yet and they had searched high and low. Needless to say Sydney was very sad that she did not get an egg with a dollar bill in it. Next thing I knew, I heard Tyler say, "Sydney, look what I found,"and he points to an egg on the ground. She was so excited to get this egg, it made her whole day. I couldn't believe that Tyler had taken his money and egg and pretended to hide it and give it to her. It was very sweet moment and it made me think that just maybe he gets what's really important in life more that I sometimes give him credit for. I have to celebrates these moments because I feel they are rare.

This One's for you MOM!!

Last Saturday my brother Brady and I ran in the Rex E Lee 5K run ( yes, he beat me by 2 or 3 minutes...dang him:)) and I was finally able to get some pictures of it. It was so much fun and really meant a lot to us. We ran this race for my mom who had a really rare form of neuro endocrine lung cancer this past fall. She was able to have a very painful surgery where they removed the spots of cancer in all 3 lobes of the lung. It was a very long procedure but we are so grateful that she is doing well and has had an amazing recovery!! My mom is an amazing woman and we were so honored to run on her behalf. Next year my dad and her promised they would meet us at the starting line and run/walk this race with us. We are going to hold them to their promise!!:)

We were also able to run this for our 8 year old neighbor boy, Drew, who is such a courageous cancer survivor!!

Mom and Dad, thanks for coming and supporting us in this race. I don't think my dad has ever missed one of my races. You guys are the best!

I have been HUSBAND tagged

Ok, so I have been husband tagged by Diana and I am so proud that I am actually responding. I am usually pathetic at these tag things. So here it goes:



What is his name? Brent David Adams
How long did you date? 3 years (way too long, I don't recommend it, but I will say we both knew what we were in for after that long.)
How long have you been married? 12 years on August 16th.
Who eats more sweets? That's a tough one. I think it depends on the day, I probably eat more sweets and he eats more desserts.
Who said I love you first? I honestly don't remember, I know that is so sad. I am sure it was him:)
Who is taller? Brent
Who is the better singer? I would have to say Brent, although he prefers nobody knows that.
Who is smarter? Brent knows very weird random facts and is known for knowing the answer to almost any question, but I 'd like to think I am smarter in some aspects of life.
Who does the laundry? Me. I think most of the laundry comes from him, but I usually do it.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.
Who mows the lawn? I have a little obsession with mowing the lawn, it is one of my favorite things to do. Brent does it on occasion, but I think my lines in the lawn always look better:)
Who cooks dinner? Me. Brent is not very picky and really could care less if I cook dinner which is a good thing, but if I put forth the effort and he has gone out for lunch and is not hungry... this drives me crazy!!
Who drives? It depends if he is tired. We both do.
Who is more stubborn? I would have to say I am more stubborn. He is silently stubborn and I am more vocal. It is so annoying, I wish sometimes he would just get mad!
Who kissed who first? Brent kissed me on like our second date, a little forward don't you think?
Who asked who out? Brent asked me out.
Who proposed? Brent finally!!
Who is more sensitive? I am much more emotional and up and down than he is but he is very sensitive and very aware of people's feelings.
Who has more siblings? I have 5 siblings and Brent has 3
Who wears the pants? I think we are a pretty good balance, he might beg to differ :)

He is such a good guy!!!

I now tag Kristen, Jordan, Heather J. and Kim

Friday Night Fun Issue

I have this issue with feeling like we should always be doing something fun and exciting on Friday and/or Saturday nights. I think it goes way back. According to my mom, I was never home on weekends. Ever since the fifth grade my friends always had something planned. We started out going to high school basketball games with the Gardner's and as the years passed it seemed we always had something planned for the weekend. I remember on one of my birthdays in junior high a bunch of kids were going snow skiing and my parents wouldn't let me go, I thought I was going to die! Yes, I said junior high:) Anyway, I still sometimes have issues with just being home on a weekend night and yet lately at times it is just easier:) So these are some pictures from our fun relaxing Friday night.

Tyler had a little fun with the camera. Lately I have been checking out some girls on facebook for my cute single brother and I think every girl on there does this lip picture pose thing. I think it is kind of funny. I don't quite do the pose justice:) ME, once again in the kitchen, I am sure cleaning up number ? mess of the day.


I have no idea how Brent is actually sleeping.


The kids decided to make a secret hide out under the bathroom sink. They took a flash light and told stories in the dark. Oh, to be a kid again!



Tyler and Mckay then thought it would be fun to spike their hair. They both need haircuts so they thought it was pretty cool.

A good southern cooked meal

Last night we had the chance to feed some of the youth in our ward for missionary month. We had lots of fun and I have to say I broadened my southern cooking skills. Actually I don't think that I had any southern cooking skills so it was a learning experience. Brent went on his mission to South Carolina and has always told me he liked chicken and dumplings and biscuits and gravy and all this Southern food and the great wife that I am always thought these foods didn't sound that appetizing so I never bothered trying to cook them. I now admit I was somewhat wrong. I now realized I just had to put forth a little effort and try something outside of my little box. So I had this great idea that I would make a sample of all these things including fried chicken. So here is where my experience started. The chicken and dumplings turned out pretty good and I really actually liked the biscuits and gravy but I have to be honest about the chicken. So here it goes, when I told Tyler we were going to have fried chicken this was his response, "Mom are you cooking it or are you buying it at KFC, because I really like KFC's better." (you gotta love kids honesty). So yup you guessed it, I wimped out and went for the easy way out, KFC all the way. In the end I was really glad Tyler made the suggestion because boy it saved lots of time and stress:) Well now that I have confessed that I somewhat cheated I feel much better but personally I think I made the right decision:) The dinner turned out great and my kids and I had fun trying foods that Brent ate all the time on his mission. I don't think we will be eating biscuits and gravy or grittz every morning for breakfast or anything but it's always fun to try something different.

This did make me realize how sometimes I get into cooking ruts and tend to cook the same things over and over so if any of you have any good recipes (easy and good) feel free to send them my way!!