The Christi and Joe Bradshaw Family

Halloween fun

2011-11-01T06:57:00.006-07:00

Almost a year has gone by...

2011-08-21T17:14:00.004-07:00

Some things have happened, just a couple! Really, the biggest is that Noah has had his eye surgery, and we think it went well. Both of his eyes are tracking together, and he's as rambunctious as ever anyway, so nothing has slowed him down. Here are some random pictures from recently, enjoy!

Christi and I rode the Williams, AZ train to the Grand Canyon. We had fun figuring out our new camera.

Noah has been fishing and it is a test for his patience to be sure!

Some of the grandchildren at the annual Bradshaw Easter-egg hunt.

You'll have to ask them what these faces mean. Goofy!

Hiking in Snow Canyon outside of St. George, UT. Really a blast for hikers of all ages, the kids had a good time.

for the love of the game...

2010-10-21T08:28:00.004-07:00

So, I have been trying to get the boys away from playing video games so much. In particular, they love Lego Indiana Jones. It is a fun game but I think it is starting to affect how they act (more grouchiness and hitting than usual), and that is why I recently informed them that they would be taking a long break from Indiana Jones. Of course, Joshua fell apart over this. He cried and got it out of his system. A little later in the day, Josh came up to me and said (quite seriously), "Mom, I don't hit because of Indiana Jones, I hit because I don't know how to be like Jesus." The look he game me was that I really should just teach him to be like Jesus. Hello? We are trying to do that every day! At least I know he is listening during FHE even when he is flopping all over. It must be leaking into his head somehow. Oh boy, was I laughing inside! My response, "That's sweet honey, but no. No Indiana Jones." He didn't win this time...little stinker.

Not so "Noah-proof"...

2010-10-19T08:40:00.002-07:00

We got our bendy glasses for Noah, and well, I think they lasted all of two weeks. He discovered twisting them had no effect (other than making it hard for them to stay on his face). So he found a new way to destroy them. He decided to throw them in the rocks in the backyard. So yeah, they had about 5-10 good size scratches on each lens. Good thing we paid for the one year warranty. So once again...we wait for the new ones.

2 sets of glasses...two days

2010-09-20T10:33:00.003-07:00

Noah has done it. He has topped the destruction record for our family (or at least come close; the dumped honey bottle on the couch is still burned in my memory). He broke two sets of eyeglasses in two days. And this is not the "Ooops! I stepped on them!" or anything like that. The first pair had already endured that kind of abuse. No...this is the "I'm going to sit in the back of the car and twist and bend and mangle them till they bust!" We got our butts back to Wal-mart and immediately ordered a new pair of glasses. This time we got the bendy kind (let's hope they're Noah proof cause they aren't cheap). Joe got him a pair of cheap reading glasses for the meantime. Well, "the meantime" didn't last very long because the next day he did the same thing...back of the car...twist and mangle...and broken. He did it because he said he wanted his "new" ones. Oh...new glasses please get here soon!

Noah is full of surprises

2010-08-09T16:39:00.002-07:00

I just had to laugh today when we had dropped Jessica off at school. I got the everyone back in the car to go home and of course, Noah does not want to put his seatbelt on. *Sigh* I counted to three and then grabbed his belt to put it on for him. He snatched it away from me and said, "I'm gonna do it...you bully!" ...awesome...

beautiful baby

2010-07-16T12:18:00.002-07:00

Natalie--5 months old

My cute kids

2010-06-05T07:59:00.004-07:00

Here's just a handful of the wonderful pictures that Grandma B took recently. Thanks Grandma for taking our pictures. We all had a lot of fun (well, maybe not Natalie so much)! Thanks!

a good little laugh

2010-04-29T20:16:00.002-07:00

I had a good laugh today. I told the boys to get ready to take their shower. I let them shower in our room since their bathroom's shower doesn't work. I followed shortly behind them. When I came into the bathroom I just saw Joshua. I said, "Where's Noah?" And out pops Noah from behind the dresses hanging in my closet butt naked saying, "Here I am!" How could I be upset at such a funny declaration! lol

just random stuff

2010-04-12T14:35:00.005-07:00

Pictures from our day at the dairy farm on Fun Friday. We got to ride on bales of hay led by tractor to tour the farm. This is the kids playing on the playset. Everyone was having a great time, except for Joshua who was absolutely crushed that his sister was too busy playing with everybody else.

We are loving Natalie's smiles! She is now 3 months old and about 12 lbs. She is our little Gerber baby...

This picture is evidence that, once again, my 2 year old has been snooping in the fridge!
These are pictures of the chocolate egg that Grandma got us for Easter from that sweet little candy shop in Springdale, UT. It was a dinosaur egg and it had chocolate baby dinosaurs on the inside...very fun for the kiddos.

Zion National Park trip

2010-03-19T23:59:00.003-07:00

Here are pictures from our recent trip to Zion National Park. We got to get out of the city, visit Grandma, go on hikes, enjoy nature...we loved it! So here it is!

The family picture is of us at the end of the trail that led to the Narrows. This is just the paved hike of course, but maybe someday we will actually hike back into the Narrows...who knows!

Is it just me or do my kids look like they are trying to demonstrate the whole "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil" thing? lol

Having fun at the motel...
Grandma brought lots of fun toys for the kiddos to play with. In fact, between the fun toys and the motel being so nice, that is where the kids wanted to be and what they wanted to do.

face painting fun...just because

2010-03-09T11:29:00.002-07:00

Here is what we did for FHE last night! Here's our monkey, clown, and lion...

Just like Hawaii!!!

2010-02-21T14:47:00.002-07:00

My husband bought a bunch of cheap straws so the kids could get excited about drinking everyday drinks, you know like water. The first time our two oldest used a straw in their drinks, they exclaimed: "This is just like Hawaii!"

2010-02-06T21:46:00.002-07:00

My two year old son's first words to me this morning (which he said in all seriousness) were "Mom, something is wrong with me." We have cracked up all day about it because that is all he said and then he just walked away. lol.

2010-02-04T16:38:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures that Grandma and Grandpa took this last week!

2010-01-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

She's finally here!

2010-01-12T00:54:00.005-07:00

Natalie Jenae Bradshaw was born January 8th at 10:30pm. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and is 20 inches long. So far she's really interested in looking around and she already prefers sitting up and seeing everything!

2009-12-03T08:11:00.002-07:00

I did a lot of laughing last night seeing all the mistakes I made! Oh well! It is still fun to do...besides, I'm learning, right? Next step...piece the backing. :)

Quilting progress

2009-11-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

It may not be perfect...but it's progress!

Halloween

2009-11-01T17:05:00.001-07:00

Cousins

2009-10-18T20:14:00.001-07:00

Don't faint, but we got them all to sit still...at least for a few minutes!

2009-10-15T20:17:00.003-07:00

This is what you get pictures of when you discover that your 5 year old at some point had some fun with your camera! I thought she did a pretty decent job...I totally expected to see a lot of pics of the floor, ceiling, and little fingers!

They listen...sort of

2009-10-02T12:51:00.002-07:00

At church on Sunday was the Primary program which left us with just Noah to watch while the others participated in the program. He behaved pretty well, but was absorbed into the books and toys we brought for him. I would've never thought he was listening. But when a little girl stood up and said her line in the program it included the word "peaceably". I immediately heard Noah say his interpretation of what he heard, which was "piece of me." He continued to ramble on about "you wanna piece of me?" It was too funny!

Quilting stuff

2009-09-25T15:13:00.001-07:00

I am going to try my hand at quilting. Wish me luck...here are my fabrics!

infomercials...

2009-09-21T08:24:00.004-07:00

My kids love infomercials! We'll be in the middle of lunch and they will hear one on TV in the other room and hop down and go running to see which one it is. Over the last couple of years we have been begged for nearly everything sold on TV and they have told Joe and I to get some Iron Abs thing, the Heel Stick, and more. My favorite occurrence happened just the other day. Have you seen the cash 4 gold ad? Jessica thinks it is a cure all. She asked for something the other day (I so wish I could remember what) and my usual response was, "I'm sorry, honey, we don't have the money to buy that." To which she quickly responded, "Then sell all of your gold! All you have to do is put it in an envelope and then we'll have the money!" I was trying so hard not to bust up because she was dead serious and so excited about her wonderful solution. I said, "But honey, the only gold I have is my ring." "That's okay. Put it in the envelope, then we'll have money!"

2009-09-15T16:36:00.003-07:00

I think Noah is a little confused. All day long he has come up to me saying "Look mom, my cheeks." Upon immediately inspecting his face and my make-up bag I decided he must have been imagining that he had put some of my make-up on because there was no sign of my blush being used. Well, I just caught him in the act. I heard "Look Mom, my cheeks" and saw him rubbing Daddy's deodorant on his cheeks! No wonder I didn't see any makeup on him! Oh well!

Mr. Mischief

2009-09-13T17:46:00.004-07:00

It is no wonder that one of Noah's favorite shirts has monkeys on it and says "Mischief Maker." Here is some recent proof of his mischief! Yes, he did cut his hair, but at least it was just with Jessica's blunt kid scissors! And the last picture is typical of what happens after a long day of mischief.

Getting to know you...getting to know ALL about you

2009-09-04T20:58:00.002-07:00

So, since we have been realigned into a new ward, the Primary presidency of our new ward came by to meet the kids and give us their teachers names, etc. They of course, asked questions to get to know the kids like, "What is your favorite food?" and "What is your favorite thing to do?". When it came time for Noah, this sister asked our two oldest kids to tell her something about Noah. "What does he like to do?" she asked. To which our daughter immediately responded, "Take off his diaper." I don't think that was what they were looking for!

International Waffle Day!

2009-07-13T19:45:00.003-07:00

Our friends had a cool idea to find an obscure holiday associated with food and invite friends over to eat, in this case, an international waffle day! Here are our photos...

camping pictures

2009-07-06T14:40:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures from our recent camping trip.

All tuckered out...

2009-06-25T18:48:00.003-07:00

Amazingly, I didn't find any crayon marks on the couch or the walls when I found him like this!

A great song...

2009-06-25T17:37:00.001-07:00

Check out this song, someone sent us the link recently.

pictures of time with Grandma, sticky marshmallows and just everday life!

2009-05-15T20:02:00.006-07:00

I can tell that I've been lacking blogging motivation when I see that my husband has done the last two posts! Here are some recent pictures...

I think the picture below of Joshua is so funny, but only because I know the story behind it. After a long ride in the car we sent Joshua into the front room to put his shoes away in the closet before he went into his room and climbed into bed. He must've been pretty tired because when I didn't find him in his bed, I found him curled up by the entertainment center!
These are some desert pictures...lots of sticky marshmallows!

This is the boys thinking they own my bed! Seriously, Noah crawled in under the covers and pretended that was totally his spot!

Noah stopped taking naps (unless we go for a car ride). Everyday for a week or so, he was falling asleep in the middle of lunch!

Brian Regan"s Best

2009-05-12T01:04:00.004-07:00

Sneak attack!

2009-03-26T08:06:00.004-07:00

This is my attempt to post on my own family's blog! Don't expect too much, kind of like a low-budget film, and you'll be surprised!

We went to a great dinner yesterday, put on by one of our neighbor's. They like waffles, apparently, so they set up about ten tables and 60 chairs in their backyard, invited the neighborhood over, and served waffles to everyone. Of course our children enjoyed the dinner of almost straight sugar, but more than that, Christi and I enjoyed talking with one of our neighbors that we didn't know very well. It made us realize that we shouldn't cut ourselves off from our neighbors, that maybe we could at least make new acquaintances, if not new friends. So, Christi and I are resolved to have our own backyard party and invite neighbors. I'm sure the kids will love it: they already get excited about anyone who comes over.

funny kid

2009-03-13T22:36:00.002-07:00

Why is it that it can take months to teach a child to say "Amen", but the first time you say the word "stupid" in front of them, they can repeat it perfectly? And not just once either. I was talking about something and said it was stupid (I know, my mistake) and my 18 month old said the word instantly, perfectly...and repititiously, of course. Oh well...

Right now Noah is in the stage of repeating everything he hears, although no one would ever know it since he is so quiet around other people most of the time. I love listening to them learn to sing. Oh, it melts my heart! Today's song was "London bridge is falling down" which sung by him is just the words "falling down" sung over and over again and his cute little body bobbing up and down...I love it!

adventures in toothpaste

2009-03-09T12:54:00.003-07:00

I don't know exactly when it began, but I believe our children have a certain fascination with toothpaste. Through the years it has been found many places outside of the bathroom and outside of our childrens' mouths. Today's adventure in toothpasting took place in the kids' bedroom. They snuck it out of the bathroom when I thought they had taken early morning potty breaks. Yes, I know, I left it out of the medicine cabinet, but honestly, do you think there is much that can stop truly determined kids? Anyway, I went to get them up and dressed and found blue toothpaste smeared on the wall, on a bed, all over the rugs, and of course on the top of the boys' heads! Yay...just what I was hoping for, right? hehe. Our other adventures in toothpaste include painting a sink, painting and end table, and my favorite is filling toys. Yes, the last time we had a toothpaste adventure was right after Christmas. The kids had gotten a hand sized button that you pushed and it was Hallmark's Hoops and Yoyo making wise cracks and being funny. Cool toy...for the short time we had it. Not long after Christmas, the kids popped the batteries out, took it into the bathroom and filled the battery compartment with bright pink toothpaste! I will appreciate their ingenuity later...right? Anyway, never a dull moment!

a new kind of tag

2009-03-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

With our kids being quite close in age, there is usually a lot of noise in our house. Jessica and Joshua in particular, are always aruging back and forth, teasing, chasing...all the typical brother/sister relationship stuff. One day recently it was particularly quiet. This is usually when my "mom radar" goes off to tell me that mischief must be afoot! I made my way into the living room to find a game of tag going on and lots of laughter and giggling. Huh? Where is all the shouting and screaming? Then I saw it. One of the kids pushed the other one up against the couch, kissed them on the cheek and said "you're it!" Aaaah...kissing tag! They have a good ole time and Mom likes that it reduces the amount of shouting, screaming, and hitting that their competitive nature usually brings out. I think I owe my thanks to Sleeping Beauty for this one, since I have also heard them say, "No, you can't kiss Mom! She's not sleeping!" Anyway, it is innocent and fun and I am sure they will be back to their regular pushing and shoving soon enough anyway!

recent pics

2009-02-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

Pay it forward

2009-02-15T15:43:00.001-07:00

Here is a fun thing that I saw on a friend's blog. If you would like to do it with me, please leave a comment!
Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me.What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. (Or you can cut and paste from this one like I did)
Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and wait to receive your fun gift!! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so hurry, hurry, hurry!

Old Testament laughs

2009-02-09T13:12:00.002-07:00

So, the other night we were reading the Old Testament reader with the kids. Now, my kids do their best but it takes a lot to retain their attention. So we do things like have them say the peoples' names or places to keep them tuned in. Well, we were reading the story of Esther and when I went to have the kids repeat her name, Jessica got it, but Joshua said, "Es-dirt." We chuckled and said, "No. It's Esther." He said, "Es-turd." We laughed and laughed! Eventually he got it, but I just thought it was too funny...Es-turd!

sleeping habits

2009-01-08T10:28:00.001-07:00

Noah has hit the stage where he doesn't want to sleep by himself anymore, can ya tell? I think it is just adorable!

What's up Scooby Doo?

2009-01-06T07:56:00.002-07:00

For Christmas, Grandma bought Joshua some Scooby Doo DVDs. Needless to say, the kids fell in love with them and watched them over and over again. The other day at breakfast, Joshua was singing something that was a little difficult to recognize at first and then the light bulb came on in my brain and I understood. It goes a little something like this..."Na-na-na-na-na, what's up scooby doo. What's up Scooby Doo they're coming after you, na-na-na solve the mystery...what's up Scooby Doo. The "na-na's" are some of the words he uses and maybe a little the ones mom can't understand. It is such a crack up! If you have ever heard Joshua talk or sing the words often melt together and he does it with this adorable smile on his face. Anyway, it's just one of those things a mom loves and makes her smile when she thinks about it! It is now a song that is sung on and off throughout the whole day. :)

pictures

2008-12-16T13:18:00.005-07:00

Look out! Here come a lot of pictures...it's about time, I know!

This is Joshua showing off his backyard treasure and the next one shows Jessica showing off her backyard treasure. Don't you love the difference between boys and girls??

I think it is just too cute when kids fall asleep while eating!

The new p.j.'s my hubby could not resist buying.

holiday tag

2008-12-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Holiday Tag

I have never done a tag, but I saw this on a family site and thought it would be fun to do.

1.Eggnog or Hot Chocolate: Eggnog definitely. I love hot chocolate too, but the heartburn it brings me leaves me saying "no thanks."

2.Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Who is Santa? We try to stay away from that sort of stuff. We have fun looking at the Santa decorations in the store, but our kids don't send letters and we don't label any presents from him either. I guess we are party poopers! :)

3.Colored or white lights on tree and house? White lights on the tree.

4.Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.

5.When do you put your decorations up? Usually right after Thanksgiving or around December 1st.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Who can pick just one favorite? I love them all. I think I look forward to buttermilk pie and all the fruity jello type salads. I am also on a huge cranberry kick!

7.Favorite holiday memory as a child: I don't know.

8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I kept finding my letters to Santa around the house from years past and realized they never got sent.

9.Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Always. I love getting a little preview of the fun to come.

10.How do you decorate your Christmas tree? We use small white lights, red and green glass bulbs, and ribbon bows. We also buy each child an ornament for every Christmas and so far we are still hanging them on the tree (eventually we will save them for when they have their own tree.

11.Snow. Love it? or Dread it? Love it as long as I don't have to drive in it!

12.Can you ice skate? Yes. Although I am pretty pitiful at it.

13.Do you remember your favorite gift? My favorite gift is just a funny one. Hopefully Joe won't be mad at me for sharing this. Before we got married we had been dating for a while and so we exchanged Christmas gifts. One of the gifts he got me was a set of bath towels. Bless his heart, I thought it was so odd and funny. He just explained that he had noticed when using the bathroom at my apartment one time, that I did not have a lot of towels and thought it was a practical gift. Growing up as an only child, you don't need a lot of towels. But in a family of twelve kids he was used to there being a lot of them! hahaha. I still think it is funny. Even though I didn't mean to, I know I must've made a funny face.

14.What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Probably being with family.

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert? I love all desserts...can't pick just one.

16.What is your favorite holiday tradition? It is hard to pick just one but I love having sour cream coffee cake on Christmas morning. My family always made us eat breakfast first and then open presents. Breakfast couldn't go fast enough when I was a child, but I love it now. We also go slow and take turns opening presents one at a time.

17.What tops your tree? A simple gold star.

18.Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. I really like giving someone something and seeing them enjoy it.

19.What is your favorite Christmas song? That is a tough one. Anything from O Holy Night, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bell Rock...

20.Candy Canes? Yuck or Yum? Yum.

2008-11-24T06:33:00.003-07:00

We're alive...just in a total posting slump! Maybe I will post some pictures of Thanksgiving when we all look fat and happy! hahaha

Halloween pictures

2008-11-06T10:21:00.002-07:00

Just some pics of the kids on Halloween. The kids went as a ballerina princess, Buzz Lightyear, and Flash.

We don't call him "little no-no" for nothin'...

2008-10-30T09:06:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, I put Noah in his room for a few minutes so I could get a little laundry done without him undoing things faster than I could get them done. As I was walking to the laundry room my nose smelled a familiar smell. "Desitin? Why am I smelling Desitin?" I had placed a tube on a shelf in their closet. I guess it must've been knocked down by one of the older kids because this is what I found...

What a mess!

kid pics

2008-10-24T22:50:00.002-07:00

The kids are just loving having a backyard and grass!

Another thing the kids enjoy doing--watching Daddy play video games. It is pretty funny how much they like it.

The difference between boys and girls...

2008-10-23T14:57:00.002-07:00

I love how having boys adds a whole new dimension to the girly world I am used to. Here is a conversation the kids had this morning.

(Our neighbors dog was barking...)

Jessica says: "The dog says 'Hi. Ruff, ruff (said in a high pitched, cutesy voice).'"

Joshua says (in his deep and serious voice): "The dog says, 'You're a poop.'"

How my life has been blessed with many odd conversations about poop, farts, and other gross things thanks to Joshua. And I am also grateful, though, that it hasn't worn off too much on Jessica!

what a goofball

2008-10-14T15:20:00.007-07:00

It has been an exciting day. Noah, especially has been getting into a little trouble. This is what I found when I got him up from his afternoon nap... Oh yeah, that is his sister's clean undies. If he can find any he will cuddle them, bite them, whatever. Today he chose to sleep with them. (They look like little arm floaties :) )

This next picture is what I saw when I came out of the room earlier on in the day....

and yes, he was eating the cereal out of the vacuum cylinder.

2008-10-08T20:26:00.002-07:00

Do you ever load up your plate with a lot of stuff and then look back and say, hmmm, maybe I am crazy to take this all on? For instance, we still haven't finished unpacking, my 1 year old is now walking and getting into everything, sewing Halloween costumes, and potty training my 3 year old is currently on my plate! And keep on eating, breathing, and cleaning up messes of course! Anyway, I just think it is kind of funny. I do well though when there are goals and things to accomplish. Oh, and so far the potty training is going pretty well...cross your fingers that he catches on quick!

favorite things

2008-10-06T15:02:00.002-07:00

I am enjoying a new "favorite" thing. Our vacuum busted and since we just moved into a house that is all tile with rugs we went in search of a new vacuum. We bought a super lightweight, plug in vacuum that has one setting for floors and another one for carpet. It's quiet and the best part is the kids love it! This morning I went to vacuum up the tile and the Jessica and Joshua wanted to do it. Hmm, "Okay." They took turns and vacuumed up the tile while I did the dishes...awesome!!! I know their fascination might end tomorrow, but for today, I am enjoying it!

kid talk

2008-10-03T09:54:00.002-07:00

Just a quick note, Joshua has now modified an English word to suite his own taste. The word because is now but-i-cause...I love it. I love it when kids have their own language!

funny things kids say...

2008-09-16T11:46:00.002-07:00

I have three little ones, so I am used to hearing them try to tell me what they want, what to do, and how to (or not to) do things. This is a funny exchange we had the other day. Mind you, they haven't watched Blue's Clues for quite some time. We were playing "I spy with my little eye", and it was Joshua's turn. He spied something pink, but after guessing what I thought was every pink thing in the room, I said:

Mom: I don't see anything else pink, dude. Tell me, I give up.
Jessica: No, Mom. Don't give up. Remember, Blue's Clues says "Don't give up, just move on."

It is a line out of a song off of Blues Clues that she hasn't watched in a long time. The funniest thing was that she was soooo serious about it. I just laughed! Nothing like getting advice from your four year old that she got from a TV show! :)

City of Ember

2008-09-12T14:01:00.003-07:00

For those of you with the same taste in books as me, I was thrilled when I went to the movies last night and saw that they made a movie for the City of Ember book. The book is in a set of three (City of Ember, People of Sparks, and Prophet of Yonwood). I can't believe I didn't put this on my favorite books list yet; I loved the first two books but the third was a little weird for me. It has a really unique story; I told Joe we must see it! It comes out October 10th. I just hope that the movie stays true to the book...

pajama party

2008-09-06T11:51:00.002-07:00

I almost forgot! Last night I had a pajama party with the kids...so fun! It started out that I just wanted to get the kids ready for bed when I noticed it was still a little early. So in order to get them to put their p.j.'s on I told them we were going to have a pajama party. They were elated! They saw a Max and Ruby episode a while ago where they had a pajama party, so I knew just what they wanted...dancing. So we all put our pj's on and blasted bouncy Strawberry Shortcake soundtrack music from our DVD player with the surround sound on, of course. They loved it! I can't say that enough, and I had a lot of fun too. I can't tell you how long it has been that I have felt so carefree dancing with them and swinging them around. It was a beautiful moment that I hope to remember and thought I would share. Afterwards we played a quick game, read and prayed, and off to bed. Jessica was a little wound up and had a hard time going to bed, but the boys just crashed!

just Jessica...and Daddy's socks, of course!

2008-09-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

just relax...

2008-08-28T09:16:00.005-07:00

The kids got really hyper that last day at Grandma's house. Joe tried to calm them down by telling them to relax, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. This video is the result of Joe's instruction. It's funny because the kids liked it so much that I am still hearing them say, "Okay, just take a deep breath..." Sorry the video is so dark it is hard to see him; it's still funny though.

funny things kids say...

2008-08-27T10:45:00.002-07:00

I almost forgot!

Funny things kids say:

Yesterday after Noah got his first haircut, Jessica and Joshua were talking about it.

Jessica: "Noah's haircut looks like Joshua."
Joshua: "Yeah, he's so lucky."

Noah's first haircut and pics from our travels

2008-08-27T09:52:00.003-07:00

Before the haircut...
After the haircut...
Oh my goodness! I am still in shock over losing those beautiful curls and that nice shwoop in the front. I can't exactly figure out who he looks like now. I know he definitely looks more like Joshua... tell me what you think.

Here are some recent pics from our trip to Wyoming. I love this first picture; it melts my heart!

Shirleen, Sandy, us and my mom taking a picture while on the Chief Joseph Highway
And some more pictures on the way to Red Lodge, MT.

jello up the nose

2008-08-15T17:45:00.003-07:00

Now, if you read the title to this post I am sure you are assuming that one of my kids sucked their jell-o in too hard and it went up their nose. Oh, no, you are mistaken. The jell-o victim is me, I am ashamed to say. At the end of dinner tonight, we were all eating jell-o. I thought that it would be fun to show the kids how to suck the jell-o in with a good slurp sound. Call me crazy and childish but I think it is the joy of jell-o. That is when I sucked a little too hard. All I know is that something went somewhere because it is burning in the upper back part of my throat and nasal passage. So, word to the wise...if you are going to slurp, don't be a fool and slurp too hard! :)

just some pics

2008-08-13T19:06:00.002-07:00

Crazy sleeper kids...
Having fun with the new birthday toys...
Can you tell that there have been an arguement or two over this stuff?

picky eaters and plantains

2008-08-12T11:42:00.004-07:00

We decided to try something new last night and made Venezuelan food. I just planned on my kids not trying much, but of course they surprised me! They all loved the arepas ( it could have something to do with the fact that we put powdered sugar and honey on theirs...haha) but my pickiest eater, Jessica, loved the fried plaintains. Go figure...

Thanks...

2008-08-08T10:05:00.004-07:00

Just a thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Perrier, Aunt Lorelle and Uncle Bill, and Amy and family. Jessica loves the Littlest Pet Shop house and camping set that she was able to get with what you sent. What a great pick...she loves it! And Joshua too, of course. I don't think I have seen them have that much fun with a toy for awhile, and haven't heard as much arguing over a toy in a while too! ;) Joyful noises all the same! I will have pictures of it all up soon.

recipe blog

2008-08-02T00:05:00.002-07:00

I like to cook and try new recipes. It is even more fun to share what I like, so I have started up a blog to post some of our favorite recipes or new finds. It is www.nomacncheeseplease.blogspot.com .

stinky kid...i guess

2008-07-31T09:07:00.002-07:00

I forgot to write about something funny that happened the other day. Joe got off a little early in the morning so we decided to go out to lunch. It had been a while since we had gone out to eat so the kids were naturally bubbling over with energy at getting out of the house. They could not sit still in the booth. As they started to calm down, Jessica looked at us with a scrunched up nose and a smirk on her face and announced, "Joshua smells like Dolly!" For those of you who don't know, Dolly is grandma and grandpa's dog. We just cracked up! I guess Joshua wasn't smelling too great...I hadn't noticed anything. The best part was that he just grinned and laughed like, "yeah, I know." What funny kids!

Birthday!

2008-07-27T19:28:00.002-07:00

Here are some fun pictures from Noah's birthday. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Perrier for the fun toys! I think that the older kids monopolized them for a little while but things will settle down, the excitement of a "new toy" in the house will be gone, and Noah can then play with his toys without interruption. ;) I let Daddy make the cake and he came up with a pretty cool frosted brownie cake made into an army war zone. The kids had a lot of fun. Here are the pictures to prove it!

ice cream...mmm

2008-07-20T17:52:00.005-07:00

Here are some pics of "little no-no", as we lovingly call him.

I think he was a little full and tired...what do you think? ;)
In Olivia's car seat, enjoying her toy.

Ice Cream Sunday

2008-07-14T09:32:00.002-07:00

Here is Jessica blocking out the noise from a "scary" movie. Any movie with loud music is scary!
Noah was so tired that he feel asleep at the kitchen table during dinner! Haha!
These are the mango smoothie drinks we made last night. We were trying to copy the iced mango drink from Cheesecake Factory. We used mangoes, passion fruit juice, ice, coconut flavoring, and mixed it with pureed frozen raspberries. It was pretty close, just not as icy, and they tasted great. I can't wait to try making them into popsicles...mmmmm!

the zipper

2008-07-10T16:39:00.003-07:00

Isn't it funny how each child does their own funny things? Or finds one thing fascinating while your other children weren't interested at all in it at that same age? I found out recently that Noah is immensely interested in the workings of a zipper. While continually unzipping the diaper bag can be a little annoying, it is nothing compared to having your own zipper unzipped! He loves to come over to me while I am sitting on the couch and unzip me. He unzips, I zip it up, he unzips, I zip it up...you get the picture! I have to get up and walk away so he will forget about it and leave me alone...what a nut!

One long blog entry...whew!

2008-07-06T19:48:00.007-07:00

So, I guess it has been a while since I last blogged. We took a trip to Wyoming to see my family for a couple of weeks. It was a lot of fun and the weather was much cooler there, of course! The kids had a lot of fun with grandma and grandpa and playing with the kids next door.

All in all, traveling with our three kids wasn't that bad. The older two did great; they watched movies and pretty much ate their way to Wyoming (with travel snacks galore). Noah, however, proved to be a little more difficult. He did not want to stay in his car seat and he let us know by screaming off and on throughout the trip. I was really grateful that we were able to go. As far as the car ride goes, my favorite part included the many versions of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" that the kids came up with. I found out that Old MacDonald has a lot of stuff. Anything from a cow to a butt (Joshua's favorite) to a pirate. There's nothing like hearing Jessica singing... "Old MacDonald had a farm e-i-e-i-o. And on that farm he had a pirate, e-i-e-i-o. With a aaaaaaaaargh here, and an aaaaargh there. Here an aaaargh, there an aaaaargh, everwhere an aaaaaargh...." I thought it was totally classic. I love the off the wall and unprovoked things that kids say and come up with.

On our way home, we stopped off at Martin's Cove. Joe has an ancestor that was part of those pioneers. He really wanted to stop and pull the handcart and the whole shebang. When we stopped the weather was great; not too sunny and only a few clouds in the sky. One of the missionaries informed us that it was five miles total (2 mi. of handcarting and around 3 mi. of walking) and that there was a 50% chance of rain that afternoon. Immediately my head shot up to the sky. Huh? Is he talking about that little grey cloud over there? Hmmm...we should be fine, but we better get moving. Of course, the covered handcarts were all taken. Anyway, we set off for grand adventure. It was a lot of fun I thought, and Joshua even fell asleep in the handcart! We dropped off the handcart after the 1 mi. mark and prepared for the hike. Once we started hiking it started to sprinkle. "Well, that's okay, just so long as it doesn't downpour. It's Wyoming, just wait five minutes and the weather will change, right?" Yes, but not to our liking. It was a nice hike though and beautiful and I enjoyed pondering, praying, and singing hymns to myself.

As you can imagine, the sprinkles only lasted for a little while and then it started to rain. Almost all of us are in shorts and t-shirts and Joe and Jessica are wearing flip flops and sandals (Joe does all activities in his flip-flops, you get used to it). It is of course, a lightning storm. Joe assures the missionaries at the top of the hill that we still want to finish the loop and that we don't need to get picked up. Onward ho! It starts to rain hard, Noah is screaming because he doesn't want to get wet, and the other two kids are freaked out by the frequent, booming thunder. As a side note, I like thunderstorms, from inside my house that is. Not looking down a path and seeing the lightning strike further down the path in front of us. Needless to say, we scurried along, praying continually, the kids kept screaming and...it started to hail. And hail it did! Only pea-sized, but combined with the wind it was a little scary for the kids!

We made it back to the place where we could pick up our handcart again and by then the rain had subsided. The Lord had answered our prayers. We sang some hymns with the kids and they weren't so frightened anymore. When we picked up our handcart, we asked the missionaries who we should thank for this extra real life experience? They just laughed and on we went. It hailed again and Joe pulled us all in the handcart through the mud back to the base area and visitor center. Our handcart trek was over! Whew! Here are some pictures of our fun experiences:

in Grandpa's chair
Snoozing in the car, I couldn't fit Joshua in, but he was snoozing too!
My favorite spot that I like to visit, Red Canyon, just outside of South Pass.

I know the brown pool water looks gross, but it is just water from the river. It only took a few minutes before my mom remembered which water nozzle pumped out the clean water, and we changed the pool water. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics in the clean water.
before the rain...after the rain...

ABC's

2008-06-09T11:01:00.002-07:00

I just came across this website: www.starfall.com . I have been looking for a way to do learning the alphabet and learning to read on the computer for my kids. I think this is great! My kids were laughing and having fun. If you have little ones learning the alphabet and such, this is a great site to visit!

Don't Eat Pete

2008-06-03T15:39:00.002-07:00

For Family Home Evening last night we played a great game that our kids loved and I thought I would pass it along in case anyone else might enjoy it. It is called "Don't Eat Pete." I have heard of it before but never played it. Well, I stumbled across a cute game board for it on a website called Tip Junkie. Here is the address: http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2007/11/easy-neighbor-christmas-gifts.html . Our kids have been requesting it all day today!
As for everyday life, we are trying to cut back on TV time with the kids. Wish us luck!

2008-06-01T10:53:00.002-07:00

Not the best picture, but it shows how comfy it must be to sleep with someone's foot on your head! This is obviously not Joshua's bed, but sometimes he just gets lonely and crawls into bed with someone else. I guess it was Noah's turn.

Silly dress up day!

We made these chocolate sundae cups yesterday and they were lots of fun to make. We filled them up with whip cream and strawberry ice cream...mmmmmmmmm. Unfortunately, you can see the mess it made. Jessica eats her chocolate so slow that it always melts all over her hands!

trickster sipper

2008-05-30T08:42:00.002-07:00

Not much is new, but Joshua did do something pretty funny this morning. He is known in the family for finishing up other people's plates as well as finishing up their drinks (Jessica, of course, is not fond of this tradition). This morning was no exception. He saw Jessica's sippy cup on the floor. He shook it to make sure it still had water in it, then asked me "Is this Jessica's cup?". I said "Yes, it is." He then took the sippy cup into the hallway, hid behind the wall and drank it, and then came back out once the sippy was empty. He thought he was so smart hiding it from me and Jessica so he wouldn't get in trouble...what a nut! Luckily, Jessica didn't see so we were successfully able to avoid a world war, for now.

Potty jokes

2008-05-26T19:02:00.004-07:00

There are lots of things that you wonder about when you become a parent. You may wonder, "what will their first words be?", "what will their personalities be like?", and on and on. Today, our question of "when will the potty jokes begin?", was answered. On a shopping trip to Joann's for some wonderful Memorial Day deals I decided to browse through the pattern catalogs while Joe took the kids and walked them around the store. From across the store I could hear some bustin' up laughter coming from none other than: my kids. They continued on for quite some time. When Joe returned he told me the reason they couldn't stop laughing is because Jessica just kept pointing at everything and saying.."that's a potty!" Needless to say, the joke was so much fun they continued it throughout the entire day. Isn't it great that the littlest things can amuse and entertain little kids. Another one that has become nonstop laughs for our 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 yr old kids is when Joshua starts up his kick of constant talk of "boo-yah!". It's an enthusiastic response he gives to everything sometimes. Gotta love it!

Carol Burnett Show - Dentist Sketch

2008-05-24T05:34:00.001-07:00

Jessica did it!

2008-05-21T12:16:00.005-07:00

Joshua still doesn't talk very clearly sometimes, especially since he tends to not open his mouth or move his lips much when he talks. There is one phrase, however, that is coming through quite clearly...."Jessica did it." And he is usually right. Once he tells me, she finally caves in and admits to it! What funny kids!

Camping

2008-05-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

oops!

2008-05-19T15:49:00.005-07:00

Oops! I didn't realized I titled the last post "my three kids" and then followed it up immediately with a picture of my hubby. Sorry, Joe. I only did it because I wrote about our three kids. Funny blunder though, eh?

My three kids...

2008-05-16T06:53:00.005-07:00

How cute am I?

I don't remember what I said to Joshua, probably something like pick up the popsicle pieces of the floor. As you can see, it obviously ruined his life! Ha!

They loved their fort!

After eating Daddy's chocolately chocolate birthday cake!

Life has just kept on going as usual. Noah has now started shaking his head back and forth whenever anyone says "no" and is waving. Oh, I love it when babies start to wave! Partly because it is so cute, and partly because they start waving at funny things like the TV or random people in the grocery store!

Joshua is infatuated with dinosaurs. You can't understand some of what he says because he mumbles and muddles his words so much, but you can clearly understand "triceratops". And don't argues with him about the names of other dinosaurs because he will argue all night long! Thank you Grandpa Bradshaw for the dinosaur book. He loves it and sleeps with it every night ( if I try to take it out of the bed he throws a tantrum).

Jessica is a typical girl with boundless energy and extra amounts of drama. She is really funny and is really good at helping her mom around the house. Here are some recent pics!

pictures...finally!

2008-05-01T12:00:00.003-07:00

So I have been meaning to put some pictures up for a while, but just like everything else it seems, I couldn't find my camera either. Today was the lucky finding day. Wish me luck that I will be able to find the other things that I have misplaced! :) I thought I had more pictures...oh well!

Walking around the temple grounds.

The boys in their dinosaur shirts!

Follow the Prophet

2008-04-28T22:11:00.002-07:00

Well, tonight we had our usual family home evening, where the kids get to pick the songs. I was trying to remember which song it was that Jessica had started singing to me on Sunday that she learned in church. I suddenly remembered it was "Follow The Prophet" and I sang a little bit to her. She, of course, recognizes it immediately and continues singing..."Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, he goes away..." She sang it with such gusto and surety we couldn't help but laugh!

poop breath

2008-04-21T10:58:00.003-07:00

Warning: If the topic of poop bothers you, I would suggest you refrain from reading the following entry!!! Poop breath. Yes, you read it right. And I am not talking about when you smell someone's breath and that is what you think it stinks like. No, I am going to talk about the literal poop breath! Let's start at the beginning. Today started out as a great day. I got up early, made plans for the day and the week, got the laundry going full speed, the kids slept in, got myself ready and looking good...sounds like a great day right? The kids were content watching some cartoons and I was having a great day. I even took a time out to read the scriptures when the yuckiness began. I was almost done reading when I heard, "Mom, Noah is eating my poop," called out nonchalantly by my 3 year old daughter. What? I go running in to find that my daughter has unfortunately pooped her pants and I see a pebble on the ground and Noah right under her feet. I quickly scoop him up and at first I don't see anything. "Quick save," I thought. I take him to give him a wipe down anyway and then I discover it. Poop drool all over his shirt. By now of course I am madly searching his mouth and pulling out all the "goodies" stuck to the roof of his mouth! GROSS! I think one of the worst though was the breath! His toothbrush is officially trash in my mind. I called my mother in law and the doctor to give me peace of mind. The doctor's office said that since it was his sister the worst that would happen is that he would throw up, so just give him liquids to try to wash it on through. He seems to be unaffected, so far. Anyway, everything and everyone got all cleaned up and we are now doing good. Even mommy has calmed down quite a bit. I hope this wasn't too graphic for you and I hope that this never happens to anyone else that happens to read this. :)

museum fun

2008-04-16T13:33:00.002-07:00

Here are some pictures from when we went to the museum. Joshua was scared of all of the dinosaur exhibits, but their favorite is definitely the panning for gold. And the trip to the gift shop at the end, of course!
The kids got to stand behind a wall and get their picture "in the movies."

Here they are comparing their feet to those of a dinosaur print.

panning for gold...

And this is what our exciting trip looked like on the way home, with a nice green apple dinosaur lollipop stuck to his leg!

Singin' her heart out...

2008-04-13T21:00:00.003-07:00

Our kids love to sing. Every Monday night, especially, we have been working on learning some Primary songs. They each have their favorites and catch on quite quickly to the new ones. Jessica really has started liking "I am a Child of God" especially since she is now singing it in Primary. Well, according to Joe she sung her heart out today for the closing song of sacrament meeting. (I unfortunately missed it because I was playing the organ.) The closing song was "Abide With Me 'Tis Eventide", but Jessica sang "I am a Child of God" as loud as she could instead! Ha Ha. Thought that was funny and had to share! Pictures soon to follow :)

Daily silliness...

2008-04-07T19:14:00.003-07:00

Every single day, our kids surprise us with hilarious antics. A couple of the latest are when Jessica was finishing up a time-out session on her bed, she proudly announced to us in the other room, "I'm done throwing my tantrum now!" So, we let her get out of her room. Not to be outdone, Joshua never ceases to dismantle our home from the inside out by gouging the kitchen table with his fork, using every wall as his dinosaur or current racecar's track, or as he did tonight at family home evening, proceeding to crumple up every piece of paper he can get his hands on. What a typical boy: lots less emotional breakdowns, but he gets you in the pocket book. Here are some recent pictures we are saving for blackmailing later.

Joshua with his Mr. Potato Head glasses. He is an avid Toy Story fan and can nearly recite it word for word, of course.
Joshua obviously getting into trouble in the background and everyone else ganging up on their sleeping aunt!
I just want you to know these wintery looking pictures were taken when it was like 80 degrees outside. The kids were just complaining how cold it was inside because of the A/C and fans running...this was our fun solution to the problem!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T11:54:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends and family! We love you Grandmas and Grandpas!!!

Have you ever had a kid that loves tags? Joshua loves them, and he always puts it across his face, whether it is a jacket, blanket, or the tag in the back of his T-shirt!

Can you tell the kids love to play with Noah?

"Wanna piece..."

2008-02-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

I know, it has been a while since I blogged, but either nothing was happening or we were all sick! Well, we are finally done with this cold bug that has been going around. The kids just had the respiratory thing, which I got also, but I was the one that got stuck with pink eye! Twice in the last 7 months...I couldn't believe it! Oh well. We are all healthy and happy now. I can not complain; we are very blessed to be so healthy.
Today in the car Joshua kept asking Jessica something over and over again, but of course, I couldn't understand what he was saying. And then it dawned on me. He was asking her, "Do you wanna piece of me? Yeah?" We laughed and laughed. I have no idea where he got that from since neither one of us says it, but it is his favorite phrase for the day! More pictures to follow soon hopefully...

2008-01-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Jessica dancing to the song from "Lazy Town." I think it is a crack up to watch, but then again, I am her mom! Don't you love the jump in the air splits? Hahaha :)

Christmas pictures

2007-12-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures we took around Christmas time. My parents came down for a week and we had a lot of fun. The kids absolutely loved Christmas. The older they get the more fun it is. Jessica and Joshua were funny to watch because they did things so differently. Joshua was happy after one gift and just wanted to play with it and forget about all the other gifts. But once Jessica realized there was more than one she just kept ripping them open one right after another until she was opening up other people's gifts too! Of course, everyone got colds over Christmas cause it just isn't the holidays unless someone gets sick. In fact, on Christmas Day we went over to Joe's family's house. And Joshua (who is teething again) decided to stick all three or fours fingers in his mouth and gag himself and threw up! Joe said he had a hunch someone would hurl since it was Christmas! hahaha. Anyway, it was a wonderful holiday and I am so grateful for my family. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas too! P.S. Thanks to all who sent cards. I decided to make cards this year to send out...don't be alarmed if you didn't receive one. It is not the post office's fault nor did we stop loving or caring about you. I am just a nerd and spent so much time making the cards that I did not leave time to send them out before Christmas...what a nut I am!

2007-11-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures...

I did it!

2007-11-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

So, many of you may know that I am not a fan of bugs. I can handle dealing with bugs and spiders that come into the house by just squishing them like crazy. Well, let's just say that I have a pretty big fear of scorpions...I can't stand them! In the past Joe has always been home to kill them, but not today. So, I started out my day by killing a scorpion. I must admit it took me a few minutes to get a grip and just do it, but I finally did it! Whew! I hate those things!

Pictures

2007-11-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to add for quite awhile!

What a nut!

Halloween Party pictures

They loved the moon jump at the Halloween Party!

Noah's sweet smiles!

Talk about glued to the T.V.!

Pictures from the fair

The kids at Peter Piper Pizza

WATER FIGHT!!!

2007-10-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Update

2007-09-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Don't faint! I know it has been awhile since we have added anything to our blog, so it is time to catch up. Joe is back in school and working hard. He has some lectures but most of his time is spent in the simulation lab. He is also now assissting some of the 3rd and 4th year students in the clinic which I think he will really enjoy.

The kids are doing well. Joshua's new faves are corn and mashed potatoes as you will see in the pics. He has also started a new thing where he loves to wear his sunglasses 24/7. He wears them outside, inside, while eating, and even when he goes to bed sometimes! He turns two tomorrow! I can't believe it. Jessica has imaginary friends. Not your average boy or girl friends, but kitty cats and superheroes. Those are the two main ones that she talks to. Poor Joshua never know when he is going to get told "Don't sit on the superheroes. Don't hurt them." They are both really into superheroes of all kinds. In our house you can often hear "to infinity and beyond" or "to the rescue" being shouted with arms outstretched like they are flying. It is so cute! Noah is doing well. He is starting to smile more and more each day.

I included a picture of when we went to Superior, AZ and went looking for apache tears. Can you tell we have fair skin? I know it looks like we burnt to a crisp but we didn't, we were just really, really hot! The kids had a lot of fun digging in the dirt and rocks and we finally found a handful of them (it is a kind of obsidian). I hope to be better about posting things and doing so weekly...so be patient!

Smiles

2007-08-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Noah smiled for the first time today!

HONEY!!!!

2007-08-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

It is not an average day unless a mess has been made, and today Jessica and Joshua did a top notch job! Let's just say that momma was a little upset when she saw that they had gotten into the honey and dumped a whole honey bear container all over the couch . It looks like they sure enjoyed themselves though with all of the handprints and footprints everywhere!

2007-07-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Little Noah is getting more alert and more hungry as the hours pass. This is him after his first sponge bath at home.

Jessica and Joshua got new church clothes! Jessica is sporting a lovely homemade dress created by her Grandma Bradshaw. Joshua leisures in cheap Walmart sunglasses to go along with his new slacks and white shirt and ties combo from Burlington Coat Factory, the only place in the U.S. that still sells Sunday clothes for little boys.