Spencer Keri and Blake

Happy Holidays!

2011-11-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

For anyone who still looks at this sorry blog! Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season and hoping that I get serious about updating this thing! Merry Christmas from my two favorite little people in the whole wide world!

Blake's a Swimmer!

2011-07-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Blake is in his 3rd week of swim lessons this summer. He's getting Really good! Can't wait to see his skills by the end of the summer! Spencer was SO impressed when he saw this video, and I reminded him that he has a really good teacher. ;P

PS watch the video twice, the second time watch how funny Trey is on the right side of the pool - he jumps in then just rolls over and lays on his back - like a dead fish. Just how he's supposed to. For just being 3 years old these boys are awesome swimmers!

Love them ALL!

2011-07-01T08:11:00.001-07:00

These are Quinn's 6 month pics that Lisa took for me. It's taken me 2 months to post them. I can't believe she's 8 months old today! Where has time gone? At her 6 month appointment she was in the 80th percentile for height and weight, she's over 18 lbs - just how we like 'em.....chubby. She now has 2 teeth and is trying to crawl, and is sleeping........better. I'm still up once a night with her, but compared to the nightmare she was 2 months ago (up a minimum of 5 times a night!) I'll take it. Plus how could I stay mad at a face like this:

She is still such a JOY to have in our family and we LOVE her to death!

Way Over Due!

2011-03-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is post is WAY over due. I want to keep this blog as a family journal - since I don't keep a personal one and Spencers journaling includes more about his favorite sports teams and their current status than it does about our little family. I have a lot to catch up on, So forgive this LONG post filled with lot's of pictures and silly stories - but hey this is for our record - not necessarily your entertainment :)

We have stayed busy over the last few months. We've been to a few BYU games - Spencers obsession for Jimmer has grown dramatically! For the record he's obsessed over the phenom for YEARS! Had Quinn not been a girl Spencer wanted to name our next child Jimmer. Thank GOODNESS she's a girl, that was a battle I was afraid I was going to lose. Here's Quinn headed to her first BYU game - I had to make her a little onesie so she fit in.

And this is a small section of the shrine to the BYU phenom in our storage room. When Spencer came to me with the camera and he was in his hat and Blake was in his Jimmer jersey asking me to take a picture of them in front of his life size cut out taped in our basement I knew that ONE of us might need therapy......and as the season has rolled on it might be me!

We hope that they can pull out a win tonight and make it to the elite 8! This has been a big year for Spencer's teams. Here we are all decked out for the Superbowl. Too bad that season ended with out the win!

We haven't been ALL sports around here, we've had some other exciting events. We blessed Quinn in our home so Spencer's parents could be a part of it Via Skype in Turkey. My good friend took some pics of Quinn in her blessing dress, here are some of the favorites.

And Blake looked like a teenager that day - - -when did he get SO grown up? He now insists on wearing ties to church every Sunday. Love it

Spencer gave Quinn a beautiful blessing and we were so happy to have our family with us that day.

We have noticed a serious resemblance between Quinn and Blake as she get's older. No doubt they are related..... take a look

This is at 2 months for each of them.
And here's more current for Quinn

And Blake was 5 months here

These two LOVE each other so much. It makes me happy every time they look at each other and just smile, nothing needs to be said they just are happy to be together again!

I love how they both change so much everyday.

Quinn is like super woman and has been sitting up on her own since 3 months! It freaks me out, I don't like when she does it, makes ME want to cry

I think she's going to start walking anyday!

I continue to laugh at the things Blake says on a daily basis. Here are some recent favorites. Last week I was getting ready in my bathroom and I could hear him playing alone. As he was running around my room he said,

"I'm a secret Asian and I'm looking for Doll Vader, have you seen him?"
Translation: He's a secret aGent and he's looking for Darth Vader :)

After Quinn was born I was released from the YW presidency and I looked forward to the breezy calling they were sure to give a new mom...... a few short weeks later they put me in the Primary presidency. The first week I was in there I was a little anxious to see how Blake would do with me in there. Turns out he could careless, but I get the treat of hearing some of his answers during sharing time. The first week the teacher showed a picture of Moroni burying the bass plates and she asked who is this?
Blake yells out, "That's Lehi, but where's his family?!"
Close buddy, close :)
His newest thing is being shirtless ALL the TIME! Everyday he complains of being too hot, and there goes his shirt. I'm sure it's going to be tough to keep him clothed when it really is hot - not 30 degress outside. I think It's because he like's to show his guns.

We are loving this stage of life for both kids - can't get enough of 'em! Life is Good!

It's been MERRY!

2010-12-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged much - shocker - but I wanted to document the last few months. This will be a long one, get comfy. I'll start with the most fun.....Quinn is such a happy, smiley baby! She was showing off her new skills on Christmas day - we can't get enough of her!

Loni's baby Morgan was born just a week before Christmas, and they came to enjoy the holiday with the family at Uncle Kelly's house. Everyone says Quinn is still so small, but next to 6lb Morgan she looks like a GIANT! I'm sure these two will grow up to be best friends! Christmas weekend was great fun! The kids went sledding down the side of the house and had a ball!

Of course Santa came and spoiled them all rotten.

This was an attempt to get all the cousins picture in their Christmas jammies. This Should have done this before the long morning of opening gift after gift after gift. Because as you can see not everyone wanted to cooperate. Ok, the boy's didn't want to cooperate - the ladies were holding it together :)

This month was also Blake's 3rd Birthday. It snuck up on me this year so I didn't get to plan a decent party, but here he is in front of his birthday cake - scratch that it's a tower of powdered donuts. My boy is so picky, I decided it wasn't worth making a cake this year only for him to tell me he doesn't want to try it. I know he likes donut's so that's what he had his candles stuck in, and he actually ate it.

I think he enjoyed his day. As much as you can for a Sunday birthday. First thing that morning he came in my room and teary eyed he told me he didn't want to be 3 - he just wants to be 2 and a half. As soon as he started opening gifts he was ok with being 3 :)

We took the kids to visit (and officially introduce Quinn) their Great Grandparents.

Obviously she met G and G Kerr at the Christmas party and they didn't get a chance to change out of their Mary and Joseph outfit after re-creating the nativity. What lucky kids to still have 4 great grandparents!
It's been a great couple of months. Blake is an awesome big brother and he LOVE's his baby sister even when she's like this.....

Honestly how could you not love a face like this....

I'm so Thankful for this holiday season and especially that I get to be a mom to these two!

LOVE

2010-11-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

I love having talented friends! Katie took some pictures of Quinn this week and here are the images she's shared with me so far. Love this baby, Love the pictures, can't wait to see them all!

Welcome Baby!

2010-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

She's finally here! Monday morning at 5:45, Nov. 1st we were scheduled to be at the hospital to have our little baby girl. My mom came to the house while Blake slept and Spencer and I were off.

We got into our room and they hooked me up to the IV and started pumping the fluids. By 7:30 we were walking back to the operating room, and by 8:02 they pulled out our baby girl.

She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. and is 20 inches long- bigger than Blake. By 9:15 we were back in our room, and were snuggling our new addition. Blake came with my mom 45 minutes later and we were an official family of 4.

It took us 4 days but we finally committed to a name, Quinn Mae Abney. She's been an absolute ANGEL and sleeps better than Blake ever did (or does for that matter) Blake is still a little indifferent to her, I've seen some ROYAL tantrums from him in the last week, but I've also seen some very tender moments between him and his baby sister Thueson. (This is what he insists on calling her, not sure who gave him the idea but he's been saying for months that he wants to name her Thueson, even when we say her name is Quinn, he refuses to call her that and says 'but her middle name is Thueson - so I call her Thueson' Who knows how long that will last, hopefully not too long. When he does say Quinn he says it so funny, it's a hard name for him for some reason. It makes me laugh every time - which makes me double over because laughing hurts my incision. She has been a perfect baby so far, we love her so much and she is worth the LONG wait. Spencer and Blake have been sick for a week, so it hasn't been total bliss coming home with a new baby :( if Quinn and I can avoid getting it, it will be a miracle! Just a few of the many pictures to come: I LOVE when new babies sleep on your chest. This is my absolute favorite thing about newborns.

She holds her little feet together like this all the time, I swear she she can interlock her long toes - I've seen it and it's hilarious!

We put them in matching jerseys for the Saturdays game day - don't worry she's not really cross eyed - just looks like it in the picture.

We love her! And we're loving our little family of 4!

Blake-isms

2010-07-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Blake is one of the funniest kids I know! Here are 2 of the funniest conversations that we've had in the past few weeks.

We all know he has a love/hate relationship with his cousin Olivia. Last week was her 3rd birthday and we needed to go get her gift. My mom gave her a year of dance lessons and the studio requires pink tights and black leotard. I decided that we'd give those to her for her birthday. Blake was having a hard time accepting the fact that there was going to be a party for Olivia, and not him. He had already made some funny comments about her that morning indicating that whatever she did he could do better, or whatever she needed he needed more.

We were finishing work at my mom's and I told him we better hustle over to the store so we could find Livy's leotard. He replied with, "Ok, but I want mine" I asked him "You want your what?" He said again, "I want to get mine at the store too" I asked again, "You want your What at the store?" He looked at me frustrated then said, "I want my BOY-tard at the store". My mom and I both laughed til we cried.

We looked all over the store for his BOY-tard, could not find one :( So funny!

I mentioned in an earlier post that Blake has learned from Spencer's Young Men that he can get a huge laugh out of people by lifting up his shirt and showing people his "Six Pack" . He does it everywhere we go, he even started doing push ups and sit ups with Spencer every night and thinks he's pretty dang strong. Knowing that he Love's to show off his "Six Pack" you assume that he knows what he's showing people when his shirt goes up, but this week it became clear that he has no idea what a Six Pack should look like.

Obviously I love watching So You Think You Can Dance. Blake has become my watching buddy this year. (He was bummed when Alex got injured and reminds me weekly that he wont be performing, because he got hurt - ha!) This week on Thursdays elimination show there was a special performance by one of the strongest men I've ever seen! Every muscle in his body was on display and enormous.

Half way through the number Blake turns to me and says, "Mom, that guy has a bum on his tummy!" I giggled and asked him what he meant. He said, "He has a bum where you have my baby sister" pointing at my ever growing belly. Spencer was in the other room but we both started laughing so hard! This mans "bum on his tummy" was really the best 6 pack you've ever seen! We explained that it wasn't a bum, it's his six pack. Blake lifted his shirt, looked at His six pack, then back at the TV and said, "Nope, his is a bum!"

Classic!

Happiest Place on Earth!

2010-07-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Way back in May my parents took us all to Southern Cal for a great family Vaca. I'm so behind in blogging it exhausts me to play catch up, but I'm going to try real hard to update the biggies over the last few months. This post will be photo overload - - but here are the main points of the trip..... my mom got an amazing beach house this was the view from the family room.

The kids loved to play on this window seat and watch the waves come in.

In true Thueson vacation tradition it was unseasonably cold when we were there, but we did spent time on the beach- Blake loved it!

Our house was right down the boardwalk from the famous Ruby's Cafe so we took our morning walks out to the Pier and enjoyed shakes there on Mother's Day.

We spent a day at Sea World, saw Lot's of animals, shows and people.

Here are the wasted boys after the long day.

We spent a day at Disneyland, it truly is a magical place. I've mentioned before that Blake loves Buzz Lightyear so you can imagine how thrilled he was to see him right after we rode the Toy Story ride. He was in heaven! My mom gave all the kids little autograph books for the characters. I didn't expect him to approach any characters - -he's scared to death of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny was even worse. But the second we came out and saw Buzz he asked for his autograph book at walked right over to the super hero by himself - I could have cried it was so dang cute!

We also got the signatures of Tinkerbell, Goofy, Minnie Mouse and Micky Mouse. Blake was an animal on the rides loved all of them including the Matter Horn. That's right, he was just tall enough so we took him on it and he actually enjoyed it. He is my child, amusement parks are his thing :)

It was such a fun trip and Blake still talks about Shamu, the sea lion show, the characters at Disney and of course the rides.

Thanks mom and dad for the memory it was honestly Magical!

Blake was Right, It's a GIRL!

2010-06-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Surprise we're pregnant and it's a GIRL! We are still a little shocked that we'll be seeing pink, but Blake has said since the day we found out we were pregnant that he was going to have a baby sister. Every time we said, 'maybe a baby brother' he'd come at us with 'No, it's a baby sister!' He was adimate and correct. Obviously he's been more in tune than us. So baby girl will be joining our family on Nov. 1st (C-Section is scheduled :)) I'll be 19 weeks on Monday. To any of you who have asked in the last few weeks if we were pregnant and we told you 'No' please accept our apology for lying. But after 12++ months of trying, testing, crying and praying we were keeping this news close to our hearts just until we knew everything was ok. We were assured today that everything is perfect.

We are all so excited and just relieved to finally be adding another little one to our family! Can't wait to see her again!

2 Months!

2010-04-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

That's how long it's been since I've posted! We've been up to a lot, here are some highlights.....

I got to take a fantastic whirlwind of a trip to San Francisco with my 3 best friends from high school. We haven't taken a trip together since our senior trip to Hawaii 12 years ago.

We were SO young!

We've lived on all sides of the country, we have 8 kids between us and I'm sad we didn't do this sooner. We had a great time shopping, eating, sight seeing and talking of course. There was LOT's of talking :) Love that after all these years we still have so much fun together!

I also love that we all have husbands that were willing to play Mr. Mom for the weekend so we could get away for some much needed girl time.

We celebrated Easter:

We dyed eggs at Gram's house with our cousins.

We found eggs that the Easter bunny hid at our house (even though Blake was convinced it wasn't the Easter bunny who came over, he was sure that this had to be from Gram :)

We had an egg hunt and festivities at Gram and Papa's with our cousins.

We became obsessed with Buzz Light Year

If I had a dollar every time Blake yells 'To infinity and Beyond!' before jumping off any piece of furniture I'd be RICH!

Went to a friends cabins and snowmobiled twice (more pics coming) This is just a cute one of him in his hat

And Blake starting saying some really funny phrases. Here are some favorites from the past 2 months:

One of Spencers young men taught Blake to lift up his shirt and announce "Hey, check out my 6 pack". He does this every chance he gets! It's his new favorite Go To phrase for groups both large and small.

Then last weekend uncle Troy taught him to tell people he's going to the Vet. When you ask him why, he responds by pointing to his biceps and saying "Cuz these puppies are Sick!" and on sick he give's you a nice flex of the muscles. Also a classic he enjoys sharing with anyone willing to listen.

And my personal favorite was just this past Sunday, I made some Blueberry muffins and brought them down stairs so we could munch on them while still enjoying the Masters (yeah Phil!) I had 2 muffins, as did Blake. Spencer finished the rest. After are few minutes Blake looked at the plate covered in muffin wrappers and felt the need to tell me - Not Spencer - "Whoa, Mom, you ate like a Hippo!" wow, thanks Blake

He continues to be the joy in our life - love that he's learning new things everyday. He's just so much fun! We're so excited to be going to Disneyland next month with my family. I'm sure that'll be a long post - a few months late :)

R.I.P. E-A-B

2010-02-04T12:37:00.000-08:00

This is a very emotional post for me. Anyone who knows my family well knows that we LOVE the Eat-A-Burger. This is not an average love, we frequent the E-A-B weekly through out the year and Bi-Weekly through out the summer! Every Saturday we meet for lunch and every Tuesday we'd go straight from the pool after teaching lessons all morning for our 'Staff Meeting' - we never cover business, but calling it a 'staff meeting' makes it a tax rightoff :) You'd think that we must live close to and Eat-A-Burger, but no! We would drive 25 minutes each way to enjoy these babies! You never eat the fries that came with your meal, you Always dump them out on to the tray and Dig In! We love this place! Sadly they closed their doors for the last time on Saturday Jan. 30th. Here we are enjoying our last meal. They plan to open a new place out in South Jordan at the District called Rumerz. Won't be open until April - - so I ask you what will we do for lunch on saturdays between now and then? My dad's suggestion: make PB and J's, drive to the Eat-A-Burger and eat them in the parking lot. Not sure I'll join in for that one. But seriously the Eat-A-Burger has been our favorite place for years, it was our last meal before sending siblings to the MTC, first meal when they got home, last meal for all of us before getting married, having kids, first place we took Blake out to, the list goes on and on. We honestly got choked up when we found out they were throwing in the towel and moving west! I cross my fingers that the food will be the same when the make the new place. Even Blake loved it there, and he's SO picky. There have been many days where I'll ask Blake what he wants for lunch and he'll say 'Fu Fries and a Mint'. We will miss you Fu Fries and mints! Rest In Peace E-A-B!

So Far Behind!

2010-01-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

I am so far behind on my blogging it exhausts me just thinking about it. But we just had Blakes 2 year pics done by Lisa and I'm in love with the boy in this picture! More to come I'm sure, and my goal is to update Christmas, Blake's birthday, our finished basement, the list goes on and on......very soon. But until then get a load of this:

My Snow Man

2009-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Blake's been dyin to get out and play in the snow, so tonight we bundled him up and went out while Spence shoveled the drive way. He had a ball! Here is the pre-pick, and here he is sledding, snot filled, and walking back up the hill with his top of the line sled (yes that's a storage bin lid - ha! it's the best we could do) It was his first snow play of the season, but I'm sure it wont be the last! Of course I'm behind in blogging so here is a month in review. My favorite room mates and bestest girl friends took me to Buca Di Beppo to sit in the kitchen for my BIG birthday. Thank you again ladies it's always so fun to get together (Gibby we missed you) Love you girls!

A few days later was Thanksgiving and my family started a new tradition. We went to the Zoo that morning. I haven't been to the zoo since I was in elementary school, so it was fun to go back, and Blake LOVED seeing the animals, especially the baby elephant. But if you ask him what was his favorite he always says the zebra. And my favorite part is when we were looking at the Rhino's through the window and Blake said, "Mama, that ceritop is eating the grass". The guy standing next to us looked down at him then asked me how old he was. Then said he was impressed he knew what a triceritop was. What 1 year old knows that a Rhino looks like a Triceritop and they both eat grass. Thank you again Dinasoaur Train - we just love PBS :). Here is a pic of the 2 of us at the zoo. Spencer chose to play ball that morning rather than come with us, he totally missed out!

A few days later we enjoyed being cougs!

This was a cold, memorable game. And in the end we learned an important life lesson :)

The next week Spencer and Blake made a ginger bread house for the Ward Christmas Party.

That was a real joy to watch! Blake had a blast!!!!

This holiday season is shaping up to be my favorite! Blake is SO much fun and we are enjoying making family memories and traditions together. Love this time of year!

Hey Guys.....

2009-11-16T17:16:00.001-08:00

This morning Blake was watching his very favorite cartoon Dinosaur Train (our morning ritual!) I had just finished blow drying my hair so I stepped out of the bathroom to make sure he was doing ok, just in time to hear this conversation.....

Tiny (on dinosaur train) "Hi, I'm Tiny"
The new triceratops says, "Hey I'm George"
To which my Blake relies "I'm Blakie (pointing to himself),and this is my mommy (pointing to me)"

Then Blake takes his hands behind his head and lays back on the pillow. It's his position of choice when he's watching a show, it couldn't be cuter, and I HAVE to get it on camera.

Blake continues "Hey guys, What 'cha doin?"

I totally lost it! My sweet boy just introducing himself and his mom to his favorite dinosaurs, and wanting to know what they're up to.
I Hate that he's growing so fast, but Love that he keeps me laughin with the crazy things he says! Dang it I just LOVE HIM so much!!!!

I Heart MJ

2009-11-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

Just got back from seeing This Is It. I loved it! I couldn't stop moving! Just reminds you what an amazing talent Michael Jackson was. I couldn't help but think about when we were young my mom had ALL of his records and we would dance to his music Everyday! Loni had some incredible moves, just like the king himself - ha. I remember going to Disney World and seeing Captain E.O. in 3D and thinking Michael was singing just to me, and we were 'totally going to get married some day' no joke! And Sunny you know you were thinking the same thing! It truly was a great film, his voice was fanatstic, his dancers and dancing was Amazing. Just nice to remember him as a performer, not as the weirdo that he became. So for today I heart MJ!

This is Blake's ode to MJ - hair from the early years and skin color from his later :)

TrIcK oR tReAt

2009-11-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post some pics of our Halloween Night. We went trick or treating with several families in the ward, hoping that their boys could show Blake how it was done.

There are 12 boys under the age of 6, Blake was one of the younger boys so that meant he was the last to every door, but he tried real hard to keep up with the big boys.
He couldn't resist trying to kick the bishops big pumpkin after getting his candy. It looked like a huge ball that had been taunting him all season, and this was his first chance to see how far he could kick it :) ha!

All in All he got lot's of candy, he Roared a lot as people asked what he was and I think we all had a great time!

Fall Fun

2009-10-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Dispite my crazy busy fall work schedule we've had some fun family fall activities. This post will be picture overload, but I've really been slackin' on the blog lately and I have lots of picture I want to include so here goes......

We went to FRIGHTMARE'S at Lagoon with my family.

He's SO brave, he wanted to go on all the rides, all by himself.
SO focused driving the cars
On the Animal Train
Blake thought Spencer looked so funny with his head in this.

The classic boats at Lagoon, who doesn't have a pic in these as a child?

If you haven't done Frightmare's before with little ones I Highly recommend it. It was not busy, so we were on and off rides all night, and because it's cold out everyone is bundled up (no scantily clad ladies out - you know who I mean!) it's a win win. It got us all really excited to go to Disneyland in May, the kids are going to be so much fun!
We went to the pumpkin patch with Tater tot -
not a good pic, but they were both too busy with what looked like orange balls, to pause for a picture. But we did it and here's the proof.
We also went to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village with my family we did it last year, I'm sure it will be an annual tradition. The kids loved seeing the witches, and I love using his costume more than once. They all looked so cute and we enjoyed lovely weather this year.
How cute are these kids?
They loved this witch, she has a cat and mouse that chase each other under her skirt, they thought it was so great.

I look like a goober - but I was telling him 'Say CHEESE' and this is what I get for doing that - ha!

Blake has a total obsession for Dinasoar's right now, he loved telling people 'I Dina, ROARRRRR!' So naturally he's a 'Dina' for Halloween. He Love's his costume. We're looking forward to next weeks festivities.

The 52 Minute TIMEOUT!

2009-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Man Oh Man! Yesterday was a great day, we went to the farm, the pumpkin patch, played with 3 different cousins, we did Lot's and it was a Great day. Until...... Blake asked for a glass of apple juice. I filled his sippy cup and he walked away. Next thing I know he's standing at the top of the stairs and he chucked his cup down stairs. GRRRR! I can handle when he throws his water, but apple juice, Really Blake?! I was so frustrated, I picked him up and sat him in his timeout chair. He immediately got down, so I hollered for Spencer to come referee the situation, and make sure that he stayed in timeout. He's not allowed out until he apologizes for what he did wrong. I went down stairs to scrub the carpet and walls. Blake would NOT calm down. He was hysterical! We kept telling him you can get out of timeout when you say sorry to mom and dad. Every time we said that he would scream at the top of his lungs. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were beating him - he was SO LOUD! Every 5 minutes I'd look at Spencer and just ask is he serious? Will he really not say sorry? He had been apologizing to cousins all day, for accidental (and intentional) pushes, kicks, punches you name it. It shouldn't have been such a big deal. But my boy was determined he was NOT going to apologize. So it was like a Mexican stand off, who was stronger? Who would give in first? Not us! The parents stood strong and after a whopping 52 minutes Blake said he was sorry. So out of timeout, in to pajama's and straight to bed. I couldn't stop thinking about it all night, that is one stubborn 1 year old. I talked to Spence about it this morning and he just said think about it, he got a Double helping of stubborn. I'm stubborn and you're 'ridiculously stubborn' (his words) he was bound to be a tough one. So now I'm left praying that he'll stay stubborn about the important things.

Anyway you look at it I didn't know he had it in him and I'm really not looking forward to those 2's that are just around the corner. I don't have time for one hour timeouts, let's hope that was a first and last! My stubborn boy, I just love you so much!!!

This is NOT how he looked after his timeout, I just thought it was a cute updated pic of my favorite stubborn little boy :)

I Wanna Watch Football....

2009-09-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Since football season began it seems like it's on our TV constantly! A few weeks ago Blake started requesting, "No football Daddy!". Blake would rather watch one of His shows, naturally. Until bedtime..... Blake has always been a tough one to get to bed. I always take him in to bed after prayers and loves from his daddy. He knows that if he cries after I lay him down I will NOT go back in there. He's a smart boy because he's learned that if he cries specifically for Daddy, Spencer Will go in there. 3 weeks ago, after hearing all night 'No football daddy', I laid Blake in his crib and walked out of the room. A few short minutes later he started yelling for Spencer..... "Daddy, come Daddy, come". Spencer hops out of bed, walks in the room and asks "What's up buddy" and to that Blake replies "I wanna watch Football, Daddy". Spencer was thrilled to hear his little boy ask to watch football. So out of his crib and into our bed to watch the 4th quarter. 2 problems with this, now it's routine - I say 'Let's say prayers and go do bed' and Blake responds, "No I wanna watch football with Daddy" and Spencer is SO wrapped around Blake's finger that bed time is getting very late! Scary how smart little ones can be. He knows just what to say to get his dad's heart to just melt :)

And the Winner is.....

2009-08-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

ME!

Ha! Spencer bet that I couldn't produce ONE good tomato. Well here's the proof. This was the first, and it was GOOD!

Here is the first bowl full, and they were GOOD!
And here are my plants (should've done a cage, I'm new at this). At last count there were 24 tomato's growing out there. It feels good, no it Taste's GOOD to be a winner!

Did You Know?

2009-08-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

This is silly, I just had to share this info so that any of you that visit the local Library might want to take advantage of this. Blake and I frequent the Sandy Library. Occasionally I will get a Disney movie there that he can watch for a week. Our last trip to the library cost me $12, because I was late returning 2 movies and 6 books. I wasn't THAT late, but they really get ya if you're late returning the movies. The library does send me emails to let me know I have things that will be due in the next 2 days. Problem is that email goes to my work account, and I always forget once I get home. I just received my library warning email that I have things that will be due Friday. Great add it to my list of things to do before we head out of town tomorrow, but WAIT if you read the email carefully it gives you the option to RENEW your rentals online!!!!! Had I read carefully a few weeks ago I'd be 12 bucks richer! I'm really excited about this new info. I had a bitter taste in my mouth after having to pay that last fine, I can be good at putting things off (which really is not good, drives Spencer CRAZY!), but this will save me LOT'S of money and late night runs to the library to get things in on time. I thought I'd share this info with the 3 of you that read my blog. Maybe you already knew, if you did then Thanks for Sharing! Check things out for your kiddo's and don't sweat it you can renew online if you just don't think you can get them returned on time :)

The Best of Frienemies!

2009-08-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

We had some family photo's done for my mom's birthday. (Thank's Lisa) And this is the Favorite shot so far. These 5 kiddo's are the Best of Friends one second and the Worst of Enemies the next second. That's why I say they are Frienemies! I am hoping it's just their age and they will grow up the be best buddies - Always. Here is a brief moment that night that they were the best of friends. Stinkin Cute!

PS this is killin me!

2009-07-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is another pic from last night. But it's KILLIN me how grown up Blake looks. He's not a baby anymore. He looks like a full blown Toddler! What the?! Who is that big kid?

Boys Will Be Boys!

2009-07-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to a friends house for a BBQ and fireworks. I took Blakes shirt off because it was So hot..... He made sure to cool himself off by dumping a can of Sprite all over his chest and back, which made him sweaty And very sticky..... He then made his way into their beautiful, large garden and covered himself with sand. He was a muddy mess before we left their house and he couldn't have been happier. I am the kind of mom that can't stand when he gets dirty, but I just let him have fun last night. This is what we were left with (after I wet wiped as much as I could off him).

He still has muddy snot in his nose and sand in his ears! And this is the bathtub after he got out. Blake is ALL boy and I'm glad he had so much fun last night!

The BIG Three OHHHH!

2009-07-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Happy THIRTIETH Birthday Spencer! From a little boy who wants to be JUST like his daddy, and a girl who still can't believe you're mine! We love you!!!!

What are the ODDS?

2009-07-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is long and mostly for my journaling. I'll be posting summer pictures later, but for now this is what's happening in the Abney house..... July 17th last year we took Blake into the E.R. for his first 'mystery' illness. Refer to my July post if you haven't read that awesome story. Well one year to the day we returned to the E.R. for another 'mystery'. Thursday Blake woke from his afternoon nap he was acting very tired and like he had a sore neck. He was unable to move his head around, he'd just watch you with his eyes. (Just like Spencer does when he sleeps on his neck wrong). He couldn't be moved, we knew he was in a lot of pain. So I called the Dr. office (of course after hours) and talked to the nurse to see what she thought we should do and she said to bring him in right away. So we strapped him in the car and off we went. We got to the office Blake was screaming in pain and the on call doctor showed up. Oh no we thought, this is the same Dr that was here last summer that had no idea what to do for our little sick boy. Not a great start to our visit. She examined him as well as she could, he was far from cooperative, screaming every time she tried to touch him. She kept asking about his day, if he had fallen, if he had ingested pills, if he....... We rehashed the day with her over and over again and she was just stumped. Then we remembered that on Wednesday night he was playing with the swing in the back yard, holding onto the chains and moving his body back and forth until he lost his footing and fell into the swing. His chin was caught on the seat of the swing and it swung him around pretty good before it threw him to the floor. So naturally we were embarrassed to tell the Dr about this event, makes us sound like Awesome parents, but we did and then we thought that's it, he got whipped around last night and then must have slept on it funny during his nap and now he can't move it. Happens to Spencer all the time! She didn't think that could be the problem and was worried that there could be an infection in the back of his neck that could eventually close off his air supply. So up to the lab to have blood work done and then several x rays. The blood work came back normal there was no sign of infection, but the radiologist's could not agree on what they saw in the x ray. So more x ray, more debate. After 3 hours the Dr was still unsure (big shock! same thing happened last year) and she wanted us to go to Primary Children's E.R. to have a CT scan on his neck. The x ray's didn't show a mass, but they did show swelling and his trachea was pushed to one side. So after a blessing at my parents house and a call to my most trusted pediatrician (my cousin, who said load him up and get him there asap). We drove to Primary's. We checked in just before 10:00. Sat in the waiting room until after 12, then got our room, waited to see the Dr, until 1:45. Told him the story, he thought that it sounded like an infection and the swing accident was not the cause of the neck pain. All the Dr's thought that if it was the swing he would have shown signs of discomfort earlier. Since he was fine all morning it had to be something more than the swing incident. So we waited for the Radiologist, she came in at 3:15 took us to the CT scanner, strapped Blake down and then realized he didn't have an IV yet, so back into our room, wait for the nurse to come give him an IV of fluids, wait 15 more minutes, go in for the CT scan for real this time, we were praying that Blake would stay calm so that they wouldn't have to sedate him, he did. They got the images they needed then back into our room to wait for the results. At 4:00 the Dr came in and said that the images were good, there was some swelling in the muscle tissue which would be from the swing accident, but..... no growth! So at 4:15 we were discharged from the hospital and told to treat with Tylenol. Better safe (and POOR) than sorry right?! That's what we keep telling ourselves. Good news is Blake is feeling better, still wakes up a little stiff in the morning, but he Can move his head now. Just a note to all Emergency Rooms, we do NOT plan on celebrating our anniversary with you next year! So leave us ALONE on July 17th!!!

blog help

2009-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

i have a great new video i want to post - but for some reason the sound doesn't work. i've had this problem before. any suggestions? i've just been using quicktime and then uploading it to blogger.... is there a better way? please share

Air Show 2009

2009-06-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

We went to the Air Show at Hill Air Force Base Saturday. The place was packed! It was the 3rd year that Spencer and I had been, and we've never seen it so busy! Last week there were several fly by's over our house with 4 F-16's because of Air Force week and the Real Soccer game and Blake was in heaven. Everytime they'd fly over he'd freeze and focus on the planes barely blinking, the second they were out of his sight he would sign 'more, more, more'. We knew we had to get up there Saturday so he could see 'more, more, more'. We drove up with Loni, Troy and Tate and met Nate and Sarah's family plus my cousin Karlin and her family up there. Unfortunately there was so much traffic heading up there that we saw half the planes from the car. After finally parking at the base we had to walk a mile and a half to get through security and inside the base. By the time we made it to Nate's family both the boys were asleep. So we shoved the ear plugs in their little ears and they woke up just in time for the Thunderbirds. It started with Spencer pointing at the planes as they'd approach, but ended with Blake pointing them out to us. He'd laugh and sign 'more, more, more' until the next one came by, he could not have been happier. Nate had been there all morning so he had great seats and I was in the photography ZONE! Check out some of these Lucky shots. Yep those planes are going in the opposite direction, crossing right in front of us FULL SPEED! It was awesome! My all time favorite picture is the first one with his chubby arm pointing out the planes (incase we couldn't see or hear them coming) It was a great day, we're glad we went. Thanks Nate for staking out the excellent seats, we all had a great time! If you've never been to the air show it's Highly recommended. It's so awesome to see the work of talented men and women that sacrifice so we can live in this great country!

Yard Progress and The Wager...

2009-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

The yard I was beggin' for a few months ago is Really coming together! They laid sod last night, and now it doesn't even look like the same place we started with, it looks great!
We had a whole group here to enjoy the festivities. Blake loved sharing his treats with Tate, running up the hill with Liv, and ultimately finished off his night playing in the sprinklers and any puddle of water he could come across.
He's so excited to have a yard he can safely play in. There is still some work to do, plants to plant, and slide to find and install. But overall we couldn't be happier with the almost-finished product. And now for the Wager....When my mom and I bought plants last weekend I picked up 3 tomato plants. I do NOT have a green thumb, every house we've lived in I've managed to kill every plant in the yard. But this year I'm determined to keep these tomato plants alive and enjoy the fruits of my labor - literally! Spencer doesn't think I can do it, but honestly I spend LOTS of money at the farmers markets buying tomatoes. Garden tomatoes are my Favorite treat! So Spencer bet me that I can't produce 1 edible tomato! I'm not one to back down from a challenge, so obviously I took the bet and I'm NOT sharing when my beautiful red tomatoes show up!

We Did It!

2009-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Let me begin this post by stating that I am NOT a runner! So those of you that are..... Don't Judge Me! I never have been, and don't plan on ever becoming one. Running is just something that is SO hard for me! I can teach a step class for one full hour and feel fine after - but when I run around the block ONCE I feel like I'm going to DIE! Don't know why I am that way, I've always been that way - just a wimpy wimpy runner! But in January we found a local 5k called Running With Angels. It benefits programs for women who have lost children either from miscarriages or stillborn. So when we found this race we thought what better way to remember JP this spring than to run in his honor. The whole family joined (minus Natalie who had to work and my dad who was out of town on business) We all woke up early Saturday morning and went to Thanksgiving Point. The race was through the gardens and it was beautiful! When they had all the runners at the start line they first released white doves in memory of all the babies lost. Of course I got choked up - like I always do- when I think about JP, Loni and Troy and their unbelieable trial. But then time to focus because the race was on. Spencer and I had been on a few runs together, but with his longer legs I just could not keep up. So we both did it on our own, and my mom pushed Blake so we could make it to the finish line with out that extra weight :) Eventually we made it to the finish line! Spencer finished in 26 minutes and I was just a minute behind at 27. Once I hit mile 2 I kept thinking I'll never do this again - why would I pay money to get my butt kicked? But once I found Spencer and we went back to the finish line to watch the rest of the family come in we saw a darling young family running towards the finish line. They had a second bib on their back that had a picture of the baby they had lost and it said 'Running with Lars Jr'. I got choked up AGAIN! And remembered what a special race it was and I was so happy we did it. We all look forward to doing it again next year. It was a Great day!
I had to post this cute pic of Tater Bug - he's getting so big (not really big, I guess I should say old - because he's just a little guy) I think he was happy to have a day to remember his big brother.

ALOHA!

2009-05-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Spencer and I just returned home from a week in Kauai. Next week is our 5 year Anniversary and we'd been planning for months and months to go back to NYC to celebrate since we haven't been back since I lived there. About 6 weeks ago our plans fell through :( Lucky for us 4 weeks ago Tad and Kristen (my brother and SIL) invited us to come with them and their friends to Hawaii. So we arranged for a sitter (thank you sarah and mom), cashed in our skymiles (thank you american express) and we were set.

We had such a great time! There was just enough adventure and just enough relaxation - it was perfect. Here are just a few highlites. I will put together a slide show later, but these were some favorites......

We took a beautiful hike up the Na Pali coast

We played with boogie boards, skim boards, and volleyball on the beach

We took a Zodiac tour up the Na Pali Coast. My back is still sore from that one, but it was SO beautiful!

We saw beautiful waterfalls

We jumped off beautiful waterfalls

We snorkeled, saw 4 whales, 4 sharks and 2 turtles - no pics sorry. Went running every morning on the beach. We ate lot's of good food. We really did so much, it was a blast! Thanks Tad and Kristen for letting us tag-along. Thank you Thank you Sarah and Mom for offering to take Blake I know he had a great time too! It was a very memorable vacation - I just can't say it enough - it was Awesome!

Happy 95th Grandpa

2009-04-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated my Grandpa's 95th Birthday How cute is he? Every year we get together to celebrate Grandpa's birthday and have an easter egg hunt for the kiddo's at the party barn in Mapelton. This saturday the weather was too wet to go hunting outside, so we stayed in the barn. The boys didn't mind they found these cute toys and this is were they stayed all day.

It was really fun and we love our Grandpa!

We're WICKED!!!!

2009-04-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

We got to see the Best Show in town last night! My mom took the girls to dinner and Wicked. I have wanted to see Wicked for ever! When I was living in NYC it was the one show I always wanted to see, but never could because it was so new on Broadway it was sold out for Months! Well, lucky me they came in town and it did NOT disappoint! Those people are so talented - I keep thinking if I had a voice like that I would NEVER talk, just sing. I'd sing all the time! Sing my order at the drive through window, sing when I answer the phone, sing when I...... really I'd sing Non-Stop! They were Amazing! And If you've seen the show you'll know why but I totally want to hang out with Gilinda! She's hillarious, and she can do a hair toss that would make anyone smile! It was an amazing night, we had a great dinner, great company and great show! It was the perfect night out for just the girls. Thanks so much mom for taking us! I Also have to say a special thanks for Aunt Cheryl for Sleeping out at the ticket office in the Freezing Cold to make sure we got tickets. Here we are with her during intermission. She was on the second row! Here's some more pics from our Fun Girls Night Out.

Super Important Warning!

2009-04-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

I received this email from a good friend. I don't usually forward emails, but this was Too important Not to share - so I'm posting it here.
If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey and asks you to show him your bum, do not show him your bum. This is a Scam; he only wants to see your bum. I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap ;)

Any Recommendations?

2009-04-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Spencer and I are both looking for some good books to read. I did the Twilight books and let's be honest I DID NOT fall in love with them like the rest of the world. I've never been much of a reader so naturally I don't even know what to reach for. What have you people read recently that you loved? Help out these 2 stangers to Barnes and Noble and send us some recommendations. Please and Thank you :)

Remember When....

2009-03-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

I used to have THIS for a back yard.....

Well now I have THIS for a back yard.....

With this warm weather, I'm wishing we lived in our first house with the child friendly back yard. Blake and I are going crazy being stuck inside!

HELP! We need a good back yard!!!

Don't You Wish....

2009-03-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

I cleared out Blakes closet and removed all the clothes and shoes that don't fit him anymore. I swear I just did it a few months ago! While I was packing the box I just thought..... 'Man I wish I could clear out my closet every 3-6 months and get a brand new wardrobe, only to be replaced again in 3-6 months' Must be nice! I DO wish

I Can NOT Get Enough

2009-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

Of my Blaker Boy! I know I only blog about Blake, but seriously how can I not? I love this boy and the age he's at! He is SO much fun! I don't journal (I know I should - maybe someday), so I'm using this to write down some things Blakes doing at 14 months.

He understands SO well. If I ask him to put his book back and grab his water on his way back, he'll do it :) It's so fun to be able to communicate with him.

Blake loves to sing if I ask him to sing me a song he gets a big grin and makes up a tune - it's so cute! He loves music, watch out when this boy dances - he's good! Beyonce could learn a thing or two from his booty shake- it's awesome! But he's not all about the song and dance, this boy has an arm - and he throws EVERYTHING! He's not shy about his interests.

We discovered a few months ago that he'll actually sit still during Baby Einstein, not just sit through it, but he stays totally focused from start to finish. We buy the Einsteins that teach sign language and this last week we found that he REALLY knows his signs. Here are some signs that Blake knows and will do when asked; more, dog, cat, ball, table, tree, bowl, computer, drink, water, telephone, swing, bear, blocks, book, refridgerator (our favorite, it's so funny), bed, blanket, piano there are many more. Thank you Baby Einstein, it's so fun that we can communicate this way!

Blake says 6 words, the first 3 are typical Dada and Moma and yep, the last 3 are RANDOM.... he says toast (his favorite breakfast) but when he says it it's like this T hhhooast his little lips really form the "O" it's awsome we ask him to say it all day, just to bring a smile to our faces. He also says clock ( I told you RANDOM) that's one of his signs and he loves to point out the clock in his bathroom and tell us cLocKKKK and last is car not as funny as the other 2 words but those are his favorites right now. I just wanted to write down some of the fun things Blakes been doing so next year I can look back on this post and remember how sweet my boy was at 14 months.

2 Seconds

2009-02-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

That's how long I was looking away only to find this:

Blake LOVES to re-arrange the kitchen chairs and bar stools. Exhibit A:

He'd do it all day long if I let him. Today was the first time I looked away only to see one chair barely hanging on for dear life. 2 more seconds and I'm sure it would've taken a trip down the stairs. Later in the day I found him digging through my laundry, grab my bra and sling it around his neck. That's one of his favorites - no picture yet - i'm sure I'll get one soon, like I said it's a favorite of his. Maybe I'm watching too much HGTV or TLC he's alway's trying to re-decorate rooms, and himself. Should I be worried?

Much Needed Vaca

2009-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

Spence and I left Blake for the FIRST time last week and took a quick trip to California. We don't even leave Blake for date nights, so leaving him for 3 days was not easy......but it was worth it! We stayed in Newport, so when we flew in we spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventure. I really didn't want to carry anything with me so I left the camera in the car= No Photo's. We had lot's of fun especially when Lynnley and Steve's family met up with us for a few rides and then a great dinner. They are such a cute family and I hope to have boys as well behaved as theirs some day - you two are amazing parents!

The next day we woke up and headed to Knotsberry Farm. We're suckers for amusement parks - love the rides, LOVE the people watching. Again, no camera. Later that night we met up with my cousin Sunny and her husband Clay at an amazing restraunt (can't stop thinking bout the food - YUM!) and then for a late movie. It was so fun meeting some one for dinner at 6:30 then catching an 8:00 movie - really we haven't done it since having Blake, I felt so young and free again :P Thanks for getting a sitter and meeting up with us.

Saturday we went to Huntington Beach, and it was a little overcast as you can see.

Regardless it was a great day, relaxing oceanside, shopping and more relaxing. I seem get into a funk every February, the cold winter starts getting to me, and I NEED the sun! It was just what the Dr ordered. Our Favorite surprise was the GPS system in our rental. Everytime we got in the car it was such a relief knowing that we'd get to our location on time, with little gas wasted, and stress free! We got SO lost in Florida 2 years ago. We have to give a shout out to the Magellan
It was a perfect get away - not too long, not too busy. Thanks to our Cali locals for showing us a good time - and ESPECIALLY thanks to my mom for watching Blake so we could get away! Love you!

Fall into the G A P

2009-02-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how Blakes teeth have come in totally G A P P Y? Nicole captured it Perfectly! We love 'em

Blake's One Year Pic's

2009-01-31T20:07:00.003-08:00

After much delay - due to sickness, pick eye, you name it he's had it we had Blake's one year pictures done. Spence and I decided to sit in on a few for some more family pics. I'm LOVING them. Here are just a few. We had them done by Nicole Carman. I'll post more when I get them all. If you want to see more of her work go to http://nicolecarmanphotography.blogspot.com/ She is really really great!

Thanks Nicole!

Anyone Remember Risky Business?

2009-01-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

Here is how Blake looked after church, a nap and a diaper change. We couldn't help but notice the Classic Tom Cruise inspired outfit.

Of course Blake has to be holding a Basketball - never without one!

If you have to be snowed in....

2008-12-30T19:10:00.000-08:00

It might as well be here.....

We spent Christmas with the Thueson's and we went to my uncle's beautiful new home in Park City. This was the view from the deck. It was amazing! We picked up a tree in Sandy before we drove up. Looked good on the lot, but it was lookin more like a Charlie Brown tree in the house with 40 foot ceilings. Oh well it was the thought that counted. We spent Christmas Eve day snow mobiling in Kamas it was so much fun! Later that night we had a soup bar and the kids opened their Christmas P.J.'s Here are the dad's with their Christmas kiddo's - can you tell Blake was ready for bed?

Not those Thueson kids, they know how to work it for the camera :) Christmas morning we learned a valuable lesson - Blake just needs a ball and he'll be happy! We bought him all kinds of fun new toys and all he wanted was this basketball

or that basketball

nothing else mattered! The good news is he got 7 new balls that morning so he was in HEAVEN! It was such a fun morning. Later that day because it had been snowing NONstop for hours there was no way we were driving so we improvised and took the snow mobiles out through the neighborhood. So much fun!

Tad needed to get the snow mobiles back to Springville so the boys went out to dig the car and trailer out of the driveway.

But... after digging for 3 hours, they decided it wasn't happenin so we all stayed another night. We had so much fun and hope to do it again soon! I love Christmas, it's much fun with kids! This will be a Christmas that we will NEVER forget! Thanks for the great weekend mom and dad!

My Baby is ONE!

2008-12-21T19:02:00.002-08:00

WARNING LONG POST AND PICTURE OVERLOAD!
I can't believe it's been a year since little Blake was born. CRAZY how much changes in a year! We had big plans to go swimming for his birthday, since he and his cousins all LOVE the water. But because of the nasty snow storm we had to postpone the swimming party and we just met at our house for dinner, presents and cake and ice cream. Here are some highlites. Blake wasn't sure what to do with the presents, but his older cousins sure did! He just followed them around when they'd get excited about a new gift

Liv thought she hit the JackPot! She picked what she wanted and she was OFF!

He got some really fun stuff and is having lot's of fun playing with his new toys (thanks fam!)After gifts we got Blake ready for the traditional cake - so stripped to his diaper, sang the song, blew out the candle and then got this....

Blake doesn't like to get his fingers dirty (that's my boy!) so he figured he'd just dive in
He would touch the cake and then flick the chocolate off his fingers - the kitchen was covered! His cousins weren't impressed, so they decided to show him how it's done
My boys not selfish, he was sharing with everyone!

By the end he figured it out and we had one messy boy!
We love Blake so much and he brings such a joy to our lives! We've loved this past year watching him learn and grow, we look forward to the future with our little Blaker!

Blake's Party!

2008-12-21T19:02:00.001-08:00

Busy Holiday's

2008-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

We've been so busy with past Birthday's, Thanksgiving and upcoming Birthday's (Blake's big One!) and of course Christmas. I hope to do some serious updating next week. But in the mean time here is Christmas Card from the Thueson cousins. Merry Christmas!

First Jazz Game

2008-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

Our new ward has an annual Jazz activity where they get tickets and go to a Jazz basketball game. That's our idea of a ward party! We invited Spencer's brothers family to come with us, and it was the first game that their kids have been to. As you can see we did NOT have good seats, but hey being 3 rows from the top gives the kids more room to run around. We had a great time, and we were happy to experience the first jazz game with so many cute Abney kids.

Happy Halloween, Happy Birthday!

2008-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well this is a little late, but we had a very exciting Halloween this year. First is that baby Tate was born! He's a BIG, beautiful boy! We were excited to get Blake dressed up in his costume to go meet his new cousin.

Blake was a golfer and he was DARLING, if I do say so myself. He hated the hat on his head, so there aren't many pictures with the Full costume, but you get the idea. Check out the shoes - classic!

We LOVE Dallas

2008-10-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

That's right peeps we went back to Texas! We love the Smith family and would use any excuse to go spend time with them. So the excuse this time? The BYU vs TCU football game. The game obviously was awful, but the company was great!

The highlite of our trip was the Texas State Fair! I know what you thinking, must have been some trip if the state fair was the highlite..... but this is no ordinary state fair! Obviously we met the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Blake was in awe at their....we'll say beauty :) we saw Jessica Simpson perform (she needs to retire, it wasn't good), we saw her boyfriend Tony Romo showed up to support her, the croud went WILD when he walked in, we visited their exotic petting zoo which included a baby giraffe, zebra, kangaroos, llamas, buffalo and many other animals.

We went on rides that were Amazing, much better than Lagoon even! They even had a light parade like Disneyland

We visited the Cotton Bowl. Saw the Worlds LARGEST pig, named Trey 1212 lbs!

And the best or worst part of the day was all the fried food. Get ready for this list because if they fried it, we tried it! We started the day with chicken fried bacon; the fair award winner,

then moved to fried allegator meat, a fried snickers bar,

a fried smore,

hot dogs, pizza and ice cream (not fried), cotton candy, we wanted to try the fried twinky and cookie dough, but just couldn't stomach it!
You'll be proud to see that we did include ONE vegetable that day. Our family shared a grilled corn on the cob - my favorite!

Needless to say that after spending 9 hours at the state fair we all slept well that night and woke up early the next morning for a good run in an attempt to burn off some of the calories we consumed!

We had a such Great weekend and have the thank the Smiths for hosting us AGAIN! We look forward to our next adventure with you guys!

Blow Kisses.....or Flip Me Off?

2008-10-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Last week Blake and I were leaving and I told him to give daddy kisses and instead he flipped Spencer off in sign language. We both laughed, but didn't think he'd do it again. Then today I told him to give Loni kisses and he flipped her off so we laughed REAL hard! What a rude little boy, we need to work on our manners! When I got home from work I told him to find his bear and give him kisses, he did it again. Then I realized that's how he blows kisses, he sticks his thumb on the roof of his mouth and then flips it forward. Here is a little video I did on my phone to show you all how my little boy shows his love. No offense, he loves you ALL!!!

Don't know why to sounds not working? I'm trying to fix it!

So Happy!

2008-09-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We're so excited for the new season! We LOVE the Office!! We've been fans since the first episode. I just can't stop laughing! Especially because the office had a weight loss competition - that concept hits close to home. It's good to be back at Dunder Mifflin - anyone else watching?

someone please help me!

2008-09-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

so i finally figured out how to change the background of the blog but now the color WON'T change! i'm not color blind, i know this hurts the eyes! i can't figure out what in the world i'm doing wrong - - -any words of wisdom?

Family Photo Sneak Peek

2008-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

My friend did some family photo's for us last week (for any of you HHS alumni it was Lacey Carlson, now Pappas - she's amazing!) - i'm loving them! Here are just 2 of my favorites. I love this little boy so much! I'll post more later

JP's ONE!

2008-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that one year ago tomorrow is JP's first birthday. I have to let Loni know that I'm so impressed with how you have handled the incredible trial that you were given one year ago. I'll will never forget getting the phone call from mom that JP had passed and that you then had to deliver this 8lb baby knowing that he wouldn't be going home with you. I've learned so much about you and from you over the past year. I hope that when I grow up I can be just like you! The strength that you've shown over the past year is amazing! My testimony of the gospel and eternal families has grown stronger because of your example! You are an amazing mother, and I can't wait to see you hold little Tate in just a few weeks. How lucky your children are to have you as their mom! Thanks for being such an incredible little sister that I look up to SO much! I Love You Loni!

JP's First Birthday

2008-09-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Loni was nice enough to share JP's first birthday with all the little babies in the family, and in keeping with first birthday tradition she let the little one's eat the cake in his behalf. I didn't think Blake would be into it. He really doesn't like getting his hands dirty, boy were we surprised! He's how it all went down.........First, the hunt
Then, the first taste
Then came a full blown attack! By the end Blake was rubbing cake on his thighs! It was hilarious, and I'm sure it's what JP would have wanted! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, WE LOVE YOU JP!

Future Cougs?

2008-08-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

I had to post this picture of Blake and Trey in their matching jersey's at their first BYU football game. Could we be looking at some future players? Who knows, one thing I do know, they look so cute!

What we've been up to....

2008-08-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Man summer has come and almost gone, and I've been terrible about keeping this thing updated! Here is a BRIEF summary of what has been keeping us so busy.... we sold our house, moved into my parents house and began renovations on our new house. Of course that's been the most time consuming thing that we've been up to. The good news is that we'll be ready to move in next week :) we'll still have bathroom remodeling, and finishing the basement to work on, but at least we'll be back into a place of our own. I'll post before and after pictures once we get settled. This house has been a lot of work, bet we really like the way it's turning out! It hasn't been all work for us, we spent a day at Seven Peaks with the Abney's and Blake was in Heaven! He can't get enough of being in the water! We celebrated Trey's First birthday. He had a BYU party. I happened to have a bunch of blue Nike onesies that the little cousins could all wear, so I put numbers on each of them to represent their age in months. They looked so cute! Another exciting thing that has happened is Blake started crawling. Well... technically he can crawl, we've all seen it, but for some reason he prefers to do the 'worm'. He'll get up on hands and knees then shoot forward onto his belly, then repeat. It doesn't seem comfortable, but he can get where he wants to go, and fast. So we'll definitely be baby proofing the new place as soon as we get in there! How exciting :) We are looking forward to a week in Park City with my family to finish out the summer. And then of course getting moved in to our new home. I'll try to do better updating once we're in. We've loved this summer, and hope the weather will stay warm a little longer, we're just not done with the swimming pool, any one else feel that way?

First trip to ER......but not the last :(

2008-07-26T21:24:00.001-07:00

This is a LONG one! Last week we had to take our little man to the ER. Thursday Blake and I went to the pool, he had a great time then took a LONG nap after (which is unusual) and woke up pretty mellow. I took him upstairs to feed him and just as I strapped him in his chair he threw up. Just as soon as I cleaned it up he did it again. So I left him with Spencer and went to get him some Pedialyte. By the time I got home from the store he had thrown up 3 more times! We called the Dr. and the office said to bring him in to see the On Call Dr. By the time we made it into the hospital Blake had thrown up 15 times. Then waiting to see the Dr. he threw up 5 more times! The Dr. finally came in with No sense of urgency and asked a few questions while Blake lied in Spencers hands too weak to move. Spencer and I were both so on edge our little boy was sick and all she could say was 'hmmmm, well i'm just not sure' *Stacey if you are reading this you KNOW I was cursing your name for moving! We would have really appreciated taking our sick little boy to a Dr that knows her stuff! So thanks a lot! ;P* Anyway long story short obviously he was dehydrated, unfortunatley the nurse wasn't confident that she could find a vein without poking several times. The on call Dr wanted us to drive up to Primary's to visit the ER. We didn't think it was smart to drive the extra 20 minutes when we were right at the hospital. So into the ER. The nurses were great, the Dr. came right in and he was very reasuring that it was probably just a bug and we needed to get him hydrated. But there were 2 things working against us 'He's dehydrated, and he's chubby' which makes it very hard to find a vein. But the nurse came, did a great job, found a vein with just one poke. Gave him an IV with fluids and 4 hours later we left the hospital. Only to return 2 days later with the same problem. Everyday he's been doing better and better. Whatever it was that he caught was very strong because Saturday morning Spencer woke up and starting throwing up non-stop, then didn't leave the bedroom for 3 days! So I slept on the couch for the weekend, so I could be close enough to Blake, but far enough away from Spencer, we didn't need 3 sick people. Anyway makes you greatful for your health and good Doctors when you get sick. Stacey hope your patients in Idaho appreciate you as much as your Utah patients did!

Our trip to Texas

2008-07-13T16:57:00.001-07:00

We Love Summer This Much.....

2008-07-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy the past few months, so here is an update. This picture was taken during our vacation to Dallas. This was at a great place in Rockwall where they have a huge fountain that the kids love to play in (like Gateway) This little boy was LOVIN' the center fountain so much. We all just stood there and laughed as he pushed other kids away. He wasn't about the share. It was so funny! That's how much we've loved this summer so far, but we'll share :) Here's what we've been up to......

DALLAS with the Abney-Smith Families

2008-07-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Our favorite thing that we have done this summer is we just went to Dallas to spend the 4th with our good friends Buffy and Ian Smith. We LOVE the Smith family! They are so much fun. I don't think I've ever seen Spencer laugh to the point of tears, but he did this weekend. Not Once but Twice! The Smiths are just the best friends we have. It's hard to find a couple where both husbands get along great and both wives get along great. We had so much fun! Buffy is my old college roommate. Ian said it best when he said "The problem with hanging with old college friends is you act like you are still in college." We were definatley buring the candle at both ends. We came home WASTED. Here is a real short summary of what we did. We went to the arboretum (spelling?) we saw where JFK was shot we ate Kolaches - which are aparently a Texas speciality, in Utah we call it a pig in a blanket we went to the pool, we shopped we shopped so long that we made our kids sick! *notice the orange spit up all over Spencer and Blakes shirt. The kids were real troopers! we laughed, we cried, we had a FANTASTIC weekend. We are serious when we left we said we want to make it a tradition, so save your miles buffy and ian we want to see you guys soon! This is a picture the we took after our day of shopping, we have similar style and we all ended up with matching shirts. This is our "Saddie Hawkins" dance picture.
We are SO nerdy we know! Thanks you guys for such a memorable weekend!

Buffy Created a Craft MoNsTeR!

2008-07-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

This post is for Buffy. When we were in Dallas Buffy shared some of her new talents with me. These are the cutest bows and they are so fun to make. I made some for Becca's shower, and then I decided to make some for Olivia's first birthday. I was only going to make a few, but once I got started it was hard to stop. I hope that Olivia likes to wear them. We had to leave her Birthday party early (Blakes bed time) but I'll get a picture with her wearing one soon. Thanks for teaching me Buff, they were a huge hit!

We Listed, We Sold, We Hope!

2008-07-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

So I never posted anything when our 4 year Anniversary came and went and that's because we were busy listing our house. Well 6 days later we received a full asking price offer and we were under contract. We had to wait for the buyers of our house to sell their house and we just found out Friday that they are now under contract and hope to close by the end of the month! This is all pending on the inspection of their home. So it's not 100% yet, but we're hopeful! So where are we moving?......well we wish we knew! A few months ago we found another fixer-upper (which we love doing) and with my parents we put an offer on it. It's called a short sale, but this process has been anything but short. The seller accepted our offer months ago and has since moved out, rather than be foreclosed on. So we are waiting for the bank to accept the offer so we can get busy on it. If they don't do anything within the next 2 weeks we will be getting a storage unit and move in with my parents! That'll be just awesome :P Everyone cross your fingers that the bank will get focused and we will get this house in Sandy. We've loved living here, but let's be honest 40th west is NOT convenient, and we're looking forward to being back on the east side.

We've Been Swimmin'

2008-07-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well of course since summer has begun we have been spending time at the pool. I thought we'd go to the pool everyday after I finished teaching lessons, but it sure hasn't happened that way! But I'm going to try harder the second half of the summer. Blake LOVES the water. These are pictures from the first night we took him there. He never cries when I take him under water, he Loves back floating (most babies hate it) and he just kicks like crazy when he's in his little floatie. We LOVE the pool!

Girls Weekend

2008-06-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got a break and headed to St. George with my old Italy roommates - minus Camille (we wish you were there!) We started the tradition where Katie finds the house, LJ meets up with us down south and we do NOTHING! It was fantastic. We didn't really do nothing, but we did things that you get to do with just the girls. We got lots of sun by our private pool, went shopping, enjoyed spa pedicures, watched chick flicks in the movie theater in the basement of the house, and we laughed A LOT!
It was just the perfect break from everyday life. We are all lucky enough to have great husbands that take care of the kids while we are away. It's something that we look forward to every year! Thanks girls for a GREAT weekend. Only 11.5 months until we can go again :) Love you girls!

Oldie but GOODIE!

2008-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

When Blake first started 'talking' he always said 'ohhhhh' in the same pitch. I loved it, and started asking him to say it. He would repeat it back to me after I'd ask him to say 'ohhhh'. This is a video from my cell phone one night when he was 7 weeks. It's not a real great video, but I think it's so fun. My boy knows how to obey:)

I've Been Slackin!

2008-05-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted for a while and thought it was due time to show how much Blake is changing. He'll be 5 months on Monday. And the boy is getting BIG. Here's a shot of his new leg rolls (which I LOVE) He is also getting very Cheeky!

So 5 months and 17 lbs. you must be wondering what are we feeding this boy..... well we tried rice cereal.....then we tried pears with rice cereal mixed in. As you can see neither of those went over well he gagged both times. So guess we'll just keep him on the bottle for a while and try the fruits and veggies another time. But he sure is FUN! And developing quite a personality.

PS can some of you blogger savvy people please tell me how to post a picture in between my explaination, so it's not all photos then story? And keep in mind I'm computer S L O W.

THANKS!

Some favorite pics with the 'Italy Girls'

2008-05-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary Italy Girls

2008-05-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

This is stolen from Katie, and I couldn't have said it better
"Exactly 6 years ago to this day I set out on one of the greatest adventures of my life. I knew that I would have an amazing time traveling through Italy, what I didn't know was that I would make four of the best friends I've ever had. There were 18 girls that went on the trip and somehow the 5 of us ended up rooming together. Almost immediately we became inseparable and the fab 5 was born. We had some of the best times of our lives that summer, traveling through Italy together, seeing the sights, and having adventures! Ever since Italy we have stayed close. We go out to dinner, we've gone to each others weddings, and now we have an annual fab5 trip to St. George. They are a bright spot in my life and I'm so grateful for their friendships! I love you girls!!!Katie, Keri, Camille, Lisa, & LJThe Fab 5"

Let me add that with out Katie, I would not have been introduced to Spencer - so for that I am eternally grateful to you and your friendship!

LOVE YOU GIRLS!

Sweet Cousins

2008-04-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago the Thueson cousins got together for some spring photos. Last year when all the girls in the family announced we were having babies, we became so excited that there would be 4 little ones that could grow up and be best buddies. Here are some of my favorite photos from that day. The little girl is Olivia, Natalie's daughter born in July. The not so little ;) boy is Trey, Tad's son born in August and the cute 4 year old is also Tad's - that's the famous Kensley. And the teddy bear is to represent JP, Loni's little boy born in September. Getting these little ones together is always bitter sweet, because we know we are missing one baby. But we know that he is watching over his little cousins, and we'll see him again some day. JP is our little guardian angel - we love him!

Look Who's 3 Months!

2008-03-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Blake is already 3 month's old! He's getting so BIG and so FUN! Most of the earlier posts show Blake's serious side, but he does like to smile and 'talk' here are some recent grins :)

More GREAT Grandparents

2008-03-20T10:40:00.001-07:00

This is Great Grandma and Grandpa Smith Blake is the 6th Great Grandbaby for them.

It's a Wii-match

2008-03-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

We took Blake up to my grandparents house on Sunday to spend time with them. Blake is a lucky boy and has 2 sets of Great Grandparents. Anyway, Grandpa is the first person we know to get a Nintendo Wii and he plays it everyday for atleast 2 hours. Grandpa has Parkinson's disease and it helps to keep him mobile. Because grandpa plays so much he beats EVERYBODY at tennis, Thanksgiving was a slaughter! Well having a winter baby keeps you indoors so Spencer has had lots of time to practice, and he FINALLY beat grandpa at the Wii. Way to go!

2008-03-07T11:51:00.001-08:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Blake's Blessing

2008-03-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a serious shot of Blake on Sunday. All ready for his blessing. He looked so sweet dressed in white. I'll post more pictures later, there are plenty :)

Grandma and Grandpa GREAT!

2008-02-19T16:52:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we took Blake down to Mapleton to meet his Great grandparents. (My dads parents) They were so cute with him. He is the 32nd Great-Grandchild. Grandpa turns 94 this April, so we thought it was important to get a few pictures with the two of them together. Grandma kept saying 'Look at how cute he is Bob' and grandpa would respond 'I am looking Ann he's VERY cute'. It wasn't until we got in the car to leave that Spencer pointed out how funny it was that Grandpa said he was so cute. I didn't understand why that was so funny, I think Blake is cute. Then Spencer reminded me that Grandpa has macular degeration and he's blind! He can see fuzzy images, but nothing clear enough to know if it was cute. I guess that after 32 Great grandchildren you learn to say they are ALL cute! We love them and were happy we could spend time, and get some photos with them.

Nothing says I Love You like a $.99 Menu

2008-02-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well with today being the eve of Valentines day I can't help but reflect upon the Valentines that Spencer and I have spent together. Hands down the most memorable of them all was the first. 5 years ago Spence and I had just started dating (I think we'd been out maybe 3 times) Well as Valentines rolled around I don't think either one of us wanted to spend it together - just because we had just started dating and Valentines Day seemed to make it so serious. Anyway the night before Valentines Spencer asked if I wanted to go out with him. I said yes, and we planned to go out at 6:00 the next night. Well 6 rolled around, and no Spencer. Then it hit 7:00 and no Spencer (or phone call) He FINALLY showed up at 7:30. Over an hour late with no apology. I was obviously annoyed - I hate when people are late. So we get in his car and he asked "Where do you want to go?" I thought he doesn't even have anything planned - what a waste. After driving for a few minutes he asked me "Do you like Wendy's?" I said "sure" thinking he Must be joking - I got all dressed up for fast food! He got on the freeway and we drove to American Fork where he seriously pulled into Wendy's. I ordered a $.99 baked potato and a frosty. The dinner was so awkward! He took me home after and I swore that would be our last date. Who takes a girl to Wendy's on Valentines Day????? Well obviously we went out again and we've had many great Valentines Days since then (we can only go up from there - right?). But every year when Valentines comes around we always joke that we're going to Wendys. Nothing says I Love You like a frosty! Guess it was good to get the worst one over with first. I always head into the holiday with NO expectations. Hope you all have a fabulous day with the one you love!

Hot Tubbin in the Mountains

2008-02-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we went up to Loni and Troys house to hot tub. I say up because they live in the mountians! Don't be decieved this is NOT a below ground hot tub! They have so much snow up there it's ridiculous. The fence you see in the background that has snow coming up to the top is 5 feet tall! Man I'm glad I don't live up there. Is anyone else ready for summer time - or maybe I just need a sunny vacation?! It seems like this winter just wont end and I'm so over it! However, hot tubbin is a lot more fun when it's cold outside. Thanks for letting us come up Lon!

GOOD MORNING!

2008-02-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

Blake is getting so fun! Here he is a 6 weeks. He started smiling a lot in the morning (I think it's because he's gassy - but I'll take what I can get) I snapped this photo last week. It makes you forget the little sleep that you got the night before when he gives you such a BIG smile in the morning.

2008-02-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Our Baby Boy

2008-02-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Blake at 3 weeks. Thanks again to Lisa for the great photo shoot- you are SO talented!

2008

2008-02-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our Family Blog! I'm really excited to join the blog world. More than anything I hope that keeping a blog will get me motivated to try new things, and take more pictures! When I look at friends blogs, I realize I have a very boring life.....hopefully this will inspire me to do more :)