Volleyball...how I'v missed you...

After being prego for a second time, then havign surgery 5 weeks later...I have waited along time for this...
Floor burns from sliding...

Bruises from Diving...Sprained fingers from setting....
Back pain from hitting...

I love this game...it's good to be back!!

Double the fun!!

What a great weekend this was- Easter and Conference Sunday combined into one weekend of awesomeness!! Not to mention that my wonderful husband passed yet another totally grueling test and was able to spend the weekend with us..a rarity lately :( We certainly tried to make the best of it!!

Every Conference Sunday I make a big breakfast including: breakfast cake, eggs and orange julius (an old family tradition that I love...) Here I am working away :)
The cooking didn't end there, however. We got to go over to my sweet grandma's house for Easter Sunday this year to have dinner and an egg hunt with all my family (I have been doing this ever since I can remember, so fun) I made the best cookies ever to bring...carrot cake cookies! Thanks again Kira for the recipe!!!Jane got her very first Easter basket this year, too!! She had so much fun with all the fun little treasures she received...not to mention, it kept wonderfully entertained during Conference so Ryan and I were able to enjoy the wonderful talks. My favorite was the one on mothers during the Sunday afternoon session. It was truly amazing!A walking egg and an airplane launcher were her favorites...On Saturday, we decided to have our own little Easter egg hunt. As you can see Jane was simply ecstatic that the Easter bunny had visited our house this year!
She searched so diligently for every egg...and had MUCH success!!
Jane was even more thrilled to see that there were treats inside just for her!! She thanked the Easter bunny many many times that day!Earlier that week, we also managed to decorate some Easter eggs with Ryan! Jane thought this was the coolest thing ever...
This was supposed to be a smile...nice try Jane...we still need to work on that...The eggs ended up looking really good!And of course, I need to add in some adorable pics of our darling little Beckham! I can't believe he is already 5 months old. He is so smiley and sweet!!
I love our kids sooo much!
So, some more wonderful memories have been made this weekend...life is good!!

Things that I love lately...

**I love to listen to Beckham experimenting with his voice...going as high as he can possibly go.

**I love how Jane will randomly throw her arms around my neck and so sincerely say, "I love you mama."

**I love how Beckham holds my finger when I feed him a bottle and how every now and then, he will reach up and gently touch my face.

**I love to watch Jane's face as she excitedly watches Sleeping Beauty while wearing her Aurora dress.

**I love how Beckham gives me the biggest smile every single morning without fail.

**I love how Jane will break into song at least seven times a day, singing the songs of the Disney princesses, asking me to sing along with her.

**I love to hear Beckham laugh, though I have to look like a complete idiot to get it to happen and I love how Jane laughs hysterically at any tiny silly thing I do.
**I love how no matter how aweful the previous day may have been, I always look forward to seeing my sweet kids in the morning.

**I love being a mom!!

Another St. Patty's Day...

I love St. Patrick's Day for several reasons. One, it means that Spring is well on it's way. And Two, I come from an Irish Heritage and my family has always celebrated it!!

Here's a funny memory, my whole extended family used to have an entry in the Irish parade up in Salt Lake. We would ride on a trailer with a banner proudly displaying HORRIGAN (my gma's maiden name) pulled behind a truck. Sitting on bales of hay, and wearing oversized green hats, we would sing songs to the sound of my sweet grandma playing her accordian. A few of us rollerbladed along side handing out candy. Embarassing? Yes, but that has become a very fond memory and I will always have a love for St. Patty's day.

For the four years of St. Patrick's days I have had with my own little family, we have celebrated by having the traditional Irish dish, Cornned Beef and Caggabe Soup...sooo yummy. This year we started another St. Patrick's Day tradition... Jane and I made a leprechaun trap!! Jane had been hearing about and talking about how sneaky leprechauns are all week. So, she was very excited to finally try to catch one the night before St. Patrick's Day. Here is Jane with our trap! Obviously many long hours went into the making of this trap...as you can see!!

Here is our trap all set. Cute Jane thought it would be smart to put the picture of a leprechaun which had been hanging on our fridge inside the trap, so as to lure the leprechauns into it...what a genious!!

The next morning Jane was very excited to see if we had caught one... The leprechauns got away this year, but as evidence that we had almost caught one, we found gold coins inside our trap that the leprechaun had left behind...Oh how Jane loved it!

She loved it even more when she discovered that there was chocolate inside...:) Oh how I love my little family and making new memories together!!

Perhaps we'll catch a leperchaun next year :)

Cooking Curry and Eating Rice

Jane always HAS to help me cook. This used to be somewhat nerve racking and needless to say...annoying. However, lately it has become super fun because Jane is just such a doll :) Here's how the conversation went...

*As Jane is pulling a chair over- "Wanna help, wanna help mama cook!"

*I begin to put veggies into the pot and stir when Jane says, "Let me do it, Let me do it!"

*As I am cutting the onion- "Watcha doin mama?"

*I tell her I am cutting an onion for the curry. Jane excitedly says, "Good idea mama!!"

*As she stirs- "Sorry pot, hahah, I'm cookin ya!"

*The pot begins to sputter and sizzle- "Ahh, I'm getting sprinkled! Oh no!"

*As I am busily cooking away Jane says so sweetly, "Great cookin mama!"

I have never had so much fun cooking before!! What a sweet little gal I have :)

Beckham started rice cereal just a few days ago and just plain loved it! I can't believe how big he's getting and what a large appetite he has...

So I've got daughter who loves to cook and a son who loves to eat...my job is going to get very easy!!

Sick and Stuck!!

Due to two very sick kids, I had quite litterally not seen the natural light of day for TWO WEEKS, until last Thursday when I simply couldn't handle it anymore and took a small trip to the mall with the kids. By then, they both were pretty much over thier illnesses- they just had the inevitable, lingering congestion that generally hangs around for much to long!!

To keep myself sane during this time, I find that I did some pretty inventive things. We borrowed toys from my sis... who had sick kids of her own :(
Don't they both look so happy...

Daddy brought home a new pair of Monkey pajamas for Jane...that she LOVES!! She got the notion that she needed new pj's from watching Minnie's Pajama Party on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...many many times...It made her so happy!!

We of course had many many baths to clean off the germs and grime of the day...always fun!!

And for being such a trooper and handling being stuck indoors for so long, Jane got a new Aurora princess dress which she simply adored!I also started the INSANITY work out with my sister...YIKES. It is exactly what it is titled...INSANE. But, hopefully my butt will get whipped into shape soon. When I get ripped and skinny...I will let ya know :)Also, to pass the time, I got super engrossed in trying to win tickets to the Lion King from Studio 5. My sis, Ryan, Jane and I worked super hard and put together an awesome video...which, in the end, wasn't even a finalist...but it was still fun...and I think it's great! Here is the link and you can check in out :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CepN1YxUmDk Enjoy!!

We made the best of being sick the best we could...but I am excited to venture out into the world again...WORLD...here I come!!!

Blessings, babes, bubbles and baths...

...has been what is going on around our house. Beckham got blessed this month and was such a good boy. This was a far cry from Jane- who cried...no screamed, during her whole blessing. I couldn't even hear it. This just goes to show you how different Jane and Beckham's personalities are :) Beckham wore the same blessing outfit that Ryan wore as a baby...soooo cute, though it BARELY fit him- he was just about busting out of it- poor guy!! His face says it all...Really mom? Are you really making me wear this?

Here's the happy family...a worn out mom (after taking care of two crying kids during sacramnet meeting), a anxious dad (so ready to get home and so done with the lingering in the halls with family) a sleeping baby, and a missing Jane (who was running up the hall at this point...)
I had to throw in this cute pic of my adorable little man waking up from a nap... he is such a happy guy, and a good napper!
Daddy, spending a much needed moment with his little Beckham after a long week of leaving early and studying until late. Ahhh how sweet :)
Being home bound because Jane has been terribly sick, I have been pulling out all the stops to keep this little gal entertained. We even had a bubble oasis in our kitchen...this is big for me due to the fact that I am a complete neat freak...I must have been desperate...
Oh how glorious the bubbles are...

Little Beckham liked them too :)
And of coarse the coveted bath. Jane loves this time of the day and spends a good twenty minutes in there...a precious twenty minutes of calm entertainment :)
One day Jane said to me "Jane take a bath?" I said, "Later. You really love your baths don't you?" Jane replied, "Girls love baths!" I thought that was so cute...and so true!! What a little diva!!
All in all, life is good despite the winter gloom and the sick kids :)