What a Guy

Mark has been such a strict dieter, he has lost nearly forty pounds. That was a personal goal of his to reach by the first of February, and HE DID IT! We went to Nordstrom last night without the kids to drop off some clothes to get altered. He wanted to get one of his suits and about five dress pants taken in so he had some clothes to wear to work that fit. His pants are new within the last few months and hated them to go to waste. We walked past the jeans and he decided that he finally wanted to invest in a pair. They look so great on him!

This afternoon when he got home from work, the kids had friends over, so he went into our room and shut the door. I snuck in after a few minutes had passed and I caught Mark doing this...





I had to laugh and run get my camera. It still fits!! He is so funny, he weighs himself morning and night, naked. All of his hard work has paid off and his bum looks so cute in his new jeans!

A Tribute

My friend and neighbor Brittany emailed this to me today. I thought I would share it with all of you.



I hope to be a better example to everyone I meet.

Saturday Night Date Night

Last night Mark and I had the opportunity to have a "date night". We had a great time. First, we went to dinner at Market Street in the Oyster Bar. We went to the new location in South Jordan and it was so busy. It is so nice that restaurants are starting to open at the south end of the valley. Another great restaurant is MacCools. They have a location in Layton, Foothill Village and they just opened a third at the District. We need to go support them so they don't close. It is an Irish pub and the food is really good.

When we go without our kids, we always buy a temporary membership so we can go into the bar and eat. It is so great to eat without kids around. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but it is so nice to eat with just adults. They probably hate to see us coming because we don't order alcohol. We have a frequent diner card through Gastronomy and they always send us a buy one get one free postcard for each of our birthdays. We used mine and also had earned a $25 gift certificate, so we got off pretty cheaply. I had king crab legs and they are always amazing. They are my favorite!

After dinner, we went and saw the much talked about movie, Juno. I loved it! It made me cry. Mark loved it, too. The soundtrack is great, I may just download it from itunes so I can listen in my car. For any of you who haven't been to see this show, please go. I think the girl that played Juno got nominated for an Oscar. She was so great in this show. I loved the way she talked and the words she used. It made me laugh. Stop sitting around and go see this show! I'll go again if someone needs a date!!!

I just remembered something funny. Years ago, Ryan (Mark's brother) had to do a biography in school. One of the things he wrote about us is that we are "gourmet eaters". hahaha

President Hinckley

I just found out that President Hinckley passed away. He was such a great president of our Church and will be missed very much. I always enjoyed listening to him speak. It was always insightful and inspiring just to watch him. He is now in Heaven with his cute wife - what a joyous reunion that must be!!! He will be missed. 'Til we meet again!!!

100 Things...

ENJOY!

1. I am the middle of three kids - older sister and younger brother.

2. I waited for my missionary and am happily married.

3. I don't feel 33, still feel 20 something. I'm still a kid!

4. I love pedicures and even love giving them to myself.

5. I love to spend money - POOR MARK!

6. I'm afraid of the ocean/water - afraid of what's down there...

7. I read People.com daily.

8. I hate parking garages. I always think there is going to be an earthquake and
I'll be stuck.

9. I am afraid of the basement - that someone will grab my feet on the way up the stairs.

10. I am TERRIFIED of bears and wonder if I'll ever go camping again.

11. I am a sucker for beauty products. Sephora is heaven!

12. I love the smell of stinky baby feet and baby breath.

13. I am so extremely anal about my house, just ask my poor kids!

14. I've had a cleaning lady for almost five years - and I won't ever give it up!

15. Mark and I never fight :) He is so passive.

16. I've known my husband since 1991.

17. I'm addicted to blogging.

18. I love to bake and Mark hates it with his diet.

19. I love candy - Jr. Mints and Jr. Carmels.

20. I love to eat out!

21. I've lived in Utah my entire life. I am so sheltered.

22. I love to travel, especially Hawaii or New York, but it's getting harder with
three kids.

23. I still wear my original retainer from 9th grade.

24. I love getting my hair cut and colored.

25. I have gray hair. You bet I pluck it!

26. I don't speak to my dad - not by my choice.

27. I love my sister, brother, mom, dad and Mark's family!!!

28. I love my boys and don't know what I'd do without them.

29. I love my husband very much and appreciates everything he does for us!

30. I love Diet Coke only with a fresh lime or Diet Pepsi Jazz Carmel Cream.

31. I don't care to ever scrapbook. I blog!

32. I want to learn to sew/quilt. My mom needs to teach me!

33. I would love to take piano lessons again.

34. I wish I had more time to read. Blogging takes up too much time!

35. I am not cheap or frugal, but I do love a good sale.

36. I think BUDGET is a four letter word.

37. I call Mark every day at 4:01 p.m. too see if he's left work yet.

38. I want to go back to school and maybe become a nurse.

39. I get a metal taste in my mouth when I am pregnant.

40. I hate SF Sourdough pizza. The sauce got to me when I was pregnant with Will.

41. I don't really like sports, but I love watching my kids play
baseball/basketball.

42. I hate Sports Center. Mark is addicted to Sports Center and sports forums.

43. I'll play Mario games with my kids on the Wii and I hate to admit it, but I am better than they are!

44. I keep our house at 76 degrees. It is wonderful!

45. I sleep with socks on and a sweatshirt.

46. I wrap my pillow around my ears. Partly to keep the bugs out (from my childhood)
and partly to not hear the alarm and kids.

47. I love to garden. It's my out.

48. I can't stand to see my husband idle. (Mark told me to put this.)

49. I hate a messy car!

50. I love Conan O'Brian. He makes me laugh. In the year 2000...In the year 2000

51. I Tivo Oprah, Today Show, Good Things Utah and secretly Tivo Days. I fast
forward to the good parts!

52. I don't really like Oprah. She bugs! Will used to think her name was Cobra. Funny!

53. I love Good Eats and Feasting on Asphalt. Alton Brown is great!

54. I love kitchen gadgets and tools. I could have a hey day in Spoons-n-Spice and
Sur la Table.

55. I love to take HOT baths and showers!

56. I don't ever want a dog or other pet. My kids always ask, and I tell them when
they have their own house, they can get one.

57. We had a dog, Daisy, and she was an escape artist. She was an acrobat and could climb any fence. It was Mark's dog and he put the great idea of a dog into my kids head and asked for one for his birthday. He later had to sign the paper to put her down. That is another post. Don't think I'm mean. She was a pain in the &%$.

58. We had a parrot, Tarzan, but we gave her away before I had Max. It was too messy!

59. My Tahoe is bad luck. I've scraped it along the side of our garage. I've put the garage down so it scraped the back. The best is when it was a few days old. It was snowy and I was getting our mail in the car. I didn't know it was in 2 wheel drive (I always had my old Tahoe on Auto) and as I pulled away from the mailbox, the back end of my car slid right into my mailbox as I drove away. Nice deep scratch!

60. I love road trips.

61. I love loud music and love to sing in the car.

62. I don't like country music.

63. I am very social.

64. I love to laugh.

65. I am very blunt. I put my foot in my mouth quite often!

66. No subject is off limits.

67. I am very affectionate!

68. I got a Kidney Infection on our honeymoon. It started out as a UTI and I spent a
week in the hospital (two nights in ICU) after Hawaii. I was dumb!

69. I love doing laundry buy hate putting it away, especially the socks.

70. I love green Tabasco and hot food.

71. I jump on the trampoline with my kids!

72. I am horrible with names, but never forget a face.

73. I love that my kids love to read.

74. I have SMART kids.

75. I don't iron Mark's clothes and it bugs him. His mom ironed everything!

76. I can't keep secrets.

77. I can't stand surprises.

78. I sneak peek at Christmas presents. I'm a great detective when it comes to that!

79. I love childbirth, it is amazing!

80. I hate paying the bills and it's my job!

81. We got married in the Salt Lake Temple.

82. I love good cheese and so does Max. Gruyere, yum!

83. Owen and Luke Wilson are HOT (as my kids would say).

84. I have scary/action/sports movies. YAWN!

85. I love spoiling my kids.

86. I want a boob job after my last baby, but it does kind of scare me.

87. My parents divorced my senior year of high school and it was very hard on me.

88. I love Mexican food!

89. When I get home, I put my jammies on immediately.

90. Every church calling I've ever had has been in Primary.

91. Mark is mellow and I'm the opposite.

92. I love my bed and good sheets.

93. I'm not very crafty.

94. I love chewing on my kids.

95. I hate grocery shopping, but love Harmon's.

96. My favorite season in spring when all of the flowers come out.

97. I LOVE 80's music!

98. I play with my hair. It's soft because of my shampoo - purple bottle Pureology.
$$ but worth it!

99. I love when my kids go to bed for the night.

100. I don't have any tattoos or body piercings.

I did it!! Now you should too.

Ben Potter

Tonight while Will and Ben were brushing their teeth, Ben tried to mark his face like Harry Potter's face. Sadly, he used my new Bobbi Brown lipstick! This is what he looked like after he tried to clean his face.



Nice. And he was mad when I had to scrub his face with my face soap and a washcloth. I couldn't get it all off either!

Nightly Ritual

Max loves reading books. Every night and day we read to Max. It's almost ritual. After his bath in the morning, just after I've gotten him dressed, he heads to his books. Tonight, Mark had the privilege of reading books to Max. He is learning all of the animal sounds and can mimic most. He is so funny! My favorite thing that he is saying right now is "I want some". Whenever anyone has something that he wants some of, he lets you know. He can also say "awesome" and when I say "I love you" he says "wub bu". It is so cute!



To get Max to smile, I ask him to show me his teeth.


Max even gives kisses!



He wanted to play with my camera and was very upset when I didn't let him. Oh, looks like bedtime...

St. George

Last weekend for my birthday, we headed down south to St. George. It was so nice to get away, out of the cold and snow. As you can see, it was very relaxing and nice. It was in the 40's or 50's the whole time, so we didn't need to wear our heavy coats outside.




We even drove to Vegas so I could do a little shopping. Mark is so nice to me! He puts up with my shopping and even likes to go with me without the kids. While in Vegas we went to Townsquare and visited some of my favorite stores. We shopped H&M and picked up some clothes for the kids and myself, Sephora and I got two shirts at Michael Stars. It was great!!! We used our Garmin to locate an In-N-Out for lunch and stopped by Trader Joes to pick up some sauces and candy. I love Trader Joes and wish there was a location in Salt Lake. I would die if Sephora came. I am such a sucker for products. I, unlike Kami, love to spend money on makeup.

While in St. George, we visited the dinosaur tracks and the wildlife museum.

Don't you just love the Spider Man clothing? H & M had a bunch that Ben HAD to have, much to my dismay.

We showed the kids the temple after eating lunch at The Pizza Factory.











The kids had fun swimming at the hotel every night.

Yes, even Mark had fun swimming. Look at that mean patch of chest hair. Lucky for you, I didn't get a full frontal shot of all of his hair. You would be shocked :) Kidding! I didn't even get in because I hate being cold. I hate having to walk back up to the room all wet. I'm no fun!

We even visited the local Golden Spoon. It brought back many memories of waiting in line at the Golden Spoon in Ft. Union during high school.

On Monday we headed over to Zions. I couldn't believe how dead it was there. You'd think it would be an ideal time to visit because it isn't so hot. Last time we were there was when Will was a baby. We had a family reunion there at the hotel that Mark's aunt and uncle owned, the Zion Park Inn. The boys went golfing and the girls stayed around and swam and visited their local ghost town. I remembered where it was and took the boys. It's the old pioneer town named Grafton. They have been renovating the old homes and the school/church and there is even a small cemetery.




The kids had more fun throwing the rocks into the Virgin River.

That spiderman stuff needs to disappear.... Ben insisted on wearing it every day.

We came back to an unbelievable amount of snow in our driveway. We drove home on Tuesday, so luckily we missed driving home during the storm. It is always so refreshing to get away, if even for just a few days.

It's Come to This

While on vacation Max figured out how to climb out of the pack-n-play. Just after Mark laid him down for bed, I had to go hang up some clothes in his closet. Well, I witnessed Max climbing out of his crib. I ran over and caught his foot, trying to ease his fall. It was hilarious, but scary at the same time. I don't remember Ben climbing out of his crib, but Will did a few times until we finally decided to put him in his big boy bed. I just don't think Max is ready - he's still my baby. We already have a twin bed in his room. I had to buy the matching bed from my nursery set, so we're prepared. But, I'm not ready. I think it's because I remember what a pain it was to get my other kids to stay in bed. Will would take off his diaper (poop filled) and play with his toys, leaving a poop stripe in various locations of his room and a monstrous mess to clean up.

He's in his crib now and isn't climbing out, yet. You'd think it would be scary to fall out of bed. It is such a long way down and he did seem frightened. You'd think that would be a deterrent, but NO. What should I do???

See Ya in Two

Oh, I have so much to say about this and I cannot type it out fast enough. Last night, we went up to say a final goodbye to Uncle Ryan. He is hilarious. It has been one party after another for him up until today. His farewell was over two weeks ago and he's just been hanging out with his friends every night until the wee hours of the morning. When you sit with him, he is constantly texting his friends. Seriously, I text occasionally, but with him, it is never ending. Apparently he was texting his friends while going through security at the airport this morning. And, he called his parents from Atlanta tonight to check in and to see if he'd gotten any texts. COME ON. He left his room like he would any other day. His dirty clothes on the floor, piles everywhere. His car with everything just as he left it, as if to return in a few hours. He didn't even make his bed. In fact, his mom packed his suitcases for him. He didn't want to get set apart the night before leaving, when everyone would be available. He wanted to wait until the last possible time so he could hug the girls that would be coming to bid him farewell.

I am so excited for him to embark on this part of his life. He has been the ONLY child at home for the past ten years. Luxury cruises, whatever he wanted, he got. Now, it is on with a hard dose of reality. He'll be great!

It brought back many memories of when Mark left on his mission. It was hard. I remember thinking how long two years would be, and at the time, it felt like forever. But, looking back, it went by so quickly that I hardly remember. I remember crying all of the time. I was a baby! But, it was so fun to write letters and have a pen-pal romance. I ran to the mailbox everyday in search of a letter. To this day I still get excited when the mail man comes. I think Mark's letters play a major part in that.

Good luck to Ryan, he'll be a great missionary. We will miss him and so will Will and Ben. They'll miss the teasing and tormenting. The sad thing is that Max won't remember him when he returns. We'll just have to show pictures of Ryan often.

Pray for Mark's mom and dad. Their last one left the roost and Les just turned the big 6-0. We should all go visit often! I'm sure they'll have a hard couple of days/weeks. They just need to stay busy and buy into that house in St. George for the rest of us to enjoy with them.

Do You Think...

Do you think Mark would care if I opened my birthday present early? After all, it was delivered to my door today. If he didn't want me to have it early, he should have had it sent to his office like he did all of my Christmas presents. Oh, I am so excited!!!




Just think of the possibilities... I could have posted a close up of the poo if it had been delivered earlier today :)


I really need to stop with the Internet today. Max is severly neglected. Maybe there is a support group I should go to. I can't walk by my laptop without getting on. Crap!

Swimming Lessons with Max

Max and I are taking a mommy and me swimming lesson with Walker Swim Kids. Will and Ben also took lessons from Liz and now it is Max's turn. My sister and Charlie (10 months) are in the class with us. Max loves it. He just laughs and splashes the entire time. Well, except for when Liz takes him for one-on-one time with her. He is such a mommas boy and has separation anxiety. This class is in Holladay. She used to teach at Dive Addicts in Draper, but I don't think she is at that location anymore. Their swimming lessons are amazing. I am a huge proponent of lessons. I think it is so important for kids to learn how to swim and to not be afraid of the water.

While driving to swim, I drove down Highland Drive, right past Cottonwood Mall. The parking lot is in the process of being ripped up. It makes me sad! Those were my old stomping grounds. That used to be THE mall to go to. Remember Contempo (I used to buy underwear there), Accessory Depot, Trenz (my friend Lara worked there), Camp Beverly Hills, going shopping with my grandma to ZCMI and having her buy Karyn and me lunch at the Tiffin Room, or even a hot dog at the snack bar, and the other great stores. I remember walking that mall with my friends, getting a Golden Spoon. Hey, my friend Becky even worked at Hot Dog on a Stick there. I think she must post a picture of herself in that outfit :) She was and is a brave girl! So, so many memories there. I must be getting old. Remember our parents talking about Aeurbacks(sp), now we talk about ZCMI. Holladay is such a sleepy town now. Seriously, there isn't any traffic at all. Not like Draper, which is pure craziness! Maybe we should all move to Holladay. I know, Walker Lane/Cottonwood Lane would be an ideal place to live. I would LOVE it!! I wonder if there is anything in my price range....

He Didn't!!

Oh yes he did, and he looks rather proud of himself, doesn't he? I don't think Will or Ben ever did this. The tub is soaking in Clorox as I type this. Gross!!

News Worthy

I contributed to this. Pretty cool!

I Finally Did It!

My sister in law, Kim, is a cosmetologist and she was up at Mark's parents tonight giving Ryan his mission haircut. So, I asked her if she would be willing to.......







trim Max's hair. Finally, after nineteen months, Max got a hair cut! It was getting a little unruly. He didn't love it, as you can see, but it is done!



Look at all of those dark brown curls - so sad :(

What a Mess

I'm debating when to get rid of the old high chair. But, I don't think Max is quite ready. I don't want this all over my nice table...



I promise that Max always doesn't look like such a rag-a-muffin. He just woke up from his nap and like most of us, our hair looks a little unruly after a nap. He is so funny, when I want him to smile, I ask to see his "toofies" and he smiles a cheesy smile. He has the David Letterman space, just like Will. My father in law (our Dentist) has already informed me that Will and Ben are going to need braces, and I'm sure Max will, too!



One of Max's better hair days. He is such a MONKEY! We went downtown to meet Mark for lunch today, and with his diet limitations, he chose Paradise. (Not a great place, the cookies are too tempting!) Max wouldn't eat, so I did what any mom would do and I fed him a cookie. He pretty much looked like a chocolate monster there, too.

New Door

A few months ago I ordered a new front door for our home. It has been a long process, with many headaches, but it is finally here. Yeah!! I had it delivered directly to our cabinet guy for staining, got it all stained and had it delivered to our house. The installer came mid-December to install and the door was ONE inch to tall. I had to have the door company come pick it up and cut it down for us. Keep in mind it was all stained and perfect. They basically had to take it apart to cut it down. So, now it is in need of a visit from our cabinet guy for a little TLC. But, for the most part it looks great! I'm still waiting for our exterior shutters that match the new door, so I'll be happy when it is all finished.

Our old door was never installed correctly and you could feel the air flowing into our house. It never closed right and I hated that we had an all glass side-light. When kids come over (and maybe sometimes adults) they would just peek right in. I would be sitting there in my robe and a towel on my head and I'd see a little head peeking in the window. So.....without further adieu....

I was so nervous that he was going to drop the door. I was totally trying to help him hold it in place. He assured me that he had never dropped a door before, well, I didn't want mine to be his first. I was so NERVOUS!!! And, he probably thought I was crazy taking pictures. As I glance over, I have to do a double take because it seems as though our door is open because it is so dark. We have been talking about getting a new door for years and we finally have one.

Junior Jazz

Their coach Todd and his beginning of game pep talk. Little did they know they would be playing three girls that would kick their butts!

Will warming up before the start of the game. He is the tallest boy on his team. I cannot believe how big and old he is getting. He is growing up way too fast!

The start of the game. Notice number 44 on the blue team. Man, I would kill my mom. Actually, my mom used to keep my hair really short. I even have an elementary school picture and I am wearing a corduroy blazer with short boy hair. I should post that picture... maybe someday. I give my mom a hard time about it to this day. I think she secretly wanted a boy!

Look at those curls. Max did pretty well during the game. A little girl next to us had a bunch of girl toys and Max loved playing with them. She didn't really appreciate it, though!

Max eating a fruit snack off of the floor. I know, I know....he is my third child after all. Need I say more?

Ben made two baskets. They have both improved so much since last year. It is so much fun to go and watch their games.

There is helmet head again and she was probably their best player.

Max loves to make baskets. He even ran out onto the court during the game a few times and Mark had to run out and get him. I was too busy taking pictures :)

Max is thrilled, he just made a basket, too!

Who Needs a Handyman??

Mark is out for hire, so if anyone needs a good plumber, he is your guy. Tonight he replaced one of our bathroom faucets. I have a Kohler faucet in one of our bathrooms and it has been out of commission for a couple of weeks. I've been fighting with Kohler to get replacement parts and they finally had to send me a complete new faucet. I was so excited and it came yesterday. So, today I went to Home Depot and bought some supplies to complete the project. Mark got right on it when he got home and he did an amazing job. We can use our bathroom again :) Mark isn't really handy, he is a Investment Banker, he has soft hands. But, he is learning.

It was so windy last night that I hardly slept. I thought for sure that our windows were going to blow out of our house. I was fully prepared for a huge snow storm when I woke up, being hold up in our house all day and having to dig out. That is basically how the weather people on the news warned me. And, I woke up to this...








I'm glad that most of the snow melted yesterday so our roads aren't snow packed in our neighborhood. Those weather people, they're never right!