Christianson Family

The past 2 months in a nutshell........

2010-09-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

WOW I can't believe what a slacker I am!:) Anyway, the past few months have been crazy, busy, and hectic. Some of it was fun and some of it not so fun. I'll try and go in order......I found out in late May that I would need surgery to remove a freakishly large fibroid that was growing on my uterus. I swear I got more blood tests that month than I thought I'd ever get in a life time! But it was not malignant and I cannot describe how thankful I am for that. My surgery was in mid July and it went pretty well. There were a few complications during surgery and I lost a lot of blood and had to have a few transfusions so that was scary but it could have been a lot worse. There are so many things that I am thankful for because of this thing I went through. I am thankful for a loving, supportive, caring husband. Without him I would have lost my mind! He took 3 weeks vacation and he cooked, cleaned, bathed the girls, did their hair, dressed them, played with them, did laundry, ran errands, paid bills, kept up the house and the yard, he did everything! And he didn't even complain once! I am blessed to have him!:) I am thankful for my girls who make me laugh and smile no matter what. They brighten my days. They made me about a hundred get well pictures! I love them so much. I am thankful for my WONDERFUL doctor! He is truly amazing! He was so good at explaining everything in a way I could understand and he was so supportive and caring. He even called me at home once to check on me after I found out I would need the surgery! I feel blessed to have him as a doctor and I am so incredibly sad he's retiring!:( Last week I also found out that I going to need 1 more surgery! UGH! I cannot wait for all this to be behind me! But I am thankful Dr.Tindall is not retiring until July so I'm ecstatic I don't have to have some strange doctor I don't know do my next and hopefully last surgery. I am thankful for blood donors. I am thankful for my niece who watched the girls while I was in surgery so Shane could be at the hospital. I am thankful for everyone who helped Shane with the girls while I was stuck in the hospital for 2 days. I am thankful for all my friends who took turns bringing dinner for a week! They are amazing! I am thankful for all the hospital staff who took such great care of me, especially the nurses who made me laugh. I am thankful for all the friends and family who came to see me in the hospital and kept me sane. I am thankful for medical technology. I am thankful for the lord who watched over me and my family during this time. I am thankful for prayer. I am thankful that I am OK and can watch my girls grow. I am thankful for all of this and so much more. OK, enough of the mushy stuff....I'm gonna start crying!

Now on to the fun things......Mylee Jade got a haircut! Isn't she so cute?? Her hair was so long and now it's so short! I miss doing her long beautiful hair every morning but I do love her short hair. She wanted to look older for third grade, silly girl.:)

2 days before my surgery Shane took me and our good friends Bonnie and Perry to the D-Backs game. It was such a fun time! Even though the Diamondbacks pretty much stink but it was still so much fun! Bonnie and I got a hold of our good friend, Emily from High school who lives in Phoenix now and we hadn't seen her forever! So it was so nice to see and visit with her.

1 week after my surgery was the big Smithson Family Reunion at the beautiful Brady Park, happy land!:) The only pictures I have are ones on my phone which I couldn't figure out how to get them on here! And the ones that are shown are ones from my cousins camera.

This is me, Shane, my brother Will, and my cousin Audrey making dutch oven biscuits and gravy. Well actually Will and Audrey are. I put on an apron to make it look like I was helping.

This is one of Riah and Avah, they were the "biscuit runners" they would bring the biscuits down from Shima's fancy kitchen to Audrey and Will who would cook them in the dutch oven. Mylee was the "biscuit cutter", Shima was the "Biscuit roller", and I was the "stand there and look busy" girl.

This is Mylee with our cousins cute dog who she loved! Mylee is such a little animal lover.

The rest of the post will be boring because I don't have anymore pictures! Dang it! But anyway, the reunion was so much fun! I just love going and watching my girls play with all their cousins. I love visiting with my cousins who I only see once a year. This year was so relaxing because Shane wouldn't let me lift a finger! I swear that man said "rest" like 500 times during the camping trip! So it was pretty relaxing. I didn't have to get kids meals, or clean them up, or get them to sleep, or set up or take down camp, or pretty much anything except walk around. I got to hold and cuddle my adorable new nephew, Adam pretty much the whole time. It was heavenly!:) He is so cute, I wanted to take him home with me!

After the reunion it was hard getting back into the groove of things. I was starting to not be so sore so I was back to my household chores against Shane's wishes! haha. I had to clean when he wasn't looking so he didn't get mad at me!:) He took such good care of me though, what a SWEETIE he is! I got on to school shopping for the girls school clothes. That was so fun! I LOVE shopping for girl clothes! Mylee started 3rd grade and Riah and Avah started Pre-school. This is Riah's 2nd year and Avah's 1st year. I was very nervous about sending Avah. Anyone who knows her know what a momma's girl she is. I was impressed with her though, she did better than me! I didn't want to leave her, and I cried the whole drive home! She's my baby! But, I'm glad we put her in because it is really helping her socially. All the girls love school!

That is all for now, I will try and be better at blogging but don't hold your breath!

Best Daddy EVER!

2010-06-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish this guy right here a very HAPPY Fathers Day!!!We love him to pieces and I'm so blessed to have him as my daughter's daddy!
I got the girls together and had them all tell me their favorite things about Their daddy and here they are......

MYLEE:
*He helps me draw
*He helps me catch crawdads
*He bought me my scooter
*He works really hard and gives us lots of stuff
*He's going to buy me a four wheeler for getting perfects grades and I appreciate it.
*He loves me with all of his heart!

MORIAH:
*He plays with me
*He lets me go lots of places with him
*He picks me up from school and gets me ice cream and I don't tell my sisters so they don't get sad.
*I like to swing at the park with him.
*He has tea parties with me.
*He looks so handsome.

AVAH:
*He takes me to McDonald's
*He watches dora with me
*He is really funny
*He got me a pink bike for my birthday
*He is silly
*I love him!

Thanks babe for being so amazing, we love you! Happy Fathers Day!!

Tea Party?

2010-06-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I got out of the shower and found this. Avah had put her fairy wings on poor Peaches and forced her to have a tea party with her. This picture doesn't do justice though......when I first walked out Avah had her in a sort of head lock with a tea cup to her mouth! How mean am I that I let Peaches be treated this way until I could grab a camera and snap a picture? C'mon though, I HAD to have a picture of that!
Isn't she the cutest tea party hostess ever!?

Riah&Karter

2010-06-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

These 2 girls LOVE each other! This is them on their last Field trip in pre school together. Next year Riah will be in the 5 year old class because she turns 5 in 2010 and Karter will be in the 4 year old class because she turns 5 in 2011. Weird how they do it because Riah is only 3 months older than Karter. Anyway, they are so disappointed. I'm sure they will both make new friends though. Anyway the reason for the post today is I had this conversation with Riah this morning.......

Riah:"Mom can I play with Karter today? I miss her."

Me:"No sweetie remember Karter is only with Uncle Audie on the weekends, maybe next weekend ok?"

Riah:"Well that's just lovely! Now my heart is broken, AGAIN!"

And she stomps into her room. Haha, poor girl. It was so cute though!

Motherhood

2010-05-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

In honor of Mothers Day I would like to say how incredibly thankful I am to be a mother. It is the greatest gift god has ever given me. If it wasn't for my 3 girls I wouldn't be who I am today. They make me a better person just by being here.
I am blessed to have these 3 perfect, beautiful, amazing, smart, loving girls as my daughters! Happy Mothers Day to all you mom's!

Our New Addition.....

2010-04-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Shane has been begging me for a pug puppy for forever now. He grew up breeding them and he just loves them! So, when his buddy from work told him that they breed them also he just had to have one. So me being the wonderful wife I am(haha) agreed. Her name is Peaches and she is adorable! We picked her out a few weeks ago and we just got her today. She is 7 weeks old. I was so nervous about house training her but she is doing WONDERFUL! No accidents so far.....she is super smart! And thanks to my awesome brother in law who is a dog trainer and gave me some awesome tips I am confident she will be trained fully in no time. So meet Peaches, the new addition to our family!:)

Birthday Girl

2010-04-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

This little beauty is 3 years old today! Is that weird to anyone else?? Because I seriously can't believe my baby is 3!! Where the heck does the time go? Avah is so much fun and we are so blessed to have her in our family. Happy Birthday Avah Brooke! We love you!

P.S. We aren't having her party until Sunday. My niece Sydney's birthday was on Wednesday so Mandy and I thought it would be fun to do a joint party. So on Sunday we are gonna pack up pick nics and head to Woodland Lake Park and have a little party. The kids love it there because they can feed the ducks. Anyway, so since Mandy is the picture queen I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post from the party so stay tuned!:)

Mylee Update....

2010-03-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

We finally got the results back of Mylee's EEG. Took long enough, I know! The waiting was very frustrating. Anyway, her results came back as normal. (Big sigh of relief!) The doctor says her passing out was probably a result of a hot shower and an empty stomach. It sounds weird but he says it is actually a pretty common occurrence for thin girls between the ages of 8-18. So we are all hoping that is all it was and that it never ever ever happens again. I don't think any of our hearts could handle that again! We are just so thankful that our Mylee is well. We are also so thankful for all the friends and family we had supporting Mylee. We really appreciate it. Love to all!

Mylee Jade

2010-03-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Some of you know what has been going on with our sweet Mylee and some don't so I figure this is the best way to keep all of our out of town family and friends updated. On Wednesday Mylee woke up like any other morning. Shane and I were still in bed, she came in our room and said she was getting in the shower in our room. So I got up and started it for her and got back in bed. When she came out of the shower she was looking really pale and she said her stomach hurt really bad. So we asked her if she had to throw up or something. Right when we asked her that she opened her mouth and made a weird sound like she was gasping for breath or something. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she collapsed. It was by far the scariest thing that we have ever seen in our life's. We jumped out of bed and went to her. She wasn't breathing. Shane picked her up and layed her flat. He lifted her chin to see if anything was blocking her airway and when he did she started breathing and woke up. She was out for about 45 seconds, although it seemed like it was 5 minuets!!! When she came to she didn't remember anything past her stepping out of the shower and saying her stomach hurt. She seemed fine, a little dazed but fine. So we called Shane's parents to come watch the little girls and I called the pediatrician. He wanted to see her right away. We drove up to Show Low. He examined her and said she seemed OK. He said she may have collapsed from a combination of an empty stomach and hot shower, but since that was her normal routine and because she had stopped breathing which was odd, he wanted some tests done. He sent us over to the Hospital for an EKG and an EEG. They got us right in for the EKG but they had to schedule for the EEG. She gets that done tomorrow. Her EKG came back normal. We were relieved, but are still very nervous for her EEG tomorrow. I will keep everyone updated. Thanks so much for all the prayers. We really appreciate it. This whole thing has been so scary! Mylee is doing good though. She seems fine, she is her happy bubbly self. The doctor didn't want her going to school until we knew what happened with her so she has been a little bored at home with boring mom but she is doing good. Wish us luck, and keep the prayers coming. We love our Mylee Jade!
Love, Joanna

Just stuff

2010-03-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

I love my girls, I love the funny things they say, I love how they can make me smile no matter what!

Yesterday while Mylee was playing Mario Cart on the wii she kept getting bombed or smashed or blown up or something by "Koopa Troopa" So as she is choosing the guy she wants for her next "battle" she picked "Koopa Troopa" and she says, "You know what they say, If ya can't beat em be em!" I let out at little chuckle and said, "Who says that?" And she replies, "I do!" Gotta love it!

Today The girls were watching Ariel, their all time favorite princess movie. At the end of the movie when Prince Eric and Ariel kiss, Avah shouts, "EWWW they are rubbing lips!!"

Then also today Riah walks up to me out of no where and says, "Mom did you know that if you kiss a prince you will have babies?"

So even though I am terribly sick and was absolutely dreading today because lets face it taking care of 3 sassy, spunky, energetic little girls and being sick is never easy I still had a blast listening and watching them today. I love my little beauties!:)

Going Back to School.....

2010-03-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

So lately I have been thinking a lot about my life and what I want to accomplish during it. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I think I still do! So instead of just thinking about it I decided to JUST DO IT!!! I need to get off my booty and just do it! So that is what I am going to do! I am going to start my classes in the Fall. I am nervous! I haven't been inside a classroom since I was 18! YIKES! But, I am very excited. I will just do part time school for now until Riah and Avah get into school then I will go full time. Anyway, I just wanted to share my exciting news with all of you!:) This is going to be all very new to me but it will be an adventure and I love adventures!:)

Meet Frosty

2010-01-22T18:45:00.001-08:00

Today we made a snowwoman, the girls named her Frosty and Riah is convinced that she is going to come alive to play with her.

Mylee is 8!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

On January 2nd 2002 this beautiful little girl was born and now here we are 8 years later and she is still as perfect and amazing as she was back then. She brought so much happiness into our life's and I cannot imagine life without her happy little self! We had a birthday party for her on her birthday and so many of her friends showed up(15 to be exact) It was a nuthouse! haha. But she had so much fun and it was worth it. Here she is with a few of her friends opening her presents.

Seeing how she wants to be a rock star when she grows up, of course she wanted a guitar cake. I was a little nervous, I had no idea how to make a guitar cake! But thanks to the lovely Internet I found this super easy and cute recipe. The kids loved it. And I must say I am pretty proud of myself, I'm no professional but I think it turned out pretty darn good.

And apparently she thought so too:)

Happy 8th birthday my beautiful Mylee Jade!!!! We love you!!!!!

Our Christmas

2010-01-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Christmas, as we always do. Santa came, the girls came jumping on our bed at 7AM sharp screaming, "Santa came, Santa came, Santa came!!!", we dragged ourselves out of bed, let the girls go through their stockings while we waited for Shane's parents to get there, the girls were going nuts waiting, 8AM they showed up and the girls went wild! I didn't get many pictures, but these are the ones we did get.
Avah got a bike and loves it!:)

Mylee finally got her DS and as you can tell, LOVES it!

Riah the horse lover got a big giant horse along with a big giant horse book that is not shown.

My house looked like a tornado hit it and they weren't even done yet!

They loved all of their gifts but this dollhouse from Santa to all the girls was by far their favorite. And ours too! That thing keeps them so entertained! And they all play together so nicely with it.

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas as well!:)

Family Pictures

2009-12-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

I know this is a lot but I am in love with all of them! And I had 250 to choose from so it was hard.....there will be more to come!:)

Doesn't take much to please Avah!

2009-11-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

Conversation with the girls on our way to Thanksgiving dinner at Mandy's

Me:Mylee what are you thankful for?

Mylee:My family and friends and all the beautiful nature

Me:Riah What are you thankful for?

Riah: You and Daddy

Me: Avah what are you thankful for?

Avah: Cake.

Thankful

2009-11-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

Seeing that it is very close to Thanksgiving I have been thinking about the many things I am thankful for. And here are some of them...

*For an amazing mother who always put her children first and who did a remarkable job keeping a stable job and home for her 8 children who she was raising on her own.

*For an amazing and loving family. Parents, Grandparents, Sisters, Brothers, Nieces, Nephews, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.

*For three beautiful and perfect little princesses who make me smile every single day and who changed my life and made me a better person.

*For a supportive loving husband who is always there for me and who loves me unconditionally no matter what! I love him so much!

*I am thankful that Shane has a good job that provides support for our family.

*I am thankful for the lovely home we have.

*I am thankful that we always have good food to eat and a warm bed to lay in.

*I am thankful to live in this country, I truly am proud to be an American.

*I am thankful for my friends who never let me down.

*I am thankful for a safe and reliable car to get me and my precious cargo to our destinations.

*For good health insurance.

*For medical technology

*For wonderful teachers who teach the wonderful children in the whole world.

*For good doctors.

*I am thankful for God.

*I am thankful for the power of prayer.

*I am thankful for good books to read, without them I would be lost.

*I am thankful for the Internet. Without it I would also be lost!:)

*I am thankful for central heating, without it we would freeze.

*I am thankful for the beauty of the world.

*And I am thankful for all of you who reads my blog!:)

There are many other things I am thankful for so many other things. But most of all I am thankful to be alive, healthy, and happy. And I am so very thankful for my beautiful daughters and my fantastic husband. I hope you all have a good thanksgiving! xoxo

Halloween......better late than never right?

2009-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Halloween this year was fun. Shane had to work but we made the best of it:) The girls and I went to Show Low to go trick or treating with Mandy and her kids. They had lots of fun. Mandy was hilarious as usual. Her and Zach were both mad scientists and it was so funny! They had some great costumes. The girls got way to much candy, that still is sitting in the top of the highest cupboard in the kitchen. They get 3 pieces each day. What a mean mom I am! he he. It was a great night though and I'm glad Mandy invited us. Her neighborhood is a mad house on Halloween! It is clearly the place to be that night. Anyway here are some pictures........

Me and my Cowgirl Mylee after a long night(isn't she perfect??)
My ADORABLE buggie as a butterfly

My ADORABLE Riah the horse/cowgirl!

Another ADORABLE cowgirl!
All of them as we were getting ready to head up to show low.

And have I mentioned lately how in love I am with my girls?? I LOVE LOVE LOVE being their mommy! I love their smiles, their laughs, the way the see the world, their kindness towards everyone, their love for each other, their tender hearts, their sassyness, their spunkiness, their adorableness, the way they can always make me smile even on the hardest of days, the way they tell me that i am the best momma in the whole world, I love them! I am sooooo incredibly blessed to have these three little girls in my life. Hope everyone had a happy halloween!:)

4 years old

2009-11-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Moriah turned 4! It's crazy how fast my babies grow. We love this little cutie and all the fun she brings in our life. Happy Birthday Riah we love you!

Coraline

2009-10-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most everyone has seen the movie Coraline. Well, it absolutely TERRIFIES Mylee! I mean completely and totally freaks her out! And that is so not like her! When I saw previews for it, it didn't look that scary so I didn't think anything of it when we rented it for the kids for them to watch when it first came out. Well Mylee started BAWLING when the "other mother" turns into "evil other mother"! And she demanded we turn it off. So we did. Ever since then she has had nightmare after nightmare about that other mother! We had to cover her vents in her room and everything because she was scared the other mother would come through there! Well since then she has almost forgotten about it....or so we thought!
Mylee has been DYING to get her ears pierced again. We pierced them when she was 2 and then when I was having Moriah Shane's mom had her for a week or so and she let them grow in. So she really wanted them re done. So finally we took her to get them done. She was very excited. We went into the place, picked out her earrings and had her in the chair. Well the girl that was doing her ears came up and Mylee completely froze! She had this terrified look on her face. We weren't sure what was wrong with her, she looked way freaked out. So I asked her if she was sure she wanted to do this and she didn't even move or speak she was just staring at the girl with tears in her eyes. So I got down to her level and asked her agian if she wanted to wait and do it another time. She still was just staring! The girl wasn't very nice and she was getting impatient and grouchy. Then Mylee in a very shaky scared voice said to the girl, "have you seen Coraline?" The girl said "yes." Then Mylee turned to us and said, "I think I want to do this another time." So we agreed. Walking out of the store Shane asked her what was wrong and she said, "Dad that lady really looked like Coraline's other mother before she turned to the evil looking lady. Except for the button eyes. But everything else she looked exactly like her. And I was thinking, I don't want someone who looks like Coraline's other mother piercing my ears!! She might decide to put buttons in my eyes too!!" We both tried so hard not to laugh. But when we thought about it, the girl kinda did! And it didn't help that the girl wasn't very nice. Anyway, I just thought that story was funny and worth sharing. So I guess we are going some place else to do her ears. Are anyone else's kids terrified of that movie?? This is a picture of the other mother before she turned evil looking......

One Of Those Days

2009-10-08T17:54:00.002-07:00

Today was a rough day. I hope I am not the only mother out there with these days! It started at 3 AM this morning....

3:00AM-Avah wakes up screaming. I go in her room and comfort her, she is better

3:20AM-Riah wakes up screaming. I go in her room and comfort her. She doesn't want to hear it. She is still screaming. So I bring her into our room to let her sleep on the floor. I make her a bed with blankets and she goes back to sleep.

4:15AM-Avah wakes up screaming again. I go in her room. She wet the bed. So I take her sheets off, put new ones on and tuck her back in. She was back to sleep by 4:30.

7:00AM- Wake up and get the girls breakfast and do their hair. Getting ready to take Mylee to school and Avah knocks an entire bowl of cereal on my freshly shampooed carpet.

7:45-Cover up the milk stain with a towel and rush off to get Mylee to school on time.

8:00-Get home and start shampooing the stain.

8:15- Avah got into my markers and colored all over her face. So I start a bath get her cleaned up because we had to be at Riah's school at 9:45. It was her special day today.

9:00- Help Riah finish up her poster for her special day

9:45- go to Riah's school. Shane was at work....for the 10th day in a row so I had Avah with me. And if you know Avah you know how difficult she can be in public. She is well known as my "appendage" She does not like people. So The whole two hours of Riah's school I am helping the teachers and helping Riah and lugging around a 30 pound 2 year old.

12 noon- Getting out of school bring the girls home for lunch. After lunch I let the girls have a piece of candy they got from the school. Riah gets the candy stuck in her throat. I freak out of course. Call her doctor, he says give her lots of fluids and see if she can get it down by herself if she can't in a few hours bring her in. Thankfully she got it down about a half hour later.

1 PM- I try unsuccessfully to get them to take a nap. Avah instead decides she would rather take a walk. They want to ride in the power wheel jeep. So I let them. We go a few blocks and the battery dies. This is a heavy jeep, okay! So we start to walk back and I carry the jeep. Avah falls down and scrapes her knee. So I am then carrying a screaming Avah and a heavy jeep. We get home, doctor Avah up and finally at 1:45 she falls asleep.

1:45-I catch up on house work til we have to pick Mylee up.

2:20- Get girls in car and pick up Mylee, go to the post office, to the grocery store.

4:00- homework, chores, playing, Avah the mess maker making messes.

6:00- dinner in the oven, me playing on the computer counting the minutes until my husband comes home to save the day, girls watching monsters vs. aliens.

Man, I am exhausted and my house is a mess. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has had a day like this!! Shane has been working 10 straight 12 hours shifts. He gets a day off tomorrow then he goes back for 10 more straight 12 hours shifts! Poor guy. The mill shuts down for a week on the 19th and I have to say I cannot wait and I couldn't be more thrilled to have him home for a whole week! Could be worse right! My girls are hard work, as all children are I'm sure. They are sassy, spunky, wild, crazy, and messy, but at the end of the day they are still my very best friends! Here's to a better and less hectic tomorrow!:)

I'm old!

2009-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

This morning I got a text from my niece Savannah.

Savannah:I GOT MY PERMIT TODAY!!

Me: You did not!

Savannah: Yes I did!!

Me:How????

Savannah: Um I went down to the dmv and took the test and got my permit!

Me: You're not old enough!!

Savannah: Yes I am, I'm going to be 16 in February!

Me: No you're not!!

Savannah: Yes I am!

Me:I'm old

Savannah: Yep!

So there it is! My adorable niece is almost a grown lady!:( I seriously feel so old today! I honestly had no idea she was so grown!! I will always think of her as the adorable funny little 3 year old who would follow me around and mess up my room! Congrats Savannah!! Drive safe and no wrecks! Please!

Lava Cave

2009-09-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Jessica, Mandy, their kiddos and Shane and I and our kiddos decided to go explore the lava cave by flagstaff. Mandy found this place in her Arizona highways magazine and it was awesome and well worth the sore legs the next day. It's pretty rocky in there and their is a lot of climbing which wasn't easy since shane had to carry Avah most of the way and Mandy and I took turns carrying Riah. The kids had so much fun though, they were troopers. Here are some pictures......
made it to the end, yay!
silly girls

takin a break before we hike back, and I know you all are jealous of my hott headlamp!:)

Me, shane and Avah hiking back.

It really was a lot of fun, although next time I think we will leave the kids at home. Mylee did really well but it's not the funnest thing for toddlers.

Sisterly love

2009-09-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Conversation between Riah and Avah while watching Lilo and Stitch.....

Avah:Her mom mad her huh Iah?

Riah:No Avah that is her sister.

Avah:Why her sistow mad her?

Riah:Because she is being a pain. Sometimes sisters are pains just like you are my sister and you are a pain to me sometimes but I still love you and always will!

Avah:Oh

And on a side note, I have come to realize that all my blog is about is the funny things my kids say and do. That's what my life is though!:) They keep it exciting. Man, my life would be boring without my 3 cuties!!

What am I gonna do without.....

2009-08-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

HIM......and

HER

Shane returned to work on light duty today after being out for a month and a half for his knee surgery! I miss him already! It was so nice to have him here to help out.

Mylee started 2nd GRADE today! She's growing too fast! She helps me out so much and I'm really glad I had her this summer. It was a rough couple of months but my Mylee is so strong and she made me smile on even the hardest of days! I sure will miss her help! And so will her sisters who love her so much! Next week Riah starts pre-school.....where does the time go and why do my babies keep growing??

Lil miss sassy pants!

2009-08-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Me: "Moriah, it's time to clean your room"

Riah: "No thanks mom I'm busy ask me later."

Me: "It's not a choice lil miss, c'mon lets get it nice and pretty!"

Riah: "Geez mom you're so BOSSY!"

Me: "Fair enough, after all that is my right as your mother, so chop, chop!"

Riah: (big sigh) "GOSH!"
And she stomps into her room.
If she is this SASSY when she is only 3 I don't even want to think about what she'll be like in her teenage years!!!

Colorado Trip

2009-07-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

I lucked out with this post because my sister, Jenifer e mailed me a few pictures from our trip to Colorado so this post has pictures!:) Thanks Jen! My amazing grandmother smithson(aka Shima) arranged a wonderful family reunion at Ragged Mountain Ranch in Colorado. It is a LDS church camp and it is beautiful! We got to stay in cute little cabins with electricity and running water and everything!! My kind of camping! We were there for a whole 7 days and it was a lot of fun. Shima being the amazing wonderful woman she is rented a motor home for all her AZ kids to get there in comfort.(and since our car was wrecked we wouldn't have been able to go otherwise) It was a nice relaxing drive there. Shima flew my brother Will from Utah to AZ so he would be able to drive us all in the motor home. Shane had just had knee surgery and I had 2 cracked ribs from the accident so it was nice to be able to relax the whole drive. It was a lovely drive and I have decided that someday we will live in Colorado. It is gorgeous there, I LOVE IT!
We did the drive in 2 days, staying in a hotel overnight in Grand Junction. When we finally got there we were able to gaze at the beautiful scenery and visit with family who we haven't seen in a very long time! I was especially happy to see My Uncle Jim, Aunt Merrie, and favorite cousins Bradeigh and Ellie and their adorable kids. My sister Jenifer and her new husband Dave and his son Mike were there also so it was fun to spend time with them. Mylee is madly in love with Mike and their very adorable pugs Stewie and Cosmo. So thank you so much Shima for letting us ride in the motor home with you! We had so much fun. The whole trip was amazing! Here are a few pictures. Most of Mylee because she wouldn't leave Jen and Dave's side the whole time they were there!

Mylee and the adorable Stewie
Maddy, me, Cosmo, Radar, and Avah enjoying the beautiful weather!

Mylee, Cosmo, Stewie, and Mike.

Her favorite thing to do was climb all the big trees there!

I can't wait until we can go back to this wonderful place again. Totally worth the long drive! The drive back was even more beautiful than the drive up if that's possible! Thanks again Shima for the whole trip, we love you!

A Miracle!

2009-07-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

Most of you know about the nasty car accident Shane, Avah, and I were in at the end of June. But not everyone knows about the miracle that happened to us and that because of that miracle we still have our perfect Avah with us! Here is our story...
On June 29th we were headed out camping with my sister, Jessica and her family. They already had Moriah and Mylee out there with them. As we were leaving Snowflake Avah who's car seat is on the drivers side had somehow unscrewed the lid on sippy cup and spilled juice all over her car seat. I still don't know how the heck she got that thing open, she never did it before then and she hasn't done it since. At first I was going to just let her sit in it but then I thought what the heck I might as well switch her into Moriah's seat. So I asked Shane to pull over and I switched Avah to Moriah's seat which was right behind me in the passenger's seat. I will thank god every single day for this. About 25 minuets after I had moved Avah from her carseat we were driving on highway 60 in between show low and springerville when a vehicle lost total control of the trailer they were pulling and smashed right into where Avah would have been sitting if she hadn't spilled her juice. I cannot even describe the feelings we felt after that. Everything happened so fast and all I remember is that none of our doors worked from the inside. Shane jumped out of his window that was completely shattered and ran around and got Avah out of the car. I got out and just held her and hugged her and cried. I couldn't believe that she was okay! She had a small burn on her neck from the seat belt and that was it! I went over to the side that was smashed in and cried some more. The door to the seat Avah would have been sitting was almost unrecognizable. The only thing I could think about was Avah and how grateful I was that she was smart enough to open that lid and spill her juice. I will be thankful for that for as long as I live.
So that is the story of our miracle. Not a day goes by that Shane and I don't think about that day. We find ourselves looking at the pictures of our car from our phones and just staring at them. It is amazing. The next day when we went to collect our personal belongings from our car that was sitting in a junk yard we both just could not stop looking at that door in amazement that we still had our beautiful Avah to go home to! So I am a true believer of miracles and listening to that little voice in your head telling you to do something. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I wouldn't have listened to the voice in my head telling me to switch Avah to the other car seat, or what would have happened if Avah wouldn't have been given the stregth to open up her sippy cup, or if my sister hadn't kept Mylee and Moriah with them. Our car is totaled and dealing with insurance companies is a total nightmare but we are still here and we still have our perfect girls and for that I will always be thankful!

WARNING!

2009-07-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

There are some really long posts coming up!! And thanks to Avah's latest terrible 2's rampage my camera is on the fritz and they will all be posts without pictures. Boring I know but at least I'm updating!:)

2 year old for sale......

2009-05-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

She is very naughty,
She hides everyone's stuff,
She goes potty in the bathtub and makes her sisters squeal,
She colors on walls, cupboards, doors, and anything besides paper,
She tries to flush various items down the toliet including cell phones, keys, and her sisters toys,
She gets into the fridge and gets the yogurt and finger paints with it,
She sometimes bites,
She sometimes hits,
She has a scream that could probably break glass,
She throws some pretty crazy tantrums,
She uses her mommy expensive makeup as makeup for her babies.
Any takers????
No??

She has good qualities too.....
She is cute,
She is funny,
She has a smile that can melt your heart,
She has the prettiest blue eyes,
She talks adorably,
She gives the best snuggles,
She is so lovable,
She can always make you laugh,
Come to think of it.....................
I think I'll keep her, I kinda like her! Naughtiness and all!

The Granatos!:)

2009-05-06T20:40:00.001-07:00

Our good friends Chris and Sarah were married over the weekend and I just wanted to give em a little shout out! We are so happy for them! Aren't they such an adorable couple and they have been awsome friends to us for years and years and we love them!
Mr. and Mrs. Granato!!! We love you guys, congratulations!!

Tribute to Ben

2009-05-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Mylee's beloved hampster, Ben died today. Poor guy. And poor Mylee. It's never easy to deal with the death of your first very own pet! So here's to Ben, the cutest, furriest, most awesome little rodent out there! Mylee and Ben the day she got him! Love at first site!

A Different Kind of Friend

2009-04-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Most of you know this adorable little 3 year old and you know that when she opens her mouth chances are something pretty dang funny is going to come out of it. The following story is probably one of the funniest yet.
Some of you may know about Moriah's imaginary friend, Alaina. She has had this friend for about 6 months now and we have never heard too much about her except for, "My best friend Alaina said this" or "my best friend Alaina did that." And sometimes she'll ask me to get her best friend Alaina a drink or a snack or something. Well today we heard a lot more about this infamous Alaina. And this is how it happened.....
Riah:"Mom I want to go play outside"
Me: "Okay go ahead. Make sure you stay in the fence."
Riah: "Oh I will. Alaina never lets me go out of the fence, she hates rocks."
Me: "Well she sounds like a smart friend to want to stay in the fence."
Riah: "She is smart, and she doesn't like sweaters."
*(note-at this point I am trying so hard not to laugh. This kid cracks me up!)
Me: "Well why not? Sweaters are good for keeping us warm"
Riah: "I know but she doesn't need them because her fur keeps her warm"
*(note-I am barely containing myself at this point)
Me: "She has fur!?"
Riah: "Yep! It's yellow, purple, pink, and green."
Me: "Wow that's a very colorful friend."
Riah:"Yeah she is but her tail is just white like me" HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Me: "She has a tail?"
Riah: "Yeah but only sometimes. Her tail is shy"
Then before I could even respond she took off down the porch steps into the fence. So the basics of Alaina are, She doesn't like rocks, she doesn't like sweaters, she is yellow, purple, green and pink, and she has a white tail, but only sometimes because it is shy. MMMM..... sounds like an interesting friend. What an imagination my adorable 3 year old has!:)

Our Baby is 2!!

2009-04-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Our Little Avah is 2 today and I just cannot believe it! She has grown and changed so much in the last 2 years. She is so much fun and I'm so glad she is ours. Avah was our little surprise baby but what a wonderful surprise she was. Here are some pictures of her growing up the last 2 years......enjoy!

Newborn Avah about an hour old
All the girls on the 4th of July. Avah was about 2 and a half months

Avah at about 6 months old

8 or 9 months

One year old! She was just getting over RSV. Poor baby.

18 months old in the mud! (Notice Riah in the background with the dreaded paci!)

And this is the little angel on Easter just 4 days shy of being 2. What a cutie!

We are having her party on Saturday so stayed tuned for those pictures. Happy Birthday Avah Brooke we love you!

Our Anniversary

2009-04-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

4 years ago today Shane and I were married. But, our life together started way before then. All in all we have been a team for 8 and a half wonderful years. In honor of our marriage anniversary I just wanted to say a few things that I love and appreciate about my husband. Feel free to skip this post all together, it might bore you.:)
*When I told him I was pregnant with Mylee he didn't get scared like most kids who were still in high school would. Or maybe he did but you couldn't tell by the way he acted.
*He was ALWAYS there for me. He quit his part time job and got a full time job to support us. Even though I wanted him to finish school. He had been living on his own and basically supporting himself since he was 15. He was the most responsible teenage kid I have ever seen in my entire life!
*Not many people know this but he immediately asked me to marry him and I said no. It wasn't that I didn't love him, I did sooo much. It was that the thought of marriage absolutely terrified me to no end!!! My parents were divorced and I saw the tole it took on me and my siblings, especially my older siblings and I was completely terrified that my poor baby would have to go through that if we jumped into it too soon.
*Even though pretty much everyone in my entire family was horrible to him he never said anything negative about them. He was there for me and our baby and that's all that mattered to him. I will always respect him for the way he handled things.
*The second Mylee was born I saw this amazing love for her in his eyes. It was really wonderful to see. It was like something immediately changed him. He knew things would never be the same. He was ready for this responsibility. He was ready for this new little life who was ours. I will never ever forget the look in his eyes when he first held Mylee.
*He has always been so supportive of me no matter how crazy my ideas sound.
*He is such an amazing dad to our girls! He is so patient with them, I need to learn from him.
*He has never, not once disrespected me. No matter how mean or grouchy I can get at times he never ever says mean things to me. I will always love him for that.
*He is always asking me if I need any help with anything
*He is such a hard worker and has been since he was just a kid. And I have never once heard him complain about it.
*He is so determined and so motivated it's amazing. He is always looking for new things to do and try to better himself and our family.
*He can always make me laugh. No matter how mad I am at him or how grumpy I am he can ALWAYS put a smile on my face!
*He is the funniest person that I know(anyone who knows him can attest to that)
*He makes it a point to spend time alone with our girls together and individually.
*No matter how tired he is after a 12 hour shift of the hard work he does he ALWAYS plays with our girls for at least an hour after he gets home.
*He doesn't mind being made over by the girls, or wearing dress up jewelry or make up. He plays barbies and has tea parties like a champ!
*He loves me, completely and unconditionally.
*He loves his daughters, completely and unconditionally.
I could go on and on about this wonderful guy that I married but I think I have bored you all enough. Happy anniversary baby, I love you!

Easter

2009-04-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

We had a really good Easter. On Saturday we colored eggs and the girls had so much fun! It was Avah's first time really doing it and she was a crack up as usual. This is them watching the eggs soak in the dye.
And this is Avah after she saw that the white eggs were magically colored beautiful colors! That face is a keeper!:)

Them painting their beautiful eggs. They didn't want any help. The eggs turned out pretty interesting!:)

Then Sunday Morning the girls got all dressed up in their Easter best and after church we did a big Easter hunt at Grandma Jeanette's and Papa Audie's. The girls had a blast. Avah thought it was pretty dang cool. She would only pick up the plastic eggs though. She learned pretty quick that they are the only ones with goodies in them!

Karter and Riah are pretty much in-separable when they get together. I have a feeling they are going to cause a lot of trouble together when they are older! Just like their Daddy's who were best friends all growing up!

Mylee always takes time to pose for the camera.

Papa showing the kids where to find more eggs. I think all together we hid 200 eggs. Grandma and papa spoiled those kids!

All the kids after the hunt. Mylee, Aiden, Karter, Riah.(Avah was too busy throwing a fit because we told her she had to eat her lunch before she ate her candy!) I know what mean parents we are huh? They had so much fun as you can tell by their faces.

We had a great day and the kids we completely worn out by the end of it. Thanks Audie, Jeanette, and fam for inviting us. We love you guys! I hope you all had a great Easter as well.

Pack Rat??

2009-04-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days several items have gone missing. Some not really missed by me but dearly missed by the others in the house. The girls started coming up to me and telling me that they couldn't find this toy or they couldn't find their jacket or backpack. I just told them well clean up your room then maybe you can find it! haha. Anyway, last night Shane's friend was over and they wanted to play the playstation 3 but they couldn't find the other controller anywhere or the remote to the t.v. I just laughed them off. Me and Avah seemed to be the only ones who had nothing missing. Guess we know who's Avah's favorite(me)!!! haha. Anyway so today I was cleaning out the pantry and in the bottom shelf in the very corner I find this.....................
Avah's little stash! Among these missing items were; Mylee's stuffed dog she has had since birth, Riah's missing church shoe, Mylee's jacket, Riah's princess laptop, Riah's princess backpack, Shane's ps3 controller, Shane's remote, Riah's precious horse, and Riah's boots. I almost died laughing when I found this! So I went and got Avah and asked her if she would please bring her sisters and her daddy back their stuff. She just laughed at me and gathered the stuff and started returning them. Such a funny girl! Just looking at her makes me chuckle, see for yourself..............
That is her new smile by the way! Doesn't it look like she's in pain??? Oh and her lovely hair was styled by none other than her Daddy! Don't worry, I didn't let her go out in public! Anyway so I think I may have a little pack rat on my hands? Oh well atleast she's a cute pack rat!

You know it's springtime in the White Mountains when........

2009-03-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

When your very active daughters who are usually outside playing are playing the wii instead......
When your daughters 50+pound jeep is found blown over in the yard........

When the sticks from all the neighborhood trees end up in your yard and your children's toys are lucky to still be in your yard........

When the shingles end up all over your neighbors yard instead of staying in place to protect your roof.

It is now the day after the horrible wind storm and I am afraid to step outside to see the rest of the aftermath. So I'm sure there is plenty more. Last spring our poor trampoline was the victim of the wind, this year who knows???
Yes, indeed it is definitely springtime in the White Mountains!

Avah's own language and some other stuff

2009-03-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Now that Avah is almost 2 she is talking up a storm! It is really funny to hear some of the things she says and what they mean. She makes us laugh every day! It's like she has her very own language!:) This is such a fun age. I remember Riah and Mylee doing the same thing. It's been really fun to hear her talk and even funner to try and figure out what the heck she is saying. I thought it would be fun to share some of the things she says and what she means when she says those things.
"me in hi hich" means she wants in her highchair.
"me atch yeena" means she wants to watch Thumbilina.
"I-ee chool" means Mylee is at school.
"daddy erk" mans Daddy is at work.
"fyefye" means butterfly
"foflow" means flower
"ri hey hey me" that means she wants a ride on the neighbors horses.
"hey hey" means horse.
"uff uff" means puppy
"tootul" is turtle
"me bye bye ar pees" means she wants to go bye bye in the car please
"Danks" means Thanks.
"Bubba owie mean me, no bubba no!" that means that my nephew Brannon has hit or pushed her and she wants us to tell him no!
"I-ee" can mean either Mylee or Moriah. So we kinda have to guess.
"Pay ark pees" that means that she wants to play at the park please.
"gamma neck" is Grandma Jeanette.
"cul cul potty" is Uncle Audie.
"po pa potty" is Papa Audie. (that one is my personal fav!)
"Bidee" is Grandpa Billy(my dad) She says nanny pretty clearly which is what all the grandkids call my mom.
"gamma un po pa" is grandma and papa. (shane's parents)
"da poo pen" is the playpen. This one cracks me up because when she says play as in play at the park or play with her sisters she says it like "pay" but when she says it for playpen she says it like "poo" so funny!:)

Well I think you got the drift! She cracks us up! There are plenty more but those are the things she says most often.
Other than Avah making us laugh daily, everything else is going good. Mylee is still doing wonderfully in school. She is reading at a 2nd grade level and doing math at the same level as well. She doesn't get her math smarts from me that's for sure! I probably am at a 2nd grade level! I'm kidding, but not really! I'm horrible at math! Riah is busy being a three year old. She is getting excited about pre school next year. We are really enjoying the nice weather we have been having. We go to the park and to feed the ducks as much as possible! Shane doesn't work much these days with all the problems the mill is having. He works probably 3-4 days a week if that. Plus the mill shuts down for 7 days every other week so he is home a lot. It's been nice having him here. Before he would work 60 hours a week on average so this is something very new to us! He should be starting an electrician apprenticeship in the next few months, we are just anxiously awaiting the phone call. Hopefully we will find out soon. We are doing good overall. Life is full of challenges. We are enjoying every minuet of it together though!:) Hope all is well with everyone else! I wanted to include this picture of Riah and Avah. They are turning into the best of friends and we just love it! They play so well together and it is very nice to have them entertain each other while I do housework!

Makeover Time

2009-03-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

Who is liking Shane's new look?? I know I am!! I think Riah may have a career in this!:)
Think he needs a boy??? Poor guy!:)

gotta love em!

2009-03-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

Mylee: Riah lets play princesses!

Moriah: Okay, you can be the princess of being bossy, Avah can be the princess of the crying, and I will be the princess of beauty!

Mylee: Riah that's not fair!

Moriah: Yes it is. You are bossy, Avah is bratty, and I am cute!

She has one thing right that's for sure! She sure is cute!

Picture Tag

2009-02-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

I was picture tagged. I was suppose to get into my 4th album and get my 4th picture and post it. Here it is. This was April 2008 at Disneyland. As you can tell by Shane's face he is super duper excited to be riding the rockets! And look how tiny Riah is!! WOW! Anyway, now I tag... Ellie, Bradeigh, Jennifer, Cody, Megan, Ashley, Rachel, and anyone else who wants to do this!!
It's fun so just do it!:)

Star student!:)

2009-02-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

Our pretty Mylee got Star of the week this week at school and we are so proud. It is really cute what they do. We got to decorate her star of the week paper as a family and the girls had so much fun. Shane and I had fun going through all our old pictures. In her class they fill an entire bullentin board of her pictures, awards, and so on. We are really proud of her!:) (Notice Riah had to be a part too, she gets a little jealous sometimes) :) Other than that we haven't been up to much. Hope everyone is doing well!

The many faces of Avah Brooke

2009-01-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Last night Shane was playing with a very wild, very hyper Avah trying to run out her energy so she would sleep and she started making all kinds of silly faces and striking all kinds of poses so Shane got out the camera and these are some of the precious moments he captured!:)
This one isn't really a silly face it's just so cute I couldn't resist sharing it!

And finally........ she gave up and crashed out! Gotta love this little girl. She is such a character!

A lot's been happening

2009-01-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

A lot has been happening in the our house!! I'm sure it would be boring if I went on and on about everything so I'll just say the highlights.........
This little girl lost another tooth and I just love her semi toothless grin!:)
This fragile little girl broke her elbow(yes you can brake those!). She was playing ring around the Rosie's with her sisters and she fell on it wrong. Weird I know. Like I said FRAGILE! She gets her hard cast on Tuesday which is a relief for us because we are constantly worrying she is going to hurt it worse!

And this ever so adorable little blue eyed baby girl is getting to be a big girl!! She is loving her potty seat and has not had one accident since we started her on pull ups, so I think we will start the pantie thing!:) I can't believe how big she is getting. She loves going pee in her potty, and me being the sole diaper changer of the household, I am absolutely THRILLED! It is been so long since I haven't had a kid in diapers I won't know what to do with myself!

So that is what we have been up to in a nutshell. Oh and I started my diet and am doing really good and am already loosing some weight. Once I loose at least 20 more pounds I'll post a picture. I am really excited! It is amazing how much eating better and simply exercising can make me feel so much better and more energetic. Well I think that's it for now, wish me luck!:)

Words of Advice.......

2009-01-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

When you let your darling girls spend the day covering your face with sparkly make-up and giving you an oh so fabulous make over make sure you remember to wash it off before you go to circle k to get gas or you might get some funny stares and people smiling at you in that "haha" way and then you will go out to your car and look into your rear view mirror too see if you have a booger hanging out of you nose or something and instead you will see that your face looks like a barbie doll gone hooker!!!! P.S. Sorry no picture with this post, I've had enough embarrassment for one day!:)

Mylee turns 7!

2009-01-07T16:15:00.001-08:00

On Friday this pretty little girl turned 7! I cannot believe it! She is just growing way to fast for me. Anyway I though it would be fun to do a little interview with her about turning 7 and share it with everyone.......

Mom:What do you love most about being 7?

Mylee: That maybe I can ride the big fast roller coasters next time we go to Disneyland!!

Mom: What are you going to miss about being 6?

Mylee:I don't miss being 6!! 7 is better!

Mom: What is your favorite song?

Mylee: You are my sunshine

Mom: What is your favorite movie?

Mylee: Vegi tales the pirates who don't do anything

Mom:What is something you want to do before you turn 8?

Mylee: Go to Disneyland again

Mom:What is something you are looking forward to doing while you're 7?

Mylee: loosing more teeth so i can get more money from the tooth fairy

Mom:Who is your best friend?

Mylee: I have three! Alaina, Taryn, Lacey

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

Mylee: Going camping to summer camp and the Smithson reunion!

Mom: Happy Birthday Mylee I love you!

Mylee: I love you too mommy

And now I just wanted to say a few things we love about our little ball of energy!

*She has such a kind heart! She is always worrying about everyone else and trying to make everyone around her happy.
*She is such a good big sister. She always includes them in all of her activities and when someone gives her something she always asks them if she can extra for her sisters.
*She is so FUNNY! She can always make anyone laugh with the crazy things she says.
*She is ALWAYS smiling and her smile is so contagious!
*She loves life, she truly does! She loves nature and is always collecting rocks, leaves, flowers, and I even found a stick in her room the other day!
*She is the best helper to me and Shane. She is always asking us if we need help with anything.
*She loves EVERYONE! She sees the good in every single person and she has no problem letting them know the good things she sees in them. She is very good at giving out compliments.

Those are just a few things we love about her. She really is such a blessing in our life's. She lights up any room she walks into and we are so blessed to be her parents! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MYLEE JADE!!

Emergency or non- emergency?

2009-01-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks we have been trying to teach Moriah about what to do in case of an emergency. We have teaching her about 911 and that she should call that number when there is an emergency and mommy or daddy can't help. She has been doing pretty good at understanding most of this................or so we thought!! This morning as Mylee was getting ready for school in her room and I was making breakfast I could her Mylee and Riah arguing. We have been trying to let them work things out on there own when possible so I just listened from a distance then I hear Riah say, "Hello 911? My sister is being mean to me!" So with the fear that she actually had the phone and was talking to a real dispatcher I ran into the room and thankfully it was just her pretend cell phone she was talking on! So with that said, I guess our next lesson will be......... KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN EMERGENCY AND A NON EMERGENCY SITUATION!!!!

Resolutions!!

2009-01-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

We thought that maybe if we posted our New Years resolutions this year that maybe, just maybe we will stick to them!:) So here they are.........

JOANNA'S
*Loose weight
*Become a better wife and mommy
*take more pictures
*eat more healthy and teach my girls to eat that way too.
*be more frugal

SHANE'S
*draw more and try and get published
*take some classes at npc
*help out more around the house (yay!!!)
*do more things with the girls.

Well those are our resolutions. We both have a few more but those are the only ones we wanted to share. So I really hope we can stick to them this year!:) Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a fabulous new years!! Happy New Year to everyone!

some good news......

2008-12-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

Mylee Jade lost her first tooth and is so excited and happy!! She is the last of her friends and cousins to loose one and she was starting to think she never would! I mean geez she's almost 7! But she finally lost one and I think so looks so cute with her little missing gap in her mouth.:)

And for some more exciting news.................... WE THREW AWAY RIAH AND AVAH'S PACIFIERS!!!:) Some of you I'm sure are thinking "well it's about time!!" But we did it when we thought they were ready!:) So far things are going great without them! The first 2 days were absolute HELL!Especially with Riah because that has always been a big comfort to her(those who know Moriah know that she almost always is in need of comfort!) She is the most nervous child I have ever met! But everything is fine and dandy now:) Mylee never used a pacifier, she didn't care for them at all so this is the first time I have had to wean any of my kids away from them! But I think I did a GREAT job! Avah has only asked about her "wawa" once or twice. So anyway, I am just so proud that I did this so successfully!! I have been having nightmares about it for months! GOOD RIDDANCE "PACI" AND "WAWA"!!!

Don't they look so much cuter without a plug in their mouths??:)

I LOVE MY GIRLS!!

Well my next post will be about Christmas!:) I can't believe how fast it came this year! It seems like it comes quicker every year! I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!!:)

Funny conversation with Moriah.....

2008-12-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

I was chopping onions to put in the chilli I was making in the crockpot and of course my eyes were watering like crazy and my sweet Riah walks up to me and says:

Riah: "Oh no mommy why are you crying what's wrong?"

Me: "oh nothing sweetie I'm chopping onions and they make my eyes water"

Riah: "Oh those poor onions!! Don't chop them anymore mommy! We will we go to the store and buy more onions and everything will be okay! You don't have to cry anymore!"

TAGGED!!

2008-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

4 Things I love about my hubby:
*He is such a hard worker and he busts his butt everyday to make sure me and our girls have everything we need!
*He doesn't mind being the only guy in the house and he even lets the girls dress him up and he has tea parties with them!!:) (for those of you who don't believe me I have pictures, I will have to find them!):)
*He is so talented at everything he does! He is the best artist I have ever met, someday his art will be published!:)
*He can always make me laugh no matter what kind of mood I'm in! His silly faces and voices and crazy weird jokes will always do it!!

4 movies I could watch over and over:
*The Notebook
*Far and Away
*Erin Brockovich
*All of the disney movies!

4 jobs I've had:
*Cashier at my brother in laws Health food store when I was like 14
*Arby's
*Trappers
*Telemarketer for my brother in laws internet bussiness when I was a Junior in high school

4 T.V. Shows I watch:
*Lost
*One Tree Hill
*Desperate Housewifes
*Friends

4 states I've been to:
*Utah
*Colorado
*California
*Florida

4 places I've lived:
*Snowflake
*Mesa
*SLC, Utah
*Holbrook

4 favorite foods:
*Chinese food
*My mom's enchilladas
*My sister Mandy's homemade salsa
*My peach pie.....mmmmm

4 places I'd like to visit
*Ireland
*Europe
*Hawaii
*Austraila

4 people I tag
*Rachel
*Ellie Bellie
*Jennifer
*Megan

OH AND I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

"Mom Who Should I Marry?"

2008-11-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

I had the funniest conversation with Mylee a little bit ago and wanted to hurry up and blog about it before I forgot!:) Okay first I should tell you that for months now she has been torn over if she wants to marry Noah or Jeremiah.(They are brothers and the boys of my best friend Rachel and Mylee is just in between them in age.) Anyway I keep telling her that she is too young to worry about that but she doesn't want to hear it. Okay well today when she got home from school she was sitting on the bar stools doing her homework like the good little girl she is and all of a sudden I see her stop and she had this dazed look on her face like she was deep in thought, so our conversation began and it went something like this;

Me: Mylee what's wrong?

Mylee: Oh nothing I'm just thinking about Noah and Jeremiah and which one I should marry.

Me: Well remember what I said, you have plenty of time to think about it because you're not getting married til after college!

Mylee: I know it's just I want to know now! Who do you think I should marry mom?

Me: Well I don't know they are both very good boys

Mylee: Yes they are. Noah is so sweet and is always nice to me, but Jeremiah is so strong and he will beat anyone up if they are mean to me. And Noah likes pokemon and so do I but Jeremiah is so funny and he makes me laugh.

Me: Well I'm sure you will know who is best for you when you are old enough.

(There was a long pause and could tell she was thinking about something and then........)

Mylee: Um okay I think I'm going to marry Noah because Jeremiah climbs fences and I just think that would be kind of embarrassing if my husband is climbing a fence when we are trying to go grocery shopping or something!

That is pretty much how it went. HAHA! I just love the way kids think and the things that come out of their mouths. So I guess Jerry has climbed a fence in front of Mylee and that did not appeal to her! So lets hope Noah doesn't start to climb fences because then we will be back to "Who should I marry!"

Happy 3rd Birthday to Moriah Paige!!

2008-11-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Riah turned 3 last week and I just can't believe how fast she is growing. We had a fun birthday party for her at the park by our house and she had so much fun. There was a GREAT turn out and we are so grateful to everyone who came to celebrate her special day with us. My batteries died at the very beginning of the party so I only got a few pictures. My sister took a lot of great ones and made me a disc but I haven't been to Show Low yet to pick it up so for now this is what I got. She was a little too distracted to look at me but she still looks adorable!!

This is Avah, our friend Audie's daughter Karter, and the birthday girl eating pizza

waiting for everyone else to show up.

Moriah is so proud that she is 3 now. She makes sure everyone knows that she is not a "todalor"(toddler) anymore, she is a "big girl"! We are so blessed to have her in our family, she makes us laugh everyday and she definitely keeps us on our toes! We love you Moriah, happy birthday!!!

Halloween

2008-11-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween! I love watching my girls get so excited about their costumes and trick or treating. We had fun this year. We met up with a bunch of friends and went trick or treating and the girls got enough candy to last them until next year, it won't of course, but it should! Anyway here are a few pictures of the girls in their costumes, enjoy!:)

Bumblebee Ballerina

Stinky skunk

Riah Cutie

Our little froggie

Watch out or she'll stink ya!

They are all ready!

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!! Talk to you all soon.............

Has it really been 3 months!!??

2008-10-27T19:52:00.001-07:00

WOW!! It has been forever since I last posted! So this will probably be the longest post in blogging history but oh well. Oh and I won't have any pictures on this post because my sweet Avah found my camera and tried to flush it down the toilet so the camera is currently out of commission! Well since my last post we have moved to snowflake and are liking it so far. Shane had a scare at his job and we thought he was getting laid off but later found out his position is safe. Thank goodness! Mylee started 1st grade in August and she loves it and is making friends fast. She misses all her friends and cousins in Holbrook but she likes it at her new school too. She is doing very well in school too. She just got into the accelerated reading program and she got a perfect report card of course. She is such a good girl! The rest of the girls are doing good too. Moriah is about to turn 3 and I just cannot believe how fast time flys! She is growing up so quickly! She is excited for pre school next year. (and we are too!) :) Avah is growing really fast and she is starting to talk and it is so much fun. She loves her sisters and she loves following them around and getting into things. They are all excited for Halloween. Mylee is going to be a skunk(I tried talking her out of it but no luck!) :) Riah is going to be a bumblebee ballerina and Avah is going to be a dinosaur. Hopefully we have a new camera by then!! Well I guess that's about it. I am going to be better at this blogging thing, I promise. Hope all is well with everybody and I will try to post pictures of the girls in their costumes. Love you all!

Some People.....

2008-06-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I already posted once today but something just happened that I just have to vent about. Avah and I went to Safeway to do some shopping and while we were there this woman walks up to me and tells me how cute my baby is. I say thank you of course. Then she says, "how old is she?" So I tell her almost 14 months and this was her response, "oh my goodness she is HUGE! Do you still have her on formula?" (Keep in mind that this was a total stranger who I have never met in my life!) So thinking she was being a little nosy I went ahead and answered her question, "No she's on whole milk" I tell her. Then she continues to tell me that I needed to put her on skim milk and that child obesity is at an all time high and that if I don't help her now it will be late! So you can imagine how mad I was getting as she was saying this! I could feel my anger rise inside of me so before I did or said anything I would regret I just walked out of the store. I seriously cannot believe this woman had the nerve to say that to me! I mean GEEZ! I know Avah is a little chubby but good grief she's not obese! I mean look how cute she is
Does she look obese to you?? Personally I think she is the cutest baby but maybe that's just cuz she's mine?? Anyway, that lady made me sooooo mad. I told Shane that it's a good thing we're moving so I don't run into her again because I just know I couldn't hold my tongue next time. Anyway, sorry for the rant i just needed to get that off my chest! Some people just have no tact at all!

We're Moving

2008-06-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

So after months of looking for a house in Snowflake, we finally found one that we love. I got the keys and signed all the paperwork yesterday and we are moving in next week. I do like it in Holbrook and I am going to miss all the people here. A lot of people trash Holbrooks name but it really is such a peaceful, happy, friendly town. The people here are so awesome. We are so thankful for all of them that have been offering to help us pack and help with the girls. We will miss them all. I wish we didn't have to move but with the gas prices sky rocketing we kind of have no choice. Right now Shane is driving 45 miles to work and 45 miles back. Plus there is only one pediatrician here in town and I don't like her so I take my kids to a wonderful one in Showlow so that is 45 miles away also so being in Snowflake will make things much easier.
We still haven't put our house here in holbrook up for sale, but I am planning on doing that next week also. I really hope it sales fast because we are going to be having 2 house payments and that will not be fun. Our neighbor put her house up for sale 2 weeks ago and she already has it sold so hopefully that will be the case with us. I had forgotten how stressful moving is. We have been here for 3 years so it's been a while since we've had to move. I hate packing, I hate driving back and forth, I hate asking people to watch my girls, I am just not a fan of moving. But in the long run I think it's the right thing for our family at the moment. We really love our new house. It's much bigger than the one we are in now and the yard is gorgeous! Our neighbors on both sides of us have horses and that is the girls favorite thing about it. Yesterday when we went there as we were walking up the steps to the porch Moriah turned around and said, "Horsies you better not poop in our new house!" HAHA! Anyway sorry for rambling on and on, I guess I just have a lot on my mind. One more thing though. After Wednesday we will not have Internet. I'm not sure when it's getting hooked up in our new house but as soon as it is I will post pictures of our new home. Wish us luck, hopefully this will be the last move we make for a VERY, VERY, VERY long time!:)

Avah's first steps....

2008-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

We never thought this day would come! She is our latest walker. Mylee was 11 months when she walked and Moriah was 9 months, Avah is 13 1/2 months. I know all kids are different but I have to admit we were starting to get a little concerned. But today when Shane got home from work Avah was standing at her leap pad table while I was making dinner and Shane walked in the door and she got so excited, turned around and just started walking to him. It was so cute. All of us started clapping and getting excited so then she thought it was really cool and kept doing it. My camera was dead so I had to charge it and then I made Shane do it again with her. Right at the end she fell on her face and got a big bump on her fore head, poor baby. It didn't stop her though. After a little comfort she was back doing it again. We sure do love this little girl. Oh and please excuse my messy house and Riah with her dress tucked into her panties. :) Enjoy!

T-Ball And A New Haircut!

2008-05-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Moriah got her first haircut this week and we love it. I was a little sad to cut off all her beautiful long hair but I'm glad we did. She looks so cute. I had to bribe her everyday for her to let me do her hair so it will be easier on us short. My sister did a great job, thanks Mandy!:)

Mylee started t-ball this week also. She loves it, and we love watching her. It is so funny to watch these little 5 and 6 year olds play. Mylee even hit a home run today, it was so cute.

Where's my bat coach?

Our little cheese ball!

HOME RUN!!

Our Family

2008-05-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

We are the Christiansons and welcome to our blog. We started this blog to try and keep in touch with our friends and family. We are currently living in Holbrook, AZ but we are moving back to Snowflake this summer to be closer to Shane's job.
Shane works at the paper mill as a Machine operator. It's not his favorite thing in the world but it works for now until he can work on getting his art published. If you know Shane you know what an AMAZING artist he is. When he is not at work he is busy being a Daddy to our girls who adore him.
I am a stay home mommy and I love it. Eventually I would like to go back to school and become a teacher but for now, I feel like my calling is to be home with the girls. They definitely keep my busy though. I also love to scrapbook, take pictures, and read in my spare time.(when I have any!)
Mylee Jade is our oldest. She is 6 years old and is about to start 1st grade in August. She is full of life and is always making us laugh. She loves to sing and dance and she is constantly putting concerts and shows on for us. She loves people and is not shy around anyone ever! Which is kind of scary sometimes but it's a quality that will help her throughout her life. She is the sweetest little girl and she is mommy's little helper. I don't know what I would do without her.
Moriah Paige (Riah) is 2 and a half and thinks she is the boss of the family. She is definitely in her terrible twos but we wouldn't have her any other way. :) She is very shy around people she doesn't know and she lets it be known with her ear piercing scream. She is a Daddy's girl through and through, she would go everywhere with him if she could. She loves her big sissy and wants to be just like her. She is a fun girl and we can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.
Avah Brooke just turned 1 in April, she is the baby of the family and she definitely knows it. She loves her Mommy and usually doesn't leave my side. She loves to chase her sisters around the house and she loves to play outside. She is a happy, pretty, busy baby and we are so grateful she's a part of our family.
That's a little about us in a nutshell. Keep checking in for more news and updates. I will post as often as I can. Thanks for stopping by!