happy allen clan

easton- first month

2011-07-25T00:02:00.000-06:00

Easton has been such a joy to have. He is such a good baby. I don't know why I lucked out with him! :] Kaden & Gavin both had stomach problems and were very colicky. Easton was for about two weeks...but then his tummy started to work and he's been happy every since. Like I've said before, we just adore him. The boys can not get enough of him...and always want to just maul him. I was worried about how Gavin would react to him...he loves him the most though. He always wants to tickle and love him :]. Here are some random pics from his first month of life...

These next few pics were taken while we were still in the hospital...

Thanks so much for the flowers, Larry and Darla!!

At home...

Maxwell Products sent me a gorgeous flower arrangement. Thanks so much!!

At grandma and grandpa's wedding anniversary party...

First bath...

First time meeting Taya & Aunt Audra {they were in Vegas when he was born}...

All snoozin' away :]...

He's a miniature Kaden!

And, going backwards {the night before Easton was born}...

easter-2011

2011-04-27T18:00:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter. The boys woke up as excited as ever. They went searching through the house for their baskets. As you can see, they were elated when they finally spotted them :]...

I attempted to take a picture of all my boys before church :]...

We went to Grandpa and Grandma Slaydon's that night for the annual easter egg hunt...

Happy Easter!

Easton- 1 week old

2011-04-27T17:06:00.000-06:00

Here's Easton's 1 week pictures...taken by Sweet Pea Photos. I just love them. She did an amazing job. Easton was so good for the session, too. He seriously is such a sweetie...and such a good baby. We are so very blessed and can't imagine life without him.

Easton's Birth Story

2011-04-25T09:25:00.001-06:00

My friend Lyndsey is a photographer.

She documented Easton's birth story for us.

These photo's are amazing & priceless. We will cherish them forever.

Thanks. So. Much. Lyndsey.
The photo's tell the whole story perfectly. No need for words.

Easton John Allen

2011-03-25T10:25:00.018-06:00

Easton is here! Our little angel was born on Tuesday, March 22nd at 11:21 am.

7 lbs, 10 oz, 19 1/4” long.

Delivery went great….I was in labor for only about 3 1/2 hours. I couldn’t believe it.

The whole experience was just amazing. It was so peaceful this time. Call me crazy, but I would do it again tomorrow. It’s so worth all the harsh pain and everything that comes with it. Such a miraculous experience.

We just ADORE him. As everyone always says, you can’t explain the love you have for a newborn in your arms. We can’t get enough of him.

The hospital photographer took these pictures. My friend Lyndsey {Lyndsey Fagerlund Imagery} documented the 'birth story' as well…I can’t wait to get the pictures.

This has got to be one of my most favorite photos.…ever.

New Home Sweet Home

2011-03-01T00:20:00.003-07:00

There has been a complete lack of posts on this blog lately! I have SO much to catch up on! Oh well :]. I'll just start with the 'here and now' and will try and fill in the gaps later :].

Here we are on the front porch of our new home!

We rented out our first home about 2 months ago {waiting until the market goes up to sell it. Who knows, maybe we'll rent it out forever. Haha}....so we're now landlords :]. It was VERY sad to say goodbye. It was our first home...and our first real neighborhood. There will always be a special place in our heart for that place. So many great memories and friends.

We love it here at our new place though. Love the neighborhood, love the ward, love the location, LOVE the home. We are so very blessed. I am just so grateful.

Dominican Republic Vacation

2010-11-07T12:17:00.004-07:00

The Dominican Republic was AMAZING!

We stayed at a resort in Punta Cana. It was beautiful.

Scott & Amber invited Ben & I to go....but Ben had already taken too much work off for Alaska & Cancun so he didn't feel right about taking more off. The Dominican has always been on the top of my list of places I want to go. Ben kept telling me that I should go without him {which was tempting because that meant that the boys would still be home with him. I hate leaving them}. So....I talked Audra into coming with me :]. Our friends, Katie & Chad came as well.

Soaking in the sun...

I always take pictures of my feet while on the beach :]...

They had a chocolate buffet in the lobby one night...

I laugh SO HARD at this picture. This lady was walking around without a top on. She walked right in front of Audra while I was taking a picture. There were a few Europeans that would walk around naked. I don't know what they were thinking!...

Audra in front of one of the restaurants at the resort...

Some of the staff at the resort were taking this snake around for people to hold...haHA!

Bear Lake, Allen Reunion 2010

2010-10-01T11:15:00.002-06:00

Ben & I were in charge of the family reunion this year....we decided to rent a cabin up at Bear Lake. We had a lot of fun boating {we rented a boat for the weekend}, hanging out, laughing & eating together :].

{above pic....Regan pushed Stephen into the lake from the boat...HAHA!}

Seth poured water on Stephen while he was sleeping :]...

Stephen & Gavin sleeping on the boat...

Playing air hockey in the cabin...

The cabin had a fun loft...

Eating the famous Bear Lake raspberry shakes :]...

I brought stuff to make bracelets and watch bands...

Pinata time!...

1st Day Of Preschool, 2010

2010-10-01T10:59:00.001-06:00

Here's some pics from Gavin & Kaden's first day of Preschool this year! Gavin was so excited about being able to go now :].

After Preschool...

Washington DC & Virginia

2010-09-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

My friend Amber is from Virginia. She and I thought it would be fun to fly back there for a 4 day trip to her hometown and Washington DC. It was so much fun! I loved seeing all the historic sites!

Thanks for being such a great tour guide Amber....and thanks so much for letting us stay with you Debbie {Amber's mom}!

The only bummer about the trip is that I forgot my Nikon charger :[. I had to use my phone the whole time to take pics.

The back of George Washington's home...

the back of the White House {we took a tour}...

Tim Mcgraw Concert

2010-09-15T12:07:00.001-06:00

Ben & I had a great time at the Tim Mcgraw concert in August. We went with Jason & Amy.

I love outdoor summer concerts!

My Birthday, 2010

2010-09-09T23:37:00.001-06:00

I had a WONDERFUL birthday!

I'll start out by saying that every summer Ben goes on an Alaskan fishing trip. He pays for the trip in advance and usually doesn't get to chose the exact week he goes....they go when the lodge is open & schedules them. This year the trip fell on the week of my Birthday. Ben felt awful and wasn't going to go. I could NOT let him miss it though. He dreams about this trip ALL year long :]. I didn't care at all. We celebrated my Birthday before he left...and again after he got back :].

Well, for my actual birthday Ben surprised me with a little getaway to Park City with some friends. He got us a suite to stay in at the Canyons Resort.

We had so much fun!

Thanks for making my birthday so great Ben, Amy, Amber, Audra & Mandy!!

Riding the ski lift to go down the Alpine Slide...
We went down the rollercoaster too. It was SUCH a blast. I felt like a teenager again. :]

Park City Main Street...

At the resort...

Company Party/BBQ

2010-09-08T23:15:00.001-06:00

Here's pics from Ben's company BBQ....

We had a lot of fun eating, playing on the bounce house, hitting the pinata and more!

Thanks Maxwell Products!

Grandma chasing Gavin with a water balloon :]...

July 24th

2010-09-08T23:04:00.000-06:00

I HAVE to catch up!!

Starting way back in July...haha.

Here are some pics from the 24th.

We went to the days of 47 parade with our friends, Mandy & Spencer and their kids.

I HEART parades.

That night we had a bbq at Larry & Darlas...

Mandy in front of the OWL float :]...

Seattle

2010-09-07T12:00:00.010-06:00

After spending a few days in Oregon we went up to Seattle for a couple of days.

I had never been to Seattle before.

It was really cool. We loved it there!

Looking out from our hotel window...

Our Hotel...

Pike Place Market...

We ate lunch at a restaurant with a view of the harbor....

The Space Needle...

On top of the Space Needle...

Oregon- Dad's Classic Cars

2010-09-07T11:29:00.007-06:00

We took some rides in my Dad's classic cars the last day in Oregon.

The boys were in Heaven.

Thanks, Dad!

The beautiful hills of Medford.

oregon

2010-08-05T13:22:00.001-06:00

we went to oregon & washington a few weeks ago. it was a fun trip! we went to medford first {where i was born} to visit my dad and his wife, priscilla...and my little sister, kirsten. thanks for the great time, guys!

here's kaden with the ladybug he found in my dads yard...the boys had a blast playing...

jumping on the trampoline with kirsten...

riding grandpa's horses!...

bodie...

all smiles...

my dad on bodie...

oregon- crater lake & the coast

2010-08-05T12:15:00.000-06:00

we went to crater lake the day after we got to oregon. we had a great time.
the mountains were beautiful...

driving down the mountain...

it was SO beautiful...

we headed to the coast the next day!

we stopped off at the 'oregon vortex' on our way...

gavin sleeping...

we drove through part of the redwoods...

gav inside of a tipped over tree. it was MASSIVE!

the coast was beautiful. it was a perfect day for the beach. the water is always cold in oregon, but the sun made it feel a little warmer that day :)...

the boys went star fish hunting with daddy...

i loved the black sand...

we literally had to drag gavin off the beach..haha. he did NOT want to leave. we had a great day!

4th of july weekend

2010-07-18T10:23:00.001-06:00

we had a great 4th of july weekend! on saturday we went up to the canyons resort in park city for fireworks and fun! we rode the tram up to the resort from the lower parking lot...

ben & the boys getting ready to get on the tram...

watching fireworks...

amber & her boys came up with us {scott had to work} :)...

riding the tram back down to the parking lot...

on monday my mom had a backyard bbq.

don't ask me why gavin is scowling while eating his corn. probably because i'm taking his picture. haha...

trav bein goofy...

we lit a fire in her fire pit...

and roasted marshmallows...

grandma slaydon...

grandpa slaydon giving kaden a goodbye hug...

i love the 4th of july. it's one of my favorite holidays. happy independence day!

phelps reunion- 2010

2010-07-16T09:23:00.005-06:00

it's that time of year again! we had a wonderful time at the phelps family reunion the first week of july. hal & janis were in charge this year...and did a wonderful job! it was really good to see everyone. thanks for the great time!

the beach

2010-07-16T09:14:00.007-06:00

we went with a few of my friends and their kids to a man-made beach a couple of weeks ago. it was really fun. the kids loved it. makes you feel like you live by the ocean {kinda}. closest thing we can get here in utah :).

lucy fell asleep. so cute...

fun times in the canyon

2010-07-13T10:15:00.005-06:00

since we went up the canyon for kaden's birthday we had a three day pass that we decided to use the next day. some friends and i went up with our kids to a lake. the kids had a blast. we happened to be there when the fish hatchery truck came to stock the lake for the week. the boys were freaking out as all the fish came pouring outta the back of the truck. kaden & bjorn both caught fish with their bare hands! they were swimming around everywhere at their feet.

amy & amber...

isaac and gav...

jackson...

landon...

kaden turns 4!

2010-07-12T10:56:00.008-06:00

i know that everyone says this...but i honestly can not believe that i have a FOUR year old!
like gavin's, kaden's birthday was on a sunday...so we celebrated his birthday all weekend. we had a great time. he had his last t-ball game on saturday...so family & friends came to watch. we went to a park afterwards to have cake and ice cream. thanks for coming, everyone!

i looked over and saw bjorn telling kaden a secret. haha. amy & i were laughing pretty hard. i have no idea what the secret was about...

all the kiddos climbing the baseball fence...

after his nap we gave him one of our gifts...

he loved it! and was super excited to go take it for a ride...

the next evening we went up the canyon with fam & friends to have a bbq and celebrate some more...

i love my little kaden so much. he is always so energetic and full of life and spunk. i especially love the stories he tells :). he goes on and on about when he was "older" and went to alaska...or shot a bear...or found a wolf...or went to "tree" school up in the trees. he tells stories about everything under the sun. it's hilarious. he couldn't be any more like his daddy. he's the spitting image of him {definitely including the obsession for fishing}. i also love his spiderman, trasformer or karate dances. all of the sudden in the middle of nowhere he will excitedly say, "mom, look at my transformer dance"! and then will run accross the floor and break dance. haha. it's great. kaden has the greatest smile and facial expressions. he's a pro and grinning ear to ear while raising his cute eyebrows up and down. he's the cutest little kid. i love you so much, kaden! happy 4th birthday!

5 year anniversary

2010-07-12T10:48:00.002-06:00

on june 4th we celebrated our 5 year anniversary! we had a really fun day and evening together. we kept saying that it feels like we've been married for much longer than 5 years {in a good way}...it just feels like we've always been together. i love ben so much. i honestly don't know why i've been so blessed. he is always so willing to help. he has the strongest testimony and always puts the lord first, which means so much to me. our boys worship him...he's the greatest dad. he spoils me rotten even though he has to always put up with me...hehe. i love you, babe. always. thanks so much for being you.

carnival, parade & concert fun

2010-07-09T13:51:00.000-06:00

like i said in my last post, our city celebration was the same weekend as gavin's birthday. he thought it all came to town just for him :).
we got the boys wrist bands for the carnival this year. so we went every day for three days :). i loved watching how much fun the boys were having..it made the hot sun worth it. Bjorn {kaden's best buddy} got a wrist band as well....

haha...what a classic pic. his face says it all!

the swings were always my favorite when i was little {and still is one of my favorite rides at lagoon for that matter}...

the boys LOVED loved loved the giant slide. both kaden & gavin were able to climb the stairs and go down by themselves this year. they kept going, and going, and going! gav even talked daddy into going down with him a few times....

the next day...
on the merry go round.

i love kaden's face...haha!

parade time...

here's a few pics of the boys at the parade.

all the little girls were going up to give this princess a hug. gavin thought he needed to as well :)...

the infamous slide again :)...

that night we went to the tracy lawrence concert with audra & sebi & their girls.
we had a lot of fun. nothing says summer better than an outdoor concert...

brain freeze! hahaha!

kaden was dancing throughout the whole concert...

good. times.

gav's 3rd birthday

2010-07-08T10:27:00.008-06:00

i am SO behind on our family blog! i am going to try and update it in the next week or so.
i'm starting with gavin's third birthday!
for about a month we had two three year olds running around. haha. great times.

our city celebration was held the same weekend as gavin's birthday...so we had a lot of fun going to the carnival, parade, concert and more together.

here's gavin opening grandma becky's gift...birthday candle time...

both of our 3 year old's chowin' down on cake :)...

jess and gav share the same bday. so the next evening we got together with the whole fam to celebrate and eat more CAKE!...

i love this pic of sydney! hehe...

happy birthday sweet gavin! you are such a caring little boy. i want to bottle up your cute voice and keep it forever. you love to be silly and you tilt your head to say silly things. you're always right alongside your big brother and have so much fun with him {getting into mischief most of the time. hehe}. your hair is so WHITE it's crazy and your killer blue eyes could melt anyone's heart. you love strawberry and chocolate milk the best...and ask for it the second you wake up each morning. you love your 'tree' banket and still sleep great in a CRIB {although you can climb in and out perfectly...you still don't want a big boy bed}. you are obsessed with scissors and cutting things...i find you sneaking into the drawer any chance you get to find them. we love you SO much. i can't believe you're three!

memorial day 2010

2010-06-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

every memorial day we go up to ben's grandparents graves in the salt lake city cemetery. we had a great time being together and enjoying the day this year...

gavin & korbin...

gabby...

we told the kids to make faces at the camera. hehe...

these next few pics of all the grand kids are priceless...

steven, seth and syd...

darling sydney and jess {we went to a park to have lunch and play ball}...

blue eyed baby regan...

that night we went to a family fun fair that our city put on for our city celebration last week...

here's taya getting her face painted {she wanted to be a butterfly}...

kaden wanted to be batman...
kaden was SO proud of himself. he acted like batman for the rest of the night. he kept saying, "mom, is it rubbed off...is it still ok?!"...
gavin's turn {he wanted to be a tiger}. we were laughing so hard because we told him to close his eyes while she was painting. this is how he closes his eyes right now. so the whole time his face was all scrunched up :). haha...

the first time seeing what he looked like in a mirror...

the next morning we entered gabby into the city baby contest {i talked audra into it the night before. haha}. and guess what...she won!!!!!!!!!

you can see why. she's beautiful and has such a cute personality! she batted her eyes, danced, waved and smiled so big at the judges :)...

here she is in her cute little cowgirl outfit {that was the theme of the baby contest..cowgirls & cowboys}. we made her bow and shirt out of a bandanna's at 1am that morning :). go gabby!

death valley, CA

2010-06-12T14:00:00.001-06:00

a few weeks ago we were able to go on a little trip with ben to death valley, california {his customers there had rented some equipment and were finished renting it, so he drove there to pick it up again}. it was a long drive had we gone straight there...but we stopped at different places on the way there and back to stay.

here are the boys at the pro bass shop in las vegas...

here we are in death valley. we stayed at a little resort called furnace creek ranch. it was really fun and a cool place to stay {kind of an oasis in the middle of a huge dessert}...

see what i mean? definitely an oasis in the middle of nowhere. it was pretty cool though!

here are the boys going down to swim one last time before we left that morning...

st. george...

we went hiking in snow canyon while staying in st. george...

we hiked all the way to the top of a huge petrified sand dune. you can see ben's tiny truck below in the parking lot :). we were really proud of the boys! they did it with only some complaining :)...

playing in the sand dunes {we LOVED the weather there}...

more fun at the splash pad...

it was a fun little trip. we really enjoyed spending so much time together! {more catch up posts to come}

preschool grad {1st year}

2010-06-05T23:58:00.005-06:00

kaden had a preschool presentation/graduation a few weeks ago. even though he didn't officially graduate from preschool he still thought he was a grad :).

can you see the difference between the above pic and this one {this pic below was taken his first day of preschool}? what a little stud :)...

kaden and his teacher, miss mandy {she's GREAT}...

watching the video presentation...

so proud of himself :)...

love you little man!

t-ball {kaden}

2010-06-03T11:03:00.000-06:00

where did May go? haha! we've been pretty busy!

kaden has been playing t-ball! his uncle regan is his coach..and his daddy is his assistant coach.

here he is hitting the ball at one of his games...

this is what he did on 2nd base. haha! i look over and he's just laying there bored :)...

cute mccord standing on first...

mccord, kaden, gavin and landon {i love gavin's face. he thinks he's part of the team standing next to them}...

feeding the ducks with grandma slaydon

2010-04-29T13:45:00.001-06:00

a few weeks ago my grandpa and ben went fishing....while they were fishing the boys and i went to spend some time with my grandma. we went to a big park by her home to feed the ducks and birds. we all had a great time. it was a beautiful day!

my cute grandma leaning up against the car feeding the birds...

there was a baby duck that kept following us around {no mama in sight..poor thing}! how cute is this pic?!...

my grandma even held it before handing it to gavin...

they were sad to say goodbye to it...

here's gavin running around and having fun...

we went to a playground for a bit too...

ben turns 30!

2010-04-25T10:33:00.008-06:00

ben turned the big 3-0! he said he didn't want a huge party this year {he's funny when it comes to his birthday...he hates being in the spotlight and never wants me to invite anyone to come celebrate with him} so i surprised him with a fisherman's dinner for the two of us by one of his favorite fishing spots. we had a fun night! we then had cake and ice cream a couple days later with family and friends.

here's pics of the dinner i did for him....

ben fishing...

here's pics from his cake & ice cream party...

blowing out the candles {with lots of help from kaden, gavin and jakob. hehe}...

here's the kids having fun in the back yard...

look closely at kiri's shiner! poor girl ran into a friends head!...

playing mario kart on the wii...

grandpa playing golf on the wii!...

happy birthday babe!! i hope you had a good one! i love you SO much. thanks for being you!

easter weekend

2010-04-09T12:13:00.011-06:00

we had an enjoyable easter weekend this year. we loved watching conference and celebrating together.

here are the boys on easter morning. kaden LOVED his giant easter egg that the easter bunny left him. here he is holding onto it for dear life :)...

hahahaha!.....

like i said, SO excited...

a lovely easter mess :)...

but the greatest surprise was THIS! daddy bought the boys a real live easter bunny!.....

here's kaden playing with some domino's and his new bunny at grandpa & grandma allen's...

we watched conference at grandma becky's on sunday. here's gavin with his easter present from grandma...we headed up to grandpa and grandma slaydon's on sunday afternoon for dinner and our traditional easter egg hunt! here's all the kids lined up & ready to go outside :)....

the boys had some plastic bubbles in some of their eggs {thanks aunt patty!}. here's daddy testing them out :)... happy easter! hope everyone had a great one!

pisa & sienna

2010-04-04T12:23:00.002-06:00

the last few days in italy were spent in pisa and sienna.
we still stayed in florence, but would drive to pisa {about an hour away} and sienna {about an hour away in the other direction}.

the tower of pisa was awesome! it was a rainy day when we saw it, but was still just beautiful.

the wall surrounding the historic part of pisa...

on sunday we went to church in pisa. we found out that this was the very first chapel built in italy. it was really fun to see the members and share sacrament meeting etc with them. there are now many stakes in italy...and even a temple on it's way {in rome}!...

here's a picture of our hotel in florence...

the side of the hotel... like i said earlier, our hotel was on top of a hill just outside of florence. the view was so pretty...

one of the many antiques inside our hotel...

sienna...

we loved sienna.

here is the famous square.

more gelato :)...

these next pictues were taken while driving to and from pisa and sienna. the countryside was so pretty....

florence

2010-03-30T09:58:00.009-06:00

after our venice experience we took a 2 hour train ride to florence. the train was awesome. it was so fun to see the countryside of italy.

and here's florence!...

our huge rental car! hehe...

climbing the hill to our hotel...

our rooms view! we stayed in a beautiful hotel on a hilltop just outside of florence...

night view from our window...

we drove to the outskirts of florence the first day there & parked our car on top of a hill and walked down into town {ben did NOT want to drive in the city of florence. we saw enough of the drivers coming from the train station to the car rental place...they're CRAZY!!}.

the view of the historical part of florence from where we parked...

we were chuckling pretty hard about this one. it's a kneeling prayer bench in one of the churches. notice the money slot right where you bow your head! ha!...

i snuck this picture with my phone's camera. the statue of david was awesome! it was so cool to actually see it in person. wow...

i loved this merry go round in the middle of a square...

this pic is out of order {look below}...we climbed a TON of stairs to the top of the famous florence duomo...

there is absolutely NOTHING like the gelato we ate in italy. there were gelato shops on every corner. aMAZINg!...

a little street cafe we ate lunch at...

the cathedral of the duomo {largest dome in italy}...

like i said earlier, inside we climbed over 2oo stairs to the top...

here i am at the first level we climbed to...

we climbed even higher...

at the bottom looking up...

tourists, tourists everywhere! {and this was the off season?!}...

this is where the statue of david was originally {this is a replica}...

the fleur de lis was everywhere...just like our bedroom here at home. hehe!

venice

2010-03-25T07:02:00.001-06:00

i feel so incredibly blessed. ben and i just got home from an amazing trip to italy. venice was our first stop {spent 4 days there, and then took a train to florence etc}. it was just SO neat. something that i have always dreamed of. the city of venice was AWESOME. we loved, loved, loved every minute there. it was just ben & i...so we didn't get many photo's of the two of us together, but there still is an overload of pics :). so many amazing things to see and take pictures of. it was so fun being able to just plan our days and walk around with no time schedule. amazing. that's all i can say.

here's our hotel, the 'albergo san marco'...
water, water everywhere. it was just as i had imagined. the first thing we did the morning after we got there was take a gondola ride.

right in front of the cathedral on st marks square {remember italian job? this is where the dad was in the first scene}...

we went to the top of a bell tower on a nearby island {these pics are all out of order, but oh well}...

st marks square {our hotel was a block away from here}...

these next few are of the famous bridge that crosses the grand canal...

our hotel room. very European...

the side view from our hotel window. you can see the bridge that goes over the water. i can't tell you how cool it was to basically stay right on the water...

these were in ben's pasta one night!...

ignore my rain hair :)...

ben trying to figure out where we were at :)...

this next pic is for you, amber :)...

sitting on the side of the grand canal...
the house of marco polo...

ben feeding the pigeons...

now that is one huge calzone!...

romantic gondola ride :)...

we loved all the cool narrow streets in between the water canals...

there were artists everywhere...

ben standing on the little balcony on the back of our hotel...

this was our room key. i took a picture of it because i thought it was so cool...

eating lasagna {it was so good by the way}...

we were walking around one night and came around the corner and saw this painter. so cool...

the fish market...

another one of ben feeding the pigeons...

another view from a gondola ride...

nothing like eating authentic italian pizza on the grand canal...

the square again :)...

saying goodbye to venice...

on the water taxi headed to the train station for florence :)...

before & after pictures

2010-03-08T14:41:00.002-07:00

if anyone knows me, they know that i love spray paint and have a whole garage full of it...all colors, all kinds :). i. just. love. spray. paint. i love transforming old things into new. you can spray paint just about anything ya know ;).

well, my friend kallie started a blog with her friend called, all things thrifty {be sure and check it out, it's an awesome blog} and has inspired me to do a lot more 'projects' lately! i decided to post some of these 'projects' so you could see how fun it really is...and what some primer and a can of spray paint can do! i just LOVE before and after photo's. so here ya go...

old shelf with sliding doors...
before
shelf with sliding doors after! i primed and painted it with the coolest color blue, antiqued it with a little glaze, then drilled some holes and added some fun hardware i found at hobby lobby {i HEART hobby lobby by the way}. we now use it to store towels in our master bathroom.

ok. this old, yucky ottoman looks disgusting before...

but look at what some paint and fabric can do! here's the after....

i primed and painted the top black and added some cool grey and orange fabric i found at ikea to the bottom {the fabric matches our grey & orange living room perfectly. wahoo}... and here's some small night stands i bought at ikea. this is what they looked like before... and this is what they look like now after some black paint and new hardware...

old brown chair in the garage {before}...

new yellow chair for our loft after...

old 70's lamp in the garage before...new fun lamp in my room after! {i know, it's pink. my husband is the best for letting me put this next to my night stand in our room}...

and here's an end table i found last week at a thrift store...

before {sorry about the pic, like a lot of the before pictures, it was taken with my phone}...

end table this week after i primed & painted it and added some fun hardware {again, hardware found at hobby lobby}...
old random chair before...

new funky chair after!...our dresser before...

our dresser after...

small sewing machine table before...

new hallway table after i primed, painted and antiqued it {i still need to put some pics in the frames...oh, i painted the frames too :)}...

another old brown chair {i had two of these} before...

a fun blue chair after...

bathroom medicine cabinet before...

bathroom medicine cabinet after! our upstairs bath has a beach theme if you can't tell ;). i painted this bad boy lime green and bought some surfboard hardware for it online...

and lastly...an old brass lamp before...

and here's the after {i spray painted it silver and re-did the shade with some funky fabric}...

thanks for the inspiration, kallie & brooke!

the aquarium

2010-02-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

we went to the aquarium the other night for fhe. the boys loved it.
they've added a lot since we last went...

the boys were most excited about seeing sting rays, sharks, sea horses and nemo :). on the way there kaden kept saying that we were going to the "maquarium". hehe.

like i've said a million times, my boys worship their daddy. they get so excited when he comes home from work {or in this case, when he meets us at the aquarium}...

stitches

2010-02-23T14:12:00.004-07:00

in a house full of boys i guess it's inevitable that one boy or another is going to have to get stitches in his lifetime. gavin can now check it off his list :). poor guy was playing in kaden's room on friday night and decided to be a monkey and scale the closet shelves. needless to say, he fell, and caught his mouth on the way down and ripped the corner of his lip/mouth right open. i have a more gorey picture than the one above {with the wound wide open...it went back into his mouth too} but i decided not to post it on the blog :).

so...we rushed to the nearest insta care and had him stitched right up. he was SO good. the nurse kept commenting on how calm and brave he was. poor guy!

but there's more...he decided to rip out one of his stitches the next day {and loosen another}! ouch! i don't know how he did it, but all he said when i went up to him and noticed the corner of his mouth gaping open again was, "mommy, there was a hair"! of course it was late saturday night, and of course nothing was open but the emergency room. :)

it turned into a long night. we were sent up to primary children's er because being that it was a wound on his face, he needed someone more experienced with children {especially toddlers} because of scaring etc {by this time, he had messed it up a lot more. if it were anywhere else i wouldn't care as much. but his face, let alone the corner of his mouth...i didn't want a big scar there}...

he DID NOT want to be at the doctors this time. all he could think about were the two shots he got right in his wound the night before to numb it all up.

they had to sedate him so they could work on his face a little more effectively...

and here we are with round 2 of stitches :)...

what a tough little guy! i must say, he was SO funny coming out of it. we were laughing SO hard. i'll have to post some of the video we took. definitely some good entertainment at 3 am {yes, the er was packed that night...we waited for like 5 hours. luckily they let us wait in the car where we could watch movies :). fun stuff!}...

valentines 2010

2010-02-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

we had a fun valentines weekend this year. ben got back from his business trip to california on friday, and surprised me with some new earrings and a necklace :). it felt like it was valentines day for 4 days with kaden's valentines preschool party and the 3 day weekend.

ben took me out to blue fish {a new sushi bar/japanese grill} and to see 'valentines day' {cute movie...we really liked it. it would be best on a clear play though} on saturday night. thanks babe!

here's what i made for ben for sunday {i found the idea online somewhere and changed it up a bit} :). ben surprised me sunday morning with a new cake stand too :)... here's the boys' valentines...

and backtracking a bit....here's the valentines we made for kaden's preschool class.

here's kaden right after he got home from his party with all of his valentines :)...

this is what these two guys are typically doing...chillin' together. kaden and gavin have really become best friends. i love watching them play and interact with one another.

happy valentines day! i love you ben. thanks so much for always making me feel like a million bucks :).

fun at the circus

2010-02-10T15:53:00.006-07:00

we went to the circus last week. it's become a yearly tradition now that we always look forward to :). we had a fun time!

powdered sugar...

2010-01-27T09:47:00.003-07:00

need i say more? haha.

mommy was making a cake, turned for a minute...and two quiet mice made a lovely powdered sugar mess {notice the two garbage cans they used as foot stools :)}! i couldn't resist taking some pics. it's moments like these that you have to just laugh {so you don't scream}...then roll up your sleeves and clean it all up :).

here's the cake i made for my friends little girls birthday party. i guess the mess did have a happy ending :)....

kaden & gavin, 2009

2010-01-02T12:18:00.011-07:00

i've been dying to post these pictures that my amazing photographer friend, cori, took {corihenderson.com}...but wanted to wait until after our christmas card was sent out :). can i just say that i ADORE ALL OF THEM. i had THE hardest time deciding on my favorites. here are just a FEW of them. thanks again, cori. i love love love love them! you rock.

merry christmas 2009

2009-12-28T23:43:00.007-07:00

we had a WONDERFUL christmas this year. i'm sad that the holidays are almost over :(. on christmas eve {day} we went to larry & darla's & had lunch & a little christmas program. here's gavin dressed up as a shepherd...& taya in a santa hat :).

kaden, gavin, & korbin...

jakob, kiri, & baby regan in front of the tree...gift exchange...

then...in the evening we went to my mom's house to spend the rest of the night and christmas morning....

my mom got all of us matching pajama's...

when we were little we took a picture exactly like this one below {i need to find it now and add it to this post}, so my mom thought it would be funny if we did the same pose again :). here's me and all of my siblings in a row :)...

all of the gang :)...

playing around & havin' fun...

my mom read the boys a christmas story after we read luke 2....

here's kaden & i being silly :)...

christmas morning...
here's the tree right before the kids woke up. my dad sent the boys the cute retro tricycle...i love it!

gavin asked santa for a blue car... one of the gifts grandma gave the boys was a sock monkey :)...

and the game, hungry hungry hippo's :)...

now-a-days a christmas morning without tickle me elmo just isn't a christmas morning ;). hehe...

kaden LOVES his cross bow. i mean we're talking OBSESSED with it! i think ben was more excited about giving him this gift that anything else on christmas.

{kaden also got a large toy gun for christmas, which he's equally obsessed over :)}...

playing hungry hungry hippo's...

kaden asked santa for a 'pedal ride on motorcycle' {ever since he played with yours, cori, he has been wanting one}!...the motorcycle plugs into the tv...

christmas afternoon

we headed over to larry & darla's around 3 to spend a few hours {and took ben's christmas present, a wii, with us to play}... :)

here's kaden & kiri hoola hooping on the wii fit {my christmas present from santa :)}...

christmas evening we went to grandpa & grandma slaydon's. i only have this one picture of my sisters and i there....sad, i wish i would have taken more!

hope everyone had a merry christmas! we really enjoyed our day this year. i only wish it would have lasted longer. love you all & merry christmas!

candlelight christmas

2009-12-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

each christmas season we go to 'candlelight christmas' at this is the place monument with my family. we went just a couple days before christmas this year. it was a snowy night...but was actually really fun. the snow set the wintery mood :).

here's all of us with 'father christmas' {everything is like old times there}...they normally have him in a barn with his reindeer and everything but since it was snowing so hard the train wasn't working {it takes you down to the barn} so they brought him up into one of the buildings...

all the historic buildings have activities/and or shows inside...

warming up by the fire...

ben & i in front of the cafe...

the live nativity... the puppet show...

gavin watching the puppet show :)...our little fam...

afterwards we went to my grandparents house for hot chocolate and....peppermint sticks in lemons! ben and i have started a holiday tradition of eating peppermint sticks {has to be the sugary kind} and lemons. if you haven't tried it, it's so yummy! all you do is insert a pepermint stick into a lemon and suck...after sucking for a bit the lemon juice comes up through the peppermint stick in tiny holes, making it into a straw. i promise i'm not crazy, it really is so good. we make them around the fourth of july too :). it's a fun holiday tradition...

the cruise

2009-12-26T23:13:00.019-07:00

here's a LONG post about the 'cruise' part of our trip. boy did we have FUN. like i've said a few times now, ben & i wanted to take our boys and my mom on a trip for christmas this year. so we went on a mexican riviera cruise for 8 days & just got back this week. larry and darla {my in-laws} and stephen & seth {my bro-in -laws} came too! so here ya go...

ok, so these next few pics aren't from the cruise...they're from the roadtrip to cali before the cruise.
i can't go through st. george without stopping at 25 main. LOVE this place. and LOVE their cupcakes...

here's the boys one night in our hotel room watching something on daddy's iphone...

let the cruise begin, baby!...

{above} kaden peering out at our soon to be home for 8 days...

{below} kaden's very first ice cream cone once on board {a first of MANY}...

and the boys first cups of hot chocolate {again, of MANY}...

i'll start with the infamous towel animals. kaden & gavin LOVED finding different animals in our rooms each night!

gavin took the doggy to bed :)...

here's a frog that our waiter made for gavin one night at dinner...

cruise with me, baby...

a fun chair on one of the decks...

grandma & gavin with some of the pools & big screen tv below..

the boys LOVED the arcade...

i LOVE this pic of gav! hahaha!...

grandma & kaden riding the motorcycles :)...

peering out into the deep blue one afternoon...

gavin is really confused in this pic :)...

yummy strawberries we had for a snack one day...

the casino...

us in one of the hot tubs one night...

dinner one night {which by the way...kaden & gavin got really good at ordering dinner on their own. they were so spoiled and got whatever they asked for! hehe}...

playing in the children's club...

MORE ice cream :)...

the ship had a splash park for the kids...

the water slide we had on board :)...

miniature golf {which kaden is STILL talking about}...

swimming in one of the pools...

ahoy :)...

one of the many virgin strawberry daiquiri's :)...

gavin loved the cherries :)...

the best dessert of the whole trip. my mouth is watering just thinking about it...

a dessert buffet one night...sailing away from puerto vallarta...

my mom enjoying her smoothie...

the sunsets were BEAUTIFUL...

like i said, gavin loved all the cherries we got in our smoothies :)...

every night our napkins were folded into something fun...

uncle stevie and gav {wearing steve's glasses} :)...

ben & kaders being silly at the dinner table...

the elevators in the middle of the ship...

yes, another drink {sprite with cherry syrup} :)...

we had the time of our lives. it all seems like a dream now...especially with all this snow :). it was good to come home to spend christmas here with all of our family and friends though. nothing like a white christmas.