Our Zoo

This is our newest exhibit..well not really. But Leah does act like a wild animal sometimes.

SNOW MUCH FUN!!!

Its only 9 am and its been an excellent day so far! I woke up to breakfast in bed. Yum. I didnt quite have the heart to tell Matt that I was still feeling full from dinner the night before. But my baby (who is currently 4 inches and finally looks human) needs to eat! Sure. Then I looked outside and it was a winter wonderland! We promptly woke the girls and bundled them up to play. I am so glad we finally got a good snowfall..Appropriate for December 1st , dont you think? Its starting to look alot like Christmas!

A Thought About Pregnancy

WHAT IS UP WITH THAT BOOK "WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING?" It says (pg.135) that I will possibly feel "INSTABILTY COMPARABLE TO PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME, WHICH MAY INCLUDE IRRITABILITY, MOOD SWINGS, IRRATIONALITY,WEEPINESS"...AND THEN IT SAYS I WILL FEEL "A NEW SENSE OF CALMNESS????!!!" WHO WROTE THIS BOOK? So most of you know that I am expecting a baby. I am at that stage where I just look like I need to do a few sit ups, but if I eat a big meal I can successfully look about 5 months pregnant. So unfortunately, I have just been AWESOME at cleaning my plate.

A Tribute to my Sisters!!

Justa few days ago both of my sisters had birthdays! Catherine's birthday is the day before Jennifer's , so growing up my mom always threw these fabulous parties for them. I just love both of them SO much. Happy Belated Birthday CHICKENS!

" HAVE COURAGE FOR THE GREAT SORROWS OF LIFE AND PATIENCE FOR THE SMALL ONES; AND WHEN YOU HAVE LABORIOUSLY ACCOMPLISHED YOUR DAILY TASKS, GO TO SLEEP IN PEACE. GOD IS AWAKE."

I like this quote. I have seen alot of great people i love through every chapter of my life go through sorrows. And whether they may seem trivial to us, it could be the hardest thing they are experiencing. Everyone has different strengths to handle hardships in different seasons of their lives. A stressful, non-stop, messy house, burn the dinner type day sometimes seems like my absolute breaking point. But then the next day is better. I dont think I have a negative outlook on life, but sorrows WILL come. Very few people go through life without experiecing them. It is a refining experience that hopefully helps us look upward. Boy, what would we do if God went on vacation? Never. He is around, involved, concerned, even when we go about our day in our messy house with our burnt dinner.

A Silly Misunderstanding.

So, I have this friend who I believe, is one of the funniest people I have met. The great thing is, is that she doesnt have to try..she is just FUNNY. And I can never repeat any funny comments from her because the humor is the combination in HOW she says things and her facial expressions. If you have read the slightly embarassing "about me " section on my blog, you will learn that my dream is to "dive with humpbacks"..its true..I must repeat (read carefully) DIVE with HUMPBACKS..you know..the giant things that swim around in that big blue place out there...Well, my funny friend must be a speed reader because she thought it said that I wanted to live with hunchbacks..I repeat..LIVE WITH HUNCHBACKS. I am pretty sure she didnt call me for awhile because of this unfortunate misunderstanding. Living with hunchbacks eh? Not so much. Maybe if you are a gypsy and you like really loud bells.

Leah's Boyfriend

As I have mentioned a hundred times before, Leah is STILL obsessed with Tarzan, and going to Tarzan's treehouse at Disneyland didnt help the unhealthy obsession. This was my conversation with her tonight.

Lori: " Leah, why do you love Tarzan so much?"

Leah: " Betus, betus, betus..I wuv him!"

Lori: " Why do you love Grandma so much?"

Leah: " Betus, betus...She has Taryan."
Lori: : Why do you love Grandpa so much"

Leah: " Betus, betus, betus, betus..........betus.....betus...Taryan is weeping (sleeping).

YET AGAIN....NO PROGRESS.

THE COMMENTS OF MY CHILDREN

Matt: "Hayley, we are going to your cousins house and they have lots of Barbie movies!"
Hayley: (thrilled..and then she becomes dramatic) " Dad, I am gonna watch a Barbie movie and then I am gonna cry, and then I will watch another one...and then I will take off my skin." (What?! that was a little Hannibal Lector-ish if you ask me.)

Hayley: (pretty upset) "mom, this kid took this book from me and it made me mad!"
Lori: "I am sorry..what book was it?"
Hayley: (practically choking on her tears) "Build the Bobber! "

LEAH
So Leah is still working on her English. But you know, according to her she speaks perfectly.
Her "S's" dont quite come out, so she will say something like " mom! I can ying yo yong" (I can sing your song)

The HIGHLIGHT of the trip!

Dreams DO Come true!

Just this last week we took a family trip to Southern California to see family, but to also take our kids to magical place where they rip you off left and right...Disneyland! Dont get me wrong, I am not bitter that I spent $14 on TWO balloons or $9 on a plastic Ariel necklace that broke 20 minutes later...its okay...I am getting over it. No really, it was such a fantastic trip. I think Hayley was in shock the whole time, not believing what her little mind was seeing. Or it could of been her recovering from adrenaline rushes from Space Mountain and Big Thunder mountain Railroad. Who knows. And all Leah could think about was Tarzan's treehouse. Could you blame her? Tarzan was LIFE SIZE..he's not bad. I was impressed with the stamina of my kids and how Hayley practically walked a total of 20 miles in 3 days. We were also able to be with Matts sister and her kids, my sister and her family and Matt's mom. It was such a party!

MICKEY!!!!!

Even I felt honored to be in the same room with him!

Leah..future adrenaline junky

Tigger

Goofy

My RHCDS family!

Many of you reading may not know that I attended a small private school in California from Kindergarten to 8th grade and graduated in a class of about 30 kids. So we are quite close and have kept in touch all of these years. I love, love , love these friends. All of them still live in Southern California and we try to get together whenever we can. This trip they were able to meet my girls and that meant so much to me.

BOSCOE! ...need I say more?

So on our trip my girls had quite an interesting experience with my sister Karen's cute little chocolate lab puppy named Boscoe. Apparently this puppy had not played with a 2 year old for quite some time, or never, because he thought Leah was a giant toy and would jump on her any chance that he got. I seriously did not know whether to stress or pee in my pants. Neither did Leah. But she kept wanting to love on him! So our second visit was more of a success. He was much calmer. Leah kept trying to feed him pieces of chalk and marshmellows while she downed a few marshmellows herself. Thanks Karen for the entertainment!

Can you BELIEVE we are sisters???

Chocolate and vanilla, Lamanite and Nephite, Olive skin and Pale skin (wanabee Olive skin), Lou and Judy....

Catherine's Kids

We had some quality time with Catherine and her husband Dave who just recently ditched us in Utah and moved back to California! We made it a priority to eat really yummy food with them..you know, Pat and Oscars and killer sushi. We went to church with them and also played with them at Disneyland.

Visiting my oldest sister...

We also had a wonderful time seeing my sister Krista. She made the most DELICIOUS dinner for us and we were just able to hang out and chat. My girls loved seeing the dogs, playing Pac-man and staring at the pool they were dying to swim in. We saw her hubby Peter and her 2 boys, Jake and Brandon. LOVE THE FAMILY!

Here we are

Hayleys cheezy face

Hayley has many silly smiles...but the one I love the most is this one.

Our House!

I have decided that building a house is like being 9 months pregnant for however long it takes the sucker to be built! We are SO excited. I will be showing pictures of our baby's progress.

The One Shoe Wonder

I am sorry but I just could not resist.

Meet the latest member of our family!

So if you are looking for a pet that is cool and just likes to hang out than Stub is perfect for your family. He doesnt kick or scream. He goes where we like to go. He doesnt mind the cold or rain either . He makes people laugh but makes some small children cry..that is my only complaint. But he is a real kick in the pants. Isnt Halloween great?

Hayley and her pumpkin

Hayley's preschool class just went to a pumpkin patch and were able to pick out their very own pumpkin. Insteadof looking for your classic perfectly round pumpkin, she chose the one with a huge dent in the side that sits crooked and is probably overlooked by all of the other children. She loves to hold it and wash it and it sits on our couch. I am thinking we probably should not cut it open and rip out all of its guts. I have never met a more loved pumpkin.

MY VERY OWN EDWARD

So, for those of you who know what i am talking about, you are officially in the cool kids club. For those of you who dont, there could be hope. Okay, so I did become a little obsessed with the Twilight series and i did have a crush on a fictional character who happened to be a vampire. So when Matt gets a little lonely he promptly puts in his vampire teeth that he got from Chuck E Cheese and hopes for some action. Now all he needs is to run like lightening and immortality.

CONFESSION

This may shock some of you but I was voted best dancer in 8th grade, even with no professional training whatsoever...kinda like Willim Hung. This might have been because of my older sister Catherine who was a cheerleader and hip-hop lover. Her skills might have just naturally rubbed off onto me. Even though I may be giving her credit, I must accuse her of producing one of the most painful childhood videos of me. It went down like this. It was a beautiful California afternoon and I am minding my own business. You know, just choreographing my own moves to Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" song on our trampoline. Trying my hardest to pull off Olivia Newton Johns "Grease" dance moves. But instead of tight Black leather pants, I am wearing tight pink sweats with a pink leotard and bunched socks. Give me a break, I was only 8. Anyways, Catherine was video taping me and I must of been proud because i just kept dancing. That video by the way is locked up for good. So I continued to dance. I would sneak in to Mormon youth dances when I was 13. The legal age was 14, but I made it in. And then I attended the infamous Huntington Beach young adult dances throughout highschool and could never get enough. Then in college My girlfriends and i would have dance parties. But now..its a little weird. Ever since I became a mom, my groove has gone down hill. So I just find myself totally rockin out in my car (at night of course) to anything from Gwen to Shakira to ..yes..Duran Duran. And i have found that dancing from the wiast up is just as satisfying. So if you know anyone who is getting married and having a reception with a DJ, give me call.

HAYLEY

LEAH

I really wished that i would have noticed that string of snot BEFORE the photo shoot.

HAYLEY AND HER NEW BICYCLE HELMET..INSEPERABLE

AT THE PARK..AND EXHAUSTED

Everyone give a shout out to the King Henry/Pillar House Posse! These are my GIRLS! So these are my roomates from about 10 years ago. They are the funniest and best people ever. We got together because Amie (in the middle) just got married and we all got together to celebrate! It was so, so , so much fun. By the way, if you are reading this and know of any top-notch QUALITY single guys, the 2 in the back on the left are still single and have to go through a series of interviews by me, my mom (the legendary Judy) and a certain South Salt Lake City cop if they want a date.

Parenting Tactics

Sometimes Leah just does not want to get dressed! So we have a few tricks up our sleeves to coax her..like..putting her clothes on to make her jealous. So again, if there is any advice you would like to give us, we are totally open minded. Keep in mind, Leah is very 2!

Leah, Leah, Leah

I dont get it...scared of this and not scared of that..look at next picture..

Perhaps a Test of Friendship?

Okay, so most of you know that Matt and i have some reptiles and we probably dont fit the typical "reptile owner" description. I know what you all picture..tattoos with nose rings, burly, hygiene-deficient, rough and tough people who faithfully attend such things as The Reptile Expo in Salt Lake. Well, Matt and I and the girls rubbed shoulders with other reptile owners at this expo and were suprised to see such a variety of people and animals there. The whole time I was there I kept thinking that i should be at the Home and Garden Expo..but no, no, we had to see every reptile ever created. By the way, did you know that bullfrogs are carnivorous and can eat full size rats? Interesting. So anyways, we went to the reptile expo...there! I said it!

In case you are wondering, that is a smile on Hayley's face. She is not suffocating.

Hayley is so cool!

SOME SERIOUS QUESTIONS

So today when Hayley and i were driving to school she asked me if she saw Daddy and i get married. So i told her that she was up in heaven watching. This was a little confusing. So I told her that mommys and daddys can make babies and that we had not made her yet. (My mouth went dry, I rolled my eyes and kicked myself because i knew which question was next.) Of course, she asked "how do you make babies?" So I thought for quite some time and realized that I could seriously scar her innocent little mind. So then I did what any good and bright parent would do...I told her to ask her preschool teacher. Then I told her I was kidding and proceeded to explain in a very vague way (with no body parts involved...she's only 4!) And she seemed like she understood...and then she asked if she could watch!!!! Advice anyone?

An Update on Matt

I thought that I would spend a moment and tell you a little about Matt. He is now working for South Salt Lake Police Dept and loving it. It has a pretty high crime rate and probably the highest concentration of wackos in a very small area, so Matt stays pretty busy. Its always fun to hear his stories and he has just as much fun telling me about them. The other day he was so excited because they had caught two robberies in progress. There was also a stabbing and a big fight they had to break up. I dont think these scenarios make Matt excited, but anything that gets his adrenaline going is desireable. I am just glad he is willing to work a job that gets the bad guys to face some consequences.

Say No to Crack

Unfortunately, we have regressed with potty training.

Our Family

skittle (bribery) in the mouth

here we are

The girls

My Sweet Leah

A Nation Turns to Prayer

Just this last weekend I went to a wedding in Seattle and the reception was in this amazing house. So I decided to do what any future home owner would do...I would snoop! This house was AMAZING. But something I have learned that makes a house unique is the artwork. I saw this painting and could not take my eyes off of it. It is significant becuase of September 11th but also because Matt and I knew a family in Staten Island and the dad was a firefighter and a father of 2 young blonde girls. We loved this family. He lost several of his buddies in the towers that day.

THE TALE OF A SNAKE

So i have decided that you can divide the human race into two groups in several different ways. For example, you can say there are those who HATE the the snow, and there are those who like it. OR , there are those who like the fruity candy and those who prefer the chocolate. Some who like blondes and some like brunetts .Coke or Pepsi. Then there is a more serious topic. One that may send someone screaming or send chills down your spine. Or in my mother's case, send you to the floor in the fetal position. Its a ...ssssssnake! People either HATE them or like them. So I really discovered this when Matt and i made a slithering serpent our first pet. Weird , I know. so we have had this snake before Hayley was even born and suprisingly, she is quite an interesting pet. So, to get to the point. We thought we had lost her the other day. Matt will sometimes put her in a tree while he is working outside and she will usually bask in the sun...or climb down. Well, she did the latter. She is usually easy to find. She is a little over 5 ft long and she is not the fastest creature..or very intelligent for that matter. Well, several hours passed and nightfall came. Since she is nocturnal, we knew she would be on the move at night. Our hearts sank. She was missing for 24 hours! Very sad. Then the next day Matt was a t the gas station and a woman asked if the red Denali was ours, and of course he said yes. Then she said "is THAT yours?!" Sure enough, our snake was crawling out of the wheel. Its crazy to think how this must have looked to someone. This lady even took pictures with her camera phone. Yes, the snake was just chillin in our bumper. We had driven all over town with her there. I think I will notify GMC and tell the our car is not only comfortable for our family but lso our snake.