Keeping up with us!

Today I am thankful for a phone...

2011-11-28T22:40:00.016-07:00

My phone's camera may not be the best camera, but it is always in my pocket!

She always wants me to take her picture! She loves her little brother!

We get a few hours just the three of us everyday and I know Elliot is going to miss her when she starts preschool next year!

Later that day, we had our friends come over to celebrate Chris's 30th Birthday! Chris had made a pinnata when he was little and had kept it all these years. So he let the kids bust it open with him!

It was fun to watch the kids!

THis is just a random photo, but this was on our front porch two days after Thanksgiving! We sure do love online shopping and Black Friday. It really isn't a good combination for Jeff! This was not the only day it looked like this! Also, I would like to point out, most of this was not for Christmas. I had most of it bought before Elliot was born! I have an online shopping addict for a husband. Good thing Black Friday is only one day a year!

Getting into a Routine....Finally

2011-11-26T22:26:00.013-07:00

Carter has really loved having Elliot be in our family! He asks to hold him constantly and is a really big help. He is my third hand sometimes.

As you can see, Jeff has Aubrey and Carter has Elliot!

I have the camera!

Elliot's First Bath at home with an audience!

He didn't' really like it!

Giving Mommy Kisses

We really are having so much fun with this little body in our home!

He really is a good baby and I am so thankful for that!

Great Grandma Jensen and Elliot

2011-11-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T15:35:00.008-07:00

Elliot's First Thanksgiving and he showed up at my Mom's all prepared!

He looks so small in his huge car seat!

Aubrey really hadn't asked to hold her brother as much as Carter requests it; so when she asks. I make sure she gets the opportunity. I want her to feel important in this big change in our family dynamic!

She really does love her little Elliot!

Elliot and Emma (4 months apart)

This picture is really random, but I HAD to post it. This is a picture of Jeff's Butt print.

He was sitting on the couch at my parents and he got up. I went to steal his seat and I saw this!

I loved it so much, i had to take a picture of it!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Elliot. He is so handsome and the outfit says so...

He is so wonderful and I am enjoying the newborn stage so much more this time around!

Right before we left my Mom's that night, we got this family photo taken! It isn't wonderful but it is our families first Thanksgiving as 5!

I remember Carter's first Thanksgiving, We only took one picture and he was already in his pjs too!

They immediately look older...

2011-11-18T16:46:00.001-07:00

The kids were with Grandma Susan that day. She got to pick Carter up from school and I know he was so excited to see her! She brought the kids around 5 o'clock!

They were so excited to see their little brother and check on me!

Here is the sequence of pictures I took!

I can't believe I have 3 children!!

sorry Susan this is the only picture i have of you and Elliot!

Our Fist Family Photo

I wish that the swelling in my nose would go down! Then I wouldn't cringe every time I saw them!

Aubrey and Carter had to have wrist bands in order to come and see me in my room. They were so excited to have them, just like me and Daddy and Elliot! As soon as they walked in though, it felt as though they had gotten taller and maybe aged too! I now had a 5 year old and a two year old AND a new born!

My parents and my sister's family came to visit me later that night. The kids had barely left when they got there. Carter was so hungry and wanted to wait of my food to get there, so I could share!

The Delivery Story: meet Elliot

2011-11-18T14:47:00.072-07:00

It's funny how each pregnancy is so different, but shortly after you have to baby, the details become a little hazy. I am writing this almost three months after it happened.

This time around I decided to be induced. I had never had to be induced before, but seeing I was due the day before Thanksgiving..I really didn't want to be in the hospital on Thanksgiving. I was not about to eat a hospital food Thanksgiving. Granted the food at McKay Dee Hospital was pretty good, but they do not have cranberry fluff on the menu!
So I was scheduled to go in on the 18th at 7:00am, but received a call the morning telling me that I was not to come in until I heard from them. We had arranged for Jeff's Mom Susan to be there over night and was supposed to get Carter off to Kindergarten for us. The Hospital was really busy and needed to space for all of the ladies who were actually in labor.
So Jeff was able to take Carter to School (where all the Mom's there were so confused knowing that I was supposed to be there early that morning). We had a relaxing morning and I did not hear form them until about 9:30. They told me to be there at 11:00am.
So we were on our way! It was so weird to be driving to the hospital and not really be in labor. I had been having some contractions but nothing note worthy!
We got all set up in our room and I was actually dilated to a 2. So I was hopeful that this delivery would be an easy and fast one.
They started my drip of petocin around 11:30 and man that was no fun. They had just recently gotten new IV things and the girl didn't know how to use them. Nurses always have a hard time trying to find a good vein and she tried going on my hand. Well, she blew that vein on her first try. I was grateful she didn't want to try again anywhere else and went and got a different nurse to do it. Thankfully, she new what she was doing and had had some practice using the new IVs and was successful.

Shortly after this little poking and proding was over.. I decided to get the epidural. I was starting to have some pretty hard contractions, but was still okay. But if you know my story with Carter, I wanted to get it as soon as possible.
As soon as the Epidural was in, my Doctor Julia walked in with her snow boots and sun glasses on her head and broke my water. And really just that quick! I absolutely love her. She is to the point and will not mess around.

At this point, it was just the waiting game. I think with each kid, you forget the little details. I have totally forgotten most of what happened next! Funny Huh!
What I do remember was that I did start to lose the feeling in my legs, but never all that way. I was still able to move my legs and feel the contractions. I asked my nurse if that was normal (which I should have known that it was not normal, I had done this twice before)? I don't' even remember her answer. I remember her telling me I could push the little button every 5 min, up to a certain about an hour. Which I did and still no difference. Finally around 3:00 I had the anathesiologist come in and give me another dose of the stuff. Still not much of a difference. I could feel the contractions, had to breathe through them and I knew I was getting close.
When I finally progressed to a 10 and was ready to push, I was so ready for him to come out. I remember when I had Carter and Aubrey that I could barely feel when I was having a contraction. But with Elliot, That was different. I knew when they were coming and I felt like they were slightly dulled. Luckily, dulled enough that I couldn't feel down there, but enough that it made it hard to push.

Our nurse put on the pressure when we were getting ready to push and told me that she had a record of getting babies out in three contractions/pushes. I was like, Um.... I will try, but no garuntees!!!
I was kind of annoyed!
In Walked my doctor again with her boots and sunglasses still on her head! NEVER have I seen her without them!!!
She Asked me if i was having a contraction and i was in too much pain to really know what was a contraction or not. It really felt like a really long continuous contraction!

So three contractions but 4 pushes, Elliot entered the world! He was adorable the moment i saw him. My doctor literally took him and plopped him on my belly! I was able to hold him while Jeff cut the umbilical cord!

Elliot James Balls

Born November 18, 2011

at 3:53pm

7lbs. 11oz.

20 in long

First Pictures with Mamma

His First Mohawk!

I distinctly remember having a picture of Carter like this!

Foot Prints!

This is the outfit Carter picked out for Elliot to come home in. It was perfect! He was wearing his sunday Best!!!

Daddy"s and Doughnuts!

2011-11-15T14:44:00.004-07:00

Carter's School had an activity early in the morning for Dad's and Doughnuts!

Jeff woke up Carter at 7:00am and they went over to the school for doughnuts. It was also a crazy tie contest! They even got a gift certificate for a free kids meal at Chilis for wearing ties!

It was really fun for the two of them!

Carter"s First Field Trip

2011-11-09T14:39:00.008-07:00

Carter had his first field trip and ride on a school bus all on the same day! He was so excited to ride the bus. I still don't know how a bus with a bunch of kids not wearing seat belts is safe, but o well! They went to the Gateway Discovery. I wish I could have gone with them, but I wouldn't have been able to take Aubrey.

Bed time is such a daunting thing for us. I know it is just going to be worse when Elliot is born!

Found These Photos!

2011-11-01T14:22:00.006-06:00

The Vampire Teeth from Halloween! She really loves them. She thinks they make her look scary!

We took the kids to Boondocks before Elliot was born for some family fun! They love the roller ball!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T13:19:00.017-06:00

Carter's Pumpkin & Aubrey's Pumpkins this year!

Jeff helped Carter with his and I helped Aubrey with hers! We had a lot of fun and it was really quick!

These next two pictures are the day after Halloween at my Mom's! Carter wanted to do the doughnut eating contest again this year! He will be a pro next year!

All of us in our costumes! We even got Jeff to dress up! Although, he will do anything to wear his Giants Jersey!

Our Cute Little Bumble Bee!

Our Cute Friends: The Saunders

Our Ninja Carter

Aubrey appearently thinks she is a ninja bumble bee with her glow stick sword!

Aubrey with our Neighbor Cassidy (A Minion)

Trick or Treating with the Saunders! This was the best thing ever. These two girls could have gone all night if we would have let them. I actually ended up walking around with them all for the whole time. Luckily for me, my sis in law, Eden stayed at our house and passed out our candy! I didn't think I would last very long, but I made it for 1 hour and a half of walking and on my feet. I was definitely tired when we got back, but it was so fun to watch them.

Carter ended up trick or treating with our neighbors, The Hendersons and their son Adam!

Painting our pumpkins from the Garden!

2011-10-30T23:37:00.004-06:00

We had a ton of pumpkins from our garden. We planted one of the little pumpkin plants and ended up getting like 15 baby pumpkins. So I let the kids paint a few of them. (No, Carter did not get glasses. My Mom took an old pair of her reading glasses and took out the lenses and gave them to him. Explanation: The other day at school, Carter had they eye test. He was disappointed that he didn't have to get glasses!)

37 weeks and a party...

2011-10-28T13:15:00.000-06:00

Me and my Belly at 37 weeks!!!

This was my halloween costume! We had Halloween party in Logan and Susan watched the kids for us!

They took the kids outside and threw them in the leaves. Poor Cooper, he looks so scared!!!

He simply didn't like them!!!

Canning.....Lift don't twist...

2011-10-25T23:28:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when you are used to a blender that you have to twist instead of lift off of the base!!!
Kristin was able to get a whole bunch of apples from her dad and so we were able to make some apples sauce! While we were in the process of blending these....Kristin was at the blender.
Her blender: Twist off the base.
Mine: Simply Lift
Mistake: She twisted first
Means: a whole big sticky mess.......also a new blender for me!!!
(The buttons now stick and I can't turn it off)
What a great story!!!

Tuachan presents The Little Mermaid!!!!

2011-10-22T12:57:00.014-06:00

We were lucky enough to go down to St. George for the final showing of The Little Mermaid!

It was UEA for Carter and Jake; so we all went down to see the show. Jake and Cooper stayed home while us and Kristin watched the show! It was so amazing! They did such a good job with the show that Disney is letting them do Aladdin next year. We will definitely be going down for that one!

Carter wanted to get his picture taken with everyone. Aubrey wanted one picture. And that was with Ariel!

The cast was amazing! But afterwards for pictures was insane. Thanks to Kristin, who butted a whole lot of people to get this picture for Aubrey. Luckily for her, Aubrey was dressed in her Little Mermaid costume that people didn't really noticed she was cutting in the line!!!

I knew Aubrey's cuteness would come in handy one day!!!

Saturday morning we took the kids and Grandma Jensen to the Dinosaur Museum that is in St. George. It was a really small building, but really cool to see. I had never seen real Dinosaur tracks or bones before. Carter was in heaven. He loves dinosaurs and was actually interested in reading all of the signs.

Wheeler Farm Fun

2011-09-15T12:53:00.005-06:00

Today we went to Wheeler Farm with Tiffiney and Lariah!

We went to feed the ducks, but Aubrey was the only one really interested in feeding them.

Carter and Lariah wanted to Explore!

Aubrey got to touch a donkey/horse? I am not sure what it was!

Soccer Season with the Snakes!

2011-09-11T12:40:00.003-06:00

He is getting better....Bigger.... Faster....but still likes to joke and talk on the field!

But we still like to come and watch the craziness!

Aubs is his biggest fan!

He is off to Kindergarten...

2011-09-04T12:51:00.003-06:00

I can't believe he is old enough to go to Kindergarten. Really I can't believe I am old enough to have a Kindergartener!!! AAGH!'

That first morning he was so excited and ready to go real quick! I just hope that this excitement continues. He goes in the morning and loves his teacher Ms. Liddell!

You can see in the top picture, Aubrey was excited too! Even though she wasn't going to school. She insisted on bringing her backpack to take Carter to school!

You can't miss the Cache County Fair and the Rodeo!

2011-08-11T12:36:00.007-06:00

We made it to the Cache County Fair and the Rodeo! The kids like to go see the trophies that Grandpa Alan wins with his animals. And I keep hoping that we won't inherit any more of them.

But the kids have been begging for Cowboy hats, so we finally gave in...

They should have been twins...

2011-08-05T18:49:00.007-06:00

These pictures are just simply the best! The Browns had to come back to Utah for a wedding and was able to stay a few nights with us. They were pretty busy with the wedding, but we got to have dinner and play one of the nights! These two boys put on such a great show. They truly should have been twins. I hope that one day, they will continue with their craziness! Hopefully one day we will have the funds to see them more often.

Carter and James!!!

Missing the Browns too much looking at these pictures...

Where a kid can be a kid...even on his birthday!!!

2011-08-01T17:22:00.009-06:00

On Carter's actual birthday, he wanted to have a party at Chuck E. Cheese. Since I didn't want to fork out a ton of money for the whole party package; he got to invite a few friends to go along with us!

They had a blast! We had Aubrey, Macy (Carter is so in love with her), Richy, and Ethan!

The boys had a blast, and I spent the money to buy him the silly blow-up crown!

After his party, we went to Build-A-Bear. He had gone a few days before and had gotten a bear, but there was a hole that didn't get sewn. So we went back to exchange it. He ended up getting a Koala bear instead!

But the best part was that Jeff was able to meet us there! We love it when he can get off early to play!

He turns 5 and Grandpa is 65!!!

2011-07-31T10:37:00.015-06:00

I love that Carter and my Dad's birthdays are one day apart! It just means that we definitely celebrate with the family!

Carter wanted a Bowser Cake and Jeff was in charge of making the cake this year. I was in St. George for most of the weekend and would not have enough time to make the cake. Jeff really did a good job making the cake, cutting it into a 3D cake...but the frosting of the cake? Well, lets just say that when I got home at 11:30pm....Jeff and I stayed up until 2am frosting the cake!!! But it really was fun and worth all of the frosting mishaps!!!

he loved his cake!

We had to celebrate my Dad's birthday too! I was going to make him a cake, but often my Dad will mention that when he was little he didn't ever get a cake, because it was too hot when they went to the park. So his Mom would buy a watermelon and put his candles in that! So we decided that since my Dad scrapes all of the frosting off anyways; we would take him back to his childhood!

Love you Dad!

Let's just say, he loved it!

We had to light Carter's candles twice, because Aubrey got to his candles before he could. He was so upset. I felt bad because I knew she was going to do that! But I had the camera!

He was so excited for all of his gifts, but he was so excited to get a Happy Napper and Grandma Susan had given him a roll of quarters. So he could have a quarter when he went to the store for the stupid machines!!! Thanks Grandma!!!

Meet my new Niece!!!

2011-07-23T10:16:00.011-06:00

July 23rd was a great day for our family! Especially for my Brothers Family! They were able to adopt this sweet baby girl and she truly was a miracle. We are so grateful to have her in our family! My brother and his family have been so blessed!

Isn't she adorable!?

Seriously, I am so happy for my brother and his wife. They are some of the best parents I know!

Adoption! It's about Love!

Getting ready for School....

2011-07-21T10:10:00.006-06:00

This summer, we tried to do the whole getting ready for school thing. We finally got our office set up and had a spot for the kids to practice their letters and do workbooks. Carter often ended up showing Aubrey how to do something, but it in turn helped him know it better!

I tried getting a picture of his tongue sticking out. It is something my family does when they are concentrating hard. I missed it, but it was still a good picture!

Jeff's Work Lagoon Day!

2011-06-24T23:00:00.009-06:00

Yet again, for Jeff's work party I am pregnant! But I guess it really isn't too big of a deal not to ride the rides. We had so much fun watching them have a blast!

Aubrey was a little apprehensive at first, but soon learned that Lagoon was where she wanted to be all day! Literally!

We got the kids to ride Puff once. Carter rode it again, but Aubrey would not do it! It was too scary for her!

Carter rode the newest ride at Lagoon. I can't believe that he is old enough to be going on these kind of rides. At first, he didn't want to go on it, but then after he went; he said, 'lets's do it again!"

This by far was Aubrey's favorite ride. She ended up here at the end of the night, which we didn't leave Lagoon until 10:30. I never thought we would stay here that long, but the kids would not leave. Aubrey was lucky enough to get to ride the ride about 10 times in a row. She didn't even have to get out!!

She is Definitely two! But so so so cute!!!

2011-06-23T22:59:00.005-06:00

So I was a little late at taking Aubrey's two year pictures! But here they are! She is a doll and we love her so much. She is full of attitude but she is so sweet!

She truly is a special girl in our family! So glad I have a little girl to be silly with!

Although, she is a pro with the pouty lip!

San Fran: Day 7 The California Academy of Sciences & The Wharf Again!

2011-06-13T17:38:00.030-06:00

This place was awesome! Carter loved the dinosaur statue as you first walk in. He was sucked right in! We got to see all sorts of cool things. The kids are looking at a version of a reef in the Philippines. Jeff was excited to see this too!

We were able to see the penguin show. It wasn't so great, but the kids loved seeing the penguins and learning about Pierre. He is one of the Penguins there that had gotten sick and could not keep himself warm. He had lost all of his feathers. So they made him a wet suit that he wore to keep him warm. They had wrote a kids picture book about this and we just had to buy it for the kids. Actually Grandma Susan bought it for the kids!!

THey also had a white aligator. Which wasn't too cool for us; seeing that we used to see one all of the time at Hogle zoo when we lived up on campus. But still neat to see!

The top of the roof to this museum was actually a living museum. It was covered in grass and flowers. It was really cool!

These frogs were supposed to be the most poisonous frogs in the world. They were right there on the path. Nothing blocking you from them. I kept on walking after I took the pictures and Jeff and My Dad called me back and pointed out to me that they were actually fake. I didn't even realize that they didn't move the whole time I was trying to take this picture of them. It was pretty funny. This was in the jungle portion. It was so hot in this room, i thought I was going to die! there were butterflies all over and birds flying over your head! It was so cool!

Luckily, this thing was in a glass case!

Downstairs was a huge Philippino Aquarium. This place was so neat and so much better than the Aquarium by the Bay that we had previously gone to. They had so many exhibits of everything. It was a little overwhelming! While we were in the gift shop, my Dad and Aubs decided to take a load off and my Dad even took his shoes off!

We then headed back down to the wharf and made our last purchases of the trip. We made a final stop to Boudin's bread shop. And took some pictures with the seals!

While waiting for the bus, I took this picture!

San Fran: Day 6 Church and Muir Woods

2011-06-12T17:09:00.034-06:00

On sunday, we decided to get back to nature!!! But first we found the local church and attending Sacrament meeting. We ended up driving to the church house which was a huge mistake. There was no parking anywhere and it was the only day we rented a car and had to drive in the city. Jeff was really frustrated and didn't like driving down a street that you could barely see 5 ft in front of you because the streets were so steep. Luckily, we found a spot a few blocks away and were able to be to the church on time. It truly was an adventure.
One of my favorite places Jeff and I went on our honeymoon was Muir Woods. It is a smaller version of the Red Wood Forest. The trees are huge and it is really peaceful!

I would have to say that it was funny watching everyone. I am sure everyones necks started to get tired of looking up!

It got really dark in there with all of the huge trees. But we managed to get the kids to pose for a family picture. They were loving the woods and trails, but were having a hard time understanding that they could not pick the wild life. We tried to only pick up the small sticks on the trails!

This is on of my favorite pictures! She loves her Daddy!

They were dancing here!

Carter thought this log was awesome! He went up all the way and said he could sleep there!

We could become the New Bearnstien Bears Family who lived in this huge tree!!!

Aubrey started singing at the end of the trail and didn't care who she was walking with or who was listening to her sing. She got a lot of comments!

On our way back into the city! We got to drive on the Golden Gate Bridge. They kids loved it!

San Fran: Day 5: Exploritorium, Lombard Street, & Coit Tower

2011-06-11T16:47:00.030-06:00

We let the kids sleep in just a bit, but surprisingly they were ready to go yet again for a new adventure. I was really excited for today because we were going to the Exploritorium. Jeff and I had gone there on our Honeymoon and had a blast. I was super excited to take Carter and My Dad!

This is some type of Memorial right next to the Exploritorium Museum. Such Pretty Architecture!

The Exploritorium is a hands on learning science museum. They had so many fun things to do. We were here for about 4 hours. We didn't even stop for lunch. We were all pretty hungry by the time we were done!

Carter and Aubrey made their own games all throughout. They tried catching the smoke that was supposed to be illustrating a tornado, they played with the infered camera. Carter put the cold stamps on his belly and stood up for the camera! So funny!

Some of the cutest pictures we got were these on the chairs. Aubrey loved the big chair, but would not smile for the camera.

This was a cool visiting attraction. Some guy had made a ping pong ball track with toothpicks. I don't remember many of the facts about this contraption, but it was really cool to watch and look at. He had added a little bit after the Giants won the world series last year. IF you look close on the bottom left, you can see the world series trophy and the coke bottle and the mitt from the stadium. I think it had like 8 tracks to the whole thing.

I was seriously so excited to watch my Dad here. I think he really enjoyed the place and I think one day, if he ever moved to San Fran, He would spend his retirement getting a job here and playing with gadgets all day long!!!

After spending 4 hours in the museum, we WALKED back to Girahdeli Square. (longest walk of my life). After eating at a place that said to be the best pizza in San Fran, we walked up the street to Lombard Street! The crookedest street in the world!!!

I was so tired of walking that I didn't want to walk up all of the stairs. So Susan and Alan, Jeff and my Dad and the kids walked up all of the stairs. Apparently, Aubrey counted all of the stairs while climbing them. 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10....1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10.....

My Mom and I stayed at the bottom and watched them come back down!!! Carter thought it was awesome!

After the many stairs, we hopped on a bus and rode up to Coit Tower. (luckily, Jeff had his phone and could tell us where to go and which buses to catch). We spent $5 to go up the elevator for a really windy tower just for the views.

From the top of the tower looking down to the parking lot!!!

Pier 39

San Fran: Day 4 Trolley Ride, Aquarium by the Bay, and Alcatraz!

2011-06-10T16:23:00.071-06:00

Friday:We woke up fairly early and headed back down to Union Square and stood in line for the trolley! Carter and Aubrey just loved the little trolley cars. Aubrey would put her arms up when we went down the hills. It is amazing how these old cars can go up the hills they do.

We rode the tolley all the way up to the Wharf and then we walked over to the Aquarium by the Bay near Peir 39!

They kids loved the Aquarium and seeing all of the jelly fish, sharks, and walking through the domed tunnels. The toads were my favorite to see; it looked like a sculpture of frogs that you buy in some decoating store.

We were able to see the workers there feed the bat ray fish. It was pretty cool, but Carter wouldn't touch one. My Mom's face was priceless after she touched the bat ray. I wish I would have captured it on camera.

Carter finally touched a starfish. Partly because he remembers touching them at Sea World two years ago!

Aubrey loved playing in the water and touching everything she could!

After the Aquarium by the Bay we had lunch and headed over to Alcatraz. I knew the kids were going to love the boat ride over there, but didn't know for sure how they would do once on the island and listening to the tour. They were starting to get a little tired and needed a break...

On our way over to Alcatraz, our boat had to speed up because of some Oracle racers practicing on the bay that day. It was really cool to see them pass us and see how fast they can actually go!

We actually did this boat ride on a perfect day. There really wasn't any fog and we could see all across the bay. It was simply beautiful! Alcatraz is amazing too! It was so pretty and well kept. When Jeff and I were here on our honeymoon, the only thing I regret was coming to the island. We did a boat tour and went around the island, but we did not stop on the island. This time, I definitely wanted to take to the tour!

When we finally walked up the steep roads and got to the prison; Carter and Aubrey were both acting up. Fighting over the stroller, and I had no more patience. Luckily, they started handing out headphones for the audio tour. I knew Aubrey wouldn't last long with listening, but Carter loved the whole thing. He listened intently to the tour. It was really fun to watch him turn his head or tell us where go while listening to the tour guide. When it was all done, we went back through and explained some of the things he didn't understand or that he missed. He was really intrigued with the three inmates that escaped through the holes they made and the fake heads they had put on thier pillows.

This was one of the signs they had in the prison, and I am thinking of putting this saying up in my house somewhere!

San Fran: Day 3, The SFMOMA and another Giants game

2011-06-09T13:33:00.046-06:00

Thursday:
So with our City Passes, we had tickets to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Jeff's parents wanted to go for a 25 mile bike ride and didn't really want to go to the museum. So they got up early and headed to the wharf and rented bikes and rode over the Golden Gate Bridge while we went to the museum.

Modern art is definitely something that you can't really understand, but just have to appreciate. The kids were kind of bored, but Jeff loved it all.
My favorite part was the picture below. We were walking down some stairs and I was looking out the window and spotted WALDO!!! I was always really good at those books!

I really have no idea how I spotted him!

But it was fun to point out to the kids and to others walking by!

We walked around Union Square for awhile and found the carosel that is outside for the kids to ride and got to see where the apple conference was being held!

After we had lunch, we headed back to the stadium for another game. This time Carter was all decked out with his giants jersey and hit the ball like a pro!

Run Posey!

We also got to see the World Series Trophy. It is not usually on display, but they had it out for us to see. They were charging $20 to get your picture taken with it, but we opted for just a picture of it!

This is by far, my favorite picture!

I finally got Jeff to buy himself a new hat!

It was kind of chilly, but Aubrey did have her jersey on too!

The Giants were playing the Cincinnatti Reds that game. We actually got to see them give Edger Renteria his World Series Ring. It was really cool!

I think one of the coolest things that I saw was my dad bought himself a new hat. He had brought his fishermans hat, (the one that will cover his ears ) and decided that he needed to have some black and orange. My mom bought a Giants bag, but we couldn't get Jeff's Dad to buy a Giants hat! Seeing that he was a Reds fan, he didn't want to switch over to the black and orange. It was actally funny to see the peoples' reaction to him cheering on the Reds. Unfortunately, the Reds won the game, but it made Jeff's Dad happy!!!

It was a little chilly that night at the game, but we were in the stands and had better seats that blocked to wind. We will definitely be coming back to see more games!!!

San Francisco: Day 2 Giants Game vs. The Nationals

2011-06-08T12:48:00.067-06:00

Wednesday morning we got up and got ready for our first Excursion! THE GIANTS GAME!!! It took us a few buses to get us there, but we finally made it to the AT&T Ball Park!

The night before we stopped at the NFL Pro sports store at Fisherman's Wharf and broused all of the Giants stuff. The kids fell in love with the Panda Hats for the Giants Player Panda Sandoval! We were I think one of my favorite things about San Francisco was how much black and ornage you saw!

We got to the game a litte early and was able to watch them practice up a bit! I had never been to a professional baseball game. The stadium was amazing! We were sitting in the outfield and were sitting in the sun. So it was hot, but we always had a nice cool breeze! We ate lunch at the stadium and we all got an order of their famous garlic fries! They were delicious!

Since we got there a little early, the kids got to do some of the fun stuff. They have a little field for the kids to practice playing. It was a blast to help them hit the ball! It was so fun to see Jeff having a blast with the kids. He was in Heaven and they were right there with him.

Since the Giants won the world series last year, Carter has become such a little Giants fan. It was hard to say no to all of the Giants gear he wanted. Carter and I both got the same kids hat, Carter and Aubrey both got little jerseys. Carter chose Buster Posey for his! I got a sweatshirt jacket. While standing there buying all of this Giants stuff; Jeff said to my Mom, " Look at my family, they are all decked out." He is so funny, he didn't want to buy anything for himself, but just wanted us to get what we wanted!

The Giants played the National League this game and won. I think the highlight of the game was watching Brian Wilson warm up for the pitchers mound! FEAR THE BEARD!!!!

It was so fun to be here with Jeff and watch him; it was by far my favorite of the whole trip! Aubrey got a little tired during the game, so we made her a little hut to sleep in; so it wasn't so hot sleeping in the sun! Carter joined her shortly after!

You can see on Jeff's face it was so good to actually see the Giants play a game! Such a great way to start our vacation!

Us in our Giants gear!

We sat in the section just below the baseball glove. This field really is amazing. The coke bottle is actually a slide for the kids; which they loved. At the end of the game, the birds started swarming. By the time we got out of our seats and started walking away, the stands were covered with white seagulls! They really were everywhere!

Aubrey loved watching them all!

The stadium really is amazing and so big!

We really didn't want to leave the ball park. We were one of the last people to leave.

The bus ride back home was a little crowded, but Carter wanted to be the big boy that he is and stand up and hold onto the rails!

After we got home, we went back to the flat, ate dinner and just relaxed!

The Beginning of our Summer Trip to San Francisco!

2011-06-07T12:40:00.028-06:00

I think the hardest and most stressful part of our trip was the airport. Going through security with two kids, two carseats, six carry on bags, plus having to take off thier shoes.... Lets just say crazy!!! But we did it and after we got through, we had little bit of a wait! Luckily, we brought plenty of things for the kids to do in their back packs.

I was a little afraid at how the kids were going to act of the plane, but they loved every minute of it! When we took off from Salt Lake City, they giggled the whole way! It was so much fun to watch and be with them. Luckily, we had my parents and Jeff's parents with us. It made it so much fun to share this trip with them! When does a kid get to go on vacation with both sets of Grandparents!!!

When we arrived in San Francisco, we called a cab van to drive us into the city to where we were staying. We found a great flat on VRBO (which I suggest) It was a three bedroom flat with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining room, and back yard patio. It was a amzing and was cheaper than getting a hotel in the city! So much nicer too! I am so glad we found it. Our drive to the flat was interesting. Let's just say that we were all glad to not be driving, but we a little afraid at how well our driver was a weaving in and out of traffic.

After we got things settled at the flat, we went down to Fishermans Warf and walked over to get our tickets for Alcatraz and our City Passes for the week. Luckily, Jeff had his iphone and was able to get all of the directions for the buses. We rode the busses all week. It was great; we didn't need a car at all!

We watched a beached seal for awhile. He was all by himself and was making a lot of noise! It was also pretty chilly! Once the sun went down, it was windy and cold.

Canterbury Preschool Graduation!

2011-05-27T11:51:00.010-06:00

This is our second Preschool Graduation for Carter. We can't believe how big he is getting! He insisted on wearing these awesome sunglasses as he walked in with his class. I think he found them in the car; they are the type of sunglasses they give you at the eye doctor when you get your eyes dialated! He is so funny sometimes and so full of personality.

His graduation was at the Classic Fun Center in Layton. After thier little program, they got to play on all of the bounce houses and play toys! So much fun! I think my favorite part of the program was the kids said they could count to 100. They said, " 1, 2, skip a few 100!" They they proceeded to actually count to 100. I really loved the Canterbury Preschool. They did a fantastic job!!!

Him recievin his diploma from one of his teachers Miss Melissa!

His other teacher Miss Ashleigh

And the Head teacher Miss Pennie

It had been a long time....

2011-05-21T07:48:00.018-06:00

Since we moved out of Student Housing at the University; we have only been back to the zoo a handful of times. Our friends, the Saunders were coming down to go to the zoo! So we joined them!We actually saw the tigers play with all of the enrichment stuff and even play in the water. We had never see them do that!

I love watching Carter observe the animals, here he was watching an owl and was mimiking his head movements!

Since a big chunk of the zoo is under construction, they brought in all of these robot dinosaurs. Carter loved the first one we saw, and then got a little scared with this one that was in the water and would hardly stay still for this picture!

I love this little place and watching them peek into the windows. It is always a great place for a picture!

We don't normally get a family picture anywhere we go; luckily for us the Saunders were there with us! Aubrey wasn't so sure of sitting on the dinosaur!

The Saunders! Love this family!

Aubrey found her peacock! I wish you could hear her impression of a peacock!!!

Stand outside with our mouths open wide...

2011-05-19T10:12:00.003-06:00

singing Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah,......

I absolutely love this girl!

T-Ball starts

2011-05-16T21:15:00.001-06:00

We put Carter in a T-Ball league in Layton City! It was really fun to watch him catch onto the game and be excited to play with the bigger boys. He ended up being the shortest and youngest kid on the team.Jeff coached his team! It was fun to watch my boys play ball!

He doesn't really pay much attention while out in the field!

We need to work on that!

GO TIGERS!!!

One of my favorite moments with Carter!

2011-05-02T23:23:00.001-06:00

Carter's Preschool did a special program for thier Mothers! They sang to us and then served us lunch! It was so much fun! IT even made me cry! This is Carter sitting next to Macy! She lives behind us and at the beginning of the school year, he had a crush on her. Now they are really good friends and play together all the time. Lately, it has been he is the bad guy and she is the princess. For some reason, it works for them! On the other side of Macy is Ethan. He is Carters good friend and also is in love with Macy! What a love triangle they have going on there!

THey asked Carter a whole bunch of questions about me! It made me laugh!

Here it is!

My Mother is...29 years old.

My Mother's favorite food is...Crepes and Mac n Cheese

My favorite food that my Mommy makes is...broccolli

The thing that makes my mom happiest is...when i am good.

My mother is as pretty as a....rose

When my mom grows up she wants to be...a yard worker

My Mommy's favorite show is....American Idol

My Mommy laughs when....I pour cold water on her.

If my Mom has some spare time she liks to...duck duck goose.

My favorite thing to do with my mom is ...watch tv

The thing my Mom loves the most is...me and Aubrey

I love my mom more than...baseball and soccer

My dad likes to call my Mom...Tams and Tammie

So funny and so sweet!

One of my favorite moments this year!

Easter Sunday Photos!

2011-04-24T08:59:00.007-06:00

All I have to say is that my son is handsome and very sweet sometimes, and my daughter is cute and a sweetheart, but together they can take some really silly pictures! I love them both and am so glad that Carter loved the hat I bought for him for Easter. Even if this was the only day he wore it, I don't care. I love these photos!!!

Easter Egg Hunt!

2011-04-23T16:22:00.000-06:00

This year the kids had a blast at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Jensens home! Grandma Jensen goes all out every year. All the younger grandkids got to find 18 eggs each. It is crazy, but the kids love finding all the eggs and then finding the one with thier name on it!

THey have a huge yard with lots of hiding places. IT takes awhile for all of the eggs to be found!

Aubrey getting stuck in the vines. She missed like 5 easier eggs to get to this one

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-17T11:05:00.000-06:00

The Leprachan came to our house in the middle of the day!

When we got home from the store, there was a shamrock trail to follow!

Which led to a pile of gold/ candy!

Aubs started on her rolos right away!

Carter wanted to be like Spiderman for some reason!

Then Aubrey wanted to do the same thing!!!

But these may be my favorite pictures of all time!!!

All tuckered out!

2011-03-14T10:49:00.005-06:00

Aubs does not take naps very often anymore. But on occasion, I will find her like this!!!

Too cute! She was watching Little Mermaid!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2011-03-09T10:49:00.004-07:00

We always try to spoil Jeff, but it never sems to work out!

We got him the Nintendo version of monopoly, but when we opened it; there were cards missing.

So we had to take it back!

Atleast we were able to get few things he liked!

Snow day again!

2011-03-08T09:54:00.006-07:00

Sad how, we bought these shovels on clearance and now the kids get to use them with Snow!

Although, Carter just wanted to play in the snow!

And then lick the snow off of his shovel!

You are caught Boy!!!

It's a blessing to be with family!

2011-03-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Jake and Kristin had Cooper blessed today and it was a wonderful day!

We love being able to be with family on sundays!

When we got home, Aubrey and Jeff decided to have a tea party!

They even made sandwhiches!

Bike Weather and FHE

2011-03-04T11:30:00.014-07:00

Finally it started to get a little warmer for Aubrey to try riding her new bike she got for her birthday.

Carter is still trying to ride his bike and is getting better everytime he gets on!

Bring on the summer!

These are the two boys that live across the street. They are observing the crocus' that are coming up. Last fall, they helped me plant them all! IT is so good to finally see them starting to grow!!!

This is a sight that is often around our house! Aubrey pouting!!! So funny!

This is what she looks like the rest of the times, when she is my little cutie pie!

We got a coconut in Bountiful baskets this last saturday and thought it would be fun to show the kids how to crack it open! Jeff did a great job! We first drained the milk!

Then Cracked it Open!!!

Then we let them drink the milk!!!

You can see that Aubrey really didn't like the milk!

They didn't like the fruit part either!!!

But it was a fun process!

Where's Waldo? Or Harry Potter with a nose job!

2011-03-02T22:42:00.006-07:00

Carter got these cool glasses at school for being good!

I just love this picture!

He is just growing up and I can't stand it!

Our Little Mermaid is 2 years old!!!

2011-02-26T22:41:00.011-07:00

I can't believe that Aubs is already 2!!!! She is such a funny little girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family! She just loves Little Mermaid right now. She goes around the house singing like little mermaid; like she is giving her voice away! Amazingly, she has pretty good pitch! Thank goodness she can carry a tune; unlike her Dad!

She is just way too cute! I can't stand it!

She got lots of presents from Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncles!

But I think her favorite was the gift we gave her. Her first table and chairs!

Let's just say that she loves it! We have to have tea parties a lot and she loves to serve to everyone!

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

Benson Family Pictures

2011-02-19T00:21:00.015-07:00

My Whole Family!!!

My cute parents!

Then us and the many faces of Carter!

I felt kind of silly, but I wanted a new picture of myself.

It was my birthday though!!!

The Family All Together in Warmer Weather!

2011-02-18T22:26:00.027-07:00

This year for the Parade Of Homes Show in St. George, my whole family decided to go and soak up some warm weather. It was so nice. The sun felt so good and it was great to go for a little hike!

We went on a hike to see Mushroom Rock, but funny thing is; when we got there, I didn't take any pictures of the rock that looks like a mushroom!

But We did take lots of pictures of Aubrey on the rocks!

She was loving all the dirt and sunshine!

The Girl Grand-Daughters

Aubrey pretending to be a fish!

The only Picture Carter would look at me for!

My Cute Parents!

The Whole reason we came down was to support my Brother in his amazing talent! These are the only two pictures that I really liked that I took. This first one is the back side of the house. This house was insanely beautiful and the architecture was stunning. This house was by far the best house in the show.

For some reason, i always like the fireplaces in my brothers house's. But the funny thing is, is that there are all in St. George. Hopefully one day, my brother will design a beautiful house for me when I can afford a custom fireplace like this one!

All bundled Up!

2011-01-13T22:13:00.006-07:00

We never really got a lot of chances to play in the snow. One day while Carter was at Preschool, Aubrey got all dressed in her boots and wanted to go play!

She doesn't really play as much as she walks around in the snow. Never really touching it, but loving it all the same!

Inspired by Toy Story 3

2011-01-11T19:44:00.008-07:00

Soon After we saw the movie Toy Story 3; Carter wanted to make a Mr. Potato Head in a Tortilla and a cucumber!

It took us a while, but one day while Aubrey was taking a nap; he thought of it again. We didn't have a cucumber, but we did have a tortilla!

He had so much fun!

Mr. Potato Head's face didn't stay on very well, but we had a blast!

Silly Kids

2011-01-03T11:39:00.011-07:00

My kids can be really silly sometimes. I love it when they play together well! Aubrey had sit down at the table and grabbed a cutie orange and opened it up all by herself! Carter was so excited that she did it by herself, he had to get up there and eat one too!

Santa's Elves didn't do a very good job!

2010-12-28T11:36:00.012-07:00

Let's just say that we are glad first for neighbors with some spare room in their garage and second, for an uncle who knows a lot about bikes!

Carter and Aubrey had to try and help fix the bike and tighten all of the bolts!

Out for the first test drive....

So fun to watch!
I love his expression here!

The Christmas Loot

2010-12-26T11:25:00.020-07:00

I promise, I will be caught up on day on this blog!

These pictures are crazy! I think Santa needs to remember that they have both sets of Grandparents still giving presents and Great Grand parents too!

Although, Can't you tell how extremely happy they are!

This is Jeff's Loot! I was so lucky to have our old student ward Bishop and his Wife get home from their mission to the Philippines in November. They were able to bring me a Nativity for Jeff. I was so excited to give it to him. When he was a missionary there, he didn't think of buying one for his future family! I love it! The Wise men are carrying bananas, and other fruits.

Although, if you ask Jeff what his favorite gift.......Yep that's right! His Will Clark Giants Jersey!

Christmas Day!!!

2010-12-25T15:46:00.001-07:00

Since we had decided to go back up to Logan in the morning, we needed to wake our kids up early in order to not rush them out the door soon after we opened gifts! We woke them up about 7:15 am and boy was Carter so excited. He was half asleep but kept on insisting to go look what Santa had brought him before we could wake up Aubrey. This year, Aubrey didn't really know what was going on. She knew what Santa looked like, but didn't really grasp the concept. Carter on the other hand, was all about it. After talking with Santa many times this year, he had no doubts that he was getting all he asked for. He was quit surprised when he got just a bike and not a bike and a scooter! (Sorry kid, Maybe next year)

Aubrey got a little pet kitty... she wasn't quit sure what to think of it!

Carter got a IRON MAN glove that makes noise and shoots our darts!

This is what Aubs got from Santa, along with a Tinkerbell Chair

This is what Carter got from Santa!

After we were able to ope our gifts, we got the kids in the car and headed to Logan. We arrived there around 10:30am. We didn't even get the kids dressed for the day.

He bleeds Blue!

Our new little nephew Cooper Jacob Balls!

These are the bags I slaved over for all the girls in the Balls family!

I fell in love with each of their bags and didn't want to give them up.

Then at about 3:00pm we left Logan and got in the car for another hour and a half drive.

There my kids were spoiled yet again by thier grandparents!!!

Next Year, we all need to simplify!!!

Aubrey's favorite of the day? A place for her new doll to sleep!

The bed will fit her new Tinkerbell Barbie! I love this picture because you can see Jeff being a good Daddy putting one of Carter's Toys together!

All in all, We had a great Christmas, but I feel a little too much driving.
What is it going to take for everyone to come and visit us next year; so we can stay home all day?

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

This year was a crazy Christmas. Since Jake and Kristin had Cooper a few weeks before Christmas, we were trying to figure out a time to get all of the family together in order to exchange our gifts we had for eachother. We decided to spend our Christmas in the Car. Literally!
So started with Wednesday the 22nd. We went to Logan for a few days and spent Christmas Eve up there until about 7:30pm. Where we got in the car and drove home. So we could open our PJ's and read the Christmas Story from the Scriptures. (One of my favorite traditions)

Carter got IRON MAN JAMMIES. (I didn't do so good, I bought 4T. When in fact he needed 5T) O'Well!

Aubrey got PRINCESS JAMMIES (Like I said, I didn't do very good. Her little mermaid Top was a 4T and the bottoms a 2T. I realize that this was not my fault, but that meant I had to pin them at the top to stop from falling off of her shoulder)

Jeff got two pairs of Jammies. His normal Mario Fleece pants and a pair of Aggie scrubs. (which originally were supposed to be mine, but knew he would like them better than me. Which gave me the excuse to buy me some cute jammie pants from Kohls) Niether of which are pictured. Sorry!

More Christmas Festivities

2010-12-18T15:47:00.002-07:00

Carter made a gingerbread house at Preschool and was so excited to show me when he got home. He had to take a bag of candy to share. I had forgotten to go to the store for some candy and actually found some Red Hot Hearts. He thought they were pretty cool until I told him they were cinnamon. Although, he did tell me that the girls loved the little hearts! I am glad we provided something for the two little girls in his class; along with the twelve boys!

I thought we were going to have a problem with Aubrey wanting to eat it! I was spot on! The fist thing she did after looking at is was this....

Luckily for her, Carter let her eat whatever she wanted. I was surprised that it did not get eaten all the way before I threw it away.
Later that week, we went to our Ward Christmas Breakfast. Where they got to see Santa yet again! Luckily, for us all Carter ever asked Santa for in order was: A Chocolate Orange, a Bike, and a Scooter.

The Santas were always very surprised that a chocolate orange was the first thing he said he wanted. I hope that in the years to come, it is that easy to please him.

He told Aubrey he would bring her a doll! SMART SANTA

One of the longest days of December....

2010-12-10T11:44:00.001-07:00

December 10th, 2010
This may have been the longest days in a long time. We had so many things to do and so many places to be. It was an exhuasting day, but a great one, full of family!
Our first stop was to go see Jake graduate from Weber State University! Great Job Jake!

Next we had to go visit our newest little nephew in the hospital. Meet Cooper Jacob Balls! He was born on the 9th of December. So Jake and Kristin had a few crazy busy days! He is so cute!
Then we were off to see Santa at my Parents' ward Christmas Party! I dropped the kids off with them and I went and met Jeff at his work and then proceeded to be with him at his work Christmas Party up at Red Butte Gardens.

The kids have seen Santa Way too many times this year. They aren't catching on yet, thankfully!

Decorating the Tree!

2010-11-28T00:22:00.001-07:00

Carter was a little bummed this year when he realized that he only had 4 years worth of ornaments to put on the tree. HE knows that the tree needs more ornaments, but he wanted them all to be his own! Here he was excited to find one of his first ones. Luckily for him, he has a few from his first year. One from Jeff and I and the other from his Great Grandma Jensen!

We let Aubrey put up her two ornaments and then a few of the non breakable ornaments too!

This is the mess I made trying to decorate. We have only been married for 6 years, but we have accumulated enough for atleast 10 years!

I will have to post a picture with all of the decorations in place!

THank you UPS Man!

2010-11-27T00:09:00.001-07:00

This is what greeted us when we got home from Thanksgiving weekend. All of our Pre-Christmas Black Friday shopping!

We love a good deal!

And we LOVE amazon!

Thanksgiving Weekend!

2010-11-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we were up in Hyde Park at Jeff's Parents house. Carter and Aubrey love when we get to spend the night and get to see family. We had a great time!

Aubrey loves playing with Grandma Susan's Piano!

Carter loves to tell her how to do it; resulting in some attitude from Aubs! She is a typical girl! Carter had to bring his Indian costume he made in Preschool. He wouldn't turn around so I could take a picture; so we get a side view! He still looked way cute! I don't know how they chose thier Indian names, but for some reason Carter's name ended up being Running Dog. Atleast, it wasn't Squatting Dog!

First Day of Snow!

2010-11-22T01:39:00.003-07:00

Carter couldn't wait to get in the snow one day after school! As soon as he got out there, he asked if he could roll in the snow. I had forgotten to get out his snow bibs, but he thought it was worth it!

He had so much fun!

I think he ate a lot of the snow! That may be his favorite part!

He hid a rock on the front lawn hoping to find it in the spring when the snow melted. Unfortunately, we were able to find it a few weeks later!

Randomness and a teeth cleaning!

2010-11-19T23:59:00.001-07:00

November 15th:

NoOne night after I got home from Young womens, I found this.

November 17th:

Made my first apple pie EVER! I think it turned out pretty well. Thanks to the Relief Society for teaching me how!!! November 19th:

It was time for Carter to go in to the Dentist again and get his teeth cleaned. I have promised myself to keep my kids teeth checkups done. We even got Aubrey's teeth checked out! Luckily, for us, we were able to get in to see Kristin before she had her baby!
Carter is always really good for the Dentist and Kristin was impressed how still he sat for the X-rays. And in the chair, he was able to watch a little bit of How to Train Your Dragon! Even though, Aubrey couldn't hear the movie, she was glued. I guess having a tv in the ceiling is pretty cool! Thanks Aunt Kristin for cleaning their teeth!

Firestation Field Trip

2010-11-12T00:10:00.004-07:00

Carter's Preschool got to go to the Firestation this last fall. I found these pictures and forgot to blog about his fieldtrip! We had a lot of fun!

Carter's Two Friends at School. Ethan and Richy!

Aubrey even got to sit on the step and she did not want to get down! Check out the Ax!

Such a Big step for a little man!

THey even showed us all the stuff they have to wear!

THen when I got the camera out, these two started posing for me!

I hope they will always be good friends! Ethan is so much like Carter!

During the presentation, they got a call and had to leave. It was cool! We saw what really happens when there is a fire!

There they go...

I love this picture!

and this one...

But this one is awsome!

Luckily for us and wherever the call was, it was a false alarm and they got to come back and we were able to hear the sirens!

Kaysville Fire Station Field Trip 2010

Such a Cute Fireman!!!

Jeff's Highlight of the Year!

2010-11-01T01:26:00.000-06:00

TIM LINCECUM "THE FREAK"

FEAR THE BEARD

IN our house, this recent world series, this was a common sight! Ok, well, this was a last game of the series where the Giants won the Rangers!

It was a family event!

This was truely the best year for Jeff! HIS GIANTS WON!

I think what also made it fun for Jeff'; was that Carter knew all the players and was just as excited when they won! Some Father/Son bonding moments!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T00:55:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween! I had heard that Halloween night was going to be a cold rainy day, So I let the kids get in their costumes and play outside, while I take their photos! I had so much fun!

Aubrey loved her costume and was such a cute lady bugwith her Elmo bucket!

My two little munchkins! What can I say? She is soo DRAMATIC! And LOVING... And just so dang CUTE! He was the best Ninja Turtle EVER! Here, he has all three of our costumes on. I dressed up as a U2 fan (original I know). So here he is wearing Aubrey's Antennae, his costume, and my U2 hat! Happy Halloween

( I am so glad I took these the day before, because Halloween night was aweful!

IHOP's Free Pancakes!

2010-10-29T23:51:00.002-06:00

The day before Halloween, IHOP was giving away free Halloween pancakes to all kids who came in. So Carter and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of this for sure! Carter loves going to restuarants for breakfast foods! So we called Kristin to see what she was doing. We thought we could meet her at one. Well, she was actually at the Ogden mall waiting for her car to get finished from the shop. She was going to have to wait at the mall for a couple of hours. So we picked her up at the mall, Which she had walked a few blocks to, being 8 mo. prego) and went to the closest IHOP.

I think they were called Scary Pancakes, but we tried making them happy pancakes! It was one huge pancake and a whole bunch of candy and cream to put on top! I can't say that they ate any of the pancake, but a free pancake is a free pancake. We also got to spend time with Kristin, which is always a blast!

Carter did NOT want his picture taken. He was not yet finished decorating his pancake!

Now THAT face is a scary face!

Decorating and Carving

2010-10-25T23:43:00.003-06:00

October 25th
My parents came over on a monday afternoon and brought stuff to make spider cookies. We had invited them to carve pumpkins with us that night, but they had to get back home.

But the kids enjoyed making the cookies! Aubrey did really well putting the red hots for eyes, on the cookies when my Mom put some frosting on.

They loved spending time with their grandparents!

Aubrey Learning from the pro! I remember when I was in Elementary school and my Mom and I would be searching the stores for black licorice rope for the spiders' legs! Still to this day, my Mom has to search for them! I guess spider cookies are a Grandma Benson thing! Aubrey sure loved making them and of coarse, eating them too! Since our kids are not yet old enough to carve thier pumpkins we called in for reinforcements. Jake and Kristin came over for dinner and then we started the carving. I figured, Jeff and I would help the kids, and then Jake and Kristin would carve thier own. WEll, I was wrong!

Carter teamed up with Jake!

Jeff made his own! Aubrey tried doing it herself... Eventually, so did Carter... Jake did all of the cutting, and Carter did all of the poking! And Kristin helped Aubs!

Ocotber 26th

Still loving my camera... Especially because, I love this little girl soooo much!

A week before Halloween, we went down to St. George to see Thriller. Luckily for me, I have a babysitter down there and we were able to leave Aubrey with my Brother and his family! Carter really liked watching Thriller and he was a lot more brave than I thought he was going to be. He even gave knuckles to a zombie!!

While we were at the play, my neice Sydney, made Aubrey a blanket for her doll. Aubrey loves to wrap up her dolls, but unfortunately all we had were her blankets, which were too big for her dolls. So Sydney decided to make her a blanket.

Lets just say that she LOVES it and so does her doll! Thank you Sydney!

Black Island Farm's Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-18T00:07:00.003-06:00

We got some free tickets from the company we got our home loan from for the Black Island Farm in Syracuse! Carter, Aubrey and I had been there a few weeks before this with his PreSchool, but Jeff was not able to go with us. So we decided for FHE, we would go and play with the kids!

Here we are playing in the pit of corn feed! So much better than a sand pit!

Aubrey didn't want to go down any of the slides, but she did want to be up on top with all of the big kids. I sent Jeff up there to be with her and walk around. I finaly switched places with Jeff and made Aubrey go down with me. We were even able to grab Carter and convice him to go down with us! We watched a magic show and played hard! Too bad we didn't get to show Jeff the pig races! Who knew Tires could be so fun!

THose EyeS and SillY fAceS!!!

2010-10-17T00:15:00.003-06:00

It is hard going from a small point and shoot, to a really heavy camera! It is a workout!

So it is a good thing, Aubrey is willing to sit and smile for me!

She is such a cutie and I love her eyes! This was a sunday afternoon and I made the kids come outside with me to take pictures with our tree that fell down during a strong wind storm which caused the leaves to turn red early!

She was all for it!!!

I love her eyes! THese are her real eyes and I hope they stay this color forever!

This kid on the other hand, He had his own agenda!

To do what HE wanted to do!

So I went with it. And now looking at them, I LOVE them!

This was getting closer to a real smile, but O well!

Oh, How I love my new camera and my kids!

Until we Meet Again...

2010-10-16T22:52:00.002-06:00

October 16th, 2010
Jeff's Grandpa Balls' past away after having had to go to the rest home when Grandma Balls was no longer able to take care of him by herself. We were so glad we got the opportunity to visit him before he passed away. It may have been one of the hardest things to see, but it was worth the chance to see him again. For the most part, he just wanted his Mary while we were there visiting. He had his eyes closed the whole time we were there, until Carter and Aubrey started talking to him. Only then, would he look up and open his eyes and say a few words to them. It was hard to see, but we are so glad we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our Lives and have knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.
I know we will see our Grandpa Balls again!

Posing with the pumpkins

2010-10-16T00:34:00.003-06:00

Since getting a new camera, I have enjoyed taking pictures again. I am always looking for an excuse to get it out! I made the kids play in the dirt!

She is not afraid to get dirty!

Aubrey is such a cheese ball; As soon as I lift my camera up, she says, " Cheese."

I love this girl with all my heart! These two brighten my day!

Carter is such a funny kid! He loves to make faces for the camera. I was so glad to get my new camera, so I could capture them all. Hopefully, i can get a few good ones with real smiles and not just silly faces!

Althoug, This one is pretty cute, but shows his Strong attitude moments!

This is my Carter at his best!

And here... Well, I just love him to pieces!

Friends, Friends, and more Friends

2010-10-15T00:44:00.002-06:00

This year at Preschool, Carter has become friends with a few of the boys that live in our neighborhood. We as Mom's have been taking turns picking the boys up at school and then bringing them home for lunch and to play for a few hours. I have been loving the time I get to be with Aubrey when Carter is away; and I am loving having Carter and his friends come to play. They really are great and Aubrey is loving it too!

She just loves one of the little boys, Ethan! The feelings might be mutual, but she just loves him! (And so do I)

Carter, Richy, Ethan, and Aubs

Carter has loved having a play date three times a week! His imagination is growing and I can't play ENOUGH with him. I am glad that these boys can fill the void!

Aubrey also had a friend visitor! These two girls are two months apart and they are the cutest together! I hope they will be good friends like their Mommies!

On one of the play dates with just Ethan, we were having a Milk Mustache contest! Carter was a little upset that his mustache was not showing like Ethans'! These two Crack me up! They love to play Blues' Clues and play with the Handy Manny tools! They also have a crush on the same girl in school!

This picture may be blurry, but it was so cute. One morning, Carter hopped into bed with Aubrey and shared his milk with her and in turn she shared her blanket with him. Sometimes they only need eachother!

Here is Aubrey's new addition to her room! It took me a whole year and a half to get it done, but I love it and she is starting to spell her name!

Black Island Farms Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-12T23:36:00.003-06:00

Carter's Preschool got to go to Black Island Farms in Syracuse to see how they grow the pumpkins. We got to go on a hay ride and see the whole farm. We ended up getting a pumpkin, some carrots, and an onion. All fresh and delicious!
THis is Carter's pumpkin he picked out. We searched for a while, passing up some very good ones along the way. But this one was the one he wanted!

While taking this picture, he exclaimed, "Hey Mom, I am making a corn angel!"

CHoo CHoo!

2010-09-24T23:14:00.004-06:00

On September 24th, Jeff had a retreat for his work up in Heber Valley at the Homestead. He had meetings and workshops earlier that morning, but after Carter got done with School we drove up there and met him at the Heber Creeper Train Station.

The kids thougt the train was so cool!

None of us had ever been on a real train before. We got to experience it together!

We decided to sit in the enclosed car. There was a place to sit outside, but I felt like an animal or a tour bus. We wanted to the real feel of the train with all of its creaks and noises!

Carter loved it and was a little nervous at first, but couldn't keep his eyes off of the scenery that we were passing!

I made them sit down or kneel. I was afraid that they would fall out the window!

We had the whole car pretty much to oursleves until the way back when others started getting smarter and came inside!

This is how he was for most of the hour and a half we were on the train!

Playing on an old train!

DON'T EAT PETE!

2010-09-21T22:24:00.001-06:00

For Family Home Evening, one of our favorite games to play is Don't Eat Pete! This is very entertaining and also counts as our treat!

This was the first time we had played it with Aubrey and she caught on very quickly. I mean where there is chocolate involved, she is there!

She even added her own little twist as to how you were to retrieve the candy of of the board!

Carter is pretty smart at this game, but he loves it so much! It is so much fun playing it with him. SO fun that this particular night I was supposed to go to book club and Jeff was going to put the kids to bed. Well, we were having so much fun as a family; I completely forgot the book club!

Morning Breakfast Cafe

2010-09-18T00:16:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, the 18th of October, Jeff's parents were on their way home from St. George when they stopped by for Breakfast. We were making breakfast and decided to eat outside. I think I might have mentioned to Carter about playing Restuarant and that was that!

We made German Pancakes and French Toast, eggs and Sausage! The menu featured chocolate milk and milk.

Here Alan is looking at the menu. THIS was a posed picture as you can tell, he already has his food sitting in front of him. :)

This one is also posed, as he took all of thier orders and was the waiter. HE did a good job at remembering what they wanted and even ordered himself! It was a lot of fun!

Best Friends...

2010-09-09T23:54:00.001-06:00

These two can be the funniest, sweetest kids in the world when they want to. They usually play well together; mostly Aubrey doing whatever Carter tells her to do!

Here they are playing in the sun room. I have no idea what they were doing with the rope, but all I know is that when I went in there, it was wrapped all around all of the chairs and legs of the table. I ended up having to cut it all free!

TOO CUTE!

Carter likes to show Aubrey what to do with all of the bubbles in the bath. Which usually included putting them all over her hair!

She loves it though!

First Day of Canterbury Preschool

2010-09-09T00:08:00.000-06:00

This was Carter's first day of school. We are so lucky to have found a preschool that is so close to where we live. We only have to drive about 1-2 min around the corner!

He loves his teacher and as of today (11/9/10) he can count to 100!
They even have a jungle gym in their room!

Carter sitting down in the circle listening to his teacher give them some instruction for during our meeting/orientation! Spiderman is his new friend Ethan!

Greys River 2010

2010-09-06T23:35:00.002-06:00

This is my favorite picture from the weekend in Wyoming. Carter was so patient on getting rides on the 4-wheeler and the razor; that when he got on one finally, he was in heaven!
We had to take Aubrey for a ride and she loved it! We didn't go far; we just rode around the campground! My parents let us use thier trailor that is behind us. We were warm. I had Dave Strong (jeff's uncle) help me figure out the pilot light and that kept us warm during the nights!

Aubrey had so much fun with little Chelsie. Aubrey carried her little baby around the camp the whole weekend. I didn't seem to get a picture of it though!
Pretending that the playdough cutter was a binki!

Aubrey thought she was one of the big kids and following them all around while they were on bikes, she was on foot!

Little Miss Aubs took her cute little chair and put it in a spot far away from anyone and took a seat!

Finally Carter joined her and talked with her for awhile.

Then he took her seat; which resulted in her trying to get him out and him giving her a hug!

Carter was ready with all of his Camo shirt and shorts! Too bad, they were not the same color of camo!

Little Miss Dirt

This girl knows how to get dirty!

Jeff and Carter ended our trip with a game of Horse shoes!

Carter was having so much fun, he didn't want to go home. But he knows we are going to come back next year! We had a blast and we were burn and sting free!!!

I am a soccer mom!

2010-08-31T23:09:00.001-06:00

Carter stared soccer this fall and it was a rough go.

Jeff decided to be his soccer coach and still I dont' know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

I think Carter would have been better had Jeff not been his coach, but it was still a lot of fun watching him learn about the game and grow as a player!

We were able to have moments like these...

And he got to use his water bottle and make some new friends!

Although, a lot of the games, you would find Carter doing this.

And I even caught him laughing at a kid who had just got tripped. (maybe we watch too much Americas Funniest Videos)

But for the most part, we had a lot of fun and Carter was starting to get really good!

"Our Goal is that way"

I knew that one day, I was going to become a soccer mom, but I think it happened way too soon!

Here's to next season!

This is my Dad!

2010-08-22T22:41:00.000-06:00

My Dad is a gardner, I have fond memories of my Dad and me in the garden, talking about rocks, plants, strawberries, beets, and so much more.
Aubrey loves being in the garden and the dirt!

These pictures were taken this summer and I need to find the picture of me and my Dad, but I have one just like this one. I also think I am wearing a purple shirt just like this, or a dress. But I love these pictures of my Dad and Aubs. They have a special bond! She just loves him!

Connor And Chelsea get married...

2010-08-21T23:26:00.009-06:00

Connor and Chelsea got married today!!!(well August 21, 2010)
We are so excited to have Chelsea in our family!
Jeff helping Carter get fully dressed with a smile!

My cute family! Aubrey was a little flower girl and got to keep this really cute dress!

Carter was the ring bearer!

So Handsome!

Carter felt that it was his obligation to show Aubrey how to have a good time at a wedding! Especially if you are the one throwing the flowers!!!

"The Dump"

I caught this reaction from Aubrey after Conner and Chelsea got to "Kiss the Bride"

Oh, How sweet!

I just couldn't get enough of my son and his awsome tux! He was loving getting all dressed up and wearing the same stuff as Connor and Grandpa!

My Mom made Carter's tie out of a regular sized tie! She did a fantastic job!

Grandma and Grandpa Balls!

Me and my cute husband!

The kids with their Great Grandma and Grandpa Jensen!

Another picture of my son and his wonderful looking tux, but those eyes are dashing!

This was the best picture of our family we got!

Aubrey even got to see her Lariah! Yay! for cute girls!

By the end of the night, we were exhausted, but so were the kids. They played hard! It was a wonderful long day and we wish the best for Connor and Chelsea!

Davis County Fair 2010

2010-08-20T23:13:00.001-06:00

I think I was crazy when I decided to go to the Davis County Fair with my two kids all by myself. We were supposed to be leaving for Logan for Connor and Chelsea's wedding the next day, and We were just waiting for Jeff to get off of work and I thought, "Why not, We aren't doing anything"

So we got in the car and drove over to the fair grounds. I would have to say it was pretty small compared to Cache County Fair! But we had a great time. We even got to see a dog show! (you know where the dogs go chasing after something and landing in a pool of water?) IT was really cool.

The kids loved bein able to pet all of the goats...

the tortise...

Aubrey even got to touch a pig! They were both loving it! Around 1:50pm I decided that I was hot enough and was out of energy, that it was time to go home. Carter was NOT ready to go home and we had not seen the tiger show yet!!! I was not going to stay until I saw that it was going to start in ten min. So we wandered over to the other side of the fair grounds to watch the tiger show. (I was dissapointed) To make a long story short, we got back to the car, which was parked a ways away and realized I had lost the keys! Yeah! I was so mad. I called my knight in Shining armor and told him he needed to come and get us. We were out of water and Aubrey was so tired. We ended up waking back to the grounds to find the lost and found and had to walk to the other end of the fair, yet again. They did not have the keys, but the police station on the other side of the fair had them. I was relieved but very upset that I had to push my stroller with two kids in the middle of August to the other side again! The poor man had pitty on me and took the golf cart over there and got me my keys. I was so grateful that he realized that I just wasn't going to make it without crying.

So Thank You Stranger!

I got me keys, just as Jeff got there to rescue us!

my first shots with the new camera!

2010-08-18T23:03:00.001-06:00

These my not be the best, but I love this picture of Aubrey and My Dad! I love my Dad and love that my kids get to be with him sometimes!

Blurry, but so cute!

I can't wait to improve my skills!

I love my new camera!!!

Happy 6th Year Anniversary

2010-08-05T22:53:00.003-06:00

For our 6 year anniversary, we decided to have someone watch the kids for the weekend, while we took some time to be together. We both didn't want to go somewhere and spend a whole lot of money on a hotel, (even though, that would be really relaxing). So we ended up finding things to do around us. We started with going to Boondocks that is near our home in Kaysville and we went bowling, played mini golf, did the batting cages and played some arcade games. We won Carter a blowup sword and Aubrey a blow up Monkey! We then picked up some pizza and went back home to a quit house to ourselves.

The next day, we went to the Salt Lake Temple and did a session that morning. Then went to Park City for some shopping and ate and Szchewan for lunch and then came back to eat at the Roof for dinner. (Whcich I will never go back to the Roof. It was soooo not worth the money). These pictures were taken later that day when we came back to Salt Lake. I love this picture of Jeff. He has a hard time with taking pictures with the sun shining, His eyes are really sensitive! In most of our pictures, his eyes are closed, so here he is trying really hard to keep them open!

I love this temple!

I love this man, more than words can explain. He completes me and from the beginning has looked past my weaknesses and all of my mistakes and accepts me for who I am! I love him with all my heart and I feel very lucky to have found him when I did! He keeps me young and happy with who he is. I am grateful that he has a job and works hard for me and our kids.

He truely is my Best Friend!

LOve you Babes!

But at the end of the weekend, we were ready for this...

Another cake, Another party!!!

2010-08-02T22:42:00.001-06:00

Carter wanted to have a slip n slide party like last year, but he also wanted a SpongeBob Party! I always told myself that I would never do a spongebob party, but here I am writing about the wonderful under the sea Spongebob party!

We bought a new slip n slide seeing that the one we bought last year, (a cheap one) was left outside all summer and was not taken care of. We have learned our lesson and hopefully, we can use this one again next year!

It was so great to see all of our friends from School here again! It was a party for me as much as it was for Carter! Next year, I am afraid it will be a little different and that makes me really sad!

I am so glad that my friend Annette and her husband came. Ryan was a big help. SO THANKS RYAN!

What is a party without a pinata? THis was how Carter chose the Spongebob theme! So make sure if you want a pinata, go somewhere that has a lot of options. Aubrey was the youngest and got first swing. She had no idea what to do, but she still looked cute holding the bat!

The boys waiting their turn!

After a while, we just had to put the string and let the squarepants rip!

These guys knew exactly what they were doing. I would have to tell you that the toys were the things they were fighting over, not the candy!

We had crabby patties (hamburgers) and spongebob Mac n Cheese!

And yes, I stayed up yet again another night and made Carter a Spongebob Cake for his friends. We had so much cake afterwards, it was not funny when I had to throw some away!

Needless to say, he loved it! It was worth all the frosting i made and how many little stars of frosting!

Opening of the presents!

Aubrey gave him a sonic figurine! He got so many fun new toys from friends; it should last until Christmas! Thank you to all that came! It was a blast!