Sparks Stories

This is getting Ridiculous!!!!

2011-09-05T13:40:00.001-07:00

I mean come on, how hard is it to write some words and throw some pics up?

So I have decided to do just that, finally!!! Here are some of the things we have done throughout the spring and summer. Keep scrolling down. I did a couple of posts!!!

Having fun in St. George with the Fam.

Chad and Me on our 2nd cruise with Nuriche.

Abbie @ Miss Utah

2011-09-05T13:20:00.001-07:00

Abbie was invited by Miss Payson aka: jaime stanton, to be her Little Miss at Miss Utah this year.

The Little Misses were the escorts for their contestant and also performed in the Opening number and did a promenade in their evening wear.

This meant we were required to be to every dress rehearsal, as well as each performance for 5 days!!! Holy cow was that a big commitment. We drove up to Salt Lake everyday around 12 pm and got home each night around 11pm.

It was such a great experience for Abbie, she had so much fun meeting new friends, and being on stage.

Jaime was representing Payson and did an awesome job, winning the talent portion on her night of preliminaries. I was so proud of her and felt so happy for her. All of her hard work and dedication paid off. Her goal was to at least win talent. I was so lucky to be able to teach and choreograph for this amazing girl. I wish I would have had her talent and brains when I was 19.

I wasn't able to get a pic. of Abbie in her evening gown cuz my dang battery did right when I turned it on to take the picture. Luckily Jaime's dad stepped in with his camera and snapped a few. Still working on getting him to send them to me. Ha Ha We did however get one with Jaime in her evening gown. Doesn't she look gorgeous? We are all wondering how in the world does she get her hair to look that perfect and shiny!!! Care to share your secrets? Thanks to Jaime and her family for all they did for us during this week. It was so fun!!!

Bryce Canyon July '11

2011-09-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

This year I single momed our trip to Bryce Canyon. It will kind of be the theme of our life this year. Chad is busy working 2 jobs and has used up vacation days!

So I packed up the three kids myself, loaded the trailer (ok. Richard helped my hook it up to the car: Thanks, your the best), packed the trailer with food, sleeping bags, entertainment and all things required for camping. And I pulled that darn thing for 5 hrs. to our destination. Along with my 3 children, my mom and sister Jilayne accompanied me in the car. Much appreciated.

(side note: I think I stressed out all the men in my family by doing this. They all offered to pull it for me. I'm not sure if it was because they wanted to help, or because the thought of a "little girl" (which I know they still think of me that way) pulling a trailer for 5 hrs. for the first time scared the h*** out of them) But I did it, and I pulled it back too!! )

Since I was single moming it, I had a hard time remembering to take pictures of all the things we did there. So Abbie decided she will take over the camera. Bet you can't guess which pictures she took. ;-) If you look closely Dee and Di are all dressed up in their western gear in one of these photos. They are so fun and did help me out a lot. I wish I would have had someone take a pic. of me pulling that darn trailer.

Some of the adventures we did: Horney toad and Lizard hunting (lucas is holding one of these in his photo, along with his pretty hair do, I had the hardest time keeping that dang hair out of his face.) Four wheeler rides, visiting the town, eating, cleaning, eating again, Cleaning one more time, the kids took up photography, Tanner and Nic finally got to watch True Grit, and probably the hardest thing I did the whole time there was taking the kids down to the showers and getting them clean, only to take them back to the dirt to undo the clean. Ha ha.

I am so glad we got to go, it was so fun for the cousins to all be together and am so lucky to have family close so we can do these kind of things together.

*Big shout out to my awesome father-in-law, Sparky, for getting the trailer fixed and ready to go!!!

Might as well Update !!

2010-12-30T23:09:00.001-08:00

For some reason I cannot sleep and I was sitting at my computer browsing blogs and thought I might as well shock all 2 of you that look at my blog and make a post!!! and also give a little update on what's been going on this year for the Sparks Family.

First off I just wanted to post some pics we had taken in Sept. by the wonderful Whitnee Jenkins. I love them and wanted to show them off. Then if you feel like it you can read a little of our crazy life. :-)

This year has flown by like no other has!!

Chad, I think had contributed the most to this. He has been so dang busy I would have to stop everyone once in a while to make sure he was still an occupant in our home. The reason he has been so crazy busy is besides his current job, he has decided to start a new business of his own!!! So that has come with many out of town and country trips (besides the ones he does on a regular basis every 2weeks for his 1st job) many sleepless nights and a lot of stress. He is doing an amazing job though and I am so thankful for having such an ambitious husband. With more trips already planned for 2011 I can guarantee this next year will fly by just as quickly.

I am still doing what I have always done. I manage the household, am a chauffeur, nurse, therapist, mom, wife, house cleaner, cook (although not a very good one), dance teacher and choreographer, hair stylist (just to my kids, but I take it very serious), planner, ward chorister, babysitter and just a one of a kind down to earth woman (Ha Ha not really but a girl can dream right?). Sometimes I love it and and sometimes not so much. But wouldn't trade it for anything else. I am a lucky gal!!!

Tanner turned 9 this year and started 4th grade. So weird (I still think I am a 21 yr. old newly wed). He loves his teacher and had met a lot of new friends at school. He is still way into to drawing and I finally have put him in art lessons. He loves it and would stay there all day if he could. He also got into Tennis and Golf this year and has really liked them. Hopefully we can add skiing to that list soon!

Abbie, oh man where to start. Well she turned 8 this year and started 2nd grade. She is every thing you would think a girl to be and then some. She is dancing this year again and also taking gymnastics. Which keeps her busy Mon-Thurs. but rarely complains about it. Only when the time change happened and it was dark outside when gymnastics got out, then that became quite a struggle. She helps a lot with Lucas and brings such an energy to the home.

Lucas just turned 3 in oct. and he is a not stop tornado. He has finally picked up on talking and now we all wish he would have waited at least a little longer. He never stops talking (which most the time is bossing me around) He loves Ironman and Buzz Lightyear and makes me fly him around the house while he sings each of the theme songs. He is so fun though and is always making my day.

So when I figure how to get some pics up of our christmas (old camera) that will be my next post.

Where on Earth???

2010-08-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is official.

I HAVE FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. So What? I am working my way back ;-)

I will update sometime.

So keep checking on me!!!

p.s. Julie is having a GIRL!!! YAY

Best zoo trip Ever!!!

2010-05-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

It was such an awesome trip that I didn't even take many pictures. I was just enjoying the time with Lucas.
So here is the story. Lucas had been going to Kids Who Count to work on his speech. It's a play group that is twice a week. From time to time they will have field trips!!!! The zoo was one of them and the best part, we didn't pay a dime or penny :) the other best part is that the other two kids were in school so I didn't have to find a babysitter or bring them with. It was so fun to just be with Lucas. So since Chad could not go I invited the next best thing to a husband, my sister and best friend!!! She brought her boys and here is the third best part, the boys (all of them) never made a sad, unhappy face or sound the whole time. They loved it and were sooo happy. And the whole zoo trip in and out took all of 1 hr and 45 min. Ya baby!!! Record time So there you go the Best and perfect zoo trip ever :) So here are the few pics I took, I guess I should have taken more but the important part to me was being with Lucas and that was hard to do if I had the camera in my hand the whole time!!!

This is my new motto!!

2010-05-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is the words of the Chorus to my new favorite song. A new way for me to look at life and situations I can't control (you would probably never think I like to be in control but I do and go nuts when I am not) So I repeat these words a lot in my head. It is amazing how music can always seem to help.

What I cannot Change LeAnn Rimes

(this is just the chorus)

All the rest is out of my hands

I will learn to let go what I cannot change

I will learn to forget what I cannot change

I will learn to love what I cannot change

But I will change yeah, I will change

Whatever I, Whatever I can

P.S. will be posting some pics soon of the best zoo trip ever!!!! keep checking back :)

Halloween in March?

2010-03-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yes I know its been 5 months since Halloween but I just have to put these pics up!! I know you'll get a kick out of this!! Tanner had such a hard time deciding what he wanted to be and he kept saying he wanted to be a girl. Chad was a little apprehensive about this. (go figure) I felt like being a girl was a little boring so I thought "Hey! I should get out my old cheer uniforms and see if they would work" Well guess what? They actually fit him!!! So a SFHS cheerleader he was, the best part? It was free :)

Abbie was a fairy and a beautiful one at that, don't you think? Yes I painted her face, not too bad for an amateur (should of had tanner do it, he's the artist)

Lucas was a skeleton, he is the hardest kid to get a picture of. O-well you get what you get!! It was a fun day and I actually enjoyed taking the kids out trick or treating. Now what to do next year? mmmm I think I'll need some ideas :)

Tanner's baptism

2010-02-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

So way back in Sept. 09 Tanner became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Whew! long title, but something of great importance to us and our family.
He was so excited to get baptized. He was baptized and confirmed by Chad (his father) with many family members who hold the priesthood as well. It was so amazing how strong I felt the spirit there that day. I am so thankful that I have a husband who was worthy to perform such an important ordinance.
Unfortunately I was not able to take to many pics, silly me, forgot to charge the camera the night before. Duh I am so glad my sister in law Shaunna came prepared and snapped a few pics of Chad and tanner in their white clothes just before being baptized. Whew! it seems my sister in laws always come to my rescue with the picture taking thing.
Tanner had taken this, being a member of the church very serious (which he should be) and is always making sure to repent if he as done something that he know the Lord, or his parents feel is not Choosing the Right. Which is like getting on the computer in the morning, which I told him is a no no since he should be getting ready for school instead. He is such a good kid. I am so blessed to have him in our family.

Lucas turns 2 !!

2010-01-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

About 5 days after we got home from Disneyland Lucas turned 2. I am glad I did his birthday shopping early because it snuck up on me. As you can see his most favorite toy is "Lightning McQueen" he has to always be holding one in his hand (he has about 8 different ones) he also likes Buzz and Toy Story. Still does not talk too much but knows how to get what he wants. He loves his Dad and at least can say it. We ask him to say mom and he tells " Uh ah" Quite the strong personality this one has. I am hoping that will turn into a good thing when he is faced with choices of wrong and right. He is so happy when we are at home and is fine to do whatever, but as soon as he realizes mom is giving her attention to something else he will not stand for it!! Still isn't a fan of crowds, and really hates it when we tell him no. Abbie and Tanner have so much fun playing with him and teaching him things. I can already tell he looks up to them and wants to do what they are doing. He brings such an energy (although sometimes bad energy :) if you know what I mean) to the house I can't imagine what it would be like if we weren't blessed with raising him. Love you Lucas!!!

Playing Catch up!!!

2010-01-19T13:31:00.001-08:00

In Oct. my parents took the WHOLE family to Disneyland. It was a lot of fun, blood, sweat, tears, more fun, running, laughing, standing around, but mostly lots and lots of fun ;) Here are some pics we took while we were there. Enjoy!!

My Amazing Husband!!!

2009-11-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here he is at mile 16 with his sister in the pink. He is behind the big guy in orange. I am a little upset he got in my way. It was awesome to see that they were smiling and there had been no catastrophes yet. Again, here he is at the last mile!!! Man I feel like I was waiting FOREVER to see him but really it was only like 20 min. He did it!! I had no doubt he would, but still running for that long is CRAZY!!! but what an accomplishment.

and maybe a little Crazy? I have been lazy and been needing to post these for a long time. Chad ran his first Marathon this Oct. in St. George!! He did an awesome job and I am so proud of him. Way to go!! Here we are at the end I can't believe he is smiling, I would have been puking! and a pic of the people he trained with. What a good race they all had.

slide show of Hawaii pics

2009-09-13T17:53:00.001-07:00

Hawaii here I come!!!

2009-08-12T22:14:00.001-07:00

So it has been a while since I have featured my cute little toes on my blog :) he he I am happy to say that in 3 days I will be on my way to PARADISE!!!! So of course I had to visit my good friend Meg and get my toes decked out? how does she come up with this stuff, she is just amazing. Look out turtles here I come :)

red, white and blue

2009-07-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

This year for the 4th we decided to take the day off and change things up from the norm. Yap, no balloons, no parade!! I know rebellious clan aren't we? Do not fret because we still managed to have a fun filled day. We hung out at the pool (more pics to come), then went to Julie and Richards house for a Red, White and Blue bbq, and yes the food had to fit in that criteria as well. It was a lot of fun, besides the kids playing, running, jumping and climbing everywhere we settled down when dusk came and watched a movie on the back of thier house!!! Funny thing is i can't remember what movie it was, i do know it fit the theme though. Thanks Julie and Ricki for a fun day!! :O)
Abbie was the winner of most patriotic, all red, white and blue
So here was my contribution to the red, white and blue (and green) theme!! It was a yummy salad loaded with healthy things!!! Blueberrie, strawberrie, walnuts, spinach, and feta cheese!!! are you noticing the theme, yet?
and ate american food, hamburgers and hot dogs, the kids were in heaven!!! MMM yummy

Bryce Canyon Fun

2009-07-21T23:09:00.001-07:00

This year we went with my family on their "annual" trip to Bryce Canyon. Wow, can I just say although it was fun, I was totally exhausted when we got home. It was fun and I can't wait to go again and hopefully Lucas will enjoy it more when he is a year older. Oh man was he not happy the first two days of the trip!! Who knows why maybe cuz he was hungry, tired, sick, teething or just felt like torturing me for two days. Of course it all changed the last day we were there, he got a little happier. Anyway, enough of my whining, the cousins had a blast together and it was fun hanging out with my family and playing games. So here are some pics of some of the things we did!!!
The four wheeler ride was longer than expected but still a lot of fun. Lucas fell asleep but was in heaven for the first hr.
I was the tech crew on the hike, chad carried lucas and I carried cameras, video cameras, waterbottles and packs. I know your jealous at how well I look for not showering in 3 days!!! Good thing you can't smell me. Yucky!!!
Tanner and Nic while hiking
One of the best things that happened in Bryce Canyon!!! Now the trick was to get him out and on a bed while keeping him asleep. Somehow we did it!!! Thanks for the backpack Liz it was a lifesaver!! Isn't he sweet?
While we were sight seeing the kids spotted a squirrel and seriously sat and watched it for 15 min. They were so amazed. Here is Lucas trying to get a better look!! Can you see it?
Chad took the kids down to the little town (don't remember the name) the thing that cracks me up about the pics he took while they were there is that in every single one Ella is in it somewhere and climbing on something!! Such a monkey girl :)

The famous "Jake the Snake" that poor thing was kid handled like crazy, I have to admit I felt bad for the creature. Even Lucas would hold him!!
The one brilliant move I made was bringing this toy for the boys to play with. Lucas pushed it around camp, shoveled dirt in it, piled rocks in it, dump it and start all over!!!

The cousins while sight seeing!! isnt that canyon amazing!! I wish you could see down in it, wow it was awesome.

So cute!!! and kinda long post :) he he

2009-04-08T21:07:00.001-07:00

A couple months ago I was finally able to get some pictures (professionally) taken of my kids. Whitnee Jenkins (studiomjphoto.com) took them and was so nice to work with my and my kids schedules. I love my pictures and wish you could see them all. But that would make for an even longer entry. So here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!!

Little Lucas!! These are his 1 yr. pics. Honestly every single picture taken caught his personality. Ya gotta love his teeth. He is a busy boy. More that Tanner or Abbie ever was. Always moving, climbing, rolling, talking. The only thing he won't do much of is eat. Loves apples though. He also likes to play with cars, another thing tanner never did. My favorite thing that melts my heart though, giving loves. His loves and kisses are the best. These pics were taken at my moms. What do you think about the hair. I can't handle how cute the "hawk" is.

Abbie at 6 yrs. old. She is a Girl there is not mistaking this. Although, she does like to play outside and get wet and dirty like a boy would. She is extreme in all aspects. Right now here biggest passion is dance (go figure) she dances on a team and gets to travel and compete. Obviously, I think she does such a good job. These pics were taken on my deck and at the studio. So cute :)

Tanner at 7 yrs. old. One of his favorite things to do is write stories and create characters for these stories. Here is one called the "Elf Princess" I think he is amazing at what he does (but then again don't all moms think their kids are). So creative, I swear that brain never stops. Except when that head hits the pillow. These pics were taken in his bedroom!

Hair for competition!!

2009-03-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Ok so here are the steps to do the 3 ponytail "Mohawk" 1. pull back the front into a "Poof" (that's what the teens are calling it) i use the bobby pins with the ridges and cross them so they stay in. 2. I measure about where the eyes are and pull that hair into a ponytail and make a messy bun. (the hair that you pulled into the poof goes in this pony). 3. Make another pony tail below the first. I part the hair about mid ear and pull that into the pony tail and make a messy bun with that pony. 4. Pull the rest of the hair into a pony tail and make another messy bun. That's it. Looks complicated but all it really is is just three messy buns. Bobby pin any hair that you don't like hanging out, or you can curl it.
It is best to do this hair do with dirty hair, I have tried it with just washed hair and the buns won't mess. So I wouldn't wash it the day of. Also, when pulling the hair back I would wet it a little to get any flyaways and then spray it with hairspray. Leave me a comment if you have any questions. Good Luck :)
p.s Sorry about the blurry pics. abbie changed the setting on my camera and I didn't realize it til I was finished. Plus she wouldn't hold still and my 17 m. old was climbing on me. Ha Ha

A little treat

2009-03-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

Last night after dinner I was having one of those "I need something sweet" moments. I don't know if anyone else has those cravings. Anyway, I didn't really want something heavy, or full of fat. so I saw this recipe on the side of a Vanilla wafers box and decided to make it. The kids helped me and gobbled them up!! Don't they look yummy?

What are you doing?

2009-03-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

So I was trying to get the dishwasher unloaded so I could load it, again. As you can see by all the dishes in the back ground. I was putting something away, turned around and saw this. Now of course it is naughty, but he was so proud of pulling himself up like that and thought he was such a big kid. After all he watches his siblings climb on the counter all the time. (one of my pet peaves) So I had to snap some pics of him. Why is it that we are always taking pictures of our kids when they are being naughty? Ok maybe its just me, or my kids do lots of naughty things. :)

A fun weekend!!!

2009-02-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

For Valentines I got Chad a Valentine cookie bouquet. Thanks for sharing some bites with me. The kids got a decorated cookie as well, along with a new dvd!! This is the first year I have gotten them more than a treat. Chad says that Valentines isn't really for kids. He is right, but hey I just wanted to do something fun. They were excited and it kept them entertained for most of the day!!! I love my family and am so greatful for the joy and love they bring to my life, and to Chad who is always making me feel like his Valentine!! Later in the day the cousins came over and we made sugar cookies together and delivered them to neighbors. We had a fun and exhausting day!!!
Aren't these two girls just the cutest things ever. Abbie and Ella had so much making cookies. Ella got a little side tracked and started making faces in the dough. They are so silly!!! and very, very messy. I should have taken a picture of the floor beneath them. OH MY!! is all I can say:)

Nic, quietly working on his masterpiece!!! He was the cleanest out of the bunch, not one piece of dough or flour was on the floor beneath him.
Tanner, cutting out his cookies, he didn't want to do hearts, (to sissy) so I let him and Nic use more manly cookie cutters like hmmm Snowmen? and Christmas Trees
Of course, it is my nature to take over, send the kids out of the kitchen to play and finish the project with a little less chaos. It was fun to let them make their own, and to have their cousins to share their valentine cookies with. You can see Tanners special frosting on the cookie in the top right corner. He was proud of his creation.

Abbie all decked out in her Valentine wear and hair. (thanks to all the hair blogs out there for the ideas!!! This was my fav.

We had a fun weekend hanging out with the kids and just relaxing. Well I am not sure I really did much of that, making sugar cookies, for me anyway, takes a lot out of me. Thanks to my sweet Valentine for the beautiful roses. Two years in a row!!! I think your getting the hang of it.:) I feel like I am his valentine everyday, it is nice to get a reminder though. Here are some pictures of some of the things we did!!!

Are you a Gamer?

2009-01-29T19:26:00.001-08:00

So... I have been needing to blog for a while but haven't been wanting to blog about christmas. It was fun but ya know nothing to brag about :) So I thought to just see what I had on my camera. Well this is what it was. Yap, we are all gamers. The good thing though is that it does not consume our lives. Thank heavens my kids don't have to play 24/7 or life would not be fun come homework time. They are good kids. I usually let them play when they want (which is not often) when I ask them to turn of the games they, for the most part, will obey me. I think Lucas is so cute!!! Whenever he just hears the PS2 turn on he comes runnin' usually from the other side of the house, to play with his guitar. Abbie, yes that is Kit, who must be and do everything she is. Well there you go, finally a new post.

New polish!!!!

2008-12-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here is my Holiday cheer. I am always so giddy when I get my toes painted. So here they are, a little banged up, its been a couple weeks but just had to do a post on the new design.

Breakfast w/Santa!!!

2008-12-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I took Tanner and Abbie to Thanksgiving Point to have breakfast w/Santa. There were so many fun activities for the kids to do there as well as many Holiday celebrities the kids got to see. There was face painting, ring toss, crafts,cookie decorating, coloring activities, they also had a booth set up for the kids to write a letter to Santa. As I said there were some celebrities there, Abbie's favorite was Mrs. Clause. She got to have quite a chat with her and the Sugar Plum Fairy" they were so cute with her. Tanner's favorite was The Grinch. The kids could all tell that he wasn't the real deal but liked him just the same. I have to admit he was quite hilarious. We also got to have breakfast as well, which really was not that good but what do you expect when it is buffet style. We enjoyed the day with most of the Sparks' cousins which was a blast. The kids have so much fun together. I am glad I got to spend this time with them. Maybe in a couple years Lucas can join us. Thanks to Chad who stayed home and spent quality time with our babe :)

Time for another post!!

2008-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since my last post so I thought I should make another entry. About a month ago (ok maybe more than a month) my sister tagged me. So here it is the 4th picture from my 4th picture file!!!! Tanner's first day of Kindergarten and abbie's first day of pre-school. We had just gotten home from Hawaii, what a nice tan they have!!! So they missed the first weeks of school!! So they started on the same day. I can't believe how young they look :) Tanner looks so sad and abbie looks so happy, the funny thing about that is Tanner went to class just fine, no crying, kicking or screaming. Abbie on the other had to be pried off of me.

Halloween!!!

2008-11-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ok I guess its time to post about Halloween. I know it was forever ago, but I wanted to post about it anyway for my memories:). I have not like this Holiday for a long time, but it is actually getting funner. I think it has a lot to do with attitude (especially mine) and the excitement the kids have about putting their costumes together and going out trick or treating. It has definitely rubbed off on me. The only bummer this year was that Lucas was still fighting his battle with diarrhea and it was awful that day. He had a rash on both thighs and bum :( I felt so bad for the little guy.
So anyway, on the 30th Brooke (Chad's sis) had a Halloween party for the family. It was a lot of fun, even Chad dressed up. Amazing!!!! We had lots of yummy food and activities for the kids. They had so much fun walking around the "Haunted Mansion" and seeing all the decorations Brooke and Jordan put up. Their favorite part was decorating the haunted houses!! Tanner went through the spook alley and decided next year it would be funner to be in it than to go through it. Ya isn't that what we all think ;) A big shout out to Brooke for all she did to make Halloween a much much more enjoyable Holiday for me.
Saturday the kids got to wear their costumes to school, a little bit of stress for me since I had to get them ready for that but we made it through. After having dinner I took the kids trick or treating. Then we just hung out with the fam at my moms house. I really did have a lot of fun. So here are some pictures of our adventures!!! Oh I guess I should mention who we all dressed as!! Chad - grease monkey? Lucas-the Grinch Abbie-drama queen Jaimi- drama queens mom!! Tanner-guitar hero character (Izzy Sparks w/scary make-up. Sorry for so many pictures I guess I should have done a slide show, Oh well.

What ?

2008-11-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

So how come nobody told me that my blog hasn't been updated for FOREVER? Oh, ya I guess that somebody is me. Ok, so I have finally got some pictures and things to blog about. Ever since school started, (I know it has been three months, I'm busy o.k.) I just have other things come up!!! So here is what we have been up to!!!

Over U.E.A. we decided to take a quick trip to St. George!!! It was so nice to be in warm weather, the kids wanted to spend from sun up to sun down at the pool. The funny thing is it obviously wasn't warm enough to be in a swim suit until about noon or 1:00. They begged and begged to go swimming at 9 am the first morning. Enough that it drove me crazy!!!! So I thought ya know what, I will let them go down and get in the water and freeze their butts off, that will teach them. Well I bet you can all guess what happened next, ya the water was warm in the pool, turns out they didn't freeze their butts off. Crap, that backfired. So here are some pictures of them playing in the pool. I didn't let Lucas in the water cuz he had diarrhea, ya that wouldn't be fun cleaning it out of the pool. So I thought you would get a kick out of his picture, how about those teeth. They have grown on me and have to admit it is my favorite part of him (at the time) it totally fits his personality. It was pretty fun in St. George. While we were down there it was Lucas' birthday, so I guess that was his present? Ya, I guess that is what happens on the third child, you decide first birthdays are over rated, the poor babies don't even know or remember what happened. Besides, he had diarrhea anyway so he couldn't have cake. So a week or so later we decided to have a little celebration, for pictures sake. I didn't want him to feel like the third child, forgotten, so he did get one present. His favorite things at the moment, HOT WHEELS, he even makes car sounds when he plays with them. So here are some pictures of the celebration!!!

Oh my brain Hurts!!!

2008-09-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

O.k. Liz tagged me on her blog. So I am going to try to remember my life 10 yrs. ago!!! Here I go :)

5 Things I was doing 10 yrs. ago:
1. Dating Chad. Wooo hoo. We actually had just got engaged in Sept. of '98
2. Recovering from knee re-constructive surgery.
3. Working at Nature's Sunshine and Teaching dance.
4. Going to school.
5. Staying out WAY too late and then going into work by 6 a.m. Man I wish I had that energy again.

5 Things on Todays (tomorrows since it is 10 pm) to do list:
1. Get kids ready for picture day and to school on time while taking care of a 11 month old and with out a husband. Super MOM!!!
2. Clean!!!! again
3. Choreograph more of a lyrical dance for teen company.
4. Spend some quality time with Lucas. I love doing this. But stress about what else I should be doing.
5. Watch Dancing with the Stars.

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Anything thing gummie. Gummie worms, gummie bears etc.
2. Strawberry yogurt with granola.
3. Edamame beans.
4. Diet Coke!!
5. String Cheese

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Ask Chad what amount is actually mine and what should I do with it. He He
2. I guess invest it, but who knows at the time if that really is a good idea.
3. Build a new dance studio for my mom.
4. Put some away for my kids, to pay for school.
5. Go on a shopping spree. Oh not just for clothes, it would be for a house, a car, furniture, the whole nine yards.
(I know it wouldn't go that far probably, but a girl can dream)

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Worked at the Ball Parks snack shack for 2 yrs.
2. Order entry at Nature's Sunshine.
3. Dance Instructor/choreographer, still am.
4. Wife and Mom
5. Currently a Chauffeur, Chef, House cleaner, Therapist, Honey do-er, Entertainer (not that way, for my kids ya know, "Mom, I'm Bored.") and so on and so forth.

O.k. so now my brain hurts!!!
And now I am tagging, Julie (liz did too, but she needs more encouragement), Katie, Shaunna, Cathy and Jilayne (now you have something to blog about, and you don't need to add any pics)

Awwww!

2008-09-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

I love love love my toes, I could look at them all day!! Ok not actually my toes, but the paint on them. I went and had them painted today by the so very talented Meg Parry. It has been so long since they have been done, I was due. Look how dang cute!!! I know you are jealous. Thanks to Meg what would I do without you, Well have not very cute toes. Yay, I love them.

Abbie turns 6

2008-09-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

For Abbie's B-day I told her we could invite three of her closest friends over, have pizza and cake, then drive up to Justice to shop. She was so excited. She invited her cousins Ella and Sydney and her friend Jaqlyn. They had so much fun, and all got to pick out a shirt and little toy at Justice. They could have cared less about the shirt, they were all about the toys. Silly Girls!!! Here is a slide show of the day. I have to say it was a lot of fun. Happy Birthday Abbs!!!

ZOO!!!

2008-09-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago Chad decided it would be fun to take the kids to the zoo!!! I, however, thought of quite a few other things that would be oh, so much more fun. Well, I went along with his plan deciding that the kids would enjoy it and of course that is why we do things like this. It turned out to be a pretty ok thing to do (after Tanner got to see the reptiles) Abbie loved it, and Lucas wasn't to bad, thanks to Chad. He is such a good Dad. We met up with Matt (chad's bro.) and lizzie (matt's little girl) she is soooo cute and Matt is soooo cute with her!!! I did enjoy it, but was ready to leave too. So here are some pictures I took while we were there. Enjoy!!!!

Update on Lucas

2008-09-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would update the picture of Lucas' hand. It is all healed now, the picture in this entry was taken about 1 week and 1/2 after he was burned. It is still a little pink but you wouldn't even know it happened. Yap, it is cuz I am such a good mom and kept it clean and bandaged every day. Hey, I had to make up for the idiotic move I pulled of letting it happen in the first place.

I am the worst mom ever!!!!

2008-09-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

Ok so maybe I am not the worst mom ever, but I think at times I come in close to 2nd. I guess I should look on the bright side and realize this is the first curling iron burn on any of the three children. I think that is pretty good!! Anyway I was getting Abbie ready for her second day of Kindergarten, she wanted her hair curled, which is pretty normal, I curl her hair a lot. After I was finished I thought " I better take this curling iron in on my bathroom counter to Lucas isn't tempted to grab it." That was my first prompting. So I did, and all three of my kids had to follow me into my bathroom while I was doing this. I kept the curling iron on cuz I was going to curl my hair too. So we walked out of the bathroom, Tanner and Abbie followed, I yelled for Lucas to come too. Ya right I know he is only 10 months old but he always follows me. As I walked to the kitchen to get breakfast going for the two going to school I thought, " I should probably just go pick him up just in case he doesn't follow me" yes, second prompting. Then I heard him crying and I knew what had happened. You guessed it, he had pulled the curling iron down and grabbed it. Ahhhh I am so stupid. My mom says Jaimi the holy ghost was trying to tell you something. I know mom but I had to get the kids fed before they were going to school. Well, I think they ate. I can't remember much after that except a screaming baby and trying to hold his hand under the cold water. Chad came to the rescue and held him while I ran the kids to school, hold back tears so my kids wouldn't get upset before school starts. They did fine, Abbie actually asked if Tanner could take her to class. I was lucky!!! Anyway, I took him to the doctor a 1 1/2 hours later. Yes I had to make an appt. Thanks to Mom for helping me hold it together. Turns out it isn't as bad as it could have been, it is a 2nd degree and we just have to clean it and wrap it everyday. So now I know what happens when you ignore the promptings of the Holy Ghost, won't do that again. He is fine now and besides looking like a clubbed hand he gets around just fine.

First Days of School!!!

2008-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Abbie's first day of Kindergarten. It was pretty uneventful too. She woke up early!!! An unusual thing for her to do. She was soo excited. The best thing was that there was no screaming while the hair was getting done, I know it doesn't look like much but blow drying her hair is a process. She was so excited about her back pack, that she wore it to school to meet her teacher to do her assessment. So I had to take a picture of it. That is the reason for the different outfits. I know what you were all thinking!!! She can't make her mind up about clothes already!!! Nope, she knew exactly what she wanted to wear. When we got to school she found her seat sat down and said " Bye Mom!" wow I high tailed it out of there before she could think about what was going on and decide that she didn't want me to leave her. Sweet!! Now if I could just get Lucas to take a nap!! :)

Tanner's first day of 2nd grade went with out a glitch!!! He is a pro now. It was such a good morning Chad got up helped him get ready and I couldn't believe how early he was ready. We actually sat around for ten min. watching t.v. He wanted to go early so he could have a chance to play in Jilayne's class room. Sorry Jilayne!! But even better what do you think of the old school shirt? I love it, it reminds me of back in the day. Luckily Tanner liked it too, since I just bought it hoping he would think it is cool. So he wanted me to take a picture of just his shirt, so here it is!!!!

Swimming lessons!!

2008-08-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Better late than never. It was actually the perfect week to have swimming lessons, the weather was awesome. This is Tanner and Abbie with their swim teacher, Lisa Money, now this may seem like a normal picture to you but to me it is a picture of someone I have known as a child, taught dance to and is now teaching my kids!!! Unbelievable, and she is. I can't believe how in 5 days she can teach them so many things. Abbie was so excited to go to swim lessons every morning and would always say "mom I like Lisa her smile is so cute!" So thank you Lisa and your family for sharing their pool and teaching my kids to love the water. I think they are ready for the Olympics!! Ha Ha ok not quite lets give 10 yrs. or so.

Lucas at 9 months!!

2008-08-16T21:03:00.001-07:00

I wish I had the time and money to get professional pictures of my children often. Since I have neither this will do, but I do say I completely captured Lucas' personality with these pictures!!! something a professional wouldn't be around to get. I was sitting outside visiting with Abbie as she made "potion" aka Mud, and wasn't watching Lucas as close as I should have. This is what he discovered!!! He was so proud of himself as you can see in these pictures.
At 9 months Lucas is more mobile than Tanner and Abbie were. Tanner never crawled and Abbie did for all of 3 weeks maybe. Lucas, however, crawls and crawls and gets into EVERYTHING!!!!! I never needed a gate for my stairs with the others, now I do, but can't talk myself into buying one. He knows how to go up them very well. So well that I didn't notice him finding the chalk on the porch and proceeding to take a big bite of it!!! Ya when I decided to check on him he turned to me with a big grin and then started chewing. Needless to say I did fish out the chunk of chalk in his mouth. Anyway, these are some of the pictures I took of him and his new favorite thing to eat :) He is such a teaser, I can't stand how cute he is when he knows he is being naughty.

Tanner turns 7

2008-08-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

July 24th

2008-08-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Abbie and Ella performing with their team at the park. Abbie is in mid cartwheel in this one!
I have to give a shout out to Liz!! What would I do without you and your camera. Maybe one of these days I can repay you for all of the picture taking you do for me. You are the best!!! and yes if you were wondering that is my dad "grandpa dee" who got the tickets for us all so we could sit together. What a good sport!!! and mom "grandma diane" who I think attended her 2nd rodeo ever!!! woo hoo!! or should I say Yee Ha!!
Yes, we went to the rodeo too. Chad missed out on this event (he was conveniently in St. George. Once again a good time was had by all!!! Abbie loves her cowgirl hat.
Matt going on a ride with Abbie and Ella, he is such a good sport. I get a sick stomach just watching them.

Abbie, Ella, Tanner, Sydney, Richard, and Ammon on puff. See how much fun they are having!
Attending the carnival. The kids have a blast but we (the adults) just try to endure it!!! Remember its for the kids!!!!
Tanner, Sydney, Nic at the parade. Abbie waving to all the Beauty Queens coming by, I think it is soo cute, she has done this ever since she has learned to wave.

Ok so here are some more pictures of what we did in the summer. Of course you can't call your self a Spanish Forkin' if you don't participate in the festivities of Fiesta Days. I hear a lot of people my age say how its not like it used to be, but I think that is because we are "old" now so it doesn't seem as magical as it was. I do believe that the parade is not like it used to be, it seems now that it is just a walking advertisement for all the businesses around. It wouldn't be such a bad thing if they would think of entertaining the crowd instead of just walking the parade route. Anyway, my kids think it is a blast and that is why I do it. I want them to have the same or even better memories of childhood that I had, and mine were magical to me. So anyway here are some of the things we did during Fiesta Days!!!

Summer Activities

2008-08-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

I know I know it has been forever since I have blogged. Life happens!!! So here are some of the things we have done after returning from our trip. We have had a lot of fun this summer. Like everyone else I cannot believe that it is over. What ever happened to the just laying around doing nothing summers. Oh ya, that went away when I decided to have children. Oh well, life would be boring without them. So anyway, we took the kids to the "Stadium of Fire" we were so lucky to get tickets (thanks to Jilayne and Liz) I will say that the girls enjoyed it more than the boys, all in all we had a blast. Thank you Todd and Shaunna for letting my baby boy spend the night!!! Here are some pictures of the parade, Chad took Abbie and Tanner, I stayed home with Lucas. Also, pictures of "Stadium of Fire". I am so grateful for having a chance to spend time with our family, we are so lucky to live close to each other.

2008-07-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

We're Baaaaack

2008-06-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

That's right we are back from our annual vacation to Hawaii. This year was sooo much fun. The kids loved being there with their cousins, Iver and Ramzy. There was a lot of things going on everyday and of course that comes with some injuries. This trip we had Abbie fall on the concrete (on a speed bump) which scraped up her elbows, foot, and knees; next was her other fall which was on the back of the golf cart with Tanner running the gas and the breaks which scraped up her foot some more and she got drug a little so she had road rash on her bum. Ramzy and her friend Brisa were stung by a Portuguese man-of-war jumping off the peer luckily they didn't like the rest of us. We had a couple sunburns, but of course it wasn't the kids it was the adults that were burned, at least we were thinking of the kids. Tanner hit into Chad while diving into a wave and got a black eye. Iver was bit a couple times by his Chameleon. Chad and Chandler both cut themselves on the coral while snorkeling, quite a few times and Chad got some funky skin condition!!! which made his lips swell big time. We think he is allergic to the skin on Mangos.
Beside all the miss haps, we had an amazing time with all the things we did do. The best part was going to our beach and discovering a sea turtle (not a normal occurance). The kids went to turtle cave (i stayed home with Lucas) we went to queens bath, saw a seal on the beach at Ke' e every one snorkled a ton. We went out early to the beach when it was low tide and walked out on the reaf and saw lots of sea life, we also did some fishing, a lot of playing in the sand and enjoying the sun. Are you getting jelous yet? I am, I want to go back and have a vacation again:) oh, I almost forgot about the crab catching, everyone but me and julie (my sister in law) caught quite a few crabs, which is becoming a tradition it seems. Lucas loved the beach it was so fun to watch him discover everything at the beach, he is so cute. I finally got to reach the Twilight series (ya I read all three books while there) holy crow EDWARD!!!! need I say more. So anyway I know this was long but there is so much more I just don't want to make you any more jelous. Oh ya I forgot to mention that I got to hang out with one of my good friends Megan and it was so fun to catch up and see her new baby Carson, what a cutie!!! Love you megan wish we could have spent more time together. Enjoy the pictures :-)

I can't wait!!

2008-06-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

In five days we will be taking our annual trip to Hawaii. I can't wait. The kids talk about it every day. We won't be back until June 24th (happy birthday to me) so there won't be any updating until then. But then I will probably have soooo many pictures you will get sick of looking at them. Anyway I am so excited for this nice long vacation but always get sad because I will be leaving my family (ya know mom, dad, sisters, brother) for three weeks and I have to say I get a little depressed because I usually see them at least five times a week or more. So I will miss you all. Here are some pictures of our last trip to Hawaii when I was about 18 weeks pregnant with Lucas (that is why I look so cute;) ) Enjoy!!!

Last weekend!!!

2008-05-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Tanner participated in a mini motocross race. He did a lot better than the last time he raced but he is too big for his bike so he has a little problem with being able to keep up with the rest of the kids. Maybe someday we can get him a new (bigger) bike. Anyway here are a couple of pictures of the race. His cousin Iver came and raced too and did really well. He is a natural like his dad!! ha ha On Wed. we got together and took pictures of the Sparks' cousins they turned out cute. Since I had my kids there I got pictures taken of just them. They turned out cute!!! Well I think they are but what is up with 6 yr. olds and smiles. I guess they haven't learned how to do that yet so we are not sure what kind of smile Tanner is giving but it is totally him:)

What am I doing

2008-05-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what happened with the pictures below here is the one that is covered. I guess this shows that I am still an amateur. HA HA

2008-05-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was quite an eventful one Chad left to Arizona on Wed. that night was abbie's pre-school program where her and her class mates showed us what they have learned throughout the year. It was so fun to see her perform but was sad that Chad had to miss it for the second year in a row. That night in itself was eventful. My sister brings home Tanner from school that day and her daughter stays there until they have gymnastics at 4:45 p.m. So as I was getting them in the car I noticed something on the floor of the garage. Well to my surprise one of the kids had knocked over a pan of oil Chad had left out. Ok we were already in a hurry and I had no!!!! clue how you clean something like that up. After trying to get a hold of every male I had numbers for (my husband included) I finally call Liz and she said "Kitty Litter" well like I have that just sitting around my house. So after I drop the kids off at gymnastics I ran to Wal-Mart with Abbie and Lucas. Anyone who has kids knows you just can't "run in and out" anywhere. Instead of getting litter a nice man told me that Tide would work best. Thank you Thank you with about 30 min. left I had to run home get Abbie ready, attempt cleaning the oil and get her to her program. Any way here are a few picture of her with her teachers and a picture she drew at school of herself.
Then on Sat. was her last dance comp. of the dance year woo hoo!!!! and mine of course. Her team got second in both dances. She is such a cute performer and surprises me every time she goes out to dance. She has an amazing teacher, Lauren Porter, who is soooo good at what she does she is a jewel and it will be a sad day when she isn't abbie's teacher. She doesn't have any kids of her own, yet she knows how to handle these already emotional 5 and 6 yr. olds. They adore her. If you were wondering Chad did make it home to watch her at her last comp. it was fun to have him there to see what she has been working on all year. So there you go. I know if doesn't sound eventful but if you knew my kids you would get it. I love them but lets just face it towing a 6 month old around to everything is hard work. The poor thing never gets a good nap :( Well I will post some pictures of him since I haven't put any on the blog yet!!! He is a cutie

I am still trying to figure this all out!!!

2008-04-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tanner-Showing that he doesn't have to wear the gear cuz he is "experienced" Show off!!
Chad teaching Abbie that you don't use the throttle and the brake at the same time. Big brother making sure she doesn't wreck his bike. Typical guy!
So I couldn't find my pictures to put on the last post but I figured it out!!! This is Abbie who just learned how to ride about ten min. before. She is a quick learner. Unfortunately she didn't get it from me.

2008-04-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so about three years ago Chad and I would have loooooong arguments about getting a dirt bike for Tanner. Chad would go riding with his brother in law every sat. and his son would come sometimes who was a year older than Tanner and he had so much fun. So Chad would say, "I am going to get a bike for Tanner." "Oh no your not!!!" I would say. So the next year they were going to sale that bike and Chad said I want to buy it. Oh my heck I thought this was already decided. Then I started thinking, if Tanner has a bike then Chad would have to take him with him when he goes riding!!! Then they could have Tanner and Daddy time. (that is what we call it) Yes!! I decided he could have the bike. Like Chad really wouldn't have gotten it. So now Tanner is too big for the bike so Chad thought lets teach Abbie. So tonight was her first lesson and I have to say it is the cutest thing in the world, don't you think. I still can't believe my 6 and 5 yr. know how to ride a motorized vehicle. It kind of freaks me out when I think about it. Now he gets to take two kids with him, how lucky is he :)

Liz told me to do it!!

2008-04-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Ok!! I finally joined this whole blogging world. My family took a much needed vacation this week and while we were down there Liz and I would check our club blog and I kept saying I would really like to make a blog for my family. She said well lets do it right now. So here I am. I can't say that I will be able to update it daily or even weekly but I am excited to try. As soon as I get some pics from our vacation I will post them. I forgot to take my camera so Liz and Julie came to my rescue. Hey having one more person to pack for really stressed me out. Thank goodness I have some great sisters and sister in law to come to my rescue!!! Well my messy house it calling me to clean it so Liz if you are reading this you can e-mail some pics to me ya know in your crazy busy life. TTFN ta ta Jaimi