Graham

Family Pics

2010-12-11T20:11:00.001-08:00

Finally after 4 years we have updated our family picture. Thanks to my sister for taking them! They turned out great. We took them in my parents backyard during our visit for Thanksgiving. We had a great time hanging out with family and friends and eating good food. I had so much fun that I forgot to take picures. LOL.

Catch Up

2010-10-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have updated this so I will try to fit alot in one post so bare with me. And here we goooooooooooooooooooooooooo.......................

The summer went by way too fast, but we did some fun stuff. We spent a week visiting my mom and my sister. We did ALOT of swimming. We had an awesome trip to Morgan Hill, CA where Aaron helped his dad work on his uncle's bathroom and I traveled to different beaches and had LOADS of fun. I know it wasn't fair for Aaron to do all the work and me to relax everyday on the beach, but what's a girl to do. ;)

The only complaint I have is that I didn't get to go camping! I LOVE to camp and we didn't even go once. I blame it on my friend Kensi because if she lived here we totally would have gone with them.

Madison started 1st Grade and she loves it so far. She has a really good teacher and good friends in her class. She is getting straight A's and I hope she keeps it up. She has started Soccer again that our church has set up. She likes it for the most part except for when she has a stain on her shirt and I have to talk her into playing for 30 minutes. TRUE STORY. It was really embarrassing. She loves to sing so I've been trying to find a singing group or something that she can do after school. She lost a front tooth during a soccer game and then later that night she asked me "How do I know if the tooth fairy is real if I never get to see her, and while we're on the subject I'm pretty sure Santa doesn't exist and it's just you that buys everything." WHAT???!!!!! I don't remember when I started questioning Santa but it for sure wasn't 6! I halfway wanted to say "You're right Madison I buy everything so please take that into consideration when you make your Christmas list because little elves don't make everything, it isn't free, and no one magically delivers the gifts under the tree." But I restrained myself and said "Just because you can't see him doesn't mean he isn't real." Luckily she accepted that answer and hasn't brought it up since. Madison loves to sing, dance, draw, and play school. We love her alot.

Ashlyn..... Where do I begin. She is so Cute and so funny, but wow! Well let me just tell you about this sign I found in Ross once that said "I don't have an ATTITUDE I just have a personality you can't handle". I am currently embroidering a pillow with this on it for her bed. If there were a pageant titled Little Miss Attitude she would be Queen. If there were a land called Stubborn she would be President. If there were a ......Well you get the idea. She is so funny and frustrating all at once. One example: One day while leaving Church she got to the car opened the door and said with hands on her hips, "OKAY! I'm NOT getting in there until the air conditioning is on. It is TOO HOT!" I've decided she is just bored and needs to channel her Spunk into something worthwhile. Which is why she has been signed up for Gymnastics. She goes every wednesday. She loves to dance around, play dolls, and kiss Shelby. We love her alot too.

Shelby is so much fun! She reminds me alot of Madison and looks alot like her too. She is crawling and pulling herself up to things. Her favorite word is Dad. I think Aaron brainwashes them while I am not there so it is their first word. Her favorite thing to do is play the keyboard. Also she likes to sit on the floor and laugh as Ashlyn runs back and forth past her. It is pretty funny to watch. She shakes her head no. She has adorable dimples and THE cutest thighs and bum. I know that sounds weird but they are so chubby!!! I love them. I have people comment on them daily. I actually had a woman come up to me at the Aquarium in California and ask if she could squeeze her thighs. I'm not one to deny someone joy like that so I said of course. I had one lady tell me OHHH! she is so cute I could just bite her. Now that is not joy I will permit. Sorry lady. Madison described this feeling so well when she said "Mom,I love everyone so much I just want to hurt them." She is such a good baby that I've been convinced I want another one, but not for a couple years. We love her alot as well!

I will be better about blogging now that things have calmed down from the summer.

Trouble Trouble Trouble

2010-07-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

The webster definition of trouble is

1 a : to agitate mentally or spiritually : worry, disturb b (1) archaic : mistreat, oppress (2) : to produce physical disorder in : afflict c : to put to exertion or inconvenience 2 : to put into confused motion

My definition of trouble is pretty much the same except a few more...

3a: mischevious, stubborn, adorable, little girl b:answers to the name Ashlyn

Roos N More

2010-05-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

It is almost Madison's Birthday and this year instead of having big parties we decided to let the girls pick a fun place to go as a family. Ashlyn picked Chuck E Cheese which, even though it grosses me out, was still fun. Recently I saw that someone from our ward had gone to this zoo called Roos N More in Moapa, NV. So I asked Madison if she wanted to do that for her birthday. There is only a few times a month that they are open to the public so we had to go this weekend. First let me tell you that I have always wanted to hold a Capuchin monkey and FINALLY today I got to do that and more! It was so much fun! It is a smaller zoo, but so well kept. You get to go on an hour long tour which takes you to see all their animals and you get to hold and pet almost all of them. My favorite is still the monkeys, but it was still fun holding the baby kangaroos.

The Capuchin monkey climbed onto me and hugged me so tight and then started licking my neck!!! It was hilarious, but it was the sweetest monkey. All the kids and people were gathered around my stroller to look at it when it decided to take a nap on the top.

Ashlyn is 3!!!!

2010-04-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Ashlyn is 3 already. Time goes by too fast. We had a fun day filled with fun activities we could do as a family. It was nice to not have a big birthday party and just spend time together. We just let her pick somewhere fun to go and she picked Chuck E. Cheese. Not my first choice, but it was actually really fun and only smelled like pee a little. ;) HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEACHES! WE LOVE YOU!

Shelby and other stuff

2010-04-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated my blog for a while so I figured it was time. Shelby is getting bigger everyday and is so cute! She smiles alot and has just started giggling a little bit. Madison and Ashlyn are so good with her too and help me out a lot. We had a really good Easter this year too. We had an Easter egg hunt at home in our backyard and then just spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and watching Conference. This past weekend we traveled to Utah for my niece Gracie's baptism. It was a really good weekend full of good food and good family. Madison has been playing T-ball every Thursday now and it has been so fun to watch her. Today Aaron and I celebrated our birthday. It is so fun to share the same birthday. It makes the day extra special when I can share it with him. We decided to make our birthday dinner instead of going out to eat somewhere. We made baby back ribs that we smoked on our grill and they were SOOOOOO good and then I made a berry cheesecake for dessert. Overall it was a pretty good birthday. We also found out we have a little lizard family living in the backyard.

Corny Love Songs

2010-03-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

So a few years ago Aaron started singing corny love songs to me. He would walk up and give me a big hug and then start singing some hilarious love song. It was so funny and so sweet at the same time. This one's for you Aaron.......

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

Maybe someday I will learn to play the piano and he can too and then we will be like these people.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=RI-l0tK8Ok0

Andy got married!!!

2010-03-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy for my brother! He got married on March 6th in Salt Lake City in an awesome old LDS church in the Avenues. It had beautiful stained glass windows. It was such a sweet ceremony. You could look at them and see how much they loved eachother. I still get emotional looking at the pictures. I had to steal these from my sister's blog because I left my camera in the trunk of my car. My camera is kind of hard to take pictures while holding a baby. I can't wait to get to know Lisa better. My kids already think she is the best Aunt.

Mystery Diagnosis

2010-03-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Shelby woke up from her nap yesterday and I noticed this on her arm. My first reaction was, "How did Ashlyn do this without me knowing?" then I realized Ashlyn was outside playing with Madison and didn't go back where the baby was sleeping at all. My next thought was "What weird disease, parasite, etc.... does she have that would make her wake up with bruises?" I blame this thought completely on my fascination with watching shows like Mystery Diagnosis and Monsters Inside Me. They have made me completely paranoid. Every headache I get now I instantly think I may have a ball of worms in my brain (true story! a guy had them in his). So after a few seconds I figured out the real cause. She had given herself a hicky! Ha Ha Ha!

The Thing I Realized this Saturday

2010-02-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

I have gremlins living in my house that keep undoing everything I do.

It seems like everytime I clean a room I leave to the second room only to return to the first and find that the gremlins have messed it up again.

I HATE CLEANING.

I finally caught up on my laundry. I washed it, folded it, and put it in the basket so it could sit there for a week until I put it away. I left the basket in the Living Room and left to go check on the baby in my room. I returned and found that the gremlins had scattered the folded clothes all over the floor.

I HATE LAUNDRY.

I wiped the mirrors off in the bathrooms with windex. I left to the next chore and came back only to find that the gremlins had made toothpaste spots on the mirror.

I HATE TOOTHPASTE SPOTS.

I swept the floor in the Living Room. Minutes later.....The gremlins had spilled uncooked Top Ramen noodles all over the floor.

I HATE UNCOOKED TOP RAMEN NOODLES.

The list could go on, but you get the picture. Then as I was picking up dress up clothes off my bedroom floor I looked over and saw these...................................

and I realized that

I LOVE MY LITTLE GREMLINS!

Just One Question

2010-02-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

What the HECK is this.........

What's for Dinner

2010-02-02T12:15:00.001-08:00

I have been horrible when it comes to cooking dinner lately. I've been looking up recipes that don't take very long to make. I LOVE the Pillsbury website. They have some good recipes on there. Last night I made individual pizzas from their Grands Homestyle Biscuits. It was so easy and tasted pretty good. I think I would make these for lunch for my kids though instead of dinner, but I didn't get any complaints from hubby so that is good. My favorite part though was dessert which I came up with on my own. I'm sure there's a recipe out there just like it, but I didn't look it up so I count that as coming up with it on my own. lol I had some biscuits left over so I flattened them the same way as the pizza ones and put cinnamon and sugar on top before baking it. Then I made Marshmallow creme frosting to dip them in. It was so good! Here are the links to the recipes just in case anyone wants to try it.

http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=21903 (pizzas)

http://www.recipes4cakes.com/frostings/marchcreme_recipe.htm (marshmallow creme frosting)

When animals attack

2010-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, my dad is always saying how cats are evil. I would get mad and always defend them, but now I believe him. Our black asnd white cat named Mooska (who happens to be Maddie's favorite) attacked her while she was sleeping on Saturday night. He usually cuddles with her and so when he jumped up on her bed she pulled him close to her and he spazzed! I really want to get rid of him, but she keeps bawling when I talk about it. Too bad she's old enough to know he isn't going on "vacation". lol

Student of the Month

2010-01-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

Friday morning we got to go to Madison's school and watch her get her Student of the Month Certificate. She was so happy and we are so proud of her! Love ya Maddie! She got to eat pizza for lunch with the principal and she also got a certificate for a free hamburger or cheeseburger from Inn and Out. She said that it was the best day ever. Hope she keeps up the good work.

More Pics

2010-01-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

I had a mini photshoot today with Miss Shelby. She was so cute and wide awake. It was alot of fun. Madison and Ashlyn kept giggling about her little butt. I think it is adorable!

She's Here!

2010-01-21T19:04:00.001-08:00

Shelby Ann Graham was born January 17, 2010 at 2:53pm. She weighed 8lbs. 12.5oz. and was 19.5 inches long. So far she is a very good baby. We lucked out again.Madison is comforting Shelby while she gets her first bath. She didn't want her to scratch herself so she was holding her hands and saying "You're okay. You'll be fine!"

It's Time!

2010-01-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

It's time to stop obsessively cleaning my house.

It's time to make sure my bags are packed.

It's time to not weigh this much!

and it's time to get this little monster out of my belly!(She's not really a monster, but at times I wonder. Like when she is pressing her foot on my rib so hard it feels like it will break.)

Finally I get to go in tomorrow and be induced! I'm really excited to get this over with and see this beautiful little baby girl. I know she will be beautiful because so far they have all looked like their dad. Wish me luck and the next post will have pictures of my sweet baby!!!!!

Playing in the Snow

2009-12-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

We have lived here in Vegas now for almost 7 years and have never made it up to Mt. Charleston when there was snow on it. This year I decided my little "city" girls needed to go play in the snow. I think it might have been Ashlyn's first time, but Madison has played in the snow at Grandma Julie's before. It was so much fun, but we didn't expect to see so much snow and we didn't even bring a sled! We improvised and Madison still got to slide down the hill, but next time we will be better prepared. They had so much fun and before Ashlyn fell asleep that night she said in a really sleepy voice "Mommy, thanks for coming to the snow with me". It was so cute. They even had sleigh rides up there with big Clydesdale horses so we might do that next time too. It was nice to drive only 40 minutes and be in snow and then drive home to dry roads and warmer weather.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T16:26:00.001-08:00

This year we finally made it to our ward Christmas party and it was a lot of fun. The girls got to see Santa and tell him what they wanted. Finally this year Ashlyn didn't cry when she saw Santa. They also played music to dance to and the girls loved it and had fun jumping around.
My favorite memories of Christmas are driving my mom around to deliver goodies to the neighbors, opening one present on Christmas Eve, and eating Lil' Smokies with my Dad. I decided when I had children that I wanted to have traditions that we did every year so they would remember. One thing that I started with Madison was making reindeer food and leaving it outside for them to eat. The first year we scattered it outside on the driveway and the cleanup wasn't fun to do so this year we just set bowls out. I loved seeing Madison's face when she saw the bowls were empty. She giggled for 30 minutes. It reminded me of one year my dad took his boots and a deer leg from his hunt(gross I know, but it totally made it realistic) and made tracks in the snow up to our house. I was so excited to see those tracks!

Here is the calm before the storm! and the next pictures will show the aftermath. lol

We had a really good Christmas this year and had lots of fun just hanging out as a family. Each year just gets better and better.

My "Paycheck"

2009-11-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty good day. My sister had her baby, a beautiful baby girl named Ruby Lynn and I got my "paycheck" for the week. Tonight after I finished tucking Madison in to go to bed she said, " You don't have to do that you know, I can do it myself" and I answered while giving her a kiss on the cheek "I know, but I like to do it." She kissed me back and then said "I know because that is how you get your paycheck" "Because you just got it huh". Now to explain the "paycheck". Earlier in the week Madison was being really rude to me so I tried to explain to her why it bothered me so bad. I told her that my job was to take care of her, Ashlyn, and Daddy by cooking and cleaning and everything else we mothers do and that I don't get an actual paycheck like Daddy does. I told her my paycheck was love.

Being a mom is hard sometimes, but the "pay" is pretty good.

Halloween 09

2009-11-03T20:49:00.001-08:00

This Halloween was pretty crazy. We had alot going on. Madison had a fun week at school full of pumpkin carving, a party, and a parade around the school. This year Madison dressed up like a vampire and Ashlyn was a witch. On Halloween day we woke up and went to the NHRA Drag Races that are here twice a year. It was alot of fun and had alot of things for the kids to do in the pits. We left the races early and still barely had time to feed them, get them dressed, and rush to our ward's Trunk or Treat. We were done with Trunk or Treat by 8pm so we decided to pass out candy at our house. It is still pretty warm down here so we sat outside and waited for the trick or treaters. I will never look at my neighbor across the street the same again. I actually couldn't sleep Halloween night because he is so creepy. lol He had his garage all decorated with creepy things and he was playing creepy music. We walked over to introduce ourselves because he hasn't lived there very long and also to get some candy. As we got up the driveway he came walking out of the corner of the garage dressed like the guy from SAW. I've never seen the movies, but from the previews I pretty much know what it's about. He didn't say anything and just stood there! My kids were freaked. Even his daughter didn't say anything! Ashlyn ran up and got her candy and we just laughed and started walking away. As we were leaving his daughter said "It's a Happy Halloween, haunted house style!" and then they both laughed creepy laughs. We sat outside and watched him scare people for a while because he was so weird and it was pretty funny to see people's reaction to him. Maybe he didn't talk because he was so incharacter. I'm still kind of creeped out by him. lol

Fun at Grandma's

2009-10-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last night the girls got to make doughnuts with Grandma Bonnie after we had Sunday dinner. I had never even tried these before but they were so easy and really good. All she did was use the premade biscuits like Pillsbury and gave them each a frosting tip to cut a small hole in the middle. Then she fried them in oil and when they were done we let them sit on a paper towel until the grease was mostly gone. Then the fun part started. They each got a bag with cinnamon and sugar in it and they got to shake all the doughnuts. They were SO good!

Rock Springs

2009-10-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we packed up and headed to Rock Springs, Wyoming for our niece's birthday party. It is a LONG drive. It was about 9 hours to get there. Our portable dvd player wasn't with us, but our kids were actually really good. It was pretty cold there and the day we left it was snowing! We had a really good time visiting with Aaron's family and bowling for the party. Here are a few pictures of our visit. Thanks Shannon for all the good food!

Soccer

2009-09-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first soccer practice for Madison. This year our Stake is doing a free soccer league. It was fun to watch her learn how to play. She did pretty good for never having played soccer before except for one small class at the rec center. She kept putting her finger in her mouth and I thought she was just being shy or something until I figured out that she was wiggling her lose tooth! She wants it to fall out so bad but is too scared to let me pull on it. The pictures are really bad because I had to take them with my phone because I can't find my camera charger. Hopefully I find it soon because I've missed alot of Kodak moments.

Elmyra

2009-09-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

And we wonder why Mooska runs from Madison. LOL

It's another one!

2009-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

the money shot

her legs were all stretched out straight

her profile(she turned a little so it looks weird)

her arms are covering her face

Well we went to the doctor today for our ultrasound and found out we are having another girl! Right when she went to look I knew exactly what it was. I've seen that twice before! lol She said well... And I finished for her and said "it's a girl" and I could see the disapointment on Aaron's face. No I'm kidding. I'm sure he was a little sad but he really didn't care. Our little girls are so fun that adding one more won't matter. Maybe next time will be the boy. Aaron says we are done but when we were married he also said he would only have 2 and now we are on number 3 so I'm guessing I can convince him to have one more. So now I have a question and I hope I don't offend or make anyone uncomfortable. I'm just curious. The girl wrote on the ultrasound "No pee pee" Well I thought we all had pee pee's and that there just wasn't a wee wee. LOL Am I wrong? What's funny is my friend and I had a similar text conversation about this exact thing. I texted I was nervous for my ultrasound and she wrote back "Why scared no pee pee?" and I wrote back "Scared no wee wee" Then she wrote "Wee wee, pee pee, same thing" So here's my question is it wee wee or pee pee?

First Day of School

2009-08-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

It's official. My baby is in kindergarten! Usually it is hard to wake Madison up, but the first day of school she got a huge grin on her face and gave me a giant hug. I was all prepared for her to be nervous and want me to walk her all the way and kiss her good bye at the door, but I was WRONG. Lol. I didn't know where to go so I just followed the teachers in the parking lot directing traffic and I ended up where you just drop them at the curb. I was trying to figure out if I could go park and Madison saw Jackson from church and quickly said good bye mom and hopped out of the car. I hurried and parked and ran to where she was playing on the playground. I yelled to her so she could see that I was there and that I hadn't just left her. She looked at me with this weird look on her face. It wasn't a happy face. She got off the playground came running over to me and I thought she wanted a hug. I bent over and she pushed me and told me to get away! That is pretty sad that she is already embarrassed of me. She did apologize later for doing it, but it went like this. "I'm sorry for pushing you, but I didn't want you there."

Fat Already

2009-06-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm only 9 weeks and I already have a belly! It was like all the sudden I woke up and there it was. My husband keeps teasing me about having twins because he has like 3 or 4 sets of twins in his family, but don't I have to have twins on my side? I'm not sure how that works. I've read that with each subsequent pregnancy that you can show faster. So my question for everyone(probably like 5 people that actually read my blog. lol) is, Did you show sooner with your 2nd, 3rd, etc... pregnancies? And the previous question..Do I need to have twins on my side? Not that I wouldn't love whatever I got, but twins would be hard. We would have to buy a new car just to fit us all. Not to mention double the diapers, double the clothes, and double the breast feeding(if I could handle it)! If you can't tell I'm freaking out about this. LOL

4th of July Hairbows

2009-06-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I was finally going to start selling my bows. I signed up for an Etsy Store and I'm going to put some 4th of July Bows on there. I am trying to make some extra money before we head to Disneyland so I hope I sell a few. Here are just a couple I have made so far. The pictures aren't the best, but oh well.

A Couple of Funny Things

2009-06-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have some pictures to post but I thought I would hurry and post some funny things Madison said lately so I don't forget them.

The first is a conversation I overheard Maddie having with my mom. I only caught the end so I don't know how they started talking about it but the end was the funniest.

My mom- "Your great grandma Margaret's husband is dead
Madison- "Great, that's great" (She's saying this like it is a wonderful thing"
My mom- "And my mom and dad are in heaven"
Madison- "Good, that means that they have the spirit with them"
My mom- "Yeah I guess so"
Madison- "I'm too cute and little to die huh Grandma"
My mom- "Yeah you are"
Madison- " Yeah, I would have to be all old like you"

This next conversation I overheard between Aaron and Madison. She had asked him to make her some tuna fish.

Madison- "Wow dad this is better than mom makes it"
Aaron- "Awesome"
Madison- "You make noodles better than mom too"
Aaron- "Awww, Thanks Maddie"
Madison- "You do everything better than mom huh"
Aaron- "I wouldn't say that, Mom is pretty great at a lot of things" (I think he knew I was listening. LOL)
Madison- "Yeah your right. You're not that good at everything she does."

Memorial Weekend at Grandma's!

2009-05-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I decided to go to Emery County, Utah this year for Memorial Weekend. We both grew up there. We stayed with my mom in Huntington and traveled to Aaron's Grandma's house in Emery for their annual get together. My city girls loved the country! Here are some pics of our weekend there.We could not keep them off of these swings except when it rained for 2 days straight!

My cute little Maddie!

This is a little playhouse that my dad helped my sister build for her girls. She still hasn't moved it to her new house so it was there for my girls to enjoy!

Ashlyn cleaning her "kitchen".

These are my mom and dad's chickens. Every single one of them has a name lovingly given by my mother. This is a picture of Pete and his "chicks". These hens follow him everywhere. My mom sadly has to get rid of him because he has the annoying habit of crowing at the worst times. I had a horrible headache for a couple of days and one night I was actually able to start falling asleep and right when i was about in la la land I heard him crow. I thought to myself "NO NO NO it is not morning already I am sooooo Tired and I was almost asleep". So I got up and looked at the clock and it was only 12:30! He crowed about every hour until about 4am and I seriously had to talk myself out of clubbing him with my dad's 9 iron. Sorry animal lovers but I had a severe Migraine and he wasn't helping at all.

This is George. He gets beat up alot by the other roosters and has been forced to live outside the coop! I feel so bad for him.

My mom loves her chickens and they don't kill them and eat them at all. They are more like pets so I thought it was so funny that she had this sign on the side of their chicken coop!

This is a picture of a creepy old church in Emery, Utah where Aaron grew up. I'm pretty sure it's haunted, but I wasn't about to find out.

They found another swing at Aaron's Grandma's and took turns pushing eachother on it.

This is Jodie. He is Aaron's cousin Charlie's son. I had to take a picture of him because you just couldn't help but smile seeing this kid. He looked so cute with his little cowboy boots, marshmallow face, and the best part of all his toilet paper binoculars! I call this picture "Mischief on Wheels!"
We built a fire in the backyard and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. It was so much fun for the kids. Don't their faces look like they are having fun? No? I guess hot dogs aren't as much fun as marshmallows. They don't catch on fire.

This is Scruffy. Ashlyn tried her hardest to catch that little thing and I felt so bad because she just wasn't fast enough, but she didn't let that stop her from trying every chance she got.

Maddie was more successful. Poor little Scruffy had to be rocked like a baby the rest of the night.

And last but not least the Mother of the Year Award goes to, ME! for not packing my children jackets. They were forced to wear Grandma's. I've been the recipient of this award numerous times and for numerous reasons.

Guess What

2009-05-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well we went to my mom's house this weekend for Memorial Weekend and so I have alot to post about except really quick I wanted to tell everyone that Aaron and I are expecting our 3rd child! I am only about 5 weeks pregnant but I'm way excited! We're crossing our fingers for a boy this time, but we'll love it no matter what. I'll post pics from the weekend later today!

OUCH!

2009-05-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

So yesterday while I was out shopping I got Ashlyn all buckled in and then shut her door and I don't have any idea how this happened, but I shut my finger in the door. I had to open it back up to get my finger out. I didn't sleep last night because it was throbbing. I looked on the internet today and it said to relieve the pressure under the nail by heating a paper clip until it is red hot and then sticking it on your nail where the most blood is. I am too chicken to do this! Has anyone done this before and does it hurt?

When it rains it pours!

2009-05-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for this depressing post but I just had to vent. It seems like when things get bad they get REALLY bad before they get better or at least that's the way it is with Aaron and I. I know to some a car accident isn't that big of a deal, but for Aaron and I right now is the worst time to have this happen. We have been dealing with cut hours at his job(not too bad at least he has a job) and a while ago he had to travel to California to work on a cabin and on his way back he got a speeding ticket. It was totally his fault, but it still sucks to have to pay. Then today we were merging on the US 95 from Lake Mead and this lady totally ran into the side of our car. We thought it was her fault but of course we got the ticket and are now responsible to pay for her car to get fixed. I think we are going to try to fight the ticket because it totally doesn't make sense that it would be Aaron's fault. I was pretty upset for a while, but I realize that it could have been worse and at least it wasn't that bad of an accident(only a few scratches on each vehicle) and my children are safe. It's just money right?

Ashlyn is 2!

2009-04-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Ashlyn's birthday! We love her so much. Both of our girls have such fun personalities, but Ashlyn is pretty hilarious. I asked her last night what she wanted for her birthday and she said "fwies" if you don't speak toddler that meant fries. She is pretty easygoing and doesn't need alot of toys to entertain her. She is a mama's girl and I love it because Madison is a total Daddies girl. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHY! We love you very much!

Family Pictures

2009-04-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

So this week I got asked by Aaron's sister to take their family pictures. I was so excited but nervous too because this is the first family pictures I have taken. We decided just to use Bonnie's (my mother in laws) backyard because it has this really neat waterfall in the pool. They turned out so cute and her kids are adorable. Here are just a few. Keep in mind that some still need a little editing.

10 year old letter

2009-04-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

So the other day my mom called and told me she had received a letter in the mail addressed to me from the church educational system. As soon as she said that I remembered that in May of 1999 my seminary teacher asked us all to write ourselves a letter like we were friends and tell kind of where we hope we are in our lives. She said in about 10 years she would mail them to us. I never expected to actually receive it, but what a fun surprise. I opened it to find this picture of my seminary class(Can you tell which one is me?) along with the letter. Here is the letter I wrote to myself!

Since it is kind of hard to read here is what it said:

Dear Gina,

You are sitting in seminary right now! It is 7th hour and school is almost over! Hopefully you are an advertising photographer with 4 kids; 2 boys & 2 girls & you are married to a wonderful man who cares for you alot! Right now you like a boy named Alex Crawford! He's way cute! Hopefully you are still close to your friends and still talk to them, if you aren't call them! Right now you are wearing a Tommy Girl Tank Top and LEI shorts with a jean jacket over it! You are 5 foot 7 1/2 inches and your hair is short and in an "A" cut! Well remember me always!

Heart/ Gina "T-girl" (Tommy Girl) my nickname W/B -k-!

It is hilarious. I must have been really excited because everything has exclamations after it. Also, just for the record and so Aaron has peace of mind. I had decided just that day that I liked Alex and I'm very glad that I didn't marry him. Oh yeah and he's not as cute as you Aaron. Also why an advertising photographer? Why not just a photographer? I don't remember ever wanting to do that and last but not least, couldn't I have worn better clothes that day? That sounded like a pretty awesome outfit. LOL Anyways, after getting this I decided that I'm going to make Madison write herself a letter on Family Home Evening and seal it in an envelope and I will save it and give it to her when she is older. Maybe I will do this every year to see how she changes. Just in the past week she has changed her future profession from a baby doctor to cashier to fashion model.

Madison's Photo Shoot

2009-03-30T12:42:00.001-07:00

Madison has been bugging me to take her pictures so we decided to have a mini photo shoot in the backyard.

I LOVE free stuff!

2009-03-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows me I love to get things for a bargain. I love to find things at thrift stores and make them look nice or turn them into something else. About a week ago I was delivering invitations and I saw this swinging outside bench sitting for the trash guys to take. It just needed a little wood glue, some screws tightened, and either painted or stained. So I loaded it up and took it home(Aaron about dies when I do this but one man's trash is another man's treasure right?) Well today I looked on Craigslist and found a warehouse that was getting rid of furniture for free! So Aaron was nice enough to take me down there to look at it. I found this adorable dresser that I know I can make look so cute and put in my girls room. I also found this coffee table. It has the glass missing but Aaron and I are going to try to fix it. The coffee table was 5.00 but the dresser was free! I love new projects and I am so excited to sand and paint that new dresser. The green dresser that is below my TV I got for 5.00 from some guy that was selling stuff at a sort of yard sale. He was in a parking lot but it looked like a yard sale to me! It was really ugly, but I painted it with one of those antique kits from Michaels and now I LOVE it. I will post more pictures when I finish fixing all of them.

Free Gift

2009-03-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my sister and she said the reason she didn't sign up was because she didn't have time to make anything for anyone or she would have. I figured that must be why no one signed up so I decided that you don't have to post anything on your blog at all to get a free gift from me. Just be one of the first five to comment and that way you have no obligation to make anyone anything unless you feel like it. If this doesn't work then I will just pick people to give things too!

Chain of Love

2009-03-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

So I posted this a little while ago and NOBODY signed up. So I deleted it but I just read Karen's reminder about hers that you have to post it on your blog in order to get her gift so here it goes again. I don't care where you live I can ship my creation to you so please sign up!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!My choice.For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make for you!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a song. It may be a self portrait or maybe even some creation I haven't yet dreamed up. I may draw. I may bake you something and mail it to you. It may not be big or impressive. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! But lets be honest here. This is me and I will likely do something amazing. =) So come on, sign up!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to post this same blog on their blog and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Let's keep the chain of love going around!!

Look who's almost 2

2009-02-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

The other weekend my sister in law came over and I took pictures of her daughter Symiah and Ashlyn because we are doing a combined birthday party. They are only a month apart so it is really fun to have their birthday together. Here are some of the cute pics we got. It was hard because they were running all over the place. I think I might want to start taking them professionally but as you can see I need some practice.

She actually did it.

2009-02-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well, Madison spent the night at Grandmas and was digging through one of the drawers and found Grandma's ear piercing gun and earrings (Grandma Bonnie used to be a hair dresser). I have been asking Madison if she wanted her ears pierced for a while but she is always too scared. She has a real phobia about needles and things like that. So imagine my surprise when later today she actually pierced them! She got the first one done and cried and cried for about 40 minutes and then we distracted her and did the other one. She loves them and looks so grown up now.

Maddie Montana Part 2

2009-02-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Madison has always been an entertainer. She loves to sing and dance. I was looking through old photos on my computer the other day and found this video of her singing (a Maddie original song) while we were picnicing at Mt. Charleston. By the way the piece of wood is her microphone/guitar! This is blackmail for when she is older!

Singin' In The Rain

2009-02-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

It rained so much the other day that Madison & Ashlyn could not wait to go outside and play in it! They jumped on the trampoline and got soaking wet. Aaron left to go to the store and one of the streets was completely flooded. Anyways I got some really cute pictures of Ashlyn. Madison was too busy running around splashing in puddles.

2009-02-08T15:42:00.001-08:00

Wow it has been a couple months since I have posted anything and I would like to say I have been busy, but not really. Well we had a great Thanksgiving at my sister's house and we enjoyed a nice Christmas at home. We've been sick a couple of times. I swear the stomach bug has been around our family about 4 times and I have to agree with my friend Kensi when I say that I think we've been cursed! I've gone through alot of bottles of Lysol and apparently that doesn't help. Nothing exciting has really happened so I will just post some pics of Christmas and other things.

Left to Right: Ashlyn, Ryleigh, Symiah, & Madison

Ashlyn & Ryleigh

Tytan. He is so adorable!

Madison got to open her Makeup book for Christmas Eve

So of course everyone got makeovers!

Finished Result!

Aaron, Ashlyn, & Grandma Bonnie opening Christmas Presents

Madison modeling her cat costume that she got from Grandma Bonnie for Christmas

Madison & Ashlyn hugging on the couch. One of the rare moments that they aren't fighting

Picture Tag

2008-11-11T19:17:00.001-08:00

This was a tag that said to open your fourth folder in Pictures and post the fourth picture in it. This is hilarious. Aaron came home from a hard days work and just crashed on the couch and so did Maddie. He will probably kill me for posting this but I had to. I tag anyone who hasn't already done this.

Halloween!

2008-11-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

This Halloween was not a very fun time for us. Right before it came we all got the stomach flu and the night of our wards trunk or treat Maddie was still kind of sick so we couldn't go. By Halloween night she felt better so we wrapped her up and put Ashlyn's cat ears on and headed out with Kensi and Justin and their cute little ladybug! We went around our neighborhood then headed to Grandma Bonnie's house. We went to a house right by Grandma's and a man sitting in the driveway said that there was someone inside with some candy and just to ring the doorbell. Well there was a Monkey sitting on the bench by the door and we were trying to guess if it was someone dressed up waiting to scare us or if it was just a decoration. Well we waited a little while and no one answered so Aaron told me to poke it, but I wasn't about to do that. I turned to leave and of course he jumped off the bench. Kensi and I screamed louder than the kids! It was pretty funny and one of the kids said he got it on camera. So I bet we're somewhere on You Tube by now!

Recap of Weekend

2008-10-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

So it was pretty quiet around here this weekend. Maddie left for a birthday party in Utah with Grandma Bonnie. It was so weird not having her around and Ashlyn was so bored with no one to play with. The only thing we did was go to the CSN Planetarium and Observatory and watch the movies they have about planets. It was so interesting and kind of creepy in a way. I didn't realize how far into space they could see with their telescopes. When we were done watching the presentation we got to go outside and look through a big telescope at Jupiter and it's 3 moons! The man said that when you looked and saw the moon closest to Jupiter we were actually seeing it the way it looked 100 years ago! It was really interesting and I think we are going to go back when there is a full moon! I sat there after looking at Jupiter through the telescope and I can't believe that there are people that think all these planets were created basically by accident and not some supreme being. All I could think was how it reaffirmed for me that there is a God and how beautiful his creations are.

Aaron's Mustang

2008-10-13T16:26:00.001-07:00

A few years ago Aaron bought this mustang and has been adding things to it ever since. His recent addition was a new coat of Flat Black Paint. He fixed all the small dents and scratches in it and then painted it himself. He did such an awesome job. It looks like he had it professionally done. I hunted for a before pic and I couldn't find one, but the weird thing is that I found a picture of our old house and driveway on Google Maps that had his car parked out front so if you want to see a before pic just click this link- http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=740+Picasso+Picture+Ct,+North+Las+Vegas,+Nevada+89081,+United+States&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.358024,56.25&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fb4mKQIdsD4j-Q&ll=36.254742,-115.129852&spn=0.007285,0.013733&z=16&layer=c&cbll=36.251095,-115.130665&panoid=8-cumJ-xVU81VZxG8vyKCA&cbp=1,352.24675382547695,,0,5

Ashlyn helps with the laundry

2008-10-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn loves to help me with the laundry! She will stand by the dryer and throw the wet clothes in that I hand her. So last night after she helped me I walked to the kitchen to do something else and imagine my surprise when I found this on my way back. So here is what I had to tell Aaron...

BAD NEWS: Your clean clothes are in the toilet.

WORSE NEWS: Maddie forgot to flush!

His shirt was on the bottom! HA HA. Mine were all dry! He will never wear that shirt again. He told me just to throw it away. I'm grateful too because I didn't really want to clean it anyways.

The funniest thing too is the look on Ashlyn's face when she was caught. The pictures aren't the best either because I lost my camera so now I have to wait to get a new one and I have been taking pics with my phone until then.

Funny Stuff Maddie Says...

2008-10-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

Me: I sure wish someone hadn't dumped all these crayons all over the table.
Maddie: Well, that's what happens when you have children.

I've been Man Tagged!

2008-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

What's your husbands name? Aaron Graham
How long have you guys been married? 5 years
How long did you date? 3 years
How old is he? 25
Who eats more sweets? Aaron, right now he is addicted to Tootsie Pops! He goes through a 10lb bag in like 2 days I swear.
Who said I Love You first? I don't remember but I'm pretty sure it was me
Who is taller? Aaron
Who is the better singer? We are pretty much equal
Who is smarter? I would say ME but Aaron probably disagrees
Who does the laundry? Me unless I keep forgetting to wash something of his and then he takes over.
Who pays the bills? Aaron makes the money, but I pay the bills.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Aaron
Who mows the lawn? We live in Vegas so we have a synthetic lawn so we don't have to mow it.
Who cooks dinner? Me always and I love it
Who drives? Aaron
Who is the first to say they are wrong? Me
Who kissed who first? I kissed Aaron because I got tired of waiting for him to dare
Who asked who out first? Aaron had his friend ask me out for him, but I had to ask him for a second date
Who wears the pants? Me
I now tag Tammy, Kensi, & Rachael

Balloonapalooza!

2008-09-25T15:15:00.001-07:00

The other weekend we decided to take the girls to Balloonapalooza with our friends Justin and Kensi. It has alot of carnival games, rides, and a band. They usually have hot air balloons that you can get a ride in, but they had to take them down because of the wind so we didn't even get to see them. Seems like the bad economy is taking it's toll on the carnies! Last year they gave a prize to every little kid even if they didn't win the games and this year they couldn't afford to do it. We paid $5.oo for Maddie to play one game that said "play till you win". It was a dart game that you threw and popped a balloon. Aaron thought it would take her a while to pop one and she would have fun. Well guess what happened. She popped one on the first try and that was it. After that I decided that I was going to open my own pop a balloon booth. I'll be a millionaire by the end of the night! One carnie lady was pissed off at her boss for not giving away toys to the little kids so she gave Madison 2 goldfishes for free. Madison named them Curly and Scooby. Don't ask me where she got those names from. I didn't have a gold fish bowl to put them in so they were in my big measuring cup. Gross I know, but that was all I could find. Don't worry I won't use it again. It was still alot of fun and they had an awesome fireworks show at the end. Ashlyn was mesmorized and wouldn't take her eyes off them.

Junk to Jewel

2008-09-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

I love to shop at thrift stores & yard sales! I love to find things that are plain or maybe junk to some people and turn them into something else. Whether it is furniture that needs refinished or just something that I can make into home decor. I have a ton of projects that I have already done and this is just one of them. I found this cabinet door at DI (Deseret Industries). I sanded it a little bit, glued some wood accents purchased from Michaels, painted it with tole(sp?) paint and made it into home decor. It was really easy and cheap. The total including materials came to just under $5.00!

Maddie Montana

2008-08-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

Madison absolutely LOVES Hannah Montana. She watches the show all the time and also has a cd with some of her songs. I bought this pink sequin top so she could play dress up and she came out of her room the other day with her guitar, high heels, and of course her sequin top and asked me if I was ready for the concert. She sang me Pumpin' up the Party and I laughed so hard! She is so funny and everyday she comes up with something new.

2008-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't actually caught a fish in a long time and when I lived at home that is all I would do. When I was old enough to drive myself up the canyon by my house I went every chance I got. I would hurry home after school, grab my pole, and head for the river. It was so relaxing to me and so peaceful up there. Now that I am older and have children of my own I can't believe my mom & dad let me do that all by myself. Where we lived though was a very very small town and nothing bad ever happened. So that story being told, I begged my dad to take us so Madison could catch a fish. It was beautiful up there and we caught 3 pretty nice fish and yes one was mine! The tragic thing though is that Madison was reeling a fish in and it was HUGE so big that when it got close to the shore it snapped the line! She cried and I felt like crying right along with her because that was the biggest fish I've ever seen up that canyon. She recovered quickly, but I still have nightmares about the one that got away.

2008-08-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have been on vacation at my mom & dad's house since last Thursday. It has been so fun. Madison & Ashlyn have had fun playing with their cousins Gracie, Allison, & Olivia. Except the 2 little ones don't get along very much. They constantly tell eachother no and hit whenever they are near eachother. Hopefully they grow out of it. We spent the time playing outside in my Mom's backyard, swimming, and going to the park.

Wanted!

2008-07-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

This girl is armed and dangerous. She is wanted for Powdered Sugar Assault. If you see her in a kitchen near you RUN! or at least put all powdery substances on a high shelf! Below are pictures of the crime scene. WARNING! Some images might be disturbing.

I did it

2008-07-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well my sister and friends have been bugging me to make a blog for a while now so I finally did it. I still haven't figured everything out but that's okay I will eventually. Until then it might be pretty boring.