Party of Five

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone is having a Goofy Christmas this year! Needless to say it has been a while, but I will do a quick update, can't guarantee it will include everything that has happened since my last post, which was over a year ago, sheesh, where does the time go? Well the cute little infant that was in my last post has grown tremendously and if I ever loose track of where he is at during the day, I usually find him looking something like this:

All though he is a handful at times, he seems to always make us smile. If you haven't guessed by now, we had an exciting trip to Disneyland recently. It was a pre-Christmas vacation, due to us having to stay close to the home front for Blake to work during the holidays. We had so much fun.

Surprisingly, Maya enjoyed all of the 'big kid' rides and was disappointed when she was denied access to rides with taller height admittance like Indiana Jones and California Screemin' Desire'e loved seeing all of the Princess's and Characters while Zeke seemed to enjoy the Whinnie the Pooh ride so much we ended up going on it 3 times in a row, good thing Grandma Dickson was there to take hime on 2 of the 3.

The Castle was so pretty at night with all of the Christmas lights covering it. And there were even some nights that it snowed on Main Street U.S.A.

All though the Disneyland castle was pretty, this castle was my favorite one to visit.

Hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas, with love~
the Holman Party of Five

Ezekiel Bry Holman

2010-10-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

Introducing the newest addition to the Royal family.....Ezekiel Bry Holman. Needless to say the title of our blog will be changing shortly. He was born Monday morning, 10-4-10, at 9:30am. He weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 inches long. So far things are going well for both Mom and baby. The big sisters are excited to have the little one in the house and Dad is happy to have his boy. Mom is overwhelmed with joy, and is really excited to sleep on her stomach once again :).

As for the labor and delivery story.....Sunday morning I was feeling a little 'crampy' and sort of confused as to what to think of it. We had been watching Conference and during it I kept getting up to go to the bathroom, even though I didn't really have to go. Internally I thought maybe I should go to the hospital, but at the same time I really wanted to hear the Prophet speak first. I decided to just wait it out, and called my mom for advice. She told me I was in labor and that I needed to get things ready to go, no rush, but that this was all the signs of true labor. So, while Blake enjoyed a pot-luck lunch at the church I cleaned up a bit, and arranged for the girls to stay with Isabel and packed our bags for the hospital. The crampy feelings weren't going away, but were getting worse and worse. We made it to the hospital around 4:30pm and I was dilated to a 3, and having steady contractions every 5-7 minutes. We waited an hour to see if I would dilate more and sure enough I did to a 4, then the doctor wanted me to wait an hour longer before completely admitting me. By the time I made it to the delivery room I was a 5 and 70%. Shortly after getting there I received my epidural and continued to dilate to a 6 and 80%. This is where I stayed ALL night long! The epidural basically stopped my labor, I was afraid that would happen. Luckily I didn't feel any pain through the night, but didn't get much sleep either. Around 6am the doctor came and broke my water and gave me some pit to get things going again. Finally, by 9:20am I was a 10 and ready to push. The doctor told the nurses to let me push a while and then give him a call for delivery. I pushed half way through one contraction and the nurse told me to stop, and wait for the doctor. It was so hard not to push while I waited for him to come, and when he showed up I did two pushes and he was out...it went pretty fast, I think I shocked my doctor. All in all things went well, just seemed like I was in labor forever. Now we are home and adjusting to being a family of 5.

While at the hospital the girls came to visit and they thought it would be a good idea to do my hair. The night before, Desire'e asked my mom why I wasn't dressed. She told my mom that it was silly and that I needed to get dressed. I guess she thought that by doing my hair that would help me get ready for the day :).

Maya turned 5....

2010-09-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

...on Monday, August 30th. We did the family tradition with her as well, having presents with just us at home, but last Friday she had a friend Tea-Party. I think I had just as much fun getting ready and hosting the party as she did during the party. Goodwill was definitely good to us and supplied us with all the party accessories, including the tea-cups and tea-pot (I think this was a sweet simple blessing from above that made me smile). The boys got to choose a tie to wear when they first arrived, while the girls chose a scarf and a necklace. Next, they decorated their party visors with stickers and markers. Then we played musical tea-cups, a rendition of musical-chairs. Then it was time for the tea party. The specialty tea that was served was sparkling apple juice (apple juice mixed with 7-up). I think the kids all thought it was some exotic drink, they all loved it :). Bagel bites, grapes, carrots, marshmallows, cucumbers, and animal crackers were served with the tea, and Maya blew out her candles on 5 mini-cupcakes at the end of the tea-party. After, this was over we played toss the tea-bag into the tea-pot, a rendition of a bean-bag toss game, and then she opened presents. All in all it turned out pretty well. Below is a video Blake took, please excuse the purple whale waddling around, if I could help it I would not be in any pictures, but that's all right.

She knew about these boots before hand, but she was happy to get them on her birthday.

At school she got pretty spoiled as well. She wore a crown and sat in the birthday seat in front of the class. When we picked her up we had the car decorated, what can I say....she's a princess :).

Blake turned 33...

2010-09-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

..just this last Sunday, August 29th. We decided to celebrate the day before by having a B.B.Q at the park with some friends. It was a fun gathering, I think Blake enjoyed it. Being with friends and eating meat is always a gift to him :).

Desire'e turned 3...

2010-09-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

... a couple months ago, but I am just now getting caught up with all of the birthdays we have had in the last few months. Desire'e's was first, June 12th, to be exact. We did the normal tradition of having our family presents and cake at home with her, and then Grandma Dickson's gift was treating her to a friend party at a place called Monkey Joe's. If you live in the Middle TN vicinity and you have little one's you are probably very familiar with this fun place for kids. It is an indoor play-place for kids aged 2-12 that is filled with many different jump houses . They all love it, and Desire'e was in heaven for her entire party. Also, her favorite gift was the vaccum. Right after she opened it she repeatedly told us that, 'this vaccum was kind of hers,' I think that was her way of saying this vaccum wasn't for us adults to use, it was hers.

Mother's Group Annual Fire Station Visit

2010-08-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Desire'e has had a difficult time saying goodbye to Maya every morning to come home with just Mommy, so this play group field trip was such a treat for her. She was so happy to be with all of her friends from church at the fire station. That night at the dinner table Maya shared her day with all of us and Desire'e was excited to share her day with Maya as well. I think it is only a matter of time before she gets used to being with just me during the day. Only for a little while though, cause pretty soon little Ezekiel will be here.

Pictured from left to right: Jeffery Bell, Lilia Rose, Aiden Davis, Desire'e Holman, Mia Newman, Dallin Wayement, and Benson Traylor. Other little ones not in the picture that were present: Zachery Newman and Lucas Traylor.

Maya's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, can I just say I am tired? I have been so busy getting Maya ready for school, mentally, physically and emotionally that I have forgotten that I needed to get myself ready for this big change as well. No more calm lazy mornings for me, its up and go go go every day. I think I may be used to it in a few weeks, but as for right now I am exhausted. It is a good tired feeling though, just need to get used to it.

Maya has had a good first week. Mornings are sometimes difficult for her to get up and out of the door...who knows where she get's that from ;), but everyday she has come home with fun things to tell me about her day.

It was so humid the morning of her first day that I couldn't keep the lens clear to get a good picture.

Desire'e had to lay her clothes out the night before just like Maya, and she needed to wear a backpack to school to drop her off. As you can see, her hair wasn't on my list of priorities that morning :).

One day she decided that she really wanted to try and ride the bus home. I was so nervous about letting her do this, but I didn't want to discourage her from being brave. Blake, Desire'e and I anxiously waited for her at the stop in front of our complex with the camera ready... when she showed up she did not have a smile on her face. She jumped into her daddy's arms squeezing him and started to cry. My heart melted :(. I felt so bad. The bus driver was very kind and said that Maya kept telling her she was going the wrong way, so she called her teacher to make sure she had the right address and sure enough she did. I asked Maya later that evening why she was afraid and she explained that the bus passed by the apartment and didn't stop. She didn't understand that the buss needed to stop for the other kids and that it would stop at her house on the way back. Poor Maya, she was just confused...I think I would have been afraid too. Needless to say, she won't be riding the bus again for quite a while. Her teacher assured her the next day that she was very brave to even want to try, and that maybe someday she can try again when she is ready. I still feel guilty about it, maybe I should have known better and not aloud her to go, I don't know, all apart of learning I guess.

Two Stories of Sisterly Love

2010-07-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

#1 The other night I went to check on the girls one last time before hopping into bed and this is what I found...

I asked Maya in the morning how her sleep was and she said, "it was good because I slept in Desire'e's bed." I asked her why she didn't sleep in her own bed and she responded by saying, "Desire'e's bed is more comfortable." I guess being smashed up next to her sister gives her comfort :).

#2 As you may all ready know, Maya starts kindergarten this year, and so that means she was due for a kindergarten check-up with her Pediatrician. I sort of told her about what they were going to do in the check-up before we went, other than the undesired shots that happened at the end. I waited till we were in the office to reveal that to her, needless to say she wasn't to thrilled about it. Desire'e went with us to the appointment. While Maya was getting her shots I held her hands and Desire'e patted her on the head. Maya was crying, and I was trying to comfort her while Desire'e offered some soothing words. She said, "Did that hurt you Maya?" with a very concerned tone, and then "aww, I'm sorry Maya," and then gave her a big hug.

There are some other little interactions between the two of them that prove to me they really do love each other, even though they may have a few or many brawls through out the day. I love them both so much, and hope they keep that sisterly love alive through the many days they have together ahead of them.

The Road Show by Braden Bell

2010-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Need something to read this summer? Why not try this?

MAD GAB Challenge

2010-05-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

I was dealt a card that read this today:

EAT SAB OH EEH

Can you help me figure it out?

Maya's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Maya had a little preschool graduation ceremony. I have to share my pride and say she was pretty darn cute. To kind of make it special we did her hair different than we had ever done before, we put sponge curlers in the night before and as you can see it turned out nice and curly. I know she has many more larger accomplishments that lie ahead of her, but this small one was fun to witness. We love her so much and can't believe she will be starting Kindergarten next year.

Desire'e and Maya

Maya and Kelsie

Macy, Maya, Morghan, and Desire'e

Maya and Ms. Nancy

Maya and Ms. Lee

An Ode to the Youth of the Goodlettsville Ward

2010-05-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday our Bishop asked if we could postpone our current plans for the weeks activities to a later date and have the youth help with cleaning up a member's home that had been completely covered in water. We happily agreed to do this. So last night we all met at the church and went on our merry way to do some service. As we arrived at the house I couldn't help but notice all the other homes around that had been effected badly as well. The side of the streets were covered with demolished couches, beds, entertainment centers, chairs, mirrors, etc. Everything was caked with mud and as we stepped out of the car this horrible smell came over us. It felt like we were walking in a community dump yard. Anyone that was helping was required to wear a pair of gloves, long pants, and a mask. It was hot and humid, so you can imagine having to wear all of these things just added to the uncomfortableness that was all ready present. However, I never heard one of our youth complain, NEVER. And all of them put their full effort in the tasks we had been asked to do. If anyone was complaining, it was me. I was so impressed at how diligent they all were with helping. It really made me respect them so much more than I all ready did.
I remember when we had just moved into this Ward, the past Bishop stated that we had the best youth group possibly in the entire church, and I thought, 'well yeah he better say that,' but now I can see what he meant and I have to say that I completely 100% agree. I love them all so much and I hope and pray that they remain strong and steadfast as they embrace the trials that will come along their way.

****on a side note: seeing this home, that seemed as though it were a part of a dump yard, was a harsh realization at how much some had been effected by the flood. I really had to do my best to hold back tears as we were throwing things away like a stuffed animal caked in mud, or a family picture, just little things like this were really hard for me to witness.

As I was on my way to the grocery store....

2010-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

.... I ran into this! If you have watched the news lately you might all ready be aware that Nashville has had some serious rain this last weekend. In most areas it averaged around 14 inches, but in some we got up to 18 inches, INSANE! We live on the bottom floor, but lucky for us we are on top of a hill. Right behind us, though, is a creek that could now be considered a lake. There has been a few deaths, and a lot of damage, complete chaos! A few of the main Interstates were closed off closer to down-town. For a while there it felt like the rain would never stop, it just kept getting worse and worse, but luckily today, the sun is shining. And, hopefully for those that were extremely affected by this disaster, there is a sense of peace over them. I feel sorry for those that have lost their loved ones, and willing to help those that their houses aren't quite normal right now.

This is the creek behind our complex.

The lights are normally for a soccer field, that is now drowning in water. Where are the goal posts? oh that's right, they are covered in that mucky water.

Old news for some and new news for others...

2010-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

....I've got a bump in my belly and it is slowly getting bigger, actually quickly getting bigger. BABY #3 is on its way. Hoping for a boy, but happy either way. We'll share the gender news as soon as we hear it ourselves. Approximate due date is Oct. 17th, so we are in for one HOT summer!

For Time and All Eternity: Steven and Katelynn April 10th, 2010

2010-04-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

The happy new couple, Steven and Katelynn Dickson.

I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the architecture is on the Portland, OR temple. Me and Blake both agree that pictures do not do it any justice, seeing it in person is a whole new experience.

Maya was so excited to see Katelynn come out of the temple in her pretty white dress with Steven. I think she stood by their side as often as she was aloud to the rest of the day. It was a beautiful day. I am so happy for the two of them, and wish them nothing but the best.

2010-04-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a stormy day here in TN and last night the power was out for three hours, the girls hadn't eaten dinner so we had to improvise, it was a good adventure! Due to the thunder and lighting we had throughout the night, all four of us slept in our bed, in the morning Blake asked how my sleep was, I said, "I slept like a sardine, nice and cozy."

She thinks she can fly...

2010-04-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

giving the credits to Blake for his photo skills. Doesn't she really look like she's taking off on flight though? I just thought it was funny so I had to share.

Easter

2010-04-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

Maya woke up early Easter morning surprised to see the Easter Bunny had come and hid their baskets. She began searching frantically and found her basket in less than a minute, not enough time for me to get an action picture, but she kindly possed in place when I grabbed the camera. The clue the Easter Bunny told Mom was, "I looked out the window and what did I see, popcorn popping on the apricot tree." But Maya was quick enough that she didn't need the clue.
Desire'e on the other hand needed her clue which was, " You better find your basket before the doggy does." It was hidden under her stuffed dog on the couch. Both the girls had no problem dipping right into the candy and throwing their new groovy sunglasses on.
Later on in the day, Blake barbecued while me and the girls got our hands messy in dying eggs. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday enjoyed with just our small family.

Later that night I called my Mom and family to wish them a Happy Easter. I had called in the middle of their special Easter discussion at the dinner table, so my Mom decided to put me on speaker phone and be apart of the discussion. They were going around the table and saying what they were most grateful for relating to our Savior. It kind of got me thinking, and other than that he made it possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father through His atonement, I am most grateful that He is the greatest example in all things pertaining to our individual characteristics and actions we make. If we are ever questioning a certain action we can always ask ourselves, "What would He do?" I know that I am not perfect, but I know that through Him and by following His example I can become perfect.

Short Story

2010-03-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

At....

Princess #2 and Princess #3 were......

and Princess #1 was wearing......

The end.

Minus 1 tooth, but still a Princess!

2010-02-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, I will share the incident that happened a little over a week ago with Maya. It was a lazy Wednesday morning and the downtown library story hour was just calling our names, so we decided to gather our things and head out the door. Maya wanted to bring a friend along with her so we swung by to pick her up and off we went. As we arrived I thought to myself, "wow I don't think I have ever made it to story time with 5 minutes to spare, the girls will get to enjoy the beginning to the end." We all hopped out of the car and did the routine: held hands through the parking garage, made our way through the large dark oak doors, made it through the metal detector with no problem..good thing I left my gun in the car ;) and started walking up the large marble staircase to get to the second level which is where story time is held. I might add that this marble staircase is very beautiful, but can be a work out for the little ones, all of this is routine though so just sticking to it. Well, Maya, decided to switch things up a bit by skipping up the stairs. She made it up the first 10 steps pretty well, but then it was all down hill with the next two or three. As she face planted the steps I thought, "this is going to be bloody." Sure enough, I ran up to her and her mouth was pooling with blood. I held her close to me to keep the blood from getting on the floor and guided the other girls with me to the bathroom. On the way I looked down at one of the steps and there was a completely in tact central primary incisor.... the impact of the fall caused her tooth to completely come out, "ouch!"
Just a little education on teeth. Kids usually start to loose their teeth around 6 or 7. Some loose them earlier or even later, but the average age is 6. Maya is currently 4 and a half, this means if she is lucky she may get a new front tooth in about a year and a half.
Because Maya is not quite to the age of 'loosing' her teeth, I had never discussed this natural growth process with her, so in her mind she thought she would never have a front tooth ever again. She kept asking me to put it back in her mouth, it was so traumatic for her. Good thing we had her friend Kelsey with us, who has learned from her older sister about the tooth fairy. She was excited to tell Maya all about the tooth fairy, and this kind of calmed things down.
After the bleeding had stopped, we left the library...so much for being 5 minutes early :)! On the way home I made an appointment with the dentist to get things checked out. I knew, he couldn't 'fix' anything, I was just concerned about the other teeth still in tact. Maya wanted moral support while going to see the Dentist, which this was a first as well, so Kelsie came with us. The Dentist was awesome, he was a pediatric dentist so he knew all the tricks to make Maya feel comfortable. He said the other teeth looked good so far (good news).
It took a couple of days for Maya to eat solid food with out some tears due to the awkward feeling from being minus one tooth, but she has got the hang of it now. After all, she may be minus one tooth for a while, but still a Princess.

Hi

2010-02-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

Just doing my quarterly update :)!! Here's some highlights of the last few months: 1. Christmas was lovely. 2. It has been a 'snowy' winter here in TN...which allowed us to get some sledding in, so that was fun. 3. I started working at the YMCA two days a week for 3 hrs a day, motivation is the membership that comes with it :) 4. Maya knocked her tooth out last week ..pictures and details to come. 5. Blake is enjoying working for free and has a 25 page paper due at the end of this month..yay!

Superman Stranger

2009-12-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I had sort of a crazy thing happen to me while I was out and about with the rest of the Christmas shopping maniacs. I decided to stop at the mall to try and find something for Blake, which was unsuccessful, by the way. So, as you know trying to find parking on the Saturday before Christmas at the mall can be pretty stressful and you might consider yourself lucky if you find something that is within a mile from the doors. I guess luck was on my side because the first parking aisle I went down had someone pulling out, so I put my blinker on and patiently waited for the previous parker to maneuver his way out of the lucky spot, that was to be mine! Well, just as he pulled out some punk kid comes whizzing around the corner and steals my spot. I was sort of upset, sort of :), so naturally I gave him a friendly hand gesture and was just going to go on my merry way, BUT someone came to my rescue. There was a car that was right behind the punk who witnessed the entire scene and signaled me to back up and wait. He then proceeded to walk up to that white mustang and, I guess, gave this lovely teenager a piece of his mind. By some miracle the kid moved his vehicle out of the stolen lucky spot allowing me to reclaim it. I was SHOCKED that a stranger would go to the extreme on my behalf. I seriously do not think I have witnessed something like this before. I was so grateful. I wish I could thank the Superman Stranger personally but there was no way to find him amongst all the maniacs at the mall. Anyways, just wanted to share this story of Christmas cheer, well at least it made my day!

Clothes all ready?

2009-12-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

The other day while we were browsing around at Sam's Club Desire'e ran off determined to show us something. You would think it was going to be some really cool toy but no, it was a "cute" outfit as she called it. She ran up to a clothing rack with her size of out-fits and pointed out the one that she liked. Both me and Blake looked at each other and rolled our eyes thinking, "she is only 2, and she all ready like's new cute out fits." We agreed with her that it was cute but we assured her that we were just looking, not putting it in the cart :)!

The Treasure Within

2009-12-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

This last week I had my first YW in Excellence. Ultimately I think I accomplished all that I wanted to, and I learned a lot in what to do next time. I have a picture of all of the group that was there but I refrained from posting it to respect the other girls privacy, I need to get permission from their parents first. The theme was the 'Treasure Within' so an awesome Sis. in the ward let me borrow her chocolate mold for treasure boxes (kind of a simple sweet blessing). This is what the picture is of. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you might be able to have a clearer view of them. Me and my presidency did a presentation where we read a script from different sister's in the scriptures that gave us examples of each value or treasure. Ex. "Mary's treasure was Virtue/Gold because all her life she strived to remain clean and pure and worthy of whatever the Lord wanted for her." As we read them we placed a gumball the color of the value into the box-- the moral is to 'fill your treasure box with treasures of value'.
After the short program we had refreshments which was a chocolate fountain, chips and salsa, and some punch. My Presidency was awesome in helping get everything together and helping it run smoothly. The girls did great as well with presenting each of their displays on the table and singing, "I am a Child of God." I am looking forward to getting to know all of them more as we work and play together.
I guess I should mention a couple weeks ago I had a change in callings, I am now the YW President. So far it has been busy, but fun.

We like these guys....

2009-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

do you? Upon moving to Nashville we were introduced to the band Due West. After listening to some of their songs online and stalking their my-space pages and blogs I really grew to LOVE them. They just blend so well together and are all individually musically talented. If you have ever been to one of their 'gigs' you know what I mean when I say you leave with a smile on your face. As of right now they have a single, "I Get That All The Time," available on I-tunes, and they are yet to release a CD with 15 or so tracks on it, which I am sure will all be GREAT. The music video for, "IGTATT" currently airs on GAC and CMT pure. If you would like to stalk them as well I am sure they wouldn't mind :), check them out @ www.duewest.com

Christmas? I am still finishing up Halloween...

2009-11-29T15:08:00.000-08:00

...so this past Halloween Maya was a Witch, Desire'e was a Bumble Bee, Blake was a Cowboy, and I was some kind of Japanese Martial Arts person :)! I was not a very good photographer for Halloween this year for some reason because I didn't get any pictures of us carving pumpkins or a group shot right before we headed out to go trick-or-treating. It was still a GREAT Halloween. Best part of it was my Mom had flown in just a few days before and surprised me for my Birthday, which is a day before Halloween. Anyways, just thought I'd share before going onto the Christmas pics for this season!

Heritage Makers

2009-11-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

News for me!
So, I recently have taken on the challenge of being a Personal Publishing Consultant for a company called Heritage Makers. They specialize in digital story booking, sometimes called digital scrap booking. I was introduced to the company through a friend and I fell in LOVE with what they had to offer. I believe in it so much that I decided to be someone that will go around and rant rave about how awesome they are in all that they have to offer. The biggest sales pitch to me was the fact that I could do ALL of my story booking on-line, I do not have to take the time to set up a spot in my tiny house to work on a project for a few minutes, constantly being stopped by my two year old getting into scissors or glues or etc. And then having to put it away in my closet only to come back to in a few months or years in my case! My workspace is now my pc, and I just click 'save' when I leave it- no mess to clean up! The books that they produce are library bound- this means that they meet the requirements to be placed into a public library- very durable and just simply lovely!
It has been fun playing business women, by doing workshops in friends homes and passing out my cards, sending e-mails, posting fliers, etc. I love sharing this new found 'treasure' of mine. I even have a decal on the back window of my Van. Blake kind of laughed at me when I put it up, but I am taking this seriously, I just want to give it a try and see what happens. Saying all this, let me know if you would like to learn more or would even like to Host a Workshop in your home with your friends and family. I can also do an on-line workshop if you live far from me. (I love the internet it allows us to do things like this). If anything it can be an excuse to get together and have fun! Check my website out http://www.storybookmemories4you.com or send me an e-mail or just simply call.
HAPPY STORY BOOKING!!

Road trippin' in Fl

2009-11-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

After we visited our friends in Panama City we traveled onto Crystal Beach, Fl to visit some of my relatives. When we were traveling I had high hopes that I would be over my sickness by the time we got there, but no such luck. I felt bad that I just stayed in bed almost the whole time we were there, but luckily the Fuller's were understanding. It was nice to visit and kind of hang low, however I wouldn't mind making another trip when I am healthy. Being sick while on vacation is not fun at all! None the less, being able to just see the beautiful state of FL was a treat and visiting with family is always great!

After driving in the car for so many hours we had to be creative in figuring out ways to get the girls wiggles out, maybe get some of ours out as well. This particular picture is of Blake having 'races' with Maya in the Burger King parking lot.

What's that?

2009-11-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

So I just have to share this sort of embarrassing story of mine because it is somewhat remarkable and you would think it would never happen. A couple of weeks ago I was going about my once every 3 day routine of doing my hair and getting ready for the day. My hair was blown dry and while the straightener was heating up I was throwing some make-up on and tending to the kids. After the straightener was nice and hot I began the process. This particular time I didn't take quite as much caution though. I just ran it through my hair a couple times and then was done.
A couple of hours later I was running my fingers through my hair, like I sometimes do, and noticed the weirdest sensation amongst my fine somewhat soft hair. "What's that?" is what came out of my mouth. It felt like a piece of rubber or plastic or something. It was so strange. So, then I went back into the bathroom to try and solve this mystery. I looked in the mirror and sure enough it was this sort of black plastic rubbery thing, but where did it come from and how in the heck did it get there? I was determined to solve this mystery so I searched around and found a clue, Blake's watch was somewhat deformed at the tip of one of the rubber wrist bands and it had been laying pretty close to where my straightener was earlier that day. Case solved. Basically the tip of the watch band had been melted onto my hair. I called my lovely hair stylist, aka Jennifer, to see what I could do, she said this was certainly something she doesn't deal with on a regular occasion :), luckily I was able to just pick it out with Blake's help. As for Blake's watch, it has seen better days, however it is still wearable.

"Mom, can we go to the beach?"

2009-11-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a little road trip down to Panama City, Fl to visit some friends of ours and go to the Beach! Maya loves the beach and couldn't wait to get there. She and Desire'e had a fun time getting to know their knew friends Daxson and Jaden, and me and Blake were happy to reconnect with old friends Tyler and Myklind. Other than me getting sick while we were down there we had a great trip, and wish we would've made it a long time ago. Thanks for the memories Coburn family!

Cute Kids and their Craftiness.

2009-10-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we ventured out to the Tennessee Arts and Crafts Association State Fair. They had a 'kids' tent where the girls were able to do some crafts of their own. They made wands and book covers.

Of coarse we try and occasionally get some 'craft time' in at home as well. These two particular projects (Desi painted a piggy bank, and Maya decorated a picture frame) took most of an afternoon up. I was amazed at how intrigued they were for such a long time, (knock on wood) hope we can be this successful next time.

Neighborhood Friends

2009-10-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last year when we were fairly new to the 'neighborhood' it seemed as though my girls were the only little kids in the entire complex. I would never see any other kids out running around, getting their wiggles out like we often did. Unfortunately we do not have a play ground in the complex so we had to be creative with our outside play time. Sometimes we would go down to the sand volley ball court and use it as a GINORMOUS sand box. This was SO much fun, but still sometimes lonely. Occasionally there would be a dog come and trample the girls and that was always exciting, but not quite like playing tag with an actual human being.
Anyways, to get to my point, this last few months I started to notice more kids in the parking lot, riding their bikes or playing tag. Any time Maya caught a glimpse of them she would BEG me to stay out and play just a little while. Notice I said Parking Lot, not Backyard or Front-yard, therefore if she was going to stay and play, Mommy had to be there watching for the BIG cars that didn't see LITTLE people. Just recently these kids discovered this 'secret hide-out' behind a complex where there were no cars or any other distractions. They were free to run around and do the silly things kids do. Lucky for me, this 'secret place' is right outside my window! So, I can still be within sight and not worry about the BIG cars while staying inside and going about my household business.
The other day when I went out to check on them, this is what I found. The 'friend' had brought over her CD player and they were having a 'dance' party to some kidz bop songs. It was so cute. Another common thing I will find is mashed up berries from the bushes, they call it 'soup' made with sticks and rocks. I still need to get a picture of that one.

All in a day.......

2009-09-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

.... back in July when Grandma and Grandpa Holman were visiting we trekked up to KY to catch two attractions. 1- Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and childhood homestead (very educational and neat experience... to think we were standing where he once stood many many years ago..cool) And 2- Tour the National Corvette Museum (once again very educational and even more assuring that we may never own such an expensive ride, nice to dream though!)

Hello blogging world...

2009-09-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

.... we are still here and alive. This is just a quick post letting you all know that I haven't given up on this, but this summer has been a busy one. In the next few days I will try and catch up on all the fun we had. Until then here is some smiles that represent the fun we had this summer....

Happy 2nd Birthday Desire'e!

2009-06-15T20:12:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was Desire'e's 2nd birthday. It is amazing how quickly time flies. She has grown quite a lot in this past year. It seams as though in just the past little while words are starting to flow out of her mouth. I do not know if I am just not remembering this happening with Maya, but sometimes Desire'e surprises me with the things she will say. One thing that she says that it is kind of funny is "stop it," most kids will use "no" but she says, "stop it." All though she wears me out some days, she always tends to make us smile with her little monkey acts like climbing on the dresser/ kitchen counter/ bathroom counter/ or anything for that matter. At the playground nothing will stop her from climbing to the top of things. The caterpillar ladders are her favorite. All though she thinks she is a giant she is actually still kind of small for her age. She is hanging in there at the 5% for weight/height. I am pretty sure she has her father's genes for size. We love her more and more as each day goes by and are so grateful she came into our lives 2 years ago on June 12th 2007! Happy Birthday Desire'e!

Strawberry Picking.

2009-06-02T12:55:00.001-07:00

Last week we ventured North to Portland, TN and enjoyed an hour or so of picking strawberries. We had our new friend, Kel, and Brianna and her friend Maddy with us. It was a lot of fun. Like Brianna said, "it felt like a mini road trip because we ate our lunch in the car along the way and played car games, like what is your favorite song? and who is your favorite band?" It was fun. I have come to the conclusion that kids make life a lot more entertaining. Although I am being payed to hang out with Kel this summer, it doesn't feel like a job to me. He has been fun to have around.

Monkey Song

2009-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Maya and the rest of her school mates sang this cute song for the end of the year celebration. Dad couldn't be there so I caught it on video, I thought I might share with all of you as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A Tribute To My Mom....

2009-05-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

..... for Mother's Day!

In thinking of what to write I came across the idea of looking of the definition of Mom in the free Wikipedia dictionary online. Much to my surprise I got this:

Mother: is a biological and/or social female parent of an offspring. Because of the complexity and differences of the social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother in a universally accepted definition.

So, I guess this means that I get to define what a Mother is according to my own "social, cultural, and religious backrounds." So here it is:
A Mother is someone who nurtures you unconditionally. Has an internal, and sometimes 'eternal' bond with you that is very powerful. She can sense when something isn't up to par in your life, even if you do not say a word. She sacrifices or will sacrifice many things on your behalf. She would never tell you that you failed but rather, 'you did the best that you could do.' She thinks you are perfect even when you know you are not. She disregards how many times you were disrespectful or ungrateful and just keeps on loving you.

Just some facts about my Mom are that she was born and raised in California. She grew up in a family of 5, three boys and two girls. She was the baby of the bunch by five years. My mom was always a good person growing up. I have read her yearbooks and seen that many people commented on how nice of a person she was to all. She still is kind to everyone and always tries to make sure everyone has a friend. Her father called her, Debbie Dolly. She was on the swim team in high school, and I think did very well at it. She loves nature. Her decorations are often associated with 'naturalness'. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She doesn't wear a lot of jewelry just mostly little sentimental accessories like the ear rings her mother gave her, or the necklace us kids gave her, and of coarse the ring my Dad gave her. She is willing to try new things in life. In just the past few years she has learned to ride a motor bike on my dad's behalf, and I think she is pretty good at it. she enjoys skiing. If she could have her dream car it would be a Mercedes Benz- convertible. Her favorite cake is German Chocolate with Caramel Pecan frosting. She likes being a Grandma.

My Mother is a perfect example of what my definition of a mother is. As I have become a mother myself I understand my Mother more now than I did before. I am so grateful for her shining example to me.

Thanks Mom for all that you do and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! I LOVE YOU!

Who said biker chicks.....

2009-04-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

..... can't wear rainbow sandals and pink camo hats? SURPRISE Maya came home to a new (to her) bike thanks to Dad! She has been one happy camper. She is more than happy to wake up and throw some shoes on to go roll around on her new ride! Thanks Dad, "you are my best daddy" direct quote!

Desire'e likes to pretend she can reach the pedals, just a few more years!

Easter without Daddy :(

2009-04-28T19:12:00.001-07:00

Easter came while we were away from Blake, but luckily the Easter bunny knew where we were! Desire'e had no problem finding her basket all on her own while Maya just needed one hint. I think Desire'e could smell the chocolate in her basket, because that was the first thing she went for. Other than us missing Blake, it was a great Easter Sunday.

The Saturday before the girls were able to do an egg hunt at my Grandma Noakes's in Sacramento. It was fun to watch them run around my Grandma's yard searching for eggs, and yet hard to believe how quick life flies by. It seemed as though it were just a short while ago that it was me and my cousin Nicole running around searching for eggs in that same yard! Good memories!

If you could imagine 15 or so more kids with their baskets full of eggs sitting on these same steps, that would be me and all my cousins. It was a Noakes tradition to take a picture here every Easter.

I know this one is blurry, but I just like how Desire'e is showing off her cheer leading skills.

Pa-pa's idea for entertainment= Mommy's idea for messiness!

2009-04-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

McDonald's ice cream cones while driving was not my idea, however Grandpa was more then delighted to please these two girls with such yumminess! I am not so quick at eating ice cream but I had to hurry and take bites of both of the girls cones before they spilled all over themselves and the car! The result was a little brain freeze and two smiley girls.

Desire'e has no problem taking a bite out of such yumminess!

Maya isn't so sure about getting her face messy!

Old Sac- Town

2009-04-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

One of the many adventures me and the girls went on in California was visiting Old Sacramento. I guess it wasn't all of us, just me and Maya and the Uncles and Dad, a.k.a. Pa-pa, and Uncle Larry. It was fun to walk around the authentic shops and reminisce my 5th grade field trip up there.

So, a while back...

2009-04-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

... I was addicted to American Idol. I would watch it religiously week to week. I can not remember what particular season it was when the American Idol fans were introduced to a young man from East Tennessee named Josiah Lemming, but he was one not to be forgotten despite the fact that he didn't make it to the top 24 or whatever number it was that they took for the actually American people to vote on. Anyways, I really was amazed at what talent he had and his, sort of, originality. Anyways, so now he has a record label and I think is well on his way towards singer/song writer heaven (I guess you could call it) and he didn't need Simon Cowell to get him there. Well I finally figured out how to get his song/video for 'One Last Song' on here, so I just posted it to your right below 'The King'. I hope you enjoy.

This Sunday....

2009-03-08T20:46:00.001-07:00

.... was a crazy one with Princess #2 and Princess #3! Lets start off with the events that went on before they were off to church. Princess #3, a.k.a. Desire'e, had decided that she wanted to paint her nails, so she grabbed Princess #1, a.k.a. mommy, 's bright pink nail polish and opened it up in the middle of the beautifully white carpeted family room, just to spill all of it, making a lovely bright pink circle for them to enjoy looking at as they sit and watch t.v.! This was just the beginning. Before Princess #1 was off to choir practice a half an hour before church started, she made sure all of the princesses were looking good and ready so that the King didn't have to worry about anything, except getting them there. Well don't you worry, Princess #3 wanted the King to work a little harder so she decided to dump all of her mac-n-cheese onto her lovely outfit, even though there was a bib there to prevent her from doing so, so the King had to dress this Princess after all.

Well, so there they were, the three Princess's and the King, sitting enjoying a lovely reverent sacrament meeting when suddenly Princess #2 starts pulling some noisy toys from the church bag she apparently packed herself. Princess #1 and the King frivolously tried to quiet the dinging Mozart songs when suddenly out came a WHOOPIE CUSHION from the church bag!!! If you were sitting anywhere in the chapel you may have heard the peculiar sounds that came from this WHOOPIE COUSHION! Princess #1 was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the pew and die!

After church Princess #3 was back at it with emptying things out onto the family room floor. First it was the apple scented oil for reed sticks. Then it was the remains of life cereal that were in the box. Also while having desert she flicked ice cream onto the wall. There were a few more crazy things that went on, but now it is all just a blur.

The irony of it all is that while at church, Princess #1, was reminded that some day she is going to miss the messes and embarrassing moments these princesses will bring to her and the King. So all in all the three Princesses and the King will just laugh through such crazy days and enjoy it!

Father involvement Part 2

2009-03-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

I am happy to say my husband is involved in our girls lives as well!

SNOW? TENNESSEE? WHAT?

2009-03-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we ventured out to Jackson,TN, which is about two hours from where we are currently living. It was a fun little get-a-way, but the the best part about it was the SNOW-STORM that we ran into. It was raining the entire way until just right before we rolled into town, snow flakes started coming down, and they didn't stop falling until later that night so it was all white and pretty. The main reason for our venturing out there was to go and see a Diamond Rio concert, and then meet and greet the band afterward. It was a lot of fun, but I will have to say I felt a little awkward at the meet and greet because we were the only ones there, minus the band members, that were in our casual attire. We got some looks like,"how did they sneak in here?" Luckily we know Dan so we weren't completely shunned away :). We asked what the possibility was that we could get them all in one photo and they answered slim to none, so Blake just shot a few photos with me and each member, I wanted him to get in the picture but he wouldn't. It was a great weekend!

We are going to miss......

2009-02-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

Uncle Dan, Aunt Brooke, and baby Addyson! We had a great past week with them. Thanks again for coming to see us in Tennessee! We love you guys!

TROUBLE comes in sets of two.....

2009-02-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

Notice how Desire'e is smiling like nothing is wrong and Maya doesn't really know what to do, that is because I didn't smile the entire time I was taking a picture. Desire'e just sees a camera and smiles, she doesn't care about anything else that is going on around her, I think Maya knew I wasn't happy though, so I think she was confused, she couldn't figure out why 'mommy was taking a picture when she wasn't happy.' It was so hard not to laugh at them, but I wanted them to know that I really wasn't happy that they almost used ALL of my brand new Mary Kay mascara to paint their faces and lips!!! I just had to take a picture to post it on here, but I did it with a scowl. I had to run to the bathroom to laugh though :)

An afternoon at the park.... with the Parthenon!

2009-02-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

For the last week, or more, we HAD been having nice weather so we decided to spend as much time out side as possible. Last Friday we ventured on to Centennial Park close to the heart of Nashville. At this park they have a life size replica of the Parthenon. Blake can't seem to reconcile the purpose of such a monument, while I thought it was pretty cool to see since I don't think we will make it to Greece any time soon and see the remains of the actual Parthenon. As for the rest of the park it is comparable to any other large city park. It sits amidst large buildings and hospitals and Universities, with people coming and going all day long. Apparently it is one of the 'must sees' when visiting Nashville so I am glad we took the afternoon to spend time there.

One day.

2009-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

For lack of any better idea I will tell you what we did today and that is all, just one day.

6:00am- Blake wakes up to go to a service project for Paduckah, KY residents.
6:30am- Chantelle briefly opens eyes and kisses Blake goodbye.
6:45am- Desire'e thinks she is awake, but mom gives her a bottle and assures her she is still asleep.
8:30am- O.K. girls are up for real this time.
10:30am- We are off to the Park to enjoy the nice weather and meet up with friends.
12:30pm- Headed back home, pick up friend (Kelsie) for Maya on the way.
1:00pm- Nap time Desire'e~ Play time Maya and Kelsie~ Umm whatever time Chantelle
3:45pm- Bring Kelsie home and head to Isabel's to meet up with Blake and have dinner.
6:00pm- Head back home.
7:00pm- Bath girls, Blake study time.
8:00pm- Bedtime Desire'e
8:30pm- Bedtime Maya
9:00pm- Party time Blake and Chantelle! ya'll have dirty minds....
10:00pm- Updating blog.
11:00pm- Estimated time of Blake and Chantelle's bedtime.

~Just another day~

Slumber Party!

2009-02-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

Every so often Maya and Desire'e get the privilege to have Breanna spend the night at their house, and they love it so much, especially Maya. Maya has even spent the night at Breanna's house once. I was afraid that she would wake up in the middle of the night wanting me and me having to drive to get her at some odd hour of the night, but when I showed up the next morning to pick her up she didn't want to leave, apparently my assumptions were off.

Maya's Nursery Graduation.

2009-01-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday Maya 'graduated' from Nursery to Sunbeams in Primary. I had never heard of a Primary doing something like this, but it was really cute, and the kids enjoyed it.All of the kids in her class wore little black paper graduation caps and marched in one by one while having their name read off with a little information from each child. Maya's was as follows: (Her favorite thing to eat was cake. She has one sister, Desire'e. Her favorite thing to do is play with her family. Her favorite primary song is, "Twinkle, twinkle little star." Her favorite scripture story is the story of Jesus birth, and her mom and dad think she is kind to others.) It was so much fun to see her enjoy the whole thing and yet sad to think she is all ready growing up, oh how time flies.

Desire'e has been caught in her little monkey buisness!

2009-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Don't let this innocent face fool you!

This is what I walked into, when getting her from her nap this afternoon.
She is such a monkey, and a happy one too!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we attempted to send Christmas Cards this year, but obviously failed in doing so. We even had our friends take a picture and everything, so instead of sending one out extremely late, I decided to just post it on our blog, hoping all will forgive! Sorry about that, but it is never to late, I think, to say, "we hope you had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!" I love getting Christmas cards and I love sending one out, so I feel horrible that I failed this year, I truly and sorry! WE ALL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND WISH YOU A VERY FINE 2009!

Country Music Gossip- just for fun!

2009-01-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

So I went to the Grand Ole Opry with my Dad and brothers the night after they came, by the way THANKS DAD AGAIN, and these two acts were playing which were both very entertaining and talented. I am especially a Julianne Hough supporter a-because she is Mormon, and b- she's got some roots in Idaho! Anyways, so when Chuck Wicks was on stage he replied to the audience, "I love you too, but I love that girl over there on side stage more..." The lights were not on her, but it was definately Julianne. It was kind of cute too, cause she video taped his performance using her own little personal video cam the entire time. Too bad he doesn't share the same faith but then again, maybe he just hasn't, "seen the light"!!

Mammoth Caves with some of my side of the family.

2009-01-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

Two days after Christmas, we were so happy to house my family, excluding my one brother Lloyd, for a week or so. It was very fun to be with them and do some touristy stuff around Nashville. We decided to venture up North on one of the days to Mammoth City, KY, which is only about an hour away, and tour the Historical Mammoth Caves. These caves were huge!! My Mom isn't much of a cave goer so she decided to stay behind with little Desire'e and just play Grandma, which I think she enjoyed just as much. Anyways, so Blake, Maya, Dad, Steven, Matthew, and I experienced all of the excitement Mammoth Caves has to bring, well I guess not all of it, we just went on the basic "Historical Tour", which was very interesting, I recommend it for any family or even friend outing. Blake was very impressed with the "modern-age bathroom facilities" they had in the caves, hence the picture. Also, with a little bit of a squeeze, we managed to make it through 'Fat Man's Misery'! It was a good thing Maya had her little blue pen flashlight, I don't know how we could've made it through with out it! After we finished our tour, Maya turned in her "Junior Ranger" workbook and became a Junior Ranger, with a certificate and badge given to her from a Senior Ranger! If you have kids from the age of 2-18 I highly recommend looking into this fun little program the Nation Forest Park Rangers have put together, the packets that the kids fill out kind of help pass time when you are waiting to go on tour or something, and in the end they get a BADGE!

Christmas time happenings...

2009-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

It started out Christmas Eve with a party with some local friends, which turned out great. The kids made gingerbread houses and did a nativity skit which all the kids and a few adults participated in, it was so much fun to put together! Too bad I didn't have enough memory in my camera at that point to get some good pics, I think one of the other mothers that were there may have it posted on their blogs so you can go check either Jessica, Trisha, or Jenna's out to see... they are in "my friends and family" link list to your right. Anyways, then we headed home to open our Christmas PJ's ~ tradition! Then later that night Santa showed up with some pleasent surprises for my girls. They had a blast Christmas morning. It was kind of lonely being by ourselves all day, and missing our families, but it made us appreciate them that much more, we sure do miss them!

Santa, Santa, Santa

2008-12-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

We are really getting to know Santa this year, we just keep bumping into him. Maya saw him at the mall the other day with her friend, and then he showed up to the Ward Christmas Party, and then he was at Dad's school Christmas party. Rumor has it that he will be at Maya's preschool on Thursday as well. We must have been extra good this last year to be given the opportunity to see him at all of these different events, we love it!!

Guess Where?

2008-12-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

Can you guess where me and Blake went via these pictures?

Thanksgiving with the Fiala's

2008-12-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we were fortunate to spend it with Blake's foster sister and friend Isabel and her family, Brianna, Bryan, and Bruce. It was an enjoyable time, Isabel and Bruce pretty much made the entire Turkey dinner and we brought some homemade rolls and, of coarse my favorite and must have, Martinelli's!!!

2008-11-24T14:10:00.001-08:00

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors.

While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around.

Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease.

You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows!

Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Fall is beautiful in Nashville!

2008-11-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures just outside of my apartment a few weeks ago when fall was at its peek here in Nashville. I loved the fall season this year out here in Nashville, it was so pretty.

Leaf Picker- Upper

2008-11-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

For a while there every time we would leave the house Maya and Desire'e always had to pick up at least one leaf to take with them in the car. It was always such an exciting event. Maya always made sure that Desire'e had one in her hand. Anyways when we went to the park a few weeks ago, this is what I caught Desire'e doing on camera.

Maya + Baby's+ Barbies +Dress Up= Fun

2008-11-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Lately Maya has really taken on the skill of playing make believe with her "babies" and barbies and pretty much anything she has to play with. It is really funny some of the things she makes her barbies say. The other day I was playing with her and I was the Cinderella barbie while she was the "Barbie" barbie. First we introduced ourselves, well we probably introduced ourselves ten times, then she said, "oh well I don't have any money, so sorry" then she pretended to go off crying, and then the barbies needed to sleep so she made them their beds out of blankets, aka toilet-paper, but then there was a problem because they needed a boy barbie to come and kiss them to wake them up but we currently do not have a boy barbie so then she told me that we needed to go to the store to get a boy barbie. Anyways, I found it rather entertaining to watch and listen, and play along with my three year old playing barbies, the only thing bad that came of it is that she always wants to play barbies with me now, which as much as I would love spending my day playing barbies, there is just too many other things that need to get done.
The picture of her babies in her bed is how I found them one day when I walked in her room to put some clothes away. The humidifier and the fans were on too. Lately we have had two humidifiers going in the girls room when they sleep, they seem to have constant coughs and colds so they are in there quite a lot. So she put her babies to bed and turned the "`fier on to make them feel better".

Lately....

2008-11-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

This was in front of the TN state capitol.

I have been tagged about my quirks...

2008-11-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Quirk #1
I have to shave my legs every day. If there is even a little stubble it drives me nuts. My husband, mother and, cousin, Jennifer can attest to this.

Quirk #2
At night, before falling asleep in bed I usually rub my feet together, subconsciously. I think it drives Blake bonkers.

Quirk #3
Whenever I have household chores to do I put my "work shoes" on to get it done. My work shoes are either my Reeboks or New Balance tennis shoes, they really do make me go faster :) !

Quirk #4
I have been told by a few people that I snore, so I guess I will believe them.

Quirk #5
When I am just at home with my girls I love to throw my "Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits" CD on and jam out to it, singing and dancing, even making up some on the spot routine's, it is the greatest dance party you could come to if you were invited, but sorry you all are not invited, its just me and my girls. On a few occasions "Dad" has walked in during the excitement but never does he through his 'thriller' moves down.

Quirk #6
I have been accused of ignoring people's friendly greetings while driving, but I assure you this is not on purpose. I honestly have a difficult time recognizing friends and family while driving I do not know why this is, but it is and I am sorry if you have ever been the accuser of my rudeness but I truly did not recognize you, I think this is an inherited trait because my Mother and Brother Steven have ran into this same problem quite frequently.

Now I Tag: Jen Claunch, Randalynn, Lauren Noakes, Jenna, Elise, and Alex

RULES OF THIS TAG
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 quirk of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
5. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged by you.

A Week with Friends and Family...

2008-11-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Last week we had the excitement of having our friends Kelton, Mandy, and Britni and Blake's brother Rick come and spend some time with us here in TN. It was so much fun to hang out with them for the week, and we hope they come back sometime again :)

Rick and Brit have become experts in carving pumpkins!

Maya and Desire'e didnt' know what to think of the pumpkin guts inside...

This was in front of the State Capitol Building, umm I am not so sure who the statue is of, maybe those who read this can help me out there.

This was backstage of the Grand Ole Opry, we were able to go to a Tuesday night concert and get a brief backstage tour. Diamond Rio played that night as well as a few other acts, it was lots of fun. Thanks to my friend Alex, me and Blake were able to tag along and enjoy ourselves without our kids.

I am sure that Rick's favorite part of the trip was going trick-or-treating with Maya and Desire'e........

We will miss them!

Husband Tag

2008-10-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

1. Where did you meet? He claims we first met at a "ward prayer" but I honestly do not remember first meeting him there. We met through a mutual friend a.k.a. Lindsey Blocker.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 1 and 1/2 years.

3. How long have you been married? 4 and 1/2 years.

4. What is your favorite feature of his? His muscly arms.

5. What is your favorite quality of his? His ability to be genuinely kind to any and everyone.

6. Does he have a nick name for you? When we were dating it was "show-n-tell" because he could never remember how to pronounce my name. Then it turned into "pumpkin" for a little while after we were first married, but just recently it has turned into "my love" we both call each other that now.

7. What is his favorite color? Brown

8. What is his favorite food? Sudza

9. What is his favorite sport? Baseball

10. When was your first kiss? i don't know if i should answer, probably too soon though.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Roast hot dogs on a stick over a fire in the wild. We also like to go on walks or bike rides.

12. Do you have children? 2 girls, Maya 3 and Desire'e 1 !

13. Does he have a hidden talent? He builds log furniture with his dad's help! you can check out his dad's work at http://www.dadholman.blogspot.com/

14. How old is he? 31

15. Who said I love you first? Me, it was whisper to him and then he whispered it right back as fast as he could.

16. What is his favorite type of music? Rock. i think he tends to only listen to the softer stuff now, for my sake, however i have gotten into the car after he was driving and he had definitely been jammin out to the 'hard rock'

17. What do you admire most about him? His patience with me.

18. Do you think he will read this? maybe, if he does he will just skim through it and then get to this question and then maybe skim through it again. ;)

I tag: Annette, Jennifer, Randalynn, Jen Claunch, and Ali

Ward Halloween party!!!

2008-10-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Blake was a hunter bum.....

I was a witch......

Desire'e was a hershey's kiss that would not keap her hat on......

Maya was Princess Aurora. I was very impressed with her capability to walk around all night in her princess shoes...........

The Highlight of My Day!

2008-10-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share the highlight of my day today with everyone. It was a typical day today, nothing too special went on in the house of the royalties other then a few "no, don't touch that," or "please share," or "one, two, three,....." or "please play nicely" or "ok, now go and say sorry and give her a hug." I was just really excited when it was 7:55pm and bedtime was just around the corner. So, as I was finishing picking up some toys in the girls room and my girls were getting scrubbed up in the tub, I was alerted by a laugh. I just listened for a minute, for the first time all day, my girls were playing and laughing with one another. I just sat and smiled and took a deep breath, it is good to know that they are capable of getting along with each other even when I am not there to tell them to do so. Some may be reading this thinking, why wasn't she watching them in the tub, but other mothers can maybe attest that even though your eyes may not be in the same room as them, you are still in tuned to all of their actions. The biggest clue that something may be wrong is when it is quiet. Also, their room is about eight steps from the tub.

OUR WEDDING PHOTOS

2008-10-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

I am not it anymore!!! This was so fun to try and pick out some photos of our wedding, as you can see, I couldn't narrow it down to just one. Unfortunately my photographer has the rights to my professional pictures, so I couldn't post those ones, but the ones my Uncle Loren- by the way thanks- gave me will do for now. I tag- Jennifer, Nicole, Elise, Kaitlin and Brooke. For those who do not know how to play, this means you need to now post photos of your wedding day in your blog and then tag some more friends.

2008-10-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

I thought this picture was sooo funny. Everyone is looking so intently at Jennifer, my cousin/ hair stylist/ brides maid, fixing my veil, it was very important that it be perfect for the upcoming pictures and just because I am the bride and everything has to be perfect on the bride, right?

2008-10-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

I thought these pics would be fun because for one it shows how much everyone has grown, and changes that have happened... but also that I had the time of my life dancing at my wedding, too bad Blake wasn't on the dance floor with me :(, OK he did do the slow dance thing, but when we were all getting jiggy with it he was one of the observers in the back round.

May 8, 2004

2008-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

This was a view from the Oakland Temple. Usually it is pretty foggy in Oakland and you don't have a clear view of the city, but as you can see, Oakland and San Francisco are in clear view. It was a great day!

2008-10-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Maya picking out her pumpkin. It was such a fun pumpkin patch, maybe we will have to go back with Dad, Blake, one of these days before Halloween.

2008-10-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

About a week ago we went to a pumpkin patch just north of Nashville with the 'mommies group' from church. I dressed the girls in their cute new outfits they got from their Grandma Holman. I thought that it was going to be a cool day so I thought it would be perfect for them to wear them. Well when we got there and climbed out of the car I thought, "ohh no, they are going to roast." It was in the 80's that day, not quite a typical fall day we were used to in Idaho. I was dressed like it was cool as well, so while we were sitting watching the pig races in the roasting heat we were beginning to feel a little miserable and hurried our outing up by wrapping things up and heading home to change into some t-shirts and shorts. The weather is starting to get cooler now, so I think I will try those outfits again on them soon.

2008-10-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this month I was able to go and visit my family in California. The main reason for the trip was to see my brother Steven get off the plane as he arrived home from Honduras from serving a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I loved seeing him and visiting with the rest of the family. Below are some pics of the trip.

2008-10-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

My blanket baby Desire'e. While we were living in California Desire'e turned into a blanket baby. She has two blankets that she loves. The funny thing is that the two blankets were mine when I was a baby, so they are very old, but she loves them and has to have them when she goes to sleep, it is kind of cute though!

2008-10-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Maya had her first day of "Pre-school" about a month ago, and she loves it. She goes from 9-1:30pm on tuesdays and thursdays. It is a mothers day out program put together by a church that follows a pre-school curriculum, but not the cost :)!! So far she has learned the letter M and the letter D, because M is for Maya and Mommy, and D is for Daddy and Desire'e. The first few times I would pick her up from school she didn't want to leave because I was always the first mommy there, so now I try and time it better so that I am there when all the other mommies get there. This next week they will be having a halloween party and she gets to wear her halloween costume, "Briar Rose" from sleeping beauty, we will have to take some pictures of that one....

2008-10-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

I am finally updating my blog a bit. I just got back from California, which was fabulous but I did miss Blake, and I am now getting back into the groove of things out here in TN. Just before we left to go to Cali, me and Blake took the girls to see President Andrew Jackson's plantation at the Hermitage. It was a pretty informative historical experience that could have lasted a lot longer if we didn't have princess #2, and #3 with us, but that's all right, it was nice to go somewhere with the whole fam!! We took this little buggy ride around his plantation and saw parts of where the slaves used to live and where the crops were grown, just a little part though. His plantation included a total of 1000 acres, it was huge. The mansion house was pretty nice as well, it seemed as though it was a typical southern mansion back in Jackson's time. From the little that I can remember from the tour, it seemed as though President J. was a good man, but yet he may have had a little corruption in his life due to politics, only expected. All in all, it was a good day with the family.

2008-08-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

2008-08-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

2008-08-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Me and Blake

2008-08-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

This was when we were in Nauvoo, during our trek across the US to move to Tennessee from Idaho. I think it was a replica of an area where they would shoe the oxen, but don't quote me on that.

We "finally have a blogg"

2008-08-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

We just got our blogg and so now I need to post some pics and make it actually fun to look at. So pretty soon there will be pics and stuff to make this fun to look at.