Some Videos For the Week

Trent on the Scooter





My Tree Climber





16 1/2 Months and finally ready to walk??

Happy Birthday Trent!!!!

Trent turned 4. I can hardly believe it. I asked him if he wanted to stay 3, but he said, "No, I want to be a big boy!!!" I swear he was just born. We had a fun day. We got up early had breakfast, then cake and presents. All Trent said he wanted for his birthday were 1. Scooter 2. Scriptures. So we figured that was reasonable. He got both. I don't think he's gotten off his scooter since. And he loves his scriptures and really feels big now. That night we went to Incredible Pizzza--kinda like Chuck-E-Cheese--and he had a blast. Well so did everyone. The kids especially enjoyed their prizes. After we picked out his scriptures we went for a walk up to see the temple. If you look at the pictures of the fountains, you'll see very green grass. I don't think I've seen green grass anywhere in SA, except for at the temple. I just really want to just lay on it every time I see it!

Oh yeah, and if you like my basketball on the cake, tell Tim just how cool you think it is. LOL

Some March Madness!

Cali gives me a new hairstyle!





A Night Out to the Melting Pot! 1 Word...Yummy!




Some Fun at Guadalupe State Park

February pictures

Time for New Sandals???




Next Bham basketball star






Church ball ended!!!





This picture of Trent really reminded me of pictures of Tim when he was a kid.




Loves to Pose for the camera




Last but not least.....the kids most regrettable mistake of the month. While I thought water, TP, and a bathroom were only a deadly combination for elementary school boys...I realized Cali couldn't hold herself from the temptation. So while I was being domestic and making homemade rolls for the missionaries who were expected for dinner in only 2 hours, Cali and Trent managed to completely make a mess of the entire bathroom in what was their attempt to "have fun".

Since I had thankfully taught a VT message earlier that morning on the responsibilities of being a Mom, I somewhat held my cool as I scolded them and set them to work cleaning it up--because there was no way I was going to do it.

And while I spied on them cleaning it up, under Cali's sobs she was saying to Trent, "I wish I had never done this." Approximately 1 hour before the Elders were to come, (bathroom still not cleaned up) she comes to me with a smile on her face and a sweet as can be voice says, "Mom, maybe it's a good thing I have to clean this up, because then I can know just how hard I'll have to work when I'm a mom." With a little smile on my face I said, "Good, now get back to work".

The mess didn't get completely cleaned up until the next day, which proved to be easier since the TP mess was then dry. So consequently the Elders were informed our Restroom was currently OUT OF ORDER and if they needed one, they would have to find one elsewhere.

Unfortunately I took the picture when cleanup was almost done...so the picture doesn't give adequate justice to the extent of the damage done to the entire bathroom...but hopefully you can just imagine it.

You Can Create

I just really loved this, because I have never thought of myself as being creative.

Trent Cuteness

Trent in Chicago

Trent's pictures of Prince Eric...Cali certainly doesn't influence him does she. LOL

Recent Conversations with Trent

He had just finished up this sports class at the JCC. I asked him if he had fun. He said yes so excitedly and then said, " We played soccer and Batman". I got a good laugh because they really played Badminton.


Well, first I have to admit that Yes I'm one of those moms who frequently finds herself still in her PJ's at noon. However, my kids do manage to get dressed promptly after breakfast which is usually around 7:00am...thanks to a wonderful persistent hubby who insists we all eat breakfast together. Did I mention he makes the breakfast? Yes, he does so there are no complaints here from me.

Anyway back to my story, after breakfast the kids normally put on "play clothes" which would describe clothes we wear which are not our "nice clothes." So anyway, I'm in the bathroom telling Trent to leave because I would like to take a shower. (Yes this is after lunch, while Will is napping.) He's reluctant. I say, " Trent, look I'm still in my pajamas. I need to shower and get dressed." He quickly responds, "Those aren't pajamas." I look at him like what on earth are you talking about. You are almost 4 and you're seriously saying these aren't pajamas. I then say, "Look, don't these look like pajamas."

He then says, "Those aren't pajamas. Those are "play pajamas"." Apparently I've created a whole new category of clothes.

Girls, You Might Want a Tissue...

This was too beautiful not to share.





My mother-in-law sent this to me, and it was especially touching because Cori Conners was my neighbor, and I grew up listening to her songs all the time, although I had never heard this one before. I just love her music!!! Thanks MomB

Art Skills Not Required

This is our old Family Night Chart

This is our new Family Night Chart

I think we've made some improvement!

My brother

Well my brother just entered a couple videos for the 3 minute 24 hr film competition in Utah. I thought I would post them. I don't think he's aspiring to professionally make movies anytime soon, but I got a good laugh and he is definitely the most creative one in my family. My brother's the tall one with a beard. You may recognize him as he announces for UVSC men's b'ball and BYU women's b'ball and volleyball. And I may have forgotten some others. Love you Markham. Thanks for the laugh.






This one he did the previous year.

Our Hero is Grandpa, as for Wal-mart....

Well it all started with a little girl who loved to ride her bike. A bike that came fully assembled as clearly stated with a big sign that could hardly be overlooked, which pleased mom and dad, so that we weren't up to the wee hours on Christmas eve putting it together.

The first complaint came when the little girl said her seat was moving. No big deal, I'll tighten it up. To my discovery, the seat wasn't even close to being on, I pulled the whole thing right off without even a ounce of effort. Now while some may have yelled LAWSUIT (in this sue happy country called America), I shrugged it off, got the wrench and put the seat on--deciding that as a good mother I should have checked the seat first to make sure it was tight, and really no harm was done.

Then the next complaint came again while riding. The little girl's pedals were locked and would not turn. She mildly panicked, and thankfully Grandpa was there to catch her before she biffed it onto the pavement.

Grandpa is now a true hero, but not only did he do this, he took about an hour of his time to diagnose the problem and fix it (with great patience as the kids "helped")-- all while wearing nice clothes he had on from his business trip and using our tools, which I'm sure are less than stellar. Thank you Grandpa! You were here to save the day when we needed you.

Turns out the pedals were not put on all the way correctly. So while I'm not contemplating a lawsuit for emotional stress and minor damage (dust and dirt) done to Grandpa's clothes, I think Wal-mart might get a letter from me about their so called fully assembled children's bikes. We'll see...

Weeks Highlights

Well the big news of the week is Trent can ride a bike. Thankfully his birthday is in March, so that he won't have to ride a girl bike for too long. And thank goodness he's not embarrassed in the mean time. Thank you BootScoot Bikes! (Our friend started the company, their awesome) Now we don't have to go through the training wheel phase.



I wish I could have gotten a little more footage of Trent, but my battery died.

Meanwhile Will (14 months) still has no desire to walk and instead enjoys his time crawling and climbing. Neither Cali or Trent were climbers, so this is something new and fun for mom.

Should Cali attend a dual language kindergarten???

Now that it's a new year I have to start thinking about kindergarten for Cali. In San Antonio, as well as other major cities in Texas, they have two-way dual language programs.( I think they are done slightly different in each city and yes this is public school) This is what it is if your not familiar with them. Each class consists of 50% english only speaking students and 50% Spanish speaking only students. The class is taught 90% of the time in Spanish and 10% in english starting in kindergarten. In 5th Grade its about 50/50. San Antonio boasts that students are fluent in both languages by 5th grade.

It sounds awesome to me. Some people argue it puts the english students at a disadvantage to their other english peers in traditional classrooms and academically they are behind. I don't know if that's really true, haven't seen any numbers on it. It's a relatively new thing, but next year they are expanding the program to 10 elementary schools within our district because of its popularity.

Okay so why the blog...I'm just wondering if anybody knows any info about this or if they have first hand experience...please share.

take the poll to let me know what you think I should do.

Christmas Fun!

Christmas was great this year!!! The kids got it this year for the most part. They had fun leaving cookies for Santa, and thought it was so funny that Rudolph smashed the plastic cup while attempting to drink the water they left for him. Cali got a "real" bike, which is the only thing she asked Santa for. You can see the footage of her riding it below. This was a big jump for her from the barbie big wheel and the occasional ride on Trent's bootscoot bike.



One of Trent's favorite presents was his "swordfights" as he calls it. Don't be alarmed at the fighting. They are made of Styrofoam (sp?) and do not hurt. Cost a whole $2/ a piece at Wal-mart and worth every penny. Trent is so happy. We just had too many girl things. Although, I'm not sure who enjoys them more...Tim or Trent. I just love to watch my boys play!

Watch the brave Peter Pan save Wendy and defeat the evil Captain Hook.

Christmas Letter 2008

Make a Smilebox greeting

My Little Princess Dancing

Aren't girls so fun....




Video courtesy of Grammy! Thanks Mom