Flashback Friday....not quite

Okay, so I know that it is not quite Friday (it is Thursday night), but I am going to be gone most of the day tomorrow. Well I promised some of my friends a picture of my poofy bangs when I was in grade school, but for some reason the photo wasnt working, so I will spend some time trying to figure out what the deal is. Anyway...this photo was taken when I was about 2 or 3. The picture last week was a huge hit because everyone thought that Emma looked like me in the picture. Well, if you couldnt tell by now, I am the little girl in the chair. That other girl standing next to me is.....yup, you guessed it, my sister Tawni. Well, I hope that you enjoy the picture, just dont laugh too hard at my chubby baby legs.

Debate

I have been debating today on what to get Emma for her Birthday. Here are two of my options....she asked for a princess bike originally, but here are the pros and cons. Let me know what you think she will like. Princess Scooter ($20 plus and additional $20 for helment and pads) :
- She would probably have an easier time learning how to do it, and be able to play with it right away.
-It is a lot cheaper than a bike
-She would probably like it just as much
-It takes up less storage space (which we are tight on).

The bike ($58-including helment and pads):
- I found a cheap one at Kid to Kid, but it doesnt have training wheels, so by the time I buy training wheels and a helment and pads, it might cost the same as this bike that comes with the helment and pads.
-This bike is 16" and I dont know if she would be able to fit it quite yet.
-A 12" bike would be a better option for her right now, but she would probably grow out of it pretty soon.
-She has had a hard time in the past learning how to peddle, so it might take a little longer for her to be able to play with her bike by herself...

So, this is the debate....I think I am leaning toward the scooter right now, and then getting her a bike for Christmas or her Birthday next year.

Pictures

Trace and Our Grandma at his graduation/

Trace and my mom and his graduation...doesnt my mom look great in this picture.

Trace and my dad at his graduation.

I just got these picrtures from my brothers graduation, and I liked these ones too, so I thought that I would post them.

Ward Hike - Rock Canyon

Emma by the stream that runs down the mountain.

Cheesy smile...but still cute.

Emma and Jayden sitting on a rock...Emma kept trying to keep up with the bigger kids, but couldnt quite do it, so I ended up carrying her on my shoulders.

I dont know what she was doing with her face here, probably just trying to tell me that I had taken enough pictures.

I loved the trees behind Emma, so I made her stand infront of them so I could take a picture.

Nikki tagged me, so here it goes.....

Four places I go to over and over:
1. Walmart
2. Salt Lake (to visit family and friends-at least 1 time per week)
3. Target
4. BYU for work

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Billie Roberts
2. reciepts@redboxdvd.com (we have been renting a lot of movies lately
3. Tim Covington (my dad and his wife Misty)
4. Tawni Covington

Four places I like to eat:
1. P.F. Changs
2. Tucanos (we just went last week for my birthday)
3. Pizza Factory
4. Jason's Deli


Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Puerto Rico (Eric and I were just talking last night about how much fun it was and how we should go back-of coarse it wouldnt be as fun if it werent paid by someone else)
2. California visiting my family again.
3. Anywhere warm
4. In bed sleeping

Four TV Shows I watch all the time:
1. The biggest Loser
2. American Idol
3. The Office
4. The Today Show (as I get ready in the morning)


Four people I think will respond:
1. Laura May
2. Tara L.
3. Becky
4. Laura Hildebrand
(I dont know of many others who read my blog....these are the ones who left the most recent messages)

Congrats Trace!!

Trace, My dad and Misty at the Graduation.

Isnt he a handsome kid!

Congratulations Trace! My little brother Trace graduated from Oak Ridge High School in California last night. I cant believe how old he is. He was in 6th grade when I left home in 2000. I am proud that he is my brother and how awesome of a kid he is. He is going to be going to Brigham Young University Idaho in the Fall.

Flashback Friday.

One of my friends does this thing she calls flashback friday's. I really liked the idea. I know that I love seeing cute pictures of her when she was younger, so I thought I would pick up the idea. SO here is my first picture. This was my first day of kindergarten in California. I did go to Kindergarten in Utah for a while at Parkside Elementary, but once we moved to California I went to Cameron Ranch. The funny thing, I totally remember playing on the playground that is in this picture. I loved it. It is hard to imagine that I have a daughter almost old enough to be the same age as I was in this picture.

Climbing part 2

Here is more to Marcus climbing. Right after I finished the other video he started climbing even more.

Marcus climbing

As many of you know, Marcus learned to crawl and climb while we were gone in California a couple of weeks ago. I finally have some video of it. He is starting to explore the house (I am in trouble).

Pork Chops

I tried a new recipe last night from the Taste of Home Health Cooking Magazine, and it was wonderful and easy. I have tried cooking pork chops before, and they usually end up being very dry, and Eric ends up hating them. This was a great recipe and sooooo easy. Here it is...

Busy Day Pork Chops

1/4 c. fat-free milk
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. Seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz each)
cooking spray

1. place milk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine cheese, bread crumbs, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Dip the chops in the milk, then coat with mixture.
2. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; spritz the top of chops with spray. Bake at 375 for 9-11 min on each side or until meat thermometer reads 160.

Thats it...it was a good and easy meal.

Happy Actual 26th birthday to me.

I have to thank everyone who made my Birthday a wonderful one this year. It was a very special birthday conidering this time I actually was turning 26 (if you are lost read the back post from a couple of months ago). My mom was wonderful and gave me some money to buy what I wanted. The stroller/Bike trailer that you see above is what I chose to buy. I am so excited about it. One problem though...I dont have a bike. Luckily Eric is kind enough that for my birthday he is going to buy me a bike. I think I have instantly gained a new hobby. I am so excited about it. Thank you mom and Eric.

Besides the material things that made my Birthday fun, spending time with a healthy husband also helped contribute to the wonderful day. This week was a little bit of a scare when the doctor told Eric that he could have Mono or Lymphoma....yeah I reacted about that same way...I was freaked out. Luckily it is just Mono. I feel wierd saying JUST mono, becasue Mono is a very resiliant sickeness, but it sure is a heck of a lot better than cancer. Anyways, yesterday Erics Dad watched the kids while we went out to dinner and saw a movie. I love spending one on one time with my husband. It seems that lately that doesnt happen to much with Eric working full time and going to school full time. He was also a trooper and didnt complain at all when I said that I wanted to see 'Baby Mama'. It ended up not being as great as I thought it would, but was a good laugh. Anyways, thanks to Lynn and Eric for giving me the chance to spend some time with a healthy husband whom I am so grateful to have. He is surley an amazing blessing in my life.
Thanks Honey!!

Marcus Growing.....

Marcus has been learning and growing a lot since we left for our trip. He has become mobil, and the reason I say mobil is becasue he knows how to crawl, he just chooses not to crawl. He does this wierd army crawl thing that he is very fast at now. He also will pull himself up onto furniture and walk a little bit on the couch although he still falls quite a bit. Sometimes when he climbs on things he thinks that he is so cool that he makes this loud noise to claim his manlihood. I think it is the cutest thing. He also broke his first tooth while we were gone, infact he got it on his 7 month birthday. He is so active now. He doesnt really like to be held. If you do hold him, you get so frustrated within minutes becuase he tosses and turns until you put him down. Today at church Eric and I had to keep switching back and forth turns holding him becasue it was so hard. I cannot believe how much my little "butters" (I dont know how it became, but that is his nickname in our house...even Emma calls him that) is growing. He is going to be 1 year old before we know it.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day to celebrate the hard work of millions of mom's. It is a day for Father's to take charge and spoil their dear wives, a day for multiple scribbled ' I love you's' and a day where Mother's can accept compliments on all they do without thinking about something they need to do for someone else. I have 4 very special 'Mothers' in my life. They may not all be my biological Mother, but each one has helped me in their own special way. I wanted to write to them today and let them know how thankful I am for the Love, support,and continual guideance that they give. Thank you Susan, Jodie, and Misty for your examples in my life and how you have each given me an example of different quilities that mothers have. I also wanted to thank my Mom (Terre) for the wonderful example that she gave me on how to be a mom. I dont think that there was anyone more qualified to show me what it is to be a selfless mother. My mom has done everything for others and hardly takes enough time for herself. I love how loving she is not matter what the circumstance is. I will stop rambeling and simply say....

I LOVE YOU MOM!!

The drive.

Many of you have asked how the drive home from California was with 1 adult and 2 children. Here are the stats:

7 potty stops
4 stops for food and stretching
1 playground (at McDonalds)
13 cops in Elko
4 hours of pouring rain
13.5 hour drive (including stops)

The norm...
3 potty stops
2 stops for food
10 hour drive

It did take quite a while at each stop because we had a list of things that we had to do(take Emma potty, change marcus' diaper, get Emma and Tamber food, get gas, rearange movies and toys, take Emma potty again, feed marcus a bottle, make 2 spare bottles to use during driving). Luckily, I survived the crying, fighting, screaming, teething, movie blasting and much more. Hopefully I never have to do it again, but if I did, I know to leave at night time so that both kids sleep most of the time.

More Pictures....

I couldnt fit all of the pictures on one slide show, so here are some more.

Caifornia Trip.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the trip. I hope that you enjoy them.

Alice's Birthday Party

I thought that Ellen was very creative with her birthday party idea. Alice had a ballerina party. Ellen made each of the girls a little tutu. Emma had so much fun. There was also supposed to be a ballerina, who was going to show the girls some moves, but she flaked. Emma had a blast with Alice and her friends. Here are some pictures.

Plans.

Our plans have changed...Eric flew home on Tuesday Evening. He ended up feeling like he really needed to be at his classes all week. I decided that I would stay with the kids for a couple of extra days. I dont get the chance to come out to California and see my family except once a year. Even though I do miss my husband terribly, we are having fun spending time with everyone. It has been one event after another. San Francisco, BBQ's, Jelly Belly Factory, swimming, lots of food, The Sacramento Zoo, Fairy Tale Land, and much more hanging out. I will update with lost of pictures when we get back from our trip. I am not quite sure when I am coming back, I am sure sometime next week when I can get lots of sleep the night before so that the drive home with two kids isnt too terrible.