Natalie is the brand new Hannah Montana!

She sure wishes that was true. We had never seen an episode of Hannah Montana until about a month ago. We got a call from a friend in the ward, and she invited us to go with a group of girls from the ward to see the Hannah Montana movie. I admit I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect, but I thought it would be fun for Natalie so I agreed to go. Well Natalie was just so excited for her first official girls' night out so we had to do it right. We left about 1 1/2 hours early, went to eat at Someburros, and then went to stand in line at the theater. We got there about 55 minutes early, and within minutes the lines were totally full. Natalie thought it was so cool that we got to wear the 3D glasses, and she still has them. The movie was actually pretty cute, and the music was pretty upbeat so we had a fun time.
Our good friend, Jennifer DeTemple, was kind enough to give us a Hannah Montana CD because they already had that one. Natalie was thrilled. I put it in the car so we could listen to it while we drove to and from preschool and the gym. Now she's singing the songs all around the house, and in the car. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm doing it too! Yikes! All my kids now love watching the show, and all want to see the movie. I think it has something to do with the fact that they think she's cute, like the music, and want to get new 3D glasses. (Probably in that order too.)
Natalie really likes that Hannah has long blond hair like her, and when she's Miley she has dark hair like me. She thinks that's the greatest thing ever. She had me do her hair and some pale makeup last week so she could look like Hannah. I forgot to take a picture so we'll re-do that this weekend and post pictures. It's so cute. If I can get her to do it I'll have her sing, and I'll record and post it here. If she plays shy it might not happen, but I'll try.

Drew's latest haircut

Does this look like a boy with a guilty conscience? Notice the strange bald-like part in the center of his head? I missed it the first time.

Drew came into my office yesterday morning and looked a little different to me. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but a few minutes later it struck me, and I called him back in. He had some hair missing- from the front middle.

Natalie had a friend over, and came up with a very amusing story trying to convince everyone that her friend did it. Drew said Trevor did it (while he was at school- he must be very talented!), then Justin did it, then Natalie did it, and now Dad did it. He had a fun time blaming everyone and seeing the reaction he'd get. Although we aren't positive we really believe Natalie did it. Here's a before and after. There is a spot where there was almost no hair left in the middle, and now he has a very short buzz cut.

Now that I think about it... One of Kent's dreams is to shave our boys' hair, so maybe it really was him.

Drew seems to like the new haircut. He still is a little bare right there in the center because whoever cut it really cut it close, but it's much less noticeable now.

Things about me...

One thing I won’t let my husband buy me… clothes.
One thing I would love to have, but I probably will never have… a house that stays clean longer than 10 minutes when my kids are home and awake.
One thing you will never find in my closet… anything with feathers!
One thing I would choose if I were having elective surgery... reconstruction and tummy tuck.
One thing I love about my face… my lips.
One thing that I love to do… scrapbook.
One thing I would like to change if I could… my children’s propensity to make and leave messes.
One thing I would change as a mom… I would love to be able to get to sleep earlier so I could get up earlier and spend quality time with them before they start the day.
One thing I would do if I had unlimited money… upgrade!
One thing I that I will not do again… give birth.
One thing that I would like to do… travel Europe.
One thing I could do without… pain!
One thing I love to smell… chocolate.
One thing I would do if I won the lottery… pay off our mortgage.
One thing that infuriates me... disrespect.
One thing that I love about winter… the cooler weather!
One thing I love about scrapbooking… being able to look at the pictures with my kids and relive the memories with them.
One thing I am addicted to… Cherry Dr. Pepper with half Diet Dr. Pepper and extra ice from Sonic.
One thing I pray for… the ability to endure my trials well.
One thing I wish I had… a smaller size.
One thing I would do again, regardless of the pain… have my kids and have back surgery.
One thing that I absolutely hate to do… iron, especially men’s shirts.
One thing that is weird about me… I love doing laundry.
One thing that I need help on… lifting heavy objects (see previous answer).
One thing I find most relaxing... getting a massage.
One thing that could get me in trouble… I’ll never tell!
One thing that annoys me… people who pull out in front of me, and then drive under the speed limit.
One thing I dread; therefore, don’t do very often… snorkel!
One thing that I have learned, but still sometimes forget…. I love my kids, even though they can be naughty. They truly are gifts from our Father in Heaven, and it is my duty and responsibility as a mother to nurture and teach them what they need to know.
Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child.

Piano Recital

I can't believe I forgot to post this! Back in December Justin and Trevor participated in their very first piano recital. It was all Christmas music. They both did a terrific job, and I don't think either one of them made even one mistake. We had a lot of fun listening to them, and are so proud of them for developing their talents.

The Boys Weekend at the Dunes

A few weeks ago Kent took Justin and Trevor to the dunes. They met some of our friends there. (Hi Gary and Sharon!) It was a quick trip. They left Friday afternoon and were home Saturday afternoon, but they seem to have had a great time. Here are some pictures of them their trip.

This is Justin getting stuck at the top of the hill. He said that his bike wouldn't go into 2nd so he kept getting stuck.

Here are Justin and Trevor riding back in. Safety first!

Here's Trevor revving up to go on a wild ride.

Here is what it looked like as they arrived at the dunes.

Here they are at the camp getting ready to go riding.

Decorating Valentine's Cookies

While Amy was in the hospital recovering from delivering Soren I had Mikaya and Taylor. I made sugar cookies, some hearts and some circles, and then made some frosting. We had sprinkles and candy to decorate with. Then we also made little foam heart Valentines to give to the parents. (In theory, that is.)

Here they are with a picture of their plate of cookies/Valentine and a picture of the child who made it afterwards.

Drew's 3rd birthday

It seems like just last month I was posting pictures from Drew's 2nd birthday, and now he's gone and turned 3! He had a birthday party with his friends, and then we had the Jacobsons and Noordas over too. (Between mine and Kent's families there are more than 15 birthdays in December and January.) Here are a few pictures from Drew's party.

My newest nephew

Here is my newest nephew. His name is Soren Jacob, and he is so cute. Amy, my sister and his mom, has had a heck of a time since he was born. But when babies are so cute you have a hard time holding anything against them!

Can you tell that he already has a ton of girls around him to play with and love him?! Natalie was so excited to hold him, and Taylor and Mikaya just wanted to have their pictures taken with him!

Breaking Dawn

I cannot wait for this book to be released!!! In case you're not familiar with this book....
I had heard about the Twilight series of books for a couple of years, read about the parties at Changing Hands Bookstore, and then heard from a few people that they absolutely loved it. We went to Rocky Point in September, and my friend, who was reading the book while we were there, told me that someone had given her the first book, and that she loved the books. When we got home I went to the library to reserve a copy. I was number 65 on the waiting list. That just bothered me so I went to 3 stores, and finally found a copy. I started reading it on Friday night, and LOVED it. I couldn't put it down. I HAD to go buy the second book in the series before Sunday so I could continue reading. I finished the second book on Sunday night, and HAD to go find the 3rd book first thing Monday morning before I could do anything else. I finished the third book on Tuesday afternoon. Then I felt like dying because I knew that there just HAD to be more books in the series. I had just spent the last few days reading almost 1500 pages of this series, and the story had just started.
I went to the author's website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html to see when the next book was going to be released, and there was nothing noted. But she did have another book (not from this series) that was going to be released in the spring so I went to amazon.com and pre-ordered that book.
I hadn't checked her website in a while so I decided to look at it a couple of days ago. There was some very exciting news. The fourth book in the Twilight series will be released in August! Yippee!! As you can guess that book is now pre-ordered. I am counting the days until it's released. I also found out that they are casting for the movies that will be based on the Twilight series. I hope that they can come close in their adaptation of these books. If they do I'm sure that I will own the set of movies on DVD.

Natalie's hair cut- done by herself!

Here is a before shot, taken maybe 1-2 hours before she decided to cut her hair.

I don't think I posted about the other 2 haircuts that she's given herself since last summer. But this one was probably the worst. It happened on Sunday, Feb. 10, in the afternoon, after church. I didn't notice anything initially. Then I went to use the restroom, and there was long blonde hair in the sink, on the counter, and as a top layer in the trash. That's when I realized that the reason Natalie's hair had looked a little different earlier. And it had something to do with all of that hair. She and the boys had been playing outside earlier, and she had some grass in her hair. So instead of washing it, naturally, she decided to trim it! Yikes! This is a picture of a small portion of the hair from the trash can. There was hair all throughout my downstairs.

We have a neighbor who does hair so we were able to take her there to get it fixed. I was sure she was going to have to have a bob, but we ended up being able to keep some of the length. But now she has bangs, and many, many layers. I guess it could have been worse, but now she doesn't look like my little girl. She looks like an older version of herself. Why, oh, why does my daughter love scissors so much?!

Blue and Gold Pictures

Trevor got his awards for the banquet. He has taken them so I can't tell you what the awards were for!

As you can probably see by the smirk on his face, he's not exactly comfortable having his mother take his picture in front of everyone! I thought it was pretty funny, though!

Fun events

Tonight is Trevor's first Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. He is so excited. He can hardly wait to go and get some awards. Then next month he gets to participate in his first Pinewood Derby. He missed last year's derby by 3 1/2 weeks and he was so bummed. Tonight after the B&G he will get to have his car. Kent and another dad in the ward have a little friendly competition with the race every year so we'll see what happens this year. Anyway I will post pictures of the banquet tonight or tomorrow.
Last night Natalie and I went on our first official girls' night out. We went to dinner at Some Burros, and then met up with about 70 other women and girls from our ward and area to see Hannah Montana. I'll be honest... I was dreading the thought of having to listen to a theater full of screaming girls. I tried talking Kent into going in place of me (didn't work). But the girls were relatively mellow and the show was pretty cute. Natalie loved it. It's 3-D so we got to wear super cool 3-D glasses. Aftewards Natalie remembered that I promised to take her to get ice cream afterwards. (This was news to me.) Since Amy and her girls came we walked down to DQ and got the girls ice cream cones. They were all so excited.

So... it's been awhile!

Yeah, I know, I know... It's been quite a while. If you got my Christmas card (some came back 2-3 weeks ago and I need to resend them still....) you know that I finally had my back surgery on October 29, and that it was a success. Dr. Thomas had to remove a moderate amount of arthritic bone from L5-S1. He removed it from the disc and from the spinal column. He said there was a lot more than he expected, but that I'm doing well. I had to go to PT 3x/week for a little over a month, but that helped. And we found a gym 5 minutes from our house that has an indoor pool so I go to the gym 4-5 days a week and work out in the pool. It's helped a lot. I still have quite a bit of back pain, and it's usually bearable (only a 4 or 5 out of 10). The surgery got rid of all of the nerve pain, and I am so grateful for that. It nearly cost me my sanity because it was constant terrible pain. I'm so glad that it's gone!
Okay... so other things...
Kent is busy as ever with work. He's been trying to make time with the kids to do fun things. Last month he and my brother-in-law Gavin took Justin and Trevor and headed up to his mom's cabin and went skiing. The kids had a fun time, and they were completely exhausted by the time they rolled in. They have gone to the track to race their ATVs and motorcycles. He gives Natalie and Drew rides around the neighborhood when he's done cleaning them up, and they think that's the best.
Justin is keeping busy with 11 year old scouts, and is always off with his friends riding bikes. He has also started to like girls... NOT a fun point for his parents, let me assure you. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff, and is working out frequently to get a 6-pack and big muscles.
Trevor is getting ready for the Blue and Gold Banquet on Friday night. He has worked hard to get requirements passed off so that he can get some awards.
Natalie is finally getting how to write her name forward. I'm so glad. She was doing really well, and then it seemed like she just forgot everything that she had learned. She's got the hang of it now and writes all sorts of things for everyone. She is also in cheer with her cousins Mikaya and Taylor (Amy's daughters). She thinks it's pretty awesome to have the silver and red pon poms to play with.
Drew just turned 3, and is suddenly shy. He's still funny as ever when you can catch him in a non-shy moment. He is also in a class. It's a tots class with football, basketball, baseball and soccer with some tumbling mixed in. It's really geared towards helping the kids become more dexterous and adept at several different sports. He LOVES it, and goes every week for 1 hour. (I've even been able to leave him like all the other moms do with their kids.)
Well, I think I've written a mini novel, and I have so many other things to say so I'll post more later... or should I try for sooner? Anyway, I'll try to write again soon!

More waiting....

I finally was able to meet with my neurosurgeon today. It took me about 2 weeks to get in to see him this time. I had previously been meeting with the PA. He had me get a new MRI, a disco gram (not fun- look at WebMD.com for a description), and then after reviewing the results at my last appointment finally concluded that I was a good candidate for surgery, so I was able to meet with the doctor. He seems very nice, and doesn't seem like he's a slice and dice doctor who is only interested in a payday. I felt very comfortable talking to him. (And once again, I was the youngest patient there by at least 30 years. Not the way I want to feel young.)

Anyway, we discussed my MRI, the results of my disco gram, and then talked about treatment options. At L5-S1 the disc is bulging, leaking, and degenerative with a pinched nerve and arthritis. Fun, fun. This shouldn't happen until you're at least in your 70's or 80's, and I have been dealing with it since I was 19. Yikes! I also have similar problems at L4-L5, but they aren't as severe. At this point Dr. Thomas recommends that we do a less invasive surgery. It's called decompressive laminectomy (again, see WebMD.com for a description). He said this surgery is a lot easier to recover from, and it should relieve enough of the pressure and pain running down my left leg for me to be able to fix my back through exercise. If I can get the pain to a 4 out of 10 I can live my life normally again.

However, because I did not have Kent with me Dr. Thomas wouldn't schedule surgery. He wants to have a face-to-face with Kent before he proceeds. So, I scheduled my next appointment... for October 9th!!!! That was the next available appointment, so I also had my name put on the cancellation list. Hopefully we can get in there sooner so that I can get it over with, and feel better by Christmas.

Anyway, that's what's new with the back issues now. I'll update again when I have some exciting news! (Not back related this time, I hope!)

Kent's birthday!

Kent's birthday is today. We're excited to help him celebrate, although he's not really excited about it. He won't even let us have everyone over for cake. (Party pooper!) I did make him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and he'll get his gift from us after we eat breakfast. The kids are really excited to do something fun. Julie is coming over in the morning (I think he's allowing this because only she is his mother... He really hates birthdays!) The kids will play with her for a while, and then we'll go to lunch.

Okay... I have to post this. Trevor likes to stay up late every night. I guess he's going to be a night owl like his mother! Anyway, I just had him fill out the card that the kids are going to give to Kent tomorrow. Guess what he wrote? Happy birthday Dad. You are a very nice person, you need to get a little bit nicer. Love, Trevor. How's that for love? What a stinker!

Oh, also I had my MRI yesterday morning. I almost couldn't do it. I am so claustrophobic that I had to calm myself down before we could start. And when we were halfway through the exam, I really thought I was going to panic, and almost had the technician pull me out. I managed to pull myself together and finish it. I was able to take the films with me, so I'll have them ready when I go in for my follow-up on August 2. (First available, can you believe it?!)

A whole lotta nothin'

Today I finally got to meet with the surgeon. He assessed my condition, looked at my old MRI, and decided that he needed to have a new MRI before we can discuss treatment options. They have to get preapproval from the insurance company for the MRI, and then they'll hopefully call me on Monday to set up that appointment and my follow-up appointment with the doctor. All in all it was a frustrating appointment because although he confirmed that I have pain and disc problems, we didn't discuss treatment options. I'll just have to keep busy so the waiting game won't seem so long!

Cute baby

Kent has been hard at work on HUGE project, and on Wednesday he wasn't sure when he could leave the office. I decided that the kids and I would go do something fun, and since it's so dang hot an indoor activity was preferred. I gave the kids a choice between a few different movies- Fantastic 4, Nancy Drew and Spider-Man 3. Justin wanted to see SM3, Trevor wanted to see F4, and Natalie wanted to see Nancy Drew. So it came down to Drew to break the tie. Each kid pitched their movie choice to him, hoping to get him to choose the movie they wanted to see. As he considered them he said, "Spy-man free," "Fankasik Poor" and "Nancy Me". The kids all started roaring with laughter as they tried to get him to say "Nancy Drew." He wouldn't, which made them laugh even more. If you ask him to say it he'll probably still say Nancy Me. He is so cute!

(We ended up seeing F4, and they all really liked it.)

The boys' new toys

I think I mentioned in a previous post that Santa brought an ATV and motorcycle to our boys. They were totally excited, and loved having Kent take them out to ride. He wouldn't let them venture very far because he wanted to be able to see them in case of an accident. About a month ago, he began searching for an ATV to rent because he and his buddies from high school were going to go on a guys' trip, and they all needed an ATV. Kent tried to rent one, but was unable to find one suitable for his trip so he started looking to buy one. He found one that was a great offer, "too good to pass up" according to him, so he got it. The boys were absolutely thrilled because they were going to be able to go on longer rides.
Not wanting me to feel left out they made sure that I got something too. Just before Mother's Day I was able to get my MINIVAN retrofitted for a hitch. And, to sweeten the deal, I also got a trailer to haul the toys! I am such a lucky woman. Who needs diamonds when you can have those things?! No, I'm just teasing. I really don't want a bunch of diamonds. I wouldn't have any place to wear them!
I just want them to be safe and have fun with their dad. I think this will be something fun for them to do together. And as long as no one gets hurt I'm fine with this activity. Now we just need to find something for Natalie and Drew to do. They totally want to go on these rides with the boys. Maybe I'll just give them a Popsicle!

Hawaii trip

One of the things that we did during the time I last wrote and now is go to Hawaii. Kent and I went with another couple, and we had a blast. We took a cruise so we could see the islands. We were on the Pride of Aloha and left from Honolulu. We were able to visit Kauai, the Big Island (both sides- Hilo and Kona), Maui and Oahu. We took some awesome excursions, and just loved it. I think I want to retire there. It is so beautiful!

This first picture is of us at the luau we went to in Kauai.

This picture is from when we were in Maui. We were on our way up to the top of Haleakala (one of the volcanoes), and we were able to stop and have our pictures taken. We were up so high that we went through the clouds, and then kept driving up for about another 20 minutes. It was pretty chilly at the top, which is why we were dressed in layers and had jeans on.

This picture is of me trying to act like Tarzan.

Kent and I when we were in Oahu at Pearl Harbor.

It's been awhile...

It's been a while... a lot longer than I thought! Almost 3 months have passed since my last posting. Things have been absolutely crazy during this time. The kids finished school last week. It seems like just yesterday they were starting school, and now it's summer, and they're out and having a very busy summer so far. I'd like to say it's all been fun, but the boys are giving me an ulcer! I think it has something to do with them being close in age, but I don't know. Maybe it's just a case of testosterone! I have one brother, and he was 8 years younger than me, so I didn't deal with him the same way my 2 oldest boys have to deal with each other. Everything is a competition between them. It's enough to do me in!

Yesterday things were going well. There was no fighting, no bickering, just the sweet sounds of children playing nicely with each other. So when there was screaming coming from the game room around 8:30 p.m. I wasn't expecting it. I figured since they had gone all day without fighting that it would be a great day. I was wrong. They were punching each other and yelling. All because of a little misunderstanding! I decided that my goal for the summer is this: They are going to learn to get along with each other this summer.

As a punishment for this latest round of fighting they are supposed to be grounded from their friends for a week so they can learn to get along with each other. I made Justin cancel a sleepover that he was going to go to tonight. (I say supposed to be grounded because he got an invitation to another sleepover, and Kent let him go while I was taking a nap! Kent and I clarified what was and wasn't supposed to happen while grounded so when Justin comes home tomorrow morning the grounding will start anew, and he won't go to another party!) They are good boys, but for some reason they just nettle each other until one of them gets angry and they start fighting. Why can't they just get along?!

Anyway, despite the frustration with their fighting, we have been doing other things. Natalie is turning 4 on Wednesday, and she is so excited about it. She and Drew have been planning out a little party for her birthday for weeks now. She lets Drew know that he doesn't get to have a birthday party because it's "her" birthday party, NOT his. This gets him upset because he just doesn't understand why he doesn't get to have a party too. So she's working on being nice to her little brother.

He has already decided that he's going to have a Buzz Lightyear party. Drew's birthday isn't until January 13, but at least he has plans! 2 weeks before his birthday this year I had another set of injections in my back so I didn't do anything with our extended family to celebrate. Only my mom, Kent's mom and one of my sisters remembered his birthday. I feel bad that I didn't do more, but I know that he didn't realize that we didn't have a party for him. So, my goal for next year is to make sure we do something to celebrate!

Besides that they have been playing with each other a ton, and have even gotten in the water when we've gone to Grandma's house to swim. Last summer if I took Natalie in the water at all she would scream bloody murder and dig her fingernails and toenails into my arms and back just so she wouldn't fall. She was absolutely terrified. Drew was a little frightened, but he did okay. We just had to be mindful of his ear tubes not getting too wet. Recently, though, they have both let me put them in the water and walk with them in the pool. They now use the floaties and pool noodles to kick and try to swim. They have had so much fun, and I'm so excited to see the progress they're making. Trevor and Justin are also swimming well, and both try to encourage Natalie and Drew as much as they can.

Also, the day before we went to Hawaii, Trevor got baptized. It was very exciting for him, and he feels like such a big kid now. He got baptized with one of his good friends! Kent baptized him, and Duane (Kent's dad), Gavin (Trevor's uncle) and a few friends were in the circle when he was confirmed. Allan (my brother) moved to CA the day before Trevor's baptism so he wasn't able to attend. We came to the house afterwards for brunch. We got a 6' sub from Subway to feed everyone. Trevor ate 5 subs. He was pretty proud of himself. Needless to say we had no leftovers! Until recently, Trevor took great pride in being thin and being able to eat very little. That changed a couple of months ago when he suddenly developed an appetite for the first time in his life! He is starting to grow like crazy, and hopes to be taller than Justin soon. He still prides himself on being thin, and doing exercises to stay that way!

Here are Kent and Trevor just before the baptism. Trevor was so excited!

Here is Trevor with Justin, Natalie and me after he was baptized and confirmed. He beamed for the rest of the day. He had so much fun.