{Happy Birthday Baby Girl}

How can my baby girl be three already? I know we all say this about our kids, but time has seriously just flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday I was having an ultrasound and hoping I would get a girl this time around, so I would get a beautiful crocheted dress and loopy booties from Grandma Ainge. I don't think I really believed that she was a girl, until she made her quick entrance into the world and the nurse (who delivered her since she came so quick) handed her to me. Carlie was a darling baby with lots of blond curly hair. She's had all of us (especially her big brothers) wrapped around her little finger since day one, and she rules the roost! Carlie is our spunky little princess, who is often bossy and well, usually ends up getting her way. She loves to be pretty, but will play in the dirt anytime. Carlie loves to dress up and changes her clothes no less than 4 times a day and usually it's more. Together Carlie and her cousin Tylie make up the "Terrible Two" and where they are, a mess of giant proportions can usually be found. Carlie gives the best hugs and kisses, but you may have to beg for them. We love you baby girl, Happy Birthday!

Carlie Saige~ Sept. 20th
Isn't that the cutest smile and the craziest hair?
Mmm, Yummy, Cereal!
All Dressed Up!

1st Birthday
Sugar & Spice
Daddy's Little Mechanic Girl
Best Buddies and Little Monkeys~Addie, Tylie & Carlie
Carlie Loves "Her Boys, Bubba and Taylib".
Carlie is always up for a "Vroom Vroom" ride.

Spring 2008

Carlie is Daddy's Girl!
What a cute smile!
Carlie is our little fish, she loves the water and spending time on the boat.
Could that look be any more mischievous?

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY DOLL~

{Sleepy Little Miss & More Projects for Mom}

For some reason Carlie has been getting up early the last few days? This morning she crawled into our bed at 6:05, and decided it was time to chat (that is much too early for chatting). She also decided recently that she isn't taking naps anymore. I have to tell you, the combination of the two makes for one tired girl. I was working on the laundry and when I came back in the kitchen she was curled up asleep on one of the chairs at the table. I ran to get my camera, but one of the boys came in and woke her up. A few minutes later, Kaleb told me to be quiet because Carlie was asleep.....this time on the stairs? A bit later I found her half on, half off the couch, and yes, she had peed! Hopefully she'll sleep longer tomorrow.

I'm sure you will all be happy to know I got Carlie's quilt finished, and I must say it turned out pretty good for a first timer. I'll share pic's after her birthday. I think I must be in project mode. I found this cradle at a yard sale earlier this summer......can we say RETRO? I thought it would be cute in Carlie's room and I think she'll love playing with it. But, it's screaming for some paint and I really want it done in time for her birthday? Wish me luck, I really need less projects or I need to start giving myself more time to finish them?

It's cute, isn't it?

Pretty hot mask, right??? Well, I didn't want to be breathing old lead paint.

Don't you just love the decals?

{I'm Grateful For}

It's been awhile since I did a gratitude post, so in no particular order, I'm grateful for...........

• Modern Medicine~ It's truly amazing the technology we have, from surgery to medications, we are blessed.
• Primary Kids & Music~ We are having our program this Sunday and the kids have worked hard, they are darling and the music is truly inspired. There were quite a few moments I had tears as we practiced last week, there is just something about those kids singing those songs, you know?
• My Brock~ He's such a great kid! I got a call from his teacher yesterday (at first I was worried when I saw her name on caller id). There is a boy in his class that has a crappy home life and misses quite a bit of school. Brock choose to stay in from both lunch and afternoon recess to help him with the work he's missed. When I asked him about it, he just said, "well, he's my friend and he needed some help." What a thoughtful, caring and selfless thing to do and I'm super proud of him!
• Coconut Lemongrass Scentsy~ Yummy! I love this scent!
• Friends/Cousins~ What great listeners and support I have. It's nice to know I have people to call or email and they will just listen if that's what I need, or give advice if I'm needing that.
• Snickers Rockin' Nut Road~ I should have never tried this (thanks Lis for tempting me). I was bummed at first when I saw it was dark chocolate, but it's YUM-M-Y! (you need to try it mom)
• My Mom & Dad~ Today is their 33 anniversary! What great people they both are and they are also great examples. I'm one lucky girl!
• I'm thankful for your quilt sewing tips.....keep them coming!

{Unaccomplished Sew-er Seeking Advice}

So, as some of you know Miss Carlie Silly Pants is having a birthday in the very near future, (my baby is turning three, how can that be?) We've decided that she really should be in a "big girl bed" (aka, toddler bed) and what better time to change then her birthday? Anyhow, that means she is in need of a blanket/bedspread also, and I thought I'd just whip one up! The problem, you ask. Well, I can sew, but I'm far from a seamstress, to me being able to sew and being a seamstress are two totally different things, a seamstress has TALENT! I'm not asking for compliments here, I know my limitations. So I decided a simple rag quilt couldn't be too hard, in fact my SIL, Julia has made one and she doesn't sew at all. So, I started with a little blanket for her doll cradle to get the feel for it. It's not bad, but it's just not great. I've decided I won't use black thread, though I really like the look of the black, all my mistakes and sloppy seams are glaringly obvious, so I'll use pink. Here is where I need advice. Have any of you done a rag quilt? (you know you have, fess up!) Do you have any brilliant advice for me? I know all of you who read my blog are brilliant, so bring on that advice, and be honest, it won't hurt my feelings at all. Oh, and not to be bossy, but advice sooner rather than later please, I only have just over a week to get this project done! Oh, and yes, I do know sew-er is not a word, but seamstress I'm not, so sew-er it's going to have to be:)

Here is the cradle quilt, like I said, not bad, but not great!

126 squares of fabric, 63 squares of batting, 1 spool of thread.....now tell me how to make it into a FANTASTIC quilt???

{Lucky 13}

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary! Thirteen years just seems crazy to me. I feel like it was just yesterday that we were dating? How did time go so fast? We've done so much in those short years, I just thought I'd share a few little trivia facts.

• We've attended 11 years of college between us (only two of those years are mine).


• We have had 9 jobs, only 2 mine and right now Derrick is working 3 of those.


• We have been married 4749 days which is also, 410,313,600 seconds, 6,838,560 minutes,
  113,976 hours, and 678 weeks. WOW!


• We've had the chance to travel to quite a few places together, Hawaii, Russia, Ireland, and Canada being just a few.


• We have had 9 different cars/trucks. Can any of you name them all?


• We have moved 10 times in those 13 years. The longest we've stayed in one place, was our tiny trailer in Woods Cross, we were there for over 4 years. We've also built 2 new homes together in just over 2 years, with Derrick doing the contracting. I'm betting after that we can make it through anything!


• We've added 3 pretty cute kids to our family....I'm thinking we'll keep them all!


• Most of all, we've made some great memories and had FUN together! I can't wait to see what the coming years will bring!

Derrick & Monica ~ September 9th, 1995

(ok, how young do we look?)

I can't believe how much everyone has changed. Left to Right, My brothers, Kyle & Shad, my cute little Skyler, my sister Lisa, my friend Patti, Me & Derrick, our buddy James, Derrick's brother Nick, my Mom and Dad, Derrick's Mom and Derrick's Dad.

I guess we are a few years older and maybe wiser too?

{All About MOM}

I've seen this on a few of your blogs and thought I'd give it a shot, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to know some of the answers.

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
*Brock- Love you
*Kaleb- Nice things
2. What makes Mom happy?
*Brock- Cleaning our room
*Kaleb- Giving kisses
3. What makes Mom sad?
*Brock- When we are doing bad things
*Kaleb- Doing things we aren't supposed to
4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
*Brock- Tickles me
*Kaleb-Tickles
5. What was your Mom like as a child?
*Brock- She had brown hair, and freckles and I don't know.
*Kaleb- Her mom
6. How old is your Mom?
*Brock- 32
*Kaleb- I don't know, 25 (I love you, K)
7. How tall is your Mom?
*Brock- I don't know, 4 feet, is that right?
*Kaleb- 34
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
*Brock- Spend time with us
*Kaleb- Cook (ummm, yea that's why we go out so much)
9. What does your Mom do when your not around?
*Brock- Take care of Carlie
*Kaleb- Clean (umm, again yea, that's why you can't walk down the hall)
10. If you Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
*Brock- Money (????)
*Kaleb- Famous cleaning
11. What is your Mom really good at?
*Brock- Being a mom (awwww)
*Kaleb- Cooking
12. What is your Mom not very good at?
*Brock- Going in water
*Kaleb- Building with Lego's, really you aren't
13. What does your Mom do for her job?
*Brock- Watch us, be a mom
*Kaleb- Taking care of the kids
14. What is your Mom's favorite food?
*Brock- Salad (I should eat more of that)
*Kaleb- Sloppy Joes (ummm, no)
15. What makes you proud of your Mom?
*Brock-To be a good mom
*Kaleb- Being nice
16. If your Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
*Brock- Don't know?
*Kaleb- My mom
17. What do you and your Mom do together?
*Brock- We eat dinner together.
*Kaleb- Clean
18. How are you and your Mom the same?
*Brock- We both don't like bananas
*Kaleb- We're nice
19. How are you and your Mom different?
*Brock- I'm a boy and you're a girl.
*Kaleb- eating, you do and I don't sometimes (yea, I do to much)
20. How do you know your Mom loves you?
*Brock- Because you be nice to us.
*Kaleb- Because she loves us the most.

{Campin' at Fishlake}

We just got home from our weekend at Fishlake. I should be doing the mountains of laundry or cleaning out the camper, but well, I'd rather blog.

We went with Derrick's dad and the family. We haven't camped with them since before Carlie was born, and Kaleb was pretty little, so I'd say we were a bit overdue for a little outing. The kids all get along well and have a good time together. Carlie is Sydney's little shadow and wants to be doing whatever "Syney" is. At breakfast this morning Carlie didn't want a blueberry muffin until we told her Sydney was having one, then she for sure wanted one.

Sydney and her little shadow, Carlie!

I was a bit worried when I saw the forecast for snow above 8,000 feet for today, Fishlake sits at 9,000 or so. We really had mostly good weather. It rained a bit each day, Saturday was the sunniest day and today we didn't even take the boats out because it was windy, but it could have been WAY worse, and I'm not complaining a bit. When we first unloaded the boat I was thinking that this was my kind of lake, it's too cold to get in the water, so relaxing on the boat, I'm all about that. Then I glanced at the depth gauge....124, WHAT? The next time I looked it was around 150 something, I'd have to say that freaked me out a bit. Everyone had a good time fishing while I read a bit, had a little nap and just enjoyed the scenery. We found a little spot where there were LOTS of perch. The kids had so much fun casting in and almost immediately pulling in a fish. I bet we caught 50 or more over the 2 days. Derrick even caught a few with no bait.

Brock in Grandpa's boat
Careful K, you wouldn't want to fall in, it's COLD!
The first fish we caught
>Sydney is a pretty good little fisher!

With all the rain we had I was grateful we had our trusty camper. Some of you may recognize the camper, look close. This special camper has some history. My grandma and grandpa Ainge bought it brand new in, ready for this.....1971, really they did! Yes people, that is 37 years ago. My mom and dad took it on their honeymoon in 1975. Sometime in the 80's they sold it to my grandma and grandpa Beckstrand, who when they decided they didn't use it enough, gave it to my parents, who it turn passed it on to us. We've had it for 8 years or so. We are thinking that next year we may be getting a fifth wheel trailer, and it will be with mixed emotions that we'll retire the trusty family camper. It's served us well, but we are about out of room. All three kids share one small bed, the boys long ways and Carlie at their feet sideways. I had to take a picture this morning, sometime during the night Carlie crawled up between the boys. They looked a bit cramped. Miss Carlie was wound up last night and would not stop talking. After a half hour or so I stopped answering her, she still didn't stop asking me questions....one she asked 24 times, I counted, I think it was "Mama, where Syney?" Then came, "Syney sleeping" and "Where's doobado (scooby doo)?" I couldn't believe we got any sleep!

I had to laugh as some kids rode by on bikes the first day and one said "See, that's the truck and camper I was tellin' you about!"

That doesn't look too comfy to me, how about you?

It was so nice to be in the mountains and enjoy the scenery and get away for a few days. On the drive we saw a coyote cross the road. We had deer and the cutest little chipmunk that was just too quick for me to get a picture of, in our camp. As we were fishing both days this beautiful bird hung out with us, and we saw and otter at the docks.

You have to look close to see the deer!

I think we all had a great time. The kids hiked all over the mountain and drug poor Bud the dog all over with them. I'd have to say this trip will be a great memory for all of us! Now I guess I better to get to those laundry mountains!

This was the best picture I could get of all 4 kids!

Brock, Kaleb and Carlie right before we left to come home!