Jesse's Birthday

Jesse's birthday was on August 6th. We surprised him with a new "Wii". He was totally surprised! While Jesse was opening his present, Collin blurted out "I smell clothes!" We both started laughing so hard. It was funny because he helped me get the Wii, so he knew it wasn't clothes. He was still trying to keep Jesse guessing.
Happy Birthday Jesse! We love you! You are the best husband and Dad ever!

Random Cuteness....

Nothin's cuter than a grown man on a wiggle car racing his son!

Another day, another one of Collin's genius outfits that he insists on wearing to Preschool. The soccer socks and shin guards are the latest addition to these great ensembles.
This picture is really just for my amusement. This is Jesse's "stressed" face. I just so happened to be holding the camera when I witnessed one coming on. I know when I see this face that something is not right in Jesse's world. Love ya babe. Too cute.

Collin and Ty with their usual crazy antics around the house. Funny boys!

A mother loves nothing more than to come in and see her small children nestled in bed, being quiet and sweet. I love moments like these.

The Love Of My Life

My Own Personal RoCkBaNd!

Jesse went out and bought the Playstation game "Rockband" today. The kids love it, even though they (technically) don't know how to play! I can score an easy 98% on vocals! Anyone want to come play with us?!!! It's a slammin' good time!

A Few Things to LOVE about JESSE!

Today is Jesse's Birthday so I felt it would be appropriate to do a little "Spotlight" on him! So sit back and enjoy learning a little bit about my husband, Jesse.

• Jesse is an avid soccer player. He plays at least once a week, and at some times during the year he plays several times a week. I think this is great because he gets some good exercise while enjoying himself!


• Jesse drinks on average three 44 ounce Dr. Peppers per day. (Which you would think this would make playing soccer more difficult...?) I used to hassle him about this bad habit of his, but we came to a truce one day that he wouldn't hassle me about my sweets if I didn't hassle him about his DP. Done. (But he still will probably die from some type of liver disease. He is aware of this and has apparently come to peace with it.)


• Next...Jesse is an awesome role model and friend to youngsters - particularly teenagers. He is a "Big Brother" in the Big Brother Big Sister Program. Jesse has been mentoring Carlos since Carlos was 11 years old. Carlos is now 16 years old and he and Jesse still hang out about once a week. Amazing. We are Carlos' "Godparents" and we are honored that his mom chose us to take that role in his life. We love Carlos and we consider him to be a part of our family. Jesse is also a Sunday School teacher at church to the 14-15 year olds. They all love him! We frequently get door-bell ditched and random pranks played on us - But we think it's funny because quite frankly, if we were out there with them, we'd be doing it too. All of the girls in his Sunday School class think he's "Hot", and I'd have to agree with that!


• Jesse LOVES our two boys more than anything! He is such a great dad. He is such a nurturing male. I think he is more nurturing than I am. When the kids fall or are sick, he has so much sympathy for them. (Not that I don't, but for being a man, I think he has an extra sensitive gene instilled in him.) Jesse is always willing to change a diaper, wipe a yucky nose, clean up after a mess the kids made - whatever, he's always there to help out with the kids. He truly enjoys spending time with them. In fact, when I asked him what he wanted to do for his b-day, he said he wanted to go to a movie with Collin. I thought that was so cute.


• Jesse makes the yummiest nachos religiously every Sunday after church, and washes them down with a coke. Speaking of coke, Jesse is the biggest fan of the 5 for $12 deals on coke. He scans the paper weekly for grocery deals.
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• Jesse won't sleep under the covers by me in bed. He hates the sheets and claims that they make him claustrophobic. He sleeps on top of the covers with his own blanket. Whatever.


• He enjoys mowing the lawn. He won't admit it, but one time, I mowed the lawn and he re-mowed it to his liking. - Uh-huh, a little OCD, don't ya think?


• Jesse is a wonderful HUSBAND! I won't go into a ton of detail here, but I will say that Jesse has always given me Respect, in every sense of the word. He is true to golden rule, "Treat others as you would want to be treated" - Which, that is a great thing in a marriage. I love you Jess!


• Jesse is very budget conscious, but is somehow not capable of keeping up with the bills and checkbook. I have tried several times to hand the financial responsibility over to him (when he feels we could do better at saving money) and he never is able to do it. It's become a bit of a joke between us. Quite honestly, it's a good thing that it stays in my hands, right ladies?

I feel like I could go on and on about Jesse. He is such a good person. I am so grateful to not only know him, but to be married to him!

Happy Birthday Jess!

The Joys of Trees

We have a love-hate relationship with the trees in our yard. We love the shade that they provide, especially because our backyard faces west. But, we also hate the mess and maintenance that they require. We have 5 Locust trees and 5 pine trees on our property! They are tons of work because they are so messy! I got a few pics of Jesse today climbing up the tree to cut down some of the dead limbs. I was totally scared that he was going to fall! He was an impressive little monkey though, and he managed to maneuver around the tree quite nicely! Good job Jess! The trees look much better!

I took these pictures from on top of our deck. He is at least 20 feet up here! In the picture below he was trying to figure out how to get down! Collin was covering his ears and when Jesse asked him why he said, "So I don't hear your loud scream when you fall." So Funny!

The boys came out to help Dad pick up all the sticks!

Zermatt Resort

Jesse and I went overnight to the Zermatt Resort & Spa up in Midway last night for a quick little (desperately needed) getaway. Our room was so awesome. It was so nice to just veg. out and watch a movie in our hotel suite, without little voices crying out constantly. We watched "Dan in Real Life", I thought it was a cute show. I had such a great time. I honestly feel rejuvenated just from that short vacation. A big thanks goes out to my mom for watching the kids overnight. She's the best. And, I love you Jess! You are so sweet to me! I am dying that we have almost been married for 9 years. (We are so old!)This was the view from the balcony in our room. The mountains are so green and beautiful right now. I was just soaking it all in . I loved it!

Happy Fathers Day!

I just wanted to put on here a little tribute to the Fathers in my life. I am so blessed to have such a great husband who is an AMAZING FATHER to our two boys. He is so cute with them. He is so good at getting on their level and playing with them and getting silly with them! I love you Jess, and I am so GRATEFUL that I married you. You are the best Dad to our kids!

I also need to say that I HAVE THE BEST DAD ever! My dad is awesome and I am so lucky to live right next door to him so that he can keep my yard up to par. My dad is so great with all his grandkids too. He and my mom are always putting their lives on hold to entertain and babysit grandkids and I want them to know how much that means to both me and my kids. I know my boys love their Grandpa Steve so much! And I LOVE YOU DAD!

My Father-in-law, Rick, is also a great father and grandfather. Even though he has lived across the country for the past several years (He is finally living back here in Utah), he always made an effort to be to every major event he could. He was here for both my boy's blessings, even though he had to travel across the country to be here. Grandpa Rick is so cute with all the kids. They LOVE their Grandpa Rick! - And Jesse and I have been so thankful to Rick for helping us out in so many ways! WE LOVE YOU!