The Marx's

Chirstmas Day

2011-12-31T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well this is a bummer. I just erased all of the Christmas photos:( At least you have one of the tree even if it is a really bad picture. Bummer. Oh well this year Christmas was on a Sunday and we had 9am Church so we decided to just have our traditional muffin breakfast then head off to Church. Church was great there were lots of amazing musical numbers. We then came home and opened up presents. The kids loved their gifts. Drew got lots and lots of Bakaguns. Charlie got a huge doll and earings. Parker got some Tigger slippers, cars and a learning lady bug toy thingy. Matt got a pair of swim trunks and I refused to buy him anything else since he bought the pop up trailor(should probably write about that next blog post). Matt got me a new kitchen sink and installed it a week before Christmas. That night I made a ham, sweet pototoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes and salad. Ron and Kim joined us for dinner and got to see what the kids scored for Christmas. We left on Wednesday to go to Arizona to see my family we had fun seeing everyone. I went to a wedding reception for a good friend Kimmy Hayes while we were down there. We had a great holiday season and now are ready for what the new year will bring.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we spent at Ron and Kim's place this year. The newlyweds (Scotty and Ashley Noel) Jordan, Jenn, and Carson all attended this year feistivities. We started off the night with some yummy appitizers and then dinner. We got to talk to Bekah on the phone for a little while. After we rolled ourselves out of our chairs from over eating or maybe that was just me we exchanged presents. Parker loved his little fire truck from Grandma. Andrew got Backagans so he happy. Charlie scored some earings and a Tangeled doll set. Matt scored some gun stuff not really sure what he got if I'm going to be honest. I got some lovely new kitchen towels from William Sonoma. Plus lots of other fun stuff.

Charlie's shirt "My brother is the naughty one."

Parker and Carson

2011-12-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Painting Day

2011-12-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

My mom helped me make some new curtains for the living room which lead to the need to change the paint color in the kitchen. Friday night I taped and primmed. Saturday Jenn came over to help me paint. It only took 3 different paint colors and a few tears before I found the right one. I love the new look.

Charlie's Dance Class

2011-12-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

Charlie's dance studio had an open house where the parents could come in and watch the dance class and take pictures. She loves her dance class. She is so cute even if she is a foot taller than all of her classmates.

Disneyland

2011-11-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

We were able to take the kids to Disneyland. We went with some family and it was so nice to have extra adults to keep track of the kiddos. Ron, Kim, Jenn, Jordan and Carson all were there having fun with us. The kids had a great time. We went for two days the weather was good for the first day and the crowds weren't too bad for the first day. The second day was rainy and cold so it was pretty empty which made it nice that the park was empty. Drew loved the ride Autotopia. It is a car ride and they give you a fake driver license. He know truly believes he has a real driver license that night on the way home from dinner. He turned to me and asked if I needed him to drive home because I looked tired. It was so sweet. Charlie loved taking pictures with the different characters and meeting them. Parker did pretty good he even took a nap in his stroller. Drew and Charlie asked if we could go again in 4 years. I think we can handle that.

Scotty & Ashley Noel

2011-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Matt's little brother Scotty got married on 11-11-11. Everything was so lovely all day. Congrats guys!

Daddy Son Day

2011-11-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

Matt had a slow couple of days at work so he was able to take Parker with him for some Daddy Son bonding time. Parker was so excited to pack up his essentials daiper and wipes and spend some time with his Daddy. He did come home with a small cut on his head from falling out of a wheel barrel. We love Parker he is all boy and full of energy.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-02T20:27:00.001-07:00

I am officially firing myself as family photographer and plan on just hiring someone to be at my house at all times to capture my kids life on film. I did manage to get a few pictures of the festivities.

The first Halloween activity was the kids school's Fall Festival. It was on a Friday night. I start getting everyone ready and dressed. Drew has a meltdown before we even get to the car. Supposedly he no longer wants to wear his brand new Bakagun custom. By the time I realized he just needed to eat something he missed out on most of the fun. He would stand and wait in a line and then when he got to the front he would break down again and say he didn't want to go. Needless to say it was a long night and we didn't even stay that long. Charlie was dressed up as Cinderella and Parker was a lion.

The next night we went over to the Parry's Halloween party. The kids had a great time. They really loved the donut game but mostly just because they each got to eat a donut. They even had a haunted house. Charlie dressed up as a cat for this party.

Charlie ready for dance class. She went as Snow White for this occasion.

Then I totally dropped the ball and did not get a single picture of Halloween night or the ward Trunk or Treat.

The ward Trunk or Treat was fun my parents were in town and they came along with my sister Callie. We had to usual chili cook off. My chili did not win any prizes:( But I was not really expecting it to but I like to win so it was a little damaging to my ego:)

Halloween was on a Monday this year and Matt had school so I braved it solo. I took the kids through the neighborhood until my back hurt from carrying Parker. Oh why didn't I just bring a stroller for Parker that would have helped but it was in my car at UNLV:( Parker and Charlie were both horses and Andrew was a Bakagun again. We came home and passed out candy. We ran out of candy kinda early and can I just say how annoying it is when kids keep ringing your door bell when your porch light is off.

Slacker

2011-11-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

So I have been a major slacker lately in updating but here is a little slice of our life. Since the weather is cooling off finally I have been cooking up a storm. I made homemade chicken n dumplings and Parker could not get enough he licked his bowl clean.

These are the two babies I watch Tyson 6 months and Kaylee 7 months. Charlie is a big help some days. On this day she entertained the babies with story time.

Later she demanded the babies to give her a foot massage.

Charlie dressed up pretty for her first Primary Program.

Parker has found this little dust pan and broom and insists on cleaning up. He sure can make some big messes cleaning up.

All about me

2011-10-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

I never seem to talk about what I am doing so here is a post all about me. As I sit here I am singing the song "You're So Vain." So let me indulge you on what I have been up to lately. This summer I started watching kids in my home. It has gone really well so far. I tend to watch a lot of babies which I love that means lots of nap times too:) Plus it is helping me not get baby hungry for baby number 4. I really want to get to my goal weight this time before I get pregnant to help me do that I started a juice fast. What is a juice fast well all I consume is freshly juiced veggies and fruit. It is going good so far I am down 12 pounds in 5 days. The evenings are rough but I am hoping that gets better soon. I want to try to do 45 days or 35 pounds.

I canned pears 16 quarts to be exact. It was so time consuming but I was also doing it while watching 3 extra kids. It took me six hours and was a sticky mess. I seriously felt sticky for days. But they are so pretty I love to just look at them and imagine eating some in a few months.

My start picture on day one of my juice fast. Don't judge I know I really let myself go again.

I finally joined pinterest and have found some really cool things from it. One of them is an easy way to clean your stove. Spray ammonia on your stove top then cover with a garbage sack let set over night. Then everything just wipes off. Now maybe I will clean my stove more often. It really does work I did this after canning that sticky mess of pears.

Put your burners in gallon sized Ziploc baggies with 1/4 ammonia and let sit overnight. It really works wonders.

I made some homemade laundry detergent. It is really easy and it only takes these three ingredients. I did it mostly to add to my emergency storage so that I have stuff on hand to make my own detergent if I every need to start doing that.

The kids have been really picky at dinner time and it is so frustrating. This is a picture of all three kids crying at the dinner table. I had made Frito pie an easy dish Fritos topped with chili. Well Drew starts crying once he sees that the chili has beans in it. He refuses to eat beans unless they are refried beans. Charlie starts crying because Matt put the chili on her Fritos and she wanted two bowls one of each so she could dip them. Parker was already cranky and burst into tears along with the other two. It was so comical I really should have gotten a video of it. I should be the one upset that's right look at my plate that's right no plate just my juice.

Charlie's hair I know this post is supposed to be all about me but really doing Charlie's hair is all about me. I love doing fun and different hairstyles it really is my favorite time of day and I love getting complements on her hair. I was so excited when I found out she had afternoon pre school because I have as much time as I want to fix her hair each day. I truly envy her straight long hair and would chop it all of and take it for myself if I could.

So that is about all my life consists of right now watching kids, cooking, cleaning house, juicing, and doing hair. Nothing glamorous but I am happy (most days).

DS

2011-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Andrew. He worked very hard all summer dog sitting and scooping dog poop. He paid his tithing put aside some for his mission and then saved the rest of his money so he could buy a Nintendo DS. He saved $130 of fun money and was able to buy a used DS with 2 games. He loves his DS and wants to play it all the time but Mommy is mean and only lets him play it occasionally.

7 is fine

2011-09-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

My baby turned 7 today. I am pretty sure I will always think of Andrew as my baby even if he is my oldest child. He is such a sweet kid and I am so blessed to be his Mom. Today he took donught to school to share with his class. We had a whole 45 minutes to celebrate with the family between Charlie's dance class and Matt's 11 year old Scouts. Kim brought over pizza and we had chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. Drew opened up his presents he got a new video game for his DS from Kim and Ron and Matt and I gave him some roller blades, helmet and a bakagun toy. This year is an odd year so no birthday party with friends but we will be taking him this weekend to Laser Quest.

Hunt Family Reunion

2011-09-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we were able to go to Northern Californa for the Hunt family reunion. We left Wednesday night about 10pm after picking Miken up from the airport. We drove through the night pretty uneventful except for the multiple stops for carsick kids. We pulled over 4 times for Drew and 2 times for Charlie. We got to our hotel around 11 am checked in and did a little swimming and napping for Matt. The next day we headed up to Camp Liahona Redwoods were we would meet up with the rest of the gang. My parents have been serving a service mission at this camp for the last year. Friday night we had a memorial service for my Uncle Ronny who passed away a couple of months ago. Saturday we did some hiking, swimming, and relaxing. We were able to help pack up my parent's house since they are finally going home. The kids had such a good time seeing their Grandma and exploring the camp. Parker ate a good amount of dirt and loved it.

We left Sunday around 2 pm after about an hour Charlie upchucked the last three days worth of food. She felt much better after the incident it only took 2 towels and 2 blankets to clean up the mess. The ride home was stinky but we made it home around 3 am Monday morning. I was so exhausted I let the kids stay home from school. Mostly so I wouldn't have to get them ready and take them to school. Now time to get all the laundry done.

Dance

2011-09-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Charlie started a new dance class it is a Musical Movement class. She absolutely loves going and is excited about her new dance clothes and shoes.

Happy Day

2011-09-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Parker turned 18 months today. That is a happy day for Mommy and Daddy. He went in to nursery officially today (Matt has been taking him and dropping him off for the third hour for a couple of months). He actually cried until I got him to the nursery class then he was happy once I dropped him off. It is totally backwards I know. He was so excited to have a handout to look at after church.

Randomness

2011-09-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the fun hairdos I have done on Charlie lately.

Charlie has been practicing riding a bike without training wheels she is close. I just bought her a bigger bike at DI and that should help.

Parker and Charlie playing together.

Parker loves to help me vacum. He screams when I don't let him help.

Oh, the places you'll go

2011-09-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Every year our school has an amazing tradition. They kick off the new school year by reminding the kids of all the places they can go by reading "Oh, the places you'll go" by Dr. Seuss. All the children receive a balloon to release to represent all the places they will go and that they can soar high. It always brings tears to my eyes.

First Day of School

2011-08-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today is my favorite day of the year beats Christmas, my Birthday even Mother's Day. Yup it is the first day. Don't get me wrong I love my children but we just need a break from each other.

Charlie is in afternoon pre-k she goes to the same teacher and school as last year. She will be riding the bus to and from school:)

Andrew will be going to 1st grade and is excited about riding his bike to school with a some friends.

Lake Powell

2011-08-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend 4 days at Lake Powell with Kim and Ron. It was fun to relax and spend time together.

Andrew learned how to set up the anchors for the house boat.

There was lots and lots of eating and goodies.

Parker and Charlie enjoyed playing in the mud.

Parker crawling the plank to get back on the house boat.

Parker was too funny he insisted on sitting and splashing in the water buckets that were supposed to be used for washing off your feet when you come on the boat.

There was lots of playing on the I pad.

We watched lots of kid movies.

Drew loved climbing on the anchor ropes and even gave himself a nice rope burn on his stomach.

We spent lots of time swimming to stay cool.

Andrew found a baby rattle snake about ten feet from the house boat.

Las Vegas 51's

2011-08-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Matt and I donated blood last month and got free tickets to the Las Vegas 51's baseball game. We packed up the kids and invited Ron and Kim to come along. It was $1 menu night so we ate lots of hot dogs. When we got there they came up to us and asked if Andrew would like to run a race against the mascot after the fourth inning. He was so excited and nervous to lose in front of so many people. He won and had the biggest grin on his face for the rest of the night. It was fun night with the family.

Horray

2011-08-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

It only took him 17 months but he is finnally walking. He is the cutest looking drunk baby ever stumbling all over the place. His hands are usually up high to help him balance. He is such a little cutie pie.

Visitors

2011-08-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Miken and Phil were moving from Arizona to Utah so they stayed the night with us to break up the trip. We had a nice dinner Thursday night and then all the girls decided to gang up on poor Andrew. It was just a quick visit but it was nice to see them.

Flowers

2011-08-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Matt bought me some flowers. After a few days Parker could not resist the urge to climb up on the table and try out his floral arrangement skills. He is my little climber he has tried multiple times to climb into his crib that's right you heard right that boy loves to sleep.

Breaking the Board

2011-08-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

Charlie and Andrew took a Karate class together at the community center. On the last day they were able to show off all their new skills by breaking a board. Charlie was not strong enough to break her board but Andrew was once again able to break his board.

Camping Trip

2011-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we took the kids camping up by Ely. We went with the Clement family and Staley family. We had such a good time. Parker was a little pill and cried a lot but other than that is was perfect. We went through two caves, fished, the kids played in lots of mud and we ate lots of yummy food. Matt took my out one night for my first bunny busting experience and it was so much fun. There were 10 kids total ranging from 4 months to 9 years old and they all played great together. We almost couldn't leave to come home Matt was adamant that he catch at least one fish before leaving. Let's just say that everyone else caught fish without a problem. I can't wait to go again next year.

At the Lehman cave.

Parker really disliked the cave experience and screamed through most of it.

Charlie loves to give attitude when we try to get a family photo.

So tired.

I guess Matt was hungry for some sushi.

Baby cage fighting.

Not sure if he is happy from the Gatorade or stealing my chair.

Little miss happy and as dirty as can be.

Andrew ready to take out some bunnies.

Matt caught a lot of weeds.

The fish can be a little bit intimidating.

Charlie's first fishy.

The kids favorite spot at the camp.

This tree was so big all the kids could climb it at once.

Picnic lunch

The hot springs were we cleaned up before our drive home.

Drew's first fish.

Peaceful

The entrance to the second cave.

Never Too Young

2011-08-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Normally I try to do the kids homework while Parker is sleeping but on this day Parker was up and playing. He decided that he needed to get a head start on learning and joined in with the kids homework time. Not sure yet if he will be a lefty or right handed so trying out both.

Group Nap Time

2011-07-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Right before nap time the kids showed me their special little spot they had made. They wanted to have a group nap time and promised to be quite. To bad they have a mean Mommy and made them separate for nap time or as Mommy likes to call it keepmysanitytime.

Baby Parker

2011-07-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

He is still my little baby even if he is already 16 months old. He is such a happy little guy but when he is not he will squeal and let you know. I call him high pitched Parker some days. He normally squeals when Charlie is bothering him or you don't feed him fast enough.

Most days I feel like I do a pretty good job at being a Mom but not last Tuesday. We went swimming at a friends house and I sun blocked all the kids but I totally missed a couple of spots on Parker's and Charlie's face. It was really bad you can't really see how bad from this picture but it totally peeled a couple of days later.

Parker is still a Mamma's boy he prefers me if I am around and squeals when I try to pass him off. He gets over it quickly but it makes me feel good inside that he likes me.

Parker loves playing in this drawer. He fills is up with toys and gets right inside to play with them all.

Oh my I need to get this boy balloons more often it was so much fun to watch him play with it all day. It finally flew away at the end of the day when he took it outside:(

Parker might need a bigger mouth. He loves to eat and I am always amazed at how quickly he can down his food.

Parker still sucks his thumb when he lays down to sleep. He is totally attached to his little blue doggie blanket. He still takes two naps a day which is nice and hard if we want to actually go anywhere.

I would post of a picture of him walking but he refuses to do that so technically that still makes him my baby since he can't walk.

Summer of Fun

2011-07-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

A few of the things we have been doing to stay busy this summer at the Marx home.

Matt was taking 2 online summer school courses. Working in the heat and taking 2 classes was taking a lot out of him. He finally got admitted to UNLV and we found out that he would be one class short of taking 60 credits at UNLV so it was an easy decision to drop his hard class. To bad we didn't get a refund for the class he dropped:( Matt still enjoys going out on the weekends with his friend Travis. They find all kinds of stuff to stay out tell odd hours of the night mostly shooting at poor defenseless little animals.

My main hobby is fixing Charlie's hair in new and unique hairstyles. This is a picture of a 5 stranded french braid. I have been working on the 7 stranded braid but do not have it perfected yet. This summer I have been babysitting a lot. Right now I have a 3 month old 4 days a week and a few others once a week. It makes it hard to go anywhere during the day with an extra baby but somehow I am managing to survive.

Mister Parker is continuing to grow up quickly but still refuses to walk even though he can. He loves to wrestle with the family and finds it hilarious when others are getting picked on. Parker is doing so good in his swim lessons. He can kick, blow bubbles, and he even jumps in the pool from off the side.

Charlie spends a lot of time coloring. She is also a big help when I am babysitting. She is also full of drama this summer. She loves to tell me things like "You are the worst Mommy ever" or "You have ruined my life" as she storms away crying. I really miss my pretalking Charlie sometimes.

A friend of mine gave me 2 big boxes of books. I didn't have anywhere to put them so just shoved them in the guest room downstairs. We now call the room the Library and you can usually find Andrew in there looking at the books. Hopefully soon he will just start reading the words too. We have been very diligent this summer with doing homework everyday with Andrew.

Zion

2011-06-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

I was in a need for a trip away from the kids so Matt and I planed a trip to Zion to do a canyon. Matt got into rappelling a few years ago and became a BSA climbing instructor. He has gotten the chance to go on lots of trips with the Scouts so it was about time that I got to go too. I have always wanted to rappel but have never had the chance. Tuesday before our trip we went up to Red Rock to get on the rope and practice. The kids even went down with Matt.

Kim was great and watched the kids while we went out of town. We left late Thursday morning we got to Zion and set up camp then went sight seeing around town. Friday Matt woke up at 4:30 am to go stand in line to pull a permit for the canyon we wanted to do. They only let so many people down it a day and we were lucky to get a permit for our group. After Matt got back we had to move camp sites because they were all booked for the next night. We did some more sight seeing and a hike then that night we went into Hurricane and saw the movie X-Men. Later that night the Parry's, Staley's and Travis came and camped with us. Saturday morning we woke up early and headed off to rent wet suits. We got all suited up and harnesses on and off we went. Each rappel ended into freezing cold water. The water level was really high because it was so early in the season so there were lots of times we were swimming through the canyon. There was one down climb off a boulder into water I slipped on the way down and fell the rest of the way. I went under the water a couple of feet and my feet still didn't hit the ground. Towards the end there was a lot of boulder hopping. There were a total of 5 rappels and a little over 2 miles of hiking and it took us about 6 hours. At the end there was this beautiful pool that we went swimming and cliff jumping. It was so much fun I hope we get to do it again soon.

Karen, me and Natalie

A view of Pine Creek from up high the black dark area is what we were hiking and rappelling through.

Matt and I after the big hike.

Awards Ceremony

2011-06-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his first grade awards ceremony. He got the Bringing Up your Grades award and the PAWS of Pride award for Sense of Humor. I am so proud of how hard he has worked this year. His ability to focus on school work has improved so much. Even with all his improvements we have decided that he could really use another year in first grade. The best part, he is super excited to do first grade again.

Grass Angels

2011-06-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Charlie was waiting for the bus and she started to do some grass angels it was so cute. We have been enjoying the great cool weather other than the freaky wind storms.

Feild Day

2011-06-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

Drew was really excited for Field Day at school. He had so much fun. I thought it would be complete craziness but it was so organized with different stations every 15 minutes.

Swim Lessons

2011-05-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

The kids have been taking swim lessons once a week for 3 months now. Parker and I go in the morning and do a little Mommy and Me class. Parker cried the whole 30 minutes the first couple of times. He is finally warming up to the idea of swimming and only cries when he has to leave me which is only a couple of times during the lesson. Charlie was really scared the first couple of lessons but started to really like swimming. Then two weeks ago they decided she was ready to start pushing her to do more and she did not like that at all. I could hardly get her to go back the next week she was so scared. She cried almost the whole class. Drew on the other hand loves to swim and has already moved up one level.

Drinking Buddies

2011-05-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

I think it is important to be able to have someone to kick back and relax with while having a drink. These boys sure know how to down a bottle:)

Parker and Carson

Dance-Sing Sensations Spring Recital

2011-05-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Charlie had her Spring Recital for Dance-Sing Sensations. I was so happy they used the same costumes from the previous recital so we just had to pay for new accessories. Charlie loves to be on stage which is funny to me because she is so shy. She did so much better this time with knowing more of the moves for her dances. Her class sang 4 songs and she did okay learning the words to her songs.

Funeral, Graduation and Sea World

2011-05-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had a trip planned to San Diego to go to Brad's Graduation from Law School. That same week my Aunt Luann's husband Tom passed away. So we were able to rearrange our trip a little and were able to make it to the funeral in Long Beach. We loaded up the car at 3am on Friday. We assumed the kids would fall back asleep not so much. The older kids finally fell back asleep at 5am but Parker on the other hand was a stinker and only took a 30 minute nap around 6am. It was only about a 5 hour drive but it seemed to take forever.

The funeral was nice and my favorite part of funerals is to be able to get together with family. The kids were so excited to be able to see their Grandma Jo and Grandpa Hunt.

NO I am not pregnant but it totally looks like it in this picture.

Friday afternoon we headed over to San Diego to our hotel. While Matt and Parker took naps I took Drew and Charlie swimming. Drew thought it would be funny to reenact the pool scene from the movie Sandlot:) After that we went to dinner at a little pizza place with Brad, Kara, Hallie and Bekah. Saturday was the big graduation. Parker and I spent most of our time outside walking around but I hear it was nice.

The Marx Family

The boys helped Brad move to a new apartment later that day.

We took the kids to the Mormon Battalion Fort. They thought it was pretty cool dress up like a solider and laundress.

Saturday night dinner ended up being kind of late by the time the move was complete. Parker was getting sick so I stayed at he hotel with him while the other went to AppleBee's. Charlie was so tuckered out she fell asleep at the table and Scotty was nice enough to help her finish her food.

The next day we headed to San Diego for the day with Aunt Bekah. Kim was nice enough to keep Parker at the hotel since he was not feeling good. It was so nice not to have to haul the baby around and we were able to do so much more.

Charlie was pretty excited to reached the height restrictions for the rides.

We left the park about 6pm went to pick up Parker and drop of Bekah and headed home. We were all exhausted from the busy weekend luckily the kids did sleep on the way home.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day. Matt and the kids made me breakfast in bed and I got to sleep in. Matt got all the kids ready for Church and even fixed Charlie's hair. At Church the Priesthood came in and took over Primary so all the sister's could go to Relief Society. Matt took over in Nursery for me and experienced the fun I go through each week. Kim, Ron, Jordan, Jenn, Carson and Callie came over for dinner. Matt was in charge of setting the table and Barbecuing. I got the greatest gift of all this year Matt admitted that he couldn't wait to get back to work on Monday because my job as a Mom is exhausting.

Charlie being a grump.

Kim's Recital

2011-05-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Kim had a Harp Recital. The Marx family was about a quarter of the audience. She did such a good job.

Strawberries

2011-05-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to order fresh strawberries from California. So I decided to do a group order for the ward. Friday night I picked up 61 flats of strawberries. One more flat and the kids would of had to walk home:) I ordered 2 flats for myself. I made 9 batches of freezer jam, 1 batch of cooked jam, fruit leather, froze some and we ate lots of them too.

Dirty Boy

2011-04-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Parker loves to get a little messy. He was playing outside and Charlie had made some mud puddles. Parker thought they were great and had fun getting all muddy. After he was done playing he went straight to the bathtub for cleaning.

Working Man

2011-04-28T18:30:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of this little boy who is quickly growing up into a young man. He has been very diligent this last month working as the neighborhood pooper scooper and saving most of his money. He has taken a couple of trips to the dollar store to spend a few dollars and has also been very good about paying his tithing. He finally decided he wanted to save for the Harry Potter Lego PS3 game. Today he hit his goal and we were off to Target to make his big purchase. He was so excited he even had enough extra money to buy some clearance Easter Mighty Beans.

Normally Drew only gets to play video games on Saturday for one hour but since it was a special day I let him play for a half hour. He was so excited and proud of himself. We love you Drew and Mom and Dad are so proud of you keep up the good work.

Drew also found what he wants to start saving for next a remote control helicopter. Charlie lucked out and found the golden egg during the family Easter egg hunt so she got to buy something too. She choose a Barbie laptop that helps teach numbers and letters.

Easter

2011-04-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

I love Easter it is such a beautiful time of year and a fun and easy holiday. I also love how it makes me reflect on what my Savior did for me.

One of my all time favorite hairdo the basket weave.

Charlie did not want her picture taken.

Our attempt at a family picture. As soon as we were all close together Parker went straight for the hair. Do you see the horror in my face. I was very miffed. Parker was not aloud near Charlie during Church.

Next time I remember not to stand under the tree so the shadows don't ruin the picture. Oh well we tried.

Ron, Kim, and Callie came for dinner at our house. We had ham, chicken, funeral potatoes, green salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs and rolls. Then Jordan, Jenn and Carson joined us for the Easter egg hunt. Parker found one egg and was off.

Parker guarded his stash so nobody would take it.

He loved his jelly beans and it kept him busy for the next 10 minutes.

Charlie was the lucky one this year and found the golden egg with $20 in it. She was upset at first telling Grandma the egg was empty but was later happy when she opened and found "a dollar."

Drew collected the most eggs by far and loved all his candy.

Drew trying to steal the golden egg while Charlie is not paying attention.

All the sugared up kids.

Charlie found a little secluded spot to eat all of her candy so she wouldn't have to keep sharing with Daddy.

Ward Easter Breakfast

2011-04-24T20:05:00.001-07:00

Saturday was our Ward's Easter Breakfast and egg hunt. I decided to go ahead and do the kids Easter baskets that morning to since we have 9am Church on Sunday. I was really excited to finally do this hair do for Charlie. Almost everyone liked it and Charlie loved all the attention she received.

Drew is all about money right now and was so excited to get $1.25 in his Easter eggs.

The breakfast looked really good they had french toast, ham and fresh fruit. We forgot our baskets to collect eggs but Charlie was satisfied with her 5 eggs she was able to hold.

Drew on the other hand was resourceful and found a friend that had an extra bag that he could borrow.

It's Official

2011-04-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Parker is a Marx. The Marx's love their toys you can never be to young to start playing with fun motorcycles. He saw Daddy riding and was a little to eager to get on. He took a little trip down the street and back. He started to cry when his turn was over and tried crawling after him down the street. I think I have a little daredevil on my hands.

Shots

2011-04-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

I took Charlie and Parker to get caught up on their immunization shots today. The lady gave me a dirty look when she realized I was alone with two kids. So Charlie goes first she needed 5, 3 in one arm and 2 in the other. She was not happy about having to get poked but was such a trooper she didn't cry just whimpered after each shot. She gets to pick out a purple toothbrush and is happy. Parker is up next he needs 5 also 2 in each arm and 1 in the leg. He did amazing he only let a short cry on the very last shot in his leg. The nurse was super impressed and wouldn't stop talking about how my kids have been the toughest she has worked with. As we left Charlie told me "Let's not do that again."

Update

2011-04-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

All the kids started swim lessons at Water Wings. Parker's class is a Mommy and Me and he hates it. His first class was horrible he clung to me like his life depended on it and cried almost the whole 30 minutes. This week he did better but still cried a lot and wanted to be close to me. I made this for a lady in our ward that just had a little baby girl. Parker can be a messy eater. He even had food in his eyelashes. Actually got ready early enough to get a couple of pictures before church on Sunday.

Pooper Scopper

2011-04-06T19:37:00.001-07:00

There comes a point when a Mom can not stand to hear "Mom buy me this toy" one more time. "It is only (insert any amount here) please I have a coupon." Okay the fact that he has some coupons does warm my heart but the fact is there just has not been money for toys lately. So Drew and I sat down and had a talk about earning his own money. He decided that he would start up his own little Popper Scooper business. We made up some business cards and he was set to go. The first week he had 4 clients. He has made almost $20 in the past 3 weeks. It has also been a good opportunity to teach him about paying his tithing and hard work. He is such a funny kid the first couple of night he said that he dreamt about picking up poop. He loves to talk about his new job and dog poop.

Mess Maker

2011-04-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

My little mess maker Parker. I was trying to take a relaxing bath one morning and this is what Parker did to entertain himself. He thought it was pretty fun so I just let him do it. I mean he took everything out from under the sink and I keep it pretty stocked down there.

Update

2011-04-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

Charlie's hair bow holder was getting a little to overworked so I had to make a new one. Best part I just used things lying around the house to put it together. I like how it kind of looks like my hair bows are a work of art.

Eric and Andrew have been best friends for about 3 years. They had a little falling out a few months ago and were not friends for a couple of weeks I am glad they are friends again. Charlie got this doll house for her birthday and it is a favorite of all the kids. The door bell on it sounds so real. It can be very annoying when I take a cat nap on the couch and the kids are playing with it.

Cut Off

2011-04-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

So I cut off Parker from the boob this week. All week I just did one morning feeding everdat and then today was my last day off feeding him. He is 12 1/2 months old and could really care less as long as he is getting food somehow. I cried a lot this week knowing it was coming especially since it was for such a selfish reason. I always struggle with my weight and nursing just seems to make it harder for me to lose the extra weight. Now it is time to get this extra weight off so I can do it again for the next one:)

4 going on 16

2011-03-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Chrlie's 4th Birthday. We love our Charlie bug even with all of her drama and whining at times. She really is a good girl and we love her to pieces. We had a special dinner for her marinated chicken, baked potatoes and salad. I am so glad I had planned a simple menu because we ended up with a few extra kids that day. Matt's best friend Travis left church with his wife Stacey to go have a baby. She was hard core to sit through the whole Sacrament meeting while her contractions were 2 minutes apart. So we had there kids for the afternoon. For dessert we had lemon velvet cake topped with sliced strawberries. We got Charlie a doll house and I think Drew might like it more than she does.

Party Time

2011-03-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Charlie had her very first friend party. I was going to do one last year when she turned 3 but with the new baby it just did not happen. We had it at the park and the weather was less than ideal. The wind was blowing pretty bad so I spent a lot of my time making sure things were not being blown away. The guests that attended were Ashtyn Parry, Abbe Farsworth, Ryan Jafee, Anna Leavitt, Trystan Baxter and Toby Grizzle. The kids played with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, big punching balloons and pinata. The wind was so bad we just skipped the blowing out her candles part and she didn't seem to mind. The best part was her yummy cookie dough cupcakes that Kim made that I found here. She loved getting so many presents. The budget was pretty tight for her party and I proud of myself for staying under $40. If only she did not insist on a pinata I could have done it for about $20.

Charlie, Ashy, Abbe and Ryan

8 Year Anniversary

2011-03-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

For better or worse that is what we signed up for when we got married. Well this year has been a lot of both. It has been our hardest year financially and the stress that brings on is hard on a relationship. But through our trails we have been blessed. The lord knows exactly when we need those blessings no matter how small they might seem to those performing the kind acts of service.

For our special night we got Scotty and Ashley Noel to watch the kids. We headed of the Stake Employment fair (an amazing program for those that are looking for employment they can go and they tell everyone what kind of job they want and then those on assignment are there to offer any employment opportunities they might know about). I totally spaced that March 22nd was also my anniversary when I signed up to go. But Matt was a trooper and went with me so we could spend time together. After our meeting we went to Streets of New York and had some pizza and wings.

Say Cheese

2011-03-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Brad and Kara came to Las Vegas for their Spring Break. So Kim wanted to get all of her grand kids together for some pictures. Oh my was it FUN! You would think the older 3 kids would just smile on command but that did not happen. Drew just wanted to play and have snacks. Parker liked to turn his head. Carson liked to cry. Hallie liked to throw in a random dance move. Charlie was distracted by all the others. We got a few descent ones but nothing prize worthy.

My personal favorite.

Treat time with Grandma.

Parker's 1st Birthday Party

2011-03-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

We had a little family party for Parker's birthday on Sunday. We had some Mexican food for dinner and desert was my Aunt Linda's Famous Chocolate Cake. Parker enjoyed opening up his presents and throwing the tissue paper around. All week Drew kept telling me he had a special birthday present for Parker. His special present was a kiss and he gave his special present all day long. Charlie appointed herself to be Parker's helper and assisted him with opening presents and blowing out his candle.

One Year Old

2011-03-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

It has been one year since Parker joined our family. I can't believe I am tearing up as I think about this last year. It has gone by way to fast and at the same time it feels like . We are so blessed Parker has always been in our lives. I love his big cheesy smiles or smirk or sad face. I love the way that he can inhale a banana in about 5 seconds. He is a little Mamma's boy I rarely end up leaving him with other people and I hope this does not cause a problem in about 6 months when it is time to go to nursery. I can't wait to watch this little guy grow up to be a young man and follow his siblings GOOD example. Happy Birthday Parker!

Family Hair Cuts

2011-03-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

So I got it in my head that Parker should get a hair cut before he turned one. Well why not buzz it. So Drew and Parker got buzz cuts and Charlie got a small trim that could have gone better but that's okay. We are trying to grow Charlie's bangs out but we will see if it actually happens. I love Parker's hair he does get called a girl more now even in obvious boy clothes but that's okay he doesn't seem to mind yet. He reminds me of Charlie Brown with his new do.

Before

After

Randomness

2011-03-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just trying to get my blog up to date. Matt has been pretty busy since the end of January. Work finally started to pick up and the same week school started up with him taking 10 credits this semester. I am trying to stay busy I have started babysitting kids during the week so far it is only once or twice a week The kids don't get to see a whole lot of Daddy during the week so one night Charlie decided to fix his hair while Daddy took a nap.

Charlie loves to help Parker play the piano.

I have been wanting one of these for a while and found one at a yard sale for cheap and picked it up. The kids are easily amused and get a kick out of eating while it comes out.

Some Daddy time.

Ready for School.

The boys wanting to play outside.

My sister Carrie came to visit for a few days.

My sister Callie moved to Las Vegas in January to be a live in Nanny. I am loving having her in town and being able to go out with her on the weekends..

Can she get any cuter.

A family photo before Church.

Drew's Karate class after breaking a board.

Grandma Marx and Charlie watching Drew at Karate.

Obsessed

2011-03-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

So I may just be a little bit obsessed with Charlie's hair lately. These are some of my favorites that I have done in the last couple of months. She been so good lately with letting me try new things and sitting relatively still for me to play with her hair. If it is something that is going to take longer like her Church hair or Dance hair I let her watch cartoons to help her sit still. But for the most part she likes the attention she gets when her hair looks nice so she will endure the temporary discomfort. So I may be a little jealous of her hair too it is the perfect color, texture and thickness. And I may have changed my mind about not wanting any more girls just so I can have another head to do and so they can have twiner hair. And no I am not pregnant just still have not lost all that lovely baby weight. I wish my current obsession was eating healthy but its not yet maybe next week:)

Mustache

2011-02-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

Aunt Carrie came into town to visit. On Monday the kids were off school so Carrie and I took the kids to lunch at CiCi's for some pizza and games. On the way out the door Drew insisted on getting a fake mustache. Well who would of thought a fake mustache would provide our little family so much entertainment.

11 Months

2011-02-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Parker is 11 months old now. He is such a sweetie. He got his first real hair cut this month. Hopefully it will start to grow in thicker instead of just longer. I was very proud of myself for not crying while I cut his hair. He loves to say DaDaDa and Matt thinks this is great but he says DaDaDa to everyone not just to his Daddy. He has 8 teeth and finds it funny to bite peoples fingers. He loves to play in the bath with his sister Charlie. If the back door is open Parker goes straight for the exit and loves to be outside playing in the dirt. His favorite place to play is in the cupboards in the kitchen and has broken a few dishes already.

Birthday Boy

2011-02-07T10:11:00.001-08:00

Matt turned the big 3-0 this year. I made one of his favorite dinners Chicken Parmesan and a homemade apple pie. Kim and Ron came over to help us celebrate his special day. Matt was so excited to get his present and even took it out that night to go try it out. Saturday night we went on a Birthday date and Matt got to pick where we ate and the movie we saw. He chose Geisha Steakhouse that we are pretty sure gave us both food poisoning. The movie was good we went to go see True Grit. Sunday was one of the most miserable days I have had in a long time. We were so thankul that Callie spent the night so she could take care of our kids the next day.

Growing Pains

2011-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

Friday Drew came to me telling me his tooth hurt sure enough he had a loose tooth. Drew informed me that he would only be eating yogurt until he lost his tooth. He would ask us to pull it out but when it came down to it he would not open his mouth for us to pull it out. He wiggled that tooth for 3 days and finally Sunday it came out. He was so proud of himself and could not wait to tell anyone that would listen. He will now fit in will all the other 1st graders and their missing teeth. Can his smile get any bigger?

10 months

2011-01-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

Parker is growing up way to fast. He has 8 teeth now. Still loves to eat and eats a lot. He has given up the the army crawl and crawls around everywhere. He can crawl all the way up the stairs but has not mastered the art of descending the stairs. Charlie still believes that she is Parker's Mom and tries to micro manage everything he does. We all love this sweet little boy and feel so blessed to have him in our home.

Sick Kids

2011-01-17T18:26:00.001-08:00

It seems like every time I look around one of my kids has a fever. Andrew missed 3 days of school last week. He did not even miss that many days all of last year combined. Today I think everybody is healthy so I text some friends to meet up at the park and by the time I get a response Charlie is laying on the couch saying her head hurts again. I am sure excited for all my kids to be healthy and back to 100% so we can actually do something.

Homemade Play Dough

2011-01-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

I needed a break from the Andrew's constant "I'm bored can I watch TV" so we made a triple batch of play dough. It was so much fun to sit and play with the kids for awhile and make some huge snakes. It kept the kids entertained for about an hour and gave me a little sanity. I took it with me to nursery the next day and the kids loved it there too.

My Little Sunbeam

2011-01-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

Charlie is loving Sunbeams. She is learning so much already. Her favorite song to sing is Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam and gets mad when Andrew tries to sing it. Andrew and Charlie walk together all by themselves to the Primary room. I can not believe how grown up both of them are getting.

Spa Party

2011-01-17T17:29:00.000-08:00

Charlie's friend Ashy had her 5th birthday and to celebrate she had a spa themed party. I was asked to go and help paint nails. They also made beaded bracelets and got their makeup and hair done up. The girl's had so much fun.

Aunt Bekah

2011-01-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

The kids love their Aunt Bekah and have really missed her since she moved to Boston. She decided to surprise Kim and come to her Birthday celebration and the kids were so excited to see her again.

We love you Aunt Bekah.

It's your Birthday Shout Horay

2011-01-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

January 5th is a Marx family Holiday it is Kim's birthday. We plan it throughout the year and keep it a secret from Kim until we arrive at our destination. This year we took the birthday girl to Roxy's a 50's diner in the Stratosphere. Where someone leaked (Scotty) that we had a birthday celebration. They sang to her and even made her hula hoop in front of everyone. After dinner we came back to our house for lemon-raspberry angel food cupcakes.

Welcom 2011

2011-01-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

I love the beginning of a new year anything seems possible. New goals are set or last years goals are worked on again. This year my parents and Callie were able to come visit over the holiday. Callie had a job interview in town for a Nanny job and she got it. I am so excited to have my sister live so close well 25 minutes away but still so close. New Year's Eve my parents watched the kids so that Matt and I could go out on the town and celebrate the New Year. We drove around for awhile and stooped by TGIF's for half priced appetizers and the best desert anywhere "The Brownie Obsession" if you have never tried it don't it is addicting. We rang in the New Year New York time and headed home. The next day was spent shopping with Callie and then Mom, Dad, Callie, Matt and I went to Maggiano's for dinner. It was a hit with everyone even my Dad who is pretty hard to please these days. Then we went to use our free tickets to Penn & Teller. Well not exactly free Matt, Scott and I donated blood to earn enough tickets for all of us to go to the show. Sunday they left after Sacrament meeting but will be back soon to bring Callie back for work and then they go back to their mission in California for 10 more months.

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

After opening presents and breakfast we got packed up and drove to my parent's house in Arizona. It was so much fun to spend time with my family. Even better my Dad let us use his time share and we got to stay at the Legacy Resort. Christmas night the whole family well most of the family got together for the annual Hunt Family Christmas Party. We ate way to much Mexican food and had a fun White Elephant exchange.

Grandma Hunt and Andrew

Charlie and Boston

Dad, Laura and Chris

My 3 sisters they all love me so much.

All the sisters and sister in-laws except Annie and Mom.

Redneck Fun: This air mattress had a small leak and instead of just throwing it out it became a source of entertainment for the kids. Nathan would jump of the ladder and send the kids flying. They also would make Nathan run around the yard pulling them on it. It was sad when it finally lost all of its air.

Grandpa Hunt telling scary stories to the grand kids. One eyed Willie, one legged Willie and one armed Willie same story line just would change a few details.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning is my favorite time of year. I thought as I got older Christmas would loss some of its magic but now I found joy in my children as they see what they got. This year I finished my shopping and wrapping Black Friday and loved not having to worry about it for the next month. I think that is going to be my new tradition get it done early and brag to all my friends that are running around shopping that I have been done for weeks. The kids actually understood the whole Santa concept this year and were really excited to see what Santa was bringing. Andrew and Charlie got new razor scooters from Santa and had fun riding them in the house for the day. Grandma and Grandpa Marx came to watch the kids open up presents. Ron was the trash bag holder. Parker enjoyed eating the wrapping paper and putting all his new toys in his mouth. This year the whole family got a new DVD headrest system for car trips and it came in handy that afternoon as we headed to Phoenix. We had a yummy breakfast together the menu this year was waffles, bacon and blueberry muffins.

Christmas Eve Night

2010-12-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve night with the Marx family. We had a yummy prime rib dinner. Had fun opening up presents. Charlie loves to take her time opening her presents. She loved her gifts and could not wait to try on her dress up. Andrew gave Grandma a book he made for her and read it to her that night. I love my new food storage shelves I got and can not wait to organize my food storage.

Christmas Eve Day

2010-12-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve day Matt planned a "Family Activity" to go shooting out in the desert. He invited a few of his closest friends and we had about 20 people show up. Charlie shoot Daddy's big scary gun or as Matt calls it the AR. Matt and I both had the opportunity to shot a .50 cal gun that Brother Cook brought. The kids and I spent most of our time in Travis's Excursion watching movies with 6 other children:) After about 2 hours of fun I was ready to move on for our next activity. The day before I had talked Matt into taking us up to play in the snow at Mount Charleston. The snow was so deep if you stepped of the path you would sink in up to your knees. As soon as we get set up to start sledding Charlie has to go potty. So I take her while I am doing this Drew loses his shoe in the snow. So by the time Charlie and I get back from walking in fresh knee deep snow while I carry Charlie we need to pack up the kids and walk to the car since Drew's shoe is nowhere to be found. It was a fun quick exhausting trip.

The .50 Cal

Matt and Devin

Ron with his big scary gun.

Rain Rain Go Away

2010-12-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

It rained for about a week straight here in Las Vegas. It was pretty bad some days the intersection by our house got shut down and I saw a couple cars stuck in the middle of the intersection. One of the last days it rained I let the kids play in the the rain and they loved it. There was about 4 inches of standing water just in our backyard. Poor Parker was only allowed to watch from the window while Drew and Charlie had fun in the rain. The next day Andrew and Charlie snuck out back when I was not paying attention and they both were a muddy mess again. I had to wash their clothes 3 times to get all the mud out. I asked Drew what he was doing and he looked up innocently and told me he did not know that he was stepping in mud. Stepping in mud they were both covered in mud:)

Sunbeam

2010-12-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had an awesome Church service. Andrew sang a song with the Primary. The ward choir sang some amazing songs and I was able to get Parker to fall asleep during the songs but then he would wake up when the speakers would talk. But it was nice to be able to cuddle during the songs. Charlie is going to be a Sunbeam in a couple of weeks and is so excited. She was able to go into singing time in Primary on Sunday to practice being a Sunbeam and I heard she did amazing.

Can I just tell you how difficult it is to get a decent picture with 3 kids.

9 months

2010-12-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

Parker is nine months old that is 3/4 of a year. Our little string bean is a busy little guy he has just found out that he can climb up the stairs. He is really fun to watch he climbs up two stairs and slides back down one. He can crawl on all fours but prefers to army crawl. He still loves to eat and he eats a lot a typical breakfast is a whole banana and a half a bagel. He has finally dropped his late night feeding and normally sleeps from about 8pm to 7am. He now takes 3 naps a day and I miss his smiling face when he naps. He has 7 teeth and willing bites anything with in his reach. He has broken skin on my arm a few times. He normally only cries when Charlie is around and insisting on caring him around and smothering him with kisses.

Recital Time

2010-12-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

This time of year brings lots and lots of recitals. Kim has been a busy lady with many performances the last couple of weeks. We were able to attend one as a family and it was lovely. She has improved so much this year. This is her new pedal harp she got this summer.

Dance-Sing Sensations

2010-12-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

Charlie started dance in September and she had her first recital. They are a dance and singing group and she has really enjoyed it. I enjoy getting her dressed up every week and doing cute dance hair and hearing her giggling with her 3 other carpool friends on the drive to dance.

Her first number was Rockin around the Christmas Tree.

She had the clapping side to side move down and did it through most of the dance. I was very impressed that she did not have stage freight up there. There was a pretty good crowd out watching.

Her next number she was an angel and they sang "That Night in the Stable." She finally realized she was facing the wrong way on the last word of the part she was supposed to be singing:)

All the girls sang the last song "When Christmas Comes to Town." Charlie did a great job with this song and it looked like she was singing the whole time.

The proud momma and Charlie bug.

Grandma and Grandpa Great came to watch.

Grandma and Grandpa Marx were there too. Thanks Ron for holding Parker so I could take pictures and help with costume change. Aunt Jenny and Carson were in attendance also but forgot to get a picture.

The 3 and 4 year old class with their teacher Jacee.

A Night in Bethlehem

2010-12-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

This year our ward put on an amazing Bethlehem themed Christmas party. Matt and Travis were asked to dress up as Roman soldiers. I had a good time dressing up everyone and making the boys wear skirts. I think I might even try to make myself a skirt it was super easy. Drew asked to go as an old man and I think he pulled it off nicely.

Travis's girls Emma and Katie were sheep's and Alexis went as a Shepard.

Parker joined in and dressed up too.

We walked around getting our food and sat on the floor with our blankets. I made 6 quarts of homemade yogurt for a sauce that was served.

Matt asked me after getting dressed why his outfit had to be a skirt. No special reason but it was awesome seeing him walk around in a skirt. He was such a good sport and secretly I think he liked wearing a skirt.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

I love decorating and putting up the Christmas tree every year. We started putting it up the day after Thanksgiving and with the kids being sick it took all weekend long to decorate. Charlie loved helping put ornaments on and has only broken one ornament this year. She also decided that the tree needed trimming and took the scissors to the tree. Drew loves having the job of turning on and off the lights of the tree each day. Parker has been good with staying away from the tree. Matt has his own little 3 foot tree this year for his ornaments that he received as a child.

Fun at the Marx's

2010-11-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

Charlie decided to turn her toy rack into a shoe rack and then position to keep Drew out of her room.

I love Parker's faces he makes.
Charlie loves to cut things and glue them together. She takes my junk mail, art projects from school and anything else she can find and cuts away.

Charlie helping me make bread. It was about noon when this picture was taken and that is right she is still in pajamas.

Spaghetti time. We eat spaghetti at least twice a month so it is a good thing Parker likes it too. He could not pile it in fast enough.

8 Months

2010-11-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

Parker is 8 months old. He loves to eat and can chew almost anything. He still will only army crawl but gets around just fine with doing that. He can pull himself up and stand holding onto the couch. He is such a little cutie and we love him tons.

Should of put a ring on it.

2010-11-17T20:00:00.001-08:00

Well Drew has a little crush or should I say big crush on Ashley Barnes. Who is this Ashley person you might ask? It is Scotty's brand new fiancee. Drew was so excited to spend time with Ashley at the wedding. Any chance he got he would sit next to her, put his arm around her, and even asked her to dance. Drew has told me he is okay that Scotty is going to marry Ashley because she can have two husbands.

Texas Trip

2010-11-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

What sounds more fun than driving 24 hours? Anything. Well that is what we did so we could go to Matt's cousin Amanda's wedding. We borrowed Grandma and Grandpa Marx's motor home and started out Tuesday night. Ron did all the driving with only a few short naps while the rest of us got out to eat and stretch our legs. The trip there included Ron, Kim, Jenn, Jordan, Carson, myself, Andrew, Charlie and Parker. We arrived Wedneday night and finnally checked into our hotel room. Matt was lucky and had to work so he flew in on Friday. We have been married for 7 1/2 years and this was my first trip to Texas to visit Kim's side of the family.

The happy couple Amanda and Taylor at a family dinner on Thursday night.

Grandma Mitchell and Parker

With a two hour time change it was a struggle to get Charlie up to make the continental breakfast.

Matt's Uncle Malcom is a Firefighter and we took the kids to tour his fire station. Drew was in absolute amazement and loved every minute of it.

Saturday morning Matt and I took the kids to a museum with a really cool kid section and Charlie loved almost everything but was glued to the little shopping center.

Drew enjoyed digging for dinosaur bones.

The wedding was so nice I loved the location. It was a nice outdoor wedding at dusk then after the ceremony we headed inside for the reception.

Drew and Charlie are now best friends now with the flower girl Catlynn and the ring bearer Dillion.

The other happy couple Scotty and Ashley.

The drive home went well we left Saturday night after the reception. Matt joined us on the drive home while Kim stayed an extra week to spend time with her family.

Cutie Pie

2010-11-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

I just love this cutie pie. We were sitting in church today, Matt had taken Parker out Drew leaned over after a few minutes and told me he missed his baby. I feel the same way when he is not around I miss the little guy and just feel the need to slobber him with kisses when we are reunited. Parker has a problem with keeping his pants up. I tried buttoning his onsie on the outside of his pants to help but as you can see it didn't help at all.

We ARE Moving....

2010-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Isn't it cute. That is right we have decided to get out of Las Vegas and move to this cute little house in Texas.

Just kidding but isn't this house just dreamy. I love brick homes and got to see lots of them on our trip to Texas.

Two Wheels

2010-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

It has been a hard trying to get Drew to learn to ride a bike. He has struggled with the motivation to even want to try to learn but we are proud to say he is now out riding his bike on his very own. He had a bike with training wheels and has been riding that for the last two years. We have tried flipping up the training wheels but as soon as he would fall he would refuse to ride again until we put the training wheels back on. So I outsmarted the kid. I got him a $5 bike at a yard sale last Saturday and was going to wait till Christmas to give it to him but Matt said it was to banged up for a present. So the deal was his new bike can not have training wheels and it worked. The first couple of days he needed help balancing and getting started but now he can do that on his own. He has had a few good crashes but gets right back on and keeps on pedaling and smiling from ear to ear. He loves to tell all of the neighbors about his new bike and how he can ride all by himself. Now he thinks he can ride his bike to school by himself. Maybe next year Mommy not ready for the that yet.

Halloween Party

2010-10-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

The kids got to dress up for a Halloween party their friends Eric and Ash were having. This time Charlie was a cowgirl riding a horse, Andrew was Superman and Parker was a monkey again. They had lots of fun at the party there was a bounce house, pinata, face painting, games and yummy food. We were having a great time until we had to leave because Drew kept hurting the little kids in the jump house. I asked Drew what he was doing and he told me he was flying around like Superman and the little kids kept getting in his way. The kids were exhausted and fell asleep on the drive home.

Fall Festival

2010-10-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Every year the kids school does a fundraising carnival and it is a ton of fun. It was a busy week helping volunteer and trying to get stuff together for Super Saturday. Parker went as a monkey, Charlie was Cinderella and Andrew was a cowboy riding a horse. The kids played games and we ate some pizza. We even went through the haunted house this year and it was pretty scary. I was shocked when Charlie wanted to go to by the end I was covering her eyes. We meet up with Jenn, Jordan and Carson who was also a monkey. Oh yea I went as myself:)

Yogurt

2010-10-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

So I decided to try my hand in making homemade yogurt. I have made it twice now and both times it has turned out. It is low fat plain yogurt then you get to flavor it. The kids love to pick what they want in their yogurt blueberries are my favorite. I have also strained it to make my own sour cream and cream cheese.

7 Months

2010-10-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Mr. Parker is 7 months old. He is a quick little thing he has mastered the art of army crawling. He has not yet gotten the hang of crawling on his hands and knees yet. He has 3 very sharp teeth. Parker is very passionate when he gives kisses he grabs to handfuls of hair or skin and goes in to your check to give you a nice love bite.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

Charlie had a class field trip to the Gilcrease Orchard. It was on Friday so we dropped off Parker at Karen's house and took Carson with us. They got to see how apple cider is made. We walked through the fields and picked the perfect pumpkin to take home. Had some yummy apple cider that was just made the day before. Charlie drew a face on her pumpkin when we got home and set it outside for Halloween decoration.

The Hair Cut

2010-10-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Charlie decided it was time for a hair cut so she took matters into her own hands. Luckily she was very conservitive and only took a little of the ends and a little snip at her bangs. I was so sad mostly because I am afraid that she will keep doing it. She has great hair and I love fixing it hopefully she finds other items to cut next time.

My little Family

2010-10-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

I can not believe how fast our little family is growing up.

Reunion Time

2010-10-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

I had my 10 year high school reunion this last weekend down in Arizona. It made for a good excuse to go visit the family and the timing worked out that my parents would be done in Arizona at the same time. My parents have moved to a new mission in California and wanted to get somethings for their travel trailer so they can sell it. They will be extending their mission until next September but will be home for a month during Christmas. It was so good to see them and for them to be able to see Parker again. Miken with Parker

We got their Friday and let the kids cool off in the water.

Callie was dog sitting a horse. Brooks and Boston both just adored this giant dog. Boston was constantly laying on the dog and even rode the dog like a horse.

My $4 slip and slide was a hit.

Carrie even gave it a try.

Carrie and Ashley

My reunion was Saturday night at a club in Scottsdale. There were only about 70 people signed up to come out of a class of 450. It was such a trip to see all these people after 10 years. Most of them have not changed much but there were a couple that I was shocked to see the changes. Most of the people I wanted to see were not there so it was kind of boring. We left after about 2 hours and just went out to dinner. I told Matt that I had a better time at his high school reunion then at mine.

Breakfast at Nathan and Aubrey's Sunday morning.

The whole gang together.

I had the family looking sharp ready to go to the family portion of my reunion. Then I double checked the time and place and realised it was almost over so we rushed over to the park and everybody was already gone so we just headed home.

It was fun weekend but as always it is nice to be home.

Boys

2010-09-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Boys
Not so happy.

Oh no!