Lincoln & the Girlyfields

Sweet Grandma Engla

2012-01-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

My dear, sweet, 99 year old, danish Grandma Engla passed away last night surrounded by people she loved on both sides of the veil. She was such an amazing woman, a perfect example on how to live righteously. She loved to share her testimony and was always counting her blessings. I can't remember ever going to visit without her mentioning something about the gospel and her blessings. I loved listening to her recite the articles of faith in danish, which she knew by heart, word for word. She studied the Book of Mormon daily for hours until her sight got so bad she couldn't see the words on the pages. But even then, I'd see her clasp the book in her hands as she'd ponder and think of her favorite verses from the scriptures. Truly inspiring!!!

I grew up living right next door to my sweet grandma. I'd go over to her house almost every day to be with her. We'd watch a lot of TV together, her favorite shows were The Price is Right and People's Court. She'd get so mad at the TV because she thought for sure The Price is Right was rigged and Bob Barker only let his favorites win. It bothered her so much she could hardly stand to watch it, yet the thought of missing it was too much to bear. Too funny! She would always make me a snack to eat while we were watching TV like a hot dog bun with butter and brown sugar. Lol! I miss those days!! In her later years, she became and avid Utah Jazz fan. She LOVED to watch the Jazz! And she'd always wear her Jazz shirt the day they were playing. She had all sorts of Jazz stuff like calendars, mugs and blankets. Another one of my favorite memories of my grandma was her singing and dancing. She knew so many different danish folk songs and was always singing them and teaching them to all us grand kids. She also exercised more than any other old lady I've ever met. She had this little trampoline that she'd do all sorts of strange exercises on. She'd do a ton of sit-ups, bicycle legs in the air, she'd even exercise her fingers by opening and closing them at least twenty times a day. I don't know where she got all her energy from. She was always happy and busy doing something. It seems like she was always taking one of the grand kids on the bus to "downtown" Salt Lake. There she'd take us around temple square, and sometimes into a D.I. to look around. The D.I. was like heaven for my grandma. The workers all knew her by name and she knew how to talk the price down on anything. It was great! Then we'd grab an ice cream cone before heading home. Grandma sure did love ice cream! She ate ice cream almost every day. Not even exaggerating! And the way she could pound the buffet bar at Chuck-o-rama or Hometown was astonishing! She sure loved to eat! And cook! She used cook dinner for my family and my cousins every single week. One of her many talents. She loved to do it!!! At holiday parties she'd make "citronfromage" (a danish jelloish type stuff) and hide a walnut in the middle. Getting the walnut was a special thing!!! Grandma seemed to always have a puzzle out too. When we'd sit and do puzzles together, she'd "whistle" the entire time. But for those of you that knew grandma.... she couldn't whistle. Haha!! She would just blow and blow, but never make a whistling sound. It was so funny! So many, many wonderful memories! I could go on and on! I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing example in my life for so many years. She was always so full of love and gratitude. Grandma taught me so much and gave me so much love over the past 30 years. I am so happy for her to finally join my grandpa, her brothers and sisters, parents and other family and friends on the other side. She is my hero! My angel! I love her dearly!!! I can't wait to be with her again someday! She will be greatly missed!!!!!

New Little Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2011-10-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted, it took me a while to figure out how to do it again. :-) I thought about trying to catch up.... for like two seconds before I realized it would take way too long! So I'm just going to try to keep updated as of right now. My little angel Kaitlee chose to be baptized last week. She looked so beautiful and I'm so proud of her. My good friend Liz Cheney took some amazing pictures of her that I will treasure forever!!! Her primary teacher, Liz Babcock, made the cutest little scrapbook for all her friends and family to sign and write down their thoughts on her special day..... another treasure! She reads through it a few times a day :) I'm so grateful to all who came and supported her and for all the gifts she received! It's fun to see her enthusiam for learning more about the gospel as she grows. She's such a good little girl! I feel so blessed to be her mom!

Britton's Therapy

2010-09-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

I just haven't been able to get my little nephew Britton off my mind lately. He was born with Spina Bifida 2 1/2 yrs ago. He has had more surgeries than I can count and just recently was thrown another one. The shunt that was put in when he was born failed and last friday he had to have a new one put in. About a week before the surgery, he had learned to walk across the room with his crutches all by himself. So even though he has had this minor set back, he has made huge progress in other ways! This is a video of his journey learning to walk at a therapy center he has been going to. It reminds me to never take anything for granted. Just little things like walking across the room is something most of us do every day without even thinking about but for little Britton, it's a huge obstacle it takes great effort to do. He is so AMAZING!!! Britton is such an inspiration to me and I love this little guy so, so much!

(Click here on his name to watch the video)
Britton Buckingham

Vacation to Plains, MT

2010-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this place!!! I'm sure people thought my kids were crazy when they said we were going to the beach in Montana. Montana-Beach? Yep, it's true. This place is like a little paradise in the middle of nowhere. It's a tiny town surrounded by mountains with a big, beautiful river and a beach within walking distance of their house. What more could you want!?!! Every time Jer and I go to Plains, we leave wanting to move there. It's so beautiful and the lifestyle is so much more relaxed and laid back. We went for a bike ride every morning and every night. During the day we floated down the river and went to the beach. We saw TONS of deer, petted all sorts of animals, watched Uncle Larry saw down a tree, went for a drive up the mountains sitting in lawn chairs in the back of a pick-up. Sure can't do that here! We can't thank my aunt and uncle enough for letting us invade their home and feed and entertain us all week long. We sure did have fun!!!

Light the Night

Jared hosted his 2nd annual "Light the Night" party the night before we left for Montana. I'm not much of a party person but I have to admit, this was a lot of fun. We had about 120 people show up (including kids). Other than being a little short on food, I think everyone had a great time. When Jer announced the finale all the kids started chanting, "Light the night, light the night". Jared wanted to tell a little story about how it all began but the chanting was so loud he couldn't get a word in so he decided to just skip the story and finish off the fireworks. Thanks to all who came! We enjoyed your company and look forward to seeing you all next year!!!

It's about time!!!

2010-06-10T13:44:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I know it's been like 6 months since I last posted, but I've gotten to the point that blogging is just about the last thing on my list these days. These four kids of mine keep my life so crazy busy there's just no time to waste sitting at the computer. But I know the grandmas and grandpas hardly ever get to see these little ones so for their sake I'm going to try a little harder to keep some pictures posted so they can see more of their cute faces. So here it is in a nutshell. Kaitlee had her kindergarten program which I forgot my camera for. Luckily my mom brought hers so eventually I'm sure I'll get those pictures from her. Now she's on to bigger and better things... like 1st grade (she is so excited to be in school all day). Ivy had her preschool program which was so adorable! She did such a great job!!! She gets to go to Mrs. Lindsay's preschool next year too. She is such an amazing teacher and Ives loves her to pieces! Risa Roo is busy just being a 2 year old, although she will be having a big day here in about a week then it's on to being a 3 year old! Lincoln is still just the cutest little thing I have ever laid eyes on. I love him soooooo much! He just turned 1 last week. Can't believe it's already been a year! My baby is growing up too fast! He's walking and it's seriously the funniest thing. He has the cutest little bowlegged waddle and his feet kind of stick out to the sides. It makes me laugh to watch! I don't know how I got so lucky to have been blessed with all these little ones but I thank my Heavenly Father every day for them. They are my pride and joy!!!
Ivy's Preschool Program
Some of her classmates
Thank goodness for Gramma Bita! She was the only family that was able to come besides me and Jer. My poor daddio was in the hospital with pneumonia earlier that week so he was too sick to come.
Jake and Marissa had their beautiful little boy about a month ago. His name is Beckett.
Lincoln's Birthday
Enjoying his cake
Reesie on the 4-wheeler. Kaitlee bought this and the jeep below with her own money at my friend's yard sale for $10 a piece. Great buy! She is so good to share with her sisters!
My maniac driver Ivy
Kaitlee and her friend Kimball
My boy up on two! You can see from the shiner on his forehead that he hasn't quite mastered the art of walking but he manages to get around.

Little Dancers, Temple Square & Buddies

2009-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Kaitlee and Ivy on the night of their recital. They looked so beautiful and did such a great job!!!

This is what Reesie did every time we pointed the camera at her. It's pretty much impossible to get a good picture of her right now. I sure hope this phase doesn't last long!

They were so proud of the trophy and Christmas present they got from their teacher

Lots of friends and family came to watch: Grandma Bita & Grandpa Dude, Grandma Lynn & Grandpa Beav, Aunt Kim & Zeke & Macy, Aunt Rissa & Sydney, and our good friends Tanielle, Matayia, Bergen & Elle. So much love and support... Thank you all!!!!

Annual Buckingham Temple Square outing

My sweet little nephew Britton with my friend's baby Tyson. They were both born with Spina Bifida and have had so many trials they have had to go through. Sadly, there will be so many more to come so I'm so glad they will have each other for love and support through it all.

Pictures of my Boy

2009-12-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

So, I realize that I'm a little behind on blogging and I actually have so many things I want to post about but no time to do it. These 4 little cute kids of mine sure do keep me busy. Since I have so many people asking me to post pictures of Lincoln I figured that's where I should start and hopefully I can catch up on what's been going on in our lives sometime soon.

Almost 6 months

This is his favorite thing to chew on

This picture is so funny to me. His hair makes him look like such a dork... kinda like his dad! But still so adorable!!! Jerry sure was proud of his "wings" over the ears before I shaved them off.

Aren't exersaucers the best inventions ever!?!! He sure loves his!

Preschool, Dance, Soccer, Potty, Flying, Sprinklers

2009-09-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Finally! Our computer is fixed. All thanks to my incredibly smart and talented brother Timmy! Without him, we would have been computerless for months 'cause we don't have the money right now to get it fixed. The only payment my brother asked for was a nice dinner and a delicious cake for dessert. I think I can manage that. (Hopefully!)

Ivy started preschool a couple of weeks ago and loves it so much! She only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every other day that she doesn't have it she begs and begs to go. She thinks it's so unfair that Kaitlee gets to go to school every day and she doesn't. She also started dance that same day and is the cutest little dancer I've ever seen.
Ivy is so proud of her Tinkerbell backpack.

Kaitlee had her first soccer game a couple of weeks ago. She did pretty well considering she plays on a team of 1st and 2nd graders. She looks so tiny out there with all those big girls. I'm excited to see how she progresses this year. She does, after all, have the greatest coach ever! ;)

Giving Coach Daddy Hi-5's!

My little Reesie-Roo is potty-trained! Not too bad for a girl that just turned two. She is so determined to keep up with her big sisters. One day she watched Kaitlee and Ives put on their underwear and she decided that's what she needed to do too. So she put some on and that was that. She is the strongest willed little thing I've ever seen. Once she makes up her mind to do something, that's the way it's going to be. I'm pretty sure she gets that from Daddy!

Jared has a buddy (John) that owns a plane and he's been wanting to take our girls flying for a couple of years now. Jerry finally arranged with him to go on the morning of Labor Day. John's plane was in Morgan so he took them flying over Logan and a few other little towns up there. Jared said they were a little scared at first because it was so noisy and bumpy but once they got used to it they had a lot of fun.

Logan temple
USU's football stadium

Jerry finally got our sprinklers put in. Now we just need to get the ground evened out and we'll be ready for sod. Yay!!!
My cheesy, yet awesome brother Timmy. We are so thankful for him and everyone else who came to help. We never would have gotten it done without them! (Ivy took this picture. Pretty good, huh?!!)

You know I can't do a post without saying something about my handsome little guy, right? Last weekend I was at a family reunion and Jared's Aunt Janet said to me, "I can tell you love your girls and all, but your kinda partial to that boy of yours aren't ya?" I hate to admit it, but it's true. This family just wouldn't have been complete without him. I definitely feel like I have a different kind of bond with him. I seriously have to squeeze him every time I look at that cute little smiley, squishy, dimpley face. I just love him to peices!!!

My Little School Girl

2009-08-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe it! My little baby girl is already starting Kindergarten. Where has the time gone!?!! She and her sweet friend Matayia have Mrs. Hyre who they both seem to adore. Yesterday they had a little orientation to introduce them to their teachers and show them around the school. It was so fun to watch her and Matayia just cling to each other. They held hands pretty much the entire time. So cute! I think it's made it a lot easier being able to start with such a close friend. Today she made it through her very first day. She absolutely loved it... and she looked so cute! She has been dying to wear her new clothes and the time has finally come. She had such a hard time picking out which outfit to wear. I love this girl and it's been so much fun watching her grow up. Everybody said I would totally cry sending her off to her first day of school but oddly enough, I didn't. I was so excited for her! She is such a smart little girl and she has been so excited for this day to come.

(Orientation the day before she started school)

Spur of the Moment

2009-08-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our good friends from Vegas were in town last weekend. Joel called Jer Thursday afternoon to see if we wanted to go to Lagoon with them on Friday. We had been meaning to take the kids all summer long but with the baby and all, we just never got around to it. So long story short, it worked out perfectly that Jer took the day off work and surprised us with a fun day at Lagoon with our friends. We spent the afternoon letting the kids ride whatever they wanted then my awesome parents so lovingly drove all the way up there to pick them up for the evening so Jerry and I could ride some of the roller coasters together.

Sweet Ivy riding the Whales

Kate and Kaitlee on the Ladybug- These two were completely inseparable all day long

Not so funny story- On our way out to drop our kids off with my parents we stopped at the gate to get my hand re-stamped. Then we walked all the way to the back of the parking lot where the drop off loop is at. As we walked up to the car my mom calmly asked where Sonrisa was at (just thinking we left her with a baby-sitter). Both mine and Jer's eyes popped wide open. Jared immediately took off running back to the park. I looked in the front of the stroller and sure enough... no Sonrisa. I then took off running back as well and was balling and shaking by the time I got back to the entrance. The lady at the gate looked at me with a smile said, "Lost your daughter?" That obvious, huh? She told me where she was at and by the time I got there Jared was just walking out the door with her. They had found her right by the entrance gates. I guess while I was figuring out where to get my hand re-stamped, she had crawled out of the stroller and was probably standing right next to us as we walked away. But did we notice? Nope! We pushed a half-empty stroller all the way across a gigantic parking lot and didn't even notice. Are we great parents or what!?! For those few minutes running back to the park I had all sorts of horrible things going through my mind. I am sooo incredibly thankful that she is okay!

Ivy and Reesie on the helicopters

After we finally got the kids sent off with my parents and our nerves settled down, we ate some dinner and then met up with our friends again. They dropped their kids off at Brooke's parent's house right there in Fruit Heights and her mom came back with them just to ride a couple of the big roller coasters while her dad watched the kids. Thanks so much for inviting us Brooke and Joel! Other than momentarily losing Sonrisa, we had a blast spending the day at Lagoon with you and your kids... and your adorable, roller coaster loving mom!

Kate and Kaitlee on the spaceships

This picture is so hilarious to me! Look closely at Ivy and Sonrisa's face. Think they enjoyed riding Puff?

I wish we took more pictures of everybody that we were with but sadly this is all we have. Didn't even get one of Lincoln while we were there.

Since I didn't have a picture of Lincoln to post from Lagoon I just had to post something about him. This is my sweet little boy in an outfit that Jared wore when he was a baby. Kinda cool, huh!?!!

Thanks Nettifer!!!

2009-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

My super close friend, Lynette, came out to my house a couple weeks ago and took all these amazing pictures of my little Lincoln and my girls. She is seriously like the coolest person I know and she is so hilarious to be around. Thanks so much Netters! I LOVE the pictures and I had so much fun spending the afternoon together! This was the best present ever!!!

(These are just a few of my favorites)

Reesie was being such a little Rascal! I thought all her pictures were going to be a complete disaster so I was so surprised to see how adorable some of them actually turned out.

Sweet Ivy was being such a cheeeezball!! But I think her pictures still turned out to be so beautiful!

Lynette only had to take a few pictures of Kaitlee because she was so cooperative and she is SOOO incredibly photogenic!!!

Lincoln and his sisters

This is Lincoln in his blessing outfit. He looked like such a little stud on his special day!

Light the Night Party

2009-07-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

My husband, the party planner, decided to have "a few" friends over last Saturday for a BBQ and fireworks. It was so much fun! We had quite the full house with just over 50 people. The food was tasty and Jerry put on quite the show. He got a HUGE firework called 'Light the Night' for free with the purchase of all the other fireworks so he and his buddies thought that was the perfect name for the party. We had so much fun this year so we decided it's a must for next year as well. Mark your calenders!

My little sleepy heads
This is Ivy and Reesie's favorite place to take their naps. These two are are best friends yet worst enemies as well.
Oh, he is sweet!
The girls having a sleep over on the floor.
I thought this was just too cute!

My Boy
I can hardly stand how stinkin' cute those dimples are!

This kid has some seriously sweet hair!

Those cheeks are so irresistible!

2009-07-02T11:07:00.001-07:00

I'm sure everyone is getting so sick of seeing pictures of my little Lincoln, but to me he is just the cutest thing ever so I can't help but post more and more pictures of him. Here he is at 4 weeks. I can't believe he is already almost a month old. Even though it is so much fun to see his little personality develop, I am soooo sad to see him growing so quickly. Since he is most likely the last baby I will ever have I want to cherish every moment of it. It's kinda weird being at the point in my life where I am done having kids. It makes me feel so old. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with Kaitlee and now I have four. It's crazy how time flies! Thinking about how fast they've all grown so far makes me want to cherish every minute of their lives that much more. I sure do love these little kiddos!!!

My Babies at 3 Weeks

2009-06-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Lincoln - I think he looks the most like Ivy but when he makes certain faces I can see a lot of Kaitlee too. He and Reesie look nothing alike except they both have cute little dimples when they smile.

Kaitlee (The quality of this picture isn't very good because we didn't have a digital camera yet)

Ivy

Reesie

My Growing Boy

2009-06-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a few new pictures of my Lincoln for those of you who don't get to see him very often... which I guess is pretty much everybody since we are basically hybernating right now. He is just the sweetest little thing ever! He is soooo good and never cries, even when his sisters (mostly Ivy) are smothering him. He always has such a pleasant look on his face and he actually smiles quite a bit for only being two weeks old. He seriously just melts my heart!!!
This girl just can't get enough of him!

Kaitlee and her friend Matayia holding their sweet little babies

Lights for the Little One

2009-06-10T14:26:00.001-07:00

It sure is no fun having a new little cuddly baby and not being able to cuddle with him. These lights are no fun at all!!! Although, I have to admit he looks pretty darn cute in those little shades. I sure love this little boy! Even in the middle of the night when I am dead tired I can't help but smile at that sweet little angelic face. I just want to squeeze him every time I get him in my arms. Before he was born I wasn't so sure about having a boy. I didn't think I could love a boy as much as I loved my girlies but I couldn't have been more wrong. Oh, he is just so sweet! I am so happy to have my little Lincoln in my life. I wouldn't trade him for anything!!! And it is so cute to see Jared interact with him. I know Jared loves our girls, but I can tell this is something special for him. He is so happy to finally have his boy!

And There Was One...SON!!!

2009-06-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, after several tries to produce a boy I have finally succeeded. My wife had our 4th baby last Thursday June 4th, 2009.

Just incase you missed it from my wife's post, his name is Lincoln Scott Maxfield. He was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 19.5 in. long with tons of dark flowing hair.

He looks like a cross between me, my father-in-law (The Dude), and Jimmy Fallon. Despite those odds, I think he will turn out just fine and be a great looking kid.
I just want to thank everyone who has sent congratulations. There have been so many that I cannot even attempt to name you individually. We are grateful for your support of our family.

There will be more photos and stories to come from this little guy. Bye now.

Our Baby BOY!!!

2009-06-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Introducing:
Lincoln Scott Maxfield
June 4, 2009
7 lbs. 1 oz.
19 1/2 inches

Thank You...

2009-06-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

First off my wife had an awesome post yesterday! Our family is great! And, yes, I am biased.

Anyhow, I want to offer a personal invitation to ALL the readers of "The GirlyFields" Blog.

Please sign up to be a Follower or RSS Feed subscriber. You can do that on the right side under the bios of the girls with the button that says "Follow". That way you will be notified when we update the blog. You can get the updates via email, google account, yahoo account, etc. I would also invite you to follow JaredMaxfield.blogspot.com as well. Here is my latest post:

I want to thank all of those who have checked out my new Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Store. There has been some positive feedback and I want to address an issue with this post.

Some people have expressed interest in tasting the food offered in the freeze-dried section for Food Storage. I will be purchasing some samples, but I would like to get a guess of how many I would need. If you are interested in getting a sample, please go to BeReadyFoodStorage.com and put your information in so you can be on my list and I will be able to stay connected to you through my update list. NOTICE: make sure to click the link in the confirmation email so you activate your name on my list.

After I have a rough guess on the number of samples I will need, I will order them and get them distributed as fast as I can.

RSS FEED/Followers: I continue to use my blog for getting information out so I would ask you to sign up to Follow JaredMaxfield.blogspot.com or you can get RSS Feeds to your email, google or yahoo accounts. Thanks again for your interest in helping me get my feet off the ground in helping with your Food Storage and Preparedness needs.

Jared Maxfield
jared435@gmail.com

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2009-06-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

You'd think that being on bed rest for half the month of May we wouldn't have done much, but we actually managed to fit in quite a bit. Kaitlee had her soccer games, we went to a car show, celebrated Mother's day, spent many, many, many hours at the park including a picnic on Memorial day, Kaitlee broke her arm and she also had her preschool graduation. It been so nice to get out of the house the past few weeks. Being stuck at home on the couch for days and days isn't the funnest thing ever. But I guess when it came right down to it, I'd do anything to keep this little guy in me as long as possible so we don't have to go through what we did with our Reesie. That was no fun at all!!!

Car Show at Jordan Landing
My dad showed his '66 Corvette and his really old truck (I'm not even sure what it is or what year it was made... but it's OLD!)

Mother's Day
We had a super yummy dinner with Jared's family then we went and spent some time with my parents.

My mom with my 97 year old Grandma

Crazy hair day at soccer and Icees
Every time Kaitlee scores a goal at a soccer game my parents take her and her sisters to get an Icee to celebrate.

Memorial Day
We had a picinic in the park with my parents for lunch then had dinner at the Maxfield's.

Broken arm
My little Kaitlee is obsessed with Monkey bars. She could do them for hours if we let her. She has blisters all over her hands but does that stop her? Oh, no. Well, last Thursday we were at a baseball game at Parker's Park and she just couldn't resist. She fell (a very long fall) right on her arm. Our "Faux Dr." Chad met us at his office and got it all wrapped up then he scheduled an appt. the next morning with an Orthopedic Dr. Sure enough it was broken. A hair line fracture right above the growth plate. Should heal fairly quickly, luckily.

Preschool Graduation
Kaitlee had a little graduation program on Saturday. It was so fun to watch all those little kids say their parts and do their dances. She did such a good job. Her teacher also did a fantastic job putting the program together. She also gave each of her students a yearbook of pictures and funny little things the kids said over the year. Kaitlee's funniest quote was "My daddy makes me laugh when he toots!" When I read that I just laughed and laughed!

Kaitlee with her teacher Miss Lindsay

After Graduation Celebration
My Parents gave Kaitlee a cute little card and a present for graduating and took us out for ice cream at Kravers after the program. Then they took Kaitlee and Ivy home for a sleepover and to church the next day.

Shaving with Grandpa Dude

Golfing
Jared and his buddy Jeremy golfing at Overlake just after a big rain.

My Story...The Long Version.

2009-05-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Most of you that are going to read this already know me, but some of you might not and that's OK too. I admit I have had lots of different jobs and or ideas over the years that I thought were great and I could really get into, but never really followed through with them for whatever reason. I promise none of them can do for both parties half of what I am about to share with you.

I just posted that my Emergency Preparedness store was open and you are probably caught a little off guard. But here is the story behind that decision...

3 or 4 years ago my friend had an idea to start selling food storage items door to door. You might of heard of his company-Daily Bread. Well, it goes without saying he was very good with this method because he had lots of experience at it. So he asked if I wanted to join him at the very beginning, but I was scared to drop what I was doing and go for it.

Anyway, fast forward a few years and my family is starting to get bigger, my views as a husband and dad change. I started having these feelings like I should talk to him about moving into the online arena because I had been following his biz and I knew I had some pretty good ideas that could help him grow. He was already doing well and had quite a bit going on, so those ideas weren't in his plans and I started a serious search about 6 months back to find something out there that might fit with the ideas in my head.

This is what I found:
Most of the companies that sell food storage items come from UTAH (no surprise to me). Next thing is that a lot the better ones have limited online stores or no affiliate programs (sell their stuff for commissions). The top options were: Daily Bread, Shelf Reliance and Emergency Essentials, but what I needed was the best of all 3 and mesh them together. So I kept on searching and found Better To Be Ready. These guys fit all my criteria and the owners have very similar visions and goals as me in what an Emergency Preparedness store should be.

So I started working with one of the founders and we exchanged ideas about what we both wanted out of this. A harmonious fit!

We want to create CERT style leaders in the communities where they live with our store owners.

We want to offer easy options for short and long term Home Storage, Survival and Outdoor products that are relevant to the customer's needs.

We want an AFFORDABLE monthly program where someone can build up their storage over time and not have to spend thousands of dollars all at once.

We want the convenience of a quality online store so the customers can order and have the items come directly to their home.

These are just a few of the most important things we offer. Those are the items I looked for when deciding to purchase for my own family. You see I am not that different from you. I maybe don't have the storage built up that I need, but now is the time to start. A little at a time will add up over the months. What could be better than to help someone when they are in need. Disasters are all over and we never know when it could strike us. That's why I am passionate about this. Please click here to visit my store and at least see how we could help you.

Everyone has their own views on Home Food Storage and I respect that. If you get into it, there are tons of blogs and groups out there that give ideas and tips on how to do it. Whether you decide to buy from me or not, at least get started. Obviously, my goal is to make some money at this, but more importantly is that I can help someone become prepared. Best case scenario I can do both!:)

So that is the story and the months of preparation to get to this point. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am still learning, so be patient if I don't know the answer right away. Also, the store is still being modified, so if there is something you notice that you don't like or is wrong, contact me and I will let the tech team know about it.

Thank you for your support in my venture and I hope we can team up to make a difference.

Jared Maxfield

My Store is Now OPEN!

2009-05-27T11:39:00.001-07:00

I have had a few posts about Emergency Preparedness lately and I want everyone to know that my STORE IS NOW OPEN and I would love your support.

Not to get too deep, but if you know me at all I have been searching for a job where I could meet and help people while at the same time get passionate about the work. Well, I finally found it!

I need your help in making this a success. Please give it a look. There are lots of great options for Food Storage, Water Storage, Survival Kits & Outdoor Gear and more...

To check it out go to: http://BeReadyFoodStorage.com

I have a Name and Email Address Form so I can keep you updated and also get feedback. You can Unsubscribe at any time, but fill out the form and it will take you to the STORE.

Thank You!

My Girlies

2009-05-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Every time I look at this picture I just can't help but smile. It totally shows each of their personalities. That little mischievous smile on Ivy's face, the cheesy grin on Reesie and Kaitlee's mature innocent smile... absolutely LOVE it!!!!

Mother's Day 2009

P90X... Bring It!

2009-05-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know what P90X is...

It is a fitness program called Power 90 Extreme and it is set up to get you fit in 90 days. Well I heard about it from a friend and since have started the program. I thought I was in decent shape, but I was very very wrong. I am 3 days in and I can barely function like a human being. I am scared to see how I feel after the first week is over.

The reason I bring it up is because like my last post on my personal blog(JaredMaxfield.com) was about Emergency Preparedness, the P90X is very similar in nature. In fact I would even say we could substitute "Pr eparedness" for "Power" and the "X" could stand for X number of days you are prepared. We can call it the Preparedness 90 + or - X days program.

Like fitness, our plan to Be Ready in case of an emergency with the proper necessities is extremely important to our health for the situation. Could you last 90 days with the food storage you have right now? If so, you are ahead of the curve. Congratulations! If NOT, you can get started RIGHT HERE.

BeReadyFoodStorage.com makes emergency Preparedness simple. So...

The best option is to just pick from the many choices offered by BeReadyFoodStorage.com. The packages are designed to give a full dose of a daily recommended diet and you have options for 2, 3, or 4 meals per day. That's breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper if you want. Sometimes you could even get a dessert.

You can do this. C’mon, in all honesty, these meals will not be anything fancy. Frankly they will be really boring. No fresh meat or vegetables to slice, simmer and sauté. Think basic pioneer (or cowboy) cooking. Pancakes, tortillas and beans. Lentil soup and stews. Oatmeal with a side of… raisins.

You don’t have to try to be the “Martha Stewart”. Just plain adequate is fine enough; you are talking about survival cooking, here nothing else. And as an added bonus, once you have a box or two of these “prep meals” at home, you will never have to make an emergency run to the store after a vacation or before a snowstorm!

Better Late than Never

2009-05-05T14:40:00.001-07:00

Yes, I realize that Easter was almost a month ago, but sadly I accidentally erased all the pictures we had on our camera... including all the Easter pictures. Arggg!!!
I am such a retard! So sadly, we don't have any pictures from Easter morning of our girlies but luckily my mom took a bunch that evening at her house. It made my day when I opened up the email she sent me of the pictures she took and realized this Easter wasn't entirely lost. Unfortunately, I don't have any of them in their beautiful Easter dresses but these are still really cute (even though they are in their jammies and a complete mess).

My Little Soccer Star

2009-04-30T11:08:00.001-07:00

Kaitlee had her first soccer game a couple of weeks ago and she did awesome! She even scored a goal. After two seasons, she is finally getting what it's all about. It's so much fun watching her!

Look at her go, pink socks and all!!!

Giving coach (aka/daddy) hi-fives!

Time for a group cheer!

In Loving Memory

2009-04-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

My sweet little nephew, Will Maxfield was prematurely born on April 21 and past away just a few short hours later. Although I never got to meet him during his short life here on this Earth, he has touched my heart in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I haven't stopped thinking about him since he was born. I am so grateful to know of the Plan of Salvation and it brings me great comfort knowing that I will be able to meet him someday. I love him and his sister and parents so much. He will greatly be missed!

Counting My Blessings

2009-04-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Right now I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a wonderful husband, 3 beautiful girls, a healthy baby on the way, a nice big house, a new "family" size car, family and friends that would do anything for me, I have the gospel in my life, the list could go on and on. Lately I've just been sitting at home bored out of my mind thinking of all the things I want (like my life isn't great enough as it is). I complain to Jared all the time that I love our new house but now I really want new furniture and decorations to go in it. I am getting ridiculously huge this pregnancy so I'd really love to go out and buy a bunch of new cute clothes to lift my spirits, then in a few more months when I've lost some weight buy a whole new ward robe again. What is my deal?!! Seriously! When I was listening to President Monson speak on Sunday (morning I think it was) and he started to tell the story of a woman who lost her husband and all four children to freezing and starvation and had to dig their burials with a spoon or her bare hands in the cold hard ground, I completely LOST it!!! This lady lost her entire family for the building of the church and here I think my life stinks because I can't buy some new throw pillows for my couches. Silly, isn't it? I can't even fathom the thought of waking up next to my daughter and feeling a cold lifeless arm against mine, or having my baby die in my arms because I didn't have food to feed it. Stories like this literally break my heart, yet I need to hear them every now and again to help me appreciate all that I really do have. I think of all the people in the world that are still dying of starvation and it makes me so sad. I realize those new pillows really aren't that important to my life or my salvation. I am so grateful for all that I have. I am thankful for my parents raising me in the church and giving me all they have. I am thankful for Jared working hard to support our growing family so I can be at home with our kids. As bored as I may get sometimes always being at home, I know I am doing what my Heavenly Father would have me do. As a woman, I can't think of anything more fulfilling than always being there for my children when they need me, day or night. I am so grateful that I don't have to miss out on any part of their lives. They grow up so fast and I am extremely thankful I get to be there with them to witness every growing moment. I love my kids and I love Jared and our family and friends. I am so thankful for the life I have been given and I hope my Heavenly Father will be proud of the things I do while I am here on this Earth. I am sooo thankful for Jesus and the sacrifice He made so we can live with Him again someday. I am so grateful to know my Jerrybear and kids are sealed to me forever. Seriously, I just absolutely love this church and the gospel! It just makes my life so much easier and so much more meaningful. This General Conference there were a lot of talks that made me realize how freaking lucky I really am and I am so thankful for our Prophet and Apostles and their guidance and teachings. More than anything, I am thankful for my 3(soon to be 4) greatest blessings ever and I am so grateful Jared and I are able to give them a cozy home to live in, food to fill their bellies and the gospel to warm their hearts. How incredibly blessed am I!?!!

Extra Cash!?

2009-03-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

Last week my brother showed me something that is pretty freakin' cool, in my opinion.

If you buy anything from stores like: Target, The Home Depot, Old Navy, Barnes & Noble, Famous Footwear, PetSmart, Drugstore.com, Best Buy and the list goes on...

You can get up to 30% Cash Back on your purchases if you join our "Shop to Earn" program.

If you want to learn more about it: Click Here to see our 24 hour Tour. The website is http://TheCashBackATM.com if you want to share it.

Make sure you follow the Narrator because he will take you through all the steps and slides on the power point. If you have questions after, give me a call or email me at jared435@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: If you don't want anything to do with it, we can still be friends. I just wanted to put it out there for anyone who might think it is a good idea.

Jared + Alisa = ?

2009-03-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking so much about what our little guy is going to look like. I never got this feeling so early with my other pregnancies but for some reason this time I am just so anxious to meet him. I've always gotten like this towards the end, but I still have three months left. What am I going to do with myself?!! Up until a few days ago I wasn't really sure how I felt about having a boy. I just kind of felt like he wouldn't have that same sweet, delicate feeling that my baby girls have had. But a couple of days ago Jared and I went to see our friend's new little baby boy and he was just the sweetest thing ever! Holding him in my arms and looking at that little angelic face made me so excited to get our baby boy here. I was looking through old photos this morning and came across these. I think Jer is two and I am three. It's kinda fun to see who our kids look more like. It'll be interesting to see which of us this little one looks more like. I don't mind having short girls, but hopefully our boy will get my genes in the heighth department. :-)

You know your not in the city anymore...

2009-03-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

When you look out your front window and see this.

Yes, that is a cow and it wasn't long before 4 or 5 more of his friends joined him. He was actually in our yard for a while too but the picture of him across the street is better. This kept my girls entertained all evening long. It's not very often when you see a cow in your front yard. Gotta love Tooele!!!

In the Words of Ivy

2009-02-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Ivy is always saying the funniest things and I really wish Jared and I had written more of them down because we seem to forget so quickly, but these are a few things she has said in the past couple weeks that have sure made us laugh.

The other day, the girls were out playing on the deck while Jared was cleaning junk up from our yard that had just been left from construction. Ivy soon noticed what he was doing and said to Kaitlee, "Wow, daddy is a such a good worker!"

As we were getting out of the car on a windy day Ivy nervously said, "Oh no, Mommy! It's going to wind my head off!"

We bought Madagascar a few weeks ago and on the way home from the store she was so excited and said, "I can't wait to watch 'Move-it-gascar' when we get home."

We left our kids with a babysitter last weekend and Ivy was pretty upset when we left. Of course when we got back to take her home, she was having so much fun we couldn't get her to leave. In the car on the way home she told us, "I just cried and then I cried again, and then my drops just dried right up."

Kaitlee and Ivy had a friend over the other day and she really wanted to play with something Ivy had. So after about 5 minutes I asked Ivy if she was being nice and sharing with Abby and she said, "No. Not yet, but I sure hope to be able to soon."

I sure do love this girl!!!

A Big Day For Miss Kaitlee

2009-02-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right! She actually went through with it. Kaitlee has been wanting to get her ears peirced for months now but her tough daddy made sure she earned them fair and square. She finally accomplished all her goals and was able to get it done. She was soooo excited!!! Everyone had been telling her for weeks how bad it was going to hurt but that didn't seem to scare her one bit. We walked into the store, she quickly picked the earrings she wanted (pink, of course), and with a smile on her face she told the ladies she was ready. The smile quickly faded as they punched the earrings through her ears. I was actually quite surprised that she didn't cry one bit. She sat there and held her breath for a few seconds and finally one of the ladies told her it was okay to cry so she jumped up into my arms and let out like a little hum or something but then she was done and that smile on her face was bigger than ever. But sadly, there is some bad news to this story. They punched one of the holes way lower than the other one so after some serious bribing, we ended up having to take out that earring and in a few days she will have to go through it all again. I'm sure she is thinking that I am the meanest mom ever but I know she would hate having uneven holes when she is older. I'm thinking she will be a little more nervous this time around since she knows what to expect but hopefully she'll do okay. And I just had to throw on some of these cute pictures that we've taken of Kaitlee over the past few weeks. Her favorite thing right now is dressing up like Hannah Montana and running around the house singing The Best of Both Worlds. It makes me happy in my heart!!!

Poison Ivy is 3!

2009-02-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ivy's birthday was actually over a month ago on the 12th of January. I know this post is a bit late but I figure better late than never. My parents came out to celebrate with us on her special day. We took her to eat at her all-time fav restaurant "Kung Food Panda" as she calls it. As strange as that seems, all of our kids just love Chinese. (A lot more than I do!)
Then we came home and opened presents and had some yummy cake that my sweet mama made for her. She also got to have a party at Grandma Lynn's and at Grandma Bita's a few weeks later. We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday along with Ivy that day.

Ivy was a little confused having so many different parties. After all the parties were over she kept asking, "Is it my birthday again today?" What a little sweatheart!!! I'm so grateful to have my little Ivy Kadivy.

When she was two months old we came really close to losing her and I'm so thankful she was able to pull through. She is such a tough, healthy little girl now... although she is quite clumsy and accident prone. She has been through a lot in her short 3 years of life. I guess that is what makes her so tough. She has the funniest personality and is always making us laugh. I love you little Ivy Kadivy!!! Happy Birthday!

My Valentine!

2009-02-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

I know that I don't seem to care about a lot of things and don't come off as sweet, but I will tell you something my dad once said to my mom. "I Love You! If that ever changes, I will let you know." So here is a tribute to YOU. And you know you are Shmokin' HOT, even when you think your not.

Oh how I love my Weeter! Happy Valentines!

Me and My Girl Malia

2009-01-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Malia has been one of my closest friends my entire life. I just LOVE her to pieces!! Unfortunately, we don't get to see each other as often as we would like but when we do, we always have a blast. Last night we went to the Josh Turner concert at The Depot, which I have to say was a completely strange experience all together. We were surrounded by a bunch of people drunk out of their minds. All we could think about was, "who the heck is driving these people home?!!" Aside from that though, the concert itself was really good. Josh is so super sexy! He seems like a genuinely good guy too which just makes him that much sexier!! And that voice... oh that voice, where the heck does it come from!?! It is amazing! Girl's night out is always so much fun so thanks Malia for getting me off my nice cozy couch and out for a good time.

The Girlyfields No More

2009-01-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

Yep! It's a BOY!!! Hooray! Jared couldn't be prouder! As much as we love our beautiful little girls, it's going to be so much fun to mix things up a bit and add some blue to all the pink we have. Honestly, this whole time I really felt like it was a girl so it was a really nice surprise yesterday to find out otherwise. This will be a whole new experience for us. A lot of things are going to have to change with another boy in the house. It doesn't even seem real yet. Just so unexpected! But definitely a good surprise and we are so excited for this healthy little guy to join our family soon!!!

Precious Moments

2009-01-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

Cancer Scare

2009-01-13T12:37:00.001-08:00

So I know it's been forever since I posted last. I guess you could say I've had A LOT going on. First of all, we finally got in to our new house. YAY!!! We absolutely LOVE IT!!! Then Christmas came right along so with trying to get settled and ready for christmas while being pregnant, I felt so overwhelmed. But then on top of all that I got some scary news right before Christmas. My doctor found a lump in my breast that was pretty big. He was hoping it was just a cyst so I went in a few days later so he could drain it. Needless to say, nothing came out. He got a very worried look on his face and decided it was definitely a solid mass. He sent me to a specialist who right away said it needed to come out immediately. He wasn't sure if it had already started developing cancer in it yet or not, but I guess with all the crazy hormones I had in my body from being pregnant it would become cancerous very fast if it hadn't already. I was scared out of my mind!!!! Up until a couple of nights before my surgery I hadn't told anyone but our parents. But by then I was completely freaking out, so worried about what would happen to the baby if it was cancerous and what kind of treatments I would have to go through. Jared and I decided that I could really use all the prayers and support I could get so we told our families and bishopric. I had the tumor removed last Monday and found out the results of the biopsy on Wednesday. I feel so incredibly blessed to say that although the "Phyllode" tumor was malignant, it hadn't spread to any of the surrounding tissue. I am so grateful for all the thoughts and prayers from everyone that knew. I honestly can say that I could feel Heavenly Father blessing me and comforting me through your prayers. So other than the fact that I'm missing a good part of my left boob now, I'm completely fine and thankfully the baby is healthy and doing well too.

A Night With Carrie Underwood

2008-11-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Jerry bought me tickets for my birthday to this concert and I have to say, it was the best present ever! I've never considered myself a huge concert lover. Usually I just went to concerts to hang out with my friends and you'd certainly NEVER catch me shouting and screaming with overjoyment. But I have to admit, this time was different. We got there in the middle of Little Bigtown's performance and they sounded really good but when they were finished and they put up the 5 minute countdown clock for Carrie, I felt my heart starting to beat really fast and really loud. It was really weird. Honestly, I don't know that I've ever been that excited for anything in my entire life. As the clock counted further and further down, my heart pounded faster and faster. I felt like a silly little teenager. When it hit the one minute mark the crowd went insane! The band started to play and when she emerged from the floor in her little superstar stance, yep, I screamed and jumped up and down. She was so amazing! She looked and sounded so beautiful. I know, I'm a huge cheeseball but I've been a fan of hers since the very beginning. The first time I saw her on American Idol, my mom and I looked at each other and said "she's gonna win" and that she did! I just can't even believe how much she's done since then. Oh, and when she asked a sweet little girl from the audience to come up and help her sing All American Girl I thought I was going to die. This girl looked so scared and yet she got up there and sang her heart out. It was awesome! What a dream come true for her. I seriously was holding back the tears. And today, my ears still hurt from the kids sitting behind us. I've never heard a scream so loud in my entire life. And the boys she came with I think were even more excited than her. They just kept repeating "I love you, Carrie! I - LOVE - YOU!" It made me and Jer laugh! Anyway, the least to say, Jer and I had a spectacular night. Thanks, Hunny Buns! I love ya!

Since I'm on the topic of concerts, this is at Jack Johnson in August. We went with our good friends the Jarvis' and my homies Katy and Malia. We all tease Jared that he got a little high breathing in all the weed that people were smokin' around us. He was REALLY enjoying himself if ya know what I mean. ;) I love this guy!

Me, Jer, Chad and Jen Katy, Malia and Me My Jerry jammin' with Jack Gettin' jiggy!

Whooa! I think he's all "jacked up"!

That's one sweet toe touch!

Yep, he's feeling good alright!

This is what Katy and Malia think of Jer's dancing

Jer and Chad doing a jazz square. What's that you say? It's a HSM thing. Finally, time to relax and enjoy!

My Eggo is Prego!

2008-11-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

That's right! Baby Girlyfield numero cuatro is on its way and we couldn't be more thrilled! We are (obviously) hoping for a boy, but if we continue in our girlyfield way there will be no disappointment here. Honestly, after all these girls I can't even picture me having a baby boy. So far, Jer and I have made some pretty dang cute little girls so really I don't think we could go wrong by having another one, but we are still keeping our fingers crossed. Either way, seven months from now a baby will be joining our family and we can add that to our list of happiest days ever. Yahoooo!!!!

Halloween - 2 Princesses and a Witch

2008-11-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

This was the best halloween ever! The girls were happy, the weather was nice, and for the most part it was a very relaxing evening. I didn't really think Reesie would get the whole trick-or-treat thing so I tried leaving her in the wagon at a couple houses. She wasn't going to have any part of that! She had a death grip on her pumkin basket and wasn't about to let it go for anything. I saw a whole new side of Reesie that night. VERY possessive of her candy! She'd hit and scream at anyone that came near her and her pumpkin. It was pretty funny. After trick-or-treating, we went over to Beav and Lynn's house to visit them for a while. Lynnard made us some yummy tuna melts for dinner. (Eat your heart out Nettifer!) After our girls had their sugar high and were all tuckered out, we headed home for bed. My parents were in Ohio for a funeral so my mama had a Halloween party on Monday for all the grandkids. For dinner she made toasted ham and cheese and a few of us brought our favorite halloween treats. Then the kids made paper pumpkins and played pin the nose on the pumpkin. They loved it! To finish the night off, we went over to Great Grandma's house and had a "fashion show" (as Kaitlee so sweetly put it) to show off their costumes. Great Grandma fell a few days before and broke a couple ribs so she was kinda miserable that night. But nevertheless, it was fun and she was so glad we came. I've never been super into Halloween but this year I realized what a fun holiday it is when you have little kids. I'm already looking foward to next year!

Kaitlee playing pin the nose on the pumpkin (yes, one eye fell off and the nose is up by the stem) Not too bad!!!

Um yeah, Ivy wasn't peaking ;)

My little terror with her candy

Baby Britton

2008-11-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

My sweet little nephew that was born with Spina Bifida went in for surgery today to get his clubbed feet fixed. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he faces just one of his many struggles he will have through out his life. We love you little Britton! We hope and pray for the best!

Update on the House

2008-11-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

So, it's getting there slowly but surely. The painters just finished so now comes the fun part... CABINETS! As I'm sure most of you know, my daddy owns a cabinet shop and they do beautiful work! I have been more excited for this than anything else. I can't wait to see them! Here's some pictures of what it looks like so far.

This room (above) is supposed to be pink with white board and batton but the painters didn't want to do it (still love you Brett) so next week Jer and I are going to go in and do it ourselves. Kaitlee would absolutely DIE if she saw her walls weren't "Sleeping Beauty Pink"!!!

This is the color of all the walls except Kaitlee's room upstairs. Yep, nice and boring but that's exactly what I wanted.

This is our deck in progress. Jer won't even tell me how much this bad boy cost. You can't really tell by the picture but it's freaking huge!

The Girlyfields

2008-10-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

My friend Keli took these pictures of my girls. I think she is an amazing photographer! The picture of them having a tea party in their tutus is my favorite. She brought everything (the tutus, table, tea set & bows) for that picture. I love it!!! She just started a photography blog at: kelibphotography.blogspot.com

Thanks Keli!!!

Is This Big or What!?!!

2008-10-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

This pumpkin broke the state record by over 200 lbs. Pretty impressive, huh?!! But two days before the big weigh in, it got a tiny split in the bottom of it so it was disqualified. It weighed almost 1400 lbs and the other one my parent's neighbors grew weighed over 800 lbs. Too bad about the split but I think it's still very impressive!

Maxfield Family Photos

2008-10-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that the photographer got a picture of all my girlies smiling. Sonrisa was C-R-A-N-K-Y! She cried almost the entire time.

Ivy being sweet with Grandma. This photo is priceless!!!!!

Seriously, this girl is good! I realize there were only four little kids but Kaitlee was the only one cooperating so under the circumstances, I think this turned out pretty darn cute!

I know! My hair is horrible!!! But I'm trying to grow it out and there's just not much I can do with it right now. Hopefully next year it will look A LOT better!

This is Kaitlee and Ivy with their cousin Sydney. She is sooo cute! She and Ivy are best buddies! Ivy had that mischievous smile plastered to her face. It's adorable!

Jake, Sydney and Marissa. What a good looking family!!!

Beav and Lynnard's granddaughters. Aren't they beautiful!?!!! I love the way Syd is looking at Ivy!

This is more realistic as to what was going on during pretty much the entire photo shoot. I love it!!!

These are just a few of my favorite pictures. The photographer has all of them posted on her website. I think they are all really good!
www.akstudio.typepad.com

Cousins

2008-10-08T11:18:00.001-07:00

************Gina, Molly, Jenni, Ashley, Alisa, Katy & Malia*********

It's That Time of the Year

2008-10-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

I just have to say, I love Conference Weekend! Not only do I get to listen to the prophet and apostles of the church, it also means it's time for my family's semi-annual "Girls Night Out". While the boys are at priesthood us girls get to go have fun together. My mom has been doing this for as long as I can remember. It's one of my very favorite traditions and this year it was even more fun because my aunt and cousins were here visiting. We ate at Archibalds then we walked around Gardner Village to see all the funny witches. It was great fun!

Kaitlee's Five!

2008-10-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little Kaitlee is already five years old! It's so crazy how fast time flies!!! It has been five years of pure joy raising this little one. She is just the sweetest thing ever! She had a busy, busy, busy birthday! She had a sleepover with grandma, she helped me make pancakes, went to Kindermusik, spent the afternoon at Jungle Jim's followed by a nice long nap, then soccer practice and finally a party. Jared was working at our new house trying to get the tile done so we brought the party to him. It definitely wasn't the most practical place for a birthday party but I didn't want Jer to miss out on all the fun. What a fun day! Happy birthday my little Kaitlee girl! I love you!

More of my Little Poison Ivy

2008-09-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this little one to pieces. She can always put a smile on my face no matter how incredibly mad I am at her. She walks around with this little smirk on her face like she is the most innocent little thing you've ever seen. But as we all know, is so completely not true! This afternoon the girls were upstairs playing with toys while I was in the basement putting away some clothes when I suddenly heard Reesie screaming bloody murder. I ran up the stairs to find Sonrisa smothered in a blanket with Ivy laying on top of her head. I firmly asked Ivy why the heck she would do that and she casually looked up, closed her eyes, shrugged her shoulders and sweetly said, "Because". Then she just got up and walked away with that little smirk of hers like nothing ever happened. I tried so hard not to laugh, but I just couldn't help it. It's really hard to describe how funny stuff like this is coming from that little devil. Kaitlee later told me that Ivy ran across the room holding that blanket up in the air, jumped on top of Rees, threw the blanky over her head and then tackled her to the floor. Really, I would love to know what is going through that little brain of hers when she does stuff like this, then to think that it's no big deal. She may be a little devil but luckily for her, she has the face of an angel so it's really hard to stay mad at her. What can I say? She is my little Poison Ivy! Gotta love her!

Family Vacation to Plains, MT

2008-09-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

House Update:

2008-09-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

I keep getting told that I am making good time on the house, but I think poeple are just trying to be nice. So, here we are- made it past the 4 way and insulation. We will be getting sheetrock on Monday Sep. 8th..... Then comes the fun stuff- tile, base boards and moldings. I will be heading up these manual labor projects if anyone is interested in helping give me a call. Anyway, here are some updated pictures.

It's Official... Finally!

2008-09-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

After quite few arguments with the other realtor "Gloria", a couple appraisals and some trouble with their lenders, we finally closed on our house. Yay!!! We were planning to close on August 21st but finally got it done while we were on vacation in Montana (which I'm dying to post pictures of but don't have time at the moment). I didn't think it was going to be this sad to leave but reality hit me a couple days before we moved out. My kids and I have so many close friends there that will certainly be missed. I know we will be back out there in a couple of months not far from where we lived, but it's not going to be the same. I won't be able to walk out the door knowing I will see at least one of my friends going for a walk or out playing with their kids. Kaitlee's friends won't be within walking distance either. Although, I have to admit I feel like we have some really good replacements for that neighborhood and ward. The Cronks (new owners) seem like awesome people which is good since the Thomas' jokingly said they were going to have to interview any potential buyers to make sure they were worthy of living there. I definitely think they would have passed. They have two sweet little girls about the same age as Kaitlee and Ivy... so they should fit right in. It's been hard not being able to see all you Stanbury girls, and I lost my phone so I can't even call any of you either. Once I get my new phone I'll have to collect all your numbers again. And I think it's about time for another girl's night so I we can all get together again. See you all soon!!!

Annual Family Campout

2008-08-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

You'd think for how ginormous my family is getting it would be impossible to get all of us together for an entire weekend, but somehow we manage to pull it off every year. Honestly, as I'm sure most of you know, I'm not really much of a camper but going with my family is always so much fun and I wouldn't miss it for anything. This year we camped at Vernon Reservoir which is basically out in the middle of nowhere. But luckily there were a few trees right around our campground to give us just enough shade to stay cool. We all brought our 4-wheelers and motorcycles for entertainment. The kids just couldn't get enough of Kim's big red 4-wheeler. They loved it! And I actually got up the guts to drive Jared's motorcycle for the first time. So fun!!!! Normally we all rough it with tents, but this year Scott and Jen decided to camp in luxury with a trailer. It actually came in very handy for all of us since there was no running water and the super gross bathrooms were like a mile away. We had a little party for all the August and September birthdays too. Kaitlee got a bunch of really fun stuff. I don't think I've ever seen my girls so incredibly dirty. Ivy and Macy took turns giving makeovers by smearing dirt all over each others faces. Little Jessica and Sonrisa just followed each other around picking up rocks and sharing other treasures they found lying around. Zeke was the first one to fall into the little river just below our camp site. The rest of the kids had their fair share of getting all wet and muddy after that too. Britton and Kyle definitely won the award for staying the cleanest. They seemed to sparkle next to the rest of us. This was the first year all of us had a baby of our own. It was so fun to see Scott and Timmy with their cute little boys. I love my all my brothers and sisters and my mom and dad and I am so grateful we all get along so well. It's always fun getting together with them.

Family Adventures

2008-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but now that it's summer, sitting at the computer is the last thing I want to be doing. With the holiday, family parties and other summer fun, we girlyfields have been extremely busy the past couple weeks. I feel like things are finally starting to settle down so now I get to write a nice, LONG update on what we've been up to. On the fourth we started our day off at the Tooele parade. Kaitlee and Ivy enjoyed waving to the princesses as the floats went by. Then, our good friends the Jarvis' (Chad and Jen) invited us to go swimming with them at their parent's house. You'll have to check out their blog to see all the fun pictures of that. After that, we headed up Butterfield Canyon to have a picnic with my family. Fried chicken, potato salad and watermelon...Yum! We decided since we were already half way up the canyon we'd finish the drive to the top. What a view!!! On the way down the other side we happened to run into my bro Kerry and Kim on four wheelers. They had been camping there for a few days. Ivy was the only one awake so Kim took her for a ride with Macy before we finished the drive down the canyon. Later that night, we tried to go see fireworks at Deseret Peak but we were too late. Luckily the night before we got to see plenty of fireworks with the show Jerry put on. He invited a bunch of our friends over to watch and even charged some of them a $10 fee (Thanks to those of you who chipped in). A couple of years ago, he and his friend Johnny Clark bought a few fireworks to put on a little show. Since then it's just gotten bigger and bigger every year. He loves doing it and we had fun, so thanks Jer!

Last weekend we went bowling with Rory, Stephanie and their son Braxton. (Cutest 10 year old I know!) Jared works with Rory at Broken Arrow. It was fun but next time I will definitely get a babysitter. I did more chasing than bowling.

This is a view that I have become way too familiar with. Our poor little girls spend way more time in their carseats then they would like. Normally we only go into Salt Lake a couple times a month but it seems like anytime there's a holiday, we end up going in just about every day for a whole week or so.

This morning before church, Jared got some really cute pictures of Kaitlee and Ivy. Sonrisa wasn't really in the mood for posing.

Summer Fun

2008-06-21T14:06:00.001-07:00

More Pictures of my Baby Doll's 1st Year

2008-06-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Sonrisa!

2008-06-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little angel Sonrisa is already one. It's been a while since I've looked at these pictures when she was born. It's bringing back a lot of memories, both good and bad. I remember pushing her out and getting a quick glimpse of her sweet little face while the doctor held her up, but that was about all I got to see of her before they put her on oxygen and rushed her out of the room. I remember the awful feeling I had not knowing what was wrong or if she was going to be okay. When the doctor came in to tell me they were going to life-flight her to another hospital, my heart sunk and I broke down into tears. I just cried and cried and wanted so badly to be able to hold her in my arms. I was so grateful the staff was kind enough to let us into her room just long enough for Jer and my dad to give her a blessing. Jared was so emotional and was having a really hard time so he asked my dad to give the blessing. I love my dad so much! He has always been there when I've needed him and this was no exception. He gave her the most beautiful blessing and I immediately had a feeling of peace come over me. Before we left the room, I remember looking at that tiny little body struggling to stay alive. It brought me a bit of peace knowing that our Heavenly Father was there with her helping her through it all. After the paramedics got her intubated, they brought her into my room so I could look at her one more time before she left. She was in a plastic box that was about five feet long with tubes and cords going every which way.
Staring through the plastic at her sweet little face was actually the first really good look I had been able to have with her. I didn't want her to go. I knew they were going to take good care of her, but I wanted to be there with her holding her hand, whispering in her ear that she would be okay. I was so scared watching them wheel her away not knowing what was going to happen. Jared was able to go out with her and watch her fly away. The first couple of days she was at St. Mark's, all we could do was look at her and gently place our hand on her leg. They said in cases like hers it was best to have no stimulation whatsoever. On the third day I finally got to hold her for the very first time. It felt so good having her in my arms. I really felt like I was holding an angel. I only got to hold her for a few minutes, but I enjoyed those minutes thoroughly! For the next two weeks we were only allowed in the NICU for half an hour every three hours for her feedings. It was really hard having to leave her there after only being with her for half an hour, then having to come back again to do it again. For the first week or so, she was too weak to eat from a bottle so a lot of the time they just tube fed her and on those feedings they didn't want us to disturb her sleeping. So we would just sit with her and watch her sleep for half an hour and then gently kiss her and say good bye. At the time it seemed like a nightmare that was never going to end but now, a year later, it's just a short-lived memory. I am so grateful for the all the doctors and especially the nurses (because they did most of the caring for) that helped my little Sonrisa. She has the sweetest personality and she brings so much joy to my life. Her name fits her perfectly! She has the most beautiful smile and puts a smile on everybody's face she meets. I love you, little angel baby Sonrisa! Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T12:37:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to three of my favorite guys. I love you all very much and am so grateful for all you do for me. You guys are the best!

I especially want to thank you Jer for all you do for me and our little girls. You are such a great dad! I know our girls love you so much... and so do I!!! These have been the best six years of my life!

Funny Words and Phrases for Huge Laughs, Alex

2008-06-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you some of my children's best words and phrases. I am going to start with Sonrisa because her list is short, then take on Ivy and finish with Kaitlee.

Sonrisa: 1- Da 2- Dat 3- Dad (Oh let's be serious, it's the same word) and 4- No, No (w/ the finger waggle.)
Ivy: 1- Chapit Milk 2- Uhwand 3- Disway (w/ a finger point) 4- Fwops for flip flops and 5- She loves to speak backwards like in spanish. For example she will say "Daddy truck white" or "Ivy no buckled".
Kaitlee: Some of hers are from a while back like 1- My do and Byeeeeeee. But the most memorable are in story form. 2- One time I said to her, "Kaitlee you are driving me nuts" and she responded with "I'm drivin your nuts?" That was a great laugh. And most recently 3- we went to the cemetery on Memorial Day to see my grandma Gertie's grave and it was raining, so I was just going to be quick and leave everyone else in the car. But you know Kaitlee, she has to be a part of everything. She rolls down the window and says, "Say hi for me! or just bring her over here." Oh what a line.

Girls, I love your growing up and it is always fun to see what's next. --Daddy

OK, My Turn.

2008-06-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while, but I am ready to redeem my poor effort.

For those of you who have not spoken to me in the past month or so, I want to show you the progress on our new house.

I must admit, I am loving this project. It makes me happy in my heart.

My Girls Growing Up

2008-06-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

It has been so much fun watching my little Kaitlee play soccer this year. The season started off a little rough for the Rockets because they all have such sweet, timid personalities so they had a hard time being very aggressive. But the last few games they really started to get the hang of it. Kaitlee actually got right in the middle of the crowd a few times and got some really good kicks in.
This past week was crazy hair day, hence the colorful hair. They looked pretty cute! Kaitlee and Zeke have so much fun playing soccer together. Sometimes they get so caught up in each other they forget what's going on in the game. It's actually pretty funny. With a little practice this summer, I'm really excited to see how she does in the fall.

Kaitlee and Ivy have become so close within the past few months. I think Ivy is finally old enough that Kaitlee can enjoy playing with her.
They love to go out to their little playhouse in the backyard and have tea parties, play in their pool, ride bikes together or play dolls. Basically Kaitlee tells Ivy what they are going to do and Ivy is happy to do it. I'm not sure how long that will last, but for now I guess Ivy doesn't mind being bossed around.

In less than two weeks, little Reesie is going to be one. I can't believe it!!! This year has gone by way too fast. I wish I had a SLOW DOWN button that I could push so I could enjoy this part of my life a little bit more. I look at these girls and can't believe they are all mine. I feel like it was just yesterday that I had Kaitlee and now she's almost five.
They are all at such fun ages and I would love it if it could stay axactly like this for a couple more years. But I know it won't, and I know that the future will be just as great. I'm looking forward to adding to our family and making new memories together.

Who's who?

2008-05-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

(1)Sonrisa (2)Kaitlee (3)Kaitlee (4)Ivy (5)Ivy (6)Sonrisa (7)Ivy (8)Kaitlee (9)Sonrisa (10)Sonrisa (11)Kaitlee (12)Ivy

A - Z

2008-05-20T14:47:00.001-07:00

A-Attached or Single? Attached for almost 7 years
B-Best Friend? Jerry Bear
C-Cake or pie? My brother Timmy's famous red velvet cake w/twinkie frosting. Yum!
D-Day of choice? Saturday for sure. Weekends are the best!
E-Essential Item? Hair spray
F-Favorite color? Bright green
G-Gummy bears or worms? Either are fine, but definitely not my first choice.
H-Home town? Stansbury Park
I-Favorite indulgence? My day is not complete w/out a big bowl of ice cream.
J-January or July? July
K-Kids? 3 beautiful little girls
L-Life isn't complete without: FAMILY and good FRIENDS! (you put it perfectly, Jen!)
M-Marriage date? January 4, 2002
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 3 brothers/2 bros-in-law and 1 sister/4 sisters-in-law
O-Oranges or Apples? Oranges.
P-Phobias? Any sort of spider, bug or rodent
Q-Quote? Families that pray together, stay together.
R-Reasons to smile? I have an awesome hubby and the sweetest little girls in the world.
S-Season of choice? Late spring. Nice and warm but not too hot.
T-Tag 3 people: Kim, Amber, and Jessica
U-Unknown fact about me? I'm allergic to bee stings
V-Vegetable? Broccoli
W-Worst habit? Anytime I find a hair band laying around, I'll wrap it around the closest door knob instead of putting it away.
X-Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. The last x-ray I had I went into anaphylactic shock because I was allergic to the contrast dye.
Y-Your favorite food? Junk food... I love all junk food!
Z-Zodiac sign: Cancer

My Skater Dude

2008-05-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jared decided to get his skateboard out for the first time in years. As he hopped on it and zoomed down the road I thought to myself, "Is there anything he can't do?" I swear, he is good at anything he tries. He is such an amazing athlete. Kaitlee and Ivy thought he was pretty hot stuff watching him do some of his awesome little tricks.

They especially loved it when Jared put them both on the board and pushed them down the road.

Kaitlee is super fast on her bike so she had a great time having races with her daddy.

Little Sonrisa had no idea what was going on but she was happy just to be outside.

Let's See You Ride A Chicken Like This!

2008-05-12T22:51:00.001-07:00

Sandwiches at the park: $4

Drinks to wash down your sandwiches: $6.50

Jared riding a spring chicken: Priceless.

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

*FRIDAY*

Our friend Joel, the social planner, gathered a bunch of people from our ward to go to the Bees game. So much fun!!! It was a bit on the chilly side but the kids didn't seem to mind so I guess I can't complain either. We sat up on the grass so the kids could roam about and lucky for us there was a train and a playground near by. I'm not much of a baseball fan (sorry honey) but I have to admit, I do love the atmosphere of actually being at the game. Jared is such a die hard fan of baseball, I let him watch most of the game while I followed my little busy bodies around. The Bees won and I heard it was a great game. I forgot my camera so I stole a few pics from my friend's blog. Thanks Brooke!!

*SATURDAY*

We started our Saturday off with a yummy box of Krispy Kremes and an early game of soccer. Kaitlee and Zeke did awesome! We came home and did a little yard work and Jer went golfing while the girls took a nap and silly me, decided to change the color of my hair yet again. Somebody help me, please! I have had just about every shade possible within the past 4 months and I just can't seem to be satisfied with any of them. I really think I might be crazy! Anyway, we didn't really have anything planned for that evening, but we knew we didn't want to sit home all night. So we hopped in the car and found ourselves at Fashion Place Mall. Busy, busy!!!! We wanted to eat at the Cheesecake Factory but the parking lot was packed and not to mention the 2 and 1/2 hour wait so we crossed the street and ended up at one of our alltime favs, Macaroni Grill. I'm not sure if they were doing this for Mother's Day or what, but the chef did a drawing while we were there to give away free dinner for an entire table. We were sitting at table #12 and what number do you think he pulls out of the basket... table #12. How lucky is that!!! $70 dinner completely free, and we got to meet the chef. I was so excited! :)

*Sunday*

I woke up to hear the sweetest little voices whispering in my ear, "I love you and Happy Mother's Day" followed with a great big hug. I really don't think it gets any better than this. Those little girls just melt my heart. The primary didn't sing in sacrament meeting but lucky for me, I got to hear their angelic voices singing Mother's Day songs in sharing time thanks to my wonderful calling. I love playing the piano in primary and I'm going to miss it so much when we move. After church, we went to Beav and Lynn's to watch the Jazz game and have dinner. Beav cooked up some delicious hamburgers and Lynn made pickle dip and cookie dough. What more could you ask for!? It was delicious! We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom the Sunday before because my parents were out of town this past weekend. My cute mom and grandma always have a fun gift for all of us girls. Everything is always a huge event in my family, but I absolutely love it. We Buckinghams sure know how to party!

Such a fun weekend!!!!!

Speedy Little Reesie

2008-04-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Gpa Beav- Probably shouldn't read this! (Love you!!!)

Yesterday we were at the park watching Kaitlee's soccer practice. The playground at this park has one of the tallest, steepest slides I have ever seen. Sonrisa kept crawling up the stairs to the top of the slide and I just kept bringing her back down to the bottom because it is such a fast slide. Well, after following her up and going back down the stairs about four times I decided to just send her down. She zipped right down to meet her daddy with a HUGE smile.... surprisingly, she actually liked it. Jared took her and set her on the grass about 30 feet from the playground and we looked away to watch Kaitlee in action. Not even a minute later, my little Reesie was laying at the bottom of that slide screaming at the top of her lungs. She had crawled up the many stairs to the top, went down head first and smashed her face right into the wood chips at the bottom of the slide. Are we horrible parents or what!?!! I'm not kidding, this all happened in less than a minute. She only cried for a little bit and was completely over it and ready go again, but a whole day later I still cringe just thinking about it. SO SAD! :( This little baby is an active one... a little dare devil. She is definitely going to keep me busy, that's for sure!

Blaze Game

2008-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our buddy Dave had some extra tickets to the Blaze so he and Jared decided to take Kaitlee and his daughter Abby to the game. I guess the seats were pretty bad and the girls got bored so they left early and took them to The Gateway instead. I am LOVING all the time that Jared is spending with Kaitlee. Honestly, she's never been very fond of Jared but within the past couple months they've grown really close together. I think he's finally figured out how much fun being a dad can really be. It took a few years, but these girls have finally softened up my Jerry Bear.

Last weekend we finally got to go swimming for the first time this year. It was Risa's first time and she absolutely loved it. The water was chilly so we didn't stay very long, but long enough for Kaitlee and Ivy to go down the slide and around the lazy river with dad a few times.

Kyle Neil Buckingham

2008-04-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

My sweet little nephew was born on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at about 6:20 a.m. to my brother Timmy and his wife Nellie. This tiny little guy only weighed 5 lbs 3 oz and was 18 inches long. There were complications during labor so she had to have an unexpected C-section. Unfortunately Kyle is in the NICU right now with a few complications of his own. My heart goes out to Tim and Nellie because I know how incredibly hard it is to watch a tiny little person that you love so much struggle for their life. I pray for him that he will heal quickly and be able to go home with his parents soon.

Dinner with my Family

2008-04-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Clockwise- Nellie, Timmy, Scott, Jen, Jared, Jenni, Ryan, Alisa, Dude, Mom, Kim, Kerry

My mom and dad are the greatest parents ever! They decided it would be fun to take just us "big kids" out for a nice dinner. The Dude (that's my dad) made it very clear that NO grandchildren were invited, especially the babies. Not that he doesn't love them but I think he just wanted to be able to enjoy our company w/out all the chaos for one night. We went to Ruby River for some delicious steak and ribs. It was actually quite nice not having any kids around. Usually I'm so caught up keeping Sonrisa happy or making sure Ivy and Kaitlee are eating and not making ginormous messes that I have no idea what is going on around me. So thanks Mom and Dad for making this an unforgettable evening with you and all my brothers and sisters. My dad may be a crazy old kook but I love him more than anything and I can't help but love the sweetest mom in the world. I am so blessed to have such great parents, and in-laws for that matter. Beav and Lynn were sweet enough to drive all the way out here to watch our kids while we were gone. My girls love to have grandma and grandpa over for treats and a movie. And Sonrisa was actually healthy and happy for them this time. Yay!!!

Short Tokens of "Sweet"ness

2008-04-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Kaitlee's Big Day

2008-04-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 12th, 2008. It was a day of 1st's for my little princess. Here is the magnificent sequence. She had her 1st soccer game @ 11:00 am. She didn't quite get how it worked, but that will come with time. After following the crowd around, she got one chance at a goal but was denied by some other guy's stinking cute daughter. That Brat! She did however love it and enjoys going to practices also.

Next @ 12:56 pm we went golfing all by ourselves. A daddy daughter date if you will (and she made sure we got a cart so she could drive). I let her tee off on all 9 holes and then we picked up her ball and let her hit on to the green and finish out. She is really good and she even hit a few shots at the end about 40 yards or so. I will confess, I made up most of her scores because on some of the putts it was more like hockey than golf. But none the less, she played all 9 holes and still wanted more. It was great just to spend 1 on 1 time with her.

As if that wasn't enough for a little girl in one day, when we got home she wanted to take off her training wheels on her bike. So @ 3:32 pm I unbolted those comfort giving peices of plastic and set her FREE. I actully did nothing more than hold her up and say, "Peddle!" Off she went down the road and she looks like she's done it for years. Man, I am a great teacher huh!?

Fwew! What a day. It was pretty cool to see my Kaitlee growing up. I love you sweetie!!

2008-04-15T17:27:00.001-07:00

GIRLS AND PINK

If you haven't noticed yet, my girls LOVE pink. My mom bought them these really cute hats for Easter and I think they look so stinkin' cute in them! Kaitlee and Ivy absolutely loved theirs but as you can see Sonrisa, not so much.

THE COOPER BOYS AND JESSICA

Kaitlee and Ivy love "the boys"! Casey is now 10, which is sooo crazy to me! Skylar is 8, Brady just turned 6 and Will is a busy little 3 year old. Jenni and Ryan have finally been blessed with a long awaited little girl Jessica and she is now 10 months old. They live next door to my mom so my kids get so excited to go to Grandma Bita's because they know they'll get to see "the boys" and Jessica.

KAITLEE'S 1ST SOCCER GAME

Kaitlee had her first soccer game on Saturday and she did such a great job. She definitely isn't the most agressive player but she got in a few good kicks and sure did a lot of running. She's lucky and gets to play on the same team as her cousin Zeke so we have twice the fun watching these games. Kaitlee had a very busy and exciting day on Saturday but Jared said he wanted to write about the other things that happened so I won't spoil the great news. I'll make sure he does it SOON!

Simple Pleasures

2008-04-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

List 5 simple pleasure that you couldn't live without in your daily life.

HAIRSPRAY- I'm sure this comes to no shock to all of you that know me. I don't know what it is, but I like poofy hair and I like to know that it is going to stay that way all day.

CLOROX WIPES- I'm stealing this one from my sister-in-law Marissa but what can I say, she's right! These things are the best thing ever for people who have kids. I can't even tell you how many times a day I'm wiping up a mess on the floor, counter, walls or even the bathroom. It saves me from doing a lot of extra laundry, that's for sure. These things are great!

SLIPPERS- My feet are always ice cold, even in 90 degree weather. If I'm at home, I'm in my slippers, no doubt about it!

CARMEX- I slather this stuff on my lips like 30 times a day. It drives Jared nuts! I like having soft, smooth lips, even if he doesn't. When he kisses me goodbye it's kind of like kids pretending to kiss... he'll stay about an inch away so he's sure not to get any on his lips. He's so funny!

CRYSTAL LIGHT- I try really hard to not drink too much soda and other sugary drinks but unless I'm super thirsty, I'm just not a huge water drinker. Crystal Light helps me stay hydrated w/out all the sugar... even though I'm pretty sure it's made with aspertame which really isn't good for the body either. Oh well, at least it's low in calories, right!?!

Now I want to see what KRYSTAL, KIM, MELISSA and SARAH can't live without.

I think this picture of Sonrisa is so cute I just had to post it... even though it has nothing to do with the tag.

Grandma's Collection

2008-04-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Neva got my mom hooked on collecting beanie babies. She usually will buy them and then throw them into a bin to store them away, and this isn't even half of them. She was nice enough to get some of them out for my girls today and it entertained them for hours. They had so much fun making piles of each kind of animal. While Kaitlee sorted out the kitties and and bunnies, Ivy picked out all the bugs, spiders and monsters and Reesie was just happy with any that she could get in her mouth. My girls are so much fun to watch. They each bring me joy in so many different ways and I feel so blessed to have them in my life.

Another Girl's Night

2008-04-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition here to celebrate with a girl's night out any time me or one of my friends is having a baby. Since there is always someone having a baby we seem to get out quite a bit. It is the best tradition ever! I love my friends and love having a night out with just us girls. We ate dinner at Johnny Carino's and then went Cold Stone afterward. You can't beat a night like that! My adventurous hubby thought it would be fun to take the kids to Tepanyaki while I was gone. What dad does that by himself w/three little kids? He's so funny. Jer called and said Sonrisa wasn't loving the whole atmosphere of Tepanyaki so I decided to rescue her since they were just right next door. She was much happier eating ice cream with us. Then on Saturday, I got to have ANOTHER girl's night with my family. It is something that me and my sister and sis-in-laws look forward to every General Conference. While the boys are at priesthood session, we get to go have fun! I love my mom and all of my sisters so much!!! We all get along so well and have such a good time together. Jer is always so good to let me go out with my friends. I guess it's my turn to babysit and to let him go golfing with his buddies since I have had four nights in a row without the kids... which doesn't happen very often so I really don't feel too bad! :)

Mommy Tag

2008-04-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

1. Typically what time do you wake up? Somewhere in between 6:30 and 7:00
2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? The baby- 8:00, the others- who knows, we're lucky to get them down by 10:00. I know, that's horrible!
3. How long have you been a mommy? 4 and 1/2 years, and loved every second of it!
4. How old were you when you became a mommy? 21
5. What is your favorite kids tv show/movie? Hannah Montana and I love all the Disney Movies
6. What is your least favorite kids tv show? Anything Barbie- They have the most annoying voices.
7. What is your favorite chore? Making the beds
8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Hmmm... I actually like to make chicken tacos.
9. What is the meal you cook most often? Frozen chicken nuggets
10. What is your kids favorite meal? Cottage cheese. I'm not sure that really counts as a meal, but they sure love to eat it.
11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? I love it when he snuggles w/them, especially Kaitlee. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's beautiful!
12.What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? 1. Holding them while they are asleep. They just seem so angelic while they are sleeping and it reminds me why I do what I do. 2. Being able to take a nap. Sadly that's a rare occasion. 3. Watching them do something for the first time. They absolutely amaze me! 4. Listening to Ivy say her favorite words like bummer or cool... it's funny. 5. Seeing how tender and loving Kaitlee is with her little sisters. She really would do anything for them.
14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? Jared and I are lucky and get to go out a lot w/out the kids. We have two babysitters that beg to watch our kids and they're both named Grandma.
15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? Go for a bike ride.
16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom: Drive a mini-van. Didn't we all say that before having kids, but now that I have three a mini-van is looking better and better!
17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? What can I say, she is a saint! It's hard to pick one thing when there are thousands and thousands of wonderful things to say about her. One thing that does stand out that I really admire is, I have never heard my mom gossip or say anything mean about anybody. EVER! Not something many people could say about someone they know.
18. What is your advice for new moms? If at all possible, stay at home! As hectic as it can sometimes be, it's worth it! They grow and learn so much every minute of every day and I am so grateful I'm able to be a part of it.
19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? The scariest moment by far was the morning I rushed my tiny one month old, unconscious and purple Ivy to the hospital. Her heart rate was dropping and "they didn't know if she was going to make it". Jared and his dad gave her a blessing about one hour after we got there and she immediately started to improve. I have never witnessed a miracle like that before. I was scared to death we were going to lose her. I would have to say close seconds would be that night Ivy pinched her finger off in the door, or when she sliced her head open in Sunday School, or when my brand new little Sonrisa had to be life-flighted to another hospital. I am extremely grateful for modern medical technology... and for Chad! ;)
20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? It's all great! I love looking at these perfect little creations for the first time and knowing they are mine. I love watching them when they don't know they're being watched. I love seeing all that they have accomplished so far and knowing that there is so much more to come.
21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids? Right before I put them to bed. :)

Thanks a lot Jessica! I felt like I was writing a freaking novel about myself. Now I'm going to be mean and tag: CATHIE, BROOKE, JEN, HOLLY and HILLARY. Have fun! (Actually, I think it's really fun to read this stuff about other people.)

Girl's Night Out

2008-04-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

ASHLEY - I'M GOING TO MISS YOU!!! The gorgeous, pregnant girl in the front... yeah, that's Ashley. She is my closest friend and now she is moving far, far away. SAD! :( I'm glad we got one more girl's night in before the big move to Oregon. I love all you girls and I had so much fun!

Poison Ivy

2008-04-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

There is a sweet lady in my ward that Kaitlee and Ivy love to sit with during sacrament meeting (my girls call her Miss Kathy). She always brings books and treats just for them. The other day she brought some recipes over to my house (she knows I struggle w/the whole cooking thing) and while she was there Ivy ran over to Kaitlee's friend and smacked her right across the face for no reason and ran away laughing. Miss Kathy giggled and told me that in church when Ivy will growl or pull Kaitlee's hair or do any other mean thing you could imagine, her husband will lean over and whisper to her, "here comes the Poison Ivy". I know that probably sounds really mean, but for those of you who know my little Ivy it's actually quite funny. For the most part she really is a little sweetheart and I I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is always doing things to make me laugh and she is actually super cuddly, but she definitely does have a mean streak. My cousin Katy captured this beautiful picture of Ivy last weekend. You'd never know a Poison Ivy actually existed in that little angel face, would you!?!

Easter Egg Hunt @ Grandma Bita's

2008-03-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Easter Weekend Fun

2008-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

This past weekend was crazy-busy, but so much fun! Saturday morning I took the girls to an Easter egg hunt w/Zeke and Macy at Deseret Peak. Ivy was just amazed by all the candy that was laying on the grass. She picked up one piece, looked at it and kept repeating "Wow!" It was so cute. While she and Macy didn't really get what was going on, Zeke and Kaitlee went nuts picking up those eggs. Sonrisa and Keefer just enjoyed being outside. Jared dug the hole for our new house that morning while we were gone (YEAH!). That night we went into SL to have an Easter dinner w/Jared's family. She had cute little baskets for the girls and the dinner was delicious! Then we went to my grandma's to see my cousins who were visiting from Montana. I love them sooooo much! We always have fun when we get together. Sunday evening we went to my mom and dad's for another yummy dinner and the girls got another basket full of fun stuff (they were in heaven!). After my mom and dad did an Easter egg hunt for all the grandkids. They had a blast! Later that night, we had a shower for my cousin molly. She and Nellie are the cutest pregnant girls ever! My kids had so much fun but they sure were tuckered out after such a busy weekend. Thanks to both Grandmas an Grandpas for making this Easter so much fun. We love you guys!

The Big Dig!

2008-03-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

So we finally started on our new house. We broke ground on Sat. March 22, 2008. Luckily I had some help from Beav and Yimmy. It was a fun morning. I will be sure to keep you up to date on how it is going. Here are some of the photos...

SPOP!

2008-03-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

TAG --- I"M IT!!!

2008-03-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

I know I've only been blogging for a couple months but I hadn't been tagged until now. In the past week I've been tagged by three of my friends so I figured I had better get on top of it.

TEN YEARS AGO... I was 16 and a jr. in high school. Jared has since told me that he and his friends didn't even know my name so they used to call me "the hot swimmer chick" and I pretty much hung out with no one but my boyfriend and my parents. I hated high school! Most people loved every minute of it and wish they could go back and do it again... not me! I'm just glad it's over with!

My friend Nicole and me (Jr. year 1998)

FIVE PLACES I HAVE VISITED... (1) Montana (every year since I was a baby), (2) Hawaii (with my BFF Malia), (3) Mexico (the best honeymoon ever!), (4) Las Vegas (1st anniversary and sooo much fun), but my favorite trip was to (5) Disneyland with my kids (we also went to watch our buddy John Buck play against the Anaheim Angels. He got us front row seats right above the dugout. It was awesome!).

This is me and my girl Malia in May '01 ready to take off to the beautiful Hawaii!

Me and Jared on a boat ride in Cabo san Lucas in February 2002

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST... (1) get in shape (this is always on my list, but never seems to get done), (2) watch American Idol (this one ALWAYS gets done), (3) make dinner (getting better at this), (4) pick up toys (I do this about 10 times a day), and (5) go to Walmart to buy milk and juice (and a bunch of other stuff we don't need).

I ENJOY... Playing with my girls, going out to eat (I hate cooking!), hanging out with friends, going for walks, golfing, snowboarding, and what else but SHOPPING!

THREE BAD HABITS... (1) Telling my hubby to "chill out" in front of our kids (he hates that), (2) spending too much money, and (3) changing my hair. I think my record for keeping it the same is like 3 weeks or something. I just traded in my long, blond hair for brown and SUPER short. I'm going to try to grow out my natural color. We'll see how long that lasts!

FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME... (1) I LOVE High School Musical! You know how a lot of times you just watch stuff like that for your kids, well not me. Jared and I watch it just for fun! (2) I am veerrrry shy. I think most of the time people think I'm "stuck-up", but really I am just scared to death to talk to people I don't know very well. (3) I put on an old pair of sweats and pull my hair back any chance I get. I know that sounds weird coming from a girl that loves fashion so much, but it's true. You know we're tight when all you ever see me in is sweats and a T-shirt. (4) When I was little... I clogged. Funny, huh!?! I was actually pretty good, believe it or not. You'd never know it now, but I could actually dance back then. (5) My first car was a 1966 Volkswagon Bug. I LOVED that car! It was sooo much fun to drive, although it wasn't real reliable.

This just cracks me up!

Me and my cousins with my beauty of a car!

FIVE JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD... This is probably going to sound really weird coming from a 26 year old but I have only had three jobs my entire life. I was a lifeguard all during high school (at T-ville high and Cottonwood Country Club), then I worked at The Buckle in Fashion Place Mall until I got married and then I worked at good ol' Canyon Craft Cabinets as a receptionist for a couple of years before I had Kaitlee. I guess you could say that my fourth job is being a mommy. Definitely the hardest job I will ever have!

I now tag (1) SARAH (2) MELISSA (3) JESSICA (4) SIS-IN-LAW KIM (5) JEN

If I tagged you here's what you do. Post the words above in all caps and fill in info about yourself. Then, at the end tell who you are tagging & go and tag 5 friends on their blogs. It's just a way to get to know fun little things about people.

My Guitar Heros

2008-03-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is my mom and dad rockin' out on guitar hero and for those of you who know my parents, this was, well... HILARIOUS!!!

Mmmmm.... Oreos

2008-03-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Reesie got to eat her first Oreo the other day which she of course... LOVED! She couldn't get that cookie in her mouth fast enough. But next time I am definitely going to remember to take her clothes off before giving her one. You can imagine the mess! (You'd think I'd know better since she isn't my first!)

Daddy's Girls

2008-03-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

So, let me just start off by saying that Jared is a trooper! Before he and I got married his whole life was baseball, basketball and golf... now it's pretty much narrowed down to dress-ups, tea parties and shopping (it's true, I am a shopaholic). Not only is he always surrounded by me and our three girls, but our friends that we hang out with pretty much all the time (probably way more than we should) have three girls too. That's a lot of girls! I'm sure it's hard for him at times but he does a great job putting up with us. The other night he sat so quietly on the couch while Kaitlee wrapped his head in a bright blue boa. I'm not sure if he was so into what was on TV that he didn't realize what she was doing or what, but nevertheless he let her do it, and she loved every minute of it! These girls sooo have him wrapped around their little finger! He does have a very short temper and can be a grouch sometimes, but for the most part he would do anything for them and that is good enough for me!

Cute Little Cousins

2008-03-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

These little babies (Jessica, Sonrisa, Keefer, and Britton) were all born within a few months of each other. It has been so fun to watch them grow and learn together. My brother Timmy and his wife Nellie are expecting a baby boy at the end of April which means that me and all of my siblings will have had a baby within a year of each other. Pretty neat, huh!?!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I LOVE YOU!!!

2008-02-24T14:23:00.001-08:00

My Favorite People

2008-02-20T16:57:00.001-08:00

I'm not gonna lie, this really is the only reason I have a blog... to show off my sweet little girls! I love them (and my hubby) more than anything in the world. I figure this is a good way to share pictures of the ones I love most with my friends and family that I don't get to see as often as I would like. So enjoy!

Rascal Ivy

2008-02-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

She may get into a lot of trouble (and I mean a lot), but that little face sure is adorable!

Miracle Baby

2008-02-12T09:38:00.001-08:00

Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen!?! My brother Scott and his wife Jen waited a long nine years for this little miracle. Little Britton was born with Spina Bifida and had many surgeries the first few weeks of his life. Unfortunately he will probaby have many more, but he is a fighter. There is something that is truly special about this little boy. Every time I look into his eyes I feel the spirit stronger than ever. His parents are the exact same way. Scott gave Britton the most beautiful blessing last Sunday. Watching him with his little boy is the most precious thing I have ever seen. I can tell Scott is in heaven every time he gets to wrap his arms around that sweet little angel. What a lucky baby to have Scotty for a dad!!!

1st Slideshow (Man we are rollin' now)

2008-02-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Princess Kaitlee

2008-02-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

Kaitlee went to her friend Rae's birthday party today. They all got to wear fairytale creature costumes. Kaitlee dressed up as, what else, but a PINK princess. She looked beautiful. Those are the only things that Kaitlee ever thinks about... pink, princesses and more pink. She is the girliest girl you will ever meet. Ivy on the other hand, not so much. If she is in nothing but her diaper and has her binkie and blankie, she is happy. It will be interesting to see what our little angel Sonrisa will be like.

(pseudo) 1st Post

2008-02-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

We are new bloggers. Yippee!

Jared and I actually started a blog about three years ago. We only put in a few entries and haven't touched it since. Hopefully this time around we will do better about keeping it up to date.

2008-02-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

March 10, 2006
Ivy's Blessing
Ivy was blessed on March 6, 2006. It was nice to have all our close family and friends over. Thanks to all who came.
posted by Weeter at 9:11 AM

February 17, 2006
Sisters
Aren't they just adorable!?! I think Kaitlee considers Ivy one of her dolls rather than an actual human being. Don't get me wrong, she loves her to pieces just like her dolls. Kaitlee wants to hold her all the time. She is always shoving her doll's bottles in Ivy's mouth and trys to put Ivy in her mini shopping cart and stroller (as you can see, Kaitlee did get to push Ivy around in her doll stroller for a few minutes with our supervision, of course.) It really is actually kind of weird that Kaitlee doesn't feel jealous of Ivy at all. Well, except when I sit down to feed her, that's when Kaitlee wants me to get her juice, soup or something totally random. It is so much fun having two kids. It is definitely more work than one, but it isn't as bad as a lot of people made it sound. Kaitlee is very independant so she keeps herself busy most of the day. And she sleeps great too. These two little girls are a couple of the sweetest little angels and I am so glad they're mine!
posted by Weeter at 1:22 PM

A new addition
We just had our second baby on January 12, 2006. A beautiful little girl named Ivy. She weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. and was 18 inches long. We are having so much fun with her. Kaitlee is like a little mother to her. Very protective! I can tell they will have a lot of fun together throughout their lives. She is a pretty typical newborn... sleeps all day and is up all night. Just when I start to get really frustrated, she will give me that sweet little angelic smile or cuddle up like newborns do and it makes it pretty hard to stay mad at her. She has had a lot of sinus problems since she was born. She struggles with her breathing because she is so stuffed up. So even when she is sleeping at night, I still don't because I worry something will happen to her. Slowly she is getting better though. We love her so much and wouldn't trade her for anything.
posted by Weeter at 1:02 PM

January 02, 2005
Introducing the Family
Here we are, just the 3 of us. I just wanted to make a quick intro. Here is me, my wife Alisa and our daughter Kaitlee. We have a lot of fun and we enjoy spending time together. Kaitlee is almost a year and a half now, and she has developed quite a mind of her own. She loves to mimic her mom by putting stuff into her toy shopping cart and pushing it around like she is at the store. Our favorite cartoon is Sponge Bob Square Pants, and Kaitlee can sing his song. We are the Maxfield's and if you have any questions, just keep them to yourselves.
posted by Maxfield's at 4:54 PM