Swinging

Happy August 1st!

June and July have come and gone!

I'm still amazed at how fast the summer is flying by.

I guess we've stayed pretty busy.

Here are a few pictures of some not so busy times...

Dustin built this little swing yesterday. He did a great job! Its wide enough that Allie can sit and lean back without falling out and wide enough that my badonkadonk can fit without the ropes getting me! We love it. Allie spent most the evening outside in it. So I took advantage of the Kodak moments and tried to put my skills to the test. The black and white setting is becoming one of my favorites to use! It makes everything look so artistic. Even with my meager skills as a photographer I think they turned out nice.

So here's to the first day of August. One step closer to fall and cooler weather!

Kissambro Photography

Dustin took some friends from work to Cannonville about a month or so ago. One of the guys, Bill took some really good pictures - turns out he has a web site and actually takes professional photographs. If you want to see some great pictures of Bryce Canyon check it out!

http://www.kissambro.com/Desert/567438

Stayin Cool

Even more Utah pictures...

Estefan and some of my little cousins played in the water the whole time we were there!

Justin with Mark. Justin's such a good uncle! Maybe its time to settle down Justin, you look pretty cute with a baby!

Leave us alone we're eating! Estefan with my cousins (his second cousins?) Casey and Sheldon

Allie and Uncle Dennis (my mom's brother). Allie called him Dennis the Menace!

Generations

More Pictures from our Utah Trip!

Kailee and Kael, Grandma Jeannie, Lauren and Mark

Christiansen Girls ~ Allyson, Kailee, Lauren, Melissa, Ashley, Kaylynn and Heather

Too young to be grandparents! Uncle Robert (Kailee's dad) and my Mom with their grandsons, Kael and Mark.

Two sets of four generations!

Kailee it was so good to see you and Kael. Let's not wait so long to hang out next time. Love ya girlie!

ABC Tag

I'm gone for a week and don't post at all. Now you get two posts in one day! Luck you! Thanks for the tag Carol :)

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached and love it


B. BEST FRIEND? My Chuck Butt Farm Boy


C. CAKE OR PIE? If you know me you already know the answer to this! Duh! CAKE!


D. DAY OF THE WEEK? I love every other Monday when Dustin doesn't have work. Its like getting another Saturday after Sunday. Its an awesome day for family stuff or making him work in the yard.


E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? right now... diapers, diapers, diapers!


F. FAVORITE COLOR? RED

G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? I like both. Bears so you can bite their heads of and worms so I can tie them in knots. When you bite on the worm knot it feels so cool against your cheek. Try it you'll never eat gummy worms the same again!

H. HOMETOWN? The Village or sometimes its known as Happy Valley


I. INDULGENCE? Cake, chocolate, chocolate cake.. whichever I can get my hands on ;)


J. JANUARY OR JULY? July! Love the 4th and we have lots of July birthdays so that means lots of presents, fun and of course cake! And mine and Dustin's anniversary!

K. KIDS? 3! I'm only 21, should I slow down? No, I didn't think so either.


L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Dustin My Love, Bud, Little Miss and Markie Mark and the Funky Bunch

M. MARRIAGE DATE? July 2004


N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 1 big bro and 2 little sisters


O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Umm... crisp apples and juicy oranges - just not at the same time!


P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Loosing one of my kids, snakes, Black Widows.. I could go on and on, I'm kind of a weenie.


Q. QUOTE? I have two! There on my blog sidelines -- "Great spirits have always encountered violent oppostion from mediocre minds." -Albert Einstein
"When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it you surely will." -Abe Lincoln

R. REASONS TO SMILE? When my kids say funny things, when Mark flashes me a toothless smile, when Dustin cooks or cleans

S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? How 'bout Batman! I love Batman!

T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? Melissa, Bonnie, Raegan, Jessica Taylor and Jessica Leavitt

U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? Maybe I want to keep this to myself but whatever - I count everything. The sides of shapes, lines on the highway, random things, books, stars, pencils. Its kind of annoying to myself and I think I may have OCD. There now ya know!

V. VEGETABLES? Yes please! Especially if they come from Dustin's garden!

W. WORST HABIT? putting off doing the dishes, putting of my Sunday school leason, biting my finger nails... I'm sure there is more


X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Ultrasound! I love to see my babies inside my buldging belly!

Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Lasagna, Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes with lots of gravy, and of course Cake!

Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Virgo

Time Flies

I can't believe its been a week since my last post! Like they say time flies when you're having fun! We sure are having a lot of fun this summer and it is flying by so fast. I can't believe July is almost over. I was gone most of last week and it seems like a huge blur - like today should still be July 21st! Anyway here's a look at our past week...

Wednesday we had a little birthday party for Estefan before we left for Utah. His cousin's came over and we had pizza and ice cream and of course presents!

One of his many toys... a Nerf Gun!

Who needs cake and ice cream when there are so many toys to open and play with? Will, Caleb and Estefan are too busy playing and haven't touched their yummy treats.

On the way up to Utah we stopped at the mall to pick up my sister, Ashley. The kids loved to ride these little vehicles. Allie like the school bus because it had a phone. She sat in it forever talking to random invisible friends. Estefan prefers life in the fast lane... you can see he's speeding along on his motorcycle in this picture!

Allie - my little angel! We went to Utah to visit my mom's family. This picture is on my Grandma Jeannie's front porch. My Grandma has a thing with angels. She has like a million all around her house. Allie collected all of the one's on the porch and named them and talked to them like they were her little friends. There was one more that didn't make it in the picture. Allie named the three of them Alice, Apple and Angel. Silly girl!

We went to the 24th of July parade. It was the longest parade I've ever been to. It was so long that the kids lost interest in the candy that was being thrown. The people driving by threw a lifetime supply of salt water taffy but Allie and Estefan just stared at it on the ground as they filled their tummies with all the candy they had already collected. Along with candy, some of the local business handed out advertisements. Allie thought it was cool to stick them all in her hat. She rolled up the papers and stuck them all in! Again I say.. Silly girl. Estefan and I love cotton candy! So I splurged the $1 to get a a mouth full of blue happiness! He called it candy cotton - he makes me laugh so much. On the way home he pointed at a field of hay bales that were baled into circles instead of the way we do in rectangular bales - and he said, "Look at the bale hays! They're circles!" It was so funny. I don't think he's dyslexic - I just think he's so excited to say what he's thinking it comes out all discombobulated!

Mark at the parade. Allie thought he needed to wear her purple princess hat. Doesn't he look so cute?! I kinda think that he may be teething. Crazy, I know.. he's barely 4 months old. But he's always chomping on something. This time it was his burp cloth.

So that was a tiny glimpse of our fun week. I've gotta get with my mom today and get the rest of the pictures she took. But all in all we're having a fun summer and I'm sure it will continue to fly right by!

Happy Birthday Bud!

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Happy Birthday dear ESTEFAN!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!

Estefan turned SIX yesterday! I can't believe it. I'm really in denial about how old and big he is getting. He's going to start kindergarten soon and I still think he's three years old.

Estefan you are the best little boy any parent could ask for. You are so positive and happy all the time. You are unbelievably strong and hard headed. You are a blessing to our family. I couldn't imagine life with out you. Thank you for being the angel that you are. We love you so much Bud!

Have a wonderful 6th birthday!

Love always, Dad, Mommy Lauren, Allie Miss Jean, and Baby Mark

Here are some of my favorite pictures of you and your past birthdays!

Your 3rd Birthday in Reno! Remember Reno?!

Your 5th Birthday in Logandale.You got lots of Transformers and you are still asking for them!

You look so happy and you had so much fun this day. It was after we took our family pictures in May. You wanted to play in these tunnels so bad. But you smiled and held still and said cheese a hundred and one times. Then when the last picture was taken you ripped of your nice white shirt and ran with Will and Caleb to the tunnels and played in them for at least an hour!

You are so handsome! I love your little smile!

Our happy little boy!

At Lake Tahoe in Reno. The water was sooooooo cold but that didn't keep you out. You jumped right in. You always loved the water!

This is your 2nd Birthday!

I just want to say again we love you so much! Happy Happy Birthday BUD!

The Dark Knight

Whoa! I loved, loved, loved The Dark Knight. Dustin took me out Saturday night with Chase and Melissa to see it. Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker. He was just the right amount of psycho. I knew that Harvey Dent was going to become Two Face by the end but seeing the good guy become the bad guy was so sad. And I can't say more about Christian Bale! I love him. He might just be my new secret crush! He is by far my favorite Batman.

Last night Dustin and I watched Batman Forever compared to The Dark Knight and the previous, Batman Begins, there is no competition. The new movies are in a whole different ball park. Just plain better. The old ones are still classic and you can't be without them but comparatively they're almost like spoofs - very cheesy.

I would totally recommend The Dark Knight to any adult - but I wouldn't take Estefan or any other little kid to see it. Big kids and adults only. It earned its PG-13 rating.

Bottom line - it was awesome!

Water Babies

On Wednesday we tried to go to the Splash Pad with no luck. It was out of order. I guess when there's an out of order sign at a splash pad it mean no water! So that's no fun if there's no water to splash. We were so bummed and we were all ready to play in the water - so we decided to go to the rec center in Mesquite! Aunt Kristi and Aunt Jill had been gone on vacation for the last few weeks so we invited them to come along too. There were lots and lots of people there. Allie got a little overwhelmed outside so we stayed most of the time in the indoor pool.

I love the shallow end of this pool! Its perfect for Allie to pretend swim. She more like crawls around with her head sticking out of the water. As she crawls around she sings "Ahhha Ahha" and says "I'm Ariel, hehehe!" Too cute!

I think this big white thing used to spray water but now its just a pole that the kids liked to play peak a boo around!

Mark's little swimmer bum!

Hot Tubbin! Heather and Jordan went to help us wrangle the children. Thanks guys!

Mark loved the water. We stayed there at the pool for over 2 hours! All the kids swam and played and ran around. I don't know about Kristi or Jill's kids but Allie slept the whole way home and then for two more hours and Mark slept for about five hours! We were worn out. Thanks for a fun day you guys!

In the last few days...

In the last few days...

Sunday I received another church calling - Enrichment comitte member. I'm very excited about this calling. I love going to enrichment and the ladies in my ward. Although I'm very nervous too. I'm going to have to come up with ideas for enrichment!
So if any of you have any ideas let me know! I would love to hear about enrichments that you have enjoyed!

Monday I rode a horse for the first time since being pregnant with Mark. It had been way too long and I am saddle sore! It seems custom in the family for a horse to have a baby the same time as I do. With Estefan (although I didn't give birth to him) we had Dolly. Dolly's mom is Grace, my horse when I was little. With Allie, another baby was born, a colt, which I lovingly call Gus. Gus is a pistol. He's still young but already he's going to be a lot of horse. Now with Mark we have a new baby colt that I'm thinking will be named Newt.
Anyway I didn't ride any of those horses I just thought it was funny me and the horses are on the same breeding schedule. I rode a half brother to Dolly - which my dad calls Wally! Very creative.. they look like twins but there's a couple years between them. So now we have Dolly and Wally.. ya Dad you're funny!
Well Wally needs some work, he's pretty young too. And it was about 120 degrees when I decided to ride. Nice timing on my part. Like I said its been quite a while since I rode last... the riens I usually use weren't there and my stirrups were all messed up. It took me about as long to get ready to ride as I actually rode! I love to ride and it was worth the set backs just to get out there again.. even if my bum is sore!

Tuesday was a pretty nice day. It was a little windy but it didn't get as intensely hot as it usually does. So we just had a relax day. I cleaned and scrapbooked and ironed and vacuumed. Oh that doesn't sound too relaxed. Dustin laid some more cement in the back. Its almost done. Maybe by the time it cools off we could have a BBQ out on our new BBQ area. Oh I almost forgot I made an appointment to get my wisdom teeth pulled! I know - why am I excited over this? Well because I have been putting it off for over four years! And my wisdom teeth have come in and are crowding all my other teeth. I've even been getting head aches because of them. I feel like a teething baby. I have to be chewing gum all the time or I just want to cry. Maybe I should take some of Allie's old teething tablets! Think they work on adult teeth? Yeah, me either.

Today is Wednesday! We're half way to the weekend. And I'm excited cuz we're going to the splash pad today! It looks like its going to be quite a sunny day so it'll be nice to get wet. I'll post some pictures later - cuz this time I WILL take my camera!

Have a wonderful day :)

I Got Yucky Hands! Again!

I have just experienced a real deja vu!

Wait! Before you read any further.. if you're new to our family blog..

Go to my labels on the sideline, click Allie and read "I got yucky hands" then continue reading!

Well it all started when I was working on another project. I didn't have the glue out however, this time I was working on Heritage Maker - digital requires no glue. Allie came skipping into the room happy go lucky and announced that she will be doing her hair on my bed. I thought, ok sounds great and gave her permission to do so. So I continue working and she brings in two curling irons and a flat iron. I giggle because she is so cute and go about my scrap booking. A few minutes pass quietly and then I thought, "I smell a familiar smell... Dustin... hmmm... Dustin's hair? What?" Yeah I could smell Dustin's hair. I look over at Allie (still on my bed) and see that she's rubbing something on her head.

I said, "Allie, what are you doing?"

(Why do I even bother to ask?)

And she replies, "Putting jelly in my hair."

(Ah, yes.. I ask because I love to hear her silly answers!)

Well luckily it wasn't jelly it was Dustin's hair gel. She had half the bottle of gel plastered to her head and the other half on the bed spread, which I made myself and spent countless hours hand stitching!

Anyway I march her to the bathroom put her hands in the sink and she looks up at me with her beautiful, innocent blue eyes and says,

"Mom, I got yucky hands again, huh."

And all I could say was, yes, yes you do. But this time instead of scrubbing glue out of her belly button I scrubbed a gallon of gel out of her thick, long hair!

But this time I did manage to get some pictures. The glue episode was too dramatic. Funny now looking back - I do believe this was as equally funny!

No, no her hair isn't wet yet. That is the nice "wet look" you get with the special gel from LA Looks! It wasn't as bad as the glue.. but it was still a mess! Maybe I should put the hand made blanket in the closet for safe keeping, or maybe I should pay more attention to my silly little girl!

random babblings from a tired mama...

Good morning! Why such a good morning you ask?

Well because Mark slept from 9:45 til 5:30!

I can't believe it! I'm sure he would've slept longer but I woke him up. Why, again? Well because I woke up feeling as hard as rocks, realized I hadn't fed him yet and rushed to his room to make sure he was still alive! Sure enough he was and looked so peaceful I almost cried. He's a beautiful baby and I love to watch him sleep. But of course the floor wasn't as peaceful as he was (its old and has some creaks here and there) and he woke up as a left his room. I decided it was ok because I'd rather get up a little early than be engorged!

Dustin and Estefan went to Cannonville last night. One of the big sprinklers is broken in Uncle Mark's field - and with Loni in the hospital again, Mark doesn't have time to work on it. So Dustin to the rescue! And as they say... "when the cat's away the mice will play." I don't know if most would consider it play but last night I stayed up until 11:30 scrap booking on Heritage Makers. If you're laughing just know I am no night owl - 9:30, the latest 10 and I am out! So I couldn't believe when I looked at the clock and was still working. I'm making a Baby Book for Mark and since our tomatoes have been ripe, I haven't had much time to work on it.

Speaking of tomatoes I have yet another batch to do today! I thought for sure our garden would never stop producing them. But it has finally gotten too hot. They can't stand the 112 degree weather.. so I picked all of them, red, green, whatever. And I found that Black Widows have moved in under the vines! I was so scared I've never picked so fast in my life. I guess they like it where its cool and shaded. But I hate hate hate black widows. They are so scary! You should've seen me. After I saw the first one I just started pulling the vines up so I didn't have to reach in under them! And every tickle I felt on my leg from the leaves I thought for sure was one. So there I was flinging vines and doing crazy spider dances to make sure there weren't any on me! Did I mention I live right on the main drag and as people drove by I got honked at. They probably thought I was crazy - but I DID NOT want to get bitten! Anyway I gave most of the tomatoes away and kept just enough for one more batch of something. I'll let you know later what it is when I decide what to make.

OH! More updates on sleeping kids! Allie has slept in her own bed all night the past couple of nights! I have a feeling she won't anymore because I let her sleep with me last night. I hate sleeping alone when Dustin is gone. So I hope I didn't ruin her slumbering progress!

Another fun update. (Well fun for me) Mark has pooped everyday this week! Its a little pasty.. but at least he's getting it out. I've been giving him water almost everyday - it's so hot and I feel like its helping to cool him off after we've been outside. And it couldn't hurt to help soften things up. Again if anyone has suggestions let me know... I've heard Baby Fleets help.. but I really don't want to stick anything up you know where!

I've discovered a great source for Mommy's who don't live close to a Wal-Mart! Diapers.com! I made my first order yesterday! You can get like 200 diapers for $40! And they deliver it right to your door!!! I ordered some for Allie and Mark. Unfortunately diapers, not gas, might be the thing to break us. Anyway they also have formula and toys, all kinds of stuff. I love it! If you so choose to order from there too use my referal code - LAUR1608. Any new customers who enter my code or email address when placing their first order will get $10 off their first order and I get a $1 credit each time you place an order. So there's my big advertisement for the day!

Well I've written a novel, the sun has peaked out from the overcast sky and my tummy is a rumbling. So I shall wrap things up and go eat some Captain Crunch! I hope everyone enjoys this cloudy - maybe rainy day. I know I will :)

To Dustin

To Dustin

For our 4th Wedding Anniversary

"Guess what?

I love you, beacause...

you feel so nice

(I could say it over and over)

I'll say it once, I'll say it twice.

I love you because you feel so nice."

You know the rest! I'm sorry sometimes I'm a pain and a dream crusher. But I love you more than I ever have. You are my honeybuns, my love, my everything. And I remain and forever will be your girl.

Love always, Your Girl

Mommy Tag

Allie got tagged but Estefan is here today so I couldn't resist asking him too! They came up with some funny things! I sure love my kids :)

1. What is something mom always says to me?

Estefan - Eat my food

Allie - Use my words

2. What makes mom happy?
Estefan - When I tell funny jokes

Allie - ME

3. What makes mom sad?

Estefan - When I hide and you can't find me

Allie - Run away

4. How does mom make me laugh?
Estefan - When you tickle me

Allie - tickle me too

5. What was mom like as a child?

Estefan - I don't know

Allie - I don't know

6. How old is mommy?

Estefan - 5 and a half

Allie - 2 and a half

7. How tall is mommy?

Estefan - I'm almost as tall as you

Allie - I don't know

8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do?

Estefan - Clean

Allie - Cake

9. What does mom do when I'm not around?

Estefan - Clean and play

Allie - With Daddy

10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Estefan - Making yummy food that everybody likes. And dancing.

Allie - Um I don't know

11. What is mom really good at?

Estefan - Cleaning my boots, making everything shiny

Allie - Good like me

12. What is mom not really good at?

Estefan - I can't think of anything

Allie - I don't know

13. What does mom do for her job?

Estefan - Taking good care of baby Mark and feeding us all the time

Allie - Baby Mark and me and Dad and Bud

14. What is moms favorite food?

Estefan - Macaroni

Allie - Cake

15. What makes me proud of my mom?

Estefan - When you do nice things to us

Allie - Nice to me too

16. If mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Estefan - Yellow Power Ranger

Allie - I'm Beauty, you Snow White

17. What do mommy and I do together?

Estefan - Swim in the pool

Allie - Watch a movie

18. How are mommy and I the same?

Estefan - We all a Nelson

Allie - You a girl and I a girl

19. How are mommy and I different?

Estefan - Your hair is yellow

Allie - You mommy, I Allie

20. How do I know mommy loves me?

Estefan - You have a heart

Allie - Love me

I tag Liz and Evie

Jami and Annacy

and Jami and Alaina

Forth of July Weekend

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holiday's. I love to watch the fireworks and we always seem to have a fun time where ever we are. This year we went to Cannonville.

On the morning of the 4th we went touring up to Bryce Canyon and as always it was beautiful.

Bryce Point

Bryce Point

Daddy and Allie looking out at Bryce Point

Farview Point

Mommy and Allie at Farview Point

(Mark slept the whole time. He's in his carseat, just below the line of the picture.)

On the night of the 4th we went to the rodeo at Ruby's Inn. It was lots of fun. We even got to see some of Dustin's cousins ride.

Allie trying to climb the fence so she can ride one of the steers. She loved the rodeo. She kept saying I want to race the barrels!

Maybe she'll be a little rodeo girl. We'll have to start Gymkana's.

Mark finally woke up! What a cutie!

Sunset over Ruby's rodeo arena. What a beautiful night. Then we watched the fireworks. Well Allie and Mark both fell asleep before they started - so Dustin, Gaye and I watched them!

On the 5th these two love birds got hitched! Gina (Dustin's cousin) and Jeff finally tied the knot! The wedding was outside and it got pretty windy for a while but once it calmed a bit the evening couldn't have been more perfect. Of course I forgot my camera.. so this picture is a few days after Mark was born. Congrats to them! We love you guys!