The Magic Christmas Mice!

Have you heard of Elf on the Shelf? Weeelllll I kinda thought a little person watching us was creepy! So when I came upon a post on a blog I follow about a family tradition with a mouse that watches the kids, I thought that sounded right for us! In the other person's tradition they had an advent calender with little pockets and the mouse moved from pocket to pocket as the countdown till Christmas, and if the kids were good the mouse would leave a treat from Santa! Well I kinda took the 2 traditions and combined them to get our Magical Christmas mice! We had once mouse originally, but my daughter found the other 2 mice that came in the packet and decided they must be the lil white mouse's parents LoL So we had to put them in there too. Anyhow- all I did was take an old jean pocket and sew it to a piece of Christmas-like cloth leaving a place for the wire to go through- push the wire through and twist it off and WA LA!!! They move around from here to there in the living room and watch the family! Sometimes there is a note form Santa and sometimes a treat. It have been way fun and hey! The mouse is so cute! BONUS! Check out the Christmas countdown blocks in the background!

Lucky #7

Riley and I have been married 7 years today! WoW! :D I know it isn't a long time compared to some, but 7 years is nothing to sniff about! And we sure have accomplished much in 7 years! We've moved from Utah to Vegas to Utah again, had a beautiful daughter, and a handsome son, we've learned A LOT about eachother and have grown together through some tough times. There have been aurguments, and making ups. But for every one of those there have been 10 wonderful fun times together! Riley still makes me laugh and loves me like nobody ever would! I think I still make him laugh too even though I know he thinks I'm a dork! In short I would never trade him for ANYTHING!!! I love him and can't wait to celebrate many many more wonderful years together!

Jaxie Bug is One!

My little boy is one!!!! We celebrated yesterday with many rounds of "Happy Birthday", cake. ice cream and presents! But first- Pictures! My sister- Anisa- came down a few weekends ago and was kind enough to take some pics of Jaxie for me :D
What a grown up little man! Smiles!

I know everyone thinks their kids are the cutest, but SERIOUSLY! this kid is SO FREAKING CUTR I COULD EAT HIM!!! We have so much fun with him everyday! He is always passing out the smiles! There is never a time he isn't flirting up a storm with the ladies- grocery store, church, resturant- you name it!!! He also loves his family! He is always hugging on me, Riley , and Daae. He sure loves it when Riley gets home from work. Riley will walk in and go downstairs to put his stuff away and Jaxie just cries!!! He also loves playing with his sister; they will crawl around on the floor chasing eachother adn laughing up a storm. He'll even get her down and start "tickeling" her!! He also is a big foodie! Daaelynn was my light eater so this is a real change! He'll try anything you give him! He also is a little game player- peakaboo, high fives, race Mom to the bathroom door! I could really go on and on about how awesome I think my lil guy is. He has brough SO MUCH love, fun, and joy into this family. I would never ever trade him for anything, adn I only hope I can help him become the most awesome person because I know it is in him to be amazing!

MMMM Frosting!
Present time!!!

Yeah for the train! He LOVES IT!

Cake face!
" This cake is so NUM!!!!"

Cookie Time!

What a cute cookie face!!!! Jaxon had his first taste of the oh so yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I've been wanting to make for so long! They are the best and most easy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, but with the darned pumpkin shortage last year we haven't had them in sooooo long! So here's the recipie for you all!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 can of pumpkin- small (don't use the pumpkin pie mix- it is more runny)

1 box spice cake mix

1/2 bag chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl, Drop by spoonful on greased cookie pan. Cook at 350 degrees 10-12 mins or until semi-firm on top. Let cool and ENJOY!!!

Note: You can double the recipie with a large can of pumpkin and another

Back from the Land of Disney!!!

We're back! We've been back a week now and I think we have finally recovered from our crazy fun weekend! It was SO FUN! And we had a blast! But the BEST way to share Disneyland is with PICTURES! Yeah!! So here we go!



This was the ride down :D I was pretending to be a lion..... it was a long drive and I was excited! SO! Moving on!

We went to Disneyland with G-dad and......

Maemaw!

Tigger was already there so we met up for breakfast one morning and he just HAD to try on Jaxon's hat!

The same night we waited for the World of Color's show to start and took pictures in the meantime :) Pretty ferris wheel- OH and the show was AWESOME!!!! I'll post the video I got of that later!

And here is Daaelynn, my brave brave girl, on Space Mountain.....BEST PIC EVER!!! This shall be cherished for ever. She went on EVERY ride she was tall enough for including Tower of Terror and Grizzly Bear Run! She was such a brave girl!

We also saw Minnie at breakfast and Jaxon was getting kinda fresh! There were some kissed going around! Good thing Mickey wasn't around!

Jaxon did get his hat back from Tigger by the way. Cutest hat ever, and he actually kept it on!

Better than the hat was ICE CREAM! Right from the yummy yummy creamery on Main street! It is ALWAYS crowded in there at night, but we have to have it at least once while we're there.

Riley,Mom, and Me on California Screamin'! Riley and I held hands and had them up in the air the entire time:)

This is just cute- they love each other so much ,and I hope they stay that way!

Jaxon, Daddy, and Mickey!!!!

Daae had to get a Mickey pic too!

Cinderella again!!! This was the first trip Daae got to see her FAVORITE princess, and we got to see her twice :D

Space Mountain was turned into the Ghost Galaxy for Halloween! There was a ghost-ish skeleton galaxy guy roaring at you in space, and apparently it was too much for my dad and he gave up the ghost on the ride :D But fear not! We resuscitated him and he's fine!

Hey that's not Disneyland!!! Nope! It's the beach! We decided to go to the beach on Saturday when it was the most crowded at Disneyland. Daae had a bit too much fun and ended up covered in sand- we just let her go for it LoL She ended up wearing a blanket back to the hotel, but ti was fun!

Here's my babies enjoying the waves!

Everyone in the waves! My kids have never seen the ocean so it was so much fun! Those waves are tricky though!!! Once of them swamped Daaelynn and she was at the top of the hill!

Back to Disneyland- here is $14 on Daae's face :D Killed me to pay that much, but she loved it!

Here's me and the babe on the Nemo Submarine ride- WoW claustrophobia! Good thing no one let one off in there! HEHE!

Vidia and Tinkerbell! Yeah!!! I was so excited to take Daaelynn to see the fairies! They were awesome! We also got to see Silvermist!

It's a small world after alllllll!!!!! I loved going on rides we ALL could go on together! And woohoo for Disneyland in September! Short lines baby!

Two pretty Auroras!!! Gotta love those skinny little legs DaaeDaae LoL

I LOVE getting natural shots of Daae. She is always posing! Here I caught her off guard and we are going to be in trouble in a few years people! Anyone have a good stick for beating the boys off???? :D

My sweet smiles boy! He did great in Disneyland and throughout the whole trip! I think he's happy to be outta that car seat though!!

Here are Daddy and Daae up in the sky on the jelly fishies!

And this is what you get after a crazy fun Disney trip! A pooped out little man snuggling with his Kermit!

It was an AWESOME vacation, and we had so much fun with Maemaw and G-Dad! We are even planning to go again on our 10th anniversary and their 33rd!!! So till then- we love you Disneyland!! See you in 2013!

Who Are You???

So last night I was feeling down in the dumps...again. And I just couldn't really pin down why I felt so down! One theory is that nursing or not- you still get hormonal once a month! :D So I went off to work in hopes that I'd find an answer to my sour mood. And I will say that the temple is a great place to think over your problems and find answers. Even though I am there to work, if I go there with a problem I come out feeling so much better! So last night I whittled my issue down to one question- who am I??? I was feeling overwhelmed with all my "projects" and trying to do everything and be everything that I've kinda lost who Megan REALLY is. So here is who I KNOW I am.......

- I'm a funny girl! I love making people laugh even if I look like a bozo doing it!
-I'm an avid reader.I LOVE to read!!! L-O-V-E!!!
-I'm an artist, and this is something I've neglected. I use to fill a sketch pad up in a week and a half. Sure, I have kids so there is less time, but not drawing at least once a week is not cool
-I'm a chill mom! We don't follow a strict schedule- we like to chilllll and go with the flooowwww.
-I'm a tom boy! Even at 26! Jeans and t-shirts are the best!!

So along with a list of what I AM, I needed a list of what I'm NOT and it's OK!!!

-I'm not a girly girl....I have learned and love some girly things like painting my toes and wearing bracelets, but that's it! No fancy clothes, no done up hair, no heels- it's not me and it's OK!
- I'm not thin :D I'M NOT!!!! And it's OK!!! Granted I do need to shape up a bit to be healthy, but I'm not the size 5 woman who's dresses to the nines with her perfectly presented kids in the back of her SUV and I never will be.
-I'm not super mom. I can't juggle piano lessons, dance lessons, school, PTA, book club, yoga group, and not want to just DIE! Some people can do it and that's them, and that's great! But it's not me and it's OK!!!
-I'm not a super crafter. I LOVE doing crafts, but I need to be more choosy. I can't expect myself to do everything just because I physically CAN do it. I need to find the crafts and projects I LOVE and just admire the rest :)

So what next?! How about what I WANT to become!

- I want to become a better daughter of God. I want to amp up my spiritual side in a huge way! For me and for my family. The visiting teaching message in the Ensign was about raising up a righteous generation and not letting our children forget our beliefs. I do not want that to happen to my kids and the only way to do it is to bring more of the spiritual teachings into my home.
- I want to be a better mom. I HATE when I get irritated with my kids.I feel like such a jerk after I have a melt down. Who wants a mom like that???
- I want to be a better Megan.I want to magnify my talents and just be me.I don't want to shove myself into a little box and feel like I have to do the things everyone else is doing. If it is something I enjoy then SURE, but if it is something I feel lukewarm about- I'm skippin it! :D AND IT'S OK!!!

So it is a start. I think my little list therapy has helped! Kinda like a talk in church- this post has more meaning for me than you, but I appreciate all the wonderful friends and family I have who keep track of me :) I also promise that a happier post will be fast on the heels of this one. I just have to get my other pics from Riley's phone and it'll be time to share the happiest place in the world with you :D

9 days and Counting!

There are soooooo many things to blog and think about, but alas! There is only ONE thing that seems to be on my mind these days......DISNEYLAND!!!! We have been planning this trip for what seems like FOREVER and now it is only 9 days away! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Yes...that was me hysterically laughing because I'm so excited! And thrust me folks I'm earning this vacation! These last few weeks have tried my little Megan sanity! Just some drama and a few mini breakdowns, and a WHOLE lotta busy has taken it's toll. This week there is an extra 1 1/2 of training at work tomorrow, Pack night that I get to lead on Tuesday (oh boy!), and more cub scout training stuff on Sat, tack on cleaning the house, shopping for the trip, planning what I can, and packing- OH this week shall fly! Works for me! It is all worth it to be going back to my FAVORITE vaca spot that we haven't visited since 2007 when Daae was almost 2! Bonus fun is that Maemaw and G-dad are comming too! YAAAYYY!!! Our party of 6 is going to take Anaheim by storm and have a whole lotta fun doing it! Before I hit the hay here is a mini family update- Daae is LOVING school! She is always so excited to go and she is sucking it all up like a spunge. Today is Jaxon's first official sucess at crawling!!! He wasn't too thrilled about having to do it, but he CAN DO IT! Now to clean the carpets and find a baby gate for the stairs! As for Riley and I we're just movin' right along, work, home, friends, and eachother keep us busy and happy! Well that's all for now folks!!! Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Kindergarten!!!!

Yes I know that kindergarten started LAST Tuesday, so please forgive this week late post! So Daaelynn is in school and LOVING it! She is so happy and excited every day to go. The only thing she does not love is walking up the hill to go home every day LoL I enjoy it though because hopefully it will help me ditch all my extra layers this year! She (as you know) has no layers to ditch so she would prefer driving :D Her 1st day her dad was able to get home in time to go with us to school, and I did feel a tiny bit choked up, but WoW I heart kindergarten! She needed it and so did I! Everything went off without a hitch, and I think we are all loving it! Jaxon's naps are a little bit screwed up, but we'll figure it out! And the best thing about kindergarten??? Daaelynn sleeps in her OWN room now in her OWN bed!! REJOICE!!!!!! She said she would do it when she went to school, and the cick did it! So happy all around! Let's hope the happiness lasts all year long!
SCHOOL DAYS!!

striking her rockstar pose!

Opening the door to her education!!!

Say bye mom!!!

Remember my favorite word???

FREE! And I had to share another awesome way I found to get freeeee stuff! But first- a little story :) I started reading a book when I was still pregnant with Jaxon called Enchanted Inc. And then the darnedest thing happened- I found out it was a series! Yeah!!! And the library only had the 1st book! Boo!!! So since then I've been hitting amazon to find the other 3 books. I ended up buying 2 & 3, but got held up at #4- Don't Hex With Texas. It is the last book so it is the newest and most expensive so I delayed and delayed on buying it. And then I heard about a web browser ( like google) called Swagbucks from a friend and fellow blogger ( Thanks Shelli!!) . Basically what you do is you use Swagbuck's search engine and you will randomly be awarded Sawgbucks! With these Sawgbucks you rack up you can buy things from the swag store. Well my #1 FAVORITE thing to buy is....$5 amazon gift cards! See where this is going?! I got my final book for FREE with the points I had earned just by searching the Internet like I always do!!! And guess how long it took me to get the 450 points I needed for the $5 gift card..... 1 1/2 weeks! By the end of a month I was a happy camper because I finally got to finish my series, and best of all it was all freeeeee! And now I am working on more $5 gift cards for who knows what! Christmas maybe- free Christmas presents! Heehee! Another yeah is that when you refer people you also get whatever points your friends earn! So if you end up doing swagbugs and feel so inclined, punch my screen name, megtoes, into wherever when you register! The spread the word and have your friends do it for you! Whether you do or don't you can't lose with swagbucks! AND PS- Shanna Swendson is the author of Enchanted Inc. and I HIGHLY suggest it! Awesome books! Thanks for reading my jabber! :D

July Fun, and It's Only Begun!!!

What a crazy month we've had and it's not even half way thru! Well I have tons to share so here we go! I'm going to work backwards a bit because today ( or yesterday because it is 12:43 am :) was my little girl's fifth birthday!!! Five years old! Holy cow!!!!! So here is a pic of my little baby less than a week old........

AWE!!!! she was SO tiny! Just 4lb 7oz and 17 inches long. Gotta love her big little nose LoL! But look! She totally grew into it!!!

Here she is with her birthday pancake- candles and all! And Oh the day just got better and better!!! We did ( or I rather) did a brave thing and had our first birthday party with friends, not just family, and what a blast we had! We had a water party in front of our house with about... 16 kids! WoW! We played water games, ran through a fun sprinkler, and threw water balloons! And I can tell you this I have to send a HUGE thank you out to my family and friends who helped me set up and then keep these crazy kids entertained for an hour and a half! So Marci, Der, Mom, Katie, and Shayla- THANK YOU! YOU'RE AWESOME! Below are some pics of the festivities! ( thanks to Shayla who aws maning the camers :D )

Our lil party goers enjoying some favors, punch and cake!Presents! Awesome!!!

The little girlies playing a fun water game! Everyone had tons of fun adn it was a great sucess PHEW!

But before our party we had even more water fun! Daaelynn is in swimming lessons this summer and I will tell you they are AWESOME! The things these people have thought up to get kids to learn how to swim and have fun is totally worth the $30! She has had so much fun in the 3 days we've gone so far! Here she is learning to float.....

And here is what we did today- she swam the twisty river! At one point she was like 10 feet ahead of her teacher just swimming away with her life vest. I'm so proud of her! She has just taken right to it! No fear!!!

And the last event was the 4th of July. We went to a park and had tons of fun with Riley's family- eating pizza, playing with water balloons, and watching some fireworks! Here are the Keele Men.... What good lookin' guys I have!And the Keele Women! Hot chicks right there!

And we can't post without putting a cute Jaxie Bug picture in!!! Loving eating solids! Well thanks for putting up with all my rambling! We have more family coming into town tonight,a reunion next weekend and then the 24th of July after that so be prepared for more!!! Peace out dudes!!! ;)