Stander's

2011-10-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Hauntings!

Backyard Campout

2010-07-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

Pretty much this is what I call C-A-M-P-I-N-G! All of the luxuries of home yet you get to sleep in the wilderness. Hey, there are bugs and trees and stuff in the backyard! Our family celebrated Brooky-boo's 4th birthday with a campout and an outdoor movie! It was so much to sit, relax and crawl into a sleeping bag, then wake up the next morning and help make a delicious breakfast outside. Love summer.

What Would YOU Do?

2009-09-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Kelli and I went to the park to let the kids play and have a picnic. Sounds nice right? It was, until this woman who was trying to get her little girl to leave the playground started crying because she didn't want to go yet. This lady was yelling for her to "come on, we're leaving now" to screaming at her to get into the car. This screaming was head turning and of course people are going to look because of how out of control she got from a 2 year olds tantrum. As the woman is putting her baby in the car seat she is SCREAMING at the girl to shut up and get in the car and soon comes around and grabs her extremely rough to put her in the car seat SCREAMING "Shut up! The world doesn't need to hear you cry!" It gets worse...she gets in the car and peels out and drives past Kelli and I and flips us off! Speeds off, erratically out of the parking lot. It was really shocking. Now my question is what would you have done? I am kicking myself because I really feel like I should have intervened on behalf of the child because of the way she was being treated for what was really a normal behavior for a kid that age, so what is going on in private if that was that lady's public display of discipline? Next, I should have gotten her license plate number for her erratic driving and endangering her two children all because she is upset that people were looking at her for her all sorts of crazy behavior. If you have ever watched Primetime:What would you do? They have actors to play out those type of situations to see what people would really do if they saw something abusive, neglectful or dangerous going on. I failed miserably. I was just waiting for the host to come out and ask, why didn't you step in and help? I just hope the little kids are ok and their mother may come to a realization that what she is doing is NOT at all acceptable.

BE ORGANIZED. BE PREPARED.

2009-08-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is actually the second day of school, but she just looked so darn adorable.

Luke was excited for his sissy to go to school, so he could have Mommy all to himself. Not really, he asked about her all day long.

My perfect little princess. She picked her outfit out with Nana Bighouse all by herself and chose to wear it on the first day.

Be Organized. Be Prepared. Our family theme for this school year. Good advice for the Stander's, if you know us. I am starting by taking my own advice to keep up on the things that are important and should be important to me and my family. One is keeping up this blog for my memory sake because it seems as of late, it's just not what it used to be. So with that, here are a few pictures of my Meemers on her first day as a first grader...where has time gone?!

My boy's a champ!

2009-06-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

My last entry I was excited for the possiblities of potty training, though not very opptimisic of how it would all turn out. I was ready for the accidents throughout the day, and night but to my complete satisfaction, my little boy--excuse me, my big kid is potty trained! Luke has not had ONE accident since the last entry and and successfully number two'd all by himself! I am amazed. That little stink has been holding out on me probably for months now. He even woke me up in the wee hours of the morn (3 a.m.) to inform me he went pee-pee in the toilet! That deserved the pee-pee song and dance. It goes something like this: "Pee-pee in the pot-tay, pee-pee in the pot-tay, pee-pee in the pot-tay YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" And you must do a conga-line type dance while singing. He is filling that potty chart up with stickers and filling his belly with potty time treats. Good job son, a job well done!

Pee-Pee in the potty...FINALLY!

2009-06-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

Luke turned 3 in March and I have been hoping that he would just kind of potty train himself...no luck. So last Saturday, Mia and Luke had a sleep over at Nana Bighouse's--(Beau's parents house) and we forgot to bring Mia some undies so Nana went to Walmart and bought her some, and when she came back and presented them to Meemers, Lukey-boy got very upset that he didn't get any and so Nana told Luke that if he went pee-pee in the potty that he could get some big-boy undies too. And wouldn't ya know he went, not once but twice! So I kept it going after hearing that spectacular news and he went for me too! A few times in the potty, a few times on the carpet, wood floor, and yes, even my kitchen counter to which Brooke (my niece) promptly came running to me yelling "Luke peeped!" After disinfecting my household and doing many loads of laundry we will continue to press forward--without anger or frustration of the next days, weeks and hopefully not months to come. For I desperately want this child in pre-school this coming school year for both of our sakes. So, if any of you who have gone through such trials as these, please comment of what worked, what didn't and what you would do different.

Side note: We do have a potty chart and he gets to put stickers on it everytime he successfully goes, and we have treaters for him.

Easter, soccer and dance..picture overload!

2009-05-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

Fun, Fun, Easter! My little rag-a-muffins Easter morn so excited for what the Easter Bunny has brought... And through the magic of a bath, a little gel and a curling iron...waalaa two presentable children!

This is the best I could do to get the kids to take a picture together.

The second Easter egg hunt of the day! Little Luke the first out of the gate.

Again..the best I could do.

Mia has started soccer this year, and I think she likes it. She is definitely the fastest on the team.

Beau is one of 3 coaches for a 5 year old team...how many do they really need?:)

Great kick girlfriend!

Meemers and her bestie after the big game.

Competition season of Mia's dance class has started. She danced away to "Splish Splash" and was completely adorable.

She is waiting around with the other dancers for the awards.

The pool's progressing..

2009-04-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update...the pool will be totally finished this week, however, do you spy that orange faux fence? We still need our fence put back up before we're in business. So the fence posts will be put in this Wednesday, then next Wednesday, they will finish up by putting the panels in. Pool party anyone?

Patio and flower beds.

Lower patio under our deck, and oh yeah Beau needs to put our stairs back on!

The full monty.

Cool stamp they put in. And yes, it is pointing the right direction.

Upper views.

Pool in progress

2009-04-10T17:42:00.001-07:00

Here's a little update of what's going on in our backyard currently:

The walls of the pool are up...

Ripping out the grass....

We are digging under our deck so we have another covered area...

Beau doing a little drainage work...

Our yard had to be elevated a ton because of the water table, so we'll be putting in a new fence for privacy.

Get in touch with your crafty-side.

2009-04-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is a little "pay it forward" blog entry with a homemade craft. I was the recipient of a darling little craft from Mary Jane and it is now my turn to pay it forward to the first 3 comments on my blog. I will make you something and truly get in touch with my crafty-side (which will be a real stretch) and in turn, the 3 winners will have to pay it forward by posting this same type of post and spread the love.

Toothless Fairy

2009-03-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well it's official, my little baby girl is no longer a baby. Since she's losing her teeth in all. Beau yanked Mia's tooth out and another on was already on it's way in! This ended up very traumatic at first but through the next few photo's you'll see her "magically" transform. Ouch, so sad...

Post tooth pulling...

There it is, in all it's enamalized glory.

The toothfairy came, and man was HE generous! I told Beau to place just one $2 bill under her pillow, and guess what the next morning it multiplied into $10 bucks...WHAT? The toothfairy must have really liked that tooth.

Daddy-O felt so bad about pulling out Mia's tooth he gave her $10 bucks, flowers, and a lovely note.

Someone deserves an award

2009-03-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Recently Luke drew on the walls with pencil in his room and mine...big surprise huh? I tried scrubbing it off with a rag and water and no luck...so I decided to try the Magic Eraser. Holy Crap! It's the most magical thing ever invented I think. So who ever invented this magical device, you deserve every accolade there is, a pulizer, nobel peace prize, and oscar, a golden globe, or a grammy! I know they have nothing to do with it, but still this made my day!

Hello Again

2009-03-13T22:10:00.001-07:00

Well HELLO again everybody! I've got some catching up to do! I have to admit that a little thing called FACEBOOK has been consuming my life a bit (well, my internet life anyway). So anyway, here I am again ready to blog!
What's new with us, hmmm...let me see. Beau just got Lasik, yesterday and feels he is already a new man seeing the world with new eyes. Amazing! My little Meemers has her first loose tooth! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Her aunt Stephy made her a toothfairy pillow and was sure to give it to her before she left for a trip just in case her tooth came out--how thoughtful. My little Lukester is trying his darnest to get potty trained and he is getting close, it's really me not being on top of it and getting him there more often. And our most exciting news, WE'RE GETTING A SWIMMING POOL PUT IN! They are just a few weeks away from finishing, we are so excited for this summer:)

Naughty little boy...

2009-01-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Did I do that?

The other day I was working on my talk for Sunday, and I left Luke to his own defences. I was in my groove, and totally oblivious to the happenings of the house. When I finally came out of my room, about an hour later, I found chaos had ensused. Refrigerator door wide open for who knows how long, wrappers all over the floor and a little minx climbing on the stool over the dryer. "Luke what are you doing?!" Luke: "NOTHIN" his stock answer when he's being naughty. He had pulled out some cleaner I was suckered into buying from a door to door sales man and the big bottle was empty..."Where did you pour this" hoping the inevitable wasn't true. Before me was the dryer vent pulled out. Luke: "Down there" pointing at the dryer vent. Needless to say, a time-out was in Luke's immediate future. While he cried and screamed "sorry mama" on the couch, my mind and heart were racing trying to remember how much of the cleaner was still left in the bottle. And of course there were clothes in the dryer, and of course they were WHITES! I felt around and felt some dampness on a few articles, pulled the clothes out and started the dryer for about 10 seconds only to open the door and smelled burning lint. Crap. Mia wanders in and says "Mama, Luke got out ink pads, you know, for stamps in his room!" NOOOOO!! Yes, blue ink on the carpet in two spots. I guess I got what I deserved giving him the run of the house.

*Side note* I am going to try out the dryer again today, and hope I don't combust along with the dryer. The salesman I referred to, actually drank a little of the cleaning product to demonstrate how safe it was, so hopefully he wasn't a complete nutjob and the stuff doesn't have any chemicals in it to cause an explosion...wish me luck!

Christmas and New Years!

2009-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Rockin' in the New Year with a bunch of nerds!

Luke's new favorite movie! A classic!

Luke and Addee having a great time at Nana Bighouse's.

Wow! It's been awhile...I wish I could say I had some very exciting things going on but nay. We had a super-fun christmas which involved me getting in a bidding war on e-bay because Mia at the last minute, the last week before christmas says "Mama I want Santa to bring me Bendaroos for christmas." Umm...WHAT! I say, "I thought you wanted Lucky the Wonder Pup for christmas. Remember Santa only brings one gift?" Mia: "Ehh, nah... I want bendaroos, they never dry out." So off I go searching ebay, where else am I going to find an "as seen on tv" product that would be deliverable in time? I did win the Bendaroos, and the very next day I went to Albertsons and wouldn't ya know it, Benda-freakin-roos on the table next to the check-out line! So I paid $10 bucks too much, oh well. Mia did say she got everything she ever wanted so that is all that matters to me. We had an impromtu new years bash; I worked that day and so did my friend Kelli so we decided to chill at our house and invited my sister and brother-in-law and some other friends and played games and rockband.

Still Goin' Strong!

2008-12-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update...zero caffeine going on 2 weeks now! And I am still exercising 3-4 days a week. It's getting better and easier everyday. I just put some rocking music on and BAM! the cardio-torture is done. More updates to come!

Bedtime Stories

2008-12-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of my day is bedtime. Not for the obvious reason of alone time for me, but for our little routine of getting jammies on and having me hoist Luke up, so he can slowly scan the bookshelves in his closet and me say "do you want this one?" and Luke quietly laughing say noooo, and this goes on for a minute or so and he'll finally choose a book. We always do bedtime stories in Lukey's room with him in bed surrounded by Rexy, his batman donned t-rex, and Bunky, his polar bear, both of which he named. We read the story, pick someone to say our prayer, and sing Families Can Be Together Forever. Everynight.
Tonight Mia wanted me to say the prayer and asked if I would pray for Aunt Stephy. Don't know why, but of course I did. Mia is very spiritually intune and sincere I just really needed to say how much I love her. She is my sweet angel and I am lucky to be her mom. Earlier tonight she came to me and said "Mama I love you. I remember when you were growing up and I was watching you and I was so excited because I knew you were going to be my mom." So darling. Sometimes Mia will ask about Beau and I about getting married in the temple, and we tell her "You and Luke were there Mia, you were watching us get married and you were so happy because you knew you would be born soon." So that is probably where her comment stems from. But none the least, so sweet to hear.

THANKSGIVING

2008-12-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

We had a great thanksgiving this year. Lots of great food, and family time and turkish dancing. I have an aunt who is from Turkey and she and her friend were teaching us all some traditional turkish dances which was so much fun. I made rolls this year and man can I bake! :) My brother Danny and sister Becky made desserts. Trifles, and cheesecakes and pies oh my! Ok, that was lame. Here are some pictures of our day.

I'm off the juice!

2008-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm going cold turkey, (no pun intended) and cutting off my "juice". Yes, the cold, dark, bubbly heaven that I drink way too much of. It is day one and I've got a headache. I'm going to tough it out and work through the pain, I NEED to. Why one would say? I've come to the realization that I am actually relying on this sugary goodness to get through the day. I don't like the feeling of my body being addicted to something. And also in this month's issue of the Ensign there was an article about the caffeine/energy drink craze very interesting if you haven't read it or if you don't get the Ensign you can go to LDS.org and find the article there. My other huge reason is I want to lose the LB'S! So I started my cardio regimen today as well; my goal is a 5 pound weight reduction by the end of the month...ok, maybe 3 but one can dream. I am really hating my body right now and feel like Fat B@$%^!* from Austin Powers, "I want food! Get in my belly!" I'll keep posting about my progress and hopefully be skinnier and healthier next time you see me.

Beau's 30th birthday SURPRISE!

2008-11-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

My old man is, well, old now. Beau'Don turned 30 earlier this month and I was able to pull one over on him by surprising him with a weekend in Chicago to see his favorite football team the Bears! He had no idea, so it was perfect to be able to give him something he actually wanted. I usually do the most lame things for him, so he was very deserving. We had a splendid time and were able to spend time with Beau's aunt Julie which was really great. Here are a few pictures of our weekend. Walking back after the game, Grant Park is where Barack Obama gave his victory speech.

The big game, up way, way high...

Freezing our giblets off.

A view of the city.

Beau's very own night in the museum with Sue, the world largest T-Rex.

An amazing library at the University of Chicago.

Happy Birthday my love!

NKOTB Forever!!

2008-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

This how close I was! Jon doin' his thang!

I'm rocking new bangs...what do you think?

Angel, Karen, and Me

Ok so if you go back to previous posts, you can read about my first concert ever when I was 12 years old. It was the New Kids On The Block! When I was 12 I was convinced that Jonathan Knight waved at me even though I was in the rafters, because I was holding my neon orange poster proclaiming my love for him! Flash forward 17 long years later...Again I am convinced (or very delusional) that he once again acknowledged me and this time I have PROOF! So I hope the video uploads. So I will set it up for y'all: I wasn't very close to the main stage, they were decent seats, but then...lights go off, attention shifts to the main floor and the Boys are now 20 feet away from me! I hurridly raced down the aisle to get as close as possible with camera in tow. I set it video and was all the while screaming wildly. Then it happens, a small break with a song and Jon has a perfect view of me and my new bangs, he looks up makes eye contact and waves!! This is where the video goes crazy because I begin to jump up and down and scream "He waved at me, he just waved to me!" This is where you can either be convinced or call me delusional. Then they jump down off the center floor stage and walk past me now I am 5 feet away. I never thought of myself as a fanatical person, but I guess I learned something about myself, I can get freakishly excited in the right situations. This time there were no tears in the binoculars, but I will admit to getting a little teary eyed when the show started. It really was taking me back to when I was that 12 year old girl seeing her first concert with her biggest crush.

Did you see it? Did you see it?! I wish I didn't freak out and ruin it but IT was there!

A few Random Facts About Moi

2008-10-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

1. I love handbags-I have alot of them and am always scouting more. I think it started when I went to New York a few years ago and got I got me some fakies. You know the ones, Coach, Prada, Gucci. Then I got an urge when we went to Hawaii to get a real Coach but I just couldn't do it and spend the cash it takes for a real one. I walked away. It was hard. Beau, however did the spending for me and got me one! I went home a few days early with the kids and he stayed and while he was there, the little saint bought me just the one I had been eyeing. And yes, it was on sale and it was an outlet.
2. I really like perfume. However, I only like the expensive kind. I can't handle "celebrity" endorsed scents, that to me smell like poop wrapped in a flower sprinkled with allspice. I don't like drug store crap. I'm not completely materialistic but thus far this list doesn't seem like it.
3. I dislike driving. Especially when it's somewhere I don't know where I'm going. Anyone who has driven with me can attest. I freak out, and will run down pedestrians, orange cones whatever is in the way unless the passenger can calmly talk me down and tell me exactly what to do. It's like I don't know how to drive anymore if I am put in an unfamiliar position. And parallel parking-forget it!
4. I stay up way to late watching recorded t.v. (I know I'm lame) and I LOVE sleeping in (I know I'm lazy). Then I wake up thinking "man I need to go to bed earlier and get up and exercise before the kids get up." Then nighttime falls and Oprah and One Tree Hill are calling out to me
and so the cycle continues....
5. I tend to agree with people's opinions way too much when I really don't agree with them. I'm working on it. It's my people pleasing ways that get me in trouble, mostly with myself. And who cares if we have differing opinions because we all know we have them and everybody else's stinks-right?
6. I like scary movies. I can only watch them with Beau and he has to be sitting next to me. I like the slasher kind not the possessed kind.
7. I once applied at a strip club (as a joke) and when I went in to ask for an application, not really sure if that's the correct protocol for that type of employer...anyway, I was turned down because-get your air quotes ready "it wasn't the hiring season". I think the dude took one look at my rackless rack and made it up on the spot.
Well, now that you know me a little better, what are some random facts about you?

Fall photoshoot

2008-10-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

I went to Fernwood to take some pictures of the kids and to practice my skills. I have ALOT of practicing to do, however, these were some of my favorites.

Halloween/Fall Time

2008-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

My cute aunt has a summer swim party, a halloween party, and a christmas party for my dad's side of the family. I always look forward to going because we always have such a fun time and we don't see each other very often. This year our family theme was Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein-large and small.
The best photo of the kids. No one will look when you want them to.

Mia was extremely upset at me for making her eyes dark. I thought she wanted to look scary! So when she took one look at herself in the mirror she was immediately upset. "Mama I want to look pretty, not scary!" Whoa, so I washed her face off but not before laughing hysterically at her because she did look pretty ridiculous. Hey, I never said I was a make-up artist. She was such a good sport for at least letting me take some pictures of her as a monster bride. Little Frankie and his Monster Momma.

The Frankenstein family portrait. Twin brides.

The Mr. and Mrs.
I have been reading hair blogs and tried one on Mia. I love doing Mia's hair and she lets me do it as long as she can watch cartoons.

This is called the flower bun. I thought it turned out pretty cute.
This was Mia on her picture day at school. When she came home that day she was crying hysterically because some kid who was older than her, pushed her down and threw a plastic bottle at her head. Poor little muffin. I was furious as was Beau and he called his parents and got it cleared up.
Three little pirates.
Beau actually mowed the front and back lawn with this little dude on his shoulders.

End of Summer

2008-09-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

These are just some pictures from our days of summer.
Our yard and waterfall that we worked hard on.

This is just some random girl, but I took it during my summer photography class. My little cousin Khan, holding Mr. Sun.

End of summer swim party at Aunt Connie's.

Little mermaid Mia. Our last night from our summer vacay in Mexico...can't wait 'till the next one!
Day at Lagoon.

Body Worlds 3

2008-09-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just a small plug for Body Worlds, if you have any interest in how the human body functions, any at all, you MUST see this amazing display. It was definitely unique. It was a lot more than I expected. I thought it was only the "plastinates" on display, but it was quite more than that. They had every body system on display, showing normal and diseased. The most interesting for me was the gestation. There were tubes with the growth of an embryo from week one up to week eight. Then the fetus' from 18-32 weeks in cases. Pretty miraculous when you think about it and then to actually see the the progression of a blastocyte to a fully developed human being. This was very worth while and incredibly interesting. There was no picture taking allowed but you can go to www.theleonardo.org for more information.

Mia's first day of school

2008-09-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Mia's first official day at school. I can't believe my little buddy is off with the big kids. Mia and her best friend Carly.
Luke wanted in on the picture action.
Last week was meet your teacher day.

Two little muffins.

The kids met with Mrs. Gale and did a little scavenger hunt, then she read them a story about the first day of school.
These next pictures were Mia's idea.

WIG WARS

2008-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

What's love got to do with it? Friends again, after coming to blows.

Luke standing so stoically, while being punished for his wig wearing ways.

About a week ago, Beau and I were doing our Saturday cleaning, Beau taking on the large task of de-cluttering our closet full of shiznit, and I cleaning the bathrooms. As I was cleansing and scouring away, the following conversation took place in the background. Beau: "You either keep it on or take it off! I'm not playing your games." Luke:"NO!" (crying starts). Beau: "Luke knock it off" Luke: "Want it on!" (crying ensues louder) Beau: "That's it! You're going to time out." Luke: (wailing) NO! I enter the room after the chaos and inquire about what I heard. Beau informs me they were both wearing wigs they found in the closet and Luke kept taking his off, and then demanding it be put back on. So, he got sick of it and they came to blows. I asked if Luke was still in time out and Beau looks down the hallway and says yes, and he's wearing the wig. So I hurried and grabbed the camera and took my shot.

Miaisms

2008-08-17T19:57:00.001-07:00

Superhero's Nacho Macho Luke, and Hello Mia Kitty

Our bedtime routine consists of reading stories and rotating the prayer. Recently Mia has been wanting me to tell her real stories of when I was a little kid. They usually involve me being naughty or doing something silly. One night she asked about a time I was in kindergarten, since she is going to be this year. So the story goes like this from a memory of a five year old: When I was in kindergarten I had this teacher, her name was Mrs. Bateman. She was an old lady who was kind of mean. One day she asked a question and I was sure I had the right answer, so I raised my hand and answered the question. Unfortunately, I had the wrong answer and mean old Mrs. Bateman knuckled me right on my head! And after that day I never wanted to answer any of her questions again. So on Friday night, Beau came to pick me up from work with the kids and Mia says, "Mama remember when you were 5 and your teacher gave you a knuckle sandwich on your head?" Me: "Yeah, why?" Mia: "Because that's when your life went straight down the pooper!" I think she was saving that to tell me the whole day, way too many cartoons.

MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE A.K.A.--MEXICO

2008-08-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Super cute monkey.
He likey, likey Beauzer. My hat that I bought that lasted only 8 hours until I lost it at the pool later that night.
The jungle ride, and were still happy.
Crazy animal! It was following me sooo scary, it almost bite Beau's toe.

Ahhh...Mexico a much needed trip for relaxation. We went with my two sisters and their husbands near the Cancun area and we had a great time until....DUN, DUN, DUN--MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE!! I'm just going to say to my beloved readers near, far, where ever you are, you may never read again because this is gettin' graphic. So there's your warning. The week started out great, except for the dude I was sitting next to on the plane, kept farting SBD'S! I was completely disgusted and Beau refused to trade me seats-jerk! The dude crop dusted at least three rows ahead and three rows behind I know, because my sister and brother and law smelt it but they never delt it. The resort we stayed at was beautiful. Beau was our awesome translator and one of the first things he asked was if it was agua purificada-which we were told yes of course. I myself nor Beau were still willing to believe it so when we got to our room, I read the hotel information which I always do so I know what the cable channels are. Anyway it said all water potable. "Beau what does "potable" mean?" "I don't know" "Well I'm not drinking the water then" So neither of us did. We used bottled water to brush our teeth. The next morning we went a different employee and asked if the water was good and she said NO!! So, we walked over the my sisters' room and said nobody drink the water. Stephanie looks up and says "What? You said it was ok, I drank 2 glasses already!" My response to her twirling my finger in a circle, "Number one rule, never trust a Mexican" I was kidding of course. So a few days pass, we went snorkeling, swimming in the 85 degree ocean, shopped, normal vacation stuff. One side note, it was the best snorkeling ever! We snorkeled with stingrays, baracudas, turtles, were surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish that were totally bumping us. I screamed several times underwater. Oh yeah, Becky and I were also being followed very closely by a reef shark! Hello! Good thing I watched shark week and how not to become shark bait. Becky on the other hand, did not, wearing a bright yellow bikini-total shark bait material. So thank you Becky for attracting a shark to us! So by day three, Montezuma's revenge had raveged Beau, then I was in for it next, then Nathan and finally Brian. The girl who actually drank the water was not affected in the least. So a few of my days were crap-literally or Mexican stew as Brian named it. We had a theme song by the late, great Johnny Cash--"Burnin' Ring of Fire", and here are a few of my favorite quotes from the trip: Brian-"Mexico pisses my off! (When he went to get $200.00 dollars out the ATM and only got $20.00 with a $5.00 trans. fee, then had to do it again.) Mine-"Mexico can have my butthole, but it will never take my soul!" It is to be said kind of like Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. (When we were driving in a tropical storm in the middle of the jungle with one of our cars on fumes.) All in all we had a great trip. One more funny thing, on the airplane ride home guess who I was sitting by? That's right SBD! So when an irate father and son demanded they sit together, Beau and I were all to happy to oblige. We then got sat down by an irate lady who did not want to sit by us and she had two dogs under her seat that snarled at my feet as I tried to pass by. Then she farts, and Beau whispers to me "Great, we move from one fart cloud to another." Hilarity!

Blog Stalkers? Curfews

2008-07-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Recently I have come across a few blogs that have complained about "blog stalkers, lurkers, snoops," really are you serious? What do you think is going to happen if you have a blog ON the internet? Just the people you know are going to look? Crazy! I have found many people I know through people I don't know. If these people are so concerned of people who they don't know go private, it is an option. So stop calling us curious onlookers names, it hurts our feelings.
My next observation came to me last Saturday when me and some friends (and husbands) went out to eat and were going to see a concert. The concert was rained out, so we went to the movie theater to see what was playing. The movie I wanted to see wasn't there, so we decided to go to Layton and see it there. We happened to be in Park City so by the time we got there it was around 9pm and the movie started at 9:50 and we discussed how long it was going to take and the babysitter situation and decided that we would be WAY PAST OUR CURFEW! Who knew that at 29 years old that one would still have a curfew. My curfew now is way more strict than the one my parents set for me. I now usually have be home by 10:30 at the latest--what? Yeah just an obseravation.

Exploring Utah

2008-07-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

I always screw up and put the pictures in the wrong order. Anyhow, the second week of "exploring Utah" was visiting Antelope Island National Park. This is me being very nauseated from eating at Mcdonalds, and mixing it with Slimquick, not such a good combo. What is the draw to Antelope Island you ask, well so did I, and through these pics I will give you an idea...
By the way, the next park I go to will NOT have "National" in front of it; it will be Amusement, Water or City.

Me puking my guts out on the side of the road.
Driving around aimlessly what seemed like for hours looking for the elusive bison.
Ignore this one, there are NO dinosaurs in Antelope Island.

Watching an uninformative video about Antelope Island.
Scary spiders lurking above our heads. This is just one of many.
Sweating our little guts out in the hot, hot sun.
Burning my feet to numbness, in the hot, hot sand.

Beau and I have decided to start exploring the great state of Utah since we live here and all and have yet to do the many things there are to here. We started last Monday at the dinosaur park which I had been to only once and Beau never.
Luke was not so happy riding the baby brontosaurous.

Things I Love and things I HATE

2008-07-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love Beau I love these people.

I love my diamonds earrings! Beau got me these for our 8th anniversary 4 on each side, how thoughtful. Seriously strongest man I know. Plus the dude can DO anything!
He can't deny these are his.

Summer time is such a great time for barbeques, swimming, planting, and playing outdoors...then comes the nighttime. When all the bad tv starts as well. I am hating all the new reality tv shows lately. I am a confessed reality tv junkie but this is, come on, crap! Let us just name a few: I survived a Japanese game show, Wipeout, Big Brother, America's got talent, American Gladiator, Nashville Star, Last Comic Standing, and I'm sure there is more but that is just on regular tv, I won't continue to list the cable channels. These shows are stupifiying us people! Who watches these things anyway? And what is with the "celebrity game shows" and they are always lame "celebrities" that no one cares about anyway. Whatevs.

Now moving on, my little dude Luke had a crazy ear infection with goo coming out so I took him to the doctor and he gave me 2 scripts (thats medical lingo) for ear drops and an antibiotic. So I go to Walgreens wait around with 2 kids running the isles and asking for a treat every 2 seconds and finally I am called to pay for my medicine. "It will be 196.00" Choke, cough, dry heave later, "Um what?" "It will be 196.00 dollars." So my insurance sucks and becomes another thing I hate. A necessary evil we pay every month and don't get much to show for it when it is in need. So to be fair the medicine was 150.00 dollars and I had a toy for Mia and a "treat" for me, some SlimQuick. Mexico's coming in 2 weeks I'm desperate. Don't judge me. So here's to you insurance-you suck! Next, moving on I love that we have a natural gas car. My pilot is about 70.00 bucks these days, the civic about 4.00. Yes that's $4.00! Not to shabby. So I would say I hate the gas prices, but it's more of love-hate relationship. I love my husband. He is a cool dude. I love that he just knows how to do stuff and fix stuff. I am always asking him "How do you know how to do that?" "I just do ok". Well ok. I love that he is organized and can handle stuff and doesn't freak out like me. I on the other hand, am not organized and I often freak out. I love my kids they are so fun to be around. I love when my kids go to bed with out whining or crying. I love sleeping in. I love staying up late with Beau and watching movies or recorded tv. Oh yeah I love my DVR! One more thing, I hate I feeling like I am letting the world pass me by most of the time by not engaging enough with my kids and taking the time to play and color and laugh and not be so serious and moody. So there you have it. Pictures of the loves of my life.

Mia is 5 years old!

2008-06-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

It really seems like yesterday when I brought my little Meemers home from the hospital. She loves to hear stories of when she was a baby. I tell her when you were first born, I would just hold you and rock you and say "Beau she is sooo cute! Can you believe how cute she is?" Beau would just always say yes Kari she is very cute. Mia is such a special girl who really brings laughter and joy to everyone she meets. She has such a cute personality and is very witty, smart and sassy. Some of the things she says make me laugh so hard! For example she saw on t.v. a drag queen and a few days later goes "Mama you didn't know that a man that wears a dress is called a "man queen". Whenever she has new information she tells me what I don't know. So since then, I have very careful what she watches. She is such a sponge!

Some things Mia Isabel loves at 5 years old:

Horses

Swimming

Spongebob

Hannah Montana

The colors pink, and purple

The suite life of Zach and Cody (She likes Cody better)

Flowers

Friends

Coloring/Painting

Riding her bike without training wheels

Her princess car

Cousins Chloee, Addee, Brooke, Kaylee

Stories

Money-like Mr. Krabs

Her brother Luke

Where Have I Been?

2008-06-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Well here it goes...NO WHERE!! I've got nothin'. I've just been lazy to be honest. I don't even have many pictures to post because there is a sleeping baby in my room and I don't want to chance waking her. So quick run down of the Standers...Beau finished our waterfall in the front and it is gorgeous! Mia turned 5 yesterday and had a Bikini Bottom Beach Party with her new blow up water toy. Luke is talking like crazy and super rowdy. I am taking a photography class with my Dad and friend Kelli at Weber State. Well actually here are a few pictures from Mia's dance recital last Friday, and Beau's waterfall.

Hawaii We Will Miss You!!!

2008-05-12T00:46:00.000-07:00

Kari's Hawaii Pic

Beau's Hawaii Pic

Hello Swan

Reef Shark

Hammer Head Shark

Sting Ray Taking a peek above water

Strange Bird we saw walking to the Beach

Our Little girl isn't feeling good!

Patrick!!!

Mia's Hula Graduation

Luke just got Lei'd

Ko Olina Paradise Cove Luau

Fun Pics From Our Travels

2008-05-08T00:04:00.001-07:00

Yummy icecream cone for Lukey-boy in Waikiki Mia is so excited to pick out whatever icecream cone she wants
The "fam" at Haunama Bay for a day of snorking.

Mia made some new friends...we had pigeons attack us at Haunama Bay it was frightning.

The kids and I at the pinapple train ride.

Waianae beach I think...
Uncle Chase and Beau buring the kittens.
Ahhhh....wish we could stay longer.

We have had the time of our lives here and are getting so sad to have to be leaving. Mia now has pink eye and thinks she is literally dying because she can't get in the water until her eye clears up. Now speaking of this, I had to figure out a doctor to go to that would take our insurance and so after 1 full day of this, I finally did it. We ended up in Waianae a city we have been warned about being the ghetto and people getting their windows broken out and so forth; anyway it really was ghettolicious it reminded Beau and I of the Dominican Republic a 3rd world country! It is really amazing how paradise can await in one area and just minutes away not paradise. So we find the clinic and man was it dirty! Dirty, Dirty, Dirty! But what were we to do? So hopefully Mia's eye will be cleared up soon. One side note, on the way there, we were driving by the ocean and there were CITY'S of tents. People live on the beach in a city of tents and tarps with couch's, kids toys, propane tanks everything to sustain a life on the beach. Very interesting.

Turtleville

2008-05-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the North Shore with Beau's brother Chase and his wife Amber. We had a great time walking around browsing the little shops. We were lucky enough to hit a beach that had a bunch of sea turtles right on the beach and there were a ton in the water near the shore. Mia and Luke both thought they were pretty cool. Luke really, really wanted to get closer to touch them and was furious at me for pulling him back.
Me and my baby daddy.

The "twins" having a great day at the beach.

A cute little sand crab.

Beau'Don surfin' like a pro!

Jellyfish Fishin'

2008-05-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

To preface the next story a little history: Apparently 10 days after a full moon jellyfish come into shore for about 10 days so there are warnings on the beach and news. So the other day it was on the news that 800 jellyfish have been reported near the shore and there was one on the screen lying on the beach. Mia goes "what is a jellyfish?" So I explain it lives in the ocean and it is dangerous because it can sting you. Mia: "What does it look like?" Me: "A pile of clear gelatinous goo." End of conversation. Yesterday, we were at the pool and she starts blowing snot out of her nose furiously and I'm like Mia knock it off get out of the pooool...and her face is already in the water getting it off her face! When she comes up I scolded her and told her never to do that again that it was VERY disgusting she has absolutely no reaction and begins to swim under the water with her goggles and pops up and says "Mama I just saw a jellyfish!" Yes sure enough there was a pile of clear gelatious goo floating near by.....

Dole plantation, Hawaii temple and more....

2008-04-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

Lukey boy of the jungle

We are at Jameson's by the sea on the north shore.

Haleiwa Surfin with a legend

2008-04-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Johnny O teaching us surfin 101 as we paddle out

Trying to catch a wave on the North Shore

Johnny O shows us how

Beau catchin a wave

Stephie and Brookee-boo are here!!

2008-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Whew, finally some visitors! It is both exciting and sad because it means we are on our downhill slide to going home to reality and leaving our little paradise. We picked Brooke and Steph up on Tuesday night and both of them had new haircuts! They both looked really cute and Mia and Luke were so excited to see them. On Wednesday we went to our pool and Brooke was fine walking around and Stephanie came to sit down and I look up and see Brooke in and out of the water and I go "is she swimming?" I would make a terrible life guard because she was in fact drowning! So her water experience was pretty much ruined and she wouldn't go back in. But by Thursday she eased herself back in with the help of Mia who was having so much fun Brooke wanted to join.

Just another day at the beach

2008-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

The beach/pool hasn't gotten old yet...

Beau basking in the sun...

The little princess

The little dude playing in the sand bottom pool

Mia and Luke "surfing"

Another day in paradise

Lukey-boy not so happy with mama

Mia and her daddy-o

Beau at north shore...

NKOTB ARE BACK!!!

2008-04-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm am so exited to that the New Kids On The Block are reuniting!!! They were my favorite boy band ever! I have so much memoribilia from tons of t-shirts, buttons, comic books, posters, magazines pretty you name I probably have it. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, they came to Utah for a concert, and I went with my cousin Monica and my friend Becky. We made neon posters that said "WE LOVE YOU" and "I LOVE JON!" He was and still is my favorite. We knew the neon posters would catch their attention, and I really think they did even from the rafters.:) Monica brought binoculars and we were sharing them amongst ourselves and I happened to have them when I know Jon waved my way, anyway Monica wanted them back and when she put them to her eyes she had a ring of wet because I was crying because I was so happy because I was sure Jon waved at me. So when I heard the news of the reunion I was ecstatic. I just listened to a snippet of the single Click, Click, Click it was pretty good. Can't wait until the album is out. That was probably TMI, wasn't it?

"And by the way..."

2008-04-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Funny story, well to me anyway...the other day we had just gotten back from the pool and I was in my room checking my e-mail before jumping in the shower and getting ready to go to Waikiki I happened to be naked don't worry it's part of the story. Mia walks in and I jump to the side of the bed and am crouching and covering my boo boo's (that's what Mia calls them ) with my arms and I say "Mia get out I'm naked, Mia says ok, fine but she is still looking at me and says I can see your boo boo's through your arms and I say ok well shows over now get out...she is walking towards the door and turns and says oh and by the way mama, nice butt cheeks and flips her head and walks out. I was laughing so hard because it was like she had to get the last word in. She is totally like me in so many ways. For instance I have a bad habit of saying the words totally and like all the time, and today she was having a conversation on the phone with her Nana Bighouse (another Miaism-she differentiates her grandparents by the way their homes look in her perspective the other is my mom Nana Mousehouse she made it up when she was like 2) back to the story she was talking on the phone and she was continually saying "it was totally cool, or like this or like that over and over. I just have to laugh at my valley girl verbage that is affecting her. Here are some pics of trip to Waikiki and the beach from yesterday.

Happy Birthday Lukey Boy!! (Belated)

2008-04-06T23:01:00.001-07:00

Ok so I have been meaning to post Luke's birthday pics, but have not gotten to it until now. I really can't believe my little dude is 2 years old already! He has really been such a joy to our lives. He is everything a little boy should be super darling, sweet, mischievious, VERY ROUGH, crazy, loving and very caring attributes very apparent even at his young age. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. He is really the king of smirks and can make you laugh just by the looks he gives you. He has been given alot of nicknames such as: the king, bubs, bubby, Lukey-boy (Mia came up with that one and it's stuck) little dude. Here are some pictures from his first 2 years.

2008-04-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

Ok I have to write about our Safeway grocery experience. Not that it is really that exciting, but the prices are enough to write home about. I think about everyone knows milk is expensive here, it is now on sale for $5 a gallon normally 6.59, butter 4.99, eggs an 18 pack-hold on to your butts...7.89!! For stinking eggs! Oj 7.00, bread 4.50, basically everything is about 5.00 for normal, regular things. So our grocery bill was craaazy. I also commented to Beau that the people here are very androgynous, two of the workers were neither clearly a male or female. The bagger was only identified as female because of her name..Patricia. It would have been perfect if she used the abbreviated version..."Whaaat's that, it's Pat! Today we went to the pool and the last couple of days we have gone to the pool with the water noodles and Mia and Luke have had a great time with them, anyway today the security person came up to me to tell me that they were not allowed in the pool. So Luke is freaking out, so I call Beau who was sleeping to come over and bring some different floaty thing, so he come with water guns and little innertubes, and balls. The only thing allowed in the pool are water wings! No beach balls, no water toys of any manner, the inner tubes were actually allowed as well as long as they were using it as a floatation device. And the kicker is we were the only ones in the pool all day.

Aloha! From Hawaii

2008-04-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well we made it! It was pretty interesting trip here with 2 children, 1 who loves to complain and whine (she must because she is constantly doing it:) and 1 who whines and is constantly trying to run away and say NO!! So I was chasing Luke at the airport while being bogged down with a backpack 2 camera bags and a purse. And Beau had a guitar strapped to his back, a backpack and a stroller. So to say the least, we had our hands full. Right before we checked our 6 suitcases and 2 car seats, I told the kids I had special airplane juice (benedryl) to give them, because by then both kittens were driving me nuts! Unfortunatly, the special juice didn't work, in fact I believe it made them worse! It was Luke crying and whining and kicking the chair in front us wanting Beau constantly, Luke kicking and knocking over Mia's drink, Mia screams, then cries, trying to keep them occupied with coloring books, snacks, spongebob movies, their attention span was like 2 minutes for anything we tried. Then finally Luke fell asleep for about 2 hours, but when he woke up, we still had 2 and half more to go. It was a very long day for all of us. We have a very beautiful condo to stay in and the pool is right off our lanai we really could not ask for anything better. We also have 4 private lagoons to go to which we went to yesterday and it was awesome. Luke and Mia absolutly loved it. Mia has been in the sun for 2 days and all ready has tan lines. Lukey boy gets the spf 50 about every 20 minutes because his skin is so translucent you can practically see his internal organs moving about. Here are some pics from our first days here and I will be vigilant about updating often.

10,000 B.C. (Bull Crap)

2008-03-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

I went to the movies last night with my peeps, parents and sister and brother-in law and of course Beau and we went to 10,000 B.C. It looked like such a great movie from the previews, you see the woolly mammoths, and a warrior face to face with a saber tooth tiger. From that I was expecting a prehistoric Apoctolypto (which I thought was an awesome movie) but instead I got this bull crappy movie that fell way short of a movie goers expectations. I really hate paying 8.50 a ticket for complete mediocrity. I actually think most movies are quite mediocre so that is why I just usually rent, so I'm not out as much. I have seen a few movies in the last couple months and I would suggest Juno, very funny Ellen Page is fantastic portraying Juno McGuff a teen who becomes preggers and deals with decisions no teen should have to face. August Rush is an ok movie, it is a movie that is not believable at all, but if you want a feel good movie that is not thought provoking, just entertaining this one will do it. I Am Legend was on my fav movies this year. Will Smith did an amazing job. It was exciting, thrilling, scary everything a movie should be. Will Smith deserves an award just for the fact he was able to pull off a movie single-handily. I also recently saw Jumper starring Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson, it too was an ok movie about a guy who is able to "jump" to different places at any given time and who is being tracked to be killed by a radical group led by Samuel L. Jackson's character who believe
"jumpers" are evil and take advantage of society.

Laundry Disaster!!

2008-03-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so yesterday I went to get some clothes out of the dryer for Mia and I'm digging around and notice brown stains on everything in the dryer!! So I pull them all out to further inspect and all of her clothing are stained with brown nasty stains! I am pretty much furious but what can you do? So in a futile attempt, I practically used a full bottle of spray and wash to save the least damaged clothing, but to no avail, they are ruined. Ruined laundry is one of my biggest pet peeves...I hate it when chapstick gets left in jeans, I have left skin markers in my scrubs before, gum and of course chocolate! So needless to say, we have gone through plenty of clothes that are perfectly good and sometimes new with huge stains.

Beau's Finally Home!

2008-03-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

Beau was gone to Hawaii all last week and came home last friday, so it was super good to see him. Mia and Luke were so excited to have their daddy home (but maybe it was also the fact that he brought presents). When Beau leaves out of town for work I usually dread it because there is absolutely no break for me, but the week was really good, because we stayed busy doing things and the kids were easier than I expected. I think it's because they are a little older and they play together better now. So Beau is again leaving for Hawaii on March 30 until May 15 for work but this time the whole family gets to go! Woo Hoo!! I booked the tickets yesterday so it's a done deal. I'm a little nervous because its 6 weeks of being gone, and Mia is going to miss the rest of pre-school and her graduation which makes me sad but I really don't think 20 years from now she'll be damaged or even remember she even went to pre-school. The other thing is , I was going to take her with my friend Kelli and her daughter to their first broadway show Annie. So we will miss that, and that sucks because Mia knows all the songs (well all the major songs). But this will be a great trip and not something that we will have the chance to do for this long again.

Our little ski bunny

2008-02-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today Mia went on her first skiing trip and she absoutley loved it!! Beau took her along with her grandparents Ted and Karen, Aunt Amberlee, Aunt Angelee and Uncle Josh and her cousin Chloee. I didn't go because Luke is still too little and I watched Addee so her mom and sister could go. Beau said she was a regular ski-bunny and didn't want anybody's help. She wore everyone out and she didn't want leave. We are in trouble because we maybe go skiing once a year because it's so darn expensive and now our little daughter has found her new passion.:) She told Karen that she needs to go 100 more times this year, no 12 because she needs to get better so she can have poles like Chloee. Beau said she had an attitude all day because she knew she was good--we are in trouble. Everyone was telling her she was such a little ski-bunny and she said "where are the ski-bunnies, I want to see one."

I'm a first timer!!

2008-02-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

So this is my first blog entry. I decided to try it out because I have been reading so many and they are fun to read. I have read blogs of people I don't even know-is that weird? It is fun to get a glimpse of other peoples lives. I have found that the most interesting ones to read are the ones that are real and they don't try to make their lives seems perfect. I hope by doing this I can reconnect with people I don't often talk to and so people may get a glimpse of our life though I think my life is somewhat mundane and ordinary. But maybe this will give me the boost I need to be more interesting.