Our Crazy Life

2009-07-05T22:50:00.001-07:00

I forgot to add these photos!

Camping is Like Christmas

2009-07-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

Camping is like Christmas. When you're a kid it's the best thing in the world. Everything you need is provided, food, clothes, treats, entertainment you name it. Then you grow up and you discover what goes on behind the scene, and it's a whole lot of work. But it's worth it. Look at how much fun our kids had, we did too! It rained on us a little bit, but that just added to the fun. This camping trip was MUCH better than the four day, in a tent, middle of July hot, powdered dirt in every crack of everything and everyone, with three kids ages 3 and under, and a 3 month old baby at Fishlake camping trip we attempted 2 years ago. This time was a lot less work, and a lot more fun! Kaysen and Trent caught two fish. We ate one for dinner. And as Kaysen put it, "we survived in the wilderness."

2009-04-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

We're Back!

2009-04-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible about updating the blog, so here we go again. This is a quick update on what's been going on in out CRAZY life.

All of my family (the Randall's) came for Christmas, except for Ray and Joe, who we all missed the entire time. Most of the "activities" we planned fell through, so instead we did what we do best, talked, ate, played and shopped a lot. It was so great to be with everyone, and celebrate the Savior's birth. We finished the basement in the nick of time (do people still say that?) Collete and Steve helped us put the doorknobs on and scrub paint off the tub, and it has been SO nice to have all that extra space and storage. The kids love going downstairs to play now, and I love all the extra storage. If anyone wants to come visit us, we have plenty of room! I'll post some photos when I finish putting up all the extra stuff on the walls.

Trent spent most of February on business trips, so I was really excited when Rachel called and said she was coming to visit with Claire for a few weeks. We had such a great time with them! The girls just loved playing with her, and Kaysen made her laugh whenever she wanted to cry. We took a trip up to Idaho to visit Collete for a few days and got the crazy idea to give her living room a makeover. We had a small budget, but were able to do a lot. With eight kids age 7 and under, PLUS the kids Collete babysits as well, we somehow pulled it off.

While Rachel was here, we watched way too many lame movies, stayed up late talking, had pedicures, went thrift store shopping, played with our kids, and laughed a lot. Good times.

A few weeks later Trent and I headed down to Phoenix for a weekend getaway. We dropped the kids off in Monticello with the Grandparents and LaRose's, then drove the rest of the way down. It took us a few hours of driving by ourselves before we realized we didn't have to shout "cows" or "trains" or "look at the horses" every time we saw some. We could listen to something other than children's sing a long songs, and we didn't have to stop every hour for a potty break. We had so much fun just being with each other. We went to two spring training baseball games, ate at some great restaurants, watched movies, did a couple of local hikes, saw Indian ruins, had massages, slept in everyday, and had a great time. It was hard coming back to real life, but we missed our Kaysen, Addi, and Sadie and wanted to see them again.

That's about it. In the past few weeks we've been finishing up projects on the house. Meredith came to visit. Kaysen loved seeing his cousin Luke and it was fun to spend some one on one time with them. Spring is finally here so we're turning our focus outside trying to get the yard to come back to life. Anyone who knows my gardening skills can only imagine what it looks like. We are going to attempt building raised garden beds in the back yard tomorrow. Yeah, we'll see how that goes . . . .

2009-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post a few of the crazy things our kids have been up to. As you can see in the photo, there is rarely a quiet moment in our home. Some of my favorite sounds are the toilet flushing, all the kids laughing, catching pieces of their make-believe games, unbreakable confidence like Kaysen telling me he has a "great brain", or Addi reminding me of her beauty, Sadie trying to repeat every thing we say (good and bad!) and the sound of Trent's jeep pulling up to the house. Every time the four of us go out in public, with out fail, I get at LEAST 3 strangers saying, "Wow, you sure have your hands full." Every time. Well, at least they're not empty, and our home is always full of something! Here are some of the things that keep my hands busy.
Kaysen: Always asking questions like, why does it snow, why don't balloons float when we blow them up with our mouth, what time is it, can I have a snack, can I play the Wii, why don't we live in China, why did we buy this house, why, why and more whys. It's great. I love the way he expresses what he's thinking. When he wants me to forget something, like not being able to play the Wii, or ride his bike, he will ask me if he can do it, then when I say no he gets mad, stomps off, and says, "I wish that would just pop out of your brain!" Meaning he wants me to forget. Today when I told him what a good idea he had he said, "yeah, I have a great brain." He loves preschool, playing outside, playing with friends, learning new games, and teasing his sisters. He is a great helper, cleans his room up everyday, and is the first one to give me a hug when ever I'm angry. He makes everyone laugh when he acts silly, and still loves to throw things. He's broken a window, chair, lamp, and put a hole in the wall. We love Kaysen!

Addi: LOVES to give hugs, cuddles, and kisses. She holds the world record for longest neck hug and kiss and has earned the nickname magnet head. She is potty-trained, and loves changing her clothes. We are down to about 3 new sets a day. She wears anything from dress-up skirts and snow boots, to Kaysen's Christmas pajama shorts, pink cowboy boots, and her favorite ice cream shirt. She has no problem with variety. Addi is very self-reliant for the most part. She makes toast for the family, climbs on anything to get whatever she wants, and when she wants to do something she informs us that "She is the mom." She constantly gets into my make-up, lotion, Vaseline, jewelry, whatever is in reach. On of my favorite memories (well NOW it is) is when she came out of my bathroom with her hair slicked back and vaseline dripping off the ends. She says please and thank you so sincerely, is a good big sister to Sadie, and is starting to keep up with Kaysen. She likes coloring, painting, and pretending like she's her Aunt Nad. She still has tantrums over crazy things like whether her bowl is pink or the heel of her sock fitting just right. She can make anyone smile, and sweet and sassy is the best way to describe her.

Sadie: Always wants to be in the middle of everything. She has no fear of anything and will run, jump, and climb wherever her brother and sister go. She loves her babies, thumb, and blanket. It is so easy to make her smile, and when she laughs you just want to laugh with her. She likes to dance with Addi on top of the ottoman to their favorite songs, Another one Bites the Dust, Cecillia, and Stayin Alive. She's got some pretty good moves, takes after her mom. . . She trys to say every word we ask her to, so that's our entertainment some nights because they come out so funny. She is a whirlwind. Constantly getting into everything she can reach, pulling out, tipping over, climbing in, or dumping out whatever she comes in contact with. Our family wouldn't be the same with out her!

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No, I am Married to a 30 year old.

2009-01-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

My beautiful wife turned 30 on Jan 8th. She told me all she wanted was a card from me so instead I got her a printer. :) My reason is that I can write endless poems to her on my laptop and then print them over and over.

Anyway-Janell is pretty cool and amazing, even if she is in her 30s. I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and that I love you!

From Addi: vbnm,./sdffffffgffdfghmnm,,./eeertyyu
From Kaysen: jyuitiijtiyuriytiritgjmgi8799itii43fgi5yujire----kaysen

Sadie is taking a nap but I'm sure she would type something like... alkdhfuehfadki

We love you!

2009-01-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

Another year older and wiser too

2009-01-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

These are the words to a primary birthday song that my mother would make us sing at each of our birthday parties every year. The best part of the song is when you shout HOORAY! Mom would make sure each of us shouted as loud as possible while punching the air with our fists. If she didn't feel the enthusiasum we would have to do it again. I'm proud to say I continue this tradition with my own family, only right now, I'm the only one who sings and punches. Kaysen is still learning the words, Addi is making up some song of her own, Sadie is already eating the cake, and Trent is just looking at me. It will catch on.

We sing this song 3 times in a 6 week period. Trent's birthday comes first, then Kaysen's on New Years Eve, and mine is on the 8th of January (hope everyone wrote that down). We just celebrated Kaysen's and for the first time he was able to invite friends. He is still in love with Lighting McQueen, and wanted that for his theme. I stuck to the old fashion party at home with games, treats, more games, presents, and cake. No jumping things, swimming pools, super slides, or McDonalds. We had a full house, and I think they all had a good time.

Kaysen loved eating with his special plate, getting to go first for everything, and playing the Wii extra long that day. He was a little put out when he asked for the birthday plate the next morning and I told him, "Sorry kid, your birthday's over." His number one threat to his sisters (and parents) for the last few months has been, "you're not coming to my birthday" so now that it's over I'm curious to see what will take it's place.

Happy Birthday and thanks for the memories mom.

I'm Married to a 30 year old. . .

2008-12-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

Trent is 30 . . . wow. Every year for the last uh, 6 years Trent has been secretly expecting a surprise party for his birthday. He never had one as a kid and felt slighted all this time, so this year I decided to really throw one, not just pretend to. I don't know how surprised he REALLY was. He picked up on all my attempts to throw him off, so he wasn't "super" surprised, but it was fun anyway. We had wings, icecream cake, family and friends. Thanks to everyone who came, and we missed all of you who didn't! Happy Birthday Trent!

2008-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

2008-11-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

Jealousy

2008-11-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

Jealousy. I kind of like seeing it in Trent. It makes me feel . . . wanted. Yes, I did go to the midnight show. A friend called at 9:30 and offered me a free ticket. What would you do? I know what everyone of you ladies (besides Liz M.) would do. Go, that's what you would do. So I did, and I screamed, and we all giggled, and it was fun, and I saw a 40 year old wearing a purple sparkle prom dress. Yeah . . . then it wasn't so fun anymore.

Let's talk about things that matter, like my family, namely my husband T-dawg. We had our family photos taken a few weeks ago by Candace. www.candacejanephotography.com She did an amazing job as always. Take a look at some of my favorites.

Please....

2008-11-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dearest Janell,

Please post something about your wonderful evening, I was thrilled to hear you came and watched my movie at midnight last night with all those ladies wearing prom dresses and amazingly clever shirts that expressed love for me. I miss the squealing during the opening credits and all the giddy excitement, I also miss junior high. My darling, till next time. Please ease your thinking of me, it only makes it harder to let go.
Warmest Wishes (whispering),

Edward.

PS Class of 97 rocks. See you at recess.

2008-11-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Twilight of Blogging

2008-11-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

So, as I sat down this evening with a few extra minutes on my hands, and no kids around, and Trent not on the computer I decided to get online. I made my usual rounds on the computer, email, cake mail, KSL listings and then the Stephanie Meyer page. Yep, you read that right. I'm a Twilight fan, and for some odd reason I've found myself every night for the past week getting onto her sight, watching all the movie trailers, reading all the magazine articles, and I'm embarrassed to admit, I even looked at the InStyle photo shoot. So, when I got online tonight and started to type in steph I asked myself, "Are you 14? Is the next thing going to be wanting a movie poster of Edward, or begging the ticket attendant at the theater for the stand up. Come on Janell, there's more to life that Twilight. " And then I thought of blogging. The blog has now been added to the official list of things to do each night when I get online or have a free minute to myself. It has taken the place of StephanieMeyers.com. But no one can take the place of Edward. . .

Cake Galore

2008-08-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have 5 wedding cakes this week! Oh and one Star Gate specialty cake......I will post pics as soon as I can. In the mean time I wanted to post a couple of other cakes that I've recently made. My camera is broke so I haven't been able to get pics of the last 7 cakes.

Danielle Wins!

2008-07-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

danielle is making me blog... i keep telling her i am too busy.. my life is crazy... but she finally broke.. she's freaking out.. she's at my house standing staring at me, forcing me.. HELP!!!

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