Mamma's Little Helper

Last Sunday I decided to make brownies from scratch. Both Stella and T love to help me out anytime I bake. Especially Tristan these days. Lately whenever I am in the kitchen baking, making dinner or cleaning he is right there to help me! Anyway, we were in the last few steps of making brownies when Tristan, who was standing on a chair next to me, lost his balance. On his way down he was holding onto the bowl which in turn dumped all of the flour on his head! He was completely covered! I couldn't help but laugh. By the time Bill found the camera Tristan had wiped some of the flour off his face, but as you can see there was plenty still on him. After a few pictures and a quick bath, Tristan was back by my side helping me with a new batch of brownies. Luckily these ones turned out! Thanks for being my little helper T-Boy!

Stella's Special Day

On Saturday, March 14th Stella had a very fun and eventful day! That morning she went to our church to make Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts with the primary children. After which the four of us went to the District to have lunch with Dellany and Tremayne. They were pretty well behaved until the last few minutes when Tristan started climbing over to the boothe behind us. Nobody was sitting there luckily. We had a great time visiting with them! Stella was really into her coloring so she didn't have a lot to say, but I don't think they minded.

After lunch Stella and I went to Disney on Ice with Melissa and Kaden. I don't know who was more excited, Stella or me. I think events like these are even better when you have your own children and you get to see how thrilled they are to be there and have that experience. Stella was entertained the whole time. Lately she has been on a Lion King kick ever since we introduced it two weeks ago. She has the songs memorized and sings them all day. Not to mention she watches the movie everyday, sometimes twice. The look on her face when Lion King and The Little Mermaid came out made my day! She is at the perfect age to take her to these things. I had so much fun spending the day with her!

Meanwhile.....Bill and Tristan hung out at home enjoying some male bonding over watching the Jazz game. Stella was excited to come home and show her dad the pictures from our big day out! I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday Tristan!

This weekend we have been celebrating Tristan's 2nd birthday! He acts like he's 3, but I swear we just barely had his first birthday. My sister says you notice how fast time goes when you're watching your little ones grow up. That is so true! I'm getting really old. Anyway, we started out the festivities with our 2 hour trip to Arctic Circle. Wahoo! I know, party animals! I figure it's better than nothing. Melissa, Kaden, Tyler, Emily and Dylan all joined us and the kids had a blast playing in their play place. Plus it wore them both out and they crashed when we got home!

Back-tracking a few days we had a little birthday party for Tristan and Calder at Ron and Becky's house on Wednesday. Calder turned 11 this year and their birthdays are just a few days apart so we had a combined party for the boys. Tristan got a heavy duty dump truck that he loves! He woke up the next day and that was the first thing he asked for! He loves to load it up with toys and push it around the house.

Friday evening when Bill got home (Tristan's actual birthday) we gave him his present. As soon as he saw what it was he SCREAMED like a little girl! It was the cutest thing!!! My kids give some good reactions when they get presents. We gave him a Cars trike. It has all kinds of buttons that talk, play music and flash lights. I knew it would be a great Tristan present when I saw it! Later that night we went to Chucky Cheese. The kids were excited to go and play games and ride in the little cars.

And finally to end the festivities we had a party for him at our house on Sunday with the Robbins side as well as Ashley and Debo. We had dinner, opened presents and had more cake and ice cream. Ashley and Debo gave him a big dinosaur that sniffs, grunts, and even plays fetch! At first Tristan was nervous about it, but it didn't take him long to warm up to playing with it. Ashley brought a present for Stella, which totally made her day! Tristan got tons of cute clothes, tools, and a truck. I love watching him figure out new things and watching his cute expressions. He is such a joy and I am so glad to have the opportunity to watch him grow. I can't believe he is two and I already dread the day when he thinks he won't need his mother, but I certainly try to ingrain the moments in my memory of when he does want and need me. I hope this year goes a little slower...

The Fire Station

Last week I tagged along with Stella and her Pre-School class on their field trip to the West Jordan Fire Station. We had a rather large group because both of the Pre-K classes attended. I wish I had gone last year because everyone I talked to said it was so much better. This time around they were having a meeting with some of the firemen and so the kids had to be very quiet. Last year they got to get in the ambulance and fire truck. Some kids even got to try on the fire gear! Stella however, gets scared whenever she sees men in their get-up, particularly the masks. They even came home with cute fire hats and rulers.

This year it was at a different station and they didn't do any of that. The kids did get to sit in the driver's seat though. Stella posed like a good girl when she got up there. And Tristan was so funny because he was standing in front of all of the kids and every time the Fireman would put another kid on the seat he would look disappointed, but he still waited patiently. I finally had to ask him to let Tristan have a turn. Tristan finally got his chance to sit in the big seat and he loved it. He is such a truck and car boy! I knew he would love seeing the fire truck.

Since our field trip ended a bit early we faced the cold weather and played at the park for about 20 minutes. Then Stella, Tristan, and I went to lunch with Melissa and the boys. It was a fun morning, especially since we had been under quarantine for the past week! (Not really, but it felt that way sometimes)

What is your dream???

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
" I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."


Today is MLK day. I have to say that every time I hear his "I have a dream speech" I get chills from head to toe! Pretty much any time I have heard him speak I get chills. He was such a passionate man who gave everything he had to making sure everyone had equal rights. I am thankful for his leadership and his willingness to stand up for what is right. Tomorrow we will have a new president and wether or not we voted for him I am glad to see how much our country has progressed. It is about time we had someone of mixed race in office! I hope our country will begin to improve and see many positive changes.

My dream is much like Martin Luther King Jr.'s. I dream for a better world for my children where everyone has equal opportunities regardless of race, gender or creed. I dream that my children will always feel safe and secure no matter where they are. I dream that we will all leave our mark on this earth in our own way and leave it better than before. I dream that we will begin to see less violence and hate and see more peace and love. That is my dream! What's yours?

Christmas Portrait Pictures

December Sum Up

It's hard to believe the holidays, not to mention another year, has come and gone. I have a lot of catching up to do so if needed to grab a drink and use the bathroom because we could be here a while. Or if you would rather, just enjoy the cute pictures of my family! Here we go.

Starting off our festivities we had our yearly Christmas with the Carroll's/Higby's. We like to get together before things get crazy. Stella had asked for the new Princess Kitchen Set. Much to her glee she not only got that from them but also the matching tea set. She was so excited and if you look at Dell's blog you can see the picture of her expression. I think Tremayne was as excited to give Stella her gift as she was to receive it. I always love our Christmases with the Carroll's. It takes me back to our first Christmas with them. That is one of my most, in not most, memorable Christmas I've had. They have welcomed us into their family with open arms. Tristan certainly had no problem making himself at home. Dave was his buddy for the evening. We had such a wonderful time with them!
The following weekend we went to Temple Square. It was freezing cold, but it was fun going out as a family to see the lights and the nativity. Stella especially loved to see the nativity that was set up. She named one of the camel's Humphrey (shout out to Dell!) She said her favorite part was "seeing the big Jesus." That was and still is my favorite part of going to Temple Square.

Christmas Eve was so much fun. This is my favorite day of the year. There is still the anticipation of the next day and I love spending that time with my family. Shaun and Mistee with kids in tow came up from Richfield. My whole family got together and we went sledding in my neighborhood. Mistee we have nicknamed Biff due to several graceful slide offs. I have to admit I had one good biff myself as I was trying to take out my mom, who was standing at the bottom the whole time taking pictures. I think everyone had a blast! Afterwards we met at my house for some chili and other good food. We enjoyed playing games and watching The Christmas Story.

Christmas day finally came! Talk about a white Christmas. We got dumped on! But first things first. Stella woke up and made sure Santa ate all of his cookies she had left out the night before. He did and even left them a note.

Tristan was still a little sleepy when we started to open presents but he perked right up when he realized he got new things with each box that was handed to him. Stella of course gasped as she saw all of the present under the tree. They got quite a few things and were very happy with everything that was given. Ron and Becky came over that morning to see what the kids had gotten. Of course five minutes before they got here the power went out and came back on just before they left. It was so windy that it made the snow much worse than it probably was. Driving to my parents was ridiculous. We couldn't hardly see 5 feet in front of us. The rest of the day was crazy busy. We went to my parents for breakfast, then to see my Grandpa Robbins whom I have not seen for about two years, afterwards we went to the cemetery to wish Liam a Merry Christmas, then over to G&G Duffin's. From there we came home for about an hour to shovel our driveway again. Then that evening we went to Ron and Becky's. Our Christmas ended around 9:00. I loved every minute of it, but was glad it was over with! Stella said one of her favorite parts of Christmas was seeing Tristan open his presents. Isn't that just precious? I thought so.

Finally, New Years. We rocked in the new year at Jason and Suzanne's house by playing games and singing karaoke. I think my calling in life is to be a front stage singer, however everyone else that was at the party may disagree. Bill sat way in the back embarrassed of me. Not that I can blame him. We had fun and I have made my resolutions for this year. I am not someone who makes a goal and if I don't follow through for more than a month I give up. I am the type of person who likes to set goals throughout the year and not feel horrible about myself if it's not accomplished as soon as I imagined. As long as I'm striving to better myself and accomplish even little things (lately it's been yoga poses that I'm getting better at) I am happy. Anyways, I hope this year will bring us all many wonderful surprises and much happiness.