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Dallas and I usually keep our birthday's pretty low key... stay at home with the kids, eat dessert together, watch a movie. This year at the last minute we decided to invite some neighbors over to roast marshmallows and just hang out. It ended up being so much fun, I am so glad we did it! It might have to be a new tradition for Dallas' birthday. 

Dallas thought he was so tough being the only one not wearing a jacket... crazy. 

It was such a fun night! The weather was perfect for a fire, we got rained on at the end but it turned out great.  (Excuse the blurry photos... I was being a stubborn photographer and didn't want to use the flash.) 

Dallas now has one year left to enjoy his 20's. We are going to start it off by going to see Brian Regan at the end of the month. Dallas was pretty surprised to see that he got tickets and not just some boring socks that he needed (I am so sneaky!)...

Halloween

The pictures really say it all. Halloween was fun this year, just like every other year :) I have to say that the kids enjoyed trick or treating a little more this year, now that they are older. 

The kids couldn't wait to carve the pumpkins and then Dallas and I ended up doing all the work. But it was fun... maybe next year they will enjoy it more. 

It was a nice night... A little cold but bearable. First we went trick or treating on our street and then we headed to the ward trunk or treat...

Here are the kids with their friends Dylan, Lauren and Ethan. Evan and Ethan took off around the parking lot... they didn't seem to need any help :)

She is 3!

Makiah turned three yesterday and we had such a fun day! We had a fun water party with friends in the morning and then enjoyed the rest of the day together. She was on cloud nine all day... she loved every minute. 

Leading up to her birthday the kids were so excited. Everyday Evan would ask how many nights were left till the party. He made her a card and wrapped it up along with some gifts he picked out. He carried the gifts in a bag all day Friday... I think he was more excited than Makiah. 

We were so happy that so many of Makiah's friends could come to the party! We had such a great time...

Makiah needed some help blowing those candles...

My lazy attempt at a birthday cake (*cough* cup cakes I should say), though I think it turned out kinda cute...

Makiah loved all of her gifts (thank you everyone!!). She has not been bored for a second this weekend. 

Grandma Johnson saved the day with a dress... Makiah has been talking endlessly about ballerinas, princesses and dresses. She has it all with this cute little skirt, leotard, ballet shoes and crown. She was in heaven all afternoon!

A few weeks ago I was putting Makiah to bed and she said that she wanted Grandma to get her a ballerina dress for her birthday. I said okay, we can ask her. Makiah continued and said... "Get your phone out of your pocket." So we called Grandma right then and she asked her for her precious dress. Practically every day after that Makiah was thinking up something that she wanted Grandma to send her. I hope Grandma doesn't think Makiah is greedy... we are trying not to spoil her... I promise!

I finally got her some cute doll house people... she didn't play with the funny wooden ones much. She loves playing with her doll house now :)

After the party we left the mess (we were so hungry!) and went to lunch. The kids had coupons to Texas Roadhouse and Evan was so excited to go. When we were waiting for the food he was so frustrated that Dallas and I were already eating our salads. He kept asking where the food was and said that he was so hungry. I thought it was funny because he really doesn't eat much, especially at new restaurants. Finally he got his food and he ate it ALL so fast. I felt so bad that he was that hungry. Never has he eaten all of his food at a restaurant.

As any mom would say... I really can't believe she is 3! She has grown up so much. She is such a fun, silly girl with so much personality. We love her so, so much!

Utah Friends

So... almost a month ago I jumped on a plane with my two kids and headed off to Utah. This has become a yearly thing that I look forward to... well, all year long. We already miss it there and we talk/think about it often. We had a GREAT time.

I planned the trip around my friend Emily's wedding, and I am so glad I did. It was wonderful seeing her on her wedding day. Emily and I grew up together and later we were roomies at USU. Ahhh. The good ol' days. I also got to see Kristen (who was our roommate), she came to the reception and we also hung out the next day (which was sooo nice and fun!).

I also got to see my high school friends Ashley and Stephanie. They are both single, dating and driving Mazda 3's... I am married, pregnant, and thinking about buying a mini van. It was fun to catch up with them and remember the good old days :)

Amanda and her husband came and played with us at the park one day. She is the cutest girl! I am so glad she came to see us. She is a friend of my sister Shannon and we all used to go dancing at Trolley Square every week. Good times, good times.

There were so many others that I saw... or wish I could've seen. I always wish that I had more time to see you all and catch up with you all.

Blog Stalking

So. I have a bunch of really nice/cool/fun friends. They all stalk my blog and leave me really nice comments. Thanks friends! I had fun reading all your comments this past weekend. I am glad I *ordered* you all to comment... you all had such nice things to say. Thanks! I also have fun reading all of your blogs.  You are all wonderful. If I don't comment enough on your blog, I will try harder.... but because of my lack of commenting I understand completely if you all read, but don't have time to comment on my blog. You all rock!

So this is random, but I had the time so I did it :) It always seems that when someone comments and then I reply in a comment, I end up wondering if that person will come back to read my reply. Anyway... this time I thought it would be fun to reply in a post. All of your last comments made me so happy and they all got me thinking so here are my replies....

@Tiffany: I like stalking your blog too... and aerobics rocks, I love it so much. One day I will come on Fridays too... but for now that is my lazy-sleep-in-till-nine-day :( One day though, I promise :)

@Bethany: Ummm, we are related sister! (I think you already knew that) And yes, Mom is my go to girl. I love calling her.

@Mary: Bedtime. Yes. No patience at all! My kids are getting to the stage where the just want one more drink or one more story. Ahhh! Just go to sleep please... thank you :)

@Kristen: Definetely enjoy those boys of yours, they are so cute! ...and I'll try to resolve the girl issues with Kiah. She really is a sweetie.

@Colleen: You will have a blast with those cute girls of yours! And I am glad you enjoyed the last post :)

@Kim: Yes. Someone I can confide in! You know all about the fun girl drama...though I am always impressed with Molly and how sweet she is!

@Sheena: Laundry? Really? I am impressed. I am glad someone can enjoy it!

@Christi: I love your posts too... it's fun to get to know you more and more :)

@Angie: We do have much in common! Our kids are so close in age and are going through a lot of the same things. I am always interested in what you have to say on your blog. I wish we lived in Utah so we could hang out so our kids can get to know each other!

@Celeste: I always appreciate your comments! Thank you! Thanks for sharing your April Fools joke, too funny!! It gave me a good laugh :)

@Julia: I hope you are enjoying that cute baby of yours! Enjoy your time off from Aerobics... but I will be glad when you can come back!

@Tracy: We should get together sometime! I always am so happy to see you! And about the clutter... I guess my only secret is to not have any. Dallas and I move almost every year and each time we just get rid of anything that we don't use. Since we won't be moving this year I am thinking of just going through everything and getting rid of anything that is non-sentimental and not being used :) It really helps to keep things organized and clean. I have never regretted getting rid of anything except an old computer... but I got over that :) But I have to admit that my house isn't always organized and clean! I try though! Also I try not to buy things that will just add to the clutter... unless I get rid of other things first. Hope this helps!

@Cami: I am glad you check my blog... maybe I'll have to start posting twice a day just for you!

@Heidi: Thanks for reading! You should start a blog too :) It would be fun to read what's going on... we should get together! It's been awhile.

@Alison: Yeay! I am glad that you and Joel both read. It makes me happy that he likes hearing about my kids! We miss you both!

@Emily: Dallas LOVES to surprise me. He always has something up his sleeve and is constantly bugging me about it (though it is fun to get gift etc. so I shouldn't complain!). He also likes to keep secrets... like when he got accepted to Purdue he didn't want to tell anyone until his graduation at USU. It drove me nuts! I am surprised that I was able to keep that a secret. When I have something exciting going on I'd rather just tell everyone and anyone right away.

@Ross: You and Dallas are a lot alike... I wonder what other similarities Melanie and I have... Thanks for reading! I didn't know you read my blog at all :)

@Kim: I love your blog too... and your pictures. It is so nice having a blogging/photographer friend that lives so close! We really should get together and do something photography related sometime. I bet I could learn so much from you!

Phew!

So... just a few things to add from my last post... or update rather.

1. I cleaned my bathrooms today... and swept, mopped, and vacuumed my house. Just for those of you who might have worried about my house being sanitary :) I really do clean my house I promise... I just don't do it as often as I should!

2. Kiah's clothing drama... WOW. I think she has a compulsive problem. Because of a BIG dilemma on Saturday I had to take away her white outfit and put it in a "timeout."  Now she has a pink outfit that she has to wear. We'll see how that goes. I am trying not to give into her crying. Wow. She is a fun one.

3. My kids still watch too much T.V. Especially during General Conference weekend. At least Dallas and I were able to watch conference while the kids enjoyed themselves... right? Maybe next year they will have the attention span to watch a little bit with us. Evan tried and even played a bingo game with me, but it didn't last long. We really enjoyed listening to all the talks. I have learned to LOVE General Conference! It is so nice to be at home, relaxed and able to listen to the Prophet and Apostles. I love it!



P.S. If you actually read all of that... wow! I really should put some pictures up... my past couple of posts need a little more color and variety :)

4 Years Old??

It's official. He is not a baby anymore. He isn't even a toddler. He is 4! But a very cute 4 year old at that. We all had a great time on his birthday....

He got really shy when everyone started to sing to him and he covered his face...

I had so much fun with his cake last year so I had to do something fun again. This dump truck cake was so cute! 

Evan had a small and simple construction themed birthday party... I made some cute signs and trucks to hang on the walls and we played pin the wheel on the truck :) Evan loved the gifts that everyone was so kind to give him. Thank you to everyone who helped make Evan's birthday so special!

The good stuff :)

Just as planned Santa came to our house after we were all sound asleep :) Thank you Santa! We are so grateful for all the fun gifts....

Santa brought Kiah her Dora bike that she has been asking for non-stop for the past 3-4 weeks. Santa did not disappoint! She loves her bike and she is getting really good at riding it. Evan was really specific about what he wanted...  a yellow truck, with a scoop in front and a digger in back. The pictures don't show much excitement... I think he was still a little sleepy when he opened it. He loves his truck and he wants to take it everywhere! Unfortunately we don't let him take it with him to church...

Mommy and Daddy gave Kiah her first Cabbage Patch doll :) I love the way they smell... don't you? It was a surprise baby... after you open the box you find out if it is a girl or a boy. Kiah's was a boy and his name was Enrique... we changed it to Macks in honor of our little Macky :)

For once in my whole entire life I surprised Dallas! It was not easy. I got him the Readers Digest Christmas Song Book. He is really happy with it... too bad Christmas is over. I also got him a Nutcracker and some nuts... every Christmas he asks for them and finally I got them for him.

Poor Dallas got to spend Christmas sick in bed. He thought the day before (after having been sick) that he was getting better.... we were wrong. By that evening he was doing much better. 

Dallas was so sweet and bought me this pretty mirror :) I love it and have been wanting one since we moved here. Thanks Dallas!!

My favorite part of the day was having Christmas dinner with our good friends. The food was wonderful and we had SOOO much fun, as always. These kids love each other so much and always have a great time together. It was so fun to see them play with their new toys and to enjoy running around together. Dallas and I had fun too :) It is so nice to have so many good friends around to spend special days with. We are so lucky!

I have more to show... of course! I still want to thank our wonderful families for the gifts the sent us, but first I need to get the pictures together. I will be posting more very soon!