Our #3

I just felt like highlighting each of my kids and some fave pics. I'm starting out of order with Preston and will continue with our other kiddos as soon as I get all my pictures on a disk since the USB cord is AWOL... So, here's to our #3 baby!

Love those blue eyes.

Love those baby-days curls.

Love that instead of "yes" you say "yeps!"

Love your love of the game.

Love your cheeks that go for days.

Love your mischievous ways.Love your tenderness.
Love your mood swings.
Love your fashion sense.

Love you Preston!

A twist on old favorites

Trevor: Knock, knock.

Mom: Who's there?

Trevor: Orange.

Mom: Orange who?

Trevor: Orange and bananas!!! (followed by much laughter on his part, not so much mine)

******

Preston: Knock, knock

Mom: Who's there?

Preston: Boo.

Mom: Boo who?

Preston: Boo hoo kying!!!! (translation: "crying")

******

Mom: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Paige: Why?....Oh wait, let me think about this....

Mom: Are you ready?

Paige: No! Wait, don't tell me...um....okay, just tell me.

Mom: To get to the other side!

Paige: (pause) Mom, that's not really funny.

Mom: I know.

What He'll Miss

So I always tease Steve that, though I have little quirks that irk sometimes, he will miss them when I'm gone....I'm not sure where I'm going, but it has become a catch-phrase for me to make him laugh about these little things. If you're curious, here they are:

1. When I use the microwave, I don't always cook things until it beeps, thus leaving a few seconds on the timer. They just sit there blinking at us. Who knows, maybe I'll need to cook something for 1or2 seconds later that day and that saves me atleast 2 button-pushes.

2. I like to fall asleep with white-noise. The bathroom fan is the perfect candidate.

3. I like to buy and plant pretty flowers, and then forget to water them.

4. If I turn the computer on in the morning, I leave it on all day. Even if I do turn it off, what's the point of always shutting the computer armoire door, just in case I need to do an emergency blog (????) and get the keyboard really fast. There's got to be some logic to this, I'm sure.

5. I rarely hang up the car keys on the cute little key holder I bought for this very purpose.

6. I ask him nightly before we go to bed if he checked on the kids, even if I already did.

7. I never get the mail from the mailbox. I'm not sure why. It's just down the street, but I don't want to get it. Sometimes he'll ask if I got it just for a laugh, because he already knows the answer.

8. I always move the driver's seat to the van unnecessarily close to the steering wheel so when it is his turn to drive, he acquires some new bruises on his knees before he has a chance to adjust the seat back. Unfortunately for him, I get a kick out of this scene.

Now that it's almost 4:30, I guess I should go think about dinner....(see previous post to catch the drift)

ABC Tag

A-Attached or Single?-Attached, sealed, unified, bound, connected, hitched and other synonyms

B-Best Friend- Esteban (aka Steve, my hubs)

C-Cake or Pie?- Either if they begin with the word "Chocolate"

D-Day of choice?- Saturday. I wake up almost giddy on the inside when I realize it's Saturday. I love having Steve to ourselves the whole day (usually) and working in the yard together or doing chores together, grocery shopping, whatever, I love when our whole family is doing anything together.

E-Essential item?- Skim Milk--Seriously, sometimes I shiver at the thought that someday I might not be able to acquire it (aka all the cows die of some terrible cow disease, or gas gets so expensive that they can't ship milk out...) For more craziness, see the letter "P" below.

F-Favorite color?-Red

G-Gummy bears or worms? Neither. They hurt my teeth and are made primarily with the evil ingredient (again, see "P" below)

H-Hometown?-It's in California

I-Favorite Indulgence? Easy. That would be the Brownie Sundae Cheesecake with extra slivered almonds at Cheesecake Factory

J-January or July?- January in AZ and July in Utah

K-Kids?-4 Paige, Trevor, Preston, and Gavin

L-Life isn't complete without? Humor

M-Marriage Date?-August 21, 1999

N-Number of Bro & Sis?-2 bros, 1 sis

O-Oranges or Apples? Cutie oranges and Pink Lady apples

P-Phobias and Fears? Yes, many.......Oh-- you want me to list them? Well, here are a simple few: Bugs or anything creepy-crawly, Cancer, High Fructose Corn Syrup (sort of an inside joke, but I do try to avoid it), Pesticides on food, standing on the shower drain (I told you--nothing but craziness). Luckily there is always letter "L" (review above)

Q-Quote?- I can no sooner choose a favorite quote than I can a favorite scripture. However, here's a good one: "If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." --J.W. Goethe

R-Reason to smile?- My babies are healthy and happy.

S-Season of choice? Autumn all the way!

T-Tag Ten People? Who wants it? I'd love to learn the ABC's about you!

U-Unknown fact about me?- I used to be fluent in Conversational ASL. I took 2 years of Sign Language at BYU, but haven't really used it since. I know I could still carry on a basic conversation, but not very intelligently.

V-Vegetable?- Zucchini

W-Worse habit?- There are many to choose from...but one that is so unwise and proof that I'm a procrastinator is that I always decide what dinner will be at about 4:30 or 5 o'clock --when everyone is already hungry and irritable. Really, this happens daily. It's pathetic and I should get my act together.

X-X Ray?- yes, A free x-ray when I went to a new chiropractor. It was of my neck and my back and we found that I have uneven hips and my neck bones arch backwards (probably from a car accident when I was little)--weird.

Y-Your favorite food? Mexican

Z-Zodiac sign?Leo

Long lost brothers

Tagged about my man!

1. Who is your man? Steve

2. How long have you been together? 9 years

3. How long dated? 2 1/2 months - Engaged? 2 1/2 months (hey, when it's right, it's right)

4. How old is your man? 31

5. Who eats more? We both have pretty good appetites.

6. Who said "I love you" first? Steve. We were standing on the Santa Monica Pier in CA at night, looking over the rail at the waves. It was extremely romantic...my head was spinning and I was dizzy and it took my breath away.

7. Who is taller? Steve

8. Who sings better? Me, but Steve won me over with his Harry Connick Jr imitation.

9. Who is smarter? I'm gonna go ahead and say we are both pretty intelligent.

10. Who's temper is worse? Mine

11. Who does the laundry? Usually me, but he's been particularly helpful in that area lately.

12. Who does the dishes? Both of us.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.

14. Who pays the bills? Steve. He's our Excel Spread Sheet Budget Man.

15. Who has bigger feet? Steve.

16. Who has longer hair? Me, but Steve has great hair.

17. Who is better with the computer? Oh, I guess Steve.

18. Who mows the lawn? Steve

19. Who cooks dinner? Me.

20. Who drives when you are together? Steve.

21. Who pays when you go out? Steve if it's a date, but me if we're at the store with the family. He will take everyone to the van to load up while I pay.

22. Who is most stubborn? Neither of us is stubborn, but I do like to get my way...is that stubborn?.... ;)

23. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Steve

24. Whose parents do you see the most? Steve's, they live in Phoenix too.

25. Who kissed who first? Pretty sure it was mutual.

26. Who asked who out? Steve asked me out. We had been friends for awhile and one day I was rehearsing a song in my room for an audition and he and his roommate called me from their bedroom window (yes, our windows faced each other). He asked me to a symposium at BYU with Gerald Lund, then we went to dinner at Los Hermanos.

27. Who proposed? He did, on June 12th on the roof of my parents home in Clovis, CA, at sunrise.

28. Who is more sensitive? We take turns.

29. Who has more friends? I have more friends, but I think Steve is more friendly.

30. Who has more siblings? Same, both have 3.

31. Who wears the pants in the family? He wears the pants, but I tell him which ones to put on!

Love you Steve-O!!

I tag Jaimi, Carrie, and Danielle.

Stephenie's latest

Despite my inner fight to avoid reading it just because everyone else did, I've joined the ranks of Twilight Series fans and hoped for the best with this new one, "The Host". Like many of you, I'm no Sci-Fi fan, but she's got me reeled in. This was pretty captivating and I love her writing style. It's no Edward and Bella, but it's one I couldn't put down. I'm going to name drop here and have you know that I was Stephenie Meyer's visiting teacher when we first moved here to Phoenix...we even co-directed a Relief Society play together...here's to her naming one of her characters after me! (fingers crossed)

And the winner is...

Yay!

Let's Talk "Idol"--part 2

So my friend Kelly made a strong comment about the previous article so I am adding a little clarification so that she will still respect me as a singer-- LOL. I WAS a pretty big fan of Jason Castro in the beginning. I feel like his last good performance was "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and then it just got more and more awkward and more and more sad after that. The past month or so, I always felt embarrassed for him as he was singing. It is clear that he is NOT a natural performer, however, I stand by my opinion of his voice. I will love his CD (I hope it's a Jack Johnson type collection of songs--see my playlist--->) and hope that he stays in the recording studio and away from the stage...

David Cook still gets my vote.

Let's talk "Idol"

So, I was a pretty big fan of Jason Castro...I could do without the dreads (do they wash that?) but it added to his character. Plus, his voice was pretty fantastic in a mellow, easy-to-listen-to, folksy way. Beautiful tone and quality...anyway, he's gone and Steve and I both agree we will buy his CD when it undoubtedly makes it debut. Also, love David Cook. Also buying the CD. He makes anything he sings just cool. He's a real musician and ya gotta love that. Love Mormon boy Archuleta. He'll probably win and kudos to him. Check out this article my best girl Molly sent me. It's pretty interesting with the take on all of the "Reality-Show Mormons" http://www.newsweek.com/id/135758

I think I watch this show because I secretly wish it was me...I dream of being the Soccer Mom contestant that all the young moms get behind and vote for...but, oh yeah, I'm TOO OLD TO TRY OUT....Oh well, there's still the Animated-Disney-Princess-voice-over-dream....

Gotta love a good Tag!

Tagged by my lovely neighbor Natalie. Here goes:

3 Joys:
1) When prayers are answered
2) When my hubby walks in the door at the end of the day
3) When my child poops in the toilet for the first time--seriously--the heart leaps.

3 Fears: (only three?...okay I'll try):
1) That one of my kids will get stung by a scorpion (a reality in AZ)
2) That someone will break in while we are home
3) That "The Office" will someday go off the air...

3 Goals:
1) To get ORGANIZED (this includes food storage)
2) To get back in shape and feel strong and healthy
3) To invent a fabric that is spit-up and baby poop repellant

3 Current Obsessions/Collections:
1) Blogging
2) American Idol
3) Craigslist

3 Random/Surprising facts:
1) 20/200 eyesight--I can barely get out of bed in the morning without my glasses on
2) I enjoy doing laundry--the smell, the accomplishment, the re-stocked drawers...
3) I'm a great speller. Always have been. Runner up in 5th grade spelling bee. Pride myself on never using spell-check (well, 99.9% of the time)

I tag anyone reading this who is in the mood for it!

Temple Trip

This weekend we also made a trip to the Mesa Temple while my in-laws watched our kids. It was a great morning session and then we went to the visitors center and saw some of the most breath-taking photography I've ever seen which depicts the Savior's life. See a slideshow of the photos with music here: http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

Then we went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch and headed home where everyone took a swim as we opened our pool for the summer!! (Yes, it's pretty much summer here already) Then that evening was a night of "Joseph" (see below). Great weekend making memories!!

"Go, Go, Go Joseph!"

So, I was in a Stake production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" this weekend and I thought I'd post some pictures my mom took. If you are familiar with the musical, I was one of the narrators (this director decided to do a trio instead of one narrator, so we all took turns with songs, some harmony). It was a great weekend with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law visiting from Utah. We had 3 nights of performances and had a blast. It was reminiscent of my try at this in high school and it brought back great memories. My mom still cried every time I sang...Our kids loved it, especially since they had memorized the words from 4 months of listening to it in the van! Joseph might as well have been a superhero to them with his cape, er, coat of many colors.

I've Been Tagged!

To me, being tagged is like getting picked for teams in elementary school. Does anyone feel the same way or is it just me? I've read several blogs with "tag" lists and thought, "Hey, I want to be tagged too!" As if I couldn't make my own random lists about how wonderful my husband is or lists of things I like on my own...I had to be tagged. :) It's like a rite of passage into the blog world...I"m so wierd. Anyway, so thank you Krista, my Fresno friend, for tagging me. It is because of you that I finally feel like I have been accepted into the blogosphere and can move on --hee, hee.

The rules to this tag are .........using the letters of your middle name describe yourself. Tag as many people as there are letters in your middle name.

My middle name is ANN (since it is so short, this is a pathetic beginning of my career as a tag-ee)

A--All About Aesthetics--Dictionary says "Aesthetic--pertaining to a sense of the beautiful". I love finding things that I find lovely, or beautiful or pleasing to the eye to decorate my home with (bad grammar, sorry). It doesn't have to be flowery or fancy. It could be a huge rustic clock or a vibrant throw pillow, simple things. I love balance and symmetry in decorating.... I love sunsets (really, who doesn't?), I love scrapbook paper with great color combinations and textures, I love a wall of paint swatches at Home Depot that are organized in rainbow colors. I love beautiful photography, especially black and white pictures.

N--Not Organized--I have so many great ideas, good intentions and worthy desires as far as being organized goes. Now that we have moved, our home has lots of potential for organized spaces...I dream of many baskets, files, shelves, tubs, bins, hooks--you name it. However, time to achieve this is essential and I do not yet have that luxury. Maybe when my cute newborn is not attached to me for 97% of my day or when tax season is over and my hubby can grace us with his presence at last ( 4 more days!!!) which means my children will be safely distracted by their fun daddy...this organizing thing will happen slowly and surely. I'll keep you updated.

N--Needing More Sleep--I'm tired. Above-mentioned cute newborn, above-mentioned tax season, 4 children, "Joseph" rehearsals (I'll explain later), coming down with a cold, laundry, toilets....I know I'm preaching to the choir here. We all have these moments. Well, mine is now. 11:50 pm and I'm still blogging. What am I doing? Maybe this part should be "N--Not Good at Going to Bed When I'm Really Tired But Finally Have All Children Asleep And Have A Moment To Myself And Want To Just Sit Here Listening To My Playlist Music"....no, that would be too lengthy.

I tag Julie M, Christi my sis, and Summer L. And anyone else who would like to tag me again, I will gladly accept and fulfill this duty to the best of my ability. :)

God Bless Our Prophet Dear

Oh, how I miss President Hinckley*. How I missed his voice this weekend at General Conference. I missed his wit and wisdom and counsel and tired voice...but how grateful I am for a new man of God to take that place in the order of things, for God's house is a house of order. I have always found President Monson (pictured, right) to be endearing and inspired, but I was thankful to have felt the power of his prophetic mantle as he spoke to us, Sunday afternoon in particular. He is God's prophet. I know it and am grateful to know it.

*Editor's Note: For those reading, not of our faith, President Gordon B. Hinckley was the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He passed at the end of January after leading the worldwide church for 13 years and serving in the church for the majority of his 97 years.

Pretty blog

Yay--I finally have a pretty blog! The title box is still a work in progress, but we're getting there. I found this sight from a friend and it's great and easy: www.onecuteblog.blogspot.com
Check it out!

Wishes

Paige came home today with four-leaf clover she had made at school yesterday on St. Patrick's Day. They were supposed to write four wishes down that they would make. I got a kick out of it. If my USB cord was working I would've taken a picture of her actual clover, but here is her list of wishes:

1) I wish I had a big sister.
2) I wish that I had a puppy that was a poodle.
3) I wish I could have a brown horse.
4) I wish my room was clean forever!

Uh, Universe? Yes, I would like to put in extra good kharma toward Wish #4 please.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Paige got some new High School Musical shades for her birthday and decided to do some poses.
Drama Queen.
Strike a pose, sista.
The brothers also wanted to display some "vogue" moments of their own. I'm not sure if T is showing us his gang signs or what....

The Cheeks

Enough said.

"This is dreadful...", but not so much

No, this is not a terrible blog entry with some dramatic story. Just a quick blog entry with a nice story. I started the day a little apprehensive. I'll admit, I was kind of dreading it. It was Sunday and my husband woke me bright and early as he was leaving at 6:15 so I could start the process of getting our family of four children ready for church-- ALL ALONE. Yes, today was his first Sunday as the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric and I had to do it alone. Now, I did this before when he was Elders Quorum Pres, but that didn't include sitting in Sacrament Meeting and we were also less one little Owens....

I guess this was more daunting because my hubby is generally just so darn helpful on Sunday mornings that Sunday mornings have tended to be just short of a spa day for me. What, with the free time to shower at my leisure, shave my legs, pluck my brows, fully blow-dry my hair, paint my toenails depending on the season...then it ends with either pancakes or eggs that he had concocted....can I hear an amen?

So, again, I was sort of beginning my day with a feeling of dread, a little nervous, but bound and determined to get there on time, if not early! I had planned well. I had checked off all items on the list the night before:

*All clothes set out, including socks/shoes--check!
*Diaper bag packed including healthy snacks--check!
*Same diaper bag packed including not-so-healthy-emergency snacks--check!
*Books, coloring books, crayons, magna doodles, anything to distract 2-year-old--check!

So, we made it to church 7 minutes early. There was no drama. There were no terrible fights of what someone would or would not wear, no wailing because hair needed to be tamed, no crying because a shoe couldn't be found, no messy diaper as we were walking out the door. (I know many of you hear me loud and clear.)

It gets better. We made it through the entire meeting without Mommy (the one writing this) having to clean up an embarrassing spill of Kix cereal all over the floor or break up a fight over the blue crayon or take a single soul through the exit doors of the chapel. Miracles do happen, people.

Later that day, as the kids and I were eating lunch at home, we had 3 consecutive spills of cups of milk. Literally, I cleaned one spill, then the next one toppled...as my daughter was helping clean up the last spill, she quietly stated, "This is dreadful." We just laughed as we sopped up the wet mess, and she continued to say it. I realized, now that the potentially dreadful day that I was anticipating never showed its face, I was okay with this kind of "dreadful".

*Editor's note: I would like to thank any angels that helped make this very undreadful day possible. You know who you are. And in case any are wondering, I am refering to actual angels. I know that they are how these kinds of days occur. :)

Wild and Tame

Here's the wild one.

And the tame one.

Sensational "Seven"

Happy Hawaiian Birthday Paige!

It was her idea to do a luau for her party and it was lots of fun with guests in beach attire, limbo, beach towel water balloon toss, hawaiian tunes, Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner, Palm tree pinata.

(Please note the cake-decorating-talents of Paige's mom...)Say "Happy Birthday Paige-ey!!!!!"
I love my girl. I can't believe I have a 7-year-old!!

Fabulous "Four"

Happy Birthday T-man!

(Seriously, whoever made that cake is going places...)

Trevor's preschool teacher made this birthday crown for him 3 days before his party and he wore it every day and insisted on wearing it for the big day.

At each of his birthdays, I always remember his time as a preemie in the NICU. He was so tiny and took awhile to catch up, but now he is big and healthy, and what a blessing that those days seem a distant memory.

The boy, the crown, the bounty.
Swing batta, batta, batta. Sawiiinng batta!
You can do it, Pres!

Owensongs

So, I'm so excited that I just created a playlist for our blog and I love it. If you don't have one on your blog, you must. It is so easy and so fun to think of all the songs you love and now they are in one place. This is coming from a person who is a little slow as far as technology goes. I've never had an Ipod or MP3 player or anything---I don't even know how to text message! It's sad, but true....

So, check out our songs and enjoy--they just make me happy.

It's a Boy!!

Welcome, Gavin Benjamin!!

Born January 25, 2008

4:21 pm

8 lbs 14 oz

21 inches

Here's a rewind to just hours before Gavin made his appearance.

Happy Birthday big boy! He was 3 weeks early, but still a nice hefty fella. I love you Steve. Thank you for the ice chips and for letting me crush your hand for a few hours :)

Somehow we managed to collect everyone on the bed for a quick family photo before Preston started running around the room, pushing the nurse call button and eating the nasty hospital food off my tray.

And then there were four. Paige, Trevor, and Preston just adore their new brother. We are so thankful for our kids and for our sweet new arrival. He fits right in with all the chubby-cheeked-cherubs!