Dont look if you cant handle it!

Here is a picture of Mitch's foot this morning. We had to unwrap it and clean it up. Some of the blisters have popped and so we needed to get it clean again. Poor guy.

Accidents Happen!

Today was a good day...for me. I had a nice time at church with the kids and came home with high hopes of continuing my happy high. Well I walked in the door and what did I find? Mitch on the couch, watching football, under a blanket, looking very sad. Well too make a long story short, he got burned at work with 220 degree water. It was so bad they took him from work in an ambulance to the hospital. I never knew this because I was sitting my happy butt at church and I dont take my cell phone there. I felt so bad for him. He is such a trooper but he did tell me it "Hurt like hell"! So that's gotta be pretty bad because I imagine hell hurts. His boot filled with this water and his socks held it around his foot until he could get it off. This caused second degree burns! Plus the water got on his wrist and behind his legs. His foot looks like his wrist does with blisters all over the top of it. Whats amazing is that the bottom of his foot is okay so he can walk on it. So glad things arent worse than they could've been.

Snow Fun

We got so much snow here in Ftown this past week. I cant remember the last time we had a white christmas and so we welcomed it when we got one! The kids had a blast getting to play in the snow with Daddy and their Auntie Heather. These are the times when I love living in town right down the street from a park with great hills.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish my fellow bloggers and those that follow my blog a Merry Christmas! May you put "more Christ" in your life and have a Happy New year as well. I am blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in my life that I so dearly love. Thank you for being so great. May each of you be blessed in the new year!

California...warning lots of pictures!

Last week we went out to see Dad and Mary in California. Its an annual thing to be able to see Dad's Christmas room and we wanted to see their new house too. We had a nice time...of course. Thanks Dad and Mary for putting up with us and always being so hospitable and spoiling us.
We went to go and see WICKED while we were there. The kids and I saw it in July when we went out but Mitch didnt see it and I wanted him to see it before it ends this year. It is one of the best things I have ever seen. I hope that I get to see it again someday. Aubrie is completely obsessed and in love with this musical. She is constantly quoting and singing the songs from it. We even got to meet the cast after the show!
A photo op with Elphaba, Aubrie's favorite WICKED witch!

He's not cute or anything.

And of course Galinda, with a Gaaaa!



There was a nice day while we were there so the kids took advantage of it and swam in papa and nana's new pool and slide at the new house. These pictures crack me up, check out Caleb's face as Aubrie hits the water, if I recall he pushed his sisiter down the slide!





Disneyland is simply the best during the holiday season. It finally took a break from the rain for a day for us to be able to go and enjoy the park.







Some random Happenings...Mitch being a kid, oh wait nothing new there, Caleb being funny, and Dad playing with Bryn. Boy, can they make eachother laugh.




No trip would be complete without a meal at our favorite restaurant Tokyo Wako. Even Bryn was eating the sushi!



The kids in Dad's famous Christmas room! It is so awesome and really brings the Christmas spirit alive.

The Reason for the Season

After the week I have I had, I had to stop and remind myself what a wonderful time of year this is. And the great GIFT we have been given. Jesus Christ. There is no greater gift than the Son of God. In Relief Society last week, we named some of the gifts He has given us and nothing in life that we think we can gain or receive will ever equal the vastness and wonder of the gifts He has blessed our lives with. I need to take the time to be more humble and thankful. I had to put myself in perspective of the blessings I have received and have yet to receive, if I do the things I need to do. It all seems so easy and great until life throws its curve balls and sometimes it hard to get up and redeem yourself and stay focused. But I know because of the gift of the Atonement, it is possibly to pick up and move on. A gift only given by HIM.

Recipe of the Week

Those of you who know me, know how much I LOVE to cook. It is a passion of mine and I was thinking since I love it so much, I should share some of my tried and tested recipes. I know how hard it is to cook, especially when we are all so busy and tired most of the time so I think I am going to post a recipe of the week to help all of you out. Feel free to share a recipe on your own blog. I love new ones to try out.
Here is a meal that is a family favorite of ours. It is so versatile you can use ground lean turkey, chicken breast strips or even a lean ground pork/beef.

Last night I used the ground turkey.
You can use any kind of vegetables, I used diced carrots, edamame and green onion.
Put your carrots in 2 tbsp of EVOO and after a few min. add minced garlic about 2 tbsp.
Then add your ground meat, Brown. Add a few sprinkles of tumeric, salt and pepper and ground red pepper.
Then choose a teriyaki sauce. Any will do. My favorite you can find at Safeway and its called East-West Zesty Orange. It is about 4.69 a bottle but a little goes a long way. I usually use it three times.
Add your sauce about 3 tbsp.
Serve in lettuce bibs. Add toppings, we like coconut, chow mein noodles, brown rice, almonds, bean sprouts, chestnuts
There is only 137 calories for each wrap. This recipe usually makes up to 12. Enjoy!

Here are the nutrition facts for Chili's lettuce wraps.
Calories 868 (4 wraps)
Total Fat 46.5g
Saturated Fat 9.5g
Trans Fat 0.2g
Sodium 2605mg
Total Carbohydrate 74.8g
Dietary Fiber 11.1g
Sugars 52.4g
Protein 48.1g

Now here is mine:
Calories 548 (4 wraps)
Total Fat 24g
Carbs 57.6g
Protein 16g
Sodium 267
Fiber 3g

What a huge difference. I encourage all of you to research the food you eat at fast foods restaurants, it will really get you thinking about what you put in your body. I know its hard to keep away from yummy foods but it will help you make better, healthier choices when it comes to what you eat!

You like?

I dyed my hair a few days ago. Just wanted to try something different and went with a midnight black. I know pretty risky but I have always wanted to be a goth girl...J/K. Its not permanent, washable which I am glad for since I have gotten mixed reviews on my new look.

A Date with Grandma

My mom took the kids to see the Festival of Trees tonight. The kids had a good time checking out all the creative and themed decorations. Aubrie's favorite was of course, The High School Musical one and Caleb made sure to take a picture of the Twilight themed tree. After, Grandma took them to get hot cocoa and donuts! Thanks Mom for taking the kids, I know they will always remember it. Maybe this can be a new tradition that you guys do.

Not Just Grateful but Relieved....

I wasn't going to blog about this experience because I dont think I will ever forget it. My Dad and Mary came to visit for Thanksgiving this year. On Wednesday, we decided we would all go shopping and just bum around town. We wanted Dad to use Mitch;s truck instead of renting a car to just help him save where he can while in the midst of their house remodel. So we took separate cars to town and were going to meet up at Sam's Club. We parked in different places and they took Caleb and Brynley with them, we had Aubs. We shopped around in Sam's, had different carts and as we were checking out, Dad asked Mary to take Caleb out to the car because he was buying him a christmas present and didnt want Caleb to see. Mary gave Dad the cart that had Brynley in it and Mitch and I had Aubrie and our cart. We checked out and went to our different cars. We all made our way to Home Depot and got out to only find that neither of us had Brynley!!! I was horrified. How could we have forgotten her??? My 23 month old baby was alone and all I could think about was my worst nightmare....someone took her. I called 911 and gave a report and tried as fast as I could to get back to Sam's. The traffic was horrible and I totally saw my Dad driving very illegally just to get back there. I felt so sick I thought I was going to throw up in my car. Caleb and Aubrie were both hysterical and Mitch was so mad and was saying every cuss word in the book but at that moment I didnt even care, I just wanted Brynley to be okay. As I got back to Sam's, the 911 operator called me and said they had her inside, and at that same moment I saw her blonde little head getting carried out by my dad. I just grabbed her and didnt want to let go. She looked annoyed and hadn't even cried. I could tell that she knew we left her, she didnt need to say anything. I felt awful but I was more curious at how my dad could just leave her in the cart and not realize it?? But then again I didnt realize it either.
I am not mad, just grateful that she was okay. It could have been much more horrible and tragic but her guardian angels were looking over her and it goes to show there still are good people out there. It was an eye opening experience for me and for my family. We feel very fortunate that all turned out well. Poor Brynley, she will have no recollection of this event but to me it was the day my heart stopped for a whole ten minutes!

Um...

I wake up to this everyday. I couldnt help but post his crazy fro hair. Mitch hasnt gotten a haircut since July. As you can tell form our family picture above, its grows very fast. It actually looks nice when he does it. Very McDreamy! (You know like Patrick Dempsey) Just not in this picture.

It's a hard life....

We came home form church yesterday and since we go from 11-2pm, its hard to make sure Bryn has her nap. I changed her and went to go and talk to Mitch and just a few minutes later, I found her curled up and the floor...asleep. I just love when they are sleeping. They look like little angels.

Wonderful...

Mitch. He is so awesome because... He worked last night, came home to a wife not feeling very well, got the kids off to school, kept Bryn while I went to school, helped me make lunch, took me to Durango for an appt, listened to me babble all the way, helped me make dinner and then went Home Teaching. He is still gone and hasnt slept but maybe an hour today. He got a crappy overtime tomorrow night and will be off sat but then have to go back on sunday night. How does he do it? He helps me so much and sacrifices himself to do kind things for others. What a stud!
I feel like the luckiest gal in the world.

Everyone needs...

An Aubrie. Let me explain. Aubrie has been bugging me about getting Brynley a potty training toilet, so this past friday I took her to help me pick one out for her. She picked out a Dora the Explorer one for Bryn. So of course, right when we got home she wanted to get it out for Brynley and get her to use it. Well, she did. Aubrie got her to go several times that night and then insisted on saturday that she needed to not wear a diaper while we were at home and Aubrie kept taking her and Brynley kept going. She went saturday without an accident. Then on Sunday Brynley went on the potty all morning and even used the toilet at church! She went all afternoon and evening without an accident. Aubrie is such a cute "little mommy". She was so consistent and persistent with Brynley. But then rolled around Monday, Aubrie went to school and needless to say...Bryn wont go without Aubrie. She refused to go without her. I haven't had much success without my little helper/mommy. But it has been neat to see how well Bryn has done not even being 2 yet! Its a work in progress. Thank you Aubrie, you are going to make a great mommy someday.

I dont like it...

Can I just vent for a moment? I have to say that I hate that everyone is going private with their blogs. Whats the point of a blog if no one can read it. I have to admit I am a blog stalker and some of the people I enjoy checking out are private now. Maybe I am the weirdo but I think its a bummer. Plus when you go private your blog doesnt show me on my blog when you update it. So the person wanting to view it would have to check it everyday and also sign in every time which is annoying. I understand why people are doing it but I just wanted to vent.

Primary Program...

Today in church was our ward primary program. Caleb was asked to give a talk on missionary work. He did such a wonderful job. What a sweet spirit he is. He wasnt even scared or nervous! He had memorized the whole thing and went with what the spirit wanted him to say. I have to tell you I blessed I feel to have him as our oldest child. He is such a great example to his sisters and I know he will have a profound effect on their testimonies and choices. I cannot express into words the love I have for him and my girls.
Aubrie did a great job too. Singing very loud and had memorized her lines too. She is so beautiful and I see what wonderful talents Heavenly Father has blessed her with. I hope she can continue to develop them and be a good example to Bryn. I wish we had a program like this every week. Brynley sat and watched most of the time and wasn't being a handful! Thank you to awesome primary presidency and teachers we have in our ward for making such a great program and taking on the task of teaching our little ones each week.

Something sweet

Wanting a fix of pumpkin without the calories of a pumpkin pie. This is really great. I came up with this and wanted to share it.
This made enough for my family of five with even extra.

2 pkgs of fat free sugar free Jello tapioca
Follow directions on package.
After it has cooled mix in 1 cup of pumpkin (canned)
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Dish into ramekin cups and put in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Top and serve with rediwhip or cool whip from the can.
**You could also use the Jello rice pudding. Enjoy!

Big sister

Found this the other day and thought it was so sweet. Aubrie in Brynley's crib reading her a book. Too bad they are not always like this!

F.F.A

F.F.A stands for Fantasy Football Anonymous. I made it up last year due to my husbands addiction to it. For those of you who don't know Mitch loves fantasy football! He has been obsessed with it for a few years now. I have been annoyed and frustrated with him over it and I can say that it has been a cause for some arguments in our house. Well....My name is Holly and I am a Fantasy Football Addict. Mitch started a league with some of our friends as couples and I have joined the dark side. Sad but true. Now I am the one stressin out when sunday comes around, hoping that my team will pull through with a win. It has been fun, comepetitive and something for Mitch and I to bond on. So those of you wives out there, join a Fantasy football league with your man and have fun! I actually like football now.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics of the kids with their pumpkins and in their costumes last night! We had a fun time trick or treating and then going to the carnival at the church. We also got to see some cool houses that were decorated so neat for Halloween. I want to to that some day, just go all out and decorate my house and yard for Halloween. How fun. The kids were so tired when we got home and Bryn had even layed on the gym floor at the church and said "I want bed". Its safe to say it was a good thing because they had so much fun!





My brother Cody the devil and his Girl Andrea

We're gonna party like it's 1985...

Mitch and I went to some Halloween parties last night and did we have a good time! We went to one at the Country Club and ran into some good ol' friends from back in the day. It was like a HS reunion. It was neat to see some of the cool costumes that people came up with. Sarah Palin, Obama, Warren Jeffs with one of his wives, which was one of my friends Melissa and her husband. She looked pregnant and then carried around a baby doll! It was a fav. Mitch was going to be the Joker but got his braces on this week and said "He didnt feel cool enough anymore to be the Joker" so he went as a Nerd. And he pulled it off good. I went as an 80's rock girl. We then went to a party at our friends sister's house and got to catch up and hang out. We stayed out so late and thank you papa Sam for keeping the kids for us. Brynley did well at her first sleepover so it was a great night out!


Mitch and Benito

That's Hot!

Kacy, Me and Diana

Revenge of the Nerds!

One of the reasons...

That I love Fall are the beautiful changes in the leaves. I love the crisp cool mornings and then as the day goes on it gets warm and sunny. We had some beautiful afternoons this week and me and the girls took advantage of it and played in the leaves.
PS- Not some of the best pics, my camera is pretty slow at capturing "the moment"

Deep Thoughts with ML...

I hope this doesnt embaress my sweetheart but this was posted on his myspace page in his "About Me" section and since we cancelled our pages I thought I would share it with my dedicated blogger readers. It is so Mitch and will give a glimpse into what kind of a person he is. He is honest, trustworthy, strong, sweet, romantic and the best father and dad ever! He has so much patience and such strong character of who he is. I admire him everyday and love that I am so blessed to have him. Not a day goes by that I dont feel this. I love you babe. Thank you for sharing this. It has given me much perspective on my own life.


Been thinking about this one. Not sure where to start. I am complicated i think. Sometimes too much. I love the moments when I have my priorities straight. That's when I am clear headed, content, optimistic, and truly happy. That's when I have God and my wife and my kiddos more important than anthing else. But I get this out of whack at times and pay for it by getting stressed, pessimistic, down, and preoccupied with stuff that shouldn't matter. OK, back to the first 3. When I am doing the right things with charity in my heart, I get prompted and nudged and the more I listen, the more I am prompted and nudged and I really feel I am living the life God has in store for me. That feels good, but I lose that feeling when I let my own interests and desires get in the way (too often), and then it feels like I am on this trip flying solo, even though I know God is in my life whether I realize it or not, but if I am ignoring His plan for me, then I am kinda flying solo. He lets me take the bumps and bruises I inflict on myself as I try to do what I think will bring me happiness. Sometimes I have a distorted idea of happiness. I guess that is because I used to be a really selfish person before I had my growing up experience, and the selfish side of me, I thought was long gone, but it can come back now and again, and I never would of imagined that it could have. Holly has known both sides of me; I remember when she actually kind of missed the old me, before I got baptized. I had grown so much and became so much more selfless and responsible, that it was quite a shock to her. Over eight years later I have grown even more, and have became so much more understanding and less judgmental and so much more accepting. I am the same person, but just more aware of things and feel more accountable for more actions because I feel my right and wrong list is longer than it used to be, and as I get older that list adapts and changes. I continue to grow, but take a few steps back now and then, I just gotta dust myself off and never give up! Holly. Oh Holly. My better Half! She truly is the sweetest, most beautiful woman on the planet! Seriously just last night looking at her smiling, I was in Heaven staring at the face of an angel. How I got so lucky, idk, I wonder that all the time. A guy like me doesn't deserve a gal like her! She has helped me grow a ton. We have some really fun moments, and still feel sparks all these years later. In fact, we feel more sparks, she's the DR. in my pepper. It is fun talking about old times with her, we have some good memories, then again, sometimes the old times make us cringe, we had some rough ones. But through all the rough times we've come out stronger and closer. I've put her through a lot, and hope that I never do again!!! Cal, the golden boy. He changed our lives 180 degrees. He came just as I had made a conscious effort to grow up. To reshuffle my priorities, to commit myself to Holly, to treat her the way she deserved. Just a short time after my historic change, bam, prego!! I remember that moment so well. I remember holding Holly and feeling so calm and ready, like a pillar of strength and comfort that Holly could cling to. I know she was worried that I would leave her, because it wasn't very long ago at all that I was Mitch, cool, fun, lovable, but so selfish and unstable. But like I said it was perfect timing, me getting my crap together, realizing what kind of woman I had! And realizing who I needed to be! PERFECT TIMING!! It was hard, we were young, but we survived, and we grew so close, and when Caleb came, it was the greatest moment of our lives. He is just special that way. He was the pure love of God in our arms for the first time, and he melted us two into one. I am teary eyed just writing this. And shortly after the gospel came into our lives, and I wanted to take the name of Christ on myself, and take MY family to the temple and be sealed together. It felt like the right thing to do, and I am sure it helped me keep those changes I had made more permanent, because I was on a good foundation then. To be continued.... Alright so that is the more serious part of me, on the lighter side, i'd say i am a deep thinker. I analyze just about everything. Hollz says i am smart that way, i'm not so sure if it is smart, but maybe. I love to laugh, and have a broad and deep range of humor. That can keep me going sometimes. But i have a sensitive side, i mean, i cry during movies, and get all mushy about my kids, and wifey, and family, and friends for that matter. Along that sensitive note, i can get my feelings hurt easy sometimes, but when that happens i usually get more angry than sad, and try to hurt whoever right back, i think cuz it is easier to do that, than say, cry about it. I know two wrongs dont make a right, or whatever, but thats me. I keep a journal, 99% of it is just writing down the latest stuff the kid's do and what my family is up to, so that I can remember later in life, cuz after a partied out highschool era, my memory isn't what it used to be. I am quiet in big groups of people, but in smaller groups I open up more, is that shy? I guess. I like to listen though, more than talk. And plus, I would rather be quiet and thought a fool, than speak and remove all doubt. so, i try to think about what i say before i say it, so that i dont sound like a fool, but actually i appreciate the people that just say what they think and don't care what other's think about it, to me i respect a person that is their self, and i am just being myself by being careful. To each their own! To be continued- Again.......

Picture Tag

Here's what you do...
1. Go to your pictures
2. Upload the 4th picture of your fourth file
3. Post
4. Tag 4 of your friends


I dont think this picture needs anything explaining. It speaks for itself! Genetics are a bummer.

Dad and Caleb

I tag Monique, Trish, Katie, Colette