The Pizza Hut

Crazy Medical Updates!

2008-09-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Adalie had her MRI

She was pretty excited by these warmers. Little did she know it was so they could find a good vein to poke!

My sweet baby girl was SO brave!! Here she is showing off her big purple bandage holding her I.V. in place. She went on to tell the nurse, "at least you gave me a purple bandage... cause thats my favorite color!!"

She did relatively well with the sedation. At first she quickly went limp. I thought to myself... "that was easy!" and then she suddenly started punching and kicking!! Crazy!! And then, went limp... again!

Is it just me, or do these photos look very familiar!!!

Since we had a few hours in between the MRI and the hearing assessment clinic, my sweet friend Erin was so good to let us come crash at her place! The picture above is so cute to me! Erin's daughter Quinn kept wanting to take care of Adalie!

Dr. Park, our ENT, told Addie that since she was so brave, she could have a sticker. He then came back and told Addie they were out of stickers, so he took her to get a bear!

After 11 hours at Primary Children's this is what we learned: Adalie's MRI was completely normal!!!! So, because of that, they had us meet with the Genetics specialists. They said they had done some research on Adalie's medical history and had found a genetic syndrome that consisted of 3 things. Malformation of the tear ducts, hearing loss, and kidney malformation. Well... I don't know if many of you know this, but Adalie was born without a tear duct on one side. She is now losing her hearing... so..... that leaves the 3rd bizarro issue! They asked me if anyone in my family had had anything strange with their kidneys. I told them that my dad was born with only one kidney and they both began to nod their heads! So there is a relatively good chance Adalie has this genetic syndrome. I have to take her back to Primary's on the 15th for an ultra sound of her kidneys. If it turns out she does have this syndrome, there really isn't anything they are going to do for her. They will probably just make sure she has routine hearing checks and kidney ultra sounds. You really can't get more bizarre than this!!!

Now, just when you thought you were done hearing about Carson..... Last week, when I was at the pediatricians, (Dr. Jopling) I was discussing Carson's progress. I mentioned to him "so you saw Carson's MRI was normal..." well... Primary's had never sent our Dr. the results! So I called them and had them fax Carson's MRI to him. Then, on Friday, Dr. Jopling called me at work and told me he had now seen the results. He then said to me, "To be completely honest with you Lizz... if he were my son, I would take him up to see a Neurosurgeon." Yes folks, thats right... someone who does surgery on the BRAIN!!!! Give me a break!! I thought my poor baby boy was done with this crap!! Dr. Jopling thinks there is something on the scan that is not right. So, tomorrow we have a trip to the Neurosurgeons back at Primary's!!!!!

Stay tuned...

A day at Dog Park

2008-08-19T11:23:00.001-07:00

I've never been to this Dog Park before. I'm not sure my kids have even been this close to water that wasn't their Nana's pool.

Addie and Carson playing in the sand.

My dad Brad, sister Ali and brother-in-law Aaron, along with their dogs Joey and Romo invited me, Addie and Carson out for a little adventure.

Aside from getting splattered by wet dogs mixed with mud it was pretty fun. The kids got in the water and we skipped rocks.

Until one little grumpy pants demanded that we cut the trip short.

UUMG Summer Party

2008-08-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today was my works Summer Party. We had an awesome BBQ at Sugarhouse Park. I got some great pictures of Addie and her new BFF Liliana. SO CUTE!!

Tanner Park

2008-07-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister Jenn and I took the kids and 3 of her dogs to Tanner Park. The kids loved it, and were very happy to be out of the house!

"Cuddle-bugs"

Adalie & Chester

Carson & Keisha

Private...some more

2008-07-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have sent out the email for those who wanted to be on my private blog. If you did not get the email and would still like to be included, please email me your email address to lizzpizza@gmail.com. The private blog also has a new blog address. This one will remain open for Tony and his family!

Private

2008-07-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

I am going private. Please leave a comment or email me at lizzpizza@gmail.com if you would like to be added to list.

No news is good news?!

2008-07-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

So we just got a call from the Neurologist about Carson's MRI. His brain looks great!! No stroke, no neurological problems. He does have what is called, a Developmental Venous Anomaly (DVA) which is an abnormally large (or in Carson's case.. significantly large) vein surrounding the brain. However, this has nothing to do with anything neurological, nor do they think it will cause any future problems. So, the only explanation for Carson's "left sided" issues.. is coincidental!

However, the Neurologist had thought he had ordered an important blood test (CPK) that could give us a little more in site to a neurological problem caused by enzymes in the blood. So I have to take him to have that blood test done.. and then he should be in the clear!!!

Carson's MRI

2008-07-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

Carson had his MRI today. It was a little different than I expected. They had me a little more involved with this than I have been in any of his surgeries. I think I actually like to hand him over to the professionals instead of helping! I had to hold him while they gave him his IV and while they gave him the first dose of his sedation. They said to hold him tight because its possible he could start to wig... and wig he did!! He was flailing all over the place. Then they took him and strapped him to the table and continued to sedate him.

Not quite asleep

This was only about 30 seconds later and he was out cold!!

My poor baby boy after the 45 minute MRI. He slept like this for about 2 hours! The sedation was much worse than any of the times he has been put to sleep! He was very wobbly and crabby all day! I am really looking forward to Adalie's MRI!......NOT!

American Idol!

2008-07-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Kami and I went to the American Idol Live concert! It was so much fun! Here are a few of the pictures we took!

Chikezie

Ramiele

Michael Johns

Kristy Lee Cook

Carly Smithson

Brooke White

Jason Castro

Syesha Mercado

Kami and I had pretty good seats!

It was so funny when David Archuleta came out!! The crowed went from screaming pretty loud, to absolutely killing my eardrums!! He was so sweet and even got a little teary!

Ah yes.... David Cook!!! Yes please! ;-) What a great musician. Obviously a great choice for The American Idol! He also did a phenomenal job!!

Rockin out to David Cook!

The Encore!

Hearing loss.... and girlfriends!

2008-07-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we took Adalie to Primary's for her hearing tests. They did about 4 tests, all of which she was a champ!! The first 2 tests consisted of her sitting on my lap with these earplugs in. She had to hold extremely still for them to get an accurate reading. I have never seen anyone hold that still before!!! On the second test, she had to hold still and not make any noise!! She did great on the first ear, and on the second ear, it was so funny.... she looks over at Tony and says "Dad, what time is it?" Everyone quickly put their fingers up to their mouth with the "Shhhh" face! It was just so cute, and such a random question seeing as how she has never asked that before!!

For the last 2 tests, Adalie and I were in a small sound proof room. There was one of those windows that Adalie and I couldn't see through, but they could see us from the other side. Tony and the Audiologist were on the other side. They hooked her up to a few different ear pieces, boxes and wires. Then, another Audiologist would hand her a little plastic toy, and have her hold it to her cheek. They would play a few different noises in her ear piece, and as soon as she heard the noise, she would throw the plastic toy in a bucket. It was incredibly frustrating for me to be able to hear those noises through her ear pieces and have her just sit there because she couldn't hear it!

These 2 pictures are of Adalie in the sound proof room all hooked up!! The pictures didn't turn out very well because Tony took them through that weird window. The second picture he tried to use the flash.. but that didn't work either!!... but you can get the idea!
Diagnosis: The hearing loss she has thus far is permanent. They are anxious to find out what is causing it, so now she has to go have a Genetic Screening done and an MRI. Since they want her to have an MRI, I figured.. when Carson has his MRI tomorrow.. I'm just going to have them look for the same thing they are going to look for with Adalie!! Couldn't hurt...right?!

*********

I am such an idiot for not using my camera this weekend! I did however, get a few pictures of Val and Anne-Marie. We had such a great weekend!! We had two Citrine gigs... one Friday night, downtown, and the other on Saturday, down at the Payson Scottish Festival! Anne-Marie patiently waiting for our name to be called for dinner!!

Anne-Marie & Val

Memories!

2008-07-10T08:00:00.001-07:00

Memory Lane...I got this from a friend's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

Citrine!

2008-07-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked me about the group I am in called Citrine. I thought I would let all of you know of our upcoming show this weekend! We will be performing at the Brigham Young Historical Park (Concert in the Park) this Friday the 11th @ 8:00pm. The park is located on the southeast corner of State Street and North Temple. It is going to be a lot of fun.... and its free!!!

4th of July!

2008-07-05T08:19:00.001-07:00

Every year for the 4th of July we have my dads family over to swim.

Adalie was a fish this year and did NOT want to get out!!.....

.... except for a delicious chocolate chip cookie!

Adalie with her Great-Grandparents Clayton

Even Giddion (the paralyzed chihuahua) was dressed for the occasion!

The bubble blower was a huge hit this year.

Nana jumped right in with the Snapper fun!

This was Carson's reaction to his first firework! Although you might not be able to tell by this picture, his face is pure excitement! He loved them!

This, however, was Adalie's reaction. For some reason the fireworks really scared her!

She did like the sparklers though!

This was Adalie in an argument with Tony. The argument was that we were going to do one more firework for Carson before he went to bed. Adalie felt that the fireworks should just be for her.... even though she doesn't even like them!! So Tony told her we weren't going to do any fireworks if that is how she was going to act!

This was Adalie's reaction to that comment!

Sweet Carsy boy!

So cute!

My Addie Grace Bug!

2008-07-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Addie Grace Bug! I wanted to share a few quick things about Addie. Last night we went to Blockbuster. She HAD to rent Micky Mouse Musketeers! As soon as the movie was over, she came running around the house in this lovely Musketeer get-up!

She had on everything from gloves, a cape, a hat...WITH feather and her sword!

I wanted to throw in these pictures because they are so cute!! On Sunday Adalie let me curl her hair. She sits incredibly still and always tells me "I look beautiful don't I Mom"

Now we just need to work on that posed smile!

Now for her update. We went back to the ENT today. There was some good news and some not so good news. The good news is, her tonsils looked much better. As of now we do not need to remove them! The not so good news.... her hearing has gotten even worse. So we are off to Primary Children's!! Does anyone have a daily supply of Valium they could share with me?! No, I'm just kidding. I'm just feeling like it is one thing after another!!! However, it could be much worse, so i should be grateful!

8 Years!

2008-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

So, I know I am a day late, but I didn't have any of these photos with me yesterday! Although we no longer "celebrate" it, yesterday was our 8 year anniversary of being together! Not married... but when we started dating. I especially wanted to post these pictures because we look like we are 13 years old and I think they are hysterical!!! We were 18 and 19 years old when we started dating.
We dated long distance for 6 months, seeing each other twice in that time period. Then, Tony came home for Christmas and we packed up my little Saturn and I made the move to San Diego! We got engaged on our 1 year anniversary and married 4 months later!
There is no doubt that we have had our ups and some very dramatic downs, but we always manage to pull through. We have been given something very special!
I love you Tony!

The Kids

2008-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Adalie's Update: We went back to the ENT last week. Her hearing in the one hear looks like it has improved slightly.. which is great news! They did a different kind of testing this time, which might not be as accurate, but still?... However, her Eustachian tubes are malfunctioning???? and her eardrums are retracted???? and her tonsils look awful! So, they put her on an anti-biotic for her tonsils to see if that will help at all and she goes back next week to have the hearing checked one more time and discuss if she needs tubes (Yes, although she has only had 1 ear infection in her life, they are "malfunctioning"????) and also see if she needs her tonsils out.. so once again, you will be getting another update next week!

Carson's Update: We went to the Neurologist up at Primary's today... by the way, if any of you need a pediatric neurologist.... Dr. Filloux is fantastic! They did a physical evaluation and said that they do not think it was an intra-utero stroke... but possibly he threw a small blood clot?? Either way, he has made many dramatic improvements over the last few weeks, so no one is overly concerned. We are going to do an MRI in 2 1/2 weeks to see if and what damage was done. All I can say is.... THANK GOODNESS FOR GOOD INSURANCE! Haha! Happy Friday!!

Fun Filled Weekend

2008-06-16T21:05:00.001-07:00

This weekend was very packed, and very fun! We started it on on Saturday morning attending the Highland Scotland Games at Thanksgiving Point. It was very different from anything I had been to, and a lot of fun! I took Addie and Carson with me.

We went with Anne-Marie and her boys who Adalie is in love with by the way! Her favorite thing to do was go through this blow up obstacle course.

(Adalie & Cian)

Citrine

Then Tony came and got the kids and I had a performance with Anne-Marie and Citrine. It was great! (pay no attention to the Ocean's Apart banner behind us!)

That night we took off to watch a Scottish Band.

(Christine and myself)

(Anne-Marie, Val & Christine)

We had an absolute blast! I LOVE these girls!

Fathers Day

Last year we did a big surprise breakfast in the canyon for Mother's Day, and my dad was out of town. So we decided this year we would surprise him!

Our group gift was this cool fire pit for the back yard and this incredible gift basket my sister Jenn put together! It included: camping chairs, roasting sticks, all of the ingredients for Smores, color changing flames... etc!

I just love this picture of Caroline and Liam!

Jenn holding her paralyzed dog and Carson!

Addie & Papa sharing flowers they picked on their nature walk

Carson was making the most hilarious faces all morning!

Later that evening we went to my grandparents Smith's house. I tried to get some pictures of the kids, but they weren't going to cooperate! So here is what I got!

My baby girl and Me!
Then tonight, I went down to Lehi to spend the evening with my friends Greg & Cynthia Dean and their two kids! Adalie and Elli were playing SO cute together! I love this picture of them blowing bubbles in their water and laughing their heads off!! SO CUTE!

Updates (Yes, this has been the title of my last few posts!)

2008-06-12T06:52:00.001-07:00

So, I know that I have titled my last few posts as Updates (of some sort) but that is because there are so many events in each post, that I can't really give them a specific name!

The first picture is of my darling baby girl!!! She is growing up SO fast! She is the love of my life and my absolute angel!! It is so crazy to think she will be turning 4!

This picture is pretty funny, but has a great story! So my friend Anne-Marie (she's on the far right) is a fantastic musician. She played in a concert at Carnegie Hall in NY with Bobbie McFarren and a few other talented musicians a few weeks ago. One of the musician's she met was Shola (standing next to Anne-Marie). Well.. Shola is a member of STOMP... so naturally since STOMP was in town, she called up her friend Anne-Marie. Shola came to one of our Citrine rehearsals and we got to hang out for a bit after that. So Saturday we went to the show and got to hang out with Shola and meet the cast afterwards! It was a BLAST! The other two in the photo are my sister-in-law Kami and Anne-Marie's sister Karen.

LIAM!!! Oh my word! My newest nephew Liam is 5 weeks old now and is such an adorable baby!! In fact, adorable doesn't even cut it!! You can not get any cuter than my nephews!!

The Greatest Thing Since Easy-Mac

At least that's what my kids think! This is the new play house my Mom and Dad got that the kids are obsessed with!!

Carson's Physical Therapy
How does this look? A dream come true to any 18 month old! This is Carson's physical therapy room. At first he was a bit skeptical, but by the end he was loving it! They started out checking a few different range of motions and noticed that his entire left side is significantly weaker than his right.
She did a ton of exercises with him using his left side.... including making him blow bubbles using his left hand.

My mom was really good to come with me and helped him with his exercises so I could take pictures!!

Carson LOVED the ball pit!! It really had nothing to do with his appointment today, but we let him play anyway!

Diagnosis: ... none! Don't you love how that goes! They did note that his left side, like I said before, is significantly weaker and mentioned the possibility of it being caused by an Inter-uterine Stroke (so a stroke while he was still in the womb) But we don't know for sure. We will see if and how much he improves in the next 2 weeks before his next session. If there has not been a dramatic improvement, we will go up to Primary's and see a neurologist!

Carson's Parting Gift....

This lovely new ankle brace...thingy.... haha! They noticed that he definitely rolls his ankle in when he drags his leg, so they are starting here and trying to strengthen it. He actually doesn't mind it too much and I think was walking better yesterday!!!! So here is to dramatic improvement??!!!!

Last but not least, a picture from my friend Heather Biesinger's wedding reception! In the photo... Alicia, myself, Jenn Best (I don't know her married last name) and... I actually don't know the girl on the ends name!... but it was fun!

The Kiddos

2008-06-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Update on the kids: I took Adalie back to the ENT yesterday. He looked in both ears and sure enough... the infections were gone! But he looked a little confused. He said her ear drums were an unusual color and shape. So then we went and did the hearing tests. One ear is almost completely better and the other still has over a 20% loss. So, now what?... Well, since the next step (Primary Children's.... something about audio..blah blah and hearing aid blah blah) is a bit more intense, he asked that we come back one more time for one more test before he sends us up to Primary's. So you will all have to wait for 2 more weeks for the next update!!

Now Carson: We had to be up at Primary's at 6:30 this morning! It was just me and the boy! He started out pretty happy playing with the toys.

Then they took us back to a patient room and had him change. At this point he started getting hungry and just cried "ba ba! ba ba!"

The procedure itself (tear duct probing and ballooning) only took about 35 minutes, but Carson had a hard time waking up. They also said he was doing a lot of "breath holding" so they had to keep him on oxygen. This was Carson when they first let me back to recovery.

He kept tearing out his I.V. so they had to temporarily cast it on!

He is home now and doing well! Just really sleepy. I'll be sure to give an update in the next few days. Thanks for all your love and support! We've needed it!

Huge Update of Randomness

2008-06-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

My computer is broken and I haven't been able to get a lot of these photos off my camera until today! So excuse the long random pictures... but here are a few things that have been going on in the last 3 weeks!

I'll start with the most recent. Yesterday the kids and I went down to Lehi to play with their cousin Gage and my brother Pete and sis-in-law Kami. We took the kids to the park and they had a blast!

Adalie learned how to "spider" is on the swing and would not let Kami get off!!

He looks like such an old man in this picture! I love it!!

With everything at the park they could have played with, Gage and Carson picked the rocks!

Anne-Marie Hildebrandt

I got to go hear Anne-Marie record one of her new arrangements. It was very cool! She is absolutely AMAZING!

A few weekends ago Anne-Marie and I took the kids and her boys to the Gateway Fountains. Adalie loved it!! Carson... not so much!

Hair Extensions

A lot of people have asked me how Tiff does my hair extensions. Here are a few pictures of the process!!! She is FANTASTIC!!!!

Last but not least...

Mother's Day Weekend Girls Night

I am definitely the last one to get this post up! For Mother's Day weekend Tiff, Kat, Brooke, Keelee, Melissa & myself spent the night down town! It consisted of EVERYTHING! From pillow fights....

to drunken men on the streets on huge bikes???......

To running the "Race for the Cure" 5k.

These girls are incredible!!! Thanks ladies... I had such an awesome time and can't wait to do it again!!!

Adalie's Update

2008-05-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

So I took Adalie to the ENT today to have her ears checked. Sure enough, she has a pretty bad ear infection in both ears. She also has a bit of fluid in both ears. That was a huge relief to me... until we had her hearing tested. Normally, kids with ear infections as bad as hers will test with a 5% hearing loss. Today Adalie tested a little over 20%. Therefore, he is not completely convinced that this is because of the ear infections. He put her on an anti-biotic and wants to have her hearing tested again next week once the infection has been taken care of. If it is the same and / or is not mostly better, we will continue to have her tested regularly. In the event the hearing gets worse we will look into different hearing aid options if necessary. I am going to try to remain positive and optimistic that this is all because of her ear infections and her hearing will be back to normal next week!! :D

Oh ya, she also has swollen tonsils, so we will check those again next week and if they aren't any better after the anti-biotic.. they are comin out!! So pull out your umbrella's people... cause this rain storm isn't over yet!

When it Rains.... it Pours CONTINUED!

2008-05-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

So we have skipped passed when it rains it pours and gone right too when it Rains it pours, and then the temperature dramatically drops and everything freezes over!!!! Let me explain....

So, our new situation began Friday morning when Adalie woke up. She came into our room and laid in bed with us. When I had to get up to get in the shower, I was whispering for her to stay in bed with Daddy and to be quiet. She kept yelling back to me, "What?" and I kept saying it over and over until finally I was shouting it to her!

That continued all day! So Saturday, Tony and I did a few experiments with her and discovered if you talk to her in a "church voice" or softer, she can't hear you! Even talking right in her ear! At first we thought maybe it was selective hearing, but you could ask her if she wanted a bag of M&M's and she still would not respond. Every once in a while she will answer you right away when you talk softly to her, but I can't tell if it was because she was watching me and anticipating the question, or if the hearing comes and goes. I am praying that she has an ear infection and some fluid build up or something! The worse part about all of this is.... last week my mom and I watched a show on Lifetime (I know.. pathetic) that was about a mother and her son who both went deaf at the age of 3!!!! AHHHH! So I called our ENT today and they told me that he was out of town today, but that she needed to be seen first thing in the morning!! So I will take her in tomorrow and they will look at her ears and do a hearing test.

Wish us luck!

So cute!

2008-05-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

So here are the pictures of Carson in his adorable new glasses!!! So far he has done great! He has only tried to take them off a few times! The first few pictures are kind of blurry cause he kept moving, but you can get a good enough look at how cute he looks!

When it Rains.... it Pours!

2008-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

At least that seems to be the case with little Carson! Yesterday we had a series of appointments up at Primary Children's. First we had to have his hips x-rayed. I guess it isn't normal to not be walking by 18 months! HAHA! I was anxious to learn the results of these x-rays because if it was hip dysplasia, more than likely he would need to be in a cast! They told me they couldn't give me the results because they had to send them to our Pediatrician. So then we walked up stairs to the Pediatric Ophthalmologist where he needed a simple "lazy eye" checked. Which by the way, has never looked lazy to me!! 2 hours and several painful eye drops later we left with a surgery scheduled and a beautiful new pair of glasses!.... which I must add are ADORABLE on him!! But how do you get an 18 month old to wear glasses you ask?..... Let me know when you find the answer!! As for the surgery, he needs to have his tear ducts probed (which actually is the same surgery Adalie had when she was a year old). Not too bad of a surgery, but a surgery none the less! I think Carson might possibly hate doctors!

On the upside, our Pediatrician called me to let me know his hips actually look good!! Which means it is probably muscular so he is starting physical therapy! Don't get me wrong, in general my kids are very healthy kids. I am grateful we haven't had to experience anything more traumatic than these few small surgeries which he will recover magnificently from! Thank goodness for my new job with great insurance!... and too bad I just started a new job and have had to take so many days off!! :-)

Sweet Carson!

2008-05-08T13:35:00.001-07:00

Carson went in today for his second tympanostomie (tubes) surgery. This time they also had to remove his adenoids. Let me tell you how excited I was when they told me to have him there at 6:30 am!!! Wake up a 1 year old AND tell him he can't have a bottle.... not a good combo!

You've got to love the Looney Toons gown!

Carson is such a cuddler!

This was as soon as they let us back into recover!

They had us sit in a Pediatric Recovery room until he was discharged. Apparently Tony needed to recover from his lack of sleep as well!

My sweet baby boy!! He was so groggy and his throat hurt so bad!! (They removed his adenoids through his mouth/throat) He's been a sleep most of the time we have been home, but when he's awake he is so upset!! Hopefully the tylenol with codeine will kick in for him soon!!!

Deja Vu!

2008-05-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Another Birthday celebration and another fabulous dinner at Tepanyaki! Last night I went to dinner with my fantastic friends Valerie and Anne-Marie for Anne-Marie's and my Birthdays! It was so much fun!!! I absolutely love these girls!

(Val, Me & Anne-Marie)

Thank you Ladies!

He's Here!!

2008-05-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

He's here!!! My new nephew is finally here!!! Yesterday Caroline delivered a BEAUTIFUL healthy baby boy! He weighted 7 lbs and is 21 inches. He has an amazing head of hair and is SO adorable!!!!

William "Liam" Shephard Clayton

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Proud Family: Scott, Caroline & big brother Lex

Happy Birthday Jenn!

2008-05-05T05:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my older sister Jenn's birthday!! What an amazing lady! She runs a non-profit animal rescue organization while managing to somehow work 40 hours a week!

She has a way with animals and kids that is like nothing I have ever seen before! She can calm them pretty much by being around them!

She is brilliant, beautiful, strong and an amazing sister, daughter and aunt!

A few years ago I had the opportunity to live next door to her and what a blessing that was! Now that I don't live next door and I no longer work with her.. I miss her!!

Jenn, I hope you have a fabulous birthday!! I love you!

Also, Happy Birthday to my great friend Anne-Marie Hildebrandt!!

Randomness

2008-05-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

I had a few pictures I wanted to post from my birthday, but I couldn't find my device to import my pictures! So now that I've found that device, here are a few of them!

I am SO proud of this birthday cake! Adalie decorated the whole thing by herself!!! She is absolutely amazing me with her drawing and writing!!

Busted!!!

Me and my girl!

Total random picture of Carson playing with my blush brush!!!

Carson's Version of Dancing!

2008-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Carson is so hilarious!! He is CRAZY about music!! Since he doesn't walk yet, this is his version of dancing!! He does this EVERY time my dad starts playing the piano!!

Only in Utah!!

2008-05-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

For all my friends living outside of Utah... laugh it up!!

Are you kidding me?! Are you freaking kidding me?! It is seriously snowing right now! It is May 1st and it is snowing!!!!! Not only is it snowing... but wasn't it just 80 degrees 2 days ago?!!! Only in Utah!!! I swear... I am moving!!! :-)

Round 2!

2008-04-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, I was holding Carson and noticed that his ear was draining blood and puss! So I took him into his ENT and he put him on an anti-biotic for an ear infection. The day after he finished the anti-biotic, I noticed the other ear started draining blood and puss! So I took him back in and the Dr. noticed that one of his tubes had come out. He gave me some drops to use but Carson continued to seem in pain. So today I took him back in and we learned that the one ear that was missing the tube had completely healed shut which normally would be a good thing, except it trapped fluid behind the eardrum!! Then he looked in the "good" ear and it wasn't doing so good!! So they had to strap Carson down to a board, clean out the "good" ear and remove the tube because the infection was so bad! Then he told me Carson has to have another surgery next week to put in new tubes and to remove his adenoids! My poor baby!!!! All I can say is he has been such a trooper!! He is pleasant and a fantastic sleeper even with all he is going through!!

Lets just hope for our sake (and his) that the 2nd times the charm!!!

Birthday Weekend!

2008-04-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

So ya know how in some cultures, wedding and birthday celebrations last for days?? Well.. I had one of those birthdays!!! First, during the week, I got to go out to dinner with my girlfriends Joy, Alicia and Holly! We were laughing at the fact that for the 4 of us to go out to dinner.. we have to get a table for 11 because we bring 7 kids! HAHA I love you girls!

Then, on Friday night, my girlfriends Kat, Tiff, Brook and Keelee took me out to dinner at Tepanyaki!! It was fantastic!! This group of girls is hilarious!! I seriously never stop laughing! Its funny that we are all friends because I met all of them in completely different circumstances and yet they were all friends before I knew any of them!

(Me and Keelee)

(Brooke, Kat & Tiff)

Then on Saturday, my Mom, sister-in-laws Kami & Caroline and I went up to Park City for lunch and shopping!!! It was fabulous!! Sunday my family came over and we had a delicious barbecue and had a few Wii matches!!! Needless to say.. my weekend was wonderful! I have so many more pictures I want to post, but can't find my adapter for my memory card! As soon as I find it, I will post more pictures!

Thank you everyone!!

The Georgie Awards

2008-04-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate enough to join a fabulous group called Citrine. It is a Celtic group headed by a phenomenal musician named Anne-Marie Hildebrandt. I am playing the violin with them.

This weekend we played at an event called The Georgie Awards in St. George. This is an awesome group of girls!Angie, Brittany, Tricia & Tracie

Tanis and the Citrine sign!

On the left... Anne-Marie and to her right, Lena.

Valerie and her beautiful daughter, Monica

Zzzzzzzzzz

2008-04-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Aside from the fact that I have been "bobbing" all day, and falling asleep while sitting up working, I hit an all new low for tiredness today. It is 3:30pm and I have been here for 9 hours after only getting 4 hours of sleep. I decided to get up and walk around in attempts to wake up. During that time, I went to use the restroom. Does anyone know where this story is going yet??? Yes! I fell asleep while using the restroom in seriously 15 seconds!!!! I need more sleep!!!!!

Congrats to my Babe!!

2008-04-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

This article was published in the Daily Utah Chronicle today...

"The Society of Professional Journalists recognized The Daily Utah Chronicle as the best all-around daily student newspaper in its region Saturday. The organization presented the award along with the rest of its 2007 Mark of Excellence awards.

The Chronicle competed in region nine, which includes universities and colleges in Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado. Staff members collected 11 first-place awards, one second-place award and six third-place awards. First-place winners will now be entered in the national competition."

...And guess who 3 of the first place awards went to?..... MY BABE!!!!

Congratulations Babe!

Here is a direct link to the article. http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2008/04/15/News/The-Daily.Utah.Chronicle.Recognized.For.Excellence-3325158.shtml

Typing Test

2008-04-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is pretty fun!

99 words

http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com">Speed>

TAG: Where were you 10 years ago

2008-04-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

10 years ago I was a Sophomore at.... well... it depends?! I started the first 2 months at Skyline Highschool, then transferred to Brighton where I got Mono and had to be home schooled. Then I was fortunate enough to need a major foot operation on both my feet at the same time where I was going to be in casts and non weight barring for 3 months!!! And yes... this includes OVER my 16th birthday!!!!! That is the worse thing I can think of for someone turning 16!! My dad was sweet enough to get me a new Rodeo and I just got to look at it in the driveway for months!! So I finished off the year being home schooled and that was that!

5 Jobs that I have had:-
Clayton Plastic Surgery (every position there! ;)
Selling Shows - trade show company San Diego, CA
S.C.P.I.E (Southern California Physicians Insurance Exchange) San Diego, CA
Stay at home Mom (and YES that is a job!!!)
University of Utah Medical Group (current)

5 Places I have visited:-
Mexico
Japan
England
France
Dominican Republic.

5 things on my to do list:-
Lose weight
Read the book of mormon
Get on top of my finances
Establish a workout routine
Do more activities with my kids

5 things you may not know:-
I'm not a private person, so everyone pretty much knows everything about me! But I would have to say I have a shoe, purse and jewelry fetish!
I have very poor self esteem
I am always hot! And therefore... I hate the heat!
I hate to read!

5 things that I am so thankful for:-
My husband and kids
That my kids are healthy!
My incredible job opportunity
My family
My friends!

I tag: Kami, Caroline, Cari, Cynthia Dean,

Happy Birthday Caroline!

2008-04-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet Sister-in-law Caroline's birthday!! She, Kami and I are all 26 this year!!! Getting old!! Caroline joined our family 6 years 2 months ago!!! I am so grateful to have her as my sister!! She is one of the most generous, loving, beautiful, brilliant women I know!!

This is a picture of Caroline with Adalie

Caroline and Lex's first Halloween!

Scott and Caroline went out to dinner tonight, and when they came back we had a little surprise gathering and cake for her!!

Sweet Caroline is 8 months pregnant with baby boy number 2!! Caroline, I love you to no end and hope you had a fabulous day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

WOW!

2008-03-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for your offers to help my friend!! I was so touched to see how many of you responded within hours of me publishing that post!! Thank you thank you!!

Many of you are asking me where to send the money. Please send the money to me, but made out to Emily Taylor. Or you can make it out to me and I will cut her one big check?? If you need my address, please leave a message on this post with your email address and I will email it to you!!

Thank you again!! You guys are doing a very wonderful thing!! and I appreciate it more than you will ever know!!

A Sad Day

2008-03-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

A very good friend of mine delivered some very sad news today. She and her ex husband recently divorced with two small children (2 & 7 months). This morning he took his own life. My friend is unquestionably devastated and doesn't know what to do! She has been home raising her two small babies with the help of child support. She now has to go back to work full time and try and figure out how she is going to support her family.

I am asking 3 things. First of all, please keep my friend Emily in your prayers. Second, could you all please keep your eyes and ears open for any great job opportunity. And last, I am going to try and raise some money for her. Whether it be through a fundraiser or some sort, or through donations. If any of you are willing and able, please let me know.

So Proud!!

2008-03-27T19:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight I was in my room getting ready for tomorrow when Adalie asked me to come in her bedroom cause she wanted to show me something. When I asked her what she wanted to show me she said, "her drawing board" So I walked in expecting to see some scribbles and this is what I saw!!!

I could not believe it!!!! She did this entire thing by herself! Adalie actually learned how to write her own name!! Last week she couldn't even write a letter and now she can do this?!! I am SO proud!!! As you can tell... she even corrected her "d's" that started out as "b's" Good job baby girl!!!

Easter!

2008-03-24T21:05:00.001-07:00

Okay, so usually I have a day where I take pictures all day and not one of them turn out. Well, yesterday I had the opposite happen and I have way too many pictures I wanted to post.. so... sorry!! :D

Carson's Easter Basket

Addie's Easter Basket

After I got Addie ready for church, she was so mad that I made her stop playing with her new things that she refused to smile for me!! But we got that to change, by saying if she didn't smile she wasn't going to get her basket back today! (I know.. I'm horrible!)

I only got one picture of the two of them together because right after I put Carsey up there, he head butted Addie!

Those of you who knew Addie growing up know that she LOVED the grass!! Carson curls his toes and lifts his heels up off the grass and can not stand to touch it!

Later on we went over to the Pizza's! Uncle Ajay and Aunt Ali were playing bubbles with the kids. This was Carson's first time with bubbles and he was going crazy!!! I have never seen a baby so crazy over bubbles.

(The kids with Papa Brad)

Addie finished up the evening with a game of basketball with her 6'3" tall Uncle Ajay.
Needless to say... she was pretty tuckered!

A Day at the V.A.

2008-03-17T06:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Tony woke up in so much pain! His foot had hurt the day before, but nothing like when he woke up! I know boys can be a little dramatic.. but Tony woke up telling he he thought he had to have his foot cut off!! I was a little nervous because my new insurance doesn't kick in until the beginning of April, and right now, he is currently not insured. So I decided to call the VA Hospital and see if he was covered. To my usually unlucky surprise, they told me he was covered 100% at the VA! So we took him in to have his foot X-Rayed. Luckily, it was not broken, at least not that they can see at this point. They told him he probably stretched his tendons in a few different places but if the pain and swelling didn't stop in the next few days that he could have a hairline fracture. So, while we were sitting there, I of course had to get my camera out!! When Tony asked me what I was doing, I replied "blogging duh!"
Thanks babe for being such a good sport!
(Yes he is in shorts in the middle of a blizzard!)

Update!

2008-03-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well... a lot and nothing have been going on for the last while! I have completed my second week of being a full time working Mom and must admit I still LOVE it!! I do miss the kids, a lot, but work has been great. This is a picture of the building I work in, (and yes, it is the building that was just in the news for a stolen laptop) I work with the greatest people, and have the greatest boss!

Miss Addie has been so stimulated during the week, that on her down time, she is exhausted! She is loving "Pretty-school" and has already learned so much

Carson still is NOT walking... but has learned how to climb up and over ANYTHING!! The other day Tony and I found him climbing over the back side of the couch! And if you turn you head for 2 seconds he is up on the counter. I know most kids do that... but I just found it strange that he can climb everything but still doesn't walk?!!!

Ode to my Momma!

2008-03-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Most people think their Mom is the best, but I'm here to set the record straight... MY MOM IS THE BEST!! She is always thinking of others, always doing for others and never asks anything of herself! A cute story I wanted to share, was my experience this morning! This morning my Mom took me to the bus stop. As we pulled up, she asked me if I wanted to wait in the car until the bus came. I told her I would be fine. So I got out of the car and she pulled away. No more than 2 minutes later, as I was standing at the bus stop, I looked across Highland drive and saw my mom very slowly pulling into a parking lot across the street!! She waited there until I got on the bus!!
It seems like no matter how old your babies get, you will always worry about them! I love you Momma! Thanks for always worrying about me, and for always taking care of me!!!

I love you!

PS... the job is going great!! Thank you to all of you who called (or wrote) to tell me good luck! I'll give a bigger update after my first week!

Confession

2008-02-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, even though I don't start work until Monday, the kids had to start daycare this week. My confession is, although I miss the kids like crazy while they are gone, this was one of the best weeks! Did you know a cleaning job that might take you 6 hours one day, you can get done in about 2 if your kids are gone?! And today, was a stay-at-home Moms dream!..(and probably the working Moms dream for that matter!) This morning I dropped the kids off in the morning and spent 2 hours at the gym!! Then I came home and took a 45 minute bath with a diet coke and skinny cow!! For those of you who have never tried bathing with ice cream... I highly recommend it! Then I laid on the couch and caught up on all the trashy shows I've had recorded but have never had time to watch!! Ahhhh... what a day!

I'm going back to work!

2008-02-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

I have been a stay at home mom for 3 years now and I must say, I have loved it! We were fortunate enough to have things work out so I was able to stay home! Things haven't been quite as comfortable lately, so Tony and I discussed the possibility of me going back to work. Well... someone definitely has a plan in mind for me because opportunities have been handed to me on a silver platter! As soon as we decided I should find a job, a great friend of mine told me of a wonderful job opening. But then I fought with the idea of what to do with my kids!! I knew my mom couldn't watch them 5 days a week and I didn't know enough about day care or feel comfortable enough with one!! That very day, my mom showed me a letter she got in the mail of a daycare running in our neighborhood!!! I quickly called them and asked how long their waiting list was, and she told me she just had 2 openings!!! Now just to make this story even cooler, she hasn't had a turn around in 7 years!!! And she just had 2 openings??!! I quickly told her I wanted them and ran her over a check. (Yes... without even having a job yet!) I just knew this was too good to be true! So I had my interview with this company and felt really good about it!! It just felt like I was suppose to be there! She told me she would call me back for a second interview, and she did. I went in this morning and met with a few other people and... I GOT THE JOB!!! I am thrilled about this job! It is for the University of Utah Medical Group down town. I am going to be an Administrative Assistant. No more paying $500 a month for crappy healthcare either! WAHOO.

The down side is, I will miss my kids!!! Any advise from any working mothers out there?? Wish me luck!

Tagged

2008-02-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

Who do I love? Tony Frank Pizza

How long have you been married? 6 1/2 years
How long did you date? We got engaged on our 1 year anniversary and were married 4 1/2 months later!
Who said I love you first? He did! We had just spent the week together in St. George and he had to drive back to San Diego. Since we were dating long distance, goodbyes were very emotional for me!! I remember crying and hugging him (in the bathroom) and he started to cry and told me he loved me!
Who is taller? Tony by about 6 inches
Who can sing better? Um... I think I can?!
Who is smarter? I consider myself smart.. but Tony is brilliant!
Who does the laundry? Definitely me!
Who pays the bills? Tony does, but I probably should!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are facing the bed, I do.
Who mows the lawn? Usually Tony, but I have on occasion.
Who cooks dinner? I do, because Tony is never home, but he is definitely the better cook!
Who drives? Tony does unless he is sick or too tired.

LOVE YOU BABE!

I tag: Brooke, Heather, Cassie, Camee, Caroline, Tracy & Kristen

Ms. Adalie

2008-02-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

My little sister took Adalie on an adventure today and came home with Addie's first fish which she appropriately named Nemo!
I found this fascinating! Adalie was drawing and came up with this!!.. Completely by herself!! Then she had Missy label who was who! I think she is going to be an artist! If you notice, she gave all the girls hair, and made Carson teeny tiny!

Do you have an Addie or a Carson?

2008-02-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

Just because your kids look alike, does not mean they are alike! My 2 babies Adalie and Carson are completely different!! For example, here are some of Adalies traits.

Adalie is my fair complected red head. She was a very mellow baby. She hardly ever cried and always had a smile on her face. Although she was affectionate, she didn't always like to be held. She was and is a horrible eater!! She has her 4 staples which consist of peanut butter and jelly, chicken nuggets, cheese and yogurt! She had such bad "potty problems" she had to go to Primaries by the time she was 3 months old and still has problems. When she was about 9 months old, she would sit through an entire Baby Einstein and now would love to sit through 3 feature films in a row. She was walking by 12 months and had about 12 teeth. She was talking at the age of 16 months saying things like, Momma, Dadda, Nana, Papa and turtle (and a few other animals). She knew what sounds most animals made and could point to any letter of the alphabet you told her to.

Carson has much more of Tony's coloring and blond hair... which is another difference!... he has hair!! He had a rough start with his lungs, and had a double ear infection every single time I took him to the Drs since he was 2 weeks old! Therefore, he spent the first 10 months being a very ornery crying baby. Carson always wants to be held!! He is happy as can be if he is being held and he loves to cuddle! This kid is a garbage disposal! He will eat anything you put infront of him! He loves all vegetables, fish, meat, pastas, soups... pretty much anything! He also needs his diaper changed about 10 minutes after he eats anything! He will not sit through any type of show or movie for more than 4 minutes! Carson is 15 months old now and is STILL not walking! He didn't get his first tooth until he was 12 months old and will only say Dadda and woof woof. Other than that, he is fine with having no communication!

So, which of these two do you have? One of each? Are they both one way? I will say that they are now both very happy babies and both sleep very well! I'm glad they are both who they are and love my babies!!

Finally!

2008-02-16T09:46:00.001-08:00

Finally!! My sister-in-law Caroline is selling Arbonne and shared this product with me. Its called Hybrids. It is a daily power punch for kids and here is what it consists of:
Blueberries, carrot powder, broccoli powder, tomato powder, cabbage powder, spinach powder, parsley powder, boysenberries, rasberries, cranberries, apple, pumpkin, pomegranate & elderberries. (Plus NO extra sugar)
The best part?.... My beyond pickiest eater / drinker Adalie LOVES it!!!! Thats right, she loves it and she does NOT try anything new!! I have tried the V-8 splash drinks and every other drink that claims to mix fruits and veggies for your picky kids and she will not drink those!! Now, the directions say to mix it with water and I will be quite honest, its not very good. But, I mixed it with Crystal light and both she and Carson have now had their daily fruits and veggies! If any of you are interested in purchasing this, let me know and I'll contact Caroline!!

Winter Day Fun!

2008-02-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

We were having one of those days today, where we definitely needed to get out of the house!! I remember seeing the Living Planet Aquarium on my friend Anne Marie's blog and decided to give it a try! We packed a pb&j lunch and headed out!

Addie's favorite part was the jelly fish tank.

2008-02-08T14:15:00.001-08:00

She posed for this picture all by herself!

A fun day out would not be complete without a stop to Micky-D's for some ice cream!

This by the way, was Carson's very first ice cream cone! He loved it and finished it in about 90 seconds!

Daddy Daughter Date!

2008-02-06T06:55:00.000-08:00

The other day, Tony took Adalie to a University of Utah basketball game. Since he works at the paper, a photographer knew who he was and snapped these great photos for him!

Super Bowl!

2008-02-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

We had everyone over last night for the Super Bowl! It was a lot of fun! I decorated the table to look like a football field. It turned out pretty cute!

Since none of "our teams" went to the Super Bowl this year,(with the exception of Matt, who was all for the Giants!) we had to make it interesting! For those of you who haven't played this way, basically, we each got to put our name in 11 squares, then randomly drew numbers 0-9 to go on each side. Then, at the end of the 1st quarter, half time, 3rd quarter and final, you would find the last digit of each teams score and whose ever name was in the intersecting square, won a prize! It definitely made things intense, and got everyone interested in the game!

My cute dad still in his suit and tie!

It didn't hurt to watch the game on a 70 inch high-def screen either!

2008-02-04T06:54:00.001-08:00

The food at this Super Bowl party was unlike any other party we have had!! It was ALL healthy food!!

Kami made a fabulous whole wheat pizza crust to which we had 3 different pizzas. A chicken, low-carb bbq sauce & mozzarella, a marinara & mozzarella, and a mozzarella, tomato & basil!

A lot of people have asked me for the delicious veggie dip recipe, so here it is!
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 cup fat free sour cream and a packet of fat free (also calorie free!) ranch powder. Stick that in a blender or food processor and you are in for a delicious treat!

Okay, not everything was healthy. I HAD to make my sugar cookies!

2008-02-04T06:48:00.001-08:00

I don't know what it was about tonight, but the kids were out of control!

(Adalie sitting on Carson... who was not too happy about it!)

At one point, all 4 kids were actually sitting and playing!
One of the games Adalie, Gage and Lex decided to play was putting these wooden spoons in their mouths and spitting them into the bowl!! Where do they come up with these things!

By the end of the game, everyone was pretty tired!

Help!

2008-02-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

So, I've come across a new dilemma, and I'm not sure how to fix it! My kids are pretty good sleepers and have always done about 11 - 12 hours per night. Well, my new problem is, no matter what time I put Adalie to bed, and no matter if she has a nap or not, she has started waking up at 6:30!!! Has any one else experienced this problem?? Does anyone know how I can get her to sleep in later? Lame problem, I know, but its killing me!!!

President Hinckley

2008-01-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

1910-2008

What an AMAZING man! It is hard to imagine that he passed away. The way he traveled, spoke and even joked, made you feel like he was going to live forever! Although I never personally met him, he will be greatly missed in my life. I look forward to teaching my kids about him! For my friends belonging to other faiths, Gordon B. Hinckley was the President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Sibling Love!

2008-01-24T14:31:00.001-08:00

This morning while the kids were watching one of their shows, they were being so cute I had to take a couple photos!

Don't you love Adalies bed head!

Turn your back for one minute and....

2008-01-24T14:29:00.001-08:00

You have someone helping you unload faster than you can load!

Winter Days

2008-01-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Adalie loves to build forts!

This one was actually quite roomy!

Think Warm Thoughts!

2008-01-21T10:13:00.001-08:00

I decided to add this post for all my friends in San Diego, Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida! Ya.. you know who you are! I hope your enjoying your warm weather!! This is what we woke up to today! We had no snow on the ground yesterday! These pictures were taken around 8:00 this morning and it is not suppose to stop snowing until 6:00 pm! My kids were ornery enough this morning, my sweet mom decided she would rather snow blow than watch my kids and have me do it!!

Madame Adalie the painter!

2008-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Adalie told me she wanted to paint. So I got all her stuff out and was taking her to the table when she told me "Just a sec Mom, I have to go to my dress up basket first!" So she ran down stairs and came back up with this beret! Too cute!

The Dice Divas

2008-01-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

So, I obviously didn't get too many pictures, but I started with a Bunko group last week!! It was SO much fun! We decided to have the team name of "The Dice Divas". I only knew 2 of the girls when I went, but LOVE all the girls that are playing! Thanks for the invite Kat!

Cute little boy!

2008-01-21T10:01:00.001-08:00

Just thought I would add this cute little picture of Carson!! He LOVES the piano! He can be screaming his head off, but if someone plays the piano, or you let him play the piano, he is so happy!

Welcome Kaleb!

2008-01-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends, Alicia (Howe) Phillips welcomed baby number 2 yesterday, the 8th ! Kaleb Bryant Phillips. He weighs 7lbs 15 0z and is ADORABLE!!! Both mom and baby did great for the delivery. However, on their way home from the hospital today (yes, she's crazy and only stayed 1 day) they were in a car accident and had to go back to the emergency room! Both Alicia and Steve suffered minor back injuries, but little Kaleb was safe and sound and even stayed asleep! Luckily, Alicia's 2 year old Jack, wasn't in the car!

Proud Moma!

Please "Aunt" Lizz... no more pictures!!

Happy Family, Alicia, Steve, Jack & Kaleb Phillips!

Congrats! Love you guys!

Growing up so fast!

2008-01-06T17:08:00.001-08:00

People are always telling me that it is such an emotional feeling when your kid goes to Kindergarten and you sit back and think.."I have a child old enough to go to school?!" Well, on a lesser note, I had that same experience today when Adalie went to Primary!! No more nursery! I looked at her this morning and felt like she had grown up over night! I was worried to send her to Primary today with the new church time because she would be missing her nap and because she does NOT like change! I spent the first 5 minutes standing outside her door to see if she would come running out screaming.... but she didn't?! Then after church, her teacher called me to tell me Adalie was a model child! That she wished all the kids would have sat and acted like Addie! WOW! I was so suprised! And so proud I might add!! (You can't tell she's my first child can you!! )

Band Geek Party!

2008-01-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

Did I say band geeks??? I meant band BABES!!! Last night I got together with some very incredible friends! It was us 4 band babes, Valeries friends Pam and Darv (the hosts) and their friends Hilary and Carl!Christine, Kat & Val
(No body told me we were all suppose to match! ;)

Pam and Darv were so sweet to host an incredible dinner at their place! It was some of the best food I have ever tasted!

Pam invited Hilary and her husband over so Hilary could teach me the mandolin! Thank you Hilary! You are amazing at that thing!

Hilary and her husband Carl. After a fun night of fantastic food and playing awesome music, we wrapped up the night with an intense game of Ticket to Ride!

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Adalie getting ready for her "Pre-midnight" New Years celebration!

You don't get any luckier than this!

This was mine and Tony's 8th New Years together!! Happy New Year Babe!

My siblings came over tonight for food, games and more games!

2008-01-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

My older sister Jenn and myself.

Momma and Me!

The Girls, Caroline, Mom, myself and Kami.

The Boys playing Wii! Scott, Pete & Tony.

2008-01-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

Our family should have invented the game of Catch Phrase!! We are so competitive and animated with this game, it is way too funny!

12:00 Happy New Year! (No worries, that is Martinelli Pete is holding!)

Lex decided to have a party of his own!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

Snow Day!

2007-12-31T08:30:00.001-08:00

At first, I looked over and saw her like this and thought she couldn't get up because she didn't move!! So I ran over to her and yelled for her to get up and she jumped right up and was laughing!!

2007-12-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

Tony and Addie kept flying into the enormous piles of snow!

Tony getting about 4 feet of air on his swan dive!

My mom and Tony decided to have a snowball fight!!

Carson on the recorder!

2007-12-30T14:28:00.001-08:00

This was so cute, I had to share!! I came around the corner and saw Carson playing with this recorder. If you listen carefully on the video, every time he gets the recorder to whistle he laughs!

Sorry its a little long!

Christmas Morning!

2007-12-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas!! Here were some of the highlights!

Addie was so excited about her "Dr. kit" she didn't even see the huge wrapped gift next to her!! It was a kitchen from her Nana and Papa!

Addie, opening gifts at Nona and Papas house.

You'll notice there aren't any pictures of Carson. Some might think this is aweful, but we thought it was great that we planned his naps around the most chaotic moments in the house! (Don't worry, I have some pictures of him on his 2nd Christmas!! :D

The family favorite was the Wii system my parents bought! It was hilarious watching Addie box my dad!

Photo Shoot

2007-12-30T14:15:00.001-08:00

I took the kids over to my brother Scotts the other day to take Carsons 1 year photo and Addies 3 year photo!! Luckily, we caught a couple good shots!!

Failed Attempt

2007-12-21T21:27:00.001-08:00

So a few weeks ago I took some pictures of the kids in attempts to send out a Christmas card! Long story short... I never got around to actually finishing the card, so here are the pictures!

Merry Christmas!

Shakin and Sugar Cookies!

2007-12-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Today Adalie and I made sugar cookies!! The video was too cute to pass up! She had no idea I was taking it!

A day out with my girl!

2007-12-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

This morning Adalie and I got up and decided to go outside to play in the snow! So with Tony and Carson sleeping, we wrapped Addie up just like the little boy on A Christmas Story and headed out! Our main goal... a snow man!! Adalie kept falling over and couldn't get back up because she was so thick in her snow suit!

Adalie and her Aunt Missy.

His eyes and buttons were Cookie Crisp cereal, the nose was a pine cone and his mouth was a piece of licorice!

By the end of our morning, Adalie decided the snowmans mouth would taste better in hers!!!

A Few Goodie Creations!

2007-12-08T10:17:00.001-08:00

The other day my mom and I had to put together 30 baskets for our office Christmas Party! I was very proud of a few of the inventions, so thought I would shard them!! The top picture was a peppermint sugar cookie dipped in white chocolate!

Carmel covered carmel popcorn!

The one I am most excited about were the 60 carmel, chocolate covered pretzel sticks we made!!

These were some of the baskets we made!!

Which got us to thinking... if any of you ever want some cute gift baskets with a ton of home-made goodies... just let me know!!! :D

My Poor Kids!

2007-12-07T13:26:00.001-08:00

My poor kids have been so sick!! It started as a cold, and then turned into the Adenoid Virus! They both went 5 or 6 days without eating anything! Carson even got to the point where he wouldn't take any liquids from me! I finally had to squeeze his cheeks and drop pedialight into his mouth through a straw! They both had horrible diarrhea, vomiting and fevers!! Carson went 2 days with only being awake about 4 hours a day, and the entire time he was awake, he wouldn't lift his head up! Needless to say, it has been VERY long week!

Adalie and Tony sleeping on the couch. Yes, Addie is sleeping... She has always slept with her eyes open!

I thought this was a cute picture. When Carson was first getting sick, he was laying on the kitchen floor and decided to roll himself up in the rug!

Today we finally hit a turning point! Carson woke up happy today, which I thought was strange. Then, when I came upstairs, he wanted to eat, and not just a little bit!! They both seem to be instantly back to their old selves!

Help Needed!

2007-12-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

I need every ones opinion!!! I am part of a group that consists of 4 girls. 2 vocalists, one pianist and myself on the violin. We are starting to take off and have one minorly major problem... we have NO band name!!!! I would greatly appreciate any input from all of you!! Thanks!

Billy Joel Concert!

2007-11-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Last night we got to go to the Billy Joel concert! It was so much fun! My dad had bought tickets for my mom, and then tried to win some auction tickets! Well... he won the auction tickets and therefor had 2 extra tickets!! Tony was such a big fan, my dad said we could have them!! Thanks dad!!
Tony and I took about 12 self portraits trying to get him to keep his eyes open but he just couldn't do it!! HAHA

The man himself! It was a great stage set up!

My Mom and Dad outside the Energy Solutions Arena.

A Few Random Pictures!

2007-11-25T22:37:00.001-08:00

Carson sitting on the rocking chair his Grandma Tori made him for his birthday!

I caught this picture at the perfect moment when Cars was sitting on the couch with Addie!

Family portrait at Carsons birthday party.

It was so cute to see the kids all decked out in their Utah gear!! To bad the day quickly turned depressing!!! :(

Carson's Party

2007-11-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures from Carson's Birthday!! You've got to love that first birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Carson!

2007-11-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

One year ago today I was begging my Doctor to admit me!! He told me he couldn't because I was too early, but when he saw me burst into tears and refuse to go home, he told me to think really hard about having contractions and maybe I could trick my body! He then said that if I had even the tiniest of contractions I should go to the Womens Center! So I went to the Womens Center just like he told me to and they hooked me up to the monitors. The nurse said, "So your having contractions?" and I told her "Yes, bad ones!" We both looked at the monitor and... NO CONTRACTIONS!! I told her that was weird because they were really hurting (even though I wasn't having a single one!) She told me she would have to call the Dr. To my very happy surprise, she came back in with a very confused look and said, "he wants us to admit you"!!! THANK YOU DOC!!!

At 6:56 pm after a long 4 hour labor (hehe :D Carson Bradford Pizza was born. According to my dates he was 2 weeks early, but according to the nurses he was 4 weeks early!! Thank goodness because he came in weighing a lovely 9lbs 1oz and 20 1/2 inches! He would have been a 12 pound baby had I gone to term!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of one of the loves of my life!!

Welcome Baby Girl Williams!

2007-11-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

One of my very best friends Joy Williams, her husband Mike and their darling little girl Rachel, welcomed baby girl Williams #2 into their family today! She was born today, weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches. She is currently unnamed, but I'll be sure to update you when I find out!!

Congratulations guys!! I love you and am so excited for you!! Can't wait to meet her!

An Emotional Awakening

2007-11-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Geez! This morning has been a very emotional one!! It started out as any other day, but as I was watching the "TODAY SHOW" they had a clip on St. Jude's Hospital. Meredith walked around the hospital talking to kids who had cancer or tumors and who were going through chemo and radiation. I burst into tears when I saw these 2 and 3 year olds bald and hooked to all sorts of tubes. They were all so happy and grateful they were getting help! WOW! Was I ever humbled! Some days I find myself feeling so upset that my kids are whinny or that Carson isn't crawling yet, or that they mess up a room faster than I can clean 1 toy up... meanwhile completely seeing past the fact that I have 2 beautiful, healthy kids with perfect immune systems and healthy hearts. Especially around this season of thanks, I am so grateful for my family! On the same show this morning, Faith Hill was giving a concert dedicated to the troops. During one of her songs, they showed a VA Hospital and had all the injured troops watching Faith's performance. I again burst into tears as I thought about how grateful I am that Tony came home safely after being in the war for a year! I thought about the times I got a phone call from him after his base had been bombed, and after he was driving around Iraq in an open Humvee. How lucky I am that he was safe and was able to come home!

Sorry for the burst of emotion, but I thought with it being Thanks Giving and all, I would share a few of my thankful thoughts!!

I, like my friend Joy, always have to have a picture in my post! So here is one of Tony (obviously the one in the middle!) when he was over in the war.

Happy Thanks Giving everyone!

TOO FUNNY!!!

2007-11-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

I had to post this, because it is hilarious!! For anyone who has had to sit through countless Dora the Explorer episodes, this one is for you!!

WARNING! This film may not be suitable for children, parental discretion is advised! (okay, its not that bad, but there is 1 word in it!)

Enjoy!

A Little Piece of Heaven!

2007-11-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Today my mom approached me and said, "Tonight, why don't you set up a time to go to the spa and get a massage and I'll stay here with the kids, and put them to bed so when you get home, you can just relax or go to bed!" ...ARE YOU FOR REAL?!!! is all I could think! So I quickly scheduled my appointment and enjoyed a fabulous massage at the SegoLily Day Spa!

This is a picture of the Meditation Room. It was so nice to go sit in a comfy robe, drink some water and watch the fountains and fire! Then I enjoyed a wonderful massage and came home to.... a quite house with the kids asleep!!! It was a wonderful, fabulous, long needed evening!!! THANK YOU MOM!!

Adalie's Story

2007-11-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

So Tony and I decided to write my favorite stories or phrases by Adalie in a post so we can save them!!

Tonight Adalie was using the bathroom when she called me in. She was very excited to show me her... "finished product"! As she flushed the toilet she said, "Oh, I think the poopses miss their mommy and daddy! Hurry little poopses! Get in your pretend cars and go find all your other family poopses!

I've been Tagged!

2007-11-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

Here are 7 interesting things you may not know about me!

1. I have played the violin since I was 3 years old.

2. I was hit by a truck (as a pedestrian) in the school parking lot.

3. I packed up everything I owned and drove to California with no apartment, no money and no job, all for a boy! Good thing I did! ;) Love ya babe!

4. I sang at a talent show on a cruise ship when I was 8!

5. I use to be a TOTAL kleptomaniac!

6. I've been taken by ambulance 3 times!

7. I was in a wheelchair for 3 months, including over my 16th birthday because I had arches made in both my feet!

I'm going to tag: 1)Cari 2)Cassie 3)D. Clark 4)Nicole Capper 5)Tiff 6)Lindsay M. 7) Lindsay S

Week 3

2007-11-05T07:37:00.001-08:00

So, I don't know whether I am bummed or excited about this weigh-in. I only lost a pound. But considering how Halloween went... and the 3 days to follow... I am thrilled that I didn't gain 5 pounds!! Okay.. I know I said this last time, but its time to kick some trash!

Fall Photo Shoot

2007-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else tried to get just one good picture of your kid, kids or pet and they refuse to cooperate?!!! Well.. that was what happened with our latest attempt. I had both the kids and just needed 3 pictures! One of Carson, Addie and the two of them. Carson was in a horrible mood and would not smile and Adalie would only give me this half way cheesy grin and was set on making her brother slightly more miserable! When all was said and done, I was able to get a few shots! Here they are!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

DEVIL & ANGEL!

I know I'm slightly bias, but Adalie looked truly angelic!
Knowing how my kids do on no naps and tons of sugar, I figured I'd be better off getting pictures the night before Halloween!

2007-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

We tried so hard to get a picture of the 4 grand kids. As you can tell... they weren't too happy! (Carson, Lex, Addie & Gage)
Ahh, Addies true colors! I would have switched their costumes, but they didn't make a very manly angel costume!

Not many people notice Addies eyelashes because they are practically white! Its so funny to see them with makeup because they are so long!

Week 2

2007-10-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well... this week did not go as well as I had hoped. First with our anniversary and then with my Mom's birthday, I sort of fell off the wagon! Okay... maybe I didn't fall off.. I was thrown a good 100 feet!! AHHHH!! So instead of being able to report my weight loss, I have to admit, I still weigh the same! However, I am back on track and ready for big numbers! Thanks again for all your support

Champs!.....AGAIN!

2007-10-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

This ones for you babe!! Boston wins the World Series 4 games to zip! zero! nada! with a final game score of 4 - 3! As some of you know, Tony is a die-hard fan so I thought I would pay him and his team a little tribute!