A Day in the Life of the Fell's

Spring Break

2010-04-28T23:04:00.002-06:00

I know a lot of parents, particularly moms, dread school breaks. I'm not one of them - at least right now. One of our adventures was heading up to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. We first discovered this awesome place last summer and I just need a little bit of an excuse to head up again and again. We took some friends and had a great day out! Topped it off with smart cookies. Yum.

Fire(wo)men for a day.

Beating on the drums in the instrument room.

Easter

2010-04-28T22:55:00.002-06:00

Happy Easter

One of the tables at the Easter feast

One of the kids' tables

Another darling table

Easter egg hunting

Cute little chicks :)

Lauren's newest obsession

2010-04-28T22:43:00.004-06:00

Hats.

The girl loves them.

During the day.

And during the night.

When I finally realized that this wasn't just a passing phase, I figured I'd better get some pictures of this little sleeping beauty and her new love.

Disclaimer: This is in no way staged. No persuasion involved on what hat to wear for sake of pictures. This is just a sampling of the types of hats she chooses to wear. For reasons that must only make sense to her.

(I think she started catching on to me by this time...)

If Life Gives You Lemons...

2010-04-28T22:35:00.002-06:00

Or, if a friend gives you fresh lemons from her mother's tree in California...

You enjoy them in however many ways you can!!

We loved lemon bars, lemon chicken, lemon blueberry bread,

lemon cupcakes, guacamole (hint hint on those avocados...), and more that I can't recall.

Thank you, Cynthia!!!

March

2010-04-28T22:23:00.002-06:00

Both Lauren and Barry have March birthdays, so that's always fun. We're still hoping that Lauren will be blessed with hair one of these birthdays...

blowin' out the candles

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated with green eggs and ham.

It sounds better than it looks.

Barry got to experience the thrill of racing a pimped out Mustang on a real racetrack for his birthday. He now thinks he needs to own some kind of sports car ("I deserve it").

Cute girls

2010-04-28T22:10:00.002-06:00

Cute Lauren

We made some new hair bows/flowers.

Addy, with some friend help, tried them all on. At once.

Indoor Campout

2010-04-28T21:58:00.002-06:00

Working with the scouts, Barry is required now and then to endure exciting campouts in all kinds of weather. So, while he was freezing his booty off outdoors sometime in January or February, the girls and I decided to have a cozy campout in the warmth of our living room.

complete with s'mores (chocolate-flavored cookies and mini marshmallows)

(loved the marshmallows...)

and a princess tent!

And like true scouts, we even got up early... argh

January

2010-04-28T21:48:00.003-06:00

We had our kitchen renovated!! Other than the tattiness of that fridge, it was really fine, and functional. People always seem to redo their kitchens before they sell their homes, in hopes of upping the price or something. Well, we plan to be here for a long time, so we wanted to LIVE in a kitchen that we LOVE. With money and space constraints, you see the (nearly) final product. We like.

Before...

During...

After!

And more after!

December

2010-04-28T21:26:00.005-06:00

We had plenty of December fun...visits with Santa(s), new jammies, the nativity play (Lauren as Mary, Addy as a shepherd), and adventure in the snow!

6 Months in Review...

2010-04-28T21:05:00.003-06:00

I mean, what do you even say? And who cares, really, right? So, we'll skip it all and just hit the highlights of the last SEVERAL months. (And since I can't get this *bleepity bleep* thing to let me move pictures, this will be backwards. Argh. Which would be one of the reasons this blog has not been updated.)

NOVEMBER

Barry took a 10-day-or-so trip to England to visit the family. Here he is with his older brothers, Marlon and Lee. Enjoyed time: with family, with food (i.e. Gregg's bakery; fish, chips 'n mushy peas, Indian), with football (aka soccer). Pretty much it.

Golfing with Lee.

Marlon, Mum (Heather), Dad (Rob), Baz, Lee at sis-in-law Jo's baptism (awesome highlight).

One Smart Cookie

2009-11-12T18:52:00.003-07:00

I love the learning process! Maybe love it more watching it happen in little ones. Here are a couple of Addy's recent writing projects (with translation underneath). She'll ask, "how do you spell (so-and-so)?" I say, "how do you think?" And we get some great responses.

"Lauren Fell's (note the apostrophe on top of the 's' - all by herself) Pocahontas headband"

And here she writes all the "ABC's" and then "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me. To Mom, (heart)-Addy"

Late summer into late fall

2009-11-12T18:35:00.003-07:00

Better late than never, right?

Snippits from the last two months:

Trip to Provo temple

Only campout of the season...in our backyard

A walk on a beautiful fall day

Pumpkin carving

Snow White came to visit us this Halloween

...so did a happy vampire

The gang before trick-or-treating

Getting the loot

What's for lunch?

2009-10-05T21:56:00.001-06:00

Mackie-onie and cheese and eddy-mommy...Lauren's favorite! :) Anyone decipher?

Addy starts Kindergarten

2009-08-29T14:41:00.005-06:00

We knew the day would finally come, but so quickly??! Addy started Kindergarten at Lakeview Elementary on Wednesday. She was pretty excited about going, but had a little sad moment early on. Days 2 & 3 seemed to be better and it'll all look up from here! She's our little darling!

And while she was at school, this little one helped me make some brownies. She's gonna love the mommy-me time.

Whew! Summer 2009

2009-08-19T21:01:00.007-06:00

What a summer! Barry's brother, Lee, and his family (Joanna, Sam, Owen, & Imogen) were here from England for 5 weeks this summer. We had a TON of fun with them and kept VERY busy. Here are just some snippits of our adventures.

Addy & Britt on the Alpine Slide in Park City

Lee & Owen on the Alpine Slide - they loved it!!

Temple Square shot.

We also visited the Conference Center, Beehive House, Church Office Building, Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Energy Solutions Arena. Had some fun times in Salt Lake.

Who are these ghetto kids playing in street water in their underwear?!?

Baz & Lee against the Flaming Gorge dam. These two & Sam had a great time at Scout Camp fishing, boating, tubing, and bonding, of course.

Lee & Sam fishing

Baz, Sam, & Lee at Flaming Gorge

We spent many days at Seven Peaks. Here's Owen & Addy.

Addy & Lauren

We spent a weekend in southern Utah. Here is grandad with Sam by the Mirage in Las Vegas.

Here's a group shot at Zions National Park.

We spent a week at Wolf Creek with the whole family again. It was a great time. Two days were spent at the reservoir with a wave runner. Here's our family Christmas picture this year (right?!!).

Lee & Jo spitting it up in front of our summer home...

Addy, Baz, Owen, & Lee

Lee & Baz - couldn't get enough of each other!

Moms are smart

2009-07-09T19:17:00.004-06:00

I decided to break out some "Cup o' Noodles" for my kids' lunch the other day. You know, the ones that you fill up with boiling water and let sit for 3 minutes to "cook" the dehydrated stuff inside? Something told me it was a bad idea for Lauren (2-year-old) to eat hers in the cup, but I didn't listen. Well, of course, a few minutes into it, hers goes spilling all over the place. And, as I'm sure most mothers do, I say out loud to myself, "How did I KNOW that would happen?" Addy pipes up, "Because you're smart and mothers know everything." "Who told you that, Addy?" "You did a while ago." That's right, Add, that's right...don't you forget it. :)

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T17:15:00.005-06:00

Our 4th was filled with food, swimming, games, relaxing, and fireworks. We always have a great time at Nana and Granddad's with all the cousins and everyone. Here are some pix from the day.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Cuzzies

Baz & James having a game of ping pong (aka table tennis)

Brendan & Addy in the pool

Addy & Lauren in the pool

No more Michael

2009-06-25T19:24:00.003-06:00

I just found out that Michael Jackson died today. How sad. He was only 50. It's a shame he went all weird because he made some dang good music. He's one of my faves.

Snakes on a plane

2009-06-23T18:01:00.001-06:00

Forget "on a plane..." How about in my flippin ROOM!?!? What????

I'm glad I've got a brave husband to catch the little bugger!

FIVE ALREADY?!?!

2009-06-23T16:52:00.004-06:00

Our little girl is 5 YEARS OLD?!?! Crazy as it seems, 'tis true. We had a little mommy-daughter date the night before. All Addy knew was that we were going to go somewhere special - the rest was a surprise. We went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at an outdoor amphitheater. It was a great play! It was stopped once for a "rain delay" and just as it was over, the heavens were OPENED in all their glory. We ended up soaked and crying (just one of us) after it was over, but it was a fun, special night.

Addy with the "B&TB" backdrop in the distance

She wanted a swim party, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Wouldn't ya know that this just happened to be the week of rain. Since there was a glimmer of blue sky when kids arrived, we went straight out to the backyard for some water fun. It didn't last a real long time, but they had fun splashing and playing.

Some of the partygoers in the pool

Lunch time!

Cute cupcakes!

Blowing out the candle

Addy with fun presents from friends - THANK YOU ALL!

We had a birthday celebration dinner at California Pizza Kitchen that night with the local grandparents. After 24 hours of celebrating, we were experiencing meltdown moments.

Lauren, Baz, Nana, Parker, Granddad, Papa Tom, Grandma McConnell, & Addy

In her first nightgown...she loves it!

Lauren had to get in on the action too...princess nighties

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-23T20:52:00.004-06:00

Addy graduated from preschool on Thursday, May 21. The program consisted of lots of songs and poems that they learned during the year. We're so proud of our big girl! She's kind of in the middle of this pic with the striped dress on. Roll on kindergarten!

Here's our graduate (the shadow might hide the whopping cold sore on her face - bless her...she's just like her dad)

Grandma McConnell sure loves her little granddaughter. She brought graduation gifts for the big girl...her own computer!?! What kids are expected to know these days!... (Thanks again, mom)
After-graduation activities...playdough with Lauren (again, thanks to grandma)

"Brat"

2009-05-04T15:50:00.002-06:00

So, we're probably terrible parents for letting our children listen to Madonna this young in their lives. They've got good taste and love to dance...who better to dance to then Madonna, right? (disclaimer: Addy does understand that even though Madonna is a good singer, she isn't very modest.) Ok, so here's a conversation today:

Mom (to Lauren, after wasting edamame): "No, Lauren - no more. We don't waste food."

Addy (giving Lauren another edamame pod anyway): "Here you go, Lauren. You can have one more."

Mom (looking at Addy with raised eyebrow after Lauren popped out the bean and, indeed, wasted it): "You know there's a reason why mom and dad say no sometimes. Do you know what people would grow up to be if they could just do whatever they wanted or say whatever they wanted?"

Addy: "What?"

Mom: "Brats."

Addy (after internalizing for just a moment): "Madonna is a brat."

Mom (caught off guard and looking forward to the explanation): "Why?"

Addy: "Cuz she says, 'I can do whatever I want.'" (See album "Confessions On A Dance Floor")

Mom: "You're right!"

I love it.

Springtime

2009-05-03T19:55:00.004-06:00

Some pictures of spring events around here:

Addy with the dyed eggs

Lauren loved dipping the eggs

Lauren finding some easter eggs

Addy getting an egg

Love this pic - She looks pooped out

Egg hunt #2

Egg hunt #2

Look at all these eggs!

All the kiddies after egg hunt #2

Easter Sunday

Pretty girls with pretty flowers

In between rain and snow, there were a few nice park-friendly days.

Bless this little redhead - I think she's starting to get freckles.

Cute sisters

Hola Mexico!

2009-03-25T19:43:00.007-06:00

What a fantastic trip we just had to Mazatlan, Mexico! In-cred-i-ble! This year we celebrate our 10th anniversary so we wanted to do something big. Britt's heart had been set on Hawaii, but we changed our minds after a recommendation to a resort in Mazatlan called Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay (you've GOT to check it out!!). We had the best time! You know how photos online usually highlight the best parts of a place and are made to look even better than in real life? Well, they were absolutely true to life. The resort was so fantastic, the food was delectable, the weather was mid-80's the whole week, we could go on and on. Seriously, if you want a great vacation, you will NOT be disappointed if you follow in our footsteps (because we followed in some friends'...). I don't even know if these pictures are the "highlights" really, but just some from our trip. We couldn't have done it without the help of family and friends watching our kids, so thank you, thank you.

The view from our room

It was dark, so you can't see, but we had just eaten at this cool restaurant at the resort. Behind us is an awesome pool.

Bird of paradise - just one of many beautiful flowers that adorn this place.

We were loving the daily maid service; then one night we came in thinking we left the TV on, but no...they come and "turn down your beds!" complete with a "Good Night" card and chocolate (and remote handy).

We ordered room service breakfast most of our mornings. The orange juice is about the freshest tasting thing I've had in my LIFE!! Barry enjoyed the eggs benedict; Britt had yogurt and an omelet this particular day. After coming in to a clean room daily, having our beds turned down nightly, eating such great food, Barry's favorite line (a little tongue-in-cheek) was "We deserve this!"

A view of part of the pool. We loved the poolside service (Britt decided that Mai Tai's are her favorite drink - virgin, of course). It's going to sound like our vacation centered around food (when DOESN'T life center around food, really?), but another favorite snack was chips and guacamole. This was the first time that we actually ran out of CHIPS long before the guacamole.

Another shot proving that indeed, the vacation DID center around food. This was at a "surf-n-turf" buffet. Yes, that is lobster in front of Barry. The salad/seafood bar at this place was a seafood lover's paradise. Barry loved the scallops and even ate (and liked) octopus (ew!).

We did a zip-line tour through the "jungles" of near-Mazatlan. The experience was really cool; the scenery wasn't so "jungley," unfortunately; maybe we hit the dead jungle season...

"Ya-hoo!"

And again...a cool restaurant on the beach where we had lunch one day.

Here's Baz taking off on a parasail...

...and Britt coming down from her ride. That was cool!

Ten whole years of marriage! Here's to another ten!

Lauren turns 2

2009-03-24T22:27:00.004-06:00

We celebrated Laurie-Lu's 2nd birthday with a family party. She's just starting to "get" the colors, but she's known "pink" for a while, so, of course, we had pink. Girls are great.

And she loves princesses, especially "Jazzy" and "Hi-Ho," so we had 2 pink cakes - one for each.

She loved all of her presents and was excited as each new one was opened. So we put on her dress and tiara and socks and she was off giving her new baby a ride in her new pink stroller.

Reading her new princess book

And a darling pink scooter!

Happy Birthday, babe!! We love you!

Cute pics

2009-03-09T15:22:00.002-06:00

We got some cute pics of the girls at a recent wedding (stepbrother/in-law) and had to post. The wedding was great! Beautiful colors, decorations, food, etc. We had a nice time.

Addy with the Salt Lake temple in background

Addy, Britt, and Lauren

Baz and Addy

When I Grow Up

2009-02-19T20:37:00.002-07:00

(I've come to grips with realizing I'm one of those mothers who talks about her kids more than others care to listen to...but so goes life...)

Addy is such a character. Here was a cute conversation we had today.

Add: Guess what I'm going to be for real when I grow up? (She's wanted to be a doctor, teacher, mother, singer, and a few others already.)

Mom: What?

Add: A police girl.

Mom: Oh!

Add: And I'm going to marry Max and we're going to have the same job. And we'll have the same guns. And the same flashlights. But I won't be shooting people all around. Because I'm a good little girl.

Ha!! I love it!

Nursery Rhymes

2009-02-11T18:24:00.002-07:00

After a tiring day at work, Barry laid down for a little nap. He asked Addy to tell him a story. She told him she could tell him a nursery rhyme. He said ok. Here goes:

Add: "Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider and sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away."

Dad: "Um, I have a question." "What's a 'tuffet?'"

Add: "It's a special little cushion that people put their feet on."

Dad: "Oh, it is?"

Add: "Yes...Dad, you don't know a lot."

Thanks, Miss Sherryn!! :)

First walk on the trail

2009-02-10T18:21:00.003-07:00

Since there was a little glimmer of blue sky and above freezing temps last week, the girls, a friend of theirs, and I headed out for a little walk on the trail and a swing. Still cold, but a little refreshing to be outside again!

Addy on the swing

Addy & LaurenLauren, Addy, & Autumn

"Why?"

2009-02-10T18:12:00.002-07:00

...A question you don't expect to hear until, well, maybe a child is at least out of diapers or something, right? So, imagine our surprise when Lauren (not even 2) retorts with that after being told "no." This is now her favorite response when she hears something she's not quite happy with. Isn't she a cutie?

"How Would You Feel if..."

2009-01-27T15:42:00.002-07:00

This has been Addy's new favorite question for a while now and it usually goes like this:

Addy (to mom): "How would you feel if you had 199 billion, gazillion, katrillion, 57, 78 kids?"
Mom: (While making a crazy face) "Cuckoo-cuckoo."

The Beginning...

2009-01-06T15:12:00.003-07:00

Addy started preschool today! She looked so grown up in her jeans (another recent breakthrough). The snow hasn't stopped today, but that didn't stop the learning.

Boxing Day Bowling

2009-01-01T20:36:00.002-07:00

So, Christmas was nice. Our good friends, the Mathews, were here for the holidays and invited us to go bowling with their family on Boxing Day (aka "the day after Christmas"). We had a great time. Britt was the high scorer on our side with 149. Addy is always glad to spend time with her friend, Kellin.

Baz got a strike after this pic.

So did Britt!
Addy & Kell

This was Addy's first trip bowling, I think. She loved it!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-01T20:21:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with Britt's mom & fam. Later we headed over to Barry's dad's for the annual nativity re-enactment. Addy played the part of Mary again this year. Baz even joined in this year...playing the part of a sheep. Lauren only wanted the jewels from the wise men...

Here's Mary riding in on the donkey with Joseph next to her.

AKA "Mr. T"

The whole cast...I think

Then the Christmas jammies... Lauren was not letting those beads go

BIG Snowstorm

2008-12-23T22:12:00.003-07:00

We had our first BIG snowstorm of the season yesterday. Besides getting stuck in it in several locations (including our driveway...better there than on some lonely road), we thought we ought to build a snowman. The snow was up to my knees!?!? Here are some of the pix.

Lauren all bundled up

Addy tasting some snow

Barry with the finished product

Addy just wasn't warm enough inside after being out in the frigid air, so she donned Lauren's hat, scarf, and gloves and she and Lauren snuggled in her bed for a movie. This is a new favorite spot for them...especially Lauren when it's bedtime ("I want Addy bed"). So cute.

Wilde Family Reunion

2008-12-07T20:56:00.008-07:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Britt's siblings and dad this year. Since everyone is spread across the country, the together times are few and far between, so it was great to be together. We flew to Britt's brother, Brad's, house in Tampa, Florida for a week and had a fantastic time! Not that we had snow to escape from (yet), but the weather, as expected, was very pleasant. On the cold side for the Floridians, but we enjoyed it. Here are some shots from the week's events. (And I'm sure after all my attempts to have this formatted so well, it'll be off...arggghhh.)

Here are some of the cousins Thanksgiving morning all crowded into bed to watch some cartoons together. From left: Owen, Kate (Brad's kids), Addy (ours), Lauren (Brent's), and Alex (Brad's).

The main chefs, Niki (Brad's wife) & Lindsey (Brent's wife). Niki is an UNBELIEVABLE woman! This was the menu (all homemade): roast turkey, deep fried turkey (we do have some southerners amongst us), stuffing, corn casserole, green bean casserole (SOOOOOO good!), mashed potatoes, rolls (to DIE for!), sweet potato something DELICIOUS, and 3 pies to choose from (apple, pumpkin, and pecan). Everything was SO good. I'm sure I forgot something. Such big kudos to Niki and Brad for housing all of us and feeding all of us. They were such great hosts - for me, a big part of having a great time was because we just felt welcomed and not inconvenienced at all (like not an inconvenience to them). Love you guys!!

Well, don't these chums look thrilled? Bad picture timing? Interruption of eating? Not sure, but we've got Brad, Barry, and Brent (aka "Booey"). The 2 on the ends are 2 of Britt's brothers.

Lauren (Brent's), Addy, and Kate (Brad's) having a grand time with their princess shoes and cute hair, compliments to their big-girl cousin, Kiersten.Candyland...Britt, Lauren, Addy, Brian (Britt's other brother), dad/Grandpa, Owen, and Brad

Couple shots from the real feast...Barry trying to feed Lauren

and Alex, Owen, and Addy at the kids table

The kids loved wrestling with Uncle Booey. That's what I call him...I guess everyone else has reverted to his given name - Brent. He'll always be Booey to me. He really got them going with "butt bazookas." Too bad we didn't have sound on our camera to get all the squeals of laughter. (Anyone want to show me how to enable sound when you shoot "video" with a digital camera?)

We spent a few hours on a great private beach to get family pictures. The weather was the BEST this day, so can I tell you how glad I was that I had long sleeves on...??? Argh. Here's just a casual shot of our fam.

Britt's sister, Brandi, and her girls, Sierra, Amber, and Kiersten Addy & Lauren
Baz & Lauren
Poor, fair-skinned Lauren had had it before the picture-taking ordeal was over. Good thing Grandpa has a way with getting her to sleep. She just loves those shoulders of his.

our fam walking on the pier

Adult night out (from bottom left: Niki, Brad, Barry, Britt, Brian, Dad, Renate, Brandi, Lindsey, Brent)...fun bantering

Pic of all the cousins (from left: Sierra, Owen, Addy, Kiersten, Lauren, Amber, Lauren (this would be typical of what Lauren was like a great deal of this trip...), Alex, and Kate)

We had a fun time at Busch Gardens. Tampa has the Africa "version," so we saw lots of elephants, zebras, gazelles, and the like. As well as all the cool rides they've got. We even got to see a cool Christmas show during lunch (still seems weird to have Christmas decorations up while palm trees and sunshine are aplenty, but 'tis the season, right?!).

Here's Addy and an alligator (we were in Florida)

Owen, Addy, and Lauren on a ride

And after a long day...

Another fun day spent at the beach in Sarasota. All I'll say is "Beware of the Seagulls." On more than one occasion, they swooped down and stole food right out of our hands - no joke. Couldn't believe it. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. But we had fun building a sand castle...

and burying Uncle Barry/dad!

And on our last night (sniff, sniff), we enjoyed another FANTASTIC meal; this time prepared by Renate, Britt's dad's wife. Homemade tomato soup (just like the restaurants do it with the swirl of cream too!) was the starter, the main course was a tasty German (Renate is from Berlin) dish - hamburger and cucumbers (trust me, SO good) poured over new potatoes, and dessert was a delicious apple tart thing. Thanks again, Renate! Oh, we ate well on this trip! Next year anyone??

Gardner Village

2008-11-21T20:45:00.004-07:00

My friend, Becca, the girls, and I took a little trip up to Gardner Village earlier this week. What a cute place! I've been there a couple times, and every now and then get the urge to go again. We missed the "elves" by a day, but enjoyed beautiful weather and ducks instead! Besides the company, of course. Becca is such an awesome person (those of you who know her will easily agree) - the girls and I just love her. It was fun listening to Lauren call her..."Bec-ca, Bec-ca, Bec-ca!" Then she'd just smile. I love that Bec just takes the girls without worry or feeling like she's got to ask my permission for things. It's a great feeling to trust someone with your kids! She's just great! Hope you had fun, Bec! Until the chocolate fest... :)

Feeding the ducks some Cheetos. You could tell these guys were used to getting "food" attention. One of 'em ate a cheeto right out of Becca's hand!

Static

2008-11-18T14:46:00.003-07:00

Loved these pics of Addy and her little friend after jumping on the trampoline.

Princess-in-training

2008-11-18T14:35:00.003-07:00

(First of all...ugh...it's been WAY longer than I wanted since I posted last. I'm figuring if the title of our blog holds true, I should be posting pretty often, right? I'll do better.)

So, to the post - Lauren is becoming so cute lately. She's saying lots of words now and following in her big sister's footsteps. Addy loved (loves?) princesses and has way too many of them, so naturally, Lauren loves to play with them too. She loves saying, "Jazzy (aka Jasmine), Ariel, Belle (that would be for Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty thus far)" and is attempting some others ("Coco" for Pocahontas, "Mommy" for Mulan...unless it's a dark-haired thing...). She has been able to walk really well in the dress up princess shoes for many months, but she's branching out now. She walked out of the bedroom with these accessories on today needing help getting the "gasses" on.

5K Pumpkin Run

2008-10-14T14:15:00.005-06:00

Well, for us it was mainly a walk. My work, Heritage Schools, Inc., put this on as a fundraiser so we thought we'd take the girls and go walk for a cause. The kids dressed up in their halloween costumes and away we went. With about a half mile to go, Lauren decides she is too cold being in the stroller, so I pick her up to give her some warmth, which slowed us down and kept us out of the running for 3rd place in the stroller category... oh well, we won some "random drawings" instead.

Lauren as a ladybug

If Barry would've run, he would have had a shot at winning, but instead he stayed with the stroller and the fam...what a good man.

Addy was a cold little cat bundled in the stroller.

A visit to the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T21:30:00.003-06:00

Well, it's more like a pumpkin store...well, greenhouse, kinda, but pumpkin patch sounds so much better. I don't know where to find one around here...I'm sure some of you do. So for our annual trip, the girls and I went out for a few decorations.

They liked riding around in the little wagon.

I love this one of Lauren. She's resting on the "swan gourd."

Beautiful Fall

2008-09-28T09:55:00.004-06:00

While summer is my favorite season, I do love the beginning of fall. We took a drive up near Sundance yesterday to enjoy the beautiful colors on the trees. Everywhere you look there are breathtaking views. We stopped and got a few pix. Here they are.

Lauren, Britt, and Addy

Addy, Barry, Lauren (disclaimer: after viewing this picture, Barry has decided that he is a "bloater" and is going to do something about it)

View near Sundance

Utah State Fair

2008-09-14T11:19:00.005-06:00

The first and the last. This always sounds like such fun to me, so I got discount tickets and convinced Barry that it'd be a fun family activity. Away we went. What a disappointment! As a teenager I loved going to the fair. I guess you're more concerned with finding good-looking members of the opposite sex to flirt with and riding the dodgy rides than with seeing things as they really are at these places: toothless ride attendants, pervy-looking balloon clowns, extortionary food prices, and scary-looking people all around. We tried to make sure our kids had a good time by masking our own displeasure. But I'm quite sure we won't be rushing to do this again.

Addy on the carousel horse

This was a cute little "farmer's market" kind of thing for the kids. They wore these cute little aprons and had their own little baskets to go through the farm collecting eggs from the chickens, fruit and veggies from the garden, milking a cow, brushing a sheep, riding on tractors, and things like that. At the end, they "sold" their goods and got to go to the shop to spend their money on something. That was the best part of the fair.

Lauren trying to ride the John Deere

Addy and Lauren by the sheep

Barry and the girls by a cow

Prima Adderina

2008-09-14T11:01:00.004-06:00

Cute little Addy. I'm sure all little girls (and boys, for that matter) love to dance around pretending to be ballerinas (ok, maybe not little boys). We decided that at least for now, we wouldn't put Addy in preschool. She got a bit sad realizing that all her friends are going yet she's not. So, I thought to take the sting out of that realization, we'd sign her up for her first "official" dance class. It's just a six week course, half an hour a week, through the city. Nothing against dancers (I love to dance...remember I wanted to be a Janet Jackson backup dancer?), but I'm not into the idea of starting my little girl(s) in dance, only to grow up having body image/potential eating disorder issues. So, really, this is just for fun. Anyway, here are some shots of "Addy Grace"ing the dance floor.

Addy on her first day

During warmups - "butterfly legs"

doing a "lollipop" dance

with her cute teacher, Miss Julie

New House?

2008-09-14T10:44:00.004-06:00

No, not a new house, just a newly PAINTED house. A little background...

We almost passed this house up when we were house-hunting because I didn't like the color. Mind you, it was January (or February), slush or snow on the ground, the sky was the same color as the house, and I was about 8 months pregnant. Nevertheless, we pulled the flyer and the rest, as they say, is history. This picture doesn't give you a true description of what I'm talking about because it doesn't look so bad with a beautiful blue sky and nice green grass backdrop. But the gray on the house just blended in with the rest of the gray all around for about half the year.

I had always said we'll paint it. So, after a year and a half (not bad, really), 10 gallons of paint, and 36 hours of manpower later... here's our "new house."

Squash anyone?

2008-08-18T22:07:00.012-06:00

This is my second year of "gardening" and I am finding that I quite like it! Just about everything I've tried so far seems to work pretty well. I'm pretty sure that it's not due to anything spectacular that I do. I just water daily. What I do need to work on is figuring out how many seeds/plants to plant. For example, last year, not knowing how zucchini and yellow squash would do, I had them growing a plenty!! This year, I'm not quite sure why I thought I would need 17 tomato plants?!?! But yes, they're all growing. Funny thing is that I'm not quite reaping red yet. Let me know if you are in need of any yellow squash (crooked neck, I think, is what it's called), cucumbers, eggplant (1st year for this one!), and possibly some cabbage and tomatoes in the near future.

Carrots (argh!!! I hate the formatting on this $*&! thing - I've tried a million times to add a freaken space to no avail)

Green Beans

Green Peppers...not doing so well

Green/Red/Yellow Peppers doing better - they're right next to each other...don't ask me why some are surviving and others are dying

Eggplant (let me know if you want one)

Just some of the crazy tomato plants - what a jungle

Cabbage (these should be nearly ready - let me know if you want one)

Yellow (aka Crooked Neck) Squash (let me know if you want some)

Cucumbers (let me know if you want some)

Tag

2008-08-08T16:56:00.005-06:00

Ooh, a tag! I've seen this one a couple of times with slight variation, so here goes:

Three Joys

1. Hearing little girls' laughter (mine, to be exact...they both know how to get the other one going and I just get a thrill every time)

2. Food (most...although I'm getting slightly better about seafood...slightly)

3. Topping up my tan, preferably on a beach...or getting a pedicure (there wasn't room for 4)

Three Fears

1. That my husband will have an affair (is that terrible?! I'm being honest!)

2. That one or the other of us will die while we're still raising kids (I really am a pretty happy person - this doesn't make it seem so)

3. That my child(ren) will be the victim of sexual abuse (ok, apparently I need some therapy...I'll get with my husband, the therapist, in a minute)

Three Goals

1. To get SLIGHTLY caught up on scrapbooking!

2. Do a hundred pushups (see here to do it too!)

3. Make a headboard for my bed

Three Obsessions/Collections

1. Grammar/spelling errors (my husband swears I'm not normal...you true English majors can probably critique a thing or two on here, though)

2. Picking at/popping zits, blackheads, etc. (isn't that lovely?? My husband can't stand it and my little girl is already dodging me and does some serious flinching when I go near her spots - dang!!)

3. When I was little I loved Strawberry Shortcake paraphernalia (the stuff now doesn't compare!)
Three Surprising Facts

1. I was a Who's Who Among American High School Students.

2. I survived Hurricane Hugo.

3. I wanted to be one of Janet Jackson's dancers.
I Tag: Amy Slagowski, Amy Stancliff, Kristan, Marissa, and Mary. (That's part of the game too, tag 5 others.)

Baz visits Yellowstone

2008-08-03T21:11:00.007-06:00

I was recently invited to go on a field trip to Yellowstone with work. Here are some highlights of the trip.

Old Faithful lived up to her name. After waiting for about 20 minutes, she let off some steam. She isn't half moody.

The photographer took random group shots. You know they were random 'cuz I don't often have a good scratch for the camera.

These are the staff.

We hiked up to this waterfall. I took a refreshing shower in the fall's mist to cool off.

We took another hike and came across this elk grazing in the forest.

The road trip back with the boys was hell - it was an 8-hour journey with every other boy asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes.

The Grand Tetons are well worth seeing - the most beautiful mountain range I've ever seen.

Billy the bison was a friendly fella - he let us get about 10 feet away from him to take a picture.

Wolf Creek Adventures

2008-07-20T09:50:00.009-06:00

We just got back from our holiday in Northern Utah. We went to Eden with the family for a week. We stayed in the Wolf Creek resort which is by the Pineview reservoir up Ogden canyon. The area has a beautiful European feel to it. We had a brilliant time jet skiing on the reservoir, playing tennis, eating, golfing, visiting museums, eating, horse riding, more eating and playing at the pool. We even did some eating.

If you thought Nadal v. Federer was an intense final, you should've seen Baz v. Dave. Dave eventually became the victor, winning 6-3; but what Baz didn't tell Dave was that he actually plays left-handed.

Grandad earned a new name on holiday. He has officially become "a miserable old git." But when he wasn't having his gittish moments he did what he does best -- entertain the kids.

Lauren loves being by the seaside. She got her dad's skin, bless her.

Ryan learned 2 new skills while tubing: 1 - a triple somersault, 2 - holding your breath under water for extensive periods of time.

He learned both skills the hard way.

Addy eventually found enough courage to ride the wave runners. Once she conquered her fear, she loved it.

The result of a family picture on a wave runner.

The gang takes refuge in the shade.

Wouldn't you be knackered after a hot day in the sun?

Outing to the Hill Aerospace Museum

The kids were real air cadets. It was a hot day but they survived.

Ryan stands by the Atom bomb. He's famous for leaving his own explosions...

After a whiny day, we tried to launch Addy into space, but unfortunately the ejector seat wouldn't work.

Baz took Britt to heaven and back on our 9th wedding anniversary, by standing by the fastest plane in the world.

Here's Britt after a 2-hour ride on "Amos."

We spent our last day visiting the dinosaur park.

Addy believed the dinosaurs behind the fence were real. It's a good job Carson was there to protect her.

It's amazing what you find in the ground if you have a brush in your hand. The kids became junior David Attenbroughs (famous zoologist).

Lauren has a stand-off with a dinosaur. We think she'd win!

A daddy-daughter moment

A mummy-daughter moment

Britt's birthday

2008-07-11T22:27:00.006-06:00

So, today was my 34th birthday. I know it's shocking to most of you because I just seem so much younger, right?? :) But, yes, I am now 34. We had a great family day so I had to post. Started out this morning with Addy and Baz bringing my presents to me in bed. Barry's gift was a toaster. A toaster?!?!? We've been married almost 9 years (in 5 more days) and I get a toaster for my birthday? I'd have been thrilled if we even needed a new one, but the one we have is fine... bless him. But I got a nice card. Addy helped pick out a card and a present for me too - a Sleeping Beauty card that plays her song when you open it up and a BARBIE! Hmmm... dad really did let her pick out her own presents. Cute.

Well, we actually did get something new this week. Convenient for Barry...he says a new car was my birthday present. Timing was right for that one! We traded in our VW Jetta for this 2006 Ford Freestyle. You'll have to look it up for all the details - basically a crossover between SUV and minivan (which I wasn't opposed to). It can seat 6 or lays down for lots of storage. So far, so good. We like the look of it and definitely the space factor.

After doing some weeding, we all went on a bike ride down past Utah Lake. A friend from Barry's work invited us to go boating this afternoon, so we got our nephew, Ryan (visiting from England), and away we went! We love going boating. Here are some pics.

After a marathon showering, we headed out to McGraths Fish House for a birthday dinner. Good day! Tomorrow we're off to Wolf Creek for a week - more posting later!

Sun...kissed?

2008-07-09T23:03:00.004-06:00

Lauren has recently begun to give kisses. We can't get enough of it.

Here she is kissing daddy...

and mommy.

And, of course, we always love getting kisses from our big girl, Addy.

Our nephew, Ryan, is visiting from England for the summer (Can you spot the Englishman? Oh, hold on, there are 2!). He's come with us to the pool a couple times already. We're trying to tan him up, Lee, but these delicate bodies take time.

A shot of Lauren, Barry, and Ryan with the mountain backdrop. See the "Y" in the distance?

Family pool shot (check out the lady's pool cap in the background)

Fourth of July

2008-07-09T22:45:00.004-06:00

A bit behind on the posting...with good reason. Our computer was down for a while. So here's the catch-up: We went over to Nana and Grandad's (Barry's dad) for some fun in the inflatable pool, yummy dinner, and our own fireworks before heading over to a big park to watch the big fireworks show. This year, Addy even went with the boys and Nana to watch the hot air balloons at 6:00 in the morning! She had a great time!

Cute one of Lauren

Lauren and Addy

Cute girls

Addy's first attempt with sparklers

Family shot

All the Stone/Fell cousins in Nana and Grandad's backyard (try capturing good faces on all of them at the same time...)

Grandad with Lauren and Addy

Cousin Ryan (from England!) with Lauren and Addy

Tired little girl by the end of a long day

Birthday Girl

2008-06-14T17:42:00.016-06:00

Addy was born on June 13, 2004 - a Sunday. We knew she would have plenty of "Friday the 13th" birthdays to come, and this was the first one. No worries, though...nothing scary about our sweetest little girl. Addy had an enchanting princess party to celebrate her 4th birthday. We started out with some Disney princess coloring pages while waiting for everyone to arrive. Mixed in some ball dancing here and there.

Then we moved to the "Castle Reading Corner" for the story of "Cinderella." Look at 'em all enthralled. I was actually quite amazed that they all stayed with me for the duration of the story.

Next was "Ariel's Hidden Treasure Game." Ariel had visited earlier and left a bunch of sand and sea items in our sand pit, so the kids had some fun digging them up.

We came in and decorated tiaras and crowns (for the one prince attending) with all kinds of fun stickers, glittery things, markers, etc.

What princess party is complete without a (leaning tower of...) castle cake? Don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this was quite a lopsided looking thing. Good thing it was covered with frosting and candy...

And, of course, we had to "slay the dragon" at the end!

We love our little princess to pieces! She's the sweetest thing around!

You Silly Little Plonker

2008-05-23T22:14:00.003-06:00

One thing I try to do is teach the kids English words. I use lots of English words every day and Addy understands them all. I say nappy (diaper), rubbish bin (trash can), crisps (chips), chips (fries), and the list goes on. I was chuffed to bits with her remarks today:

Dad: Do you like looking at yourself in the mirror?

Addy: Yes.

Dad: I don't blame you, you're beautiful.

Addy: You do blame me, you silly little plonker!

All of us cracked up laughing! Brilliant! You can't beat those moments.

California Trip

2008-05-14T11:28:00.010-06:00

We just spent a week in California with some of our good friends and had a great time! Our hub was a beach condo in San Clemente. While the pictures show some of the highlights of our trip, part of what made it so fun was just relaxing with friends. Some of our other "themes" include strawberry shake runs to In 'n Out Burger (yummmmmm), watching the Jazz playoffs, taking little strolls to Del Mar street and hitting up the English shop there to buy minstrels and fruit pastels and such. We have decided that we could definitely live there.

Here's a pic of Barry, Britt, and Lauren on the pier. The beach was a 5-10 minute walk from where we stayed. The only unfortunate thing about the trip was that the weather wasn't prime beach degrees. We still spent time on the beach, but tended to have jackets on...

Here's a shot of the group on one of our walks around San Clemente. Kade and Mary have the 2 boys, Kellin and Ethan. Addy and Kellin had their moments, but for the most part, they are best little buds (from birth) and loved being together again.

We had lunch one day at a Fisherman's restaurant on the pier. Pretty good fish and chips!!

Barry and Lauren...

...Britt and Addy

The kids ate pretty well, but mostly enjoyed feeding the pigeons sourdough bread.

We went to "Aquarium of the Pacific" in Long Beach. Here's a shot of our fam in front of a big aquarium. This place had fish, sharks, sea lions, starfish, sea horses, sea urchins, rays (that feel quite slime-ish - ew!), jellyfish, and all other kinds of sea life. The kids had a great time - favorite moments were probably when the scuba divers who were feeding the fish would wave to them. Yea Scuba Steve!

Addy and Kellin

We also hit Hollywood!

Here we are by Will Smith's hand and footprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Had to do Disneyland. We were there all day (10a-8p) but didn't really have major lines, so we got to do just about everything we wanted to! I think Barry was wiped out at the end, but I could've gone at least another hour!

Here's the group on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. This was great! Lauren was on my lap and just loved looking through the porthole at all the underwater sites.

Here's Addy with Pocahontas.

It's the best to be walking along when all this sudden you spot some Disney characters. We also got a picture with Ariel (aka The Little Mermaid) and danced with Jasmine (Aladdin), Cinderella, and Mulan after we learned how to become "royal princesses." The highlight of Addy's Disneyland trip (and Barry's and mine too, funnily enough) was having Sleeping Beauty wave, blow kisses, and sign "I love you" directly to her. She also got direct waves from Snow White and Cinderella while they were on the float.

So I mentioned the weather wasn't great for the beach; nevertheless we spent a few days hanging out there. Lauren gave boogie boarding a try - she's a natch!

Addy and Kellin giving their best attempt with the boards.

The frigid temperature of the water didn't seem to faze the kids much...or Barry and Kade for that matter. At Kade's request, however, we didn't include the picture of them with the boards.

Baz's first attempt to do a blog

2008-04-26T14:28:00.004-06:00

I usually leave this type of stuff to Britt to do but I thought I'd give it a pop. I just said to Britt the other day that there are no pics of me and her so I went through all the pics we have and I found two of my favorite pics from a few Christmases ago. This is a Christmas shop we like to visit every year.

I hate to say this, but kids say the darndest things

2008-04-25T07:36:00.004-06:00

Out of nowhere this morning...

Addy: "You know what I'm thankful for most?"

Mom: "What?"

Addy: "Prayer."

Mom: (after 'ahhing' to myself) "Why?"

Addy: "Because when you pray, you speak to Heavenly Father."

Then she preceded to sing "A Child's Prayer" to Lauren and me. What a sweet moment. (Lyrics: Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer? Some say that heaven is far away, But I feel it close around me as I pray. Heavenly Father, I remember now Something that Jesus told disciples long ago: “Suffer the children to come to me.” Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee. Pray, he is there; Speak, he is list’ning. You are his child; His love now surrounds you. He hears your prayer; He loves the children. Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav’n.)

Apparently after that, she came into her dad with some demands ("You need to get me some breakfast now," "Mummy said you need to get me dressed right now," etc.).

Dad: "You're being impatient."

Addy: "Do it now, you street rat!"

Oh well, it was a sweet moment for me while it lasted...

Everton come to Salt Lake

2008-04-16T23:01:00.004-06:00

Last summer, an English Premier League team, Everton (from Liverpool), came to play Real Salt Lake. Barry went up to watch the game with some English friends and actually got to meet some of the players!? He's so proud of these pictures, so we had to post. Here he is with David Moyes, manager.

Leon Osman

Joleon Lescott and Tony Hibbert

during a free kick or something

our darlings

2008-04-16T22:24:00.001-06:00

First day in the 80's

2008-04-14T21:50:00.006-06:00

That'd be 80 degrees. Well, that's what the forecast said for today; I don't actually know if it reached it, but it sure felt GREAT!! So, of course, we hit the trail - Provo River Trail. It's great living so close to it. Tons of people had the same idea. I think this was our count:

2 snakes (I guess snakes mate, right?? Either that, or this was a 2-headed one...I didn't point it out to Addy...)
4 ducks
6 dogs
1 lost sunhat, only to be retrieved on our way back thanks to the nice old man who hung it on a tree!!
a gazillion bike riders

Addy all decked out with sunglasses and sunhat

near the start of the hour+ walk

Lauren about halfway through...aha! the plan worked!

This isn't one of the dogs included in our count, but we stopped at a friend's house on the way home and Lauren looked so cute giving the dog, Aris, a hug. She must have felt bad after biting her ear, paw, and back...yuck!

We ended the day with a BBQ and games with some friends. I can smell summer already! Great day!

Ants

2008-04-10T21:21:00.003-06:00

I don't know how many of you know Barry well, but one thing you may not know about him is that he loves ants. One of the best presents I got for him was an ant farm. He used to lay down on the kitchen floor (in our first apartment), put a piece of bread down, and watch the curious little creatures break it down and carry it off to the mother nest (or whatever it's called). He just finds it fascinating how they all work together and can carry like 5 times their body weight (or something like that)!!?! At least with the ant farm, they're contained. Well, hopefully our house isn't the only one that attracts the little buggers. It's like they camp out under Lauren's high chair - knowing they'll hit the mother load every few hours.

So, last night they were seriously feasting. I was sick of cleaning them up yesterday, so I left the job for Barry. Since they had been at it for a long time, I think 10 families had joined in on the fun and they had moved a pea-sized crumb really close to their home under the baseboard. I sent Barry over to dispose of them and here's what we get: (after kneeling down for a closer look) "I can't get rid of them now, after all their hard work. Look at 'em. It just wouldn't be right." And so we left them - to feast on their morsel.

Spring Fevah?!?!

2008-03-30T21:30:00.005-06:00

Isn't it officially SPRING??! Well, you'd think by March 30th it would be! This is what we woke up to this morning. It didn't stop all day!? Brrrr...

Easter fun

2008-03-28T22:10:00.018-06:00

A little explaining...I was so excited to post pix from the Easter holidays, so imagine my dismay when I went to download the pix and found "no images" on my camera!!?! Days go by and finally I ask Barry to see if he can try and figure it out. To my surprise, he does! and the pix appear! So...a week later, here we go...

Here is "grumpy ole' Addy" at our first Easter egg hunt. I don't blame her - it was early and cold. Without candy (the "whistle" was yet to be blown) or warm home, she wasn't in the best of spirits.

Lauren with a find! She had a great time gathering eggs. And let me tell you, she is a CANDY LOVER! Halloween is going to be fun...

The second "loot" from Nana and Grandad's.

Barry and our little flowers.

The "good-for-you" key lime pie I brought for Easter dessert - festive, of course, with jelly beans on top. Yummy!

a day at the park

2008-03-25T20:35:00.003-06:00

The weather has been so great the past few days! We spent some family time at the park today: kite flying, swinging, and playing with the cutest little puppies that came by. Addy had a great time flying her Barbie kite with mom and dad. Lauren got kisses from the puppies (never happens when you've got the camera ready to capture it, right?) and enjoyed eating the park bark.

Only a little behind...

2008-03-24T22:12:00.005-06:00

Wow! I can't believe it...we have actually started a BLOG. Usually we're about 10 years behind in the "technological buzz world" (our first purchased cell phone - and we share one between us - was acquired just in the last year and a half or so). It looks like we may only be about 5 years behind this time!!?! We're so new to this, in fact, that our first entry is going to be really boring. This whole process is going to be "trial and error" for a while, so we hope you keep checking back for more fun.