catch up #1

So our lives have been pretty busy and crazy the last few months. I have a little bit of catcing up to do with some big events in our lives. Here is something that happened in December that I have been wanting to post.
So one saturday I went to get my hair done and when I got home a few hours later this is what I found as I opened the front door. Cameron decided to build and install a slide on our stairs!?!! They gathered up all the pillows from the entire house to stop them from running into the couch. Needless to say I was a little surprised when I opened the door but after being married to Cameron for almost 10 years I am used to being greeted by the unexpected when he is left to care for the children by himself for too long. The kids loved it and everyone enjoyed the fun slide for hours. What can I say... I married a big kid that knows how to build things. This is makes for a fun/ crazy/ sometimes ulmost scary combo in child rearing. At least fun was had by all... I even tried out the slide and it was pretty cool.


Nat giggled or screamed with delight everytime she went down.


Zerin had his friend Jacob over to play that day. I wonder what his mom thought when he told her that Zerin's dad made and screwed a slide on the stairs for them to play on???


Jane loved every second of it. She has no fear!


Zerin the dare devil himself went down this slide in every direction and position imaginable.

And baby #4 is.....

Today we had our ultrasound. Natalie was right again and Zerin is handling it well.
It is a GIRL!!!!!! We both thought it was a boy but we are so excited for another beautiful girl to join our family. I feel bad for Z. He really wanted a brother. Half way there-- only the long, more diffucult way to go!

My Zerin Paul

Today I was looking through some pictures and I came across so many of Zerin that either made me laugh or warm my heart. I think I needed to see these pictures. Sometimes as a mom I get over concerned with the imperfections of my children and I overlook the wonderful qualities that they have. Zerin is crazy and such a sweetheart. He is a very good big brother and I just love him and his contagious laugh. He is awesome and is going to be an amazing man someday. I love you Z.

Halloween 2009

This year we had a great Halloween! We went to a neighborhood party. It was lots of fun with three legged races, cake walks, games and doughnut eating contests. After the party we played with the neighbors and had pizza all together and then went trick or treating. When we got back we set the kids up with a movie and the adults sat outside in the middle of the court and visited. Cameron brought out our little fire pit and we all had a great time. We love living on this court. There are good kids and good friends. We hope you all had a great Halloween too.

Natalie went as a very cute cowgirl. She was very excited about being a cowgirl and had lots of fun.



Zerin went as the green Power Ranger. He has never even seen the cartoon but he was happy with the costume. I think he was just happy to have a sword to carry around.




Jane was the cutest witch of the west. It is actually Nat's costume from last year. It was a little big but very cute on her.

I went as a crazy pregnant woman and Cameron went as an overworked stress case. A good time was had by all.

Sessions update...better late than never

OK so here is a recent family snap shot I thought I would share since it has been a long time since I have posted anything. What can I say. I am almost as bad at blogging as I am at writing in my journal. So here is a quick update. We are doing well. We moved .... again... but this time just across the street. We now have a pool and the kids have enjoyed it. All three of them are fish!! It was fun to spend the summer in the pool.

Zerin got baptized in August in Utah. It was a great day. He had 6 grandparents there and a lot of family. It was awesome and we are so proud of him. He is now a Cub Scout and loves being one. (Like the smudge on the camera?). Isn't Nat so cute in this picture! Her cousin Salinee did her hair. Nat gave the talk on the Holy Ghost at Z's baptism and did an incredible job. She is amazing.
As Jane is showing in this picture they are all getting big. She is still as cute and sweet as ever. We call her our Sugar Plum Princess. We are also expecting baby number 4 in March.! We are all excited and will find out what it is in a month or so. Z is keeping his fingers crossed for a brother.
So as you can see we are all still here and doing great! Life is interesting and never boring around here. I know this is a sad update for the amount of time that has gone by but at least I have done something and I will try to do better.

Montessori kind of smart

This morning Natalie came into our room with this thing in her hand and says "look it is a curvilinear triangle". Cam and I thought that was quite a mouthful for a 1st grader. Cam asked her what it meant ...and she knew! She then turned it into an ellipse and told us about those. HOLY COW
And yesterday Z brought home a perfect score on his timed 7's multiplication sheet. I don't think I learned multiplication until the 3rd grade and he is flying through them in the middle of second grade.

We are proud of our hardworking students!!!!!!

So, any questions or doubts about my kids school are gone. I love the Montessori school approach! My kids are thriving at this school. Thought I would share and officially state my gratitude for this school because without it my kids would be going to school in the hood. It truly is a HUGE blessing to our family.

Science Fair

Zerin and Natalie had a science fair at their school on Saturday. I thought 1st and 2nd grade was a little early to start science projects but it was fun to do with the kids. They are attending a Montessori school and it is definitely different from public school. I really like their school. They have a lot of opportunities and learning environments here that they would have at a public school. It has been great for them and a wonderful blessing for our family.... anyway back to the science fair.


Nat did her project on what materials would dissolve in water and if the temperature mattered. She did great work and was a little surprised with some of the results. This is her in front of her Project. She looks so small.



Zerin wanted to do a project about paper airplanes. He made 10 different styled/designed paper airplanes and then we flew them and measured the distance and observed the flying abilities of each of the plane. Z wanted to figure out which design would fly the straightest and furthest. He learned a lot about what folds do to the flight of the plane. Some did cool loops and some did nose dives and some flew awesome.

The science fair was fun for all... even Jane had a great time. She took notes and learned a lot.

Too much growing up!!!

Jane is almost 18 months now and I am having a hard time with how big she is getting. The other day she used the potty so I went and got her a potty chair and panties. She is not really ready to potty train but I thought we would start introducing the option for her. Don't you just want to pinch that cute little bum!

She sat on the potty and peed on my floor twice. Thank heaven for hardwood floor.

She is also learning to put clothes on. OK, that is a shirt on her legs but at least she is trying.

She looked like such a big stinkin cute kid riding her scooter. She loves bikes. I love this age and I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can before the terrible two's hit. Maybe I will get lucky and she won't be a terrible two... I won't hold my breath but she is a dream baby.

I feel kinda guilty always blogging about Jane. I do love my other 2 kids and they are awesome!!! There that made me feel better. Am I a bad mom for wanting to take tons of pictures of Jane and only a few of Z and Nat? I guess I will try harder to take pictures of them too.

Zerin and Hailey 2003

I came across these cute little clips that Uncle Jason made of Zerin and his cousin Hailey. These two kids have always been great friends and I hope they always will. Thanks for the clips Uncle Jason!!

Dress up Fun

I was watching my friends little girl yesterday and Natalie and her started playing dress up. I thought it would be fun to take some pictures.

Here is Natalie, Jane, and Bethany. Bethany is the daughter of a childhood friend of mine. It was fun to watch the two of them play and become friends.

Bethany... isn't she a doll!

OK, Natalie and Bethany are darling but I could just eat this little cutie up.

Dress up is so fun.

Happy Birthday Natalie

Happy Birthday to my Nattie Bug

Warning: this post is full of mushy stuff and bragging about my child. OK Natalie is amazing. She has always been a very happy and loving kid. She is so smart and wants to excel at everything in school ( what parent wouldn't love this). My little love bug is so cuddly and sweet. She loves to cuddly with me on my bed and tell me all kinds of stories or just talk about stuff. I love that! Natalie is also a great big sister. she loves to play with Jane and take care of her. They have a serious sister bond. I hope and pray they can be as close to each other as my sister and I are. Natalie is also quite sassy and I love this- it is very entertaining!
I love you Natalie and I feel so lucky, blessed, and honored to be your mom.

Trick or Treat

Here are the three trick or treaters. Doesn't Jane look good enough to eat as a green M&M. She loved going door to door and getting candy. She is crazy on sugar! She gets possessive with chocolate and all hyper. I have no idea where she gets that from.

Nat made the Cutest Witch of the West! This isn't the best picture. I have learned I can get her to be whatever I want her to be for Halloween as long as she gets to wear mascara and lipstick. She was cute and It will be a great costume for Jane in the future.



Here is Batman and Ace (Bat Hound). The mask didn't fit but -oh well, he had fun. He is getting so big. I thought that costume would fit him with plenty of room but it fit him a little too well. He has got to stop growing so fast! You should see how big his feet are.
Hope you all had a great Halloween and now that it is over it is time for the super fun holidays to begin. I am excited for them. It fells like Fall finally and I am loving it. We have been listening to Christmas music since September ( my mother -in l-aw will be so proud of us) to get us in the Holiday spirit. I am not sure what is different this year but I am all into the spirit of things. Maybe it is the crisp cool air or that my kids are old enough to enjoy it and understand it all better or maybe it is from listening to Christmas music early- I don't know. I guess I will just enjoy it all and hope you will too.

Zerin and flying to the Moon

Zerin has been known for his great one-liners. Cam thought this line was so good and so Zerin that I should post about it.

The other day Cam and I were asking the kids what they wanted to be we they grow up. Nat said she wanted to be a teacher - which makes sense. She is very smart and she likes to boss people around and have all eyes on her. She is a crack up and I love her.

Zerin wasn't really giving an answer so we offered some suggestions . It went something like this " Z do you want to build houses and buildings like Dad, or be a firefighter, or an astronaut.... "and to that Z replied with "why would I go to school for that long just to go to the moon!" Cam and I laughed pretty good at that one.

I love my Z! He is very opinionated and strong willed. Sometimes we but heads but he really is a sweet heart. He is a great big brother and knows how to be a true friend. I am so grateful he is mine.

Oh, the fun we will have

Today, while my older kids are at school and my baby naps I am relishing the quiet and doing what I would like to do and enjoying the nice clean house because it will all come to an end in about 1hr and 30 mins. when school gets out. My kids will be out of school for next week. I am sure we will have all kinds of fun together but it also means more messes to clean up. I am glad they are so cute and that they are great kids. But for now I will just enjoy the quiet and remind my self how great they are so I can enjoy the next week with them.

Then and Now

Just for fun I thought I would compare these two pictures. Picture #1 is from my wedding and I am 23. Picture #2 is from someone else's wedding that was born in the late 80's and I am 31. Wow - what time does to a person. OK so at least I am now older and wiser..or maybe just older.
Disclaimer: My scanner wasn't working so I used my cell phone to take a picture of the picture and scan it in that way. " You know how when you take a copy of a copy it just doesn't turn out right." - movie quote