A visit from Condie Co.

My bff {:)} came to visit with her cute little (okay, not so little) family (-)husband a few weeks ago & we had the best time not doing much! Jeremiah & Jonny were at the dunes when Wendy got here so it was 2 moms & 7 kids! We didn't get anywhere in a timely manner but we had lots of fun just hanging out with each other. Wendy lives 7 1/2-9 hours (depending on how long the stops with kids are) from me so we only see each other a few times a year, but we talk so much that Jeremiah finally had to switch my phone plan over to an unlimited one! We met when we both lived in Costa Mesa, CA. As Jeremiah & I were walking across the parking lot to our apartment after church the first Sunday we were in our new ward we saw her & Mike also walking across the parking lot dressed in church clothes & then I remembered seeing them at church. We stood & talked for a few minutes & found out that she & Mike lived in the apartment right above Jeremiah & I! We hung out a few times & clicked & have been like sisters almost ever since! We keep trying to get our husbands to let us (as in all 4 of us) go on a vacation together but they are convinced it would pretty much just be a Hillary/Wendy vacation & they'd be the 3rd & 4th wheels! Come on guys, it's still a vacation! Anyway, Wendy's visit was great! The night she got here we left all the kids with a couple of babysitters & went to a girls' night out with some of my other best friends! (Yep, I'm "seriously so blessed" [lol] to have so many great friends.) Also another afternoon/night she was here my amazing/handsome/thoughtful/sweet/kind/hot/did-I-say-amazing husband watched the 5 older kids (ages 2-5) while Wendy & I took the baby girls to do some outlet shopping. And my mom went with us & was so great because she entertained the babies while Wendy & I tried on lots of clothes & did lots of shopping. Yeah, she's awesome! So anyway, it was a little crazy with all 7 kids running around here, but it was so fun having Wendy visit & I can't wait till we get to see each other again! Wendy is such a fabulous friend to me & I'm so lucky to know her!

Tanner (2), Jack (3), Preston (almost 4), Callie (4 1/2), Ellie (10 mos), Spencer (5), Emily (10 mos)


Ellie & Emily, mini bffs

Wendy & her boys

i {heart} gap

oh yeah!

Love Day

This year was fun because Callie had her first Valentine exchange in her preschool class. I saw this really cute idea on Skip to my Lou for her Valentines and Callie & I had a great time putting them together. Callie especially loved putting the stickers on the butterflies!

Jeremiah's mom sent the kids each a card with a little heart sucker. The kids loved it & so did I! I can remember getting Valentine's cards from one of my grandmothers and I've always thought that's the kind of stuff I want to do when I have grandkids so it was fun for me to see how excited my children were when they got their Valentines. Jack's card had a rhyme about a dinosaur & I've read it to him a million times! Ellie was just as happy about her sucker as the bigger kids were!

Before we went to bed on Friday night Jeremiah & I set the table & put little valentine's treats on ours & each of the kids' plates - even Jonny's. This is his 2nd Valentine's Day with us! That's why this year I asked Jeremiah to get extra strawberries for the dip he makes me every year. Valentine's Day was low-key. Jeremiah & I made delicious stuffed french toast for breakfast & spent the rest of the day doing house work. A month earlier we'd brought the rest of our boxes (about 15-20) into our bedroom because I'd thought that maybe if they were there I'd unpack a little at a time. Wrong! After a month of tripping through a box maze during the night & having our bedroom look like heck I finally got it all unpacked & out of there. Unfortunately that meant making a mess out of my front multi-use room again! Oh well. Someday I'll get it together!

Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Green

On Wednesday last week my mom, the kids & I went to Heber (okay actually Overgaard), AZ to visit my grandparents. I hadn't been to their house in a while and it was nice to have a laid back visit & spend time with them. The highlight of our first full day there was a trip to Show Low's WalMart. I only brought one toy & some coloring stuff for each of the kids so at WalMart I let them pick something out. Callie got a Polly Pocket & Jack chose a Transformer. Well I might have guided that choice. He actually was leaning towards another toy but I thought he'd get more play out of the Transformer & I think it was a great choice! He played with it a LOT! He even slept with it! He's calling him Bee instead of Bumblebee. Jack loves his new toy! The Polly Pocket also turned out to be a fantastic choice (also a choice I may have influenced). Callie has several little sets of PP-type Disney princesses but their clothes are really difficult to get on & off. This was the first Polly we've ever bought or played with & I think it's awesome! (oh yeah, so does Callie!) The clothes go off & on very easily. She's played with it a lot already.







The kids have been dying to make snow angels so they got all dressed in their warm clothes to go outside & play in the few patches of snow that were still in my grandparents' yard. Unfortunately for the kids the snow was hard & crystally. They had to pack it pretty hard to get a snowball to stay together. After the snow angels I hurt my back & couldn't really play with them anymore. The kids were so bummed so my grandpa was sympathetic to their plight & helped them with a little snowball fight.

It was nice seeing my grandparents. We had some good food, good conversation, and just a nice relaxing time.

Happy Birthday Chelsea!

In honor of your birthday, I'm updating my blog! :)

Tana's baby shower

I really didn't think about throwing a surprise shower until about a week before Tana came to Kingman for a visit, so I'm so glad that most everybody that I called was able to make it to Tana's shower! We'd decided to get together for lunch so I told her Chili's at 1 on Friday. She was completely surprised when she walked in expecting to just see me & the kids & instead saw a whole group of friends & family. It was so fun for me to do this shower for Tana. It was her first boy & plus she's one of my best friends!

The only con about doing a shower at a place like Chili's (and when I say like Chili's I mean any place w/out a party room) is that it's very difficult to converse with more than just the people right around you. But a huge pro is that there's not a lot of decorating to do. Oh, & no prep cleaning or post clean-up. And it's not necessary to do games (although I like them but if you've thrown a shower you know it's obviously easier to not have them). So there were balloons (a must for a casual restaurant shower!), a couple centerpieces, & cupcakes! Wallah! It's a shower!

As a side note I've really had a change of heart about baby showers. I remember thinking one time (years ago) when I heard a co-worker talking about her upcoming shower for her 2nd daughter how stupid that was & why was she getting another shower. But like I said I've had a change of heart. Jeremiah's mom told me once that in their old ward every baby got a shower and every mom was made to feel special. And I just love that because babies are special & plus it's also a lot of work for the moms so I think they need a big high-5 in the form of a party with presents! :) I think mom's & their babies should be celebrated whether it's their first or fifth child (and so on)! And even if it's your second girl or second boy & you might not need any new clothes or anything, it's still fun. Besides, we women all update our wardrobes, right? Why wouldn't we want to update our kids' wardrobes too if we can? And diapers don't grow on trees. And what about baby shampoo & baby tylenol & all those kinds of things? Okay, I'll step off my soapbox. But really, if you're from the old school of thought on baby showers I truly think you should reconsider. I'm done now.

Jack & Kiera tickling each other.

Ellie enjoying spinach artichoke dip. She loved it. Hand & fisting it!

Tana & me.

The cupcakes & centerpieces to match her PBK Oscar bedding. I have to admit, I love how they turned out!

Another Snow Day!

When we had a snow day in December the kids were sick & didn't even get to go play in it before it rained (later the same afternoon). This time (2/9) they were ready for some fun!



I know this is sad, but this was the first time my kids ever built a snowman! When we were in WA 2 Christmases ago the snow was too wet for snowmen, so they have been wishing & hoping for snow to build a snowman in! Here he is! (quite small since the snow wasn't that thick when we built him & was pulling up dirt).

Jack was almost in tears by the time we came in because he was so cold! We don't have snow pants or good snow gloves because it only snows good maybe once a year here (usually). So we had to make due & the poor boy was freezing! Callie was having too much fun to worry about a little thing like freezing. Thank goodness for delicious hot cocoa!

Jeremiah, Jonny & my bros. Kenny & Stuart all came home early from work so they could go 4-wheeling in the snow. They had a great time - well except for Stuart I think who got lost & almost froze to death! :)

L-R: Kenny, Jonny, Jeremiah, Stuart

The snow lasted for days this time but my kids were very upset with Uncle Jonny because when he pulled the Rhino & the King Quad into the backyard to park under the patio that evening he couldn't just park them, he had to do donuts & race all around the backyard, ruining all the snow for the kids. All that was left was muddy tire tracks & small patches of snow. Callie was mad at him about it the entire next afternoon because at preschool kids had talked about snow angels & she really wanted to make one when she got home but of course she couldn't. I think Jonny's been sufficiently reprimanded!