Making Pancakes

I love making a big breakfast. I think breakfast foods are the most fun to make. And I guess Alex thinks so too. He loves helping me make french toast, eggs and especially pancakes. My Dad started the best tradition. When we were younger, my Dad would make pancakes on Saturday morning and he would always put the pancake batter in the shape of the first letter of each of our names. It always made us feel so special and loved. So I try to do the same with Alex every time I make pancakes. Because he is our only child and his name is so short, I can usually just spell out his whole name. Alex and I have had some great one on one time doing this, and I hope that continues for a very long time!

Alex's Birthday Party

Here is a great video that my wonderful friend Holly helped me put together of Alex's "friend" birthday party. Thanks Holly! I hope you enjoy it!

My Baby Is Five

Five years ago our sweet little Alex was born. It's so hard to believe that he is already 5. He officially turned 5 at 1:05 this morning. I actually couldn't sleep, so I was able to watch the clock turn to 1:05. I then began to cry. I went in and kissed my little sleeping boy and wished him a happy birthday. Before he went to sleep last night, I took a few pictures. His last ones as a 4 year old. I don't know why this birthday is so hard on me. I think it's because this puts him completely out of the "toddler" stage and into the "boy" stage. That, and the fact that he'll be starting kindergarten this year. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. I'll be posting pictures very soon of the birthday party we had for him this past weekend.

Personality Tests

I was extremely bored at work today and decided to go take some blog personality tests. They actually had quite a few fun ones on the site. Here are some results of just a few of them that I took.

You Are 32% Girly

You are a pretty hardcore tomboy, and a very free spirit. Gender roles be dammed, you like to do things your way.

How Girly Are You?

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Your Spelling is Perfect

You got 10/10 correct. Your spelling is excellent. You also have a great memory and eye for detail.

How's Your Spelling?

You are a Tomboy Girl!

Instead of flirting, you tend to pal around with the guys you crush on. And why not? You can hold your own in sports, video games, and gross out contests. Just make sure and surprise them with a touch of girlishness every once and a while. Then you'll be treated like the hottie you are - not like one of the guys.

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Swimming

We recently got an annual pass to the South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful. We have had a lot of fun swimming together in the pools they have. I remembered to take my camera this last time and took a couple shots of us swimming.




*** Mommy and Alex


*** Alex having fun


*** Daddy and Alex

What a Weekend!!

What a great weekend we had! It all started last Wednesday when both of my sisters came up from St. George. We didn't do too much on Wednesday, but Thursday was pretty exciting. I had to work in the morning, so Hayley took Alex and her kids to the Discovery Gateway. Alex had a great time with them. That evening I went with Hayley, my mom and Anna to go see Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. It was actually a lot cuter than I thought it would be, and Anna was in complete heaven. We all thought she would fall asleep at some point, but she could not remove her eyes from what was going on. It was very sweet!

Friday also ended up being a very busy day. One of the reasons everyone came up was to celebrate Alex's 5th birthday. He won't be 5 until the 25th, but this was the time everyone could come, so he got to celebrate a little early. That morning we went and saw "Horton Hears a Who" down at the Gateway 12. It was pretty cute. After that we got ready for Alex's little party. Since the kids were here, we did a little Easter egg hunt in the back yard for them. Then we had Alex blow out his candles and open some presents. I have a very long video of him opening presents, so if I can figure out how to edit it, I'll post it.

Saturday, Hayley and her family had to leave. It's always hard for the kids to say goodbye to each other. They are always so happy to be together. After I finished work on Saturday we went to the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square to eat. It was fun to just sit and talk.

Sunday, Beth and Chad had to go. Alex always goes through a bit of withdraw when everyone leaves. He had a very hard time going to sleep last night.

So for the remainder of this week I am planning on cleaning house and getting ready for Alex's "friend party" this coming Saturday. We've invited 17 kids, but there are a few already that won't be able to make it. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures from that party. In the meantime, here are a few from this past weekend.



Anna, before going in to see Disney on Ice


All the kids with their Easter baskets before the hunt


The Hunt


Ryan taking a break with Beast


Lighting the candles


Singing "Happy Birthday"

My 10 Happy Springtime Songs

I've been tagged again by Holly. This one is different and quite fun. I am going to list 10 songs that I currently listen to. Mine won't all necessarily be "springtime" songs. They are just the songs at the moment that I'm addicted to! I am going to attempt to put "You Tube" clips after each title. We'll see how it works :)

1. "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Blake Lewis (orginally by Bon Jovi) I fell in love with this song when Blake sang it on American Idol. Not sure which version I like more, because I love the beatboxing that Blake does in the song. The video I found is his performance on American Idol. It sounds better on the album of course.




2. "That's How You Know" from Enchanted I love this movie and especially this song! It makes me so happy everytime I watch the clip from the movie!




3. "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson When I heard this song at the beginning of the movie Curious George



4. "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic I'm sorry, but this is probably one of the best songs ever! The video is amazing!



5. "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade I just love this song. No particular reason.



6. "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys Ok, so it's actually the whole Sounds of Summer album. It totally gets me ready for the summer.



7. "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" by Disney from the movie Hercules This is the best song to sing in the car or shower and just belt it out.



8. "Pinch Me" by The Barenaked Ladies We have always been fans of these guys, but this is one of my favorites.



9. "A Little Bit" by Jessica Simpson This one is just fun to sing!



10. "What A Wonderful World" by Keane (orginal by Louis Armstrong) This might be my all time favorite song. It always gives me hope for the world. What a beautiful message!



Ok, I did it! I hope you enjoyed!

We can't wait any longer

In one of my most recent blogs I mentioned that it has been a year this month since we have been to Disneyland. Well last Sunday, both Ryan and I woke up and we both had Disneyland on our minds. We were saying how much we missed it and how if Ryan gets into his program this year, we won't get a family vacation for a few years. So within a few hours we had our Disneyland trip all planned out for this coming May! I know, we are very silly people. But we are so excited! This will be the first time we will be going as our own little family. Every other time we have gone, we have always had someone else with us. My family, our friends, Ryan's family, etc. So this time it turns out we get to go all alone, which works out so nicely. Alex should be big enough now to go on every ride in the Disneyland park, (this will be his first time on Indiana Jones) and there are only 2 rides he cannot go on in California Adventure (California Screamin and Maliboomer). So we will be gone May 15-20. YAY!!!

APPROVED!

As most of you know, we have been trying for about 4 years for another child. Things have not gone the way we've wanted or expected. After praying and figuring out what to do, we decided to apply to adopt through LDS Family Services. It has been a long and hard process going through classes and filling out paperwork. But it has also been amazing and fulfilling. Well, we just received word last week that we have been approved to adopt. Now, that doesn't mean that we have a child yet to adopt, it just means that if we are chosen to have a child placed with us we are able to adopt it. Ryan and I are so excited at the thought of adding another member to our family. Alex is already picking out strollers and car seats for his new brother/sister. We hope we are chosen sooner rather than later, but we also know that it is out of our hands. Any prayers that can be offered in our behalf are greatly appreciated. And for those who have helped us through to this point, we are so grateful for you. We will have a site set up soon on LDS Family Services that you can view or even send people to that might be interested. We just wanted to share this wonderful news with everyone!