Stop the Clock!!!!

Our little Ansley is already 7 weeks old. She isn't really doing much that is noteworthy - other than just being a near perfect baby. She rarely cries and really only wakes up once at night...We are all in love with her and even little Owen seems to like having her around. He is really starting to get a little more curious about her and I crack up when I catch him holding her hands or poking her head (ever so gently of course:) It will be fun to see how their relationship develops. I always tell Owen how much Ansley loves him - hoping this will endear her to him and in turn he won't torture her too much!




Just a little video for those of you who haven't seen her yet. (OK - just for the record, that is ALL of our family and many of our friends :) or better yet :( boo hoo!!!!

Here's a question for you...

Which response best describes this picture?

a.) Jeremy crying like a baby as he adjusts to his new "Mr. Mom" duties this summer.
b.) A formal announcement that Mary is pregnant with #4!
c.) Owen (#3).
d.) all of the above

(If you are not sure about the answer, please call ;)

Forever 29!!!

So this year we were also in California for my birthday. Jeremy, Chris and Summer had arranged for a baby-sitter for the well-behaved, healthy kids and we got to spend date night with this little angel - NOT!!! Jeremy surprised me with a flashback birthday at Bob's Big Boy. This was always my restaurant of choice when I was much younger. There are not too many BBB's left (much to my dismay and Jeremy's sheer delight). There happened to be one out by Chris and Summer so we ventured out. I LOVED it and despite Owen's horrific behavior, had a great time. Jeremy, on the other hand, commented that this might be the one time when you actually hope that the food comes out looking better in person than it did on the menu. He was not impressed with the Big Boy Combo. It just made the night more enjoyable for me - Chris and Summer were totally on board and got the whole nestalgia of the experience!!!

Here we are with the classic Hot Fudge Cake. Definitely my favorite part of the night. Side note - Jeremy would claim that the whole night was a disaster. He made it clear after the Big Boy Combo that this was his first and last time "dining" at Bob's. On the way home, we ran over something in the road and got a flat. Our spare ended up barely getting us to San Diego early the next morning as it was leaking air and had major cracks in it!!! - YIKES!! Other than the quality time spent with Chris and Summer, this trip was probably one of the worst our family has EVER endured!!!:) - Happy Birthday to me!!!

2 Weddings - 1 VERY LONG WEEK

We headed to California for my good friend Becky's beautiful wedding and enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was great to meet her husband and see her family and just enjoy the beauty of my old stomping grounds..(I MISS CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!)

Here is a cute shot of my mom with Ellie while we were waiting for the dinner/reception to start.

Jeremy and the kids (yes - where is Owen?) I think he had seriously taken off by this point. He still is not walking but he sure crawls fast!! He was probably off scoping out the wedding cake:)


After a week of sickness, many sleepless nights, a flat tire, a faulty spare and a VERY slow trip to San Diego - we made it to my nephew's wedding!!! We were tempted to go home sooo many times during the week (thanks LeSueur's for housing us during this NIGHTMARE), but it was soo worth it to be in the temple with my cute nephew and his beautiful and sweet bride!!!

We actually had the thought to take a pic of all my siblings together with my mom:) That is a very rare occasion, I'm glad we took advantage of it!!!

Happy First Owen!!!!

We were in California for Owen's birthday. It was actually the same day as Becky's wedding. We celebrated it the next day with Amy, Jason and Kamryn - good times. He is such a little bundle of energy. We have yet to experience a kid like Owen. He fills our home with lots of love and laughter!!! Happy birthday Owen!!! (A.K.A. - "Tiny", "the Tiny", "Tiny Pants", "Pants", "Baby Pants", "Bo Bear" and many other names). We LOVE YOU TOO MUCH!!!

Six Already???

Ethan is turning 6 on the 13th. We had his party the day after Ellie's - WHAT A WEEKEND!!! Obviously his party was an army party. We have the perfect backyard for it. Jeremy took charge of this event and the boys had a phenomenal time!!!

Jeremy made an obstacle course in the backyard and the boys basically had to do boot camp.

Here is a shot of Ethan "in the hole", about to pull the pin and launch a grenade.

To finish off the course, the boys had a giant tug of war contest. Our neighbor even brought out his vintage jeep and took the kiddos for a ride through the neighborhood (thanks Jason!) It was a great way to celebrate an amazing little guys birthday! Happy Birthday Ethan - you are AWESOME and we love you!!!

8 is GREAT!!!!

Ellie turned 8 this year and had a bunch of her friends over to celebrate! It was a Hawaiian themed party so they made grass skirts and flower clips for their hair.

We are lucky enough to live in a great ward with lots of girls her age plus the bonus of great school friends and neighbors we love!!!

Ethan basically stayed outside during the massive influx of girls, but he did want to see what fun birthday surprises his sister got to open!
- Happy Birthday Ellie, We love you - you are such a JOY in our lives!!!

Goin back to Cali - with no KIDS!!!!

So thanks to some great friends, Jeremy and I escaped to California ALONE - We had a great time just hanging out together. The rooftop of our hotel had a great view of beautiful Pasadena!
We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and it was soooooooooo good! Can't wait to go back! We ate right along Fair Oaks and Colorado. It was so fun to people watch while we enjoyed our dinner!
We were able to be with our close friends as they took their sweet new baby to be sealed in the Redlands temple!

After Redlands, we had to take a trip down memory lane and visit our special spot. It was such a beautiful night! I love this pic!!
Haven't aged a day in 10 1/2 years!!! (YEAH RIGHT)
Gotta love downtown LA - even at night! Plenty of traffic to allow Jeremy to brush up on his "techniques".
It's blurry, but that's the Staples Center!!! Home of "our" Los Angeles Lakers!!!
I had never been to this Tommy's and instead of the restaurant sign, I should have taken a picture of the street signs. We were in the SERIOUS HOOD. I let Jeremy eat while I watched for potential drive-bys!
Another reason why I let Jeremy eat alone...Greasy. Fatty.. Yum. We went back to Pasadena and I enjoyed a Subway sandwich in suburbia...Sweet safe suburbia:)

Birthday Traditions!!!

So Jeremy celebrated his birthday in the usual fashion. One of our fav restaurants here in Gilbert does free dinner on your birthday. Yea for Joe's BBQ!!!

This year Jeremy had class at ASU, so he stopped by home just to quickly eat dinner before heading out. We all looked on longingly as he devoured his spoils. (I think we had nuggets or something - L.A.M.E.)

I NEED A HAIRCUT!!!

Luckily I have such a cute face - but c'mon...Does every day have to be such a bad hair day? Help me out- throw me a bone and CUT MY HAIR ALREADY. A guy can't turn 1 with a mop like this!

PLEASE????

THANK YOU!!!

Thanks Auntie Jill....Much better!

Highlights

We explored the 1 mountain in the valley (not really - but it feels like it) with our friends John and Becca and family!

Jeremy and the kids made it all the way.. Owen and I stopped for some lunch.

Later in January we headed to the mountains with Carrie and Kris for some much needed fresh air.

The kids had a great time swinging.....
going for rides in the jeep....
and fishing. Great time was had by all:)

On the path to a Superbowl!

YEAH!!! Jeremy was able to go to a Cardinals game with some friends and had a great time. The seats didn't seem too bad either!

Sure glad Jeremy has friends to go to football games and late night movies...What will he do when Bryan moves??

New Year's Traditions!!!

Almost every New Year's, we are lucky enough to get to spend time with our friend's Chris and Summer. This year they added baby Lucie to their family, 5 months after little Owen joined ours. Ellie and Claire (their 7 year old daughter), loved playing "baby day care". Owen and Lucie didn't seem to mind either. Summer and I were glad for the break.
After a long night of playing wii and eating nonstop, the clock struck midnight and it was time to wake up the neighbors. (tradition - of course). Although it looks like Claire passed out, don't think she is going to stay that way. NO ONE SLEEPS ON NEW YEARS - (except the babies)
See - she just needed a little coaxing and was good to go - for about 15 minutes!
Chris just couldn't get enough of the noise making!
I think Jeremy gave Ellie a rubber spatula on purpose - she tends to go a little crazy!
Looks like Ethan got a spatula too. I think this was his first year actually staying awake! Way to go bud!
Gotta love the Martinelli's!
Jeremy and Chris - (Chris was sporting the mountain man look this trip - I think he lost that look shortly after his return to California!
Ethan was so happy to stay awake and enjoy all the festivities. He's getting soo old! Happy New Year Everyone!!!