My current Faves

In no particular order my current faves are:
Well groomed schnauzer puppies named Ruby who poop and tee-tee outside thank you very much

Daphne calling me a stupid bobblehead after she got in trouble for brawling (sometimes u just gotta laugh at horrible sass mouthin' girls)

The little boy I watch, Kai who tells me every morning how cute Violet is, and calls her bayba ( like the Justin Beiber song) and last week when he asked to hold her and I asked him if she was cute he replied, she is Hot! 3yr olds are definitely not allowed to call my bayba Hot!

Morgan calling Golden the hairiest dad ever. He told us that he told a kid at school that his dad was really a bear hahahaha soooo true just check out Golds legs next time you're around.


Tristan in his boy scout uniform soooo cute( pics to come I promise)

Golden randomly bringing me home a love owl via Ross on his lunch break.( it was like 3 weeks ago but it still makes me smile every time I see it.

Reading and then watching The Help with Best Pal Randi last Saturday. She rocks, for many many reasons, but especially cause she is willing to bring my two lovelies, Daph and poopy Vy along for girls night, and she never got annoyed once!.....I think:)


Finally finishing my associates degree in Communications 9 years after I began!!!!!! Now onto my Bachelors....after I take a much needed sabbatical hopefully not 6 years like last time.


Day one of Morgan not screaming and clawing when I drop him off at his new school. Hopefully this starts a trend.

Hanging with our peeps Mallory,Tay, and Gramma Sheila Monday night for FHE. Love spending time with those guys!


Black Bear Diner Tuesday nights.We are a little obsessed, they have free kids meals no limits. That means if you have 2 adults and 8 kids ...or half of that, they all eat free!!! Plus their food is super yummy and homecookedish as well as super cheap!Last night our bill went from $57 to $35 with tip!


Sleeping in 1/2 hour this morning after staying up late watching Teen Mom.(shhh don't tell)


With all of this to smile about who could be grumpy... not this girl!

I lub poopies, play bolleyball.......

Anyone who knows my hubby well knows that he is low maintenance and asks for very few things....at all....ever. Example: in the last 8 yrs we have been married he has owned literally one pair of jeans at a time! He wears the same pair day in and day out , when we were first married I would fight him on the matter and even purchased a second and third pair gasp, but they were never worn. Anyway I digress, he has lately been bothering me about getting a dog. This topic comes up about every few years and Golden either impulsively brings home some poor mutt who will sadly end up elsewhere/my MIL's, or we pay actual $ for a dog that ends up on Craigslist mere months later (I am not a horrible dog hating person and this has only happened a few times.... and mostly for good reasons, like my carpet/sanity!). I finally decided that we were cat people why? I'll tell ya why, they clean themselves, are not loud, do their own thing and put up with the little people around here who like to poke fingers into perfectly good eyes.Last tangent I promise, I have a really funny cat story. Fi-Fi/ rotten princess enjoys herself a good howl anytime she hears the word No. Well one time she was howling on the floor like she just saw her favorite doll dismembered, she was soo loud and I guess our cat Al just got sick of it so he ran up to her quick as lightning and B-slapped her so she would shut up. He didn't scratch her he just pawed at her face. She was shocked and looked at me stunned before I busted up laughing and she joined in, all I can say is Hey it worked, she stopped crying! Back to the dog sitch, Well since we have moved into a place with a yard and a doggy door Gold cannot help himself, all he can think about is that perfectly good doggy door going to waste. So slowly he has worn me down and my definitive "N. O.'s" have turned into "well maybies". He finally convinced me when he came up with a scheme that makes a dog almost seem useful. He wants to breed dogs on the side. He has even held off from just buying the first little fuzzy thing with four legs and we have done research on what type of dogs are good with kids, easy to potty train, are not hyper and make cute puppies with a Yorkie. After much deliberation we have decided on a miniature Schnauzer.That is her in the pic, she will be so cute once we get her groomed up proper like. I am actually really excited we get her tomorrow.We are now just thinking up names. Would it be tacky to name her a name I wanted for Violet but was too chicken? P.s. Any ideas? Pass them my way! On another side note, this may sound weird but I think having puppies around the house will really fill the void of not having more babies.Grrr Violet, don't you know you were supposed to stay a baby for much much longer!

Happy Bday boooy!

I have about 10 seconds before my hot date with the MR. But I wanted to just wish my honey a Happy Happy 32nd Birthday! I am so grateful that he was born and for the parents who reared him to be the amazing dad and husband he is today....and almost every other day! ( p.s. this is the first pic I take on every phone/camera I get lol :)

My baby is Not such a baby anymore :(

Last Thursday Violetty disobeyed my orders and went ahead and turned one anyway the little twirp. Since she is the fourth child she is a little less loved so instead of an elaborate birthday bash we just had a small party with our nearest and dearest to celebrate. I did however bake her a cake! I made a violet crown and a small Belle cake just for her. We ordered Venezia's pizza and opened presents. I have to say she was adorable with all of her gifts. She just kept laughing and dancing. It was like she knew that the toys were for her and she was really excited about them. She would walk up to everyone, hand them her toys and giggle. Now if you will, indulge a mother and appreciate the excessive volume of Violet pictures I am about to bombard you with.

hurray for presents!!!

What? for me?

Dancing to the music.

She loves it!

Squish face

Gimme gimme!

Love dat babyeee

Tippies

First a purse now a cell phone she is growing up too fast!

where you at?

she was showing everyone her new toy

giggle giggle

wiggle wiggle

she wasn't quite sure about the cake.

yummy frosting

her hair was much messier than her face by the end of cake.

I am so incredibly grateful for this baby girl and I can't help but reflect about the day she was born and how very near we were to not enjoying that sweet little face everyday. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I couldn't kiss those chubby cheeks, hear that shrill little giggle, and watch this beautiful baby grow up! I can't wait to see the woman she grows up to be!......Ok maybe I can!

Tristan's Baptism!!!!

Last Saturday Tristan became an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of him and it was really fun to celebrate with friends and family , thanks to everyone who came to support our boy! Also a special thanks to Grandpa Johnson, Grandpa Eyestone and Grandma Gayle for making a special trip out to the scorching heat of Arizona to be a part of this important day. Tristan was so cute in his little suit and in the end all of the hard work was worth the effort. Tristan had a very special day and we had a great time chillin' with our peeps. After the baptism we all came back to our house for sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, fruit, veggies, cupcakes, and Randi's delish chocolate chip cheesecake bars which were the hit of the party!(I have the recipe and will ask if I can share it here, trust me you NEED it!) Thanks to everyone who helped with the food. Anywayz I will leave you to enjoy the very few photos I remembered to take. Happy Monday.

These were the CTR cupcakes I made.

marshmallow creme frosting Yum!

This was the food table pre-lunch style

These were the crafts I did for the occasion the banner says GR82B8 !

We had a great turn out thanks to the Nielsen's, Eyestone's, Johnson's, Bingham's, Gates', Fires', DeGroff's, Ray's, and Morriss' who came out!

Our little family and my handsome 8 yr old boy!

Work in progress

My entire house is a work in progress right now. I have about 75 million projects to do before it will be up to my standard. I keep walking people through my house explaining the things I intend to do, what will be painted,dyed, and hung up. I have avoided crafting lately at all costs because I am an all or nothing person, If I can't see something to completion I usually don't start it and I'm realizing it's my biggest problem. Fortunately little deadlines like TC's baptism on Saturday has made me at least finish my projects for his partay. I won't reveal them yet since the party is on Saturday but I will be sure to take plenty of pics!I am really really excited to be creating again however it reminds me why I have been avoiding it, namely my kitchen table is a mess and my children look like hobos seriously!I also am really excited about my orange chair that I recently stripped the color from and is currently a golden yellow. I used RIT color remover and saved my self $175 to recover it yeah me!!! Anyway I will be sure to take before and after pics of my decorating. I'm going for a french country/eclectic look we'll see how I do!

How to not cook all week

If you are like me cooking in the summer is not your very favorite thing however eating fast food everyday or spending $50 bucks a night on dinner is also not appealing so I've compiled a list of places kids eat free here in AZ for anyone who is interested. If you follow this schedule you can avoid cooking nearly all week!
Mon: Rumbi Grill on Val Vista and Baseline, offers free kids meals one per adult entree. 2 Adult entrees is about $15 if you drink water and order one of their delicious burgers or chicken sandwiches! And the best part is no tipping!!!*
Tue: Black Bear Diner on Southern West of Gilbert does free kids meals per adult entree. We haven't tried it yet but our kids have been there with Papa and Grandma and they say it's good. Tuesdays are also KEF at Rumbi Grill!*
Wed: NYPD pizza has KEF with adult purchase. They have locations all around the valley find the closest one near you. If you are looking for a cheaper faster option Sonic does 1.79 wacky packs even for adults.*
Thurs: *Waldo's BBQ on Main and Greenfield offers free kids meals Mon-Thurs per adult entree. We usually spend $35 with tip and end up with like 2 boxes of left overs. I usually buy buns and sauce and voila, that makes one more meal!
Fri/Sat: IHOP does KIF except you have to pay for their drinks. We haven't done this one much but the times we have it's always a novelty to have breakfast for dinner.
Also mention worthy is Costa Vida gives free kids cheese quesadillas everyday of the week.
Since we don't eat out on Sunday, I can't help you out there. Well there you go enjoy!
P.S I do actually cook and we have never officially done the whole week thing but I now that I've complied this list I just might!

Little Lady Lettie

I know that I already gushed like yesterday about how much I love my little letty but she has been officially walking for a little while now and it just makes her cuter especially since she has been doing this.......

carrying a purse around!

"where's that lipstick"

how does she know what to do with it? Tiny genius I think.

She is not even one yet and is already so funny I heart babies who think they need a purse. 

Root root root for the Dodgers if they don't win... oh wait they did!!!

Violet and Golden, after Tristan stole his hat and wouldn't let him wear it.

Tonight we, meaning Grandma and Papa Johnson, Jordan & Lauren, Austin(J and A are my step brothers) and all of us Eyestones attended the Diamondback Dodger game in honor of Tristan's 8th Birthday, it was his one wish. All the kiddos donned Diamondback apparel and Daddy wore only his Dodger hat and not his jersey out of respect for TC. T lately has been all for the Dbacks and openly dissed the Dodgers which has of course broken his fathers heart, so it was awesome that the Dodgers kicked butt tonight. Anyway all the kids did super well and were nice including little Vy she was tired but never fussed once she was having too much fun people watching, her favorite sport. She also had her first sucker that she stole out of my mouth and  wouldn't let me take it away.The kids got to play in the play area and Tristan hit 3out of 4 balls pitched to him in the kids batting cage. He hit the ball so well even the pitcher was impressed. We ended the night with incredibly overpriced souvenirs, but hey we didn't have to pay for the seats (Thanks DAD!).Tristan bought himself a foam finger and we bought him wrist bands, Mo got a squishy ball and Daph got a pink necklace and bracelet with a Dbacks emblem on them. Overall it was a really fun time and we are realizing that the older our kids get the easier it is to take them all places. We will definitely be visiting the ballpark again if Golden and Tristan have any say... Even Morgan who is no sports fan really had a good time and wants to go again!

Tristan regretting his smack talk earlier

Morgan actually liking baseball!

Gramma, Papa, and Fi-fi

Mom and Vy post sucker highjacking

who could take candy from a baby? not me!

Drive home, note stylish new jewelry.

Letty Lou

 In case you haven't noticed I Love this girl. The best way to describe my feelings for her is I have a major crush, when I see her my heart goes pitter patter, I can't wait to hold her in the morning, when she smiles I swoon, and I can't ever get enough. She is the best baby ever she plays like a big kid, sleeps like a rock, and rarely cries. She is not extra cuddly but she is always happy. Every time I have a baby I think I'll never love anyone like I love this little thing and every new time I prove myself wrong. Why is it that babies have such a hold of us? I was reminded by a friend recently that I used to say that I liked toddlers better, and I did. But the older my kids get(TC turned 8 last week!!!) the more I miss them being babies, not newborns but maybe like 6 month old's. I wonder if I can ever get enough of chubby cheeks, buns, and soft little hair. Since we are most likely done having babies, I will have to saver every last moment of this baby and then hopefully some family and good friends of mine will provide my baby fix for the future.I know this is a million pictures but one is just never enough.

crackers yum!

cheeeeeese!

No more photos please

She likes to head butt as a sign of affection you can kinda see it here.

head butt love

Vy has blue, gray, and sometimes green eyes my uncle Kev described them the best so far, he says they look like a marble.

TC was behind me making her laugh which he can always do.

Love Lovie Love this tiny thing.