Jacilyn Piano & Chailyn Dance

Chailyn had her first dance concert. She was so dang cute. This is her with her friend Kaitlin- aren't they the cutest little girls you have ever seen.


Jacilyn did a great job at her piano recital. We think she is just AWESOME!!

All three of our girls are wonderful.- Thanks for being my girls. :)

Christmas Time!!! :)

We had such a great Christmas! It would be so nice to have a few more days without work and just enjoy the family. Christmas eve we had some of our family & some of Brian's family over. We invited everyone, but some had already made other plans. We had soup & lots of goodies, dips, treats etc... We didn't due much other than visit & eat but we had a great time. Earlier that day We had a scavenger hunt for PJS- the girls always get a kick out of it & really gets them excited for Christmas. Brian kept tabs on Santa so we knew where he was. The girls love that too. It seemed easy this year to get them in bed. They were so worried if they weren't in bed that Santa would miss them.
Christmas morning was GREAT. The girls slept til 8:00 I was shocked. Brooklyn yelled from her crib- "Dad, come here" Once we all got out of bed we came downstairs to see what Santa left. The girls got all that they asked for- Jacilyn got her IPOD and wallet, Chailyn got her pink guitar and password journal and Brooklyn got a new baby doll. They were all so cute & we loved watching the girls open up their gifts.
As Christmas is now over I come back to reflect on our Saviors birth. How blessed we are to have our savior in our lives. To know he lives and loves us and to know that one day we can return and live with him and our Heavenly Father. We are so blessed to have the knowledge that we have about being a forever family. I love my Savior and I am grateful for the gospel in my life.

SPOKE TOO SOON

So I guess I spoke too soon because Brian got Laid off today. His work sent him over to apply for another position within the company so hopefully that works out. They aren't able to do any hiring until the first part of January because the entire company is on a hiring freeze. So say a little prayer for us that it works out & he gets this new position. :)

Economic Crisis

With the economy the way the way that it is has left me pondering our American Crisis. Brian's work just laid off 4000 employees in the US. So scary. We are so grateful that he is able to keep his position and we feel for those who are losing their jobs at the end of this year. How blessed we have been as a Nation but how troubled many of our friends, neighbors, associates & many we don't even know have been & will be affected by our current situation. We have really seen a hit in our personal business & hope to see a come back in 2009. I was talking with Brian earlier about how we can get out of the recession we are in. I don't have a simple solution but what I realize is that we all need to buy American made products. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks about & if anyone has any amazing ideas or thoughts about how to get the US back where we need to be.

Thanks to my girls!!!

We went on a little get away this past weekend up to Midway. Our plan was to go tubing in the fresh snow- but unfortunately for us there was none. But we had a good time relaxing, watching movies & just being together. When we got home I had to catch up on missed work. The girls played around & turned on the fireplace for fun. But the thermostat assumed that the whole first floor was warm & my office was so cold. So I asked the girls to turn off the fireplace so the heat would start coming into my office. They were so cute. They turned it off & then made me hot chocolate. What cute, thoughtful little girls I have. I love you girls.

Happy 38th Birthday!!!

What more could I ask for?? I am so lucky to have you Brian. Thanks for being such a hard worker & a great Dad & Husband. You may not be the most romantic but I do know you love me. No one else would put up with me like you do. I love you!! Thanks for working so hard for our family. You are amazing. All the hard work will pay off one day. I just know it. :) Thanks again for all you do. I look forward to our Birthday date on Friday.

XOXO

Melissa

10 Reasons Why I love you!!

1. You are what I want and the one I want.

2. You love me and all 3 of our girls.

3. You are good to everyone.

4. You teach me to be a better person.

5. You are honest.

6. You are a hard worker.

7. You are loyal.

8. You like to help others.

9. You have an amazing family that I am so lucky to be a part of.

10. You are a great husband.

I love you!!!

Happy Birthday DAD!!!

Dad,
Happy Birthday. I love you so much. Hope you have a great day!
You are the best Dad. Thanks for being my DAD!!!
Love your,
Jacie Bear

Dad,

Happy Birthday. I hope you have a great birthday. Thanks for working so hard for us. You are the best dad in the whole world. Thanks for bringing home McDonalds & Wendys. (She really told me to type that)
I love you so much

Love,
Chailyn (Chai bug)
Daddy,
Happy Birthday!! I love you too!! (I wove ooh too) as Brooklyn says it. :)
Love,
Brooklyn

HSM 3

Our good friend Eric Marsing called us a few weeks ago & invited us to the Utah Premier of High School Musical 3. It was such a blast. We did have to stand in lines because of course we aren't as important as some of the people there. Even Governor Huntsman came out to watch it- so COOL! We went on Monday October 20th- what a perfect family night (minus Brooklyn- she wouldn't sit still so she got to play with Grandma & Grandpa Barney). Eric works at Zions bank & was offered tickets to go to the show and dinner at Tuchanos & he invited us. How lucky are we. :) We had a blast with Eric, Katie & their cute little guy Colton. Jacilyn & Chailyn loved it- I must say I think Brian had a GREAT time too- even though he may not admit it.
Thanks Eric for thinking of us. We love hanging out with you guys. We owe you!!!

Happy Birthday- Brooklyn!! Our little 2 year old.

I can't believe how time flies. Brooklyn turned 2 on Saturday. She was so cute. She got a cute little buggy car to cruise the neighborhood and a new doll & stroller. Her favorite things ever. Brooklyn's latest move is to remove her clothes & replace them with her PJS- only it isn't bed time- she does this every 2 hours or so. I added this picture because this is one of the shirts she likes to wear to bed- she also loves the phone & to put my shoes on. She is so dang cute. We love her so much!!!

Happy Birthday Brooklyn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACILYN!!!

I can hardly believe she is 10 years old. So crazy how time flies. What a joy Jacie is in our family. We love her very much. She is having a birthday party tomorrow. It is a late over and she is so excited. She has new friends already at her new school. She makes friends so easily. Jacilyn has so many talents. She loves doing hair- & she does it better than I do. She loves anything girl - like jewelry, make up, clothes etc... She is so fun. She has been drawing outfits lately. I am shocked at how good she is. I keep asking her if she wants to take dance or singing lessons but nope- just not her thing. She would love to take hair & make up classes and art classes too. We need to find an amazing place to put her in. Oh yeah, and she plays the piano. Now that she is practicing she is really starting to get good. We are so lucky to have her. Jacilyn- We love you!!! Happy Birthday.

Back tracking to Lagoon In July :)

We went to Lagoon in July as a family and had a great time. Here are some photos.

Barney's in the box!!

Brooklyn started to play inside the box's so we couldn't help but snap a few photos- Sisters wanted to join in the fun so here are our little treasures in a box. :)

New home :)

Here are some pictures of our new home- I know I am not the greatest photographer. We love it here. :) I had to take a picture of the pantry because I didn't have one in our last home. I love it!!!

Pictures of the old house

A couple days before we moved into our new house, Chailyn said out of no where "Mom I miss our old house, and I think it misses us too." I laughed- she always says the funniest things. We had some great times in our old home & will always treasure the good memories we had there. :)

Slacker- I know :)

Okay so what can I say, I am a big slacker when it comes to blogging. Here are some updates.

The girls had first days of school. They have already been to 2 schools this year & have both made friends at both schools. I tell you to be a kid & friends with everyone would just be great!!! My girls have adapted just great to the new house. They only have gone to their new school here for 4 days & they are currently off track for the next little bit. They are excited to go back on Monday.

Chailyn started kindergarten this year- I can hardly believe she is old enough. Everyday I ask her what her favorite part of the day was- it is always the bus. So funny because the first day she rode the bus in our new house the bus driver forgot he had a new student & she rode with him for almost an hour. I was in a panic on the phone with transportation trying to find her- they just kept reassuring me that they would find her & there was no need for me to drive around in attempt to find them. The bus driver finally had pulled up & said that no one had told him there was a new student. I said "do you not remember me from yesterday," I had taken her to school & picked her up as well & introduced myself & Chailyn to the bus driver & showed him that we are a new stop and that she would be on the bus with him tomorrow. He apologized & said that he had forgotten. All was fine & she was safe- that is all that mattered,,sigh.

Jacilyn on her last day had a trauma while playing on the playground. She was on the teeter totter with some friends and the bounced her a little too hard & she hit her mouth on the bar. It gave her a loose tooth & cut up the inside of her mouth really good. I took her to our dentist- Dr. McInes and he was awesome. He put a little brace to support the loose tooth & he stitched up her gum. She healed quite quickly- thank goodness.

As for Brooklyn she is keeping us on our toes - constantly into things. In fact she has already written on several walls in our new home- thank goodness I was able to get them out. My mom offered to take her for the next 2 years til she is out of all the mischief. We thought that was funny. :)

My Parents Anniversary

Yesterday was my parents anniversary. However, stupid me- I forgot. So when talking with my mom I didn't even think to ask her how she was doing or if she was having a rough day. I spoke with my sister today & she reminded me. I can't believe I forgot. I try to be thoughtful of my mom, especially during times that were special to her & my Dad. I know she misses him so much. We all do. I know we will all be together again one day. What a great feeling that is.

Mom- so sorry I didn't do anything for you yesterday- I love you!!!

We are moving Friday into our house- I will get pictures on when things settle down a bit. I picked up more hours at work- back to full time for a bit- so life has been crazy to say the least. I am hoping things calm down after we move in. :)

YEAH!!! We found a new home!!!

We are so excited. We had been spending all of our spare time searching for a new place to live. Our poor agent- Patrick Howells spent countless hours helping us in our search. He was incredible. At last our search is over. We found what we are looking for and we are so excited. We are buying a model home from DR Horton. We had driven by the neighborhood about 2 weeks ago and just said that it wasn't quite in our price range and didn't think much of it. About a week after that I get an email from our agent Pat and he said we should go look at this home today if we are interested because the builder just dropped the price. So Brian took a break away from work & meet us down there. He said that he really liked it but had to get back to work & that we would talk about it that night. There was already a hold on the house which we were told they weren't able to hold it because it was the model home and that first person to actually sign the contract would get the home. So I went ahead & signed the contract to purchase the home and called Brian to let him know that I bought it. He was a little surprised but thought it was a good move to get it when we did. That is the story. :)
We will be moving in the next 2-4 weeks- not sure the exact date. Brian's parents will be surely glad to have their home back and maybe a little peace and quiet without our silly little girls. :)
We will be moving to South Jordan right off 114th south and 3250 w. There are available homes and lots by us & would love to have some friends come move by us- hint, hint!!! We know an incredible Realtor who could help you sell your home & also help you find the right one too- hopefully by us.

Selling our first home!!!

Well- we did it. We closed on the sell of our home today. We are now looking for a new place to live. We are staying with Brian's parents in their basement until we find something. Chailyn thinks it is great to be here & she would like to stay here forever. :) I know she thinks-Why do we need to look for a new house when we can stay here with Grandma & Grandpa? We are hoping for just a couple months.
Grandma & Grandpa Barney are so amazing. They got the basement ready for us to move into it & even set up the girls beds for us. They are way too good to us. We have put in an offer on a house in Bluffdale and are waiting to hear back. It is a short sale so we are still looking at other homes, but so far that is our favorite. :)
I know we will find the right place, it just takes some time & effort to find it.
We will surely miss so many friends from our old neighborhood. Hopefully they will stay in touch.

Packing up

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while- we have been quite busy recently. Well our house in under contract & the hunt for the right house begins. :) We are moving the weekend of the 18th. YIKES that is only a little over 2 wks away. We are so excited for this transition in our lives, but we are sad to leave so many friends from our neighborhood behind. We are hoping they call come & move by us. (when we find out where it is we are moving to that is.)
I have met the couple that purchased our homes just briefly but they are just a cute young couple. It makes me feel old. :( We hope they love our house as much as we have. It has been a wonderful home and we will miss it.
More later when I have something interest to share. :)

Jeff & Ashley's Wedding

I can hardly believe that my nephew is old enough to get married. I guess that means I am getting old. They got married last Saturday in the SLC temple. It was just a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and the both were so cute. CONGRATS Jeff & Ashley. We are so happy for you guys.

Almost to my goal

I am down to 23.8% body fat- YIPEE!! Just a little more to go.

Weekend away- but not too far away!

We decided to get away for the weekend, so we went up to Eden, Utah (Ogden canyon) to our resort we have through worldmark and spent a couple nights there. We didn't do much other than swam, played games with the kids and chilled in the room. Brian's parents and his brother Jay and his family Sharon and the kids all came up too. Our kids really get along great and they had a fun time. It was nice to be away and not deal with any of the day to day stresses. We need to do that more often. I need to upload some pictures from the get away- soon, they are coming soon- not that any of you are just dying to see. :)

Oh the pain!!!

Chailyn fell at the gym the other day and hurt her ankle. By the way she was crying I thought for sure we needed to take her to the doctor. Brian said to bring her home first and see how she is doing a little later in the evening. So I did. She cried quite a bit and she kept an ice pack on it. While she was laying on the couch she kept saying "Oh the pain!!!" then she looked at me and said "that means it really hurts Mom." What do you say to that. I laughed- she just cracks me up. So much fun stuff.

Jacilyn has her first piano recital coming up next week. How exiting is that?? She thinks that if she plays the song one time that counts as practicing. I haven't been too strict with her practicing but playing a song once doesn't count as practice. My mom made me practice for a half an hour. She thinks she worked hard if she plays the song three times. My silly girl. :)

Brooklyn has a few favorite words, No, Mine and Juice- she does say please but sometimes it can be a little forced. She is so sticken cute.

Soccer Mom- who me??

I have never played soccer but thought that it would be fun to coach Chailyn's soccer team. Of course they asked for volunteers so I talked my neighbor into doing it with me. We have 2,3,4 & 5 year olds on our team. Quite the age gap but they are sooo funny. Games are a riot. They run around and kick the ball & then come over to sit down because they are tired. And once half time hits they just want the treat or drink & done with soccer. They are getting better each week and they are having fun. Which is the most important. I love my girls- they are the best. Here is a picture of my cute soccer player Chailyn.

Lemonaid stand- minus the lemonaid

Jacilyn had her friend Brianna over yesterday & they, along with Chailyn wanted to sell lemonaid. I said fine go ahead. Since we didn't have lemonaid or cups to put it in they decided to be resourceful & sell pretzels and popcorn. Well, since no one came to them they decided to start knocking on the neighbors doors. They are soooo funny. Jacilyn just said well no one was coming so we went & found them instead. :)
I hear Brianna saying to Jacilyn- do we really have to give the money for the house fund. I started laughing because the other day we went & looked at a home & it was a little out of our price range. The girls loved & offered to give us all their money so they can have this house that they want. We tried to explain that it still wouldn't be enough but that they needed to keep their money for something special they would like for themselves. Jacilyn also said "I will sell lemonaid & give you 1/2 of the profits." Soooo cute. But so funny. I love my silly girls.

Would you rather???

So my kids have found this really interesting game they love to play when we are in the car. It is called "would you rather". Basically they ask "Would you rather do this or that- neither of which would be good" So today Chailyn asks me "Would you rather be a pink monkey or be naked?" So I said naked. And she said "really?" I said "yes is that a problem, I have a cute body right?" And she said "No, it is kind of weird." I guess it could be worse. When I was pregnant with Brooklyn Chailyn came with me to try on maternity clothes and when I was changing she said "Mom you need some clothes on, no one wants to see that."
Another time when I was pregnant with Brooklyn, Jacilyn came in & asked me how would I ever loose all that weight. Nice huh?

Nothing like kids to build up your self confidence. :)

My Summer Goal

I decided I had better post my goal with health & fitness so that I have one more reason to do it. Before the holidays I was really lean and my abs actually had some definition. Then I got lazy & started eating way too many treats and not working out as often. So I told Brian that I was going to get back on a THF (Total Health & Fitness)http://www.thfonline.com/ program. I asked one of our consultants- Scott Bailey to put me on a program. He does such an incredible job. All of our consultants are amazing. Last year I saw Ashlei & she is awesome. This time I wanted a guy to do my program and it couldn't be Brian because I wouldn't listen to him anyway. LOL!! I don't want to loose weight at all just fat. Right now I am 27% body fat & 105 lbs & I want to stay about the same weight but be back down to about 23% or lower for my ab definition. So after I am done I will post my results. Here is to eating healthy, exercising right & living well. :)

Visit to the Zoo- then camera dies

So my mom came & stayed with us for a couple days & we decided to go to the Zoo. Brians mom & my mom joined us and we had a great time. It was so crowded. Being the first nice day & a Friday at that we had to wait in line for a good 1/2 hour just to get in. But once in it didn't seem so crowded. I didn't to take many pictures because my camera died- stupid batteries. :)

Brian kept complaining about no pictures of him on here so here you go- Love you Brian. :)