I love Sweet Peas!!!

So, we have had the darndest time getting Becca to eat solids. She is very content with mama's milk and mama's milk is doing her body good. She is in the 68% for height and weight. My doctor laughed and told me I must have some pretty good milk when he realized Becca got as chubby as she is just off of me. Anyway, we decided it was time to start solids. She was okay with rice cereal for about two days and then she decided...."No way, I am NOT eating that." She shut her lips up tight and moved her head everytime the spoon came her way. So, we decided to try sweet potatoes. First day, great. Second day, NO WAY!!! I took a week off and tried them once again. Now she loves them. Yesterday I tried rice cereal again. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! I have to have tons of sweet potatoes and only a little rice cereal to have it work. Here are some pictures of her enjoying her sweet potatoes.

A day of all days!!!

Isn't it interesting how a day can never seem to go the way you planned? Even with my Franklin planner put to good use, I always need to expect the unexpected. Today was no exception. After I taught a lesson at 7:10am and then took Ryan to school I looked ahead on my day with high expectations. I was actually excited to do my laundry and organize some much needed areas in the home. First I decided to get Becca all dolled up cute and try for the "perfect" picture to go on my wall. As I was taking her pictures my carbon monoxide/ fire alarm started beeping. I went and investigated. It was the CO alarm. I reset it. It went off again a few minutes later. I replaced the battery. Same thing happened. I was really concerned that the CO monitor in my furnace room wasn't making any noise, but this one on my ceiling in the family room was going crazy. I hurried and got my three girls and Allison's two boys I was watching for the day out of the house. We went to Allison's where her mother in law came and watched all the kids while I rushed home to meet the man from Questar. An HOUR later he showed up (I could have died waiting for him....only of boredom for I didn't dare leave my couch where the window was open for ventilation) He then did a thorough test throughout the entire house to come to the conclusion that we had a problem with the water heater. It was emmiting too much CO due to a complicated series of problems. By the time he came my CO monitor had shut off. I had opened a window in the office where the furnace and such is stored so all the CO went out. So, now here I sit having no gumption to do anything. I just want to sit and read in a hot bath. Too bad I can't use my water heater until Brad or someone fixes it. Today did not turn out as planned, however, I have the cutest pictures ever of my daughter and that makes it all worth it in the end.

Becca Photo Shoot!!!

One of my favorite hobbies is taking and then editing pictures. I just got a very nice new camera and am getting an awesome program on Monday for this hobby. My children are my subjects to practice on. The poor children have a camera in their face whenever they do something cute or look cute. Becca is perfect because she can't tell me no!!!

Christmas Fun!!!

Our Christmas Angel

So, I wanted to show you what an angel Becca was in her Christmas dress. Little girls are so fun to dress up. Who would know as a 29 year old I would still love to play dress up on dolls? This doll is the cutest of them all, even if she does cry, spit up, and poop.

Fall Pictures

We took fall pictures up the canyon in American Fork. Makayla and Ryan were great. They actually would pose and then ask me to come and take their picture. Ashlyn was good for about 10 minutes, then she had had it. ENJOY!!!

Birthday Surprise

What an experience my 29th birthday was this year. I learned that one of my best friends and husband can lie to me.....really well. (That does worry me a little) The week before my birthday my friend Meg had booked me for dinner to celebrate my birthday since it was on Thanksgiving this year. Brad then booked me for dinner on Saturday night to accommodate Meg's busy schedule (usually Friday night is date night for us).
On Friday I took the kids up early to Meg's so they could play. At 5pm DeLyle and Brad arrived at the Manwarings after work so Meg and I could go to dinner. We went to Ogden to drop something off at her sister in laws and then went up Ogden Canyon for dinner. She wouldn't tell me where we were going, just that it was dinner. She needed to stop by a resort that she is a member of to see her brother for a few minutes (he was up from St George...or so I thought). We walked up to the door, knocked, and were greeted by our cute husbands and darling children. They all yelled surprise!!! it took me a few minutes to realize the what was really happening. Meg and I weren't going out to dinner. We were spending the weekend at this resort at Wolf Creek with our cute families. It took me all night and most of the next day to realize how much planning and deception had really gone on to pull it off. Brad had to fake a companions baby blessing to get me to get a substitute to fill in for me as choir director of our ward. There are so many more deceptions I can't get into. Man, was I surprised. We had the greatest time. Thank you Brad, Meg, and DeLyle for all of your hard work to make it a birthday I will never forget.






Did I mention Ashlyn had fun with toothpaste....again?!!!!

Let it snow!!!!!

The kids greatly enjoyed one of the first big snow storms. Especially with our new big backyard. They had so much fun freezing their buns off. Of course hot chocolate followed the snow angels and snow chair building. (It wasn't great snow for a snowman so Brad built them a throne.

Locks of Love....or something!!!

So, almost two years ago I was jogging on the treadmill and watching the Today Show when they were doing a segment on Locks of Love. Ann Curry herself was getting her locks chopped. My hair was needing a haircut at the time. I then decided, hey that would be awesome to do. Yeah, not so awesome. I gave up at least two different times. I never chopped it completely, but I did chop it. I also colored and layered it at one time even though I knew that would probably disqualify the hair. Well, it was always in the back of my mind that possibly I could donate the hair, if I had enough patience to grow it out. Finally, this last November I found out that colored hair and layered hair can be donated. I was so sick of the hair I decided to just do it. Get a chop job and be done with the whole affair. I know that isn't the best attitude to have with the great cause, but, you would understand if you had to deal with my mass of hair. It would take me multiple HOURS to do so most of the time it wasn't done. The ponytail was a constant, good thing Brad likes it. Anyway, here are some pictures of the before and after shots.

We're Back!!!!!

After a long hiatus, I decided it was time to update the good old blog. All I can say is it was a pretty busy two months. Rebecca has learned to sit on her own, Ashlyn speaks like a little girl, not a toddler, Makayla read the word broccoli on her own, and Ryan is really picking up his piano skills. Those are just a few things that have changed. Here are some fun pictures to show you the last few months.