Our Moments

THE END

2011-02-15T22:19:00.002-07:00

I am no longer doing this blog.

I have created a new blog. If you keep coming back to this blog you will likely get bored really fast, because nothing is changing.

If you have had me on your own blog list to follow, I highly recommend that you change it to my new blog address.

If you are friends with me on Facebook you can find the address there. If you are not on Facebook then you are one of the people I email my updates too and you can get the address from that.

See you on the flip side...

Forgotten Iris

2011-01-27T10:10:00.002-07:00

FORGOTTEN IRIS

Purple Iris in the morning,
are there roses in the garden?
Ruby noses in the air,
purple Iris still forgotten.

Sweetened fragrance, red perfumed,
tease and taunt on dancing toes.
Lacy petals soft and violet,
bow their heads to sigh their woes.

Written by Amy Lutz Coltrin

Dance Hard

2011-01-25T10:55:00.002-07:00

So I understand that while posting some of my poetry, that I let people to see a little bit of what is inside me. Poetry is VERY personal and it really is a baring of your soul. It displays thoughts, emotions, feelings, hurts, and passion. So this poem that I am going to share next is also another one that I wrote when I was 19 yrs old. I was attending Ricks College. Understand that while I was at college, I loved to dance. You could find me and my roommates several times a week at the dance clubs. I even met my husband at a dance club! I loved to dance. I found dancing to be very therapeutic. I enjoyed dancing by myself the most. I hated being asked to dance, since for me I was there to engulf myself in the music. Now, keep in mind I am a 37 yr old mom now. This was my world when I was a teenager a very long time ago. written in 1992

Dance Hard

I want to dance,
dance until I forget
everything.
I want to dance hard,
so hard my head will
roll like a tether ball.
My hair will flog
my face until it bleeds.
My eyes will blur
and only see the ground
spin beneath me.
I want to feel nothing,
nothing but the thump of
the raging music
hard against my ear drums.
My legs will burn
to stop, but I'll dance harder.
Nothing will exist,
not even me.
I will feel nothing
I will think nothing
I will just dance!

Haircuts and Potty Training

2011-01-11T10:32:00.004-07:00

Clover has VERY thin, fine hair. It breaks all the time from rubber bands. I have never cut her hair, yet she has the look of scraggly bangs because of her breakage. I decided this morning that I would rather have her have real bangs that look nice, then no bangs that are broke and her hair looking like a big mess all the time. Even when I do her hair, the broken hair up front comes loose and she looks terrible. BEFORE

AFTER....Much better.

We have started potty training this morning. She is doing so well. She wants "potty candy" so she is peeing in the potty all morning long for that candy. Good job! It looks like all 3 of my kids will be potty trained on the first day!

Before I Grew Up

2010-12-30T16:22:00.006-07:00

Maybe something that you may not know about me is that since I was VERY young I have been writing poetry. I remember in 2nd grade, I was fascinated with describing stuff in stories. I remember in one story in 2nd grade I wrote "the tall tall green grass" instead of "grass" as most kids would say in their story. I was on the Literary Magazine in high school. I had poems published in my high school yearbook. I took poetry classes in high school and college. I have written 100's of poems over the years. At one point in my life, it was a way to meditate and zone out. It was my escape to my inner world. I thought I might put a few of my poems up on my blog(every once and a while), some I have written over the years. This poem I'm going to post first, is one of my favorites. I wrote it in college.

Before I Grew Up

Feet are bare,
I run
through cherry blossoms.
Hair
lashes my back
and the air smells
soft.
A breeze
brand-new,
grips my breath
carries it
to hidden fairy tales.
Sunlight echoes
through my ears,
I can only hear
the hollow sounds
of laughter
as it funnels
through my core.
Pupils painted glitter
sink into the whites
of my eyes.
They stare wildly
at nothing,
only dandelion fuzz
and Queen Mary's Lace.

2011...Looking Forward

2010-12-28T19:28:00.003-07:00

2011...
This year I turn 38. I will attend my 20 year high school reunion. I will be married for 18 years. Since knowing that my 20 year reunion is approaching, it has really got me pondering and taking a good look back on my life thus far. My greatest joy in life is my family. I am so grateful I made the decision to be a stay at home mother. Staying at home with my children makes me feel pure joy and happiness. I feel I have accomplished much, and feel very proud with the route I decided to take with my life. What does the next 20 years have in store for me? I will most likely see my 2 oldest marry and have children. Do I go back to school and start a career? Maybe. I think that might be nice, once my children are grown.
What do I want to accomplish in 2011?
I would love to live in a new home. It's time for us to move on. Now that Mason has a career plan in place here in SLC, it's time to get settled into a bigger home.
I have been thinking a lot lately about "serving my fellow man". I know that when we die, we will be asked "what have you done to serve your fellow man?" I feel I don't do enough at all. I want to change this about myself. My patriarchal blessing stresses this to me over and over. I am feeling the push from within that this is something I must do.
I want 2011 to be a big year for me. I am looking forward with much gladness and eagerness. 2010 was a big year for our family. There was much prayer and pondering on which path to take in the many forks in the road. This year, I am looking for more personal growth. I have thought a lot lately about the atonement. I have realized that I don't repent and use the atonement as I should be. Christ suffered for all of my sins, and I realized "am I just letting him suffer for them for nothing"? He did suffer for them, and what a WASTE not to repent. This is something I would like to work on.
2011...Happy New Year

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T09:37:00.002-07:00

On Christmas Eve day, Mason and Connor took to the slopes. Mason enjoys cooking. He likes to be the one to make the Christmas prime rib. So as soon as he walked through the door from skiing he went straight to work on preparing the meat. He didn't even take off his ski pants and boots (as shown above).

That evening we had a family home evening Christmas lesson. I wrap the nativity set and # each piece. The kids read the Christmas story from the bible and unwrap each piece.

The last thing to do on Christmas Eve is make the Christmas traditional sticky buns, for breakfast the next morning. This is a Lutz family tradition. These are made the night before. Here is Shelby learning to make them.

Also on Christmas Eve, the table MUST be set for Christmas morning breakfast. (another Lutz tradition). I believe that on a holiday like Christmas, this is a time to be formal. I believe that there is a place and a time to be formal, and Christmas is certainly the time. Being formal makes it feel special. And it is special.

I have beautiful Christmas plates (a set of 12), that I just love! I made these felt silverware stocking holders, that are so cute. I hand embroidery stitched 12 of them. I always use cloth napkins, these are some I got from Mason many years ago as a gift. Stemware is something I really feel make a nice table.

I remember as a child this was my favorite thing to do. I assigned MYSELF to be in charge of the table every Christmas. I felt it was important then, and I still do.

So we had a nice Christmas Eve dinner, with prime rib, mashed potatos, gravy, bread, steamed broccolini, steamed califlower with homemade cheese sauce. Apple pie and ice cream

It's Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T09:18:00.003-07:00

The kids got tons of stuff once again.
Shelby: UGG boots, clothes, make-up, Cd's (and more).
Connor: 2 huge Lego Star Wars sets, video games, board games, clothes, night vision goggles (and more).
Amy: leather jacket, boots, crock pot, clothes, purse,
Mason: got Video game, running shoes, new dress shoes for work, ski helmet, and new powder skis
Clover: Bike, and toys

Santa still came to all my naughty children.

Our little Christmas angel. She got a little on the cranky side. Most small children don't do well on Christmas mornings. It is overwhelming, strange, and to much over stimulation. But she loved her new bike.

COOKIES

2010-12-24T08:03:00.003-07:00

Christmas cookies and holiday hearts, that's the way the holiday starts. Christmas cookies and holiday hearts...goodie goodie yum yum yum. Mommy Mommy, make a little more all the children say. Mommy Mommy make a little more, it'll soon be Christmas Day! Ok, that was a Christmas song my 30 yr old brother learned in kindergarten. Our family has been singing that Christmas song ever since. It is so catchy, my kids even sing it.

Last night we made Christmas cookies for neighbors.

Each kid got to eat one cookie. This is as far as Clover got to eating her cookie. The frosting on her fingers bugged her so much, that she just couldn't handle the pressure. (so I ate it for her)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-22T07:55:00.001-07:00

Clover Ann-

What I Love Most In This Life...

2010-12-20T12:25:00.003-07:00

1. hot baths with candles
2. my favorite 80's music
3. staying up late, by myself watching whatever I want
4. wrapping myself around my baby, snuggling my nose against her neck
5. wrestling and roughhouse on the floor with my boy
6. reading a book that I can't put down
7. having a deep meaningful conversation for a hour with my teenage daughter
8. watching my husband melt every time he is around his baby
9. long talks with my mother
10. that feeling I get (a high) when I "strike gold", when I find that ancestor I have been searching for.
11. that feeling I get when I get rid of a lot of junk
12. when my baby is so happy see me (50 times a day). It's always as if she is seeing me after a long trip.
13. when my son hugs me for no reason, other than he just wants to (which is a treat)
14. sitting alone with my husband enjoying some good sushi
15. looking at old photos, and reminiscing with my family
16. crying at a great movie (rare to find a great movie)
17. running into someone from my past
18. eating something amazing
19. when I realize I just had a spiritual moment
20. getting into a hot tub after being cold
21. the first moment I am alone with my newborn and I get to just look and ponder. What I am feeling at that moment is pure love.
22. the first moment when I find out I am pregnant. It is in that moment I realize my life has just changed.
23. the smell of lilacs
24. finding money in a old coat pocket
25. reading the Book Of Mormon, and feeling the spirit so strong.
26. knowing that my Heavenly Father knows me, knows my family, and realizing all of my blessings he has given to us. Really knowing this is amazing.

A Night In Bethlehem...West Jordan Style

2010-12-19T15:37:00.004-07:00

It was a wonderful night in Bethlehem...

We had our ward party last night. This is the Christmas party that I had in mind after I did last years ward party. I am so glad that I got to stay around and see my "vision" play out for the evening. Most wards do something like this at least once, but our ward has never done it. It is a huge on taking, but I knew that it could be done.

Here is the census area where you signed the census and paid your taxes (can of food) before entering the market.

Most people came dressed in period wear.

At the end of the evening Mary and Joseph made there way through the market and then onto stage.

Everyone brought blankets to sit on to eat their meal.

Roman Soldier

We had great food at the market. Chicken salad sandwiches, pita bread, hummus. (was at this booth)

A full view of the market.

This is a picture I took before anyone arrived and before the food was brought out. You can see our well in the middle of the market street. We served water at the well. There were booths lining both sides of the street.

This was the fruit, cheese, veggi, and olive booth. We also had a bakery booth, where sweet breads and cookies were served.

We all had a great time. Our committee was so glad to be done with all the heavy planning and worrying.

Big Girl Bed

2010-12-18T07:49:00.003-07:00

Last night Mason's sister Tessa came to visit us. She was here on business and dropped in to say hi. This was the first time that she has visited us. While she was here she helped Mason transform Clover's crib into a bed. What's nice with this crib is that it is used to grow with the child. Crib, child bed, then into regular sized twin headboard and footboard.

Clover has been climbing in and out of her crib and almost falling at times while doing it. It was time to do the big change (before she fell).

She was so excited to hop into her bed and go to sleep. She didn't even get up when we left her for the night. So now it's time to get her a pillow. I might just do that today, and get her a Dora pillow (since she LOVES Dora).

PARTY TIME

2010-12-12T14:22:00.008-07:00

Lutz Christmas Party....always fun get together. Santa comes to our party every year. Last year Clover screamed. This year she was very nervous, but she did go up to him. She didn't want sit on his lap, so I had to sit on his lap with her sitting on mine. My sister got a picture of it, but has not sent it to me. This year we all brought potluck. We had tons of good food.
My mother and I worked on a project before hand. We gathered every Christmas photo we could of everyone (including the in-laws). I made a great video/slide show with Christmas music. It featured Christmas photos of everyone in the family growing up. It turned out fabulous, and everyone loved going down Christmas memory lane.

Santa was very silly

We stuffed ourselves....

MAKE SURE TO SEE MY VIDEO IN THE POST BELOW

(more pictures of the party are posted on Facebook)

We All Want Things We Can't Have

2010-12-12T14:07:00.004-07:00

Santa came last night to the Lutz Christmas party. Here is Connor with Santa.

Move News

2010-12-07T21:54:00.005-07:00

Most of you were kept in the dark on what has been going on with the whole big move. We are no longer moving to San Diego. That's right, you don't have to go back and re-read that last sentence- we are not moving to San Diego. Where do I begin?

You all know that this last summer we took a little trip to Warsaw Indiana. A large orthopedic company named Zimmer gave Mason a job offer. This offer came at the same time Mason's firm (Ernst & Young) had a opening in San Diego. Mason decided that transferring to CA in the firm would be better for him in his career than staying in UT. So we had to decide which was better, staying with the firm or taking the offer from Zimmer. We decided to go to San Diego. Mason started work in the San Diego office in July (and got a HUGE raise) with the cost of living higher there.

Mason is not happy working in the San Diego office. Our house is not selling because of the crappy recession. We got an offer on the house and it fell through. Mason is gone 6 days a week traveling to CA. Mason is really feeling he is done with San Diego. Then low and behold Zimmer came back to him (last week) and gave him the offer AGAIN but with a higher salary. Mason went back to his firm and said "I'm done with San Diego, and I just got a job offer". Ernst & Young decided they didn't want to see him go. They offered him more money than what he was making in CA (to live in UT) and also came up with a plan to keep him in Salt Lake and in 2-3 years time make him a Executive Director. We did a lot of prayer again. Do we go to Indiana or stay with the firm? We chose stay in Salt Lake with the firm.

Now that we both look back on the events of the last half of the year it all makes sense. We were not supost to move to San Diego. When we were in San Diego looking at homes, I felt that it was not were our family should to be. If the offer on the house had gone through, then we would have had to be out by November 10th. We would have HAD to move to CA (which again is not where we were to be). We were even prompted to take our house off the market a month ago. When the offer on the house fell through, at first I was really bummed. Then I got the overwhelming feeling that this was for a reason. This was all part of "the plan". I felt at peace and just waited for it to all unfold. It did.

We are still planning to move out of our house. We have out grown our home, and looking for something much bigger. We plan on looking to buy in the South Jordan area. We will maybe move in the summer.

(I guess I shouldn't have sold the kid's sleds and snow shovel in the yard sale)

Birthday Video

2010-11-24T22:25:00.002-07:00

She's 2 Now

2010-11-24T18:37:00.002-07:00

Clover Ann Coltrin...our Thanksgiving baby. I had to get her a "fall" cake that is so fitting.

Normally she loves pizza. She is excited for the pizza to come out of the oven. But she was in a mood not to eat anything....but cake!

Clover is deep in thought, pondering where the years went.

That cute little "scrunch the daddy nose"

DIG IN CLOVER....IT'S TIME TO EAT YOUR CAKE FOR DINNER (for Petes sake) and she ate it all of course!

Clover Ann, so very thankful for her. No one will really realize how much I adore her. How much she makes my life complete. How much happiness she brings to my life. I love her so much it's scary. I guess the constant crying and yearning for her for years, made my bond with her unusual. When I brought her home from the hospital, it hit me that I really got her. I remember just holding her and weeping for joy. I have never gotten over that joy. I look at her everyday with so much gratitude. I wonder if she will ever really "know" how I feel about her. Perhaps to some degree when she has her own.

stuck, stuck, STUCK!

2010-11-21T09:11:00.002-07:00

We got 14 inches of snow dumped on us last night. If you click on this picture you can read the height of snow measured.

There is just no way we were able to make our way all the way to the church today in 14 inches of snow. Our church is pretty far away, just no way we were going to head out in this stuff. But Clover and Connor (buddies), wanted to play in the first BIG snow. They headed out to the back yard. I don't have snow pants for Clover so I layered her pants and put on leg warmers over her pants. The snow is so deep that of course Clover was up to her waist.

stuck, stuck STUCK! She couldn't move.

Bubba (that is what Clover calls Connor) helped her to another area that was packed down for her.

Feel'n It

2010-11-13T20:06:00.003-07:00

I have been having a hard time getting used to the idea that Christmas is fast approaching. I think it's kinda depressing that I thought I would be in a new house for Christmas. But I know things don't always go how we want them to, and I know the Lord has his reasons. Yesterday I went to my sister's Super Saturday and made a few fun crafts. One of those was the Christmas count down blocks. I have always pulled out my Christmas decor before Thanksgiving. Today I felt like I was getting into the spirit of Christmas. I went to Thai Pan Trading and bought some Christmas greenery and flowers and made this centerpiece in the sleigh. I think it turned out great. It looks so much better in person, the picture does no justice. I only decorated my kitchen and dinning area with Christmas. This is a little corner with my bakers rack.

I thought I would show my tile I made at Super Saturday. I love it and turned out cute. It is a large tile with vinyl lettering.

Take A Seat

2010-11-09T09:45:00.002-07:00

A couple months ago Mason and I ordered this beautiful wood Nantucket table and chairs set for Clover. I have always wanted one. Mason is always receiving award bonuses from work. They gave him one and it was in the form of a gift card to use online at several different stores. So Mason called me in and asked what do I want. I said I have always wanted a children's wood table and chairs. Done...bought! The box came and sat in our garage for a few months. Yesterday I pulled it out and decided to "TRY" to put it together. It was in so many pieces. I had to put each chair together, and when I was done I had felt like I just passed a geometry test. My back ached from sitting on the floor so long, putting it together. But in the end I got it done and it's looks so cute in Clover's room.

In Honor of H.P.

2010-11-01T21:58:00.002-06:00

In honor of the awesome Harry Potter books and movies, for the month of November I am using this awesome background for my blog. I love the Harry Potter books and I have enjoyed so much the movies. I am so very excited for the final movie showing in a couple weeks. It will be kinda sad when the last movie ends, and it's finally over.

Trick or Treat!!!!!

2010-10-30T21:22:00.003-06:00

Light rain for the evening...but stopped as the evening got going.

Video of Connor and Clover trick or treating. As you can see Clover loved it until she got cold and tired.

Trunk or Treat

2010-10-29T21:19:00.005-06:00

Even tho I got released from my big calling as Activities Director- I am still on the committee until we move. This activity and the Christmas activity are still the activities that I planned for this year. It was a huge turn out. LOTS of people passed out candy and all the kids had tons in their bags. We had a ice cream social in the gym after and it was loads of fun. Clover was getting used to the whole getting candy thing. By the end- she was getting very brave and knew what to do.

Shelby helping pass out candy at our car.

There was even a ride for the kids. We had a train station set up with crossing lights and the railroad arms that go down. We had tickets, and the kids got a ticket and waited in line at the railroad crossing to board the ride.

Snow Baby

2010-10-27T11:56:00.004-06:00

Today Clover got to go outside and play in the snow for the first time. Last year she was too small to go out and play in the snow. She hated it and didn't understand it. But this year she was so excited with it. I bought her some cute boots, hat, mittens and coat and she was ready to go out and play in the snow. SHE LOVED IT!!!!!! She didn't want to come in.

Cute little boots

Here she is eating it.

Dinner with Great Grandparents

2010-10-19T00:03:00.002-06:00

My grandparents drove from Michigan to Utah last week. We had a big family dinner. As you can see we are missing in this photo all the husbands. Camilla's was taking the photo, Mason was on his way home from the airport, and Charlotte's had to work. Everyone else is there.

My kids with their great grandparents LUTZ.

I love my grandma and grandpa Lutz. We lived next to them when I grew up as a child in MI. I have special memories of them. My grandparents were there in my day to day life. That is something most kids do get to have. It was wonderful. Memories of my grandpa working in his cherry orchard. Or my grandma, pulling weeds in her garden in her swimsuit. Walking next door to get popsicles on a hot summer day, hearing my grandpa whistle as he walked, or hopping on the back of my grandpa's red truck as he was driving up the long dirt driveway. I have a thousand wonderful little bits of memory like that of them.

All the cousins.

Haunted Ships and House Hunting

2010-10-17T12:53:00.004-06:00

Clover and I got on a plane and flew to San Diego for a Thursday night and came back Saturday night. We left the big kids with Grandma. The whole time there was grey, overcast, rainy, and chilly. I didn't pack any jackets and also forgot Clover's jammies (she had to sleep in her clothes the whole time). So anyway we went down to look at homes. We didn't know what the area was like, so it was good that we got to see what areas we liked best. We decided NO for Escondido and yes for San Marcos. We found a house that we love and will put a offer on if our house sells. Right now we don't know if the offer will go through. We are praying and hoping. Clover was excellent the whole trip. On Friday night we went out to eat with co-workers and Clover threw-up in the restaurant. NICE. Good thing we had extra clothes in the car. She looked at me and said "home". On both plane trips Clover sat next to little old ladies that just adored Clover. On the trip home Mason gave me his first class seat and he took the coach seat with Clover. (so nice of him). On Saturday we had time before we caught our flight to tour some old ships from the 1500's. This is the Star Of India (which was shown on an episode of Ghost Hunters...and proved to have ghost activity). We saw none of that, but it was fun to tour it.

This is another ship docked next to the Star of India...this ship was used in the film Master and Commander. In the ship they had Master and Commander playing and you could see in the background of some scenes in the movie that you were standing in the exact spot as in some of the scenes. This was a real ship that sailed in the 1600's, 1700's, 1800;s.

Clover on the cannon. She loved to poke her head out the hole and see down into the water. When we took her off the cannon she freaked out and had to carry her out.

Sing'n In The Shower

2010-10-04T20:51:00.001-06:00

THIRTEEN

2010-10-03T16:55:00.008-06:00

Our Shelby has turned 13. It makes my heart ache a bit to look back over old photos of her growing up. The time really has raced by. It makes me sad. Her childhood is over, and now she starts her new chapter as a teenager. This also makes me sad, because I have heard those go even faster than the small childhood years. We have a tradition in our family, we talk about the day that person was born. Today we had grandparents over for a birthday lunch (before Mason had to leave again). We talked about her birth day. It was a day I will never forget. Our first child...so scary and exciting. I thought no other baby can be as beautiful has Shelby (I have since changed my mind... having 2 more really cute ones). She was the first baby on the Lutz side of the family for a very long time, and one of the first on the Coltrin side also. She got so much love and attention. I was so excited to be a mother. Shelby had a lot of colic when she was an infant, but after that she was so very mild mannered and always very mature for her age. She went into kindergarten at age 4 and has always done super well. Shelby has always played sports, soccer, skiing, softball. One of Shelby's talents and blessings that God has given her, is the blessing of a strong body. I noticed how unusually strong her body was at an early age of 4 months. She was sitting unattended without pillows, at 4 months old. Usually the normal time frame for that is 6 months. She has always excelled in sports, no matter what it is. We have discussed with Shelby we are all given talents in this life- yours is a blessing of a strong body. She knows that this is a talent she must use and be grateful for. 4 months old - she had sooooo much hair that it always made her look so much older when she was a infant.

17 months old

17 month old

22 months old

2 years old

3 years old

5 years old

8 years old- baptized

13 years old

Happy Birthday my Shelby Laura...you are always my Laura Belle (my nickname for her)

Frolicing In The Fall Foliage

2010-10-02T17:41:00.004-06:00

Heading up the canyon on a Saturday afternoon.

It has been a VERY warm fall. Today is October 2nd and it is the mid- 80's. Tee-shirts and shorts in October is rare rare RARE!

Me with my cutie pies.

Little Beauty In The Park

2010-09-20T12:54:00.005-06:00

Fall has arrived. The kids are in school, the leaves are changing, and today was cool and beautiful. It's just me and Clover now. I took her to the park, in her new warm clothes. The park is very unique. It is very old and is built like no other park. I took some fun shots of Clover in the concrete tunnels.

NJHS

2010-09-15T20:21:00.004-06:00

This was a huge evening for Shelby. She was induced into the National Junior Honor Society. This is for kids who have at least a 3.7 GPA (Shelby's is 3.98). But they can not just be smart...they have to show that they are leaders, show service, and citizenship. This is a HUGE deal for Shelby. Being apart of the NJHS helps kids get into good colleges and get scholarships. We are very proud of our daughter.

Shelby with all the other smarty pants in the school.

Shelby's Grandparents came to support this important evening.

My Favorite Movies Of All Time

2010-09-10T09:30:00.002-06:00

A few people have asked me what my favorite movies where, I am not a huge movie fan. You will never find me watching a movie on TV. So I got to thinking, well I have enjoyed some movies. My mom challenged me to put a list together of my favorites. So hear they are:

1. (Favorite all time movie ever) The Legends of the Fall
(the rest are of no order)
2. Rudy
3. Goonies
4. The Painted Veil
5. Jaws
6. Titanic
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
8. Grease
9. A Legue of Their Own
10. The Silence of the Lambs
11. The Sixth Sense
12. Forrest Gump
13. A Christmas Story
14. Fried Green Tomatos
15. Little Women
16. Dumb and Dumber
17. Hope Floats
18. The Shawshank Redemption
19. Fly Away Home
20. Little Miss Sunshine
21. August Rush
22. Harry Potter Series
23. Juno
24. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
25. The Piano
26. Raiders of the Lost Ark
27. Terminator 2
28. The Wizard of Oz
29. Somewhere in Time
30. Romancing the Stone
31. Overboard
32. Topgun
33. Ground Hog Day Ground Hog Day Ground Hog Day :)

2000-2010

2010-09-08T19:04:00.012-06:00

Connor Logan Coltrin

5 years old

2 weeks old

3 months old

1st Birthday (3 days before 9/11)

15 months old

Connor was the cutest little guy ever! I just love his brown eyes.

16 months old

Connor 10 Years Old

2010-09-08T18:38:00.004-06:00

Connor invited his 2 best friends over to celebrate his birthday. He got MEGA AMOUNTS OF LEGOS FOR HIS BIRTHDAY! (his favorite thing).

Connor got Airport City Legos, along with other City Lego sets. Here he is playing in his room building legos with his friends.

caught

2010-08-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

Some naughty girl of mine has been caught playing around with my camera!

These showed up when I downloaded.

Back to School

2010-08-26T15:30:00.002-06:00

School started today for Shelby, who is now in 8th grade. She was beyond excited to go back. Both my kids HATE summer vacation, and would rather be in school. Shelby leaves so early in the morning, she leaves before I even wake up...so I had to take her picture when she got home from school. Here she is after she walked through the door and collapsed on to the couch.

Connor started school the end of July. Here is his first day picture. 4th grader. He is off track right now and will go back to school on his birthday. That why we went camping when we did, because Connor was out of school and Shelby was also.

COLTRIN CAMP

2010-08-19T18:58:00.003-06:00

BEACH BABY

2010-08-19T18:45:00.003-06:00

Fun On The River

2010-08-19T18:18:00.002-06:00

CLICK TO VIEW CLIP

Tahoe Camping Trip

2010-08-19T12:41:00.002-06:00

We needed a little getaway, after so much stress of picking a job, house selling, and Mason traveling. We love to camp in Tahoe.

Mason's mother joined us.

The campsite had lots trails to hike.

We went to a nearby beach. Her is our cute little baby in the sand.

Grandma was a HUGE help.

We love to raft down the Truckee River. It is always a highlight of our Tahoe camping. It takes about 3 to 4 hrs to raft. The fun part is stopping to swim and eat PB&J sandwiches. The river is shallow and calm so we can hop out of the raft and swim.

This is our big rock that we love to jump from.

Cooking camp food is the best! Here we tried pizza- dutch oven style over the campfire. It was hands down the best pizza we all had ever ate!

In the evening we popped corn and played scrabble. It was a fun camping trip. Bears visit the campsite often, but we never saw any. I was a little disappointed.

I HAVE MORE PICTURES POSTED ON FACEBOOK.

Clover and the Crib

2010-08-10T14:58:00.003-06:00

Life has taken a turn for the worst today. Clover 21 months. CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

What's New?

2010-08-08T21:22:00.002-06:00

I thought I would just give a update on what's going on with us Coltrin clan. Mason has started work in San Diego. The house is having good showings but no bites yet. We will lower the price in a few weeks, and we hope then we can get it sold. SHELBY LAURA: Well Shelby has been very busy this summer. She has done Allstars softball this summer. Her team was great! They took second place in their last 2 tournaments. We are so happy Shelby has found such a love for the game. We are so proud of her. She starts 8th grade in 2 weeks. In CA she will enter high school next year! She just got back from Oakcrest Girls camp (LDS camp for 13 and 14 yr old girls). The camp was a week long. It is a very spiritual experience I hear.

CONNOR LOGAN: Connor's summer has been a short one. He attends year round school. But he was able to go to BYU soccer day camp. He is in 4th grade. His new teacher is a former principal 4 times and has a PHD. Connor has a birthday in few weeks and will be turning 10.

CLOVER ANN: Clover will be turning 2 in abt 3 months! She can pretty much say anything now. The cutest things she says in "cool", when she thinks something is neat. It is so funny when she started to say "hey" when someone does something she is annoyed at. She is starting to show signs of being interested in the potty. We have found her many times sitting on the toilet. I should maybe get a potty chair or something for her. Another thing new for Clover is when we turn into our neighborhood she will say "home!". She loves to go to Grandma's house. When we pull up to grandma's house she will yell "Ama, Ama, Ama" (leaving off the GR and saying the other half".

Well our family is getting ready for a week of camping in Lake Tahoe. We look forward to camping all year. It is our favorite family thing to do. Grandma Coltrin will be joining us again this year. This year camping is going to fall on our 17th year anniversary. SEVENTEEN YEARS!!!!!! I can't even believe 17 yrs. Our first night "camping" will be spent in Reno at a Residents Inn. Mason and I plan on going out to eat for our anniversary that night, so we will still be able to go on a date.

Does This Make My Butt Look Big?

2010-07-31T01:59:00.002-06:00

I found Clover's Halloween costume yesterday at DI, for 3 bucks. It is this darling cow suit. Last year I found her skunk costume at a yardsale for the same price. I also bought it in the middle of summer. Noone is wanting to buy Halloween stuff in middle of summer, but I do. I know when Halloween comes around they are snatched up and I have to end up spending big money. So I put it on her, and she really threw a hit to keep it on. We all laughed so hard at her huge cow butt! You should see her walk in it, it is hilarious!

CLOVER THE COW!

SAY MOO CLOVER!

Eye Surgery

2010-07-21T20:44:00.004-06:00

Do you remember a few weeks ago that my eye went swollen for days? An oil duct in the eyelid got blocked. It got infected. I used some drops I had, and it worked on the infection. When the infection died down I was left with a lump IN my eyelid. It just got bigger. BTW...it was good I took those drops, the dr. said he would have prescribed those to me. So I had a Chalazion. I had to get it drained. They gave me Valium when I went in. I put my little hat and booties on. I went into the surgery room. They numbed my lid, flipped the lid inside out, made a cut under the lid, and cleaned it out. When I was done it HURT SO BAD!!!!! I couldn't drive home, my dad had to take me. As we drove home blood kept dripping down my face. It was an ordeal I hope to never do again.

Life Is Sweet

2010-07-14T18:00:00.004-06:00

Life is sweet...I am loving the "not working" thing. Today we went to the mall and put Clover on the carousel and had lunch.

Then we went to the Olympic Oval to swim.

This is the giant bucket that dumps water every 5 minutes.

Shelby is in the green.

It is a fun place with slides, pools, olympic high dives, and tons of fun kid stuff.

Clover hated the waterslide.
Yes, life is sweet! We had lots of summer fun today!

Summer Lunch At Grandma's

2010-07-14T14:15:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we had a fun time at Grandma's house. In the summer my mom has time off from work. My mom invited me and my 3 sisters over with all the kids for lunch and water time in the backyard. My sister Camilla took these shots. We had a good time. It is nice to get together and have all the little girl cousins play.

One More Down

2010-07-10T22:06:00.005-06:00

Today was our ward chili cook-off summer party. As you know I am in charge of all ward activities. This activity was a HUGE SUCCESS! The weather was beautiful, the food was plentiful, and a really great turn out! We had lots of super fun games.

We also had water balloon toss.

Water fights broke out.

This was a super fun game- like musical chairs. The music starts and everyone is in a huge circle holding hands. Everyone must walk through the hoops...when the music stops the one with the hoop is out.

3 legged race.

Finding Grandpa's Grave

2010-07-07T16:04:00.003-06:00

After we dropped off Connor at BYU for soccer camp, my mother in law and I had the morning to kill. So we decided to find the cemetery that her Pehrson family is buried. We had no idea where it was so we drove around until we found it. Then we had no idea where the grave to her parents were. So we walked for about 45 minutes searching. Finally we found it, we were going to give up and leave. Clover resting from all her searching (Brown- no relation)

Here it is !!!! FINALLY

Grandma Coltrin

poor baby Ethel

Clover with her Great Grandparent's grave.

Silver Lake

2010-07-05T17:07:00.005-06:00

Today we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and went up to Silver Lake. It is a nice stroll around the lake. It is beautiful up there in the summer.

Look it's a little cougar in the forest.

It just doesn't get any prettier than the mountains in Utah.

This is just a cool rock wall by the lake.

Our Little Trip To The Midwest

2010-07-02T21:21:00.005-06:00

The plane ride was 3 hours to Detroit and then we connected into IN.

The Detroit airport is MASSIVE! It is so huge it has it's own tram INSIDE the airport! This is to help people connect flights and such, to get from one end of the airport to the other. It is miles long!

Inside the tram at the Detroit airport.

We stopped at a lake for a few minutes because we had some time to kill before heading back to the airport.

Lakes were everywhere!

Oh that sweet face, cute stuff.

Downtown Warsaw IN. Its such a pretty little town. Population 12,000. All the homes are well cared for and everyone has lawns that were mowed! That is a sign of town pride, when people take care of their properties. It was beautiful and green and lots of lakes. I loved it.

One of the lakes downtown.

One of the many beautiful homes in Warsaw. It was a nice little visit. I felt at home as soon as we got there. I got to hear the Katydids again after 22 years. Mason and Connor were like "what is that sound?" Of coarse they would have never heard them before! (I being from the Midwest).

The Great Escape Attempt

2010-06-27T13:07:00.003-06:00

Mason went into get Clover up this morning and found this...I grabbed my camera.

Clover ended up taking a nose dive back into her crib. Can I just say I just can't deal with Clover not sleeping in her crib anymore. Any shread of sanity that I have left from dealing with Little Miss Naughty, will be gone.

Mormon Trail Hike

2010-06-26T17:51:00.003-06:00

Connor's cub scouts went on a 5 mile hike on Mormon trail. This is the same trail the pioneers took to SLC. It is so beautiful there. It was a long hike, but fun. We had to cross about a dozen little streams, hopping on rocks and fallen logs.

We talked on our hike that we were stepping where Zeebedee Coltrin stepped. Connor would hop on a rock on the trail and say "he could have touched this rock, I am touching history!"

This is a cute picture except that Connor's water pack is under his shirt. He fell face first into the creek and we had to ring his shirt out.

We saw several beaver dams. They were really neat.

Big Changes

2010-06-16T13:16:00.002-06:00

Big changes are coming to the Coltrin household. You may now know that Mason is transferring his job to San Diego CA. We are excited to see what new adventures await for us. The kids are excited and a little sad also. I am very excited. I am ready for a new house, and I am also done with daycare. We are happy to be in a place with so much fun available. It will be weird to be living in a place that people only dream to come on vacation. We are looking to buy a home in the Escondido area, which is where the Wild Animal Park is located. It is abt 30 minutes from downtown San Diego. Mason will be starting his new job in July, and will commute until we move. Our house goes up on the market on Monday. I am feeling the stress.

Big Shoes To Fill

2010-06-12T11:06:00.001-06:00

I found Clover today in my shoes, walking around the house in them. I thought it was soooo cute!

Clover and Clover

2010-06-08T14:44:00.002-06:00

Summer Day At The Farm

2010-06-08T14:03:00.003-06:00

Today I didn't have to work, so I took my kids to Wheeler Farm for a picnic. The weather was perfect. I love doing stuff with my kids! They are my whole world. Clover..."what kind of trouble can I get into"

Lots of old tractors...Connor loved them.

Nice looking kids...

Connor caught in the outhouse.

Saturday Fun

2010-06-05T20:05:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun doing our yard sale. We had it at my mom's house. It was a multi family sale- but HALF of it was mine. I made twice as much money as everyone else. I had so much left over (even after selling tons) that we are holding another yard sale next week. I was very tired after it was over.

There I am with my lovely apron my mother-in-law made.

Our Rising Star Keeps On Rising

2010-06-03T09:42:00.003-06:00

The National Junior Honor Society is one of the highest honors a secondary student can receive. Shelby received a notice that out of her 7th grade, she was chosen along with 4 others to be nominated. Her grades qualified her to be nominated. But grades are only the first step. The award has 5 criteria that must be met: scholarship, leadership, service, character, and citizenship. Shelby had to fill out a form that explained how she meets all 5 criteria. Since she goes to church and participates in lots of service, she easily passed that off. Her form was then reviewed by a committee and they determined that Shelby was indeed deserving to join the NJHS.

We are so very proud of our Shelby Laura. Really who could ask for anything more in a daughter? She has everything going for her.

Our Rising Star

2010-05-29T09:52:00.003-06:00

As most of you already know, Shelby is our softball player. She lives for the sport. She made Allstars team, which means the best of the best in the city of Taylorsville for her age group. She will now travel to other cities and compete. She is excited to be going back to BYU softball camp in a couple weeks.

Cute Connor

2010-05-26T07:58:00.004-06:00

I don't post enough about Connor. Connor has times where he is a challenge, but we sure do love him. He is just as cute as they come. Shelby is always being told by her friends "your brother is so cute!" He has the darkest brown eyes, and he is so sick of me telling him how beautiful his brown eyes are. He will be 10 this fall and going into 4th grade. He is top student in his class. He loves to play soccer and has found out he loves to play goalie and he plays it well. Connor loves legos. He begged for the Star Wars Lego Encyclopedia. He studies that book all the time. His room is covered with his lego collections. Those collections are his pride and joy. He has all knowledge of Star Wars trivia. He knows every character in every movie, every fact, every place and thing that is Star Wars related. Connor loves his dad more than anyone. He thinks is dad is the greatest thing that ever lived. Connor is very sensitive. He can become very emotional over anything. This can be good and bad. He is sensitive to people's feelings, and is quick to feel their pain. I remember when he was 2 he showed signs of this when he accidentally smashed my mom's cat's tail in the door. He felt so bad that he cried for hours! He has not changed at all. Connor loves to ski and he excels in that sport. He is so good that he goes down some black-diamonds! He can certainly keep up with his dad.

Little Father Face

2010-05-23T15:04:00.003-06:00

Looking at Mason's old photos and can't believe how much Clover and Mason look alike. As Clover's face matures and loses the round infant look- I can see so much how she looks like her dad. Also do you see the bruise on her cheek? Ya, she ran into a door today in church. Oh, today she did so well in nursery! I took her in and left right away. They told me she was so good and never even cared mom was gone. I looked in a few times on her and she was playing and eating snack and doing sing time with all the other kids, like a old pro! I am so glad I have never had any issues with any of my kids when it comes to leaving them in nursery.

No I Am NOT A Hoarder!

2010-05-21T16:57:00.002-06:00

Except for Connor's bike, this is my pile growing more and more each day. I am having a yard sale and I am just going crazy getting rid of everything. As you can see it is getting real hard to even open my car door.

BURNED

2010-05-17T08:44:00.002-06:00

We went to the park yesterday. It really wasn't that hot, about mid 70's. Connor took Clover to the slide and sent her down. She screamed like she was being tortured the whole way down. She kept holding her hand and I realized it was badly burned from the slide. It was so sad.

My Awesome Find

2010-05-15T13:12:00.004-06:00

Today I did a little yard saleing. I found these old bottles and jar. The guy long ago went to a old dump and dug them up. The Ball jar and blue bottle are from the 1880's. The milK bottle the guy fished out of a river long ago. I bought all 3 for $5!

RARE BALL JAR WITH GLASS LID.

Mom and Daughter Time

2010-05-11T12:24:00.003-06:00

Paramore Concert. VIDEO CLIP BELOW

Spring Is Popping

2010-05-07T15:30:00.002-06:00

It has been a very unusual cold spring. Finally my spring flowers are making their way. Here are a few of my springtime flowers in my yard. Lilacs are my favorite flower. I have fond memories of picking lilacs for my mother. I love the smell more than any other flower.

My little Flowering Cherry tree, I got for Mother's day a few years ago.

My daffodils are always so late to come up. They are in the shade location in my bed.

Oh, the pink tulips. I love my pink tulips. To bad they don't stay for very long.

Acting Like Mommy

2010-04-27T08:29:00.004-06:00

Clover has just started "pretending" to be a mommy. Starting a couple days ago she has put the purse on her sholder and pushed the stroller around. I thought it was so cute. Not only is it cute, but pretending is a big milestone to be coming out of "babyville" into toddlerhood. Next month- NURSERY!

The Office

2010-04-21T18:42:00.002-06:00

Today I worked on my office. It has always been a "catch all" room. I found the curtain rod and red curtains in my storage room. I put those up, then moved out a old dresser that was under the window. I replaced it with a side table and chair. I put up a mirror and pictures. On the opposite wall from the window is my desk. So now it feels much more homey. I am sure Mason will like it when he gets home from Cleavland tonight.

Sick Of Seeing Red

2010-04-20T15:46:00.003-06:00

For 7 year I have had a red door. I am one of those people that LOVES change. My mother is one of those people who was always changing decor around and she loved change also. I decided 7 yrs was quite enough of the red door. Today...out with the red...in with the black. I painted it during quiet time. Next on my list...to put up bead board in the bathroom.

Little Fingers

2010-04-20T15:39:00.002-06:00

Clover been having "finger issues". She sucks her 2 fingers, which she sucked until they split open and bled. The split is now healing, but as you can see they are totally messed up. Those fingers really hurt her for a very long time. She kept sucking the open split. I finally got fed up and bandaged the WHOLE HAND!

Day With Ducks

2010-04-08T16:57:00.004-06:00

I had the day off today, so Clover and I spent the morning with Aunt Camilla and cousin Q. We fed some ducks and went to the playground. This was the first time Clover played on a playground. I also said "look at the ducks" she started to say "duck, duck"!!

Backyard With Dad

2010-04-07T20:30:00.002-06:00

Shelby in the backyard with her dad practicing her hitting. Sorry it's alittle dark, but it was shot at 8:30pm at night. Shelby had one of the best hits of her game today, super strong hitter.

Clover and Q

2010-04-05T11:22:00.002-06:00

We had a nice Easter dinner with family. Clover loves to play with her little girl cousins close to her age. Here is Clover and cousin Q watching Elmo.

Easter egg hunt at grandma house.

Just A Cute Moment In Time

2010-04-04T08:57:00.002-06:00

Clover discovers she hates peeps but loves the ipod.

Easter Moments In The Morning

2010-04-04T08:47:00.003-06:00

My two Easter girls hanging together on the sofa. Connor is not in any of the photos because he is in his room playing a new DS game he got in his basket.

Elmo camera, Clover got in her basket

Shelby is rarely without the ipod

Crazy Easter morning hair-do

SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE

Naughty On The Table

2010-04-01T18:21:00.003-06:00

You must know by now the Clover is a very high energetic, high maintenance, into trouble baby. I knew one day she would discover climbing up onto the kitchen table. She climbs up onto everything. So I always push the chairs in so that I can delay the inevitable. I guess she is way to smart for me. I found her today on top of the table with a load of jellybeans in her mouth. So here is a little clip of her new found thing to do.

2nd One Down

2010-03-28T13:14:00.002-06:00

Well everyone knows what my calling is, I am Activities Director. Big calling that gives me lots of stress. Me and my committee just finished our 2nd ward activity. We had Easter Pancake breakfast and hunt. The turn out was good. We had lots of plastic eggs filled with candy for everyone, and lots of pancakes. We did run out of syrup and I had to have someone run home and get more. I forgot napkins so again had someone run home and get some. But other than that, everyone had fun.

Our next big activity will be in July- Pioneer Chili Cook-off!!!!

Hummm...what is this I'm on?

2010-03-23T17:15:00.002-06:00

Its a Small World

2010-03-23T17:01:00.001-06:00

Our Littlest Cougar

2010-03-23T09:11:00.001-06:00

Dad just couldn't resist coming home with a little shirt for his Clover.

First Stop- To Visit the Mouse

2010-03-19T10:59:00.005-06:00

Tower Of Terror- bottom right- click picture to zoom

Clover LOVED Minnie's house

This ride was scary- it shot straight up. We have never rode it before. We were all too scared. Shelby was the one to get her parents to try it.

Clover LOVES Woody, but this was just to much for her to take.

Clover loved the tea-cup ride.

Clover in Bugs Land

Clover and cousin John (same age)

Going into It's A Small World- which of coarse Clover LOVED!!!

Clover loves Jessie from Toy Story. We bought her a Jessie doll here.

Clover was alittle freaked out with the ride started to move. But liked it.

Mister Toad's Wild Ride

SICK BABY

2010-03-19T10:44:00.003-06:00

Clover was pretty ill while on our trip. The fevers started our last day in Disneyland. They lasted for 3 days. 103.8 was her normal temp. She slept most of the plane trip out. She stopped eating and drinking. She was throwing up anything that she did eat or drink. She had diarrhea also. Finally we just took her to the ER in HI. What a mess of a hospital it was there. It was like I was in a 3rd world country. Blood on the walls, bugs crawling on the floor, dirt, paint peeling, everything was falling apart. So they took some xrays of her chest and found pneumonia. They "tried" to take her blood and that was hell and torture for us. They could not get the needle in her veins. I think after a while she went into shock (they just kept digging and digging in her arms with the needle, she just gave up the screaming and just sat there in shock). They finally got the needle in her ankle and she had an IV put in. He blood test came back with a low white blood cell count. We need to get that checked out soon. Clover was put on antibiotics and got better very quickly!

Hawaii

2010-03-19T10:08:00.009-06:00

Hawaii was our last stop on our trip. We stayed on Oahu, at the Ko Olina Resort, which is a 5 Star resort. We swam in waterfalls in the beautiful Waimea Valley, hiked Manoa Falls trail up to another waterfall (in the rain). We visited the North Shore where it is famous there for the huge surf and surfing. We had some good Hawaiian food there, fish tacos, Kalua Pork sandwiches, famous shaved ice. We visited the Dole Plantation, went to Pali Lookout, visited Honolulu, strolled Waikiki beach. Of course we swam a lot in our resort's pools and private beach. We went to a Luau one evening (which I had to leave early because Clover exploded poop everywhere out of her diaper). We also went snorkeling in Hanuma Bay. That was Connor's favorite thing that we did. I could not believe all the beautiful fish swimming all around us! All sizes and colors. It was just the best vacation imagined. (well, Clover not being sick would have made it better).

Manoa Falls Hike

Waima Valley stroll and then swimming in the waterfall there.

Waimea Valley and Waterfall.

At our beach

Snorkeling

VISIT FACEBOOK, MORE PICTURES THERE. I TRY TO PUT DIFFERENT ONES HERE AND ON FACEBOOK.

And The Verdict Is?

2010-02-24T17:38:00.003-07:00

Shelby brought her report card home and she received STRAIGHT A's!!!!! Connor had all A's also. Very very proud of their report cards.

Skating With My Boy

2010-02-23T21:14:00.002-07:00

Tonight was scouts for Connor. We went ice-skating at the Olympic Oval and the scouts could bring their families. Well Mason stayed home with Clover (the foot), and Shelby had YW. So I strapped on some skates and we had fun. I took lessons when I was 8, but I have not been on the ice since then.

Connor's first time ever on the ice- he did really well.

He was the only scout that had a helmet on- I made him wear it. He didn't mind tho.

I didn't fall!!! Good thing, I'm getting old.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

2010-02-23T15:15:00.002-07:00

I put Clover in her seat at about 10:30 am and gave her a snack. I left the room to do other things while she ate her snack. I came back in and found her fast asleep. I think she could still love to take a morning nap...what do you think?

Father & Son Cake

2010-02-15T21:22:00.004-07:00

The Blue and Gold Banquet it tomorrow night. The Cub Scouts with their dads are suppost to make a cake for the cake-off. They make an Olympic ski cake.

OH, AND A HUGE "MAN" MESS IN THE KITCHEN!!!!!

Little Trouble

2010-02-14T13:36:00.002-07:00

Have you ever seen that commercial with the dog and the song playing "trouble...trouble, trouble, trouble". Every time I see that commercial I laugh and think that should be Clover's theme song. TROUBLE

TROUBLE

BIGGER TROUBLE

REALLY CUTE, BUT STILL TROUBLE

I recently brought this slide inside, it was outside. This is the same slide I got for Shelby when she was 21 months old. I have had it this whole time. So anyway, I brought it downstairs for Clover to play on. She loves it. It took her a little while to figure out how to go down.

Necklaces

2010-02-14T13:31:00.002-07:00

So I started out with earrings, and now I decided to try making necklaces. They turned out great. I am really excited about them, so I had to share.

Most Annoying Mom

2010-02-10T16:23:00.005-07:00

All my kids tell me I am the most annoying mom that exists...(well Clover can't talk yet). I'm pretty sure that I might be. I love goofing around with my kids. I am that kind of mom that tickles, teases, rough-house on the floor, wrestles, acts silly, does a funny dance to make them laugh, attacks with kisses until they can't take it another second more. My kids BEG me to act like a NORMAL mom, like all the other moms. I tell them, that would be way too boring. But don't get the wrong idea, I have also been told I am the "meanest mom". "Mom, what are you doing"

"Really Mom, get away"

"Maybe if I ignore you, you will go away"

"Seriously Mom, leave me alone"

Ok, now here she caves and can't help to laugh at her goofy mother.

Only Mason!!!!!

2010-02-06T18:28:00.001-07:00

Only Mason could find a way to brake his foot while running on the treadmill.

I Need A New Project

2010-02-06T18:22:00.004-07:00

I love to have projects to work on. I decided I might try my hand in jewelry making. I watch Youtube on how to make earring. I went out and bought the stuff to put them together. It was pretty fun. I made all of these earrings today in about 1 hr. I took them over to my mom's house today and let her pick one pair out (she picked the brown pair). She was so thrilled.

Can't Wait Another Second

2010-02-01T22:14:00.002-07:00

So we are going to Oahu, Hawaii in 5 weeks. We are staying in the Marriott Beach Club. We are very excited, I just wanted to share some pics of where we will be staying.

The hotel has it OWN private beach. Which will be so nice, just to walk out of the hotel and onto the beach. Tonight we went out to dinner with some friends and they had stayed there. They said the beach resort is tucked away from everything and a nice relaxing place. It will be great not to have to fight beach crowds.

This resort is top of the line and we are soooooo excited to go!

The Big Moment Of Surprise

2010-01-30T08:07:00.003-07:00

This is when my parents came home from the movies, through the door, and huge surprise waiting. She was pretty overwhelmed. It was a huge success.

SURPRISE!!!!!!!

2010-01-30T07:56:00.004-07:00

GRANDMA LUTZ TURNS 60!!!! My sisters and I threw Mom a surprise party. My Dad took her to the movies. Lots of people came and she was soooo surprised! We had a burrito bar for dinner and it turned out yummy. (well I didn't eat much, that diet thing). [much more photos on Facebook]

We had it at my mom's house because they have a HUGE kitchen and dinning room.

It's All Cute At 14 Months

2010-01-29T16:05:00.003-07:00

Clover is now 14 months old!!! She says tons of stuff and is just a high energy girl. She is VERY strong willed and demanding. NO means YES to her. If she does not get what she wants, she will yell at the top of her lungs. If she gets angry she pulls what we call "THE HULK". She will clutch her fists and grit her teeth and shake herself! Yes, we have a VERY spirited girl on our hands. She is very much a momma's girl still. She calls Connor "Bubba" (for Brother). Her favorite shows are Wonder Pets, Mickey Mouse, Ni-ho Kilan. Her new thing this week is climbing up and into her own high chair (which I don't let her do).

Clover is the joy of my life. I just love her so much.

Nothing to be Proud About

2010-01-24T16:35:00.005-07:00

My babies have always loved TV. All of them have watched TV since they were infants. It's nothing I am proud about, but just a fact. When Connor was age 2, his favorite movie was Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings! Really I am not kidding. His favorite thing to do was lay down on the sofa with me and discuss movies (at age 2). Clover wakes up every morning at 4:45 am. I am not about to get up and play at that time of the morning. I put her in bed with me with her sippy cup and I turn on the cartoons. She will watch her shows for 1 hr. Then I put her back to bed for another hour. This is her schedule every single morning.

One Of My Favorite Things

2010-01-19T09:32:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite things is sweet potato fries. I love it when Mason comes home with a box of sweet potatoes from Costco. I will eat the whole box. It is such a plus that they are so healthy for me too.

Yes, today I finished my box.

I cut them into fries I use Pam or Olive Oil and sprinkle with kosher salt or sometimes with garlic and cayane pepper (for a spicey fry). The kids love them too. They are baked fries and oh so yummy.

Mallow Sisters

2010-01-18T17:29:00.004-07:00

What do you do when you are bored and have a bag of mallows?