The Bartlett Family

House layout

2012-02-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

I have tried to figure out how to put a picture of the first floor on here but I can't get it to work right. If you go here you can see the layout for the first floor. We are doing main floor option #2 so we can have the big pantry, long kitchen, and coat closet. We chose to give up the dining room because we just aren't formal dining room people. I talked with someone yesterday who just moved into her oasis home and she is going to use her formal dining as a formal living room (or a visiting teaching room, a nice room you sit in when you have company so they don't have to see the rest of the house if it isn't clean!).

This is the layout of the second floor of our house.

Our changes are in red. The area that says "open to below" will be covered over as floor and the wall between there and the bonus room will be gone so that will all be bonus room. We are also opting to not put a door on it. Check out how huge the master bath and laundry room are!!! LOVE IT!! I also love that the laundry is upstairs!! That will be nice!

For those that know the area:

The house will be off of Keene. There is Badger park (baseball fields, playground, and sprinkler pad) just west of us. The park's parking lot will be on the other side of our fence!! There is a really nice walking path that goes along Keene and another that goes from right by our house up to the elementary school.

We are building a house!!!

2012-02-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that we have been doing some work on our current house with the purpose of selling it and moving up in house. We actually started back in September and have had some speed bumps along the way. Back in September we had a realtor come look at the house and tell us what he thinks we could get for it and how much he thinks we could sell it for. He gave us a list of things to do and said if we did that we could increase the price of the house. So we did all of it and then some. After coming back a couple weeks ago he then called and said there is no added value and we won't get anything back from all the time and money we put into this house. Needless to say we were very discouraged!! Actually I was REALLY MAD!! We have been looking at houses for a while, trying to get an idea of what is out there on the market and what would fit our needs but weren't finding anything.

Jay and I talked about it and decided that if there isn't anything on the market we like, then we need to take some time away from worrying about getting this house on the market and just wait until we feel ready. We gave ourselves a few days and picked a couple houses each that we wanted to look at. For one house we couldn't get a hold of the listing agent to show it to us and two houses were actually almost the same house and in the same development with no yard. The fourth house on our list was a model home in Richland (off of Keene for you locals).

I went through that house and looked at some of their floor plans and was pretty sure we had just found our house. We went to look at the West Richland model to see if we would maybe rather be there. After seeing the model home there Jay was pretty convinced too. We went back to the first house and talked with the realtor there (Jeff Smart of Smart Realty, who I would highly recommend to anyone) and after talking with him we were 99%. We went home and looked at the numbers and went over the budget to see if we really could get this house. We took the kids to the model home the next day and they were sure!! They were playing upstairs while we talked with Jeff Smart and telling each other to get out of their rooms!!!

We signed our contract on Wednesday Feburary 1 and as of now our projected closing date is May 31.

So now we have to get back to getting our house on the market (probably another couple weeks because we have some other stuff going on this week).

If you go here you can see the basic floor plan for the house we are building.

Next post will include changes to the floor plan and our meeting with the designer!

Clue #4

2012-02-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

Good luck!!!

Clue #3

2012-02-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

So first I want to put an addendum to clue 2. Oasis is the specific name of something related to the project, it is not referring to a pool or a place (Nevada or Las Vegas).

Clue #3:

Clue #2

2012-02-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

I am not going to let the fact that no one guessed stop me from continuing the game!!! I am having fun and am not really making it easy yet, which just makes it funner!!

Here is the next clue:

A Desert Oasis

Time for a guessing game!!!

2012-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

I LOVE playing games so I am going to start a game here!!! It is going to be a guessing game. For all my facebook friends you may have noticed I posted recently about having a fun new project. I was told that wasn't very nice so I am going to let you try to guess what I am talking about!!!

Game rules: You cannot guess if you have already been told!!

CLUE #1:

Feel free to post your guesses!!

I am thankful for...

2010-11-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

So, I know that there are a bunch of other things I need to post about, most importantly being Michelle's baptism, but today I had something different I want to write about.

I keep hearing the question, "What are you most thankful for?" and I have figured out my answer.

I am most thankful for being thankful. Odd huh? I am grateful that I have the ability to see the world around me and know where it came from, to recognize the Lord's tender mercies, the little miracles that happen everyday. I am grateful that when I see my family I know they are a gift from God that I can be thankful for.

I make a conscience effort to be grateful, life is so much better that way. The harder things get, the more grateful I need to be and when I realize that and look at situations with grateful eyes, things are easier to handle.

I have much to be grateful for! Living life focusing on gratitude is an amazing adventure that everyone should try. I highly recommend it!!

So, on this great day of thanks giving (as a verb) I ask, what are you most thankful for?

Photo Shoot

2010-08-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Last week we had lots of fun visiting with Uncle Brandon, Aunt Jess, and our cousins Katelyn and Tanner!! While they were here, the kids did a photo shoot, which the girls liked more since they got to have their hair and make up done and wear rock star outfits!!

The pictures turned out SO great!! The photographer (Heather at Realife Photography) did such a great job with the kids! I love seeing their personalities in the pictures!

Go here to the Realife website to see the pictures!!

Surfs Up with Mickey and Friends

2010-08-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ariel's Grotto

2010-08-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

Another one of our fun meals was at Ariel's Grotto, which was the nicest of them all. It was some of the most upscale food we have ever had! There is a picture in the slide of our dessert platter, which was SO good!! The shell on the left was made of white chocolate and so was the Ariel in the middle. There was also chocolate chip cookie bars, cheesecake torts, smores brownies, chocolate lava cake, and fresh berries!

We kept trying to convince Tyler to get in the pictures with these beautiful women, but he wanted nothing to do with it! I am glad he is still too young to care about that! Jay kept telling him that he might regret it later but Tyler was content with decorating his crown! He was also getting mad that they kept calling him "Prince"! He didn't like that much!!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

2010-08-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to pause on the Disneyland pictures (yes, there are more!) to share some fun video of our afternoon with the new slip n' slide!

Tyler's technique was the run, jump, fall, and army crawl!

Whitley got it down pretty good, so good in fact she started sliding past the little barrier at the end!

Michelle was tentative! She did the run, hit the knees, to the belly, then kind of slide!

Jay had gotten home while we were outside playing and was talking with me for a little bit then decided to go inside. I thought that he should have stayed out and had fun with us. Little did I know, he had a plan! He went inside and got his swimsuit on, then came out the back and around the side of the house, watching for his turn, then came running out and dove down the slide (this video is from a different time). It was so surprising and we were all smiling until we realized that in Jay's effort to get around Whitley, he missed his jump a little and jarred his back! My poor man is sitting on the couch in pain right now!! I guess that is the price he pays for being a fun dad!

Be patient with me, for those of you who are sick of the Disneyland pictures, or have seen most of them on Facebook already, sorry, there are still those who haven't seen them yet, so they will keep coming for a little while longer! After that, I have been saving up a VERY special post! I held off on it, knowing that Disneyland posts would be coming and I didn't want all of that to overshadow the super special post that will be coming soon...

Stay tuned... (only if you want to)

Storyteller's Cafe

2010-08-12T10:17:00.001-07:00

Goofy's Kitchen

2010-08-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

We had lunch at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel while we were there. Doing the character meals was SO fun! We had characters that we saw multiple times and others that we wouldn't have been able to see without the meals! Plus, the food was always good!

1,2,3... We're going to Disneyland

2010-08-12T09:08:00.001-07:00

Here is the video of when we told the kids about our real plans for the trip! It was totally worth keeping the secret for a year, just for the moment that we got when we surprised them! Although, now we have to be careful if we go anywhere else that they don't think we are tricking them again!

We had both sets of grandparents on speaker phone so they could hear the kids' reactions so if you hear an extra voice in the background, that is who it is!

Breakfast with Minnie and Friends

2010-08-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

One thing we did on our trip was have a lot of character meals. The first one was breakfast with Minnie and friends! We had so much fun seeing all of the characters and getting pictures and autographs. The kids had a lot of fun!! It was also so nice because everywhere we went we met with the chef before Whitley had anything to make sure that what she ate was safe for her! Such a relief!

Mickey's ToonTown Morning Madness

2010-08-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

We got to spend one morning becoming citizens of Mickey's ToonTown! It was so fun! Tyler was still warming up to the idea of seeing the characters! The kids rode Gidget's Go Coaster a couple times and at the end there is water coming from frogs' mouths so now if the kids refer to 'frog spit' you know it was the ToonTown coaster!

Cabela's and Riverfront pictures

2010-08-09T21:54:00.001-07:00

Here are the pictures to go with the post about our fun in Spokane!

Snuggly Kids!

2010-08-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

With all of the pictures I have, I can't decide which ones to not use so I am going to be bombarding you with pictures. I hope you are patient and understanding with all of the pictures to come!! Enjoy!

Swimming in Spokane

2010-08-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

It is Sunday morning and I can't sleep!! We are telling the kids about our trip in about an hour and we are both SO excited! We came up to Spokane yesterday as a trick and stayed here at a hotel right by the airport. We used the excuse that we picked this hotel for the indoor waterslide and the kids were happy with that. We got up here in the early afternoon and since the weather wasn't that great we went first to a store called Cabela's. It is almost to Post Falls, ID. My in-laws have been telling us about it so we thought it would be something unique and out of the rain. The kids had mixed feelings about crossing the state line into Idaho. We had some worry, anger, and excitement. Then we were told that since we already had them this far we better be taking them to Silverwood! We just laughed!

Cabela's was cool though. It is an outdoors store but in the middle of the store there is a huge mountain display covered with taxidermy animals, bears, deer, moose, elk, snakes, wolves, and tons more. It was cooler than I thought it would be. They also had an aquarium near the fishing stuff. The kids found a display of tents and enjoyed that too!

Then we went to the Valley Mall area and had dinner at Boston's, a great pizza place! Then, in search of a Disney store, we went out to Northtown, only to find out that there hasn't been a Disney store there for years. Oops! We made it fun anyway. After that the weather cleared up so we went to Riverfront Park and played on the big wagon and rode the carousel. We also saw 2 weddings going on along the river at the same time!

The most fun we had was when we got to the pool. We found out that we couldn't ride with the kids or be down there to catch them so Michelle was the only one able to go. Michelle and Whitley just finished 2 weeks of swimming lessons. Whitley didn't pass her level because she was just not comfortable enough to do the things she needed to. Michelle hadn't be very comfortable until last Monday then she was off! Yesterday at the pool, Tyler had just arm floatings, which made him nervous to begin with and ended up playing on his own in the shallow area! He did awesome! Whitley got comfortable enough to jump off the edge without anyone there and without grabbing the side of the pool on the way in! She was doing so great! She is officially comfortable in the water. Michelle started swimming underwater, tried doing front flips, touched the bottom of the pool at almost 7 feet, and went down the slide twice!! We were impressed!

I am sitting here waiting for our swimsuits to dry and for the kids to wake up. The suspense is killing me!! I just can't sit still!

Thanks for sharing in our excitement and for those of you who helped keep this all a secret!!

Disney PhotoPass Link

2010-07-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is for all of you wanting pictures while we are gone. We have registered our Disney PhotoPass card and now when we are down there we can have pictures taken and put straight onto that card. Anyone with the password can view the pictures so I thought we'd let you see these until we get a chance to unload pictures from our camera!

Enjoy!! I know we will!

Website: DisneyPhotoPass.com

Username: jcmwtbartlett@clearwire.net

Password: disney2010

Hopefully you will see our smiling faces soon!

Dance Camp

2010-07-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

This year one of the girls' birthday gifts was getting to spend a week going to dance camp! They had so much fun!! They were at camp for 1-1/2 hours then came home and practiced tons!!

They put on a little show for us on Friday. It was a Hawaiian theme so they wore their Hawaiian style dresses for the show!!

Here are the videos of their two dances (Michelle is in a purple dress and Whitley is in a pink dress with a white shirt under):

Hey Chicago, What Do You Say?

2010-07-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

The Cubs are gonna win today!

Jay has been a lifelong Cubs fan! He got to go to Chicago with his Dad and see some games a Wrigley Field years ago. Since I have known Jay the Cubs have only come to Seattle twice, once when I was pregnant with Michelle and it was decided that I should stay home while he went with his parents and brother, and the second time was June of this year. For his birthday (in October) I got him tickets to see games when the Cubs came!! We were both very excited, him to see the Cubs, and me to see him see the Cubs! We almost weren't able to go but I made sure we went!

This is Jay by the Cubs bullpen before the first game on Wednesday night.

This is our view from our center field seats at the first game. These are some of the cheapest and best seats at Safeco.

This was some weird guy dressed as a Stars Wars person (I think I was told it is a storm trooper). Who goes to a major league baseball on a hot summer night and wears a Star Wars costume?
This is the view from our seats on Thursday afternoon. We got to sit in the Hit It Here Cafe. It was great! Our tickets included an $18 food voucher so we got to eat and see the game for the price of the ticket! It was nice because we had a waitress getting us all the water we needed so all we had to leave our seats for was the bathroom.

This is us having a great time!

This was such an amazing trip!! We had so much fun and were so glad to have that time to spend together!

She danced!!!

2010-06-25T21:38:00.001-07:00

Michelle had her dance recital a couple weeks ago and she did SO good!! She decided she'd rather do hip hop, which was very surprising because she really doesn't seem like she can pull it off, she's more of a jazz personality! Anyway, she did amazingly well with the dance. We weren't even sure if she would go out on stage. They had the recital at the high school auditorium and she was fearless up there!! She knew the steps better than most kids in the class. I love that the kid (whose mom has her in every possible class and is planning her competitive dance career) had to watch Michelle to know what steps were next!! It made me laugh!

Here is Michelle with her "hip hop pose" in her cute costume. Her dance was called "Wipeout!"

She got flowers after both performances (shows on both Friday and Saturday)! This is Whitley, Michelle, and Tyler with some of Michelle's flowers from Saturday. I don't have a picture of her with her flowers from Friday but if my mom is reading this, maybe she'll email me the pictures she took!
There were 2 kids from Michelle's class who danced in the recital and also some kids that their teachers knows from previous years so she came to cheer them all on!! She even had flowers for Michelle and her classmate! It was SO great that she came! Michelle felt so loved that day!! We are really going to miss Mrs. DeTienne!! Hopefully Whitley and Tyler will get her!

When we got home, I took all of her 4 different flower arrangements and combined them into one and have to say that I think I did a pretty good job!!! They were so beautiful all together!!

This is a picture I took of her makeup, just because it was hard to believe she was wearing bright pink lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara (only on dress rehearsal, she didn't wear it for either performance)! She, of course, loved it!! Jay on the other hand, was not too happy to see his little girl all done up in makeup like that!! Hopefully she won't be wearing lipstick like that for anything other than recitals!!!

We were all so proud of Michelle for doing such an amazing job with her dance. She had really been having some confidence issues and when she started dance this January, we watched her grow so much! She really started to feel more confident and open up more. We feel so incredibly grateful that she has been able to dance!! We can't wait for the next recital!

She C.A.R.E.S.

2010-06-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my Michelle!! She has had a hard year and has been an absolute trooper through it all!! She is such an incredible person and I learn so much from being her mom! Today she was able to be recognized for some of her wonderful behavior. At Jason Lee they have a C.A.R.E.S. motto. It stands for Cooperation, Attitude, Respect, Effort, and Safety. Throughout the year they have had assemblies giving out awards for each category then today they had an award for one (sometimes two) students in each class who excelled in all 5 categories. Well, I bet you can guess what is coming!! Michelle won the C.A.R.E.S. award for her class! She was so excited! Afterward she said her heart was pounding and legs were shaking while she was standing up there!! Here are a couple pictures we took after. The other pictures didn't turn out very well.

She just keeps graduating!!!

2010-06-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have already posted pictures of Whitley's preschool graduation, which was so cute! We have all loved Gateway and she had so much fun with them but is very ready for kindergarten! Whitley has also been doing speech therapy for three years at the elementary school. She has loved it!! Susan Barber has been an amazing teacher!! We are so happy to have her helping us with the kids speech. Luckily Tyler is still in speech so we get to keep going back!! This morning was Whitley's official graduation from speech! She has worked very hard and this morning we celebrated! Susan brought the kids McDonald's pancakes (since it was too early for happy meals, pizza, or ice cream)! It was a wonderful morning!

Here is a picture of Whitley with Mrs. Barber!

This is Whitley in her graduation cap eating the pancakes, she didn't want to stop eating for the picture!
Tyler looks kind of possessed in this picture!!! He kept telling me to only take pictures of Whitley today since it is her party so he was mad at me for getting him in the picture too!!

I snuck in a cute picture though!!

This is Tyler, again mad at me, trying to get into the toys while I took a picture of Whitley! He got caught before he made a mess!!!

Thank you Felicia, Teddy, Amy, Brenda, Patty, and Susan for all you have done to help my kids become who they are!!!!

He works so hard!!!

2010-06-04T00:17:00.001-07:00

I love my husband!!! He is such an incredibly hard working man!! He teaches a zero hour class, meaning he is usually up about 5:00, has a 6-hour contract (he teaches 6 classes instead of the normal 5 hours of teaching and one prep period), taught summer school, and has been an assistant cross country coach, freshman boys basketball coach, and distance coach for track this year!! He is just amazing!! We found out this winter that the old head cross country coach was retiring, her youngest is graduating so she is moving on too. As of a couple weeks ago we found out that Jay is the new head cross country coach for Richland High School, which is incredibly exciting!! He desires this!! He has been teaching summer school for 3 or 4 years now and found out a couple weeks ago that he has to reapply for the job and we were a little worried but yesterday he came home and told me that he has the summer school job also!! He is also going to be much more involved with summer basketball this year. He and another coach are running it together. In the past, he has just coached and referred some games but now this is a lot more time. I love this man!! I can't say enough how grateful I am for everything he does for us. If only I could talk him into doing something for himself...

Picture Purge - Part 3

2010-06-03T20:20:00.001-07:00

Here are my 3 cuties in their Easter outfits!!!

This is Tyler sleeping at the dinner table, again!!! We have a lot of pictures of him sleeping!!
This is Michelle and Whitley at the Richland High School cheer clinic!! They had SO much fun that day!! They have been doing the cheers they learned quite frequently since this day!! When we went to basketball games after this they would look for their cheerleader and get SO excited when they could find them!! It was completely worth it!!!

These are pictures from a preschool field trip to the Children's Museum. Check out Tyler's hair!!!

I don't know what this picture is from but just thought I'd throw it in there.

This is the video of Whitley's cheer from the clinic.

Here is Michelle's cheer.

Picture Purge - Part 2

2010-06-03T19:56:00.001-07:00

My son really likes his hats!! Both times we went in to check on him and ran to get the camera!! He is even funny when he is asleep!!

A few weeks ago we had a pretty bad wind storm with trees falling all over the place. Behind our house is a walking path lined with dying trees. After the storm was over someone came knocking on our door to warm us about the tree behind our house, worried about us going outside to play and not seeing the tree (it was hard to tell anything was wrong just looking at it from our backyard). This tree literally split down the middle!! It was precariously perched on a couple smaller trees, ready to fall with any other big wind! It was interesting to see the inside of the tree! Luckily the city crew was over first thing in the morning and had it down that day! They were so great!

This is Michelle being cute in her dance costume on the way home from pictures. More dance pictures will come later.

More Tyler!

Picture Purge - Part 1

2010-06-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

For starters, here are pictures from Whitley's preschool graduation last week!

Sassy Apple - Good News

2010-05-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's a miracle!! Christy is posting something on her blog!!

I have some GREAT news!! My sister-in-law will be coming to visit soon and has offered to bring orders from her website up here to save shipping on some wonderful stuff!! Go on over to Sassy Apple and check out her stuff.

I LOVE the pettiskirts and the boy's ties!! She has really cute beanies, hair clips, leg warmers, girl's watches, mom's clutches, and jewelry!!! If you would like to order something, leave a comment with your email address and I will get in touch with you. You can pay her when she gets here. She will be in town from Thursday May 20 to Saturday May 22.

Feel free to share this info with others in the Tri-City area who are interested in this fun, cute stuff for their kids!!!

Sunbeam Sadness

2010-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

So, it is official, all three of my kids are now in primary! When each of the girls reached Sunbeams, they were so excited and ready to go!!! Tyler, on the other hand, isn't too excited about going to Primary, or should I say, he isn't too excited about not getting to go to nursery!! I have been trying to figure out what would be the best option for him but, having not experienced this before, I just don't know!

So, I am asking all of you moms and primary teachers who have helped kids with this before to help me now. What is your opinion? I am open to your ideas. I figure the more options I have to choose from, the more likely it is that I will find what works for us.

Thanks in advance!!

Counting Blessings

2010-01-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

I have spent a lot of time lately thinking of all the innumerable ways that I am blessed every day. I am so grateful for an amazing husband who shows my every day in so many ways, both big and small his love for me. I am grateful for kids whose smiles light up the world, whose laughs echo throughout my day, whose hugs and kisses warm me head to toe!! I am grateful to have front row seats to watch their amazing lives unfold!!! I always knew that I would love my kids but I never knew just how much!! It amazes me how many times and in how many I am reminded that they are gifts!!! I am so grateful to have so much family near by!!! I have absolutely no idea how people do it living far from family!! I kind of feel sorry for people without extended family!! I am honestly a little jealous of my kids because I didn't get to know my grandparents very well. My kids get to see their grandparents often and it is amazing and wonderful for me to see the love between the kids and their grandparents!!!!!

I am grateful for my ward family and for all the love, service, support, and friendship I receive from them!!! Again, I don't know what I would do without them!! I am grateful to know that I am a daughter of God!! That knowledge affects my life every day!! I have so much to improve on but I know that regardless He loves me!! I also love knowing that He loves my husband, my kids, my extended family, and everyone else I encounter! I am grateful to know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and brother and to know that He too loves us. Having family leave this Earth life is an incredibly hard thing to go through. Working with Hospice, I often see that heartache and those tears but I know with all my heart that those families can live together with our Heavenly Father. I love my life here on Earth and I want it to be as long as it possibly can be, but I also know that when it ends, there is an amazing eternity waiting for me.

I am grateful for the people who help to teach my kids, in school, in church, and in life. I am grateful that I have the things I have. I am so blessed to not have to have needs unfulfilled. Jay works so hard for this family and I feel honored to be able to help save the money he makes and spend it wisely. I don't think of couponing and budgeting and menu planning as a hobby or an extra thing, I think it is an essential aspect of my job as a wife and mother. There is a thrill to getting a good deal but it is more than that, it is the satisfaction in knowing that I did my part in making the money Jay works so hard to earn stretch as far as possible for the family.

I have so many things in life that I want to do better with, things I want to improve on but it gets depressing to only think about the things that need work. I find that when I focus on my blessings and the things I feel grateful for, I want to do better because of that. I want to give more service because I have felt the amazing feeling of service being given to me, I want to spend more time because I love the time that is given to me, I want to be a better person because of the people I am blessed to know.

I am grateful for all of you, for your patience in reading my ramblings, which are almost as numerous as my blessings!!!

My cup runneth over!!!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

I am wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas!! I hope your day is filled with love, laughter, family, and fun!!!!!!! Enjoy each moment, cherish it, and carry that in your heart all year round!! I pray that you all feel our Savior's love today and all days!!!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

Thankful for arctic winds???

2009-12-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't have thought that I would ever be thankful for a gust of arctic wind but I sure was today!!! We have been waiting and waiting to have enough leaves in our yard for a good cushy jump!!! We have been doing this as a family every year for the last three or four years!! As soon as the kids see the leaves start falling they start asking when we get to rake!! It is fun to have the anticipation build while we wait for our neighbor's trees to get naked (as Michelle would say)! This year, it was taking longer than normal for our leaves to fall. We would get some in the driveway then our kind, helpful neighbor would clean them up for us!! I was getting so annoyed at his kindness because every time he blew the leaves away, all I could think was, well, now we have to wait even longer!! One day Michelle commented to him that he was taking away our jumping leaves and he felt so bad so a few hours later we noticed a bunch of leaves that he had blown up onto our grass!!! We still didn't have enough and I was getting worried because there has been talk of snow and I didn't want to miss our chance. Well, this weekend we got freezing cold weather (literally) and a great wind that blew us more leaves than we needed!!! We had our biggest leaf pile ever!!! Usually as we jump we crush leaves and our pile gets smaller and smaller but today, I just kept grabbing some from our back up pile and it was SO much fun, well, minus the lost mitten!!

I had fun trying to take pictures because it was so dark that I couldn't tell what I was taking pictures of, I had to just click and see what showed up on the camera!!

So much fun!!! Thank you winds for our lovely evening of leaf jumping!!! Maybe we'll go out again tomorrow night!!! I can't wait!!

Just not feeling it...

2009-12-03T14:56:00.001-08:00

I'm just not feeling Christmas!! I am really excited to be doing the stuffed animal donation to the hospital, that will be fun, but I'm just not really feeling Christmas-y. I play bells in a hand bell choir and we have been doing Christmas music since September but still, not even that puts me in the holiday mood!

So, what do you do to get yourself into the Christmas spirit? How do you put aside the stress of it all and just enjoy the holiday? I used to be so good at that but this year, it's just not coming!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-27T17:28:00.001-08:00

So, it may be almost a month late but I have finally posted my kids Halloween pictures!! Michelle was a fairy. Her fairy name was "Shella-Bella-Ella." Whitley was a rock star. She had a guitar and microphone but I kept ending up with those so they stayed home. Tyler was Spiderman and he loved showing off his costume!!!

This is the first year we have done trunk-or-treat and I must say, I think we did it well!!

We also had a special treat of going to see Disney On Ice Halloween morning!! It was so great!! All three kids loved it, which surprised me. They had Cars, Little Mermaid, Lion King, and ended with Tinkerbell!! We had so much fun and created great memories!!!

It's time for giving-want to help?

2009-11-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Last year, us Bartletts started a new tradition (based on Michelle's inspired idea). We took stuffed animals to Kadlec Medical Center (the hospital here in Richland) and were able to deliver the dolls to children at the hospital. It was an amazing experience for all of us. The kids worked extra around the house to earn money to buy stuffed animals, we had grandparents and other family members who donated money or stuffed animals to us, and we even got Target to help us out!!! You can go here to see more about it.

We are going to do this again. We have decided to take our stuffed animals to Kennewick General Hospital this year. We have already had some stuffed animals brought to us and are so excited to bring some kindness to more people!!

If you would like to help us out with our project, please comment, email me (jcmwtbartlett@clearwire.net), or call me (I'm not putting my phone number up so you'll have to either know my number already if you want to call).

This is such a great thing for us to do with the kids, to really emphasize the importance of helping others, instead of focusing on what they want to get. We have so much to be thankful for and are more grateful still to be able to help others!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-10T11:08:00.001-08:00

I love Country Mercantile!! We got to go again this year for Whitley's preschool field trip. I love going on Pumpkin Patch field trips and watching the kids get SO excited about sitting on hay bales in a big wagon and getting pulled by a tractor, seeing their eyes light up as they look at all the choices of pumpkins, even though the bigger ones are already gone, watching them figure out the hay bale maze, usually just by following the person in front of them, and seeing their excitement when they make it to the top of the hay bale tower!!! This year I got to do the field trip with all three kids. I was honestly a little worried about it, not quite sure if it would work well, but the kids were so great!! They enjoyed each other's company and helped each other out!! It does a Mom's heart good to see them getting along so well!

This is the kids in the parking lot just being cute.

So, some of you may be thinking, shouldn't Michelle be at school? Well, yes, she should have been!!!!!! She has been having some stomach issues lately, stomach aches all the time since her appendix but they would go away after a little in the morning and then she'd be fine (it has been getting a little worse recently so she is going to see the doctor tomorrow). Anyway, she was at school that morning and someone noticed she wasn't as chipper as she usually is and she said her stomach hurt a little. So she got sent to the Health Room. I got a call from the nurse that she had a temp of 100 and climbing (OK, when they say "and climbing" wouldn't you think they had to have taken her temp more than once to know it was "climbing"???). So I went to get her, thinking "Oh crap, it is field trip day and who is going to want to watch a sick kid for me?" Then when I saw her in the Health Room, she didn't look sick to me at all. I took her home and took her temperature myself (on two different thermometers) and it was 98.4!! I called the nurse to see what had happened and then she tells me she wasn't the one who took her temp! She just went on the word of someone else who thought they were helping and never saw anything, and according to Michelle the lady only took it once so she couldn't have possibly known it was "climbing"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I said, well since her temp is gone and her stomach is doing okay now, we will be back soon and the nurse told me I couldn't bring her back to school!!! Seriously?? Anyway, in case you can't tell, I am still annoyed by that! Michelle had already missed a bunch of school with her appendix, she didn't need to miss a random day because the nurse and the helper person screwed up!!!

Anyway, Michelle was pretty happy about the screw up because now she got to go on the field trip!!!
This is the kids being cute again.

I love this picture of them holding hands!! They did this most of the time we were there, without me telling them to hold on to each other, they just grabbed each other and went on their way. It was so cute!!
This is Tyler at the top of the hay pyramid!! He was so proud of himself!! He actually managed to get down on his own too!
Hay pyramid again!

This is Tyler, Whitley, and our friend Jenny. I was trying to get a picture of Whitley and Jenny together but Tyler always likes to get in the pictures too so it is all three of them!

Michelle waiting for cookies and juice (and being cute).

This is Tyler on the way home. He had fallen asleep in the car sucking on the sucker he got there. He wouldn't let it go either. It started falling out and he woke up enough to put it back in his mouth and then was back asleep right away!!! (Go here to see more of Tyler sleep-eating)

Aren't my kids so cute?!?!?!

Bartlett Bombers

2009-11-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

In October we had the Richland High School Cross Country Invite Kids Race. We have done this every year since Michelle was little. It started when Michelle wanted to run with Daddy so they ran part of the citizens' race together, which I think is a 5K so they didn't run all of it. The next year they started the Kids Race. We LOVE going, well we usually do. This year Michelle wasn't too excited about it. A couple years ago I figured out that if I showed up just a little late, we could jump in half way through the race (of course we'd jump in behind everyone else) and then we'd only run part of it, mainly because Mommy is lazy! Last year I showed up late ready to jump in, and they held up the race for us!!! I was SO embarrassed because I had to admit that I was late on purpose! Anyway, this year we tried to show up on time, didn't make it, so we just jumped in at the end again. Whitley ran great! Next year she is definitely doing the whole race herself! This is Whitley racing to beat Daddy to the finish line.

Michelle jogged for less than a minute and decided she was done so this is her just waiting for it to be over!!
This is how Tyler "ran" the race, in Uncle Matthew's arms!! Poor Uncle Matthew carried Tyler the whole way and then Tyler got all the credit!!

So, next October if you are in the Tri-Cities area and want to come join us, just let me know!! It really is a lot of fun!!

Roller Coaster September

2009-11-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

September was such a roller coaster! I started work at Hospice House, Michelle started 1st grade, and Whitley started the Pre-K program at her preschool. There was a lot going on!!

This is a picture of the kids on the 1st day of school.

So, a couple weeks into school Michelle got a high fever and had a lot of stomach pain. She got sick on a Sunday after being exposed to someone else who had a stomach bug going on and we thought that was all it was. I had this suspicion in the back of my mind that it might be her appendix but there were a few things that had me uncertain. On Wednesday morning I took her to the doctor, from there we went to the ER and that night she had her appendix out. Even the ER doc and the surgeon weren't 100% convinced at first. Her surgery was at about 8:00-ish in the evening on Wednesday. She was up and walking to the bathroom around 11:30-12:00. I was amazed at her strength!! She only winced when they gave her an IV! We were so blessed with the doctors and nurses there! They were amazing. One of the ladies who came down to get Michelle for her surgery was someone we know. I recognized her from PTA stuff, Jay went to high school with her, her son is in Michelle's class, and her name is Michelle too! She was SO great! She gave Michelle one of her own scrub hats, which was pretty cool. Then we found out that one of our home teachers was the scrub tech in the OR with her so she saw someone she knew when she went in. It was nice to be able to tell her that not only did she get a Priesthood blessing before her surgery but she also had a Priesthood holder in the OR with her!! She did amazing!! She was able to come home Thursday afternoon! We went on a walk that evening. (We brought the stroller with us so she could sit down when she got tired). I was so impressed with her!! My parents had Whitley and Tyler for me, which was so nice. They gave the kids baths and took them to our house to put them in their own beds. My mom said that Whitley wanted to snuggle Shuggie's (Michelle's) pillow since she missed her sister but had to stop and make sure that if she did that she wouldn't have to have her appendix out too!! It was a horrible thing to have to go through but since we did have to do it, it could not have gone any better!!

Two weeks after the appendix, Tyler decided to have his own adventure. He LOVES motorcycles!!! This is a picture of his Papa's motorcycle (I just put this one in there because I didn't have a picture of the one that caused the problem). He plays with toy motorcycles, gets excited to see motorcycles, and has even gotten to sit on Papa's motorcycle!
I had taken him shopping with me in the afternoon and we saw a motorcycle parked right in front of the store. He was SO happy!! We walked by it and looked at it and talked a lot about not touching it. I was right by him, ready to jump, but he had been keeping his distance well. He was kneeling down looking underneath it, walking around like he was a mechanic checking it out!! Then he reached, I grabbed, and he screamed!! I got him a split second too late. He reached the exhaust and got 2nd degree burns on part of his hand. It was mainly his forefinger and the part of his hand under that. It could have been SO SO SO much worse!! We got really lucky that is all it was. He screamed for an hour while I ran him across the street (just a couple blocks away) to an Urgent Care office and he was seen right away. He kept crying until he fell asleep in the car.
This is his hand all bandaged up. We used a lot of wrap just to help make sure he didn't get it all pulled off. He was so funny for the next few days. He would play with his hand raised in the air. He figured out how to do things one-handed. He also would not touch any motorcycle toy while his hand was bandaged. He didn't mess with the bandage at all, which was so helpful. As soon as we took the bandage off, he was back to playing with his motorcycles. He still will tell us though that motorcycles are hot and he got burned. Hopefully that means we won't have a repeat performance!!!!

Fun With Cousins Part 2

2009-10-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Jess, brought Katelyn and Tanner up to Washington again in September for their Fall Break. We were SO excited to see them again! Tyler and Tanner are so funny together! Tanner is better at sharing than Tyler so that makes things interesting. Tyler gets confused that he has to share Papa, Grammy, and the toys! Tyler and Tanner did agree on one thing, they both liked playing with Papa! I love this picture of Papa and the boys!!
Jess and I took the kids to the mall and in order to keep them from running away, we had them sit down together wherever we went. This is a picture of them lying down. Tyler kept sitting like that with his leg under the rack of clothes and he wasn't smiling. It honestly took me a minute to figure out his foot was stuck.

We had the kids at the play area at the mall and they had a blast. There are some bookshelves but the books have been removed, probably because they would end up all over the place instead of on the shelves. Anyway, the kids started climbing up into these slots and it was SO cute!! Thankfully Jess was smart enough to have her camera with her AND a battery that was charged so she got some cute pictures!
Whitley, Katelyn
Tyler, Michelle
Tanner

This slide picture was a lot of work! Other kids kept trying to climb on behind them, thinking it was a game and poor Michelle kept sliding down! I think it was totally worth it because all the kids look so cute in this!

We also splurged for the quarter rides (actually 3 quarter rides, seriously $0.75 is a little much for those things). This is Tyler on the motorcycle. He was so happy to be riding that!!! It was just too cute!

I have found it quite interesting in life to see my brothers change from annoying brothers all the way to husbands, and now fathers. It is funny to see them with their kids and to remember them when they were younger and try to see how those two pictures fit together. Anyway, I am so happy with the sisters my brothers gave me when they got married!! So Brandon (husband to Jess and dad to Katelyn and Tanner) didn't get to make the trip again because of work. He called them the first night to read a bedtime story. His kids had the cell phone on speaker on the bed between them and were intent on listening to their daddy's story. They he got really cute and creative and made a web video of him reading a couple of their favorite stories. One was a book that he had read to my girls when they went down a couple years ago with my parents that my girls remember still and love! So all 5 kids had been sitting around Grandma's computer to listen to the story but I think part of the video didn't load right or something because he finished the story over the phone. I love that even Tyler was wanting to sit there and just listen without Brandon being there or having pictures to look at. I guess Brandon is just that good at storytelling!! It was so cute to watch them listen to that!

This is Michelle and Katelyn dancing around together. I am so glad that they have cousins that they can play well with and be friends with. If only we could convince some of those cousins to live closer (hint, hint Josh and Brandon)!
Whitley was trying to conduct with Grammy's baton while Michelle and Katelyn were dancing. She is such a goofy kid!!
This is a cute picture of Tyler snuggling with Grammy and a car, just wanted to throw it in!

Harvest Hoedown

2009-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

I am interrupting my series of "going back through pictures and posting about stuff that I remember" blog posts to bring you the Jason Lee Elementary 1st Grade Harvest Hoedown!!! It was great!! Michelle was a little nervous because she has missed a lot of school but it turned out, she knew it!! She smiled, laughed, danced, and sang the night away!!

This is the best we could do for a "country girl" look. She did wear boots, even though they were closer to winter boots than cowboy boots, they were boots nonetheless. I think she looks incredibly adorable!!

After two very cute song and dance numbers the kids were all told to go get someone who came with them. They were going to bring them out to the middle and teach them one of the songs. Michelle decided to base her decision on who she thought was the worst dancer and who needed the most help (her words, not mine).

So, do you wonder who she picked?

The picture may be blurry but you can be pretty sure that it...

WASN'T ME!!!!

(I had figured if she was thinking about who was the worst dancer, I for sure would have won out but apparently she was kind to her poor mother and roped Daddy into it instead!!!

The kids had made scarecrows and Jack-O-Lanterns for decorations. This is her with her scarecrow but we never did find her pumpkin!!

They set up these photo sets on the stage for the after the show. She had waited until most everyone had cleared out to go up there and there were 2 teachers around who kept helping pose her with different props and things. I have a bunch of pictures but this is my favorite!!

Get ready for this!!!

Daddy and Daughter doing the "Country Dance"

Fun with cousins!!!

2009-10-27T19:29:00.001-07:00

So, back in June my sister-in-law, Jess, brought her kids, Katelyn and Tanner up for a visit. My brother had to work so he didn't get to join the fun!! That's okay though, we had a lot of fun with his family. These are some pictures from a boat ride we got to go on. The kids had so much fun getting to have turns driving with Papa Marvin and getting to go under the bridges! Thanks Papa!!!

Tyler driving!

Michelle just being cute like normal!
Jay snuggling with Tyler and Whitley!

Tyler, Michelle, Katelyn, Jess, Tanner, and Whitley

(I don't know why Jay didn't get in the picture. I don't think I was on the boat yet at that time, I was still doing my CNA class so I just caught the tail end of the ride)

Katelyn, Grammy, and Whitley

We always have fun visiting with cousins! We have more cousins in Utah that we haven't seen in a while and can't wait until we get to visit them again.

Thanks for the fun everyone!!

Birthday week

2009-10-14T19:36:00.001-07:00

Michelle and Whitley are both July birthdays (19 and 21). So far we have gotten away with having their parties together but I don't know how much longer it will last. This year they got to have their party at "Coach Brett's Gym" - a.k.a. Garland's Gymnastics (thanks Auntie Rose and Grandma Donna). Coach Brett is the guy who does Tumblebus so we have known him for a few years and the kids all love him!! He is so great by the way. If you are in Tri-Cities and looking for gymnastics, I highly recommend him. Anyway, back to the party. They got to spend an hour in the gym with just them and their guests!! It was such a blast!

This is Michelle and Whitley with Coach Brett:

This is Tyler having fun climbing around on and in things:

Coach Brett has a son Tyler too and these are our Tyler's together:

At Garland's all birthday kids get to do a "birthday bungee." Here are the videos for Michelle's and Whitley's bungee adventures.

We had TONS of fun for birthdays this year. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a great birthday week!

Background??-Problem solved

2009-10-12T22:56:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else having trouble with my new background? I can't get it to come up and wasn't sure if it was the background or just me.

Thanks!

I think it was just a problem with the website I got the background from. Thanks!!

Sleep-eating

2009-10-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Tyler had been very busy running around playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house one day. When we put him in the high chair to eat dinner, we had no idea just how tired he was. He stayed asleep for a couple hours after this video!!!

Cute kid pictures

2009-10-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

These are just some cute pictures of the kids from this summer. Enjoy!

Can you believe it? I actually am posting something!

2009-10-11T17:08:00.001-07:00

Well, so much has happened since I last actually posted! I am going to go back through my pictures and find the cutest ones and see what else I can remember that is significant. I could just get my calendar and menu for the last few months go through that but no one cares what store I went to, what I had scheduled, and what I had for dinner!! Hopefully this will just be the highlights (and maybe some low lights!) Since it has been a while I will do multiple posts and schedule them to show up at different times so you don't get bored with me.

Okay, on with the good stuff. We are going back to July right now. We had a pretty good summer. I finished my CNA class the first part of July. Jay taught summer school this year again. I quit my transcription job back in June so I wasn't working until about when school started. We had a lot of great time together as a family. I don't know that we did a ton of huge stuff, we just enjoyed the time. We just had fun together without a schedule for a while and that was nice! (It was nice to get back to a schedule but we enjoyed it while it lasted)

So, for the 4th of July the girls and I painted our toenails red! Tyler desperately wanted to join in but I wouldn't let him! I tried to get him to go have some guy time with daddy but he didn't really want to.

This was the girls' nails:

These were Tyler's nails:He found a red marker and decided to take care of things on his own!!! After that he had a lot of Daddy time!

This is just a cute picture of Jay and I. I just threw it in there because I usually only have picture of the kids so this was a rare one!This is Tyler playing on Papa Bubbles' motorcycle!! He has had quite an obsession with motorcycles and decided one day that he needed to sit on one! (More to come on Tyler and motorcycles later!)

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

I passed my state test today for my CNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am incredibly excited!!!!!!!!!!

Toothless Wonder and Magic Glasses!!!

2009-06-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

We are going to be having our first Tooth Fairy visit tonight!!!!! Michelle lost her first tooth!!! She is SO excited!!

Whitley got a new prescription for her glasses and so she also got new frames!! She thinks they are magic. When we picked the frame at the office they were purple but she ordered pink. She thinks that the ones she tried on magically turned pink for her!! They also have the transition lenses so they darken in the sun. She loves her "Magic Glasses."

Tyler is just as cute as ever!! He is really working hard at talking!! He is saying more and more every day and gets easier and easier to understand.

First Day Jitters

2009-05-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day of class!! I feel way too old to be having first day jitters, but I do. I think I always get a little nervous when it is something new and I am also SO excited about this class so I have a bit of butterflies!! Wish me luck!!

Any suggestions?

2009-05-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

I need ideas for freezer dinners.

So, my CNA course, that I was so excited about had been postponed and won't be starting until next week. I am still SO excited about it and am trying to get things ready for it. I have most of the babysitting arranged but still have a lot left to figure out. My biggest thing left now is dinners. I am going to be in class until 3:00 or 3:30 and I know myself well enough to know I will be tired. I will also get to come home and do my transcription so I am not going to want to exert much energy elsewhere. So, knowing that, my plan is to prepare some freezer dinners this weekend and have them ready to go for my class. My only problem is, I only have two dinners that I freeze on a regular basis and I need more ideas. I already do lasagna and enchiladas. I can also do white lasagna and white enchiladas but I want more variety. I have a recipe to do messy chicken or Italian cream cheese chicken (whatever you want to call it) and for chicken scampi but I still need more!! It would be nice to have at least 10 meals in my freezers (two per week of my class) but I don't know what else to put in there. Has anyone made bread dough then frozen it themselves?

So if you have any ideas, PLEASE share them!!! Tell your friends to share their ideas too!! Maybe if I get enough dinner ideas I can have make some time to put pictures of my kids up (yes, I am resorting to a form of bribery)!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks in advance!

Are you surprised?? She's a Bartlett.

2009-04-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this is odd, two posts in one day, but don't expect it to happen often! I was just thinking about something and decided to write it down.

So, Michelle had a play date this afternoon with a girl from her class. I know it is a good family, mostly because I know the mom's parents. These parents are someone Jay has known for many years (the dad was the Bishop when Jay got baptized and the couple taught him his Temple Prep Class). I have known of them almost as long as I have known Jay and have had a chance to get to know them myself over the last few years.

These are the kind of people that you feel happy to know, the people that you can't help but smile when you talk to them, the people who don't have to be asked to do things because they are already there helping. Jay knew quite a few of the kids in the family from school and always had great things to say about them. When the kids were at school, away from their parents, making their own choices, they were great choices. The whole family, you just meet one of them and know right away they are good.

Well, Michelle came home from her play date with the daughter of one of these kids in this family and they had sent a bag of cookies home with her. It was even in a paper sack tied up with a cute little bow! It was such a nice thoughtful thing and I LOVED putting down the phone from all my silent auction stuff and just having a cookie while I caught up on some American Idol. It was such a great break!

Okay, now I am getting to my point, bear with me. So, when Jay came home I told him that they had sent a bag of cookies home and how nice it was, like she just knew I needed a baked good break. Jay said, "Are you surprised?? She's a Lichfield." That was all that needed to be said, we both know who raised her and the kind of examples she had growing up and are not surprised to see the person she is.

So, I got to thinking, will that be the case for my kids? Will someone say, "Are you surprised?? He or she is a Bartlett," and will that be a good thing? Am I the kind of person who people feel happy to know? Do I have positivity and kindness with me all the time? Am I being an example of a Christ-like, loving, charitable attitude for my kids? Am I doing my part to help them become even more amazing than they are now?

I was also thinking about the April Visiting Teaching message. There is a quote in there, I think by Spencer W. Kimball, that talks about women and mothers studying the scriptures. I kept thinking about how it is my role as a nurturer and teacher to know the scriptures so that I can pass that along to my children and to all those I know. So I have just been doing some self-evaluating and am looking at things with a mother's heart, meaning instead of evaluating whether or not I am my best me, I have been contemplating whether or not I am fulfilling my potential as a wife and mother so I can be my best for my family.

Just some things to think about...

going once...going twice...SOLD

2009-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

I am auctioned out and I still have a week and a half to go! I did a service auction for enrichment in March (which went great) and now I am doing the silent auction for Michelle's school.

I have no idea why I signed up for this. I was told there would be people to help but never had a list of names, so I guess I should have known better. I was told I'd have info from past years but didn't have it in my hand, so I guess I should have known better. Regardless, I am doing the silent auction and am wearing out!

So I have been asking myself, why did I sign up for a big thing so early in my school mom career? My oldest child is only in kindergarten! I have SO many more years coming up, times when I would have more freedom during the day to get things done, and yet I sign up now! I guess I keep forgetting that there is SO much time to do things, I don't have to do it all now! Next year, I will only help with things, I will not be in charge of anything! I still want to be involved and want to help with more than just sitting at PTA meetings but I have so much time to be in charge of things, I don't have to do it now.

I am usually saying that my kids are making me crazy but I must confess, right now, I am making me CRAZY!!!!!!

I feel the need...the need for speed

2009-04-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! We have a new computer and it is FAST!! My laptop has died, it apparently lived a good laptop live but is no more. Our desktop has been dying for quite a while and probably would be dead if we didn't use the laptop so much for the last two years. I will be sad to lose the convenience of the laptop but am SO excited about this new computer!! So, now that this computer can handle pictures faster maybe you'll get a real update... (I'll just keep you in suspense on that)

Calling all scribes!!!!!

2009-03-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, if anyone in the Tri-City area does medical transcription, or knows of someone who does, please let me know!! I had a sub lined up for me to leave town in a week and a half but some stuff has come up with her so now I need a plan B. My heart goes out to this person who was going to cover for me because of everything she is dealing with and I am praying that her body is strong!!! I don't want anyone to think she just bailed on me, it was definitely unplanned and unpreventable. Anyway, so now I need a sub!!!!!! I am waiting for phone calls from a couple people but I am worried that they will be gone for their spring break also!!

Please, let me know if you or anyone you know might be able to help me!!!

I DON'T do green, do you?

2009-03-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

I have never been a big fan of St. Patrick's Day. I refuse to wear green on March 17!! I never put my kids in green either until preschool when the teachers would build it all up to the kids. They have a lot of fun with it and everything, I just hate feeling like I have to put my kids in green!! Michelle and Whitley both chose green shirts today but I made sure Tyler was green-free with me!!! I didn't see Jay before he left for work but I bet he didn't wear green either!!!

(And I won't even start on the stupidity of pinching people!!! Who in the world came up with that dumb idea?)

I noticed so many people in green today, adults and kids alike, and it got me thinking...

Do you do green? And if so, to what degree do you do St. Patrick's Day?

To blog or not to blog...

2009-03-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

That is the question!!

That is one question I don't have an answer to. I can't decide if I want to keep my blog or not. I guess if I decide, I will keep posting, if not, thanks for visiting!

P.S. Don't worry NaDell and Melinda, I haven't forgotten about your prizes! They will be coming soon, I'm just much slower than I thought at making things!!

Giveaway - New Rules

2009-02-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Note the changes in red.

OK, with all the giveaways I have been winning, I have been thinking I should do one of my one. Well, NaDell gave me just the right incentive (winning something from her)!! I have made some changes to the rules for this. I decided that since I have won so much stuff with no strings attached that I should do this with no strings attached. That's right, just winning.

Here it is:
I will choose 5 people from the comments to win. You have until Wednesday February 25 at noon to comment.

My choice.
For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! Possible options are jewelry, cards, hair bows, or baked goods (depending on who you are and where you live). Or it could be none of the above! We'll see. I will try and post some choices.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done in the next two or three weeks.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. Who knows?

5-If you tell someone about the giveaway, have them use your name in their comment and you will get another entry.

The catch? No catch. You don't have to do a giveaway for this, you just have to comment.

Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!
Sounds like fun, right? So, let's play!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

2009-02-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that I have been wanting to become a nurse. I have been working as a medical transcriptionist for 5-1/2 years, which has been an amazing blessing for me and my family. I have really liked it, and still do, I just have been wanting to become a nurse. When I grow up I want to work as an intensive care nurse. For now though, I can't invest what is needed for a 2-year full time program to get my RN license. I started looking into becoming a CNA (certified nurse assistant) last fall. I found out about a inpatient rehab center in the area that offers a free 5 week course to become a CNA, as opposed to the three month and almost $1000 course at the community college. So, imagine my excitement when I found out today that I got into this course! I am so excited. I will start in April (the day after getting back into town after going to my brother's wedding). This is such an amazing opportunity and gets me one step closer to my goal.

WARNING: Ranting to follow:

OK, so I have heard someone saying some really mean things about another mom who has been going back to school. She was almost saying that the person going back to school must not be a good mom, or must not be very devoted to her children because she was willing to leave them for school. Well, here is what I have to say about it: I think it is a hard thing to do but it is a wonderful example to set for your children, that education is important. When women decide to become mothers and then think of kids as an inconvenience or as intruding on their life, it bothers me A LOT! But when you are working to better yourself in order to better your family's situation, what is wrong with that? Some moms learn to cook better, some moms focus on their own spirituality, some moms learn how to budget money better, and some moms go to school. Sometimes we do all of these things to improve our situation, or we pick and choose what we need but whatever it is we do, we choose for ourselves and for our family, not to appease the masses. I have chosen to do what is best for myself and my family and we are all very excited about this. Judge me if you want, I really don't care if you waste your energy thinking poorly of me, that's fine, I'll be too busy making a better life for those I love to notice.

Pizza paddle

2009-02-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Does anyone have a pizza paddle I could borrow? I want to do pizza for dinner and want to try making it the way I learned in the cooking class I go to for church. I wanted to see about borrowing one to try out before I go buy one to see if I really want to buy one or not! So, if you have a pizza paddle that you are willing to part with for the evening, I would be very happy to take it from you!!

Seriously?????

2009-02-03T21:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it!! I just won another hair bow!!!! This time of the four that were possible to win, I ended up with the last one on my list, although it is still very cute! I am just laughing that I actually won again!

Photo Tag

2009-01-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

I got tagged by Kim so here is my picture:

This picture was taken last spring. We had been at Michelle's preschool graduation. She is holding flowers that were given to her by her great grandparents. I look horrible!

Here are the rules:

Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.

1. Pick the 6th Folder, then select the the 6th picture in that folder.

2. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.

3. Tag 6 other people that you know or don't know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

TAG: I tag Jess and any one else reading this blog who hasn't already been tagged!

I love winning!!

2009-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

I didn't used to win much until recently. Some how the hair blog gods must love me because I keep winning hair clips from them. I just won again!! This is the 5th time!! One time I got a flat iron and the rest of the times I have gotten hair clips!! Now if only the girls would let me do their hair more often so I can use them!! Yeah for winning!!

What makes you happy?

2009-01-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

So, I am taking another poll of sorts. This time I want to know what makes you happy. What makes you smile? What types of things, big or small, make your day? I have started keeping a book where I write down things that are good and got to thinking, "I wonder what other people would be writing if we all had books like this." So, I ask now, what are some of the things that make you happy?

I really do welcome comments from anyone and everyone. I don't care if I know you or not, if you are just blog hopping and find this. You can comment anonymously if you would prefer.

Thanks in advance!

She's getting more independent!

2009-01-20T20:01:00.001-08:00

On Sunday Michelle gave a talk in primary at church. This isn't her first talk but it was the first one she read and gave all by herself. We wrote it all out before hand. She went with Grandma Kitty to the library to pick out a picture to go with the talk. Then when it was time for her to give her talk, she got up there, spread out her paper, and read her talk. At one point she lost her place and I just pointed to where she was. That was it! She always gets SO excited about the idea of giving a talk and usually she panics when she gets up there. This time, she was so calm and jsut did it!

Another proud mama moment!!

Proud Mama Moment

2009-01-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

Previously I posted about the Dave Ramsey Show and hinted that I thought you should watch it. Well, if you want to know what that was about or are just curious or bored or whatever, click here to find out. The link will take you to a video from his show. The best part of the show (as far as I am concerned) is just after the first commercial break.

ENJOY!!

Stupid chinook - give me my snow back!

2009-01-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

So, we have had a lot of snow over the last few weeks here in our desert. I love having the snow around. I really do. So, imagine how mad I was when the stupid chinook wind came through. If you click here it will explain a chinook more but basically it is a warm, dry wind that comes through and gets rid of all the snow, either from evaporating or melting (and yes, I did already know that before looking at the link). The only kind of chinook I ever liked was the basketball team that used to be here. Otherwise, it is just annoying that in such a short period of time all my snow disappears!!!! I just wanted to vent my frustration!!!

Favorite part of 2008

2008-12-31T02:57:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to think about my favorite part of 2008. The only problem is, I don't know what it was. I'm not sure if there just isn't anything that stands out, or if I am just too negative at the moment to see it.

So, I am wondering, what was your favorite part of 2008?

Once again, anyone can comment, I don't need to know you and you don't need to leave your name.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?

2008-12-22T00:49:00.001-08:00

I am wanting to hear what you think. I want to know what it means to you to be a disciple of Christ. What is your first thought when you hear that? What in your life helps you to be a disciple of Christ?

Any one can comment. It doesn't matter what religion you are or if I know you. I just want to hear what different people think of being disciples of Christ. You can be anonymous or leave your name, it doesn't matter.

Thanks in advance!!

The Dave Ramsey Show - Update

2008-12-17T23:41:00.000-08:00

So, is anyone a Dave Ramsey listener? If you aren't, I would suggest that you start listening to his radio show on December 19th. Or if you have Fox Business Network, you could watch his show on December 23rd.

That's all I am going to say about that.

Okay, so I still suggest listening to Dave Ramsey, I would suggest it to anyone. I am going to change my above recommendation to watching his show on the 23rd. His radio show should be a good one too but I am looking most forward to the show.

Toys for the hospital

2008-12-15T01:36:00.001-08:00

We had an amazing Friday. We ended our project with almost 40 new stuffed animals and we made about 100 cards!! We had thought that we would just be taking the stuff to the Kadlec Foundation office, which is in a different building. The girls were so happy about getting the stuff to the hospital that they didn't care that we weren't even going in to the hospital to drop it off. As long as the stuff would get to the people there, they were happy. Well, when we got to the office the Vice President of the Kadlec Foundation offered to walk us over to the hospital so we could deliver the stuff to the pediatric nurses. (I will add that when I had arranged a time to take the stuff down before they had said they had a function they all had to be at that evening and would be leaving early so we got down there earlier. This guy just decided to spend his time with us rather than rushing off to some function, which we were impressed with). When we got to the pediatrics unit the nurses were so touched by the girls. One of the nurses walked us from room to room so we could deliver some of them ourselves!! The girls picked a stuffed animal out for each room (they dutifully grabbed the snowman with the pink scarf when they heard it was a girl and got a smaller one when they heard it was a baby) then I took a card and a stuffed animal in each room. It was so amazing to see the kids faces and to see their families. I think hearing "Thank you" from the patients and their families really stuck with the girls and impressed just how wonderful this project of theirs is. There was an older kid in one of the rooms and the nurse stuck her head in and told him what we were there for and asked if he wanted one since he might be too old for it. He said he would never be too old to accept someone's kindness!! After we delivered the stuff we left the rest of it with the nurses, who were excited to be able to share them with other patients.

Then the guy from the Foundation offered to take us on a tour of the new parts of the hospital. He took us to the newly finished 4th floor, which was amazing. The patient rooms are so nice!! We were impressed with the small touches they added to make things more comfortable. He tried to take us up to the 5th and 6th floors to show us the progress there but he hadn't brought his key with him for the elevator (they have those floors locked off). He had wanted to show us where the new pediatric unit will be and was so apologetic that he didn't have his key! We just thought it was so cool that he was taking that much time for us!! He was so impressed with the girls! He told everyone he could about what they were doing! We saw a girl volunteering there who Jay either teaches or coaches at the high school and while we were saying "Hi" to her our "tour guide" made sure to tell her just how impressive these kids were that she was talking to!!

I don't think we will ever forget that hospital trip! (Of course there are a lot of hospital trips that we will never forget but this one will be remembered in a much different way!)

I am so grateful for children with such amazing kindness! To them, this was fun and exciting and it was all about helping those people. They weren't doing it to check it off a list, or to make themselves look good, or to gain something from it (although we have gained from this experience). They did it simply because it made them sad to think that there were people who were sick in the hospital instead of home with family and since there was something they could do about it, they would! I hope they never lose that attitude!! They have taught me so much over the years. I have noticed that with them as my examples, I think of serving much more often than I had before. I know we are given children to teach us!

I have talked about this project with some people not to brag (really truly) but because they have touched me so much and I just want to share that feeling. I wonder when things changed so that a child making a card for someone in the hospital became less common than a child making a list of what they want for themselves. Christmas always reminds me of how selfish some people can be and I am so grateful for kids who aren't! We had a talk about how it is okay to want things but it is not okay to go around telling everyone what they should give you, how it is human nature to want things for yourself and that is okay, we are allowed that, but it is the Christ-like thing to want things for others.

Anyway, that is my update on our project and my ramblings on about charity and Christ-like love.

We are looking for lots of help

2008-12-11T15:39:00.000-08:00

We have a family Christmas project that we are working on. Michelle (our 6-year-old) decided that she wanted to do something for people in the hospital. She started making some cards and we have started helping her get more stuff. We have been getting some stuffed animals that we can take to the kids at the hospital. We have had help from family and Target. Wal-Mart offered us a discount on whatever we bought for the project. So we are trying to collect as many new stuffed animals as we can. Since I haven't been feeling up to par I didn't post about this as soon as I wanted. We are planning to go tomorrow (Friday December 12) in the afternoon. If anyone can help us with this endeavor, we would really appreciate it! You can call me, email me, or leave a comment. If we have a good enough response we will make a second trip.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Sorry, pausing again on the posting

2008-12-10T06:11:00.001-08:00

I was so proud of myself for actually doing something on the blog and was completely motivated to finish updating and to continue posting. BUT I have been dealing with a mysterious ailment for the last couple weeks, actually I have been dealing with a mysterious ailment for the last few years, this is just a different thing that has been going on for a couple of weeks in addition to everything else I have going on. Anyway, sorry to get any one's hopes up that they would actually see a picture of my kids, which is why I started this thing in the first place, but it is going to have to wait until I can sit with only my normal amount of pain and not all this extra! So there will be more to come at some point, I just don't know when.

Believe it or not, I am actually doing an update!!

2008-12-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

Once again, I have to take it way back! Because I have so much to catch up on, I will have to do slide shows! Sorry to those who don't like them but there is no way I could do all the pictures individually.

NOTE: The pictures will have to come later because I couldn't get them loaded but I promised there would be something posted so here it is...

All the way back in October the girls each had pumpkin patch field trips (pictures in slide show below). It is so fun to be able to go with them for things like that! The simplest things are so exciting to them. Michelle got her first bus ride and thoguth it was the coolest thing! She didn't understand how Daddy could not like taking the bus for his games, the school bus is SO cool! Whitley's field trip was so cute. She got to help get Tyler's pumpkin and thought that was great. This year I got to do the field trips on different days (Tuesday and Wednesday of the same week) but last year I had to do them the same day (morning and then afternoon). At least time I had a chance to recover after each. Both days Tyler got to go hang out with Grandma Donna and Pooh (Grandma's dog). He loves playing with Pooh. The two are hilarious playmates. The both like the same toys and are fun to watch!

On the same two days that we had the field trips we also had Michelle's school's skate night and Whitley's school's pumpkin carving night (pictures in next slide show). I took Michelle skating and she loved it! She wanted so badly to be able to just go out there on her own but learned quickly that it would take some time to figure things out. She was able to go by herself just a little bit by the end of the night. While we were there Daddy showed up and surprised Michelle. He took her around the rink a couple times before he had to go pick up the other kids. She loved having him to herself for just a little bit. (In November Grandma Bubbles took Michelle and Whitley to skate night for me - Tyler was sleeping, I had to take care of some things so we could kill what mice we did have and keep out others, and Jay had to go to practice so Grandma came and got the girls, she even gave them baths!!)

The night of Whitley's field trip was pumpkin carving with Dad night. Last year Jay was gone when both girls had their carving night so Papas took turns taking the girls. This year the teachers there made sure to schedule the night for Whitley's class when Jay could be there (Gateway is so good to us!). So Whitley took Daddy to class and the kids put on a little show and then helped the Daddy's carve pumpkins. She absolutely loved having Daddy to herself and Daddy loved being able to go this year.

My last 2nd birthday!

2008-11-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

My baby turned 2 yesterday! It is so hard to believe that he is 2 already. It is going so incredibly fast but at the same time I look forward to watching him continue to learn and grow! I had some much fun watching the girls with him today - I enjoy watching their relationship every day but they were chasing him around to sing to him and give him birthday tickles!! He loved the attention!!!

I love being a mom! I love my son. He has such an amazing smile and laugh!!! He is an amazing blessing in my life!!

Also, my mom and I were noticing that even though this was the last time I will have a child's 2nd birthday it is also the first time I have had a 2nd birthday and not been pregnant!!

HAPPY ELECTION DAY!!

2008-11-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

Today is the day to celebrate our freedom and to make use of the democracy we are blessed to live in!!

GO VOTE!!

Whoever you are voting for, go let your voice be heard!!

Kids Race!

2008-10-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, back to the updates! I still haven't finished updating the posts that I've missed. So here goes another one...

This year was the first year that all three Bartlett Jrs were part of the Kids Race. The cross country team has their annual invite the first weekend in October and they do a kids race every year now as part of it. We have so much fun with it! The kids love getting their ribbons.

Most of the runners know the kids and stand along the side cheering for them, which is just the best thing, having Daddy's runners cheer for them by name!! Last year we showed up just after the race started and jumped in half way, which made it so much easier!! This time they actually held up the race for us, which I was really hoping wouldn't happen!! I was perfectly content with jumping in and only having to do part of it!

Michelle and Whitley started out running with Jay. Michelle fell down at some point and was very upset after that. Whitley ended up on Jay's shoulders and Michelle just pouted for a while. Tyler was walking with me and Uncle Matthew. After a little bit I left Tyler and Matthew and tried to catch up with Michelle so she would have someone with her. Let's just say that even with cutting corners, I had a hard time catching up to her. When Jay and Whitley got to the last straight to the finish line he put her down to run in and cross the line. He turned around to see what happened to Michelle and Whitley stopped and waited for Jay so that he didn't have to cross alone!! She is so sweet!! Michelle just walked and pouted her way to the finish line. Tyler was loving walking around with Uncle Matthew and everyone clapping for him!! He didn't realize it was a race but he was content just hanging out and getting a lot of attention!! While the girls waited for Tyler to finish they got out the pom poms (I have the right colors now) and cheered him in! I love that they are his cheerleaders!!

Hospitals are NOT always bad places - Conragtulations Jason and Lisa!!

2008-10-20T21:51:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Kadlec to visit cousin Lisa. She just had baby Lillie yesterday afternoon. Lillie was almost exactly the same length and weight as Whitley! She is a gorgeous baby! Mom and baby are both doing good, although Lisa is very tired after more than a day of labor and two failed epidurals. She said that they put in a total of three epidurals. The first one wasn't positioned quite right, it was straight in instead of curved, and the second one ended up getting a hole in the catheter, which gave the medication to her sheets so they were probably sufficiently numb but she was hurting! Poor girl, and this is her first baby!!

When we first got to the hospital, Whitley was really nervous but was trying to hide it. We had a talk about how hospitals aren't always scary and that the times she has gone there when it started out being scary it all ended up good. We talked about babies being born and surgeries being done to improve life and doctors ready to help people in emergencies. It actually took some convincing to calm her down. Afterwards I had told her that baby Lillie was born in the same hospital and even the same room that she was born in and that seemed to make things better. Guess I should have started with that part!! Oh well, a little late now!!

Grateful hearts

2008-10-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Back in September Richland had a City Fair. They have booths set all around the parking lot at the city office buildings. They have people there from different city departments with information and little games for kids. They also open up the fire house that is across the street and a booth for the police department. We had gone once in the past and the girls loved it. They mention it most times we drive past that fire house. The girls decided they wanted to make a thank you card for the firemen and then after thinking about it they decided they wanted to make one for the policemen too. So before we went to the City Fair the girls made thank you signs and off we went. These pictures are of when we took the sign to the firemen.

They loved it!! They taped it up right away and were calling other guys over to see it. They thought it was so cute. When we went over to the police booth (my camera battery had died by then) they were having to run off to direct traffic because of some broken street lights near by. They stopped and were so happy. The lady we gave the sign to gave the girls hugs and then got on her radio and announced that she had something really cool to show everyone when she got back to the station. The girls squealed with excitement about that!!

Gotta love gratitude!!

Look who is smiling at us

2008-10-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

You have to know something is really important to me when I am willing to get the kids all up really early on a Saturday morning to go do work on a day when Jay is gone at a cross country meet. This particular Saturday the important thing we had going on was cleaning the church. The first time I took the kids to do it was a year ago also on a day when Jay was gone. I had decided that it would be a great way to help the kids take some pride in the church building they go to every week. That time one of my friends and my visiting teacher, Lana, was there and she took Michelle off with her and then Whitley stayed with me and Tyler stayed in the stroller. This year Lana wasn't there to help but they were so excited about cleaning up that it worked fine. When we went a few months ago on a day when Jay was home he got to wear the vacuum backpack. They thought that was cool. Anyway, they had been talking for days before we actually went about what jobs they wanted to do. Since we were the first ones there we were able to do all the jobs they had been planning on! Here are my cleaning queens! I love that as members of the church we get to go clean it. I absolutely hate cleaning but what I love is the pride we can have in the building. We can all know that our tithes help pay for building up of the Kingdom literally and figuratively but to care for it ourselves helps to make it more tangible - I guess that would be the best way to explain what I am thinking. I am so grateful for having the chance to teach my kids that too. When we were in the Primary room dusting and cleaning the doorknobs the kids noticed a picture of Christ on the wall. I had been telling them that it made my heart so happy to see them taking such good care of Heavenly Father's church building. They looked at the picture of Christ and one of the girls said, "Mom, look! I bet Jesus is smiling at us too! We are working so hard we are making him smile!!" They took obvious pride in their work and loved showing Daddy the next day what they cleaned up. I just love these moments to stop and think about things like waking up really early to go clean and turn it into a wonderfully uplifting experience. I decided a long time ago to try and do this as much as possible. When I am focusing on finding teaching moments with the kids, pointing out God's tender mercies to them, finding all the obvious signs every day that he knows and loves us, I handle life so much better. I have felt so tired and sick and worn out for a few years now and changing my focus like that helps me so much. I think, for me at least, it is easier to find things to teach the kids about than it is when I just do it for myself. Some of you are probably thinking, well no duh Christy! Of course that is the case!! Well, I am a little slow on the uptake some times. Last winter I was first having a lot of trouble with my fibromyalgia and we had church at 9:00 in the morning. Saturdays always ended up so incredibly busy and I was worn out for Sunday. There were so many times that I just didn't go to church because it hurt so much to sit in those chairs for so long and to fight with Tyler or chase him around and on and on. Instead if I was at home, I would have some quiet time to relax and re-energize myself. I started noticing how much I missed being at church and started going despite how hard it was. It actually took me a while to notice that it got easier and easier over time to go because the dread of the chairs and the active, busy little boy during Relief Society seemed to be pushed aside and was replaced with joy and then with the joy came relief and a renewed desire to do well. I love the Gospel. I love the organization of the Church and I know that our Heavenly Father knows us and loves us. He gave us ward families knowing we would need help and support. I am so grateful for Him and for all that He has given me.

Yeah for cousins!

2008-10-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so without having all my pictures in front of me before there were a few things that I had left out. It is amazing how much I depend on my camera to remember things for me!!

Jay's cousin Richard was in town a few weeks out. He had been living in Texas and came here for to see his family before taking off to Australia!! Jay has two cousins (Richard, the one who came to visit and his brother Jason) who are both incredibly kind hearted guys. EDITOR'S NOTE: Jay has more than two cousins and they are all really nice people, they really are. I was not intentionally leaving the rest of the cousins out, I was just referring to those two at the moment so I didn't individually name everyone else!!! They are both great people but they are also tall muscular guys. Anyway it always takes my kids so long to warm up to them. Well with Tyler, he just needs to have someone else he knows near by and a ball to throw, but the girls aren't as easy! I always want to laugh because they talk about their cousins before seeing them are look forward to it. We have a blue bunny that cousin Jason gave to the girls one Easter when Whitley was upset and he was trying to make her happy. Then as soon as they get around them, the freak out! This picture was taken after the warming up to cousin Richard had happened. We also have some pictures with Michelle giving him bunny ears but those didn't turn out as well. (You just have to ignore the advertising in the background. Too bad I can't charge for advertising!!)

Laugh for the day - Punctuation does matter!!

2008-10-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

So I just sent Jay an email and realized that I made a grammatical error (which I absolutely HATE) but this time it struck me as funny. Jay had forgotten something at home today so I emailed and offered to drop it by his car today for him. He replied to my email saying that he had been starting to dial my phone number to ask me about this thing he forgot. So, I replied with the following:

"Man, I messed up my chance at a phone call?? Crap, delete email, call wife!"

It should have read:

"Man, I messed up my chance at a phone call?? Crap! Delete email, call wife!"

Oops! See, that simple change makes it go from an instruction to an exclamation! Guess I blanked out on elementary English lessons!!

Just made me laugh and thought it might make someone else laugh today.

Who doesn't love a free quilt?

2008-10-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, here is another giveaway, of course one that I entered and at the rate I am going I should be winning either this one or the next one I enter!! (Hope I didn't just jinx it!!) So go to Pigtails and Snails and enter too, or just look at the pictures of the quilt because it is a very cute quilt, this girls own design, which is just amazing to me! Good luck to all, especially me:)!

Don't worry Mommy, you can hide behind me!

2008-10-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was taking Whitley to preschool I let her know that I would be taking her through the drive up (where we drive up to the door and the teacher gets her out of the car). I was wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt so I really didn't want to get out of the car. Whitley prefers when I walk her to the door but she understood that I didn't want to be seen in my pajamas. So she came up with what she thought was a great plan. She would get out of the car first I could just duck down and crawl behind her so no one would see me and then run super speed back to the car. Well, since I am the mom and I was driving the car, I won and dropped her off at the door. She apparently wanted to get me back and decided to do it by announcing that she is being dropped off at the door because Mommy didn't get dressed!! Ha ha, jokes on me I guess!!

We're going back in time

2008-10-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we are taking it back, all the way back to the beginning of September. We have had tons going on here! I have been so busy that the bits of time I do have that I could do a post, I am too tired to care!

So back in September we went to the cross country jamboree. It was so exciting because that is our first chance every year to go cheer for the Bombers (the mascot for the school Jay teaches and coaches at)! Of course since I am not all with it we showed up with one green pom-pom and one purple one (the school colors are green and yellow). That's okay, we had fun anyway! We love running around cheering for the team. My girls think it is an injustice in the world that there aren't cheerleaders at the cross country meets and at the freshman basketball games so they work extra hard at cheering!! So many people know who they are just because they draw so much attention to themselves!! And I must admit, I do encourage cheering for daddy and his team. So here are some pictures from the meet. They loved finding this climbing tree. They are so cautious that this is the highest they would climb in a tree!

Tyler loves getting pushed around by the girls! He absolutely loves the attention!!
This picture below is of a boy named Aaron. Back in the day when he was 4 years old I was his primary teacher. I taught his sisters piano and babysat the for the family quite a bit. It is funny to see him all grown up! After the race he told me that it caught him off guard to hear someone cheering his name while he was running past another team's tent! Ha ha, that was me! I also had to take a while expalining to the girls that even though I was cheering for the Bombers that it was okay for me to cheer for another runner, who isn't a Bomber!!! So we also went to a baby shower for our cousin Lisa. She is pregnant with her first baby and is having a little girl. She is due any time now. The girls had a blast helping with the shower. They got to hand things out to everyone and were so proud of being there with all the grown ups!

So, up next on the list of things to post is the Primary Talent Show. The girls had been so excited about planning something for the talent show. We had so many great ideas but other things kept coming up and we didn't plan anything until that day. We got out a CD and just started listening for a song to dance to. We found the bunny hop and they thought it would be cute to be bunnies. We were walking through the store and I was showing them the bunny hop. They were so impressed that I could come up with a dance for that song so fast!! I just let them think I really am that good!! They also decided they wanted to be bunnies for Halloween so we went all out with the ears and tails!

This is Michelle and Whitley with Auntie Rose and Grandma Donna. I forgot to get pictures with them and the rest of their cheerleaders, which were many! In reference to my prior post, this is a perfect example of my grateful heart. I love having so much family around. Whenever Tyler sees me trying to get a picture of one of the girls he always tries to get in the pictures. This is him lining up along the wall while I was trying to get pictures of the little bunnies!I am sure there is more to post from September but I can't remember right now. Coming soon: Kids race, BYU Ballroom dancers, and a new potential business venture for me...

I love winning!!

2008-10-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

So I just won another giveaway. This time I won some very cute pink and white bows!! By the way, the flat iron I won before - I love it!! I use it more for me than for the girls and it works SO good!! Anyway, not to rub it in or anything, I am just excited about winning!!

Also, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth or anything, I just haven't updated anything lately so at some point in the future there will be a bunch of new posts but until then this is as good as it gets!

Flashback

2008-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is for any former Kamiakin band members (you'd don't have to admit you were one if you don't want to). Do you remember the year from 1996 to 1997 when Mr. Owen left right at the beginning of the year? Our new director was Ms. Schaffer (not sure about spelling). Anyway, she was only there for the rest of that year before Mr. Russell started. Okay, are you remembering her? Well, when I have taken Whitley to her preschool class I noticed that one of the moms looked really familiar and could only place her as a former teacher. It was her!! She had recognized me also and we were talking today and figured out how we recognized each other. She actually remembered me!! How odd! At least she claims to remember me as being nice!! So Whitley's "glasses buddy" at school is the daughter of our old band director! Just thought it was funny!!

Do I really look that bad?!?!?!

2008-09-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

So, I went to Albertson's this morning (very, very early) to get Whitley something safe for her to eat at school on doughnut day. I didn't even change out of my pajamas!! So I am walking in to Albertson's at 4:30 AM in my pajamas, obviously still groggy, and I am greeted by some energy drink hyped up, fidgety, worker who was literally jumping around. She says to me "Morning." So I reply with the same. Then she decides to add "Notice I only said 'morning' and not 'good morning' because it obviously doesn't look like you've hit the good part yet." I actually stopped mid step and just looked at her. Of course it did take me a minute to catch and process all she had said because she was moving and talking fast and I was just slow. So now, an hour later, that I've completely processed it I ask, "Do I really look that bad?" Too bad I'm not there anymore and she can't answer but I don't think I really want to know the answer. I am just going to pretend that it was only because it was early and that I normally don't look THAT bad...

None Of That Sissy Crap

2008-09-17T19:39:00.001-07:00

I got this email from my sister-in-law and absolutely loved it. I decided to put it on here instead of forwarding mainly because my email is being incredibly slow. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.

You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card - Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off.
9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end.

'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to 10 of your closest friends, then get depressed because you can only think of 4.

I have a grateful heart today

2008-09-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that living so close to so many of my kids grandparents and aunts and uncles is such a blessing. I absolutely love that they get to know their extended family so well. It is so great that they will have fun and loving memories of their time with them. I love to see my kids when they have something that is important to them and they see a grandparent or two or three or four or seven and the aunts and uncles (I am including you too Amanda). They have such a priceless smile when they see their cheering section! It is fun to go to school things and to need a whole row because so many people love these kids and are cheering for them, supporting them, and rooting them on. I love that they will always know how special they are and that they will know the family they are from, the people whose names they carry, and that they can be proud of that. I love how supportive and helpful everyone is for Jay and I. We have such insane schedules and there is no way we would be able to get things done and to be where we are if we didn't have all the amazing help! Even just the phone calls are great. I love when the kids are so excited about something and can't wait to start calling people. It is just such an amazing blessing to have so many people around.

Now I just have to figure out how to get my brothers closer...

New hair blog

2008-09-16T13:22:00.001-07:00

I found another hair blog. It is Hair's Our Life. It looks like it just got started but I am looking forward to seeing what she has to come!!

STILL A WINNER - EVEN BETTER

2008-09-11T12:28:00.001-07:00

So, those flowers I won, well the person who won the first drawing for a flat iron already had one. So the lady who is doing the giveaway emailed me and asked if I wanted to switch, which I did. I have been wanting a flat iron so bad!!! Yeah for me!!!!!! I am so incredibly excited!! I am hoping that I will be able to make some clippies of my own so then I could have both!!! Now I just have to hope that the girls keep letting me do their hair!!! I'll keep my fingers crossed...

I'M A WINNER!!

2008-09-11T09:12:00.001-07:00

I am so excited! I just won some super cute flower clips for the girls hair! If you want to see them you can check them out at Babes in Hairland, which is a great blog for ideas for kids hair. Did I mention that I am excited?!?!?!

Poor Whitley - Will it never end?

2008-09-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

So we just got back from an appointment with Whitley's Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist (Dr. Schwartz in Richland if anyone needs a good ENT). Anyway, we just passed the two year mark from when she had her tubes put in to begin with. Typically they say the tubes will be in about a year, give or take a few months. At 18 months with one tube still in they said to wait it out and see if it falls out on its own. At that point, it didn't matter if it stayed in longer or not. Now at 2 years out she still has the one tube left. He said that she will need to have it taken out. It is scheduled for September 29. Please keep her in your prayers. It is a really quick and easy surgery but prayers always help!

Michelle's Backpack

2008-09-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

So I was looking back at the picture of Michelle's first day (well the first day with just the kids in the class) and realized I forgot to mention her backpack. She got a Hannah Montana backpack from Uncle Matthew and Amanda for her birthday, which was on a Saturday. She wore it as much as she could on Sunday around the house. We are such mean parents because we didn't let her take it to church!! These pictures are Monday morning. I knew that she had put the book she was reading in the backpack to take to her room with her the night before but didn't think anything of it until she came out Monday morning wearing her backpack. At first, all I could think was to ask if she wore it to bed, which she didn't. Then I thought I'd sneak and get a picture but she was too quick for me and realized I had the camera. She loved that we were getting a picture of her backpack because it is just so special and she wants to remember it forever and ever! Once again, my child makes me smile!!

(By the way, sorry the first picture is blurry. This is her catching me with the camera.)

Whitley's First Day

2008-09-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Whitley has been so excited about getting to school! She loves being the only Bartlett at Gateway this year. Last year she and Michelle were both there, just at different times during the day. Now she gets to be the only one there and absolutely loves it!!Whitley broke her regular glasses just before school so she ended up wearing these for a while. They are incredibly big and dark for her face but people keep saying they are "so cute." I just don't get it!! Oh well, they help her see straight and her other glasses are back now so I don't have to worry about them anymore!

Her hair took forever but was so cute! The girls call it "diamonds" and both love it, although it takes a lot of time.

Michelle's First Day - Again

2008-09-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

So here is Michelle on her first day with kids in the class. This is the day they went with half of the class.

Her hair was very cute. It is pulled into a half pony tail and then put into a bunch of braids and the braids are looped around to look like a flower petal. It was so incredibly cute but it may be hard to see in the picture.

She told me that since she was 6 now and in kindergarten she didn't really need me to stay with her. She is such a big kid and this was such a big and important day in her life so she could handle it alone. She told me that I could just leave and take Whitley to her class because Whitley was still little!! Michelle makes me smile!

Tyler's Cars

2008-09-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

So back when the girls were in Utah, Jay and I repainted Tyler's room, finally. We made it to match his Cars bedding. There are still a few touch ups to be done but here's how it looks right now. Tyler seems to like it!

The shelves and shutter closet doors are such a pain to paint that they will stay white for a very, very long time!!

Circus with Papa

2008-09-08T16:31:00.001-07:00

Back in mid August Michelle, Whitley, Papa Marvin and I went to see the circus. It was lots of fun. The girls loved seeing all the different stuff, they lit up at everything. Mommy and Papa just loved watching the girls. We were almost missing things because we were watching them! Here is a picture of them during intermission.