Tilley Family News

Welcom Back

2009-09-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

O.K. It's been about a year since I've posted to my blog, and I'm ready to get back into it. :) Decided I can't try to play catch up, so thought I'd just dive in and post a few pics. This post will pretty much be Logan's debut...

Eat your heart out, Gramma. Is this boy cute or what!?!
Gracie loves being big sister! All our girls just adore Logan. I'm amazed he ever gets any sleep with all his sisters talking to him and loving on him.

Back to work. I went back to work in the NICU on September 4th. The transition has been easier than I thought. Of coarse it helps that Logan is sleeping pretty much the whole time I'm gone (working 2 nights/week) and Eldon is great with the kids. I feel like I have the best of all worlds right now. I get to focus on my family Mon--Fri, keep up my RN skills weekend nights, and Eldon is home with the kids while I am sleeping during the day. I love my job and this schedule is very accommodating to our family and keeping up with breastfeeding. It is a bit of a sacrifice to give up most weekends, but has led us to be more proactive about planning family fun time. It's working out good for now, knock on wood!

Cute Logie-face. Who can resist those squishy cheeks! (P.S. Don't look at my face; one of the side affects of working nights--tired, tired looking face after night number 2, but who wants to sleep when you can be kissing those soft, squishy cheeks!)

Playing Catch Up

2008-10-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to settle down. Life almost feels "normal" again (knock on wood), so I thought I would catch up on posting some pics.

Having fun at Tauphus park (August).

Swimming during Eldon's "Summer Splash" event. (August).

Kind of embarrassing, but...yes, my friends and I were at Barnes & Noble at midnight when Breaking Dawn was released. I laughed so hard that night, fun times. :)

McKyla was so brave for her kindergarten shots! Her pediatrician's office is so cool; each room has a different theme. (August)

Look! Gracie's wearing pink--and loving it as you can tell. (August in the Fieldstone house).

Annalese at her first day of school. Another year with an awesome teacher! (August)

McKyla and Conner lining up for their first day of kindergarten! (August)

Annalese turned 8-years-old and got her ears pierced. (September)

Annalese in her baptism dress. She was baptised on October 11th. Thanks to everyone that was able to come. It really meant a lot to Annalese, and was fun for us.

Gracie and Kaurlie before the baptism.

Going for a 6-wheeler ride with the cousins after the baptism. (Don't try this at home).

Cyndalynn and Senika hanging out.
Baylee girl dancing. Her and McKyla must have changed clothes a thousand times that weekend!

Westin, Annalese, and Justin watching the movie they made with the cousins. It was suppose to be scary, but mostly it was hillarious!

Guess that's it for tonight! More later.

M.I.A.

2008-09-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a LONG while. Life is just a blur from about the end of July to now. Some how we managed to get moved into the new house. The building inspectors granted us a temporary certificate of occupancy at the very last minute. Thanks to Rob and Annette for their truck and all their help, Brad and Sara for letting us use their awesome trailer, Wayne and Gail for coming back to rescue us, and all those muscle men that stepped in to help.

Signed papers on the loan yesterday. Bit by bit things are falling into place. I love the new house. This feels like a good change. But I have to admit, all this stress just about broke me. Good thing I have an amazing husband willing to hang in there with me. Seriously.

Well, now that things are settling down, I am going to find myself. If I should happen to come by here before I get back, please keep me here until I return. Thanks.

Fun Times In Colorado

2008-08-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

I really shouldn't be blogging right now. My mother-in-law took my kids for a few days so they could go to a circus near her house. I am trying to use this time to get things done on the houses, but am feeling less than motivated this morning. Just had to post a few pics and comments on our trip to Denver. It was our Mills Family Christmas in July (getting to hard to travel during the holidays). It was a ton of fun. Sorry for the long posting, but the slide shows don't print out as individual pictures and this is pretty much my journal...so here ya go.

My brother is awesome! He bought each family their own Wii. That's not the only reason he is awesome, but I thought that was pretty generous of him. Anyway, the kids (of all ages) had a blast playing Wii games. Here's Westin and Cannan playing baseball and loving it.

We went to dinner at Casa Bonita Saturday night. I felt pretty special. I got to sit with my nephews at the "boys" table. Eldon sat at the "girls table.'
The kids love Casa Bonita. They have shows where the actors dive off of cliffs into a pool in the middle of the dining area. This is a picture of the cousins waiting for the cliff diving show to begin. (Sorry, no time to photoshop. The white spots are flecs of water from the water fall).
If you look closely you can see the cliff diver diving in front of the lighted water.
The kids loved going through the haunted tunnel. They made me take them over and over. This is McKyla being scared and loving it. There are a lot of fun things for the kids to do there.
Gracie loves to be a little fish. The kids were SOOO happy to get to go swimming all day at a water park.

This crazy picture is of Shawn and Baylie fliping over at the end of one of the slides. The same thing happened to Kevin and Cannan. The kids were so brave!

Grandma and Grandpa were brave, too. No one could believe Mom got Dad to ride down the slides!

Dad and Jake. I caught Dad with his REAL smile on (not his fake picture smile)!
Justing and Westin on one of the slides.
Sunday night we went on a rock hunt to find rocks for the fire pit. Annalese caught a horny toad. Weird little creature (the horny toad I mean).
The kids were pretty impressed with the horny toad. The skits at the camp fire that night were hillarious. I can't wait to watch the video. It was cool because everyone participated.

Wish I got more pictures. My sister planned all sorts of fun games and things. It was a blast! I'll have to steel some pictures from other family members and post again soon. For now, I've got to get to work on my "to do" list!!!

Class Reunion

2008-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I feel like the most blessed girl ever. My sweet husband encouraged me to go to my 10-year reunion and offered to stay home with the kids and manage the construction projects. I felt really guilty going, but I am so glad I did! I had such a blast!

Met up with my BBF (best babe forever ;) at the Phoenix airport. So good to see Kami! It was like we'd never been apart--except all the cool things she's accomplished over the years. Anyway, we got to ride up to Snowflake together and her sweet family let me stay with them.

Me and Kami in front of the Snowflake Temple.
So sad the temple was closed (due to the 24th celebrations). Guess it's a good excuse to go back sometime.
Looking at Rena's high school scrapbook at her and Mike's house. LaRen is absolutely gorgeous! She is expecting in about 5 weeks; she looked like this little thing with a fake tummy stuck on her.
Me and Kams at the good ol' Snowflake city ballpark--the place to be on summer nights. Well, that and Ed's IGA. Good times...good times...
LOL! Kami and I ended up being in the Pioneer Days parade. Her brother-in-law needed us to fill in on his float. This is Kami with her cute niece, Emma (she reminds me of Gracie). I missed my kids--even teared up a few times--but it was nice to be able to run around like a teenager again.

Helping Kams get ready after the parade (just like in high school). We went to a reunion picnic and then to see "Joseph and the Amazing Techni-Color Dream Coat".

Me and Vanessa Webb (Rubalcava) and Heather Reidhead (Bryant) at the reunion dinner. So fun to laugh with them! I didn't get to talk to everyone I wanted to, but it was a lot of fun catching up with people. Wish I got more pictures.

Me, Kams & Nessa getting "wild" after the reunion dinner. We almost went over to the Stake Dance next door--but then we thought the better of it and just took Nessa home. I miss going to dances with Vanessa; she rocks!

Me and Kams after church on Sunday. The time went so fast. Didn't get to go see everyone I wanted to, but it was still so fun. Time to go home.

Me at the Show Low airport--it was hilarious. This is the smallest airport I have ever been to. I got "randomly" selected for additional security screening. I said, "I guess it's easier to get randomly selected when there are only three passengers in the airport." I must say, they were very THOROUGH with their screening. :) Then it was time to walk out to the plane.

This is the smallest plane I've been on. There is no door on the cockpit so you can watch the pilots fly the plane. You know it's a bumpy ride when the pilots are holding on to the "oh crap!" handle on the ceiling while their flying the plane! (It really wasn't that bad).

I picked a flight with a lay-over in Denver, so I got to meet up with my sister and her kids for dinner. It was a short visit but SO good to see them any chance I get. Look how cute these kids are.

I drove from the airport in Salt Lake City and got home around 2 a.m. Monday morning. This is what I came home to. My sweet girls made me presents and picked me flowers. Like I said--the most blessed girl ever.

Gets even better. This is a beautiful thing to come home to--empty laundry baskets. I found a note in my bathroom from Eldon. He said he knew it was going to be a rough week (we had a lot to get done before leaving for Colorado). So, he washed all the laundry and cooked eggplant parmesan, sweet and sour chicken, and chicken noodle soup for meals this week! I didn't have to cook all week! Now tell me I'm not the most blessed girl ever :) j/k

Caution: May be inappropriate, but funny.

2008-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

So we made everyone take naps today and we are AMAZED how much happier we all are. These summer hours are catching up to us. Anyway, thought I would share this conversation Gracie and I just had. Made me laugh!

I'm typing and Gracie is squeezing my ARM singing, "Squishy boobs, squishy boobs!" I'm thinking, o.k. she doesn't know what "boobs" are . . . well aparently she does.

Gracie: "Squishy boobs, squishy boobs!"
Me: "I'll squish your boobs." (a.k.a. "stop squeezing my arm!" I keep typing.)
Gracie: "Don't! I don't have any boobs." (She lifts her shirt and looks at herself.)
Gracie: "Well, I have these ones. But they're like Daddy's boobs." (I start to laugh.)
Gracie: "You don't have boobs like mine. Show me your boobs!"
Me: "Now you do sound like Daddy."

Sneaker Night

2008-07-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Eldon called us from scout camp Friday evening. He was having so much fun. I asked if it was nice to be hanging with some boys for a change (even the dog is a girl at our house). He admitted it was kind of nice. Good thing he couldn't see what we were doing. We were getting all girly!

The girls and I decided to have a "Sneaker Night." That means, "basically what we're gonna' do is dance." (Not a big fan of Vanessa Hudgens, but you can hear the song on my playlist below.)

So, we started the night with some Pizza Hut pizza and strawberry limeades from Sonic. Yum. Then the girls wanted to get "dressed up" in my clothes and put on some make-up before we started our dance-fest. It was all fun at first, then I took some pics and it totally scared me! Annalese looks like she is 18-years-old! (This is what I don't like about Vanessa Hudgens, trying to grow up too soon!).

Yikes! Fortunately the girls decided they weren't ready to grow up. I was talking about how they look too old and Annalese said, "Mom, I don't want to go to college." Then she told McKyla, "I heard you have to leave your mom and dad for all year and you have to live up there. You have to cook and clean all by yourself." McKyla got all worried and said, "Mom I don't ever want to go to college! I want to stay with you!" She insisted we take the make-up off immediately. Of course I want them to go to college some day, but I was glad to wash off the make-up and have my little girls back for now.

Wonderful World of Construction

2008-07-08T01:04:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a minute to celebrate a few more baby steps towards finishing the new house. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this house. I hate the constant "to do" lists, the endless decisions, and the continual challenges. I love seeing all that planning and work come together to create something beautiful. It has been fun in that regard--to see what you imagine come to life. Though we often complain about the challenges (sorry), I know we have been blessed. Most things have turned out better than we imagined or hoped. Here's a sneak peak. Remember, we're still under construction...

Stucco and rock are done! I believe they started in March. Should have probably taken 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 months; but, hey, I think it turned out pretty good.

This is the fireplace in the great room. We wanted it done in this special stone coating (Arcus Stone). We thought we were all set with a contractor to do it; unfortunately he strung us along for weeks and then tripled the price! Yikes. Fortunately, we were blessed to find Southfork Custom Coatings. Jason did a great job at a very reasonable price. So grateful Eldon did the footwork to find him. (The fireplace still needs the decorative faceplate put on in these pics)

Looking down on the greatroom from above. I think Eldon went a little crazy with the trim in this house. We'll never make our money back on it when we sell, but it is really beautiful. It is fun to have tried it this once. Eldon and Dan (our trim guy) came up with some really cool stuff.
This is Eldon's cofford ceiling. Each of the boxes will be lit with rope lighting hidden in the crown molding.

Paneling in the guest room. (Hint, hint. Friends and fam, come stay with us!)

Piano room. (Can't wait to take the white paper off the glass on the doors.)

Darris (our tile setter) and I layed out the travertine for the girls bathroom today. It's kind of different, but I think it's beautiful. Eldon found a wholesaler who sells travertine for about the price of porcelain tile. Score! This is a sneak peak of Annalese's room. She has been wanting a clock for her room for a long time. We have been waiting to find one that will match the colors of her new room (blue and brown). I love the blue we picked, and I found this clock on clearance for $12.50!!!

We'll that's it for now. More later. Posting this has really helped me see how much we have been blessed throughout this project. I feel so unworthy of this house. It's not the biggest or the nicest house around by any means; it's just so much more than I need. I will feel more comfortable when we sell it. But, for now, I am grateful I can be a part of creating it!

Bad, Bad Blogger

2008-06-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad, bad blogger. Haven't posted since May. Now I'm going to have to binge. Be ware of frequent posting (hopefully)! June has just gone so fast.

O.K. Most recently... Had a fun weekend. We participated in the "Liberty Walk" here in Idaho Falls Saturday morning to celebrate our freedom and our values. It was such a beautiful day and it felt good to get out and do something patriotic as a family. (Here's a link with more info if interested http://www.thetitleofliberty.org/events.html .)
I was so proud of Annalese. She carried one of the large American flags the whole two miles and posted it herself at Liberty Field.
McKyla and Gracie rode in the stroller most of the way and waved their little "Title of Liberty" flags to all the people. Cute, cute, cute.
The field looked so cool with all those flags waving. Some of them had yellow ribbons and memorials to individuals who have served our country. We are so blessed to live in this land!

This is Gracie warming up to go see "Kung Fu Panda" after the walk. She has really been looking forward to seing "Panda." It was pretty funny and had a good moral--which my girls actually "got". Overall, a pretty nice weekend. Didn't get nearly enough work done, but good to play every once in a while, right?

V.I.P. Night

2008-05-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

We got to live-it-up in style last Friday night! Eldon and Trevor put together an awesome promotion for work, and we got to come along. We rode in a Hummer limo, enjoyed an amazing dinner and went to a private screening of the new Indiana Jones movie. It was such a great night!

Notice no pics of Gracie. We decided the movie would be too scary for her. She was so excited she got Riley (babysitter) all to herself and got to watch E.T. with pizza, pop, and popcorn just for her. Gracie is so cool--she knows what she likes.

Iowa Trip--So Fun!

2008-05-24T08:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks, Mom and Dad! The trip to Iowa was so fun. Felt like we did a lot and got see a lot of family/friends. Missed the spouses and kids, but fun to be together like the old days! Enjoy the slide show. (P.S. The music is not correlated to the slide show--it's random from my playlist below.)

Gracie Goes to the Dentist

2008-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here are few pics of Gracie's trip to the dentist for her fillings. She was so sweet and cooperative. Dr. Hoover is so good with the kids; they love going to see him.

This looks a little scary. They didn't have to give her lidocaine, but they did give her some N2O to help her relax. They should have given it to me; I think I was more nervous than she was!

I Am Married to The BIGGEST LOSER!

2008-05-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Eldon! Eldon won the biggest loser contest at work for the second time! He has been dieting and exercising twice a day most days. I don't know how he does it, but were proud of him!

McKyla's Mommy-Daughter Date

2008-05-07T01:52:00.000-07:00

McKyla and I had our Mommy-daughter date last Friday (May 2nd). We should space them out a little more, but she was so excited for her turn and it was technically the next month. So, I promised her we would go, and she was all excited. Then I started to feel nauseous at work Thursday night. By the time of our date Friday, I was starting to think I had the lovely stomach flu our neighbors have been suffering with (we share everything, like good neighbors do). I couldn't cancel, McKyla was so excited. So we stopped for a little Pepto-bismol on the way to dinner. She had a cheeseburger and fries; I had some Pepto, Sprite, and peppermint gum. I did a whole lot of hand washing. Didn't get sick once on the date though and thankfully, no one else in the fam has gotten it.

McKyla chose to go to Leo's Place (it's like a Chucky Cheese). We got to play games together and win tickets. Yes, I look terrible, but we had fun.
Here's that fabulous dinner.

So proud of McKyla; so ashamed of myself. McKyla was playing a game and this little girl we didn't know came up and started playing, too. I was thinking, "Hey, I'm not paying for you to play." (I think I was a little grumpy 'cuz I didn't feel good.) When it was done the tickets came out and I thought "Hope that girl doesn't think she's taking McKyla's tickets." (Man, I was feeling bratty). But McKyla was so sweet and said, "Mom, we should give her some of the tickets because she helped me win them." It gets worse...I gave McKyla one ticket to give the girl, and the sweet little girl wouldn't take it. She insisted McKyla keep it! That is why the scriptures tell us we need to be like little children!
Looks like she is going to punch me or flip the "bird", but really she is saying, "The power of the butterfly!" That was our battle cry for the night. McKyla picked a butterfly tattoo (again with the tattoos!), and a whoopee cushion with her tickets. Then we went to the mall so she could make a wish in the wishing well, pick out a mother-daughter necklace for her and I, get her sisters some "prizes" and get our picture drawn.
Fortunately, McKyla isn't quite the shopper Annalese is, and wanted to go home ASAP after we accomplished her goals at the mall. Eldon had rented some movies, and McKyla didn't want to miss out. So happy to get home and get in our jammies!!! Love you, McKyla. Thanks for a fun date. You are so thoughtful.

5 More Favorite Little Things

2008-05-06T01:03:00.000-07:00

Watching movies with my girls and some yummy treats. I love M&M's that are still crunchy on the outside but all warm and gooey on the inside. Yum! This time we put them in warm popcorn (love the sweet and salty), but I also love to make brownies, then melt marshmellows on top and add M&M's (while warm to get them meltly), then drizzle with warm chocolate frosting. Mmmmmm. If you don't try it, you're missing out!
Yummy food in general. I eat when I am stressed and when I am bored. If you know me, you know that if I am not stressed, I am probably bored. So there you go.
The man that brings me the yummy food. Eldon brought me and the girls Cold Stone and Johnnie Carino's chocolate cake one night without us asking even though he was on a diet and didn't eat a bite. Oh yeah, you know he loves us.
My girls' stories. What imaginations! These pics are of one of my favorite mommy moments. We were waiting in the car while Eldon was in the grocery store. Gracie was telling me the funniest stories and giving me the best kisses and hugs. It was pure gold.

5. Okay, this (extremely gross) pic doesn't really represent one of my "favorite things", but it is one of the little things that is coming to mean more to me. More below...

My girls spilled cereal and other messies all over the floor one morning. I was sweeping it up and feeling a little frustrated knowing I would just have to do it again after lunch, then dinner, and maybe in between. However, I've got to say I have learned something over the last week.

It started with one the NICU nurses I was working with talking about not being the "martyr" and enjoying your housework. (Yeah, sure, I kind of thought.) But I kept pondering that. Then I read Mosiah 2:17, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." And I thought, "There you go. I'm not a slave, I'm a queen. And just like King Benjamin, I'm just being righteous by serving my people." :) I was being kind of sarcastic. But kept pondering. Slowly, I've had a change of heart as I have been working harder to keep our house clean and organized. At first I was doing it in preparation to show the house, but then I started doing it because it feels good. I've learned that this is one major way our family shows each other that we matter. We care enough for each other to keep our home clean, comfortable and somewhere we want to be. This may be my new addiction. I haven't eaten nearly as much chocolate. Ask me if I keep it up after we move though :). I hope so...

Favorite Thing: Mommy-Daughter Dates

2008-05-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to post some of my "favorite little things." I'll start with Mommy-Daughter Dates. Definitely one of my favorite things! It's become a tradition. I get to have a little one-on-one time with each of my girls; they choose what we do (within reason). Eldon gets to take them on Daddy-Daughter dates, too. Anyway, Annalese and I went out on our date April 25th. Here are a few pics.

Annalese and I went out for Jamba Juice, then she came with me to my hair appointment. Afterwards we went out to eat at Primo's (her fav). My favorite part was playing airhockey with her and jamming out to Jonnas Brothers' "Year 3000" in the car. So fun! After dinner we went to the mall and got these Mother-Daughter necklaces.
Close-up of our necklaces.
This is Annalese being silly in Old Navy. She loves to see the look on people's faces when she stands in the store windows and poses as a manican. It is so funny when they look closer and realize it's a real girl. She is a lot of fun.

I am constantly amazed by Annalese's goodness. We saw one of my friends at the mall. My friend was crying and we stopped to talk. Annalese invited her to join us and was sincerely excited to have her along.

We spent more time shopping then I would like on this particular date, but we found some great deals for Annalese and her sisters. I'm really proud of the way Annalese doesn't complain when we put things back that we don't need or that cost too much, and the way she wants her sisters to be happy, too. She always makes sure she brings them something back from her dates. She really is a sweet girl and a ton of fun to hang out with. Thanks for a fun night, Lesey!

A Few of My Favorite "Little" Things

2008-05-04T22:00:00.001-07:00

Last month I bought this framed art with a saying by Robert Brault. It seems to say perfectly something I have felt most of my life--probably due to the influence of my parents. As I have struggled with different challenges over the years, I have come to value the little things even more. I've decided to take a moment to post a few of my thoughts I usually save for my other, more private journal. I hope others can relate...

Whether we realize it or not, most Americans choose to live a very fast-paced lifestyle. It's a part of the culture of our time, and I am no exception. It is very difficult to slow down and simplify. In part I feel it is because we have become so accustomed to the technologies that allow us to do so much more in so much less time. We sometimes feel like we should be able to do it all.

I also feel like we need challenges to grow--both spiritually and physically. We may look at other people's lives and think, "Man, they have it so easy." But for them, it's probably doesn't seem "easy" at all. In the absence of "real" challenge, we will create our own challenges (though we may not realize it), because we need them. It's in our nature; it's a big part of why we are on this earth: to face the challenges, learn from them, and become better.

Finally, I believe in a few basic principles. God is real. Satan is real. God wants our eternal joy and happiness. Satan wants us to miserable "like unto himself." In this age, one of the cunning tools Satan uses to keep us miserable is to keep us so busy that we lose sight of what we are really doing. In our minds we are saying "I believe in __________" , "my family matters the most" or "these things are important to me", but our actions don't really show it. We place our true vote for what we believe in and what matters most to us by the way we invest our time and energy.

So, I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I really spend my time and energy. It's kind of hard. It's like budgeting or accounting. I may have a perception of where I'm at, but when I run the reports, I'm sometimes surprised by where the actual numbers fall. I am trying, though; and I'm learning more everyday.

I know I have labors to perform and responsibilities I cannot neglect. I just want to have a little more joy in the journey and, for me, that comes from knowing that whatever I may be working on, my heart is in the right place and my labors are pleasing to my Heavenly Father. For me that requires a lot of prayer, pondering and reflection.

I have plenty of fears. I want to spend more time focusing on my faith and enjoying the little things in life that make me so happy. So I am going to be posting some of my favorite "little" things. It may seem kind of cheesy, but it's my way of remembering what matters most to me and taking time to enjoy it. I don't want to be miserable!

Three Years Ago Today

2008-04-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2005

Three years ago today, our little Gracie joined us. Happy Birthday, Gracie Girl! Look how much you've changed!

April 23, 2006.

We celebrated your birthday at Grandma and Grandpa Mills' house in Las Vegas. We were on our way to Disneyland with Nona and Grandpa Tilley, so you got to have both sets of Grandparents there for your birthday. Best of all, you turned 1-year-old just in time to ride the cars at Disneyland.

April 23, 2007.

You loved your balloons, your blocks from Nona and Grandpa, and the bubble machine and ball you bought with your money from Great Grandma Burnett and Grandma and Grandpa Mills. Oh yeah, and you LOVED your chocolate cream cake Daddy bought you!

April 23, 2008.

Another birthday today. You are growing so fast. I can't believe your vocabulary and reasoning. You did a cute birthday dance on the counter for me this morning. Maybe I'll post the video.

You definitely know what you like. Your sisters and I tried to get you to buy some cute girl pajamas and clothes, but you only wanted nothing to do with pink, princesses, or frills. We were able to compromise on a few items--mostly because your sisters convinced you that they were "boy" clothes. As for the toys, no cheerleader outfits or tiaras...you got excited about the bats, baseballs, basketballs, and soccer balls.

(Annalese and McKyla Tried to interest Gracie in the pink princess pajamas on the right. They both absolutely loved them. Gracie firmly said, "No, not that one. This one!")
(Gracie climbing to get the "right" ball. She asked me to get a baseball from the basket. I wanted her to have something softer and thought I could appease her with a soft mini football. She said, "No, Mom! That's a football, not a baseball!" I grabbed a girly looking baseball, "No, Mom. The Spongebob one." Nice, thank her Dad for the interest in Spongebob Squarepants.)
(Of course, she loved the BLUE soccer ball, too)
(Here she is, SO HAPPY with her birthday gifts--thank you Grandma and Grandpa Mills and Great Grandma Burnett. This is one of the outfits she picked. Annalese told her the shirt was a boy shirt and the shorts are brown, so she liked them. Well, Eldon's on his way home with the cake, ice cream, and presents. )

McKyla Gets "Bangs"

2008-04-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

I decided it's probably time I stop cutting my girls' hair and just take them to a salon. I cut McKyla's hair this week. I wanted to give her some bangs and cut her hair for summer (if it ever makes it's way to Idaho). I think it ended up cute, but it took an hour and forty minutes! I'm too picky with short cuts. Thank goodness she was so sweet and patient. Here are a few pics; she had a lot of fun posing for me.

Gracie's almost three-years-old; can you believe it?!? Her birthday is on Wednesday. Nona and Grandpa Tilley came down for the weekend. So nice to have a good visit with them. The girls were sooooo excited! Nona made this Barbie cake for Gracie and she loved it.

Other updates: We are very excited! We currently have 12 nieces and nephews, but it looks like we may have 16 by the end of 2008-ish. My sister-in-law Mindy is pregnant due in September, my sister Shae called to tell us she and Kevin are expecting in December, and my sister-in-law, Brenda, called and said she and Mourad just made it to the next step in their efforts to adopt a baby girl from Tunisia. If all goes well, they may also be able to adopt an older child from an orphanage while they are there. We are so excited for them; they are so good with kids and have been great foster parents. Fun to see our family growing.

Well, that's it for now. It's been a long week. I have a lot on my mind. Maybe I'll write about it later. Good night!

French Toast Mornings

2008-04-15T18:40:00.001-07:00

This was a French Toast Morning! I love those mornings...when I don't have to wake up, hurry to get myself and the kids ready and rush off to meet contractors or run errands all day. I love making french toast and pancakes with my little helpers. It's one of the little things that's a big thing: there's no hurry, they can help. Who cares if they get egg shells in the mix; we're in no hurry and we get to eat them together.

Gracie and McKyla were so happy they got to crack the eggs.

Now, to celebrate the little victories in the world of construction...

BEFORE Remember this pic of the ice mountain in our cold storage room in the new house? Well...

It's gone, BABY!!! This pic makes it look like Eldon deserves all the glory, but really I cleared out 3/4ths of it while he was at work.

AFTER

This is a boring pic to most of you, but it is just beautiful to me! No more ice, no more water! (Let's hope!)

We were so tired and so dirty when we got home from working out at the house last night. Gracie fell asleep on the couch after her bath. I ended up doing the same thing. After cleaning out 2 inches of dirt from the bathtub, I crashed around 8:30 p.m. Felt so good!

(P.S. Notice Gracie's purple toe nails and finger nails. McKyla wore purple to preschool Monday, so I decided to paint her nails purple. Gracie wanted hers done, too. It's so weird to see her looking a little girly. Lately she cries about anything girly or "pretty". Also notice, the jammies she picked almost match!)

Why not live in Idaho?

2008-04-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

This pic of our backyard was taken around 8:20 a.m. Thursday, April 10th. Gracie went to the back door and said. "Uh-oh. My slide is covered in SNOW! Mom, we better get the sled out!"

This pic was take at 11:50 a.m. the same day. And that pretty much sums up the weather in Idaho. Soooo tempted to pack up and move back to Arizona or Southern Utah!
Today was actually a really nice day. We had a picnic outside together. Gracie even got a little too much sun--had to remember to put the sunblock on her. We all enjoyed being outdoors for a change. Needless to say it will probably snow tomorrow. Sorry, can you tell it's been a long winter for me?

The fireplace is FINALLY done!!! (Almost). I believe we started this project last Febuary (2007) when we decided to finish the basement. We finally had to pay someone to do the rock because we just haven't gotten to it with all the pressing items on the new house. Just need a little trim and paint and this project's done! Just in time to stick a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. Oh well, sometimes that's the way it goes. Just got to roll with the punches.
Moving forward with stucco and drywall on the new house!

I really love the view from this house! I keep telling myself, "Shyla, don't you fall in love with that house!" Got to remember it's an investment. Part of me wishes it would just sell before we ever even move in to it, so we can just stay in the house we are in now.

Well, I think that's all I'm going to post this week. Hava a good week, all!

This Week In the News

2008-04-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics and notes from the past week or so.

Annalese has been begging, and is VERY excited to be doing her own hair with the flat iron. She was so excited she also styled my and McKyla's hair. Now we just need to get Daddy to let her experiment on him!
Kind of a downer of a week as far as the new house goes. Not much has happened. Just waiting for this so we can do that, and that so we can do this.
Here's the girls climbing the ice mountain in our cold storage room. As you can see, it's definately cold. This is the last of the ice to get out of the house. It's going to be a booger to get out.

Here's our little helpers. (Yes, those are the "Christmas jammies" Gracie can't live without. I don't have the heart to hide them from her.) The girls are trying to help us dry up some water by spreading "pixie dust". :) Besideds being cute, they're very cheap labor and innovative, too.

That's Gracie in my coat next to Annalese. The bare mid-drift in those Christmas jammies finally convinced her to let us put something warmer on her. She looks like a magician.

One of my precious "Mommy Moments." I was a little stressed out and Gracie had a good talk with me. She was like, " 'Mere, Mom. You just need to get comfty, Mom. Here under the blankets like this." She made me smile, and I was very "comfty" listening to her. Good reminder that I need to take the time for more moments like this.

Spring Break

2008-04-01T14:52:00.001-07:00

Didn't feel like much of a spring break with the snow; but all-in-all I think we had a pretty good week. It felt so good to get some things done that needed to be taken care of, and we still found some time to have some fun!

Coloring Easter eggs at the Turville's. :) Fun times!

"Just Like a Tattoo." I probably shouldn't encourage tattoos, but the girls were so excited about them; I thought it was cute. They got these at Primo's for being so good about cleaning all day and shopping for food storage on their first day of spring break. Amazing how a few tattoos can get them over that kind of disappointment.
Gracie likes to flex with her Mini-Mouse on. She wanted to wear this shirt just so she could show everybody.
Girl's Night. Wednesday afternoon, me and the girls went to see Horton Hears a Who. We loved it. Afterwards we went shopping--just the girls. Lesey got that hair piece, blue nail polish, and the princess headbands. We are so girly here, people.
McKyla got some new clothes to add to her wardrobe. She had to put them on because we also bought a new web cam so they can talk to their cousins online. They were so excited, they got all dressed up.

Gracie got cute new spring dresses, but she has no desire to even try them on. She just loves her "Elmo jammies" her "Letter shirt" and her "Hawkeyes". She wants to wear them ALL the time. Every once in a while I convince her to let me wash them. :) This is Gracie in her Hawkeye sweater and hat playing at the school. We took a bike ride with some of the neighbor kids.

We also got to go swimming with Annette and her kids at their clubhouse. Always good to hang out with them. The girls love to go swimming with their "Nette." And, just to keep this blog "REAL", I have a confession. I just barely took my Christmas tree down last Wednesday. Yes, that's how behind I am! See why we couldn't go anywhere for Spring break. Can't wait until we are done building our new house or at least have this one sold!

Iowa Trip

2008-03-23T16:37:00.001-07:00

We went back to Iowa in Febuary for Grandpa Tilley's funeral. It was a good celebration of his life. We got to see a lot of friends and family and hear stories of Grandpa Tilley's life.

We decided to drive since the flights available would have taken about 18 hours of travel--the same as driving. The girls did awesome--except that Gracie had serious issues with staying in her seatbelt. I am so glad we made it safe! I started reading the Twilight books on the drive, but that's another story.

Eldon and his brothers, Jared and Travis, as palbearers with other cousins, ect. Grandpa Tilley had military honors at his funeral. It was a good experience for the girls. They asked a lot of good questions.

Eldon and his family with Grandma Tilley at her house.

Annalese, McKyla and Gracie with their cousins--my twin nieces, Madison and Morgan.

Is that Hannah Montana? We went shopping in Boone. Annalese and McKyla picked out Hannah Montana wigs. They played "pop stars" at the hotel.
McKyla as Hannah Montana--she will be so mad when she see's I took this pic. Sorry, Kyla, but you're adorable.

The girls LOVE swimming at the hotels. I didn't get any pics of us swimming at the hotel. These are actually from McKyla's b-day party, but I had to add them because swimming together at the hotel was one of my favorite memories.

On the way home we got to stop in Colorado and meet my new niece, Karlie. Isn't she gorgeous!

Annalese and McKyla with their cousins Justin, Westin, Bailie and Karlie at their house in Colorado. We didn't get to stay long, but I am so glad we stopped. We were all so happy to see them, if only for a little while. All in all it was a great trip!

The whole way home Gracie kept asking where here Auntie Bee was. Even last Sunday she asked if we were sure Auntie Bee made it back on her airplane. They love their Auntie Bee. Wish I got more pics.

Our Cruise

2008-03-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am getting spring fever soooo bad! This time last year Eldon and I were staying in a beautiful, sunny resort in Las Vegas. I'm sooo trying to wish myself back there. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a conference to attend this year. Besides, we can't go anywhere this Spring break since we are building the new house and trying to get this house ready to sell :(

Idaho winters get kind of long. To cheer myself up I figured I'd post some pic's of our cruise to the Caribbean this past November.

Leaving Miami with my hunny.
In front of our ship, The Freedom of the Seas, in Labadee, Haiti.
Dancing with "Pepe" the dolphin in Jamaica. We had a blast with Jeff and Penny! So glad we got to hang out with them.
I think Pepe had a crush on Eldon. So jealous.
Eldon and I parasailing over Grand Cayman. Can you tell he's the one on the right? Lol. He's a full foot taller than me. Parasailing was very peaceful. The water's so clear at Grand Cayman, you can see the coral reef(s) even from the air. The best part was when the boat driver dipped us in the ocean then brought us back up. I think Eldon was a little nervous about being shark bate. "Shark-bate ooh-ha-ha" (Finding Nemo).
Landing back on the boat after parasailing. All fingers and toes accounted for.

Eldon took this pic of the Mayan temple in Tullum. We got an L.D.S. tour guide to take us through the ruins. It was amazing to see the ruins having read a first-hand account of the people (The Book of Mormon). It was pretty cool. It makes it so real, like I can see the people and stories come to life though they lived so long ago.
Getting ready to climb the rock wall. Don't we look awesome in our gear!
Surf's up! Riding the FlowRider on the ship. That ship was awesome.
Eldon knee boarding on the FlowRider.
My turn. It kinda looks like that guy is grabbing me--but he's not, Eldon. I swear he's not. :) This was my favorite show! It was so awesome. The scenery was amazing--the toy shelf in this background was 3-D and the dolls jumped off the shelves and started dancing. They put the fairytale stories to modern-day music. Cinderella sang "Rich Girl", Red Ridinghood sang, "I Need A Hero", etc. It was the best.
Dave and Terra in Studio B (on ship) waiting for the ice skating show to start.
The boys in the karaoke booth singing "Pour Some Sugar on Me." LOL! The girls sang "Don't Cha". If you didn't know us better you'de think we were drunk. Maybe it would have been less painful to watch the playback if I was!

Jill is a crazy girl! So fun!
Rob and Annette. The best neighbors EVER!
The Merrill's at dinner. So glad they invited us on this cruise. It was the best. Can't wait to go on a great vacation with our kids and family--come on you guys...!
Sailing off into the sunset. Well, I feel better already. I am so glad we went on this vacation--thank you, Annette, for talking us into it!