Who are they?

Oh, they would be Glen & Summer the awesomest Real Estate Agents in Utah County!

I'd like to take this time to congratulate myself on passing the Real Estate Exam. It's hard to believe, even for me (and I am pretty full of myself) that I did the entire program, and passed, and didn't implode or injure anyone.

THANKS! to Glen for toting Rio around all day so I could take classes and study, to Mom for baby sitting {as always} and to my children for quickly responding to , "Get the $@!! out of the office!" I love you all and you will be blessed with stuff as I venture forth into the wild Real Estate world and make millions of dollars.

Oh yeah, call me if you're interested in buying or selling a home. There's the shameless plug...

Family Picture 2008

What could be better than a good photographer, er....THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER for a friend?! Our pictures were done by Peekaboo Photos http://www.peekaboophotos.blogspot.com/. Katie and Dan do such a great job every time.

Wanna Get Stoked on the Season?!

That title makes me sound like I am someone who actually snowboards, I'm not. Just a poser. Everyone else in my house is excited so I guess it rubs off a little.

Here's a link from Snowboarder Mag.
http://snowboardermag.com/freeze-frame/snowbird-opening-day-2008/

Scroll down on the right, Maybel is in picture #15

All Hallows Eve

Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently for my Halloween pictures. I am sure you all were sitting by your computers.

I am trying to be quick with this business so here are the pictures, sorry no captions. If you can't figure it out give me a call!

This was Rio's first real Halloween and he thought it was awesome. He has a major sweet tooth and thought the free candy (everywhere we went grocery store, kids school, etc.) was like manna from the heavens! Late tonight he came upstairs asking for eggs, I was tired, but made them because I figured he needed something healthy in his system. So I set them down in front of him and he said, "Oh, I wish these had frosting on them."

I hope all of you had a great Halloween and are surviving your kids-on-candy and the well intentioned desire to "dispose of" {a.k.a. eat} of all of their good loot!

4-Tag

Here is the tag: You post the 4th picture from the 4th photo folder. It's doesn't really get more random than this!

This from Finn's preschool graduation. They did a little play where they all dressed up as Nursery Rhyme characters. They were assigned a character and the parents had to make the costume. Yes, I did make the hat myself. Yes, we still have it if anyone is interested in being the Muffin Man for Halloween.

We all thought this character was fitting for Finn because {aside from his affinity for any type of pastry} we used to sing, "Do you know the Chubby Man?" to the tune of "Do you know the Muffin Man" {duh!} to him when he was little.

Wow! that ended up being a really long sentence and I am not even sure if it was "proper". Okay, now I am sure that I am rambling. Sorry, I was trying to make this seem like a great post since I am too lazy to do anything else. I'll stop now. Anyone else who is looking for something quick to post so they don't look like a slacking blogger I TAG YOU!

Glen makes his Family Blog debut!

See, he DOES exist!

And that's an honest to goodness smile, cameras don't catch that very often!

Evenin' at SoJo Sk8 Park

That's South Jordan Skate Park for those of you who are not as down as me.

This is my favorite time of year. The weather was perfect. The park was not too crowded, though it could use some benches for spectators. Maybe I should write a "Mom's Review" for all of the local parks since I've almost hit them all!

Jonas getting some air on one of the transition corners. I think I just made that up. It sounded good though, right? After every run he would come and look at the picture I got and then say, "Ugh, that wasn't high enough". I don't think he realizes how a picture taken from a bad angle never does it justice.

{Here is where all the pictures of Glen were that he made me take out.

He doesn't suppport my blogging addiction. }

Adjust the what?

This one whined the whole time unless a camera was pointed at her.

Kids, this is why you don't inhale! Rio sucked in, instead of blew out, a dandelion. He got a mouth full of seeds. Not too good, I suspect.

See how down I am.

Shocks, Pegs...Lucky!

This is how Rio is transported around the neighborhood. I wasn't kidding when I said Jonas was totally devoted to Rio. To most this may not seem safe, but trust me when I say that Jonas is like a super protective mother hen. So that would make Rio a baby chick, who rides pegs.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

Well, most of the time. Not so much if you're a Democrat in Utah, but that's another soapbox for another time.

I really just want to know your opinions on some

"blogging etiquette"

What are your thoughts on comments, should you post one to someone you don't know? How about someone you know, but aren't that close to or haven't seen in a while?

Do you think that people will really come and find you if you post too much info on your blog? What's too much?

Post your comments. I am just curious to what other people think, so I don't want to say what I think, yet. And don't worry that I will think you are a

blog-stalking-random-comment-posting-psycho, because I think I might be one too!

Ode to My Forever Baby...

I am actually emotional typing this post. Ridiculous, I know, but he is my baby. My baby turns three tomorrow. If you haven't had "the baby" yet you might not see this as a big deal, but it is. When your first or second child turns three you are excited, looking forward to all the big things to come. When it's your last baby it is much more heart wrenching.

Looking for pictures to post was pretty sad too, I don't have many. With Rio I have taken more professional pictures and less of my own. At one point I thought this was a good idea, now I wish I had more of the cute little faces that you can only catch at home.

In this picture Glen is singing "Rock-A-Bye Baby" in this awful opera voice. Rio would pull this face and whimper. We thought it was hilarious. Nice parents.

Here he is four months-old and happy, as usual. Rio was such a good baby from day one. I am not sure if there has ever been a baby more loved by his siblings. When I first brought him home from the hospital I can remember Maybel being frustrated that I was holding {nursing} him all the time and she couldn't. She got mad and yelled, "He's our baby, too!" I was surprised to see how much Finn enjoyed holding him and making him laugh when he got a little older. And Jonas has been, and still is, 100% devoted to his baby brother.
This picture was taken at about 10 months. I really thought his eyes would be blue, but they have become the same color as Glen's, green-blue-hazel. Is that a color?
This was also the last time, in his whole life that he has had short hair. I just can't bear to cut his golden locks!
And this is last year in Santa Cruz. This was his first trip to one of our favorite places on earth. Second, of course to Rio de Janeiro. Are you catching on?
Well, thank you, if you read this far, for letting me gush and relive precious moments of his life. Now I think I will go and find him, bring him into my bed and cuddle him until I cry myself to sleep. Which I should do more often since today he told me, "I am getting bigger, mom, and someday I will turn into a bird and fly away"

I Ride Park City...so does Shaun

Last night we took the kids to Park City Resort for the premier of the snowboarding movie "I Ride Park City". It was set to be an awesome night of autographs from snowboarding pros, all the free stuff they throw out, good times with friends and of course, the movie.

We decided to meet up with the Grant Family. They live in Park City and Matt rides on the Park City Snowboard Team with Jonas. We always have a lot of fun with them. Since the movie didn't start until late we took the boys to the local skate park for a little while.

Oh Yeah...

He was there too:

WHAT?! Yea, that's what I said. Mr. Tomato Head himself was just cruising the local skate park. No crowds, no entourage, just one crazy stalker with a camera...me.

Here is Jonas and Shaun contemplating their next move. Jonas was so chill and not star struck at all. He just cruised around with his awesome, smooth style. Shaun was pretty good too.

While this was rad, the highlight of the night for me came a little later. We were at the premier, all of the parents were sitting at a table eating dinner and the kids were off collecting the free stuff. The line was starting to form for autographs and all of the sudden Maybel comes running over with a stack of stickers yelling that she needs a pen. I explain to her that Shaun White and the other pros have pens to sign her stuff. Of course she is adamant and so someone hands her a Sharpie. We are sitting in our seats and all of the kids start wandering back with their autographed posters and such. Come to find out that when Maybel got her poster signed by each pro she handed them a sticker with HER signature on it. Well now, some one is pretty sure of herself, isn't she?!

Back to School, Kind of Like Christmas

Summer seemed to end quickly this year. Not that I'm complaining. This year brings a new school for the kids and new freedom for me; one child at home.

Morning came early the first day. I set my alarm for 6:45 so the kids could wake up, eat their "brain-food" (pop tarts), get ready, take the necessary pictures and head to the bus stop. Which I must admit is awesome because it adds almost another hour to my peaceful day at home with my baby. The bus pulled up (to the park just down the street) and all the parents who walked their kids there were yelling their, "good-byes" and "I love yous". Then the bus pulled away and all of the parents cheered. It was pretty funny. I was standing in my driveway, in my purple polka-dot bathrobe LOLing away.

Has there ever been a cuter first-grader? She is very excited about the bus ride, long day and school lunch. Are those really the best things about school? We'll have to let her figure that one out!

She decided to add some bangs to her new hair-do and I love it. We also cut it a little shorter in the back and it has ended up being such an easy and adorable look for her. She has also developed an obsession with vests. She wanted to buy the one she has on in every color. Let's hope more stores pick up on the vest trend!

Finn is a big third-grader, and I do mean BIG! Honestly, where did this giant come from? Does anyone else have an 8-year-old with feet as big as theirs? Finn is "trailer trash" this year. I am not sure that there were trailers when I was in elementary school. He thinks it's pretty cool because, since there isn't a drinking fountain out there and it gets hot, the kids all get their own water bottle at their desk. I guess it's good that he still finds joy in the little things...

Yes, he's this obnoxious all the time. No, he does not ride the
short bus. Jonas is in 5th grade and I can't believe that Junior High is just around the corner. We considered the transition to a new school a success when he came home and told us that the teacher was the only one who thought he was a girl.

So, horray for school and we'll see you all at Target!

Tagged--finally!

I guess I am a loser because I kind of get offended when I read some one's blog and they don't tag me. I have no life. How sad. So BIG thanks to Aubrey, you like me...
How to play the game. Post these rules on your blog: List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions/Collections, and 3 Random Surprises about yourself. Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names.
3 JOYS-*Seeing my kids happy
*Reading a good book with Glen next to me reading his own good book
*Sittting around, after Sunday dinner at my Mom's, talking to my family.
3 FEARS-*Spiders and sharks
*Losing a family member
*Forgetting to pay a bill
3 GOALS-*Go a whole month in between Target trips so everything seems new!
*Get my Real Estate License
*Sell baby BLiNG for 20 billion dollars
3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS-*Stalking Blogs
*Dancing! Woot Woot!
*Lemon desserts
3 RANDOM SURPRISES ABOUT MYSELF-*I can't go under water without plugging my nose. Okay, those of you who know me well may not be that surprised
*I was in a Metallica video when I was 18. That's all the information I will give, any more and it doesn't seem as cool.
*I want to join a roller derby, anyone with me?

I tag Hollie, Dawn and Millie so they will update their freaking blogs and Cyndi and Lindsey because I know they will make me laugh!

baby BLiNG, not just for babies!

Here's the new trend, get ready for it to take elementary schools by storm! It's our "flower only" headband, rock it to the left or right and keep the headband wide.

Heavy Metal = Good Old Fashioned Family Fun

So, here is part two of the family vacation we took at the end of May. The reason for the trip itself was the Iron Maiden Concert. This is not the first time we have seen them play, but it was definitely the best. They played all of their old stuff, which was awesome. Anthrax opened for them and they were rad. Though I have not been an Anthrax fan, I think you really like any band you see live. Wow, this kind of makes me feel like I am revealing my F-Chick side, though I must admit that the ripped Iron Maiden t-shirt I wore to the concert pretty much outed me. Heavy Metal concerts are how you imagined rock concerts to be when you were a little kid. None of the hopping up and down in place or sitting on a chair like the concerts of today. These are productions. Complete with smoke, fire, tight pants and giant skeletons. All of the moves you see people do with air guitars these guys do for real! People really sing the songs together and hold up lighters. I LOVE IT! The kids do too.




This was Rio's first concert and he loved it, though he only made it through a few songs before he passed out. Asleep, not drunk. He slept through almost the whole thing! The other kids have seen Iron Maiden before, and loved being able to sing all of the songs along with the rest of the fans.

...like the corner of my mind...

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memeory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

CHOP! CHOP!

Here is the big news at our house...a haircut. Exciting, I know. Maybel now has shorter hair than 2 of her brothers. I think it is so freakin' cute! I keep going to find her just so I can look at her hair. On the way home she asked if I thought it was short enough to do a mohawk...uh, no.

Most of us know that when you are doing a major haircut it can be scary if you don't find the right hairdresser. I called one person and she admitted that A-lines were not her strong point and I REALLY appreciated her honesty. So I ended up taking Maybel to Chelsea at the Azalea Salon in P.G. She did an AWESOME job! She really took her time to make sure it was perfect. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to make a drastic change in their hair.

"Might not be a lot, but I feel like I'm making the most..."

We took a little family vacation at the end of May. Here are a few pictures of the awesome time we had at Huntington and Venice Beaches.

Here is Finn body boarding at Huntington Beach. This kid loves the water and has no fear of the waves. He'd head out to the ocean and we'd look up a few minutes later and he'd be 50 yards down the coast, oblivious to how far he'd gone. He must have been a fish in another life...okay, maybe a whale.

Here is Jonas doing his "Bertleman" in the parking lot at Huntington Beach.

Rio was bribed with this Thomas kite the whole road trip. He was so excited when Glen finally got it out. Kites are a funny thing, especially at the beach. They go up and stay up so easily that once it was in the air we were kind of like, " Okay, now what?". Rio had a blast on the beach and running from the waves. I am pretty sure he is still pooping sand.

Here is Medusa. Maybel would like the beach more if it wasn't so sandy and windy. She does have fun collecting seashells, crabs, and random garbage. She is also the only one smart enough to bring a change of clothes and underwear every time. She's not a fan of driving home with a bum full of sand!

A {cold, rainy, cloudy} Day Out With Thomas

Rio is a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan, so Grandma & Grandpa Harris took Rio, Me, Aunt Brenda and cousin Harrison to "A Day Out With Thomas" in Heber.

The weather was crappy, which bummed me out, but didn't seem to affect Rio in the least. The whole experience was really great. I thought for sure that it would be some half-ass attempt, maybe a tarp or something, to make the Heber Creeper look like Thomas, but it wasn't, it really was Thomas! Sir Topham Hat was there, late, but there to take pictures with the kids. They had a bunch of tents set up with a place to play with trains, get train tattoos, color pictures, have stories read, buy Thomas stuff {of course}, eat food and other things. It seemed like they really wanted to make it fun for the little kids.

So my review is two thumbs up! If you have a Thomas fan you should definitely look into it. http://www.hebervalleyrailroad.org/


Here is Rio in the train tent. I am embarrassed to admit that, with my baby, I have become one of those lame mom's who think that everything their kid does is cute and funny and other kids are just being wussies. In this picture Rio is yelling, "Bust my buffers! My brakes are out!" and running other kids trains off the table. I watched him do it a few times because I find the "bust my buffers" statement hilarious and I convinced myself that this is just social interaction. Well, eventually I noticed that he was ruining the fun for others and I pulled him away.

Here is another example of my awesome parenting skills, "Rio go sit on those train tracks, it will make a cute picture for my blog."

Really, it was safe and it would have been a cute place for pictures if I had a child who would cooperate. Rio's new thing is to look away and/or close his eyes whenever I get the camera out. I had Brenda, Glen's sister, behind me yelling, "Hey Rio, what's that?!" Just to get him to keep his eyes open.

We got the cute little Thomas engineer cap at the gift shop. It was so cute on him! However, it didn't stop any of the, "She is so cute! I can't believe she likes trains!" comments, to which I replied {to myself} "You are so dumb" and "I can't believe you are such an idiot".

The toy train was also a gift shop purchase. The trains name is Salty, but Rio makes us call him Kitten. I think he does that just to see if we will obey him. It works.

And really, when that face tells you to call something a Kitten
how do you disobey?

Finally, on the train. It was an awesome old coach and everything seemed just how I imagined a train to be. When I imagine trains at all.

We were lucky to sit next to the woman who swallowed a megaphone and survived. Have you heard of her? In addition to her miraculous survival story, she is also blessed with the knowledge of every Thomas song and the name of every train. Honestly, we could hear her above all of the little kids "Chugga, Chugga, Choo, Choo-ing" for the first ten minutes of the ride.

The only reason the noise stopped was because the train did. Yes, the "25 minute ride" means the train moves forward down the track for 10 minutes, then stops, and moves backward, back to the station. Funny and seemed a little cheap to the adults, but the kids didn't notice. And really who would want to be stuck on a train with hundreds of preschoolers when their attention span is up.

Yucky weather and all, it was a great day. Rio was so worn out that he took a long nap, which made the day even better for me!

Big Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Harris for taking us out for such a fun day!

One more thing, if anyone is in the market for elastic-waist jeans {for children and adults} I believe they can be found in Heber. There must be an entire store of them located somewhere near the "$hi**y Shoe Store" and "Horrible Haircuts Salon". What's the deal with Heber?

"I am Babel Too!"

Today, while I was doing Maybel's hair for school, Rio came in and said, "Do mine too!" What am I going to say to my baby, "No?". Of course not. So we did pigtails and an hour later he still has them in. He likes to look at himself in the mirror and laugh. He insists that we call him Babel, which is what he calls Maybel.

You can see that Maybel is very excited to finally have a sister. She keeps asking me if we can do his hair like hers everyday. We'll have to see what Glen says about that.

And I know that the picture
quality sucks, but "someone"

ruined my camera and I don't know how to fix the settings on this one. Just had to make a disclaimer because crappy pictures drive me nuts!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ME!

Blog's are for bragging, right?! I am so freakin' excited,

baby BLiNG won an award for

Best of State Production & Manufacturing of Apparel.

I really can't express how awesome it feels to be recognized for the hard work you have put into something. My mom and I have invested so much blood, sweat and tears (literally!) into this business. It's been so awesome to see it grow not only in sales numbers and store locations but also in the number of adorable babies that we see wearing our bows. So, thanks to all of you who have bought our bows and support us. And a big shout out to

baby BLiNG Bowmakers, thank you, thank you, thank you!

That ended up a lot like an acceptance speech, but since I won't be able to go the the awards banquet I guess I am entitled.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JoNaS!

WOW! I never thought 10 years could fly by so fast. I could go on and on about how sad it is to have him grow up, but he is such an awesome kid and I really look forward to his future. Anyone who knows Jonas understands when I say that he is special. He works so hard with his snowboarding, still manages to do very well in school and babysits his baby brother willingly. He is one of the sweetest boys I have ever known. I feel very lucky...

Jonas Skateboarding

So, I need to take more pictures. I think this blog will force me to keep up! Since I don't have anything recent to post, here is a video of Jonas from last summer.

When there is no snow, and they are not traveling to find some, Glen and Jonas spend a lot of time at the skate park. This bowl at the skate park in American Fork was Jonas' big skating accomplishment last year. If you have never been there in person the video doesn't do it much justice. The walls are over 8 feet high! I get a little shaky just standing at the edge taking pictures.

Rio Cruz

Here's the baby. A long time comin', but well worth the wait! With four years between Rio and Maybel, I had forgotten what babies were all about. I have absolutely loved every moment of this kids life. He is so silly, a little chatterbox, and naked 90% of the day. Lately he has been really into being different animals and thanks to Diego, it is usually something weird, like a puma. He is two-and-a-half and I wish he would never grow up! He is the only one home with me during the day and he is my little buddy. Every time we drive past Target he yells, "OH, TARGET! I love Target." He helps me with my work, "puttin' da blings in da box" and then bosses me around the rest of the day. He has got the typical I'm-the-baby attitude and pretty much runs the show at our house. I can tell already that he is going to be one wicked "snowberder".

Maybel

Maybel is a 6-year-old, sassy, snowboarding superstar. In her mind, she is in constant competition with her brothers. She snowboards, skateboards and fights better than most boys her age, so you've gotta give her some props! Maybel also qualified for USASA (snowboarding) Nationals, her first year, in the half-pipe. She likes school, but thinks Kindergarten is too short. She hates dresses and anything else that makes her look too girly. (She hasn't worn the hat with the flower since the picture) She likes bossing her little brother, but wishes she had a sister. She loves to play with friends, but will only play Barbies behind closed, locked doors. She is definitely one-of-a-kind!

Finnegan

This is Finnegan. He is 19 months younger than Jonas, just turned 8 in November. Most people assume he is the oldest because he is easily 2 inches taller than Jonas and out-weighs him by 25 pounds! We call him The Gentle Giant, even though he's enormous he is very tenderhearted. He is a very creative and smart kid. He spends hours writing and illustrating books. He still loves to dress-up even though most of the costumes don't fit him anymore, but who am I to say that superheros don't wear belly shirts! He did very well at basketball last year and has progressed at snowboarding this season. He slid his first box, at Brighton the other night, all by himself. He is an awesome swimmer and can't wait for the pool this summer.

Jonas

This is my oldest, Jonas, a.k.a. "Jonasty". He turns 10 in a week, which seems unbelievable and to be honest, a little depressing. He is such a good kid. The past few years he has been completely dedicated to snowboarding. This year he started a 4-day-a-week program with the Park City Snowboard Team. Add to that the couple of nights a week that his #1 coach, Glen, takes him to Brighton to practice and he gets a lot of time on the mountain. It has been a big commitment on his part, having to miss a day-and-a-half of school means a lot of homework over the weekend. Despite a fractured collar bone earlier this year, he did very well at all of his competitions and qualified for the National USASA Competition in both half-pipe and slope-style.