Simple Simon

Ah, what a month it has been. I have to much to catch up on.

WARNING: major blogging to follow.

I wanted to start out my blog update with a poem:

Simple Simon met a pie man

going to the fair.

Said Simple Simon to the pie man

"Let me taste your ware."

Said the pie man now to Simon

"Show me first your penny."

Said Simple Simon to the pie man

"Indeed I have not any."

Simple Simon went a fishing

for to catch a whale

but all the water he could find was in his mothers . . .

Dump Truck?

Simon went fishing in his dumptruck today. I asked him what kind of fish he was catching and he pulled out his "fishing pole" and said "I caught a whale!!"

How Interesting are you?

Thanks Katie for this awesome post that I stole! It was so cool!



The ones that we have done are in BOLD.





1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (not allowed, we went as far as we could go)

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (2)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own


How interesting are you?

Big Brother, Little Brother

Boys Boys

When I brought little Ryan home from the hospital one of my greatest fears wasthat Simon wouldn't like him. Babies cry a lot and they need LOTS of attention. I just knew that Simon would be thowing fits (like 2 year olds do) to get my attention away from the baby. I expected some kicking and screaming.

What I didn't expect was this:

Simon LOVES his new brother. He gets so excited in the morning when the Ryan wakes up. He constantly wants to hold him and kiss him. He also loves to play with Ryan in his crib:

watching the mobile,

Playing the baby piano, (Simon loves this because the animals make silly noises.)

or just hanging out.

Ryan couldn't have hand-picked a better big brother. Simon wants to show Ryan everything he knows. It is so cute. He also sings him songs when Ryan is crying (mostly just "baby, baby, baby, baby.") What a great brother.

I hope that they will be buddies forever like they are now. The older Ryan gets the more fun they have.

I love you Si and Ry!

Winter Wonderland

It's already been 2 weeks since Christmas and I have finally found time to post a few pics. Me and the 2 boys spent a week and a half in Round Valley with both sets of Grandparents. Can we say spoiled?!

Ryan and Grandma

It is so fun to watch Simon get excited about Christmas. The best part was watching him when we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. No matter how many times we saw the same icicle lights on every house he would still point and say "kissmas lights!!"

He loved this little red train. He laid on the floor and watched it while the rest of us opened gifts.

His favorite gifts this year were a new sled and a wooden train set. We got to take the sled out a few times while we were in the mountians. I'm suprised we ever got him out of the snow! He had the time of his life.

Uncle Jesse is teaching Simon how to make a snowball.

Even more fun to eat!

Uncle Jason and Simon

Grandma, Uncle Jason and Simon

Sledding in Greer with Auntie Heidi and Uncle Jason

Yep, I was there too! Don't be too jealous of my cool hat!

Just for fun. The boys got sleeping bags for Christmas. Ryan still needs to grown into his.

This was one of Simon's favorite part of our Christmas trip. Uncle Jason's "Big Train". He even got to drive it!

Yalky Palky (Popsicle Sticks and Christmas Trees)

Being this close to Christmas, I wanted to share a thank you to the people who are most imortant in my life: my family.
I don't want to be to mushy or cheesy so I'll make this quick *sniff, sniff*

Thank you to my wonderful parents who raised me to always choose the right and to be honest with everyone I come into contact with. Thanks to my dad for teaching me that life is about being my own person and not believe everything I read, even out of a history book; There are 2 sides to every story. Thanks to my mother for teaching me patience (which I use every bit of with my 2 boys,) and for teaching me humility, not to mention teaching me how to make yummy pizza!
As for my siblings:
Melesa: Thanks for being the best long-distance friend I could ever ask for. Hopefully soon I'll be able to cut out "long-distance" from that sentance ;o). Thanks for being a shoulder to cry on and for sharing my quirks, the good ones and even some not so good ones. It is such a comfort to know that there is someone out there that is a lot like me.
Aimee: Thank you for always making me feel needed. I know I sometimes act like a "big sister" but I learn so much from you all the time. You always have a smile on your face and that means a lot when I get stressed out. ;o)
Marie: Thanks for always being there to help me out with anything that I need. You always brighten my day! We have been through so much together and I hope we can always stay this close. When I'm having a bad day you are the first person I call.
Jesse: You have shown me that no matter what anyone else does you can always keep your values high. Thank you for being a prime example of a hard worker. I have always been impressed by you and I tend to brag about you all the time (don't get all big-headed on my now.)
Heidi: My baby sister. You are beautiful inside and out. I still can't believe you are old enough to drive, much less going to college! Thanks for being a great friend. I love when you come to visit (hint hint). I have always been proud of you and your individuality. It's not easy being the youngest of 5 sisters.
and
Jason: As the baby of the family you get the difficult responsibility of looking after our parents ;o). Thanks for being so great with my kids. Simon just loves you! I always wonder where your future will take you. I can imagine you being a helicopter mechanic or something really cool like that. Keep up your grades and you will have a great future ahead of you.

Lastly I want to Thank my adorable hubby Jeremiah for putting up with my stubbornness (which happens to run on BOTH sides of the family). I couldn't have chosen anyone else who would be a better compliment to me. Also, we have the cutest kids in the whole world. And, I think you are kinda cute *blush* P.S. (I cried when I wrote this)

I love you all more than these darn keys will let me type. (I know, this did get a little mushy. *sniff, sniff* , I apoligize *sob*.)

Merry Christmas to everyone who has impacted my life! I love you all!

Fun Filled Randomness

I never realize how much has happened in my life until I run out of room on my camera! I finally downloaded all the pics that have been clogging up valuable camera space and I found some cute ones to share. These are all from the past few weeks.


About once a week, the boys and I go to the library. Simon LOVES books. If he had the choice we would spend our days reading story after story. I love our library! The best part is that it is right next to the Riparian Water Reserve. Simon always begs to go see the ducks and the turtles. They also have a really cool water feature in front of the library. This is where Simon learned about throwing in pennies to make wishes. Only he didn't have any pennies, so he borrowed a couple that were thrown in a little to close to the edge. ;o)

Here is Simon looking over the boardwalk at the ducks in the pond.

This is the water feature in front of the Library. . .

and his wishing fountian.

For FHE a few nights ago, we went to the Temple lights. Simon had a great time and we even ran into some people we know. Jeremiah's cousin and 2 of my friends from EAC.

This is our first family photo since Ryan was born!

I love Ryan's little Russian Hat.

Ryan's eyes are a beautiful shade of blue. They get lighter every day.

Simon's favorite thing to do, play trians!

I had to add this one in. Ryan looks so cute in a hat! He looks like a mini Jeremiah.

Autie Marie loves to come visit and read Simon stories.

My little helper. We were picking up rocks so we can mow the lawn. Simon wanted to wear my cleaning gloves.

Yep, they are fighting already. Simon didn't want Ryan to have the blankie all to himself.


I love these fun random times. They make my life unpredictable and tons of fun. I love all my boys!