Team Ayres

Halloween pics, finally!

2009-12-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of renovating our Kitchen and Hall Bath!!! (hope you enjoy it at Christmas-mom, Fred, and Dustin) and I've been planning our next big ward event, the Christmas Party...... so I've been a little busy.

But I promised some Halloween pics.......

Have a link to flicker for our Halloween pictures that my friend Katherine took. For some reason they wouldn't show up when I saved them to my computer. Oh well just click on the links to see the photos.....

Me as the Octomom! Complete with huge lips, long flowing hair, Juicy Sweatsuit, and 3 babies in my baby bjorn and 5 in the stroller!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jellypoptography/4131570220/in/set-72157622690846771/

Here's Jamie as exercise guroo Tony Little

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jellypoptography/4131484742/in/set-72157622690846771/

doesn't he look just like the real deal?

Zac wanted to be a ghost, but was having a hard time seeing cuz his eye holes kept moving around, so I pinned them in place, and he ended up looking like a muslim woman!http://www.flickr.com/photos/jellypoptography/4131441330/in/set-72157622690846771/

Landon was Dirk Nowenski or a "basketball boy" if you asked him. He ate more cotton candy, popcorn, cupcakes, and lollypops that day than he's every had in his whole life!!http://www.flickr.com/photos/jellypoptography/4130732507/in/set-72157622690846771/

there it is..... sorry to make you click on links. gotta get back to my construction zone, I mean house!

some new family pics

2009-11-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween. I was in charge of our wards Halloween carnival/trunk or treat and totally forgot my camera! Katherine, thank goodness, took a bunch of pics, so I'll post some when I get them from her. I was the Octomom.... Jamie was Tony Little (he does the excersize infomercials).... and Zac was a ghost..... and Landon was Dirk Nowenski. So until then..... Here's some other pics......

Took family pics recently with Katherine

(can check her out at jelly-pop.blogspot.com )

She's awesome! Here's a slide show of some of my favorites.....

Destin is heaven on earth!!! (Summer update pt 3)

2009-08-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jamie's back at school and life has a "real" rutine now. Summer seemed like it went by pretty fast. Too bad. I am excited for the melting heat to turn into fall breezes. (usally doesn't happen in Dallas till like November though!)

anyway... here's the last hoorah of our summer... our trip to Destin, Florida with Jamie's family!

The gorgeous beach house Jim and Debbie rented for us all.

aproperately named "Southern Charm"
the whole gang
transportation to the beach
Zac's favorite swimming buddy- "papa"

Out for lunch at "Dewey's" on the bay

A HUGE JELLYFISH
Kristin took pics of while snorkling. I'm glad I didn't see this till we got home or I might not have gotten back in the water!!!

The kids loved hanging out with cousin Ella!

and each other too!
they also had some fun with their mommy and daddy

Jamie dug up this crab while digging a whole for himself to get burried in....

and he still decided to get burried!!!

The kids loved it!

Zac kept pouring sand on Jamie's head. It was great!

The beach makes you HUNGRY!

and THIRSTY!
and CRANKY!
and DIRTY!
but we LOVED IT!

LOVED IT!

The last day we went to Bass Pro shop to see the big aquairium while Jim and Debbie took Kristin, Jeff, and Ella to the airport.

we also found a cute play area outside

Remodels and more! (summer update pt 2)

2009-08-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

When we got back from Utah, Jamie and I both had birthdays (me 29, Jamie 31!)

The kids singing for Jamie to post as a surprise post for Jamie's facebook page (so funny)

We did a lot of swimming this summer. My friend Katherine took these awesome pics

One of the highlights of Jamie's summer was getting a perfect 300 on the wii bowling!

yeah, he's a dork

Our BIG PROJECT though was redoing our floors! My brother Derek moved to Dallas this summer and we put him to work!

FRONT ROOM

BEFORE

yeah we slept in the front room so we could start tearing up the flooring in our bedroom

FRONT ROOM

AFTER

Derek's TV will not be permanant fixture on our hutch, we just have nowhere to put it now.

HALLWAY BEFORE
HALLWAY AFTER

BEDROOM BEFORE

BEDROOM AFTER

FAMILY ROOM BEFORE

FAMILY ROOM AFTER

BREAKFAST NOOK

BEFORE

BREADFAST NOOK

AFTER

KITCHEN

BEFORE

KITCHEN

AFTER
Landon's room is now an OFFICE/Derek's room
and Landon and Zac are now sharing a room...

Our trip to Utah (Summer Update pt 1)

2009-08-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

So I thought I'd get everyone caught up cuz I've been LAZY about updating my blog this summer.... but with good reason! WE'VE BEEN REALLY BUSY THIS SUMMER!!!

We finally got an alarm system. Perfect timing before we went to Utah for two weeks. He'res Zac's thoughts about it, and what he would say to someone who tried to break into his house...

Then we went to Utah for two weeks..... and we drove.... with 2 kids.... and our dog!!!Roxy, our dog did great, kids did great too! They watched their DVD's

and kept their headphones on (so Jamie and I could listen to whatever we wanted instead of kids movies) and when the sun was in their eyes I would give them my sunglasses and they'd say, "It makes the sun go away mom!" We only stopped for gas (and we'd make Zac and Roxy pee) and then we'd be on our way.

Everything was going great till our car broke down in the middle of nowhere about 2 1/2 hours away from Provo

My stepdad Fred came and got us but while we waited we found a cute playground.

We had our car towed to Provo ($900 dollars in towing-$5/mile-our warrenty only covered $50 of it-don't get me started!)

We did still manage to have fun in Utah....

Visiting the Oaker Mountain temple

playing with cousinseating at J-Dawgs

Going to Kangeroo Zoo withLinda and Jackson Noble

Fishing

Parkcity

riding the chairlift to go down the alpine slide

Bulldozers and merry-go-rounds

Such a sweet Mother's Day

2009-05-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last week for Mother's Day Jamie let me sleep in (which was the BEST PRESENT EVER!) and he and the boys made me breakfast. When I got up (around 10 am) Zac ran up to me and said "we making you bakefast mommy!" I said "what are you making?"

He said "ummmm eggs and bed and cinniman" (Frenchtoast)

Then they gave me their cards. Apparently Jamie held their hand with the pen in it and helped them write and draw. He said he wrote exactly what they said and Zac was very specific about what he wanted to draw for me too.

Zac's card

...apparently he was a little confused about the Mother's Day thing

(in his world you only get cards for your birthday)

Landon's card
(he was a little excited for me to open it and helped me tear it open)

I couldn't believe he actually said all that word for word but Jamie said he did!
He is growing up so fast!

(not sure what a "wish cake" is- he probably thought it was my birthday too)

3RD TIME'S A CHARM...

2009-04-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone that has seen Landon in person, and Jamie seeing the blog (he's out of town) all agreed that Landon's hair needed to be shorter in the back. So Landon got a third haircut this week but I stopped trying myself and took him in to my salon and Margarita fixed it for me. I know, I know, I should stick to what I know... coloring hair. Thank you Margarita!

3rd time's a charm...

Haircut #3... He looks so grown up now! but atleast he doesn't have a mullet and doesn't look like a girl anymore!

Hair cut #2... I cut his bangs shorter but didn't want to cut the back too short cuz I thought Jamie would be mad, so it still looks a little mulletty (and kinda choppy cuz the kid was moving a lot while I was trying to cut)

Hair cut#1... still too shaggy and hardly any curl left so looked pretty choppy and mulletty.

Jamie's favorite, the "mistaken for a girl" hairdo

I got in the mood to cut some hair...

2009-04-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to cut the boys hair tonight.

Well, actually I gave Landon a hair cut on Monday before his party and it cut off most of his curls but was still shaggy and I just decided tonight that I wanted it shorter.

(usually I just have someone at my salon do it, cuz I'm a colorist, not a stylist, but whatever... I just wanted their hair short)

I didn't think to take "before" pics tonight so the "before" pics are ones I had in my camera already....

BEFORE...

Here's a more recent "before" pic I just copied off Katherine's blog

AFTER!

I used clippers on Zac and he was TERRIFIED and the longest guard I had was a #3, so his sides are a little short. But now we can spike it. He likes to check himself out in the mirror while I spike his hair

BEFORE...

This is a more recent "before" pic that I copied from Katherine's blog

AFTER!

His curls were growing out, it was just a matter of time before they would be gone, it's kinda sad. Well, no one should mistake him for a girl anymore!

I think Landon's bangs might be a little too short, but those things grow like a weed, so it'll be fine in like a week.

Sound the Alarm!!!! Landon is 2!

2009-04-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Landon had his 2 year birthday party this week!

We went to a park and played and had presents and cake....

Kelly Dolezol made the cutest fire truck cake!!!!

Then we went to a real fire station. One of our friends from church, Rudy Gonzeles is a firefighter there and showed us around. The kids got to look at the trucks and while we were there the station got three emergancy calls and the kids got to witness the firemen rush in (some sliding down the poles) and hop in their trucks and drive off with the lights flashing and the sirens blaring. It was soooo cool!

Landon trying on a firefighter's boots

Landon's friends loved it!

Zac had a pretty good time too!

Now that Landon's 2 years old and such a big boy..... we got him a big boy bed!

He was so excited and slept in it for the first time the night of the party. He got out like 5 times and then finally fell asleep. (not bad, Zac got out like 20 times his first night in his bed) We took down the crib and he's maybe gotten up once or twice each time we lay him down for nap or bedtime. He's doing amazing! Next Potty training... dum dum dum!

Zac post surgery

2009-03-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Zac had his tonsils and adenoids out on Friday (we switched his surgery from Thurs to Fri so we could do it at the Plano surgery center and save a few hundred bucks!)

He was very angry when he came out of the anesthesia. I'm talking throwing arms up, kicking, knocking juice out of the nurse's hand and then later out of my hand, and of course trying to pull out his IV and his oxygen sats monitor!!! He eventually calmed down and was surprisingly sweet the rest of the day.

So it's day 3 and I must say Zac is doing amazing! He's been eating (mostly speghettios, easy mac, and cookies) and drinking lots of apple juice. He's probably the one kid in the world that doesn't like ice cream, popsicles, jello or whatever usual stuff people eat after they get their tonsils out. The first thing Zac wanted to eat was cookies, go figure. He doesn't seem in too much pain and is taking his medicine without too much complaint. (they sure dope em up! something every 3 hours!)

One thing I didn't expect was for his voice to be so high pitched. The doctor said when you remove the adenoids because they're behind the nasal passages it leaves your child sounding "nasally" for a few days. Ok I guess "nasally" sounds like someone who's been sucking on helium!!! It's so funny! I tried to get him to talk to me on video yesterday, I don't know if you can tell how different his voice it right now, it was way worse the first day...

Thanks again for everyone's prayers! And thanks to Jim and Debbie for keeping Landon for 2 days and for our yummy dinner Katherine!!!

Update on Zac

2009-02-27T17:54:00.000-08:00

ZAC ATTACK!

We had Zac's MRI today to get a better look at his tumor and after seeing the results the oncologist decided we don't need to operate at this time. This lipoma isn't as solid as his other one and it would be a little more complicated to remove and it isn't causing any harm and isn't near his spine at all so we'll just keep our eye on it for now.

Zac is getting his tonsils out next Thurs. March 5. Yuck! It'll be a rough week but it'll be so good in the long run. They are so big it's causing him trouble breathing while he sleeps. Sorry this pic is kinda gross, but wanted to give you an idea of how ginormous these things are! (I was trying to hold down his tongue with my finger while quickly taking the picture at the same time so it's a little blurry)

So have Zac in your prayers next Thurs!

So what you're saying Doc is that Zac is colorblind, has another tumor, and needs his tonsils out? AM I BEING PUNKED?

2009-02-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

Just an average 3 year old check up... NOT REALLY!!!

We took Zac for his 3 year old check up this week. We had noticed a lump on his back that looked a lot like the lump he had this summer on his neck (it was a benign tumor called a Lipoma, which we had removed) the doctor said it looked like another Lipoma but because of the location it wouldn't be as urgent to remove this time. But he wants him to meet with an Oncologist to find out why a 3 year old is getting multiple Lipomas.

I was also concerned that Zac might be color blind. My doctor said a lot of kids his age are still confused with colors, and I said , no you don't understand, he knows his numbers, his letters, his shapes, but NEVER gets any colors right except for sometimes blue things. We have worked so much on it too, but it doesn't help! So he did a pediatric color blindness test on him on his lap top where they point out the shapes they see and Zac totally failed it! We have to have a more intense test done by a Optomitrist, but it's like 99% sure that Zac is colorblind!

Then he wanted to check out his tonsils cuz he's been worried about their size the last few times, and found out that he had strep throat! Weird cuz he wasn't acting sick at all but his tonsils were HUGE! So the doctor really wants to get him evaluated to get them removed (cuz they always look big even when he's not sick, but they were like the size of my fist this time)

Then he said we should bring in Landon to see if he had strep too, and the next day we found out he did. so weird. There's these types of strep going around with no fever or other symptoms. Landon had been a little fusy and not wanting to eat like normal, so we thought he might be teething his 2 year old molars, nope, strep!

They're both 100% better, just an odd week. And more follow ups with Zac and more surgeries to come for that little boy, so sad :(

25 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

2009-02-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

So everyone's been tagging each other on Facebook for a list of 25 random things about you, so I thought it'd be fun to add my list here too. Cuz there's really not much else going on around here lately...

25 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. My kids are the funniest people I've ever met (I"ve never met Will Ferrel or Dave Cheppel so my kids still top the list)

2. My husband is the sexiest man I've ever met -just ask him he'll tell you-(plus I've never met Brad Pitt or David Beckham, But Jamie thinks he's a mix of the two)

3. I always secretly wanted to be famous (I'll settle for a fan club of two toddler boys)

4. I earned 1/2 tuition scholorship to BYU but ended up graduating from Paul Mitchell Hair School!

5. I've been through so much drama in my life they should make a Lifetime TV movie about me

6. (besides watching Lifetime with Jamie) I'm obsessed with BRAVO TV- ie.Top Chef, Shear Genius, Project Runnway, Rachel Zoe Project, Real Housewives of O.C., what's not to love?

7. On my DVR right now I have Oprah and Dr. Phil, the Office, 30 Rock, How I met your Mother, American Idol,Top Chef, Ace of Cakes, a dozen HGTV shows, Jon and Kate plus 8, the Bachelor, Real World Brooklyn, Real housewives of O.C., and some cartoons for the kiddos

8. I would watch 1/2 as much TV if we didn't have a DVR

9. I talk ALOT if you couldn't tell (my notes home from my teachers were always saying that I talked too much, like my parents didn't know!)

10. I played with Barbies way past the age that was socially acceptable

11. I REALLY want to have a girl (then I'll have an excuse to play Barbies again!)

12. I REALLY believe in miracles, I have a 3 year old who used to be 3 pounds for starters

13. If I wasn't a Hair Colorist I would definately be a NICU nurse

14. I love the idea of exercising but I hate actually doing it

15. I love the idea of road trips but I get miserably carsick

16. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, someday I will!

17. I love beaches more than anything, but ocean water is so gross to me and I'm terrified of gellyfish

18. I'm really terrified of heights too. I have dreams where I'm falling and I wake up right before I hit the ground

19. I'm terrified of something ever happening to Jamie and having to raise my kids by myself

20. My favorite music is the music Jamie writes for me, I also love Jack Johnson, Zac Maloy, Pearl Jam, Nora Jones, Brittany Spears (sorry but I do) and hip hop-especially old school hip hop. I'm also obsessed with Micheal Jackson's music but don't really like Micheal Jackson. (he's a little creepy)

21. I love going to concerts with Jamie, I was blown away by the Foo Fighters-Dave Grohl was rediculous! (Pearl Jam was amazing too Jamie)

22. I don't read books as often as I should, but I did jump on the Twilight ban wagon. I'm on the last book-don't tell me how it ends!

23. I had my 10 year highschool reunion this summer and it's been fun and weird reconnecting with everyone especially through Facebook

24. When I'm done having kids I really want to get a boob job (so they can look like they do when I'm nursing, I'd rather be full of saline than milk!)

25. I'm so happy that I dumped Jamie's roomate (sorry Ben) and started dating Jamie. He's the best husband and father, and he gave me the most wonderful little boys (and hopefully a girl too someday) and he makes me laugh and cry and want to hit him and want to kiss him and I'm grateful everyday for our family!

So Landon thinks the freezer is his new toy box!

2009-01-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

We have a fridge with a bottom pull out drawer freezer. Lately Landon likes to help me open it to get ice out to put in his cup or help me get out the chicken nuggets, etc.

Today, however, he's figured out that he's strong enough to pull it open himself.

So all morning he's been bringing me various frozen food items while saying "here go mommy"

After like 1/2 dozen times of walking him back and helping him put the items back and telling him these are not toys! and not to open it again. I finally threatened to give him a time out if he opened the freezer again.

Needless to say he's had two time outs today for playing with his new freezer toy box.

(Jamie has the camera at work today, sorry no pics, but it was hilarious watching Landon walking around carrying frozen veggies, etc. and running away from me when I said we need to put them back! I'm sure there'll be more photo opts later of this)

For Uncle Jeff

2009-01-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Landon got his "bangs" trimmed. I was trying to let them get long enough that they would go to the sides and out of his face, but it was NOT WORKING and his hair was constantly in his eyes.

It drove Uncle Jeff crazy at Christmas time

(sorry Jeff, I know you'd rather we buzz it off since all of Grandma Lucy's friends think he's a girl, but this is better than nothing.)

BEFORE

AFTER

There goes that New Years resolution...

2009-01-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

One of my New Years resolutions is to keep my blog more updated... so FINALLY heres a little taste of our Christmas 2008... ta da!

We put up not one, but two trees this year. I decided to do my tree in all gold and white and we did a "kids" tree with our old ornaments and we strung fruit loops. Zac loved helping with the fruit loops (while eating them in the process)

I took the kids to see Santa and I must say it went much better this year than last year! Zac asked Santa for a tractor. Santa said "a tractor?" and Zac said "yeah, that I can ride on!"

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2007

Jamie's sisters were in town for Christmas and we all hung out at our house and played Rock Band (Jamie's early Christmas present from me) it was so much fun!

Then we all crashed at his parents house for Christmas Eve so we could wake up Christmas morning together. It's tradition for Jim to read "the Night Before Christmas"

Christmas morning Zac was the first one to wake up and we tried to keep him upstairs till Landon and Ella woke up but he didn't want to wait, he was so excited. It wasn't too much longer till Landon and Ella joined him.

These are the videos of the kids when they first saw their toys from Santa! (videos especially for my parents who didn't get to see my kids Christmas morning. Maybe this will make you guys feel like you were there!)

Landon thought he'd try it out backwards!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAC!!!

2008-12-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

ZAC TURNED 3 TODAY!

Yesterday we had a little family party at Jamie's parents. Debbie made him a huge chocolate chip cookie and gave him a singing birthday card!

His two favorite gifts were a piggy bank from Grandma Lucy (with a bag of coins to put in it) and the
figure eight race track Jim and Debbie gave him. He woke up this morning and couldn't wait to play with the race track again!

This evening Zac had a birthday party at McDonalds with a bunch of his friends.

He had lots of chicken nuggets, fries, and a Dump Truck Cake!

Zac was so excited to blow out his "3" candle he kept blowing while everyone was singing and he was too far away to make the flame go out and for some reason he thought that was the funniest thing ever! (check it out...he's crazy!)

He had so much fun playing on the indoor playground and opening presents with his friends.

When we got home he got to try out his new "Hulk" punching fists on Daddy.... (video is so funny)

Thanks again to everyone for coming and for the wonderful presents!

Zac had such a great 3rd birthday!

(Landon sure had a great time too!)

Freaking microwave!

2008-11-29T21:24:00.001-08:00

So just making a little microwave popcorn tonight and suddenly we hear a loud crashing noise.....

yeah, ummmmm aren't microwave plates supposed to be able to withstand 3 min of heat????

Guess not.

thanks a lot doc

2008-11-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Zac's fever was gone yesterday after his nap and still gone today, but we still saw pediatrician.

Not Strep, Not Flu, some other virus. No cure, don't need antibiodics, shouldn't even be contagious since fever has been gone for 24 hrs. Just keep doing fluids and rest.

Sooo glad I just paid a bunch of money (we have a high deductable that just started over in Sept) to find out what Zac doesn't have!!!

Oh and it was pretty awesome when the doc did the throat swab test and it made Zac gag, and if you know Zac you know he has the weakest gag reflex ever! so, yeah you guessed it, Zac threw up all over me!

I couldn't even be mad cuz he was like "oh my gosh! oh my gosh! I sorwee mommy! oh my gosh!"

I almost had to laugh. (maybe I say oh my gosh too much?)

Lazy Weekend

2008-11-16T20:44:00.000-08:00

Zac has been sick with a fever for 3 days, no other symptoms, just fever. When I talked to Zac's doctor today, he thinks it could be strep, (yikes!) so we're taking him in tomorrow.

his small attempt at a smile

Landon on the other hand has been feeling great,
and was more than happy to cheese it up for the camera!

HALLOWEEN TIME!

2008-11-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

HALLOWEEN TIME!
It all started a couple weeks ago painting pumpkins at a friends house...

The beautiful results!

Trying to get the kids to pose with their pumpkins, but they weren't in the mood.

Then aunt Mel came to visit the week before Halloween. (we love the pirate Halloween shirts Grandma Debbie got them, they wore them a lot in the last few weeks, soooo cute!)

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's church Halloween party. Filled with "trunk" or treating, hay rides, chili cook off, and lots of fun.

Grandpa Jim dressed up like Captin Jack Sparrow, and everyone was so impressed except for Zac. Zac was terrified of him and wouldn't go near him all night and cried if Jim tried to talk to him! It was so funny.

I put up a few simple decorations. I like my dollar store doormat! What a great find. Zac likes the spider that drops down (up by the front door- kinda hard to see in the picture)

Then it was finally the Day of Halloween!!!

I hosted a little party with friends from church. We made a couple easy crafts (thanks Ruth your spider webs were so cute) and decorated Halloween cookies (Valerie they were yummy! thanks for going to all that trouble!)

Zac wanted to decorate the cookies but didn't want to eat them with all the frosting and candies on them. (Notice the plain cookie in his hand!) Landon was more than happy to eat Zac's masterpieces.

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by later with some Halloween baskets filled with goodies! Man, their Easter baskets have some competition now!

FINALLY TRICK OR TREATING!!!

Getting ready to go out and trick or treat. The boys loved it! We went with a group of friends from church. I didn't think to bring my camera out to catch the action, but the kids were so cute. Zac kept trying to go up twice at each house. He loved it, except for a lady dressed as a witch passing out candy. He wouldn't go near her. Thanks for letting us hang at your house Kristen and go around your neighboorhood.

All in all a great day. We were just sad that Jamie had to be out of town and missed the trick or treating. Guess who gets to take them next year! (and I'm gonna make you dress up too Jamie!)

My kids are obsessed with their hilarious cousin Ella

2008-11-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Zac and Landon love watching their cousin Ella's funny videos, but one of her newest ones has become an OBSESSION of theirs. See for yourself... (sorry you might want to pause my Thriller music so you can hear the video)

(to see Ella's video, go to "the Bosgraafs" link from my page)

Bedtime stories

2008-10-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

I was reading a post on Emily Smith's blog about a story from when she used to teach in the hood in Chicago and it made me really think about how lucky I am that my kids have a dad, that I don't have to struggle as much as a single mom does (it's still a struggle most days with two of us) and I wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful husband who is THE BEST BEDTIME STORY READER EVER!!! Seriously the kids are so upset on nights when daddy isn't home to read to them. so thanks Jamie, you're the bomb diggity (just haven't said bomb diggity in a while and felt like it was a good time!)

If you haven't seen me lately...

2008-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

For all of you who haven't seen me lately...

SURPRISE I'm a brunette now!

The most common remark has been "your eyes look sooo green!"

They've been green my whole life, I guess the brown hair makes them more noticable.

The most common question has been "what does Jamie think?"

well he's the one who wanted me to go dark. He's been buggin me to do it for weeks!

So there it is.

(sorry mom, I know you love my blonde hair)

Who do my kids look like?

2008-10-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me who I think my kids look like... me or Jamie. Well... I always say both. I see things in them that remind me of different characteristics both Jamie and I had as little kids. What do YOU think?

Zac looking kinda like me

and I had the same hairdo as Landon

Zac always makes crazy faces which reminded me of Jamie

And Jamie had those fat cheeks like both my boys

Landon really looks like Jamie's baby pics to me sometimes

Zac so proud in what he's wearing just like Jamie was

IT'S POTTY TIME!!!

2008-09-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Zac is learning to use the potty! He picked out Handy Manny underwear, and we try to keep Handy Manny DRY!

He's learning to pull down his underwear all by himself

sometimes it helps to have a snack

"My water came out Mommy!!!"
(it cracks me up when he says this!)

or he'll say "I poo" even though he peed! And he likes to say,

"that was a close one!"

I don't care as long as it gets in the potty!

Then he gets to put a sticker on his sign every time!

18- not bad for 2 1/2 days!

Good Job Zac!!! Keep it up!

I'm all better now!

2008-09-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's been over two weeks since Zac's surgery and Zac's incision has healed very well. Now he has a cool scar to show for it!

Laguana Beach

2008-09-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Laguana Beach for Jamie's friend Sam's wedding. What a gorgeous place! And the best part of this trip... NO KIDS ALLOWED! (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Ayres)

tossing around the football with Sam. I was enjoying reading a book and not feeding anyone or changing any diapers!

Sam and Liz's wedding was sooooo beautiful! Check out the groomsman on the far right!

And who does this guy think he is? Tom Hanks from Castaway? Random in our ocean scenery!

Enjoying the reception! The food was soooo good! We sat at the "mormon" table. Then later Jamie got his groove on with Sam and saved a couple dances for me too.

Zac survived his first surgery!

2008-08-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

Zac had his surgery on Friday to remove the tumor on his neck. I've been meaning to update everyone, sorry it took a few days, but HE'S DOING GREAT!!! I forgot to bring my camera to the hospital so I took these a couple days ago at home. He's been so tuff and not complaining about the incision.

He was so sweet at the hospital, all the nurses couldn't believe how brave he was. We were lucky to have the same nurse that helped us when he had his MRI and she lets him play with her name badge, and if you know Zac you know he loves work badges almost as much as he loves keys!

WE'RE HOME!!!

2008-08-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

Now back to the real world!
(On the way to the airport to go back to Dallas) I felt the same way at the end of our vacation.

Family Photos

2008-08-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

My little brother came in from Detroit just a couple days before we went back to Dallas and since it was the first time all four of my mom's kids were together in like 6 years, she wanted us to take a family picture. (She had her neighbor take some more "professional" ones these are just some snap shots from my camera.) I decided to try to get a cute family photo of me and Jamie and the kids while we were at it, but Zac was not wanting to cooperate! (I hope her neighbor got some better ones than we did!)

This picture (above) totally gave me a flashback of this picture(below) ohhh, Zac...

$2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point

2008-08-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

For August Thanksgiving point did $2 tuesdays. So the first Tuesday we were in town we went to the Dinosaur museum

The second Tuesday we went to the farm. The kids seemed to enjoy the farm a lot more especially the pony rides!

Kids enjoying my mom's waterfall

2008-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

The next week we stayed at my mom's house and of course the kids favorite thing was the waterfall in the backyard! (what is it with Utah people and waterfalls in their yards?)

Landon LOVED his cousin Ella's house

2008-08-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Landon, still playing the game Nate taught him at the river by the campfire!!! (this time we were in Kristen's backyard though!)

Landon's favorite toy of Ella's was definately her Dora powerwheels!

Campfire night with Jamie's fam

2008-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

The first weekend we were in Utah, we stayed at Jamie's sister Kristen's house. Kristen planned a fun night up in the canyon with their other sis Melanie.

First we had to stop and get marshmellows, hotdogs, Cheetos, etc. all the campfire food essentials. Zac and Ella got to drive the shopping cart! (looks like Zacs taken over both steering wheels- sorry Ella)

Eating yummy food at the campfire. There's nothin better than smores and hotdogs!

gorgeous ladies!
Mel and Nate taught the kids a fun game by the river- throwing pebbles. Landon decided to pick up a rock almost as big as he is!!! Wow Landon, take it easy!

Of course everyone needed baths before bedtime cuz campfire nights are DIRTY!

This video is just toooo cute! I love how these two interact and teach each other things and make each other laugh! I already miss you guys!

On our way to Utah!

2008-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

On our way to Utah we had a layover in Denver and the boys were so excited to run around upstairs and kept wanting to go on the moving walk way. I guess all the running around got Zac tired, he fell asleep on the plane as soon as we took off! Landon was still full of energy cuz he slept on the 1st flight from Dallas to Denver.

A FEW PICS FROM GRANDMA'S HOUSE IN UTAH...more to come when we get home

2008-08-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

We've been in Utah for a week visiting family and friends and don't come home till next week. So I haven't been blogging cuz although I've taken a lot of pictures, I didn't bring my chord to connect my camera to my mom's computer. So today I decided to take pictures with my mom's camera so I could upload them!

My sister is in town from Reno with her kids and Zac has been having a blast playing with her 4 year old Will. (They are both OBSESSED with cars!)

Zac LOVES Grandmas whirlpool tub. He gets sooo excited when we turn on the bubbles and he was even more excited to have his cousin Will to play with.

(he's more fun than Landon cuz he doesn't cry when Zac splashes him!)

Landon descovered a fun game at lunch today... stick the hotdogs inside the plastic flute. But then he was upset that he couldn't get them out!

Memory Tag

2008-07-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the fun tag everyone is doing. Don't leave me hangin'! (Even if you don't have a blog or don't ever comment or if this is an old entry, I always love comments.)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you, if you have one. If not, play anyway!

Spray Park

2008-07-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Lakehighlands Rec Center has a free spray park. That's right, FREE! We don't belong to the rec center either, it's just a public park and the kids love it! (plus there's a couple playgrounds and swingsets and picnic tables, etc. all right there!) Dallas is sooo hot and this is better than taking the kids swimming, cuz there's less risk of drowning. :) Jamie too cool to get in a get wet with the kiddos (even though he did have a swim suit on)

Zac kept sticking his head in this one and laughing!!

He was a little scared to go through this one,

but he finally went through with me, holding my hand.

Landon pretty much stayed by the little baby fountains

Not often that we get a picture of them together

He's gonna be OK

2008-07-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

BENIGN

The word of the day is "Benign" yeah!!! Zac's MRI results came in and he has what's called lipoma. It's a non-cancerous (benign) tumor made up of fatty tissue. It won't ever go away though, and it could slowly get bigger over time. So unless if we want Zac to pick up the nick name Quasimodo we better have it removed. We're getting a refferal from our pediatrician tomorrow for a surgeon to do that hopefully soon!

Man we wanted the kid to gain a little fat, but this isn't exactly what we had in mind!
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/lipoma-topic-overview

ZAC'S MRI

2008-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

ZAC HAS A LUMP ON HIS NECK!
We just noticed it Fourth of July weekend when Debbie pointed it out. We saw our pediatrician the next week and

needless to say, he was concerned.

1st we did blood work and an ultra sound.
The results: cell count good, and thyroid levels good (from blood work) and we know it's not protruding deeper than surface into muscle or esophagus (ultra sound) But they still didn't know what it was.
It feels soft which is a good sign (hard lumps are more indication of cancer) and doesn't seem to cause him any pain.
So we got an MRI today and we'll hopefully know later today or tomorrow what the heck is going on!!!

Zac had so much fun in the pediatric waiting area. It totally kept his mind off the fact that he wasn't allowed to eat any breakfast!

They gave him a mask to play with to practice and be comfortable with the idea of the doctor using it to sedate him for the MRI. But all Zac kept wanting to do was put it in the play mailbox.

Kids in action @ the playground!

2008-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Landon is cracking me up more and more as he gets older and learns to keep up with Zac.

Fourth of July

2008-07-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

The night before the Fourth of July, Landon had 103.1 temp and was up most of the night. The next day his fever was gone, but he still was not a happy camper! Sooooo tired but wouldn't nap. The only time he was happy all day was watching Grandpa set off fireworks!

Zac and Grandpa swimmin' in the (cold) hot tub

It still wasn't quite dark but Grandpa Jim started giving the boys a firework show and they both really liked it!

Jamie's 30th Birthday in Utah

2008-06-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah for my ten year highschool reunion. Since we'd only be there a few days and would be busy with reunion stuff we decided to save ourselves about $300 by leaving Zac at home with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Debbie. (Landon came cuz he flies for free and Aunt Mel had offered to babysit him)

We had so much fun hanging out at Jeff and Kristen's to celebrate Jamie's 30th Birthday! Even though he had his B-day present from me in New York, his real birthday fell when we were in Utah. Mel got him a cherry cheesecake but Jeff couldn't find a 3 to make a 30, so 2+1 = 3 get it?

Nice Ella, did your dad teach you that?

Landon was ready to play croquet!

Look at those beautiful blondes!

Jamie thought the waterfall would make a sexy pose

Landon enjoyed playing on Ella's new playhouse!

chillin' at the airport ready to go home!

ARE WE EVER GOING TO MAKE IT BACK?

2008-06-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Coming home from New York we encountered bad weather in Dallas. Right before our decent the pilot was told to go back to Memphis (where we had our layover) cuz they wouldn't let us land in Dallas and we couldn't cirlce around forever. So we went back to Memphis and sat on the plane for over an hour waiting for another crew to come and fly us, yet again, back to Dallas. Well, they couldn't get another crew so our flight was canceled and we got to hang out in the NOT SO COMFORTABLE airport overnight (no free hotels when the cancelation is weather related!) YEAH IT SUCKED!

Oh, they did give us each $10 in Arby's vouchers- cuz that makes it all better

NEW YORK!!!

2008-06-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

We went to New York for our birthday's this year (June 23-me and 30-Jamie) I hadn't been since I was 8 (20 years ago!)and Jamie went once for business (with Y2 marketing) like 6 years ago. So it was so fun to go and do some fun stuff there. Too bad we only had 3 days, but it's hard to be gone long when you leave your kids home-plus New York is expensive!

Love this show!!!

Got to see the new season's cast in person!

awesome!

One of my favorite things was central park! soooo pretty and surreal to see the big buildings through the trees!

David Letterman had Will Smith on that day, if I had known that, I would have waited in line to be in the audience for sure!!!

Time Square. A lot like Vegas :)

Happy EARLY B-day Jamie

2008-06-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

THIS is the real reason we went to New York!!!! PEARL JAM!

I told Jamie since he was turning 30 I wanted to do something big for his birthday.... so I said pick any band that you want to see this summer in any city and we'll go! So he chose Pearl Jam in New York, and I have to say, IT WAS SOOOOOO AWESOME! Good choice Jamie :)

Wasn't that in the trash Landon???

2008-06-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Landon has figured out how to lift the lid on our kitchen trash can, so if the trash is pretty full, he'll pull things off the top and try to eat whatever's left in the container.... well just see for yourself...

I guess Jamie wanted a new look too...

2008-06-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

When I left for work yesterday Jamie looked like this... (well this picture is like 2 weeks old, but he still looked about like this in the morning)...

But when I came home from work... HE LOOKED LIKE THIS!!!!

Supposedly he was "growing it out for 2 years" whatever... he does this almost every summer. I don't know why I was so suprised this time. I REALLY SHOULD HIDE MY CLIPPERS! You'd think I'd learn by now.

I don't know if he was getting too hot with the long hair, if he had too much time on his hands (I don't see how he was "watching" the kids), or if he wanted to look like his man crush David Beckham, but it is what it is.

I still think your sexy! And you always put up with me changing my hair, so rock the buzz cut! Whatever...

The New Me

2008-06-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

I got bangs (or fringe as we hairstylists call it) about a week ago. I haven't had straight bangs since I was in Jr. High, but I was getting bored, so there it is.

swimming right before nap time

2008-05-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

We finally got a chance to use the blowup pool I got Landon for his birthday. It was kinda close to nap time though so they were slightly moody. (Zac is asking for his blanky in the video and Landon starts crying)

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Memorial Day. The kids loved Grandpa's hotdogs but what they loved the most was swimming in the little pool with all the bubbles! (just an unheated hot tub to us)

I was the only adult who actually got in. Grandma and Grandpa helped from the outside, and Jamie took pictures and videos.

2008-05-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today we saw David Beckham up close and personal!!! Well, sort of. We went to the FC Dallas game vs LA Galaxy (Beckham's new team, also featuring Landon Donavon-our little Landon's name sake) Our seats were pretty good because we went with the Texas state champions for soccer this year (otherwise known as the McKinney Boyd girls team) they get the hook up now that they're champs.

Becks is soooooo hot in real life and has mad skills, sorry FC Dallas :(

2008-05-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

Friday we went to see Jamie's 2nd fav band Everclear (1st is Pearl Jam) and on the last song they were picking girls to go on stage and I got picked! Yeah, I still got it! :)

2008-05-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

The other day Zac was playing at his friend Max's house and they came up with a new way to use Max's tunnels... 1 2 3 BLASTOFF!

Zac's 1st "real" haircut

2008-05-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

We're back online!!! We got a new computer and ATT uverse so I will try to catch up my blog bit by bit. (like Landon's birthday and last Christmas, etc) 1st things 1st... ZAC GOT A "REAL" HAIR CUT FOR THE 1ST TIME TODAY!!!! soooo cute, and I think he looks older now!

Mothers Day

2008-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

After church we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner, which Grandpa Jim made by the way. It was fabulous! Then the kids wanted to go outside, so we got some cute pictures.

Jamie gave me a digital picture frame and loaded it the night before with some cute pics on it. So when I woke up it was by my bed with the pics displaying. So sweet!

Our babysitter helped the kids make me some really cute homemade cards with their handprints and footprints, etc. So precious!

2008-03-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Landon got some sandbox toys for his birthday so we thought we'd try them out.

Landon thought he'd also try out the sand as a snack

(WATCH THE VIDEO, SO FUNNY)

Landon's 1st Birthday

2008-03-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Landon turned 1 on March 25, 2008! We had a small party with a few friends and family. I made a cake with fresh fruit, cuz fruit is Landon's favorite food. And boy did he go at it!!!

(After a much needed bath) Then it was time for presents! He got some cute gifts and had so much fun opening them. My baby is a little man now!

2008-02-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

So I started this blog and soon after we were robbed and one of the many things stolen was our laptop, so now I can't really update it, sorrry. (I'm using my in-laws computer today) I only have occasional access to a computer now, so we won't get much updates on the blog.

For now... Zac is officially in a "big boy" bed for a week now and loves it. Some days he does great and others he gets out a few times before he finally stays in. Landon is eating a lot of table food and loves fruit the most! (so opposite of Zac) He seems like he could be walking very soon. He walks all over with his little walker toy. He turns one at the end of March. Hopefully we'll have a new computer by then and I can upload some new pics.

2008-01-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went with the kids to visit Katherine, Brian and Ava in Longview, Texas! (about 2 hours away) They have a cute house out in the country now. The kids had so much fun. Zac misses his girlfriend Ava so much! Landon followed them around and wanted to do everything they were doing.

2008-01-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

Zac and Landon LOVED playing outside in Ava's toy car. Landon also loved swinging in the baby porch swing, but Zac hated it.

2007-12-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

After tons of practice pretending to blow out the candle, Zac got destracted by the flame and forgot all our practice! Zac decided it was more fun to touch the flame than blow it out

2007-12-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

Zac got so good at opening his presents! This one will help Zac train to play guitar hero like his daddy

2007-12-15T19:00:00.001-08:00

Jamie got impatient holding Zac's pinata. It was pretty funny!