I spy

While on our vacation back in October, we were walking along the ocean in South Beach Miami. We got a glimpse of some paparazzi-looking guys snapping pics of someone as fast as their little fingers would allow. So of course...we took our own photo....the only problem is we have no idea who she is?? What do you think??

I'm pretty sure the famous one is on the left? We are always suckers for famous people. Did I ever tell you about the time we saw Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Short??! Tom Hanks! I know...amazing right?

Lesson Learned

A couple of weeks ago after church, Paige and I were shoveling the huge amounts of snow from the driveway. I was trying to hurry and get it done so that we could surprise Trevor when he got home. I kept getting bothered by Paige because she insisted on 'helping' and she was making it more difficult. Just when I was about to say,"Paige! You are not helping...you are making this process so much slower!", she proceeds to teach me a lesson. "Just keep trying mom!" she said as she tried to scoop huge piles of snow from the driveway. "That's what we need to keep doing! Just keep trying". It was so cute that I couldn't bear to break her little spirit. She is so great! Everyday she makes me so mad and then totally redeems herself with something like that.

Keep on keeping on

I am now on my third week of my new exercise program. I have a good friend named Ruby (don't you just love that name?...If I ever have another daughter by accident I think I'll name her Ruby) anyway...Ruby and I have been waking up every morning at 5:00 and going to Zumba and Turbo Kickboxing classes. It has been so much fun! If you have never tried a Zumba class...you must! It is fabulous! It is a great workout and we get to shake our bodies...every bit of them! I also started my training for running RAGNAR which will take place in mid-June. When I told Mama Lou I was on a team for RAGNAR she said,"You've never been a good runner!" I say...well I am now! or I will be in about 5 months anyway.

So I think that if I journal my progress here on my blog that I will 'stick' with it and be more accountable. So all of you, my readers, can become my own personal JILLIAN to keep me motivated. But please don't try to break me down and make me cry...I can't take it!

I'll leave you with a cute story about Max. Max saw me getting a band aid out of the first aid kit and asked,"Mom! Are you a Doctor???" I answered with, "I wish...Maybe you can be a Doctor when you grow up" Max quickly replied..."Nope, I already know what I want to be. A cooker at that place they make those yummy pancakes....IHOP!" I will make everybody whatever they want to eat for breakfast!.....Oh that boy cracks me up everyday. Love him:)

Wow

Wow! I don't even know where to start....I am often tempted to 'give-up' on the whole blogging thing. I am horrible and keeping up on it. And why on earth do I really do it anyway??? I feel like lately when I read other people's blogs, all I do is compare myself to everyone else and it's not great for my self esteem. I feel like the blogging world of Utah and turned into a bunch of word famous photographers/crafters/seamstresses/chefs/super-human mothers that have WAY more time than I do it seems.

But then there are some blogs....some blogs out there that are truly inspirational. A gal in my ward has started a new blog about her journey to become genuinely happy. I love to read and it makes me really think about life and happiness. I like that. I like not just thinking about how everyone (it seems) is more talented in every way. So my new goal is to read blogs that uplift and inspire...or even make me laugh. I like those blogs too. In addition, my goal also encompasses looking at the value of my own blog. I want it to be something inspirational to my children....not just showing off my lack of talents (like being domestic).

So it brings me back to the question....why??? The answer is not as simple as I thought it should be. I guess I like to do it? I feel like my blog is somewhat of a journal that let's me write my thoughts and feelings and acts as a great 'out'. I also love to journal my kids and their lives and sweet moments. I know my kids love to look at pictures and someday this blog will be something for them to look back and read and remember the fun and important things in their lives. Is that a good enough answer? hmmm....



Anyway, here we go....



Our sweet baby Brody turned one last month. He really couldn't be any sweeter. He is such a good baby. He is so perfect. I really couldn't think of anything I would change about him. He is still growing at an outrageous rate. He he perfectly proportioned....just BIG:) He is so cute and always has a smile for you. One thing I love about him is his shy personality. He is the best cuddler and will go to anyone that wants to hold him....and the first thing he will do when they pick him up is lay his head on their shoulder for a really great love. Man we were lucky to get such a great baby!

Paige is growing up way too fast. She has started taking dance and she is a natural. She loves her dance teacher and always does each step with utmost perfection. She watches the teachers so close so that she can be JUST like her....she wants to point her toes just like her, she wants to grow her hair just like her, she wants to be a great dancer just like her. Here she is looking at her toes to make sure they are just right....yes a little Obsessive Compulsive I believe.

And leaves us with Maxwell. Max is as sweet and silly as ever. His favorite time of the year is Halloween and now that it has come and gone he is planning his costume for next year. He even like to plan other people's costumes too....the other day in church he announced in the middle of sacrament meeting that I should be a huge pumpkin head for Halloween next year. The people behind us couldn't help but giggle. I'm not sure if they were giggling because they were picturing me as a giant pumpkin, or because it was December and he was talking about Halloween! Here he is as a skeleton...I know what you're thinking, "Wow...not too creative for someone who plans their costume all year!" But that's what he wanted to be after changing his mind 4 times throughout the year.



Ok...enough for now. I really am going to do much better at keeping up and not feeling so stressed to be as good as everyone else. I will just do the best I can do and try everyday to be a little better than the day before.

Chomp Chomp!

Twice now I have left the room and returned to find Max indulging himself. He absolutely LOVES watermelon. I wasn't aware of his love for bananas.

I wonder if he has some crazy eating disorder..where he just can't stop eating the things I love. Maybe he gets it from me. When there is a freshly cut pineapple around. I just can't help myself.

Okay, I admit it. I am terrible at keeping up on my blog. I feel bad about it too. It's something that I want to be good at. But I'm not. I've also always wanted to be a great singer, artist, model, homemaker, etc. and I'm not great at those either. But I'll keep plugging along.

The last couple of months have been busy with birthdays. In April it was mine, Trevor's, and Max's birthday. Then May 7th is Paige's birthday. It was fun, but boy am I glad it's over. Phew! Here are some pics of the fun days:

Here's Paige and Devyn....they had a joint-party because their birthday is only a couple of days apart.

Paige on her new bike

Max riding his new bike just before he tipped over and vowed to never ride again!
Max's new blanket that Grandma Lou Lou crocheted. A BIG gorilla...a request by Max.

And for Mr. Brody...he is growing at an alarming rate! He is already wearing 12 month clothes and I'm sure will be out of those soon! He is so cute and cuddly. He is such a great baby. He sleeps great and is always happy...unless he is hungry:) He takes his food very seriously. Max and Paige love him so much. They are both so sweet to him.

Only one more week of work until summer vacation. We hope to do a lot of swimming, movie club, fun Fridays, and volunteer Thursdays! Every night as Max is getting into bed he says, "Mom, what are we going to do tomorrow?" and then I usually reply with something like, "Well, first preschool and then to Grandma Carmae's for daycare." He is always happy with that, but tonight when we put him to bed he said, "Mom! tomorrow is Summer! You get to stay home with us!" How sweet! I can't wait! I love to spend the whole summer with my cute little kids.

Funny Girls

A couple of months ago we had Trevor's sister Amber and her husband Tyson over to play games. While we were playing, the kids were having a great time playing in their rooms. Paige and Mae came out wearing goggles and acting so silly. We laughed so hard because Paige's goggles were on just a little crooked and made her eyes look just like Sloth from Goonies! She just kept smiling at us with this funny little smile. I just love Mae too. Every time she smiles for the camera she does some crazy pose. Crazy girls!

Winter Blues

I don't know about all of you...but I am so ready for spring. I don't know if I can take any more snowy days. For some reason when it's cold and snowy outside all I want to do is stay home in my purple sweat pants and watch TV in front of the fireplace. Doesn't that sound nice? And what's even worse than going out in the snow and cold? ....when you are driving down the snowy road minding your own business and some crazy young gal crashes right into you! That very thing happened to me on Saturday. I tell ya...my car is cursed. It's like a magnet for people...it sucks them into and there's nothing they can do! One great thing about my car getting wrecked, is the WONDERFUL rental I got. I'm now cruising around the snowy streets in my fabulous 2010 Tahoe! I love, love, love it. And the kids love it too! Max asked if we could keep it. I'm thinking seriously about driving it to Mexico and never coming back. Do you think they could track me down?

Oh ya...if you got a couple minutes...go to Befunky.com and you can play around with your pictures...it's really kind of fun!

Surpise!

Surprise!! Since my last post I have had so many changes in my life and our family. On December 2nd our little boy Brody joined the family. I know, the last time I posted nobody even knew I was pregnant! We are completely in love with our new little boy. I am dreading going back to work on Monday. I have really enjoyed the life of a stay-at-home mom the last 6 weeks. The summer flew by, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all flew by just as fast. Now we're in 2010 and I wish the time would stop flying by so fast. I wish I could freeze my sweet little ones in time and never let them grow up. I will not give you a million excuses on why I have neglected my blog, but I'm back baby! I promise to do better.

Oh...and I guess I better post some pics of our new Brody Franklin Bailey. My great friend Sarah took these photos. She is totally awesome if any of you are looking for someone to photograph your family.

Mister Lee Mister Lee....Oh! Mister Lee

Papa Lee is on an airplane right now heading our way. He is FINALLY moving home from Germany after 8 long years! I am excited to see him. Even more excited than me, is Paige. She adores her Papa Lee. He is such a great guy. In February, we attended the Parade of Homes in St. George and took my mom and dad along with us. Everyone who has ridden down to southern Utah with me, knows that I must always stop at the Chevron in Beaver and sit in the BIG chair. Last time we went, my dad was the only one who would sit with me...what a great guy.

The Count Down is On!!!

I have officially started counting down the days until summer break! I live for the summer. I don't know if I could ever work somewhere that doesn't get the whole summer off. As of today, I only have 21 days of school left. I am pumped! I love being able to spend more time with my kids and it seems so much easier to not have to worry about work and meetings. I have big plans of hanging with my sis and her kids...(by the way...she's got some big news, but I don't want to spoil...so check her blog often). We always join Movie Club and we also have Fun Fridays that my sister started with some of her friends and I kinda joined too. Every Friday we do something exciting and new with the kids. So be prepared for some fun and exciting blogs coming soon...very very soon.

Happiest Place on Earth

Over spring break we had a chance to vacation in California. We had 6 days packed full of fun. We went to Disneyland and California Adventure, Sea World, San Diego's Wild Animal Park, and Universal Studios. Since Mama Lou is staying with us until their house is done, she was able to come with. We had a blast. Here are some of the highlights;

Max and Paige at the Wild Animal Park....the Gorillas were Max's favorite....and by the way, our kids are no good at posing for pictures. We can't get both of them to look at the camera for the life of us!

Max and Daddy on his favorite ride Pirates of the Caribbean. We had to force him on it the first time, but after that he was Captain Jack Sparrow the rest of the trip!


We waited in line for WAY too long for Mickey Mouse and when we finally got there, Paige was terrified of him! This was the only line that tested our patience.

Max loves 'The Sword in the Stone' so he had to try to pull the sword out. He was rather bothered that he couldn't get it out. He REALLY wanted that sword.

Here we are in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, once again trying to push the kids' faces so they will look at the camera. Very frustrating.

While in San Diego we visited Old Town and ate some authentic Mexican food. Some guy balloon tied a sword for Max and a Butterfly for Paige. Max was pretty pumped because he had been begging for us to buy him a sword since he had tried to pull out the sword from the stone.

At the Wild Animal Kingdom Max went in and fed the birds. Right when he walked in the door 2 or 3 birds flew down and landed right on him! The look on his face was hilarious!

If you ask Paige about her favorite part of the vacation, she will say it was when she got to see Dora. She never watches Dora, so it surprised me that she like seeing her so much.

While in San Diego, we drove over the bridge to Coronado and we were so happy that we did. It was so beautiful! We walked on the beach and Paige LOVED walking in the ocean. She was adorable.

Little Maxwell Lee

April 6th, was my little Maxwell Lee's 4th Birthday. I can't believe it's been 4 years! What a blessing Max has been in our life. Max was named after both of his Grandpas, Grandpa Max and Papa Lee. I can remember the day he was born like it was just yesterday. After 3 1/2 months long months of bed rest and an absolutely horrible delivery, I was so ready for my little boy to come.

For Max's birthday party we had family over for dinner and cake and ice cream. Max of course, picked out an Incredible Hulk cake. The kids had a blast playing in the yard and we even had a guest appearance by the Hulk himself, or should I say Herself. After dinner and dessert the family rocked out on Guitar Hero. It was a good time.

Max is such a character. He loves the Incredible Hulk, Pirates, licorice, Sharks, Spiders, and scary movies such as the Corpse Bride and Monster House. Max gives the best loves and he loves to cuddle. Max is often finding trouble and doing things he shouldn't do. In fact, I used to joke that I could rent him out to people to see what needs to be baby-proofed in their house. Even the youngest of Max's cousins love to yell, "MAX!"...like they are getting after him for doing something. Max is an unbelievable person and I know that he is going to continue to grow into an unbelievable person. Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

President's Day

For President's day we decided we would go to eat at the Pizza Factory..one of my favorites! So we all piled into the truck (my parents too!) and headed into Ogden. After parking, my parents hopped out of the truck on one side, and Trevor and I on the other. The next thing I knew I heard a big boom! I knew right away what had happened. Momma Lou slipped on the snow and ice. I wish so much that I had a picture to post to show what I saw next. I ran around the truck and saw momma Lou had slipped UNDER the truck! Just her wee little head was poking out. I have to admit that I peed a little when I saw her under there. It was so funny! Good news is she didn't get hurt and she was actually laughing and trying to keep from peeing her pants too. This story reminds me of long ago when I was about 12 or 13, Momma Lou slipped coming down the stairs at church and on her way down, she took out Ken and they both went down. I laugh hysterically every time I picture it in my head. AHHH! If you know both my mom and Ken you know how very funny this is! Every time I bring it up she says, " That is not funny...I had a bruise on my leg from that for like 2 years!"

VALEN'TIMES' DAY

Working at the elementary school I get hear all the new 'lingo' that the kids use. They all say 'valentimes' instead of valentines...and it drives me CRAZY. I spent the whole day on Friday before valentines day teaching all the kids the proper way to say it. I even wrote it on my little white-board so they could see how it is spelled. Another weird word they use is, "Budge" or in a sentence it would look like this: "Don't cut in line you big Budger!"....I laughed so hard the first time I heard the kids say this. I don't know about you, but when I was in school we called it 'butting' in line....weirdo kids.



We had a great Valentines Day weekend. Both of my parents are in town so we were able to spend the weekend with them. Trevor gave me a wonderful present that I adore..... It's a picture of the Bountiful Temple and has our name and anniversary date on it.


And I got Trev some new gear for our cruise that we're going on in November.

The kids were completely spoiled by my parents. I think they were on a sugar high for 3 days!

Pirates Ahoy!

Max and Paige have been acting like Pirates lately. The other day, they were all decked out with their pirate swords, hooks, and hats. They love to chase each other around and they even talk like pirates by saying things like, " Walk the Plank" and "Aye..matey!". They are very entertaining.

I found a pirate tattoo laying around and thought Max would LOVE to put it on his arm. I proceeded to lift up his shirt and stick the tattoo on his arm and he went BALLISTIC! He started crying so hard you would have thought somebody was cutting a finger off! Now that it's been on for a couple of weeks he has really grown to like it. Now whenever I take his shirt off he flexes his muscles and starts talking like a pirate again. So now when he is 18 and wants to defile his body I will just show him this picture....

I know, I know...I'm WAY behind on my blogging. I have been swamped lately. Besides working 2 jobs, I am now the secretary in the primary, planning a conference for over 100 people, and trying my best to be a wife and mom. I think I am getting the primary stuff 'figured' out so I'm feeling a little less stress....just a little though. I can't wait until summer!!

We had a fantastic Christmas. It just gets more fun every year. The kids were an absolute blast. We stayed up late and made cookies for Santa, and in the morning Max even remembered to check to see if he ate them! (after staying up until 2:30 a.m., Santa was much too tired to even think about eating so I bagged them up and saved them for later...but Max thought for sure he gobbled them right up)

A couple of days after Christmas we took the kids to the Ogden City lights. We had so much fun. Paige insisted on walking the entire way even though there was tons of snow and ice. Have I mentioned before...she is so CRAZY ???

Trevor and I decided after Christmas that Santa forgot to get us Guitar Hero World Tour, so we went and bought it ourselves....I wonder if I could get reimbursed for that? Both Max and Paige have sure taken a likeing to it. This picture shows just how serious Max takes his drumming.

Meow!

For about 3 weeks now, Max has been a kitty. I keep hoping he will forget about it, but he never forgets. For instance, yesterday, I went in to wake him up for the day and before he even opened his eyes he let out his best 'meeooww'. I said, "Are you kidding me?" He must have even been a kitty in his dreams! At this point I'm wishing he would turn back into the HULK....hmmm I can't decided which one is more annoying.....but pretty cute too.