the snarrs

events

2011-12-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

grad student christmas party: December 7, 2011

before...

after..

snowflakes hanging across the room
tables (there were 72!)

group project..."worldfest"

food (that's me in the background wearing a kimono:)

we decorated with globes. there was a tree in the room, so we threw stuff on it too.

lanterns, and a bunting made from an atlas I picked up at the DI

we served food from around the world. I'm getting the curry served up.

Afton's Ballerina Birthday

2011-11-13T16:02:00.001-08:00

Afton wanted a ballerina party for her 5th birthday. I can't believe she's already 5! Anyway, these are not in any particular order...

cute little friends wearing tiny crowns we made

we had the barbies out which was great for between activities!

the decorations...we made streamers out of plastic tablecloths. Thank you pinterest!

we had a "real ballerina" come to teach some ballet moves. (video below)

sally's baby shower

2011-10-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm horrible at taking photos, but here they are. Maci came out and we hosted a baby shower for our friend Sally.

Pear tart. Mmm...

Thanks for popping by!

we had a ball!

2011-09-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

mia wanted a soccer party for her 9th birthday.

the invites.

the friends.

the favors.

the food.

gotta have balloons...

and a bunting.

soccer trophies actually came in handy! we're calling my cake wreck "whimsical."

spray painted a soccer field on our front lawn.

overexcited about a slinky.

tuck got her a jump rope.

happy birthday bug!

happy easter!

2011-04-25T12:24:00.001-07:00

p.s. I know there is an unbalanced amount of photos of Tuck, but look at him!!

video footage

2011-02-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile...but I have a good excuse...I'm

taking 12 credits at BYU (that's full-time people). Any spare moment I have is devoted to getting ahead in my schoolwork, catching up on my housework, or giving the kids and Tim a little attention. It's a balancing act, but it's worth it and I feel so lucky to be able to go back to school.

So I've emptied my camera, and here are some highlights...

We didn't realize little Tuck knew his letters. Thanks "Signing Time!"

Afton and Mia got to do a little gymnastics session through the parks and rec. Needless to say, Afton loved "nash-sticks" and we loved how tired she was afterwards.

Mia was quite the little gymnast too.

I can't leave Annie out...she performed in a little choir Christmas show. The video won't upload, but here is a snapshot of her on the big night. She did a great job!

afton's 4th

2010-11-13T16:42:00.001-08:00

barnyard theme -- warning: photo overload

i never eat october snowflakes...

2010-10-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

i don't know if fall has left us for good yet, but this is what we woke up to today.

needless to say, the kids were enthusiastic about it.

i'll miss you fall!

ah fall!

2010-10-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

don't you love when the trees start changing colors? we get to look at this beauty out our front door. not to mention the beautiful mountains flecked with red trees. love it. thought you'd enjoy this mom.

we've done everything fall this week that we could do. we made halloween cookies to share with friends...

good decorating afton!

this is blurry, but you get an idea of how messy tucker's face got.

we made carmel apples...

and since we don't have apple hill out here, we made our own. we got invited to jordan's grandma's farm for apple picking.

tucker even brought one of the carmel apples we made so we would really feel like we were at apple hill.

i love this picture. tonight...apple pie!

mia's birthday part 1

2010-10-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

because of her undying love of all things sweet, this year mia wanted a cupcake party. we had the party at a cute little place called chocolate dessert cafe. the girls got to decorate their own cupcakes. we made cupcake hair accessories for everyone to take home.

annie is happy. tucker is diving in face first.

cute friends.

this was only the beginning of afton's cupcake decor. i think she piped on another cup of frosting and added so many sprinkles you couldn't make out the color of the frosting.

i had kind of wished there was more...like gumpaste flowers and other demonstrations. but it was just pipe on some icing and add a few sprinkles and eat. had i known that, i probably wouldn't have gotten the room for an hour and a half. oh well. mia liked it.

camping

2010-09-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

wish we were still there...

growing

2010-09-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

little mia planted these giant sunflowers when we first moved here. just look at them now...

also growing are my children. this is mia on her first first day of school. she started at the public school and really liked it. her friend (and neighbor) elena was in her class.

then she got the devastating news that a spot opened up for her at reagan academy, the charter school where annie was already in and daddy is teaching.

this is her teacher mrs. beagles. she has snoopy all over her classroom. ah, uniforms. mia says, "the clothes are so boring." but mom says, "it's so easy to get ready in the morning!"

annie was so excited about her first day of school. especially because daddy would be there too.

not pictured: me on my first day of school. my first week is over, and i am already overwhelmed. i find my self walking around envying all of the young single kids on campus. they don't know how easy they have it. not only are things crazy with school and home, but i managed to pick up an extremely part time job which i am starting this weekend with byu catering. it's funny how it happened...i was telling tim that i would love to work for a caterer to learn some tricks of the trade, and the very next day i was on campus and caught sight of a catering booth that said "now hiring." so i found out i could work fridays and saturdays (including all the football games) and i signed up. we'll see how it goes. maci told me that every start of the semester she is ready to give up, but somehow makes it through. i'm hoping this will work for me. wish me luck!

i actually sewed

2010-08-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

my mom is shocked.i made these birthday dresses for the twinners. i downloaded a free pattern from oliver and s: http://www.oliverands.com/blog/2009/08/popover-sundress-free-downloadable-pattern.html i like how they turned out. they also have this same pattern for 18 inch dolls...i bet my girls will talk me into that for our next project.

so other than sewing, i've been dodging balls that tucker is constantly throwing at me,

cleaning marker off afton's face,

baking delicious things (this is a fresh blueberry peach cobbler...thanks cooking light mag!)

and i've been removing double sided foam tape from afton's hair.
motherhood is so glamorous.

tucker's 2!

2010-07-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Mister was extremely uncooperative when I wanted to take a photo, so these aren't great pictures (and my camera was on a weird setting and I didn't know). These are for Nana and Chrissie...

after he opened all his presents he said (and signed), "need more."

we spray painted a baseball diamond on the lawn for a killer wiffle ball game.

afton wanted a picture with her "curlies".

the ball cake was a hit with Tucky. He was obsessed.

no party would be complete without a melt-down.

happy independence day

2010-07-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

2010-06-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

It has been seven months since I've posted, so I'm just going to share some highlights about what's been going on with us...

We've moved to Provo, Utah. Tim got a job teaching Spanish at a charter school in Springville, and I'm going to start back at BYU in the fall. It feels like we've come full circle back to where we started when we first got married almost 11 years ago... Annie just had her 10th birthday, and she was born in Provo (we moved back to cali when she was 6 months old).

Anyway, we are enjoying our summer, doing "Utah" things like attending the Manti temple pagent.

While we are thoroughly enjoying all of the space we now have, we miss things back home. Afton especially misses Grandma and Nana.

I'm enjoying cooking again (I love my kitchen:) This is my new favorite recipe...a strawberry almond cream tart. Yum!

This is our house which we get to rent for a song. 4bd 2 1/2ba, a play room (that has doors that shut), and tons of yard. Love it!

I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what has been going on. But everyone is doing well. We have only been here a month, but we miss our Folsom friends and family in California already. We have lots of room for guests!!

happy new year...photo dump '09

2010-01-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

christmas eve jammies

"a wittle book that's mine!"

what movie did we get?

a new princess dress

a toy that makes tuck utterly happy and mom and dad utterly annoyed

he likes to push buttons

this is after christmas hotel-living (and me trying to minimize the breakfast mess with no high chair).

this is all that remains from the after christmas girls' trip. breakfast was the highlight as usual.

oh yeah, i have a blog

2009-12-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

i thought it was time for a new post. we've been so busy, and having so much fun. and we took some family photos at thanksgiving time, when everyone was together.it's the first time i've LOVED a photo of myself. thanks to my friend jennifer for making me and tim look good:) i'd love to go on...i have some other fun photos to upload, but i cannot access them now. i promise to soon. merry christmas to everyone!

funny boy

2009-11-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

i caught the kids one day playing with annie's music stand. i'm always surprised at the things tucker picks up from his older siblings.

this one's just funny. "fat boy in a little" chair. or should i say a "bitty" chair for afton's bitty baby. he kept trying to sit down when the chair was no where near his bottom.

these are especially for aunt maci to enjoy:) v

the party fit for a princess

2009-11-12T15:11:00.001-08:00

for about six months afton was planning a princess party for her 3rd birthday. i wasn't going to throw a party, but she gave me no choice in the matter. she is completly obsessed with sleeping beauty.

the grand entrance

the other princesses who attended the fancy luncheon

the fancy table (chair covers for three year olds? am i insane??)

jumping princesses

the look on afton's face here made it all worth it

sugar overload

2009-11-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

i think the reason i never crave snickers and m&ms is because i eat so much that one night in october to last the rest of the year. tim makes a cute cow, no?

this tin man was at the pumpkin patch we went to at apple hill. can we get a photo where everyone is looking at the camera please??

ikick

2009-10-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

7 at last!

2009-09-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

birthdays are always a big deal for mia for a multitude of reasons: 1) she is "finally the same age as everyone else in my class, but now they're all turning 8!" 2) who doesn't love a day devoted to them, especially when presents are involved? 3) "i get to have more than one sugar!" (she definitely inherited a sweet tooth from her mother, so we've had to limit her...oh, and she gets sugar-crazed)

we had a little playdate/party for her after school at the park. it was a good turnout, and her wonderful friends spoiled her rotten.

all the friends, silly faces

it was so hot that day, we got ice cream treats for the party. then a friend reminded me that she needed candles to blow out, so i ran to the store and got a piece of "afterthought" birthday cake.

our summer

2009-09-11T12:45:00.001-07:00

Tim and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this august. it doesn't seem possible that we have crammed so many ups, downs, and children into 10 measly years. we escaped to a cute b&b in santa cruz. loved the place!!

of course we went to the boardwalk. (tim's face resembles tuck's a few pictures down:)

we saw some big trees. tim looks like an ant.

these are the gorgeous flowers they put in our room. i think dahlias are my new favorite.

Annie was able to participate in a couple of volleyball camps. she loves the sport, and seems to have a knack for it.

of course tim is proud.

We got to spend a week up at donner lake. tim was offered a coaching job for a volleyball camp in truckee. the camp director erica set us up with a free place to stay. it was a fun, relaxing week. we are ready to move there! the rental we stayed at was in walking distance of the lake. when tim and annie were at the volleyball camp, the other kids and i would walk down to the dock to throw rocks in the water.

tuck and afton eating pancakes for breakfast. mmm. i love tucker's face in this picture.

tucker liked to throw rocks too.

we watched lots of movies. afton and mia got snuggly so they could both see the little screen.

we went to the museum one day. tucker was fond of the fake fish.

the museum has a cute, well-manicured trail next to it. the kids love "nature walks" (it's a nature walk to them if it isn't next to a busy street). annie is a total ham.

We went to six flags discovery kingdom. it's no disneyland, but it did fulfill the girls' desire for some amusement park fun. we "discovered" that the food there is overpriced, and that annie has no fear of thrill rides...she was only limited by her height. mia was okay when she wasn't tall enough to ride. annie and mia on the pirate ship...classic. afton getting ready to ride "kung fu panda" as she called it.

tucker was out of his mind with excitement on the mini-merry-go-round. this was his face for pretty much the entire experience.

We had a fun day at alder creek with friends.

Baby boy turned 1! we had a truck-themed party for him. my cake wreck. note: DO NOT buy buttercream frosting from the sam's club bakery. it does not spread.

we took a lot of day trips to the beach. mia loved to get dirty. she was the bravest...always getting in the cold water, even if it was windy that day.

afton loved to get her legs buried.
annie loved to dig holes.

I think we all had a fun, busy summer. we really made the most of tim's time off, and i'm glad we did. now that he's back in school and working, we never see him! miss you timmy!!

our 4th

2009-07-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

of july, not our 4th kid...although he dominates the photos...

we had a very fun (very eventful) holiday weekend. spent the whole day in swim suits on friday, between the pool and the lake. sometimes i check my kids for gills, because they never get sick of swimming. we started off saturday morning with our little neighborhood parade. the fun part is always decorating the bikes and wagons.

tucker, eyeballing a baby in another wagon. i love how fat his face looks.

daddy, pulling the kiddies in a very patriotic fashion

mia, with decorated bike and face

afton, bringin up the rear

after the parade, we went to our ward's ice cream picnic. annie especially enjoyed the waterballoon in the face (not really).

following the picnic, we all came home and crashed. glorious 2 hour naps for all! tim and i decided not to spoil such a lovely day by having to make dinner, so we took the fam for a good-ol' american burger at in-n-out. then we went to the grayson's for more fun: swimming and fireworks (that seemed to never end!). needless to say, my kids were in heaven.

this is mommy torturing tucky. we kept him up past his bedtime so we could enjoy his reaction to the fireworks.

he thoroughly enjoyed them.

hula

2009-06-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

sorry about the lack of sound. the really good mom that i am forgot to bring the real video camera to the ward luau. this was taken with tim's phone. annie is in the front on the right, and the song is "little brown gal." she did an awesome job.

mister

2009-06-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

i love this boy. he has so many new tricks. he plays catch (throwing a ball and chasing it are his favorites). he is always on the move. he loves to sit in his swing. he loves to play with his sisters. we are still practicing words with him, but i think he has dada down. if he wants something he just yells for it, or he does a funny monkey sound. tucker has (finally) slept all night in his bed...the past 2 nights. we are hoping this is a new trick, my favorite so far. he is VERY ticklish. he likes to throw mini tantrums where he throws his body back to the floor. the funny thing is that he's learned that it hurts, so now he throws his elbow down first to soften the blow. he's most calm when he's sitting on daddy's lap, especially while daddy plays bubblespinner. it's mesmerizing to him. tuck is enthralled with technology. favorite "toys": 1) laptop, 2) flip cell phone (toy phones will work for a minute, but he prefers the real thing), 3) home phone, 4) remote controls. he just started holding the phone to his ear, which squishes his cheek and makes it look so fat and cute! best of all, he gives kisses. his mouth is usually open, but he leans in for them after prayer. he's my favorite baby boy.

the party

2009-06-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

the friends

the birthday girl

the cupcakes and singing

the sister and friend with twin suits

the goodwill

instead of presents, annie had her friends bring canned food for the foodbank here in folsom. the next day we delivered the food. it was a good experience for everyone involved.

happy 9th

2009-06-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

to the best girl. what would we do without you? you have the best smile. you give the best hugs. you have the best grown-up vocabulary. you are the best reader. you are the best big sister. probably the best cousin too...

happy birthday annie!

the failed campout

2009-06-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

so we had this grand idea to go camping, even though the forecast included scattered thunderstorms. you know the day...last wednesday. we got there, set up camp, had a grand time fishing and had a yummy dinner, enjoyed a campfire, and went to bed. then the madness began. thunder and lightning right outside our tent, and rain all night. nobody slept a wink, so at first light, we threw the kids in the car and packed camp up into garbage bags and came home. still, the trip had some good moments...

tim, doing what he loves...

afton, no doubt pointing to the storm clouds on the horizon...

tucky, taking it easy in his little camping playpen...

i'm sure if we would have stayed for the duration of our trip, i would have pictures of the big girls. sorry annie and mia!

2009-06-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

cherries are definitely the cutest fruit. and so worth the big pit. haven't you noticed that the more annoying the seed or pit, the yummier the fruit? i don't think seedless watermelons are as tasty as the good ole fashioned kind with the black seeds you have to eat around. and how good are mangos, the fruit that's mostly a seed? i think i've proven my point.

these are the nummies high up in the tree. i'll get you my pretties!

catching up

2009-05-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

seems like we've been so busy lately. i found some pictures that i had taken to blog about, and i'm finally getting around to actually writing. here's what we've been up to...

baby boy had a high fever for a few days. i though he might be teething. when his temp reached 103, i took him to the doctor. the doc said, "if he breaks out in a rash tomorrow, it's roseola. but i don't think that's what it is. it's probably just a virus he's fighting off." sure enough, the rash showed up. it even got worse than in the picture, showing up on his little face. he looked pitiful, and he must have felt bad because he wouldn't let me put him down. nowadays though, he's a guy on the go, so i savored the snugs.

we have a little "music makers" group that i take afton to. we sing songs and do finger plays and march. the group leader suggested we have a performance for the daddies. this is afton sitting on a chair next to daddy, but still participating in the performance. the stage fright must have gotten to her.

mia finally lost one of her top front teeth. it had been loose for quite awhile. while i was excited for her, i will miss her really cute, perfectly straight, little baby teeth smile. get ready for bunny fangs.

exploring

2009-05-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

i love going to the exploratorium. it was the first time we've taken the kids, and they loved it too. there was something for everyone to do, and we spent hours doing it! we sat in large chairs...we played with black sand that stuck to this really strong magnet... we did LOTS of bubbles...even tuckey had some explorin' to do...after the exploratorium, we went to a beach...

the weather was perfect. everyone had a great time and slept good that night! it was fun to have a day off together, and to rediscover how fun sf can be. i forget, stuck here in my little rut. oh, and we got ghiradelli sundaes. could a day get better?

tucker

2009-04-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

the afton adventures continue

2009-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

last saturday we were catching up on some much-needed yard work. unfortunately the backyard was retaining some moisture from the last rain, which made it a bit muddy in spots. of course afton gravitated toward the mud puddles. she ended up with soaking wet and muddy clothes. i shrugged because, hey, they were filthy already so why not just let her have fun? but that wasn't good enough for affy. she ended up stripping (yes, diaper too) and sitting in a little muddy pool of water and said she was "swimming." we eventually had to hose her off outside because she was such a mess. it was a little chilly that day, and the hose water was icy, but she was in heaven. my little fish.

yesterday i was (clear throat) bleaching some "stubborn hair" (as it says on the box) and afton and her little friend alex were utterly intrigued. i said it was lotion, but they wouldn't let it go. "i want lotion too."

*no babies were bleached in the making of this post

"how 'bout eggs?"

2009-04-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

" i'm confused, what does that have to do with the resurrection?"

"i don't know, we'll hide 'em."

" don't worry, there's a bunny."

our last-minute getaway

2009-04-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

we decided to go to disneyland during tim's spring break. so glad we did! we had fun, and here are the pictures to prove it!mia in front of the waterfall at california adventure.

disclaimer: i got the girls cheap-o character shirts at walmart to wear one of the days we were there. now they are jammie shirts (we don't wear character clothing usually).
afton's own personal disneyland...i let her play in one of the water fountains while we waited for the big girls to get off a ride. her hair was wet by the time we were done here (of course).

the big cheese himself.

the wannabe big cheese. tim had a fun time too.

afton was thrilled that she got to meet "her sleeping booty." although she was speechless and shy in her presence, she is still talking about it.

for those of you who know afton, you know this is the perfect toy for her. it's her "sleeping booty with a la la dress" that spins and lights up when you push a button. she's obsessed with it.

the obligatory pose in front of the mouse-shaped flowers. really though, the landscape is gorgeous there.

riding on mark twain's riverboat during a very sunny moment of our trip. tim's parents were able to join us and it was their first time to disneyland...they had a blast (but how could you not?).

afton had more fun climbing on this stationary dumbo than the flying one.

tuck and his first pair of ears. it was the happiest place on earth only when out of his stroller.

we've decided to begin saving up for our next trip, and we'd like everyone to join us next time!!

dress-up at grandma's

2009-03-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

hmm, should i wear this fake half dress over the one i have on as an apron?

yes! cousin celia, could you try to tie this thing even though half of the ribbon is missing and i'll eventually have to have my mom try to tie it and then we'll never be able to untie it because it is too short?

afton chose this cute little number, complete with diaper showing through the tulle skirt.

the kids put this sheet over the treadmill which made a fun fort (and some great pictures).

toast, toast, i like it a lot...

2009-03-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

usually my kids come home from "morning sing" at school with the most annoying songs stuck in their heads (ie. "proud to be an american"). i thought this one was actually cute, and made even cuter by the cutie singing it.

2009-03-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

ode to a kitchen sink

2009-02-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

You've gotta love the sink bath. Once baby can sit up, it's the only way to bathe 'em.

While Tuck enjoyed his bath, I was able to feed Afton lunch, take a phone call, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
He had so much fun splashing that I had a hard time focusing in for a photo.

snowmen and life

2009-01-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Children have the natural instinct to find raw materials around them and build creative things. When do we lose this instinct? Mia will never let me throw out an egg carton before she's filled it with collected treasures from the outdoors and covered it with drawings and scraps of paper for decoration. Annie must have all of my empty cardboard boxes to decorate with marker. On our trip to Utah, the girls spent about an hour outside before they called out an adult to put the head on top of their snowman because they were too short. We were shocked at the size of it, and their determination to complete it.
If only we could measure our accomp-lishments by how tall we could build a snowman, we'd know how well (or how poorly) we were doing. For 2009, I'm determined to transform challenges and other raw material I'm given to work with into lovely, memorable experiences that I can look back at fondly. I think this is accomplished with an optimistic attitude and patience. But I'll let you know...

not quite the "silent night" we were hoping for...

2009-01-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

In "cliff's notes" form: The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. The kids have been in hyper-excited mode. It began when school let out for the winter break. Unfortunately, Papa's health took a turn for the worst. Jordan and Maci came out with the babies to say goodbye, and ended up staying for the funeral that Monday after Christmas. So, we had our usual Christmas eve here with all of the fam, did the Christmas morning frenzy, then to Tim's parents' later that morning, Uncle Rich's in the afternoon (my mouth is watering remembering the turkey. Yum.).

During all of this, mind you, we were getting no sleep as we were sharing a room with all of the kids in our tiny house. Day after Christmas we had brunch and more presents at my sister Kim's house, then all of the moms took off for our regular trip to Yountville in Napa. THAT was fun! Then Monday was Papa's funeral. Tuesday Tim took Mia for an emergency dental visit while I frantically packed for a trip to Utah (our leaving had been pushed back from Monday). We got on the road as soon as they got home, and stopped in Elko for the night. Got to Provo on Wednesday, stayed up until 12:01 and crashed. Spent the next few days visiting with Maci and Jordan and some other friends and family. Went to the Matilda and Avery's blessings on Sunday, then raced home to beat a storm. (deep breath)

Looking back it all sounds like it was so hectic, and most of it was, although everything was completely necessary to do. I regret not being able to enjoy it all more, and am especially mad that I didn't take more pictures. I guess it's a good new year's resolution.

tim

2008-12-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

he picked up the guitar, self-taught, and became proficient.

he is fluent in three languages.

nobody believes he is married with 4 kids because he looks (or maybe acts) so young.

he is the most generous person i know.

he is almost done with school (relatively speaking...the end is in sight!).

he has a VERY impressive volleyball coaching resume.

he loves his family tremendous amounts.

he gives better back rubs than maci (sorry mace, he actually GIVES them).

he is a star wars fanatic.

and he is 31 today.

happy birthday

love you

Dear Papa,

2008-12-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

We are so happy for you and the journey that you are on right now, though you will be missed here one earth. We treasure every moment we had with you and thank you for the kind of person you were. A good example to all of us all of constant love and concern for the people in your life. Take care, and know that we love and miss you very much!

Love, all your monkeys

my new trick

2008-12-15T15:41:00.000-08:00

i know what you're thinking...

2008-12-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

yet another post of Lindsey's cute kids. But look at them and ask yourself

if I have any choice?

In my moment or two of silence today, I snapped these photos and reflected on how lucky I am to be home taking care of, laughing at, and playing with these cute little munchkins!

I have the best job in the world...thank you Tim.

happy dry turkey day

2008-11-28T01:52:00.000-08:00

hope yours was more moist than mine!

a special thanks to everyone who choked down my first attempt

at cooking a turkey without mom around.

next year we'll have ham like maci and jordan did (tradition traitors!)

2008-11-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

thanks to my friend jennifer for the great photos

happy birthday afton

2008-11-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

We can hardly believe our little Affy's two! She's so much fun to have around. For those of you who don't get to hang out with her all of the time, here are some of her favorites:

SONG.......anything with hand motions

TV SHOW......Dora (of course), although Wiggles are getting lots of air time lately

BOOK.........the Hungry Caterpillar

FOOD........"marsh-a-mallow" cereal and cheese

FRIENDS......Norah, Mason and Ali, Alex

ALSO LOVES TO.....jump, "fwing", ride bikes, play with barbie & baby dolls, go to nursery, and she is increasingly interested in sitting on the potty (although she doesn't do anything when I do put her on it).

We had a birthday party for her at the church. It was a lot of work for me, but she had the time of her life, so it was all worth it.

everyone enjoyed the food. I'm so glad Papa could come!

This is me going out of control to decorate for a two year old party. It was an apple theme, so that is some cute apple garland strung across the front of the table.

...more pictures of guests. Thanks everyone for coming! And a special thanks to Mom Snarr for taking all of the pictures I was too busy to take!

For the activities, we had all of Afton's favorite things to do: coloring, barbies, bikes, dancing, and bubbles (although the bubble machine made a big mess on the floor and had to be turned off.)
It was a fun night!

2008-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

BOO hoo...

2008-10-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Is it too early to get the holiday blues? Since when did Halloween become a stressful holiday? Between getting the right costumes to a whole weekend devoted to Halloween parties, I'm already tired of the holiday. And it's still 4 days away! We've still got class parties, "boo" treats to get out, and then the actual day itself. Then you start stressing about how much sugar your kids are consuming, being the bad guy by constantly saying "no more candy corn," and it doesn't seem fun anymore. I'm trying to let it go, but I think (at least for me) what stresses me out the most is wanting my kids to have the hugest amount of fun and memories possible. Everyday it's, "Take a deep breath. Only do what they are going to remember, Lindsey." When is it MY turn to have fun and enjoy a holiday? I think a trip to the pumpkin patch is out of the question.

The Haunted Gingerbread House

2008-10-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Last Christmastime we bought a gingerbread house kit with the best intentions of getting it up. Didn't happen. So we put it in the freezer and decided to pull it out and decorate it for Halloween. The girls had some great ideas to make it very spooky. We had lots of fun at Winco in the bulk food bins picking out things to go on it. Then we made it a family night activity of putting it together...

look at what a good mom I am!

Afton had more fun pulling candy off and eating it, as we suspected she would. An after-pigtails-mullet much?

The finished product...now everyone get in bed!

"Let's go fly a kite"

2008-10-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

Quick, everyone have a turn with the crappy Dora kite before it breaks!

Mia's holding on tight. It was a very windy day!

Even cute little Afton has a turn.

Annie obviously thought that by raising her arm higher in the air, the kite would go much higher up too.

Thanks Daddy, for repeatedly getting it out of the neighbors tree, untangling the string, and getting it back up for us to enjoy! It was worth all 99 pennies I paid for it. Below is Afton helping Daddy once when it was down. Please don't judge...the "one pigtail look" is so in.

the accidental pumpkin

2008-10-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

So around the beginning of summer, my mom found this mysterious weed that she said "looks like something." She decided not to pull it, and we kept an eye on it as it turned into a little pumkin vine. Then the other day it died and Mom came in with the miniest pumpkin we had ever seen! It made me all excited for fall. I think it's even hollow like a big pumkin would be, so we are going to try to carve it on Halloween. Pictures to come (if it actually works)...

Baby Tucker making a fat face with the baby pumpkin.

Conference Sunday

2008-10-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Had a relaxing conference Sunday. It's always good to be reminded of the things we should be doing, but more importantly that we are loved by our Heavenly Father. Jesse and Leah came over with the kids, and so did Tim's parents. Tucker enjoyed himself. Even when he was being smothered with kisses by Uncle Jesse. How could you not though?

2008-09-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

mia...

fun-loving-sweet-toothed-ghetto-booty-silly-sister

thank you for six unforgettable (never dull) years

happy birthday! we love our bug!

Another unexpected trip to Utah

2008-09-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

sweet Avery

precious Tilly

Maci called on Tuesday to let us know that her preemie baby girls would need surgery to repair a heart valve that would not close. They had to be transported by ambulance to a hospital in Ogden (1hour and 20minutes from Provo). So pretty much at the last minute, my mom and I and our good friend Chrissie hopped in the car and started driving. I took Tucker of course and we drove all night to Provo to be with Mace. After many days of ups and downs, the girls are doing fine. And the silver lining was that I got to meet my darling nieces face to face.

A lot of people have been asking how they can help and "what do Maci and Jordan need?" And though they would never complain, it seemed to me that at this point there are basically three things: Money (with Jordan missing some work, hospital fees and still needing baby things, bills are piling), Meals (Maci is sick of eating hospital food and Jordan is sick of tv dinners), and Prayers (to give their little family the strength they need to overcome this). Thanks to the many who have helped with these things already. Our family feels so blessed to have such a strong support network.

Blessing day

2008-09-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have Tucker in our lives. He is such a happy boy and we all love him so much!

We LOVE Technology!

2008-08-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know how the pioneers did it. We had to make an unexpected trip to Utah, and this is pretty much all Afton did the entire 11 hour drive. She either watched her Dora dvd or screamed and cried or slept (not enough sleeping though). So as we are driving through the barren desert that is Nevada, the big girls were watching a dvd, Afton was watching her dvd, and Tim and I were enjoying the music on the ipod through a fm tuner...I looked at Tim and said, "How did anyone ever drive across Nevada with a toddler and no technology?"

Funny things that were said on our drive:

Annie..."Are we almost to Key Largo yet?" (she meant Elko)

Mia......(In an effort to hurry through Winnemucca, we got BK for lunch but forgot to get the Mia's cheeseburger plain.) "Oh no, this has mustard on it!" "Sorry Mia, we forgot to get it plain." "That's okay, Annie just reminded me that I like mustard."

Annie...(She was watching a dvd rather loudly, so I tossed some earphones back and told her to put them in the hole on the side of the dvd player they fit into.) A: "This isn't working, they're not staying in." L: "Then you've got the wrong hole." A: "They're in the right hole" (and about now I look back to see she's trying to get them to stay in her ears. I guess she had the right hole:)

Tucker's 1st Photo Shoot

2008-08-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ode to Alder Creek

2008-08-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

It was really the most relaxing day we'd had since the baby came. We decided to spend some time at our favorite river spot before the summer ended and school started again. I spent the better part of my time there trying to coax the girls down this little rapid on the inner tube. I could tell Mia would do it before we left. At one time she sat in the water at the entry point contemplating if she should go down. Then she ran over to me and asked, "Mommy, will you give me something if I go down that rapid?" I assured her that she could have 2 oreos if she did, and next thing I knew she was going down the river rapid. After that, we couldn't get her to stop... not even for 2 oreos:)

First Day of School

2008-08-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

School has officially begun. It sounds kind of crazy, but I'm actually looking forward to getting my schedule back. Summer has started to feel chaotic. I need the girls back in school and I especially need Tim back in school. When he's home I don't always get my chores done. Anyways, Annie is now in 3rd grade and has joined the spanish magnet class. She is very excited to learn spanish and speak it with Daddy. Mia is in 1st grade and is so happy to get to eat lunch in the cafeteria. We went school shopping last week and I told the girls I would get them backpacks. But apparently backpacks aren't "in" anymore. They needed "messenger bags." And I thought to myself, "Here we go." As long as the trend they want is modest and affordable (and never has a cartoon character on the front), I guess I can't complain.

Overheard...

2008-07-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

"Mia, you look cute. All you need now are your gold shoes and your outfit will be a success!"

"Annie, that shirt's so cute. If you gave it to me, I would put up with it." (after Annie had complained about the itchy tag)

"Baby Guck... holdit?!"

Good Luck Mace!

2008-07-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

So, as most of you are probably aware, my sister Maci is expecting twin girls in November. I warned her that at the moment I was not going to be giving her any pep talks on labor and delivery any time soon (especially doing it twice in a row...can you imagine?) I'm not going to brag or pretend that I was so strong to have this baby naturally...that was not a choice. The epidural is the way to go, but having a baby naturally does make you reflect and appreciate those mothers who have gone before you. It kind of connects you to previous generations who have experienced the same pain and consequent relief. Now I'm starting to sound like a hippie. (This is obviously a before picture hence, the smile)

Tucker Garnet Snarr

2008-07-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

Born

20 July 2008

6 lbs 13 oz

18 in

Everyone is smitten!

The Afton Adventures

2008-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

So, she's a 20 month old with a death wish. I really had no idea how calm the big girls were as babies. Afton, I'm told, has been preparing me for the pure energy of a boy. And if there is any form of water around, look out. She's in it. I've pulled her OUT of the toilet at least 3 times, countless puddles in the backyard, and she's even gone into the middle of the lawn sprinklers fully dressed. The other day we were at a friend's house, and they have a small pond with a little waterfall in their backyard. Luckily Tim was on his toes watching things unfold, because he ran out just in time to pull her struggling-for-air-little-19lb-body out of the mossy pond.

We probably average about 2-3 outfits a day with her. Yesterday Tim heard her crying in another room and thought she was in playing with the girls. When he went to check on the situation, he found her stuck sitting in the bathroom sink with the hot water running on her. Is it a phase? Are we getting a jump start on the terrible twos? It's a good thing she's so cute, or she'd be too much to have around. We sure do love her though!

It's what the founding fathers would have wanted...

2008-07-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

Our July 4th: spent in the most traditional sense. We got up that morning and decorated our bikes and wagon for the neighborhood parade. Annie and Mia look forward to it every year, and this was no exception. Afton even had a grand time riding in the wagon and waving a mini flag very enthusiastically.

That evening we were invited to bbq and swim at our friends the Grayson's. I'm not sure if I stopped eating once I got there. Everything was delish, and the company was great. Even the weather cooperated and it even got a little chilly towards the end of the evening. We rounded off the night with fireworks in the street (and even a couple of minor burns by husbands acting childish). It was a perfect 4th...

The Long Awaited Arrival

2008-07-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

No, the baby isn't here yet. I'm talking about the blog. The peer pressure finally got to me, so hopefully I won't disappoint. All we are doing nowadays is sitting here waiting for baby number four to arrive. Plus, we are trying to keep the girls entertained (which has become quite a challenge since the air quality here has been horrible and we've had to stay indoors).

Last week was eventful though. Annie got baptized on Wednesday July 2nd. It was exciting, and emotional. I can't believe she has been around for 8 whole years! Tim and I are so happy for her. It was a special day, and we had lots of family out for the occasion, which made it even more special. Tim's brother Matt and his family were here, and my sister Maci and her husband Jordan were able to come out as well.

Which brings me to the exciting news...we found out on Thursday that Maci is pregnant with twins! We've been letting that news sink in all weekend. At the end of the weekend we sent them home with 2 cribs and a car load of baby clothes. No news yet on the sex of the babies. Hopefully we'll know at her next ultrasound on the 17th.