The things that can happen when the family is in Utah.

Well hi everyone. Since nersey and k-man decided to ditch me this last week for cooler climates up in Utah I decided to do a little remodeling. First I started out by building this fabulous flower box.

Then I quickly got to work putting in the makings of "K-Man Cove", more to come later! The picture above is the after and the picture below is k-man standing in the back yard for the before picture.

Ah, who am I kidding all I really had time for was growing this, as they say in Boston, "wicked" beard as I sat pining and crying for nersey and k-man to come home. The house and yard are just about finished and we will post more pictures very soon! I am very glad to have nersey and k-man back home, and so is buckley!

Getting ready for our big vacation!

To say that K-Man and I are excited for our visit to the Behive State would be an understatement! When I told K that he would be sharing a seat with me he decided he would figure out a more spacious way to travel! Just kidding the kid just loves to play in boxes.

but we are excited to see al of our fun cousins, especial Cayden who get baptized this weekend. We are ready, Utah here we come!!!

Happy Happy Birthday Cookie Dear!

Now if you mind was blown by me celebrating my 27th Birthday just wait till you hear that Cookie is now 28. Just 2 more years till he is 30 and he has been prepping himself for his final 2 years of his twenties. So to commemorate this monumental occasion I give you 28 reasons why I love Cookie!

28. he is a fashionista, he has way more clothes and shoes then me.

27. Cookie is the premiere cookie baker in the house

26. he is a maniac in the yard, in fact he is so obsessed with our yard and his projects I have started calling him Hank Hill.

25. He is super funny

24. Cookie is the baby whisperer, when I was pregnant with K-Man we used to joke that he would need to be the one to take maternity leave because newborns freak me out!

23. He is a handsome devil

22. Cookie is the only person K-Man will let brush his teeth

21. He works super hard at work and loves what he does at the University of Phoenix

20. He can quote almost anything he he has every seen or heard

19. Cookie loves me 100% faults and all

18. He irons all of our laundry

17. He knows when I am not into cooking dinner and picks up the duty when necessary

16. He is a wonderful Daddy

15. Cookie is a great student and he has only missed one night of class since we moved to Texas

14. He is a fabulous teacher and public speaker

13. He tells K-Man and I that he loves us no less then 10 times a day

12. He does great impersonations

11. He gives the best hugs

10. Cookie is silly

9. He is a fabulous dancer

8. He also has a beautiful singing voice

7. He has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known

6. He is always willing to change diapers and get up with our kids in the middle of the night

5. Cookie keeps a very tidy car and cleans mine when it starts to get messy

4. It was his idea to watch both Twilight and New Moon without any prompting from me.

3. He gives the most thoughtful gifts

2. Cookie is super creative

1. Whats not to love?

Babysitter Training

(in the above photo I had just climbed out of the pool, but both K and Kenna were cute so I being the adult took the hit)

The Pool Side Pollywogs recently have come into a little pickle when it comes to scheduling on Saturday. I teach swim lessons and Cookie has the occasional Saturday morning where he needs to work to meet with a student. What a pollywog to do with her littlest pollywog toad? That's when it hit me

probably the BEST idea I have ever come me up with. My super cute niece Kenna just turned 9 and is such a mature young lady now and we have always teased her that she will be our stand by nanny when she comes of age. Her qualification include being the oldest and ring leader of 5 siblings, a master puppeteer and she is also a member in good standing of the K-Man fan club. So since Kenna is now entering her preteen years we decided to pounce BEFORE anyone else snatched her up. You may be wondering how does one train a babysitter, well it is easy when you have a very flexible Grandma Jo living with you to help when ever your babysitter trainee has any questions. Either Grandma Jo or Cookie (if he is not at work but is out working out in the yard being manly) while Kenna is inside playing with K-Man. She is still a little young to be alone and comfortable babysitting by herself but she did a wonderful job and only asked for Grandma Jo's help once! We have high hopes for our future nanny! Thank you for your help Kenna!

The Big 27

Can you BELIEVE that I am 27? I can't. For some reason my brain stopped maturing at 22 and I am currently stuck in the year 2005. Last year to commemorate my turning 26 I came up with 26 interesting Nersey facts this year I thought it might be a good idea to list my accomplishments (before the number gets to much higher and I will really need to tush in gear). So without further delay I bring you the 27 BIGGEST accomplishments of my short life!
1. I am funnier then all of my sisters, I have heard this from several sources ladies and I think deep down you know this is true... oh and I am Moms favorite.
2. I have made Thanksgiving in two foreign countries, Russia and Texas
3. I was the First Girl in Utah's Girls State to be impeached (probably because I am a Democrat)
4. I can name all of the counties in Utah
5. I have NEVER voted Republican
6. I married the love of life
7. I graduated from Seminary (with the help of A LOT of make up packets)
8. My high school swim coach used to affectionately call me Rudy because I tried so hard but would never make it to State
9. I have seen Lennon on display
10. I graduated from the University of Utah in Health Promotion and Education
11. I gave birth to the sweetest and funniest person I have ever met
12. I can recreate Cafe Rio pork Salad complete with tomatillo dressing
13. I can swim for over an hour without stopping
14. I am the only person in my home that knows where every single object is at any given moment
15. My dog is devoted to me
16. I can not only count to ten in Spanish I can also order an assortment of juices, thank you Sesame Street
17. I can go up to 6 months and sometimes longer without a speeding ticket
18. I have a higher credit score then my husband
19. The longest I have ever ran without stopping was 13 miles
20. I made through child birth without swearing or blaming my husband (OK so that is probably more of an accomplishment for the guy who gave me my epidural)
21. I have read the book of Mormon....twice
22. I have grown my own vegetables for 2 Summers and plan on doing so again this year
23. I keep a tidy house despite my toddler tornado
24. I can navigate around my new city without the help of my GPS
25. I can spell words in a variety of interesting ways
26. I read about 12 or more books a year
27. I have a wonderful family
Also I want to extend a very happy Birthday to my favorite brother and twin, Happy Birthday B!

In our Eastery Best!

We hope you have a wonderful and safe Easter Weekend!

Grandpa BK Visit!

(sorry this picture is out of order and I don't know how to fix it, but since it was a great picture I could not resist)
In all honesty Grandpa BK usually has a very well maintained goatee but was so grateful to back in the great state of Texas he thought he should celebrate with one of the lone star states finest and oldest traditions. A handle bar mustache, unfortunately Grandjo did not seem to agree.

There is nothing the Pollywogs love more then visitors. Especially Grandpa visitors.
Normally Grandpa BK could not exactly count as a visitor (due to the fact we live in the same city) but he is on a special assignment in the Middle East and we have been waiting 3 months to see him. K-Man peeked out the window all morning waiting to greet Grandpa

Unfortunately, Grandpa trip home took FIVE days (it was supposed to be 3) so eventually we all gave up until GrandJo got a text saying he was finally on American soil and rushed to meet him at the Airport!

Now we could not hog such a special guest all to our selves so we saw lots of our fun cousins the Easton's!

But of course that did not get in the way of K- Man getting as much snuggle time as he possibly could with Grandpa BK. We loved having you home and look forward to seeing you again!

Role Reversal

Cool Tricks!!!! COOL TRICKS!!!!

For the record at any moment during the day this is the grin that is ALWAYS on K-Man's faceK-Man is transitioning from being mostly baby with some big boy to big boy with a very small amount of baby. Every time I put him down for a nap he wakes up a different man. Every time I talk to Glama she reminds me that all of the cute and funny things he does will be lost forever if I don't write them down so for this post I am going to share some of our big boy moments of the week.

1. He is a master climber! Not only is he part goat but the stuff he uses to get what he wants is priceless. His favorite go to climbing tools are over turned hampers, unsteady toys and any chair that is not currently occupied. I have not seen him try to climb/ ride the dog but I figure it is a matter of time.

2. We recently found out that he might have an allergy to milk so had to switch back to Soy milk. I have NEVER seen him be more excited in my life when last night I filled his cup with soy as we walked to his room (with me holding his bottle) he ran to his room. We usually make a lengthy stop at Grandma Jo's room for a good night kiss and snuggle but last night was a no dice. He waved at Grandma as he walked by her. It is a good thing Grandma is a good sport and understands K-Man's of soy milk.

3. Last week we were driving to our cousin Parker's Birthday party when K-Man Mooed after Matt called another driver a stupid cow.

4. K-Man is the BEST Gym partner. Our morning routine has now forever changed because he loves to play with the other kids and toys. When I say we are going to the gym he gets his shoes and sits by the door.

5. Speaking of doors he has figured ours out! If I don't keep the front and back door locked he can be found racing down the driveway/ making dirt angels giggling wildly with or without his cloths on

Thanksgiving and some Christmas....Belated

Our Thanksgiving spread and boy was it a lot of food for 3 adults and one toddler. we were nursing these treats for about 3 weeks. about twice a week I cleverly disguise our left over mashed potatoes and turkey. Considering that this was my first Thanksgiving out from under Glama's wing I would say it was a success. Glama was one speed dial the whole morning while I prepared our meal and she was kind enough to give me her secret ingredient....BUTTER. We missed our loud crazy Utah family but it is nice to know we can manage in a pinch!

Cookie Carving our yummy bird

Grandma Jo an Kenneth cheesing it up for the camera. The general consensus was that K-Man was the best dressed at our table. His cute little sweater came from Auntie Mistletoe before he was born! We love these kinds of finds.

I can't believe I am posting this but this shot was taken a couple of days after K-Man took a nose dive off of an end table he had been climbing on and still climbs on. Our man is fearless, it won't be long before he starts scaling the walls like Spider Man. Did I mention he is fearless?

This year we were invited up to our friend's Andy and Hedvigs annual Christmas kick off party, complete with cookie decorating, crafts and a tractor ride around the farms.(unfortunately I only took pictures on the hey ride) We can't wait till next year!