Bird Family Trip ~

We went on VACATION!!!

(If you call driving 12 hours TWO TIMES in a small car with two children under the age of three a vacation; then we went on one...) Our little family made the trip to Sandy, Utah to see our new adorable niece Jillian Taylor Imel. She was getting blessed, and we were dying to meet her. She is Nate and Melissa's first child, and number four for Grandma and Grandpa Bird.

We were happy to welcome her to the family!!

What a cute family!! The IMEL'S!

Here Hailey is enjoying a little lunch before we head out of Utah on the next leg of our trip. She enjoyed the cookie the best!
We stayed with my Uncle Cordel and Aunt Kris while we were in Utah. We were there maybe a total of 24 hours before we hit the road home. But we got alot in... swimming with Grandpa Bird, visiting with Andersen Family, visiting with family on the Houghton side. It was neat because the night we stayed it snowed. Hailey REALLY wanted to go out and make a Snowman, we told her it was too cold for little girls. I guess while I was getting Landon ready she tried the snow out for herself in her church clothes. I think next time she might listen when we tell her it is too cold. Anyways; Luckily for us (and the kids) we planned a little break in

VEGAS BABY...

Here are the kids enjoying some cartoons after the long day Sunday. We got into Vegas just before 7 pm. We thought we would check in real quick and hit a buffet... but apparently we hit Vegas at the PERFECT time for March Madness and Spring Break. So after waiting in the check in line for about an hour... (Matty waited, I strolled the kids up and down the Vegas Strip) we decided to hit up Panda Express and McDonald's. We ate, got back to the room, gave the kids a bath and KNOCKED OUT!! We stayed at the Imperial Palace. It was a GREAT location in the middle of the strip, and for what we paid not a bad stay!
The next morning we woke up and went to the Palace Station Breakfast Buffet. It was SO good. Along with the amazing price ($4.99 for adults kids 3 and under free) the food was GREAT! Anything and everything you could ever want for breakfast... Cereal, Pancakes, French Toast, Fruit of all kinds, Breakfast Pizza, Eggs however you like, Biscuits and gravy, Sausage, Hashbrowns, Bacon... man it was a feast!! The kids liked the Donut Bar the best as you can tell by the picture below...

 (sorry I did not flip the picture... Landon "BUZZ LIGHTYEAR" Bird enjoying the GRUB!)

Then OFF to see LAS VEGAS!!

Hailey is laying down in the back of the stroller, and Landon is taking in all the sights. He was wearing my glasses.

The weather was SO nice we got to pull out the shorts!!

 The kids LOVED the M&M Store...

 We saw the M&M Mini Movie and Daddy got a little action from Green...

 HUGE fun store!!

 Walking down the strip... the kids liked the Hot Air Balloon, so Mommy got a picture with it!

Then we stopped to see the Bellagio Water Show. We saw the show the night before and we LOVED it.
However, we liked the day show better because it was longer and the mist was OH SO INVITING!!

 Hailey CHEEZIN' it up while we wait for the water show...

 Landon loved it. His OHHH's and AHHHH's were priceless...

He clapped at the end too! It was a great show.

 THEN we headed to Ceasers Palace for Shopping and the Water and Fire Show. Outside there was a fountain and one lonely duck. We enjoyed feeding him a little. I think this was a highlight for the kids.

THEN we went to see the Aquarium at the end of the mall. The kids LOVED this. We sat and watched fish swim by for at least 45 minutes!! :) We hit up the Harrah's Flavors Buffet that night and enjoyed the food. After the LONG day Hailey had slept through dinner. Lucky Landon ate to his hearts content, and left with his very own Cotton Candy. Of course Mommy got her own too! (one of my FAVORITE things)

We all slept GREAT that night. The next morning we hit up the same Breakfast Buffet because we liked it SO much then hit the road home.

We stopped for snacks and lunch, and we got home just after 6 pm. Not a bad trip.

It was great to see family and get away for the weekend.

But we are OH so glad to be home!!

GLADE ~

Remember how I told you I am a SECRET AGENT...

Oh yeah. That's right... this secret agent has ALL The new gadgets thanks to my

BZZ AGENT STATUS.

(you can be on too... visit bzzagent.com)

The newest S.W.A.G. they sent me was from S.C. Johnson Company

with the Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning Campaign.

ONE of the many things they sent me was THIS...

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!

The GLADE limited edition Jar Candle.

Sparkle of Spring was the scent, and it is OH SO INVITING!!

I started this sucker the day I got it, and I love the scent so much I have been burning it everyday!!
It is a soft scent that SO reminds me of Spring. I LOVE burning candles! I have to admit I usually get a nice big Yankee Candle to "scent it up" but I just might change over to these suckers... The scent is softer and serves a purpose besides trying to cover up bad smells. It feels like it is cleaning my air. That makes me happy!
TRY THEM OUT!!
You will not be disappointed...
If you want a coupon I have them... let me know...
<img src="http://img.bzzagent.com/image/scjohnson.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=2706048701&Campaign=3953203761&Uid=340575&token=c15618bb5c28ed47b7d9208732fcf884" alt=""/>

Bathroom Update...

BEFORE

 Notice the CARPET on the floor, the nasty old shower head, the falling apart shower curtain, the yucky toilet, the sad wood... Yeah... not horriable but not nice.

AFTER

Tile flooring, New Paint, Newer Toilet AND Toilet seat, Painted Door and new Handle, Pictures, Wood LOVED with Orange Glow, New Towel Holder...
(new shower head not pictured... but it is WONDERFUL)

 Lighthouse Theme with new paint job...

 A little something I found for the kids to remember momma is the boss...

 New Light Fixture... LET THERE BE LIGHT!!

 Cute little accents that make me OH so happy...

Oh, and the Baseboards. We did the Tile before we moved in so that is not so new to me, but the baseboards being up is OH so nice after living her for 6 months without them. The pictures don't really do the difference justice but MAN lovin' the update! Now onto MY bathroom!!

Bad Mood ~

OK.. I need tips on how to get out of a BAD MOOD...
I am not sure, but I think my bad mood is caused by ALL these things...
1) not getting a break from watching the kids ALL week and ALL weekend long while daddy works on the bathroom
2) the bathroom being a PAIN to work on... Matt gone most of the day getting supplies
3) the CRAPPY weather keeping us inside
4) allergies... need I say more?
5) not feeling like all my workouts this month have done a THING... only 2 lbs and TOTALLY upset about it
6) having to travel to Utah this weekend with sucky weather and two kids in a car
7) spending $600.00 to get said car in better condition (yes the Escort got a full tune-up) THANKS SWANNY!!
8) not having cable... I know what a crybaby... but after having it, it SO sucks not having it
9) not getting my hair done today like I wanted to... I think I might cut it off myself...
10) Hailey refusing to go to the 1st hour of Primary and me not having the energy to MAKE her do it
11) being overrun from my bed by two kids for the last few nights...
I should stop there...
MAN... I sound like a MAJOR Debbie Downer...
I know I know... it could always be worse... look on the bright side... BLAH BLAH BLAH...
BUT where is the bright side??
Sorry... I need a kick in the butt!!
I guess one positive is the BYU won the game on Sat... that was good... but everything else... yeah that sucks!!
OH... and I WOULD post pictures of the bathroom being done... but it is NOT DONE...
You know when you buy something and you expect it to be in working order... like a light fixture from Costco?? Yeah... throw that out the window too... because someone at the manufacturing plant does not know how to weld... WHO welds something on the side... not in the middle when it should be in the middle?? OH, and then when you go to return it remember that they don't carry things very long... like as in TWO WEEKS from your original purchase... that could be another reason why I am in my FUNK... I have NO LIGHT in the bathroom that has NO windows and is the official potty training bathroom... UGH... HELP ME!!

TRAMPOLINE

I had a trampoline growing up as a kid and it made us a

 very popular house to play at...

We would always have our friends over to jump,

and one of our favorite things was to have slumber parties out on "the tramp"...

(not sure why we had shortened the name to "tramp"...)

My husband Matthew also grew up with a trampoline,

so naturally we wanted to get one for our kids.

We picked this sucker up on the Black Friday Sale and paid HALF

 what you would pay now to get it.

YESSSSSSSSSSS... we know a deal when we see it.

We have been wanting to wait for nicer weather, and yesterday was PERFECT!!

I had been weeding the back yard ALL DAY LONG, and when Matt got home from work he was so happy with how nice it looked he said that we should put up that trampoline.

This momma has been stuck inside too long to disagree so we went to work.

Here it is without the enclosure.

(you have to have an enclosure for our Homeowners policy)

Matt and I got it all assembled in under two hours... not too shabby!

And here it is ALL DONE!!

We made some rules for the kids...

No Shoes

No Toys and

No Food on the Trampoline!!

Today I took Hailey to jump while Landon was napping and as

I laid on the trampoline and looked up at the beautiful sky and trees

 above me; I could not help but feel like it was what I expect Heaven to be.

We are TOTALLY enjoying this baby!!

YEAH to more outside play!!



SOCKS!

So we got this new house right?
When we bought it we pulled out all the nasty carpet and put in beautiful tile and wood flooring.
In doing this I did not take EVERYTHING into my thought process of how wonderful it would be.
I mean I knew I would love how it looked; but I forgot what my poor little children would have to endure.
For the last 6 months ( I have been in this house 6 months now) my little ones have been slipping and sliding every step they take.
It is cold here in Clovis (only at this time, it will be FREAKISHLY hot here REAL soon) and so my kids wear socks.
These socks are just plain old socks from Target. They have grown out of most of the non-slip socks I had for them when they were learning to walk. I remember hearing from someone somewhere that they just put puffy paint on the bottom of their kids socks to help them not slip on those slippery floors...
And HELLO... I have Puffy Paint coming out of my EARS over here so... Guess What I did??

You guessed it... I took out my Dimensional Fabric Paint 20 Pack and got to work. (the purple bag behind is also full of puffy paint products)

I took my sons socks and put the size and a few little embellishments for extra non-slip grippage...

I also did my daughters socks. They were obviously a bigger size. I decided to do gender neutral colors so they could potentially be used with other children (that is if the washing machine does not eat them up... that is after all where all the lost socks go right?)

AND now when I do laundry it will be SO much easier to pair the socks and know who's are who's. This has been a struggle of mine and I do not know I have sisters socks on brother until they are ON him... :)

And it WORKS! Little man is sporting the one smiley face pair I made... I think next time I will incorporate more shapes and stuff! So if you have this same problem... here is one idea to get those toes back on track! :)

TRAINS!!

The last time we went to visit Family,

we decided we should take the kids to Old Sac to see the TRAINS.

Grandma and Grandpa Bird joined us for the fun.

 Landon had a BLAST!!

 We found some trains the kids could play on...

 CHOO CHOO!!!

 After hanging out, we decided the best way to end

the day was at McDonald's for some ICE CREAM!

It was Grandpa Birds treat!

And what a treat it was!!

Too bad Hailey was sleeping, Landon sure enjoyed it!

FOOD FOOD FOOD...

I know all I talk about on my blog is FOOD... and the other thing I talk about is wanting to loose those last few lbs... anyhow... I must eat and this last weekend was a REAL treat! I got to have dinner with three of my FAVORITE peps!!
Friday Night we had the Cutts family over. Brent and Amalia have been our friends almost all of our married lives. They were on of the couples we both clicked well with in one of our first wards here in Fresno. We are glad we keep in touch even though our lives are opposite and both so crazy! Amalia is going to school to be a teacher, and Brent is busy working. We invited them to our house and I made Baked Ziti... it was GREAT! The Cutts brought the sides and we skipped dessert... can you believe it? I am skipping dessert... yeah me!!

THEN on Saturday after hitting up the Fresno Garden and Home show AND a baptism we went to RED ROBIN with our new friends the Fields. We meet this couple in our new ward, and they are AMAZING! We seem to meet eye to eye with them, and enjoy our banter. They are used to crazy kids so they fit in perfectly for a dinner out date!! They are expecting their first baby in September and we are so happy for them to join the club! :) I had the Red Robin Fries for DAYS and ate my whole burger... yeah, that is how I roll!! BUT I skipped any dessert again...

THEN on Sunday after church we had out friends the Bakers over. We became friends with this couple when we moved back to Fresno right after Landon was born. They are an adorable little family and they have a little girl who is almost three months old... it was neat because they were commenting that they have been our friends since Landon was the same age as their daughter... NEAT! We had Crock pot Lasagna and it was FAB!! They brought the sides again and it was SO nice!! We watched a movie, and The Amazing Race together... we love them!! AND this momma got to hold a little baby to help me with my "I need another baby" ideas and get me back on track... haha.

It sure is nice to have good friends new and old to hang out with and get to know better. I sure am glad with the friendships we have made, and I enjoy more than ever being able to entertain in my new house! :) How blessed we are!!

DONUTS!

I have a MAD sweet tooth, and usually I am craving Donuts...

If not donuts then Brownies, Cookies, Ice Cream... really I could go on forever.

We'll I noticed the other day while we were enjoying some

Judy's Donuts (the best in Fresno for sure)

that my kids seam to enjoy donuts just as much as mommy does...

 Here Hailey is KISSING and CARESSING her donut...

And Landon licking and loving his...

I guess it is like "THEY SAY"

The apple does not fall far from the tree...

YUMMM, that makes me want an apple strudel!

Rainy Day Activity!!

I hate when it is raining and I am stuck inside with a 3 and 2 year old...
When this happens we do a lot of things. We play with play dough, we color, we watch movies...
But this is a new activity I learned from Hailey's Assessment Center.
We like to call it SNAKES ~~~~~~

 First, you get a Dollar Store Brand of Shaving Cream. (not gel)

 Then, you make any figure you like for the kids. Mine just enjoy snakes. (plus it is an easy figure to make)

 Then you let the kids play away!!

When they are done grab an ordinary Kitchen Dish Towel to wipe hands, clothes, and the surface. It leaves behind clean hands and a nice smell. Squishing this between fingers and rubbing it into hands and on the surface is SO fun! I always join in and help them play! We make hand prints, draw out shapes, practice our Letters and Numbers... the possibilities are endless! ENJOY!!

Ok, I have HAD it...

Why is it SO hard to loose the last 10-15 lbs??
I mean, MAN! I have been working out, and TRYING to eat right, but I feel like all I am doing is GAINING weight. (that hot fugde sundae the other night did not help huh?)

I have had it!! I was doing my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred every other day, I guess I better start doing something EVERYDAY. So I got the MEL B workout DVD for the PS3... I guess I could alternate between the two... now that is an idea!!

I started on March 1st, and with the TWO days under my belt, so far so good!!

Anyone have any GOOD ideas to help me loose this weight??

Food suggestions??

Workout Suggestions??

YUMO!

We treated the kids last night to some Fosters Freeze Ice Cream...

They had these adorable little Sprinkle Sundaes for $1.29!

(too bad everything else on the menu was overpriced)

 Landon sure enjoyed it!

 And Hailey did too!

I was hoping to get a Hot Fudge Sundae, but when I saw the $3.99 price, and the small size; I decided I could make my own at home. So we hit up the grocery store and spent $4.50 and got a gallon of ice cream and some hot fudge. Now I can have one whenever I want! GOOD CALL huh?

Happy Birthday Preston!!

I grew up with SISTERS most of my life... my parents had 5 girls... believe me there was LOTS of girl drama in the house. It was not until I hit Junior High that I learned what a joy a little boy is. My brother Preston was born 17 years ago TODAY!! It was one of the happiest days for my family. My father got the boy he always wanted, and us girls got our baby brother we always wanted.
He was a BIG baby when he was born. Almost 11 lbs. if I remember correctly.
And he is a BIG TEENAGE BOY now... anyone who knows him knows what I am talking about.
I loved watching you as a baby. You were just the happiest little thing, and you loved to explore everything and everywhere. Us girls used to fight about who got to hold you, I think I won most of the time. :)
And sometimes when I am holding my little man, I am reminded of you as a baby. The only way you and Landon could be more alike is if Matt and I had named him Preston! HAHA! See below for proof...

(Preston holding Landon after a NHS football game, grandma made Landon's uniform~)

Every year you get older, I get more and more excited about the new things you are going to do...
I was excited for you to experience High School, and all the sports.
I am excited for you to finish up your Eagle Scout Project...
I am excited for you to date adorable girls, and have fun doing it!!
And I can't wait until I am writing you letters on your mission!
You are my FAVORITE brother, and that is not because you are my only one... :)
I hope you have an AMAZING BIRTHDAY, and you celebrate in style!!
Just know you are FAMOUS in Fresno, at least everyone in our house thinks so!!

So Happy Birthday Stud!!

I hope all your wildest dreams come true!!
(P.S. did you get your gift yet... you are WELCOME!!)