Our 1st Annual Christmas Party

When we left California, I knew I would miss a lot of things. During Christmas time, I am reminded of those things, and one of them was my brother's annual Christmas party. Rick and I have gone every year they have had it, except for this year and last. So... when we moved to Utah, we decided that we would have our own party with the new friends we have met here. Luckily for us, they are a silly and fun as Rick and I, and everybody brought some great gifts.

We decided our party was going to be called the "Naughty & Nice" Christmas party. For those of you who know us, no point on explaining. The good part is, you have a 50/50 chance on going home with something "normal". We actually got 2 crazy gifts, but one couple wanted one of them cuz they got 2 lotion gift sets. They didn't want to leave the party ALL nice.

We had a great time and can't wait til' next year!

This is Rick's cousin who won the naughty gift that Rick brought. It is a blow-up "wife". The box said it was the best kind of wife because she doesn't say a word...

This prize was great. A belt with mistletoe tied to the middle in the front.

These panties were HUGE! My friend, who is 8 months pregnant, was a good sport and tried them on for all of us to witness. She had them tied up in the back so they would stay on. They really were humongous!

And this was the winner... "Ask Mr. Dick". It's kind of like a magic 8 ball. You ask Mr. Dick a question, give him a good shake, and then he will have the answer.

This girl gave it away. Obviously she already knows what Mr. Dick will say.

I'm It!

Post these rules of "tag" at the beginning of your blog. List 6 facts, habit or obsession about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag 6 people and post their names. Go to their blog and leave them a comment letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog for more details.



#1 I love love love "out food". That is what I call it. There is nothing better than going out to a good restaurant, eating delicious food, and then not having to clean it up. I always start with a blue cheese salad and then usually I get a steak of some sort. And I always have dessert.



#2 I have come to the conclusion that I am a "control freak". I have to have things done my way or it just doesn't fly. Rick told me this about a month ago and I told him he was the freak. But now I know he was right. I have been paying attention to myself and it is completely true. It truly is "my way or the highway"!



#3 I am obsessed with Christmas. I know you are thinking it is just because this is the time of year, but that is not the case. I think about "my month" of Christmas all year. I even asked Rick if we could decorate one of the basement rooms in only Christmas decorations. I love the family time and the music and the movies and buying presents and.... I'm sure you get the idea.



#4 I am not a "Girls" girl. Girls bug me. The stuff they do for attention. Stupid. It is probably because I grew up with 3 sports enthused brothers that always beat me up and didn't tolerate a girly girl. Maybe. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of "girlfriends" that I love! But I think they get me and my rough personality. (Hopefully I have not offended any of you... But if so, it's kind of your fault for being my friend ^_^)



#5 I have a make-up fetish. I love buying the stuff. But only the pricey kind. I don't wear it often, only when Rick and I go out or to church on Sundays. I consider myself more of a collector. I buy it whenever I have the chance. Usually when I am at Nordstrom or when I get the Sephora catalog. It's good stuff!



#6 Last, but definitely not least, I have a burning for USC football. I am holding out for the day when one, or all, of my sons had his name said over the loud speaker at a game. They were all named for that specific reason. Drake Jackman, Cade Jackman, Jett Jackman, and Ace Jackman sound like awesome football names! Most people would not want a house full of boys. But to me, it's like I have 4 chances to get one of them to that school to play ball.



So now... I Tag Kelli, Amanda, Whitney, Elissa, Mindi, and Katie

Home at Last

Rick and I got home early Sunday morning after being away for a whole week. The cruise was amazing! It was a non-stop fun fest. Cozumel was Mexico... need I say more. Grand Cayman was awesome. We swam with the stingrays about 2 miles out in the middle of the ocean where there is a sandbar. The water was the clearest we had ever seen and only came up to our waist. The stingrays were huge and very pleasant. You would never know that they are wild creatures in the ocean, and not tamed ones from Sea World. That was a great day. Next stop was Jamaica. We opted out of a beach day and instead took a taxi all around Montego Bay. We saw the ghetto, of course we didn't get out of the car. We also went up on a golf course to see the views. We ended with an authentic lunch of jerk chicken, pork, and sausage. We also had breadfruit (not good, unless you like the taste of a sponge), sweet potato and festival (it kind of tastes like funnel cake in the shape of a log, with no sugar). We had a great time on the ship as well. After all the dodge ball, basketball, volleyball, bingo, karaoke, game shows, musicals, comedians, black jack, and dancing... we were ready to come home. A cruise is the only way to go!!!

Swimming with the Sting Rays in Grand Cayman

Rick and the "Bud Man" in Jamaica

The veiw from a "nice" hotel in Jamaica (That is our boat)

Ritz Carlton Beach in Jamaica

Darwin, Sophia and us in Jamaica. Some great new friends that were on the cruise with us.

The last sunset on the cruise.

Our last "formal" dinner

All the kids showing off the loot from Cozumel and Jamaica.

WOW!

We found out last Monday that we are definitely having another BOY! There was no mistaking that. His junk was standing at attention for the world (or rick and myself) to see. If you are thinking, "oh... another boy... that's too bad", don't. We are super excited to add another Jackman boy to the world. Now we just have to wait 20 or so weeks until we get to meet Ace Van Jackman!

Surprise!?

If you have been reading my blog, you know that Rick has been out of town A LOT. About 2 weeks ago he was in Cali for a meeting and decided to visit Trigger Happy. He then came home and surprised me with this....

I actually love it. I am not a big fan of tattoos in the slightest, but there is something that screams romantic (if a tattoo can be associated with the word). He said that he got it over his heart because that is where I belong. And the "dot" on the "i" is a flame because I am his flame or because he still holds a torch for me. I feel really loved, which is something I need right now, being pregnant and hormonal and not to mention extremely EMOTIONAL!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Crazy, but fun. The boys were Power Rangers, again. Except this year, they are Power Rangers Operation Overdrive. Lucky for us, they come out with a new style every year. Kaleigh was Minnie Mouse dressed as a Pumpkin (I talked her into this one) and Jett was Ratatouille. The top picture was taken at the end of the night, and as you can see, Ratatouille was not having any! He looked so cute though.

In California we used to go to our friends house after trunk-o-treating and eat yummy food at their house. I always looked forward to that. Sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, and just visiting. So, this year I was going to take over and do that here in Utah. Rick flew in from Vegas early that morning and slept pretty much all day. When he woke up, I sent him to Home Depot to get a fire pit. I started preparing a Mexican (yes, I'll admit it) dinner that consisted of enchiladas, rice and beans that took me forever! It turned out great though. We all ate dinner and then all the moms took the kids around the neighborhood while the dads figured out the fire pit. When we got back the fire was burning and the hot chocolate was calling our names. We had a great, tiring, day!

Notice all the "NERDS" that are stuck to the neck of the costume.

Like mother, like Son!

This is what Cade looks like when he says "CHEESE!"


So Serious. He wasn't having the picture taking by this time. He was ready to get into his loot!

While getting ready for school, I told Kaleigh that she could wear make-up if she wanted to. She was very excited! When we were finished putting her hair up, she looked in the mirror and said, "Mom, I don't think I need to wear any make-up. Look how pretty I already look!" I was so proud. I always tell her how beautiful she is and I am glad to see her self confidence is in effect. Hopefully she still feels this way when she gets into High School!

When the Dad's Away...

the Mom will dress her baby in overalls.

Rick is working in Las Vegas, again. While I was dressing Jett for the day, I found some overalls in his drawer that still had the tags on them. I thought it would be funny to put a boy in overalls, so I did. I sent Rick the same picture. He didn't seem to agree. What you have to understand is that Rick, when he is home, has to approve everything the boys wear. I think I dress them pretty cute but he always has something to say about their outfits. So now, I ask him before I even pull out the clothes. That is why is thought it would be a hoot if I made the baby wear these while Rick is out of town because can't do anything about it!

Vegas Baby!

We had a blast in Las Vegas this weekend. We went down there for the Kyani Convention. We stayed at the Hotel where the convention was being held, The Suncoast. I was surprised by how nice it was. Our room was large and the bathroom as well. I was very pleased.

We arrived Thursday evening and had to hurry and get ready for our reservation at MESA Grill. It was delicious, as always. We had some friends going to the convention also, so we met up with them after to play the tables a bit. Rick was super tired so he played a few hands, then headed up to bed. I stayed and played and was up $75 so I decided it was a good time to call it quits.

Rick has done really good the first 2 months of this business, and for that we were invited to the "Presidents Luncheon". I was for the top 10 distributors in the company. That was way fun. It was awesome to be a part of that crowd. After the luncheon was the start of the convention. We listened to motivational speakers and such. It was actually really interesting. I did get tired at the end of it, though. We were in "class" from 4 pm to 11:30 pm. I was so tired that after, we got dinner at the coffee shop and then I just went to bed. Rick, on the other hand, went downstairs to the casino and played this game that we just learned, Paigow. He came back up around 3 am! We had to be at our next meeting @ 9 am, so I was glad I didn't stay up with him, even though he did make a couple hundred.

Saturday's festivities were awesome. It was the last day of the convention and we were totally pumped. Rick got called on stage a few time for his efforts. But, the best part was when they called his name to receive the CRUISE! We both went up and got leied. Only 20 people earned one and we were one of them! It was awesome! We set sail on December 2nd for the Caribbean.

The next part was just as great, even though we were not the ones benefiting. Our good friends, Nikki and Casey earned the Escalade. They were 1 of 4 people that did. It was a beautiful car. Now I can't wait to get ours (in January, I'm thinking!).

After all was said and done with the convention, we hit the tables! I played Paigow with Rick and then a few hours later I hit the royal flush. It paid $750! We were so up at this point that I put away the ammount of money we started with and just used our winnings to continue to play. We went to the Cheesecake Factory with some friends and then back to Paigow. A few hours after that, Rick hit the royal flush too! We were done. We were so up that we payed for our whole entire trip, food, hotel, snacks, gas, everything. We still came home with the money we took and about $600 extra. It was awesome!

All in all we had a great time. Can't wait for the next one in Provo, Utah. At least we won't have to travel far!

BON VOYAGE!!!

California

We had a blast in California! We left Wednesday the 10th in the afternoon, right after Kaleigh got out of school. We drove (myself and the kids) to Las Vegas, where we were meeting Rick. He has been working there since September for his old company FJR Pacific. He is working on this big, huge, LONG, job for Pepsi. Anyway, we stayed with him, Stevie, Matt, and another guy named Steve at the house the company has leased for the job. It was quite the place. I noticed all the Asian inspired art throughout the house. When I mentioned it to Rick, he said "Oh, just wait." Much to my surprise, in the room we were staying in, there was a gigantic painting of an Asian woman bearing her boobs! Nice. The kids couldn't stop staring and commenting on it.

We woke up early (thanks to Jett) and went to see the work Rick has been doing. Crazy stuff. I always joke that it is amazing that the stuff they do actually works. I don't think that Rick thinks it is a funny joke , though. We left there around 8 am and started our journey, again. We arrived in Chino, California @ 11:15 am. I didn't think I drove that fast, bit I guess I must have.

The kids couldn't wait to see their cousins, so we dropped our stuff off at my mom's and then headed to Rachel's. We stayed there pretty much all day and just chatted while the kids played. It was nice and relaxing.

The next morning we were planning on going to Disneyland. It has been sad for me being so far away from the things I took for granted. We used to go to Disneyland at least twice a month, if not more. Now it has to be a big to do. I bought passes because I plan om going at lest 3 more times before they expire. I wanted to get there by 10 am so we could do as much as possible. but, Kaleigh woke up and said she was so sick that we couldn't go. She threw up and then went to sleep. When she woke she was ready to go, much to the boys delight.

We had a great time. My two sister-in-law's came too. My mom had all of her grand kids there. All 10 of them!

Jett was super tired, but still managed to hold his baba

On Saturday we went to my niece's 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese's. That was surprisingly fun. On the way home Cade was complaining that he was feeling sick. I was trying to pull over when he puked. I had given him this little bag to try to get it in, which he did, mostly. Amber, another sister-in-law, was with us and was holding the bag while I was trying to clean him up. We were both trying not to puke ourselves, seeing as though we are both pregnant. No trip is ever a vacation without a little puking going on!

All in all, it was a fun and eventful time. We left California @ 6 am on Monday and made it home @ 3:45 pm, Utah time. It took me less than 9 hours. I even stopped for a total of 1 hour. I am a speed demon, I guess!

And We're Off...

to California! I knew that the kids had Thursday and Friday off, but then Kaleigh informed me that they have Monday off too. Rick is working in Las Vegas again, so I thought it would be a perfect excuse to visit. I am a little nervous about the drive with 4 kids all by myself. The thing I am most concerned about is when I have to go to the bathroom. I am going to have to take all the kids in with me. That is gonna be difficult. Maybe I will take extra diapers and pee in those... That will be funny.

Last Thursday...

was an eventful day. I started the day out with my friend and neighbor Kandi, yes that is her real, full, name. Anyway, she asked if I wanted to go with her to a card making workshop. I was super excited to go to one that I didn't have to do any work for. I used to do these myself but it was too much of a hassle, so I quit. Well, I really wanted to go, but Rick was expecting me to clean the entire house, top to bottom, because I was going out of town for a girls weekend. So, I thought about it and said screw cleaning, I'm gonna make cards! So we went and I was pleasantly surprised. We made 5 baby cards and they were adorable. We had to hurry home so I could be home for when the boys got home from school.

From noon until 1, I was frantically cleaning the house. I thought, for a split second, maybe I shouldn't have gone to the workshop. My house had a lot of work to be done and I needed to head for my first Dr's appt. I did what I could to the house and then took all the boys to my other friend's, Marie, house and went to the Doctor.

The doctors office was filled with pregnant girls. I felt a little weird being associated with all of them. I was from California, and being pregnant here, in Utah, seemed like no big deal because EVERYBODY is pregos here. I wished I was back in Cali. I must be emotional because I almost started crying. But, I didn't (I'm not that big of a wuss). They called me back and I had to do all the crappy "first visit" stuff, like get totally naked! Suck... At the end they did an ultrasound because I really had no clue as to when my last period was. They kind of looked at me like I was an idiot. Here I am, having 4 kids already, and acting like a 12 year old who doesn't keep track of her menstrual cycle. It worked out to my advantage though. I found out that I am 12 weeks and due in April. Crazy! I am practically 1/3 of the way done already. The baby was doing flips and waving it's arms at the camera. The heart beat was already going strong. I asked the doctor why the baby already had limbs (before he told me my due date). I was so surprised to see a real, formed, moving baby that didn't look like a peanut. He laughed and said, "That's what happens when your almost in your 2nd trimester...". I felt stupid. But it was still awesome. He said we could find out what the baby is, if we want to , my next appt.

So here we are, waiting for April 20, 2008, and wondering if we are going to have an Ace Vaughn or Van, or an Avery or Bella Marie..........

A New Love

After reading the Twilight series I have found a new love for reading. I used to think the only reading material that was meant for me was US Weekly and In Touch. Not anymore. I have expanded my horizons, and am now in search of some other good books. I know it isn't normal to only want to read books that have "good" Vampires as the main Characters, so I am up for suggestions. Let me know some books you have fallen in love with that you think I must read! And, I already know about Nicolas Sparks...

Tag!

I've been tagged by Amanda Smith and Mindi Cluff!

4 Jobs I've Had:

1. Domestic Goddess

2. College Hospital Mental Health Worker

3. Express

4. Secretary for Pshycologist Office



4 Places I've Lived:

1. Eagle Mountain, UTAH

2. Chino, CALIFORNIA

3. Fullerton, CALIFORNIA

4. Whittier, CALIFORNIA



4 Foods I Love:

1. Fried Chicken

2. Candy

3. Blue Cheese Salads

4. Chips & Salsa



4 Websites I visit:

1. kyanisun.net

2. hotmail.com

3. liasophia.com

4. wamu.com



4 Places I'd rather be:

1. Maui

2. Alone with Rick

3. at a Restaurant

4. California



4 Movies I love:

1. The Lost Boys

2. Ever After

3. The Patriot

4. Bridges of Maddison County



4 TV Shows I watch:

1. The Hills

2. Newport Harbor

3. The Rock Of Love

4. Survivor Man



4 People I tag:

1. Jillian Farnsworth

2. Carolee Biehn

3. Whitney Warner

4. Katie Dunn

Twilight

I just finished the Twilight series of books. I was so consumed with them all week. I even finished the second one in one day. I absolutely loved them! I have always been a big fan of Vampires for some odd reason, and let me just say that these books were not a let down in the slightest!

Rick is home now, at least for this week. Those 2 weeks without him was pretty tiring. Last week was good though. I went to breakfast with my friend and neighbor Kandi. We both just took our babies. All of the other kids were in school. It is so nice to be able to do things with one child in tow. After breakfast I went to Costco. They have the best stuff there. I went in for only 4 items and walked out, $150 later, with the cutest Christmas cards. They were super cheap and cuter that anything I could make for that price. I also got the book "Twilight". I have been reading it all weekend. I haven't gotten very far. Something always seems to come up that makes it impossible to read. If I read at night, I get too tired and fall asleep. I tried to read yesterday afternoon, but Rick wanted me to watch Blades of Glory with him. So I finished my chapter and did just that. The movie was funny, but Rick thought it was way more funny than I did. I think those movies are geared toward guys anyway. They like that stupid humor. I am excited to back to the book.

On Friday, I went to Kandi's house for lunch and then I had to get ready for a big meeting we were having at our house. I left Kandi's @ around 1 and cleaned until 6:30. I did the kind of cleaning you do when you have strangers coming to your house for the first time. You don't want them to think you are slobs so you clean every crevice in your house. At least that is what I did. I wiped down all the base boards, doors, mouldings, and air returns. I even cut my finger on one of the vent slits. I bleached the crap out of the kids bathroom. My boys don't have the best aim. I always smell urine in that bathroom. I washed everything that could go into the washer. I must say I was elated with the end result. The house looked great and I was proud of myself for getting it done a half hour before our guests were to arrive. I am happy I did it because we had family over for dinner on Sunday, and Rick's sister Mindi is coming to visit today. So now I can sit around and relax.

The meeting went good. We are so on our way to the cruise to the Caribbean. Rick is working on getting it by the end of this week. We have until Oct 19th, so we are a shoe in! And now that he is home, he can really concentrate on it.

Saturday we went to Drake's soccer game in the morning and then Rick was off to another meeting. I didn't take Kaleigh to her game because we couldn't find her other cleat and it would have been too hard to watch all the kids by myself at the the field. I also had Trae, he is our friends child. He is a little more than a handful. It is a good thing he is so cute. Rick got home around 4 and then we got ready to watch the best college football team around. SC beat the crap out of Nebraska so it was a good night!

Today I have to take Kaleigh to Hula and then we are going to Rick's softball game. I love cheering for Ricky Big Balls. When he does something good, or while he is running, I yell "Go BB!" and nobody knows what I am really saying. That is the best nick-name, if I may say so myself!

New Dilemma

Here it is... Nothing sounds good to eat. I love eating, and when I am pregnant, I love it even more! I keep racking my brain as to what I should make for dinner and nothing comes to mind. At night, since Rick still isn't home, I get super excited for the time of the night when it is quiet. When all four of the kids are sound asleep and all I can hear is the rumbling of the air conditioner. This is the time when I pull out the sweets I have been hiding. I swear my kids can smell candy. I bought 3 different candy bars from the market the other day, Monday, and I still haven't eaten any of them. I bought 3 so I had choices. But not even candy is tempting to me, that is a huge deal because I am the Candy Queen! The only thing that kind of sounds good is "out" food. Food that I don't have to cook myself, and a meal that is usually accompanied by a blue cheese dinner salad. This is kind of hard to come by, seeing as though I would have to take 4 kids with me and a good restaurant is 15 minutes away. Pretty soon I am gonna be rich so I can go out to dinner everyday for every meal. Or, hire a chef to make it all for me!

I Hate This!

Rick has been out of town since Monday and I SO miss him. He is supposed to come home late Friday/early Saturday, but I know he will be exhausted so we won't get to spend that much time together. Then, he informs me, that he is probably going to have to go back on Monday again for a whole week. This sucks! This is not even his real job anymore. The extra income is always welcome, but I would rather have him home!

On a lighter, and much more exciting, note.... we have started this new business with Kyani Sun. It is this miracle drink that Rick has been taking for about 3 weeks now. His back pain has gone away (which is nice cuz I HATE Somas!). Check it out at www.kyani.net . Which reminds me of another reason why I am upset with this Vegas thing. He has no time to work on this project and I really want to go on the free cruise in December. I told him we so have to go on a week long vacation, without the kids, before we have this baby! And a cruise is perfect for a pregnant woman because you can eat and eat and eat and not feel bad cuz you have an excuse, right?

I'm BACK!

So... The month of August was a crazy one. We were in California for a week and got to spend some time with family. It is so complicated now when we do make it down to Cali. There is never enough time to see everyone we would like too. We mostly spend all of our time with the fam. I took all the kids to Doheny, down in Dana Point. The Baby loved the sand! He only tasted it a few times and I guess decided that it wasn't for him. Cade and his cousin Nico, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of it.

When we got home from Cali, I had 4 days to get ready for our annual trip to Maui. It actually wasn't that big of a deal, though. I make sure all the laundry was done before we left Rick's parents house. So I pretty much took half the clothes out of the suitcase and was then ready for the trip. I take a small amount of clothes for each of us because we are in swimsuits all day and we never wear all the stuff I pack anyway. Hawaii was super fun! I think each of the boys puked a few times and the baby had diharea the entire time! Hawaii is not Hawaii without our kids pooping and puking! Matt stayed with us in our room and was a big help with the kids. We took our yearly drive to Ululani's Shave Ice. It is the best ever! I always get the passion fruit, it's my fav.

Then we were off the the Plantation. We had never been there before, and when Katie suggested it, I was all for it. You can only spend so many hours in the water. So anyway, Matt got to husk a coconut

and we all took the tram ride around the grounds. It wasn't a huge place, but fun anyway!

We got home early Saturday morning. We took the red eye home, and boy was that fun. I didn't get to sleep at all because I was so worried that the baby would wake up everybody else on the palne. As soon as I would get comfortable, he would wake up crying! The trip was awesome though. Can't wait til next year!

Kaleigh started school that Tuesday. 2nd grade already. She is getting so big!

She turned 7 on Thursday. Needless to say, BUSY!!! My mom came to Utah for her birthday.

We took her, and 3 of her friends, to see the BRATZ movie and then out to dinner. We had a good time!

Next was Rick's birthday on Friday. It was nice to have my mom in town so we didn't have to worry about what time we got home. We went to Ruth's Chris for dinner and then went to the movies to see Rush Hour 3 (it was Rick's birthday). That steak was superb! I highly recommend it!

Then on Monday I had a doctor's appointment. I hadn't been feeling good for about 3 weeks and had no clue what was wrong with me. He ended up giving me this prescription for anxiety. I went to the pharmacy to get it filled and happened to walk by some pregnancy tests. It didn't even cross my mind that I could be pregos. But... I am. You would think, this being my 5th, that I would have some kind of idea. Rick was stoked! I am way excited now too. If it's a boy, Ace Vaughn, and a girl, Avery Marie. I already had these names when I was pregnant with Jett!

Next, and last, Drake's first day of Kindergarten. Wow, two kids in school! It is great! He loves going to school on the bus with his sister.

So now I am all caught up! Now we are in September... soccer, preschool, hula, and pregnant!

Lagging!

Yeah.... so I haven't put anything up in a while. It just seems like my life is a crazy world of kids and other not so exciting stuff to mention it all. The Rodeo we went to for Drakes birthday was a blast. We are so going every year now! His party was also super fun. We had it at one of the jumpy places. We started doing the parties there a couple of years ago and now the kids kind of expect it. Oh well, it is actually easier for me.

Rick was out of town all last week and it was hell. I really missed him and it was hard to deal with the kids all by myself. It made me really appreciate him and also the fact that I am not a single mother. How do they do it? They can never use the phrase, "just wait til' your dad gets home!" or "Do you want me to call your father!?" That one always works best with my boys. I had to do everything with all of them. The market is a nightmare with all four of them. On top of it all, I had 2 jewelry parties that I had to do and Jett had a doctors appointment to check on his ear. Luckily I have great friends that totally came to my rescue. By the end of the week I was in tears though. I just get really overwhelmed and missing my husband didn't help the matter either!

We went camping for the first time in a tent in the woods. That was interesting. No... it was actually fun. I have camped my whole life, but always in a motor home or trailer. And we never went to the outdoor woods. We went where any other normal California camped... The BEACH. We had a great time though. I even let the baby crawl on the dirt. And by the end of the trip all the kids were filthy and I was OK with it. They all had baths as soon as we walked in the door, but that was OK.

Now... I have another party tonight and I have to start packing for another trip to Cali. The company still needs Rick's help and I don't want to be away from him for another whole week, so we are tagging along. Then we get back and 4 days later we are headed off to Hawaii for our annual trip. My kids think they are Hawaiian! I love it there! I think this will be our 4th or 5th year in a row and wouldn't miss a year for anything!!!!

Jett

Jett just had tubes put in his ears on Tuesday morning. I was worried because he had to get put to sleep. It actually turned out to be no big deal. We only had to wait about 15 minutes in the waiting room and then when they called us back he wasn't even crying. I was so thankful that it went so smoothly.

So we get home and Jett, who hasn't walked more than 10 steps at a time, walks from the family room all the way to my bedroom. I am beginning to think that his ears were hindering his ability to walk without falling over. What a great idea to have this done. If you ever have to deal with a child who has a crazy amount of ear infections, don't hesitate to have this procedure done. It is a piece of cake!!!

Today is Drake's 5th birthday! We are going to our first Rodeo tonight. I thought it would be a fun thing to do since we are not having his actual birthday party until Saturday. We are becoming true Utah rednecks! Well not really, but it sure seems like it seeing that we are going to a Rodeo!

New to this!

K... My sister in law Katie has one of these so I thought it would be fun to have one as well!

Life is good at the Jackman home. It is getting pretty hot here in Utah. We go to the pool almost everyday. All of the kids are already so dark and it's only the begining of summer! We went to this fun little spot yesterday at Thanksgiving Point. It was a big Noah's Ark that shot water out so the kids could get wet. It is hard to find inexpensive things to do with all 4 kids that isn't a huge hassle. This was a good thing (if I may quote Martha).

Jett walked a lot yesterday. Everybody is always so surprised that he isn't walking already. All my kids have walked between 13 and 14 months, so he has til July 10th to get really good! I am a lazy mom and really don't want my kids to walk any sooner. I hate having to chase after them!

I started a jewelry business about a month or so ago and it is going really good. The shows are really quite fun and I have made some good money out of it. I also have more jewelry now than ever and have a hard time choosing what to wear. That is actually fun though! Rick is totally supportive which is good because he has to watch the kids while I go do the shows. If you feel so inclined, check out my website, www.liasophia.com/marissajackman, I feel so professional with a real site!