Finding joy in the journey!

A Southern Utah Winter

2012-01-21T06:41:00.010-07:00

I LOVE living in Hurricane during the winter. It is cold enough for cute sweaters but not any snow to slow us down! We've been to the park a lot in the last month and Noah brings me his shoes several times a day and says "Paw" (park).

I've been on Pinterest a lot lately and found this fun "Snake Bubbles" idea. Adam and Noah thought it was so fun to make long chains of bubbles in the bathtub.

We have also been building a lot of Lego sets and Adam has been very creative. This one is a helicopter, isn't it good?? For family night last week, we had a family Lego building contest :) Daddy's turned out pretty cool and Adam saved it to play with the next day.

And here's just a cute picture of my future piano player.

December 2011 - Baking, Black Eyes, and Bounce Houses

2012-01-21T05:20:00.019-07:00

Another year coming to an end! We love the Christmas season and the focus it brings on Jesus Christ and his birth. I love the lights and music and especially the spirit that comes with the holiday. Keeping with tradition, we brought home a beautiful, fresh, REAL Christmas tree. The pine smell is amazing and even though it usually dries out by Christmas day I think it is beautiful. We did a family home evening of making Snoopy gingerbread doghouses. It was so fun and Adam loved decorating Snoopy's doghouse. Noah just liked eating the frosting :) A few days later we made sugar cookies and had a great time frosting them and decorating. Noah and his friend Caden helped make the cookie dough. And then the boys anxiously waited for the cookies to bake! On December 18th Noah gave me my first black eye. Oh, it hurt so bad. He was playing with something that I didn't want him to have so I picked him up from behind and he got mad and threw his head into my face. I had to lie on the couch with a bag of frozen peas for the night. This is day one.And this is day 3. Richard came out from California to help move Kristen back to California for a few weeks until January when she is off to Idaho to start school! While Richard was here he spent a lot of quality time with his buddy, Bella :) He is so funny with our dog and I crack up everytime I see this picture. Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve. Adam got a package delivered to the door from Aunt Kimmy and had it ripped open before I could stop him! Kim and Brandon sent Adam an Angry Birds shirt and us a beautiful family picture. This is the perfect shirt and at least for the day, Aunt Kimmy was the favorite aunt ever :) Me and my Adam Boy going for a ride!Mom sent Russell a fresh-from-the-team-store Albert Pujols shirt which Russell put on immediately :) I think he likes it.The boys got to open their new Christmas Eve jammies and here is a not so great picture of them getting ready for bed. Keep those eyes closed until morning! Treats left for Santa!
And here is where the picture taking fell off the wagon. I have a few videos of Christmas morning but not any pictures besides one of all the aftermath and wrapping paper on the floor :) Santa brought Adam the Toy Story 3 landfill toy he wanted and Noah got trucks and a Toy Story tent. They also got a remote control helicopter, Star Wars toys, movies, books, puzzles, pajamas, and lots more. I got a video camera, wireless printer, and slippers. Russell got a suit, a few books. The boys were thrilled with their presents and we had a yummy breakfast of cinnamon roll pull-aparts before heading off to 9AM church. Lucky for us, Christmas morning started before 6AM so we had plenty of time :) We headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas Eve dinner where there were LOTS more presents :) Adam got a few really awesome Star Wars toys, one that shoots missiles and spins in circles. Noah got some new "weapons" - a golf club set. That needs to stay at Grandma's house. I don't want another black eye! We had a wonderful Christmas and loved spending time with our family.

At the end of December we went to Jumpin' Jacks and let the boys run out some of their energy. They LOVE this place and even Noah climbs onto the giant bouncy slides. No fear at all.

Noah - 22 months old!

2012-01-20T16:21:00.001-07:00

I need to write some Noah things down before he gets any bigger! This month he is 22 months old (when did that happen?) He is such a little character. He is either running at full speed, banging into walls, and diving off the couch or he is sweetly cuddling and gently pointing out our eyes, ears, nose, and eyelashes. He is our main source of entertainment and keeps us laughing with his silly smile. Here are some of his likes and loves:

-He LOVES Bella. A lot. He is always climbing all over her and likes to rub his face in her fur. He is just about over his biting-the-dog phase, thank goodness.

-He likes baths and frequently jumps into the bath and shower with me when I'm not looking (fully clothed).

-Noah likes to rile things up especially with Adam by taking Adam's toys, knocking Adam's lego creations apart, or generally causing mischief.

-He likes to play Angry Birds on my phone. He really can launch the birds and says "Boom!" when he knocks something down.

-Noah is always hurt. There is a constant bruise on his forehead and cuts on his face and chin from being a Desatoff boy. Once in the last month I took him to InstaCare because I was sure he needed stitches. Fortunately though, he is VERY tough and rarely cries over his injuries. I find new bumps and bruises when I bathe him at night and wonder where they all came from.

-One of my favorite Noah things lately is he comes and "tells" me things in his Noah language. This morning, Bella stole his sucker and was eating it so Noah ran over to me and pulled on my sleeve and jabbered on and on and pointed to Bella. I love that I can tell him "Show Mommy!" and he will take my hand and lead me to whatever he is talking about.

-He is constantly climbing. Climbing up on the dining room table, kitchen counters, bed, dressers, basically anything high enough to be dangerous.
He likes to push the garage door opener button when we pull into the driveway.

-When Noah is asking for something and I repeat it back to him, he says "Mm-hmm".

-Loves to sleep in, sometimes until 9 a.m. when I have to go wake him up in fear of not getting an afternoon nap out of him.

-He likes nursery and wants to go in there to play when we're taking a walk during sacrament.

-Not sure why, but he asks loudly for a "Bom" out of the cookie jar where we keep candy and treats. I thought he was trying to say "Some" but maybe not.

November Happenings

2012-01-19T06:30:00.021-07:00

The most exciting thing happened to our family in November! Grandpa Roger is officially ours. Roxanne and Roger were married at the Ledges on 11/11/11 :) So fun. The day was so wonderful and full of happiness. I am so happy for these two and so grateful to have Roger in our lives. He is a blessing to our family and the kids adore him. Here are some pictures from the big day!
Mom and Dad came out for the wedding and Grandpa took some time to play Elefun with the boys.
And no trip is complete without a silly Richard picture.

Here are some Noah pictures....Noah cleans out the lint trap for me, what a helper :)
And the monster must be contained. He figured out how to hop right out of his crib at 20 months. Ugh.

Adam wrote the cutest letter to Santa this year and I loved it. Here is what it says... "Dear Santa, Please bring me a Toy Story 3 toy." and then on the second page he drew a picture of himself enjoying the toy and wrote "I am so happy that I got the toy." I love this boy and I am keeping him forever.

Adam's kindergarten class had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and I got to be there to help out. It was so fun and he had a great time showing me all around his classroom. He even made the placemat sitting on the table in front of him. He has loved kindergarten this year and looks forward to going every day.
Here is a letter he showed me in his cubby about something that he was thankful for :) I love that he is easily pleased.

Thanksgiving came so quickly this year after the busy week of the wedding, so I think I was tired and not thinking clearly enough to remember to take pictures! Here is the one I have of us setting the table at Lindsey and Jeremy's :) Hopefully I do better next year of documenting our holidays! Oh I do have one more of the little turkeys the kids made out of Oreos and candy corn.

Some catching up...September/October 2011

2012-01-14T06:05:00.028-07:00

In September, we brought a new vehicle into the family, the long awaited Toyota Tacoma. Russell has wanted it for a VERY LONG time and I finally agreed to buying it. I was sad to see my little Hyundai go but Richard has already adopted the POS and made it his own with tinted windows, a great detail job, and a brand new stereo system. It has a brand new life in California :)

Just a cute little picture before we headed out to church. He looks like a little businessman :)

I had a first attempt at canning peaches and making peach jam. What a process! Jeremy generously gave me 2 full boxes of peaches from the farm and I wanted to see if I could do the canning thing. Well, I did it, but it took 6 hours!
I learned a new skill but I don't know that I will be doing that again anytime soon. The jam on the other hand was much easier and came out tasting delicious. And a note for next time, to peel peaches, just boil them in water and then put in an ice bath. No hand peeling with a knife required...ugh. Oh, and the boys completely trashed the house while I was in the kitchen :) Here is what I turned around to see.

We had one last pool party at Grandpa Roger's near the end of October with Aaron, Cami, Emma, and Jax. We have LOVED having this pool to come swimming and escape the summer heat! The kids have had a great summer playing in this pool and Noah completely overcame his fear of water and is now, unfortunately, fearless around the pool. Grandma and Grandpa bought him a little suit with floaties built in and then they put floaties on his arms to make him almost unsinkable! He is such a little fish now.

Staheli Farm is a fun pumpkin patch and corn maze in Washington and we love to go during October and spend the day together. We took the kids on the play area with trampolines, corn slides, and a petting zoo. We took a walk through the corn maze too and had to keep Noah from eating the dried corn cobs that were lying on the ground. He LOVES corn :) Adam could spend every day of his life with his cousins and be in heaven.
Adam was SO happy to see a pig "just like Wilbur!"

And then we made it to Halloween finally :) It was another Star Wars costume theme around our house this year and Adam was Darth Vader with Yoda-Noah as his sidekick. Adam had his very first school Halloween costume parade and it was so fun! I love kindergarten. On Halloween, we had a big family dinner with yummy chicken enchilada soup followed by trick-or-treating and then back home to watch The Great Pumpkin while this kids sorted out their loot. It was a great night! I forgot to take pictures of our carved pumpkins but they were a clone trooper and Yoda. We used a Star Wars pumpkin carving kit and did rather well with it, I thought.

Future Home of the Desatoffs

2012-01-14T05:56:00.003-07:00

We chose our lot out in Dixie Springs and we are so excited! Construction will start in March and we are tentatively planning on moving in sometime during June. I wonder if we can keep the tumbleweeds...

Family Pictures

2011-10-24T11:47:00.005-06:00

My good friend Emily Menzie has done it again! We went up to the Red Rocks in St. George and had Emily take some pictures for us. They came out amazing! I am in love with these family pictures. Emily, you are so talented and I can't decide which ones I love most! Here are just a few...

Here is the link http://menziefamily.smugmug.com/Photography/DESATOFF/19663460_73Fc4F#1542213595_qKXHG4z and the password is Robin (caps sensitive) if you want to see more!

Adam

2011-10-08T22:11:00.012-06:00

Life sure seems to move faster now that Adam is in kindergarten every weekday. I am still so surprised that he is old enough to be in school and if you ask Adam, this is no big deal :) When asked what he did in school today he starts off with "Wellllllll...." (this is him gearing up for a big story). He likes to tell me about how many good behavior stars the afternoon class earned as compared to the morning class. There is also a behavior system where the kids move their names to purple for being good or down to yellow for a warning. Asking Adam if he ever had to move his name to yellow he said, "Only 2 times". And this was in the 3rd week of school. Oh dear.

A couple weeks after school started, Adam began riding home from school on the school bus. I was a little hesitant. What if someone was mean to him? Our Adam-boy is a tad small for his age and I am overly nervous for him around other elementary-aged children. Russell's response: "This is Hurricane, it's a 3-minute bus ride. Get over it, Mommy." Alright then. This is the first of many attempts at giving him a bit of rope :)

Adam is so excited to learn and last week he officially became a "Tie-Master". This means he knows how to tie his own shoes and he impressed me with how quickly he caught on to it. Adam can be easily frustrated in some things, but he practiced for a few days and suddenly he had it! What a smart kid.

One day he was one of the last kids off the bus and it turned out he had gone back to get his backpack he had left on his seat. We were walking home and he said that in his mind he knew he forgot his backpack because Jesus told him to go get it. :) Love that our Family Home Evening and Primary lessons are sticking with him.

Adam is a happy kid (most days) and he REALLY loves his brother. They spend almost all their time wrestling on the floor, jumping in the couch cushions, playing "slide down the mattress", and jumping from their dresser to Adam's bed. Noah just thinks Adam is the greatest and loves to watch him and do exactly what Adam does :) Just today, Adam was in a time-out (we are working on being a "fast listener") and after Adam's timeout was done Noah walked over to the time-out spot and put his face in the corner too :)

One of Adam's favorite things to do is to play Fat Faces on my iPhone. It is an app where he finds a picture and can distort the face to make a person look fatter or thinner or have big teeth, endless fun for a 5-year-old. I regularly find 20+ pictures in my phone that have been turned into fat faces. I know when I hear him giggling on the couch to himself he is at it again. He thinks it is hilarious! Here are some of his hall of famers....

And now for my favorite part of this Adam update, his very first school picture! And it is a KEEPER :) I asked him to please smile with his teeth and this is the result... I love this picture. It is so Adam :) You only get real smiles when he is actually happy, no fake smiles here!

Fall came into Southern Utah quick this year. One week it was in the 90s and the next we had crazy rain and thunderstorms. I brought out the fall decorations because I love this time of year and we made some spooky bats to hang near our front door. Adam was a big helper and tested out the bats by running up and down the hall with the bat on a string to make them fly. Bella thought this was an invitation to chase Adam and bite off a bat wing. Adam told Bella that they were not friends anymore :) I guess they called a truce later that night.

I have so much fun with this little boy. He is such a character and makes me laugh every day! I love to hear what he thinks about things and I need to start writing down things he says, they are so funny. He is learning so quickly and is always up for anything. I am so happy to be his mommy!

And a few more things that Adam enjoys these days....

Putting together puzzles

Reading Charlotte's Web at night with mommy

Pouring his own cups of water

Planning his own social calendar (sends messages and calls Aunt Lindsey to see if he can come over to play with his cousins)

Doing chores to earn money for Lego sets

Making Noah laugh, especially when he is playing too rough with Noah and is trying to cheer him up after Noah has hurt himself

Play Monopoly, Life, Chutes & Ladders

Listen to "the rockin' song" - Good Charlotte "I Don't Want to Be in Love" when we're in the car

Loves going to kindergarten

Adam's First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-28T20:44:00.009-06:00

My big 5 year old! I had to make myself leave his classroom after he sat at his desk. I wanted to stay and make sure he was having fun and getting along with the other kids :) I am still so surprised that he is old enough to be in kindergarten!! His teacher is so sweet and he likes her so much. This first week they have been reading the Eric Carle book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?". Each day Adam wears a different color T-shirt to school and they work on that color for that day. Kindergarten is so fun and he looks forward to it everyday.

Here is what his homework was for the first day.

Park City - Desatoff Reunion 2011

2011-08-28T18:37:00.031-06:00

This year Russell's grandma reserved the same BEAUTIFUL cabin in Deer Valley for the whole family to spend a week together. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to sit and visit with all the family we don't get to see very often. Adam and Noah had lots of fun playing with their cousins! This is Noah, Breanna, and Adam all squished into a stroller on a walk back to the cabin. Can you see Adam all curled up in the basket underneath?

Grandma is one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She is such a strong example of faith and testimony to me. I loved our early morning talks at the kitchen table. She is very wise and very special to me and Russell. She is moving to Idaho to be close to Aunt Lisa and I will miss knowing she is just a few hours away in Salt Lake City. But I am excited to know she will be nearer to family and enjoying a new adventure.

While we were in Park City, we visited the Olympic Park and saw where the 2002 Winter events were held. They use the facility now for training and there were athletes there skiing down ramps into a giant pool. The kids loved watching them!The museum was filled with Olympics memoribilia and fun exhibits for the kids to play with

The kids loved playing at the cabin. They rode down the driveway on skateboards, swam in the hot tub (did someone put dish soap in here), and ate ice cream on the deck.

We also shopped our hearts out at the Tanger Outlets while the kids fought in the stroller. Ah, brotherly love :)

We had lunch on Main Street at The Pizza & Noodle Company.

The BBQ chicken pizza was so yummy! We kept the little ones entertained with Baby Einstein videos on YouTube. Thank goodness for Iphones!

Overall, it was a very fun week and we hope we get to go again next year, hopefully when Noah isn't trying to throw himself down the stairs every 5 minutes!

PS - Here is what Adam thought he should pack for the trip...Nintendo, stretchy ball, and Spongebob toothpaste. Sounds good to me!

End of Summer Fun

2011-08-22T21:39:00.008-06:00

My sister Kristen is here to stay with us for a few months so Adam and Noah are now sharing a room. They are doing awesome so far and we decorated the room with Star Wars wall stickers. Adam loves his Star Wars room and is very glad that we put R2D2 and C3PO together "because they are friends".

We went to the Washington County Fair this month and had fun with Aunt Lindsey and the kids. Here is Adam mooing at the cow :)

This was a maze ride that the kids went on with a giant slide at the end. The kids only went on a few rides because tickets were expensive!

More to come on our reunion in Park City/Deer Valley and Adam's first day of kindergarten....

Trying to beat the heat!

2011-08-07T20:57:00.015-06:00

We are winding down our last few weeks of summer vacation before Adam starts kindergarten on August 22nd. We just found out that Adam's kindergarten teacher is Mrs. Reid! He is going to have Noah Hanks and Caden Nelson in his class and he is SO excited :)

I took the kids to our new Hurricane splash pad this past week and they loved it. It is so nice to have a splash pad so close to home.
Adam loves the buckets that fill up and dump on his head. Noah likes to play with the small drains in the ground that gurgle up water. He is a bit timid to run out in the middle of all the kids and likes to stay within a foot of where I'm standing. He made his way over to these rocks and spent a lot of time stacking them up.
This kid has a thing with rocks. He always comes back inside the house carrying a rock when he's been playing in the backyard. And last week when I cleaned out the toy boxes I found 3 rocks :)

This picture is so funny to me. Noah spilled a bunch of Froot Loops on the ground and Adam is helping me vacuum them up. Adam was smiling at me so I could take a picture and Noah is in the background pulling more cereal out of the box! Adam never suspected a thing, just kept on vacuuming up the Froot Loops.

I keep finding Noah stacking blocks and it is the cutest thing. He works really hard to make sure it's steady before he lets it go. It keeps him busy forever! I love finding him doing something constructive like playing with blocks or reading books when I am expecting to find him in trouble!

The boys watching some morning cartoons in their jammies. Adam is in LOVE with this Ewok stuffed animal that Grandma Eatough sent him. He brings it on every outing and sleeps with it every night. When Adam watches a TV show, Mr. Ewok is propped up on the couch watching right along with Adam. We have had some near emergencies when Bella decided to take Mr. Ewok on a trip to the backyard to be flung up into the air a few times. I have half a mind to buy a secret Ewok to have on hand in case Ewok gets lost. It could be very bad....

Me and Lindsey took the kids to Jumpin' Jacks on Thursday and they loved it!
Adam has been there for birthday parties but I haven't and I thought it was so fun. There are big indoor bouncehouses and inflatable slides all in a wonderful air conditioned warehouse. Adam jumped and jumped until he wore himself out. Noah slept half the time and then hung out by the candy machines.

My sister Kristen is here to stay until she starts school in the winter at BYU Idaho! I am so excited to have her here and the boys love having Aunt Kristen here to play. This week I moved the kids' beds into the same room and it is now the Star Wars room. Adam thinks it is so cool! I'll put up a picture when I get the last picture hung up on the wall. Last night was the first night of them sleeping in the same room and they did great. Noah woke up when early-bird Adam got out of bed, so hopefully Noah can sleep in a little later tomorrow morning.

Happy Pioneer Day!

2011-07-24T16:59:00.006-06:00

I love that Utah makes a huge deal out of celebrating Pioneer Day. Here, it is a state holiday and all of the primary kids get to ride on a parade float! Adam loves being part of the celebration and this year Noah and I worked hard collecting candy while we waited for Adam to come by on the 4th ward float. I think next year it would be funny to dress him in pioneer clothes! Adam is riding on the top bale of hay on the float, but I took the picture just as he was waving to me and blocking his face :)Noah + Smarties = Lots of quiet time!!!

Off to Vegas!

2011-07-24T16:50:00.004-06:00

We left the kiddos and headed to Vegas for a couple days. We had lots of fun! It was nice to sit and have a conversation with my husband without being interrupted :) Sometimes I forget how to carry on a normal conversation with him! We used to talk for hours when it was just us and now there are lots of distractions, so it is wonderful to take time away and get back to just us. We stayed at Excalibur and did lots of shopping, sleeping, laying by the pool, walking, and we even got last-minute tickets to see The Lion King! I loved it and I'm glad we decided to go. The costumes were amazing and the kids that played the younger Simba and Nala were so talented!

Slip-N-Slide!

2011-07-24T16:19:00.010-06:00

Aunt Lindsey gave Adam this super fun slip-n-slide for his birthday and we use it ALL the time. The kids have so much fun with it and I like turning on the radio and laying in the sun while they splash around. Adam gets how to use the slide part, but Noah just likes to run back and forth through the water tunnel. Then he climbs on the hill and sits down in dirt. Boys and dirt. Bella as always is in the middle of the action at all times. I love this picture of Noah! And he loves sitting in and splashing in giant bowls of water :) Cream of Noah soup! Nothing better than popsicles on a hot summer day!
So sweet of Noah to share :)

Happy 4th of July!!

2011-07-24T15:54:00.004-06:00

This year for the 4th we spent the afternoon swimming at Grandpa Roger's. We are so lucky to be able to use his pool whenever the weather gets too hot, which is pretty much every day around here! Roger has completely cured Noah's fear of swimming. He bought Noah a swimsuit with chest floaties built in and when you put arm floaties on at the same time, Noah can kick around the pool all by himself. He loves it! The only problem is now he really thinks he can swim and when he doesn't have all the floaties on he tries to jump right in. Adam usually wears floaties but lately he wants to try to swim to me without wearing them. He does pretty good but swimming lessons may be in order here soon.
I love that my boys are little fish. I remember never wanting to get out of the pool when I was younger. We had yummy BBQ and Adam spent the night at Jaron's house to do sparklers and fireworks over there. I ended up having to work that night and my fireworks show consisted of me assuring Bella that she didn't need to bark when the booms went off at the big fireworks show :)

Adam is FIVE!

2011-07-04T15:15:00.018-06:00

Alright. Who told Adam he could get so big??? Seriously. Well we were all pretty wiped out for a few days after getting back from vacation so we threw a last minute birthday party together for Adam. We invited Adam's friends Caden Nelson, Noah Hanks, Davis Brown, and Breanna and Jaron to a splash park in Washington Fields. Adam said only boys were invited, except for 1 girl - Breanna :) The weather was so nice and the kids didn't end up playing that much in the water. We let them smack a pinata around and even little Noah got in a few hits! We went to McDonald's for lunch and Adam got lots of fun presents that were played with all the way home.

That night we had our family party for Russell and Adam out at the farm. Lindsey and Jeremy cooked up yummy carne asada and potato salad. We brought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Notice something funny about Adam's name? The DQ girl must have been having a hard day :) The big gift of the night was a Lego Boba Fett spaceship!! He's been wanting one for a long time and he was so excited to open that present. He also got some Cars gifts from Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Jeremy including a slip-n-slide, floaties, and Mater T-shirt. He couldn't wait to get home to start on the Lego ship and woke me up before the sun came up the next morning to work on it. Cake fights are becoming a usual thing at our family birthday parties. This time Lindsey ended up with a swollen eye from being hit with a piece of cake from Russell. Good times!

Summer Fun Part 2!

2011-07-04T14:36:00.010-06:00

The next part of our vacation was to Lake Havasu and it was SUPER HOT as ever!! Adam and Noah had a great time playing with Uncle Ryan and Cousin Annie. I love going to the lake even if it is hard keeping the kids cool and not sunburned. Adam took a ride on the waverunner with Grandpa and he also took a fast ride on the tube behind the boat! What a daredevil. Grandpa played in the sand with Noah and Annie and Adam fed a duck from the boat and was very sad when the duck swam away. One day while the boys were playing Ultimate Frisbee Russell's wedding ring slipped off his finger and fell down into about 4 feet of water with muck and dirt and rocks in the way. I thought for sure he wouldn't find it, but he searched and searched with a pair of goggles until the sun was almost down and found it! Yay!

Summer Fun!! (Part 1)

2011-07-04T11:20:00.020-06:00

It's safe to say summer has arrived in Southern Utah. The 7-day forecast shows temperatures over 100 degrees with no end in sight! We have been having lots of fun and staying super busy this past month.
First and most exciting, we are so happy to have Roger joining our family! He is a wonderful, sweet man and we love how he blends right in with us. The kids are crazy about him and love to play and swim with "Grandpa Rog". I love the way he takes care of Rox and we are just thrilled to have it made official! Lucky us, we got to be part of the actual proposal in June :)
The next day, we packed up and headed to California for 8 days! On Sunday, the 19th we had a big family BBQ and poker night. It was so nice to visit with our family that we don't get to see very often. Monday I woke up with the worst toothache ever and went to see the dentist in Yucaipa. He fixed me up and we went to Pharoah's Water Park with Kimmy and Maddie on Tuesday to visit Aunt Kristen.
The kids loved the kiddie pool and Adam couldn't get enough of the big bucket of water that dumps on your head and the water slides. He is so fearless! Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early and headed to Disneyland with Grandma, Annie, me, Adam, and Noah. It was quite a production with 3 kids and 2 strollers trying to navigate the monorail and trams. Here's Grandma looking a little overwhelmed :) Adam and I headed straight to Star Tours and waited more than an hour! We weren't sure if he would be tall enough but he barely made it. He absolutely loved the ride and after it ended said, "Mommy, were we really in outer space?" I assured him we definitely were in outer space!
After that, we went to California Adventure and rode the new Little Mermaid ride. It was very fun, and thank you to Disneyland management for installing air conditioners in the lines outside the rides! So appreciated!! We went back to Tomorrowland and rode the Buzz blaster ride and then the Astro Orbiters.I love that Adam is getting old enough to enjoy Disneyland, it is so much fun! He did pretty good with waiting in line, but got bored just standing there. While the babies napped in their strollers we watched Jedi Training and Adam was in heaven. He is all aboout Star Wars and I wished we had time to stand in line for him to be chosen to be part of Jedi Training. Maybe next time. On the way back to the car Adam was very tired of walking and he and Noah shared the stroller, sometimes having teeny kids can be a good thing :) We left Disneyland in the afternoon to get back to Grandma's house to pack for the lake trip. What a go-go-go trip this was! Thursday was Russell's 31st birthday and he had been on a high adventure hiking trip with my dad and brother. For his birthday he went to In-N-Out for lunch and got to come home and dive in a nice cool pool after working so hard. They were exhausted but happy to be home.

Happy Flag Day!

2011-06-14T16:44:00.006-06:00

We found a recipe for these fun layered drinks! I was amazed that the colors stayed separate :) We also made Jello jigglers and the boys' fingers are now stained permanently red.
While I was cleaning up the mess, Noah climbed up on the stool and helped himself to green sprinkles! To the bath they go...

Safety Town

2011-06-11T21:23:00.004-06:00

Adam just finished a 2-week program called Safety Town that was put on by the city and McDonald's. They taught him all kinds of things about bike safety, fire alarms, strangers, poison, and lots more. I loved hearing what he learned every day because when he came home he was so serious :) "Mom, we do not touch the cleaners because THAT IS POISON!" And then he stuck a frowny face sticker on the cleaners under the sink. And gun safety day was very funny. "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult." He repeated that all day long! I thought the program was awesome and I'm glad he stuck it out. Yesterday morning was their graduation program and Ronald McDonald came to do some magic and take pictures with the kids. Adam loved it!

Red Cliffs with Adam

2011-06-11T21:09:00.006-06:00

Tuesday night was our YW activity out at Red Cliffs and Adam and I had so much fun! He is such an adventurer and was up for hiking, bug hunting, roasting hot dogs, and swimming. He loved being outside and I had fun watching him find all there was to discover.
Here he is debating whether or not to jump into the icy cold water. After one of the girls promised she would catch him, he dove right in!
And this is where the fun ended for Adam. He was so cold and not excited about hiking all the way back to the picnic tables :) He was a trooper and made it back by following the footprints on the trail. He was very concerned about getting lost and kept reminding me to "stay on the path".

Matching Suits, Nice Suits!

2011-06-07T16:18:00.003-06:00

Nice, because you are nice boys! Except maybe for you...

At the Park

2011-06-02T08:55:00.002-06:00

Noah is such a busy bee these days, running and getting into everything! It's exhausting. I love taking them to the park because Noah will sit in the swing forever and it is a very nice break for mommy :) Noah and Kailyn are just the right size to share this baby swing!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-02T08:04:00.007-06:00

We had so much family time this past weekend and the kids loved it! Saturday we went swimming at Roger's and the boys worked on finishing Roxanne's deck. Sunday after church we spent the afternoon at Roxanne's and had yummy BBQ'd ribs and watched a movie. Then the kids entertained us with a Wii dance party :) It was so funny! And finally on Monday we helped Lindsey and Jeremy move the last of their things out of their house and went to see Pirates that night while the kids went swimming. We loved having all the cousins together!

Preschool Graduation!

2011-06-01T23:47:00.003-06:00

How did this happen!? My Adam is getting ready for kindergarten in just a few months! His preschool graduation was so cute. Each child had a part in the program and Adam's part of the program was the months of the year and he led the class in reciting all the months. They sang all the songs they have learned all year and at the end they all simultaneously moved their tassels to the right side :) So fun! I have loved Happy Days Preschool and will be sad not to see the teachers each day, at least until Noah turns 3!

Adam

2011-05-24T16:16:00.003-06:00

Almost every day after school this past week Adam has had 1 or 2 friends ride their bikes over to play for a few hours. It is so funny to open the front door and hear, "Is Adam home?" What a social butterfly he has become :) He has a cute little group of friends from school and church and loves when they come over and call through the gate for him to come ride bikes or to play Star Wars and fight lightsabers.

Back to School!

2011-05-18T16:49:00.002-06:00

Russell has officially been accepted to Dixie State College! It would have been pretty sad if he had been denied, since they have a 100% acceptance rate :) Either way, he's pretty excited about it!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T10:23:00.005-06:00

I am blessed with the most wonderful moms in my life!

My mom has become one of my best friends especially since I had kids. I am in awe that she raised 6 kids and found the time to run a daycare to be able to stay home with us. What a huge sacrifice to be with us! She is funny, a crazy Angels FANatic, and a great listening ear. She has great advice and she never judges me. I am so very thankful that she had the courage to join the church and raise her kids in the church. She has a wonderful testimony of the gospel. My mom is a great example to me of strength and I learn from her every day.

My other mama is so sweet! I love that when one of the kids takes a road trip we are required to check in when we have arrived safely and we also have to check in once we're actually out of the car and safely to our destination. Roxanne is a huge example of faith to me. She makes the temple a priority in her life and her testimony strengthens me and everyone around her. She is super cute and such a young, fun grandma to our boys. I love knowing that when I leave the kids with her she not only takes care of them but she gets down on the floor and plays with them and has pillow fights :) Roxanne is so full of love and I am very thankful to have her as my mother-in-law. I am so lucky!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!

Noah says DUCK!

2011-05-03T16:08:00.003-06:00

He uses this word for a lot of things. When he wants something you have, it sounds like "dat". Then when he sees his bathtub ducky, he says, "dut". And when he has climbed up on the couch and we tell him to get down, he says, "dow". It is a very versatile sound :)

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T23:34:00.011-06:00

Last Easter, Noah was less than 2 months old so really he didn't know what was going on. This year was a very fun Easter with the boys and we loved celebrating with them. Adam is learning so much in Primary and we spent a few mornings leading up to Easter Sunday talking about Jesus Christ and why we celebrate Easter. I know when something has made an impression on Adam because he asks me about it every morning for the next week, like when he kept asking, "Is Laban still dead?". For example, he is very interested in the nails in Jesus' hands and feet. "Did it hurt him?" "Why did they do that?" And he thought the rolling away of the large stone was the cool part of the Easter story...when Jesus came out of the "doom" :)
By the time I got out of bed and got the camera, Adam had already found most of the hidden eggs, Sorry Noah! The Easter Bunny was very nice this year and brought Adam 2 new Star Wars T-shirts (which get washed every day because he wants to wear one of them every day). We went to church and by the end of the 3rd hour I was feeling terrible with a really bad sore throat. We came home and took naps before heading out to the farm for an easter egg hunt with Jaron & Breanna.

The farm had tons of great hiding spots for the kids to search and it kept them busy for a good half hour. They found all of the eggs just in time for us to get over to Grandma Roxanne's house before it started pouring rain! We had a yummy ham dinner and watched the kids play Wii where Adam told Jaron over and over, "In your face!" Or if Adam lost the game, "In my OWN face!" (Sigh) Hopefully this competitive, sore loser thing is a phase.

I'm a Chipette!

2011-01-27T21:25:00.003-07:00

Who else loves the Chipmunk Adventure movie? Come on, I'm not the only one! I am an official member today as my cheeks are swollen from having my wisdom teeth out.
And this was after having a frozen bag of peas on my cheek all afternoon. For anyone who has seen "Just Friends", don't I look like Ryan Reynolds with his fat face mask on? "I love you Jamie Palomino!"

In a stroke of bad timing, Russell came down with strep throat yesterday. The two of us together were pretty useless today so with the help of Grandma Roxanne, Aunt Lindsey and some great friends, we survived the day! Here's hoping tonight is a completely restful night.

Dear Noah and Adam - Please do not wake up for ANY reason tonight! Love, Mom.

Chicken Dots

2011-01-26T21:21:00.002-07:00

Adam has a little bugbite on his face. Today, he said, "Mom, I have a chicken dot on my face. And when you get chicken dots all over your face, (whispering) you turn into a chicken!" I think he meant chickenpox :)

Adam, Adam, Adam...

2011-01-22T17:47:00.004-07:00

Couldn't be more proud of our boy who's got an arm that can do this. And couldn't be more PO'd that he used that great arm to do this!

Can I freeze time?

2011-01-21T23:00:00.002-07:00

My boys are so sweet! This time in our lives is so busy and the days fly by, but I sometimes stop and think how lucky I am to be their mommy. I love to get down on the floor and play with my Noah bug. He is so silly and happy! Noah loves to plant big wet kisses on anyone within reach. And Adam always has an imaginary game he wants to play with me. Some days I am a Jedi fighting with a Lego gun and sometimes I am Gary from Spongebob saying . I know he won't want to play with mom forever so I try and play as often as possible with my boys, even though it is HARD to leave the dishes in the sink and the clean laundry in the dryer. I love our days and can't imagine how our lives were ever full before we were parents. I think we must have watched a lot of TV :)

I feel like I need to hurry and write everything down that they say and do so I remember it forever. Here are my favorite parts of today...

Noah saying "mom-mom-mom-mom" from the playpen I trapped him in while I was scrapbooking, and then grabbing my cheeks and giving me a giant kiss when I picked him up!

Adam as he was falling asleep said, "Mom, today was a great day."

Rocking Noah almost to sleep and laying him down in his crib. He gave me a sleepy smile and then kicked his legs up and down and fell asleep. So busy, even in his sleep!

Noah walking into the kitchen and holding his arms up in the air for me to lift him up.

Watching Adam imitate Noah's walk with his hands clenched in fists up near his shoudlers :)

Adam jumping for joy when it was time to go to Aunt Lindsey's house.

My professional walker!

2011-01-13T16:40:00.002-07:00

This is my funny boy bringing me a chicken today :)

Christmas baking

2010-12-22T12:49:00.008-07:00

It's been nonstop rain here so the best thing to do is to stay in and make yummy treats! We made chocolate dipped oreos, fudge, and sugar cookies. Adam was the sprinkle specialist and did a wonderful job!

He especially liked smashing candy canes into little pieces to put on top of the fudge. I had to confiscate the kitchen hammer when he went after the dog with it.

Doesn't this picture look like he's advertising sprinkles :)

And here's Noah trying to taste the cookies through the oven door. "I can't wait one more minute Mom!"

Christmas time is here....

2010-12-12T23:26:00.004-07:00

It finally feels like Christmas in our home and I think it's because we finally got our Home Depot Christmas tree this week. It smells amazing in our house :) Here are some pictures of us getting into the Christmas spirit...

Noah is 6 months old!

2010-09-17T20:00:00.008-06:00

When did this happen? My sweet Noah is 6 months old! He is the happiest baby and we can't imagine our home without him. Here are a few of Noah's favorite things...

Big brother!

Being outside

Bella!

Bathtime!

While I was taking these pictures today, Bella was licking rice cereal off Noah's hand and then Adam thought it would be funny to lick Noah too. Oh, the shenanigans that go on in this place....

Last few days of summer...

2010-08-09T18:07:00.007-06:00

School is starting for Adam in a little over a week. (Thank goodness!) He can't wait to get back to preschool.We have been swimming a lot lately and it is fun to get out of the house and splash with the kids (and of course Bella). She's never far behind.This is a fun game Bella and Adam like to play where Adam sprays Bella in the face with a hose and Bella tries to lap it all up before running away to catch her breath. Noah likes to watch all the craziness and bounce in his ExerSaucer.
Thank you to Great-Grandma Sandi for the fun package! Adam got new cars and a 3D Toy Story shirt! So cool. We all had to take a turn trying out the shades. Today we started a backyard project. Sometime during pregnancy and a new baby the weeds took over the backyard. We are taking it back! Here is a before picture. Later in the week we will post a beautiful "after" picture.

Our July!

2010-08-01T20:36:00.014-06:00

I took a break from blogging the last couple months....Facebook is so much faster! Seriously, this post took me an hour. But sometimes pictures need more explanation than a few words. Here are some pictures from this hot July!

Adam was in the Pioneer Day parade! It was so cute. He rode with the rest of the primary kids on hay bales pulled by a tractor (this is Hurricane, after all!). All the kids held up pictures they had colored of their families. So cute! He doesn't look too thrilled in these pictures, but he's never been one to smile for the camera. Much too busy. After the parade was the carnival and we hung out with the YW from our ward at the bean bag toss booth. Adam also made it to the giant water slide and couldn't get enough! There's a smile.

And my sweet Noah Bug just hung out on a blanket in the grass playing with his feet :) He is my reward for dealing with his big brother ;) This month, Noah started on rice cereal and LOVES it.

Adam fell asleep at the dinner table... "I'm going to take a short nap." Can you tell he was digging in the dirt right before dinner? Such a boy!

Some days we get outside before the heat sets in. Adam is getting pretty good at riding his bike and Noah likes to bounce in his activity saucer. This is Adam's job every Thursday after the trash man comes :) What a helper!

4th of July was held on the 5th of July in Utah so as not to interfere with Sunday activities....We spent the holiday BBQing, swimming, and spending time with Jeremy, Lindsey, Roxanne, Taryn, Aaron and all the cousins. It was fun to watch them all play together! We're so lucky to have so much family near us.
Adam got a minor burn from picking up the hot end of a sparkler, but he forgot all about it after 10 minutes or so. He was more mad that we had to go home and leave Jaron and Breeanna :) He just loves those guys! Noah got to watch all the action from his new Bumbo seat that Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Jeremy let us borrow.

Who's been digging in the mud? Not me!Ha! It looks like lipstick.

What I get to wake up to...

2010-06-04T09:40:00.002-06:00

Isn't he sweet? :)

Happy Beans

2010-06-01T18:50:00.002-06:00

I made a jar for Adam this week to encourage good behavior and good listening. For every nice thing he does he gets a "happy" bean to put in his jar and when it gets full he gets to pick out a new toy. But when he's not listening, he loses beans. It's been very effective, maybe too effective. Today he came up and gave Noah a kiss and I said, "That was so nice, Adam!" And then he said, "You know what that means? I get a happy bean!" :)

And just now, I was singing a song from one of his shows and he said, "If you don't stop singing that song Mommy, I'm going to take a bean out of the jar!" Such a 3-year-old!

2010-05-05T11:10:00.010-06:00

I love my new life as a mother of two! It is definitely busier, but Noah has brought so much happiness and love along with him :) He really is a sweet baby. We just had his blessing on Sunday, and thank you to everyone who came and helped us celebrate. We had lots of fun! I have started working again and that has been a little challenging, but Noah helped me out by just about sleeping through the night this last week. He wakes up around 2 or 3 a.m. most nights and then sleeps til 6 or 7. Last night he went from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Anyone who has had a newborn knows what a gift that is! Thank you Noah Bug!

Adam had a great time with Aunt Kristen, Uncle Richard, and Grandma and Grandpa Eatough. He loved "helping" with the quads and even got to go for a ride on one with Grandpa.
Russell gave a beautiful blessing to Noah and I am so thankful to have a husband who loves being a daddy and uses his priesthood to bless our family. We had a nice lunch after church and ate ourselves silly with a huge taco bar and of course, a Costco cake.

In Noah news, he has started smiling this last week and it is the sweetest thing! If this video will load, it is right at the end that he smiles. He is also "talking" all the time to Mommy, Daddy, Adam, and this morning was chatting with the legs of a dining room chair :) Silly.

And Adam decided he should bear his testimony last Sunday. It was the most adorable thing ever. He wasn't afraid at all :) He came up with me and wanted to go first. He also has been writing his name everywhere and sounding everything out. He has been learning so much lately and is soaking up knowledge like a sponge. Thank goodness he has taken over the role of Bella's playmate or else she would be so lonely. Here they are lying on the floor and I thought it was so funny he wanted to lay down just like her with her paw folded under.
We are loving life with our two boys and you can see how enthralled Noah is with Adam. He loves to watch him and here he is craning his head back to try and see what Adam was up to!

Pictures!

2010-04-20T14:48:00.004-06:00

I have been away from the computer for a few days - between the boys being sick and Russell's identity being stolen it's been a busy week! Adam's stuffy nose is mostly better, Noah's fever went away, and Wells Fargo took great care of us :)

Onto the good stuff! My super-talented friend Emily Menzie came over and took pictures of the boys a week ago and they came out amazing! I just can't get enough of looking at them and love how they turned out! Thanks Em! Here's a couple of them...

Here is the link so you can oooh and aaah over them like I've been doing. The password is Desatoff - shh! Don't give it out to anyone.

http://menziefamily.smugmug.com/Photography/Noah/11895105_JqEWq#841841693_gztfF

Enjoy!

Adam is so funny...

2010-04-12T14:03:00.000-06:00

and he doesn't even know it. Today he was watching Team UmiZoomi - anyone with preschoolers out there, it is on Nick Jr. and one of the better shows on TV - and the character on the show asked, "What flavor ice cream is your favorite?" Adam said, "The kind with a spoon." I just about fell over laughing!

I would put up some new pictures of Noah but I'm going to take a nap instead :)

Brothers!

2010-04-03T16:49:00.001-06:00

2-week Checkup

2010-03-30T15:49:00.002-06:00

Noah is growing so fast! I can't believe he is 2 weeks old already. I just want to freeze him and keep him little, except I miss sleeping more than 3 hours at a time :)

Here are his stats from his doctor's visit:

Weight 7 lbs 14 oz, 26th percentile(up a pound from his birth weight!)
Length 20-1/4 inches, 39th percentile
Head Circumference 14 inches, 20th percentile

His pediatrician declared him a "perfect baby" and said he looks great! And then they poked his heel for the PKU test. He has a sad little cry and he has been sleeping since the appointment this morning. This is going to be a long night if I don't wake him up to eat soon...

Our sweet Noah!

2010-03-27T17:54:00.006-06:00

Noah has been here with us for 11 days now and we can't imagine our family without him. He is our sweet little Noah bug and has been such a wonderful baby for us. He likes to eat, sleep for 3-4 hours at a time, swing in his swing, and watch his big brother Adam. I don't think he can see more than a few inches away at this point, so he must be focusing on Adam's constant talking and singing :) He does not like having to wait to eat and he does not like being naked (even though he looks adorable in just a diaper). And his favorite face is Blue Steel. Only true Zoolander fans will be able to tell if it is Le Tigre, Magnum, or Blue Steel! Either way it is so funny. He will hold the Zoolander face for a few minutes at a time.

Adam has settled very well into the big brother role and likes to give baby Noah kisses and comment on his tiny ears, neck, elbows, nose, etc. Adam pushes Noah in his stroller when we go out for walks and gets mad when I try to help steer. Yep, still a 3-year-old.

Daddy brought Adam home his first left-handed baseball glove on Thursday and our house has been in a constant game of catch ever since. If you look closely in this picture you can see poor Bella looking in from the backyard. Since Noah came home, Bella has become an outside dog. What a shock this must have been for her :) Maybe when Noah can defend himself Bella can come back in, but for now Bella is queen of the backyard.

We are going to attempt to go to church tomorrow without the daddy since he has to work, but I worry about Adam missing too many weeks of Sunbeams. He wasn't really a fan to begin with so I don't want him getting used to not going each Sunday. I will try to post all the happenings here on our blog. We are just so in love with our sweet Noah and can't wait to watch him grow and learn.

Noah is here!

2010-03-22T12:00:00.002-06:00

Here he is....
Hi everyone!

Noah Benjamin Desatoff

Born Tuesday, March 16 at 5:16 pm (against his will!)

6 lbs 13 oz

18.5 inches long

We are home and doing great. He is such an easy baby compared to his brother :) I am loving having my mom and Russell home with me to help out and wish they could stay forever!

One last couponing trip? (Unless another good sale comes up!)

2010-03-08T17:53:00.003-07:00

With the due date this Friday, I may be out of the couponing world for a few weeks so here is my stock-up trip today.

It is both Walgreen's and Albertson's together and before coupons it would have cost $133.97 and now.....$25.30!

16 Post Cereal - .50 each
21 Yogurt 4-packs - .25 each
20 Fruit by the Foot - .20 each (people were buying these by the case
today!)
4 Nestle Crunch - .29 each
3 toothbrushes - +.34 each
2 Clairol Hair Color - +1.11 each
4 Cover Girl Makeup - 1.62 each
1 Angel Soft TP - 2.79
1 Orville Redenbacher - .01
1 7-Up 2 Liter - .89

I had to reorganize my pantry to make room for it all and as of right now, we have 48 boxes of cereal :) Who says couponing is not worth all the trouble?

There's no room in this womb!

2010-03-05T11:57:00.006-07:00

Today I am 39 weeks pregnant and at my appointment this week I found out my doctor is going to be out of town on my due date! That's the day he was supposed to induce me :( How dare he take a vacation with his family!!! :) So, the plan is if I don't go into labor on my own (99.9% likely) then I have to wait until March 16th when my doctor comes back into town to be induced. The bright side is I will only go 4 days over the due date instead of the 7 days I went over with Adam. But still, I am a little depressed about having to go over my due date at all. In the meantime, I have gotten tons of things checked off my to-do list. I have completely cleaned out my closet, cleaned out the fridge and freezer, organized the office, eliminated the dreaded sock basket, and stocked up on groceries. I have a few more things I want to do, so if he wants to take his time, that's just fine. My house will be spotless and perfectly ready for him :)

Yesterday was Bella's 1st birthday!!! She is still a maniac and acts like a puppy, but we love her so much. Why else would we put up with the craziness. Adam and I made her a birthday hat and she was not having that. I finally got it on her and she went and laid down under the table and pouted. It was so funny. Then we sang Happy Birthday to her and put a candle in her dish of food. Again, she was not too excited about fire. She actually did blow it out when she came to sniff the dish to see what was in there, but when I tried to get her to do it again on our camera she wouldn't come near it. So Adam took care of the candle for her.

37 Weeks....Time to pack a hospital bag?

2010-02-19T14:06:00.005-07:00

I have reached "full term" for normal people, but for Eatough girls, I still have 3 weeks to go! Today I decided it was time to wash all the baby stuff like the swing, car seat, bouncy seat, Boppy pillow, etc. And I also thought it might be a good idea to have a hospital bag packed soon too.... Here's my 37-week picture and Bella wanted to be in the post too :)

Hope you're all doing well!

Still no name...

2010-02-06T00:05:00.003-07:00

I am 35 weeks today (well technically, it's Saturday now) and this little boy has no name! Here are the possibilities we have been going back and forth about...

Hunter
Noah
Ethan
Bennett
Parker
Cameron
Evan
Aiden

None of these are hitting me as THE name, so we may just be waiting until we meet him to give him a name :)

And here are some Adam funnies...

"Why do we have feet?"
"Why do we have eyes?"
He wants a reason for everything lately, and when I told him we have feet so we can walk and run and jump, he just fired another question at me. We go on all day long like this and it's funny to realize he really wants to know why we have feet or why we have all the things we do. There is so much for a 3-year-old to learn!

After staying in his bed all night, "I stayed in my bed all day long!"

When I told him we couldn't go swimming at the pool because we lost our pool key, he said, "I know! We can make our own!" Of course we can, Adam. He thinks Mommy and Daddy can do anything :)

And finally, one of the many reasons why I love my Russell. Tonight he got home from work and was so tired from working 70+ hours this week. The first thing he did (after giving me a kiss) was to crawl inside Adam's blanket cave and talk about what Adam did today :) He is such a good daddy and we can't wait for our family to grow even more in a few weeks!

Just got back from Walgreens!

2010-01-22T18:43:00.004-07:00

Couponing is a rush! Here's how this trip went tonight...

4 Vicks Nyquil/Dayquil 20.00
2 Puffs Tissues 3.00
2 Aviva Glucose Meters 19.98
2 Tostito's Chips 5.00
2 Tostito's Salsa 5.00
2 12-packs of Pepsi 6.00
1 12-pack of Mtn Dew 3.00
1 2 liter Pepsi 1.25
1 Hershey's Giant Chocolate Bar .99
1 M&M's .39
-------------------------------------------
Subtotal 64.61
- (2) Aviva Q's -19.98
- (2) Aviva Wag's Q's -10.00
- (2) 2/1 Nyquil/Dayquil -4.00
- (2) 1.50/1 Nyquil/Dayquil -3.00
- (2) Free Puffs WYB 2 Vicks -3.00
- (2) .55/1 Tostito's Chips -1.10
--------------------------------------------
- 5 RR 18.53 TOTAL

Received 20.00 RR plus I can submit for the $7.50 Tostito's Mail-in Rebate!!!

It's like I made $3.97!!!

:) Look at Adam's hands at the edge of the table. He wanted the M&M's so bad!

33 weeks!

2010-01-22T10:48:00.003-07:00

I really don't like taking pictures when I'm pregnant. My face and my ankles have started swelling and it's not cute. But I do wish I had more pregnant pictures from the end of being pregnant with Adam. This one's for you Grandma Sandi! And if you're lucky you may get one more before the due date :) I just spent a half hour and took about 30 pictures so I could get one that I didn't hate! It's ok. My ankle bones and cheekbones will come back soon.

Here is what our little brother is up to this week according to BabyCenter...

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (about the weight of a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

One day this will be funny....

2010-01-13T14:27:00.002-07:00

Today is not that day.

My Sunbeam!

2010-01-04T18:19:00.006-07:00

Adam went to Sunbeams for the first time yesterday! My little boy is so big. They had sharing time first, so I took him to his chair right in the front row and he looked so big sitting there :) It reminded me of his first day in nursery when I peeked in the window and thought he looked so grown up having snacks and coloring at the table with the other kids. What am I going to do when he goes to kindergarten???I wanted to hide in the back and watch him the whole time. I love my boy! Sorry for the weird face, my camera's photo preview is all messed up so I can't tell what the picture looks like until I see it on the computer. He was saying "Broccoli!"

And here is another funny picture of Adam and Bella searching for a lost ball under the bed....

Holidays Part 2! (Scroll down for Part 1)

2009-12-26T13:34:00.013-07:00

We made Christmas sugar cookies and after Adam and Daddy frosted about 5 cookies, they got bored and I had to frost like 1200 cookies (or close to that). Bella waited patiently for any dropped cookies.... The next morning, we woke up to snow! I love living in Southern Utah. We get just enough snow so it feels like Christmas, but not enough where your daily routine comes to a halt. It was already melting away by the time Adam went to school. We got an early Christmas present on December 18th when Cami went into labor 3 weeks early and Jaxson was born! I don't have a picture yet, but he has a full head of black hair and seems to be the most mellow baby ever! It makes me excited to think that in less than 3 months now, I get one too! Katie, McKay, and Tyler came to our house the Friday before Christmas to stay and visit before they head off for a new adventure in Texas. It was fun to see them and to see Katie's little nonexistent belly :) Mom, Dad, and the rest of the party showed up around 3AM Saturday morning and we had so much fun with a houseful of family! I miss my family, especially around the holidays, so when they come to visit I don't mind that we go from 3 people in our house to 12 plus Chancie. Here are the two pups. Poor Chancie likes to rest and take it easy and Bella just couldn't get enough of him. She was sniffing his face and following him up and down the hallway all day long. For the most part they got along better than expected.My family is a bunch of troopers. They came to visit even with all their sicknesses and we didn't mind at all. Poor Dad slept the first 3 days they were here and the rest came with sore throats and upset stomachs. Luckily none of us have caught anything so far. We of course went to the Golden Corral while they were here, went shopping, went to the library, played cards, and watched movies. Bella was SO worn out after they left on Wednesday. She and Adam had to take it easy the rest of the day. And yes that is Adam's bare bum. My son refuses to wear pants for most of the day. I know I could make a battle out of it and get pants on him if I really wanted to, but the truth is, I just don't care :) As long as we're just home doing nothing, it's not a big deal to me.

Christmas morning came very quickly and I loved Adam's reaction. Here is the video of him running out to the Christmas tree :)

Christmas is so fun with kids. We got lots of nice gifts from each other, but the best part of Christmas was lounging around all day with nothing to do :)

That about wraps up the last month or two of missed blogging. For the next little while, I just have to worry about keeping up with my Adam, my ever-growing belly, and typing medical reports. The more I type now, the more time off I have when the new baby comes so that makes for overscheduling and no sleep on my part because I don't know how to keep my life in balance. I always go way overboard, but with good intentions :) Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Holiday Wrap-Up

2009-12-26T12:19:00.013-07:00

I'm back! I have been missing from blogging for a while and today there are no medical transcription files to work on because of the holiday, so I am going to hurry and update our blog! Let's see, the last time I posted was before Thanksgiving! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.

We spent it with all the Desatoff kids over at Lindsey's house, and I cooked my first turkey! A few lessons learned: Use "real" stuffing like Mrs. Cubbison's or homemade rather than Stove Top. Also, turkeys don't need a lot of herbs and spices because the skin takes care of all that. I over-parsleyfied my turkey :) Other than that, I think the first time turkey was a success! And to prove it, there were NO leftovers! We went home and lounged around for the rest of the day and I scouted out what Black Friday sales I was waking up at 2AM for. It took me 2 days to recover from waking up so early for shopping but it was worth it! I love a good sale! Rachel, one of Russell's cousins, came to visit a few days later and took some great pictures of Adam and Jaron and Breeanna. Here they are playing Trouble. These 3 cousins play so well together! I love that Adam is starting to play games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. It's so fun.

We got right into the Christmas spirit after Thanksgiving and every year seems to be more and more fun with Adam. This year he was very interested in Santa Claus and I think he got it when we had a candy every morning from the advent calendar that we were getting closer to Christmas. Although, I had to put the advent calendar out of reach when I woke up on December 2nd to find that he had eaten the candy from December 2nd to December 14th. :)

Here's our Christmas card picture and a few outtakes...
Getting a decent picture with a 3-year-old and a puppy was hard work, but thanks to a package of Ritz crackers we got one!

I have more pictures to post, but Blogger is being weird, so this will be part 1....

A break from blogging

2009-11-23T07:55:00.005-07:00

Hello out there! I have been neglecting my blog and I am sorry, especially to my out-of-state family :) I have been working extra hours to pay off my car repair bill before the baby comes in March (can you believe it's less than 4 months away!?!) This pregnancy has gone MUCH faster than my first. Here are some updates from the last few weeks....

November 6 - We got our 50 pound "puppy" fixed. I felt so bad leaving her at the vet even though she was happy as could be as they took her down the hallway. She was so woozy and out of it when Russell brought her home. But about a day later, she came bounding back to life, jumping around the house with Adam, and causing all sorts of mischief. I didn't realize how much of a dog person I was until I dropped her off and was so sad. Could be the pregnancy hormones :)

November 16 - Our 7th Wedding Anniversary! Russell had to work all day and then left that night for a meeting in Salt Lake, so I dropped Adam off at Emma's birthday party and met him out in St. George for lunch at The Pizza Factory. It is always so nice to have a quiet meal out together :) We are planning on seeing New Moon today I think also to have a post-anniversary date.

November 20 - NEW MOON CAME OUT!!! I am so happy to say that this movie was way better than the first. It was all about Jacob (who is such a good actor!) and I thought it stayed more true to the books that I love so much. I didn't even hate Kristen Stewart's acting as much this time and that is saying a lot.

The weather has been much cooler here in Hurricane and I love it! The summer is so long in Southern Utah and I feel trapped inside to stay away from the heat. Now we can just put on sweaters and go out to run errands any time of day. I am 24 weeks pregnant now and it seems like this little guy is going to be just as active as Adam is. It is so exciting to feel him moving and kicking, it's one of my favorite things about being pregnant :) We are excited for Thanksgiving this week and to get to see Uncle Ryan! Somehow, I was chosen to make a turkey - does anyone have any suggestions? I am nervous.

Oh, here are a couple funny things Adam said this week that I wrote down to put in our scrapbook:

He opened a book and said, "Once there was a big, fat turkey. The end."

I got set apart yesterday for my YW calling and after the prayer, Adam said, "Did they bless your hair, Mommy?"

I don't know when I will be back on here for more blogging, I feel stretched so thin as it is!

This is my favorite thing Adam does!

2009-11-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

Halloween Fun!

2009-11-02T09:02:00.010-07:00

Adam's first pumpkin! He comes home from school with the cutest things. We hung it on the front door in the middle of our fall wreath. Grandma coloring Halloween pictures with the grandkids :)
While we were carving pumpkins at Aaron and Cami's house, Adam would pull out only one seed at a time, and say "I did it!"
These are the big bears that sit outside Adam's preschool everyday. They have the letter of the day on them usually, but today they were dressed as spooky witches :)
This is the Adam face. So moody!
Here I am at 21 weeks, the bump is definitely here!
Here is our cousins picture this year, and Adam and Breanna found some bowling pins so they could be ninjas too :) Look at Adam staring at Jaron - he wants to be JUST like him!
Adam really got the idea of trick-or-treating this year. When he came down the driveway in this picture, he said, "We need to fill this to the top, Mommy." (I agree!)
He made quite a haul this year and the first thing he did was unwrap all the suckers and try them all at once. What a nut.

A rainy day

2009-10-27T13:43:00.003-06:00

President Hinckley always said to have a little bit of money put away because the storm clouds will come. And they have arrived . My poor little Hyundai, the best and most reliable car ever, totally died at an intersection this morning on the way to the store :( Some good samaritans came and pushed my car into the gas station that I was stalled right next to and then a Hurricane police officer pulled over to make sure I had help on the way. Talk about fast service! Aaron and Dave came and helped us out and now my car is in the process of getting $700 of work done. Boohoo! The good points here are that Adam and I were safe, we had family right here to drop what they were doing and help us out, and we do have our rainy day savings to pay for it. It just still sucks. :)

And as a coincidence, it just started raining :) At least we are back in our warm house and not stuck at the Chevron station in the rain! There's always a silver lining!

UPDATE: The car repairs are now going to cost triple what I originally expected. I am seriously mad, but we have to get it fixed. Seeing the silver lining is harder than it was earlier today...

Just a little bragging...

2009-10-23T10:14:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning when I dropped Adam off at preschool, his teacher pulled me aside and asked if I knew that Adam knows all of his letters and all of their sounds, and this is what they are expected to know at the end of kindergarten :) I am so proud! She said they had an early reading skills program that they can start kids on if they show signs of being ready like Adam is. What a smartie!
Here he is singing the ABC's, he sings this all day long at home, in the car, and at the store, and even at the top of his lungs in the library yesterday :)

2009-10-16T13:53:00.001-06:00

Glitter Graphics, It's A Boy Glitter Graphics

Road Trip!

2009-10-14T22:28:00.010-06:00

Adam and I decided last Thursday that we couldn't miss Lauren's baby shower and a chance to see all the cousins in one place. We drove to Mom and Dad's on Friday and surprised them by pulling into the driveway unannounced! It was so fun. Adam did really well on the drive since he had "Cars" to watch in the backseat (thanks Aunt Lindsey!). He only got antsy around Barstow and kept asking, "Is this the path to Grandma Eatough's house?" Lauren's baby shower was lots of fun and I think it is safe to say that Annie can come join our family now! She has lots of family to love her and lots of stuff as well. Here is the mommy-to-be and the Great-Grandma!Grandma Sandi has always been the most amazing grandma, but I think she was just waiting to become a Great-Grandma! She is the best :)

One of the best parts of driving to Mom's house was being able to dump Adam off on Grandma so I could take a nap :) So nice. Here he is being his fearless self and jumping backwards into the pool :) And Uncle Ryan was so nice to come and see us at Mom's. Adam can't get enough of his Uncle Ryan!

We had an epic Monopoly game later that night and I pretended to get some work done before we went to bed. I was planning on waking up and hitting the road, but John's Philly Steak doesn't start making pastrami burgers until noon (and this is a required souvenir whenever we make a trip home).

Darn it, I had to wait and watch the Angels playoff game 3 against the Red Sox! What a game! I am so glad I did. The Angels made an amazing, nail-biting comeback rally in the 8th and 9th innings, shutting down Papelbon! Oh man, it was the game of the year.And the worst part was Russell was working and his phone died so we couldn't even tell him what was happening! Mom was literally on the floor screaming. It was incredible.

Adam and I drove home listening to the Angels baseball recap all the way up the 15 freeway. Tonight the Angels may start the next stage of playoffs against the Yankees, but it looks like rain in New York....

I just got called to be in Young Women's and I am SO excited! I have always wanted to serve there. I am the new Mia Maid Leadership Advisor. I don't even know what that is yet, but I am so ready for it!

In couponing news, I have been stocking up on Huggies diapers this week at Walgreens where they are only $4.00 for a jumbo pack as compared to $9.99 at Walmart or Target. Yay for coupons! Oh, and I stocked up on Quaker Oatmeal for $.63 a box.

My house smells pretty, oh so pretty!

2009-10-01T12:19:00.004-06:00

This morning I went to Walgreen's looking for the Theraflu deal and sadly, they were cleaned out. I hate shelf clearers! But on a happy note, there were a ton of candles on clearance and happy coincidence, I had coupons to match!

Everything here for $2.94! Woohoo! This is why couponing is so fun! Normally, I wouldn't buy fun things like air fresheners and candles because I should be using the money for food or bills or savings, but when I can get them cheap or free, I don't feel guilty!

UPDATE!! This deal just got even better! SC Johnson is doing a Buy 3, Get $5 mail-in rebate, so I just mailed in two $5 rebate forms for my Glade candles and I am going to make $7.06! So cool!

Never too early to start Christmas shopping!

2009-09-19T12:14:00.003-06:00

Walgreen's has a ton of toys 75% off and I made a huge dent in Christmas shopping this morning!

Hot Wheels Remote Control Set $1.50
Hot Wheels Turbo $1.75
Steel Buddy Truck $1.75
Cars Puzzle $1.09
Thomas Stickers $.25
Playskool Flashlight $1.50 (for the new baby of course!)
Handy Manny book $.75
Walgreen's Coloring Book with awesome coupons inside (.25)

Total $8.84!

I was already out going to yard sales this morning looking for great deals on gently used toys and who knew they were sitting at Walgreens?

Also, Albie's is having a great Nabisco promotion with doublers this week. Buy 4 items, get $3 off instantly. We were able to do a few transactions that looked like this...

4 Wheat Thins
- (4) $1/1 coupons
- (3) $1/1 doublers
- $3 instant savings
-----------------
FREE!

2 Chips Ahoy
2 Ritz Crackers
1 Ritz Crackerful
- (1) $3/4 Nabisco products tearpad coupon
- $3 instant savings
- (1) Free Crackerfuls WYB Ritz crackers
--------------------
$4.00 (less than $1 for each item)

I am heading back in on Monday to finish off my doublers. Love coupons!!!

Adam has an announcement to make!

2009-09-16T13:53:00.006-06:00

Adam said "I have two babies in my tummy, Mommy!" :)
J/K! I'm the one with a baby on the way (not 2!)Can you tell?How about now? (Please ignore my weird face, the camera timer went off sooner than I was ready for!)

I had my second Dr.'s appointment today and I am 14-1/2 weeks along. The heartbeat sounds super strong, so I am ready to post the news on the blog! My due date is March 12, 2010 and we are SO excited!

Today's Haul

2009-09-14T21:01:00.004-06:00

Today was a crazy day of chasing deals all over town. Adam was a good sport as long as he had a sprinkle donut in 1 hand :)

9 Gold N Plump Chicken Packs (FREE)
2 Febreze Air Fresheners (.50 each)
8 Yoplait yogurt (.12 each)
2 M&M Ice Cream Sandwiches (1.49 each)
2 Neosporin (1.02 moneymaker)
1 Listerine (2.99 - I think I missed out on a Listerine RR :(
2 Hershey's Kisses (.79 each)
2 Schick Quattro Razors (.75 each - normally 9.49!)
2 Triaminic Cold and Cough (4.00 moneymaker)

Total from Albertson's, Lin's, and Walgreens = $5.99 before tax
(including $13RR from Walgreens)

What did you guys use your doublers on?

Restaurant.com 90% off!!!

2009-09-09T00:43:00.002-06:00

I have never seen the discount this low! Woohoo!

Just enter the code NINETY at checkout, but it is only good through tomorrow.

For spending $12, I just got $350 worth of gift certificates to use for dinners out. That should last us a whole year! The only participating local restaurant is Lupita's, which happens to be a favorite Mexican place of ours. But I also saw that there are a ton of Vegas restaurants listed too. Might be a good reason to take a daytrip to Vegas....

"High on a hill was a lovely goatherd..."

2009-09-07T08:27:00.003-06:00

Why have I never seen this movie before? I watched it yesterday after church for the first time and I loved it! It made me want to pick up a guitar and go sing in a meadow :) "Doe, a deer, a female deer..."

Bella, Bella, Bella....

2009-08-29T15:03:00.009-06:00

Her name really should be Rascal or Bad Dog or Trouble.

On Wednesday when Walgreen's was giving away free photo collages I put one together of Adam and Bella and titled it "Every Boy Needs a Dog!" I forgot to save the screenshot of it, so here are the pictures I used. As much trouble as Bella is, she is now definitely a member of the family :)

Calling all coupon friends!

2009-08-24T13:28:00.003-06:00

Why didn't this work!?! Walgreens drives me nuts sometimes with how wishy-washy the RR program is. Here is what happened this morning...

TRANSACTION 1
2 Listerine Mouth Wash (2/$8 = 3 RR)
3 Reach Floss
2 Tylenol
2 Sudafed (4.99 ea, get 5RR)
2 Diabetes Monitors
3 fillers (pencils, stickers, magnifying glass)
----------------------
Coupons used
(3) -1.00 Floss
(1) B1G1 Listerine -$4.00
(1) -1.00 Listerine
(2) -2.00 Tylenol
(1) -2.00 Sudafed (I handed the cashier a 2nd -$2 coupon and she didn't scan it!!)
(2) -9.99 Glucose Meters
-2.40 Walgreens In-Ad Coupon for Floss
RR from last week -6.00
--------------------
Total was 9.08 (should have been 7.08 for the 2nd Sudafed coupon, grrr!)
and I got back $8.00 in RR. So that one went pretty well, could have been better, but still ok. Here is where the trouble is...

TRANSACTION 2

(3) Floss
(2) Listerine (another RR deal, 2/$8 and get a $3RR)
--------------
-4.00 B1G1 Listerine Q
-1.00 Listerine Q
-3.00 Floss Buy 3 get $3 off
-2.40 Walgreens In-Ad Q

Total $3.66, and NO REGISTER REWARDS PRINTED! The cashier said if I used a coupon, it would not allow me to get RR, which is insane logic because clearly just a few minutes before I did the same exact transaction! Makes you want to jump behind the register and ring yourself up.

So, all my coupon friends out there, tell me if I did something wrong. I did not use any RR to pay for Transaction 2, and I had more items than coupons, so I am at a loss.

I am heading out to St. George this afternoon to look for Huggie's wipes, Scotch tape, and cheaper Rimmel mascara! Wish me luck :)

First Day of School!

2009-08-18T17:48:00.002-06:00

Adam's first day of preschool was today and he looked so grown up with his brand-new Cars backpack from Grandma Eatough! He was in no hurry at all to get ready this morning and went back inside to get the Ipod so he could listen to music on the way to school. What a nut. The parents stayed at school for the first day for an orientation, and at the end of class all the kids came back upstairs for singing time. Adam came and sat on my lap and said, "I don't want to sing songs, Mommy." He sings all day long at home, but I guess he had a little stage fright there :) His first official day without me there will be Thursday so we will see how that goes. I think he will love it once it gets to be a routine. He has already found a new favorite Transformers toy there that he didn't want to leave.

Husband Funnies!

2009-08-13T21:05:00.002-06:00

Husband Funnies

Husband Funnies...
Copy and paste these questions in your own post and see how much you REALLY know!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV - what is on the screen? Baseball
2. You're out to eat - what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch
3. What's one food he doesn't like? Just one? He hates pineapple, green peppers, and coconut to name a few...
4. You go out to eat and have a drink- Pepsi
5. Where did he go to high school? Yucaipa High!
6. What size shoe does he wear? Oh, I have no idea. I will guess a 9 (that's a little bigger than my shoe size, is that a normal guy size?)
7. If he could go to any one sporting event what would it be? Any baseball game would be good, but he would LOVE to go to the 2010 All Star game at Angels Stadium.
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Does a pastrami burger from Jim's count?
9. What would he eat every day if he could? A bowl of cereal. Lately it's been Honey Nut Cheerios several times a day :)
10. What is his favorite cereal? Oh! I just answered that!
11. What would he never wear? He will do anything you dare him to....he has even put on a ballerina tutu to get his employees to get more sales :)
12. What is his favorite sports team? Too easy....Angels
13. Who did he vote for? He does NOT vote.
14. Who is his best friend? ME!!!
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Worry.
16. What is his heritage? Russian and Guatemalan - isn't that the most bizarre combination?
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? Yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
18. Did he play sports in high school? Baseball of course.
19. What could he spend hours doing? Anything baseball, and spending time with out little family, and that includes Bella - he LOVES Bella!
20. What is one unique talent? He can recall movie quotes like no one else I know.
Tag 5 People: Anyone that wants to do it...

Are you ready for this?

2009-08-07T21:35:00.004-06:00

Oh, this is a proud moment for the couponer in me. I am so excited about the thought of building up a year's supply for SO cheap! I love that I am helping our family budget by getting these screaming deals all the time :)

Here's the rundown:

36 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce
8 Wishbone salad dressing
7 All Laundry detergent
9 Honey Nut Cheerios
6 Cinnamon Toast Crunch
3 Cheerios Snack Mix
8 Lipton Rice Sides
2 Skippy Peanut Butter
1 Frosting
4 Warm Delights Cakes
3 Chex Mix
4 Klondike Reese's Ice Cream
2 Suave hairspray
8 Brownie Mixes
8 Chex Mix Cereal Bars
2 Boxes Scooby Doo Fruit Snacks

Total retail price is $305.95

My grand total.... $36.91

Albie's is heaven on earth :) Now I am going to sleep for 3 days.

Definitely still a puppy

2009-08-06T23:04:00.003-06:00

It is 11:00 and I am typing away at medical reports while Bella chews on her bone behind me (or so I thought!) I just turned around to find this....

The floor was clean when I brought her in tonight... She has ripped away the underside of the mattress and also eaten half of an empty printer cartridge box. Bella has lost her freedom privileges for the rest of the night. On a funny note, she also dragged 2 Ensign magazines off the bookshelf :) Wonder if she needed to feel uplifted? What a spiritual dog we have.

Exactly what I needed

2009-07-30T22:27:00.004-06:00

I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately and could NOT figure out what my problem was. I tried reading my scriptures more, slowing down my schedule (as much as possible with a 3-year-old), and praying, but I still felt this sinking feeling. Today I had had enough with this feeling and decided to go to the temple. As soon as I walked inside I could feel all the stress and worry leaving. I just wanted to stay inside the temple all day long. Sometimes, being a wife and mother I lose myself along the way and get busy with the everyday things like keeping the house clean, laundry done, meals cooked, bills paid... I think I have lost sight of what Russell and I are working towards - our eternal family. What matters is how we see each other - my best friend and my eternal companion! This makes it much easier to happily do my mundane chores day after day and how thankful I am for this renewed sense of self and purpose. I feel like the cloud is gone and I want to smack myself in the head for going 6 months without enjoying the peace of the temple. I clearly need to be there much more to keep my head on straight.

Eatough Family Reunion

2009-07-27T17:21:00.012-06:00

We just got back from a family reunion in Provo that was PACKED with all kinds of fun! Adam and I had to leave Daddy at home so he could work, and we were sad to leave him behind...but I think he enjoyed the quiet house and of course Bella was here to keep him company (i.e. jump on his head and slobber him to death). Katie let us all invade her house and that was so nice of her - THANK YOU KATIE AND MCKAY! The first day was an open house tour at the new Oquirrh(?) Mountain temple and 7 Peaks in the afternoon. Everyone else went to the open house except for Katie and I and the babies so they could nap. 7 Peaks was so fun and Adam was like a little fishy. We couldn't keep him out of the water or off the water slides. He wasn't afraid at all to go down the slides and I wasn't sure if he was tall enough to come back up for air at the bottom :) On the 2nd day, there was a family picnic in Springville and it was much cooler there and it was fun to walk around and get reacquainted with all our extended family. We ended up staying there all day playing at the playground, looking for bugs, and throwing rocks in the river. The next day we went to a pool party at this AMAZING pool in Provo! It had a huge waterslide, waterfall, and a wading area for little kids. It was perfect and we had so much fun! Adam (again) surprised me with how well he did going up the stairs and down the slide all by himself.

Soooooo Hot!

2009-07-19T14:20:00.008-06:00

On Friday it was too hot to do anything besides find some water to play in. Cami and I took the kids to a splashpad in Washington Fields and had so much fun! Adam wasn't sure what to think at first, but then he ran full speed into the water. And then he decided the huge rock pile was more interesting, I think there were frogs living under the rocks...what a boy.

3 Albertson's in 1 day!

2009-07-17T00:16:00.002-06:00

To effectively use my doublers, I had to go to 3 separate Albertson's in St. George. While it did take a long time, look at the rewards!

All for $13.15! That was worth the time to me!

8 Pringles (FREE)
2 3-packs of Extra gum (39 cents each)
2 Sunflower Seeds (1.00 each)
4 Fruit Snacks (1.00 each)
3 Dozen eggs (1.00 each)
1 Sour Cream (1.00)
4 Packages of Cheese (50 cents each)
4 Nesquick Milks (20 cents each)
10 Planters Trail Mix (19 cents each)

And I am going back in for more on Monday! The Breyer's deal will be mine!!

A surprise visit!

2009-07-14T19:32:00.002-06:00

I am trying not to let my blog get behind again, so here's what we've been up to...

- Adam got a haircut, more like a buzz. He was so hot with his thick hair so for the summer, he is having short hair.

- Katie, Kristen, and Tyler came to spend the night last night and we had SO much fun! Kristen drove us from Vegas to Mesquite and did very well :) We stayed up late watching a movie and we all slept in late (thank you Adam!). This morning Tyler and Adam had a great time playing trains and catch and they went to McDonald's to play together. We can't wait to see you at the reunion!

- I re-read the 6th Harry Potter book because I am SO excited to see the movie. I forgot how much I liked the series and I am dying to see the movie!

- My typing is getting faster which means I am only working a little over 3 hours a day now! YAY! 6 hours was really not working :)

- I just checked the mail and we got Albertson's doublers!!! Woohoo! This means FREE goceries. Of course I had to raid the trashcan by our community mailboxes to get the coupons people threw away. If they only knew....

4th of July!

2009-07-07T16:12:00.010-06:00

I LOVE the 4th of July! It is one of my favorite holidays of the year. We went to the Hurricane parade and then to the park to see the carnival and of course the CANDY CANNON! It is some sort of pressure machine that shoots hundreds of pieces of candy into the air for kids to collect. It is so fun! Cami and I were right in the middle of all the kids trying to collect some candy :) After we got hot (which in Hurricane is about 9AM) we went back to Cami's for pancakes and swimming! The kids loved it and it was a perfect way to tire them out for their naps.
After swimming, Adam did NOT take a nap and later that night we did some sparklers. Adam was trying to wave it at me and cast spells like a wand and Emma tried to grab the lighted end! It's a good thing we did that with them because neither one made it until the big fireworks show. I brought Adam sound asleep in the stroller anyway because I love the fireworks! Hope you all had a great 4th!

What a vacation!

2009-07-06T14:40:00.010-06:00

Whew. Vacation was a whirlwind! We spent the first 4 days in Lake Havasu, the next 2 days at Disneyland, and the last day swimming and barbecuing. We had SO much fun with our family and can't wait to see you guys in a few weeks at the reunion! Adam was pretty much in the water at all times while we were at the lake. He had so much fun and slept like a rock each night! Grandma Eatough knows how to wear this boy out. Adam found 2 new best friends while we were at the lake, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Brandon! They played with him forever and FYI he is still shouting "Destruction!" Thanks guys! They helped Adam build a "house for the froggies." He loved watching the trains cross over the bridge at Topock and shouted Choo-Choo! everytime.

Disneyland was so fun with Adam this year! The first thing he did was when we walked from the parking garage to the tram, he stopped right in the middle of the street and shouted, "IT'S JIMINY CRICKET!" Of all the things to get excited about at Disneyland, he was happy to see Jiminy Cricket on all the trashcans at Disneyland We took him to the Aladdin show (an Eatough family staple) and he stood in the aisle after each song to give a standing ovation. When the camel came down the aisle and put his head close to Adam, he turned around and said, "That was scary, Mommy." He loved the Pixar parade and slept through the fireworks show. It was a REALLY good one because not only did Tinkerbell fly, so did DUMBO! It was so cool, and Mom just about freaked out when she saw him. Russell and I were thinking, We are not with this crazy screaming woman...

The next day we went back to Disneyland and took him on almost every ride in Fantasyland until we got burned out and headed back to Yucaipa. We spent the next day swimming and we got to see our good friends, the Newbrys. We miss them and it was fun to see Joey and Adam play together. The Thomas train table was a big hit with those boys. We played a game of poker with Aunt Mel and Uncle Gordy where poor unsuspecting Richie had hundreds in poker chips stolen right out from under his nose by Russell and Uncle Gordy. :) We left Monday so we could be home for Adam's birthday and it was so nice to get home to our own bed! Thanks Mom and Dad for a crazy, nonstop week of fun! We had a low-key family party for Adam's 3rd birthday (sniff, sniff). What a little man he is! He blew out his candles and got some new clothes, water guns, a dump truck, a bowling set, and a basketball hoop.
And here is one other funny picture I had to post! Adam helped Daddy build the Thomas table in our front room and Bella just couldn't be left out. :) We kept taking her out of the middle of the table and she would come right back in and put her paws up on the side like, "Hey guys, what are we doing?" It was too funny.

Potty-Training & Puppies

2009-05-11T19:53:00.008-06:00

We have had a potty-training competition going on between Adam and Bella the last few weeks, and do I dare say it....I think Adam has won! He has not worn a diaper in over a week (day or night) and it makes me all teary and emotional because it's the last baby thing he had left. Exciting, but sad to realize how quickly he has grown. I just want to freeze him in this stage forever! He is so sweet and funny :) Here he is bowling with the new Mickey bowling set he got for doing so well with potty-training. He is so funny. He calls it "bowling with the Mickey puns".

Bella, on the other hand, makes it outside about 75% of the time. The rest of the time, she goes outside, trots around for a bit, and then comes back in to do her business. Nice. We got her a crate/kennel and she sleeps in there now because she has quickly grown to be too big to be sleeping in my bed every night. It is also a nice escape for her when Adam is tormenting her. She brings it on herself though...she can't get enough of him and when he is napping, she tries to jump on him and lick his face. Or if he naps in his room, she scratches at his door. She can't stand to be away from him for too long! Here's a picture of the two of them resting when Adam was sick one day.

Bella's personality did not take long to see. She is a sweet cuddly puppy when she wants to be and then the rest of the time she just wants to play. She has sharp little Piranha puppy teeth and we are working with her to get her to be more gentle.

My MT work is going well. I graduated early from my mentoring program with Acusis, so I must be doing something right! I am still working about 5 hours a day, hoping to get faster and work only 3-4 hours a day.

My Mother's Day was so fun. I got breakfast in bed, Adam came in and said very slowly and clearly, "Happy Mother's Day". Church was really uplifting and I scored a new potted flower to plant in the backyard. We barbecued and watched an Angels game and took a long nap. It was a perfect day!

Today Adam and I went on couponing adventures, and I just have to share...mainly for Kimmy's benefit because she is officially the coupon queen!

First stop - Albertson's with double coupons - LOVE IT!
Total = $5.97

Next up was Kohl's for some more big-boy undies and we bought 3 packs (originally $8.00 each) for a total of $6.38!

And lastly was Walgreens...
Total = PROFIT of $3.57
Dad - This glucose meter will be appearing at your house sometime in the future. It's an early Father's Day gift!

It finally worked!

2009-04-20T09:37:00.003-06:00

I tried to upload this video all day Saturday! Here is the video from our Boys Like GIrls concert! Remember to turn the speakers down :)

Introducing.....Our Baby Girl!

2009-04-20T08:54:00.004-06:00

Ok, who thought I was pregnant? Ha Ha! No, I am not expecting baby #2, but we did add a boxer puppy to our family on Saturday! Here she is!

We named her Bella! Adam wanted to name her "Little One". Russell wanted a B name, and well, I love Bella and anything to do with Twilight so she is Bella. She is very sweet and sleeps a lot. And she likes to sleep in our bed :) It's kind of fun to wake up to puppy breath!

Yep, us too.

2009-04-20T08:43:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! Ever since I posted the very cute picture of Adam in his big-boy underwear, I have been thinking that some weirdo could log on to our blog and see it too. I don't think so!

So, we are going private. If you haven't received an invitation, just send me a quick email. I sent out invites to everyone I had an email for (I think!).

I am off to Albertson's to use my double coupons! WOO HOO!

4 weeks in 1 post!

2009-04-18T09:14:00.018-06:00

Ok, here is the big catch-up! We have had a busy couple of weeks.... First, Russell and I went to Vegas for a couple days with Cami and Aaron (it was actually their anniversary and we decided to go along!) We had a lot of fun eating, shopping, and going to The Price is Right! We didn't get called up to play, but we had fun shouting at the people in contestant's row :) Here we are at Cheesecake Factory and Russell thinks it is funny to "ruin" all our pictures. Well the joke's on him, because I am still planning on putting these in our scrapbook and as you can see here - posting them on the family blog! HA! The weekend after our Vegas trip, Kristen flew out to spend the first week of her spring break with us! I miss her so much! The night she got here I surprised her with tickets to see Boys Like Girls - a band I LOVE! We had so much fun acting crazy and getting smashed in with all the fans in the front. We had really good seats and we had SO much fun! The video is the last song they sang - "The Great Escape" and if you watch it, turn your speakers down because there is a lot of screaming (from me and Kristen) :) Kristen and I had fun watching movies, she read books, and slept in as much as possible with Adam in the house :) That weekend, everyone else came to visit! Mom, Dad, Richard, Chance, Katie, McKay, Tyler, Lauren, and Brandon - whew! It was a houseful, but I loved it. I really do miss my family. We went to lunch at Golden Corral (our usual tradition), played trains at Barnes and Noble, went garage saling, and then watched conference on Sunday and had my favorite huge cinnamon rolls. Everytime I make them, I am so afraid the dough isn't going to rise and when it does, I am SO proud! I am not sure why I don't have any pictures, but we did have a great time all together. Richard stayed behind while everyone else left to go home and we started the week with a hike to see the Indian drawings out near Ivins. It was a beautiful day and really kind of cool to see what they had left behind. We watched a lot of baseball, and of course I had to send him home with a new hairstyle, it's like our bonding thing :) This time, he did away with the messy bowl cut and now his hair is hot! I wish I had a before and after picture (Richie, if you are reading this, send me the after picture of your hair!). It turned out kind of long in the front, spiked and pieced out on top and layered in the back. Oh, and we put purple/burgundy in it! Mom doesn't hate it, but she does not appreciate the amount of time he spends on his hair now :) The day after Richie left was Easter and this year was scaled back because Russell was so sick. We did a small easter egg hunt at Cami and Aaron's and Adam was so funny. He thought to open the plastic eggs he needed to crack them like a real egg, so he spent a lot of time tapping the plastic eggs against things to try and get to the candy :) These two kids would not sit still for a picture at all! So here is the best one I got. Adam I spent Tuesday baking because it was cold outside. It actually ended up snowing here on Wednesday! I couldn't believe it! Snow in April??? We baked cookies and bread and once again, the dough rose and it was a miracle :) Our big news this week is POTTY-TRAINING! Adam is freakin' adorable in these little undies and I just had to get a picture :) Plus this will come in handy when he is a teenager and I need some leverage! So far, the past few days he wears big boy underwear all day and diapers for naptime and bedtime. Cross your fingers, so far so good! The only other thing I have to report is my couponing obsession. I am addicted! Almost daily, I go to Walgreens to get free stuff! Who knew with just some coupon clipping and strategy, they will give you free products. I know one thing, I will never pay for toothpaste again! Here are a couple steals... $ .41!!! $1.16!! Up next, we are picking up our new member of the family this afternoon! Stay tuned for pictures...

Adam Reads the Scriptures

2009-04-17T19:48:00.003-06:00

Here is Adam this afternoon telling me what the pictures are that are in the back of the scriptures. He said he was going to talk like a "mighty dinosaur" so that's why he sounds the way he does :)

And I have lots more pictures to post from the last few weeks, I can't believe it's been a month since I updated!

I love saving money!

2009-03-21T13:32:00.003-06:00

I went to Albertson's today and saved a ton with store specials and newspaper coupons! While it wasn't the most amazing deal I have ever gotten, it was exciting!

If I had just walked into Albertson's and purchased all this, it would have cost $70.48, but armed with my coupons and store deals, I got it all for.....$18.19! And that is including a sprinkle donut for Adam so he would stay quiet and let me pick out which cereals would cost the least.

Penokey-Doe!

2009-03-19T09:06:00.003-06:00

We got Pinocchio last week and Adam LOVES it! He was calling it Pokey-Doe, but now he has advanced to saying "Penokey-Doe". We watched it 4 times yesterday and here are some other funny things about Adam and Pinocchio :)

He thinks Monstro is a big shark, even when I tell him it is a whale.

He says "Jimmy" Cricket and in the beginning of the movie when Jiminy opens the big storybook, he says "Jimmy reading the scriptures!"

He calls Gepetto "father" because that's what Pinocchio calls him.

We are also trying out potty-training this week and Adam has done really well with a sticker chart and yesterday he went enough times to earn a tractor! He looks so big sitting on the potty! But how nice it will be to have him out of diapers!

And my new MT job is going really well. I am making more than my $3 an hour that I posted last time :) I think now in my 4th week, I have made it to $7.50 an hour. I am still working to get faster. But that's not bad for working from home and choosing my own schedule :)

Arrrggg Matey!

2009-02-27T08:47:00.004-07:00

Last night, all the Desatoffs went to dinner at Pirate Island Pizza. Here is our little swashbuckler!
We had a lot of fun, it was kind of a cross between Chuck E. Cheese and Pirates of the Caribbean. There was a fun gameroom and it had an atmosphere like Rainforest Cafe except pirate-themed. As usual, Adam had a blast playing with his cousins!

I have to brag a little bit about Adam :) This week he figured out how to put together his Thomas puzzle that Aunt Joy gave him for Christmas. I just wanted to point out that the puzzle is for kids 3 and over, and Adam is a genius! And every time he puts it together, he comes running in with his hands up in the air yelling, "I did it! Come look it!"

And an update on my job - in the last 2 days I have averaged about $3.60 an hour :) That is terrible! But I can only get faster from here. And my productivity will skyrocket when I can actually work uninterrupted! (hint, hint Adam!)

An Awesome Deal!

2009-02-20T18:14:00.002-07:00

Couponmom.com has a great deal on gift certificates for restaurants. I just paid $8.00 for four $25.00 gift certificates to our favorite Mexican place, Lupita's! I love good deals :)

I'm not sure how long the discount lasts, but all you have to do is find a restaurant near you on www.restaurant.com and then when you checkout, enter the code DINE. That's it! Here is my summary page I just got. Just wanted to pass on the great deal!

Your Shopping Cart
Your 80% discount has been applied.

Qty Item Price Total
4 Lupitas Mexican Food - $25 Gift Certificate $10.00 $40.00

Subtotal: $40.00
Discount Applied: ($32.00)

Total: $8.00

I love my Kimmy!

2009-02-11T13:16:00.004-07:00

Last week, Brandon and Kim stopped by St. George to take us to lunch at Pasta Factory! I miss my Kimmy and it was SO fun to see her :) After lunch, we took some pictures out by the waterfall in the back.
I thought Adam was going to jump right in the water :)

Tractors!

2009-02-10T14:59:00.002-07:00

I LOVE being able to send Adam outside in the backyard to play with his tractors in the dirt. He could spend all day out there and I am fine with that! I have tried to load this video a few times, so I hope it works today. He sings Bob the Builder at the top of his lungs :) Listen to how he says bulldozer. I love it!!

I have an MT job!!! I know, we've been here before. I thought I had a job in October, but it fell through. So here we are again. This one is actually a much better fit. I was able to pick my hours and the pay is much better. Heavenly Father can see the big picture and I would like to think that the other job would have been too much stress :) My training starts on the 22nd, and I can't wait.

Holiday catchup

2009-01-06T09:09:00.012-07:00

Hi everyone! Hope you had a GREAT Christmas and a wonderful New Year's. We all have a little cold and it is snowy outside, so I am catching up our blog :) We spent Christmas here in Hurricane and on Christmas Eve, we watched It's a Wonderful Life and I made HUGE cinnamon rolls for the next morning. I seriously couldn't believe how much they had risen! It was so nice to be home for Christmas morning. Adam's favorite toy by far was his tractor. I'm not sure why his shirt is unbuttoned...
We spent the day watching movies on our new Blu-Ray player, I made a ham dinner, and packed to go to California. Adam and I had to leave Daddy behind to work while we went and played in California. What a good man he is :) Adam did pretty well in the car although we did have to stop in Baker to find a patch of dirt for him to play tractors in....what a boy. Can you see the Dora band-aid over his eye? My little maniac jumped off the bed in the computer room and hit the sharp edge of the desk on Christmas night. I thought he was going to neeed stitches. Lucky for us, Russell is an expert in injuries so he gave us the okay to still go on our trip to California.
Mom and Dad have done some serious renovations to the house and it looks great! I am proud to say my brother-in-law Ryan did the work and it looks amazing! On Saturday, all of Mom's side of the family got together for a spaghetti dinner and it was so fun to see everyone! Here's a sisters picture and another one of Adam and I in our matching Grandma-made hats and scarves. THANK YOU GRANDMA!!! Adam thought it would be fun to scoop up fireplace ashes in his tractor and then dump it on Grandma's bench seat :) Then he showed Tyler how to do it too... What a nice boy he is! Don't worry Katie, Adam will always be around to help Tyler get into mischief!
Richard came back to Hurricane with us for the week and then Mom and Dad drove here on Friday to come get him. We miss all of you and wish you could have stayed longer! Here's Grandpa reading to Adam and then some pictures when we went to visit Joycie. Adam was not supposed to kick the bird cage, so he was just nudging the cage with his foot....sneaky!

Well I have to stop there. Adam is going to have a meltdown if we don't go to the library soon.

An Adam Funny!

2008-12-21T18:07:00.002-07:00

Adam is so busy and active, he wears me out! I love my little bugger. Today at church he said the funniest thing. We were singing Silent Night for the closing hymn and he asked if we could sing Jingle Bells. :) Can you imagine flipping open the hymn book and seeing Jingle Bells or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? HAHA I thought it was so funny.

We are getting excited for Christmas - only 3 more days to wait! And I am EIGHT pages from being done with the family scrapbook. It has been my secret Christmas project for the past 6 weeks or so and I have spent seriously hundreds of hours on it. I am so relieved it is caught up. Russell doesn't know (I think...)

And one more thing...we are SO happy that Katie, McKay, and Tyler are safe in California. Their car hit a patch of ice in Mesquite and their car rolled. How awful! I just hugged Adam when I found out. It puts things right into perspective.

Love you all and wish you a merry Christmas!

Robin