The Nartker Family

lately

2010-08-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is what our kids are really into right now...

Dallin:

and

(my cousin Craig)

Evie:

and

Liam:

and this is what they're afraid of...

Dallin:

and

Evie:

and

Liam:

6 months old!

2010-07-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little Liam is six months old already. Where does the time go?

Here is what he's been up to lately:

-GROWING. He's 18.5 pounds (67th percentile) and 28.5 inches long (97th percentile)
-EATING. Just started rice cereal and applesauce last week and is eating like a pro.
-SLEEPING. Can I brag for just a minute (please)? Liam is sleeping 12 hours at night without waking up at all. The reason I call it bragging is that I have worked really hard to get my babies on schedules, and I just love it when all that hard work pays off!
-Liam also enjoys sucking on his toes and does it throughout the day. :)
-Still no hair. Still no teeth. (Very typical of our babies) :)
-He really is the sweetest, happiest, most easy going baby on the planet.

Trying to catch up

2010-05-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

We have a thumb-sucker! I just think it's so cute when babies suck their thumbs, and he is our first one to do it! It's also nice that he can soothe himself since he never really took to his pacifier.

Oh this picture just makes me laugh! No need to describe it. It is what it is.

When Dallin is at Joy School, Evie can usually be found in Liam's face or watching Sleeping Beauty. Or both at the same time.

I love my chubby boy

2010-04-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

Things have been really crazy around here but I thought I'd post some updated pictures of little Liam.

I couldn't resist

2010-02-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

Evie's doll bed was just the perfect size..

Liam's story

2010-02-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share a summarized version of Liam's birth story since I've had people ask..

So I woke up at 2:30am on Tuesday, January 12th with some pretty hard contractions. In fact, they were so intense that I didn't even time them for a whole hour, I just called my sister to come over and stay with our kids and then told Jason to pack his bags. So we drove to the hospital and by the time we got a doctor to come in and check me around 4am, my contractions had really calmed down (I was so mad). However, I was dilated to a 4, so they said I could stay. After I was admitted, I basically walked the halls and did everything I could to get things going. After several hours of laboring, my midwife checked me and I was still a 4. At this point they told me I could get Pitocin (no stinkin way), have my water broken, or go home. Now, mind you, I had been having false (but still painful) labor for over a week and I was not about to go home! So I told them to break my water. Once they did, contractions finally got serious and so did I. I wanted to see if I could go without the epidural and I made it to 6 cm before I threw in the towel. Thank goodness for epidurals because I felt great after that. :) It was now about 4pm and I was able to rest for about 2 hours before I was fully dilated and ready to push. I pushed 6 times and he was born at 6:18pm on January 12th. I got to hold him immediately and he was just beautiful. The midwife and nurses thought he looked big and guessed he would be about 8 1/2 pounds, but he was only 7lb. 10oz., my smallest baby. I loved my midwife and had a great experience at Kaiser.

p.s. Way to go Hillary for guessing Liam's birthday! We will have to figure out a way to get you your treat. :)

here at last

2010-01-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

Liam David Nartker
January 12, 6:18 pm
7 lbs. 10 oz. 19 1/2 inches

Guesses anyone?

2010-01-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is me and my sister Rose at Christmas, and as you can see, we are both very far along here. Rose only lasted another week, and I'm hoping our little guy will be here soon. So, take a guess at when this baby is coming and maybe how much he will weigh...oh, and I'm due on January 23rd. There just might be a little treat for the winner.

new nephew

2010-01-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

I'm an aunt again! My sister Rose had her baby boy on New Year's Eve, giving us even more reason to celebrate that day. His name is Neal DeLorne Collette and he's beautiful.

Now I'm definitely feeling like it's my turn. :)

Christmas lesson

2009-12-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

So Dallin walked up to me today and asked for some tape and wrapping paper so he could give his toy train to his Aunt Beth for Christmas. I told him he should keep his train because it's his, and that Beth would want him to keep it.

His response: (very sweetly) "But Christmas is about giving. And I really want to give this to Beth because I love her."

So we wrapped up his toy train and it is now under the tree (Beth, act surprised). How could I say No after that?

It was a great reminder to me that 1) Kids pick up on a lot more than we probably think, and 2) Christmas really is about giving (what a concept!) Really though, I hadn't taken the time yet this season to remember that the gifts we give are really representative of the gifts that the wise men brought to the baby Jesus that night in the stable. They also remind us of the greatest gift that was ever given to mankind, and that was the gift of the atonement by the Savior himself. How blessed we are for that gift.
At church, the Young Women and their leaders made a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon in a 6 month period, ending in February. I have loved taking on this challenge and I have specifically noticed that the Book of Mormon is full of references to the Savior, and prophets foretelling His coming. If I had to summarize the Book of Mormon into one phrase, I would say that it truly testifies of Jesus Christ, His coming to earth, His divinity, and His great love for us all.
I love the Savior so much and I am grateful that He sacrificed His life and suffered for me so that I might have the chance to return to our Father in Heaven. I'm also grateful that my 4 year old son picked up on the true meaning of Christmas and reminded me that it's about giving, just as the Savior gave everything for us.

I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas!

marathon man

2009-11-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

On November 14th, Jason ran his first marathon and we are so proud of him! He had been training for it for almost a year and his good friend Josh came out from the east coast to run it with him. He will modestly tell you otherwise, but he did great. There was a group of us there at almost every rest stop to cheer him on, and Dallin was so excited that he got to come.

The Jason/Josh fan club at 6:30am at the starting point,

It was absolutely freezing but I was trying to appreciate the view

The boys just before the start of the race

Our favorite runner, number 707

Dallin enjoying a drink with his Dad after the race. The best part was at the end when Jason was nearing the Finish line and Dallin ran out and grabbed his hand and finished the race with him. I am trying to figure out how to get the video downloaded and I will post it- just adorable!

Jason's post-race comments: "I'm ready to get back to cycling" :)

Halloween

2009-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome Halloween this year and the kids got to carve pumpkins for the first time. They loved getting all dirty and Jason helped them carve the face they wanted. Unfortunately, my camera died after taking only a few pictures so this is about all I have. Thanks mom for the costume pictures! I got to take the kids to the pumpkin patch with some of my good friends and their kids, we went to our ward campout and "tent-or-treat" on the 30th, and then on the big day we had my parents, Beth, Cari and Alec over for chili and cornbread and trick-or-treating down our street. It took a while for our kids to get the trick-or-treating thing down. They would knock on the door and just stand there until I reminded them to say "Trick-or-treat!" and then Evelyn would walk right up and grab her own candy out of the person's bowl, and Dallin would say "Thank-you" really quiet once he had turned around and was already walking back down the driveway. Once Evie got her candy she would run down the driveway as fast as she could and yell "Wook Dad! Tanny!" :) Oh well, they're still learning.

birthday girl

2009-10-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am really late with this post, but better late than never, right? Evelyn turned 2 on October 2nd and we had a birthday party with family to celebrate. Our Evie is so full of energy that she is sometimes hard to keep up with, but she is also the life of the party and so fun to be around...we just love her!

I'm pretty sure Aunt Beth was encouraging this...

At two years old, here are some of Evie's favorite words and phrases..

*don't want it*no help!*color with crayons?*hold you mama? (she wants to be held)*I fix it* read scriptures*I sorry*I love you*read it*Blues Clues*Where's Dallin?*Brush? (wants to brush her teeth)*

She has also been very busy testing her boundaries and has us busy referencing all our parenting books, and asking for lots of advice from her Grandmas.

Happy Birthday Evie, we love you!

Dallin-isms

2009-10-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love my little sweetheart. We had a fun conversation with Dallin this morning while we were all getting ready. This is why I have been smiling all day...

Dallin: Oh! I need to make my hair all handsome.

Jason: Why?

Dallin: I'm going to a fancy meeting.

Jason: Oh you are?

Dallin: Yeah. It's a fancy meeting with beautiful womans, like Mom.

He definitely knows how to make me happy (especially when I just woke up and look really bad). And he definitely knows how to pay a compliment..something he picked up from his Dad!

Sacramento Zoo

2009-09-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

We decided to meet up with some friends at the zoo on Monday and the kids loved it, especially the monkeys and flamingos. They took a nap on the way over so they were a little bit groggy at first, but they ended up having a great time. Dallin saw a lady holding a snake and walked right up to pet it, he was really fascinated. Evie loved every single animal, and apparently got a little carried away because she bit Dallin on the nose.

Mixa Reunion, part 2

2009-09-18T10:26:00.001-07:00

The second day at the beach was much more clear. This is the view from 17 mile drive right near Pebble Beach golf course. It was beautiful outside.

Mixa Reunion

2009-09-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

My parents had their 30th anniversary this past June so me and my sisters all pitched in and surprised them with the first ever 'Dave Mixa family reunion'. Since my sisters were all in D.C. this summer and couldn't be there to celebrate, we told my parents we would take them to Monterey/Carmel in September when everyone could be there. We rented a big house in Seaside and spent the weekend together, including Cari's 21st Birthday on Friday. I wish I had taken pictures of the house, it was so much fun! Unfortunately, I only remembered to get my camera out two times the whole trip so there is a lot I missed. Some of the things we did:

-lunch at Kinder's in Walnut Creek (mmm, so good!)
-Cari's birthday dinner on Cannery Row with dessert at Ghirardelli
-all kinds of shopping for the girls
-surfing/boogie boarding for all the guys in Monterey
-Sacrament meeting in Monterey where we took up an entire row
-17 mile drive on Highway 1
-and of course, the BYU football game on the big-screen :)

Here we are at the beach in Monterey. Dallin spent several hours with his Dad digging in the sand, making sandcastles with Alec and just playing in the sand. Jason tried surfing for the first time and had a lot of fun. All the girls showed up later and Evie was in heaven. This was her first time at the ocean, sad I know, but she absolutely loved it.

Catching up

2009-09-18T09:01:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I posted so I am trying to catch up with everything that's been going on..

At the end of August, we heard a knock at the door and when we opened it, there was a present sitting on the porch that said TO DALLIN. When Dallin went to pick it up, Cari and Alec popped out from beside the house to surprise him! It was a big shock because Cari and Alec have been in Washington D.C. all summer and weren't supposed to be back for another week. Since they had missed Dallin's birthday, they brought him this awesome remote control Corvette. What could be better to a 4 year old boy? We were so glad to have them back too!

This is my sweet little 4 year old, all grown up and waiting for his first day of Joyschool. He couldn't wait, and he insisted on wearing a backpack even though he didn't need one. I just can't believe how big he's getting!

It's a little boy!

2009-08-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

here is a profile shot:

We are just in love with him. Dallin and Evie are so excited to be getting a little brother and love to give him kisses. I thought it might be a boy, though I wasn't very sure, but this pregnancy has been very similar to Dallin's so that was my guess. Only 5 more months to go!

Oh, and if any of you moms have any tips where I can find cute maternity clothes that won't cost me fortune, please let me know. I pretty much have to buy all new clothes because I've never been pregnant in the winter before!

Cravings

2009-08-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

With Dallin it was cookies and sweets, with Evie it was steak and tuna fish sandwiches (two separate, not steak and tuna together), and with this little one I have been dying for homegrown tomatoes. Store bought are not the same, they have to be homegrown. Lucky for me, it is tomato season! A week ago, my dear friend Dianna showed up at my door with a large ziploc bag full of tomatoes from her mom's garden. There were three times as many as there are in the picture. I ate them all by myself. Within about 4 days. I can't get enough, so if you live nearby and you happen to have some extra garden vegetables, I'd be happy to take them off your hands. :) And thank you so much to Dianna and Dianna's mom for the treat!

Four years ago..

2009-08-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

you joined our family on August 1st and made us the two happiest people in the world. It was 7 years ago that doctors told me I may not be able to have children, and 5 1/2 years ago that they told me I should wait 5-10 years before trying to start a family. But it was 4 years ago that you came to this earth and blessed our lives. You were, and always will be, my miracle baby.

You are 3 feet, 5 inches and 35 pounds. You have big brown eyes and the cutest smile ever. You LOVE diggers and anything to do with construction. You are so sweet and good natured that it's hard to ever say No to you. You say the most sincere and sweet prayers and you constantly amaze me with your vocabulary. You tell me I'm beautiful several times a day, just because you know it makes me smile. :) You love to read books and ask me to read to you every chance you get. You are a wonderful big brother and are always looking out for Evie. You are sensitive and always concerned about how others are feeling. When we asked you what you wanted to do on your birthday (after many fun suggestions), you chose to spend the day mowing the lawn with Dad, "fixing" the sprinklers, sweeping the yard, etc. I think you are the sweetest boy in the whole world. We love you Dallin Keith. :) Happy 4th Birthday!!

manners

2009-07-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to teach the kids manners that go beyond 'please' and 'thank you', so a few weeks ago I told Dallin that girls (and ladies) always go first. Whether we're opening the door to go into church or standing in line for food. It's always polite to let girls go first, and that includes his sister. :) Jason had also recently taught him this. I hadn't mentioned anything since then, but today I was pouring a cup of milk for both the kids at lunch and I just happened to pour Dallin's first. That's when I got scolded. "Remember Mom," Dallin said, "girls always go first."

So I acted contrite and tried to hide the huge smile on my face. :)

dear friends and family

2009-06-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

First, let me say how excited we are to be expecting our third baby, and how grateful I am that I don't get morning sickness. What a blessing! However, the level of fatigue and exhaustion is really off the charts this time. My blood test results show that my red blood count is the lowest it's ever been, and I have been anemic for a few years now so that is pretty low. And then there's the Evelyn factor and we won't even go there. :)

I'm telling you all this for three reasons:

1. So you will forgive my absent-mindedness.
2. So you will feel a little bit sorry for me.
and
3. So you will not call CPS on me when my children are running wild, naked and unattended all over the neighborhood. Okay, maybe just the house and yard.

My memory has gotten so bad that I have to write things down within about 10 minutes or I will forget them. So basically, my brain is on vacation right now. My goal is to return to a normal, functioning life by late July (end of the first trimester).

See you then,

Mel

p.s. The official due date is January 23rd (my father-in-law's birthday). And Yes, I specifically planned it this way, as well as Evie being born on my mother-in-law's birthday so that they will have no choice but to love us more than their other kids.

disneyland!

2009-06-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

On May 29th, Jason came home from work and said "Let's go on a road trip." Where to, I asked? "Disneyland." Sounds good. We were packed and on the road within an hour. We got there at midnight, and of course the kids got a sudden burst of excited energy and had to jump on the beds before they went to sleep at the hotel.

By 9:00 the next morning we were on our way to the park! (Okay, side note: we were supposed to be getting a hotel just down the street from the park. Well, yes, it was...but on the back side, where you walk for like a mile on Disneyland property before you even reach the ticket counters. Ahhh!)

They really have no idea where they're about to go, do they.

We made it! Hurray! Pregnant body + miles of walking = aching hips, blistered feet and feeling way over-excited about being at the front of the park. :)

One of Dallin's favorites, the Jungle Cruise. :)

Next on his list: the Haunted Mansion. Which he said was "just a 'yil too scary"

Dallin was just barely tall enough to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad, so he got to go with Dad. This ended up being his favorite ride.

...though Evie wasn't too thrilled that her Dad was gone. She was VERY attached to him the whole trip and would hardly let me hold her. (Which was probably a good thing since I almost collapsed just from walking to the park.)

Still waiting for Dad. Feeling very uneasy.

D and E at Toon Town

One of the longest lines we waited in folks, and no I'm not kidding.

So long that Evelyn fell asleep on Jason's head..

..but woke up just in time to meet Mickey and grab his nose. (Dallin is not in the picture because he ended up being scared to get too close. On the other hand, Evie practically mauled Mickey..)

It's a small world

Dallin and I, right after climbing Tarzan's treehouse. Um, as if walking 5 miles to get to the park wasn't enough of a workout..this treehouse absolutely killed my thighs. Don't be fooled by my smile, I was winded. Jason estimated that we ended up walking well over 10 miles that day.

The kids loved it, we loved it. Spontaneous road trips are the best vacations ever. Hopefully we will see you again soon Disneyland. :)

If there was ever any doubt

2009-05-27T14:48:00.001-07:00

of Evie's tom-boyishness (yes, that's a word)...this will resolve it all. I caught her "reading" this book that I recently got at a garage sale. And yes, that's a Dwyane Wade biography. When she saw me she hopped down and said, "Basketball!!"

coming soon

2009-05-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Aloha!

2009-05-22T11:46:00.001-07:00

The kids have been taking gymnastics and this week they had an Island Show where they performed for family. Evie got to have Aunt Cari as her coach this year and Dallin had Mr. Andrew. They love coming to gymnastics every week but we are all going to miss Cari this summer!

Jason's 1/2 marathon

2009-05-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was so proud of my husband today! He ran a half marathon (which I think is 13 miles). It started at 8:15 and me, Rachel and Grandma Reynolds were there to cheer him on. He did great and finished with a good time. This was good preparation for the marathon he will be running in November!

I look so tired, but we did get up really early to drive out to the race.

Jason's sister Rachel (we were the cheerleaders) :)

Jason and his friend Jake are stretching and getting ready

And they're off! At this point it went from sprinkling to pouring rain.

Here he is just past the halfway point. Rachel and I drove down to see him here (and Rachel sort of baton-passed him a Cliff Bar...she did great :)...and then we hopped back in the car and drove back to the Finish line.

And here he is at the finish line! We were cheering like crazy, of course.

We were so proud!!

And a HUGE 'Thank You!' to my kind, wonderful Mother-in-law who stayed behind to watch our kids.

Sweetheart

2009-05-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

I always call Dallin my little Sweetheart because he says and does the sweetest things all the time. Yesterday he said, "Mom, when I grow up and I'm a man, I want to dance with you." :) :) He just knows how to make my day.

Later that day, I was cleaning the bathroom sink and he was watching me. I was wiping it down with bleach wipes and he said,
"Mom, what does that do?"
I said, "It gets rid of the germs."
Dallin: "Does it make the germs sick?"
Mel: "Yes, it does."
Dallin: "So they leave?"
Mel: "Yes."
Dallin: "But they're still okay, right mom? They're gonna be okay?"
Me: (couldn't help myself) "Yeah Dallin, I think they'll be okay."

I love that my 3 1/2 year old son is worried about the welfare of germs. That's my Sweetheart. :)

Birthday

2009-05-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

I had such a great Birthday this year, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Since my birthday was on a Sunday, Jason took me out on Friday night to celebrate. We went to dinner at Tahoe Joe's, which is one of our favorite restaurants, and then we headed over to the mall and Jason presented me with a bunch of cash to spend. I really needed some new clothes so we went to some of my favorite stores (Gap, H&M), and I would just hand stuff to Jason that I wanted to try on. He was so sweet, he was my little shopping buddy. :) Then on Sunday we went to my parents' house for dinner and cake and ice cream. Beth made me the yummiest cake ever and I got some cool presents from my family. What a perfect weekend!

We both made a weird face at the same time, haha!

Beth's delicious chocolate cake

Dallin and Evie were so excited about the candles so I let them help me blow them out

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and for your kindness and thoughtfulness!

Duck!

2009-04-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

After a month of nesting, our little Fern finally welcomed thirteen little ducklings to the world on Tuesday, April 21st. The kids just loved them and watched them as they marched around our yard. Evie was "quack-ing" all day long.

Fern jumped down right here and you can tell that the ducklings are trying to figure out how to get down to her. So cute!

And they went for it! Look closely and you can see one in mid-air. :)

They were only there for one day before they headed out to the pond nearby, but I'm sure we'll see them next year.

18 months

2009-04-06T12:11:00.001-07:00

*I turned 18 months on April 2nd

*I weigh 20 lb. and I'm 32 inches tall. (The doctor said to start putting butter on all my food) :)

*I start nursery next week! (So mom and dad can actually go to YW's and YM's every week)

*I love Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse :)

*I am a daredevil and love to do things like climbing on tables, going down slides head first and jumping up and down on the seat of my brother's trike.

*I am very sweet and loving and give lots of kisses to my mom, dad, brother and baby dolls.

*My new favorite thing: Putting both arms around mom or dad's neck and puckering up for long kisses.

*I can say Please, Thank you, all done, Jesus, ball, ouch, brush teeth, Dora, doggie, Gramma, Grampa, more, baby, and a variety of animal sounds.

*I can give high-fives and thumbs up. :)

*I love to be outside and get into all kinds of mischief like bathe in mud, eat rocks, and rub sand and dirt in my hair.

Love always,

Evie

They're Back!

2009-03-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

So I looked out the window today and I saw that our pet duck was back! And it looks like she brought her mate this time. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go back to our May 2008 posts.) They stood there for a little bit, then Mama duck jumped in the rosemary bush for a while.

Here's papa duck dutifully waiting for his mate...

..though he did take a quick break for a snack (Dallin threw him some bread).

Then Mama duck emerged from the bush about 5 minutes later...and they flew away.

I'm pretty sure this is the same duck from last year...I think. Last year's mama duck is on the left, and on the right is the duck we saw today. :)

I think it's so cool that Fern (that's what we named her) remembered our backyard and came back to the same exact spot. She must have felt the Spirit in our home and was drawn to us. :)

free and a half years old

2009-02-26T14:38:00.001-08:00

Our little boy is not so little anymore! Here is the latest on Dallin:

*is 3'4" and weighs 34 pounds

*Things he can do all by himself:
brush his teeth, go potty, wash his hands, get dressed (mostly), pick up his toys, say prayers, and unlock the new deadbolt..yikes! (When I asked him what he can do all by himself, his answer was "college football".)

*Things he's liking these days:
gymnastics class, playing with measuring tapes and calculators, coloring, reading books, digging in the dirt, helping me empty the dishwasher, riding his bike, chasing his sister, playing with his Thomas trains, pretending to throw pie in people's faces, and playing hide-and-seek (yesterday when he was playing with Jason, he looked for him for about 20 seconds, then went and got a snack and started playing with toys...I think Jason waited for like half an hour..)

*Also likes to pretend he has a cell phone and is constantly telling us that he just got a funny text. :) Wonder where he gets that from?

The latest Dallin funnies:

*Dallin was at my parents' house while we were at a Kings game and they had the missionaries over for dinner. He was wearing the shirt from the above picture and one of the elders asked if he liked to play soccer. He said yes. Then they asked if he liked other sports too like football. He said 'yeah, i do'. Then one of them asked if he liked wrestling and Dallin said "Um....I'm just a small boy."

*This one was told by my Dad (they were driving in the car):

Dallin: Gr'pa I have to go to the bafroom....
Gr'pa: OK Dallin we just have a little ways to go....(thinking maybe I should tell him to just hold on til we get home)....
Dallin: 15 seconds later......Gr'pa I REALLY gotta go to the bafroom... Just then the light turns red and 2 or 3 cars ahead of me stop....
Dallin: 15 seconds from his last comment...Gr'pa I REALLY REALLY gotta go...
Gr'pa: OK Dallin I will stop up ahead ....I will go just as quickly as I can.... Dallin: No problem Gr'pa......all's we have to do is look for some grass*....
Grass? did he just say grass?
Dallin: with pointed excitement in his voice.....Gr'pa there's some grass right there!.....
Gr'pa: where Dallin?...
Dallin points to his right towards a thin strip of grass about 12 feet long by 6 feet wide next to the side walk....it was all I could do to keep from bursting out in mindless laughter......Dallin had picked out a piece of grass at the busiest intersection in all of Folsom...East Bidwell and Blue Ravine....traffic was bumper to bumper.....and it was 5pm on Valentine's Day...PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!

*disclaimer: I am not a proponent of relieving oneself in public unless it is an emergency

back in the saddle....

2009-02-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's pretty much written into Mixa girl DNA to love sewing and/or quilting. My mom has always been an excellent seamstress just as her mother was. I always joke with my sisters that I switched places with them because back when we were teenagers at home, I was usually the only one sewing besides mom, but now, they all sew like crazy and I have hardly gotten my machine out since I've been married. I did make Evie a quilt with lots of help from my mom, but that is it. I had been meaning to get back into it but never did. Then one day at church, they were passing around a sign-up for people to donate items for the Young Women's silent auction fundraiser for Girl's Camp. So, I signed up to donate a baby blanket, thereby forcing myself to complete a sewing project within a few weeks. This is the end result, thanks to Rose for the idea, and I'm looking forward to more projects.

DEVELYN

2009-02-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Dallin told me to come quick, so I walked into the dining room and saw this. She was affectionately given the above nickname by my family, for obvious reasons. This girl is trouble. So then I completely reinforce her bad behavior by taking a picture of it. :) I couldn't help myself though...it was a little too funny. (She looks like some scary monster, waiting in the shadows to attack.)

Tour of California

2009-02-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Jason and I got to spend Valentine's Day at the Tour of California in downtown Sacramento, and even though it was freezing cold, it was so much fun. I just loved seeing Jason with the kid-in-a-candy-store look on his face all day. We got to see and take pictures of some huge cycling stars (even though my camera battery died halfway through the trip). We also ended up seeing half of our ward there, which was so fun, and Dave and Nathan even made the drive and we were able to meet up with them as well. Can't wait till next year's Tour!!

Brad, Josh, Jason, Kevin

Jason standing with Lance's custom Livestrong bike (this is one of only two in existence)

My future bike (or maybe a girl version of it)

The crowds were insane, this was only one small corner where we watched each guy turn around.

Jens Voigt

Christian Vandevelde

Mark Cavendish

Lance Armstrong

friday the 13th came early

2009-02-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

So, we had to wake the kids up early this morning because I had to drive Jason to work so I could have the car today. Wouldn't you know that waking kids up early is a horrible, horrible idea. They both threw huge fits. So I dropped Jason off, drove back home (1 hour total), grabbed a bunch of food and delivered it for a Relief Society luncheon, then I went straight to a visiting teaching appointment (still with kids) and proceeded to lock my keys in the car. Once AAA took care of it and I got back home, Evie refused to take a nap (and I don't give in to crying very easily). Instead, while I was changing her diaper, she grabbed a handful of poop, and while I was cleaning her hand off, she put both legs in it and got it all over my hands. But it doesn't end there! While I was simply bringing a load of laundry upstairs, Dallin peed through his pants all over the kitchen floor and Evie played in it, soaking her clothes in urine. Unbelievable. I would say that's the end of it, but I don't dare because it's only 3:30, lots of time left for more to go wrong. Heaven help me and my desire to have a big family.

One good highlight (sort of):

After all this I went in the bathroom to wipe Dallin and he said "Mom, you're a good Mom." "And a good wiper."

special gift

2009-02-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

When I got the mail yesterday there was a package for 'Miss Evelyn Nartker' from Hawaii. That can mean only one thing: something from Great-Great Grandma Evelyn! We opened it up and it was an adorable doll quilt. She loves it. But I don't think she wants to share it with her dolls, she wants it all to herself. :) This is a very special gift because her Great-Great Grandma is a prize-winning quilter. Thanks Sweet Grandma!!

More barbecues!

2009-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to eat more steak. Strange, I know, but I guess more lentils, beans, leafy greens and fortified cereal as well. My doctor just diagnosed me with iron-deficiency anemia so I need to be getting lots of iron. Hopefully this will help give me more energy. Oh yeah, that, and when Evie and Dallin stop waking up in the middle of the night. That should help too.

one more birthday

2009-01-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

...and I'm a day late (oops). Happy Birthday to my Mom, who is my best and truest friend, who taught me everything I know and gives me all the best advice, who shares all my hobbies and interests, never judges me for making a bad choice, and who loves me unconditionally. Mom, spending your birthday with you at the temple yesterday was perfect. I love you so much!

Happy Birthday Dad

2009-01-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the best father-in-law of all time! And I love this picture of you and the kids- it's the perfect example of how much you love them, and how they love you in return. I'll always remember the first day I met you and how welcome you made me feel. Jason and I had only been on our third date and you, mom and Rachel treated me like part of the family!

We love you very much and hope you have a wonderful birthday, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!

What we're up to

2009-01-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

Not sleeping. That's what our whole family is up to. While all of you were celebrating the new year, Jason and I were toasting our glasses of sparkling cider to Evie's new molars. I'm pretty sure she woke up in the middle of the night through the whole month of December, and after trying everything we could think of (feeding her more food, Tylenol, reducing daytime naps) she was still waking up multiple times in the night. Then, just before New Year's, Jason stuck his finger in Evie's mouth and found a molar in the back that had just broken through. We finally have our happy girl back, and she slept 12 hours last night (Hooray!).

So, the reason I have not posted Christmas pictures is that there are no pictures. I was so sleep-deprived and delirious on Christmas day that I didn't take one single picture. We do have video, but that's all.

And let's not forget Dallin, up to his usual mischief of course. We were at my parents' house during Christmas break and my Dad was sitting at the computer...Dallin walks up and says "Hey Grandpa, Grandma needs your help in the kitchen." So my Dad lets him take his place because his favorite thing to do over there is watch diggers on youtube. Then, my Dad goes in the kitchen to help only to find out that my Mom didn't need help, and she did not, in fact, ask Dallin to go get him. My Dad had a good laugh out of that one.
And...

I was singing a made-up song to Evie today while I was changing her diaper and Dallin said "Stoooop" all embarrassed (and surprisingly similar to how I say it to Jason when he says something cheesy). So I said, "Is that what Mom says?" He replied, "Yeah, that's what you say to Daddy when he says a bad word."

future NRA members

2008-12-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

Well, what started as the family having some friendly block-building time soon turned to all-out war. You see, we have a boy in our family. We also have a three year old son. :) And anyone else who has little boys can probably relate when I tell you that there is constant gunfire going off in our house. I'm sure you can imagine the first thing that was built out of blocks. Evie and I couldn't help but join in, and I couldn't resist getting some pictures. Dallin made a pretty nice gun all by himself, and we found out that Evie makes the best machine gun noise that we've ever heard. Seriously. Then Jason went straight 'sniper' on us (see fourth picture) and hunted us down one by one. (Did my husband really just build an M-16 out of Duplo blocks?) After we all 'died', we had some yummy See's candy for dessert.

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

2008-12-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

The following is a conversation that happened in the car today on the way to Grandma and Grandpa Nartker's house:

Evie: (babbling)

Dallin: Shhhhhh!

Evie: (continues to talk and babble)

Dallin: Shhhhh! Listen to the music!

Evie: No!

Dallin: Be quiet Evie.

Evie: (giggles)

Dallin: Shhhhhh!

20 seconds later....

Evie: Moo! (her new favorite sound)

Dallin: I am not a cow!

Evie: Mooooo!

Dallin: Mom! Tell Evie I'm not a cow!

After laughing hysterically to myself, this is where I finally stepped in and reassured Dallin that he was, in fact, a boy and not a cow, but that Evie was just making fun sounds and he should ignore her. I love being a mom.

Aunt Blossom & Uncle DeLorne's

2008-12-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Dallin had so much fun at Rose and Josh's, he was constantly running around their house, playing with NEW toys, dancing to music, and jumping off couches with his cousin Wes. I had to post a few of the boys jumping from couch to couch.

And what would a weekend away in Utah be without some funny lines from Dallin?

-At one of the rest stops in Nevada, Jason took Dallin to the bathroom. While they were in the stall, another guy came in and as he was leaving, Dallin said (very loudly) "Dad, why didn't that man wash his hands?!"

And here's one for Rose and Josh:

-Dallin had loved dancing to music at Rose and Josh's house all weekend (they usually had a playlist going all day long). I didn't realize how much he enjoyed it until we got home on Sunday and I overheard Dallin chanting "Womanizer, Womanizer, Womanizer.." over and over and over while he was dancing around the house. :)

Thanksgiving in Utah

2008-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

We decided to make the trip out to Utah for Thanksgiving this year and we are so glad we did. Rose and Josh were more than kind to let us stay at their place and pretty much take over their house. We owe you guys for letting Evie sleep in Grace's crib...even when she was pulling Grace's hair all weekend! We had Thanksgiving dinner at John and Jenilyn's house, and we all thought it was the most delicious Thanksgiving dinner in Mixa history.

Some other things we did that weekend:

Went bowling with crying babies (we didn't use the babies to bowl with, they were just there, and they were crying), Cafe Rio, some Black Friday shopping, my cousin Chris's Eagle court of honor, dessert at Grandma and Grandpa Van's condo, Mabel's baby blessing, played Wacky 6, went to see Savior of the World at the conference center (awesome!), visited the biggest Dinosaur Museum in the world (I possibly loved it more than my kids), Mixa girls lunch at P.F. Changs, went up to campus at the Y, the three J's (Jason, Josh, John) went back to the bowling alley late at night and each bowled 5 games in their own lane (that's a little intense), Jason and I met up with one of his mission buddies, Matt Flanders and his wife Gina, for a late dinner in Salt Lake (which was so fun!), went to visit Brandon and Hillary and introduced Dallin to Dylan (and later when Dallin told me he wanted a baby brother next, I asked him what he wanted to name him...he of course, said Dylan), watched movies, stayed up late talking, laughing, playing games, etc.

The Mixa family after Mabel's blessing

Grace taking her first steps!

Cari and Alec getting baby hungry

Me and my sweet niece Mabel

Jason and Dallin at the blessing

Tagged

2008-11-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

8 TV shows I love to watch
1. The Mentalist
2. The Biggest Loser
3. Survivor
4. The Office
5. Extreme Home Makeover
6. Lost
7. So You Think You Can Dance
8. The Bachelor!

8 Favorite restaurants
1. Carmelita’s
2. Fats
3. Costa Vida
4. Tahoe Joe’s
5. Olive Garden
6. El Torito
7. Outback
8. Jack’s

8 Things that happened today
1. Dallin helped me do the dishes
2. Did 3 loads of laundry
3. Started packing for our trip
4. Dallin threw a plastic cow at Evie’s face and got TV privileges revoked
5. Made sugar cookies
6. Listened to Christmas music
7. Cleaned the house
8. Read my scriptures

8 Things I'm looking forward to
1. Thanksgiving with my family!
2. Meeting my new niece Mabel
3. Getting my piano fixed (someday!)
4. Christmas!
5. Seeing temple square with all the lights on
6. Finishing the Book of Mormon by Christmas
7. Jason’s end-of-the-year bonus
8. Getting pregnant again

8 Things on my wish list
1. A new road bike
2. To find more energy
3. Trip to Disneyland
4. To not be sick this Christmas
5. More sleep
6. World peace
7. Books books books
8. More time to read books

8 People I'm tagging
1. Rose
2. Rose
3. Rose
4. Rose
5. Jenilyn
6. Jenilyn
7. Jenilyn
8. Jenilyn
(Now you guys really have to do it!)

I'm way behind..

2008-11-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here's my attempt to catch up on my posting:

First of all, I am just now posting Halloween pictures (only a month late). My family came over for chili and cornbread and then we took the kids trick-or-treating down our street. Dallin loved it, even when it started pouring rain on us. :) And Cari and Alec get extra points for dressing up.

Two days later was stake conference, and Jason got a second calling: stake mission prep teacher. He teaches every other Sunday evening, along with his ward calling as the priest's quorum advisor.

Then, while we were at stake conference, we got a text (oops, what was Jason's phone doing on?) that my sister just had her baby two weeks early! Please welcome, Mabel Anne Petersen. She is absolutely adorable and we can't wait to meet her.

What else? Last week, I finally solved the dilemma of why Dallin was getting out of bed 15-20 times every night after we tucked him in and staying awake until 10:00. Dallin is officially done taking naps. And yes, I am still pouting over it. I didn't want to admit that it might be time because naptime, as we all know, is a special time for mommies. However, I had a really busy day one Tuesday and there was no time for his nap...and that night he went right to sleep, 8:00 on the dot, and stayed in bed until morning. I had to face reality and do away with the naps, although really, it is totally worth it because we don't have to spend two hours every night trying to get him to stay in bed.

Now, the biggest news of the last few weeks (and possibly the whole year for us Californians) is that Proposition 8 passed (hooray!) and all our hard work and prayers were answered. I spent so much time and hard work with this...putting our sign in the lawn each morning...bringing it in at night...it was exhausting. I mean, Jason did what he could, walking the precincts door-to-door for hours, spending an entire Saturday putting up door hangers all over Folsom....but I really took it to another level. :)

Last week was spent celebrating my Dad and Bethany's birthdays, which was really fun. We also celebrated Jason Tanner's birthday with a win for BYU and a big Tanner/Nartker barbecue, which is our favorite way to spend our Saturday nights.

At playgroup on Monday, three of my friends and myself decided to read the Book of Mormon by Christmas. So I got reading that night and was thinking, I am gonna have a hard time reading this much every night until Christmas, this took me two hours! My husband later reminded me that I was supposed to read 14 pages, not 14 chapters. That makes a big difference! He also told me not to tell anyone that I did that, but I couldn't help making fun of myself.

Now that I'm all caught up, I hope I will stay caught up so that you don't have to see the same post on my blog for a month straight. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Action and Consequence

2008-10-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

We are constantly on our toes with this little girl who has recently been found on top of tables, under cars (little tykes, that is), and in toilets. She is learning about what happens when she decides to make such daredevil moves.

One year old

2008-10-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little Evelyn is already a year old. I'm late in posting this, her birthday was Thursday, October 2nd, but I hope she will forgive me. Evie is my little sweetheart and I am so glad she is part of our family, sent straight from Heavenly Father to us. She is a very independent, tough and determined girl, but also sweet, affectionate and easy-going. Happy Birthday to my precious girl!

Evie is now 17 pounds (4th percentile), and 2' 6" (85th percentile). So basically we need to start feeding her donuts and cookies so she can graduate to a forward facing car seat.

AHA!!

2008-09-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

I finally caught Evie standing up! What a little stinker. I have been trying to get a picture of this for months now but she would always sit down before I could take it. Evelyn is turning one on Thursday and she has become quite an expressive little girl. Here are some of her most recent faces...

mischievous (and ready to bite)

happy

disapproving

shocked

proud

Here's what she's been up to:

-has 4 teeth (two on top and two on bottom)
-can stand up by herself and cruise along furniture
-is obsessed with her stuffed doggy and carries him everywhere (see first picture)
-can say "Dadda" "Mama" "no no!" and "doddy" (doggy)
-can mount and dismount the toy zebra (see below)
-jumped an inch off the ground a few days ago (though no one believes me)
-took her first step today, only one, and then sat down :)

Getting on

Getting off

...and biting, of course

Ward Campout

2008-09-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at our ward campout up at Camp Nauvoo. We had decided we were going to stay the night, so we borrowed a nice big tent, set up the pack n' play inside, brought our large, queen size air mattress and we were set for a nice comfortable night...or so we thought. The evening went great, Dallin had so much fun throwing rocks in the creek and getting dirty, the food was good, and Jason and I got to be social with our friends and relax. It was after that when we realized we had forgotten all of our blankets. But we decided we'd make due with the sleeping bags and went off to roast marshmallows at campfire. So we went to bed with Evie in her pack n play, Dallin in a sleeping bag and blanket next to her, and Jason and I had one sleeping bag to share with no blankets. So we unzipped the bag and used it as a blanket while laying on the bare air mattress. (Most of you would have seen the current situation and done the smart thing, which was GO HOME). What we didn't know was how cold it would get that night. Evie woke up at midnight, crying because she was too cold. So jason decided to spare our neighbors and take her into the car and turn on the heater to see if she would go back to sleep. So Dallin is out cold, and I'm laying there shivering. After an hour or two, I zipped up our sleeping bag, went and picked up Dallin and put him in my bag with me. The freezing air kept waking me up every half hour or so, but I'm thinking, "I just hope Jason wasn't up too late getting Evie to sleep". So morning rolls around (about 7am) and Jason is still not back, and I'm thinking he's just sleeping in. Until I hear a car driving in the parking lot, look out my window, and see that it's our Honda. So Dallin and I had just gotten up and were getting dressed when Jason opened the tent door saying "Good Morning!" I'm immediately suspicious because his greeting was way too cheerful for a horrible night with the baby. "Where did you just come from?" I asked. "Oh, you saw me drive in?" he said. It turns out that after driving Evie around and her still not falling asleep (even once he got to the freeway) that he just drove home and put her in her crib. Then he told me that he set his alarm for early so he could get back up to Camp Nauvoo (a 40 min. drive) before we noticed. Except he slept through his alarm and didn't get there until 7. I didn't even care that Dallin and I were alone all night, I was like "You got to sleep in our warm bed last night while I was here in the freezing cold, with no way of contacting you?" I was actually glad that I didn't know he was gone because I would have been scared to death. Instead, I thought he was in the parking lot just 200 feet from our tent. So, to get him back, I am posting this on our blog for all to read. :) You are welcome to leave comments of pity (for me).

My new sous chef

2008-09-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

I know this title implies that I am some kind of chef, and we all know that's a joke :) I just thought it was cute. I love it how kids want to copy everything their parents do. When Dallin saw my apron, he wanted one of his own so he could help make cookies. Good thing Aunt Rose gave him one for his birthday! And yes, I am trying to be a better cook. It's quite a lofty goal, but still, I'm trying.

Uncle Alec's friend

2008-09-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

On September 11th, Cari and Alec came over for lunch to celebrate Cari's birthday. We had La Bou, which is one of Cari's favorites. When Alec got there he had a little friend with him that he picked up on the ride over (he rides his bike everywhere). Apparently, Alec likes to stop suddenly in the street to pick up unsuspecting lizards. :) Dallin absolutely loved the little guy (who was lame and couldn't run away), and Alec taught him that we should always put little animals back after we catch them so they can go home. I'm sure Dallin will learn lots of good stuff from his Uncle. What a fun day, happy late birthday Cari!!

p.s. Dallin's face is all splotchy because he was crying right before they came over, though I don't remember why.

Dude

2008-09-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

So we went to the park today because it was so nice outside. Dallin was on the swing when another mom and little girl came and started using the swing next to him. He looked over at her and said to me:

"Is that girl gonna swing next to me?"

I said "Yeah, she is." Then he looked right at her and said casually:

"Hey........You got pink crocs, huh?........... Nice, dude!"

Ummmm, where did he come up with this stuff?

Grandma and Grandpa's house

2008-09-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

We went and visited Grandma and Grandpa Nartker and got to see all the progress on their house addition. It looked great, and Dallin had so much fun that he threw a fit in the car when we had to leave.

Dallin and Grandpa checking out the lizard they caught

Dawn and Evelyn Dawn

Of course Dallin isn't smiling (when does this phase end?)

Great Finds

2008-09-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

I love garage sales. Here is my loot from this past weekend. (This is especially for Rose, who I know was dying to see this stuff).

This is only about half the clothes I got.

Here's Evie in two of her new outfits

Thing 1 and Thing 2

2008-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like my kids came straight from Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. They sure know how to get in some serious trouble. Last week, when Jason had just gotten home from his morning bike ride, he let me go upstairs and get ready. Then he got the kids breakfast and decided to run upstairs real quick and get dressed himself. When I came down, this is what I saw. Apparently, Evie had run out of Cheerios, and being such a good big brother, Dallin decided he would get her some more...

...not too bad you say? There were just as many Cheerios on the ground.

I'm Hooked

2008-08-25T09:16:00.001-07:00

I'm one of those "obsessive reader" types that cannot put down a good book once I've started. Especially if there is a great plot or soap-opera-like storyline. I have found the ultimate good read: The Old Testament. I can't believe I have never read it all the way through before! Of course, I haven't gotten to some of the tough symbology of Isaiah yet, but there are some awesome stories and serious doctrine...I absolutely love it. Also, Jason got out his Old Testament manual for me to follow along with and I'm learning even more from that. He jokes that I should have gotten into this last year while he was teaching it in seminary so we could have discussed it together. One of my favorite stories is of Joseph being sold into Egypt. He has to be one of the greatest men to ever live on the Earth. I think his story teaches a great lesson in faith and forgiveness. What are your favorite OT stories and why?

Big Boy

2008-08-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Dallin used the big boy potty for the first time! I was so proud of him. Yes, he did have three accidents before he actually went in the toilet, but I don't really care because I have been trying to get him to go for at least 6 months now. So I'll be spending most of my weekend at home, on potty duty. Hooray!

Poor Evie got put in her high chair a lot yesterday while I was trying to help Dallin, but she was a good sport. She kept turning her bib into a cape.

Teething

2008-08-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I posted this picture of Evie because she is trying to cut her two front teeth right now and is usually not this happy. So, I am posting it so that I can come and look at it when she is being a little storm cloud, and hopefully it will calm me down. If I'm being totally honest though, this look on her face is the one she makes right before she's gonna bite you.

Alec and Cari Nethercott

2008-08-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful, beautiful wedding. Cari and Alec were sealed together on August 1st, Dallin's birthday, in the Sacramento temple. I wish I had remembered my camera and gotten more pictures. Thanks to Rose for these!

More birthday madness

2008-08-09T10:34:00.001-07:00

The very next day, August 3rd, we had all the Nartkers over for dinner to celebrate Erin and Dallin's birthdays. Dallin loves having his cousins over and had a great time. Somehow I got distracted and didn't get any pictures of Erin, how rude of me. The whole weekend was one of the craziest, busiest, hottest, most awesome weekends we've ever had!

August 2nd

2008-08-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

My posts are all out of order because I'm trying to get some wedding pictures up, but this is the day after the big wedding at my parents' house. Dallin got some sweet digger toys from his cousins Nathan, Carly and Malena, and he's very excited about them. Carly's birthday was just a few days later so she was opening a present from us too. And then Jason conked out on the couch and Dallin saw him and decided he was a perfect pillow for his own nap. :) Man, I love my boys!

Just the two of us

2008-08-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I had to grab the camera when I turned the corner and saw this.

Happy Birthday Dallin!

2008-08-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Dallin turned 3 on August 1st! Since Cari and Alec's wedding was the same day, we celebrated the night before at Grandma and Grandpa Mixa's house. I made Dallin a digger cake this year, since he is crazy about diggers and construction right now (and also because I have felt guilty for the last 365 days about the store bought Spongebob cake I got last year!). It was so much fun to just relax with our family, celebrate Dallin's special day, and prepare for the big wedding.

New pet

2008-07-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

So as much as we loved our mother duck and her nine cute ducklings, they only stuck around for about 2 days. Today I looked out the window and there was pet #2, a snake, right there in our backyard. (What is with our backyard being a wildlife reserve anyway?) This is not a picture of our actual snake, he slithered away into the bushes before I could get out my camera. However, Sam (Dallin named him) looks exactly the same as the snake in this picture. So it looks like he is a Garter snake, which is good news since they are harmless. Though I'm sure that Jason will be less than excited about this since snakes are the only animal that he is actually afraid of...

my dear

2008-07-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

This is Dallin's new phrase. I had him get in his car seat the other day and he had toys in both of his hands, so he gave them to me and said "Hold this, my dear". Today when I asked him if he wanted some chips it was, "Yes. Thank you, my dear!"

I must say, I really like this new phrase! Or the other one he said today..."Mama, you sure are a pretty cute girl." Looks like I've already got a smooth talker on my hands.

Okay, one more. Dallin doesn't fully understand the meaning of all his little phrases, and that makes for some funny situations. We were giving Dallin a bath on Sat. night and he HATES getting his hair washed because he says the water gets in his eyes. He told us he didn't want us to wash his hair, but I said, "Yes Dallin, we have to wash your hair" and Jason started filling up the cup full of water. When he saw what Jason was doing, he stood up, clenched his fists and started throwing a huge fit, saying "Nooooooooo! It's not true! It's not true! It's not true! (now totally sobbing) noooooooo, it's not true guys!" It was so hard to keep a straight face :)

Mixa Family Reunion

2008-07-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

What an awesome weekend we had for the 4th of July! We got to fly out to Minnesota for the first ever Mixa reunion and see all of our relatives on my Dad's side. First of all, for someone who plans out trips a month in advance, and makes lists of her lists down to every detail, I of course forgot my camera. So a million thanks to my sister Beth who gave me all of these pictures! Dallin loved the airplane ride out there, and Evie was pretty happy too, considering we woke them up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the airport. We took pictures in the plane with Jason's phone, and I will post them later if I can figure out how to get them on the computer. So after a 3 1/2 hour flight, we got to our hotel and crashed for naps. Later that evening, we went to The Lion's Tap for dinner, which is an awesome burger place we go to every time we visit MN.

On day two, we pretty much spent the entire day at the St. Paul temple and everyone from my dad's family who could make it was there. My Dad has spent years finding ancestors and getting their names ready for this occasion. I cannot even tell you how wonderful it felt to be there doing temple work for my own ancestors. I should not have worn make-up because I cried a lot. We ended up doing 259 ordinances that day.

The next day, for 4th of July, we drove to Menomonie, Wisconsin and visited the graves of some of our relatives and told stories of their lives. We also had a mini reunion there in Menomonie for all the descendents of Edward and Orhpa Ranney (on my dad's mother's side). Then all five of us Mixa girls went to the Mall of America (three stories of pure bliss :) and said goodbye to Jenilyn and Rose who were flying out that night. Later that night we watched some awesome fireworks from our hotel parking lot. I can't remember the last time I got to see fireworks that actually exploded that high in the sky, well besides my Uncle Dave's 'imported' stuff :). Dallin was OBSESSED to say the least. I'm pretty sure he said a loud "Kaboom!" with every single one he saw. We also spent some time in the hotel swimming pool which was open till 1am every night (how cool is that?).

On Saturday, our last day, we went to a nearby lake and spent the day with all my dad's siblings and their families. It was so much fun and the food was amazingly good. It was really windy, but still warm and Beth and Cari went out on the boat for a while. When we left there, we went back to the mall for a little more shopping and then straight to the airport to catch our 9:25 flight. By the way, I definitely recommend flying late at night for those who have little ones. Our kids slept the entire 3 1/2 hours back, they were so exhausted!

This is everyone on Wed. night at the Lion's Tap. What we don't have pictured (thanks to me) is a picture of our friends Tim and Carrilyn, and their adorable kids Ivan and Chloe, who we met up with at the restaurant.

I can't believe how green and beautiful it is in Minnesota during the summer. We are so used to brown dead stuff at home in CA.

Dallin and Evie at the stake center on temple day. Beth and my mom were so sweet for watching them for us. And Dallin especially loves getting anything he wants from grandma and his aunts, like a plate full of olives :)

Jason and Dallin at the pool. Dallin has become our little fish, he loves to swim and I'm glad because for a while he wanted nothing to do with it.

What a great trip, I'm so glad we were able to go. That's two reunions down and just one wedding to go now!

...more from Dallin

2008-06-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Dallin was helping me do the dishes and said, "Mama, say 'Dallin, you're such a good helper!'" So I said, "Dallin, you are such a good helper, thank you!" Dallin: "Good job mama."

I gave D some raisins for a snack and then left the room. From the kitchen I hear: "Hey you raisins, come to Papa!"

Once again, from the other room I hear Dallin tell me there's a little bug in the sink. Five seconds later, I hear: "Don't be shy...come on...come on...{whack! whack! whack!}"

joy ride

2008-06-22T23:17:00.001-07:00

Let me just say, two kids is definitely better than one. I love that my kids can entertain each other now. They are already such good buddies and I love watching them play together. My only questions is: Is three better than two?

Van Clan

2008-06-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

We're back from our Van Wagenen family reunion up near Shasta Lake. We had sooo much fun that we are going back next year!

The pool and the game room were a huge hit, and it got up to 100 degrees so it was nice to go swimming every day.

Cari & Alec working on wedding plans during their free time

Dallin's first horseback ride!

Playing hard...

...and done!

Giveaway

2008-06-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited the Sweet Life in the Valley blog, you need to (check out the link to the right). It is one of my favorites, and best of all, they give away free stuff every Friday. This week's giveaway: a Cupcake Courier that holds 36 cupcakes and can convert to a cakeholder. I love it.

26 years young

2008-06-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

This morning me and the kids snuck downstairs and made french toast for Jason and then brought it to him in bed. We also gave him our present (a gift card to Nike for a nice pair of shoes) and sang happy birthday to him. After church, I cut him a big slice of his birthday cheesecake and tonight he will get a special dinner.

Relaxing on his birthday

Jason loves cheesecake, and it has become a tradition that I make him one every year on his birthday.

This year's request: Creamy Cherry Cheesecake

Buzzed

2008-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dallin got a haircut yesterday ad I'm pretty sure this is the shortest it's been. My question to you is, Do you like it better short or long? Or somewhere in between?

New Brother!

2008-05-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

My sister Cari is engaged! Her fiance, Alec Nethercott, proposed to her on Wednesday (and I was in on it!). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures yet, but I will post them later when I get them. Congratulations Cari and Alec! We are so excited for you two. And I am excited to get another brother. :)

P.S. Cari came over yesterday to show us her ring and tell us about the proposal. She came up to Dallin, showed him her ring and said "Look Dallin!". Dallin looked at the ring, looked and Cari, and said "Um....What does that mean?" It was so funny. Cari said, "It means I'm getting married". "Ohhhh, okay" he said.

We Finally Got a Pet

2008-05-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Jason and I are really not 'pet people'. I hated cleaning up messes in the yard growing up, Jason was attacked by dogs on more than one occasion...we're just not big fans of any kind of pet. When we were dating and the subject came up, we were so relieved to find out that we shared the same views. And though my mom was worried that our kids wouldn't be able to learn responsibility :), I promised that they would; just not from taking care of pets.

However, we didn't choose to have a new pet, she chose us. We looked out the window one day (early April) and there was a duck, standing on our back lawn. I watched her walk over to our rosemary bush and jump in. How strange. The next day, Dallin and I were outside playing and he was putting his little yellow shovel in the bush and said he was looking for the duck. Sure enough, the duck flew out and scared us half to death.

We continued to see her almost every day last month. She seemed to really like our rosemary bush, and Jason and I joked that she was laying eggs back there. Dallin got the biggest kick out of our little 'pet', and I liked her too because I didn't have to feed her or clean up after her. We would see her walking around, flying in and out of the yard, and hopping in and out of the bushes. But then we stopped seeing her. In fact, we probably hadn't seen her in two weeks...

Until today, when I looked out the window and saw this. Instead of one pet, we now have TEN!

So Close!

2008-05-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Finally I caught a picture of Evie in crawling position. Today she actually moved both knees forward an inch or two, but her hands stayed put, so I can't really count it as crawling yet. The funniest thing about it is that she can't even sit up yet! (Dallin was 7 months when he learned to sit up, but exactly a week later he was crawling, so we'll see!)

Activity #2

2008-05-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Jason and Dallin on the lightrail

The boys in the Railroad Museum

Evie was a good girl in the museum

One of Dallin's favorite trains

The family in Old Town

So continuing with my resolution to be a better mom (and not wanting my kids to grow up to be couch potatoes), Jason and I took the kids to Old Town Sacramento on Saturday. We met up with our friends, the Tanners, and took the lightrail down there, which Dallin LOVED. I don't know if I've ever been on a lightrail myself, so I thought we could all try something new, and it ended up being really fun. Once we got downtown, we headed straight for the Railroad Museum, where I had been on a field trip as a kid. I'm not sure who was more excited about all the trains, Dallin or Jason. Evelyn was so good the entire trip, talking and babbling away. So Activity #2 was a big success, we'll see what we can come up with for next weekend!

Fun Project

2008-05-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those 'guilty mom' days where I felt bad for my kids because I don't do enough fun/creative activities with them. Some days I barely have enough energy to get them dressed and fed. So yesterday I remembered a book that my mom gave me with creative things for kids to do. So while Dallin was still taking his nap, I excitedly gathered up all my supplies to make a piggy bank. I found a can and cut a hole in the lid for the coins. Then I got crayons, paper, scissors, stickers and tape. When Dallin came downstairs and saw my little set-up he was soooo excited. Even though he kept trying to put the stickers on his hands and not the can, he did a great job and had some fun too. (I must admit, I had to try hard not to fix the stickers as he was putting them sideways, on top of each other and hanging off the edges. I reminded myself that this was HIS project :) I also cut out his picture and put it on there, along with the year. Anyway, the idea was that this could be his mission fund. Oh, and a shout out to Evie, who played on the floor and practiced crawling during our project.

Birthday

2008-05-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

How nice that my kids were in such a good mood on my birthday. Really, that's all I wanted; no crying fits, diaper blowouts or waking up early from naps. I got my wish, and that made it a great day. :)

4 Wonderful Years

2008-04-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Two job changes, four moves, our first house, two beautiful children, one miscarriage, a new business, a year of teaching seminary, lots of sleep deprivation, and lots and lots of smiles, laughter and love.

I can't think of anyone I would have rather spent these last four years with. You are strong and steadfast and the most unselfish person I know. And you put up with a wife who is stubborn, can't cook, makes you late to church and has horrible baby blues. You have put meaning and happiness into my life; I love you!

More funny lines from Dallin...

2008-04-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

1. Today I was sitting with Evie in my lap and she started sucking on my sleeve. Dallin ran up to her, tried to pull her off and said, "No no Evie! Don't eat your mama! Here!" and he shoved a pacifier in her mouth (she doesn't even take pacifiers).

2. I took Dallin upstairs for his nap today and we went in my room to get his blanket, which happened to be on our bed, right next to his favorite toy (a backhoe). When he saw it, he said "Oh there you are! Oh beautiful digger! Ohhhh, beautiful digger." Wow.

3. Jason and I were having a "discussion" yesterday (I wouldn't really call it an argument), but Dallin must have picked up on the tone of the conversation because after Jason left the room he said, "Mama, Daddy a need a go a time-out." I had to laugh because he was so serious! :)

4. Yesterday I came downstairs all ready for church and Dallin looked me over and said "Mama, you're looking sharp!"

Obsession

2008-04-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't really posted for a while and this is why. On Sunday I got the first two Twilight books as an early birthday present (Thanks Josh & Teri and G & G Nartker!). I started the first one Sunday night and was finished with the second one on Wednesday night. This is what we call an 'obsessive reader' folks. (I did the same thing with the Work and the Glory series). I was going to take a picture of what my house and kids looked like after those three days, but I decided I was a little too embarrassed. At least the kids were fed, and diapers changed. The house was chaos though- toys and books everywhere, dirty laundry, chairs turned over, and a stack of dishes two feet high. But I am happy to report that I have taken a break, and I will wait at least five days before I run to the bookstore to get the third book!

My sweet Dallin

2008-03-28T15:13:00.001-07:00

Today (and pretty much this whole week) I have been a little stressed and tired because Evelyn has been crying constantly and waking up in the middle of the night again. But my Dallin never ceases to keep a smile on my face. Here is a conversation that we had today while Dallin was at the kitchen table:

I walk in the room visibly stressed about Evie.

Dallin: looks at me for about 5 seconds and says, "Hi!"
Me: (distracted) "Hi"
Dallin: (still looking right at me) "How are you?"
Me: "I'm good."
Dallin: (still looking) "Are you happy?"
Me: At this point I realize that he is really concerned about me so I smile and say "Yes, I'm happy" and give him a big hug.
Dallin: pats my back and with a huge grin says, "Hot mama!", which is something that his Dad taught him to say and that he knows will make me laugh :)

I thought it was sweet that he was trying so hard to cheer me up. Dallin is definitely the 'Rose' of our family. (When we were growing up my sister Rose was always asking my mom if she was happy or sad, and was always so sensitive to other people's feelings). I am so grateful for my children!

Which Jane Austen heroine are you?

2008-03-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Tremendously attractive? I love this quiz!! (Thanks to Dayna for the idea- very fun!)

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

You're It

2008-03-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

What were you doing 5 years ago?
Let’s see…five years ago I was recovering from cancer treatment (chemo and radiation) and declared ‘in remission’. I was also in the middle of winter semester at American River College, taking 15 credits. And I worked part time at Tricks.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. do the dishes
2. balance the checkbook (and pay the bills!)
3. call my hair stylist
4. play “diggers” with Dallin (he likes to be the bulldozer, and me to be the digger)
5. visit my parents

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. fruit
2. peanut butter granola bars
3. chips and salsa
4. chocolate
5. tuna sandwiches

3 Bad Habits
1. procrastinating
2. slouching
3. taking 20 minute showers

If I were suddenly a billionaire...
First I would pay off our house. Then I would buy a sweet, fully loaded minivan and a couple of nice road bikes for Jason and I. Then I would invest a lot in mutual funds and some other investments, and give a lot away (family first).

5 Places I've lived.
1. Sacramento
2. Provo
3. that’s all
4.
5.

5 Jobs I've had:
1. gymnastics coach (Tricks)
2. receptionist
3. estimator’s assistant at an auto body shop
4. mother
5.

5 things people might not know about me:
1. I am obsessed with maps and geography.
2. I have 5 tattoos (okay so they’re just dots used to line me up on the radiation table thing, but they are blue and permanent so they still count).
3. I love the play Les Miserables and I like to sing the male solos in the shower.
4. I have really crazy toes and I can grasp large objects with them.
5. I rarely laugh out loud at jokes/movies/tv shows (I’m a silent laugher) but my most recent l.o.l. was at a preview for the movie Enchanted where James Marsden gets blasted by some cyclists.

I am tagging Jenilyn, Kris, Justin, and Lindsey

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dallin and Evie with their Easter baskets

For those of you who always wondered what Jason would look like in a dress:

The twins

Easter outfits

Dinner table at the Mixa's

Finally!

2008-03-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

My mom and I made this quilt for Evelyn right before she was born and I finally hung it up in her room. I sewed all the squares together and my mom did the border and binding, so I definitely had lots of help. I'm just happy that I finally made my first one!

Saturday morning chores

2008-03-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Dallin decided to help Dad mow the lawn this morning (even though he mowed it yesterday and the day before that :). I sure hope he continues to enjoy this 'hobby' as he gets older!

Sitting Up...

2008-03-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

...but leaning slightly. Thank you cousin Wes for letting Evie borrow your chair, she is learning to sit up and she loves it! Also, she apparently didn't want me to take her picture today. I still caught some good ones though.

My kids look like they were doing something naughty and totally got caught.

Sick Day

2008-02-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Dallin, Evelyn and I were sick today. So we stayed inside all day and did fun things. First, I decided that Dallin needed to experience jello jigglers, which was really fun...

...until Dallin decided to just squish them in his hands and rub them on his shirt.

Evie decided not to let a few sniffles ruin her day...instead she rolled over for the first time! (From tummy to back)

I realize they look extremely happy, but I promise they are sick. I'm just lucky to have such good-natured children. That, and I give them lots of sugar.

Special Buddies

2008-02-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

Paisley & Evelyn (The next Rob & Big)

Jason and Ashley had their daughter Paisley on Friday and we went to visit them in the hospital. Isn't she so cute? And if you've seen the episode of Rob & Big where they try to get their pictures on a cereal box, the title "Special Buddies" will mean so much more to you.

Who is this child?

2008-02-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

In the past few weeks, Dallin's vocabulary has just exploded. Sometimes he leaves me wondering if he's really my child or not. We've had some interesting moments and some good laughs lately, that's for sure. Here are some things he has said recently:

*Last night Jason and I were hugging and Dallin came up and put his arms around us. Then he looked up at us and said very seriously, "Thanks guys". We just looked at each other and laughed.

*Today when I told him it was time for a diaper change, he asked me if he could run around in circles first.

*When I walked past the baby (who was playing on the floor), he told me to be careful and pointed to her.

*In the last few weeks he has been constantly telling me that he can lift "heavy hangs" (heavy things) and that he can do everything by himself.

*He asked for more juice the other day and I said "no more juice but you can have some water", he said, "Why Mama, why?" I said "because you need to drink more water-it's good for you" and he said, "Oh, okay".

*At the store he told me that a bearded guy was Jesus.

But this one makes motherhood all worth while:

*One of his favorite songs is 'I Hope They Call me on a Mission' and he is always asking me to sing it to him. Last week, after we sang it, he said, "Mama, I go on a mission" with a big smile on his face. I'm just happy that I get him for 16 1/2 more years first.

Yee-haw!

2008-02-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

I love my little cowboy. My mom picked up this rocking horse at Goodwill, fixed it up and gave it to Dallin. Isn't it cute? Needless to say, Dallin is loving it. There is an episode of the Backyardigans where they are all riding horses and Dallin likes to pretend he's one of them.

An Interesting Fact...

2008-02-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Even though I was the first girl to be married in our family, both of my future brothers-in-law were at our wedding. I believe John and Jenilyn were engaged (or about to be), and Rose and Josh were just barely dating, with Josh about to leave on his mission. I thought that was pretty cool and I love these pictures of them.

Who is better at posting on the Blog? Me!

2008-02-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

How long have you been together? 4 years, 4 months

How long did you date? About 2 months

How old is he? 25 but he’ll be 26 in June

Who eats more? Definitely Jason. But when I’m pregnant, it’s pretty even.

Who said "I love you" first? I think Jason did.

Who is taller? Jason

Who sings better? He would say that I do, but I think I just have a better ear for music.

Who is smarter? We’re smart about different things. Jason is good with numbers and memorization, and I’m better with maps/geography and history.

Who does the laundry? I do. It’s the one chore I actually like to do.

Who does the dishes? We both do, but Jason takes over when we have a new baby.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, it’s closer to the door…and the kids.

Who pays the bills? He earns the money and I pay them.

Who mows the lawn? He does…though we don’t have much of one.

Who cooks dinner? Jason is the better cook, and he used to do most of it, but one of my new years resolutions was to cook dinner most of the time. So far I’m doing pretty good.

Who is more stubborn? Hmm…we’re both pretty stubborn, but Jason is a little more. In his defense though, he is 99% more likely to say “I’m sorry” first.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first

Who asked who out? Neither. We met on a blind date, and then he asked me out a second time.

Who proposed? Jason

Who is more sensitive? Definitely me

Who has more friends? Definitely Jason

Who has more siblings? We both have 4.

Who are you tagging? Jenilyn, Rose, Ashley, Jenni, Cecile and Jenna

Precious Baby

2008-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

My new niece, Grace Arlene Collette. Born January 20th, 2008. Isn't she gorgeous? She and Evie are going to be best buds. My sister Rose did so well with her delivery and she and Josh are going to make the best parents.

Haircut

2008-01-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

For all our out-of-town family and friends who wanted to see...here is the new Melody. I haven't had bangs since the third grade so I'm still getting used to styling it. It feels so good to have short hair again- hooray! Hopefully you all like it, and if you don't, just pretend that you do :)