Soon to be PlAyRoOm

After Christmas, we decided that we are going to make part of the crawl space into a playroom for the kids. Sammy has loved going down there even with it unfinished and we think this will be a great place for them to play and store all their toys. Jake has been working really hard the last couple of weeks and I have been really impressed with how well he has done and with minor injuries. Who knew he was a handy man? I am sure glad that I have my own, since my mom has to hire hers out! If you can't really tell from the pic, there are two small rooms and Jake came up with the idea of putting 3 big square windows between the two so the kids can crawl through them and throw things back and forth. Very clever I thought! So now I am trying to get some good ideas for how to paint and decorate it. Pottery Barn has some great ideas and very elaborate playrooms-ours won't be that cool but hopefully close! Hopefully, we can get it done in the next couple of weeks! Sammy is super excited and always asks Jake "Daddy, are you going to work on my playroom now?"

Yummy Muffins

I also made these yummy muffins today that I found in an old ward cookbook!

Best Ever Muffins

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1 well beaten egg

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup milk

Stir together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Combine egg, milk and oil; add all at once to dry mixture. Stir just till moistened. Fill muffin pans 2/3 cup full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. Can add raisins or chocolate chips. (I did chocolate chips of course).

Look at me

So I was proud of myself because today I worked on food storage. I have been slowly working on it since we moved into our house which was about a year and a half ago. The only problem was that we really didn't have anywhere to store it. Finally, we found some shelves at Lowes that would work and so today I found a spot for them and organized it! Yah me! Now, we actually need food for the shelves-I guess a work in progress right?

Nice Surprise

Well us girls went down to Cedar City for a few days (and luckily the trip wasn't bad at all) and visited my sister Em and her awesome husband Wes. We had a fun time playing games (including Risk-sorry you were losing Wes), making treats and yummy meals, and watching some flicks. Sammy had fun with her new uncle and even Maddie enjoyed being held by new people! When we got back, I found a nice surprise. A beautiful bouquet of flowers, mostly gerber daisies which are my favorite! I love them! They are such a nice decoration to our kitchen and just make me feel sunny even when it isn't outside. Thanks Jake, your the bestest!

What have we been up to

you might be asking. Well, we went to Salt Lake on Wednesday to play with Grandma Friel and that was a lot of fun. Sammy was Scott's buddy for the day, my 18 year old brother! She was following him around everywhere and doing whatever he was, it was pretty cute. She also got her haircut and it looks adorable. I love it, plus it is a lot easier to brush, no tangles!
On Thursday, Maddie had her 2 month dr. appt and her stats are:

weight: 11 lb. 14 oz.
height: 22 inches

meaning she is in 75% percentile for weight and 30% percentile for height, proving she is a chubbs! But we love it! She did have to get 4 shots though and was pretty much in pain the rest of the day, poor girl. She then slept for 8 hours straight through the night and is feeling MUCH better today. I took these pics today to show off the haircut and cute baby!

Sammy insisted that the dog had to be in the picture!

Maddie's getting BIGGER

Treehouse anyone?

So if you are needing a fun place to go in Utah county that is indoors and free, it is the University Mall. They just finished the children's play area and it is awesome. I took Sam the other day and she loved it! They have a huge treehouse and slide, along with a water ball (like at the zoo), and all sorts of dinosaur bones to play in and on. There are also lots of benches around to sit on which is really nice. Anyhow, it was a great way to waste a few hours in the morning and Sam had a blast!

Bath Time

Tay came to visit today (Sammy's cousin) and they had a fun bath together. Even Maddie got in on the fun! So now we have three clean kids (and which they are all sleeping right now, amazing huh?)! Yahoo, we accomplished something for the day!

Maddie May

My little Maddie is almost two months old!
Likes: sleeping on her tummy, eating, being held and cuddled, kisses, sucking on her fingers, lights, warm baths with Sammy, and baby swing,
Dislikes: sleeping on her back, having her ears cleaned, carseat and traveling, and getting dressed.

Today

So today we went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with my sister and Tay. The kids had a lot of fun and then we went to McDonalds after, which Sammy pronouces it Mic Old Donalds. Then later tonight we had tacos and I tried making flour tortillas from scratch and they actually turned out really tasty. I didn't even let the dough raise or wait before cooking it and they were yummy and pretty quick and easy to make!

A Case of the Sniffles

So we all have it except for Jake, lucky guy! Anyhow, Maddie is probably the worst which is so sad because she can't breathe out of her nose and when she does it sounds like loud snorts! Anyhow, we are surviving. I am trying out a new chicken chowder recipe and I will let you know how it turns out. You can't go wrong with soup when you are sick! Sammy lately has been addicted to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and wants to play it all the time, which how much is too much? Especially if she is learning colors and things....i don't feel so bad. And I am really liking my David Archuletta Cd. Anyone excited for American Idol to start tomorrow? I sure am especially since they had auditions in SLC and we know people that tried out. Well that's about it for today. Oh and this picture just makes me laugh which I needed one today.

Happy New Year

I can't believe that it is now 2009! Wow! Time just seems to fly by so quickly. I am excited for the new year and have some new resolutions that I hope to achieve. We brought in the New Year by hanging out with my sister Missy and her husband Kalvin and Taylor. We played the Wii, ate icecream, and watched movies. Sammy & Taylor had fun playing together although we didn't let them bring in the new year! Then the next day Jake and I went skiing at Sundance which was a lot of fun, even though the snow was a little crusty. All in all, it was a fun New Years week!

Maddie 5 weeks old!

Sammy & Maddie in their pj's on New Years Eve!

Sammy eating icecream on New Years Eve

and loving it!

Missy, Tay, and Sam