There is LOVE in the air.

This year we had the most romantic Valentines Day - WITH OUR KIDS.  I know not so romantic but Sophia had RSV so we didn't think we should take her out or leave her with a babysitter.  On Friday night we had a fancy dinner with crab legs and steak.  I think the kids had more fun cracking open the legs then they actually like eating it.  As you can see my legs where just a little bit bigger than the ones the kids got.  But I decided that I deserved it.  In the morning we had a Valentines brunch complete with heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes, heart shaped eggs, chocolate dipped strawberries and pink milk.  I love Valentines Day because I love all of the decor that goes along with it.  Pink, red and heart it's just all so cute. 

The kids enjoying their pancakes
Isaac always seems to have chocolate on his face
How romantic is that for a Valentines dinner? Look at my crab legs!
I'm so impressed with myself!
Whitney always begs for crab legs, she was in heaven.

Off track week 2 - Classic Skating

On week 2  we decided to spend the day at Classic Skating.  That's the good part of having year round school,  there were only about 20 kids in the whole place and we brought 10 of them.  I had to have a temper tantrum because the girls at the front desk refused to give us a deal that I saw advertised.  Those of you that know me well know that I don't go down without a fight.  After talking to the manager he agreed to let us in and not 5 minutes later the deal that they insisted didn't exist kept flashing up on their screen.  Stupid people.  I have bad customer service.  Lucky for them I had 10 little kids that had their hearts set on skating or I would have gone somewhere else.  Besides all the drama we had a great time.  The kids skated, bounced and ate pizza.  Sophia loved being pushed around the rink and she was freaking out over the bright lights and loud dance music.  She is definitely her mothers daughter.

Surprise! Happy Birthday Grandpa.

The kids were so excited that they were going to be off track on Grandpa's birthday.  They worked on a huge card all morning and they wanted to surprise him with lunch and a sugar-free cake.  We stopped at Smith's Marketplace on the way in town and we found an actual real cake with frosting and everything that was sugar-free.   Then we headed over to the candy aisle and they each picked a bag of SF candy because they all wanted to give grandpa a gift just from them.  We called grandma and told her to meet us at Sizzler for lunch.  When they saw their car pull into the parking lot they were all freaking out.  My dad has always been so cute with my kids that it was fun for them to do something special for him. It is always a little crazy taking 6 kids to a restaurant alone but we had a great time.

                                                   Happy Birthday Grandpa We love you!

Grandpa blowing out his candles. 

Off track week 1 - Gymcats!

Every time the kids go off track we try to do something fun at least once a week.  It's hard in Utah because alot of our off weeks are in the winter so we all get a little cabin fever.  We have such fun friends and neighbors and we are all on the same track.  The first week off we all carpooled over the Gymcats and then went to Mcdonald's for lunch.  It was so fun for the kids to be able to run, jump and play after being cooped up in the house.  The job of a stay at home mom has lots of things that are not so fun.  Laundry, dishes, poopy diapers.  But it is all worth it when you get spend time with your babies.  I could watch them laugh and play for hours.  Moments like these won't last forever and I cherish every second.

Date Night!

A few months ago Mike and I came up with the idea to have a "Date Night"  with each of the kids one on one.  It has to be hard being apart of a family with so many kids that are so close together.  We pick an activity or maybe just eat dinner together but it has been so much fun spending  time alone.  They grow up so fast and our date nights have helped us to make sure each one of our beautiful babies know that they are treasured and special.  Unfortunately we don't always take a camera but this is me and Micah on our date to Cabela's.  We watched them feed the fish, shots some rounds and shared a muffin.  I knew we had made the right decision one night when I was sharing a soup bowl on a date with Josh and he said "wow you really do talk alot on a date".  If you knew Josh you would know that he never seems to think that he gets enough attention but that night he got more than he wanted.

Where do I start?

A DI trip is in order!
It really is amazing in person.
Oh my gosh!  I have not posted for over a month!  I'm so disappointed in myself.  My kids have been off track for nearly 4 weeks and that always seems to throw me out of whack.  So brace yourself because we have been busy.   First of all an update on my New Years resolutions.  I have to say I am very proud of myself.   I have stuck to my diet perfectly!  I exercise everyday and stay away from the ever so addicting carbohydrate.  I have lost a total of 65 lbs since I had Sophie.  Mike is looking awesome!  He has lost 41 lbs and is looking hotter than ever.  Way to go babe!

It's especially impressive that I have lost weight since I have made 9 birthday cakes (another resolution of mine) so far this year.  Let's just say I go through a ton of gum to make sure I don't lick the spoon.  I even made sure that each cake was delivered on the actual birthday (except for one because her birthday was January 2nd so I hadn't made that resolution yet).  

I have also become an organizing machine!  I cleaned out my closet and gave away 5 large garbage bags of clothes.  I don't dare give away my maternity clothes until Mike takes care of his part of the bargain, but they're packed up anyway.  

It took me 3 days to organize the pantry but I feel so much better.   I made tons of space for a trip to the cannery.  I even cleaned out my desk and made file folders and organized all of our family paperwork.  Yeah!  I'm skinnier, more organized and I have happier friends. What a great way to start out the new year.