O is for Ormsby

It's a Kiwi Christmas!!

2011-12-19T21:55:00.004-07:00

Nathan wanted to dress up like Santa Claus. (He remembers his Uncle James doing this once when he was little) . . .

Marlee couldn't stop laughing . . .

Van had fun . . .

Noah couldn't stop giggling . . .

Elijah thought it was great . . .

Merry Kiwi Christmas y'all!!

First Day of School

2011-08-23T12:25:00.003-06:00

Here they are . . .

Van, Marlee, Noah, and please ignore the strange face that Tama is trying to make

Timpanogos

2011-07-29T16:09:00.016-06:00

For Nathan's birthday this year, I thought it would be fun (adventurous) for us to summit Mount Timpanogos (11,749 feet). We woke up early, excited, and a bit anxious. The weather was going to be perfect. It was the start to a great day!! We started hiking about 6 am. The trail was nice and quite.

Watching the sun rise was beautiful. I think Nathan took over a dozen photos of it. We decided it looked just like a Bob Ross paining.

Now this wasn't our first time attempting to summit this mountain. I tried once in college and only made it to Emerald Lake (10,380 ft) Nathan and I tried once when we lived in Aspen Grove, but we were ill prepared. Not enough water, and terrible blisters made us turn around after only 2 hours of hiking. So, we figured "3rd times the charm" spelled success for us this time around!!

I love these waterfalls!!

Last time I saw them, they were just a trickle! As we were walking we kept saying over and over how we couldn't believe how much water there was!! There were so many places that we had to cross streams. I just didn't remember that from the last time I hiked. (But it had been over a decade ago)

We started passing some areas that had seen multiple avalanches over the years. There were lots of gnarly trees like this . . .

And then we started crossing a snow field.

Yes! It were very slippery.

And then we crossed another. And then another.

And then we started thinking . . . well, Utah has had record snow fall this year. I knew we would eventually have to cross some snow. I just thought it would be at the top, like 10,000 feet. I suppose we should have looked at this site before we left. oops. Ice picks, and crampons required?! It's the middle of July!

So, at about 9,500 feet, we admitted we had been defeated yet again.

Mount Timpanogos 3, Ormsbys 0!

But we did have lots of fun, and that's really what it's all about.

Love ya Nathan!! Happy Birthday.

What to do when it's hot . . .

2011-07-01T08:32:00.007-06:00

You can sell Otter Pops during South Ogden Days . . .

Business was slow this year. Not sure why.

But they did make $21. Good job kiddos!

Otter Pops not your favorite?
You can go over to the mud volleyball pit, and roll around in it.

Guaranteed you'll cool off pretty quick

and have a BLAST!!

Easter Weekend

2011-04-26T08:53:00.010-06:00

Our Easter weekend was great!! We had lots of fun,

and we ate waaaayyyy toooooo much candy . . .

Poor Vance (and Noah too, but we didn't photograph him). They really ate too much. In a "sick" way, (pun intended) Nathan is proud that his boys finish off Easter the same way he did as a kid.

We started the weekend at Washington Terrace City's egg hunt. I thought about maybe going to South Ogden's hunt instead, since it's just around the corner from us, but it seemed wrong. We've spent all week helping Nathan fill eggs for the Terrace. Besides, the kids are convinced that it's their Dad's hunt. The egg hunt went well. Close to 1,000 people there. The kids got a ton of candy. I didn't take any pictures this time. I just enjoyed it.

The afternoon and evening was spent at Grandma's and Grandpa's. The real highlight of the day for the kids was that they got to see Samson, their new cousin, for the first time! They talk non-stop about him. Can ya blame them? He's pretty cute!!

We did 2 eggs hunts at Grandma and Grandpa's. One was for their Easter baskets and chocolate eggs. Lots of candy, they were in heaven. Marlee was very competitive this year.

We had to tell her to hold back a bit, or I think she would have found/taken EVERYTHING.

The other hunt was outside for the "real" eggs. Again, lots of fun. Elijah was so careful to put his eggs in his basket without cracking them. Unfortunately he tripped in the gutter, and all his eggs spilled out and were seriously smashed.

We attempted to get a cute photo of us, but it didn't seem to go very well.

There, this one is much better!!

Sunday morning we gave the kids their chocolate bunnies.

Van kept saying all day long, "This is the best Easter EVER!!"

Noah was pretty happy too.

And then we made them wait till after church for our egg hunt.

(I wanted them in their Easter clothes)

Noah and Vance

Marlee's "glowing" a bit in this picture. It's just proof that the sun really was shining.

Vance, Elijah (who was tired, grumpy, and had just fallen off a rock), and Noah

Elijah, Marlee, Noah, Vance

It was fun, and the weather cooperated all weekend. Yeah!

Snow Can Be Fun!!?!

2011-04-06T21:16:00.000-06:00

Would You?

2011-02-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day.
Vance is in the short sleeves, and Noah's in the stripes.

95!!

2011-01-31T21:03:00.006-07:00

My beautiful Grandmother recently turned 95. What an amazing woman!!

She had 10 children, and now has 200+ posterity from those original 10. And she can keep all of us straight!

4 Generations of women = AWESOME!!

Love you Grandma!!

Spring 2010

2011-01-20T23:06:00.001-07:00

Some old footage from last spring 2010. We miss you warm sun, come back soon.

You want WHAT for lunch?

2011-01-04T16:17:00.003-07:00

On the way home from school this afternoon, I asked the boys what they wanted for lunch.
Noah: "I want a hot dog, and Van wants phytoplankton."
Me: "What? He wants what?"
Noah: "P.H.Y.T.O.P.L.A.N.K.T.O.N (said very very slowly). Van loves to eat it."
Van: "No I don't Noah, I want a tuna fish sandwich"
Noah: "I know Van, phytoplankton are eaten by the middle fish, and the tuna eat the middle fish. You eat the tuna that has the phytoplankton inside it!"
Van: "Oh yeah."
Me: "Where did you learn this? Did you learn it at school today?"
Van: "No, we learned about snowman's."
Noah: "I learned it on The Magic School Bus."

Thank you Magic School Bus for educating my children.

Birthday Week

2010-12-09T15:12:00.006-07:00

Last week was a week of birthday parties. Sunday Marlee and I celebrated our birthday's together at my parents house.

It's always fun when we have a party together for our birthday

Tuesday we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was impromptu, and superfun to have my parents and my in-laws there too. That night the WORST, most UNFLATTERING picture EVER, was taken of me that night. You can use your imagination, but it involved me sitting on a horse saddle. I was a good sport, but that picture must be burned!!!! However, I will put this picture of Vance up instead. He decided not to make me a birthday card, but a birthday hat for his zhu zhu pet instead.

Marlee had a birthday party on Wednesday with her girlfriends. Here's the equation for her fantastic party :
9 giggly girls + jumbo soft pretzels + Taylor Swift music +

kit kat/m&m cake +

bracelet making = 2.5 hours of total bliss for 8 year old girls

Thursday Marlee got her ears pierced. I don't have a picture of this, but she was very brave. They pierced both ears at the same time, thank goodness, I don't know if she would have gone through with the second one. She has been diligent at keeping them clean. She feels very grown up about it all.

And then there was Saturday. Saturday she was baptized. I can almost talk about it now without crying.

It was a beautiful day and evening.

Sisters

2010-11-25T22:09:00.001-07:00

Artichoke Dip

2010-11-24T14:25:00.002-07:00

ARTICHOKE DIP

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can (small) green chilies
2 c. parmesan cheese
1 14oz. can artichoke hearts, chopped

Mix all together and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. You can also cook in a microwave 3-6 minutes, or until hot.

NOTES: We like it baked. You will want to stir it a few times while heating. I also use mild chilies, but if you like it hot, then go for it!

Primary Talk

2010-11-20T20:55:00.005-07:00

Here is a talk that Marlee wrote for primary a few months ago . . .

"A few months ago, I went on a trip to New Zealand. While I was there, I hiked up to the top of a mountain called Mount Manganui. I hiked to the top with my Mom, brothers, Dad, uncles and aunties, and cousins. When we got to the top, we planted a tree. It was special. When we got home that night my Auntie Lanea noticed her camera was missing. So she and my Dad hiked back up the mountain in the dark. When they got to the top they hadn't found it. They both started to cry. Then they decided to pray and ask that they could find the camera. They went back down and at the very bottom they saw something shiny in the tree. It was the camera!! I learned that Heavenly Father answers our prayers."

I can't believe that in a couple of weeks she is going to be baptized! My baby's growing up!!

Ormsby Thoughts

2010-11-13T20:14:00.009-07:00

Here are a few things we have learned in the last 10 days . . .

Noah doesn't do well with croup. A trip to the ER, breathing treatments, and a week later, he is finally doing better.

Marlee is LOVING ice skating lessons. She kinda looks like Bambi, arms and legs all over the place, but she is determined to get it right! I am really proud of her.

On Thursday I was explaining to Noah and Vance what Veteran's day is about.
I said, "It's a day to remember the men and women who have fought in wars for us."
There was a pause, and they both said, "They fight in wars?".
"Yes." I said, "They fight in wars so that we can live in a safe place."
Then Vance said, "OH! Wars, like Star Wars, wars."
" Yeah", I said, "but without Storm Troopers".

I dislocated my shoulder, again. Lame.

Elijah said the family prayer last night. All. By. Hmself. It was beautiful. I caught a few of the words he said : Heavenly Father, Mom, Dad, Marlee, Vance, thank you, bless food, and Amen. The rest of the prayer was complete jibberish. After he said "Amen", Noah turned to us, eyes huge completely amazed, and said, "I didn't know Elijah could speak Spanish!!"

Look who's 5???

2010-06-25T23:37:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that Van and Noah are 5 now??!!

They had a fantastic fun filled weekend for their birthday. (More of that to come tomorrow - I am too tired tonight)

LOVE YOU!!

Van is in the striped shirt. Noah is in the solid.

7 days 15 hours and counting . . .

2010-05-07T14:13:00.002-06:00

Watching this video gets me sooo excited (and nervous) for next Saturday!! It is such a beautiful race to run! I really hope the weather will cooperate!??

WARNING!!!!

2010-04-01T14:43:00.009-06:00

WARNING!!!!! there is blood.

One week ago today this sweet little baby . . .

was here . . .

feeling like this . . .

because of this . . .

(Yes, that is a crescent shaped hole in his head)

And he received these . . .

He's okay. If you ask him if his head hurts he says, "Van". Vance and Noah were riding on the glider my parents swing set. Elijah walked right into it. I hope he has learned now to stay away.

The staples were removed today, he didn't even flinch. I'm glad he's brave, because I know this won't be the last time. But for now, he's just happy collecting pine cones . .

Strawberries in New Zealand

2010-03-23T14:18:00.009-06:00

(Nathan took this photo - it's not just one I found off the Internet.)

Around this time of year I get really excited for strawberries. Every couple of days I go to the grocery store to look at the strawberries. They're just not looking so great this year. Maybe it's because 3 months ago we were here. . .

picking these. . .

(Again, Nathan took this photo. Is your mouth watering yet?)

We had never been to a berry farm before. This farm had strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and other fruits I can't remember. You could pick whatever you want, and then pay for it all after. I think they do it wrong. They should weigh you first and then weigh you after you're done picking, and charge you for what you gain while you are there!

They were the reddest, biggest strawberries I have ever seen!! They were unbelievable! And oh so delicious.
Picking them went something like this, "Two for the bucket, and one for my mouth."

I think that's what everyone was doing.

Aren't these two cousins cute!!?? This was one of the few times they weren't fighting. (It was such a love hate relationship between Malachi and Tama (Elijah). They are only 3 months apart, and didn't like having to share the "baby" of the family position)

And don't even get me started on the raspberries!!! They were my absolute favorite!! It was so calming, almost therapeutic, to be out in the sun picking them right off the bush. Nathan had to drag me away from them.

Here was our harvest. . .

I am drooling thinking about those fresh strawberries and New Zealand ice cream!!
P.S. This was mid-December in Ohauiti, New Zealand. I have decided not to try and post about the trip in chronological order. It was just too much for me. So, I'll do a little here and a little there, and together we'll get through this. :)

New Zealand . . .

2010-02-17T22:11:00.003-07:00

I miss you

Aroha

P.S. stay tuned, more pics and stories to come, soon!!

Sleeping Beauty

2010-02-10T21:22:00.002-07:00

Found my baby ASLEEP like this . . .

Video

2010-02-09T07:19:00.001-07:00

This is just a small portion of our trip. Thanks to Rick and Elly (Auntie Babe) for putting it together!! I promise that there is more to come . . .

Really Mom?

2010-01-28T13:52:00.003-07:00

When Marlee left for church on Sunday I cried. She looked so grown up in her blue dress, cardigan and with her hair pulled back into a pony tail. I can't believe how much she has grown in the last little bit.

That night while watching "The Incredibles" Van asked me why super hero's wear masks. I started explaining that they wear them so that we don't know what they look like when the are normal.

"I wouldn't want anyone to know that I was really Elastigirl" I said.

Marlee dropped the crayon she was coloring with and looked up at me. With her eyes big in amazement she said, "But Mom, you would tell us if you were really Elastigirl! Wouldn't you?!?

"No I wouldn't that would be confidential." I said.

"What's confidential mean?" she asked, amazed at the possibilities.

"It means top secret. I wouldn't, and couldn't tell anyone. Not even Dad!" I explained.

"But Mom, you would tell us, right? Are you really Elastigirl?"

"You'll never know" I said, and winked at her.

She just stared at me, trying to read my soul. I loved that she believed, if even for just a few minutes, that there was a possibility that I could just possibly be Elastigirl.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T01:17:00.005-07:00

What did you do on Christmas?

We were up by 5:45 and home from the beach by 10:30.

Merry Christmas y'all!!!

Arohanui. Much love to you all xoxoxoxo

I know I know I know

2009-12-25T00:17:00.006-07:00

Same old story here . . . Jenny promises to blog, Jenny doesn't blog, Jenny gets threats and hate mail from friends because she isn't blogging. So sorry. In my defence, I haven't had great internet connections for the last 3 weeks. But, no need to worry. We are now in Australia, Brisbane to be exact, with fast Internet. Sooooo, let's start the circle again. . . Jenny promises to blog. . . OFTEN! I will have to do some catching up over the next few days. But, here is a quick update to satisfy the angry. . .

New Zealand was beautiful. The family in New Zealand is beautiful. It was wonderful, and very hard to say goodbye.

We got to hear lots and lots of stories. Oh how I wish now that we would have recorded all the stories. All we needed to do was walk in the door, push record, and have a million tapes to record every single word.

Grandad is a professional hair dresser. World competitions and everything. So, of course he had to cut the boys hair. He tried to have me be his apprentice and teach me how to do it. But alas, I think we decided I am hopeless at it.

We went to Raglan Beach. It's a black sand beach. It's beautiful, but terribly hot on the toes. The kids had a great time having running races on the beach.

The temple in Hamilton has Christmas lights. We were lucky enough to be there when they flipped the switch on. It helped it feel like Christmas.

In Australia and New Zealand each city has a Carols by Candlelight. It's very fun, and pretty to see all the candles in the park lit at the end of the program.

Nathan has always talked about carols by candlelight, so it was fun to finally see, and be a part of it.

We went swimming at a beautiful lake in Rotorua. The water was crystal clear. I got eaten alive by sand flies.

If you look in the background of the picture, you can see a flat top mountain. It's actually a volcano. The top of the mountain (Taraweria) blew off when it erupted in 1886, and buried an entire village. (there, a bit of New Zealand history)

We had a delicious fajita night. And taught everyone how to make mexican food. Crazy to be in a country that doesn't have a Taco Bell. Dwayne was super excited for the fiesta and dressed up just for the occasion.

And last but not least, of course we went to a Hangi (the equivalent of a Hawain luau) The kids loved it, and were amazed. Especially Elijah. He didn't' move a muscle during the performances. Marlee loved the hot chocolate bar. She had waayyyy too much to drink, and started feeling sick and threw up in the bushes right after this picture was taken. She was perfectly fine after that. Fun fun fun.

Kia Ora!

2009-12-06T18:55:00.005-07:00

WE. ARE. HERE!!!! Sorry it has taken so long to finally post. We’ve been busy and had some internet difficulties. Here is a report of our first days here (a bit lengthy-sorry):

PICTURES WILL BE COMING! (I CAN'T STAY CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET LONG ENOUGH TO UPLOAD THEM. PROMISE TO KEEP WORKING ON IT!!)

The flights went well. The boys were so excited on our first flight to LA they could hardly stand it.

Marlee was a bit nervous, but after we took off, she was in love with flying. Elijah did well too, until it was time to land, and his ears started to bother him. The LAX airport is always an interesting place. I love people watching in the airport. We got through our second airport security fine, and only had an hour till we boarded our next flight. We boarded our Qantas flight anxious and ready to sleep (it was about 11:30 pm by then). Unfortunately there was a medical emergency with one of the passenger’s right before take off. So that delayed us a full hour!! They had to take ALL of the luggage off the plane to find the one suitcase that had the medicine this person needed. AHHHHH!!! Like 13 hours on the plane wasn’t long enough, they had to add an extra hour!!?? Anywho. Our flight had at least 50 kids under the age of 12 on it, so it was nice to not feel “alone” in our trek. And surprisingly it was a quite flight.

Our kids did really well. They all slept at least 5 hours, so that helped. We had a patch of turbulence that made me a bit nervous, but I survived. Vance liked the Qantas flight better than the Delta flight, because it had better food. We were happy to find all 10 pieces of our luggage made it to New Zealand safe and sound. And surprisingly, there were other families with much more luggage. Marlee was excited when we went through customs in New Zealand. She turned to me and said, “Mom, they are talking Maori, and I can understand it!!!” I then explained to her that the customs inspector was just speaking with an accent, and that it was English, not Maori. J After meeting family, and trying out how to fit all of our luggage in one van, and the rest of us in another van (had the same problem in Salt Lake too) we went to see Nathan’s Nanna and Grandad in Hamilton. This picture made me realize that all the stress and sleepless nights getting ready for this trip was all worth it. This is why we came. . .

Of course the kids had a blast riding on the golf cart with Grandad. (I think Grandad enjoyed it too) After that Nanna read them “The Cat in the Hat”.

It was beautiful seeing them with their Great Grandparents, and their cousins. I was amazed that there wasn’t any shyness with all the new Aunties, cousins, and Grandparents. Everyone was holding hands and enjoying each other straight away.

We spent the next day just relaxing. It rained the first few days we were here, so we didn’t make it to the beach straight away. But we were able to get a few walks in around The Mount, and see a cruise liner come to port (just across the street from where we are staying). We’ve had family Bar BQ’s, eaten Fish and Chips, and meat pies, attended a Christmas fireside, celebrated Marlee and Marshall’s birthday (they both turned 7 this last week), checked out the mall, taught them how to make “American Bar BQ chicken” aka chicken with bar bq sauce - grilled, and had a stomach bug. Yup, that’s right throw up. It seems to be a small 24 hour bug. Elijah started, then Nathan, then Van, then Cherie and Nathan’s mum Maerea. I’m sure the rest of us will get it sooner or later. But, like I said it’s not a bad one, just a bummer when we all want to be out doing something. Like this. . .

Love to you all. Miss you all, but are glad that we are here. We heard that it’s FREEZING in Utah today, so for all you Utahan’s out there if I walk out my door and walk directly across the street this is what I see . . .

head butt

2009-11-28T22:39:00.005-07:00

A FEW WEEKS AGO:

I left the kids in the car while I ran in to pay for gas.
(Don't judge me-you've all done it before)
When I came back out I asked the boys if my phone rang.

VAN: No mom, it didn't ring.

ME: Oh, I guess no one loves me.

VAN: No mom, I love you, but no one called you. Got that?

TONIGHT:
(walking towards me, tears in her eyes, and holding the side of her head)
MARLEE: Mom, Van just punched me in the head.
(Dramatic pause)
With his EYE!
(Tears and sobbing begin!!)

NATHAN: That's called a head-butt.

Sunday Fireside

2009-11-23T14:23:00.006-07:00

Nathan participated in a Sunday evening fireside last yesterday. It was put on by The Latter Day Ambassadors choir. It was a beautiful meeting full of music and messages on drawing closer to Christ. For their final number, a trio sang a song about the Savior, and while doing this Nathan walked up on the stand and started drawing on a blank canvas. It still gives me goosebumps to think about it. It was breathtaking watching Nathan draw, he has an amazing talent!! I wish so much that you all could have been there, the feeling is indescribable. Everyone there was touched deeply.

Many thanks to my sister, Sarah, who took these pictures.
I forgot my camera in the rush to get everyone out the door.

Van is blurry in this photo, but I wanted to give you and idea of how large the canvas was.

14 days and counting

2009-11-16T23:52:00.005-07:00

Two weeks from now we will

be heading here . . .

AOTEAROA = land of the long white cloud
Maori for "NEW ZEALAND"

That's right folks!!
The Ormsby's are heading back for a long holiday.
First here (New Zealand) . . .

and then Christmas here . . .

Please stay tuned for more information!

10 Little Monkeys

2009-11-03T20:55:00.005-07:00

How does the song go? . . .

4 Little monkeys jumping on the bed. . .

one fell off and broke his "LEG"!!????

Not really.
After a 4 hour trip to the ER Sunday night, and 10 x-rays, they couldn't find a break. He was limping pretty bad though, so they decided to put a temporary splint on until we could see a specialist. He didn't like it too much, it slowed him wwaaaayyyyy down (for about 3 hours). Then he figured out how to swing his leg out to walk. As long as he didn't try to walk on the kitchen floor (too slippery), he was okay. Today we saw the Orthopedist and after MORE x-rays, they still couldn't find a break. So, he's been given a clear bill. WHEW! So, now he's been running like crazy all night!!
But I don't mind, how can I resist this face . . .

Halloween Review

2009-11-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Halloween Preview Part 1

2009-10-27T22:04:00.003-06:00

We have been practicing for Halloween for weeks now . . .

Ormsby Halloween Preview from Nathan Ormsby on Vimeo.

A DECADE!!

2009-10-17T22:05:00.008-06:00

Ten years ago (plus a few days) I married my best friend. . .

It was a beautiful day. . .

We celebrated a few weekends ago in Park City, just the two of us. . .

But felt that the best way to celebrate the actual day was with our little peeps. . .

We went to lunch, caught a movie (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - very fun!!), and then danced in the kitchen while the kiddies ate dinner and giggled. It was a magical and perfect day.

P.S. I love you.

WARNING!!

2009-10-08T22:04:00.003-06:00

Consider yourself warned!!

We will be going private with our blog for awhile.

So, you have 2 weeks to tell me if you want to be on "the list".
(I will need your email address)

I know I haven't done much blogging lately, but that really is about to change.

Besides, you don't want to miss out on our adventures for the next few months . . .

Adventure

2009-09-10T21:09:00.004-06:00

2 weeks ago we set out on a little "adventure"

my heart and soul were aching to see the Tetons again.

5.5 hours and 2 states later we found them, and a HUGE hail storm

we spent the night in Jackson Hole ("where cowboys live", if you ask the boys)

saw a bunch of these guys (and gals), up close and personal

and spent some time on the bank of the Snake River.

It was a fun, spontaneous, 2 day adventure. And the kids did great, and enjoyed it too!

Noah in the wild!!

Need a Smile??

2009-09-04T16:04:00.003-06:00

We love watching this music video!! The kids think it's very fun.

Watch Video

P.S. I promise to post pictures tonight after everyone has gone to sleep . . .

Summer Recap

2009-08-17T22:38:00.006-06:00

I haven't posted much about our summer happenings. It's been a bit overwhelming for me. I just don't know where to start!!?! So, since summer is officially over in less than one week now (school will be starting), I'm going to do a post each night to highlight a bit of our summer for you. (Exciting - NO?!!?)

So in no particular order, here's our summer of 2009:

We were able to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house.

The kids were great through it all, and really enjoyed it. Though you can't really tell from this picture.

Marlee lost a million (not really!) teeth within a few weeks of each other. Just look at those holes in her mouth!! The tooth fairy almost couldn't keep up with the losses.

Nathan had a birthday. It was low key, really low key, this year. I still feel bad about that. But isn't the tower of Anzac Cookies (Biscuits) impressive?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words . . .

No wonder I'm tired!!

Weber County Fair

2009-08-06T12:31:00.000-06:00

Weber County Fair 2009 from Nathan Ormsby on Vimeo.

Life is a Miracle

2009-07-22T06:00:00.001-06:00

Life is a Miracle from Nathan Ormsby on Vimeo.

Rua

2009-07-20T20:58:00.001-06:00

Exactly One Year Ago

2009-07-16T22:42:00.003-06:00

I thought it would be fun to take a peek in our digital photo album and see if there were any photos taken July 16, 2008. This is what I found . . .

Not alot has changed in a year. Noah CRIED almost 3 hours straight this morning. AHHHH! In his defense : while I was doing the dishes this morning he thought he'd show me how he could hop on one foot. He did do very well, until Marlee had to try and show him up. Instead she hopped into him, he fell over, and scratched his wrist on the dishwasher. From the way he reacted to the scratch, you would have thought he had cut his arm off. Hence, the crying for 3 hours straight.
Anyways, he looked very much the same as he did in this picture a year ago. And I saw Vance repeatedly giving him the same look, like, "Really? You're going to start crying again?"

If I remember right, Vance got the bump on his head/scratches on his nose because we went for a walk. While on that walk a dog, a lap dog, probably a Shih Tzu , CHARGED (should really read: barked at him from about 50 feet away), which caused Van to FREAK OUT, scream and attempt to run away. While running away, he tripped on the sidewalk and fell. (Or did he trip over Noah or Marlee - who were also FREAKING OUT? I'm not sure but Nathan's not here to correct my memory) Meanwhile the owner of the said dog sat on his porch and laughed hysterically. Not nice.

But in the end, even with all the crying and freaking out last year and today, and everyday inbetween, I LOVE THEM TO PIECES! And I never get tired of seeing my kids happy (and hugging)

Run Sisters Run!!

2009-07-11T16:32:00.009-06:00

Here we go again. I think I've created a MONSTER!! Actually, Nathan started all of this last year when he did his Triathlon. Then we signed up for the 1/2 marathon, and then I got Sarah into it, then Sarah got her hubby to run a 5K last week, and now Marlee's talking about wanting to maybe run a Kids K this fall. WOW!! You'd think with all this running I'd be tiny and skinny by now. I'm not. But, it is slowly coming off. But the best part is the feeling of accomplishment. It's been a great self esteem booster. I really am enjoying it!! Who woulda thought!? Me, the girl who hid when it was time for the track team to do their 1 MILE run!! But that's another story for another day (along with the story about when I had to actually run a race at a track meet, and was DEAD last, or when I was practicing throwing the disc and hit the coach. Geez, why did they ever let me on the track team in Jr. High?) Anyways . . .

Sarah and I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) this morning in Farmington. It had horrible hills at the beginning (UP hill), a beautiful trail along the side of bison and deer (the animals at Lagoon), lots of cars (they didn't close the roads for the race), and a fantastic hill to run down at the very end. It was a lot of fun. My time was good, but I'm looking forward to beating that time in September when I run another 10K.

Marlee had a BLAST taking pictures of the boys while they were waiting for us at the finish line.

The following pictures are all taken by Miss Marlee . . .

Noah making a face. He loves making people laugh.

Van the Man. (notice Noah hiding behind him)

The Boys

Elijah

Marlee making a face at Elijah to make him smile.
(this one was not taken by Miss Marlee, obviously)

and - Elijah again.

Boyz Bday Part 2

2009-07-02T17:08:00.007-06:00

I know I know, late - Late - LATE!!
But here it is, their birthday party pictures . . .

My Aunt and Uncle were so very kind to let us have a pool party. Thank you a million times over!!! The boys would swim all day every day if they could.

Can you tell their favorite part is jumping in - TOGETHER?

I just love that they're holding hands.

And here's the cake. . .

It was a hit, and everyone loved that when you cut into the whale it was pink (strawberry cake). They loved it.

5K

2009-06-26T23:16:00.005-06:00

So, I did something "mean". For my sister's birthday I signed her up to run the South Ogden "fun run" 5K with me. And you know what, it wasn't fun.
It was a BLAST!!
She totally kicked my booty, and it was still fun. And now little Miss Sarah, who claimed growing up that she didn't like sports all that much, is running another 5K next weekend, and the weekend after that . . .

Love ya sis, it really was fun!!

And my cute little family was AWESOME! They went along the entire race route and wrote messages to us on the street with chalk. Things like "We Love You", "Run Fast", "Run Faster", and my favorite "RUN UP THE HILL".

The race goes right past our house, so they sat outside on the curb cheering all 400 runners on. They banged pots and pans, sprayed people with the hose, and blew the bull horn. (You could hear the horn around the corner and down the street) Everyone loved it. Especially me!

4+4

2009-06-19T08:46:00.007-06:00

If 4 + 4 = 8, does that mean having your twins turn four really means you've lived/survived/aged 8 years?

My mom took this photo. They were wrestling while waiting to be seated at a restaurant. She pulled out the camera and said, "Smile". This is the moment she captured. I love it!!!
Van is in the plaid, and Noah's in white.

I know I know, there are a lot of photos, but I have never gotten over the fact that I had two babies at the same time. I remember staring at them, thinking "WOW!! There are two here!"

I had to wait hours to hold my babies. Noah arrived in my room after 2 hours, but I had to wait almost 4 hours to hold Vance. He didn't want to breathe on his own, and at the time no one told me I could go to the NICU to see him. I remember trying so hard to stay awake until I could hold him. I didn't get to see them together till the next day, that's why I love this picture.

Van is on the left, you (I) can tell because his nose was smaller and more turned up as a newborn.

I "almost" mixed them up once at their 3 week dr's appointment. After that we took a blue marker and wrote a "N" and a "V" on the bottom of their foot. When it would start to fade, we would just write it again. We did this for quite sometime. I wish I had a photo of it. I don't. Those first few weeks/months are such a blur to me. There were a lot of diapers and a lot of bottles. We would make 24 bottles of formula every night to get us through the next 24 hours. Then we would wash and make formula again. It was like a version of the movie "Groundhog Day".

This is on their blessing day. Again, Van is on the left - again.

This next picture is at about 7 months. I love that it shows Noah's happy personality.

Van on the left (again) and Noah on the right, in the back, waving.

They have always gotten along really well. Sure there are times they bite, hit, scratch, and fight. But I hope that they can always be good friends like they are right now.

Noah is on the left in this one, and Van on the right.

They really are good little boys. They aren't the stereo-type nightmare twins that everyone loves to tell stories about. Sure they would do things like this and climb up on the shelves of their closet, or spill juice all over the kitchen floor. Really the worst stuff they do is Noah likes to wander off when we're in public, and they like to eat WHATEVER they find. Like water out of a dog bowl, chicken nuggets off the floor at McDonald's (chicken that was NOT theirs), pepperoni off the sidewalk (again NOT theirs), gum off the bottom of tables, oh how the list could go on and on, but I'll stop there.

Van on the left (this is really strange that he's always on the same side) in the red stripe, and Noah in the blue stripe.

Having twins really is special. I think it's cool that they got to come to earth together. I try to explain to them all the time how special they are, but they don't get it (yet). But, if I keep telling them, hopefully one day they will.

Van on the left in the white, and Noah in the blue on the right.

Just a few more pics of the two of them. I really need to take more photos of just them alone, but I love seeing the two of them together.

Noah on the left, crying because he didn't want his photo taken. And Van on the right in the vest, trying not to cry.

And last but not least, yes they are identical (people ask all the time), no twins do not run in our families. And no, I was not on fertility. We were just lucky. The doctor used to tease us and say it was too bad that our luck with odds wasn't with the lottery. But, I think we are pretty lucky, and that we ended up with something priceless.

Van on the left again (seriously strange), and Noah on the right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANCE AND NOAH!!
WE LOVE YOU!!

Our Dad

2009-06-18T14:42:00.006-06:00

Well, he did it!! Three years later he's a little bit smarter. At least he better be.

Thank you to the church education system for allowing him to be at your schools for sooooo many many years (Church College - high school, Ricks College - Associates Degree, BYU - Bachelors Degree, and BYU again for his Maters Degree!!)(Gee, he's really not going to like this pic, just remember it was taken at 11:00 pm after 5 hours of class!!! And yes, I know I spelled "family" wrong on the poster. Remember, it's not me that has the Master's Degree)
We love you and are proud of this accomplishment!!

He finished school a week ago, and I was going to wait to do a post about this when he graduated, but you never know with Nathan, he might not want to do all the graduation "stuff" in August when his class walks. So, better late than never, right?

And also, this weekend is Terrace Days. Take a peek. This is Nathan's big weekend for work. We all have alot of fun at it, and Nathan has a lot of fun when it's all over. :) Let's hope the weather will clear up for the weekend. We've been in a monsoon pattern here, which NEVER happens. We live in a desert!!

"He's my Mother"

2009-05-27T12:38:00.004-06:00

Seriously people, I have tried for days and DAYS to get this video on here. For some reason it just didn't want to download. But, here it is. This is part of the song my sweet little kiddies sang (with the primary) in Sacrament Meeting on Mothers Day. They LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. Especially Noah . . .

P.S. Sorry it's so dark, he decided to perform for the camera late at night.

13.1

2009-05-16T20:56:00.005-06:00

Wake up at 4 am - check!
Ride shuttle from Ogden to Eden at 4:45 am - check.
Warm up around fire pits for 2 hours - check.
Start race at 7 am - check!!
Get up the first hill/incline - check!
Pass group of ladies in Blue shirts - check!
Run first 4 miles in 1 hour EXACT - awesome!
Start down the canyon and pass Platinum shorts lady - check and check!
Have a great time enjoying the beauty of the canyon - check.
Feeling great at the half way point - check!
Pass purple shirts ladies - check.
Make it out of the canyon with 3 miles left, and trying no to think about pain in feet - check.
Finishing the race a good 10 minutes before the goal we had set - CHECK!!

Running a half marathon with my best friend - CHECK!(this pic was taken by Marlee. nathan and i are the two in the black)

What a BLAST!! It was early (thanks Mom for being at our house at 4 am, and thanks for watching the kiddies!) but so worth it. Our legs and feet are sore, but hey, we ran 13.1 miles. It was a beautiful run, and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Ogden Marathon Website

The Apple . . .

2009-05-06T17:31:00.005-06:00

Nathan will hate me for posting this picture, but I just couldn't resist. My Mother-in-Law has always, ALWAYS told me, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" when it comes to Nathan and his Dad. Well Karen, I don't think it fell very far for Nathan and Elijah either.
Heaven help us . . .Seriously though, Nathan and Elijah have a special relationship. Elijah is definitely a Daddy's boy. He adores Nathan. He loves working on bikes with his dad, watching and playing basketball with is Dad, making faces with is Dad, the list goes on. He adores him. I love watching them together.

Family Home Evening

2009-04-27T22:51:00.004-06:00

Tonight for FHE (family home evening) we talked to the kids about how to stop germs from spreading. With all the talk of Swine Flu, we really tried to stress the importance of washing hands, coughing into your elbow, and of course to keep your fingers out of your nose!! Nathan told them there is a super strong germ out there right now, that they might have heard people on the news talking about, called swine flu. (We had also talked about other names pigs have). Noah looked at me with those big brown eyes and said,
"How did the pig fly?"

Marlee's 2nd Field Trip

2009-04-24T23:27:00.005-06:00

Marlee's Kindergarten had another field trip this week. And I was lucky enough to go again! We had almost a hour long bus ride north to the farm to see the baby animals. Marlee was amazed at how soft the sheep's wool was. Especially that little black lamb. But, she was a bit stunned to find out that people (her parents included) EAT lamb!! During our visit there, the sheep escaped. Just imagine 3 sheep running for their freedom, about 100, 6 year olds squealing in delight, and 4 grown men trying to herd them back into the stall. Man, I wish I had a picture of that moment . . .I love this picture of her holding the goat. She was not afraid to pick that kid up at all. And he had the cutest horns just starting to grow!Here's cute little Norman the bull - ummm, I mean steer. The "farmer" with Norman gave out waaaayyy too much information to these kids about how he became a steer a few days ago. See Marlee's face? She did not appreciate the details.But she did love the Shetland pony, TINKERBELL - The Wonder Horse. Every girl there fell in love (I think it had something to do with the name?)!!And last but not least, the 4 day old baby chicks. Her absolute favorite part! It was the perfect end to a very fun afternoon.

Where to Start??

2009-04-21T13:41:00.006-06:00

I feel like there are so many little things that I could blog about. But where do I even begin? So, in no particular order :

Elijah still loves the toilet. After many many weeks of no interest, on Easter he decided to hop in the toilet at Grandma's house. We all threw up a little in our mouths.
Every morning, and I mean EVERY morning, Noah asks me, "How's your throat Mom?" He's done it since I had my tonsillectomy. Funny guy. He also asks Nathan everyday, "How was work Dad?"
Marlee loves school, and has decided maybe it's not so cool to have her Mom walk her to school anymore. Too bad so sad, I'm still going to do it.
Sunday night the kids (all 4 of them) we're playing in Van and Noah's room. My bionic ears (bet you didn' t know that I have super sensitive hearing and smelling?!) heard a "hisss" come from the room. "OH!" I thought, they must have my hairspray. NOPE!! They had a 2 liter of sprite they were trying to open!! AHHHH that could have been horrible!
Marlee's playing soccer. Her team is the Yellow Dragons. She's the only girl on the team, and also the tallest.
My softball season starts on Thursday. Can't wait. Got a great group of girlfriends on the team this year!!
Nathan and I only have 2 1/2 weeks till our race. YIKES!
Van has discovered whales. He was looking at a book at Grandma and Grandpa's 2 weeks ago, and hasn't put it down since. He can't wait to go to Sea World when we're in Australia.
Elijah LOVES basketball. That's all he does when we're outside, run around with a basketball. He also loves watching it on tv.
We love going for family bike rides. It's fun to have everyone on a bike (we even have a little seat for Elijah.)
It looks like Spring is finally here.
The library "around the corner" from us opens on Thursday. We can't wait. How awesome to have a library in walking distance!?
Nathan starts his final semester next week. Only 8 weeks left!!
Elijah loves dogs. He gets so excited and shakes his head back and forth whenever he sees or hears one. Lucky for him we live in a neighborhood with a million dogs.
This next week will be 10 years since I graduated from Ricks (now BYU-Idaho) College. I thought 10 years from high school made me feel old. I was wrong. 10 years from college really makes me feel old.
I was practicing the piano the other day (yes, I have started practicing again), and Vance said, "Mom, can you stop singing, I can't hear". Guess he didn't like it so much.
Nathan has started growing a fantastic garden. It's still in the early stages, but it appears that he has a green thumb.

Whew!! That list is long. I'm impressed if you're still reading. Thanks for stickin' through it.

HAPPY EASTER

2009-04-14T21:21:00.004-06:00

General Conference

2009-04-12T11:59:00.002-06:00

Nathan had a fantastic idea to get the kids to listen to Conference last week. When they heard something they knew they would tell us to draw it. So, here are our notes from Sunday Morning's Session.

In the Head of a 3 Year Old

2009-03-26T13:43:00.004-06:00

Setting : Noah singing a song.
Me: Noah, where did you learn that song?
Noah: Hmmm, (then clicking his tongue while thinking) My brain taught me.
Me: Oh really. What else does your brain do?
Noah: (running his hands through his hair, and clicking his tongue again) Get's sweaty!!

Setting : Waiting with the boys in the car for Marlee to come out of school.
Me: What color is that car?
Boys: (in unison) Brown.
Me: What color is that car?
Boys: (in unison) Blue!
Me: What color is the snow?
Boys: (again in unison) WHITE!
Me: What color is the rain?
Boys: Hmmmm (again with the clicking tongue sound.(not sure where they got that from))
Vance: GLASS!!
Me: What? What color is the rain?
Vance: Glass colored.
Me: Very good. (never thought of that before, but I suppose rain is the color of glass)

On Holiday (aka Vacation)

2009-03-22T22:00:00.006-06:00

Last week we headed south to find some warm weather. We found it!! And had a great time in St. George!! We spent our days exploring nature trails, swimming, napping, swimming some more, and watching the Disney Channel. Here are a few highlights of our holiday (vacation) in St. George. . .

Here are Noah and Vance patiently waiting for the jack rabbit to come out of the bushes. He never did again. Dang it.

Notice the rabbit ears? Good job Van!

And an awesome action shot of Marlee jumping.

We ate out one evening at a local Mexican restaurant. Vance had the longest french fry anyone has ever seen!!Later the waitress brought out sombreros for us to wear. The kids LOVED it!! And yes, Vance is still working on that french fry.Marlee absolutely loves rice and beans (especially black beans). She was in heaven!

The city has a fun Main Street to walk down. It has bronze sculptures to enjoy along the way. And a little water/splash park at the end. Nice shades Noah!

And they were all a little freaked out at Brother Brigham. Especially Vance.
Elijah loved being out of his stroller.And he didn't seem to mind that the water was freezing cold.
Whew!! That was a lot of photos. I'm impressed if you are still reading this. But don't worry, if you did enjoy it, I have a few more pictures to add tomorrow. . .

I See You!!

2009-03-13T13:54:00.004-06:00

I see you, can you see us? (Look closely - there is a pair of eyes on the wall) YIKES!! Almost a month since I posted last? I'm a slacker. But have not fear, we are alive and well. Not much has been going on. Mostly we've just been hanging around.Like those first two photos? Van's new talent is to see where he can stick and hang his toys. It's always fun to find a pair of eyes staring at you from across the room.

We've been bitten with the Spring Fever. Not so great when the weather is warm and sunny one day, and then it's cold and snowing for a week. It messes with your head. But, along with the warm weather brings pollen, and pollen means ALLERGIES for Nathan and Marlee. Those two will have to suffer for the next 2 months till summer is officially here.

Marlee and Elijah were cuddling one morning. He's had a cold, and snuggled right into her. She was in heaven!!We bought the boys new "running shoes". We finally got smart and bought them different pairs. So now they won't end up wearing two right shoes (or two left). They are both completely convinced that they make them run faster and jump higher.

Nathan and I are busy training for our Half Marathon we'll be running together in May. We're up to running 8 miles and living to tell that we did it!! So far so good. I got to go to the Relief Society Dinner this week. Me and my friends had a great time. I'm so blessed to have some fantastic friends in the ward!! We had a guest speaker, Brooke Walker come. She's a news anchor and host of Studio 5. She was a blast to listen to, and of course we had to get our picture taken with her.

So that's about it for us. I PROMISE to be much much better at posting from now on. Love Ya!

Utah Weather

2009-02-14T08:55:00.006-07:00

Nathan's been dying for old man winter to leave, and spring to arrive. Utah weather can be cruel. It likes to tease us every year. Last week was warm warm warm, and all the snow melted. This is a picture of our house on Saturday (last week). . .

We got about 10 inches of snow Monday morning. My parents who live 10 minutes away got over 15 inches. It was a big storm. There's suppose to be another one today. This is what we did Monday for FHE (family home evening). The kids had fun. Even little Elijah, who had a cold, and couldn't go out in the snow.

Miss Marlee

2009-02-14T08:40:00.003-07:00

A few quick updates on Marlee :She lost her tooth 2 days after the controversial poll post. And yes, she did ask me to pull it out. Her other front tooth is wiggly, but she's taking her time with this one. And that's okay.

For her school Valentine's Party, she MADE all 23 of her cards. I was proud. I thought it would take a day or two for her to color them all, but she sat down and colored them all in a hour. She was so excited to do them.Oh, and a week ago I took her bowling with me and my Activity Day Girls. We had a blast. It was Marlee's first time, and she got 2 spares and 2 strikes!! She's a natural. She beat us all, and bowled a 106. That's our girl!

Elijah's Birthday - Part 2

2009-02-14T08:12:00.002-07:00

So here's a couple pictures of his other birthday party. This was the "real" one.

Toot Toot - I was proud of this cake. I don't usually do well decorating cakes, and I usually end up in tears. I'm proud to report that there were no tears over this cake. Not a one. :)

Elijah's Birthday - Part 1

2009-02-07T07:54:00.006-07:00

I know, I know, late again. I've gotta get caught up on here so we can move forward. Elijah's b day was a couple of weeks ago. On his actual birthday, I still wasn't feeling great so we thought we would wait till the weekend to celebrate his birthday. The kids thought that was horrible!! Marlee insisted that he have a cake on his special day! So, with the help of me, she made him a cake.

He didn't hesistate at all to jump right in. He was intrigued by the large sprinkles. But he got over it, and ate and ate and ate!!
Oh, and he learned how to stick his finger in his nose on his birthday!

This other video was cute, because it's got him doing his "growl". He won't say a word, but he growls all the time. We love it!

This Kids Gone Viral

2009-02-06T20:54:00.002-07:00

As promised to my friends the other day. Here is the video. It's so funny!! Poor little guy. Whoever he is, he's seriously famous, I think just about everyone has seen this by now. I wonder what Marlee would have said if she would have been older (she was 2 1/2 when they sedated her for cavity work).

His Own Private Swimming Pool

2009-02-02T17:02:00.003-07:00

All was calm and happy in the Ormsby home on a Friday night. Nathan and I were cooking the pancakes for our traditional "Pancake Friday".
Then the kids came running.
"Elijah's in the toilet!! Elijah's in the toilet!!"
Nathan ran (I dry heave) to clean him up.
Silly us, we thought when the kids said he was in the toilet, meant his hands were in it. (That's what our other 3 kids have done)
Again, SILLY US. Nathan called out, "Jenn, come look".
So I came, afraid of what I was going to find.
I was completely right to be afraid.
And yes, I threw up a little in my mouth!

He sure had fun though, splashing and kicking! YUCK!!

Loose Tooth Controversy

2009-01-25T13:40:00.004-07:00

Marlee has another loose tooth (this is number 3 for her). It's one of her front top ones. Ya know, the really cool ones to loose!? It's been a little bit loose for a couple of weeks now. But as of last night, it's really wiggly, and she's decided she wants it OUT!

I have no problem with that. I always thought loosing teeth was fun. I'd wiggle and push and twist that tooth till it was hanging by a thread. Then I'd let my Dad pull it out. What was better than having the tooth fairy come? Plus, you'd have that fun whole in your mouth to stick your tongue through.
Now Nathan seems to disagree. He NEVER wiggled his tooth to the point of no return. He claims he's never heard of kids pulling their teeth out willingly (when they are loose). He says he would just wait until his tooth would fall out! HOW BORING! Where's the fun in that?
Anyway, it got me thinking. Surely I'm not the only one who would "torture" their teeth once they began to show the slightest little wiggle. So, I'm turning it over to you, friends family and stalkers of my blog. Please vote, I'm dying to see how this turns out.

PollPub.com VoteWhat would you do with your loose tooth?

Happy Birthday dear Elijah . . .

2009-01-21T12:53:00.004-07:00

I can't believe this little guy is 1 year old today! Happy Birthday Elijah, we love you sooo much!

Recovery

2009-01-15T02:30:00.002-07:00

This will be short. It's 2:30 am, I'm on Lortab, and the battery in the laptop is about to die.

I'm recovering alright. I take pain medication every 4 hours, and it works for about 2 1/2 hours. Then I hurt. Cold is good, especially Thick Shakes from McDonalds, and Slurpees!

"They" say that the worst pain is to come in the next day or two.

My Mom and Dad have been amazing, and have watched my kiddies constantly.

Nathan has been fantastic! Every morning he makes new jello and pudding for me.

Lessons Learned

2009-01-09T23:14:00.003-07:00

Here are just a few things that I/We have learned this week:

Having a new toilet installed is mucho $$.
Having a new toilet installed is exciting for 2 little boys. We've only had 1 accident this week.
A monkey necklace is all Marlee needs to go to school without tears. It's "MAGIC"!
Elijah loves hiding in the bath tub.
I'm almost okay with Elijah's new hair cut.
If I touch Nathan's back while he's snoring, he'll stop.
Nathan's grades for his 2 classes last semester (Stat's and Logistic's) A-, and A-.
Nathan only has 28 more classes till he has finished his Master's degree.

AND

I will be getting my tonsils out on Monday. Yup, not so fun, but neither are the sore throats that I get all the time.

Sunday Photos

2009-01-04T23:29:00.004-07:00

For weeks now, I have wanted a "nice" photo of the kiddies in their Sunday clothes. And for numerous reasons, it just has not happened. With our new church time (1 o'clock), we had ample time to get ready this morning. So, I seized the opportunity, especially with their fresh new hair cuts (that has a whole other story for another time). Oh, Van is in red and Noah's in blue. And of course Marlee's in the dress.It took much begging, pleading, and lots and lots of photos. These are the best, with a few "real" ones to show what most of the pics really look like.

I took a couple while Elijah was still napping - that's why he was missing.

For some reason, they could not keep their hands off of Elijah.And in case you are wondering how Van and Noah did with their first time in Primary as Sunbeams??!! NOT SO WELL.

They cried, sometimes screamed and refused to go into the Primary room for Opening Exercises. (A huge thanks to Shannon for taking Elijah so I could drag them into primary) They wanted to be in the nursery with all the toys. I guess I can't blame them, that does sound like a lot more fun than sitting and being reverent. Marlee was so excited to have them in there with her, she played "mother hen" very well. I sat with the boys for the first 15 minutes while they cried the entire time. I told them, "You're big now, and in the big kids class", and they both kept saying over and over again, "I DON'T WANT TO BE BIG!" Eventually they got over it, and decided it was okay. Well, at least Noah did. Van says he doesn't want to go back. I guess we'll see how they do next week. . .

Tama

2009-01-02T21:29:00.005-07:00

Until I download all our Christmas photos from the other camera, I thought I would do a post on Elijah. He's growing so quickly, and is the funniest little guy. He's walking all over the place now. He prefers it to crawling, I think he's figured out it's faster to walk. He's been taking one or two steps for a few weeks now, but the day after Christmas he decided to walk across our front room. That's all it took.

He had his first hair cut a few weeks ago. The back was so long, and was starting to look like a mullet. It's strange for us to have a baby with STRAIGHT hair. All the other kiddies have curly hair. His straight hair is cute though, and it sticks up all the time. I try to gel/hairspray it down, but it always sticks back up. It's going to take a long time to train his hair. This pic shows the back after his haircut. These other photos are of him playing in his favorite spots around the house. He loves sitting in things . . .

He loves the drawer at the bottom of the stove. The only problem with that is that I think he burned his finger playing in it after the stove was turned off, and we thought it was cool.

He loves sitting in this cupboard. The boys like to shut him in it. He thinks its funny. Boys are weird.He did this the other night. He was getting so frustrated trying to fit in this pot. He eventually got both legs in and thought he was pretty smart. . .
We love you Elijah, and can't believe you are going to be 1 in just a couple of weeks!!

Fairy Party

2008-12-21T14:47:00.004-07:00

Gee, we're still playing catch up on here. This is from Marlee's birthday party WEEKS ago. We had a fairy party. Everything FAIRY! (I admit, I think I went a bit over board) But the girls all looked so cute dressed up, and they had a lot of fun. They got to make their own fairy wands, and had a blast pretending to change Nathan into a cat. I don't know why they chose him to be a cat, but they thought it was hilarious!!!

We played spin the bottle, and freeze dance. That was the favorite game! And then they spent a lot of time just running around. When throwing a party, remember that kids like to just run free. Last time we planned a party, every minute was planned, and by the end I felt tired trying to keep to my schedule. This time we did more of "going with the flow", and everyone had a lot of fun.
Marlee's got a cute little gang of girls to hang out with. All but one of them are in her school class. Everyday they scream and hug when they greet each other while lining up for class. It was a fun party, I think Marlee had a good time, and felt special. That's what we wanted just some Marlee time. My mom was great and took all 3 boys so it could just be her. Thanks Mom!!
This pic is from her actual birthday morning. Love the candles? We had forgotten to get candles, so Nathan improvised and used matches in her blueberry (her fav) muffins. Fun.
I can't believe my little girl is 6. I remember being 6, I don't feel like I should have a child that's an age I can vividly remember. But we love her!! She's so fun, and helpful. A very good, smart, and entertaining little girl. We're lucky to have her in our family. We love you Marlee!!

Get 'em!

2008-12-17T13:42:00.006-07:00

This was from the day before Thanksgiving. (I know, late again.) The boys wanted to "touch the chicken".

The Surprise Party

2008-12-13T22:03:00.004-07:00

Geez, it's about time I do a post about my birthday (after all, it's been 2 weeks now!) The day after Thanksgiving Nathan planned a SURPRISE PARTY for me. It was so much fun. Lots of friends and family were there. Thanks to everyone who came! And again, thank you Nathan for a fantastic night filled with dancing, musical chairs, and pool. Here are a few pics from the evening . . .

This is me being SURPRISED! (I'm actually pointing and saying, "Hey, that's not the Mayor". Nathan had told me we were going into the building to say hi to the Mayor. And no, he was not there.)All the adults played musical chairs. It was hilarious! The winner didn't have to speak in sacrament meeting for a year!! (A member of the bishopric was there) And wouldn't ya know, it was Celeste who won!!(She's married to the member of the bishopric - I think it was rigged!!)My grandparents came (this is my Dad's Dad) And also my Mom, Elijah and poor little Marlee. She was so sick the day before and still wasn't feeling up to partying that night. It's too bad, she would have had a blast with Abbi and Katie.

Here's Marlee and Nathan dancing. I wish I had a photo showing everyone dancing. There was a dance floor, and Nathan had strung colored lights all over the room. It was awesome! All the little kids loved it too!

Love the action shot of me blowing out my candles. I did get them all out in one blow! I have the strong lungs, Nathan does not.

And last but not least, the pool games. The night ended here. (with Sam getting hit in the head with the cue ball - it was sad, but amazing that the ball jumped the table like it did! Hope your head's all better Sam!!?)

It was a such a fun night. I'll never forget it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. What a great way to start my 30's!!

We've Been "Elfed"

2008-12-09T23:09:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Birthday Surprise

2008-12-02T15:40:00.004-07:00

This was one of the highlights of my SURPRISE birthday party. (More posts of the party to come) Thanks you guys for doing this video!! I LOVE IT, oh and I love you guys too!!

Thank You!!

2008-11-29T00:19:00.003-07:00

A GIANT

to Nathan for the wonderful evening he planned for me.
It was awesome!!
And another big THANK YOU to everyone who helped and came.
It was a night I will always remember!!

More details of this fun night to come. It's late, and I'm tired.

Beauty and the Beast

2008-11-24T22:58:00.004-07:00

My cute little sister Carlie was in Northridge High School's production of Beauty and the Beast. We brought Marlee along, and she had a really good time. Except when we made her pose for this picture.Nathan, I mean Gaston didn't have a problem posing for this pic.

Neither did her Mamma.

I think we embarrassed her.
Trust us Marlee, it's just the beginning!! (wicked laugh in background)Cute little Carlie (I know, know you're not so little anymore) was a darling spoon in this number - Be Our Guest. You can't see her - she's hiding in the middle behind the fork, and the other pics of her are terribly blurry. Sorry. But this does show the amazing set. They would flip the entire thing around, and it would be the front of the castle!! It was HUGE. This picture just doesn't show how truly big it was. Anyway, enough about the set. Carlie was beautiful and darling on the stage.

This is after the show. Marlee loved seeing the cast come out after in their costumes. Here she is with Carlie. I wish we would have had a picture of when Belle came out and talked to Marlee. Belle (Carlie's friend) remembered Marlee's name, you should have seen Marlee's reaction. Her eyes went huge and I she almost fell over when Belle walked up to her and said, "Hi Marlee, thanks for coming to the show!!"

A Few Oldies of the Oldest

2008-11-13T23:35:00.004-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Marlee in the "early years". In this pic, she's about 11 or 12 months. I've always said that Elijah looks a lot like her. I think this picture shows it.

This one wasn't really a baby gap ad. It was a homework assignment for a friend doing photography. We had so much fun doing this photo shoot, and all the fun clothes we got to dress her up in.

I had forgotten just how much I loved her short, cruly hiar!! Especially when we were in Hawaii, and that humditiy made it super duper curly!!Her Auntie Sarah (aka Auntie Rah-Rah) and Uncle Seth took her to the zoo a few weeks after the boys were born, so she could have some special time. She still talks about it, and how scared Uncle Seth was/is of the crocodile!!

More Photos - The Helmets

2008-11-12T16:20:00.006-07:00

I think I owe everyone 9 more photos. So, here are a few, and tomorrow I'll finish it up.

These pictures are from the spring of 2006. The boys are Elijah's age in the first photo - 9 months. And that would make Marlee the age that the boys are now - 3. Some of you don't know that Noah and Vance had to wear helmets for 3 months. Their heads were flat, and needed some correcting. It looked sad, but it really wasn't too bad. When they were newborns they loved having their heads rubbed. Van ALWAYS fell asleep when someone rubbed his head. After the helmets came off, they didn't like it anymore. That always made me a little sad. The worst part was how bad their heads would sweat with them on. And boy would they stink!! We had to wash them everyday, phew!!! Oh, and the other bad part was all the stupid things people would say. One of the dumbest was when we would get asked, "Oh, are they Siamese twins? They were connected at the head?" Believe or not, that question was asked more than once.

Here's Vance.

Now they have beautiful round heads. I think. When Noah saw this picture he said, "Hey look!! Elijah is a spaceman!!" Little did he know that it was him being a spaceman.

Birthday Wish(es)

2008-11-11T00:00:00.006-07:00

Sorry folks, Nathan asked that I write down my wish list for my birthday, and put it somewhere where he won't loose it. The only place I could think of was here. So, in no particular order (except for the first) here ya go Nathan . . . .

This one is a little tricky. I want a necklace, but it's "between" what these two look like. For more info please contact your wife.

Time to start reading again. . . (no I did not choose this because of the dogs name!)I don't know if you've noticed, but for the last few years, I have always gotten Christmas music. I would love this one. It was one of my favorites growing up. Unfortunately I don't think this one will have the skip in the record, ". . to kids from 1 to 92, (skip) 92 (skip) 92 (skip) - many times many ways, Merry Christmas . . ."This sweater looks yummy. Yes, I said a sweater looks yummy. And of course in BLACK!! P.S. It's on sale this week.I am in terrible need of a handful of these. . .And in desperate need of this . . .I recently remembered this book and decided I must have it to read to the kids. I think the boys would enjoy the silly (warped) sense of humor. "Misses McTwitter the babysitter, I think she's a little bit crazy. . . " (well, now that I think about it, maybe I'll skip that poem till Elijah's a bit older). lolAnd if I'm dreaming real BIG, I would love one of these . . .

The Neighbor

2008-11-08T13:43:00.003-07:00

So we have a neighbor. He's kind, and keeps to himself. Most of the time he's quite too, except for two times each year. The first is late spring/early summer. He always gives Nathan a hard time about our trees. And he always asks us when we are going to cut down our trees. He does not like them. Not at all. The other time of year he gets noisy is when the leaves fall off the trees that he does not like. Then he gets really noisy. That little leaf blower of his sure is loud! For some reason he thinks that he can blow his leaves into our yard for us to pick up. IT DRIVES ME INSANE!! So, he gets his leaf blower out, and starts blowing away. I don't mind the extra leaves so much, really, look at the pictures. We have so many leaves that another bag of them from his side really won't hurt. But, for some reason it just drives me crazy that he blows them over the fence. AHHHHH. And no, we won't confront him about it, I don't want to have the, "Cut down your trees" conversation. So, I'll just complain a little here, get over it, and start raking the leaves.

There is a little boy hidden in this picture, can you find him?Ooohh, there he is!!! Noah was having fun hiding in the leaves.

Day 21 (waaaay behind!)

2008-11-06T16:46:00.003-07:00

So, only 9 posts left to finish my challenge of picture posts. I'm looking forward to getting it done, so we can do our annual "I am thankful for . . ." posts.
Nathan took these two photos a couple weeks ago while we were driving through Ogden Canyon. It was a beautiful afternoon!! I love fall so much, the leaves changing colors and the crispness in the air. It's perfect!

Halloweeeeeeeeen!!

2008-11-04T23:34:00.005-07:00

Here's our Halloween post: better late than never, right?!! A week before Halloween, Sarah and Seth came over to "carve" pumpkins. We cheated/opted out of the carving part, and did potato head pieces. It was easy - the kids could do it themselves, and clean!! We liked how our monster pumpkins turned out. It sure is hard to get a decent picture of our kids together. Someone is always looking the wrong direction, or pulling a weird face.Halloween was a blast!! I was a gypsy, but kids these days don't know what that is, so they all thought I was a "girl pirate". Isn't Nathan's, costume awesome?!! He's a Mexican wrestler. Elijah did not like him with the mask on. Van's the ghost, Noah's the spider, and of course little Marlee is Snow White.We had a great night. The weather was warm and mild (for the most part). We didn't have to bundle the kids up (which was nice not to have to cover up their costumes). We started out the evening at South Weber's 'Trunk or Treat'. (our old ward) Marlee and her friend Katie thought they were so big because their dad's let them walk around the street on their own!! Look out!! They're 6 going on 13.The kids got a ton of candy, but we wanted them to do the "real thing". So we headed home and went around our neighborhood. We ended the night having to call Nathan to come and rescue us - it started pouring rain!! Of course by the time he got to us, it had stopped, but the kids were tired, so we called it a night. Isn't he the cutest elephant ever? Even if he won't smile for anyone!! Noah and Vance loved Trick or Treating!! They understood it this year. And Marlee had a blast being out with friends!! Now the candy's gone, so are the tummy aches, and now we can begin to look forward to the next few weeks full of holidays and birthdays!! Hoo-rah!!

Look what I can do!!

2008-11-01T19:27:00.002-06:00

Marlee's Fieldtrip

2008-10-30T22:09:00.006-06:00

Last Monday Marlee's kindergarten class had their first field trip. They went to the Ogden Nature Center, and I was lucky enough to tag along. A brief bit of history: When I was little, my dad taught 2nd grade. Every spring he would have a field trip to the Nature Center. I was excited to be able to go with Marlee to the same place I have such fond memories of going to with my Dad!!This was Marlee's first bus ride. She had a bit of anxiety over it. Poor thing. And she decided it wasn't cool for her Mom to sit by her. So, she sat in the front, and I had to sit in the back with another Mom who had been "dumped". Once we got to the Nature Center, one of Marlee's little friends told me she had cried the entire way there. She said she was scared to be on the bus.Here's half of her cute little class. It was a very cold day, and the wind was blowing. Luckily we got to go inside for awhile and wait for it to warm up, while we learned a little bit about Native Americans.This is Marlee at the food station. She was trying to crush a corn kernel with a rock. They cooked cornmeal patties over an outside fire. Most of the kids thought they tasted great, Marlee thought it was awful!!

There were 3 turkeys: Tom, Tommy, and Thomas. They kept following us around. This one, we'll call him Tom, walked right up to me. All the kids were amazed he got that close to me. Turkeys sure are ugly birds!!

The Nature Center has some beautiful trails to walk around on. You can see Marlee holding hands with cute little Jenna from our ward.

The highlight/favorite part of the field trip (besides the bus ride) was the Tipi (teepee). Marlee was totally fascinated by it!!

You can tell how intently she's listening to the rules about being able to go and sit inside the tipi. It was very serious/sacred stuff! She did not want to do anything wrong.

Oh, and the ride home was a success. She decided it would be okay if I sat with her. There were no tears, and she actually enjoyed it!! (cute little Brooklyn had fun sitting with us too!)

And one last picture of my favorite part of the field trip (that and all the things I learned I can make with rose berries, juniper bark, and a willow tree branch - ha ha)

Elijah

2008-10-30T21:28:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile since I've done an update on Elijah. Here's a really quick one. He loves to :Suck on any knob he can find. Particularly the drawer handles in the kitchen, or in this picture the button knobs on the fridge.

He loves to :

Put bowls on his head. His sister showed him this, and when he saw the reaction he can get from his brothers (they laugh and laugh), he wore it around for quite some time.

He also loves to :Pull the ribbon out of my "craft box". This happens a couple of times a day.

And finally a somewhat close up, sorry it's blurry. He always moves right as I take the picture.

Good Day

2008-10-30T06:39:00.003-06:00

Oh, today is a good day. You get 2 posts of pictures. Lucky huh?

It was our ward Halloween Carnival last night. The kids were so excited they could hardly stand it. We wished Nathan could have been there, but I suppose a mid-term is more important.Noah's spider costume is a work in progress. Hopefully it'll be good and ready for trick or treating on Friday.Van's a great ghost. He was lovin' his white hair.

Marlee is Snow-white again this year. She liked having her hair down instead of pulled up. And she totally loved the lipstick.Sorry there's not a pic of Elijah or me. We'll get some on Friday.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

2008-10-27T21:32:00.003-06:00

I know, it's been quite awhile since my last post. And I know you are all dying to see more photos of us. (Kidding!!) But I really do want to finish my challenge of 30 days of photos. I guess now it's just 30 posts, not 30 consecutive days. I do have some excuses for my lack of effort this last week. Last week Elijah had an ear infection, and decided he would only sleep at night for 2-3 hours, and only if I held him. Then he decided he wanted to be held all day long. I didn't argue though, I love cuddling with him. It's just really hard to blog and hold him at the same time. Last week also consisted of my Uncle Richard passing away, a trip to the doctor, flu shots, a school field trip, a school Halloween Carnival, Nathan's mid-term plus all the daily stuff that occurs with 4 children, 2 of them being twins. Like I said excuses, excuses, excuses!! Blah Blah Blah . . . on with catching up. . .This is Sarah (my sister) and Seth's adorable dog Rooney. (aka Maca-rooney, and our personal favorite pepa-rooney) He's the funnest dog, and the kids love him to death!!

Day 17

2008-10-17T21:04:00.008-06:00

It was beautiful outside, so we spent the afternoon at the "Castle Park".

Noah liked the tires. Even after he fell down them. (They are a vertical tunnel) Don't worry, he's okay.

Marlee's mastered the monkey bars, but we didn't get a photo of that. Dang it. And she was excited that she, "made some new girl-friends".

Van wanted to go to the zoo, but it looks to me like he was perfectly happy to be at the park.

Nothing says, "It's fall!!", like Mexican, I mean Canadian Geese flying over your head. (Long childhood story over the mix up of their name.)

Even the big kids had fun climbing and acting stupid!!
(Notice in this picture the lady behind and to the right of me, staring?!? She was jealous of my mad skills. Not really, she probably thought I was a total weirdo!!)

And Elijah had a great time inspecting all of the bark on the ground.

Day 16

2008-10-16T22:43:00.004-06:00

Wow, I'm really getting behind in my challenge. That's just sort of how I am these days. But, I promise to do better this weekend.

My pic for today is another "old" one. The boys are almost 1 in this picture.Noah - green, Vance - blue
So many people ask me how I survived Noah and Van when they were babies. My reply is always the same : Keep them on the same schedule, and do everything twice. It was hard and it was fun. It still is. Unfortunately quite a lot of their first year is a blur. It makes me sad that I don't remember much. But, I do remember that I never got tired of looking at them next to each other, being able to hold 2 babies at once, or watching them sleep in the same crib together. It was always amazing to see 2 babies together. I never got used to it, I still am shocked at times that there's two of them. It truly is a blessing to have twins. It's such a special circumstance to watch and be a part of. I believe that Noah and Vance were best friends in heaven. How lucky to be able to come to earth with your best friend!!?? I know they'll have moments when they hate being a twin, but I hope that most of the time, they'll realize just how special they are.

Anniversary

2008-10-14T23:04:00.003-06:00

Today is our 9th Anniversary (Wedding folks!). It was a lovely day, which started off with Marlee getting a black eye, and Van almost cutting the top of his thumb off. But those are stories for another day. Really though, it was nice (besides those few things.) My sister, Sarah, offered to watch the kids so that we could go out to dinner. Thanks Sarah and Seth (and Rooney!!!) It's always nice to have a calm dinner, without fighting and spills. We went to Chili's. Yum.

I can't believe that we've been married 9 years now. I really wanted to have a picture for every year we've been married, but I haven't scanned all our photos from the stone age, before we had a digital camera. lol So, here are a few from the last couple of years, of just us.

December 2005 - Temple Square

September 2006 - Bear Lake

July 2007 - The Roof

August 2008 - Jack Johnson concert

October 2008 - Bountiful Temple (Marlee took this pic)
You are my best friend, a kind and patient husband, and an amazing father!!
I LOVE YOU NATHAN

Day 15

2008-10-12T21:05:00.004-06:00

Here's what the kids did this afternoon.
The weather man just said that we got 7 inches today.
Poor Vance thinks it's Christmas-time.Noah is making the funny face on the left. This is Elijah's first time touching snow, priceless!!

Day 14

2008-10-11T15:34:00.004-06:00

Since it's SNOWING outside, I thought we'd visit Hawaii. We were there 4 years ago - today. *sigh* I wouldn't mind being there right now.

Day 13

2008-10-10T23:33:00.004-06:00

So, what are you going to be for Halloween???

Day 12

2008-10-08T22:25:00.001-06:00

This is Marlee around 6 months old.

Day 11

2008-10-07T22:56:00.004-06:00

This is our most favorite picture of Nathan.
We think he's about 4-ish.
Anyone in the family have an idea?

Day 10 - FHE

2008-10-06T21:52:00.008-06:00

For Family Home Evening (FHE) we went to Bountiful to see an art exhibit. Afterwards, we headed up the mountain and walked around the temple grounds. It was a really nice evening.Now if you have ever gone anywhere with Nathan or his Dad, you know that EVERYWHERE they go they meet someone they "know". At the temple grounds there was a nice young woman who offered to take our picture. Of course she had a New Zealand accent. Of course she was from there. Of course she knew of the Ormsby's in Hamilton, NZ. And believe it or not, she is here in Utah visiting her mother who just happens to live in our ward!! I can't believe it! Even after 9 years of this, it still amazes me just how small the world is if you are an Ormsby from New Zealand.

These are the kids looking up at "Le-oni". (Moroni)

This is the view of the valley from the northwest side of the temple. There is suppose to be a huge lake there (for those of you out of state), but as you can tell, the Great Salt Lake is now a few salt puddles. The mountain on the left is (suppose to be) an island. Very sad.

Vance, Elijah, Marlee, and Noah

Day 9 (late)

2008-10-05T21:22:00.002-06:00

Halloween 2006

Day 8 (late)

2008-10-05T21:11:00.004-06:00

Geez, I'm a bit behind. Sorry. I'll pick up the pace from here. This was Marlee being silly last night at Grandma's house.

Day 7

2008-10-02T21:47:00.005-06:00

It's never easy to get a good family picture. This was at Thanksgiving 2006. I'm holding Van, Nath's got Noah. And of course funny little Marlee in the middle. She makes me laugh.

Day 6

2008-10-01T15:33:00.006-06:00

The jury's still out on who this is in the picture. Nathan thinks it's Noah, I think it's Vance. Horrible we can't tell? YES!!!
I'm an awful mother.