Welcome Home!!!

Well, we have been home for about a week now!! I am STILL trying to get into the groove of things. For those of you that don't know, we (my dad's ENTIRE family, 41 people, except for my kids and two of Andi's kids) went to Cancun just before Christmas! We had so much fun and I was sure relishing in the fact that we were childless that I completely forgot to take pictures, well, that and the fact that we got down there and realized our batteries in our camera were completely dead!!!

We were able to do some fun things, we went to Chi-chen Itza, XelHa, Cozumel, and also got to be lazy and lay by the beach! A couple of the days were a little overcast and a bit chilly (warmer than Utah for sure!!) but we had the best time and really enjoyed the warm weather, the beach, and especially the pina coladas!!! I tell you what, I just cannot get enough of pina coladas (sin alcohol of course!!!)! I really need to find a good recipe so that I can drink it and close my eyes and imagine myself back on the beach in Cancun!!

Jeffs' Family Christmas Party

We had the 2nd annual Jeffs' Family Christmas Party on Saturday night. It was lots of fun with some twists and turns. Jared and I went up the cabin earlier in the day to get things ready. My parents left around 3 to come up, but called about 3:30 and said they had been in an accident. They slid into the other lane of traffic, hit a pole, and went into a ditch. SCARY! They are fine, just a little shaken up. At the last minute, we changed the party to my parents house. It was a LITTLE crowded with 41 people! But loads of fun! We had dinner and then started the service auction. I think we are a group that is a little overwhelming!! I hope that everyone had fun. We had lots of fun thinks auctioned off and it was a pretty crazy moment!

Weekly Menu

Anders, this one is for you!!!

My sister was over today helping me finish some advent calendars that I HAVE to get done for the party on Saturday. When she was over, I had just finished planning my menus and getting my grocery list together. She told me that I ought to post them and also post a grocery list. She said that she would love something like that, already planned for her and then she just had to go grocery shopping, so, here ya go Anders!!!

FYI, I plan Wednesday to Tuesday, over 2 weeks, because all the grocery stores around here start their sales on Wednesday, that way I can go grocery shopping on or near the first days of the sales. Also, Fridays are pizza day around here!!

Thursday - Shredded Pork Salad
Friday - Pizza
Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Hawaiian Haystacks
Wednesday - Beef Stew
Thursday - Luau Chicken
Friday - Pizza
Monday - Finger Lickin Chicken
Tuesday - Beef and Broccoli
Wednesday - Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Anders, here is your grocery list
2 pork roasts
brown sugar
Worcestershire sauce
oregano
powdered ginger
salt
chili powder
garlic powder
dried minced onions
red enchilada sauce
Minute rice
chicken bouillon
garlic
oil
lime juice
cilantro
onion
green chilies
black beans
tomato juice
cumin
tomatillos
buttermilk
mayonnaise
sour cream
dry buttermilk ranch dressing
green onions
sugar
jalapeno
sirloin steak
cornstarch
broccoli
carrot
beef broth
soy sauce
chicken breasts
red wine vinegar
basil
pepper
ketchup
honey
Tabasco sauce
cream of potato soup
cream of chicken soup
mixed veggies (I use frozen)
thyme
frozen deep dish pie crusts
pineapple
celery
potatoes
beef stew seasoning
cheese
Italian dressing

Update

I know that it has been awhile since I have posted. Holidays are super crazy around here!!! We had an amazing Thanksgiving up at my aunt and uncle's house and then headed to Moroni to visit Jared's grandparents. We got to go out to Grantsville and visit Jared's parents on Saturday and then we headed to the Jazz game. FRONT ROW TICKETS! It was soo much fun! We got to go to a super fancy smancy dinner upstairs and it was just great! We sat right by the Jazz bench. I don't EVER want to go to a game without have those tickets again!!

Monday was Jared's birthday and we had 2 parties for him! I just love parties. I guess at my dad's office I am known at the party girl!! :) I am planning a Christmas party for my dad's side of the family. We are doing the service auction again and I am way excited!

Jayce started in the TLC program, which is the speech therapy classes at the Elementary School. She talks, but she doesn't say her sounds right and I LOVE this program. Kylee did it for about 9 months a few years back and it helped her SOOOOO much. I got Jayce right in and know that this will help her. The teachers are so great and Jayce loves the fact that she gets to go to school.

Dojads

Last night, my mom put together a Girls Night Out for the girls on my dad's side of the family. A few of her friends do this about twice a year and she has been wanting to put one together. Can I just tell you how much fun this was!!! I don't know if my mom told everyone, but it is called Dojads (Daughters of Janny and Dayle)! Cute name huh!!

Anyway, we got together and my mom had put together some "outfits" for us to wear. We all picked a bag that my mom had and when we opened it, there were different "outfits" that we got to wear for the night. I was a cowgirl. I got a cowgirl paper vest and a hat. Some of the others were a robot helmet and breastplate, party hat and money sign necklace, grass skirt and flower necklace, red fuzzy hat and blue boa, eye mask with gloves and a scarf, 2 reindeer and Christmas necklace, princess tiara and ring, elf hat and belt, Indian hat and necklace, purple eye mask and necklace, pirate, eyeglasses with big nose and mustache. IT was so fun!!! Then we had some good food and just visited.

My mom had sent around invitations and in our invitation was a name of a person that was coming to the party and we were supposed to tell something about this person, something nice and good. It was really fun and we found out some fun things from each other!

My cousin Alex is an esthetician and she had brought some wax to wax my other cousin's eyebrows for her wedding. Well, it just turned into a line of people wanting to get their eyebrows waxed. I have never done that, but always thought I should. I jumped right in and got mine waxed. What a great night!

Thank you so much mom for putting this fun night together!!!

Kylee and Jayce

Today I took Kylee and Jayce in for their 3 and 5 year well care visits. Such a chore I tell you what. How do mom's of twins do it!! Kylee is 37 lbs (36th percentile) and 41 inches tall (23rd percentile). Jayce is 36 lbs (90th percentile) and 39 inches tall (87th percentile). You can tell which side of the family each girl comes from!!!

Both Kylee and Jayce had to get shots today and that is so traumatic for them. We went to lunch afterwards for their hard work!! All 3 girls fell asleep on the way to lunch, about a 10 minute drive. I guess that doctor's visit wore them right out, and Emily didn't even get her checkup!!

Yummy Treat

Wednesday night we had Young Women's and the girls learned to do makeup. Most of them already wear makeup so it was fun to learn some new things. They did each other's makeup and then we had this yummy treat. I have made it before and thought it was really weird, but it turns out really yummy. If you like toffee, you might just like this and it is super easy.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with tinfoil. Place soda crackers (whole) on the tinfoil so they are touching each other and cover the cookie sheet. In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter and 1 cup brown sugar. When it starts to boil, boil for 3 minutes EXACTLY. Pour over the soda crackers and use a spoon to coat all the crackers. Cook in over for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and pour 1 bag of chocolate chips (I used semisweet and it was still delicious!) over the crackers and butter. Let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes or until all the chips are melted. Once the chips are melted, spread like frosting. You can then put other things on your toffee like coconut, nuts, or m&m's. I just leave ours plain. Put in the fridge until hard and then break apart like toffee.

Is It November Already?

Where does the time go? I have been horrible about blogging and everyday I wake up and think today is the day that I will do better. WELL, TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!

Here are some pictures from Halloween. I don't know what the girls were, but they loved dressing up!! I practiced some face painting on the girls and this is what happened. Jayce was a fairy and Kylee was a butterfly.



My in-laws had a Halloween party and both girls wanted butterflies on their faces. It is fun, but it is a pain to clean off!
Here is Halloween. I am not really sure what Kylee and Jayce were, but they loved it. Emily was out little dragon, and that is good representation of her!! She is such a terror sometimes and we sure do love our girls!!

Kylee has been getting into my makeup lately and putting it on herself. She even does mascara. Pretty darn good for a 5 year old.

Happy Birthday to Kylee and Jayce

We have had a CRAZY week. Kylee and Jaycelyn's birthday are a day apart. I hope that it gets easier as they get older. I was a bit overwhelmed!! This year, Kylee wanted to have a friend party, so we decided to have a family party Tuesday night with cake and ice cream and then Wednesday, Kylee had her friends over for a princess party! It was lots of fun and the girls (and boys too) had a blast. I was a bit worn out after the party and put the girls to bed early and also went to bed and CRASHED!!

Here are some pictures from the party. I took some pictures, but whenever I took them, they were so out of focus like either I was moving or they were moving. Megan pointed out to me that I needed to have it on Auto. So, I won't post any of the bad pictures. Kind of ticks me off!! Anyway, here are some pictures from the party.

Here is a picture of the cake for the family party. It was cupcakes in the shape of a tiara. This was so fun and easy to make!!!

Kylee bugs is now 5 years old. Can that be possible? (See how the camera is out of focus.)
My ragamuffin turned 3!!
Kylee got a Hannah Montana stage for her present!!
Here is the cake I made for the friend party! (I am all caked out!! Anybody want some? We have lots of cake and cupcakes leftover.)
The girls getting ready to party. Karaoke here we come!
Jayce's favorite princess is Snow White. Gracie gave her a Snow White doll that she calls her Snow White baby!!
Kaydrie loved little Blakey!
Miss Pop star herself!! She had a really hard time sharing the microphone.
Jayce EATS the microphone!
Let's dance girls!!
Thank you to all that came. Kylee and Jayce had a blast!

I Love Wednesdays!

Do you all know that I just love Wednesdays!!!!! Not only are they the middle of the week, the day for Young Womens, Kylee's preschool, but it is also the day that I change sheets in our house and wash them and put new ones on all the beds!! I ABSOLUTELY love Downy liquid fabric softener. There are a few things that I HAVE to buy the brand name. Two of them are Tide detergent and Downy liquid fabric softener. Liquid fabric softener is the only way to go!!! Downy has some great smells out there. I have tried almost all of them and have to say that my absolute favorite is Lavender Serenity. I love Wednesday nights, coming home from Young Women's to new sheets on my bed that smell fantabulous.

Now, this post is probably making you want to go buy some! WELL, DO IT!!! I got my aunt hooked on liquid fabric softener and she says she will never go back to dryer sheets!!

Having nice sheets is making it really hard in this cold weather to get up and get exercising. I could stay in my bed all day and smell my yummy sheets and pillows. Delicious!!!

Happy Halloween

We want to wish you all a Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

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What is Working for Us

Kylee is DYING to get her ears pierced. I have always said that when she is 8, she can get them done. That way she can take care of them herself. Well, I found a cute chore chart/ticket system and have loved this. Kylee is working to earn 300 tickets to get her ears pierced. In 1 1/2 weeks, she has earned 176 tickets. I really like this system because there are not a lot of chore for my kids. I think they are young enough that they don't need a lot of chores, but they need to help out around the house a little. She also earns tickets for being nice to her sisters, obeying, cleaning up, those sorts of things. She gets tickets taken away for hitting, saying naughty words, yelling, and all those fun things. I really have liked this system because it helps me to focus on the good things they are doing, noticing the good things to help my kids earn their tickets. So, the next time you see Kylee she just might have her ears pierced!

So my parents tell me that Kylee is a little bit like me!!! I am being bit in the butt my own self!!!! Kylee was supposed to go on a field trip today for preschool and I had asked her if I could come along and she told me no, she didn't want me there. Then she told me I could come, but I couldn't be by her!! AGH! That is just like I was a little stink! I guess it is so true what they say, what goes around comes around! Someday, Kylee will have a little one like her!!

A Great Strength Workout!

Saturday nights are craft night around my house. I have two advent calendars I HAVE to get done for my cousin and his wife. They won them at our Family Service Auction and I really need to get working on them. So to help me, I have craft night to get me going!

Last Saturday my sister, sisters-in-law, and mom came over to work with me. We got talking and I was showing them some of the exercises that I do at the gym with my aunt and uncle and Christine suggested I put them on my blog so that they can know what I do and start doing them. So this is for all of you that would like to do these. When I go to the gym, we run on the treadmill for 10 minutes to warm up and then we do these ball exercises for about 10 minutes. Then we do lots of other strength training and then we do some speed work on the treadmill for the last 10 minutes. I really enjoy it!! Hope you all do too!

20 Roll outs
10 W's
10 Y's
10 L's
10 Knee rolls ins
10 Plank Pike Up
10 Pushups (down, roll back and back up)
10 reverse pushups (roll back, down and push up)
20 hamstring curl ins
20 hip rotations
20 touches

Hope this helps girls!!!

Bottling Fun!

I love this time of year. The colors, the smells, and the food!!! Megan and I have been bottling up a storm. And we aren't even done yet!!! So far, we have bottled 39 quarts of peaches, 4 quarts of pears, 53 quarts of tomatoes, 20 pints of pizza sauce, 22 pints of spaghetti sauce, and 5 pints of salsa!!

Still in the works are some more peaches, applesauce, and maybe some peach salsa!! Megan and I already have ideas for some fun new things next year like bread and butter pickles, yummo!!!

Last weekend, Jared and I went out to dinner with some of his high school friends (and my friends now!!!). We went to Texas Roadhouse! Oh, I am in love with that place. It was delicious. I just love eating out (and it probably shows huh!!!!) Anyway, we had a great time! Thanks go out to Guy and Judy for watching our kids so that we could go. Thank you so very much.

What We Have Been Up To!

I love corn season!!! And so do my kids. We had some corn with our dinner the other day and my kids ate SO much corn. Poor Emily and Jayce suffered the next day! Here are some pictures of my kids eating their corn.

Check out the pile of empty cobs!
Here is a pictures of Kylee, Caitlyn, and Addi getting ready to go do their dance. What cuties!!
They danced and danced and danced before it was thier turn.
Jayce and Kaydrie even got in on it!!
Here are the dancers dancing to Rock Around the Clock!




Wednesday was Kylee's first day of school. She was a little nervous, but I got to spend the day with her and help her feel comfortable. She did great and I think she will really like this school. My girl is growing up!

2009 Triathlon

I did the Share A Smile Triathlon again today! I love that race! It is just a fun race. My sister-in-law Michelle and her sister did it (Jen, we missed you!!! Next year, right!!) There were about 15 or so people that signed up from my ward, and then of course, a lot of my dad's family. Good times!!! I was much more aggressive this year and pushed myself pretty hard. My calves are a bit sore right now!

Here is a picture of the Justice League! This was the Jeffs & Jeffs team!

Dang Eyes

Wednesday morning I had an appointment with the eye doctor. It has been almost 2 years and my right eye has been driving me NUTS!!! It will just start to burn. Sometimes I have my contact in, sometimes I have just taken it out, but it KILLS me. AGGHH!

So, I decided it was time to head into the doctor and get it checked out. Turns out my right eye's tear duct doesn't work real well, therefore, not getting enough fluid around my eye and causing the filmmy layer over my cornea to wear away. Because of that, I can't wear my contacts for 8 weeks. 8 WEEKS!! That is so long. I love my contacts, I love being able to wear sunglasses when it is so stinking bright!

About a month ago, Jayce broke my glasses, tore one of the side pieces right off. I have lived with it because I usually just wear them at night and who really sees me at night! Well, since I have to wear glasses for 8 weeks, I decided it was time to get some new glasses (and keep them away from Jayce!) I hope that my new glasses get in before Sunday because I look like a nerd, no side piece on my glasses and they sit crooked on my face! Dorkiness!!

Kylee's Soccer

We signed Kylee up for soccer this year. She was too young to play last year, so this is her year! Our first game was on Tuesday and she spent most of the game crying. I think it was a little overwhelming, she was hungry, and oh so tired. Last night we played again and she did SO MUCH BETTER! She was aggressive and would get up in the front and try and kick the ball. She ALMOST made a goal too!

Here are some fun pictures. Yes, I know, I finally have some pictures to post.

Getting some pointers on how to play soccer!
Jared was asked to coach! What a great coach. Kylee always asks, "Dad are you the boss of my soccer team?"
Learning to kick the ball with the side of her foot.
Getting it down!
Go Kylee Go!!!
Kylee's friend Aubrey
Look Mom, I can be a cat!! (Her very favorite game to play!)
She is so glad she got some new speedy shoes!!
Be aggressive little one!
Coach Dad telling her which way to kick the ball.
Where did that darn ball get too!
My little athlete!
HMMM, now what do I do?

Kyleeism

Here was our conversation with Kylee this morning.

Leslie: Jared, you have got to get your butt out of bed and go running.

Jared: I know.

Kylee: His butt?

Leslie: Yes, his butt.

Kylee: Why don't you leave your butt here and go running dad.

Week in Review

I just cannot seem to keep up with the blogging. I LOVE to look at all the fun blogs out there, just when it comes to mine, I have been crappy!!!

Monday night, we went and hiked Stewart Falls. It has been a LONG time since I hiked Stewart Falls and the trail has changed. It was nice. Both Kylee and Jayce were great hikers. Jayce hurt her hand on some weeds and I gave her a piggy back the rest of the way up. Coming down was a little bit harder for the girls. It was starting to get dark and we walked through some really dense tree areas and Kylee did not like the "forest." It was beautiful up there and such a nice fun activity!

Tuesday night I got to the go with the Relief Society in my ward to a dinner up the canyon. It is so fun to get out and have a great night. That was a night filled with some very yummy food!!

Thursday, my cousin Greg got married. I went up to the wedding and the luncheon. It was very nice and beautiful!

That is my week in review! I need to get my camera out of storage (that is my excuse for no pictures EVER!!!) and start taking some pictures!!!