We Say the Darndest Things About Each Other

Since we interviewed the kids, we decided to see what each other had to say about the other:

1. What is something your spouse always says to the other?
Joe: "JOE!"
Kristen: "I love you!"

2. What makes your spouse happy?
Joe: "When you get all your projects done and I answer dumb questions like this"
Kristen: "When I recognize the things you accomplish instead of looking at the things you still need to do"

3. What makes us sad?
Joe: "Your kids growing up"
Kristen: "When I'm too critical of you and point out the negatives"

4. How do we make each other laugh?
Joe: "When you do silly dances"
Kristen: "When you shake your booty"

5. What were you like as a child?
Joe: "Responsible"
Kristen: "Happy, full of energy and life. A lot like Jake, I assume"

6. What is your spouse's favorite thing to do?
Joe: "Blogging"
Kristen: "Play the Wii, look on the computer, watch TV"

7. What do we do when the other is not around?
Joe: "Clean, shuttle kids"
Kristen: "Go to work seeing patients and doing cases"

8. If your spouse becomes famous, what will it be for?
Joe: "Organizational consultant"
Kristen: "Some type of medical cure or an orthopaedic break-through"

9. What is your spouse really good at?
Joe: "Lots of stuff. Too many to list"
Kristen: "Major kissing up, making me laugh, home improvement repairs and projects, video games, surgery, trivia questions, internet research"

10. What is your spouse not very good at?
Joe: "Sports"
Kristen: "Cleaning up after himself and organizing his papers"

11. What does your spouse do for his/her job?
Joe: "Everything"
Kristen: "Orthopaedic Surgery"

12. What is your spouse's favorite food?
Joe: "Mexican"
Kristen: "Steak, potatoes, and veggies"

13. What makes you proud of your spouse?
Joe: "You're a wonderful wife and mother and raising our children in the gospel"
Kristen: "Our family always comes first and you are true to your priesthood. You have a good heart and will do anything for me!"

14. If your spouse were a cartoon character, who would he/she be?
Joe: "Minnie Mouse"
Kristen: "Superman"

15. What do we do together?
Joe: "Shop for your stuff"
Kristen: "Shop for YOUR stuff (we just like to shop, period), go out to dinner, watch movies"

16. How are we the same?
Joe: "We share common goals"
Kristen: "We have the same ideals on the important things in life"

17. How are we different?
Joe: "You think your projects should come first"
Kristen: "I like things clean and organized MY WAY"

18. How do you know I love you?
Joe: "By your service"
Kristen: "You tell me all the time and compliment me"

19. What do you like most about your spouse?
Joe: "You're understanding and fun-loving"
Kristen: "Your sense of humor"

20. Where is his/her favorite place to go?
Joe: "Disneyland or a craft store"
Kristen: "Target and Germany"

21. What is your favorite thing about your spouse?
Joe: "See #19"
Kristen: "Personality"

22. What does your spouse do that is silly?
Joe: "Funny little dances"
Kristen: "Hip-hop dances complete with pelvic thrusts"

Kids Say the Darndest Things About Dad

This is all about Dad with a few side notes from me. Since he doesn't do our blog, he can't defend himself. Hee Hee Hee.

1. What is something Dad always says to you?
Clark: "Hey Clark, wanna come with me?"
Katelyn: "Let's play Wii"
Jacob: "You can go in the pool"

2. What makes Dad happy?
Clark: "When I follow him on Lego Indiana Jones"
Katelyn: "Our smiles"
Jacob: "When I'm nice and not bad"

3. What makes Dad sad?
Clark: "When I eat 3 ice cream cones"
Katelyn: "When we touch his computer"
Jacob: "Touching his i-Phone when he doesn't say"

4. How does Dad make you laugh?
Clark: "He tells jokes"
Katelyn: "He tickles us"
Jacob: "To do funny things"

5. What was your dad like as a child?
Clark: "Hard-working"
Katelyn: "He was smart"
Jacob: "He liked Grandma and Grandpa"

6. How old is your dad?
Clark: "33"
Katelyn: "33"
Jacob: "34"

7. How tall is your dad?
Clark: "He's like 5 feet and 10 inches"
Katelyn: "He's 5 feet and 10 inches"
Jacob: "100 feet"

8. What is his favorite thing to do?
Clark: "Get on his laptop or play the Wii"
Katelyn: "Play Wii"
Jacob: "Play Wii"

9. What does your dad do when you're not around?
Clark: "He works because I'm always at school when he's not around"
Katelyn: "Plays Wii"
Jacob: "Plays Wii"

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
Clark: "His doctoring"
Katelyn: "A rock star"
Jacob: "A firefighter"

11. What is your dad really good at?
Clark: "Making bread" (Very true. He's a great cook! Thanks, hon!)
Katelyn: "Playing on his laptop"
Jacob: "Playing Wii"

12. What is your dad not very good at?
Clark: "Cleaning his part of the closet and following Mom's rules" (Mmm hmmm)
Katelyn: "Cleaning"
Jacob: "Being a rock star"

12. What does your dad do for his job?
Clark: "He's an orthopaedist of doctory" (OK?!?)
Katelyn: "Orthopaedic Doctor and he takes out other people's bones"
Jacob: "He works at his work where you do surgery"

14. What is your dad's favorite food?
Clark: "Sushi"
Katelyn: "Ice cream"
Jacob: "Noodles"

15. What makes you proud of your dad?
Clark: "He gives us what we want when we ask him to" (Mmm Hmm)
Katelyn: "When he makes his good bread for us"
Jacob: "Playing the Wii with me"

16. If your dad was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Clark: "Knuckles from Sonic"
Katelyn: "Mister Crabs from Spongebob"
Jacob: "Luigi"

17. What do you and your dad do together?
Clark: "Play Wii"
Katelyn: "Play Wii"
Jacob: "Play"

18. How are you and your dad the same?
Clark: "We both like to golf"
Katelyn: "We have brown eyes and messy rooms"
Jacob: "We have the same hair"

19. How are you and your dad different?
Clark: "I follow Mom's rules and he doesn't" (Apparently there's a pattern here as well. I'm a clean freak and Joe is a huge softy that spoils our children with ice cream and no rules!)
Katelyn: "We have different favorite colors"
Jacob: "We have not the same clothes"

20. How do you know your dad loves you?
Clark: "Cuz he's my dad"
Katelyn: "Cuz he helps me"
Jacob: "Cuz his heart loves me"

21. What does he like most about Mom?
Clark: "That she's nice"
Katelyn: "She's cute"
Jacob: "He likes that she loves him"

22. Where is his favorite place to go?
Clark: "The sushi place"
Katelyn: "The computer shop"
Jacob: "McDonald's"

23. What is your favorite thing about Dad?
Clark: "That he loves me"
Katelyn: "He's a part of my family and I love him"
Jacob: "He plays with me"

24. What does he do that is silly?
Clark: "He says funny jokes"
Katelyn: "He sings songs"
Jacob: "He dances funny"

Kids Say The Darndest Things About Mom

Here's a fun interview I asked my kids about me . . .

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Clark: "I love you!"
Katelyn: "Go to bed!"
Jacob: "Jake, clean up!"

2. What makes Mom happy?
Clark: "When we do something the first time you ask us to"
Katelyn: "The kids"
Jacob: "Us cleaning up"

3. What makes Mom sad?
Clark: "When I'm bad"
Katelyn: "When we don't do what you say."
Jacob: "Not cleaning up"

4. How does Mom make you laugh?
Clark: "When you, uh, um, I don't know. Oh I know, I know, when you play with us. I mean, when you play funny"
Katelyn: "When you say funny jokes"
Jacob: "Funny stuff"

5. What was your Mom like as a child?

Clark: "You were spoiled" (I was NOT! No way! NOT! NOT! NOT! ;))

Katelyn: "You had weird teeth"

Jacob: "You liked Grandma"

6. How old is your Mom?
Clark: "32"
Katelyn: "I think you're . . . 32"
Jacob: "32"

7. How tall is your Mom?
Clark: "You're 5 point 23"
Katelyn: "5 foot 5"
Jacob: "100 feet" (And it's all legs, baby!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Clark: "Blog"
Katelyn: "Blog"
Jacob: "Play with us"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Clark: "You watch your shows"
Katelyn: "You clean"
Jacob: "You clean up and do the laundry"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Clark: "Making up ideas"
Katelyn: "Fashion designer"
Jacob: "It will be for us" (I hope that means they will be well-known for their goodness and successes, although with Jake, I sometimes worry)

11. What is your mom really good at?
Clark: "Being our mom" (Aahhh, sweet boy!)
Katelyn: "Cleaning"
Jacob: "Being nice"

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Clark: "Playing Wii"
Katelyn: "Spankings"
Jacob: "Being bad"

12. What does your mom do for her job?
Clark: "Take care of us"
Katelyn: "You take care of us"
Jacob: "Do the laundry"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Clark: "Shrimp"
Katelyn: "Sushi"
Jacob: "Noodles"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Clark: "That you love me"
Katelyn: "Because you help me clean my room" (Are you seeing a pattern here?)
Jacob: "Because I love you"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Clark: "Amy from Sonic"
Katelyn: "Hannah Montana"
Jacob: "Mario"

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Clark: "We do homework"
Katelyn: "We do crafts and go shopping"
Jacob: "We play with each other"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Clark: "We both have blonde hair"
Katelyn: "We both have yellow hair"
Jacob: "Cuz we clean"

19. How are you and your mom different?
Clark: "I play video games and you just blog"
Katelyn: "You have a lot of freckles and I don't"
Jacob: "Cuz we don't clean"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Clark: "Cuz you take care of us and you give us shelter and you love us"
Katelyn: "Whenever I go to school, you give me a kiss"
Jacob: "Cuz I love you"
.
21. What does your mom like most about Dad?
Clark: "He's good-looking"
Katelyn: "He's hot"
Jacob: "He plays the Wii" (Um, whatever, Jake!)

22. Where is her favorite place to go?
Clark: "Disneyland"
Katelyn: "The outlets"
Jacob: "McDonald's" (ewww)

23. What is your favorite thing about Mom?
Clark: "That you love us"
Katelyn: "You're pretty"
Jacob: "You're nice"

24. What does your mom do that is silly?
Clark: "Nothing"
Katelyn: "You do funny dances like this . . ."
Jacob: "Play the Wii" (Because I'm terrible at it and Jake thinks it's hilarious because I'm the only one he can beat!)

My Baby Girl

My sweet and incredibly talented friend, Melissa, took these pictures of Carlee one day for fun when she was babysitting her and I have been wanting to post them because I love how they turned out and I need to journal a little bit about her for my memory's sake.

I can't believe that my baby is growing up. She will be 2 years old next month and it is so crazy. I am actually going through this thinking phase where I'm freaking out because all my babies are growing up. I want to freeze time. (Well, actually I want time to continue for about 3 more years. I don't want any more diapers to change and I want Clark to be 12 and Jake to be baptized.) I have been feeling this way because all of our birthdays are between September and December. And of course, I reminisce about carrying and giving birth to these sweethearts and the fun memories of them growing from developing babies to curious toddlers to energetic young ones to a little more independent older children, trying to let go but don't quite want to.

They still blow me kisses, wave goodbye and yell, "I love you!" when I drop them off at school. They still follow me around to make sure I'm close by. Their sweet faces light up when I surprise them at school for lunch or volunteering. They still want me to read them bedtime stories and tuck them in. They still love to snuggle on the couch with me during movies. They still think I'm pretty and dress cute ;) They still think I'm fun, cool, and have good ideas. Although it is challenging, busy, and sometimes stressful because they still need me so much, it is so rewarding and incredibly worth it when I get those kisses, hugs, and snuggles.

Carlee has especially been attached to me lately. But it is actually kind of cute. I tell her to go play but her reply is always, "I help Mommy." She loves to help me with dishes, laundry, and vacuuming. She brings me a book and when I'm done reading it, she yells, "The End! Another story?" Since the kids started back to school this week, I've been taking advantage of them being gone and doing some Christmas shopping so instead of taking a nap, she has been hauled around to different stores when Jake is at preschool. Yesterday I went to put her in the car to pick up Jake and she was so mad because she wanted "another store." Carlee loves to walk and look at things and is actually really good at "looking with her eyes, not her hands." She likes to carry around purses, put on Katelyn's makeup, and push her baby in the stroller. She loves holding my hand and sitting on my lap. She especially loves to talk on the phone. When she isn't talking to an aunt, grandma or Daddy, she'll hold it on her shoulder and jabber, laughing and throwing her head back. It is so funny to watch. Carlee has an amazing vocabulary and is a fantastic talker for not even being 2 yet. She loves to talk and ask questions about things. She loves when Daddy comes home and runs to him with the biggest hugs and kisses. She likes to play with my hair and put her cheek next to mine with her arms tightly around my neck.

Carlee is very spunky and independent. She wants to be a big girl and tells me, "I do it" and "Lahlee's turn." She has the cutest run with big back-and-forth arms, straight legs, and wiggling hips. I make her run to me just so I can smile and get a giggle. This girl can eat too. She loves food and taking "just one bite" of everyone else's. She has a major sweet tooth and will climb on anything to get what she wants. My ears are tuned to the chairs being pushed around the kitchen floor and I always come running.

One of my favorite things about Carlee (and I still need to take a picture of this) is the way she sleeps. When we moved to Vegas, we got rid of the crib and put her in a big bed (twin). During the first week she kept falling out of bed during the night so she wouldn't sleep in her bed. She would grab her pillow, blanket, and baby and lay on the floor. When we finally bought a bedrail and showed her that she wouldn't fall out, she started sleeping in her bed. The funny thing about her sleeping is that she wads up her blanket into a ball and puts it under her belly and pelvis as she lays on her tummy. I can't imagine that being comfortable but she will toss and turn until that blanket is balled up just right before she falls asleep. I also have to lay her baby right next to her with her own blanket, kiss and hug them both and tell them "Sweet Dreams" before she'll go to sleep. Carlee is actually the best at staying in her bed when it's bedtime too so that is amazing too.

Clark, Katelyn, and Jacob can't get enough of her and she loves to play with them just as much. Although she is a "Mama's Girl", it just doesn't feel right when they are all at school. She asks about them all day long and is so excited when they are home. She loves it when they play with her and involve her in their clubs, plays, and shows. Carlee watches them in awe and loves the attention when she does something cute and they laugh. We are so grateful for this little munchkin. She has the most darling personality and sometimes I wonder where she comes from but she definitely brings something unique and fun to our family. We love our baby girl to pieces. Thanks for being you, Coco!

Happy Halloween

For Halloween this year, we decided to drive up to Utah and spend it there. We arrived late Wednesday night and started the festivities on Thursday. After some shopping and errands in the morning, we headed to Gardner Village in the afternoon. "Witches Night Out" is so cute to see. There are animated witches all over the village. The kids also rode on ponies with their cousins, Sierra, Jaxson, and Brooklyn.

Katelyn "hanging" with her new friend.

Grandpa and the kids, plus Brooklyn. Notice the sign. Hee Hee.

Clark's new girlfriend. Isn't she pretty?

After a yummy dinner of taco soup and bread bowls, we got our jackets on and headed to Hee Haw Farms. We jumped on the hay, slid down the tube slide, walked through a spook alley, played in the corn box, shot the corn cannon, sped down the gunny sack slide, and braved the corn maze in the dark. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. Uncle Kyle even scared Clark half to death when he jumped out of the corn in the dark.

Cute Girls!

Friday morning we carved our pumpkins and then headed to BYU for a trip down memory lane and a shopping spree at the bookstore. Joe and I took the kids to lunch at Training Table (where we had our first lunch date), showed them the apartment complex where we met, The Riviera, and walked all around campus telling them about the buildings and such. It sure has changed in the last 10 years. I even thought that we could pass as college students if we didn't have our four children in tow, but Joe completely disagreed. He reminded me of how old, mature, and experienced we are. Thanks a lot, babe! We bought tees, hats, sweatshirts, and polos at the bookstore and then grabbed an ice cream cone at the Creamery. Yummy! Go, Cougars!

We then headed to my sister's house for chili, homemade root beer and trick-or-treating. Cath made 2 different types of chili and they were both delicious. The homemade root beer was fun and the kids loved the dry ice. Joe taught them all how to suck it up and blow it out so that kept them entertained for a while. After a few little bites, too many questions of when they could get into their costumes, and "Where's my trick-or-treat bag?", "I can't find my shoes", and "Mom, did you bring the make-up?" we started the chaos of getting ready. The kids got dressed up, posed for pictures, and were on their way. It was a warm night for trick-or-treating. We did have a few little rain sprinkles but the kids were happy and loved every minute of it. Kyle and Jenn even came dressed up as Prince Edward and Giselle from Enchanted. Joe and I got to take the kids together this year and that was a real treat for us. After an hour of begging for candy, we loaded into the cars and headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's. We showed off our costumes, dumped out our candy and dug in (at least, for a few minutes). Then we had donuts and apple cider and played a family round of Neon Leon (our revived favorite game that is played all the time!). Then pajamas were on, teeth were brushed and we all snuggled up to watch Tinkerbell. Half the kids fell asleep during the movie so it was a great night.

I don't know what's worse--the pumpkin guts or the bedhead!

Expert artists and carvers

A bear, a princess, a lion, and a bunny

Carlee wiggling her nose like a rabbit.

Saturday was spent hitting the great stores that you can only find in Utah. Joe took the boys to Nordstrom and Boondocks, a family fun center/arcade and I took the girls and went with my parents to IKEA, Hobby Lobby, Tai Pan Trading, and Rod Works. That afternoon and evening was spent watching football, eating pizza, and playing. My parents had tickets to the Jazz Game and I wanted to go but I couldn't get a date (football vs. basketball, hmmmm) and he convinced me as to which was better so they and Geoff went to the Jazz Game and the rest of the family came up to cheer on BYU, watch Texas, and the Utes. They were good games so I'm glad I stayed, although the Jazz won too in a good game. The kids played in the basement for hours while we watched football and it was nice to just relax after a couple of crazy days.

Great Halloween, great shopping, great weekend, great family.

"Keep your hands, feet, and heads inside the car at all times . . .

. . . unless you are going to vomit, then please lean out over the side."

I think that's what the instructions should say when riding the rides at Disneyland. At least it would have been applicable to us on Tuesday morning.

Monday afternoon we drove to California for three days at Disneyland and California Adventure. The kids have been out of school for track break all month and they have been so spoiled with activities and this was the big one they had been waiting for. I have to admit that I get just as excited as they do. I can't sleep very well the night before and I run through all my childhood memories of those rides in my mind as I am packing, cleaning, and getting ready to go. So after waiting for some papers to arrive from FedEx, a quick lunch, and an hour of sitting in traffic in south Las Vegas, we were on our way. We got to our hotel late evening so we just unloaded, got in our pj's and watched TV until we fell asleep.

The adventures started early Tuesday. We got ready in our Disney tees and set off to grab some breakfast on our way. While we were walking, Jake started complaining of a stomach ache and said he wasn't feeling well. Being the sympathetic mother I am, I told him that he would be fine if he ate something and that he needed to suck it up because we were going to Disneyland no matter what! He drank a little bit of juice and ate a couple bites of a muffin and then announced that he was going to throw up so I told him to just lean into the bushes if he needed to. About 2 minutes later, he coughed and leaned into the bushes. We thought it was over because he said he felt better so we continued on our way while pushing him in the stroller. Carlee enjoyed walking and "being higher" in Daddy's shoulders.

The weather was perfect and so were the lines. We got through Adventureland and Frontierland in less than 2 hours and Jake even went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad exclaiming that it was AWESOME! We headed to Fantasyland to start on the kids rides. We piled onto the Casey Jr. Circus Train. Jake started complaining again about his stomach but he hadn't really eaten anything so we thought he would be okay. A couple of minutes later, the cough and leaning came again, but this time, he leaned over Joe. Yuck! They were a mess but luckily for the next rider, the train car was safe and "clean". Those two headed straight to the restroom to clean up and I found a table for lunch. While Joe was buying lunch, Jake fell asleep with his head on the table. I moved him into the stroller and he slept for about 2 hours while Joe and I took turns taking Clark, Kate, and Carlee on the rides. When he woke up, he insisted on riding Dumbo so he did. I was nervous he would have another "leaning episode" so we didn't allow him on any big rides. He went on a few other small rides and seemed fine after that so we stayed until the park closed at about 8:00. We grabbed some Subway sandwiches and headed back to our hotel. Jake ate so much that evening and I was worried but all was well and he fell asleep early and was ready to go Wednesday.

We visited California Adventure on Wednesday. When we came about 3 years ago the kids were too small for any of the big rides but not this time. We hit Bug's Land right when it opened and it wasn't busy at all so we got it done in less than an hour. The greatest was the 4-D movie, "It's Tough to be a Bug". It is the best I have ever seen and the kids loved it. Well . . . except Carlee. She screamed and cried when the spiders came. Jake even got scared and ripped off his 3-D glasses.

Then we went to Hollywood Backstage Lot for Playhouse Disney, Muppets 3-D, Monsters, Inc. ride and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. None of us had been on the Tower of Terror before so we didn't really know what to expect. We knew it was an elevator that would drop and rise but didn't know how the ride actually worked. Since Joe has a fear of elevators, I was nominated to take the kids on this one. They kept asking me questions and I didn't have any answers for them. I just told them we would all have to see and experience it together. There was a father with his three daughters next to us in line and they were telling us how awesome it was but the kids were still a little nervous. We buckled into the ride and started up in the elevator. As we were on the ride, they told a little story about the hotel and how it turned into the twilight zone when it got hit by lightning many years ago. At the top, they open the elevator doors so you can see outside into the park and then they shut quickly and you drop. Everyone screams and your legs, arms, and hair fly up as you plummet to the ground. Katelyn was squeezing my right arm so tight and screaming her head off. Jake held my left hand and was frozen in his seat. Clark had his eyes closed and was yelling, "Mommy!" Again, being the sympathetic mother I am, I was laughing hysterically at my terrorized children. Tears were streaming out of my eyes because I was laughing so hard. That father and his girls were sitting directly in front of us and he kept looking back at my kids and laughing hysterically too. When the ride got over, Clark and Kate were almost in tears and Jake was completely silent. When we walked out to Joe, they said that they would never go on that ride again. I thought it was FANTASTIC! I think I need one in my backyard for the next time my kids get out of bed. Mwahh haa haa haa!

Thursday we went back to California Adventure to hit the Toy Story Midway Mania ride. It was so busy on Tuesday that we decided to do it first thing when the park opened. Unfortunately so did everyone else that went into the park. The line was about 45 minutes long. It was a fun ride and definitely the longest wait. The kids then did the carousel and river run one more time before heading back to Disneyland.

Toon Town and Fantasy Faire were our last stops at Disneyland before hitting our favorites again. It was great to see Mickey and visit his house and the girls loved learning to be a princess at the royal Coronation ceremony with Ariel, Jasmine, and Aurora. We then hit all of our favorites one more time and bought our souvenirs. Due to my royal migraine, we ended our day early and went to dinner at Red Robin. Then back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Other highlights of our trip:

-Pixar Play Parade

-Getting soaked on the Grizzly River Run

-Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

-Mulholland Madness

-Running over to Disneyland when California Adventure closed early

-Disneyland Parade

-Pirates of the Caribbean over and over again

-Space Mountain over and over again because "It was so wicked!"

-Indiana Jones because it too was "wicked"

-Downtown Disney's extremely expensive pizza

-Downtown Disney's shops and night-life

-Lego store in Downtown Disney

-Jedi Training that was "so awesome!"

-Haunted Mansion transformation into "Nightmare before Christmas"--I loved this! It was so cute and better than the normal Haunted Mansion ride

-Pineapple Ice Cream float at the Tiki Room

-Pumpkins and candy corn everywhere

-Fall decor and garland everywhere

-Great weather

-Small crowds and short lines

Friday we packed up and checked out. We had a great breakfast at the Original Pancake House and started our little drive home. We stopped at the outlets at the state line and arrived home just in time for dinner. It was a great week and we can't wait to go again. Disneyland is truly "the happiest place on earth" unless you are vomiting, afraid of elevators, scared of spiders, and holding onto a migraine. Luckily those things are temporary and the memories will last forever!