LeRoy and Holly

Burp=Sleep

2011-05-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

Burp! Please Burp!

Announcing our littlest princess.

Cora Hope

5.15.11

6 lbs 3 oz

A Berry Yummy Birthday Party

2011-05-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Teah turned 7!!! We (she) thought the day would never come, she'd been counting down the days since Christmas. To celebrate the big day, we decided to do a baking/cooking birthday party. Inspired by this party, we came up with some really fun ideas for a bunch of girls to do:Everyone had a chef's hat and an apron waiting for them when they came. Their first job was to make a flower to decorate their hat- we used cupcake liners and coffee filters. Love the creativity!Next we had cooking stations. The girls made lemon berry tarts...They cut up and mashed up some strawberries for our jam, then we put them in these little jars...chocolate dipped strawberries...And, of course, cake and ice cream (cake made by my ever so talented sister, Jill).In the end, each little chef got to take home her creations.

This party was seriously SO fun to plan and do for Teah. It would not have been possible without the help of my mom, Jayme, Jill, and LeRoy. THANK YOU ALL a ton!

ps- all the awesome photography is courtesy of Jill.

3 old shirts repurposed

2011-01-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, I admit, I a little proud of myself right now. We had a chill at home night tonight, Eden went to sleep, Teah and Havi watch the Labyrinth (you remind me of the babe...) and I went through my (and my sisters) D.I. pile and found three shirts- a white one with a stain on the side, a grey one with a hole on the bottom, and a polka dot one that was just unwanted. I had a creative burst, got out the scissors and sewing machine and put them together in this fun little dress!

18 months

2011-01-18T08:15:00.001-08:00

18 months isn't that long...

That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.

Truth be told, 18 months is just too long to wait for a reply when texting my little sister.

It's a whole year and a half of holidays with someone missing.

What will the 4th of July be like without Kelsy's annual stars and stripes swim suit?

Mom's house won't look as good at Christmas time... hopefully we have enough pictures to help us remember where to put the decorations.

Oh no, pictures! 18 months of my photography skills and equipment... sorry girls.

I know this is shallow, but what will Christmas be like without Santa's little helper pointing Mrs. Claus in the direction of the really cute shoes, clothes and accessories??

I'm going to miss Fridays where Kelsy was off work and I could hang out with her or drop off a girl or two while I'd go to an appointment. They're going to miss that, too.

When Teah found out that Kelsy would be gone for TWO of her birthdays, she said, "Aw, dang! You give the best presents!"

As much as it's going to hurt for Kelsy to be gone, I'm so glad she's doing this.

Hermana Kelsy Alsup, Texas Houson South, Spanish speaking mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I am so proud of my little sister. I know this mission will be a wonderful experience for her, and I look forward to hearing about her experiences and learning from her example (some more). She will teach my kids so much. They already look up to her, and all their aunts, and I'm so glad they each lead such exemplary lives.

We're going to miss you a TON, Kels! Work hard and don't forget about us!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Scary Night

2010-10-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

I know this is one of those things that, as a mother, I really need to discourage. Really, it's not good for the long term relationship between these girls, not good for the short term either.

Bad. Naughty (my hand is covering my smile and I'm trying really hard not to laugh).

On another note, here are the three little monsters- a vampire, pumpkin and a witch.

Highlights from the night:

"That's a good one, mom" Said by Havi for no real reason at all as we walked from one house to another. Maybe it's just me, but that made me laugh.

Another Havi, as she's about half way through the trick-or-treating route and feeling the weight of her bucket: "Just two more houses and that's IT. Oh, and that one... just THREE more houses and that's IT!"

Teah had ulterior motives tonight- she collected moths as well as candy. Monday is LeRoy's birthday, and Teah wants to give him moths in a jar to use for his fishing.

Down the street from us is a the SCARY house. They go all out with costumes, ghosts, body parts all over the yard, etc. They even have a spook alley through their backyard, it's awesome. The girls have been talking about all month, and tonight, Havi told me to "wait right there, mom" on the sidewalk as she marched right up the skull walkway to the scary man and said, "Trick or treat". She got her candy, came back as proud as can be and we walked away with her telling us all about how brave she was. I was proud of her. Teah wanted to wait until it was really dark to go to the scary house, which we did. She even went through the spook alley... holding my hand really tight.

Eden stayed home with LeRoy and handed out candy. She waved and said, "HI!" to everyone. EVERY ONE. Cutie.

It's almost that time of year...

2010-10-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

If you're starting to think about Christmas cards this year (or if it hasn't even crossed your mind), check out inkish designs!

I'll be adding designs between now and Thanksgiving, but there's some good stuff there!

Thanks!

One Year Olds

2010-09-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Take a guess- which babe is which?

It's probably obvious, but there are some similarities!

Teah's Perfect Smore

2010-08-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

you're killing me, Smalls! These are smores stuff.

All right, now pay attention.

First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham.

Then you roast the mallow.

When the mallow's flaming...

you stick it on the chocolate.

Then cover with the other end.

Then you scarf.

Kind of messy, but good!

Journal Entry

2010-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 12:23am

I hear a cry coming from upstairs, then a cry coming down the stairs. It’s Havi and it can only mean one thing. I hurry to the stairs to help her and make my mistake- I pick her up. She held it in while she was walking, but as soon as I grabbed her and walked briskly to the bathroom, she lost control. Pee all over my pajama shirt and down my side. “It’s coming!” She cries. I put her down and there was soon a puddle on the floor. I helped her get her pajama pants down and sit on the toilet, but that was mostly just to get her out of the mess. Loud crying, smelly pee, midnight mess. I leave her on the toilet, start cleaning up the puddles and let her know I’m not mad at her. We have a little talk about whether she really went to the bathroom before bed like she said/still says she did... some doubt, but I mostly believe her. She finally stops crying, I get her wet pajama pants off her and start a load of laundry then get her some clean panties and shorts. I hand them to her to put on, help her to a clean spot in my room and turn to stick my legs in the shower when I hear her sleepy raspy voice singing “...so freakin’ bad”. I turn around and she’s sitting there naked, figuring out the panties. I say, “Havi, what are you singing?” She says, “That song- ‘I want to be a billionaire, so freakin’ bad...’”. Really. I go finish what I was doing shaking my head and smiling, then come back 45 seconds later and she is cuddled up on our decoration pillow pile on the floor perfectly, comfortably, asleep with a happy smile on her face and her hands together between her cheek and the pillow. Unbelievable girl.

I dream of Mini

2010-03-14T22:42:00.001-07:00

Minivans, that is.

Yes, the vehicle of my dreams right now is a minivan.

Ah, the seating space. Ah, the storage capabilities. Ah, the sliding doors... one push of a button and they open!

Before Eden was born, we wondered if three car seats would even fit in the back of our cute little Corolla. Obviously they do, but not without complains daily. Teah can hardly fit her fingers down to buckle herself in her booster. Havi often gets jostled when I close the door. it sometimes takes a couple tries to get it closed. I don't even want to talk about the Kindergarten carpool. all I can say is that it's just a couple blocks on residential roads and I don't go more than 20mph.

I used to have some of those feet stickers on the back of my car window, and they're gone now for a couple reasons--

1. I get it, it's not so cool anymore if it ever was.

2. I really don't want FIVE pairs of toes telling everyone exactly how many Montaños are crammed in this car. if we were closer to Mexico, border patrol might think we're trying to smuggle people across.

I know my generation is supposed to hate minivans with a vengeance, and I used to, but practicality and three car seats have brought me a change of heart. I've exchanged sins- pride for envy. Yes, I now envy all those lucky people out there with sliding doors that open with a push of a button, cargo space, seating for seven or eight... ahhh.

So if you ever see me driving around in a minivan with a HUGE smile on my face, you'll get it. Besides, April drives a minivan, and really, who doesn't want to be like April?

confession

2010-03-14T22:36:00.001-07:00

When I'm running outside and I see that I'm going to cross paths with another runner, I speed up. If I see that the other runner is female, it's even worse.

I'm really not a fast runner, I've never claimed to be, so I don't know who I'm trying to impress. I have got to let go of some of this competitive spirit.

dabbling

2010-03-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

The baby. (for you, B)

Her 'thing' is: one thumb in her mouth, one thumb in my mouth. She does this when she's tired.

Two problems:

1) my girls' wardrobes were needy.

2) Grandma's sewing machine was feeling lonely and neglected.

One solution: these dresses!

Fashionista

2010-03-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since my sister requested a picture of Havi everyday she dresses herself, I've kept the camera close at hand whenever this little chica gets dressed. So, here you go sistas, the rules of fashion according to Havi:

1. Just because no one else at Joy School dresses like this doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

2. Skirt + pants= can't go wrong.

3.Who says you can't wear a Halloween shirt in February?

4. Hot pink boots. 'Nuf said.

5. Christmas socks with pink boots or black mary janes? Yes, please!

Pulse check... yup, still alive

2010-02-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

I don't have any big news to report that would explain the absence of the Montaño family from our blog, just life, I guess! Here's what we've been up to: spending time on the slopes... playing tooth fairy... and snoozing.

And here's why it will probably be another long break between posts: my new baby. I'm so excited about my new iMac, and I'm having a blast playing around with the Adobe CS4 software on it... so much fun, not enough time!

Tricks of the Trade

2009-12-03T13:20:00.001-08:00

I know all parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents have their own 'tricks of the trade' when it comes to dealing with kiddos, so I thought it'd be fun to share a couple of my favorite... and maybe pick up some of yours in return.

Problem: Fighting in the car. Whining in the car. Crying in the car. basically being in the car.
Solution: I got this one from teaching Joy School- I turn the radio to the local classical station and tell the girls to close their eyes, listen to the music, and tell me what the song is about. It's interesting to hear what they come up with- Teah's stories are about trolls, fairies, witches, people tip-toe-ing, waterfalls, etc. Very creative. Havi's are similar- fairies, etc. But she came up with one yesterday that made me laugh: "that was a squirrel tooting!" I don't know how long before they outgrow this, but for ages 5 and 3, it's fantastic.

Problem: Bedtime. Talking and getting up after I put them down.
Solution: After stories, prayers, hugs, kisses, etc. I tell them they have to lay very still, and I sprinkle fairy dust (there's always a magical supply in my pocket, the invisible kind) over them. If they hold still and are quiet, this fairy dust will help them have good dreams, but if they move or talk, it disappears. Bam. Two sleeping girls.

Now, who has a solution for getting them to clean their room??

Come Back, Jill!

2009-11-24T06:59:00.001-08:00

Whenever Aunt Jill comes to visit from Pittsburgh, the girls go to the airport with Grandma and Grandpa, they look for Jill's plane, and ta-da! Fun Aunt Jill comes! Then when it's time to go, Jill gets back on the plane and is gone. And I have two sad little girls.
Well, in the mind of 3 year old Havi, Jill is on every airplane we see in the sky. So if you're out and you hear a little someone screaming at the top of her lungs, "Come back, Jill!!!!", look up. There's an airplane somewhere in her vision.

How many more days, now, Jill??? Can't wait for you and Chan to get here!

Reality Check

2009-11-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

My apologies to anyone out there who's avoided this blog lately due to all the cheesiness. Reading through some recent posts, I've been on a gag inducing roll lately... I'm lost for an explanation. I don't take back what I said, it was sincere, but there's more to life these days than rainbows and lollipops.

Exhibit A: This is what a 3 year old looks like after a traumatic experience. Church was over on Eden's blessing day and LeRoy, Eden and I joined the train of vehicles driving to our house for a meal. On the way out I said to LeRoy, "We're missing 2 kids." We figured Teah was going with Grandma San, and sadly, that's as far as we got before we were distracted. Once home, we were getting ready to bless the food when the phone rang.

me: "Hello?"

1st Counselor (the one who announced to the ward the Montaño family would be blessing their daughter, Edna): "Hello Sister Montaño. I don't mean to alarm you, I realize you have a lot of people at your house, but your daughter is here at the church."

me: "Oh, I'll be right there!" Aaaah!

I drove to the church and found poor little Havi. Drama queen that she is, she ran into my arms crying. I guess she'd been using a bench as a table to color her pretty picture (kneeling down and out of sight) when she noticed the chapel was empty. She got up and ran to the door, but it was too late.

She has since recovered.

By the way, when LeRoy was blessing Eden, I heard Havi singing, "moving my hips like ya..." She had Mylie on the brain.

The other night, I asked her if she was ready to say prayers before going to bed, and she simply didn't want to. Teah told her she would break Jesus' heart if she didn't say her prayers. Ever since, her prayers have gone like this: "... please bless I won't break Jesus' heart. Please bless I won't make mommy sad. Please bless I won't make Heavenly Father sad..." Poor kid. I'd better start saving for her therapy.

Exhibit B: My child laborer. The other morning, the girls had finished their breakfast and were on to doing chores... the dreaded emptying of the dishwasher. I sat down to have some breakfast, and I overheard this:

Teah: It's like we're her servants.

Havi: I know.

Here's a picture of my 'servant' doing the babysitting for me.

Well, I'd better go see how I can torture Eden tonight.

What Day Is Today?

2009-11-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

Look at these two. Two of the best things in my life.
We blessed Eden in church today (if there was any confusion, she IS still Eden, not Edna as some may have thought). A baby blessing day is one of those occasions where I pause and think about all I've been blessed with in my life, and I must say, 'my cup runneth over'. Three dolls for daughters (if I do say so myself), one selfless, hardworking, entertaining, strong in so many ways, handsome, loving husband who is the key to this wonderful life I feel so blessed to have.

Here's to you, Eden, on your blessing day, you were an angel.
And here's to you, LeRoy, on your birthday. Happy Birthday.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Love,
Holly

Indians, Pirates and Ghosts... oh my

2009-11-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here are our Halloween pictures. Havi was a scary pirate (rrr, matey). Teah was Tigerlily, just beautiful. And Edee pie was the cutest little ghost you've ever seen.

Any fans of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse out there?? "Oh toooodles!"

With my mom (gypsy) and dad (Waldo from Provo- blue instead of the usual 'where's waldo' red).

Four weeks later

2009-10-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Twins?
Teah and Havi got "Super Sister" capes when Eden was born.

She's happy to see Grandpa!

Still not too sure about bathtime.

9.9.09

2009-09-12T08:29:00.001-07:00

Nine has always been a good number...

but last Wednesday it took on a whole new meaning. Sweet little Eden Kona Montaño was born on September 9, 2009 at 2:00pm. She weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20 inches long. Everyone's doing great, Teah and Havi are happy big sisters who can't get enough of Eden. I'm feeling good, and LeRoy's taking awesome care of all of us. Who could ask for more? I feel so blessed!

First day of Kindergarten

2009-08-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Talk about mixed emotions! Part of me thinks it's some form of cruel and unusual punishment to send your oldest to Kindergarten when you're 9 (going on 29) months pregnant, 1.4 weeks away from giving birth. At the same time, I do like the idea of one less voice in the house requesting this and that. I know she'll love going to school and learning, playing, making friends, and I know she'll be wonderful at all of it. It's not that I can't believe I'm old enough to have a kid in school, I'm fine with my age. I'm fine with her being 5.

So why do my eyes keep watering? {sniffle}.

Here's why. Change, good or bad, is never easy, and that's part of it- a lot of change happening in a short period of time, but I think the hardest part is knowing that she's going to get 'owies', or hurt feelings, or just go in those quiet moods, and I'm not going to be there to hold her until it's all better. That's the part of having my Kindergartener grow up that I struggle with. That's life, right?

Well, here she is, loving life as a Kindergartener.

Teah wanted to wear her dress with flowers and brown leggings, and her sandals from Aunt Jill. She wanted her hair in pig tails with a 'headband braid'.

She found her spot at her table, and got busy writing her name.

Her teacher, Mrs. Law, had them fill in these posters, and I loved Teah's answers and artwork. When she grows up she initially put 'a doctor', but after a couple WSU volleyball games, she had to cross out doctor and put (no, not a volleyball player, heaven forbid.) 'a cheerleader'.

I guess it's NOT okay to have your little sister in your pictures on your big day. Teah wouldn't smile if Havi was near.

Finishing touches

2009-08-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

My Aunt cut this vinyl for me, a quote from "Away in a Manger" I've always loved and wanted to do something with for a baby, so here it is. I'm so excited, it really is so fun to have a nursery!

Lime green, deep red, baby pink and dark brown... NURSERY?!

2009-08-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

It is still a work in progress, but it's almost done. I said I needed a project, right? Well, this nursery was the perfect thing to spark a little creativity. It was a lot of fun to design and do all these little projects, and it's turned into a room I'm so excited for baby to live in!

Oh, and here's the 37 week belly shot... it looks a LOT bigger from my view.

m*ink

2009-08-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Announcing a new blog!

http://minkdesigns.blogspot.com/

I thought it might be fun to try designing Christmas (and invitations, announcements, etc.) cards this year. So, what better way to start than with a blog, right? Anyway, here it is, check it out if you get a chance!

Feeling Patriotic?

2009-07-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

July is probably my favorite month. I love summer. I love the 4th. I love the U.S.A. I love summer nights. I love that Utah gives you a 'bonus' holiday on the 24th. I love all the birthday people this month (havi, kelsy, grandpa). I love peach/nectarine season. I love celebrating being married to Mr. Wonderful on the 21st (happy 9th anniversary, leroy!) I love vacations. I love road trips.

Teah learned a new song on our most recent road trip through Yellowstone and Island Park.

She's 3!

2009-07-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Our little Havi is now 3 years old! This morning she came and laid by me in bed, and I waited a little while before I broke the news to her that it's her birthday (she was being so cute, just wanting to lay there and hold hands). Well, I told her and, if you know Havi, you can imagine the excitement that instantly appeared. "I get to wear my 3 shirt?!" "Are there balloons?!" Yes, Havi, yes. We came out to the kitchen and she put on her 3 shirt and ooh-ed and aww-ed over the balloons.
This little girl brings so much joy to our family. She's a fun sister for Teah, I love listening to them play {babies, puppies, tents, princesses, Hannah Montana, dancing, you name it} together.
With Havi, there is no small deal. Everything is AMAZING or TERRIBLE or LIFE THREATENING or OUTSTANDING in some way. Every bug she sees brings a squeal... I can't tell you how many rolly-pollies she's loved to death. Poor bugs. Havi has a funny sense of being able to recognize circumstances. When I need a little extra cuddle, I can count on her. She's thankful for the cutest things- we'd be leaving church and she'd say, "Thanks for nursery, mommy! Thanks for church!" or the other day when Jayme took her to the aquarium she said as they were leaving, "Thanks, Jayme, for the fishes!". I love listening to her watch her favorite TV show- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because she always participates- "Oh toooodles!". Few things make her more excited than knowing she gets to play with her extended family- she loves going to Grandma San's, especially when there are cousins there to play with, and whenever we pull up at Grandma Karyn's, Havi lets me know (with growing excitement in her voice) who's there by the cars that are parked out front {Jayme! Grandma! Grandpa! Kelsy! Bailey! Ellie!...by now she's running inside yelling "hello!?"}.
We are so happy that Havi's a part of our family. She continues to be our 'little sparkler'. LOVE THAT GIRL!

Dear Havi,
We love you past the stars in the sky!
Love, Mommy, Daddy and Teah

Book Club Slacker

2009-06-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

It was probably about two or three years ago that my book club decided to read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and let me tell you, this is one FAT book. 1462 pages to be exact. My King James version of the Holy Bible has 1590 pages, for comparison. Anyway. It is a great read, great story, very different from the movie, I recommend the condensed version to anyone (I'm pretty sure there's a condensed version). Back when I was supposed to read this, I got about a quarter of the way through before the book found its way to the bottom of my reading pile and was forgotten. I started it again last January off and on, and am about 900 pages into it. He's a crafty man, that Edmond Dantes.

My point in mentioning this book is that I've found one of my all time favorite quotes on pages 183-184. A little background- If you've seen the movie, you may recall the Priest who Dantes meets in prison. The priest is an incredibly intelligent man who educates Dantes as they work together to escape prison. In the book, his name is Abbe Faria. Here's the passage- a conversation between the two of them:

"'What are you thinking of?' asked the abbe smilingly...
...'I was reflecting, in the first place,' replied Dantes, 'upon the enormous degree of intelligence and ability you must have employed to reach the high perfection to which you have attained;-- if you thus surpass all mankind while but a prisoner, what would you not have accomplished free?'
'Possibly nothing at all;-- the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; it needs trouble and difficulty and danger to hollow out various mysterious and hidden mines of human intelligence. Pressure is required, you know, to ignite powder: captivity has collected into one single focus all the floating faculties of my mind; they have come into close contact in the narrow space in which they have been wedged, and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced-- from electricity comes the lightning, from whose flash we have light amid our greatest darkness.'"

I often used to wonder why it is that when life's going smoothly, no real stresses, only a couple things on the to-do list for the day, I have a hard time getting anything done. But when there are a million things to do, zero time to do them, and the weight of the world is on my shoulders, I turn into Superwoman and do all I need and then some. This quote offers the perfect explanation. Last year when we were building this house, following a tight budget, working like crazy to get out of debt, shuffling kids between babysitters, living in tight quarters, reffing 4 nights a week, making sure everything was okay with the banks, training for a marathon, making sure subcontractors were being treated fairly, juggling multiple church callings, basically when life was stressful, I accomplished so much every day. At the time I remember thinking, "Dang, when all this is over, I'm going to be able to do so much with all my free time!" Now that I'm there, I've "arrived", goals met, stresses alleviated, I've never felt lazier. Weird how that works, huh? I think I'll take on projects and creative type stuff to create a little stress, but I'll always remember this lesson: 'Pressure is required'. When trials come from now on, it'll be easier to be thankful for them if I can remember that there are some 'hidden mines of human intelligence' Heavenly Father's trying to bring to surface.
The end. (phew, I don't know how Dumas kept going for 1460 more pages, this ramble about did me in!)

Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

Teah and Havi are the luckiest girls to have LeRoy for their dad.

Why? We thought of several reasons this morning...

1- he plays hide and seek and duck duck goose with them
2- when it's a daddy/daughter night, he lets them stay up late and eat treats
3- he takes them for blanket rides on the wood floor, and when it's bumpy he stops... eventually
4- the girls know to listen to him the FIRST time
5- he sets a good example in being kind to others
6- he doesn't hold back showing how much he loves them
7- he fixes stuff (anything and everything)

And we're just scratching the surface!

Happy Father's Day to the Man in our lives. We love you, LeRoy!
Love,
Holly, Teah, Havi, and princess #3

Definitely a Fan

2009-05-20T08:58:00.001-07:00

Sitting here, folding clothes, watching the recorded American Idol from last night, all I can say is Adam Lambert is A. MAZ. ING. I've been a fan of his ever since either junior or senior year when he was the lead in the Secret Garden at MCHS. He was an amazing singer then, and he's come a long way since high school. Go Adam!! Sundevil Pride!!

It's a...

2009-05-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!! Yes, people, we are having another girl. Waiting to find out sounded fun, until I realized I actually get to do a nursery for this baby. We are so excited! Teah and Havi can't wait to hold their little sister.

Where are the mute buttons on 2 year olds?

2009-04-30T13:29:00.001-07:00

If I knew where Havi's mute button was, I promise I wouldn't abuse it! I would save it for situations that seem to be happening lately when we're out in public...

Example 1: We pass someone with dark skin and she in her -anything but quiet- voice she says, "Her face is brown!" I try to help the situation by saying, "Yes, isn't she pretty?". Luckily people are out of ear shot when she talks about how they need to go wash their face.

Example 2: As you read this, consider what's eye-level to a 2 1/2 year old walking in a crowd. Randomly she'll let me know when we pass by someone with a large rear end. In that l o u d, squeaky, distinct, hard to miss voice she'll say, "She has a big bum!". How do I save that situation?!

April 23rd

2009-04-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our little ball of sweetness turns 5 today...

Happy birthday Teah!

She's lucky enough to share her birthday with her Grandpa Montaño... we sure miss him- Happy Birthday LeRoy Sr.!

Just a week ago

2009-04-17T08:18:00.001-07:00

First: Fly to Pittsburgh to pick up Jill.
Next: Hershey, PA. Tour of the factory by some cows, lunch at the Hershey Pantry... yum.
Then on to Philadelphia (FYI, if you take a wrong turn looking for Independence Hall it's not hard to end up in New Jersey).
Here's our group (Kelsy behind the camera) in downtown Philly, walking around Independence Hall and the liberty bell museum.
Jill and me taking on Rocky's training routine.

Next stop... NEW YORK CITY!!! We walked out of our hotel and on the right was the GERSHWIN THEATRE where we'd be seeing WICKED on that unforgettable Saturday night.

We arrived Saturday morning, and let me tell you, having a day completely dedicated to shopping and eating is an awesome way to do NYC. If it wasn't raining, I probably would have spent a lot more money that day, so it's probably a good thing we got soaked.

Wicked was unbelieveable. What a great show. I've had the sound track running non-stop ever since.

Easter Sunday morning we got up and went to church in the Manhattan Temple building, then walked through Central Park. I loved Central Park, everything was blooming, the sun was shining, it was really really pretty. Afterward we had a delicious brunch at Josephina's- a cute little place just around the corner from the church, then took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

I'm editing this trip for blogging purposes, because if I included every detail it'd be a really l o n g post. These are just a few pictures of some highlights- and if I'd taken a picture of my sandwich on Saturday, that would be on here as a highlight for sure... mmmm.

Overall, this was a five-star trip with my mom and sisters. I love my family!!!!

To Peek Or Not To Peek

2009-04-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

Pregnancies 1&2:
Physically- Pretty easy. Normal soreness at the end, but not enough to stop me from playing some volleyball the week before I had Havi. A little more tired than usual.
Morning sickness- none. Slightly upset stomach when empty.
Cravings- anything sweet. That's not a pregnancy thing, though. Nothing too outstanding.
Aversions- nope.
Emotionally- yeah, they got to me. I sobbed (not just a sniffle or two) through King Kong when I was expecting Havi.

Pregnancy 3 (up to now, 16 weeks):
Physically- I'm so tired. My poor family is having to make do with a 50% mom lately. I'm already sore in the belly area.
Morning sickness- ugh. It's finally subsiding, but still shows it's ugliness once a week or so. Better than everyday like it was.
Cravings- tomato based foods. Spaghetti (normally not crazy about). Pickles. Cheese. Red meat... this was weird because I've been off red meat since I had Havi. Back on now.
Aversions- sweets. They made my stomach hurt and are starting to give me heartburn. Does this stop me from eating sweets? Heavens no.
Emotionally- Still affected. I got choked up listening to a Taylor Swift song this morning.

So... my curious side wants to know if the differences in this pregnancy have to do with a different gender, or is it just because my body is 3 years older than the last time I was pregnant. Hmmm. We went to an appointment today, and if the kid had cooperated we could have seen and satisfy that curiosity. I was looking forward to it, and so was LeRoy. But the kid was very modest and we couldn't tell. Now I'm thinking it's kind of fun to wonder, and I'll just let us all wonder until September. LeRoy isn't 100% on board with this idea, but I'll figure out a way to convince him (he's a sucker for back tickles). So, if you're curious, sorry! We'll find out on his/her birthday!

Tales of the Tattlers

2009-03-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

If all the moms collaborated to put together a book/collection of the best tattles our kids came up with, I think we'd have some entertaining reading material. Their best attempts to get each other in trouble... simply trying to bug each other... the 'sure fire' ones they know will work... oh, the chapters we could write. My first entry in this collection, and the tattle that inspired this post, came from Teah. Here you go:

(she came prepped with her most disgusted face and voice) "Mom, Havi just pulled down her pants and tooted, and it really stinks!"

Ah, Havi, we'll have to show you some other ways of trying to impress people before we take you out in public...

Speaking of the devils, here they are in their cute headbands Aunt Kelsy made for them.

Does it ever end?

2009-03-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Isn't it the worst when you have to scrape ice in the morning? I must say- here's a piece of ocean front property I will pass on.

Craving Sunshine

2009-02-27T12:54:00.001-08:00

If I'd have any cravings so far this pregnancy, I'd have to put SUNSHINE on the top of that list. It makes it very convenient that my good friend Becky and her family live in the Phoenix area, so I decided to go pay them a visit. The girls and I made the road trip with no problems... well, Havi threw up once, but that was about it.

Teah was on the look out for a cactus, and she saw plenty. We had to stop once so she could get out and touch one- she was actually scared. Havi was fearless enough to fall... she almost landed on one, but only landed next to it where the pokey things got all over her hands and knees.

Becky and Steve let us stay with them and their cute little family. They have Jaxton who is the same age as Havi. He's such a sweet little (but not really little) boy. Teah would have brought their little Makaelyn (7 months) home with us... I wouldn't have minded that one bit, she's such a good baby. It was fun to spend time with Becky, I wish she was closer and we could hang out more!

The girls loved being able to go to the park... in shorts and tanks. We had plenty of good food (In n Out, Oreganos... mmmmm). Then it was back in the car to drive home. Teah and I played a game on the magna-doodle where we tried guessing what word the other was writing. Teah guessed all mine (fat, cat, hat, etc.) and she had some good ones for me to guess- I had to take pictures of some of my favorites. Can you guess them?

(Mountain and Nail Polish)

cc + mr 4eva

2009-01-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

If I had to name my "style" of decoration, I think I'd have to call it: Coastal Contemporary (cc). Yes, I do have a husband who has taste and style, which he has declared to be: Mountain Rustic (mr). Total and complete opposites. So how did we build a house we both love... and stay married? It can be done, and here's the evidence: see the pictures for evidence that our styles can blend, and see the positive pregnancy test (not pictured, but trust me there were definitely TWO lines) for evidence that we can stay married :)

So here we have the Grand Tour!

Picture 1: here's the front of the house, with all the board and batten, rock, shakes. The only thing that remains to be done here is to stain those posts on the front porch (the ugly orange things). They'll be stained to match the front door once the weather allows.

Picture 2: The entry way. I had to have this light, I think it's pretty cool. My Aunt Dana does vinyl stuff and I had her do this for my entry. She did a perfect job!
Picture 3: The family room. Can you hear what our couches are screaming? Listen... hear that? "We're TEMPORARY!!". Eventually they'll be replaced with a comfy L-shaped brown leather chaise sectional, but we do have to pace ourselves. I didn't get a good picture of the fireplace this time, but it looks the same as it did in the last house update. This is mostly kitchen. I love my kitchen.

Bathroom picture:

Here's the girl's/main bathroom. Look at this cool step our awesome cabinet people put in!

My room:

This room is such a cool get away. We went from a queen to a king size bed when we moved, and let me tell you... it's heaven! I was so excited to put this bedding on, too. I love it.

Master bathroom:

I know I'm over-using the word "love" in this post, but what else can I say about our master bathroom? Love, love, love. Tons of storage. Square sinks. Did you notice the blow-dryer cabinet? I won't have any more wardrobe problems due to lack of a full length mirror... I'll just have to come up with another excuse.

The girl's room:

This may be my favorite room in the house. It's such a happy room! I love the colors, the simplicity, the little details here and there (see the pillows Jayme made for them on the window seat?). Over each of their beds is a light controlled by a dimmer by their individual nooks. At night, we just turn it on to a soft glow and they can fall asleep in peace. Other times, like this morning, they can sit in bed with the light a little brighter and look through books. Perfect.

I still have a lot of ideas for this room... desks, white canopies, window treatments... but it's like I said before- i need to pace myself.

That concludes the grand tour. Areas like the "club house", the deck and the office either haven't changed since I last put up pictures, or they're simply too messy to take pictures.

And now I'm going to have to find other things to blog about... Thanks for following along this last year as we went through this grueling process. We're thrilled with the results, and thrilled to be done.

We love visits, so please, if you're in the area, stop by!

We're in!!!!

2009-01-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that we've moved into our new house and are getting unpacked and settled. The bad news is that we don't have internet, so posts will be few and far between. When we get a bit more settled, I'll do a photo "grand tour" here on the blog... stay tuned. In the mean time, if you're in the area, I LOVE showing my house, so please call or just stop by! (email me if you need directions- holly.montano@gmail.com)

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

2009-01-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

As much as I LOVE changing Havi's diapers, I just can't stop her from growing up. And if she wants to potty train in exactly 1.5 days I guess I'll have to deal with it.

Don't you love the pull ups pose?

Sneak Peak

2009-01-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on doing "The Grand Tour" of the house once we're in and everything's done, but I can't resist this little sneak peak.

Here's how the exterior's going to look. This is actually a horrible picture of it, you can't see the garage (dark brown), the tan siding up in the gable looks beaming white, and we have the exterior lighting up by the garage, but of course you can't see that either.

Here's the shot I take every time, as we slowly watch the kitchen evolve. We now have a few appliances in, the lights, and even some countertops.
This part of the kitchen always gets cut out of my picture. On the right side of the island in the above picture is this, the desk area.

If you go out the door on the left side of the above kitchen picture, you'll walk out on the deck. Here you can see more of the red exterior, the cursed black deck rail (it's been LeRoy's worst nightmare lately as he's been installing it with the help of my dad and some friends), and part of the chimney (the rocky thing on the left).

Going back inside, this is the finished fireplace, we got the mantle and the lighting done.

Here's the stair rail on the other side of the room. Nothing too spectacular.

For those interested in ceilings, this is the ceiling in the family room. The master bedroom is this same coffered style, but not as deep/tall.

I'm so excited to have this mud room. It's not a great picture, but the wood matches the kitchen island. On the right is the garage entrance.

If you go upstairs and take a left, you'll be in here- the girl's room.

If you go straight you'll be in the girl's closet.

And if you go straight some more, you'll be in here- the "club house"! (we've started moving in this area- the girl's need some entertainment while LeRoy and I finish up... besides, we didn't have room anywhere else for the Christmas toys!)

That's what I have for now, thanks for checking in on us :)

Torture

2008-12-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

We didn't make it in the new house by Christmas. I was hoping to have a New Year's bash there... but that's not happening either. Dang. Without going into details of who and what are holding us up, let's just say we're working on it. The race is on- which will finish first, interior or exterior? It's going to be a close one. I'll keep you posted.

2008-12-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

Cabinets!!!
I love my cabinets. I don't know what I like more, the rounded island with wood bent around the arc or the clean white lines... I just love them.

Here's the master bathroom- I'm really excited about this. Our toothbrushes will have their very own tilt drawer! My blowdryer will have it's very own spot! The hairspray, medicine, curling irons, etc. will all have a place... heaven.

This is the fireplace, it was just done yesterday. There will be a mantle in that empty spot.

We're getting there. The 'to-do' list seems to never end, but it's getting there. Today the carpet is coming, by the end of the week we're getting countertops, the exterior is coming along (I'll have to post a couple pictures of it, it's cool!), and we're still really hoping to be in by Christmas. I'll keep you posted!

Progress

2008-12-10T23:04:00.000-08:00

Tile !

Paint!

Floors!

Guess what's coming tomorrow.... !!!!!

Chubby Cheeks

2008-11-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Normal.

Not Normal.

Poor little Teah had some dental work done yesterday and her little cheeks poofed right out. She's been a trooper, though. Her pride is a little hurt, she prays for her cheeks to not be poofy anymore, but she's eating, sleeping and playing like normal.

Rock ROCKS!

2008-11-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

The exterior rock is done! For those who know rock, we chose a Harristone mix of Chief Joseph and Uintah in the Cape Cod color. The rest of the exterior will be covered in a deep maroon/red board and batten except for the gables (the triangles above the front door) which will be light tan shakes. Interested to see that? Me too. We're excited!

Sheet rock ROCKS, too. Our house feels more like a house with the walls up.

Above is the kitchen: picture a sink under the middle window on the left (kitchen sink view in above picture... ladder will be removed), the gorgeous white cabinets along the sink wall, all along the back wall and continuing on the wall on the right in a desk area. In the middle of the kitchen will be the island in a dark walnut stained wood. The cooktop will be in the middle of that island facing the camera, and we'll have about 6 barstools on the other side of the island in a half circle facing the cooktop. The kitchen area will be painted in a light blue while the rest of the house will be "packing nut" (a shade of tan).

Here we have the girls' room. On the top is their bedroom-- the little cubby holes on the left are some built in 'night stands' where we'll put a shelf for their stuff. Beds will come off the wall on either side of the 'night stands', the room will be a sky blue and the ceiling white. The other picture here is taken standing in the girl's closet. It's the thing that's raised on the right. We'll figure out shelving of some sort in there, as well as along that back wall and on the left. On the bottom of the back wall we'll have a mini cabinet door covering the little opening... opening to what? Why, a fun little secret play room, of course! (it's the little room pictured here with the sloping ceilings.) Once we got the trusses on we saw there was a cool little room here, but the only was to access it was through a little crawl space (if we cut any other opening, the house might have fallen down). So we decided to make it a fun little space for the girls!

The rest of the house just looks like walls. While I love it and everything, it didn't make such great photography/blog material, so I'll get those in when there's more to show. Thanks for checking in on us!

I don't have a full length mirror... obviously

2008-10-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

I used to wonder why LeRoy would shake his head at me when I would come home from work (reffing High School volleyball). So I had Teah take a picture to see just how bad it really was... oooooh my! If anyone needs a scary Halloween costume, give me a call and it's all yours!

A little preview

2008-10-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Watch out this Halloween, Hannah's in town!

made anything cute lately?

2008-09-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Once in a great while I get a burst of creativity and once in a greater while something kind of cool comes out of it. These are my two latest that I think turned out ok.

What to do with all those adorable drawings and priceless art work from my 3-4 year old? I'd been trying to think of something, then I found this Einstein quote, and it all came together. I scanned in Teah's artwork with the quote and had them printed on 12 x 12 canvas squares. My favorite is the one on the right, when Teah saw it, she said, "That's you, mommy, when you were mad. You look like a boy, huh?"

I can't take 100% credit for this idea, I found some really cute pillows online that I didn't want to pay for, and thought I could make them. So this is my attempt. (No, I'm not that great on the sewing machine- for the lettering, I used "Unique Stitch, Sewing with a tube"- so easy!) and I put a cute fabric on the back of the pillows, making them, in my opinion, cuter than the internet ones!

This house is bringing out my "decorator" side, and I have some fun purchasing and creating ideas that I'm sure I'll be posting about. So consider yourself warned- if you're not into home design, avoid my blog for the next several... months? years? who knows. It could take a while to clear all these bottled up HGTV, design blogging, design magazine ideas.

still under construction

2008-09-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, my... okay, okay, OUR house. Though it seems like the house has looked like this FOREVER, it is coming along. Want a tour?

This is the floorplan. As you can see, we flipped the house so everything mirrors what it shows in the plans.

Once in the front door, this room is to the left. At first it will be an office and once we get a piano and living room furniture, they'll take over this room.

This is the laundry room. I'm standing in the mudroom to take a picture of it. The garage entrance is to my right.

Below we have the family room and kitchen (yes, we are getting the white cabinets with the dark island!!!!)

Here are the stairs going up to the bonus room and the entrance to the master bedroom. And there's LeRoy walking out of the master bathroom into the master bedroom. This is before he got sick and started throwing up out the window. That was a bad weekend for the poor guy.

Here's the bonus room over the garage- a.k.a. Teah and Havi's room.

This is the deck. LeRoy's plumbing a misting system around it. :)

The garage floor is suspended concrete, and this is what it looks like underneath.

Eventually this will probably be two rooms- a theatre and a workout room.

Under the third car garage we're making that into a sort of built in shed to store lawn mowers, etc., as shown below. This will have double doors on it.

The best part of this post (for me) is that these pictures are already outdated! The roof is almost complete and we have our windows in. Electrical on the interior and rock on the exterior are what's in the near future here. I don't know if anyone will even read past the floorplan on this post, but it's really exciting for me, LeRoy and the girls. We can't wait to live here!!!!

my girls

2008-08-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Lisa took some AMAZING pictures of the girls the other day at Pineview. I am still in awe. No one has to tell me they're cute girls, I know tHaT, but DANG! Look at these pictures!!!

These ones are straight out of the camera. Lisa's going to play around with them on Photoshop, I'm excited to see what she does with them!

Havi

2008-08-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

Teah

2008-08-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ouch!

2008-08-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is what should have headlined today's front page of the Standard Examiner sports section:

WILDCATS YOUNG AND OLD(ER)

Saturday night the Wildcat volleyball team of Weber State University started their 2008 season with an exhibition opener against what could have been their toughest opponent of the year. :) Coach Al Given's squad of fresh talent lost the first game to the older talent, but came back to take the match 3-1. This may be the only game all year where Givens could be heard telling the opposing team "Nice swing!" or "Great hustle!" or "Good up!" while calling them by name in the middle of a rally. After all, it would be hard for a coach not to applaud the efforts of his former players, even if they are the opposing team. This Alumni team will, sadly, only play this one game all season, but it was an exciting event nonetheless. The Alumni may be old school, but they can still block, dig, swing and play!

photo courtesy of April's blog, thanks April!

My knee never used to hurt like this. Did I really have bruises all over my body like this? Can a couple years really make this big of a difference with how my body feels? I mean really. It was only one match. Four games. We used to do TRIPLE days for crying out loud! Oh well, it was a great night. I got to play with some of my favorite friends, there was a fun crowd, officials, even an announcer. It was just like being back in the glory days...

...but then I came home and heard a little voice say "Mommy, will you lay by me?". So I laid next to my beautiful four year old. She rolled over to put her cute little arm around me and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I still love you even when you smell gross". This is the life.

Caterpillars make the best pets!

2008-08-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

For Havi's Birthday last month, Kelsy gave her this butterfly kit, and it was the coolest thing! The caterpillars came in the mail in a container and the instructions were basically: don't touch, don't open, don't feed, just watch. My kind of pet! Once they went into their chrysalid we transfered them into this net and watched them turn into butterflies, then let them go. The girls both loved them, Havi told the 'pilars' good night every night, and as you can see in the video, she liked to talk to the butterflies. It was such a cool gift, thanks Kelsy!

2008-08-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

I heart LeRoy

Married 8 years!!!
years 1-4: college roommates, such fun times!
years 4-8: learning how to be parents
years 8+: can't wait to see what life brings!

photo by Teah

Catching up

2008-07-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy have fun this summer, that actually finding time to get the images from the camera to the computer didn't really happen too often- until tonight. That's a good thing, right? I think so.
Either way, I put up several posts tonight for your viewing pleasure so just keep scrolling :).
By the way, does Havi remind you a little of Macaulay Culkin in this picture or is it just me?
Go team Alsup! (we're going to have to practice that "AlllllSUP" cheer before the next 4 vs 4 outdoor coed volleyball tournament)

God Bless America

2008-07-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's because when I was growing up I spent many summers in Idaho Falls, but I consider 2835 Westmoreland part of the 4th of July. I love that year round you see "God Bless America" as you walk in the back door. Here's my Grandpa Hammond, I'm proud to call him my Grandpa.

Our Ogden 4th of July was SO FUN! It was filled with cousins for the girls to play with, bags full of candy at the parade, and lots of swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house and Aunt Leisel's house. I told Teah that if she did a flip off the diving board I'd give her a dollar. Well, the girl wants to buy some Tinkerbell make up, so flip she did! She's a fish! I realize that most of my pics of the girls are of the back of their heads, and sorry, but I just figured out the art of french braiding and am proud of that, plus the little pom-pom things looked so cute in their hair.

2008-07-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

Best things about having a 2 year old:

- she thinks every ant is her "baby" and she tries to feed them her popsicle

- she learned the hard way that bees aren't very good "babies"

- she actually peed in her little potty... once

- she sometimes puts herself in timeout, and I don't realize it until she comes to me to apologize.

- when she wraps her little arms all the way around my neck for a hug

- she plays so hard and cries all the way to her bed at naptime, then surrenders to a 4 hour nap

- she wants to be just like her big sister

- she's the smartest 2 year old ever- she knows more than half of the letters!

- when she wants to dance... on the table... in a black lacey "dress"

- she walks into nursery every week with her arms over her head, spinning to show off her dress

- "loveyoubye"

- her deep voice

- she sings Enchanted "how KNOOOOOW" and "ah ah ah ahhhhh" (the call for the birds, etc.)... in her deep voice.

- her love of cottage cheese... as Grandma Karyn well knows

- she's the best cuddler

I know I've just begun this list, there are so many more things about Havi that just bring a smile to my face. She's the best, I just hope as her mom I can 'lead her, guide her, walk beside her' and never leave room for any doubt that she's one of the best things in my life, and I love her beyond words.

Under Construction

2008-07-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Our home is coming along. Here's a little collage of the process we've been through.

As of last week, the framing is about 95% complete and we're even thinking about moving up the move-in date from Christmas to Thanksgiving... fingers crossed!!! It's looking really good and we're SOOOO excited.

Camping with the Burkes

2008-07-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

We went camping a couple weeks ago (ya, I'm really behind on my blogging) and here are some pictures of the fun time we had with some good friends. We went up Timpanogos canyon to a really pretty spot Travis and Sarah reserve every year... we're just the tag-along/utensil moochers :)

Somehow Sarah is the only one who dodged the camera all weekend, but don't worry, Sarah, we'll make sure we get a good one of you next time!

Happy Birthday

2008-07-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to you,

I love that you're two,

Happy birthday dear Havi,

Happy birthday to you!

The kitchen.

2008-06-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

ooooh, the kitchen. the mom's domain. the homemaker's retreat. the woman's room, right? if there's one room in the house that i, the mom/wife/woman should have complete say over, it's the kitchen, agreed? so how do i convince leroy of that? i say 'light and clean', he says, 'dark and earthy'. i say 'canvas colored cabinetry with a darker island' he says, 'NO WHITE'. (it's not white, it's CANVAS). i say 'bluish grayish walls' he says 'almond-y tan'. while part of me is impressed that he can describe a color as almond, the rest of me is really annoyed that i have to fight so hard to have the kitchen of my dreams! speaking of which...

isn't it beautiful?!

yes, this is a lot bigger than my kitchen will be, and in place of that awesome hood, i'll have a window, and i'll have to have more than 2 barstools thereby eliminating the cool doors in the island, but it's something to go off of. i love the frosted glass in some cabinet doors, how the island is a different color, how good the stainless steel looks in it, the straight lines... ahhh. this is the kitchen in which i'll start cooking healthy meals, where i'll have fresh baked cookies waiting for Teah when she comes home from school, the kitchen i'll ALWAYS keep clean... well, a girl can dream. time will soon tell if i have any negotiating skill, and the proof will be my kitchen.

2008-06-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day LeRoy!!!

Trip to San Diego and Disneyland

2008-06-15T16:31:00.001-07:00

I took these off Jayme's camera (hope you don't mind, Jayme!)

It's really happening... FINALLY!

2008-06-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

This, we are proud to say, is our house. Well, it soon will be our house, we're thinking it will be done by Christmas or (hopefully) sooner. We bought this lot about 4 years ago and have waited and waited to live here, and now it's hard to believe it's really happening. This is a picture of LeRoy and some friends (I helped too, really!) raking gravel for the concrete to lay on. Ya, it sounds easy enough...

With the help of friends, family, subcontractors, and LeRoy's amazing ability to do everything, this is about as 'do-it-yourself' as a house can get. From the plans (I downloaded a free 30 day trial of AutoCAD and drew the house plans), to excavating (LeRoy did the measuring, his friend worked the machine), the concrete pouring was subbed out, then the framing starting tomorrow (LeRoy and his cousin), we are in a bit over our heads, but hopefully we'll survive.

Hello Finland!

2008-06-08T21:33:00.001-07:00

I have two words for my blogging friends: Google Analytics. I told you that as I get into blogging, I'll share some of the cool things I find out, and this one is a favorite. Google analytics (no matter how many times I type the word 'analytics' it never gets easier) is completely free, you sign in with your google/gmail/eblogger ID, and it will give you a code you can copy and paste at the bottom of your blog (by the way, if you don't see anything on your blog, you didn't do it wrong, you're not supposed to see anything).

Here's what it does:

When you log in after a couple days of letting people look at your blog, it give you a report of all the traffic your blog is seeing. You can see the amount of hits your site receives each day, the amount of time they spent looking at your site, bounce rate (not sure exactly what that means), whether they found your site through someone else's or if they typed your site directly, percent of new visits, etc. The one I like to check is the map- it tells me where the hits are coming from. My site has had hits from 14 different countries (including Finland :), and 27 different states in the U.S. You can get as specific as what city is looking at your site. It's enough to make you a bit nervous... but I'll stay public for a while. Most of the hits from cities where I know I have no friends or relavites only stay for a few seconds (long enough for them to realize I'm not what they were looking for :).

Anyway, I just thought this was something worth sharing... I hope I don't scare off any friends or family!!

2008-06-05T06:45:00.001-07:00

I think it was when we were in the car on our way to Anaheim when I went to take a picture and realized I'd left the camera card at home. Extra batteries: check. Camera: check. Camera case: check. Card: dangit. Luckily we had Jayme and her camera to capture a few moments (like when Havi wouldn't let go of Winnie the Pooh and kept running back to give Tigger one more hug, and Teah's beautifully painted face).

I'll just hit the main points. Car trip: long, but not bad. We took my mom's car, and had me, my mom, Jayme and the girls and their car seats. Disneyland: SO FUN!! Sometime during the day, Teah said to no one in particular, "This is the best day of my life." I believe it, she had so much fun. We started out with the Buzz Lightyear ride, did Pirates of the Carribean, the Carousel, Winnie the Pooh (Havi could go on these, and she was so scared) and Splash Mountain. Teah discovered there's more to Disneyland than just princesses when you're 40 inches tall. She was tall enough to go on Splash Mountain, the Soaring over California ride, and a couple others we went on. They always wanted to measure her, and I'd get a little nervous each time, but she marched right up to the measuring post and stood there with so much pride while they checked her height, then when she passed she just beamed. My mom, Jayme and Havi went back to the hotel after lunch for a little r&r, but Teah wanted to stay at Disneyland, so she and I hung back. She listened to princess stories, got her face painted, rode a couple rides in Toontown, saw Mickey Mouse, danced with Mary Poppins, and rode in the Haunted House (she was so scared). At the end of the day we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. When my mom asked Teah if she wanted to sit on her lap and fall asleep, Teah didn't hesitate. I looked back about 2 minutes later, and Teah was sound asleep. We all slept really good that night.

The marathon was next- what an event! Checking in on Saturday was actually really cool. It was at the San Diego convention center. There was tons of traffic, and inside was a huge expo. That night we ate at Pat and Oscar's, delicious, of course, and we sat at a table next to Pat and Oscar and their family. The next morning my mom took Jayme and me to the starting line early (we had to leave the hotel at 4:30am). At 6:30, the guns went off and Jayme, me and 20,998 other runners, including several Elvises, took off. There were so many people, the run was crowded the whole way. It took me about the first 10 miles to weave in and out of people before I could get into a steady pace. We ran around downtown, along the 163, by Fashion Valley, around Mission Bay, then the wonderful, glorious finish line was at the Marine Corp. I finished at 4:26:00 averaging a 10 minute mile. I had hoped for better, but I'm just happy I finished. There will be another one for me. Jayme kept going and going and finished around 5:45. I'm so proud of her! Thanks for letting me talk you into doing this with me, Jayme! There were bands playing every couple miles, and people cheering almost the whole way. It was a very energized race, and while it did get hot at the end, it was a an experience I'm glad to have had. After we both finished and met up with my mom and the girls (who were so wonderfully patient, thanks mom) we went back to the hotel, swam, ate at Islands, got dessert from Claim Jumper (mmmmm) then went back to the hotel and crashed. I've never slept better.

Monday we went to the beach. I love the beach. The girls played- Havi wasn't too sure about the water, but loved collecting rocks. Teah played in the water, dug for sand crabs, squealed when they tickled her hands, looked for seashells, and just played. All too soon we had to say good bye to the beach and hello to the car seats. Jayme stayed at a friend's for the night then went with them to their annual beach camp in San Clemente (so fun). My mom, the girls, and I drove to Mesquite then to North Ogden the next day. And back we are. We got home at 5pm, had Joy School graduation at 7, then came home and slept.

After training for this marathon since December, these last couple days at home have been... unusual. It seems that when I'm not trying to do it all, it's hard to get anything done. At least I still have the girls, LeRoy, reffing, oh yeah, and the house we're building to keep things busy. For now, I can look at my "run a marathon" goal and smile with satisfaction.

2008-05-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Where am I this weekend? Well, first I'll be here....

then here...

and definitely here at least once...

Then I'll come back and write all about it. See you next week!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T08:40:00.001-07:00

Rain may have changed our camping plans, but we still got as much as we could this weekend. On Sunday, the girls, LeRoy and I joined the Parkers for their Sunday evening camp dinner. It was wonderful, as usual, thanks, Parkers!
On Monday, we had rain and shine as we played in the UVSC outdoor volleyball tournament. It was a little scary starting out- puddles everywhere, off and on rain, a ball that kept gaining weight as it soaked up water, etc. But in the end, it was a really fun day. Tash and I won our division (well, everyone in our division dropped out because of the weather, so we played down a divison, so we would have been really mad if we hadn't won), and it was SO FUN! When it started raining in the middle of a game, we put on our hoods and Tasha said, "Oh ya! We're truly die-hards!" Tash is a great friend and an awesome partner to play with. I can hardly walk today, but it was SO worth it!

Cinnamon Bear Marshmallow Popcorn

2008-05-23T07:22:00.001-07:00

For just a few minutes I'm going to pretend I'm one of those food blogs with really good recipes and drool provoking pictures of treats. This popcorn recipe sounds like an odd mix of random things, but I'm telling you, it's one of those treats that you will not be able to keep your fingers off. Teah's grandma made if for her to take camping this weekend... I don't know if it will last past the car ride!

Cinnamon Bear Marshmallow Popcorn:

Sauce:

1 cup butter

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup Karo syrup

Boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla.

In a large bowl combine:

3 cups miniature marshmallows

2 (ish) cups cinnamon bears cut up

2 bags Smart Pop Orville Redenbacher (I don't know if it really makes a difference which brand you use)

Add sauce on top and mix well.

Fross

2008-05-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

We can't hide our true feelings about dirty diapers...

2008-05-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

This was such a great race! The course was nice- lots of shade, lots of downhill, lots of support along the way. I spent the whole race trying to keep up with Stephanie- she's one awesome runner! I loved that I could do this with Jayme, too- now that this is over, we officially survived winter... YES! 12 more days until San Diego...

Sibling Rivalry...

2008-05-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Teah: "Can I have another cookie?"

Grandma Montano: "Yes. If you keep eating these your belly is going to explode!"

Teah: "Well, I want my belly to be as big as Havi's."

She has a long way to go.

2008-05-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple weeks, yes, but let's reminisce a little... Teah turned 4!!!! This little girl had a rockin' birthday party- a couple of times. These are pictures from her actual April 23rd birthday party, pictured from left to right- Jayme (you ask for pictures, you can't be picky :), Teah, my mom, Lee's mom, and LeRoy. Oh, and Havi's arm and chubby cheek.

2008-05-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

A "how-to" moment by Holly

I don't know how you are about things, but for me, when I get into something like digital scrapbooking or sewing or running, I don't just get into it a little bit, oh no, I have to run to full marathon! (eveyrone usually knows what my latest hobby is around Christmas time when they all get a quilt or scrapbook). I get hyper-focused and the next thing I know, the day is over and nothing but my project was touched (those who saw my apartment during the sewing phase can attest to this, right Christa?). Anyway, the point is that I've had to try really hard not to let this blogging stuff take over my life. However, I do see this as a really fun project, and I love looking around at everyone's blogs and seeing the fun things they're up to. Another fun part of browsing is seeing the cute designs and displays of photos and such. I always want to know, "How did they do that?". So for anyone looking at this blog, here's what I did.

My secret is Photoshop. The "LeRoy and Holly" banner, the "Under Construction" pic, "Aspirations", all Photoshop. On Photoshop, you just write your text, add pictures and graphics (for example- the brick wall on my Construction sign, I Googled "brick wall", clicked on "Images" found that one, opened it in Photoshop, zoomed way in and used it as a background. Same for the Hard Hat sign.) then play around with Special effects like bevels and gradients to get what you want. That's the fun part. The frustrating part is when they look great as an image, but are fuzzy on the blog- the Construction sign. Anyway, then you save it as a .jpg and insert it in your blog like you would a normal picture.

Any software that will let you save an image as a jpeg (.jpg) is one you can use to make blog material, it doesn't have to be Photoshop. That's what I've learned so far in my playing around with blogs. There's so much more I want to figure out- like how to have tabs that will take viewers to another page on my blog, like www.leroyandholly.blogspot.com/thekids. Or something like that. So if anyone knows how to do that, please share!

~Holly

2008-05-06T08:42:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

TaDA!

2008-05-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

hoo hoo heeeee.... hoo hoo heeee..... BREATHE!! One more push................ *crying* and the doctor says, "Congratulations, it's a.... blog." Yep, the birth of a new blog is a painful and beautiful thing, a process I'm experiencing tonight. Late tonight (probably didn't have to clue you in on that one, it's pretty obvious, right?). Anyway, I'll take all the "welcome" and "congratulations" comments I can get. And don't be surprised if this post is soon deleted after I see it in the morning when I'm coherent... then again, tomorrow is a long run day (meaning I'll get up at 4am to run double digit miles, 14 I think... we'll see about that) and I don't know how coherent I'll be the rest of the day. Whoever told me "If you can run a half marathon, you'll be able to do a full just fine" needs to come run with me--- APRIL, CAROLINE. Just kidding. I'll probably tell people the same thing... AFTER the marathon's over.

Bear with me as I develop this blog, this should be fun! Peace out.