Field Trip with Mommy to the Santaquin Fruit Farms

I had the pleasure of joining my sweet Donovan on a field trip last Thursday. We had such a good time together. We learned how Apples and Cherries are harvested. We walked through the Fruit Plant, in and out of freezing huge coolers, along the assembly lines etc... Then we took a long Hay Ride out to the Pumpkin Patch, where Donovan had the entire 1st grade chanting "Pumpkin Patch", as they pumped their arms up and down. It was pretty funny (for the 1st 5 minutes, but after it went on 10 minutes more, I did my part to get them to stop :-) When we finally made it to the long awaited Pumpkin Patch, the employees told everyone they could take as many as they wanted or could hold. Donovan took them seriously...as you can see, he walked away with 3. Everyone else had 1 if that. We had a very good time. Thanks for the fun time Donovan!!!

My FAILED attempt to look as KEWL as my hip children...LOL!

K so a little background here. I was asked to hold a Detention today at school from 6:30-10:30 AM. Do you think anyone showed? Of course not...it's teacher prep day and a much coveted day to sleep in. (One that I really wanted to have) So I was stuck in a cold room, (my poor sisters would have froze to death) all by myself with nothing to do (heaven forbid I actually get work done). So I caught up on my Facebook. And snapped a few updated pictures on my phone, while I was at it. This picture would be the failed attempt to look hip and trendy. So funny...right? O well, I actually think I am pretty brave to share. I was up at 5:30 and decided, this is a major hat day. I love hats when I am lazy. Plus my mom thinks I look cute in hats". Thanks mom!

A little Love for our Beautiful Brooklin...

Brooklin Kate is the most wonderful daughter in the whole wide world. This girl is not only beautiful on the outside, she is even prettier on the inside. She doesn't live with us right now and we have missed her terribly. She is so close to her younger sister Breea, and her little brothers love her to pieces and get so excited when I tell them that she is coming over to visit. Her younger siblings look up to her as an example of how to be kind, loving, generous, tender-hearted and loyal. Brooklin has blessed my life in many ways: I couldn't have asked for a better older sister for my boys and wonderful Breea. Brooklin has also been a great friend to me, on top of being a respectful daughter. Brooklin has shared and continues to share her many gifts and talents, she is VERY creative. She is an incredible writer and artist. She is extremely loyal to those that she loves, but watch out if you are on her bad side. LOL! She is very intelligent, beyond her years. She loves little children and loves to play with them, teach them and just all-in-all make them feel loved and wanted. We miss Brooklin in our home from day to day but it has opened our eyes to how much we love and appreciate her. We Love You Brooklin!

INTRODUCTION TO MATTY-CHOO-CHOO:


This is Matt. Brooklin has been dating Matt for almost a year now. We love him. He comes over with Brooklin and is a big help. He is so good with the boys, and a great sport. Matty plays football, baseball, soccer...you name it. If the boys ask him he generally says yes. He also has put in a good many hours on the PlayStation too. My kids love it when Matty-Choo-Choo comes over. (yes I made up that name for him, poor guy...lol) Matt works for the National Guard and is also in the National Guard. We are proud of the work he does. He is very talented and has somewhat mastered the art of "free walking". For those of you that have no idea what that is, Google it, it's crazy. Thanks Matty for loving our VERY special Brooklin, and for accepting all of us, despite all the craziness. We Love You!!!

Oww How cute are they???



WE LOVE YOU BROOKLIN AND MATTHEW!!!

Breea's NEW Doo...

How cute does Breea look with shorter hair? Well, pretty much she is gorgeous all the time and wonderful too. (Did I mention amazingly wonderful?) She is so much fun. I just wanted to show off her cute doo to all of you who haven't seen it yet.

Just a little somthin', somethin'...

It's been awhile since I have put anything on my blog. So here are some updates of my cute little chillins'.

Donovan has lost three teeth in the last little while. He is growing up so fast. I am so blessed to be the mother of these wonderful children. Ooo I just wanna kiss em' and snuggle em' all day long.

My RyRy has been my little buddy while the others are at school. But...I got another job at Salem Hills High School and I work at Heritage still. So, Ryan goes to The Mexicans when I can't be with him. Thank you Kim and AJ. You are lifesavers. Thanks to all of you that have helped me especially these past few months. They have been crazy! And if I didnt have you I wouldn't have made it through. (that should be lyrics to a song or something) I love you!

Two Favorites...

My friend tagged me. So here it goes….

Two names you go by:
1. Celeste the Best
2. Cessie

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. A bright cheerful blouse
2. Awesome NEW jacket from my wonderful mother (b4 u all get jealous it was an early birthday present...LOL)

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To be all unpacked and moved in...
2. On vacation to a beautiful beach

Two things you did last night:
1. Took dinner to Aaron & Steph and snuggled Nixon
2. Watched Ironman w/ Mom, Mike and RyRy

Two things you ate Yesterday
1. Delicious Sunday Dinner, they're the BEST At Mom's
2. Kimberly's yummy cookies

Two people you last talked to:
1. Employees and parents at Heritage
2. Breea Amanda, Ryan Michael and Donovan McKade
(I'm at work so it was my g'night call)

Two things you’re doing today (or did today?):
1. Unpacked & moved furniture w/ Mike,
(Thank you)
2. Played Guitar Hero w/ Ry-Ry for hrs. :-)

Two longest car rides:
1. From Utah 2 Rocky Point, Mexico
2. From Utah to San Fransisco to Orange County
to Encinata Mexico to Las Vegas to Utah in
10 Days.

Two favorite beverages:
1. Pomegranate Juice
2. Green Tea

I tag Kimberly, Michele, Steph, Lindsey, Debbie and anyone else that wants to participate. Love ya...

Latest News...

Just a quick update. Lots of changes and busy times. Breea started school at The American Leadership Academy on Monday and is really enjoying it so far. Yes, I know its only been 2 days but I think she will love it. Donovan starts tomorrow. He is in the 1st grade (can u believe it?) His teachers name is Mrs. Kirk. We met her today and Donovan was all smiles as he found his desk and told his teacher a little about himself. I recently started working again. I went back to Heritage Schools. The Treatment Center I worked at before I moved to Arizona. Heritage is a good company to work for. So, between work, school, moving into our own place, we are a very busy bunch of people. But hey, busy is good, right?

Does this surprise anyone???

You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

So, Breea wanted to see which princess she was. And yes it's true she is Snow White. I actually think it is totally fitting. Plus, I would love for her to get "Prince Charming"...

Why the Sun can CHEER me up...

When I was just a wee child, I think I was a Mia Mid or Laurel, we had an activity with our mothers. It was a special night, we were dressed in nice clothes, not really sure what to expect and why our mothers were there. All the moms were asked to present something to their daughters, something to do with nature. "What reminds you of your daughters"? My mom picked the SUN for me. She even drew/colored and framed an adorable picture of the sun and wrote me a little poem. It meant the world to me and has stuck with me all these years. I still feel honored that she compared me to the sun. The sun will always hold a special place in my heart. Hence the reason I am "LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE"!!!

We love the 24th of July in Utah!!!

Parades, Traditions, Games, Good Food, Good Company, Swimming, Naps, Fireworks and Last but not least Carnivals...



What a day we had yesterday. Mom, Mike, Me, Breea, Donovan, Ryan Michael, Ryan Matthew, McKaye, Hansen, Jens, Jed, Michele, Emily, Sarah, Ethan, Nicholas and Brooklin & Matt...Thank you for a great 24Th! We went to the parade at 9:00, assuming our traditional position in front of Central Bank. Then we went for a stroll around the park to check out all the tasty BBQ stands and found a shady place under a tree in the park. I found a very tasty and refreshing "Limeade" at the Wallaby's stand. Delicious! After visiting with old friends and cruising the shops we headed home for a afternoon rest. Then mom had a BBQ/swim party/water balloon volleyball game planned. (BTW picture this I took Breea and Emily to Wal-Mart to get balloons, they decided it was ok to go in their swim suits, there was no shortage of stares, but hey its Wal-Mart right, I think they were perfectly dressed for the occasion...LOL! Even though Mom would say "just because your at Wal-Mart doesn't mean you have to look Wal-Mart") The volleyball game was a blast. Ryan Matthew and I were by far the best team! After moms we all jumped in and headed for a night out on the town at the good ol' Carnival. THE FREAKS COME OUT AT NIGHT!!! Cute McKaye came up to me and said "where are all these people the other 364 days of the year"? Truer words have never been spoken. We ended the night with a BANG, literally. Fireworks, what a show. Wish you all were here to join. Maybe next year!

So Much Fun...You Have To Do It!!!

OK this was so much fun. I took Breea to a Young Women/Young Men Activity and after a quick trip to the Snow Cone Shack we (me, Donovan and Ryan) decided to do a little "fly-by" the activity to see how it was going. They were having so much fun and lucky for us when we went in for a closer look the Bishop yelled "come on, come join the fun". Another big score for us was, we were still totally dressed for the occasion because we had just gone swimming. Seriously, it was so much fun. A little reminiscent of the commercial where they set one up on the streets of San Fransisco, minus the enormous gorilla. :-) My kids loved it. Little Ryan was cruisin' down the hill. And Donovan, although shivering and teeth chattering, did not want to stop, he was trying every trick in the book. And cute Breea, had a blast. I loved seeing her interact with everyone. She is obviously very well liked, leaders and kids had a blast with her. Now for the "STORY"... The first time I jumped on the slide Ryan and Breea went down with me, holding hands. And being the bad mommy that I am, I forgot to let go of Ryan's hand at the end and dragged my poor child through the grass and mud, completely drenching him with this swampy gush. Although it was very amusing to those that were watching from the sidelines, my little guy didn't think it was that funny (but he was a very good sport). As we were walking back up the hill Ryan said to me, as he was spitting out grass and mud, "Mommy, I don't think I want to go down with you again". What a horrible mom I am... LOL! Here is a picture after the fact: (You might have to "Biggie Size" it to get the full affect)

I'll take that...

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Daddy Time!!!

Shawn sent this to me Saturday Night simply stating that he was in "heaven". He was able to spend a lot of time with his kids Saturday and really enjoyed it. Those boys love their daddy, don't they?

Another Addition to the Skate Park Adventure...

First Night of Fun at the Skate Park...

Donovan has been begging me for days now to take him to the Skate Park. Every time we have driven by there has been several older guys and I told Donovan we should wait for a time when there aren't so many around, especially for his first time. Well, that time was tonight. Without hesitation he rolled right down the inclines. He has always been so natural on a scooter. Since he was like a year and a half, no lie. But I have to say he had me laughing quite often because every time he went down a hill or up a hill, he would say woo-hoo! He was in heaven and I loved it...

Make sure you turn your sound on so you can hear his woo-hoo's. Lol! It was so cute. The other boarders that were there would stop every now and again to watch this little boy have so much fun going up and down the hills. Most were smiling at him and some even gave him a little chuckle. There was one that rode by on his bike and smiled at me as Donovan did it, I smiled back and said "first time, can you tell"?

K, now here is cute Ryan giving a valiant effort in trying to run up the side and grab hold of the top. He was successful a couple of times, of course his mommy missed those on camera. Oh well, its still cute anyway.

What color is your Tooth Fairy?

So, My Donovan is growing up. One indication of that is, he has lost 2 teeth in the last couple of weeks. The first one he lost (literally lost) by biting into a big piece of pizza. We can only assume that he swallowed it because we looked everywhere for the tooth and it was no where to be found. Then, last night, he came home from the movies with Uncle Jed, Aunt Michele and cousins, jumped up on my lap and said " Mommy can you pull my tooth"? So I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, wrapped it around the tooth and yanked. The first try I was unsuccessful. The second try I latched on real hard, gave it a good tug and that baby popped right out. Donovan, Ryan and I started giggling and Donovan ran to show Grandma and Grandpa that one more tooth is gone. They grow up so fast don't they? Tear...

The story of the yellow water...
There is an old wives tale that when you lose a tooth, if you want to know what color your fairy is, place your tooth in a clear cup or glass, and when the fairy reaches in the get the tooth, it's Fairy Dust comes off and leaves behind its true color. So, we tried it and sure enough it works!!Donovan's Fairy was a very bright yellow. Which was very exciting for him because last night laying in bed he made a wish that his Fairy would be yellow. Amazing!

Yummy!!!

This is for you dear Kimberly. See all these yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies? They are in memory of you. Not to mention I used your recipe. Delicious!!! I so wish you were here to help us enjoy them. We miss you, your family and Aaron/Stephanie like crazy. Hurry home and I'll make you cookies any ol' time. Aaron and if you hurry home I will brew you up some sauteed cabbage to swim in. LOL!
P.S. Brothers and their families that I did not mention, I miss you too. I just know there is no use in saying hurry home, since quite frankly you are home and you won't be joining us anytime soon. Sure do love you all though.

Last Name Game...

This is a fun little game. Rules are: all answers must start with the
first letter of your last name.

What is your last name? Mahaffey
4 Letter Word: Mice
Vehicle: Mazda Miati
Boy Name: (Ryan) Michael Mahaffey
Girl Name: Michele Marie Morley
Pet Name: Maggie
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer Maintenance
Something You Wear: Moustache
Celebrity: Madonna
Food: Mushrooms
Found in Bathroom: Mirror
Reason for Being Late: Messed up Make-up
Cartoon Character: Minnie Mouse
Something You Shout: Make Me!!!
Animal: Mongoose
Body Part: Mouth
Word to Describe You: Magical :-)
Something You Like To Do: Make Muffins
Place You'd Like To Be: Maui

I tag Lindsey and Stephanie. Have fun... (Michele get on your horse)

K Listen up! I posted my new Postings wrong. I'm an idiot and I don't even know if I can or how to rearrange the Posts. So when you read about my week with the Morley's start at the bottom and go up. K? So sorry!!! Live and learn...

More fun with the Morleys...

This picture is so funny to me. We all had a good laugh. Ethan is quite the digger/burier. (if that's even a word)
My little Ry-Ry guy guy! He loves to take pictures. And his mommy loves to take them. I'm a very proud mommy of a great group of kids.

I have to add the few things I didn't capture on camera, that I so wish that I did:

#1: Daily trips to the Snow Cone Shack. I started this thing that for good behavior we would all go get snow cones. Being together for that long, with that many kids, there were bound to be fights, hurt feelings and lots of "tattle-telling". So I started saying "OK if everyone can get along, do their chores and be happy we will go get a snow cone". Believe it or not we made it to the SnoShack everyday, and twice on one of the days. Good fun!

#2: Every night there was a trip to the ballpark to watch softball and baseball. Which was good for all to get out of the house and play.

#3: In the Suburban, while driving to and fro, we watched plenty of episodes of Full House. The kids can watch the same one over and over and over again. Heaven Help me...

This was a week to remember. I love those Morley kids. They are so much fun. Sometimes a little more adventurous then I am used to, but hey that's why Michele is their mom and I'm not, right? I love you Morley Family!!!

Fun Fun Fun...

I learned that Sarah has a fear of little fish, Ethan can make a fishing pole out of a twig, fishing line he found in the water and a lure he found on the shore line. "Cessie I almost caught a fish", Ethan said as he tried out his make shift pole, Macy is like her Mommy and enjoys laying on the warm beach, "catching rays", Nicholas is so content for hours on end, in the water, digging, exploring and building. What fun we had at the Reservoir.
Breea and Sarah so diligently tried their hardest to bury Donovan. The sand just wasn't staying on top of him because of one minor problem. Donovan was laying on top of a mound of sand. Therefore the sand would role off of Donovan the minute the girls tried to put a pile on. This is the outcome. As you can see, plenty of sand around him, not so much on top. LOL! Give em' all credit for trying.
Ethan on the other hand, succeeded in burying himself and putting a baseball in his mouth too. Whata worker he is. Part of Donovan's problem was he tried to bury himself on top of Ethan's mound of sand he made when digging his hole.
The Whole Gang! Even a part of my leg and arm was caught in the picture, in efforts of keeping Nicholas in the pictuire. O well, cute group of kiddies.
Don't be fooled, this was not taken at the Reservior. I was in the kitchen at the Morley's and all of a sudden I hear Ethan yelling "Cessie, come quick. Hurry, Ryan is stuck". I ran out to the play area to find this. My child buried up to his neck and loving it. Although Ethan scared me with his desperate plea for help, I couldn't be upset at that sight.

Whata week at the Morleys!!!

So, not to long ago I had the priviledge to help care for the Morley Children while Michele and Emily went to Girls Camp and Jed carried on with his duties. (lots and lots of duties LOL! He's a very busy man.) It was a week filled with lots of good times, and a lot of other emotions, many times I felt lucky to make it through the day without major injuries or death. Nonetheless, it was a week to remember. And here are a few of our greatest memories.
Everyday after chores were done, Sarah (our designated 4-wheeler driver) would jump on the 4-wheeler and give lots of rides to lots of kids. They came up with the idea to tie a rope around the back of the 4-wheeler to a snow sled and pull it all around the field, over jumps, in and out of holes, dirt spewing everywhere. As you can see, if you were on the sled a helmet was a must. The kids had a blast doing this and spent countless hours, getting dirty and laughing their heads off. Thanks Sarah for the fun on the 4-wheeler.
K, this here was a sight to behold and a hilarious story. Sarah pulled this stop sign out of the garage, (STOP on one side and YIELD on the other) put a whistle around her neck, stood on the other side of the street from her house and proceeded to blow her whistle and stop cars as they came down the road. As cars stopped, Sarah would either, blow her whistle again and have the other children cross the street to where she was standing or just chit chat with the drivers of the cars that stopped. It was so funny! After a while of doing this they decided to up the Anni on what to do for the cars that stopped. So, they got a package of Chocolate Chip Cookies and if cars stopped they graciously handed over cookies to the passengers of the cars that stopped. Cute Ethan also decided to give his "famous" paper airplanes out to those that stopped also. There were lots of very nice people that stopped to join in the fun and some not so nice that sped on by, way too fast with kids on the side of the road.
Look closely at Tessa's right eye. Tessa was stung by a bee in her right eye lid. Immediately we gave her allergy medicine and started icing her eye. Tessa was a trooper. This picture was taken to of her to reassure her mom and dad that all was well with their little girl. Tuesday we had Quinn, Megan and Tessa join the fun. Wednesday we had a great time with Hansen and Jens joining us too.
Thursday after chores were done we decided to get out of the house for the day. Dear ol' Jed brought me some money, so we went to Dollar Tree to get sand, sun and fun stuff. We made a quick detour to Wendy's to fill our bellies and then ventured onto the Spanish Fork Reservoir. We had such a good time, getting out of the house, swimming, digging in the sand (for lack of a better word, although it was more like tiny pebbles) and enjoying one anothers company in the great outdoors.

Funny Story...

Donovan came home from a sleep over Tuesday afternoon looking run down and a bit sick. So I said "Donovan, how are you feeling? Mommy needs to know if you don't feel good." Donovan responds "I didn't even wash my hands when I went to the bathroom". I said "Oh man, thats not good, you should always remember to wash your hands". He said "I don't even have a pulse, I think I must be really sick". I said "You don't have a pulse"? "That is bad, sweetheart". He then said "Don't worry mommy, I will be ok".
Kids say the darndest things...Don't they! I just wanted to share because I thought it was so cute.
(BTW Donovan is usually very good at remembering to wash his hands so when he forgot it kind of freaked him out. He thought he was going to get very sick)

Check out my Slide Show!

My Little Johnny Knoxville!!!

How cute is this picture? The sunglasses totally reminded me of crazy Johnny Knoxville when he put them on. I had a good laugh, as did so many others I'm sure that I sent this picture to on their phone. I still had to add it to the blog. My little Ryan is such a character.
It's true this little guy definately keeps me on my toes. He is so smart. Whether its his one liners, ("Don't make me come back there", as I am pushing him in the stroller and not giving him the attention he thinks he deserves.) to his questions about life. He is one of the apples of my eye. I love my Ry-Ry!!!

Fantastic Utah Scenary

Ok, Ok! So, it's not the ocean. But Utah Mountains are beautiful and this picture does not even do justice for the amazing, cloudy (is that an oxi-moron?) night mom and I witnessed coming home from American Fork the other night. I tried to capture some of the beauty from my cell phone, while mom was pushing 80 MPH down I-15. Seriously it was picture perfect. Newly fallen snow, with the clouds nestled right into the foot of Mt. Timp. It was a sight to behold. Gods creations, aren't they magnificent?

Brooklin's Prom 2008

Brooklin went to Spanish Fork's Prom with her boyfriend Matt about a week ago. I figured it was about time to show some beautiful picutures of our daughter.
When Ryan saw these pictures he said "mom, Brooklin is a princess, and she is wearing a princess dress too". I couldn't agree more.
We had to get a shot of the shoes. Matt later told me that they were killing her all night. Ya think??? :-) She looked amazing though. These pictures don't even do her justice. Matt looked dashing himself.

BREEA THE BEAUTIFUL!!!

Donovan and I were talking today and he said "mom, guess who I miss"? And I said "who sweetheart" and he said " B-R-E-E-A". (Yes he spelled it) So this bolg is a little tribute to our wonderful Breea who we miss and love so much and can't wait to be with again.

For those of you who don't know, Breea stayed behind in Arizona to finish school and go to Girl's Camp before she made the move back to Utah. It was a very hard thing to do, leaving our daughter behind but thought it was in her best interest to allow her to finish out the school year before we moved her again.

Breea is currently living with her Aunt Crystal, Uncle Gary and her two cousins, Josh and Riley. We miss her very much and are counting the days to be with her again. Thankfully, its going by pretty fast.

WE LOVE YOU BREEA AMANDA MAHAFFEY!!!