I really wish she didn't have a microphone in front of her face, but we can only do what we can do! Sorry, you have to push pause on my other music before you can hear her singing!

Kindergarten Graduation

I cannot believe Karlin graduated from Kindergarten today! It seems like only yesterday that I was SHOCKED when they told me I was pregnant, after soooo many years dealing with infertility. And now, she is going into first grade! When you see your kids grow so fast, it makes you realize that life moves faster than any of us think it does! I am so proud of the kid she is. She is so kind to other kids, and so worried about their feelings. Her teacher has told me several times how happy she is with the way Karlin is always willing to help the other kids with their work and that she is very patient with them. She definitely didn't get THAT from her mother! Congratulations Karlin, it's off to first grade, and a FULL day of school, oh my!!!!

And the verdict is in.........

I did it!!!

Not that any of you really care, I am probably just amusing myself with all of this, but it is still kind of fun to have a post that isn't about my kids or my crazy husband! I can't believe I really did THIS to my hair! I got to the salon still unsure if I would really do it or not. But Lacy told me that with my shape of face, that short hair would be more flattering for my face than long hair. Well, apparently that was the push I needed, because the next thing I knew, there went my hair! I am so glad I did it! Thank you to all of my friends who encouraged me to "Just do it"! I am glad I did! I am not quite sure about the bangs- either they will be pulled back a lot, or I will get used to them! Thanks Teresa, for being my Photographer! I definitely am not a model!

Can I REALLY do this?

This picture makes me
want to cut my hair!




This one make me NOT want to cut my hair!



So, today is the day I am going to get my hair cut. And when I say "cut", I really mean cut off! But can I really do it? I am so scared! I don't want to wear a pony tail all summer in the 100+ degree weather, but I am such a chicken when it comes to changing my hair! So, I need some encouragement, my husband is definitely giving me plenty, he loves short hair! I guess if I can muster the courage I will post some pictures later! Wish me luck!

Why I love my 3 year old!

Kamren came to me while I was unloading the dishwasher today and asked me a question that made me laugh!

Kamren: Mom, are you my Step-Mom or my Birth Mom?

Me: Well, I AM your Birth Mom, but not the kind like Kenzie has. Kamren, I am your real mom.

Kamren: So who is Kenzie's real Mom?

Now, this gets a little sticky, considering REAL mom is kind of a tricky one when your child has a birth Mom!

Me: Kamren, Kenzie has two real Moms.

Kamren: Do I have two?

Me: No, Kamren, you just have one Mommy.

Kamren: So, your just my Mom, right?

Me: Yes, I am just your Mom.

Apparently this satisfied her because she quit asking questions. What I want to know is where they come up with this stuff?. I love when there little minds come up with questions about things that you have no idea they even have the capacity to wonder about. 3 year olds are amazing creatures!

Mother's Day!

With Troy being so tall, it is kind of hard to tell who the adult in the picture is!
Wow!! Are we beauts first thing in the morning! I am sorry if I scare any of you with my morning beauty!

Kenzie made me a coupon that said she would cook breakfast for me and feed the dog for 10 days and clean my room and wash the car and give you some quiet time! I think I like that coupon!

I have to tell my husband and kids THANK YOU for a great Mother's Day! I woke up to Kenzie and Tony having made me breakfast, toast and eggs! Tony spent almost the entire day making sure I didn't have to do much of anything! He took care of Daxton during Relief Society, he let me take a 2 hour nap after church, and I pretty much spent the entire day feeling pretty useless! Not that that was a bad feeling, I am not complaining, at all! I want my family to know how much I appreciate them, and that I am so in love with them ALL on a daily basis! It is so amazing to me that you can completely love some many different personalities. They are all so unique, but also so amazing! I am blessed and honored to get to be the wife and mother behind all of these amazing spirits!

Kamren's teacher asked them some questions about their Mom's. Here are her responses.

What is your mom's name: Ricki

She is special because: She's my mom.

I like it when my Mom: Kisses me.

My Mom can do many things! I think she is best at: Playing on the computer.

My Mom has a pretty smile! I lie to make her smile by: smiling when I cook.

My Mom is as pretty as a:Princess.

My Mom is smart. She even knows: How to make food.

I'd like to tell my Mom: Can I play with Ashley.(her imaginary friend)

Thanks for a great day, guys!

Cancun

This is us at Divinci's BEFORE Daxton starts terrorizing the place!
My brother, Dustin and his wife, Faith.

This is the first night we got there down by the beach.

Daxton was in love with all of his ALL-INCLUSIVE drinks! We all had the Non Alchoholic type, but they were still good!

Tony thinking he was Kenney Chezney! I hid this hat HIGH in the closet the second we got back home!




Playing in the "Sand Showers" was Daxton's hang out!

This is the view from our hotel room.

Us on the beach.

My mom, and Scott, and I at Tulum.

This is the closest Scott got to a Hooter's girl or their boobs!

I absolutely love this picture! They had such a great time together playing in the ocean.

Look at these two hot 20 somethings!

Grandma and Daxton.

All of us when we returned safe and sound back to good old Salt Lake City!

I know I have been back for a couple of weeks, but first I thought I lost my camera with all of our trip pictures on it, and then I thought it was stolen from our house, and then Kaylee(thanks, Kaylee) found my camera in a random bag in the back of my car! I was so relieved that (A) I didn't lose all of the pictures from our vacation, and (B) that nobody had been in my house like I thought they had, and stolen my camera! I was freaking out, big time, there for a couple of days! On to the vacation!



My little man, was a complete angel on the plane ride to Cancun! He slept for a couple of hours, played with his dinosaurs, and watched Baby Einstein a couple of times! I think he was actually out of his car seat for a total of about 20 minutes the entire 4 1/2 hour flight! We were very shocked and happy about the flight! We got to Cancun and it was very humid. We are talking 90% humidity! I had forgotten how humid it really is. I spent the entire time with very curly hair, there was no point in even trying to straighten my hair, it was out of control!



Tony and Daxton loved the beach. They would get up early in the morning, eat breakfast, and head straight to the beach. Me, on the other hand, I was content watching from a lounge chair or hanging out up by the pool where there wasn't sand all over the place! Tony is still giving me grief that the only water that I ever got fully submerged in, is the shower! So I am not a ocean person, big deal!



Tony spent a day snorkeling at a little island off of Cancun, while Daxton and I and some of my family went shopping in some of the shops. I love bartering with the shop owners there, it is really fun to me. My mom and Tony, on the other hand thought I was crazy. Hey! A dollar is a dollar! And I think that they set there prices expecting you to barter with them.



We also got to go to a nice restaurant, Davinci's, our last night there. THIS is when my son decided to start his "24 hours of terror"!! Everybody had to dress up, and you could only take babies until 6:30 PM because they didn't want babies disturbing peoples fancy dinner! Well, thank goodness for that rule, because Daxton was not pleasant! He was chucking food, banging his spoon on the high chair repeatedly, and being REALLY whiny. We finally took him out of there and put him to bed. The next day was our travel home day. Our flight was leaving at I think 3:30 Cancun time. So we get in the van to go to the airport, and Daxton falls asleep. The entire time we are waiting in line to get our tickets and go through customs, he sleeps! He wakes up about 25 minutes before we are supposed to get on the plane, and he is in rare form. He spends his time clear up until we are to get on the plane running up and down the terminal! We thought that might wear him out a little, but it only fueled his fire! We get to the gate to check in, and they inform us that the seat that was in between us, was now taken by somebody else, so he was really going to have to sit on our laps! I panicked! I knew both flights would not be smooth, but really, he was going to have to sit on our laps! It went exactly like I would have thought it would! He spend 3 1/2 hours of the flight walking all over us, trying to climb on the seat in front and behind us, trying to reach the overhead light and fan! Boy was it fun! Thank goodness it was my family that he was bugging, because I would have felt very bad if he was disturbing other people! He fell asleep about 40 minutes before the plane landed!



All in all, we had a great vacation, and I was very glad to have Daxton with us. We didn't seem to get as home sick for the kids this trip thanks to having him with us! Thank you Mom and Scott for making this trip a reality! It was so fun to spend the week with my family we had an amazing time!