The Greenwood Family

Savannah's Birthday and Baptism

2012-01-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my sweet little girl is 8! Honeslty, where does the time go? But then again, she really is quite grown up. She's always checking on me to make sure my legs are feeling okay, and she's the first one to jump up and help, even before I ask. The other day I was making spaghetti and meatballs for when Jason's brother Taz came home, and asked her if she wanted to learn how to roll the meatballs. Now remember, we had about 200 or so to make. I was all set to show her and then let her do a few. I figured she'd loose interest after awhile. Boy, was I wrong. She loved it and helped me roll the entire batch. She even came back up later to see if there were anymore to do.:) I'm always so proud of her, but never more so than when she made the decision to be baptized. It wasn't even a question for her. She's been excited about it for months, and even made sure to invite her great-grandpa who's a non-member. When the bishop asked her why she wanted to be baptized, she immediately said, "So I can be like Jesus." Did I mention how proud I am of her?:)

We love you Savannah! Way to go!

What on earth have you been up to?

2012-01-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hey there! So, rather than post a super-long list of all the crazy stuff we've been up to lately, I thought I'd just add a few highlights from each month. (Sorry if this sort-of sounds like a holiday letter.:) Here goes:
July
Isaiah turned 6--I can't believe how big this kid is! Plus, he has the energy of about 3 6-year-olds. I hope he keeps that zest for life later, but right now, sometimes I wish he'd just calm down for 2 seconds! (Such is the life of a mom.) He was really excited this year because we went to Draper Days on his birthday, which means he had his very own fireworks! How cool is that? (I have pictures of this, but I'm not exactly sure where the CD is at the moment. I'll post them later if I find it.:)
Swimming lessons--My kids are seriously little fish. I've never seen anybody who loves the water so much. Normally teachers will have to talk kids into putting their heads under the water, but with my kids, they have to be reminded to stay ABOVE water. Savannah was even brave enough to go off the high dive, which is something her mom still gets nervous about. Sometimes I wonder if they have gills...:)

August
Missing a husband--For a lot of the month, Jason was out of town on work, either in Fillmore or somewhere in South Dakota. (I know. What fabulous locations.:) I had to get creative to figure out stuff for the kids to do during summer break that didn't involve spending money, but we sure had fun. We even managed to finish a few projects around the house! All the same, everyone was sure glad when Daddy came home!
Fun at Lagoon and the cabin--One of the best things about summer for me is that we all go to Lagoon together as a family. I didn't get to go a lot as a kid, and I'm so glad that we've made it a yearly tradition. It always makes for such great memories. Plus, this year we went up to the family cabin in Lava Hot Springs right after and relaxed for a few days. Now that's my kind of vacation!

September
School starts again!--You mean I don't have to entertain my kids all day every day anymore? That's fantastic! Why didn't somebody think of that sooner?:)
Singing in a FABULOUS choir--I was very fortunate to be asked to sing in the choir for the Relief Sociey session of General Conference. What an amazing experience! The music was beautiful, and the spirituality of the practices and performance was something I'll never forget. I feel so blessed to have been a part of something so spectacular. (Even if we did spend a LONG time down on Temple Square the day of the broadcast.:) And for those of you who've been asking, yes, that was me in the close-up on camera. (Actually, the camera was pretty much right in my face. Let me tell you, it was really difficult to pretend it wasn't there.:)
Isaac leaving on his mission--Jason ended up having two brothers as missionaries at the same time! His youngest brother, Isaac, left in September to the Seattle Washington mission. He's doing a fantastic job, and I hope he's not getting too soggy in all that rain...

October
Happy Halloween--I love that my kids still like to pick cute costumes out as oppossed to the scary ones. It's so much more fun! This year we had a Mario and Luigi, as well as Alice and 2 Mad Hatters (one old movie and one new). The best part by far though was that Jason grew out his hair just so he could be a fantasic Johnny Depp Mad Hatter for Savannah's Alice. He looked absolutely amazing. (He even did his makeup by himself. I had no idea I married such a talented man.:)

Yes, that's his real hair. We got a spray hair dye for the night.:)

Family pictures--Jason's sister Toni was nice enough to take some new family pictures for us up at the cabin. We have current pictures of the kids thanks to school, but it dawned on me that in our last family picture Mary was 1. (Oops.:) They turned out wonderfully, thanks to Toni being aware that you must take MANY pictures in every pose in order to get ones where everyone is actually looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. (Who new that was such a complicated idea?)

I love my family!

Don't you just love this picture? It's one of my favorites.

This looks kind-of like an engagement photo to me, and I love it! Who says we can't still love each other after almost 10 years?:)

Savannah's program--Each year the kids get to do a program at school, and for Savannah's grade that means Halloween. It was super cute, and I love how you can always hear my kids singing, even in a big group. They love it, and so does their mom. Savannah did such a fantastic job on her speaking part as well. (She could even reach the microphone this time.:)

That's my girl!

November
Remembering gratitude--We had a small medical scare thanks in part to my fabulous blood clotting genes. I had gone of my medication for a couple of days in order to have an endoscopy (lucky me) and my legs were quite sore for a couple of weeks after. I went to have an ultrasound and discovered what looked like more clots. I thought, "Oh, great. I seriously have to do this again? Really?" But during the procedure, the doctor let me know that it was actually more scar tissue from when they treated me a couple of times over the summer. I was sore, but I'd be okay, and I got to go home. The neat thing was that it was almost exactly a year after I first was fighting the clots, and right before Thanksgiving. It was as if Heavenly Father was saying, "You remember what you learned about gratitude last year? Yeah, don't forget that." It was most definately a very good reminder.

December
Programs--Savannah's school program was for Halloween, Isaiah's was for Christmas. Remember what I said about being able to hear my kids no matter what? That's especially true for Isaiah. He has such a love for music, and can't wait to sing it at the top of his lungs. (Mary's that way too.) He did such a fantastic job. Mary had her preschool program and a dance showcase as well, and I just had to smile at how excited she was to sing, and more especially to dance. She would focus long enough to do the steps her teacher asked, but she would jump up and down between each section. Super cute!:) She did a really good job, too.

Ta-da!

Christmas--Christmas was awesome, fantastic, and completely crazy. We have tons of family to visit anyway, but adding in the concept of it being on Sunday and working around everyone's meetings, trying to plan to be at Jason's parents' house when his missionary brothers called, and my brother Tony and his wife having a new baby 2 days before (yay for Braden!:), things were just nuts. It was all enjoyable, but I did feel bad for my kids. About halfway through the day, Mary asked if we could go home yet so she could play with her new toys. Too bad we still had 2 more places to go that day...:) I was really proud of my kids this year too. Normally their gifts to each other consist of whatever they think would be okay at Wal-Mart. But this year, each of them really thought about things the others had said they wanted and got those instead. Let me tell you, it is such a fantastic feeling as a parent to see the smiles not only from the one receiving the gift, but from the one giving it as well when they know they really picked something the other would want. And they all even waited until after church to open their presents, since our meeting was at 9:00. The true meaning of Christmas was most definately in focus this year, despite all the craziness, and I LOVED IT!

I had to put in this picture of Isaiah with his bomb Angry Bird from Santa. All the kids got a bird and a pig in their stockings, but he was by far the most excited. Love that smile!

January
Taz's homecoming--The missionaries are back down to one! Jason's brother Taz returned from Monterey, Mexico and is just as awesome as ever. I would say even more so than when he left. (Missions tend to do that.:) We're all super excited he's home, but I don't think anyone is more so than my husband. I've never seen him that happy before, and I've seen him at some pretty happy times. I can only imagine how it will be when Isaac comes home as well.
Going back to school--So I decided to be nuts and go back to college. (As if I don't already have enough to do.) My kids are getting to the age where it's a possibility, and I've always wanted to. I will eventually be persuing a degree in music education, but at the moment, I'm finishing some general classes online that never got finished at the Y. It's going pretty well, but it's really interesting to try and figure out college-level math when I haven't had to think that way in about a decade. I'm reaching into parts of my brain that I forgot existed, which causes a few headaches. Here's hoping it keeps going as well as it has been.:)
So, that's what on earth we've been up to lately. Here's hoping I get a little more time to update things on this blog more frequently, but I'm not making any promises.:)

Does Life Ever Calm Down?

2011-12-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

You know how life gets so busy and you keep thinking that you'll have time to get around to things when it calms down? Well, what happens if things don't calm down?:) I think that's been the story for the Greenwoods the past few months. At first I thought summer would be relaxing. But then my husband was working out of town for most of it and I had to think of stuff for the kids to do all day so they didn't notice. Then I thought things would be calmer when the kids went back to school. But I forgot about all the homework and projects and me becoming the family taxi driver. Then I figured that the holidays would be busy, but at least lots of fun. You'd think I'd remember how crazy everything was last year...Oh, well. At least I've updated the blog enough so that it doesn't look like it's the middle of summer anymore. Maybe someday soon I'll get around to doing something like posting pictures.:)

More Random Pictures

2011-06-28T10:20:00.001-06:00

Here's a few more random shots that didn't make it in anywhere, but I had to share.:)

I know it's hard to tell, but these are antelope! There was this whole herd of them just hanging out in the farmer's field across from Wal-Mart. We HAD to stop and stare for a little while.

After petting the rays at Sea World: "I gotta wash my hands." (Mary still says that everytime she sees this picture.:)

I took this after Jason and I had a temple date. I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked.

This is from Mary's birthday party at my parent's house. I love how excited Papa (my grandpa) is to be singing to her. (He just loves her, and calls her Mary J. So cute!)

This is a llama at Farm Country. I love that he looks like he's saying, "What?"

Waiting outside Chuck-a-Rama with Aunt Kristianne and Cousin Max. Love those cute smiles!

Thanks for letting me share!

Thanksgiving Point Fun

2011-06-28T09:59:00.000-06:00

A little while back Jason ran in the Thanksgiving Point Half-Marathon with his sister and brother. (They did a fantastic job, by the way.) In the race packet there were wrist-bands for all the activities at Thanksgiving Point, so we decided to go make a day out of it. I mean, how often do you get to do that sort of thing for free? What a fabulous time we had! My kids couldn't believe we got to do Farm Country and the Dinosaur Museum in the same day. (Usually it's one or the other due to cost.) I particularly enjoyed the fact that Jason got to come with us this time. He's usually working when we go, but this time it was Saturday. The kids absolutely loved pointing everything out to him, too.:)

I love the smiles in this picture. They were so excited to get to pet that little lamb.

I just had to inculde a picture of Isaiah's favorite. He's been obsessed with pigs lately, and was absolutely thrilled that there were some to pet. I guess they are pretty cute.:)

Jason told them to look sad for this picture. Awesome!

Goofing around at the museum

Digging for dinosaur bones

ROAR!

What a fantastic day! I hope we all get to go back again soon. (Maybe I can talk Jason into running another race...:)

Baseball and Gymnastics

2011-06-28T09:44:00.000-06:00

I really love how active my kids are. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep up! Isaiah just finished baseball season, and he totally loved it! He was so excited that he got to be in coach pitch this year. He did a great job, too. The funny thing was about halfway through the season he went from hitting almost every pitch to missing a lot. It took us a while to figure out that his swing speed had gotten a lot faster, and so his timing was all messed up. But, he practiced hard and before long he was back to getting hits, this time with a lot more distance due to the power and speed in his swing. It was awesome to see his face light up when he'd connect and hit it far. Way to go, buddy!

Look at that stance. He's so ready to go!

This is actually one of the only times I caught him holding still in the outfield. He was always jumping around or trying to talk to somebody. I guess he still does have 5-year-old focus.:)

Savannah had her first gymnastics exhibition a few weeks ago as well. It was a lot of fun, and I loved how official the teachers made everything. It was just like a real meet, right down to how the students walked and rotated to each event. So cool! Savannah was great, too. She's doing such a fantastic job learning how to tumble and dance around. She loves swinging over the bars especially. There was even a little awards ceremony at the end, and all the students took turns standing at the top of the podium. Good practice, right?:)

A lot of the pictures ended up blurry because of all the movement, but I love how in this one she's the only one in focus. That's where our attention was anyway, right?

Look at that smile! She was so proud. Her mom was, too.:)

Way to go, you guys! Great job!:)

Such a Big Girl

2011-06-26T15:14:00.000-06:00

In April, my little Mary turned 4! She is such a big girl! Sometimes I can't believe how grown up she is. But, if I ever forget, she'll remind me.:)

Yes, that is a Twinkie with candles in it. I already had to make a cake for the family party and cupcakes for another one, so on the actual day of her birthday we had Twinkies. I can only bake so much!:)

Opening presents--most of which had to do with the movie Tangled

Blowing out the cupcakes, which, of course, are pink

Mary's pink princess cake, with ice cream cone turrets. (She's become almost obsessed with princesses lately, and asked for a castle cake. Thankfully, I at least had an idea of what to do. The rest came through looking at pictures and some trial and error.)

Happy Birthday, Mary! We love you, big girl!

Ms. Toothless

2011-06-26T15:04:00.000-06:00

Savannah took a while to start loosing her teeth, but once she did, they all started to go. All four of her front teeth fell out within a few months of each other. My dad has started to call her "Toothless." It does make for a cute smile, though.

Her tooth has to be in a baggie so it won't get lost in her bed and the Tooth Fairy can find it in the dark.:)

California Dreamin'

2011-06-26T15:00:00.000-06:00

Back at the beginning of March we were able to go to California for a family vacation. We were planning on going last fall, but my lovely health issues wouldn't allow that. Thankfully, we were able to go finally, and what a blast we had. We decided to drive to save the money, but in retrospect I think we'll fly next time. (My kids did FANTASTIC in the car. It was more their mom who had to keep stopping to exercise my legs. We got really good at cleaning up after being car-sick, too.:) We stopped overnight in Vegas and had fun at Circus Circus, then left the next morning in order to get to our hotel in Aneheim by around lunchtime. We hit the beach that first day, although I think the locals thought we were nuts. To us, 60 degrees was very warm since it was snowing back home, but they were all bundled up in sweatshirts and long pants, if they were even on the beach at all. We did get a few of them smiling, though.

Jumping the waves with Daddy

Savannah was so excited to find seashells. Thankfully, we convinced her to leave them at the beach...:)

I just love this picture of Isaiah. He was THRILLED to see the ocean, and couldn't stop jumping around.

Next came a few days of Disneyland. For those of you who've never been during the off-season, I most highly recommend it. Sure, a few of the rides were closed, but the longest we ever waited in line was 30 minutes, and that was for Space Mountain and Peter Pan. (The normal wait was about 15 or less. Awesome!) I absolutely loved watching my kids react to everything. They were so excited, they could barely stand it! There's just something about the magic of that place for kids, and even their parents.:)

This was taken just before we went in. Do you see those smiles?

Group hug!

There's a great story with this picture. Mary LOVES Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We had waited in line to see Mickey, but had yet to really see Minne. We were walking through California Adventure when Mary suddenly starts jumping up and down and takes off running. We look up just in time to see her run to Minnie, who was also jumping.:) We were lucky to get the camera out in time. Thanks for making my girl's day, Minnie!:)

A Family Portrait (with a little help from Lightning McQueen and Mater)

About halfway through the day, Savannah and Mary decided to start posing for all of the pictures, since I had taken so many. Aren't they cute?:)

I love how Mary can't even stop looking at Mickey long enough to take the picture. She was SO thrilled!

Something else I absolutely loved about this trip was that we decided to just make eating at the park part of the plan, so it was in the budget. Because of that, we didn't just go to the cheapest places, and as a result had some FABULOUS food. (Although, most of the food at Disneyland is fabulous.) My favorite was Cafe Orleans, just outside Pirates of the Carribean. They have the most amazing parmesean-coated french fries, with a tasty remoulade sauce for dipping. We loved them so much, I searched the internet for days when we got back until I found the basic recipie, and then played with it in the kitchen until they were replicated. SO yummy!
We also hit Sea World while we were at it. It was a little strange because almost nobody was there, but it was also fun to have everything more to ourselves. We got great seating for all the shows, and walking between the arenas was a lot more pleasant.

I can't believe I actually got this shot. My timing had been off with my other attempts, but I decided to give it one last try. Boy, am I glad I did!

The sea lion show was absolutely hilarious! Here are some of the performers pretending to be CSI investigators.

Waiting for the pet show...with Angry Birds. (That's about how the trip went. Any time we were sitting anywhere for longer than a couple of minutes, whether it was in line, at a show, at the hotel, or in the car, at least one of the kids would say, "Dad, can I play Angry Birds on your phone?" I think we passed most of the levels off on the first day...:)

Petting the rays in their swimming pool--so fun!

We had an amazing time, and I can't wait to go back! Too bad it takes at least three years to save up the money needed in order to go...:)

So long, California! Hope to see you soon!

The Make-Over

2011-06-26T14:21:00.000-06:00

So, the other day I hear my girls calling from upstairs, "Mom! Come look at us!" Here's what I found:

I think we're going to have a talk about making it look like your not wearing any makeup when you put it on. Then again, I'd love to be able to get away with wearing eyeshadow like that.:)

It's been HOW LONG?

2011-06-21T18:42:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how crazy my life has become! Between school finishing, swimming lessons, vacations, sports, doctor's appointments, and everything else, I barely have time to breathe! I have tons of pictures to upload, and hopefully soon I'll actually have some time to do it. Stay tuned!:)

A Great Little Pick-Me-Up

2011-04-12T12:20:00.000-06:00

So, with all of this fabulous April weather, I was feeling a little down the other day. I had to go grocery shopping in the rain and, of course, all the food packaging got pretty wet, as well as Mary and I. It was freezing cold, and so we decided to go to this little coffee shop nearby called Coffee Creations and get some hot chocolate. I'd been there before, but usually during the summer to get frozen hot chocolate, which is completely fabulous. Since I had no idea what to get, the cashier suggested something called the "Sinful Mormon." (Only in Utah, right?:) It's a mix of Dutch chocolate, white chocolate, carmel, and English toffee. I cannot even tell you how absolutely wonderful this stuff was! I recommend it completely for anyone in need of a dose of sunshine. It certainly perked my day up.:)

Random Family Pictures

2011-02-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Goofing off at Jungle Jim's Playland--Savannah must really like that pizza:)

Cute cousins in matching outfits from Grandma

At the hotel in St. George--adorable!

My kids totally love their cousins--so cute!

At the narrows in St. George--I'm not really sure what they're all looking at...

My cute girls with matching braided pigtails--Mary saw me braiding Savannah's hair and asked if she could be like her big sister:)

I love my little family!:)

St. George Half Marathon

2011-02-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

You know, I'm not sure I'll ever understand the appeal of running, but my husband sure loves it. He recently completed another half marathon, this time in St. George. I was really impressed because almost his entire family ran this year as well, and every single one of them finished! Wahoo! Jason totally amazed me as well. He finished in 1:34, and it was like he'd never even been running. He had so much energy and was entirely too happy for someone who just ran 13 miles. But then again, he's always like that.:)

All the kids waiting at the finish line

Here he comes!

Aren't they cute?

I'm so proud of you, honey. I never knew it was possible to run so far and still be so happy. Way to go!:)

Savannah is 7!

2011-02-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe my little girl is almost old enough to be baptized. She is so grown up! I'm so impressed with how loving and giving she is. She's always more worried about everyone else and is quick to offer help when she knows someone needs it. (That quality is really going to serve her well. I really hope she keeps it.:) Here are some pictures of the festivities:

I just love her big smile, complete with missing teeth.:)

Savannah asked if she could have a cheesecake for her birthday this year instead of a regular one. This is a girl after my own heart.:)

Happy birthday, sweetheart! I'm so proud of you and love you very much!

Holiday Fun!

2011-02-17T13:06:00.002-07:00

I know I'm totally late, but I thought I should really post at least a few pictures from Christmas. (Thanks a bunch to Ann for helping me get the whole camera mess straightened out!:) We had a fabulous holiday, and surprisingly it was much more relaxed than normal. We have lots of family close by, so Christmas day is usually spent running from place to place. Somehow it all worked out this year that things were much more mellow. (I guess it helps when great-grandparents show up at grandparents houses.) We were able to spend a fabulous morning at home, head to Jason's parents to say hello and talk with his missionary brother over the phone, and then headed to my parents. The funniest part for me was when we were heading back home again we realized it was dinner time. Nobody felt like preparing anything, (after all, it was Christmas) so we ended up getting Panda Express. I'll never forget how long the line was, but it ended up being a lot of fun. (There aren't many restaurants open on Christmas Day.:) We ended our great day by hanging out at Jason's sisters with many different Wii games. So fun!

I know this is sideways, but I just love this picture. Isaiah's eyes were that big all day long.:)

Mary could hardly wait to open everything. She was such a cutie!

This is Savannah in what Santa brought her. (This is the second time she's asked him for summer things. Thankfully Santa knows how to use the internet...:)

What a fabulous day! I'm sort-of glad all the hustle and bustle is over, but I still can hardly wait until next year. I just love it!:)

The Joys of Digital Cameras

2011-02-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

A while back, the switch on my digital camera that makes it so you can see the picture you just took broke off. I thought, no big deal, so I can't see the pictures right away. It'll be like an old school camera again. Boy, was wrong. Yes, the camera can still take pictures, but I can't upload any to the computer without that switch being engaged. I tried for almost an hour last night to make it work, eventually even sticking a safety pin in the hole where the switch was to push down the activator. The only problem with that is that if it moves AT ALL, the uploading software won't detect the camera anymore. I don't know about you, but there is no way I can hold THAT still. At least, not while I have to type at the same time. What am I, a statue? At any rate, I'm going to have to figure out a different way of updating photos on my computer. (And I thought having a digital camera was going to make my life easier...:) Does anybody know a good camera repair man?:)

I am such a slacker...

2011-02-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

You know, I was looking at my posts the other day, and I realized that I haven't even put up Christmas pictures or Savannah's birthday yet, and they were a month and a half ago! I guess I need to pay more attention... There will be pictures coming soon, I promise!:)

My Own Christmas Miracle

2010-12-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I had some additional swelling in my left leg, so I had another ultrasound to see what the cause was. Realize that although it was a little tender, the pain and swelling were nothing like last time. So I was very surprised to hear the radioligist tell me that blood clots had returned in both of my legs. My left leg was worse than my right, hence the small amount of pain and swelling. Of course I was frustrated as I thought I was done with all of this stuff, and it was very close to Christmas. But, Heavenly Father gave me the faith and strength to know that I could go through another hospital stay and time away from my family if that's what needed to be done. The doctor told me to go home and get things in order so I could return the next morning prepared to be in the hospital for a few days at least, possibly up to a week.
Now, last time this happened, I felt really unprepared. I mean, I went from being in pain and going to the doctor to being admitted in ICU within a few hours. My husband and I spent lots of time in the waiting room at the hospital making tear-filled phone calls. This time was different. The Spirit kept reassuring me that everything would be okay. I just had to trust in the Lord. It was also quite nice that I got to go home and prepare my children for what would be taking place over the coming days. They trusted that things were going to be all right and that I could call them from the hospital, and I would be coming home soon. I was able to pack a bag to prepare for a long hospital stay, and I was even able to do my hair and makeup before going in the next morning. (Jason was teasing me for even worrying about that, but honestly, I wasn't sure when I'd be able to again.:)
I went through the same blood work and testing that was set up before the procedure, and was taken to the operating room. I was expecting to see my husband in my room in ICU soon, but Heavenly Father had something else in mind. I was just getting sleepy from the anasthetic when my doctor tapped my on the shoulder. He had a puzzled expression and said, "Um, we can't do the procedure. We don't need to." I was sure the medicine had me hearing things, but he continued to explain. Apparently, the clots in my legs were "old", meaning they had been there for over a month. (That means they would have had to develop just after the others disappeared.) The veins they were in had completely closed themselves off from the rest of my body, and new veins had been created to allow blood flow. My body registered the fact that there was a block to the circulation in my legs, and it had been taken care of. There was no chance of the clot breaking off and becoming a life threatening thing because the veins they were contained in are shut off from everything else. The doctor explained that, eventually, the veins will die off and the blood thinners I'm taking will dissolve the clots. His next words shocked me even more. When I asked what that meant for my hospital stay he said, "You can go home."
What an amazing boost of faith this has been for me. Heavenly Father was trying me to see if I was willing to accept what he had in store for me, if I would match my will to His. And when I was able to, He eliminated the problem all together. I was witness to my own miracle for the second time in just a month or so. John 3:16 says,"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This Christmas season, this scripture takes on new meaning for me. I am so very blessed to be able to be with my family for Christmas, and I will forever be grateful to my Father in Heaven for this great gift, that I may be able to truly celebrate the greatest gift of all, the life of our Savior.

A Promise Kept

2010-12-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

A while ago I posted a picture of Savannah's extra-poofy hair. (See January 2010.) I made a promise then that I would post a picture of what it looked like before I took it out, if I ever did that to her hair again. Well, here are the pictures:

Savannah absoutely loves this flower hairdo, but her mom does not. (It takes FOREVER to put in.) Hopefully I'll get the determination up to do it again sometime soon...:)

My Sweet Savannah

2010-12-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

I found another picture on my memory card that I can't believe never made it to the blog. We recently spent some time up in Idaho at a family cabin, which we do frequently. The kids are constantly running and playing, and can quite easily get worn out. So, a few trips ago, when everyone decided to calm down for a minute and watch a movie, I was all for it. I guess Savannah was a little more tired than the others, because here's what happened:

She apparently found a comfy spot in between the couch and side table and promptly fell asleep. (I love how her position looks like she's having a great time watching the movie, except for the fact that her eyes are closed.:)

What a cutie! She stayed like that for quite a while, too. She only woke up when her arms finally gave out and her head bobbed up and down. And at first she didn't even realize she'd been asleep. I guess she was more worn out than she thought...:)

Just a Quick Update

2010-12-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hello there! I just wanted to post a quick update about how everything is going. I'm recovering quite well, thanks in huge part to all of the prayers offered on my behalf. (Thank you all so much.) The pain in my legs is mostly gone, although I still have to be careful not to overdo it. (That can get kind-of complicated with three kids.:) I'm working closely with my doctor to regulate the blood thinner I'm on, and it all seems to be going well. It's a little screwy trying to get it all figured out, but I'm very grateful to have a doctor that redily helps me understand what's going on.
The funniest part about the whole thing is that I've had to stop wearing heels, at least for a little while. I've always loved them and thought my foot wear would never change. Boy, was I wrong on that one. (For those of you who don't know, I have an enormous collection of them just sitting in my closet until my legs can support themselves again. As my husband says, I'm such a girl for even worrying about something like that. Thanks, honey.:)
Thanks once again to all of you for your thoughts and prayers and here's to continuing getting better. I love you all!

A Few Random Pictures...

2010-12-06T12:35:00.001-07:00

So, I was going through the memory card on my camera and discovered some pictures I thought I'd share. (Since they're not of my family, they never really made it on the blog.:) I don't claim to be a photographer, but sometimes things catch your eye. Anyway, here you go:

This is a picture of the bed in a room at Little America. Jason took me for my birthday this past year and had the hotel do a bed-and-breakfast package. So pretty, huh?

This is one of the Payson Lakes where my family went fishing this summer. Just seeing this picture makes me wish I was there again...:)

This gorgeous sunset was taken on one of our trips up to Idaho. Can you believe I took this while driving down I-15 in my van? (Jason was doing the actual driving, so I was being safe.:)

This is the fountain outside Abravenel Hall in downton Salt Lake City. I love how the lights look underneath the water.

These are two ferocious dinosaurs displayed at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. I know one is a T-Rex, but I can't remember what the other was.

These are some of the lights in the recording studio from when I got to sing with Alex Boye. (That was such an amazing day!:)

Here's the view from the top of the big ferris wheel at Lagoon. I love how many trees there are.

Thanks for letting me share and happy holidays!

To Answer a Few Questions

2010-11-19T16:05:00.004-07:00

Hello again to the world of blogging! I know it's been a few months since I've posted, but there has been so much going on recently that I haven't even had the chance. But after being bombarded with questions from any number of places, I thought it was time I let everybody know what was going on.
So, a few weeks ago, I injured my back. I found out that I have a bulging disc, but it should correct itself and there's not much to it. No big deal, right? Well, a couple of days later my back was doing pretty well, but I couldn't shake this awful tightness in my thigh muscles. I wondered if maybe the disc was pinching a nerve or something, but who knows. After a few days, though, the tightness and pain had spread throughout both of my legs to the point that I could barely walk. Jason and I headed to my doctor again, and he immediately sent us to the hospital for some tests. His exact words were: "These are blood clots until proven otherwise." That's not exactly what I was expecting to hear... We had a bunch of blood work done at the hospital and some ultrasounds, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. Well, you know how the ultrasound technician isn't allowed to tell you anything directly? She told me to get dressed and she'd be right back. She was back in less than 5 minutes with the doctor. I thought, "Oh, this can't be good." It turns out that I had 2 massive clots, one in each leg, that extended from my knee caps up to about my navel. (Crazy, I know.) The doctor then proceeds to explain to me how I'm heading up to ICU and some procedures I'm going to have done. At this point all I could do was look at Jason and try very hard to not burst into tears. I had an out-of-body experience of sorts where I understood what the doctor was saying, but it was really hard to digest the fact that he was talking about ME.
Well, I ended up spending almost 4 days in ICU, and underwent many different "clot-busting" procedures. I lost track of how many different things they were doing. (You kind-of get to a point were you just let the doctors do what they have to.) I don't remember much about the experience itself, other than the absolutely fantastic family and friends I have. My mom and mother-in-law basically raised my kids (thank you, thank you, thank you!) so that Jason could stay with me at the hospital. My family had countless meals from sisters in the ward, while others helped with carpool and just playing with them. I had so many visitors that totally brightened my days, as well as countless phone calls from all sorts of places. I never had to doubt that I was loved, and constantly felt the love and support from numerous prayers and fasts on my behalf. The doctors were concerened because some of the clots were older and not responding to the treatments, but after just a few days we were blessed with a miracle when a scan revealed that the clots were gone. Not just broken up, but GONE. I can't even explain to you what that feels like. It's so amazing to know that you were so close to being in serious trouble, but the Lord saw fit to let you stay here with your family. I'll never forget the look of amazement on the faces of my nurses and doctors when the change was so drastic. It truly was a miracle.
After spending a few more days in recovery, I was blessed to be able to come home. I remember walking up the stairs to my room and feeling like it had somehow been a surreal dream, but I only had to try and move more than a few inches to be reminded of what had happened. I've spent the last couple of weeks at home recovering and resting, and crying an awful lot. I don't think I've ever had such an understanding of gratitude before. I'm constantly just hugging my kids and letting the tears flow. (Luckily they're pretty used to seeing me cry by now.:) I am just so grateful that I've been given this chance to stay with my family here and raise my children with my husband. This Thanksgiving is definately going to be a very poignant one for me.
So, what happened? My doctor thinks it was actually a few different things. First of all, I have a genetic abnormality that I didn't know about before that causes me to be 5 times more likely to develop clots in the first place. Secondly, a few months back I was diagnosed with pelvic congestions syndrome, which basically means I have vericose veins next to my uterus, and that can interfere with blood flow. And lastly, because of the pelvic congestion, I was taking birth control pills for the hormones to try and conteract some of the swelling in my veins. The problem is that blood clots are one of the main side effects of some forms of birth control. All together, my body had a losing battle on its hands. (One of my nurses called it the "blood clot trifecta.":) I'm now on a blood thinner and some pain medication, and being closely monitored by my doctor to make sure everything stays okay. I'll be kind-of out of it for a few weeks, but I'm getting a little better every day, and I'm so grateful for every little bit more that I can do.
I hope that answers a lot of questions and gives everybody a brief rundown of what's been going on. I wanted to post this as well to send out an enormous thank you. Thanks to the doctors and nurses who fought so valiantly to save my life. Thanks to my wondeful parents who were contanly visiting, taking care of my kids, orgainizing prayers and fasting, and just being there on my behalf. Thanks to my great in-laws who did so much for my family during these last few weeks. Thanks to my siblings who never stopped lending help and support. Thanks to my absolutely fabulous husband who was constantly by my side while still making sure everything was all right at home and never stopping letting me know how much I'm loved. Thanks to so many wonderful friends and neighbors who have given so much in service to see to it that my family was cared for when I couldn't be there. And a very special thank you to my sweet sister who is still watching over me, even after this life. (For those of you who don't know, my sister passed away a few years ago from a blood clot in her lungs, and that was the main reason that my doctor even thought to look for a genetic abnormality.) I love you, Jen. Thanks for knowing that I still need a big sister to look out for me. And thank you most of all, Father in Heaven, for being by my side and lifting me up, and blessing me with the opportunity of seing just how precious life really is. I will never forget this lesson, ever.

The Best Day EVER!

2010-08-24T10:27:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be a part of the recording session for Alex Boye's upcoming Christmas album. Talk about an amazing experience! I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the studio, but it was amazing. Alex is such a great guy, as well as being super talented, and our director was Emmy award winner Sam Cardon. After interacting with him, I can see why. He's very good at what he does. The whole thing was kind-of surreal. I mean, how often do you get a chance to be part of something like that? I feel very privileged, and came away with some great memories.

Our fabulous director

Alex explaining part of the music to the group

What an amazing experience! I'm so excited for the album to come out. It's set to be released by conference, and I can hardly wait! We listened to some raw tracks yesterday, and it's got a very Nat King Cole kind of vibe. It sounds very cool. So, now you all have a Christmas album to buy, right?:)

Fun at Lagoon

2010-08-24T10:17:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago we took our little family to Lagoon for the day. What a blast! I was worried that everyone was just going to be hot and tired, but they did great. The funniest thing was how much they loved the bigger rides. I mean, they had fun on the little kid ones and everything, but the favorites were those that I thought they might be scared of. For example, Savannah LOVED the haunted houses. She kept asking if we could go back again. Isaiah really liked the bumper cars and Rattlesnake Rapids. And little Mary's favorite is called Dinosaur Drop. (It's like The Rocket except smaller.) She didn't mind that she was being dropped two stories, in fact she giggled like crazy! I never expected that, but I will never underestimate my kids again. And hey, I can go on the bigger rides.:) I didn't get too many pictures, but what fun!

Look at those huge grins! Do you think they're excited at all?:)

Mary might only barely be big enough for this ride, but that smile never left her face!

I wasn't able to go to Lagoon a whole lot as a kid, but I'm sure glad Jason and I decided to make this a family tradition every year. I can hardly wait for next summer! (I wonder what rides they'll be big enough to go on then...:)

A Running We Will Go

2010-08-24T09:56:00.004-06:00

Many of you know that my husband is an avid runner. This summer he took part in the Ragnar Relay, which goes from Logan to Park City. That's over 180 miles! Thankfully, he had an awesome team to run with, comprised in part of most of his family. Both of Jason's sisters, one brother, and his dad competed as well, not to mention a good friend of his. I thought they were all crazy, since this relay means taking turns running for almost 2 straight days and sleeping in the car, but they had a blast and did quite well. I'm so proud! (Even if I do still think they're nuts.:)

The family crossing the finish line. I've never seen so many tired people in my life!

Jason's sisters showing of their race medals to their kids

Jason looking proud. (I think he was too tired to smile.:) Way to go, honey!

Jason has instilled his love of running in our children as well. They've run in quite a few children's races, including this one up in Cedar Hills. Isaiah and Savannah both ran a mile with their dad in about 15 minutes! Not bad for a 5 and 6 year old, huh?:)

On your mark, get set, go!

They did so well, and Mary was a fantasic cheerleader with me on the sidelines. Great job kids!:)

Summer Baseball

2010-08-10T21:03:00.006-06:00

We were lucky enough this summer to be able to attend 2 Bees baseball games in Salt Lake City, and had a blast! (I was really proud of my kids, since singing at a parade for everbody was what won us the tickets for the first game.:) I grew up around baseball, and there's just something about being out in the summer air with your family and watching a game--I love it! Isn't that just a pretty picture? Too bad the games weren't as pretty. (We lost both times.)

I think my girls' favorite part was getting to wear their baseball hats, since they don't very often. (Notice how both hats are my girls' favorite colors.:)

Isaiah kept insisting that his cup had to be in the picture, although I'm not entirely sure why.

Here's the second game with cute Aunt Toni. (My kids just adore her!)

The second game was capped off by an unbelievable fireworks show. It started off with a huge amount of fireworks, and I thought, this is going to be a short show if they're starting off with this many. But it went on for at least 20 minutes! How cool is that? The best part was that the advertising company Aunt Toni works for was the sponsor, so we cheered extra loud.:) Yay Saxton Horne!

Isaiah is 5!!!

2010-08-10T20:36:00.006-06:00

I can't belive my sweet little guy is 5! He's getting so big, I can barely believe it. We had such a great time for his birthday, too. Since it was on a Friday this year, we had a small family party that day, a friend party on Saturday, and an extended family bash on Sunday. Needless to say, Isaiah was thrilled to have three whole days of parties especially for him. (There were even fireworks Saturday night, thanks to Draper Days. Yay!:) Here are some photos of the festivities:I think Isaiah was a little excited about this bike, don't you? That grin is nearly cracking his face! Here he is blowing out the candle on his birthday cupcake. His friend party had an ocean theme because we spent most of the time outside with sprinklers, a blow-up pool, water balloons, and squirt guns. I don't think I've ever heard that much laughing in my life! Jason had the idea to put one of the sprinklers underneath the trampoline and let the kids go at it. They had SO much fun with it, and we didn't even end up with any slipping and crying kids. (I must say, I was pretty amazed by that one.) Isaiah insisted on having a football birthday cake this year, which was just fine with me. (Footballs are one of the easiest cakes to make--just round off the corners and reattach them to the ends. Simple.:) It happened to be Jason's sister Shari's birthday that weekend as well, so I made those cupcake bouquets for her. The funny things was that nobody wanted to eat them because they looked to pretty. Not that I minded having leftover cupcakes--my kids were happy for a whole additional week!

Happy birthday, little buddy! We love you!:)

T-ball and Tap Dancing

2010-08-10T14:07:00.004-06:00

Summer is filled with many activities for the Greenwoods, including dance recitals and t-ball games.

Savannah's dance class did an adorable tap-dancing rendition of Rockin' Robin. She looked great in all her feathers, and did a wonderful job. She did a cute little hip wiggle whenever there was a whistle in the song, and was totally on beat with the music. I'm so proud!:)

This is a nice action shot of Isaiah, don't you think? He absolutely LOVED playing, and was always the first one to go running after the ball when it was hit. (That worked really well until he was suppossed to be guarding a base.:) He did a great job and can hardly wait until next year to play again. Good thing we have a tee in the backyard and he won't have to wait that long.:)

School's Out!

2010-08-10T13:21:00.006-06:00

I can't believe how big my kids are getting. Savannah is finished with kindergarten, and Isaiah graduated from preschool! When did they get that old?

This picture was taken just after Savannah's program on one of her last days of school. Don't you just love the hat? (It was part of a number called First Grade that went to the tune of New York, New York. SO cute!) I can't believe my little girl is going to school for the entire day. (I had a mom moment the other day--crying over the fact that my kids won't all be home together for lunch anymore.:)

Here's Isaiah looking adorable at his preschool graduation. See the squinting? These poor kids were facing right into the sun! At least I could see to take pictures, though. (I think that was the idea.) Isn't this just the cutest kid ever?

I have to mention as well that my kids both had FANTASTIC teachers. Miss Lindberg was so sweet, and she really understood Savannah's tendency to be sensitive to others. She told me constantly how thoughtful my daughter is. And Teacher Nisha is the only person I've ever met who can not only keep up with Isaiah, she was one step ahead of him. (That takes A LOT of energy, believe me.) We love you both and will miss you!

Do you see what I see?

2010-08-10T13:16:00.003-06:00

So, I was driving with my kids the other day, and we saw this out the window:

I know it's kind-of hard to tell, but this is a RAINBOW cloud! I've seen something like this before, but this time my camera happened to be in my purse. It was really a sight to see. (We pulled over and just looked at it for a while.) I'm not sure if moisture causes this color scheme or what, but how cool is that?:)

Where, oh where has my transfer cord gone?

2010-08-09T13:38:00.002-06:00

So, after about 3 weeks of not being able to find my camera's transfer cord and not being able to post ANY pictures of our summer, a few days ago my husband informed me that we have an extra cord with our video camera. I could do nothing but laugh. That's what I get for trying to locate things on my own instead of just asking where he stashed something. Oh, well. (I still can't find the original cord, by the way.) At least I can update with photos now. Stay tuned!:)

An Amazing Concert

2010-07-08T15:38:00.002-06:00

Just a quick shout-out to those of you who live near the Salt Lake Valley:
On Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10, I get to sing in some AMAZING concerts at Abravanell Hall in Downtown SLC. The choir I'm a part of, the Choral Arts Society of Utah, will be performing in the kick-off concert for the Days of '47 festivities. We'll be participating with the 23rd Army Band, as well as featuring guest soloist Alex Boye and some dancers from the valley. I am SO excited for this, and I know the concerts will be amazing. For more information, please go to casu.org. (By the way, the concerts are FREE.:)

I thought summer was supposed to be relaxing...

2010-07-08T15:19:00.002-06:00

You know, back in April or so I was really looking forward to this summer. Do you know why? Because I thought I was going to be able to relax. I mean, ballet would be over, school would be out, and everything was supposed to calm down...or so I thought. I realized the other day that I haven't even updated this blog in over a month! How crazy is that? But, when I was idealizing my summer, I forgot to include the following: t-ball, swimming lessons, family vacations, business trips, rehersals, concerts, and church activities, just to name a few. I also wasn't planning on injuring my back and hardly being able to even move for a couple of weeks. (It's getting better slowly now, by the way.:) At any rate, I can't believe the summer is already half over, and there are so many things I haven't even started yet! Oh, well. I hope to be back to update you all on the crazy happenings of my life soon. In the meantime, please enjoy my very patriotic blog.:) (I do so love this time of year.:)

You've got to try this!

2010-05-20T09:50:00.003-06:00

I had to make another cake for Mary's birthday for an extended family party, but I didn't just want to make the same cake over again. Mary said she wanted more flowers, and I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Then my awesome mom directed me to a video on the Studio 5 website, and I had my answer. (That's a local morning talk show.)
Pretty, huh? It's a mix of fake flowers and CUPCAKES! You use all the stuff you would to make a fake flower arrangement, like styrafoam, a pot, flowers, etc., but then you add cupcakes that have been decorated to look like flowers. The trick is to freeze the cupcakes before you add them so they will stick on to the toothpicks you use. Needless to say, Mary LOVED this, and she wasn't the only one! If you want to see the whole demonstration video, just got to studio5.ksl.com and search under "cupcake bouquets." It's so easy, and the different ideas are endless! I'm so excited to do it again for something else. Anybody need a party cake?:)

Mary's 3!

2010-05-20T09:39:00.003-06:00

I can't believe my little baby girl is 3! Where does the time go? It was so much fun to watch how excited she got about everything. She is truly like a little ray of sunshine in my life.

Savannah made this adorable card for her little sister. It was so sweet.:) It makes me smile when I can tell how much my kids love each other. Isaiah and Savannah had been hugging Mary all day, and here she is returning the favor.

Mary told me that she wanted flowers on her cake, so I made an Easter bonnet. She totally loved it, especially the pink. Happy Birthday, Mary!

Easter Fun

2010-05-20T09:28:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I know I'm a little late here, but we had such a great Easter that I had to post about it. First, there was a ward egg hunt at our local park. My kids did a great job finding their eggs, and quickly reached their limit of 5. They were troopers too, because it was especially cold and windy that day. Luckilly, there was a delicious warm brunch to eat afterwards.:)For Easter weekend itself, we headed up to my in-laws cabin in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. My kids were super excited to hang out with their cousins, and they weren't even worried about if the Easter bunny knew where to find them or not. (The Easter bunny's had to come to quite a few different places over the years...:) Easter morning was full of smiles, as always, but do you know what? My kids were most excited about the new scriptures they had gotten! (They sure know how to melt my heart and make me proud.:)

I know these pictures are a little fuzzy, but it's kind-of complicated to get really excited kids to hold still long enough for a picture.:) (Don't you just love the matching pj's? Thanks, Grandma!)

So Cute

2010-05-20T09:23:00.002-06:00

I just had to share this picture of my kids and their friends at the park. Isn't it adorable?:)

Zumba Power

2010-05-17T21:32:00.002-06:00

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with my family, but I just had to give a little shout-out for Zumba. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Zumba is basically aerobics with a Latin flavor and AMAZING music. You know, the kind that you just have to move to when you hear it. My friend Ann got me started a few months ago, and I LOVE it! It's amazing how much easier exercise is when it's fun! And the results are awesome! I tend to have a hard time losing weight because of a few health problems I've been dealing with, but I've lost 13 pounds since January, and I'm down 2 pant sizes, and I feel great. Now how cool is that?:) Besides all that, Zumba is totally addicting. It's really fun to just move to the music. Here's a link to one of my favorite songs and routines (the first part of the video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0q6qtThF4&feature=related. I get a real kick out of watching some of the guys in the background. Zumba's the greatest!:)

The Boat FLOATS! It Really Floats!!!

2010-05-08T11:26:00.003-06:00

Many of you know that my wonderful husband had been building a "sea kayak" out of pvc pipe and membrane in the garage over the winter. A few weeks ago, we took it out to a neighborhood pond, just to see if it would even work at all. We did get quite a few strange looks from those around us, and you could tell they were all watching to see if it would fail catastrophically. BUT IT WORKED. Not only that, it worked quite well. And if you don't believe me, here's the photographic proof:
Yes, that's Jason out in the middle of the pond in something he imagined and then built all by himself. And he didn't even get that wet in the process. I'm so proud.:) Way to go, honey!

Crazy Utah Weather

2010-05-08T11:19:00.003-06:00

Utah has got to be one of the only places in the world where you can have 4 inches of really heavy, wet snow one morning, and then have it be gone the next afternoon. Case in point--my kid's snowman. They were so excited a while ago to have fresh snow one more time before it was really warm, so we got all ready for winter weather and made this beautiful snowman. (Note the party hat. This snowman's ready to go!:)

My cute kids were so proud of this snowman, only to have it be a complete puddle the next afternoon. Oh, well. At least I got to document the snowman this time before it melted.:)

I know, I know

2010-05-02T08:41:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I know it's been a couple of months since I last updated the blog. It seems that I always intend to, and then something else comes up. (You know how it is.:) Still, it's my goal this week to clue all of you in to what has been going on in our lives. Here are just a few of the things you have to look forward to: birthdays, Easter, family trips, our boating adventure, concerts, t-ball, and kid's antics, just to name a few! (Wow. No wonder I've been busy.) Stay tuned!:)

Alta 2000 Class Blog

2010-03-03T14:57:00.002-07:00

Just a quick note to let all of you Alta 2000 grads out there (or those of you who know one:) the address for the class blog. http://altaclass2000.blogspot.com/ has lots of links to blogs from high school friends, as well as updates on the progress of our reunion, which is coming this summer! (Yay!) Thanks to Michelle for giving me the address, and go Hawks!

St. George, Part 2

2010-02-26T12:46:00.005-07:00

As promised, here are some more pictures of the fun we had in St. George, barring any more website issues. (Don't you just love technology?:)

This picture was taken from the same vantage point as the one with just the lava tube. It should give you an idea how how big that hole in the ground really was. Jason and Isaiah aren't even at the bottom yet.

This picture is really deceiving because of how bright the flash was on my camera. It was almost pitch black inside the lava tube, except for the little l.e.d. light we brought along. I was so glad that none of my kids are afraid of the dark!

These next couple of pictures are from the sand dunes, which are also in Snow Canyon. Isaiah was convinced at first that he didn't want his pants to touch the sand, so he spent a lot of time walking around while holding them up. It took some convincing, but after a few minutes, he was rolling around in the sand like the rest of us.

Mary, on the other hand, had absolutely no concern about whether or not her clothes got dirty. She spent most of her time laying on her stomach and pretending to swim, or being some kind of animal. (I think in this picture she was being a frog.)

As you can imagine after all of that, this is what happened on the way to the hotel. That's about how I felt too, except my kids still had energy to go swimming once we all got checked in. (What I wouldn't give to have that kind of energy again.:)

We were also privelleged to go to the St. George Temple visitor's center while we were in town. It was so amazing because it had been raining fairly steadily that morning, but as soon as we were there, the sky cleared to a brilliant blue. It was so beautiful to see the temple standing out against the sky, and it made for some pretty amazing pictures as well.

I've always loved this temple. I don't know that there are many places in the world where pine trees can be right next to palm trees, but I think it's a pretty interesting phenomenon. And when you throw in the red rock in the background with that sudden blue sky, it was amazing. I'm glad I got to share it with my kids.:)

St. George Fun

2010-02-26T11:31:00.003-07:00

Last weekend my family received a miraculous occurance: 60 degree weather!:) (That's much better than the 30 degrees it's been in northern UT all week...) We traveled to St. George, UT with my parents and my brother's family. The plan was to drive down Friday night and come home Saturday evening, but Jason was lucky enough to get the day off work so we could leave bright and early on Friday. That meant we got an extra day of playtime! We sure took advantage of it, too. We went hiking, explored lava tubes, played in the sand dunes, and went swimming, all before dinner. I'm so proud of my kids, too. Spelunking (cave exploring, or in our case, lava tubes) is not something I would expect a 6, 4, and 2 year old to do, but they LOVED it! Go figure.:)

Hiking through a lava field in the middle of Snow Canyon

This is the lava tube (cave) that we went exploring in. It is quite literally a big hole in the middle of the ground. (I stood almost directly over it while taking this picture.) The fun thing is that it goes for quite a while underground as well, and is one of many in Snow Canyon.

I have lots of other pictures I want to share, but apparently something is wrong with the Blogger website currently, so I'll have to try again later. Stay tuned!

Valentines Weekend

2010-02-26T11:09:00.003-07:00

With Valentine's Day on a Sunday this year, we just had to party the whole weekend! Most of it was spent up at my brother and sister-in-law's house in Syracuse, UT. (It's a really cute one that was built in the 50's.) Jason and my brother Tony decided to go ice fishing up in Idaho, so the rest of us had a BLAST just hanging out. I gotta say, I was really impressed with my sister-in-law, Kristianne. There were times when I was a little tired of things or wondering if the kids wanted to watch a movie, but she was constantly having more stuff for them to do, like making cookies, building a fort, playing games, making valentines, and a whole bunch of other ideas. She's like super-mom!:) Thanks again for all the fun we had!

Making heart sugar cookies with LOTS of flour

Hanging out with cousin Max (what a cutie!:)

The absolutely fabulous fort in the basement. This was SO much fun for my kids. When I was little, forts were a couple of blankets and chairs, but this took up most of the family room downstairs. You could actually fit all of us in there!:)

Maybe we didn't exactly have the most romantic Valentine's Day in the world, but my kids sure had a good time, and that's what's most important. Besides, Jason and I still exchanged gifts Saturday night and ate Rumbi Island Grill food while watching Mythbusters. What's better than that?:)

My Valentine's Cake

2010-02-26T11:07:00.002-07:00

Some of you may know that I like to decorate cakes. I'm still working on all of my skills with it, but I must admit I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out, so I had to share. What do you think?:)

Silly Hair

2010-01-27T15:43:00.003-07:00

I twisted Savannah's hair up the other day to look like a flower. (I put it in a ponytail and then made about 7 or 8 little twists in a circle with one in the center.) It looked really cute for church, which is always fun. ( I should take a picture next time I do it.:) The funny part was when we took it out before bed and tried to brush out her hair, some major curl was created. Now realize this is Savannah we're talking about here, who has VERY straight hair. Needless to say, I had to take some pictures:
That crazy curl did calm down a bit after she slept on it, but it stayed in her hair until the next time she took a bath. It was crazy, but Savannah loved how silly it was. She told me more than once how beautiful her curls were. (I think she was excited to finally have curly hair like her dad. She always draws him with super-curls when she colors a picture of our family. You can definately tell which of her stick figures is suppossed to be her dad.:)

Our Skiing Adventure

2010-01-27T15:17:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago, Jason informed me that this year I finally need to learn how to ski. I went night skiing once with my family when I was 12 or so, but that's it. Jason's whole family skies extremely well, and I've always wanted to learn, but every winter I was either pregenant or nursing a baby. Of course, I was super excited, but extremely nervous as well. I mean, when it comes to music and dance I do just fine, but I'm not really that coordinated with sports. Well, I had gotten myself all psyched up to go last Saturday, so we dropped the kids of at Jason's parents' house and headed up to Alta for their rope tows and free lift (after 3:00, anyway.) There was only 1 problem. The Utah highway patrol decided to stop letting people up Little Cottonwood Canyon, since apperently everybody else wanted to go skiing that weekend as well. We were a little discouraged, but decided to head over to Big Cottonwood Canyon and pay a few bucks for a half-day pass at Solitude or Brighton. But when we got there, the highway patrol had closed that canyon, too. At this point, I felt a little like a kid when you're suppossed to be going swimming with your friends, only to have it rain that day. Jason could tell I was bummed, and he was especially cute about it. We ended up taking a drive for about an hour, and eventually, the canyons were opened again. We were able to make it up to Alta around 3:00, which worked great since that's when the lift is free, anyway. It was snowing really hard and I could barely see, but I can't remember the last time I had that much fun with my husband! He was very encouraging and supportive, and he didn't make fun of me when I fell and couldn't get up. Thankfully, I only fell a few times, and by the end of the day I could get up on my own. (Yay!:) I was pretty tired after a couple of hours, so we headed back to the truck, only to have it take us AN HOUR AND A HALF to get down the canyon with all the snow and how many people there were (it usually takes about 20 minutes). Ah, memories...:)

Potty-training Smiles

2010-01-27T15:11:00.003-07:00

We've been trying to potty-train Mary these last couple of weeks, but it hasn't exaclty been going very well. She loves to get her stickers for it, but I don't think she's quite ready for it yet. The only problem is that she's too big for even the largest size diapers, so we have to buy the training pants either way. (sigh:) There are definately moments to make me smile, though. For example, one of the problems is if she's wearing her pjs or a dress, Mary has a hard time holding it up and out of the way. Here's Jason's solution (he's always such a practical thinker:):

I suppose it keeps things up and out of the way, right? It sure made me laugh, too.:)

The Boat is Finished!

2010-01-27T15:06:00.003-07:00

Well, he didn't quite get it done before his brother became a missionary, but the sea kayak is finally done! I have to admit, I'm still a little concerned about how sea (or lake) worthy it is, but it does look pretty sound, all in all. Besides that, Jason said that if it does fail in the water, he at least hopes it fails spectacularly so that we can send the video into Americas Funniest Home Videos and make some money out of it.:) I definately admire his building skills, though, especially figuring out how to use more pvc membrane as the seat. I don't know that I'd ever be able to pull something like this off...:)

Taz, the Missionary

2010-01-27T14:46:00.005-07:00

Jason's brother Taz left for the MTC a couple of weeks ago. He's been called to serve in the Monterey, Mexico East mission. We've gotten a few letters from him via email, and he's doing great. I think you could say he's now fully emersed in the missionary lifestyle, and he seems really excited about it. It's neat to because he's always offering his younger brother Isaac advice about his mission, since Isaac will leave on his before Taz gets home. It's great to see him so excited about everything, and I know he's going to be a fabulous missionary. The people of Mexico are so lucky. I pray that he'll be safe when he gets to Mexico with all of the messed-up stuff that's going on down there right now. Luckily, he'll be away from the main area of the conflict. Here's his exceptionaly cute mission picture:

Sorry about the color on the picture. Taking a photo of a photo when the flash doesn't work on your camera is kind-of complicated.:) The other really neat thing about Taz leaving on a mission is the example it sets for my kids. They are constantly wanting to know how he's doing and wondering if they can send him a picture. (They recently sent drawings of fireworks, as they were somehow convinced he needed the excitement from them.:) It's great to be able to teach them about what he's doing, as well as having fun putting stickers on the chart to count down the days:

I know, there's still a lot of empty space on this chart, but 2 years is a long time when you count each day individually. It's also funny to realize that when he gets back, Savannah will have just been baptized! How crazy is that?:)

Savannah's Birthday

2010-01-04T15:28:00.002-07:00

I can't believe how big my little girl is! It's crazy for me to think about, and yet when I remember what life was like when she was born, it seems like forever. (I mean, Jason and I were living in Wymount then!:) Savannah's birthday was an absolute blast! Jason and I have tried really hard to separate it from Christmas (since it's the day after) so she can still have her own special day. She surprised me this year, too. When we told her she could pick where we'd go to lunch, I was expecting McDonalds or Arctic Circle. But she picked Sweet Tomatoes, which is a salad and health-food buffet. (That's my girl!:) That night we all go to go to a Grizzlies hockey game where we had a joint party with her uncle Wally, whose birthday is the day after. (Thanks, Aunt Toni!) What a fun time! Although, I'm still trying to explain to my kids why fighting is okay in hockey and not in our house...:)

The Boat, Part 2

2010-01-04T15:22:00.004-07:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago about Jason and his brothers building sea kayaks. Well, I gotta say I'm really impressed with my husband. When he was building the frame, I was having a hard time figuring out how it was all going to work. But now that he's putting the covering on it, the thing actually looks like a boat! Now hopefully it can float like one...

Merry Crazy Christmas!

2010-01-04T14:48:00.005-07:00

What a crazy Christmas season! I swear every year that I'm not going to let my family be involved in as many things, but I somehow end up with even more. At least it's all worth it in the end, even if everyone does get burned out. Here are some of the highlights.

Savannah had a showcase in her dance class, and she did such an amazing job. It's so sweet to watch her little feet do lots of ballet and tap dancing steps. She's absolutely adorable!

Isaiah had a program the last day of preschool before Christmas break, complete with songs and presents for the parents. He did a really great job. He tried SO hard to remember all the words to the songs, even if he had no idea what he was saying.:)

Christmas Day itself was pretty nuts, too. Although it was better than usual since Jason's parents were in Hawaii. (We had yet another Christmas party when they came back.) I just love watching my kids get so excited to open all of their presents, and I really enjoy that they are just as excited to give presents to everyone else. I'm glad the true spirit of the season is shining through for them. It was absolutely wonderful to be able to celebrate in our own home this year as well. It's always interesting to find out where to put the tree and all the decorations in a new place, but there's nothing like the feeling of Christmas in your first home.:)

It's hard to tell what's going on here, but Isaiah is absolutely THRILLED to have his own "mcuter" (computer-a VTech thing.) He absolutely LOVES it!

Savannah was so excited to have her very first "real" bike--as in, not a tricycle or a wiggle car. She's even been braving the freezing cold to try it out on our sidewalk.

Mary was so excited about everything! I don't think she even cared that much about her presents compared to all the fun stuff going on around her. (This cute picture of her is at my parent's house.)

What crazy times! And this list doesn't even inculde all the light rides, famiy parties, Christmas concerts, friend visits, and everything else that goes along with the season. (It's made me tired again just to think about it all.) Oh, well. Like I said before, it's definately worth it.:)

Snow Pictures

2009-12-16T11:24:00.003-07:00

Thanks to our fabulous winter weather here in Utah, there's about 6 inches of snow outside my front door. I love the snow, and so do my kids, as you can see by these adorable pictures.

They even built a cute little snowman in our front yard, but I didn't get a picture of it before it toppled over from all the extra snow that fell on top of it. Trust me, it was pretty cute.:)

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-12-16T11:10:00.004-07:00

So, a few weeks ago, Jason and his brother Taz decided that they need to build sea kayaks for some reason. Apparently, they thought it would be fun to do before Taz leaves on his mission in January. I'm not really sure why they think this is really necessary, but it seems to be keeping both of them pretty excited. Taz is making his out of pvc pipe and duct tape (thank you Mythbusters:), and Jason is making his out of pvc pipe and some roofing membrane. I've been told that they will be testing them out in the Great Salt Lake sometime soon. I just hope they're actually water-tight and nobody gets hypothermia in the process in that freezing cold water.

At any rate, there's now a 14 foot long frame taking up half of my garage. Maybe it's a guy thing...

Blessed Isaiah

2009-12-11T15:01:00.003-07:00

My little Isaiah is so much fun to have around the house. He most definately keeps me on my toes. (Jason's mom and I are always talking about the things he does when we turn our backs for a minute.) Take today, for instance. His new fascination lately has been using Savannah's school safety scissors to cut paper up into little tiny pieces and pile it on the floor or the table. (He calls it "building a fire.") Today he was up in his room coloring with Mary, and I didn't even realize he had the scissors, since Savannah had only been home from school for about 10 minutes. Anyway, he came downstairs laughing really hard. I asked him what was so funny, and he replied, "I cut my socks." Needless to say, I wasn't exaclty sure how to respond. He went and got them for me and sure enough, he had cut both of the socks he had on right down the middle. I guess he was laughing because he realized that scissors work on other things besides paper. I think I may have to hide them before he figures out that other things can be cut too, like his sisters' hair.:)

Crazy Times

2009-12-11T14:50:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's already the middle of December! There is definatley WAY too much going on during the holidays around here. Just to give you an idea, let me explain how Thanksgiving weekend went...
Thanksgiving Day started of bright and early for the Greenwoods. I was making the turkey this year for Jason's big family gathering, which ended up weighing over 20 lbs! Needless to say, I woke up at 6:00 AM in order to stuff it and get things cookings. After that, we were off to the races my kids were all running in in Orem. (Yes, even little Mary ran--her race was 100yds.:) They were all really excited to be running in a race like Daddy, and they all did very well. (Mary even won a turkey!) After watching our adorable racers, it was off to home to get the turkey, shower my kids, and finish packing for our weekend up in Idaho. Then it was to Jason's parents for a big group Thanksgiving dinner, followed by my parents and more food. If that wasn't enough, after that we drove up to Idaho to spend a couple of days at the family cabin, coming home Saturday morning so I could get to my Christmas choir concert at Cottonwood High School (which, by the way, was AMAZING).
I think we might need to rethink holidays around here. With family so close by, there's always a ton to do. (Not that I mind the family being here at all.:)

GO GRIZZLIES!!!

2009-11-11T13:54:00.002-07:00

For those of you who don't know, my dad used to play football for the Montana Grizzlies when he was in college. One of the years he played, the team won the national championship! (Division 1-AA.) Pretty cool, right? Well, it gets better. That team was recently honored at a huge celebration up in Mizzoula, Montana. (I hope I spelled that right.:) There was a huge banquet, and each team member's name was announced at a football game. Besides that, the team was honored by being placed in U of M's hall-of-fame, complete with a huge ring for the members to wear. How about that? My dad's a hall-of-famer!:)

Happy Haloween!

2009-11-11T13:28:00.007-07:00

I just love Halloween. It's so great to see my kids looking so adorable!

Peter Pan and his 2 Tinkerbell's never looked lovlier!

I had another reason to cheer this Halloween, too. Jason and his sister ran in a half marathon in Provo, completely in costume! Now that's dedication. They had a good time, too. (They finished in under 2 hours.)

Is that Pebbles and Bam-Bam? Nope, but they sure look cute, don't they?

You'd never know by those smiles that they just ran 13 1/2 miles in the freezing cold.

What a cold morning it was, too! My kids ate breakfast hiding in their grandma's SUV so their little fingers didn't become icicles. It made for some cute pictures, too.:)

What an awesome day! Happy Halloween!

It's a Small World...:)

2009-10-19T10:50:00.003-06:00

So yesterday, I met a friend of a friend of mine who moved into our ward. I recognized her last name, but I didn't ask if she was related to who I knew. (I figured the chances were pretty slim.) Then I was walking down the hall of church with my kids, and I saw someone who looked familiar. It turns out that the new friend I met is married to an old friend of mine from middle school, and they moved in just a few houses down the street. To top it all off, after we were laughing and hugging each other, I found out that my husband Jason knows the wife's older brother. (They went to high school together.) What are the chances? Go figure!:)

What a Week!

2009-10-19T10:38:00.002-06:00

Wow! This past week has been really crazy, thanks to my performing in 2 different shows. There were lots of rehersals and practices to go to, as well as running up to Salt Lake a number of times. Thankfully, everything turned out WONDERFULLY. The Choral Arts Society of Utah concert up Downtown was completely sold out, and we got to perform with the awesome Crescent Super Band. (It's a jazz band of absolutely amazing high school kids from all over the state.:) All of the music was from the 30's and 40's, and what a blast! And after all that, I got to be part of our stake's very first roadshow. Our ward did an amazing job, and it was very entertaining. (It was a spoof of American Idol, but with foods. I got to be the Chiquita banana.:) I have had an absolutely fabulous time with everything, but at the same time, I am super glad that all of the rehersals are over now. I get to spend more time with my husband and kids. YAY!:)

I Have the Best Kids EVER!

2009-10-10T17:05:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to quickly share an absolutely adorable moment with you all. Savannah and I were at the store recently, picking out a card for Jason's & my anniversary on the 11th. (It's already #7!) As we were looking through the selection, she got a concerned expression on her face, and our conversation went something like this:
"Mommy, what's an anniversary?"
"It's like the birthday of when Daddy and I got married."
"So you're getting a card for Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetie."
"But I don't have a card to give you guys."
"Well honey, you don't really need to give us one, but if you want, you could always make one."
"Okay, but I'd need your help and that won't work because I need to surprise you."
At this point, I leaned over and gave Savannah a big hug and told her that we would figure it all out. I thought it was sweet that she wanted to do anything for us in the first place.
Then this morning I awoke to the sounds of little feet and a few giggles. "I'm getting a piece of paper from the computer, okay Mommy?" Still half asleep, I just sounded my consent. Then I heard Isaiah. "Mommy! Daddy! Come downstairs so we can surprise you!" Jason and I just looked at each other, smiled, and trotted downstairs. All 3 of my adorable children were waiting to yell "Surprise!" The came running with hand-made cards AND envelopes, complete with drawn stamps. There were lots of hearts and stick figure drawings of Mommy and Daddy. Needless to say, I just hugged everyone as I began to cry. And if that wasn't enough, Savannah has been giving me more cards all day today. (I think the total is at 3 or 4 now.) I can't believe how adorable they all are, and what makes it even better is that they did it all by themselves. My kids are the greatest!:)

Technology Woes

2009-10-08T21:41:00.002-06:00

Have you ever felt like it's just not your day when it comes to modern technology? It's been one of those for me. I used our video camera to record roadshow practice last night, and for some reason, the camera created a duplicate copy. So, naturally I checked to make sure what was on each one. Both of them were working just fine, so I deleted one. But when I went to upload the footage to my computer, the recording that was left would only run for about 5 seconds. All I got to see was our announcer standing in front of the curtain with a microphone. (That's some riveting footage, let me tell you.:) And if that wasn't bad enough, while I was trying to fix some of the images on the blog, my computer decided to keep opening webpage after webpage for no apparent reason, and I COULD NOT GET IT TO STOP. Whenever I closed the window, it would open another one. If I stopped the Internet Explorer program all together, it would just start again. I even tried putting my computer in hibernation mode for a few hours. NOTHING WORKED. I finally had to let it just keep opening webpage windows until it could hold no more, and close them all out individually. (We're talking around 50 windows here.) Needless to say, I'm just glad today is over. Maybe I'll have better luck with our friend technology tomorrow...:)

The Fieldtrip, Part 2

2009-10-07T17:37:00.002-06:00

So Savannah came home from her fieldtrip just fine, and she had a wonderful time. I was just being a silly mom and worrying for no reason. Oh, well. I'm sure there will be lots of moments like that in her lifetime, not to mention I've still got Isaiah and Mary to worry about. Ah, the joys of motherhood.:)

Savannah's Field Trip

2009-10-07T08:46:00.003-06:00

Savannah just left on her very first field trip on a school bus. She is SO excited! The entire morning kindergarten at her school is going to Discovery Gateway. She's been there before and knows what to expect, which only adds to how revved up she is.:) I'm not sure why, but I'm having a little bit of a hard time with it. I was okay when she started going to kindergarten, (I was just really excited for her,) so I don't really understand why this is such a big deal for me. Maybe it has something to do with her having to get on and off the bus and not get lost. I don't know. I'll just be glad when she's home safe and sound this afternoon and I can hear all about what she did.:)

The Pajamas

2009-10-06T23:15:00.003-06:00

My kids all got matching pjs for a family trip we took up to Idaho, and they kept asking me to take their picture. (Their cousin has Thomas the Train ones, too.) You've got to admit, they're pretty darn cute!

My Loving Husband

2009-10-06T22:59:00.002-06:00

Jason was looking at the blog and commented that there weren't any pictures of him on it, so I found this one on our computer. This is for you, honey!:)

Michelle's Little Game

2009-10-06T22:48:00.004-06:00

So, I saw Michelle's little game on her blog about the little unimportant things that you love, and I thought it was a great idea! I tag anyone who reads this post, since I'm not sure how many of you even have blogs.:) Anyway, here goes:

1. I absolutely love to watch BYU football with my kids. Jason and I are doing our best to teach them about the game, and all 3 of them get SO excited when a touchdown is scored. It's the greatest to watch them jump up and down with their hands in the air and screaming at the top of their lungs.:)

2. I really enjoy the show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. I'm not really sure why I find it so entertaining, but it's really fun when someone asks you a question about an urban legend or something and you can give them a difinitive answer. (Like how you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.:)

3. I love listening to the sound of a storm outside when I'm safe inside. Where we live there's quite a bit of wind around, and I like to listen to the whistling sound it makes. It's also great when my kids ask, "Mommy, what's that noise?"

4. Music always makes me smile. It doesn't matter if it's something I'm singing or playing, if my radio is on, or my kids are playing marching band. It never ceases to bring a grin to my lips.

5. I LOVE to look pretty. I know this might sound funny coming from a girl who spent most of highschool watching sports and wearing jeans and t-shirts, but I've discovered a new fashionable side to myself since college and marriage. Who knew?:)

6. I totally adore my bed! Jason spoiled me by getting a California King pillowtop, and I can't live without it! The only downside is that it's completely ruined me when sleeping at hotels and other places. Nothing else can compare!

Okay, so now it's your turn. If you've been tagged, GO!:)

Some Cute Pictures

2009-10-06T15:12:00.001-06:00

Here's some cute pictures of my kids. Most were taken looking at the witches at Gardner Village, which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed watching my kids run around and point out each witch they found. Savannah especially liked sitting next to the one on the bench. Mary was nervous, and she wanted to show her there was nothing to be afraid of. Isaiah liked all the pumpkins the best! The other one was taken at The Mayan restaurant. I've never seen them so excited to eat food! (I suppose it could have something to do with the waterfalls and cliff divers...:) I get excited to eat there, too.:)

My First Blog!

2009-10-06T15:08:00.002-06:00

Hey Everybody!

After being told by at least half a dozen people that I need to start blogging, I decided to finally give it a go. I guess it IS a good way to stay in touch with everyone and let you all know what's going on. I'll try to get this all figured out and post some pictures and things. Wish me luck!