Can you Hackett?

Sophie's Back, Back Again

2012-02-08T09:51:00.001-07:00

My little sister & her baby are here visiting from Texas. We love being able to see Aunt Lani & Sopher especially when it involves McDonalds play lands.

Caught red handed

2012-02-03T07:00:00.004-07:00

I thought things were a bit TOO quiet. This boy loves his syrup and his peanut butter I guess. Carson did this once only he used a tub of petroleum jelly all over his face, hair & body.

Postcards From Carson

2012-02-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I just love the crafts Carson brings home from preschool.

The post card started out so cute too!

I'll probably mail this one to Grandma.

If you can pull a tooth, you can deliver a baby

2012-02-01T10:51:00.005-07:00

Yesterday I had my wisdom teeth pulled. If you remember I once compared running a marathon to having a baby...today you get to be enlightened with my Top Ten List of things you will hear when getting your wisdom teeth out or having a baby.

#10 - You are crazy for not being put to sleep/not getting an epidural.

#9 - "This & that went wrong for me", "I heard about this awful thing happening"...

#8 - Would you like to pay for this today?

#7 - You're going to need some pain medication for when you go home.

#6 - You're going to have some bleeding and you'll want to apply ice to the area for the first few hours.

#5 - This shot will just feel like a little pinch.

#4 - Nurse will you get me the forceps?

#3 - You're going to feel a lot of pressure.

#2 - It looks like you're going to need a couple stitches.

#1 - And it's out!!!

I am actually surprised at how well I am feeling today. I took ibuprofen yesterday, but none today and I am feeling almost 100%. My face was so numb & FELT swollen all day yesterday though. I kept thinking I probably look like I have Jay Leno's chin & Angelina Jolie's lips, but when I looked in the mirror everything was the same. It's such a funny feeling.

WARNING: Below is a picture of my teeth. It's a blurry picture so you probably wont throw up when you see it.

Here are some FAQs about my experience.
Why did you have your teeth pulled? Because during Christmas I got strep and it caused a major infection in my gums by one of my bottom wisdom teeth. The old dentist said it is just a poor quality of gum back there, wisdom teeth are hard to keep clean, etc.

Did your dentist do it? Yes. I decided not to an oral surgeon or a Wisdom Teeth Only place. I was pleased with the experience & I would recommend using a dentist if you trust them.

Did you stay awake? Yes I didn't want to be put under and I some how survived!

Are you glad you got it done? Yes and I am glad it's over with. I am now just praying I don't get a dry socket.

30 Rock

2012-01-31T08:00:00.035-07:00

I had a great weekend saying bye to my 20s! I felt like we celebrated for 3 days straight! :) We had a fun party with some friends one night. Another friend took me to breakfast at Magleby's. Wes & I went to dinner another night. Our family enjoyed some donuts & ice cream in there as well!

Turkey & avocado lettuce wrap from Jimmie Johns. YUMMY!

The dessert pictures is all mine. I really like having donuts for my cake and I usually don't like donuts that much. But these babes hit just the spot.

On my birthday I did what I love most and that's spending time with Gold's Gym.

Then I spent the afternoon at one of my least favorite places...the dentist.

But I enjoyed the rest of the evening watching Transformers & The Help. I saved Pirates of the Carribean & Harry Potter for Wednesday.

So far 30 has rocked! And I realized how many great neighbors and friends we have around here. I really feel like we live on one of the best streets in our ward. Although I'll tell you one story that was kind of weird. I saw a lady at the gym and told her it was my 30th and her jaw dropped and she said "WHAT?!? No way! I thought you were my age!" So I said how old are you? "I'm 40." Really lady you thought I was 10 years older than I really am? Is it the wrinkles? :)

I can't wait to see where I am the next January 31st! *On a weird side note, next year I will be turning 31 on the 31st so I'm starting to plan now. I'll have to do 31 things, or do something for 31 minutes, maybe run 31 miles...or maybe just 3.1 miles. Anyhows give me your ideas!

Heads down, thumbs up.

2012-01-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

Carson wanted to be a missionary on Sunday and told us he needed a tie tack to do so. And by golly he almost looked like one with that little temple tack. :)

Emerson was so reverent while keeping his hands behind his back looking so sweet an innocent. I bet he's holding the syrup flask back there.

You know what they say about 2nd graders & peace signs....they go together like peanut butter & jelly.

And what I learned from this post is that you should always check the floor & background in your house before you take a picture. Otherwise everyone will see you don't keep your floors very clean, you leave the dishwasher open & your diaper hiding place really isn't that hidden.

Getting Tew Know Pooh

2012-01-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

C.Jane recently wrote a post about her family & which character she thought best fit with each of her family members. (In case you don't know C.Jane she's pretty much the best thing since the invention of the "Better Than Being Kissed on the First Date" cake.) I don't know for sure why but her post really cracked me up.

I've kind of always thought my family and her family were similar. She has 9 kids in her family and I have 10. I've always thought of myself as Stephanie, my little sister as Lucy, my sister Deeds as C.Jane, Paul as Jesse, Blaine as Christopher & I could go on, but wont. I've met NieNie once when I hiked the Y. And my little sissy met Courtney at Costco. So we're pretty much tight, so I didn't think she'd care if I copy her idea of giving my family Winnie the Pooh Character associations.

Valerie is Eeyore: Shy, quiet and does not like to be the center of attention.

Bill is Owl: Means well and is hospitable. Can be loud & likes to be right.

Rebecca is Kanga: She is a mother to 3 & is one of the best!

Annette is Rabbit: Voice of reason & likes things to be in order.

Blaine is Winnie the Pooh: Round fella who is cheerful & pleasant.

Steven is Gopher: Hard worker & energetic. Too bad he doesn't whistle his s's.

Paul is Tigger: Has enthusiasm, energy & has a high self esteem.

Deedra is Roo: Cute as a button & well behaved. Loves the safety of family.

Merri is Piglet: A bit of a chicken, but kind & generally happy.

Leandra is Christopher Robin: Laid back & care free. We revolve around her & she's all of our favorite.

Emerson

2012-01-24T13:56:00.001-07:00

My little Emers is getting so big. He sure is a lot of fun.

We really enjoy it when he sneaks the syrup onto the carpet and drinks it like it's water.

Jump On It

2012-01-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

During Christmas break we took the kids to Jump On It in Lindon. It was a lot of fun, and if you use a coupon it's really not a bad price either. However it's a little hard to find, we had someone to follow luckily.

Los 2 Portrillos

2012-01-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our new favorite Spanish Fork restaurant is Los 2 Portrillos. It's a little ghetto I'll admit it, but the food is yummy! You get free chips & salsa while you wait for your order & free dessert...well I don't know if that is always the case, but last time we ate in (instead of getting it to go) we got a yummy cinnamon tortilla shell with cherry ice cream on top drizzled with chocolate with our check.

This is the Chicken Salad

I'm a fan of the tacos & chimichangas. Wes likes the burritos & their hot roasted peppers. So Spanish Forkians go try it out! It's on main and 100 s by Lani's Shave ice.

Don't be weirded out if the outside says it's a seafood joint. However I have heard their shrimp tacos are excellent!

boys will be boys

2012-01-09T13:06:00.001-07:00

Boys & holes in their clothes go hand in hand don't they? But maybe this could be a result from me not cutting his (must be extremely sharp) toenails.

Little Cars was so tired two Sunday's ago he just feel asleep on my lap. He's never done that before.

And right now Emerson's two favorite things are football & his Dad.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

2012-01-03T12:55:00.001-07:00

Emerson sure loved the train we had under the Christmas tree. He would run back and forth watching it go under the tree. I sure love this age!

Strep Tease

2012-01-01T12:04:00.002-07:00

This last week has been awful for me. When I say awful I mean awfully painful. Christmas Eve I started to get the chills and was not feeling so hot. Pun intended, pa dum shhht. I went to bed early and woke up Christmas morning with some pain in my throat, but nothing a farm gal like myself couldn't handle. We opened presents, went to Grantsville and enjoyed our Christmas day. My throat was irritating and it was difficult to eat, but I love food so really nothing could stop me from eating.

Monday rolled around and my throat still hurts, I've been eating cough drops like they are candy and I had been popping ibuprofen as well. I went to the gym...shouldn't have though because I ended up getting my gym partner sick as well. I came home and just kinda suffered through the day. By Tuesday I was feeling like I was swallowing shards of glass. My jaw was aching from clenching my teeth so tightly to swallow. That night I had horrible night sweats. I woke up drenched from head to toe & my sheets were soaked. I am pretty stubborn when it comes to going to the doctor. I have gone before when I thought I had strep only to be told I didn't. So I don't go unless it's an absolute must.

Finally after some encouragement from my sister Deedra I made an appointment to see the doc. Yep it was strep. Ack! Here I had been suffering for 3 long, miserable days and I could have been getting better! I got started on the amoxicillin asap. I was in bed all day long. It was painful. Finally after about 48 hours of amoxicillin my throat is feeling better, but it still hurts in my mouth. It's hard to swallow and hard to talk. Upon investigation I find my gums around my wisdom tooth on the bottom are inflamed, swollen and just yucky looking. My ears are aching, my jaw is aching, my neck is aching, everything is aching & painful!

Friday morning I go to the dentist. Which was pretty much useless. He gave me some antibacterial mouthwash and told me to keep taking my amoxicillin. And tells me I'll probably need my wisdom teeth removed. I am all for removing those things, but guess what...it is now Sunday and my mouth still hurts. The swelling in the gums has gone down a little, but it's still swollen and painful.

My mouth ruined my whole week almost ruined my New Years Eve, but Wes saved the day by bringing me some ice cream & diet coke. A couple things I usually don't do, or try not to do very often is drink pop & take pills, but they seemed to have done the trick because I actually really enjoyed New Years Eve with my family. We watched a few episodes of Home Improvement and Kamrie said, "Dad, this show is hilarious!."

The thing that most upsets me about this is that Wes had the whole week off from work. Which was a blessing so he could take care of the kids and me. I was only good for moaning and drooling. Drooling was less painful than swallowing of spitting. But he had the week off so we could get a lot of things done around the house and so we could go visit both of our folks. Well none of that happened.

That's my sad sob story. I feel better already just writing about it. Here's the hoping this week my mouth will heal!

Christmas Morn

2011-12-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is the only picture I have of Emerson...sorry kiddo.

Her face is priceless!

" A missionary shirt!" Carson exclaimed.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T12:34:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve was fun. We had a delicious dinner...

I bought me a sweet Christmas plate set this year. I really liked having the festive plates to eat on through December.

At one point during dinner a spoon started smoking/melting because it was too close to a candle. Oops.

Why yes those are little weenies. Christmas is not the same without them...just ask Cars Bars.

And we wrote letters to Santa, leaving him with some cookies & milk.

A post for Kristen

2011-12-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

I have many cool sister in laws. One such SIL lives in Rome right now which means she missed the Can you Hackett Christmas Party. So for her viewing pleasure here are the only pictures I had on my camera of the evening.

We played Christmas Family Feud, a few minute to win it games, basketball & we enjoyed a Mexican feast. She probably doesn't even miss us! :)

Santana

2011-12-20T07:26:00.001-07:00

Who knew Santa would be hanging out at the Texaco by our house last night? I'm so thankful for Facebook & my friends for telling me he was there! We missed our ward party so it was great to see Santa finally. The best part was that there was no line!

Carson told Santa he wants a Wii. And Santa said a fun game where everyone says WEEEEE?

Kamrie told him she wanted a generation doll. Later at bed time she told me she knew he wasn't the real Santa because he didn't know her name.

Emerson loved Santa Cruz this year!

Before we visited Santa we were at the Spanish Fork Fesitval of Lights. That place was BUSY! The lights get better every year too!

Where a kid can be a kid

2011-12-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love Chuck E. Cheese because he provides me & my family with some cheap entertainment. :) We spent $20 on pizzas, drinks & tokens and Kamrie earned enough tickets for a stuffed puppy! Carson was happy because he earned a sticky slap hand.


Boring...

And I forgot to mention Kamrie lost her tooth while we were there.

Just eating pizza and pulling out teeth.

My stud!

Even Wes got in on the arcade game action.

It's gonna be a nice nice nice Christmas

2011-12-16T12:32:00.002-07:00

Today was the 2nd graders Christmas program. Kams was a star for sure.

Stats for my boys

2011-12-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Carson 5 year stats:
94th %tile for weight 50 lbs
95th %tile for height 46 inches

BMI 85th %tile 16.85

Emerson 18 month stats:
51st %tile for weight 26 lbs
91st %tile for height 34.25 inches

89th %tile for head 19.5 inches

Salem Pond Lights

2011-12-13T13:53:00.001-07:00

Another one of our activities this year was to visit Salem Pond. It's a free activity we do every year. And if you live close you should definitely go check it out. They even have a horse and carriage ride for $45. Too steep for me, but maybe not for you. :)

We like to get out and walk around, but you don't have to. You can just drive around the pond. It's a big loop.

Tew player game

2011-12-11T20:16:00.002-07:00

This weekend was my Tew family Christmas party. My sister Deeds & fam came to stay with us Friday night.

This was what I found in the morning when I woke up. How cute.

This is my family, minus three siblings & their families. It's a good Tew Crew.

One of the fun things at this party was the photo booth! Cute props, cute nephew & a cute background!

The girls got to make feather earrings.

Grandma got to hold slippery babies.

People donated to Carson's sock fund. Believe me he needs the fund.

Kamrie takes after her mom and once Minute to Win it started she had her game face on.

Stack a cup

Nut Stacker

Cookie in your eye trying to get into your mouth

And toss the mallow thru the wreath into a bucket.

She was a champ in all of them.

And my boys were plum tuckered when it was over.

I guess only the left side decided to make a funny face...

Temple Square

2011-12-11T19:41:00.002-07:00

Friday night we ventured to Temple Square with my seesters Deedra, Leandra, Rebecca & their families. It was super crowded, but not freezing so I was happy.

Present Time

2011-12-11T19:36:00.002-07:00

When birthdays roll around we celebrate all week long! So I apologize for all of the Carson posts lately!

The best part of birthday presents are deals like these!

Not my gumdrop buttons

2011-12-08T15:34:00.003-07:00

So I made a Christmas Activity Countdown Banner this year. It's really been a lot of fun. On each tag is something fun to do with the kiddos. A couple nights ago we made this bad boy.

We'll be taking the little guy to our ward party on Saturday and we'll probably be bringing home the 1st place trophy.

And look who I get to hang out with this weekend...The Charlie's Angels.

What is my obsession with old pictures right now? I must be trying to get back to my youth.

Look who I get to hang out with this weekend

2011-12-08T07:03:00.004-07:00

The Charlie's Angels.

What is my obsession with old pictures right now? I must be trying to get back to my youth.

Five candles

2011-12-07T07:05:00.002-07:00

The donut was the cake and it was delicious! Thank you Maceys!

One, two, three, four, FIVE

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Once I caught a fish alive.

Cars' birthday party was a success! He changed his mind over & over on the theme, but finally settled on Batman.

This was supposed to be a balloon banner, but my string got all tangled up and it ended up working out just fine. :)

One game we played was "Batman Says" think Batman meets Simon. I made little bat cut outs and taped them around the house. The kids had to find them and listed to what was written on the back.

I have decided that I dont' like cake or cupcakes really. I know Leandra wont like that. :) ha cupcakes are too crumbly and the kids only eat the frosting off the top anyway. So I decided to give my kids donuts on their birthdays instead of a cake & cookie cupcakes instead of cupcakes for the parties.

I had plenty of 4 & 5 year olds running around the place! :) It was fun though and lucky enough for me it was a fairly warm day and they were able to play some games outside in the back yard. They also got to watch a short Batman movie.

Happy Birthday to my 5 week early 5 year old!

Jarom Cutie Q Tew

2011-12-05T06:57:00.001-07:00

Meet my nephew Jarom. He just got baptized on Saturday and was the cutest!

Congrats little buddy!

Friends for dinner, I want to have friends for dinner

2011-11-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Since we missed out on a real Thanksgiving dinner this year we had our Turkey dinner yesterday with my little sis & her family.

I love it when we take pictures as a whole family.

I think someone spiked the drinks too because my kids were HYPER! We had quite the talent show going though. Next to the talent show the best part of the night was when a huge spider decided to join us for dinner. Gross gross gross.

The grass is always greener

2011-11-27T21:19:00.003-07:00

Why is it kids only like things when they are not supposed to? Emers found his old bouncer and spent more time in it than he did when he was small enough to fit in it. ;) My niece did the same thing recently!

I took Emers Christmas shopping with me and found this Santa hat that jingles, moves & sings. He loved it. It kept the little chap entertained for the rest of my trip. I am sure the other shoppers loved me to.

And my litttle Cars Man is an artist! Check out the picture he drew of me at church. He was very detailed, he got my hair perfectly!

And Kamrie says Marry Crissmuse! I love it when kids are learning how to write and they sound out the words.

Usually I don't like the Lakers

2011-11-27T20:51:00.002-07:00

But I do when Kamrie plays for them.

Packer Fans

2011-11-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

The packer fans sure were a friendly bunch! Maybe they were so nice because they won. Who knows. All I know is that I have more pictures with Green Bay fans than Lions Fans. :)

Deee-troit

2011-11-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've now been to Michigan! I would like to tell you all about my trip. Here are some of the places we tried to get into, but all the rooms were booked.

About this time our friends that were driving us around locked all the doors.

So sad & scary!

We weren't sure if this was a lost & found or a carnival...

Before we drove through the ghettos we went to the Big House. Don't worry I didn't know what the Big House was either. All I know is that we showed up at the absolute perfect time. We found a maintenance guy and he let us in for 2 minutes.

After this we headed to see the Lions indoor practice field.

Maybe the team should spend more time here...practicing. :)

Then we were off to Ford Field.

We passed some tailgating action.

The place smelled of alcohol & cigarette smoke, my favorite combination.

The game was awesome. We had a lot of fun walking around & soaking it all in.

Go Barry, it's your birthday.

We would definitely do it all over again!

And so would Terry.

A couple of turkeys

2011-11-24T07:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lions vs Packers

2011-11-22T22:06:00.002-07:00

We are leaving tomorrow!

Home Improvement

2011-11-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

We love Home Improvement. In fact I believe we own seasons 1-5 on DVD. :) Our favorite episodes are definitely the Christmas ones. These pictures make me smile.

Tim loved the lighting contests and trying to beat the 80 year old proctologist.

Wilson always had his face hidden.

What's not to love?

This episode is my favorite one!

Are you ready for some football?

2011-11-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

We got some sweet tickets from Wes' boss yesterday for the BYU game. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed all the yummy food that goes along with these tickets.

We got to pig out on delicousness before, during and after the game!

It was a late starting game and I am so thankful for my cute niece for being willing to come watch our kids for us!

Sleigh Ride

2011-11-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

I grew up listening to the Carpenters Christmas because well my mom was in charge of the tape deck. I grew to love their songs and one year I especially enjoyed the song Sleigh Ride. My sister Deedra & I took a pair of my mom's panty hose and tied the feet together. Then we got inside and just spun and spun and spun. It really was fun and it's one of my favorite memories. Yesterday the song came on the radio so I had my children's try it out. I think Emers was too little to get the full effect. But don't worry I got in with Kamrie and showed her my panty hose swinging skills.

This would be fun to do in the human rubber band!

Old Pictures

2011-11-14T21:54:00.003-07:00

My last post made me want to reflect on my younger years & I came across these beauts.

I recently obtained this picture from my uncle...hey hey he was a monkeys uncle. I've always thought my Emers looked like my brother Blaine. He is the one in the studly red suspenders. And yep I still think they look alike. And I just want to squish my sister Rebecca's cheeks, what a cutie. The kiddos with names are my siblings. I'm not claiming the others...well maybe I'll claim the gal with the mini skirt.

Here's another picture of my brother Blaine (He's in the middle with pink pants on. He thinks he's #1). Now I know what my little guy will look like in a couple years, that is if I decide to dress him in pink pants.


I'm the cute one.

And one last one to embarrass my sisters. They were my heroes growing up. I wanted their hair.

Aunt Deeds

2011-11-14T08:05:00.003-07:00

My sister Deedra (we like to call her Nedra, Needs & Deeds McNeeds) came to visit for a couple days. Emerson loved her. They cuddled and read books. It was very cute, but annoying...why wont Emerson cuddle with his Mama? :)

Growing up we would pretend she was DJ, I was Stephanie & my little sister was Michelle.

We came pretty close to the real thing.

But this is not a post about Full House now is it? To learn more about Deedra's famous cookies click here. I should also mention she's a crafty crafter! I'm always amazed at her skills.

Pintrest

2011-11-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

I like pintrest for many reasons, but I am loving the quotes people have been posting lately.

1st hair cut

2011-11-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well I knew it was time to cut my little boys mop, but I guess I didn't think I was going to cut it this short. Not sure I love this look on him...next time I'll try not to get so close to his skull. ;)

Pumpkins

2011-11-02T19:20:00.000-06:00

Kamrie did the evil witch from snow white

Carson & I did the skeleton head

Wes' Monster face

Witches Night Out or Time out for Witches as I call it

2011-11-01T09:44:00.001-06:00

I wasn't a complete Scrooge this year with halloween. I did dress up once! I went to a way fun Witch Party.

I will have to host one next year. All you need is some yummy food, fake eyelashes, witches and you're set.

So glad I got to crash this party. The best part was chatting with this orange haired witch. She's famous in the running world. She's won the Top of Utah marathon 3 times I think. That's all...no big deal.

Halloween City

2011-11-01T08:43:00.001-06:00

I really love Halloween. I didn't get as festive this year though as I have in previous years, but I still love it just the same. Don't worry I am going to be hitting up the after Halloween sales so next year I'll be better prepared.

I went trick or treating and all I got was a bag of lemon heads.

I took the boys to Maceys earlier in the day to do their so called "Trick or Treating", but I ended up with way more groceries than I had intended and Carson got 2 pieces of candy. Now that's now what I call tricks not treating Maceys.

Then we went to Kamrie's class and I helped out with a game I like to call "Throw the Candy Corn into the Cauldron". It was a hit.

After the Halloween Party the Elementary had their costume parade. I am always game for a good parade.

Then the night of tricks or treats began. This year I drove the kids to a nicer neighborhood and I think we hit the jack pot. We came home with full sized candy bars and tons of chocolate...none of that crappy candy like I gave out. ha

It was a fun day for sure!

All about an RBL Halloween Party

2011-10-27T21:55:00.001-06:00

Aint no party like an RBL party. Carved by my master carver Wes.

1st place pumpkin also carved by Wes. He won a $20 gift card to target for this rendition he calls Merri in the morning. He said he now has my Christmas gift all taken care of.

My smats is a skeleyton.

Cinderella has never looked more beautiful!

Cars loved all of the candy, candy and all of that candy.

Save yo wife, Save yo sisters

2011-10-27T21:50:00.001-06:00

My sisters & I enjoyed our 3rd Save a Sister 5k/10k last weekend. What a great time it was being there without child(ren).

Favorite parts of the weekend:

learning how to dougie...teach me how to dougie
eating at the black bear diner
pulling out my niece's tooth
haning w/ the sissy's
sunday morning breakfast
going to the movies
shopping
winning $50 gift card to a running shoe store
I could go on I am sure. thanks for the memories gals! Lets do it again soon!

Big Red Barn

2011-10-15T14:20:00.000-06:00

We went to the Big Red Barn this week for family night. It was a good time. I especially enjoyed the ice cream. Their pumpkin donuts were all sold out though...bummer. Their apple juice is seriously the best too!

Harvest Moon Hurrah

2011-10-08T17:26:00.003-06:00

We love the old Spanish Fork Harvest Moon Hurrah.

Here's 2010
2009

2007

No Kamrie this year. She decided her friends and swimming sounded more fun. Party pooper...and so it begins her friends are more fun than her family. :(

What's going on at 15 months?

2011-10-06T21:54:00.001-06:00

9-15-11
Weight - 25.15 lbs - 54%tile
Length - 31.1 in - 91%tile
Head circumfrerence - 19.25 - 88%tile

Babies & Marathons

2011-10-03T13:04:00.002-06:00

"Running a marathon is like having a baby."

- Merri K. Hackett

The pregnancy is like the training. It takes a long long time and you are tired everyday. You doubt yourself and ask if you're ready for this. And I don't think you ever feel ready.

The labor is like running the race. You say you're never going to do this again and it hurts so bad. And you ask yourself why in the world did I want to put myself through so much pain?

The delivery is like crossing the finish line and you somehow forget all of the pain and think it was all worth it! And for some strange reason you want to do it all over again.

St George Marathon Pics

2011-10-03T13:01:00.002-06:00

I had a lot of fun this weekend in St. George spending time with my family! They are the best support team a girl could ask for!

My race report is here: http://quitecontrary.fastrunningblog.com/blog-10-01-2011.html

Pictures of my cherub

2011-09-27T21:00:00.002-06:00

The pictures are in and I think her 2nd grade pics are a success! So grown up! Please place your eyes on the right side of the blog to see her 1st grade picture. She must have liked the hair style. I'm just glad she's wearing a different shirt.

The mighty mighty condors!

Hades Lake

2011-09-26T16:04:00.001-06:00

Here are some pics from Wes' latest fishing trip, if you're into that kind of thing. :)

Getting ready for winter

2011-09-26T15:59:00.001-06:00

I'm excited for Emerson to enjoy this winter & the snow. I'm not excited about our Christmas tree though. I don't think it or the ornaments will survive with him around.

Look his left hand is missing....creepy.

Soccer

2011-09-23T22:36:00.002-06:00

I once told Emerson, "you are what you eat."

he replied, "that's strange I haven't eaten any sexy beasts today." :)

Anywhos Kams only has 2 games left of her fall soccer. She has really enjoyed playing soccer and I'm glad! I didn't sign her up for dance this year and she hasn't even asked about it. I hope to keep this sports business a rolling.

Jimmer's in the house

2011-09-23T22:33:00.001-06:00

Well we got to see Jimmer one last time in the Marriot center. It was good to see our old friend Jimmer. :)

Cars had a case of Jimmer Fever. :)

The Grotto

2011-09-20T14:16:00.001-06:00

We hiked the Grotto trail last Sunday afternoon. We love that family friendly hike. We should have probably waited a week or two, then we would have seen the pretty colors on the trees.

Life is Beachy

2011-09-17T23:01:00.002-06:00

Spanish Fork has this fun little reservoir we like to take our kids to. It's got a sandy area for the kids to play and you can fish as well so Wes can play. We love the reservoir except for the one time Wes fell in with his phone in his pocket. Thank you rice for saving the very expensive phone!

One Spanking

2011-09-17T22:55:00.001-06:00

We went to my niece's first birthday party on Friday.

What a cute little birthday princess she was. :)

Emerson loves a good birthday party.
Happy Birthday Sophie!

My scurvy dog

2011-09-12T22:07:00.002-06:00

The kids got some pirate costumes from a birthday party and for some reason Emerson loves the eye patch. He'll cruise around in it all morning. He's a pretty scary looking pirate if you ask me. I am intimidated by his binky.

My Mom's Zucchini Bread Recipe

2011-09-11T08:53:00.003-06:00

I love my mom's zucc bread recipe! Very moist & delicious.

Here's the recipe:
2 C Sugar
2 Cubes butter melted (1 cup)
Mix together and add:
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Mix well
In a separate bowl combine
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Then grate
2 cups zucchini

Add to zucchini & flour into the wet mixture alternating between the two.
Add Nuts, raisins and/or chocolate chips if you want. I never do and it still is yummy.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Panguitch Trip

2011-09-10T21:48:00.001-06:00

My niece Kyan was baptized today. We made the trek to Panguitch to enjoy the day with our family.

Here's the birthday girl herself. I thought it was pretty cool her birthday this year was 9-10-11 and she was baptized on her big day.

Kamrie made instant friends with this girl. I still have no idea who she was...maybe she was a 7 year old party crasher.

3 cute nieces.

And 3 cute nephews.

Even though the drive was long and I thought my hip was broken it's always fun to spend time with my family. Love them so much.

Emerson's Favorites

2011-09-10T08:51:00.010-06:00

My little Emers is growing up too fast! He's 15 months old now and has 4 front teeth & 3 molars. And he is growing 4 more front teeth and another molar as we speak. I am hoping that's why he's been so grumpy lately. Just hurry and get here teeth.

Here are a couple of Emers favorite things: corn on the cob. The boy can eat 3 cobs in one sitting.

And his Daddy is one of his other favorite things. If he has to choose between the two of us, he always prefers Wes. Here they are checking some football.

Emerson also likes to play with and throw balls. He's starting to hit more, but bite less. And he's also into climbing onto the table, but staying out of my cupboards. So I guess it's a give and take with that boy.

Persistence

2011-09-09T08:00:00.004-06:00

A long time ago Wes found this lesson from the Teachings of Heber J. Grant manual. One section we really liked and I thought I would share.

We can accomplish any worthwhile goal if we are persistent.

I believe that we can accomplish any object that we make up our minds to, and no boy or girl ought to sit down and say, because they cannot do as well as somebody else, that they will not do anything. God has given to some people ten talents; to others, he has given one; but they who improve the one talent will live to see the day when they will far outshine those who have ten talents but fail to improve them. 7
Trustworthiness, stick-to-it-iveness, and determination are the qualities that will help you to win the battle of life. 8
I believe unless we have ambition to accomplish things and to do things that we amount to but very little in the battle of life. I know of nothing at the present time that seems to me sadder than to find the number of our people who are losing the spirit of integrity and devotion and ambition to do things. It seems to me all wrong. Every individual should have a desire to grow and increase in capacity and in ability to do things. Certainly by mere exertion of the will, by mere desire, we accomplish nothing. We must put with that desire the labor to accomplish the things we desire. I am sure that a young man who is perfectly satisfied with what he is doing, although he may be doing very little, and has no ambition to do more, will stand still. But I am convinced that every individual can improve from day to day, from year to year, and have greater capacity to do things as the years come and the years go. I believe in that with all my heart. 9
It is by exercise and by practice that we become proficient in any of the vocations or avocations of life, whether it be of a religious or of a secular character. 10
I know of no easy formula to success. Persist, persist, PERSIST; work, work, WORK—is what counts in the battle of life. 11

Some Summer Something

2011-09-08T08:00:00.003-06:00

Here are a few of missed moments on the blog.

This cute little frozen yogurt Menchie is right by Cafe Rio in Orem. I guess my pocket was hot and steamy b/c this picture is quite foggy.

We got to dog sit for a week for our neighbors. Carson was quite proud of the gates we used to lock up the dogs while we weren't there.

Emers is just a trouble maker so I threw this one in there.

The kids went to a fun Circus Birthday party. They had it all I tell you. Popcorn, cotton candy, shaved ice, clowns, juggling & balloon making. I could go on forever. :) This same weekend our AC went out and it was a hot hot weekend at our house. I'm so thankful for air conditioning.

We took the kids to the Spanish Fork dollar movies and watched Winnie the Pooh. It was a cute little ditty. Kams thought she looked like the girl smurf so she posed for me.

And Carson enjoyed the arcade games more than the movie.

I don't know if he's ready for preschool...

2011-09-07T08:00:00.003-06:00

This morning went like this....
Carson it's your first day of preschool lets get a picture.

Ok how about another one w/ your backpack you made...

This time lets not put our fingers in our mouth...

How about just a smile?

Finally he calmed down when we got to school. Good luck to Miss Jana today. :)

Carson & Pictures

2011-09-06T07:34:00.001-06:00

My little bud has this weird habit of hiding his face for pictures. Or maybe it's his signature pose...

Here he's hiding behind our FHE snacks.

Giving me a peace sign at the park.

Showing off his Popsicle. Luckily his treat was low enough to show his face.

I was too fast and got this pic before the hand covered his face again.

weird... :)

2nd Day of 2nd Grade

2011-08-24T13:05:00.002-06:00

Sister Suzy Started School. Check out my cute little 2nd grader.

Friends with Benefits

2011-08-22T13:06:00.001-06:00

The Hoen's invited us & the Bennetts to their cabin in Heber for a last weekend of summer hoorah.

We had a lot of fun! I'm pretty sure I'm going to ask Santa for a cabin for Christmas.

This is the fort the kids cleaned up and played in.

Nintendo DS' and the Ipads are still a big hit in the mountains.

This is Buster. Don't you just love his face. They also brought up a couple of 4-wheelers and we had fun cruising around on those as well. Thanks Hoen fam for the fun!

Lots of Collages

2011-08-19T10:53:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday the kids & I joined my friend Susan for a trip to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point. It wasn't as busy as the last time I went on a Tuesday in August, but it was still very busy. :) Kamrie was a stinker pretty much the whole time...I guess little girls aren't into dinosaurs or what?

That night we went to Provo canyon for one of our niece's birthday party. The river seemed to be running really high. The kids had fun playing in the cool canyon.

And a couple nights ago Wes took the kids fishing at the reservoir in Spanish Fork. We didn't catch anything, but I thought the sunset was super pretty!

Little (miss) America Hotel

2011-08-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I decided since school is starting in one week we better do something fun at least once this summer. So I decided on staying in the Little America Hotel in SLC & shopping! We were a little late getting out the door, but it was super fun. The kids loved swimming until 11 and then swimming again right when they woke up.

Carson's favorite part was having a phone in the bathroom. He kept begging to call his friend Evan from the hotel bathroom. :)

Uinta Trip the Third

2011-08-13T21:54:00.001-06:00

Wes was able to con a few more neighbors into joining he & Dave for their backpacking trip in the Uintas. Sounds like the fellas had a lot of fun. I've just been busy planning my girls trip :)

Chip Chop

2011-08-08T17:19:00.001-06:00

Here's Kamrie's 2nd Grade mane (don't pay attention to her red chlorine filled eyes). We're all excited for her to go back to school. Aug 22nd can't come soon enough. :) Her teacher this year is Mrs. Standifird, I've heard all kinds of good things about her so here's to 2nd grade.

I'm also excited for Carson's preschool. Our favorite teacher Miss Karen is not teaching this year so we had to find someone new. This year Cars will be going to the Red Little School House. It's 3 days a week and pretty close to my house. Now what am I going to do with my time while Cars & Kamrie are gone?

Fiesta Days

2011-07-27T08:40:00.004-06:00

Fiesta Days was a lot of fun this year.

We hit up the carnival on family night and enjoyed plenty of rides for only $1. We got to ride some rides with the Hupps & the Shelleys.

Movie night I think was our favorite. We watched How to Train your Dragon. Before the movie started they played some Justin Bieber and Carson broke out some moves I had never seen before. Actually I take that back I think I have seen those moves once before.

The parade was well...ok...the kids were disappointed that there wasn't any candy. It's no longhorn days parade that's for sure.

We also threw our kiddos in the children's parade Saturday Morning.

Wes & I ran the Speedy Spaniard 10k on Monday morning. We both set PRs and had fun running together.

The celebration would not be complete without a visit to Lani's Snow Shack. My kids love that place, however I really like going to sonic during happy hour and just buying them a slushie. It's half the price for double the sugary ice.

So sad the week of partying is over. Next year I want to hit up the sidewalk sales.

Isn't It About Time

2011-07-19T08:54:00.001-06:00

Spoiled

2011-07-13T14:01:00.000-06:00

For her birthday Kamrie requested a donut for breakfast, a bike & a build a bear. And lucky girl she got all 3. :) We had a small party for her at the splash pad with some of her Hackett cousins in the morning. We had pizza for lunch then headed to Orem for some build a bear and dinner with two of aunties on my side. I think she had a great day!

She's 7

2011-07-13T07:45:00.003-06:00

My Dad was working in the Vernal Temple when Kamrie was born, and they brought me this note for Kam's scrapbook.

Look at her now, all grown up.

Happy Birthday Kamrie!

When I see your face

2011-07-05T21:56:00.002-06:00

I love this little guy!

We had a super busy & fun holiday weekend! My nephew Reece was baptized on Saturday, my neice Leighton was blessed on Sunday, Monday we ran in the 10k race, went swimming & we had a couple other bbq's & get togethers in there as well! I think we did fireworks 4 nights in a row.

Here's Cars man after the water fight at a family BBQ, he's not too pleased.

This boy is obsessed with fireworks.

Let Freedom Run

2011-07-05T09:32:00.006-06:00

Yesterday we ran in the Provo Freedom Run 10k & 5k. It was fun to be there with a lot of family. My little sister ran it too, but I missed her during the photo session.

Swimmy

2011-07-01T13:55:00.000-06:00

Splash Pad

2011-07-01T13:48:00.000-06:00

We love the new splash pad Spanish Fork got a year or so ago. The only thing that would make it better is to have Target, Costco & Home Depot build right by the park like they were supposed to.

Glad I got kid pictures when I did

2011-07-01T13:16:00.000-06:00

because 2 days later this happened.

Love these

2011-06-24T09:23:00.002-06:00

My neighbor Crystal took these pics & I absolutely love every one of them! She's awesome!

Oh boy I'm in trouble with a girl this pretty. :)

My little sweet heart.

Our stud muffin

with 2.5 teeth.

Kid Pictures

2011-06-21T08:10:00.000-06:00

Last night we had our friends take pictures of our kids for us. I am super excited to see how they turned out. These are some snap shops I took with my cheapo camera.

because everything looks better with a tan

2011-06-20T14:06:00.005-06:00

Before:

After:

Who needs a new car when you can just tint the windows and your kids think it's a new car? Thank you Tint Pro.

Speaking of cars & old times we should stroll down car memory lane.
My first car was a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Then I met Wes. He won me over with his first truck.

When I got in a car wreck totalling my eclipse we naturally went for a family car the Dodge Stratus.

When we moved to Spanish Fork we sold our stratus and bought a fence. :) We then bought our favorite car.

We realized that car wasn't for us so we sold it and bought the sonata.

When Wes' truck broke down we bought a commuter car for him, a hyundai accent.

What will the next car be? Maybe this. It would fit us all.

And I'm not picky, I would probably settle for this as well.

This old man

2011-06-20T13:59:00.000-06:00

he played 10.

Happy Fathers Day to my old man. I'm not even in this picture, but look how good my mom & dad look. :)

And to Wes' old man.

and I can't forget my favorite old man.

Fathers are the best. :)

Saturday is a special day

2011-06-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

Wes will be finished with his masters degree this Saturday!!! I can't wait until Saturday morning at 11am! We are so proud & excited for him. For the last two years he's spent almost every Friday night (6-10pm) and almost every Saturday morning (8-12pm) in class. The amazing part is that he kept his 40+ hour a week job, juggled 3 kids, a demanding wife and held a somewhat time consuming calling all through out the program. He's such a hard worker and only did homework after the kids had gone to bed to make sure I had the breaks I needed. That meant a lot of late late nights studying and doing homework for him, but he never complained! Congratulations Wes, we love you so much!

Golden Spoon

2011-06-12T22:03:00.002-06:00

Kamrie & I had a mommy/daughter date yesterday and I took her to the Golden Spoon.

Loved it! We got a small and got to choose 3 different yogurt flavors.

It's yogurt that tastes like ice cream.

It's located in Orem next to Harmons on 8th north. Tell them I sent you.

We also went to visit my brother at Hyundai of Lindon. Kamrie is a salesman's dream! My brother had her sold on the first car he showed us.

She likes it for the same reason's as I do. Sunroof, DVD player, 3rd row seating & we can add leather. ahhh now just to convince Wes...

Look what happens in 9 years

2011-06-09T12:12:00.003-06:00

Then, so young.

Now, wrinkled and old.

A little late, but better than never. :) Wes & I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary a week ago. It was a fun day. Wes took the day off, we got a babysitter, went shopping, ate lunch & then enjoyed an afternoon at 7 peaks. Ahhh days without kids are absolutely the best. I need more of those days. :)

Happy 9th to my handsome husband! I probably don't deserve him, but that's too bad he has me for FOREVER! :)

Take a look it's in a book

2011-06-06T09:22:00.000-06:00

Saturday we went to BYU for a book fair of sorts.

We enjoyed face painting.

balloon swords & poodles.

We also had fun at the bean bag tosses, book walk & fish pond.

And Smitty was just tired.

Dance Pics

2011-05-31T11:37:00.002-06:00

Emerson's Chore

2011-05-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

We like to teach our kids the value of hard work at an early age. Emerson's job is to empty the dishwasher...

he does it EVERY single day, multiple times a day. Such a naughty smatty.

Party Time

2011-05-25T22:21:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated Emerson's birthday with some family. We went to a really pretty & fun park in Provo. And we had some really big, but friendly dog join us as well. What can I say we attract stray animals. Then our party got crashed by what I am guessing was some kid's sweet 16 party. :) I felt like I was clubbing with some high schoolers. :)

Kamrie's Dance Recital

2011-05-25T09:27:00.000-06:00

Last night was Kamrie's Dance recital. She was in Jazz this year and danced to a song called The Ice Cream Freeze. Super cute dancers last night!

And here's her soccer picture because I just got it. :)

It wasn't with the team picture like it was suppose to be so they mailed it separate.

Happy Birthday Emerson

2011-05-24T07:35:00.002-06:00

He was once such a little twirp.

Now he's into my pots and pans.

He thinks he's funny.

He jumps on the trampoline.

He climbs my stairs.

He's driving cars.

And he hangs out at the snow shack.

We sure love our little one year old!

The difference a year will make

2011-05-23T10:36:00.000-06:00

This was almost exactly one year ago today. Stay tuned for tomorrows edition.

My newest niece

2011-05-22T08:02:00.000-06:00

This is my little baby niece LC. She is the sweetest, cutest most cuddly baby ever! Pretty sure she told me I was her favorite auntie as well.

Yesterday we did a "Walk with Angels" fundraiser with her & her family and it was a lot of fun. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Kamrie had a birthday party to go to.

Carson was loving the Star Wars characters.

In one year my mom had 5 grand babies born! That's really crazy to me. Speaking of one year....

someone will be getting one spanking on Tuesday.

Hackett Happenings

2011-05-21T08:14:00.000-06:00

What's been happening you ask?

Spring soccer ended. Kamrie absolutely loved it and was very sad to have it end.

We had fun at the school fundraiser/walk a thon.

The best day of the kids life was last Friday when Wes surprised them with a sand box.

And last but not least...this cat decided to make our house his home. Unfortunately I don't want a cat. He's a very friendly cute little guy though! SOOOO if you want a kitty cat he's yours. I almost took him to the animal shelter on Friday and well we had a Charlotte's Web moment. You know when Fern finds out her Dad is going to kill the runt of the pig litter? Yes I think you do. :)