Tinkerbell and Bowling

Just a quick update about Lydia's birthday party. Her theme this year was tinkerbell--kind of odd considering she only invited boys. But, we didn't do much with the theme, since she wanted to go bowling. She invited three boys and only one was able to come. Her own sister bailed on her and went to a friend's party that was at the same time. Lydia was okay with it all though, she still had a good time bowling with Jake. We had some pizza at our house first, and then went bowling. We ate the tinkerbell cake in between games and then went home. Later that day we surprised Lydia by going to Toys R Us and letting her pick out a bike for her present. She's still riding the little Strawberry shortcake bike that Maggie got when she was four. She didn't want to get one at first because it didn't have training wheels. But, we got it anyways and told her she could ride the old one until she learned how to ride the new one. It's a cute bike, though.

Here are some pictures:

Twilight come and gone...now what?

I made it to the midnight showing of Twilight last night and was glad I did it, even though I haven't been to a midnight movie since college. At first, long ago when my friend Robyn asked if I was going to go the the midnight showing, I was all over it. No questions asked. Then, this week I wasn't getting much sleep and I was really questioning if I could make it through a midnight showing. Garrett took me to the movie for my birthday and we saw a 9:30 showing and when that ended at 11:30, I was exhausted. I know that's weak, but I am 33 now, so I'm not a spring chicken anymore. But, last night I decided to try and take a nap before I went. It took me awhile to get to sleep, but I think I slept an hour and then headed over at 11 with some friends. It was fun being there with all the hype and excitement, so I'm glad I went. Thanks to Robyn and her neighbors for saving us seats!! There were a lot of people there, like I expected and there were all ages there, too. Mostly young teenagers, but we saw some older ladies, too. Plus there were some guys/men. I didn't even think to bring my camera, but my friends Kate and Robyn got some pictures, so you can see their pictures on their blogs.

I really liked the movie. I knew it was never going to live up to the book and the characters in my mind, but it was still fun. For being a "lower" budget movie, I thought they did a really good job. I think the casting could have been better. Some of the actors they hired could not act worth a darn--specifically Jasper and Alice. I really liked Charlie, Emmett, James and Victoria--they were probably the best actors in my mind. Even Edward had a few moments where I was wondering if he was the best actor. But then some other scenes I thought that he was Edward spot on. But I did like the chemistry between Edward and Bella. They were a good match. In a lot of scenes they seemed really tense and nervous in the movie, almost like they were trying too hard to fit into character. I think they needed to lighten up a little bit. There weren't enough casual and playful scenes with Edward and Bella, to my liking. When they did have scenes like that where they actually smiled and laughed, I think that made the whole movie. I liked the scenes from prom, especially when she wanted him to turn her into a vampire. I thought that was great.

I'd love to hear what other people thought of the movie...so either comment on mine or I'll be checking your blogs. :)

So, now what do we obsess over? I think I'll read Twilight again, while the movie is fresh in my mind so that I can make comparisons. I'm not ready to give Edward and Bella up yet. I'm up for seeing the movie again sometime...maybe Garrett will go with me this time!?

And...thanks to my wonderful husband for supporting my craziness and helping me get the kids off to school today!!

Happy Birthday Lydia!

Lydia was born six years ago today and gave us quite a scare. My water broke on midnight of the18th/19th and so we went into the hospital and got checked in. I remember being really scared for some reason, although I didn't know why. I had Garrett give me a blessing before we went to the hospital. I don't think we got settled in to sleep until about three or four am. I think we may have dozed a little here and there, but there wasn't a lot of sleeping going on. Every time I had a contraction (only small ones that weren't really painful), her heart rate kept going down. I was watching this and called the nurse in to make sure she knew about it, and sure enough they were watching it. They called my doctor in (Dr. Robinson) at about 5 am to monitor us and check things out. He stayed in the room with me and watched the contractions (still small and hardly noticable) and heart rate for about an hour. He went out to talk to the nurses, and just a couple of minutes later, they all rushed back in, made me flip over on my hands and knees and gave me oxygen. I guess her heart rate dropped really low. At 6:10, Dr. Robinson came back in and said that a c-section was necessary at this point because Lyd's heart rate was dangerously low. So they prepped me for surgery. At 7:07 they made the first incision and at 7:12 am, she was born. Her umbillical cord was wrapped around her neck a couple of times, which caused the low heart rate. Thank heavens my water broke when it did, otherwise we might never had known about the cord. I know for a fact that Heavenly Father was watching out for Lydia!


Things I love about Lydia:
1. Her smile--it is beautiful; I also love her laugh--it is cute and contagious.

2. Her strong personality--she knows what she wants and she is determined to get it. (Although that can be bad at times, too)

3. She has a sensitive side. She cries in movies that you wouldn't think to cry in. Like High School Musical 2 when Gabriella quits her job and she's singing to Troy about going her own way. She cries because she can tell that they are sad and that makes her sad.

4. She faces her fears. She is really afraid of dogs. She loves them from a distance, but when they come up to her, she really freaks out. Her friend Blake has a dog that she was deathly afraid of when she first saw her. She can now be in the same room with Lexie (the dog) and even tries to pet her. You can still see the fear, but she's facing it.

5. She has her own style. She wears what she wants to wear no matter what anyone else says. If she wants to wear her pink and black cowgirl boots with yellow floral capris and a blue striped shirt, then that's what she's going to wear.

6. She is always up for an adventure. She loves to go camping and being outside. She loves going on bikerides and walks. She likes to ride along with Garrett in his truck and go to the "daddy store" (home depot).

7. She can be silly. She acts silly quite a bit, and its fun to watch. She likes to dance, but sometimes gets shy and doesn't want me to watch. But when I sneak a peek, it's very cute and she really is a good dancer, even when it is silly dancing.

8. She is an artist! During her last year of preschool, her artistic ability really exploded. Everyday she would come home with a picture she drew that was so cute and drawn really well for a five year old. I've been meaning to put some in frames, but that's a different story.

9. She is a hard worker and very smart. Every Monday when she gets her homework packet, she sits down and works on it right away and gets it finished it one sitting. She is learning to read right now and knows some sight words, so she is very excited to point out the words she knows in books we are reading.

10. She loves other people, despite differences. There is a boy that was in her preschool that has down syndrome (I think). She used to call him "hitting Logan", because he used to hit her sometimes. She didn't know that he was different in any way, only that he hit her. Today he is in her class at school and they are good friends. They ride the bus together and she tells me that she helps him on the bus. When he's standing, she helps him sit down and if he's talking in class, she'll remind him that they're supposed to listen. She goes to play at his house a couple of days a week and they have become good friends.

11. Lydia is 100% Lydia and doesn't try to be anything else. At times, she is stubborn and she can be a bully. She is probably my most difficult child and tries my patience like no other. But she is my Lydia and I love her more than anything.

Lydia in the hospital--one day old

One year old


Two years

Three years

Four years

Five years


Six years old--taken today!

Happy Birthday Lydia!! We love you!!

Boyfriend and Girlfriend

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile now because it's just so funny. It's about time I got around to it, I guess.

Lydia met this little boy in her kindergarten class, named Jake. It turns out that he lives in our neighborhood and he rides the bus with her. He actually gets on at the same stop. So a couple of months ago, they started talking and have become friends. They actually sit by each other on the bus on most days. Well, one day about a month ago, she got off the bus and came running towards me all excited. She said, "Guess what mom" and I said "what?" And she said, "I kissed Jake three times." My first thought was WHERE? So, I asked her and she said "on the cheek, on the bus ride home." She said that Jake had kissed her first on the cheek and so she kissed him back. So, I'm thinking, "Oh boy, the teenage years are starting early!!" So, we had a little talk about how it's not okay to be kissing yet; that we only kiss when we are mommys and daddys. I also explained to her Garrett's rule about kissing. His rule is, that if any boy wants to kiss any of our girls, then that boy has to come and kiss Garrett first. He always tells them this rule in a very serious voice, so that they know he's not joking; but they always giggle anyway. Who wouldn't?

So, since that little incident Maggie has had a field day with teasing Lydia about her "boyfriend". Lydia tries to explain to Maggie that he's just a friend that is a boy (as we tell her), but Maggie just likes to cause trouble. Lydia really likes Jake though and they draw each other cute little pictures with hearts on them. Here's a picture that she drew of her and Jake--isn't it cute?

I've talked with Jake's mom about this and she tells me the same thing--that Jake really likes Lydia and he calls her his girlfriend. It really is very cute to see two little kids like each other so much. It's just so innocent to them--I guess they don't really know how else to express their fondness for the other person. They probably hear the terms, 'boyfriend and girlfriend' so often and so casually, that that's what they think they're supposed to say. His mom also told me that some of his other friends were wanting Jake to sit by them on the bus and when he tried to sit by one of them, that Lydia got mad at Jake. I remember that day because she got off the bus crying and upset and said that Jake didn't want to sit by her anymore. I tried to explain to her that he has other friends and just needs to take turns. I think she understands now, but oh boy, the drama!!

A few days before Halloween we were having our family Halloween party. The day of the party, Lydia got off the bus and asked if Jake could come to our party. When I told her no, that it was just for our family, she became extremely upset and couldn't understand why he couldn't come. After explaining it to her numerous times, she was still upset and refused to come inside. No matter what I tried, she would not come in for at least 20 minutes. It was even pretty cold outside that day, but she was not about to cave in. (She gets her stubbornness from Garrett and myself so she's got a good dose of it!) Finally, somehow I got her to come inside, but she was still really upset for the most part of the day.

One last thing. On Halloween night, I was handing out candy and Garrett was about ready to take the girls out trick-or-treating. Jake and his sister came up to the door and the first thing he said when I opened the door was, not "Trick-or-Treat", but "I'm Lydia's boyfriend, Jake!" It was the funniest thing ever! Kids are so funny!!

Lydia's birthday party is this Saturday and of course, Jake is invited, along with two other little boys. She's not boy crazy yet, she just doesn't have a lot of girls her age. So, I'll have to take a picture of Jake and post it.

Maggie also had a crush on a boy in kindergarten. His name was Marco. He wasn't as interested in her though. She called him her boyfriend, without him knowing. She's liked a different boy in each year of school. I sure am looking forward to the teenage years--with four girls! Did anyone hear the sarcasm in that statement--because it was full of it!! Ha ha!!

November 13, 1975

So, this is me when I was a baby. It says on the back of the picture that I was 2 months old, but I don't think I was sitting at 2 months, so I don't think thats right. Today is my birthday, so I thought I'd do a little post with some old pictures, just for fun. I was born on November 13th at 10:39 am. So, I'm officially 33 years old today.

This is a picture of my parents when I was six weeks old. My parents look so young--they both look great! I want to say that my mom was around 28 I think and my dad is a year younger than she is. Just a quick thank you to my wonderful parents for bringing me into this world and for being supportive and loving and a lot of fun! I love you guys!

This is a recent picture of my mom and dad. Still a good looking couple and still very much in love. What great examples they are!!


This is a picture of me when I was a year old. I'm not sure that I can see any of my kids features when I look at this picture, maybe some of you can. It's hard for me to tell. Anyways, I thought these pictures would be fun to look at.

Anyways, thanks for all the emails, calls and birthday wishes from everyone. I'm so grateful for each one of you in my life. You all make my life so joyful and wonderful--my life would not be complete with out all of my wonderful family and my great friends! Here's to another great year!

13 More Days!!

I went and got a ticket to the midnight showing of Twilight on Tuesday. I am so excited to go and see it! A bunch of us from the ward are going to go see it opening night. It will be so much fun! I haven't been to a midnight movie since college, so hopefully I won't be too tired. I guess I'll have to take a nap before I go. :)

On a side note, I listened to a few seconds each of the songs on the Twilight Soundtrack on itunes. I was really excited to hear Bella's lullabye, which I liked (from what I heard) and I was also excited to hear Rob Pattinson's songs. But, from the 30 seconds that I heard them, I was not impressed with his voice. Has anyone else heard them? What do you guys think? Maybe if I hear the whole song, I'd like it more. Just curious....

Does anybody REALLY like peas?

I've been trying to feed Bella peas for about a week now and each time I give them to her, she gags and spits it out. Today, I got it on video because I thought it was funny.

This other video is of Maggie making Bella laugh by blowing raspberries and jumping up and down. Gotta do strange things to make this girl laugh. She really does love Maggie, though.


Since this is all about Bella, she just went to the doctor this week for her 6 month check-up (can't believe she is 6 months!) and she weighs 18 lbs. 7 oz. which is 75th percentile. Just to show you how she compares with my other girls; at 6 months Maggie weighed 17 lbs. 13 oz.; Lydia weighed 19 lbs. 2 oz. and Paige weighed 16 lbs. 1 oz. So, she's not doing too shabby. Despite all her spitting up, she's retaining quite a bit and using it for good. She sure is a cutie, if I do say so, myself. :)

Trick-Or-Treat

The girls had a great Halloween. Lydia went trick-or-treating the whole time and didn't come back scared!! Last year she wouldn't even go because she was so afraid of the scary masks. I don't blame her, there are some pretty scary ones out there!

This is what our girls dressed up as this year:

Maggie was a veterinarian

Lydia was a witch (just like last year)

Paige was a 50's girl, or as she liked to call it, a Poodle Princess. Maggie wore this when she was two years old.

and Bella was a bumblebee for about 5 minutes before we put her to bed. Maggie wore this costume when she was 6 months old. It was pretty tight on Bella though.

Garrett took the girls around the neighborhood while I handed out candy. This was the first year that we have split up. Usually we both go out trick or treating and hand out candy before and after we get back. I missed going out in the neighborhood and seeing all the costumes. I guess I got to see them when they came to my door, but I think it's funner to be out walking around. Maybe we'll switch next year.

We have a really happening neighborhood when it comes to trick-or-treating. Last year I ran out of candy after only like 30 minutes of trick or treaters. It was our first year in this neighborhood. This year, I got a lot more candy, but still ran out after about an hour and a half. We have a ton of trick-or-treaters, which is really fun. But Garrett and I were sad that we didn't have any left over candy. Oh well, we can always sneak into the kids buckets after they are in bed! Shhhh....don't let them know! :)

8th Annual McKibben Halloween Party

On Wednesday night was our family Halloween Party. We used to have these parties when I was growing up and so I decided to continue the tradition with my family. I did it for a few years before we had kids and we just invited friends, but they never quite got into it like we did. Everyone has to wear a costume, so a lot of people didn't like doing that. So, I started doing them again when Maggie was 3 years old. This is my 8th year doing it. It's a lot of fun. Some years I go more out than others. Depends on what's going on in life then. The funnest part for me is planning the menu for dinner. We always start by having a "mystery dinner" where everyone is given a menu with food items and you have to put the food in order of how you want it to come. But, the names of the food are disquised with Halloween names. Here was the menu this year:

I'm not sure if everone can read that or not, but the menu choices are:






spider eggs
pumpkin slime
boo bugs
bug catching potion
eyes of newt and toe of frog
skeleton head

I tried to take a picture of all the food, but the pictures didn't turn out very well. So, bear with me. :)
The spider eggs were:
corn















The pumpkin slime was:
(orange sherbet icecream with sprite)

















The boo bugs were:

hot dogs wrapped in breadsticks with chow mein noodles for legs and ketchup eyes and spots.






bug catching potion:





Ranch dressing with ketchup swirls.






Eyes of newt and toe of frog:





Fruit kabobs









And skeleton heads were:





Cupcakes. So fun!









After the dinner, then we get to play games. This year we played some new ones, but they didn't turn out to be as fun as I thought they'd be. We first did a Halloween story like Mad libs. They had fun listing the names and objects, but when I put them in the story, they didn't think it was so funny. Except for the part that had boogers in it. Go figure.

Then we played a game called Trick-or-Treat where they'd pick a cauldron card and if it had treat written on it, they automatically got a treat. If they picked one with trick on it, then they had to do whatever the card said, like "cackle like a witch" or walk like "Frankenstein". That one was just okay, too.

The third one was Halloween pictionary--they liked that one. And then the last ones were relay races where they had to carry eyeballs on a spoon and walk across the room with out dropping it. And then they were ghost waiters and had to balance a ghost (balloon) on a paper plate and walk across the room. Cute Paige was cruisin along because she had her hand holding the balloon. She got mad when I told her not to do that and she didn't want to play anymore. The other relay was a spider walk where they'd crab walk (we called it spider walk) down the hall way and back. It didn't last very long--you can see it when you see the video at the bottom of the post.

The last one was a candy corn drop where they drop candy corns into a jar while standing on a chair. We've done that one before and they usually like that one, too.

It's hard having it on a school night because we feel like we have to hurry in order to get them in bed on time and have to rush. Other than that, we have a fun time and the girls really look forward to their party. I didn't have a lot of time to plan for it this year because I was gone for a week, but hopefully we'll have funner games next year.

Pumpkin Carving

For family home evening this past week, we finally got around to carving our pumpkins. We only got four this year, one for each of the kids. We normally get one for each of us, but by the time we've finished carving their pumpkins we're "carved" out. It was fun though and Maggie carved part of hers and Lydia carved most of hers, too. Way to go girls! Here's how they turned out:

This one is hard to see. I think we need bigger candles next year.

Here are a few shots of our house and it's decorations.