The BIG 10!

Today, Tate is 10! I can't believe 10 years has gone by...Tate is such a special person.. I love these things about him

1.He loves to have fun....loves it!

2.He is a super spiritual being..

3.Tate is one of the most compassionate people out there.

4.He's a great brother.

5.He tries really, really hard to make others happy :)

6.He's a good dancer but would NEVER dance in front of anyone.

7.Family is the most important thing to Tate.

8.He loves to tell bad jokes..

9.Although hard at times, he is a very sensitive person.

10. He's MY son!

Oregon

Rick and I took an 11th anniversary trip to Oregon in October. One word describes this place...GREEN...and I loved it. Everything was so beautiful. Our plan is to move here in a couple of years..

We covered a lot of ground during this trip, sight seeing, resting, talking, laughing and doing what ever we wanted, when ever we wanted.. it was so great!

We plan on taking the kids back in the spring to show them all of our favorite spots..

Fav 5

This yummy, refreshing tea is soo good!

Can anyone not love peaches?

Makes a quick and tasty dinner.. we all love them

My new favorite salad dressing..yum-Briannas Poppyseed dressing..

Heavenly..and made with sugar.. no corn syrup..



These are my favorite foods right now...

Summer time!

So I haven't posted forever because our router broke and I couldn't access my photos..We are finally back in business..and summer break is almost over.

Here are some pics of our summer adventures.. we went to Mission Beach for a week in June with my mom, brother and sister.. fun times.

Family Favorite

This is one of our favorite breakfasts.. quick, easy and sooo good!

1 Egg-scrambled or cooked overeasy

1 piece whole wheat toast

1 tablespoon homemade strawberry jam

Cook egg, salt and pepper..Toast the bread, spread jam on toast and top with the egg..

My Favorite Face Product

I stumbled apon this at Sprouts last week. I LOVE Alba products anyway, but this takes the cake! It is a Pinapple Enzyme mask. It has a gel consistency and smells sooo yummy!

What's the Deal?

What is the deal? Swimsuit season is right around the corner.. We are going on vacation June 5th.. I have been running 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes-1 hour, doing Zumba 2 times a week and skipping dessert. I have also been mindful of what I am putting in my body... for 4 weeks now...Weight loss=1lb...WTFreak...

If anyone has any suggestions.. I am open to them..my goal is to drop 15..

Yum....

A friend turned me on to these...I've never been a big chocolate fan but I have been converted! They are completely organic and %100 natural.. Love these, especially the toffee ones!

Easter and other stuff...

Never too old to hunt for eggs!

My Mom!<3 her!!

We made these in lieu of eggs this year...much easier!

We had a great Easter Sunday... a brunch at the park with our families....sadly missing were my nieces and nephews...:( I knew I would miss them but WOW, I really miss them...

Our computer has a running slide show of photos..%75 of them have a least one niece or nephew in them.. We sure did a lot with those kids... and we feel thier absence..

Running and Screaming...

I have been wrestling with my feelings lately..I must have an extremly long and painful bout of PMS or something...I have been a grouch and a half to my family.. feeling grouchy toward myself as well..
1. I have a extreme case of the terrible 2's going on..hitting, scratching and screaming seem to happen at hourly intervals around here this last week. Time out has become a popular place to visit..then make up hugs and "i"m sorries" from one moody two year old, only to happen all to soon a little while later. Noone knows what will set him off.. I for one am tired of this and ready for this phase to be over with!
2. Teenage attitude..need I say more?
3. 9 year old attitude.. I am so tired of arguing about nothing...
4. My husband is great..don't get me wrong.. But i am tired of his lateness and complete lack of urgency!
5. CANCER-can't seem to get it off my mind.. everytime I turn around i hear about someone else that "has cancer".. seriously? What the hell is going on here? This sounds really ridiculous but I am scared to death, scared of cancer, getting it, dealing with it. I hate that my mom is going thru this.

Today I reached my breaking point for no apparent reason.. I was being extra bitchy to my family and realized I just needed to go run.. And run I did. I took the back loop, about 4.5 miles around Red Mountain.. I started out walking and the more I thought about cancer, the faster I walked, then jogged..by the time I reached the very back of the neighborhood I was at an all out sprint. I ran, cried, sweated so hard-screaming and crying, looking like a crazy person. Tears streaming down my face, until I had to stop because, although I don't have asthma, I felt like i was having an asthma attack. I couldn't catch my breath so I stood there and sobbed like a baby for a few minutes.. I jogged, then walked back home feeling completely loose.. I had so much pent up anger/fear inside of me that I had to let it out..
I guess I need to do this more often because I feel 10 pounds lighter.. if only that were the case..lol

Today..

Today I am thankful for ZUMBA! I met a couple friends to try this class this morning at 8:30..How fun! Fast paced, salsa, rumba, latin dancing.. 1 full hour of non stop dancing..

It was a great workout.I left feeling totally energized and will definately do this again.

Day Trip

Beautiful Arizona

Thoughts....

I have been feeling a lot of ups and downs lately.. Watching my mom go through cancer again has made me feel a lot of things.. Anger, why did this happen to MY mom, MY family?
Sadness, how can we get through this when the odds are stacked against us? Scared, how will I ever get along without my dear mom?
Optimistic, the doctors are doing everything she can and she feels ok right now.

My mom and I were having a discussion about how people can dissapoint us sometimes and that it is better not to have expectations from people because that is when they let you down. My mom made this statement "I know I have disappointed you and let you down at times". I didn't think about it too much til I got off the phone with her.. WOW.. I am really sorry she feels that way. I don't!

My mom is one of the strongest people I know, and she doesn't see herself like that.
She single handedly raised 3 kids to be contributing members of society. We are all happy people and she is responsible for that.
Sure, there were tough times for all of us but she did an amazing job!

I guess I have been thinking about my life and how fragile people are. As a child I never thought anything would ever happen to my mom.. here we are..dealing with it. We are strong and united though.. I love my mom, strong and beautiful!

Model Mania..

So Ricks cousin and her husband are professional models. They stopped in for a visit again this last weekend. We had a blast eating, playing dice, musical chairs and eating again.. Once again, they were good sports and let the girls dress them up for a "runway" show.

Presenting Jon and Stephanie Passavant:

After their stylist team were finished with them:Kalvyn, Jordyn and Madison Davis

Stephie at work on a regular day:

Jon at work on a regular day:

Thanks for a good time guys!

Rare Music Review

I Rarely review music, let alone buy it. I like music just fine but it's a rare occasion that I actually spend money on it. The last cd I bought was Amy Winehouse. I liked the raw edge to her voice and the bluesy tone to the music.

Well I found a soundtrack that I acutally fell in love with. My mom wanted the movie "Away We Go" for Christmas. We watched it together, very cute and quirky..but I absolutely loved the music. I jumped on Amazon and got it this week. The main artist is Alexi Murdoch. I love his acoustic guitar and lovely lyrics. There is a song by Velvet Underground and George Harrison too. I love the songs and they really touched my heart. I have been listening to them all weekend. I give this 2 thumbs up!

Here's Where We Want To Be Someday

This is totally crazy and some people may not believe it, but Rick and I made a long term goal for ourselves. We want to move to Oregon in couple of years.

I have NEVER even considered moving before a month ago.. NEVER.. I do like it here and never let my mind wander to the possibility of something else. A month ago or so, I woke up and had this strong urge to make a change. I thought about it and we talked about it and it feels right for us. There are so many great things about Oregon that we have been researching.

Pro's

1.Greenery

2.High 80's, low 40's

3. They have more farmers markets than fast food stops

4.Educations system is better, they spend a lot more per child than az

5.hiking and biking spots galore

6.20 minutes from the beach,,yes, 20 mintues

7.Green enviornment

8.peaceful feeling when I think about this change (i don't usually like change and avoid it at all costs.)

9.Rick would have no problem finding a job, lot's of good hospitals

10.I don't have to pump my own gas(they have a law that gas attendant has to pump gas, just a small pro, I hate pumping gas)

11.Mnt Ranier and Mnt. Hood are very close

Cons

1. farther from our familes(1.5 hour plane ride)

2.rains more(can't decide if this is a con or a pro)

3.slower lifestyle(i like the fast lane)

4.higher housing prices

Anyway.. We this will be a process and we aren't in a rush. I mentioned this to Tate and he said He's not going anywhere, We'll see!

We are going to make a trip sometime this year (allegiant air, $59 each way)to scope out some neighborhoods..

 

We had a great time at Disneyland! 14 hours of walking and no one even noticed until the walk home.. Can't wait to go back in about 5 years..

This is a clip of my daily life...seriously!

Blue Eyes

Blake got into the markers today and put on his blue eyes.....

Snow!!

So we went up North to Payson and I forgot my camera... I am so bummed! It snowed this morning and was a chilly 36 degrees. Last night we played cops and robbers in the dark..I learned that Blake can hide with the best of them. I was the last to be found almost everytime and I had Blake hiding with me.

This morning we woke up to it sprinkling which then turned to snow. Tate had a blast trying to build a snowman out of very little snow.. Kalvyn had a blast complaining about how cold it was. Just kidding, she loved it too.

Fighting

I am so sick of my 2 boys fighting today... I wonder if I should just get some of these and let them go at it?

I've Been A Bad Blogger, A Really Bad Blogger!

Life around the Davis house has been a little crazy the last couple of months and I have not been motivated to blog. I got a work at home job with GE Financial and did 3 weeks of full time training on site. It pretty much sucked being away from home all that time. I realized that I have gone from being someone who loves to be out running around, to being quite the homebody.

Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed and we had a great holiday season. Stressful, but great nonetheless. We celebrated New Years with my family, bbq and fondue!

Happy 2010! I am looking forward to basketball with Tate, dance with Kalvyn, date nights with Rick and a little extra $ from GE. I have decided against resolutions this year. I am still working on some from last year and quite frankly, I don't need any extra pressure.

Other highlights from the last 2 months:
Tate turned 9 and got his wolf badge, he is now a bear.
Kalvyn had her Christmas dance recital.
Blake is talking my ear off night and day.
Better health insurance (can I get an amen from the congregation)
Working part time from home

I do promise to keep this updated!
Here are a few pics:











Halloween 2009

Blake being shy for santa

We got Disneyland tickets

My sisinlaw Shelley

Blake is too cool