Best Night of My Life!

Well for those of you who know me well I am a huge Neil Diamond fan! He came in concert to SLC on my birthday December 19. I really wanted to go but we didn't buy tickets. Well about two weeks before my birthday my dad sent me and email that said Happy Birthday JanaRae ~ Sorry Mark! Then there was a link to print two tickets to the concert. We had row 7 seats 5 and 6. I don't know how my dad did it. It was AMAZING! We kept walking down lower and lower. I was in total shock as we got to guards at the floor. We showed them our tickets. WE then got a wrist band and escorted to our seats. WOW! It was first class. AS soon as we sat down two ladies who were sitting more center stage asked if we would trade them seats. HECK YES WE WOULD! Our seats were next to one of the lady's son. There were also two half rows on the side. So we really only had 5 rows infront of us. In this picture you can see that there really aren't that many people in front :) Keep in mind we had no zoom on the i phone camera so this is really how close we were. I know I am still in shock!
So my first words as Neil walked out on stage were "He is so old." However he's still got it! I really thought since the concert was so close to Christmas he would be singing a few Christmas songs but those were not his picks of the night. He sang Lots of songs from the "Hot August Night" CD. He sang a lot of old songs such as Brooklyn Roads, Shilo, I'm a Believer, Sweet Caroline, Forever in Blue Jeans (I swear he looked at me during this song, I was the first one out of my seat as soon as I heard the music), Coming to America, You don't bring me Flowers, Craclklin' Rosie and much more. It was fabulous! Mark is not much of a dancer at concerts. He watches a concert just like he would watch a movie. I was so greatful to the lady sitting next to me who would dance. We sure had fun together. Mark was a good sport and stood up everytime I did. We were not allowed to bring cameras in. However Mark's phone has a camers so this is the best we could get. Thanks so much Dad for making my birthday the best one ever!

Breakfast With Santa

Mark has been working really long hours for the past two weeks. He had his finals week and then a crazy work week. He told me he was going to work today (Saturday) and I thought I would plan a fun filled day for me and the boys. We started off with breakfast with Santa. Due to the snow we didn't get much further than that. I wanted to go up to Gardner Village where they let the kids make ginger bread house for free (at least that is what I read on the Internet) and then the Salt Lake Library was doing The Grinch Stole Christmas. The snow was pretty bad north of the point of the mountain. So after breakfast with Santa and an hour in the kiddy land, for Ethan and Jake, we came home.

So this is the first Santa that I have taken my kids to this year that was in the traditional Santa suit. The rest have all been in his workshop outfit LAME!

Here's Ryan enjoying some chocolate milk.

Ethan and Jake more interested in the movie than their breakfast.

Celebrations

Last night we had a combined birthday party for Dan, my brother-in-law, Noelle, my sister-in-law and me. It was a lot of fun. It happened to be December 7. This date is not significant in my family because of Pearl Harbor. It is the day my parents got engaged 33 years ago! My mom and dad went to a fireside and then back to some one's house to have banana splits. My dad put the ring in the cherry. They have celebrated this day every year since by making banana splits. We loved this day as kids. The rule was you could make your banana split as big as you wanted and you didn't have to finish it you didn't have to. My parents have been a little disappointed that I haven't celebrated this family holiday since I have moved out. When Noelle suggested having a combined birthday party I could keep from suggesting banana splits. They were yummy. Happy Birthday to Dan and Noelle and Congrats to My mom and Dad. I love you!

Cool Ethan

Yesterday Ethan asked me to take a picture of him. He totally chose this pose all by himself. He told me he was cool. I thought it was pretty cute. Also I was told that our primary chorister asked Ethan to come up and help lead the song Follow the Prophet. He wouldn't sing the song until everyone had stopped. He really enjoys being the star of the show.

Last weeks addiction

Where have I been for the past nine days? Stuck in the Twilight Books. My friend Titia let me borrow the first book and on Saturday the 1st I read about 3 chapters. Then I finished it on Monday. Then on Tuesday night I borrowed book 2 New Moon. No, I didn't sleep that night. I think I finished the entire book by Wednesday. I thought this was getting a little out of control. So I took a break for the rest of the Day Wednesday and then on Thursday I bought book 3 Eclipse.

I read that on all night as well and during Ryan's long nap on Friday. I finished it Friday afternoon. So I went and bought book 4 Breaking Dawn that same day. Mark was going to Nerd night (playing video games with his buddies until all hour so the night) so I started reading Breaking Dawn.

I read a lot on Saturday and Mark let me read all day Sunday and I finished Sunday night. My life can now go back to normal. I told Mark that the Twilight books were my drug of choice. I think it became a little bit of an unhealthy addiction. But now that I have finished those I can go back and hopefully reread (a little more slowly) for enjoyment instead of the out of control obsession.

Halloween at the Hemingways

Here are Ethan and Jake on Halloween night. They were so excited to go trick or treating. It was such a nice night (For Utah). It was nice to not have to put on coats! Mark took them out for a while and then we went over to my aunts house. Kids make all holidays so much better.

Here is Ryan. This is actually on November 1st. On Halloween Ryan was a little tired around 3:30PM. I put him down for a nap. He didn't wake up until Saturday at 6:30AM He must have been tired. I still wanted a picture so we just had to do it the next day.
My sisters were here for Halloween. Kellie and Erik left on Saturday :( I always just want her to stay forever. Emily lives here. We all got together at my house. It was a crazy night.
Any of you who know me since my high school days ( I think it was my senior year) I had this brilliant idea to have what I called The Great Pumpkin Race. I have just never done it. I had this great idea to get cheap pumpkins the day after Halloween and then use them as shoes and race. Matthew (Emily's boyfriend) was at the store on Halloween evening getting a pumpkin. The employee told him they were all free and he had to take at least four. Emily told Matthew to get as many as he could. So here are pictures from our first ever PumpkinRace.
Here is the medal stand. Emily smoked us all. She did have a few practice steps and got it figured out before the race actually began. I took second and the race ended with Kellie's dramatic finish. Yes the pumpkins hurt your feet and I think mine might be a little bruised still.

A special thanks to Matt for getting the free pumpkins. And to Mark and Matt for carving our shoes. I am definitely up for a rematch for next year.

Its Official

Six weeks ago today was Mark's 30th birthday. He kept telling me he wasn't officially 30 since he was born six weeks early. Ha Ha Ha. So tonight while he was home teaching the boys and I made some brownies and frosted them. Then put the candles on. We sang happy birthday and had a mini surprise party (minus the presents) for Mark. It was fun. A nice excuse for brownies anyway. Here's the brownies.

Here's Mark lighting the candles. Ethan and Jake were so excited!

My boys! (Ryan was sleeping)
I just think they are all so cute!
We love parties!

Wheeler Farm

So last night we skipped the ward party and went to Wheeler Farm in Salt Lake. Mark has been gone a lot and it was nice to just spend time with our family. The leaves there were so pretty. This was a huge Box Elder Tree. It was perfect for climbing.

Ethan and Jake climbing the huge tree.

Ryan is wearing a shirt that says, I'm Grandma's Payback. I told Mark that if he was his mom's payback she must have had an easy time raising kids. He has been such an angel. I am sure once he realizes he has red hair that will all change.











Here are the three boys. I think Ryan looks so big in this picture.

Ethan on the tractor.

Date Night

Mark and I went on a date this weekend with a bunch of the guys Mark works with and thier wives. We went to the cornmaze at Thanksgiving point. I just wanted to do the cornmaze but somehow Mark paid for the haunted upgrade. It was not my favorite part of the night. Here are some pictures from the night. Our camera is a little dirty so lots of spots on the pictures. Sorry. I guess we need to clean it and keep it away from little boys.

Mark is shooting a corn cannon.

Here is the group we went with. From left to right. Dustin and Jeanie, JanaRae and Mark, Cahlan and Kim, Toni and Ryan.

This picture is a little blurry. But just to clarify Mark is posing as the wife. Not his favorite role.

Here is Mark and Me before the haunted maze.I really don't like scarey things. Half way though I had to just hold onto Mark and close my eyes. I skipped the last part too. But I did make it. This is my first haunted event ever! I really don't like scarey things. I am pretty sure I will never do haunted again.

Curtains

Yeah!!! So Ethan and Jake finally have curtains in their room. I sewed these up last night. My Grandma gave me the fabric I was happy that it matched their walls. Can't beat free fabric. It took me about two hours. Aunt Flora we here and helped me make sure they lined up. I was so happy when they were all finished and the plaids matched up. Mark hung these up tonight while I gave the boys their baths and read them stories. I am so happy with them. I have two more windows to make curtains for and then I think we will have all of the blankets out of our windows!

Thanks Grandma Carrie

This morning we got a package from my mom. She just got back from a trip to S. Carolina. She bought these shirts for Ethan and Jake. They love them. They also got these Halloween activity books. Jake has already colored three pictures. Ethan is home from school today since he was sick last night. So it was a good day to stay home.

Emily cut Ethan's, Jake's and Ryan's hair yesterday. I should have gotten a picture of Ethan without the pirate bandanna. I think she did a fabulous job. Its always good to get rid of those rat tails. She even gave Ethan a cute cut. It will be a little more fun to style now. Thanks Em!

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!

Ryan turned one last Friday. It was such a fun day and I am a little worn out. Ryan is such a party animal. He could barley wait for his big day.

One Day old

One Year Old

They grow up way too fast!

We got Ryan a few presents but it is really quite hard to figure out what to get the third boy. He has all the hand-me-downs he could ever dream of. We ended up getting him a shape sorter. Ethan got one for his first b-day and through all the moves we have managed to lose most of the pieces. I took Jake to DI and told him he could pick out anything he wanted for Ryan for his birthday. He got him a ninja turtle that he couldn't wait for Ryan to open so he could share it with him :)

This is the present Jake Got for Ryan. Ninja Turtle on a bike.

We had a nice little family party here. I'm including a video of Ryan with his birthday cake. I think Ethan's gets a little dramatic towards the end of the video, as if he won't get any untouched cake. He is pretty appalled that we would actually let Ryan do what he wanted to the cake.Ethan also really wanted to have his picture taken with Ryan.This is actually the first time I haven't baked a birthday cake since we have been married. I was at Albertsons on Tuesday. We were getting our free cookie from the bakery and I saw a sign that said they will give your child a free cake for their first birthday. How could I resist. No purchase necessary. So if you have a newbie about to turn one, head on over to Alberstons. How can you beat free!

Here is a picture of Mark reading a story to the boys tonight. I think this is what he looks like at church too. The boys just adore him. Mark thinks I am brainwashing them so they never cry for me. Whatever the case may be, it is so nice to tell Mark "I would take the boys, but they want you!" Honestly if they are being too noisy in church they have to sit by me. What a punishment.

The Basement is Done...

This is Mark. I was going to put a post on here about how our house is haunted but I guess I'll do that when we get closer to Halloween. Anyhow, we finally have our basement finished. When we bought the house there were a few things down there - one was this strange brick work against one wall that looked like a boarded up subway stop. I just assumed it was a portal to the netherworld and that boards are very effective at stopping the creatures who may be trying to come through (I was wrong though because our house is still haunted). There was also a room where someone had probably spent days stenciling leaves on the walls and ceiling. I know it sounds awesome but in reality, someone spent a whole lot of time making that room really ugly. Anyhow, when we decided to do the basement I tore everything down - and much to my dismay there was just a concrete wall behind the boards of the portal. Not a long dark tunnel like I was hoping for. All I did was the demo for the basement- I'm pretty good at wrecking things. Phil - our friendly neighborhood contractor finished it for us. Speaking of Phil, one day little Jakey was asking JanaRae why one of his friends moms name was Heidi. JanaRae told him it was because her parents named her Heidi, just like we named him Jake. Well, Jake thought for a moment and said "Mom, Phil named me Buddy."
Jake also imparted of his wisdom with me a few weeks ago when he said "Dad... when I eat the bug that makes me sick." I didn't want to know how he learned that. Back to the house. Here is the video of the basement tour.

I love conference weekend!

Well I have been so busy canning lately that I feel like I am losing my mind. I will be happy to do my last batch of pear jam on Monday and then I think I am done for the season. Unless for some reason all of my tomatoes get ripe and I can bottle those too.

I so enjoyed General Conference today. It was a nice break from the day to day things that I do. I am always amazed at how well the members of the twelve know and love each other. I have just recently noticed their tender comments about each other before they start their talk. They almost always bring tears to my eyes. I am so looking forward to another day of conference.

We have Guns!

Mark had his birthday on the 16th of this month. His parents sent him money. He told me he was going to buy a well needed pair of new jeans. I thought that was a great idea. Well Mark ended up spending all of his birthday money on Nerf guns at DI. We have a new favorite game of hide and seek with the guns. It gets pretty intense. I don't know if I will ever get tired of playing that game. We have a huge Tupperware bin of Nerf equipment. Mark says when its full he will be done buying. I thought both of these pictures were pretty cute so I had to post them.

Here is a video so you can experience what it is like hiding in my house. Although typically when we hide we also have a gun. Because I am recording I have nothing to fight back with. Enjoy. Anyone is welcome to come and play. I am sure we will be playing this every week for our Family Home Evening game for a long time. Bring your own gun and ammo.

Much to blog about

I realize I haven't blogged for a while so now I am playing catch up. Here are lots of pictures and descriptions. Enjoy!

I do a play group for my ward. Mostly because I love to play. It is every Tuesday. This week we went to Thanksgiving Point Farm country. Jake insisted on wearing this superman costume. He loves riding the horses.

Here is Ryan looking at the bunnies. It took me several tries to get a picture when he was actually looking at me. He loved the bunnies. I don't know why but I haven't every really like bunnies. I think it goes back to when I was kid and had one as a pet. He was so mean. He used to bite our dog on the cheek and hang on until Nephi (that was our dogs name, Thanks Spence) would shake him off. He was so cruel. We started calling the bunny Lemuel. Now I just think they are terrible pets.

Yesterday I found the park. Well Its not too hard to find I just stopped at it for the first time with my kids. It is across from the temple. My boys loved exploring in all the trees. There is also a huge amphitheater there. It was built during the depression. It is made all out of rocks. We had so much fun. Of course I didn't have my camera handy so these next few pictures are from my phone.

This is Ryan playing in the leaves. He got pretty dirty but I know it won't be the first time.

Here are Ethan and Jake climbing a tall pine tree. They loved doing this. I wish we had some good climbing trees in our yard. I told them they could only climb as high as they could get down from. The did pretty good and I didn't have to make and rescues.

Ethan and Jake found this tree and thought it was really cool. So they asked me to take another picture. ( I have no clue why this is underlined all of the sudden, obviously Mark isn't the one who does our blog)

Last but not least here is the apron I have been working on for the past three days. I just finished it yesterday and I was able to wear it last night while making dinner. I had Mark take these pictures for me. Yes my apron is reversible! I love it. I made one for my sister-in-law for her bridal shower they are so fun to sew.

Jake's First Day

I joined a joy school preschool group and we just started today. We are holding it once a week for 1 1/2 hours. It is so low key. I am really happy about it. Today was Jake's first day of school. He was so excited. We have been talking about it all week. I told him I needed to take his picture before he went. He was so happy and insisted that I took a picture of his back side. Then I insisted that I take a picture of his front side. So I feel the need to post both pictures because I think they are both so funny. What a goofy kid I have.

Yummy peach jam

Today I spent the day making and canning peach jam. I am amazed at what a sense of accomplishment I feel. This is my first time I have ever made jam. I have done a little canning with my mom, mostly pears and peaches, but never on my own. We got a basket of peaches from Mark's grandma and Lee Ann left me all of her canning things when she went on her mission. Thank you! Mark's Aunt Flora stayed at our house last night and so as I was reading and preparing for my canning day I asked A TON of questions. Thanks Aunt Flora for all your help. I feel I did pretty good. I only had to call my neighbor once for reassurance and I managed to only lose Jake once as well. Thank You Rain Jeppson for sending him home.

My grandparents brought me a box of pears from their tree on Saturday so I think I will be ready to move onto those tomorrow.

I always thought it was a little strange to hear people say, "what beautiful fruit" but now that I have my own jam I think its so pretty. I am excited to fill my pantry shelves with my bottled fruit. It will be nice to have such a good looking pantry. I hope I can let my family taste it and not just stare at the beautiful jars.

I just had to take a picture. My entire days work in seven little jars.