This is us...

Carlsbad summer vacation

2010-11-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

catch up on summer

2010-11-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Olivias 6th birthday and more disneyland

2010-11-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Disneyland February

2010-11-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

2010-03-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

2010-03-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

2010-01-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Cadens baptism was really a special day. We had lots of family come and celebrate with us. Both Grandmas (connie and Lynna) spoke at it and beautiful Kessa sang a song.Mark baptized him and his Papa Skip confirmed him a member. I am so proud of him for choosing to do this. I love my Cade-O

cadens 8th birthday

2010-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Owen turns 3!!

2009-10-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Owen had his birthday and of course he got some trains and I thought he should finally learn to ride a real bike. So we had a little family party at Papas house. Umm if your wondering who decorated the cake it was Olivia and Owen:) Who needs fancy cakes? Then later that week we went to chuck e cheeses with our friends the Willis family. Owen hates chuckie.This kid is so different. He does not care for any pictures or any attention from a crowd. Overall it was fun and he has some fun toys to keep him busy. I cant believe I had him 3 years ago. That seems like forever ago. He was such a sweet baby. I loved and cherished every moment I got to rock him. I still get to rock him and hold him for a few minutes before bed. He is our little stinker and we love him. He is so particular about what he wants to wear/eat or whatever. Some days are very frustrating. Anyways this is a sad week for me because we had to say goodbye to my parents. They left on monday to go to Spain on a mission. We had a get together with the family and I took some pictures. Oh and Olivia started dance again and you would think she won the lottery. It was a happy day but a long day counting down to 5:00. I love watching her she is really good.

Girls trip to california

2009-08-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Some might say I have had too many "girls trips" lately but I swear they have all been really short and I am done. Until next year:)I mean why not enjoy it before I get tied down to baby again. Anyways this trip was with my friends in my area Jacque Ferguson and Andrea Avarell. And then Kendra Huffman from california drove to meet us. We had soo much fun. We stayed in a very nice hotel.

date night

2009-08-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

this was the night we went out for Jacques birthday. We surprised her at Brios and then came to our house for dessert.I always enjoy date night we my honey even if he is always on his phone:)

first day of school

2009-08-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Is always bitter sweet but mostly sweet:)Olivia was so excited and caden was happy to be in 2nd grade. So far everyone has done great and likes there teachers.

california beach trip and swimming

2009-08-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

2009-07-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

O and O

2009-07-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

cadens school program

2009-07-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

2009-06-26T12:46:00.001-07:00

My sister in law is starting a new photography buisness and she took some pictures of Olivia for her website. They are soo cute. Check em out!http://www.karenpearcephotography.com/blog/

Shocker!!!!

2009-06-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Im actually updating:) Well we are one week into summer and I sure signed us up for PLENTY of activities. I guess i had a little panic attack last month at the thought of being home with 3 kids to entertain. We are mucho busy in june. But next month we can be truly lazy. First of all Owen is POTTY TRAINED!!!!! Woohoo.He is so awesome. Not one pull up for this kid and he wakes up dry every day for the last 2 weeks:)Dont get me wrong the first week was hell! But now its smooth sailing.Phew! done with that. now we can have fun. O and O are doing swim lessons and are doing so much better so now we can just swim every day at christinas. Caden is doing basketball camp and olivia starts a singing workshop for 2 weeks and has a little recital. Im excited for her to do that she will love it because she wants to be a singer when she grows up.haha Mark is playing softball with some guys from church so we go watch him on thursdays and I still have mutual on wednesdays so our nights are busy as well. I was thinking about making a trip up to utah to visit my sister and for a reunion but now I think we need to save money because we want to go to europe next year. Oh thats more news to share, my parents are going on ANOTHER mission:( They are going back to the Madrid temple so we want to go this time and do the whole europe thing.Thats an exciting trip but we all thought they were done so I am mad. Some day i will get over it....maybe. I will post some fun pictures soon,

What? More Catalina??? I know you're sick of not having an update but here's the final video...

2009-05-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Catalina- March 2009 from Todd Hamilton on Vimeo.

Catalina

2009-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went to Catalina island with some friends. Mark went scuba diving and I shopped and laid out. It was alot of fun!

Twilight movie night

2009-03-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

I had a few ladies over to watch the movie and we had fun stuffing our faces with popcorn and candy. The countdown is on until november! I just know New Moon will be better than the first. (cross my fingers)

grandma and the park

2009-03-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

Olivia turns 5

2009-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

My little princess is 5! Im so lucky to have this little stinker. She is pretty emotional but she is also great at making me smile. I think she is way too much like me:) so I am definitely in for it,I keep warning myself. But for now I will enjoy the ups and downs and cherish her little smile. Also I love her because she likes to sleep in until 10:00 if I let her.It does make the morning hussel and bussel a little less. If we have another baby someday she will be the best helper she loves taking care of little babies. She also loves playing with older girls like her cousins and neighbor, she can keep up with them no problem. Everyday she asks me how old she has to be to have a boyfriend and to get married. I try to push the whole college thing but she aint havin it!!phew girls are tough! But worth it.

my little student of the month

2009-03-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Rock on!!

2009-02-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

We sold our rockband on Craigslist so we could get the wireless set. So of course we had to do a little rockin out last night.Caden is so good at drums and Olivia even tried it but she mostly dances and sings in the background. We have a lot of fun doing it especially in the game room. So come over and try to beat cadens score I dare ya!:)

hot diggitty dog

2009-02-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

The other night i wanted to go with my friends to the gym,so i left mark to do hot dogs with the kids. They went outside around the fire and did marshmallows too.He is a fun daddy. The next day Olivia told me how much fun she had. Its amazing how little simple things like hot dogs,make kids happy and a great memory.

crazy hair day

2009-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

This was Caden on crazy hair day for school. I thought it was hilarious. He was so funny....looking:)

anything

2009-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Gosh I thought I should post something since I have been soo lame lately. I had my birthday and it was truely special. My mom had a luncheon for me and my family at her house and then I had a pedicure and then came home to be lazy and watched 27 dresses and ate popcorn. It was a good day. Oh and mark got me an Iphone!!! Which I am in love with. They are really amazing. So besides getting one year closer to 30 it was a good day!!My kids picked a few things too. Olivia loves bouquets of flowers so she got me some pink ones.Caden picked out some chocolates and some bath stuff. And owen got me a new shirt:)We have been busy having ufc and super bowl parties in our theater. I told Mark its my turn to have my family over. Because it always ends up being his(whom I Love)but my family needs a little love too.Now its finally february or already I should say. olivia is counting down the days until her birthday. And I mean she is obsessed. She was stuck on going ice skating with boys and girls(I know Iam in trouble with this little girl) but I think I finally changed her mind. I was trying to get her to do a pajama party but she wasnt too thrilled because "will and Landon cant come" They are her two future husbands, she really likes them. So as of yesterday she was liking the idea of chuckie stupid cheese! which is okay less work for me.But princess parties are so fun. Anymore ideas are welcome... Anyways Mark and I had our anniversary. It was low key but we have been needing and wanting to go on a trip together anywhere but it hasnt happened. Mark is planning a scuba trip to catalina end of march with couples but it sounds like no wifes want to go so Im ousted out and its a guy trip. Soo lame!I should just tag along. But I get to go on a girls trip in march so I guess its only fare. Oh I wanted to journal about my little "O" He was sick a while back and it was so sad but sweet how he wanted mommy.He would just lay in my lap and watch movies or books.I get the joy of rocking him for 5 minutes or so before he goes to bed naps and all. And I just treasure those minutes of hugging him and cuddling with him. If I try to put him in bed he says "rock" its so cute. and when he is ready he says bed. I think its been good for him to go to bed happy with his red blankie that he loves. he is cute but he is pretty stubborn too. He likes to help with the dishes and of course baking. He says a lot of words now and I guess I need to start talking potty to him. I cant even imagine how great it will be to have nooo diapers:)woohoo but im dreading the training. Someone told me that their grandma did all the training with her kids and it went great(hint hint) So Caden is doing flag football, and its been fun,i think, he doesnt get a whole lotta action on the field yet but he is learning and next year he will be great. I put him in the older age group by accident so he plays alot of 3rd graders. So thats frustrating. But its a good experience. He does little league next month. And I just signed Caden and Olivia up for gymnastics. They really like it. And its fun for me to watch. So we are busy but its good. Thats my update:)

snow trip

2009-01-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

So Mark has been wanting to take the kids to go play in the snow so we went on his day off. We drove up just pass Strawberry to the gravel pits. It was sooo much fun I want to go again. The kids did sleds and tubes. And I cant believe how brave they were. Olivia kept going up the hill higher and higher and she got going so fast.It freaked me out a few times but all she did was bite her tongue thank goodness nothing more.Owen cried for the first 15 minutes,who knows why.and then he started liking it.So throw in some dunkin donuts and a snowman and it was a heck of a good time:)

2009-01-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

Nativity

2009-01-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

So we did the annual nativity with the oberly/pearce family and then we did it with the Merrill family. It was all soo much fun:)

2008-12-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

We went to see santa at frys last week for a free night with santa party. It was fun and close and free:)Owen freaked out of course and didnt want to be close at all to the jolly man. He is pushing away from me in this picture I had to laugh. It was the saddest looking santa I have ever seen. You could totally see the beard strap on his cheek and his black eyebrows it was hilarious. In my head I was picturing Ralphie in the bunny costume totally tortured by wearing it and thinking Caden is probably feeling the same way about "santa". Does anyone else feel stupid or bad about duping your older children into believing?? I mean when do we tell them? Caden already asks too many questions and I hate lying. I finally told him the tooth fairy wasnt real with this last tooth he lost. I could see the wheels turning in his head but he didnt ask about santa. except how was santa at every frys Mom?? Arggh anyways I think 8 years old is the magic year to know what all us grown ups know. So Olivia was Mary and she was beautiful and perfect:) Gma and Gpa Merrill came to watch and that was great to have them around for this stuff finally. The countdown is on 5 days left......

December

2008-12-10T10:43:00.001-08:00

Its been too long since my last lame post. We had a great turkey day going over to the Pearces with Marks family and then hanging out with the merrills too. The Lanes were here from Cali so that was fun to be with them. They were brave and took our 2 oldest to grandpas cabin in prescott for 2 nights. woohoo that was fun just going around with little O. He is so sweet by himself. We have been busy going to movies watching them at home and other christmas shopping fun.(I say fun but Mark not so much) I just love the holidays because of all the traditions that are so fun to do. We did gingerbread houses with my family and we will be doing enough nativitys to last a year:) olivia landed the role as Mary so she is excited about her school program. once again Iam stumped on what to get the man who buys himself everything. I hate doing the whole cliche of shirt and tie and slippers blah blah blah. I wish I could be really creative and think of something really great but I dont want to shock Mark too badly. We are trying to think of where to go for our anniversary. So that will be fun to get away with no kids. Anyhoo just trying to survive this joyous season and loving being with family. I dont have many pictures of myself but heres one of me and my great sister who had her birthday this week. Im grateful for her as an example to me.

2008-11-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

For reals its almost Thanksgiving?? I cant believe it. Things are just moving along here in the oberly home. Caden had a great birthday. My dad had a great birthday party too. That was fun. Oh and Twilight is in 2 days Hooray! Im excited to see it. Im a woman of few worsd today so that will have to do for an update:)

Murder mystery dinner party

2008-11-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

2008-11-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a success. The kids had a blast going around the neighborhood. I finally got Cadens bedding for his room. I made the comforter(sort of) and I think it is so cute. Now everyone cant stop talking about christmas!

Schnepf Farms

2008-10-27T11:29:00.001-07:00

On marks day off we went to the farm with Brett,Emily and Jaxon. It was a lot more fun than the last time 2 years ago. We didnt plan enough daylight to do all the fun stuff.Owen wasnt sure about the rides at first but with a little convincing he soon loved them. Olivia finally got to ride a horse and Caden got to climb the rock wall. We didnt realize the train is "spooky" after dark and holy cow it was . Olivia did not like it she just closed her eyes the whole time. But overall a great family outing.

fhe with Gma and Gpa

2008-10-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

My parents came over to report about their mission to Bolivia. They brought some props and the kids loved it. It was a lot of fun and entertaining. We love Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Ahhhhhh Thursday.........

2008-10-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

I love thursdays.This morning I was at the gym and I was thinking about all the things I need to do today: sweep mop fold laundry ironing yada yada. And then I saw a commercial for must see t.v. tonight and I just smiled. I cant wait for thursday nights because all the best shows are on and Mark and I just veg out. Its great. Micheal Scott is such an amazing idiot I love it!Also usually its Marks day off so we get to spend time with him but we had a wedding yesterday so he is working. My nephew Colin just got home from his mission so we have an open house for him tonight.(Thank heavens for tivo!!) He has some amazing stories to tell so I cant wait to hear some. Im so proud of him for serving because its so darn difficult to get these boys on missions these days. He is a great example to all the little grandsons. So its almost Halloween which is crazy but Olivia has changed her mind a million times about a costume. But we had a brilliant idea last night. her flower girl dress is really pretty and all white so I said she could be Giselle from Enchanted and she loved it.So hopefully we are good. Well I better get back to the daily grind of chores. I can endure until 7:00.........

Wii Fit

2008-10-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Good news my Wii fit thinks I am 26 years old!! Awesome! Mark just bought it last night and it looks like its going to be a blast!

Cabin for conference

2008-10-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Huish cabin is finally finished so we went up for the weekend to enjoy some time with cousins. First of all it was amazing!! It slept 22 people comfortably. The kids had a blast it was constant noise. It was fun to just lounge around and try to listen to conference.Definitely good times!! Heres some cute pictures of Owen playing with Sylvie. Those two are definitely related!! And of course what do Merrills do at night after all the little munchkins are sleeping?? We eat ice cream! Ben and Jerrys cinnamon Buns are to die for!!

Mr. O turns 2!!!!!

2008-10-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby is two and boy does time fly by. Owen has a fun personality. He just wants to have fun (as long as moms around). We tried the kids club at Bashas the other day and he was not a fan. I knew it was too good to be true to shop with no children.But thats okay after that scare he was an angel the entire shopping trip.He loves balloons so we filled his room for when he woke up. He liked it. Then we had cake and ice cream with some family. He got some cool tools and t-ball set and a great keyboard and a soft kungfu panda that him and Olivia keep fighting over.It was a great day. I cherish every bit of time with this little guy because he just might be my last!

fhe

2008-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun little family night watching a movie and eating popcorn. This is a big hit with the kids, and the men too! Mark is obsessed but he did an awesome job and we have already saved money by watching a movie at home for date night!!

Movie Night Anyone????

2008-09-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Mark has been working hard the last few months turning our 3rd car garage into a home theater. What do you think?

2008-09-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Since I always loved gymnastics,I wanted a little girl who would do it too. And she is a natural. Its so fun to watch her and see her get excited about doing something new. Heres some pictures and I will try and remember to video some today at class.

2008-09-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

oberly summer vacation

2008-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Whos the worst blogger ever??? This gal!! Seriously I need to get it together here and post some pictures but I cant find my stinkin cord thingey to plug into my computer. Well things are back on schedule here and its good. Kids are doing great in school. Except we are almost having to pay for the second library book because he left it at gymnastics or somewhere. Ridiculous!! Im still hoping to find it. Love having my parents home. And cant wait for it to cool off!! oh for the record, Mark is the one who post the unnecessary comic relief, not me.

Decision 2008

2008-08-29T15:09:00.003-07:00

http://www.inews3.com/play.php?first=MARK&last=OBERLY

Olympics

2008-08-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

We tried to keep it a secret but just couldnt with all the publicity. We competed in the olympics this year.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2008-08-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Everybody go vote for my neice and nephew, Kessa Merrill 12 yrs and Ridge Merrill 9 yrs. They are on the kid kareoke contest at mix96.9 They rock!!

Happy anniversary to my big Bro!!!

2008-08-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wow nine years ago today, I donated my kidney to my brother Vance. And he is still going strong hooray!!!!!And my parents come home TOMORROW agghhhh!! Im so excited. This is a great week. We are going out on saturday to celebrate. any good ideas on where we should go???We are having a party at my mom and dads on friday so its a busy weekend. I swear I will post about california but I have to finish this dang awesome book first!

breaking dawn craziness!!

2008-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Woohoo I got Breaking dawn!! I went last night at midnight with Kessa and we got it. Iam reading all day today. Someday I will post about our vacation to Carlsbad........

2008-07-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Im posting because Im sick of the ninja parade. Mark thought that was really funny. So girls camp was a great experience for me. All the girls bonded with each other and their leaders. It was nice to have some quiet meditation. Thanks to my wonderful mother in law to come and help with the kids. So school is quickly approaching and I cant believe summer is over already. I thought I would never survive but it has been fun because we have been really busy.I guess I need to post some summertime pictures. I will for sure post some of california.We are going to Batman Imax this weekend so we are excited! And then sushi with a bunch of friends. Its just go go go around here. But I love it!

Best Parade Ever!

2008-07-02T12:16:00.001-07:00

2008-06-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Little slow

2008-06-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Gosh I have been back for a week and havent blogged my trip of a lifetime.Well I guess not a lifetime because we are doing it every year.(sorry Mark) I went to San Francisco with my 7 wonderful friends. I have known these girls for along time. I still remember meeting them,It started with Carrie in kindergarten. Alli and I used to do gymnastics together,Kets, Rachel and Melinda went to Macarthur with me and same ward(Ketsy remember that halloween picture of us,you were an old lady with rollers or something) then I met Linds in 7th grade, she was the blonde "franklin" girl that lived down the ditch from my house,and last but not least was Raquel. I met Raquel for the first time sophomore year when everyone piles into a mini van after school to hitch a ride home. I think it was Chas's car. Correct me if Im wrong,you probably dont remember. You were seriously annoyed by all us cackling girls but secretly wanted to join. Just look at you now!! What would we do without your serious make up skills.Wow Im lucky to know all these wonderful girls. WE had so much fun. But my favorite was conversing with all the random strangers that felt the need to talk to us.and when Lindsay flagged down a guy and girl in a land Rover to hitch a ride to Ghirardelli so we wouldnt miss our sundaes. yes we fit eleven people in a land rover. it was hilarious heres the picture for proof. We rented bikes and went across the bridge. half rode on the pedestrian side so we continually got yelled at so we continued to ring our little bike bells in their ears!!That was a good time. We went to china town and pier 39 where Ketsy spotted Katie Couric and said "welcome to San Francisco" she was truely star struck! Hahahaah Love ya Kets! We did Kareoke of course with Dancing Queen and it was a wonderful trip. I came home to a completely in tack home with no dishes in the sink. That was great too. Mark did an awesome job he is definitely #1 daddy.Especially because I am leaving this week for girls camp. But we are flying his mom here to help out so he will be off the hook a little. I forgot to mention what a trooper Melinda was, she being 8 months prego and all. She never complained she was great.

Summer so far

2008-06-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well we have survived 2 weeks of summer and it has been fun.Yesterday we saw Kung fu panda. It was cute but Olivia lost interest after a while.We have been swimming and playing like crazy. Heres some fun pictures. The first one was in the morning Owen went to wake up Olivia and layed in bed with her it was so cute. Has anyone else been suckered into buying these blankets off the side of the road??? Oh just me, well they are super soft and we got 3 for a pretty good deal. We got Caden a pirates one to go with his room. Another picture is what my little creative Caden came up with, he built a little town out of food from the pantry. Too funny.He has a beautiful mind. He also wanted to take some pictures, so mommy is actually in front of the camera. I love these little monkeys!

2008-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post these a while ago. This was Cadens note to the tooth fairy,hilarious!! And Olivias preschool graduation. She sang some songs and it was really cute. We love Mrs. Nancy and will be back with her next year. So I had my big 10 year reunion this weekend and it was fun. Ketsy did a wonderful job. It blows my mind that people I went to school with are doctors and lawyers. It was interesting to see people,I mean it was "neat". I love my girlfriends and we had fun and loved that our husbands enjoyed talking to each other. Has anyone else heard that song from Juno on a commercial on t.v.????Weird.......

"O" Boy

2008-05-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is Owens new obsession.Sitting in this spot to help mommy cook anything. This is where I stand everyday for a majority of the day making 3 meals for 3 munchkins. And Owen says "help" because he loves to sit on the counter. He is funny.

Olivias dance picture

2008-05-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our Rock Star

2008-05-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here's Caden playing "Sabotage" on Rockband. He has recently moved up to playing at the "hard" difficulty. At least the Ensign is in the background right??

Too fast

2008-05-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

My little puppy is 18 months and going to nursery. I cant believe it. Those poor nursery leaders. He cries almost the whole time. I stand in the hall and hear him crying "mamamama" its sad.He will get over it soon hopefully. This picture with him in his pjs was so cute, he looks like a little warrior.His stomach is so big and hard he could knock anyone over:)He was a big pill yesterday and Daddy had enough of it. He does this little cry whinny noise when he doesnt get something and it is ear piercing.Well we have all had the stomach flu so maybe now we can get on with life and have a great summer with nooo sickness. Im excited for girls camp in july and my girlfriends trip in june woohoo!!That reminds me , we saw Baby Mama and it was flippin hilarious. We both were laughing constantly.Friday was a sad day for Mark. He sold his beloved truck:( I dont know what it is but we can sell cars.Just a couple of weeks on craigs list and it sold.Or maybe we have really good taste in cars and everyone wants them:) Anyways we decided that we dont need two new gas guzzelers and he can just drive a car off the lot for a while. Im taking bets how long it will last.Only 3and a half months until Gma and Gpa come home yea!!! Im dreading the month of june for my kids Ive got to get them in something fun or I will go crazy. Im anxious to start swimming though!!

Serious death bed

2008-04-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

Holy cow I was hit hard with the stomach flu on saturday. I seriously wanted to die it was so bad.I dont think I have been this sick in years. I was having flashbacks of the kidney operation it was that bad. Thank goodness it was on the weekend so Mark was around. I had a few hours by myself and the whole house was trashed,I could not get out of bed and Owen would stand there and cry at me everytime I laid back down. It was sad.All night my body ached so bad I couldnt sleep. Sunday I just laid around while Mark took care of the kids.He was a good sport about it but I could tell it was getting to him by bedtime:) How will he survive with me gone at girls camp??? Well today I feel a little less like dying and more capable of walking around without my head exploding.Im thankful for two things my sweet Mark and that Olivia knows how to play Barbie.com!!

2008-04-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Okay Iam in a much better mood today. Hormones are a bad bad thing. So I had Bunko two weeks in a row because I subbed for one. And it was so fun. But the other night for my own I had the worst headache and was so desperate to enjoy myself that it wasnt that great.I thought I might be getting what Owen has but no(thank goodness) it was just from my day of cleaning up throw up that made me ill!! This poor baby has been miserable. Mark swears he has lost 10 pounds. He has thrown up off and on since sunday or maybe saturday I cant remember. Finally got him on evil antibiotics and we will see if things clear up. I need to get some more colloidal silver and give that to him. Caden had his first two t-ball games. So funny. I didnt realize it was such a joke. I mean yea they are 6 years old but they dont keep score????? I dont know what I was expecting from these little guys I guess Im ridiculous. Oh well. Im going to put them in gymnastics this summer so that will be fun.Olivia will love it Im sure:)Hooray for Grandma Connie sleepovers,Caden and Olivia are going there on friday. It will be just the three of us for the night. Some times on Marks day off we go out to breakfast just us and Owen and it is so fun. Not that I dont love and cherish my other missing children its just fun to pay attention to the baby and only him. I now truely understand what it means to be the spoiled baby in the family.

FAIR WARNING!!!!

2008-03-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

If one more person tells my husband they saw his wife driving "like a bat out of hell" Iam going to start driving around with my pellet/bb gun and shooting anyone I recognize!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There you go.

2008-03-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Love love love the Porters!! Thanks for having a great family picnic. We all had a blast talking and playing with family.What a coincedence that my lesson the next day for YWs was about loving our extended family. I felt truely blessed as I was teaching my class, that I have a wonderful family on both sides. Unfortunately my family doesnt really do anything with "extended" family very often. But my goal is to change that this summer when my parents get home. I love how Marks family is close to aunts and uncles and cousins. My whole life I have just had 4 brothers,3 sisters,spouses, grandchildren etc etc. There was always a full house. But now I think we need to branch out a little on the family tree. My mom always knew how much I loved family get togethers(being the youngest) so she would always have sunday dinners with everyone. I looked forward to it so much. As I got older and everyone started moving out I was lonely. I became an aunt when I was 7 and loved all the kids. I miss those days.... With 25 grandkids, its a little chaotic to get together now but I still love it. Why do we have to grow old to really appreciate your siblings and parents. My poor parents. I cant believe they have survived. They are really special. Blah blah blah Im rambling. Easter was good we went to Lacys house for dinner and did an egg hunt. Kids loved it. Im slacking big time with pictures so hopefully I will get better. Poor Owen is hacking sooo bad today so Im home from church with him. He is so sweet I hate to see him suffer.

Rage In The Cage

2008-03-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is the video of our "Brother from Another Mother" fighting at Rage in the cage a few weeks ago. He was amazing and we had a blast. Good Job Cody!

spring break.........Whats next???

2008-03-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

So I had parent teacher conference with Cadens teacher. He is doing wonderful in class. She said he is a math whiz and writing sentences beyond his grade. I am so excited. What a relief to know he doesnt have any learning problems. She also said he isnt playing as rough as often as he used to.Such great news. This week has been break from school and Im having an emotional break. Seriously these kids are sooo demanding when they are all together. I cant seem to get anything done around here. I figured if I can keep on top of the dishes and laundry I can make it until next monday and finally clean!! Caden wants some entertainment constantly and it makes me feel bad when he is sad after i tell him no about something. We were going to go to mexico for a couple of days but couldnt find a condo and decided to save the money for my new car. We sold my tahoe after 5 hours on craigs list. I couldnt believe it. So Im driving Marks truck now and that means the kids are all right next to each other,so thats a little annoying. But Targets open so now I dont have to drive as far for stuff!! Hooray! Grandpa is babysitting for us tonight and I cant wait to go out on a date. A much needed break from the little munchkins.

Happy 4th!!

2008-02-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to my sweet and feisty little princess Olivia. Four years ago today she brightened our lives with all shades of PINK. She was a wonderful baby from the start. But now I have to say she is a little stinker most of the time but we love her to pieces. She really enjoys preschool and dance class. Everytime we take Caden to soccer she asks when is it her turn to do soccer??? Its so funny. She loves playing with Owen and its so cute to watch them play pretend.She has a tender heart and likes to share with her friends. For instance, in our truck is a huge pile of the sonic mints because Mark goes 12 times a day and nobody but her eats them so she took one on the way to school and tried grabbing fists full for her friends. She totally loves Barbie and all makeup. She is my sunshine!!

Being sick when your not really sick is really sick ,you know ? really!

2008-02-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Wow life has just been a blur lately. Is anyone else sick of being sick?? My kids actually, I have been well. We didnt do anything that exciting on v day. My honey did get me some flowers and of course he got a massage. We picked up cheesecake factory to eat at home so it was a quiet evening at home. But friday we saw Jumper. We thought it was okay. Probably better as a rental though. I took Caden to see Spiderwick chronicles and it was good but pretty scary. I dont really think SOME kids could handle it under 6 years old but what do I know. We had a fun family get together at the Huishs. Christina made a ton of yummy homemade pizza and dessert pizza. It was delicious!They also got a new huge square tramp so that was a big hit with the kids. I enjoyed visiting with some cousins from california that I havent seen in many years. Over all a great day!! Back to school today hooray!!

Hooray!!!

2008-02-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

My two super brushers have no cavities! (Well one super brusher and one lucky stinker!) Olivia is a pill about brushing her teeth but now she has a brushing chart and she is excited! I guess there are some advantages to having HUGE gaps between your teeth. We had a fun little super bowl party last night- Go Giants!Not that I really know whats going on in a game but I did enjoy the commercials. Mark liked the talking babies and I liked the gigantic pigeons. They were pretty funny! So Im reading the twilight books AGAIN and getting obsessed. Its so fun to read them but pretty soon you start thinking like Bella ( untouchable cliff jumping motorcycling Bella) It cant be good! My friend Melissa made me the playlists for the books and I love them. Except Eclipse, Im reading that right now so I need to make a cd. This is the longest afternoon of my life these 2 kids keep screaming at each other. Its too dang wet outside to play. Aghhhhhhhh what do I do to survive this time of day????

Thanks Brooke Eagleston Photography for these new pictures of my sweeties!

2008-01-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Day for me!!

2008-01-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

I had my birthday last weekend and it was great. I got to enjoy all my favorite things in one day, shopping,friends,ice cream, dinner with family and then a movie with my Mark! He really pulled through for me on this birthday. (i was a little worried after not getting ANYTHING for our anniversary) but he gave me exactly what I wanted ,money to go shopping and a sweet card. Thanks honey! Oh and he sat through a movie that was totally a chick flick just for me, thats love! This is a picture of my sweet Owen and his new favorite thing, After I get the kids off to school I usually try to get stuff done and so I put him in this spiderman chair with a cracker or something and he will sort of watch a show. Its so cute how he gets excited and climbs into his chair when I tell him to. He is one of my favorite things too!

2008-01-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

Edward and Bella

2008-01-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

I was disappointed with this choice for Edward but they both look smokin hot in this picture!!There is hope after all!! I cant wait for the movie!!

Seriously behind....

2008-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

Wow Im so lame I have not even posted about christmas yet. Well it was great! The kids loved what they got. We had yummy brunch with my family at the Huishs and then we went out to Phoenix to Marks aunts house. Then we came home and played Rockband all night long. Its everyones new obsession,including Owen! We also played it on New years with Marks familia. Did I mention Owen is a full time walker!! Hooray! But he is a complete nightmare at church ( kill me now, yesterday) I officially dread it! I think we will do homechurching. Yea forget about all that other stuff we will just do all our church stuff from home. Do they do correspondance(sp?) visiting teaching???? Hahaaha. Oh and Mark and I had our anniversary. Holy crap do I feel old. We went to Flemings for dinner and then to see National Treasure. It was fun. Mark wasnt that impressed with the food but I liked mine. The best lobster clam chowder ever!! Happy anniversary to my eternal sweetheart!! Today we were back on schedule with school and everything else. Its great to get back on routine even if its not the greatest routine. New Years resolution: Be better at EVERYTHING!!!!!(COOKING CLEANING KIDS ETC) Iam really good at shopping though!

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

I just loved today. It was such a fun and exciting day anticipating the big arrival of Mr. Santa Claus. It was nice to just be lazy after breakfast and not have to rush off to anywhere. We played games and watched Elf(again) and made sugar cookies for Santa. It was a blast. Then when Mark got home from work we opened our first gift,Rock Band. All of us got into it even Owen loved the drums. We make up a kickin RockBand!!!! Then we went to dinner at Skip and Connies ( yummy) and opened some gifts from them. Finally we are home trying to put the kids to sleep so we can get to work. I cant wait to see their faces tomorrow because we got some cool gifts that they will love. Im going to miss listening to christmas music and the feeling in the air,its just a fun time of year.

What the Halo?????

2007-12-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously, you know your husband has a problem when he puts the music from Halo on our IPODS!! I want to KILL xbox!!! Well I for one have never understood the reasons for sure why people want to home school there children. Is it so they will be smarter? Or to protect them from evils of the world as long as possible( really they are socially retarding them)? Or because they enjoy teaching them. I would if I was a genius and could teach them anything but more power to those who do it,but your kids are not safe any where these latter days. Today (a few days ago actually) marks the day my 6 year old asked us what GAY means. Yes from church, a little boy went to sit by another little boy and that boy said" why do you want to sit by me ,what do you think Im gay??"This is at church people. What the heck?? We just explained to him in simple terms and told him not to talk about it to any other kids. I dont want my kid to be THAT kid who tells everyone what it means. This parenting stuff is crazy. And kids talk like wildfire so everyone be prepared the GAY talk is coming to your block very soon! Oh yea NEWSFLASH Owen is so close to walking everywhere, he takes about 4 or 5 steps and then sits down. He is amazing I love this little guy!!

Olivias Christmas Dance

2007-12-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

Pretty Funny!

2007-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Good times

2007-12-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows me knows I love movies. Its a given growing up in Rent a Flick. I have many fond memories of " working" with my mom( really I was just sitting there watching movies so she wasnt alone.) What I remember I truely treasure. I loved working with my brothers listening to all the latest music and watching the new movies before anyone else could.It was seriously awesome to be sick because my dad would bring home a huge stack of movies to watch. Oh the memories of watching James Bond when I was 6 are wonderful!! It was fun waiting for the roach coach to come and pick what ever we wanted because he just traded movie rentals for food. It was great! We pretty much traded everything for movie rentals-gymnastics,food,doughnuts,carpet cleaning and of course Dentistry. Anyways the point of this memory is my love for holiday movies. We at the oberly home love Elf and Jingle All the Way( sooo funny) and at the Merrill home we loved too many to name but we loved Better Off Dead, Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. What is everyones favorite movies???? Here are some more pictures. Owen figured out he can climb in the cupboard and shut the door it was really cute to watch him.

Phewwww!!

2007-12-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

I think I can finally catch my breath after thanksgiving and hosting Bunko this week,so I can finally do a post. Wow we really had a great time on thanksgiving. We were planning on driving up on wednesday but my husband decided is was not happening with these 3 rugrats so we bought tickets to fly up. We didnt tell anyone so we showed up on Kendrias doorstep and surprised them! It was fun. I have never gone shopping on Black friday before(super early that is) I usually go later in the day. But Shaunasey wanted to go to the Park city outlets so we were going and we called and found out they opened doors at midnight. So we were all pumped up to go so we all went to sleep at 8:30 to wake up at 10:00 and drive an hour to get there when doors opened. It was me,Emily,Sha and Kendria and 2 nursing babies. Oh yea did I mention it was FREEEEEZING!!! Seriously like 15 degrees outside. So we shopped around for a couple of hours and finally went home at 4:30.Crazy I know but I havent stayed up like that since Post high school days. It was so fun. All the grand kids did great together, nine kids under 6 in one house , not too bad. Kendrias house made a great hotel! We visited my sister Trisha and that was fun as well but we didnt get very much time with her which I regret but hopefully we will see them soon!Oh yea we went to the temple and saw the lights and had hot cocoa and made some great memories. Good times! Flying was a breeze,soooo worth it to not have any money for christmas presents!! The kids did great ,I think this is the perfect size family for traveling. I hosted Bunklast night and it was great and I think everyone really enjoyed the food and prizes. Im so glad its over. Now I can focus on all the other stuff going on!

Belated post

2007-11-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well its been a long crazy birthday Week here for Caden. He turned 6!!! We started off with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then after school we went to my sisters house to play and do the slip and slide. Then Mark met up with us at Applebees(cadens choice) He opened up a couple of presents from us and on Monday we had his party. Us and 27 little kids at BounceU. Crazy but so worth the money for a little hassell and a fun time.Plus no cleanup!! Caden Mark Oberly was born at 8:30 in the morning and he was a little stinker coming out. Took forever and he was sideways or upside down whatever. He was so beautiful and this kid has smiled and held his head up from day one, no JOKE!!! He was a wonderful baby or maybe its just that I love the baby stage but he was a great sleeper starting at 3 months. He walked just before his first birthday and hasnt stopped running. Just to name a few things that he likes to do: We got him a quad last year and he is a pro on it and loves it!! Unfornately he loves ps3 and xbox like his daddy, he totally rocks out on Guitar Hero , its crazy he is so good, He has always loved puzzles since he was 3, he likes baseball and always tells me he wants to do football when he is old enough. Oh yea this kid can eat, just like his daddy but who am I kidding I can out eat anyone on ice cream any day! He likes shrimp tempura( wierd I know) everytime we get sushi he wants ours, and crab legs, buffanos(wings) thats what he always called them. Caden is a great student( I was a little surprised because he is so, well energetic) he is a good learner and picks up fast on things except listening to his mommy the first time!! And finally the one thing everyone and I mean everyone says about him is he is a CLONE of his daddy. There is no me in his looks ,its all Mark its almost creepy. But they are both cute boys!! I hope he had a great week!!!

Update

2007-11-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

So for Halloween the kids and I made homemade pizzas and sugar cookies of course. Decorating cookies is their favorite thing to do. Then they got dressed up and Daddy barely made it home in time to take them around the block a few times. Then on saturday Mark had a few friends over and what do BIG BOYS do when they play??? Well HALO of course!! We had a few t.v.s as you can see and they all had a fun time. I went to hang out at Bob and Amys house so the kids wouldnt bother their tournament. I returned home at ten oclock and the party had just begun so they played until I think about 2 oclock. These are some other random pictures of my favorite people.

Halloween week

2007-10-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

The candy feast has begun. We had the school festival AND trunk or treat on Friday so the kids are already asking for candy everyday! I cant wait to get rid of all of it. Caden has his last soccer game on Saturday. It has been so fun watching him play. He is really fast and good at following the ball. Olivia keeps asking me when she can play and I just tell her she is doing dance right now. Boy once you get sucked into dance you cant really stop because you put soo much money into shoes,costumes recitals etc... I think next year we will just do gymnastics. i think that is more simple. I guess you just have to try everything to find what they are truely in love with,same for boys. So many different sports I just dont know what to do?? I just tell myself one thing at a time. After soccer Im debating whether Caden should do karate or gymnastics with Olivia. Mark is playing on the Ideal Cars softball team starting this week so thats always fun to watch especially this season because there are some first timers hahaha! So the countdown is on until the big drive to Utah for Thanksgiving. Im so not excited for that but I think we will drive most of the night while the kids sleep. I am excited to see our sisters. My sister is there and so is Marks. I havent seen Trisha for I think 2 years, that is awful. It will be nice to catch up.Heres some pics of the costumes but Im sure I will post more tomorrow!

Outside fun!

2007-10-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

The kids really love playing outside in the cooler weather. Owen is obsessed with the wagon and the bikes. Its so cute. Our favorite thing is to walk around the neighborhood and look at the spooky halloween stuff.

Rocky Point

2007-10-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

We went to mexico and had a blast. We all stayed in two condos next to each other. We went to the beach and pool all day long and ate at Rosys,our favorite breakfast spot and other random taco huts. We played games and just hung out. Owen did woderful he is such a sweetie. And the kids loved the beach. The drive home was way too long ,we waited 2 hours at the border which isnt bad compared to the people who left in the afternoon. We left at 7 and got home around 2. So we will never come home on sunday again. Overall a wonderful trip that we all agreed we must do often.Oh yea Mark had a bright idea to try parasailing with an old army parachute and the jeep or quad. (he is not allowed to have any more ideas) It worked a little. He conned his cousins in to trying it. They did survive without any brokenbones thank goodness unlike his last idea of sitting on an airbag(his friend broke his back!) Back to reality and life this week until we go to San diego for a wedding.

Back to school back to school

2007-10-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Well we survived october break! Tomorrow both kids go back to school. I have to say we kept busy so it went by fast. Last week we went down to Yuma to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hall. Emily and Jaxon went with us so that made it even more fun. We ate mostly muffins(best muffins ever) and chile pepper (best mexican) Yummy!!! We just hung out and played lots of games and went to the new mall. The new mall is amazing .They have every single store you could think of on one street. It wouldnt be so bad to live there, poor Mark had to grow up there! I love this weather it is beautiful. It makes it so fun to go and play with the kids outside. We are all ready for Halloween , Caden is wolverine,Olivia is a scary witch(with a green face) she is obsessed with a green face, and little O is a pirate argghh! The next couple of months we are doing alot of traveling so we will be busy so that means lots of pictures if I can remember my camera. This weekend we are going to Mexico to stay in my sisters condo and Marks family is going with us. It will be lots of fun just lounging around and playing Ticket to Ride, our new favorite game. Oh I found this picture and had to share it! Thanks to our good friends who can take a joke, we had a good laugh doing this to their car. Hahaha

Holiday Boutique

2007-10-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

I am doing a boutique on saturday. Its going to have yummy food and crafts and of course my beautiful jewelry! Its at johnson ranch. To get there just take Ellsworth south to hunt highway and the house is behind walgreens. There should be signs out so its easy to find. So come and check it out. Buy gifts for christmas or just get stuff for yourself!!or just come say hi to me!

Long time no post!

2007-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well life has been kind of crazy! My sister Christina was in and out of the hospital a couple of times and feeling miserable but she is finally home and hopefully going to heal and be done with it! Her ward has been great helping out with her 5 kids! I think it was nice for me to be in the hospital with her (when I could) because my mom is not here! Yesterday she called us to come over and make cookies(4 different kinds) so I know she is back to her old self again! I dont know why but for us baking is like therapy! So my sweet little pumpkin turned 1 last friday. We had family over for cake and ice cream on sunday! Owen devoured his cake it was so fun! And he loves his firetruck that we bought him! He is still not walking but he scoots everywhere. He is getting stronger though. He has 8 teeth and he waves bye bye and he just started giving loves to me and stuffed animals. Its so fun seeing a new dog do new tricks. Its just like the first and second, so exciting!! I wanted to journal a little about his birth because I havent yet!(oops terrible mommy!) Owen Ray was born on September 28 2006 at 2:35 am. The doctor induced me around 4:oo the afternoon before. He was named after his grandpas. Ralph Owen Merrill and Raymond Oberly. Mark and I both loved the name Owen even before Olivia so that part was easy! It was a great delivery ( epidural) but I could still feel a little bit so I was able to know what and when to push. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces but then they sucked a bunch of fluid out of his lungs so we swear he weighed 8 even . Exactly like caden and Olivia 8 pounds on the dot! Totally wierd but who am I kidding I gained a little more with this pregnancy! Owen has always been a great baby! After the first initial week of hell I mean breastfeeding, he was great! He is a wonderful sleeper but thats because I trained him for schedules from the start. (babywise book is the way to go) Unfortunately I stopped giving him the occasional bottle of formula when he was 4 months old that when I tried to give him one later around 7 months he refused. I was kicking myself because I was sick and really needed to give him one. We got through that and around 11 months we got him to do a sippy cup so finally he was weaned just in time for his birthday! Yea for me! Owen is by far my picky eater! Caden was great and ate everything thats probably why he was and is 95% for his weight. But Owen loves loves dino nuggets. He eats them almost everyday! I do force him to eat some veggies too! He loves baby einstein movies and he loves getting into his big brother and sisters room and playing with their stuff!! This has been a great year and I have loved every minute of it thanks Owen I love you!! Happy Birthday!

Im soooo Alice!

2007-10-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Which Twilight novel character are you?

You're Alice Cullen - You are vivacious and full of energy! Your childlike way of looking at life makes you both amusing and special to your friends. You make an excellent friend, although you do have a tendency to get uppity if you're not immediately given your way- people often give into you for your charm.
Take this quiz!

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Happy Birthday Owen!!

2007-10-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

help

2007-09-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Someone please tell me how to take off that freaking banner or picture thingy! It sooo does not go with my Halloween decor!

My love life is like Casablanca!!

2007-09-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

***Your Love Life is Like Casablanca***

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."

For you, love is never finished. If you've loved someone once, you'll always love them.
You're an old fashioned romantic... even if your relationships don't end up as romantic as you'd like.

Your love style: Traditional and understated

Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Complicated and ambiguous

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatmovieisyourlovelifelikequiz/

Happy Birthday to my nephew Chad!

2007-09-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

We went over to the Huishs for Chads party.The poor thing was born on 9\11. The kids had lots of fun playing around the yard and doing a pinata.My poor sister threw a great party even though she was dying from gall bladder pain. Yesterday she had to get it removed! Jeni and I got to the hospital just in time after the surgery. It was kind of scary seeing her like that,lifeless on a gurney! She was in a lot of pain but will come home in a day! You just cant take chances, when you have a srong pain you should just get it checked out! She put it off and her liver was suffering for it. We are so thankful she is okay! Anyways here are some pictures from the party!

2007-09-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Soooooooooo behind! For Labor day we went and stayed at the Pointe. It was a nice two bedroom suite. Sooo worth it for children. The baby could sleep in one room and we could watch t.v. in the other. We played at the water park and we only lasted until two in the afternoon! Overall it was a quick exciting little vacation!

Yeah baby!

2007-09-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Crazy Gma and Gpa!!

2007-09-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

I spoke to my parents today.They are doing great down in Bolivia. The temple was closed for a while so they went on a little trip around the country and saw and experienced some crazy stuff! It has been hard for me to not have them around but I just try and not think about it or I cry! I miss my mommy and IAM a big baby. I guess because I was the baby of eight and I like to milk it! Iam still totally their favorite. And every time my mom would see us she would say my kids are her favorite. I loved it even though I knew she said it to everyone secretly!They have a little less than a year left so Im counting down. Heres some pictures!

2007-08-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

My stupid template erased my friends list for the eleventeenth time so Im sick of putting it on it takes forever to do but I will someday!

Girl fun!!

2007-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yea! I broke free from the chains that bind a nursing mother and her wee babe! My favorite husband actually let me go with my favorite girls for an overnighter this weekend! Soooooooooo much fun. We went to Rachels cabin and we ate and chatted and danced and ate some more. Owen did surprisingly well! and so did Daddy he managed to take all three to peter piper and dippin dots! He is amazing!Thanks babe!Lindsay and Carrie came in town for this special trip and it was great to have them around. Only one missing was Brooke! Getting together with them makes me forget how old we are getting and we are all the same its hilarious or sad Im not sure!!Oh I finished Eclipse and I did enjoy it better as I read it! Im so sad to wait for the next book or movie!