It's official....

I haven't blogged FOREVER! (and not because I spend my time on face book either... another post, another time we can discuss our dislike for face book taking away our friends who don't have time to update their blogs because they are face booking!)

ANYWAY! The Jefford's are moving! Brandon's company is "lending" him to another company in California for 6 months to a year! Very exciting and a very fun adventure! Very stressful and very fast! They need him to start on July 6th. That means that we leave Texas next Saturday! Everything is falling into place (look what happens when you exercise your faith.... I'm not very good at that:) We will be closer to family. B has a brother in L.A. and a sister in Arizona. My parents and brother and his step mom both in Utah. Best friends in Vegas, Utah, and Az. So excited to see what this part of life has in store for our family.

As I have spent the last four hours packing (Thanks to Hil who has ALL my kids), I can't help but cry! Even as I post the tears won't stop! I love TEXAS! I love my life here. I love my friends, my doctors, my Chiropractor witch doctor, my gym and the members that let me teach them and share their fitness journey (or struggle if you're me). I love my ward, I love playgroup every Tuesday. Most of all I love the memories that we have built. Good and bad, they are mine.

I know I still have a week and a half (to pack:), one more play group, a good bye girls night out, one Sunday, 2 more classes to teach, and a loading party. Not enough....

time to pick up the kiddos

Happy Happy Birthday Dashel Dear!

Today was Dash's birthday! Big boy 4 year old. His party was on Sat. (pictures to come). We are so lucky to have Dash in our family. He is by far the toughest dude I know. He reminds us a lot of Uncle Jeremy (Brandon's little brother) by his naughtiness and thoughtfulness. He also reminds us a lot of Papa Keith. He is a scrapper like his papa was. He holds Keith's name as his middle name. We love you Dash for all you are and all you bring to our family. Thank you for keeping us on our toes! Even at 4 years old you know who you are! We are blessed to have you in our "pack of Jeffords". Happy Birthday Big Boy! Max says he likes Dash "because he plays with me sometimes". (they are not always each others favorite but when it happens it is pretty dang cute!)
Darby says she likes Dash "because he is sometimes a little sneaky and when he gets caught it is cute!" (I am not sure what to say about that)
Mommy says "I love Dash because he shares and isn't afraid to like pink or volunteer to be cat woman when they are playing bat-man" (it is more like he fights to be cat woman...what are you gonna do?)
Juliet loves when he lays next to her and they look face to face and smile at each other.
Daddy says "I love Dash because he has great sense of humor. It's hard to be mad at a kid who is so dang funny!"

such a big girl

Juliet is now big enough to sit in her bumbo! She LOVES it! They didn't have these with my other kids and they are a genius tool! She loves to reach over and pull her little feet! She is also very into sucking on her big toe! GROSS and CUTE! None of my others ever did that either!

Brandon has always carried our kiddos around in the back pack so he can get things done. When they fall asleep he just takes them off and props them up. (here she is on the table!)

Poor poor Dash.

Dash and I were NOT getting along. He was not being my best friend and was definitely not my favorite yesterday. It has been building all week and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. After many tears over a lot of ridiculous things he agreed to get in the tub and after I changed Juliet I would help him and then we would snuggle. Whew! I dealt with the baby and put out one other fire and headed up stairs to total silence! Panic set in because he was supposed to be in the tub and that is a very loud activity! I found him like this, asleep, waiting for me.

This is when it dawned on me that he was SICK! He had to be sick! So later that night I took him to Care Now and sure enough, STREP! I cheered a little when the doctor told me. He looked at me like I was horrid. They can do something with Strep. If he didn't have something then that meant he was just a wretched child! Yay for antibiotics..... maybe in another dose he will be my friend again.....I know another dose will have to work....tonight he peed on his bedding so he wouldn't have to go to bed! Will the antibiotic fix that?

Happy Easter Bawk Bawk!

The Easter Bunny came and brought us our swim suits ! Very cool! Brandon thought the Easter Bunny was a little chinsy this year with just a suit and a little candy, but I reminded him the Easter Bunny isn't Santa ! My granny has made all their Easter baskets! She told me I couldn't have any more babies because she can't buy those baskets any more. They are the same kind of baskets she made for me and my brother when we were little!
Brandon thought it was time to have a talk with Darby about the E.B. I didn't agree but there were so many questions and so she and I went for a drive to discuss. Of course she cried and asked about Santa! Duh! He is totally legit! Whew! We talked about the magic for her to help with her brothers and she seemed o.k. I looked back in the rear view mirror and she seemed sad still, so I asked if she was o.k. "Yea, I just feel like I am keeping a dirty little secret"! I love that girl and her conscience!
NANA!!!!!! made all our Easter outfits, including the hat and hair bow and matching ties for the boys! I wish I could sew like her! The sad thing is that it is now cheaper to buy the clothes because the material is so expensive. I hope she continues to overlook that and will make them their Easter outfits as long as her fingers and pocket book will allow her!
Tons of people at church asked me if I made them... it was so tempting to say Yes! Thank you Nana and Papa!

Blue Bonnets in Texas!

The Blue Bonnets are here! It is kind of a tradition that you take your kiddies pics in the Blue Bonnets if you live here. They bloom in April and are all gone by early May. The only bad thing is that they bloom the best off of the freeways. So you have to pull over on the free way and try to be safe. In the 6 1/2 years we have lived here I have never done it. My good friend Hil dragged me out and I am so happy! We found a place off of the freeway next to an underpass so we were totally safe!
The Blue Bonnet is the Texas state flower and if you pick them you can be arrested. (Max told me that)!
It was so windy! The girls look so pretty here that I am going to change the side photo on my blog to be this one for Juliet!
We love the Boyers!
I loved this picture! I took it when they were looking at Hil's camera!


Max's new blog photo! What a handsome, sweet boy!
Juliet was not appreciating laying in the Blue Bonnets! (Later I realized this cute summer dress opens in the back...it only has 2 buttons...OUch!)
Dash wanted to play in the freeway so bad!

Max's field trip.

Max's first field trip was to the River Legacy Science Center. (Where Dash goes to Nature School.) Here their guide is talking to them about things that come out in spring! She talked about all kinds of animals and things. She was obsessed with the fact that they all had babies and they fed their babies different ways. She kept asking them how mammals fed their babies. Mrs. Topp and I just kept looking at each other and holding our breath! Did this woman realize I just had a baby and Max was about to embarrass us all with too much detail! Fortunately he didn't say anything, he just kept raising his hand and pointing to his chest. Right about when he was starting to lift up his shirt to demonstrate, the teacher let them all know that mammals got their milk from NIPPLES or TEETS! Thank you!The kids loved seeing the animals and their habitats. I love this picture because Max is knee to knee with his friend Katie (the girl with the long brown hair) and neither one of them was oobed out by it. Mrs. Topp said that they are really good friends and she would see them alone talking or playing together often!
After the lecture about feeding your young the kids got to go around to stations to explore like scientist.
Max was looking at snake skin under a microscope!
Here is a Butterfly habitat that he is checking out with a magnifying glass.
After they got to eat lunch at the park and play with their friends. Max wanted a picture with all his good friends that he sits with. This is Hollie.
Jason and Max.
This is Mary Vu (max does NOT love her). She is just one of the guys because she likes DS and Legos and Batman and her parents let her watch The Dark Night! She is with another friend, Haven. Mary didn't want me to take her picture because it implied that there might be something between her and Max. She allowed it but only with Haven!
What a cute dude!
Max and Ethan! Ethan knows all things DS and Pokeman. Needless to say he is pretty dang cool in Max's eyes. He does tell Max that his mom puts to many treats in his lunch. I think Ethan is jealous!

ONLY 4 MORE!

I know! I just blogged my brains out! I only have 4 more entries to be caught up from having a baby! HEEEE HEEEE! I would keep going, but I don't know where Dash is, I am supposed to bake cookies for achievement days and I have to pee! Keep scrolling down to get caught up with the Jeffords! ONLY 4 MORE!!!!!

I HATE WALLPAPER!

We are almost done with all the wallpaper in our house! Nat, Tiff and myself took down the kitchen and downstairs bath and master room wallpaper. Brandon and I did the boys room and Brandon did the master bath himself! One of the rooms had 2 layers of wallpaper! NEVER again will I buy a house with wallpaper or wallpaper borders! We do all this stuff just to get ready to sell! GRRRR!

The Jefford's title of Liberty

We had an F.H.E on Captain Moroni and the title of Liberty. Brandon was Captain Moroni and he tore his shirt off . The kids thought he had lost it. He had a bowl on his head for a helmet and a light saber for a sword. Then he gave the kids some strips of fabric to tear themselves and throw them at his feet and make a covenant for that week. It was very effective and very exciting! Darby said she would be respectful the whole week, Max would keep his hands to himself, Dash was not going to throw a fit at bedtime, Brandon would have meaningful personal scripture study (goody goody) and I was not going to yell or raise my voice no matter the volume of the rest of the house! I will tell you this FHE was very effective and so much fun, BUT beware of what you covenant! I don't care if you never ever raise your voice at anyone, if you promise your kids you won't do it at all that week they will hold you to it and it is horrid! Sometimes you have to say very quietly but very sternly "You are making it really hard for me to keep my covenant!"

Happy happy birthday Callie Dear!

Yes, April 1st is Callie Padmea Thomas Jefford's birthday! Yes we had a cake for the cat! (the kids would never let this day go by with our recognizing our sweet Callie.)
Darby was the ring leader in the celebration! We gave Callie a thing of her favorite kitty treats!
I think she enjoyed her party!

Holy Random Bat man!

This all really random stuff but I have to get it out there so it is off the camera and Nana can see!

#1 We are singing praises to my friend Nora Lee who let us borrow her swing when the motor in ours died! (After a few kids they just die I guess)! Nora hooked us up with a way better swing and IT PLUGS IN THE WALL! No more batteries! It also swings side to side and Juliet will sleep in it for 2 hours at a time or longer some times! (Wouldn't you ? Look at that thing...it even has a setting for cricket sounds!) You can hear B and I singing odes to Nora through out the day! (Now if someone would just come and fold the laundry behind the baby!)

Juliet hates tummy time unless she can do it on the boppy! You just have to watch her though because she will push her legs so hard that she can push herself over it! The kids love and love and love on her. Sometimes she just wants to be left alone!

Another thank you to Christina Wurtz! The saucer is the one thing we through away after 3 kids (and it was a hand me down so who knows how many before ours). We thought it would be the one new thing we would buy for this baby! Yea, you think that but then they are here and it is time to buy it and, well you see what happens! You just call around and borrow! Thank you Miss Christina! She LOVES it!

I just loved the polka dotted legs!
Juliet gets to have solid food (cereal) now. Of course she likes it! (One more thing for mom to do in her day!) :)

"Please mom, no more, I 'm done!"

EXTREME AIR HEADS!!!!!

The other day Max came and asked for a candy in the candy dish. He told me that these candies were gross at first but then they got good. It was soooo hysterical to watch him eat it I let/made him have another! I just kept clicking the camera! I would ask him "Is it good yet?" He would say "Nooogh" (Kind of like you say when you are having a contraction) Sometimes he would bend over and put his hands on his knees to "breath it out"! I would ask again "Is it good Yet?" and finally he said in a strained voice, "Mom, will you please stop asking that?" I was silent after that, aside from my stifled laughter, because I knew he needed some quiet to get through this!
Here the contraction is building and he can anticipate the pain.
Here he might just cry!
If I can just get through this....
I was laughing pretty hard on this photo!
Just breath! You can do it!
Here was a little relief after a pretty big "contraction"!
NO! Here comes another!
Ahhhhhh!!!! "It's good now mom! You can talk to me again!" I don't know about you but that would have to be some dang good candy to go through all that! I was sweaty just watching him!