Here's the latest...

Here's the latest on Mr. Gavin!!! He's already starting to change! I can't believe it!! I can't wait until I get to see him again!! He got this cute hat from Grandpa Jim for Christmas.

Gavin Robert Carroll is here...

Gavin was born on Dec.6,2008 at 3:07am. He is such a doll baby. We love him. Emmy is in seventh heaven when she holds him. She's so cute with him and so is Ave. It took a while for him to warm up to him but now he's quite the helper. Nat and Rob are going to be great parents. Here's a few pics of the sweet-sweet.

Around the table at Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did. We went to Josh and Becky's out in Herriman. It was small and quaint but very nice. Becky did an amazing job decorating the tabels. She told me she went and bought all new table settings and decor for the occassion. Really nice job Bec! We had a great time. We spent time with Gordon and Marilyn whom we rarely see and it was nice. The only minor mishap we had was we forgot the cranberries. At the last minute as we were sitting down to eat, I realized there were none. Jared and Josh ran to the store to get some, whew, saved the day. Can't have Thanksgiving without cranberries. After, I realized, I think I was incharge of bringing them. Ooopsy!!! Here's some pics of everyone around the table. (Notice the decor!)

Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Ok, I found this recipe in a Kraft Food and Family magazine and I had to share it. OMG!!! These cupcakes are to die for!!! If you love lemon, which I am a HUGE fan of lemon, you will LOVE them! And, sooooooooooo easy! I took them to my Stampin Up club last night and they were a huge hit! Great for the holiday season coming up too!

Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcakes

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 small box of Lemon Jello pudding and pie filling
1 cup water
4 egg whites
2 Tbsp. oil
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 pkg. (4oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp.lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350'. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, egg whites and oil in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. (Batter will be thick). Beat on medium speed 2 min. Spoon batter evenly into 24 paper lined muffin cups.

Bake 21 to 24 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Meanwhile, beat sugar, cream cheese, butter and lemon juice with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Frost cupcakes.

Garnish with lemon zest. (optional)

He misses Grammer...

Here are few pics of Avery putting a pumpkin on Grammer's grave. He sure misses her, as we all do. Gramps went and picked out a pumpkin and let Avery draw a face on it then they went down to put it on her grave. Awww. I had to go down later and take pics of it. He said that Avery wanted to know where her head was so he could put it on her head and Gramps told him that he was standing on it. So he put it down up by the headstone.

Dancing Queens...

Sorry, I have Dancing Queen/ABBA on the brain. Just saw Mama Mia. Anyway, these girls are truly talented. Emily and her cousins got the opportunity to go to a Drill Team/Dance Camp at Riverton High School. It was two nights of practicing and then they got to perform their routines the third night at half time in a JV football game. They were soooo cute. I was amazed at how well Emily did. She hasn't shown to much interest in dance or anything for that matter, and she was a little leary at first to try this but I had already signed her up, it was too late. But I think she was really glad she did it. And boy was I proud mama watching my baby out there on the field shakin' her booty. It brought tears to my eyes actually. I hope I can get her to take a regular dance/hip-hop class now that she knows what its all about. She really did have a great time. Here's some pics of her and her cousins and one of her, Jared, and Ave!

A face only a mother could love....

Is this a face or what. He just got out of the tub and he loves to wrap a towel around his head of no hair I might add (like mom does). Perfect photo op. As his grandpa says, Avery, you have a face only a mother could love!! Aww, he's my cute boy.

8-8-08 Tag...

Hey, I saw this over on my cousins blog this morning...thought I'd share it and see what you guys have to say. In honor of opening ceremonies of the olympics being held on 8-8-08 here is a fun tag. Leave a comment with your answers here on my blog so I can see what your interests are. Just for fun!!!

8 of your favorite shows: Greys, Hopkins, ER, Supernanny, John and Kate Plus 8,SVU, Biggest Loser, American Idol.

8 favorite resturants: El Rancho Grande, CafeRio, Spaghetti Factory, Red Lobster, Noodle Company, Outback, PF Changs, Kneaders

8 things that happened today: Well its only 8:30 in the morning so not much going on but I'll try and stretch here...Lets see, Emily woke up with a swollen eye, Im keeping her home for the morning to see if she needs to go the DR., Ive looked at a StampinUp sampler mag. this morning, Ive had 2 cups of coffee, Ive read all my friends blogs through once already, Avery just got up and they're watching SpongeBob, Im going to work later to do a perm, I am going to dinner tonight with my dad and the kids. (is that 8?)

8 things to look foward to: Avery going back to school, Averys playdate with Parker tomorrow at Parkers house, Moonlight Madness at work to be over with, Kennecott's Lagoon Day, scrapbooking, Stamping Club on Thursday, getting back into the gym and back on my diet when Avery goes back to school, Natalie having her baby!!!.

8 things I love about summer: BBQ's, Swimming, Sitting on the porch watching the kids play outside, More daylight, wearing summer clothes,(capris,tanks,shorts), Cherry Hill, Lagoon, picnics.

8 olympic events I want to watch: Well, to be quite honest, I dont really watch the olympics. Your asking "Why this tag survey then??", Well just cuz!!!! It sounded kinda fun.

8 things on my wish list: kitchen remodel, bathroom remodel, debt paid down, more stamping/scrapbook stuff, to get MY hair done, more family time, not have to work, everyone to just be happy!!!!

8 people I want to leave their answers here: anyone....anyone...

Trip to the zoo!

Yesterday we went to the Hogle Zoo with all the usual crowd...in-laws, friends, family...It was a great day. We got there early and the weather was great, just slightly breezy. We couldn't have picked a better day to go. All the animals were awake and eating their breakfast when we got there. Kathy and I were discussing the amazing animals that our great big God makes...How amazing and intricate are the giraffes and the zebras...Just can't fathom...No two patterns on the zebras and the giraffes for that matter are the same. Blows me away. After making the rounds to see all the animals, we rode the new carousel which was sooo cool. Avery chose to ride the gorilla of course. Emmy chose the cheetah. Then we rode the train. We stopped and had a picnic lunch which consisted of the famous egg salad sandwiches with all the other picnic fixins... I love eating picnics at the zoo. Reminds me of when I was a kid. We always had egg salad sandwiches. YUM-O!!! Ahhh, MEMORIES, MEMORIES!!! It was a great day with the fam...Jared was in a great mood and the kids had a great time. Here's a few pics of everyone.

My boy is 8!!!

Avery's official birthday was yesterday, July 15. We had our second birthday party for him with all his friends from school. The day started off not so well. I woke up with the flu. Oh, I was miserable but as the day went on I tried to pull myself together for the party. Thank God for my parents and my sister helping me...They did all the work. I just mainly observed the festivities. The kids started off by swimming for an hour while the pizza's were in the oven. Then they feasted on Papa Murphys Pizza followed by a piece of CARS cake. Then he opened his presents which consisted of Interactive ET and Elliot dolls, Thomas the Train Carnival Track set, also a mountain track, ET night light and mug, Spiderman 4 wheeler, Spiderman Yatzee game, a new swimming suit and outfit, and more little things that are not coming to mind right now. This is not including the haul he got on Sunday with the family that consisted of a new bike, a T-ball set, Go Fish!cards, books, games, and action figures. Every birthday here seems like Christmas. My kids are so blessed with wonderful grandparents and extended family who love them soooo much. I dont know what we would do if we didnt have them. The kids in the pics are Averys friends, Parker, Sebastion, and Thomas. They are all in his class at school.

Every Night....

Every night we go through the routine of putting everyone in place...Spiderman, Big Woody, Little Woody, Woody and Woody and even another Woody, Dare Devil, oh and cant forget little Spiderman. We've now added Kong but hes not in the pic. They all have their specific spots. I think I counted 8 characters not including Avery!!!
How does he sleep with all those your asking....Well, I dont know actually. All I know is its a twin bed and somehow, someway, he makes it work. I dont hear a peep out of him all night.

Im back....just in time for the 4th!

Wowzers....Its been a while since Ive blogged. My computer was down and in the shop for 4 days only to tell me we just needed a new computer. What a headache its been to get the new one up and running the way I had my old one. Still frustrated....Its been such a busy week too with gettting ready for VBS,(Vacation Bible School) and preparing for a family reunion and so on and so forth. Im worn out.

Yesterday, for the 4th and the first day of our Milne Family Reunion, we went to Cherry Hill. It was great. We all came home sunburned and waterlogged. Many times down the tube run and many more down the waterslides. Whew...long day, but we had a ball. Its been a tradition to go to Cherry Hill in September with the Hines family for Grammers Birthday/Labor Day. With Grammer gone now who knows if we will all still go. I thought of her lots yesterday. It was nice being there with my in-laws but it wasnt the same.

After Cherry Hill, we came home for a quick dinner then off to Beckys for fireworks!!! The last couple years we've been crashing her neighborhood fireworks show. Four or five familys on her street pull out lawnchairs in the street and they all let off the fireworks together. Its pretty fun, the kids enjoy it.

The second half of the Milne Family Reunion is today, Saturday. Oh, it feels good to take a Saturday off work by the way. The Milnes are Jared's mom's side of the family. Great people!!!! Love em!!! The guys are going golfing first. Jared is looking forward to golfing with his uncle Chris and cousin CJ, then we are going to Scera Park in Orem for a big family picnic. Lots of food, games, crafts for the kids and so on... Hope everyone had a great holiday!!

You are special!!!

Ok, so I promised pics of the party last night but with the comotion of it all, I forgot to grab my camera. Although, I did get a pic this morning of one of the highlights of our Fathers Day...This is what I got my hubby from the kids. Its a vintage T-shirt of Mr. Rogers. YOU ARE SPECIAL!

HA HA HA!!!! We laughed, and he loved it. He's into those funny t-shirts. Among the favs are his The Christmas Story shirt with the kids' tongues stuck to the flag pole, and one that says "My anger management class pisses me off."

I also got him a huge bag of M&Ms which he loves. We had a great night with the fam and now its back to the grind...

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Happy Fathers Day To all the "Men" in my life!!!!
Yesterday we got to spend some time up in Ogden with Mom, Russ, and Gramps. We also got to see all the cousins and cousin's kids...It was great. Im so glad we are staying close since Grammer died. I love spending time with my cousins. We had some funny stories goin' last night. We laughed and laughed...The food was good too...even the beans MOM!!!! The only thing missing was Nat and Rob. Miss you Nat!!!
Today Jared had to work which he wasn't happy about...usually he gets to golf on Fathers Day but he'll live, he golfs every other day anyway right???? We are getting together with his family and my dad and Connie for a BBQ later tonight. The pool is set up and all the kids will be swimming. It should be fun! I'll take pics and post them tomorrow.
Everyone have a great day!!!
Love you!

The Toothfairy has come to an end...

Ok, so this happened a few weeks ago but I need to document it before it leaves my mind for good....My sweet daughter who is 11 (a little old to still believe in the toothfairy) recently lost a molar tooth and was preparing for the tooth fairy to come. She has always pulled her own teeth out by the way (ewwww, heebie jeebies). So she decides she is going to write the toothfairy a letter to go in the baggie with her tooth. I was like ...ok, I guess. I asked her if I could read the letter. It said 'Dear Toothfairy, I would like $40.... please' And thats it...I was shocked!! Yet I couldn't help but crack up laughing. She didn't think it was funny. I said "Oh, Emmy, I don't think the toothfairy can afford $40". And she said "Well can she afford $10?". And I said "Well the most I think she's ever given for one tooth is $5 but its usually only $1. But you will just have to wait and see I guess. Here's a pic of the letter. As you can see, she changed it from $40 to $5. Isn't she great?

So the toothfairy that I am, I pondered this for a long while. Everyone was in bed almost asleep and I kept telling myself, Ive got to get up and put money under her pillow, but sure enough I dozed off without doing it. I woke up the next morning freaking out that I forgot to do it...So she was still sleeping but she's such a light sleeper and every time I opened her door she stirred a little.

I decided it was time to tell her truth about the toothfairy. I just told her "Ya know Em, your 11 now and you're old enough to know that.......so on and so on....Needless to say, she took it quiet well. At first she had a look of disappointment on her face but when I said I would give her $5 for her tooth and her "cute" letter anyway, she perked right up and hasn't said another thing about it.

Oh, by the way, she still believes in "THE OTHERS". So we will leave it at that.

This is my family!!! This picture was taken at my dads house, on his porch.

This is me. This is my life.

Hi There!!! Im Jana!
Never done this before. I heard some people talking at work about blogs and how you can turn them into books. I thought (being the scrapbooker that I am), how neat!! I'll start by giving a bit of history of me and my family!!!
I am 34 years old and I have been married to Jared Nickle for 14 years. I am the mother of 2 precious kids. Emily is 11 and Avery is 7. We live in West Jordan, Utah and we have 2 dogs, (Trixie Belle and Riley) and 2 cats ( Alex and Scodats).
I am a hairstylist in a local Day Spa where I work part time (3 days a week) doing hair services, pedicures and manicures. Its such a calming, relaxing place to work. I love it! Just enough time away from home to socialize with people.
I started crafting about 3 years ago. Never thought I would be a crafter, never wanted to for that matter but I went to a stamping club as a guest of my friend one night and the rest is history basically!! I love making cards, scrapbooking, altered projects....and on and on.
I am a Christian woman that walks daily seeking the will of God in my life. My desire is to raise my kids with Christian values that they would grow up to be successful, Godly adults.