A day in the life...

Our little seedlings are starting to grow....

2011-05-03T13:26:00.001-07:00

All our hard work, ok Lee's and Dave's hard work is starting to pay off. The green house is up and running and in full bloom. All I can say is there is no excuse for any of our yards to not be beautiful this year with the hundreds of seeds that were planted! Here is the progress so far!

Green house

2011-03-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

My cute husband and dad and even little Beckett have been working so hard all winter long to build there beloved green house aka the wood house and tree house, thanks Beckett. It is now in its final stages and it is sooo awesome. I can't wait to start planting my vegatables and flowers soon!!!

Happy birthday big boy!

2011-03-19T19:06:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my Beckett is 4. He is growing up so fast and is still as sweet as ever! He wanted a rock star party this year and had so much faith in me to make a guitar cake, I couldn't let him down. After the efforts of Dave, Sloane, Beckett and I we managed to pull of a pretty decent guitar cake. We had family over and had a fun time. Thanks to everyone for all the fun presents even from his aunt Lisa in Alaska who sent some cute moose socks, "thems is my favorite socks."
Happy birthday Beck!
We love you

He is One!!

2010-09-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Our little baby boy turned one! I can't even believe it, I swear the more children you have the faster their little lives go!! Hayes is so cute and happy and bring so much joy to our family. We celebrated the big event at the Mayan with my parents, the kids thought it was pretty neat. Then we continued the celebration at Bear lake for the rest of the weekend with the rest of the family. Thanks to Hailey and her family for having us up to have some fun in the sun. Dave sucks!!!! with that being said he does not suck at swimming!! We did a relay triathlon with Dave at the swim, Lee at the bike, and me at the run. Lets just say it was a good thing the relay category was full because we would have won, instead we settled for second in the 50-54 male age group. We rocked!! All in all it was a fun relaxing way to end the summer.

First day of school, times two!

2010-09-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

We now have TWO kids in school, where as the time gone?? Our sweet Sloane is in the First grade and is gone all day, oh how we miss her! She is loving it so much and thinks it is pretty cool to get to take her own lunch. Our sweet Beckett doesn't know how to function without his event coordinator around, luckily two of his days are filled with his new school where he is loving to learn new songs, painting, having snacks, and playing in the sand box. There is also a sweet little thing that has already caught his eye, he tells me every school day about how " her looked beautiful today." Needless to say he is having a good time!!

Swim Lessons

2010-09-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

We had the kids take swim lessons the summer with my cute and patient friend Melissa. The first lesson was quit the adventure, I never knew a little boy could scream as loud or as long as my sweet little Beckett did but by the end of the two weeks we couldn't keep him off the slide!! Sloane as usual was an awesome student from start to finish! She learned how to swim across the pool all by herself, way to go sister we are so proud of you!!

Flaming Gorge

2010-09-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

It has been a long summer, we have been having too much fun so there has been no time to blog. We started the summer off with a trip to Flaming Gorge with Jeanne's family...the whole family. It was a blast, it was the first time that we spent the night in a tent as a family. The kids had a great time at the lake, by the end of the trip I had even convinced Beckett to jump of a cliff (a small cliff). While we were there we celebrated Sloane's sixth birthday by taking a trip down the river. She had a good time and after one of the rapids stated "THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" I would call that a success!

March

2010-04-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

March came in like a lamb and went out like a lion at the Raulstons. Jeanne and I were privleged enough to get invited to go to Maui with our friends Brooke and Brandon. We were able to go with them a few years ago and apparently they forgot how much we owned them at Hand and Foot so they invited us back for a re-match ( this time we let them win in hopes of a invitaion next time they go). We had a really good time snorkelling and hanging at the beach. We decided to try surfing so we got a couple boards and hit the waves, we got a little ambitious and decided to track down some good size waves. None of us have ever surfed and none of us were willing to pay for lessons so the first spot we hit ended with blood and four tired hombres. We then decided to head south to a spot where the waves are perfect for "small people" and girls that weigh less than 120 lbs. neither of which Brandon and I are, so we had a hard time catching anything worth writting about. The girls though dominated those waves like they had been doing it for years. Maui was a blast it is definitley a place that I could see myself spending 10-11 months out of the year.

Now to the Lion part of March- I turned thirty. Really the only reason I mention my birthday is to give big ups to my beautiful wife and her cake baking skills. Although this cake looks like it fell off the roof onto the plate it tasted like it had fallen from the heavens.

Six Months

2010-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Our baby just turned six months old- this is the last time we will have a six month old so we are really try to enjoy every moment of him being a baby. He has started to eat solid foods and is enjoying every minute of it- sometimes he will look at us as if he is getting away with something like he is sneaking the food from our hands or the fork we are holding, he definitely has Sloane's personality. All of our kids get along so well- we can only hope this will always be the case.

Quarterly Report

2010-03-08T22:37:00.001-08:00

Halloween- Scary
Thanksgiving- Filling
Christmas- Plentiful
Valentines day- Romantic
Beckett's Birthday- Rockin'

Beck turned three this last month and we threw him a Fresh Beat Band Party (his favorite show on the tube). We had a blast, Jeanne created a cake that looked like drums and he could not wait to play them. We turned the kitchen into the Groovie Smoothie of which Dave was in charge of the smoothies. Thanks to everyone who came to the party and for all the great gifts and even better company.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

There is a spooky Pirate ship to play on
A crazy maze
Look at those characters

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch this week and let them choose their own pumpkins. We went to Engh Gardens, they have a million pumpkins all shapes, sizes and colors, it makes it very hard to choose the perfect one! Beckett searched high and low for the one he wanted and I am pretty sure he found the smallest pumpkin ever grown!

Hayes Blessing Day.

2009-10-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Our baby Hayes was blessed this last Sunday, I can't believe he is already six weeks old! Dave just happen to Bless him on the same Sunday we got a new Bishop, the church was packed to say the least( no pressure Dave). Dave did such a good job despite the huge audience, we are all so proud of him and Hayes did awesome also he was awake the whole time and just looked around so quietly!

Milestones

2009-09-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a huge month at the Raulstons, aside from adjusting to a new baby Sloane has started kindergarten and Beckett has stepped his game up and started going on the big potty. Sloane is so excited to going to School everyday she can hardly wait to go to sleep in anticipation for the next day of learning. She has started to read, which I swear I did not do until I was a Freshman in college, she is getting so big! There are a couple kids in her class from pre-school that she is friends with and has made a few new friends too.

We have been working with Beckett on potty training for the last couple months, he never seemed to interested in it even though we were holding a new mit and ball hostage until he went consitently, that is until he saw his new baby brother had diapers just like him...he decided that was not so cool. Last Saturday he decided diapers were bunk and he wanted to use the toilet like the rest of the fam. He has not looked back on his decision and is a bonefide potty user, we are so proud of him.

Hayes has started to smile and coo, he is still struggling with sleeping through the night but is getting better every week so we hold out hope that a solid eight hours is coming soon. He is getting big he already is looking around when the kids are playing near him wanting to join in on their shenanigans.

New Addition

2009-08-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

We welcomed Hayes Benjamin to the family on Wednesday the 26th. He weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long. Jeanne was scheduled to be induced that day and in fact was in labor when we showed up for the induction, it was reminiscent of Sloanes birth when she showed up to the hospital dilated to an eight, she has a crazy pain threshold. Hayes on the way out decided to come out like superman with his left hand leading the way and his right hand on his hip, the Doctor kept saying "this is not the way I would do it but we will make it work.". His incorrect birthing form made his come out looking like he was on the wrong end of a prize fight, he was swollen and bruised, pretty brutal. The kids were pretty stoked to have baby brother finally make an appearance, and Jeanne was happier than anyone to be back to normal. We are excited to start this new stage in our life and are grateful for all the well wishes from friends and family.

Snake!

2009-08-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had a visitor at our pond this last weekend, a snake! The kids got a kick out of seeing a snake in our yard but I realized the massive amounts of danger we were in so I was not to keen about them getting to close. If I had to guess I would say it was close to 17 feet in length and probably about as thick as my thigh...thick not chunky. I was able to capture a picture of it with my phone, unfortunatly I do not know how to get the picture off my phone so I have to use a stock photo of what I recall the snake to look like. I am pretty sure nature has it out on the Raulstons, Sloane and I both got stung by bees within the last two weeks and now this reptillian intruder. I have not been able to find the snake since our encounter but I am sure he is lurking in the shadows waiting for his chance to attack. So help me if any of my kids or fish go missing that snake is going to feel my wrath.

Countdown to Thirty

2009-07-27T21:07:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Jeanne's Birthday this last weekend. She is now officially on the down slope to thirty, where has the time gone. We decided to go out to a movie and lunch on Saturday to celebrate. One of our favorite places to eat is Yamasaki (900 E. 6000 S.) so we went and just got in before they closed between and lunch and dinner. After lunner we saw "The Proposal" which was not as bad as I anticipated, not a huge fan of Sandra. Anyways I thought I would take this time to write down my 29 favorite things about Jeanne then I re-thought that and decided to do just my favorite 11 things (2+9=11)

11. She does great hair
10. She takes life serious but not too serious
9. She is willing to do things out of her comfort zone (a tri with 7 weeks to train)
8. She has a great sense of humor, dry just like I like it
7. She is the voice of reason in our house
6. She holds no grudge even when I prune (butcher) her favorite plants
5. She loves Michael Cera (see prior posts)
4. She is super low maintenance but still looks fabulous (even preggers)
3. She is really open minded and holds no judgment over anyone

2. She is a great wife... I am a pain in the arse sometimes and she still loves me.
1. She is a great mom- I hope our kids grow up and realize how awesome of a mom she is.

I LOVE you and Happy Birthday.

Let the Good Times Roll

2009-07-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sloane celebrated her fifth birthday this past weekend...I cant believe we have a five year old! She decided she wanted to have a "Sponge Bob Water Party" this consisted of a kiddie pool, water balloons and a caterpillar whose legs whip water around the yard. We invited all of her closest friends and family and had a wet and wild blast in our back yard. Sloane wanted to have a orange frosted polka dot cake and Jeanne was more than willing to fill that cake order (watch your back "Cake Boss"). After the shindig Sloane Jeanne and I went to Sloane's favorite eatery Cafe Rio and went to Target so she could use her "credit card" (gift card) on some new toys. Being the good big sister she is she spent a portion of her money on a ball that she shares with her brother. We are so proud of her and could not ask for a better daughter. We love you Sloane Ba`lone

San Diego

2009-06-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

We went to California with the Slaugh Family this week and have had a blast. There is nothing better than the warm California sun draining your energy while you splash around in the ocean. Sloane took about three seconds to warm up to the ocean but Beckett was a little more timid, but by the second day he was jumping on the boogie board begging to be pulled up and down the beach. Sloane has been really helpful with teaching Beck the ropes of the beach and keeping an eye on all the little kids. For fathers day Beckett took me to a Padres game, what a great fathers day gift, it is like he knew exactly what I wanted.

Catch Up

2009-03-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Where to begin, Jeanne has decided that blogging is not her forte so I am going to take over for a bit until she can bust out of her slump. Beckett turned two in February and graduated to a big bed, so far he has been really good aside from a few nights that Sloane led him astray. Sloane has been doing really good in school, she is meeting with her kindergarten teacher in a few weeks...I can't believe she is going to be in public school. We took a trip to Fresno to see the Raulston's, it was so nice to see everyone. My cousin has a daughter that is Sloane's age they had so much fun together, I wish we lived closer because 12 hours is kind of a long drive for a play date. I will try to post once a week...well at least once a month unless something saaaweet happens.

Luckiest Man Alive

2009-02-14T16:37:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day Sweetheart! I just wanted to thank you for being such a great wife and mother. Every morning I wake up and realize how lucky I am to have you as my wife. I am so glad my six months of free haircuts has turned into what it has. I look forward to the rest of forever with you. Love, Dave

One adveture after another......

2009-02-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

Sloane is quite the adventurous type, and she asked her dad to take her hiking, so he did and they had a blast! She is such a trooper, she hiked a mile and a half up to a lake and back with treacherous snowy conditions and loved every minute of it. She took her camera and got some cool pictures!

We have a little girl who loves to do arts and crafts, so today was a stamping day. Unfortunately for us our little boy loves to do it as well, he's just not as good at getting it on the paper!( by the way ink pad ink does not come off as easily as you'd think!)

Christmas and Everything in Between

2009-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a lot of fun, Grammy and Papa Slaugh slept over and had Christmas morning with us, it was so much fun. Then we went up to their house and met up with Steve and Buz's family to have a yummy breakfast. Christmas night we went to the Raulston's for dinner with Jon's family and Grammy Crickett. A Few days after Christmas we had dinner with some of Dave's friends from high school, it was a fun night and we appreciate the Ferre's for having us over to their house. It was nice to see everyone and the kids had a really good time, unfortunately at the expense of one of their decorations. OOPS! We spent New Years with the Longhurst's and then watched the Utes roll the Crimson Tide a few nights later with them. GO UTES! Last year was a great year and we are sure that this year will be just as good. We are grateful for all our friends and family and look forward to all the good times we will have in 2009.

We have had a take over....

2008-12-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Sloane has decided I have not been doing a good enough job with the blog, so now she is in charge. She has been choosing the backgrounds and that is why they have been changing almost every day. She also is in charge of the title and the colors of the words. Hence the new name Sloane's blog, 4 year old's think they know everything!

New do for the Holidays!

2008-12-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

So my little girl has been growing her hair all year long, and in one snap decision she decided to cut it. I am starting to have regrets after yesterday morning when I had to wake her up early to shower so I could blow out her hair ( ridiculous I know, but I am a hairstylist). It is definitely going to be a lot more work for me than her standard ponytail. With that being said, it is all worth it because she looks so freaking cute!

Picture Tag

2008-12-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Ok Hailey I am doing this for you. It is a game of tag were you are supposed to go to your 4th file and find your 4th picture in that file and explain it so here I go!
It is a picture I have already posted so bare with me. This is Sloane in her little Hawaiian outfit that her Grammy Crickett gave her over the Summer, she wore it just about every day for a week! Isn't she the cutest, Thanks Grammy!

Now I am going to Tag some people,
Sarah, Brooke, and Sara..... your it!

Pop Star in the Making!

2008-12-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

So I had to post this picture of my little Diva, more for the reason that she looks like she should be eight years old instead of my little baby girl and it makes me so sad how fast she growing! But I think its really cute also!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in St. George with the entire Slaugh Family. A big thanks goes to Aunt Joni for having all 30+ at her house for the Thanksgiving Feast, it was so nice to have the family all together. The weather was just right for football, fun at the park and hiking. The weekend got a little weird when Sloane and Hudson decided to reverse roles and become Stalone and Kate Hudson, wierd but awfully funny.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would post a few pictures of the cutest COW and WITCH I have ever seen, oh ya and the cutest LADYBUG, CHICKEN, and WOODY! Believe it or not but those are not false lashes on Sloane, its just not fair. I just want to say thank you to all who made it so much fun, and to the Schoells for feeding us the most delicious chili so we had the energy to do lots of Trick or Treating!

Dan & Tricia Disco Fever!!

2008-10-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

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So in LOVE!!

2008-10-29T14:20:00.001-07:00

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raulstons

2008-10-29T09:56:00.001-07:00

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Raulstons

2008-10-29T09:31:00.001-07:00

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St. George

2008-10-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Mud is just so much fun...

We went to St. George last weekend and it was so much fun!! The weather was beautiful so we got to spend the whole weekend at the pool or the lake. It was a great way to end the season with all the people we love around us ( except Hailey, who was off having her own fun in sunny California,) and the awesome weather. Who could ask for more?

Frankenboy

2008-10-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Beckett decided to learn how to walk up the stairs today and took a tumble into the banister and split his head open above his eye as his proud parents looked on. He is going to give his mother a heart attack before the year is up. He had to get six stitches, but that did not slow him down he was wrestling with Papa and throwing his balls around like nothing even happened. He is such a brave little boy, I was so proud of him. We are just hoping he gets all his bumps and bruises out of the way now and that this is not going to be a life long venture.

Fall is here...

2008-10-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Dream Man

2008-09-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have always thought of Micheal Cera as one of the sexiest men alive and I have taken a page out of a certain member of our family who loves to cause a ruckus and started writing letters to People Magazine to have him considered for the cover this year. I thought this picture captured the raw power Cera possesses. This year more than ever your vote needs to be cast- let your voice be heard and vote Cera for Sexiest man alive.

Vampire Weekend

2008-09-19T21:28:00.001-07:00

So in my search for music I came across a couple new Vampire Weekend songs that I thought I would throw on our blog to share with everyone. They are a Raulston family favorite and I had not heard anything other than what was on their album so I am pretty excited about this find.

Who needs a Vacation

2008-09-18T18:47:00.001-07:00

I think she's sending us a message. Isn't she the cutest little Hawaiin girl you ever did see!

First Day of School

2008-09-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today my big girl had her first day of Pre School. I can't believe she is so old, these last four years have flown! It doesn't even phase her, she is so happy to be going she can't even stand it. Adam, a neighborhood boy is in her class this year so we will see how much learning goes on. Sloane thinks it is really sweet that her teachers name is Audrey like her middle name. She goes three times a week, this is great for me because it gives me time to spend some one on one time with Beckett. I cant imagine what it will be like when they are both in school.

Leigh Slaugh

2008-08-31T20:13:00.001-07:00

We decided to have a fun filled day up at Snowbird today. They have a bunch of things to do, such as; a Zip Line, an Alpine Slide, a Mechanical Bull (that was sick), a climbing wall, a bungee tramp and a bouncy castle for the kids. That's all in addition to the ski and tram lifts. Sloane was super brave on the bungee tramp and the alpine slide, she is our little dare devil. On the way up to Mineral Basin we saw some deer and a wild dog...coyote??...who knows. As we were leaving we saw a Moose couple anxiously awaiting Octoberfest to start. For anyone looking for a quick getaway this was a blast.

Family fun at Bear Lake

2008-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go to Bear Lake this weekend and it was so much fun! We went with the whole family, and a few extra, it was quite the crew. We boated, played on the beach, ate lots of food and just hung out. It was a truly relaxing vacation.

Summer Night at the Ball Park

2008-08-19T19:24:00.001-07:00

The family all went out to the ballpark last week. It was a blast even if the Bee's lost. Sloane and Beckett love to play in the play ground out in the outfield. We have been able to go to quite a few games this year thanks to Buz schmoozing the girl at the gas station. Chuck has a way with the ladies.

Swimming Lessons

2008-08-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sloane took swim lessons for the first time this year and she had a blast! It was only a two week run but I could not believe how far she came in to weeks. She is floating on her back alone, she will dive to the bottom to get rings, and she can she can swim almost the right way. It makes me feel more and more confident in her being around the water. Here are some pics of her big achievements.

Jeanne Dave Sloane & Beckett

2008-08-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

I cant believe ten years has passed since high school. Time goes so fast I still feel like I am eighteen. It has been nice to see what everyone has been up too, let me catch you up on me and my family.

I married my husband Dave in 2002 and we have two great children. I have worked at Capelli Hair for the last nine years but now just do it two days a week. Dave has worked in the Insurance industry for the last five years for Bear River Mutual until last week when he decided to pursue a career in Commercial Steel Drafting. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Sloane who is four has been going to preschool and enjoys learning new things like; swimming, dancing, tumbling and most of all riding her bike. She is a great big sis to her brother and is a big help around the house. She loves loud music and most of the time I feel like I am already raising a teenager.

Our son Beckett is one and a half. He has been such a good baby since the day he was born, he is really mellow and loves to just sit back and enjoy life. He already loves to play catch with his dad and is trying to play a little soccer. He super silly and keeps us laughing all the time.