A Spa-rific Diva-tastic Fashion-ista 7th bday party

Happy 7th Birthday Avery Sue Bob Joe!!! Avery celebrated her 7th bday on the 28th. Our out going, exhuberant, fun-loving, fashion-forward, lovable, baby diva is getting so old!! We had a hard time deciding what kind of party to have this year so we combined some of Avery's favorite things and came up with the Spa-rific, Diva-tastic, Fashion-ista Birthday party of awesomeness!! 12 of Avery's friends came over for a day at the spa, fun games, glamorous make-overs, and some serious freeze dancin'. Addy and 6 of her friends dressed up our master bed and bath like a real spa from treatment centers to relaxation zones to refreshment centers. They worked through the entire 4 hour party as spa techs giving facials, massages, manis, pedis, and make-overs and breaking only once for the build-your-own dessert crepe bar. The little girls were very touched to be so doted on by the big girls. Fun was had by all! Check out the pictures from our big event...

CATCHIN' DUCKS

The Funny Things Kids Say....

You know what, I miss these so much!!! My kids are getting older and they hardly ever make those blissfully ignorant comments that children make as they are growing and learning any more. I went to lunch with some friends today and we were talking a little bit about the funny things kids say and it made me a little nostalgic. Avery will pop out a hilarious statement every once in awhile and our girl talk made me think of a recent conversation she had with her friend Reagan while driving to a soccer game in our car. They were talking about Michael, Reagan's little brother who is a toddler, and the subject of babies came up. All of the sudden, Avery casually says to Reagan,
"Did you know that babies are born out of your vagina?"
Reagan with a look of absolute horror on her face, "What???!!!! No they're not!! Gross.......what's a vagina?"
At this point Avery opens her eyes really wide and points to her private area. Reagan stares at her like she's crazy and says, "you mean you poop the baby out???"
Avery says, "No, no, no, your OTHER private down there." Reagan is very skeptical about this and so she asks me, "Coach, do babies really get born out of your private?" I have been sitting there listening, trying not to laugh, and hoping that they will change topics before I am asked to comment on the discussion subject of babies and vaginas. Reagan has obviously not covered this territory with her parents yet, so I'm a bit hesitant to enlighten her any further. So much for remaining invisible...I had to quickly figure out how to spin this in a positive light. I tell Reagan, that yes, babies are born out of vaginas and it's actually not gross, but very, very special. God made women with the special ability to bear children and this is part of that miraculous process. When you first receive the baby-comes-out-of-the-vagina information, it may sound yucky because our bodies are sacred and we don't talk about our privates with other people. But once you are married and old enough to consider children, you appreciate the dynamics a lot more. Then, I instruct her to ask her mom if she has any further questions on the subject. Also, I remind Avery that when we first had the baby convo, I told her it wasn't a topic she should discuss with her friends because not every body has that convo with their parents at the same time. Many parents will not appreciate their child receiving their how-to-baby information from another 6 year-old. She can come to Dad and Mom to talk about it any time, no problem. But no one else. Avery is very "ah shux" about the situation, she forgot of course because we talked about this last year and she didn't remember me telling her it was a mom and dad only topic. I guess I will need to start reminding her quarterly what topics are and are not on the list of appropriate friend-telling information. She's pretty cute.

Not much new in Stevensville. Kids are all great, having my mom and dad here is beyond great, the hubby is great. Life's just pretty great. We have been having wonderful weather and enjoying more outside time the past few weeks. Avery is our outdoorsy child so bike riding and roller blading have been good entertainment. John has been traveling less and we all love the extra John time. During spring break we went out to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge and that was, as always, entertaining. If you have never been to Fossil Rim, check it out at www.fossilrim.com. It is the biggest African wildlife refuge in the western hemisphere. And who doesn't like feeding giraffes!!! The kids are anxious for pool season to begin and Avery is already planning are bday swim party for the end of the month. Here comes summer!! Yeeeeeha!!!

Our Harry Potter Adventure of AWESOMENESS!!!

John really out did himself this year at Christmas time. For my "big gift" he purchased a trip to Orlando for our whole family so we could visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He scheduled the trip for the weekend of my birthday!! How fun/awesome/amazing/thoughtful/stupendous is that!!! We had such a blast. Above you will see the Stevens' children on the bridge to Hosgmeade standing in front of Hogwart's. Let the magic begin!!

We spent 2 days in Universal's Islands of Adventure and the vast majority of that in HP land, as we referred to it. The creators of this amazing theme park area really out did themselves on everything from Zonko's to the Hogwart's Express. The original set designers from the movies helped with the creation and layout of the park and it's just spectacular. However, I think those narrow streets are going to be quite crowded during peak season!

Look!! It's Hogsmeade from the top of Flight of the Hippogriff! Avery loved this ride because it was one of the few roller coasters she could ride on the trip due to height restrictions. Come on!! My sweet 6 year-old who would ride ANY ride, and she can't ride em' all. Sheesh. Each of the 3 rides in HP land were lavishly decorated with all kinds of decor and props to make the rides feel even more wizardesque. All 3 kids enjoyed choosing their own movie replica wizard wands as well. Addy: Sirius Black, Aidyn: Ron Weasely, Avery: Hermione Granger.

The 3 Broomstick's restaraunt was spectacular inside and out. The food was decent, the ambience was exeptional, and the prices were as expected for the fair in an amusement park of this calibur. And the Butterbeer!!! MMMMmmmmmmm what a recipe these Universal people have cooked up. This stuff is the real deal and you won't be dissapointed. Imagine extra creamy cream soda with a butterscotch flavor and a delicious frothy head that lasts. Dreamy.

Addy, Aidyn, John and I LOVED The Dragon Challenge. This hanging double roller coaster boasts a Tri-Wizarding cup themed walk-through with all the bells and whistles. The Red Chinese Fireball Dragon coaster and Blue Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon coaster start off together and zoom through all sorts of swoops, twists and turns. The result is a super high speed, fast, enjoyable ride. This was definitely one of the best hanging roller coasters I've ever ridden.

Flight of the Hippogriff if a great rollercoaster for those under 44 inches. Avery adored this ride and enjoyed going on it several times. The big kids humored her, kudos to them. The bowing Buckbeack was my favorite part.

For you Harry Potter buffs out there, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will definitely be your favorite ride of the trip. The line is a bit unfortunate, but well worth the wait! Once you get inside Hogwart's you are thoroughly entertained; the set is spectacular!! We are talking awesome props like the house counters, a room full of pictures that actually move and talk (one wall representing each house), impressive holograms including Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione that look very real (Avery was fooled), and a room where it actually snows!!! In the picture below where you can see the candles floating, if you look closely you can see blurs in the air. Yep, snow. Sooooooo cool!!!!

The ride itself is equally spectacular. This ride includes watching a 3-D animation screen while the car you are in actually moves around (a lot) and there are props in between the animation (dragon, dementors, and spiders oh no!!) that really scare the snap out of you!! For those of you who get motion sickness, beware!!! I almost puked on this ride (I'm hoping that was due mostly to the fact that I was getting over a cold and still very congested). Take your dramamine an hour before riding and don't be drinking any Butterbear during that hour!! The second time we rode, the ride was stopped for vomit-mopping. Nice!! Still worth the wait!!!

After 2 days of Hogwart's, Hogsmeade, Olivander's, Honeyduke's, Zonko's, Dervish and Bang's, the Owlery, the 3 Broomstick's, and all the utter fabulousness that the Wizarding World had to offer, we explored other areas of Universal Island's of Advnenture and Studios. Addy and I left VERY reluctantly. Above you can see us enjoyoing some dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park area.

More Jurassic fun. There was a neat adventure area type fort in this part of the park that was pretty much like a gigantic jungle gymn. Rope bridges, climbing areas, slides, nets, Aidyn was in boy heaven. One of the rope bridges is pictured below.

The Mummy Ride in Universal Studios was really well done. If you have ever been on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland, it has that sort of feel to it but it's much scarrier!! There are some great robotic special effects as well as fire! Lot's of fire! Avery was super sad she couldn't go on this ride, but after I got off, I was glad she wasn't tall enough cuz it definitely would have scared her.

Speaking of Avery being scared....Jaws!! This ride is a classic and I am pretty sure Avery just about wet her pants when that silly fake shark popped out of the water and started gnawing cable. She grabbed on to my arm for dear life, burried her head in my arm, and told me to tell her when it was over. So cute!!

On our last day in town, we spent our time in the Magic Kingdom. That place never gets old. This was our 4th visit as a family and the kids love the Disney magic each and every time. We had a day to ride all our favorites and those included Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear and just a handful more. When I next wish upon a star I will wish that next time we travel to the Magic Kingdom, Disney finally decides to offer unlimited fast passes for those whose name begins with the letters STEV

A few travel tips for those headed to The Wizarding World in the near future:
1-Don't even bother during peak season. I would imagine that they will have to put a cap on the # of people allowed into this area of Universal. The streets and shops were over crowded in February.
2-Yes to Fast Pass!!! This Universal upgrade is well worth it. Let me break it down for you: pay for one day in the park plus fast passes for everyone, ride all the high profile rides and see the park in one day OR pay for two days in the park for everyone and enjoy standing in line 75% of the time. Duh.
3-Don't bother with Olivander's. The line is OBSCENE!!! You will spend half your day waiting in it. And once you get into the store (7 at a time only) only one person is selected for the wand to choose them deal. If you are that one person, maybe it's worth it. If not, SUCK!!!
4-We all agreed that Universal Island's of Adventure was great fun, and that Universal Studios was a bust. There are only a few rides in Studios worth riding and the rest is mostly mediocre eye candy. Don't bother with the park hopper. Spend your time in Island's with a fast pass and enjoy the FUN park.
5-The 3 Broomstick's is a must. Of course, you will pay more than you want to spend but the experience is worth it. And yes to Butterbeer!!! The fish and chips and turkey legs are both delish.
6-If you are on the fence about this experience because your whole family is not into Harry Potter, get off!! Addy and I are die-hard Harry fans. Avery and Aidyn like the movies and John could care less. Well, we all loved it. I think I might even be able to get the hubby to read the books after this experience. Maybe I'll ask for that as a Mother's Day gift. Love you all!!! Thanks a million, honey for these great memories.

Happy Birthday Addy Lurline!!

Yes, I accept that I have a teenager. Can you believe Addy is 13 today!!! My sister is pregnant and asked me the other day what the most important piece of advice I could give her was. I have thought about what I would say to her for a few weeks and I still haven't responded. Well Nuber, this is your big sister's advice: My first most important piece of advice would be to teach your child to know and follow Jesus Christ. Parent your child as Christ would. In other words: love unconditionally, be slow to anger and quick to forgiveness, teach your children to choose the right. My SECOND piece of most important advice would be to enjoy every single moment you have with your child at every age. Spend every possible moment you can with this tender, amazing spirit. Enjoy the good and the bad, the happy and the sad; it will all be over much too quickly. 13!!!!

I am so blessed to have Addison in my life. I get teary eyed just thinking about the important role she has played in our lives since day one. We were NOT planning on a baby so soon. At age 21, I was still focused on me, me, me, and my wonderful new husband. We wanted to finish school, travel the world, make our fortunes, and then perhaps somewhere along the way, have a child or two. When I found out I was pregnant about 3 months after we got married, I was TERRIFIED. I felt completely unready to have a baby. I didn't know a thing about caring for a newborn!! After Addy was delivered at UVRMC in Provo, UT, I couldn't believe that the staff was just going to let me leave the hospital with this tiny little human!! No tests to pass, no credentials to show, no certifications required! I was going to take home the most important responsibility of my life, and all I had to do was deliver her into this world. Seriously, I was shocked by that.

Addy was such a great baby. At about 6 months old, she was such a joy I wanted 5 more like her. I knew at that point that I was put on this earth to serve my family as a wife and mother and that there was nothing else I would rather be doing. What a blessing staying at home with my children has been. I couldn't believe how much I loved my sweet daughter!! I didn't think it was possible to love anything or anyone as much as I loved her. Then, 2.5 years later Aidyn was born and a miracle occurred: I loved him just as much!!! I realized that your heart doubles in size with each child you bare. I also realized, that after having a baby as colicky as Aidyn, that one more was what I could handle.

Addy has always been wise beyond her years, amazingly intelligent, ultra cautious, and an artistic savant. She started talking at about 12 months, but didn't start walking til 18 months. I remember driving in the car on the way home from the grocery store one day when I was pregnant with Aidyn. Addy was about 2 and she pointed at something and asked me if it was blue or purple. I told her "Indigo". She thought about that for a split second, then replied, "Mommy, Indigo is a country, not a color." Even though she was incorrect, I knew I had a precocious, extremely smart child on my hands.

Over the years, some of my favorite inherent blessings, abilities, qualities and talents that Addy has exhibited and continues to exhibit are: a close relationship with her Heavenly Father and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, the ability to soak up knowledge like a sponge, her passion and awesome talent for drawing and the arts in general, her love of music, her unconditional love and tolerance of everyone and everything, her social skills, the good choices she continues to make, her ability to focus on what matters most and to exclude outside worldly influences, her leadership skills, her quick mind, her soft, kind heart, her internal beauty, her compassion for animals and humans, and her testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Addison is an amazing individual. I know that she was sent to our family as an example of God's love, to provide us with a beacon of righteousness, and to show us the values of inner strength. I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming, and so blessed to call her my daughter. I love you Addison!!

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!

Personalize your own free slideshow design

FOR REAL!!!!!

ANYONE HEARD THIS? Remember when the moron speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, made that incredibly stupid statement, “we have to pass the healthcare bill in order to see what’s in it”? Well, here is just another little tidbit of what is actually in it!! Hurray!!!!
Dhimmitude -- What does it mean?
Obama used it in the health care bill.
Now isn't this interesting? It was used in the health care law.
Every day there's another revelation of what Obama and his fellow Democrats are doing to our country.

Dhimmitude -- I had never heard the word until now. Type it into Google and start reading. Pretty interesting. It's on page 107 of the healthcare bill. I looked this up on Google and yep, it exists. It is a REAL word. Amish and others are excluded, including Muslims. I think I could become Amish a whole lot easier than Muslim.


Word of the Day: Dhimmitude
Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through jihad. Specifically, it is the TAXING of non-Muslims in exchange for tolerating their presence AND as a coercive means of converting conquered remnants to Islam.

ObamaCare allows the establishment of Dhimmitude and Sharia Muslim diktat in the United States . Muslims are specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance, and also from the penalty tax for being uninsured. Islam considers insurance to be "gambling", "risk-taking", and "usury" and is thus banned. Muslims are specifically granted exemption based on this.

How convenient. So I, as a Christian, will have crippling IRS liens placed against all of my assets, including real estate, cattle, and even accounts receivables, and will face hard prison time because I refuse to buy insurance or pay the penalty tax. Meanwhile, Louis Farrakhan will have no such penalty and will have 100% of his health needs paid for by the de facto government insurance. Non-Muslims will be paying a tax to subsidize Muslims. Period. This is Dhimmitude.

Dhimmitude serves two purposes: It enriches the Muslim masters AND serves to drive conversions to Islam. In this case, the incentive to convert to Islam will be taken up by those in the inner-cities as well as the godless Generation X, Y, and Z types who have no moral anchor. If you don't believe in Christ to begin with, it is no problem whatsoever to sell Him for 30 pieces of silver. "Sure, I'll be a Muslim if it means free health insurance and no taxes. Where do I sign, bro?"

To check it out on Snopes click here: Health Insurance Exemptions.
Painful Fact # 2
Another tasty tidbit of the health care bill not widely know is how they will finance the health care for the poor.
In 2013 the bill imposes a 3.8% federal sales tax on all home sales. An example is $7600 on a house that sells for $200,000. Your sales price includes commissions to the sales people, appliances purchased with the house, if you select a home warranty etc. All will be taxed.
Conveniently this does not go into effect until After the next presidential campaign and election.

What's new in Stevens' Land

Nothing really. That's an honest answer. I feel like I should post something because it's been awhile, but I have been so busy with every day life that it's hard to get a moment to sit down and think about writing a blog post. We had teacher conferences this week so Avery and Aidyn got to get out of school at 12:50 every day, and we have all enjoyed that. It's nice for them to get some extra time to themselves. I was so thrilled to hear that both of them are doing great in school, listening attentively, and following directions. Now if I could just get Avery to do the last two at home......We are all running different directions and fall is in full swing. The kids all love their activities and I love being able to watch them enjoy having fun. Addy is doing great as well, though there are no teacher conferences at the 7th grade level. She has had a stressful start to her school year and I hope that once volleyball season is over, she will be able to feel a little less anxious.
Unfortunately, we ended up having to give our new puppy Gizmo up. Sad face!!! We tried really hard to work with him and overcome the challenges he had because of deafness. Once he began to get aggressive with the kids though, I realized I was out of my league. Aggressiveness is a very common trait in deaf dogs because they are easily startled and overly protective/defensive. Thankfully, the breeder I purchased Gizmo from, Curly's French Bulldogs, found a wonderful women who lives in Houston who has been training deaf Frenchies for 13 years. She has two living with her now, and was thrilled to take Gizmo into her home and give him the training he needs and deserves. I am so happy that he will get what he needs from his new person and have a life with other dogs that he will be able to relate to better. I miss him, but I find comfort in knowing I made the right choice for both Gizmo and my family.
Have a great October!!!