bedroom re-do...

This weekend, we decided to re-do Zane's bedroom. It's needed to be painted since we moved in (ahem almost 3 years ago). He picked out a "car" theme, of course. We got these great wall decal stickers at Target, and it came with a LOT! We also moved the queen bed from the guest/craft room into his room. We don't really have guests visit us all that much - so it was really just taking up space in there. We are going to convert the guest/craft room into a play room/craft room - so I can be working in there, while the kids are playing. That room is still a work in progress.

Before: (this picture was taken at night with flash.
These were dark blue walls AND ceiling - it was actually really dark in there)








After: (ignore the wrinkled curtain, and the ceiling is white)






*Note: Zane put these stickers up. He lined them all up like they are on a highway. He said "They are going to Cedar City."




John and I got new glasses too. At my last eye appointment the Dr. said that blood vessels were starting to grow into my corneas, which is a result of lack of oxygen (i.e. wearing your contacts too long without taking them out). So, I decided that I would take a break from my contacts and stick with glasses for a little while. I'm going to miss my sunglasses though.

*my glasses have cool moons and stars on the sides and a bluish tint behind the tortoise shell frames (This is a terrible picture - in all my no makeup, no showered glory! It's actually quite embarrassing, why am I sharing this?)

in the mood for more video?

Lily's latest trick. Love the binky switch at the end. Classic.

2 years ago....

Here is what John was doing just 2 years ago:

Enjoy!

*edited to note: I didn't think about the fact that a lot of you don't know that John is a tenor. He is the high tenor in the quartet, so you can easily pick him out. He sings loud as it is... but to sing sooo high and not in falsetto - he had to up his volume even more. Also, so you know, I don't think this was their best performance of this song (to my music "snob" sisters - yes they go a little flat - and you know I mean "snob" in the nicest way because I am one too).

a nice start to september...

We spent Labor Day weekend shopping for a new bed. No, we aren't getting a new bed. Just shopping for one. Maybe one day in the not so distant future. We tried every kind out there, and our recommendation is an intelli-gel type bed in case you were interested. Then it was back to school and normal routine. All is well.

I had a WhichWatch boutique this weekend for my sister, and I also had a chance to try out my new display for my jewelry which I will be selling at a boutique in Salt Lake in October. Just wish more people actually came to see it. What can you do. But you should all check out my sister's watches because they are seriously awesome, and they are on sale only until the 15th! http://whichwatch.etsy.com/

Also, this past weekend - on Friday, John (well really it was Lily) managed to lose his keys at the store. Still haven't turned up. And this morning Lily managed to break his glasses. This is only funny (or not) because he just had his glasses replaced about a year ago. He lost his really nice pair in the lake. Ask John about that one some time. Even after that incident, he didn't learn that he needed to have a backup pair. So we spent the entire day shopping for glasses, and eye exams, etc. Of course I had to drive him everywhere, because he's totally blind. Yay for September!

And for random cuteness(to go with the completely random post): picture of me and the kids, and Lily in pigtails (that lasted about 20 seconds).

phoenix getaway...

Zane had this week off of school for assessments, so we decided to hop in the car and head to Phoenix for a few days. Just me (Abi) and the kids drove out and spent 5 days at grandma and grandpa's house doing a lot of swimming in the pool, shopping, and eating out. And we actually all survived the drive. Zane is a big help in the car. It was a lot of fun to spend time with family and take a break from the usual here. Although, August is not the best month to visit Phoenix, yikes! John took the time while we were away to finish up a little painting around the house too, what a great guy! Of course, I brought my camera, but somehow managed to not take a single picture - so here is a picture of Lily in her way super cute new nightgown.

Oh yeah and Happy Birthday to me! I just turned 29 again!

activity days...

Anyone have ideas for activity days? I'm one of the leaders in the ward - and we've got a few good ones, but thought I would throw this out for any suggestions. We have all the girls ages 8-11. Any good ones that your daughters have attended? Any great ones you have planned or heard about?

first (and second) day of school....

Zane is an official kindergartener! Yesterday was his first day but it wasn't a regular day - just a meet the teacher sort of thing with his mom. Doesn't count. Today he got to ride the bus all by himself and go through the real deal. He's so grown up now. He sat and waited for the bus for almost a half an hour, he was so excited. I think I will like this extra time to get stuff done around the house. It's sorta nice that Lily naps right at the same time he goes to school - so I'm pretty free. Yippeee! I really think that if it wasn't for school, moms would go insane. Go Zane!

makin' a splash...

We spent some time yesterday at the city plaza downtown. They have a big splash pad, and a small river type area with waterfalls and rocks all over to climb on. It is still so stinkin' hot here, and the kids loved it! We got a taste of Lily's first tantrums too. Haha! Anytime I would pick her up to try and get her to another area, she would go limp on the ground and scream....oh so fun! At least she loves the water, just like her brother. Super cute kiddos.

san diego with the girls....

It was sooo much fun! Really, so fun! Hehe. When we got there on Friday, we spent some time catching up and playing "jewelry and watches" and then we headed out for a little shopping and a movie. On Saturday we headed to Coronado Island and hung out at the famous Hotel Del Coronado. The beach was beautiful there. Soft fine sand. I did really love it - in case you couldn't tell. We ate at the little cafe right on the beach. Perfect.


That afternoon, we spent some time at the pool, then more shopping close by. The hotel we stayed at was in Del Mar, close to Torrey Hills and the Torrey Pines Golf Course (where the US Open is). I really liked the area, it was up in the hilly part of San Diego. You would have no idea that the beach is just a few miles away. Also, the San Diego Temple was just a couple miles south of where we were staying. We didn't realize that until we saw it right after getting on the freeway to Coronado. So, we had to stop and take pictures.
On Sunday, we wanted to visit the beach again, and decided on La Jolla. We spent some time picking up shells on Shell Beach by La Jolla Cove, and looked at Seal Rock, which had a "few" seals on it.

We stopped at a couple of shops, and got berated by a shop owner for picking up seashells from the beach - because somehow that is going to destroy the planet. Then we ate at the "soon to be closed" Hard Rock La Jolla. Very tourist-y thing to do. Fitting that the background says "Save The Planet".
Thanks girls for a fun time, and especially Mom for footing most of the bill! Love you, can't wait for next year (maybe?)!

swimming...

Zane just finished swimming lessons. He had a lot of fun. I was quite surprised at how comfortable he has gotten in the water. He was holding his breath under water for 5 seconds, jumping in by himself, trying to "swim" under water, trying to float on his stomach and back, and jumping off the diving board. He does need to work on his coordination though. He had a hard time trying to move his arms in a "back stroke" and definitely couldn't figure out how to do his arms and legs at the same time. Too cute. Any ideas to help with a 5 year olds coordination? Do you think Karate, Gymnastics, Soccer, Football? I would appreciate any thoughts...



On another note, I leave tomorrow bright and early for San Diego on the 2nd Annual Cannon Girls Go Wild in a so NOT wild sort of way Extravaganza! Yipppeeeee! We are so wild that we just MIGHT go ocean kayaking...oooooohhhhhh yeah!

Thank you John for watching the kids, I love you!

oh miss lily....

I really try to not be an overly freakout over everything kind of mom, even though I probably am a little bit of a hypochrondriac, I tend to keep it to myself. My kids have a fever, and I don't usually call the Dr. until around the 5 day mark, unless there is something else to make me worry. I don't know if waiting like that is a good thing or not, but I'm glad that our Dr.'s don't ever make me feel like an overly concerned hypochondriac kind of parent.

Lily had a fever last week for awhile, that seemed to go away for a few days, but then popped up again on Wednesday. She woke up last night and her right eye was droopy. It freaked me out quite a bit. It just did not look right - of course you do think the worst with stuff like that. Turns out she does have an ear infection on the other side that probably wouldn't have anything to do with the eye thing. She ended up having a CT scan just to make sure it was nothing, and they had a really hard time trying to get an IV to inject dye for the CT scan. She got poked quite a bit. The Dr. and nurses were all so sweet. One girl just sat there and blew bubbles over Lily practically the whole time were were there. Lily just sat there saying "wow" "wow" haha. They didn't end up getting the IV in, but they did the first CT without it, which the Dr. decided was probably enough since the eye seemed better this morning. I sort of wish I got a picture of her there, she was so sweet and asleep for the whole scan. It ended up that she has some sinus infection in one of her sinuses that probably just caused a little swelling. She is on antibiotics that will hopefully take care of it all. Still fevering and sleepy, but I'm sure she will be better soon!

We are so blessed to have such great neighbors and doctors, thank you thank you thank you!

les miserables...

John and I went to Les Miserables at Tuacahn last night. For those non-St. Georgians (ites?), Tuacahn is an outdoor ampitheatre surrounded by beautiful towering red rocks. John has always been a big fan of Les Mis, but has never seen it. I had only heard it one time before I got John the CD's a few years ago. Thanks John for planning it!

They really did a great job. They had real horses bring the prisoners in during the first scene. The fight scenes had the other side shooting at them from the red rocks in the background, complete with a cannon that scared me every time it went off. There were even fireworks! I admit, I even bawled (not surprising) during "Bring Him Home" and when Eponine died. What is it about unrequited love that just gets ya? I really enjoyed Jean Valjean's upper range, much more than his lower. Javert was amazing, and John and I both commented on how much we liked the Bishop. He has a small solo towards the beginning and it was amazing. And in case anyone remembers...John Preator (known as JP) from American Idol a few years ago was Marius, and he was great too.

It was so fun to get away for awhile and do something "cultural". We didn't get home until almost 12:30.....much too late for us old fogies. But, it was worth how tired we are going to be today.

talent sprouts take one...

Zane had so much fun in his Talent Sprouts musical theater class the past couple of weeks. For 8 days, the groups worked on the musical Go Fish, and then performed it for the parents on the last day. The story is of a Tiger Shark who wants to be friends with everyone. So, he finds some interesting sea creatures and they all become friends despite their differences. Zane was the Tiger Shark (he said "My teacher told me I am the star!"). He knew all of his lines and his dances, and did a great job! Grandma and Grandpa Meredith, Aunt Sara and cousin Andrew, and even his primary teacher all came to see the musical. We went out for frozen yogurt afterwards. We all had a fun time. Here's an edited (much shorter) video highlighting Zane's parts....enjoy!

post show sale...

Had a great time at the craft fair(e) this past weekend, but sales were slow for me (great for Sara's watches though, go Sara!). So, I have a lot of inventory. I will be listing a few new items each day this week. Find something you like, and I will give you $2 bucks off of each item (not including clearance items). You must either put it in the notes to seller, or leave me a comment here to get the discount. Sale will run through August 10th. Now, GO SHOP!

tired sillies...

I was trying to get Lily to bed last night, and she just wasn't interested. So I set her down, and she started turning circles and falling over. Before I got the camera, she was doing it over and over and laughing hysterically. Too cute.

hope part 2...

A couple of quotes for you to ponder that really helped me understand - and also gave me Hope.

"Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. " - from lds.org website - topic section.

I think that maybe that is the perfect definition. It's possible this was said in the previous R.S. lesson, but I somehow missed it. I think I have a much better understanding of the meaning as it pertains to the gospel of Jesus Christ now.

Also, something that I needed to hear right now (thanks Vicki):

From the apostle Paul, "...that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." - Romans 15:4

Oh there is so much more, but for another day.

late 4th of july and such...

I realized that I hadn't posted about the 4th. We spent the day around the house, grilling, swimming in the pool, watching a movie, and staying up late for fireworks. It was actually a really nice and relaxing day!

Zane spent this week at a Nature Day Camp. He had a lot of fun (I think?) learning about reptiles and ducks, etc. He got a cute t-shirt and made some new friends. I've decided that I need to keep him busy before school starts because he is having some serious "boredom" issues and mommy just isn't cutting it anymore. I've signed him up for a musical theater workshop that starts Monday. They learn and practice a mini-musical for kids and then perform it for the parents at the end. I think he will really enjoy that. The place is a new place called Talent Sprouts, and even though it's on the other side of town, I think it will be worth the drive.

I told him today that he may be the only boy in the class (I don't know really), but he said "That's ok, I like girls." Haha! Cute! John of course told him "You're The Man!" and gave him five. Way to start 'em young, John.

3 is a magic number...

Our lesson in Relief Society today was about Hope. I was sitting there as we talked about the difference between Faith and Hope, how to get Hope, etc. and I have to admit, I got a little more confused. I thought I understood Hope. But the more I thought about it today the more I wasn't so sure. I always thought of the difference between the two as: you have to have Hope to have Faith. I know that Hope is positive, but I came away from the lesson with the feeling that Hope had a much deeper meaning, that I couldn't quite grasp. I guess I always figured that Faith was sort of like the "knowledge" of your Hope. Maybe I have it backwards? As my thoughts evolved this afternoon, it came to me that maybe Faith is Hope in action. John said, well then, is Charity - Faith in action? Why, yes, I think so! How close all 3 are tied together. I loved how we talked about the way to have more Hope is to practice Charity. You will build Hope and Faith through Charity. As your Faith grows, then your Hope will too. I don't know if any of this made sense, just my rambling, but thought I would share. Thanks Louise for the thought provoking lesson. Feel free to discuss. =)

how to discipline a 12 month old...

*edited* After comments, I decided I better say.... of course she got stuck, no I did not put her here.

nuts, crowns, and headpacks?...

And the nut is out! Yay! Thought you would enjoy a picture of what the actual locking nut looks like. (This is not the one that was 'you know where', but another one - although Zane really wanted me to keep the offending nut and clean it off, but uh EW).

Zane's 2nd visit to the dentist was today, and can I volunteer to do a commercial for valium now? Not for me (although I probably needed one too), for him! With the combination of a valium, and the laughing gas, Zane was able to get ALL (yes that's right ALL) of his remaining dental work done today. He got 3 more cavities filled, 2 baby root canals (pulpotomy) and 1 stainless steel crown. Pretty isn't it?


Before said valium this morning, while throwing the sometimes fit about what to wear, Zane decided to put his head in his backpack while he was mad. But he couldn't have been too upset - he did say a muffled "CHEESE!"

xray...

Well since the locking nut has not passed, the Dr. wanted Lily to come in and have an xray to make sure it was ok. It's already in the colon so we should expect a nice surprise any day...good news!

weekly update...

I realized that I haven't updated the blog with some sort of interesting things that have been going on. Last Tuesday, Zane went in for his 1st dental visit to get his cavities taken care of. It didn't go so well. He hated the numbing stuff they put on his gums. It tasted bad, and felt weird to have it numb I'm sure. He wouldn't keep the gas mask on. They finally got the shots in, and then the dentist had to use a "Green Monster", as I remember them. It is really called a rubber dam I believe, and it is a silver clamp that clamps onto the gums, and attaches to a sheet of green plastic that cover up everything in the mouth, except the teeth the dentist works on. I remember not liking it when I was a kid. Zane really really really didn't like it. He suffered through and got one "root canal" done, and the dentist just did a filling instead of a crown. That was all he could make it through though. So....the plan of action now (he still needs one or two more like that, and then 2-3 more smaller fillings), the dentist gave us some Valium to give him before we come in this week. Then hopefully he will be calm enough to try the gas and the dentist is going to try to get it all done. Oh, please pray for us! The next option is the pediatric dentist (insurance doesn't cover - we really can't afford that!)

Ok, so that was Tuesday. On Friday we took Lily in to be weighed. She's almost 21 pounds now. Pretty good! Friday afternoon, Lily crawled into her room, and I was in the family room. I wasn't worried about her getting in to anything in there, so I periodically had Zane look in and make sure she was ok. Well after a few minutes alone, I heard her start coughing. I ran in, and she had something in her mouth she was choking on. I couldn't see it in her mouth, and I didn't know what it could be, but I picked her up and put her upside down and starting patting her back (isn't that what you are supposed to do??? I feel like a total bad mom for not knowing!). It didn't come out, but she swallowed it. I know you are dying to know what it was...

It was a locking nut that goes on a screw. It is like a regular nut, only is has ridges on the outside to dig into wood "locking" it in place. It's about 1/2 in. long, and 1/4 in. wide. It was attached to a screw, that was sticking out of the bottom piece of her rocking horse that she got for christmas. Zane broke the head part off awhile back, so both pieces have just been sitting in her room. Who would have thought she could unscrew it off of the screw? Yes, I know, toddlers should really not ever be unsupervised. Still waiting for it to come out...

Funny picture of Lily first learning how to drink out of a straw. She loves to make this face (without the straw). It's hilarious.

please vote for me...

I am a finalist in the beading competition I entered. The winners are chosen by online voting. To vote for me:
Go to www.beadingdaily.com/beadstar
Click "Vote Now" at the top.
Enter your email address. You can only vote once per email address.
In the first category "Crystals", my entry is #15.
Scroll down to bottom and select 15 and click next.

You must vote through each category.
My sister is also a finalist! In the "Stones" category, her entry is #12.

We would really appreciate your vote!!

happy birthday speed racer zane...

Two posts in one day, aren't you lucky?! The day we left for Vegas was also Zane's birthday! Happy 5th Birthday Zane! I can't believe I have a 5 year old. We opened presents on birthday morning and had cinnamon rolls (his fav) before heading out to Vegas. After spending the week there, we got home Friday night and woke up to hurriedly get ready for his birthday party Saturday afternoon. I had invited - are you sitting down? - 23 kids. Yup. I'm insane. But honestly, I only invited that many because I didn't think very many would come. It was a Saturday afternoon - families do stuff on Saturdays, etc. Oh was I wrong! We had 18 kids come! Yay!

Zane wanted a Speed Racer themed party. We wanted to have everyone play outside in the water, so everyone came in swimsuits ready to get wet. We set up a two-person slip-n-slide for kids to race each other on. We had water balloons, water guns, and a small kiddie pool, in addition to our bigger pool on the patio. We had a "Pit Stop" where the kids could order their food at the back sliding door. We served soft pretzels, popcorn, nachos, watermelon, veggie squares, and popsicles. Perfect racetrack food.

The kids all had a blast (I think?). John didn't- but after leaving Vegas on a frustrating note (see last post), and then the stress of getting ready for the party for an overtired child who really didn't seem to deserve it at that point - it was hard on him. Thank goodness my sister was here to help with crowd control. It would have been impossible without her. Zane got a ton of presents. Thank you everyone for coming. He said it was "the best birthday ever!" (Does anyone want to come clean my house now? OY!)

collins family vegas style...

We spent a good part of last week in Las Vegas with John's family. They all flew in to celebrate Keith's graduation from his pharmacy program. We stayed 2 nights at the Castle (Excalibur). Most of the time we spent there, we spent at the pool. It was very nice and relaxing to hang out by the pool. Zane had such a great time playing with his cousins and they were all so nice to play with him and watch him. Lily enjoyed meeting some cousins for the first time, and everyone loved playing with her. One night John and I went to a show. We saw Cirque Du Soleil's KA. It was really amazing and well worth it. We only had one major problem the whole trip, which is quite good considering! We wanted to get pictures taken with the whole family (we haven't all been together for almost 2 years). We had some issues with the photographer and scheduling at first. It had been a long day of walking and heat, etc. - so a tantrum was only inevitable. Then when the time came for the pictures, Zane absolutely did NOT want his picture taken. Oh so frustrating! Noone could get him to do it for quite awhile, until all his cousins got together in a picture, and he decided it was ok. By this time I was quite frazzled, and totally bawling in all the pictures. Lovely, huh?! Oh well, I guess in awhile it will be a funny story - but right now it's still touchy. Other than leaving on that note, the trip was great fun! We were so glad we got to spend time with everyone, and hope we can all get together again soon. Love you all! (sorry, didn't get a whole lot of pictures - apparently they are mostly of Zane)

happy 1st birthday!...

Lily turned the big ONE YEAR OLD on Saturday. I was in Vegas that day for a bead show, so we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. We invited close (as in distance) family over to celebrate. It started out being a birthday party to celebrate Lily's birthday, then we thought we would add Zane since his is coming up on Wednesday. Since Sara was coming, we added my neice's birthday which was earlier this month, and her brother who is mid-June. We also invited my grandmother, who also had a birthday the end of May. Then since my parents decided to come, my sister Amelia did too, and wouldn't you know it, her birthday was the end of May as well! Of course we should include my uncle whose birthday is the same day as Zane's, and heck my Dad is the end of June.....yes, all in all an 8 birthday celebration!

We enjoyed chili, baked potatoes, pasta salad, frog eye salad, rolls, and the most humongous cupcakes ever made! Delicious! And great, loud (really loud!) fun for all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet baby girl! (my camera was doing something funky, and all but about 2 of my pictures turned out blurry - Dad, SEND ME YOUR PICS!) Maybe I'll get some video from my video camera on here sometime next week, I've got way too much going on until then...(more fun blogs to come in the next couple weeks!)

tutu girl...

We got Lily's one year old pictures taken today. She was so funny about them. She literally sat there for 10 min. just staring at the photographer. No expression. Completely stoic. It was funny. Finally she warmed up a little and smiled *sorta*. Anyways, the pictures turned out cute.

really movin' now...

Lily is just a crazy walker. She is still pretty unbalanced, so it's so cute when she walks. She just loves to do it, and gets so excited about it. Couldn't help but upload another video.

Check out my other blog with some super cute new things I've been working on.

Scrap.Bead.Sew

i have the funniest kid...

This morning Zane told me he wanted to watch Madagascar. Then he decided he wanted to watch it in Spanish. He watched the entire movie in Spanish with English subtitles. Seriously? He is definitely quite the kid.

first steps...

Lily is trying to take some steps of her own lately. She thinks it's a fun game to try and get me. It goes like this: she is hanging onto an object (couch, table) and then turns around and dives for me. Forget the steps. I caught her taking about 4 steps on her own the other day, but once she realized what she was doing, down she went. She gets sooo excited about it, and flaps her arms like she's going to fly. Too funny. Here's a short vid of her coming to get me (please please keep the volume down or you will hear an annoying "woohoo" in a baby voice by yours truly).

congraduations parts 2 and 3...

Lily and I were able to hitch a ride with my grandparents down to Phoenix for my sisters' graduations from ASU. We got to spend 4 days there. It was a lot of fun despite the "concussion" from riding in the back seat of the car whilst going over a speed bump at 20 mph (thanks Dad!). Lots of shopping was done. Boring ceremonies and "power trips" of security personnel were endured. Puppies were cute. Interesting (or not so) books on tapes were heard. Yummy food was eaten and company enjoyed. Great times!
Congraduations Manda and Meme!

miss you...

John and Zane did the Father/Sons campout thing this weekend, but I forgot to tell John to take the camera, so no pictures. But if you had "smell-o-vision(computer)" you would know that they went camping. Love that smoky campfire smell, but not so much that I enjoy the 8 loads of laundry. Seriously, that stuff sticks to EVERYTHING.

John gave Zane a whistle to use, in case he got lost. This morning after breakfast, John was looking around and couldn't find Zane anywhere. He asked one of the older kids if he knew where he was and the kid told him "He said he heard an animal and was going to go look for it". The kid said "he walked off straight into those woods". (Now honestly, this kid may have been pulling John's leg at that point...). Anyways, John started searching and yelling for Zane, couldn't find him anywhere. He headed back to camp, just about ready to start freaking out...and looked over across the road and Zane was right there playing with some other kids over by the Bishop's tent. Zane said he didn't hear him yelling for him. It's that selective hearing thing I think. Maybe John needed the whistle.

Tonight during Zane's prayer before bed he said "and I wish that I had grandmas and grandpas and cousins to play with that live really close by". Awwww.....how cute and sad is that! He is such a sweet kid and those of you that do live close, come visit anytime!

We love and miss all of you - far away family and friends!