Alive and well - enjoy the pics because I'm a total SLACKER!

Taylor Won $100 at America First Credit Union's Annual Meeting! She was so happy! When we were driving home I heard her sigh and I asked what was wrong. Her response: "I love winning money!" She is her mommy's daughter after all.

 Christmas at Grandpa Glen's. They loved their new sleds....well, Taylor did. Logan wasn't so thrilled when we actually put it to use.

 I LOVE our little moments of alone time together during the short periods of Taylor being at school.

Tyson took us all to a Pro Baseball game hosted at the Bee's ball park between the Rockies and the Marineers. Lesson learned - not taking the kiddos again for A-Long-Time!

Taylor is the cool cat of the day "reading" from Minnie Mouse.

Logan's turn to be the goof-ball-cool-cat!

Well - this is as good as it gets from me right now - completely embarrassed it's been so long...bad mommy!

I found an amazing site

I admit it, I'm now a "pinner"! Yes, I've finally broken down and have fallen in love with Pinterest! I fought that battle for so long...people have been talking about it, trying to get me to play and I really never understood the draw but now I DO and I want to share something that I found that I love! I can't say that this information was new to me but just the way she states it and I think more of the timing for me is why I love it and have found myself following the steps these last few weeks. Here's the site but I'm also going to post her suggestions just so I can come back to it often when I want to look it up! Hope you enjoyed this as much as I do. link

10 daily habits for moms

1. Wake up early. I know this one stinks, but it is the best way to get a jump on your day. Otherwise, the day seems to be in control rather than you controlling the day.

2. Waking up early starts with going to bed earlier. I know that you like the time after the kids have gone to bed for yourself, or for working on projects, or even for trying to catch up on housework. The fact is, shutting down and turning in earlier will make for a better morning and you will likely be more productive. This may not be accurate for the true night owls out there, but I urge you to give it a try.

3. Evening preparations. Make sure everything that is needed to leave the house in the morning is prepped and where it should be. Teach your children this habit as soon as you possibly can, it can make your life easier.

4. Institute meal-planning. Whether you have every meal for the week planned out, or you have 6 dinners to pick from each day, find a way to make meal planning work for you. I love Pinterest for ideas for meals! Look at your meal plan the evening before and see if you need to do any prep like take something out of the freezer, or prepare the crock pot.

5. Do one complete load of laundry a day. From start to finish. Build a habit of grabbing everyone’s clothes after bathtime and tossing in wash. and then toss in dryer before bed. Or in the morning when you get up. Take 5-10 minutes to fold and put away that load (or have your kids do it!) One load a day may or may not be enough for your family, but doing at least one load every day will help you stay on top of the pile.

6. Do your best to get your dishes done in the evening before going to bed. I know this can be hard sometimes, but think how much better it feels in the morning to come down to a clean sink. Build this habit and you will appreciate it. Again, if your kids are old enough to do the dishes or at least help, then let them! See: My strategy for getting the dishes done

7. Take 5 minutes and buzz through the bathrooms with a damp cloth. Straighten, wipe, and keep a toilet brush handy for swishing the toilet. Take any dirty towels and clothes to laundry room. Some days use a paper towel with windex to shine things up, including the mirror.  (Jill's Disclaimer - My NORWEX cloths are AMAZING for this step and I cannot believe how much time I have cut back on cleaning and how EASY it is to clean my whole house now because of these cloths and H2O!!!)

8. A place for everything and everything in its place. We have heard this our whole lives and it is true, it makes life a lot easier. One problem is that we have accumulated too much stuff so that we have a difficult time keeping things in their places. Work on clearing clutter and designating homes for regularly used items. And teach your children this as well. I know well how discouraging it can be to walk into a room and multiple things are sitting out. On the reverse, think how calming it is to walk into a room where everything is tidy and orderly. (notice I didn’t say spotless)

9. Have a bedtime routine that includes putting away toys, books, dishes, trash, etc and picking out clothes for tomorrow. Having this routine in place will help your kids learn responsibility and know what is expected of them. We are their mom, not their maid. (I must admitt I'm still working hard on this concept! It's not that I don't agree, it's hard to change their minds!)

10. Do not say YES immediately to new requests. Come up with a response, such as “Let me check my calendar and get back with you.” Or if you know you need to say NO, get it over with. And don’t feel like you have to explain why. A simple, “Due to other obligations, I won’t be able to ________”. See: You know you say YES too much if…

Halloween 2012

Halloween has come and gone so fast I can't believe it! Here are some cute pic's from the day! Taylor wanted to be Minnie Mouse - I was also a type of Minnie, I'll have to post pictures of that later. I wanted to be Witches together but she fell in love with this dress and made a darling Minnie! Logan, well, he was a different story! We didn't know what he was going to be and frankly, he didn't really care so the day before Tyson found this cute Superman getup at Smiths for only $12! He couldn't pass that up and it made a darling Clark Kent as well!

WE had a packed day! We started out by going up to my mom's school to do the parade with her class! Taylor is freaking taller than 2/3's of her class and that just blows my mind! She still has teo years before she's in first grade... They both thought the parade was pretty neat. Then we went back down into town and hit Tyson's work. I'll tell you what - those IRS people know how to give out candy! Both of their buckets were completely empty but by the time they were back out to the car (because I can't go in) their buckets were literally over flowing! Not even kidding. I should have taken a picture of that! Then we had to take Taylor to preschool and force the sugar hyper Logan to take a nap! I got some munch needed laundry done, ate lunch and then had to force poor little Superman to wake up! He's such a good little man! He wakes up for me so well whether it's in the morning or from naps when we have to cut them short. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often and I'm just so grateful that he still naps! After we picked up Minnie, we drove out to my dads then hit my work! I'll tell you what, by that time Momma Minnie was D O N E !!! I wanted to go home and take a nap or lock my self up in the bathroom or run away because my kids were bears on sugar! They were into everything at everyones desks. They didn't listen to me and I literally dragged Logan from my work kicking and screaming! I could have burst into tears but had to remind myself this was only once a year, let them have their fun, it's worth being tired and I would look back and miss these days! So I bucked up and went home to Tyson's and we had dinner and went to our neighbors for treats. Overall, it was a fun day and they looked so darling! Love my little monsters!!!

I Just Joined Smiley360

I Just Joined Smiley360: I just became a Smiley360 member! Discover and review exciting brands for free, too! Sign-up at http://bit.ly/lTDqVw #smileymember *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

We are alive

WOW - if I have any followers on this blog still I will be amazed!! I can't believe how bad I've gotten at posting on this. I used to LOVE to post on my blog but since I've gotten a "smart" phone, using Facebook has been so much easier! No excuses though! I need to get back to posting on here for the memories and getting things up-to-date so here's a start... We are alive, mostly healthy, having a fun start to fall, a new school year, and wathcing our kids grow like the wild flowers they are! I've realized just how easy I get involved with random things and let the things that are most imortant to me slip away! Not going to go into detail about that but let me just say...I'm making changes, trying to be a better person all the way around starting with myself, being a way better wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. If you fall into any of those catagories and I've negleted you like I feel like I have than please accept my appologies...again, banking on that you still follow my pathetic attempts at blogging. Here are some current pictures...enjoy until I can get you updated.

Looking forward to...

Merry Christmas

I don't know where my times gone...actually, I do but I can't do anything really about it so here's my now-monthly-post, instead of weekly/daily!

Our 2011 Christmas card and letter! Enjoy ~


Happy Holiday!

We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the Holidays with loved ones!

The Downs’ household has been busy! Taylor turned four September 26th and is a ball of energy from morning ‘til night! She is such a fun little/tall girl and makes us laugh with everything she says! She loves everything – dress up, dolls, animals, dinosaurs, play dough, her new bike and all her family! She thinks her daddy is the greatest and always quotes that, “daddy will fix it, make it, or create it!” She started preschool this year and has so much fun in Ms. Helen’s class!

Logan celebrated his 1st birthday on October 11th. He’s a big boy and all smiles! He loves anything that will allow him to dance! He can shake his cute little behind and stomp his legs with the best of them! He was sporting a full Mohawk for a while and people loved it. He is growing just as fast as his sister and will someday be bigger than his dad!

We cannot imagine our life before having these two beautiful babies and are truly blessed with a wonderful family!

Tyson is still working hard at IRS and likes the area he’s in called Global High Wealth. He has a lot of fun with his co-workers and even played a second year on their softball team. He still enjoys camping and fishing, although time doesn’t permit going as much as he’d like but he loves being a dad and is so good at it! The kids adore him and light up every day when he comes home and throws them in the air (while I have a little heart attack at the same time). Tyson was able to fly to St. Louis, visit friends, and catch a baseball game of his favorite team, who also WON the World Series this year! Go Cardinals! He will be going to Colorado next month for his 6th ice climbing adventure and is looking forward to some “guy” time.

Jill is …busy. Life at home has been wonderful and I’m lucky to have a husband who supports me in my crazy endeavors. I started my own business as a consultant with a company called Thirty-One Gifts and LOVE it. It has allowed me to stay home more with our kids, which has been a goal since Taylor was born. I still work for America First Credit Union as a Corporate Trainer and enjoy that as well. I have also committed myself to a lofty goal to run the Ogden Half Marathon in May! It’s should be interesting! Again, my hubby is very supportive and cheers me on each day I run!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2012!

Love,
Tyson, Jill, Taylor, and Logan Downs

Parties!

I'm having me some serious parties and you're all invited! Sorry it's impersonal but mass invites seem to work the best!

TODAY, Nov. 17th is a Barefoot Rug party at my house starting at 7 pm. If you don't know my address, call me 801-791-9868.

What is a Barefoot Rug you say??? FUN rugs, is what my answer would be so come and see!!! If you have little boys, you'll love their scene rugs that your boys will have hours of fun on.

If you need your home to be spiced up with a new look - they have all types, sizes, shapes, colors, etc to help!

I will also have my Thirty-One stuff on display. The new months specials are amazing and just in time for Christmas shopping. For every $31 you spend, you can get 1 of 5 items for only $5!!! Seriously, you need to see this. It's also only going until Dec 12th so that Christmas shipping is guaranteed!



Friday and Saturday I'm joining a fun Boutique at 998 E. 5875 S. South Ogden! Lots of vendors will be there! It's also my Birthday!!! So come celebrate with me! Ü

Birthdays, tipping canoes, job changes, circus, ramblings and much much more...

...that's basically what we've been up to but WOW, it's been a very long time since I've posted! So much to say - let's see if I can.

Stay with me now, because as you can see, it's been awhile and there's A LOT!

My last post was in August - I'm not a very good wify because my cute hubby turned 33 and I didn't even say boo...or happy birthday - but it's now Halloween so BOO seems appropriate.

Here's my guy:


I'm not even going to try to concur dates or order, my brain is just not that up-to-speed, so I'll do this as best I can.

We went to the circus - which for me, is always fun. I was a little worried about big T because he's not to keen on things like this but when we got there, I did not even realize he's never been before! He actually enjoyed it! It was out cute little family of four and my mom!





Taylor turned 4!

She's unbelievable - in so many ways, but mainly in how cute she is, how much energy she has and how TALL she continues to get.

Her stats:
Height; 44 inches - completely off the charts! Not even close to anything the Dr had.
Weigth; 40 lbs - 75%

She's healthy, happy, and for us, finally out of her three year old stage!

She loves princesses, riding her bike (which she got for her birthday) her grandma(s), Nikki and entire family, uncle Skyler and his family - actually, she just loves everyone. She's turned into this lovely, huggy, little girl and I love it.

She's still not the greatest at listening but it's improve drastically and she still is very emotional - which I never had anything to compare that to until Logan! She's emotional!

She LOVES Ms. Helen, her preschool teacher and is doing very well in class. She loves to do art projects and play with all her animals. She says the funniest things that crack us up all day long!

The weekend of her birthday was very busy - we did anything and everything. Started with the circus, then we headed to a princess party with little friends, had her party w/family and then went fishing - which is what she wanted to do! Seriously!

Happy Birthday Princess!












Story Time -

So, we were up fishing on Taylor's birthday at Causey Dam, having a grand time. We were all loving it, catching fish, laughing and enjoying the beautiful Sept day. Taylor caught the first fish on her famous Barbie fishing pole and she caught to most fish - but we were all catching them and that's what was making it fun.

Then we had to all use the potty. I was very nervous because Taylor has really never peed in the wild and it's not an easy thing for girlie's! Well, after several minutes and attempts at getting out of the canoe in very muddy areas, Tyson found us a nice, rocky spot to get out and do our deeds.

It was actually a very good spot and it turned out to be very easy to get out of and Taylor was a natural at using nature...but getting back in to the canoe was another story. Actually, getting in was ok, it was getting back out to the lake that was the issue...long story short, we tiped over! Not only that, but ALL of our gear was soaked, including our brand new $600 Canon camera that had 900+ pictures on it that were not downloaded! Taylor was soaked and exteremly lucky she didn't hit her head on the rocks because I hit my wrist and fractured it between the canoe and come rocks. Tyson was ok, just exteremly concerened, stressed, wet and muddy - we all were! In fact, I mentioned earlier that funny things Taylor says, well this one tops the charts.

I couldn't cry because she would have been hysterical so I had to hold it in. She kept saying, "Sorry mom, I'm sorry" and we kept trying to tell her it wasn't her fault, it was no ones fault. Well, she wouldn't stop saying it so finally I said, "Taylor, it wasn't your fault, it was mommy's". She then proceeds to say - for the rest of the day, "Ok mom, it's your fault!".

Then, while we were trying to get all of our gear out of the water and dry, she is shaking, trying to sit on the rocks and not fall back into the water and says, "OH NO!!!"

I said, "What?"
Taylor: "Oh great! We're stuck! We're stranded!!! Now we'll have to live here!"

I was the funniest thing she could have said at that moment! I'm so glad she got over it because we had to paddle ALL the way back to the car!

It was a very trying expierence for all of us! Our camera survive, thankfully, and I recovered my pictures and was able to take Logan's first birthday - which I will post soon!

Thanks for sticking with it this far...I will return shortly Ü

Family Fun - photo shoot!

I love, love, LOVE my cute little family!











My friend, Ivy Carver Adams, took these and she does such a great job! She's done all of our kids and family pictures since Taylor was born and I just love her! If you need a great and very patient photography, she's your lady! Let me know and I'll give you her information!

And let me just tell you about being patient - Taylor cried, pouted and ran away from us almost the whole time and she was still able to get these shots!!

Did I mention I LOVE my family!!!