I love Christmas

So Christmas was magical. That's the easiest way to explain it. I was worried that the kids would have a pretty meager Christmas....but there was a lot of magic.
We decided to all sleep over at my mom and dads house so that we would have a christmas like the old days.
Christmas Eve, my parents had "Santa" come and visit. Logan loved it, Jonah was terrified. Logan had been talking for weeks about wanting a green motorcycle man with a "hel-mut." I don't know, where he found it but Scott found the exact toy that Logan had been describing and sent it in santa's bag. Logan sat on Santa's lap and again described the motorcycle toy. Santa pulled it out of his pack and Logan opened it. It was SO fun. I loved it.
It was exactly like old days...the kids of the house woke up at exactly 6 am...and we all drug our tired bodies up to open presents.
After our wonderful Christmas at my mom and dad's house, the boys and I went to Rob's parents house and opened even more presents. We got these fun nerf guns with foam disks. We had a huge foam disk fight. Logan kept running up to people and shooting them in the face at close range, it was pretty funny.
Overall, it was so wonderful!

knock on wood

So the kids are better (knock on wood) and just in time for Christmas, thank heavens. I am starting to feel better as well, it's about frickin' time that's all I can say. Also...my iphone has now been replaced and is fully functional! (Can I get an "Hallelujah?")

Well, Hello

So I must say, I did not realize how utterly addicted to the internet that I am. I decided about a month ago to get rid of cable and internet to try and pay off some of our extra bills before we get married. I was paying about $100 a month and could think of thousands of other things that I would rather do with the money. Anyhoo, I have internet access on my cell phone, as well as the ability to watch most cable television chanels. So, as long as I have a phone, what is the point, right? Well...when the touch screen on your stupid iphone doesn't work...and you can't make calls...or GULP access the internet...no checking for phone numbers, no looking up recipes, or looking up any random question that may enter your head (or your curious 4 year old) it's possibly the worst thing ever. Well, not as bad as barfing kids in the hospital, but it's definately not good!!!!

Breakin' Free

Well, it's been a rough couple of days. Logan and Jonah were admitted to the hospital yesterday because of dehydration. It was pretty much a nightmare, though I was grateful to have them in the same room. It was awful. Logan slept through the night like a trooper. They had to wake him at 4 am because he hadn't peed to which he respondend to the nurse, "You're a bad lady." I couldn't agree more. Jonah screamed most of the night...and every time I got him to sleep, the nurse would come in, turn the lights on and take vitals. Everytime she woke Jonah and he started to scream, I wanted to say, 'You're a bad lady.' Logan gets all the good one liners. The boys are out and doing much much better though.

We're still sick

After I posted that we were sick last week....we had a lull in sickness for a few days and then stupid winter hit with all it's fury. I began vomitting violently this week. This was followed by Logan then Jonah. It now seems that the whole Stephens family is infected. My mom, dad, grandma, sister, brother-the whole family. It's like the grim reaper has been playing peek-a-boo with the family. All I can say, is that I'm ready to be well. Rob also has pneumonia...so if anyone would like to be well for Christmas, I would reccomend not spending time with our family, lol.

Winter, blah!

Seriously, I recognize that it is December 8. I am aware that we often have snow before Halloween, but when I walked outside this morning and saw the mounds of snow...I nearly cursed. I hate snow: I hate driving in it, I hate freezing, I hate not being able to wear 80% of my shoe wardrobe! I simply hate snow.
I am recovering from the flu nicely, but now have lost my voice and have a witch of a cold. Stupid winter/snow, I blame you!

Yesterday, I was playing with Rob's cat "Katie." You must understand that I was raised by a cat hater. I have never been a real cat fan. Katie has completely changed my mind about how I feel about cats. I love this cat! She has some weirdness. Every time she eats cat food that doesn' t cost $27 a bag, she vomits. Super. I wish I could demand food that was $27 a bag. Anyhoo. She was sitting on me yesterday (watch out, after this point it gets REALLY nasty) so she gets down and there is this long worm on my arm. I nearly died. EW. Ew. Ew. So we went to get her some medicine last night to get rid of the worms and I am taking her to the vet in about an hour. So sad.

blah

I woke up this morning barfing. Can I just say, there is not much worse in this world than to vomit. Ok, maybe there are worse things...but I absolutely hate to throw up, toss cookies, ralph, etc. It sucks. I have slept most of the day. Thankfully my dad came and got the kids. I slept for about 13 hours. Yuck.

Help me decide

Ok, so we had a bunch of engagement pictures taken. (Thanks Dad) After playing with them a little, I can't decide what I like. What can I say, I have decision making issues. So, that's where you all come in. I am going to post the pics that are an option. We are probably going to use 2-3 pics on our invitation (who knows really) so if you have any input, choose up to 3 and leave me a comment. Thanks, the input will really help!

Group 1:

A

B

C

D


Group 2:



Group 3:


Group 4:
A

B

Engagement Photos and such

Today Rob and I had our engagement photos taken. I must say it was so fun! I will crop and edit and post some of the better ones soon. I have been working a lot on the invitations since I plan on designing them with the help of one of my amazing friends. I am thinking some sort of Hawaiian watercolor theme in the background similar to these


(I found these online at this amazing artist's website. Check it out here)
What do you think?

WOO HOO

Ok, so potty training Logan has been less enjoyment as it has been utter hell. He just hasn't seemed to get it/care. Well this last week, he has done pretty good...as long as I hound him every 5 minutes. Well, we went out with Rob's parents for dinner. (I just love them!) Anyways, we get home and I'm trying to pick up the kitchen and Logan comes walking into the kitchen carrying the pee cup from his little potty. He was completely nekked and the cup was full of pee. I said "What on earth?" He said "I needed to go pee, I felt it."
WOO HOO! That's all I have to say! WOO HOO!
The other bright news is Jonah is potty training very well. He doesn't even talk really. He grunts and pulls at his pants. It means "Put me on the toilet." So he actually peed successfully on the toilet 3 times with no accidents.
It makes me look forward to the ultimate dream. The day when all of my kids are potty-trained!

I found it!

It's funny, for my first marriage, I searched and searched for the perfect dress. It took months of driving from store to store. Nada. My aunt Susan finally made it for me. It was beautiful. When I got engaged, my only anxiety was finding the "perfect dress." I decided that because we're getting married in the fern grotto in Hawaii, I wanted a hawaiian print dress. I found it today. It is sleeveless, so it will either need to have the sleeves added, or I need to find a jacket, but it was in the first store we looked, it was on clearance for $17 and, it is PERFECT! yay!
It's funny because when I talked to Rob about what we are getting married in, he said "I imagine some sort of red floral dress."
Another happy bit of info, I've lost enough weight that I was able to get a dress 2 sizes smaller than usual! (yay me!)
(pardon the cell phone pic, the battery for my camera is dead, and I currently lack the motivation to go charge it)

Big news

Ok, so my boyfriend Rob is no longer my boyfriend.....he's my fiance'.

He took the boys and I for a Sunday drive around pineview. It was so pretty. When we got out of the car, he asked me to marry him. (I obviously said yes!) He let me go and pick out the ring. (I LOVE it!)


This is my ring!


Last night we went out to Ruth's Chris to celebrate our engagement. I must say, it was the best/most expensive dinner I've ever eaten, but it was AMAZING!

I am marrying Robert Hunter. I met him on LDS singles. He is amazing, sweet, and so funny!


We're getting married in the fern grotto in Kauai on Feb. 28 (It's my heaven!)

Confessions of a 29 Year-Old Woman

My sister posted a confessions section on her blog and I have NEVER laughed so hard, so I decided to steal it.


1. In Junior High, this kid moved in in the middle of the year. The kid was named Charlie. I thought he was pretty cute but really quiet. I had a kinda crush on him for about a week until he talked for the first time and I realized that he was a really homely girl.

2. I once stole my parents truck (when I was 16, but had no license) so that I could go to my friend Heather's house and have dinner with her family and the missionaries.

3. When I was pulling the truck back into the garage, I hit the lawnmower and broke the wheel off. I never told my parents, and my dad actually got blamed for it.

4. I have kissed more boys than I am years old. (actual number is 34) tragic, I know. (I'd give anything to see the look of horror on my mom's face right now!)

5. Once my friends and I were at fundaze and found a roll of fake police tape. We started laughing about all that could be done with something like that. We all bought a roll. It was during the time of high school when I was driving a really large old Ford Truck. We got blankets and went to an area where they were working on the road and stole like 30 road flasher sign thingys (official name) then we covered them with the blankets. We used the police tape and the flashers to close of an entire block in sunset. (the block around our other friends house who didn't want to come hang out with us that night) Then we used the police tape and flashers to tape off their house and traced our bodies in the driveway with chalk.

6. My friends and I were total dorks in high school. It was funny, one thing they enjoyed the most was making me look stupid. They would decide a character ie. accent etc that they wanted me to play. Then they'd dress me up like an idiot and we'd go places and I'd have to be the character. For some reason, I was the only one who ever had to play the character. They said it was because they couldn't do accents.

7. I had a boyfriend who broke up with me because I beat him at a video game.

8. My friends and I used to go "cruisin the vard." I was the loud wacky one of the friends so my official duty was to sit in the window sill of the open window and wave or scream at other cars as we drove by. (I know, so dangerous. If it helps, my friend was inside the car holding my legs...like if I fell, that'd hold me)

9. Last week I looked over at a car as I was at a red light by 12th st. in Ogden. I look over and this guy is....licking the window. I burst out laughing. So he lifted up his shirt and pressed his nipple to the window. It was the strangest thing that has ever happended to me, but I laughed my head off.

10. I secretly worry that I am becoming my mother.

11. I accidentally drank a non-virgin margarita once. It's funny because I'm not even a real "soda" girl. I thought they had put sprite in with the mixer. I kept saying "This is the WEIRDEST Combo for a margarita!" Finally, the giant thing was almost gone and my friend Julia said "Let me try." So she took a gulp and said "That's how margaritas are supposed to taste. It's got boos in it." I was so mortified!

12. I've peed my pants (I was pregnant though)

13. I named my son Logan after wolverine in Xmen. My ex-husband didn't find out until we were watching X-men several months later.

14. I have a weakness for shoes. At my peak, I owned nearly 200 pair. I still love a really cute pair of shoes.

15. If I'm not wearing shorts, chances are, I didn't shave my legs.

16. Once while driving my parents truck, my friends and I got lost somewhere in this stupid neighborhood in Layton. I turned and it was a dead-end. I threw the truck in reverse and drove about a half a block backwards. I didn't see a giant brick mailbox behind me and smashed into it. No one was there and I drove off.
My parents noticed that the bumper was kind of bent later, but could never figure out what happened.

I think that's it.

Pirates and such

I must explain that dinner in my household was never just a dinner. My dad has the best imagination. We'd be sitting down to dinner and he'd say something crazy like "Let's pretend we're on the U.S.S enterprise" or something equally goofy. As a child, I thought it was magical to pretend we were on a cruise ship or something exotic. As a teenager, I was embarrassed by the nerdiness of my family. Now, he still does this, but I'm completely entertained. Yesterday, my dad came to help me with my car, which has been having some difficulties. I insisted that he stay for my homemade soup and breadsticks. I had served everybody else and was preparing my food as I listened intently to my dad and 3 year old Logan talking.

Dad: "Let's pretend we're on a ship."
Logan: "Yeah, a pirate ship"
Dad: "Ok, a pirate ship. What exactly do pirates do?"
Logan: "Pillage booty."

I laughed my head off. SO funny!

The reasons I rock!

My friend posted this link to 'Operation Nice' on her blog. It's the coolest site. It's dedicated to encouraging all of us to be a little nicer. One of the challenges was to make a list of all of the things you love about yourself. I thought it was a cool challenge. I must admit, I didn't think it would be as hard as it was.



1.I am a great mommy. 2. I am beautiful. 3. I am pretty dang funny. 4.I have a pretty good singing voice 5. I am a true friend (once someone is my friend, they're my friend forever) 6. I'll do anything for my friends and family 7. I love my smile. It's big and cheesy, but it's mine! 8. I love my eyes. 9. I have a big heart. I have always worried about being nice/hurting feelings. 10. I truly believe that my writing ability is a gift. I love being able to share it for a living. 11. I take cool pictures, and I love doing it. 12. I love to speak in front of people. I don't suck at it either. 13.I have a mind of my own and I know myself. 14. I'm not afraid to say what I think or stand up for what is right. 15. I'm a democrat. 16. I don't judge others 16. I have empathy for how others feel and think 17. I believe in myself and my abilities 18. I trust others, sometimes too much. 19. I believe there is good in all people if you look hard enough. 20. I try to learn from all people and groups that I come in contact with.

Let's talk about poop, baby

It's never a good morning when the day starts by giving your kids a bath. NEVER. My eyes opened this morning at 6:52, I know this, because I looked at the clock before I noticed the buck-naked child standing at the foot of the bed. I jumped up and grabbed him. I ran into his room and the scene that I discovered was straight out of a horror film.

His bed, sheets, wall...everything was covered in (are you really ready to read this? It's pretty gross!) poo. Yes poo. He had..."fingerpainted" the walls and sadly, his brother who was asleep in the bed adjacent from him. Logan, still lay completely sound asleep as I undressed him. He may have been asleep when he hit the bath water. Both kids were scrubbed, and then scrubbed again, just in case. AAARGH! So disgusting! I just have two questions. Jonah is 20 months and weighs approximately 28 pounds. How on earth is it possible for a child that small to be able to poop his entire body weight in poo? What on earth would possess such a small child to finger paint with it??? (both are rhetorical, no answers necessary) The tragedy of it all is that in the move to Grandma Glanville's house, only two crib sheets made it here, the other one is dirty because he pulled his diaper off and peed on it yesterday, good frickin' grief. So today (and everyday from here on forward) Jonah is wearing overalls. (the kind with no snaps in the legs)

Halloween and some extra fluff

I must start out by apologizing that it has taken so long for me to post about Halloween. I've been distracted.
I have the best daddy on the face of the earth. As amazing as he is as a dad, he's an even better "Pa pa." Halloween started with me going to do a follow up about a story I truly loved. I'll post links to the story when it comes out. Around noon, my dad called and said "Bring the boys over around 3:30, I think we should go to Chuck E. Cheese." So we did the Chuck E. Cheese thing. The boys were in heaven. They loved it.











After that, we took the kids to show Layton their halloween costumes and then my dad and I took them trick or treating around my parents neighborhood.


Now that would have been a fun night, but my dad is utterly dedicated to making happy memories. This is the same man who marched us around the neighborhood playing musical instraments and playing "The star spangled banner" on a portable cassette player while waving a flag so we could have our own parade. I hardly think the typical walk door to door is going to be adequate. So...my dad hooks his trailer to the back of the 4-wheeler to give the boys "hayrides." It was SO funny. Jonah kept screaming "Woo hoo."
Now...that would have been the perfect night, had dad not accidentally hit his bishops giant suburban with the 4-wheeler (which by the way is NOT street legal).
Then it started to rain.
So our trick or treating was cut a little short, luckily we had already covered a lot of ground, thanks largely to the 4-wheeler and the "magic" hayrides.

I think the turn of events Halloween night has kind of jinxed me the rest of the week. Sunday night, I was driving home from my parents house, but I decided to take the freeway instead of my normal "riverdale road route." I must say, riverdale road is like the armpit of Utah. So I'm driving a long at 60 mph and all of the sudden, my car slows to 40. I had it floored...40 was the fastest that it would go. I thought to myself "What the frick!" my second thought was "Dodge sucks" Not more than 10 seconds later, my tire blows out. the car wiggled, and jerked and it felt like it was going to roll. It didn't, but it was so frightening. My dad came to help me...he put the spare on while I sat in his nice warm car.
Yesterday, I had to go take the coversheet for my paysheets into work. They were really late and I was in a hurry to get them there. I went to the bank and cashed my checks. Then I drove to the Standard-Examiner.
I got there no problem. On the way out of the parking lot my car sighs a giant heave and then....runs out of gas. Super. I called my mom, well david answered. I said to him "Is mom there?" He grunted some sort of inaudiable response which I understood to be "No."
Lauralee: "Where is she?"
David: "Dentist."
Lauralee: "I need help, I ran out of gas."
David: "Why are you so stupid?"
Lauralee: "Will you please help me."
David: "Call her cell phone."
Click.(the sound of the phone disconnecting)

So I am standing next to my car in the middle of nowhere and I started thinking about how absolutely screwed I was.

I must explain, I have an awesome boyfriend. He is so great! He works graves and it's one of those rules. "Don't call before 3 p.m." If it had been noon, it may have been forgivable, but at 9 am, he'd probably only been sleeping for a few hours. I was stuck though, so I called him. He was there within 10 minutes. He took me to the gas station. I get there and go inside to buy a $15 gas can (you know, the ones they sell at Walmart for $5?) I come outside and fill it up with gas and the frickin' can had a hole in the bottom. So I run inside to "exchange" the stupid can for one without a giant hole in the bottom. We finally get the gas in the can..and he takes me back to the parking lot. Now, I try to pour it into my gas tank...and it starts to gush all over the ground and my hands. It took two of us, one to pull the lever, and one to pour to actually get the gas in there. Tragic.

So I'm still driving on a donut (When I say that, Logan says 'Doughnuts are for eating, silly momma') and I could use a change in luck, lol.

Buffalo Roundup

Last week, I took the boys to a buffalo roundup with grandma and grandpa. It was really fun. I just haven't had a chance to post the pictures yet. (I've been sick)
Here are some of the awesome pics I took there.