Three more DAYS!!

I only have a second before I have to go visiting teaching. I just have to say that I can't wait to see my son! Last night I dreamed that I woke up and the baby had moved to my back! I looked really skinny from the front...(ah..dreams)..but my back had a huge lump. That is only one of the many bizarre dreams I've had during my pregnancy. :-) We are heading to the hospital bright and early on Monday to induce labor. Now all I have to do is wait...and clean the house...and go shopping...and pack bags for me and the girls....and paint my toe nails....and shave my legs.....and make a phone list....and do a bit of yard work...and....plan a choir social...(I'm the new choir director for our ward).......and vacuum the van.....and hmmm, I might just go into labor sooner than Monday! :-) I am going to post a nice profile picture as soon as someone comes home to take one of me. :-)

Halloween Town (part 2)

After a lot of paint, glue, a few burns and a BIG mess, our Halloween Town is complete! Here we are singing the infamous Hyde family Halloween song. Just so you know, while we were singing a big pregnant witch bursted in and told my kids to "SING"! (watch the clip and you will hear what

I mean. :-)

I made the Vampire in the tree....His name is Edward. :-)

You must have been a beautiful baby...

I found this picture of Mike at 1 year old. I am going to hang it in the nursery. It will be fun to see if Jack looks at all like his cute Daddy.

We got the room...we just need the baby!

Ok Mr. Jack...here's your room! You can come at any time now...please....pretty please??

Timp Cave

Last summer we hiked to Timp Cave with Mike's family. Since then, Casie and Annie have talked non-stop about the "bacon" and "Ice cream" they saw in the cave and have been begging to go back. Finally today, Mike took all three girls on the hike. After hearing about their pleasant and cool jaunt up the mountain, I want the Bearden's and Mcfarlands to know that September is much better than July for making the trek! Mike said it was beautiful! It had rained right before they started hiking so there was a nice cool breeze. I opted to stay home....(mostly because Jack Stalagmite Bearden doesn't sound too good...actually, after saying it, it does sound kind of cool) Anyway, Mike and the girls had a blast! I was worried that my little princess of a daughter would complain and want to be held, but Ellie did great! She proudly annouced that she walked the WHOLE WAY and didn't cry in the cave when they turned the lights off. Of coarse Annie and Casie are made for these sorts of activities. They love the mountains and were wonderful hikers. I am proud of Mike for remembering to snap a few photos. I wish I could say that I took advantage of my time alone and did many productive things, but I actually took a nap and worked in Photo Shop for a while. :-) (I'll post about that later) It was great. Oh, and just to brag on my sweetie really quick..Mike came home and immediately started in on yard work. He's such a great Man!

A fun FHE

I Love Halloween! I know some good Mom's hate the holiday because of it's dark nature. But to be honest..that's one of the reasons I love it! What other time of year do you get to buy a candy bowl that has a severed hand in it that grabs you? FUN FUN FUN!!
Last night for family night,we decided to get a jump start on our Halloween preparations. We began construction on a mini "Halloween Town". We had a blast! It's amazing how creative we were with a few Popsicle sticks, clothes pins, paint, yarn and hot glue. The girls LOVED it! We painted, glued, and cut ourselves into a giant mess! We came up with some "spookie" creations though. When it's finished, we will string Halloween lights through our "town" and display it on our Mantle. We still have a few scheduled construction nights, but we are off to a good start.

Raise your hand...raise your hand, if your sure!!!

This post might border on the line of TMI...(too much information) but I feel it's my duty to share a wonderful discovery in my world! Prescription Deodorant!

Let me give a bit of back ground as to why I am so happy with my find..... Go with me back to the fifth grade. My attire was like that of most days...two T- shirts, one pink and one blue, then rolled up sleeves so that the blue was showing. ( I will also mention that I had two pairs of socks on, one pink,one blue that were neatly pulled up and "scrunched" over my folded and rolled Levis) Anyway, I remember being as carefree as a fifth grader should be until I happened to look at my arm pits.... Much to my dismay, I found I had my first case of, what Mike lovingly calls "Pits". (keep in mind I was wearing TWO shirts people!) Since that fateful day, the sweating... ( I mean REALLY "glistening") problem has plagued my life! I thought I would grow out of it, but it wasn't meant to be. I suffered through the rest of middle school, (should I wear three shirts?) AND high school, (oh please tell me those purple Lycra leotards aren't our drill team uniforms!) AND college, (glad I'm in Logan where lots of layers are necessary) AND up till last month worrying about what I was wearing. I had resolved myself to a life of dark colored, or printed shirts that would camouflage any sign of moisture that may occur. That was UNTIL........(drum roll please).....DRYSOL!! My sister in law told me that her husband, who suffered from the same problem, asked his doctor about a prescription deodorant. He recommended Drysol and it worked! It's AMAZING! I haven't had a problem since! Hooray! I hope you all understand that I am not going to post pictures of my beautifully dry pits. Just take my word for it k. :-)
BTW, with insurance, it only cost $10. Totally worth it baby!

Ellie and Birth order

In Ellie's world......
All the kids in her Kindergarten class will notice that when she gets her bangs cut..."They are going to just DIE when they see me!"

Holding up the birdie finger is ok as long as it's accompanied by, " Mom, what does this mean?"...(no matter how many times I tell her that it means..." I REALLY don't like you")

Pink high hills go with every out fit

Sugar is one of the four food groups

She is exempt from Mom and Dad's instructions. ( We couldn't possibly mean that SHE needed to get her jammies on and brush her teeth!)

There is no one quite as cute as her...Ok that might be a fact in Mom's world too. :-)


I've been doing a lot of thinking about birth order lately. I compare my kids to my siblings and find the similarities interesting. Since this post is about Ellie, I will compare her to my sister Mindy...who is also a third child. Family...if you don't agree that the two are quite similar, just let me know.



Ellie is very into fashion and accessorising.



Ellie LOVES babies and little kids. She is drawn to them and wants to hold and be around them whenever possible.



Ellie is a natural and shameless "flirt". I just went on a field trip with her class and witnessed this first hand! (Mindy, I know you aren't like that any more....but I have a few memories....:-)



Ellie has a consuming desire to be ON TIME for things. I have never seen a five year old so concerned about missing the bus. She doesn't board until after lunch, but she starts to worry about it around 9:00. It's pretty funny. There is nothing I can do to ease her mind. I guess when your five, THREE HOURS means the same as three minutes. :-)

Ellie also has an irresistible urge to slightly tease.....dare I say torment those who are easily tormented. Not in a vicious or hateful sort of way, but a "just to get a reaction" sort of way. Now Mindy, we both know the stories of our youth. You were the tormentor and I was your prey. For those of you out there who don't know our stories, let me share a few instances:

#1 Mindy is in the bath. She frantically calls me in and says, "Jill, you have to go get Mom...I am going down the drain!" I run to Mom crying and visualizing loosing Mindy to the unknown underworld of the plumbing. I am shocked when I find that Mom doesn't share in my panic.

#2 Mindy is taking me on a bike ride. I am the passenger and have no control as to where we are heading. Mindy tells me that she is taking me to a garbage can to see a dead cat. There was no dead cat in the garbage can, but I didn't know that...I don't think I ever looked.

#3 After getting in trouble with Mom and Dad, Mindy informs me that she is going to run away. She told me that if I didn't come with her, she was going to go alone. I was only in Kindergarten, but I knew I couldn't let her face the dreary world by herself. She made me pack a bag and told me we would leave after school. I remember being in MISERY the whole day. I hoped that when she got home she would change her mind. She didn't. Off we went...to the grocery store. We bought some twinkies and then she told me she was ready to go back home. As the story goes, we both remember arriving home..(no one knew we had run away) and Grandma Hintze was visiting. She had brought all the girls Ms. Pac Man pillows and home made underwear.

I only share these stories because...well,... they are funny and should be preserved, and I can totally see Ellie doing these things to her younger siblings in the future.

I need to do some more comparing and analyzing with the other kids to see if they follow in with the birth order of my other siblings...but I do have to say that Ellie and Mindy seem to be peas in a pod. Maybe that's why they love each other so much!

I can also hope that Ellie will eventually develop some of the wonderful things that Mindy is today. Mindy is so thoughtful, caring, generous, fun, patient, spiritual and devoted to family. I hope Ellie will continue to follow in her footsteps. :-)

My Man

I've mentioned before that Mike and Voice Male have been working on a new album! I am proud to say that it is officially DONE!!....ok, except for the Mastering that will be done tomorrow, but other than that....! I really wish I would have taken some pictures of the group in our closet recording, but I didn't. (bummer!) If you end up with a copy of the album, it will list "The walk in closet" as the studio location. :-) I have to say, that this album is amazing! When The Sound of Music ended, Mike knew he had five weeks to finish an album that had barely begun. At the time, two of the fifteen songs the album would feature were completed. Some of them hadn't even been arranged yet! There were small fragments of certain songs here and there, but there was a LOT of work to be done. It was amazing to see Mike and Voice Male kick it into gear! They also had the help of an amazing mixer/editor Bodie (who also designed the amazing sassysueclips.com website) to help their project move along. After MANY late nights and sacrifices from their families, Voice Male has a new KIDS STUFF album to release next month! I am proud of these guys, and I know their hard work will bring much happiness to families everywhere!!

Mike made a few trips out of town to work with his Mom...I mean Bodie...on mixing. Luckily Bodie's Mom...I mean Laura took some pictures of the two at work. :-)

Baby Showers

I had two baby showers thrown for me in the last two weeks! It was a bit hard for me to let so many people do nice things for me. I am far more comfortable being the one who throws the party! I really was so overwhelmed at the kindness and generosity of my friends and family. Both showers turned out fabulously. The first was thrown by my Mother in law Lois, my sister in law Melissa, and my friend Jenae...( you may recognize her from such musicals as..The sound of music). My sister Sarah also helped by bringing a fabulous balloon bouquet! I am a dork and didn't take pictures during the shower...but I did get a photo of the gifts I received. Like I said...Overwhelming! Seeing the tiny little clothes made me SO excited to see the baby that would be wearing them! Ellie had to hug each outfit and pretend like Jack was in them. She also informed me yesterday that,..." Mom, you've held Jack long enough...now it's my turn!"

The second shower was thrown my some friends in my ward. Marianne Crapo, Crystal Wixom, and Heather Ryan. Again I was overwhelmed at the thought and preparation that went into the shower. Both shower "committees" went above and beyond to make the day special. Thanks so much you guys!! Now if we can just get the anticipated guest to arrive!! Three more weeks...wait, two weeks and six days!!!!

Crystal and Heather....Sorry Crystal..I should have taken a different picture...one when you don't look "very sleepy"...you're still beautiful though..you have a "special glow!" :-)

Marianne and my friend and neighbor Emily. Thanks again Marianne!! You are awesome!

Here is me, with yet another slew of baby gifts! I seriously will have the best dressed baby in the world!

School House Rock LIVE!

OK, now for some serious catching up! We just finished our production on School House Rock Live! It was actually really fun! I was stressed about feeling over tired and burnt out because we had just finished The Sound of Music, but compared to that musical, this was a breeze! I really enjoyed directing too. I sort of...kind of...said I would direct next year too. :-) My girls had such a fun time doing this play too. We had three songs to perform: A Noun is a person place or thing, I'm just a Bill, and Conjunction Junction. Needless to say, ALL the songs from School house rock have been sung around the house lately!
If you are an early riser, you may have seen us on the Channel 2 morning News. A guy named Casey..something, came out bright and early to do a bit on our show...(we had to be there at 6:30 am) We were lucky though, the red cast had to be there at 5:00!
The girls had so much fun hanging out with their friends during the show. I love seeing my kids interact with their peers. They are so cute!
Sarah brought her girls up on closing night. We went to A&W to celebrate! Here are the crazy weirdos doing what they do best!

New Entry

I have TONS of blogging to do! I have School house Rock Live! pictures to share, a two baby showers to talk about and a picture of me so that everyone is clear on how big I really am! I also have nursery pictures to post.....now if I could just find the time.......Patience...maybe tonight.:-)

We found this in our Apple Jacks a couple of days ago. My kids wondered if it was the prize! It smells like a big clump of burnt cereal. Pretty gross huh!!!? I am going to email this photo to Kellogg's and see if they will give some free stuff. :-)

Blessed

Last night for FHE we put together some Hygiene kits for a humanitarian aid project our RS is doing. Mike pulled up an email that was sent to him. The email was talking about how much we have to be grateful for. It showed some sad pictures of the suffering in third world countries. Our kids were very touched by what they saw. Annie especially felt that our little hygiene kits were not enough. She kept saying things like, " I think we should send them some money", and " Mom, we have lots of water bottles in the fridge, let's mail them some of our water bottles." It was amazing to see the compassion that flowed from my kids. It made us all feel so grateful for our abundant blessings. I hope this experience will be the first of many humanitarian projects we do as a family. Seeing my kids response to this small act of service made me want to come up with more service we could do as a family. I am wondering what service other families do together. Anyone have any good ideas? I would love to hear some family success stories!

Like Mother, Like Daughter....

Casie thinks she's hilarious!!! Apparently, so did my Mother-in-law....:-)

Mike Mike you rock!

If you drive by my house and see 2-6 men in my bedroom, don't be alarmed.....I assure you there is no funny business going on! Voice Male is recording their Kids CD in our Studio/Bedroom/closet. Mike has literally been working around the clock with different members of the group at a time. Twice last week we had people here until 2am! Mike has been so amazing in his efforts to make this project come to pass. He truly amazes me with his musical talent. I think his official title is : ProducerDirectorArrangerSongwriterEditorEngineer. I am on climate control, pizza delivery, and "Stank control"....(sorry Voice Male, but six guys cooped up in a hot room calls for a couple cans of Glade!)

Yesterday, I figured Mike would be working on the CD into the wee hours of the morning again. So it surprised me when he called me from work and asked me out for a date. He didn't tell me where we were going, he just said he was sick of being cooped up and wanted to take his SMOKIN HOT WIFE out on the town...(I may be embellishing this story slightly)....anyway...He ended up taking me to Thanksgiving Point to see the comedian Brian Reagan. As if that weren't enough, he also packed a fun snack of "cheese and wine". He brought some wine glasses and sparkling grape juice. He also bought some DELICIOUS specialty cheese. (I'll never go Western Family again!...Layne, I almost cried..lol) We had fun feeling like "proper" folk. The cheese and "wine" mood didn't quite fit with our laughing our HEADS off at Brian Reagan. We were both seriously in tears. I thought I might go into labor. I love comedy that is clever and funny without being inappropriate!

I only had enough battery in my camera to get a few shots. But I will tell you it was a BEAUTIFUL night. There was an honest to goodness cool breeze and a full Moon. Perfect! Thanks Mike for such a fun night! You did good! I love you.

Here is the awesome amphitheater with the Waterfall behind it. So pretty!

My Baby starts Kindergarten!

Last Tuesday my little Ellie started Kindergarten! She was SO excited! She woke up at 6:55am and came into my room, " Is it time for school yet Mommy?" I knew then that it would be a long day. :-) Luckily we had a doctors appointment and swimming lessons to take up the morning! I put her on the bus and then got in the van and followed her to school. She was beaming. I sure love that little...I mean, big girl!....(ok, so I am slightly enjoying my three hours in the after noon, but I still miss my little buddy)

I took this footage at Ellie's swimming lesson that morning. I can't believe my baby started Kindergarten AND learned to dive (sort of) in the same day!

Sunday Afternoon

As a child I remember Sunday afternoon's as the funnest time of the week. Probably because Mom and Dad would take a nap, and the kids got free reign of the house! We did SO many fun things as brothers and sisters...usually Ben was the spear head for our adventures. I remember building tunnels, playing school..or church, and of coarse our favorite...VIDEO MAGIC! My girls seem to be following in the same footsteps of my youth. They always seem to come up with a fun game to play together on Sundays. It's funny because very rarely do all three of them play together during the week. They usually pair off, or find a friend to hang out with. Sunday's always seem to bring them together. Here is a small game they made up today. The object of the game is to balance across the couch. Annie, who is on the recliner, had to make some whooshing sound before they began. It's pretty funny....

First Day of School

After a short three week summer, the kids started school! Annie was told to bring a hat that told about her interests. She LOVES drawing and is remarkably good at it. We didn't have a hat that represented drawing, so this is what she came up with. I think it's adorable! Casie told me she would kill over in embarrassment if I came to her class and took a picture of her, so this is the best I could get. Ellie will start Kindergarten this Tues. She keeps saying, "You are going to cry SO hard when I go to school!" I told her that I might have to meet Dad at Cafe' Rio so we can cry together. lol I actually probably will shed a tear. She is my baby!

Family Fun

Friday we decided to take our family up to the mountains. It was so beautiful! I loved the cool temperature and the gorgeous scenery. We ended up riding the tram to the top of one of the mountains. The girls LOVED the ride! They saw deer, hikers, and even some little rodents that reminded them of Peaches..(our hamster) I loved being with my family in the outdoors and appreciating this beautiful world we live in. As has been the case lately, I forgot my camera:-( This photo was taken with my phone. I guess we will have to go again soon for more photo's!