Gavin's Dream House

Sunday night, after a fun evening of running around Grandma's "oh so much larger then our's" house, we got in the car to leave and Gavin from the back seat was saying that he didn't want to go home. After trying to console him and tell him he could go back another day, he says to us, "Mom, Dad....our house is too small, I wish we should make it bigger like Gramma's!" So do I son....so do I! BTW - isn't this a gorgeous mansion?

Crazy 8's

This is kind of a long one and has more info then you probably all care to know about me...but I got tagged and I can't pass up the challenge

8 Favorite TV Shows (I don't really even know 8 shows)
1. The Office
2. Food Network
3. House
4. Kitchen Nightmares
5. Stylista
6. no idea
7. no idea
8. no idea

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Carraba's
2. Mi Amigos
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. Blue Adobe Grill
5. P.F. Changs
6. Serrano's
7. Macaroni Grill
8. Applebee's

8 Books You'd Recommend
1. Twilight Series
2. Chronicles of Narnia
3. 5 Love Languages
4. Harry Potter Series
5. The BFG
6. Enders Game
7. The Host
8. The Scarlett Pimpernell

8 Things that happened yesterday
1. Sang in my brother's ward
2. Talked to Ralph and Denise
3. Napped
4. Went to my parent's house
5. Blogged
6. Played with the kiddos
7. Watched a movie with Gavin
8. Spent time with the hubby

8 Things to look forward to
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. Shopping Day after Thanksgiving
4. Justin finishing Law School
5. Visiting Ralph and Denise in Africa
6. A bigger house
7. Twilight movie
8. Justin finally working again!

8 Things on my wish list
1. A new kitchen table and chairs
2. a bigger house
3. Traveling with Justin
4. Justin's success after law school
5. going to cooking school
6. a 4 slice toaster
7. not to be worried about finances
8. more sleep

8 Things I love about Fall
1. Cute winter clothes
2. Outside time with the kids
3. fmily time
4. things picking up at the salon
5. baking
6. going to look at Temple lights
7. the smells
8. my kids excitement at all the fun things we get to do

8 People I tag
1. Kristen
2. Maren
3. Melissa
4. Aunt Lori
5. Aunt Shiela
6. Rachel
7. Mikala
8. Kenize

Check out my NEW Blog

www.intheovenbaskets.blogspot.com

Halloween 2008

Picture Tag

I saw this tag on my Aunt Shiela's blog and I just thought it was so fun. Here's what you do....open up "My Pictures" click on the 3rd file and then the 3rd picture and then post what you got. Here's what I found in mine.



This is a picture of a cake I made for my niece Bridgette's 5th birthday. Now I tag Maren, Kristen, Rachel, Melissa, and anyone else who wants to do it!

Free Handbag Anyone?

Alright girls....here's your chance to win a free handbag! Did you catch that? I said FREE handbag. They are all super cute and it only takes a second to enter! You've got nothing to lose....sign up to win your free handbag today at http://www.handbagplanet.com

A Soldiers Message!

Please watch this video! It only takes 2 minutes and is well worth viewing. Also, make sure to mute the music before watching.

I'm BAAAAACK!

So a lot has been going on lately, which is a direct result for why I have been absent in the blogging sphere for a while. Just to get caught up, here are a few things that have been going on lately!

Gavin started Preschool! He loves his teacher and refers to her as Mrs. Miss Kerry. She is such a wonderful teacher and Gavin asks every day whether or not he gets to go see her. She does such cute things with them and Gavin is learning a lot!

Hayden is all over the place and is walking really well....in fact he is practically running after Gavin these days. He is in that delightful, "I wanna get into everything" stage and is also learning how to climb up on things!!! Oh the joys of motherhood!



















I have gone back to work at Andersen Springs Salon and Day Spa. http://andersenspringssalonspa.com/ It is a wonderful place to work and I love all the girls there. I am there Wednesday's, Friday's and Saturday's and it has truly worked out to be a great thing for me. It's a perfect balance of work and home life and even though I miss my kids, it is great to be able to bring in some extra cash! (Gotta save up for Africa!!)

I am also making hair bows and selling them on the side. They are a lot of fun to make and are just darling in my nieces hair!














Justin is doing well in school and will be done after this semester YEAH!!!
He will take the Bar in February and if all goes well will be working in the County Prosecuters Office by the beginning of April.

There's just a glimpse into the life of the Heap's! Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this blogging thing as the crazy fall months come up!

The Five

10 years ago I:
1. was attending Mountain View High School
2. was dating a not so pleasant fellow
3. getting ready to go to college
4. still having to obey my parents
5. was in my high school’s musical

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. do laundry
2. bathe the kids
3. clean house
4. work on some Scentsy things
5. get ready for work tomorrow (wash and fold towels)

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. popcorn
2. handfuls of cereal
3. crackers
4. fiber one bars (actually quite tasty)
5. fishies

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. pay off our school loans
2. buy a bigger house
3. hire a maid
4. travel
5. go to culinary school and start my own catering company

5 places I have lived:
1. Mesa, Arizona
2. Mesa, Arizona
3. Mesa, Arizona
4. Mesa, Arizona
5. Mesa, Arizona

Five jobs I have had:
1. wife
2. mom
3. receptionist
4. data entry specialist
5. nail technician

I tag...
1. Kristen
2. Maren
3. Aunt Lori
4. Sarah
5. Denise

Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Long Lost Brother

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auG9qsZpL6o

I strongly urge you to watch this video! If Obama care so little for his own family, he certainly isn't going to care about you, me, or the rest of America!

Muslim Woman

Last Thursday I had a nail appointment with mom and so Justin, as he graciously does when I have appointments, took Gavin out for about an hour. They decided to go and get drinks at a Cricle K near our house. Justin got his Diet Pepsi and Gavin his Icee (Or Ice Pop as he likes to call them). They were waiting in line to purchase their drinks and there happened to be a Muslim woman, dressed in the traditional Muslim clothing, in front of them. Gavin starts talking to her and telling her all about his Ice Pop. She listens, purchases her things and then leaves the convenient store. Gavin then looks up at Justin and says, "Dad, she was really cold! She had a blanket on her head!" I laughed hysterically when he told me this! All I can be thankful for, is that he didn't say anything like that to her!
Kids say the darndest things!

Happy Birthday

Today is my dear sister Kristen's birthday! Here are some things that I love about this wonderful woman!

K - Kind! You will never meet a kinder more giving person then Kristen. She is generous and sincerely considerate of others needs and well being!
R - Responsible! If you give Kristen a task, absolutley anything, you know that you can count on her to get it done and get it done right! I wish I was that steadfast in my responsibilites

I - Involved! I love that whenever I need to know what's going on with any member of my family, I can call Kristen! She knows whats happening with everyone and everything!

S - Selfless! This one makes me tear up because when I think of one word that describes Kristen to a "T", it is selfless. She serves people more then anyone I know and she does it because she loves us, not for the recognition or the praise - purely because she loves us. If only we could all be so Christ-like!

T - Twilight Addict! This is one thing that makes me smile and laugh about Kristen! She is so passionate about these books and I love that she has something in her life that gives her this much enjoyment and that can allow her to escape! We all know that we need something to help us escape!

E - Energetic! Kristen, is a very passionate person and is always full of a lot of energy! That energy oozes from her and I can't help getting up beat and happy when I am around her, or even just talking to her on the phone! I wish that I could bottle that energy and have it with me all the time!

N - Nurse Carol! Kristen got this nick name while we were growing up because when any of us were sick or hurt, Kristen was right there to take care of us and nurse us back to health. I guess that goes back to her selflessness and generosity! She will forever hold this title - she may not nurse my illnesses anymore, but she nurses my soul!

I don't know what I would do without this woman in my life! She is one of my truest and closest friends and I love her more then anything on this planet! Happy Birthday Kristen! I sure do love you!

Hayden tuns 1!!!

I can't believe it was a year ago on Saturday that we had our sweet little baby boy! Look at him now! We sure do love our Hayden! He is such a joy and a blessing. We celebrated on Sunday and had a Cowboy Party. It was a lot of fun and he sure enjoyed his cake - as evidenced in the picture below!
Hayden is almost walking - he can take about 6-7 steps before he plops to the ground, but he's getting there. He is really starting to discover his voice and likes to squeal and mimic sounds. I'm still working on trying to get him to really laugh out loud, but it's more of a silent giggle! He is so sweet and mild and I just can't stop kissing his cute little face! We are so blessed to have him in our lives and I hope he knows how much his mommy and daddy and big brother love him! Happy Birthday Hayden!

Heap Reunion

This past weekend was the annual Heap Reunion. Every year there is a huge reunion up in the White Mountains near Green's Peak. I personally hadn't been the past few years (not without good reason- I was in nail school year before last, and last year I was 1 week away from having Hayden) so I had forgotten how fun they were and the kids had a blast! Hayden crawled around in the dirt and ingested quite a bit, and Gavin speant the entire time wandering the nearby forrest and taking rides on ponies, quads and Boyd's ranger. We took family walks and sat around and visited. Not to mention I killed Sarah in a few rounds of Phase Ten! It was really fun and it was great to get out of the heat down here in the valley. The only thing that killed it was not having Ralph and Denise there! They were so missed and we were all sad that they weren't there!
We look forward to next year though!

Birthday Bash Continued...

On the Friday after Gavin's birthday, he had Scooby Doo party with his all his boy cousins and a good friend David. We blew up my in-laws waterslide and had pizza and cake and ice cream. I think all of the kids had a really fun time and I was pretty glad when it was all over!
I can only hope that Gavin had a good time and knows how much we love him and are so happy that he is in our lives!














I was pretty proud of this cake. I think it's the best one I have done so far!

Wish my birthday lasted a week...

Gavin's 4th Birthday was on July 22nd and boy was it a birthday! It was a week long celebration and he still is talking about it.

The night before his birthday we invited his cousing Gannon over for a sleepover. They had fun watching The Bee Movie and snacking on popcorn.












On his actual birthday, I took he and Gannon to McDonalds for lunch and then he and the rest of his cousins, wento out to The "Jungle" Cafe' to see the crocodile and fish. Gavin loves this place and has been on several occasions with his Grandma and Grandpa Heap and he talks about it constantly.




That night, we got my sister to watch Hayden while we took Gavin out for a special evening with just mom and dad. We took him to his favorite restaraunt, Mi Amigos and then for a donut and Krispy Kreme's. All in all he had a very fun-filled day.

Make a Little Birdhouse in your Soul!

Well we went to the Home Depot craft day this past Saturday where the kids made birdhouses. Since no one in my family was in town to go make them with us, my friend Clarissa and her two kids came. We had a lot of fun building our houses and when we were finished, we decided to take them over to Michaels and let them pick out some paint and birds to put on them. We had a a fun aftenoon and Gavin just loves his birdhouse!

FOURTH OF JULY FUN!

We had a really great 4th of July. Thanks to the Deaton family (My sister-in-law's family) we had somewhere to go this year. We were graciously invited over for a barbeque and swimming which the kids loved. We made home-made icecream and Texas sheet cake for dessert and everything was delicious. We then went out and saw some fireworks as well as had some of our own. We didn't get home until almost 11:00 and our kids were exhausted, but it was such a fun filled day! Thanks again Deaton Family!!

Hail....King Gavin!

Long Live the King!
Gavin has really gotten into the Sword in the Stone lately. (It seems sad to me that all of Gavin's interests revolve around movies - oh well) A few Sundays ago, I decided to help Gavin kind of create his own sword in the stone. It's really quite ghetto but he enjoyed it and felt pretty cool pulling the sword out of his homemade stone.

Beautiful Day

Every morning I wake up to my Gavin alarm clock. (Him bursting into the room) That always triggers the morning ritual of him then climbing up on the bed and snuggling under the sheets with Justin and I. We talk and laugh and spend some one on one time with him before we all get up and get breakfast. This morning was no different. However, Gavin must have known I needed a pick me up this morning because after I drug myself out of bed I stopped to look in the mirror and pull my hair back. As I stood there messing with my bed head, Gavin looks up and me and says, "Are you looking at you? Your beautiful mom!" Tears start welling up in my eyes and I bent down and gave him a big hug...it's moments like those that make this whole motherhood seem a whole lot easier. It is shaping up to be a beautiful day!

I'll stick to talk radio please!

Whenever I am in the car with Kristen she likes to play the "Name That Tune" game. I know hardly any of the songs that are being played on the radio stations and therefore she always kicks my fanny. As she's flipping through stations and naming tunes by herself, she's proclaiming, "Are you serious?! I can't believe you have never heard that song!"I just shrug my shoulders and let her continue her game!
Why don't I know the songs? Because ever since I got married to Justin, I have found myslef listening to more and more talk radio. And, if it's not talk radio, it's a c.d. (usually Wicked). Not only that, in my opinion, there just isn't anything good on the radio anymore. I was able to prove my case the other day.
I was driving home from another fun swimming excursion at Rachel's parents house when I decided, just for the fun of it, to turn the radio to FM. The first song that comes on have the following lyrics as the chorus,

I kissed a girl and I liked it The taste of her cherry chapstick I kissed a girl just to try it I hope my boyfriend don't mind it It felt so wrong It felt so right Don't mean I'm in love tonight I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it
(If you are so inclined, although I don't know why you would be, the rest of the lyrics are just as horrible and can be viewed at http://www.lyriczz.com/lyriczz.php?songid=59497)

I was astonished and immediately called Kristen proclaiming that this song is a prime example of why I don't listen to the radio. I was appalled to hear such lyrics being spouted out on the radio that our hsubands, children and family are listening to. I vowed to myslef that day that I will stick to my good, clean, talk radio!!

Hayden's First Time

We went swimming alst Saturday and Hayden got in for the forst time! I think it was a little cold for him, but he had fun. It was fun to see him splash around and play with Daddy! We'll hopefully go again real soon!

Give Me Some of your Tots!!!

You can always tell your kids aren't eating the way they should when you can pull into a fast food place and they immediately recognize where they are. It's especially bad when they can then request what it is they want from said restaurant. Well, it just so happens that this happened the other day. After we went swimming over at the Deaton's yesterday, we pulled through Sonic to get something to eat since we hadn't had lunch yet that day. Immediately Gavin requests tater tots, which he knows he can only get at Sonic. We tell him he can have some, but that he would need to be patient since the line was especially long. After waiting for a few minutes, (we still haven't ordered yet) Gavin starts whining for his tater tots. We then explain to him that we have to wait for the cars ahead of us to place their orders and get their food and then we can ask for tater tots, give them our money and then they would give us our food. He sits there listening intently and then plaintively asks, "Dad....is there no other way?" What a ham!

It's a Grub...

Gavin has really gotten into The Lion King lately. The other day, I fixed him some Ramen Noodles for lunch. As he was eating he slurped one into his mouth and then looked up at me and said...."MMM, slimy yet sassifying!" Love it!

UPDATE!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly children heal. It hasn't even been a week since the tragic Drano incedent and look how much better Hayden's little legs are!

I am so greatful that we have the kind of knowledge in medicine that we have today and that what could have left horrible scarring, almost looks like it didn't happen at all! We are so blessed and I am greatful to my Father in Heaven for blessing Hayden with a quick recovery!

Review!

I loved this book! I cannot get over the imagination that Stephenie Meyer has. As I sat reading this book, I was a little jealous that I had not the mental abilities, nor the wherewithal to write something like this.

I will admit, it took me maybe the first 100 or so pages to really start getting into it, but once I was in....I didn't want to come back out. I feel sorry for my neglected kids and the mess that was my house and in retrospect, I probably should have had enough self control to put it down, but you do what you gotta do and yesterday....I HAD to read this book!