Prepare yourselves...

So after admitting to myself that I have too much on my plate right now, coupled with the fact that I have totally ignored this site for way too long, I have decided to let Jake be the updater of our family blog. He has happily accepted as long as I agree to let him have total and complete creative license over the layout and content. And he also pointed out that we are no longer the "fritz five" so our address may have to change as well... Hopefully he will be better about keeping up on it than I have. :-)

To get him off to a good start, I told him that I would do a year-end review with pictures and updates for him, so expect an actual post here soon. I know. Shocking!

Thanks for those of you who still come here and check on us. And for those of you who visit me at kspinning, I'll still be writing there, just now it will be guilt free! :-)

{Yes, that is a picture of Geoffrey in a huge yellow coat above. I bought it for our Utah trip and he never wore it so I thought I'd snap a pic before leaving it there for a baby who doesn't live in the desert. He loved it for the 5 minutes he had it on anyway...}

Shopping For A Cause

*Update. I'm still taking bids until October 5th...*

As many of you have heard by now, a sweet little girl named Rachel who was moving into our neighborhood passed away after a drowning accident. Some friends and neighbors have put together a blog to help pay raise money for medical expenses that the family now faces.

I've rounded up a few items of my own to help this family out. If you are interested in anything, leave a comment stating which item you want, and what your offer is. The highest bidder by September 20th will win the item(s). Please be generous as 100% of the money raised will go right to the family.

If you are interested in seeing all of the other great items or services up for auction please click HERE. If you only want to donate you can click on the paypal button on the top right of this page. Anyone is welcome to participate by posting auction items on your blog as well. Thanks in advance and happy shopping...

1. Southern Living Francescan Basket (photo on top as well). Can be used indoors or outdoors and is new in the box. I put this 8X10 photo inside to give you an idea of the size. Starting bid is $8.
2. Southern Living sconce. This item does not have a box, but has not been used. It has mounting hooks on the back and would make a great planter box. It is a fiberglass/resin material and is pretty substantial. The pictures don't do it justice. Starting bid is $12.



3. This is another SL item; Set of 2 Sassy Wall Sconces. These are also new in the box and are great alone or as a pair. Starting bid is $10.




Here is some of the great gold paint detail on the sconces. They work great as a shelf for holding frames, plants etc. or on their own...







4. Southern Living item; Set of 3 black and white prints by photographer Melissa Springer. They are all 8x10 and would look great with any decor. These are also new in a black folder, tied with a black bow. They would make a great wedding/shower gift. I have 2 sets of these to sell for the highest bidders. Starting bid $5.

5. SL Harrison Plate Holder. This is new in the box and pretty self explanatory.



Here it is with standard size dinner plates, and again with 2 8x10 prints to help give you an idea of the actual size. (All these items are bigger than they look on here). Starting bid is $8.








6. Now for some randomness. VS satin robe. New with tags, one size fits all and a really pretty mauve color.

Don't know if you really need a back view, but just in case you want one, here you go. This is a great lightweight robe for hot climates (hint) and also would make a great gift. Starting bid $10.



If you need specific measurements for any of these items, or have any questions, just comment and I'll get them for you. You can also stop by if you want to see them in person. (as long as you call first!) Thanks, and be sure to check out the auction blog as well!

Cutest Thing Ever

So I admit it. I've been a complete slacker on my family blog. There is much catching up to do and now that I'm getting up early again, I may actually have some time to update while the rest of the Fritz's are asleep. Until then you can enjoy Geoffrey baby talk. This is a rare sight as he is usually asleep or trying to eat...

He's Here!

July 1st at 4:58pm Geoffrey Morgan was born! He weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 20.5 inches long. We are all very happy that he is healthy and home with us. I'll have more pictures and updates soon when I can break myself away from this adorable boy!

Summer Break

Our annual trip to Utah this summer was shorter than usual, but still nice. Well, the first week was anyway. We stayed in Vegas for the first day swimming and playing with cousins, then drove on to St. George where my fabulous aunt Carolyn made us the best brunch ever! and we were able to spend time with even more family. Then it was on to Salt Lake where we went to a really cool dinosaur museum, had some fun dinners with family and I even did a little crafting and shopping with my sisters.


Unfortunately Miranda, Patrick, 3 of my nephews and my niece all got really sick the entire second week. Only one case of the flu, but all had fevers and/or a nasty cough. Jake also got it and was miserable most of the time as well. Somehow I took care of everyone (with the help of my sister and some grandmas) and still didn't get anything. I'm SO happy about that. (sorry to the rest of you sickies ;))

Jake was feeling a little better the last few days in Salt Lake, so we were able to take a tour through the new Oquirrh Hills LDS temple as well. The temple was beautiful (of course) and the view of the valley from the temple is pretty spectacular too. If you're in Utah and interested, I believe the tours run through Aug. 1st of this year before it gets dedicated.

Jake and I came home last week with Patrick and the girls have been able to enjoy their first vacation ever without their parents. I shouldn't be, but I'm surprised that they haven't been homesick yet. I guess with art lessons (check out their work here), special days out with the grandparents and all the time in the world to spend with their cousins it's not that surprising.

Still, I wasn't sure how they or I would do with this much time apart. I have been busy with Patrick, painting the boys room and just generally being miserably pregnant. I am actually really pleased that I am not having to worry about entertaining them right now. (that and I'm able to clean out the playroom and get rid of things without anyone objecting!) Not that I don't miss them, mind you, but I'm just not sad about it or anything...

Patrick has surprised me as well. He says he misses his sisters, but he sure doesn't act like it! He is very happy to have lots of attention and free reign of the playroom and rest of the house. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to have them come home, but for now he is enjoying this time with his mom and dad before little brother comes along and takes up some of this great attention! He would do just fine as an only child, but I don't think I could handle Patrick as the only one. He REALLY likes to be right. by. me. All the time. It's great!

Thankfully the girls will be back in a little over a week because while they have been gone Patrick has been getting pretty good at making this face. It's called the "I'm turning into a bratty spoiled kid with all of this attention" face. That's not my favorite. It's totally my fault, but still. He needs a reality check pretty soon. With the girls coming back, and the baby arriving shortly after that, I'm sure we'll all be getting quite the reality check! That's okay, I can't wait!!

33 Things We Love About You

1. You make us laugh everyday
   
2. You carry us to bed every night
   
3. You make cool Spiderman zip lines
   
4. You're silly
5. You help us clean our room
   
6. You plan fun Friday night treat/movie nights
7. You play games with us
8. You teach us how to ride bikes
9. You help us learn to read
10. You were our "cookie dad"
11. You play games with us
12. You make the best goofy faces
13. You take us the park
14. You buy us happy meals (mom doesn't)
15. You sing funny songs to us
16. You "say that one funny thing while you read to us" *this is where the kids lose interest*
17. You love toys and playing as much as your kids
18. You can make any outing fun
19. You let me sleep in and nap as much as I want
20. You run lots of errands so I don't have to
21. You make your kids feel special and loved
22. You make me feel special and loved
    
23. You spoil all of us
24. You are a great example
    
25. You are always a loyal friend
26. You are klutzy and I love it!
27. You always have nice things to say about everyone
28. You are easy to be around and make others feel at home
29. You love my family as much as I do
30. You are thoughtful and sensitive
31. You love good food as much as me
32. You appreciate the little things
33. You passed on some great genes to our kids! ;)
    

Happy late birthday Jake/Dad! We love YOU!!

A Very Happy Day

I've been trying to think of what I wanted to say about Jake's baptism, but I really don't think I can adequately explain my feelings. It was such an incredible day and weekend - one that we will not soon forget. Sometimes I can be short on words...believe it or not!

I do, however, want to thank everyone who called, emailed, brought food, participated, attended and showed your support to Jake and our family in any way, big or small. You have no idea how much your actions were appreciated and how blessed and loved we feel to know all of you. So thank you, from all of us.

Conference & Some Chicks

*for directions, just click on the picture above*

With Easter coming up, and a whole weekend of staying home to watch conference, I thought it would be the perfect time to make some of these cute cake pops from Bakerella's website.

The girls and I went and bought candy corns, candy melt, cake mix, frosting and all the little things we would need to make the bunny and chicks. They are SO cute aren't they? Yeah, we thought so too. Just so you know, they are NOT easy to do. I take that back. They are actually pretty easy to make, but ours did not look this cute. I only uploaded pictures of the chicks because our bunnies, well, they were a little scary.

But the important part is that we all had fun making them. Especially Jake. I couldn't tear him away from the table. He got really tricky and even added a 'tail' to the back of the chicks! The other good news is that I made over 100 of those cake balls and I still have a bunch in the freezer to finish decorating on a night we don't have so much "help" if you know what I mean.

I highly recommend trying these at home, not only because it was fun, but because they are super tasty! I mean, cake crumbled and mixed with frosting, then rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate? Yum!

Conference was excellent as well, and the kids almost sat with us the entire time. We had such a relaxing weekend just being together as a family and that was the best part of all...

Updates And Some News

As usual, I'm a little behind posting here, but I'll try to post at least a few highlights...

Miranda celebrated her 5th birthday(Jan. 29) and thankfully Jake and Grandma Dorothy pulled off a wonderful princess party for her while I hid away in my room with an eye infection. From all the pictures I saw and giggling girls I could hear, I'm convinced that all the princesses had a great time!

Miranda is SO ready to go to Kindergarten and asks me every day when she can go. We picked up her registration materials the other day and when she told her friend Tawny that she was going to school soon, her friend gave her a big hug and said "I'm so proud of you!" Yeah, it was the cutest thing ever...

Patrick is now almost officially potty trained, thanks to my mom sending down a pack of Spiderman underwear. Apparently the Cars ones I had were not cool enough for him. He needs very little assistance now and hasn't had an accident in over two weeks. His little church friends must be potty training too because he tells me what kind of underwear they all wear. Even the girls. Yep, I'm lucky enough to know what 3 yr. old girl in his class wears Tinkerbell undies.

He is very excited to be a big brother and to move into the big boy bed in his room. He is the sweetest kid and hugs and kisses my tummy and tells baby Geoffrey hello all the time. Though he is so good and cute as can be, he can be quite the stubborn kid. He insists on wearing his shoes on the wrong feet(see above pic) and will not wear jammies if the bottoms do match the top. He is very particular about this and would rather wear his day clothes than non-matching pj's...

This is Maddy in her Hannah Montana outfit for "celebrity day" at school. I had something a little wilder picked out, but in true Maddy fashion she picked the conservative and 'safe' option. (The one she could dismantle pretty quickly if her friends didn't dress up). Silly, sweet girl.

Maddy is loving 2nd grade and has been on the honor roll every quarter so far. She would also love to have her friends move right in with us. It's hard for her to go one day without friend time, but since she has great friends, I have no problem with this. It also helps that she knows that she has to have her homework and chores done before friends come over, so there is never a fight about those things. That, I love! This still doesn't work for Miranda, so I need to come up with another plan for that girl.

Nothing really new going on for me. Just getting bigger and more uncomfortable every day! Thank goodness that we have a lot going on, so the pregnancy seems to be going really quickly. Yay for that!

I'm sure many of you have heard, but Jake has chosen to be baptized this month and we couldn't be happier about his decision. He is really excited and I'm sure he wanted to post about it, but by the time he got around to blogging it, it would be old news. (No offense Jake, we all know you are a busy guy.)

To him, baptism seems like the most natural thing in the world as he has basically been active in the church for a while now and this is the next logical step. But I have to say, it is very strange for me to get used to seeing scriptures left out on the breakfast table when I get up, and even stranger to hear him humming church hymns to himself on Sunday mornings. Not strange in a bad way mind you, just not typical of the rock star I married 10 years ago!

For those of you who would like to attend, the baptism will take place on Sat. April 18th at 4pm. and you can call or email for the address if you are interested in coming. I know it's weird to be blogging about this, but I'm sure we would forget to share the news with all of you, so consider this an official invite. Thanks to all of you who have already called, emailed and shown your support to Jake and our family. We love and appreciate all of you, both near and far...

Some Springtime Fun!

I am hosting a Spring/Summer apron swap on my other blog and wanted to make sure that everyone here saw it too! You are all invited to participate and it should be a lot of fun! I know you all have a mother/sister/friend etc. who could help you sew if you think you don't know how, so come on and join me! You don't even have to comment if you don't want to, just call or email if you like. Go HERE for all the details!

By the way, don't be surprised if I track some of you local crafty girls down to join. Come on, who can't use a really cute apron for spring bbqs and parties?


Look, even Jake looks cute in a Springy apron!

Whitehall Beach

Thanks to Grandma Fernie's generosity, we were able to purchase sod and sand for the backyard. It felt like Christmas again as we got the pallets of sod delivered!

We were lucky to have some great friends come over last minute to help lay the sod. (thanks Rob and Chad) I was a little off on my sod ordering estimation, and we ended up with almost an entire extra pallet of sod. What was going to be a small, kidney shape of grass is now almost a full yard of the green loveliness! We are still planning on extending the patio area, but for now it will be great to not have dirt right up to the porch. (If any of you were wondering why the curbing is shaped that way)

The sod laying went pretty quickly, but digging out the sandbox area did not. It took about 9 hours to dig down enough to make room for the 8 tons of sand I ordered...oops! It's hard to tell in this photo, but I think we dug down about 6 inches or so. Thank goodness Grandma Dorothy was here to help! I did lots of digging, but there was no way I was going to try and wheelbarrow the dirt around!

The pile of sand looked huge right after it got delivered, but after 4 days straight of rain, I was worried that I didn't order enough! No worries...we had plenty!

Here is the finished playground just waiting for some kids to come play and dig! I can totally picture Patrick and his new brother sitting and digging together someday soon. I've been trying to keep the kids off the grass, but this weekend I'm sure the new playground will get lots of use.

Jake talked me into sitting on our 'beach' with him to watch the stars the other night, so I bundled up in a blanket and went out back with him. If you put your toes in and only looked at the sky it almost even felt like the beach...

Now I just need to get out all of the pesky weeds that were kind enough to grow while we have been so busy!

Inspiring Saturday

At least that is what I'm hoping for tomorrow.

I was already looking forward to the Saturday morning women's conference that is being held tomorrow, but ever since I heard that one of the speakers is Stephanie Nielson's Mother-In-Law, I'm anticipating it even more! I'm sure a lot of you (especially here in AZ) have heard of the Nielson's that were burned in a plane crash last fall and I know many of you follow Stephanie's blog the Nie Nie Dialogues. I love reading about Stephanie's life both now in recovery and pre-accident. She is an incredible mother and I can't wait to hear more about her from her MIL.

I know this is a strange thing to post, but I think it should be a great conference, so if you are local and want to come or need more info. let me know! See you there!

Coming Soon...

July 9th (or so) to be exact! Meet our son!

Jake and I intently watched the monitor as the technician checked over all the important parts and we were thrilled to learn that the baby was healthy and right on track for size. (though I was hoping to be further along) We got to see him wiggle and rub his head and even do a somersault! The whole experience was peaceful and calm and I knew we were meant to have this baby in our lives.

There is no doubt about the gender. He was very cooperative about that and we have two great pictures to embarrass him with when he is older. We didn't really have a preference about a boy versus a girl (remember we got rid of everything?), but I'm happy that we'll be 'even stevens' in our house and won't have to convert the playroom to a bedroom as we were thinking we would.

I was starving (as usual) after the ultrasound so Jake and I had a fun little lunch date which was a great treat in itself. We were both giddy about the baby, of course, and right there as we ate our yummy Mexican food we picked a name for the newest member of our family. Just like that. Easy.

I've been a little anxious about this pregnancy, but after today I feel like I have some concrete evidence that things are just fine. I guess that's only normal after a miscarriage. I know that it's not a guarantee that things can't go wrong, but it seems like everything is finally starting to fall into place for our future. No questions, no doubts, no worries, just enjoying life and all the craziness that comes with it.

Crafty Giveaway Time!

I've done this a couple of times on my other blog, and I thought it was high time to do it here. So because I joined my friend Ericka's giveaway, I'm going to send a homemade gift to the first three people to comment here on my blog. The catch is that you have to post this on your blog and give something away to three commenters on your blog. Sort of a "pass it on" kind of thing. There is no real time line, so go ahead and comment! I have lots of ideas for this already brewing in my little head and I know you'll want to be a part of it!

Thanks for all of you who do come and visit, and also all of you who share part of your lives with us through blogging! Good luck and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Chopping Broccoli

I have many updates to do (oh, and I will), but I thought I would start with a gardening update.

Over the holidays our beans, sunflowers and cucumbers all bit the dust, but our broccoli. . .wow! It grew two feet while we were gone! I didn't realize that they got so tall. Not sure if they usually do, but check this out, it's GINORMOUS!

We cut a big head off so that it would help the other starts grow. It doesn't look very big until Patrick holds it up to his face...

We were going to steam it up and have it with dinner, but the kids convinced me that they needed to try it now! They were nice enough to save their dad one small piece. Generous, aren't they? 
Here they are in broccoli heaven. They sure love their veggies. . .when they get to pick them out of the garden that is! 

We've replanted more peas and beans because they have been our favorites and are planning to get our second garden ready for some tomatoes, peppers and herbs. We need our salsa garden! 

And here is one more picture of the broccoli because, you know, I think it's quite pretty. 

Some holiday catch up posts to come soon...

New Year New Body

By July of this year I plan on having a smoking hot body! I have started early on my fitness goals and thought I would share some tips if any of you were wanting to look as good as I will come July...

* Start now. I actually started early by gaining 8 pounds since Thanksgiving. It wasn't easy, but by following more of my tips you will start gaining weight this quickly too!
* Work out as minimally as possible. (if you run, don't do over 5 miles a week) Keep your energy in check. And don't try to do anything too acrobatic or you may pull something. *Trust me here*
* Make sure you get WAY more sleep than you're used to. If you are sleeping less than 10 hours a night, try staying with relatives so they can play with your kids and keep your husband busy so you can get lots more sleep! I tried this over the last 2 weeks and it was fantastic! (it also helps if the relatives you stay with like to cook yummy food for you as well)
* Don't stress if everyone around you is talking about their weight loss goals. In fact, don't stress about anything. Try to tune out anything that could be upsetting or make you feel like you need to do more in general. This is one that I have a hard time doing, but it's getting easier with practice.
* Be specific in your weight gain goals. I'm hoping to gain another 15 lbs by July and because of my hard work in the fall, I can now introduce a little more exercise and calorie control and still easily reach my goal.

See how easy this all is? Oh wait, I almost forgot the most important part. The easiest way to obtain the Karolee hot-body look is to get pregnant. Now I know this is not always an easy thing to achieve, so I went ahead and added some tips to help you with this goal as well...

* First, tell everyone (including your spouse) that you absolutely sure you are done having kids.
* Next, keep taking your birth control. Keep in mind it is only 99% effective and after the next few tips, the odds of becoming pregnant are much greater.
* Make sure you are in terrible financial shape. In fact, it would be best if you didn't have health insurance at all.
* Before you can get pregnant you have to work really hard to get in the best shape of your life first. A year is the minimum, but for me it took about two years. To speed this up, get a hard-core trainer at your gym or start training for a marathon.
* At least one month before you conceive, get rid of any and all baby related items or needs. I'm talking ALL of it! This will likely raise your odds to 50% in one day. Seriously.
* Spend very little time with your spouse. Take a few trips where you are gone at least two weeks at a time. Make sure that you are also totally exhausted when you are home with your spouse so that you go to bed really early and alone.
* Try to only hang out with women who are wanting to get pregnant and talk about it all the time. The more they talk, the greater your chances are. I still haven't figured out how this one works, but believe me, it does work. There are now three of us due on the exact same day! (If you are due on July 12 you know who you are!)

There you have it. Now you don't have to wonder why you didn't get goodies, or even a Christmas card from the Fritz's this year. It's been a very surprising Fall(not to mention the morning sickness that has been in full swing the entire time!)and we are just starting to adjust to real life again.

In all honesty, we are excited about the idea of a new Fritz baby and can't wait to meet him or her! These cute kids are also pretty excited as well...