Where have I been?

Well,for my 6 people who actually view this... I deeply apologize for abandoning you. Life has been pretty busy around these parts!!!
So since my last post.... Jackson turned 6, Porter turned 4 Ben turned 1, Lily turned 8, we went on a disney cruise, and Lily got baptized Jake and I celebrated 9 years of being married on November 2nd. Still can not believe I have been married that long, and I have 5 kids..... wow!! I am such a slacker for not posting about any of this... please dont hate me. Most of you, if not all 6 of you are my facebook friends and have seen my updated pictures =)
We did just have our family pics taken, so take a looksie!!!
I will try my hardest to be better at this blog thing..... sigh.....

Sweet Amelie

Ok, I know every parent thinks their child is the cutest thing alive. Well, Amelie is in fact the cutest, most sweetest, lovable, GORGEOUS little girl I know (Lily is a BIG girl, Amelie is my LITTLE girl) Today I took Amelie to Foto Fly for her 2 year old pictures. She was REALLY nervous at first, but quickly warmed up and became a super star run way model.






Happy Birthday Amelie!! You are amazing and I am truly blessed to be your mama! Since the moment you were born you had me wrapped around your little finger with that red curly hair, stunning blue eyes and sweet crooked smile. You are my everything and I want to be a better person because of you. I love hearing you laugh! I love seeing you smile. I love hearing you talk to and YELL at everyone. I love how much you love your brothers and sister. I love how much you love me and your daddy. I love you messy kisses. I love your chubby toes. I love how much you love animals (just like me when I was a kid). I love how huggable you are. I love that you are my daughter and I love that you will be my daughter forever. LOVE LOVE LOVE you. I cant believe you are turning 2!
xoxox

There's the door......

Recently I have been doing thinking and realized it is SO important to know who your real friends are. I mean it... REAL FRIENDS. Not just someone you say hi to because if you dont, you are a bad person. I have skimmed the "bleh" layer off the top of my "pot", and now things are good. I have also comed to realize.... if you dont dont like me, don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out. Cleaning out my "life" has been great. I feel like I dont have to walk around on egg shells, I can be who I am, and those who truly like me, are still here!! I like to be ME, and I like you to be YOU.... dont be someone you arent. Understand? There are so many 2 face fake people out there who one day are your good friend, then behind your back they talk crap about you. Sadly, I used to be one of those people. I would put on a happy face for people, and in reality, I didnt like them. I just put up with them.
It is so important to just be YOU, and dont be a fake 2 face. So please, if I have done something to offend you, or you are having a hard time being my friend, talk to me. I will listen. Outside of family, a lady and her friends are very important. Moving a whole 25 minutes away from my "old life" was so hard, and sadly many if not most of my "friends" never spoke to me again, or blocked me out of their life. That told me they werent really my friends from the beginning. I am probably the luckiest person alive (in my opinion haha) and have an adorable family who are freaking genius' (again, in my opinion), I have a studly husband who adores his family (that is a known fact, not just in my opinion), a awesome home, with a yard (jealous daybreak friend, hahah kidding), I am happy, healthy and seriously have the GREATEST friends ever. Real friends... I have the greatest REAL friends ever.So please, if you havent seen me in a while, come on down. I love girls nights, I love my friends. I am SO lucky to live 3 minutes away from my all time BFF Barb...I know you are reading this Barb... love ya girl.
So if you hate me, think I am fake, think I am the devil... then obviously we arent a match, and shouldnt be friends (duh)! If you would like to discuss things with me, feel free... I am willing to listen. But since I already "cleaned house"... I am pretty sure the people who do read this rant and ramble are in fact my friends. OH.. and here is a shot out to my new friends here in the land of Lehi.... Sharlane, Trisa, Cami, Kendra, Kristine (there are about 20 more, but I dont want to burn dinner) YOU GUYS HAVE MADE THIS PAST YEAR AWESOME, LOVE YOU, AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE!
Bethany, Janie, Melissa B, Ashley, Jenn, Michelle, Kristine O, Lia, from my old 'hood..... fabulous people you are... (yoda voice). I know there are a WHOLE bunch more names I need to mention, if you are my friend and live in daybreak... hugs.
Sarah Pence Sharp... I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!! Best room mate ever.... get your butt out of the ICE of Idaho and come down for a visit (when I am home, woops, sorry about that!)
Carrie Popham...... you have been my friend since we were kiddos, how have you put up with me!! Love you, move out here, PLEASE?
Heather Lewis, you are awesome, and I adore you and your family. So happy Jason found you, or you found him... you get the picture!! I loved crashing your lunch date back 8 years ago (so I could meet you and tell Jason to just go for it, and fall in love with you!!!) I know I am forgettting so many people... feels like I am holding a "oscar" and saying my thank you's for winning the "luckiest person alive award".
Sigh..... I am so lucky...

Going private.....

Well it is about that time. I only want people I actually like and consider my friends and family to blog stalk me.So if you want to see my families pictures and listen to my rants and blah blah blahs.... email me or comment with your email address
stephenspartyof7@gmail.com

I am alive....

My 3 sons.... I hope to be the only woman in their life. No woman will ever be good enough!!! haha

My sweet daughters. They look so different, but are SOOO similar!!! Love being their mama!


Oh Sweet Benjamin!!!!


Jackson age 5 1/2. He is the sweetest human being I have ever known. He has the BIGGEST heart


Lily age 7 1/2. This girl is seriously the sweetest little girl alive.... but BOY CAN SHE GO DIVA ON YOU!!

Porter age 3 1/2. This kid is going to be a heart breaker!!

Amelie age 21 months.... look at her hair!!


Ok, well I have really slacked on the whole blog thing, and I realized I need to be better at it, so I can actually get a blog book and have some good enteries!!! Anyways, all is well with the Stephens family. Kids are doing great in school, very social with the neighborhood and we are very happy!!
Milestones- Benjamin is 6 months old, 18 pounds, 27 inches long, rolling all over the place, gets on his hands and knees but just ends up taking a nose dive to the ground or he flips over and scares himself silly.
Amelie-Learning tons of new words, knows most of her colors, and loves puzzles. She has the curliest hair ever and her smile and laugh is very contagious. She loves to YELL names rather than say them... instead of "porter, give that back to me" its "POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR MINE MINEMINE" then she pounds on him and they wrestle. her favorite thing in life in her raggetty old pink blanket, and Elmo.
Porter-Doing great in pre school, knows literally every shape out there, I was shocked when he pointed to something and said "hey, that is a trapezoid". He loves to dance, sing, read stories, play the Wii, and making terrible messes.
Jackson-OH where do I begin... jackson is doing so awesome it brings tears to my eyes. He is READING so well, loves school, and is such a social butterfly. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments. He got glasses about a month ago after we were told "wow, this kid is blind!!!" haha WOOPSIE!!
Lily is AWESOME. She loves to read, and is GREAT at it. She is really into Justin Bieber (big surprise, she is SEVEN), loves to write and make up songs with her BFF Lizzie, some of her favorite things include her "oobies" if you dont know what those are... what planet do you live on? Her nitendo DS, she loves changing clothes and playing BIG GIRL dress up, make up and her wish would be to get a cell phone.... SO.NOT.HAPPENING!
I love my family more than I can say..... they drive me nuts, give me gray hair, and make me ask for forgiveness daily, but its so worth it.......


The best of the worst... do you know how hard it is to get a GOOD picture taken with 7 people, 5 of them being under age 7!

Long summer, busy summer..... is that fall?

Seriously Amelie, I love you!!

Porter tends to hide from the camera now, so this is him being caught off guard



Oh sweet Benjamin, I can just eat his cheeks!!

Jackson and his teacher Mrs Simpson

Lily and Jackson on the first day of school. She held his hand all the way to school, it was SOOOO cute!


The neighborhood kids getting ready to walk to school.

This was Lily's first day... the previous FIRST day pic was on JACKSONS first day of school


Ok, so I have been a slacker, but come on... I have 5 kids. Between 2 kids in school, 1 kid in pre school, 1 19 month old who is trying to kill me, and a 4 month old who wont stop puking....I am tired!!
Lily started 2nd grade and is doing awesome. She reads like a champ and I cant get her to stop. She loves Judy Blume which makes me happy, because I read those books when I was a kid!!She all of a sudden has become a 13 year old and cares about what outfits she wears. SO much for leggings and a shirt, or a simple sun dress. The shoes must match the out fit, and a hair style is needed. Dont forget the SILLY BANDS. My kids have about 500 sillybands, and thanks to Lily's B day party..... we have a BOX of them. I tell the kids daily, bring your bands to school and dont just TRADE them, GIVE them away!! wahooo!!!
Jackson started kindergarten and LOVES it. He is doing FABULOUS and I LOVE his teacher. She is SOOOO sweet and just the most kind person I have ever met. She has 2 sons who are Autistic and her heart is so welcoming to children with special needs. Jackson is going to speech therapy 2 days a week and is doing GREAT.
Porter is my pre school boy, man.... he needs to be in school all day. That boy is monster when he isnt BUSY with other kids or school. I am just THRILLED that he gets to take the bus to school starting in 2 weeks!!
Amelie is 19 months and has started the "terrible 2's" a few months early. But she is just so fun, and adorable with her red curly hair!!!
Benjamin... oh Benjamin. I sure do love this kid. He is SOOOO fun and loves to laugh, play with his toes, roll all over the floor. and bounces in the jumper like a pro!! He has a little issue called Pyloric Stenosis which causes him to become the exorcist child a few times a day. He has to get a Upper GI done, and a Lower GI as well to see whats up, and if he needs surgery =( Jackson had the same issue, but with medicine, and once he ate solid food, he seemed to be ok. He is 4 months old, 26 3/4 inches long, and 16 pounds 2 ozs!! TOTAL CHUNK! I love it!! But he is SOOOO tall, wears 6-9 month clothes and can fit in some 12 month onsies, depending on what brand they are.
I think its funny that when Lily was ONE year old, she was only 18 pounds, and my 4 month old is 16 pounds!! HAHA!!
Lily had her 7th birthday party a little late. She wanted to wait until school started so she could invite the girls from her class. We had 24 girls here... I repeat... 24! It was SOOOO fun! My friend Bethany came over and took pictures of the girls in their cute clothes, All the girls got some cute favors I bought from my friend Melissa and her company called BEING PETTI. My friend Kristine from KAKES BY KRISTINE made a cake that a BRIDE would adore. It was awesome (pictures below) It was a fun day and my little Lily had a GREAT time with her little friends. It took some time, but she has established some GREAT friendships down here and we just love it. Her "lehi best friend Lizzie" (must not confuse that with her "daybreak best friend Gracie") is here for dinner most nights and hangs out with Lily until I personally start to undress Lily into her pajamas. I am in trouble when Lily is a teen... I am sure she will be one of THOSE kids who wants to stay out late!!
Life is good, we are happy and are planning on staying here in Lehi for another 9 months until the school year is over. Then... who knows. Jake's current job has a opening in Henderson NV, and I am not sure if that is the BEST move for us, but it would be a pay increase, AND a change of scenery! SO we shall see what the next 9 months has to offer. Jake is doing great in school and its nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel, FINALLY! Well... here are some pics of the past few weeks or so....

Summer photo shoot for the kiddos

Ok, I know I am their mom, and of course even if they had a second nose, 4 eye balls and looked like shrek, I would think they were GORGEOUS, but MY KIDS ARE GORGEOUS!! Seriously AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS!! Here is the proof.....