The Shortridge Family

Recent Projects

2011-08-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

I have quite a few projects going on at the moment but I thought I'd share the two that I've completed. The first was an updated project for Hallie's room. She's had blocks with her name on them up in her room since she was born and I was ready to do something different. So I found these cute white curly letters from Hobby Lobby and just decoupaged. Super easy...but super cute! Best part? Hallie LOVES them:)

The second project was for Jack's room. I found a very sturdy bookshelf and sanded and refinished it. It really adds a great pop of color to his room and he really likes this addition to his room.

These are just two projects of many so there will be more pictures for follow.

Battle Frosting

2011-08-11T13:15:00.002-05:00

Few things in my life have irritated me as much as my inability to work with frosting and make it look great. Frosting has always overwhelmed me. I REALLY want to master the art of working with frosting so I decided to do something about it.

My inspiration comes from the cutest blog that my mom introduced me to. The blog is:
http://beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com/
The thingsnthese ladies come up with boggle my mind and I must admit that makes me sick how incredibly talented they are! But their tips have really helped me in Battle Frosting!

My first project was Hallie's birthday cake. The key for me on this cake was using quality ingredients. It really made all the difference. I have always just used margarine for butter cream frosting because butter is SO expensive and I usually don't have it on hand. Well, no more!
Besides the butter it really helped to apply several layers of frosting...refrigerating between each coat. I need a little more work but i was pleased with how it turned out.

Next project...sugar cookies. I love sugar cookies but hate to make them because the the frosting never turns out. This time was COMPLETELY different. I used a meringue frosting that I found at the blog I mentioned above. This was a great change because the frosting actually hardens and then you can stack or package the cookies however you like. The application of the frosting was actually the best part. After making the frosting I put them in clear squeeze bottles with the small tips.

These little babies made decorating a breeze because the frosting when exactly where I wanted it to go. I was very pleased. Now the colors weren't exactly what I was going for and I still need A LOT more practice but I've made progress and that's what I'm excited about.


I made these cookies for a Young Women's lesson and this was my presentation. I really liked how they turned out.

I am actually excited to keep experimenting with frosting!

Hallie's Birthday Party

2011-08-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

Hallie was super excited to celebrate her birthday with some of her friends. It was RIDICULOUSLY hot but we planned for lots of water activities so it should be great, right?! Not so much. The kids lasted for about 35 minutes outside and then they were ready to be out of the heat and sun. So much for that. But it was still a great party and Hallie had a great time partying with her friends.

This was my first attempt at really trying to master the art of frosting. I was actually pretty pleased with the results considering how much improvement I have needed. Most importantly Hallie loved it:)

Playing in the water. Just don't mind the ghettoness of the yard in the background. That's what happens when you live in a developing neighborhood:)

Slip n' Slidin'

Miss Madi:)

All finished with the water

I love Coehn's face here. Not quite sure what it's all about but he cracks me up.

The girls takin' a break. Adorable!

PRESENTS! The highlight of every child's birthday party:)

Hallie and Parker

Hallie and Madi

Coehn, Hallie and Brylee

Hallie and Jack

CAKE!

Make a wish;)


Marie stopped by with Grace and she entertained the girls by reading Pinkalicious.

Well, that's it for Hallie's birthday celebrations. It was a fantastic week and we loved celebrating our little lady!

Side note: Sorry to show you our have eaten cake but I just had to show the inside of the cake since we went to all of the trouble of doing a tie-died cake.

She made it to 4!

2011-07-19T20:51:00.003-05:00

Somehow she decided that it was alright for her to grow up. 4 came all too quickly for me! It was a great day though. I tried to make it really special for her and I think we all really enjoyed the day.


We started the day off with pink rollups and pink milk. I hope Grandpa will forgive me for the modification on his signature breakfast:)

We spent the afternoon at Chuck E Cheese (thanks to some complimentary tokens). I have to say this was so fun for me. The kids got along SO well. They were so excited the whole time and we just had a blast!

Riding the rocket

Enjoying Hallie's birthday

They were so funny to watch on this roller coaster. They just laughed and laughed.

This was an intense game!

Sneaking around:)

Once Jim got home from work we made our way to Olive Garden for Hallie's birthday dinner. Oh man...we love that place:)

Daddy and Jack

Mommy and the birthday girl

After dinner it was time for presents and cake!!

The loot:)

She was so excited about all the presents.

Precious birthday girl

Princess with her flowers

BALLOONS!

Fancy Nancy from Grandma and Grandpa...she is just too cute!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa...she's perfect!

Now a place to put all the jewelry that she's collected

For some reason she has been asking and asking for an umbrella.
She was thrilled to open a Minny Mouse umbrella!

Dress up

CD player from Grandma Robbie. This little girl is constantly listening to music!
Thanks Grandma!!

Proud Daddy and his birthday girl

Love those kids!

The cake:)


I love this picture. I think it sums up the day perfectly.

Just a few thoughts about the day: Hallie and I seem to have really been at odds lately. She's become very good at coping an attitude and she is the most stubborn person I have ever known. Today was such a great day and reminded me of how sweet and wonderful she really is (of course I know it but it can be hard to remember when I'm in the midst of our daily meltdown).
I am proud of this little lady and her independent spirit. I know that her independence will server her well as she grows up and starts to make important decisions for herself. I know that as she goes out in the world that her ability to be firm in what she wants and what she desires will be such a blessing to her as she is able to resist some of the dangerous things the world has to offer. As her mommy I feel the enormous importance is to teach her what is right and then allowing her to exercise her independence as she feels she should. Because once she decides on something she is not easily swayed and I know that if we, as her parents, can show her the joys of choosing uplifting things she will be an wonderful force for good in all that she does.
I LOVE this girl and feel so blessed to be her mother. I just hope that I'm up to the challenge:)

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

Both Jack and Hal had swimming lessons these past weeks and it was so fun to see them in the water. The pictures are not the best but what can you do...have Jim buy me a new camera, that's what! Just kidding honey:) They both did great and made a lot of progress this year. I'm so proud of them both. Now if I can just keep them in the water for the rest of the summer so they don't loose the progress they've made.

Ready to start

Hallie swimming through the hoop.

Hals riding the noodle train

Jackson and Hallie were not in the same class but they had to combine
one day because Jackson's teacher couldn't be there. Here they are
on the side of the pool with their friend Madi in the middle:)

Chillin' on the side of the pool patiently waiting for his turn

Jack swimming

Hallie getting in some back float

Jack lost his first tooth

2011-07-05T19:42:00.001-05:00

He wasn't too sure what he thought about it once it was gone but after the Tooth Fairy came I think he thought it was pretty much awesome!

June, 2011

Jackson

2011-07-05T14:05:00.001-05:00

These days Jackson has just taken off in his reading. He will sit and work through every word...doesn't matter how big the word is he will sit and sound it out. Most of the time he gets it! It is crazy! He will sit and read the newspaper and I guess he really is reading it because the other day he read the word remembrance right out of the newspaper. He's like a sponge...just soaks up everything.

He is loving math and numbers these days. I always find him counting everything. He likes to see how far he can count. He's made it to 200 so far and is convinced he can go higher:)

Jack started swimming lessons today and its about the best thing ever. He can't stop talking about it. He loved jumping off the side of the pool and using the kick board.

It is so hard for me to believe how grown up Jackson is. The way he thinks and reasons things through is amazing to me. He's such a sweet and thoughtful boy...very mindful of how people are feeling. The last couple of weeks Jackson has been very interested in the conversations that Jim and I have with each other and always wants to be included in the discussion. He's always asking us questions about things that he might not understand and even contributes to the conversation:) Even though he's growing like crazy he's still my little cuddle bug and always needs to have a firm grip on my thumb while I'm laying by him for bed time or while we're watching a show or anything like that. Of course those are some of my very favorite moments and I treasure every one of them.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T09:48:00.000-05:00

I love the 4th of July! I especially loved this year talking with our kids about why we celebrate the 4th and what it means to me. Hallie still points out every American flag she sees and exclaims, "Mom, those people are celebrating the country!" We had a great day with friends and food and fireworks (oh yeah and bugs). Jack and Hals thought the fireworks were pretty much amazing and I heard more than once, "This is best day EVER!" Great summer day in Missouri.

Hallie

2011-06-18T13:17:00.002-05:00

Some of her more memorable quotes lately:

To Grandma: "You're picky on my mom!"

To Jackson: "Jackson we don't act mean in our family! Mom, Jackson is acting mean in our family!"

To Aunt Jen after Jen asked Hallie if she wanted to come and live at her house: "Well, just ask Jesus for a little girl and name her Hallie and when she turns 3 then you will have her."

To anyone who upsets her: "You're making me have a bad day!"

To Grandpa after he was trying to explain something to her: "I know Grandpa. I am smarter than you!"

Hallie is a momma's girl right now and I love all the time we spend cuddling and talking about the things she loves. She adores her brother...most of the time. It has been a fun few weeks with Hallie and I getting to spend days together while Jackson is at summer school all day but when Jack comes home Hallie is so excited to play with him and talk to him, even if she won't admit it. Every time Daddy comes home from work he gets to spend the first few minutes searching the house for Hallie in an impromptu game of hide-n-seek. She is such a funny little girl with SO much personality. She will sometimes play at being shy but it doesn't take long until she's telling one of her funny stories or acting out some silly thing she saw on a show. She loves to dance, sing and just be silly. At times during the day she will disappear for a few minutes and when she finally emerges she's all decked out in her ballet clothes. Of course then the music comes on and there is a lot of dancing!
I love this little girl so much and I enjoy watching her personality emerge as she discovers the world. She brings so much joy and fun to our house. I love you little lady!

Summer School

2011-06-16T16:48:00.001-05:00

Jackson started summer school right after we got back from California. It's a Pre-K program, it's every day, all day! It has been an adjustment. He comes home pretty wiped out and Hallie is always so excited to see him at the end of the day. I just can't believe how big my little guy is getting and that he'll be starting Kindergarten! He is really enjoying himself and making lots of friends.

Everyone gathered in the gym for the first day of school.

All ready to get started!

Recent Videos

2011-06-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

Final thoughts on our trip

2011-06-16T11:56:00.001-05:00

It was wonderful being able to spend so much time with my family. I miss them so much already. I hope they never take for granted being able to be so close...because until you experience the separation you just don't know how wonderful it is.
I appreciate so much my parents opening their home to us and putting up with all the craziness that two little kiddos can bring. I love so much that my dad makes us all breakfast each morning and that my mom "picks" on me (she's got to get it in when she can I guess:). I treasure the time I spend with my sister and I'm so grateful that we are so close...and especially that we can shop each others closets during our visits!! My brothers are wonderful and I love that they make our visits so fun! There's always so much laughter when they're around...usually at my mom or sister's expense:)
I love being home! At times it's crazy and there are people every where you turn and a million different things going on and sometimes its just absolute chaos but those are the memories that I take with me when I leave because that is my family and boy do I love them!

Younger years:)

I don't know why but this has to be one of my favorite pictures of my family. I can't explain it!

I don't know!

Tahoe 2005

First trip to Nauvoo with my parents.

In infamous Uncle Steve pose...always makes me smile:)

After the Giants won the World Series.

I included this picture only for my brother Scott.

That's for you Jen;)

Remember this Scott;) I included this one only for myself. This was the funniest thing I have ever seen!

CA Part 4: Oakland Temple

2011-06-16T11:20:00.001-05:00

The week before we left my parents attended a sealing at the Oakland Temple. The kids hadn't yet had a chance to see where mommy and daddy got married so even though it was a little chilly we decided to make the trip with my parents. It was great to walk the grounds and for the kids to recognize the sacred feeling they felt at the temple.

CA Part 3: Dad's birthday

2011-06-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

The highlight of our trip for me was celebrating my dad's 60th birthday! We had some great surprises in store for him and was a great weekend of partying:) We had him convinced that those kids who were in town were going for a family dinner at Olive Garden minus the grandkids. He and my mom arrived home from the afternoon movie they went to in order to give my sister and I time to decorate. Much to our enjoyment he was completely surprised and a bit confused.

It was a fun evening with good food, good company and some pretty great entertainment too. My mom asked me to put together a memory book for his birthday. I was able to spend time talking to my dad's sisters and my grandpa and get some great memories and pictures. I have to say this was quite a memorable experience for me as I was able to not only learn more about my dad and his family relationships but also get to know my aunts a little better. I loved it! I also gathered memories and thoughts from all of my brothers and sister and their families. It was quite the job to put it all together but it turned out so great and I was completely thrilled. Of course Dad loved it too. He's a little softie so he decided that he would wait to read it so that he could avoid sharing his water works with all of us:) One of the other big surprises of the night would be his new iPad. He's been wanting one and we were able to pull together and make it happen. He really loves his new toy. We spent time talking about some of our favorite memories of Dad and as you can imagine it included a lot of laughs. We ended the night with a slideshow of Dad. What a fun night!

The next day was another chance to celebrate Dad's birthday with the grandkids, complete with pinata. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time celebrating with Grandpa!

To go a long with the Rock and Roll birthday theme my sister made this incredible guitar cake.

Celebrating with the grandkids

Giving it all she's got

Big swing

Happy birthday Grandpa!

To end the day we all went out to Marie Calendar's for dinner. Needless to say we turned a lot of heads as we walked into the restaurant. It was quite enjoyable. It was a great weekend and it was fabulous to celebrate our dad. Love you Dad!!

CA Part 2: All the cousins you can handle!

2011-06-13T08:24:00.003-05:00

The best part of visiting California for the kids is that they get to play with their cousins virtually nonstop! They had so much fun doing all sorts of things from Discovery Kingdom, to Funworks and playing at the park and who could forget celebrating Grandpa's birthday!! More on that in a later post.

Lots of fun pushing Darren in the swings

Kev-man couldn't get enough of playing with Aunt Lisa's phone:)

I don't know why but the boys kept insisting on dressing up in the dress up clothes. Silly guys!

Lil' princess

Buddies!

Cutest little guy!

Just cruisin' around

Chillin'

Hallie needed some girl activities so the boys joined her for a tea party!

Hallie's little big finding partner, Max

Waterslide fun on Memorial Day

Of course cuddle time with the baby

One of the kids favorite things was playing baseball and basketball with their cousins and Uncle Nick and Grandpa. The weather was SO nice so we spent most of our time outside.

Taking some batting practice with Grandpa

Dream Team

Slam dunk!!

CA Part 1: Discovery Kingdom

2011-06-11T16:23:00.002-05:00

After a week to recover from our great trip to Colorado the kids and I said good-bye to Jim and took off to California for 3 1/2 weeks. It was packed with so many fun things and lots of time to play with cousins:) First up: Discovery Kingdom with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Jen and her kiddos.

Hals and Kev-man enjoying a ride together

Best buds Jack and Ryan

My cuties!

Stinker!

Aunt Jen, Ryan and Kevin

Taking a ride together

The result of cotton candy

It was a great day! Some of the highlights include
going to see the killer whale show. It was very entertaining and Shuka did some great tricks. The kids thought it was pretty awesome! Of course I somehow missed pictures of it! The shark experience was great too. It was fun to see the sharks so close up.

For me the best part was getting to spend the day with some of my favorite people!! And this was only the beginning of our fun:)

Jim's 2 weeks off!!

2011-06-11T15:14:00.001-05:00

***Before I start this post I just have to say how disappointed I am with myself for not taking more pictures:( It is something that I really need to improve on.***

At the end of April Jim had 2 weeks of vacation. It was a perfect time to visit family in Colorado. So we packed up the car and made the drive out west. It was a very fun trip with lots and lots of driving! We started out in Denver, spending a couple of days visiting Jim's dad. The kids were very excited to see Grandpa Bob! We were able to go to the zoo and spend lots of time playing with Grandpa.
After a couple of days in Denver we continued on to Grand Junction. It was so great to see great grandma and grandpa and Grandma Robbie! We played lots and went for lots of walks. There is a lot of exploring to do in the area around Grand Junction and the kids just loved being outdoors so much! Hallie's favorite part...picking wildflowers. Here's one of the bouquets she put together:)

After a week in Grand Junction we decided to drive a few more hours into Utah to see family there that we haven't seen is SO long. We were able to stop by BYU for a couple of hours and it was so fun to go back. It happened to be graduation day so it was packed but it brought back so many memories. What an amazing place!

In Utah we were able to visit with Jim's Aunt Cecily and her family. They are always so generous when we come to visit. It was great to see them and visit. Such great people!
We got to spent quite a bit of time with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Dianne. We just LOVE them. The kids had such a great time playing. They took us to dinner at the most amazing pizza place in South Jordan. BEST...PIZZA...EVER! We also spent Easter morning at Uncle Steve's house with a wonderful egg hunt and delicious Easter breakfast. Hopefully it won't be too long until we make it back for another visit:)
On Easter Sunday we were able to go to church with my Grandpa. It was so great to see him and my aunt Kathy and her family. Miss Grandpa already....ready for another trip out to see him!
Lastly we were able to see my Aunt LuAnn and almost her entire family. It was a great visit and it was wonderful to catch up...and meet my cousin Danielle's new fiance!!

We also stopped off at Temple Square to walk around a show the kids the temple. Always amazing! What a great trip to Utah.

After a fun few days in Utah we headed back to Grand Junction for a few more days filled with fun hikes and visits and Rockies games:) and of course fun playing with Grandma! It was a great visit and a LONG drive home.

February Storm

2011-02-20T11:31:00.000-06:00

We were hit with some major storms this year. CRAZY! In February we got the biggest of them that snowed us in for 2 days. It was actually quite fun especially since Jim got to be home with us. We couldn't go anywhere and we just got to be with each other. When the wind finally died down enough to go outside it was incredible. I don't know that I've ever seen so much snow.

After we were finally able to dig our way out...of course with Hallie's help...it was fun to play but oh so cold! We didn't last too long outside, but long enough to work up an appetite for hot chocolate and toast!

Hallie and Ballet

2011-02-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

Hallie was able to take her first dance class this past fall. It was so fun to watch her dance around with all the other little ballerinas. Unfortunately the love wore off pretty fast. She did not enjoy it very much. I think it had a lot to do with the studio but she has since informed me that she wants to play soccer from now on. Hopefully she won't be anti-ballet forever because she was just too cute to watch out there!

Jackson's first season of soccer

2011-02-06T16:24:00.000-06:00

This past fall (I know, I'm totally and completely behind!) Jackson was able to play his first team sport. He chose soccer. His team was Ireland and he got to wear a jersey in his favorite color GREEN! Our sweet little guy really liked playing soccer with his new friends on his team but he does not have the competitive jean like his dad:)...at least not yet. He was totally laid back while he was playing and just hangin out on the field. He enjoyed himself and he's looking forward to playing more sports but he's decided that his spring he wants to try tee ball! Grandpa will be so proud!

2010-12-27T14:35:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas was fantastic. It was really our first Christmas as a little family. It was filled with good friends, good food and lots of Christmas spirit.

Jackson with Santa at the ward Christmas party.

So proud of Hallie for not being scared this year!

Ready for church

The magic tree. This was really a highlight for us. What a neat idea.

Jackson thought it was pretty cool.

Hallie loved all the colors.

Decorating cookies for Santa

Had to get just the right amount of sprinkles.

Hallie's Christmas PJ's.

Jack's Phinneas and Ferb Christmas PJ's.

Santa definitely visited our house this year:)

Checking to see if Santa finished his cookies.

PRESENTS!

The rest of the day was spent playing and enjoying each other. We had a great Christmas dinner and even went to the movies. It was great to be together and celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Jack's 5th Birthday!

2010-12-15T14:24:00.000-06:00

For Jackson's 5th birthday it was all about Mario! It was a fun party and a great birthday:)

I was able to create a somewhat acceptable cake for his birthday. I was just glad that Jackson loved it. That was all that mattered to me:)

The Yoshi hats were a hit!

Party bags we fun and so easy!

Our resident artist Jim was able to create his first masterpiece for a rousing game of pin them mustache on Mario!

Masterpiece number 2...what kind of party would it be without a fireball toss through Bowser's mouth:)

Pinning the mustache on Mario

The finished product

Our Mario Party!

Fireball toss!!

The much anticipated cake:)

Eating it up...

PRESENTS!

and more...

Jackson and Bailey

Jackson and Parker

Jackson and Henry

Jackson and Madi

Jackson and Brylee

Jackson and Coehn

Jack and Hals


The ever anticipated LEGO table

Halloween

2010-11-02T20:51:00.001-05:00

So much fun during Halloween this year! We started off with the pumpkin patch with friends. The kids had a great time choosing their pumpkins, feeding the animals and playing in the hay mazes. We also went on a hay ride around the farm and it was so much fun.

Cheese!

Hayride with friends!

Must find the best pumpkin...

Decisions, decisions...

The perfect pumpkins!

We spent a lot of time carving pumpkins this year. We all had our creative juices flowing and had fun designing fun faces on our pumpkins. Of course, somehow I didn't manage to get a picture of all our pumpkins once they were carved! Too bad.

6 pumpkins to carve!

Mom's least favorite part.

Hallie was a good helper!

As for costumes this year, Jackson decided to be Mario and Hallie just had to be Daphne (from Scooby-doo). They were both too cute and loved their costumes.

They were so happy with their costumes!

Lil' Miss Daphne!

Mario's got moves:)

Cheese!

They're both hams!

1st Day of Preschool

2010-10-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

This year for preschool we are doing a co-op with some friends. We rotate houses each week and each mom takes a turn teaching. The kids have made such good friends through preschool and LOVE it!

Hallie ready for her 1st day of school:)

Jack is excited to be back in school!

Let's get goin' Mom!

CA Part 3: Calavaras Big Trees

2010-09-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

We were able to visit Calavaras Big Trees while we were in California. It had been a long time since I had been there and it was a lot of fun to go back. The weather was perfect and the trees were amazing. It's so hard to believe that they can grow so big. The kids loved and so did Jim:)

Just gettin started...

Hallie was in heaven with the huge pine cones she was finding.
She wasn't too fond of all the sap though:)

Jackson was kind enough to snap a picture of me and Jim

This is the stump of a tree that was cut down a long time ago.
It is so big that they used to have dances on it way back in the day.

Seriously...they're just huge!

Gorgeous day!

This was my favorite tree...it was called the Bachelor:)

These trees were pretty cool. You could walk down into them
and there were little alcoves to sit it...fun!

Walking through the center of a hallowed out tree!

CA Part 2: Santa Cruz

2010-09-28T10:33:00.002-05:00

We were able to spare a day in our whirlwind trip to go to Santa Cruz. Jim was still working so I braved the beach and boardwalk with my sister and her family and Jackson and Hallie. They were great! It was a perfect day at the beach and everyone had a great time. Hallie still has a love for the sand and tries to cover as much of herself as humanly possible. It was a great day!

Just too excited!

Perfect day at the beach

Ready to dig

Before the invasion of the sand!

After!

Lovin the water!

Uncle Nick was a champ and burried the kids as many times as they wanted

After a great day at the beach it was time to get cleaned up and head to the boardwalk. The kids had a blast riding every ride they could imagine. I had fun riding some of the bigger rides with Jackson since he's bigger than the other kids. We rode the Log Ride...which even for me has a pretty big drop but he LOVED it. I even took him on the Ferris Wheel...which I HATE! It was fun.

Hal's enjoying her rides!

Riding the boats

At the top of the Ferris Wheel!

Our view from the top of the Ferris Wheel. Perfect end to a great day!

CA Part 1: Quality Time with Cousins

2010-09-28T09:22:00.001-05:00

This summer we were able to go to California to visit my family and go to my brother Doug's wedding. We spent a month at Grandma and Grandpa's house and had so much fun. The kids LOVED spending time with their cousins and Hallie developed a crush on her oldest cousin Jared, who just turned 12:) Too bad I didn't get a picture of them. Here are some of the pictures of the kids enjoying their time with their cousins.

Free summer movie!
Hallie, Kevin, Jackson and Ryan

Kid's showin' off their stylish bowling shoes

Kid's Bowl
Ryan, Hallie, Kevin and Jackson

Hallie showing off her bowling skills

Jackson loved bowling. This is actually the only time he used the ramp.
After this he decided he could do it on his own.

Beatin the heat at Emma and Parker's house

This is my favorite picture. They were having so much fun.
Jackson and Parker

Hal's

Diva!

Things got a little crazy one night while Aunt Jen was at mutual. The boys insisted on being princesses.
Kevin, Jackson and Ryan

Ready to slide
Hallie, Jackson, Ryan, Kevin

At Funworks
Hallie, Jackson, Kevin and Ryan

Jack and Kev being silly

Happy Birthday Hallie Kay!

2010-07-21T09:51:00.010-05:00

This post is very late in coming and I had planned on including lots of pictures of her party and the adventures of her actual birthday but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to just focus on Hallie. Although she did have so much fun with friends and cake and presents I just wanted to focus on her.

She's so full of life. She loves to perform and make people laugh. No one stays a stranger long around her. This little girl is always the life of the party. She's spunky no doubt and has enough sass for 10 girlies but she's is also so full of love.

Hallie is always so concerned for others and their feelings. She has such a tender heart. She makes friends easily and loves to be surrounded by the people she loves.

We love having Hallie in our home. We feel blessed to be able to raise her as our daughter. Happy 3rd birthday little lady! We love you!!

Jack and Hals

2010-07-12T22:55:00.002-05:00

Just and update on the kids.

Jack is so fun. It's great to watch him reason through things and begin to understand more things. I enjoy listening to him recount stories in the scriptures that we have talked about as a family. I LOVE that he's remembering what we teach him and that its sticking with him. He's a funny kid. He really likes to make up his own jokes. He gets so excited to tell you when he's come up with them. They are jokes that would do his Aunt Jen proud. He really enjoys playing Mario Kart. He's learned really fast and become very good. He's much better than I am. He's such a good friend and has really come out of his shell and made some really good friends already here in Columbia. He's just such a sweet boy and we LOVE having him in our home:)

Hals! She is spunky. She is definitely in to accessorizing these days (as you can see by her picture) and she plays it up because she knows how stinkin' cute she is. She LOVES to dance, especially her "shake dance". For all her craziness, she really is a sensitive soul and can't stand for anyone to be upset with her. She will always ask, "Can you ever forgive me?" in that sweet little voice of hers. She is obsessed with Tom and Jerry and I'm pretty sure she'd watch all day if I let her. Thankfully she also love to play. She loves to be a princess or a cat or a mommy. She is a riot. We love our Hallie Kay!

Hallie's skirt

2010-07-12T22:52:00.001-05:00

My latest attempt at craftiness. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I need to make a few tweaks but it really does look so cute on her. More pictures to come after I've made my modifications:)

Most recent cheesecake

2010-07-12T22:49:00.001-05:00

I LOVE having an electric oven again! It makes making cheesecakes so much easier! A few weeks ago I made a peanut buttercup cheesecake and it was DELICIOUS! Loved it. It looked pretty too:)

Dr. Daddy

2010-07-12T22:44:00.002-05:00

Jim officially started his residency on July 1st. We're so proud of him. The kids and I made a huge sign for him that first day. We had a blast coloring and rigging it up in front of the house.

Don't you just love Hal's boots? She wears them all the time.

Swimming lessons

2010-07-12T16:39:00.004-05:00

The kids spent two weeks in swimming lessons recently. Jackson absolutely loved it. He was going under water, letting go of the wall by himself and even doing a little swimming on his own. It was so fun to see him enjoying himself so much. I was worried how he would do since he's been so scared of the water lately but he was GREAT!Ready to swim!

Jack LOVED going underwater with his goggles.

Hallie, on the other hand, struggled. I'm not sure if she didn't like being with the other kids or if she was nervous about being with someone other than Mom and Dad but she had a hard time. Her teacher was great and when she could get her to do things Hallie did great but Little Miss Attitude made it very difficult. I was surprised that she struggled so much because she's always been fearless with the water. No worries though, we'll keep her in the water so much this summer that she won't have any more fear:)

The goggles did make going under water more fun

Camping with new friends

2010-07-12T16:08:00.006-05:00

A few weeks back we went camping with some of our new friends here in Columbia. We've never been camping in Missouri before and it was quite the experience. Hot and humid and then a major lightening storm in the middle of the night. But we had a great time and the kids enjoyed getting to spend time with their new friends.

Playing Red Light, Green Light

Lookin' for bugs

Getting ready to put up the tent

Hot and humid

Just havin' fun!

Exploring with friends

Pouting:(

Follow the leader...

Cookin' dinner...stuffed hot dogs. Yum!

St. Louis Zoo

2010-07-12T15:41:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of our most recent trip to the zoo. It was a little hot but the animals were out and we had a great time.

Hals is ready for some fun at the zoo!

Up close and personal with the hippos:)

Elephants "horsing" around in the water

Jack cooling off in the waterfall

Arches

2010-07-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

While we were in Colorado we decided to take a trip to Arches National Park in Utah. The kids LOVED it. They were fascinated by the formation and just really had a great time.

Colorado

2010-07-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

We we able to visit Jim's family in Colorado before Jim started his internship. We had a great time and did lots of fun things. There are lots of fun little hikes to take in Grand Junction and the kids really enjoyed spending so much time outside.

New house

2010-07-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

Just a few pics of the new house.

Welcome home:)

Move from Michigan

2010-07-11T20:34:00.006-05:00

Now that our move from Michigan is old new I thought it was finally time to blog about it:) It was an uneventful trip which is what we were hoping for of course. My parents came out to help us make the trip and I don't think we could have done it without them. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Just a few pictures to share from our trip:)

Hal's and Jack had a great time helping to load the truck.

All packed up and ready to go:)

Kid's saying a last goodbye to our house in Michigan

Hals gettin down

2010-05-27T18:50:00.002-05:00

So cute:)

2010-05-19T18:57:00.002-05:00

Are they cute or what!?! They loved having so many family member to play with and spoil them.

My newest craft project

2010-05-19T18:50:00.003-05:00

I worked on this project with my mom while my parents were in town. Thanks to her it turned out so cute! Thanks Mom:)

Congratulations Dr. Jim!

2010-05-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's real but last Saturday Jim graduated from medical school. It was great to celebrate with friends and family. We loved seeing our med school buddies and we miss them already! What great friends we have:) Enjoy the pictures!

Before the ceremony...Jim missed the deadline for ordering his regalia so the school ordered it for him. When he went to pick it up it was all black. At first Jim thought it was cool to be different because everyone would think that the black meant something special. As a matter of fact it did:) All black is for the masters students...needless to say he got everything sorted out by the time the ceremony started:)

Dr. Jim walking the stage

HE DID IT!

Celebrating with family~my mom and dad and Jim's dad and grandparents. Jim's mom was there too but she disappeared right before we took the picture:(

But we found her:) Here's Jim with his very proud mom!

Best buds:) These guys survived it all together. They are so fun to see together. Like a bunch of little boys. But of course we love them. They're going to miss each other.

These are my girls! I would not have survived without these ladies.

All of us together. We had a great time!

And here's our little family all graduated and moved into our new house. We're ready for this next chapter in our lives and excited to see what it brings!

The kids with Dr. Daddy:)

Let's go fly a kite!

2010-05-02T23:17:00.003-05:00

We took the kids to fly kites the other day at the park. They loved it. I forgot how fun it is to fly a kite. Here are few fun pictures from kite flying.

This and That

2010-05-02T23:07:00.003-05:00

The other day I was getting things done around the house and I heard the kids playing in our bedroom so I went to check on them because they have tendency to tear our room apart. This is how I found them.
They were taking a trip. They had packed up their car and were headed out on vacation:)

Hallie doesn't get sick too often but a few weeks ago she was pretty sick. She just laid around all day and she had the sick eyes for days. I felt so bad. One day after Jim got home from work this is how I found the three of them hanging out. Jackson and Jim were comforting Hallie cause she was feeling pretty crummy that day. What sweet guys!

Hallie doesn't always like to do her hair. She when she's in the mood to have me play with it I try to take full advantage. This particular day we decided to do a little twist. It was ADORABLE! It didn't stay very well but it did look so cute:)

Easter

2010-05-02T22:50:00.008-05:00

Better late than never:) We had a great Easter weekend this year. We enjoyed great friends and a great General Conference which really helped us remember our Savior and His resurrection.

Jackson is quite the photogenic little man! He loves to pose for the camera:)

Hallie loved dressing up in her Easter dress but her favorite part is always the bows that go with the outfits. I've been training her well!

The kids had a lot of fun in our little Easter photo shoot. Its so great to watch them play together and get along so well...most of the time. They really are great friends and they look out for one another. I just love these kids:)

And of course we had the traditional egg hunt. We had some friends over for brunch and an egg hunt and the kids had a blast!

Our new home!

2010-04-26T20:36:00.003-05:00

Great news! We got the house that we wanted. It is brand new:) and beautiful. Here are a few pictures of our home sweet home.

Columbia

2010-04-26T07:22:00.002-05:00

This weekend we were able to take a road trip to Columbia in search of a new house. It was a very emotional experience. It did not go at all how we had planned! We had 12 appointments for houses or condos that looked perfect in pictures and on paper but were completely wrong for our family. Needless to say after the first day we were pretty discouraged:( So we went back to the hotel and regrouped and made some fast appointments for the next day with some new houses that we hadn't considered before. Day two: definetely better than the first. We found three homes that we really liked! We submitted an application for a brand new house that is just beautiful. We should hear back today! Keep your fingers crossed for us:)

Up

2010-04-18T22:06:00.000-05:00

Too tired!

2010-04-18T21:55:00.003-05:00

"Mom runs me too hard!"

Kids Update

2010-04-18T21:25:00.006-05:00

Hallie and Jackson are growing so fast and make us laugh every day.

So here's the little princess. She's so full of sass and personality! I love that lately she's calling me Mamma:) She LOVES to dance and sing and keeps us really entertained. Her hair is getting so long and I have so much fun doing it up every day.

Such great curl!

Jackson is just getting to be such a little man. He's so grown up and its so fun to talk to him. But he's also so silly and loves to play and run around. Of course if he could have it his way, he'd be outside all day every day:)Such adorable kids!

Recommitted

2010-04-11T21:02:00.002-05:00

So I've fallen off the blogging planet for the last several months. But I'm back now. I'll attempt blogging about the past couple of months. They'll be back dated if you're interested in reading about what we've been up to that's where you'll find them. Stay tuned.......

Merry Christmas

2009-12-30T20:14:00.000-06:00

We were able to spend Christmas in California this year. We had a great time spending time with family and celebrating. It was jam packed with so many activities and things going on but it was great:)

We were able to visit Christmas Tree Lane and see all of the lights. It was fun to watch the kids with their cousins as they took in all of the incredible lights. The kids had an especially great time seeing the lights that were synchronized to the music. In fact, it was so great that we actually walked the lights twice.

Everyone was able to at Grandma's house for at least a couple of days during Christmas break so needless to say thing were pretty wild but it was still so fun to be together with family. My mom, being the extreme worrier that she is, had every single minute planned in order to keep the little ones entertained and the adults patience well in tact.

First, we made gingerbread houses!

Jackson was so proud of his masterpiece. He spent so much time making sure that everything was just right. It was fun to watch him work so hard and see how much fun he had. He loved it so much that he hardly wanted to eat any of it when he was done. We had a heck of a time keeping Hallie from eating the candy so that she could actually build her house. But she loved working with her daddy to make a great gingerbread house.

After gingerbread houses we organized the kids in order for them to act out the Nativity Story. Jen did a great job narrating and I think the kids really enjoyed putting on the show for the rest of us. Emma and Jared played Mary and Joseph. Jackson, Ryan and Parker were the sheperds. Hallie was the cutest donkey ever! Kevin made quite the camel and McKay and Josh were our Wise Men.

I told you she was the cutest donkey ever! The greatest part was that she did NOT want to take the costume off. She insisted that she keep it on for as long as possible.

Aunt Jen then read stories to the kids while we got ready to open the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and from the cousins.

Jared, McKay and Josh sang us all songs they learned in Primary and it was SO cute! It's so hard to believe how fast they are growing up:)

Now its on to presents!

Grandma out did herself this year. She made blankets for all of the kids and they were such a hit! They are so cute. I just love them:) Jackson's blanket is orange and blue with dinosaurs. Hallie's is so cute with with pink and purple kitties.

The cousin's gifts were a hit too.

Aunt Melissa made super hero capes for the boys too. Too cute:)
(Sadly, that's the end of the pictures that I have. I took the rest of the holiday pictures on my Mom's camera and her camera has disappeared completely. So, I'm without pictures for most of the rest of our trip.)

After presents we took to the street and went caroling to some of my parent's neighbors. Its
great to watch my mom to try to convince by brothers that all of these activities are a good idea. But in the end they are good sports and carol with the rest of us and we had a great time. After caroling we had dinner at Mom and Dad's ward Christmas party. It was great to see so many people that I haven't seen is such a long time. The ward has changed A LOT! After the party we took the kids back to Grandma and Grandpa's house with the babysitters and we head to the hospital. Doug's finance', Aly, had been in the hospital for a week and a half recovering from surgery so we decided that we couldn't have the adult gift exchange without her so we took over one of the waiting room areas of the hospital and had a great time. This is always a highlight for me.
The rest of the trip was filled with lots of playing with cousins and of course Christmas!

Shortridge family in their annual Christmas PJ's

Happy early Christmas to us!

2009-12-27T15:49:00.002-06:00

We have been in the middle of interviewing for residencies and trying to decide where we would like to go to continue Jim's medical training. It is stressful! I don't like the unknown and we've been stressed about where this next phase would take us.
Less than a week ago Jim was offered a prematch position with the University of Missouri in Columbia and we have decided to accept. We are very excited and it feels good to be going back to a place that is familiar to us. Sort of funny that we just moved from that vicinity but it will be a great move for our family. So...in July 2010 Jim will begin his Internal Medicine Residency in Columbia, Missouri:)

Jackson's 4th Birthday Party

2009-12-06T16:04:00.001-06:00

We celebrated Jackson's birthday this weekend with some of his friends. We had a Transformer party. Transformers are Jackson's favorite at the moment.

Jim and I tag-teamed his cake. I handled construction and icing and Jim took on the piping. I think it turned out great for amature cake decorators:) And Jackson loved it so that was the best part.

We were able to have some of Jackson's friends over to help us celebrate. They had a wonderful time running around and of course Jim was the greatest little party entertainer. The kid's loved him:)

It was a lot of fun and pretty low stress. I'll take that type of birthday party any day. Jackson had a great time and loved celebrating with his friends. Thanks to all of Jackson's friends for making it such a fun day:)

This was one happy boy:)

Hallie likes to move it

2009-10-02T18:24:00.001-05:00

New Craft Blog

2009-08-23T20:16:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a chance and have decided to try and sell some of the crafts that I enjoy doing so much. Take a look at simpleecrafty.blogspot.com
Let me know what you think.

Blog Under Construction

2009-08-07T21:07:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the state of the blog right now. I'm attempting to customize it. Stay tuned...

Hallie's 2nd Birthday

2009-08-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

We were able to celebrate Hallie's 2nd birthday while we were in CA. It's so hard for me to believe that she's 2. She has grown so fast and has so much personality. I've told Jim from the beginning that I think she's going to be a clown and sure enough that part of her personality has really come through in the last couple of months. You can see the mischevious glint in her eye and you know she's planning something. More than anything, she is such a sweet and kind hearted lady. She loves her family so much and has so much concern for everyone, even at her young age. Happy Birthday Princess! We love you:)
Her cousin Parker's birthday is on the same day so we had their party together over at Grandma's house. Everyone had a great time swimming, eating and opening presents.

Giants Game

2009-08-07T12:14:00.002-05:00

I got to take Jackson to San Fransico Giants game with my sister and her husband and Grandpa (the ultimate Giants fan). It was FREEZING cold sitting right on the bay but it was a great game where Tim Lincecum had 15 strike outs and the Giants won. Jackson loved it.

San Jose Children's Museum

2009-08-07T12:05:00.000-05:00

We hit the San Jose Children's Museum on our way home from Santa Cruz the next day. The kids were tired but had a good time.

Santa Cruz

2009-08-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

Santa Cruz, California is one of my favorite places to visit. My family would visit Santa Cruz and the boardwalk every summer while I was growing up. So it was really fun for me to bring my little family this summer. We were able to go with almost the entire family, minus my brothers Jeff and Scott who had to work. But their wives and kids were able to come.
First, of course, the beach. The water is always freezing but its still fun to brave the cold and sand (I HATE SAND) and spend the day on the beach. We discovered that Hallie has an affinity for sand. First she just loved playing in the sand. Soon that progressed to being buried in the sand, until finally she was eating the sand. Seriously gross but made for some good pictures.

Cousins being buried in the sand.

After a day on the beach we headed back to the hotel to clean up and head to back to the boardwalk. The kids had so much fun riding the rides together and as you can see even Uncle Jim enjoyed the rides...

It was a great day. Everyone had a blast. My only regret...out of the millions of pictures I didn't get a picture of my family on the beach. I'm very sad about that. But it was a wonderful trip.

Yosemite

2009-08-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

(The Yosemite Valley)
One of the first things we did was visit Yosemite. Jim hadn't been since he was little and he really wanted to go back. We were able to enjoy being outdoors. One of my favorite smells in the world is the smell of pine trees. I just loved it!!
We hiked up to Lower Yosemite Falls. The kids were very impressed.

We also walked through the Visitor's Center. The kids liked all of the exhibits. It was a fun place.

At the end of the day this is how the two kiddos looked. Hallie's having a great time pertched on Daddy's shoulders and Jackson is completely OUT in the stroller. We had a great time.

CA trip

2009-08-07T07:49:00.002-05:00

We were able to spend some time in California this summer with my family. Jim actually got to come with us!! He spent a week with us and then had to come back to start a new rotation. The kids and I got to spend two more weeks with family. It was so much great and jam packed with fun!! We went to Yosemite, Santa Cruz, my 10 year high school reunion, Hallie's birthday party, a Giants game and a whole lot of playing with cousins. Pictures and details to follow:)

Swim Lessons

2009-08-06T21:25:00.007-05:00

Jackson and Hallie took swimming lessons at the Community Center earlier in the summer. They LOVED it (despite Hallie's distraught face in the first picture). They did great and learned so much.

2009-06-17T19:51:00.002-05:00

Jim took Jackson on his first camping trip a few weeks ago. It was a Father and Son's Campout so Jackson got to go with his little buddy David too.

As you can see they had a great time together!

Rise and shine.

There was a riding show at the camp ground the morning after so the boys had a great time looking at horses.

I was sad not to be there to exprerience this first for Jackson but it was fun to have this time with his Daddy. Jim said that this was the most fun he things Jackson has ever had.

Cedar Point, Kirtland, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2009-06-16T14:22:00.002-05:00

Two weeks ago we took a road trip to Ohio with our friends the Smith. The first stop...Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

The kids had a blast riding everything in sight!

Even though Hallie wasn't technically tall enough to ridge the Frog Hopper she was close...and they let her ride it a couple of times. Then the next time she wasn't able to because someone else was operating the ride and she was one unhappy little girl. It was a great day for the kiddos.

As you can see they had so much fun that they actually fell asleep in the stroller which NEVER happens.
The next day we headed to Kirtland to see the Church history sites.

Newel K. Whitney Store

Kirtland Temple

School of the Prophets on the top floor of the Newel K. Whitney store.

This is the actual table where the revelations of the Doctrine Covenants were written.

On our way home we stopped off at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We only got a picture of the outside because cameras are not even allowed inside. It was fun even though the kids were so tired and ready to be done.

It was a great trip!

Fun videos of Hallie

2009-06-16T14:12:00.004-05:00

Hallie showing off her animal sounds...

She knows exactly what she's not supposed to do...

Jumping and dancing...

Playin in the water

2009-06-16T14:10:00.005-05:00

The kids had fun swimming in their litte shark pool the other day.

Jackson's bonk

2009-06-16T14:09:00.003-05:00

Jackson fell the other day and hit the back of his head pretty good. So good in fact that the entire back of his shirt was covered in blood. It was a terrible experience. Luckily the cuts on his head were superficial. Head woulds just bleed SO much. Anyway, he had a massive bump on his head about the size of a golfball. You can sort of see it here but it mostly just looks like the back of his head is odd shapped. It really scared him at first but it didn't take long for him to forget all about it.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!

2009-06-16T14:04:00.002-05:00