Mia Hamm.......Watch out!

Yes, I know Mia Hamm's retired. I guess my 5 year old was never a threat to dethroning her royal soccerness. But watching my overemotional, sweet little girl trample other sweet little 5 year old girls while trying to steal the ball away and score a goal (for our team hopefully) just makes me swell with pride.

But here's my favorite part. Emma can't run without having her mouth wide open. Victoria was the same way, so I think it's genetic. (of course not from my side) Also, the team is made up of girls from our ward so I get to socialize with the moms as a bonus. Go Firecrackers! :)

An Uneventful Trip is Soon Forgotten......

Well, Justin and I decided to break old habits and attend a ward function. The Ward Camp out! Hooray! We really like our ward so we were excited to go and the kids were beyond happy. Even Victoria. :) It's so hard to meet people in our ward because it's so huge. We really like the two families that we know, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to get to know the other 700 that we don't. So we pack up Grandma's Van for another road trip. (no, haven't bought the Suburban yet) We get about half way to Payson when I notice the tire pressure light was on. Crap. We get out and notice there's two huge bolts in the tire. Double Crap. So we slowly head back to town with some sad kids in tow. We get out at Discount Tire and Grace says, "Dad, this isn't the mountains!" She's always been my observant one.

So we drop the car off at my favorite tire place and now we've got an hour to waste. We decide to bribe the kids out of moping and go to NYPD pizza.

I love their calzones and we got this buffalo chicken caesar salad

that was so yummy. I don't think it was their healthiest choice, but

I figured we would have been eating "camping food" and it's never good for you, so I was good with it.

Now you might notice something different about this picture. What? I'll give you a hint....I'm in it. I know, shocker. But the only reason Justin insisted on taking the picture is so he had proof that I wore my new favorite shirt. They were so embarrassed of me that Victoria wouldn't be less than 5 feet away from me and Justin didn't even want me going into WalMart. That's right...WalMart. Now what do you have to be wearing that wouldn't be WalMart worthy? Seriously. I've gone in my dirty sweats, no make-up, scroungy kids with no shoes and still felt totally in place there. And what's even better is that when I run into friends there, they sometimes look like that also! Now Costco is a totally different story. Always shower and make-up for Costco. I've run into J's ex-girlfriends too many times there to not look at least clean.

My new favorite shirt.

It says, "More Cowbell" with a picture of Will Ferrell on it. If you haven't seen this SNL skit, you're missing out.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnfyp_cowbell_fun

So, I don't get many opportunities to wear my cowbell shirt in public. I thought wearing it to the ward camp out would get people to talk to me. Seriously, can you walk by this shirt and not go, "Huh?" I don't care if they remember me as the cowbell lady, or the lady with the ridiculous shirt on. It's a start. I've honestly introduced myself to the same woman in my ward 5 times and neither of us remember each other's name by the next Sunday. Maybe I should wear it to church. Although, they'd probably release me. Hmmmm......wait a second....

Anyways, after the car was done we went home, made some S'mores on the gas stove, pulled

out the sleeping bags and watched the Spiderwick Chronicles. And even though I'm sad we missed out on the camp out, I didn't mind sleeping in my own comfy bed, having running water, no mosquitos, and sneaking some ice cream after the kids went down. Maybe I'll wear my shirt for the next ward function. Trunk or Treat? Absolutely.

It's a Girl!!!!

Yeah!! I'm an auntie again! Jenna Kate Douglas was born Sept 16th at 6:30 pm. And she's actually really cute! Don't get me wrong, they're all "cute" like newborn cute. Squished faces and cone heads that belong on Saturday Night Live "cute". But this one has this LITTLE head with lots of hair and these cute little puckered lips. After Emma was born (my 3rd baby) the nurse laughed and said her head was bigger than an actual bowling ball. (like I didn't know that. I pushed that bowling ball out) When one of my many siblings was born, they had actually switched babies on my mom and brought her the wrong one! She took one look at the beautiful little darling in her arms and said, " This isn't my baby. It's too pretty" She was totally right, and that genetic flaw has been passed down to most of my siblings, including myself. They get pretty a couple of months down the road and then turn out to be pretty good looking kids. But with your first it's kind of scary being handed this...not so pretty baby (I didn't want to say ugly. That's too mean even for me) and wondering how their life will be with this scrunched up face and nose full of little white pimples. Will they be made fun of in the hospital nursery? Will my baby be the one everyone is pointing at and saying, "Yowza! I hope she has a great personality?"

Well, I'm rambling. Fortunately, mine are all BEAUTIFUL (now) and have great personalities. (whew!)

So, Congrats Janelle and Scott! I can't wait to come play!

9/11

What I remember vividly is watching all of the people running away from the disaster and all of the firemen and police running towards it. It was heartbreaking.

I've been tagged?!!

Well, Victoria informed me that I've been tagged. Huh? And she also informed me that this is not the first time. Without sounding like a complete "blodiot" (pretty clever, right? blog-idiot ;) I didn't know what tagging was. I know I've read other peoples, but I guess I wasn't really paying attention. So sorry to those who tagged and I did not respond. It was rude and unforgivable. So Jacque, my Utah cousin whom I adore, here you go.



5 things about me people probably don't know......

1. I am a Supreme Allied Commander on Star Wars Rogue Squadron. That means I kicked the Empire's butt to the next galaxy. We bought this game when Cameron was born and I got totally addicted soon after. Justin would come home from his 24 hr shift to me in front of the tv, dark circles under my eyes because I had played all night long. Thankfully I turned in my controller after conquering Darth Vader and his thugs and haven't picked one up since. (except for a short time after we bought Halo.)

2. I hate scrapbooking. I totally respect and admire people who do it, but I can't understand how anybody can spend hours making one page for 2 pictures. I'm a throw it in a book and hope I remember when and who it was kind of person. I know that's terrible and probably lazy, but that's just how it is for me.

3. I look forward to using my food supply. I don't want the rest of the bad stuff to happen, but I'm not afraid to eat what I store. It's a great feeling and I thank my mom for it. Here's a sample of what I have: Costa Vida Sweet Pork, Cafe Rio Chicken, BBQ Beef, Green Chile Chicken, tortillas, pancakes, etc, etc. Famine? What Famine?!

4. I grabbed another man's "behind" on my honeymoon cruise. I thought Justin was behind me in line for the buffet so I reached around and squeezed away! Then I looked to my right to see Justin with a big ol' grin on his face watching me grab this guy. I turned around and there was this short balding man with an even bigger grin on his face! (I almost always win the "Most Embarassing Story" prize with that one. It's either that one or the one where my dress is tucked into my panties at the prom. Either way I'm a shoo-in ;)

5. I'm a hip-hop dancing in the kitchen, bargain shopping, bake til I drop, mother of four beautiful, wonderful kids, and wife to one extremely loving, hot firefighting husband. Life is pretty sweet.

American Idol - Alexander Style

Well, I'm posting this mainly for the grandma's to see what their genetics have produced. I wish I could say that the willingness to perform for anybody and everybody was from the Alexander side.........but alas, it's not. Justin's brother actually calls my family the "VonCrap Family Singers" (Sound of Music). He's just jealous, though ;)

So Mom, here you go. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that another generation of camera happy, loud, goofy kids are being raised exactly how they should be. With a song in their hearts and a smile (and a camera) on their face. ;) Love ya Mom.

(try to ignore the fighting and messy house in the background. )

R U A DVL FN?

GO S UN DEV I LS !!!!!

Suburban or Minivan?!!

So, a couple of weeks ago I was driving on the US 60 when we were hit by some girl probably texting and putting on her makeup while eating a supersize Big Mac. That is the only way she could not have seen me. Anyways, since "Grandma's Van" (which Justin so lovingly named my van since only a granny would drive something like it) was on it's last legs , we are ready to get something new. We just can't decide what.

(not really her)


On one hand, after our most recent road trip to Utah we realized we'd like something with four wheel drive, more cargo space and leg room. (poor Victoria was so scrunched in the back of the van) So a Suburban sounds great. But honestly getting 15-20 mpg (on a good day) is enough to make me want to.....well anyways.



It's so gorgeous, isn't it?

But the more practical side says a minivan is the way to go. They're affordable, not huge gas guzzlers, very convenient, and I don't care if it screams homemaker with 4 children. How cool are automatic sliding doors?





So I need help deciding and want your opinions, please. If you have one or the other, tell me what you like or dislike. We're not real picky on makes ( no " Calvin peeing on a car "sticker's for us)

(Seriously, what kind of a person puts that on their car?!)

Let them eat cake!

I'm realizing I like to do bday cakes a lot more than weddings. So little stress involved. I just finished this one for my friend's daughter's bday. She's having a "Spa Party" and they're getting facials and nails done at the party.

My poor kids. I only let them have a party every other year and even then I try to bribe them out of having that one. "Hey sweetie, wouldn't you rather have this really cool $20 bill than a stinky old party? Nobody's going to show up anyways. You don't have any REAL friends." Is that crossing the line? :) OK, I don't really say that, but I do offer them $ to save me the hassle of a party. None of them have taken me up on it yet. But I can keep on trying. Maybe I should offer more?

School has Started!!!!!

I'm not even going to try to hide my excitement.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

I love school. I love the schedule it puts us on, I love the new clothes and packing lunches. I love that I get to see my friends when I take and pick up the kids from school. It's all so good. All of the kids were excited for school to start also so that makes it absolutely perfect. Emma got Mrs. Galen (whom we love) and Victoria got into Advanced Drama (everybody gasp in surprise) Victoria, Drama?!! I would never put the two together. :) She loves it and that makes me happy. Cameron got Mrs Carpenter and he finally has some friends in his class so he's good. (he's so easy to please)

my photogenic one.

We missed Ashlyn's bday when we were in Utah so we took them for pedicures before school started. Lucky.

I'm surprised they didn't duck behind the bushes when I came over. :)

Of course, Grace was disappointed when I dragged her back to the car with me. Emma loves kindergarten and is thrilled when the weekend is over. We'll see how long that lasts. :)

We went to my sister, Shelly's, house this weekend so the kids could swim. Her pool is great and the kids had a great time. Thanks Shel.

Utah 2008


I love Utah. All of my mother's family lives up there and I love my mom's family. There's more than 150 of us now (living) and still growing. Every time we go up, I want to move there. But, we also always visit in the summer when it's absolutely beautiful. Never in the winter. But it's been a while since I've gone with my kids so we decided to pack up the minivan and head up for a wedding and to visit my 90 year old grandma. We took a detour to Brianhead Ut first to spend some time with Justin's brother and family. This will now be an Alexander family tradition. It was gorgeous and we found a great cheap condo. Stocked with old 80 movies and video games for the kids up in the loft. Could it get any better? We played, had a picnic, rode the chair lift to the top and Justin got some mountain biking in before we left.







stinky boys
Victoria and cousin Bailey










After Brianhead, we took the genealogical route up through Koosharem Ut to see my ancestors hometown. We even ate at the Koosharem Cafe (which wasn't half bad)





Then onto Grandma Gunderson's. She lives in the home that my great great grandfather built. He traded the property for a down mattress he had owned in Denmark and had brought across the plains with them. The store that he owned across the street is still standing which I thought was pretty cool. Wasatch Academy now owns it and is turning it into a coffee shop soon.








I love having a hot husband.





We left Grandma's the next day (before the kids gave her a heart attack) and went to Provo for the next three days. We played, saw movies, and went up to Brighton to see Justin's sister (who actually lives in Buckeye, but was visiting family) The highlight was Salt Lake and Temple Square. It was so hot! We saw the Joseph Smith movie (loved it and cried) and the JS memorial bldng and ate at the Gardens Restaurant. It was beautiful.









Brighton - me riding the zip line :) Justin actually smiling for a picture








The Wedding

OK, here's how this works....... Skye is my cousin. She is marrying Paul Brown, who is my sister in law's ( Courtney) nephew. Courtney is Clint Brown's (SR1 ward) sister. My other sister in law, Alice, is Debbie Brown's (Clint's wife)sister. I think that makes Debbie and I related in three different twisted ways. (Courtney, Alice, and now Paul) I'm so sorry Debbie. :)


My cousin Skye (she was beautiful) Skye and her brothers



My Aunt Jana and Uncle Kent (with grandbaby)

Cousin Tigh and Jacque

It was a great trip. But there's no place like home. :)

It's My Birthday and I'll Blog If I Want To........(you know you want to sing along)

Yes, today I turned 35. I am officially closer to 40 than 30. What a rip. I've been telling the kids that I'm 25 for the last 6 years. Obviously the older ones caught on once they hit about 1st grade, and I thought I had one more year with Emma. But last night she sang me one of her made up songs for my birthday that went something like this..." ooooh, ooooh, she thinks she's 25, but she's really 40!! Oh Yeah! 40!!" I literally felt my butt sag more and my crows feet multiply by the end of the song. Birthdays suck. But Justin is giving me a very special gift this year. I can't say what it is, but it's a really good one.

I know it's been WAY too long since I've updated my blog and I'm tired of getting heavy sighs and eye rolls from Victoria when she asks me if I've posted on my blog. I know everybody understands that life gets busy and sympathises with me because you've all been there. So, I guess I'll start where I left off..........


July 12th, 2008

Cameron was Baptized. It was a wonderful day with both of our families and many friends there. He is such a sweetheart and was so excited. I love how he tries to play it so cool when he's excited and then gets this big grin on his face that he can't hide. We are so proud of him and the choices he makes.








July 15th 2008

The Big 15!!














Yes, 15 years ago Justin and I were married after dating for 2 months and being engaged 2 months. I know that is a long engagement for some LDS people, but we were strong. :) Luckily, Justin and I grew up together so it's not THAT crazy to get married so quickly. My mom was his cub scout leader and I dated most of his friends. (and fortunately didn't kiss any of them. Now THAT would be awkward) We never dated before his mission, and once he got home he immediately got back together with his high school girlfriend. Then the day of the High School cheer leading competition came and I went to see my sister compete. You can ask him why he was there and he'll give you some lame story about a friends car being stolen or whatever so he was "giving him a ride". :) We ran into each other and I flirted like I've never flirted before (and that's saying something) and then told him to look me up before I left. It was love/lust at first sight. And since I was playing hard to get, I called him later that day to ask him out. He politely said no and I think I hung up soon after that. He didn't call for a couple of weeks, so I called him again. I thought that maybe he had lost my number or there was a chance he really liked desperate girls. ( I did not know he had a girlfriend at the time) Either way, this is how the conversation went.....(as I remember it) Don't ask him for his side of the story.
Justin - "Hello?"
me - "Hey Justin, this is Renae DeWitt. "
Justin - "Who?" (not really)
me - anyways....."Do you want to go out tonight?"
Justin - "No, I already have plans."

dramatic pause........

me - "You know, this is the 2nd time you've said no to me. I've never had to ask anyone out before and I've definitely never been turned down twice by anyone. So if you want to go out with me, you're going to have to call me next time."

Justin - "Umm, ok. Bye"

Now, as I'm writing this I'm thinking, " I was so lame. Didn't I take the hint the first time? How pitiful (and vain) could I have been to say something like that? If Victoria ever does that, I'll be so embarrassed for her." :)

Well, soon after that we ran into each other at the ASU dance. I thought, "maybe he'll like me if I show him some of my cool dance moves." So after an hour or so of doing the running man and the cabbage patch, he eventually noticed me and we danced the night away. :) He finally told me he had a girlfriend who was up at BYU but they were dating other people, so it wasn't hopeless. He never held my hand or even hugged me until after he broke up with her in person. (which then was totally frustrating, but now I see that he's just very trustworthy)
The rest is history.
So I guess the moral of the story is if you act desperate enough and have smooth moves on the dance floor, you can score the man of your dreams. :) Which he is. Or maybe, we were destined to be together. Either way, I'm the luckiest girl and couldn't be happier.


































July 17th 2008


Later on the next week I had a wedding cake to do for Gina's cousin. I was so excited because one, I love Gina and wanted to make her proud, and two, it was a Hawaiian themed wedding and I was going to go all crazy with cake flavors. Lemon cake with pineapple curd filling for one layer, and white cake with lemon curd and blackberry jam. The bottom was fake and the top was all vanilla.


Well, it was about 125 degrees the day before the wedding (maybe a slight exaggeration) so trying to make these huge cakes and keep them from melting was not easy. I finally finished around 10pm and assembled the cake for the next day. It looked wonderful as I put it in the fridge and I headed up to bed.



You know when you get "that feeling" that you should do something you really don't want to? Well, I did and didn't ignore it(I usually do). I opened the fridge and saw the whole cake leaning against the side of the fridge ready to collapse. I didn't know what to do so I scooped up what I could (the thing weighed at least 40 lbs) and tried to salvage something. Only the top and the fake bottom survived so I decided to just go to bed and make a new cake in the morning.



This picture is one of the disastrous tiers. I can't say that the family was disappointed of my failure. We ate wedding cake for at least a week.




Here is the finished product. It goes to show you that you can make anything look good with enough flowers. I just wish it was better.
Well, it's late. To be continued.......