Happy FIRST Birthday, Little miss Liv!

Yes, our baby is one year's old today! I have lots of pictures & stories to share, but it is late & time for me to head to bed. Tomorrow I will post the fun pictures from our little party tonight. I just wanted to do a quick post-a shout out to my baby girl!

You have dazzled us with your fiery personality since the day you arrived! You know you have us all wrapped around your cute little sausage fingers. We can't get enough of your adorable smile-gotta love the one snaggle tooth on top & two cute little teeth on the bottom! You have been a wonderful addition to our family! Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you!

"Cruising" right along!

Kiley & I spent a fabulous week in the Western Caribbean! We have been home now for two weeks & are ready for another vacation! Isn't that how it always goes? We missed our kids, but enjoyed the time away & the good friends we were with. My little sis, Ashely, came & stayed with the kids & my mom flew out midway through & helped her out. I think they had a great time & didn't miss us at all. I was really worried with leaving Liv, but she grew attached to Ashley & when we got home, she wouldn't come to me for over 2 hours! She cried & started shaking when she saw me. So sad! I didn't know if I should laugh or if I should cry! It took me blow drying my hair for her to finally realize that it was me & that I was home for good! She has been my little side kick ever since. Any how, back to the cruise....
I'll first start off with our port of calls (where we stopped) & the excursions we went on. The first was Cozumel. We went clear bottom kayaking & then snorkeling. I got terribly sick while we were snorkeling & my friend, Andrea also felt ill, so we hopped out & went & took a siesta on the beach! Our 2nd port of call was Roatan, Honduras. It was a blast! We went zip lining through the jungle. I nearly killed myself & one of the tour guides---I went way too fast down the one line they told us specifically how to stop on & I tried, but missed that we need to stop with 2 hands & I came in at full speed. Luckily, I wasn't hurt too bad, but I think he was in a lot of pain! We made sure we left him with a nice tip! After zip lining, we went to an amazing beach-the water was crystal clear & the sand was beautiful! Our 3rd port of call was Progresso. This was a very unique excursion. We drove inland for about 1 1/2 hours. Our tour guide really knew his history & so we learned a lot about the Mayan culture. When we got to our destination, we hopped on "trucs", which were little wooden wagons pulled by horses on a train track. We rode on those for a while & made it to the cenotes caves. We got to hike down into the caves & swim in the natural well water that the Mayans used to use as their drinking water. We went to two different caves. The 2nd one we had to climb down a latter straight down a hole. It was beautiful & definitely an experience we are glad we had!

I forgot to mention that the cruise line we were on was the Royal Caribbean. The ship was the Voyager of the Seas. It was AMAZING! It is the 3rd largest ship-so it was pretty big! We had just a regular stateroom-reminded me a lot of a cheap hotel room, but still very nice. There was a lot to do on the ship-ice skating, roller blading, mini golf, dancing, rock wall climbing, basketball, ping pong, arcade games, swimming, hot tubbin, & there was also an amaing work out facility! We did take advantage of the gym & enjoyed being able to look out & see nothing but ocean as we ran on the treadmills! We enjoyed dining in the nice dining room & had fun eating new things.

We did enjoy the entertainment, but now know what Simon Cowell means when he says, "That was like a cruise ship performance!" The iceskating performance was our fave! We did a little bit of country dancing & swing dancing. Lots of relaxing & reading books. We enjoyed being with good friends. Mafia was a nightly ritual (almost nightly), especially fun in the hot tub---we were all amazing liars! I did get a little motion sick the last 2 days! I took two dramamine & was OUT! We had to head back to our room & I crashed by 10pm! That was early for us! I tried to run on the treadmill the next day & had NO BALANCE what so ever! It was quite a funny sight! It is always nice to get away for awhile-thank you to those who took care of things at home so we could slip away for 7 days with no worries, thanks to great friends for inviting us to come along, & thanks to Kiley for working so hard so we could pay for this wonderful trip! Love ya Babe!

Our amazing, talented Kiley!

Kiley was in our Stake Musical back in the middle of April. The musical was a medley of 3 different Broadway Shows: Les Mes, Beauty & the Beast, & Joseph & the Technicolor Dream Coat. Kiley opted out of doing Beauty & the Beast-it was all put together in a matter of a couple of months & he wasn't able to be to a lot of the practices. He did such a good job & the kids & I were so very proud of him. I know he is not too excited that I am posting a few video clips & pictures of him, but I am sure he'll get over it!

Playing catch up!

Where do I even begin?! So much has happened in the past month & I feel so behind in the blogging aspect of my life!! This may be a LONG post or a bunch of mini posts! Enjoy!

Our Weekend: Camping, Shopping, Soccer, Dinner Party, On Call, & Church!

I feel like I have not had 2 seconds to myself the past few days! That is not entirely true, but that is how I feel! :) Kiley is on call today (Sunday), which ALWAYS makes for a "fun" Sabbath Day for me! For those of you who aren't quite sure what "on call" means, let me explain. Kiley leaves before any of us stir, is gone all day, gone all night, and then usually walks in the door by 8am. If it was a good call night for him, he will only drop dead for a few hours, how ever, if it was a doozy (real word???) of a night, he will sleep until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Thankfully, he is only on call one MAYBE two nights a week. Now back to our lovely Sunday experience. Liv is still taking two naps a day, so that means she usually goes down around 10ish & is up around noonish & then is ready for a short nap around 3:30-4ish. Well, on Sundays, we have church at 2:30pm. Our church services are 3 hours long. We started the morning out great with everyone sleeping in until almost 8. Then the boys remembered that it was Sunday & I really prefer they do not watch TV, but I am known to let them watch a Disney movie or two! Today I decided that I did not want the TV on AT ALL! This did not go over well with the boys, particularly Teagen. There was a lot of whining & complaining & disobeying going on, so I banished them both to their room as soon as they were done eating breakfast. But then I looked at their shaggy heads of hair & decided to buzz them first! So, after they got their haircuts & took a shower, off to their room they went to entertain themselves! I tried long & hard to keep Liv up a little later in hopes that she'd sleep longer & wake up closer to 1 rather than noon. To my dismay, she was up by 11:50! I knew we were heading to disaster! I was able to get myself ready before Liv woke up & even read in my scriptures, hoping to be blessed with a little more patience. The boys did a pretty good job playing in their room. I had lunch ready, we all ate, and then it was time to get the kiddos ready. I had to be to church by 2, because I work with the Young Women and we were going to be singing so we had to be early so we could run through the song. To make a long story short, I lost ALL patience, did a little, okay maybe a lot of yelling, tears were shed, I can't remember by whom...me or the kids???? There was a lot of teasing & fighting going on & Liv was throwing fits because 6 teeth are trying to break through and have not yet! We made it out the door, picked up one of my girls, got to the church & ran through the song. I think I got up & walked out of the meeting 5 times with Liv. When we went up to sing, I had to take her with me because there is NO WAY she would let anyone else hold her. During the song she is yanking on her mouth, screaming, and then all of a sudden she bites my chin as hard as she can & doesn't let go! Fortunately, she only has two teeth & so it didn't hurt much, but I had drool all over my face & couldn't contribute much to the song due to my out of control child! I was a big distraction through out the rest of the meetings because she was so miserable & tired, but what do ya do!? As I was piling the kids into the car to leave, the wind was blowing ever so slightly & so my skirt was kind of blowing up a bit. Brayden thought it was pretty cool looking & so he helped lift it up all of the way! I couldn't feel anything because of the way the skirt hangs, but I turned around in time to see what he was doing & about died! I looked around & didn't see any other people out so I figured it was not too big of a deal. Then as I pulled out, I noticed a man sitting in his van waiting for his family. I guess he got a nice show! We got home from church around 5:45. I made some gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches along with tator tots & green beans. Put Liv down at 6:45 & the boys down at 7:05! Usually I put them down around 7:30-8, but I was done. :) So, here I am blogging! As soon as I am done with this, I am heading up stairs to take a nice hot bubble bath!

Now to our weekend......

Kiley took the boys camping on Friday. It was a church camp out, so I guess there was a lot of people there. They left around 4, so it was just Liv & I! What a nice, quiet afternoon & evening! She & I went to the mall & had a great time! I guess Kiley went swimming in the cold water at midnight with some of the other men. The boys loved having lots of friends to play with, getting dirty, eating junk, and taking a quick swim in the freezing cold water. Kiley didn't get much sleep-the champion of snoring was close by, a few kids had a hard time sleeping & could be heard for miles & miles (not really) & it was a bit chilly!

Saturday was a busy day! I did a 10 mile run, something that I haven't done for quite a while! I have been running for a while now, but haven't dared do the 10 miler until yesterday. It was great & I loved every minute of it! It made me excited to run the Deseret News Marathon in July. I mowed the lawn while Liv watched me---she LOVES the lawn mower & is very fascinated with it.

Kiley & the boys got home & we zoomed off to soccer. We got there half way through the game, so it was quick. Then we zoomed back home to get ready for our dinner group, which was being held at our house. Kiley had to mow the back yard-ya, I didn't do the back because I ran out of gas & really didn't want to go get some more...LAZY! :) We got everything done & our guests arrived around 6. It was a fun evening! The weather was perfect! The food was nummy! It was a good night.

I do have to say, even though today was a bit of a rough day, I am so grateful to be a mother & to have these three beautiful children in my life! They may try me to no end, but I love them dearly and know that they are children of God. With that said, I am looking so forward to this time next week....I will be basking in the sun on a cruise ship heading to the Caribbean with my honey!

Two years ago this coming May, Kiley & I took a 10 day trip to Mexico with our good friends, the Huffs! I am so excited to finally go on another adult trip! These pictures are from out trip 2 years ago!

Sweet Livy!

Our cute little Livy is now just over 10 months old! Where has the time gone?! When I think of the best way to describe our little princess, the one word that always comes to mind is: FEISTY! She can definetly hold her own with her brothers, if they get in her space, she lets them know it with a loud grunt or she'll push them away. She is a girl on a mission! She know's what she wants, which is usually FOOD, & she will get it if it's the last thing she does (or at least the last thing mommy does for her! :)) She can crawl like a champion & has the battle wounds on her cute chubby knees to show it! She has attempted the stairs a few times, but really holds no intrest for them. She LOVES her baby doll. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! My boys NEVER had a "lovey" or what ever you call something they are attached to. But Liv will light up if we ask her where her baby is---she speed crawls to find her...so cute! She is now sporting one tooth & half of one is making its way through. The one tooth she does have is not her top tooth nor her bottom tooth, you guessed it! It is her cute little "snaggle" tooth (the tooth next to her missing top front teeth). It is quite funny when she does a big old grin---something jut doesn't look right about it! She sleeps like a champ! Is a momma's girl all the way! In fact, I had one of my girls from church babysit the other day. I was only gone for an hour, but Liv cried the entire time I was gone! She would stop crying when the babysitter would hide around the corner. Pretty pathetic! Teagen & Brayden never did that! Maybe it is a girl thing????? She would be walking by now if she wasn't so afraid to let go! She had Kiley walk around our living room, kitchen, & entry way three times holding her hands! It won't be long before she takes off! She loves food-eats what ever the rest of us are eating. Still has very little hair, but I can manage to get an ity bity clip in her hair & it will even stay in (well, for the most part!). We love her & see that she is going to be a handful! Kiley always reminds me that I really wanted a girl---I have to admit that I think it's kind of cute that she has so much personality! The pictures were taken on March 20th (the actual day she turned 10 months old). It was just before bed, so I believe there is food, snot, etc., caked all over her face & hair!

Easter Sunday

Kiley & I stayed up pretty late last night. I was reading (The Book Thief! Excellent read!!) & Kiley was putting a scavenger hunt together for the kids for Easter. I woke up this morning to Teagen in my face letting me know that he was STARVING! He has been sick the past few days & hasn't eaten much. I kind of made some kind of grumbling response & then asked Kiley what time it was. I am almost embarassed to tell you all that it was 9:10 am! I can't tell you the last time we slept in that late! I jumped out of bed & ran to Livy's room. She was just chillin standing up in her crib. Who know's how long she had been up! Brayden had been down stairs for who know's how long watching Nickelodeon. We got going quickly because Kiley had to get to choir practice (they had to sing in church today). So the boys found the easter egg jar that had the first clues for their little hunt to find their easter baskets. It is so fun to watch them figure things out. I was quite impressed with how well Brayden understood the clues. He would figure it out right away & then I laughed to myself & to Kiley because it took Teagen a little longer to figure out some of his clues! They found their baskets & had a fun time going through them! We had a nummy brunch at our friends house, along with another little easter egg hunt. We were running a bit behind schedule & so I didn't get pictures taken before church of all of us in our coordinated outfits, but I was able to snap a few pics after church just before we headed over to our friends house for a nummy easter dinner. Kiley & I even matched the kids, but unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with us. We are going to have family pictures taken SOON, so I will post them when I do! As for now, enjoy the kiddos!

Happy Easter!

We have had a lot of fun Easter activities over the past few weeks. The first one was a church Easter Egg Hunt. Teagen was at school, so it was just Brayden, Livy, & I. Brayden partcipated in the Egg Grabbing event! There were hundreds (or so it seemed!) of eggs all over the soccer field. The kids were let loose & off they ran collecting as many eggs as they could (around 12-15, there were LOADS of kids there)! It was the perfect day for an easter egg hunt!

A few days after this fun outing, we had another Easter Party at our friends, the Clarks! Lauren (Kiley works with Dustin so that is how we know them) put on a fun party for the kids. Teagen was also in school at the time, so Brayden scored once again & had a good time collecting candy filled eggs! He was very concerned about Teagen & saved his eggs & goodies to share with him when he got home from school. What a nice boy! I don't know why, but I didn't take any decent pictures that day. So there are only a couple & of course his eyes are closed and Liv isn't looking!

The Phantom of the Opera!

We had the opportunity a week & a half ago to go to see Phantom! We went with our friends, the Nelson's. We went to a nice restaraunt on the River Walk called Budrous (sp???), which was a BIG splurg for us!!! I loved my meal, but we all agreed that the next time we go see a show, we will eat some where cheap & pay out more money for better seats. I mention the seats cause I only paid $22 each for our seats, BUT when they were showing us where our seats were, we both kind of chuckled & said that they better not be those empty seats at the VERY TIPPITY TOP-THE FARTHEST AWAY POSSIBLE SEATS. Sure enough, they had Kiley & Jen writtn all over them! We still enjoyed the show, especially the music, but we did learn that sometimes $22 isn't the greatest deal! :) Besides feeling a little woozy due to loss of oxygen from being up so high, we had a great time! Thanks Austin & Andrea!

This one is for you Ali! :)

My good friend Ali left a comment on my last entry. This is what she said: "Hey Jen! it has been awhile since you updated your blog! I need to know what is going on with you and your clan. Are you alive? Mucho love, Alison"

So I am finally updating this for Alison! :) Love you girl!

What has the Mortensen Family been up to the last few weeks?

Olivia has MASTERED crawling. She finally took off the day after Valentine's Day. Check it out!

Teagen started soccer a few weeks ago. He has practice every Monday & Wednesday & then games are on Saturdays. It keeps him busy, but he loves it! A few weekends ago, Teagen wasn't feeling too hot. We were outside getting things done & Kiley called me into the house and this is what we found.......

Brayden LOVES to play games & play with friends. He seriously would sit at the computer all day long. He knows how to navigate to all his favorite sites to play games. He is so smart with technology----Teagen still struggles with the remote & Brayden has it all figured out. He LOVES to work on his homework books. Is this normal!?

Kiley is still as busy as ever! He works long days, manages to work out afterwards, and then make it home to take over so that I can run off to YW's or some other girls night event! He is such a wonderful husband! I love you babe!

I don't think that I have ever mentioned on this blog that I have been doing BODY FOR LIFE. I am in the middle of my 9th week & have lost 10 lbs so far! If you don't know anything about BFL, check it out on line at http://www.bodyforlife.com/ I am trying to win the $25, 000. It is a WONDERFUL, HEALTHY, and FUN way to get into good shape & eat healthy! Aside from that, I have been busy with 3 kids, church callings, etc. I just cut my hair into a short a-line. I will post pictures later!

Some fun news, Kiley & I are going on a cruise in April with some friends. We will be gone for 8 days! We are so in need of a vacation! My sister Ashely, is going to come stay with the kids. Teagen & Brayden ask every now & then when she will be here. I think they are excited for us to leave, too! It will be hard to leave Liv for such a long time, BUT boy will it be rejuvinating!

Good Times!

I have not been too good at keeping this blog up to date. It seems like I have a few minutes to sit down & check my email, check out everyone's blogs, and then I am needed else where or I am so tired cause it is WAY past my bed time! :) There are so many fun pictures & videos that I have wanted to put on here, but most of it will have to wait, even then, it most likely won't be added.

My dad & my baby brother are here visiting right now. They left cold, dark, snowy Utah on Thursday & have been able to enjoy temperatures here in the mid to upper 70's! I am so glad the weather has been nice. I do miss Utah every now & then, but then I hear all these crazy stories about the absurd amounts of snow & am grateful that I live where it is a little, or should I say, A LOT, warmer & sunnier, too! In fact, when it gets down to the 50's here, we think we are freezing! I am so very grateful for the sun!

We took my dad & bro to the San Antonio Rodeo yesterday. Good Time! :) There were people from all walks of life there! Teagen got to hold a Western Hog Nose snake! Brayden & Teagen rode the Ferris Wheel with me & Grandpa! That was fun! They boys went down a big slide in potato sacks. Teagen & Brayden were able to do the kiddie bumper cars & they thought that was so awesome that they were able to drive their own cars! It is so amazing to me how ridiculously priced carnival rides are! But I guess I need to look past the expense & enjoy the memories in the making, right? We had a lot of fun & the weather was perfect! Olivia was a trooper the entire day. She was all smiles & loved hanging out with her Grandpa Tom! Dad & Rob leave on Tuesday. I think we'll take them down to the River Walk tomorrow! It is always so fun to have family visit! Hopefully they have had a good time here with us! Although, they were both up all night last night throwing up & on the pot! I know, too much info, but I feel bad that they have been so sick. They are both feeling much better now!

A few weeks ago, I turned the big 29! Happy birthday to me! Kiley was on call that day (of course)! A good friend of mine brought me some lunch & spent a few hours with me! The kids were really cute & wanted me to have a big birthday bash! So, after Kiley slept for a few hours the following day, we headed out to the base for a fun family outing. We went bowling & then got Subways for dinner. The boys both gave me beautiful necklaces that they each picked out on their own! Thanks Kiley & kiddos for a fun filled day! I sure do love you guys!

Cute 'lil Livy!

Olivia learned to clap a little over a week ago. It is the cutest thing! She is very proud of herself. She also has learned to dance. She dances while in her high chair, while nursing, and while getting her diaper changed! It's hard to believe she is almost 8 months old! Where has the time gone!?

I've been Tagged!

Okay, so I have been tagged a few times before & never followed through with it, so I thought today I would! My sweet friend Kristen is the one who tagged me.......so here's to you Kristen! :)

So, when you have read mine, if your name is at the bottom, I guess you're it! :)

The Rules:A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am a total project starter & am always quick & excited to get going on things, but it always seems to take forever for me to complete these wonderful projects! In fact, when I start one thing, I automatically start on something else, and occassionally, I may even start on a third thing to make things more exciting! Maybe I have adult ADD! :) This mostly occurs when I am cleaning or organizing! I must say, that when the job does get done, it is AMAZING & almost PERFECT!

2. I have to have my clothes hanging in the closet a very particular way. They all have to face the same direction & have to all be color coordinated. Whites are always first, then off whites, blacks, reds, pinks, purples, blues, greens, browns, yellows, oranges, and greys. I used to seperate the long sleeved from the short sleeved & did the whole color process with them as well, but last night I cleaned out my closet & decided that it was time to have the short sleeve's meet the long sleeves! Isn't that ridiculous!?

3. I love to run! I know most people think I am crazy that I love to run. I think when I trained for & ran the St. George Marathon, I was the most content, happy person. I was doing something that I love every single day! I looked so forward to the long runs, 15+ miles! Unless you are a runner, you will probably never understand the LOVE of running, of course, anyone can become a runner & experience that love for themselves. Since being pregnant & then having Liv, I have not been able to really get into a good pattern of running. I have missed it & when I see people outside running, I really am envious & wish that it was me out there. I have started up again & hope to run a marathon or two before this year is over!

4. This one is a bad habit. Definetly something I am working on this year! I ALWAYS have good intentions of doing something nice or helping others out, but then life gets in the way & I just don't do these wonderful things. There's not much more that I can say about this one, except that I really do hope to start acting this year on the promptings I get to help others!

5. I have been told this for most of my life, at least from my early teens on, that I am a good listener. And with that, I am a good talker as well! :)

6. I am a very EMOTIONAL person! For those of you who know me well, I cry at the drop of a hat! I wouldn't say that I am ultra sensitive & get my feeling hurt easily, but I am very intune with my emotions. I cry over silly commercials or things I hear on the radio. For instance, a few days before Christmas, a local radio station that I listen to put on an entire Christmas for a family & even hooked them up with a Disney Cruise & all. I was bawling like a baby! Poor Brayden was not sure what to think of his crazy mom! :) I can't get through any lesson I teach at church with out a few tears shed! Not that it is a bad thing, but I don't necessarily like wearing my emotions on my sleeves!

Okay, that was fun! Let's see....... Kelly Galbraith, Jess Cutler, Andrea Nelson, Racheal Bassett, Becky Platt, & Natalee Webb-TAG, YOU ARE IT!