Burnett Family Updates...

For the last couple of months things have been pretty up and down for our family...as some of you know, Wade lost his job at the end of January which was stressful all the way around but we are happy to say that he just got a new job at Overstock.com and we think we are really going to like it there. It also means we get to stay put for a while which is nice, it would have been really hard to transfer MBA programs and move and all that jazz. Anyways, so that is our good news, thanks to all of you who helped and prayed for us we could definitely feel it. Here are some pictures of the other happenings of the last few months...

Anna turned 18 months on the 14th of March and with that came her first day of nursery at church, so here she is all ready to go, she did great too. I was able to leave after only a few minutes and she has done great ever since.

St. Patrick's Day...complete with green cupcakes and green eggs and ham.

Unfortunately the months of March and April seem to be our sickest months...so far I have had a a really bad head cold that lasted for about a week, the kids have had numerous colds, Anna has had double ear infections and yesterday Jacob threw up about 5 times and never got off the couch which is unbelievably rare for Jacob even when he is sick...so here he is all bundled up with one of his colds.

Since we have been able to put Anna's hair in pig tails, her hair looks funny when we take them out for bed time...Wade calls the piggy fros.


I just liked this picture so I put it in. Plus I am in it and my dad says I don't put enough pictures of me on the blog.

We were so lucky to have G and G Shrader come to our house for a week...the kids loved having them here.

For those that don't know, every April and October the LDS church has something called General Conference where our prophet and other leaders of the church speak to us. We are lucky enough to get it broadcasted on T.V. There are 4 sessions, 2 on Saturday and and 2 on Sunday and each session lasts 2 hours...anyways, that can be a lot for little kids to sit through so we have different activities set up for them so that the adults can sit and listen. the car seats just happened to be in our house and the kids wanted to be buckled up in them, so Wade did and turned on a movie for them on the portable DVD player. It didn't last very long, but it sure looked funny...this is how I found them after I came down form my shower.

Same day later session, we found Anna like this...sunglasses, Jacob's slippers, Binky and the DVD player...

...and later we found her in the same attire talking on my cell phone

Pay it Forward

My friend Brooke just gave away three homemaid gifts to three of her friends who commented on her blog, I think this is such a fun idea so here goes...
MY turn..
The Rules
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!SO, REMEMBER…Pay it forward

More Piggies...

Anna's hair is growing so much and just today I was able to put all of her hair into piggies instead of just the top part of her hair. I love how it stays out of her face now and I love the little curl!

Pigtails...

So nothing really exciting has been going on, therfore nothing to blog about...actually I did think of one fun thing...Wade's youngest brother Jeff got his mission call to Bangkok, Thialand...now the three boys will all speak a different language and Jeff wanted to go to Asia...so we are so excited for him.

The pictures below are a for a couple of reasons...1st, they're just cute and 2nd, my mom has been begging for pictures of Anna with pigtails for months (I think we have been able to put them in her hair since November). Anyways, her hair has grown so much since then that she doesn't quite look like Pebbles and Cindy Lou Who like she used too, but oh well!

They don't look like they are related or anything...:-)


Jacob was getting jealous of all the pictures of Anna, so he got his turn.

Anna's piggies...just imagine these sticking straight out from the top of her head with little bows and little curls at the end and she was the spitting image of Cindy Lou Who, plus she didn't have bangs then either.

I know her eyes closed, but I couldn't get a better shot. Wade thinks Anna looks like a blonde "Boo" from Monsters Inc. when she wears her coat. It is huge on her and you can never see her hands so it looks like the moster costume Boo wears.

This is the Pebbles look, but this is right after the bath and her hair culrs a ton, so again her hair isn't sticking up as high as it usually does, but I love her curls while they last. Anyways, sorry mom, these aren't quite what I explained, but they are still cute and that is all that matters right!?

Blogiversary...

I just realized that the 1-year mark for our family blog has came and went. All I can say is that I have had a lot of fun sharing my little family with you and I have also enjoyed reading about your families too. Here's to a great 2009...Happy Blogging!!!

Trying to Win Tickets to Walking with Dinoasaurs on GTU...

Birthdays, a Wedding, Christmas, and New Years...

So our Holidays in the Burnett home were a bit crazy, but a joy as usual...it all started out on the 13th with Jacob's 1st birthday party. I originally started out with about 4 kids on the invitation list and ended up with 11 at the end. I thought to myself, "it will be okay, people have a lot going on in December, not all of them will come"...WRONG!!! All 11 3-6 year olds came to our tiny home along with 4 adults. Needless to say it was crazy, but good, it was organized chaos and the kids were really good. Unfortunately, our birthday boy isn't much for crowds and had a hard time with all the kids. He decided to be grumpy for most of the party. I will chalk that up to a lesson learned and move on...

Next in line on the 17th, Wade's parents came in from PA for my brother-in-law's (Devin's) wedding on the 20th, so those three days were spent on wedding dinners, last minute Christmas shopping and hanging out with family and of course the actual wedding which was beautiful but freezing 16 degrees (about 0 with the windchill) I guess it could have been worse.

After the wedding, My sister-in-law and her family came to stay with us. I was so glad for the company and the time we got to spend together and for the most part the kids got along pretty well, but there are some definite differences in age and personality and there were a few struggles, apperently nothing too bad because Jacob asks when we will see them again.

This is a picture of Cousin Chase and Jacob taking a walk in the snow.

So my in-laws had to fly back on the 25th to get ready for the open house they were having on the 27th. So we decided to combine my birthday, Jacob's family birthdy and Christmas Eve all on the same day...what was I thinking, actually it wasn't that bad. In the morning I got to go to my favorite show, Good Things Utah, and meet some of the hosts. You also get to wave to the camera when it's your birthday, so I got to be on local TV for a few seconds of fame, I hope nobody saw because I think I looked like a dork!

Next we came home and got ready for Christmas with all the baking, wrapping and all the stuff that goes with it. In the Burnett Family, they always have Pizza Hut pizza on Christams Eve ( I have a bit of a hard time doing it, because I feel bad for the poor people who have to work, but this time it was on the 23rd so it wasn't so bad). So we did that, ate cheesecake for my birthday and football cake for Jacob's and of course left food out for the Reindeer and cookies for Santa, read the nativity story and went to bed (well the kids did). The adults played Santa and then stupid traditional me stayed up until 1:30 making cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Christmas moring was happy chaos as usual, but I have to say it was a bit harder for Wade to play Santa this year with 4 kids instead of 1 (Anna wasn't old enough last year to care) to deal with...he was definately busy. The favotite gifts were Jacob's new Geotrax (Airplane edition), Anna's new baby and stroller, My Wii Fit and DC Temple mural ( I will post a picture of that later...its beautiful) and Wade got a lot of practical gifts but I am going to guess that he liked his new shoes the best.

So everyone left Christmas Day and we went to my Aunts house for dinner, which was suprizingly relaxing...my kids are chickens and it takes a lot of effort at other's houses to entertain them, but they warmed up quickly and I didn't have to entertain much at all. Things have been pretty calm since then...we did do a little something for Jacob's real birthday we went to a Salt Lake Grizzlies Game (Hockey) and Jacob got a signed puck...he was so cute he held his ticket and puck for the whole game. That night, we all started throwing up, but nothing serious, no fever and we were all fine the next day until 4 days later when Jacob threw up again again, no fever, and he was fine the next day...weird huh? We also did a little something for New Years Eve. I used my new Fry Daddy to make fried nutella ravioli (I saw this on Everyday Italian on Food Network) It wasn't bad but not as good as I hoped. At 8 we set off poppers and had sparkling cider and put the kids to bed. The rest of the night was spent using the Wii Fit and barely keeping our eyes open for the ball drop.

Needless to say we are all tuckered out...this is a picture of Jacob who pretended to cash his bike into the couch cushon and then continued to be too tired to get back up and fell asleep under his bike!

We are all back to normal now. Jacob started up preschool again and Wade started his second MBA semester and my life has finally gone back to some kind of routine...Yea!!! Hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday Seasons and we hope you have a fabulous 2009!!!

Aaaaahh, 14 more days until Christmas !..

Is anyone else feeling the stress!? I sure am, this is usually my favorite time of the year, but I feel like I am going to lose it pretty soon. I think the problem may lie in the fact that I am too picky. Those that know me know that I get this picture in my head of what I want and when I can't find the exact thing, life gets complicated. I swear, I have been to more stores in one month than I have been throughout the whole year looking for that perfect dress for a wedding, the perfect doll for Anna, and the perfect Geotrax train/airplane set for Jacob. I am sure that that is the majority of the problem, but we also have a lot going on this year, a family wedding, Jacob's 4th birthday with his first birthday party, and a lot of family coming and activities to do with them. So although I am excited for all of the upcoming events. I am getting a little worn out. I haven't even started on my neighbor gifts yet. Every year I always get it done, but I am feeling a little shaky this year. I will just have faith that things will be great, have a wonderful holiday and be able to enjoy the wonderful spirit that comes with the season and remember why we have it. I hope all of you are dealing with the stress better than I am. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Family Pictures...

These are just a few of the pictures that my friend Jenny Rossi took for us. These aren't even edited yet and they look awesome! She got some pretty good ones even though my children weren't cooperating at all. I have added her blog on my side bar, under Professional blogs, if you are interested in a really good photographer. She does it for all occasions. Thanks so much Jenny, you made picture taking just that much easier!

Tagged Twice...

So I have been tagged a couple of times in the last month, but I have had a hard time getting to them so here they finally are....

First the one from Darci

1. I like to rainbow organize my closet, I know it's weird, but I have always like rainbows and have always done things in that order if I can...fruitloops, skittles, etc.

2. When I was a Freshman in High School I got a really severe case of mono (my enzyme count was 4 times higher than a normal mono patient) as a result of all the drugs I took and the illnesses I had, I lost all my taste buds and after about a week they all grew back.

3. I don't like chocolate and I don't like cake...but I really like chocolate cake. Same thing with soup... I don't like soup, and I don't like creamy things, but I love creamy soup.

4. Never been to Disneyland or World.

5. If I could go back to school and be anything I wanted to be I would be a nurse for labor and delivery (I think the whole thing is fascinating) or I would be a baker and decorate cakes...I know kind random.

6. About two weeks after I had both of my kids, I got so baby hungry! I think it's because I love, love, love, the new born stage and it goes by really fast, so I feel this urgency to start all over again.

7. I never learned how to type...I know, sometimes it makes me feel really stupid, but I never had the free hour in High School or college to take it, so I kind of have my own method, it's slow but it works well enough for me.

Now Marianne's...

I think it's funny because when I was doing this tag, all of my answers were very similar.

OK, I've been tagged by Marianne to give facts about Wade.

Five things Wade Loves:

1. Me

2. Our Kids

3. Sports of all kinds

4. His Family

5. The Church

Five things on Wade's To Do List:

1. get his MBA

2. Pay off student loans

3. Get out of Utah

4. Finish painting our house...only 2 rooms left.

5. Figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up.

Wade's favorite treats:

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

2. Oreos

3. Homemade chocolate chip cookies

4. Ice cream (Dryers Double Fudge Brownie)

5. Twix

Five Things You Might Not Know About Wade:

1. Wade is really good at sports, don't let his small physique fool you.

2. Wade hates dirty dishes, even if its midnight he will still do the dishes if I didn't get a chance to do them...I am totally okay with waiting until the next morning...after all I have the once a day rule when it comes to dishes.

3. He served a mission in Puebla, Mexico

4. He had his appendix taken out while he was at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.

5. Wade is a serious number cruncher, he is always trying to figure out how to make more or save more money.

Five Places Wade has Lived:

1. South Park, PA

2. Port Orchard, WA

3. Idaho Falls and Rexburg, ID

4. Puebla, Mexico

5. Logan, Roy and Salt Lake City, UT

Five of Wade's Quirks:

1. He cannot make a normal smile in pictures, it's very rare that you see him really smiling in a picture.

2.Wade has this weird ritual he has to do when he eats french toast, first he covers every inch with butter, then he makes a puddle of syrup in the middle then adds powdered sugar. He stirs that together to make this thick goo and then he has to spread it across the bread so that not a crumb is left uncovered...I bet he never eats warm french toast!

3. He is obsessed with cheeks and the fatter the better, you'll always catch him touching baby's cheeks whenever he gets a chance.

4. He loves to kiss big cheeks too and when he does he makes this weird popping noise and it's not intentional.

5. Has to check the door locks about a million times before he goes to bed.

I tag whoever wants to!

Fall Family Fun...

So we have done a lot in the month of October, Wade turned 28, the kids and I headed off to Washington to stay with my folks for a couple of weeks. Which was a lot of fun for us, maybe not so much for Wade, but he was able to get a lot of school stuff done without us bugging him and of course there was all of the regular Halloween fun stuff to do to top off the month. Here are some pictures of the festivities...

Blowing out the birthday candles...I know it says 27, we added one more for 28...I forgot to get the candles.

Pumpkin carving at Grandma and Grandpa Shrader's

My brother Zach has this WSU cougars hat for some reason...not sure why...he is a BYU cougar

Pumpkin carving at home

Jacob getting ready for his Halloween party at preschool, as you can see he went a s a baseball player...can we say sports obsessed! His costume was pretty easy too and I think it cost me about $8

Anna, of course, wouldn't cooperate for the camera, so this is the best picture I got of her whole costume...oh well, she was still pretty cute and since I made the costume it only cost me about 10 bucks!

Every year at Wade's work all the offices decorate and invite the kids to come and participate in a big trick-or-treating parade...you get a ton of candy...just what they need. Anyways here they are in Daddy's office.

Copy Cat X 2...

I saw this on a friends blog who saw it on another friends blog who I am sure saw it on someone else's blog. All you have to do is google the answers and see what you find and this lets you know a little about me.

Age: 27












Favorite Vacation Spot: Palmyra, New York









Favorite Animal: Killer Whale







First Name: Amanda






Middle Name: Dawn





Last Name: Burnett


Favorite Color: Red and Green








Where I Live: Salt Lake City





Where I Grew Up: West Richland, Wa










Favorite Food: Bonzai Burger (Red Robin)









Favorite Treat: Slurpee