What is in a name?

Steph had this on her blog and I thought it was fun. I was a little disappointed, however. My new names aren't too cool..bah!

My rock star name (first pet and current car):

Tanna Venture

My gangsta name (favorite candy bar and favorite cookie):

Butterfinger (sounds better "Butta- finger") Chocolate Chip

My detective name (favorite color and favorite animal):

Green Dog

My Star Wars name (first three letters of last name and first two letters of first name then the word "of" then a medication you are on):

Appli-of-Nothing

My superhero name (2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front):

The Red Barq's

My Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers):

Monte Gilbert

My "lover" name (name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy):

Lucky PB M&Ms

Witness-protection name (mother's and father's middle names):

Jo Reed

Josiah Christian Applegate: One of Kit's zone leaders on his mission was named Josiah. He was very inspirational and a strong, spiritual missionary. On my mother's side, my great-great grandfather was also named Josiah and was known for being an upright, honest man. King Josiah was a boy king who chose to put the Lord first. We wanted our son to have a name full of spiritual strength. Christian is Kit's given name. It is tradition in his family to give the first born son the name of his father as his middle name (ie, Christian Michael). I love the tradition and I think Josiah's name is beautiful!

Gavin Reed Applegate: Kit and I chose Gavin's name together very quickly. We had his name picked out before we were even expecting. We simply liked the name Gavin. When we chose it, it wasn't as common (or so we thought) as it is today. Reed is my father's name. Another example of spiritual strength for our sons to rely on. My father is a wonderful man in my eyes and I want my sons to grow to have his strengths.

Gunnison Michael Applegate: Again, we chose Gunnison's name before we knew we were pregnant. We had been reading a baby book and stumbled across his name and knew it fit our next son. It is a long name for a little boy, but again, the name is full of strength. Michael is my father-in-law's name. He is yet another spiritual giant I want my sons to emulate. I want my boys to see their names and understand the wealth of respect and love Kit and I have for these men. These men have their faults, but their greatness supersedes them. I want them to respect their name-sakes and live up to the names chosen for them. I want them to grow beyond their faults and live up to their potential, spiritual greatness. I love you, my three strong spirited boys!!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jigg!

Our wonderful week is over. Not only did I get to have my sister here to celebrate my birthday with me, but my mom surprised me by coming, too!!! It was such a wonderful surprise. We had a blast. Of course our week comprised mostly of shopping...seriously though, we hit my fabulous thrift-store twice (you know it is fabulous when you can spend $30 on bags of clothes priced $2 and under-I literally would have spent over a hundred dollars on the things I found this week) and took a trip to Tanger Outlet for birthday shopping. My mom got me a pair of darling black wedge sandals and my sister got me a pair of fabulous neutral sandals. It was sooo fun! I haven't had new shoes for a while! My sister-in-law sent me some cute CAbi clothes, one of which is a beautiful tunic top. I simply love it! Kit and I got Green Pans from my mother-in-law. The list goes on...I won't keep listing, or I'll feel way too spoiled! It truly was a wonderful birthday.

It is always hard to say good-bye, but this was not as hard as other times. I was able to say good-bye knowing the boys and I would be heading to Oklahoma next month for Mack's graduation. Hooray! Four weeks will simply fly by!

It is great having Kit home. He was supposed to be home yesterday evening, but due to delays, he arrived home this morning. The boys and I always miss him when he's gone. He came home bearing gifts--Astronaut ice cream and fruit for the boys. They have been pretending to be in space all morning. The surprises Kit brings home are always a fun treat.

We're thankful everyone made it home safely! I love you all!!!

Wonderful Weekend

I'm excited for the arrival of this weekend. I love General Conference. Despite the fact I can't curl up and watch it on the TV (alas, no satelite), I will be curling up to attempt to listen to it via the computer. I say attempt because I DO have children. Anyone with children will agree that you can only attempt anything. I hope to overcome the wiggles with a conference activity book my friend emailed me. So, here's hoping!! I love to hear the words of our Prophet. I love the opportunity to re-evaluate my life. Well, more honestly I welcome it and fear it. I hate the feelings of failure that creep in...but, that is where trusting the Lord comes in. If I can relax and let the Spirit touch my heart to make it an uplifting experience, I WILL grow and become who I want to be.

I am also excited for my sister, Stephanie, coming. What!? Wasn't she just there? Yes, she was. I know, I know, I'm absolutely spoiled!! Kit needed to go out of town this upcoming week for some training and my birthday happens to be this week. My loving sister hated the thought I would be alone (with children) for the big day, so she is coming. I also need to send out a gi-normous and heartfelt thanks to my brother-in-law, Phillip. He is willing to send my sis to me and stay home to watch their two boys. Thank you!

Canning

These beauties were canned by none other than... (DRUM-ROLL, PLEASE) ... Kit! Kit is into pickling and canning lately. For his birthday he got a canner, rack, tools (tongs, etc.) and book-o-canning by Ball. It is a huge book!! He has been perusing it faithfully and looking for produce in season so he can affordably can. I'm thankful for his interest in cooking, recipe finding and preserving since I get to taste the yummy results!!! He even finagled my boys into helping so I could run a couple of errands and work on my sharing time (what a wonderful Daddy!). Gavin was a little work-horse. He loves to help in the kitchen, especially with his Daddy. Be forewarned, however, of stinky breath. Kit pickled garlic ('cause I love it!) and tomatillo salsa. The Applegate household will have pungent breath in a few weeks when it is ready to devour!

Here's the video Kit captured of the boys...I know we've added quite a LOT of videos lately, but bear with me, I can't help but show off my boys!

Beach Time!

Yes, down South we're enjoying the sun! I did something spontaneously (yes, me!) and I took the boys to the beach. The sun was hot, but with the breeze wafting through and the cool water, the beach was so perfect and fun! My boys splashed and dug in the sand and little Gunner rolled around on our designated sand blanket. I tried to get a cute picture of him, but between the big green hat and his chubby little body...well, you get the idea.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone! Steph, Phil and the kids left on Saturday. We had such an enjoyable visit with them. I love moving around, but it is hard for me when my best girlfriends live far away. There is somethings about having my mom and sisters close by. To make up for the empty feeling in my house we decided to invite our friends Camden and Amber and Mike (Kit's 2nd counselor) for Easter dinner. Saturday was spent at the store (literally) buying supplies for the meal. I also had to prepare a last-minute sharing time on Easter. I love the one I found. It went well with the kids and I think they could picture the Easter Story a little better.

The Easter Bunny hid the eggs while we were home. Josiah couldn't believe it! The bunny sure must be tricky to hide the eggs while Mom and Dad were in the kitchen starting dinner. The boys had fun looking for eggs. Gavin would get so excited when he found one. Dinner was yummy - just traditional fare - ham, mashed potatoes, corn, deviled eggs and carrot cake for dessert. Yes, Kit cooked the meal (although I did the potatoes and eggs). My husband is wonderful! Of course, I did the dishes.

We have FHE on Sundays due to my class on Mondays. This one was focused on the Easter Story. I just went through the sharing time again. Sometimes I want to give up! It is often a struggle to even attempt a FHE. Maybe I get points for trying! I will say my boys were listening by the end, however, so maybe they learned something!

Our Attempt at FHE (caught on film by Kit) ...

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Outfits (note: Jos is holding a dino)

Typical of my boys!

I've Been Tagged! (hence you will be tagged)

You all have my friend Annie Emmertson to blame for this! She decided to start this one, but don't worry it is fairly simple. Here are the ground rules:

1. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

2. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here goes...

1. I LOVE pink mints-you know, the little pink disks that are wintergreen flavored. They remind me of road-trips as a child. I love them so much I could eat an entire bag myself. Yummy!
2. I don't find "potty" humor funny. It grosses me out, so you won't find me giggling at jokes with anything to do with body fluids or gas expulsions. (I'm kinda out of luck with my little family)
3. I can suck my toes...if I ever wanted too. I don't, so I won't, but I could!
4. I put my lipstick on before I put on mascara. I know it is normal to put your lipstick on last, but for some strange reason and habit, I don't. Mascara is the last thing to go on.
5. Maybe some have heard me say this: my favorite fantasy (NOTE: meaning will never come true) is of my boys (usually Jos or Gav) duct-taped to the wall, spread eagle, with a large piece covering their mouths. They are literally up and out of the way. I could vaccuum around them, pick up...the list is endless! It isn't done in violence, in my mind it is all cartoony, but it just makes me giggle and relieves tension.
6. I love emeralds. Kit bought me some small studs when we were first married that I love, but I really crave a beautiful emerald stone ring. Ahhh! Something about the freshness of green...
7. I haven't always been as perfect as I am now. (HINT: you should be chortling, it's a joke) When I was in kindergarten I bit a boy named Eisie for trying to kiss me and picked a mean neighbor's flowers and threw them away in her own garbage can. Awful, I know!!

I tag...Carly, Annie Simms, Sandy, Ashlee, Jill, Heidi and Coty