Oops, my mistake!

The other day Amber was so excited to tell me that Emma's nursery teacher (Sharon) read a story to her at school. I was so confused. I just thought Amber didn't know what she was talking about! Emma's nursery teacher doesn't have any kids in school, so why would she be at the school, reading books at that? Little did I know. So I just went on my way thinking Amber was dreaming or just plain confused, but didn't know how to fix the problem! What do you say to a child when you think they are wrong but they are adamant that they really are not crazy?!
So, ha ha, funny thing. I was at the school today helping out in Amber's class, then I went to get Emma from her Preschool class. We were walking back to the Gym (where Amber's class was) and passed by the library! As we passed by the library I noticed Sharon sitting at the desk! Surprise, surprise! So I talked to Sharon for a few minutes. Turns out Sharon substitutes in the library. It really was Sharon that read a story to Amber. Okay, so I really want to stick my head in a hole now! But I guess I need to humble myself and apologize to Amber for not believing her and thinking she was crazy! Oops, maybe next time I should believe her, hard as it is sometimes to believe a 5 year old. I guess parents don't always know everything!

Timothy's New Game

I am so grateful for laughter. Without laughter life would be so melancholy. I am also very grateful for the simple things that make me laugh. The other day I think we laughed for at least a half hour because of Timothy's new game. He has started throwing his sippy cup and at first I thought he was just dropping it because he wasn't coordinated enough to get it back down on the table! Ha, he fooled me! The first time I saw the gleam in his eyes I knew he was throwing the cup on purpose. Once he realized I had caught on, he added a little laugh to this game. So I thought I would capitalize on this opportunity to laugh. I sat there giving his cup and telling him he better not drop it. Then he would laugh and drop it. We went back and forth like this for some time! It wasn't the most exciting game, but it was so much fun to see Timothy laugh. Everybody was laughing. It really lightened the mood in my home and reminded me that we can laugh over the simple things and it doesn't matter. Amidst any struggles that we may have, we still have the ability to laugh and be happy. I just needed Timothy to remind me how to laugh.

I have a video of us playing Timothy's new game, but alas I do not know how to upload it to my blog. So I will let your imagination run wild as you imagine what it was like for us to play this new game!

Hairsylist I am not!

I have finally come to the sad conclusion that I am not a hairstylist. Yet, I will continue to curse my children with bad haircuts while they are young. A few days ago I tried my hand at cutting Timothy's hair! What an adventure. I should have listened to Andrea and cut his hair while he was sleeping. But I thought I was better than that! If only I could distract him I could simply snip off the long ends and it would look okay, right? Ha, I wish. Distracted he was, sit still he did not! Luckily he is still young enought that he doesn't care what his hair looks like. Does he even really know he got a haircut? Probably not. Okay, so now I am feeling better about the whole adventure.

Here's some pics. Of course, he wasn't too cooperative with the pics either. I had to take one of the pics while he was walking away from me.

Thanksgiving

It seems to me that we have a couple of budding artists in our home! Amber has ventured into the realm of mural painting. The white wall next to Amber's bed became the empty canvas! For a few years now it has been bugging Amber for a little creativity. So, when the opportunity presented itself, Amber filled her empty canvas. So now, we have a mural, complete with Amber's signature. I had to take a picture, just in case Amber is rich and famous one day!





We had a very good Thanksgiving. The party started at my dad's house with our traditional dinner, complete with the addition of celery filled with an absolutely disgusting cheese spread. Kay made some really yummy rolls, I could have feasted on those alone! :) Cori made some apple crisp to die for. I think I need her recipe. Mine just never turns out the same. I made pumpkin cheesecake and a regular old pumpkin pie. Yum . . . we were all set. My dad did the rest. Of course, it wouldn't be a large family gathering if the marshmallows on top of the yams didn't get burned. Thanks to everyone for distracting Dad so he could burn those marshmallows. We all had a laugh over Jeff and Greg fighting over the marshmallow residue!
After dinner we all enjoyed a game of "Ticket to Ride." As a first time player, I enjoy bragging rights for a while now!
Towards the conclusion of the game it became extremely evident that we were no longer welcome at my dad's house! It is so sad that we (my dad's children) can wear out our welcome so quickly. Despite this little glitch, we continued the party at my house down the street. Greg, Kay, Cori, Jeff, and Kim all joined us at my home for a rousing game of Disney Pictionary. At times we thought the game was a little too advanced for our simple minds. We couldn't guess "doorway" when it was on the DVD! Hmmmm . . . simple minds like to think too complex I think!
Everybody left having had a very good time together. Now, we are moving on to Christmas plans. Our tree is up, the nativity set is out, but we yet to pull out the music. I just can't do it! A little Christmas overload at the moment!

Here are some pictures from our activities last night!

Random thoughts!

I have had quite a few random thoughts and/or questions in the past few weeks. I thought I would share a few.

1. Kindergarten didn't go to school on Thursday or Friday last week. Then they turned around and only went to school Monday and Tuesday this week. I think it would have made more sense to keep them in school the two days last week and keep them out for a full week! I realize that this wouldn't work because of the schedule of the older grades, but hey, I'm just looking for ease of my own child's schedule!

2. SEP conferences in Kindergarten are an absolute waste of time. I already knew everything Amber's teacher told me and more. I only wish there had been more time to discuss things that really mattered to me! 15 minute appointments, what can you discuss in 15 minutes with a teacher who doesn't really listen?

3. Having three sick kids at the same time is a godsend. At least they get it over with in one fell swoop and hopefully we can all move on at the same time! None of this months of illness for me! Yay! So it isn't all peaches and cream, but we are getting through it. Besides, this is the one time all three kids will actually take a nap! :)

4. Timothy is finally plumping up. He was so skinny for so long that I was beginning to think he would never have meat on his bones. Yay, 12 month clothes finally fit him. That was my hope, that by Christmas Timothy would fit into 12 month clothes! I'm afraid he will grow out of everything way too fast now!

5. Imagine buying a home for less than $100,000. Less than $50,000. John told me about one that sold for $29,000. Hmmm . . . that is just about what my parents paid for their house 32 years ago! Tempting to sell my house and move to where the houses are almost free!

6. Lastly, I have a lot to be grateful for. Luckily it is Thanksgiving this week and we have an excuse to be grateful for things. But really, I am grateful everyday for so many things. I am so blessed.

Okay, there is the end to my random thoughts for the week! Enjoy the random photos!







Oops, don't know where Emma was. I guess she was hiding from the camera!

The tale of 39!

Trouble was brewing last night at the McAuliffe household. Only, Jessica was the only one that knew it. John spent the day in complete oblivion, thinking that all birthday celebrations had been had the night before! Little did he know. Jessica was deep into celebration plans, but hush,hush was the biggest plan! Planning a surprise party was a difficult task at best. John was always around. But with the enlisted help of Kim and Greg, everything came together nicely. Kim made the phone calls on Saturday night, leaving messages with some.
Sunday morning rolled around, with inspiration hitting Jessica! What a wonderful idea. Invite people over for dinner and John won't suspect anything is going on later. It worked.
The rest of the family showed up at 6:45 p.m. I had previously sent John downstairs to supervise the kids. Jaime had come for dinner. Our kids were all entertaining each other in the playroom, but I needed an excuse to get John downstairs. The family showed up, driving up without lights, and shutting car doors quietly! When it comes to a surprise, everybody played it up so well! We all trooped downstairs, singing happy birthday! John seemed to have lost his ability to talk.
It seems that this was not all to be. John donned a happy birthday hat while Greg, Jessica, Kay, and Cori worked on serving up cheesecake and sherbet. Yum. We proceeded with the daunting, but not impossible, task of putting 39 candles on one piece of cheesecake for John. He got his cheesecake, complete with a ball of fire and a wax coating! Lighting 39 candles on a piece of cheesecake is no easy venture! Fortunately Greg and Kay were willing to be the pyros for the night. They took care of the candle lighting. Jessica carried the burning ball of fire downstairs without setting off the smoke alarms. Somebody must have taken the batteries out :) Time to blow out the candles! This reminds me of a story that goes like this. "He huffed, and he puffed . . ." Yet, John only need to huff and puff once. The candles were out. Hopefully he made a wish!
What would a party be without gift opening? So John got to open his gift (compliments of Jaime)! No amount of shaking or guessing could have prepared John for what he found inside. Depends, preparation H, potatoes, obituaries, etc., etc.
The night was full of laughter, good conversation, and friendship. A big thank you to all who helped the party go off without a hitch! Kim made phone calls, Greg and Kay made the cheesecake, and everybody else showed up as planned.
Next year?!?! John should be scared!

6 Unspectacular quirks

My friend Tiffany tagged me so here is my best effort at this thing. Okay, so I have a little confession first. I am a little blogger illiterate. I am not sure exactly how to link all of this to others. So, here's to the best!
Here are the rules: 1. Link to the person who tagged you and comment in the comment section on their original “quirk: post. 2. Mention the rules on your blog. 3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you. 4. Tag 6 bloggers ( or more) by linking to them. 5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1) I am so incredibly anal about the family calendar. Just ask John. He has learned to never schedule anything without first consulting the family calendar, which we now keep next to the computer.
2) I love to sew. As such, I have made many dresses for my girls. I have yet to make anything for Timothy. But, just because I like to sew doesn't mean I like to sew with Satin. That is probably the most terrible material to sew with!
3) I prefer a good book over T.V.
4) I'm very competitive, which is why I cannot play Monopoly with John anymore. He always wins and it bugs me!
5) I love homemade jam. It is sooo easy to make and I love seeing the pretty jars. But, I also hate to open the pretty jars. If I use it, then I can't admire the lovely jam anymore!
6) I am a control freak. I want to be in control of everything. This is so hard when I have kids (and a husband)! But I am slowly learning to give up control and just let things be!

I tag Nicole at http://simplystevens.blogspot.com/, Jaime at http://www.jbwabelfam.blogspot.com/, Jennifer at http://elganfam.blogspot.com/, Cynthia at http://hellofernandezfamily.blogspot.com/, Dawn at http://dawnloveschocolate.blogspot.com/, Ruth at http://shemandruth.blogspot.com/

Fun in the snow and more

On Wednesday we woke up to snow, much to the delight of my girls! They have been bugging me about wearing their snow boots since I bought them. Amber was especially excited to wear her boots to school! Ahh, the unabashed delight of childhood. Amber had a real treat after school as one of her friends was able to come home with her while we waited for her mom to get home. Noli was only here for a few minutes, but it was enough to delight Amber. They had fun rolling snowballs. I found it absolutely amusing that the first thing Amber asked as we pulled into the driveway was if she could have a snowball fight with Noli! I suppressed a laugh and quickly diverted her attention to a different activity. Snow angels are somewhat safer and better for the fragile self esteem of my five year old daughter!
After Noli left, Amber and Emma spent more time playing in the snow. After a few short minutes, I looked out, noticed a purple glove lying in the snow, and made the quick decision that it was time to come inside. Alas, Emma's mittens are a tad big, thus hindering her ability to pick up the snow! Her hands were red and oh so frozen by the time I got her inside. But, I didn't complain too much. To see the joy on her face made up for any wrongs (taking her mittens off) that she may have done!

Amber did all she could to avoid the camera. She is too much like me in that respect. But I got one! Albeit a far away shot!



Emma enjoying the snow! She was so excited to wear her new winter gear!

Timothy's Birthday

Okay, so I just have a lot to share today. I know, I am a couple days late on Timothy's birthday, but hey, I think I'm doing good to even get this on here. I can't believe Timothy is one year old. He started walking on Tuesday, turned one on Wednesday, and has been going strong ever since! We had a small little get together with family. He didn't understand the opening presents part, but he sure loved the cake part. I made a been cake and surrounded it with cupcakes that sort of looked like little bees. I think it was fun. I gave him the cupcake as his first birthday cake! He demolished the cupcake. Not too messy, thankfully. But it was fun. Amber and Emma were excited about the presents. I bought Timothy two different things and let the girls give him one! Amber thought that was pretty cool to give Timothy a present from her and Emma.

Here are some pictures from our little celebration!

Halloween

Halloween at our house started long ago. The girls have known what they wanted to be since last year. Okay, so maybe not that long ago, but long enough. I got so sick of the girls asking about Halloween. I'm glad it is over!
Anyway, yesterday Emma had her Halloween celebration at Preschool. She wore her spider costume and I helped out in her class. It was a lot of fun. Emma was so excited to be a spider. Somebody made the mistake of asking if she was a black widow! She was so adamant about being a spider and didn't think a black widow was a spider. She kept saying she was a nice spider. It was fun. I loved having people admire her costume as I slaved over the dumb thing. I can't believe I agreed to make her a spider costume!
Amber has been bugging me about being a princess. She always wants to be a princess. But this year it had to be Cinderella, not just a generic princess. So I had to figure out how to do Cinderella. Luckily I had two different patterns for a Cinderella dress. I just picked one, and of course, modified it to make it easier to sew. It wasn't perfect, but hey, I think I did pretty good for finishing it last night!
This morning we did her hair up and put a headband in like Cinderella. I think I used a whole bottle of hairspray just so it would stay. Lo and behold most of it fell out by the time we were getting ready for trick or treating. Oh well. Amber had a parade at school. Unfortunately my camera isn't that great so I got a horrible picture of her, and I didn't get the pictures from my dad. So that picture will be a little fuzzy. She had a lot of fun at school.
Timothy was a ghost. We dressed him in a white sweatshirt and pulled it up onto his head. Then John put some of his socks on Timothy! He was drowning in all the material, but I thought it was so cute. I didn't really want to do too much, Timothy is still little and will never remember how he was dressed for Halloween.
In the time between school and trick or treating, John went to Verree's house and picked up a pumpkin. Then he gathered the girls and carved the pumpkin while Timothy was sleeping. The girls helped pull the pumpkin guts out. They enjoyed it, even though Amber said it was gross. I hate pulling the guts out of pumpkins. That's why I had John do it. I didn't even care how it was carved. I just didn't want to do it! Yay! John loved it. He had fun helping the girls, and of course, he did the actual carving!
After Trick or treating we went to Grandpa's house. There the girls saw pizza in Grandpa's kitchen and convinced him that they were hungry and needed some pizza! Hmmm . . . I guess lasagna just wasn't good enough tonight! It was a long day and all three kids were fast asleep within about ten minutes. Yay! Peace and quiet!

Weekend Happenings and More

Fall Fantasy Masquerade-- A couple of weeks ago I had seen an advertisement for the masquerade and I thought it sounded like fun. I had never been to a masquerade before! It was really a fundraiser for the USO and veterans got in free. Yay! I was pretty sure I could dredge up the $15 dollars for a ticket. So I made plans to go. I was pretty sure John would go with me so I didn't even think twice when I invited my brother and sister in law. The only catch was that I had to convince my brother to go. You see, Cori (sister in law) made a deal with me. If I could convince Jeff to go, she would buy my ticket. I thought I would never be able to convince Jeff. Ha, he fooled me. He agreed without me having to beg, cajole, bribe, whatever. As soon as I asked him he pretty much said he would go! So after borrowing a dress, and finding a mask, we were off to the masquerade on Saturday night! It was tons of fun. We are so glad Jeff and Cori met up with us there.

We took this picture at our house before we left. John was trying to be such a gentleman! We were so excited to be able to leave the kids with Kim and to get all dressed up.

Finally, we made it to the Masquerade. Because John is a veteran, he only had to show his ID to get in. Lucky for us! I think we had such a sweet deal. Jeff and Cori met up with us there. They bought us a raffle ticket ($1 a piece, break the bank!). I thought, yeah right, I never win anything. It was a good thing John was holding on to the ticket! We ended up winning the grand prize. I love the Bond Girl perfume, and the Cologne for John! Yeah! I was in so much shock that we actually won something. We split the prize with Jeff and Cori. It was so awesome! The prize was a whole basket full of Avon products-- value of $200. I don't think I slept at all on Saturday night I was in shock all night.

Here are the four of us just outside the cultural celebration center. And yes, John is wearing his kilt! Hmmm . . . he hasn't worn the thing for so long. I wasn't sure he actually would.

Sunday travels-- Sunday morning John and I both went to our Ward Council meeting at 8 a.m. and then headed down to Nephi about 11:30 a.m. We went to Nephi to support Chantelle who was receiving her Young Womanhood medallion. So we went to church with Aunt Deb and then had very yummy food at Aunt Deb's house. Of course Aunt Deb went above boeard on the food. She always makes yummy food. I love her bowtie salad! Yummm!!! We had a very good visit, and as always, we left later than we expected. But only because Aunt Deb was making sure we had things we need. Dave and Deb have always taken good care of us. What else is family for if we can't help each other out? I really appreciate all they have done for me. It really pales in comparison to anything I have ever been able to do for them.
I took my camera with me and forgot to take pictures. So I don't have any to share from Aunt Deb's house. But we all enjoyed the day. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family close by.

Despite the busy, busy weekend ,we had such a good time. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with John and also the time I could spend with family. We are truly a blessed family.

Just "four fun"

Okay, so I hate these. I think it is a waste of time, but what the heck. I've been tagged and I feel like wasting time today. So here's my list, just "four fun."

4 Random Facts about my husband:

1. John likes to change his socks halfway through the day.
   
2. John is attached to a book, everywhere he goes, even if he is only dropping Amber off at school!
   
3. John loves seafood, but graciously chooses something else when I am eating with him. Kudos to him!
4. John has more clothes than me and the kids combined.
   

4 Movies I could watch more than once:

1. Juno
2. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
   
3. Sleepless in Seattle
   
4. Princess Diaries
   

4 Interesting Places I've been:

1. Maine
2. Canada
3. Michigan
4. Missouri
   

4 People who email me regularly:

1. Patricia
2. AuntDeb
Kim

4. Hmmm . . .oh yeah, John? You know, those well . . . . we'll just leave it at that!

4 Favorite Foods:

1. Chicken rolls
   
2. Homemade bread (yummy!)
   
3. Cinnamon rolls.
4. It is a tossup between popcorn and icecream. Depends on my mood!
   

4 Places I'd like to visit:

1. Australia
2. England
3. Germany
4. China

4 Things I'm looking forward to this year:

1. Timothy walking
   
2. John finding a job
   
3. Spring. I am so not looking forward to winter!
   
4. Spending more time with family and friends!
   

4 People who are now IT:

1. Jaime
2. Ruth
3. Lena
4. Jenna

Sweet moments!

Sweet moment #1: My girls really surprise me sometimes. I had promised the girls popcorn and a movie tonight is they took a bath really quick. They were very quick in the bath. Then it was off to the movies (a.k.a. Basement play room!). When I didn't hear them ask for help to start the movie I got a little worried. I went downstairs and found them sitting next to each other on the couch sharing a blanket and a pillow. It was so sweet. I just can't get over how sweet they can be. These are really the moments I absolutely love.

Here's a couple pictures of them enjoying their popcorn and movie.
Sweet moment #2: I was playing the dot game on Facebook and didn't see a box. Neither did the other person. But Amber saw it. She told me I could get a box and showed me. My five year old showed me up! But her face just glowed when I was telling John about it. She was so proud. And I think her self esteem just jumped a thousand notches as she listened to me talk to John about it. I'm not sure her smile could get any bigger.

Sweet moment #3: I had told Amber she had to stay in her room and be quiet for nap/quiet time. After about an hour she came out and asked if nap time was over. I told her it could be and she climbed on my bed with me and snuggled with me for a while. She was just so gracious today.

Sweet moment #4: The girls had chores today. Sigh. Laundry had piled up so they were helping me fold clothes and put them away. They didn't get to play until their chores were done. Emma was done putting her clothes away. Amber decided to capitalize on the situation and asked Emma (more like conned her) into helping put Amber's clothes away too! Emma was so compliant and wanted to help just because Amber was doing it too. It was really sweet.

These moments aren't grand in any sense of the word, but they sure make me grateful that God has entrusted me with these beautiful souls! There are many more of these moments, but I am sure I would bore everybody. Plus there are no words to describe the joy and gratitude that fill my soul today.

Yay, one more day outside!

Yay, today was so much warmer as compared to the past weekend. As you can see from the pictures, the kids enjoyed time outside. Amber insisted it was warm enough for shorts, so she pulled her pant leg up. Hmmm . . . still needed a jacket though. Even Timothy got in on the fun. He is being introduced to the bike. Somehow I don't think he will be riding it anytime soon. Amber has to give it up first!

Of course, Emma spent the time in the dirt pile in the front yard. This is their favorite spot to play. I don't know what the fascination is. Times like today, I am convinced that my girls are definitely not girly girls. They can hold their own with the boys!

I just thought I would share these next pictures because I thought they were kindof fun. Timothy was having fun climbing into this laundry basket. He wouldn't stay out no matter how many times I moved him. Boy was he determined to play in the basket. So here he is in the basket, getting ready to climb out. I thought he was going to tip the basket over. But . . .


Basket didn't tip over. Here he is all smug about climbing out by himself. He climbed in and out of this basket for quite some time. Kept him busy though. I actually got something done knowing he was otherwise occupied!

This morning we all trooped to the Taylorsville Library for the Haunted Forest puppet show. It was cute, for a kids puppet show. And I really liked the emphasis on being safe Halloween night. Amber and Emma really liked the puppet show. There were spiders, snakes, etc. They were disappointed it was so short, especially since we were late.
Funny story on being late. I forgot about the puppet show. So ten minutes before it started I was trying to get the girls and myself ready to go, which included getting more than one person dressed in something other than p.j.'s! Yikes. Good thing Taylorsville Library is only about a block away from our house! I think today was a good lesson for us on why we shouldn't be late to things. We got to the library and there was no parking. I had to drop the kids off and then park at the rec center next door. The girls got into the room with the puppet show and didn't have a place to sit. Eventually Emma found a place to sit where she could see, but Amber had to stand up for the entire half hour! Hmmm . . . will we be on time next time? Maybe, hopefully?!?!

What happened to the cat?

We were sitting down to lunch today and Amber was telling me about school. So, two of her classmates had seen a stray cat (I guess it was at school!). Amber proceeded to tell me a story of how the cat got there. Here's the story!

"The people let the cat outside. It climbed the fence and ran away."

Exciting story, eh? Okay, so let's try another one. I guess Amber didn't like that first explanation. So she came up with another story.

" The owners took it to the school and were having a picnic. [Keep in mind that it has been very cold!] While they were eating, the cat wanted to play. So the cat ran away. The owners couldn't find it and just went home."

Hmmm . . . . I don't know. Possible? Yes. Believable? No. But Amber had fun telling about what happened to the cat and how it ended up at school!

Talking about the cat was keeping Amber's mind off her inconsolable sadness. You see, she had just finished telling me how her best friend, Imanol, was not at school today. I think about half of her classmates were MIA today. You would think it was going to be a long weekend, or something. Wink, wink. Amber does have no school on Thursday and Friday. Gotta love UEA! Playtime, yayyyy!
In light of the long weekend, I decided to let Amber and Emma watch movies for quiet time today. Their eyes lit up when I told them. It was like it was Christmas already. They haven't had movies all week. We've been too busy with other tasks. I am hoping that by giving them something they really want they will be good the rest of the day! Wish me luck.

Cold, cold, and more cold

I don't know if I'm crazy, or if I am just too determined. It has been way cold in the mornings, yet we still walk to school. I have been determined to walk Amber to school every day and so far, minus a few days here and there, I have been able to do that! Amber loves walking and gets mad when we drive. So, although it has been incredibly cold, we bundle everybody up for our daily jaunt to the school! Amber really amazes me. I thought she would wimp out a long time ago and want me to drive her to school. But such is not the case. Even Emma loves the walk. Both girls do get tired on the walk home from school, but hey . . . they are both still little. It is so amazing how much endurance they have developed. On the first day of school I wasn't sure we would even get this far into the school year before Amber wimped out! But now, if I want to drive she complains the loudest about having to drive.
Maybe now that everybody else has decided to not walk, Amber won't be so keen on it. She asks every morning if she gets to walk with Natalie. But . . . sigh . . . Natalie hasn't been walking this week. Sob! Okay, so Amber is over it. She is so inquisitive that she spends the walk asking questions about everything around her, and telling me stories. My what an imagination. Do I have an Anne Shirley on my hands here? I guess that remains to be seen.
On another note, yes, I broke down and turned on my heater a couple of days ago. The clincher was waking up to snow on the ground and my house a measly 53 degrees! Brrrrr . . . . it was cold! Even John was freezing and it takes a whole lot to make him cold enough to complain about it. So I compromised, the heater on at night and off during the day!
We have more pictures that I will post one of these days. But, ta ta for now.

Amber's bed: The place to be, I guess

I honestly don't know what it is about Amber's bed. Maybe it is just that it isn't Emma's. But Emma loves to sleep with Amber. Usually Amber gets mad and tells her to get out of her bed. But, this time, I didn't hear any complaints.
This morning, Amber was telling me about Emma coming into her bed last night. Amber said, "I told her that if she wanted to stay in my bed she had to be quiet and stay still." I guess that is why we found them curled up next to each other. I think maybe both of them were cold and needed the extra warmth. It has been getting colder and the past couple of days, well . . . . So, I have been holding off on turning the heater on. We just wrap up in blankets and warm p.j.'s. I think I am freezing the girls at night. I still don't want to turn on the heater. I don't want to admit that winter is on the horizon. If I don't turn on the heater then I can still convince myself that the long dreary days of winter are long off, right? Okay, humor me and just agree with me for once. I guess I'll not really know if you do disagree! :)

Cleaning bug!

I don't know what it is about the past week, but I have had the insatiable desire to clean, clean, and clean some more! Maybe it is because I have had so much to do this past week that I have resorted to cleaning as my reprieve, or my escape from what I really need to do.
This week I had to prepare for the Young Women in Excellence Program. We were putting together a slideshow with pictures taken throughout the year, from March to September. I guess I never realized how much of a task that would be. Thankfully it was mostly put together by the time I got it, I just had to add a few more pictures, add music, and get it copied onto CD's for the girls. Fun, fun, fun. I can't believe it was so crazy.

Guess who?

Okay, so I thought this would be kindof fun. I found pictures of my three kids when they were first born. I just wanted to compare them for the fun of it. I guess I wasn't busy enough! HA! Can you tell who is who? Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't. It will be fun. Leave a comment if you wish and make a guess!

Challenges and Blessings

Some days I really feel like a truck rolled over me, but wanting to make sure I was dead, backed up and just stayed there till I was so squashed I was unrecognizable. Okay, so maybe that is a little extreme, but over the past couple of weeks, I have really had to assess my life and the direction I am going, along with the direction my family is headed. You see, I believe wholeheartedly that God is orchestrating my life, but I also believe he has a sense of humor. But, sometimes I don't think He is very funny!
Most people know by now that John lost his job a few weeks ago. It has been a crazy few weeks. Not to mention stressful. Yikes! I think we were getting too comfortable with life. God finally said, HA, fooled you! To state the obvious, financial challenges are sure to arise. But, we are very grateful for the savings we have been able to build up, and the food storage. I am seeing the wisdom of the people who have encouraged these actions.
But, we sure do not miss out on blessings. John now has the opportunity to finish college, something that I have been bugging him about but never had the means to do. You may wonder how, when we have very little income, we can afford college now! As a result of John's military service he has access to lots of cool stuff through the VA. One of those benefits is Vocational Rehabilitation. They will be paying for his school! Yay! So you don't get the wrong idea, this is in no way connected to the GI Bill. Two different programs with different requirements. This is a major blessing to our family. John will have more doors open to him now! So, thank goodness he lost his job!
I think both of us have run the gamut of feelings the past couple of weeks, but as we work to find a solution, we are finding our goals realigning. For so long we have been headed different directions in our life goals, but we are beginning to come full circle, so to speak. We have redefined what is important to each of us, and what is best for our family. It has been an amazing couple of weeks and I pray our goals stay in alignment and that we can continue in the direction that we have found.
So, going back to the idea that God is orchestrating my life. He knew what would need to happen to open the way for my family to progress and come together as a more connected whole. Most often it takes other people to accomplish His purposes. In this case, God is sending our family in a new direction, but one that will allow us to be His instruments in accomplishing His purposes!

Sleepytime stories and more

Last week, after we had put the girls to bed, I heard Amber "Mom, Emma's in my bed!" I was so tired and I didn't want to referee that night. So I left them alone. After a while, all was quiet in the girls' room. I was pretty sure they had worked it out themselves and fallen asleep. Before I went to bed, I peeked in on the girls. This is what I found. Both girls were asleep on Amber's bed! Amber was snuggled right up to Emma. It was such a sweet sight. I'm sure that had I not taken a picture, or had John go check it out, the girls would have slept like this all night long. But, shortly after I took pictures Amber woke up complaining that Emma was in her bed. At that point we felt the situation should be remedied. So we put Emma in her own bed.

Just a few nights ago we had once again put the girls to bed and gone downstairs to watch a movie. During the movie I heard a loud thud and thought, that sure sounded like Emma getting out of bed. But she never came to find us and I just chalked it up to Trixie (the dog) being loud. After all, John had just told me that both girls were sound asleep and so was Timothy! Yay, a miracle! So, I was getting ready to go to bed and went to check on the girls first. My heart stopped, Emma was nowhere to be found. Of course, the first place I checked was Amber's bed. But no Emma. Where could she be? I then thought that it was likely she had crawled into my bed. So, I looked there. Lo and behold, Emma fast asleep on my bed. I took pictures, then put her into her bed where she promptly started whining. I told her she could sleep on the floor next to my bed. So that is where she fell asleep. Sometime during the night she went back to her own bed as she was nowhere to be found near my bed in the morning. I was even careful to not step on her. If only I had known she wasn't there.

Face view of Emma sleeping amongst the pillows on my bed!

Then yesterday, while Amber was in school, Emma played out in the front yard. She found a hard hat in the garage and decided to add that to her daily attire. Her adventures began with digging in the front yard where we took a tree out last year. We still haven't replaced the grass, so it is a big pile of dirt. There were construction workers at the neighbors house watching Emma and laughing at her digging in the dirt with her hard hat on! I thought it was quite amusing myself. By the time I got outside to take pictures, she was using this little turtle (a sandbox toy) as a bike. Her imagination keeps her entertained, especially during the times Amber isn't around to entertain her.

It seems as if when life gets comfortable, God steps in and says, HA HA, fooled ya. You need more trials. I feel as if this is how it has been the past couple of weeks. We were getting comfortable with the hand that had been dealt to us in life. John had a good job, I was getting a few clients here and there, and the kids were relatively happy.
Yet, when we

Jam, jelly, and fire

Okay, I have to tell a funny story. Yesterday I was making strawberry jam and apple jelly. Okay, that wasn't the funny part! Well, we were on the last batch of apple jelly. The apple jelly had boiled and I was trying to take it off the burner so it wouldn't burn while I was putting it in jars. I know, you think you know what's coming next. Yep, you guessed it. The jelly spilled over the side of the pan. Well, because the burner was still on the jelly landed on the very hot burner. I didn't think anything of it and started quickly gathering the remaining jars. All of a sudden there were flames. At this point, I have to give Kudos to John for being so level headed at that point. I started freaking out and he grabbed a lid, threw it on the flames, and turned the burner off. This was all before I could even get a sound out! Fear coursed through my veins as I thought about what a fire could do! I calmly finished bottling the jelly, even as the jelly continued to smolder on that burner. The whole house was full of smoke. But I guess it wasn't enough to set off our fire alarm. I guess it is time to check the batteries once again!
Whew! We finished, and then it was cleanup time. I was looking for something to use for stove clean up, but John kindly offered to clean the stove. What a godsend. I was not looking forward to cleaning the burnt mess off. Luckily it just scraped off as we have a flat top stove. Scary. But looking back at it, I am finding humor in my canning mishaps. After all, how fun would it be to talk about canning jam if I didn't have a horror story to tell and to laugh about.
So, now that it is all done, here are some pictures of the lovely jam and jelly! Doesn't it look yummy? It was so wonderful to sample the jam on homemade bread. Thanks to Leslie for bringing homemade bread over. She didn't even know we were making jam. It was so perfect.

Isn't it beautiful? We are excited to have this homemade jam and jelly!

Night time adventures

Last night I had Young Women board meeting at my house. So John was doing his best at keeping himself and the kids out of the way. After all, it was bedtime for the girls! After board meeting I heard noises coming from my bedroom and saw the lights on. So, thinking John was back there with Timothy, I headed to my room. Surprise, surprise, but who was in my room? Emma. She was sitting there quietly going through stuff on my headboard. She had a necklace that she was taking out of the box and watching it fall back in in. I reacted very calmly and told her to get into her own bed! Not ten minutes later she was asleep.
Short entry today, sorry. Just looked at the time. Time to get Emma from Preschool. The fun begins!

Epiphany

As I was waiting for Amber to get out of school I was watching Emma play on the playground. I sat under a tree and just let her play. I love watching her going down the slide. Then she decided to climb up the slide. At one point I watched her try to get onto what I call the fire pole. That's what it looks like. I didn't think she would do it by herself. All of a sudden she was hanging in midair. One hand on the pole and one hand on the bar next to the platform. I was about to jump up and rescue her when she figured out how to get her feet around the fire pole and slide down. Then all proud of herself she comes over to me, "Mom, did you see that?" So I had to will my heartbeat to slow down. A few moments later I saw her climbing over the edge of the slide. There was a little ledge that didn't connect to anything else except one of the main poles of the entire playset. Yikes. She grabbed onto that and just hung there. Once again I debated going to rescue her! And once again she climbed down the pole with no visible harm!
So, here's my epiphany. My kids don't need me to step in and save them from everything I perceive to be harmful. They are capable of taking care of themselves (to an extent). I realized that I have told them No a lot of times just because I didn't think they knew how, or that they were too little, or just plain couldn't do something. I guess I shouldn't do that. I have probably squashed a lot of their zest for life just because I was fearful of them branching out and doing something without me! So, maybe if I am reminded of this epiphany I will be able to enable my kids to accomplish great things, and I don' t have to be the one that dictates what or how they do it!
And now that my epiphany is complete, here are a few pictures to enjoy!





Emma putting grass on Emma's head!
The end result. Emma ended up looking like a chia pet!

Time Out

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Deseret Book's Time Out for Women on Friday night and Saturday in Logan. I left John home with the kids and picked up LeAnn downtown on Friday afternoon. We headed up to Logan. Of course at 4:00 it is already pretty busy on I-15 so we were stuck in traffic for a while. But, we still made it to Logan by 6:00. We checked into our hotel and booked it to USU. We had tons of fun. I'm not sure we got much sleep. We stayed up late and then had to be back at USU by about 8:30 in the morning. We had an unbelievably amazing experience!
The kids survived the night without me, yay! John even survived. It is so good that he is willing to take the kids so I can have time for me. The kids really enjoy having time with Daddy. Unfortunately, when I got home John told me Timothy had not been feeling well. Makes me feel bad sometimes knowing I left and then Timothy gets sick. But everything was under control and I didn't have anything to worry about.
This morning was difficult as I am still exhausted. No sleep over the weekend really does me in! But we got Amber off to school, and on time! An accomplishment for us this morning. We even had time for Amber to look through her things as she was supposed to take something green to school today. Thanks to Julie for letting us know. I rarely call people early, but I knew she would be up and getting her kids ready. It helps to have somebody who knows what is going on. Most days I certainly feel like I don't.
Now we get to enjoy some time without the kids fighting. Emma is trying to play the piano and Timothy is intent on making a mess. He gets into everything. So much for trying to childproof. He can get around anything.
Timothy is a bottomless pit. I made pancakes for breakfast with apple pie filling in them. Timothy ate 5! But where does he put it? With metabolism like his, wow. I can't imagine what it would be like.

Pictures!

I just had to share a few pictures of the kids from yesterday. Timothy was just way too cute and the girls were actually looking cute. I took these pictures of them all dressed up with somewhere to go!


Emma, Amber, Timothy

This is Timothy, mad at me for putting him down long enough for a picture. He was tired and hungry!

Cute knees, don't ya' think?

Funny things!

Funny things happened in the past couple of days. I think I'll write about those things.

This morning Emma was trying to sneak up on me and tickle me, at the request of my dear husband. However, after a couple of times of letting her get me, I started turning in my chair so I was facing her. Of course, she couldn't get me then. She played along for a while and then she said, "Mom, stop! Daddy told me to tickle you!" She was so upset that she couldn't tickle me. At that point I had to let her tickle me.

Last night we were at my dad's house for dinner. As we were getting ready to leave, I found Amber with her hand in Grandpa's candy jar. I was teasing her and told her she couldn't have any. She looked at me, shook her head back and forth, and said "Too bad, Grandpa said I could!"

After the girls went to bed last night, Timothy was nowhere near ready for sleep. So we riled him up with a game of peek-a-boo and the tickle monster. We were all laughing so hard. It is so much fun when Timothy laughs. I think I probably lost about 50 pounds last night just from laughing!

Amber still maintains that Chicken Nuggets are not real. They are just food. So I asked her today if that means Chicken Nuggets are fake. She said yes. But then I asked her how she can eat them if they are fake. Then she said they are just food, that's how she eats them.

I was sitting in the living room and all of sudden Emma started screaming. I told her to come over to me so she could tell me what was wrong. She said she couldn't. Being just a tad annoyed, I got up and went to her. I felt bad for being annoyed when I found her laying on the floor with her barrette stuck in the carpet. It took all I had to not laugh before rescuing her from her predicament.

There were more funny things, but at the moment, I think I am having a senior moment, as John puts it. I can't seem to remember the things I wanted to share. It will hit me at 2 a.m. and I will find myself unable to sleep.

Boredom reigns!

Now that school is in session, Amber gets really bored at home. She's been bugging me all afternoon to find something for her to do. She read books, did an art project, and she is currently playing hair salon with my head while I type! Ouch. She hasn't quite learned the art of brushing hair. But I can endure a little pain so I don't hear the complaints, "Mom, I'm bored!"

Emma and Timothy have been having fun while Amber is in school. I think they get away with a lot more when Amber isn't around. Emma loves playing with Amber's toys. Plus, they get treats that Amber doesn't get. If only Amber knew what she was missing while she was at school. She might not be so eager. I'll just not tell her what happens while she's gone.

Here's another cute slideshow of the kids. Timothy is such a happy baby and it wasn't too hard to snap a picture of his adorable smile. The difficult part was snapping the picture before Emma stole the spotlight! I have such adorable kids.

First day of Kindergarten

Today was Amber's first day of Kindergarten. She was so excited last night that it was hard to get her to go to sleep. I wanted her to get good sleep so she wouldn't sleep through class. I know how tired she gets. It was kinda hard to let her go. For me, Kindergarten is a sure sign that my baby is growing up. She looked like such a big girl, all dressed for school with her backpack. We met Julie and her kids so we could walk together. It was about a 15 minute walk. We had a good walk and then I waited with Amber until she went into her classroom. I wanted to stay with her, but knew if I did it would make it harder for her. Plus I had the two younger kids with me.

It was a cooler morning so it was really nice to walk. We weren't so hot. It was a good walk. We took the shortcut through the field. Talk about a workout. Pushing a double stroller laden with Emma and Timothy is no easy task when on the grass. Hmmm . . . maybe tomorrow I'll make Emma get out and walk over the grass! We'll see. Take one day at a time.

Timothy fell asleep on the way home. I think our schedules are going to be a little off for a while. Getting up earlier and all the exercise. I have gotten used to Timothy's schedule, but we are messing it all up. He will still take naps, but when? He slept for about and hour and a half after we got home. I should have taken advantage of just having Emma awake. I could have at least gotten unpacked from our weekend adventures!

After school Amber was not too keen on the idea of walking home. She wanted me to carry her backpack. I think the whole idea of school and walking has lost its luster!

Anniversary

Seven years!! My how time flies. I thought it would be fun to go back and recap what has happened over the past seven years. I'll start with 2001.

2001- John and I were married Sept. 1st. We were married in Salt Lake and then drove back to Michigan. I was starting my second year of law school and John had a good job at the USPFO for the National Guard.

2002- We were still living in Michigan. A couple of weeks before our anniversary we were able to take a trip to Maine. We enjoyed the drive and had a good time. At that time I was also about three months pregnant with Amber. Earlier in the summer we had driven to Wisconsin where my brother was married. We brought my younger sister and brother back to Michigan with us. It was fun to have them for the week they were here. We flew back to Utah with them on July 4th.

2003- We had just moved to Utah. I had finished my classes and needed to do an externship for the next three months. Amber was about 6 months old at that time. Earlier in the year we had found a house close to my parents for a good price. It was a crazy year. John had found a National Guard unit to be transferred to. Unfortunately, this is also the year we found out John would be deployed. We had only been in Utah for a few short months when we knew for sure he would be deployed.

2004- This was a busy year. John was deployed at the beginning of January to Afghanistan. Amber turned one in February. I took the bar in February. At Easter time I took Amber to Michigan. I was doing volunteer work during the summer until I got a job. John surprised my by getting leave to come home a few months earlier than planned. He was actually home for our anniversary. It was nice to have him home for a short time!

2005- A lot happened this year too. My mom passed away in January, John came home for good in March, Cynthia came to visit for a while, and Emma was born in May. Wow, just in the first six months of the year. We celebrated our four year anniversary, but it felt like we had just started over again. John had been gone for so long and we had a lot of adjustments to make when he came home. Amber had a lot of adjustments to make with babysitters. At the beginning of the year she was with Bonnie. Then John was home. Then Cynthia was here, then I was home after having Emma. Then the girls were with Maegen, then they were with Jaime.

2006- Wow, five years! We actually had a very slow year, so to speak. Not much excitement this year. Although we did lose a ready babysitter. My sister went to college so we lost our last minute babysitter! Amber turned three and started going to the Boys and Girls club this year. It was nice to have the extra time in the car with her before going to work. Emma was with Andrea, just a few houses away. It was nice to have the babysitter close to home. Drop off and pick up were way easy!

2007- You know, sometimes we do things without knowing what the end result is going to be, or how things are really going to turn out. This is the year I quit my job on faith and prayer. At the time I really wasn't sure how it was going to work, but both John and I felt it was the best thing for us at the time. I knew I could work at home, and I had options. Timothy joined us in October, just in time for Halloween. At Christmastime we drove to Michigan to visit John's family. It was a good trip. The kids were amazing. They fought very little.
I started bringing in more work towards the end of the year.

2008- This year so far has been crazy. Amber turned five, Emma turned 3. John and I have been married for seven years! So far we have had a good year. We've been busy, but we've also had fun. John enjoys his job, I've been involved with a couple of HOA's, and the kids are growing up! Amber started Kindergarten, and Emma started preschool.

Looking back at the years, it looks like we have a lot to celebrate. Although we've had our trials, we have had a good life together. We are so blessed. Hooray for seven years, when some predicted we would last for not more than two!

Procrastinating the inevitable

Some days I feel overwhelmed the minute I wake up. This morning was no exception. When I woke up I remembered why I had such trouble getting to sleep last night. Lists and lists of things to do before I go out of town and only a few short hours to accomplish anything. This is why I procrastinate even more. Things just add up and get out of control! But hey, life wouldn't be so much fun if I was always on top of everything.

Yesterday was garbage pickup day. The garbage truck broke down after only emptying two garbage cans on my circle. Another one came a couple of hours later to empty the rest. But, in the seven garbage cans lining the center of the circle, they skipped mine. So I called Salt Lake County Sanitation. I really don't want to leave a garbage can full of ick while I go out of town. Plus I need the room in the can for the next week! They told me they would come pick it up today. So I get a special pickup just for my house since they skipped us on our normal day. If they miss me today, I will be severely disappointed with the services in Salt Lake County.

The kids are all downstairs watching a movie. My goodness, you would think world war 3 started when I didn't get the right one started. Amazingly enough the girls did not want Dora this morning! Yay, I am sick of Dora. I used to think I would never use the TV as a babysitter, but some days it is so useful. Especially on days like today when I need to get some work done before I leave. I have a couple of cases I need to file before I leave, and I need to still pack for my trip. I will do anything right about now to keep the girls from interrupting me. And here I am writing on my blog. Another bout of procrastination hit as soon as I sat down at the computer. At least I am not procrastinating the blog, eh?

Busy day

Yesterday was a busy day, but I still feel as if not much was accomplished. I look at my kitchen and realize the sink is still full of dishes, and there are papers scattered all over the living room, and there are clothes scattered all over downstairs. The clothes are scattered because I'm trying to sort through the girls' clothes so I know what they need for school. I need to know what clothes still fit, and what ones don't. Yikes, it seems like an insurmountable task.

So, instead of working on the clothes, I finally went back to Jazzercise to actually exercise. My goodness, my legs and my arms are killing me today. I feel like I can barely move. I really need to keep up on this exercise thing so I don't get so sluggish. Maybe if I didn't feel so sluggish I would get more accomplished.

When I got home I really didn't feel like sorting clothes. So I decided to put food into buckets for food storage. We had gotten buckets at Macey's for real cheap on their emergency preparedness sale. That was my exciting purchase of the week! I filled the ten buckets we had and realized I was probably about ten buckets short. Wow, I didn't realize we were doing so well with our food storage. Thanks to one of my aunts that helped us out a few months ago. We have wheat, flour, rice, beans, dry milk, almost everything you can imagine, except for water. Hmmm . . . maybe we'll get to that point. It has been a long process getting to the point we are at now. It has been a big help to have the relief society in my ward have a food storage focus each month. It has helped me tons to know how much I need, and somebody even priced a lot of the items and had comparisons each month for us! Whew, it has been quite the journey.

While I was filling the buckets, I decided I didn't want to keep going up and down the stairs, so I asked Amber to help me. She actually stopped to help me the first time I asked her. And I even interrupted Dora. Gasp! She helped bring buckets upstairs, and she counted bags of flour, rice, and sugar so I knew how much I had and could assess how many buckets I needed. Wow, she was such a big help. I was so proud of her. When I told her that I was so happy with her, the smile on her face was so big. I'm not sure it could have gotten any bigger. She felt so good when I praised her for her help. Some days she can be the sweetest girl. Yesterday just happened to be one of those days.

For a few minutes we went to visit with Aunt Andrea. I talked to her about canning as we are getting ready to do more canning this year. Last year we did peaches, salsa, applesauce, and apple pie filling. We want to do more this year. It takes a lot of time, but I think it is a lot of fun to get together and have canning parties. The kids play while a bunch of us adults get together and prepare the jars, etc. I can't wait. When we first got there, I had told the girls they could not get in the little pool in the front yard. Well, when I turned around to leave, there they both were, kneeling in the pool. After about 2 seconds, Emma fell down getting wet from her waist down! I was so mad, but it was so hard not to laugh. It was a funny sight even though I had told them no. So they got in trouble. Fortunately for them I still fed them dinner.

After dinner I went to the Book Review group for Relief Society. I really enjoy talking about the books we read. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to read books that I would usually not think to read. It has been fun to have something to do that doesn't revolve around the kids. This is something for me and it is something that isn't a necessity of life. I love the time I have to rejuvenate. Then I can return home and deal with the chaos that has become part of my home!

Amber and Emma were asleep when I got home. Sometimes they will wait for me to get home so they can say goodnight. But they were so tired. I tickled Amber's foot and she didn't budge. She was so far into dreamland that I just let her sleep. It was good to see them asleep.

Crazy day

Today was just one of those strange days. First off, the girls slept in. Amber slept until about 8 and Emma slept until about 8:30. I woke Emma up for breakfast! Crazy! This rarely happens. But this is the last week they get to sleep in.
Amber had Kindergarten assessment testing today. John was able to stay home so he could take her. I had to be in Provo at the same time so it was really helpful for John to have a flexible work schedule. John went in to work after Amber's testing and Kim stayed with my kids. She has been such a help to me. I'm not sure how I would survive without her help.
Another strange thing, Amber took a nap and Emma didn't. Usually it is the opposite. It is no wonder that I found the following situation you see in the pictures here.

At bedtime Emma kept trying to keep herself awake. Next time I checked on her this is what I found, Emma asleep on the floor.

I think Kim must have worn the kids out today while I was in court. Emma was especially tired.




And of course, Amber was still awake. When she saw the camera she insisted I take a picture before I leave her room. This was about 9 p.m. and she had gone to bed about 8 p.m. Maybe a long nap this afternoon wasn't such a good idea! Although it gave Kim a chance to get some zzzzzzzzzzzzz's!

Family, friends, etc.

I always knew there was something good that could come out of living in Magna! Sorry Greg, I had to say it. My brother's stake in Magna does a family fun fair every year. A lot like the Neighborhood Party my stake puts on, but on a much larger scale. There were tons of games for the kids to play, all you can eat hotdogs (Yuck!), snowcones, popcorn, cotton candy (Yum!), and lots of sun!! We used it as a reward for the girl's behavior all week long. As long as they were good, we told them we would go to the family fun fair. They did their best. They had their moments, but I really couldn't expect perfection out of them 24/7. They had so much fun at the fair. Of course, Greg was glad we were there because it gave him an excuse to act like a little kid. It is no wonder he was so excited about taking the girls around to the games! Emma really surprised me on the inflatable toys. There was one that was an obstacle course and I thought she would get scared and not want to go through it. But she jumped right in and made it all the way through. Yay! Of course Amber's favorite part was the cotton candy. That is all she talked about all week long. That was the first place she wanted to go. Much to her dismay we made her wait until she had played a couple of games before she could have cotton candy.
Here's some pictures of the family fun fair.


On Sunday we had the opportunity to visit with the Huddleston's for a while. It was a very good visit. I have never seen Susan outside, but as we were getting ready to leave, she followed us outside! Amber had a good time with Tom. She took a walk, and then he took her out to the backyard to show her the flowers and such. Tom was giving her a flower lesson. It was so cute. I think amber enjoyed the visit. Not to mention that the Huddleston's have a nice stash of toys that the kids, including Timothy, could play with while we were there. I never knew they had such a kid-friendly home!
We left Huddleston's and made our way to the Elgan's home, where we stopped and chatted for a while. The kids got to play and wear themselves out. Oh my were they tired when we got home! But they went to sleep fairly quickly. On the way home I was racing the girls. Almost as if they planned it they both fell down at the same time, one scraping her ankle, the other scraping her knee. Of course, this minor accident called for Band Aid therapy when we got home! We really enjoyed being able to visit with neighbors, friends, etc. It was well worth the exertion of a Sunday evening walk!
So, that was our weekend. We had fun, but most of all, we enjoyed the Family time we had.

Perspective

What do you say to someone you have never met before, you've heard stories about, and is going to be teaching your 5 year old in Kindergarten? That is the dilemma I faced yesterday during Amber's school orientation. Mrs. Partridge had all the information I needed in a packet of papers that I could have picked up on my own. However, I think it was good for Amber to be introduced to her classroom before the first day of school. I still cannot believe she will be in school. Sending her to preschool just wasn't as traumatic for me as sending her to Kindergarten.

On another note, Amber said something really funny the other day. She had said she wanted to go to Grandpa's house for dinner because he has chicken nuggets and fries. She then got all excited because the chicken nuggets are shaped like dinosaurs. So, wanting to know what she would say, I asked her if she was sure it was chicken or dinosaur meat in the nuggets. She looked at me all serious, with a look that said DUH!. Then she proceeded to tell me, "They're not real, it's just food!" I thought that was the cutest response.

Just today, John was telling Amber who he went fishing with. When Amber asked who that was, John told her he is the old bishop. So again, all serious like, she asked, "The old, OLD, bishop?" Okay, so it probably isn't funny to you, but to see her face when she asked the question, I was cracking up.

I tell these stories because these stories are instrumental in my change of perspective. I have struggled more than I expected with staying at home. Some days it is all I can do to keep it all together. But then to have Amber say something I did not expect, or to do something silly, I am reminded why I love my kids and why I chose to stay home while they are little. Amber has allowed me to see little glimpses of the world through her eyes.

More summer fun!

Instead of doing the things that we should have done at home, we went out to have some fun again. We went back to Thanksgiving Point yesterday to visit the farm that we didn't get a chance to see last week when we went to the Dinosaur museum. It was so much fun to watch the girls get excited about the animals. Emma wasn't thrilled with many of the animals until we got to the chickens the second time. I suspect her interest may have been fueled by the announcement I had just made. Time to go.
We left the farm and sat in the shade next to a little playground they have there so we could eat lunch. Yumm . . . PB&J. I don't think we ever eat anything different for lunch. We are a peanut butter family. We ate lunch, rested, played, etc. Then it was time to come home.
My sister in law, Cori, joined us on our adventure. We thought we could oust Jeff from his position as favorite with my kids. But neither of them would admit that they like Cori better. Regardless, we had a blast. Like always, when we are out having fun, the time runs too short and the girls do not want to leave. Timothy couldn't care less what we did at that point.
Emma and Timothy fell asleep in the car on the way home. Amber would have, except she is getting real good at recognizing when she is about to fall asleep. So she jabbered the whole way home, and then refused to take a nap. It's all good because we had a very good day. The kids were so well behaved yesterday, I was so impressed.

Adventures last week

So I haven't figured out how to put a lot of pictures on at the same time, so I'm making a new post so I can post more pics of our adventures last week!

Timothy (carried by Kim) at This is the Place state park.



Emma on the pony ride at This is the Place state park.








Amber on the pony ride.



Emma spent most of her time in the engine of this train at This is the Place state park. It was a lot of fun.






Amber running away from the train.





Timothy intrigued by a touch and feel exhibit at the dinosaur museum.







Amber at the Erosion table in the dinosaur museum. This is their favorite place in the museum.





Emma loved to touch all the touch and feel exhibits. She was glad everything wasn't off limits. She learns best by touching.





The picture isn't very good, but Amber came down the slide with one of her swim teachers on the last day of swim lessons.



Amber and Emma playing in the water at the end of swim lessons. They loved playing in the water.







And because I just figured out how to put a slideshow of pictures on here, I'm adding that, although some pictures are repeats of what I've already put on here.