Wishing on a star

What's a winter with no snow?

2012-01-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

Heaven.

Unless you got a new sled for Christmas. Then it's the pits. Luckily for my little troops we had some decent snow a little while back and on a Saturday too! Jeff got them all bundled up first thing in the morning and took the 3 older ones sledding. I stayed home with the baby and lamented the end of 50+ degree January days.

Grandpa

2012-01-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa passed away this last Tuesday. My mom volunteered herself along with me to help put pictures together to display at the funeral. It was such a treat as I've never seen any of these pictures before. Or even any of my grandparents from their early years. I thought I'd share just a few of my favorites.

Grandma and Grandpa, Driggs, Idaho. I think about 1945(?). Not quite married.

Grandpa served in the military for 2 years. First in Camp Roberts, CA and later in both Germany and Torino, Italy. Just as he was called to the front lines, the war ended.

Grandpa home on furlough:

My Grandpa came from a teeny, tiny town in Idaho. Love his cowboy hat.

2012-01-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

The home computer is down. We had a wonderful Christmas though. The kids got the big things they wanted. McKay was so excited about everything he got, even if it was "boring" stuff like clothes and a thermos.(aren't we cool parents?) Sophie was a little disappointed she didn't get a Rapunzel doll. In my defense (and Santa's) she didn't really make it well known how much she wanted one. But she did get a lot of other things she wanted and a few happy surprises as well. Lyndsi seemed really happy with her haul as well, especially the shaved ice stand she received for her dolls. Kids plus Christmas equals the best.

We've spent the week playing and cleaning up the mess. It's been great. Everyone is back to a regular schedule soon which is sounding just as nice.

Overcome

2011-12-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday our Sunday School lesson was from Revelations. I noticed the teacher constantly referring our need to overcome. It was one of those lessons that feels specifically for you-or rather me in this case. I love it when someone says something in a way that changes my perspective.

Because of that lesson I've been working on "overcoming" this week. Overcoming clutter. My Christmas to-do list. Sin and mistakes. A sore knee. My dislike of making my kids cold lunch. It's been good. Overcoming I'm finding requires change, though. Never an easy thing. Not only do you have to remember that you are trying to be different and better but you have to actually do something about it. Constantly. Even when you don't want too. Even when it seems impossible. But you do it because you have reached a level of commitment with yourself where there is no going back.

2011-11-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

I'm really looking forward to sending my off-track kids back to school. I've loved having them home (mostly), but I'm not getting any Christmas stuff done. Fortunately they go back on Monday. Wahoo!!

Earlier this month we headed out to Denver to visit Jeff's parents. Last time we drove I-70 there. Yuck. And I-80 back. Double Yuck. This time we flew. Awesome. The kids did spectacularly on the flight. Even with the hour delay. Going through airport security with 4 little kids is quite a feat, I'll tell you. The kids were great. Six people with one back pack each, plus laptop, plus purse, plus stroller is a lot of stuff. It was totally worth it though to see the kids excitement through the whole process. On the way home (a 7-something a.m. flight) we had several people compliment us on our well-behaved children and baby. (Like I could control the baby's behavior. lol.) If dirt cheap flights ever come up again, I'd fly with them again in a heart beat.

While there we took the kids back to the Natural History Museum. This time we checked out an exhibit all about our bodies, health, etc. McKay loved it. No, he really loved it. We went the first day and he asked to go back every day after. We were able to take the girls to the American Girl store as well. Let's just say there was a lot of love that weekend. :) Sadly, we found out too late there is a Lego store in the same shopping center. Next time, McKay.

How fun to run into good friends far from home. Terry, our old neighbor, has been doing a lot of work in Denver. Jeff called him up and invited him over for dinner.

And just for fun. Sophie was channeling her inner Lady Gaga. Never mind the fact that she doesn't know who Gaga is. :)

1st Birthday- Twice!!

2011-11-21T07:54:00.000-08:00

Chloe is one now. Where did the time go? It makes me a little sad that she's so big now.

Obviously she's a little sad about it, too. But she is such a fun kid. She loves to entertain our whole family. She really loves to tease her big brother though. And he eats it up. :) She's still crawling everywhere and toothless. I'm ok with that. She does stairs in both directions, cruises along the furniture, handles a sippy cup well and does a little baby jabber. She is best at being the center of attention and pulling funny faces to make us laugh.

Chloe celebrated her birthday first with Gma and Gpa Maynes in Denver. Jeff set a huge piece of cake down in front of her. She poked around a little bit and then picked up the piece and started shoving it in her mouth. It was Grandpa's favorite moment of our trip. :)

We celebrated again later with my parents. She loved playing with the boxes before they were unwrapped, and playing with all her new things once they were unwrapped. She cuddled her baby, read her books, and pushed lots of buttons. The exception would be the doll stroller/walker. I think it scared her when it moved on her. She still doesn't love it, but it will come.

We love our little Chlo-bug and are so glad she's a part of our family!

Hello, sad little blog

2011-11-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

I've missed you. A lot. While we've been apart, I've done lots of fun things. Both with friends and family. Like having silly Twilight parties

Going to the pumpkin patch:

A trip to the cabin:

Celebrating Halloween:

In between all the fun stuff and yummy food I get to eat this time of year, it's just been the same-ol' thing. Homework, dance, soccer, piano. Oh. Not for me. My kids do all these things. I just mostly try to keep the mess to a minimum, hunger under control (theirs and mine-hehe), and some good quality time with this cute guy I kinda like. ;) Lyndsi has started her orthodontic visits at the beginning of the month and just last week she had her expander put in. She's not loving it. It's hard to eat and talk, and she has a new slurping issue that didn't existed prior to her new appliances. McKay is doing well in school and is reading Harry Potter. Sophie couldn't be happier to be in kindergarten. K-kids are the best! And Chloe. My sweet little angel. She's so big and is so delightful to have around. She loves to entertain us all! It's been a great October. We really should catch up more. Maybe we can do lunch sometime? Mwah!

Love,
Me

September in a Flash

2011-10-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

4 miles in
2 nights
4 miles out.
6 miles in between.
7 lakes (at least)
Too much trail food
Little Weight
No compass needed.
4 friends
1 awesome backpacking trip

Lots of junk
Giggly girls
Silly moms
Always a craft
Uplifting thoughts
Time away from boys
And presents! (Hey! That was mine!!)
Forever a good time
Marchant Girls Weekend in Park City

Butterflies
Fairies
Makeup
Music
Dancing
Food
Impromptu Fairy party/Costume Picnic

First.
Ever.
Principal Pride Award.
Happiness.

Reasons to NOT bring your iPad to church

2011-09-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Jeff is loving taking his ipad to church and having all his reference materials, scriptures, etc right at his fingertips. But last night we discovered a few good reasons not to take it to church. :)

The willing little sister:

The unsuspecting parents:

These photos brought to you by a boy who was too quiet during church to be up to any good:

Sophie Turned 5

2011-09-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love family birthdays. It's low key, low stress for me. Sophie really wanted a party, though. I opted for a family party where we played games/did crafts like a regular party. (Isn't compromise great?) I made simple little invites and taped them to all the bedroom doors.

This year it was all about the princesses. We played fairy tale sculptorades which all the kids loved and made our own lip gloss. Sophie wanted a pink princess cake, so (thank you Tiff!) she got one.

Sophie and her magic pumpkin

The cake

Sophie got some new clothes (including a couple of shirts that had matching shirts for both her favorite dolls), a new Blythe doll, some books, the Play-doh ice cream maker, a Belle princess dress-up, and a cardboard castle she can color herself. She was thrilled!

Top of Utah

2011-09-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

This has been an exhausting summer. I have done nothing it seems but run. Literally. Up at 5:30, out the door by 6, running 4, 6, 9, 13 miles, 3-4 times per week. I didn't think it would be so tiring, but it was. I also wasn't sure it would be worth it. The thought of not meeting the goal (and flushing a $50 registration fee down the toilet) kept me going. No one wants to not meet their goals, right?

Sat. August 27, I woke up at 4:30, loaded a bus sometime after 5, crossed the start line about 7. I ran for 13.1 miles and finished in 2 hours 11 minutes and 38 seconds.

Were all the hours and sore muscles worth it? Absolutely.

Walt Disney

2011-08-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

While helping Lynsdi with a project, we came upon these two quotes. I really liked them, so I thought I'd share.

"When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable."

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."

First Day of School

2011-08-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

The smell of pink erasers, freshly sharpened pencils, glue, crayons, paper...I love back to school time. That's before we even get to the fact I send children away for several hours at a time. My house stays clean and quiet. Errands get done quickly or slowly, as I determine. :)

Ms. 4th Grade

Doesn't like being back in school.
Has her first man-teacher.
Brought home her first text book homework already.

Mr. 2nd Grade

Loves his teacher.
Thinks his teacher is the best.
Wants to please his teacher.

Little Miss Kindergarten

Has the best teacher ever.
Loves that Mom got homework on the first day and she got cake.
Wasn't scared because "Mom, all my friends will be there." Insert dramatic eye-roll. (Hers, not mine.)

Miss Mobile

Not just yet.
But she's trying.
Hard.

Random Babblings

2011-07-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Such a lame title. Oh well.

Just hanging out in my room with Jeff's laptop, once again avoiding the work that needs to be done in the little girls room. I think I have managed to ignore it for two weeks now. I go in there as little as possible. The baby sleeps in the library in her pack and play for nap time, and there's a small cache of diapers on the main floor. Today, though, I can avoid it no longer. Ugh.

Training for the Top of Utah half marathon is on-going and exhausting. I'm up to 9 miles now and can run anywhere between a 9:45 mile/min and around 10:20. Depends on who I'm running with. I'm tired all day long, but a good hard-work kind of tired. I am noticing benefits though and do enjoy the torture of running. I'm getting stronger, faster, and leaner. It's been fun.

The kids are on year-round school and will be starting next Tues. I think end of July is a fabulous time for them to start. Then again, they're only on-track for 3 weeks, so we'll get a extra bit of summer break later.

Sophie starts Kindergarten this year. I question this decision nearly daily, wondering if she really is old enough and prepared enough to take on being a kindergartner, most likely the youngest one in her class. The only thing that keeps me sane about it is knowing it was a prompting. Heavenly Father would not lead me or Sophie astray, so it's off to school she goes!

McKay just informed me there are only 117 days or 20 weeks and 40 days til Christmas. Just in case you're wondering.

Me? I'm still enjoying summer. I'm not thawed out enough to be anticipating Christmas just yet. Hasn't this been a beautiful, mild summer? Loving it.

Ok. Can't put it off much longer. If I'm not back in 30 minutes, send someone in after me.

Playroom Poll

2011-06-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I've done a poll. I've been wondering about the effectiveness of having a playroom, hence the poll to the right. Always, sometimes, never type surveys never tell the whole story, so feel free to share what works for your family and what doesn't with the kids play spaces. Thanks!

Visiting Grandpa

2011-06-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

My grandpa is not doing well. My mom suggested that we might want to go visit, just in case. Jeff and I decided to take the kids over last night and I'm so glad we did.

Grandpa is at the point where the main goal is to just keep him comfortable. He's on oxygen and seemed to wheeze quite a bit. My parents visited with him on Friday and Mom said he barely said two words the whole time. When we got there he was watching the end of Bonanza with my grandma. We handed the baby over to Grandma (she's a baby-lover for sure!). As soon as Grandpa saw Chloe, he perked right up, playing with the baby, cooing at her, singing to her. He held her without dropping her, even though she was a little heavy for his frail muscles. Chloe was so good for him, too. She was bright eyed and showed no anxiety being held by a strange old man with tubes strapped to his face. I'm really glad we took the time to go visit.

2011-06-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Denver Day 1-
Leave Salt Lake.
Sleep at Cabin.

Day 2-
Drive.
Stop at Colorado National Monument

Drive.
Clean up car sickness.
Drive some more.
Arrive and bombard G'ma and G'pa with noise and hugs.
Tour the mission home, pick rooms and explore the neighborhoods.
Float "submarines" down little stream and catch them further down

Day 3-
Go for 2 mile run in unfamiliar neighborhood. (But Jeff came, so it counts as a date, right?)
Head to Denver Museum of Science and Something or other
Enjoy space, dinosaur, mummy, and animal exhibits.

View of the Denver skyline from inside the museum

Visit downtown LDS chapel, State Capital bldg, and the 16th street mall

Playing one of the many pianos down the middle of the 16th Street mall.

Toured some of the mission area
Play Disney Apples to Apples

Day 4-
Attend sacrament meeting.
Listen to Pres. and Sis. Maynes give wonderful missionary talks.
Lazed around out of doors and in on a beautiful, sunny, warm afternoon.
Toured the temple grounds.

Day 5-
Hiked in and around Red Rock Amphitheater

Picnicked at local park

Took the kids swimming (minus Pres. and Sis Maynes)
Froze.
Relaxed.

Day 6-
Said goodbye.
Met up with Uncle Andy
Drove through windy So. Wyoming.
Thought most of it was pretty (til So. Western WY)
Stopped in Coalville for ice cream
Delighted by the "locals" hanging out for their afternoon coffee.

Arrived home safe and sound.

Our Own California Adventure

2011-05-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

A week is never a long enough vacation for me. I wish I had more time to vacate with my little family, but the time we did have was great.

We hit the beach

Sophie is still terrified of someone being thrown in the ocean. It still makes me laugh. Personally, I prefer smaller, more secluded beaches like on this trip.

Disneyland was great. I didn't know how Sophie would do with the meeting the characters. She can be a little shy and unsure, but she loved it. McKay and Lyndsi still loved it as well.

We spent a lot of time in Fantasy Land. I didn't mind, though. The kids all (except Chloe who, obviously, didn't meet height requirements) wend on the bigger rides: Space Mountain, The Matterhorn, and Big Thunder Railroad. Pirates wasn't as scary. The Buzz Lightyear ride was just as awesome as remembered. Pinocchio's Daring Adventure gets the award for Most Times Ridden. (Thanks Soph.) Our time at the Haunted Man was extended due to the ride breaking down for a minute. Jeff and I happened to get to do that one with just the two of us. It really was kind of nice. We were headed down hill (going backwards) in the graveyard section when the ride came to a halt. There was a nice starry sky, a cool breeze, a cute boy by my side...Oh and the most annoying bird ever screeching "Caw! Caw!) every thirty seconds or so. Which is fine for a minute, but 10 minutes later I was ready for a BB gun. ;)

McKay and Sophie spent most of their time clamoring for their dad's favor. McKay, ever the gracious one, often ended up with a different riding companion and left Dad to his persistent little sister. Which left Lyndsi and Chloe completely to myself and we had a grand time together.

We traded lots of pins. My parents, brother and his girlfriend were having a grand time with this and stopped at every pin trader we saw.

Captain Eo was playing. We were all so excited to see it, but in the end it was a little lame. At least the dancing was awesome. We watched the birds and flowers sing in the Enchanted Tiki Room, toured Sleeping Beauty's castle and stood in line for hours to meet Rapunzel, princesses, and Fairies. Thankfully McKay spared us by opting out of watching Jedi training. :) The hours in line were worth it though to see Sophie squeal with excitement when she saw Belle.

Of course you can't see the excitement here, but she was SO excited.

Disneyland was great, but we spent a lot more time in CA Adventure than I would've thought. Not quite the same feel as DL, but much less crowded and had some perks of it's own. Like the Monsters Inc ride. We've done it before, but had a lot of fun on it this time. We met Sully, too! There were all kinds of fun street performances (including The Incredibles and The Little Green Men drum corps) and outdoor stage ones (That Mickey can really bust a groove!) My mom convinced us that we had to see the Aladdin show, which was awesome. We did the Tower of Terror (McKay even tried it! but-couldn't convince the girls),

Bugs Land (still not my favorite place), and the more carnival-ish pier rides. Toy Story Mania was SO much fun. Didn't dig the Jumping Jellyfish. Something about not being in an enclosed car makes me nervous. (Loved Tower of Terror, though!) We had a great time on River Rapids, too.

At least Mom, Lyndsi and I did. Thankfully we all had on quick drying clothes, though. ;) And as predicted, my mom loved Soaring Over California. I was surprised though that the kids all loved it too.

The World of Color fizzled out on us the first night we tried to watch it. We caught it Friday night (our last night), but by then I was one. My feet hurt after 5 days of navigating a stroller through two amusement parks, keeping 5 people fed, hydrated, SPF'd and happy, and standing in line. It was pretty, but I wasn't super impressed. But don't take my grumpy, end-of-trip, fatigued opinion. See it for yourself.

One thing we did that was a fun little surprise was the Talk with Crush (from finding nemo). The kids had a great time. In the same building, we got to see a demonstration of how the animation was done for Toy Story and the kids and Jeff attended a class where they learned to draw Goofy. (The results were surprisingly good!) While they were in class, I stayed out in the lobby with a sleeping baby and watched clips of all Disney's cartoons in their various stages of animation.

It was such a great trip. (Cue music- "When you wish upon a star")

Now time to get back to reality.

We're back!

2011-05-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Disneyland was great. Vacations are tiring for parents, though. I decided that today is a vacation from vacation, a little R & R with some (very) light housekeeping thrown in for good measure. Tomorrow life should get back to regularly scheduled routines and to-do lists. Well. As much as possible for off-track time.

Blog-keeping

2011-05-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

It was time to do a little housekeeping here. I deleted a bunch of blogs that hadn't been updated or had gone private. I still love you, but need to declutter my space a bit. If you were deleted and decide to pick up blogging again, let me know and I'll add you back on.

Mack, Mack, He's a Lego maniac!

2011-04-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

McKay's 7! His birthday was last week and it was all about Lego's. Jeff and I and the girls gave him the Hagrid's Hut set from the Harry Potter Lego's. I'm proud to say that with just a little instruction from me on how the instruction booklet worked, McKay did the whole thing by himself!

It's been the year of the birthday party, so we carried the Lego theme over to that as well. Using my friend's fabulous idea (thanks Kirsten!), we invited about a dozen boys over to build and race Lego cars. It was loud and messy and lots of fun. I set up to make-shift tracks and just let the boys go at it.

My favorite moment was when McKay's friend Jaxon showed up. The two of them have this super cute manly little hug that they do every time they see each other. It's been quite awhile since they've played outside of school. It warmed my heart to see them still do it. :) Sadly, I didn't get a picture of it.

McKay got a lot of fun Lego sets, games and other great gifts. He's had so much fun playing with everything and building his new Lego sets all by himself. His face was completely aglow with happiness throughout the whole party. Every single boy he invited came. It was awesome to see how much his little buddies love him.

What a week!

2011-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Man. I'm glad we're starting a new week. The last week has been filled with near comatose children, 4 month shots (and accompanying fever), horrible coughs, a dad who's MIA (only because of tax season tho), and a mom who's been rendered useless for the weekend.

But. With trials come blessings. My mom spent a good part of Friday and almost all of Saturday taking care of my kids. She took Sophie to Kindergarten orientation Friday, took the big girls to help her pick up our bountiful baskets, did my laundry, cleaned my house, played with my kids, brought dinner over Friday night. Saturday afternoon she took the kids to her house where she watched movies with them, fed them (again), took them to their stake roadshow and brought them home. A friend of mine told me just Thursday that moms never stop worrying about there kids. I've reflected on that a lot since I've had to rely on mine so much the last couple of days. I think it's helped me to be both more humble and definitely more grateful.

It hasn't been just my mom though taking care me this week. I've been doing this new healthy eating/fitness competition thing with some friends. One of my teammates knew McKay was too sick for me to go leave for anything, so she dropped off a bottle of V8 Fusion. That might sound silly, but some days it's hard to get in 5 fruits and veggies. It was a huge blessing. Saturday another teammate and good friend who happened to find out that I was sick. (ok. I think I may have mentioned that I felt like I was 2 beds down from death.) She brought dinner in Saturday. Another friend called to see how McKay was doing and could tell by my raspy voice I'd caught something too. She reprimanded me (in the way that we friends do) and said I should've called for help. She would've brought dinner in. She also repeatedly asked what she could do to help out. I know she would've done anything I asked. She's that kind of girl. Unrelated to being sick, another friend dropped by a lovely birthday gift with a personal note that was more gift than anything she could've bought. It made this hard-to-bear week so much more bearable.

I am lucky. Blessed. Fortunate. Grateful. Humble. Pick your adjective. ;)

Oh-and the baby is feeling better despite the runny nose. We've even managed to get a couple of "binky smiles" out of her.

A Little Catch Up

2011-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot going on around here. Instead of several posts, we'll just do a little re-cap.

Chloe started baby food!

She also just had her 4 month check up (at almost 5 months. Oops.) She weighs 13 lb 10 oz (25-50%) and is 26 inches long (90-95%). She's still a happy smiley baby who makes some of the strangest baby noises. We are all completely in love still.

Sophie has been begging for quite some time to get her ears pierced. After learning how to write her last name, she finally got it done. For the record, she didn't cry one bit. No watery eyes either. She's also very diligent about keeping them clean and twisted.

I am embracing another year in my 30s. Jeff, the kids, and my parents spoiled me once again. The girls got me a new turtle garden stone, McKay made me a Club Penguin (his new favorite thing) journal all on his own. Jeff downloaded the Goose Girl for me on his Kindle (which I am liking reading on a kindle). He also got me a new CD, the movie "Young Victoria" and is taking me shopping for running shoes. My parents gave me jewelry, a dress and a skirt. My favorite surprise? Jeff picked up this awesome red velvet cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. It was SO good.

Lyndsi had crazy hair day at school and for once gave me enough notice so we could have a little fun with it. She loved her hair and wore it all day, including to dance.

McKay has been dead to the world. Apparently the flu is going around. Wash your hands people. I've only seen my poor boy wake and talking for a few hours over the last 3 1/2 days. Thankfully he's up and about today showing interest in both food and activity. Hopefully we'll be back to school tomorrow.

And Jeff? You're guess is as good as mine. He's currently slaving away for the tax monster. Less than 2 weeks now! Can't wait for this tax season to be over. Ugh.

And just because she's cute and I love this new thing she's doing with her finger, a little more Chloe.

Day 2-Diary of a Sometimes-Seamstress

2011-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

Having kids really gets in the way of sewing (or any other "me" time, even if it's really not for me.) I managed to get down to my sewing machine around 9 after watching the weigh-in portion of The Biggest Loser (go Moses!!) and playing with my happy baby. I made a lot of progress on the bodice. The 2 front pieces and one side are all sewn together and raw edges surged. The other side has been left open for the zipper. The back piece has both darts in place. The tie is very nearly done. (Husbands don't help with the get-the-sewing-done either.) And it's all pressed. Pressing really makes a difference. If you sew, do it. You'll be glad you took the extra time. After my progress today, I'm glad I gave myself 2 full weeks to get it done. :)

Diary of a Sometimes-Seamstress

2011-03-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've been on a little bit of a hunt for a modest, cute, age appropriate (read: not for grandma or my babysitter) dress for church. It has to be long enough. It has to have a high enough neckline (ok-and backline) to stand alone or use minimal help from some sort of layering tee. It has to be cute. It must be a dress (not a skirt-not that I don't love my skirts). And mostly it has to be affordable. My results turned up..........nada. Nothing. Zilch. Oh-I've found plenty of cute, modest dresses. But they're too rich for my blood (budget-whatever).

My mom passed on her can-do attitude, and my sewing skills have improved immenseley over the last several years. So, why not? I'll try my hand at sewing myself a cute dress!

Today is day one. Here's what I've accomplished so far:

Pattern? Check.
Cute fabric (on sale even)? Check.
Mom and friend on speed dial for help? check and check.

After picking out my pattern from my stash, I loaded up 3 cute girlies and headed to Hobby Lobby. It wasn't my first choice because their cute fabrics are well-known. I didn't really want a "Hobby Lobby" dress. Fortune was with me, though, and I found exactly what I wanted and for 30% off. There was exactly the amount I needed left on the bolt. Sweet. After laundering my 4 yards of undescribed cotton, I set out to do my least favorite part. The cutting. Ummm...yeah. There were a lot of pieces. Which was okay. Then I looked closer. Several pieces needed to be cut out 4 times. One piece 8 times. Phew. Little break. Ok. Back to business. Pattern cut, pinned, and fabric cut. (all 1 million pieces) The left side of the bodice took me 10 minutes to sew together correctly. The right side took 10 seconds. :p I feel like I accomplished a lot on it already.

My goal is to have it finished in time to wear it to church the Sunday after General Conference. Assuming it turns out well, that's when I'll reveal it here as well. That gives me about 2 weeks. Plenty of time to take it slow and do a good job. Wish me luck!

Rose Petal

2011-03-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Sophie was cooing over Chloe continuously calling her "Rose Petal." Which made me first laugh. And second remember.

Do you remember her?

No?

Maybe this will help

This was one of my favorite cartoons growing up. I'm so going in search of it now! What are some of your favorite cartoons from your childhood?

Top 'o the marnin to yeh!

2011-03-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

May your day be filled with rainbows, pots of golds, four leaf clovers and lots of kisses

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

The House: Part III

2011-03-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was waiting for a more spring-alicious day, but I had time and was actually thinking about it. There's some (a lot) of yard work to be done out back. Maybe we'll just call these the "befores."

The outside front:

The side backyard:

The outside back:

The playground:

A Beautiful Day

2011-03-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

After reading my cousins facebook post about all the fun and wonderful things she was anxious to be doing outside, Sophie and I were inspired to get out and ride bikes.

She did really well on her bike. We've never had a great place to teach our kids to ride bikes, so we've been really slow about it. However, this house has a fairly flat and wide driveway. Perfect for 4 year olds learning to ride their bikes.

I even got my bike out and rode around the circle a few times!

(Sorry-no pictures. Imagination will have to suffice for that.)

Chloe was confined to the stroller. Look at those yummy cheeks!

Sunshine

2011-03-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

makes all the difference. It even makes folding laundry seem more appealing.

See? It was my brilliant 4-yr-old who placed all the baskets in front of the sunniest window in the house. I guess she knew that would be about the only thing that could entice mom to fold all that laundry. ;)

Flowers in the Window

2011-02-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

Driving home tonight I was listening to a favorite song thinking how fun it would be to learn to play it really well on the guitar. And then how fun it would be in the next life to have an endless supply of time to learn to play the guitar really well and who I would want to teach me. And then learn all the other things I want to learn. Then I had a sad thought. What if I couldn't learn? What if I weren't able to progress? It made me cry. I realized how much I love to learn and how much I yearn to end up where I can continue to progress and grow and enjoy what I do (and will do). It was a very humbling little moment.

You can find this beautiful photograph here

Happy Birthday Lyndsi!

2011-02-22T01:02:00.000-08:00

My baby turned NINE! She wanted a birthday party this year and planned the whole thing herself. Mom got to play assistant and that was fun. She and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon pouring through Family Fun magazines for games, cutting out felt and paper, and designing the perfect party invitations.

The actual birthday morning-dad made pancakes!

On the big day we made cupcake necklace charms with permanent markers and shrinky dink paper. The girls loved watching the magic that is shrinky dinks. (So fun to introduce a favorite childhood craft to a new generation.) We played "oink, piggy, oink" and musical dress-ups. That was a hoot. My friend gave us the idea. We filled a black garbage bag with all sorts of dress-up items. When the music stopped, the person holding the bag had to put on the first thing they pulled out. Hilarious. The girls loved it. (I can see lots of potential for teenage and even adult fun with this one.) Afterwards we did a photoshoot of each girl. Next were presents. Nine year old girls are fun. Every single one of the ten gifts piled in the living room and a handwritten (and nearly all homemade) card. How cute! Instead of the traditional cake and ice cream, Lyndsi requested an ice cream bar. Oh. My. Goodness. Nine-year-olds can pack away the sugar. Let me tell you...I'm glad I didn't put out all the treats! It was an awesome party for an incredibly wonderful girl who constantly amazes me with her intelligence and insights, delights me with her giggles and is a complete joy to have in my little family. Happy birthday Lou!!

Johnny Depp

2011-02-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

I think my husband is a Johnny Depp wanna-be. First there was the "Cpt. Jack Sparrow" look.

Jack:

Jeff:

Now there is the "Frank-the-math-teacher-from-Madison-Wisconsin"
Frank:

Jeff:

But really-this is his most rumored look-alike:

Hey-at least everybody loves him too. :)

Necessity is the Mother

2011-02-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

of all creation? Invention? Either works here really.

Lyndsi is having a party to celebrate her birthday. She's been so cute about the whole thing-planning everything. More on that later. To appease the miser...I mean the husband...I opted for the frugal route. And I am having so much fun with it. We made her invitations using photoshop and then just printed 12 invites (4 x 6) at Walgreen's. I think it cost just shy of $2.50. And Walgreen's isn't the cheapest by far. (I just happen to really like the quality of my photoshop stuff there.)

The only downside to a 4 x 6 invitation is you need a special sized envelope that runs about $6 a box of 50. In typical fashion, I forgot I needed them til this morning when Lyndsi needed to take a few to school. She's going off track today, so it was really important that her school friends got their invites today. I pulled on my thinking cap and came up with a pretty great idea if I do say so myself.

I grabbed a few pieces of cardstock from my stash and cut it to about 6 x 10. I adhered the photo somewhere near the bottom-center. I folded the ends over and secured it with a cute party hat I cut from my Cricut. I love it! Aside from Christmas cards, I will never need to buy this size of envelope again!

If you're interested in this idea, but don't have a Photoshop program, there are free places online to do the same thing. One of them is picnik.com. (I understand it's pretty easy to use, too.)

The House: Part II

2011-02-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ok. Here's the next installment of our house tour. Certain piles of boxes have been taken care of since the photographing of these rooms, but I'm not going to go back and redo the pictures. You understand, right?

To the left of the robes is our shower. To the right, the WC. Our counters are nice and high and have 2 sinks.

Our lovely soaking garden tub, the entrance to our spacious walk-in closed and to the right of that, our linen closet.

This is the master. It's so nice. Plenty of room for Jeff and I, plus Chloe's cradle and changing table with plenty of room left over for her to play. We LOVE all the natural light we get in here. Eventually, we'd like to stick some chairs by the bay window for a little reading nook.

The little girls' room. The biggest non-master room in the house.

Sophie's side of the room. We've since gone in and straightened up a bit and moved a few things around making it look more orderly.

The craft room. This is my sewing station. Those cupboards to the left? Came with the house. Sweet! I have actually done sewing at that desk since setting it all up. It's been really nice.

The cricut station and the stamping cupboard. Plus the source of all the natural light. It is a great room to craft in, especially in the morning when the room is drenched in sunshine.

And my scrapping table. And where lots of other crafts will one day happen. Plus lots of storage. I am loving all the storage.

That's it for today folks. In upcoming features we'll see the family room, the rest of the basement and some of the exteriors of the home.

2011-01-30T16:20:00.000-08:00

This

has consumed my life lately. She's growing way too fast. So our my other kids. But this one it seems like we can watch her grown by the minute.

People ask us all the time if we're getting any sleep. We actually are. She's been sleeping thru the night for at least a good 2 weeks now. It's heaven. She's a happy baby, too. Smiling all the time. She's recently picked up cooing. She's most chatty right before bed. Jeff would say she gets that from her mother. ;)

Life does go on around our little baby heaven, though. Jeff and I both received callings in our new wards. He's the 11-yr-old scout leader assistant and I am the Wolf Den leader. I am SO excited for the yellow shirt. We both also have given 2 talks each in the last 2 weeks, in 2 different wards. There were too many high counselors present for my comfort level.

Lyndsi insists that she will have a birthday and that she will turn 9. I have finally consented and given her my permission. Now she just has to get dads. She also just read a book. For fun. And she liked it. But don't tell her I told you. I will deny it whole heartedly.

McKay and Sophie are both doing well. They love their new house and primary classes. Life goes on as normal. Only the location has changed.

Life is good, if not a little more slow-paced than before Chloe. We're about to dive head first into tax season. Call me crazy, but I have actually started looking forward to it. It gets hard at times to juggle all the different schedules, but I love having a little me time after the kiddos go to bed and Jeff heads back to work.

I have a few posts coming up and yes, one of them is the rest of the house tour. I've been taking pictures! I haven't forgotten about it. Stay tuned!

2011-01-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

I love a good weekend. And last weekend was fabulous.

Friday and Saturday I once again went to the Get Down With Scrapbooking charity event (supporting the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation). I honestly have not scrapbooked since this event last January. There was no way I was going to be ready, but thanks to a few late nights, Cami (who keeps me company on said nights) and my dear Dr., Dr. Pepper, I was ready in plenty of time.

I managed to pump out 20 (2-page) layouts most with both journaling and a title. Some of them were even cute. ;) Really, I was quite pleased with almost every one. It was so enjoyable for 2 days to sit with good friends and family, scrapbook, chat, win prizes, eat junk, etc. Even the fact that I had to speak in Sacrament meeting on Sunday didn't get me down. I'm looking forward to a year of more consistent scrapbooking and maybe even learning some new techniques. Possibly even playing more with Photoshop Elements more.

If you're interested, here is the link to view a few of my pages. Cami and Anisa's are also there as well. They might not be up right away, so check back.

Sunday Jeff and I had to speak. Ugh. Well. It wasn't too bad. The worst part was putting forth effort when the inspiration wasn't there. Once it hit, though, I had my talk written within a few hours. I wasn't terribly nervous, no overflowing of tears (though I did get a little choked up), and I managed to not read straight from the paper. One talk down. One to go.

Chloe's Blessing

2011-01-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we blessed our sweet little Chloe. Yes. We did it on a Saturday. That seems to be quite common 'round here-at least in our last ward. I knew a lot of people who had done that but had never been to a Saturday blessing myself. I loved it.

The whole thing was very intimate. When I teared up during both the opening song and prayer (which I had to say-thank you Bro. Haight), it was nice to know that people knew why. Partly the Marchant tear-duct syndrome (thanks Grma! ;) and partly I hadn't prepared myself for how few people from Jeff's family would be able to attend between missionary service and illnesses not to mention distance in many cases. So Neal and Karamie-it really meant a lot that you could be there. {hugs} everyone else, I missed you lots.

Back to the blessing. The spirit was strong. Support from family and friends was nearly overwhelming. And of course, my baby was beautiful. Jeff did a great job as always. I am so happy to have a husband who honors his priesthood and is worthy to bless our little princess. Afterwards we had a nice luncheon with plenty of yummy food.

And a big thanks to my mom, my personal photographer when my camera refuses to operate.

Storms and Rainbows

2011-01-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

I had an unexpected low hit me this morning. I didn't know how to make it better. In fact I couldn't see how I could change that particular thing at all with my very limited abilities.

This afternoon a friend called and unbeknownst to her she offered me the solution I didn't think I would be able to find.

Today I am thankful for rainbows that quickly follow storms.

Outside our house summer 09

The House: Part I

2011-01-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

OK. You've asked for it. You've waited for it. And now it's finally here. The first installment of "The House." We'll have to do this in parts though. I don't want to anger anyone, so I'll show you pictures of the rooms that are clean (or were clean when the photos were taken). As we get more done, I'll post more. K? OK.

Here we go!

This is our "formal living room" or the piano room for now. That white door leads to.....

The library!! (Otherwise knows at the "formal dining" room)See all that green? that was formerly a rose-pink reminiscent and paying tribute to the early 90s. All those boxes? Empty. Waiting to be relocated or recycled. We've got a couple of chaise chairs at Ikea all picked out for our reading comfort and pleasure. In this room is another door that leads to the...

Kitchen. (not taken from the angle of the library). Against the wall that is the unintended highlight of the photo is our computer desk, fridge and a decent sized pantry. Also there is plenty of dining space our large table.

And a nice deck off the dining area. I'm thinking come spring I'll put some planters out there and soften the bamboo prison look.

Off the living room we'll go up:

and down the hall

Take the first left and you have:

McKay's room. He's really loving the Pooh Bear border. ;) Really he is begging us to repaint ASAP. In the mean time, he has hung up some solar system stickers and a shark poster to harden the pooh bear image.

The second left:

is Lyndsi's room. I love her room. Sometime I'll have to get a picture looking out her window. She seems fine with the nondescript walls and is loving being on the same floor as her brother and sister while keeping her room all to herself.

Well, folks that's all for today. I promise I'll keep working on unpacking and cleaning. We still have various family rooms, craft room, play room and my room left. Oh and all the outdoor shots too. It'll be worth the wait. Promise.

Picture Updates

2010-12-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

I think we have some major silliness headed our way. 6 wks old and already pulling faces for the camera. ;)

Ahhh...six weeks with a baby. Chloe is:
recognizing mom and dad's voices
eating 4 oz bottles
not really loving her baths
loves her changing table
that's where we do tummy time
is super snuggle
has those gorgeous dark blue baby eyes
sports the sweetest little cheeks you've ever kissed
can pull a pouty face like no one else has here
is super snugly
has her big brother wrapped around her little finger (and grandpa and dad and....)
is a complete joy to have in our family

Sophie loves:
dressing herself
decorating Christmas trees (or doing anything else that requires attention to detail)
having friends come play at her new house in her new, big bedroom
her baby sister
Dale Twinkle (our Christmas elf)
Grampy (my dad)

McKay is into:
1st grade (loves it)
making up games with "levels" in our new house (which also has many levels)
Polar Express
Singing
doing projects (like this fun sand art from cousin Kaylee)
his baby sister (I knew he'd fall in love when he met her)
Harry Potter

Lyndsi is:
nearly 9! Impossible!!
a bit camera shy (unless it's her idea)
enjoying her bedroom on the same floor as everyone else
learning to do some simple gifts and sewing (and doing well at it!)
always dancing around the house
a leader, especially with her brother and sisters
starting to enjoy reading a bit more and doing it on her own without being asked.

I'm Still Alive

2010-12-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

A week and a few days after moving in, I"m still alive. Moving weekend was a bit stressful. First-not knowing if everything would be closed and funded for 3 different families to simultaneously move. Second-we ended up moving in on top of the former owners of this home. The poor people had no extra help and were having to unload boxes at their new house before they could come back and get more. We were blessed with lots of help, great people who not only helped us (thank you! thank you! thank you!) but also just jumped in and helped the other family too. It was well after midnight that we went to bed here. But, nearly everything was out of the old house and thanks to Lyndsi's help and my sister-in-law, Lisa's, help my kitchen was pretty well put away.

How are things a week and half later? Well......the kids are still on mattresses on the floor. There are still lots of boxes to unpack. We haven't set foot inside any home improvement store to even start the process of choosing paint colors. However, we do have both Christmas trees up, have hosted a small family party, set up the craft room, loaded the food storage shelves back up and moved the dog back home. (Poor thing is a little confused about it all still.)

With Christmas this weekend we've had a big slow down in setting up the house, but are really looking forward to being able to get it all done soon. We've had lots of amazing help from good friends and family. I feel so loved and blessed. I have literally been moved to tears several times by the small random acts of kindness people have done for me and my family. I was thinking it was all just coming from our family and old neighborhood, but we have received neighbor gifts from people in our new circle and from another family we don't know (but know aren't in the circle). It makes me feel so good to know people here are aware of what's going on in the 'hood and are stepping up to help us feel welcome. It's all been very humbling and I've realized just how far I still have to go to be who I want to be.

Moving Day!

2010-12-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't know if it would happen this weekend. We've had a crazy week trying to get closed and packed, etc. But, everything came through fine in the end and we are moving today! I'll be offline for a while til we get everything hooked up at our new place. Call or text me instead of email/facebook if you need me. See ya in the new house! (And yes, Em, there will be pictures of it soon.)

Packing is Messy

2010-12-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

It feels like we've been boxing up our house since June. Oh..lol..I have! We had to box up loads of stuff to get our home ready to show. That stuff we got to take to storage. Out of sight out of mind. Then we took a little break and spent 2-3 months keeping the house in tip-top shape. A lot of work with 3 kids and life in general, but really nice. A little time to do prep for the new baby. Then we sold the house and all semblance of order fell apart. There are boxes stacked everywhere. Even if, between packing, Christmas-ing, and the baby, I wanted to vacuum I couldn't. I can't find enough floor space to justify the effort. Jeff and I were talking about it. He blamed the messiness on the kids. With good reason. They had left school stuff out and toys and coloring stuff, etc. But, as I pointed out to him, take away the boxes and there wasn't much mess left to complain about.

Yesterday I had a goal to get as much of the kitchen done as was reasonable. With the help of Cami-a big check! The other goal I had was to get my craft room all packed up. I made decent progress, but ended up finishing this morning. Of all the packed up spaces, right now this is my favorite. It's stacked neatly, and the floor is vacuumed. There is order. (Excuse the laundry. That's the next batch in line.)

Now imagine the exact opposite of this room and you have the rest of the house. ;)

Christmas Advent

2010-12-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

I wasn't planning on doing an advent calendar this year. I haven't really done one before, especially a really cute one with activities or even little treats for the kids. They are ALL over blogland right now. Something about having the house in boxes and no Christmas tree up (yet) is squelching the Christmas spirit 'round here. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but my kids are at such a fun age. After feeling a little sorry for myself, I thought, "Why can't I still do one? So what if I start it on Dec. 6 instead of Dec. 1?!" And so I got to work.

This is the finished result:

I did it all with the (very limited) supplies I had on hand and it took maybe 20 minutes. It's not much to look at, but the kids were so excited when we hung it up. I also borrowed an idea from this post (thank Marlene!) and added a scripture for each day to help all of us learn a little more about Christ.

After dinner tonight we got to pull out the first slip. We learned about how much Jesus loves the little children. For our activity we made ourselves into festive little elves. We love doing crafts together, so it was a great way to kick of our little advent!

2010-12-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

Lyndsi had her annual Christmas dance recital last night. For the last 2 or 3 years their school has focused this performance on the Nutcracker. Which in theory was a good idea. But. Her school also does a lot of jazz and hip hop besides ballet. It was just too much. This year the director opted to go back to just a plain ol' Christmas theme. It was nice. Really nice. The show ran smooth and was pleasant to watch.

Lyndsi did a great job! Her class danced to "The First Noel" and she was so graceful. I love watching her dance. She just has this angelic expression on her face while she is dancing. You can just tell she loves it. She really enjoys her class and her teacher.

(Sorry for the slightly goofy picture. My flash wasn't working and I didn't want to hold up the rest of the family from leaving. We'll try for a better one in the spring!)

A Note About GoodReads

2010-12-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's no secret. I love to read. Good Reads has been a great place to log what I've read and to keep track of what I'd like to read. Not to mention see what all my real life and cyber "friends" are reading. But, I hate trying to write up a review on books. It always feels like some lame statement or a 6th grade book report. (I'm speaking specifically of my own reviews. I do enjoy reading others.) I have a hard time with the rating system too. So much how I feel about a book is based on my present mood, my life experiences and beliefs, standards, etc, my current stress levels, etc. And I tend to be somewhat enthusiastic about things I like therefore tend to rate things a little higher than maybe I would if I waited a week to review/rate a book. Same with books I don't like. The other thing that's hard (for me) to account for in a rating system is how even if I don't like the book overall, I can appreciate it for something-a lesson, the writing, literary devices used... Sometimes I leave my ratings blank. If we're friends on GoodReads, assume that this is because I found the book very interesting in one way or another and want time to mull it over. However, the whole rate and review process does make me think a little bit harder. What I liked about the book, what I didn't, things that made some sort of an impression on me, things that changed me. All great things to go into a review. Too bad a lot of those things contain spoilers. I hate spoilers. (I don't even watch the movie trailers for the Twilight series, despite having read the books an embarrassing number of times. :) Now the world has some insight to my mind when reading my GoodReads page.

Life Update

2010-11-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Because I know you all wait with baited breath to find out what's going on in my life. ;)

We're closing on our house next week. Yippee!! But-we're still waiting for a date on both signings. Boo! But-it's next week sometime. The house looks like a big disaster thanks to all the boxes. An even bigger (and much less sarcastic) thanks to my man for packing them. He noted the other night that he would be single-handedly moving us because his wife can't manage to put down that sweet little monkey long enough to help pack a box. Secretly, I think he's proud of the fact that he's done it all. Shhh...don't tell...

See why I can't put her down? She's so squishy and cute and snugly!

I, unlike lots of other people, am loving all the snow. Of course it helps that my kids are off track and I have a new baby and therefore am home bound. I can snuggle my babe and look out my big windows from my couch at all that beautiful white stuff. No bundling the kids up for school (which is good because most our winter wear is packed up and buried in storage).

Other than being a little tired, my post baby self is feeling pretty darn good. I'm happy. I have energy. I can button up my jeans. Actually-I could button up my jeans 2 days after being home from the hospital. And guess what? I'm not one bit sorry and am quite pleased with it. This is my 4th baby. I would've thought my recovery would've been longer and a little harder than it's been especially with the added stress of selling our home, buying a new one, getting 6 people ready to move (oh wait-we've already established that as the man's job) and the holidays-Thanksgiving, Black Friday (what? you don't consider that a holiday?) and Christmas. By the time the new year rolls around, you may be finding me lying on a couch weeping to a therapist, though ;)

And speaking of the great holiday (at least in my opinion) called Black Friday-I definitely had a successful one! I went with Cami and her mom and cousin. Cami was a rookie. She wanted to go to Toys 'r Us. Me, being the more experienced Black Friday-er should've warned her of the horror that store can be, but I had only heard the stories. I guess I wanted to see that particular brand of madness first hand. Never. Again. The finding what you want part was just fine. It was the line that would put Splash mtn's on the busiest hottest day at Disneyland to shame. Thankfully Cami decided it wasn't worth it and we left. She was rewarded by finding the same item for the same price at walmart without having to ad-match. We had lots of good fun at both the Payson and Springville WalMarts. I was thrilled to come home with everything on my must-get list, everything on my it'd-be-nice-but-I-don't-stand-a-chance list and a few other fun things as well. I think we put in a solid 12 hours of shopping. Still not quite ready for Christmas, but I'm getting there. Fortunately I can do almost everything else online.

Just in case...

2010-11-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering...

Showbiz is my current favorite album by Muse.

Christmas Songs by Jars of Clay is my absolute, all time favorite Christmas album.

And, though I love the group Travis, and though listening to the lead singer Fran speak may or may not make me swoon, I do not love his new hair. Don't worry Franny. I still {heart} you.

What random things are you thinking of today?

My Little Seamstress

2010-11-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

Lyndsi has recently taken an interest in learning to sew. In August I finally got around to helping her get started. She made her first little project-a purse for Sophie. (Which Sophie happens to really love.) My mom took a day off earlier this week to come hang out with me and the kids (aka the new baby). McKay ended up playing with a friend and Sophie wandered off to do her own thing. The baby was sleeping as all good week old babies do, so mom and I decided to teach Lyndsi some more sewing. I actually had a simple tote project all ready to go, and seeing as it was something I was doing for a Christmas name-gift for her cousin (Marchants-no spoiling our name gift!!) I thought it'd be perfect for her to do. And bonus I figure we can use it for an activity day goal. (Assuming we ever find/replace her book.)

Lyndsi started out using this book and tracing the pattern piece and cutting it out. I believe she may have even helped G'ma cut the pattern pieces from fabric, too.

These things seem to be much easier if Grandma is here to tag team with me.

This is me trying to be creative and catch a candid shot of Lyndsi. Not easy to do. She always looks up right before I take the picture.

Lyndsi did almost all of the sewing herself including sewing on the webbing handles and the velcro closures. I only sewed the bottom of the bag and put the lining and outer bag together. She worked really hard on this and did an amazing job. You should see her seams! The girl is a natural.

Here's the finished project:

She's already got 2 or 3 more planned out for other gifts and possibly one for herself. She's pretty darn proud of herself and her work. I must say that I am too. You go girl!!

(This one is a little less "mom's caught in the act")

The Last Week or So

2010-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Wow. The last week and a half have been a whirlwind of activity. Any time there's a new baby in the house that's bound to happen, but there's more. Here's the list view of life at the Maynes' since Chloe was born.

Mon Nov. 8-Chloe was born; realtor called to show our house the next morning
Tues-Potential buyer from Monday makes offer; we counter.
Wed-Come home from hospital; Buyer accepts counter-we're officially under contract
Thurs-We start looking at homes
Friday-Chloe's first Dr. visit to double check bilirubin levels (just fine); Find home; make offer.
Saturday-New sellers counter
Monday-We accept.

Phew...I'm tired just thinking of it all! It has been crazy, a little overwhelming and at times emotional. However, we're very happy and feel that the timing is not just coincidence. We've also been very blessed with a great ward, friends and family who have helped ease burdens this last week. I'm looking forward to the new house, but will miss a lot of things about this one. I am excited that we'll be in before Christmas. I guess I better go pack a box or two now.

Baby Chloe

2010-11-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

I love this kid. She is an absolute angel. Chloe is just a sweet and content little girl. Mom and dad can't get enough of her. Neither can her sisters (especially Sophie who is completely fascinated by her). Even McKay loves her to pieces. In fact, I think he's the one who asks to hold her the most. :) She's a good little eater and a fabulous little sleeper. Mom and Dad are really enjoying that part! I'm sure it's with a huge thanks to being bottle fed, but she's only getting up once a night to eat. Definitely manageable. We've been so busy cuddling and oohing and ahhing over her we haven't stopped to take many pictures. But, last night was her first at-home bath, so we did get a few after when she was all sparkly, baby-fresh clean. (They're a little dark, but I'm too tired too mess with them in photoshop right now. Maybe later. )

This is the cute little lip I was first greeted with when I held her right after delivery. I was happy to see it reappear for me again. Too cute.

She really didn't love her bath. Especially the part where we actually had to wash her. Little did she know that she still had to have ...gasp!...lotion put on. (Really didn't like that, even though we made sure it wasn't cold)

Thankfully the girl will take a binky!

All better. Clean, moisturized and the bottle is on it's way!

Keep on going for a few pix from the hospital. Just saw that I had some I hadn't published yet. Enjoy!

Baby Pictures

2010-11-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures of my cute little baby. :)

The siblings.

My baby holding my baby. She is so excited to be a big sister!

Getting ready to go home.

Time to go home!!

She's Here!

2010-11-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome

Chloe Carol Maynes

Monday November 8, 2010

11:48 a.m.

7 lb 8 oz and 19.5 inches

Halloween

2010-11-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

What?! A non-baby, non-house post? I'm as shocked as you. ;)

Really, though, Halloween weekend was great. Friday the kids had their costume parade and parties at school.

Saturday was trick-or-treating.

(a witch, a skeleton, and Silvermist-minus her wings)

Around 8 or so i got a text from Jeff relaying a cute little conversation he and Soph had.

J: Are you about ready to go home?

S: Not until my bucket is full to the top!

And guess what? When they came home a little later, all three buckets were "full to the top." Jeff and I tried to show her that she had set a goal and reached it and congratulated her. She didn't get it. :)

Sunday we had a family party at my Aunt Michele's house. There was tons of food, games and some indoor trick-or-treating.

Now it's Nov. 1. On to Christmas shopping and baby-having!

Hit Me Baby One More Time

2010-10-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

(This is a trial run-if the vid's are missing I'll fix it soon)

I'm starting to feel like I should change my blog name. I'm thinking "The Baby Channel: All baby, all the time." :) In honor of being down to the last month, I'm sharing one of my favorite songs. Too bad, Britney fans, it's not her singing. But-it is her song.

I'm thinking Fran and co. will be going to the hospital with me. They relax me. And I have lots of good memories with Travis (the bands name) as the soundtrack.

I think Jars of Clay will be with me as well. And since it will be in November, their set will include their Christmas album, quite possibly my favorite album of all time.

Keane will be there too. They have a different flavor to their music and suits me. Plus, that's what I was mostly listening to when I went to Hawaii earlier in the year. (And "The Frog Prince" will remind of me of my other cutie pies at home who love the movie The Princess Frog.)

The delivery room is getting quite crowded I think. :) I've never brought music with me before. I have no idea why. Right now it seems extremely useful.

What did you take with you to the hospital to keep yourself comfortable and entertained (either while in labor or for whatever reason)?? Obviously I'll be bringing my pillow and those essentials. Oh-and any others I should be inviting to the labor party?

P.S. If you liked that Keane song, go ahead and plug your headphones in, sit back, close your eyes and enjoy this one. It was my first known Keane song I fell in love with.

Remember this Teaser?

2010-10-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Click over to Twiddle Thumbs for the reveal!

This Pregnancy

2010-10-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

is almost over! But some things will definitely stand out to me about this pregnancy:

1. For months, I was completely disgusted at the idea of running-other people or myself.

2. Cheddar cheese sticks and pretzels- both from Costco. These were staple foods for me April and May.

3. Lime. Anything lime flavored. Not sure what it is, but if it was lime, I had to have it. Even lime ice cream. Yes, ice cream-not sherbet. And it was really good.

4. Surprise. I had nearly given up getting pregnant and had started looking into other options and getting excited about it.

5. Surprise again. It's a girl! Honestly, I would've been surprised if it were a boy, too, but I had at least
picked a boy name out that I loved and McKay had been praying for a little brother. Even the girls were on board with the idea of boy. McKay was convinced that the Dr. had made a mistake until the sweet nurses took a 2nd peak and the nurse and PA both gave the same outcome.

6. Great music. Early on I got to go see two great (though very different) concerts-Michael Buble and Muse. Fantastic. And very glad I was barely pregnant for both. Not too sick. Not even close to showing. (Very handy at the Muse concert as we were only 10 feet or so from the stage.)

7. Wiggles. Not The Wiggles. This wiggly little spaz inside. It's been four years since I was last pregnant, but I do not think any of my kids moved as much as she does.

8. Love. I have been smitten with this little nudger for months now. Absolutely in love. And so have her brother and sisters.

9. Fear. I've never been an anxious pregnant woman. (Well-except worrying that I wouldn't be capable of loving baby #2 as much as baby #1-how silly of me. :) This one though has thrown me for a loop. I still feel completely unready despite the fact this baby could come as soon as 2 or 3 weeks from now. I think I've mentioned before (either here or facebook-perhaps both?) that it felt wrong to buy diapers and wipes. I've been nervous about her health, her life and even nervous about my nights. The last week or so I have started making more effort to be physically prepared for her arrival. Finished up some baby-related sewing, washed both baby bottles and baby clothes, have done some more baby crafts and put the changing table in the baby's room. It's helped a lot.

10. How people have reacted to my belly. Even up through my whole 6th month I had people look at me like I was crazy when I told them i was pregnant and how far along. They didn't believe me. Then blessed September hit. I had a few complete strangers congratulate me on the baby and then they both asked (completely different situations) if this was my 1st. I just giggled and held up 4 fingers. Can I just say they are my 2 most favorite strangers I ever met? Now-5 weeks from the big D-day, people are telling me I finally look pregnant. Love it. I also have loved how the kids have loved feeling the baby move. It's so fun to see their faces when they recognize her movements.

Hunting Witches

2010-10-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

Sophie's sneak peak revealed. I took this pile:

and turned it into this:

And even had a little extra for this:

(Which may or may not have been a great idea. On the one hand-Sophie loved it. On the other-I woke up this morning to two more costume orders for Lyndsi's AG dolls. Oops.)

Now you may notice that some materials in the pile don't show up in the costume, like the yarn. Well....We made this really fun wig, but as soon as I put it on Soph I knew she wouldn't like wearing it. And, the costume didn't really need it. Into the costume box it will go. Someone will wear it one day.

My friend Cami and I decided to take our little preschoolers out for a little witch hunt all dressed up.

The two littles had a great time running crazy around Gardner Village hunting for different witches while we moms tried to either keep up or keep them moving. :)

And of course we enjoyed a little treat afterwards from the bakery there. Sophie is looking forward to another witch hunting trip with her brother and sister and Grandma.

Sneak Peak

2010-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have a few projects for baby Chloe that I'm really excited about. Only 7 more weeks til due day!!

Sneak peak #1:

Sneak peak #2:

Oh-and one for Sophie:

As you can see, I have lots to keep me busy this rainy week.

Lessons in Selling a Home

2010-10-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

First off, thanks for all the diaper bag thoughts. I've been looking through pages and pages of different materials (so many cute choices!) and thinking about how to best incorporate pockets and maybe a few other things. I'm planning on doing a mock-up for practice and then if that works I'll buy the fabric and get going on it. :)

Now. Selling a house is not fun. I'm sure lots of you know this. We've done it twice before and twice before we sold within a week. (We can attribute that to impeccable timing as the St. George market was really heating up then.) It's been about 6 weeks. We've had some people come. One came twice. One submitted an offer. Wish we could have taken it, but it was too low. I feel like I'm on pins and needles all day everyday waiting for our agent to call with an offer, appointments, feedback or just some random bit of business that needs dealing with. It is an all consuming venture. It's starting to wear on both Jeff and I some. It's boring around our house. At least half of our stuff is packed away in storage. If we don't faithfully attend the library at least every week/week and a half, we're in trouble. Thankfully the fall line-up is starting. Sadly one of our favorites has ended, leaving us only 1 network show. USA's season is over till November which is happily only one more month. Anyway. Despite this report of the doom and gloom of selling a house (and we haven't even touched the market issue), there have been lots of positive things I've seen. And here they are in no particular order:

1. The house is always clean. I am just now realizing how small our house is for the stuff we have. And how we are lacking sufficient storage (or maybe just organizational skills) to manage.

2. If the house isn't clean, it can be sparkling in about an hour. Without extra help. INCLUDING: mopping and vacuuming all 1924 sq ft.

3. The kids play with their toys more. They only have a few things left out.

4. Lyndsi reads more. See explanation of #3.

5. The kids play board games together. See #3 again. This one has been particularly fun. I enjoy watching them play together.

6. I hate to harp on the cleaning thing, but MY CRAFT ROOM IS CLEAN! It's so much more pleasant to work in there on crafts now. Glad I thought this room through when packing up. I was sure to leave out a few things of the different crafts I enjoy doing the most. There are lots of things I wish I had access to, but overall, the room is delightful to work in and easy to pick up. It makes me really look forward to having a bigger and more fully dedicated space for my hobbies.

7. I attend the temple more regularly. Part of this has to do with all three kids being at school at the same time for at least a few hours a week. But, I have enjoyed going while I have this brief opportunity before the baby comes.

8. I pray more frequently. Honestly, I have been surprised at what a spiritual journey this has been. I need someone to talk to that can help me not get to anxious and to plead for help and guidance. This is something I've been working on for a long time, but am finally now getting consistent with.

9. I am learning to follow the spirit with more exactness. I started noticing if I had a feeling to get the house clean and vacuumed in the morning and I followed through, usually by early afternoon our agent was on the phone scheduling appointments with me. This lesson has started overflowing into other areas and I try to work harder on following through with thoughts that come to me.

10. I have learned to appreciate my current house more fully. It really is a great little house. Especially with the new carpet. So many great things and so many hard things have happened here. It will be hard to leave, but it's time. I really hope a special family/couple/person gets this house. It has been our home, our haven and our safe harbor for 5 years. We have struggled, laughed, rejoiced and grown while here. It will always be a very special place for us.

Diaper bags: HELP!!!

2010-09-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

I feel SO out of this whole baby thing. I went to pick up a few sundries (I like that word) at Target yesterday and swung by the baby aisle to see about stocking up on a few essentials. It felt wrong. I don't have a baby. Why am I buying teeny tiny diapers and other diapering items? It was weird. (Don't get me wrong-I am SO excited for this baby. It's just been a long time!) So diapers led me to think about diaper bags. I'd like a new one, but really can't stomach the store prices. Ugh. That's what I get for being a
DIY-fer. I saw this cute bag on Make It and Love It. I'm thinking of making it for our new diaper bag. From the instructions, it looks like there are no pockets/pouches.

Here's where I need help. What things have you LOVED about your diaper bags (past or present) and what things did you find unnecessary or useless? Also, if you have any other diaper bag recommendations/suggestions, please send them this way.

While you think and post, I'll go work on Halloween costumes.

Misery Loves Company

2010-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Lyndsi is not a reader (yet). But, she dutifully puts in her 30 minutes a day for school and so she can earn a prize from Mom and Dad. (Hey-I am not above such tactics to get her reading.) School doesn't start til about 9, so she had some time to kill this morning. I suggested she get her reading done which she did without too much complaint. I didn't think too much about it until I went to straighten up her room a few hours later and found this:

Misery loves company? Maybe. I prefer to think of it as a little early morning reading party. It was so cute and so precious to me. My little non-reader-encouraging all her little "friends" to read. I loved it so much in fact that when I made her bed I set up the thing again almost like she had it before.

I love these little treasures of mommyhood.

It's Time!

2010-09-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have some bright yellow spots peaking out through the green leaves on one of my trees.

I took it as Mother Nature's cue to pull out the fall stuff. Bath and Body Works has their wallflowers (and refills) on sale right now. Sophie and I grabbed a couple of Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin ones for the upstairs and a Leaves one for downstairs. We had a hard time choosing from all the delicious fall scents in the store. I'm anxious to pull out some generic fall decor, but am a tad hesitant with the house up for sale. My blog got "redecorated" though. I've been scouring my little Walmart's baking aisle for canned pumpkin. I think I'll have to try Smith's. Pumpkin rolls are sounding very yummy. Also, soup has been on the menu twice in a week. The only thing missing is the sweaters. However, being 7 months prego, I'm ok to forgo sweaters til after the baby comes. (Mostly because I have no sweaters that fit and don't want to buy any for a month of use.)

So-are you eagerly anticipating the first jump in pile of raked leaves or parading around in your swimsuit and beach towel, refusing to recognize summer is almost gone?

Another 1st Day of School

2010-09-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

The last of the three started school this week. Soph is doing Joy School with some friends we met through my book club. She had her very first day on Tuesday and to say she loved it is understating things.

I was a little worried about her not knowing people very well, but she did great. Apparently she even sang the songs out loud, something I'm not sure she even does in primary yet. When I picker her up she talked my ear off for a solid 20 minutes about all that they did and learned that day. (For you non-joy-schoolers out there, each month has a "joy" and Sept. is the Joy of our bodies.) The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to her sing all the songs they learned. My personal favorite was "Hinges" which I have loved since my early days of being a kid in primary.

I'd say all in all it was a success. I am now more confident to try her in dance or soccer again (which was a miserable failure last year).

In other new:
the house is still for sale
McK and L are back on track
baby is 29 weeks along and doing great
cooler weather has brought on motivation and inspiration
headed to Time Out for Women this weekend with a bunch of wonderful gals I know (and missing the ones who couldn't make it)
still haven't started the freezer paper stencil, but it is happening soon!

Zippety-A and heidi-ho

2010-09-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

It's birthday time!!

With all the stress of the house, I decided I would forgo my vow to not have friend parties this year and plan something special for Sophie's 4th birthday. It seemed like good timing as she's a little older now and has lots of little friends that she loves to play with. So, she and I planned and shopped and invited. Sophie picked out a My Little Pony theme and mom took it from there.

We ended up with 9 kids total (including my 3). A few friends couldn't make it (and we missed you!). The party started with a coloring activity while everyone arrived. The kids sat and quietly colored their Pony pictures. When everyone had arrived, we started with our first game-musical ponies. The kids each found a pony and quietly went around the circle until the last person got out. Then quietly we played "pin the tail on the pony," had a pony relay, and a ball toss. After the last game was quietly played and cleaned up, Grandpa held up the castle pinata. I handed a few streamers to each kid and the candy flew. Then was quietly picked up and put in their little individual bags. Are you catching the quietness here? It was seriously the quietest party I've ever been to or hosted, especially for 3 and 4 yr olds! Cute little buggars. I hoped cake and ice cream would drum up some excitement. Which it did. Sort of. I asked, "Who wants cake and ice cream?!" Seven little bodies were jumping up and down with 7 little arms wiggling in the air and 7 little mouths completely mute. Good thing I can read body language. ;) Finally they got loud and giggly when Jeff started showing off his "moves" to the My Little Party CD we had going.

It was a cute little party and all the kids seemed to have a really great time. It just so happens that they are all super quiet in everyday life, too.

Sunday was Sophie's actual birthday. To celebrate we had my parents and grandparents over for hot dogs (her favorite)

and then some more family and friends for cake and ice cream and presents.

(My niece Kaylee loved the cupcakes!)

Sophie loved all the attention and presents. She was a gracious little hostess, always remembering to say thank you. She loved all the gifts she received over the 2 day celebration (which surprisingly didn't overwhelm mom) and has played nonstop with them.

First Game of the Season

2010-09-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Warm ups. Very important. Gets the team working together and gets those muscles ready to run and kick.

(Especially) for never playing on a soccer team, Jeff did a great job coaching his first game. I even think he had some fun. :) It took him a minute and one of the other dads to set up the goal, but we noticed the other team struggled with it too. He got the kids warmed up and kept them on track during the game.

Number 9 was my favorite little player. He made good, long kicks (too bad no team mates were on the other end to receive the ball) and was a fast little runner. This is one of the few things I've seen him work really hard at without getting frustrated. I am loving it.

It was a great game with the score volleying back and forth between us and them. In the end I think we were down by one. The kids all played great, listened to Coach and worked hard. Jeff said they were doing even better in practice last night. Can't wait for the next game!

Last Post Update

2010-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

Lots of good things have happened since the last depressing post. :) McKay had his first soccer game. Jeff coached his first soccer game. Sophie had her first friend birthday party (which is a really funny story).

And last but not least we had our first showing. And our second. And now a 3rd scheduled for tonight. I have to say I've really enjoyed hearing my phone ring daily and hearing my realtor on the other end wanting to schedule another showing. It's tough figuring out where I can go with 3 kids and a yappy dog for an hour, but I am SO happy to do it. Last night I ended up at my mom's house hanging out with my brother and his friend. The kids always love playing at Grandma's and Grandpa's even if they're not home. I got to visit with Greg and Linda for along time. We all had a good time and lots of laughs. Today, maybe we'll let the kids and dog go chase some ducks. lol. I wonder what the dog would do with ducks chasing us for food? Oh-and here's a few pictures that are up on the MLS. Obviously, the front of the house and one of the living room so you can all see our new carpet. (Which we are enjoying and don't regret doing even if we moved tomorrow.)

Sorry if I'm overwhelming you with home selling stuff. It's our life right now. I'll work on getting a good soccer post up this week and one about my girl's bday.

In the meantime, I do do other stuff. Like:

1. Made a Pinkalicious themed party outfit for Sophie
2. Read Mockingjay.
3. Working on reading Turn of the Screw for book club this week.
4. Getting ready to help teach another year of Joy Scool.
5. Dabbled in some cupcake decorating.
6. Seeing new movies. (Loved Eat, Pray, Love. Then again, I loved the book.)
7. Getting ready for lots of other new things- Time Out for Women, Friday Frenzy, fall....
8. Teaching Lyndsi to sew (another post-she's gonna be good)

See? It's not all house stuff. :)

Tender Mercies on a not-too-bad/not-too-good day

2010-08-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today we had a showing appt. scheduled. The second one we've had. Oh yeah. And also the 2nd one that's cancelled. It bummed me out. Keeping house (even a nearly empty one) clean is hard work but add pregnancy on top of that. Ugh. (Really. Keeping house is not my thing. I try to keep it up, but just enough.) Anyway. I've been feeling discouraged and the day has been kind of a downer.

It's not to say good things haven't happened because they have. I would be naive and ungrateful not to recognize them as they are fairly obvious good things. First, I'm in charge of gathering any volunteers needed for the PTA.

TOMORROW is our fun run. I was able to get at least 13 volunteers with barely any effort. Most of those came in response to a mass email and the few people I called and talked to were almost all willing to help out for the time I needed them. If you don't think this is a tender mercy, you've never tried to get so many volunteers on such short notice. (Originally my goal was 8, and I ended up with 13!)

Next, smoothies are great.

My Dr. has suggested I eat more of them to help gain weight. (Don't hate me. It sucks to not have much of an appetite.) Our good neighbor, Mr. Terry, who often calls in the afternoon to have the kids come get some sort of treat called today. He said, "good! you're home. I'm bringing you a smoothie." It tasted fabulous. And in reality up that point the most nutritious thing I'd eaten all day. And it did make me feel better.

Lastly, I was begrudgingly reading a story to Sophie tonight. She's been a stinker today and it was past her bedtime. Of course she picks one of the longest books in her collection. Funny enough it was one I'd never read before, despite the fact that we've had it since Lyndsi was in Kindergarten. So, I started in on Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse.

Ok-so I softened when I was immediately drawn to the fun characters and a promising story line. I watched as Lily got angry with her teacher and drew a mean-teacher picture when her new purse and accessories were taken away. And felt warm-hearted when she discovered her teacher left her a note in her purse when she received it at the end of the day. Then I read the note. And cried. He told her

"Today was difficult. Tomorrow will be better."

Suddenly I was out of the story receiving my own personal comfort. I felt Heavenly Father reaching out to me through my daughter and her bedtime story. And I felt love.

I'm so glad to have seen my little tender mercies. Some days they make all the difference.

Cabin Fever

2010-08-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

The cure:

1. Dutch oven cooking. Yum-o!

2. Cherry/Chocolate cobbler and s'mores for dessert

3. Toys, indoor slides, and games

4. Beautiful night skies full of stars

5. A moon so bright no flashlights necessary

6. Late nights because nobody thought to wear a watch (or look at the one that was worn)

7. Hot breakfast-scones, hash browns, bacon, OJ....(camping food is the best!)

8. Eagles Nests, hills, mountains, petroglyphs, empty water bottles=2 big hikes

9. Rope swinging

10. Taco salads

11. Water balloons

12. Smiles, giggles, and more!

Sadly, lots of great pictures will not be appearing on my list of things I did. Brought the camera. Didn't bring extra batteries. :( Oh well. Next time.

100 Days

2010-08-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

In 100 days I will be:

Facing sleepless nights in the face
Watching the laundry pile up
Enjoying the "how unpregnant I look" comments more fully
Teaching 3 kids how to carefully hold a newborn
Snuggling a precious pink bundle
Resume the eat, change, sleep schedule from nearly 4 yrs ago
Taking a million pictures
Laughing at how one more little Maynes wrapped Jeff around a tiny little finger

That's right. Only 100 days left till the baby is due! I think I can make it. :)

First Day of School

2010-08-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here they are, ready to go!

Lyndsi starting 3rd grade. 2 1/2 weeks in she's loving her teacher, doing well with the curriculum and homework increase.

McKay started 1st grade. The only negative effect I've seen is he's SO tired by about 6:30. He loves his teacher too, and is doing really well with the all day schedule and eating lunch at school. He's only asked to take lunch from home once.

Sophie. I'm not sure she's even noticed anyone is gone. :) She's had friends to play with, sole control of the TV, and errands to run with mom.

Me? I'm doing good. I've been really busy and am amazed at how clean the house stays when your kids are only there for a few hours. :) I'm not ready for them to be off track next week because of some projects I have going, but they're ready for a little break. It will be nice for them to let it all settle in and catch their breath.

Nesting

2010-08-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

is in full swing now.

I have some fun "1st day of school" pictures I'd like to post and write about and a few other things, but the nesting instinct is dictating life right now. :) Just this morning I've already washed kitchen walls and cleaned out 1 closet. (Well, half of one. I did the other half last week.) I've got plans to tackle the "under the stairs" closet before lunch. Hoping to find a bunch of DI items or throw-away items in that one. Not that I want to wish myself a collector of such junk. It would just be nice to not feel like I need to hold on to the mess-causers that lurk within that particular closet.

After that, I've got a list of other household projects to work on through out the coming weeks, not to mention my baby to-do list. That one is a little more fun. Quilts, shopping, fun things to do with our family as it is now, more sewing, etc. Halloween and Christmas are already weighing down on my mind. Especially Christmas. Mind you, this is all in addition and on top of what I already need to be doing like regular housework, training kids to clean and practice and read without my encouragement and prodding, cooking dinner (when really, all I want is homemade fresh peach pie), playing chauffer, etc.

Well, I've armed myself with my little Sansa Fuze, a glass of water and just might grab that handy dandy little timer. Guess I'll get to work now. :)

A Fun Little Color Test

2010-07-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

I found this color/personality test this morning on How About Orange. You choose your favorite and least favorite colors and it gives you some insight to your personality. Takes less than 5 minutes. (Great little time waster without wasting too much time.) I liked in the results that it made mention this is your personality today (because you know we could very well choose different colors tomorrow depending on mood, weather, etc). So, here's the 411 on what I'm like today.

You are 47 % extrovert and 53 % introvert.

You are a manager and a structured person, you know how to take into account the needs of each person while leading them towards the set goals.

You are also creative, you always have new ideas, and your inspiration comes from the inside.

Finally you are able to listen to others, you show a good emotional intelligence, you know how to bring your support to others.

I really liked this last statement:

You are a creative person, with always new ideas, and you know how to apply them, You are intellectual and intelligent, you wonder and you inquire before taking any action and setting your values.

Not sure how accurate it all is, but it made me feel good. Sometimes, that's enough.

Tools

2010-07-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there are tools that you cannot live without. They make a daunting task easy. They make it fun. They make you do it. :) Here are a few of my favorite "tools" that get me going. (I should mention none of these are my personal photos. All were searched out by using google images)

My vacuum.

This baby may not be the best in the market, but it is heads above my last one. (But not quite as good as my 1st Bissell, may it rest in peace.) Vacuuming was always a favorite, preferred chore of mine until I had this yellow beastly vacuum that refused to work. Since replacing it with this beauty, vacuuming is back in "preferred chore" status.

My Bosch.

I loved baking before this guy came a long, but I was content to use my hand mixer or a wooden spoon. Now, it is my sole baking mixer. It mixes, it kneads, it blends, shreds and it's easy to clean! I love you Bosch!!

My gardening gloves.

I don't mind getting out and pulling some weeds or digging in the dirt or planting or other types of yard work, but until recently you would find me doing all these chores bare handed. I hate the bulkiness of gardening gloves. It felt awkward to garden in them. So I went bare-handed. I mean, you can only get so much dirt under your nails, right? After awhile there's no more room for it. ;) This summer I had it though. I found some fitted gardening gloves at Lowe's and forked over the big $$ for these. I love them. (The brand is Ethel if you are wondering.) Not only are my nails clean after gardening, but my hands are too! And, bonus- yard work is now getting done. (I'm going to have a party to celebrate my good-looking yard. Seriously.)

Lastly (for now anyway)-my camera.

Once again, not top of the line, but it's great for my every day use. As I've been sorting through the last 2 years worth of pictures trying to get a big order ready to print, it's hit me just how blessed I am. How this tiny little machine can catch the depth of my baby's super deep dimple. How it makes my oldest look even more like a super model than she already does. How it is the only thing that catch my son's thoughtful smile. I could cry for all the happy memories that we have as a family that will be remembered in crystal clear detail because of this little thing.

Do you have a favorite "tool" that makes your life easier?

Sometimes it pays to not do yard work

2010-07-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of spring, we found out we were expecting baby #4. All my plans (not that they were grand) of gardening were thrown out the window. I didn't even have enough time to get to my winter clean-up stage before sickness set in. So, I decided, we'll just do what we need to to keep up the bare minimum, i.e. Jeff will mow the lawn. :)

Let me tell you, for once, ignoring the yard has paid off! Off my patio I have these 3 giant planters that I like to put the wave petunias in. They fill out nicely. The only problem with petunias is they are annuals, causing me to shell out money each spring (wave petunias are a little more pricey than your regular variety). Well, well, well. 2 out of the 3 containers are now blossoming with wave petunias that we neither bought nor planted this year! That's right. Due to my lack of diligent care for my flowers, they went to seed and I now have two containers full of beautiful, sweet smelling petunias. For free. Ha!

One other gardening tip-wait til July to purchase your flowers. What once was $6 or more per pot, you can now by for $2/pot. Thus filling the 3rd pot. :)

With Service Comes Trials

2010-07-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

Jeff's parents are serving in the Denver South mission. I believe their official start date was July1. It didn't take long for the faith-testing trials to come in. Just after they were officially in the mission and working, 2 of my adorable little nieces both landed in the hospital. It's been a rough week or so. One niece has been at the Seattle Children's hospital. She's home for now and things are looking good, but it will be a long road for her and her family. It makes me sad that I can't visit her.

So when my other niece Gabby landed in the hospital (Primary Children's) Sunday night, we made sure to go visit a couple of times. Gabby was pretty sedated the first time, but McKay managed to make her smile. We didn't stay too long, but promised to come back later in the week. Yesterday was our 2nd visit. Gabby seemed to be doing much better.

(From this picture, you'd think I was the paparazzi!)

We got to go to the playroom with her for a little while. It was so fun! I loved watching the volunteers and staff get really involved with all the patients-playing games, with toys, making crafts, etc. But then, I noticed they started inviting my kids to participate too. It was just a little above and beyond what they needed to do. And I really appreciated it. One staff member got McKay and Lyndsi involved in making their own little Hospital Buddies.

Sophie had no interest in that and headed for the little dollhouse. She's very content to play on her own, and I didn't think about it. Soon I looked over and saw this. It melted my heart.

While they were busy, I was busy with this

my newest niece, Afton. And visiting with her mom and dad.

For all the heaviness that's been hanging around our hearts lately, this was a fun and uplifting experience.

I've joked a little with Jeff that if these are the kinds of things that happen when his parents leave on a mission, they are not allowed to go again. :) But, then I thought to myself, what if these things were to happen anyway? I'm so glad that they are where they are, serving faithfully. Elder Hales promised our families tremendous blessings for Alan and Laurie's service. Despite the awful trials happening, blessings are already being manifested. And life is good.

Awesome Giveaway!

2010-07-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the super cool Silhouette machine? Little Birdie Secrets is giving away one here! The contest ends tonight, so sorry about the short notice. :)

Ultrasound

2010-07-08T10:11:00.001-07:00

The final vote stands at Boy: 5 Girl: 2. In this instance, the underdog wins.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

I love long weekends, especially ones where we get to play all weekend. Which is exactly what we did.

Saturday we headed out to Copperton for their Town Days breakfast and races. We met up with some friends there and enjoyed a yummy hot breakfast of eggs, hash browns, ham, sausage, french toast sticks, fruit and drinks. The kids opted for the playground most of the morning, but there were also lots of fun races for all age groups. We did convince Lyndsi to do the Father/Daughter 3-legged race. The morning was comfortably cool so after the park we decided to head to the zoo. (Sorry-no pictures.) It was the perfect day for walking around the zoo. It was surprisingly uncrowded and not hot at all. Jeff sprung for all the kids to ride the carousel which made the afternoon complete in their little eyes. Later that night we had our friends back over for fireworks and ice cream. It wasn't your city-sponsored display, but we had lots of fun and found it just right for all the little ones that were there.

Sunday we rested. Saturday was busy and Monday morning was coming quick.

Our other friends invited us to attend Provo's Freedom Fest with them. The Stringham's have been going every year and always start off with the hot air balloon fest in the morning. So, 5 a.m. found us on the road to Provo so we could get the perfect spot to watch the balloons. Which we got. Except it turned out to be not so perfect. We had to keep moving for the balloonists. It's all good. We had fun watching the balloons and enjoying a picnic sunrise breakfast with great friends.

The parade was next on our agenda. Despite not camping out the night before we still got a good spot. Some parade favorites were the highway patrolman on their motorcycles, the scouts carrying tons of American flags, the military tributes, firetrucks (always a crowd pleaser), the missionaries from the Provo mission and the big Macy's Parade-style balloons, especially the Curious George one.

For lunch we headed to the park and partook of fair food. The kids also got to do lots of free crafts. Cami and I also got to sneak off without the kids to enjoy a little window shopping and cotton candy (yum!).

Apparently, none of us had our fill of fun yet and went to SubZero for some ice cream. I got Lime with sour patch kids. You can blame that one on the pregnancy, but it was very refreshing and light tasting. Not too sour, but just enough. Next time though, I think I'll take my sour patch kids on the side. I forget what ice cream does to gummy candies.

A busy weekend, but lots of fun. My kids are finally out for a 3 week summer break. Time to party!

generic update

2010-07-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of days after McKay lost his first tooth, he popped out his 2nd on his own. Hopefully there are no more loose teeth. Not sure if the tooth fairy has enough cash to cover that cute little mouth.

The kids are both finishing school this week. McKay's last day was today and Lyndsi's is tomorrow. This school year has seemed long. I'm looking forward to a few weeks of summer with my 3 kiddos before we jump into a new scool year. I feel like I've hardly had any time with them this last month.

Jeff's parents got off to the mission home fine and are getting settled in. He was able to talk to both of his parents the other day. He said they sounded a little flustered, but who isn't moving to a new place? If you know anyone heading to the Denver South mission, just let them know they will have the best mission president they could ever hope for. :)

One more week and we'll be in for our ultrasound. I've always looked forward to my ultrasounds, but I'm down right excited about this one. The general concensus is a boy. I have no personal feeling either way and am determined we are getting puppies. ;) Whatever the outcome is, I'm excited to start working on some baby projects for this kid.

Exciting Times

2010-06-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

McKay lost his first tooth last night!! He let Jeff pop it out without so much as a squirm or whimper. He was very exact when it came to tooth placement for the tooth fairy. He tried about 3 or 4 different spots under his pillow before he found just the right one. This morning when I woke him up and reminded him about the tooth, he sat up groggily (is that a word?) and lifted up the pillow. It was as if someone pluggd in the Christmas tree. "A dollar!!! The tooth fairy gave me a dollar!!!!!!" He quickly stumbled, bleary-eyed, down the hall to tell dad. When asked what he was going to do with his dollar, he said, "save it for a DS."

Sorry for the blur. we were having flash trouble last night, but I love the goofy, kindergarteness of this picture. :)

A Swingin Time

2010-06-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Recently Sophie has learned to do this.

She loves it! If you can't find her take a peek out the back door and you'll find her. She'll insist that you come outside, on the grass to watch her. Then she'll chat with you the whole time she swings. :) Look at her go! (Sorry about the dog barking, but it was the cuter of the two videos.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZJa9wzQDGc

Nearly 17 weeks

2010-06-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's flying by now! Sadly, my regular clothes didn't make it much past 15 weeks. There are a couple of things I can still wear, but mostly it's maternity for me. Sniff.

The baby has started wiggling around inside now. The kids love giving it little pats and kisses. I think it is already the most adored baby on the planet. I wasn't super excited about the 4 year gap, but it's fun having the kids a bit older. They kinda get what's going on now and are SO excited for this. They all have their own opinion on what the name should be. It's been fun.

Unplugging

2010-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

I was going over the kids "summer vacation." Here's what it looks like.

This week: Finish current track session
Following 2 weeks: off-track (June)
Then: Back to school for 3 weeks to finish the current year-round school year.
Next: Summer vacation for 3-4 weeks (July).
Following That: Back to school (new grades) for 3 weeks.
Then because of a track change: Off for 3 more weeks (August).
Finally: Back in school til Nov.

With Memorial day rapidly approaching and our first summer break, I'm going to unplug for a bit. No blogs, facebook, and minimal e-mail. I'd love to use that time to take kids to swim lessons, lunch at the park, hiking, the zoo, etc. This will be a huge challenge for me to unplug almost completely (still can't live with out the occasional email check yet), but my kids are really cute and lots of fun right now. I want to enjoy them, their silly antics and be remembered for a mom who is "there." (Maybe by the time I'm back I'll actually have some fun pictures and posts to keep you interested. lol)

I will still be available by phone and texting however. I'm not going caveman here. ;)

Happy summering!!

The Latest Project

2010-05-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

The kids know. And now you can too. (Because, let's face it, if they know, everyone will know.)

Due date: Nov. 24

This is the life

2010-05-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

I think I could get used to it. ;)

Celebrate

2010-05-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Mothers' Day, Birthday, Anniversary, Jeff finally home from a big long week away from us.........This has been a busy weekend!

Today's J's bday. Happy birthday babe! This guy has been making my life easier and more fun for the last 10 years (on thursday!-more to come later).

He likes a quiet celebration, so tonight we'll bbq, have cake and ice cream and we'll see about getting him something fun for his special day. ;) Saturday he and I went out to celebrate his birthday. One of his favorite bands, MuteMath (along with another band) was in town opening for 30 Seconds to Mars. He got tickets and we went. We watched both opening acts-Neon Trees played first. Niether of knew what to expect from them, but ended up being happily surprised. They were kind of fun. Then Mutemath which was awesome. So much better to see the music you love live. Then we left. Yes. We shelled out money for tickets and didn't even stick around to hear the main attraction. That's ok. we got our $$ worth. :)

Mothers' day was perfect. McKay was disappointed we didn't have time for breakfast in bed. The kids all sang in Sacrament meeting with the primary. The only thing that kept me from crying was the lady in front of us kept turning around to comment on the kids (nice things of course). I didn't want her to see me cry. :) After church, the kids loaded me down with all there hand crafted presents. (Shout out to all the teachers who come up with and get projects going for moms' day. I love it!) Lyndsi painted a flower pot for me along with some notes she wrote at school. Then she gave me another flower pot with some paper cut outs of her hand stuck in like flowers. Each handprint had a different chore on it that she would do for me. She was so cute when she gave it to me. She said, "Mom, you're gonna love this present...but I'm not." Hehe. She's right. I do love it and I'm gonna use it, too. :) McKay make a cute foam flower in a wooden pot with a clothes pin on the back-perfect for pictures or recipe cards. Sophie gave me a candy bar with a special mothers day wrapper on it that they put together in Sunbeams. Jeff surprised me with some fun jewelery he brought back from Hawaii. He also surprised me (though not specifically for this occasion) with a trip to Home Depot to get these really fun adirondack chairs we'd seen at this fun place in St. George. We love them and will be going back to get 2 more.

We decided to take dinner over to my mom and dad and Greg and enjoyed the evening hanging out with them. I got my mom a book (Spare Change by Aubrey Mace) and made her a cake stand (here is the tutorial-super easy) to use when she gets her Cricuit cake machine. For a combined gift, my parents gave us 2 new, much needed, sleeping bags along with a nice table we can use camping, crafting, etc. Jeff's mom is gonna have to wait for her gift, though. But we have it and are excited and I know she'll love it. :)

It was a nice day. I love that my kids are old enough now to make their own gifts. I love seeing the thought and excitement put into each one. It makes all the not fun stuff about mommy-hood worth it. I'm also so happy to have a great mom myself and a wondeful mother-in-law. Both have taught us, helped us, inspired us and loved us. And thanks to you friends and bloggers. I do look up to you and learn about being a better mother from you as well. It's nice to have a day to celebrate Motherhood.

Next up-the big 10-yr anniversary!

Not Normally

2010-05-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

I don't clean my kids rooms for them. I don't mind helping them clean and at least (if I'm busy with something else) will give them little tasks to do like "take care of all the clothes." When that is finished, they come back for another one. That and actually being in there helping have worked great for me so far. Occasionally though bedrooms get out-of-control messy.

McKay's room has been that way for the last several days, despite our attempts to clean it together. Last night I couldn't walk in his room and decided that was the last straw. Today while he was at a friends, I went in and cleaned. I did a little organizing, threw a bunch of "special" papers away (you know-anything that has been touched by them) and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. I wondered at I was doing. I didn't feel anger at McKay for allowing his room to get this way. I really didn't mind doing it, but how could I deny my child an opportunity to learn to work and be responsible for his own things? How could I let that teaching opportunity slide right by?!

Honestly. We are all happier this way. I'm happier because now I can wash all his clothes, walk in his room and see his floor. McKay will be happier because now he doesn't have the overwhelming tast of cleaning his room weighing him down and he's not getting in trouble.

Oh! Epiphany-It just came to me-I haven't lost a learning opportunity-at least for myself. It seems this is what Heavenly Father is constantly doing for me, wiping my slate clean so I get a "do-over" to try and be better. A little bit of mercy for a daughter He loves. Now McKay gets a little "do-over" himself and we can work harder together to get the hang of keeping a room clean. I love finding little lessons in daily life.

Flying Solo

2010-05-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Jeff's out of town for work. Due to that and a nasty cold, I've been really tired. Yesterday I was contemplating staying home from church today (not wanting to spread these icky germs) or only going to sacrament meeting. When I woke up at 7:30 feeling refreshed, there were no more questions of what to do in my mind. I helped get the kids ready and we went to church. We have sacrament last and admittedly I was nervous about trying to keep 3 active kids (especially #'s 2 and 3) quite and reverant. The meeting passed with the usual loudly whispered conversations and lots of coloring and asking of advice on what to draw next. McKay all of a sudden got it in his brain to draw all the planets in our solar system, the sun, the moon the milky way, and various other space-related things. He was constantly asking me what color which planet was, how big, etc. It felt like a busy sacrament meeting. Afterwards though, the man sitting behind me (one of the younger empty-nesters) told me how much he enjoyed my kids' reverance today. He thought they were thoroughly wonderful and well-behaved and he expressed his appreciation for that. Then another friend (with older kids) caught me and made sure I knew that I could call her for help anytime if I need it while Jeff is gone and gave me some great bits of advice. I left sacrament feeling so uplifted and my testimony of how much Heavenly Father loves me and his awareness of me, my trials and my concerns strengthened. It's nice to know you are loved, thought of and taken care of.

Just for fun-
Here are the pictures McKay drew in sacrament meeting. The scanner distorted the colors a bit. That brownish looking ball is actually orange. And I just noticed we're missing Saturn. (Maybe the rings added to Neptune and Venus threw me off.)

Peaches for Me!

2010-04-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

For Family Night we planted our first fruit tree.

Step one: Dig hole.

Step Two: Remove rocks. (Sophie and McKay had a blast playing with the rocks. Thought I'd got a picture of it, but I guess not)

Step Three: Fill hole with baby tree and pack with dirt.

Here she is!

Now, if it can survive the shock, we just may get a few peaches this year.

In Which McKay Turns 6

2010-04-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

How did my sweet, chubby 8 lb 3 oz baby go from here:

To here?!

No matter. McKay is a very lovable little guy. He always tells me how pretty I am and smothers we with hugs and kisses. He's a protector to his sisters and a handyman helper to his dad. He loves playing games and throwing any ball with his dad. He is really getting into "boy time" with Dad and looks forward to trips to the cabin where he is ALL boy. He is doing really well at reading, math and handwriting in school. Today his teacher stopped and praised him up and down for those things which I thought was very nice of her. He is a friend to everyone which can get him in trouble when he's supposed to be doing other things. How can I be mad at him for that, though? :) He loves playing the piano and is doing really well. He is also looking forward to his 2nd season of soccer this fall and trying basketball in the winter.

The poor kid, however, has a CPA for a dad, which usually isn't a bad thing-unless your bday falls 2 days before the biggest tax deadline of the year. As a mom I feel I have to put just a bit more effort into making his day extra special so he doesn't feel forgotten. Yesterday I think we suceeded. After lunch, I took McKay and his best buddy to see How to Train Your Dragon. The trip was topped off with their own popcorn, drink and candy. Perfect movie for little boys who love adventure. We came home afterwards for some cake, ice cream and playtime.

That night my parents came over for his bday dinner-chicken sandwiches, strawberry jell-o and fries. We did more presents. I was really surprised and pleased with how gracious my little boy was. He was so excited with everything he opened and was sure to thank everyone.

He is such a great kid and I feel so blessed to have him be in my family. Love you bud!

Muse: The Resistance Tour

2010-04-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

**Updated with new pictures Cami took. You'll get a good idea how close we ended up.

Sigh.........Smile..........Greatest night ever.

A few rules I learned while seeing the most awesome band perform live (and a mere 10 feet from where I stood):

1. There is no such thing as personal space. At all.

2. It is possible to be so excited that you very nearly pee your pants (allegedly).

(Cami took this of the whole band. It was just awesome. Am I repeating myself?)

3. And then hyperventillate. (We'll blame that one on the over heated-ness due to rule 1.)

4. The mosh pit is a must. Whether you want to or not.

5. Where ever you are sitting before the show starts, you will inevitably move 5 feet closer to the stage once the show starts.

(Another one of Cami's photos-That guy on stage is Chris W. the bass guitarist/backup vocals. We were so close!)

6. There is no other place to be than on the floor.

Seriously. This was the best night ever. Thanks Cami for sharing it with me!!!!

Oh-and I was very happy to see this guitar made familiar to me by their H.A.R.R.P. dvd. Something about the red guitar with glittary stripes....:)

So, now I have a couple of questions for you. What's the best concert you've been to? Have you seen your dream band/singer live?

A Few New Things

2010-03-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jeff went downstairs to do some laundry. (Lucky me!) Later we could hear the washer thumping all over the house.......loudly. It was broken. Sniff. Not such a good thing for a family of 5. But, lucky for me, Jeff decided to spring for a new washer and a new dryer. We've had old refurbished ones since we got married. I'm pretty confident that we got the 2 washers and 3 dryers we've owned for about the same price as our new one. :) Our washing machine came last week and it's hooked up and running now. I {heart} this thing! the dryer comes this week. Can't wait to try them together!

We also decided to move Lyndsi downstairs in her own room. I told her that on a certain Saturday we'd move her down. As that day approached, I started getting really nervous. Not because I thought it would be too scary for her, but because I thought I'd worry too much about it. Jeff and I talked and decided to go ahead with it. That Saturday involved a lot of work! We had to relocate the food storage and divide up all the toys in the extra room along with all the shelving. The girls' room had to be taken apart and move all of Lyndsi's stuff downstairs. There were two girls' rooms now to put back together, clean and organize. Don't worry. McKay didn't get left out of all the fun. There was a piece of furniture destined to be put in his room which required somewhat extensive rearraging and organizing in there as well. I couldn't have done all of this without the help of my awesome and amazing parents. (And Jeff too when he got home from work.) It's been just over a week now and the general consensus around here is: we all love the new arragements! Everyone's rooms are staying cleaner and we're all getting along so much better. Lyndsi in particular is reall enjoying her new, private space. She is a better sister now and generally much happier.

The last thing was SUCH a big deal to both McKay and Sophie. They have both been saving their money to buy their own ZhuZhu pets. The same day we got our washer, I took them to pick out their new pets. I thought this would be a passing fancy, but those little guys go everywhere with us. They are played with all day long and the 2 new ones plus Lyndsi's that she got for her birthday all seem to be pretty good friends. :)

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

St. Pat's is never a big deal at our house. We do the usual wear green or get pinched thing, occasionally I'll sneak a few drops of gren food coloring into the kids' milk or mac 'n cheese. This year the kids had the idea to set a trap for a leprachaun. As we were going through the bedtime routine I helped each kid set their trap (each loaded with a shiny coin to attract the little guy). When I tucked Sophie in her bed, she admitted to me that she was scared of the little guy. (In the morning, she told me, "Mommy, I just shut my eyes and closed my mouth and didn't open them til morning!) Lyndsi on the other hand asked Heavenly Father to help her not be soexcited that she couldn't sleep. She told me she peaked from her bed a few times in the night. In the morning, Jeff and I had our own wee visitors in the wee hours of the morning. They were all so excited everyone was up by 6! When they checked their traps, they didn't find leprachauns but they did find a pile of gold (ok-gold hershey nuggets). It was a fun little thing and 100% the kids' idea. I think we'll try and do this again next year!

Glam

2010-03-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

For as long as she's been able to put a braclet on by herself, Sophie has been my glam girl. She loves bracelets, necklaces, makeup, having her hair done (and she must have a bow or flower of her choosing everytime), shoes, purses and anything else accessory-ish and girly. She proudly flaunts her jewels and fancy accessories anywhere she can get away with it. She also loves to make jewelry with her Grandma and insists on wearing it to church. She is rocking the 3-year-old fashion world. And I love it. :)

Lyndsi's Baptism

2010-03-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

Saturday was Lyndsi's baptism. I knew it was exciting and special and all that, but I felt really unprepared for how wonderful it was. And not just the service, but the entire day was full of peace and love and family-togetherness. We were all just happy.

Jeff both baptized and confirmed her (and did a wondeful job). Our home teacher and good friend, Terry Ewell spoke on baptism and our primary president Mia Tibbets spoke on the Holy Ghost.

Afterwards we had a big lunch at our home for our family and friends. Lyndsi loved having everyone who could make it there and was really quite surprised at how many people showed up for her special day.

By dinner time she was just lounging on the couch going through her new scriptures and looking at the other gifts she was given. We asked her to come in for dinner, but she just wanted to stay on the couch and do what she was doing. Looking at her, both Jeff and I realized she was still just letting it all soak in and was enjoying it.

It was a wondeful day and thanks so much to all that came and missed those who couldn't make it!!

Looking Forward to This

2010-03-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

New Mantra

2010-03-01T08:38:00.001-08:00

"It's a false sense of accomplishment every time I quit"

Thank you Jimmy Eat World.

Cool Stuff

2010-02-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

Twiddle Thumbs was featured as a creative guest on one of the coolest craft blogs ever, U Create. Go check us out and see the oh-so-cute silhouettes Anisa did for the post!!