AF Yeates

10 Word Catch Up

2011-11-08T12:27:00.000-08:00


#9

Here's what we have been up to, 9 pictures, 10 words or so a picture.... These are all out of order, I tried to rearrange, delete, start over, but it's not happening.

#1 Celebrated Birthdays 13, 10 and 4. Happy girls, lucky mama.
#2 July: Yosemite: Breathtaking - Paige and Ashlee were airplanes on most downhills.
#3 Yosemite in early July - retire here? Yes please !!!!!! Breathtaking.
#4 More Yosemite, every stream was overflowing, water everywhere!
#5 More Yosemite - snowball fights in July, on this walk/hike Paige kept yelling "Quick, get more ammo."
#6 Later in July, trip to Seattle to see Chris's brothers. So good to see everyone and have the cousins meet!
#7 May- down to San Diego, Sea world with entire population of city one day. Fun trip - lost one set of keys in the Pacific.
#8 End of year events: choir concert for Maggie, looking so grown up.
#9 May - trip to Long Beach Washington for me with my sisters and mom. So fun, so relaxing, also the scariest bridge I may have ever been on!

So, that's pretty much it. School has started - not sure I took any pictures, Paige is in pre-school 3 days a week and loves it. She is still the best buddy to have around and I'm going to miss her next year when she goes every day (but still only half-days - yay!) Ashlee just finished soccer, Maggie finished cross-country a few weeks ago (no pictures) But I did manage to take one picture of Halloween when everyone was dressed up and ready to go - so I'll have to download that and post it later. Now on to Thanksgiving - maybe I'll try and locate a camera sometime this week!

Spring Break

2011-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break this year we made the trek to UT - we had a late break this year - Maggie got Good Friday off and the week after Easter. Spring Break Highlights:
• We got to be there "THE" Easter Egg Hunt. My Aunt Tina puts an egg hunt together every year for willing participants - everybody has an assigned color and certain number of eggs, and then we got to hide eggs for each other (younger "hunters" have to wait inside) The older participants were sure to have some extremely difficult/hard to reach/hard to find eggs. And, it was surprising how easy it was to forget where you put the eggs. It was so fun, and I was happy to be there with the girls to participate in this tradition that we have only ever heard about over the phone.

• We used real eggs to stuff with candy this year, it was fun.

• We did some stuff - children's museum, Thanksgiving Point, BYU for the Karl Bloch exhibit, seeing cousins, grandma, etc. etc.

•After insisting, getting grumpy, insisting some more, my dad still flew out to help me with the drive and then helped me drive back and flew home again. I'm thankful for great parents.

Our eggs, I thought they were so pretty this year.

Beckam - he wants to live outside.

Ashlee had almost the whole month of April off - our elementary school is on a modified year round schedule. In fact, Maggie is done with school now (her last day was Friday) but Ashlee will be in school until the end of June. Paige is in HEAVEN when her sisters are home. That last picture is one day that Paige and Ashlee spent the morning making mud food - behold a mud ice cream cone. Our dirt is so full of clay, it feels like you could just throw it on a wheel and make a lovely mug... :)

Updating

2011-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

My parents came to visit in April - the first weekend of the month. Some of our activities included: April Fooling - plain glazed donuts covered with a mix of cocoa powder and olive oil. We almost had both girls, but the "icing" was runny and they licked their fingers first. Ashlee is doing a re-enactment for us.

We went to the Beach - I just want to note for the record once again that I really want to live near the beach, like really near, close enough to bike ride/walk near (I need a few more years to work on Christopher for this to even be a possibility) - that bottom beach shot is with my dad's fancy camera, and even though I can't imagine carrying something so big around and taking it out to snap pictures, I covet the kinds of pictures that you can take with it.

We also went back to my mom and dad's old apartment where they lived with 3 small kids - and then 4. It was really cute still, I would live there now. Like always, my parents really lifted my spirits (sometimes I get low, low, low when Christopher is gone) and did lots of projects - pulling weeds, about a million of them out of our mostly clay dirt, and sewing a bottom panel on the curtain in our kitchen. The trade-off of not living close is that we get un-interrupted time with them when they come to visit.

Nice . . . .

2011-03-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Paige likes to dress up and accessorize - some looks are better than others. But, as she says to me if I do something of which she disapproves "I still love you."

Derek

2011-03-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

Paige has lots of Barbies - a ragtag collection that she has inherited from her older sisters. I think we have only purchased one Barbie for her - the rest are all hand me downs. Among those dolls is one boy - Ashlee thinks that he is from a Disney movie, I can't remember which, but at our house, he's Derek. Christopher plays the role of Derek - and for about two months right after he got home from his short summer deployment, he was Christopher's constant companion whenever he was home. I wish that I would have written down more of the things that Paige had him doing in the name of Derek, but some that I remember are:
• One Sunday at Church (Derek's last appearance there) I looked down the aisle to see Derek karate chopping Odette (usually that's the girl Barbie's name, but not always) all up and down, it was a little bit loud. When I asked later, Paige said that Odette had died and Derek was helping her. Odette used to die once every 2 or 3 minutes.
• Derek spent about an hour one afternoon throwing up into a plastic cup - he was really sick.
• One day when Christopher got home from work, Paige came running down the stairs with Derek in one hand, Odette in the other, saying "Oh Derek, guess what I'm wearing?" It was a ball dress.

Derek has come with us to the movies, to church (no longer), to the grocery store etc. etc...

It was my favorite thing to watch Paige play with her Dad and Derek. He still makes some appearances, but it's not as frequent as it used to be, which of course makes me just a little bit sad.

January and February

2011-03-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

January - back to school, lots of rain, Muir Woods, Stinson Beach.
February - school, winter break, no pictures . . .

And now we are into March, and I will try to be a better blogger for all my readers. . . hah! I kill myself. But, I will try to be a better blogger for my own personal benefit.

After looking at the pictures on the page, I'll add the following: The sunset on the beach was beyond beautiful, the picture doesn't even begin to capture it, and these sunsets are the only point I'm willing to give to CA beaches over the New Jersey shore.

The last picture is of New Year's morning - we all slept in the family room for New Year's Eve. Christopher was on the floor with Ashlee and Paige and got the worst sleep of all of us.

Christmas Top 10

2011-01-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

Above are some pictures of our Christmas - I sort of hate blogger right now - why is it so hard to put pictures in order? I can't figure it out. Anyway, now that you've enjoyed some pictures of our December - here's a top 10 list about this December:

1. Activities: Maggie sings with our Stake (local congregation) youth choir at our town's Festival of Trees, we visit the Oakland Temple to see the lights with Christopher's cousin Devin and his family, we also visited a few locally famous streets with lights, as an aside: everyone should take a three year old with them to see lights, it ups the excitement factor by about 5, we all attend a Messiah sing along - two of us love it, 2 of us think it is ok, 1 of us starts to cry shortly after intermission because it is "taking forever" and we have unfortunately obeyed the rules and finished M&M's in the lobby, we attend Christmas Eve service, which Paige blessedly sleeps almost entirely through.

2. Gifts: this year, I used an idea from Design Mom and the girls made each other's gifts: Maggie made pillow cases (pictured above) - on a day that Christopher was home for help with the machine, Ashlee made hair clips and headbands with flowers and Paige made glitter letters. I loved this.

3. Food: we had lots of yummy food and delivered treats to Primary teachers and neighbors. My favorite this year was chocolate covered popcorn.

4. Time: We had lots of time to spend together. The girls both had the entire week before Christmas off and even though Christopher didn't have leave, he was able to be home alot.

5. The girls let us sleep until 7:30 Christmas morning

6. Ashlee loved that she got to stay in her PJ's all day Christmas day.

7. We got a real tree this year. As we are putting it up Christopher tells us a funny childhood anecdote about family friends who thought their tree was just really "thirsty" but really the stand had a leak and they rotted the sub floor. The morning after Christmas, Paige retrieves her calendar from underneath the tree and it is mysteriously wet - turns out we had a little water issue also, not enough to rot the floor, just enough to leave a big red stain from the felt tree skirt.

8. Gorgeous California weather. The hills are so green and beautiful right now - it reminds me of summer in our little German town HP.

9. Christopher got another helicopter and it is a big hit with everyone (one of the pictures above with Paige wincing is her ducking from "Chopster")

10. Shopping was like going on a date - I love that Maggie is old enough to babysit now, also Paige is old enough to spill the beans about gifts, so we stopped taking her with us. The end.

November, Try to Remember

2011-01-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

In November we: drove to Point Reyes State Park, the water was cold, the weather was gorgeous. We had a picnic, walked down the 300 or so steps to the beautiful lighthouse, may have seen a whale breach (we caught only the briefest of glimpses, but the girls insist that's what it was AND, as if to prove the point the sign at the ranger's station, read on the way out, noted that there had been some whale activity to the south of the lighthouse. It was really exciting.) We then walked back up the 300 or so steps and drove home, stopping first above another beach to fight for the binoculars and observe sea lions taking their leisure far below in the dusk. It really is a gorgeous spot and we hope to go back many times. For a first outing, we felt it was very successful. But then, we read our guide book (weeks after - when will I learn) and it seems we missed out on some world class culinary opportunities. So, more exploring of the many hiking trails and food stops is in order.

In November, Ashlee performed in her school play with the San Francisco Opera Guild. That picture is so grainy, but so are all the others I took - I will figure out how to work our point and shoot better one of these days. It was a thrill for me to watch and I think for her to perform. My favorite parts of the whole play, after her performance of course, were: her phone call home to request permission to audition - I have it almost memorized - it makes me laugh every time I listen to it. "Mom...or Dad...this is Ashlee.I was wondering if I can go to practice for the opera today, it's every Wednesday from 1:45 to 3:00..... thank-you ..... goodbye." She was talking so quietly so no-one could hear her, and she is always so business like on the phone, it cracks me up. And - one of the boys in the play went home after school and showered before practice - every time. Ashlee says the teachers would tell him not to go home, but to go straight to practice, but he always went home to shower and then came back. Ashlee told us about it because she thought it was funny and so do I, kids are just funny sometimes.

In November, we went to Utah for Thanksgiving week. We had a really good visit. All of my siblings were there, so that makes twice this year we have all been together. I have a real affinity for UT. now, and it has nothing to do with the state, but just that so many people that I love live there. I don't have that many pictures, I only remembered to get my camera out once while we were actually there. The picture below was taken on the drive over, somewhere in Nevada, which was actually quite beautiful with all the snow. So, that's it, next up December....

Fall Sports

2010-12-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

Fall sports are over (have been for quite some time now...)both Maggie and Ashlee played soccer, and Maggie ran for the cross country team at her Middle School. I love soccer and hope they continue to play. I do not love hyper-competitive parents / coaches. Sometimes they are funny and entertaining (the coach in the green in the background is an example of this) but mostly they are bothersome and make me uncomfortable and even a little angry. It's the only part of youth sports that I don't like. Best memory I have of Ashlee this season (even though I didn't personally witness this, I was with Maggie at her field): While waiting for the game to start, Ashlee dropped and started doing push-ups. She loves soccer and is always excited to play - I am smiling thinking about it right now.

Maggie's back during a race - I am really proud of her - she worked hard at cross country and improved her time by about 1 1/2 minutes during the season. What makes me more proud is the fact that she showed up to try-outs/practice without a single friend (new school, only a few friends). I would not have done that in a million years in school. I played sports in high school, but I always knew someone until my senior year and I probably wouldn't have played that year, but my dad found out about the off-season team for my school and got me to try-out, thanks Dad! Anyway, Maggie is awesome.

So, there you go - one update down, several to go. . . .

All Hallow's Eve

2010-10-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Peace Out - Flower, Bride of Frankenstein, Nerd!

(p.s. I will try to post some other updates soon)

Redwoods

2010-09-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day Weekend, we took a trip up the North Coast to see the Redwood Trees. On the way up, we stopped at Glass Beach - so named because it used to be the city dump, now all the glass (because it is heavy and didn't get washed out to sea) has been buffed/polished into little pebbles. Christopher says that the thing embedded in the rock in this picture is the rear differential of a pick-up truck. I have lots of thoughts about this beach -

The rest of the pictures:
2. Redwood Grove - the trees were AMAZING.

3. Blurry picture next to the base of a fallen tree - Paige was done with: walking, smiling, using her nice voice, being happy. She had been sick and was a little out of sorts.
4. Christopher trying to re-create a picture he remembers of older brother Michael jumping from a Redwood into his dad's arms. We did this shot with both older girls, twice with Ashlee. I have a hard time pulling the trigger at the right time. These were the instructions he gave - "Mom's going to take a picture of you jumping to me." If you tell Ashlee to jump, if you tell her that you will catch her, if she trusts you - she will really jump. I guess her jump was a little bit too authentic - he meant for her to sort of lean and fall - not jump. The five minutes after this shot were filled with jumping around, rubbing a kicked leg, saying "I didn't mean really jump" and lots of laughing.
5.Maggie being silly, I like that you can see the tree's dimensions in this picture. I don't think this was the biggest one we saw, but read the numbers, they are impressive.
6.They are singing.
7. Beautiful coast line on the bluffs above glass beach.

We had a great time on this trip - this area of California is so beautiful. I just scrolled back through the pictures - I think the theme is blurry....

Back to School

2010-09-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Girls are back in school - week 4. How old does Paige look in jeans? She begged to have them, I bought them, she put them on once, for 10 minutes to have this picture taken and hasn't looked at them since. Does that sentence sound familiar? It does to me. . . every year at back to school time, I buy them clothes they won't put back on, clothes they insist they love. Paige proudly continues the tradition. We took a whole bunch of pictures for their "back to school" fashion show. I was going to send them to their dad in the desert, but I just downloaded them 5 minutes ago. Anyway, it is fine with me that she doesn't want to put those jeans back on - she's looking a little bit too grown-up for me in that picture.

The transition has been the roughest on Ashlee - as you can see in the picture above. She is not hanging her head just to avoid the camera, she didn't know I had it out. That is how I left her, waiting in line on the first day. She came home much happier (see her smiling above , after school!), but she still has a few days of crying in the morning, not wanting to go. The whole first week, I reminded her to just take things one day at a time, that things would be better, easier as time went on. She is settling in. I am proud of her for struggling through. It helped that Chris came home the Friday of their second week, he makes everything a little easier for all of us. Maggie is in 7th grade - she has been really excited most days about the new school and new opportunities. Middle school!!!! I can't believe it.

Dinner Group

2010-08-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

One more item that I intended to blog about, but haven't yet - dinner group. A friend from the ward started a dinner group with 4 other ladies some time in the fall of last year. In March, one of the families dropped out and I got to be the replacement. I had heard about the group and was really excited to participate.

Here's how it worked - every week, you cooked five of the same meal on your assigned day, one for your family and four others to deliver to the other dinner group members. On the rest of the days (Monday through Friday only) you made a salad, maybe cooked some green beans, maybe cooked some rice or pasta (to go with the main dish) and then waited for your dinner to be delivered! I think the rules were - delivered ready to eat by 5, or ready to cook by 3. It was so awesome! We ate dinner at a decent hour every single week night, my kids tried new things, clean-up was a breeze! This my sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but it was like a little Christmas gift 4 days a week. The only drawback was on my cooking day, my kitchen was a DISASTER. and it usually took almost 2 hours to clean everything up, but even then, because I had to have it delivered by 5, we were eating at 6 even on my days to cook. I was really sad to give it up in May when we moved into the TLF. It was one of the best ideas EVER. I took the picture above on one of my cooking days. The kitchen doesn't look too bad in that picture, but that is just at the very beginning of the cooking... by the end, that stack of towels would be down by 4 or 5, those bowls would be at the bottom of an extremely large stack etc....

I would love to do it again here, and I am sort of keeping my eyes open for potential members.

Family Reunion Recap

2010-08-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Since I have pretty much given up on sleep...here are some posts about things that happened in the last six months. First up - Family Reunion Recap. My family gets together every other year - the even years for a Reunion. Each time, one sibling and their spouse (if they are married) is in charge - meaning booking the place, coordinating activities, meals, etc...Two summers ago it was our turn, this year it was Geoff and Kristen's turn. They did a great job. The most difficult part is deciding where everyone is going to sleep. Families with babies generally get priority - we are having another baby before the next reunion for this reason alone. (Ha, ha ha) Once everybody is assigned a room, switched rooms and finally settled in, the rest is easy.

First, a picture of Daniel getting injured during the picture scavenger hunt. Geoff and Kristen ran this activity, it was a lot of fun. Our team probably should have won, but I think they gave it to Daniel's team out of sympathy or something. ;) We were supposed to get a picture of our team carrying another team member (Daniel). Too bad for Daniel that he arrived at the reunion with a serious bruise to the ribs and we (Christopher) did more damage. We thought he was teasing, but as his face clearly shows, he was in a lot of pain. Chris and I were talking later and remembered that when we saw his brother and kids at Bear Lake (same location) a few years ago, he broke his brother's ribs also. Hmmmm.... Better watch your back, it might be you next time.

Daniel and his family - Miriam, Eva and Alexander. Miriam is due next month, but they think the baby will come any day now. Their activity was World Cup related - we watched a lot of World Cup while we were there, the kids loved the word search with Daniel's color commentary.


Grandma and Opa with all of the kids. Paige loved Garrett and still talks about him. Cute kids, right? Grandma and Opa were in charge of Family Home Evening.

Geoff is getting ready to catch a baseball (distraction method) not telling us to stop taking his picture. Is Cameron getting ready to catch the ball or hit his dad? I think Kristen has run like 300 races this year and my mom said the other night that she is doing a triathlon this weekend. Go Kristen! They were great planners and I think when our year comes around again, we'll just pay them to do it for us.


Andrew, Carly, Beckam. I have been bribing Maggie to braid her hair on the side since the reunion thanks to Carly. She didn't believe me that it was coo, but you know if Carly does it, it's cool. Carly and Andrew planned a game -kind of like Jeopardy. It was really fun and reminded me why sibling relationships are so important to me - we have a lot of history and I really like all of them and now all of their spouses. Plus, how cute is Beckam?

It was fun to get together and see everyone. It takes some serious coordinating and some sacrifice (Geoff's kids missed school, Miriam was pregnant and uncomfortable, Carly's parents had just left town etc....) but it is really so worthwhile to get everyone together. We had some structured activities and some unstructured time and it was all good. Some other highlights:

* riding the boat around the lake - the water was still sooooo cold - it wasn't really swimming temperature yet. But almost everyone still jumped in off the boat - including Maggie and Ashlee.
* the guided tour of the nearby caves - we lucked out and got an accidentally hilarious guide. We will still be quoting him and talking about it at the next reunion.
*seeing Andrew, Carly and Beckam be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple before the reunion...

Time always goes by so quickly, I am already looking forward to the next time we get together. Sorry, no pictures of Jennifer and Heather - I didn't take very many pics...

San Francisco

2010-07-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

My mom sisters are here and we spent the day in San Francisco yesterday - it is a beautiful city and we had beautiful weather and I am so lucky to have family that will come and visit!!!

A list....

2010-07-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

I can't find the chord to hook up to the camera. .. so no pictures yet, but I wanted to make a list of things to remember about this move/summer before I can only vaguely recall the things I never imagined I could forget.

1. For a brief two to three week period of time this spring, Paige called me mother almost exclusively. She said it with just the right amount of sass and charm to have me hoping it would a permanent thing. It sounded like mudder, and my favorite phrases included: Oh muddder. Mudder, you're silly. MUuDder - holding each syllable a little long and giving me some look when she was mad. Now she will only say mudder if I ask, and if the fancy strikes.

2. I was reminded how good it feels to work really hard at something physical while we were packing and loading the truck - Christopher was in a great mood all of our packing and loading days, I think it has something to do with "by the sweat of their brow" and also a little bit to do with not being professional movers, so the challenge was finite.

3. It was fun to be all together in the car for those days - we only stopped to sight see in Nauvoo, but I still loved having all of my family together with nowhere for anyone to go but where we were all going together. (3A. I still don't like hearing "This would be a good time to die." from my husbands lips. He says it almost every time we are all together traveling because in theory we would all go together and no-one would be left behind- of our immediate family. )

4. Ashlee and Maggie both had great years at school - they worked hard and I was proud of them. Maggie left school on her last day crying. Ashlee's tears came after we were here in the new house and the reality of a new school, new church friends, new everything moved into her little heart with all those boxes coming off the truck. I felt all those emotions with them. . . and hope they have many more happy days than sad coming up.

5. I can see and feel some of the growth that has occurred in our marriage as we make this transition - and it feels good.

That's it for now. We have traded beautiful green New Jersey for beautiful golden California. . . I'll try and get it together and post some pictures soon.

Three

2010-05-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

Paigie turns three on Monday and she is happily anticipating her big day. Ashlee and I went shopping for gifts today and when we returned home, she came running out to the car asking "Where are the presents?" I told her we couldn't find anything we really liked so we would have to go shopping another day. That was a lie - I don't have time to go shopping another day and there were indeed gifts for her in the back of the car, but also true - I didn't find anything I really liked. There is a big, green moving truck in the driveway and Paige's big day unfortunately falls in the middle of moving week this time, so we only bought small gifts that can be taken in the car without a lot of thoughtful planning. Luckily I had some chocolate covered strawberries back there and those made her forget about the gifts.

I am happy to have a three year-old who is happy and strong and healthy - both body and mind. I am grateful for it. But I am a little heartbroken that she is three, because it means she is no longer 2, or 1, or just arrived. She's just growing so fast. She is a daddy's girl, just like her two sisters. When she is hurt or offended, she comes to get her daddy and has him beat up the offender, even me, if I have given offense. He started it when Paigie came to him one time over some offense and he asked "Should we go beat her up?" Right now it's all jovial fun - hopefully she doesn't start to take it too seriously. She is very particular about clothes (only dresses, please, unless it's her favorite green skirt.) and shoes and hair. She likes to do tricks for us and color and write us notes. She has vivid imagination often plays very elaborate games with inanimate objects given voices and personalities. She needs a nap, but hates to take one. For the past week she has been sleeping on the floor with her sisters and loves it in there. She still loves her blanket. She loves carrots and broccoli and lettuce, but really no other vegetable. She loves to help - especially if the task seems like one only an adult can do. She hates to pick up her own toys. We love her and are so grateful to be a part of her family. SO grateful.

Here is a picture from last year on her day - because that big green truck isn't exactly going to pack itself. Oh how I wish it would.

Because, that's why!

2010-04-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when Christopher dries her hair, it looks like this. FRIZZY, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Some funny things she says lately -

I'm being serious.

Oh Shasta (learned from me - woops)

Because that's why. (If we ask why about anything.)

today she was singing "I Am A Child of God" - her version is -

I am a child of God, and he has set me free....,

which is just as true as the regular lyric.

Boston

2010-04-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Boston a couple of weeks ago - somebody had dressed the Make Way For Ducklings ducks in Easter Bonnets. It was very....charming, that's the only way to say it. I was also completely charmed by the city and daydreamed a few hours away about how GREAT it would be to live there.

Here are all the ducklings, following their Momma, wearing their Easter finest.

In the pictures above: Ashlee listening intently on our walking tour of part of the Freedom Trail. She is so great - she raised her hand to answer almost every question, always stood near him so she could see/focus - I love that about her. She also got a sucker for volunteering to demonstrate what it was like to stand in the "blocks" on Boston Common. Our guide easily consumed 10 Blow-Pops during our tour. After Ashlee was given her sucker, she immediately turned it over to Paige, which kept Paige occupied for nearly 30 minutes. When we were about an hour in, Christopher leaned over and whispered "Look at Ashlee" She was standing very near our guide, looking intently at his satchel. "She's trying to burn a hole in the bag with her eyes to get another sucker." After we walked to our next stop, she came up to me and said "I wish I could have another sucker." He knows her pretty well. She's so sweet to just hand that sucker over to Paige, no questions asked.

We also spent a few hours across the river in Cambridge...we walked around part of Harvard and the girls rubbed Mr. Harvard's shoe for good luck getting in. (Although apparently it's not really him, because all of his likenesses were burned in a fire....just a little something we learned while eavesdropping on a guided tour.) So, we'll see in a few years if it works...:) If it does, it will be Ashlee who gets in, Maggie barely touched it.

Anyway, I liked Boston. I am not that excited about California. Its bonus - closer to family. And even then, it's still 1 entire day of travel to Utah family, and 2 days to Denver family, so it's not super close. That's about all I can think of. Christopher is looking forward to it much more than I am. When we used to talk about future assignments, if California ever came up, it never seemed great. It still doesn't..... I will try to adjust my attitude about the "governator's" state soon. In the meantime, I am looking forward to de-junking some more and living for a couple of months with just a few of our things - we have way too much. (Although I have already packed a mason jar full of popsicle sticks - that can't bode well for the de-junking part of the packing.)

Her Expressions

2010-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Paige was a big contributor to Family Home Evening last night. She was reading to us from her "scritshures." (The mini-hymnal that I took on my mission with me.) We had to keep reminding her that other people might like a turn to talk. We were also surprised to learn that the "scritshures" contain references to cookies, oreos, and candy. I love how Ashlee was laughing at her/ listening to her/ encouraging her.

An Easter Picture

2010-04-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

Our girls on Easter Sunday - Chris was in charge of taking a picture while I got dinner ready in between sessions of conference, this is the best of 2.

We are having GORGEOUS weather after what felt like weeks of snow and weeks of rain. I love these girls. With all my heart and then some, probably. I was so glad to listen to General Conference - it always helps me see things better, more for what they are and less for what I wish they were or imagine them to be (in both good ways and bad.)

Things that I noticed in this picture:

Paige's feet are getting much too big - that means that the rest of her is getting much too big, darn her. Darn time that is speeding along whether I am ready for it to or not.

Ashlee's hair is getting really long. She continues to be in constant motion. which is why it's hard to get a good picture of her. I'm sure that she is either mid-laugh or mid-joke or mid-dance move here. We were in line at a store today and music was playing and she was dancing, she can't help herself and most times I love it.

Maggie is the only one posing - it looks like Paige is pouting. I asked them when they came in if they got a good picture. Maggie said "No, but we got a picture." She is going to a baby-sitting class tomorrow. She is excited to be getting more responsibility. She has also started talking with friends on the phone, just to talk, not to make plans or coordinate things.

We are on spring break this week. We have hopes to travel somewhere at the end of the week. Our list of places to visit/things to do is getting smaller, we are running out of time.

72 Degrees

2010-03-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

It is supposed to get up to 72 degrees today. . . . I want to pack us all up and take us "down the shore..." I know it's not summer yet, but if it was, I would have some things done. Things like - packing up the house, helping C. finish his master's course, going through and cleaning out and getting rid of lots of stuff before we pack up.

Oh, I am goind to miss the shore and we are going to go lots of times before we leave. I promise. We will soak up the sun and the salt water, we will walk on the boardwalk, we will eat water ice, and we will be so glad that we got to live in "The Garden State."

2 Snow Day Pics

2010-02-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

Some things to notice about these 2 pics:

1. Paige has some serious road rash on her face - she fell when we were at the park before the snow.

2. After the tent came down we decided to put a mattress on the floor in the living room - for the snow day. We had so much snow this week, we left it up. C. hated the idea at first, but now we all sort of love it. I have been looking around for ideas that assimilate this but aren't so trashy.

3. Maggie and Ashlee are both soaking wet up to their waists. They have been having a lot of fun playing in the snow.

4. Paige isn't wet because playing in the snow goes against her core values. She stays inside and eats snow day food - cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate etc... She is also air-born in the bottom picture. The picture probably doesn't show this, but she is also the cutest 2 year old we know.

The Ski Lesson

2010-02-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse . . . the weather people in Philadelphia (and many other cities, I'm sure) are over the moon about this weather. 72 inches so far this winter "And it's only February!!!!." I love weather people.

Christopher took the two older girls skiing for their first time today. On Friday night, after everyone had picked up their skis, he spent about an hour with the garden hose laced through a pipe, pulling them back and forth so they could practice a little bit. All reports are they had a great time. Ashlee wants to buy skis - ASAP. C stayed with them all day. He is not a perfect father, but, in my humble opinion, he is one of the best.

Late to the Party

2010-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

Ashlee came into the kitchen today and said "40 days until spring" and left. Good news or bad? Winter blahs have set in. Ashlee also convinced us to put up the 4 man tent the other night. Our living room is not quite 10 feet wide and the tent is 9x9. We were working on putting it up when Christopher got home from work, he just shook his head over and over and said how dangerous it was. But, we got it put up and let them keep it up for 2 nights. That was enough. It took up the whole back of our living room. There it is - they got to sleep in it one night. I'll admit that I did say to myself a few times "See, I am a good mom. See, I'm fun." Some days you just need a mom boost. This gave me one. Plus, I would love to have a play room for them to put stuff like this up and leave it if they wanted. One day we will live in more than 1200 square feet.

The girls have had a few tea parties in the living room. I am really bad at picture taking - I keep thinking a shiny new SLR would help - I wish I could capture the joy on Paige's face at being included with the big girls for a tea party. She loves it. I love that Maggie is still willing to participate and talk in her tea party voice about imaginary things.

I have a birthday coming up, and I have been feeling oldish. All day today I have been mentally making a list about ways that I am late for the party and oldish.

1. I-pods - Maggie has one, so does Chris, I don't. I am just now beginning to see the beauty of it. This morning I used Chris's to work out with and I loved it! Podcasts seem like such a dreamy thing also. I'm going to get one soon - or just hi-jack Chris's. I just need to figure out how to download stuff without deleting everything else already there. (Because of that, Maggie won't let me touch hers)

2. Coldplay - right? 2 years ago we were riding in the car at a family reunion and my brother asked if I knew who the band that was playing was. Nope - but it was Coldplay. We bought the Viva la vida on disc and lost it. But just Saturday when we were cleaning the house, Chris played the previous album from his I-pod - I So good.

3. There is a fairly young, hip (do people still say that?) band that I kind of love. As I was driving today, I remembered that they had a new album that was supposed to be released at the beginning of the year, so I came home to see if they were going on tour and maybe see if we could get tickets. Guess what? The album released almost a month ago. And most of their U.S. dates, including the ones closest to us are sold out. SOLD OUT! (Long before I ever thought of it.) Oh well, the thought of attending that concert and figuring out what to wear made me squirm a little bit. Go to their website HERE.

4. The fact that I just put a hyperlink in the above paragraph made me feel "hip".

There are other things (like the fact that I have said hip twice, and I'm not referring to my actualy hip. I can't think of a better word!)...but the list is long enough. Happy winter! Only 40 more days till spring!

Breakfast

2010-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Does she look like she could melt a hole in your head? Because she can...

Here's a rundown of breakfast at our house this morning:

Paige, after being offered milk, her usual preference: (Screaming) "I said a juice box," throwing herself onto the counter,all woe and misery. For the record, she never said anything about a juice box, just came into the kitchen and sat down, ready to eat. Me, ignoring the tantrum, juice box delivered, "What would you like for breakfast?" Blank stare. "Pancakes?" More staring. "Oatmeal?" More staring. "Cereal?" More staring. "Eggs?" Yelling "I want popcorn! I. don't. like. that. cereal!"

So, for breakfast she had: A juice box (the flavored water kind - is that bad? Don't answer) Popcorn (that she WILL NOT share). And cereal (I'm not saying what kind - it has sugar as the second ingredient). I'm not going to go into what happened when I was helping her get dressed, but it's worth noting that she was out of her favorite dresses and the leggings were "too dark."

Sometimes the only thing that keeps me from yelling at her is repeating these words over and over in my head "she's two, she's two..." Not that we aren't trying to teach her to use her words, to speak politely, that the world doesn't revolve around her. But, she's two. And it won't last forever. And it helps that Chris is home now and he always helps me see the humor. And she's cute, and we love her to pieces.

Experiment

2010-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

I'm just experimenting with picture sizes.

This little girl woke up sick @3:00 am on Sunday - so far 4 of us have gotten it. I hope we are all close enough together on the sick-time continuum that it doesn't cycle through again.

Those cookies are her favorite (the rest of us love them too.)

On an unrelated note - last week Maggie and I went to our local chain hair cutting store for updates. (If you live in Utah, go to Heather's girl -worth every penny). I think my girl maybe used to not be a girl. Here's why - have you seen Star Trek? The new movie? You know that scene where James Kirk has an allergice reaction to the shots his friend is randomly injecting into him and his hands get really big? Well, when we watched that movie this week,we watched that 20 seconds of the movie 4 times - just so Chris could have a visual of what my hairdresser's hands looked like. Not kidding - Mr. Kirk's were a little bit larger,but it was the same idea. I keep wondering if that meant anything or if I was just being judgemental, or maybe just mental. Maybe I'll take Ashlee back to verify. I didn't get that movie - even if they went through the wormhole how, HOW, How are there 2 Spocks? It's still bugging me. Have a good Friday.

Christmas Re-cap

2009-12-30T13:57:00.001-08:00

The picture below was taken the morning after Christmas - notice the rain falling on the windows. It started raining on Christmas afternoon and rained for nearly 48 hours. And melted all 2 feet of snow. The only remaining evidence we have are a few snow banks that were piled in parking lots. So sad, but much easier to drive in. Also notice how everyone has their hands up by their mouths, the reason that I took the picture to begin with. (Harry Potter was playing) Photographic evidence that what Aunt Heather predicted did in fact happen. Hello Kitty wall decals being placed on the living room wall. Thankfully, Ashlee took all the decals and the little sister into her bedroom and helped her hang them up all around the crib. Much better, but no picture.

In this picture, Paige is playing with: Little People gifts from Santa and a tiny doll, blanket, and pillow that came in a little box from my mother. She loves this doll. We are on the fence. Several times a day, Paige will say something like: "Where's my doll, where's my box, where's my pillow....." She's not such a great looker for things, in fact she's pretty awful at it. We are learning that the first place to look is right around her - usually she has just set it down and forgotten that she did so.

Maggie woke up at 5 something on Christmas morning, she waited until 6 something to wake Ashlee and 7 something to wake Paige and us. We love her.

Finally, some notes to myself at Christmas time:

The Christmas holidays - especially Christmas day - are not the time to give up Diet Coke. Next year, go ahead and buy some when you are doing the big grocery trip (unless you have been living without it for several months). Because there is no possible excuse to leave the house and get one on Christmas day and you will REALLY want one, and it is Christmas after all. Consider a gift to yourself.
Maggie has fewer Christmases yet to spend living at home than the ones she has already spent with you - be with her and all three girls more.
Nobody but you will be excited about home-made marshmallows. Yes, everyone will be a year older, but they still won't think they are that great. And honestly, they aren't. Better than the grocery store? Yes. Enough better to make them at home? Not really.
If you want to make home-made gifts, have them planned and done by Thanksgiving - or at least planned and prepped by Thanksgiving, otherwise you will not get to it.
Ditto with any additional advent calendar activities you want to try.
Ditto with the Christmas cards.
Ditto with the advent wreath.
Sugar cookies and gingerbread houses are fun for the girls. Don't take all the fun out of them by freaking out about the mess or the sloppiness of it all. Let it go.
Remember how much better things are when the Mom decides to be happy and have fun - try to have a little more fun be a little more silly. Also remember how much more festive you FELT when you were dressed, with your hair and make-up done.
Having Chris take the girls somewhere for a few hours on Christmas Eve or the day before Christmas Eve is a great idea and should be a tradition. Having the house to yourself is kind-of heavenly for a few hours.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T08:20:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! For the first time since we have lived here, we will have a white Christmas! The big Nor'easter came through and we got about 20 inches. Church was cancelled, school on Monday was cancelled and we spent our 3 days playing in the snow and spending time together. It was so nice! Here are some pics - sledding in the driving snow. Paige lasted 2 trips down the mountain and then waited in the car.

Building a snowman the next day - she doesn't look happy, but she was having fun - she even sang the Frosty song to her snowman.

The girls made some sledding "runs" from the snow mounds in the front yard. They named them: Long Lecture, Partly Painful, Deadly Dangerous and one other one I can't remember.

More sledding in the blizzard. It has been really fun and has made our last Christmas in New Jersey extra special!

Engineering

2009-12-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

My dad used to sing a little ditty when he was doing work around the house - "It's so nice to have a man around the house...." I didn't always appreciate the truth behind those words, but it is really nice to have a man around the house.

They do things like: hang the Christmas lights, get all the Christmas boxes out and then put them all away again, eat the food you cook, help with the dishes, give two year olds a bath, play with the kids, clean out the garage, and make you laugh. It is nice - extraordinarily nice.

We made gingerbread houses again this year - here is our engineer putting the braces in the houses before we decorated. See? Nice.

Decorating the houses. . . they are all still standing - I hope they hang on 'till Christmas.I forgot to edit out the red eyes, but I LOVE this picture of Paige. She is such a character.
Anyway, probably the next 5o posts or so will be about how great it is to have Christopher home. It's just so great.

HOME

2009-12-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

Anticipation as we load up the car - Watching for his plane to land...The plane that carried him safely home to us...Reunion.

Happy

Not a lot of words - this homecoming has been very similar to the arrival of a new baby, I have been wanting to bottle it all up to pull out some future day. We are so so so so happy to have him home!

Too Much

2009-11-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

Ashlee and I went to the Post Office today to mail Christopher his final package (mostly for the phone charger - because in about 2 weeks he will be calling me to say he is coming home!!!!!!!!!!). We happened to arrive at the same time many soldiers were mailing stuff to their new home in Iraq. I know it was Iraq, because the guy behind me in line was talking about their imminent departure. I started to cry a little bit right there in line, soldiers in front of me, soldiers behind me. There is a lot I don't know about the soldiers in line today, but some of the things that I do know are: They were most likely from a National Guard unit, so they are leaving jobs, maybe taking a significant pay cut while they serve, and their families won't have the same access to support that active duty families have. It's very likely that they are headed to at least a second tour in a war zone. They were upbeat, probably glad to be done with training here and moving on to the mission. And I know that I don't think of them often enough, and am not thankful enough for them. So, I shed a few tears and hoped no-one noticed. I really wanted to tell them I was thankful for them, to be careful, to come home safely, but I was too big a coward.

We are at the end of a long six months in our family, six months of separation and worry. This is Christopher's 4th deployment in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and the total time he has spent away from us in direct support of the war effort has been about 14 months. That is about one month shy of one average Army deployment. And, he is much less likely to be wounded/injured than Soldiers and Marines. My guess is that most active duty Army/Marine personnel have completed at least 2 deployments (but more likely 3 ) of 12 - 18 months, and the average American citizen doesn't really notice or think much about it. The military community carries much of the United States foreign policy on their backs, the Army and Marines have shouldered the biggest part of the weight in the "War on Terror" and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Less than 1% of our citizenship serves in it's Armed Forces (including National Guard and Reserve members), all volunteers. Every single one voluntarily signed over many of their Constitutional rights - including freedom of speech and their right to live in order to protect and defend the Constitutional rights of the other 99% of our country. (Taken from While They're At War) What the history books say about this particular time is unknown - but right now, to me - waiting in line with soldiers at the Post Office, thinking about where they are coming from and where they are going and how long they will be there - it feels like a heavy burden that a very, very small percentage of the population carries, and it feels like too much.

Not here yet

2009-11-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

Look at that cute girl - she makes me crazy (happy crazy and crazy crazy.) Tonight I went to the grocery store without her - Maggie is old enough to stay alone with them for short stretches - and I made it in and out in 20 minutes, and what's more, I didn't forget one single thing on my list. Not one. It was nice.

Anyway, so as to distract myself from the fact that Christopher isn't home yet, I'm going to do a few posts about lessons learned (really learning, because he isn't home yet) and things that I think will be an adjustment for us once he gets here.

Lesson #1 The last weeks are/will be the l o n g e s t. At just about every turn I think "When Christopher gets here, we will....see that movie, clean the car out(actually on the schedule for the day before he arrives so it is sparkly clean) , fix that thing, etc. I didn't do this when we had longer, but now that it's almost over, we are basically sitting on our hands, saving our money and activities till he gets home. It's making the time go by really fast, let me tell you.

Next up: the return of real food and a decent dinner start time.

Ash Bones

2009-11-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

Halloween pictures - post trick or treat.

On Sunday morning, Maggie and Ashlee spent about 15 minutes trading candy. Ashlee especially relished shouting "No Deal" (Is that show still on?) when the trade wasn't good enough. This picture is just for you, Daniel!

This post is coming to you from the beginning of the end of swine flu (maybe, maybe not - our Doctor's not testing) week (I hope -so far no symptoms from Maggie.) I'm going to put a few more pics of Halloween up with this post, but first a story about my Ash.

Christopher called on Friday morning and the girls were out of school so that means that everyone got to talk with him. They put him on speaker phone in the living room and I stayed in the back and listened on the extension. They are always happy to talk to him (of course) and it is fun for me to listen to them talk back and forth. In the middle of the call, Ashlee asked "Are you dating anyone?" What? For a second, I didn't think that Christopher heard her because everybody was talking at once. But, he did. "Never mind" she said when he asked her what she said, trying to pretend like she didn't mean it, or that she was just teasing. But, it wasn't a throw away question and he could tell. His answer: "Your mother." "Just wondering" she said and they moved on to other things. I have been thinking about this alot. After he had been gone about 2 months, she wrote him a letter that went something like this - Dear Dad, Are you still alive? Just checking. I love you, love Ashlee. I laugh a little bit at exchanges like this, but they also break my heart alot. So, as she is dancing around the living room, laughing it up with her friends at a soccer game, playing something silly with Paige, making up a song, etc...I have thought a little bit about those questions and what they mean.

I talk/communicate with their dad 2-4 times a week, mostly through quick e-mails. But the time difference is enough that the only real chance they have to talk with him is on Saturdays/Sundays and sometimes things don't work out that he can call. So once in a while they go 2- 3 weeks without hearing his voice. I relay messages, reassure them that he loves them and misses them, but it's not the same. And sometimes I forget that they worry too. They don't express it often, especially Ashlee, and they are so happy that it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that they aren't worried/concerned. When Ashlee asked if her dad was dating anyone, she was seeking reassurance that he would come home, that her family would be back together - and he gave it to her in 2 little words. And for yesterday, that was all she needed. I am so thankful for both of them. The best part is - we are almost done 3-4 more weeks!!!!!!

Fall

2009-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Fall - October is such a great month!
Some pictures of our fall: Once again, blogger won't let me change the order of the pics - so these are not in the order I intended. Picture Below taken at Kykuit - the Rockefeller's Country Estate - this is their view of the Hudson from the back of the Property. It was amazing. Learned some stuff about the Rockefeller's on the tour - seemed like a good family who did good with all that money. Our guide's Father worked on the estate for many years, so she had some personal stories that made them seem a little more real. We went to our favorite farm to get pumpkins - and pet the dogs. Before Chris left we told the girls we would think about getting a dog when he got back. Ashlee has been mentally shopping for one for months. I'm trying to think up a new excuse about why it's a good idea to wait a while longer.

While in the Hudson Valley, we went to "Blaze" on one of the estates - over 4,000 carved pumpkins. Here is Heather with the girls in front of the sunflower fields. They had a few real pumpkins, but the rest were plastic - I wondered before we went how they kept them from rotting. It was pretty cool. Heather came to see us last week - we really enjoyed her visit and hope she wasn't too bored.

Taken at the working farm - Phillipsburg Manor - in Sleepy Hollow, NY. We toured this during the day and went back the next night for "Legends Night" At night, the farm transforms into a story-telling, song singing, headless horseman riding party that is really fun. Except the night we went, it was POURING rain - flash flood warning for the area, so, we might have stayed longer and enjoyed it more had we been dry.

Pickin out the perfect pumpkin at the farm - not in order.

Beehive and bees at the "Blaze"

Taken as we approached Phillipsburg Manor for the "Legends" night.

Last but not least, Paigie loves "belts" - headbands that Ashlee usually wears in lieu of a real belt to keep her pants up. Paigie has adopted that fashion style and I think pulls it off rather nicely! There are 5-6 headbands around her waist in this picture, plus on in her hair.

2009-10-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

I guess summer is really over - we've had a string of cold/cooler days, so it's time to pack up the flip flops and get ready for winter. Everyone keeps saying we are going to have a rough winter. I'm waiting for our local weather guy - Glen "Hurricane" Schwarz to make his winter prediction. There is a good chance he already has, I haven't watched the news in weeks. Anyway, here are some random thoughts from me tonight:

Glee - could someone please explain this show's popularity with people my age to me. I know several people who love it, David Bianculli from NPR loves it. . . so I've watched it a couple of times to see what the deal is. I don't get it - the kids are lip-synching (fine for some scenes, but when they are supposed to be performing?) and doing it poorly, many times not even moving their mouths at the right time. Plus, the girl sounds a little bit too much like Britney Spears you know that sound tunnel, electric voice? The camera work (I'm sure it's on purpose) is jerky and bouncy and gives me a headache. I'm pretty sure they are aiming at a younger demographic, but why do adults love it so? I did hear really great music this week from Pomplamoose, new to me, but soo good!

NPR is helping me be a grumpy mother. I hate to say it, but it's true. Their shows are just so good and it makes me feel like I'm informed and can be a little bit educated about current issues. Plus there are just so many stories that you would never hear on regular TV/news. I have their schedule memorized and I'm sad when I miss a favorite show. For instance "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" comes on at 4:00pm on Saturdays, which is a bad time and I miss it more than I hear it and "This American Life" comes on Sundays at 12:00, we don't get in the car after church until 12:20/12:30 so I usually miss most of that. And, I probably shouldn't be listening to it on the Sabbath anyway. Sad - but the really sad thing is that if I am listening to it (when I'm cooking, cleaning, driving etc...) I tune the kids out, want them to be quiet and get mad if I miss something. I'm thinking I'm going to have to give it up a little bit. So, don't ask me about current events, interesting stories etc... because I won't know.

Last one - I took the girls to the park the other night, one that is far from our house, because we are collecting leaves to mail to Chris. It was a beautiful evening, the air was clear, the sky was blue, without its usual haze and the leaves have started to turn. I felt so grateful to be there. After a few minutes a couple of other families arrived - younger than me probably by a few years - and I got a little panicky. What if I am nearing the end of my playground years - not for a while, Paigie is only 2, but what if she is the last one? I wanted to freeze, pause, make time go slower, I mean really what if? We had a great walk through the woods, a happy chatty drive home (no radio!) and just a great rest of the night. But, then tonight, at about 8:00, all I could think was "go to bed, go to bed, go to bed, go to bed...." Part of the reason why motherhood is so difficult, I guess.

And, Heather comes in 2 days!!!!!!!!! We are very excited.

Conversations with My Sister

2009-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

The picture above doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but she's just really cute. This is a Saturday night, after a bath, playing dress-up with her sisters. Both the earring stickers and dress were worn to church the next day, after she slept in both of them. I did manage to get a shirt on underneath the dress. There is just no time for arguing about clothes on a Sunday morning - whenever she gets dressed we go through every dress in her closet at least once, sometimes three times or more before a choice is made. In fact, that may be our new Sunday strategy - letting her sleep in the dress she is going to wear the next day.

About 2 weeks ago, I was talking to my sister about school etc... for her kids. Her oldest started early morning seminary this year. She gets up and eats breakfast with her every day - sometime in the 5 o'clock hour. So they can have one on one time together. She said "I'll bet I'm one of the only mom's who does this." and not to brag about it, but to say, "Why?" I told her it's because she is a good mom. Below is a picture of the sunrise Maggie took one day last week. She gets up at 6:30 and enjoys some alone time - alone. Because I sleep until about 6:55 and then get up and make her lunch and give her a kiss and send her out the door. And I don't have to go to work all day. I need to change this, because one day I'm going to want a do-over for these years.

Then, on Sunday night, I was on the phone with my sister again. She was cleaning up after Sunday dinner. (We had just eaten also, we are two hours ahead of her. It's our thing - eating dinner as close to bed time as possible) She made cheesy potatoes at the request of her oldest and was throwing the leftovers away. She doesn't keep leftovers. Why? Because she's smart - her kids don't eat them and neither does she. I have day's and day's worth of leftovers in my fridge. I eat them almost every day for lunch, and still they go bad and need to be thrown out. This is one of the reasons I miss C - (I know it's super romantic) he eats the food I make, he likes more than 5 things, and sometimes he helps eat the leftovers. Below is a picture of my fridge - 3 of those containers will pass the 7 day guideline and be thrown out this weekend. I even have left over Macaroni and Cheese - who's going back to that? Certainly not me, and I'm assuming none of the girls since I've offered it as an after-school snack and not had any takers. P.S. The salad in the deli container is the salmon bow-tie salad from Cost-Co - a mistake as most deli salads are.

So, to sum it up, my sister is smarter than me and a better mom. I feel like that about my siblings - I wish I were like them in more ways. I'm glad they still like me anyway.

For C.

2009-09-21T20:25:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, the girls say funny things and I wish C were here so that I could tell him, or so we could laugh a little bit together. I almost never remember to tell him when we are on the phone or in an e-mail, so I am posting a couple here for him.

On Sunday, Maggie was on the phone with one of her friends from church, planning something for Activity Days and somehow the conversation turned to homework. Maggie - "When my dad is here, he helps me with math, but he helps me the old-fashioned way, not the way I learned it. Half the time I don't even know what he is talking about, I feel kind of bad."
I can't remember anything in particular that Ashlee said, except that she was making plans to turn the school into a haunted house, gets sick about talking about "fashion" with the "girly girls" at school and she spent 40 minutes on the couch with Paige, reading Junie B. Jones to her. So Paige went to bed with her "chaper book."

Paigie - sitting on a plastic bag (for about 2 minutes) during a soccer game on Saturday. On the way home, Maggie shared some of her Gatorade with her and Paigie said "That's refreshing." Things like that are particularly cute coming out of a two-year olds mouth.

Love you C!!!!! Be safe!

Back to School

2009-09-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

We are back in school now - 2 days down, 178 (school days) to go! Here are the girls on their first day of school. Ashlee has 28 kids in her class this year, almost double what she's had every other year of school here. It must have something to do with budgets. But, her teacher seems very capable and very happy. She looks a little bit nervous because she doesn't want to be late (it's one of her goals this year). We went back to school shopping last week and they each got to choose 1 outfit - Ashlee chose a dress with leggings and new shoes. I asked several times in the dressing room "Is this what you love and can't wait to wear?" Anyway, the morning of school, she decided she wasn't "really comfortable" wearing dresses to school -and wore shorts instead. Thus continues our streak of buying first day of school clothes that are either worn only once or not at all to school - I think this is the 4th year. Oh well, the dress is dressy enough for church, so we will hopefully get some use out of it that way. This is Maggie after school - she hated that sign, I think it made her feel too young. Paigie is so happy to have her sister home. Look for that "Cinderella" dress again and again and again. It's one of 2 that she constantly wants to wear.

Good-bye summer!!!! We are sad to see you go. Welcome fall - I am trying to embrace your return and the return of schedules, bed times, busier routines that you bring!

Jersey Shore

2009-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Jersey Shore for probably the last swim session of the summer. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE it there. I love getting out of the car and feeling the sticky air, I love hearing the waves before we see them. I love that first glimpse of the ocean, it's always exhilarating. I love people watching, I love jumping the waves, I love to attempt boogie boarding. Tonight we stayed late enough to watch the real boogie boarders and surfers. We don't usually stay that late, they have to wait for the lifeguards to leave at 5, and it seems like they don't really start showing up until close to six; it was really fun to watch them. I love all the beautiful houses in shore towns, and I also love the not so beautiful houses. I love the boardwalk (although if you stay too late, it's not so great to have young kids with you.) I just love it and if we ever move, I think the shore will be the one thing I will miss above everything else. In my dream life, we would own a Jersey Shore house and visit it often and stay for weeks in the summer . . . and then when we get old, we have grandma and grandpa camp at the shore. . . doesn't that sound wonderful? Although I'm fairly certain that the Jersey Shore doesn't really show up in Christopher's plans (real or imagined) for the future.

Lessons Learned

2009-09-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we are home now and I have been trying to catch up with mail, weeds, back to school (4 days!) etc... Here are the last of my summer pictures - they're not in order.

Lessons Learned from our Summer Vacation

#1 Lagoon is fun, especially if you go with fun people. We were able to go twice and had a great time both times. It's also really nice to have someone bring dinner in to you while you are riding rides. (Thanks mom and dad!) This was taken while we were in line for the last ride of the day...the Ferris Wheel, which is almost as scary for me as any of the big roller coasters. Lesson #2 - Aunt Heather has lots of pretty things and is really generous with them. From shoes, to dresses, to jewelry, all three girls had great fun playing dress-up with her closet. She also gave Paigie her first pedicure, which she loved.

Lesson #3 Thirty....something is a long, long, long way from 20, 22, 24. That's me playing for a few minutes with my family's indoor soccer team. It was ugly, and the picture is blurry on purpose. It's a long way away....really long.

Lesson #4 Grandma's House is fun, and My Grandmother's backyard is still a magical place.

#5 Cousins are fun.

We had a really fun summer. It was great to spend time with family and establish stronger relationships, I'm really glad we went. Thanks to everyone who took time out to spend with us, and to my mom and dad for letting us stay so long and disrupt their lives.

School starts on Tuesday and we have everything just about ready...we are looking forward to a great year. And, we are at the halfway mark for the deployment - YAY!!!!!!!

Pictures for Dad

2009-08-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to be winding up - it's August 13, just a few more weeks 'till school starts and 2 more until we fly home to the garden state. Here are some pictures for our Papa Bear who is far away.

This is Paige and Ashlee at the Demolition Derby. It took Ashlee 2-3 heats to really enjoy the whole thing, but by the time we were trying to leave before the final heat was over, she wanted to stay and see who won. It was pretty fun. . . really loud, but fun.

Paige loves to get into Grandma's china hutch to play tea party with the things inside - in this picture she has dragged Alexander and Ashlee into trouble with her. She is usually pretty careful and just gets smallish things, but it makes me nervous.

We also went to "This is the Place" Heritage Park - a pretty fun place. There have been lots of places here that I have thought "If we lived here, I would get a membership" and this is one. They were very kid friendly, and the activities were included in the cost of entry - everyone rode horses, even Paigie.

The highlight for Paige and Alexander was the train, I think Alexander cried every time we had to get off. Here is Maggie with Baby Eva (Daniel's youngest)

And here they all are on a mini train. Good Aunt Heather rode with kids while Miriam and I watched the strollers.

Thank-you to Aunt Heather who is letting us use her camera - we forgot ours!

Dear Dad

2009-07-28T21:38:00.001-07:00

Dear Dad,

We have been having a busy summer so far, here are some pictures so you can see what we have been up to.We have been swimming in lake water three times and guess what? We haven't gotten sick, or lost our fingers or toes or broken out in any scary rashes. You probably aren't very sad to have missed the lake visits, except maybe the last one because the Tates came with us (or we went with them?) and let us ride on their jet skis. Even Paigie went on a ride and loved every second of it.

We have been meeting new cousins. This is our newest cousin, baby Beckam. He is dreamy. We also met a lot of our cousins from your brothers and sisters in Denver. Sometimes it is hard to keep everyone straight, but we feel really lucky to be part of such a great family. Next week we will meet Baby Eva and get to see Alexander too.

Opa has taken us for a few spins around the yard in his wheebarrow - that is fun. Paigie is really attached to those blue shoes, and it's really too bad because you can smell them from about 50 yards away.

We have been looking for lots of ways to stay cool(one of the reasons we have been to the lake so often), these are some fountains that we played in when we were in Denver.
We also got to play football with your brothers, and nieces and nephews.

So, as you can see, we have been having a great time and it's wonderful to see everyone and be on vacation, but it's just not the same without you. Mom doesn't wrestle with us and it has been weeks since anyone did anything silly at the dinner table. Everything is better when you are here! Be safe and work hard, we will too, and then we will see each other in about 4 months. Love, your girls!

Summer visit

2009-06-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and her kids are here visiting and we are having a great time! Here are some pics.

On the boardwalk after a day of surf, sun, sand, pizza in the rain, and rides....just one last treat before the car ride home. Maggie, just getting out of the sand from being buried. I love everything about the shore...except all the sand (and maybe the schlepping of all the stuff.) that we bring home with us. Even when we shower there, a little bit of sand stays with us.

Garrett going over a wave - on Saturday we had nearly perfect weather and really good waves.

The Atlantic Ocean is COLD! So we have to warm up frequently.

Paigie at her post. She stays up here and demands that people bring her water in buckets, which she uses to rinse her hands and feet and then fills with sand and wants a clean bucket. Usually by the last hour, she is ready to venture out and look for seashells and put her toes in the water, but still no suit. On Saturday, she did let us put her bottoms on - maybe tomorrow we'll get to do the tops!

This is Jennifer's 4th trip to come see us in New Jersey and guess what? Christopher has never made it to the beach with us. I am so glad to have 2 great sisters and I am so thankful for Jennifer - that she makes the effort to come and see us and spend time with us.

Eleven

2009-06-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Our Mag-pie turned 11 on Sunday, here are a few pics. Wearing the birthday hat for dinner,

very happy with her gift! We love Maggie and are so thankful to have her in our family.

And Paigie with food in her mouth at the table...notice all of her friends at the table. They go with us every time we get in the car, go outside, eat, go to bed etc... although the cast of characters changes. Last night her friends were 2 boxes of polly pockets and a bucket for the beach.

2009-06-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick update: Maggie chopped her hair and she loves, loves, loves it. And is it just me, or does she look super grown-up? Ashlee is mastering flips on the trampoline.
For about a week, the first thing Paige said when she woke up was "Cinerella, pwease mom, Cinerrella, pwease?" When I would say yes, we can put your Cinderella dress on, she would say "yippee!", which I can't get enough of. She says that or something similar almost every time she gets a yes answer. Also, her new word is "awesome." She said it last week about something, and I sort of thought it was a fluke, but last night when we were filling up the bathtub, she kept saying it over and over.

Love these girls.

CAY update: I spoke with him yesterday on the phone. He has flown the plane a couple of times, he says it's warm/hot, but very dry. He says their living quarters are still super crowded (and smelly - I asked) and he keeps his things at the squadron because there is no room in the room. He has internet - they have to pay $100 extra a month to get wi-fi in their rooms - per person!!! - but again, no room so I don't know how often he will get online for the next couple of weeks. And, he said that he was the only one who hasn't received a package yet. Sometimes he teases and then we move on to other things before I find out if he is telling the truth, so I'm not sure this is entirely true. Because one guy from his squadron just got there yesterday, so he can't possibly have gotten a package already, right? Plus, I'm not sure that pre-mailing yourself coffee and tobacco count either. But, I am in trouble on both ends for that because Ashlee is mad that we haven't mailed one yet and I had to do some pretty heavy-handed persuading to get her to write him a letter on Sunday. She wasn't going to write anything until I started getting the package ready - by the weekend one will be in the mail! Our phone calls are very brief and we all miss him!

Paigie

2009-06-03T20:34:00.001-07:00

Every woman who's had children says it - they grow up so fast. They all say it because it is true, too true. How did this little person get here? She was just a baby last week, I promise. I've been noticing two year olds lately, and they are really challenging for the adults in their lives - so busy, so singularly focused, so loud, so opinionated and pushing every second for independence. They want to put their own shoes on, pick their own clothes out, buckle themselves in the car seat, decide when it is time to leave, explore everything around them, eat what and when they want .... it can be exhausting. Look how tall she is! Soon she will be out of this stage and on to the next and I will wonder what I thought was so difficult, and why I didn't enjoy this time more. I already feel like that about her first two years, and the years that have passed with her sisters.
Pure joy!

Gone

2009-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Chris finally left last Wednesday...he was about a week and a half past the date we originally thought he would leave. I say finally only because we were on pins and needles for about a week, thinking every day would be the day we would have to say goodbye - and we want him to be back in time for Christmas! These hearts I made for him when he was in pilot training to wear when he flies, after Paige was born every once in a while I would think "Oh yeah, I need to make a new one." On the day he was leaving, I finally did, he even got a new ribbon. They go with him in his uniform every day, even on days that he's flying a desk.Here he is just before we said goodbye - everyone's eyes are a little bit puffy, even Paige looks a little sad, mostly because we made her stop running all around and climbing on things. She was standing on "rose" (our bench) today, calling out the window "Dad, whereareyou? Dada....!" Too cute that girl!

I have to admit that it was pretty sad to say goodbye. I thought the girls might be up all night crying. We stayed in a hotel on base that night and then drove home the next morning...I was worried I would fall asleep with everyone sleeping in the car at 11:30 at night, and it was about 2 hours. But, I think it helped us all to be away from home that first night. I can't explain why, it just did.

He called Sunday morning to say that he had made it - (after somebody asked him if he had called home yet, and then told him to stop what he was doing and go call - I'm glad someone's looking out for us.) It sounds like he will be really busy - especially the first few weeks. If anyone reads this and would like his address, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

Lately

2009-05-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

Here's what we've been up to:

Ashlee was baptized - we are so happy/proud. She is a great girl and makes me laugh everyday.

Because of her baptism, my mom and dad and Chris's mom and Jason came out to NJ - we loved having company. We did a little sight-seeing, a little relaxing and it was nice to have everyone here.

Chris is getting ready to leave - any day. They are waiting for somebody high up on the ladder to sign the orders (it's all about the funding) and then he's gone.

We have 4 1/2 weeks of school left - I get antsy for them to be done by the end of May. Last day: June 23!

Pics below - I can't get blogger to let me arrange them in the order I want, and I'm 10 minutes past my 15 minute time limit.

Maybe this is only funny to me...

2009-04-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

The background:

On Sunday, during Sacrament meeting, the kind sister behind us passed the girls one of those dot games - you know the ones where you draw lines from dot to dot to complete a square and the last one to complete the square, gets a point. So, Maggie and Ashlee played. Ashlee is competitive, and not in a good, driven way, but in the way that makes us all dread playing games with her. We are working on it, and so is she, but it's a hard lesson to learn - and we all know people who haven't learned that lesson. (I'm crossing my fingers right now that it won't be her.) I don't think she'll be like this forever -during soccer season, she is definitely not as competitive as she is during family games. Maybe it's us.

I don't know why the pictures are turned on their sides - they are not that way in the file.

Picture #1 - Ashlee quits, Maggie tries to persuade her to continue. (I wrote the numbers to make it easier to follow. Paige was helping me)

Picture #2 The argument continues. (I did not write any numbers, because I couldn't really follow)

Missing - one page of a few more notes back and forth. Then it is quiet for a little while - no notes back and forth, Ashlee appears to be coloring. Then she hands Maggie picture number 4 - She has stacked the game so she cannot lose (because everyone knows once you pass a certain age no-one EVER wins tic-tac-toe anymore) I love the "make your move." with the evil mouse face. I hear it in my head said in a very threatening tone. I laughed (quietly, to myself for a few minutes) I really love this girl!

I have been wanting to get a picture of her with her eyes wide open for a long time - they are so beautiful, but I never can, so here is one sad attempt. Isn't she great?

More Spring Break

2009-04-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

More spring break from DE - while we were there, we went to Baltimore for the day. We stayed in the inner harbor and went to the National Aquarium and on board one of the ships in the harbor. The best part of the Aquarium was the dolphin show. Paige really liked the fish too. While we were on the boat - I think it was the USS Constellation, but my memory is failing me right at the moment - Paige managed to disappear a couple of times when I was reading the signs. Once, we found her behind the rope through one of the officer cabins in a little cubby between the cabin and the wall of the ship. She's pretty sneaky and it's more difficult without 2 adults to help with the supervision. Anyway, Baltimore looked really fun and I wouldn't mind going back when we can spend more time. There is an old Basilica there somewhere (the first one built in the U.S.???? maybe, but just as before, my memory is failing) and I really wanted to see it. My map skills are terrible though and we had already gotten lost once, so we missed it.

Unrelated photo: the monkey in the closet. Her changing table is inside the closet to help save space, and this is one of her new favorite tricks.

Spring Break

2009-04-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

The girls were on Spring Break last week, so we went down to Delaware for the last couple of days to stay with Christopher. He was/is very busy there and I think he was a little bit stressed out with us there. It's hard to study with 4 extra people in your hotel room. On Friday we went to Wintherthur Gardens and Estate - I am not exaggerating one little bit when I say that it was magical. Formerly one of the homes of the DuPont family, it is now open to the public with a library, a museum and gardens. Longwood Gardens (in PA, but just 20 minutes away), that I have posted about before, was owned by the same family. We had perfect weather and enjoyed a beautiful day!

Paigie playing with the water in the children's garden "The Enchanted Woods" which really were enchanting - the had a fairy ring, a huge bird's nest, little tables, a gate that had chimes on the hinges so that when it opened, the chimes rang, a wishing well....I could go on and on.
They are sitting in the window box/stage? of the little house (with a thatched roof!). When they sat down on the chairs, Maggie said "I'm the first counselor." Funny - to me anyway.

One of the "Fairy Huts"

If I knew my trees better I could tell you what is blooming back there. Not Cherry Trees (I don't think) or Dogwoods (which are the only ones I am certain of), but aren't they lovely?

Daffodil Clouds - just past their prime. Our guide said that the workers would go out and lay sticks in the shape of the shadows cast by clouds overhead and then plant daffodils in them. I really, really, really loved this place. They let people walk all around, the kids can climb in the trees, plus, as you can see in the pictures, there were was actually a little bit of elevation change - it was perfect. We will be going back when more things start blooming. Mr. Dupont planted 8 acres of Azaleas - "Azalea Woods", only 3-4 plants were blooming when we were there.

2009-04-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

No family pictures this year because while we were inside waiting for Papa Bunny to hide the eggs, Paige managed to find and spill a 1/2 full bottle of bubbles on her head. This was one of many "I told you so" moments for Christopher in our marriage. He was 150% against letting the girls play bubbles inside - too messy, he said. But it was cold, so I let them.

A "briefing" was held to be sure that all eggs were accounted for and evenly distributed.Ready, break.... I love Maggie's dress - and secretly wish I was skinny enough to wear one like it. She liked it too, but I think the best part for her was that she wasn't matching her two younger sisters.
Chris left last night to start learning the new plane. While the girls were snapping green beans for dinner, they both agreed that it seemed like this period leading up to training had gone by too quickly. Ashlee was a bit of a wreck when he left. We kept saying "He's only an hour away...we're going to see him on Wednesday..."and Maggie would add "just wait until he's leaving for six months, then we're really going to cry." He should be done in three weeks and then be home for about three before he has to leave...and if I'm honest, I'm a bit of a wreck about it too. I'm not looking for sympathy, it will most likely go by quickly and we have the summer so we can head out west, Jennifer is coming at the end of June, and I'll get to see Andrew and Carly's new baby etc., etc... But it is six months.

And while I'm on the subject... I am leaning more toward driving to Utah this summer...it's starting to sound more and more like an adventure. 34 hours - so with kids 4 days. They get along so well and it could be fun, right?

General Conference Saturday

2009-04-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

"The Church needs strong Christians...who perservere through hardships...make important things happen through their faith." - D. Todd Christofferson"Joyfully live within your means...buying what we don't need makes us poor spiritually and unable to serve. Three most loving words 'I love you.' Four most loving words 'We can't afford it." Robert D. Hales
"Faith and courage come from a testimony that it is true that we are being prepared here for eternal life." Henry B. Eyring

"...Life and faith centered on Jesus Christ and his gospel...nothing can go permanently wrong...not centered on Christ, nothing can be permanently right." Rafael E. Pino, quoting President Howard W. Hunter.

We had a great conference Saturday - I'm so thankful for general conference, for the opportunity for renewal and repentance that it brings. I am so glad to know that there is a Prophet. I am glad to belong to a church that sets a high standard and expects me to reach up and live it- and I am especially glad that they teach about Christ so I know that I can and that I will be happy as I try - no matter what.
(None of the above are direct quotes - just my notes from today - better information at lds.org)

And...remember the blind man? Well, on April first he went racing halfway to the emergency room for a cut. But, it wasn't. Just a wet rag and some red food coloring. FYI if you need someone from this house to play a joke - Ashlee is your girl. Maggie and I cannot keep a straight face.

How Great is This?

2009-04-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I can't figure out how to Embed this - here is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY

We Were Out of Dresses

2009-04-01T07:03:00.001-07:00

What, this isn't how you send your kids outside to play?

Paige has her own sense of style - it's called she hates to wear pants and her mom is a sucker. Paige also has the best sisters.
(These pictures were taken on different days - but it honestly wasn't warm enough for her to be outside in bloomers yesterday. Oh well.)

2009-03-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

A sure sign that spring is slowly, slowly making its way - trampoline hair. Although on this first day of spring we woke up to snow! It is gone now and just gloomy and rainy, but the grass is growing greener and the tips of all the spring bulbs are peeking through. We are reading The Secret Garden together at night and it feels like the perfect time for it.
And here is a picture of C pretending to be blind. I am not going to pretend that I didn't laugh until I had to beg him for mercy to stop. You can see him smiling, but he is trying so hard not to. On Wednesday last week, he went to get his eyes checked, turns out he has a cataract in his left eye. We were all (especially him) a little anxious about what this would mean for his flying. So we said a few extra prayers about it. After he met with the specialist on Friday, he thought it would be extra funny to tease the girls about being blind/having eye surgery etc... He kept it up for about 35 minutes - all during dinner. Ashlee kept saying "Dad, stop it! Are you really blind?" "Dad, I mean it." "Dad, tell us the truth." I tried to point out to her that he had driven himself home from work, changed out of work clothes and been generally functioning around the house up until dinner time. But, I can really sympathize with her because he's just so relentless in pursuing the joke that you start to believe him. At various times during our marriage I have believed him to: lose feeling in his legs, suffer from heart palpitations, experience vision loss etc.... Somewhere around the 15/20 minute mark all reason goes out the window for me. He must be serious, I think, because I would have driven him over the edge by now if it was just a joke. The more we start to believe though, the harder it makes him work at the game. He is really twisted that way. You may be wondering why he is crawling on the floor. Well, he was pretending to be unable to find his plate to put some grapes on, so he was on the floor slapping/groping around to get all of the grapes. Right after this, we got out the water bottle- so that Ashlee would see him put his arms up in defense when we squirted him, but he kept it up. I think tears were what finally brought back his sight. And the specialist says that the cataract is so small right now that it's nothing to worry about.

Major Yeates

2009-03-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to one of the newest Major selects! He should "pin on" sometime this year. New Air Force policy - Blues on Mondays - I've always preferred him in his "green pajamas", but the blues are growing on me.

Love

2009-02-24T10:19:00.001-08:00

Why I love him. He had just gotten home from a short trip and as usual the girls swarmed him - Paigie got out a "book" to read and he spent 20 minutes on the floor with them ooohing and aaahhing over ...... the latest American Girl catalog. Paigie says hi!

Huh?

2009-02-10T12:19:00.001-08:00

As part of C's military training, he attended SEER's school - survive, evade....something something. It's where they train you for the possibility of being captured, landing in hostile territory etc... He also attends a refresher course every once in a while. At one of those refreshers a few years ago, the instructor was speaking about tactics to use while being interrogated. He told those in attendance that if they had children, they had seen first hand how to be evasive during interrogation. Here is an example of what he was talking about taken from our dinner table last night.

Set the stage: during dinner conversation, we find that there was some behavior that needs to be corrected... Maggie was with her friend and yelled at the neighbor boys. I asked what happened:

Me: What did they say?

Ashlee: They started talking to us first.

Maggie: Yeah, they started it.

Me: What did they say?

Ashlee: We were jumping on the trampoline and looked over at them.

Me: What did they say?

Maggie: They started it, we were just minding our own business.

Me and Chris in unison: What did they say?

Maggie - they started talking to us.

Ashlee - yeah

Maggie - covers her face and says "We weren't doing anything."

Me: "What did they say? (starting to get a little alarmed, maybe they said something really awful....) Was it inappropriate?

Maggie: yes

Me: Well, you didn't say it, so you will not be in trouble. Now, please, what did they say?"

Whispered conversation between the two girls - Ashlee can't remember what they said, her head is "full of math and spelling."

Maggie: "They did give us Brody's ball back."

Hello.....WHAT DID THEY SAY???????

Six or seven attempts later, out it comes, they said.....drumroll please...."We know you want to kiss us." It hardly seemed worth the effort.

If you have kids, I'm sure that you have experienced one or two or three thousand conversations like this. Just tuck them away so that if you are ever captured, you will be able to avoid answering questions while being interrogated. You know...is your homework done? I'm so tired. Have you practiced piano...I haven't had a snack yet....

Maggie responded by calling them jerks and morons. Chris had some other ideas for how to respond: I would if it looked like you were even from planet earth, Maybe if your breath didn't smell like the bottom of your shoe, etc....the girls laughed and laughed and laughed. That's what dads are for.

The master of evasion and her sleeping sister.

David Letterman

2009-02-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

On the East Coast, David Letterman's show doesn't come on until 11:35 and even though I love him, I rarely watch it anymore. One of his best segments has been "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches." SO FUNNY! Here is a link to his farewell tribute to the segment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGSZmtNCjz0

Snow Day

2009-01-29T14:51:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning, Maggie got up at 5:00 am to shower before school. I may have given birth to her, and she may look just like her dad, but I am starting to wonder if she really is my daughter. I got up at 6:45 and checked our local public access channel - NO SCHOOL! She said that she had checked when she first woke up and there was no message - could it be that everyone was still SLEEPING? So, yay for us school was cancelled!

Sometimes I love Ashlee's little touches - she wanted a hat for her little snowman, but knew we didn't have one that size so she made him one out of snow, clever no?Things I love about snow days: pajamas until late morning/early afternoon, hot chocolate,games on the floor, and that feeling of cheating because we're really not supposed to all be home. Bonus: Chris was flying that night, so he was home until about 2:30. Things I don't really love: piles of wet snow gear, making and cleaning up three meals - (breakfast is bigger, lunch was for five), and the cabin fever that sets in around 5:00 pm.

Pajamas or leisure suit?

Last night for dinner I made bread and homemade chicken noodle soup. It reminded me of last year when I was sick. At first we weren't sure what it was , just that I felt awful. I would spend half my day lying on the floor with stomach pain. I had been to see the doctor twice about it - nothing. Finally one morning I woke up a little yellow and a lot in pain, so we went to the ER. The doctor there was pretty certain that I had one of the lettered Hepatitis strains. I was miserable and called my mom - she came out to take care of us. We didn't really need her to, and said so, but she came anyway. And it was wonderful. I would sleep for several hours each day and she cooked and played with Paige and took care of homework and laundry (even the whites - that's how sick I was). All while trying to work from our computer at the job she had just started. She made bread a few times and chicken noodle soup and it was just so nice to be babied. Sometimes that's a perk of living far away. If we had lived close and needed that kind of help - she would have come over to help, but she would have gone home to sleep at night and been busy with her own life. But, since she was here, we got two weeks of full time pampering. Turns out, it was just Epstein Barr and by the time she left I was feeling much much better. So, last night as the girls and I sat down to eat homemade bread and soup, I thought thankfully of my mom and how she is always there when I need her.

Happy Snow Day!

Freezing

2009-01-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

It has been really cold here lately... not today, today it is a glorious 52... Maggie came in from outside and said "I feel like I went to Hawaii." But last Saturday was a different story: a pipe in the bathroom froze and burst. Luckily, Chris was home and turned the water off right away. We called maintenance and they said they would put us on a very long list of emergencies for the day. They showed up just as we were discussing where we were going to shower/eat/use the facilities. This was pretty inconvenient, but having maintenance people come to the house is always a little fun for Christopher. He gets to follow them around and talk to them about how things work. Here is a picture of the pipe - the plumber admonished us several times to let the faucet drip during cold weather and we promised we would. But, we didn't. So, on Wednesday morning the pipes were frozen again...Chris said to call because it is a quick fix, but I did NOT want to call and say that we had a frozen pipe, probably in the same location. So we turned the faucet on hot (where a little drip was dripping) and waited... I was so nervous that it would burst again before the ice melted - but we made it. The faucet has been dripping ever since. Here is one of Paige's favorite spots. She is probably yelling in this picture to have someone come and read to her. I can't decide what she likes more: reading books or pulling books off the shelves. I know what I like more and it's not picking up all of her and some of her sister's books several times a day. Today, I just left them and will leave them until bedtime, when I can enlist the help of her 2 older sisters.
Maggie took the picture below at my request - Paige is wearing hand-me-downs of Elizabeth's that Sharron sent at Christmas. (When I washed the dress that Ashlee is wearing this week, I cut the ties off - neither of my girls will ever leave them tied and there is a man at church that every time they come with a tie hanging down tries to tie it for them. Plus it looks like we're total slackers who don't know how to dress our kids) Just in case you read this Elizabeth, we got several compliments on your dress! Thank-You! Last thing: since Christopher has left the squadron for the wing, he has had more interesting desk duties. Yesterday and today, he is sitting on Court Marshall Duty and I can't wait for him to come home and tell me all about it. It was KILLING me last night that he couldn't talk about it. I want all the details, what the guy did, how they reached the verdict, did he make eye contact, is he sorry, were his parents there, who were the witnesses, did they get to examine any evidence...I want to know. And last weekend he got to play host to a couple of crews passing through from the Italian Air Force. As a thank-you, they gave him the following gifts. We were teasing the girls that the wine would be ok because after all it's just grape juice, Maggie was scandalized, Ashlee seemed to take us at our word. It's going to the neighbors. It's the statue I don't know what to do with. Maggie and I opened the box that it came in together and she turned a few shades pink and left the room because the guy has all his business hanging out.(that's a piece of paper towel). There is no way that Chris will let me throw him out...I figure if I leave him out for a week or two, he'll let me put him in the closet with the other stuff we don't know what to do with!

Oh, and I did let the girls stay home to watch the Inauguration - but it turns out that both of their classes watched it at school. I told Chris the other night that President Obama has already satisfied any expectation/hope that I had of his Presidency by issuing the order to close Guantanimo and stating unequivocally that the U.S. will not engage in torture - reason enough to have voted for him, in my humble opinion. Plus, the closing prayer - we would never have gotten anything like that with any of the other candidates. The girls and I have been saying it to each other ever since...

Pictures

2009-01-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ashlee had her school winter concert last night. It was fun - and the perfect length. Sometimes when I see pictures of her I can't believe how big she is. She turns 8 this year - can that be right????? She had a little solo that she was pretty nervous about, but she did a great job. This night, the girls were goofing off. Maggie has her doll's hat on top of that outfit - so funny.

As a side note - is it bad to let them stay home next Tuesday and watch the inauguration? I have been really disappointed that neither one of their teachers this year have really discussed the election etc... I was thinking I would make some recipes from Cokie Roberts' book Founding Mothers - she has some recipes from Martha Washington etc... in there and we could make a day of it. Educational, right?

Happy Birthday!

2009-01-08T08:40:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Dad!
Today is my Dad's Birthday - We hope he has a great day!
Did you know?

• He is a hard worker - When they come to visit, he always does a couple of projects for us - edging the grass, building us a new sprinkler etc... unless there is a good game on, he doesn't like to sit still.

• He is devoted to my mom - this has always been evident to his children and grandchildren.

• He is a dedicated Utah fan - They gave him an early birthday present - crushing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Now that they live in Mecca, he has tickets to both football and basketball seasons.

• He is a great dad - he always made time to come to our soccer games, mc hammer dance shows (Daniel, Andrew??), or whatever else we were doing...and continues to be a kind and concerned parent and grandfather...he makes it a point to attend baptisms, sporting events etc...

• He has come to visit us every place we have lived and he is always up for going new places or just playing with the grandkids, and he always suggests eating out so that I don't cook as much. He even made it Guam before Daniel and Miriam left.

• He really likes the water and watersports - he is pretty good at boogy boarding, I thought I had a picture of this to post, but I can't find it.

• He is a good friend - he is still in touch with people in Germany, old mission companions, and he has some golfing buddies etc... in UT - and I understand that he has in fact ditched his own children to golf with friends.

So, there you go, 7 things about my dad because he is working on his 7th decade! We love you dad and are so glad to be part of your family!

Here is Sports Illustrated's article about why the U is really #1, just for fun.

Life of Reilly
Oklahoma and Florida can battle for the BCS. But we've already crowned the true national champ.
by Rick Reilly

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The Utes trampled Alabama to complete a perfect season. How are they not national champions?
Some gifts people give are pointless: Styling mousse to Dick Vitale. An all-you-can-eat card to Kate Moss. The BCS Championship given to Oklahoma or Florida.
It means nothing because the BCS has no credibility. Florida? Oklahoma? Who cares? Utah is the national champion.
The End. Roll credits.
Argue with this, please. I beg you. Find me anybody else that went undefeated. Thirteen-and-zero. Beat four ranked teams. Went to the Deep South and seal-clubbed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The same Alabama that was ranked No. 1 for five weeks. The same Alabama that went undefeated in the regular season. The same Alabama that Florida beat in order to get INTO the BCS Championship game in the first place.
FIND ME ANYBODY ELSE THAT WENT UNDEFEATED. THIRTEEN-AND-ZERO. BEAT FOUR RANKED TEAMS. WENT TO THE DEEP SOUTH AND SEAL-CLUBBED ALABAMA IN THE SUGAR BOWL.
Yeah, that's how it is now in the shameful, money-grubbing world of college football. If you're Florida and you beat Alabama, you get a seat in the title game. If you're Utah, you get a seat on your sofa.
Hey, remind me: What do they give out for one of those BCS things anyway? It's been so long since I cared. Something from Sears? This is the sixth year in the past 10 that the title has been in dispute under this cash-grab, fan-dis, monopoly that the BCS has created. Which is why the title game just doesn't matter anymore. It's like being named Miss Ogallala. Or Best Amish Electrician.
Just take a look at the teams that think they're worthy of being called national champs:
USC? Great year. Wonderful. Let's all go to SkyBar and celebrate. But it lost to Oregon State, a team Utah beat.
Texas? You think beating Ohio State by a nubby three points gets you the title? The Big Ten was 1-6 in bowl games! That's like pinning David Spade!
Florida and Oklahoma? They lost. Utah never did.
So that's it. Utah is the national champion. The Utes should probably have two now, actually. They went undefeated in 2004, too, and their coach still thinks they were the best team in the land. Smart fella named Urban Meyer. Coaches Florida now.
By the way, we're calling our title the "national" championship because it actually includes the whole nation—all 119 Division I schools—unlike the BCS, which includes 66. Yeah, the BCS somehow eliminated the middleman—the NCAA. The conferences these schools play in take their dump trucks full of cash straight from the TV networks and fairness can go suck a lemon.

Nettie Tien
The Utes won't get the trophy they really deserve, so we gave them one of our own design.
Do me a favor. Call Ohio State president Gordon Gee and ask him why he won't support a playoff. He's one of the most powerful presidents in the NCAA. He could get it done. If he says anything other than, "We don't want to share the loot" then you know he's lying his bow tie off.
"This is not how we normally do things in America," says Utah president Michael Young. "In America, quality usually wins, not conspiracy. And there's a reason people usually enter into a conspiracy. It's money. You make money doing it. And those that are in on the conspiracy want to stay in and keep everybody else out."
Sure, BCS blowhards will hand you schlock about how the college football season is like a playoff, how it's an elimination tournament every week. Really? Well, how come Florida and Oklahoma weren't eliminated with their losses? Utah ran the table, beat everybody set in front of them, including Ala-damn-bama in no less than the Sugar Bowl, and gets the bagel.
Oh, by the way? It was Utah's eighth straight bowl win, the nation's longest streak. Among the losers during that run? Let's see USC, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and now the legendary Houndstooth Hats.
"What else do we have to prove?" asks Utah's magical quarterback, Brian Johnson. Good question. He and the Utes essentially whipped Alabama at home. Handed Nick Saban a garlic necklace to wear the entire offseason. Stepped on his team's neck 21-0 in the first three possessions and never looked back. Let's see. Who was it that was losing to Alabama until nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter? Oh, yeah. Florida.
What, you want the Utes to win a spelling bee? Make a prize-winning souffle? Knock up Angelina Jolie? What?
It just slays me. It really does.
Call Myles Brand, president of the asleep-at-the-wheel NCAA, and ask him if he and his greedy presidents are going to stand in defiance of president-elect Barack Obama, who wants a playoff and wants it yesterday.
Ask Brand what he's going to do if Obama starts asking the Justice Department to look into anti-trust hearings against the BCS. The Utah attorney general has already launched an investigation into that very thing. Or ask him what he'll do if Obama asks the Department of Education to consider withholding federal funds from these schools that have entered into this secret club called the BCS. You don't think playing in the title game means millions in general-fund donations for a school? That's as unfair as anything Title IX fought against.
Until all these people do the right thing, I'll be celebrating with the true national champions — the undefeated, untied Utah Utes. (Our new slogan: Utahk about a team!)
Lemonades for everybody!

Christmas

2008-12-30T08:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas hits and misses!
Hit: NYC the Saturday before Christmas. There was a little bit of snow, lots of fun decorations, and, along with our train ride through snow to and from, it helped us all feel more festive.Ashlee dancing on the "Big" piano in FAO Schwartz...in the pink. Miss: no pictures of the girls in their Christmas outfits - here is Maggie in part of hers, dancing with her sister. Miss - in a big way. Paige has shown zero interest in this board that we made her. Maybe we missed the age by a little bit, I was sure she was going to love it.

Hit: Dad's new helicopter. And the green thing on the floor by Ashlee's feet still has potential. Santa brought it for Paige who doesn't really love it, but the older two have a great time spinning around in it and standing on it etc...

For you Aunt Heather: HIT! Paige loved her new hat and cried when we took it off.

Hit/Miss: the littlest pet shop animals were a big hit, the Barbie laptop was a miss. Ashlee requested it several times so Santa brought it. But, she now feels it was made for "preschoolers" and "babies" and maybe she's right, Paige seems to really like it.

Miss: we miss being by family at Christmas time.

Hits: carrying on a few traditions that Christopher and I have both brought from our childhood Christmases; thinking about a couple to add for next year; seeing my Aunt and Uncle and cousins a couple of days after Christmas (thanks for the visit!); being involved in a couple of service projects with church and making a few visits to widows in our ward as a family; dinner with friends on Christmas Eve; just us for Christmas dinner - which allowed for a nice long nap after breakfast and before meal prep; being together!

(Please ignore the tennis balls on the chair legs - we have made many failed attempts at finding something that will stay on the chairs to keep the floor from getting all scratched up, and finally gave up and went with what works.)

Now we are looking forward to 2009 and the possibilities and opportunities of a new year!

Mag Pie

2008-12-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of stories about my Magpie -

This year, she has been completely absorbed by the Harry Potter books, which thrills me beyond belief. I don't remember any books, aside from the Boxcar Children, from my childhood that I really, really loved. I didn't really start to love reading until I was older, so to have her so enthralled with these books makes my heart very happy. We have the last four books on CD and the library has all of them so she can check out books 1 - 3 to listen to. She is just finishing up listening to the series for a 2nd time this year. Well, often, she brings the CD's in the car with her to listen to while we drive places or she'll listen to them in the kitchen while I am cooking or doing dishes. I listened to about 70% of book 6 with her, but finished it before her on my own - it's the perfect backdrop to folding laundry etc... When she found out that I had started book 7 and she wasn't done with book 6, she was not happy with me. I guess, maybe a few times I have had her wait to listen to something until I can be in the room. So she felt a little betrayed. On Thursday last week, the day after my mom had gone and I was feeling a little bit melancholy, I had lots of laundry to do, and I decided to put Harry Potter in while Paige was sleeping and I was folding, sorting etc.. I looked everywhere and couldn't find the cd's. Then, it hit me: she must have hidden them somewhere so that I couldn't listen to them while she was at school. I looked everywhere I could think that she would have hidden them and still could NOT find them. Why? Because she had taken them to school with her. Yup, she just loaded the whole series into her box and took them to school. So, to get back, I didn't do ANY laundry and just sat and read the whole afternoon away.

And

This year for the first time since we have lived here, we have to get up early during the week. The elementary school that both girls have attended until now doesn't start until 9:30. So unless I had something pressing to do in the mornings, we just slept until we woke up. But, now Maggie attends a different school that starts at 8:00 am, her bus comes around 7:20. During the first part of the year, I woke her up. After a while, she lost confidence in my ability/willingness to wake her at the time she wanted. Now she sets her alarm for 6:30. I usually sleep until about 7:00 when she comes in to get me to help her make her lunch. Today was pizza day at the school. She buys her lunch every pizza day. So, when the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning I stumbled out of bed to turn up the heat and bumped into my darling daughter in the hall. I think I said good morning to her and may have also indicated that I would just be finding socks or something and return to the kitchen shortly. I climbed back into bed to get warm and the next thing I knew it was 7:30 and Maggie was long gone. How's that for great parenting. For a while I considered calling the school to make sure that she had made it, but wasn't sure how I would explain that I had been sleeping when she left. Now, if someone could just tell me who to call to collect my "World's Best Parent" award....

Gingerbread & Flowers

2008-12-15T10:51:00.001-08:00

My mom came for a visit for the first part of last week. It was really fun to have a shopping buddy - and I was pretty lonely after she left. Good thing Christopher got home the next day. While she was here, we made Gingerbread Houses for FHE - Paige was very obliging and went to bed early that night. We had a few engineering mis-steps, the biggest was we almost ran out of dough. So the roof pieces are very thin and Maggie's even had to have some reinforcement under the roof. But, all's well that ends well.One more shot of the finished product - I won't take a picture of how they look today (one week later). Lots of birds... We also went to Longwood Gardens with my mom. It was just as amazing as last year. Here is one of the rooms in the green house. This sunken floor is filled with water and the middle section is floating cranberries. We had a great time and wish we lived closer. Thank-you for coming, Mom

Light covereth a mulitude of faults...

2008-12-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

The tree is up - it's always chaotic. It takes me much longer than anyone (including me) thinks it should to get out the boxes (unload them from the garage closet), rearrange furniture (Rose is in her Christmas spot in the corner),and fluff the tree (it's not the greatest, but it's skinny and that's what we need). By the time everything was ready to go this year, it was a day later than when we started. We let the girls put things up wherever they want and to be honest I don't love the tree without the lights turned on, but turn the lights on and...... it is beautiful. To us anyway. Whenever I look at pictures of our house, it always looks empty, which surprises me because there are some days when I want to throw everything out it is so full in here.
I complain loudly sometimes about CAY and his pack rat ways...have I mentioned he still has all of his college paperwork???? Including his homework????? But every once in a while, it is charming. Here is an example of the charming, his saved Christmas ornaments. The gold ball was from an elementary school teacher,the gingerbread man is from Marlene in 1978, and the airplane was 1992.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went down to my Uncle Michael and Aunt Karan's. They made a FEAST and they even let us take leftovers home to New Jersey the next day. They always make us feel so welcome and the girls never want to leave. Everyone is back to work and school now - just three weeks till Christmas break!

Paige is a dunker

2008-11-21T08:06:00.001-08:00

These are from breakfast yesterday. Paige has been insisting on feeding herself EVERYTHING. Which is pretty much the only way she was ever going to be able to do it. CAY almost had to leave the room last night while she was eating yogurt- everywhere. But she concentrates so hard and it is really cute. Every bite went into the milk first.

Problem was, it was my milk, so here's what I was left with.

I couldn't throw it out - it was almost a full cup - so I closed my eyes and drank it super fast with my vitamins! MMMMMMM.....

Twilight???

2008-11-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Heard this review on NPR this morning - I haven't seen the movie and I am nervous about seeing it because all of the parts of the book (which I generally loved) that seemed too hokey to me while reading may be so apparent in the movie I won't be able to stomach it. This review nailed it for me - it's about the movie, but I think the same could be said about the books. Bella has no perspective - I could never figure out why Edward loved her. But I still wanted him to. Anyway I will be blog-stalking to see if other people love or hate it. My SIL, Miriam lives in Guam and has already seen it and loved it. Have you? Love, Hate or Tolerate? I don't want the movie to ruin the books for me.

Morning Edition, November 21, 2008 · I am not now nor have I ever been a 13-year-old girl, but Twilight made me wish I could be, at least for a couple of hours. It would help me appreciate a movie that has been targeted to that demographic with the specificity of a laser weapon.
Any romance fan can tell you that love stories need obstacles, and in this egalitarian age, the traditional obstacles — of class, caste, religion and fortune — are harder to come by. Twilight's notion is that Edward Cullen is a sexy vampire and Bella Swan is very much alive. Placing this conflict in high school, where emotions are extreme and every moment is a crisis, was the masterstroke that created a publishing-industry phenomenon.
And the film of Twilight succeeds in what it sets out to do — realize that phenomenon for a big-screen audience — because it treats those high-pressure high school emotions with unwavering, uncompromising seriousness; Laurence Olivier essaying Shakespeare didn't approach his material with more reverence than is on display here.
When Twilight opens, 17-year-old Bella is moving to the tiny Washington town of Forks to live with her dad. Even before the plot kicks in, Bella demonstrates the film's key attitude: As a teenager she is, by definition, a deeply superior being, elevated far above the dross of everyday life.
Forks High School holds no charms for this lofty creature — until she spies drop-dead handsome Edward. Aside from being a vampire, he's pretty much the ideal boyfriend.
And though the story's action quotient has been increased to appeal to the random males who might show up at the multiplex, Twilight is unabashedly a romance. All the story's inherent silliness aside, it is intent on conveying the magic of meeting that one special person you've been waiting for.
Maybe it is possible to be 13 and female after all — for a few hours, at least.

Related NPR Stories

Home - where my family is.

2008-11-19T12:37:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I visited a friend whose husband was in the Army and she had this quote displayed in her home: "I cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, was home to me." (Francis Boyd) Too bad I can't really change it to something like "with an active duty military man" or "Air Force Member" or "Airman" (as they are correctly called). Soldier just sounds so much better. But, the sentiment is the same, even if I can't word it to fit my situation, since CAY is not a soldier. Still, he serves the same country, has taken the same oath....I digress. Where he is, really is home to me. And although, I still say I am from Colorado when asked, I'm pretty sure that Colorado doesn't feel like home to me anymore. My second home is probably where my brothers, sisters and parents - my blood - are and since most of them are in Utah now, that's what it felt like when Iwent for a visit this past weekend. My youngest brother, Andrew, got married to beautiful Carly. And in true AY fashion, I think I took 7 pictures the whole weekend. Here are a few pictures - none of them are of the happy couple. Because I didn't take any.

Sometimes I hate Blogger - I can't get it to type above the pictures. So here are the "captions" if you will.

1. Niece and Nephew waiting for departure to the wedding. They didn't want me to take the picture and covered their faces until I threatened to give them big sloppy aunt kisses in front of everyone at the wedding.

2. The flowers - Carly chose browns and white and My aunt Tina did the flowers - they were "super cool." I feel I have to put that in quotes because I'm not quite hip enough to pull it off without them.

3. My parents living room in the new - almost finished house - I still can't believe that it was presentable enough to host a dinner the night before for 30 plus people. They finished the fireplace the morning of the dinner.

4. Four wonderful women in cutesy aprons. I sure wish I could have been in that picture. Maybe next time, when I am an "after" shot for Turbo Jam or something!

Ball in the Hall

2008-11-12T19:27:00.001-08:00

Tonight, everyone had lots of fun playing ball in the hallway...yes, it's a hallway even if it is only a few feet long. First, Daddy throws it at Ashlee.

Then, Ashlee gets revenge...

Then Paige and Maggie ham it up for the camera.

Also, here is a preview of a picture for Christmas cards this year...

Do you think we got any good shots?

Waiting for Dinner

2008-11-05T17:55:00.001-08:00

When Paige senses that dinner is almost ready, she climbs right up in her high chair to wait...I left the ranch dressing really close to the edge tonight.

So, she decided to help herself to some...if you look closely, you can see her making a sour face.

Also, the poor baby has terrible diaper rash right now, so tonight we left her diaper off and put on a pair of Ashlee's "big girl pants" for a while. It was too cute!

A Few Halloween Pics

2008-11-02T18:47:00.001-08:00

Here are some snapshots from Halloween...first a spooky dinner. On the menu:

goblin eyes

witches fingers

mummy dogs

mashed ghosts

slimy punch

And....

Witches Lips!

Then....
Here are two girls excited to be going trick-or-treating and one who will scream until her jacket is removed. Then she will be all about the trick-or-treating.

A funny story from our night... Christopher dropped Paige back home after about 30 minutes and then took the two big girls and a neighbor out for a while longer. The weather was pretty mild so Paige and I stayed on the porch to hand out the candy. She was walking around, looking at the jack-o'lanterns and moving pumpkins from one location to another. I was sitting in a chair that was apparently hidden as you approached from one side of the house. As one family approached...the dad said..."Awww, what's the matter little fella, are you locked out?" She's eighteen months....and shes a girl. Although, I have to admit, she was wearing a boys black shirt - it's impossible to find plain colors without embellishment for girls sometimes- and she could look like a little boy I guess. But the locked out part???? I didn't get it.

On another note....if I get one more e-mail from the Obama campaign requesting money I might change my vote!!!!! Here is a link to something funny about that....

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=189770&title=baracks-millions

If I knew how to embed it, I would.

2008-10-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Paige has entered an especially cute phase....here are some new words:

sorry, shoe, go, cracker, no, hi, ball, & book. I would type how they sound, because she does not pronounce them that precisely, but I'm not that clever. Here she is climbing up on "Rose" And here she is playing with the rats and spiders (we have them to make our house scarier...per Ashlee's request) and giving me her camera face. Tonight we were watching a little TV - Chris was laying on the floor so Ashlee brought him a couple of pillows. A few seconds later, Paige brought him a pillow too and planted a big smooch right on him. That was the first time she has given a kiss without us coaching her. Of course it was for him. She also says Dada all the time, still no Mama. She's just so fun...

Joe the Plumber

2008-10-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I called maintenance to have them fix a drippy faucet in the girls bathroom. The plumber came and told me how to turn the faucet off correctly. It continued to drip, I never called back. When Chris got home this last time he decided to fix it. Gallons and gallons and gallons of water have dripped down the drain - just doing our part for the environment. (Do you love the pink tile?) He fixed it! But, when he went to the maintenance office to get the part, the plumber (who came to our house and told me that the problem was the way we turned the faucet off) told Christopher that he needed a whole new mechanism because the old ones didn't work and had to be re-engineered. WHAT? Just a little sexism for you. I turn it off wrong, he needs a brand new faucet.

She's so stylish!

2008-10-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today I asked the girls to get a couple of chores done while Chris and I were cleaning out behind the fridge and the stove. Here is what Maggie wore while vacuming. These shoes are mine, but I have never worn them... I never wear heels... I bought them hurriedly to go with an outfit for CAY's squadron Christmas Dinner a couple of years ago, but I didn't even wear them that night. I keep them in the closet though in case I ever decide to be brave. I'm sure they're out of style...they almost fit Maggie. Maybe she can keep them...Maybe you feel more like doing housework if you look pretty.
She didn't want me to take the picture, but I told her one day she would be glad to have a picture of this.

2008-10-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Carving Pumpkins....here they are, waiting to be carved...notice the rot spot on the one in the center. I'm pretty sure that was there when we brought it home - oops.

CAY and his helper, Paige - she was really into the messy part, she even tried to eat it a couple of times.Ashlee getting ready to carve....All lit up - we kept them in the kitchen last night because it was so cold.

Finished product!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to an Orchard/Pumpkin patch. We intended to pick apples, pumpkins and fall raspberries. But the orchards that were still picking were at another location and the raspberries were picked through. So, we just picked pumpkins and treats (mixed with a few veggies) from their farm store. This picture is on our way out, Maggie is still working on her treat. I have always thought that m&m's on a caramel apple would kind of ruin the whole caramel apple thing, but after tasting hers, I have to say it is YUMMY! The rest of us had some apple cider doughnuts that were delicious - lots of people were stopping by just to pick up some of those.Our first year here, we went to a pumpkin patch where you actually cut your pumpkins off the vine, but they are closed this year. Every other patch seems to do it this way - plowed field with pumpkins spread around. Have I mentioned how happy we are to have Christopher home? We are really happy.
The reason I included this one is because people always say how much Maggie looks like her dad. I have always seen a resemblance, but in this picture, with just their faces, I realize HOW MUCH Maggie looks like her dad.
One of my gripes about New Jersey and from what I have seen, much of the East Coast, is how much everything costs. Most pumpkin patches this time of year have hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin painting etc... But it all costs extra - $5 for the corn maze, $2 to paint a pumpkin etc...Many pumpkin patches are quite a distance from where you park, so you must ride the wagon out to the pumpkin patch to pick your pumpkin. They charge for that also, and not 50 cents, more like $2.50 per person. That's one of the things I like about this particular place: the corn maze, the kids animal barn, all the extras, are free. (Even the pumpkin painting - if you buy the pumpkin you paint.)
This last shot is of Paige chasing/being chased by the guinea hens.

Sleepy Hollow

2008-10-21T10:27:00.001-07:00

After Ashlee's soccer game on Saturday, we headed north to visit the Hudson Valley - it is a really beautiful part of New York and just 2 1/2 hours away. The leaves up there are a little bit ahead of us . We had planned on visiting the Great Jack o'Lantern Blaze, but the tickets were sold out. So, we played outside, got dinner, went swimming at the hotel and went to bed. I love this picture - Ashlee is dancing, Paige is saying "two, tree" (her version of one, two, three) and "weeee" as she walks all over the rock, Maggie is heading down the rock, doing her own thing. On Sunday, we went to church, went to a park to play -

And then went somewhere scary....
Washington Irving, author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," built a home in the Hudson Valley and there is actually a village called Sleepy Hollow there. So, on one of the Historic Farms - Phillipsburg Manor - they have "Sleepy Hollow Nights!" They had a story teller to tell us all "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and other haunted buildings.
The real attraction is the headless horseman,who rides in the night at Phillipsburg Manor. The girls loved it and weren't scared even a little. It was really fun. But, if we are here next year, we are booking early to be sure and see the Great Jack O'lantern Blaze.

Home!

2008-10-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

Christopher made it home on Saturday morning at around 3:00 am!!! We are sooooo happy.

Also, doesn't he look skinny? This was taken at around 7:30 am - Maggie and Ashlee woke up at about 6:15, they were so excited to see him. Paige only needed about 40 minutes to warm up to him - now he is her favorite.

Liberty Science Center

2008-10-16T09:59:00.001-07:00

On Monday, we headed north to go to the Liberty Science Center - I am a little embarrassed that we have been here for over 3 years and haven't made it there yet. We tend to go south rather than north... here is a view of part of NYC from the observation deck. We were just across the Hudson River. It's still pretty green - but the leaves are turning more and more. Here is Maggie looking through one of those magnifying things on the deck with the Statue of Liberty behind her.
I love this girl....
One of their exhibits was called sky scrapers - super cool. They had two pieces of the World Trade Center on display. This is a beam that was in one of the buildings - completely bent in half.
In other news, we are giddy with anticipation to have our Papa Bear home again - latest word is Friday night!!!! Maggie woke up singing "Daddy's coming home tomorrow, doo da, doo da" And Ashlee spent her time before school this morning making him a card and a poster. I suggested a girls weekend (Me and the two older girls) for Andrew's wedding, Maggie was all for it, but Ashlee stoutly refuses to leave her daddy home alone.

2008-10-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

We saw this idea for an art project at designmom.com and decided to try it last weekend. These pictures speak volumes about the girls temperaments - the one on the left is Maggie's. She was happy to be doing a project, but also wanted to get it done. Ashlee's is the one on the right - three panels, each background a different blend of colors, I am always interested in what they come up with...

CAY

2008-10-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Guess who is coming home this week (maybe) ?

YES!!!!!!

This is an old picture from Paige's birthday. The picture I really wanted to post was one that Maggie found of him on my cell phone, but I can't find the wire to connect it to the computer... She showed it to me while we were driving and I laughed and laughed. In it he is making some goofy face - and as I looked at it, it seems like it was on the way home from Stake Conference - last year I guess and he is probably fake crying/whining about something. It made me miss him so much - he can almost always get me to laugh, even when I am really mad at him or some other thing. I can't wait for him to be home. So, in honor of him being home in seven days, here are seven things about him...

1. He hates feet...he won't wear sandals in public...and no matter how much I beg for a foot rub, he won't touch them. I stopped asking years ago.

2. He thinks that he can load the dishwasher better than you. And by you I mean anyone else on the planet.

3. In the summer he will go outside just to watch the sprinkler - if it has any kind of mechanism. I often think it's such a good thing that they don't make dishwashers with clear glass fronts - he could waste a lot of time watching the water cycle through. He might even try to scientifically prove his theory about supreme dishwasher loading skills.
4. He is really good at playing make believe games with the girls.

5. He has a really difficult time throwing things away. In the garage there are papers (tests, quizzes, HOMEWORK, etc..) to document every year of his college experience.

6. Justin Timberlake is on his I-Pod - he claims not to know for sure how it got there, but there it is. Weird....

7. He is coming home in 7 days - although for my sake, I hope it is in 5 - I foolishly booked a hotel through priceline (non-refundable, but real cheap) for Saturday Night (the day after he is supposed to be home, but you know, AF plans change all the time and AF planes break all the time) because I want to go here! http://www.hudsonvalley.org/content/view/195/198/

And, even with all those silly things, he is really the best, best, best, best and we are all very anxious to see him SOON.

She Says Mama!

2008-10-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, you know that sometimes I can work myself into a dither worrying about my kids - not usually about the big picture, but about some little thing that I think that they should or should not be doing. The development questionnaires that you are required to fill out at well-baby check ups only make this tendency stronger. I have been waiting, wondering, worrying about the day that Paige will say "mama" and mean it and the other day, she finally, finally, did!!!!!!!!!

Just not to me.... to the baby doll...which she calls baby when she's not holding it. This baby doll laughs, sighs, makes sucking and sleeping noises, cries and says mama! As Paige was holding it the other day, the baby laughed and said "mama" to which Paige replied "mama." And now when she picks the baby up, she almost always says, "mama" ... but still not to me or even about me. I'll forgive her one day.

And, on a completely unrelated note, we finally found a chore system I can work with. I saw this on some random blog this summer. Each stick has one job - the girls have to do 2 jobs every day after school, weekends free. I love it and they love it! I'm just not a chart kind of girl. At the end of the week, we put all the sticks back in and start over.

And speaking of blog - stalking. This week, I came across a blog that talked about doing a photo class where students took pictures for a "Week in the Life" project - everyday pictures that chronicled what their everyday life was like for a week. This idea is so appealing to me that I am going to do it next week and if I like it, I'll plan on doing one every few months. That's what I want to remember, (along with big things like trips, birthdays, etc...) how my life looked and felt everyday. The park where we go to play while the girls are in piano, sleepy mornings, homework, etc... I think the thing that appeals the most, is it's so obvious how to document it. One week - one album of those pictures and explanations. Anyway... I am looking forward to it.

Just What I needed

2008-10-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

I look forward to General Conference every year - it is such a renewing experience if I prepare correctly. Some years I prepare better than others....Today, we decided to stay home to watch, and I have to say that I got so much more out of both sessions than I could have hoped by going to the church. I used to insist that I would bring my kids to all 4 sessions at a church if we lived in a place where they broadcast it in a building. Once again, I am eating my words. I am going to go tomorrow for one of the sessions, since it's Sunday. But, today home was just the ticket. I was struck by so many talks, but Elder Neil Anderson's was just what I needed... I am so thankful that I was able to listen, really listen to it. Anyway, I was looking for a youtube snippet of the children's choir that sang today. That's one more reason that I believe in a God of miracles...getting all those wiggly kids to sit still for 2 hours of conference and sing so beautifully. I wonder if they smuggled in word searches and bingo papers etc... for those children?

Here are some pictures:

#1 This one we'll call "who me? what? What candy? What are you talking about?"

Seconds earlier there had been a definite candy bar size lump in her cheek.

#2 "Mom, can we play make-up? It's hard to see Paige's face, but she had blush smeared all down her nose and cheeks. She follows her sisters around almost every minute they are home.

#3 "Bah bye" Picture, if you will, Ashlee getting ready to walk out the door. Paige goes running and finds Ash's lunch box, picks it up, slides it down her arm to hang on her elbow, starts walking away and saying "bah-bye" to mom as she tries to leave with her sister. It is very cute, even if I am the mom. Look at that earnest face.Also, frequently when I get the camera out, Paige makes this face. I'm sorry, but I just can't get enough!

If I were a baby

2008-09-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Paige has reached an all new level of busy (read: messy) and it can be really frustrating. She and I just don't agree on the level of messy allowable in the house. Following are some examples. I think it's ok to have two boxes of papers piled on the far side of my bed, waiting to be sorted and shredded. She thinks it's ok to empty any box of its contents - tissue boxes, toy boxes, cereal boxes, juice boxes etc.. I think that dishes should be put in the dishwasher when dirty and in the cupboards when clean. She thinks dishes should be on the floor - dirty or clean. I think when you are moving from one activity to the next, you should put the first activity away (or just on the counter next to the fridge if you are planning on coming back to it in the next week and you answer to the name mom) before moving on. She thinks that finding something more interesting calls for immediately dropping current activity/food item on the floor where you are and leaving it there. I think laundry should wait in the dryer until it can be folded and put away. She thinks that it is fun to drag articles of clothing all over the house, clean or dirty. She also thinks that if you should happen to leave a drawer open, it must mean that you are hoping she will come along and empty it for you. (for the record, I NEVER, leave my drawers open, it's ALWAYS her older sisters.) I think that credit cards, drivers licenses, money, receipts etc... all belong in a wallet. She thinks that a wallet is perhaps one of the best toys ever invented - this is especially fun at the store when I am trying to pay for something or when I can't find my i.d./drivers license and have already left base. I think personal hygiene is important and shower everyday. She sort of agrees with me on this one, but sometimes she thinks it is faster to wash her clothes and her hair at the same time.

See what I mean? We just don't agree....good thing she's cute!

Soccer

2008-09-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

So, Ashlee has started soccer. I have to admit, as a former soccer kid myself, I really love it. If I was in better shape, I would volunteer to coach. Here she is, number six, she loves it and is really animated on the field. For instance, in this game, on a couple of their teams kick-offs, she did a wind-up yell. "Hheeeeeyyyyyy", until it was kicked. So funny, and so not like her parents.

Ashlee is a fan of the "big kick." Why? It's more dramatic and more fun! For the first couple of games, even if she was put up in front, she would inevitably fall back and play a "sweeper" type role (if they were playing at that level of soccer sophistication, which they are not) so that she could get a "big kick" up field. She's asked a couple of times "Did you see that really big kick that went over people's heads?"
Here is what Maggie does during the games. Pictures of herself, any friends or acquaintances that happen to be in the area, Paige and me...

some morning snapshots

2008-09-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

This morning, Paige got bored eating breakfast,

had fun dumping her milk on the floor until she tried to walk in it..

cried until someone picked her up and loved her and put her feet
in the kitchen sink to get washed up. Then she helped with the dishes - by playing in the water while the dishwasher was loaded without any interruptions from baby monkeys!

Another thing I want to remember about having these these girls... all the little houses etc... they set up around the house. Today, after Ashlee had gone to school, I found this. I'm sure it's part of some game and she probably even sang a song or two while she played. Sometimes I don't tune into what they are doing enough. On the chair by this book shelf was the napkin holder from the kitchen table with a carefully folded cloth napkin laying in it. A bed for a tiny sheep that was resting on top. Maybe he visited the little house above him?

New Camera

2008-09-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

We got a new camera, just a point and shoot, but the other one ruined two memory cards and stopped saving images. So, here are some Sunday pictures of the girls. Paige got a new dress, and I love her in it. We had a rough post-church experience which ended in me threatening the girls that they would be "grounded for a month" - yes, I did say it just like that too - if Paige fell asleep on the way home. Neither one of them has ever been grounded - they have lost priveleges, but they haven't been grounded. But they must have thought that I meant business, because Paige was sooooooo tired and trying so hard to fall asleep, but they did it! Still, what if she would have fallen asleep? It was a completely empty threat because how do you ground a kid for a month and because I don't really consider it their duty to do things like keep the baby awake!

Missing My Girls

2008-09-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, the girlies had their first day of school this week. I don't have any pictures because our camera is (once again) acting up. But hopefully that will be remedied soon. They both enjoyed the week - they are in different schools this year. Maggie attends an "Upper Elementary" (5th and 6th grade) She feels so grown up. We had a few concerns about the school and I'm not sure they have all been resolved, but what can I say? I'm hoping we are moving soon (to be honest) and at this point our only choices are to move off base or pay for private, which, cost issues aside, I'm not sure that I can do. Public Education is one of my dearly held political beliefs. Ashlee is at the school they have gone to since we moved and is enjoying it, as I knew she would. But, I am missing them... and so is Paige, she gets a little bored with me.

Pictures are coming soon!

How to NOT get a good's night rest and other stuff

2008-09-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

It seemed like a fun idea - a backyard camp out. The weather in NJ is finally suitable to such an activity - the temperature is getting comfortably cool during the night. So, on Monday, we went to the movies and came home and put up the tent.

But, where should everyone sleep?

Paige alone in the house while the three of us slept in the tent...

Maggie and Ashlee alone in the tent, Paige in her bed, Mom on the couch by the open window in case the girls should need anything...

All four of us in the tent...

At 8:30, Paige went to bed in her crib, at 9:00 I went out to the tent with the girls to read to them until they fell asleep. Ashlee was asleep in 15 minutes. Maggie was having a harder time, much harder. At 9:50 I was headed back inside to collect some more sleeping paraphernalia and one sleeping baby. By 10:30 we were all tucked in and sleeping soundly - in the tent.

Several hours later, in what I assumed was the early morning, I was awakened by cute baby noises. Both girls were still asleep. I laid baby Paige on top of me and rubbed her back and willed her back to sleep, thinking we could all use a little more shut eye. But, she was awake and she wanted to play, so I played (ever so sleepily) stuffed animals with her.

20 minutes later Maggie says "Mom, Paige is awake"

10 Minutes later, Ashlee says "good morning"

The birds were chirping, there was dew all over the tent, surely it was morning. Darn that porch light, so bright, so deceptive.

5 minutes go by: "Mom, what time is it?" "I don't know, probably 6, 6:30"

Maggie gets up to check her watch - smart child, I didn't bring one to the great outdoors.

"Mom, It's almost 5 in the morning." No, surely that can't be right, grab the watch and check. Nope, not almost 5, almost 4 in the morning! We then spent about 15 minutes trying to get everyone back to sleep - no luck. Inside to give the baby a bottle and put her to bed. Sleeping in the tent has lost its appeal to the older girls too, who come traipsing in with all their pillows and stuffed animals. By 4:45 Maggie was watching a movie in her room (because she couldn't sleep) Paige was in her crib and Ashlee and I were on the couch. I was saying a little prayer for children who would sleep in. We will wait for CAY before making another attempt.

And, Paige's new game is called, "Watch mom come running"

Here's how it goes: climb up on to some object, sometimes the high chair, sometimes the coffee table, sometimes the bench in the living room, next: try to climb higher, next: yell for someone to come help, next: begin to step off. Someone will be right with you!

Look at all those teeth. I think she is getting every single last tooth in right now!

Can't Sleep

2008-08-27T21:46:00.001-07:00

Because it's 1:00 (am), because I watched "Evening" tonight, and I am still a little bit teary (it's been over for an hour at least), because Maggie is spending the night at a friend's, because I have so much angst about school starting soon (too soon), because the thought of going to bed and hoping I fall asleep gives me anxiety, because I'm sure CAY is checking this thing all the time hoping for a new post, I thought I would put up a few pics...sound fun?

Yesterday, while Maggie was at a friend's and Ashlee was busy doing this,

and this with the neighbors,

Paige was keeping busy...making a few calls Getting a drink of water...taking care of business.

We went to the pool today and froze our tushies off and wished that they hadn't closed the pool with much more shallow water to play in, but had fun anyway because there was a treat at the end and kids don't seem to notice being so cold that their lips turn blue. I want to go to the shore one more time before it is too cold, but I can't bear (especially tonight...more tears as I type) the thought of going without him...
He knows how to play all the fun games and keep everyone happy and plus he carries all the heavy stuff and helps put up the beach tent. I can't play "pretend the town is getting flooded" with Maggie for nearly an hour and yell at the fake town people to dig like crazy because the wall has been "breached" and we should all "dig, dig, dig" Oh, man I miss him! I am in a funk - one whole month of fun, busy vacation, and then coming home in time to say good bye to CAY has not been good to me. Good night - sleep well.

Webkinz

2008-08-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Somebody was a little bit busy with the markers - the box was moved to a lower shelf on the bookshelf...She only colored on herself, no walls, or carpet or furniture. Isn't she cute?
Also, beds for the girls webkinz...six of them in all, all of them carefully made, and some even hotly disputed. They stayed up for 3 days, I made the girls take them down tonight, it was driving me crazy! (Because every single one of the beds had corresponding displaced items. Our house is too small for that kind of clutter!

Olympics et. al

2008-08-21T18:55:00.001-07:00

Because I can't seem to do anything after 8:00 pm than put kids to bed and watch the Olympics for hours, I thought I would post the top 10 things for me about them....(not all good)

#10 - Time difference - except for those rare moments we see live, I can look up the results online and know what to expect. This works better for me. When Michael Phelps and team swam in the relay for his 8th gold medal, I had to leave the room.

#9 - New words/bad English "A 'Phelpsian' attempt" - I'm pretty sure whoever said it had just made it up. "Not allot of analization..." (Analysis??) The other night when they were talking about the Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, they must have used the word cocky 5 bazillion times.

#8 - Awful commentators/interviewers, not all of them, but many "This is a disaster of epic proportions.." etc.. etc...

#7 - Kinesio (sp?) tape - I wonder if that stuff works...

#6 - Michael Phelps, I know it's what a lot of people say, but it was captivating.

#5 - Incredibly skimpy "uniforms." Women's beach volleyball is almost embarrassing, those bikinis are so small. - Maggie asked the other night "If I go to the Olympics, what would I wear?" Amen, sister.

#4 - Underage Chinese gymnasts. If some of those girls are 16, then I am at my ideal body weight.

#3 - Laying around watching TV for hours at night and not feeling guilty, because it's the Olympics.

#2 - The women's marathon - I got a little teary at the end for no good reason.

#1 - Watching athletes win who maybe didn't expect to win - those are the best moments.

In other goings on:

Maggie just finished listening to the last of the Harry Potter series. She has loved them so much. At first I made her follow along in the books, but for the last 4, she has just listened. Notice she has two CD players in her room - this is so she can have the next disc ready when the one she is listening to ends. She was a little sad to be finished with the series - just like her mom. We want more!

I successfully tamed our tomatoes out front. They grew like crazy while we were gone. Unfortunately so did the Morning glory, choking everything in it's path. It looked like a jungle out there.

And Ashlee had her first soccer practice tonight! She had a great time and is looking forward to a fun season. (See the poor baby banging on the door to get out?) I don't know why I didn't take this picture so she wasn't looking directly into the evening sun...

Moms

2008-08-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

So, this morning, as I was waking up, getting dressed, making my bed etc... and the girls were playing in the other room (Ashlee got Paige out of bed today, nobody had come to see me yet) I could hear the neighbors through the walls... (we live in base housing, and the walls are thin). They were not having a very happy morning at their house...lots of "5 ****** more minutes, I'm tired of being woken up with one ***** kid on my head and the other on my leg, they don't do that to you...5 ****** more minutes." It was ugly, at least what I could hear, the kids crying, the husband's muffled responses. Did I mention that we are still adjusting to the 2 hour time switch and this was at 8:30 - not exactly the wee early hours.

At first I was full of judgement, but then I realized I have come close to sounding like that myself...when I have been tired, worn out, or just plain mad that I couldn't get something done when and how I would like without being interrupted. And, had it not been for the gospel, and a mother who set an excellent example for me, I would probably sound just like that, maybe even worse. I remember confessing my temper to Christopher before we were married...I loved him and wanted to be his wife, but I felt like I had to give him fair warning. I sometimes wonder if my kids would have chosen me if given the opportunity. I am much better than when I was younger...but every once in a while that anger bubbles dangerously close to the surface. Today, I strengthened my resolve once again to be a good example in ALL areas to these three precious girls
After all, nobody deserves to have a complete whack job for a mother, right? There is enough uncertainty in being young without wondering when the next time a parent is going to blow their gasket. I remember reading in a parenting book about anger"When a child, is out of control, the child is out of control; when a parent is out of control, the whole family is out of control." AMEN

The following picture was taken by Ashlee... we have four tiny bunnies growing up in our yard. The momma must be coming during the night, because we have only seen her two times but the babies are thriving. They haven't ventured out of their nest yet, and the girls (Ashlee mostly) check on them 5-10 times a day. The bunnies are in a shallow hole, buried under grass, and the girls lift it up to look in.
I wonder if momma bunnies ever completely lose it with their little babies?

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-16T20:30:00.001-07:00

Eleven years ago today, Christopher and I got married.

Some stats from our 11 years together:

3 Children

5 Moves

5 Jobs (between the 2 of us)

2 Countries

3 States

6 cars

1 motorcycle

6 dates (I'm kidding, I'm sure we've been on close to 10)

Many, many, many smiles and laughs. (He thinks he's funny and so do I)

Happy anniversary to my husband who is about 9 time zones away! We love you and miss you.

I'm going to try to post a picture here every day so that you (CY) can keep up with us. Tonight I give you:

Concentration (yes, she is sitting on the dishwasher door)

And: Forts in the living room. There was lots of discussion about how many rooms the fort should have, whose fort was bigger. I think their friend even mentioned a hot tub in hers....

2008-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Summer Vacation

I'm not winning any prizes for photographer of the year, blogger of the year, or even mother of the year. But here is how our summer has been so far:

No pictures of pre-vacation days except a few of the tadpole release the night before we left. I'm not sure how he survived long enough to be released - we looked some things up online the night before we released him and realized that we had been doing several things that we were not supposed to do. Maggie had a friend all lined up to take him while we were gone and then in 2 short days, his tail got really small, his front legs were strong and he jumped out onto our wall - it was time to release him.

Here the girls are pre-release - the lid was only on for the drive to the pond.
There he goes - he headed for the water almost immediately, we hope he survived. On the 15th, the girls and I flew here(below)..., well not here exactly, but to this state. We were in the SLC area for 4 days, Christopher joined us and we headed south for a Reeves reunion. Sadly, I only have maybe 10 pictures of the whole week we spent there. We hiked in Zion's two days, spent a day in Bryce, went to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival and swam in the pool, played games, had a birthday party for Heather, wore matching t-shirts (courtesy of Moi). I'm really banking on brothers and sisters and my dad to come through with more pictures for me.
Isn't it beautiful?
The four girl cousins.
After the reunion ended (very abruptly - a story for another day, I'm still too embarassed by how it all ended, but my family handled it very gracefully) We drove to Colorado for a week.

While there we went to Breckenridge for 2 nights/3 days. I did manage to take a few more pictures that week, but still not enough. Above: Paige and her daddy on a hike. Below, Maggie, Ashlee, and cousin William in the middle of the small lake we hiked up to. There was a sandbar out to the middle - the water was freezing!

Here are the girls with their cousins playing dress-up in the visitors center on the day we left. Sadly, I have no pictures of them playing in the river, the marshmallow roast or the picnic with all of Christopher's sisters (who live in Colorado) once we were back in the Denver area. I really missed some opportunities.

Then it was back to Utah...where Christopher flew home to a smelly, smelly trash can and we stayed 6 more days. Those last days were spent at Lagoon, going to the pool, going to a wedding reception in Logan, a Funeral in Provo, eating out, visiting family, and playing in my grandmother's backyard -heaven on earth. She still keeps it perfectly maintained.

Above is my baby girl at Lagoon - I have never seen these jugs anywhere but UT - and they weren't just at Lagoon. I spotted them several times in peoples cars. Anyway, we got 2 to share between about 17 people (free refills) Paige really liked it. I didn't try to stop her too often, after all the only ride she got to go on was the train. Don't worry, she hasn't had any soda since.

Anyway, that's been our summer so far. We got home 2 days ago, and spent yesterday at the Jersey shore...no good waves yesterday and lots of jelly fish. (Ashlee loves to collect them) I don't have any pictures of that either. Christopher left this morning for two months....we are all sad today. We'll spend today and tomorrow un packing and settling in and then we will be on the look out for stuff to keep us busy.

Shoe love

2008-06-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here are my FAVORITE pair of shoes in all of their old, ratty glory. I've had them for 4 years and I love summer because that means that I get to wear them all the time. But I think it's time for a new pair. I can't decide what kind to get - backstrap or not, the flip flop kind, triple strap, pattern or plain?? There are just too many choices for me...if I could, I would buy several different kinds and be done, but this summer, only one pair is in the budget. Nevertheless I can't wait to get a new pair wear them to shreds too.... On Saturday, we went to the local blueberry festival and left the house with only $10 in cash - it was $7 to park and no ATM so we wandered around, longing for blueberry smoothies, cake, anything...but to appease the girls we got a bag of kettle corn. It's funny because that stuff is all over the place - when you go to festivals of this kind in Germany, France etc.. you can get the exact same stuff. Must be because it's good...even Paige thinks so.