Sing your Song

just farting around

2010-09-01T23:32:00.003-04:00

Got lucky tonight. This scene just lined up by itself, and is one of my favorites now, I love when that happens!!! I also threw in a couple other keepers...

Hmmm...a timer with a baby, not easy!!!

A member

2010-08-25T15:17:00.003-04:00

Kyrie was baptized a member of our church on July 31st. It was a special day to celebrate, we even had grandparents come down from Utah to be here on her special day. We also had a surprise visit from her favorite cousin Wesley. This was her only wish, but we told her that he couldn't make it. But a little help from the grandparents, and a really long drive, he was able to sneek in and surprise her. She was so excited, when she woke up to find him there.
Grandma Jan made the dress, I still plan on getting some better photos.....if only it would cool down. Congratulations Kyrie, we are so happy you made this choice.

Feeling more like home every day...

2010-07-23T14:53:00.010-04:00

It's been about a month since we have lived here, and I find myself still oraganizing, and cleaning everyday. It seems to go on forever. Ive had a few complaints about the lack of pictures, so even though there are piles everywhere, here ya go...Funny, I said I always hated face houses and this is my second one... Front sitting/piano room

Look at this huge family room...in desparate need of curtains.

To the left leads to a powder room, laundry room, and garage, and to the right is the stairs, front room, and front door.

Ivy's room that took of a wierd shade in the pic. It looks better in person.
The loft that never stays clean

Kyrie's room. Still in progressMaster BedroomMaster Bath

Scorpions

2010-07-10T23:05:00.007-04:00

We went scorpion hunting at night a little while back. I know sounds pretty tricky, but it wasn't too hard really. There is a variety of scorpion out here that glows in the dark when you shine a black light on them. At first I thought we would have to trek out into the desert and really hunt or dig for them. But turns out they were hiding in the rock walls that we walked along and sat on during the day. It was kinda freaky thinking of how close we were to them in reality without even knowing. The girls loved it, and there were tons to find. Every couple of feet you could shine the flashlight and a couple more would pop right out. They would get mad and flash their pinchers at us, and we would laugh. I didn't think too much about it, I never got too close. I was even getting ready to go do it again, just so I could take a picture to show you. They didn't scare me, until today, when I found one in my house right next to the door handle I was going to open. I was about to freak out. Luckily, I was on the phone to my sister in law (and expert scorpion killer in texas). I probably would have just tried to brush it out the door, to get it out of my house, not thinking. I wasn't even sure if this was one of the poisonous ones or not. Then my sister told me I had to kill it so it wouldn't come back.... I was scared to death that it would come after my kids if I didn't get rid of it. So my sis talked me through all the steps on how to kill it, the easiest being spraying it with bug killer, till it's immobilized then scooping it up with the dust pan, and then flushing it down the toliet. I was hypervenilating the entire time. Eww I hate bugs, the worst part is, I can't relax thinking there might be another in the house somewhere. One things for sure, pest control will be called on Monday. Oh yeah and Kel has been gone over a week on buisness. I hate sleeping alone!
ON the positive side, I finallly got a 50mm lens that I've been wanting forever for my birthday. We went to the zoo today to try it out. Here are a few good pics...

It's one in a million to get this girl to smile at the camera. Her sister is quite the opposite. So I'll take what I can get.

Blowing kisses

the bright sun is difficult to work with out here. It's hardly ever cloudy.

Golden Day!

2010-07-08T23:42:00.002-04:00

So much has happened in the last month. Well not anything exciting. Moving organizing a house. It feels like I clean everyday, but nothing gets accomplished. I know I said I would post pics of the house fast, but I'm too embarrassed to show any. Sorry for being such a neat freak. This house will probably never be clean because lily is to the appropriate age where she can make as many messes as she wants, and there's nothing I can do to stop her. Except lock her in a room somewhere, but that's probably not very motherish. Anyways, I promise I will post pics soon. I did want to post though, and say happy happy birthday to my little girl. Sweet Kyrie turns 8 today. It is her golden birthday. We had a blast today, doing whatever she wanted. Playing at pump it up with friends, movies, shopping, eating at the park(warm, but bearable).
She is a sweet girl so full of life. I took this picture today, an thought how happy she would be looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and then realized she is my own pot of gold, and how lucky I am to have her. Love you Ky!

Keepin cool

2010-06-11T19:22:00.016-04:00

So the Summer has been hot so far.... a good 107 Degrees, and climbing. So I don't want to hear any complaining from y'all up north. I'm holding my breath that we can acclimate fast. It's been interesting trying to keep these girls busy. The toughest part is the girls want to read alot, and we can't get a library card yet. How do you explain to a kid that we don't have an address. Ivy blows through the Disney Fairy book in a day. I had to get kyrie 500 page book, that was a little out of her reading level so she wouldn't read so fast. Books can be expensive even at a used bookstore!

The other thing that we do to pass the heat, is swimming. And the girls are havin fun. Whenever I need to punish them is take away their swimming for the day, and they are miserable! Kyrie used to be quite scared, but has improved so much that yesterday, she was diving down to 8ft to see if she could touch the bottom. She was quite determined until she finally did it. Ivy is a regular little sea monkey. I still make her keep her floaties on because I know how crazy she can be. She's not afraid of anything! That worries me.

Arizona's scenery

2010-05-28T13:01:00.005-04:00

It has been a wild and crazy ride the past couple of weeks. We are finally in Arizona, living in temporary housing while our house is being finished. It's been a little crazy trying to keep these kids busy. Sadly we got here just in time for it to get hot! Yesterday broke 100 degrees already. It's not too bad yet, we mostly stay indoors during the afternoon. The morning and evenings are quite cool. The only weird thing is that Arizona does not have daylight savings, so sunrise is at 5:30. I don't really like that. The other thing that worried me when we decided to come here, was the desert landscaping, but I'm happy to say it is quite the opposite of what I expected. The plants may not be lush and green, but they are quite beautiful in their own way. They are starting to grow on me. Take a peek.....Our cute little adobe rentalLots of pokey things down here. The girls have figures out the hard way not to touch!There is quite and abundance of flowersI didn't realize there were mountains down here....
This is a saugaro(suwaro) cactus. They say each arm takes 60-90 years to grow, and it is unlawful to cut down.

empty shell

2010-05-16T22:18:00.003-04:00

This picture depicts perfectly how I feel right now. A quiet longing, a sadness from leaving a beloved place.
It's been kind of a depressing week as we have been packing. Kyrie keeps complaining about how the house feels so sad because there are no pictures on the walls. It feels as if you have taken the "us" out of it. It is just an empty shell right now that will soon belong to someone else. The part that really got me in the picture is Kyrie's little tail. She's trying soo hard to be grown up, but inside she's still so little. Leaving the place that she has felt so comfortable the past two years is a big scary thing. Sometimes I feel so bad for these kids, having to move around every two years. I wonder if we are doing the right thing. There is no way to tell what dramatic effect this will have on their future, but I hope that the constant push outside of their comfort zone will make them stronger....

Trip to the Royal Gorge and Bridge

2010-04-26T12:12:00.009-04:00

As our last few months are winding to a close, we knew that there were a few more natural wonders that we needed to see here in Colorado So over Spring Break we headed down to Canon City to see the Royal Gorge and Bridge. I know this sounds like loads of excitement, but it was actually quite fun, and scary. The snow makes it look really cold and dramatic, but it wasn't that bad.

This Bridge turns out to be the highest suspension bridge in the world. We walked across it three times. There is also an aerial tram that goes across the gorge, and the worlds steepest incline train. The aerial tram was a little freaky for me. It's back and forth swaying made me wonder if the little cable could really hold that much weight. Also some of the windows were opened, and I worried someone would jump out. I always visualize the worst! I'm just crazy like that.

I guess this area is full of history. A lot of olden day movies were made here, and even a war was fought over who could lay the railroad the fastest and claim the only route through the pass. And as always, the girls loved the carousel ride the best. Anything to ride a horse. The Bridge in the BackgroundThose cables don't look very strong! I love the arrow pointing the way...The incline railwayIvy full of crazy excitement. (always)The only picture of meThe Arkansas RiverThe Aerial TramOn the Tram My baby about to jump out of an open window, thousands of feet above the river. See what I mean?

home news

2010-04-23T21:59:00.005-04:00

Well it's been a whirlwind of a week, and we've had more blessings than I can name. First off, after a grueling search in Tucson, we finally found a home. We, of course, had heard that the houseing market has been hit hard, and we were anxious to make a deal with all the foreclosures. But it was hard to find one that we liked, and that didn't have offers already on the table. Some areas were great, others not so much. We really had to trust that we would be led to the right area for our family. And after much consideration, ended up signing a deal for a new home, still being built. All the builders have had to compete with the foreclosures so the prices were about the same. But here's the bonus, it's a floorplan that I really like, and works for our family. We were able to pick a lot of our own colors, plus the incentives were really really good. Our home ended up being in a cul-de-sac, just down the street from a park, and pool. Plus I prayed for this...no back yard neighbors. Yea! I hate feeling spyed on! Here's a link to the neighborhood in case your interested. It is RanchoSahuarita.com. Go check it out, but be warned I may just be trying to entice you to come visit! Come in the winter when it is 65 degrees outside...

The other happy news, is that our house has been on the market for 8 days, and we went under contract today. I about went crazy with all the showings and trying to keep this place clean. My kids were about to form a mutiny. We worked hard, but it was worth it. I never realized how much babies are like walking windstorms, especially during meal times. They can make two messes to everyone I can clean up!

So things are lining up just perfectly. I guess we really are meant to move down there. Or it wouldn't all happen this way. It's also proof to me that the Lord hears and answers our prayers!

Park and pool just down the streeta lot greener than I expected it to be!

Moving is hard!

2010-04-17T14:28:00.003-04:00

Life has been crazy! I feel as though I have spent far too long cleaning, and re-cleaning this house to prepare for it selling. It has been on the market for 3 days now, and we have had two showings. It has been stressful for me. And I am feeling very torn about our up coming move. Tucson may be a nice place to live, but I'm a little more sad about the few close friends that we are leaving behind, and the threatning thought of trying to make new friends. Sure this is probably on everyones mind when they move, but I don't make friends easily at all. Especially the kind that I feel comfortable enough to be myself around. I should be used to this by now. This will be the 3rd move with the company, 4th if you count the move to Herriman, Ut to be closer to the store. Geez, people joke that we move more than those in the military, which is true. My kids are a little annoyed, but we have loved moving around and seeing the sights. This one is a little harder though. This place has felt a little more like home than the last few. It's sad to leave this house that we have worked soo hard to improve. Sigh, oh well, I'm sure there will be many more experiences like this one. Many more moves that take us out of our comfort zones. We'll survive, we always do. I just don't know if I'm getting any stronger.
Tomorrow Kel and I fly down to AZ to find a place to live. The sad part is he stays down there to work, while I fly home by myself. Who cares if they haven't had a manager for 2 months or more. I need a little more time processing this....
Lol, ok, my whining is done. Wish us luck finding a place to live, and to sell this house in time.

One snow day (part2)

2010-03-20T15:07:00.004-04:00

Kyrie took this One, I think she did great!

One day of snow...

2010-03-20T14:33:00.004-04:00

We went to the zoo two days ago in 65 Degree weather. I was also out in the yard cleaning up and started getting so excited that may plants were starting to come up, and look what we get... more snow. I love the fickle weather out here. We can always use the moisture so I can't complain. It was cold and windy, but we decided to try and take advantage of it because it will be melted by tomorrow.

Lily loved eating it, but as you can see she only lasted a few minutes.

Oh by the way, it's almost certain we will be moving to Arizona in a few months.

Hand me downs

2010-03-15T13:25:00.003-04:00

It's hard being third in line, and receiving all the hand me downs. The clothes are a little worn, or maybe a little faded. And in this case, your tights have a hole in the toe...

Love it! just keep smiling and maybe no one will notice...

Ivy turns 5

2010-03-08T09:47:00.009-05:00

Ivy is 5. My crazy strong willed little girl is 5 already. A few things about you this year...

Ivy you are too smart for your own good, and me for that matter. What am I going to do in future years? You are constantly sneaking around to get what you want.

Whispering is not your forte, especially in church.

You are a quick learner, and have been reading since you were four.

You work the cell phone better than mom does by sending notes to dad, and recording messages that mom didn't even know were there.

You are fearless, except for when Kyrie convinces you there are monsters in the basement. You love meeting new people.

You are my little tomboy who would rather play in the mud and with dinosaurs than wear frilly dresses. In fact, you could care less what you wear at all.

You love puzzles, one or two every day it seems like.

You are my little space heater, you love being warm, and it's a must that you come and show me how hot you are.

Every second I'm not watching you sneak onto the computer.

You love your baby sister soo much that you are often picking her up and carting her around often to her frustration.

Dinosaur Train is your favorite show

Fruit-a-bu is your favorite snack right now

You still like bugs...

Your favorite color is yellow.

Baby's 1st birthday

2010-03-04T18:32:00.004-05:00

So, the little baby has had her 1st birthday. I can't believe it! I wish I had a better memory so I could constantly replay all the sweet little moments that have come and gone. I've tried so much harder this time around to savor every little babyism. I guess I've finally woke up to this on the third child. Meal times, diaper changes, and bed times are not such a chore. And mostly I find myself snuggling as long as I can. Lily has turned out to be a good little hugger. I cherish every time she lays her head on my shoulder. Why does growing up happen so fast? Sweet baby, I hope to always remember you this way...

birthday cupcake with yummy cashew cream

where is the warm weather?

2010-02-25T14:28:00.003-05:00

The weather here has been so annoying lately. I wish it would make up it's mind and either be warm or cold instead of just tempting us with the thought of either. Colorado is always temperamental like this. In fact, I was just thinking about where I was last year, and was shocked when I remembered that I was about 10 months pregnant. Holy cow the baby's 1st birthday is on Saturday! How did that happen?
My mom came out (to help with the baby, which did not arrive while she was here), and while we were waiting, we took a walking scavenger hunt around Manitou Springs. This little Historic city had about 10 mineral springs all around town, many of which tasted very funny, some even carbonated-like they were so full of oxygen or something? It was a nice spring like day, man I miss that....

Next big thing...

2010-02-23T11:12:00.004-05:00

The most unusual thing is happening right now. The house is quiet. Two kids are gone to school, and the baby is taking a nap. Whoa! This rarely ever happens where I have a moment to myself. I'm usually running errands at this time, but I dont have a car, so I'm stuck home. I want to blog for just a minute. Time has seemed to fly by. We have lived in this house for almost two years, and are getting ready for the next big change. For those of you who don't know, Kelly has been training for his next position since the end of November. He spent Two months down in Texas while I stayed here by my lonesome. That was not fun since I'm still scared of the dark!!! He has since come home, and is finishing up training, hopefully by the end of March. At this time it is probably ineveitable that we will move someplace South. Who knows though, it seems we are always playing the waiting game. I love it! Keeps me on my toes...

Here are a few pics from Valentines Day. Kyrie was so sweet and made everyone valentines. My favorite was the one she gave to "Dad Vampire" from "Kyrie Vampire". It says, you're sooo cute, I'd suck your blood! The girl doesn't even like scary things at all, and yet she chose to send this to her dad. I just laugh she's so silly. She's always thinking about other people and how to make them happy, I love that about her!

1st time sledding!

2010-01-11T16:39:00.004-05:00

We spent out Christmas break in utah, and my girls went sledding, now that I think of it, I think that it was their first time, at least I know that it was Ivy's! Eeww! that's sad. We really don't get a whole lot of snow in the Springs. At least not enough that sticks. You would think that it would be opposite since we live right next to the Rocky Mountains, but no, I guess Utah hogs it all. I took my camera along just in case, and wasn't really planning on taking very many pictures, but was having so much fun I couldn't put it down. I went down the hill a total of one time. I know amazing! Here's a few of my favorites.

2009-12-04T15:44:00.002-05:00

Not a baby anymore!

2009-11-20T15:32:00.003-05:00

What is this?? I asked myself the other day. This is not the face of my little baby. This is the beginnings of a toddler that is growing up way too fast. Granted she is only 9 months old, but these 9 months went by faster than I expected. Lily has already mastered many feats that took my other girls much longer. #1 She has eight teeth, she waves, she claps, she CLIMBS stairs, and is learning very quickly to come back down. She laughs when you get mad at her for pulling all the geraniums off the stems. Unrolls all the toilet paper. Jumps in the bath with the girls when not invited. Her hair is a constant mess from pulling out clips. If she's getting into this kind of trouble now, what am I going to do in a few months? Thinking of this makes me reminisce, so I've pulled out a couple pics to show her growth. Gotta love her!

Kel's amazingness

2009-11-20T09:53:00.003-05:00

This post(as are many others) is long over due! Amonth or so ago, Kel finished his huge project of the summer. He designed and figured out how to build this beautiful deck. A huge feat I think, since he's never done anything like this before. Wow! I'm so happy everytime I go outside. No more sand to walk through, no more dirt being tracked in the house. Thanks kel! You are amazing! (as a side note of my amazingness, I found all the perenials to go around the deck at 75% off, so they were 1.25-2.50 each. I scored big time! that's what you get for waiting til the last week in the season to buy plants.) This was the last big project of the yard. If you remember from when we bought this place it was a big sand hill. It's nice to be almost done, ironically just in time to move.

2009-10-20T17:53:00.005-04:00

Sorry about the enormous delay in posting, it seems though that every time I get on the computer, somethings happens to frustrate my blogging intentions. The baby cries, or ivy needs my attention, or it just doesn't work. It should not take me 2 hours to post a couple pictures, so I haven't for a while. Hopefully it gets better soon!?!
Here are a few pictures of a couple weeks ago when we went to Helen Hunt Falls. We had fun just being outside together. It was a gorgeous Saturday. It was the last for a while. Can you believe that we already have had snow and a huge ice storm that froze all my nice plants? Crazy weather out here!

2009-07-20T23:33:00.005-04:00

Had some fun with the girls today. Took it easy, with nothing to complain about.

2009-07-16T15:14:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures from utah... Happy 7th Kyrie!

Lil' allie and Elyse at the parade!

Cute and cuddley Uncle Jensson

Wesley says "take my picture please"

Their faces look really scared... they crack me up.

Sweet baby!

Some of the crew at the dino park

The man turns 30!

Kyrie's favorite cousin Wesley. They look almost like brother and sister.

My cute brother Jensson

a goofy family picture.... we'll have to work on that...

2009-07-16T12:58:00.006-04:00

Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to start....I feel so removed from blogging, it's hard to even get in the right mindset anymore. My time is never my own anymore. The little baby has been sick this week so it's been a little trying this week. Most of the time she's been in good spirit's, but it's just hard watching them go through this knowing you've done everything you can. It just takes time for their little bodies.

So quick updates:

We had a whirlwind of a week while we visited Family in Utah and also Idaho. Too much driving if you ask me. Kelly's grandparents celebrated their 50th anniversary, so last minute we decided to go. It couldn't have happened over a better week. We celebrated Kelly's 30th Birthday. We had a little barbeque and got a chance to catch up with some friends that we haven't seen for years. Kel had to fly home to work, but then came out the next week to pick us up. It was so nice of him to agree to that much traveling in such a short amount of time, and mostly just to make sure we get there and home safely.

We were able to visit the Oquirrh Hills Temple Open house. Kyrie was so excited to be able to go inside. Ivy tried to get in the baptisimal font. And Kyrie liked seeing herself in the sealing room mirrors that seem like they go on for eternity. It was a gorgeous day.

We went to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. We haven't been there since Kyrie was a year old, now my little baby is seven. I can't believe that. The kids had fun digging for fossils, and seeing about a hundred life size models. Ok maybe that's an exhaggeration, not by far though. They also got a kick out seeing a real live rat swimming in the pond. I think some believed me when I told them it was a real dinosaur rat. We saw a scientist clean real bones from a new species found in Escalante, Utah. My favorite was eating mormon muffins that our friend Angela brought from nearby Rainbow Gardens. So much fun!

4th of July festivities with family. We still were able to sit at our annual spot for the parade. what a fun tradition. We then went home to take it easy and just visit with family. we of course went back for the fireworks. It was nice to see them, since colorado springs has long since cut them from the budget.

I got sick. I know yipee , that's something to blog about. This has been the first time in years that I was actually out of commission, and unable to stand for more than a few seconds. Thankfully I had my mom to help me out with the kids. It's nice to have someone take care of you, and care about your wellbeing instead of always the other way around.

Went to Park City for a little shopping.

Celebrated Kyrie's Birthday. just a little party this year with cousins and cake.

Then we celebrated my birthday by driving home. And yes, my birthday surprise was that I was finally able to upgrade my camera to the latest Rebel model. Ahhh, I love it. I've had a little bit of time to try and figure it out, and it's not as intimidating and I thought it would be. Trust me though I still have a lot to learn. That last picture of Kyrie at the piano was completely unedited because I'm still trying to figure out photoshop. I'm having fun learning though.

2009-07-14T17:59:00.001-04:00

a new camera makes me so happy!!!

Three months

2009-06-02T18:34:00.005-04:00

Here are a few more pictures, Lily is three months now. It sounds like such a short time, and yet feels like she has been with our familyfor much much longer. I guess sleep deprivation will do that to you. I am still waiting for my brain to come back, I forget so many things. Actually sleep has become more frequent lately, on average lily will sleep six hours before waking up, twice she has slept eight hours. I jumped for joy when I saw that. I hope it happens again. Lily also has started singing. Or just a series of long coos. She would never take a binkie, and trust me I tried very hard, three seperate kinds . Maybe that is what makes all my kids so vocal early on. We just learn to deal with the crying too.

I think that I have grown more patient over the years, because this child doesn't seem as hard or trying as the last two. Or maybe I just have great help from Kyrie and Ivy. But really how could you ever get mad when they have a face like this???

Blowing bubbles in her sleep

Grosses me out...

2009-05-07T13:22:00.010-04:00

Take a look at this girl, she cracks me up. The other day I found her following me along digging, just to pick out all the worms that I had overturned. They were to be her cute little family of worms, all named "wormy". She took them for a ride on her bike, and tried to feed them some food. She laughed hysterically when they wiggled in her hand. We had a little talk and I explained where they needed to live because I had already found one dead worm on my couch (I wasn't to happy about that, I don't touch worms unless I have some kind of protection on).

So after a while of her nonstop talking to her worms and when it was time to go in, we put them to bed back in the ground. We visit them often, of course they're never the same worms, but that's ok.

P.s. she does the same thing with ants...

Time flies

2009-04-30T22:46:00.009-04:00

Oh geez, where does the time go?? Ok I know exactly where it goes. Kelly got a new calling, so now I don't see him twice as much. Some of you may laugh, when you hear that he was called to be the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. I did. I guess the Lord knows things we don't . Kel has already stepped up to the job, I know he will do great. Also I was recently called to be the Primary secretary a week after the baby was born. What a cruel joke, just kidding, I enjoy this one, and the women I serve with are patient with my constant forgetfulness.

The other thing that I like to do when I'm not taking care of the little ones, is spending every spare moment I have out into the yard, to work on my green thumb. I say that because my green thumb is not very good out here. It seems mostly brown, it takes a lot of coaxing to get things to grow in this crazy climate. Water restrictions aren't helping either. I don't know how many wheelbarrows of sand I have hauled out in the last year, only to fill it back up with good dirt and amendments. Probably close to 100, no joke. I recently splurged and bought myself a composting machine thingy. I was so excited. I know it's not a new pair of shoes or purse like normal girls get excited over, but then, I'm wierd!

Lily is now 2 months old, so I should post some pics... here are a few:

Ivy still loves her sister an awfully lot. She never seems to stop wanting to give her hugs and kisses. I get this look quite often. I imagine she's thinking "mom, what are you doing?"

Happy day!

2009-04-09T22:26:00.003-04:00

So, a few weeks ago I was feeling sorry for myself because I didn't have any decent pictures with my dear little one. I didn't want to go to wal-mart and get the run of the mill cheap pictures, nor had I hundreds of dollars to get professionals. As you can see my plight, I continued to whine to myself for a few days, until a sweet friend of mine came over to bring me dinner, and offered out of the blue to take a few pictures. Little did she know how much I've been wanting this. She claimed to be an amatuer just wanting to come and play around, but I think that she did an absolutely wonderful job, and answered my prayers. I am posting only a few of my favorites, it was so hard to pick. Enjoy.

2009-03-15T18:05:00.007-04:00

I have pulled out a few pictures of Kyrie and Brielle out just to compare, and seriously can't tell who Lily looks like more. I've always thought that a mixture of both would be great, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see who this little character turns out to be, her own free spirit I'm sure.

Kyrie

Brielle

Lily

1 week

2009-03-08T21:45:00.002-04:00

I know grammy Jan has been waiting patiently for a few more pictures, so please pardon my indulgences as I pretend to be a photographer. Amatuer or not, I think I got a couple of good shots

Happy 4th Brielle!

2009-03-06T19:30:00.008-05:00

Little Brielle has just turned 4, and is no longer my little baby. She has been waiting for this day for 4 months, and counting down for at least the last month. I hope it was everything that she was expecting.

She decided that the perfect thing would be going to Chuck E. Cheese. And since little Lily was only a week old, I volunteered Kel to go with 7 little kids. Don't worry, he had some help from our saint-worthy neighbor friends. 250 tokens later, they came home for cake, ice cream and presents.

Kel's only comment afterward was "those kids were exhausting". I can only imagine. I was the one that had a two hour nap after the party...

Brielle didn't have many requests, but she did want to wear a princess party dress, and have a rainbow cake, easy enough, I'm glad she's still easy to please. She has been a little girl that has always known exactly what she's wanted. I hope that means she'll be more decisive that me!

I've enclosed a little clip of Brielle and Lily, I think it shows her personality perfectly. It was twice as long, but sadly wouldn't fit. Enjoy.

happy house

2009-03-01T19:22:00.012-05:00

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, she is finally here. I was resigned to the fact that I might be pregnant forever. With a due date in question, it was hard to anticipate or expect anything. We are just glad little Lily is safe.

7lbs 6oz

20 1/2 in
9:12 am
Friday, Feb 27th

I'm always amazed how these little ones make it here, safe and sound. I get comments all the time when people find out that I had a home birth how strong OR crazy I must be. And this time through, I have to admit I felt a little crazy. There were times when having drugs would have been real nice, but I wouldn't change anything. Life is nothing short of a miracle, and I'm happy to have been a part of it. Recovery has taken a little longer than I remember the last two taking, but don't worry I am taking full advantage of Kel being able to stay home and take care of us. He's doing a great job! I also have two other big helpers, Kyrie and Brielle have been a treasure. Yes, they have about destroyed the house, but are always willing to get whatever I need. And of course, they beg to hold the baby whenever they can. They get frustrated that she is always sleeping. I hope that lasts a little bit longer!

4 + 1 = Family

2009-02-27T13:53:00.005-05:00

The time has finally come! Please welcome Lily into our family. She was born Feb. 27, 2009 at 9:12am. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz, and was 20 1/2 inches long. Emily and Lily are exhausted, but doing welll!

You'll have to forgive the post, as Emily is exhausted so I at least wanted to post a few pictures. As soon as Emily is feeling up to it, I'm sure she'll delete my amateur post and create her own.

still waiting

2009-02-16T18:17:00.005-05:00

Alright, I know many of you are wondering, so I thought I would post just to let you know that I am still here, and still waiting. Today is my due date, and no sign of our wee little one, and trust me no one is more antsy than me. Hopefully it is soon though....and no I'm not being induced, I would rather wait till my body is ready, and have a fast labor, call me weird.

Somebody asked me to post a few pictures just to show how big I am. And that is the only reason that I am, trust me I don't any need more comments about my belly. I know I don't look very big but, there you have it. And Jacquie, the middle one is for you, just because some would say I look like a deer. hee hee.

Sorry you have to put up with my self timer again.

Sorry for the lack of blogging, I've just been trying to keep busy, and for some reason, posting has been some kind of negative emotional reminder of how much longer I have to be pregnant. I can't quite figure it out, but it's just been easier to stay away from the computer lately. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things in a little while. And don't worry I will post pictures as soon as our little one is born....

2009-01-19T00:17:00.001-05:00

Overheard:

Kyrie: Dad, you would be a good policeman?

Kel: What? Why?

Kyrie: Because you are really good at yelling...

Nesting? Yes!

2009-01-18T23:38:00.002-05:00

Well hey, I have no idea where the time goes, but honestly, I think that I have been staying away from this blog, because everytime I get on there is a constant reminder of how many days I have left till my due date. And quite frankly 29 just doesn't seem like enough right now. I still have a list a mile long of all the things that I would like to have done before she comes, and it's just not getting any shorter. Plus the thought of bringing another child in this world kind of worries me. Oh sure, I can feed them, change them, bathe them, that kind of thing, but can I be enough in all the other facets of life? Are my children learning, striving, and growing spiritually? I guess I'm just a worry wort, but it doesn't help that I feel so roly poly and not so fun right now. Ok, cry time over, other than that I feel great.

January has been a crazy month, we sold a car, and bought a car, no more little civic for me. We finally bought a family car. Kel picked out a nissan pathfinder with every gadget possible. I laughed when he had to ship it in from the East Coast.

Kelly entered a wrestling tournament, which may not have been his best ever, but it was something that he's been wanting to do for a while, and I'm glad he had his shot. He was a junior high wrestling coach for about six years, but hasn't really wrestled for about ten. And about ten years older than everyone else. I think that he held his own reasonable well considering his age, and no practice. I teased him that he was having his mid-life crisis early, can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

I painted my bedroom, and bathroom and am trying to organize everything in my entire house. Funny huh?

A few of close friends threw me a surprise baby shower. It had to be a surprise because they all knew how much I love attention, and I told them I didn't need nor what anything. But they didn't listen, and their generosity really helped out. I came home with a new stroller/carseat, tons of diapers, and cute tiny little baby clothes. After moving four times, I gave a lot of my baby stuff away, so it was nice to have friends that showed how much they cared by not listening to a word I say!

2008-12-28T22:26:00.004-05:00

Well, just so I don't feel like a complete slacker this Christmas, I thought that I would at least put up a few pics. Sorry I didn't send out any Christmas cards, or keep up any time honored traditions (sorry Jeremy, no Peppermint Log, maybe for New Years) . I just hope that what we did share as a family will be well remembered. We were alone again this Christmas, which made me a little sad, but nothing could dampen the excitement of Christmas morning. About all the pictures that I took were at least in some way blurry because I could not get the girls to hold still for one second. Usually we will take the morning slow, open the stockings, get breakfast, have some kind of order opening presents, but not this year. I was content, for some reason, to just let the kids pick their own pace. We opened a few, played for a while, opened some more, and it didn't really matter whose turn it was or even whose present we were playing with. It was a joyful morning with no pressure to have anything perfect. I know crazy, huh? Kyrie got a ton of arts and crafty things, a watch she's totally been begging for, dolls and a huge dollhouse, some cool clothes.... Brielle got a crawling Pinkie Pie, dolls, furReal pets, a flashlight she won't put down or turn off, a huge amount of chocolate she consumed right away, a remote control carriage, pony house, yeah, they both received too much in my opinion, but so worth it to see the look on their faces. They don't get spoiled very often. My favorite was the fairy tale stories recorded onto CD by Grammy Jan reading them out loud. My kids listen to tapes and CD's every night at bedtime and this was perfect! New stories for them to listen to, and they are already getting well used! Kel got me a essential oil diffuser, I think that I've wanted one of these for a few years now. He of course, got a new 42" TV. The sad part of that present was that he had to stand in line for it the day after Thanksgiving to buy it for himself.

So that's our Christmas in a nutshell, I'll post more when my pregnant brain can think again.

Pure Christmas Joy!

A very short blurb of the kids with their presents, it cuts off when I run out of memory.
Brielle's favorite word lately is "awesome" it makes me laugh every time I hear it...

My own marathon

2008-12-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

Is it just me, or do Sundays, which should be a day of rest, seem more like a marathon day. Well, that's what yesterday felt like. We had an appointment with our Bishop a couple of hours before church (it's the 1:30 slot for us) so no sleeping in. Then it's home to prepare a lesson because I'm a huge procrastinator, get two little kids, and myself ready. It still takes me an hour to pick our what to wear even with my limited pregnancy wardrobe. Which by the way, I think that I am hugely sensitive to other peoples unthoughtful comments. Someone said, as I'm trying to squish through a little stairway after meeting santa at our church, "watch out, mama belly coming through". I'm sure they were just trying to be nice and make some room, but my goodness make it sound like I'm a freight train or something. So as you can see with comments like that floating around, I would rather be as inconspicous as possible. Oh yeah, so back to Sunday....we rush off to church early so I can get in a little practice on the organ which I've never played in my life. Quite an interesting experience by the way, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Did you know, that an organ will pick up the lightest of touch even if you didn't mean to touch it? Me either, but it does. Thank goodness my ward was very patient. So after singing in the choir and postlude playing the organ, its off to wrestle with a bunch of 4 year old Sunbeams for two hours (there are usually 8-9 in my class, this week only 3. A nice Christmas present to me). Then its rush home to make dinner, scarf it down, run some Christmas presents to neighbors, then go over to a friends house for dessert. I'm not complaining, it's just days like this leave me utterly exhausted, and wondering what are sundays for?? I think that I have a few good ideas for some New Years Resolutions...

P.S. Kyrie asked Santa for an I-pod for Christmas, and Brielle just wants a big piece of chocolate??? And I can't keep those two away from the presents under the christmas tree.

husband tag

2008-12-18T09:55:00.003-05:00

Husband tag

So, a friend tagged me a while back, and here I am finally getting around to it.

*What is your husband’s name:Kelly Joseph

*How long have you been married? 7 years

*How long did you date? 2 weeks

*How old is he? 29

*Who eats more sweets? He does

*Who said I love you first? that's up for debate

*Who is taller? He is

*Who can sing best? He only sings in the car when no one can hear, so I would like to know that too...

*Who is smarter? He is.

*Who does laundry? He puts one load in the washer and I do the rest. I think that's kind of a hint he needs some clean clothes.

*Who pays bills? He does.

*Who sleeps on the right side? I do, it's closest to the bathroom.

*Who mows the lawn? He wants me to, but I say I don't know how :)

*Who cooks dinner? 99% of the time, I do. The real question is will He eat what I cook?

*Who drives? He says he has better reflexes, so I make him.

*Who is first to admit they are wrong? Him.

*Who kissed who first? He did

*Who asked who out first? The first time we hung out was with about 20 kids and NOT a date, because pre-missionaries (me) don't date. But he asked Me to come.

*Who wears the pants? I'm pretty bossy, but he doesn't let me boss him around so, its mutual.

Now, I tag YOU!

Smile

2008-12-13T18:45:00.009-05:00

So the day has finally come that I have been waiting for, for at least 3 years. Kyrie's grey tooth has come out (she bumped it pretty hard after tipping over a mini grocery cart on herself when she was about 3 1/2 years old). The dentist did have to extract it, which made Kyrie a little sad. She has been complaining about not being able to bite into things all day. But there was a little infection that we wanted to get rid of. I asked the dentist if she could tell by x-ray how long it might be before her permanant tooth comes in, and she thought within 8 months. Holy cow having a gap for that long would really bother Kyrie, but it had to be done. Well after the procedure, we found out Kyrie's permanant tooth is already coming in, it was just coming in behind the grey tooth. It should move up to it's normal position by itself. Otherwise we will be having braces or retainers of some sort, which I already planned on. Yipee, doesn't she look cute with a toothless smile?

29 weeks

2008-12-04T18:31:00.004-05:00

Alright this is for all you unbelievers out there. Some pics of me at 29 weeks. Just don't laugh too hard, I hate taking pictures of myself, especially with a timer! I think they all look dumb and almost erased them all! But here you go.

Yes, my pants are really buttoned, but as a disclaimer, they are a size larger than I normally wear, that's why they still fit. Because believe it or not, I have gained as much weight now, as I did with my entire pregnancy with Kyrie.

2008-12-02T22:02:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've had a nice little sabbatical from blogging for the past month... I seriously don't know where the time has gone, sometimes I feel like I'm losing my brain. Ahhh, I love being pregnant. And yes, I'm still wearing normal pants even though I'm past 7 months now. I just can't be comfortable when my pants feel like they are falling off. Call me crazy, but I hate tugging my pants back up every 2 minutes! A few other things that I love are, burping after every single thing I eat (I even take enzymes people), getting the intent scan over from complete strangers as they probably try to guess how far along you are, tummy rubs, mmm not even going to go there. I love drinking my concoction that closely resembles swamp water almost every morning (you would probably be disgusted by what goes in there so I won't tell you), bathroom breaks all the time, having to bend over and it feels like somethings going to burst, you know the usual, but I'm going to stop there or it will sound like I'm a complete whiner....I know all you other moms have shared in my troubles so I'm sure I can make it another couple of months. Months, wow, that sounds like so long, but time feels like it's running out so fast. And the list of things that needs to be done keep getting longer.....

We did just get home from a 2 week stay in Utah for the holiday, it was just me and the girls, but it was a good trip. I got to eat as much pumpkin treats as I could, which honestly I couldn't fit THAT much extra, I was a little bummed. The whole eating for two doesn't really work out for me... oh well. We were excited to come home to our first snow storm of the season, but sorely let down when I basically melted the next day and was almost 60 degrees again a few days later. This crazy Colorado weather, not at all what you would expect. Well I'd better go, it's time for another bathroom break. I'll try to stay better caught up...

Halloween costumes

2008-11-02T12:02:00.017-05:00

A crazy halloween this year. Kyrie had 2 halloween birthday parties, a zoo extravaganza, a neighborhood party, a ward party, and of course trick-or-treating. At first she wanted to be a witch (a good witch- that still looked traditionally bad) so I made her a costume ( which wasn't nearly up to par as Project Runway, but I was still proud of myself since I made it up as I went along). I guess she didn't like it very much though, because after wearing it to one party she opted for something completly different to the next party. A snow fairy, wearing a white dress and a crown. Even then to the next party she decided to be something a little more tradional, Cinderella. I keep asking myself, why did I spend so much time making the first costume when she would only wear it once or twice??? But then again, I guess this holiday only comes along once a year and is an oppertunity to dress-up as much as she likes. I shouldn't try and stop her.

Brielle on the other had was completly content just being a unicorn, or "unitorn" in her words. BUT, she would correct you if you called her a horse, mylittle pony, cowgirl or anything of the like. At least I have one semi-easy girl.

Pumpking Carving

2008-11-02T10:40:00.003-05:00

Well, I must confess, I have intentionallly been keeping myself way from the computer lately. I don't know why, other than Kel has been out for buisness for almost two weeks, and it was too annoying to think about blogging while I'm home alone, so I did all I could to keep busy.

Kel got home late the night before Halloween. SO we saved our pumpkin carving til he was here. He wasn't too happy that I saved this particular activity til he got home, but the kids wanted so badly for him to be here to carve with them, so he willing obliged (he hates everything pumpkins). Notice the look on his face. The kids designed the faces--a must, he did the carving, and I cleaned out most of the insides. Why do I always get the messy jobs??? Kyrie did get alot of hers, Brielle wouldn't even try, and there was no way Kel would even get close to the gunk inside. He gagged once or twice just smelling it. I could only laugh, am I so mean making him share this moment with his kids?It doesn't flick off no matter how hard you try...Love kel's disgusted face...

This is actually a couple day after halloween. Kyrie's is on the left, and Brielle's is right.

pumpkin patch

2008-10-18T22:33:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite seasons. It excites me to see the colors change, and along with that, the harvesting. We planted pumpkin seeds in our backyard, and had nice big plants, but for some reason or another we only got about 5 pumpkins. This was kind of depressing since we worked so hard....Luckily for us though we got the chance to go to the pumpkin patch with our little preschool group. And this one was a special one, Venitucci Farms. It was owned by a kind old man, who passed away this year, who had such a kind heart that he would give every child that visited his farm a pumpkin of their very own. In past years, the amount was somewhere around 20,000 pumpkins. That's a lot of happy children because of him. We were sad to hear he is gone. There were only about 5,000 pumpkins this year to give away, and luckily we were able to receive one. We thank you Mr. Venitucci, and hope your legacy lives on....
Every time I asked her to pose for the camera, she insisted on sitting on the pumpkin.
Brielle is always eager to smile for the camera. Sorry there are no pics of Kyrie, she went to a different pumpkin patch with her school, and of course I forgot my camera.

When did this happen?

2008-10-15T20:43:00.002-04:00

Since when do your children come home from Joyschool with this on their paper?

I noticed the writing on the paper but just passed it off as some little scribbles. Upon closer inspection saw that it was her name. Albeit, her nick name, but still, I didn't even know she knew how to write letters. I asked her if she had someone help her write it, and she said "No, I did", with and angelic look on her face as if she's been writing it forever. I didn't believe her so made her write it again, and sure enough, she wrote it and it looked even better the second time. I then asked her if she could write Belle, her other nickname, and she did with a little help only on the e. I was stunned.

And by the way, Brielle has a couple of names that she goes by, Brielle, Belle, (she outgrew the Belly), and Ivy. The last name she calls her nick name, she also intoduces herself as this name, and you can't call her other silly little names crazy monkey, it's only IVY. Will she change her name as she gets older? It seems undoubtedly. I guess we'll find out.

Another crazy growing up thing she does lately is her own Reading Time. After Kyrie is done reading, she has to read her own book out loud too. She puts her finger under the words and repeats them after me. I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. She's only three for crying out loud, and still my little baby for a little while longer, what is going on? What ever happened to being content with just looking at the pictures?

Brielle has to go and change all the rules. She's always been the rule breaker, for instance give her two choices, she always picks the third, her own. She has had her mind made up since day one, and there is no changing it, trust me I've tried. She a challenge, but also a gift. Thanks you Brielle for teaching me patience, oh yeah, and no more growing up until I say.....

Tagged!

2008-10-05T21:56:00.002-04:00

Man, I got tagged by Randi. Here's the game, Name 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself.

Here are the rules:
1. Mention the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 other bloggers.

1 I absolutely cannot go to sleep at night, unless I have brushed my teeth and said my prayers.
2. I am not a morning person, I have a hard time getting out of bed unless I have a purpose
3. I love sleeping in clean sheets (so far all of these quirks have something to do with sleeping, I think I'm tired.)
4. I think I'm turning into my Mother, I used to dislike how she just threw together meals from left overs in the fridge, now I find I'm doing it myself.
5. I'm still afraid of the dark. For Reals!
6. I like working and playing in the dirt, even the way it smells. I like to think that I'm part of the earth, and love beautifing it.

Ok, there you have it a few quirks. I'm supposed to tag 6 others, but I don't dare, so if you want to play this game then go right ahead.

Where does the time go??

2008-10-01T18:26:00.004-04:00

I'm reminded every time that I get on the computer that I should probably blog about something, but I keep waiting till something profound can come out of my mouth. Lately, I keep being reminded from friends that I am still doing things I probably shouldn't be. For some reason or another being pregnant just hasn't gotten through my thick skull. Even though I just went to the midwife, and she tells me that I'm now 20 weeks and halfway along. I just keep thinking where did the time go? (By the way, some people still get mad at me becuase I didn't tell them I was prego. I'm barely showing, I think I just look fat) So I've created a little list of things that maybe I could cut back on. So if you see me or talk to me, help me remember.

stop moving wheelbarrow after wheel barrow of bricks to the backyard for a patio
no more digging trenches to improve water run off in the back
moving a whole truck load of manure to improve soil conditions is probably not the best
sand is not very fun to move around either...
picking humongous kids up is not good for the back
not getting enough sleep because I would rather spend time with husband since he's out of town about three days out of the week
teaching daughter how to ride a two wheelie- guess it's not so bad, get's me huffn' n puffin though
scrapbooking all hours of the night esp. when kids need dinner
moving lunch room tables about while volunteering at Kyrie's school (they won't let me do this one anymore)
wish I could cut back on the bathroom breaks, alot of time is wasted there!!!

There you go just a couple of the things I've been doing the past couple of week because I don't take my condition seriously ( but how can I? Life doesn't stop just because your expecting...)

PS and in case anyone's wondering, I did have an ultrasound this week. The baby was being very modest and wouldn't show a thing except for a glimpse. We are about 90% sure it's another girl. How crazy is that? Kel comes from a family of all boys, I have 7 brothers...maybe I just need more drama in my life! Any good name ideas? We can't agree on a single one!

2008-09-23T23:18:00.005-04:00

I feel like such a nerd. But I'm blaming it all on being pregnant, and having a craving....tonight I fed my children Spaghetti O's for dinner. But before you become too shocked, know this was a 1st for them, they enjoyed it immensely and wondered why they had never had this before. Of course, I added a few of my own ingredients, so it tasted a lot better than was originally intended, but I just couldn't tell them that this was possibly a main staple in some children's diet. Now there is nothing wrong if other moms choose to feed their kids this tasty meal, but for my own it was a special treat, one they may never have again. Only because I look for something a little more wholesome, like mac n' cheese. I'm just kidding. It was enough this one time for me to relive my own childhood memories. I remember hoarding a whole can to myself, adding the cheese, and spices, picking up each individual O on the end of my fork (this was sometimes a lengthy process). MMMM the good ol' days. I could be missing home a little too much, or maybe I'm just pregnant...

And you thought you would have to drag it out of me

2008-09-10T12:42:00.003-04:00

Shocking this would be a hard post for me to write, but maybe it's time that I come out in the open and freely admit that I am jumping on the bandwagon. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I am being thrown on the bandwagon, because I didn't really plan it this way. That being said, yes, we are expecting our third child. And none too soon, little Brielle will be 4 next March. I never planned to have such a big gap. But then I've never been able to plan anything in my life.

Time has flown by a lot faster than expected, mostly because I wasn't paying any attention to the timing, or any significant events that would tell me when I was due. So at the ultrasound yesterday, it was quite a shock when the baby was measuring almost a month earlier than I initially thought. I just thought I was getting really fat. The midwife estimated that I was about 17 weeks along, which would put my due date about Feb. 16. (Sorry Brooke, I didn't mean to). But who knows, it could change again. I'm just along for the ride. Sorry guys, I didn't mean to keep it a secret for so long, I just don't like talking about myself.

So there you go, you are the second person I have told so far (most people in my family heard it from someone else).

Labor day activities

2008-09-01T12:44:00.013-04:00

We've had a busy little weekend, starting with Friday, we stopped in at a art gallery that Kyrie has been wanting to go to for a while now. It was alright, they mostly had modern art, and Kyrie isn't quite into that yet. It was good to see some different styles though. While we were there, I was given a map of where a few other museums were and found this park quite by accident. I love happy accidents! Turns out there was this huge revolving art sculpture that had water flowing out around it at the bottom, and it was OK for kids to play in! yea! So, we ended up hanging out out for a while. I hoped they would just get their feet wet, but they did about everything but drink the water. A little rain cleared the park out so we almost had the place to ourselves. I wanted to take pictures but they didn't cooperate very well. Sad part was I practically had to drag the kids away. Afterward we went and stopped at a pioneer museum, but didn't stay long because the kids were sopping wet and freezing cold. I am finding that the more we get out and about, Colorado isn't quite so bad. I guess I just take longer to get used to change.

Amazingly, Kel had the day off on Saturday, which doesn't come by too often so we started our day off early. We thought it a good idea to see a couple of the sights around town. First we went to the Manitou Springs cliff dwellings. The kids enjoyed climbing in through the houses and seeing first had how the Indians lived first hand. That is until they got in trouble for not listening to their parents. Their idea of "exploring" left them a little lost amongst the dwellings and crying for help from a stranger. We could have gone in and saved them the trouble, but thought they needed to learn a lesson. Did they learn it? I have no idea.

Next we went a for a short hike and lovely scenic drive through the famous Garden of the Gods. Yes, it was a very short hike because someone was in a very grumpy mood, so we decided to leave early . The mountains were very beautiful. Kel and I decided that we would have to come back by ourselves because maybe the kids were still a little too young to appreciate it.

We were on our way to the zoo next, so a certain child could cheer up, but then, suddenly clouds came out and it started to rain ( and the zoo was a bit crowded) so we decided to go up to the "Shrine on the Mountain" which was included in our zoo membership and explored where it was a little less crowded. Turns out there is a little castle (dubbed by princess Kyrie, which is what we had to call her while we were there) dedicated to Will Rogers almost at the top of the mountain. The view was amazing. I almost started getting afraid of heights, almost. There was even a little chapel inside, I don't know why, but the whole thing was very ornate.

It was very unexpected to see such a sight so out of the ordinary all the way at the top of a mountain, but maybe that's what made it so nostalgic.

By, this point a few of us were worn out so we headed home for a short nap, and rejuvenation for the evening activities. We headed over to the balloon festival, which I guess is a big deal, because most of the Colorado Springs citizens were there to see the lighting up of the balloons. There were a ton of balloons and it was a fun sight to see. We were able to go right up to one of them and Kyrie and Brielle could sit in one. I couldn't believe how hot it was by them, of course they had their own little furnaces built right in.

We returned on Monday to watch the morning lift-off. Many balloons flew right over our heads,

touched down on the lake and then lifted off into the sky. Some didn't quite make it in the lake because of a slight wind. But it was fun to see them try. This must be a weird Colorado tradition, I guess it happens every year, and some of the people really get into it, anything for a little entertainment I guess.

The rest of the day was spent with some friends, playing at the park, and then dinner and games at home. It was a very packed, but enjoyable Labor day weekend.

another first

2008-08-28T17:41:00.004-04:00

So, I've finally done it, received my first speeding ticket. Driving for twelve years, and this being the first, I feel kinda good, but goodness, it was a doozy! I guess since I've been able to cheat fate for so long, it decided to pile it on!!! So let me give you the short run down of all that happened. It all started 2 months ago, the girls and I were just arriving into Colorado Springs from a crazy long almost ten hour drive from Utah. We had had about every unwanted event on the list, car breaking down (almost this time) a million potty breaks, child throwing up, crazy construction traffic, and boy was I tired at 2am when we finally arrived. By the way, I missed Kel's birthday by two hours. Then in all my deliriousness, I finally got caught speeding...in a construction zone.... 25mph over...and my kids had taken off their seatbelts to sleep "comfortably"...and I couldn't find my registration. It was lovely. So here I was fretting for two months about how horrendous my fines were going to be, and also that I had to go to court. The only thing I could think of to do was pray for help, so I did. Luckily, I didn't have to see a judge or anything, just some kind of attorney who went over my rights. She actully was really nice, grew up in the same town as me, graduated about the same year, went to college in the same town. Kinda strange, I think she did me a huge favor. I showed her my insurance card, so that was dropped. Then gave her the reason for the seatbelt incidence, and that was dropped. She then gave me the fees for my ticket, and I thought the price was kinda low, also only 1 point against me, and no defensive driving course like I thought, but didn't say anything. So I went and payed and it was over. It wasn't till after I looked over my court order that I found out just how nice she was. She had written down that I had only driven 5mph over the limit. I was shocked but very very grateful, who knows what the bill would have been if it were spot on.

I did have the question all the fees though they included:

Victim's assistance fund $10
Family Friendly surcharge $1
Traffic Fine $70
Court Costs $21
Court Security Cash Fund $5
Tramatic Brain Injury $10

Weird, I'm being charged $1 so they can be family Friendly??? I hope it's for some good reason. Oh well, I'm glad it's over, I've been crossing my fingers for too long. Let's just hope that I don't get another ticket any time soon!

School update

2008-08-25T13:49:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update, Kyrie finished her 1st week of school pretty smoothly. She thinks that school is pretty long, but she's getting used to the schedule, as am I. 6:30 am does come pretty early, but it's not as hard as I anticipated. Amazingly enough I do get more work done. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier??? Kyrie has made 1 friend at school so life isn't all that bad. She loves the art class, and even enjoying learning Spanish. Driving to and from school everyday is kind of hectic, but getting easier.
Brielle is really excited to be starting Joyschool next week. I think she's getting bored of playing all by herself. Hopefully a little more interaction with other kids will soften the blow of now being home with just mom all day. She turns 3 in March but is amazingly, the oldest in the group. I'm a little curious to how this will turn out. The kids will all be so young....and I'm used to teaching 4 and 5 year olds. Hopefully I can keep up...

A few hundred pix from the Reunion Beware: very long

2008-08-19T10:41:00.004-04:00

Kyrie's first day of school

2008-08-18T22:29:00.003-04:00

The day has finally come, I was anticipating something much more dramatic, but I'm so glad that it wasn't. Kyrie and I talked about her first day quite a bit so that she wouldn't be scared, and I think that she did rather well all things considered. We missed back to school night because we were in Ut, so everything was very new to her. Only a few tears welled up, but were soon gone as she talked to her new teacher.

It was very strange not to have her around all day. A little too quiet! Brielle played by herself most of the day while I caught up on a few things.

Sad thing was after she came home, I felt my heartstrings tug a bit as I realized that she was different somehow, more grown up, more mature. She wasn't just my little Kyrie anymore, little by little, she's going to have to face her own battles, and I can't always be there to protect her. It seems silly, I know, but we all get to learn this lesson sometime. It was just a bit abrupt for me. All I can do is try and be there for my children as much as possible, and hopefully they will figure out the rest. It was a big, big day.

Family Reunion '08

2008-08-18T15:08:00.008-04:00

Holy cow, I haven't blogged for a whole month, where has the time gone? I can't even remember... that's kind of freaky that a whole month can just slip by. I will say that most of August was spent in Utah with our family. Everyone in the Ostler family was finally reunited after about 3 years. I miss spending time with all those crazy loons!

You can imagine how crazy it would be to get this huge group together. We had a blast though. the boys went golfing about every day, some of us spent a little time at the beach (ok, really Willard Bay, there's not really a good beach in Utah), the girls had to do some shopping, lots of hanging out and catching up, and of course we all had tons of eating (PS love cafe Rio). I got back into the scrapbooking habit, which I haven't done for over a year. The kids just played and played, I think water was involved one too many times. Horsie rides, camp trailer, hammock, too much to list. I think close to 1000 pictures were taken between my sister in law and I. Crazy times. Here are a few.

The two who started it all....

Mom, still standing after 7 boys, well sort of...

Only half the crazy kids....

Family ties last forever....

These kids asked for horsie rides at least twice every day...

Night games with little glowy thingies...

First time golfing after 2 1/2 years...

The golfing addict who would golf 3 times a day if he could...

Brielle need a bath at least once a day... unfortuantely she didn't get it.

Camping '08

2008-07-25T13:04:00.007-04:00

This was a momentous occasion for us. We finally braved nature and her elements, and took the girls camping. I think that the last time that we went was about 3 years ago when Brielle was just a baby. It was a disaster, I think that it ended up raining really bad, and someones diaper blew up, and we forgot a bunch of vital necessities. it was a lovely memory, so we just haven't for a while. A couple days ago we were invited by some friends to go camping the next day of all times, and we jumped at the opportunity. It was so nice to be among the quietness of nature, and feel the peace that it brings. I was so happy to get back amongst the trees. I really miss that. Sometimes I feel like I live at the edge of civilization with the nothings. Well I guess there is dirt. But that's about it! It was nice to be back among the green stuff.

We really had a nice relaxing time, I of course forgot my camera, so you get to witness everything through Kyrie's eyes. She of course didn't forget hers. After driving for about and hour, we found a nice little campsite away from everyone, and right next to the river (which kept me company at night when I was too uncomfortable to sleep). Our little site had a lot of visitors when we were away hiking. Silly me left the Rice Krispies out on the table and someone came and nibbled a hole through the bag to get the good stuff. Brielle loved the chipmunks! Every time she saw one she would act like it was the first time ever. These little guys came back and visited us often, hoping we would share some more food. Which I'm sure the kids did, unsupervised. We also saw a couple deer, bunnies, lots of ants, and heard a lot of sounds in the middle of the night that sounded like bears.

I am not overreacting, ok maybe I am.

The hike that we went on was breathtaking, in more ways that one. It was right alongside the river, which was very fast moving. I worried every time that the little kids climbed around the rocks that one was going to fall in and be swept downriver in a heartbeat. To mention those rocks, they were huge, I don't think that I've ever seen any that big right alongside the river. It was like someone placed them there on purpose. Crazy, the kids had a blast scrambling up and down them, throwing everything they could find into the river. Amazingly enough we managed to keep them together with out falling in themselves.

The kids were so worn out that they went promptly to bed by dark, and the adults were free to sit around that campfire and just talk. That was nice to have an adult conversation for that long period of time without any interruptions. The stars seemed so bright, they seemed to hold our attention for a long time, and we seemed so close. We were probably close to about 8000ft elevation. I guess that one good reason for being so high up. you get to see the stars better.

We ate the ever fated tin foil dinners, and followed it up with smores. The kids were in heaven. And also really sticky! I had to close my eyes to all the times they put their hands in their mouths after sliding down the hill. They were absolutely filthy. And they slept in the same sleeping bag as me. (note to self: clean out sleeping bags) I think that they also got a little extra protein. Well they survived so I guess its Ok.

Kelly was super excited to finally have an excuse to take his new truck off roading. Gosh that things a monster! He thinks we will get a lot of use out of it, but I think we'll sell it the first chance we get! It has come in handy a couple times though. He loves it but I won't miss it.

SO camping was a success, I think that we will try it again some time!

My little Kyrie bug

2008-07-18T22:37:00.002-04:00

It's too easy for me to get caught up in the crazy hectic-ness of life and put off blogging. But I finally took these pictures off my camera, and had to share a few things that I love about Kyrie, since I didn't really for her birthday.

My little shadow, I see her, and she reminds me too much of myself, it scares me. I can't help but sympathize with her frustrations when she can't be perfect at something the first time through.

She is very conscious of the feelings of those around her, and wants everyone to be happy.

She loves, loves the beautiful things of nature. She changes her name every other day to flower or animal names.

She still gets mad when she can't decide what she wants to be when she grows up, neither can I.

Kyrie is highly into collecting things. The other day, we went to the zoo, and two things were on her mind. Sketching the animals and her surrounding, and collecting things. An abbreviated list includes, a mushroom, pine cone, several kinds of feathers (no matter how much I told her they were dirty or disease ridden), flowers, a rock or two. Oh my goodness, I have so many rocks lying around my house it's not funny! She is such a goof, I can't help but loving her to death. The other day, she wouldn't let me throw away some egg shells because she wanted to use them in a nest she was building. The nest is on my front porch surrounded by rocks so it won't blow away again. She thrives on being artsy fartsy like that. But honestly, I don't know where she gets it. I've been too busy this week sewing six different curtains, painting a few walls, transplanting a few plants into bigger pots, deciding a new color scheme for my room, resurrecting a few old piano songs, and other odd and end things to do anything fun like that.... hmmmm. Maybe I should do some more fun stuff instead of working all the time.

She's my little twin and we will always be on the same team!
As a side note, she finally let me cut her hair. I took about six inches off is all, but it makes all the difference in combing her sensitive little head. She has always wanted hair like Sleeping Beauty, but I think that the pain finally got to her. She still is very cute. And sorry mom, that you had to put up with a little screaming urchin like me when it came to trying to keep your daughter presentable. I applaud you in all you had to do to comb my hair. The only difference now is that Kyrie wants to look beautiful, and I didn't care....sorry you couldn't have your little princess after 5 boys! But if it makes any difference you can comb my hair anytime!

yea me?

2008-07-18T21:51:00.002-04:00

Ok, so for any of those that have been following closely or waiting for some kind of answer as to how I did in my little singing comp.....I finally received word. No, I didn't win. That's alright, but I did make the top twenty. Yeah! And that's about what I expected. I learned a lot and I'm glad that I tried it. Thanks to y'all for all of your support!

Happy 6th Birthday Kyrie!

2008-07-09T16:43:00.007-04:00

Ok, so i've been a horrible blogger lately. A couple things have been distracting me , but that's no excuse to not write on your daughters birthday. Here I am a day late, but hopefully I'll be forgiven. Dear little Kyrie is 6 years old, I really can't believe it. She seems to have grown up way too fast, knowing exactly what she wants and when she wants it. Like this year she wanted a huge surprise birthday party, she about planned the whole thing herself. I didn't know how we were going to make that happen since she only has about 2 friends here in Colorado so far. So, while we were in Utah, we had an early, very impromptu, birthday party with most of her cousins. Complete with a slip'n'slide, squirt guns, treasure hunt, horsie rides, and cupcakes with sprinkles. I hope she found it worthy of her dreams. She has so many dreams though, I hope I can keep up with her.
Yesterday, for her real birthday, we had pancakes with strawberries and whipping cream (all her idea), she then played with about 5 friends while choir practice was at our house, we went to the dollar theatres, then for dinner we went to a glorified "chucky cheese" type place called IT'Z. My goodness it was a crazy day, well spent though. We did have a lot of fun!!! I'm glad I got to spend it with my girls (kel is of course out of town). I often work too hard saving money instead of celebrating the special times I have with these little ones. I wish that every day could be made a special. Happy Birthday Kyrie, we love you!

Best friends and cousins Landon, and Wesley, playing in a bucket, why not? I'm sure she had a hard time thinking of just one wish!

Kyrie and her uncle Jensson teasing her about throwing her in the alien spaceship thingie.

A few progressive pictures of sliding down the slip 'n' slideLittle Brielle isn't so little anymore. she can hang with the big kids.

Squirt guns galore, and grammy jan right in the middle of it all!
Cousin Dakota just begging for a picture
Horsie rides on the ever beloved Lad

firm in the faith demo

2008-07-03T13:16:00.003-04:00

still trying to decide if I really like this demo, let me know how you feel... to listen, just click on the title and it will take you to the link. thanks!

2008-07-02T11:18:00.002-04:00

So we are home from a quick trip to Utah. I think that I'm just about recovered from the stress of it all. We went out there for a seminar on the subject of "Breaking into the LDS Music Industry" at the Salt palace. This is a topic that I have been thinking about for a while now, but obviously had no idea where to start. Thankfully, I received a whole boatload of information. Things like:

the differences between A record label artist, and independant artist, and studio vocalist. Where you fit, and what you need to do to get there.
How much it cost to produce and album (would you believe anywhere between 25-50 thousand, sometimes more?)
What makes an intriguing singer, with a lot of critiques.
Balancing home and family life with a singing career.
Creating a Demo that gets the deal
Ways to get your foot in the door

It was an eye opener, to say the least. The LDS market is twice as hard to make a profit as the normal music industry. It's just not as big, and and harder to get your name out there. But it is possible. All in all a fun night. It was put on by Jenny Phillips and Tyler Castleton, with performances by Hilary Weeks, Peter Brienholt, and Mercy River. The second part of the whole event was the chance to compete for a single on Jenny Phillips annual youth CD. There was a song sent out to those who signed up so we could practice, then we had a slotted time in a real live studio. It was a fun experience, I was a little nervous, and I think that I did the best that I could. I received some good feedback, but I'm really not expecting too much. This is just a stepping stone for me. How they could pick one finalist out of 160 participants, is beyond me. Seems like a daunting task. But they post the results the 14th of July. Thanks to all my family who listened to me rehearse relentlessly and for all their feedback, so I could make it my own. But in the end they wanted a straight recording with no variances. I figure it's their song, better give them what they want. I'm hoping to post the song as soon as it is turned into a MP3. Hopefully I can figure that out. I'll post the other events of the week too.

Giraffes or really big dogs?

2008-06-09T19:04:00.004-04:00

Have you ever fed a giraffe? Our friends invited us to go to the Cheyenne mountain Zoo with them, and we got the chance. It was an unexpected little treat, I mean a fun oppertunity. I was amazed that the giraffes' long purple toungues didn't take off a finger somewhere. I heard a couple squeals, but no missing appendages. Our girls got a real kick out of it. There were even some little baby giraffes, ok, big baby giraffes. I was really surprised how nice the zoo was, I expected something a lot smaller because of the location. We are planning on returning, because we didn't get a chance to see it all, so anyone that would like to join us you are more than welcome.....
Smiling for his close-up????

The girls chased the peacocks around the park. Don't worry it's not a real bear

Kyrie playing like a fairy on the extra large mushrooms.

our garden

2008-06-07T13:34:00.010-04:00

This year, I'm so excited to say that we planted a garden. The first very real one of our own. Sure I've helped with family gardens, and planted a few tomato plants here and there, but this is the first that has a whole section of the yard devoted to fruits and vegtables of all shapes and sizes.

So far we have planted: tomatoes, corn, bush beans, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, green and purple peppers, cilantro, sunflowers, variety of cutting flowers, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries.

Mostly everything we started from seeds, the girls were so excited to see them finally pop up out of the ground. And I was relieved that they were going to grow. It's amazing to watch the miracle of LIFE! And I'm sure that we will love it even more as we get to reap the rewards during harvest time! It has been fun to have the girls take part in this little experiment, they come out and water, weed, and move dirt around with me.

I'm sure that Kyrie will have the love of plants as much as I do. She wrote this during school one day ( I helped with a couple of words, but she surprised me and wrote most of it herself) : to dAy we gest platded A Garden. Beans are Sprouteng up and we gest platded gras I luve The noo house and The Garden. I luve to watch The flowers grow eeven no I dote hav mi on Garden.

This is huge leaps and bounds as she is overcoming the fear of not spelling perfectly every time! I hope that she is learning that it is OK to make mistakes, goodness knows I make plenty to be the perfect example of that!

p.s. she says that "summer is not summer without Popsicles"

Kyrie and Brielle's play room

2008-05-30T13:41:00.007-04:00

I am so excited about this post. This project has been in the works for such a long time it seems, so I'm happy to have it over with. Not to mention the mess cleaned up. Brielle was threatening to paint it for me if I didn't get it done. Honestly, I can't believe that I painted this much for a little play room, but the girls absolutely love it, so I'm glad that I did. The girls begged for a fairy room, ( what's with the themed rooms, and what happens when they grow out of it?) I thought easy enough. Maybe a couple fairy pictures, some baskets...I definitely wasn't planning on a project this big, but it just morphed into it and took on a life of it's own. I found the little fairy wall stickers on eBay of all places and that started the whole mess. The oak tree scene was kinda copied out of one of our favorite books. FYI I had no idea how to paint a tree, it was a little scary there for a while, I'm still not completely happy with it, but not willing enough to fix it right away. I'm sure it's good enough for who's using it. Maybe it's just me, but I'm never happy with my own work. Don't ever be a perfectionist....

Anyways, the bookcases and toy chest also had to be painted white, they used to be black and brown. Painting about ten zillion coats was not the funnest job! Also there is a little canopy in front of the window that's kind of hard to see. Just perfect for a little reading nook.

As I'm sure you guessed, Kyrie wanted to help me paint the scenes the entire time, which I let her a little bit. She painted the entire hollow on the tree, it was also her idea, so I'll give her 100% credit. The girls put all the stickers on the walls by themselves, in fact they about had heart attack when it was finally time to put them up. I was afraid that they would rip them, but they did

a great job, I hope Kyrie feels proud that she took part in this project and feels inspired to keep

drawing, infact she told me today that she likes drawing more than watching TV. hooray! I hope it stays that way.

Please help

2008-05-29T12:24:00.002-04:00

My brother Jason was recently in a horrible accident, and for anyone interested in donating or just want to see how he's doing, he now has a blog. You can find him at Jasonsmiracle.blogspot.com Thanks for any of you that can help.....

Fess up...

2008-05-27T16:43:00.002-04:00

Ok, so it's about time for me to come clean, I haven't really felt bad about my actions, but there are a few people around here giving me some grief so I'd thought I'd share the latest incident....I was at a barbecue a couple of days ago, at a friends house that just happens to be a light drinker. He knows that Kel and I don't drink, and is very hospitable in every way. Well, I spent the first half of the evening outside with the kids, and obviously didn't get the memo that some of the food was tainted. So little innocent me, go in the house (all by myself at the time)and grab a bite of cut up watermelon...it was in a bowl, with what looked like a ton of watermelon juice. I remember thinking hmmm, that's one juicy watermelon. I took one bite and knew something wasn't right. My friend walked in the house at that moment with the biggest look of shock I have ever seen in my life. Oh my heck, who thinks of this kind of stuff, putting alcohol and mixers in with watermelon? Needless to say I was very disappointed. But the jokes did not stop for the rest of the night, Saying things like wow, em you're really relaxed, and she'll sleep like a baby tonight, I am still being asked about my hangover from the next day. Very funny. I can't believe it, I can no longer say, I've never touched the stuff. And oh by the way, it WASN'T that good....

the little things in life...

2008-05-23T11:37:00.002-04:00

So I've been in a lot of deep reflection these past couple of days, as I think about and continually pray for my oldest brother who has been in a traumatic life changing accident. He fell some 20 odd feet off his scaffolding after a gust wind came and blew it over. Sadly he landed on his face, and completely smashed every bone. Considering the circumstances he is doing very well. Nothing else in his body was damaged, which I feel to be a miracle. He doesn't seem to have any brain damage, and is recognizing those around him. He has had a trying time through recovery, but we feel very lucky to have him still with us.
The thing that I keep thinking about and that always gets me is why does it take an event like this for me or us, to truly realize how much we love and NEED those around us. I have never lost anyone really close to me, but have caught a little glimpse at the pain and suffering of those who have. How hard it is sometimes to accept the reality of the moment, but I know that God permits or sometimes wills things like this to happen to teach us something. I believe that he has a reason for everything. He truly is Great! I have felt and extreme surge of gratefulness for all the little blessings in my life. These little things may sometimes be easy to forget but are an important part in our happiness! I am so grateful to have a amazing family full of love and support, and also to have truth and light that always leads me towards my Father in Heaven! And Jason, we would really miss you if you weren't with us anymore!

More than my weight in dirt....

2008-05-19T22:35:00.005-04:00

A few days ago we got a dump truck load of dirt, and well, I can honestly say that I haven't been this exhausted for quite a while. Previous to this little delivery, I have spent countless days leveling, weeding, separating, and countless other outdoor cleaning activities, so we can get ready to lay
sod in our back yard. Why so much dirt? you say? Well, I guess there is a little too much sand out here, and countless of our neighbors have actually had to rip out dead grass, and start over with a good layer of dirt. Lucky for us, we didn't have to learn this the hard way! And you all will be shocked, we've actually met a lot of our neighbors(thanks to Brielle, she walks right up to everyone and starts chatting so I'm basically forced to meet others. That's a good thing!) and they have given us some good pointers on how to escape this downfall. Everyone also finds out that Kel works for Carmax, and just can't help asking him the 2o questions.
So as you can imagine I have had plenty of trips back and forth to the back yard. And also a couple of dirty little kids. But it's ok, I'm getting a good workout! Who knew composted manure could be so much fun?

Big changes up ahead.

2008-05-12T11:20:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, I have been homeschooling Kyrie for this past school year. And honestly most of the time we are doing well. Some days we get a lot accomplished, other days not so much. Which I think would cause some stress among educators, but for right now, I'm OK. I think that playing and using the imagination is a big part right now for little kids growth. I've wanted her to enjoy learning, instead of being forced into it, and thus pursue it on her own. And I in no way think that she is behind at all, but I have noticed a few things that I'm a little concerned on right now. Most if which is her clinginess to her mom, and her confidence levels. And a lot of times she just doesn't want to listen to me at all. So for these reasons, and a few others, I have decided to enroll her into a Charter School this upcoming year. By the time we moved here, we had missed the lottery where they draw names to see who can go, so I placed her on the waiting list. Well, things panned out, and there was finally and opening for her. I guess there are a lot of Charter Schools out here in Colorado, this particular one was actually founded by a homeschooling mom. There are a couple of unique characteristics about this school that I really like. They supposedly take on a classical approach to learning, teaching good fundamentals and values. They use the CORE curriculum, and during math and reading, they are put into groups according to their level, so whether she is ahead or behind, she will be in the right place for her. They also require parents to volunteer a certain amount of hours, which is great, then parents are actually required to be a part of their kids education.
Well, anyways, I don't want to bore you too much, but as you can probably tell, this has been a big internal debate, but for right now I feel really good about it. And if things change, we can always reevaluate and go from there.

A few projects

2008-05-09T11:26:00.012-04:00

Alright, I know I said that I would post these pictures of a few of the projects that I have been working on a long time ago, but here they finally are. I've really had a lot of fun during the process, even though it's been a ton of crazy hard work. I'm just the type that really enjoys seeing the result of my labors. Kelly's really not, so I have done most of these projects all by myself, except for some of the digging in the backyard. But I must say that I'm really pleased with the results. Hope you are too. Here's the first one and my favorite, Kyrie's and Brielle's bedroom. The paint on the walls through out the whole house is two-tone tan and white. And sure, it was fine in the rest of the house, but in this room is was so bland and boring, it had to be my first painting project. Kyrie loves her new bunkbed (She originally wanted her own room, but these girls still get so scared at night they are sleeping in the same room).

Kyrie has been asking for days to paint in her room, I thought it only fair that she get the first paint on the wall. After that they had to leave the room. And trust me it was hard to keep them out. There were numerous times sneaking in. And did I mention that all the walls are over nine feet tall, not very fun! And oh, yeah, I hate textured walls!

The other big helper.

This room is so refreshing now, I absolutely love it. We are going to decorate it horsey style to match her bedspread. And I'm sure that I have enough horse memorabilia to fill it up completely.

I think that I'll get some canvases to paint these silhouettes onto to repeat the pattern throughout the room.
This was once my old battered up table. It had all sorts of scratches and stains on the top. But with a fresh coat, well almost six coats of paint (primer, paint, varnish, topcoat) it looks brand new. And as a bonus, I felt so lucky when I found these chairs where the legs match perfectly.

This is one of my favorite pieces of furniture that I got to buy. And the clincher for the deal. I love it's country character. It not only matches the kitchen table, but doubles as extra seating in the living room.

Holy cow, I think that this is our biggest project yet. We've started trying to level it out, so we can eventually get some grass back there. And oh my goodness, there is a lot of dirt to move. You can't really tell but I've started building up the flowerbeds in the back along the fence. we plan on planting alot of trees for privacy.
Don't look at the mess, I have yet to organize our loft/school/computer room. It's slowly coming along. Kel and I had a fun time trying to agree on something that matched both our tastes. And I was so proud on myself on rearranging these curtains to make them fit this room. I sewed them about 4 years ago, and wondered if I would ever be able to use them again. I personally love the little bit of girly toile on the walls. Still need to get a few decorations to pull it all together, but that will come.

And there you have it, just a few of the things that have kept me busy for the past couple of weeks. And I'm sure that I will find plenty more to do....to be continued :)

Standing out

2008-05-04T23:10:00.003-04:00

We went to church for the 2nd time now. I tell you I hate feeling like the odd duck out, which is usually often, but I still hate it. I have a hard time warming up to people. I really thought about going out of my way and introducing myself to others. And it ended right there. I waited til someone came up to me before I started talking. They even mentioned how "quiet" I was . Grrr, how annoying I find myself sometimes. Funny thing though, after the closing hymn the two girls I was sitting by commented how nice I sing, and one wanted to know if I would join their little women's singing group. They get together every Tuesday to practice. I guess it's funny because just when you are feeling overlooked, is probably the exact time that you stand out the most. Darnit, I'm caught in the middle of this weirdness and don't quite know how to feel. I just hope it's over soon.

As for the others, Kel has actually had an easy time meeting and making friends. Of course he does, he's good at everything that he actually wants to do. And he's committed himself to being a part of this ward. He had a hard time in Maryland, because he was barely ever there. But things are very different now that he doesn't have to work on Sundays. Which I am very grateful for. Kyrie went to Primary without any hesitation. Of course Kel did have to have a little talk with her previous, and also a little bribe of a five scooper ice cream cone for dessert (a very small one). But it's worked for now, and she is trying very hard to be brave. Hopefully I can meet some moms with kids her same age. Brielle is of course quite the opposite to Kyrie. She went to Nursery without any qualms. Well last week that is, this week she fell asleep right at the end of Sacrament, and slept for two hours, even through all I tried to do to wake her. She woke up to find that it was time to go home and that she couldn't go to class. Then she started bawling hysterically, to point that she could hardly breathe. She was sooo sad. She kept looking for her Nursery teachers all through Sacrament, and asking me it that was her grandma...one of the teachers was a little elderly. Sad, now she has to wait a whole week to go to class.

I've been waiting patiently for it to green up here and actually look like spring. I don't think that it ever will. I'm so darn spoilt coming from Maryland, where compared to here it looks green all winter long. Here it just looks like dirt. I've been dying to get out in the yard, and plant a garden, but it's been so windy, it's still cold. But I've decided that I just need to brave the weather and go and get some tomato plants before they are all gone. I hear it's quite the gardening community out here. My neighbor said she would help me out if I needed. We'll see how it goes. I may still have my green thumb yet, even with this dry sandy dirt.

Yesterday, we went and bought our first gallon of paint. Ahh, I'm so nervous. I don't know why, your talking to the girl that mixes her own paint up when she doesn't like the color. Right Jacquie? Painting should be old hat for me. I guess it's just different because this is my house and everything has to be perfect or it will drive me crazy. I've lived here almost two weeks and I still have hardly any pictures on the walls. I usually have everything up in a day or two. Too much pressure. I crap out under pressure. Maybe, I'll give myself some advice, and just let it go. Silly me! Tomorrow I will post some pics of what I have been working on lately....

Jane Austen quiz

2008-04-29T23:21:00.005-04:00

After discussing with my Sister-in-law and realizing the error of my ways I am now happy to say that this is who I am really like!

Take the Quiz here!

Finally connected!

2008-04-29T14:00:00.005-04:00

Holy cow! I feel like I'm just coming back into the land of the living. We officially have the Internet hooked up after a couple visits from Comcast. Now I can finally be connected to friends and family again. The past week and a half has seemed to fly by, with a lot of hard work and organizing, my brain feels about numb. Amazingly enough we ended up closing on the 18th after a lot of the "on again off again" routine. That was a huge headache that I'm glad to have over. Closing on a bank-owned home is so much harder because there is no motivated interest on the other side to get anything done. But it's over and we are breathing easy once again, well metaphorically speaking. It's been a little something getting used to the elevation here. I didn't expect a huge difference, but I have noticed the little changes. I feel a lot more tired in the afternoon (maybe that's just because I haven't exercised in a while), it's easy to get light-headed if you get up too fast, jump around, etc. Kel and Kyrie have had a few nose bleeds in the middle of the night. Our hands and lips dry out a lot faster than usual, just little stuff, but it can be quite annoying when you don't feel up to par. Hopefully we will be adjusted here in a little while.
We have had a lot of other little adjustments to make while getting settled in. Like living without a fridge for almost a week (and also a washer and dryer, but that's not as hard). Anyone who knows me, probably understands that I can't buy anything unless it's a huge deal. (it's a curse that I can't buy anything retail). I looked and compared store after store, even Craigslist, until I found Home Depot's clearance sale. Plus I finagled another 20% off through incentives and signing up for their credit card. Finally buying a stainless steel model retailed at $1300 for about $861. Love it when that happens! Plus moving ourselves finally paid off, since we basically had no furniture to fill up this house. With the money we got from moving ourselves, we were able to get the kids some cute little cottage style bunk beds, Kel picked out a cool micro fibre couch, and a black computer desk set. I'm busy painting my scratched and stained kitchen table so we can eventually have a place to sit. I found some matching bookshelves for just about free, now I don't feel so bad for having to give away my last ones. With a little more work this place will finally feel like our own. Meanwhile I continue to scrub off fingerprints from the last owners.

Homeless

2008-04-08T16:56:00.003-04:00

Life is still on hold for just a little bit longer. The drive for Kel and I out to Colorado Springs went very smoothly. It really wasn't bad compared to the 31 hour straight through trip we took before. We only drove about 7 hours a day, and even took a detour up to Nauvoo and Carthage. It was actually a nice little break without the kids. Nothing but the open road, and conversation (of course we used our I-pods a couple of times when we were all talked out). As a little sidenote about Nauvoo, it really was quite an amazing place to be. We enjoyed the testimonies of all the missionaries that served there. But through it all, I couldn't help but wonder what would this little city be like if none of the mormons were forced to leave? This was once the second largest city in all of Illinois boasting of 12,000+ people? Now the surrounding areas seem like a desert among trees, with nothing to boast of anymore. It just was a little obvious to us, how the Lord blesses and prospers His people, and leaves those who want nothing to do with Him. How grateful I am to be on HIS side!
Anyways, Kel and I drove into C. Springs smoothly and uneventfully, and loaded all our stuff into storage, minus a few things that wouldn't fit onto the Truck. FYI, A 17' truck is not really 17 square feet, and the overhang over the cab should not be counted as footage. Needless to say, I had to give away a few things that Kel has been wanting me to get rid of for quite a while. Namely, my dining room chairs, a couple barstools(no bar in the new house), a bookshelf, and Kyrie's daybed, a ficus tree. Mostly stuff I was planning on upgrading anyway, but it was still frustrating, because now I HAVE to. We are supposed to close on our house on the 18th (cross your fingers), so while we are waiting, I flew out to Utah to be with family because temoraryly living in a hotel did not sound very appealing. So Kel is busy working and my Dad has kept me busy here sleeving 12,000 cd's and other odd jobs, and I'm helping Mom finish a couple projects, like planning a bridal shower, paint the bathroom. Fun stuff. The only frustrating thing here is that someone is always on the computer, so forgive me if I don't blog for a while. Thanks to everyone who helped us out on our big move, I hope we find just as good friends....

Pianoless, again

2008-03-27T11:07:00.002-04:00

Yes, its true. I am once again without a piano. There was just no possible way that Kel and I could move it into storage, then into the house after we close. So since I got it for free, I just decided to give it away for free. Now granted it's not perfect and has it's flaws, but I think that I found the perfect recipient who could really appreciate it. I listed the piano on Freecycle (a yahoo group) and had a couple replies. One of them came from the sister of a young Chinese girl who had lost her parents, her grandma recently died, and her grandpa has developed Alzheimer's and was incapable of taking care of her. So, she was adopted by some close friends. She moved from China a year ago, and has been trying hard to fit in, but because of the language barrier, has had a difficult time. She had taken piano lessons before, and has been waiting for the chance to do so again. I felt really good that this was the person I was looking for, and let them know that the piano was theirs. The piano movers came and picked it up yesterday. I was a little sad, but also very glad that I found someone who needed this piece, and who will use it probably more than I did.

Thanks Mom!

2008-03-26T10:34:00.003-04:00

My mom is a huge blessing in my life. She came out here to Maryland
to spend a few days with us, amidst her busy schedule, to help me out. We played alot, and packed a little. We visited the Maryland Science Center, Easter egg roll, of course, and enjoyed really good food. She was here to hear me sing in church (my best supporter). But the most amazing part is that she then willingly took my kids on a five hour flight to Utah, alone. She watching them out there for a week til I can get back there myself. I hope that Kyrie and Brielle were good on the plane. They absolutely adore her. Brielle calls her Hammy Dan, instead of her usual nickname of Grammy Jan. I hope that she knows how grateful I am to her and how much I admire her. She does so much for her 9 children. 3 of which are still living at home. Thank you younger siblings for giving her up for a few days while she is off rescuing her other children.
She is part of the reason I am so excited to be moving closer to home. She coaches me thru all my silly problems, and shows me that the world is not really as bad as it seems. I love how easy going she is and how she takes everything is stride. She has become a great example of who I hope to be someday! Thanks mom, for giving so much of yourself to those around you. Love you!

Big squeezes from all of us back here!

Easter Egg Roll at the White House 2008

2008-03-25T18:01:00.003-04:00

Easter was very special this year, since we were able to spend the day at the White House. And all of it was thanks to Kel who braved the freezing weather to campout all night long to get tickets for us to go. He even got and hour or two of sleep before he had to go to work the next day. But from what I heard, he did have a good time hanging out with the boys. The sad part is that he didn't get to join in the festivities because he had to work. We just won't tell him what he missed out on. :)

We started out bright and early riding the Metro down to DC. It was kinda chilly but soon warmed up to amazing weather considering it was supposed to snow and rain. We feasted on yummy breakfast burritos and fruit. Somehow, they gave us extra, but we didn't complain! Then it was off to the hunt with the other millions of people. Seriously it was packed, but there was so much to do that all moved smoothly. I was amazed at the whole production that went on and was then catered free to the lucky ticket holders. Everything was decorated beautifully!

Some of the events:

* The egg roll was classic. Kyrie whapped the egg two lanes over halfway through and need some rescuing. Brielle was slow and steady, but she did it.

* There were characters everywhere. Brielle wanted to hug everyone. She loved Maisy the most. Kyrie wanted to see Littlefoot very badly. She just recently watched Land Before Time.

* We got to see George Bush Sr. He was just a couple yards away.

* Kyrie was in heaven painting a mural on a huge wall. She painted CTR so everyone would think about choosing the right. I had to drag her away so we could do other fun things.

* During the Egg hunt, Kyrie found the Golden Egg (which I thought was fair, since all the bigger kids pushed her out of the way to get to the front of the line). She won a cool t-shirt. And little Brielle, I don't think found one single egg. She did have amazing technique though. She would pick up big handfuls of straw and throw it over her head into the air, to see if there were any eggs lying beneath. She ended up with a head full of straw. Itchy!

* We were about 10 people away from touching the Jonas Brothers, but gave up after two songs, since other fans were trying their hardest to get a few feet closer.

* I think Kyrie watched 4 different "Magic Show" acts while waiting for Brielle to wake up from her nap. One lady magician really made two doves appear out of thin air, and then changed them into a bunny. I couldn't believe it.

* Face painting is always a bonus. The girls were so still while the artist did her job, that's amazing for Brielle.

* Cool animal shows

* Little reading nooks that we could never get close enough to hear the story.

* The gift bags were super. The coloring books and activities kept the girls busy on their flight to Utah.

* It was fun just walking on the White House grounds, doing what most people will never get to share in. We felt really lucky to be a part of this White House tradition. We have absolutely enjoyed our time in Maryland, and this is one Easter that we will not soon forget.

Libby Lu

2008-03-19T10:29:00.017-04:00

So, Kyrie got to go to Libby Lu last week with one of her really good friends, Sarah Connnor. They had a complete blast! We haven't had the chance to go yet, so this was her first time. It was the girliest of girliest things to do, I know, but these two relished in the evening. The girls were treated like princesses for the hour or so that they were there. Complete with a princess hair-do, dressing up, fingernail painting, and even make-up(which by the way, Brielle has gotten into the take home make-up a couple of times and has absolutely done a wonderful job of painting her own face). I was the goofball mom taking pictures just so Kyrie could remember the evening, since she would be saying good-bye to her best friend in a little over a week. She's absolutely dreading it!

As part of the gig they learned the Hannah Montana "Dance". I recorded it for anyone who's interested. It's kinda long, so be forewarned, but I couldn't help myself. As I watched them, I wished that I could be as carefree and easy as a 5 year old again. You see, I'm not a very coordinated dancer, or maybe I just haven't taken the time to learn, but at any rate, I just loved watching the girls have fun and enjoy themselves with out a worry in the world. The sad part was that they looked so grown up for their age, I'm sure it won't be long until they actually do put make-up on, and worry about what they look like. I'm sure that Kyrie won't be the late bloomer like me that wasn't concerned with such frivolity :) until I was 16-17. It seems like kids are growing up sooo much faster these days, actually I'm sure that they are, due in part to the music, and advertising of these days. I just hope that I can keep Kyrie this innocent little one, a little longer.

Kyrie's little gangster pose, I have no idea where she learned this???

Sarah, the rock star...

Boxes are my new best friend!

2008-03-18T19:03:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I haven't been that good of a blogger lately. A lot of times I tend to think that no one really wants to hear about me and my life, and I just keep to myself. Then I have to remind myself that that is just my silly story, and get on with it. Truthfully though, blogging has been really good for me to get out of my shell and improve communication with those around me (and those not around me).
Lately, I have just been starting to pack things up. I know a lot of people think I'm crazy to do this myself, when I could have the company pay to do it all, but I don't really mind. And it will be nice to have a little extra money in my pocket. I just say "new couch, new couch," or "piano", over and over again, and I'm good! My mom is coming out tomorrow to help out(we'll probably just end up playing), but then she is going to take the kids home with her to Utah while we get everything packed and drive out to Colorado. That should make things alot easier ! Amazingly enough, we should be used to moving. This will be our 6th move in 6 1/2 years. Holy cow, I've never really added them up before, that seems like way too many. I'm hoping we can stay put for a little bit. Plus, moving is a really good way to de-clutter. My husband thinks that I'm a pack rat. He has no idea what he's talking about. Basically, if I haven't used something in the past year then it's gone. And that is a very broad time frame, I think. I have many family members who could not fit into this category. It could be inherited, but trust me, not to me.

More waiting...

2008-03-09T18:16:00.002-04:00

So we recently found out that because we are buying a bank-owned home that they are supposedly very busy, and that the closing date of the house is being pushed back to April 18th. Yeah for us! Ok just kidding, I'm really not very excited about this. It also means that we will be in temporary living for most of the month. Luckily, Kels work will pay for it, otherwise I would be a little upset. We're crossing our fingers though that things will be pushed through as soon as possible.

As you can probably imagine, I've been daydreaming about what it would be like to live in a real live house again. Here are some things that it would a entail.... And yes, you should feel very lucky you don't live where I do right now...

It won't smell like cigarette smoke when the neighbors are doing their thing.
A heater that won't blow cold air on your head while your sitting on the couch.
A back yard, and a front yard for that matter.
Won't have to listen to snoring neighbors in the middle of the night, along with the occasional screaming, swearing fights)
The oven will work ALL the time, and the door will open all the way.
A counter space bigger than 2x2.
Brielle will have room for her own bed (most the time Kyrie and Brielle sleep in the same bed because I'm too lazy or there are too many toys to pull out the trundle bed).
A master bathroom, wahoo!
Finally somewhere to scrapbook!
A pantry instead of storing food in the laundry room, and no more appliances sitting on the floor.

I don't mean to whine, but these are some of the frustrations that I live with, and I'm sure the list could go on a lot longer, but I'll stop here before I bore you to death. Needless to say, the waiting is getting unbearable, but we're being as patient as we can. Only 22 days left, and we are out of here!

Happy Birthday to Brielle!

2008-03-04T11:19:00.012-05:00

Three years ago little Brielle came into our family. And like every child, she has her own crazy little personality. She is the complete opposite of her older sister, and proud to be that way. We would be a dull family without her infectious humor to make us laugh every day. Her little accent produces funny sounding words that are now often used jokes in our

family. She has a proud spirit that oftentimes bends her parents will to her own. She has a

quick mind, and before she was 2 1/2 , knew all her alphabet, numbers and could easily navigate her favorite computer games. She insists on working in her own "math book" (kyrie's old kindergarten workbook) every day that Kyrie works in her school books. Her favorite color is yellow, and loves Disney's princess Belle, whom she happens to share a nickname with.

She loves to visit her Dad at work, pretend she's a kitty, and she would eat ice cream for every meal if we let her.

Perhaps her favorite thing to do is tease her sister. Whenever Kyrie is feeling down or about to cry, Brielle

always says: "You know always helps?... Cry about it!" in a

silly voice that always makes us laugh.

She loves playing "the behooter", or computer in laymans terms; especially winnie the pooh, and mickey mouse club house. She also has a fondness for My little Ponies, and littlest pet shop.

She is not very shy of strangers and often says Hi to all passerbys.

Yes, Brielle definately brings life and personality into our family. We love her very much, and today celebrate her birth!

Indoor ant farm

2008-03-02T21:29:00.003-05:00

Oh gosh, we have ants traveling through our kitchen. They have been scavenging for a couple of days and I just haven't gone to the store to get any ant poison yet. At first Brielle would scream every time that she saw one scurry across the floor, then she would go and get the broom and sweep it up. She even got on the phone while I was talking to my sister in law to tell her how much she hates ants. This dear sister thought she was talking about aunts, and even her specifically, until I explained to her our little infestation. I had a good little laugh.
Tonight's activities were a little different though. The girls have become attached to our little guests, and have started picking up the ants and playing with them, letting them crawl all over their hands and arms, yeah, yeah, you get the picture. Well, one died, probably from being picked up, pinched and or dropped so many times. Oh geez, Kyrie started crying. I start hearing things like "oh what have I done", and "he was a true friend". I could scarcely breathe for laughing, when Kyrie made Brielle, and herself state an "oath" that "they would never harm another ant again", with the hand raised and everything. Goodness, this has gone on long enough, I'm off to get some pest remover in the morning.

Come play with us!

2008-03-01T14:09:00.003-05:00

For anyone interested, I would like to have a huge playdate at the Jump Zone in Columbia, on Wednesday, March 5th, at about 12:30 (We can change the time if some of you would rather take older children). It's Brielle's birthday, and we would love it if you could come and celebrate with us. And please let anyone else know who may not read this note.

The address is 7175 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia MD 21046.
For any other info, and also 2for1 pass go to JumpZone. We're looking forward to seeing you all there!

We finally received an answer...

2008-02-29T14:43:00.008-05:00

Praise the Lord the waiting is finally over, and that he has blessed us so generously! I got a call this morning and the bank liked our offer the best. yipee! I can now rest at night knowing that we will have a place to live when we move. I am a very strong beliver of positive thinking, and that what you focus on you get more of (good or bad). We did feel really good about our offer, but this was one of those situations that you can only feel that way for so long before your all your hope dies out. I was seriously trying not to stress too much from not knowing... Crazy thing though, I even went as far as making a list of everything I wanted in a house before we went looking, even the price that I wanted to pay. And I got it. This was the only house that had it all. Freaky, huh?
Ok, for those of you who have been waiting, the house that we chose was house #3, and I will say that it wasn't the nicest looking house on the outside, but it was the best inside, and largest. Of course, just about every house will need a little work, but the price was so appealing, that it will be far more than worth it in the end. Kel is just excited that he can finish the basement the way HE wants, and have his own man-cave. The only thing that I'm sad about, is leaving such a wonderful ward. Thank you to everyone that has reached out to us. I'm sorry that we have been a little reclusive, but I hate saying good-bye. I thought that if I didn't make as many friends that it would be easier to leave. Very silly thinking on my part, I won't make the same mistake.
The best news I think is that we are moving to a six-day market where all car dealerships are closed on Sunday, so I will finally have a husband to go to church with. I'm so excited. Hopefully the move will go just as planned...wish us luck!

Kyrie's big surprise

2008-02-28T09:36:00.004-05:00

A couple days before we left to Colorado, Kyrie started complaining that her teeth hurt, and that she had a hard time biting into apples. So I checked and yep, she had a loose tooth. I hoped that it would be her gray tooth (she pulled a tiny shopping cart on top of herself a couple years ago, and it's been disgraceful ever since). But no, it was one of her bottom teeth.

Kyrie wouldn't dare let me wiggle her tooth, and there was no way she was going to wiggle it herself, even though I told her that it would come out sooner. I hoped that maybe she would figure it out so she could eat normally again.

Well, you can imagine our surprise when we got home from our trip and I noticed that there was a gap in her mouth. I asked her about it, and she just looked at me a little weird as if she had done something wrong. She never even realized that she had lost her tooth. At this point, she started getting worried because now she didn't have anything to put under her pillow for the tooth fairy. So I mentioned that maybe we could write a letter explaining what happened. Kyrie didn't waste a moment and got started on it as soon as we got home. Of course, I was trying to unpack and get cleaned up, but managed to help her spell a few words. Also, Kyrie had to draw a little picture/diagram to show Ms. Tooth Fairy which tooth she lost. Sure enough the Fairy came that night and left her 25 cents.

Kyrie came downstairs early the next morning with her money to show her surefounded belief in fairies. She even started clapping to show how much. I could only laugh. Kel mentioned to her that maybe she would get more money next time if she had a real tooth to trade with the fairy. I guess that was a subtle comment that I was way too cheap. I suppose I am, but a quarter is still exciting to her, so why inflate it. I'm sure she will be asking for more money any day now, let's just cross our fingers that it's not too soon!

House Hunting

2008-02-26T18:17:00.007-05:00

Well, it's been a whirlwind of a weekend, and the sad part is, it's not over yet. We started out with high hopes of finding a home easily, there seemed to be so many on the market that we liked. But by the time we got there many of the homes that we wanted to see were already in escrow, or sold. It was a very frustrating few days, headaches and all, as we had a hard time finding anything that we really liked in our price range, and coveted area. We looked at 20 homes the first day, and about 10 the next. It was really quite easy to narrow it down to the three we liked the best. We put an offer down, and can you believe it there are now four offers on the table, so we are patiently waiting to see what happens. Scan through the houses that we liked, and choose which one you would pick.... sorry there's not anymore pics, I took my camera, but forgot the memory card, you'll just have to imagine.

House #1

This is a 2100 sq. ft house with partially finished walk-out basement, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. A fully landscaped yard with a playset in the back. A large master bedroom with 5 piece master bath. Walk-in closets in every bedroom. Large updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances, upstairs laundry, and Gas fireplace. Asking price $219,900

House #2

Kel's personal favorite, a 1800 sq ft 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath (no basement), wood floors, 2 way fireplace, green and tan colored walls, large corner lot with back porch, lots of details like lighting, vaulted ceilings, completely move-in ready! Asking price 219,000

House #3

A bank-owned, 2600 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath. Unfinished basement, gas fireplace, loft, Above average kitchen, with stainless steel appliances. 14'x20' (huge) master bedroom with 2 closets, and 5 piece bath all tastefully tiled. Unfinished back yard, with views of Pikes Peak. Only needs a good cleaning, offered at $189,900

Maybe you can guess which one we picked, I'll let you know as soon as we hear the good OR bad news. Hopefully that is sooon.

Colorado Springs is quite the booming town, it is considerably larger than we imagined. Shopping galore, and all the outdoor activites you could want. I know we will stay very busy. We sampled many new resturants throughout our daily activities, missed our girls, and got very little sleep, ok Emily got very little sleep ( I worry and fret way tooo much). The high elevation (around 6000 ft) dried out our skin, and can make breathing harder at strenuous exercise. They say that you can sunburn a lot faster because the air is thinner and you are a mile closer to the sun. All in all, it was a very fun town. We are excited to move to Colorado Springs and make our home there.

A post for Kel

2008-02-15T10:39:00.006-05:00

Ohh geez, here I am reading everyone else's valentine posts and feeling very sorry for myself. Of course Kel worked about 12 hours yesterday, so we barely saw each other at all. So I had a little pity party and watched Emma (the BBC one with Kate Beckinsale), and Becoming Jane. I'm a die hard romantic (thus the Austen movies), surprisingly though, I'm not that sad, because Kel makes it up to me throughout the year, and not on just one little holiday.
As a surprise, I made him the traditional sugar cookies that he is always begging for, and took them to his work (it's a surprise because I say I'm not going to, but I guess since I do every year it's not really a big surprise). I took enough that he could share with his friends, but I think he ate most of them himself. He is my little sugar fiend. And for those of you who don't know, Kel's nickname for me is the "Sugar Nazi". Funny, Funny, I know our relationship is a little backwards and sometimes I wonder how we get along, our tastes are sooo opposite. But because of this, both of our interests have broadened significantly. And I'm so thankful that he loves me AND all of my weaknesses (which are quite alot). Who else would stick around with a compulsive perfectionist like me. He puts up with a lot!! He works soo much to support our family. I love him dearly, and I guess this little post has turned into my Ode to Kelly. Love you Babe, Happy Late Valentines!

Bag tagged!

2008-02-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Jeri tagged me. Now I have to reveal all the embarrassing-ness of my bag. So here goes...

A green little Candies bag. You either hate it or love it! I've heard both.

Contents:

Bribes - for the kids in the form of candy... shocking to even think that this is in my bag, but I was being generous.

Crayons

Lotion

dress-up ring

coupons (expired)

reciepts

phone card (normal people have cell phones)

fingernail clippers

4 different chapsticks

nemo tickets

spare pull-up

hair clip

and a whole bunch of garbage that I HAD to filter out!

Ok, now I tag Randi, Brooke, Tracy, Deb, Jen

But only if you want to...

Nemo on Ice

2008-02-09T16:04:00.001-05:00

It's not very often that the kids and I go out on a field trip by ourselves. Kel was supposed to go with us but bailed to go to a silly auction. So I had to recruit the help of my dear friend. Now that I think of it, I should have paid her to drive up to Baltimore with me. That place is crazy! I would have got us lost for sure. Thank you Jeri! I owe you!

Our day was so much fun. We got some amazing priced tickets to Disney's Nemo on Ice through the homeschool group. And they were great seats- row 8. Lucky us, I'm going to miss these field trips when we move. The show was such a delight. The cast so energetic it was hard to keep your eyes off them. The costumes were amazing. Such bright colors, and there were even fireworks. Wow! What a fun time, Brielle was asking the whole time, "where's nemo, where's nemo", and she was a little frightened when the big whale came out. She said "oh no, he ate the fishies, I hope he doesn't eat me". Kyrie loved seeing Bruce and the other sharks, that's odd, I guess they weren't scary at all. I loved all the little baby turtles. Kyrie can't help herself and says "Rock Dude" all the time now, just like Crush. It was hard taking pictures, but here are a few...

After the show we stopped at Panera Bread. And I am sad to say that this was my first time ever? Where have I been? It was so yummy, I am going to have to frequent there more often. I guess this is good-bye to Subway.

Kyrie's Addiction

2008-02-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

I feel like a horrible mother.

As you all know we are moving in 6 weeks and I am busy trying to clear out some unneeded things. And as of the moment I have about a foot high stack of pictures like the one above. For anyone that can't tell, it is a picture of Tigger in the hundred acre woods. His body is kinda blending in with the trees in the foreground. Click on the picture and it will be clearer. There are also mountains and trees in the background. The flowers and ladybugs are stickers (an unusual item around here). This is a very simplistic picture for Kyrie, she very often has so many things going on in one page, you can't tell which way is up. But she is getting a lot better. She tells me she is going to be and artist, and go to art school.

The trouble is, even though I know that I can't keep every single picture, I feel rotten because Kyrie puts her heart and soul in to each piece. Some days she will spend up to an hour or more on one picture. And I'm just chucked a whole stack of them in the garbage (I keep the really nice ones). I shouldn't feel bad, I know, the whole lot will be replenished in a month or so, and she forgets about them a few days later. Some very complex with a handful a fairies flying around the home tree, others not so much with only a few unicorns. Sometimes I get mad at her for using so much paper. She uses up 3-4 pages AT LEAST in a day. She's a monster when it comes to art! She even sneaks paper or draws in her school books. Often I'll find faces in the numbers of her math problems...

But this is her thing, something she really enjoys, so I feel like I should just let her go. Let her draw up a storm. Who knows maybe it's the same with every child this age, but I still feel bad for throwing away something she put so much energy into.

Austenland - you must read it

2008-02-07T20:28:00.000-05:00

So I just got done reading Austenland by Shannon Hale and wanted to add my comments to those who have so far. Actually, I have to confess I read it 2 times, but just because I was bored and I haven't returned to the library to pick up a new book, that, and I too have a crush on Mr. Darcy. Is he too good to be true? The girl in the story sets off to find out...

I have often wondered what it would be like to live in Elizabeth Bennetts day and age, and the author puts it quite in perspective. I thoughly enjoyed the unexpected twists and turns, and in the end all turned out as I expected. The only thing I didn't see coming is how the book changed me. I see in alot of ways how I have been looking for the perfect man (in my husband), and I was not accepting his own charateristics and also the reality in life. I've been waiting around for life to be perfect and thus not living it completely. What a tragic tale I hope others do not get caught up in. The book was very entertaining, some of the dialogue was a little repetitive from Austen books, but that's ok- "make haste" is always a welcome phrase. This book is for anyone who is a die-hard Pride and Prejudice fan!

Free Agency

2008-02-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

Nothing of interest going on in our lives at the moment, except for taxes, yipee. Oh, and we had a little picnic dinner in our living room tonight. It was refreshing to mix things up. The kids couldn't wait to eat because it was something different, which was quite a bonus instead of force feeding Brielle. She's my little junk food junkie. Kyrie was never so resistant at my attempts to feed her healthy food (kel calls me a lettuce head). She ate salads, avocados, and things of the like as a 2 year old. Broccoli is her favorite vegetable. Or was, maybe still is. She would snack on carrots and apples all day long if she could. But little Brielle is just like her dad. Carbs and sweets is her thing. I still have hope for her of course, not quite giving up just yet. But man, it throws me for a complete loop to see these little sisters act completely opposite. Don't get me wrong I'm glad they have their own individuality, but it struck me a little stronger tonight as I was pondering my lesson for my CTR6 class on Sunday. The lesson is of course, on choosing the right and free agency, and I realized (again) how grateful I am for choices even when I am trying in vain to get Brielle to go to bed at 10:30 at night. (Yes, folks she had a half an hour nap this afternoon, and the eight o'clock bedtime is shot.) Ah, good times, here's to little children to teach us gratefulness in all things!

Our adventures in Disneyworld

2008-01-26T15:19:00.000-05:00

Kyrie had been begging us to go to Disney world for over a year. I kept trying to put it off, but every couple of days I would hear about it when she fould some money lying around. Of course it would go directly into the Disney fund, which has developed into quite a stash. So before Brielle turned 3 (and we had to pay for her tickets)we decided to go. We tried to keep it a surprise for Christmas, but Kyrie got it out of us, she was so excited, and even more so when she found out the Grandma & Grandpa Nielsen were going with us. We had so much fun with them, the kids usually picked them to go on rides with. I think that we walked their legs off. I know MY feet hurt alot after each day.

The weather was perfect, and because of this the park was a little crowded. But we still had a great time. The first ride of the day was Winnie the Pooh, which I think we ended up riding at least 5 times by the end of our 3 day stay. It was by far, Brielle's favorite ride, followed closely by the merry-go-around. Kyrie's thing was getting autographs and pictures with as many characters as she could. She filled up a whole book, but sadly we never saw the elusive Snow White. She loved seeing Tinkerbell fly over our heads during the firework show that night. Afterwards, she told me a secret- that she wants to learn how to fly.

Some other favorites were:

* Having ice cream every single day!

* Screaming during the Bugs life 3-D show

* The giant golf ball (Epcot)

* The girls getting their faces painted

* Making Kel drive an Uplander (our rental van)

* Watching their faces light up during the parade when they saw their favorite characters

* Getting to spend so much time with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Bishop

* Funnel cakes

* Goofy's Roller Coaster Ride

* Getting lost everytime we drove back to the hotel

*Eating in the Rainforest Cafe, monkeys and all
(Emily ate her first calamari)

* Kyrie driving on the Race track
(a little crazy on the home stretch)

* Running through the fountains in Ariels Grotto
(You would think that Kyrie was a mermaid she was so wet)

* Kyrie's tinkerbell necklace and making her own charm bracelet

I have never seen my kids so happy for such a long period of time. And because of this disney world high, I think that I heard more silly phrases from my children in 3 days than in a whole year. Imagine little Brielle teasing her older sister, then saying "I like teasing you", or I just love that... One of my favorites from Kyrie was after we rode Big Thunder. I didn't think that it would be that scary of a ride for her, but she didn't like the bat caves or thinking it was going upside down. After we got off some of the comments from her were: I screamed so hard I started losing my voice, and I was so scared it felt like my heart was breaking in two. Needless to say she didn't want to go on too many more rides with her dad after that. Crazy though, she wanted to ride that one again the next day.

At the end of it all I caught Kyrie looking really sad, and I asked her about it. She said "I wish I had a tear on my cheek". I said why, and she says "because I am so happy, these were the best three days of my life." It was hard to see it all end, but then again, Kyrie has already started saving her money again...

We are on our way...

2008-01-21T10:15:00.000-05:00

Well, we are heading out the door to our long awaited vacation to Florida. The kids are so excited they can hardly stand it. Kyrie's chance to finally meet the princesses is here. We are holding our breath that the travels go smoothly, which I'm sure they will, we're just a little frazzeled because kel got in a car accident last week during the big snow. That was a huge frustration...the insurance co. saying it was our fault, and that we had to pay for all the damages, when the other person was parked in oncoming traffic. Crazy. I guess we're getting rid of the car after all. Anyways, wish us luck, and we'll be back in a 5 days.

Details

2008-01-17T12:38:00.000-05:00

Oh, craziness has been happening all week. We started the process of getting pre-approved to buy a home, not knowing if we could because of unfortunate events in our past. With the current market and countrywide credit concerns, we were very worried we couldn't get approved or would get a really high interest rate, and not be able to afford the kind of home we're looking for. We applied to 4 different lenders, and spent much time in prayer, and our prayers were answered... assuming we were able to come up with a large enough down payment. We have been frantically trying to save since we have been out here in Maryland, but what we had, wasn't quite enough. Then another blessing came, we sold the Audi yesterday, and finally have the necessary down payment that we need. I am a little sad to see it go, because it was the nicest car I have ever driven; but also soo, so happy because everything that we knew had to happen is finally falling into place. Ahh, I'm finally sleeping a little better at night....now if only the realtors will stop calling. :)

'07 Trips Part 4

2008-01-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is the last of the trip posting, for a while at least. I had to write about this one, because it was by far the kids favorite. On one of our PA trips we took a detour out to Sesame Place. I must have been around July because it was soo hot! I felt so sorry for the workers there, a lot of who wore fuzzy character suits. Luckily though, it was part water park. Well, I guess I shouldn't say part water park, there was really no segregation, like I assumed there would be. I figured we would go on some rides, then go to a water park for a little while. For those who haven't gone yet be forewarned that (this was a little awkward for me) everyone just walks around in their swimming suits the whole time. I wish I had known so I could have had some kind of cover-up. It wasn't a big deal, I was just expecting something different. Other than that stipulation, the place was really fun (minus the rope jungle gym, it was a little too hard carring munchkins on your back through little rope tunnels). Kyrie was finally tall enough to go on her first roller coaster, which she was really scared, but ended up going anyway and loved it. Brielle wanted to go on the rollar coaster also, but was too short. I had to find something to distract her. In fact, even now, she won't stop talking about going to Disney World next week and going on a "rowrow hoasto". She loved, loved, meeting all the characters. This is my favorite pic with her and Cookie Monster. I think we saw and/or met just about all of them, except for Oscar. I so wanted a picture of him and Kelly, but I don't think that he comes out--too grumpy, Oscar that is. Haha. J/K. Here's a few more pics, they always express better than I do... Oh yeah, and Super Grover was the friendliest Monster I have ever met!