Zoo

Today Libby had a preschool field trip to the Wildlife World Zoo. Libby has been so excited to go. This morning I got myself ready before anyone was up, then I came out to get Ellie who had woken up. I walked by Libby and Eliza's room and noticed their light on and Libby was totally dressed and getting her shoes on! We dropped Hattie off at Brian's mom's, then Ellie, Libby and I went to the zoo. It was a chilly morning!! But we had a great time. We cruised around the zoo and checked out all the animals. I had a little advantage that my girls get quite nervous around animals, so they both stayed right by my side! We took a ride on the little train they had. Ellie cried for the first half of the ride, then she finally settled down. After about 2 hours, we took a ride on the carousel (which was a labor of love seeing how dizzy it makes me!) and called it a day! The zoo was totally empty, so it was a great time to go.

We got home and Libby and Ellie decided to be a little rambunctious and make a lot of messes and just be difficult!

Update on the construction: yesterday was sanding (a MESS)and base boards. Today we got touch ups on drywall and ledges on the bottoms of the niches. He is trying to find a door! Home Depot and Lowe's didn't have any in stock. I hope he can find one soon! Then it's prime and paint, then on to the inside.

Sore Back Side

That title about sums up my sledding adventure with the youth on Saturday. But first let me re-cap our Friday so I can stay in order. On Friday the drywall people came early and finished their part.




That night was our date night and we did a couple of errands before eating at Babbos. I had my new favorite--Chipotle Chicken Pasta. Yum!! Then we had to go to Wal-Mart and Frys for groceries. It was fun to be with Brian though.

Now on to Saturday. It started off early with a 4:20 alarm clock. I got ready and made sure I had all my snow gear. We met at the church at 5 and ended up leaving around 5:30 for Forest Lakes, which is up on the rim about 2.5 hours away. I drove and Rachel got to ride with me, so that was fun to chat the whole way. We had 5 young women with us. We ended up having enough room for everyone, but I was stressing a little bit as no other leaders were able to come with us. One other ended up coming to drive, so that was helpful. Once we got to our Bishop's parents' house, we put on our snow gear and went into their big heated workshop. Both Rachel and I had eaten breakfast, but we were starving! The priests had camped out the night before, so they were making breakfast and we were lucky enough to get a plate of food. Then we drove about 3 minutes to our sledding location. We had a lot of fun. Many of the girls were fearless, going up and down numerous times. For my first time down, Rachel and I went together and ouch. Rachel was in front and got snow in her face the whole time and I got my share when we landed. After that we got a little braver and did the plastic saucers (that made you turn in circles on the way down) and we did a "boogie board" type sled, even going head first on those. I tried the snow board once but didn't do that great. Overall it was a great day! I had a ton of fun sledding and being with the girls. A couple of the girls brought some flavored drink mix, so some of us sat and enjoyed snow cones with fresh snow. They were really good! While we were eating we got pelted with some snow balls the YM thought would be funny to throw!







When we walked back to the cars, we learned that the person who drove us over couldn't find his keys! He had put them in his pocket, which probably was a bad idea being in the snow. And by the end when we left, there were lots of people on the hill, so finding them would have been nearly impossible. We looked around the car, then I headed back to the hill scanning as I was walking. Meanwhile, back at the truck, several of them gathered around and one of them offered a prayer. As I was walking to the hill, people were walking back to the car and I asked them if they had seen any keys. I didn't have any luck, then I asked Dallin Peugnet. He said, "Yes." I thought he was kidding, but he proceeded to pull some keys out of his pocket and they were the missing keys! He had seen one of the younger kids playing with some keys and he asked, "Are those your keys?" They weren't, so Dallin asked for them (not knowing we were even missing any). It was just a quick and definite answer to prayer. After that little scare, we went back to the house and ate our sack lunch, then headed home. On the way home all the girls in our car had fallen asleep, with Rachel and I in the front wishing we were sleeping! After I got home I was feeling a bit sore, which has only gotten worse as the days go on. I have two good looking bruises on the backs of my knees where I think I must have slammed them hard on the sleds as we landed. I also have a not-very-pretty bruise on my back side. It continues to grow and I am feeling it! I am careful when I sit down or get up or roll over in bed! Ouch! But it was worth it. I was soooo tired when I got home. I sat down and dozed for about 15 minutes and it was so hard to wake up. I was sleeping hard!! That night the Miss America pageant was on, so I watched most of that in between putting girls to bed. I didn't really care for the new way they did the Miss America pageant. It was too casual. Just my opinion. I was sad when Miss Utah got voted out. She was my favorite. Brian went on a daddy-daughter with Eliza and they went to Cabellas and got dinner at the Johnny Rockets at WestGate. They had a fun time.

Sunday morning I had a meeting before church, then church--Sacrament Meeting--was crazy. It must have been the rain, but my girls were not very well behaved. I ended up in the foyer with Hattie and Ellie about half way through. Libby even had to go out once! I was not thrilled! The rest of the day was fine, though. I am not a big fan of our new church time though. By the time we get home, it's time to start dinner practically, it's too late for Ellie to nap, etc. But I am trying to get used to it. While I am complaining, can I just say that Hattie still is giving me trouble napping. She has been in her room crying for about an hour this morning. I went in once and had to change her diaper, but now she has no excuse! It's going to be some tough love this week I have a feeling to get her back on schedule.

Last night when Eliza and Libby were putting on their PJs, Libby accidentally put her head into one of the arm holes. It was so funny, then Eliza did it and they were being so silly. I couldn't stop laughing. It was so funny to me. I thought they looked like ladies who lived in another country with the wraps covering their heads.

And this morning--this is what we saw out our front door. Foggy day!

Happy Monday.

So Sad

We were so sad to hear the news of the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley--president of our church. We will miss him. He holds a special place in our hearts and we just loved him. The happy thing for him is that he had a lovely reunion with his sweet wife who passed away a little bit back. But it is still sad for us and I have an empty place in my heart.

Day 3 of Office Redo

Today is day three of our office redo. We are taking our living room and making it into 2 rooms. Part will be our sitting/living room area and the new room will be an office, computers, crafts, etc. Day 1 included taking out the carpet and framing.


Day two was more framing and electrical.



And today has been more electrical and now dry wall.


It sure is taking shape and we are happy with how it is looking. I thought and thought (and thought some more) and drove Brian crazy trying to decide what we were going to do with the walls. ...like what kind of openings or niches or doors, etc.!!! I even crafted a 3-D portrayal so I could get a better idea of what it was going to look like! We decided to do arched openings at the top and two niches on both walls. It's been a little hectic being home with my girls while all the work is going on.

In other news. Hattie has been terrible at her naps!!!!!!! She has had some sort of stomach virus that is literally working its way though. But she would either not nap or just nap for like 30 minutes. So now I guess I am going to have to retrain her! Not fun. I hope she catches on quickly. I can't handle it much longer!!!

Tonight was scrapbook night at Becky's and I actually got something done. For the past probably 6 years, organizing my pictures has been on my list of new year's resolutions. Well, I am finally getting to it!!! I put pictures in a album that you just slip the photos in. I will be so thrilled if I can get my photos out of boxes and in those!! At least my girls can at least look through them. Wow--two goals started in one week!! What's next!?

Food Storage Monday

A goal of mine for a bit now has been to get my food storage organized and situated so A.) I can use it and rotate through it and B.) to see what I still need to get. So today my sister-in-law and food storage guru, Chrystalyn, came over and helped me! Honestly is was really fun and so productive. See all those containers in the picture? Those have just been in boxes in my pantry, so we got those out and washed and filled! I got a labeler and have had lots of fun labeling the containers. It is so refreshing to get that done! It feels so good. Now it'll be way easier for me to rotate through it.

Before she came over I took advantage of Brian being home and swept and mopped the floors. Yay!

After the big food storage day, I took some pictures of my niece in her baptism dress. She was baptized last March, but are just finally getting around to pictures!


It was a good, productive day off! Our girls had fun playing with Chrystalyn's kids, Brian took Ellie on some errands, then Libby got a turn to do some errands, Eliza had a playdate with a friend from school......It was a good Monday.

Conference

So today was stake conference. I look forward to hearing the messages but not to sitting for 2 hours with Ellie. It is just a long time for her without getting fidgety. But it went surprisingly well. We made sure we saved a seat for my sister-in-law Chrystalyn and her kids, so we could have some help with Eliza and Libby if we had to take Ellie or Hattie out. The first hour went great, and a little after 10, I had to take Hattie in the back for a bit. But she just crawled around so I was still able to listen. Ellie was still doing well until she saw me standing in the back. So Brian brought her back and ended up in the relief society room with her, but he could hear in there for the last few minutes. We made it through without much trouble! Yay!

Now for a recap of the weekend.

Eliza stayed home from school on Friday. She woke up sick in the night. Yuck! She only threw up a couple of times and by the morning she was just fine. But we played it safe and kept her home. We had to bribe Libby to stay home from preschool, too. I just didn't want her to maybe have gotten it or pass it on. So we bribed her by telling her she could get Dippin' Dots after Brian got home. Luckily no one else has gotten sick. So on Friday night Brian took Libby on a little date to Dippin' Dots and brought some home for the rest of us. Yum! It's such a weird but yummy concept.

On Saturday we hung out at home in the morning, then I did some grocery shopping. In the afternoon while Ellie and Hattie napped (which actually turned out to be SHORT naps) Brian took Eliza and Libby out and watched a movie in the desert. I think they watched Charlotte's Web. That afternoon Brian had a meeting for stake conference, then I joined him later for the adult meeting. It was a great meeting and I wrote some notes of things that I learned and touched me. After we went to dinner with Alan and Debbie and enjoyed catching up with them.

Thursday

I've been slacking in the photo department lately and haven't posted anything. So here we go...

From Eliza's birthday:


I've added a couple chores to their chore charts...set the table for dinner and clean up the table. Eliza's favorite one out of those two is setting the table. She goes all out and makes it special every time. A couple nights ago, on her own, she got some ribbon and tied the napkins. So thoughtful.


Today was early release and we visited the model homes at Vistancia to look for ideas for our office remodel. Eliza and Libby loved it! They also found a little hill and decided to "roll down the sand dunes!"



Let's see...what else has kept us busy??

Last night was mutual and we watched one of our other laurels play in her soccer game. Of course it was a frigid and windy night! We grabbed some hot chocolate on the way home and we warmed right up.

On Tuesday night I went to an Enrichment activity dedicated to organizing your home. If nothing else, it motivated me to get a label maker and some containers for the pantry. I wish we had a Container Store here!! Ha! I just looked online and there is one coming to Scottsdale this summer! Is there another store that has similar items and dedicated to organization? I did find some websites and a magazine I want to find.

On a weird note--I went to the doctor last week because I had been just feeling weird! Like my heart would feel like it would beat really hard. And I had felt tired and just felt yuck every so often. Everything checked out okay there, but he sent me for blood work. I had that done Friday and just got the results back today. MONO!!!!! And a "reactivated case" at that. Whatever that really means but the nurse said I had had it before and this is just a reactivated case. First of all--I never knew I had it a first time. So weird! And I can't talk to the doctor unless I make an appointment. I am boycotting!!!!! Seems silly I can't get a couple questions answered over the phone. The nurse and I are playing phone tag--hopefully she can answer them for me. Like what am I supposed to do?!?! Maybe she'll tell me to take a nap every day!!! Ha ha! I have felt like I need a nap almost every day but never can take one. Now I know why! Hope I am on the mend.

Birthday Sleepover

On Friday night Eliza had her birthday sleepover with Grandpa and Grandma. Friday night she chose dinner at Elephant Bar and her gift of Build-a-Bear. She made a hippo she named Poki.

Saturday she wanted to go bowling. So she and Libby and cousin Abby went bowling. They loved it and wanted to keep the bowling shoes. They do look pretty cute in such small sizes! (Sorry, Dad!).

Friday night Brian and I went out. We exchanged the Karaoke machine, grabbed dinner at Cheesecake Factory and relaxed at Barnes & Noble.

On Saturday Brian went on a drive to Apache Lake with my brother. Ellie, Hattie and I stayed home and cleaned the house. Fun! The rest of the day was a pretty lazy day and I did some grocery shopping.

Today I had a meeting before church, but I was able to get all the girls' hair done before I left. Sacrament meeting went well--we didn't have to take anyone out today! That is always a good day! I taught in our laurel class. It was about drawing closer to Christ. I thought it went pretty well. I had picked out a picture of Christ that remdined me of each girl and I handed those out at the end of the lesson with a little note telling them why.

Have a great week!

6

Today was Eliza's 6th birthday! She has been so excited about her birthday and counting down the days. She woke up first, so we couldn't do breakfast in bed, but she got special birthday drawings with the frosting on her toaster strudels. And we sang to her at breakfast. For her class at school we sent heart-shaped Little Debbie snack cakes. When I picked her up, we surprised her with a McDonald's shake. Tonight we ordered pizza and wings, then both sets of grandparents came over for cake and ice cream. Actually I made an ice cream cake, so we had them together. It turned out pretty good! I used vanilla cake and Eliza requested Neapolitan ice cream. Then I used Cool Whip for the frosting. Yum!

For her birthday we got Eliza a pair of pants, shoes (which ended up being too big) and a High School Musical t-shirt. We also got her a karaoke machine. I think I was more excited than she was! We had fun with that tonight, although I think we are going to exchange it for a different one because you can't hear the person singing very well. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good karaoke machine? But overall I think she had a great birthday.

Last night we had mutual--we had a class activity at Target. We divided up into two groups and had 15 minutes to gather 10 items from the store. Then we switched carts to see who could find a duplicate of each item! It was lots of fun. And, yes, we gathered at the end and related the activity to life and the Gospel!

Ok--off to finish Eliza's birthday letter!

Rainy Day

I LOVE rainy days. It's a great day!



The funeral on Saturday went well and was a nice service. Eliza didn't want to go into the viewing, but she came in at the end for the family prayer. They were closing the casket and Eliza turned to me all concerned and worried and said, "She is not going to be able to breathe if they close it." I had to keep from laughing out loud but quickly explained that when someone dies, they don't breathe any more. She was so worried! I enjoyed hearing her Life Sketch that Brian's aunt Susan gave. One funny thing is that not long ago during all her hard/sick times, his grandmother said, "I don't know what's wrong with me. I am getting on my own nerves." I made it through the song without crying, so that was an accomplishment. I couldn't think about my own grandma or I would have lost it!



That afternoon Ellie and Hattie napped and I was lucky enough to catch almost an hour nap. Brian took Eliza and Libby out in the desert and watched a movie. They loved it! On their way home they picked up the babysitter and some McDonalds. That night Brian got to redeem one of his Christmas presents--going to a Suns game. We were lucky enough to get some great seats, so that was fun for Brian. They lost though, so that was a bummer, but it was fun to see it so close.

On Sunday, church is now at 11. It's kind of good and bad. Good that it's not such a rush and my meetings are at 9:15 instead of 7. Bad because we get home later! I had BYC, then was able to get a seat. Ellie was a bit restless during Sacrament, so that was a bummer. Maybe it was the new time! Both Libby and Eliza moved up classes and have new teachers.

Today was back to the regular routine. Eliza was off to school and Libby to preschool. They were both really excited. I had gotten used to the lazy schedule, but it will be nice to get back on schedule. I've been trying to figure out a schedule that will work. I like the chore charts I've been doing, but they would wait to make their beds, say prayers, etc. until the afternoon when they did what I put on their chart. So now I made a little reminder chart of their "Daily 4". ...4 things they do every morning...pray, make bed, get dressed and put PJs away and tidy room. Then when Eliza gets home from school they'll do their chore chart with one or two chores since they did most in the morning. It went well this morning, so we'll see how it progresses this week!

Have a great rainy Monday!

Happy 2008!

I am behind and it's only 4 days into the new year!

Lots going on:

First a sad note. Brian's grandmother passed away on Tuesday. Here are some pictures his cousin put together about her. She hadn't been doing well of late, but it is still sad. She was always very kind and funny. She loved holding our babies. The funeral is tomorrow.

New Year's Eve:

My girls had fun celebrating the New Year. We went to my parents' house and ate dinner. The kids played dress up and played Trouble. We set the timer for 7:00 PM and let them celebrate the New Year. My mom had gotten noise makers and hats. They LOVED making noise. At the real New Year at midnight, the girls were in bed and we just said, "Happy New Year!" (and shared a little kiss).

On New Year's Day, Brian took Eliza and Libby on a little drive along with a hike. Except for a run-in with some cactus, they had a good time. Eliza got a bunch in her leg and one in her hand and Libby got some on her pants and her hand. While they were gone, I headed to Target with Ellie and Hattie. It was totally empty! Everyone must have been sleeping in. Their Christmas stuff had gone to 75% off and I got wrapping paper for next year, some ornaments for young women and some gifts for next year.

The rest of this week has been spent trying to get my girls to get along and be nice. Eliza has been trying me a lot lately. It is definitely my trial right now. We've spent some time outside. The little boy down the street got a little bike ramp for his birthday, so they had fun trying that out (it was a little scary for me to watch!)....but no injuries!

I went to the doctor yesterday about my migraines. He prescirbed me Relpax. I filled the prescription and 6 pills was a nice $112. Happy New Year to me! I guess it's worth it knowing I have something that will hopefully take the headache away when it comes. But I hope I don't have to use them! Kind of a catch 22 for sure! Libby wanted to go to the doctor with me and she brought the doctor kit she had gotten for Christmas. After the nurse left the room, she opened her kit and checked me out. It was cute.

Hope you have a great New Year. I gotta go write down some goals.

Do You Like to Read?

If you like to read, I invite you to join the Big Picture Scrapbooking Reading Room. Since Heidi's class is over, my assignment this year is Tena's classes (and Wendy Smedley's class, too). But I want to tell all my friends and family about Tena's class especially. There are 2 parts to her class. One part is FREE! The free part is the Reading Room. Each month, we'll introduce a new book. And each month we'll offer questions to consider and you can talk (virtually on a message board) to others about the book. You'll also get an e-mail each month introducing the book and you can listen to an audio by Tena about the book. So even if you just want a good book to read each month, you might want to think about registering. And it's free, so you have nothing to lose! This month we are reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I finished it about a week ago and really enjoyed it. It's a gripping novel and one that will stay with you.

The second part of Tena's class is the Handmade Book of the Month club. Each month, she shows you how to create a handmade book which was inspired by the book of the month that is featured in the Reading Room. Check that out, too!

I hope to see you in the Reading Room!