Family Reunions are Fun

Rebekah is growing up so fast.

Here she is posing a cheesey grin on a rock

at the Ogden Nature Preserve.

She's got an adorable personality & she knows it!

Aaron & I went on a walk together.

When he found these pokey looking weeds,

He told me they were called, "Sleeping Porcupines."

His way of seeing the world is so innocent

& sometimes so hilarious, he cracks me up!

Grape Soda anyone?

Emma didn't really want to pose for a picture.

But I managed to snap a couple, this one is so cute.

Sunny!

We have a new kitty!

Her name is Sunny and she is very sweet.

She is about 11 weeks old now, brown & orange

stripes with 3 brown paws and 1 orange paw.

She's too little to send outdoors right now, (she was an indoor kitten).

But we take her outside every day so she'll get used to the backyard.

The kids adore her! And want to hold her all the time.

Mom had to explain that cats like to sleep a lot,

so it's important she get her rest.

One of her favorite hiding/sleeping spots is in my big plant.

Go figure. Good thing that plant is a hearty one, it takes a lot of abuse.

It's a Girl!

It's official. We are having a baby girl! When we told the kids, the girls were thrilled of course, but Aaron started crying. He was really hoping for a brother. I guess he'll have to settle for having his Daddy all to himself. I called one of my friends and told her to prepare to share her son - Aaron's best friend, since we'll be inviting him over a lot more often so Aaron has a little man to relate to. Mike is concerned about the two of them drowning in estrogen, oh brother, but thrilled all the same. In fact he picked out her name awhile ago. She will be Moriah (middle name yet to be decided). I am so excited!! She looks beautiful, she's healthy and I can't wait to hold her in my arms!! November never seemed so far away!

Tolerable Twos

Rebekah is my most content child, hands down. Yes, she does throw the occasional temper tantrum unless any of you were wondering, but not very often and they are very short lived. She's very easy going, and after the emotional roller coaster we sometimes ride with Emma and all the bumps and bruises Aaron seems to drawn to like a magnet we needed a little break. But just because she's a tolerable two year old doesn't mean we have it any easier when it comes to messes. If you know me well, then you know I HATE messes. I've learned to live in them because I REFUSE to clean ALL day, but I still HATE them. Let's see, what are some the weirder ones I've cleaned up lately? Here's a list:

• Yogurt smeared on the sliding glass door.


• Popsicle juice on the sliding glass door.


• Grated cheese all over the recliner and the carpet.


• Plant soil all over the floor.


• Here's a common one for most kids; Art work on the walls & doors.

Art work on the lamp shade - That one was Aaron. And it wasn't really "art work" it was the word "Emma" and when he got in trouble for it he said, "Dad, I have something to say, that was a really long time ago." I guess we should check our lamp shades more often, apparently they look like a blank canvas screaming, "Draw on me!" Yikes.

And the ever popular, Toys, Toys, and yes more Toys everywhere. In our bed, under our bed, in our shoes, in the bathtub, in the kitchen, in the front yard, in the van...Needless to say Mike and I are going to be going through the toys and de-junking very soon.

A Tribute to Fathers

Hooray for Fathers who let the kids blow out their birthday candles, play tickle monster, horsey ride, and give piggy backs. Hooray for Fathers who agree to interesting child negotiations and listen to endless and exaggerated stories that sometimes bear little truth. Hooray for Fathers who take their boy and their girls to the hardware store. Hooray for Fathers who understand their children even when no one else can decipher what they're saying. Hooray for Fathers who take good care of Mommy, (especially when she's sick). And Hip, hip hooray for Fathers who prefer to be called Daddy. Mike, thanks for being such a good Daddy! What would we do without you? We love you Sooooooo much and hope you have a very Happy Father's Day!!

With the recent passing of a dear friend and sister-in-law's father my thoughts are certainly on fathers this weekend. My heart goes out to her as she suffers this loss so close to the day we celebrate Dads. I wanted to take this time to thank my fathers for all they've done for me. Fathers play such an important role in our lives.

To my Dad, thanks for the lessons you taught me. Thanks for supporting my dreams, and encouraging me in everything I do! And thanks for reading my blog, when I found out you do it really made me smile. I love you, and I don't say that enough.

To my Father in law, (Mom, I know you're reading this, but Dad might miss it unless you pull him over for this part). I love you and want you to know how grateful I am for your guidance and concern. I admire you and I don't say that enough, mostly because I don't like to get mushy...but sometimes you just gotta tell people you love 'em, right? Also, what would I do without my montly dose of jokes?!

Hooray for Father's indeed. This Sunday I hope we'll all tell Dad how much we love him, set him down in the reclincer and let him have sole possession of the remote control, (for one day at least).

Sick!

I've been really sick, and I'm not posting any pictures with this entry for that reason. I caught a cold from Bekah, but mine developed into a pneumonia. Of course when I saw the doc, we couldn't confirm my suspicions - pregnant women need to avoid the x-ray machine. But, I've had pneumonia before, I know what it feels like and it kicks your butt!

I was so completely out of it this week, I don't know how we managed. Mike couldn't leave work, he had too much to do getting everything ready to pass off to the person who will absorb his responsibilities when he moves on. So, I had to fend for myself and the house is a bit of a disaster to show for it. I was able to feed my kids, make sure they didn't run away while I was resting and they watched a good deal more TV than normal, we'll blame that on all the rain as well as Mom's illness. But I'm finally feeling better even though I still cough roughly a thousand times a day. Three words...Being sick Bites!

Fish Heaven

As many of you know we've been busy working in the backyard. I'm happy to say we now have grass!! But it didn't come without a few sacrifices, such as; sore muscles and backs, a constantly dirty kitchen floor from all the dirt and dust being tracked in, and sad to say one casualty.

Our female beta, Cheesey didn't make it. During one of the days I was spending a lot of time in the backyard, I sent the kids in the watch a movie so they could get a break from the sun, but I continued my work outside. Well, the movie didn't hold their interest very long, and when I came in I had quite a little mess on my hands. The fish tank had been opened and the little rocks, along with a good deal of water was all over my kitchen counter, oh as well as a helpless fish gulping for breath. That was our male, Jack. He pulled through, but apparently Cheesey who was spent a bit more time outside the tank wasn't as lucky.

I explained to the kids what happened, we took her to the toilet and lovingly sent her to Fish Heaven.

Quotable Kids

Aaron is 4. That means he says something everyday, (usually several times a day) that amaze me or make me laugh out loud! Here's a list of the latest ones I've managed to write down:

When deciding which of the 3 parks within walking distance of our house Aaron said, "Mom I don't want to go to that park, it's quite boring."

After he found some bugs and was attempting to feed them he said, "Rolly Pollies (Potato Bugs) eat apples, potatoes, and tortillas."

"Mom, I need the measuring-tape cup."

"I have tummy-stakes." Meaning tummy aches.

His cuteness never ceases to bring a smile to my face.

A Hair Cut at 3AM!!

This was not the time of our choosing, but Emma went to bed with gum in her mouth. (I'm blaming Michael because he put the kids to bed that night, I turned in early.) Well she woke us up crying because the gum had smeared all over her arm and in her hair...great! In fact her long, beautiful hair was stuck to her arm, poor girl. Well, after Mike tried a wet paper towel, he asked me for advice. At 3am I wasn't feeling incredibly resourceful, but I suggested baby wipes - they can clean up anything.* Well, after about 4 or 5 baby wipes the gum was softened up and coming off, but we still had to deal with the hair. I said, "Just cut off the affected area and we'll deal with the rest in the morning." Then I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.


The next day was Sunday, we discovered that many people were fighting illnesses in our ward so Mike stayed home with the kids, but I had a lesson to teach so I went. When I came home Emma surprised me with a huge smile on her face and a new short do. Emma and I had a goal to grow her hair out long enough to donate to Locks of Love, but now she'll need to start over. That's how it goes sometimes, fortunately Emma is loving her short hair and I don't have to deal with long hair snarls - for awhile anyway.

Daddy did Emma's hair! Now Mike is really good at cutting men's hair, but I was a little cautious about him taking on Emma's mane. I figured if he made a mess of it we could always get it fixed. But surprisingly he did a really good job. (Pics are coming, I'm actually not posting this at home, I'm at Mike's mom's house.)

*I have discovered baby wipes are not only good for baby's bottom, but crayon on the folding chairs at church, crayon/ink on the wall, grease spots on table cloths, and now gum off a little girls arm.