Midwest Keech

2011. Wow...It's Over?

2012-01-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

2011 was a great year for our little family. Little Avery has been groing like a weed.

Here is a picture of Allison & Avery way back in February. YES...Allison STILL gives Avery A LOT of attention on a daily basis.

We were proud of Adam's decision to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood in March. So glad Papa & the Cowands could join us too.

Grandma Pat came to visit us in the spring. We took everyone over to the Wildlife Prairie Park near Peoria. It was a lovely day & lots of fun. - Especially the HUGE slide!

What a great-looking bunch!

Look! Mommy's a beautiful butterfly!

Watching them feed the Bison.

Park Ranger Adam?

Family Photo Opp...

Cutie Pie!

I think she dressed appropriately for her personality. - She was our guide, complete with map-in-hand.

Hug-a-Tree?

Adam "riding" the little antelope statue.

We had a great vacation in June. It was a little crazy, when it got moved up & extended by a whole week. We spent almost 2 weeks with our AZ family (including a trip to Disneyland) and another week in UT. Lots of FUN!

The kids especially loved hitting the pool & hot tub with the cousins.

Happy Baby!

Disney was a blast! Especially with lots of people to join in. These are just a few of my favorite pages from my cute Disney book I made after we got home.

We love Grandpa!

The kids had a great time at JumpStreet...Lots of bouncy trampolines & inflatables. The big boys had fun playing trampoline dodgeball too.

It was also fun to go to the new Phoenix Children's Museum. Unfortunately, I had to actually pay admission, but it was fun.

This castle was one of my favorite exhibits...They paint all day with one color, then tomorrow paint with another. The girls thought it was great-fun.

Tricycle car wash--

Probably my personal fave...The Noodle Forest. Very low-tech, simple, but fun.

Allison liked poking the flowers back in the garden after they had all been picked.

More Swimming...

Uncle William

Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City (more or less).

Everyone needed a drink from the cool lion mouth.

My hatchlings...3 of them anyway.

Spider Princess?

We were able to join in a little reunion for Bryan's Mission. We got to see President Knight & several others from his mission. Adelaide was excited to meet another little girl named Adelaide who was also in 1st grade this year. Fun!

Uncle Greg

Aunt Shelly

Allison & Sharlene making their silly faces.

The girls LOVE uncle Daniel!

We love to take weekend trips to Chicago every so often, when we can get away. This time, we went to the Museum of Science & Industry. There's always lots to do & we all have fun.

Daddy really wanted to see the Body Worlds exhibit, and since we got in free with our local pass, it was very reasonable for his ticket. While he went & did that, the kids and I went to some of the other more kid-friendly areas.

Farmer Adelaide

This would've been a really cute picture of all of my 5 kids, but 1 was throwing a fit after being dragged off the tractor. Can you guess who is missing?

Putting our feet in Lake Michigan. No, really. That's it. I wasn't prepared to swim or play in the sand, but we did want to go see what the "beach" was like. Maybe we'll make it a destination next time.

I was taking a picture of everyone up on the hill & some lady offered to let me get in the picture too. Thank you random Chicago Lady! You took a great picture!

Unfortunately, I only have 1 boy & 4 girls...Little, young girls. So, many of our activities end up being things the girls like or are able to do relatively independently. This trip, we took the kids to the Legoland Discovery center. Adam LOVES all things Lego, so I knew he'd be totally on board. And I figured there would be plenty for everyone to do.

These are just a few of my favorite shots.

What is it with Keech's & nose-picking? Adam & Einstein and Bryan & Obama

Adam liked that they had several "building challenges". This was his whale for the "underwater" topic.

Back 2 School...

Amelia - 2nd Grade. Adelaide - 1st Grade

Adam - 7th Grade

Allison started another year of preschool.

Labor Day Picnic...

Adelaide learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.

We had a great time when our playgroup took a field trip to the fire station.

For Trunk or Treat, we had another ecclectic bunch. Adam was Finn from Adventure Time. Allison was a Colts Cheerleader (because she saw it at the neighbor's garage sale & HAD to have it).

Adelaide & Amelia were both witches.

I hung around and went trick-or-treating with the kids at preschool. It was quite a walk, and wore those kids out after going out 2X (once with each period).

One of Allison's big-kid buddies.

Mommy & Avery

I let Amelia take my camera out to take a picture of something & she actually went crazy & took a ton of pics, but some of them were actually really great photos...

Baby behind glass.

A little wind blown?

We ended up going to AZ for Thanksgiving for an impromptu visit. The girls were invited by Aunt Jenny to go to a dance class. They LOVED it! It's been 2 months & they still "Barbie walk" or chasse along.

We got to stay with Bryan's brother, who even let me get a photo of him in his uniform.

Adam especially liked going to Grandma's school & seeing a bunch of his old friends. The others enjoyed running around, eating at the Thankgiving Feast & watching the Talent Show.

The girls enjoyed Jenny's dance class, but were upset that it wasn't a BALLET class. So, we had a little private lesson while we waited for Thanksgiving Dinner. Even Griffin joined in. - He was pretty good too.

Lots of great company & yummy food...

My kids always cry when it's time to leave. Poor Adelaide just wouldn't be consoled.

Happy Birthday Miss Avery...Can't believe it's been a YEAR!

And of course, we had a great Christmas. There were lots of festivities, but I think we'll maybe post about that in a bit. For Christmas, we just stayed home. And since our Normal peeps had family in town, we pretty much kept to ourselves. It was nice to just kick back & relax at home with the family.

Overall, I do feel like 2011 flew by...Though, in the moment sometimes time seems to CRAWL. I look forward to another year spent living life, trying to make good choices, and teaching my kids to do right.

Some other things I look forward to in 2012:
Amelia will have her baptism in March.
Avery is old enough for nursery in June.
We get to go back to AZ for a wedding in July.
Allison will start Kindergarten in August.

Just for Fun...

2011-09-17T17:41:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago, I got a new laptop. Yup, it's amazing to me how SLOW my old was was actually moving. Anyhoo, I have rediscovered my digiscrapping hobby. (It probably has A LOT to do with the fact that the kids have started school & 2 afternoons a week Allison is gone while Avery naps.) Today, I cranked out this little collage of Miss Avery (who is now 9 months old!). It's very simple, but I really wanted the pictures to shine. It's amazing to see how much this little lady has changed over the last little while. (Click & it should open larger)

Still no crawling. Every day, as I watch her Booty-scoot across the floor, I am more & more convinced that her next step will be STEPS...Walking, WOW! Hopefully, she'll wait just a little longer for me. If she's true to her siblings, I've got another couple of months. (Please?)

My Crazy Little Booty Baby

2011-09-05T21:35:00.005-05:00

I just really wanted to share these, mostly with my friends & family who don't see us often. Just a little background - When Adam was a baby, he would get SO excited & bounce on his butt. He literally would bounce so high, he came off the ground. Sometimes, he would get so high, his legs were 1/2 straightened & other times we would fling himself forwards onto his hands & knees. In any case, it was hilarious to watch my little jumping-bean of a baby bounce around. After having 3 little sisters, and none of them developing this habit, I was convinced it was just another quirky "Adam-Thing".

NOPE! Avery has gradually come to bounce, and has even adapted it to develop her own method of transport. She's 9months in another few days, and refuses to crawl on all fours like a "normal" kid. I guess she really does belong in this family!

This was taken back in July. Sorry I didn't post it sooner Jess!

This one was taken in August, and she seems to get the hang of this bouncing thing. She's gonna get airborne!

This is just to show you how she moves about. Too funny! I swear she has to have AMAZING leg muscles.

Silly Baby!

2011-08-08T10:45:00.004-05:00

I know, right?!!?

I have been M.I.A. for.........Well, it's been a REALLY long time. I want to, but I'm not sure I'll ever get caught up here on the blog. It's probably just better to post whatever I want.

Here's a little video I shot of Avery at the Museum of Science & Industry this weekend. Too cute!

President's Day Out

2011-02-22T21:23:00.009-06:00

It's been a while since I've been out of town or gone on an outing with or without the kids, so I figured President's Day was a good option. I asked Bry to take the day off so he could go with us & then just had to decided whether to go North (to Chicago) or South (to St.Louis). Another friend mentioned that the Shedd Aquarium (in Chicago) had free admission this week, so we decided to go there. After we parked, we decided to hit the Field Museum before going over to Shedd. I totally forgot how big the Field Museum was & totally UNDERESTIMATED the attention span of my kids. Things I thought they would like were uninteresting & vice versa. Crazy Kids.The kids did think Sue was cool.Are we having fun yet?

Dino-Snack?Just a nibble...Is Allison chewing the bone??That's not just a big fish story...

Egyptian bed & Mia playing dead. Cat goddess shrine.Avery loved riding in the wrap. She slept great!Overall, we had a good time. I don't have any Shedd pictures, because I handed the camera to Bryan. Oh well. Note: Don't try to do both in the same day...There is too much to see. We will definitely have to take everyone back again.

Avery Updates

2011-02-22T20:31:00.009-06:00

Avery is thriving, but I find myself busier than ever. Go figure. At her one month checkup, she weighed 8lb 14oz (born 6lb 15oz). Then at her 2 month checkup, she was 10lb 14oz. I don't think I've had a baby grow so fast. We'll have to see how long this keeps up. She's even close to sleeping through the night. Several nights a week, she sleeps for around 7 hours!

None of my babies like bathtime.
BIG Yawn!

Baby bear in her carseat.

Allison can't stand to leave her be. She loves her baby sister.Sometimes her eyes don't focus together....My poor little crazy-eyes.Happy baby!She's officially grown out of a few outfits like this one.Sad Baby.

Trying to enjoy a little playtime."Look at Mommy Baby!"My Little girls.Floor Dancing

Avery needs her binky.Allison is a punk sometimes...She took Avery's sock off, so I made her put it back on.

It's a lot harder than it looks.

Allison is 4!!!

2011-02-22T20:09:00.008-06:00

Allison had a birthday....She's 4!!! We decided (well, I conceded) to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese to play. We bought a bunch of tokens & played for a while. Then, we cashed in our tickets for prizes & hit McDonalds for some dinner. We then headed home for cake & presents. I wish ALL kid birthdays were that easy! The girls ALL loved this ride. Whoopee!Horse race anyone??

Isn't she cute?

She knows she's too cute.Mia liked getting tickets too. Silly girl...Allison had to have a pink cake with pink frosting & sprinkles.Allison may be the ONLY kid who doesn't know how to blow out candles. She couldn't seem to make them go out.

Crazy Blizzard!

2011-02-22T19:41:00.010-06:00

February 2, 2011 was the day we got a TON of snow. In fact, it's only the 2nd time I've been snowed-in since moving to Illinois (the 1st was the blizzard 4yrs ago that caused Allison to be born a day later on 2/14). This is what I could see from our front door.
Believe it or not, there should be a street here.
Our front steps were COMPLETELY covered with snow.
Not only did it snow, but the wind whipped up & caused the snow to drift. This "wave" by the front door was cool looking.
Here's the backyard. The tricycle is near the edge of the yard & the alley.

Several neighbors spent the day shoveling their driveways, and a couple shovelled a path out to the street. When Bryan went out to shovel our drive, a neighbor came over to help. We have great neighbors.

Monster pile of snow...This is only from doing 1/2 the driveway!

Smile Bryan!

That's a LOT of snow!We were able to get out of our house/driveway, but many people in our subdivision were stuck until the plows finally made it down the list to our neighborhood. The plows finally came through on Thursday. Let me tell you, I am SO glad that it has melted. There was SO much snow piled up everywhere you looked. It's still cold (but not FRIGID), but it looks a little more like spring could be coming now that the snow is gone. Hopefully, we won't get another big storm this winter.

Baby Pictures...Finally!

2011-01-09T19:50:00.003-06:00

OK, so it only took me a month to update & post pictures of the newest Keech in our home. Well, here are a month of pictures of her.Avery Madge Keech

December 8, 2010

6lb 15oz - 19in.

Mommy did MUCH better this time...SO Happy it's OVER!Tiny feetMommy loves you.Here THEY come! Proud big sisters. How Sweet!Nana was a huge help to me. I'm so lucky to have a mother willing to help, and a father willing to share her.

Allison is the most excited of all. However, she needs to learn to be softer! We happened to have a surprise visit from Santa in the hospital.Wow...I'm now the mother of 5! Crazy!

Quiet moment with my alert newborn.

When she was first born, the pediatrician heard a heart murmur. She had to have an EKG & and eco-cardiogram. It didn't hurt her, but she looked terrible hooked to all those wires. Poor thing.

The kids got to come down each day after dinner to see me & Avery. They were a little annoyed at me that I made them go to school instead of missing. Oh well.

She's SO little & sweet.

LOVE it!She has tons of hair!

Going home.

Allison LOVES being a Big Sister.

Avery @ 2 weeks old.

Snuggling with big brother.Christmas wiped us out!

Grandma loved coming to visit us.

Avery has had really good muscle strength for a newborn. She's definitely another Keech Kid.Love the little finger & toes!These are some of the most recent pictures of Avery (taken earlier this week).Allison love posing with Avery for a few pics (not that I could have kept her away). What cute sisters.Allison has seemed HUGE to me, ever since we brought Avery home. It's good to know it's NOT my imagination...Look at the size difference.I still have other things that I want to post (if I ever get around to it) from the Holidays, but I hope this will please some of the Family & Friends who have been dying to see more pictures of Avery. Here she is & Here she'll stay....

Halloween 2010 - Finally

2010-11-15T21:31:00.005-06:00

Well, I haven't been doing anything fun lately, just the usual routine peppered with a few more than normal Dr. appointments. So, finally here are the Halloween pictures from this year. We had lots of fun at the Trunk or Treat. I love Allison's smile. So Cute!Adam was a spider for Trunk or Treat, but then flaked out Halloween & didn't want to wear his arms. Oh Well.Amelia wanted to be the Wicked Witch, but I didn't want to paint her green. I'm glad she settled for "real" makeup instead. Adelaide, I think, just wanted to wear the cute, red dress.I hung around preschool during Allison's Halloween celebration. The kids (and the Big Kid Buddies) dressed up & went trick or treating to classrooms that had signed up to give out candy. The teacher said this was the best advertising for her class she has.

All the preschool kids.

Allison walking with her first buddy.

When the next class came in, they got to go around again. She got a good amount of candy. She couldn't understand why she couldn't stop in the hall & eat it.

Here's what we looked like when we actually went out. I thought it was very clever to have the girls wear their fuzzy sleeper PJ's under their costumes. They didn't fight me too much, when I gave them the option of wearing the jammies under or covering their costumes with coats.

Grandma Gentry

2010-10-31T09:47:00.011-05:00

Edith Madge Brice was born at daybreak Easter morning April 23, 1916. She met her husband Thomas Bryan Gentry in California where she was staying with relatives. They decided to get married & returned to Utah, where they worked together on the homestead. They raised 2 daughters, Louise & Pat, who both married and started families of their own.

Bryan has told me of many excursions to visit his Grandmother in Utah. He always loved that she fed them meat & potatoes. Living on a cattle farm, there was no shortage of steaks & sausage, etc that might be considered more of luxury foods, especially when you're a kid. He always talked about how great of a cook Gram was. It wasn't that his mom was a bad cook, it was more that Gram cooked for EVERY meal & had more time & energy to focus on them when they visited. Bryan's Grandpa Gentry passed away shortly before he left on his mission in 1995, the same day as the Oklahoma City bombing. Gram spent a couple more years sticking it out on the homestead, but she was alone in a rural area with declining health. She eventually moved to AZ to be closer to her younger daughter (Bryan's mom) and her family.

I met Edith for the first time, probably a little before Bryan came home from his mission. We took to each other immediately & she was convinced that I WOULD be her Granddaughter-in-law. She had the funniest sense of humor, but the quickest wit at the same time. She could mix that little bit of sarcasm in & still sound polite & sweet. I guess I really liked her, because when I get older, I hoped I'd have a 1/4 of her energy & even a tiny bit of her personality.

"Grandma 2" as she was known to her great-grandkids, was always smiling & willing to lend a helping hand if she could. She drove her own car for a long time, probably until she was 91? She could drive from her trailer in her retirement park to her daughter's (Pat) home around the corner, and even down the road 4 miles to the school, where Pat works. On longer voyages, she would let someone drive for her so she wouldn't get flustered or lost.

She frequently had visits from friends, and spent time reading and writing letters. Edith made some amazing quilts in her day & loved doing things for others. She was very independent & strong-willed. I think that one of the reasons, she has been with us so long is the fear that we can't get along without her.

But such as everything...Life comes to an end. Mortal life comes to an end. Edith was not a member of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am comforted through my beliefs. I know that we can be with Gram again. She is no longer in pain or the mental/emotional turmoil that she has been in for the last several months. Unfortunately, people are imperfect & sometimes impact the spiritual growth of others. I know that the Gospel IS perfect. When Gram has the opportunity to hear the perfect message without hindrance, she will accept the Gospel in it's fullness. I am thankful for the ordinances of the Temple & the promises of Eternal Families. We will miss seeing Grandma Gentry when we visit, but I know that we will see her again.

I am thankful for the Gospel & for the chance to have an Eternal Family.

SEW Happy...Some of My "Projects"

2010-10-13T09:50:00.006-05:00

It's October, and I DO like Halloween. I think it's fun to dress up & pretend. Sometimes it's a little grotesque & scary or pretty or even silly. This year, I felt like I should embrace my "roundness". I kept thinking of ways I could emphasize my prego belly, and this is what I came up with (for about$7 too). I bought a black T-shirt (used a coupon) at Michaels. I got 1/2 yd of orange fabric for my pumpkin (which could have made 2), then 1/4yd of black, green & orange w/ polka-dots. I knew I already had some Under Wonder (Heat & Bond) stuff at home that I could use.I had an idea of how I wanted it to look, so I actually put the T-shirt on wrong-side-out & marked where I wanted the pumpkin, so I could decide how big to make it. I sewed with black thread to make lines on the pumpkin, just to embellish it a little more. I cut eyes, nose & mouth out of black & ironed it on with under wonder. Then, sewed around the outside edges.
I attached the Jack-o-Lantern to the INSIDE of my T-shirt. I actually sewed around it once in black thread, then zig-zagged around in orange, to make a little border.After sewing, I cut the extra T-shirt fabric from the front of the Jack-o-Lantern face.I then ironed on my stem & leaf pieces (2 on front & 2 on back) & sewed around their edges too.
I added a little elastic to the sides to make them ruch up a bit. I LOVE the way it turned out.I ironed on my lettering, then outlined it in green fabric paint. Then used the paint to make pretty, curly vines.Forgive the pictures...Not bad for a 6yr old photographer.So CUTE!A few weeks ago, I went to Chicago with a couple of friends on a field trip to a MASSIVE fabric store. It was fun, and I got some good deals. I found this suede/peachy/moleskin kind of fabric for an AWESOME price. I finally got around to working with it. Aren't they adorable? I made a matching vest & skirt in each fabric.I have gotten too big to wear (comfortably) most of my skirts. I was going to just buy a maternity skirt, but I decided to try my hand @ making my own. For the same price of buying 1, I made 3. They needed some "tweaking", but I only have like 8 Sundays left anyway.I also made this skirt. Even though you can't really see the skirt, you can see my belly.

Baby Belly

2010-09-29T14:56:00.004-05:00

Look! No feet. 12 weeks more. Bummer.Wait! I see one.Wow...Photography really IS all about perspective.

Baby Plans

2010-09-29T14:25:00.008-05:00

So, the time is quickly approaching when our little blessing will be here. I'm sure it's that I'm nesting, but probably a little of my "grand plans" always popping up in the form of "projects". Well, I finished ONE project. I made several very cute blankets. They are flannel & about a yard, which is a good size. I love the way they turned out, and each has it's own look about it.I love ladybugs for little girls. I actually let Mia & Adelaide choose between red or black for the backing. I think it's awesome with the black ric rac.This is probably the simplest blankie, but still very cute.I think this may be my favorite. I love the contrast of the yellow ric rac & the fabrics.

This is the fabric Allison picked out. I had a hard time convincing her that it was for the baby. She had such a hard time, I had to buy a little extra so I can make her a matching fairy pillowcase. Then her pillow will match the baby's blankie. Such cute fabric!

I love the edging on this one. It is a leaf pattern. Cute!Another exciting thing has been accomplished...We bought a new car seat / stroller combo. I think I'll really like it. For one thing, it's cute.For another thing, this is a Graco Flip-It. The stroller handle can flip from the front to the back, etc.

I also really liked that when it folds, it comes UP. Most strollers I've had fold easily, but I end up having to pick them up off the ground.

Today, after I dropped Allison off at preschool, I went to run my errands. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting someone, or that someone was missing. It was very strange, but I guess I'm just being prepared ahead of time. You know, I wouldn't want to leave the car seat in the shopping cart, or leave the baby in the house when I leave to run errands. So there's HOPE for me, right?

Back-2-School Again...

2010-09-16T14:33:00.012-05:00

I DO realize that it is the middle of September, and I have not taken time to post back to school shots of the kids. We've been living & adjusting, merging our new schedules with our old schedules. Adam is in 6th grade now, which is at the Junior High. I was a little worried for him, just because it's hard to juggle 7-8 different subjects with 6-7 different teachers. So far, he seems to be very responsible & doing very well.
Amelia is now in 1st grade, and Adelaide began Kindergarten. Mia loves school and is doing very well.
Every Monday, there is an assembly where the Principal talks to the kids, acknowledges birthdays, etc. The kids seem to really like it. On the first day, I had to stay with Adelaide, but I still managed to snap a photo of Mia in her class.Kindergarten only had school for 1 hour on the 1st day. It was more of an orientation / come drop off your supplies kind of day. I love how she's ready to get to work. Too bad you have to wait.Adelaide & her teacher.She was very excited about her little goodie-bag from her teacher.The girls were disappointed that I drove them to school the first day. They were excited to ride the bus, so they were in a hurry to get down to their stop.They sure LOOK like friends...Truth is, they fight as much as they get along.My 3 little Ladies...Allison is attending a speech proram this year. She was SO excited to go see her classroom.

Her teachers...Allison is in Speech preschool 2 afternoons a week, and she seems to really like it. Here we are waiting for the short bus to pick her up.She's SO little to be climbing up onto the school bus. She does well, but usually falls asleep on her bus-ride home.This is just silly...The girls decided they would BOTH wear daddy's t-shirt & lounge pants.Labor Day, we went to the picnic with friends from our ward & the other ward here in town. I spent MOST of the picnic hanging out chatting with MY friends. I did, however, manage to snap a few cute photos of the kids. Amelia & her friend are in the same Primary class, and now are in the same 1st grade class. It's great, because both girls lost their buddies from last year who ended up going to different schools.Adelaide is back for ANOTHER dessert.Last week, I decided I needed apples & that I needed to make a trip to the apple orchard. So, I called a couple of my friends to see if they want to go, and off we went. I had to stop for gas & a drink. When Allison came out with my friend, she was loaded with candy. She loved that she could have a lollipop in each hand and go back & forth between flavors.Sitting in the wagon for a ride.Our purchases...We ended up with 1-1/2 bushels of apples, spaghetti, butternut & carnival squash and 2 gallons of apple cider. Yum! Some pics of Mommy & Allison Our favorite little friend lately...Peek-a-Boo!This week, Allison also started her morning preschool. This is the same one that both of the other girls went to at the high school. She had a blast!She couldn't wait to ditch me. And, for Katy (because she asked) here's a picture of myself. We are now at 27 weeks & counting down. The baby will be here soon, I just wish it was sooner.In the meantime, I'm keeping busy with my calling in Young Women's & volunteering in the school library once a week, getting Adam to scouts, getting everyone to school & I'm trying to make it to the gym a bit. Generally, I'd say it's good to have a crazy life.

More Utah Fun

2010-07-21T14:56:00.000-05:00

Now that I've been home for a few days from vacation, I guess it's time again to update the blog with pictures galore. We got home from Idaho on Sunday afternoon, and had plans to go to Lagoon on Monday. I spent my time with the 3 little girls & let Adam run off with my brothers & sister. I'm relatively certain that he only rode a couple of rides & spent most of his time in the waterpark. I'm glad he had fun. The girls did enjoy swimming, but mostly wanted to ride the rides.
I actually rode a total of 3 rides. One was the train that went around part of the park, this was another that Allison was too short to ride alone. The last was the kiddie roller coaster. I figured if Allison was big enough to ride it with an adult, I would be fine to ride it prego. Whoopee. Adelaide & Mia liked these swings, but poor Allison was not allowed. She cried the whole time.The obligatory boat ride.Amelia is funny sometimes. She wanted Adelaide to ride with her on some of the rides. I think she wanted some "moral support". Mia was much better when I told her that Allison needed someone to go with her. From that point on, if there were 2 seats, they were together.We all got to ride the Carousel.One of the last rides, they went on was the bumper cars. It was hilarious to hear them giggle as they bumped the other cars.We finally met up with Adam, and he got to ride the train with us.Silly Papa.Silly Becky.A couple of days before we left Utah, Grandma Pat made arrangements to pick up Adam. She had taken "Grandma 2" (Bryan's grandma) to Utah to visit, and wanted to take Adam home to Phoenix with her. She brought the girls some $$, because she said she had missed their birthdays. Very smart to bribe the other kids.After Grandma left with Adam, the girls, Papa & I went to the Gateway Discovery Museum. Have I mentioned that I love my membership to my local museum? It gets me in to lots of stuff free.The girls had a great time exploring many of the exhibits.My mom was feeling under-the-weather, so I took the girls one afternoon & went to let them spend their $$ from Grandma. While we were out, we hit Sonic for lunch. Hey, I have to feed my Chedd'r Pepper craving when I can.After walking around a mall, we ended up making most of our final purchases @ Toys R Us (Go Figure). Allison got a cute little princess Zhu-Zhu Pet. It has a pink tutu just like her.Amelia made out pretty well. She got a used Gameboy game (Barbie Island Princess) and her own Zhu-Zhu pet with a bed.Finally, Adelaide got a new princess dress (with earrings & crown) and dress-up shoes.The dress-up shoes were all the rage...Even London wanted to wear them.I have the cutest niece & nephew.Adelaide & my brother, Josh.The day before we left, we got to go to my great-aunt Jean's house to pick apricots. The trees weren't completely ready yet, but we did pick a bunch of ripe fruit.Yummy Apricots!
I am SO thankful that we got to go on vacation & visit family. I wish Bryan would've been able to spend some time with us, but I Love him even more for sacrificing & living without us for 2 weeks. We missed him, and I know he missed us too. We're SO glad to be home. And, now that I've slept in my own bed a few nights, I would considering making the crazy-long drive to Utah again.

Idaho Excursion

2010-07-21T13:25:00.000-05:00

When I decided that I was going to visit my family for 2 weeks, I asked my parents to plan a quick trip up to Idaho. I thought it would be great to see my mom's family, because I hadn't seen them in years. We left Friday morning on our 5+ hour drive. The kids were great and watched DVD's the whole way, but it was great to finally get out of the car.
We met up with everyone at my Aunt Connie's house. She had said to bring our swimming suits, because she had a wading pool out back for the kids. THIS is not what I expected. I had the girls' floaties, and they had fun. So, I guess it all worked out.I did not want to swim, so poor Allison was stuck on the ground with the little kids. She looks SO funny with her goggles on.Adam wrestling with his 2nd cousin, Gavin. (At least I think it's Gavin....Hard to tell behind the masks.) Uncle Justin and his newest grandson.My mom & her mom. It was great to see her. The last time we saw Great-Grandma, Adam was only 3 & she's never met the girls.On Saturday, we got together in Boise for a picnic. After, we went to the children's museum, which didn't cost me anything, because I used my local museum's membership. I love that. This light board kept Allison & London occupied for quite a while.Adam whispered (into the Whisper Dish) to Papa at the other side of the room.Amelia's favorite, was the Pet Hospital area. It was really cute with all the leashes & stuffed toys, etc.You can't see her, but Adelaide is checking out groceries for Allison & London. MAN! London threw a FIT when it was time to leave the Market. He did not want us to put away his groceries, and I had to literally drag him out. The poor little guy was tired & needed a nap. (Which he got a little while later in the car.)Trying to blow HUGE soap bubbles.Mom & her sister, Tracy. Adam & Cody (another 2nd cousin)When I was young (about 7-ish?) I remember Justin being my favorite uncle. I would take his hat or something & he would chase me around the yard. I also remember him trying to walk around with me & my brothers attached to him (one on each foot/leg and one of us hanging off of each arm). It brought back those memories, as I watched my girls immediately take to him. They talked & joked with him and giggled a lot.Before we left the family, Connie & Justin treated us to dinner. It was delicious & tons of fun to visit just a bit longer.Mom & her sister, Connie.The kids with Great-Grandma Esta.We spent Saturday night in Twin Falls, ID so we would have a little shorter drive home. We also had the chance to visit Shoshone Falls.Poor kids...Facing the sun makes it hard to get a good picture. I LOVE the look on his face!Nana & Papa Inman By the time we got home, I was tired....VERY tired. But, I am glad we went. It was a great visit.

Utah Fun

2010-07-10T11:07:00.010-05:00

Well, we've been having so much fun that I haven't had a chance to blog about all our adventures. I just haven't taken the time out to do it. We had a relatively good drive out, considering the fact that Bryan & I drove straight through the night with minimal stops. We got away from home about 1pm & started our trek West. We stopped periodically to eat, and finally shut off the DVD player about 10:30 or 11pm so the kids could get some sleep. Bryan & I took turns driving, but finally had to pull off @ a rest stop about 2:30am to get a couple hours sleep. Ultimately, we made our trip in about 27 hours. Not bad at all.
We got to attend church on July 4th with family, so the girls all got to wear their matching skirts. I had to take some pics.We played fireworks too.In the above picture, you can just make out the parachute above the house. Out of 6 or so, we only got 2 stuck on the roof.

The kids had tons of fun watching us set off some fireworks.

This was Papa's trick. Apparently, it's called a "Punk" (not Adelaide). The end of the rope smolders, you blow on it, then light the fuse. It worked pretty good without having a bunch of flaming matches.

Monday morning, there was a pancake breakfast @ Benson Mill.

The girls walked along in the "Kids' Parade".Adam loves his little cousins, especially little Sharlene.Cousin London with his flag.What else? We've picnicked...Is that even a word?Nana even brought bubbles to play with.

Allison never quite got the hang of bubble blowing...She kept putting her mouth right against her wand. Can you see the big bubble on her chin?

Adam borrowed Josh's knife, so he could widdle a stick. We also went to the $ theater to see "How to Train Your Dragon". The kids enjoyed the movie & they even got to play a little.Uncle Daniel's hair was SO "pretty" the girls wanted to style it for him.The girls & cousin London.Naughty Adam! No splashing...We made a trip out to Provo to go to 7 Peaks Waterpark. I was surprised that the girls enjoyed the wave pool so much.We really liked this little pool. It had some little kid slides & everyone could stand in most places.

Poor London was SO unhappy. He DID NOT want to be in the water. (He's 3 days older than Allison.) He told his dad, "You scare me daddy. I not like water." Poor little guy. There was NO changing his mind.

Happy Birthday to Adelaide

2010-07-04T10:50:00.001-05:00

This year, Adelaide's birthday fell on the day before we left for vacation. Needless to say, I was not up for throwing a big party or cleaning up after a get together @ my house. Lucky for me, my kids are still young enough to think that it's cool to have a birthday dinner & cake @ McDonalds. It's hard to believe that she is 5 already & will be starting kindergarten in August. Happy Birthday Miss Adelaide!The ultimate present this year? A penguin pillow-pet. I know, I don't really get-it either.

Cake anyone?After dinner, we took the family to see Toy Story 3. Overall, a great little birthday celebration.

Slip & Slide Fun

2010-07-04T10:21:00.001-05:00

Just some fun pics of the Slip & Slide. We had one 2 summers ago, and the kids hated it. I guess they're older now, and it was fun....Or, they were desperate for relief from the heat? Either way, they had fun with their $5 Slip & Slide.Go Mia! It took her a little while to get the hang of it.Adam was a Pro the first time...Allison either sat on her bum & scooted, or crawled along on her belly "Commando-Style".Mommy didn't...But Daddy even got in on the fun too.Happy GirlAdelaide loved "slipping".LOVE IT!Enjoy your summer!

2 Weeks into Summer...

2010-06-09T19:42:00.006-05:00

I know it's sad when getting a new appliance is "exciting". Well, our old fridge stopped making ice & Bryan was worried that it was several years old and maybe not worth repairing. I think that he needed an excuse to go buy a new one. Whatever, I'm not complaining. We went window shopping @ a couple of local stores & found this beauty. The sales-guy offered it to us with a discount, because it has a little ding in one of the doors. - Like anyone will notice one it has all my stuff all over it. Ha! So here is our new addition. A black refrigerator with French doors. The drawer freezer, doesn't have as much space as an upright, but when the basement is finished, I'll be able to use the deep-freeze again. So, that's not so bad. I really like having the double fridge width though.For Memorial Day, we were invited to our friends' house for a BBQ party. We had grilled pizzas, which were yummy & played games. The kids attempted to play Duck, Duck, Goose on the trampoline. Allison didn't really understand the concept. She ran around no matter who was "it".We also played Cornhole. I know...what a horrible name. I always laugh @ people playing it, because they usually have a bean bag in one hand & a beer in the other. More times than not, it's also a bunch of Fraternity guys. Well, I played & it was pretty fun. I guess you could compare it to horseshoes, but a little different.Adam LOVES this little guy. I really hope we add a new little brother to our family, but I'm hoping he'll give me lots of help no matter what.

We also played "Minute to Win it" . I don't watch the show, but I enjoyed the challenges. So FUN!Johnny Apple StackNut StackerWe had a great time with good friends & met some new ones too. I love a good party. Come to think of it, I like a bad party too.

Other than this, we've spent time playing outside, going to the splashpark, and doing the McDonald's playland a few times. We also had an outing to go bowling. The kids were very excited, because it was the first time for the little ones. Adam & K were on one lane with the rest on another. They brought out the 2 "light" balls (still 5#) and a ramp for them to use.Amelia lining up her shot.I think Amelia was one of the first to want to ditch the ramp. She was happy with herself, I guess that's what counts.Nice Form Adam!Not to be out-done, Adelaide had to try bowling on her own too. BTW - Bowling balls don't bounce well.I even let Allison be a little independent too. She was so cute trying to carry that big, heavy bowling ball.Go Adelaide!I had to get a picture of our Bowling Style. You got to love bowling shoes...Who would want to steal something this ugly?Our final scores were pretty close.

The kids all had a fun time, but the mommies were definitely ready to leave by the end. We made some fun memories that they can remember for awhile.

End of School Carnival & Escape to St. Louis

2010-06-09T18:34:00.009-05:00

At the end of the school year, our school has a Family-Fun-Night. It has been rainy the last couple of years, so this was actually the first one we've been to. The kids had a fun time. There were several inflatables for the kids to play on & lots of raffles & snacks to be had for all.

Poor Allison was too little for most of the inflatables, so she spent several turns in the Moon-Bounce.The big girls liked it too.This is Corny. I swear he reminds me of the mascot off The Simpsons. What is that team - The Isotopes? Anyway, he is the mascot for our local baseball team, The Corn Huskers.A friend of mine took this sweet pic after I left Bryan & the girls to enjoy the carnival. I had to take Adam to a birthday party. Well, I screwed up the day but they were nice enough to let him hang out @ their house, so he didn't have to go with me to the fabric store. I think I can chalk that up to "Pregnancy Brain"._____________________________________

Our school district is a little dumb when it comes to the end of a school year. I mean, they always plan an inservice day for the last week, and the very last day only lasts 1 hour. That's right, they run the buses to & from school for 1 hour spent in the gym. DUMB!

This year, the inservice was Wednesday & the 1 hour was Thursday. As far as I'm concerned, the kids last day was Tuesday, and I decide to take them to St. Louis to visit the Cowands. We had a fun time. It was very near Jessica's birthday, so I baked her a yummy cake to take & had a little gift for her that I had made. I even got to help her with dinner by mixing up some meatloaf too. I felt good & she felt spoiled...Totally WIN-WIN. We spent Wednesday night at their house & just hung out letting the kids play & reconnect. I think it's great. Just like Jess & I, no matter how long it is between visits, they all kind of fall back together & pick up from where they were as friends. So Great!Allison found the Sleeping Beauty wig from Halloween. I love it! But, is it just me...Or does she look like E.T.?Thursday morning we got a late start, so we had our picnic in Forest Park before going to the STL Zoo.I love this Mob of Munchkins!Sometimes I worry about leaving out Liam, because he has special needs. I know I try to include him & treat him as normally as possible, but sometimes I feel bad for him...I just think that sometimes it's easier to ignore people who are different, because it actually takes more effort. I love this little guy though. And, I know he loves his Aunt Kimmie...BIG Smooch!This picture cracks me up too...I can still hear his giggle every time I look @ it. Can you hear it??What can I say? If they didn't want people ON it, there would be a sign or rope or guard, right?
Adelaide cracks me up. I couldn't help catching this one.The "Little Kids" - Nolan, Amelia, McKenna, Adelaide & Allison.These girls are too cute together, but I think McKenna has to adjust a little when we visit. She's definitely accustomed to being THE girl in her family. Jessica's pet-name for her is Mikiboo. That's what Adelaide calls her too. It makes me laugh to myself every time.

Adam's "Angry Monkey" pose in the primate house.I don't know what it is about the STL Zoo. We have been 3 times, and I think we've seen some "frisky" animals every time. Thankfully, this was taken before the male zebra got a little twitterpated. We also saw some Gila Monsters "wrestling".

The kids were annoyed, because I wouldn't buy any snacks or ice cream. Whatever. I did buy a drink & I think we probably refilled it 3-4 times in the few hours we were there.

A Bunch of Cuties on a fence.OK, maybe I had a lapse in my parenting-judgement, but no one fell off. And, I only let them climb up after I saw another party climb up for a picture. So, YES. My defense is..."They did it first."My 4 Rebels.

I Should Play the Lotto

2010-05-15T19:35:00.002-05:00

After a tubal ligation 3 years ago when Allison was born, we just found out on Tuesday that we are expecting baby #5!

I can't really explain why I even thought to buy a pregnancy test. I mean, I spent at least ten minutes in Walgreens trying to decide if I needed to spend $10 when I KNEW it would be negative (because it had to be, right?).

Let me back up...I have had some medical issues in the last few years that make my cycles irregular. So, YES...I did miss my period, but this was not the first time. I have had some nausea in the morning, but when I take my meds on an empty stomach (which I do pretty frequently) I sometimes feel a little sick. So I really didn't think much of that. Really, I have just had A LOT of fatigue. I mean I am WIPED OUT by about 1pm. At first, I thought it was just that I wasn't sleeping well. Or, it could've been me falling off the Gym Wagon. I started potty training Allison in March (we won't talk about that), and taking her to speech therapy once a week in April, and I found it easier & easier to skip the gym for other things. I figured the fatigue was because I wasn't working out as much.

So, back to Tuesday...I did buy a test & took it. To my surprise, it was PoSiTIvE! What?!!? How?!!? I'm surprised I didn't pass out. I literally could NOT breathe. I called downstairs to Bryan & he said he'd be up in a minute. I jumped on the phone to the nurse @ my primary care doctor's office. I told her the situation (tubes tied + positive home test = FREAKING OUT!), and she said she'd talk to the dr. I called Bryan again. He came up (poor guy thought he was getting a little something-something), and I showed him the test. We both just kind of sat there freaking out. Bryan was very surprised, but supportive. He was much more accepting than me.

About an hour later, the nurse called back & had me come into the lab for another pregnancy test. When the urine was positive, the tech drew some blood. Yay, now what? Well, I spent the rest of the evening worry-ing about the status of everything. Of course, I love the internet & the availability of information, but sometimes ignorance really is bliss. Or at least better than the alternative.

The chances of getting pregnant (at the most) after a tubal are only like 18 in 1000 women. Most sites said that it was about a 1.4-2% chance. Crazy...but not the bad news. About 35-50% of pregnancies after a tubal are ectopic. Ectopic pregnancies are where the embryo has implanted somewhere other than the uterus, and therefore non-viable. Knowing this increased risk, I was afraid to let myself really think about the fact that I was prego with a baby.

Wednesday morning, I immediately got on the phone to leave a message for the nurse @ my obgyn's office. They called back, and they were able to get me in for an ultrasound & to see the dr. After hurriedly arranging some childcare & transportation, I was off. I think they had to fit me in, so I had to wait for what seemed like FOREVER in the waiting room. They called my name & took me into the ultrasound room. The tech asked me some questions about why we were doing the ultrasound (because I want to know everything is OK!), etc. FINALLY! She could immediately tell me that the fetus was in the uterus and that it looked to be about 8wks. She then turned on the sound so I could hear the heartbeat & I couldn't help crying. It didn't look much like a baby yet, but I could see it & it's heart beating. Wow...It's real now. I did have a chance to meet with my OB in his office, and he just kept saying, "Wow." I asked my questions about my diabetes, exercise, meds, etc. He said he looked at the hospital report & said that everything seemed fine, but I doubt he'd come out & say something if my doctor had screwed up my tubal.

So, this is where I am now. I'm shocked, but OK. I'm relieved that all is OK, and now I can be happy. It definitely wasn't in my plans, but it looks like we'll have a brand new addition to our family the first or second week of December.

Ice Cream, Hawaiian Day & the Zoo...It's been a good week.

2010-05-01T13:40:00.006-05:00

This week we had the chance to go to Baskin Robins for 31 cent scoop night. I confess, I'm not sure how many scoops we actually went through, but it was super cheap. And Hey, how often can I really afford to take out our family of 6 for ice cream? It was yummy & we had a fun time too.Of course, we must wear a big ring while eating our ice cream....and make sure to show it off.I can have another?How could you not love this face??Cheesey Chocolate Girl! Look Ma! I'm messy!Amelia & Adam had a Hawaiian Spirit day this week. I picked up a few things for them @ the dollar store & they went with it. We even had an extra flower or 2 for the little girls to wear. The girls already had these outfits, so I didn't have to buy them. However, I did notice that I will not be letting Mia wear those shorts much this summer. They're a little too LITTLE to wear without the grass skirt over them.My Cuties...

Yesterday, the kids had the day off & I took them to our local zoo. We had a fun time with friends & enjoyed the time outdoors...even if I did get a little sunburned.Mia waiting for the sea lion feeding.More waiting...What a good looking group!Me & the kids...Say cheese!Allison was fascinated by this periscope. I loved watching her look in, look around, take another look, etc. So cute!This was another favorite. Adelaide "petting" the BUG (Madagascar Hissing Cockroach). She was the only one of my mob brave enough. Ew! Gives me the creeps just looking. Yuck!

A Night Out with My Girls

2010-04-22T20:07:00.001-05:00

Last week, I received a call inviting Bryan & Adam on an 11yr old boy scout campout. They decided that it would be a fun activity, so they disappeared last weekend. The girls got very excited & asked, "What should we do for Girls' Night?" Well, we definitely made the MOST out of our "Girls' Night Out". First, we took off for dinner @ IHOP. I got one free kids meal, though. I guess for April, you get a free kids meal for every adult meal you buy. Cool.Lovin' it up...You're hugging me too hard!Then, where else do girls go that boys complain about? The mall, of course! And of course, there are gumball machines @ EVERY entrance, so the girls convinced me to give them each a quarter. I know...I'm a sucker. Hey, it's "Girls' Night".

We went to Old Navy for sandals. We had to do our best poses with the mannequins.Cute, huh?We did get some new clothes from Kohls...And what trip to the mall would be complete without a cookie from Mrs. Fields?COOKIE!I was questioning my sanity by the end of the evening, but the girls had a great time. After leaving the mall, we went home & the girls watched Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses. I think they stayed up until almost 10pm. They went to bed & slept in until almost 8am (trust me, usually they're up @ 6:30am). I was glad, because I stayed up until midnight to finish the 5th Fablehaven book. It was awesome.

It was great to spend the evening together, but I think my next "Girls' Night" will be with big girls. Any takers?

I Want to Learn to Swim

2010-04-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

We belong to a local health club that provides (among many other classes) swim lessons. Don't get me started on how hard it is to register them...That's a story for another day. Anyway, I got all 4 kids into swim classes this session. Our Monday, FHE nights are spent @ the gym in or around the pool...at least for the next 5-6 weeks. I don't know why I didn't get pictures of the other kids, but I'll have to one of these days. But, here are some pictures of Allison. She's really doing very well for being in her 1st session and ALONE.When they sit on the side, they're supposed to hold a noodle in their lap. Kick & splash!She actually got Allison to lay back & (kind of) float. She freaks out & flails about when I try.I was having fun watching & snapping pictures...Isn't she cute? I laugh to see that the crying kid next to her doesn't even phase her.Oops! I've been spotted! What a crazy girl...

Let's Go Fly a Kite...and Soccer Season Begins. Again.

2010-04-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, soccer season has started again. Thankfully, it is now warm enough to actually spend the time outside @ practice & games. I REALLY hate watching soccer games while shivering in my blanket on the sidelines.

This is Adam's last soccer season, so I think we're enjoying it as much as we can. We've spent several evenings @ the park while Adam's team practiced. We've even attempted some Kite-Flying...Well, maybe Kite Running? I think when we bring the kites, there's too little wind or too much. The perfect kite wind inevitably occurs when we don't have them. Oh well.
Mia flying a kite.

Don't run by the trees!

Mia is Kite-Running.

Cutie-Pie

I told the girls to race to that tree. I think Mia got there 1st, but Adelaide beat her on the way back.

Yeah...I'm the papparazi...I'm taking your picture anyway.

Daddy throwing Adelaide. Can't you just hear her giggle?Spinning...around...and around....

...and falling down dizzy.I took a few pics @ the game last week. I figured I should include at least a couple. Run Adam!

Conversations with Adelaide

2010-04-12T20:07:00.002-05:00

Adelaide is SO funny sometimes. She is very observant & thoughtful. I think she's a little sponge absorbing everything she hears & sees. Church is one place she absorbs LOTS of info. She really is very thoughtful. She seems to hear/see things and ponder them for a time, before asking questions or sharing the things that she has learned.

Easter was on General Conference weekend & this last Sunday was our Stake conference, so it's actually been more than 2 weeks since she had her Primary lesson on Easter. Today, we had a couple of very cute conversations that went something like this:

A: "Mom, when I die...Will they put me in a tube?"
Me: "What?" (Trying to figure out if I heard her right)
A: "The people put Jesus in a tube, and then he got resurrected. Will I get in a tube?"
Me: "Jesus was put in a tomb, but when you or I die, we'll get buried."
A: "And then we'll get resurrected?"

About that time, she jumped to a new subject (just like a 4yr old), but about an hour later, she came back with:
A: "Mom, will I have spices when I die?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
A: "My teachers said that Jesus' friends brought spices to him in the tomb."
Me: "Yes, the spices were to make him smell better."
A: "He smelled yucky?"
Me: "When you die, you don't smell good."
A: "Will I have spices?"
Me: "Kind of...yes."

Adelaide cracks me up sometimes. She's ALWAYS thinking...I know, because she's usually talking. So smart!

Spring is Spring-ing!

2010-04-07T15:40:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures we took this weekend of the kids...This was quite a bit more difficult than I anticipated. We did get a few good shots & plenty of "close...but NO" pictures.
It was quite windy, which made it a little more difficult. Not to mention that EVERY one of them complained about the sun. Go figure.

Here are some misc. silly & sweet photos too. Allison & Adelaide watching TV. Sweet.Adam posing for me to pop a photo. Silly.Um, Silly.Sweet? Even with the boogers?Psycho-Smile? Silly.Allison...Silly.

Adam's Arrow of Light

2010-04-07T15:30:00.003-05:00

We are very proud of Adam. Last week @ our Pack Meeting, he was awarded his Arrow of Light. It was a great ending to his Cub Scout career. (He's now 11, so he moved up to Boy Scouts.) Here he is tying a chip with his name on it to the pack staff. The Pack gave Adam (and the 4 other boys who also got their A of L) this cool plaque.A cool thing that our boys get to do, is to shoot a flaming arrow. They have all worked really hard to have this privilege. The pictures aren't good at all, but you get the idea.

Easter Fun!

2010-04-07T15:26:00.008-05:00

I'm not a big fan of coloring Easter eggs, but this year I decided to give it a whirl. Adam didn't want to, but the girls had a blast!Big sister = Big Helper?Fun for all...And another mess for mom to clean up. Yay!??! Allison had a bit of a meltdown, but otherwise it was fun.Easter morning, we found baskets with a few treats in them.Later in the day (when it warmed back up), we had an egg hunt. Smart Allison...she found some eggs & tore into them at the first chance.

Free Haircuts

2010-04-07T15:02:00.004-05:00

Every 4-6months, my friend runs into a craigslist posting for free haircuts @ our local Supercuts. I've taken advantage of this before, and it's usually people who are newly hired. While many of them have experience cutting hair, they still have to learn "the Supercuts Way" to do things.

Anywhoo...this time was a little different. I usually go during the day & only take who-ever is home with me (not school-age). This time, I planned to take all 6 of us (4 kids + 2 parents). Second, these young ladies cutting were NEW. For the most part, they did a good job, but they took a LONG time, and the instructor lady hovered over them the entire time. Bryan had some complaints about his hair, but overall I think they did a good job. I left a $5 tip for each girl (X3), so I got 5 haircuts & a bang trim for $15. Not bad at all.
Amelia wanted to go shorter, but had a hard time making her mind up. She got hers cut about shoulder length, so we can still put her hair in ponytails. In contrast, we totally WHACKED Adelaide's hair off. It was really long, but she was easy to talk into a SHORT cut. I love how it turned out.
Bryan giving me a ??? look.Allison just got her bangs trimmed & she was SO excited, she hopped up into the chair, before the girl was able to sweep up Mia's hair. I got a trim & decided to get bangs...Let's just say that they'll grow out again soon enough.I like using my straightener to smooth & flip Mia's hair. Cute, eh?This is definitely my favorite style this time. I love this cut on Adelaide! It fits her personality & is so cute & sassy. It's been a week & she actually asked me this morning if I would flip her hair, because "I just think I look SO cute with my haor flipped!" Funny! But, I'd have to agree.

Playgroup Fun

2010-04-07T14:36:00.003-05:00

Last week, we had a little impromptu egg hunt @ our weekly playgroup - Thanks to a little guy who told his mom that he wanted to have an egg hunt with his friends. That morning, she gave him a bag of M&M's and a bunch of plastic eggs. He faithfully counted out 5 candies for each egg, and even brought extra buckets to share. The kids had a great time. It was a fluke too, that I actually had my camera, so we actually have some pictures. Aren't they cute?
Allison had a fun time. She did get a few, even though she's one of the smaller kids.
There were only 6 buckets and about 12 kids, but they were great about sharing. They even made sure that everybody, who wanted some was able to have eggs.

After they found the eggs (and ate the candies), the kids hid them and found them several more times. So fun!

Biker Babe

2010-03-31T22:24:00.002-05:00

Monday, I was cleaning the kitchen. Daddy was painting & working on door trim outside. The kids were playing outside & having a blast with the neighbor kids that hang around. I think they came in for a drink-break, and Mia casually mentioned that she could ride her bike now. Bryan took her training wheels off in the fall (before it was too cold to go out). Well, she has wanted to ride, but ONLY with a parent (mostly daddy) holding her up by the bike seat. I went out with her one day, but she got VERY mad at me. - I kept letting go, to give her an idea of how she needed to balance and/or catch herself before falling over. I guess she just decided to give it a shot on her own. I was AMAZED! You GO GIRL! I even got it on VIDEO!

Happy Birthday Amelia (and Daddy Too)

2010-03-31T22:21:00.002-05:00

Amelia was born on Daddy's birthday...by choice. Really, she was a scheduled c-section so we were able to choose pretty much which day to have her. Happy Birthday to Daddy! With all the birthdays, we had several opportunities to celebrate. Mia loves Ming's, and Daddy gets to eat sushi there. There's something for everyone & we all like the ice cream machine...It's pretty cool.On Amelia's birthday, we invited friends to go with us to our local children's museum. They always love it. I like it, because we can bring in a lunch to eat & I can visit with my friend, while still keeping watch over the kids.We LOVE the Paint Wall. OK, I don't...but the girls REALLY like it, and it's usually our 1st stop.

Adam can't resist a bucket of LEGOS!

Climbing like the BIG kids...

YAY! Water!??! Allison got a little wet.

Birthday Girl

Another outing was dinner at Fuji for a hibachi dinner. Yummy! We thought it would be fun for the kids to watch too.Big fire! Hot! COOL!!!The kids were particularly impressed when our cook stacked the onion slices up & made a volcano.Mia: "WOW!"I got the Sukiyaki Steak...and it was Good. Mmmm...Mia loved her gifts. Her faves were the Barbie from Aunt Katy & the Gameboy (+games) from Mom & Dad.Happy Birthday Daddy...We love you!Red Velvet Cake with cooked Flour Frosting. I think this was my best batch of this frosting ever. I doubled the recipe, because I didn't have enough last year. I think I did well this year. 1/2 Cake & 1/2 Frosting...that's a good ratio, right?

Dental Adventures

2010-03-31T22:00:00.002-05:00

Allison's 1st Dentist Appointment - Can you see her ON TOP of the table?
I am having a hard time lately, scheduling appointments. I mean, I schedule 2 (or more) kids together, to save me a trip. BUT, it seems that this backfires on me. I mean, I only have to make 1 trip, but the kids make up for it by being naughty or just bouncing off the walls. Any advice? Will they grow out of it? I hope so.Brushing with brand new toothbrushes.

Stylish, don't you think?

She can't wait until her turn. I don't know when the dentist will come. Be patient...

Bored...Let me entertain you.Yes, yes...You too.She was very good, even when she had to do an x-ray. I don't think she could've lifted that lead apron if she wanted to.

Good GirlSo, WHEN do I have to do this again?? Oh, did I mention that Amelia was in the other room (Bryan too) getting a filling? Yeah...a little OVER-scheduled.

Adam's Birthday Fun

2010-03-31T21:46:00.004-05:00

Last year, I made a big deal out of birthdays & let the kids have some parties. Well, this year I wasn't really up-for-it. I did however, invite our friends (the Cowands) to spend time with us. Jessica Cowand is one of my oldest, best friends. We went to high school together & she knows where all the bodies are buried. The Cowands moved from AZ to St. Louis in January, and I'm very excited to have them much closer. Jessica drove up with her 4 kids (hubby had to work), and spent Friday & Saturday with us. Friday night, Jessica & I actually snuck away on a girls' night with some other ladies. We left my 4, Jessica's 4 & 4 Clark children with 2 dads. They rock! - What great guys. Here are some misc. pictures of our visit.Adam & Kieran spent a lot of time on the computer or some sort of video games...lots of Nintendo DS.Liam had a fun time playing too. My girls loved hugging on him.Mia & McKennaCute little NolanThis is the absolute yummiest cake! You can get the recipe here. Happy 11th Birthday! We celebrated Adam's birthday on Saturday, and had hamburgers & hot dogs. But, his actual birthday was on Sunday. I decided to still try to make it a little special. We had Butterscotch Rolls for breakfast, and Adam ASKED for beef stew for dinner. - You know..."Like the kind we have when we go camping?" Yup.All in all, I think he had a pretty good birthday.

Kindergarten Round-Up

2010-03-30T08:29:00.006-05:00

Earlier this month (as if March wasn't crazy enough), we had the opportunity to attend Kindergarten Round-Up. Before you get too impressed, it was just pre-registration for Kindergarten. The Principal spoke to us. The Kindergarten teachers shared some info. Then, all the little kiddos got to go off with the teachers & do some activities and see one of the classrooms.
Adelaide had a blast. She was already excited for Kindergarten...Now, she can't wait. I think the wait might actually drive her crazy. I know I'm looking forward to a new school year. Adam, Amelia & Adelaide will be in school ALL day. And, I already have Allison set up to go to preschool. Woo Hoo!

Stages...

2010-03-23T07:55:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Daddy was privileged to accompany me & 3 small girls to the dentist. (I'll save all the details for another post...let's just say, I can't be 2 or 3 places @ once, no matter how confident the dentist's office is in their scheduling.)

As we were sitting in the waiting room for the 10+ minutes past Amelia's scheduled appt time (+ the 15 we arrived early), Allison started becoming restless (go figure). Even with Monsters Inc. to watch, there was still climbing on chair & tables to be done. At one point, after I told her to stop pulling on Adelaide & not to climb on me, she looks at me & mumbles something (she's very hard to understand a lot of the time). Then, pretty clearly says, "I hate you, mom."

I reply with, "I'm sorry."

Allison says, "I hate you, mom." Then, leaning over to dad..."I love, dad."

I wasn't destroyed or anything. I mean, she's 3 & I'm sure this won't be the last time she's says she hates me. It's just the first time I've heard it from her. Ah, so it begins.

March Mayhem

2010-03-14T19:39:00.007-05:00

As if March weren't already the craziest, busiest month for me...I went & made it WORSE. Tomorrow marks 2 weeks that Allison & I have been potty training. I say "Allison & I", because that is very much how I feel. After 2 weeks, I am trained. Allison? Well, she's progressing. My regular routine seems very full (because I like it that way, generally), with home obligations, preschool for Adelaide, going to the gym, church callings, etc. So, finding a time to begin training Allison was a little tricky. Well, my very-good friend asked me to watch her son during the day while her hubby was working, so she could go home to visit her mom. It turned out to be a great opportunity to begin training.

She's doing pretty well, but still having lots of accidents. She won't TELL me that she needs to go, and if I ask her...the answer is YES. The answer is always yes...even when it is NO. Let's just say that she's enjoying the independence of stripping off her clothes & climbing on the potty, only to sit there a minute (usually less) and hop right back down again. I guess you could say that she's potty training, and I'm practicing PATIENCE.I love the look on her face. Can you believe my 3yr old rolls her eyes @ me?? I am in trouble with this one. Let me tell you...One night, I got ambitious & put foam rollers in the girls' hair before bed. Aren't they cute?

Allison made me take her rollers out before she went to sleep, but the other 2 slept on theirs all night. They loved the results.

She's so cheesy...Photogenic, huh?

My 3 little ladies.

Another crazy thing I did, was take Allison & Adelaide to the doctor. I THOUGHT it would save time & energy if I doubled-up and did 2 appointments at once. Well, maybe not. It was INSANE! Both girls climbing everywhere. Adelaide was on an emotional roller coaster, because she knew she was getting shots.

Allison got bored & upset that she couldn't climb up onto the table with Adelaide.

The only distraction that worked?? Latex Glove Balloons.

Well, March is flying by at an alarming rate. Other that potty training & well-checks, I took Allison to the Audiologist to get her hearing tested. I know her speech is delayed, but I guess that is the first step to getting help. Well, her ears & hearing are fine. I still don't know what to do next, so I have to call her dr. again. Yippee.

What else? Hmmm...Amelia got a filling. That was interesting. She was very upset when she thought she wouldn't be going to school. I took her to school after her appointment. I walked her to class, because I wanted to to give her teacher a head's-up that Mia had a little Nitrous Oxide, and that she was a little "MELLOW". It was quite funny. She was pretty spacey. Poor thing.

In addition to all this insanity this week, we've passed around the sick-o's. Adelaide was sick Monday. Bryan & Allison ended up sick on Tuesday. Amelia & Adam started Wednesday evening through Thursday. And I don't really recall much from Friday, because I spent the entire day in my bed. Bryan didn't even go into work this week, because he was either sick or helping out with the sick-o's. Thankfully, we all went to church today & hopefully didn't share or catch anything else that we'll pass around.

Keech Update

2010-02-25T11:59:00.013-06:00

Well, I did it again (and proably not the last time)...It's been forever since I put out an update. Since all of our extended family lives far away, I guess it would be good for me to post some pictures & info. on the grandkids. Normally, I am ALL about chronology, but I decided to do an individual update for each family member. Here we go...

ALLISON

Well, Allison got a haircut. Usually, I end up cutting the girls' hair after some sort of scissor mishap. Not this time. She's just not a baby anymore & even though I loved how her long hair curled @ the bottom, it was time for something new. I love how it turned out!

Now...YOU tell me this style doesn't suit her sassy little attitude & independence. What a CUTIE! She's turning into her own person with opinions & ideas. She loves to play pretend with the dollhouse (or ANY & ALL little people-shaped toys), play barbies and dress-up. In fact, we're having a hard time keeping clothes on her. Aaahhh! Allison turned 3 on Valentine's day, so I will start potty training her soon. Hopefully, she's more-than-ready & will catch on quickly.Valentine's weekend was a busy one. Since V-Day (and Allison's B-Day) was on Sunday this year [and because we live in a college town], Bryan & I postponed our date night. When asked what kind of cake she wanted, Allison said, "Kitty Cake." Well, I decided to attempt to bake & piece a cake myself. The girls LOVED watching me cut up the 2 rounds I had baked earlier in the day. They kept asking how it would be a kitty & telling me that it didn't. They were amazed (actually so was I), when it was done. Since we missed our date night, I made Bryan a special dinner (which the kids got to enjoy too). He requested steak, potatoes and asparagus. I also surprised him with a crumb cake that he really likes with a little heavy cream poured over. It was a nice fun evening with the family.Sunday morning, we had Butterscotch Rolls for breakfast. Mmmm...they're yummy & gooey. All the kids eat them too.Allison got this cool pink motorcycle for her birthday. Bryan assembled it the night before, and we left it on the table for the kids to find in the morning. What a hit!After church, we had mac & cheese...then CAKE! I just love her expression here - SO CUTE!
The kids were horrified that I cut off the Kitty's face. I know...I need help.

ADELAIDE

What can I say? She's definitely a MIDDLE child. She is caught between Amelia & Allison, trying to hold her own in the process. She's the perpetual victim, but then turns around to be the sacrificing peacemaker. Adelaide loves going to preschool and can't wait until she starts kindergarten. We're talking a lot lately about going to the doctor & getting her shots, because it's coming up next week. Adelaide is stubborn & has VERY strong opinions about EVERYTHING. She has spent several days wearing PJ's out-and-about. She's crazy, but I love her & wouldn't trade her for anything. She always says things that crack me up. The latest of which, was telling daddy & my friend that "Mommy had to go see the judge at the Big House." OR, yelling "Garden of Dead People!" when we drive by the cemetary on the way to church. Silly girl.

AMELIA

Our ward had a Daddy Daughter dance for Valentine's day (Friday). I had been meaning to make some dresses for the girls, so this was a GREAT chance to complete them. The girls were SO excited to wear their new dresses & go to the dance with daddy (While Adam & I went to see Lightning Thief).Cute Bunch!Amelia has a special place in our family, but she's going through a phase right now. I think she may be 5 going on 15.Seriously though, Amelia LOVES kindergarten & her teacher. She has friends and loves learning. She is reading well & progressing quickly. She's unsure, but I think she just needs a little more encouragement. She's definitely got the bossy personality of an older sister, but she loves her sisters & brother. I guess they don't ALWAYS fight & argue.

ADAM

Adam participated in the Pinewood Derby for his last time this year. Bryan helped him cut & sand the car. I helped him with his paint job.
Pre-RACE picturesAdam also received his Weblos badge at this pack meeting, along with a ton of pins. He's on-track to get his Arrow of Light at his last pack meeting in March (before he turns 11 & moves on to Boy Scouts). He's VERY excited, because he'll get to shoot an actual flaming arrow as part of the ceremony. Anyway, Pinewood Derby was fun with hot dogs and nachos.This year, we had a new track that averaged the times by computer to get a winner. Adam raced his car 4 or 5 times. He didn't win or come in last, but didn't end up placing. I think he was 16th (or something) out of 24+ boys. He had fun & was happy because he got his award for "Most Colorful" that he was shooting for.

Can you say, "I'm 10 and I don't have no attitude..."?For the Blue & Gold Banquet in February, all the scouts had to make a cake. Adam decided he wanted to make a scout shirt. Well, it was quite a feat. I got the idea to use graham crakers to make individual patches, so we could have multiple chances to get one that looked good.Weblos, Bears, Wolves...Oh My!This is our finished attempt. Let's just say...I used a whole small container of blue gel for the frosting. Oh, and it turns anything it touches BLUE...fingers, lips, hands, hair...KIM

I feel like I have been busy, but mostly with mundane everyday stuff. I love serving in Young Women's and working with the Beehives. I now have 9 girls in my class, and will be getting several more in the next couple of months. I've also been going to the gym, and usually I have fun doing it. I have been doing a little sewing (as mentioned before), and reading the Leven Thumps series. It's pretty good, and Adam likes it too. I just finished #3 & started #4. Adam is on #2.

The only other interesting thing that stands out, is that I had to go to Traffic Court yesterday. I was driving & got pulled over for speeding. When all was said & done, I ended up with 3 tickets...speeding, no valid insurance (had the wrong card in my wallet), and invalid driver's license (driving on my AZ license). All worked out OK. I have another court date to fight the speeding ticket & the other 2 were dismissed. Whew...

BRYAN

Bryan has been pluggin' along trying to finishe the basement. He's making TONS of progress, and definitely come a long way since he started. Progress is sometimes slow, but he works down there several times a week & several hours on Saturdays.

Things are messy, but the work is coming along. I'll confess...I try NOT to go down there unless I HAVE to. There's just so musch dust EVERYWHERE.

The bathroom is drywalled & the tub is installed. We bought a sink/vanity & a mirror a long time ago, so they are just waiting for their time. We also got a toilet last weekend, so that's waiting too. First, we need to tile...the time is soon I'm sure.

This is the other end of the big-room. Not much left to drywall...the east wall...the dividing wall...closet...under the stairs (for another storage closet)...

As I mentioned, my complaint lately is all the drywall dust...This is how Bryan keeps from tracking it into the house...

Busy...busy...busy...Gotta get back to life!

Warm Arizona Christmas

2010-01-05T20:45:00.010-06:00

We had a great time in sunny, warm Arizona for Christmas. We stayed with Bryan's brother, Alan, and his family. It was nice to spend time with them, because I feel like we sometimes don't get to see them as much. At some point, we had to go to see Grandma's new "puppy". First, the back-story...My BIL (brother in law), while living at home, got a DOG. This dog is a bloodhound named Jackpot. Well, Jackpot stayed @ my MIL's house when her son's moved out. Jackpot is a full-grown blood hound & quite big. I guess the plan is to move him after my BIL puts grass in his backyard. In the meantime, my MIL decided that Jackpot was lonely & needed a friend...Enter Roxy, her "puppy". She really is still a puppy at only 4 months, but as you can see, she's already a good size - Especially for my scaredy-cat little girls. Allison, however, seems to be an animal lover. She loved seeing the dog, and was only concerned that Roxy wanted her candy cane. After meeting Roxy, some of the kids wanted to go out back to see Jackpot. Well, Allison was lingering near the door & Jackpot snatched her baby. Talk About DRAMA! Bryan had to pry the dog's mouth open to get it back, muddy & covered in drool. Poor Allison. Jackpot thought it was just another of "his" stuffed toys to play with.

This is Bucky who lives @ Alan's house. Poor thing...Allison just LOVED him too much. She hugged him. She kissed him. She jumped on him. I love this picture! I swear they both have the same one-eyed pirate smile.Another fun activity we did, was ROLLER SKATING! So Fun! Adam was not thrilled at the beginning, because he hasn't had much experience rollerskating. He was a good sport & kept trying.This was the first time for Amelia, Adelaide & Allison. Amelia & Adelaide loved it. Allison? Not so much.

Keech Family Picture

My SIL came up with the great idea of getting a bounce house for the kids. The kids had so much fun & it ended up being a great value. The guy brought it out & dropped it off on Christmas Eve morning. He was supposed to come later that evening to pick it up, but called & said he'd come the next day (on Christmas?). Well, he didn't come on Christmas and ended up leaving the bounce house until the day after Christmas. So, we got this thing for 2 whole days for our $85. So great!

The kids (and some of us Adults) had fun in the Moon Bounce.Can you tell he's humoring me??

Allison loved her Dora doll. She kept changing her clothes over & over. So cute!

Amelia was VERY excited about he fake nails. Beautiful!

Her Highness...Princess Adelaide -

Christmas morning - Allison seeing the dress-up dress from Santa.Before the AM festivities.We enjoyed playing Singstar @ Katy & Dustin's house. I had more fun than I thought I would doing Karaoke. Rock ON Bry!Allison wanted her turn too...well, she can pretend in-between performances.Griffin ADORES my girls, can you tell? He definitely misses his cousins. Poor guy got teary when it was time to say goodbye. We miss you guys too!

MAJOR Catch Up!

2009-12-30T20:30:00.011-06:00

Well, I've become a victim of my life again, and have gotten caught up in the day-to-day activities. Yup, I haven't updated the blog in OVER 2 Months! Too bad this doesn't mean we've been living an un-eventful life. Here is a page that I did using the halloween pics I took this year. Adam came up with his own ninja costume & I bought him some cool swords. I actually got ambitious this year & made the girls' costumes. I was looking at a pattern (for dress-up clothes), and the girls decided that they BOTH wanted to be Rapunzel. - Therefore, the Rapunzel Twins were born, at least that's what they started calling themselves. I love how they turned out. Cute!
For Thanksgiving, this year, we drove to Utah to spend the holiday with my parents & siblings. We had lots of fun with family. We took the kids to Temple Square. It was fun to see the girls point to the temple & know that they recognized it from pictures. I also loved spending the day wandering IKEA...I love that place. And, of course, we did some Black Friday shopping. What did we get?? Coats for the family...Yay!
What else? Hmm...oh, we met my new little niece. She's 1 & she hated me. No, really. She would choose ANYONE over me. It was sad, but actually pretty funny. My favorite was when I told my brother that I would feed her the bottle before bed. He made the bottle & tossed it to me. She looked at me, looked at her dad, looked back at me & BURST into tears. It was SO cute & pathetic. I DID finally win her over (on our last night). I had a sheet that I kept flipping up & over her & her brother. Even after I stopped, she brought me another sheet for the couch. After that she was fine. She is adorable. The other thing I thought was hysterical, was that she & her (almost 3) brother would wrestle with each other. She would tackle him & sit on him or he would push her over & tickle her. They both would giggle the whole time. Too CUTE!
The last couple of years, we've had our YW do secret santas for each other. Then we have a Christmas dinner & reveal our secret santas. This year, instead of doing a turkey dinner, we did something "cultural". One of our presidency, served her mission in Switzerland and suggested we have a Rachlette. It was so fun & yummy too. I enjoyed it so much, I borrowed one of her rachlettes & made some @ home with the family.OK, so basically it is potatoes with stuff on them. You take potatoes & put pineapple & bacon on them. Then, you melt cheese in the little pans & pour it over your potatoes. You eat, melt more cheese & eat some more. I was rather surprised at the response from the kids. Adam (who doesn't really like cheese well) tried all the different cheeses (swiss, pepper jack, colby-jack, cheddar) at least once. He actually said that he liked it too...WOW. Adelaide loved melting the cheese, but only ate pineapple, bacon and un-melted cheese.

Amelia LOVED everything. She was able to melt her own cheese & pour/scrape it out all by herself. She just kept going back for more over & over. SUCCESS!

Allison?? Well, she ate no potatoes...no bacon...no pineapple... She ate CHEESE...un-melted, of course. Cheesey Smile from a CHEESEY Girl!

The kids got to go see Santa @ State Farm again this year. They got some fun gifts from Santa & I got some cute pictures...even if Adam WAS a tad un-cooperative.

Gotta love this penguin!

How about this Elf?

Did I mention Adam was uncooperative??

I know I still have to post my pictures from Christmas, but that'll wait a little longer. Enjoy!

The Haunted Trail

2009-10-25T20:57:00.005-05:00

This year, we went to the Haunted Trail (a couple weeks ago).

There is a Nature (?) Trail that meanders through part of town. People walk, run & bike on this paved pathway. For Halloween, the town closes a portion so it can be decorated with displays & spooky things that transform it into the Haunted Trail. It is similar to going to a haunted house. The first weekend, they do a not-so-scary trail that is more kid/family friendly.
We parked & rode a little shuttle bus over to the festivities. Then, we had to WAIT in line. It wasn't too bad, but it's always hard for kids to wait.It was a little chilly. When we left, I think I underestimated how chilly. We were OK in our sweatshirts, but I was worried about the kids being cold. Next year, we wear the big coats.The kids were entertained for quite a while by the little "Tiger" behind us in line.
Finally, it was OUR turn. I carried Allison, while the other 2 girls held daddy's hand. Allison just stared wide-eyed at everything as I talked to her. Amelia CRIED! She kept talking about wanting to go back, but we could only go forward. Bryan said that Adelaide held his hand, then held onto his wrist with the other. Poor girl. Adam walked with us like it was no-big-deal (it wasn't - NONE of the ghouls jump out, grab you or follow you on kids' night). The best part was where Adam was walking backwards and turned around, just as he came up to a mummy standing beside it's sarcophagus. SO FUNNY! He was startled & jumped SO high. We finally came to the end, where they had hot cocoa & face painting. I think Adam drank 5 or 6 cups of cocoa. Crazy. The girls got their faces painted, which made them quickly forget their terrifying trail experience.The lady had some people helping her. They painted the "base", then the kids sat & waited their turns. It went REALLY quick. We even convinced Allison to get painted too.

Amelia Kitty

Adelaide ButterflyAllison Butterfly

My Tutu Two Year Old

2009-10-22T08:02:00.005-05:00

So, this year I made the girls costumes (an experiment to see if I could actually save money, rather than spending $60-75 for 3 Princess dresses). More pictures will be forthcoming as they have a chance to actually wear them. Anyway, I decided a while ago that Allison would be a ballerina. I figured, "How hard could it be to make a tutu?" Well, it didn't turn out quite as I envisioned, but with some trimming & adjustments, it DID turn out pretty cute.The only problem, now Allison won't take it off. If she sees it, she takes it & (even though she still has trouble putting on NORMAL clothes) puts it on. So...Today she is wearing a pink tutu over her clothes, even though it doesn't match & it's NOT Halloween. Whatever. I guess I should be glad that she wants to wear it.

Curly Shirley

2009-10-19T08:48:00.002-05:00

You would think that with 3 little girls, I would have LOTS of opportunities to do cute stuff with their hair. Well, more often than not, they are content with a simple headband or pony tail, sometimes 1 or 2. And occasionally, they will let me braid their hair.

Often, if I want to actually "style" their hair, I am in for a fight. One day, while rummaging through my bathroom cabinet, Amelia found the foam rollers & decided she wanted curls. Isn't she cute in her rollers & nightgown?Unfortunatey, it was rainy the next day so the curls didn't stay as long as they might have. But, her hair turned out super-cute.Very curly & bouncy. I think the bounce was her favorite part. My favorite was watching her walk, so her hair bounced as she went. Funny.Isn't she sweet?Yes, we can't forget Allison's attempt at the spotlight. She thought she was so funny blowing spit-bubbles.

...When September Ends

2009-10-04T20:12:00.008-05:00

Have you ever heard the Green Day song that goes "Wake me up, when September ends"? OK, well most of their stuff is un-listen-to-able because of the language, but I do like me a bit of Green Day.

Anywho...September is over ALREADY and now it's officially October. I don't feel like we DID much, but at the same time, I feel like I have been CONSTANTLY running here, there & EVERYWHERE. So, what have we been up to? Well, soccer season started just as September began, so we've been spending our fair-share (and then some) at practices (2X per week) and games on Saturday. It's a good thing I've decided that I like soccer. *smile*

Adam also received a ton of awards (some pins, some belt loops) at the Cub scout pack meeting. He was very excited. I guess I need to go get him the ribbon-thing to put the pins on & a cub scout belt to put the loops on. Add those to my to-do list. Also on my list lately has been exercise. Yeah, I know...who would've guessed? Well, I joined a local gym (that many of my friends frequent) and have been going at least 3X a week for the last 3 weeks. My plan is to go Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday while Adelaide is @ preschool. I meet a friend & it's been working very well so far. It's great to have someone checking up on, er...in with you. We've actually gone MORE than our 3X and even taken some classes. I like it so far & it gives me somewhere to go, rather than just wandering Walmart (saves me a little $$ too). What else??

For Labor Day (yeah, I haven't blogged in a while), we went to our ward's annual Labor Day picnic. The Elder's Quorum provides the hamburgers, hot dogs, buns & fixin's. Then, everyone pot luck's sides & desserts. It's usually pretty fun. The kids run around the playground, play with their friends & eat the foods (junk foods mostly) they love. I like it, because I can sit in the shade & chat with my friends. Aaah...it's a good thing. Allison loves chips. I'm not sure if she actually ate much of anything else...maybe part of her hot dog.Sometimes I wonder what kids think about. I mean, usually I DO know, because it's coming out of their mouth. But, Mia just looks very pensive.I LOVE this one of my little Adam. Notice the DOUBLE burger & the very simple 3-item meal. We wouldn't want to fill up on silly things like fruits & veggies, or (heaven forbid) some pasta salad.Some random pics of the kids getting ready for church one Sunday. Can you tell that he's saying DON'T take a picture of him?What's a camera for, if a mom can't take silly pics of her kids & post them on the blog? Speaking of that, it reminds me of something that happened yesterday. Adam has had a VERY MESSY room for a couple of weeks. He was finally told that he would be grounded until he got it cleaned up. Well, I don't know what it is about my kids, but they ALL throw tantrums when you talk about grounding. *insert frustrated sigh* Adam began whining & complaining (which usually irritates me even more), but I said to Adelaide, "Go get Mommy's camera. I'm going to take a picture of Adam crying & put it on my blog." No, I don't think I'd really do it (who wants to see that anyway), but for a minute it made him smile & almost laugh as he caught himself. He was still upset, but I think he got the point & cut-it-out.Aren't they sweet? I think they're in a funny stage lately. They (all 3) are fighting & bickering constantly. They fight over toys, books, food (I promise I feed them), where to sit, who gets to sit by dad, who gets to sit by mom (they like dad better), etc. Adam even gets in on the bickering more than you'd think that he would being 10, and they are only 5, 4 & 2. *breathe* Patience is a virtue...Allison's first Pop Rocks (I think). Hey! This candy feels funny.What could be more fun than Pop Rocks??
Preschool started up again. Adelaide is in the same preschool by herself this year. She was thrilled to learn that she has one big kid buddy that is the same, Lauren.Adelaide likes her new buddy Meg, but she's been on crutches for the last week+ after her foot-surgery. She sees her in class, but one of the other big kids have been bringing her out to the car after preschool.Another random shot of Allison. Crazy Allison. She's wearing MY socks & where did her shirt go?I finally got motivated & painted the downstairs bathroom. When we moved in, it was painted kind of a redish color with a metallic faux finish of some sort. It looked pretty copper in places. After living with it for about a year, I was ready to paint...which is when I picked the color & bought the paint. NOW, a year later, I was ready to scream if I had to live with it any longer. OK, maybe it's a bit apostate, but instead of watching the Saturday morning session of Conference, I was painting. I LOVE it. Bryan & I picked out new fixtures & even installed them. I was so impressed that we finished all of our project in one day. And now the pics.I bought this @ TJ Max to hang in the upstairs bathroom, but never did. It now has the perfect home in the weird little corner above the toilet.I love this little pice too. Can you believe I found it on clearance for $5? I thought of re-painting it, but I love the blue.

My fancy new faucet is so cool looking. I even got the towel holder & TP holder to match. I also found some cute blue towels & soap pump with butterflies, and I am very happy with the end result.Today, we had our friends over for lunch & spent the afternoon together. We loved having them over. We especially like their new little guy lately. Allison loved looking at him, touching his hand & giving him his binky. She even got to "hold" him. In reality, she sat on my lap & I held him in her lap. She sure thought she was BIG stuff.Well, let October begin...well...continue.

What Have I Been Doing??

2009-09-06T13:54:00.006-05:00

I feel like a total slacker lately. I just posted a bunch of stuff just a little bit ago, but it was all from August & summer in general. The good news is that we are settling into a new school year routine. And even though we have cub scouts, young women activities, soccer practice (games starting this Saturday), visiting teaching, playgroup and soon preschool, it really IS easier for me...Well, in a few ways. At the end of March, I was diagnosed as diabetic (mildly diabetic). They did some blood tests & sent me to the dietitian & the diabetic counselors to teach me how to control/test blood sugar and help with more healthy eating. I did REALLY well for a while, so when I went in to my Dr. in June (after 3 months), I had lost about 20 lbs. & my blood work was looking better than earlier. Well, after that...I pretty much fell "Off the Wagon". I went to AZ in June & did pretty...well...some good, some bad eating choices. But, it was vacation, so what-the-heck. I came home, but just couldn't seem to pull myself back on track. I have been eating horribly. I haven't been testing my blood sugar, or keeping track of my eating habits. I haven't really gained, but I'm not really satisfied with MAINTAINING. So, now that we have a more normal-ish routine, I need to re-commit to eating more healthy. I need to commit to tracking my sugar & counting my carbs like I should be doing. And yes, I need to EXERCISE. Ugh.

Anyway, now that I've purged my brain...I have been spending LOTS of time working on my 2009 photobook. Last year, I made a photobook & had one printed for me, my mom, Bryan's mom & his Grandma. They got them late for Christmas, even though I spent days making pages, so I could meet the deadline. This year, I have already started. These are just a couple of my faves so far.

This will be my front COVER - We took this impromptu family photo @ the St. Louis zoo this Summer.

Kids are hilarious sometimes.

I always seem to have lots of pictures of the girls & very few of Adam. Poor guy, I think it's mostly because he's not home & when he is, he'd rather take the pictures than be in them. Hmmm...I think I know how he feels.

These pics crack me up. I swear they fight with each other AS MUCH as they play with each other.

So Cute!

So, I'm hard at work creating & scrapping my memories. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out.

NASTY!!!

2009-09-04T16:29:00.004-05:00

Last week, I had to take Adelaide to the dentist. She did AWESOME at the dentist's office, especially for a 4 year old. Well, you know how it is when you're numbed up. - You cannot feel a thing. I told Adelaide multiple times to be careful...don't bite your lip...don't bit your tongue...Well, she did anyway. We went to Steak & Shake to get a milkshake, and I noticed her chewing. I asked if she had something in her mouth. NO! She was gnawing on her tongue. I told her to stop, but noticed that she continued. She would only stop after I blotted her tongue with a napkin to show her the blood. Poor thing. She had a HORRIBLE, ugly looking sore. These pictures were 2 days later & it looks NASTY.I was worried about infection, so I took Adelaide with me when I took Amelia to her dentist appt. The dentist said it was ugly, but unless she was running a fever, she'd most likely be fine. Well, she's pretty well healed now. I'm glad she can go back to eating what she wants & not complaining about the food hurting her tongue.

Brand New School Year

2009-09-04T16:03:00.007-05:00

This year, Mia started Kindergarten. She loves school (even after a couple weeks). She still has a hard time not feeling left-out if she knows that we (Adelaide, Allison & I) are doing something while she's at school, even if it's going to the doctor or visiting teaching.I love taking Back-to-School pictures. It's so fun to see how they grow & change from year to year. Sometimes, it happens without me realizing it.A RARE moment between these 2...Amelia only had school for 1 hour on the 1st day, AND they had to have a parent come with them. Mornings start with morning assembly in the gym, where the principal can motivate them & get them going in the morning. Isn't she cute?? She's such a big girl.We put away all her supplies & found Mia's seat. She couldn't wait to come back & start learning.Amelia's teacher seems very nice & excited to begin a new year. Hey, she teaches Kindergarten...She has to be perky & peppy, don't you think?Amelia has been VERY excited about riding the bus like a "Big Kid". We're trying a different stop this year, but it seems to work a lot better for us. Adam used to have to walk to the next street & down about 10 houses to the end. Now, they just walk up to the next street. They do have to cross the kind-of busy road, but they watch the driver & cross when she has stopped traffic.

Ward Carnival FUN

2009-08-31T15:36:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we had a ward carnival. It was tons of fun, especially for the kids. There was a moon-bounce, face painting, food & games. We had corndogs & sno-cones.
They were VERY smart to do only 1 flavor. - That way, you just make them & pass them out - no choices to make. Allison actually did very well, considering this was her very first sno-cone.Of course, there were also nachos. I love nachos!Adam had a boat-load of candy that he won playing games. He had a great time running around playing with his friends too.The face painting was fun! One of the young women painted Amelia's butterfly and Adelaide's heart. I ended up helping with the face-painting, because it was SO much FUN! I painted lots of stars, flowers & smileys, a couple of firetrucks, some rocket ships & even a snake or 2. Let's just say, Bryan painted his OWN face. He cracks me up.

Nauvoo Pageant

2009-08-20T13:42:00.001-05:00

I know it ended a LONG time ago, but we had a fun time this year at the Nauvoo Pageant. Bryan volunteered to help with security when our ward helped, so we made a day of it & took the whole family. It was pretty fun, even though the kids were convinced they would be bored & that they would have a horrible time. The gardens by the visitors' center were so beautiful that I HAD to take pictures of the kids. I love how they came out.

Adelaide

AllisonAmeliaAdam was a little more difficult...he didn't want his picture in front of the flowers. I think this is an acceptable compromise.All My Little MonstersAdam - Outside the Brick Yard. These kids will climb on anything.We brought a picnic dinner to have - Good 'ol PB & J. The girls had a great time with the Bugles - Dinner AND a Show.

Monkey SEE, Monkey DO.We staked out some seats for the show, but we had a little while before the pre-show activities started. I had some of those fruit roll up Stickers. The kids loved them, but why do they all stick them to their face?I think that Amelia put ALL of her fruit stickers on her face. She must have taken too long to eat them off, because she was left with a blue moustache.

We went over to watch people dance, but some lovely young women came & swept away my girls. They had a WONDERFUL time dancing! It was so fun watching them smile & giggle while they danced. It was great.

Adam wasn't thrilled about the dancing, but he liked using Dad's camcorder.Aren't they cute??After the dancing, Adam wanted to go play stick-ball. He even got a turn to pitch.Daddy missed a lot of the fun while he was doing security, but the kids & I had a great time.This picture is so funny to me. I just look at each little expression, and see their personality. We enjoyed the pageant, even though it was a very late evening. I'm glad we went.

Happy Birthday to...Me

2009-08-15T13:31:00.002-05:00

For my birthday, I got to go out on a date with my hubby.
We drove 45 minutes to Peoria, so we could go to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. It was very yummy.
We then drove back into town. We went to Best Buy & got a new microwave, then went to Chili's for dessert. I had one if those chocolate lava cakes...SO good. I had a great time, just hanging out with my guy. It was a nice birthday.

Does Your Microwave Giggle?

2009-08-14T21:20:00.006-05:00

Well, our microwave died last week. We finally bought a new one. It's nice & we got a pretty good price. We were driving home tonight & it was rattling & making LOTS of noise.

Adelaide says, "It's our microwave making that noise. - It's giggling & tinkling."

Classic...yet another Adelaide-ism to add to my collection. She's so funny.

Ba-BEE Shower

2009-08-02T21:20:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine helped me throw a baby shower for another dear friend, Syndy, who is expecting her 4th child. They've had some trouble (as many of us have), so this baby is a great blessing. Her family is in California, and mine is in AZ, so this may be one of the things that help bind us together. Anyway...She loves bees. She's terrified of getting stung by actual bees, but she collects pretty much anything with bees on it.

Long story short, I was not inspired by any of the baby shower decor @ the party store, so I went with a bee-theme...LOTS of yellow & black. I had lots of fun. We had lots of food, most I picked up from Sam's - bruschetta, mini-quiche, creme puffs, cheese & crackers, veggies, fruit & cupcakes. It was lots of fun to eat, visit & play a few games. For party favors, we made some very cute bees. I cut out the yellow felt, added black felt stripes, tulle wings & pipe cleaner antenae & stinger. I glued a clothespin & magnet on the back. I love how they turned out.My girls were so excited to see all the bees on our fridge. What do ya think?

Miss Jessie Would be so proud...

2009-08-02T20:24:00.005-05:00

I have a friend...Jessica. I know I've mentioned her before, probably many times. We were fortunate to spend some time with her & her family while we were in AZ in June. What I may not have mentioned, is that she is totally & completely OCD. When she gets upset, she gets down & takes a toothbrush to the kitchen floor. I have always teased her about being a "neat freak". We were quite a pair...her being a total clean nut (mostly her dad's doing, long story), and me kind of a sloppy joe. This last week, while planning for a baby shower, I did LOTS of cleaning & organizing. Aren't you proud Miss Jessica? The house was very clean. Well, for about 5 minutes until we lived in it. You know how it is. I did want to share some fun pics that I took this week.

The kids sit on the stools @ the counter. They are pretty sloppy, and drop lots of stuff sometimes. The floor gets quite sticky & dirty. I have been trying to find a way to make them more aware of the messes that they make. I made the girls scrub the floor. I gave Amelia & Adelaide warm, wet rags. Allison wanted to help too, so I got another.
Another project I accomplished, was my photo-wall. I got out all the family photos that I had in a folder and printed some others that were more recent from my files. I went to Walmart & bought a bunch of black frames.
Altogether, I think I ended up with 19-20 pictures on the wall. It was hard to get a picture, but I absolutely LOVE the finished look. I can't help but smile everytime I walk by. LOVE it!
One more thing we've done lately is go to the eye doctor. I needed an exam (because it's been a while) for new contacts & glasses, and Amelia needed an exam for her Kindergarten registration. Isn't she cute? She was so excited, and she was very good.

My New Toy

2009-07-23T22:09:00.005-05:00

My dear hubby bought me a new laptop...technically, it's a birthday gift (almost a month early). It's a nice little HP with a big hard drive.Now, maybe I can run my programs like I want to & do more digi-scrapping. It's running Vista, so that is something I have to get used to. I have to explore & find out where everything is & discover all it's other features. It has a built-in web cam, so there might be some skype action in the near future.

All Caught Up - Adelaide's Birthday Fun

2009-07-22T21:31:00.008-05:00

I think with this last post, I'm ALL caught up...at least with the blog anyway.

Adelaide had a good birthday. We missed Adam, but it was fun. We started the day by going to the Children's Museum with the Clarks. Isn't she a cutie?For dinner, Adelaide picked Los Potrillos.
They call it "the horsey place".
We enjoyed our chips & salsa with our Mexican food. Well, Adelaide enjoyed her fried mac & cheese and fries.After dinner, we went home for cake & presents.So Cute!
Adelaide was thrilled to get a hula hoop. She has really gotten VERY good at it to. I am surprised how much she ended up liking it.After the cake, daddy took us out to see Ice Age 3 at the theater. It was a little difficult with Allison wanting to climb up & down, but the girls had fun. Happy birthday! I can't believe she's 4!

Nail Polish!!

2009-07-22T21:21:00.006-05:00

Sometimes, I think why the heck did I let the kids (insert incident). Well, other times I figure that it can't hurt to let the girls do some things on their own. We were out, and I let the girls pick some nail polish. My initial plan was for ME to paint their nails, but the girls begged me to let them paint their nails themselves. They had a GREAT time.Amelia actually did a pretty good job on hers.Adelaide, on the other hand, needs a little more work on her fine-motor skills.She just kept painting. I think she had 4-5 coats of polish, when all was said & done.Aren't they beautiful??Yes, I did break out the remover & clean-up the edges. It's been a while though, and they're begging to paint them again. Ah, I don't know...maybe later.

Haircuts X 3

2009-07-22T21:04:00.006-05:00

Allison's hair needed to be cut. I was a bit sad, because her hair had curls at the bottom. But, the different lengths in her hair made it look shaggy. Well, my strategy was to have the other 2 girls sit & get their hair trimmed before making Allison get hers cut. Amelia sat very well. I guess Adelaide was too tall or short (not sure) sitting on the booster, so the lady sat on the floor & trimmed her hair. Weird. But, she was excellent also.This is what my baby's hair looked like before the haircut.She did REALLY good. She sat very still and cooperated very well. What a Big Girl!Here are our "AFTER" pictures. What great looking little girls.

Build-A-Bear

2009-07-22T20:24:00.007-05:00

One of the things we did this summer while Adam was away, was go to Build-A-Bear. It was a fun time for the girls. Amelia chose a pink teddy bear.Adelaide chose Hello Kitty.Allison chose a kitty too, but she was NOT HAPPY with this particular kitty. She didn't understand that we would have it stuffed. She was mad because I would not give her the one on the shelf for display.Amelia liked pressing the pedal to stuff her bear.Adelaide couldn't help but giggle with excitement.They got to put their heart into their friends.Allison picked her heart too.Allison needed a little coaxing, but she liked pressing the pedal too....and she liked putting in the heart.I think this is when she realized that THIS was her kitty.Allison likes her kitty now.After being stuffed, the girls had to clean their new friends. Scrub-a-dub.Allison's finished Kitty.Mia's finished TeddyAnd, of course, Adelaide and Hello Kitty as a Fairy Princess.After picking some outfits for their new friends, the girls named them. Bryan named Allison's kitty - Kitty. Amelia named her bear Amelia. And Adelaide named hers Sally (which is the new favorite name for EVERYTHING in my house).Daddy was such a good sport. I had lots of fun, but I know there are things that he would rather be doing. This day, I think he was number one in the lives of some little girls.It was SO cute to see the girls carry their boxes through the mall. They were SO excited.What a good day!

Combing Grandpa's Hair

2009-07-22T20:10:00.004-05:00

Bryan's dad, Dave, is funny. He is relatively quiet, but SO great with the grand kids. I don't know how it happened, but Mia was combing Grandpa's hair.Of course, Allison had to get in on the action.Amelia thought it was so funny to comb ALL of his hair forward. I love the look on his face."Look at my trick, Mommy!"Amelia had fun & I got some cute pictures, so she'll be able to remember having fun with her grandpa. We'll miss you guys!

Our Summer Mini-Trip

2009-07-22T18:50:00.010-05:00

I didn't get a chance to blog about the rest of our Road Trip. After all the trouble with the window, we did actually have a pretty fun time on our trip.

For example, the kids had a BLAST swimming in the pool @ our hotel. Even though it was indoor, it was WAY too cold for me. We all thought it was unique that the pool was on the 5th floor. Weird. I have been to hotels where the pool is in the basement, but usually it's on the 1st floor. Adam thought it was very cool. I swear this guy is part fish.We did go to the St. Louis Zoo, even though it was rainy. I was worried at first, but by the time we got through the entrance, it was pretty much done. However, it was a VERY sticky, yucky kind of day. It was something like 83, but with 88% humidity, it was still uncomfortable at times.One of the first stops was the bears.Adam & Adelaide - I really like the penguin exhibit in St. Louis. It's very cool. Grandma thought it was neat that they were so close.
My monkeys...Allison & Amelia - We really like the reptile & primate houses too.Monkey-say-CHEESE!Adam BEGGED all day long to let him use my camera. Usually, he zooms in & ends up with pictures of objects, rather than people. He did do a good job taking this one of me & Allison.We only brought the single stroller. Well, the big girls did more riding in it than Allison. Amelia & Adelaide fought over who's turn it was, who got a longer turn, etc. Give me a break. Oh well. I guess it was good though. Allison had the time of her little, independent life walking on her own. What a big girl!This is a giraffe foot. I love the look on Adam's face...At some point, daddy treated us all to ice cream. Mia & I had some dippin' dots. She was very impressed & LOVED them.Mia got to touch the cheetah skin. Cool.Grandma helped me out by taking a few photos for me. Some of them are pretty good. I almost can't decide which is best.
One of my faves @ the STL Zoo is the butterfly garden. It is SO beautiful. My girls are afraid of bugs (and cats, dogs, birds, worms, etc.- go figure). They were pretty good about the butterflies though. I made sure they knew NOT to touch, just look. They loved pointing out the pretty colors that they saw.I was experimenting with some of the settings on my camera & ended up with some awesome pictures. Here are a couple of my faves.I clicked this, because I thought it was so cute. Miss Mia is SO ready to start Kindergarten this year. She loved finding the pen & paper in the hotel rooms. She was "writing her note".After St. Louis, we drove down to Memphis. While he was with Grandma, she told Adam about Elvis. Adam became amazed at the things she told him. So, we decided it would be fun to go to Graceland.Grandma & Grandpa watched the girls while Bryan, Adam & I went on the tour. They listened to music at a Sirrius Radio kiosk & had ice cream. Apparently, the girls had a blast & didn't even realize that they were "left behind".The house & the grounds were beautiful, but I was surprised that the house wasn't bigger. I mean, it just seems small by today's standards.
We wore these headsets for an audio-tour. It was weird how quiet it actually was inside, because EVERYONE could control the volume, etc. of their own headphones.Gold Lame' - Very Cool. I really like this picture...I know it's just the lighting, but the boys both look like they're wearing shades of gold too.Of course, we saw Elvis' grave.I don't have a picture, but I got my Elvis T-Shirt too. I set out looking for one with a young, sexy Elvis. I found one. Whoo-Hoo!After going to Graceland, Grandma & Grandpa left to begin their drive back to Dallas. We decided to spend one more night in Memphis. The kids particularly liked this pool. It was an indoor/outdoor pool. Yup, part was outside, part was inside, and you could swim back & forth. The kids had a great time.Overall, even with our "bumps", our road trip was a success. We had a fun time with Bryan's parents and made some memories as a family. I'm looking forward to our next little trip. Hmmm...where should I go??

Adelaide-isms

2009-07-19T12:26:00.003-05:00

Just a few funnies, courtesy of my girl - Adelaide.

"Mom, does your salad have futons? I really like futons on salad."

"I don't want peanut butter and jelly...I want robin noodles."

Today, after walking in the door from church: "We're home - At Least!"