the days after...

My house is still a whirlwind from Christmas morning. Shea likes it that way, and I'm giving myself a break. Plus, we really haven't been home. My dad's sisters have been in town, and we've done everything from bless my aunt's baby to play TV Scene It. My aunt from CA has a 5 year old boy, Jonah, so my boys have been loving a new playmate. They are getting jealous though since Jonah is staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house and having "a billion million sleep overs." Cooper informed me last night that he wanted to stay at my mom's house "forever."
In other news, for those of you whom I haven't talked to, my dad gave us a sweet camera for Christmas. Ben and Adam wanted one, so we got one as well. Got to keep things fair! (I love my parents for that.) We need to go to a class to figure out how to work it with all the features, lenses, tricks, etc. Watch out, Jane and Shannon, I'm going to put your 1000 pictures in 6 days to the test. If only I could figure out how to work it. Hmmmm...
Christmas was fabulous. We have been loving spending time with family. There's nothing better than family and good homemade food. I'm still getting back in the mood to make dinner. I've had so much time off, I'm out of practice.
We have a viewing and funeral this weekend. The Ceran family, who lost their mother and two children in a car accident on Christmas Eve morning, is in our ward, so Shea has been at meetings and been on the phone helping them through this heart-breaking time during the week. I'm so grateful he can serve and that he does it with such a willing heart. He is a great example to me. I'm hugging my family a little closer this week....hope you are too.

Taylor Tribune

So, we're ready for Christmas! We finished our last minute shopping today. We had to find something for Brent--who is another hard to shop for person on our list. He wanted to go to lunch with us today to give the boys their presents. It seems like he is always shopping for the boys, and sends them presents in the mail quite often. He is good to them, and they really like him. He is very generous to say the least. Today they came away with a fire station play set, a construction play set, tiny magna doodles and a gamecube! We don't have any games for a gamecube, so that will have to be another expense for another day. Shea got a Carolina sweatshirt and t shirt. Lucy got a glow worm.

We have spent the evening getting ready to go to Vegas for the bowl game. Shea is very excited, and I am excited to go to the malls there. We are leaving early in the morning, taking the boys to Jerry and Candy's, and driving down with Lucy. Hopefully, our luck will hold from our last long drive at Thanksgiving and she'll sleep most of the way there. I've had to pack cold weather things in case it gets chilly during the game. Luckily my dad's motorhome will be in the parking lot if she and I need to warm up. My parents, Matt, Marc, Ben, Olivia, and Audrey will be there. Ben's going with Olivia's family, but she and Audrey said they'd leave the game early if the babies needed to go back to our rooms. Depending on the weather and the score, we might be shopping in the evening too!

I'm excited to eat at Cheesecake Factory, and Shea's looking forward to Buffalo Wild Wings. It will be a good break for us to spend a little time together during this hectic time! We can't wait until we get a real vacation to somewhere warm , tropical, and without the kids. We're on the countdown!

We get home Friday afternoon, have a Burr family party that night, Nutcracker Saturday, Hansen party Saturday night, and then it's Christmas Eve! I can't believe how quickly this season has gone--even though Thanksgiving was early!

Happy Birthday Cory

So, I haven't posted in a while due to busyness, grumpiness, laziness...so here are a few pictures of what we've been doing lately.

Happy birthday to Cory; I'm waiting to hear how Ruth's Chris was.

I'm still not writing anything due to reason #2 above. Maybe I'll post more later--if I feel like it.

Spon*tan*e*ous

I guess I can still have fun as a mom. With the kids. Without a husband.
Jane and I took 9 kids to Spaghetti Factory on a whim last night. Neither of us wanted to make dinner, although Jane had started but was easily persuaded to stop. We loaded up the cars and embarked on our adventure.
It was an adventure.
The food was great--when it finally arrived--except poor Brigham had to wait forever for his mac and cheese, only to hear that they ran out of cheese sauce, so he waited for that. Then the waiter came out and said they didn't have any more little noodles. How does a pasta restaurant run out of noodles? Jane's sage advice should have been considered, "under promise, over deliver." The ice cream helped a little, and 90 minutes later, we left well fed and without cleaning up our mess. I think that was the best part. No dishes.
Here's to another day. The Christmas cards are almost done. I have to run some Christmas errands, and maybe clean the kitchen. It needs a little attention.

Getting better

I think there should be a universal rule that moms don't get sick. Life is crazy/hectic/demanding enough when you feel good. But, I am feeling better today. I can actually breathe, so that's a bonus. Now, I just hope my kids stay healthy.

Shea leaves today for Seattle. He only has to be gone until tomorrow night, but it's still a big deal to us because it's rare that he ever has to travel. So, to all you supportive wives whose husbands travel--I am impressed. The only benefit out of the deal is that I won't have to make dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had cranberry orange glazed, bacon wrapped turkey with herbed angel hair, and sugar snap peas for dinner last night. It was so yummy! It was one of the best dream dinners ever. I love that place. Sunday night was parmesan crusted salmon with fresh green salad, wild rice, and lemon glazed poppyseed muffins. Another delicious dinner.

I just had to take a break to clean up the messiest blow-out in Lucy's history. It was a seven wet wipe, throw away the onesie, put her immediately in the tub, kind of problem. But, now we're better.

Today my goal is to get all the Christmas cards in the mail. I'm just hoping that they don't require extra postage. I ordered my photo prints online at Costco. It was fast, easy, and they were done in an hour! (I still haven't picked them up, but I figured I'd go today while the boys are at school.)

Have a happy day!

Christmas Blessings

Today I'm grateful for three beautiful kids who love each other.

After hours of holiday shopping as a family, we were eating lunch at Rumbi (oh man, it was good.) The kids had been so good for so long, and we were all happy to be eating. We had mostly finished and I was feeding Lucy some rice and beans. After her bites, she would start blowing raspberries with her tongue. The boys were laughing hysterically--you know, that laugh that they can't imitate. She would then start laughing at them laughing. Shea and I were laughing at the kids laughing. It was a sweet moment.

I am so thankful for the Savior and for my eternal family!

I'm dumb

Christmas 2005 photo
So, by clicking on the "compose" tab at the top of this page, I have a lot more blogging options. Maybe I should always blog early in the morning before my boys wake up! Duh.
Jane, now I can change text color, alignment, font, etc. Boy do I feel dumb.
I'm happy to report that I have finished a good part of my Christmas shopping. I have bought or know what I'm going to buy for most of my presents--with the exception of my mom who is the hardest person on this entire planet to shop for. Really, if there were a contest for that title, she would win. Any ideas would be appreciated!
This weekend followed by every weekend until after New Year's starts our partying. I look forward to all the parties and time spent with family and friends. It gets busy, but I love it!
Besides shopping, I still have to get our Christmas card picture taken. It would be much easier if I just decided to be in it to hold Lucy--but coordinating outfits for me and Shea sounds like almost as big of a nightmare as just taking the kids' picture.
Does anyone have good neighbor gift ideas? We have like 30 neighbors to remember. I'm putting your brains to work today! :) Now I expect some help from you organized, planned ahead, ready for Christmas people!
Have a great Thursday! My kids get to go to preschool! Yea!!!

Busy Monday

For those of you whom I haven't talked to in the last three days, Lucy is CRAWLING and her second tooth has come in. She is growing so fast! I love to watch her get around, although it just means she's heading for trouble. I didn't even have the tree up to motivate her, and she was moving. Needless to say, she doesn't spend any time around the tree alone.

The tree is up--it took us all afternoon/evening Saturday to get it picked out, lighted and decorated, but it looks awesome! Shea is right about the real tree thing. We have a lot of fun together lighting and decorating. Let's just call it our family tradition.

Sunday was busy as usual. Shea was at meetings/tithing settlement from 8 to 5 and then from 7:30 to 9:30. Long day! I got a new calling as a relief society instructor--prepare a lesson once a month--it will be a sweet calling! We had a family fast for my brother Cam who's been having a hard time lately in Japan. His companion is a retard and Cam has been having migranes every day. We then met at my parents' to close our fast and have a family dinner. That's what I look forward to on Sunday--visiting family.

Today was productive...laundry done, house cleaned, dinner made, out to lunch with Shea, visit Taylors, attempt to take Christmas card pictures (Jane--help!!!) eat dinner, FHE, birthday gift to Brooke, kids in bed, blog, bed! Here are some photos of my botched attempts. Cam's face depicts exactly how I felt. Lucy would not cooperate. We'll try again later, maybe earlier in the day.

Can't find pictures...Lucy crying...will try again later.

Wednesday night

So, I don't know about everyone else, but holiday decorating is not getting done around here. I do have all the boxes up from downstairs, and some of the easy stuff out, but that's it. The tree--for those of you who don't know, Shea is a real tree kind of guy. We can't have anything else. I can't even look in the general direction of the artificial trees at Costco without getting in trouble. His exact words were, "don't even think about it." So, since it's been snowing and freezing, we have no tree. We've got to get on it though and get one. That's my big hang-up. And, the village. I love it when it's out and glowing, but setting it up is a large, messy, frustrating undertaking.

I'm just a good complainer/procrastinator. Bottom line.

My boys are writing letters to Santa right now. Cooper wants a transformer, and Camden wants a tractor that he can ride--a real one that he can fit in. Good luck, Santa. I think they're just trying to think of cool toys--they really have no idea what they want. That makes it nice though. They'll be happy with whatever. They're such good boys.

This week has been nice. It's nice to be home, and thinking about the holiday season. I have the best intentions to get my shopping done early. I always do, but it never seems to happen. This year...

Tomorrow is a dr. appt for Lucy, poor baby. School for the boys. And tithing settlement.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great meal at the Hyatt today. It's not the same as homemade Thanksgiving dinner--but it was fun to have some new dishes. We enjoyed crab legs, shrimp, prime rib, pork loin, a yummy salad bar, assorted cheeses (Shea's personal favorite), and too many desserts to try. I had fruit cobbler, pumpkin pie, creme brulee, and strawberries dipped in the chocolate fountain. I passed up the caramel apples, cheesecake, chocolate cake, bread pudding, and others I didn't recognize. I also happily passed up oysters and pate. I've tried both before and didn't enjoy them--I'd rather save my calories for pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. There were three different kinds of mashed potatoes to choose from!

The hotel had a magician, a ballonist?, and a face-painter guy visiting the tables for the kids. The boys had fun--and enjoyed the day with their cousin Jonah. They are bowling right now with him, and Grandpa and Grandma. Shea, Lucy and I were ready to come back to our hotel. We have been enjoying our time with our family here--there have been lots of laughs!

Yesterday we took the kids to Sea World. It was fun to watch the boys watch the shows--they and Shea loved the Shamu show. I liked remembering the times I had visited as a kid. We had a fun day--but probably don't need to go back anytime in the next 20 years.

Tomorrow might be shopping--there are way too many great stores here. I hope the boys find something equally exciting to do. I'm not too worried. They could just drive around and comment on and drool over all the cool cars they see. Shea's favorite is the Porsche Carrera GT. But we've seen a few Lamborghinis, Lotuses, the Saleen S7, and Ben's sweet Freelander, and Adam's sick Yaris.

Jane, I don't know where you've been the last 3 days, but I took the food pictures for you. It's as good as I could get without looking ridiculous. I'm wishing I didn't take them now because I want to pick at leftovers and can't.

Safe in the OC

We're here! We left at 4:30 a.m. which ended up being the smartest move ever. Lucy either slept or ate her bottle until we got to Vegas. Only then did we get her out while we ate breakfast at IHOP. The boys watched almost four movies--and they were so good during the 11 hour drive. Getting to Vegas was easy--the last 4 hours to Newport seemed long because of traffic and construction. But, we're here. Crying was at a very surprising minimum, and the boys have already been in the pool.
Our hotel is amazing--thanks Mom and Dad. We're still waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. Mom, Dad, Matt, and Marc are on their way and should be here in a couple hours. Ben and Olivia and Audrey will stop in Vegas tonight and get here tomorrow morn. Adam and Ashley will get here late tomorrow night. She has a dr. appt. to find out what grandbaby #5 is! So, we'll know that tomorrow, and then they'll join us.
We're looking forward to swimming, shopping (well, at least I am), being with aunts/uncles/cousins, Thanksgiving at the Hyatt, and just not being home! We will miss our family there, though. But, here's to some new memories and maybe traditions!

A blog before we go...

So, Suday afternoon. Not my favorite, but we're getting by. My parents actually came and picked up Lucy and had her while we we went to church. Ours starts at 11; theirs starts at 2. I got to sit with just my boys and kind of enjoy sacrament meeting. Boy it seemed long though! I was missing her, and I was forced to listen.
After church, I hadn't made plans with my family about where/when to pick up Lucy, so I had to track her down at their church. The boys and I just sat in the foyer for a few minutes. Luckily, Matt came out and then he went to get Lucy for us. Now, we're home and getting ready to start packing. Shea wants to leave at like 4 a.m. so the kids will sleep for most of the drive. Early morning for the parents though!
I got released from my calling today. I've been pretty sad about it. All the rest of the old presidency got new callings except me. That doesn't help, but I'll just wait and see what happens. I've done my share of complaining to Shea--obviously he doesn't know how to help me. I think I'm paycho--a little bit. But I'm used to it.

Newport--get ready! I'm in serious need of a break from real life!

Lucy's Busath Photos--don't tell Candy yet! She's getting one for her birthday next week!

a 2 hour nap!

Yes, everyone. My sweet Lucy took a long nap this morning. I can't believe everything that I got done! I cleaned the main floor (minus mopping) and I totally cleaned the fridge, blinds, lights, etc. It was so nice! I got up and got ready first thing--I was going to meet Jane and Shannon, but was running 15 minutes late, so I didn't go. Sorry girls! I had good intentions, but then let my excuses get the better of me.

A BIG THANK YOU to Shannon for cutting Shea's hair. He is a hottie! It was so sweet of you to fit us into your busy schedule before you leave. We'll miss you! And the boys had so much fun on the go kart and scooter. You're awesome! They have such great aunts (and uncles--spoiled kids!

After the haircut, we came home only to leave again. I took the kids to my mom's and Shea and I went to dinner with my Grandma Burr for my birthday. It was nice to talk to her one-on-two and hear a few stories. We had a good dinner at Thai Village--it was really good this time, Shannon and Jane. I had the yellow curry. Shea had the lemon chicken, which he didn't like that well. My grandma had the best beef and noodle soup. We all tasted it. It was very good! But I wouldn't recommend the fried tofu.

Anyway, Shea's at a bishopric meeting, and I'm getting the kids to bed. Once that feat is accomplished--two loads of laundry are waiting to be folded. Yuck.

Biker Boys

I'm a slacker. That's it--plain and simple. I do stuff; I just forget to blog it. Or I'm too tired. Or Shea has already turned off the computer for the night, and I think it will take way too long to turn it on again. (30 seconds is too long in my mind, I guess.)

Yesterday was cleaning day. I got the upstairs bathrooms cleaned, then last night I noticed that the boys bathroom somehow got "uncleaned" if you know what I mean. Two 4-year-old boys does not equal clean toilets. Gross. Thank heavens for Lysol wipes.

Yesterday was also run errands day, do laundry day, and grocery shop day. And I made dinner. Chili with breadsticks and rootbeer floats for FHE. Yep. We had FHE. I guess I'm doing more than I realize--but still not blogging. I did email Cam in Japan, so that was good.

Today is more cleaning, reading with the boys, preschool, and a hair appt. for me. Yea! I love getting my hair done--I'm tempted to go dark--but I'm also a chicken. It'll just be a surprise! I'm also sick of long blonde hair everywhere, so I'm tempted to cut it, but I probably won't do that either.

Here are photos of the boys learning to ride their two-wheelers! They are getting so big!

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD TRIFLE

2 (14 oz.) packages gingerbread mix (I used only one spice cake mix)
1 (5.1 oz.) package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30 oz.) can pumpkin
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 tsp. ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12 oz.) container cool whip
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional (I used two crushed Heath candy bars)

Bake the gingerbread (cake) according to package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set adside to cool. Stir the pumpkin, sugar, and cardamom into pudding. Crumble half of gingerbread into the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of cool whip. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the top with crushed gingersnaps. Refrigerate overnight.

The boys went to school today. We then went to my parents' house to watch the BYU game. I wish it were more of a game--I only had to watch the first 8 minutes to know what was going to happen! Go cougars!

My mom wanted PF Chang's for dinner, so we all had take-out at her house. Yum!

A TWO car family!

Yea! After too many hours of researching, shopping, talking to salesmen, and looking, we bought a car last night. Cam and Coop were just as excited as I was. I think Shea would have gone home and thought about it for another week or two, but I'm a bad influence. I put a little pressure on him to make up his mind a little faster than he would have without me, (the salesman did a very good job meeting our requirements, I might add.) So, now I can go to the store while Shea is doing deliveries or other work stuff.
In other news, I voted yesterday, went to a RS meeting, but didn't cook dinner. Shea and I were starving by the time we got home at 8:30! So, I've been kind of a slacker.
Tonight Lucy and I are going with my "Jerusalem" girlfriends to dinner and to hang out. We usually go with our husbands, but whoever planned it, decided to have a girls' night. So, while I'm in SLC, Shea and the boys can go wherever they want! Knowing them, they'll head to Weinerschnitzel--mmmmmmmm my favorite!

Lucy's First Tooth!!! And Cam and Coop's First Book!

That's right! Lucy has a tooth on the bottom left of her little mouth! No wonder she's been loving the ice water lately! She will drink and drink from my cup until her shirt is dripping wet! She probably wouldn't stop then, and she only does because I make her.

Camden and Cooper each came home with their first book from school--Pam. They love to show me how they can read it! I can't believe how big they are getting. They only have to read the book 5 times before school on Tuesday, but they read it at least that many times to me today. They are so excited to be reading!

By the way, it is very hard to type with Lucy on my lap playing with the keyboard and grabbing for the mouse! Busy girl!

I cleaned the house today, took the kids to school, and went walking tonight.
Cam and Coop are still "Brigham and Boston."


Last night I finished "The Way We Were" by Princess Diana's former butler. It was kind of like reading a journal about his experiences with her. It was an interesting read. I really liked it, but then, I've always been kind of intrigued by Diana. Now I've got to finish "The Life of Pi" and "For One More Day." My book list just keeps growing!

The world of make-believe

Tonight Cam and Coop were pretending to be not themselves. Cooper would not answer to his own name--he wanted me to call him "Boston." Camden wouldn't answer to anything but "Brigham." I was instructed to answer to "Shannon"--but would have happily answered to any other of my wonderful sisters-in-law's names. Shea had to answer to "Todd." It's funny to think how their little minds came up with which one Shea and I should be that night. The choices for themselves must have been easy though! I'm so glad my boys love their cousins and aunts and uncles! They have the best!
I have tried twice to upload photos of Halloween and St. George--with no luck. I'll keep trying though. I've got some cute ones!

October Snow

The boys have been dying to go out and play in the snow. We finally have enough on the ground to make a splat! (That's "snowball" in Cam/Coop talk) We bought the boys new snow clothes last week, so they both have the same outfit that fits, and they don't have to fight each other for the one-piece outfit they wore last year. I'm glad we bought these so early!

For all you who are keeping track, we had the boys at the dentist at 9 AM today. We all had to go, since their appts. were at the same time, and they each wanted someone there to watch. They did so well. Shea asked the hygenist if she'd rather clean adults' or kids' teeth. She said usually adults, but if all kids were as good as Cam and Coop were, then she'd clean kids teeth all day long! Good job, boys. I love you!

Scary stuff, Jane. We'll be more aware! Thanks for the warning.

Costco

At our visit yesterday we bought the following:
The Innocent Man the new John Grisham book for Shea
the new Mitch Albom book for me (he wrote The Five People You Meet In Heaven
the Clay Aiken Christmas cd--yep, I'm a "claymate" and it's very good. I love it!
artichoke tapennade--comes with three yummy-sounding recipes. Maybe artichoke penne for dinner tonight. We'll see.

Oh, and we had our Christmas lights put up yesterday. We wanted to take advantage of the discount for having them done early...so don't make fun of us. At least we don't leave have them up when it's possible to get a suntan outside!

So far I've gotten the kids and myself showered and dressed and a load of laundry in the washer. I should be working, but I'd rather be blogging.....

Wednesday

I can't believe no one congratulated me on my limbo winnings. I was pretty impressed with myself. I guess that's all I have to worry about impressing--myself and Shea. He was proud, so that's rewarding.

I'll just stick to writing about dinner and my kids. Last night was soft tacos, and the night before was Grandma's chicken. So, two down, one more to go before vacation!

Today I'll be getting things ready for my departure--laundry caught up, house semi-cleaned (but not too much because there's no telling what I'll come home to), groceries stocked, errands run, bags packed.

I wanted to blog a picture of all the twins in my dad's family, so here's the most recent twin shot. Lauren and Lindsay are the oldest, then Matt (Marc was at work, but looks just like him, so use your imagination) then James and John, Cam and Coop, and Alex and Annie.

The Daily Uniforms

I can't get them out of these!

I am the LIMBO Queen!

Today Shea, since he was conducting Sacrament meeting, announced that our ward will be split next week. I really REALlY want to be home from St. George for our church, but I'll have to wait for a consensus from the rest of the girls. Kelly wants to be back as well, so we'll see.

Last night we went to a neighborhood/friends halloween party. It was at a cheer/tumbling gym right over the point of the mountain. We dressed up--in just what we had--and Shea won Best Male Costume! There were other good costumes, don't get me wrong. Shea just looked really good!
We played games, ate dinner, and had a lot of fun. Just for the record--I WON THE LIMBO! Yep. Out of 30+ people, I won. Hidden talents--we all have them.
Cam and Coop also had a halloween party yesterday. Their friend Kodiak had friends over for games, stories, cupcakes, a cake walk and just to have another reason to dress up. Kodiak's mom, my friend Debbie, decorated her house and the kids had a great time.
Shea watched the BYU game with Brett Hansen while I went with the boys to the party, dropped them off to Shea, and went to Heather Kelley's baby shower.

Friday was a pretty normal day. We did go to another late movie, "The Prestige," with Kelly. We took the boys to Nana and Papa's to sleep over and Lucy slept during the whole movie. The boys were asleep when they got to Taylors, so it was pretty much breakfast and cartoons again. They loved it! They helped Papa make snake and Mickey Mouse pancakes.


Thursday was Matt and Marc's final sophomore football game. Lone Peak played AF and beat the cavemen 28 to 20. It was really fun to see Marc and then a few plays later, Matt, intercept the ball since they play linebackers and usually just block. For all you more football oriented people, talk to Shea about the game. I just know they won, and it was fun to watch. Afterwards we went with my parents and Ben and Olivia to Chili's for dinner. Then I got to hurry off to a stake meeting.

I wrote this from most recent backwards in hopes that my pictures will correspond and I can get them where I want them. I'm still learning the quirks of blogging.

Surprise Pumpkins!

These cute pumpkins magically showed up on our doorstep last night! The boys were so excited--and I'm happy to not have to carve more pumpkins.

Pumpkin Carving

2004





2005

Here are pictures of our FHE with the Webbs last week. This makes 3 years of this tradition!

Lucy's 3 1/2 month pictures

These are the ones I had taken when my aunt Amanda was in town with her 2 week old baby. We spent the whole afternoon getting these taken--mostly because she's a new mom and thought her baby had to eat every time she fussed. Lucy and I were done way before we could actually be done, since Amanda drove. At least a few of these turned out!
The hat is goofy--I wasn't a fan when the photographer wanted Lucy to wear it, but I love the expression on her face! I had to buy one just for her book.

Busy Weekend!

Saturday night was our fun Halloween party. We do a murder mystery dinner every year with our friends (the girls I met in Jerusalem and their husbands.) We love hanging out with them--good food and good company. This year we had an Oriental-themed game. We had a good time figuring out who was to blame!
Sunday was our FHE. It was nice to have everyone over for dinner and a lesson. I love that we all live so close and can get together at least once a month. We see each other way more often, but these family home evening nights are special. Plus, I don't have to worry about every side dish for Sunday dinner.
Monday, we went to the Webbs for dinner and pumpkin carving. We have gotten together with them for three years now for this tradition. Our boys--and now Baby Lucy--love eating at each others' homes, and it's nice to have something fun to do! We love the Webb family--they are our great friends. After our dinner, Jenna and I, along with another friend, went running/walking. I ran close to 1 mile and walked 3! That is great for me...I just have to blog it so I know it really happened. I'm feeling it today!
Today has been cleaning day. I got the two upstairs bathrooms cleaned and myself showered (plus all three kids in the tub) and ready before preschool! I'm very impressed with myself. I also made the yummy gingersnaps from Jane's friend's blog. They are so good and really soft! Yum!
The rest of the week looks pretty slow--I hope!

Friday Night

Last night Shea and I went to see "The Guardian" with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. It was so good! We both loved it. It's kind of sad, but still a great show. We went to the late show and took Lucy with us. She was an angel and slept through the whole thing.
Camden and Cooper got to go to Nana and Papa's for dinner and a surprise sleepover! Since we weren't going to be home until late, and they were asleep even before we left to the movie, Nana offered to have them spend the night. They woke up and had a great morning watching cartoons, playing in Papa's big box, and eating Mickey Mouse pancakes! Thanks Nana and Papa! We love you!

FHE--last night

So, we were talking to the boys about prayer. Shea told them that they should pray if they are hurt or scared or lonely. We were talking about prayer stories in the Book of Mormon and things were going great. Camden looked at Shea and said, "Dad, when you tripped on your bike, did you say a prayer to make it better?" It was very cute. Shea had tripped over his bike in Todd and Jane's garage while he was loading computers in the car for a delivery. He got some sweet scrapes and a big nasty tire burn on his leg. He looks worse than when he actually falls riding the bike!
It was so sweet that the boys were so concerned about their dad.
This morning the boys still remembered our lesson. They told us that they had said their prayers when they were scared in the night--but they both still ended up in our bed! We're still working on that.
I went to see Lucy's blessing pictures today. They are so beautiful! I spent more on them than I should have, but I wanted a big one to hang up forever. Now I just have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for them to get done! Aaahhh. Shea doesn't understand that in the days of digital cameras and the Costco photo counter. He'll love it though.

Monday

I got Lucy's blessing picture taken on Friday! I was worried she wouldn't fit in her dress, but it was perfect! I go to see the proofs tomorrow, and from what I saw on the camera they will be so darling! She was very smiley and cute--we just had to keep her hands out of her mouth for most of the pics. That's what they do when they're 4 months old though.
She is asleep on the floor right next to the chair in the office right now. It's kind of sweet--since she was a little stinker last night. I think she got up 4 or 5 times. She was just really restless. She isn't the best sleeper, but she's very cute. I can't complain.
Cam and Coop slept over at their Grandma's last night. Grandpa was out of town, so Grandma needed some company. They watched "The Wild", fed the neighbors goats, took a bath, slept in their Spider Man sleeping bags from Costco (a favorite), and had real breakfast food for breakfast this time. At their last sleepover, they had Bug Juice and candy necklaces for breakfast, so this was an improvement. Grandma says she's not in charge of feeding them healthy foods, she's just in charge of loving them and making them happy--which she does very well. They are lucky boys to have so many people love them!
Now, we've started a new week. Work, meetings, hopefully a fun Halloween party on Saturday with my Jerusalem friends and their husbands, exercise, laundry, grocery store, bill paying, maybe some cleaning, preschool, and whatever else comes up.

Teaching Moments

So, I took advantage during lunch the other day to teach the boys something new--I thought.
I had cut up a huge peach and had given the boys several slices to eat with their sandwiches. They didn't remember them from before, so they told me that they didn't like peaches. I replied that they did like them; they liked all kinds of fruit. I then named a bunch of fruit--watermelon, apples, strawberries, bananas, oranges...After naming them, I told the boys that fruit grows on trees. Yeah, I know that not all fruit does, but that's beside the point. I named all the different kinds of fruit trees. I was so proud of how well the boys were listening and how much it looked like they were absorbing of my lesson. Until--after my lengthy speech, Cooper looked at me and said, "Mom, popcorn's not a fruit!"
I couldn't do anything but laugh. I love Primary songs!

Meanwhile, Lucy is getting around very well--unfortunately. She is better at rolling from her back to her tummy than the other way! That's new for me. The boys loved their tummies, so that roll came way before the other. I guess this baby girl's just got a mind of her own! She is also getting ready to sit up. She lays on her back and lifts her head as far as she can to see things around her. She is so funny!

For the record, I've made dinner FOUR days in a row. I cleaned my whole house. The laundry is in progress. My visiting teaching will be done after 2:00 today. And I've already exercised twice this week (and planning to go again tonight!)

RICE CEREAL

Lucy had her first taste of something other than bm yesterday. She loved it! I'm a little sad to see her growing so fast--and really sad that she's going to get more stinky as she starts to eat food. The boys couldn't believe that I fed her anything but milk, but they were excited. They watched me feed her every spoonful this morning.

I love to see how much Camden and Cooper love their baby sister. They take such good care of her, and they let me know when she's crying and I need to do something about it! They are the ones she gives her biggest smiles to and the ones who make her laugh the hardest. It is so precious to see them all interact, and it makes me so grateful that our loving Heavenly Father sent us these three beautiful children. I love them all so much!

Yesterday Lucy and I went to get my hair done, Cam and Coop went to school, and later Shea and I went to their back to school night. We had an hour long lecture on how to help them read--but it was given by a teacher who is perkier than Barney--and, to Shea, way more annoying. I'm glad she loves her job! Shea's glad she's not the boys' teacher! Anyway, I'm excited for Cam and Coop to start reading soon.

--Tried but failed to fix the red eye before Lucy was ready for lunch! Sorry.

Just another Manic Monday

except I don't wish it were Sunday. Sundays are not really relaxing, but I do love visiting our families every week. I love to sit around and chat about anything and everything with my family and my in-laws. I love to see my nieces and nephews and find out what's going on in their lives. So, although Sundays are hectic and stressful when I wake up, they are great and enjoyable after about 3:30 when Shea gets home.

Yesterday was baby Audrey's blessing. Ben gave her a beautiful blessing, and she looked so cute in "the dress." I did feel a little guilty though, since I still have to take Lucy to get her picture taken in it. I know if I let her grow out of it without a good photo I'll regret it. So, add that to my list. Baby Audrey is so darling--we love her!

Today was a good one. The boys woke up in good moods, and they played well together all day. Only 25 times did I have to tell them to be quiet while Lucy was asleep. Somehow, it seemed like they were trying harder to remember. They are good brothers, and they love their baby sister very much. Yesterday Cam was telling me about the raccoon he saw at Grandma's house. Ben asked him if he wanted the raccoon as a pet. Cam said he didn't because raccoons bite, and if a raccoon bit his baby sister, he would have to "just kill it, Mom. I wouldn't let it bite our baby!" I'm glad they're looking out for her. She will be so happy when she starts to date and she has Shea and the boys to satisfy with her choice of dates.

I made dinner (including Jane's snickerdoodle recipe), took dinner/dessert to a neighbor who just had a baby, went to Chrismom's party at Todd/Jane's (thanks again, guys!), went walking, and now I'm blogging! I do have to iron a white shirt for Shea to wear in a few hours to the temple still, but blogging sounded like more fun.

Reasons I'm looking forward to tomorrow--
--2 hours with just Lucy while the boys are in school
--it's not my day to blow dry my hair
--I might get to hang out with my sisters-in-law and shop/lunch/??

Reasons I'm not looking forward to tomorrow--
--Lucy has a doctor's appt. and will get shots
--RS meeting (which is fine, but sometimes they last too long and are depressing)
--Shea is at the temple until 11, so I'm alone with the kids until then (some mornings are good, others can get crazy)