A good man...

Honestly, I can only think of about 3 things that drives me nuts about my husband- other than those silly things, he's as good as they get. Honestly, he's pretty amazing. He makes dinner, folds laundry, changes poopy diapers, takes out the garbage, helps carry grocerys in, takes the kids out on Dad dates,plays with them at the Y, reads them bedtime stories, plays endless games of Monopoly, sings them songs & rocks them to sleep. Should I continue???
He & the kids already cleaned the church once this month and of course Trav signed up to do it again this morning (Granted, we were 30 minutes late and only cleaned for 20 minutes, but hey, we made it, right?)
What makes it even more sweet is that Saturday morning is his ONLY day to sleep in and he sacraficed 2 of those precious mornings to help out this month. What a guy! I just had to post how lucky I am to have one pretty awesome husband!

A slumber party in the living room...

The kids were thrilled to have a slumber party last night on the couch... I was thrilled they were asleep in 20 minutes!

Smart little girl...

When Willow cannot reach something, she will go and get 1 of 2 things: either my white garbage can, or the pink stool- she then uses it to stand on and then reach what ever she was too short for in the first place.
I've been noticing that Willow is really obedient too- honestly! I'll ask her to grab her boots- and she will. I'll ask her to get her toothbrush- she will. Her Elmo book- she does that too. I'll ask her if she needs to go potty and she will run down the hall, into the bathroom and put her potty seat on the toilet- kinda great for a 16 month old, I think!
So my ultimate favorite was a few days ago: I was mopping the kitchen floor really quickly and I bent over to pick up a spoon that had fallen. Willow was right there so I handed it to her and said,"Go put it in the sink." She ran off in the other direction, so I just shook my head & kept mopping. She came back a few seconds later, holding the pink stool, put it in front of the kitchen sink, climbed up and dropped the spoon in the sink! My heart literally melted right there. I scooped her up and praised her a 100 times, "Good girl!!!." It was so cute! What did I tell you...

So the picture of her with the stool by the back door is because the big kids were outside playing and she REALLY wanted to be out there with them- so she was standing on it trying to open the door. By the time i grabbed my camera, she had already given up hope)
The other picture is a random really morning shot!

The living room vent...

The other day Willow was having fun on the air vent. I thought her hair looked pretty cute! Grace had to join in the fun too!

Jayna, this is for you!!!

I have no idea what Grace does while she sleeps, but here is what her hair looked like this morning! Can anyone explain this???
( Jayna, I laughed when I watched the video of your girls, because it's the same thing over here! CRAZY HAIR!!!)

Cat poop at 7:45 AM

***Beware, serious rant post***

If you know me at all, you know there are a few things I CANNOT handle in life. The one I'm speaking of today is cats! I'm sorry if you are a fan, but I am DEFINATLY not- one reason is for the past 3 1/2 years the nieghborhood cats have used my front yard, side yard, 2 spots near my front door, my 2 garden boxes, the back yard, gravel in the front yard and gravel in the back yard TO POOP EVERYWHERE!!!!!! They are terrible! And I am beyond angry & frustrated!!!! They have ruined my garden and/or parts of it almost every year and it makes me SO sad. Their poop is endless & everywhere and it smells terrible and there is nothing worse than your kids stepping in cat poop while playing in the back yard! I don't have animals for a reason, yet I have scooped up, raked up, dug up & cleaned up more cat poop than I wish to comment on. Seriously, I'm getting an ulser over it! I am not a swearer. Honestly, I don't even think bad words in my head, but when I see fresh cat poop or have to deal with mounds of frozen poop- I want to scream bad words for the entire neighborhood to hear- so you know it's bad. With the slightly warmer weather lately, I have almost vomited every time I walked up to the front door because of the smell! Finally this morning I couldn't take it anymore, so at 7:45 AM, in my super hot red Bingo sweater and hotpink PJ bottoms, I went out and raked up a garbage bag full of dirt & poop. I think God will forgive me for thinking up 100 ways to kill the cats, don't you???
I didn't stop there, so I raked up another 4 bags of leaves too. Yes, I am the crazy neighborhood lady doing yard work at 8:00 in the morning!

Crazy weather...

What is going on with our weather lately? One minute it's snowing and the next the kids are riding their bikes outside! Hurry up Spring!!!

The heater vent...

There are a few places in the house that the kids fight over. They are:

Our bed.
The computer chair.
The bath tub.
The stool closet to the fridge.
...and the kitchen heater vent!
I swear I get at least 100 Marilyn Monroe flashbacks when the kids are standing there with their nightgowns flaring out and the hot air underneath them. Here's Grace in her favorite spot! ( I think if she actually wore winter jammies and not sleeveless silky ones, she would be fine, but that girl likes the least amount of clothes possible! )

Daisy & her friends...

Daisy has 2 friends, both named Matti (& Maddie). She was able to play with both of them last week and had lots of fun!***Yes, Daisy is teaching Matti how to meditate!

We sold the freezer...

Can I just say how much I love craigslist! I really do. I think it is a great recyclying program and it helps you make extra cash too! Our little stand up freezer just drove away to a family with 6 kids and now I have gas money for the week. Super!

Our love for Target...

I was going through Tristin's school work a few minutes ago when I found this paper. It made me laugh! You know you go to Target often when your 8 year old son writes a sentence about it in school! Had to laugh.

My conclusion...

I have concluded after our 20 minute walk to & from school this morning- that we WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED THE PIONEER TREK!!! Thats right, we would have been that super whinny family that couldn't walk more than 10 minutes without a melt down, or at least thats how it was this morning! (Granted the girls had been playing in the snow for awhile before we left and their gloves were already soaked through from the ice puddle they were playing in) but holy cow, after 15 minutes there were already tears and cries that they were "FREEZING" and more whinning than I could handle at 8:00 in the morning.
Winter time always makes me reflect on our amazing pioneers. What they went through is unreal and the pain of losing everything including their children is almost more than I can think about. I cannot comprehend what they suffered and then to actually have enough faith to keep moving is unbelieavable to me. It's the cold that makes me cringe at just the thought of what they endured. I am in complete awe and wonderment at those men & women who loved the Lord enough to travel hundreds of miles just to be able to serve the Lord and live in peace. They gave up everything for the temple because it was worth that much to them. They walked in the winter with their babies without the convient hot pink gloves, hats, coats and princess boots we had on this morning. It is truely amazing and such a testimony of sacrafice and love. I cannot imagine for 1 second what they endured or how many hearts were shattered and lives lost over what they encountered. I am beyond grateful to be living at this time and I am so thankful for my trials.

Snow!!!

Our walk to school...

My 1st yard sale of the season!!!

So, if you know me, you know that my life revolves around; YARD SALES!!!
and you also know that my life is in ruins during the winter because there are NONE TO BE FOUND. Seriously, it feels like a "mini death" because there is a greiving process: denial, depression, anger,& then finally acceptance. Honestly, it is a very sad time in my life- but that was cured for 5 minutes last weekend when, in Feburary, I went to my 1st YARD SALE OF THE SEASON!!! I almost wet my pants as we were driving to the Y to go swimming and saw the sign. So, on our way back, I forced Travis to stop and I scored this cute metal box for FREE! (yes, I know it is some sort of man tool box, but my girly eyes thought of craft stuff!) I offered the hairy man .50 for it, but he said, "Oh, honey you can have that." Well, alrighty then, thanks Mr! I brought it home, cleaned it up and slapped some vinyl on it and soon enough I'll find something to go inside it. Maybe my embroidery floss???
Oh, how yard sales make me come alive!!!

Family Fun Night....

Ive been really happy with the kids school- weve been blessed with great teachers, positive experiences, great reports and kids who are ahead of schedule! Ive also LOVED what they have started doing this year- holding a Family Fun Night! (every month or every other month!) It's a great hour of fun activities at the school and we all attend! last night was the Jumprope for Heart/ Healthy Living night- so the kids went around to all the stations and learned about: the food pyrimid, keeping their heart healthy, stroke prevention, brushing their teeth, physical activities & a reading table. They collected free toothbrushes, sctickers, bookmarks, coloring books, healthy snacks, hats & frisbees! (Trav & I had an Office moment while we were there too! I couldn't help but call out: "S.W.A.G" while the kids were collecting their loot. (Stuff. We. All. Get.) remember the eposide where Micheal & Dwight go to the work convention and get all the free stuff? Yeah, we are cool, I know!) Anyway- the kids had a lot of fun! (Sorry Jana, it always falls on Scout night!)

Random-ness...

Here are a few random pictures of the girls the past week...

*Daisy & grace having a picnic-OUTSIDE!
*Grace & daisy showing off their puzzle.
*Willow & her wild ponytails
*Grace's Cabbage Patch sleeping on my night stand (of course I was told NOT to move her. But really, who wants a giant doll sleeping next to their head? A little too close for comfort- I had to move her to the ground!)

My sweet, sweet Evonne...

I met Evonne years ago when we lived in Boise. We were in the same ward at church and we lived across the street from each other. Awhile after, she discovered that I cleaned houses for a living and was needing some help, so she hired me. Little did I know that I would grow to love her like a Grandma. I used to take her grocery shopping, out to lunch, to the bank to cash checks, wrap christmas presents and write her holiday cards. We have sat and watched Jeporady, Wheel of Fortune, the news, ate candy together, de junked her craft room and had countless talks over the past 8 years about everything their is to talk about. (Seriously, we've covered every topic out there from birth control to gun control!)
The beautiful thing about our friendship is that we truely care and love one another. I am so excited to show her pictures from a recent trip, or vent about something,get her advice or tell her a funny joke- while she is happy to have a friend to talk to,a clean home, and have someone open her water bottles and put them back in the fridge for her. (she was born with 1 hand, so twisting caps off is kind of difficult to do. Every time I'm there, I un twist 4 or 5 bottles for her. One of my most favorite things to do.)All I can say is I love this woman with all my heart, so when she fell last week and broke her hip, a part of my heart shattered. I spent days talking to her son getting updates and then last Tuesday the girls and i went to see her at the hospital but were unable to go in. she had just been moved to the ICC and children were not allowed. We were so sad but were able to give our paper flowers, drawings and treats to her Grand daughter who was there visiting her. We finally went to see her yesterday at the new hospital she is at. It felt so great to see her, to talk with her and to tell her how much I love her. Of course she was so mad at herself for falling and she hated being in the hospital (she's been so independant and living on her own all these years.) i told her to hurry up and get walking so we could go have our lemon pie at Marie Calendars (something we were planning on until Tristin came down with Strep & Scarlet fever. Something I am so sad we haven't done yet.) She is hopeful she will return home and I am unsure if that will actually happen. I know what the reality is when someone is 93 with an injury, I know because I have found myself crying and unable to sleep at 3:00 in the morning because of it. I am not sure how much time we have left with her, but I do know that she is a fighter and if that plays into anything- she will be ok. I love my sweet friend with all my heart and it was so great to see her. As we were driving home Grace asked, "Mommy, why is Evonne so crinkley?" In my heart I answered, because she is 93, sweety, and she has lived a very long time...