The Harry Herald

Christmas Casualties

2011-12-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is always busy and things get kind of crazy sometimes. The kids have been staying up too late at parties and other things that are going on. On the way home from the store the other day Amelia found some stickers that one of the other kids had left in the car. She entertained herself with them and then passed out. When I got home I turned around and this is what I saw.

The ward Christmas party was Saturday night. The kids were excited for time to play with their friends that they usually only see on Sundays and were chasing each other around. George and one of the other little boys crashed and George ended up with quite the eye/cheek injury. We had several nurses in attendance that checked him out and declared him sound. A really cool black eye was his present for the night.

This is his eye today-3 days after the fact.

Sunday Morning Conversations

2011-12-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

My kids are constantly surprising me with the little tidbits of knowledge they acquire. I haven't quite got over the days when I taught them everything they knew. Now that they are older and reading and going to school, they are constantly teaching me new things in interesting ways. This morning was a great example.

It being Sunday and fast Sunday at that, I was lazily resting in bed when George came in and climbed up on the bed next to me. He was breathing funny-panting. This is how the conversation went.

Me: What are you, a dog?
George: No, I'm a lungfish.
Me: A what?
George: A lungfish. I'm a fish that breaths air, and then when the dry season comes and the water dries up I encase my body in mucus and go to sleep until the rainy season. See (pulling the covers up around himself) I'm encasing my body in mucus.
Me: (laughing) That's disgusting!
George: No it's not, mom, I'm just pretending. I'm not really going to cover my body with snot.

See, you learn something new every day!

Halloween

2011-11-01T18:10:00.001-07:00

Okay grandparents, these are for you. Here they are...

Here's cute Amelia as a kitty cat. We had a hard time getting her to say thank you at the doors, but once in awhile she would meow.

Isaac the pirate. Need I say more? The kid is obsessed. I should post a picture of the gigantic flag over his bed.

Ella...with a smile? She really was very cute.

George the Knight. He made his own costume. Dressing up has always been way more important than getting candy to this kid.

CARVING PUMPKINS

Arrrrrgh!

2011-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Following in the footsteps of her older siblings, this little pirate loves to dress up! Today in preschool we were talking about the letter X, so we read books about pirates and I sent the little pirates on a treasure hunt. Pretty soon, little Amelia brought me a bandanna and patted her head to show me that she wanted to dress up too. I think she stayed "in character" longer than any of the preschoolers.

I have to admit that I loved dressing up as a youngster myself. My friends and I played out some pretty good stories while wearing my mom's old dresses, paper cup beards, or what have you, and I've got some awesomely embarrassing pictures to remember the good times by!

Easter

2011-04-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

Easter was lots of fun this year! We had an egg hunt on Friday with some friends, we dyed Easter Eggs, the bunny made a visit on Saturday, and Sunday we focused on the REAL meaning of Easter. I think the kids had a great weekend! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, as usual. But thanks to Benji we have this one picture of the girls in their Easter dresses. Happy Easter everyone!

Presenting...

2011-04-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

The new Ella! We picked up her glasses yesterday and so far she is doing really well with them. They told us that they might give her headaches at first but that she would adjust. So far the only problem we've had has been with car sickness. She does better if she takes them off. Isn't she a cutie?And while we have your attention we'll throw a few more pictures at you. Next you will see the castle. We hope the castle will provide many hours of summer entertainment at our house. Yay!
And finally I had to post this picture of Amelia. She found these q-tips and came to show me how proud she was of herself. I am aware that you are not supposed to use q-tips in your ears, but obviously she has witnessed our breakage of this rule a time or two. Benji has dubbed the look "Airplane Ears."

The Eye of the Beholder

2011-04-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Until very recently this was the wallpaper that graced our bathroom wall. A couple of days ago I suddenly decided I couldn't take it anymore and started peeling it off the wall. About 10 minutes into the process Ella wandered in. She stood rooted to the spot for about 5 seconds and then burst into tears.

Me: Ella what's wrong?
Ella: What are you doing?!
Me: Taking down this wallpaper.
Ella: Why?
Me: Uuuum...Mommy thinks it's kind of ugly.
Ella: But it's pretty to me!
Me: Well, it's really old and we're going to make it look really pretty in here.
Ella: (shouting and sobbing) You need to tape it back up right now or I'll never be happy again!!

She still gets sad every time she walks in the bathroom.

Temple Trip

2011-02-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am taking my first temple trip since Amelia was born! With the temple an hour and a half away I found it difficult to make the trip when I had a nursing baby. And then, well, I let other things take top billing. Thanks to my wonderful husband my priorities are back in line and I find myself filled with a kind of nervous excitement. Nervous because it involves driving into DC alone (my sense of direction is terrible) and excited because I have needed this for a long time!

Tuff Girl

2011-02-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

Amelia has recently taken to wearing these super hero arm bands. I don't really know how she knows what they are or how to wear them...apparently it's inborn. She even has the face to match the part. She is a little super hero, though, holding her own against the many crazy plots of her older brothers and sister.

Baptism

2011-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

George was baptized on Saturday! It was a wonderful occasion and we are so proud of George for making this decision. He was very excited and it was so fun!

It was also great to have Nana and Grandma and Grandpa in town for the big day. Thank you for the love and support!

We love you George!

George

2011-01-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that our little George is getting soooooo big! He's turning 8 next week and we are very proud of the young man he is becoming. In honor of his 8th birthday we took him to JCPenney and had his picture taken. Here are some of the results...(Isn't he a handsome guy?)

Halloween (a little late)

2010-11-10T09:32:00.001-08:00

I keep thinking that one of these days I'm going to pull myself together and get organized, but I think that would necessitate a complete personality overhaul. I am what I am, I guess. Although, the many sleepless nights may be contributing to the mental lapses. That being said...here is Halloween! The kids were super excited to dress up! Unfortunately, with Halloween being on a Sunday they didn't get to do regular trick or treating. However, the ward had a trunk or treat and everyone was really generous. The kids got plenty of candy and I don't think they felt deprived at all!Ella as Snow White

Isaac as a Wizard

George as a warrior of some sort

Crazy Nightmare

2010-08-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's funny how our brains connect things when we are sleeping and how real they can seem. I have a few nightmares that happen over and over again that I have a hard time shaking even after I'm awake. The other night Ella had a nightmare. It was the first time I have ever seen her freaked out like that. When I asked her about it the next day this is what she told me:

"Mom, do you remember the Zoramites in the scriptures? (Yes, I said) In my dreams they had a dragon, and they made the dragon blow fire on our house. So, our house was on fire and you and daddy were outside and the boys were out on the porch and I was stuck in the house with the fire. (At this point I asked her if she was scared and whether or not she got out of the house.) The boys opened the door for me so I could get out because it was too heavy for me."

This dream was so real to her that it took me an hour to get her back to sleep and when she came down the stairs the next morning she looked around the living room and said, "You were right, mom, there was no fire."

10 Months

2010-08-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have been very bad about posting lately. The summer has been super crazy as expected. We have had lots of fun going on outings to the National Park and Washington DC. We have also done some home repairs! We got a new dining set and when Ben's mom was out we painted the living/dining area, and then my dad came to visit and helped us install a dishwasher and stove/oven. It's so fun to see out house taking shape and becoming ours!

Of course the best part of the summer has been my kids! Especially watching Amelia grow. She is now 10 months old. See how cute she is...

Initiation

2010-05-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Amelia was officially initiated into the summer kids' club today with the consumption of her first Popsicle. She thought it was very yummy and didn't seem to mind the cold at all. It's funny how you can just see these little ones feeling so big!

Tee Ball

2010-04-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

I love Tee Ball. The kids are so fun to watch. I laugh and laugh. Their enthusiasm is so contagious! I only got to see the last inning of Isaac's game today, but the highlight was when the litttle guy who was running from 1st to 2nd stopped on his way to field the ball his teammate just hit. He picked it up and threw it all the way to home plate in an attempt to get his other teammate out, and then continued on to 2nd as usual. All the while MY son, who SHOULD have been the one to field the ball, stood in his "down and ready" position like a statue. In fact, I don't think he moved the entire time he was in the outfield. I can't wait until Thursday!

Tickle Beard

2010-03-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have to post this picture for a number of reasons:

#1- This picture shows Benji with what the kids call his "Tickle Beard." He shaved it off a couple of days ago in honor of springtime and Amelia has been looking at him a little sideways ever since. (Who is that man that sounds like my dad?)

#2- It shows the head injury Iyah sustained when he fell out of the tree. According to him he scraped it on a branch on the way down.

#3- It shows our new trampoline! Thanks grandma and grandpa, great grandma and grandpa, and grandma and grandpa great!

What a cute bunch!

School Rules

2010-03-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, I just had the weirdest phone call from George's teacher. She called to inform me that at lunch today another little boy took a bite out of the half of George's sandwich that he wasn't eating at the time. She told me that she offered to buy George something from the lunch line to make up for it and then informed me that the little boy had been punished by sitting out both recess and gym. What? Overkill, I say. She assured me that she would offer him a snack this afternoon since he refused the lunch line offer and just wanted to give me a heads up so I wasn't concerned when he came home talking about it. I wanted to laugh. I told her not to worry about George-he brings his lunch home half eaten all the time. If he ever came home whining about something like that I'd tell him to share-maybe the kid is hungry, or maybe I make awesomely tempting sandwiches (that must be it). Anyway, I felt sorry for the little guy having to miss his recess and gym. It's one thing if it's an instance of bullying, but this was a one time deal. I feel like people have a tendency to over-react sometimes. Weird.

Surviving Summer

2010-03-22T06:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I wasn't very tricky. The top one was Ella and the bottom picture was Amelia. They're sure cute! I haven't updated the blog in awhile because we were sick, sick, sick, and then the weather turned super nice and we've been spending a lot of time outside. And now I'm starting to wonder if we are going to survive the summer in one piece. Seriously, little boys are maniacs! For example, just this week I had one fall out of a tree, one get a rope burn, one throw a brick at the other, one almost get hit by a car, and I could go on and on. We also put up the trampoline. Smart move...maybe not, but it sure uses up a lot of energy! Those emergency room people will probably get to know us really well. ;) Summer here we come.

Who's the Baby?

2010-03-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I like to look back at old pictures and look for resemblances between our children. Then I like to quiz people and see if they can tell which kid it is. So now I'm taking it to to the web and asking you. Which one is Ella and which one is Amelia? Can you tell them apart?

Birthday Boy

2010-03-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

Little Isaac

So I am super late with this post, but I need to wish this guy a super happy birthday! I can't believe he is already 5 years old and that he will be starting kindergarten this year. It's going to be hard having him gone all day! He is such a kind-hearted little guy. We love you Iyah! Happy 5th!

Big Isaac

Scripture Stories

2010-02-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I went upstairs to check on what the kids were doing-they were being very quiet. When I paused outside the door to listen I heard Isaac telling the story of Jonah and the Whale to Ella. Some memorable lines:

Isaac: "He was trying to run away from Heavenly Father. That's bad huh?"

Ella: "Then he got stuck out in the ocean?"
Isaac: "No, the people threw him out of the boat!"

Isaac: "And then he decided to be good and the whale spit him out."

It's so great to know that things are sinking in and that these kids are understanding some of the things that we talk about and then they share it and teach others. My testimony grew today hearing his.

or not...

2010-02-15T17:09:00.001-08:00

...back to the grind. They just called another snow day. Sigh...

Another Snow Day

2010-02-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

Yet another snow day was called today. Luckily Benji had the day off from work, so he decided to take the kids sledding. It was a drenching snow, but the kids had a blast! Back to the grind tomorrow...

Birthday

2010-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to this big guy! George turned 7 on Friday. It's hard to believe that he's this old already. However, it's fun to see him growing and learning and turning into a wonderful boy! We are so proud of him. Love you George!

As many of you are aware, George had a great love for the sea and all of it's creatures, especially those of the weird varieties. When we lived in CA and used to visit the aquarium we spent vast amounts of time in the jelly fish room. He has checked out just about every book in 3 states having to do with creatures of the deep and can recite numerous facts about monsters such as giant squid, angler fish, gulper eels, viper fish, etc. So, for his birthday we decorated our house with streamers (seaweed) and balloons (fish) to make an underwater world. I also made an angler fish cake. He was very pleased when he came home from school to our handy-work.

Sisters

2010-01-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

PJ Princesses

Every time I see my cute girls together I want to sing that song from White Christmas,

Sisters...Sisters...
There were never such devoted sisters

Venting

2010-01-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

I just need to vent a little bit and I don't have any friends or family here that I feel comfortable venting to. So, all you who happen to read this blog today get to hear it instead. Lucky you!

It's about the elementary school here. I don't think I've met with more rude people or ridiculous policies in all of my life! I won't even go into the whole registration process right now, I just need to talk about the latest...We want to volunteer in George's class one hour a week. Yesterday I was informed by his teacher that in order to do that we need to fill out a "Volunteer Application Form" in the front office. So yesterday I haul all of the kids over to the office and pick up a form-which is 3 pages long and requires 3 character references that I've known for over 2 years and that are NOT family, and a possible background check. Huh? I was then informed that if I want to go on any field trips I have to be fingerprinted. What?! She then told me to make sure that my references can be reached during school hours because they only call during school hours and if they can't reach all of them I don't get approved. I've applied for jobs that don't require as much. I'm not even going to be left alone with any kids. Seriously.

Then today when I dropped George off at school he forgot his library book. So I found a place to park and hauled all of the other kids out of the car and into the school to take it to him. As I'm walking down the hall this "hall monitor" (in a very rude voice) says, "If you are going to walk down this hall you need a visitors pass." I said, "Oh, I didn't think I needed one before school had started." She said (again rudely), "Yes, you do." Maybe we've just always lived in small enough towns until now that the people at school always knew who my kid was and who I was. In our old schools parents walked their kids to their classrooms all the time. It was only when school was actually in session that you needed to check in at the office.

So, my question is. Are these things normal? Am I getting bent out of shape over normal policies here? I would love some feedback. Although, I have to say that I probably wouldn't be as annoyed if these people were nice once in awhile.

3 Months

2010-01-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's already been three months. Amelia is growing so big and cute! She is laughing and talking and playing with her toys and her brothers and sister. She really is a joy. We love her so much!!

Christmas Time

2009-12-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last night we decorated our graham cracker "gingerbread houses." Much fun was had by all. The kids did a great job of doing it all by themselves and it is always fun to see their personalities come out in their decorating. My favorite was Benji's stable, complete with baby Jesus. We also attended a fun cookie exchange with some friends from the ward. Thank you Piersons for being great hosts!

Before I sign off, a funny conversation...

George: Mom, I have a good idea!

Mom: What? (up to my elbows is soapy dishwater)

George: Ella wants to be a princess when she grows up, and since you don't have a job and all you do is take care of us, maybe when we get all grown up you can be her servant!

Mom: (laughing) Well.................only if she pays me lots and lots of money.

I just about passed out. What am I teaching these kids about moms? I need to rethink my parenting here. Too funny! Really though, George is a sweetie and a good helper.

Snow!

2009-12-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

George buried up to his neck!

We survived the big storm, but right now we're feeling a bit taken. I mean, we live in VA now. We're not supposed to get this much snow, right? That was one of the perks of moving to this place! I have to admit, though, that I'm glad that our first Christmas here will be a white one. And it was kind of funny going to Walmart Friday night and seeing everyone panic. It was nuts! It was like people thought the world was going to end.

Daddy and Ella shoveling the driveway

George had his last day of school on Friday. This is a picture of him with his darling teacher. He just loves her and she has made such a difference with him this year. We are really sad that he has to switch schools and are praying that he gets another wonderful teacher.

George and Mrs. Dickey on PJ day

Look at this big girl! None of my other kids were this strong at 2 1/2 months. During tummy time they just laid there with their face in the carpet like little beached whales. But this girl is strong, I tell you! She even reaches for toys. What a cutie pie!

7 Weeks

2009-11-22T12:29:00.001-08:00

I can hardly believe it has been 7 weeks since this little one was born. She is such a fun little thing. And happy (most of the time) as you can see from this picture. I know it's not a great picture, very dark, but she's smiling and that's hard to catch! Also, like her brothers and sister before her, she is starting to really chunck up. Just look at those cheeks!

I'm trying to get my act together to actually send Christmas cards this year. So, if you would like a Christmas card and think I may need your address, please e-mail it to me. Maybe you should e-mail it to me even if you think I have it. If you know me at all, the fact that I've probably lost your address will come as no surprise. If you want your name removed from the Christmas card list you can e-mail those requests as well. :)

Oh! By the way. We bought a house and moved again! We're nuts, I know.

She's here!!!

2009-10-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Amelia Jane Harry arrived on Friday October 2 at 6:46pm. She weighed 7lb 10oz and was
20 1/2 inches long. We are so excited to finally have her here! The labor went well and I was able to do it without pain meds-which was my goal. I'm a little bit tardy in my posting because we have spent the last few days running back and forth to the doctors trying to monitor her jaundice. However, today her levels stayed steady so hopefully we're reaching the end of our worries. Yeah!
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get a decent picture of a newborn? They are so wiggly and pull the oddest faces. She really is just a cutie pie. We all adore her to death.

Online Again

2009-09-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

We're finally back online after the move! It took awhile to get ourselves together but I must say I am very excited to re-join the real world.

We are getting to know our new surroundings and so far really like VA! George is really liking his new school. Ella turned 3 and we only have 4 weeks until our new little one arrives. Whew!

I'm sorry I'm not posting any pictures. It will have to wait for another day, I'm afraid. Bye!

Criminal Confessions

2009-07-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

We had quite the adventure this morning. Here's how it played out...

I was heading out to the doctor's office to give them my request for records transfer form. It had taken us a million years to get out the door because the kids didn't really want to go. Finally I ushered the last little body out the door and closed it tight...only to realize that I didn't have my keys! We were locked out. Normally we keep a spare hidden in the barn, but with putting the house up for sale and such we had moved it. I did a quick look around the outside of the house and was assured that all of my paranoid precautions taken to ensure our safety while Benji was away were in full force. All of the doors and windows were locked tight with the exception of one of the boys' bedroom windows on the second floor. What to do? I had no cell phone and I knocked on the neighbor's doors and no one was home. I could high tail it down to the library and call a lock smith (expensive)...or I could break into my own house. I decided to break in.

So, my first criminal act was to "borrow" a step ladder out of the neighbor's garage. From the top I could reach a bit past the second floor window sill. I then cut through the screen with a pair of garden trimmers, opened the window, hoisted myself up and through (not an easy task when 6 months pregnant) and was able to unlock the door.

The kids loved the whole situation. Some of the ideas they came up with were 1-climb up the side of the house with a rope (George added, "But mom, maybe you don't have the right skills.") 2- Climb the pine tree and swing over to the window 3- Let Iyah the monkey climb the side of the house. I was also informed many times, through hands covering giggling mouths, that "Daddy is going to be soooo mad at you!" Hope you're not mad babe!

Dinner Conversation

2009-06-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

My boys had the following conversation at dinner tonight and I found it quite entertaining:

I: George, what if you had to dance with a girl?

G: Eww! I would yell, " Iyah help me!"

I: (Giggling) What if a girl tried to hug and kiss you?

G: I wouldn't let her. I would run away.

I: What if she chased you and hugged you and kissed you?

G: Then I would beat her up. I will never let a girl hug and kiss me.

I: Yeah. We don't like girls.

At this point mom jumped in

M: I hug and kiss you and I'm a girl.

G: But you're in our family. We don't want princesses hugging and kissing us.

Good to have that one clarified. And obviously mom hugs and mom kisses are still OK. That makes me happy.

We did it Daddy!!

2009-06-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

After much convincing, bribing, teasing, etc. George finally agreed to let me try to pull out his tooth. I got on the internet to learn how to tie a slip knot with dental floss and we set the time and place- after dinner in the family room. When the time came George slipped quietly upstairs for a minute. When I asked him why he said he went to say a prayer to help him to be brave. However, bravery has never been his strong suit. The minute he re-entered the room he was freaking out. I finally got him to "just let me see if I could even get the string around his tooth." However, once the string was set he decided there was no way he was letting me yank that thing out. He covered his mouth with his hands and was screaming! Iyah was covering his ears and Ella had her face in the couch and was rocking back and forth. It was very dramatic. At this point I don't think I could have gotten that string off if I tried. So, after practically sitting on George and restraining his arms under my legs, etc. I gave it a yank. He was yelling, "Don't pull it out, don't pull it out!" as I calmly walked into the kitchen to get him a paper towel. When he staunched the bleeding and calmed down he told me again, "I don't want you to pull it out." At which time I presented him with his now detached tooth. His response? "Oh." I asked him if it hurt. He shrugged. Geez. One down...how many to go?

One more quick story. Ella is always loosing her "better" baby. Whenever I can't find it at bed time I try and substitute the "other" baby. She doesn't like that very much. "Me not like that one!" she tells me. Well, today when I was picking up her room guess who I found in the garbage? You got it..."other" baby. I guess she'd had enough substitutions.

Climbing Trees

2009-06-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Iyah (up top) and George (Down low)

Iyah's new hobby is climbing trees. I don't know how it started, but he is really very good at it. I think part of the reason he likes it so much is that it is one thing that he does better than George. I have to admit that it scares me to death! I turn into the super paranoid mom, "You'll fall to your death!" or "We're going to end up at the hospital!" I can practically see him rolling his eyes at me. He says, "Mom, I can do it, I'm a monkey!" Then he asked me the other day if we will have lots of trees for him to climb at our new house in VA. All I can say is...mom hopes not.

Our Last Week

2009-06-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Baseball Boys

T-ball ended for George this week. Unfortunately it rained on his last game, but the kids didn't mind one bit. George liked t-ball a lot more than he liked soccer so we were glad to finally have a successful sport experience. I think it helped that dad was the coach! Isaac was especially excited that he was able to play in a couple of games, filling in for missing players. He hit as well or better than some of the kids, but he didn't quite get the running the bases part. All in all a great season and very happy boys.

Little Miss Ella got a new hair cut. This picture is her cheesing it for the camera. I told her we needed to take a picture to show her grandmas and she said, "Okay" and then stood there smiling until I went and got my camera. She knows she's pretty darn cute.

This is our last week with Benji and then he heads down to VA to start his big new job! We are very excited to start this new phase of our lives, but we are going to miss him super lots. Hopefully we can join him soon!

Boys

2009-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

Iyah showing off one of his caterpillars

It is caterpillar season in NY. These little buggers are everywhere and Iyah is obsessed! He finds them everywhere and walks around with them crawling all over him. One even crawled up his shorts yesterday. He had a moment of panic before he was able to locate the runaway. The worst part is that he is constantly trying to sneak them into the house. He put one in his shoe to try and get it past me and accidentally squished it. Bleh! I feel bad for the ones the boys catch because they really get put through the wringer. The poor little caterpillars have been buried alive in the garden, given swimming lessons in a wheel barrow full of water, sprayed with the hose, stashed in sock drawers and dropped more times than I can count. And those are just the things I know about! I'm never sure when I should put my foot down on the torture of caterpillars. Do I let the kids experiment and explore, or do I save the poor things?

Can I just say before I'm done that I love it when my kids play nice! Yesterday Iyah and Ella played upstairs in their rooms for over an hour without any fights, breaking anything, or making a huge mess. It was WONDERFUL! I wish they did that every day. Packing up a house with 3 enthusiastic helpers, on the other hand, is a different story entirely.

Visit From Nana

2009-05-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

We had a nice visit from Benji's mom these past 2 weeks. She helped out a lot as we got ready to put the house up on the market, and the kids loved having her here of course! We didn't do a whole lot except hang around, but it was fun.

On the news front...we've had an offer on the house and we signed the contract today. As our realtor says, it's not a done deal until the closing, but we are very excited and optimistic. A week on the market isn't bad if I do say so myself. We have definitely been blessed. All those prayers are paying off. Now we just need to find a place down south!

It's a Girl!

2009-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

We had our ultra sound this past week and found out we are having another little girl!! Everybody is very excited, especially the boys. I can't tell with Ella. She keeps telling me that she has a baby in her tummy too and that hers is a boy. I have a hard time believing she really wants another brother. I think having another girl around the house is just what we need.

We got our house up for sale yesterday. Now we play the waiting game. We are exercising great faith that someone will want it soon! VA here we come!

More News

2009-05-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

We have even more news! And I guess we'd better let the cat out of the bag because I have been getting a lot of questions. We are moving...again! We really thought we might make it past the 3 year mark this time, but it was not to be. Benj has been offered and accepted a job in Virginia at the Library of Congress! We are super excited! He will be starting in early July after George gets out of school. We will be living in Culpeper- about 1 1/2 hours from D.C. The LC just built a new film and sound archive there. So... right now we are stressing out trying to get the house up for sale (Prayers asking for help in finding a buyer would be much appreciated) and all of our junk sorted through! I think this will be a great move for our family.

Newsflash

2009-04-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long time since my last post and just in case there is anyone left actually reading this blog we have lots of news!! OK, really just a few things. First, this little guy is 4!

Our little Iyah is growing so big! Benji says he is going to be our gentle giant. He is such a loving and sweet boy. He loves to snuggle and isn't afraid of telling us how much he loves us. We finally found a preschool where he feels comfortable. I knew it was right when he told me, "Mom, my teacher loves me and I lover her." He is now thriving and loves school. We are so grateful to have Isaac in our family.

Our second news item is that we are expecting baby #4!! This is the reason I have not posted in forever. I have been sick, sick, sick! Everyone kept telling me that I must be having twins if the sickness was worse, but I am relieved to report that there is really only one bean in my belly. I am now almost 14 weeks and starting to feel a little bit better, although my WONDERFUL husband is still doing most of the cooking and shopping. He really has been great-practically a single parent, poor guy. But needless to say we are very excited to welcome a new little spirit into our family! The kids are super excited and weirdly enough both boys say they want another sister (maybe to get Ella off their backs?) and Ella says she wants a brother (I think she's been brainwashed).

Our third bit of news is that my little sister, who's not so little anymore, just got her mission call to Chile. We are very excited for her! She leaves in June and we are going to have to become dedicated letter writers as we will probably not get to see her before she leaves. We love you Jam-o!

Oh yeah, and I turned 30 this week. Ugh.

Happy Birthday George!

2009-01-29T10:58:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that this little guy is six? What a great kid we have. He is such a sweet boy and a great big brother and we are so grateful to have him in our family. It has been so fun to watch him learn and grow. He has an amazing mind and a super imagination.

Since it's his birthday I'll list a few interesting facts about George:
1. He loves legos.
2. He spends most of his free time pretending to be some kind of super hero.
3. He hates to comb his hair.
4. His favorite dinner is chicken and rice.
5. He loves broccoli and gets really excited when I serve it- except when it has some kind of sauce on it.
6. George is very much a male- in that if the TV is on he is incapable of concentrating on anything else and doesn't hear anyone who attempts to talk to him.
7. His best friend is still his blanket that he calls "Warmy"
8. He is impervious to the cold. He can play outside in the snow for a long time.
9. He likes to write stories and wants to write when he grows up. He spends hours pacing through the house "thinking" them up.
10. He cannot sit still while watching TV/movies. He gets so excited and enthralled that he is constantly running and jumping. Benji says he is probably the only kid that burns more calories watching TV than in normal play.

We love you George!! Happy Birthday my man!!

2009-01-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

Iyah is a sugar maniac. He loves anything and everything sweet. A couple of days ago I walked into the kitchen and found him guzzling this...

When I asked him what he thought he was doing , he calmly informed me he was drinking the jam- like it was a perfectly normal thing to be doing. Duh mom.

Yesterday Benj had the day off of work so we decided to take the kids sledding. The boys had a blast and even Ella liked the bunny hill. It was a great day and only one other kid was there so we didn't have to worry about crashing into people, etc. George was a total dare devil. He developed his own way of riding in the sled to make him go faster. And I have to brag just a little bit..I beat Benj in a race. It helps that he can't steer to save his life (sorry babe!)

Plowing has left huge mountains of snow around. The neighbor girl and the kids turned this mountain into a fort. That along with the snow cave that dad dug in another mountain provide hours of fun in our freezing winter wonderland.

This one's for Grandpa

2009-01-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

This post is especially for my dad...Look what you've done to my children!!! You've corrupted them. :) Thanks to you, grandpa, my kids regularly ask for popcorn. A snack that NEVER used to be seen around our house is now a regular. They will forever be grateful, and as long as I can leave the room while they are eating it I think I can handle it too.

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-01-06T09:50:00.001-08:00

We had quite the challenging end to our year, but we made it and here I am, back again! No pictures today, but soon I hope. We enjoyed hearing from everyone through Christmas cards and e-mails, and plan on getting our "New Year" letter out soon! As I've been looking back at 2008 I realized we reached quite a few milestones. To name a few:

1. Ella started walking
2. George started kindergarten
3. Isaac started talking a lot!
4. We had our one year anniversary of home ownership
5. We bought a car

And I'm sure there are many more that I can't think of right now. Some things I'm looking forward to:

1. Isaac starting preschool (Please let him like it!)
2. Learning how to quilt.
3. Warm weather
4. Turning over storytime at the library to another mom. It's been a good experience, but is getting a little overwhelming in view of everything else.

We are excited to see what the new year will bring us.

Votong Day!

2008-11-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

I find myself getting all excited to vote. Kind of like on my birthday or something. I just think it's exciting to be able to go out and have my voice heard. Remember to vote!

Halloween

2008-11-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Halloween was super fun this year. The kids got a lot of candy!!! We started the evening in town trick-or-treating on main street and at the Hall of Fame where daddy was handing out candy. Then we participated in the Halloween parade. The kids had fun looking at all of the other costumes and meeting friends from school. After the parade we trick-or-treated in surrounding neighborhoods until the kids had had enough and then headed home.

Ella the pink meowy

When we got home the kids hit the neighbors and visited the firehouse for cider and doughnuts with dad, while mom handed out candy. My favorite part of the night was when the headless horseman came riding up and down the street on his big black horse. I don't know who he was, but he was dressed as the headless horseman, complete with jack o lantern under his arm. The sound of the horse's hooves on the road was very halloween-y. The kids were very impressed.

Superman and the Flash

So far the kids have regulated themselves pretty well with the candy. I wish I could say the same for Mom! :) And of course they are already planning next year's costumes. George wanted to know if we could start making his today. sigh. They don't give me much of a break.

Winter Wonderland

2008-11-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

George, Isaac and the neighbor girl by their little snowman

We had our first winter storm this week. We only had about 4 inches at our house, but surrounding areas got a lot more and there were many people without power for awhile. School was canceled much to the joy of the kids who spent hours and hours playing outside.

It was Ella's first time in the snow (she was not walking last winter) and she was a little wary. Once we sat her in the sled she was fine and stayed there for about 45 minutes.

Isaac and Ella on the sled

Preschool

2008-09-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Isaac lived through his first week of preschool! He was so excited to go to school like his brother and seems to be liking school very much. Going 5 mornings a week has made him very tired and we have tried to get him to take a day off to rest, but he refuses to stay home. He's impressed me with abilities heretofor unkown-especially when in comes to drawing. Today he came home with a family portrait that was pretty impressive for a 3 year old.

George is getting braver at soccer. He'll actually kick the ball when it comes to him now. He does really well in practice and is one of the best on the team, but he doesn't like to get into the shuffle around the ball when playing a game. Maybe by the end of the season we'll have broken through his fears. He's a good little athlete.

Cheeky Monkeys

2008-09-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't think my kindergartener coming home with bad habits would start this soon, but apparently I was wrong. G has taken to calling people all sorts of names. This morning when I called him upstairs to comb his hair (he hates combing his hair) he called me a "spit face." I immediately made it very clear that I did not appreciate his behavior. He marched downstairs and announced to Benji that "Mom is a piece of garbage." Needless to say, he was a bit late getting off for school due to his time-out. Help!

On a more positive note-Ella's cheeky-ness is kind of funny. This morning Iyah marched in the room and got as far as, "Mom, Ella..." before Ella, hot on his heals, started yelling, "No talking! No talking Iyah!" I guess she didn't relish being tattled on. She had been stealing army men from George's room. She also said the funniest thing yesterday. We were eating trail mix and she kept asking for "a-b's." What? I finally figured out she meant M&Ms. I guess she remembered that they were called by a letter of the alphabet but could only remember A and B. It's the only part of trail mix she likes.

Kindergarten!

2008-09-04T18:01:00.001-07:00

He did it! He survived the first (and second) day of Kindergarten! As you can tell, it was a very sunny and hot day. Cooperstown Elementary does a fun first day. The parents are invited for the whole (shortened) day. We did a bus safety drill, got to know the classroom, had a picnic lunch, and saw a fun concert. It was a good way for the kids to get to know their new surroundings. They also gave the kids a t-shirt that says "Cooperstown Kindergarten" on it and after school we walked up and down center street to different stores who handed out treats to all the new kindergarteners that were wearing their shirt. It made them feel very special.

George was a little nervous this morning going by himself for the first time, but settled right in and got off the bus this afternoon with a big smile and a big hug for mom! When I asked him what he did today he said, " I don't really remember." I'm thinking-you've been gone ALL DAY and you don't "really remember" what you did? I did manage to extract some information: he built a robot with a new friend, Alex, he went to music and art class, and played outside. He also told me, "We haven't really started to learn yet."

I'm so proud of my big boy! What a super kid.

Ta-da!

2008-08-27T06:40:00.001-07:00

We finally finished painting the boys' room. It only took us all summer to get around to it! Aren't the stripes cool? Someday we are going to be really good at things like this...we have learned a lot!
Next...school here we come!

She's 2!!!

2008-08-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that my little girl is 2! She is such a sweetheart. By far the best natured little thing I've ever experienced! When I asked her on her birthday if she is a big girl now that she is 2, she said, "No, I little." I'm so glad she's not ready to grow up yet! And she is little. When we took her in for her check up she scored in the 10% for height. Kind of a change for my family! The doctor kept trying to reassure me that just because she's little now doesn't mean she will be forever. He said, "You're tall so she definitely has potential." I just told him is doesn't matter how big she is, we love her how she is!

This is a picture of the Butterfly Cupcake Cake that I made to take to storytime for Ella' s birthday. The theme for the summer reading program this year was bugs and we were reading about butterflies on Ella's birthday. She was very adamant about wanting chocolate cake with "pint" (pink) frosting.

Happy Birthday E, we love you!

8 Years!

2008-08-11T13:52:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrate 8 years of wonderfulness! I can't believe it! I am so lucky to have found such a great companion who is so understanding and such a good father to our 3 beautiful children. I look forward to many more years to come. Thank you and I love you babe!

The Good Old Days

2008-08-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just spent a nostalgic afternoon listening to my old Ace of Base CD that I unearthed up while I was in Utah. Those were the days! It's amazing how music triggers memories long forgotten. I also found a No Doubt CD that I don't believe is mine. So, if any of you who read this Blog are missing your No Doubt CD (maybe from Sophmore year at BYU?) let me know and I'll mail it to you!

Utah Trip

2008-08-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting now that we are back from our Utah trip. It was a great 3 weeks! The kids had a blast and it was good for me to see my family. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jessica!One of the kids most favorite activities was jumping on the trampoline. Ella's hair always stood straight out because of all the static. I think I might want to get a tramp. I cannot tell you how nice it was to have a the kids entertain themselves for hours!

The kids loved being able to play with their cousin Jackson so much. They went swimming and jumped on the tramp and we went to the zoo and Thanksgiving point and all kinds of things together. We will really miss Jackson. It was fun to see them build a relationship.

We're glad to be back home with Benji and our own house, but it's hard to leave my family not knowing when I'll be able to see them again. We love you family and are saving our pennies to come see you again!

Yummy

2008-07-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

This picture of E doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but I thought it was cute. I haven't posted for along time. I decided to take a break from slow internet-only checking e-mail and doing neccesary things. But, the bug returned and I'm feeling the need to be in contact with the world again.

Summer is here! G graduated from pre-school a few weeks ago and we went to his kindergarten screening yesterday. I can't believe I have a kid starting real school! He is very excited and I'm feeling sad and nervous but excited too.

I wanted to let people know that we are going to be in Utah July 10-29 so if anyone is going to be there at the same time let me know! We would love to see some friends. The kids are super excited to see their grandparents and the dog too. It's all Iyah talks about. Ready or not Grandma and Grandpa here we come!

Spring!

2008-05-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

Look at our pretty tree! Don't you love springtime? George told me yesterday that he wished it would snow so he could play in it. Go figure. I told him it would snow again soon enough! This tree in our front yard is so fun this time of year. I love walking outside and listening to the hum of all the bees buzzing around in there. It literally vibrates.

NYC

2008-05-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Boys in Central Park

I'm a little bit late posting about our family trip to the Big Apple because I've been sick ever since we got home this past weekend. However, we had a blast! The kids did really well and we really enjoyed ourselves. We were so fortunate to have generous friends that let us use their apartment on West Central Park Ave so we had a very nice place to stay for free!

The first day-Wed- we spent the afternoon at the Bronx zoo. I was excited to see the giraffes and Iyah really liked the lions. El was fascinated by the 'big meow' (tiger). After dinner we explored some of Central Park.

Thursday we went to the Metropolitan Museum and saw the Egypt exhibit and G's favorite- the Arms and Armory exhibit (lots of suits of armor), and then did the Time Square-shopping stuff. The kids loved all the big buildings and TV billboards and toy stores. We had dinner at MARS 2112. The boys were in heaven, but were a little bit wary of the aliens walking around.

Friday we took the Staten Island ferry and road past the Statue of Liberty. G asked all kinds of questions and brushed us up on all of our American History. We went to Battery park after and watched the street performers and walked through Chinatown and Little Italy. After dinner we headed to the Manhattan Children's Museum which the kids loved although it was kind of a mad house!

Saturday we went and saw the Temple and were planning on walking around the Lincoln Center Plaza, but it was under construction. We spent the rest of the day in Central Park-riding the carousel, eating hot dogs & pretzels, watching the horses, and playing on the playgrounds! G really liked the castle and almost gave me a heart attack trying to climb on top of the high walls to see over the side.

It was fun to finally see the big city- this was my first time! True to form I forgot my camera a lot of the time and this picture of the boys is the only one I remembered to take in low resolution so that I could post it on the blog with our slow Internet. Thank you daddy for planning a fun vacation for us! We love you.

Gardening

2008-04-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I last blogged. The weather turned nice and we've been spending a lot of time in the great outdoors. I decided to expand our garden a little bit this year so I've been digging up grass in the back yard. It's amazing what people dump in their own back yards. Here is a list of some of the things I've found...

1. An old coat hanger
2. A rusted out can of RAID
3. Electrical wiring (old-not like the stuff we use today)
4. Metal pipes
5. Insulation
6. A seashell
7. Lots of glass-green, clear, white, etc.
8. A 2x4
9. Random pieces of metal
10. I can't remember

It makes me wonder what I would find if I dug up more than a 4 foot space, and is it even safe to eat vegetables grown in such dirt? I guess we'll find out.

Ella has been hilarious to watch outside. She wasn't walking last summer so this is her first real experience with the outdoors. When I first put her down, she sat on her bottom and lifted her legs and arms in the air so nothing would get dirty. Now she's the complete opposite. I can't keep her out of the dirt. She swims in it. I'll look over and she'll be on her belly sifting her fingers through the dirt and staring at it from an inch away just enthralled. It's fun to see her get dirty. The boys of course could spend all day running and digging and riding bikes. It's so nice to have spring finally here!

Just Some Pictures

2008-03-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

My very own Warrior Princess

Big Cheeses

Look at her flex those muscles!

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker?

Snip Snip

2008-03-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

We had our first experience with one of our kids cutting their own hair. Luckily it's just on little bald patch up on top. Iyah got a little scissor happy when I was giving G a haircut. At first he was really pleased with himself, but after he saw my reaction he changed his mind. At first I was kind of upset with the little guy, but honestly, it's one of those things where the natural consequences are much harder than anything I could say or do. EVERYONE comments on it when they see him and I see him getting sad and teary when people laugh. I know he wishes he'd never picked up those darn scissors. I keep telling him it's okay and that hair grows back quickly. If it wasn't so cold out I'd just give him a buzz. Maybe I still should. What do you think?

Good Music

2008-03-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Great music transcends all boundaries/barriers, as I was reminded yesterday. I was driving home with the kids from an afternoon of crazy shopping and I just couldn't handle the "kiddie music" any more. So, I popped some Beatles into the CD player and settled in for the drive. About half way through the first song my 3 year old pipes up from the back seat, "Turn it up, Mommy!" Gotta love it!

Played

2008-02-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today I was played for a fool by my 18 month old daughter. As mentioned in the previous entry we had a doctor's appointment today for my little sweetheart. As also mentioned previously I was a little bit reticent about having to admit that she wasn't walking yet (especially since I felt like it was a power issue). Well, we went to the appointment and I talked to the doc and he confirmed that there is nothing whatsoever wrong with her but said that if she wasn't walking in the next month we might need to take steps to try to encourage her in that direction. We left and came home and within the hour...yep siree, she walked! She was standing there in the middle of the room and Benj said, "Walk to mom" and she did! I about fell over. And let me tell you, I've never seen anyone more proud of themselves than she was. She was practically turning cartwheels and was laughing out loud. It was the greatest! What a crazy bean!

He's Three!

2008-02-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

As usual, I'm a bit tardy posting these pictures. I keep putting it off because my internet connection is so slow. But I have to announce to the world that Isaac is three! He's been telling everyone, "I supposed to be two, but now I three!" After watching George have a birthday, he couldn't wait for it to be his turn. We had a pretty mellow day. Chicken nuggets for the birthday dinner and cake, ice cream and presents afterwards. He was a pretty happy guy. I think the favorite present he received was his imaginex dinosaur. The boys have spent hours locking Ella out of their room so they could set up all of their super hero figures for the dinosaur to tromp down. It roars and walks around knocking things down. They love it.

The weather here has been really cold. We had a big storm this week that covered everything in a fresh layer of snow. It's the time of year when I start feeling like spring is never going to get here. The boys love the snow though. They could spend hours out there. We built a snow man the other day and during the night someone decapitated it. The boys were so mad. I've never heard such threats as were coming out of their mouths. Iyah was literally shaking. Ella also got her first real ride on the sled. She didn't like it one bit. I thought she would cry, but she didn't. She just kept yelling over and over, "No, mama, no!" Like I was being bad. :)

Tomorrow is Ella's 18 month check-up. I'm a bit embarrassed to have to tell the doc that she's still not walking. She stands by herself in the middle of the floor, but every time I suggest she walk she sits right down and says, "No!" A bit of a power struggle going on I think?

Sweet Girl

2008-02-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

Little Ella's new hobby is climbing into and onto anything and everything. In this particular instance she wedged herself inside a small baskett. She was so proud of herself. If course, she also has two obliging brothers who don't hesitate to shove her over when she's in a precarious situation. The worst example of this happened last week when George, who was sitting at the the top of the stairs, gave her a "little nudge" with his feet as she climbed toward him. She took quite a fall. Ah siblings. But she sure bounces back quickly and is a very happy sweet girl. As you can see in the picture, she's learned that the phrase "say cheese" means smile big! She truly is a joy to me every single day.

Birthday Bash

2008-02-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

My first cake decorating attempt

I'm a little bit late posting these pictures from George's birthday party on Saturday. Things have been crazy the last two day trying to rebuild the room we tore apart. The party was crazy-as you would expect with a truck load of 4-5 year olds. The best part of the afternoon was watching how excited they all were to give George the presents they brought. Talk about the spirit of giving! But George had a great time so the fact that some of the games didn't go off too well hardly matters. Mom and Dad are just glad it's over!

Making a wish

The Group

Hinckley Challenge

2008-02-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

I've joined the Hinckley Challenge at the recommendation of my good friend.(You know who you are :)) I was late joining so I'm a little behind but I'm determined to catch up in time to complete the challenge. I thought that posting my progress on the blog might help me stay motivated on those days when I could fall asleep walking and don't feel like reading my scriptures. Bad I know. If any of you would like to join go to http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/. I would do that nifty thing where you write click HERE and it sends you there, but I'm not that computer savvy.

Demo Day

2008-02-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

So, we've started our first big home improvement project. This morning Benji and his friend tore out our plaster and lathe ceiling and wall. It was quite the mess, but we are excited to be on our way. Yeah!

Saving the World

2008-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

I've returned to the land of the bloggers. We had a wonderful Christmas in Utah and Idaho visiting family, and George just had his 5th birthday. Whew! I think I'm getting old! One of the biggest highlights of our trip to Utah for me was watching Ella fall in love with Grandpa. They were pretty inseperable. She really misses her Grandpa. Another highlight was playing with cousins. The boys had so much fun! There were a million other highlights that I won't go into right now.

As you can see, dressing up is the number 1 activity at our house. The boys are always one super hero or another. So, I thought I'd share some of our most recent adventures: The Incredibles with cousin Jack, the Ninjas, and the Power Ranger.

Before I log off I just need to share our doctor experience from today. We are having an ice/sleet storm today so I had to brave the roads to get George to his scheduled check-up. When we got there the doctor told us that he would be getting some shots today to get him all set for kindergarten in the fall. You would have thought that the world ended. George was crying and screaming and fighting me. I had to pin the kid down so that the nurse could give him his shots. Is this a normal 5 year old reaction? Because I don't remember loosing it like that when I got my kindergarten shots. Anyway, in the parking lot on the way to the car we were still a little worked up and George slipped and fell in the slush. Instead of standing up quick so he didn't get more wet, he simply sat in the big cold puddle and screamed like a girl at the top of his lungs (I heard it echo off of the ice laden Susquehanna River) and then yelled for everyone to hear, "I just can't do this!" It was a pretty dramatic moment. I laughed at him, and I think every person in that parking lot thought I was a mean, terrible mother. The kicker is that after all of this he wanted to know if he had been brave enough to get his treat, because of course I had bribed him. What was I going to say? "No you weren't really brave enough." That's what I get for bribing my kids.

Snow

2007-12-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

It's officially winter time. It has been snowing! No chance of a brown Christmas this year I think. Unfortunately, George and Ella have been sick so the kids haven't had much time to play outside. Yesterday I finally gave in and let them play for a few minutes on our way home from the post office. They loved it! Well, everyone except Ella. As she's still not walking she spent most of the time sitting in the stroller watching the boys.

We've officially packed our first suitcase for our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Only one week to go! I think I'm more excited than the kids.

Thankful Day

2007-11-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

Everyone is so quick about getting their posts up. I'm lagging a little behind here. We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of pie! B spent the first part of the day helping a family in our Branch cut wood to heat their house this winter while the kids and I started on dinner. The boys were fascinated by the idea of the turkey. We don't usually see our food in "animal form" if you know what I mean. Frozen chicken breasts don't really scream "cluck cluck" to the casual observer. So, after turkey anatomy 101 we got things rolling. For dinner we had some good friends from church and one of B's old mission companions over. The boys hit it off well with the mission companion. They both call him by his last name, like their dad (I hope he doesn't mind!), and gave him a run for his money in an all out wrestling match. The weather played us a couple of tricks throughout the day. It started out in the 60's, then it rained cats and dogs for a short while, and by evening it was freezing!!! But, B managed to get the outdoor Christmas lights up before it got too cold. Yeah! Ah winter. Kinda makes me miss CA where we ate Thanksgiving in B's uncle's back yard!

Sorry, no pictures this time. It's late and I don't have the patience to wait for them to upload with our slow connection.

Christmas here we come!!!

The Knight, the Dragon, and the Pretty Princess

2007-11-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

So, I'm finally getting around to posting about Halloween. Sorry to all you who have asked me about a picture! The Halloween costumes really came down to the wire this year. George broke some of his armor and I had to re-do the elastic around Isaac's wrists because I made it too tight the first time. So, with all the repair work I didn't get the zipper put in Ella's dress. I ended up just tacking on a couple of hook and eyes and calling it good. But they got done and they were cute! We had fun at the Branch Halloween Party on Tuesday. The kids played games and went trunk-or-treating and then on Halloween we met Benji at the Hall and trick-or-treated up and down main street. At dusk we marched in the Halloween Parade up main street-a great tradition in my opinion. It was fun to see the different personalities of my children when it came to this holiday. George loved dressing up and imagining all kinds of knightly adventures. He didn't care so much for the candy, and was in fact the first to suggest we be done trick-or-treating. Isaac, on the other hand, is all about the candy. The only reason he got dressed up was to get the candy. He insisted on carrying his own candy bucket the entire night (George ditched his in the stroller in order to better carry his sword) and was very good at encouraging his brother on to the next doorstep. Ella just wanted to do whatever her brothers did. She was not content to sit in the stroller and held out her hand for her share of the candy at many of the stops. I don't think she quite understood that what she was getting was candy. She was quite content just to hold the brightly colored packages. All in all it was a fun night! George is already planning his costume for next year. He's fluctuating between a bat and Buzz Lightyear-specifically a plastic Buzz costume with wings that pop out when he pushes a button on his chest. Please let him choose the bat!!!

Ray of Sun

2007-10-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've had a very gloomy week this week, with the exception of one day. On Monday we took a day trip to Palmyra. It was my first time seeing the church history sites and it was beautiful! We had our own small miracle in that it rained the whole drive there, cleared up and was super nice while we were there, and then rained the whole drive home. The sacred grove was amazing with the leaves just starting to change and the kids really enjoyed the visitors center at Cumorah's Hill. Unfortunately, the Temple was closed and we couldn't see it very well through the trees and such from the gate. But, there's always next time! Little shining days like these are what give me the strength to keep going.

Back To School

2007-09-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

George is officially back in school. He is excited because this year he gets to ride the bus home! He's getting so big. It's fun to meet the bus every day and see him climb down the big stairs. I can't believe he's going to be in Kindergarten next year and tha Isaac is going to be old enough to start Preschool!

So, funny/embarrassing experience today. I had a dentist appointment to fix a filling that I just had done about 2 years ago! Anyway, I raced home because the piano tuner was coming and when I got here I couln't even hardly talk to the guy because my mouth was still so numb. I swear I was slobbering and sluring my speach and there was nothing I could do about it. He probably thought I was intoxicated or something. But he fixed my piano! Yeah!

2007-08-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we took the kids to The Great Escape amusement park. The boys had a blast! It was one of those rare days that everything goes smoothly. We had no complaints, no behavior problems, no kids running off- and Ella was a gem the whole day too! The kids are getting old enough to really be fun on family outings. They get excited about things and just really enjoy being together.

Isaac's favorite ride was the motorcycles. I think it was a dream come true for him to be able to ride one, and it was okay with mom and dad too because they weren't real! George really liked the rollercoaster (the small one in kid land). He was scared to death but wanted to go on it again as soon as it was over. Way to be brave George!

School is starting again soon. I can't believe the summer is ending already. I don't think I'm ready for the cold weather yet. I think George is excited to go back to preschool though. And we finally took away Isaac's "Uh Oh" (pacifier). It's been a rough 2 weeks, but we're making progress...maybe. Next, potty training! Can we do it by Christmas?

Happy First Birthday!

2007-08-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

This past year has really snuck by me. It's REALLY hard to believe that it's been an entire year since we brought our beautiful girl home to a half packed apartment-getting ready to move to NY! She has grown so fast and is truly the sweetest person I know. We are so lucky to have been blessed with such a happy, content little soul. Heavenly Father knew that we needed her and exactly when to send her to our family.

We had a great birthday day on Saturday. We started the day opening presents because the brothers couldn't wait a second longer. In the afternoon we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Ella wouldn't get messy at all! After dinner we sat out on the driveway and watched the parade for Hartwick Field Days and ended the evening with fireworks. My favorite thing about parades here is the fact that there are no floats (sp?). The "royalty" ride on top of the fire trucks. Super cool! My other favorite was watching all the old cars in the parade "burn rubber." We have tire tracks all over the road in front of our house. Gotta love small towns.

Anniversary

2007-08-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Benji and I celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday! We couldn't find a babysitter (they're rather scarce) so we took the family to the Farmer's Museum where the kids got to see some animals and ride the carousel. After the kids went to bed, Benji and I had dinner and watched a video that my sister put together for us. We never had one of those cheesy wedding videos with pictures of us growing up and dating and all that, and she figured we missed out, so she used her video making software to make one for us. We really enjoyed it! Thanks Jess!

I am so grateful for Benji. He really is just the most wonderful person ever! I'm pretty lucky that I get to be with him forever. I couldn't have chosen a better husband or father (just ask Isaac).

For those of you who can't tell, the person in the picture with Benji is ME! Apparently I have not aged gracefully and have perhaps gotten a little bit chubby, because I've had a couple of different people ask who was in the picture with Ben. Like I would keep a picture of Benj and another girl hanging around my house! :)

Summer Days

2007-07-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

The kids are loving summer. The warm weather, playing outside, riding bikes, kicking balls, going for walks, and in Ella's case-picking lots of grass. George's absolute favorite summer pass-time is having water fights.

So, I was telling my mom the other day that I have gone about at low as you can go in the eyes of my son. The other day he got in trouble for something and as I was putting him in time-out he said, "Mom, you're as mean as Darth Vader!" I'll I have to say is, "Mmwaa, ha, ha, ha!" :)

Grandpa

2007-07-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye yesterday to Grandpa Harry. We are really going to miss him. The kids don't understand why people always have to leave. Grandpa was really nice to help us with some home-improvement projects while he was here. We now have a new basement window and bathroom cupboard, and I no longer have to bend down to turn on my diningroom light. Yeah!

We've had some good storms the past few days. Sunday night we had a huge thunder storm. My kids have never been scared of thunder, but this time they were. It woke them up and I ended up sleeping at the foot of Isaac's bed until it passed. Last night at about 6:30 we lost power during another storm. By 10:00 Benji and I were trying to decide if we should try and eat the 3 bricks of ice cream grandpa left in our freezer before it melted. My oil lamp was a complete failure, giving off almost no light, so we brushed our teeth by candlelight. Quite romantic.

All Done!

2007-06-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

George had his certificate day at preschool on Thursday. He did a really good job. I can't believe how big and confidant he is getting! I'm so glad we were able to finally find him a preschool. They sang some songs and we had a nice lunch. Isaac is getting excited to be old enough to go to school too.

Yesterday Ella got a hold of the raisins that Isaac was having for a snack and went to town. She was so proud of herself and I’m waiting to see how many whole raisins we get in her diapers.

Happy Dreams

2007-06-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Isaac is my snuggly bear. He loves his stuffed animals and is always giving them hugs and kisses. His bed is full of little friends that he calls "beebees". (A weird extension of kitty, I think?) Lately, however, he has taken to adding other things into the sleepy mix- like lawn mowers and trucks. We caught him last night snuggling his dump truck full of lizards, bugs and other kritters just as content as can be. :) All I can say is...boys!

Visit

2007-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I posted. Life seems to get busy sometimes and the days fly by. I can't believe it's June already! It really is nice to have Spring finally here. Benji's mom was out for a visit last week. It was really good to see her again and the kids loved it, of course! We had really good weather while she was here and she helped us get the garden going. Yeah! Now the challenge will be to see whether I can keep the plants alive. They say that everything grows here. When I asked how often you have to water your garden, peopled just looked at me like "Water your garden? Who waters their garden?" We'll see.

So, I had a proud mamma moment this week. When I picked up George from preschool on
Monday he came running up to me so excited. He told me he drew a really big picture of me. I'm posting it so you can all see how pretty I am. :) School is almost done and summer is stretching before us and I'm wondering what we are going to fill all our days with. If anyone has any fun suggestions please e-mail or call me!

Seven Year Itch

2007-04-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Now that we are in our seventh year of marriage, Jenn has become very itchy. To Benji’s relief it’s not for another man. It’s attack of the killer fleas!!!

So, we’ve been in our new home a little over a month when all of the sudden mysterious things start happening. It started with one little bite and progressed to 33 bites below my knees alone. It never occurred to us that we might have fleas hibernating in our carpet. Imagine that. We tried vacuuming and flea powder and, finally, the flea fogger. Hopefully we prevailed. I’m sick to death of little ugly bugs!

On Saturday while our house was being de-fleaed we attended a Chinese auction to raise money for George’s preschool. George put his tickets into the raffle for a new bike helmet that he really, really wanted and Isaac put his tickets into the raffle for a really ugly red plastic Mickey Mouse chair that he already thought was his. Well, George won the helmet and I have never seen him so excited. When he heard the number called out he jumped off his chair and ran to the front of the gym, performing a Toyota jump (you remember the commercials) into a slide into home base, all the while yelling, “I did it!!” People were just laughing. He then proceeded to don the helmet and race around the gym in a few victory laps. And just to show you the difference in our sons’ personalities. Isaac was gone getting his pants changed when his winning number was picked. Upon returning and being informed of his good fortune he looked at me like, “Of course it’s my chair, I put my ticket in the bag didn’t I?” All in all it was a good experience and both the “brothers” came away happy. The only down side was that Mom and Dad didn’t win any free pizza or the lawn mower.

Cookie Monster

2007-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Isaac loves (very passionately) treats of any shape and size. Today he woke up from his nap just as I was finishing a cake for a BBQ tonight. I gave him a spoon to lick and he went to work. I couldn't help but take a picture. He obviously enjoyed the treat, even though he still had his tired face on!

Good Morning

2007-04-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last posted. Ella turned 8 months yesterday. I can't believe how fast time has gone with her. All of the sudden she's big! Benji and I were commenting on how the first year with George seemed like the longest year EVER! Now time is just flying along. Good thing, too. I think I'd be dead if I had to endure any more 2003's. :)

George woke up extra early and in a great mood today. So other than having to get out of bed sooner than usual things were going great. Until time to put his shoes on. All of the sudden he refused to go to preschool, put his shoes on, and get his backpack. I tried bribing, threatening, etc. and nothing worked. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I was wondering if he was just trying out some new control method, or maybe something happened yesterday to make him not want to go back. He's never not wanted to go to school before. Usually he's way excited. When I asked him why he didn't want to go he said he didn't feel like walking all the way to the car (about 10 feet) and all the way to preschool from the car (across a parking lot). Hmm! So, in the end he won out and Benji left for work. I was mad because it meant Isaac didn't get to go to play hour at the gym. Of course, 5 minutes after Benji drove off George announces he wants to go to school now. I told him he decided it 5 minutes too late and WOW! It was quite a tantrum! I wish I would have video taped it. I could have posted it on YouTube or something. Ah, 4 year olds!

Teeth

2007-03-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to discover this week that Ella cut her first tooth! We weren't even watching for it and then all of the sudden...there it was! I'm glad to finally understand why she's been congested and not sleeping well.

Ella is getting so cute. She has started teasing-especially George. She grabs at him whenever he gets close and then laughs and laughs. She has also started to interact with Isaac more. He has really enjoyed being her fun big brother. However, she is absolutely refusing to eat solid food. She loves to sit in her chair by the table at meal time and she'll eat crackers, but baby food? I might as well go jump in a lake as far as she's concerned.

We are excited for General Conference this weekend and hope you all get a chance to watch or listen!

Ouch!

2007-03-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, I had the terrible experience on Sunday of having one of my children get hurt-and it was my fault! Poor little Ella was sick on Sunday, but I dragged her to church anyway because I had to teach. After the meetings I was trying to find one of my little Sunbeams for her grandma and Ella stuck her hand in the door as I was closing it and I smashed her finger! We spent the afternoon in the ER. She has an open fracture on the tip of her tall finger on her left hand. The doc said it should heal fine, but I was just sick. You love your kids so much and when you cause them pain-especially the little ones that don't understand-it just hurts the heart. By the way, I'm NOT including a picture for those of you that like the gory details.

Our New House!

2007-03-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally did it! We bought a house. And it's green for St. Patrick's Day! Our beautiful house was originally built in 1850 and, surprisingly, has survived to the present day. It also has a cute little porch with a swing, which we love, and an old barn for a garage out back! We are all moved in and trying to unpack boxes while continuing on with real life. You all know how that goes. :) The kids are pretty excited, but ready to have all their toys in order. We've had a few little tantrums because mom couldn't find something they were looking for. I didn't label any boxes because we only moved 2 blocks. I just threw everything in the nearest box and loaded it in the truck. You'd think I'd know better after 6 moves!

Num Nums

2007-03-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ella has officially entered the world of solid food. She's been begging for weeks now and we've finally given in. I wish I could have captured her delight upon first being set in the high chair. I've never seen her so proud of herself. She's been pulling things off the table for weeks now in an attempt to join in all the fun and now she has her chance! You can't tell in these pictures, but instead of biting or gumming the cracker, she licks it to death. Ella and her famouse tongue! I can't believe how fast time has passed with her. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one morning and be looking at her with make-up on or something. Anyway, she's our princess! We love you Ellie!

Warmie

2007-02-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

Warmie is 100 months old! For those of you who don’t know who Warmie is -he’s George’s security blanket. Yesterday George informed me that Warmie is “bigger” than Ella, he is 100 months old. He also related the following history…
He (George) is Warmie’s daddy. Warmie came out of his tummy and George had to exercise to make his tummy little again. Warmie has no mommy because his mommy went to the army and had to fight a big omnidroid that was too strong and gave her a big chop with his strong arm, that killed her forever. Not even Heavenly Father and Jesus with their power could wake her up. And I quote, “But that’s okay because he still has his daddy. I’m his daddy.”
I’m listening to this story, looking at my son thinking, “who are you and where did you come from?” Is this narrative the product of an over-active imagination, or as my husband says, is there something in the water? And I bet you can’t guess who the favorite parent is.

Birthday!

2007-02-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to Isaac! He's two! Well, almost. We celebrated a few days early. It was a great day. We went down to the frozen lake shore where there was a snow sculpting contest in progress. George just stood there with his mouth open watching the sculptors in action. Then we went out for pizza afterwards and finished the day at home with cake and ice cream. Isaac loved being the center of attention and did a good job of blowing out the trick candles dad bought.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

There's no better way to spend a romantice Valentine's Day than being snowed-in with your three crazy kids! It was quite the site to wake up this morning to two feet of newly fallen snow. We spent the first couple of hours trying to dig ourselves out, but soon gave in to the overwhelming forces of mother nature. We ended the day calling around to try and find someone to plow us out, to no avail. I guess Benji gets another day off tomorrow! Lucky him.