Gustafsons

Pin Pal

2012-01-16T08:52:00.003-05:00

There is one person who loves Pintrest more than me - AVA. I love looking at it with her, even if she has to scroll down by herself. It is fun to discuss our opinions on each pin and hear her commentary.

Quilting Bee

2012-01-14T19:09:00.002-05:00

Here are some cute girls working hard on a blanket for their sister.

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-27T11:47:00.009-05:00

Christmas Eve hike.

Nativity play.

Christmas morning.

New dresses.

Trying out our new tent.

Happy Birthday Jingle

2011-12-20T19:52:00.003-05:00

Last year Santa rescued Jingle from an animal shelter and delivered her to our house. We are pretty lucky to have such a great dog.

One to remember

2011-12-18T14:07:00.003-05:00

20 years from now, I can see our family sitting around talking about past Christmas memories. I am sure this year will come up:

-Remember that year when a couple of weeks before Christmas mom found lice in all of our hair? -Yah, she sure freaked out.
-Remember how stylish we looked walking around in shower caps? -I wonder why mom did not take any pictures. Why would she not want to remember how funny that was?
-Remember watching all of those shows while mom picked at our heads? -It was great missing all of that school.
-Remember the piles and piles of snowflakes we made while being quarantined in our house? -Didn't we also make gingerbread houses, ornaments, a construction paper fireplace, and Christmas presents?
-Remember when mom had our beautiful long hair cut short and told us it was our "holiday hair cuts?" -Yup, I was not terribly happy about that.

This Christmas season has defiantly been memorable, give me 20 years and I might be able to smile about it.

I could live here

2011-12-12T20:59:00.008-05:00

There is a house built to look like the UP house in Utah and we were able to walk through. It was so charming. Here are a couple of pictures I took.

Emily+Robbie=Forever

2011-12-12T20:25:00.005-05:00

We have been back from our Utah trip for a while now, but I am only now getting to the pictures. This past week has been pretty crazy and maybe someday I will bring myself to document it...maybe.

The reason and highlight of our trip was Emily's wedding. The temple marriage in the morning was amazing and the reception that night was a blast. It was a fair theme complete with a candy bar, photo booth, fish pond, mini bunt cakes, popcorn, and amazing decorations. It was the funnest reception ever.

Little Women

2011-11-10T16:14:00.003-05:00

Little Women has been my favorite book for a long time. Every time I read it, I connect with a different character who I can relate with during that time in my life. Meg, coming of age and learning about dating, morals, and friends. Beth, yearning for family to stay the same and stay together. Jo, living away from home, studying, and pursuing her dreams. Meg, trying to be the perfect new wife and homemaker. This last time I read it, I was captivated by the Mother of these four different girls. She lead them through hard times by being their example, mentor, and friend. I have been thinking a lot about this book since we found out we are going to have another girl. How fun is it going to be to have four girls!! I am so thankful for the trust Heavenly Father has in me to raise another little woman.

Happy Birthday Josh

2011-11-06T19:44:00.009-05:00

I am pretty excited to write a post where I get to brag about my most favorite person in the world (who can not complain or delete this because it is for his birthday). Josh is the smartest, most spiritual, hardest working, hottest (I could go on but I will spare you) person I know. He has been working pretty hard and has been able to accomplish a lot these past couple of months. I am very proud of him. He is continuing his research project which involves an occasional pig surgery - seen here:

He just published a paper titled:

Open versus laparoscopic liver resection: looking beyond the immediate postoperative period

He also just finished a flight medicine course where he learned how to fly. He now has shiny wings on his uniform. Liezl and Quincy were able to put the pin on him during graduation.

Thanks for being the best husband who rubs my feet, teaches me physics, and gives me a kiss every morning before leaving for work (even though it is usually too early for me to even notice). And for being the best dad ever who makes sure our girls know the rules in football, plays Polly Pockets, shows them Jupiter in the early morning, and explains the triple point of the phases of matter. I hope you have a good birthday!!!

Halloween

2011-11-01T12:15:00.005-04:00

Just one more Halloween post, I promise.

Gathering candy was fun, but handing it out was better.

This is a great holiday, but I'm excited it is over. Now we can focus on our upcoming Utah trip and an amazing wedding.

We are ready

2011-10-28T12:57:00.004-04:00

We have been busy getting ready for Halloween. Here are my hard workers cleaning out our line of pumpkins.
Ava's favorite animal is an owl and requested to be one for Halloween.
Quincy has been asking to be a jellyfish for a couple of months now. After trying to talk her out of it, we went to work and this is what we came up with.
Liezl has been asking for a pair of "fashion boots" for about a year now. The answer has always been no, so she came up with the plan of being a cowgirl for halloween so she could get boots for a costume. Tricky girl.

aviation

2011-10-17T18:39:00.003-04:00

This week has been all about airplanes. Josh is about to finish a flight medicine course that he has been working on for the past couple of months. He was able to go on a lot of flights where he flew, landed, and did tricks in the air. He LOVES flying. He took Quincy on a date today and they came back with planes.

This was their first try. They got better after a while.

This is a random picture of our cute house. Our neighbors get crazy into Halloween and Christmas decorating. We have zombies, ghosts, skeletons, and other evil stuff all down our street right now. We don't have any outside Halloween decorations so I made a spiderweb.

We take our crafting seriously

2011-10-02T10:45:00.003-04:00

We have been staying busy these last couple of weeks. I guess that is why I have not posted in a while. Josh is making a lot of progress with his research projects. Our girls tell people that their dad is taking a break from being a doctor and is a scientist now. I think they picture him dropping colorful liquid into a line of interesting shaped beakers, wearing a lab coat and goggles. Really, he is cutting open pigs and hitting mice on their heads. He does wear goggles though, and has brought some home, which comes in handy when serious crafting is going on. Some other things that have been keeping us busy are: Ava is potty training, and we are in the middle of making Halloween costumes (Ava: Owl, Quincy: Jellyfish, Liezl: Cowgirl). Also, I am pregnant. I am due in April and have been feeling pretty good.

Preschool

2011-09-08T12:08:00.002-04:00

Quincy started preschool this week. We are doing a co-op with friends again. I took the first rotation of teaching and am so excited for this group of kids. Quincy can not wait for next week when she can use her backpack. Ava thinks she is going to school too, she loved doing everything the other kids did. Next week should be interesting.

Liezl turns 7

2011-09-05T09:54:00.003-04:00

Liezl turned 7 this weekend. It seems like she has made a conscious effort to become a "grown up" since then. She has been putting stickers on her ears, pulling on her baby teeth constantly like they have no right being there anymore, and has taken the older (bossy) sister role to a new level. I should not have written that last comment, Liezl is a sweet girl and her sisters are her best friends. I am very proud of the little lady she is growing into. She pours through chapter books at night, wants to make good choices and help others, and lives to create something original and beautiful every day (her new obsession is crocheting). I am so glad we had a whole day to celebrate our beautiful girl!

second grade

2011-08-23T09:14:00.004-04:00

kindergarten

first grade

second grade

Well, she is on the bus ready to start second grade. What a big brave girl.

Swim lessons

2011-08-23T08:29:00.002-04:00

The last of our summer goals was to take swim lessons. They all improved their swim abilities. I am very proud of them.

Fossil hunting and nature center

2011-08-21T14:04:00.006-04:00

Because Liezl starts school this week, we needed a good end of summer activity to do as a family. When we were discussing options, I was surprised when the girls chose a fossil hunting hike over swimming or mini golfing. I figured we would go on this hike and have to convince our little adventurers that the rocks on the trail were petrified dinosaur poop. The hike was short and beautiful and we actually found a lot of awesome fossils along a creek bed that we could keep. The nature center was fantastic as well. I could not think of a better way to end the summer break.

butterfly and birthday

2011-08-19T07:50:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from the butterfly garden we visited yesterday and one from my birthday (Ava's face is priceless in it).

summer

2011-08-13T12:46:00.002-04:00

Dear summer vacation, we are going to miss you. We will miss the mud pies, firefly nights, tan lines, and barefoot days. Only one more week until school.

One of the many reasons why I love him

2011-08-08T21:23:00.003-04:00

Josh taught our family home evening lesson tonight. We learned about how important our bodies are and how to take care of them. My husband, being the big nerd he is, took the lesson a step further and taught us about organ systems, organs, tissues and cells. We ended our night by making a fruit pizza cell after looking through textbooks to decide which fruit resembled lysosomes and mitochondrions.

strike a pose

2011-08-07T13:46:00.003-04:00

We had a fun little trip to Utah last week for a family reunion. The only time I pulled the camera out of my purse was when the girls asked me to take a fashion picture of them in front of a fancy cupcake store. I am sad this was the only picture taken on our whole trip. If only I had another arm....

Lemonade stand

2011-07-08T12:48:00.002-04:00

girls photography

2011-06-30T18:02:00.006-04:00

I wish I was a better photographer. I am inspired when someone captures small moments and ordinary things to open our eyes to the beauty all around us. I think kids easily see the world in this unique perspective. Wen my girls were hungry for something to do yesterday I had them collect their small animals and take pictures of them in an interesting background. They really got into it and came up with some great pictures. It was fun thinking up funny captions for each of these guys who seem to have grown a personality when put in a setting. I am thinking of printing these off for some homemade postcards.

So excited

2011-06-28T17:27:00.003-04:00

Josh just finished his second year of residency and is going to take a break from the surgeon's life to do a year of research. He will be commuting to Cincinnati five days a week to do tests on mice and goats (ask him if you want more information than that.....to prevent our girls from serious trauma, we are just telling them he is going to be a scientist doing experiments.) We are going to have a whole year with weekends off, holiday vacations, and no on-call nights. I am going to get so spoiled!!!

Keeping busy

2011-06-23T21:38:00.006-04:00

Some fun things we have been filling our hot, usually rainy days doing:

Quincy is riding her bike without training wheels now.

Library worm race (Worm Worm the Great did not win, but put forth a valiant effort),

Playing on our swing set turned pirate ship.

Crafting, always crafting. Here is our easiest and favorite craft: Place rocks in the oven (350 degrees for about 10 minutes) then color on them with crayons. The slippery, melty crayons make the rocks smooth and shiny. Careful - the rocks are hot. I would suggest putting them in a deep cereal bowl to prevent the rocks from rolling and keeping the hands farther away (smaller ones work well in a muffin tin).

Oh what do you do in the Summertime?

2011-06-10T21:25:00.003-04:00

We have really enjoyed our first few weeks of summer break. One of the first things we did was make our summer journals. We wrote down some goals, plans, and lists (heaven). The rest of the journal is for writing and drawing all the fun memories we will make. Some of Liezl's goals are to learn how to ride her bike and blow a bubble with gum. She has taken these goals very seriously. She bought herself a pack of gum and after a week of serious jaw exercising, she can now blow a bubble. She has also been getting on her bike almost every day (the bike has not been touched in over a year since we took the training wheels off) and is now able to check off another goal because today she did it!!!! Quincy has a goal to teach Jingle a trick and be a better swimmer and Ava's is to get potty trained. Here are some things we have done that have filled our journal pages so far:

-Garage Sale (don't think I will brave that one again, at least not on my own.)

-Ava is sleeping in a big bed sharing a beautiful, newly painted room with Quincy.

-Liezl has a room to herself.

-A quick visit from Emee before she goes to Germany for 7 weeks.

-Worm races, building a fairy house, and lots of swimming.

-Josh is finishing off his second year of Surgery Residency with a Resident Teaching Award (all the med. students voted on the most helpful resident when rotating through the surgery program, and Josh got the most votes.)

Liezl finished her second year of Daisy Girl Scouts.

Our garden is planted and giving us strawberries and peas to snack on.

Down on the farm

2011-05-25T20:10:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago Liezl came off of the bus very sad. She said that they handed out the parts for their first grade play about the farm. She got assigned the fence when everyone else got to be a fun animal. Pretty funny. The play was yesterday and she ended up having a blast and did a great job.

Quincy's Graduation

2011-05-23T20:25:00.004-04:00

Quincy had a graduation ceremony for preschool. It was fun to celebrate our smart little girl.

Best buds

2011-05-19T18:13:00.002-04:00

Our best friends are on their way to Colorado today. I hope their move goes smoothly and am looking forward to watching these silly boys grow up on their blog.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T18:07:00.003-04:00

Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can't) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtinesses and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on. (Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie)

Thanks mom for spending nights on your knees, making sure my prettier thoughts were ready to put on every morning.

Easter

2011-04-26T06:37:00.004-04:00

We hope you all had a good Easter. We spent our weekend coloring eggs, showing off some cute dresses, and focusing on our Savior. It was perfect.

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T12:09:00.002-04:00

We have been celebrating Earth Day today by making bird seed cupcakes and cookies. We did it by mixing bird seed with non-flavored gelatin. They are sitting outside for the animals to feast on, if the rain does not make them a soggy mess first. We also rented the Crimson Wing - one of the Disney nature movies. It was ok, our favorite one is Oceans.

Hula Girls

2011-04-16T10:48:00.003-04:00

Last night our Primary had talent show. My girls wanted to do a hula dance and here is a small clip of what we came up with.

The video is what it is..... I was running the sound and holding Ava while trying to keep the camera still and out of Ava's hands.

Utah

2011-03-31T14:26:00.005-04:00

We had a fantastic time with our family in Utah. I love that place and miss everyone there. Thanks for the wonderful trip!!!!!

Disneyland

2011-03-30T09:42:00.007-04:00

We spent this last week in Utah. It was such a great visit. Thanks to Virginia, Shane, Emily, Judy, and Dan, we took a morning flight to California and spent the day in the happiest place on earth.

Happy Birthday Ava

2011-03-28T21:22:00.002-04:00

Ava is my big 2 year old now. She got an Aurora dress for her birthday and has been living in it for 2 days straight. Ava is such a funny, happy girl who loves her family, books, princesses, and her dog. I have never been good with words, and I am sad everything I try to type does not give this little girl justice. The best way I can think of saying it is: She is a JOY and I am blessed to have her in my life.

Eight years

2011-03-15T14:14:00.004-04:00

I love these paintings and think of them as bookends of a beautiful marriage here on earth - the early days and the later days of being together, with volumes of life in between. The engagement picture reminds me of fresh love and excitement for the future. The final picture makes me think of a long and fruitful marriage filled with sacrifice and love. After being married eight years I realize we are still in the earlier volumes of life, but it is amazing how much my love for Josh has multiplied and how much we accomplished together since our wedding day. I am thankful for the opportunity we had to be married in the House of The Lord so our pages together do not have to end here on earth, but can continue. Thanks for the best 8 years ever Josh, and look forward to growing old with you.

Dog

2011-03-14T06:46:00.003-04:00

I have never been terribly comfortable around dogs, so it is surprising to hear myself say I love our jingle. It has been fun seeing the girl's take on the nurturing role to take care of her. Jingle helps me feel safe when Josh is gone, and she is very devoted to Liezl, Quincy, and Ava. This weekend when the girls were feeling sick, she would take turns sitting at each of their feet until they would start crying, then she would jump up to come and get me. There are defiantly times when I wonder if it is worth it. When we got her I thought we were getting a calm dog who did not shed. In reality, she was very under nourished. Now that she is healthy, she jumps to eye level constantly and leaves white hair all over. I just have to tell myself she helps the girls burn off energy and has given them more responsibility. They now get to vacuum and brush the dog's hair every morning.

Sing it

2011-03-03T20:15:00.003-05:00

We have big Disney fans in our family, and some have a little flair for the dramatic. So when Santa got us the Wii game where you sing your little heart out along with Ariel or Mary Poppins, it has become our favorite past time ever since. When it is Ava's turn, she usually holds the microphone and dances along with the music, unless it is Aurora - she knows all the words to that song.

Spin Art

2011-02-17T19:41:00.003-05:00

Back in the day, my friends an I could make the most stunning designs with paper, markers, and an old record player. So when my girls play this game online, it really speaks to my inner child. We have also figured out that if you put a paper plate with a couple of paint drops in the bottom of a salad spinner and give it a little spin, you get the same result. We decided to put our stacks and stacks of creations to good use by turning them into Valentines.

hey foxy

2011-02-13T19:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

ice caves

2011-02-09T19:51:00.004-05:00

I remember last winter seemed so long, so cold, and so gray. This year is about the same, but for some reason I have not minded it so much. Here are some pictures of the ice caves we spent a whole afternoon making. These silly girls would have spent all night in their caves if I let them.

Girl Scout

2011-02-05T14:50:00.003-05:00

Today Liezl's girl scout troop participated in a country fair where they represented a country by dressing up, passing out food, and filling out passports. How lucky for Liezl, she got to represent her favorite country - Germany!!!

Ice Ice Baby

2011-02-02T17:33:00.003-05:00

For the past two days we have been having ice storms and now it is snowing. There is about one inch of smooth, slippery ice underneath a couple of inches of snow. The girls think it is pretty cool that they have their very own ice rink in their yard.

QUINCY

2011-01-31T14:14:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday dear Quincy, Happy Birthday to you!!!!

We were able to celebrate our spectacular Quincy this weekend with a chef birthday party, a trip to McDonald's, and some cake and presents. Quincy, I love you for countless reasons; here are just a few:

You are such a polite, thoughtful girl.

You love talking with your Heavenly Father through prayer, and always remind us to read our scriptures in the morning.

You love your sisters and would do anything for them.

Your energy and spark for life is inspiring (and exhausting).

You are the fastest runner I know.

You are also a very talented dancer and artist.

You do a fantastic job cleaning bathrooms (no joke) - and love doing it.

You are a wonderful friend and daughter. I love you!!!

Chemists

2011-01-08T21:04:00.003-05:00

How cute are these little scientists? Can I just say, my husband is the best!

Christmas

2010-12-27T19:53:00.007-05:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Here is a quick review of our fantastic holiday.

Christmas Eve hike,

dinner,

nativity play,

and jammies.

Christmas morning!!!!!!!

Judy and Jingle

2010-12-20T19:01:00.007-05:00

We just finished up a fantastic weekend with Judy. After taking her last final at the U for the semester, she was so gracious to spend time with us before Christmas. Thank you for being such a great mom, Emee, friend, and example.
My daughters have been asking for a dog for a couple of years now. It has never seemed like a good match for our family, but this Christmas I had a change of heart. We met Jingle last week at the animal shelter and asked Santa for her. After returning home from the library today, we found her under our tree. She is a four year old Jack Russel Terrier. We are very excited about our Christmas present who is already feeling right at home.

snow

2010-12-05T20:28:00.005-05:00

This weekend brought the first snow of the season!!! We also got our Christmas tree and decorated it, and attempted making gingerbread houses. Gingerbread houses has been a fun yearly tradition, but I was not feeling it this year. Patience and a messy kitchen is necessary for this activity and I did not have or want either. I did end up with one though. Can you guess which?

busy

2010-11-30T21:11:00.003-05:00

It has been a busy place around here lately. Decorating and shopping for Christmas is in full swing. I just finished our new stockings the other day and while I was hanging them up, I heard some worried comments in the other room. Quincy to Liezl: "How is Santa going to get in our house without a chimney?" Liezl to Quincy: "We will have to make one for him!" They both ran down stairs and came up with a pile of construction paper for their chimney. I don't know if any of you know, but we LOVE construction paper in this house. I caught their vision and we all worked on it together. I think it turned out great.

Feeling Thankful

2010-11-20T18:43:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I walked into the kitchen and noticed Liezl and Quincy working on a project together while Ava stood watching, hoping to join in. I asked what they were up to, and Liezl responded by saying they were planning a Thanksgiving play. She was the Indian princess and Quincy was the beautiful pilgrim girl. I asked them if they could include Ava in the play, and they both said she already had an important part. Ava was thrilled to be their turkey and did a terrific job.
I am so thankful for my silly girls!!!!

30

2010-11-08T12:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Josh had a birthday and a day off!! It was fantastic having him home all Sunday long. He is the hardest worker, the best dad and husband, the smartest and most spiritual person I know. Thanks for the fun day you old man!

Mermaids

2010-10-31T14:04:00.011-04:00

Halloween was pretty fantastic with these beautiful mermaids. We did a lot of partying and got a bunch of candy. But the highlight of the holiday was dressing up and passing out candy. Our little neighborhood was hopping last night with trick-or-treaters. We ran out of candy before the night was through and found out from our neighbors that they had more than 500 kids visit.

Here we are passing out candy.

FAMILY

2010-10-25T15:37:00.002-04:00

We just had the best weekend ever! My mom, dad, grandma, sister, and her baby came for a quick visit. I can not begin to express how wonderful it was to have them here. My girls loved playing with their little cousin. We stayed busy and did lots, but I was selfish and did not take the time to pull out my camera much. We said our good byes with a few tears, but are now back to normal with a busy week ahead of us.

Old McDonald's

2010-10-19T20:13:00.003-04:00

Do your kids go crazy for the golden arches like mine? This is a sign I found on my dinner table today.
(STOP. I really want to go to McDonald's)

We fiddle and fix, we craft and create

2010-10-15T17:48:00.007-04:00

Today Liezl had school off, so this morning I was poring over the internet trying to find something we could go do. The weather was rainy and cold, and I could not find anything worth driving too. So we stayed home all day. Lately, Liezl has been given a hard time at school for being the shortest and youngest. So when she is at home, she compensates by embracing the older, domineering role to boss and tease her little sisters. I was worried today would be filled with drama and time outs, but I was wrong. We started the day out by getting inspired by thumbing through some Martha Stewart books and practicing face painting for Halloween. We then spent some quality time with construction paper, glue, scissors, and TAPE. Made some rock spiders and sugar cookies. Add in some sidewalk chalk masterpieces and some clever, cheep Halloween decorating after the storm clouds went away, and it turned out to be a fantastic day.When the crafty muse is with us, we like to quote a phrase from one of our favorite movies. Part of the phrase is the title of this post. Does anyone know where it comes from?

Autumn

2010-10-10T18:16:00.004-04:00

I love this time of year. I love the colors, the smells, the weather, and the extra activities you can find in your community. We visited a fall festival at a nearby farm this weekend. There were kid games, animals to pet, pumpkins to pick, and a scarecrow contest we could judge. It was so fun! We have also been enjoying caramel apples a little too much all for the sake of fall. Of course Halloween has been the topic of choice around the dinner table. The girls have decided on being mermaids after weeks of careful thought. I have finished Liezl and Quincy's costumes and just have Ava's to go. I thought I would give you a little preview of how they turned out. Happy Autumn!!

What we are watching

2010-10-02T18:57:00.004-04:00

Barbie movies are a huge hit with my girls. I am not too sure why. The early ones have bizarre stories and the animation is pretty sad. The newer ones are a little more entertaining, but are just silly and...blond. Like when a girl finds out she is a half mermaid and needs to save her enslaved mother, before anything, she has to find the best accessories to go with her new tail. Or when Barbie attends a ball and has to fight men who are plotting to kill the prince, she takes off her long, formal skirt to reveal her short, crime-fighting skirt and gets the bad guys with long ribbons and her necklace sling. One of my favorites is when fairies get tortured by getting sprayed with cheep perfume. The newest movie just came out called Fashion Fairytale. My girls' obsession with the movie has a great deal to do with Quincy's too cute outfits lately. We decided to have a FHE about clothes, fashion, and modesty. We learned that fashion is fun and encourages creativity, but it is not ok when it becomes immodest, when it becomes more important than the smile you wear and the spirit inside you, and when it makes you feel more important than others. Another movie we just watched is the new Tinker Bell movie. The movie inspired Liezl and Quincy to make small houses for fairies to come visit. They spent a lot of the day sitting by the window waiting for a fairy to take a nap on their leaf beds, try on the small clothes made just for them, and have a nibble of an M&M placed inside.
This weekend we get to spend time in front of the TV watching something other than Disney or Barbie. It is General Conference weekend where we listen to the Prophet and Apostles' messages. I am so excited to be inspired to be a little better and do a little more.

another great outfit

2010-10-01T12:50:00.000-04:00

independent

2010-09-27T14:29:00.004-04:00

This is what I get for asking Quincy to go upstairs and get ready for the day all by herself. She did brush her teeth and make her bed before she came down, so I was pretty proud of her.

School Spirit

2010-09-25T08:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was school pride day. The kids were encouraged to wear school colors and wear face paint. Liezl does not own anything green so she asked if she could paint an old shirt with her school's colors and mascot. She was so proud of her original fashion creation, which turnded out pretty cute. I saw that confidence and pride deflate when we got to the bus stop where all of her little friends were dressed in matching green cheer leading outfits. Apparently, along with three dance classes, soccer, and piano lessons, these girls are also in the school's cheer program. Liezl then turned to me and asked why she is not in cheer. I told her she gets to be in dance instead. I really want to encourage and support my kids in any interest they have, but I am not willing to sacrifice family time and my sanity by running them all over. I have told them they can choose one thing at a time. Both Liezl and Quincy really wanted to do dance, so I enrolled them in a dance studio this fall. I am truthfully already getting burned out and bothered with it. I just found out that the spring recital is going to be on a Sunday. Our family believes that Sunday is a special day where we set aside our every day activities to focus on our Savior and Heavenly Father. I think I will pull them out in December before the teachers start choreographing and asking for costume money ($60 per costume). Anyways, when Liezl got off the bus after school she could not stop talking about the pep-rally on the football field. The school she goes to has grades K-12 in the same building, so I guess that means elementary kids are aware of and are supporting the high school football team. This pep-rally had Liezl's 1st grade cheer friends on the field along with the high school cheerleaders. Weird. She had the opposite feeling on the matter. Apparently she has two dreams now. The first one is to have a dog and the second is to be a cheerleader. I have always said what ever my girls are interested in I would be supportive, whether that be playing the chello or playing lacrosse. But I guess that is not true because I am hoping this "dream" of hers will go away. Any advice on the subject? How do I balance family time with their interests and hobbies, and is it wrong to encourage them to be interested in things I like?

The tooth is out

2010-09-24T17:47:00.003-04:00

Last night Josh pulled on Liezl's tooth to make it super loose, then she finished the job. A little blood, some tears, and now a pretty cute smile!! Today was school spirit day, that is why her cheek looks a little colorful.

shark, cheetah, and piggy

2010-09-22T11:58:00.006-04:00

This morning Liezl woke up saying she was a shark. I thought it was nice that she was branching out and pretending to be something other than a cat, bunny, or any other cute animal. She then showed me her loose tooth with another tooth growing behind it. She stated that sharks have rows of teeth, so she was just like a shark. Her tooth should have come out over a week ago. It has been loose for a while, but she is a chicken and does not want anyone touching it. I don't say that to make fun - it is my fault she is scared. Pulling out a tooth gives me the willies. Because Liezl was a shark, she assigned Ava as a piggy. I remarkably was able to get two little pigtails in her hair without her pulling them out right away. Quincy was the cheetah who was running and chasing everyone around all morning......she is always a cheetah.

Preschool

2010-09-15T10:53:00.003-04:00

Quincy is off to school and can not be happier about it!! I am doing a little co-op preschool with some friends and, like Quincy, am so excited for the school year. We are meeting two times a week and will be switching to a different mom's house at the beginning of each week. I am glad she can have something special just for her, and love having special time with Ava.

Happy Birthday Liezl

2010-09-04T20:59:00.008-04:00

Liezl turned six this week. I feel a small bit of sadness to think that she has grown so big in what seems like overnight. But that feeling is quickly replaced with gratitude, happiness, and pride. I am so blessed to be able to be her mom and learn lessons from her daily. I am thankful for the great sister she is to Quincy and Ava. Liezl is the most creative and imaginative person I know. She is a caring and thoughtful girl who is very close to her Heavenly Father. I am so excited for her and the many adventures that await her.
Liezl had a great birthday. One of the presents she asked for was to not ride the bus (she is not a big fan of the bus). I dropped her off at school with a plate full of cookies to share with her class, curls in her hair, and a new outfit to show off.
Liezl asked to go on our favorite little hiking spot for a family activity after school.
And the best present of all - Daddy was there!
Liezl with her best buds.
After the hike we had McDonald's (her birthday request), opened presents, and ate cupcakes.
Today we had a Hawaiian themed birthday party. Some of the highlights were the limbo stick, learning how to hula, and cracking open a coconut.

AVA

2010-09-02T18:33:00.005-04:00

I have not posted much about Ava lately, which I feel terrible about because she is growing so fast, discovering new things, and learning a new word almost every day.
Ava is usually my first one awake in the morning. Her sisters always ask for pancakes, but Ava LOVES cereal. She uses her spoon for the whole bowl, even for the milk at the bottom, without making too much of a mess. Great morning hair sis!!
I get to pick up piles of DVDs all day long thanks to this cute girl.
I usually have a hard time getting Ava to nap, but today I found her outside the play room snoring away.
Ava's favorite things are books. She sits in the alone-time-area all by herself thumbing through all of the books she can dump off of the shelves (which usually is all of them). She falls asleep with a book in her hand, can not get buckled into her car seat without a book, and if she sees you sitting down with an empty lap, she makes herself comfy while handing you a book.

Her sisters love her to tears (literally), and her mom and dad can not get enough of her. Here is to you silly girl!!!

simply lovely

2010-08-31T16:47:00.010-04:00

If you don't mind, I thought I would share some charming artwork from an amazing woman. I first fell in love with her artwork after reading the book "I can fly" forever ago. After doing some research on who the illustrator was recently, I found out that Mary Blair only illustrated a few books before she started working for Walt Disney. She designed "It's a Small World" and did the concept art for Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland. Amazing, right??!!

I love her colors, patterns, and simple detail. I also found out that she did a lot of mural work in many Disney parks.
Doesn't her style remind you of some of the artwork found in Disney/Pixar's UP (which I LOVE).Anyways, thanks for humoring me. Hope you enjoyed.

School

2010-08-23T20:22:00.003-04:00

Liezl's first day of first grade was today. I have been pretty anxious about being away from her all day, and she was nervous too, but we both made it. She got on the bus smiling and came off smiling. I am so proud of her and am amazed with how grown up she is.

Pioneers

2010-08-19T20:49:00.010-04:00

I have been reading the Little House On The Prarie books to my girls this summer and we have been loving it. Liezl loves that she gets to be Marry; the well behaved older sister with blond curly hair. Quincy also loves her role in the book. She is Laura; the brown haired, energetic middle sister. Even Ava gets to be in on the game and is baby Carrie. Because we have been reading these books and because we knew we would be taking a trip at the end of the summer to Nauvoo, pioneers have been our favorite subject. I pulled out my copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and it is now all of our favorites. I even made pioneer dress ups for the girls to play in and bring on our trip. I was worried with all of this build up, Nauvoo would be a let down for the girls. We just got back and it was not at all. We all had a fantastic time with wonderful weather and touching memories.

Dipping our toes in the Mississippi River.

In front of the Nauvoo temple.

brace face

2010-08-13T21:01:00.003-04:00

Growing up, I never felt self conscious of my teeth. I knew they were super spaced out, but all the better to squish jello back and forth in my mouth with. I really did not ever think of braces until I went to a dentist in Maryland where he, very unprofessionally, made fun of my crooked and spacey smile. I then did some research and found that braces would take at least 5 years to get to the end result. No thanks. I still break out in zits, why would I want to feel that much more like an awkward teenager. I came across the invisaline braces at my dentist office and am so excited to announce: I now have braces. They hurt and I have this awesome lisp, but I am so excited to have them. Hopefully my girls will stop asking me how much money I got from the tooth fairy from my missing teeth soon.

As some of you might know, I hate pictures of me. I have probably only about five total pictures of me on this blog over the past 3 years since I started. I am now going to swallow my pride to show off my new invisible braces.

disturbing

2010-08-09T14:20:00.002-04:00

The following is a picture of one of Josh's "white" coats he has been using this past year compared to a new coat we just bought.

I would like to say, I do wash his coats and use a generous amount of bleach to try to keep them white. This one I have not washed yet after one week of use and think I will just toss it. Yuck!! I just did a little research on white coats and found that the Mayo clinic banned white coats and neckties because they carry so much bacteria. Not a bad idea.

Bestist day evr

2010-08-08T13:55:00.009-04:00

I thought I would share what Liezl wrote last night in her summer journal and why she wrote it.

At the beginning of summer we wrote down a list of goals and things we wanted to do during the summer break. One of them was to ride a horse, so yesterday morning Liezl and Quincy did just that. They loved it!!! Another one of our goals was to finish the summer reading program through our library. Both Liezl and Quincy passed with flying colors and received a handful of coupons from the librarian because of their hard work. They got a free toy from the toy store next to the library and a free ice cream cone from the Dairy Queen down the road. New toy and ice cream = HEAVEN! When Josh woke up from trying to catch up on some sleep from being on call the night before, he took us to the butterfly garden. I agree Liezl, it was the best day ever.

Dayton Dragons

2010-08-06T21:59:00.004-04:00

Last week we got some tickets to a Dayton Dragons game from one of Josh's co-workers. I am sorry to say that my girls sweat almost as much as I do, so after a couple of hot and humid innings, an empty popcorn bucket, and 4 dripping girls, we were on our way home. Thank heavens for dad's awesome phone or we would not have made it that long.

Happy Pioneer Day

2010-07-25T18:14:00.006-04:00

This week was spent indoors away from as many people as possible while we all shared around a little flue bug. Yesterday morning we were tired of being shut up in our house, so we ventured out to celebrate pioneer day. I hope we did not overdo it and will be able to have a week without quarantining ourselves.

Our little garden

2010-07-23T20:11:00.004-04:00

It has been fun having our little garden this year, and has definitely been a learning experience. I suppose we are used to Utah gardens and expect plants to grow similarly to those in the desert. We were wondering if we missed something when we noticed our backyard neighbor's garden had 7 foot tall cages around his tomato plants while we just put the small cone shaped ones around ours. Our three tomato plants (that were planted too closely together) quickly engulfed their cages and became one big massive mess. We tried containing it with posts and twine, but it has now outgrown that. If you notice behind Josh in the picture, the plant that is as big as the white shed is our neighbor's tomato plant. Crazy.
Here are some of our carrots, and our gigantic squash plant.

Rocket

2010-07-20T08:30:00.003-04:00

Josh was post-call yesterday, so after he took a little nap we all headed over to our favorite store Hobby Lobby. With the 40% off coupon and with all of the rockets 30% off, we purchased an awesome blue rocket called the USS Gustafson. We took it to our park and launched it into the air. Unfortunately, we did not see where it landed and spent the next hour walking through our neighborhood trying to find it. We never did. I am sure we are going to see a complaint on our HOA message website about some terrible person who shot a rocket into their back yard.

Cake decorating

2010-07-17T20:38:00.007-04:00

While I was putting Ava down for her nap yesterday, Liezl and Quincy decided they wanted to play "cake competition." I had let them stay up and watch a food network cake show with me the night before and it must have been inspiring. They set up three cardboard boxes in the sun room and stacked five slices of bread on each one. They scooped peanut butter into three cups and also poured sugar into cups to set on each box. The boxes also had crayons, paper, and crasins on them. When I entered the room, I was pretty bothered with how fast they had made a mess. But after describing their vision, I decided to forget about the sugar spills on the carpet and the entire bag of bread gone to waste and join in on the game. We first had to draw our cakes, which had to be princess themed, and then use the peanut butter for frosting and the sugar and crasins for decorations. That night I was telling Josh about his silly, creative girls and the next morning he bought them each a cake mix, frosting, and sprinkles. They had a blast decorating their cakes and each received a special award Josh made for them. Not only was making their cakes the best, now they have an entire cake their very own to eat!!

FHE shiner

2010-07-08T14:45:00.004-04:00

Sorry that first picture is way out of focus. So on Monday night we were working on some emergency preparedness and were loading all of our flashlights with batteries. Quincy was being a little too wild with a big, heavy one which resulted in this black eye. Every day since it has been getting worse. When someone asks what happened to Quincy's eye, it is pretty fun to answer with, "Family Home Evening happened."

2010-07-05T10:38:00.003-04:00

We hope you all had a good holiday weekend. Congratulations Germany on your win.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

2010-07-01T11:01:00.000-04:00

swim lessons, worm races, & spa

2010-06-30T14:46:00.004-04:00

My two older girls just finished their summer swim lessons. They both did very well, and are a little sad to be ending. I think we will go a couple of days a week during open swim time to practice what they have learned.
We invited some friends over for a worm race. I drew a big circle on the back side of our twister mat and had the kids place their worms in the middle. The first worm across the line won. It was pretty fun to watch the kids cheer their worms on and get so excited when they got close to the line. We ended with gummy worm snacks and long worm balloons.
This morning Liezl set up an OO La La Spa (thanks fancy nancy for the idea), complete with a foot bath, face mask, make-up, nail polish, curlers, and fashion magazines. Ava enjoyed the honey oatmeal face mask the best. It was tasty.

All Day I Dream About Soccer

2010-06-24T14:39:00.006-04:00

I have always been crazy about soccer. I decided when I was about ten to stop dancing (sorry mom) and play soccer. During my elementary and Jr. High years I practically lived in soccer shorts and soccer socks pulled up to my knees. Apparently, even when riding our horse, wearing soccer gear was necessary. Wow, I was awesome.....
This spring I signed Liezl and Quincy up for soccer and, for some reason, thought I could handle coaching both teams. I was seriously regretting that decision the second week in when my assistant coach for Liezl's team decided to trade to the team we played the week before. They had an awesome coach who would do push-ups after each goal his team made (we gave him a great workout). That was a pretty deflating moment, but our teams had fun even when they lost (which was often) and that was my goal.

Right now, our family is loving the world cup. We all made shirts of different countries to cheer on.

GO GERMANY!

GO USA!

GO BRAZIL!

UTAH

2010-06-17T20:04:00.007-04:00

We just got back from a trip to Utah where we celebrated my sister's wedding. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful trip.
Quincy took a little nap before the reception started, then it was non stop playing for the rest of the night. Her favorites were making tents out of the quilts and the red Popsicles and cupcakes which got all over her face and dress.

This was the front of the reception center. The party was in the back, but after each of the girls took their turns going for a dip in the pond located back there, we decided to have our own party out front.
Most of the pictures do not have Liezl in them because I asked her to be the photographer for the day. I knew I would have my hands full but would feel bad if I did not get any pictures. She did a great job.
This picture was taken at the Ogden temple in the morning.

Girl cousins!!

These last two pictures were taken at Josh's family's house. I am so glad I had the chance to go on this trip with my girls and spend time with the people we love. But after two weeks, it is good to be back with the one we love most.

Weather

2010-06-15T07:39:00.005-04:00

We have had some crazy weather these past few days, actually since everyone left. It has rained at least once every day and boy has it rained. We have gotten about 4" of rain so far this month. The fact that it has been around 90 everyday and have had times of humidity so bad that it is foggy with temps that high have made the storms particularly violent. There have been severe weather warnings everyday and lots of thunder and lightning. There has even been a tornado or two north of us.
Yesterday was probably the day with the most rain/hardest rain and definitely the most thunder/lightning. It brought on flash flood warnings that lasted for most of the afternoon/night. I usually sleep through these sort of things, but I woke up a couple of times. There were quite a few lightning strikes on the ground. Unfortunately, one of the more well known Dayton landmarks was struck and destroyed. I thought I would post a couple of pictures, one from before and one after.

This statue is affectionately known as Touchdown Jesus. It is about half way between Dayton and Cincinnati. It was struck directly by lightning. It burned down pretty quickly. The news that was on in the hospital this morning said that the church is planning on rebuilding it and that many members were very saddened by the loss. It just makes me wonder what kind of heavenly sign this is if a statue that is not the tallest structure in the area was struck directly by a natural force created by our Heavenly Father . I would think that rebuilding such a statue might also not be a very good idea, but I guess I am one of the peculiar people in the world. (I don't want to sound sacreligious or judgemental.)

On a different note, all of this rain is making our garden do very well. Our tomato plants are bigger than the tomato cages that we bought. I guess our neighbor knew what he was doing when he had 6' tomato cages. Our squash/zucchini/watermelon plants will take over the whole back yard soon. The carrots may never grow below the ground because they keep growing up in the air. They are almost one foot tall. I guess we over fertilized with the bloodmeal/miraclegrow/potting mix when we put in the garden.

The rain is supposed to continue for at least a couple of days. I wonder what it was like for Noah who went through this all day everyday for 40 days. At least our storms are only lasting a few hours.

Graduation day

2010-06-09T23:03:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Liezl finishing Kindergarten last week by attending her graduation play. She was the month September and did a great job. Later that day we got on a plane to visit family in Utah. We survived the trip over but I am sure glad we have another week until we have to do it again. We have been having a blast but miss daddy who had to stay home.

Garden

2010-06-05T18:35:00.005-04:00

It isn't often that I post on the blog, but I thought it would be kind of nice to show off our garden, since Kristi is gone for a while. It is fun to see some of the fruits of lots of hard work. It helps that we are living in a rain forest lately (it is in the upper 80s and foggy today, which made mowing the lawn extremely fun). It has rained every day and violently at times. So, it is nice to not have to water. Anyway here are some pictures.

Roses

Watermelon and squash

Tomato plants

The Garden Box

The first strawberry

The berry garden (raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries)

More of the berry garden

The lime tree

the lemon tree

Are fairies real?

2010-06-01T20:38:00.002-04:00

This has been a popular question in our house lately. Liezl's friends have been loosing teeth and the tooth fairy has left her with a lot of questions. How big are fairies, where do they live, can they come into our house..... These same questions have been asked about the easter bunny and leprechauns during their appropriate seasons. I have not made a big deal of them and have tried to explain that they are just fun traditions. The other week after we watched Peter Pan, Quincy asked when we could go to the ocean to meet a mermaid. I think it was a devastating blow when I explained to them that mermaids were not real. I know by now you are thinking I am a terrible mom who does not allow any imagination in my young girls lives. I just want them to know that they were created by a loving Heavenly Father in his image and that he did not make any one with fins. I have not yet had the courage to have the discussion about fairies though. Do any of you have any feedback on how you have approached this type of thing in your homes? I know it is not a big deal, but this is what is on my mind right now.

Like a weed

2010-05-30T12:46:00.002-04:00

After helping Quincy put on a Sunday dress, I was surprised to see how short it was on her. This dress did not look so short two weeks ago - this girl is growing! With her hair finally growing longer and with how tall she is getting, it is easy to mistake her for Liezl from the back. For Liezl's sake, I hope Quincy does not pass her up too soon. I remember how devastating it was to have a younger sister grow taller, but now that I look up to all four of my younger sisters, I am getting used to it. Sometimes it seems like days last forever, but this morning made me realize again how fast these girls are growing and how numbered these precious days are.

graduation day

2010-05-28T08:27:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Josh graduated from this surgery intern year. It was nice to have a formal ceremony to get some recognition of how hard our family has worked this past year. I am so proud of Josh and his accomplishments. He received an award for intern of the year, which included all of the interns at the hospital. The ceremony itself was a little hectic. It was late in the evening and started right when I would regularly be tucking the girls in bed. It was located in the Air Force museum - after hours, so Ava thought it was her own personal playground and racetrack. Needless to say, I did a lot of running and climbing to keep up with her - and got into trouble a couple of times from an ever present security guard. Thank heavens Josh's dad came into town for the event. He helped out a lot with the other girls. After all was said and done, I came away with no pictures and many meltdowns from tired girls.

Hard at work

2010-05-23T20:16:00.008-04:00

Blogging is funny. I started so our families could stay up to speed on our speedy girls. So, why do I feel like I have to apologize to all the bloggasphere who, I am sure, have been lost without a post from me for two weeks? Well, I hope you survived. Sorry it has been a while.

This weekend was the first nice weekend we have had for what seems like forever. We spent our sunny days getting our hands dirty trying to find our green thumbs.

After working hard, we wanted make some smores. I know it looks a little ghetto, but coat hangers and grill flames did the job.

Showing off our berry patch.

Our front flower bed. (Ava usually does not hang out naked, but she got super messy with her smore.)

Rose garden,

and vegetable garden. Yes, that is Ava ready to dive into the box. Since we put it together, she has taken quite a few dirt baths in it.

Mother's day

2010-05-09T13:35:00.005-04:00

Jean-Francois Millet has become one of my favorite painters lately. This picture of a mother feeding her daughters was given to me for Mother's day. I love it!! I think is wonderful that each of the girls (who all look hungry) are not only sitting patiently for their turn, but also giving support and showing love to the one who is being fed. I am touched by the figure of the mother who is feeding her young. I like to think that she is anxiously engaged in her task because the stool she is sitting on is only on two legs. It makes me think of my role of a mother who is responsible for my girl's physical needs as well as nourishing their minds and spirits. I would also like to point out the father figure working in the distance. I am thankful for a loving supportive husband who works hard for his family.
I have been so touched today as I have thought about all of the wonderful women who have been an influence in my life. Thank you Mom for being the most patient, loving, and hard working person I know. Thank you Judy for being a wonderful example and friend. Thanks to my Grandmothers who have always shown me the importance and joy of the gospel. I am also thankful for inspiring women I have come to know who have taught me countless lessons by their example.

Josh gave each of his girls a corsage to wear today. Even though only some of the flowers made it past church today, we are still wearing them and love them.
Thank you Liezl, Quincy, and Ava for being patient with a mom who does not quite know what she is doing, but is loving every minute of it.

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T14:49:00.007-04:00

Today we went to a fun garden to celebrate Earth Day. We enjoyed the beautiful spring weather while exploring all of the wonders of nature.

The famous explorers: Liezl and Quincy

Ava loved playing tag with her sisters in this maze.

I wish.......

soccer, bikes, and dresses

2010-04-11T20:27:00.012-04:00

It has been a busy weekend. We started our Saturday off with SOCCER!! This will be Quincy and Liezl's first time playing and they are so excited. Both of their teams needed a coach, so for some reason I signed up to be both teams' coach. It will be fun and they think it is pretty cool that I get to be their coachy-coach, but wow is it going to be a lot of work.

Later that day Quincy was able to try out her NEW BIKE!! What a fun day. She did very well and is so excited she will be able to ride bikes with Liezl instead of running alongside her.

Our street is lined with popcorn popping trees. I hope they will hang out a little longer, but I have a feeling they will be gone by the end of this week. I will miss them.
And last, but not least (sorry for the long and random post), we were able to show off our Easter dresses at church today. I am pleased how they turned out - it is fun to work hard on a project and see a beautiful end result (aside from the fact that Quincy's could have been made a little longer and Liezl's a little tighter in the waist).

mud pies, soups, and pizzas

2010-04-06T20:21:00.003-04:00

We had a blast playing outside in the beautiful weather today. Cooking delicious food out of rocks, mud and grass was one of the games. I suppose it is funner to pretend to be a glamorous cook on TV instead of a grouchy mom making dinner for her picky girls (which they also could associate with cooking). I don't blame them. After the fun was over I put them straight into the bath. While trying to talk her way out of bath time, Liezl very smartly said, "I bet Martha Stewart does not have to take a bath every time she cooks."

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T18:37:00.003-04:00

We have enjoyed a wonderful Conference and Easter Sunday. Josh was post call today, so we had to wait all morning until we could peek downstairs to see what the Easter bunny left for us. I was expecting the girls to be up in arms when they found out they had to wait for their goodies, but they did not give it much mind. (how important is the bunny for this holiday and will it continue in our home? We shall see..) After we ate our fill of sugar and after dad quickly caught up on some sleep, we all enjoyed just being together to celebrate our Savior's love for us and the opportunity to listen to a prophet's voice.

Happy Birthday Ava

2010-03-27T20:39:00.008-04:00

Ava turned one!! Our family celebrated by having a garden party. We made flower shirts and bug hats, transformed the sun room into a garden (thanks to our favorite medium: construction paper), opened presents, and ate a tasty dinner and tastier cake.

Ava, thank you for making my life even that much more complete. It is hard to believe it has only been a year since you were born, but at the same time it is hard to remember my life without you. Thanks for your silly, spunky spirit that brightens up our home and keeps us laughing. Thanks for your soft kisses and our quiet times together. I love when you get sleepy or just need some alone time because you suck in your bottom lip, grab your blankie or a book and start following me around. Thank you for making me slow down and realize what this is all about - not dinners to be made, errands to run, or laundry to fold. It is about being with the ones you love and enjoying our time together. You are a precious girl and have given me precious memories I will keep special in my heart always. I love you.

Not a fan

2010-03-26T10:04:00.002-04:00

School got canceled today. Make up day is after last day of school.

Home

2010-03-24T21:30:00.005-04:00

When we moved to DC I was heart broken and terrified. How could any place other than Utah feel like home? I quickly fell in love with the green trees, the historic buildings, the cultural diversity, the museums, our new friends, and the fast pace. Moving from our home in DC last year was much harder than I expected. How could this new town ever take the place of our last? I have to admit it has taken a while, but since we have been back from our trip I have felt the deep love for our home I have been waiting for. When we went to our little town for a library story time I took my camera along with us. I wish I was a better photographer so I could capture how charming this place is. I love the friendly people here who are all very Christian, and have enjoyed the slow pace, family friendly feel of our neighborhood. I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow each time we move and am grateful for the beautiful places and people we have met along the way.

Home again, home again

2010-03-21T15:00:00.003-04:00

We just got back from our trip last night and it was perfect. We made memories with the ones we love the most, met beautiful new faces we love so much already, visited special places close to our hearts, spent time with some we have not seen in a while, and said goodbye to some we will not see for a while. Thank you so much to those who opened their homes to us and for all of those who took time to be with us. We love you so very much. The one thing I would change would be I should have taken more pictures. It happens every time we go to Utah. I get so caught up with the visiting and playing, the camera hardly leaves my purse.