The Simpsons

April Fools Day

2011-04-01T10:36:00.001-07:00

A day for fools... and a fool I must be because I think it is a fun day...maybe that's because I still have young children?!

Here is what we've been up to today...this morning Abby and I were going to switch places in bed so when Dave came in to kiss me good-bye for the morning he would find Abby...ingenious right?! Well, he ended up running late and after waking up to Kenzi an hour earlier, I didn't hear his alarm go off, so what was a cute idea on Abby's part, didn't really pan out.

Since Dave wouldn't be home until tomorrow night, we had no time left to play jokes...unless we called him in the morning on his 45 minute drive into work! Maybe Abby could still pull a fast one on her dad! So, she called him to make up a lie, wanna know what she came up with? And I quote, "Hey dad, the people need you to come home and read for 15 minutes...(and with excitement) APRIL FOOLS!" Ha ha good one, bet he thought she was telling the truth, whatever her truth meant. Jeana's was much better, "Hey dad, the Tacker's called and said they wanted us to take our dog back." Much more April Foolsish. (The dog though cute, that we once had, didn't do well with babies, and thus had to find a new home when Kenzi joined us.)

As tricky as my kids were, here are some tricks their mom played on them...(most credit goes to the family fun magazine-awesome!)

For Breakfast: (I froze water in their cereal bowls then covered with a thin layer of cereal this morning.) Ha ha the 'TRIX' on you...okay if that wasn't funny how about...

Ha ha the 'yolks' on you!!! Okay Okay I'll stop now, just had to throw a few lame-os out there...

--David has convinced my children it isn't edible cereal unless it contains 90% sugar-at the very least, so on occassion (aka birthdays or too good to pass up sales) they get to eat sugar with a hint of cereal, the eggs and bacon, though cute will have to wait until after school!

For Lunch: I have little thermoses the girls sometimes pack for lunch, but instead of something warm (aka spaghetti and meatballs) they were served up a mini cupcake with swirly frosting, a little strawberry syrup and malt balls on top. Even if they don't eat it, I'm sure they will still smile!

Their baby carrots and cheetos (since they resemble a similar color and look?!) also got the ole switcheroo, the cheetos were resealed with double-sided tape, and a gummi worm was stuck into their apple.

For dinner: It will be dessert for dinner and dinner for dessert. What looks like a cupcake is actually mashed potatoes on top of meatloaf. Haven't made it yet, but will see how it goes.

Funny side note: When I got married I didn't know the difference between a meatloaf and a roast, now I do, but still don't know how to cook either one!

Now this is more a fare our family enjoys. Abby actually likes sushi, Jeana prefers rice. Both LOVE potstickers and stir-fry and would probably take it over fast food any day. Their poor dad is sick of both!

Now that we are done with stuffing our faces with sugar...here was one last fun idea (from same familyfun magazine) I thought was cute...roll a dollar into the toilet paper roll. (I have yet to see how this will pan out, but I am 'banking' (another pun...I am on a roll...another wise remark...) on no major arguments all in good fun, but who knows I might be giving up two dollars today!

Happy April Fool's FRIDAY!

Trampoline?

2010-10-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor's girlfriend moved in with him and since that created a lot of duplicates, she offered us her trampoline. I didn't really love the idea because in my opinion it's just one more way for the girls to get hurt, but for some reason I was the only one in the family who felt that way, so I was once again out voted and well, my kids now have a new toy. And it has created hours of endless entertainment already.

More and More Makenzi

2010-10-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

More of cute newborn who is two weeks old. Abby is holding on tight I promise, but she was trying to show off the cute little ponytail she was already putting in her sister's hair.

I guess babies are more fun than barbies even for 6 year olds!

A closer shot of the ponytail.

Yeah, like the other girls, she didn't love the bottle, but the girls loved helping out.

Down on the Farm for some a-MAZE-ing fun

2010-10-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, since Kenzi was a whopping 2 weeks old, we decided to head out for some fall fun. It was high time she learned a thing or two about farmin'. I really thought I would be more of a germaphobe this time, but I kinda surprised myself. My husband might not agree, but I feel like I was a little more lax than I thought I'd be. So, I didn't end up putting paper towels in the bathroom and making my girls wear masks after school to hold the baby (believe me I really had considered it...) I am also a mother who tries to keep my baby at home for the first 6 weeks, but I figured since the festivities were outside and I could have complete control over who holds and touches my baby and with sanitizer in hand, we went on a family outing.

The Runyans joined us, it is a rare occasion for our families to both have Dads around at the same time... and Makenzi and I were the photographers of the hay ride.

My cute little pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, I think I got the very best one of the batch!

My three little pumpkins...

The girls put on a puppet show for Kenzi which I fear she didn't like so much because she fell asleep in Rachael's arms...

There's nothin' like throwin' some eggs down on the farm...

Ready... set... throw!

This little piggy didn't stay home...

And of course the reason for going... the corn maze. Though it was a hot, dry season so it wasn't really hard to see through the path, but the girls had fun with their dads.

And they did lots of posing throughout the farm.

Luckily, there was an outhouse for their potty breaks.... ha ha.

Love Abby's face in this one.

Pink Bliss

2010-10-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

With a wife, three girls and recycled birthday supplies, it's a hopeless cause for David to try to avoid pink. So, my poor husband will just have to learn to endure pink birthday candles, pink wrapping paper and babies dressed in pink. Luckily, he seems to be okay with the girl thing and I'm okay with that because I love pink. Happy Birthday David!

More kenzi

2010-10-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's funny how nervous I WAS watching other sibling handle their babies, but I was amazed at how good and helpful Abby and Jeana and been with their sister. I love that they just can't get enough of her. Here Abby was playing on the computer with her and I love how engrossed Kenzi looks.

Bath time!

2010-10-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

My parents were sweet enough to take the 32 hour drive to come and help. And even though recovery was so much nicer this time and I had previously stocked my freezer with meals for a month, it was still so helpful to have them and to be able to rest and give Jeana and Abby some extra attention those first few days. The girls were very helpful and even bathed their own babies while grandma gave Makenzi her first bath.

All clean!

Helpful Hands

2010-10-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

More pictures of Grandma and Grandpa helping out. The girls had a lot of fun with my parents and grandma even made a cute advent for Christmas for me so I could have something new to put out.

She even got to go to the 'restaurant' the girls opened up outside!

Jeana again, helping out her own baby.

She's HERE!

2010-10-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day came, and wow time seems to fly, maybe not so much when my ribs get bruised from a baby constantly kicking my right ribcage or the sleepless nights of not being able to find any comfortable resting position. But it never ceases to amaze me that a few weeks after they come, all of the seems like a distant, mostly forgetable past.

Makenzi finally joined our family on October 10, 2010. She weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long. The best labor and delivery yet! Everything went way smoother than I could have planned, but maybe that's because for 3 months I kept fearing the worst after a very challenging and quick previous labor. I kept fearing I would have a baby in the car and thought how disappointed I was David hadn't done his OB/GYN rotation yet, but at last it wasn't necessary I made it to the hospital with plenty of time to spare and in the end, the doctor let David deliver Makenzi anyway.

I love how these tiny little people can really come with such individual personalities. I love that from day one they seem to have their own opinions on certain things. In all the ultrasound pictures, she always had her hands by her face, when born, that didn't change, if her hands weren't by her face, she was screaming. We kept trying to swaddle her and she would wiggle and scream until her hands were freed. One nurse even came in and said, "good luck with this one." Well, once we learned the trick, things turned out okay and she's been a sweet baby ever since!

David, who was on a pediatric rotation at the time, was able to switch his rotation to the hospital I delivered at and then was able to spend more time with me. My other fear, being I would go into labor while he wasn't around or not be able to get ahold of him or he would be too busy. But so many blessings came our way. We had her on a Sunday he WAS home, things went smoothly, the doctors he was rotating with let him off early both days to come spend time with me! Yeah.
These two are AWESOME big sisters!

In the end I don't know if Abby had more fun watching Scooby Doo in my room or hanging out with the new baby.

She came out with big cheeks and still has big cheeks, but it seems we are just good at making chunky babies! But I still think they are cute that way.

Well done and ready to go...

2010-10-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I don't like having my picture taken and I dislike pictures of me pregnant even more. I prefer to not take them, I prefer to not keep them or share them and wouldn't have even taken them had my mother-in-law not kept pestering me. So, I finally snapped a few pictures and I guess it was good timing because she came the next day. So, you can move right along through the rest of my blog... go on, no need to stop here.

Baby's room...My new favorite haven.

2010-09-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

I kept claiming since we were finally in a house, when we did finally have another kid, I was determined to have a cute nursery and I also claimed I didn't care if I had to buy all new things. Then a funny thing happened, I got pregnant. And I looked at the budget. And then I was sad because it seemed silly to buy a new crib and dresser when I already had one, even if I didn't really love the looks of them. So I thought I could keep being sad and jealous of so many cute nurseries I saw on-line, or I could do something about it and decorate on a budget. How you say? Well, spray paint of course! So, 18 cans of spray paint later (that's only partially a joke, I finally got smart after spraying two side panels hanging in the air to prevent dripping) and after covering david's garage with the majority of the paint...(in my defense the previous owners had also painted in his garage and I did lay down drop-cloths, but didn't think about covering everything else, oops, sorry honey) good thing it was your garage and not mine! Though mine was also filled with other painting projects.

Anyhow, after several cans of paint for furniture and about 40 swatches of bluish-green shades for the walls which Dave all thought looked the same, (and a few research studies to pay for the decor on clearance) and my kind mother who spent way to much of her own time on an adorable quilt I LOVE... I really liked the way the room turned out. Did I mention because of my stressed-induced melt down about two weeks before she came, Dave who really didn't have the time, even finished the dresser for me and helped set up the room? What a sweetie!

Ikea (and 5 pieces of scrapbook paper) totally have their place. (see picture frames)

The color of the dresser and crib before the remodel.

Congraduations!!!

2010-08-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

When we moved out here for school, we met another family with kids our girls age who had also moved here for a doctorate. And Since Rob was finishing his post-doc and Dave was finishing his Ph.D. Tamra, Rob's wife was kind enough to throw the boys a movin' on and 'yeah they survived' party. Dave told me I wasn't allowed to do a party, but for some reason, Tamra was able to get permission?! Guess he likes her more. At the part though, Rob obviously won the popularity contest because I brought two cakes for the boys and well as you can tell in the picture, Rob's went first!

Jeana biking

2010-08-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

I love my life and have to say, I really don't have much to complain about. Yes, I have a spouse that has chosen a difficult and extremely busy career path, but most of the time, I'm okay with that. I feel like he is putting his ability to good use and because he loves what he is doing and I am a fairly independent person, I am okay with this, most of the time. However, there are a few moments where I feel a little bitter, one of those is the picture below. I remember when my neighbors moved in I was shocked their 9 year didn't know how to ride a bike without training wheels. Well, my eight-year-old still can't. There are two reasons for this: 1. She is an extremely cautious person 2. Her dad hasn't had the time to teach her. (insert bitterness.)

Her uncle gave her a quick lesson on this particular day, but she gave up pretty quickly. If her dad had the time, which he hasn't, he would have made her keep trying. Where am I in this equation? Well, currently almost 8 months pregnant and well, there are somethings I really believe are just Daddy jobs, there aren't many, but on my list, teaching a kid to ride a bike is.

In Dave's defense, this was the hardest summer and though next summer will still be busy, Dad will have a little more time and as motivation, I have already decided to give her a bike for her 9th birthday... to think this all came about because I was judging my neighbor for not being able to ride a bike at age 9.

Haircuts

2010-08-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Since school is just around the corner, I decided to give the girls a pretty new hair-style. I decided I wanted to practice layering and had fun doing it! Abby kept begging for me to go shorter, but I didn't have the guts.

Jeana wanted long layers (even though there looks like a longer piece on the left, I promise it's just the picture...) I got to do 4 haircuts that day, but sadly enough only my kids have come back?! :) I had fun, but could use a little more practice, any takers?

Niagara Falls

2010-08-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Since we made the kids tag along for a history rich tour through Kirtland and Palmyra and since we did all now have passports, we decided to end the quick trip with a more kid friendly atmosphere and headed to Niagara Falls. We stayed in Canada, had a good time and spent one afternoon playing at an indoor waterpark. It was a great family trip.

Since it was August and the air was hot and humid, we decided to pop into an old-fashioned soda shop for a little ice cream float.

Before we all got 'mistified' from the falls.

Cute.

I still have a hard time believing this candy bar really only weighs 7 oz...

Fireworks over the falls. Fun.

And the first and probably last time we will take the girls to a Hard Rock Cafe, wasn't as fun as Dave and I remember and for being so overly priced, it was quite disappointing.

Oh How Lovely Was the Morning...

2010-08-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Alas...David had finished his research, finished his dissertation, stressed, aged 10 years and finally defended! It was a great defense, probably the best one I've ever been too (okay this time I'm not being bias because he's my husband, it's actually just the only dissertation I've been too, so he wins the best award from me.)

His P.I. was fantastic and had so many wonderful things to say about him she really did a lot of research on Dave and our family and probably spent way to much time on putting together a presentation of him, I only wish I would have recorded it, because she was quite thoughtful and really put in a TON of work in his behalf over the past four years.

Anyhow, we had a few days between his finishing of his Ph.D. and starting his 3rd year of medical school, so we tried to think of some place we'd like to still visit while out here since we could be back out west in a couple of years, so we opted for New York, but not New York City, we headed to upstate New York to view a little LDS church history.

Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was living in Palmyra when he fourteen years old. He went into a grove of trees by his home to pray about which church to join, in the end he received a revelation to not join any of them, but that he would be directed by God to restore the gospel the way it was in times of old, with proper authority. He spent the remainder of his days, spreading the gospel, serving others and sharing his experiences with everyone he met. He was eventually killed by an angry mob because of his beliefs. And since we are mormons, this is a special and sacred place for us and one we really enjoyed visiting.

The day was extremely hot and humid, but it was still fun to take a walk in the woods as a family, visit the replica of the Smith's family farm and beautiful home they built, but only lived in for a few months.

This was Joseph's room as a young teenager.

There are no complaints on the size of our house after seeing this 'somewhat' two bedroom hosting way more family member than I could ever imagine having under one roof everyday.

And though we didn't get to go through the temple on our visit since we had the girls with us, it is still so fun to see how beautiful they are.

This is the Hill Camorah where we believe Joseph Smith found an ancient record, that with help, he later translated into the the Book Of Mormon.

Since we were already facing about an 8 hour drive, we decided a 30 minute detour in Ohio on our way to New York would be acceptable. So, we stopped for a few hours in Kirtland, Ohio.

David's brother was living in Indiana when Jeana was only a couple of months old, so along with the young babe, Grandpa and Grandma, we went to visit their family and visit Kirtland, Ohio, which is also a place heavy on history of our church. Little did we know someday we would live close enough to visit again! Anyhow, lots has changed in 7 years, but it was still fun to visit with our now older, kids. And since I was 7 1/2 months pregnant, technically all of us got to visit the Kirtland temple.

Kooie Formerly known as Annie Formerly known as Tink Formerly known as ?

2010-08-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

As my pregnancy and summer was drawing to an end, we finally decided it was time to say good-bye to our furry friend. Yes she was cute, for a dog and yes she was sweet, for a dog, but lacking any interest in being a dog lover, or any pet lover for that matter, the only really hard part was requiring my children to give up their pet. Especially Abby, though she was a little overbearing for Annie at times, she really loved the dog.

However, there were a few instances where she had previously bit two babies, mostly in defense, but with a busy husband and since I prefer to admire animals from a distance, a really large distance, a baby and a dog were not two tasks I was willing to combine. Luckily, shortly before listing her on craigslist, a good family friend offered to take her. So, she not only went to a better 'pet' friendly environment, but honestly a huge weight was lifted from me as well and her name changed once again, hopefully for the last time. Because she went to a friend's house, my girls still get to visit her, although visiting with these friends doesn't seem to happen nearly often enough, like it used to, but life just seems to get in the way...

Their smiles and farewells.

Swimmin'

2010-07-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

As the summer went on, my belly expanded and my energy shrunk. So, as any good pregnant mom would do (ha ha) I sat under an umbrella in the shade and read a book while my girls took swimming lessons and swam for a couple of hours just about everyday. It benefited us all. My girls had fun playing the water, drastically improved their swimming skills because they weren't as nervous about the deep end, and wore themselves out by being in the sun. So, we could all just chill the rest of the afternoon and sleep well at night.

It also made the trips to their cousins house and neighborhood pool much more exciting too.

Independence Day

2010-07-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

The life of a researcher, medical student etc... never seems to slow down. And while my hubby was hard at work on the 4th of july, we joined a few friends to celebrate the holiday because it just wouldn't be as fun without dad since mom doesn't 'do' fireworks. I'll gladly make cute treats with holiday themes and bring the food, but I leave the fireworks for dad, but since he wasn't around, we left them for the 'other' dads who weren't in the lab or on call that day.

Like I said, I will make the food and fun food at that...

David wanted to take in a treat to the office to say thanks to the doctor and nurses who had been so nice to him and let him do his family practice rotations on 1/2 a day every Friday for six months so he could have a little more time to catch up with the rest of the 3rd year medical students in the fall. So, I had WAY to much fun making a vanilla bean cheesecake, but since it was a few days before the 4th, I couldn't help but go with the theme... and it made me dream all over again about opening my own bakery, in all my free time?!

And what would a red, white and Blueberry 4th of July weekend look like without the blueberries? We skipped out last year on picking because we had just returned from a long family trip and I don't think my kids ever forgave me, so after much pestering and despite the fact that I was pregnant and very much so had the "I don't care about anything extra," attitude, my kids once again won and we had a blast. The blueberry farm here also sells these awesome apple cider popsicles that are so perfect for a hot summer day and every time I go I think I should make them, but never do.

Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

2010-06-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk on the bottom of the ocean? Well, actually it's just more rock, sand and seaweed, but still cool! Here we are at Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy. People will kayak around the rocks at high tide, but once low tide hits (a few hours later) people can walk through the rock formations, but the water comes in quickly because of the shape/length of the rocks and the gravitational pull of the moon etc... There are several signs warning people to get to a high spot and sit it out if they can't walk back to the entrance. Rumor has it some people are trying to petition it be added to the 7 (natural) wonders of the world.

There are some really fun looking caves, but they can't be visited because the water comes in too quickly. The water can raise 54 feet in 13 hours.

At the top looking down.

You can't see the bottom, but this took a fair amount of climbing on Abby's part to get to the top of these rocks.

Us.

Tide heading in...

Prince Ewdward Island, Canada

2010-06-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone has their own list of 'what I want to do someday' and well, because I am a fan of Anne of Green Gables (maybe is the red hair?), one of mine was to visit Prince Edward Island. It intially started out as, 'go on my honeymoon to Prince Edward Island,' but hey, life requires adjustments (and funds and a good reason for the hubby...) So, almost 10 years after the honeymoon, we went! YEAH. And thank you to the in-laws for the wonderful tour!

We took a ferry over from the mainland and this is the last piece of land seen before arriving on the island.

It was cold and wet but the girls managed to go outside on the boat for a short while.

The water was really rough that day and it was hard to walk on the ferry unless holding onto something, but Abby wanted Dad to take her to the front of the boat so they started heading that way, then suddenly jumped backward and for cover around the corner where we were, as a HUGE wave came up over the front of the boat and though they did get a little wet, they avoided being DRENCHED and we all got a good laugh.

Girls playing on a boat inside a boat!

Is there such thing as an outing with Grandpa Simpson not including a treat?

Silly Girls.

The day was cold and rained on and off, we stopped for a moment at one beach so the girls could walk around and just as we got to the bottom, it started to hail hard and it hurt, so needless to say, we all hurried back up to the car and Abby loves to tell the story.

I couldn't miss out on a 'bridge' moment, on PEI with red hair and my future doctor (aka Gilbert...) As one of my best friends in high school and I would often quote, "isn't it romantic?" okay enough sappiness.

And then we headed to the REAL house of a FICTION character...Anne of Green Gables...in the middle of a golf course.

The girls were getting sick of all the picture taking, so to keep them interested in giving me partial smiles, I suggested hiding Jeana's new friend 'Lobsty' the lobster in the picture. It turned out to be too good of an idea because we ended up with even more pictures than I wanted to take, but just for fun, feel free to hunt him out in the following pictures!

Notice the 'Anne' themed hair.

And the girls just couldn't keep their hands off Raspberry Cordial, don't worry there was parental supervision!

A walk through lovers lane.

Some uh-oh K-I-S-S-I-N-G on Lover's Lane.

And some sitting...

Can you tell they are scared in the Haunted Woods of Avonlea?

And some Anne dolls as mementos.

The second day was much warmer, warm enough for oblivious-to-the-cold children to play in the water.

Look Familiar? Yeah, another Anne moment.

And more ice cream...gotta try the local flare.

If you look closely at this pictures you can see a bridge in the background. A seven mile bridge to be exact. Kinda creepy. This bridge goes over the ocean to connect PEI with the mainland. We took the ferry over, then the bridge back. Both were experiences.

Another treat you say?!

Jeana's Baptism

2010-06-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

Since we don't live very close to family, we kept suggesting it would be fun to baptize Jeana in Canada so her grandparents could be there since Grandpa is serving as a mission president. Jeana loved the idea from day one and we weren't sure with David trying to finish up his Ph.D. if it would work, then my little sister's wedding also through a loop into things, but all worked out and what a fun trip and a memorable baptism it was for us all. Hopefully it was a special day and a special trip Jeana will always remember!

Initially we talked about Jeana getting baptized in the ocean, but as time got closer we could tell she was anxious about the idea, so instead we opted for the church building.

Before...

After...and as cute as ever! Snuggled up in a baptism towel her other Grandma embroidered for her special day.

We could not have had sweeter hosts either. Everyone on the island seemed to have grown attached to Jeana's grandparents and went above and beyond to cater to us all. Jeana wasn't sure if anyone else would come to her baptism besides us, but several families from the local branch showed up and were all so friendly. Then, a few locals also brought in some fresh catch from the day, fixed and served us an incredible lunch! I still don't have a stomach for eating lobster and crab, but it was so fun and amazingly generous! It was fun to visit with them all, learn how to eat a lobster whole, and a few fun facts about the island and cuisine!

Here are some of the guests/hosts who spent their day filling a font, setting up chairs and cooking so all we had to do was show up...I don't think we could ever thank you all enough!

Congrats Jeana... we are so proud of you and the good choices you always make!

Lunenburg

2010-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Next stop on the trip...Lunenburg. We were told it was a good place to try REAL seafood, so Dave attempted his first whole lobster and well, I just tried not to look at what resembled a red oversized cockroach sitting in front of him and wonder why people eat them?! I think he might have forgone the attempt if he knew that's what was to be served up the next day at Jeana's baptism luncheon.

The girls also had a fun meal, but their 'seafood' eats were made out of ice cream. Yum.

Peggy's Cove

2010-06-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

After spending a few days at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Nova Scotia, we drove down to Peggy's Cove. It is the home of the most photographed light house in the world. A beautiful place and the girls had so much fun playing on all the super-sized rocks, though I have to admit, because it was a pretty drastic fall down into the water, I was a little nervous, but we all had a good time.

What a handsome man...

Halifax

2010-06-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

CANADA...here we come! Who thought I'd ever say that? In the past, there was really no reason to visit and it just seemed like "another place" but once grandma and grandpa headed there, we wanted to join them in their fun...and heck since the girls have now been thru or visit half the States in the U.S. it was time to expand their horizons and get them passports...

On top of a slippery cement wave near a pier if you look closely as the second picture of the same location you'll notice a sign that says no climbing, well we didn't hang out on that side of the wave for quite some time---oops!

Chillin' with grandma on a nice day.

We got to take an amphibian car (boat/car) tour of Halifax, it was a lot of fun to see several different views of the city and have a fun tour guide along the way. My girls weren't so sure about driving into the water at first, but we all had fun.

And a trip with Grandpa Simpson wouldn't be a trip if we didn't stop for ice cream. We hit Cows (a couple of times.) Not the animal, the ice cream shop and it was tasty. Supposedly the best ice cream in Nova Scotia, or Canada or maybe even the WORLD! Who knows everyone has their claim, but it was pretty darn tasty!

Ooh...such a sweet moment for a mother who is obsessed (well maybe just a really big fan) of Anne of Green Gables...Jeana reading away right before our trip to the Island.

And we couldn't pass up the opportunity for shell collecting since we were so close to the beach. We really got lucky with the weather.

I might be a little bias, but I think that's a pretty cute little family featured in the picture below!

And a sweet moment of silence with grandpa by her side...

I only added this picture because Dave claims it's unfair I feature them all the time in pix but not myself, so I included some of me.

We met this adorable little boy, probably about 7 down at one of the bays where we stopped for lunch. He had a super cute, thick Canadian accent and was showing the girls the mini crab he just caught and telling them all kinds of funny stories about how he catches them all the time and how they usually pinch him, but it only hurts a little etc... the girls were awe-stricken.

Jeana did finally get brave enough to pick up her own lobster, but of course if wasn't real.

Along with cramming in all the birthday etc... festivities while visiting my family in Boise, we also helped Grandpa celebrate Father's Day a little early too, since we were there.

I feel pretty spoiled having such cute little girlies!

Cousins

2010-06-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

I LOVE family. I LOVE having LARGE families. And I LOVE that family our families are SO great to us. So, we only had a short time to visit our families over the summer because David was trying to finish up his Ph.D. and because we had already made plans to head to Canada to visit David's family on the short break he could afford to take. So, when my sister made her wedding plans so close to the end of the school year and our trip to see Dave's parents, we tried to find a way to squeeze in time with both sides of the family, but alas couldn't find a way to fit in enough time to see all his siblings who live 2-6 hours away as well. So, instead, they were all sweet enough to DRIVE all the way to Boise for only a few hours to hang out at park and see us! What a sweet family and a sweet gesture, my kids were so excited to see ALL 21 of their cousins in one week! It was awesome, thanks everyone...it was sweet enough to make me cry, but then again I was also 4 months pregnant and it seemed like everything made me cry! (this is the part where my hubby would insert that it doesn't matter if I am pregnant, happy or sad I cry all the time and I would then insert--yeah, he's right!)

All the Simpson kiddos, up to this point.

The BIG day!

2010-06-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Luckily, we caught the culprit decorating the car, so there would be no future questions of who-did-it? It was all this little guys fault down to the granny panties draped over the headrest. Good thing he's so cute!

What a cute couple Corinne and Alex make, and their wedding was a beautiful way to start their life together. The cake was adorable and tasty too!

Corinne surrounded by 'someday' brides.

A nervous look meeting at the end, or should I say, beginning...of the isle.

And just a few extra pix for fun.

June- A month of Celebration

2010-06-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

Abby is quite a creative six year old. It is amazing what she can do with some staples, paper, glue, stickers or in this case, pipe-cleaner. She made a cute little person just for fun!

While ALL the family was together for Corinne's wedding, we also crammed in a few other celebrations: Melinda's birthday, Chris's Birthday/graduation, my mom's birthday (us ladies took her for a pedicure and out to lunch- hence the feet picture), and a graduation party for David (who at this point was only a month away from defending his dissertation and receiving his Ph.D.) I obviously didn't play a very good photographer that night b/c I don't have pix of everyone, oh well, you get the idea. It was a random hodge-podge of birthday, bearcats and broncos.

Zoo baby Zoo

2010-06-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

That evening we headed to the zoo for a free evening of fun. We had a picnic Subway dinner (thanks dad!) then Uncle Chris showed all the girls how to break the rules. This seems the optimal place to insert: Monkey See Monkey Do...BAD influence, but we all got some good laughs at the massive purple tongue.

The kiddos all slid down a giraffe's neck.

Sat on a seal--who's the main act now?

Abby played 'mom' -her favorite role- to her cousins.

They all pulled funny faces. Weee.

swing, swang, swung, swinged some more...

2010-06-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Our June came in with a bang. The girls finished school, then the next day, early early in the morning, we flew to Boise for my little sister's wedding (guess she's not so little if she's getting married...still fun to say.) Grandpa picked us up and we hit a few last minute wedding runs since the wedding was two days away. On the way, we took a quick stop at Great Grandma and Grandpa's house...the hot-spot in town, was when I grew up and I guess it's my kids favorite place to visit too. Maybe it's the two story tree house, the huge swings, the tree swing, the monkey bars, the 25 foot slide or the 2 gallon buckets of ice cream?! So, we said a quick hello, played a little and were on out way.

The other cousins joined us a little later and Jeana was nice enough to read the stories on the ipad. A gadget I thought sounded totally overpriced and under-significant (my husband spent many hours convincing me we should get one and I spent equally as much time rolling my eyes...) but after a long flight, being pregnant, two tag-a-longs, and excessive carry-on cargo, the oversized iphone became my friend. My girls still know how to use it better than myself. Who knew that was all I would need to pack and my kids would be entertained for hours?!

Abby and Hair

2010-06-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

If I could only use one word to describe Abigail, it would be- INDEPENDENT. This girl figures out more things on her own, than most kids her age, or even her older sibling for that matter. She really was a sweet and easy baby and because she loved to sleep and suck her thumb (okay so maybe she still loves both still,) but once she hit those toddler years, I wasn't so sure about parenting anymore. In part, because her older sister is a rule-follower and people-pleaser, so when Abby came along with a lot of spunk and opinions, especially after being so mellow for the first year of life, I wasn't sure what to think. I remember having long battles of calmly trying to get her to stand against a wall for time out and at about 15 months, just turning and laughing at me for it, but after several 45 minute battles, something finally set in, I think. But maybe not so much for her. I realized that I was punishing a determined girl who really wasn't trying to get into trouble, she just thought she was old enough to do just about everything on her own. That included using two stools to climb up onto the counter, to reach up to the top shelf in the kitchen cupboard to get out the gummi-vitamins and eat well over 1/4 of the bottle. Because really, who needs to ask mom?! Anyhow, once I discovered this, and started explaining more that there were still some things mom had to do, things improved. Well, mostly improved. I still RARELY get to help her choose an outfit or fix her hair, but as Mom I have to choose my battles. Anyhow after that LOOOOONG explanation, the following pictures will now make more sense. Abby LOVES to fix her own hair and is surprisingly pretty good at it. On this day, she put her hair into piggy's, had a pretty good part and even added barrettes on her own. She figured out how to put rubber bands in her hair when she was about 2 1/2 and even started showing her older sister how. So, all that to say, I am often impressed with INDEPENDENT talents.

Last Day of Kindergarten--sigh.

2010-06-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here is Abby with her teacher on the last day of kindergarten.

Abby loves the masses.

Her class walked to a fun little ice cream shop just down the road to celebrate the start of summer...

The joys of parenting and the guilt of a mother...

2010-05-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have tried to encourage one-on-one dates with my girls with both mom and dad. And since I will soon be having another baby, I wanted to make sure both girls felt like they were getting enough attention from us. So, Dave took Abby and I took Jeana and off we went. Jeana was partly wanting to go because she still had some birthday money burning a hole in her pocket and we learned from last years experience that if Abby tagged along, she would want the same thing-only the more expensive version (even with no tags showing). Alas, jeana found a wallet which she deemed perfect for the many upcoming trips. And we were on our way home. Jeana showed Abby her new treasure and the tears became and the, "that's not fare, I want one, I need one for our trip too, I have two dollars etc.................." it went on and on. She soon discovered that wasn't working and pulled the, "Mom, I just really want to spend time with you on a date with just me..." As much as I tried not to give in, a few extra chores later I caved and well, so much for bright ideas.

Baby announcement

2010-05-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

We decided (okay let's be honest, Dave had nothing to do it, so I guess I decided...) to plan a themed dinner for my girls just for fun and well this is what I came up with...

Baby Corn

Baby Spinach Salad

Baby Back Ribs

Babybel Cheese

And dinner wouldn't be complete w/o dessert--sugar babies!

Also included: Fortune Cookies--for added flare -- they required a small amount of surgery on my part and might need a closer eye for details--or simply watch the video!

Jeana and end of school year festivities

2010-05-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

The school, with the help of a very talented music teacher, put on a second grade barnyard 'moosical.' It was adorable and Jeana was so excited about it, she invited half the world! There were a few kids from each of the four classes who had a speaking part and Jeana was ecstatic she was one of them. She memorized her sentence and repeated it for weeks to get it just right, she was totally animated through the whole thing and even got lots of compliments from others around because of her dramatic animation (not realizing they were sitting next to her mom, but thanks!) Lucky for me, she was second from the left on the bottom and easy to record. The classes were milkshake cows, goat chefs, clean pigs and she was a funky chicken.

Her school teacher also put together a "Dean's List" for the third quarter and then treated those who made the list to an afternoon of bowling. Siblings were allowed to join in and I think Jeana loved it all besides the fact that Abby outscored her by almost double!

Jeana also had her dance recital. She takes dance from a classical ballet studio and they always do a great job and stick to a theme for the year. This year was Beatrix Potter. Her class had country mice and city mice, she was a very cute country mouse and all the accessories are made my the studio manager...talk about a lot of work and talent! Her friends Morgan and Rachael were also in her class this year which was great for carpooling!

Photos during the dance.

Jeana's Birthday

2010-05-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have an eight year old! WOW! Time does goes fast, but I don't think I could have asked for a sweeter one!

She started off her special day with breakfast in bed. Growing up, we always got to choose a special cereal for our birthday, so I have kept up the tradition (only because my husband LOVES traditions...haha) So, when I asked Jeana what she wanted, she said, "the cereal with the pirate on the front and it's square and round." After much thought, I finally realized she meant Captain Crunch, and Captain Crunch is what she got!

She started out the morning opening a few presents. The sad thing is, she usually sees what Abby asks for since Abby's is a few months before hers, and then requests the same things. I guess it is nice for her to have her own, but kinda sad her creativity doesn't go far beyond Abby's preferences. She wanted a newborn cabbage patch that is a surprise gender until opened, a zhu zhu pet, a create-your-own storybook, and as a mom it is always a great opportunity to sneak a few new clothes for the upcoming season and then they feel like they get to open more presents!

Sportin' her new shirt.

She wanted an all girl birthday party, so she invited over one family with a boy she likes to play with for pizza on her actual birthday so he could come celebrate too.

Jeana's Birthday Party

2010-05-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Jeana requested a nature party, but also wanted to do hair and nails. Usually, I prefer to have a theme to go off of and with the combination, I was stumped. Then, I talked to my mom and she suggested a "lady"bug party. PERFECT! It was the best of both worlds, so they were invited to enjoy a few things in nature, then get all dolled up like a 'lady.' It was also good timing because my mom found some really cute ladybug party favors etc... I hadn't seen here--thank you mom for saving/creating a fun party, too bad you weren't closer to join in the festivities!

These were the best outfits we could come up with deemed worthy of a red and black themed party.

We had a few other things going on that day, so we did a little brunch and had mini pancakes, blueberry muffins and sausage biscuits with fruit and topped off with the oh-so-healthy-before-lunch cake and ice cream!

My version of a tasty ladybug

She has a few friends with gluten allergies, so I was going to attempt an ice cream cake, well 9:30 the night before the party rolled around and I decided that sounded like too much work, so instead I made a gluten free cake and combined two cute cakes from a few ideas online. I really love making fun birthday cakes, but when the clock strikes twelve and things aren't going so well, and the cake starts sinking, just freeze it--it will look great in pictures and that's all that matters, right?! Besides the kids all opted for the cupcakes anyhow!

Our cute neighbor who is 12, volunteered to do the girls hair and nails...

The girls played a few fun 'bug' games

Ate yummy food

Chalked nice messages to Jeana

Got their hair fixed and helped Jeana open her presents!

It was a really fun party, but also nice to have over and we are definitely ready to just enjoy the summer!

Jeana's 1st Marathon

2010-05-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Jeana beat me--the first in our family to finish a marathon! It was a cute program her school organized with all the second graders and the help of the gym teachers. Over the course of several weeks, they would walk a mile during the school hours and then they were asked to walk or run an additional mile on their own time each week building up to the final mile that they finished downtown where the official marathon happens as well. It is specifically designed for kids and their families and was really fun. Jeana had been excited for weeks to run a race.

Here she is with her friends from school who also participated.

While we were waiting at the finish line for the runners, Abby was entertaining us.

Here is Jeana with her friends after the race sporting their medals.

Because the marathon is called the Flying Pig, the finish line reads, 'finish swine', Jeana is reinacting her crossing the finish line in slow motion. It only took her 1:59:40 seconds to run a mile--GREAT TIME for a first race! Jk we couldn't figure out what the timer was for, some previous race I'm sure.

Here is Jeana with the few other brave souls from her class willing to run in the rain. There were severe thunderstorms the night before and an awfully wet morning we weren't sure if the race was going to be on, but by the time we got down to event, the rain stopped and the weather was pretty decent-not too cold. Also, she is posing with her teacher. She completely adores her teacher and held her hand the whole race. Luckily, her teacher doesn't seem to mind the adoration.

Abby Oh Abby

2010-05-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Uncle Dr. Nathan, we have some really fun 'dress-up' glasses. So, Abby was being silly one afternoon and put them on to help her read to me. She is getting to be quite the reader! Such a fun stage, but then again, every stage (so far) seems fun.
I really LOVE just having Abby around in the afternoons she it totally my little buddy. I told her how sad I am going to be to not have our personal time next year when she is in school full day and I asked her what I should do, she turned to me and rolling her eyes said, "mom just have another baby!" Well, that would be a solution, but so much for the sympathy I was looking for.

OKAY OKAY...

2010-04-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Let's just get this all out in the open right now, I know I'm a slacker, you all know I'm a slacker, so needless to say, it has again been way too long, so I guess you'll just have to put on your reading glasses and get ready for some long and lengthy updates. I think I should just plan to update every six months, that way there are no expectations, since that seems to be the current on going theme! Enjoy.

April Showers

2010-04-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

We kind of went from very cold, snowy weather, to fairly warm, dry weather. So, a couple days ago when it started to rain, the girls made the most of it by playing in the wet and muddy conditions. Their clothes are still soaking in oxy-clean!

Washington DC...repeat

2010-04-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

David had a conference in Washington DC for the American Association of Cancer Research. He also received a research award (travel money) and was able to present a poster at the conference. So, he invited me. At first I was reluctant because it sounded like too much work to get babysitters for an extended weekend, but after talking to our friends the Runyans, we found out they were planning to attend a conference the next month, so we decided to swap! We had a really good time and because we were just there in August, we didn't feel the need to just sight see, so instead we enjoyed the city, some great cuisine, (thanks to a former DC friend's recommendations) a really nice hotel and just being together.

We were even able to meet up with Dave's dad who is currently serving as a mission president in Canada, but because most of the East Coast Mission Presidents were in DC for a conference as well, we were able to visit for a short time one evening, but it was fun to see him! So, thanks Craig for letting us stop by so late.

Because Jeana and Abby's cousin got a monkey while we were in DC over the summer, that was their one request from me. Anyhow, I got home in the afternoon and gave them their souvenirs and Jeana put hers right to work. The monkeys did homework while she did homework (if you look closely, you can see them all holding pencils).

Camping in Kentucky

2010-04-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

I think our whole family was ready for a break, especially Dave. So, when the Runyan Family invited us to tag along, and even though Dave really didn't have time to take off, he did anyway and we went camping down by Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. It was a beautiful national park, but a drive.

We did do a little caving or rather playing with flashlights under the ground.

And we all, including baby Kate, made the 2 mile hike.

Notice the girls all have two braids in their hair--thanks to Deanna.

Runyan family.

Funny thing is, the water and mud was the the girls favorite part of the trip, I'm sure the water was cold, but during the day it 80 degrees and at night 50, so I guess to them the mucky water was refreshing.

This is the mud they found in the first five minutes of our trip. Way to go girls!

Easter Festivities

2010-04-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun spring Easter festivities. We had an egg hunt and breakfast at the church the weekend before Easter and as seen in the picture, there were some extra large eggs to be found!

Abby was putting her mothering skills to use holding one of her favorite little baby girls, Kate.

The group showing off their new found treasures.

Oh a basket full of eggs.

Egg gathering.

We also went to a community egg hunt at a local church and they gave away two baskets, one for a boy and one for a girl. There were probably 100 kids there and Abby won the basket for the girl. She was very tickled to say the least.

Ready to hunt and ready to go.

I still find it odd to have pictures with a dressed-up Easter Bunny if feels so different than say Santa Claus, but oh well, the girls enjoyed it.

We tried to make the hollow rolls where you tell the story of Jesus and wrap dough in around a marshmallow and then when baked, the roll is hollow inside because the mallow melts (aka the tomb), but yeah, mine didn't have as much success, they were mostly hollow. Oh well, they were covered in cinnamon and sugar, but the girls still ate them for breakfast!

We did tie-dye egg dying this year, the girls had a good time as evidences by the many traces of colors left behind on their hands.

The final results.

These are the best shots the girls gave me of them with their baskets. They were in a hurry to put them in a bag so they didn't get mixed up.

Abby's Easter basket(s).

Dance recital

2010-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Abby decided to do tap dance this year and for their recital theme they did bugs. The costumes were really cute. They had ladybugs, butterflies, bumblebees and Abby's group were spiders. They danced to a really cute jazzy rendition of Incy-Wincy Spider.

She gave me a quick pose and two shots, so this was the best I got.

In the end though, she was mostly excited to get the traditional rose bouquet from her dad. Though it seems kinda silly it comes from him since he doesn't do the planning or the purchasing, but my girls love it when their dad gives them flowers and so that's the way it is! Very cute.

Car Swap

2010-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Out with the old-er in with the new-er. It was a little sooner than we had really been anticipating to buy a new car, but we found a great deal we had a hard time passing up and it gives us a little time to make sure everything is running well before we make a long trek to Canada (hopefully) this summer! David replaced the breaks, fixed a few more things to sell his car and when the first person came by to look at it, the check engine light came on AGAIN. Luckily, the family didn't seem to concerned, but had we realized how many calls we would get and how quickly it would sell, we probably would have priced it differently! Oh well, it is out of our care and it was a good little car and David learned a lot from fixing it. However, here is a picture of our new car. Downside: less space and no sliding doors. Upside: Eight seats, cupholders and lights that push on and off (highlight for girls), I get to keep my garage (a minivan wouldn't fit) and towing power?! yeah that was for Dave.

Abigail's 6th Birthday

2010-03-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Abby had been counting down for months to her birthday. She also had several party ideas that she has been planning since her last birthday, but finally about 2 weeks before the big day, she decided she wanted to have a puppy party. Everything seems to revolve around puppies and dogs since Annie came along. She even wanted a puppy in a purse for her birthday. She is one of those kids who once she likes something, she wants everything with the same theme. Dogs it is.

Here was the highlight of gifts from mom and dad. It even moves and makes noises, so of course we all love it as much as her?!

She also saw a newborn cabbage patch baby who was inside a cabbage and once you took it out, you could see if the baby was a boy or girl and then came with a little outfit based on gender. She wanted to buy the toy with her birthday money but made it VERY clear by throwing an unnecessary fit in the store, that she would not play with it if it wasn't a girl. So, standing there in the store, knowing these dolls were made mostly for girls who probably want girls, I had to open the packaging and peak knowing it would lead to disaster if I didn't. We chose well, and she has loved it since because she got her girl.

I thought I would just make invitations because the party was a little more last minute this year and I couldn't find any that fit her party theme, that is until after I spent 2 1/2 nights using a cricut to make them. Gee I wish I would have gone to the dollar store first, but oh well, Abby was excited.

We used the pampered chef can opener to open several cans (yes we ate taco soup for a week) withouth sharp edges, then filled them with puppy chow (muddy buddies) and then sealed with hot glue. The sealed can idea I stole from my sister-in-law who used them for teacher gifts. I thought it would be hard to plan activities with her theme choice, but I only had to spend an hour online to discover it wasn't hard at all. All my other ideas were pretty much stolen from people who are much more creative than me and who actually post their creativity on the internet! Thanks!

Party included: doggie bags to take home (with a ball and puppy chow), puppy chow and scooby doo graham cracker bones, a frisbee and dog toys for game prizes, colars for the kids and their new found friend, and of course a puppy cake.

Abby didn't want Annie left out either, so she got a party hat.

The kids played Puppy says (simon says) and then had to go on a dog hunt to find the lost puppies who needed a good home.

The kids went through a 'doggie park' obstacle course to find these furry friends.

Then they had 'corndogs' for a light lunch and of course ended with cake.

This was my first attempt at using fondant. It took a while to find the right supplies and I watched a few videos on youtube because I hear fondant is hard to work with. It was definitely a long project, but something new to try. I had a lot of fun with it until the end when I spent two hours trying to make my own dogs out of fondant, needless to say it failed and since by then it was almost 11pm I thought the cake had failed, fortunately, David suggested using littlest pet shops my kids already had. GENIOUS! The funny thing is, the little dog house and animals unintentionally matched the cake perfectly and the cake was saved...had I just used those in the first place, the cake would have been done much sooner!

Abby was walking around in one sock so I asked her why. She informed me that one sock got wet so she took it off, but wanted the other one on still. That's my little problem solver.

And of course all the fun girlie gifts. I must admit it was probably the most fun of the birthday parties I have thrown. Surprisingly, it went really smoothly even though I had to tackle it myself because David had a busy day at work.

February

2010-02-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

Aah. The month of February. I actually enjoy this month for several reasons. First of all, it means we are one month closer to spring. Second of all, I have always liked Valentine's Day because it forces people to do, write or say nice things (without the major expense of large gifts) to the ones they love...and if you know my husband, he needs that forcing-sometimes.

Third, as previously mentioned, I like Valentine's Day because it is the day David and I met. Thus, he is forced to endure a day of cheesy-ness. Fourth, I get to decorate with pink! A color I love, but that doesn't really fit in the home decor, so February is the expection! Fifth, my girls get excited about writing notes, school parties and Valentine boxes and I share in their excitement! Yeah, I love February.

I was a room parent for Jeana's Valentine's Day party, and since we didn't think the boys would be into pink and red hearts, we decided to choose a theme for their boxes, so they were to decorate their boxes with something that represents our city. Jeana went with a pink flying pig in a red polkadot skirt, of course.

So, not the most scruptious of pictures, but last year over Valentine's Day weekend, we did a fun fondue night with a few family friends, the Williams and Vaughns, we decided to hold a repeat this year. The kids ate volcano cheese fondue from a recipe book of Jeana's, only I couldn't figure out how to stack the food on the side to actually make it look like a valcano. However, they enjoyed it anyway.

They were the only ones from the group willing to pose for me.

On the actual Valentine's Day, which was a Sunday, I made a yummy breakfast, only it ended up being for lunch because I am never that put together when we are rushing to get ready for church. So, I made raspberry cream filled waffles topped with a yummy buttermilk syrup. Yes, my photography skills improved since the Volcano Fondue.

Since my husband loves the word 'tradition' I thought I'd throw it out here. The girls and I started a tradition a few years ago, where we set up our own little cafe and usually they serve Mom and Dad, so this year I decided to mix it up a little and serve them.

These were part of my children's Valentine from me. There is this super creative friend at church who makes really cute things, including felt food. She was kind enough to teach us a few things and we made some fun felt chocolate covered strawberries (the chocolate slides off) and sugar cookies that wouldn't be the same without the sprinkles. My girls loved them and they have now become food for their pet stuffed animals.

They needed some real chocolate too.

Okay this is so something their mom would do. I don't need to eat the whole thing, I just want a sample of each and I don't like trying to guess which flavor the inside holds. So, when I saw these of Abby's, I had to chuckle. However, she left these on the floor while watching a movie and let's just say, Annie, our dog had an EXTRA large chocolate fill that day.

Love and Food. Food and Love. Love for Food. Food for Love. Since we had a whole Sunday to enjoy a fun holiday, I decided to try my hand at homemade Italian-style lasagna. We have some friends, Sam and Rachel Vaughn, who both served missions in Italy and cook some great food. So, I asked for details on how to make a traditional lasagna and then was on my own. I'm sure I didn't do everything right, but it was fantastic! The sauce cooks all day and then instead of cottage or ricotta cheese, a white sauce is used. Mmmmm.

I also wanted a fun dessert since we seem to stick to the basic chocolate chip cookie unless there is a special occasion, so I got a few ideas online and decorated a cheesecake. It was actually prettier than it tasted, but hey, it made for a cute picture!

David and I also celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 17th. Luckily, we got to go out over the weekend, because we didn't get to celebrate on the actual day--my fault. Jeana is absolutely in love with her teach this year. She stays after to help her clean up or just to talk and from what I gather, her teacher adores her just as much and is always commenting on how she wishes she had 30 'Jeanas' in her class because she is a good listener and rule follower. Anyhow, she has been trying to invite her teacher for dinner for quite sometime, but since dance was on Tuesday and Thursdays, I suggested dinner on Wednesday of the next week. Well, school was cancelled Monday and her teacher lives 45 minutes away, so I wasn't going to change plans or break Jeana's heart when I realized I had invited her over on our anniversary! Oops. We had fun anyway and ate tasty homemade Indian food (Jeana's choice). 9 Years...wow!

We did have a few sick days too. Abby stayed home one day and piled every blanket she could find on her chair, I guess to make it more confortable?! Then, she snuggled up to one of her favorites...Sewing With Nancy, weird I know, but she loves it.

I also gave much-needed haircuts to the girls. I wanted to try my hand at long layers and I think they turned out pretty cute! The cuts definitely made them look older.

At the end of February, we were able to go visit the cousins and get to watch as Ethan was baptised. My parents decided last minute to make the 28 hour-ish trek for only a few days and it was a fun surprise to see them. Then, since they had to pass through Utah and since Aunt Corinne had the weekend off of work, she came too! It was fun to visit with them all, even though it was very short trip. Though I appreciated the fact that I only had to drive 5 hours home! My parents thought it would be fun surprise to not tell the grandkids, but when we got there, the girls didn't seem the least bit surprised. I asked them why and they said they already knew they were coming becuase they heard me talking about it on the phone! Ha ha. I guess I just assusmed they were oblivious to my conversations, but I now know I need to be a little more careful!

There was a reception ending at the church when we were done, so some lady brought out these HUGE cookies that were leftover for the kids, which is the only reason they were willing to somewhat pose for the picture.

Jeana thought it was fun to watch Ethan get baptised knowing she will be soon too!

The group who came to support Ethan in his big decision.

President's Day

2010-02-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

I love that Abby enjoys school so much, but sometimes it takes a little creativity on my part to figure out what she is learning. She came home other day and said, "Mom, you know that guy who wanted to become president and so he grew a really long beard? Well, we learned about him today and even got to make a 'cavin' like the one he lived in."

January was even better when Abby came home and said, "Mom today we learned about that one guy that we don't have school on Monday because of." Vague I know, but since it was close enough to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it only took a minute. I am so glad that my child keeps learning about 'guys' in school. However, she then furthered her comment with, "Yeah, some people didn't like him and they were really mean to him because he had brown skin and not peach skin and we watched a movie on how people were mean to him and his family and started his house on fire and they even killed him. Sad huh? Mom, we should love everyone and not just people with peach skin."

SNOW DAYS AND THEN MORE SNOW DAYS!

2010-02-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE snow days. Well, on occasion. I have never lived in a place before that gets so many, but I have to admit on cold days, I don't like to go out- anywhere. I like to just hang out with my family, stay in pajamas if we want and of course drink warm things like flavored milk steamers and eat hot soup. (Yes, we all know my life revolves around food! Someday, when I am a size 2, that might change, but not today!) Anyhow, all that to say, if the weatherman predicts a snow day, even if there is only a light dusting, schools start cancelling or delaying the night before. So, at the beginning of the month, Jeana came home saying her teacher told her class if they wanted to guarantee a snow day, they needed to put their pajamas on backwards, flush all the toilets three times and sleep upside down, well Jeana followed the instructions to a T, she almost forgot to flush the toilet downstairs before going to bed and was greatly concerned, so she was allowed to get up and ran awfully quickly. Needless to say, it worked!

Our neighbor, who is currently a single dad, had to go to work, so his daughter got to hang out at our house for the day. We decided to make a few treats. Nothing pairs better with hot soup, then some nice, fresh homemade whole wheat bread. Of course, the girls decided to make bears and snowmen instead.

They love to bake with mom.

Yummmmmm...ooey, gooey goodness...need I say more?

There is this great blog that always has tasty recipes (and if you live nearby have already been introduced to it by me I'm sure), but the reason I like it so much is because I am a visual cook. If I hear about a recipe, sometimes I think, that could be good, but show me a picture, and I usually try to fit it somewhere into the menu ASAP. All that to say this particular blog offers many great recipes with awesome inspiring pictures, so I decided to try my hand at some decadent food shots and well, yes I need work, but hey, it was fun and only took like 50 snapshots to get these two pics. The blog is called, melskitchencafe.com, if you haven't be there yet, go check it out!

And what better way to enjoy a snow day than play in it and walk the dog in your pajamas?

Another attempt at a snowman. And I know I have mentioned in the past that I have great neighbors, but I HAVE great neighbors! Whenever it snows, the two neighbors next door, both pull out their snowblowers and do all 7 houses in the cul-de-sac. Which this winter was especially nice because Dave has been extremely busy trying to finish his PhD, so he hasn't been around a lot and so it was nice to get out of the shoveling myself! THANK YOU KIND NEIGHBORS.

I am typically pretty good at avoiding getting sick most of the winter, but it seems like at the end of Janaury or beginning of february, I get hit once with either the flu or a cold. It usually only lasts a week, so I must admit I am fairly fortunate. Well, this year was no different, but while I was sick and the girls were again enjoying a snowday, I found this lovely note and handpicked goods on my bed. I really love having girls! Both are very thoughtful and Jeana will often do sweet things like this. She left me a note telling me that because I was not feeling well, I could go back to bed and Abby and she would take over and even make me dinner in bed! The only problem was, there were too many things to do that day to go back to bed, but I was still touched by her thoughfulness!

January/February

2010-02-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

Dad asked the girls to organize the coat closet, and well, the assignment quickly became a game, can you guess who came up with idea?

Abby has really loved having Annie around. I don't that it always goes both ways, but Annie is adjusting to her more all the time. Abby definitely lets her know who is in charge, but also probably shares more treats with her than any other family member too.

I am currently in charge of planning all church activities for the year. So, my committee and I decided to do a 'Paradise Cruise' at the beginning of February and it turned out really well. It was a little rough getting started because we got dumped with snow that day and we weren't sure if we would have to cancel, finally about an hour before the activity, the walks were shoveled and the ok was given, so we followed through. Though, some of the early birds were quickly given assignments to help set up! We had a swing dance instructor and yummy island/tropical foods.

Some of the youth were kind enough to babysit so the activity could be just for the adults. However, once the activity was over, they worked their way into the gym and held their own tropical party.

Cute Island princesses!

New Year's Party at our House!

2010-01-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Nathan and Melinda and Family joined us for New Year's Eve. They even brought the entertainment! No, we aren't ready to start a family band, but Emmett I think might be a future rock star!

This was definitely the hot spot for the weekend and Taylor Swift was of course the favorite.

We began the evening with yummy food and a family favorite (minus Dave because it requires effort to dip and eat:) Fondue.

I think Abby might have had a little too much sugar over the course of the week, oh wait, nope just her personality. Her bright idea was to use a pink marshmallow, with chocolate lines and when stuck to her nose would look like a pig...well needless to say, the other kids followed suite. It is never very hard to distinguish Abby's place at the dinner table from all others. She seems to manage to get just as much on and around her as in her mouth!

The kids all joined in on the count down in NYC on TV. They loved the blow horns and the toast with Sparkling cider.

On New Year's Day, we decided to take the cousins to the Zoo to see the festival of lights. We thought we had enough coats and hats, but didn't anticipate the weather being SO cold. We didn't even look, just assumed if we were bundled we'd be fine. Well, we were wrong. Surprisingly, our trip lasted a couple of hours, but we tried to stay inside. We watched the Polar Express in 4D and visited the reptile house, we finally ended with a puppet show outside sitting on extremely cold cement! We decided to leave and on the way out, the boys were in tears because of being so cold. When we got home, we looked up the tempture and with wind chill it was -6 degrees! Oops sorry!

They did get to see a few gingerbread people, which everyone, especially Lindsey thought was pretty cool.

The camera didn't do it justice, but the lights at the Zoo are well done. It only took us 5 1/2 years to buy a zoo pass and actually visit it at Christmas time!

Uncle Nathan and Emmett. What a cute reindeer Emmett makes!

Poor little guy didn't cry or complain at all. Such a sweet boy.

Because I felt so bad about all the frozen fingers and toes, and because cousin Ethan is currently reading Harry Potter and is loving it, I told the kids we could make 'hot buttered beer' when we got home, which they all enjoyed. Once they were in warm pajamas and their little bodies finally defrosted, they hit the couch with Jeana and Abby's DVD players they got for Christmas. The best part is, since they couldn't agree on the movie, they just watched two different ones! Thanks Noakes Family for visiting!

Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

I can't decide if I think Christmas morning was more fun as a child or if it is more fun as the mom, but I did decide the reason we celebrate Christmas in the midst of winter, is so we all have something to look forward to when the weather is so dreary and cold.

Dress-ups and dolls are still the big hit...which I love girl stuff is so fun!

Abby's Christmas reqests: A vet set and a baby play station. Jeana informed Abby she thought they both should get three gifts total. One each and one to share, mom loved the idea and thought it was sweet of Jeana to think so, Abby threw a big fit and said that wasn't enough presents. Not surprised. In the end, they both wanted the baby play station and one other gift, but since David is there father, they made out with a lot more than that.

We spotted a little reindeer

My parents came out in the fall and because they drove, they decided to load up the car with lots of my stuff that was left at home...gee thanks mom and dad! Most of which went into the garbage after it's arrive, but glad we could help with the gas mileage! j/k Anyhow, I had these porcelain dolls I got for Christmas when I was young enough to think they were cool, but too old to actually play with them, so they stayed in box for many years. I would have told my parents to throw them away other than it was close to Christmas and not knowing what else to get my children besides their few requests, I decided to wrap these for them. I cannot believe what a big hit they were. I think they were actually the favorite present. I told them they were from me (because we leave our tags ambiguous we don't write if they are from us or Santa) and I saved them from when I was little, Jeana then said, "really? Mom I am going to take really good care of my doll and save it for my own daughter someday." I thought that was cute, but don't think they will last that long.

There is nothing better than a new book for Christmas.

Wow, talk about spoiled! David purposely pushes the presents to one area and then arranges them so the kids think there is more there.

My girls were so excited for Christmas they had a hard time falling asleep, because of this, they were so tired we had to wake them up at 8 am! I actually got smart and ambitious this year and had everything wrapped and labelled a week in advance and stocking supplies sorted into grocery bags. It was the earliest we have ever gone to bed on Christmas Eve. It was great!

Jeana Christmas request: a drum set (luckily, but sadly it didn't really work, it was really quiet, so I felt bad for her, but it was nice to not hear loud noises all day!) A few years ago we got Jeana a camera, but it didn't really work and that was her 'big' gift so I felt really bad, this year I felt even worse that she got the bummer end of the deal, but she requested it a few days before Christmas and Toys r Us only has so much to choose from, but being the good sport she is, she still loved the day and loved everything!

The girls got up to open stockings and in the meantime, David went down to skype his parents, so we didn't catch the initial surprise on camera of the kids coming down to the tree and while talking to Grandma and Grandpa the girls just started opening presents, so there was absolutely no order to present opening this year and because they just started opening, we didn't even do the nativity until Family Night the next Monday...sad, I know. But we told lots of stories throughout the month.

So, I might not be the world's best stay-in-contact person or even blog-updater, but I am even worse at getting out formal thank you's for all the nice things people send or do for us. So, if you would, please forgive me! Each year, I take pictures of the girls holding the gifts they get, thinking it would be fun to send them bach to the giver, but alas it never happens. So instead I posted these pictures, so hey, consider this a formal thank you for Grandma and Grandpa Simpson for the fun shirts! My girls loved them and I personally enjoyed the candy.

The girls headed to our room first to check out their stockings fully loaded with candy, a new toothbrush, orange, sprite and a few small toys. Jeana got milano cookies in her stocking because for some reason she loves those things.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

This year we went all out with the Christmas lights by stringing lights around our front window, putting our tree in a new place and changing our porch light to a green light bulb. That was a huge step for our family!

Abby got some reindeer food at school and really wanted to put it out in our yard. So, mom says, 'put your coat on and we will go dump it in the grass.' Dad says, 'I will get the ladder and you can put in on the roof since that is where the reindeer land.' So, mom stood idly by crossing her fingers that none of them would end up in the ER on Christmas Eve. Luckily, they didn't, but if you look up at top corner, you can see Jeana sitting in the background looking at lights. I guess that's why we have dads. They thought that was the coolest thing ever.

After leaving food for the reindeer and cookies for santa, we headed out to view the Christmas lights, then came home and they got to open pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Noakes. I have to admit, they were so soft and warm and I wanted a pair!

Aunt Corinne's Christmas card

2009-12-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

My family rotates sibling names for Christmas each year. It is nice because we always know a year in advance, whose name we will have. And it is nice to keep contact with everyone. The gifts are supposed to be homemade or not too expensive. This year we had Aunt Corinne. I put together a little recipe book, then asked the girls to go make a card to send with it. Abby came down with this: It is a purse made with tape and college rule paper and a white foam handle. Inside the purse was a pencil, lipstick and face powder complete with a sponge applicator made out of colored white foam. She also included a nickel for money and a flower perfume on a stick. WOW! leave it to Abby. Even Gucci doesn't fill the purse for you!

Winterwonderland

2009-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

The girls along with their neighbor, Kayla, built a mommy and baby snowman. While Kayla's dad was sweet enough to snowblow our walks for us! I love my neighbors...especially the one's with fancy toys when it starts to snow.

The snow started early this year and we got quite a bit for this area. Here is Jeana enjoying some of the first fallings.
We finally got our first zoo membership this past year and have heard wonderful things about their Christmas light display etc...so we decided to go one night for Family Night. We had a good time and it was really fun. We ended up running into a few other friends with the same thought. Here is a pictures with Abby and her friend Eleanor by the polar bears.

Jeana and B-Ball

2009-12-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

Jeana had been begging to play Basketball again this year, so we decided to sign her up, knowing that the teams are made up of 7-10 year olds. So, needless to say, she was not only the youngest on the team, but also the most height challenged, and one of two girls. However, she seemed to be oblivious to all these facts and had a great time anyway.
The hoop was a couple feet shorter than the standard (maybe around 8 feet) and by the end of the short season, she was getting pretty good at making shots (during practice, the games I think intimidated her a little.)

This is a quick shot of her impromptu team on the last game day. They ended up being short a few team members, so they recruited from other teams to avoid forfeiting.

Here is practicing with Brother V. He was her primary teacher at church last year and she just adored him and tracks him down every Sunday to give him a hug, card or candy. The Sunday before the game, she told him all about basketball and asked him to come watch a game. We didn't know about this until the night before when he called to double check on time. It was very sweet of him to take the time to support her b/c he is a busy guy with a busy family. Early in the fall she also suckered her school teacher into coming and watching her practice ballet and of course she came too. I am glad she has lots of great examples to look up to!
Showing off her skills and oh yeah, her favorite 'look.'

Our First and ONLY EVER Dog

2009-12-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

Meet Annie. Yes, I being the sweet wife/mother I am, I caved and gave into my husband's and daughters' pleadings (only because they were drastically influenced by their father) and we got ourselves a dog. I still don't know how long this will last, but in the meantime, she has become a part of the family. Back in November when David started his Family practice rotation, he brought a flyer home from one of the nurses. She was a rescue pet and I agreed to go look simply b/c the others he found online were pure bred and at least $500 each. This one came free with kennel and lots of goods. Oh and did I mention how in the summer time when he started looking I went to be nice (ok and a little out of fear that he would make some rash decision and come home with one on the spot if I wasn't there) and after much browsing, he informed me he no longer wanted a dog b/c I wasn't being supportive enough?! I guess he actually expected me to touch them. Anyhow, after all that and on the long drive up to the couple's house, I informed him we were looking, then would go home and discuss. We get there, the girls start begging for the dog and Dave then announces he's okay with taking her home, so after giving my sweet husband several dirty looks, I gave in and lost the 3 to 1 vote (knowing full well if I said 'no' I would have been made out to be the bad guy the rest of the drive home and several days following, but looking back that doesn't sound so bad?) The girls love to give her bath, feed her and take her outside (all very much not my jobs.) Does it sound at all like I'm whining? Oh that's probably because I am good at it!
She is cute, the girls named her Annie, she came fully potty/kennel trained and does some fun tricks. I have to admit, she has grown on me a little, but still not my thing at all especially with the oh so fun doggy smell and messy yard. And of all the people to favor in our home, she chose me, so that means from the time I wake up, she follows me everywhere. I sit, she jumps on my lap, some people find this cute, me--I am just realizing more and more that I am not a animal person, although a quick visit to the zoo and seeing animals from a distance, isn't so bad.
But I love my family, so thus I endure. If she is in our home a year, it will be a miracle. I have this odd feeling someday she might end up 'running away' like my brother's dog when we were little. :) jk kinda.

December... So Far

2009-12-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Quick side note- finally posted pics from our D.C. trip this summer, promised I would, but it was late in coming, if you want to read about it, shuffle back a few pages and enjoy!

So far, December has gone by fast, parties were early this year and mostly done, shopping is mostly done, so hopefully we can finish it low key and enjoy the holidays! Is it ever possible to have a low key December?

This picture doesn't look staged does it?

Girls in their Christmas dresses. I actually didn't want to pay for dresses this year, so we were just going to pass, but luckily (my husband would probably insert a different word) I am one of those crazy people who goes out on Black Friday in the wee hours of the morning and because of it, and the fact that I wasn't after too much, I was able to get these cute dresses for $13 each, much better than the regular $62! So, obviously I caved.

Silly Abby

November

2009-12-10T12:50:00.001-08:00

We had a great, but quiet Thanksgiving. Our good friends the Vaughns, joined us for a day filled with yummy food and since Sam is such a great cook, we were not lacking on tasty delights. My favorite, featured in the front white tupperware bowl that doesn't match the rest of the decor (too much food, not enough dishes--yet) is Cranberry Salad- a creamy, tart, sweet, crunchy mix all in one bite! If you ever want the recipe, I might even share. Oh, and how about those nice crystal glasses from our wedding, don't they pair perfectly with my fine paper china? At least there were less dishes to be washed in the end!

Thanksgiving weekend, we headed out for our first carriage ride of the season at a German festival not too far away. We also ate yummy authentic-tasting food and I enjoyed the European gift shops.

It was cold, so hot chocolate hit the spot, but we were cheapskates and made our kids share but, after the pony rides how can you afford much more? j/k

My kids are into horse right now, well, actually pretty much all animals, but I'm trying to convince them, these are the best, partly b/c then we don't have to do the pet thing b/c horses are too expensive, so instead we can just hold out and watch the beautiful animals from a distance! Oops, I guess if you read Decembers post, you know it's too late, I already lost.

So, it is hard to pick Jeana out in the pictures since everyone is about the same size, but yeah, this would be her basketball team. The good thing is, she loves it, so she is fairly oblivious to her natural disadvantages.

The high school in their district was doing a fundraiser for a shop that buys and loans prom dresses and accessories to kids who can't afford them, so they set up a make-over for girls in the elementary schools doing make-up and hair, then walking a cat-walk for their parents to model their new look. It was cute, but they decided for the next week they wanted to keep putting on make-up, luckily the fad didn't last much longer.

Jeana's 'home' make-over

Abby's 'home' make-over

A local indoor waterpark had a few free nights, so instead of paying $75 to take the three of us, we went after school one night and had a blast swimming in warm water in the middle of November--and again, you can't beat free!

Our October

2009-12-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Highlight of Halloween--the freebies. For any of you who don't know me very well, I am ALL about the freebies. So, I scouted out freebies for Halloween and when our trick-or-treaters were done we ended with, free ice cream from UDF, free tacos from Taco Bell and the ultimate freebie- Chipotle Burritos. The catch--you had to come wrapped like a burrito (aka in foil) Hence, the foil tie, foil crown and foil piggie-tails. But hey it was almost $40 worth of food!

Abby and Jeana with neighbors on Halloween

Jeana was a queen and Abby was a baby for Halloween. Both outfits they chose and the best part was--I didn't have to sew this year!

Yummy halloween delights

Each night on the week of Halloween, I made a fun, yet a little spooky Halloween dinner, that David mocked and the girls looked forward to.

Pizza 'Mummy Faces'

Veggie 'Skeleton Dude'

Hotdog 'Gobblins in the Graveyard'

Shepherd's Pie 'Ghosts' and bugs in red juice

Spaghetti and 'Eyeballs'

While the weather was still nice, the girls and I would walk just over 2 miles round trip home from school, it was fun with lots of friends and stops along the way, but the weather has turned cold and I'm a wimp.

Abby carved a cat pumpkin and then was sad she didn't do just a jack-o-lantern in the end, but on Halloween night we had several people comment they liked it, so I think it appeased her concern.

Yeah, Dave loves getting his picture taken, especially on his birthday!

We went to the a Halloween festival at the zoo and had a good time with some friends, however, on the train ride I think the dads lost their kids, but seemed to rather enjoy themselves!

Parky's Farm in the fall is always a lot of fun.

Back to school...

2009-12-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

Abigail, my little kindergartner, has LOVED school, met some fun friends and has play dates on almost a weekly basis.
She is also the creative one that can make something out of almost anything (maybe it is her creative streak that brings about some of the drama too?!) Anyhow, she found a cotton ball, glued on a few eyes, tied on a stray thread and named him 'Fuzzball' (so the creativity runs dry when it comes to original names for pets etc...) anyhow, 'Fuzzball' went in Abby's back pack with a small piece of fabric for a bed and kept Abby company through the first week of school.

Here is my ADORABLE, yet so BIG second grader! I feel so old every time I say that!
She too is loving school and adores her teacher, who just can't say enough good about Jeana. She even came to one of Jeana's ballet practices b/c Jeana invited her. She is a very sweet teacher and Jeana has loved being a part of her class.