Easter Pictures

Just a few pictures from an Easter Egg Hunt- they had lots of fun!

Tabitha caught on very quick!

William was a bit annoyed that I made him stop for a second to take his picture!

And Gabriella didn't want to stop either!

Fives . . .

1 - 5 years ago . . . I was enjoying being a first-time mommy to my very beautiful baby girl Gabriella, and still pretty much a newlywed wife. We lived in a never ending disaster zone (remodeling) and I was working 1 night a week at the Crystal Inn in Logan.

2 - 5 months ago . . . getting ready for Halloween, stressed and wanting to quit the preschool co-op I'd started, and dreading winter!

3 - 5 things that worry me . . . Am I a good enuf mother to my kids - Am I teaching them all that I should be? I worry about my husband's health, finances, being a good example and role model for my YW girls, and that some horrible thing is going to happen to one of my kids or hubby.

4 - 5 bad habits . . . I stay up too late sometimes and am a cranky, grouchy mommy all day. I eat way too much chocolate. I spend too much time on the computer and not near enuf on cleaning and organizing my home. I expect too much from others and I am too impatient with my kids!

5 - 5 favorite places I've lived . . . Cuenca, Ecuador; Wellsville, UT; Roberts, ID; Kennewick, WA; and American Fork, UT

6 - 5 favorite things to blog about . . . Gabriella, William, Tabitha, fun family activities, and anything else I think of!

7 - 5 greatest blessings . . . My family, the temple, the gospel, friends, and my extended family

Again, I tag anyone who has not been tagged already!

6 Things

I was just tagged twice by my wonderful friend Christa (thanks a lot!)

6 Relatively Unknown Facts About Me

1 - In Junior High, I was given the nickname "Medusa" by the 3 boys that were on the yearbook staff with me. I never quite figured out why they called me this - I certainly didn't have snakes growing out of my head! I think it all really started after I got my first, and only, perm. But I always liked to tell myself that they were just immature boys who liked me, but didn't know how to express it in a positive way! :)

2 - For my 20th birthday (in Ecuador) I got a 2nd hole pierced in each ear. A few years later, while I was engaged, my sweet little brother Justin "Muffin" gave me a little lecture, basically saying "President Hinckley said you should only have 1 earring in each ear." He was 9. I argued that he should talk to his big brothers who had their ears pierced! But that night I took out my 2nd earring. I figured I was getting ready to go to the temple and needed to do all I could to follow the prophet. Thanks Justin!

3 - When I was in High School - I think my Junior year - I dated this guy named Jeremy for a few months. I never really liked him THAT much. After we broke up though, a friend and I would drive by his house late at night after getting off work at DQ, going real slow and blaring the song "Insensitive." I know, I know - DORK!

4 - I played the cello for a year or so in middle school. Then we moved out to Roberts and Rigby schools didn't have an orchestra, so I had to stop. But I took a semester of lessons while at Rick's (I think my roommates probably hated that semester!) and every now and then I have daydreams of playing and taking lessons again - reminds me of that "Charles in Charge" episode (I think it was that show!) where the kids mom pulled out her old cello from the attic - oh, it was horrible!

5 - My first job was working in a potato cellar, sorting potatoes during potato harvest. I did it for 2 or 3 years (only for 2 weeks each time) and I HATED it! It was cold - freezing cold - I had to get up like at 5 in the morning, and didn't get home until like 9. But it was good money and something that a 14 or 15 year old could actually get a job doing!

6 - I am the reigning Pac-Man Champion on one of my favorite websites! (vickysdeals) And I am very proud of that because for a few weeks I did almost nothing else but play that stupid game until I beat the score!!

And I Tag anyone who has not already been tagged and posted this on their Blog!

Our 2nd Lowe's Kids Class

Saturday we took the kids for their 2nd class at Lowe's. The project was making a "Goofy Golf" Game - and it was quite a bit more complicated than their periscopes! Lots of help from Dad (and a little from Mom, too!), but they had so much fun!

Here is William with his completed project -
Oh - and a little side note here - he loves his apron and goggles SO much that he even wore the goggles while we were coloring eggs last week! Pretty cute!

And here is a smiley Gabriella, ready to hammer away! Don't get Daddy's fingers!

Easter Eggs

Last Monday nite, for our FHE activity, we colored Easter Eggs.
The kids had a blast!
So much fun that we did a 2nd round of egg coloring Saturday!

Gabriella was a big helper!

William liked being independent!

The Final Results!

The kids weren't the only ones who had fun!
I never knew Rick liked coloring Easter Eggs so much -
I should have done another dozen eggs - just for him!

Wrapped

Remember the whole Binky Fiasco a week or 2 ago?
How Daddy (the one who decided she was ready to be done with it)
Gave Tabitha back her coveted "Minky"?
Yesterday she only slept about 25 minutes before church.
I suggested we take her blankie along and maybe we'd get lucky -
Maybe, just maybe, she would sleep just a little bit more.
Halfway thru sacrament meeting, what do I see?
Not only is my baby girl cuddled up with her blankie,
But in her mouth, her binky!
And wide awake, too - just happily sucking away!
Yep, she has her Daddy wrapped around her little tiny pinky finger!

Case Solved!

And there they are!

(If you haven't read my first post from this morning, you may want to read that first!)

This picture was taken in our backyard just now. I took the kids outside and we started searching the backyard. I thought possibly Tabitha had gotten a hold of the keys and as the kids were playing out back just after we'd gotten home from our last outing that maybe, just maybe I would find them hiding out there somewhere. And lo and behold! But I cannot blame it on Tabitha. What I figure happened is that the keys were in my jacket pocket and after I had my meatballs in the oven for dinner, I went outside to pick some carrots. We still have LOTS of carrots leftover from our garden, that have been covered by a bale of straw all winter and I had a craving for some cooked carrots! And they were so yummy still! So anyways, the keys must have just slipped out of my pocket (unbeknown to me!) as I was getting some carrots for dinner! What a relief to have found them! And thankfully the electronic parts were not ruined from the rain yesterday!
For those of you unfamiliar with our yard, the bricks are part of a wall that houses our garden - I like to call it "Our Never Ending Project" since we (Rick) have been working on it for going on 3 years now! The bricks run the length of our backyard (quite long) with steps in the middle leading up to the gate that separates our backyard from our neighbor's behind us (we put in a gate cuz it was SO much easier than lifting our kids over and over and over it!) and then there is even a second layer that is still being built up and the ground evened out - when we moved in there was this small hill in the back and we didn't like it, so we did this and it is our garden spot - or at least, part of it is our garden spot (I planted in about 1/4 of it last year!) and hopefully in the next couple of months it will all be finished and we can have a much bigger garden this year! I can't wait!

BUNCO!

Last nite I went to my very first ever Bunco Party!! Since we lived in Wellsville I have heard talk of Bunco, but never before had I been invited to play. Until last nite. Meagan, the gal I clean for, is in a Bunco group and they were in need of a sub for their monthly game nite. We had talked about this a few weeks before when Meagan told me that her sister was going to play as a sub and I told Meagan that I would love to be a sub if they ever needed another one. Well, her sister ended up unable to go and she invited me! I was thrilled! And better yet, Rick was very supportive - his response when I asked him if I could go was "Sure, Honey, go and have fun." I was a bit shocked that it was that easy since I would be gone all nite, leaving him in charge of dinner and bedtime.
For those who don't know, Bunco is a dice game. There is no skill involved - all pure chance - the luck of the roll. Each group of 4 has 3 dice. You want to be the first to get a Bucno - meaning rolling all 3 of the same number at once (and the right number!) or by getting 21 points. (Kinda confusing to explain it all here, but that's the basics!) The nite started off with a light dinner and lots of chit chat. Then the 12 of us divided into 3 groups of 4 for the first round. We played the 6 rounds in about 2 hours, prizes were given out to everyone - I was one of the 6 who got a nice little booby prize, my 1 Bunco was nowhere near good enuf to win the prize for the most Buncos, neither were my 9 zeros good enuf for the prize for the most zeros! Oh well - it was a very fun nite! Nice to get out and have some socialization with other women, all who were roughly around my age and at the same place in life as I am. Oh, and I can't forget dessert - yummy key lime cheesecake! SO YUMMY!
I am now armed and ready to start my own Bunco group - anyone want to play? :)

The Case of the Missing Key

Let's say you were a key to a mini-van and you were hiding somewhere. Where, oh where, would you be hiding?
Yesterday at 5:30 I got the kids all loaded in the van. The plan was that I would take them to Rick's office, switch him vehicles and then go to my first ever Bunco Party - I was SO excited!! So, I finished buckling Tabitha into her carseat, opened my door, slid into the driver's seat and went to turn the key that should have been in the ignition. That's when we ran into a problem - a big problem! The key was gone. We always (almost) leave the key in the ignition when we are home. However, I have been getting into the bad habit lately of bringing it inside with me and putting it in my purse or a pocket. For about 10 minutes I frantically searched the van, the kitchen counter, all my pants pockets, jacket pockets, and purse. No key. I called Rick and he had no idea where the key was, so he started on his way home. Gabriella then joined me in the search. It was about that time that I had a sickening thought. On our way home from preschool yesterday, we went thru the drive-thru at Arctic Circle. Could I have been so absent minded and dumb that I would have tossed the key in the bag with the food when I brought it inside the house - and then, not thinking, thrown the bag, with the key inside it, in the garbage?! If so then we were really out of luck. Yesterday was garbage day and the garbage man and long come and gone. I felt sick!
Rick got home at 6 and still no key. I left for my Bunco party. I was still worried they had been thrown away, never to be found - buried at the city dump. Ten minutes later Rick called me. I was hoping he had good news. I was wrong. He said he had searched the van, couldn't find the key, and was heading inside the house when he noticed the headlights were on (Tabitha had been "driving" for a brief moment before I got her in her carseat). As he was walking around to the driver's side to turn off the headlights, all of a sudden the doors locked magically by themselves! So now we had a locked van, headlights on, and no key! I suggested he check with our insurance to see if they had some kind of locksmith clause to help us out and gave him strict orders to call me if and when he found the key. He never called. When I got home at 9:30 I researched the van, checked underneath it, on top of it, took carseats out, no luck! Still worried that I had indeed thrown them away. As I was brushing my teeth I suddenly had a little revelation! I didn't throw the key away! I couldn't possibly have thrown it away because we went somewhere later that day at 5 o'clock! I had to take a box to UPS and then picked Gabriella up at her friend's house. So, all that time that I had been retracing my steps from when we'd gotten home after preschool were not the right steps to have been retracing! But my problem is, I can't remember what exactly I did when we got home after getting Gabriella. I know after a few minutes the kids all went in the backyard to play and I started making Giant Meatballs for dinner. But what happened in those few minutes in between could be crucial! The Case of the Missing Key began at 5:30 pm yesterday. It is now 9:30 am today and still no key!
Like I said before, I have looked in all the logical places. I even looked in some very unlogical ones - the fridge, the dishwasher, the dryer. I've searched the kids rooms, opened every drawer and cupboard. We've just cleaned up downstairs and still no luck!
So, if you were a key to a mini-van and you were hiding somewhere. Where, oh where, would you be hiding?

"Nakey Baby"

That is what Tabitha says whenever she is all, or partly, naked. And this is what I found when I checked on her Saturday afternoon.


Last week we began "The Battle of the Binky." Tabitha is our only baby that has ever loved a binky - and oh, how she loves her "minky!" Tuesday last week, I was gone and Rick was putting the kids to bed. He could not find the one and only binky and the poor little baby girl had a very hard time going to sleep. Of course, I found the binky as soon as I got home, but Rick decided that is was time to say Bye Bye to Minky. He felt Tabitha was ready, I did not. Yes, WE are ready for her to be done, but I was not looking forward to the next few days. She did pretty good at night times, but nap times were a different story. And I had to deal with it on my own. She would ask over and over "I need my minky - Where's my minky?" And I would just tell her it was gone or it was lost. And she would take an hour or more to get to sleep or not go to sleep at all.
So Saturday I laid her down and she immediately stood up and started crying - this sad, pitiful cry, tears streaming down her cheeks. I tried consoling her, but as soon as I'd leave her room, she'd start all over again. Ok, I decided, it is Daddy's turn. So Rick held her and hugged her and calmed her down and tried to put her back in bed, but no luck. I tried laying down on Gabriella's bed with her, but she just wanted to play. Then Joy called (yes, again) so I was talking and Tabitha got up and was playing. More than an hour after I had first put her in bed, I put her down again, this time there were no tears. But when I checked on her about 20 minutes later, that is what I found! Isn't it sweet how she is practically kissing her wet diaper?! Luckily she hadn't done anything since she took it off!
To finish up the "Minky" story, yesterday was another terrible nap day. Took her almost 2 hours until she'd go to sleep, lots of tears, and a frustrated mommy who was about ready to give it back to her! But I didn't!
Now just to clarify a little - I always said that my kids would not be walking around, talking with a binky in their mouth. Well she doesn't - for the past year it has been for bedtimes only. Ok, so maybe we've spoiled her a bit - she is our baby, even though she is over 2 and walking and talking with the rest of them. But she is just SO attached to it - she has to have her minky, her blankie, her beary, and her milky (she likes to add 'y' to the end of everything!) when she goes to sleep. Like I said she is just a little spoiled!
So back to yesterday - I did not give in and give her her binky. Nope, not me. But just before bedtime, hugging her daddy, she saw it hiding on the kitchen counter! She was SO excited, laughing and saying "My Minky!! I found my minky, Mommy!" Rick and I just looked at each other and laughed. I told him that he was putting her to bed and he could choose what to do, and if she had a hard time going to sleep, and cried those sad, pitiful tears, he got to deal with it - I'd had enuf for one day.
I did not give in and give her her binky yesterday - but her Daddy (the one who thot she was "ready" in the first place) did!
Yep - she definitely has him wrapped around her little finger!

Look What We Made!

Saturday morning Joy called and told Rick that they had just taken Tristan & Braxton to Lowes for one of their Free Kids Classes, and they had had a lot of fun. So Gabriella and William hurried and got dressed and off they went. Here is a picture of them and their Periscopes that they made almost all by themselves!
Can you tell they are a little bit proud of what they did?! They had tons of fun and are so excited to go back to another class! And don't you just love their little aprons and goggles?
FYI: Lowes and Home Depot do these Fun, FREE kids classes once or twice a month. You get the apron and goggles free on your first time and you get a little patch (you can see William's) for each class you do to put on your apron, also a certificate.

Sparkly Pink Flowers

Notice anything new and different here?

Sparkly pink flowers are the earrings that Gabriella picked out today when she got her ears pierced! When she was born, part of me wanted to get her ears pierced, but Rick said a very firm NO. Until a couple weeks ago. Out of the blue Gabriella asked me one day if she could get her ears pierced (like mommy). I said something like "Hmmm, you'll have to ask Daddy." And I figured Daddy would say No. But when she asked him that night, his response was "I don't care." So today was the big day. We went to the mall after preschool. I had warned her that it might hurt a little bit, and she didn't have to do it if she didn't really want to. But she did. She was pretty nervous, squirming on her chair while we waited out turn. And then it was time. And it wasn't very fun. She cried and tried to push the gal's hands away. A few moms with small kids had stopped outside the window and were watching - man, I felt like a bad mom! But once it was all done, she was fine and happy, proudly carrying her little bag of Ear Care Solution and sucking on her yellow sucker as we left the mall.