Family Pictures

Today I received the cd of all the pictures we had taken a few weeks ago. Here are some of my favorites.

The Shocking Truth

I teach the young women at church each Sunday and we recently finished a series of lessons about physical health. When I received this teaching assignment Justin and I looked through the topics I would be teaching and this was one of the lessons we laughed out loud about. Not because it’s a silly topic, but because I’m one of the last people who should be teaching about physical health. The three areas discussed were diet, exercise, and rest. I have serious issues with all three areas.

During the lesson I confessed that maybe if I were to exercise I wouldn’t have such a hard time getting out of bed at 7 am. One of the other leaders laughed and said “what time DO you get out of bed?!?” If she thought 7 am was bad what would she think if she really knew the truth? She continued by saying “just wait til Abigail has school in the morning.” I told her that I have thought about this situation before and truly believe Abigail could get up each morning, shower, eat breakfast, make her lunch, come give me a hug and a kiss (while I’m still lay cozy in my bed) and head out to school on her own. One of the other leaders thought this idea was hilarious and since this day had brought it up a few times. I was with her again last night and while some friends were discussing the woes of parenting she jokingly said, “And then there’s Abigail who’s going to get off to school all on her own.”

I tried to explain that I really wasn’t joking. The shocking truth is that 90% of the time Abigail does get up on her own. And sadly it’s not because she wakes up early; it’s because her Mom wakes up so late. We actually have a rule that she can’t come into my room unless it’s after 8 am. Until then, and often much later, she quietly comes downstairs, eats her breakfast and reads… sometimes for hours. If Carly wakes up they can play together, but quietly. She doesn’t usually shower before I get up, but she has and definitely would. What five year-old does that? What five year-old should be expected to?

So this morning after feeding Jason, it was 7:45 am and as I proceeded to curl back up in bed, I felt a ting of guilt. I don’t know how often this will happen, but today I was the first one up.

Last week all the young women (and leaders) made a goal for the upcoming year. My goal was to get in better physical shape. If the lesson manual is true then fulfilling this goal could help me rise and shine at a little more appropriate time.

But until then, please continue to wait till after 9 am to call me :)

Mini Man

I love it when little babies wear outfits that you’d see on an adult or teenager. I think it is so adorable. Thanks to Jason’s cousin Haden he has lots of really cute handy-downs. Yesterday Jason wore a stylin’ red sweater and corduroys to church… Thanks Aunt Tami!

Santa Claus

Every year Santa takes time out of his busy schedule to visit our neighborhood community center. Today was that special morning. The girls were so excited and knew exactly what they wanted to ask for.

Abigail was first and decided she really wanted to ask Santa for Icebreakers. I’ve never had Icebreakers before, but her two friends that she walks home from school with have. This request is typical Abigail. She’s so easy to satisfy with simple pleasures. I think Santa encouraged her to make an additional request so she said she would also like a new outfit for her baby doll.

Carly had a little larger request and asked for a play kitchen.

Jason was completely oblivious to the whole experience and had no problem visiting with Santa. Santa even commented about what a great baby he is…. we think so too.



Carly enjoying a yummy chocolate donut… I’m glad we did pictures first.

Four Months Old!

Last week marked Jason’s 4 month birthday. He went to the doctor yesterday for his check-up, here are his stats:

Weight: 16 lbs. 5.2 oz. (75%)
Height: 26.25 inches (90%)

Happy Birthday Justin!

Yesterday was Justin’s birthday and to celebrate he decided he wanted to take the girls bowling. We haven’t been bowling together since 1999 so I was excited. We kept it a surprise from the girls and they were thrilled when we arrived at the bowling alley. The alley we went to was fabulous. It was clean, family-friendly, highly technically advanced and just all around awesome… nothing like any other bowling alley I’ve been to. One of the coolest things was that the bumpers would automatically come up whenever it was the girls turn.

So how did we all do? It was looking like I was going to get beaten by my three year-old. Especially after she got a strike in the eighth frame! Sadly none of us were even watching her when she got it. After Carly’s strike I found my groove and bowled a strike in the eighth and last frame, that last strike saved my ego and put me in second place behind Justin. Final Stats: Justin – 149, Holly – 86, Carly – 67, Abigail – 64. We had a great time and decided we definitely need to go bowling more often!

(Look at that form! and the big screen TV's)

(With all that power you'd think her ball would be cruising down the lane, not so)

(Birthday Boy and his little man)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go Cougs!!! (They need all the help they can get)

My dad and brother-in-law, Darin, made the long arduous trip over to Pullman (and back, 5 hours each way) on Saturday for the WSU-OSU football game. My dad loves the Cougars but I have to remind him often that the real Cougars are blue. He has yet to catch that vision. My dad graduated from WSU and is always talking about how great the university is and how the grandkids will love going to school there. So to win them over to his side he brought home a special treat, besides the Cougar cheese. Abigail, Hallie, Carly, and Haden got Cougar t-shirts. Carly was so excited that she wanted to wear it to bed. Our girls love surprises like this and think Grandpa is the best!


As for the game, the Cougars lost 52-17 on a rain-soaked soggy windy day. But hey, for once, the grandkids are wearing my dad's color of choice. So maybe it was worth the long drive to see your team get whomped on in terrible weather. Always a positive side of things, right?

Abigail & Jason

I’ve been trying to get a video clip of Jason laughing; his giggle is adorable and will definitely make you smile. But every time he sees the camera he gets camera shy and stops laughing. I haven’t given up hope and will keep trying. In the meantime here’s a fun clip of Abigail and Jason. He loves his sisters and his sisters love to be goofy for him.

I need your help!

Before I begin let me remind you of my serious inability to make decisions... So we're going to get some outdoor pictures taken of the kids and family. I went shopping yesterday trying to find coordinating clothing for 5 people. Not an easy task. Idealy I would love to have us all in jeans with nice sweaters all in the same color group. I found out that is impossible. Justin is too tall to shop in normal stores and Jason is still so tiny. The only sweaters I could find in similar color for the girls was bright red, sure it fits the season, but I'm a little worried that having all 3 girls in red will be too much. The guys are a even bigger problem. Below are what few options I can come up with. Will any of them work???

(Girls in red sweaters, Boys in Brown)

(Red, White and Blue ... Christmas in July?)

(Girls in red sweaters, Jason black and white jailbird, Justin in charcoal)

(Girls red sweaters, Jason brown/tan raindeer, Justin brown sweater)

A little clarification…

So the other day one of our friends, after reading my post about our trip to Arizona, told Justin he thought I was ripping on Arizona. Let me clarify… We had a great time in Arizona. The purpose was to visit Justin’s family and spend some time swimming in the nice weather. We enjoyed both.

When we were visiting with my childhood friend we asked her what there is in Arizona that would draw visitors. She said golf and shopping. We don’t golf, but they do have some fabulous shopping areas there. I also think Phoenix has a lot more yummy restaurants than Seattle. Utah is also a great place for good food.

The weather was perfect for swimming. If it was any cooler than we would have gotten cold playing the water. I’ll be the first to admit I HATE being hot. Swimming in Phoenix in October… perfect. Swimming in Phoenix in July… not so perfect.

I honestly had a great time. Would I want to live there? No, but I’m sure a lot of people would say they would never want to live in Seattle… a place I have really grown to love. So I hope I have dug my way out of my Phoenix bashing hole. A huge thank you to everyone that made our stay so much fun!

I also mentioned that the traffic in Phoenix was way better than here, right?

Moments like this

This week has been crazy. I’ve had so much I need to catch up with after our vacation. My house is still a disaster zone, but I’ve gotten all the suitcases unpacked and the laundry is finally done. I’ve realized I’ve spent most the days getting my kids situated so I can do what I want or need to get done. The girls are very self-entertaining so they are pretty easy. Of course there are times they ask me to do something with them, but I’m really good at distracting them by getting them involved in something else. I can’t tell you how often I say “in a minute”, hoping they forget I’ve implied I would see to their desires. Jason is a little harder to ignore since he does rely solely on me for all of his needs. But after feeding and changing him he usually ends up right back in his bouncy chair or car seat until my services are required again. Wednesday, for a small moment, things were a little different. Jason had just fallen asleep in his crib when he spit up. I cleaned him up and laid him back down. He’s been sleeping in a bassinet in my room so his crib is still quite foreign for him so he started to fuss again. I decided to spend a few extra minutes and rock him to sleep. This is when I had my lightbulb moment and while holding my sweet little boy realized just how precious these moments with my kids can be. My little boy isn’t so little anymore. Soon he won’t want to cuddle up with his Mom. I stayed in that rocking chair for a long time and we ended up being late for the Halloween activity at the church. Being late would usually drive me nuts, but not this time. This moment was worth it.

Halloween

This was the first year we’ve bought Abigail a Halloween costume. When she was little we borrowed costumes and the past couple years she has been completely content just dressing up in one of our Princess dresses. This year, with a lot of encouragement from Justin, Abigail moved away from the whole Princess theme and decided to be a witch. The costume we bought was actually a size 8-10 so I had to pin it up quite a bit so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. I think we’ll put this one way for a few years til it actually fits better.


Carly wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to be. She expressed an interest in being a chicken, a bunny, and a fairy. Remembering that Abigail’s friend Linsey was a fairy last year made the decision a breeze. (Thanks for letting us borrow it Camille). I think her favorite part of dressing up for Halloween was when I put a little lipgloss on her. What a cutie!

As mentioned earlier, Jason was a pumpkin. Very fitting because I often call him my little pumkin’. Jason stayed at home with Justin while the girls and I went trick-or-treating around the block. The girls (and as a result, I) scored… I love Halloween!

Worth every cent!

I bought this pumpkin costume last year before I even knew if we were having a boy or girl. For only 49 cents who could resist? Jason looked absolutely adorable!

King of Free Stuff

Anyone who knows me knows that I love free stuff. At BYU I could attend almost any sporting event and catch something flying through the air like a football or shirt or gift certificate or whatever. Maybe it was my long arms or maybe just my desire to "get a good deal" which for me means spending nothing at all if possible to get something cool and almost anything free is cool. The girls love getting gifts I bring home for them from work (T-Mobile branded stuff). In fact one of their favorite gifts that I gave them was a wooden box with a T-Mobile brand on it that was originally filled with a bag of nuts but which now keeps the girls' jewelry. Anyways, to my point, attending the COST (Council on State Taxation) conference vendor fair on Thursday night in Phoenix really paid off! On my chair at work this morning was an Apple iPod Touch from a tax software vendor Corptax. Pretty sweet! I signed up literally on my way out the door of the reception as Holly and the kids were waiting to pick me up. Now to figure out how to use it….

From Lush Rainforest to Dusty Desert

So maybe Seattle isn’t a rainforest, but two weeks ago it sure seemed close. Winter has kicked in and we’ve started to see a lot more rain. So when Justin was told he could go to a conference for work in Phoenix, Arizona we decided to take the whole family to play in the sun. We left here on the 20th and just got back late last night.

This was our first trip with three kids. Wow, it sure does require a lot of luggage, especially since we weren’t sure we’d have access to a washer and dryer. We had three car seats, 3 large suitcases, one smaller suitcase, a stroller, and four carry-ons. I can’t tell you how many people commented, “You sure have your hands full.” The kids are fabulous little travelers. Jason didn’t fuss at all on the airplane and was still young enough he would sleep anywhere.

(Jason, Abigail and Carly with all our "stuff")

Most of Justin’s extended family lives in Arizona so we thought it would also be a great opportunity to visit some family. Our first few nights we stayed with one of Justin’s cousins in Mesa. They really made us feel welcome and comfortable. They invited any cousins, aunts, and uncles in the area to come over for Sunday dinner. Over sixty people ended up coming. One family drove eight hours (four hours each way) that day just to see us. It was great to meet some of Justin’s cousins and to see some family we hadn’t seen since our wedding. Abigail attached quickly to her cousins Tommy and Tyler (I believe they would be her third cousin – Justin’s cousin’s sons?). Anyhow, we had a great time with family. I was even able to get together with my oldest friend Susan (we’ve known each other since we were one). It was great to catch up with her after all these years.

(Tyler, Tommy, Carly and Abigail at the Mesa Temple)

The last four nights we stayed at a nice resort and played in the pools. We were able to use the facilities at two different Hilton resorts. Both resorts had several pools, waterfalls, and a waterslide. My favorite was relaxing on the lazy river.

(Abigail loved the waterslide)

(Playing on the river with Dad)

(This was Jason's first time in a pool - he loved it!)

Phoenix vs. Seattle:

So what would it take for me to move to Arizona?? I don’t think I ever would. We had a great visit, but I really can’t understand why anyone would choose to live there all year round. Even in October it was too hot unless you’re playing in the water. I asked Justin what it would take for him to move to Arizona and he replied, “You not ever complaining about it being too hot.” No chance of that.

It’s always nice to come home…

Phoenix was very dusty. We ended up throwing away a pair of Abigail’s shoes that got thrashed because she had been playing outside in the dirt and prickly grass. We’ve thrown away a pair of shoes at home too, but that was because she had trucked through the mud… do they even have mud in Arizona?

Brown, brown, brown vs. Green, green, green

95 degrees in October (unbelievable!)

Being from Utah I thought I was used to dry weather, but I have never had to use as much lotion as I did this past week.

Besides family I think Justin would say his favorite thing about Arizona is that they have lots of Chick-fil-a restaurants. We went at least 3 times (not nearly enough for Justin).

I’m a Washingtonian – I love driving to the store and feeling like I’m driving through a forest high up in the mountains.

I love having four seasons. Spring blossoms, warm (not hot) summer days, the changing leaves of fall, and even a little snow.

I did like the palm trees, but even those aren’t very green.

One positive of Phoenix is the traffic. Phoenix residents say they have bad traffic, but they must not have ever been to Seattle. We were on the freeway at 7 pm and could only see a few cars in each direction, now that never happens in Seattle.

Pumpkin Patch

Visiting a pumpkin patch is one of those outings we’ve always thought would be fun to do yet we never quite get around to it… until today. Justin was able to leave work a little early so we decided to take the kids to their first pumpkin patch. It has been raining for the past few days so they weren’t giving free hay rides, but the girls enjoyed sloshing around in the mud and picking out a pumpkin to take home.

(Abigail really wanted to try taking a picture, she took this one of us.. pretty good huh?)

(The pumpkin we bought)