A time

I am loving this week's weather. Mid to high 7o's, I actually feel like it is fall with the beautiful tree's. We've also had an awesome crop of pomegranates that Addy is in love with and whenever she is outside I find her breaking one open and stuffing herself. Our small chicken family is about to get bigger due to Uncle John's generosity we should be getting around 10 more hens wandering around I'm sure the rooster will be thrilled :) My kids ( I still think it's funny to use that plural form) are getting so big. Whenever I think that this is getting easier something comes up... like Addy's molars. More often than not this grumpy girl wakes up crying from naps and saying "owie" but she still perks up after awhile and makes life fun. Her nursery leaders said " wow she has quite a personality!" I asked if that meant she was naughty and they said "no, she's just so smart and does what we ask" we'll see how that goes this week because she learned the word no two days ago and hardly says anything but it.

Liam is becoming such a good boy and is sleeping from 7:30- 5:30 every night in his own room. Just wish he'd sleep by himself during the day because he seems to think I need to hold him while he naps... silly boy. I love this onesie it says "nuts about mommy" I'm sure nuts about this big cheeked boy!

Since the weather was so nice I wanted to put brother in his outfit from my good friend Melissa and Addy wanted to show off her favorite hat so I took some pictures of my sweeties.

picking pomegranates

daniel's favorite... loves the look on Addy's face
Ummmm can you say cheeks... cutie!
my handsome boy.
love these two.
Oh yeah I canned this salsa all by myself, thanks to the nice neighbors who gave me a bunch of peppers and tomatoes. It was my first canning project.

Halloween was okay. Daniel had to work a 24 hour shift and my cousin Steph had to work too. So Caleb came over with the kids and we took them to a few houses. Addy's costume was a hit and got tons of comments. They weren't going to dress up Gage but I found some costume paint and took a note from Thriller and made him a Zombie.
Heidi made Josh a deer.. she also made Addy's costume for Josh when he was little. She does and awesome job.
Zombie Gage and cute witch Tippy
Brother bear
my little stinker!

Dancing Zombies

Well had a blast going to Tuacahn's halloween show Thriller. I love Tuacahn and it is definitely worth looking into if you're ever down this way. It is very high quality and is reviewed as "Broadway outdoors". Anyways I took Addy when she was a few months old to the play Les Miserables and so this year when my friends Ace and Comet wanted to go I jumped at the chance. It was too long to go without Liam and it wasn't much fun the first 20 minutes because he was fussy and I had to go to the top to walk with him, anyways finally got him to sleep right before the intermission and then the rest was great. There was no singing just dancing and some of the numbers were so funny, some scary. The zombies wandering the crowd were creepy but nice enough to take pics with my sleeping babe. Loved the 3 Jason's and the Frankenstein number and of course the "Thriller dance". Great quality dancing and a fun way for adults to celebrate Halloween. Great night. Unlike tonight which is Daniel's 24 hour shift day so don't get to see him until tomorrow at 7:00 am.
creepy Zombie girl

Jason was really nice he had a Jason teddy bear.
Great Dancers loved the bride of Frankenstein's monster
Comet and Liam and the undead
Ace holding Liam during the show
CREEPY!
Great extension for the undead
She was really scary
I love these two!!! Great friends
BOOOO!
Hope Liam appreciates these later, though it will probably make him not trust his mommy. Who lets the monsters near their little sleeping angel?

Happenings

Well we've hit some big markers for our two kids. Liam turned 3 months and I can't believe how the time has flown. Also I have made it through 2 full Sundays at church actually going to my classes! Addy turns 18 months in a week and has been going to nursery, she is doing awesome and I'm so happy to be able to actually go to class.

Here is Liam in an outfit he wore on Sunday... love his matching shoes.
Addy getting ready for church by jumping on mom and dad's bed. Look close another big marker a teensy tiny pigtail.

We've been busy with these two, but it's been easier and more fun than I thought it would be. Though it does have its moments... mostly Addy learning how to open new things and getting what her dad calls her "Addytude" let's just say she knows the word no, no. Liam has been doing great and actually does better than Addy did at falling asleep in his cradle on his own... it's the staying asleep part we're working on. He does pretty awesome most nights but his naps during the day aren't that great. Probably the hardest thing about having the two is getting them to sleep on the same schedule, but they are so sweet I just love having these two.
Liam has big eyes and long curly lashes.
Daniel's cousin Netta gave me a ton of clothes from her one and only boy and this is a cute shirt perfect for the season.
We found this shirt on clearance at Target and Daniel had to have it. He is trying to make it her favorite by getting really excited when he puts it on her. knew my dad would appreciate it.
yes his cheeks are just pinchable!
love his smile, and these red thermals
Auntie Comet coming for a visit. Ace, Comet and I are going to Tuacahn's Thriller show tomorrow. So excited for a girls night with these two.
Just wanted to show Addy's crazy hair and skinned nose ( her hair is just wild after naps and she falls down so much she's always got some sort of owie)

To finish I did want to tell a quick faith building story. Daniel's work has been non-existent lately and he's just been doing odd jobs between classes. I was feeling pretty low one night and we were talking about what to do. I was thinking that we weren't hearing from anyone because we weren't getting on top of our tithing. We would just keep forgetting and then go to get the money for it and we would have a bill that came out or something that left us with nothing. We knew tithing needed to come first but we just could never seem to remember it. I knew this was why we weren't getting a job. After scriptures and family prayer I was having my own personal prayer and the prompt kept coming that I knew Daniel had a tithing slip by our scriptures and that we had a small amount of cash (actually our only money at the time) in his wallet and I should fill the slip out. It was almost midnight and I thought I'll do it tomorrow. I couldn't go to sleep so I flipped a light on and got the money and filled the slip out sealed it and stuck it with our church manual. Said a quick prayer saying I am definitely exercising faith because we didn't have any more money and no prospects. The next day I had Daniel apply for a few more jobs and had him e-mail one job we were hoping to get but hadn't heard from. The day went on and about midday Daniel came in from helping an uncle set a toilet and he was smiling. He got called back and got the job we had wanted! It isn't as much money as we wanted but it will go up and the best part is the experience that he will get. (his first real job that isn't in construction) it is at a troubled youth facility. It also leaves time to do some work for Adam so we will be fine. I knew this was a direct answer to my prayers and a show to me that if I put tithing first great things will happen. What a testimony builder.

my sister....my friend

Guess who's turning 24! My little sister Clara Jane. I love this girl and I am so happy that I got her as a sister. We haven't always got along beautifully I mean we are about 17 months apart so there are bound to be differences. We did share a room most our life and I am ashamed to say I abused Clara's good natured, people pleasing attitude. Making her turn off the light every night, get me drinks, clean the room, sneak out the window to go unlock the door when LaRae would lock us in and then deny it was my idea when LaRae caught her. I made her walk 10 feet behind me when we walked to school, I also remember a slapping fight that was quite ugly. However we survived, we grew and I grew to realize the gem of a girl my sister is. Here are just a few things I love about my Clara Jane.

* she is adventurous and always up for something fun!

* she is very giving * she can make anyone laugh * she is fiercely loyal to friends and family * she doesn't gossip about people and tries to find the best in everyone

* she is amazing with kids and everyone's favorite auntie

* she wants to learn so many things and tries to do her best at everything.

* she is very forgiving.


I love my sister and I am so grateful for her friendship, she is truly one of my best friends. I am also so glad she found Grant and her happy ending...or I guess her beginning.

Love you beautiful girl! Happy Birthday!

The rest...and then some

First off big news!! Addy went to nursery for her first time this Sunday and did awesome, here she is ready for church! And Liam had his 2 month check up and is great he's 23 inches tall and weighs in at about 13 pounds... he's been rolling over since one month the little smarty (actually the kid never stops moving his feet or hands so he just wiggles until he's flipped over)
Addy "holding" Liam, who consequently doesn't feel to safe.

Now the rest of the pictures from the trip...
My Melissa holding Liam and smooching Addy. Thanks for the fun time even though we both were a little out of it.
Eric and Joy's little Olivia with Liam these two are about 1 month exactly apart.
Here I am with my Old boss man Trent T., so fun to catch up and hear about his family and the program I worked for for 4 years. By the way campus is so different and I can't believe the plans for the auditorium that we peeked at 3 years ago have come to fruitation... awesome!!!

perfect moments

I had one of those perfect moments today. You know the ones, where you could live in that moment in time forever and wish you could feel that feeling all the time. They're precious, memorable and sometimes life changing. I had Liam on my lap rocking him a little, humming a made up tune and Addy looked at me then ran into her room and came back dragging one of her favorite soft and cuddly blankets, it was the black one and when she crawled up on the couch next to me it covered her face except for her gorgeous liquid blue's that the black accentuated so that they were even more stunning if that's possible. She finally wriggled her way up and sat on my other knee. She handed me her blanket for me to wrap around her and then laid her head across my chest looking up at me. She slid her head down and laid it against Liam and this was IT. My two babies were looking at me and they both smiled. My heart melted! It hasn't been the easiest adjustment this having two kids and Addy hasn't even showed that much interest in her brother, but here it was these two cuddled up and staring adoringly at me, their mommy, a title I take for granted to often and totally feel undeserving of this devotion but I'm selfish so I'll take all of these precious moments I can.

Family vacay review

Day One- drive through the night from Hurricane to Victor, Idaho. We went there because Stuart's old mission president owns these ranches up there (anyone from BYU-Idaho probably has been there because they are the cabins that they use for all of the retreats) anyways we went to vacation and help maintain some of the cabin roofs. Kids did awesome sleeping pretty much the whole way. Saw a gorgeous sunrise coming down into swan valley. Addy got car sick and threw up 5 minutes before we got there, but was fine the rest of the trip.

After helping with breakfast and watching Addy play, Daniel and I got to take a ride into Driggs to the Broulims, we had a sleeping Liam with us so it was a nice time to talk and we looked at the huge houses Daniel had helped build when we lived in Rexburg. (the cabin we stayed in)

We then got back and Addy, Liam and I took a nap while Daniel helped with the roof maintenance. We got lunch together and explored. Then LaRae held Liam while Daniel and I took Lincoln and Addy around the ranch on the fourwheeler to take cute photo's. Addy loved the freedom of the place and was constantly outside with the kids. We looked at my dream kitchen in the main lodge.

Josh needed pictures taken for a school report so Daniel watched the kids while Josh took me around on the fourwheeler to find things to take pictures of. We had a nice meal of chili and potatoes, played uno, roasted marshmallow's for s'mores and went to bed.

Day Two- had a leisurely breakfast, cleaned up and took family pictures around the ranch. We went to see some of my old professor's in Rexburg and my old boss, due to nap and being there one day less than I thought I didn't get to see everyone I wanted but maybe next time. We had lunch at Daniel's cousin Joy's and her husband Eric and their cute new baby Olivia's apartment while Addy napped. We then just chatted and the boys watched football. We took them out to one of our favorite places when we lived there Taco Izcali's. We also tried a new gelato shop which was way yummy. We watched a movie and we stayed the night at their apartment .

Day Three- We woke up got ready and went down the street to my good friend Ashley's apartment. Her and her new husband Tyler fixed us breakfast and some of their friends and Ashley's cousin Lexi who I knew way back in 03 and haven't seen since then. It was a nice breakfast and we said our goodbyes and went back to Joy's to put Addy and ourselves down for a nap. We slept until about 1:30 pm and then we ate hamburgers Eric had grilled. We said goodbye the them and want to say thanks again for their great hospitality, good advice, and awesome food. We love you guys! We then headed towards Idaho Falls to see my good friend and old roommate Melissa. I haven't seen her in two years and it's been killing me that she hadn't even met my kids. She had just had a surgery on an infected wisdom tooth and I was having a tension headache so we were quite the pair but it was still awesome to see her I missed her so much! We love you Mel.

We then went on our way to Salt Lake and the last hour we had both kids screaming and Daniel was grumpy because BYU getting creamed so it wasn't the most pleasant drive and we were sure glad to get to Kara and Skyler's (more of Daniel's cousins) apt in Salt Lake City. Kara made us yummy navajo taco's and we stayed up talking while the boys played nintendo about her pregnancy and how we are so excited she's going to have a baby, thanks guys for being so great! We went to bed and this morning we got going and Daniel made it in time to teach his Sunday school class. It was an awesome vacation and we loved being on our own schedule and doing our own thing, it was good for me too so I could see that getting out with 2 kids can be done but it is nice to get home. (the rest of the pic's later)