Two years

Sunday was Kyla's birthday. She is now officially two years old, and can torment her parents legally under the "terrible two" guise. It's strange that my baby is two and I am nowhere near having another baby, but I went through this before with Damon, and I promised myself then that I would fully appreciate the "extra" time I got with him, without having a new baby to worry about. I am making myself the same promise with Kyla. I am going to enjoy her third year and give her all the extra attention I was planning to give a baby.

It shouldn't be too hard. I know parents aren't supposed to have favorites, and I will vehemently deny it if ever asked by my children, but Kyla is just so easy to love. She is friendly, happy and adventurous and I love having her in my life every single day. At two years old, she loves everything that Allie loves, and always wants to look pretty. She tries to count everything (usually skipping 4 and 5) and lets you know what color it is (she knows most colors, but struggles with blue, and mixes up white and black). She still eats a lot, but has slowed down somewhat. She is completely attached to her cow and binky, and I am dreading the day we take them away from her. She is going to be moving into a big girl bed in our new house, and will be sharing a room with Allie. Heaven help us all.

For her birthday, we had a small family celebration. I made her a cake (all she asked for was a pink cake and her Grandma Karen. She got one of the two), which she loved.

She got two Barbie's and a baby doll. Just what she loves. Allie suggested we name one of the Barbie's "Grandma Karen." We'll see if that sticks. She loved being sung to and getting to blow out her candles (we did it twice). Birthdays are so easy when kids are young. I love it.

We took a trip to the cemetery to visit Great-Grandpa and Grandma Trapnell, Great-Grandpa and Grandma Thygerson and Great-Aunt Lo, as we celebrated Memorial Day a little early. The cemetery was gorgeous, and nearly every grave had fresh flowers, which Kyla promptly sniffed.

Here are the kids with Tyson. Three of the four probably have no clue what was going on, but I think Damon understood. That's all that matters.

Quick catch up

The week before I left for San Diego, Kyla was sick. She complained all day that she was "coldy," and cried a lot. Besides having a fever of 102, she also had nasty diarrhea that she was not happy about. She spent most of the week like this:

You know when she doesn't even want to go outside that something is wrong. Swine flu crossed my mind (she did start with a runny nose/respiratory issues), but Jeff told me I was being ridiculous. I'm sure I was. She is now back to her normal self, saving roly-poly's, worms and wasps from the bug eating ants in the backyard.

The other thing that happened before I went to CA was that Damon started baseball. We have been practicing with him for several weeks, and he has improved so much. Which is good, since he didn't even know how to throw a ball when we started working with him. Jeff still gets frustrated because he remembers sports always coming easy to him, and Damon has a tendency to pout when he's not perfect at it. Still, a sight like this always warms my heart.


Ultimately, he may choose acting/singing over sports, but we're not going to give up without letting him experience every sport imaginable before giving in. First grade baseball here in Mapleton is the best, because everyone gets to hit (and gets enough pitches that they DO hit), so he has had nothing but positive experiences so far. He's not the best on his team, but he's also not the worst.

And speaking of baseball, one night Allie was brushing her teeth, and Jeff was instructing her on how to hold the toothbrush. He told her to "choke up" on the toothbrush, which meant nothing at all to her. He then explained, "hold it higher." She then lifted her chin and raised her arm as high as she could, "holding it higher" as she brushed. We got a good laugh out of that.

San Diego

I spent the weekend in San Diego. Originally, my whole family was going to go together to tour my brother's mission, so I bought a plane ticket to meet them down there. But as it turned out, it wasn't the best weekend for my brother, and it was going to cost me $150 to change my ticket, so I knew that I would be going alone. My aunt, who works for Jet Blue and loves any excuse to travel, decided it would be a great opportunity to celebrate my mom's birthday in San Diego and the two of them decided to meet me there.

We had an awesome weekend, full of laughter, relaxation and GREAT food. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if my sisters could have joined us. It would have been a huge party! We spent time at the temple, which was fabulous...

eating at Truluck's (the first REALLY nice restaurant I've ever been to), and being completely pampered...

and lounging on the beach in La Jolla.

It wasn't very warm and sunny on the coast, but that didn't stop us from spending several hours watching the surfers. Just a short distance away from us was a surfer's shack built in the 1960's, and it is obviously a famous location at Windandsea beach. This couple stopped for a few photos before taking five minutes out of their day to get married.

That's right, the lady in the grey suit was the minister. The man with the video camera (we found out later that it was the boy's grandpa) was the videographer/witness. The couple were young (I would guess 18), and the boy was in the Marines, getting ready to ship off to Afghanistan. It made us all a little sad that no one was around to witness it (besides the three strangers from Utah who couldn't stop staring). An hour or so later, another couple got married under the shack, but it was a big wedding, complete with hundreds of guests. Of course we stayed to watch that one, too. It was too much fun.

On Sunday, I didn't fly out until 7:00 pm (and my mom and aunt left at 1:30). I spent some time driving around, checking out the sights in San Diego. I didn't realize how much water I had been drinking until I suddenly realized I needed to pee. And soon! After some driving, I found a Carl's Jr, and hustled inside, only to find that I needed a token to get into the restroom, and the only way to get a token was to purchase something first. Well, I wasn't hungry in the least and didn't think I was THAT desperate, so I kept going. A few blocks later, I found a 711. Now I was really feeling like I might burst and asked quickly where the bathroom was. The cashier informed me that they didn't have one. She thought the restaurant across the street might have one, but she wasn't sure. I couldn't wait, though, and suddenly wished I were a man, and could take care of business in the alley. Instead, I climbed into the backseat of the car and tried to pee inconspicuously into the empty water bottle, only having a little success in actually collecting it. Still, a bit of the pressure was relieved (and I was relieved that the car didn't smell like pee--it was mostly water anyway), and I kept driving. Eventually, by some small miracle, I found a Wal-Mart and waddled inside to finish my business. Phew. I have never loved Wal-Mart more.

Back at the airport, my flight was delayed an hour and a half. And since I was there 3 hours early, that meant more time for me to sit and wait.

Once I finally got home to SLC, it was after midnight, and I made my way to the parking lot, where Jeff's 4Runner was waiting for me, the back door unlocked. I opened it, setting off the alarm, and quickly reached to the front and inserted the key, silencing the alarm. I threw my stuff in the back, shut the door, and went to get in. But all the doors were locked. I didn't know that Jeff's car locked the doors once the engine is running. I was locked out and it was after midnight. I called my mom, who was waiting for me to meet her in Orem, and she helped me find the phone number for the police. Eventually, an officer came out and helped me get the door unlocked. It was late when I made it home, but I made it. And on the drive, I couldn't help but laugh at all the bad luck I had had. What was even more interesting was that I never felt stressed out at all. And that was because I didn't have any kids with me.

It truly was an awesome vacation!

A Day at the Park

This gorgeous spring weather has allowed for many opportunities to play at the park. This is usually how it goes...

We arrive at the park sometime before lunch (anywhere from 10:30-12:00). I will park myself on the best bench I can find. Not necessarily the one closest to the playground, but the one with the best sun. The girls will both instantly proclaim that they are starving and will begin eating the peanut butter sandwiches I have made for them, heading off to the playground with their mouths full of peanut butter. Allie will usually eat all of hers without incident, but Kyla typically drops hers in the sand/mulch/ground up rubber tires at least two or three times before she brings the crusts back to me.

When the sandwiches are gone, both girls will ask to swing. Without fail, I will tell them that swinging is the last thing we are going to do, knowing full well that once they are situated in a swing, I will spend the rest of the park day pushing them. It could go on for hours. I shoo them away with a quick, "Go play!," and they reluctantly head back over to the playground. After 8.5 seconds, Allie is back, announcing that there is nothing fun to do and she sits on the bench next to me. Of course, I ignore her, and continue the conversation I am having on my cell phone. She will eventually get the message, realize that there are 18 slides and 37 other kid friendly toys that she has yet to try, and saunter back to the playground. Meanwhile, I end my fake phone call, and resume the ever important task of people watching, carefully noting just how the other moms at the park are disciplining their kids, telling myself that I would never give into my kids when they are throwing a fit. Which is why the tantrum that Allie is throwing because she can't do the monkey bars by herself will be ignored, because how else will she learn?

After a while, and a little more lunch, I will notice that one of the girls has wandered over to the swings and is looking longingly at the other kids, whose moms are nice enough to push them as soon as they ask. They will try the "belly trick," pretending that they are having fun riding Superman-style. Really, though, they are waiting for one of the "good moms" to offer to push them on the swing, too. I will pry myself from my seat gingerly, because I haven't moved much during the 30 minutes the kids have been playing, and walk over to the swings. Heaven forbid the other moms think that I am neglecting my children (despite the ignoring of the previous tantrum), and will distract the child at the swing by promising that in 5 minutes, after they have finished playing on the playground, I will, in fact, push them on the swing. Usually, this will buy me at least 10-15 more minutes, because thankfully, my girls have no concept of time.

When, at last, I am ready to go, I will announce happily that it is time to get in the swings. Both girls cheer, as though I am the BEST mom in the world, and I will push them for as long as my arms can stand. Usually 2 or 3 minutes. I will removed Kyla from her swing, and tell Allie she needs to find her shoes. She will search the entire playground, and be back in 5.2 seconds, announcing that her shoes are nowhere to be found, and have probably been stolen. I will, of course, check for myself, and will easily locate them under the playground, safe and sound. We will make our way to the van or stroller and go home. As soon as we walk in the house, the girls will announce again that they are starving and need something to eat.

Occasionally, though, things go a little differently. Today, for example, I was sitting on my bench, in full sunlight, actually talking on the phone. I could see Allie from where I was, playing near a statue with some other children, but she was a ways away, and I wasn't giving her my undivided attention. Suddenly, I see her being led toward me by a mom with her young child. The mom asked if Allie was my daughter. Then, she informed me that, "she (Allie) was the one stuck who has been screaming for about five minutes." Apologetically, I told her that I couldn't hear her screaming, and told her thank you for helping her (Allie) out. As she walked away, she gave me some great advice. Rudely, she said, "Maybe you should keep an eye on her."

Yep, it seems like I'm not the only one who watches the other moms and silently judges them. I'm going to try harder not to do that anymore. And we'll be frequenting other parks, where I haven't already earned a reputation as being one of the "bad moms."

THE house

I realize that I haven't said much about the house. I wanted to make sure everything was a go before I started getting all excited and braggy about it. While it's not 100% sure, we feel very confident that all the details will be worked out and we will be moving in shortly. Here's some background info: Jeff found the house on KSL, listed as a foreclosure owned by the bank. We knew it looked too nice for us, but the price was, surprisingly, within our range, so we went to take a look at it. We were there less than 24 hours after the family had been forced out (which still makes me sad to think about), and we instantly fell in love with it. It is all we wanted, and so much more!

Here was our list of things we really wanted:
1. 3 car garage, preferrably on the side of the house--CHECK
2. Office for Jeff, preferrably right off the entrance to the house--CHECK
3. Big family room with two-story ceilings--CHECK
4. Kitchen open to the family room, with the dining area off to the side--CHECK
5. Four bedrooms finished so we can stay in the house for a while without making a lot of changes--CHECK
6. Good size yard, not too big, not too small--CHECK
7. Closer to Jeff's office--CHECK (it is in south Orem, right on the Provo/Orem border)

As a bonus, we got things we hoped for, but didn't have our heart set on. A great view being one of them. I am still in a little bit of shock when I think that this is going to be our home. It's too big, it's too nice, and I feel like we don't deserve it. We were so lucky that we had the luxury to spend this past year looking, being picky, and figuring out what we really wanted in a home. We have been in so many homes this last year, and at times it was really frustrating, as I felt that we would never find what we were looking for. Now that it seems that we have, I am a huge mess of emotions. Mostly, though, I am two things--excited and overwhelmed. Excited because I get to live here, and overwhelmed because I have to try to keep it clean.

Happy Birthday Allie!

Man, pictures are taking FOREVER to load today. Amidst all the craziness with trying to secure THE house (which is another post for another day. It's looking good, though!), Allie turned four. She has been talking about this day for months, and planning the perfect party. It changed daily, of course, as did the guest list. Damon and Kyla have both been uninvited dozens of times, but since she really doesn't have any friends, of course they had to come.

I'm sure you are wondering what she chose to wear for her special day. It was this: a swimsuit and leggings, with a skirt thrown over the top to make me happy. She and Kyla are posing by a poster Maren made for the big day. I love how Kyla is trying to copy Allie.

In Allie's dream scenario, she was going to have a gymnastics party. And only those capable of doing complex gymnastics moves were going to be invited. Right away, she should have realized that she would have been excluding herself, but that thought never seemed to cross her mind. She was positive that her twin cousins, Matt and Miles (who are about 10) would be the perfect fit, and asked me several times whether or not they were coming (they ended up not being able to make it). In way of compromise, I talked her into an afternoon at Jumpin Jacks, where the guests could slide down blow up slides and jump around in bounce houses, thus pretending that they were actually doing gymnastics. She went for it.

We ended up with four cousins (David, Maren, Sam and Connor) and one neighbor girl (a 10 year old) and Damon and Allie as the guests. Allie had to wear this dress, her present from David and Maren, while we were there. Of course, it ripped along the neckline, where the silk meets the see through netting, and will not be worn again until I figure out how to mend it. But I think Allie would do wear it again at Jumpin Jacks, given the chance.

She also requested a gymnastics cake, which was a good idea in theory. But it didn't turn out so well. It stuck to the pan coming out, so it broke in places, making it difficult to frost. The gymnastics girl (who is upside down in a pose on the balance beam, if you can't tell) was free-handed by me, which is why it's so magnificent. I also ran out of frosting with a section the size of a dollar left, and had to smear the frosting on half of the cake to cover the bare spot. All in all, it made for a cake only a child could love (and believe me, she loved it). I guess that's all that matters.


We invited the neighbor kids over to make it seem like she actually had friends, and I think we fooled her. She claimed she had a great birthday. I don't know if something this simple will ever fly again, but it was great for this year.

I have thought a lot about this child of mine, and am SO grateful that her third year was better than her second year. It gives me hope for this year. While I was sitting at Jumpin Jacks, bored out of my mind because the kids were all playing together so nicely (DEFINITELY not complaining), I made a list of the things that best describe Allie. Here they are:

1. Her gold shoes. They were used when she got them, but they instantly became her favorite shoes ever. They are now ratty, and no longer the least bit attractive, but she loves them. Kyla even tries to claim them, saying, "MY goldies!"

2. Crack. It doesn't really matter what pants she is wearing, she almost always is showing crack. Maybe swimsuits aren't so bad.

3. Swimsuits, fancy dresses and princess costumes. Without these three items, she would have been naked most of the year.

4. Pasta. Allie loves any kind of pasta and red sauce. I have thought about serving spaghetti once a week, just to please her.

5. Barbies and princesses. She has just gotten into Barbie movies this year, and has started in with the classics (right now the favorite is Jasmine). It's fun to see her so into it.

6. Music. Allie has always been into music. She knows the artists of most popular songs, and can even identify who sings new songs. She has been known to lock her door and blast Disney songs, primary songs, Jim Brickman, and High School Musical, just to name a few. I'm glad she's branching out.

7. Pillow. Allie loves her pillow more than just about anything. She "wiggles" the corners of the pillowcase, and has ripped all the seams apart. If she ever needs comfort, she will instantly go lie down with her pillow.

8. Lip gloss. It was one of her rules. It has to be included.

9. Small books. She has a thing for books of unusual sizes. She takes a miniature Book of Mormon to bed with her. In the visitor's center at Canyon de Chelly, she asked if she could have a miniature book about birds. I don't think it matters what it is about, she likes any small book she can get her hands on.

10. Not a big dessert fan. I am convinced that she would chose a vitamin C over a piece of chocolate. She always thinks she likes treats, but rarely finishes any. Maybe I should take a lesson from her!

I sure do love Allie, and although we are very different people, I am so glad I get to be her mom. Remind me I said that in 10 years, because I know we are destined to do battle.

Welcome Home!

I have gotten behind with my blogging. Things have been busy (and Facebook has been beckoning). This is the first of the fun things we did this week. On Tuesday, my handsome brother returned from his mission to San Diego, CA. He flew into St. George, but as luck would have it, he had a two hour layover in SLC on his way. My aunt and her four kids wanted to go, and of course I wanted to go, so I grabbed Damon out of school and we made the hour drive up to SLC. Allie, in typical fashion, had only one thing to say when I told her about our trip. "What am I going to wear?" It was good to know she actually thinks of this stuff.

I love this pic of the three kids hanging out in the double stroller while we waited for our missionary.


It was so much fun to watch him walking toward us, and we waited patiently by security until he made it over to hug us. I may not have jumped up and down like my mom did (there's an awesome video clip on Facebook Eric posted of that welcome home), but I was excited inside. Here is the waiting party (minus my aunt and me, who were snapping pics).


The girls were nervous, but Damon immediately dropped down into the straddle splits the second Eric got close to us. We have been telling Damon for a while now that he is "Little Eric," and he wanted to prove the point right there in the airport. Allie and Kyla warmed up a little, but were never overly friendly. I love this one of Damon and Eric, though, and I hope Damon remembers this day forever.

Damon must have been planning his outfit out, too, because he wanted to wear this sweater over a polo with cargo shorts. I guess he thinks he looks nice.

Damon took this one of Eric and me, which is why we look a little "larger than life."

It was a great day, and I know he was welcomed again in St. George to a huge crowd. I am so proud of my brother for his service and am so glad he's home.

Let them be Little

It's gotten a bit cloudy today, but I can't complain. The weather has been GORGEOUS the last few days and we have been trying to follow Sheryl Crow's counsel to "soak up the sun." We have been going for a lot of walks, which the girls love. Here is another one of Allie's fantastic outfits: swimsuit (typical) with swim bottoms over the top (not typical), completed with her new Easter shoes. Lovely. She is posing with her stroller and doll.


She and Kyla took turns pushing the doll in the stroller while I pushed the other one in the umbrella stroller. Kyla thought it was way too much fun and we went around in circles on our street for about half an hour before I took charge and announced that we would walk all the way around the neighborhood!


As you may have guessed, Allie spent more than her fair share of time riding in the stroller pushed by me. I thought this was especially clever. She got to have all of the fun, but had to do none of the work (by the way, for those of you who commented on my carrying Allie up the mountain in the backpack instead of Kyla, I thought I'd clarify. I had Kyla on the way down in the crappy backpack, that puts all the pressure on your shoulders. I thought it would be a much better trade to take Allie in the better backpack, because they really can't be that much different in weight. I think I had the better end of the trade, even though I had the heavier girl!).

In other news, Jeff and I were forced to have a parenting moment last night. It was quite intense. The kids had just gotten out of their respective tubs/showers and were supposed to be drying themselves off with their own towels. I was outside talking on the phone (gotta love the great cell phone reception we get here in the basement) and Jeff came out holding our camera. He proceeded to show me some of the pictures one of our children had taken (I won't mention names, but it was a boy). There were pictures of all the kids naked, including close-ups of the unmentionable areas (don't worry--all pics have been deleted and will not be posted on my blog, even though I am private!). The child at fault was crying uncontrollably, and we told him we needed to talk to him, to which he responded, "I'm busted!" I don't think he knows what that means, but he was absolutely right.

We sat down with him and I asked him to tell me what was on the camera. He said, "Why do I have to tell you, you already know!" For some reason, looking at him feeling so guilty, I was struck with the strong impression that this will definitely not be the last time we have to talk about how we know that he has done something wrong. Suddenly, I felt like a parent, not just some wannabe mommy with three little kids. After much talking, I think we impressed on him that we weren't mad, and we understood that he was curious and that was okay. We told him again and again that we weren't mad at him, but needed him to know why this was such a serious thing. I think he got it, and was much repentant. We brought Allie in and explained to her why we keep our private parts covered and that no one has the right to touch them, EVER. I asked her if she knew why. She said, "because they might get germs on their hands." True. I tried not to laugh when I told her there were other reasons no one should ever touch her privates. She nodded her head in all seriousness, but I know she was dying to get the heck out of there. We all were.

After a while, the heaviness of the situation seemed to evaporate, and Kyla lightened the mood by pretending that she knew the answer to all our questions (I think "Kyla" probably is the answer to any question she could possibly have!). When I said my prayers, I had to remember, as I often do, to thank my Heavenly Father that my kids are still little. They still believe everything Jeff and I tell them. They are still so sweet and innocent, despite their growing curiosities about the world. And I want to keep them little for as long as I can. I'm not ready for heaviness that will no doubt follow us around all too soon.

So, today I'm celebrating childhood. The kind that evaporates all too quickly. I'm celebrated layering swimsuits and begging for walks in the stroller. I'm celebrating prayers from Allie whens he asks, "please help us have a great time in bed" (don't tell me you have never prayed for the same thing!). I'm also celebrating Kyla's love of everything Allie loves. At my mom's house last week she was in bed in the basement while Allie chanted upstairs, "W-I-L-D, Wildcats!" When I went down to take a shower, I heard Kyla chanting to herself, "Wildcats!," because anything Allie says is worth repeating. I am also remembering a time, a month or so ago, when Jeff was wowing us with his skills on Super Mario 3, and I commented, "he's jumping up to heaven" (for all you gamers, you know what I'm talking about. When you jump on a super bouncy thing and get to gather all the coins you can up in the clouds.). Allie, in all seriousness, said, "So that's what heaven looks like."

And now, as I'm sitting here looking at my three beautiful babies, I'm thinking she's probably right.

Vacay

Because spring break was just a couple of days after Easter, we decided to make it along vacation and let Damon miss two days of school (something we try not to do) so we could go camping and still have time to visit my family in St. George. Monday after Easter, we loaded up Jeff's 4Runner and drove through the desert of Arizona, stopping in exotic locations such as Tuba City and Old Oraibi in Hopi Land (not a Disney theme park as you may expect). We finally reached Chinle, AZ and found the free campground right outside Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) and set up camp. After dinner, we drove over to the canyon to check it out. Here is the obligatory family photo taken by a fellow tourist.

Tuesday was a most amazing day. Canyon de Chelly is on the Navajo reservation, and you can't go into the canyon without a paid guide. The Navajo have lived there for hundreds of years (and the ancient Pueblo and Hopi people lived there before that), and 50 families still live there, raising sheep and cattle. We went to the visitor's center, where they found us a guide who would come with us in our 4Runner to give us a tour. He was a Navajo man who had actually lived in the canyon, having never left until he was nearly 12 years old! We spent the next four hours with him as he showed us around, teaching us more than we could have ever hoped to learn. Jeff took a ton of pictures of all the ancient ruins and petroglyphs, but didn't convert many to JPEGs, so here is one that will have to do. This is Allie getting a feel for the ruins that are all over the canyon. There is so much history, and there is a very special feeling there, and I know I would never be able to fully explain just how amazing it is, but I would encourage anyone who thinks it might be the least bit interesting to take the time and make a trip there. It's so worth it!

After we dropped our guide back at the visitor's center, we took the kids on a hike down into the canyon, right up to some ruins called the White House ruins. It is the only place in the canyon you can go without a guide and was a fun little hike. Here are the kids at the bottom of the canyon, obviously enjoying themselves.

The hike back up was a little tough (uphill all the way, with Allie in a backpack). I was fighting a chest cold and felt like I was having a hard time moving air, so I had to put Allie down at the top of the hill, still a ways from the car. As soon as I put her down, she said, "Wow! I'm sweaty! I need some water!" We thought that was pretty funny.

Tuesday night was EXTREMELY windy, with gusts at 50 mph, and we didn't sleep very well. Wednesday we had planned to stop at Monument Valley on our way home, after a visit to Four Corners, which was really cool. We all got an individual shot of us in the four different states, but Kyla's was the best.

I doubt we will ever go back there, but it's fun to say we've been there once. There were a lot of booths selling all kinds of crafts (very typical of Navajo Nation, as we found out), and Jeff got some cool arrows made right in front of him. That was pretty cool.

We made it to Monument Valley, but with all the sand blowing everywhere, we couldn't see a thing. Seriously, there was no visibilty. So we didn't stop, and we were pretty sad about that. The weather was crazy that day, with snow between Monument Valley and Page, AZ. We were sure glad we weren't camping that night, as it was predicted to get down into the 20's! The kids were packed in the car, and did a great job, considering how many hours we kept them strapped in. We have learned that we really love camping, and it's a fun family activity that we always enjoy, so it's worth all the effort.


Back in St. George, we waited patiently for it to warm up, and finally on Saturday, it was warm enough to go ride horses at my grandpa's corral just outside town. The kids thought it was the best ever.

I love this one of the girls.

What a fun trip! It went way too fast, and now we're back to the grind. But it seems we missed the last storm of the season, and we were welcomed back to SPRING! Yay!

Easter Pics

We are still in St. George enjoying spring break (where it actually feels like spring today for the first time!), and I'll have much more about our fabulous camping trip we took, but here are some pics from Easter (thankfully Heather and my mom had their cameras out and handy!)

My sisters and me after church

The Esplin girls

All 8 grandkids (the best shot we got--Allie didn't do a very good job holding Annaliese)

My three cuties

Kyla cheesing it

Damon striking a pose

Two Funnies

Last night Damon was involved with the first grade play at his elementary school. He was the woodsman in the production of Little Red Riding Hood. The four main parts (Little Red, the grandma, the wolf and the woodsman) each had a small solo to sing. This is a clip from one of Damon's parts. The wolf has locked the grandma in the closet and is in the bed. Damon and the trackers have tracked him to the house, although he doesn't know what he's tracking.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Here he is after the play with David. They are both wearing Grandpa Freddy's hats. Damon was insistent that he wear his Camelbak, because a real woodsman would have one.


Allie has been cracking us all up lately. She asked me to write down her rules on Valentine's Day card I gave her. I thought it was great, and wanted to remember it.

The Rules (according to Allie):


"I love Tina and Ricky and I want a bulldog. Make sure it doesn't bite me. If you always want a pet, clean up your house.

"If you can always wear a dress, make sure you don't get a hole in it. Even if you can't do that, eat what your mom says to eat.

"Make sure you always have basketball shoes to play basketball and swim suits to go to the beach.

"If you can't get the pet off your couch, make sure it doesn't go potty on the couch. Or else you have to clean the couch and get all the dirtiness off.

"I love you. You love me. I love lip gloss. Love, Mom. Allie"

Kyla's Faces

When Allie was about Kyla's age (almost 2), she became very facially expressive. We encouraged this (because it was so cute) and she would run through her repertoire of faces. Kyla has been following in her footsteps (facesteps?) and she has her own list of expressions she will give on command. See if you can match the expressions (it's tricky!).

a. tired
b. silly
c. happy
d. sad
e. surprised

f. mad

#1

#2

#3

#4

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#6

Update

So, it's Spring. Or, it's supposed to be. I hope it is somewhere in the world, because it sure doesn't seem like it here. I had hoped this was a cruel April Fool's joke when we got snow on April 1st, but it's snowing again right now. How rude. By the way, this is Jeff's parents' house as I drove in.


We have had some nice days mixed in with the rainy/snowy ones, and even though it hasn't been very warm, we have still tried to get out and do things. We went to the library twice this week, as well as the park. We were the only ones there, and Allie was freezing, but it was nice to get out of the house for a little bit.


Damon: Has discovered that he can read chapter books and a whole other world has opened up to him. I am so happy for him, and hope that he will always share my love of the library. It's so fun to see his reading really take off, and I spent one night lying in bed thinking of all the books I loved when I was growing up, trying to come up with a list of books to get for him. I definitely want to read Tuck Everlasting with his this summer, as it was the most magical, wonderful book of my childhood. What were some of your favorites that I could offer him (or read to him myself)?

Damon is also in charge of taking care of the animals every morning. Basically, he gets Ricky (the dog) water, feeds and waters the rabbits and takes care of Jeff's lizards. He earns $4 a week for doing it daily ($3 from grandpa for the dog and rabbits, $1 from dad for the lizards) . Pretty sweet deal! Here he is removing the lizards from their hiding spots and putting them underneath the heat lamp.



Allie: My friend, Holly, mentioned that most of the pictures of Allie lately have been pouting pictures. I hadn't thought about it, but I'm sure that's accurate. I did manage to catch her in a good mood the other day (park day), when she let me comb her hair without too much crying. Another one of her great outfit combos--dress with red leggings, pink coat and sandals.

Allie's favorite thing to do lately is to lock herself in her room with her cd player blasting away. You'd think we had a teenager in the house, until you realize that the song she is blasting is, "We'll Bring the World His Truth." I may be sick to death of hearing it, but I'm never going to tell her to turn it off. :) Recently, I got a Disney mix from the library, and she has taken to that extremely well. Her three favs are #1-I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan, #2-I Won't Say I'm in Love from Hercules and #10-Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Last night, I was rudely awaken at 3:00 am, and could hear her singing at the top of her voice, "Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns!" Amazingly, because we share a wall with Allie, Jeff slept through it all, but when I went in to tell her she needed to turn down the volume a little bit, I was greeted with this pleasantry, "I'm not going to sleep. Ever."

I've heard this before, and it didn't bother me. "That's fine," I said, meaning it. "As long as you stay in bed and keep the sound down, I don't care if you stay up all night." I knew I would probably regret it today (and I might later tonight), but so be it. At 4:00ish I got up to get my headphones and listened to music of my own, having already heard #1 and #2 at least 5 times each. Not my idea of a great night.


Kyla: Although she still has nearly two months before she turns two, Kyla has decided that she would like to go ahead and start her terrible twos now. Her new favorite response to my requests is, "no way." It's cute, but only the first couple of times.

She climbs on everything and purposely dropped my butter dish (which shattered) because she was made I was making her get off the counter. For a while now, she has dug her hands into her dirty diapers, to show me what is inside. We thought we had this taken care of when I bought giant onesies and put her back in them. Recently, though, she has decided that she'd like to join a nudist colony and is constantly undressing herself. The onesies are no longer an obstacle. I found her one day at the computer, having discarded her pants, diaper, onesie, shirt and zip-up fleece. As you can see, she had to work hard to get all the layers off, leaving a mark on her leg.
She is also constantly taking her shoes and socks off. Well, her right shoe and sock come off more than the left. Don't ask me why. But I put them on her feet at least a couple dozen times a day.


But there are times when she is so much fun. She is talking so much (our favorite phrase is, "Listen! No more candy!"), and trying to sing (she also loves "feat the Huns"). She is very expressive and will show you happy, sad, mad, tired, silly and scared. She also likes to pretend she has fallen asleep in her carseat so that I will call her Sleeping Beauty. Then she smiles like this, and I say, "Wake up!" It's a fun game.


Jeff and I are pretty much the same. No update there for now, because KyKy is standing next to me crying like only she can, begging to sit on my lap. She and Allie fight over who gets to sit on my lap. It's like they don't get to see me very often. But that's it for now. I'm going to give in to the manipulator...

1-800-CALLATT

Last night I went to a Relief Society dinner (not because I wanted to go so much, but because I wanted to leave the house and not have to worry about putting the kids to bed), which ended up being a really fun night. Only problem was because we don't have DVR, I missed out on American Idol. I have been waiting all day for ch131.com to put it up (great website for any of you who don't have DVR and miss your favorite tv show), and it's finally here! While it is loading (it does take ever so long), I am here. Hiding from the kidlets.

One random memory while waiting for the pics to transfer from the camera (and consoling a crying Kyla who found me): way back before cell phones were common, also known as the era in which I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, I never seemed to have change for the pay phone. Any coins that I may have collected throughout the day always went straight into the vending machine for a box of Hot Tamales or a Snickers bar, or if I was feeling extra rebellious, a Wild Cherry Pepsi. And because quite often I hadn't arranged ahead of time for a ride home, I would find myself stranded after volleyball, basketball or softball practice. Which meant I sat around a lot in the hallway across from the principal's office, hoping by some miracle my mom would read my mental telepathy and jump into the minivan to pick me up.

Until one day we came upon a genius plan--I would call collect. This only worked, and was only genius, because we used 1-800-CALLATT. When dialing collect with AT&T, I could call home, wait for my mom to pick up, and in the pause where I was to give my name, I would instead give the number of the phone by which I was camped out. My mom would then deny the call, hang up and call me right back. To this day I can hear in my mind her voice as she said, "no," and still feel that little rush of excitement knowing we had worked the system and she would be calling me right back.

That makes me a little sad that teenagers now days will never have the same kind of thrill. But actually, when I stop to think about it, it really wasn't so great hanging out in the hallways of Pine View High at 5:30 in the evening, sweaty and exhausted from another hard day of practice, so I can't really reflect on how bad things have become today...