Ickie Sickies :(

This week has been full of ickie sickies.  Eileen was sent home from school on Monday with a fever and though she never really acted sick, and we couldn't ever get a temperature over 99.6 from her - still she had to stay home on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday we had hopes that life was getting back to normal, but that night, mom got sick.  And could hardly leave her bed or eat anything for the better part of the next 3 days.  Which was kinda tough on Friday when Dan HAD to go back to work (he worked from home all day Thursday to let me sleep) and Eileen and Anna had no school.  But we survived - and mommy had to spend Saturday recovering..... Sunday - as fun as my calling in primary is, is always rather tiring - today is was downright exhausting!!  Standing up in from of 30 kids or so for the better part of 2 hours and trying to act excited and full of energy can wear a gal out when she is still recovering from a cold.... :)  

Anyway - other than that, our week has been full of the normal - i think - i don't remember much of Thursday, Friday or Saturday..... 

This week - I introduced Eileen to a children's fantasy series that i really like - and she has been reading them non-stop ever since - it is so fun to watch her get into books I love and talk about them with her! Anna is also trying to read - she always wants to keep up with her big sister - which is great for her since it pushes her to work harder - I'm not sure how much she understands, but it's great to watch her try.

Eileen had her 8-year old check up this Friday afternoon - she is growing well - she is beautiful, smart, silly, and healthy!

James is quickly growing out of all his clothes and breaking mommy's back... his doctor's appointment is on Monday - so we will see how well my big boy is growing.  We turned his chair around in the car (there is not a doubt in my mind that he is over 20 lbs and he was kicking the seat.)

James got this fun peek-a-boo book from Grandpa and Grandma Jones for his birthday and LOVES it - he watches eagerly through every page - then when he gets to the last page with the mirror, his whole face lights up and he then proceeds to eat the mirror.....

The girls had a blast playing and building on their day off - i just kinda watched in a stupor and took pictures when they told me too.  :)

Welcome February!

I can't believe that it is February already - we are all eagerly looking forward to Valentine's Day!

This week has been fun and busy.  I started out this week with a visit to a Chiropractor.  Monday morning I met with him and while he didn't want to do anything with my middle back because of my rods, he adjusted my lower back and my neck - and though a little sore, some things are already starting to feel better.  I went back on Friday and have high hopes for getting back into the swing of things!

Tuesday morning we went to a birthday party for a little girl who is being baby sat by a friend in our ward - her parents (between health issues and working multiple jobs to make ends meet) were unable to do so - so a few of us in the ward got together and celebrated with her.  We all had fun playing together, eating pizza and making a sweet young girl happy!

On Thursday, Anna fell asleep at school, and so her teacher sent her to the nurse who found her with a temperature of 102 degrees.  Dan picked her up and brought her home.  She spent the rest of the day napping, and was starting to feel a bit better by the end of the day, but we kept her home on Friday, and while she napped some - she felt good enough to build a big block castle....

Becky also came over on Thursday with Zoe and Adena - and we had fun making crochet flowers and chatting!  

Saturday was Aaron's second round of testing and hopefully he will be at Quest this coming year with his sisters.  Thankfully it was a much less busy day than last Saturday, but we did make a trip to Costco with all the kids for some necessary items.  

Sunday was it's usual peaceful/busy day - church was wonderful and after was nice and relaxing.  Now for another week!  

James Turns 1

I can't believe my baby boy turned 1 this week - this past year has gone by so quickly!  He is such a fun little personality - he smiles and lights up the whole world!  He had no idea what to do with that candle (which was why we didn't let it any closer to him that this....)  Bu he had NO problem figuring out what to do with the cupcake - once Dan handed it to him (minus candle) he quickly shoved half of it into his mouth.  He's such a sweet happy boy - and best of all - he likes to take naps.... :)

Evie has been rather sick this week - she was running a fever for a few days, and spent those day wanting to do nothing but cuddle with mommy - and take naps... in daddy's chair.  Other than the fever - she had no symptoms though - so all in all - it wasn't a bad little cold.

Saturday was rather nuts - we were hardly ever all together at home - it started out with me singing at a funeral - and a rehearsal before to get ready.  Anna had a birthday party to go to in the morning, Aaron had his testing at Quest, Eileen had a birthday party in the evening and around 5:30 we were finally all able to be home eating a quick dinner of leftovers before doing baths and sending the kids to bed - it was a very busy day - but still a good one - we managed to have an adult home at all times (since we found a flat on the car in the morning - we kinda had to have an adult home) so James' naps were not interrupted and even Evie got a little nap in.

The weather today was just beautiful!  We walked to church and even walking at the kids slow pace with a light jacket on - i was getting a bit sweaty - it was that warm - the sun was shining - the birds were singing and it was a lovely Sabbath morning!

Cold and Warm

This has been a fun week - the temperatures have ranged from -9 degrees F to 65 degrees F - the first half of the week was just FREEZING!!!!!  But around Thursday it started warming up and Friday, Saturday and Sunday have been GORGEOUS!  After going stir crazy for the first half of the week ,we have all been having fun outside in no more than a light sweater - having a nice walk to and from church and truly appreciating the wonderful world that God has given us!

This week Frank and Tina were out of town at a Gun Show in Las Vegas, so Frankie came to stay here for a few days.  He is pretty self sufficient - all he needs is food and a few reminders here and there to work on his homework and such - otherwise, he was happy to entertain himself on his iPhone and play Black Ops with Dan.  He is a good kid and having him around was fun!  He came on Monday morning and hung out with us until Wednesday afternoon when he went to Grandpa's house until Saturday.

On Monday, Becky and Adena came down and Newell and Dan came and met us for lunch - it was fun to have Becky over - we talked and enjoyed ourselves.  Evie, Aaron and Adena got out the Play-Doh after lunch and had a blast for a while with Evie's Christmas present.

 Tuesday was piano lessons as usual - Wednesday was choir and Grandpa stopped by for a few minutes to pick up Frankie.

I got Aaron some new pajama pants - he's about grown out of his 4T clothes and needing the next size up - and they kids had a blast pulling stickers off the clothes and sticking them on themselves and on their brother.
 

James was rather confused by this sticker - he couldn't quite figure out what was on his head or why we were all laughing at him - but he thought it was a great joke. 

Friday, the kids did a movie night/pizza party.  Basically we lay a big blanket out downstairs in front of the TV and the kids pick a movie to watch while they eat their pizza and pop corn - they love it - they love eating somewhere other than the table and they love watching movies.  

Saturday we all kept busy cleaning the house - I LOVE it when we can get the house nice and neat!  Apparently we tired Evie out though - i came up and found her after she was supposed to be in bed - crashed in the middle of the floor - this is unusual for her - she almost always sleeps on her bed - but apparently she was so tired, that she just dropped and slept where she was - which happened to be in the door way to her room with the lights on.... She was so cute curled up there on the floor!

Dwayne and Nicole and kids also came over - Dan and Dwayne were gonna talk shop for a bit and we all had fun playing and chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather!  

Today was church, Dwayne and Nicole came to church with us - it was fun to have Anayia with us in Primary - we had fun acting like animals during singing time while we practiced our songs.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Aaron turned 5 this week.  I can't believe how big and smart and unique he is.  He loves lego's and building things - especially with Grandpa, and after getting 2 lego sets for Christmas and 1 for his birthday - Aaron and mommy spent 2 whole days building lego sets, and ended up with a police station, a fire department and a hospital.  We have a whole lego city now.  :) I neglected the house and a bunch of other things, but Aaron and I had fun.

Aaron wanted a truck cake - and daddy made him a very awesome truck cake for his birthday.  He got to go out for Ice Cream with Grandpa on his birthday.  When grandpa got there, i went down to get him and told him to go get dressed.  He poutingly asked why - and I said so you can go get ice cream, he continued to pout and not want to get dressed.  Then i told him that Grandpa was here to take him out for Ice Cream - his whole countenance changed and he ran to get dressed.  Grandpa got him his hospital lego set, Grandpa and Grandma Jones got him some pirate finger puppets, Grandma and Grandpa Cox got him some clothes (at mommy's request) and he also got some clothes from Grandma Penny.  Daddy got him Angry Birds on his iPad - Aaron LOVES angry birds, and the kids all eagerly watched him play before bed time.

On Friday Night - the kids cleaned up downstairs, then we watched Tarzan, after which, the kids had a glow stick party.  Dan pulled out some glow sticks for them - we turned off all the lights and the kids had a blast chasing each other around in the dark.

Saturday night, Dan and I got a baby sitter and we went up and met Newell and Becky and watched Les Mis.  I LOVE that musical, and the movie was done well enough that i really enjoyed it and I am now feeling a desire to pick up the unabridged version of the book that i got about half way through.

Today was a normal Sunday - fun but exhausting.  For some reason, Dan and I always end our Sundays totally exhausted and needing naps....

Oh and James got another tooth - he now has a grand total of 5 teeth - 2 on top, 3 on bottom.

And a Happy New Year

We had a pretty uneventful week - on New Years Eve, we sent the kids to bed at the usual time and I did a puzzle while we watched a movie - then we popped the lid on our sparkling cider right before midnight took a couple pictures and went to bed.  The next day, Eileen realized that it was New Year's Day and kept asking about how we were going to celebrate - were we going to a party?  could we watch a new years movie?  What could we do???  She was not very happy that the grownups had their own little party after they were in bed.  :)   

The kids were out of school all week - so they are going TOTALLY stir crazy - weather has been too cool for doing much outside.  Dan went back to work on Wednesday - which meant that he went to work in the morning, then got home around 5:30 - ate dinner with us, got the kids to bed - then went downstairs and worked a 6 hour night..... He's thinking of asking for overtime.... :)  He even had to spend most of Saturday working.

On Thursday, Crystal came over so we could meet about the primary music and get the program figured out - (It's so nice to have that all organized now!!  I love being organized!)  and she brought her kids over to play.  They all seemed to have a fun time and poor Crystal must have thought that I was stir crazy too - since i kept her there overly long with my talking after we were done and kept giving her recipes and food to take home....

Saturday was my turn to go help clean the building that our choir rehearses at - the girls all wanted to come - so we went and cleaned windows and bathrooms and the kitchen and in less time than we imagined, we found ourselves done and on the way home - the girls were great though - so helpful and cute.  :)

Today was an adventure.  Our first week with church at 1:00 pm - it wasn't nearly as painful as we were afraid.  James actually got a decent nap in before church - the kids had lunch, so they weren't hungry, And while James wanted another little nap after church, he did fine during church.  Evelyn had her first day as a Sunbeam - she was so cute - she did such a good job of sitting reverently and paying attention - she sang during singing time and waved at me while I was sitting down.  :) Nursery was much easier without my 3 year old daughter hanging on me - demanding my lap and climbing on my back.

After dinner, we all went downstairs to play - Dan got out some blocks and Aaron's "Angry Birds" Hot Wheels stuff and we spent an hour building 'castles with pigs' and knocking them over with flying Hot Wheel Angry Birds.  The kids had a blast - They totally got into it and we had a nice evening playing together.

Dan asked Eileen and Anna if they were excited to go back to school tomorrow - and both gave an emphatic yes - I guess I'm just too boring now.  :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Well - the week started off busy!  Monday we spent getting ready for Christmas and then Monday Evening, we all went down to Frank and Tina's for our Christmas Eve (and Bagna Caulda) party.  The kids had fun playing with cousins and friends and the adults had fun talking and eating.  We brought Dwayne and Nicole and family with us to celebrate and to introduce them to Bagna Caulda.  We had a fun time and stuffed ourselves with junk food.  :)  That night it began to snow!  We had a beautiful white Christmas by the next morning.  After the party, we put the kids to bed and played Santa and set everything up and went to bed!  

Christmas morning was a bit bigger than we usually do since my parents were here.  We opened stockings, and ate a little breakfast while we chatted on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Jones.  The kids had fun opening their presents from each other and giving their presents to each other.  It was so fun to watch them get so excited over everything.  After that we called Grandma Penny and Aunt Pam on Skype so that they could watch the kids open the presents from them.  It was really neat to be able to connect on the holidays even with family that weren't near by!

It was cute to watch my Dad help James open his stocking and presents - he made funny faces the whole time!  

My parents got Aaron some lego (type) sets from Costco and he had fun building with my Grandpa.  Those two get along so well - it is so fun to watch them spend time together.

James has learned what to do when he sees the camera - he now gives me his biggest cheesy grin any time I get the camera out!  He's such a sweetie and such a smartie pants!!  

Christmas night, we had dinner at our house.  We had Grandpa, Frank and Tina and Frankie and Stuart and Rebecca with kids, along with Dwayne and Nicole and kids and Newell and Becky and kids. We had a full house, but the kids had lots of fun playing and eating and opening more stuff from Great Grandpa.  Great Grandpa went big this year and I spent the better part of the next day building a kitchen set for Evie and a Tool Table for Aaron.  

Evie was very excited about her kitchen set and from the time we opened it - she spent about every waking minute asking me when we would make her kitchen!!  All the kids got into playing with the tool set - they used the plastic saw to cut up old cardboard boxes....  

On Wednesday, we went to Ikea to get a dresser for James (the changing table doesn't fir his clothes....)  And came home with the dresser, a kitchen island and a bunch of plans....

For Christmas, Dan made me some bags to carry my crafts around with me - then he gave me the better part of the rest of the week to work on my crafts - he took care of the kids and kept them busy and happy so I could have fun sewing and planning.  I have finished the top of the quilt for the guest bed and some cute pillows to go with it.

The kids spent most of the week cooped up in the house (it's been kinda cold) so on Saturday, Dan took them to the Chick-fil-a play area and let them get their wiggles out.  He took the older two on bike rides, but they both came back saying that they were freezing and didn't want to do that again until Summer!  LOL

Holidays Here we Come!

My mom got in late Sunday night to help out while Dan was out of town.  Thank goodness for her help, I am not sure that I would have been ready with out her here!  Her being here allowed me time to get the Christmas shopping done and to keep the house in some sort of order.  Dan got back on Wednesday - after a bit of a delay, since it snowed all morning on Wednesday.  Wednesday we met my Grandpa and Frank and Frankie for lunch at the Olive Garden, and made it back just in time to get the girls from school.  

I managed to snap this picture of my mom and Aaron reading together that I just LOVE - Aaron loves his Grandparents and loves to spend time with them - stealing their phones to play Angry Birds and building with the Legos with Grandpa.

My dad got in on Thursday night - just in time for a late dinner and to say good night to the kids.  Thursday was also the girls last day of school.  They both had parties at school that day, and since Dan was home and kinda had the day off, I was able to go in and see them at school and help out in Eileen's class party.  

Saturday we went caroling down at Great Grandpa Francone's house.  The kids had fun ringing bells and singing songs and ringing door bells.  James was happy the whole time getting pushed around in his stroller and Evie and Aaron only had one or two minor falls...  

After caroling, we went back to Grandpa's house for Chili and Corn Bread and hot apple cider.  James's favorite part of the evening was when he found the bells while the grownups were still eating - he walked around happily ringing the bells for at least half an hour 

The most amusing part of this week though?  It is 9:30 PM here and my dad is sitting at the lego table working on the marble chute that he started with the kids before dinner - and has been working on it (without the kids) for an hour and a half now.  :)  

Fewer Teeth and More Steps

The kids livened up laundry for me this week - I found 4 unusual dice and a rubber mouse.  The funny thing is that I have no idea where any of these things came from - i have never seen any of them before in my life.  At least I'm not the squeamish type and didn't spend more than a moment wondering if it were real before i realized that it was TOTALLY fake.  Ya know, if I didn't know better I would think someone was trying to play a prank on me...... 

We got ourselves a nice new guest bed for our downstairs room.  No more sleeping on air mattresses when guests come to stay!  The kids all decided to test it out and make sure that it is comfortable - I was tempted to go take a couple of naps on it too... 

Dan was supposed to be done with travelling until February, but the company decided that it NEEDED him to go on this one last trip for an important meeting with a potential client.  Right before Christmas. He will only be gone until Wednesday, but I didn't think I could manage with out some help, so we conned my mom into coming out for Christmas a week early to prevent loss of sanity.  The good thing is that he now has the rest of the year totally off (before he was going to have to go into work during the week after Christmas since he used all his vacation time on our cruise.)  Also, if they get this contract, the chances of him travelling a LOT less much sooner are much greater.  

Anna yanked another tooth out this week - We told her when she was going to bed that she couldn't pull her tooth out - she came up about 20 minutes later and told us that "It automatically fell out!"  Right......  so she now has a big gap in her mouth and is ready to sing "All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth"  She has one more wobbly one, we will see how much longer it lasts..... 

Eileen had a Christmas Party with her Activity Days Girls Group this week.  I went and hung out at the building in peace and quiet while she had fun partying with her friends.  They had a gift exchange, and she was so excited to bring a pillow that I helped her (only a little) to make.  And was so excited when the girl who ended up with it loved it.  It is such a great group of girls!  

On Friday, Anaiya came over to spend the night.  They girls all had a blast together and went out like lights at bed time.  The kids had fun watching movies and playing.  The only bad part was that Aniya's mom missed her!  We will see how long it is before Nicole lets us have her daughter over for a sleepover again.  :)  

On Saturday I decided to totally exhaust myself by making 3 batches of cookies.  We made spritz cookies - the kids had a blast watching me put them on the tray, and pushing in the little red hots.  I haven't made them in a long time, but Dan put our cookie press right out in front of where I pull the car in - so I had to make them this year....  Then of course we made our usual Christmas cut out cookies - and Newell and Becky and family came over to help decorate.  As usual the kids had a blast decorating cookies and eating the frosting and sprinkles.  :) 

On Saturday morning.... .5 Little Monkeys were jumping on the beds.  One fell off and bumped her head.  Daddy heard her screaming and Daddy said "No More Monkeys Jumping On the BED!!"
They said "Daddy - we aren't monkeys!!!  Evie had a huge swollen lump on her cheek.  I gave her an ice pack then got a camera and asked if I could take a picture - she said "yeah"  So I held up the camera and in a very sad, pouty little voice she said "Cheese"  :(  It was so cute and sweet and sad.  Today she feels fine - but has a black eye.

My mom got in this evening, just in time for dinner and the kids had fun chatting at her and telling them everything they could think of.  Now I just have to survive the next 3 days while trying to get ready for Christmas....

8 is Great!

The first part of this week was mostly just the normal everyday insanity (made all the more insane by Dan being out of town.)  He got back just in time for some crazy weekend insanity.  

First - Eileen was baptized on Saturday.  Some of the recent insanity had to do with the planning, my Dad coming in to visit and such.  But it went well.  She was so cute and excited!  We got there early to try and get some pictures - sadly, this was the best family shot we were able to get - The plan had been to take a bunch, the we could splice them together if needed - the problem was that Anna was making goofy faces in ALL of them - this was the closest to normal she got.  

My dad came to be here for the baptism - he gave the talk and was one of the witnesses.  Newell was the other witness, so he was there with his family, and Becky and Zoe gave the prayers for us.  Dwayne and Nicole were also there with their kids and Uncle Frank and Grandpa came as well.  It was so wonderful to have so many people that we love there with us to celebrate this important decision in Eileen's life.  During Sacrament meeting today, Eileen and I talked a bit about the sacrament prayers and their importance for her now.   The kids are all excited to be baptized now - even Evie who told me over and over again as Eileen was getting ready "Mommy - I just want to be baptized too - I wish I could be baptized"  

Here are Eileen and Dan ready for the Baptism - Eileen did very well - but the water was a bit chilly and she was freezing after, but still smiling brightly!  My dad flew out again this morning, so it was just a quick trip, but it was nice to have him there.  

That evening, Dan took the kids and Dwayne and Nicole and family to the ward Christmas Party - They got to see Santa, eat dinner and sing - unfortunately, I couldn't be there with them - I had a concert that night with the Colorado Mormon Chorale.  The concert was awesome - there was a huge audience (which is always exciting) and we had a guest group from a local High School do a few numbers too - they were a very impressive H.S. group and it was a lot of fun to have them.  

Today was crazy as usual - the kids sang in Sacrament meeting and did wonderful!  Singing with the kids in nursery is always my favorite part of the day, but they were a bit nuts today -  usually i have 2 or 3 kids hanging on me and trying to get positions on my lap - today I had 5 or 6 kids hanging on me and one behind me trying to strangle me!  They are fun - but it will be nice when the older kids move up to primary and I can spend more time with the little ones.  

Eileen and I spent this afternoon making Christmas presents - she wanted me to help her sew some Christmas presents for her brothers and sisters and Dad.  We had a lot of fun together - teaching and learning - and she did a really good job paying attention and was doing them almost completely by herself.  

This evening was our Stake Musical Christmas Fireside.  All the ward choirs sang songs and then we listened to some wonderful comments from President Dorney and followed by refreshments.  It was a really nice evening and a wonderful Christmas Spirit.  

So Dan thought this last trip would be his last trip until February, but now they are stealing him from me again for 4 days during the week before Christmas - the advantage - he won't have to work the rest of the year after he gets back :)  We are trying to get my mom to come out to help me a for part of while he is gone - so hopefully that works out - otherwise I don't know if I will have anything ready for Christmas.... 

Evie has been really amusing this week - she says the funniest things - The other day, Dan was trying to throw away some papers that had been on the floor - Evie caught him at it - pulled her picture out of the trash wiped it off - and said "Doggone it daddy!"  

She was sitting in my lap on Friday and I asked her if she was ready for some lunch and she said "I'd rather not"  

I was chatting online with some friends and Evie said she wanted to talk to Daddy - I told her that Daddy was on an airplane coming home to us, so we couldn't talk to him right then - she told me "I just want to be on an airplane so I can talk to daddy."  

Earlier today, she saw something and got really excited by it - and in a very excited voice, with her eyes open wide she says "HOLEY MOLEY!"  (LOL - yah - I know exactly where that one comes from!)  

Happy Holidays!!

I LOVE this time of the year - I love Christmas music, I love planning gifts to give, I love decorating and I LOVE seeing all the reminders around the house of the season and what it means.  I love the nativities, the Christmas Tree covered with ornaments that remind us of family and things we have done together.  For Family Home Evening - we decorated our tree - talked about why we put up and decorate a tree and talked about the ornaments we have, where they came from and what they mean to us (most of them are from family members, made by family members, or commemorating something like a new home, a new baby, a vacation, etc.)  Christmas to me is all about Christ and Family - and it has been fun getting into the Christmas Spirit!

Unfortunatly, This Dan also usually has a show he has to travel for in Early December - so Dan left us for Florida on Thursday.  Thankfully James took his first few steps in the time between trips so Dan was here to see it - James had his longest streak today during church when he took 6 steps totally unaided and with out falling!  :) He's so cute - and soo wobbly!!  

Last night (12/1) Anna decided that she was tired of her tooth wiggling in her mouth and yanked it out - LOL - she is SO much more brave than I am - I could NEVER have done that as a kid!  LOL - she came upstairs to show me (this was after she should have been in bed) and she had blood all over her mouth!!!!  I can't believe that girl!  What amazed me even more was the next morning when she saw her dollar and wanted to donate it all in a tithing envelope.  What an amazing girl!  

The weather has been beautiful - low 70's for the last couple days - so the kids have been loving playing out side and riding bikes and swinging on the tire swing.  It's nice to have a place to send them to get their wiggles out!  :)  

James has been working on how to climb stairs for the last few days - he loves to climb up these little steps and sit on them looking around.  He has also recently started doing this funny thing where he likes to sniff things.  I've never had a baby do this before.  The other day, I put lotion on my hands and he was very interested in the smell - he kept pulling my hand to his nose and sniffing it (he usually pulls my hand to his mouth to try and chew on it)  Then the other day in the bath tub, he pulled the "spoofie" (what we call a loofah) to his nose and started sniffing at it!  It is so funny to watch!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

The holiday season has officially begun, though until Wednesday night, it didn't really feel like it.  Dan was out of town and the kids in school Monday and Tuesday and it felt like a normal week.  Wednesday then felt like Saturday - it wasn't until after Dan was home and I was shopping for the necessary food stuff for Thanksgiving that it started to feel like it was Thanksgiving time.  On Thursday, we spent the morning cooking and then headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for Thanksgiving dinner.  It is so fun to be living near family!  The kids love spending time with their cousins and I LOVE watching them get to know and love their Great Grandpa.  As usual, the food and company was wonderful!

On Friday, Dwayne and Nicole and family came over to play and eat dinner.  The weather was beautiful so we headed over to the park to play for a bit.  The kids had fun climbing trees, swinging, and running after the soccer ball.

This has been a big week for James - he popped out two teeth on the top - he had a kinda nasty diaper rash, but other than that, he gave no indication of teething.  But he now has two teeth poking through on the top.  He also took his first unassisted steps today - He didn't manage more than 2 or 3, and he's not very steady, but he is SO CUTE!!!!  Don't think he ever really figured out why we were all so excited, but he was having fun.  

We got Eileen a camera and she has been having a blast taking pictures of everything.  She loves her camera - she picked out some fabric and I made a case for her.  Then Friday, I took her to Walmart to get her pictures printed.  She loved it, and has been looking through her pictures all the time since then. It's fun to see her excited and having fun.  Sometimes she wants to copy me and take pictures of what I take pictures of - but I have also been trying to encourage her to take pictures of the things she thinks are important. (heehee - it's cute to see what she wants to take pictures of.)  :)

Adventures in Colorado

This week started off in the normal way - laundry, school, and playing.  On Tuesday, Dan left town - we drove him to the airport in the morning.  Piano lessons, Choir and all the usual things followed.  I took Eileen and Evie to get their pictures taken - they came out so cute!  The photographer was amazed at Evie's ability to follow directions and pose.  Thursday night was Eileen's 2nd grade program - we all went to listen to her class sing - they were so cute!  Other than that - we really haven't done much this week - I don't really have the energy to do much beyond the normal playing and picking up, cooking and dishes.  (Well I haven't actually done much cooking - we've mostly eaten leftovers and freezer meals)  But still!  Church is always insane when I have to lead the primary music AND take care of a rather exhausted baby who needs a nap.  He really is a VERY good baby, but when he gets tired, he gets really wiggly - not cranky, just wiggly.  Now we are just looking forward to Wednesday - Dan gets home - the kids get out of school and we are looking forward to some fun quality family time!

Things are getting prepped for Eileen's baptism - we have a date set and she had her interview with the bishop today - she is such an amazing girl - I can't believe she's growing up so fast!

Back to Reality

Back home now and readjusting to life in the real world.  Dan and I are thinking maybe we will buy ourselves a hut on the beach in Cozumel and Sell coconuts to tourists and home school our kids.... Well maybe not....

The first half of this week was unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and trying to remember routines! Tuesday included a quick jaunt to the polls to vote.  On Thursday, Dan had to work late - but to make up for it, he went in late - so we spent the whole morning trying to be productive and enjoy the morning together.  Dan made up some strawberry jam that we have been enjoying ever since.  I spent most of the morning raking leaves (at least 6 garbage bags worth - and they are still falling!!) Then the kids had a blast playing in them that evening.  James was mostly interested in just watching the others play - he didn't see the fascination inherent in a pile of crunchy leaves.

We celebrated Eileen's birthday this weekend.  She had a couple friends over for a birthday/slumber party.  Her long time friend Morgan and a friend from church - Ali came over and we ate pizza and gold fish cupcakes and watched movies and painted toe nails and just had a good time.  

Saturday morning was spent by the kids playing, in the afternoon - we spent some time cleaning house and letting the kids do some extra chores.

Sunday was wonderful - somehow no amount of "relaxation" can ever compare to the emotional uplift that the Sabbath brings.  Even if I am exhausted by the end of the day, it's a hopeful and good exhausted.  :)

Sail Away

Our first 2 days were Sea Days - which meant that we got to spend a lot of time exploring the ship, enjoying on-board entertainment, winning plastic trophies in silly games and reading!!  By the second day, I was wishing I had brought at least one more book.  :) 

On Wednesday, we arrived at Jamacia.  It is a lush and beautiful island.  The people are beautiful and friendly, the food is delicious.  We started with a bus ride to "Magic Mountain" where they have a bobsled ride and a zip line.  One the ride - we had a tour guide telling us about the island - it was really neat to hear about the history and culture of the island and it's people.   It was also sad to see the contrast of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.   And yet it's awesome to see the national pride they have - something that seems lacking in our country sometimes.  

Here we are getting ready to go on the Jamaican Bobsled (really a roller coaster that looks like a Jamaican Bobsled)  It was a lot of fun.  After that we had a Jerk Chicken and Peas and Rice Lunch.  

Then we went on a series of zip lines through the canopy.  The scenery was beautiful - the guides were fun and the zip lines were awesome!  We also got to begin and end our adventure with a slow gondola ride up the mountain.  

The next day we stopped at the Cayman Islands.  Our only plans for the day were to go enjoy the beach!  We got a taxi to the Seven Mile Beach and enjoyed our time swimming in crystal clear water, collecting sea shells and playing.  After we headed back and (at the recommendation of some of the local shop owners) went to an Italian Restaurant near the port. The food was really good and we had a great and relaxing day!  

Our final port of call was Cozumel.  We got off the boat and got on a bus to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum.  The ruins were gorgeous and the weather was beautiful - but we were glad to have a chance to cool off at a beach right near by.  The history nerd in me LOVED seeing and hearing about the ruins and the people who had built them and lived in them.  It was also fun, because the ruins were covered in iguanas - they were all over (LOL - nearly as many iguanas as tourists) After we grabbed a quick bite at a small restaurant near all the tourist shops before heading back to the boat.  

The last day was spent at sea just enjoying the games and entertainment and each other.  Some of our favorite parts of the trip:
1.  No dishes to clean.
2. Newell and Becky right down the hall to play games with and eat dinner with.
3. Time together to talk and laugh and enjoy being together.
4. Lots of things to do together.

5. Not having to worry about kids.
6. New experiences like zip lining and the ruins
7. A really funny hypnotist show on Thursday night.  We enjoyed going to all the shows - but that one was by far the best.  :)

It's hard to believe that it's almost over - but it's been wonderful and it will be good to get back.