November in pictures

My Thanksgiving ABC's

I am thankful for:

A: A/C at the push of button...I hate being hot!
B: To be able to sleep in a comfortable BED every night, and to BATHE in a hot shower everyday...even if it is at 2:00 pm.
C: The CHURCH. Really, where would I be without it?
D: Good DOCTORS who take care of us when we need it.
E: ELECTRICITY, EDUCATION
F: FAMILY, FRIENDS, FREEDOM
G: GROCERY STORES. We are so lucky that we can just hop in a car and pick up anything we need...at any time of the day! GIGGLY GIRLS.
H: HEALTH, HEAT at the push of a button...I hate being cold!
I: INTERNET...isn't it incredible!
J: Randy's JOB
K: My KIDS, Allyse and Keira who make me laugh.
L: LIBRARIES.
M: MUSIC, MEMORIES
N: Good NEIGHBORS, for whenever we need that one egg, or stick of butter.
O: OVERCAST DAYS. They don't happen enough here.
P: PARKS, which we frequent often.
Q: QUIET TIME. That blessed nap and bedtime when there is peace.
R: RANDY. He's the best.
S: The SHELTER of a home.
T: TRANSPORTATION...to get me to the store and the park.
U: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. How did I get to be so lucky to be born here?
V: VACATIONS...which we all need once and awhile.
W: Running WATER, WARD FAMILY
X: Good "X"amples.
Y: YOU. Because if you are reading this, it must mean you care about me.
Z: ZZZ's. To get a good night's sleep...and a nap if I want to.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For Sale

As of October 30th, our condo has been on the market. We're testing the waters not quite sure what will happen because of the way the market and economy is right now, but figure if it's meant to happen it will. And I'm really hoping it will. I haven't had much time to get on the computer as I'm trying to keep my house as near to presentable as I can as we can get a call at any time. I've been pretty good...I've made my bed every day for the last 3 1/2 weeks, but then I've had to throw the dirty dishes in the oven, and dirty clothes in the bathtub too. Yesterday we finally got rid of a bunch of stuff that had been piling up in the garage. I kept holding on to it thinking that one day I'd have a garage sale, but who am I kidding. So far, we haven't had too many major disasters. I think I've got most of the pen markings off the wall . I've outlawed crayons after Allyse used the couch cushions as her canvas. And as long as I don't hear Keira say "oopsies" with a tube of lip gloss in her hands, we should be good.

Ring of Fire

A view of the fire from a park near my home.

It's that time of year again when the dry climate and Santa Ana winds make for a heated battle. The first year we were here, in 2003, the fires were so bad that ashes were falling like snow in our valley. Last year we had members of our ward evacuated from their homes. I think our valley has practically been encircled by fire throughout these last few years

Easy, Fast and Yummy Asian Stir Fry

Yummy Stir Fry

8 oz. angel hair pasta
2 cups small broccoli florets or snow peas
1 lb. Chicken, cut into thin strips
½ cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp. Each: ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Cook pasta adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking time. (I add the snow peas when adding the dressing and spices to the chicken.) As that cooks, spray large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium high-high heat. Add the chicken and cook 6-8 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute more. Drain pasta mixture and place in a large bowl. Add chicken mixture and toss lightly. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Those in CC2, it's in the new cookbook

Trick-or-Treat

This is probably the last year I have any choice in what the girls are for Halloween, since they still really don't know what it's all about. I spotted the sparkly fabric when I was at JoAnn's one day and it inspired the whole costume. We had a ward Halloween party last week and then we took the girls on their first trick-or-treating adventure last night...just a couple of houses. They loved pointing out all the decorations which they call "pumpkin patch", and all candy was "candy corn". Most of the people are outside by their garages handing out the candy, but the girls really liked ringing the "ding dong" (doorbell) of a couple of our condo neighbors.
Our little "twitches". (Allyse in purple and Keira in orange).

Our pumpkin

The Difference a Couple of Days Make

Last Friday, the 24th, I had the opportunity to drive to Downtown Disney to visit one of my best friends from high school. We met at the Rain Forest Cafe at about 5:30 and to make a long story short, we waited and waited and waited. Poor, starving kids! Fast forward to Tuesday the 28th. My brother Jerry and his family (minus the nearly 18 month old) were in Disneyland. We planned to meet them for dinner, but thought meeting at the Red Robin down the street would be better. We got down to Disneyland with about an hour to spare so we were just going to bum around Downtown Disney for a bit. We had just stopped in front of the Rain Forest Cafe where they had a parrot that the girls were fascinated with when Jerry walks on by. (Luckily I was getting something from the diaper bad and not watching the parrot.) Since we were right by the Rain Forest Cafe we thought we'd just see what the wait was...10-15 minutes. I can handle 15 minutes. So, the Rain Forest Cafe IS doable...just avoid the weekends I guess.Everybody say "red eyed tree frog!"

Me and Brandi

Two by Two

The Skirball Museum's Noah's Ark exhibit.

Keira sweeping up in the animal quarters, keeping her eyes on the lookout for any more that might fall from overhead :).
Good thing that poop is fake...she was fascinated with it.
Allyse playing some kind of instrument.

We have video of the girls playing a duet on this, as well as some other cute clips, but we're having technical difficulties with getting video uploaded :(

I Wanna Be a Cowgirl

If there are shoes or hats left around, Allyse is sure to find them. I have found her walking around at a park in many diferent kids shoes, some we don't even know. Here she is in Isaacs boots and cowboy hat.

Yay, I Did It!

We hear, "yay, I did it!" a lot around our house nowadays. Whether it's because they've turned on the light, or put on their shoes, or sometimes it's for no reason at all...as far as we can tell. Last night I hear it from Keira who first, pulled out the drawer to climb up to grab the pepper shaker from off the counter, and then again when she has taken the lid off the shaker and poured its contents on the step. Hopefully I won't be sneezing everytime I turn on the vacuum.

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Bedding Gone?

This is what we found last night as Randy and I checked on the girls before going to bed. Keira had thrown everything from her crib into Allyse's and I guess Allyse didn't want to give it back.

Fall Was Here...

...For a day. On Saturday I woke up to a morning that I had been waiting for for a long time. It was gray, rainy and a wonderful 65 degrees. We put on our jackets, went to the park and played in the rain, which I think was the first experience the girls had with rain. I pulled out my fall/Halloween decorations, made home-made soup and really tried to make some home-made rolls or some yummy treat. It was such a perfect day for baking, but Randy had to go into work and I therefore had to deal with the girls as well. Unfortunately, Sunday turned out to be bright and sunny again and today we were back in the 90's...grrrr!

Do You Swim in a Pool...

To keep yourself cool? Today we did! It is October first and it was nearly 100 degrees outside, so we went to the pool. I think today was only the fourth time we've made it to the pool this year, but I wouldn't have been able to go at all without the help of Carly and Kalei. A couple extra hands per girls makes a HUGE difference. Kalei made a miraculous, and I mean truly miraculous save of Allyse who, while I had my camera focused on Keira, was walking backwards and narrowly missed plunging underneath the water. I've decided I better just keep the camera home.

P.S. I cannot wait until it cools down!

Allyse
Keira

Daddy Daughter Day

Or I could say a day off for mom! Randy had the girls ALL day. I had the Relief Society Broadcast at 5:00 and a baby shower at 11:30 already scheduled, so I decided to give myself the whole day off. Randy gave me a four visit spa package for mothers day which expires in a month, so I made an appointment for visit number three...a microderm facial. I spent the rest of the time getting things on my to-do list marked off. It is amazing how much you can do when you don't have to worry about getting kids in and out of carseats, and in and out of strollers and all the other hassles.

Shortly after 8:00 am: Left the house. Decided to check out a garage sale which was down the street. Didn't find anything.

I arrive at Kohls at about 8:30, so I have a good hour and a half to shop without having to deal with hard-to-handle girls. (They don't like to be strapped in the stroller longer than ten minutes unless we are in constant motion). The other day I realized I had not bought a new pair of jeans since long before the girls were born, so I was determined to find some today, which I did. Yea! I also scored with getting a pair of 26.00 sunglasses for $4.42. Hopefully I'll have these sunglasses longer than a month. The girls, when I forget to put my purse on top of the fridge, always go for the sunglasses first and they just can't seem to open them without snapping them in pieces. I love getting good deals. They had these early bird specials, plus I had a coupon for an extra 15% off, then I got $20 in Kohls cash. Now I can go back, to the new store opening on Wednesday, and get more good deals. :)

10:15: Facial.
After my facial, while I'm in that part of town, I have to run to the post office to send a package and stop at JoAnns to pick up supplies for our relief society's Fabulous Friday. Thank goodness for the self post thingie or I would've been in line at the post office for forever. They only have two of what I need at JoAnns...grrrrr!

11:50: Arrive at baby shower where I relax, chat with the girls, and eat yummy food. After the shower I'm off to Beverly's to pick up what they didn't have at JoAnns and luckily they are well stocked. While I was at Beverly's I saw this cute husband, probably in his late fifties, shopping with his wife. He pushed the cart piled high with fabric and other crafty stuff while his wife commented on what she was planning to do with it all. I thought it was cute. I'm off to Payless shoes after making my purchase at Beverly's. I'm there to look for shoes for the girls, but instead find a pair of shoes for me.

After Payless I have a decision to make...do I go to Costco? I try avoid Costco on Saturday's at all costs, but because I'm only picking up one thing, decide I might as well do it today.

I guess it's about 3:00 when I make it to Scrapbooking Made Simple. I've only been there a few times, but I love it! They have I think every imaginable di-cut for your use at no cost if you bring your own paper. I don't really scrapbook anymore, but di-cuts are fun for kids to do things with, so I'm just turning all my scraps into something cute and useful. This place is full of chatting women working on all kinds of projects and it's always stocked with FREE bottles of water, and all kinds of snacks. I resist all the tempting treats, but am grateful for the water.

At 5:00 I make it on over to the church for the broadcast. After the broadcast we have a dinner of yummy soups, salad, rolls and sherbet for dessert. At 7:30 there's several of us girls who are hanging about not quite sure we want to go home just yet. I decide it's been a long enough day and I make it home in time to help put my girls to bed. And now it's time for me to go to bed. :)

Doctor, Doctor

At her two year well check Allyse measured 36 3/4 inches and weighed in at 27 pounds 9 oz.

At her two year well check she measured 36 1/4 inches and weighed in at 27 pounds 6 oz.

The girls had their two year well check on Monday. This was the first time that I didn't have an extra pair of hands to help me and I have to say that they did really well. However, Keira was definitely more relaxed and cooperative with Dr. Mike than Allyse was. There's several doctors at the office that we go to but we love Dr. Mike. He is really upbeat and is so cute with the girls. He lets the girls blow out his little light, and lets them help look for monkeys eating bananas in each others ears. He asks them, "Do you see the monkeys?" They respond, "That's silly." They had to get two shots from the nurse, which of course is so mean, but it was all better once they got the sparkly "stickers" to cover up their little pricks. It was all soon forgotten and as

the nurse was leaving they even waved and said "bye grandma." I can't believer that we're to the point where they only have yearly check-ups. They are just getting so big!

Happy Birthday Keira and Allyse!

I've been a little slow getting the pictures from the camera so I'm now just getting around to writing about the girls birthday. We had a small get together for the girls on Friday night. We had Aurora, Allegra, and Carrie Lisonbee, Carly and Kalei (the Woodhouse twins), their mom and dad Gina and Keith (can I call him that? He'll always be bishop!), and Bill and Janel Schultz...our adopted family. The girls still haven't grasped the joy of opening presents, so it's a good thing we had Aurora there to help them out. It was so fun to watch Aurora as she "ooohed" and "ahhhed", where the girls were like "hmmm, that's nice." Maybe after finding their "big" present before the party even started was enough to make them happy. I found back-packs with wheels on them and I didn't quite know how to wrap them, so I ended up just hiding them upstairs under a blanket. They don't go upstairs unless Randy or I do, so I thought they would be safe. But as I was doing some last minute things on the computer, they slipped past and found them. I should have put them in my closet!

Aurora is ready. She knows what birthdays are all about...the cake!

The girls love books, so I did my best at making a cake look like an open book. It's definitely not going to make the cover of Martha Stewart Magazine, but if nothing else, it didn't taste too bad. Keira eating it up.
Allyse is a "just frosting" girl.

Mommy Moment

I didn't realize it until I had put the seond batch of clothes in the washer that I totally forgot to put detergent in the first batch! I have never done that before.

What is up with that?

When I was at the girls check-up this morning, I happened to glance at a People magazine and about flipped when I saw one of the headlines. We don't have T.V. to watch the news or Orprah, so this was the first time I had heard about the used to be beauty queen turned man who kept the female reproductive organs and had a baby! That is just sick and wrong!

Tag-Six Randon Things

This is a tag from my sister-in-law Teresa. I've done one like this before, but thought it nice of her to think of me, so it took me some time to think of some more random things.

1. My computer skills really stink. I've come along way, but I have to ask Randy a lot of times to help me do something that I've done before and have forgotten.

2. I love to not only read books, but to listen to them on CD. I used to listen to them on my way to work, but now I listen to them while I'm getting ready in the morning...or whatever time it is when I finally get a shower, when I'm doing dishes, or when I'm cooking. It makes just about any task more enjoyable. I often find that I need something else to clean so that I can finish a CD.

3. I have a dictionary close at hand while I'm reading because I like to look up words I don't know, which is quite often. I have terrible vocabulary.

4. When I'm taking pictures I'm always looking at what is in the frame besides what I'm focusing on...usually the girls. If there's a jacket hanging over the couch, or stuff on the floor that's cluttering up the picture I have to move it...most of the time. My house is not spotless, but at least I can pretend that is.

5. I still love to color. The girls love to color too, but they like to scribble a little here and then turn the page, and I'm just not done yet!

6. I'm terrible when called to answer something on the spot. I need time to think things through.

True Confessions

On the a day I should have been rejoicing the births of my little girls I felt like packing them up and shipping them FedEx to China!

Our Two Are Two!

After months of saying "they're almost two", "they'll be two in September", "they're not quite two", they're officially two...and it shows!!

Big Shoes to Fill

"Wun, Wun as Fast as You Can!"

I love watching Keira run, her arms and hands just a swingin.

Kidspace Children Museum

Today was our first visit to the Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena. The girls had a great time exploring so many different things. They especially loved playing in the little stream/pond ...you can see that they're completely drenched in the pictures. We wrapped up the day by playing in their playroom...I wish I had something like that in my house! I would have had a hard time getting them out of there if I still didn't have grapes in the stroller which was parked outside the doors :)

Keira digging for dinosaur bones.
Allyse: "I dwiving!"
Allyse giving mommy five.
Rebecca and Isaac

Thanks for letting us come with you.

Hand in Hand

Keira

Keira deep in thought.
"I've got it!"
"Oh, I don't got it!"

Watch Out Charlie

Allyse is taking over.

My Family Is...

This is a tag that I'm to describe my family in six words:

1. Dedicated
2. Flexible
3. Talented...We've got "skills"
4. Benevolent
5. Cooperative
6. Perfectly Imperfect

I now tag Carrie, Ashley, Hil, Kristi, and Brandi

Come On Down...

You're the next contestant on The Price is Right!!

Yesterday I went to a filming of The Price is Right. My friend Shay planned it and we all had a great time. There was a total of 12 in our group, which consisted of Shay, her sister Kohl and her friend Nate, her aunt Roxann, her aunts friend Paula and her daughter Nicole, three cousins Melissa, Jessica and Beau, a friend of a cousin Rebecca, , Rebeca Warr from our ward and me. We all wore white shirts with neck ties and Shay bought us glasses that looked like Drew Carey's. I have to admit that at first I wondered "why do we want to look like Drew Carey?" It's been a really long time since I've watched The Price is Right and it wasn't until Monday night when Randy asked me if Bob Barker was still the host that I realized that Drew Carey had taken his place. Ah-hah!

We got to the studio at 9:00 a.m. and then we waited...and waited...and waited! There are about 325 seats available amd they take eveyone's picture and interview you in groups of about 10...just a quick where are you from? and what do you do? This is how they pick the contestants. We were at the end of the line, my number being 312, but finally just before 1:00 we were all ushered into the air-conditioned studio! My first reaction was Wow! This is really small!...on T.V. it looks so BIG! We had GREAT seats! We were in the back, but on this platform right in the center behind the contestants. When we were waiting we were told that we wouldn't be able to wear the glasses...at least while they were filming. Costumes are not allowed and I guess they considered that too much of a costume...trying to look like Drew. During one of the breaks, we all put on the glasses. When Drew saw us he loved it and said he didn't care what the producers said, he said we could wear them for the rest of the show. I think they got a close-up shot of us after one of the commercial breaks. So, if you get a chance, our taping will be shown on October 8th. Looking at the T.V., I'll be on the second to last row, the first seat left of center...I'm famous...just kidding! No one from our group got called up, but during our long waiting we got to know a few who did...one from the "yellow, Pick Geoff" group, and one from the "green" group..who was sitting right behind me. BUT, Shay did get to go up and give Drew a hug!

After the show we were soooo hungry, so we went to The Cheesecake factory (YUM!) for a late lunch/early dinner. We got on the road just in time to hit traffic. By the time I got home from picking up the girls it was 7:30. Bless the Rackliffe family for being so willing to take the girls at 6:30 in the morning and watching them ALL day! I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

I didn't have a camera with me, but will get a picture from someone as soon as I can.

O.R.E.O

Randy said he was just too hungry when he opened the package of Oreo's to notice the "easy open pull tab" on top of the package, which is to help seal in freshness once opened.
He even missed this announcement at the side of the package which is what he ripped open. However, I would like to thank him for doing this. Because it was not sealed tight, the cookies became soft...and Oreo's just shouldn't be that way until dunked in milk. Therefore, I was not tempted to eat them as they sat in our cupboard.

The Tunnel

Earthquake Follow Up

The girls and I were sitting on the couch reading a book when the earthquake happened. They didn't know what was happening and when I pulled them closer to me, Allyse was squirming and saying "wet (let) go", which is one of their favorite sayings right now. I kept watching the book shelves and the dish cupboard, which I had left open, waiting for stuff to start falling off. The dining room light was swinging back and forth and the filing cabinet made the most noise, but the only thing I found out of place was one of the computer speakers...which happened to be on top of the filing cabinet. The thought of something bigger coming later was what I was most afraid of, but so far so good.

Whoa!!

We just had an earthquake about ten minutes ago! This is the first one I've really felt and boy did it get my heart racing. It doesn't help that Randy takes off in an airplane to Minnesota in 7 minutes.

Jordan Family Barbeque

Miller Family Reunion

Grandpa J

Allyse: Grandpa's new buddy

We spent a couple of days with my dad before heading to the Miller reunion. The girls loved exploring his yard, talking to Boozer (my dad's dog) and the horses across the street, and especially taking rides on the fourwheeler.

Miller Family Reunion

We've been hime for a week and I'm finally getting around to getting the pictures uploaded and organized. Camping with the girls was an adventure. The girls loved being in the great outdoors...especially Keira who within 30 minutes of us being there was bathing herself in dirt. After awhile I didn't mind the dirt, I was going to have to live with that. It was just that their dirty little hands would get into everything! A bag of chips, someone's cup of water, etc. Enjoy the pictures.

Memories

Memories...I hope you will play along.Here are the directions:

1. Add a comment on my blog and leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot just do anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments!

Multitasking

This is what I get for trying to do too much at once.

(Allyse left, Keira right)