The Miller Family

Laina Dancing With Style

2011-09-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Laina just started dancing one night. We're not sure where she picked up the moves. Oh yeah, and she picked out her stunning outfit all by herself. She's awesome!

Boston Common and Public Gardens

2011-07-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got into downtown Boston to see what there is to see. There is so much, so we'll just take it in a bit at a time.

Keira and Allyse with the statue of Washingtion
On the way into downtown, we read Make Way For Ducklings and then while in the gardens found the statue of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings and took a ride on the swan boats.

Laina enjoying her first carousel ride

Allyse

Keira

With it being the fourth of July weekend we ended up being able to see some revolutionary war reenactments. I'm glad I wasn't wearing those costumes.

Highlights of the Last Month...or two

2011-05-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Keira taking a turn with the quill pen
Allyse dipping a candle

Laina says she's ready to eat.

Yesterday (May 28) we explored a bit of Lexington and Concord. It's where the Revolutionary war began and is just about a 20 minute drive from us. We were lucky to be there the one day of the year, at the Hartwell Tavern atleast, when they had people dressed in period clothing and demonstrating some of the culture of the day. There's more to see, so I'm sure we'll be back.

Keira and Allyse at our Fancy Nancy Easter outing. (Allyse left, Keira right)

Their hair just didn't make it too long with the rain we had that day.

On Patriots Day (April 19th) we went to check out the infamous Boston marathon. We didn't know exactly where to go, but ended up finding a great spot at the mile 18 mark. The girls had a good time cheering and watching many goofy runners go by. We saw men wearing tutus, bikini tops, funny wigs, a gorilla costume, and one guy wasn't wearing any shoes! I don't know what he was thinking. Randy would like to train for the marathon, so maybe one day we'll be cheeing him on.

Keira...so focused

Allyse

We are so fortunate to live just down the street from a bike trail entrance. These were pictures taken on one of the first Spring days. Now the trail is covered overhead by a canopy of green. Can't wait to see it in the fall.

We have quite a few critters that make their appearance in our back yard; squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, birds of bright red, blue and yellow, but we were quite surprised to look out one day to find these three wild turkeys on a stroll. And just yesterday we had another visitor that we haven't decided what it was exactly...a beaver maybe. We didn't get a good look at the tail.

Random fact: Squirrels can and will bite through a Hefty brand garbage can. They cannot, for whatever reason, get through Rubbermaid.

Randy turned the big 40! To celebrate we went out to eat with some friends at a Brazilian restaurant. It was April Fools Day so he was surprised with a Chocolate "Sponge" Cake.

Family Portrait

2011-05-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

(Posted by Randy) I wanted a funny caricature of our family portrait so had a talented friend draw one up for us. Some of you may know Matt Easterbrook. Great guy and great talent. I think he nailed the personalities of the girls, especially Laina! You can see how I consider myself the luckiest man alive, with 4 beautiful girls in my life!

You can see more great art work from this artist at his website: http://www.matteasterbrook.com/. Check it out!

Lake Tahoe

2011-03-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

Keira striking a pose

Allyse blazing a new trail

Laina's first encounter with snow

We went to Lake Tahoe the first week in January, so it was our last, and much loved vacation in California. (If you haven't been to Tahoe, I'd highly suggest going. It's beautiful!) We didn't get around to seeing Yosemite, the Redwoods and a bunch of other California sights and getting back to the west coast will take a bit more traveling time, but we might to get back to see those places...some day. We're excited to be able to explore the east coast...once we thaw out, and if all goes well we'll probably be here for a good long time...so my list begins.

2011-02-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not one to have my cell phone with me all the time. Now that we've moved it's become the main line. I had a hard enough time finding the cordless phones around the house (and we had four), now I'm looking for something about half size. Even when I know where it is I usually can't get to it before it goes to voicemail. Luckily, I guess, we don't have many calls coming in right now.

Well the other day I was getting dinner ready and called Randy to see if he did indeed use the last of the chicken. I put down the phone and awhile later had to make another call, but couldn't find my phone. I thought I had put it on the counter...did one of the girls take it? Randy was home by then so I had him call my number so I could hunt it down. I could hear it coming from...the pantry? It stops. Randy calls again. I can see the blue lights coming now from...my three ring binder cookbook. I had put my phone down on top of my open book in my "what am I going to make for dinner now?" scramble and it got closed up inside.

Okay, it's your turn. Where's the craziest place you've found your phone, be it your or your kids doing.

All Dressed Up...

2011-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

...and nowhere to go. Okay, we were still in our pajamas, but otherwise I was completely ready for church and getting breakfast when Randy, after hearing my cell phone going off three times, relates that church has been CANCELED!! It's a good thing Randy found my phone, which was upstairs in my purse, before he went outside to shovel snow or we would have shown up to an empty building. In all my years growing up in Utah I've never known church to be canceled because of snow. I don't know, maybe it's because in Utah we could all walk to the church building.

This was a comment made by Allyse while looking out the window watching another layer of snow fall from the sky: "Mom, (big sigh) the snow is never going to melt!"

Our new home

2011-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Our new home!

The girls being silly outside our front door.

Even in this snow the mailman never fails to deliver the mail.

What fun to get to shovel the whole driveway!

Dynamic Duo

2010-08-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Reminds me of that church commercial where the brother gets done on all fours so that his little sister can step on him to get down from a wall.

Before...

2010-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I have done any thing on this blog. We got the girls hair cut at the end of March and here it is May. Laina is sleeping through the night now so the couple hours I have at night when the girls are asleep I'm slowly getting caught up on my mile long 'to-do' list.

Allyse

Keira

Trying to get a good picture of both of them together is near impossible!

...and After

2010-05-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Curly Girls

2010-05-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

I had to curl the girls hair atleast once before I chopped it off, and once was enough...it took a long time.

Keira couldn't stand the rag curlers and wanted them OUT! I told her that she could wear her new dress the next day (Sunday) and she tolerated them for that one night. In the morning the first she wanted was to get the curlers out, so her curls were a little looser by the time I took the picture. But they have their mothers hair...curls just don't last long. At the end of the day they were both asking for more curly curls.
Allyse, from the back

Allyse loved her rag curlers and in the morning didn't want to take them out.

Gimme that cookie!!!

2010-02-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's official...Laina likes chocolate chip cookies!

Which Way Should We Go?

2010-02-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is at the Placerita Nature Center. A few minutes later there was another split in the trail and the twins did the exact same thing, pointing in the opposite direction from one another!

Some of you may recognize this bridge as the one we built as part of the eagle project for now Elder Gerardo Ruiz.

I asked the girls to smile...

The girls really loved our hike. We'll have to go back again soon...

Going Crazy!!!

2009-12-17T12:34:00.001-08:00

Our girls like to get out of the house to go to the park, the zoo, for a walk or even the store. Many times they mistake my moving of my shoes as a sign that we are going somewhere. Recently the girls asked where we were going and I said, "We're going crazy". The rest of the night the girls were anxious to get started and repeatedly asked when we were going to go crazy. Allyse even said at one point after we apparently weren't moving fast enough, "I want to go crazy". She's too young to realize that we are already there!!!

Random Pics

2009-09-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Girls

Linda Metcalf was an angel and watched the twins for two and a half days so that we could take care of Laina.

Proud Parents

Synchronized Sleeping (after day at the zoo)

Parents as Babies

2009-09-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Randy shown first then JoElle. Again, both pictures within a few weeks of birth. Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmm"!

Who does Laina look like?

2009-09-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

We get a lot of friends asking, "Who does Laina look like?" Well, here are pictures of the twins side by side with Laina (approximately the same age, about a few weeks old). We think that she is unique but you can decide for yourself! First Laina, then Allyse, then Keira (youngest to oldest).

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

2009-09-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Name: Laina
Time: 11:06am
Date: 8/27/2009
Weight: 9 lb 10 oz
Height: 20.5 inches

We're going to "see Attle"...the Story

2009-07-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit about our trip to Seattle. Before we left I was getting stuff ready to go and of course the girls were getting into everything and I kept saying that I was getting things ready for when we go to Seattle. Well, Allyse answered at one point, "Oh, for when we go to Attles house?" It took a minute until I realized what she said. In her little mind she made the connection that Attle was a person and we were going to go to "see Attle," just as we would go "see grandpa", or "see cousins". Even today Keira asked, "Are we going to see Attle today...at the beach mommy?"

The girls did very well on their first airplane ride. They, of course had it easy, it was Randy and I who had it rough. After our shuttle from the long-term parking lot, which was supposed to come every 5-10 minutes finally came after waiting 20+ minutes, we were on our way to the American Airlines terminal. However, when we got there we found out that it wasn't American but Alaska Air, a sister airline, that we were flying, which was on the other side of the LAX airport, but luckily only a four minute walk. The lady made it sound like we were running late and had to hurry so Randy took off with the luggage in order to get our boarding passes squared away while I followed behind with the girls as fast as my 7 month pregnant body could go. Luckily, the security check line wasn't long and we made it to our gate. I finally was able to use the bathroom, which I'd had to do since getting out of the car and seeing that there wasn't any activity at our gate, Randy went to get something to eat. After sitting for a bit waiting for them to start boarding at gate 32 I started listening to the boarding announcements being called out and finally asked Randy what our flight number was. All these boarding announcements I was hearing were for our flight...at gate 34! We packed light so we didn't have to check anything in, but we still had 2 carseats, 3 carry-on size suitcases, the diaper bag, and a backpack which we had to haul down the narrow airplane aisle of a practically completely boarded plane. It was quite stressful, but we were finally able to relax once we were all buckled in.

Okay, the rest of this is going to have to be in bullet point form or this will never get posted.

-The best thing is that we get to hang out with JoLynn (Randy's sister), John, Haliey, Jennings and Wyatt. Jennings and Wyatt were quite the troopers as they were the ones carrying the girls around a lot of the time.
-We get to see Haliey play in one of her soccer games
-Randy spends three days with visits to a dentist
-Girls learn theme song to Spongebob Squarepants
-Pikes Market where the girls every word was "I want that!" or "I want to hold you," which translates to "carry me."
-Mt. Ranier. The girls got to play in snow!
-Paddle boats on Greenlake very fun, but quite the leg workout.
-Randy and I have a date night at the Space Needle.
-Fourth of July barbeque with Randy's Uncle Bruce and Aunt Claudia
-An almost perfect view of Seattle fireworks from the Richmond's balcony. If there wasn't that darn tree!
-Schedule, what schedule! When the girls took naps it was because we were driving and who cares if it was past 10:00 when we finally put them to bed in their clothes without their teeth brushed.
-The girls falling in love with their Seattle cousins. They still ask if we are going to see their cousins...I wish. It's a beautiful area and Randy is already talking about what he'd like to do when we go again.

We're going to "see Attle"

2009-07-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Mother Dear I Love You So!

2009-05-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

Easter

2009-04-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

Allyse is in pink, Keira is in the green
They totally scored.
This was at a egg hunt hosted by one of Santa Clarita's Mom's clubs and before the hunt began they had all the kids sit down and they sang some songs. Allyse was probably wondering why they were sitting when there were all the eggs to pick up. She decided she was going to get a head start and took off running, but luckily Randy was able to hold her back.

March pictures

2009-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

March...In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

2009-04-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's almost been a month, but I'm finally getting around to posting what we've been up to the last little while, in a very condensed format.

March was a crazy month. I got sick, then the girls took turns being sick, then I got another bug, so not fun! Luckily we were all through with being sick by the time that Randy's brother Steven and his family came out for a visit at the end of the month. We went to the beach which was a first for Emma, Miles and Brynna. We all had a great time having a picnic, flying a kite, playing in the sand, and for those who dared, the water. On Randy's birthday, March 30th, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure and had a great time. One of the highlights for the girls was meeting Minnie Mouse.

It's a....

2009-04-08T17:21:00.003-07:00

On March 31 the ultrasound technician confirmed my suspicions that this baby is another GIRL! I wasn't sure I was going to find out, but I just had to. Ever since we found out I have been preparing for another girl. While shopping the after Christmas clearance sales I bought a three pack angel picture frame ornament set and thought how perfect for my three little girls. Well, we definitely have got the clothes and with their birthdays just three weeks apart everything should work out seasonally, unless this baby does turn out to be the record breaking 22 pounder that I dreamed I had.

Yummy Drinks

2009-03-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

In honor of St. Patricks day, which is tomorrow, here are some drinks made from the fabulous green fruit...the lime.

Lime Slush Punch (fron Christmas Recipes from the Lion House cook book)
2 cups sugar
8 cups water
1 12 oz. can frozen limeade
5 fresh limes, juiced
24+ oz. lemon-lime soda (add as desired)

Combine sugar and water and heat slightly until dissolved. Add frozen limeade and juice of the 5 limes. Mix and pour into a shallow pan. Freeze. (I used a 9x13 pan with lid which was just perfect.) Can be kept in freezer up to three months. Remove from freezer about an hour before serving and break up into slush. Pour into punch bowl and add soda.

This is a recipe that my friend Erin posted on her blog. It is soooo yummy!
Brazilian Limeade

4 limes
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (maybe a touch more)
6 cups water
Lots of ice

Wash the limes thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice into eight wedges, leaving the peel on. Place limes in blender with the sugar, sweetened condensed milk and half the water. Blend in an electric blender, pulsing for only a couple of seconds about 3 times (this will depend on the power of your blender. If you blend too much it will become very bitter. The pulp should be blended up, but most of the peel should not). Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lime rinds.

Add the rest of the water. I usually pour it through the stainer to pick up any left over flavor. Stir and pour into a glass with plenty of ice.

Don't make it too far in advance. It tends to turn bitter after a few hours.

JoElle's note: I would plan to buy at least 12 limes, because you have a can of sweetened condensed milk opened and you won't want it to go to waste. And, if you have a large family you're gonna want a lot :)

Two Year Old Attitude

2009-03-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

The girls are in the dressing themselves phase now and are constantly wanting to change their clothes. Their pants and pajamas are what are in the dresser drawers and therefore what they have access to, but I don't think they would mind wearing pajamas all day. I have quite the time some times trying to get them dressed in the morning and as you can see in the pictures getting hair done these days is near impossible too. It used to be that a movie would keep them still while I did their hair, but now they see me coming with the brush and they take off running. I'm lucky if I can actually get it combed. I can see now why so many moms just opt to chop off their daughters hair.

Allyse has almost got it.

Keira can't quite get the pants over her diaper, but she doesn't seem to mind.

I usually buy their pajamas in a two piece set and am quite particular about having them wear the coordinating pj's on the same night. Apparently they don't take after me in this regard.

My Little Valentines

2009-03-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

Pictures of the girls valentine cookie decorating play date February 13, 2009

Allyse's conversation heart creation.

"I think I can fit another one right...here."

Keira's creation...a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Keira was in heaven with all the different sprinkles and candies!

While the other kids went to the bedroom to play, Keira was sitting

at the table eating it up!

Click and drag on sphere then let it go!

2009-02-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

2009-02-02T19:38:00.001-08:00

I was getting our lunch ready yesterday and I asked Keira if she wanted some grapes. Her reply was, "No, I want some chocolate."

2009-02-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

The other night I had a dream that I had access to a 24 hour buffet. Actually, I've been having a lot of dreams about food lately...hmmmm. What I wouldn't give to just be able to walk into my kitchen and have a variety of foods just ready and waiting to eat. I am so, so, so hungry all the time right now and it seems I'm never able to get completely full. It doesn't help that when I open my refrigerator or cupboards nothing looks good.

Three Under Three

2009-01-30T17:16:00.000-08:00

On or near August 29, three weeks before the girls turn three years old, we will be welcoming baby #3 to our family. I figure we might as well announce because for those that can see me, my belly is giving me away. By the way I've popped you'd think I was having twins this go around, but luckily there is only one.

I'm feeling good, but I'm incredibly exhausted (therefore the lack in posting). I am just too tired! Napping with the girls used to be an option, but now it is an absolute must. There have been days when I was just too tired to go check what the girls were doing and as a result, such as on Monday, found that my mascara had been found and used to color our rocking chair, and on Tuesday 3/4 of a bottle of bodywash squeezed onto the carpeted floor. This of course was due to my neglect of putting said objects out of the girls reach. This is going to be a long seven months!

Oh, by the way for those who don't know, we took our condo off the market. With all the foreclosures in the area it just drove the prices down too much for us to sell and make it worth it. It's a good thing in a way because there is just no way I would have been able to keep the place in presentable order all the time. We'll try again when the market turns, whenever that will be and until then just make the best of where we are.

S.L.O. Christmas

2009-01-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

The Man in the Red Suit

2009-01-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the girls with Santa Claus taken at our ward party on December 6th. Allyse left, Keira right.

November in pictures

2008-12-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

My Thanksgiving ABC's

2008-11-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-11-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-10-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

...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...

2008-10-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-24T21:31:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-09-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

"Wun, Wun as Fast as You Can!"

2008-08-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

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

Kidspace Children Museum

2008-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Keira

2008-08-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

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

Watch Out Charlie

2008-08-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Allyse is taking over.

My Family Is...

2008-08-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-08-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

Earthquake Follow Up

2008-07-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-07-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-28T21:14:00.001-07:00

Miller Family Reunion

2008-07-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Grandpa J

2008-07-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

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

(Allyse left, Keira right)

Sleep Tight

2008-07-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

I had taken this picture of Keira about a month ago. She had had her bath and was ready for bed, but she was not parting with the bottle of lotion. I guess she really likes the smell and they say that lavender is good for helping people to sleep.

This is Allyse a couple of weeks ago. My kitchen gadget drawer is a favorite place to get things to play with. At nap time Allyse took along the dough hook from my mixer. Who needs a teddy bear?

Proud to Be An American

2008-07-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a fun fourth of July getting together with friends and eating lots of good food.

Watching fireworks was out of the question however, as the girls were wiped out by 8:30 and soooo ready for bed.

Allyse
Daddy and Keira

The little Firecrackers:

Allyse, Aurora Lisonbee, Keira and Spencer Easterbrook

A Day at the Beach

2008-07-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots taken last Friday, the 27th, at the beach.

Keira taking a swig to wash down all the sand she's ingested.
Kalei holding Keira who is eating her multi-grain "sand"wich. She just kept eating anything even though it had landed in the sand. I guess she doesn't mind the crunch.
Keira and Allyse in their favorite beach past time...taste testing rocks.

"Don't touch that brown one...it's alive."
"This one isn't too bad."
"This one is a bit too salty."

Allyse with the Polynesian Beauties Anuhea, Pohai, and Carly
Allyse hanging out with the big girls
Keira and Allyse chillin' with Kalei

Pleasantly Surprised

2008-06-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

I thought our days of going to the park were over for the summer because of the heat. However, this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a beautiful day. At just after 10:00 a.m. it was about 75 degrees. A few days ago at the same time it was 97...and climbing. There was a nice breeze and even at noon when we were packing up to leave it was nice. It was just Rebecca and I at the park, but hopefully everyone else was able to enjoy the day too. Here are some pictures of Allyse, Tommy and Isaac (see Keira in the post below). This tree is one the biggest attractions at the Oak Springs Canyon Park. It is great for all our budding climbers and offers nice shade for all the moms.

A Little Bit of Dirt Won't Hurt

2008-06-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is sure just a small taste of what I'm in for in just a couple of weeks at the Miller Family Reunion. However, I'm going to have to deal with not having a bathtub close by while we're camping.

Feel the Love

2008-06-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken in January before I started blogging. They show the other side of twindom. They are great friends for the most part, but they get in eachother's space at times too.

Keira: "Put down the camera and help me!"
Ahhh, hugs...best friends again.

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

2008-06-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

That's Keira with my shoe on. Notice the teddy bear...they like to line up their stuffed animals on the fake logs.

Randy and Girls

2008-06-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

Randy did some editing with the pictures and was able to fix the lighting.

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Randy and his girls.

Keira left, Allyse right

Today in primary they had the father's come in and the kids picked questions to ask their dads. It was kind of fun so I thought I would do our own little father's day interview with Randy.

Favorite color: Red

Favorite thing to eat: Cheesecake Factory's Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

Least favorite thing to eat: Asparagus

Favorite superhero: Superman

Favorite scripture hero: Mormon

Did you have a pet growing up, and if so, what was it's name? His family had a cat named Tabitha.

When you were young, what were you good at? Playing the piano. (And still is I might add).

What is your favorite thing to do (hobby)? Playing with the girls, running and biking.

What is something you remember about the day the girls were born? Finally deciding on names, and just being happy having them here healthy with no complications.

A Procrastinator

2008-06-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

I am a procrastinator. It is on the top of the list of my many faults. When there is something pressing to be done I can find a million other things to do instead. When I was in school and I had a big paper to write (my least favorite thing), I'd organize my closet, clean the refrigerator, or clean the kitchen cupboards. I would then two days before the paper was due either cram to get it done, or after careful calculations on the other aspects of the grade, decide that a C grade was worth not doing the paper at all. It is after 10:30 pm on a Saturday night and I'm supposed to be working on a talk that I'm giving in sacrament meeting tomorrow. However, the difference between this and a homework assignment is that I don't have the choice of just not doing it. At 7:30 instead of making banana bread, washing the mountain of dishes...that unfortunately are still going to be there tomorrow..., or bathing the girls, which I made Randy do, I got on the computer to work on this talk. I resisted checking my email and blogs for awhile, but I really needed a break.

Did You Hear That?

2008-06-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Every once and awhile the girls will say something that makes me and Randy turn to eachother and say, Did you just hear that?, and wishing we could somehow rewind and play it again. Tonight as Randy was washing Allyse after dinner he says to her, "So, what do you think?", and Allyse says "About what?"

Family Pic

2008-06-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a family picture taken last week (May 30th) at our ward luau. I am just going to have to face that it will be pretty much impossible to get a good family picture with toddlers. At least they were being somewhat cooperative and not kicking and screaming to be put down.

Oh yeah. Randy has Keira and I have Allyse.

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

2008-05-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe for those who requested it and for anyone who wants to try a new yummy treat. I found it on verybestbaking.com.

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (not all-natural)
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) Milk chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirled morsels (I chopped/grated them up a bit.)
Graham cracker sticks and/or apple slices

BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until blended. Spoon onto a large piece of plastic wrap; bring up all four corners and twist tightly (should form a ball shape).
FREEZE for 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm enough to keep its shape. Place morsels in flat dish. Remove plastic wrap from ball and roll ball into morsels to completely cover (you may find it necessary to press morsels into ball).
PLACE ball on serving dish; cover and freeze for 2 hours or until almost firm. (Can be made ahead. If frozen overnight, thaw at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.) Serve with graham cracker sticks and apple slices for dipping or spreading.

Just Add Water

2008-05-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures taken at one of Randy's co-workers sons birthday party. They found a little bird bath in the yard and had more fun splashing around in that water than anything else. They were soaked, but it was such a hot day that I don't blame them (I heard it got over 100 that day).

Allyse is in white, Keira in pink

Just Add Water...Continued

2008-05-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite things to do now is play in water, as they now can get to the faucet in the bathroom. I bought a nice sturdy step stool so that they could learn to wash their hands at the sink, for those times where I feel a wet wipe just isn't going to cut it. I keep it out of the way as much as I can in the tiny bathroom, but they can push it over and when they don't feel like doing that, they just stand on the lid of the toilet. I figure they can't hurt anything, so I let them have their fun...as long as they don't run the water too long, which they usually don't because once they're all wet they've had enough.

Allyse

Keira
Keira

Tagged Once Again

2008-05-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit more about me:

4 jobs I’ve had in my life:
1. Business Development Representative at Chocolates ala Carte
2. Copy center clerk
3. Sears telecenter
4. ShopKo-clothing retail

4 movies I have watched over and over:
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Father of the Bride
3. Anne of Green Gables
4. Little Women

4 places that I have lived:
1. Logan, UT
2. Salt Lake City, UT
3. Santa Barbara, CA
4. Centerville, UT

4 people who e-mail me regularly: (Blogging has kind of taken over the email, so I’ll list as groups.)
1. Randy
2. Utah friends
3. Play-group moms
4. Various bulletins

4 of my favorite foods:
1. Bacon
2. Italian
3. Pot Roast
4. Chocolate

4 places I’d love to be:
1. In Utah near family
2. Prince Edward Island (I just finished reading the prequel to Anne of Green Gables.)
3. On a beach in Costa Rica—without the girls
4. Italy

4 things I’m looking forward to in 2008
1. Going to Utah
2. My friends new babies
3. Getting a house, but I’m not setting my hopes too high…good time to buy, not so good time to sell.
4. Fall, because it leads to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, which I love.

I'm supposed to tag four people, but I'll tag anyone who hasn't done this one. Like I've said before, keep it in mind when you've got writers block.

LDS Prom

2008-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last night was the LDS Prom held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles which Randy and I chaperoned at. They had a Hollywood theme with a red carpet leading into the building, someone interviewing the kids like they were movie stars, and limousine rides, just to name a few. I think the kids had a lot of fun, but can I just say that I feel soooo OLD! I was tired before we even got there which was shortly after 8:00. Then when we walked in and heard the music blaring I wanted to go right back outside. For the rest of night we stayed as far away from the music as we could. It was fun getting dressed up, but it was a rather cold evening and I ended up wearing Randy's suit jacket most of the night. And you'd never know that my hair had once been curly. I guess waiting outside for over an hour on a balmy evening waiting for your transportation will do that.

Here we are in our finest. FYI, this is not our living room, but that of Bill and Janel Schultz who babysat the girls. Here we are inside the stretch Hummer

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-05-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Since my girls don't say funny things yet, I'll pass along what other people's kids say. This one is for you Shay.

In closing exercises my primary class sits behind the CTR 5 class which Blake Morris is in. When we came in to sit down Blake, who is a girl for those who don't know, was making growling sounds.

Me: "Maci, I think there's a lion sitting in front of us."
Blake: "No, I'm not a lion."
Me: "No? A tiger?"
Blake: "No, I'm not a tiger, I'm a woman!"

"I am woman, hear me roar!"

Grrrrrr!

2008-05-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

After running two errands this morning I decide we still have time to swing by Wal-mart. I'm looking for something that could be used for a diaper cover, because the dresses I have for the girls now don't have them. I didn't find anything, but I did find some new swimsuits. I picked up a few groceries as well then made our way to the checkout as it was getting close to lunch and the girls were getting a bit restless.

By the time I got to the car the girls were tired of being buckled up and weren't very cooperative getting into their car seats. I quickly threw the bags in the front seat so that we could hurry and get home for lunch. When we get home and I'm packing up the bags I realize I'm missing one...the one with their swimsuits. In my hurried state I just know I have left it in the cart! Grrrrr! I get the girls back in their car seats and head back to Wal-mart hoping that A: the bag is still in the cart, or B: someone turned it in to Customer Service.

The bag is not in the cart. Grrrrr! I get the girls out and thinking it won't take long I leave my huge diaper bag in the car. I walk inside to find one employee at the customer service counter with a huge line. Grrrrr! Because the line is so long, the girls discover the new kid zone that has the car racing video games and those little coin operated ride things, which was fine until the line moved enough that I had to carry them out. As I was waiting a man looking like a manager walked by, so I asked if anyone in the last 20 minutes or so had brought in a bag that had been left in a cart. No. Grrrrr! When I got up to the counter, which by the way they finally got two more people, the lady was very nice and said to go pick out two more swimsuits and she'd take care of it. We're about 45 minutes behind our schedule and on our way home again when at the stoplight I pick up my diaper bag to get a sippy cup out for the girls and find the missing bag! GRRRRR! I need chocolate!

7 Random Things

2008-04-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

I was tagged awhile ago and I've finally thought of seven random things about me, so here goes:

1. I have donated 22 inches of hair to Locks of Love. The first chop was November 2005 and the second was July 2007.

2. I still have a ceramic turtle that I made in kindergarten...it sits in my closet and collects buttons.

3. I love pajamas. I would wear them all day if I could...they are so comfy.

4. I have a recurring dream that I'm back in high school. It's really more of a nightmare...who would ever want to go back to high school? Anyway, the theme of the dreams usually is that I haven't gone to class at all and I'm wondering if it's too late to get passing grade to graduate.

5. Randy and I have bought two homes, but we haven't bought a car together yet.

6. I have a certain way I have to fold towels and it's different for the master bath than it is for the girls bathroom because of the storage space. I won't go into the different techniques, but I will say that Randy doesn't try to fold towels anymore.

7. When driving, I still keep an eye out for license plates that are from different states.

Okay, so I'm now supposed to tag seven people.

Megan
Stephanie F.
Amber
Carrie
Christy
Kristi
Brandi

I've noticed a lot of tags going on and I don't know who's done what, so you may have already been tagged with this, but if not have fun. You don't have to do this right away, but it might come in handy some day if you get writers block.

On a Stroll

2008-04-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

The other day the girls were just needing to get outside so I said "Let's go for a walk." I'm standing at the door and here come the girls with their strollers and babies. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but thought "Okay, why not." So, I carried their strollers down all the stairs and let them push their babies. I do have to say that it was really cute.

Allyse
Allyse (left) and Keira (right)
Keira

2008-04-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2008-04-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today at church the girls were having one of their not-so-good days and were a bit restless. Keira, in squirming to get free of daddy's grasp, hits her head on the bench in front of us and really starts screaming. Little Kaleb Gottfredson who was sitting in front of us, (for those who don't know him he's a whole 1 1/2 months older than the girls), anyway, he turns around and says "Be Quiet!" You tell em' Kaleb!

Allyse Licking Rocks

2008-04-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. So many to chose from...

Keira Licking Beach Water

2008-04-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Our picky eater!!!

Allyse Laughing At Waves (MP4)

2008-04-19T16:55:00.000-07:00