Shortage of Nice People

Really nice people are going the way of the dinosaurs, don't you think? You know, the type that'd go out of their way to do some small act of kindness for you.

I was at Ikea a couple of nights ago, and trying to figure out how to lift 2 boxes of bookcases onto my cart, when this VERY nice couple offered their help. The gentleman lifted them onto my cart, and then the woman kindly asked if I wanted them to follow me out to the parking lot so they could help me get it into my car! So, we went to the same checkout and then they helped load up my car. Can you believe it! They were just SOOO nice!

Shawn Spencer Wannabe

Last weekend we went down to St. George and Cedar City to visit Jeromy's sister and brother and their families. We had lots of fun, guys, thanks!!

Jeromy's brother owns a scooter, and so he was very eager to try it out! Thanks for humoring him, Jay! Cuz he's not getting one!


Doesn't he look just like Shawn Spencer on Psych? He'd be thrilled if you agreed!

Halloween Books

I just got the latest Powell's Books e-newsletter for kids books, and there was a list of good books to read for Halloween (one of my favorite holidays). I've been looking for the last couple of years for some good Halloween books for kids, so I'm excited to see this.

Girls Night Out

Aren't friends wonderful? I just got back from a great dinner get-together with some old friends in Provo. They put together probably 8 small tables to accommodate us! It was so wonderful to sit with each other and chat and just have a wonderful time together. We need to do that more often!

I just wanted to say that I'm so grateful for all my friends out there. Especially on the days when I'm feeling sorry for myself because our new ward is crappy, I can know that I do have good friends out there, they're just not that close in proximity anymore. Thanks everyone! I'll see you on the blogs!!

"Working Together" Song

I've been trying to finally finish organizing the food storage in the basement, but what with the Box Tops Sale and Quaker Sale at Albies last week, I just added more to the mess. Among all the items I got from the sale, I brought home about 70 boxes of cereal (woohoo, a year's supply!). So today's task was to organize and rotate cereal boxes, and I got the girls to be my "big helpers" (I am SO grateful that their little ears still perk up when I say this and they're usually willing to do something for me if I keep it fun).

Anyway, I asked the girls to move all the boxes of cereal into one area by the shelves. They proceeded to do so, putting them in one long line on the concrete. I left for a minute to clean up a spill, and when I came back downstairs, I heard Audrey and Kierra singing a song they had just made, all while shuffling boxes around:

"Work to-geth-er, work to-geth-er, don't you cr-y. Work to-geth-er, work to-geth-er, don't get distracted. It's fun to work and help and sing...."

W-O-W. After feeling like a not-so-confident parent yesterday, to witnessing this today, it made me feel a lot better. Sometimes I just can't get over how blessed I am to have these sweet children in my life. I didn't say anything to them about working together, or not crying, or getting distracted, or anything! I only asked them to be my big helpers and move cereal! What's funny is that after a couple of minutes of singing, Audrey asked me what "distracted" means. Hmmm, now I've got to think of something else for them to help me with tomorrow....

10 Lighter!!!

So, 6 weeks into Weight Watchers, and I've lost 10 pounds!! Whoohoo! Only 30 more to go! Well, okay 40, but my immediate goal is 30. Anyway, I'm kind of in an exercise video rut, getting a little bit sick of Slim in 6 (although I would highly recommend them, it's just that I've been doing them for months now and want something new). Anyway, does anybody have any good workout videos they'd recommend? Has anybody tried Power 90? I can't decide what to get next.

They're Back!

The girls got back on Wednesday night, and although our freedom is yet again gone, we are so glad to have them back. We missed them so much! Wow, those Grandmas really taught them well, because they have had the greatest manners since they got home! We hardly ever have to tell them to say please or to request something in their non-whiny voices. It's been very nice. Although, they do keep accidentally calling me Grandma, which is totally understandable. So thanks again, Grandma Corless and Grandma Wilson, for taking such good care of our precious girls so we could have a much needed break! Thank you!!

Now that they're home, I'm reminded of all the things that I've been thinking about lately about how to include the children in my daily life. They got a lot of one-on-one attention at their grandparents' homes, and I'd like to continue that as much as possible (and still have a little left over time for myself:). Anyway, we've been trying to figure out how to go about doing this. Yes, it would take half the time to NOT have them help me with the laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. but they need to learn sometime, right? Plus, they love to spend any amount of time with me, and they're still in the age of "loving to help." But it's so easy to just turn on a cartoon for them so they're out of the way as I scrub toilets or whatever. So, I'm just wondering if any of YOU have any ideas on how to include your kids in these kinds of activities and jobs. And what other kinds of one-on-one activities or fun adventures do you do with your kids??? I must know!!!

Missing My Girls

My girls have been gone for awhile and we miss them! They were at Grandma Corless's last week, and Grandma Wilson's this week. I have to admit it has been incredibly nice to have a break and for them to have some face time with their Grandma's, but we do miss them tons! So I thought I'd post some random pix and videos of them from the last couple months.


Awww, she loves me!


They got into our Rockband mike one day, and decided to make a stage and get dressed up. I walked into the room right when Kierra was singing her ABC's (notice her new letter "kay-ch"). Too cute!



In all fairness, Audrey wanted to have a turn too. So here's her new version of her ABC's.



We couldn't leave out our adorable, messy little boy!

Yellowstone Trip

Okay, so this post is a week late, but better late than never, right? So for my birthday this year, Jeromy took me on a little trip up to Yellowstone for the weekend, just the two of us. It was wonderful, especially since we haven't had a trip like that since before we had kids. I think the best part was seeing Hello Dolly at the Playmill Theatre! So fun!

There was a group of female elk and their young right next to the road. Cool.


Okay, here's a test for you. There's a grizzly bear in this photo, can you find it?


We went on a hike up to see Mystic Falls. Awesome. Oh so are the falls. ;)


How can you go to Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful?!?



There was a bison right next to the road, so we had to get a video of it. We were so close that we could hear it wrip the grass out of the ground!! All I can say is, boy am I sure glad that car could go 0-60 in 5.2 seconds!! jk :)

Woohoo!!!

We're on our way to Yellowstone for a weekend away! Without the kids!! Happy Birthday to me!!!

(I'm posting this as we drive on the freeway, isn't that just awesome?)

What Princess Are You?

I guess I'm Aurora. Um, okay...


You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Success!!

After several weeks of desperate attempts, Jacob took a bottle of milk today!!!! Jeromy told me he'll take me away for the weekend for my birthday if I weaned Jacob, so I've been trying ever since. Sometimes he'll take water or juice, but never milk. So I think I figured it out today: use the Playtex Nurser bottles, feed right before a meal, and DON'T hold him. He sat in his high chair while I held the bottle for him and he took it! Yeah!! This in no way means that we're done, but the hardest battle is won! Hurray!!

Silly Goose Kierra

Kierra drew a paper in Nursery yesterday that they tied around their necks. I forgot to ask her about it yesterday, so I asked about it this morning.

Me: What does your sign say?
Kierra: Um. (tracing her finger along the words) Happy Birthday, Kierra. (tracing again) I'm absolutely right.
Me: (chuckle) Um, no, actually it says, "I Can Forgive Others."
Audrey: How, Mommy?
Kierra: (very animated) You give them a drink of water and they grow really big!!

Wow. Great job listening in Nursery, kiddo. Maybe we should touch on that in FHE tonight...

Personality Test

So, I guess I'm an idealist. A different personality test I took awhile ago said I was a skeptic romantic (whatever that means). But, for the most part, I think it's pretty accurate. I'm not sure about the creativity inner world thing (well, maybe, but don't we all live in some sort of little world?), but I sure do hate conflict within relationships. And I might have unrealistic standards about love, but I sure met them with Jeromy! He wants to know how they got my picture in the test. Har har. Anyway, it's a fun little test, you should take it!

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Definitely NOT the Same Ward

I just have to complain a little. First off, I LOVE Relief Society! It is so nice to gather once a week with fellow sisters and get to know them while learning about the gospel. And then there's the quarterly Enrichment nights where we can come together and just have fun. Oh, and all the mini-groups are the best idea to branch out and get to know people on a closer level while sharing common interests and talents. Women need other women. I need that bonding now more than ever since I don't know anyone up here. Plus, I'm missing my old calling of Provident Living Enrichment leader. It was the best!

We've lived here for over 3 months and finally had an Enrichment night last night for the first time. I only know 2 girls in the ward, so I invited them to carpool to the church (which is about a 10 minute drive- I know, weird), but neither of them could go. So I went alone anyway, trying to muster up courage to make new friends. Guess how many women showed up???? 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Including me!!!!! What is up with that??

There, I'm done. I know it's up to me to quit my judging and just get out there and make friends. And who knows, maybe by doing so it'll make it a better ward in the long run. But until then, it's going to be a struggle. What happened to mini groups a couple times a month? What happened to supporting your leaders and going to Enrichment even if you didn't really feel like it? What happened to welcoming new sisters? Oh wait, they do that here, they just skipped me. Ugh.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kierra!!!

Yeah!! Kierra turned 3 on Wednesday!!! And we were so blessed to have all our little friends from Provo (and Grandma Wilson too!) over for a big party. Thanks for coming everyone! We're so glad you made the trek to spend this special day with us. It was so fun!

As many of you know, Kierra is obsessed with Mickey Mouse. So I tried to think of some fun Mickey Mouse stuff to do, and they had some great stuff online too. I went to a Disney outlet store recently and they had these Mickey Mouse birthday hats, so I got one for Kierra, not totally sure if we'd have a big party or not. Now I'm wishing I had gotten a ton! Oh well. Anyway, everyone needed Mickey ears so we made some!




Then we played Mickey Mickey Mouse (a.k.a. Duck Duck Goose). The kids loved it.


Kirsten and Marla, watching the festivities.


The Wilson's, on the sidelines.


My little 3-year-old Linus. She loved the birthday hat and wanted to wear it all day long! Even when we were driving to the restaurant that night, she was sad that she forgot it at home.


We went for a scavenger hunt for the goody bags, just like in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.


Lunchtime! I tried to be a little creative with lunch: circle melon balls and grapes, triangle chips, and square sandwiches. But I didn't even tell anyone that! Geesh, I totally could not think straight that day. We did have different colored and shaped ice cubes with Sprite, that was fun (would've been more fun if I had gotten clear cups! Geesh!). The kids had a blast with lunch though, if you understand 3-to-5-year-old humor.



The presents. Thanks for all the cool toys, guys! They've been having so much fun with them!!



Kierra got a bike for her birthday. Here she is trying to figure it all out. Not bad for a first try! (Again, notice it's night time and she still has her birthday hat on! So cute!)


Fun Mickey stuff from Grandma Corless.



Thanks for a wonderful birthday everyone! Kierra told me that afternoon, "Mommy, my birthday was really good!"

Picture Tag

The idea here is to take pictures without cleaning up first. Let me tell you, it was hard not to, but it was fun anyway.

1- The Fridge

2- The Closet

Luckily, we just had company for Kierra's birthday, so it's more tidied up than it's been since we moved in. But this is my side (I think I need more clothes that have to be hung up....)


The middle. Ugh, I've got to figure out what to do with those boxes of stuff!!!!


Jeromy's side. Huge isn't it? We could totally use it for Jacob's room when we have company. Love it!

3- The Toilet

This was the dirtiest toilet. Nice, Audrey: no wiping, no flushing. Lovely.


(Kristine, am I missing a #4 or was it a typo?)

5- My Favorite Room

I couldn't pick just one, so here's my 2 favorite rooms. This is the loft where the kids can keep all their toys and books in one spot. It's usually much messier than this.


And this is the other reason why I love the loft: I can do stuff on the old computer or cut coupons or study or do crafts or whatever! while the kids play. The trick is keeping them out of my stuff!!


And this is my other favorite room: the library. I can put all my favorite books and my favorite reading chair all together and sit and read in peace. Love it!! And someday we'll replace the roll top desk with a piano. Yeah!

6- The Kitchen Sink

I'm still recovering from Kierra's birthday party:)

7- The Laundry Room

Well, it's more of a closet than a room, but here it is. I LOVE my new appliances! They rock! The washer has an extra sanitary function that heats the water to 130 degrees, so I know the germs are gone. And the dryer senses when the clothes are dry so it doesn't overdry and waste electricity. Boy am I spoiled!

8- Self Portrait

I was so tempted to wait until after I got a shower to post all these, but I guess that would ruin the spirit of the thing. So, ya, still in my pj's.

9- What Your Kids Are Doing

Um, watching Caillou on TV. Maybe I'll play outside with them later to make up for it. But probably not.

10- Dream Vacation

Wow, how to choose? I really want Jeromy to take me to Hawaii, just the 2 of us, so that's first priority I guess. And I've never been on a cruise, so that'd be fun, especially if it was up to Alaska. It'd also be great to go to Jerusalem, Greece, D.C., Italy, San Diego (where we got married), Australia, yada yada yada. But we haven't been on a trip by ourselves in 6 years, so we're hoping someday it'll happen, and then we can't afford anything like that for a long time anyway. As for with the whole family, wouldn't it be great to go to Disneyworld?

Thanks So Much, Disney Marketers!!@!*!!

Audrey: Mom, did you know that the Jonas Brothers are totally cool? Ya, cuz they make people scream! They make adults scream! (I'm laughing by now, of course) I'm serious. They're totally awesome!!


(Me thinks they've been watching too much TV lately:)

The Twilight Diet

So, it could be because I've been doing the Slim in 6 workouts for a few weeks now, or it could be because I've been doing Weight Watchers Online for a little over a week now, or it could be because I think I'm losing my milk, but I'm pretty sure that I just lost 5 pounds over the course of a couple of days due to the giddiness and anxiety associated with reading the last of the Twilight books (it wouldn't be the first time this has happened:). It's so embarrassing that I get that wound up about it. But if it means that I keep losing weight because I don't feel like eating, then maybe it's worth it to read them all once more before putting them away for good? There's some justification for you.

Okay, okay, okay, I'm done blogging about the book already. On to the kids!!

Breaking Dawn Finished!

Um... wow, great, fabulous, fun, exciting, AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just a few words to describe this end to the Twilight series. *sniff *sniff. This is the last one, but Stephenie Meyer did say that she would write one more with a different main character than Bella. Any guesses? Once you read Breaking Dawn, I think you'll have a better idea who it is, but maybe we should take a vote anyway. I also confirmed that her next project is Midnight Sun, Edward's perspective of Twilight. Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!! (You think we could convince her to do all 4 books from his perspective? I just can't get enough!)

I finished it a couple of nights ago, and now I'm just waiting for Jeromy to finish it so we can talk about it! I'm bursting at the seams!! Has anybody else finished??? Let's talk!!!

To add to all the excitement this week, I thought I'd post this fun picture when I met Stephenie Meyer at a BYU Symposium last year with my friend Jenna Flood. It was so much fun! Not to mention a little surreal, but it was cool to just talk with her one-on-one for a minute. Ya, we're tight now. I wish! (Hey, look, she's got red eyes!!!! he he he)


Now to get back to the land of normal:( Ah, well, it was a fun few days while reading it!

Ooh, so I'm thinking that a bunch of us gals should go out for an I Love Edward/Twilight Series party the night Twilight the movie comes out. Any takers?