New Things I Love and Things I Really Miss

I guess when you are in a new spot you have to find all the new stuff that you like, so here are some of my new favorites:

Smart Cookie - a great little place where you get two fresh cookies and a huge scoop of Dryers ice cream in the middle for only two bucks! You can't beat that!! They also have other cookies that look fantastic...we will be back to try them.

Maurices - I have always loved this store, but I haven't been around one in many years. Seeing that we are now poor students again maybe I will just have to window shop. http://www.maurices.com/

Ok, but there are lots of things I miss:

Target - I live 17 miles from the cloest store. Wow. About the same to Costco, Old Navy, Michaels, etc. I guess I shouldn't be shopping that much, but sometimes it is nice to just get out and walk around.

My favorite scrapbook/paper crafts store. I know there are other ones here, but I just don't think they can compare.

Clark is now home from school, so I will have to add to this list later...

Hello Again

Wow! I am going to post again! Too many things to do in April. What happened to it?? The largest time consumer was of course the HUGE move. It took so long to get packed and ready to go and we couldn't have done it without the help of all our friends. (Isn't that a song?) But it really was true. I moved a lot as a kid and I thought it was difficult but it does not compare to moving as a mom - way more stress. And sad too. I cried all the way out of the neighborhood; I cried again the next day as we were leaving the state. Ryan was driving the U-Haul so he didn't have to see is wife falling apart. We are happy for this new adventure, but a little piece of me is stuck in our old state. Sometimes it would have been easier to have the kids ride on the bikes on the back of the car instead of inside, but really they did pretty well. Ryan and Clark are back in school and Bella and I live out of boxes. This is what Ryan's parents garage currently looks like:

Most of our big furniture is in the neighbors garage next door, since we didn't manage to fit here. (They volunteered the space because they are out of town for the next couple of months, so that worked out nice.) Someday I plan on unpacking boxes but I have to wait until there is some place for them to go. This is what our living room and dinning room currently look like:

Baseboards are in (I have give myself a little credit here since I helped to them all last weekend; don't mess with me; I know how to use a nail gun now :) and the shelves and closets are currently being installed. Next week the painter will start, then finish plumbing, electrical, cabinets, counter tops and carpet after the painting is done. Maybe by the end of May. Maybe. Hopefully we won't drive Ryan's parents totally crazy before then!

Happy Easter

I wanted to throw up this picture of Bella and I in our matching Easter Dresses. A friend gave them to us when Bella was born and I am so glad that she finally fits into hers so we could wear them today!

Spring Break Day 2

Today we had our visit to the Doctor (yesterday after the fountain we had our trip to the Dentist). I promised Clark that if he could make it through both appointments without breaking down (a really big feat) we could go to a Spring Training Baseball Game. We almost didn't make it through the appointment today when the Doctor said he had to get his chickenpox booster but he pulled himself together enough so that we could go to the game. It was supposed to be a beautiful day - low 70's and sunny. It was a nice day I guess but much hotter and when you are just sitting in the sun with no clouds or breeze you start warming up quickly. I put sunscreen on the kids but thought to myself, "Self, you will be fine." Now I am cooked. My arms are bright red and you can see the ring on my face around my sunglasses. Oops. Clark had a good time, except that he really wanted a player to come over and sign his baseball. No one came. Bella was almost uncontainable. We sat on the grass behind right field and she loved to walk around to our other neighbors blankets, see what was going on there, take her hat on and off (leaving other places), etc. We left early. Tomorrow we are spending the day at home!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

In school Clark learned about the tallest fountain in the world - it happens to be not too far away, lucky us. AND once a year on March 17th they turn the fountain green. So guess what we did on the first day of spring break - yes off to see the fountain. It was kinda amazing. It shoots 560 feet in the air at full force. We went with some of our friends and had a nice little picnic and the kids thought the green fountain was really cool.

Track & Field Day

Last Friday was Clark's track and field day. As always it was kinda crazy with K-2nd Graders all running around but the kids have a great time playing. The older kids do 50 yard dashes and 'track' races but the younger kids throw frisbees, hop in sacks, and do a little tug-a-war which is one of the favorite events! Here is a little video. The boys won - thanks to the dad that was pulling on the end of the rope!!





Bella had a great time watching all the adventures. After a while she wanted to join in the fun so we didn't stay too much longer! Here she was watching from the stroller. Cute hair huh? She wasn't hot - it was actually a windy day but it just curls up like that every morning with just a little water. It is so fun to do everyday!

Need a Break

I have lots to do, but after what seems like days of cleaning I just wanted to take a break for a minute, so I decided on writing a little something. We are busy getting ready for the big move back to school. The closer it gets the bigger the emotion. We are excited about many things but there are equally as many things we are going to miss. Our kids were both born here...the home we built...most of all we will miss all the great people we are friends with here. I have lived here longer than anywhere my whole life (just over 9 years) so it has really become home. Who knows where we will end up after Ryan is done with school but wherever it is it won't ever be quite like these years of our twenties!

Bird Watcher

Yesterday Clark came home from Scouts and was all excited to work on some wolf requirements. He was reading through his book and one of the things you can do is to observe birds for a week and keep track of which kind you see. I told him sure, he could do that if he wanted, so this is what happened:

I was laughing from the kitchen when I saw him so I had to go get my camera and take this picture of his bird watching. He gave up after about 5 minutes when he didn't see any!

Speaking of Clark, Bella said his name for the first time this morning. Sadly he wasn't around to hear it, but she was looking at one of our family pictures and said, "Daddy, Mommy, Cauck" (no L or R) but it was still exciting!

Pinewood Derby

Clark had his first pinewood derby last week and I am trying to figure out our new camcorder, so here is a clip from one of his races - let us know if you can see it! Clark is the blue/white car on the right that won this race. He didn't place in the top three like he thought he would, but he had a good time making his car which is now proudly being displayed in his room.

Dollar Spot

Don't you just love the Target Dollar Spot? I can spend 5 minutes just looking at the fun stuff in that little corner before I ever make it into the rest of the store. And today there were several really great gems but I had to limit myself so that the dollar spot didn't turn into the ten dollar spot! This little headband for Bella just had to come home with us. Isn't she just a doll? You can even see her teeth in this picture! Clark said the other day he couldn't even remember what it was like before Bella came. What would we do without her?

Baptism

Wow! It has been a busy week! We had many of our family here to enjoy the beautiful weather but more importantly, Clark's Baptism this past Saturday. It was such a great day. He is growing up into a young man so fast it is amazing! We are so proud of him and the good decisions he is making in his life. I can hardly believe that 8 years ago we were new parents of a little peanut that could only eat and cry. We blinked our eyes a couple of times and he is well on his way to being taller than his mother and smarter than her too! It was great to have so much family here - although our home is not really made for that many people, it was still great to have everyone here. We appreciated all the help that everyone gave so that we could enjoy our time together. Don't take this the wrong way, but we are a happy too to have our home back to ourselves too!!

Birthday Party

Clark is turning 8 this week and this past Saturday we had his birthday party. Planning was a bit of an issue this year, since there is another boy in our ward whose birthday is also this next week and many of the same boys would go to both parties, so we (the moms) decided on a joint party. I think all of the 13 eight or almost eight year old boys had a great time and four parents had a good time too but we were just more worn out after the party than the kids were! The theme for the party was a 'race car' becuase we saw this really cute race car cake that was the shape of an 8. We got little wooden cars from Michaels that each of the boys got to paint. Wow. For the most part they turned out well. All different and unique but most the paint stayed on the cars and not on the clothes but there were some exceptions. We ate hot dogs, Doritos and Capri-Suns - not a heathy meal, but all the boys seemed to think it was just perfect. There of course had to be a pinata. Although, I really don't like pinatas. I know someday, some kid is going to lose an eye to the swinging of the bat. No matter what method I try to get the kids to not be close, with each and every swing, somehow they inch closer. I get so nervous and then it is mayhem when the thing finally breaks and they have to go crazy over a few pieces of candy! I think I may have to tell Clark that he is going to be too old for them next time a party comes around. I don't know if my heart can take another one. They are starting to swing really hard too which makes it even worce. We had a bunch of other games planned but we didn't even have time for them. So we had cake and ice cream and opened presents.

Recent Events

It seems like I just need to do a little journaling. This weekend we had Grandma here which was great for more reasons than just one. Since Ryan and I are still a little under the weather, it was fantastic to have someone for Clark to play with; also she helped us work on our house and even cleaned windows. What more can you ask for in a guest?

Bella is doing much better without the hurty ears, so that is nice. Maybe someday soon Ryan and I will follow suit. Luckily we don't have ear infections - just lost voices and congested heads.

Lastly I wanted to mention President Hinckley's passing. It is amazing that a man who I don't even personally know has meant so much to me over the past years. When I was at BYU as a freshman I waited outside the Marriott center for hours just to get a 'good seat' at his devotional address. (Not that the seat really mattered.) The testimony that I felt when he walked into that huge arena was undoubtable. And every time at conference I felt that same spirit. I am grateful to the Lord for his love in giving US a prophet to love.

Sweet Moment

It comes as no surprise that after what seems like weeks of wiping runny noses and having kids that sneeze and spread germs everywhere that the adults have succumbed to being sick with colds as well. This morning I woke up with almost no voice. (As a side note, Ryan's is just about gone as well but Clark didn't know that since he was already gone before Clark woke up.) So when Clark came in and I croaked like a frog he wondered what was wrong with his mom. He is almost 8 and is starting to not be so clueless when it comes to observing things around him. I didn't know if this day was going to come! I explained that I was sick and my voice wasn't very good today. He asked if it was going to come back, which I assured him it would although I wasn't sure when that would be. Anyway, I am getting to the sweet moment. He got ready for school and went to say prayers before he left. I asked him to say them to conserve whatever sound I haven't lost. He said his usual things and then said, "...and especially bless mom that she can get better soon." That is the sweet moment. He is growing up and saw a way to help me and did it!

Sick Baby Girl

I took Bella to the doctor today because we have had a rough couple of days. She cried when we held her, she cried when we put her down. Normally she is happy little girl. Although I don't want my kids to be sick, when they are, I am happy when we go to the doctor and they find something wrong. I think it is the worst when you know your kids are sick and need some help and you take them in and they say, "Oh they will be fine in a week. Just keep suffering through." Luckily in my case today, they did find that Bella's little ears were both infected. I walked out happy to have a prescription to give her under the assumption that she will be feeling much better tomorrow.

One other thought on sick kids. I think you can tell how sick the kids are by looking at their mothers. I was getting ready to go this morning and looked at myself in the mirror with my bloodshot eyes from not getting enough sleep and thought, surely they will take pity on us. A mom that looks like I did, a baby that cries and cries and has a red nose. I was looking around at the doctors office and saw similar moms; hats on over the pulled back hair; more puffy eyes; disheveled clothes, etc. At least I had company!

A New Beginning

I am about the worst journal keeper in the whole world and every time a church lesson comes around about the importance of keeping a history I feel really bad about it for at least a week until I hear the next lesson. So, I am trying this method of keeping some sort of family history around so when I get to heaven they don't have a totally blank page for me. Our life if full of so many things, mostly good, but it also includes an occasional bump. I hope this will be a somewhat fair representation of our life - not too rosy but not depressing either!