Close up

Well, here it is. This is not my ring, but the ring of someone I love dearly. My sister Meg got engaged last night! It's about time!!! We love Ty, and have a certain fondness for him since they were set up with help of some good friends of ours, and a little help from circumstance.


We met Ty at a pool party for the neighborhood. He is friends with our good friends Rob and Laura. Meg came to the party too, but had a boyfriend at the time. She and I stood outside the pool late talking girl stuff when Ty drove by to go home. She remarked about how fun he was and that he was her type. It was then I knew there was something there. Fast forward a month or so. Meg and said boyfriend were on the outs, and we had a trip planned to Brian Head to see Ty and Rob race mountain bikes. Somehow we talked Meg into coming, and we took her road bike as collateral. I knew if her bike was there, she would surely follow. Ty was planning on staying in the trailer with us even though he had only met us once before. So unlike Ty. He's a little shy. But he knew Meg was coming and was interested, so he toughed it out with Sean and I until she arrived late that night. Several times that weekend, Meg and Ty would be found walking together talking and laughing, and we knew it was a match made in heaven. And now, nearly a year later, they are making plans to spend their lives together. We couldn't be happier.

What's this I found?

What a strange piece of laundry. This basket is G's latest mode of transport from upstairs to downstairs. Despite the look on her face, she really does love it.

Self Portrait Tuesday

I'm trying something new. I found a website where each week she gives you a theme for a self portrait. This week was "Cinco de Mayo", and was pretty much whatever you are grateful for. the catch is that it has to be smaller than a deck of cards. This is what I decided on. My mouse. I'm very grateful for this little guy. Because of it, I feel like I have connected with family that is far away and I would probably never know otherwise, I have discovered many ways to organize my home, parent my children, survive pregnancy, whiten whites, heal cracked heels; I've found a dog groomer, a skin care specialist, and many many other services and people whom I feel have made life easier for me. So many times we hear how the internet can be so evil and bring horrible things into our homes, and yet I feel it has made my home a better, more organized, calmer, cleaner place to be. So thank you little mouse, you are wonderful.


Have you ever tried to take a picture with your left hand? Tricky.

Pretty food

"Little" baby Gracie. She is 3 weeks younger than Gretta, and she weighs a pound more. She's the meatball, and Gretta is the Noodle.




Chicken and Sirloin Strip shishkabobs. Is that even how you spell it? I'm not versed in my East Indian cuisine.

This last week I spent time in Las Vegas visiting my sister. They blessed their new baby, Gracie, yesterday. It was a crazy, fun filled week with lots and lots of family coming and going. But amidst all the chaos, (not the FlyLady kind of CHAOS), we managed to make this yummy dinner. I was kind of struck by the beauty of the bright colors against her dark counter tops. And let me tell you, it tasted as good as it looks. Vegas was fun, as always, and we are never at a loss for entertainment. Between the pool, play ground, and HUGE sandbox, the 10 kids were always entertained. The boys all went to the Super cross, while the men went golfing. That means Sean and my dad went golfing, while the other guys went to the races. The girls all enjoyed a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory in Summerlin, where I enjoyed the Chicken Madeira and a yummy Lemon Torte. All in all, it was a great weekend, and it's always good to see family. Now if only they read my blog......

Soy Joy

I've done it. I've crossed over. It may be my old age, or just giving in to a "healthy" lifestyle, but it has happened. And there's a story.

Friday afternoon. Nice afternoon, breezy, cool, but not cold. Just right. So Sean and I decide to take advantage and get a babysitter for the afternoon and go house hunting. Mostly just for ideas, by the way. We also make plans to meet friends and family for dinner later. It is shaping up to be a fine afternoon/evening.

We head north to Fruit Heights. There is a model there we want to look at. Now, anyone who has ever driven North through Salt Lake at 4:00 PM knows how bad traffic can get. It was worse. We pass through the Murray area, and it hits. The pain. The gurgle gurgle. I knew I was in trouble. We make a pit stop in Bountiful. Better, but a few minutes back in traffic and it starts again. We take a detour off the freeway, and get stuck in more traffic. By this time I was pretty miserable. We decide to nix the house idea, and just head home before our dinner plans. Well, south bound traffic is at a standstill. Even in the carpool lane. About now I was vocally expressing my pain. Okay, I was groaning and moaning. And I knew exactly why I was in so much pain. I had eaten ice cream earlier that day.

Now, while I was pregnant, I became a little lactose intolerant. I figured it would subside after delivery like most other ailments (ie heartburn), but it hasn't. I knew better than to eat ice cream, but it just sounded so good. I gave in.

So here we are, stuck in traffic at 5300 south, and no way to get off the freeway. I was laughing at the situation. I was also eying the Big Gulp cup in the cup holder. I wasn't that desperate, but I was planning ahead just in case. I also knew dinner was out of the question for that evening. So our plans were ruined. We finally arrived home, and just in time, I might add. The babysitter went on her merry way, and we had cereal for dinner. It was a very troubling experience, and I decided I didn't want to go through that again.

I've been putting off trying anything Soy. I'll admit, I'm scared. I don't like new foods. I like my comfort foods. I'm scared that it will taste horrible, and somehow ruin my taste buds so they will never taste anything the same again. Or maybe I'm afraid the Soy fairies will jump out of the carton and pull out my tongue. I don't know why, I just am. But last night I got up the courage, and poured a bowl of Count Chocula with Soy milk. And what do you know, I survived. It wasn't too bad. It does taste different, but not at all what I thought it would taste like.

Nearly everyone I know drinks Soy milk. Even my mom. She likes the Chocolate Silk. Ty likes Rice Dream. Meg likes 8th Continent. So I guess I'm just part of the crowd now. I don't know if I could drink it straight just yet, but in cereal it was fine. I hear it's an acquired taste at first and once you start drinking it regularly, cow milk tastes weird. Maybe I'm growing up. Maybe I'm old. But I'm doing something new, and I survived.

Outside Day!

Yesterday was such a nice day here, we couldn't let it pass by without enjoying the warm weather. I had all the windows open during the day, but when Sean came home from work, our house was 76 degrees! Anyone that knows me at all knows that I start getting really annoyed when my house gets over 68. You can imagine my mood! So thankfully Sean turned on the A/C for me, and I was blissfully chilly all night. But here are a few pics of the kiddies outside enjoying the evening.





Gretta enjoying her first time outside on the grass






My 2 babies. Aren't they cute? I swear, Maggie looks so sweet and innocent in pictures. What you don't see is that in exactly 13 seconds from this shot, she peed her pants, put them in the dryer, and turned it on. What a nice girl.






Emma playing Nintendo DS. Thanks to Nunn for letting us borrow it. Emma has this habit of getting so excited about things that she'll wake up at the crack of dawn, or earlier, just to get the day started. I think she's been up at 5 AM the last 3 days because she's so excited to play Dogz on the DS.

Have you ever...

Totally lost it and screamed at your kids?

Taken a 3 hour nap and then slept for 10 hours that night?

Been pretty sure your head will explode from the sinus pressure?




I did all of these yesterday. Not a good day.

I'm better today, thanks for asking.

Lava Hot Springs

This weekend we spent some time up at Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. We went to support Meg's boyfriend, Ty, who had a road bike race in Inkom. We had a good time, as always. The weather was chilly and it sprinkled off and on most of Saturday, but nothing too major. Ty took 3rd in his race, and then we went to the famous Hot Springs in Lava. The girls had a lot of fun in the warm water, and Sean and I even went back later that night while Meg and Ty watched the kiddies. Any time we can take the Trailer and have Meg and Ty along is a great time.

Wow, I think I've fallen in love with Firefox. I can finally do a link, edit fonts, and colors. Now I can even do bold and italics! Yippee!!! Be prepared to see some serious colorful blog action!

Tiny Bubbles

I heard the other day that Don Ho died. I didn't know who he was at first, but then Mom started singing "Tiny Bubbles". Of course I knew who he was after that. So in remembrance of the late Don Ho, here are the tiny bubbles, courtesy of Maggie.

Speaking of...

Well, Maggie had her speech therapy assessment today. We have been a little concerned with her pronunciation, and less so, her stuttering. Turns out all is well. She is at 60% of normal for her age. Not great, but we knew she was lacking a little. The Speech Pathologist will only refer kids for more therapy if they are at 50% or less. Surprisingly, when the Pathologist would have Maggie focus on her sounds, she could actually make most of them. That gives me hope. I'm sure she'll catch up, but we will have her assessed again in 3 to 6 months, just to make sure.

Happy Easter

Finally! The table is in and ready to go. Just in time for Gretta's blessing day feast. We had a great time. Sean gave her a beautiful blessing, and it was nice to have so much family gather for the occasion. Rumbi's catered the feast, and it was delish, as always. Gretta did great and was nice and quiet both during her blessing and afterward at home. I think everyone had a good time.




All the kiddies lining up for the Easter egg hunt at Nunn and Poppa's. From left to right: McKinley, Olivia, Eli, Gabe, Madison (in back), Emma, Carter, and Maggie. Whew. Hard to believe next Easter we'll have 2 more girls running around!








Here it is. The famed table. It is huge. We have 6 chairs around it now, but there is easily room for 2 more. It's nice to have extra room for guests and not have to squish. Notice the centerpiece and runner, courtesy of Sean.






Sean and Gretta, pre-blessing. Aren't they darling?

Picture day

Well, we did our Easter pics today, courtesy of Aunt Jill. She has real professional photo potential. Gretta's blessing day is today, and we, (and by we, I mean Sean), have been working our little tails off getting ready. He has repainted the yellow, (as previously blogged), finished the computer table, moved the computer over and ported all my info from my old puter to the new one, installed an external hard drive, finished the flower beds in the back yard, and, drum roll please, FINISHED THE DINING ROOM TABLE!!! Wow, who knew he had it in him? He has been up working non stop since monday doing paint coats and lacquer coats. He's a real champ. It is now midnight, and he is getting ready to mop the floors, whilst I sit and blog about it. Ah, the good life. Oh, he also bought 3 new bar stools, a huge basket for the table centerpiece, a table runner, and a new computer chair. He was totally getting his gay on at at Down To Earth. I think he just likes that the girls flirt with him. But more than all the projects he has finished, he has one more task at hand. He gets to give Gretta a special blessing. And knowing that he will be doing that makes me count my blessings as well.

It's a very Good Friday

I've lost it. My brain has officially been fried by baby-brain-sucker number 3. I called my mom this morning at home. My sister from Las Vegas, Jill, answered. When she told me mom was at the office, I said, "Why is she working on a Saturday?". It feels like Saturday since Sean is off work for Good Friday, and is doing Saturday-like projects like filling in the flower beds with dirt, and golfing. So now I plan on telling everyone I see to have a good Saturday.

Before and after

Before.













After




Can you even tell a difference? There is one, really. We had this horrible Lemony Yellow color that I swear to this day was mixed wrong, because I would have never picked such a yucky color in my right mind. Finally, two years later, we, (meaning Sean), fixed it with the correct color. A more mustardy, baby poop colored yellow. I actually love it. Maybe I love baby poop. Weird. Either way, Sean impressed me yet again with his painting perfectionism whilst Meg and I went on a lovely 15 mile bike ride to enjoy Saturday's pleasant weather. Next on the docket: The TABLE!!! Now if we, (again meaning Sean), could just get that one done in time for Sunday's blessed event.

2 Months

Wow, the last 2 months have flown by! Hard to believe that 2 months ago I was still pregnant, and in two months from now it will be Memorial day, and the pool will be open! Yippee!!!

Gretta is weighing in at a hefty 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and measuring 21 inches in length. My little Sumo. She's still so skinny and little, it's cute. She got her 3 shots, and a Polio "drink", and is still holding a grudge. Poor little girl.

Vacation Fun!

This is Gretta and her newest cousin Gracie. They were born just 3 weeks apart, both being 3 weeks early. Gretta has the green binkie. My sister lives in Vegas, and we went down a couple of weeks ago to see her and see the baby. Both girls make the same squeeks and grunts, and their cries are so similar, we had a hard time telling them apart!





Here is Emma mid backflip courtesy of dad's big muscles. She is quite the flipping pro, thanks to endless summers spent in our pool. This pool is in St. George, and even though it was in the 70's that weekend, it was still covered with a huge bubble. The kids thought that was pretty neat.





Maggie and "Aunt Mimi". Meg is our eternal vacation companion. It just doesn't seem right to travel without her. I think she's been just about everywhere with us whenever the trailer is involved. In fact, I can only think of one vacation without her, and that was our very first trip 2 years ago! That is what sisters are for!

Soccer Summer

Maggie having a close up moment at the soccer practice











Emma juggling the ball like a pro. Thanks to Spencer, she knows exactly how to do it.











Poor, poor Gretta. I think this picture obviously captures that fact that she is sick of having a camera in her face everyday.


Well, Thursday marked the beginning of soccer for Emma. This is the first year she has played, and is very excited. She keeps telling me she needs a Bowflex to get in shape for soccer. Think advertising works, or what? At the end of soccer practice, they have the parents play against the girls. We won, and now the kids all have to do one chore for their parents. I think that's a great way to get the kids motivated to play their best. The first official game is next Tuesday, the 27th. I'm anxious to see how the other teams measure up.

$3.00 a gallon for gas? Not here!

We get our gas for free! Well, Gretta does, anyway. She has got to be the gassiest baby ever. But it makes for cheap entertainment.

It's all good

Well, I have officially made it to 6 weeks postpartum. Yay for me. And according to my awesome OB, it's all good. I guess Sean is out of the desert now, and I can commence a regular exercise program. Yay for me again. I really hate exercising, but it is a fact of life. I have a friend that teaches Ballet for Adults. Sounds kinda fun. I would say "Adult Ballet", but that sounds kind of X rated. Ha ha ha. I may give it a try. And to comemerate the 6 weeks mark, Gretta celebrated by sleeping through the night! Yay for her. 10 PM to 4:30 AM. That is through the night enough for me. And she went back to sleep til 7. Not too bad. It seems we are getting on some semblance of a schedule.