Hamilton Happenings

Highly Recommend

2012-01-21T15:32:00.001-08:00

1. If you haven't already seen it, please rent Courageous. It wasn't available through Netflix, so I got it at Redbox.

Really. It is an awesome movie. Along with the Love Dare & Facing the Giants, one of my all-time favorites. It really touched my heart. Jason also loved it.
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;2. Have you read THIS blog post at momastery.com - entitled Don't Carpe Diem? I really loved it. It opened my eyes, took away a lot of guilt, and made me laugh. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;3. I would also like to recommend one of these. Got this for Christmas and have LOVED it. Makes my life so much easier. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

2. Have you read THIS blog post at momastery.com - entitled Don't Carpe Diem? I really loved it. It opened my eyes, took away a lot of guilt, and made me laugh.

3. I would also like to recommend one of these babies. Got this for Christmas and have LOVED it. Makes my life so much easier. My favorite is that I can hook up my phone with all my new playlists to my stereo & I can jam my music. And then if a call comes in, I can just press the phone button on my headset (I keep it around my neck) and answer the call. And afterwards it goes back to my music. Also - I can fast-forward right on the headset, so it's like a remote control for my music, too.

Friday Randomness

2012-01-13T09:20:00.001-08:00

Hey - Happy Friday! Yes, it's the 13th, but it's still Friday - and Jason gets Monday off, so that makes it a happier Friday!

Just thought I would update the ol' blog with some things I've been doing/thinking about/etc.

1. Sleep. Sigh... Kezia has had a week of night-wakings. Thankfully last night, she slept through the night, but it left me wondering today... was it the ibprofin we gave her because we thought she might have molars coming in? Is it because she finally learned to put herself back to sleep (again)? Is it her nap schedule? Or is this just an anomaly & she'll be back to her old tricks tonight? Isn't parenthood the absolute greatest detective game of all time?

2. Playlists. I am no good at updating playlists once I get new songs, but I got a bunch of CDs for Christmas & wanted to get them all in playlists. I took me 2 DAYS. Seriously. To go through all our music and put them into different playlists, but I'm DONE. And I'm so happy. I added a bunch of playlists - "Make me Happy"(had to listen to that one a lot yesterday after a particularly bad night w/ Kezia) "Island" "Melancholy" "Fav 80/90s". Last night Jason & I had a game of guess that artist with our phones. It was so much fun to hear all these great songs we have - finally organized! Horray! And I even get to listen to them a lot with my Bluetooth headset I got for Christmas. Lovin' my music!

3. Dentist. Another sigh...So - we saw the dentist while we were in Murray & knew we needed a follow-up visit when we moved to Cedar. It just... took us a long time to check out insurances & dentists & make an appointment. Well, let's just say when we went on Tuesday, it wasn't such good news. Jason had 5 cavities & McKinley had 3. They are there right now getting them taken care of. Not looking forward to that bill - especially after Christmas! Thankfully, somehow I have excellent teeth. I've only had one cavity in my life. It appears Ireland has her mommy's teeth, but looks like we will need to start a braces fund for her. Yay! :-/

4. New Year Goals. So - I have kind of been avoiding these. I looked at my New Year "progress ideas" from last year & I'm not gonna lie. It was kind of depressing. With the exception of maybe 2 things, I could copy/paste the entire list for this year. It took me a while to get past that & re-evaluate for this year. I decided I REALLY want ones that I can literally check off - not so many ones like "be nicer." That's so hard to evaluate. So - with that said, here is my list for 2012. Only 9 things.

#1. Get to bed by 10pm. Lights out by 10:30.

#2. 50 scriptures/quotes onto .jpg files to put on the digital frame.

#3. Memorize 20 scriptures

#4. Temple - 10x

#5. Girls bday book pictures & Christmas pics sorted by the 10th of each month.

#6. Music organized - 10 playlists - CHECK!!

#7. Learn how to use aperature, exposure, and shutter speed on my new camera.

#8. Clean out my desktop computer. Back-up & organize.

#9. Learn 10 different ways to do my hair!

Wish me luck!

Hope your Friday is Fabulous!! And your weekend, too :)

Special Gift

2012-01-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

We got some seriously amazing gifts this year for Christmas - a Wii (I really need to upload the video of McKinley's reaction when we got home from our Christmas/New Years trip & found the package under the tree that Santa had left there), an IPAD, a Kindle Fire, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth stereo for the van. Honestly... I felt a little overwhelmed by it all. They were all wonderful gifts and we've enjoyed them.

One gift, though, truly deserves its own post. My sweet mother has been working on this gift for a year or two at least. They are books. Personalized for each grandchild. What's inside? Well... something priceless! It is a heritage of who they are & where they came from. It starts with the story of their lives. Then, each parent's life story. Then their parent's life story. And their parents'. SO - it has the life story of my daughter (short as it is right now :), her parents, her grandparents, and her great-grandparents - for both Jason's side & my side. Complete with lots of beautiful pictures. The girls had fun looking at them on Christmas Eve, but I know they can't comprehend all the love & work that has gone into this book. I hope as they get older, they will cherish this book as much as I do.

I just want to say THANK YOU MOM! What a precious treasure of heritage you've given my children!

From December 2011

December Newsletter & Slideshow

2012-01-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful past month this has been. Hanging out with family & reconnecting with friends. We feel truly blessed. Here's what our December looked like (WARNING: Me+new camera+busy month anyway= TONS of pictures. Seriously. You probably don't think I edited any out, but I REALLY did!!)

December 2011

Wow! What a month! We got to spend time with so many WONDERFUL family & friends & feel truly blessed. Let’s see if we can even begin to capture all the fun we had this month: On the first (and a few days after), it snowed quite a bit. All the windows had frost & snow on them. The girls had a lot of fun playing in the white stuff J On the 6^th, we went to the ward Christmas Party. It was fun to see the girls sing a few songs & watch a slideshow with them dressed as members of the nativity. Also – they enjoyed getting to sit on the “big man’s” lap. He took his time & talked to each one of them – although Kezia didn’t want anything to do with him. On the 7^th, we headed to St. George for Camri’s band performance. She did great – and it was also fun to see Grandma & Grandpa Devenish there too! The older girls had lots of fun in school this month & brought home many Christmas Crafts. We also had lots of Christmas count-downs this year: GG Tew sent us an adorable digital Christmas Countdown Santa, we had our traditional tree with the Santa that moves to each pocket – that was given to us from Grandma Devenish, Grandpa Potts sent her traditional chocolate Advent calendar - and a count-down chain, McKinley made a count-down chain at school, and every night we read a story, scripture & song from our book that Grandma Devenish gave us. So – the girls had LOTS of reminders that Christmas was coming!! J On the 10^th, we went & found our Christmas tree up Parowan Canyon. It was a fun outing. We got to do some hiking & sledding in the snow & daddy found a beautiful Hamilton Family Christmas tree. We had fun decorating it that next day (even though daddy wasn’t feeling well L It was neat to get out our decorations, though, since they had been in storage when we were living at Grandma & Grandpa Potts’ home last year. On the 11^th, we did gingerbread houses & McKinley was SO excited about it. We “cemented” them in the morning before church & then decorated them after we got home. It was messy, but a lot of fun & they turned out cute. On the 14^th, Heidi & the girls drove to “Candy Cane Lane” to see the lights. It is a cute “Night Before Christmas” story book of homes & lights here in Cedar. Fun! On the 17^th, the girls got to open Grandma Devenish’s gifts – Christmas dresses. They all looked so darling when we went to church J On the 20^th – (after a broken camcorder & finally getting a refund through Best Buy for it) Heidi got something she’s been wanting for a LONG time – a DSLR camera! It’s a Canon Rebel T2i & she has been playing with it so much, she used an entire memory card in 4 days. She loves it & wants to learn so much more about all the different features. Already, though, the picture quality difference is amazing. Yay! We packed on the 22^nd & woke up at 6:30 on the 23^rd so we could get on the road to SLC. It was a beautiful drive – but cold – one point was -4 degrees. And the girls just couldn’t WAIT until we got to SLC to see their cousins & family! We got to SLC in just enough time for Heidi to help the girls get dressed, fix their hair & then go to Tiffany’s baby shower. We are SO excited for her to welcome baby girl Maddy into their family in the next couple months! The evening of the 24^th, we went over to Leah’s home for our annual Tew Christmas Eve party. Good food, wonderful family, and fun presents made the evening great & we were able to get back to Grandpa Potts’ in enough time to Skype with Joseph in Afghanistan, open our PJs, and open Grandma’s long-awaited & worked-on mini-books with genealogy information for both parents for each grandchild. It is such a precious gift. Grandpa did the bible reading and candle-lighting & we sang songs around the Christmas tree. By then, it was 10:00 &off to bed for little ones. The next morning, we woke to crockpot breakfast casserole and we watched some Christmas Mormon Messages. Then we headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought – he was very good to us this year! He left the older girls razor scooters and Kezia a wiggle car. In our stockings we got too much candy, along with some DVDs, CDs, and jewelry J After enjoying our Santa gifts for a little while, we all got ready for church in our new Christmas dresses & headed over to the stake center. It was a very good service – lots of wonderful talks and songs. Afterwards, we headed back to grandma’s & got to hang out with the Checketts & Simons & eat and open some more gifts. The Edwards came in the afternoon & we caught a pic before the Simons had to leave. The rest of the day was wonderful. Good food. Wonderful conversation. WAAAY too much spoiling (G&G Potts & Joseph got the girls a Kindle Fire Tablet & us an IPAD!). Also- when we got home from our trips, Santa had left a Wii & 2 games. McKinley was EXSTATIC! All-in-all, it was a wonderful day and we’re thankful we got to spend it with our loved ones. The rest of the Salt Lake City trip consisted of sleepovers with cousins, having a pizza/game night, hot-tubbing, going to the park to play with their new scooters, a Herriman trip to visit with the Matthews and Warrens, a temple trip with mom & the Edwards, a trip to temple square with the Edwards, a Potts’ girls breakfast at Tiffany’s J, a wonderful gourmet lunch at GG Tew’s, and more cousin fun. It was a wonderful trip up North. We left from Murray on Friday (30^th) morning & headed to the Bensons & then to the cabin. It was a lot of fun - they are so good to let us come. Wonderful memories with wonderful friends. We all had fun cuddling around the stove, playing games (bingo, uno, pig game, Blurt), doing puzzles, eating yummy food & drinking hot cocoa, snowmobiling (Heidi got the snowmobile stuck! – and then McKinley stepped into a stream bed & her foot came out without her boot on. It was stuck under the snow!), sledding, watching movies, and staying up till midnight to have a HAPPY NEW YEAR toast. McKinley was the only one besides the adults who made it to midnight. HAPPY 2012!!!

From December 2011

JASON: Jason is still enjoying his job & thankful that he could take the time off this year to enjoy the holidays. He’s enjoying his daddy-daughter time on Tuesday nights when Heidi goes to YW. He also had fun taking the girls sledding while Heidi was at Super-Saturday. He had a lot of fun with

Brent out on the snowmobiles & pulling out his wife who got stuck J He continues to be consistent with his workouts and goes to the Aquatic Center most every day after work. Jason seems to have continued stomach issues & was sick for a few days this month. L Jason got a Bluetooth stereo system for the van & he’s excited about installing it! He’s also had fun playing with the tablets that we’ve gotten.

From December 2011

HEIDI: December was a wonderful month for Heidi. She didn’t get all she wanted done in time for Christmas, but still felt like it was an enjoyable time & loved to watch the girls anticipate the upcoming holiday and time with family. The first Friday of the month, Heidi got to go watch the new Twilight movie with her hubby & had a terrific time. Heidi went to super-Saturday for the Relief Society at the beginning of the month & signed up for 3 sets of wooden letter blocks & bows. It was fun to chat with the other ladies, but she was in way over her head & didn’t even finish one set before the 4 hours were up – and she didn’t finish one bow. She had to take them home & finish the blocks at home. Heidi truly enjoyed her time up North – especially since she hadn’t seen her family in 3 months – and she hadn’t seen her HS Cheerleading friends or Herriman friends in years! So – it was really neat to get together & reconnect. She enjoyed running with her dad, doing some girls-only activities with her sisters (Baby shower & breakfast @ Tiffany’s), and enjoying the company of her mom like they used to when we lived there. She also loved to go to the cabin with the Bensons & bring in the new year!! She’s had so much fun playing with her new camera as well & used up an entire 16 MB memory card in 4 days! She can’t wait to learn more about it. For Christmas, Heidi got a bunch of CDs she’s been wanting, some kitchen tools, a dress, some jewelry, a Bluetooth headset for her phone, and a roaster.

From December 2011

McKINLEY:

-McKinley sat on Santa’s lap at the end of November at the tree Jubilee & then when we were in line to see the Santa after the ward party, McKinley said “Mom – do you think he’ll remember what I asked him for the first time?”

-For Power Half-hour at school, McKinley made a picture of our family eating daddy’s pancakes & the next week, she was chosen to tell about the picture she colored. She was so excited to tell everyone about her daddy’s yummy pancakes!

-McKinley was making bracelets out of pipe cleaners for people & Ireland asked McKinley if she was going to make a bracelet for Michael. McKinley said boys don’t wear bracelets. Mom said some boys do. McKinley said “Mom – only boys who don’t know Jesus wear bracelets!”

-McKinley & Ireland had a lot of fun this month pretending to be Mary & Joseph & acting out the nativity story.

-McKinley was SO excited to get to be with her cousins. She made a count-down chain for how many days until she got to see Michael.

-One day while mom was fixing McKinley’s hair, McKinley asked (very seriously) “Mom – do you think I’m on the nice list?” She was concerned about it a lot this month. Possibly because mom & dad were constantly reminding them.

-Every morning, Mom tells the girls the date, ending in 2011. One morning, McKinley asked “When is it not going to be two thousand any more?”

-McKinley went on a special date with daddy this month for earning enough points. Her daddy left work & met her at McDonald’s for lunch and they had a great time. Then he dropped her off at school. She LOVED that time with her dad.

-The girls each got a bout of sickness this month. McKinley puked early one morning but went back to bed. She was tired for a day or so, but thankfully perked up after that.

-After sleeping over at Michael’s, Kalli offered to do McKinley’s hair. It turned out so beautiful, but unfortunately McKinley burned her finger pretty badly – accidentally bumping against the curling iron L

-At the Tew Christmas Eve Party, McKinley was so cute with Great Aunt-Cindy. She sat & talked to her about her gifts & Christmas. Itw as so sweet.

-McKinley asked Santa for a razor scooter & then changed her mind later & wanted a Wii. Mom & Dad said it would be doubtful she would get both. She loved her scooter she got from him at Grandma’s & then when we got home, she was SO surprised to find a Wii wrapped under the tree. She was one HAPPY little girl!

-McKinley was cute & wanted to make a present for Michael. She decided to color on a lid to an oatmeal container & call it a decorated Frisbee. When she was wrapping it, she asked mom if she thought Michael would open it & ask “what’s this?’ Mom said yes, but he would understand & love it soon.

-McKinley also made & wrapped a hand-painted wooden ornament with her picture in it that they made in school.

-McKinley is so very much like her daddy. From her hair needing to be washed almost every day to her difficulty waking up to long showers, she takes after him in so many ways.

-One day mom was making sandwiches & had the Miracle Whip out. McKinley asked why it was called Miracle Whip. Mom said she didn’t know. After a few minutes, McKinley said “I think I know, mom! It’s white like the temple & that’s where miracles happen!”

-McKinley’s big gifts were her Barbie razor scooter, the Wii (!!), 2 pillow pets, a microscope, a charades game, some new black church boots, and a mini art easel.

From December 2011

IRELAND:

-Ireland sings “Have a Holly Charlie Christmas!” (think Charlie in an English accent)

-Ireland has been drawing a lot of machines lately. One time mom asked what her drawing was & she said “it’s a machine that spits out pie right here & chocolate right here!!”

-One day Ireland asked mom “Is Santa & Jesus big? Do they talk to each other?”

-Here is a dream that Ireland explained one morning: “Kezia was getting breakfast out & I was on the roof. Then breakfast blowed away. Kezia had cookies & I was Santa & then Santa came & ate breakfast. The rainbow came & wished away. And then we drove the van to the make-up land & got LOTS of make-up”

-Ireland earned a date this month! She & mom went out for frozen yogurt & then went swimming! We had so much fun playing tag, froggie, going down the big slide like 10 times, jumping into the water & running around. It was so much fun!

-Mom was in another room & Ireland came running in with her new Christmas dress on. She said “Mom – I look like an angel! Daddy said so!!”

-Ireland got put into time-out one morning for being disobidient & whileshe was in there, she ran out & got some paper (which added another minute to her time). When she got out, she showed me the picture she drew & explained that it was a machine that had “whackers” and pulls MOMS up in the sky & puts them in time out. And it will give them cayenne pepper if they are loud.

-Ireland has been saving her pennies from her “yes mom”s. One day she dumped them out & was counting them. She then exclaimed “I have SO much money! I think I can go on a ROCKETSHIP!”

-Mom loves her 1-on-1 time with Ireland & her reading has improved so much & she can count to 30 now!

-We were hoping Ireland wouldn’t get sick, but it hit her the night of the 23^rd – she was up puking & down most of the day (she was sick on Christmas Day last year). Thankfully, she was feeling better by the night-time & all better by Christmas Day!

-Ireland was taking a bath@ Grandma Potts & mom hears her singing “Baby there’s a shark in the water!”… then later mom tells her it’s time to get out. She said “Nope. I'm gonna scrub & dub a little bit longer.”

-Ireland got to have sleepovers with Joshua & Sienna. She did really well & had a blast!

-Ireland’s big gifts were her scooter, a complete Dora bedding set for her new bed, some new clothes, a pillow pet, a mini-castle with accessories, and some crafts & puzzles. .

From December 2011

KEZIA:

-When daddy leaves for work, Kezia says “we miss you!!!” and she also randomly says “I love you, too – a little bit!”

-We were looking at a picture of Kezia & mom said “it looks like she’s saying ‘Yo!’” – and Kezia says “Yeah – YO GABBA GABBA!”

-Apparently, there was a bag of icing left out after we decorated our gingerbread houses. Mom walked into the kitchen to find Kezia “painting” her toe nails with icing!

-Kezia has really decided that she is not a baby girl. Mom tried say that she was her baby girl one day & Kezia says “I’m NOT CHO Baby Girl!”

-Kezia has been very decidedly determined to say the exact opposite of what you are saying. Mom says “We’re not having candy” Kezia says “Yes we are having candy!” Mom says “This is a CD” Kezia says “This is NOT a CD!” Mom says “We’re almost home.” Kezia says “We’re NOT almost home!” and on & on…

-Kezia knows a lot of her letters & she knows that Kezia’s name starts with K, Ireland’s name starts with I, and McKinley’s name starts with M.

-Usually the only way mom can get Kezia to sit still to get her hair done is to put her on the counter & have Kezia pick a song to sing. Usually it distracts her long enough to get it done. She usually wants twinkle twinkle, eensy weensy spider, or ABCs.

-Kezia can count to 13!

-Kezia has a fear of loud noises. We went through the drive through while we were in SLC & she was terrified. She covered her eyes with her arms & yelled “go daddy go!” and was crying L She was also really afraid of getting on the snowmobile & mom had to hold her tight to get to the cabin.

-Kezia has a leap jr. reader & she calls it her “robot.” She loves to sit down with her 3 leapfrog books & have it read them to her.

-The Second Kezia hears the garage door open, she is booking it to the garage door, screaming “Daddy’s Home! Daddy’s Home!!”

-Kezia has such a fun time whenever we get to stay at Grandmas. She loves cuddling with her Grandma & Grandpa & Divit. She kept wanting to go back to Grandma’s for the first couple days after we left.

-Kezia’s big gifts were a wiggle car, some clothes, a big bag of mini care bears, a pillow pet, and some books.

-Kezia loves to wake up & come cuddle with mom & dad in the morning.

-Kezia is our pickiest eater & if she doesn’t like the look of it, she won’t touch it even if there’s a bribe involved.

-We are working with Kezia & her scream. If someone takes something from her, she will do a high-pitched scream that hurts the ears!

-We went to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to see the lights & we were all enthralled & taking pictures, when a woman is asking if anyone is missing a 2-year-old. We looked around & couldn’t find Kezi. Thankfully they had her & she was safe!

Hamilton Holiday Blog 2011

2011-12-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

In case you hadn't seen it...
Our version of the Christmas Card. Merry Christmas from the Hamiltons!

http://hamiltonchristmascard.blogspot.com/

Video Gems

2011-12-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

I took these videos this morning.

The first one is McKinley showing her "about me" book that she made.

The second one is Kezia singing her cutest rendition of "eensy weensy spider"

The third one is Ireland talking about a picture she drew while she was in time-out this morning. :)

Enjoy!! ;)

December 15, 2011

Christmas Tree & Shop with a cop

2011-12-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

Beware. It's late. Everyone is asleep. And I'm just sitting here thinking that my blog has been kinda lame lately. I guess I'm not sure what to write.

So...

I'll just let my thoughts ramble & see what happens - OK? This may end up being more of a journal entry than an events entry.

Well, I'm sitting here under the glow of our Christmas tree. I love to squint my eyes & see all the fuzzy colors. This year, for the first time, we have colored lights. We've always done the white lights because I always thought they looked classier. Well, I guess that tells you. We're more interested in making our kids happy than being classy. And you know what? It's OK with me right now. We had an adventure today cutting this tree down. We drove up Parowan Canyon. Hiked in the snow with the girls. And my manly man trekked farther into the forest & the deep snow to bring back the Hamilton Family Christmas Tree (we were making Griswald jokes the whole time). We had a good time, but were downright cold by the time we were done.

I'm glad our tree is finally up. I LOVE waking up in the morning for time with my Maker and kneeling under the glow of the tree. I LOVE reading books to my kids in the evening by its light. I LOVE cuddling with my darlin' at night as we are mesmerized by the soft glow. I love the smell. I love the memories it brings.

McKinley asked if she could sleep under the tree tonight & my first impulse was to say no, but I stopped myself. Why not?

It seems life has been too rushed lately. Too many decisions to be made. Too little time for the fun stuff. We still have big decisions ahead about building our home. And insurance. And budgets. And on and on. Maybe that's another reason why I love the Christmas tree. It seems to slow things down a bit. Ahhhhh...

This morning - before 7am - I went to Walmart. Not to shop...though I still have plenty of that to do. It was the shop with the cop program. What's that? Well, I'm sure I couldn't tell you a week or two ago, but after today, I know a little more. Policemen, firefighters, etc - come to Walmart and get to shop for Christmas with a child in need. When I got within a block of Walmart, I saw flashing lights & blaring sirens. It looked like WWIII for sure. There had to be 50 fire trucks, police cars & ambulances in that parking lot & street. It was really amazing to see. Really. Amazing. The Young Men & Young Women in our ward came (along with many other youth groups) to help wrap the gifts forthese children. I can't tell you how neat and fun it was to participate in that. Truly. To see those children's eyes light up as they tell you how excited they are for Christmas & how important they feel with this policemen? Pretty awesome stuff. Really put the Christmas spirit in my heart. Here's a video of the entrance, though it doesn't do it justice:

We've still got lots of white stuff on the ground. It's still pretty downright chilly. But beautiful blue skies. LOVING no smog here, people. Loving it.

Well, there's a rant for you :)

November Newsletter & Slideshow

2011-12-05T16:21:00.001-08:00

Here ya go! Happy Holidays!!

FAMILY: This November, we have much to be grateful for. It was a wonderful month. The 3^rd was when we headed down to St. George to go to the temple. We are always so grateful to the Hamiltons for watching our girls so we can go. Jeff also spent some time looking over our plans with us. On the 4^th we got a decent storm & had fun playing in the snow! On the 5^th, we went to Del Taco so the girls could get out their energy in their play place On the 7^th for FHE, we put together a care package for Uncle Joseph in Afghanistan. The girls had a lot of fun coloring pictures & we all put in some treats for him to enjoy. On the 10^th, the library had a special story time – a Princess Story Time! Ireland was at preschool, but McKinley & Kezia got in their princess dresses & headed over. McKinley was SO excited that her princess (Belle) was there & Kezia had fun talking to them as well. They read stories & sang sons & the girls had fun. The 11^th was Veteran’s Day & Jason had it off, so we went to the CC Aquatic Center & had some family fun, then we headed to St. George for some shopping (Best Buy & Kid-to-Kid) and then ended with a trip to McDonald’s. On the 12^th, the kids were dropped off at the Bealers with Hannah & Tiarra to babysit while Heidi & Jason & the Bealers went to adult Stake Conference. Then out to Dairy Queen. It was very enriching & fun. The girls also did a GREAT job on the 13^th during stake (regional) conference. On the 18^th, for Friday Fun Day, we headed to Discovery Park & had a great time in the sandbox & playing on the slides & swings. We had the whole park to ourselves! Saturday the 19^th, we went to the Tree Jubilee at the Hospital & the girls got to walk right up to Santa & sit on lap & tell him what they wanted for Christmas! Then we got to see some beautifully decorated trees. Afterwards, we headed to the Talons Craft Fair at Canyon View High School. The booths were fun to see and we also enjoyed the live entertainment. We got to see Grandma Tew twice this month! She stopped by in Enoch to see our lots on her way to St. George – and she stopped by on her way back. It was so great to see her! The 21^st was our 5^th annual Gerald the Grateful Turkey FHE night. We had a lesson, made our turkey, ate treats, and recorded what we’re thankful for. It was great. We headed to Richfield on Thanksgiving morning & enjoyed helping grandma with preparations – peeling potatoes (McKinley was a big help!), setting the table, etc. Grandma even got out her nice china & silver! It was a wonderful, yummy meal & great to be with family. The rest of the weekend in Richfield was spent watching movies & football, doing puzzles, playing farkol & Yahtzee, going to crazy Black THURSDAY shopping at Walmart at 10pm (crazy is an understatement), looking at plans, hanging out at the Reed’s new home, going on walks, going to the park, playing in the backyard, doing crafts (gingerbread men and coloring), reading, playing video games, and of course – EATING and visiting with loved ones. It was a wonderful weekend. We took the long way home through Marysvale & it was a beautiful Sunday drive. In other news, our fish have all pretty much died. We have a sucker fish and LOTS of snails (we think they’ve multiplied) but no other fish. On the home-building front, we’ve been finalizing our plans and meeting with 4 different builders, so hopefully soon we’ll be able to decide who we’re going with (or if we’re subbing it out ourselves!). The girls are in a good routine with school & play. Mondays are play group & FHE, Tuesdays are school for both girls and mom has Young Women’s at night, Wednesday is short day with McKinley’s school, Thursday is lunch with daddy, and Friday is fun-day. Grocery shopping day is also fun because mom stands by the fridge & pantry & the girls get to throw the groceries to her to put away. Fun teamwork!!

From December 2, 2011

JASON: Jason enjoyed having 2 days off this month & spending them with family. He’s spent a lot of time going over plans and reviewing what we want in a home. He has really been consistent with working out this month & stops by the Aquatic Center gym every night before he comes home. He likes to do the bike & the elliptical. He’s also enjoyed watching Netflix movies at night with his wife

From December 2, 2011

HEIDI: It’s been a nice month for Heidi. She got to read 2 books – Ella Enchanted & The Cross Gardner. She liked them both – in different ways. She’s staying busy with the Young Women’s & had some fun activities this month, including a trip to the cannery and YW Night of Excellence. She really enjoys spending 1-on-1 time with the girls while the other one is at school. Heidi’s unintentional Black “Thursday” trip to Walmart at 10pm with her nieces & Payson & Keeley was quite an interesting experience. It was incredibly crowded & we were in line for about an hour and a half!! Not sure she’ll be doing that again next year! Heidi has enjoyed getting out for more walks with the girls this month. She loves going on the new pathway.

From December 2, 2011

McKINLEY:

-McKinley continues to excel in her schooling and her handwriting is really getting great!

-McKinley still LOVES to write notes. After she goes to bed, she will slip notes under her door for mom & dad & they LOVE getting these sweet pictures & notes. Also one day, she surprised the family with a necklace. It was made of yarn and she had punched a hole in a little piece of paper & attached it to the yard. Each piece of paper (there were about 5) had something that she liked about that person & she made one for the whole family. She is so so very thoughtful.

-We were listening to a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song one day & McKinley asked “Did you have that in the olden days when you were a kid?”

-Another one of our fish bit the dust and Mom told McKinley that the little fish was dead. McKinley said “No it’s not! It’s eyes are still open!”

-After going to the store one day, mom said that all they needed now was Mapeline. McKinley asked from the back seat “Why do we need Make-Believe?”

-One day, McKinley didn’t get off the bus. Mom talked to the bus driver & then called the school. She was in tears in the office L She was with Addison & somehow missed the bus, so mom had to come pick her up.

-Mom peeked in Kezia’s room one day to find McKinley & Kezia in the rocking chair, McKinley reading to her in the cutest way. It was SO sweet.

-One night, McKinley was in an experimental mood & daddy was good enough to work with her & make their own cookies. McKinley called them her “creative cookies.” They weren’t bad!

-McKinley had fun when Addison came over for a while – they played picnic & grocery store for quite a while.

-McKinley also has fun with our new next-door neighbors, Ella & Anna. She talks about them a lot.

-She is truly mommy’s helper at the grocery store. She can push a full-sized cart all by herself and she helps me do math on mom’s calculator. She’s also great with putting things on the conveyor belt & bringing in the groceries. THANKS McKINLEY!

-McKinley colored such a cute picture for Uncle Joseph – she drew & colored him in his camo – shooting a gun – with a flag, too.

-MckInley was SO excited to see Belle at princess story time and did such a good job listening to the stories and doing the songs.

-Whenever we go swimming at the Aquatic Center, we’re always impressed at how well McKinley is learning to swim. Before long, she’ll be able to go the whole pool length by herself!

-McKinley had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and doing crafts with grandma. She also learned how to play Yahtzee!

-McKinley lost her 5^th tooth this month! Her daddy pulled it out & she got a dollar! Her class also sang to her the missing tooth song!

From December 2, 2011

IRELAND:

-Ireland says the funniest things. Mom is only able to capture a tiny part of all the funny things she says. After drinking hot cocoa one day, she said “My tongue is getting warmed up!”

-Ireland is so funny when she gets mad. She scowls a horrible scowl, folds her arms across her chest & stomps off to her room. And she locks the door. But – the thing is – the lock is on the other side of the door, so when she’s done being mad & wants to come out, she has to wait till mom unlocks the door.

-One day while going on a walk with mom, Ireland said she was cold. Mom told her to put her hands in her coat pockets. She said “But mom – I don’t have a pocket for my whole body!”

-Whenever there is an event coming up and we tell Ireland something like “You get to go play at Eliza’s tomorrow!”, she will say “Is it tomorrow?” or “Is tomorrow right now?”

-One day in the car, Ireland told mom that she had died. Mom asked her more about it & she insisted that she had died & seen lots of people, including great-grandpa.

-Mom was talking about Cinderella one day & her fairy godmother. Ireland said “what’s a modguther?”

-Ireland is just such a creative little girl. Her drawings and colorings usually involve lots of shapes and a full rainbow of colors. They usually have elaborate explanations as well – animals, machines, people. So – mom had to laugh one day when Ireland showed off a drawing of hers. Mom asked what it was & Ireland just looked at her & said “Uhhh – it’s a paper that has lines & dots.” And walked off. Oh.

-Ireland moved into Kezia’s room this month. There’s been some rough nights where Kezia hasn’t gone to sleep well or cried, but Ireland has been patient for the most part and they’ve done well together.

-Mom & Ireland have been having lots of fun Mommy & Ireland times this month. We usually work on her reading or writing her name (she’s getting pretty good at the I R E L)! Sometimes we do a puzzle. Sometimes we’ll play a game. Lots of times she will have me print out a paper to color. One time, the printer was making noises & Ireland said “the printer burped”

-Ireland LOVES to get tickled. She’s especially ticklish under her arms. Daddy’s really good at hitting the ticklish spot & she will just squeal and scream and giggle. One time she said “Dad – you made me pee a little bit!!!”

-Ireland got invited to her first birthday party this month – for Eliza Rasmussen – a girl in her Sunbeam class. It was a princess party & she got to dress up as Snow White. Ireland was so excited to talk about it afterwards. There was a piniata & cupcakes & crafts. So much fun!

-Ireland is still loving her preschool class. She loves to pick things to take for show & tell. She had a fun Thanksgiving meal at preschool one day – and another day she had a pajama party. She does such fun crafts & she loves going with her friend Shaylee & seeing her other friends, including Adele and Cabree.

-Lots of people tell Ireland’s mom how funny she is. Shaylee Johnson’s mom says she loves to take her to preschool & hear her talk about things. Another teacher said in Primary, they asked what they eat in Thanksgiving & Adele said turkey & Ireland shouted “Candy Canes!!” and then Adele & Ireland got into an argument about when your’e supposed to eat candy canes.

-It’s also been fun to hear her answers at night as we’ve read the words at the back of our scripture book. It’s so funny when we ask something like “Ireland – what is sin?” and she will say “It’s a place where it’s dark and there are these tigers that will jump on you and eat you up!!”

From December 2, 2011

KEZIA:

-Kezia is still working on saying she’s 2 instead of 1, but she’s doing a great job. One day, mom asked “What’s your name?” and she said “I’m TWO!!”

-When Kezia sees a McDonald’s, she points & says “chicken nuggets!” (we think she thinks that’s the actual name.)

-Kezia is done having milk in a sippy as she goes to bed. Yay!

-When mom changes Kezia’s diaper, she says “ewww! That’s gross!”

-Mealtimes are always fun with Kezia. She really enjoys entertaining her sisters & will do almost anything to get a laugh out of them – including making strange noises or saying funny words (who’s got de butta butta butta?) or pretending to burp.

-When mom called her Kezi-boo one day, she said “No! Just Kez, kez, kezia!” (like her good-night song)

-She also says strawba-ba-ba-ba-berry (like strawberry shortcake)

-McKinley had something Kezia wanted & Kezia ran over & said “Give it to me!! 1…2…”

-A couple other things Kezia has been saying lately “I just kidding!” and “I know!!”

-McKinley has been reading to Kezia in the rocking chair & it’s so sweet.

-For some reason, Kezia LOVES the Disney book we have that has a page for each character. She has almost the whole book memorized & can tell you almost all the characters – most of the movies she’s never seen.

-One day, Kezia came to mom & said OW! & held up her wrist. She had probably 20 small elastic bands on her wrist & her hand was turning purple!

-Kezia has been loving her leap jr. Reader. She can put it on her 2 books & it will read to her.

5th Generation Gerald

2011-11-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

From November 2011

FHE tonight was our annual Gerald the Grateful Turkey activity. I love that the girls look forward to this every year. We traced McKinley's foot for the body (this year we used cardboard because I couldn't find any brown construction paper) and then we traced everyone's hands in various colors & wrote the things we were thankful for. It's fun to go back and compare turkeys - seeing how some things we're grateful for have changed (5 years ago, Ireland was thankful for mommy's milk, this year she's thankful for swimming :), and others stay constant - like family.

Here are some things our family is grateful for this year (with my "expanded version" at the end)...

KEZIA (the first three were what she said & I helped her with the last two):

-Jesus (she actually said this twice)

-Halloween Candy (yup... :)

-Tundra

- Books

-Teddy Bear & Piggy

IRELAND:

-Beach (??)

-Heart that's happy

-Sleeping

-Playing

-Swimming

McKINLEY:
-Parents

-Paper

-Dogs

-Food

-Flowers

JASON:

-Savior

-Dirt Bike

-Family

-House & Job

-Fishing & Food

HEIDI:

-Living in Cedar. Actual quote from my blog back in January of 2009: "Saturday morning we took off and went through Beaver, Parowan, and Cedar City. This was getting a little too far away from my family for me and I'm not as much of a fan of the red-rock-cedar-trees-sagebrush area, but there were a few lots I might consider."

It's amazing how moving to a place that you never saw yourself or your family can change you. I still do greatly miss my family. That is a heartache. I wish they would all just move down here! And - at the same time, I am truly growing. I am loving this place & the people here. The mountains, the clear air, the stars at night, and - yes - even the red rocks have seeped a bit into my soul. And... really... how can you NOT love a place that looks like THIS?:

From November 2011

From August-Oct 2011

-Jason's Job. This kind of goes along with living in Cedar, but really, it needs it's own recognition. For the past 8 months, we've been able to live in our own place and buy our own food with our own money. That sounds kind of simple, but it hasn't always been that way & I cannot say how thankful I am that we are in a place of self-sufficiency - and even able to start paying forward the generosity we've been given the past couple years. It's a double-blessing that Jason really enjoys his job and the people he works with and the flexibility and & benefits his job offers. I am also thankful that his job allows me to stay at home with the girls. So - so thankful for this.

-My daughters & husband. I am in a place right now that I am truly enjoying watching my girls grow. I enjoy their individual personalities. I enjoy being with them. I am SO thankful for their presence in my life. That Heavenly Father trusted me to take care of them and raise them and teach them and love them. I love & am thankful for McKinley's thoughtfulness. Ireland's zest for life. Kezia's sweet little voice. Life with them can be a roller coaster, but I'm learning to enjoy the ride :)

We have a picture frame somewhere in a box (lots of stuff still in boxes over here) that says "Best Friends" and has an engagement picture of Jason & I in it. I can't say how TRULY thankful I am to have married my best friend. There is nothing I cannot tell this man. To be able to cry with him, laugh with him, pray with him, dream with him... well - it's truly one of my greatest blessings on this earth.

From October 12, 2011

-Prayer. For Christmas last year, I got a book I've been wanting - "The Power of a Praying Woman," by Stormie Omartian. It has really opened my eyes to what I've been missing in my prayers. It's helped me to see what may be holding me back from a closer relationship with my Savior. And it's really helped. I am SO thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my Maker each day and gain strength, patience, perspective, humility, and trust. My heart is changing as I try to look at this time in prayer with anticipation rather than a "to-do" kind of feeling.

-Internet & Cell phones. The other day McKinley made some kind of comment about the "olden days" - referring to the time when Jason & I were kids. I laughed, but as I thought about it, I realize that it's true. We kind of lived in the "dark ages" - no internet. no cell phones. no digital cameras. How did we survive? OK - we survived just fine & I know that there are plenty of times that technology does more harm that good (and honestly, there have been plenty of times I've wanted to throw a computer or cell phone out the window), but I am still thankful for the good stuff. I'm thankful for Skype, where we can see & talk to family. I'm thankful for cell phones - they make me feel safer as I travel - and they make coordinating life a lot easier. I'm so thankful that SO much information is at my fingertips. Remember when you wanted to find something out & you had to either go to the library & check out a book on that subject, or ask someone & hope what they said was true? yeah... I'm glad it's not like that now. I'm thankful for catching up with old friends, sharing pictures with people near & far... oh - I could go on, but the bottom line is that I am thankful I live in this day & age with so many opportunities and advances.

LOTS to talk about!

2011-11-13T12:37:00.001-08:00

Well, I mentioned it in the newsletter, but it deserves its own post. We bought 2 lots! I guess it's been about 3 weeks ago. The lots are in Enoch and we had looked at various homes or lots in that neighborhood the entire time we were searching. I loved the neighborhood the first time we saw it. It just so happened that the 2 lots we were looking at went into foreclosure & after much discussion & prayer, we made an offer & it was accepted that same day. So- we are the proud owners of 2 beautiful lots.

We're not absolutely sure if we'll be building right away with the snow flying so much already, but it's SO nice to stop looking & have a light at the end of the tunnel. We are at the end of finalizing our building plans & we've been up WAAAY too late at night, trying to make sure the plans have all that we want in there. Each lot is a little over a 1/2 acre, so we will have plenty of room. The lots are side-by-side at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we're not sure we'll be using the other one, or just keeping it as an investment. They back up to a huge farm field and a gorgeous view of the mountains. Our soon-to-be neighbor said that he saw a fox and a badger in his backyard just a few days before, so that will be exciting & fun. The other nice thing is that it will be about 6 minutes to Jason's work. Hooray for having him home at lunchtime!

Anyway, we are SUPER-excited! Here are some pics...

From August-Oct 2011

Oct Newsletter & Aug-Oct Pics

2011-11-04T10:31:00.001-07:00

Okay. I think this is how I'm going to do my newsletters & slideshows from now on. I'm going to do my regular newsletters and then just do a Picasa slideshow each month (this month I have a slideshow from Aug-Oct since I hadn't posted those pictures yet). I will do a quarterly Muvee Slideshow for myself, since it's too big to upload. I'm sad you won't be able to see it with the music & everything, but this way, you can download any pics you like (and there are some cute ones from the Aug-Oct pics).

SO - there you have it. Here is October's Newsletter & the Picasa link (warning 3 months of pics= a LOT). Okay - and I guess I have EXCEEDED my limit for pictures on blogger. Wow. I'm pulling them from Picasa, but not sure how it's going to turn out.

October 2011

From August-Oct 2011

FAMILY: What a fun-filled month October was! It started in Salt Lake. We were up there attending Mike Johnson’s wedding. That weekend was general conference & we enjoyed listening at the Potts’ & Edwards’ homes. On Saturday afternoon – between sessions – we had a birthday party for Kezia. Cindy made a cute cake & everyone brought something for a yummy BBQ. That night, we had a girls’ night with the sisters while the boys went to priesthood session. We painted nails, watched a movie & just gabbed. We left for home Sunday morning, stopping to visit and eat lunch with the Bensons in Provo. On Sunday the 9^th, we had a very nice dinner at the Bealers. They got out the China & everything! They are great friends & we had a great time with them. The 10^th was Columbus Day & Jason had it off work, so we took a hike up at the top of Kolob Canyon – the Timberline trail. It was just a beautiful, perfect morning & a fun hike. The 11^th was our Ward Night of Music & our family went. The Young Women performed our camp “Pioneer” song & we also got to hear lots of other neat numbers- and eat cookies afterwards. It was fun! Our BIG news this month is that we bought 2 lots in Enoch!! They are in Legacy Estates. We walked through 3 homes this month & nothing felt quite right. We had been looking at these lots since we moved here, but they just barely went up as foreclosures & we were able to get a really good deal for them - $35k for a little over an acre all together. It all went very fast. We made an offer one day, the bank made a counter the same day, and we accepted. Then we closed the next week. We are VERY excited & are currently working on finalizing our home plans! J We don’t think we’ll be able to really start building before the snow really flies, but we are excited to be moving forward! On the 14^th, we decided to go camping overnight. We had just fixed our truck ($350) & weren’t wanting to push it or use too much gas, so we went over to 3 Peaks Recreation Area in Enoch. It was really fun & nice. Kind of warm & dry, but tons of trails for Jason to ride on & a perfect spot to camp. We invited the Bealers over for dinner that night & had fun eating chili, roasting hot dogs & marshmallows, playing games & just visiting. That night, Ireland was sick a few times, so that wasn’t fun, but it was still worth it to get out in the trailer one last time this year! On the 20^th, the Bensons came to visit for fall break! What a wonderful time we had: throwing together a birthday celebration for Brent J, trying to get the kids to bed every night (they were SO excited to be together!), having grown-up get-togethers after the kids went to bed – in one of our bedrooms – playing games (Cranium – boys cheat!), talking, laughing, Plenty of Hiking: Cedar Breaks, Cascade Falls, Kanarra Falls (The daddies took the oldest child), and Timberline trail up Kolob Canyon, Date night – dinner & a movie, Discovery Park, CC Aquatic Center, Logan & Kezia’s 2^nd birthday party, Karaoke party, etc. It was a tight fit in our little 3-bedroom twin home with all 11 of us, but we made it work & we loved having our best friends over. On the 25^th (while mom was at YW), daddy took the girls to SUU to get free ice cream, meet Thor the Thunderbird and see some basketball. They had fun! The 26^th was Kezia’s 2^nd birthday! See her section for more details, but it was a fun day & we love our little 2-year-old! The 28^th was McKinley’s school’s Halloween Carnival, so the girls got dressed up in their costumes and we supported the PTA & bought tickets & played games. It was pretty crowded, but we had fun running into friends & the girls had fun playing games & earning prizes. On Saturday, we were going to go to the Livestock & Heritage Festival & got all ready & into the van, but a couple houses up from us, they were having a yard sale. We stopped & found out it was a lady in our ward that had passed away, so we stayed to help clean out her home & make trips to the D.I. They were very generous & gave us (for a VERY small price) a twin bed, 3 solid wood dressers & lots of other odds& ends – including a tank & goldfish that they didn’t know what to do with. 3 of the fish died by the next day. We bought some more, 2 of which have died. So – as of right now, we have 1 big goldfish, 2 small ones, a sucker fish, and a golden snail. Let’s hope they hang on! Also on that Saturday, Jason took the older girls to an SUU football game & we had neighbors move in on the other side of us, so we helped them move in. We’re excited that they have 2 girls that are close to Ireland & Kezi’s ages! On Sunday, the 30^th, we carved pumpkins & roasted seeds. On the 31^st it was Halloween! McKinley was a Batgirl, Ireland was a witch (with a light-up skirt) and Kezia was Stinkerbell (a combination of a skunk & tinkerbell) The girls had fun trick-or-treating with daddy this year. They got lots of candy & unfortunately, we only had about 15 trick-or-treaters, so we were left with a lot of extra candy.

From August-Oct 2011

JASON: Jason worked a lot this month on getting his truck fixed & his bike fixed, so he could go ride. He had a lot of fun riding at 3 peaks & hopes to go back & do some more exploring. He also has been busy working with Heidi on the details of their home plans. Jason has gotten to take the girls to SUU to get free ice cream & see basketball & also to a SUU football game. Fun times!! He also had fun hiking with McKinley, Brent & Zach & taking the girls trick-or-treating this month!

From August-Oct 2011

HEIDI: Heidi has enjoyed some time off from training this month – sleeping in on Saturdays J Things have gotten into more of a routine with the girls school & she’s thankful for that. She’s LOVING the weather this month. Just perfectly beautiful and cool. On the 13^th, she went down to St. George with the young women & young men to the temple to do baptisms. She got to hand towels to the girls. It was really neat and a lot of fun. We went & got fries & ice cream afterward! She also was in charge of a Perosnal Progress pumpkin-painting with popcorn and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies night! J She really enjoyed having the Bensons come down – especially date night. She read a fun book – Stardust – this month, and was working most of the month on finishing Kezia’s birthday book – which is finally done & here! Now she can focus on the upcoming holidays!

From August-Oct 2011

McKINLEY: -McKinley had a fun month at school. She went on 2 field trips – one to the Parowan Pumpkin Patch and the other to the SUU Art Exhibit. Fun! The 2^nd week was red ribbon week & she got to have crazy socks, dress like a rock star, wear red, and have crazy hair, too. Lots of fun! And at the end of the month, we got to go to her Halloween Carnival at school (she won a book there!) & she saw lots of friends and her teacher there & got to show off her costume, since they don’t allow costumes at school. Mom got to help out in McKinley’s classroom on Halloween afternoon & watch some of the things she does in class & help with her Halloween party. It was a lot of fun!

-McKinley loves to cut vegetables for her choice chore – and put them into our veggie tray. She’s really good at it, too! She did cut her thumb one time, but has been very careful ever since.

-We are working on McKinley’s temper this month. When she gets angry, she scrunches her eyes up, her head starts shaking & she tends to growl at her sister or mom. She’s been getting a bit more cayenne pepper this month & has learned to curb her anger before she says mean things.

-McKinley loves surprises. She is so good at them. One day McKinley got it into her head that she was going to do a surprise for the family. She planned it the night before & even did a checklist that she wouldn’t let us see. The next morning, mom woke her up at 7am, like she asked & she wouldn’t let anyone into the kitchen till she was ready. When we went in, she had breakfast all set out, cereal, bowls, etc – and had made everyone a glass of chocolate milk. It was so sweet. Thank you McKinley!!

-McKinley has had a couple interesting dreams this past month: 1. She dreamt about Grandpa Tew. She said he had black hair, so she wasn’t sure it was him, but she didn’t think he knew she was there. 2. One morning at breakfast, McKinley wanted to find out everyone else’s dreams before she would tell hers & then she wasn’t sure she wanted to. But she finally did. She said in her dream, there was a big meeting with Jesus and lots of people were there. She said Jesus was on a big stage. And there were angels all around. McKinley didn’t think her mom was coming & was worried, but then mom finally got there & she was so glad & she cried. Then we went in the van to get the rest of the family and we drove up to heaven (and we had either Zach or Michael in the van, too). And we didn’t get to see heaven, but we were driving there. (what a sweet, special dream!!)

-At the ward night of music, one man played the accordion & invited kids to come dance. McKinley & Ireland were the only ones from the ward & they were kind of shy, but they did a great job & danced a cute little jig!

-McKinley & Ireland were also in the primary program at the end of the month. McKinley did SUCH a great job!! She just beamed up there – smiling & singing – and said her parts into the microphone really well. We were cheering her on in the congregation. GREAT job McKinley! We’re so proud of you!

-The people that sit at McKinley’s table at school are Elliot and Jared. McKinley likes to talk about them a lot and about playing princess at recess and about how Mrs. Jones says to write her letters J

-McKinley was Batgirl for Halloween & had fun running around trying to save everyone. She got LOTS of candy!!

From August-Oct 2011

IRELAND:

-Ireland had quite a rough month. At the beginning of the month, she thought it would be a fun idea to walk around on all fours and rub her nose on the carpet. She even got McKinley to rub hers a little bit, too. Mom warned her it would hurt, but she kept doing it & then afterwards, her whole nose was raw. It took a couple weeks for it to completely heal L And – trying to explain what happened to her nose. About a week after the “nose incident”, after we had put the girls to bed, there was a screaming cry. Ireland walked out of her room with lots of blood streaming down her face. We quickly cleaned her up & found where the blood was coming from – a cut on her head. She said she had been trying to jump down off the little table in their bedroom & bonked her head. So – she had a red, raw nose, and bandage on her head for a few days L We’re just thankful she’s OK.

-One day after Ireland woke up, she sniffed & said “Mom – I have strong boogers right now”

-The girls were playing with the lemon juice in the fridge one day & mom decided to let them see how it tasted. She squirted some into Ireland’s mouth & she got the funny look on her face & said “I don’t like it! It’s too Sprite! I like sweet!” (she seems to call sour things sprite-y. Maybe because of the lemon & lime on the side of the Sprite?)

-Ireland had to give some money from her piggy bank this month to help pay for glue and toothpaste that she wasted & made a mess with.

-When we were camping & were in the trailer, Ireland said she would keep an eye on Kezia for me. Mom said that was great. Then she said “Which eye should I use mom?”

-We were shopping at Walmart and got some trick-or-treat bags for the girls. Ireland wanted to hold hers. At checkout, Mom was putting things on the conveyer belt & focusing on paying, when she looked over & saw Ireland “trick-or-treating” from the candy section at the checkout. There were about 20 things in her bag that we had to put back! J

-Ireland is still loving preschool & mom has been working with her more on reading – especially with BOB books. She knows most of the sounds, but sometimes has a hard time focusing. She is really good & quick at putting the sounds together, though! She also is learning the sight word “the” and can sound out “It” and “Is”. She gets SOOOO excited when she puts sounds together. She will sound out “I-t” and then scream & jump up & down & say “Mom –I read ‘it’! I can read! I can read!” And she does that for every word or phrase! J She is one excited learner!

-Ireland LOVED it when the Bensons came to play. She spent a lot of time with her good friend Sienna!

-One morning, we found one of our fishes dead & we were sad. Mom was getting breakfast out & Ireland said “mom – I don’t like them to get dead.”

-Ireland was in the primary program at the end of the month – along with McKInley. Ireland had a hard time sitting still and facing forward, but we did see her try to sing a couple of the songs & she did a great job saying her part into the microphone. Good job Ireland!

-Ireland was a witch for Halloween & her skirt had fiber-optics on it, so she told everyone “I’m a light-up witch for Halloween!” She had a preschool party the Thursday before Halloween & had so much fun & got lots of candy. She also got lots of candy on Halloween night & everyone thought she was so cute. She even got to wear some of mom’s make-up!

From August-Oct 2011

KEZIA:

-Happy #2 Birthday Kezi-Boo! She woke up way too early on her birthday, but we did sing to her & let her “break-through” to the next year and daddy made her pancakes for breakfast. It has snowed about 3 inches the night before her birthday, so it was COLD! She loved wearing her sparkly crown. That morning we went to the library and got lots of books. Then it was naptime and then after daddy got home, we went to McDonald’s to play because it was too cold for the park & had chicken nuggets. Then we went home for cake & ice cream. She got lots of fun gifts, including some blocks, books and a ball from mom & dad, and clothes and coloring things from Grandma Devenish, and a Dora guitar from Grandma Potts, and some cute Owl PJs from the Bensons. Happy Birthday beautiful girl!!

-Kezia LOVES pointing out tractors, fire trucks, and airplanes.

-We’ve had to put Kezia in time out a few times this month. She keeps thinking it’s fun to climb up on the counter and get into the vitamin/medicine cabinet. We’ve also had to put a lock on the fridge.

-One night, Kezia kept getting out of her crib, so we had to lock the door. She finally fell asleep – with her fingers poking out the bottom of the door. We went to open the door & had a really hard time getting it to open with the little straight key. We were worried about not being able to open it from the outside – and she didn’t know how to open it from the inside. After much prayer, the door finally opened & we were able to put her back to bed. After that we switched the lock to the outside.

-From the neighbors, we got a twin bed for Ireland, so we decided to finally move out Kezia’s portable crib & have her sleep in the toddler bed. The first few nights were pretty rough & she kept getting out, but she has gotten used to it & has done really well now! Good job big girl!

-Kezia still is getting into the upper cabinets, even with time-out. One day, Mom came into the kitchen, finding Kezia with the chocolate chips out and eating them.

-Kezia, just like her daddy, LOVES Wheat Chex. Even when she can choose between a sweet cereal & Wheat Chex, she will choose Wheat Chex.

-Kezi likes to say “guess what?” over & over. She never really has a response when you say “what?”

-Kezia needs to eat 2 bites of dinner before she gets a fruit for dinner. We usually have peaches. Kezia didn’t want to eat 2 bites of dinner, but she went & got cans of peaches out for mom to give her anyway.

-On the day after Kezi’s birthday, McKinley told her it wasn’t her birthday anymore & she got very upset, yelling “NO! It’s MY birthday!!”

-The day after Kezia’s birthday, we had a bit of a scare. It was the morning & mom heard crying from Kezia’s room. Ireland & Kezia had been playing in there & mom comforted Kezia, but she was really clingy afterward. Finally, mom sat her down on the leather chair & said “Kezia, I love you – you are 2 years old now & I can’t be carrying you around everywhere.” When Kezia got off the seat, she noticed blood on the back of the seat & asked where it came from. Ireland said “Kezia!” Mom looked at the back of Kezia’s head. It was COVERED in blood. The back part of her hair – her jacket – her shirt – were soaked in bright-red blood. She looked like she was ready for a gruesome Halloween party. Mom gave her a bath & found the source of the bleeding on the back of her head. She called Jason & he came home & checked it out. He cut the hair around it & made sure it was clean & we called his sister, Kim, to make sure we didn’t need to go to the ER. It ended up scabbing & healing, but was sore for a couple days & she didn’t want to lay down on it. We’re so thankful she’s OK!!

-One morning mom was doing her scripture study. It was 6:15am. She heard a door slam and little running footsteps. It was Kezia. Running. She got to mom & said “Pancakes!!” Did I mention it was 6:15am?

-Whenever you ask Kezia what she dreamed about, she will say “Teddy Bear & Piggy.” (the stuffed animals she sleeps with)

-Kezia is sad most times when she doesn’t get to say the prayer. After someone else says it, she will bow her said and say in a sad, crying voice “Heavely Father… thank thee” and if no one folds there arms, she will sob some more and say louder “Hevnly Fater – thank thee!” We are working on patience & taking turns J

-Kezia was Stinkerbell for Halloween. She had black clothes, skunk ears & a tail, green wings and a wand. She didn’t like to wear her costume for more than 5 minutes, but she was sure a cute Stinkerbell while it lasted! She went with daddy trick-or-treating for about an hour before she wanted to come home.

All Hallows Eve 2011

2011-10-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's daddy's year to take the girls trick-or-treating, so while I'm waiting for the doorbell to chime, I figured I could make a quick post about my 3 little ghouls :)

It's been a fun Halloween season this year. The girls have made many school Halloween creations that we've taped to the wall. Ireland had a preschool Halloween party last Thursday. McKinley had a school Halloween carnival last Friday & then a Halloween party at school today that I helped with.

Pumpkin-carving & seed-roasting happened last night - and today I made another batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm....

Here they are - oldest first:

McKinley: wanted to be bat girl this year. She LOVES to save her sisters from imminent danger and their mother's wrath :)

Ireland: Mom convinced to be a witch after she found this adorable costume. You can't tell from the pictures but the skirt lights up with fiber optics.

Kezia: She's....

Can you guess?....

Wait for it....

skunk+wings & wand=

STINKERBELL! Yes... she is not cooperative with the costume after 5 minutes, but I think she's an adorable stinkerbell - don't you?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Kezi-boo birthday #2

2011-10-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today marks #2 for my baby. It made me a little sad & melancholy yesterday to think that she is already so old - past so many of the milestones. Oh - I know she has plenty to go, but she is definitely growing up too fast.

I love her SO much. It's hard to remember a time without her in our family. Her sisters adore her & brag about their cute baby sister to their friends. Her daddy is absolutely wrapped around her finger. She's definitely been the hardest child to discipline. She's just so sensitive and if you even talk about putting her in time out, she will start to cry. I guess we're a little lenient on her, too, because she's had some heart problems & we know how fragile life can be.

Happy Birthday, my bright blue-eyed, blonde hair, smile-to-there, little one. Please, please stop wanting to be as big as your sisters and let me enjoy your toddler-hood. :)

Here are some of the digiscrap pages I did for her birthday book. Can't wait to get it in the mail!

Exploring with the Bensons

2011-10-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our best friends, the Bensons, came down from Provo to spend fall break with us & it was great! I was a little worried about our family of 5 plus their family of 6 fitting into our 3-bedroom, 1300 sf home, but it worked out all right & we had a great time. Plus - we were out exploring more than hanging around at home.

We had a terrific time & saw some things we haven't seen before!! Here are some fun memories:

-Brent's "impromptu" birthday party! We hurried & got the decorations out & I had made some peanut butter chocolate bars that we used for a cake :) Happy Birthday Brent!

-Getting the kids to bed every night. That was always fun :) they were just so excited to be together that they had a bit of a hard time going to sleep.

-Gabbing & playing a rousing game of Cranium (boys cheat! ;) late at night.

-Cascade Falls. We went around through Parowan (Cedar Canyon road had a major landslide a few weeks ago), stopped at Cedar Breaks & down to Cascade Falls We had a picnic when we got there & then had a beautiful hike to the waterfall. It was just gorgeous & perfect hiking weather. The kids all did great.

-Date night! We hired a couple YW from the ward to watch the kids while we had a date night. We watched Contagion in the the theater. Wow. Pretty depressing, but also fascinating & great acting. And just great to get out. I was trying to remember the last time we'd seen a movie in the theaters...We went to Applebees afterwards & had a yummy meal (which was yummier because we had a gift certificate :) Fun date-night!

-Jason & Brent took McKinley & Zach to Kanarraville Falls early Saturday morning. They were supposed to be back by 10, but had so much fun, they didn't get back till 11:30. The rest of us had a great time hanging out & then going to Discovery Park. Afterwards, we met up at the Cedar City Aquatic Center. The kids all had a blast there!

-Kolob Canyon. We drove to the top & hiked the Timbercreek trail & saw some awesome views & a beautiful sunset.

-Pizza Party! We celebrated Kezia & Logan's 2nd birthday (their birthdays are about 12 hours apart) & the kids had fun helping decorate the cake & helping them open gifts.

-Ebbelskeevers Sunday morning & having to say see ya next time.

Even with all the beauty, we still couldn't convince them to come move down here! We loved our time with them, though & hope to see them real soon. Love ya Bensons!

Surprise Girl

2011-10-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

I just love my McKinley. Not sure where she gets it from, but McKinley LOVES doing surprises.

She loves putting treats in her daddy's work bag for him to find later, throwing parties for her stuffed animals, sending letters & e-mails to her friends and family, leaving treats for neighbors, and writing notes, notes, notes. A little note for someone feeling sad, a note for someone's birthday, a note to say she's sorry, a note to say she loves you, a note with a drawing on it, a note just because.

The other night, McKinley got it in her head that she wanted to do a surprise for our family. She wouldn't tell us what it was & even though we didn't try to guess, she kept asking if we thought we knew what it was. We assured her that we didn't. She asked me to wake her when I woke up. I told her that would probably be a BIT too early (5:30am), so I told her I'd wake her up at 7am. The next morning & 7am, she got right up & went into the kitchen and wouldn't let ANYone in there till she said it was ready.

Finally, at the risk of Jason being late for work, she let us in. The table was all set - bowls out, spoons out, cereal out, and chocolate milk made for every person at the table. I could have been frustrated by the fact that she used most of the milk & chocolate in the process, or that 3 of the cups of milk spilled within the first 5 minutes, but I decided that it really didn't matter. She was so thoughtful to do this for our family.

As I was cleaning up, I found this "to-do" list :)

Family Pics 2011

2011-10-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'm necessarily a demanding person. But when it comes to getting our family pictures taken, I really don't compromise. Sometimes Jason scoffs at having to pay someone to take our pictures, but they turn out so much better than I could ever take them. And - I always remind him - we can never go back in time & take these pictures.

We took these pics in St. George. I never pictured myself as a red rock girl, but I'm finding myself embracing it all. We live in such a beautiful place.

Now - if only I could have all the canvas prints I wanted...

Here are some of my favorites:

October 12, 2011

September Newsletter

2011-10-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we're into October already? I'm looking forward to the coming fall/winter holiday months :) Here's what we were up to in Sept:

September 2011

FAMILY: Our family attended a full spectrum of events this month: a blessing (Maliyah Benson), a baptism (Zach Benson), a wedding (Mike Johnson), and a funeral (Grandpa Tew). Grandpa Tew’s funeral was on September 1^st. It was a wonderful service & so neat to hear stories from so many aunts, uncles, and cousins about our dear Grandpa Tew. We had a good time in Salt Lake, enjoying our family (though Heidi was so sad that she left her camera in SLC & had to take the rest of the month’s pictures with her phone L. We left for home on Saturday morning, stopping in Orem to attend the blessing of Maliyah Benson & baptism of Zach Benson. Congrats our good friends!! We also went through Panguitch on our way home & spent the evening visiting at the Goobler’s antique home there. The Devenish’s even stopped by for a visit. On the 5^th(Labor Day), we had a great time swimming at the Aquatic Center with the Hamiltons. Then we had some pizza and ice cream & visited at home. Not our normal Labor Day weekend, but good to see both the Potts & Hamilton sides of the family! The 9^th was McKinley’s 6^th birthday!! We had a lot of fun! See her section for more details, but that night we went to Funtime Inflatables and all had a blast. On the 10^th, Hannah Blackwell watched the girls while Heidi & Jason had a date night attending the Iron County Festival of Homes. It was neat & fun to see some of the designs & layouts. On the 13^th, Ireland started preschool! Yay Ireland! That evening, we went to St. George to attend the temple and have a September birthday party for McKinley, Daken & Jeff. Thanks Hamiltons for making it a great night! J On the 16^th, Heidi picked up her Cedar Half Marathon packet & enjoyed running into an old friend, Gayla Perkins. Then we all went to the SUU homecoming party, complete with free food and live music. It was also fun to hand out with Bonnie & Dallas Jones there. The only downer was the on & off rainfall all night. We headed home about 9 & got the kids to bed right before a massive thunderstorm hit. It was pretty loud & intense & we all didn’t get a lot of sleep that night. The next day, the 17^th, was Heidi’s Cedar Half Marathon. She felt good about it & got a time of 1:35 & placed 1^st in her age division! She loved having her cheerleaders there at the finish line & we all had a great time seeing friends there – the Clawsons, Jones, and Hooks. That evening we were invited to come to Ruthann Hook’s sister’s block party. McKinley had SO much fun reuniting with her friend Alyssa & we all had fun visiting, listening to the DJ’d music, eating yummy food & watching the BYU/UofU football game. Just a fun,neat night. Thanks so much for inviting us Ruthann! On the 23^rd, we went over to Discovery Park & had a fun time digging in the sandbox & meeting new friends. McKinley even found some (plastic) gold pieces! That night, we headed back down to St. George & had our family pictures taken. The sneak peek of the pictures were great & we can’t wait to see all the rest! Grandpa & Grandma Potts were also in St. George & we met them at the Pitts’ home & enjoyed visiting before we had a late-night drive home. Saturday we drove around looking at lots for a couple hours & then Jason took the girls while Heidi went to a wonderful Women’s Conference. We took a Sunday drive on the 25^th to go see the leaves & it was SO beautiful. We drove up past Cedar Highlands & walked around for a while & got to pick some gorgeous leaves, smell the crisp air & see the breathtaking sunset. We feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place!! On the 27^th, McKinley was given the Catch the Vision Award at her school assembly. We are SO proud of her!! Great job McKinley! On the 28^th, we went back to Discovery Park to play with our friends, the Bealers. The afternoon of the 29^th, we headed up to SLC & dropped the kids at the Potts (thanks Tiffany, mom & dad!!!) while we went to a wedding dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for Jason’s cousin, Mike Johnson. It was a yummy meal & so fun to walk around downtown together & visit with family. That night, Heidi & Jason used a gift certificate & stayed at the Armstrong Mansion Bed & Breakfast. It was so nice & relaxing– THANK YOU mom & dad!! The next morning, we had a nice breakfast & headed over to the Salt Lake Temple to witness the Johnson sealing. It was beautiful & the sealer spoke many words of wisdom. That night, we attended the reception as well. Congrats Johnson family! As far as homes go, we’re still waiting to hear back on the Short Sale home in Parowan, but it’s not looking as promising because the owners wanted to rent it out & we were not willing to move in unless we had a guarantee that we’d be able to actually buy the place. We’re also still looking for lots. Hoping to find where God wants us to be. MIRACLES: Heidi could not find her phone anywhere & thought it had been stolen at the Aquatic Center, but found it buried in her purse. Kezia almost got burned from boiling water, but thankfully didn’t. Jason was driving the truck & it died in the intersection. We’re so thankful he didn’t get hit. We’re truly hoping it doesn’t cost much to fix.

JASON: Jason gave a beautiful family prayer before they closed Grandpa Tew’s casket. Grandpa & Jason were close. Jason said he had a feeling that Grandpa was leaving the day before he died. Jason had a great time getting to see his family more this month – especially some extended family he hasn’t seen in a while. He’s still enjoying his job & was able to get in some overtime this month on a litigation project. He went shooting guns with the Elder’s Quorum on Saturday the 24^th & had a lot of fun with the guys. He’s also helped out a lot with people moving this month.

HEIDI: Between taking McKinley to Kindergarten & Ireland to preschool, Heidi stays busy most days J She’s thankful she can switch off with Diane Bealer & Heather Johnson. She’s also thankful that the girls’ school schedules give opportunities for more 1-on-1 time with each girl and more time in the afternoons to get things done. The 17^th was her Cedar Half Marathon & she was really pleased to do so well – 1:35 & 1^st in her age division. She really was pushing herself, but felt great until about mile 9. She had to dig deep those last miles, but was thankful she met some fast girls who let her run with them & motivate her. She was a bit disappointed in the prize (just a framed certificate), but the best part was the beautiful day (she was so worried they’d get rained on!) and getting to see so many friends – Cindy Clawson, Bonnie Jones, Ruthann Hook, & Gayla Perkins. She’s glad to be done training for a while & hopes to be able to do more varied workouts. She finished The Host this month & is now reading a couple inspirations novels. She really enjoyed Women’s Conference – especially Elder Uchtdorf’s talk on Forget-Me-Nots – especially since that’s her favorite flower. She’s also still loving Young Women’s. The girls were so sweet & threw a pizza party for us leaders – complete with gift bags with our favorite candy bars. Also – we went shooting for one of our activities & that was a lot of fun. She’s also been spending her afternoons re-doing McKinley’s birthday book and starting Kezia’s.

McKINLEY:

-McKinley is still loving school & her teacher thinks she’s great, which is why she picked McKinley for the Catch the Vision Award that she got in front of the whole school. Most everything is really easy for her, but we’re trying to keep her challenged by giving her harder books and perfecting her handwriting. She is doing great & loves her friends – Addison, Ella, Elliot, and the twins she gets to sit by on the bus.

-McKinley turned 6 this month!! That morning, she got to “break-through” to a new year, do the hide& seek present find, and eat what she wanted for all 3 meals – ebbelskeevers for breakfast, ramen noodles for lunch, and corn dogs for dinner. She wore her crown to school and they made her a crown, too. We brought cupcakes for the class & they also made her a special birthday book, which each classmate drawing a picture for her. That night we had a strawberry shortcake cake & ice cream & then we went to Funtime Inflatables & had a blast playing on the inflatables. Some favorite gifts: A special note from Addison Bealer, Dolls from Grandma Potts, shoes & slippers from Grandma Devenish, some fun puzzles & coloring books from Aunt Trisha, a movie night to see Kung Fu Panda II w/ Michael from Aunt Cindy, cookies from our next-door neighbors, and lots of books, crayons, markers from mom & dad, along with a very special Mount McKinley picture that they hope she will keep for a long time.

-One day after mom asked her to do something – or wouldn’t let her do something, McKinley was upset & said “You’re ruining my life EVERY DAY!”

-McKinley got some candy bars for her birthday & since our neighbors gave her some cookies for her birthday, she wanted to return the favor, so she wrote a note & gave them her candy bars.

-McKinley did a FHE this week on something she learned in her Primary Class – Daniel & the Lion’s Den. She had colored, cut out people to tell the story & even made some of her own to supplement. We were all so impressed about what she knew! Great job McKinley!

-One day, McKinley said “I wanna be a rock star someday!”

-One night, we were looking at the stars on the girls’ ceiling & McKinley said “Look! It’s the big scooper!”

-McKinley has been LOVING the Magic Treehouse books that mom ordered. There’s a magic tree house that takes 2 kids to different places & we’ve read about Dinosaurs, Knights, and Mummies!

-McKinley had a dream one night that she shared with us at breakfast: She dreamt about a T-Rex (just like in the Magic Treehouse book we’ve been reading), and then she & Michael were at a Party for Daken & there were doors & she opened one thinking that she could get to Narnia, but there was just a baby crib & baby stuff. And Michael found a compass.

-McKinley’s imagination is so fun to see. One day she decided it was the (puppet) elephant’s birthday party & the elephant was so sad because no one remembered. But secretly, McKinley made a huge party for him, complete with decorations, gifts, a cake, and confetti. All her animals & dolls were invited. It was so cute.

IRELAND:

-Ireland started preschool this month & is LOVING it! She goes with her friend, Shaylee Johnson, and loves to see her teacher Miss Meili, play with her friends, make lots of crafts, and learn colors, shapes, letters & numbers.

-Ireland has seemed to inherit her love of note-writing from her older sister. Most nights after she’s put to bed, she will come out after a few minutes with a note for mom or dad or both. She loves to draw animals, shapes, and she LOVES to use a rainbow of colors. She does such a great job & we love all her works of art.

-Ireland likes to negotiate with time. She will ask for something & then say “for 5 minutes, OK?”

-Ireland had a rash around her nose earlier this month & it got really bad, so we took her in & it turned out she had a staph infection. She was on oral and topical antibiotics for 10 days. Thankfully, it’s much better, but she had to miss her first week of preschool L

-Ireland loves pregnant women for some reason. She gets so excited when she finds out they have a baby in their tummy. She was talking to Diane Bealer about her baby & asked where the baby was & Diane pointed to her tummy & Ireland asked “Did you eat him?”

-Ireland had a very descriptive dream this month, too. She said “My dream took me to a diffferent cabin. There were lots of people there. There was a princess in a yellow dress with a mirror – but it wasn’t magic until her dreams came true. Mommy was there and she had a puppy in her purse & it said to go look at all the potties. And it wanted some food – some goldfish crackers – and I wanted to go home, but I didn’t know how.”

-One day, mom came in the kitchen to find Ireland bringing rocks inside. Mom asked why & Ireland said “Because the rocks are scared of the thunder!”

-For some reason, Ireland thinks it’s great fun to untwist all the door stops, so we are finding them all over.

-Ireland was walking down the sidewalk (going to meet McKinley’s bus) & talking to her dad on the phone. Mom hears her say” Well, I have a dress on. What are YOU doin’ daddy?”

-One day, Kezia was really sad & crying. Ireland walked over to her & said “Do you want a blessing Kezia?” and proceeded to put her hands on Kezia’s head & give her a “blessing”. Kezia wasn’t really interested & starting walking away, but Ireland just walked along with her hands on her head, giving her a “blessing.” J

-Later that day, Ireland & McKinley were taking a bath & mom hears this from the other room from Ireland “Okay I’m going to baptize you.” And then (after a splash) “There! You’re baptized!”

-Ireland has really been on a scissor kick lately. It’s good because she’s getting more & more coordinated with the scissors, which is a good skill to have –especially since it’s harder being a lefty. But – the downside is that there are little pieces of paper strewn all over her room & the house – and one afternoon she decided to use her scissors on the tip of Tundra’s tail L

-Ireland had to recite the 10^th article of faith for sharing time in primary, so mom came in to help her. She had a sign that had the words on it & she just kept holding it up & bringing it to people, saying “article of faith!!” She was beyond excited. When she got to the microphone, she yelled into it “ARTICLE OF FAITH!!” Then she got the giggles & just laughed & laughed till mom told her to take a deep breath. Then she was able to (somewhat) repeat what mom told her. She did a good job, though J

-Ireland keeps saying “I want another mom (and/or) dad.” At first, mom was sad. But then dad clarified that what she really wanted was MORE moms & dads. Daddy asked her how many she wanted. She said “Like a mom & dad and a mom & dad and 10 times!!” (with her big, wide eyes & enthusiastic voice). Dad asked what she would do with all those parents. Her answer? “HUG THEM!”

-One day in the car, Ireland said “Pleeeeeease can we go see grandma? For just 5 whiles?”

-One day Ireland was helping me in the laundry room & there was bedding on the ground. She said “Mom – the floor is really sheet-y.”

-Ireland loves to get toilet paper, get it wet, scrunch it into a ball, “bake” it in her oven, put it in a sandwich bag, and offer everyone her “cookies.”

-One day in the bathtub, Ireland said “Mom – I wanna ask you something” (we think she meant TELL you something). Then she said “I really like your husband.”

KEZIA:

-We love our blue-eyed, blonde-haired almost 2-year-old girl. She sure keeps us on our toes! She has really been mastering the English language and is even starting to boss people around and tattle-tell. She says “Go in time out!”, “Don say DAT!” “Take your bowl!” (to Ireland who hadn’t taken her bowl to the table) “Mom – put the (milk) lid on!” “Shut the door!” “Mom – Ireland/McKinley hit me!” “Sydney jumped on me!”

-One morning, Jason wasn’t feeling good & was still in bed. Mom asked Kezia if daddy was sick. Kezia said “He’s grumpy!”

-Mom wore a green swim suit for the aquatic center & Kezia saw her & said “Alien!”

-Kezia demands hugs & kisses for bedtime & goodbyes. When we dropped McKinley’s friend Addison off at school, Kezia said “KISSES!” to Addison.

-One morning mom came in to get Kezia & she had taken her diaper off & THEN had proceeded to poop in her crib.

- Kezia is still our sympathetic child & will say “I’m sorry Mom/Dad/Ireland/McKinley” when we are frustrated or upset.

-Kezia is SUCH a big girl now! She won’t sit in her high chair, won’t wear a bib, and can get up and down from the kitchen stools.

-She went pee pee in the potty 3 times!!

-Kezia apparently needs to make it known whenever she toots. She will even come into the room where mommy is & say “Mom – I tooted!”

-Kezia is climbing all over everything. She climbs on top of the girls’ bookshelf & loves turning on & off the light. And she can scoot the barstool, stand on top, walk on the countertops & retrieve whatever mom has put on the fridge that she doesn’t want the girls getting into! She also pushed the bread maker off the countertop. We’re hoping it will still work!

-Kezia is a big helper & is pretty good about cleaning up messes. If she makes a mess, she will ask for a rag. McKinley spilled one morning & Kezia climbed off her chair, got a rag & brought it to her.

Forget-me-not

2011-09-25T09:35:00.001-07:00

Were you at the Women's Conference last night?

Jason dropped me off at the stake center after a couple hours of fruitless lot-searching. I was feeling kind of discouraged. And even on the sad side. I usually go to these kinds of things with my mom and sisters. Even though it was nice to visit with a couple women from the ward/stake, I still couldn't shake the loneliness.

After the dinner, we filed into the chapel & the meeting began. As the opening song played, I wrote down questions/concerns that I've been having & hoping to find inspiration at the upcoming meeting(s). Julie Beck's talk was wonderful, as was her counselors. I found they each touched on one or more of my questions/concerns. But my heart stayed a bit heavy & sad.

Then, Elder Uchtdorf. Wow. Somehow that man can speak right to my heart. You see - forget-me-nots are my favorite flower. Ask my husband. Look at THIS post. They've been my favorite flower since I was a little girl. Yes - I love the smell of roses. I love the color of the tulips, but there's something about the forget-me-nots that is just me. So - when he started talking about my favorite flower - and even had a tie on that matched the color of my flower - I couldn't (and still can't!) stop the tears. Such a precious talk. It touched me deeply and really reminded me that even though at the time, I felt like that small little flower, the Lord loves & appreciates me for who I am. Truly changed me & made my heart rejoice. The Lord truly knows & loves me! I hope you are able to watch it. I know I will be re-watching it- whenever I'm feeling small & insignificant.

Cedar Half!

2011-09-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, last night was a lot of fun and we went & played at the park & visited with my friend Gayla who came up for the half. Then we went to SUU where they were having a big homecoming shin-dig. Free food. Free music. Fireworks. Good times all around. The only damper was an on & off rainfall. We had to head home around 9, though, to get the kidlets in bed, so we headed home & eventually went to bed.

Well, let's just say it wasn't in my top 10 best nights sleep ever. Lightning flashing. Thunder crashing. It was C R A Z Y! Then I kept dreaming about the race & having to climb up mountains & also about having a torrent of rain during the race. Because - seriously - it was a downpour outside. Then I got up at what I thought was 5:30am for the race. Lo & behold, Miss Kezia had been playin' with our alarm clock again. It was only 5. So - I hung out for a while before Bonnie Jones (the 2nd counselor in our YW presidency - and an awesome athlete) picked me & another girl up and we headed to the buses at the park. I had to hold myself back from singing "the wheels on the bus." Guess I was a little excited. We got to Woods Ranch & hung around the fires & I met up with some friends from Herriman - Jacie & RuthAnn. And started the race with another friend, Cindy Clawson. Let me just say that it was FREEZING up there. Not too rainy, thankfully. But FREEZING. When it was time to head out, I knew I shouldn't run too fast, but it was hard to hold back. My legs & lungs felt fine, so I just let myself go. I did sub-7 min/miles for the first 7 miles. SUB-7!! I just kept saying to myself - way too fast!! way too fast!! I'm going to feel this soon. Well, my legs did start whining at about mile 9. At mile 11, they were shouting, and that last mile, they were screaming, but I just kept pushing it. I found some fast girls that I could keep up with & talk to & kept my mind off my legs. Jason texted me on mile 12 & it said "Run Mom Run!" - I really wanted to see my favorite little cheerleaders, so I really pushed that last mile. It was sooo good to see my beautiful little family cheering me on. I always get a little teary-eyed seeing them there. They support me SO MUCH. So - my time was 1:35. was SO happy! My previous PR for a half was 1:43, so I crushed it!! I also got 1st in my 30-34 age division. It seriously could not have been a more perfect day for a run. No rain. Just a bit chilly. SO nice. I, of course, did not do this alone & prayed some prayers to keep me going, so I have to thank my Heavenly Father, too :)

(Bonnie did AWESOME & got 1st in her age group, too! Go Bonnie!)

Thoughts & Feelings - 9/11

2011-09-11T07:52:00.001-07:00

Where were you on this date, a decade ago? I really find it interesting, finding out what everyone was doing, how they found out, what they did, how they felt.

As for me... I was working in the Federal Building - downtown SLC. I remember walking in the building that morning & a few people were gathered around the T.V. in the lunchroom. My co-worker, Karen, told me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I have to say... I wasn't aghast at this point. I just thought "Hmmm - wow. That's a crazy thing. But things like that happen in this crazy world." I thought it was an accident. I had no idea it was a premeditated attack. I went to my office. But more & more people gathered around the TV, so I went back in & watched as that 2nd plane hit the WTC. And then the Pentagon. By this time, everyone had forgotten about work. Panic had hit me by then. I just kept thinking "our nation is under attack - HERE!" I heard about Flight 93. Now I was really anxious. I didn't imagine it would hit where I was, but I have to admit I was a little worried about being in a Federal Building. After staring at the TV for quite a while, I think people drifted off, but I think they gave admin leave by the early afternoon. I talked to Jason, who was at school. I cried some. I went to my mom's. We came together as a family & made sure everyone was okay. I just remember the hurt that day. So many horrible images kept pouring out of that T.V. So many horrible details of the attacks. Stories of emergency personnel and loved ones. People jumping out of buildings...Oh... it still hurts my heart so much. We, as a nation, came together so much that day & the days following. So many flags. So much patriotism. So much anger - and humility. Both sides of the spectrum.

I just wanted to take a minute & remember that day. Remember those whose lives were lost & honor them.

Also - today, I guess, my heart is a little more tender as well, because my brother is one of those men over there in Afghanistan, continuing - a decade later - to fight those terrorists who cannot seem to get over their hatred of us. We're praying hard for him. And for all those still fighting for our freedoms.

I hope God can continue to Bless the U.S.A.

August Newsletter

2011-09-08T13:57:00.001-07:00

A bit late, but I have my excuses. I'll have to post pictures at a later time. Enjoy!

August 2011

FAMILY: Another busy summer month for the Hamilton family. Our sad news this month is that Grandpa Tew passed away on the 28^th. We are going to miss him so much – and at the same time we know he is happy & peaceful on the other side. On the 3^rd, we had a picnic in the park with daddy J On the 5^th, we loaded up & headed north. WAY North. It was our annual Potts Family Retreat & this year we went to Island Park, Idaho at a nice cabin that the Potts rented. We had some great memories, including going to Yellowstone & seeing Old Faithful, some elk, and some other geysers, yummy food, a family talent show, watching movies, roasting marshmallows, playing games, sitting in the hot tub, having a Sunday School lesson by dad, coloring, singing songs, baking, picking flowers, the girls sleeping on bunk beds with their cousins, playing at the park, and just enjoying visiting with family that we don’t get to see a lot. The girls sent Grandma & Grandpa Potts thank you pictures for putting on the retreat. It was wonderful. On the 9^th, on the way back home, we stopped to see the Bensons & Jason got to meet Maliyah & we got to see Brent for a little while, too. It was a looong drive home – we didn’t pull in till around 10:30 – and Jason wasn’t feeling too well, but it was all worth it! On the 19^th, we headed to Richfield for Heidi & Kim’s triathlon. It was great to see family & Heidi did well – finishing as the 2^nd woman overall. Afterwards, she used her prize money ($30) and we all celebrated at Ideal Dairy with ice cream and punch bags. It was a downpour when we got back to the Devenish’s & the girls had a blast playing in the rain with their cousins & getting soaked. The 23^rd was our ward STOMP (Summer Trying Out Moroni’s Promise) Banquet. It was a fun picnic and the girls always love seeing their ward friends. On the 26^th, Heidi took Ireland & Kezia to Discovery Park for fun day Friday while McKinley was having fun at Grandma Devenish’s. On the 30^th, McKinley started Kindergarten! She was so excited to go with her friend Addison & ride the bus. We also saw a big home in Legacy Estates in Enoch that we’ve been debating about making an offer on. We’re trying to be prayerful about where the Lord wants us. Other than that, we’ve still been enjoying the wonderful summer weather – walks & hanging out outside. The girls seem to have definite preferences to colors in our home. For meals (plates, bowls & cups), McKinley wants blue, Ireland wants green, and Kezia wants purple. MIRACLES: Heidi & some girls & Diane Bealer were going up to Bonnie’s cabin & the truck just completely died. She had to pull over & they had to have someone else bring them to the cabin. It happened just as they were going to try & pass someone & she’s thankful it didn’t die as they were passing. The other MIRACLE was that we were worried it was going to cost an arm & leg to fix the truck, but after Jason installed a new fuel filter, the check engine light went off & it’s been running fine. Another MIRACLE: Heidi could NOT find her new cell phone at the pool, and was worried it might have been stolen, but after a while of searching, found it buried in her purse. Thank you Heavenly Father!

JASON: Jason did shave off his beard right after our last newsletter. He’s feeling much cooler now J He was sad that we forgot fishing poles for the Yellowstone trip, but still had fun seeing Yellowstone & showing all the geysers to his daughters. He’s still enjoying his job & the flexibility it gives him. Jason got called to be the 2^nd counselor in Elder’s Quorum this month (a change from being the Secretary). The Elders were in charge of the ward activity this month, so Jason got to help out (with Heidi’s help) with the invitations and set-up & clean-up. He’s also helped a few people move in or out this month. Jason got to go with McKinley to her back to school night & had fun on the mini daddy-daughter date. Jason & Heidi got new cell phones this month since they changed their T-mobile plan to a contract. Jason’s had fun figuring out his new Android and loading music & downloading apps for it.

HEIDI: Heidi had a great time seeing her family on our Potts Retreat this year. She went running one morning with dad & it was such a beautiful setting. She also loved seeing the geysers and eating the yummy ice cream. Heidi had lots of fun with her Young Women this month & got to go water skiing on the 3^rd & then had a sleepover at Bonnie Jones’ cabin by Panguitch Lake on the 26^th. She really enjoys the Young Women girls and leaders. She’s also really thankful for Jason’s support as she does these activities. The Richfield Triathlon was a lot of fun & Heidi was pleased to do so well – especially since the overall women’s leader was doing the ½Ironman the next weekend – so she didn’t feel too bad about losing to her J It was fun to get $30, a pair of socks & be featured in the newspaper. She’s still training & hoping to complete the Cedar City ½ marathon in September. Then she’ll be ready for a little break in training J She’s also put a lot of time into McKinley’s birthday book this month. The sad part is that she had 80 pages completed & then the software program completely crashed & wouldn’t open her book any more. The technical support tried to help for a few days, but in the end, she had to start over L Thankfully, she had the scrapbook pages done & she found some files with the layout, so it was just a matter of bringing it all together again. She’s also put a lot of time into back-to-school shopping for the girls. She’s probably been to 10 different stores (with all 3 girls) & hopes that they will be completely set for the year!!

McKINLEY:

-McKinley’s BIG NEWS this month is that she’s officially a KINDERGARTENER! She was so excited for her first day of school & even made a count-down chain. She had all her prep work done this month, including lots of back-to-school shopping, a trip to the dr’s for booster shots (more on that later), a back-to-school night with daddy, a 1-on-1 teacher assessment with Mrs. Jones (where she told mom that McKinley was basically the top of her class), and her first official day of school on the 30^th! Mom & dad took her to her first day & mom put a special note in her backpack telling her how special she is & how proud she is of her. McKinley loved her first couple days and is excited to go to recess, meet new friends, and ride the bus!

-McKinley had to go to Doctor North twice this month. Once she went for her Kindergarten booster shots. Unfortunately, her body did not like them and her leg swelled where her shots were and it was hot to the touch. That lasted a week & a half before it got better. Then she had a mild reaction to the chickenpox vaccine & got spots on her face. Thankfully, this all went away after a couple weeks, but it was a bit nerve-racking! The 2^nd time she went to the Dr. was for a bad ear infection. It started hurting her while we were in Island Park. She said she woke up one night crying & she was going to go to mom & dad but then remembered that Kezi was sleeping in their room, so she just cried & Michael (who was sleeping with her) told her to say a prayer & she was able to sleep that night. Thankfully she was OK until we got back & could get to the doctor. She had to take ear drops for the next week and a half.

-McKinley had a great time on the Potts retreat – especially seeing her cousins and getting to go see Yellowstone.

-After we got back from Yellowstone, we were in mom’s room and McKinley said “Yuck! Kezia’s diaper smells like a geyser!”

-McKinley & Ireland love to get in their leotards and have mom put on some classical symphonic music (they call it ballerina music) and dance and dance!

-One day while mom was getting lunch set out, McKinley said “Mom – Satan thinks he’s perfect, but he’s not. Well… he’s the perfect bad guy!”

-We finished reading the first 3 books of Little House on the Prairie this month. We had such a great time reading about the adventures of Laura Ingalls and life in the “olden days”. And it was even more intriguing because the stories were true!
-McKinley got to spend a couple days at Grandma Devenish’s house this month. She said she had a lot of fun with her grandma & cousins. They baked, went shopping, and read books!

-One day McKinley said “Mom – let’s pretend I’m six already. Because… I have to practice being six, OK?”

-McKinley was so sweet when mom was crying after finding out that Great-Grandpa had died. She hugged her & made her a sweet paper.

-Mom was pretty stressed about getting Great-Grandpa Tew’s Memorial Slideshow done in time & she was working on the computer a lot. McKinley made mom a peanut butter & honey sandwich (microwaved, even!) and brought it in to her at her computer. It was SO thoughtful.

-Daddy gave McKinley a father’s blessing the Monday before she started school. In it, daddy talked about being a good friend, having fun at school, using kind words, being more obedient to parents, and a desire to learn.

-McKinley was singing the “Days of the Week” song & realized that Sunday was first. She said “Mom – the first day of the earth was church.”

-Before we left for SLC for Great-Grandpa’s funeral, McKinley was thinking about seeing Michael. She said “Mom – Do you think Heavenly Father ever tells people to marry their cousins?... Maybe that’s why I love Michael so much. Because I’m supposed to marry him.”

IRELAND:

-Ireland had a lot of fun in Yellowstone – especially getting to sleep in the top bunk with her cousin Joshua every night. One night around the campfire, Ireland looked at her Uncle Josephs arms and said “Did they put STAMPS on you?” And when Joseph didn’t know what to say other than “yes,” Ireland turned to mom & said “MOM- They put STAMPS on him!!”

-All the way home from Yellowstone (and on other trips), Ireland says “We’re in Cedar City!!” We have to keep telling her that we’re not there yet, but she’s just SO excited to be in Cedar City!

-Ireland still has some problems with tantrums – especially when she’s tired. She just won’t be reasoned with and will scream and scream. Things have gotten a little bit better, though, and we’re trying to do better about making sure she gets enough 1-on-1 time and rest.

- Ireland calls it “fork & beans”

-When we were in Richfield, the sky was dark & starting to rain. Ireland said “The sky is sad. It wants a tissue.”

-Ireland is STILLLLL infatuated with leotards and cannot go an entire day without one or two different leotards on.

-Ireland had a rare accident one day & decided to get the bleach & shake the bottle over the top of her accident. Thankfully, hardly any bleach came out, but we had a good talk about not touching the bleach.

-When we pulled into our twin home neighborhood, Ireland said “The houses are stuck together!”

-For FHE one night mom asked “Why do we come to earth?... To get….?” Ireland said (raising both arms above her head) “CANDY!!!”

-Ireland is getting more & more outgoing. When we go to the store or the park, she will just come right up to someone & say “Hi! What’s your name? I’m Ireland…” and proceed to tell them lots of “interesting” things J

-Ireland found a blue flower & gave it to daddy & said “It’s a BOY flower dad!”

-Daddy gave Ireland a father’s blessing at the end of the month and it talked a lot about friends and being a good friend, paying attention to the teacher, and being a big helper.

-Ireland is REALLY turning into quite the artist. She loves drawing animals lately and drew a VERY good elephant in her journal the other day. She also loves to write notes like her sister & give them to people (especially when she’s supposed to be in bed asleep)

-Ireland has played a lot more with our neighbor Shaylee Johnson. She’s excited to be able to go to preschool with her next month!

KEZIA:

-Kezia was a bit of a little trouble-maker this month. Some examples? She got out a carton of eggs and proceeded to drop them on the floor, she got a permanent marker and wrote on walls & doors, water messes outside and in, and a HUGE peanut better mess – all over the kitchen table, wall, floor, herself and on both dogs J Just to name a few. Mom’s hoping she calms down just a little bit next month.

-When we were in West Yellowstone, we went to a park there, and 2 girls (probably about 9 years old) just thought she was the cutest thing ever & followed her all around the park & helped her go down the slides & things.

-Kezi likes to simplify. Instead of saying “Barney the Dinosaur”, she says “Barneysaur!”

-One day were all saying Okey-Dokey. We told Kezia to say it, too. She was kind of grouchy & said “NO-key-Dokey!”

-Kezia loves to say “cheers!” with everything she eats & drinks.

-Kezia says “I don’t know” so cute. It comes out “I nowt!”

-Kezia loves to press the open door button on the van door. She will sit there & open & close that door all day if you let her.

-Kezi thinks she’s grown up now & refuses to sit in her booster chair. She wants to stand on a big girl chair instead.

-We’ve had to buy some more onesies just to keep this girl contained. The second she gets out of that onesie, her diaper is OFF & she doesn’t want to put it back on again! She likes to run around with a naked bum as much as possible.

-Kezia is growing so quickly! Can’t believe she’s almost two. There’s almost nothing she can’t say. We all LOVE to hear her sweet little voice as she says prayers, sings Twinkle, Twinkle, says please or thank you - or just talks to herself. She can be quite a handful sometimes, too, but we sure love our toe-headed Kezi-boo!

Thoughts on Kindergarten...

2011-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Wow. The day has come. A part of me feels like it's taken f o r e v e r for her to be able to start Kindergarten. She's one of the oldest in her class and, according to her teacher's assessment, the top of her class. On the other hand, I'm SO not ready to let her go!!

Part of that concern is for her - How will she do? Will she make friends? What if she gets made fun of? What will her peers teach her of "non-academic" things? Will her teacher find ways to challenge her? Will she miss me....?

The other part of that concern has to do with me. I'll admit it. I am selfish. I like to have my children here. I like to be able to go to the park whenever we want. I like to spend our days dancing to music, doing our chores, baking cookies, and going on adventures. I'm NOT looking forward to shuttling to Kindergarten. Especially since Ireland is in morning preschool & McKinley is in afternoon Kindergarten. I miss the simple, sweet mornings when McKinley was small. I'm putting together the slideshow for my grandpa's funeral & found some pics & videos from when McKinley was a baby. Oh... those wonderful mornings. Just me & her. Just time to enjoy each other & learn together.

So - you may be wondering why we didn't just home school this year like we did last year. Well, I guess after many discussions & prayer, we decided that McKinley deserved to try out regular school & see how she likes it & see how she does. And she really wanted to go to public school. She was so excited for school to start - she put together a chain & took one ring off every day.

So - that's where we're at. Don't let the picture fool you. I started crying the night before when she got her blessing. I peeked up to see my big girl sitting there, head bowed, eyes closed. So grown up. And after I dropped her off, I tried to be brave in front of my 2 little ones, but the truth is that I am a wreck! I know she's beyond ready for school, but am I?

What will I do now that I can't hug & kiss my girl anytime I please? Someone please tell me it's all going to be okay? :)

Burton Edwin Tew, Jr.

2011-08-27T13:32:00.001-07:00

Today I got a phone call. I was told that my Grandpa Tew had passed away this morning. Even though I knew it was coming, I couldn't stop the tears for very long.

When my children ask about death, I give them the "My Turn on Earth" explanation. Some turns are short. Some turns are long. I feel blessed that my grandpa got a good, long turn. He was 83. Some memories I have of my grandpa are: our annual water-skiing trips with him driving the boat, his fire-tending at our annual Mapleton camp-out, his laugh, his ability to tell a joke about any topic you give him!, his amazing knowledge and memory about numerous people and places, his story-telling, his extreme emergency preparedness (you should see his bomb shelter), his ability to fall asleep anywhere, his insistence on hand-watering his lawn, his love of growing things, his sweetness with my girls - especially McKinley, his testimony, his caring, his belief in you.

We are extra-blessed as well because we have his history - both written and on video. And I can share that with my children.

I guess a lot of us 30-somethings are having to say good-bye to our grandparents. I have one grandma left & I hope to cherish her and spend more time with her. I'm so thankful my kids have spent time with Grandpa Tew - and I am thankful that my husband had a special bond with him since he never got to meet his own grandpas.

When I think of all the people my grandpa was reunited with today - especially his son who died at 6 - the tears come again.

Love you Grandpa. THANK YOU for your legacy. You will be missed!!

Multiplicity

2011-08-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love the movie Multiplicity. Oh - how it makes me laugh. I LIKE PIZZA STEVE!

The other day at the lunch table, McKinley said "Mom - what if instead of just one mom, there were like a HUNDRED moms!?" I thought for a moment & said "WOW - I think I would love that. But probably just 5 would do. One to do the laundry. One to keep this house clean every second. One to run errands and do bills. One to be the cook. And me - well, I would just like to spend the day with you girls & not have to do any of those other things."

Sigh... if only...

Lately I feel like I really wish I did have copies of me. If I only got to focus on the gospel, my family and myself - how would it be?

I love the summertime, but it really does wreak havoc on my sanity sometimes. The trips. The lack of schedule and routine. This week I'm trying to really buckle down & get back into routines before McKinley starts Kindergarten. That is probably going to be a whole other post. I have some anxiety about her going & I'm not sure what I'm going to do without her here every day.

Another sigh...

July Newsletter & Slideshow

2011-08-03T16:50:00.001-07:00

Well... until I can figure something else out, here are both the newsletter & slideshow for July. It was a fun, busy month. We love summertime!!

FAMILY: July is always a busy month for the Hamiltons and 2011 was no exception. As always, we had a great time at the Devenish’s for the 4^t^h of July. The kids loved being around their cousins and playing in their grandparents fun backyard and we all enjoyed the parade & park fun. It was nice & cool this year, which was SO nice! After the Richfield festivities, the kids had their annual backyard water games with a water slide, pool, and water guns. That evening we celebrated Ireland’s birthday with a yummy BBQ and cake & ice cream. She got lots of great gifts & everyone wrote nice things in her birthday book. Jason & Jeff spent too much on fireworks ($100), but the kids had fun lighting them and watching them go off. And, of course, the Jorgensens provided a big show (for the eyes AND ears) and the Richfield fireworks show was neat. The kids were ready to be done by the end of the night, though, and we took off for Cedar City at about 10:30, getting home around midnight. The drive reminded Heidi of their drive on the 4^th to the hospital 4 years ago to welcome Ireland into the world. Her birthday was on the 5^th & it was a busy day – we looked at a lot, babysat some kids, and helped our neighbors (the Gardners) get ready to move. We are going to miss having them across the street. On the 8^th, we went to Discovery Park for Friday Fun Day and the girls had fun playing in the sandbox. We enjoyed some great family walks in the evening with the dogs – and afterward we try & brush down Tundra’s coat, which always produces a big bag of fur. On the 9^th, we went to the July Jamboree downtown & saw lots of fun old cars & the girls had dippin’ dots for the first time. Then that night, Heidi & Jason went on a date to Lupitas Mexican Restaurant while Hannah watched the girls. On the 11^th, Heidi & the girls headed up to Salt Lake to spend some time with family. We had a birthday party for Ireland & Joshua on the 11^th. Cindy made a cute cake with ½ Lightening McQueen & ½ Strawberry Shortcake. We had fun visiting with all the family. That night we slept over at Aunt Cindy’s new house. It was fun to stay up with Kalli and watch Pride & Prejudice. Unfortunately, Kezia didn’t take a nap on the way up to SLC – or when we got there – she can get out of the portable crib now. So – needless to say, that night was REALLY rough with Kezia. Mom got maybe 2 hours of sleep. The next day, Heidi spent some wonderful time with her sisters. The 14^th, we went to the Murray ward’s primary water party. They got pancakes, too! – and later on, we went to Utah Bounce House, which the kids REALLY had a fun time with. We left to come home on the 14^th and stopped by the Benson’s in Orem to see their new addition, Maliyah (who is so cute & sweet) and see their beautiful new home. That weekend (the 15-17), we went camping with our trailer up at Yankee Meadows. It was busy & the fishing wasn’t great, but it was really beautiful & we found a fun spot. The girls had fun finding bugs, roasting marshmallows, and playing games. The girls started swimming lessons the next week. They went for 2 weeks, 4 days a week – and they both had a great time and did really well! The 18^th, we went to the 30^th birthday party of our friend, Adam Bealer. Jason had a bad headache that night, but the rest of us had a great time at the ice cream party. That Friday, we (including Jason) went back to the Bealers for a BBQ with Bonnie & Dallas Jones. They have such a fun backyard with a sandbox & swing set & the girls never want to leave. The 24^th was a fun day. Jason took the morning off & we went to the ward breakfast in the morning & then off to the parade on Main Street. It was a cute parade – not too long – and plenty of candy for the girls J That night we did some sparklers, but it was really pouring rain, so we had to take cover. On the 28^th, Jason took off a bit early & we headed up to Payson’s game in Panguitch. They did really well, but didn’t win this time. It was his last game & fun to cheer him on. Afterwards, we stopped at a cute old-fashioned ice cream parlor & all got a cone of yummy ice cream. On the 30^th, we cleaned up the house & yard in the morning & then drove to 3 Peaks Recreation Area and Minersville Reservoir to check them out. We stopped at a cute park in Minersville for a picnic and the girls played and got to pet some puppies, too! We put an offer in on a short-sale home in Parowan. We both really like it and think it would be a good deal, but with a short sale, we’re not sure if it’s going to work out, so we’re not planning on it. We are also SO very excited that everything seems to be going well for Tiffany’s pregnancy.

JASON:Jason’s worked hard this month – and been able to keep up his credit hours so he can take time off for camping or the 24^thof July without using his leave. He had a great time seeing his family over the 4^th and at Payson’s games. He’s coming up with a workout plan and is hoping to join a gym in August. He is also very much paying attention to the debt ceiling debate going on and theorizing about how it will affect the economy, his job, and the housing market. He’s decided to grow a beard, so we’ll see how long he can get it before he can’t stand it anymore & shaves it off! J

HEIDI: Heidi had a great month & really enjoyed spending time with her sisters in SLC – going out to Village Inn, hot-tubbing, watching Jane Eyre, painting toe nails and just gabbing. She also got to go for a run with Chelsea Strong in the morning, which was fun to catch up with her. She has also really enjoyed her Young Women’s calling. She loves seeing the girls on Sundays and Tuesdays. Heidi planned a flip-flop decorating activity that was a lot of fun. Heidi continues to train for her upcoming triathlon and on the 30^th, she biked 17 miles and then ran 6. At about mile 3 coming back from her run, there was a grey van that passed her – with little kids and a cute guy yelling “Go mom Go!” “Run mom Run!” They were her cheerleading van all the way up the hills & back home J

McKINLEY:

-One day McKinley was talking about getting married & getting married before Ireland does. She said “Well, I know you hafta be a certain age to get married, but is there a height requirement, too?”

-McKinley’s habit (good or bad?) is that the night we bring home the library books, she stays up till she has “read” them all. Usually that’s after 10.
-One day McKinley asked “Does Heavenly Father make worlds every night and morning?”
-McKinley was helping Kezia with praying at lunchtime and it went something like this: Mc- “and” K- “and”, Mc “thank thee” K- thank thee”, Mc “For everything in the universe” K- “….verse”

-When we were camping, mom looked up at the sky & mentioned that there were no clouds at all & maybe God forgot to paint clouds in the sky that day. McKinley said (matter-of-factly) “Mom – God never forgets anything!”… then she added “except sins.” Smart girl.

-McKinley has had a harder time lately getting her chores done. She just DOES NOT want to do them no matter what mom threatens. One day she and Ireland made a mess in the bathroom & mom told them to stay in there until it was clean. Well – instead of cleaning it up, they made a HUGE water mess – turning on the water in the sink & splashing it everywhere. That night both McKinley & Ireland went to bed at 7pm with no dinner L

-One night, mom & dad were up talking about dreams and other things. The next day, McKinley said “Mom – I’m sorry, but I like eyedropping. I was eyedropping on you and dad last night.”

-McKinley asked where we got a toy & mom replied “Ireland got it for her last birthday.” McKinley looked up with big eyes “Why was that her last birthday?”

-McKinley always wants to know how long in days or minutes. How many days until school starts? How many minutes until we go to Parker’s house? She’s definitely keeping mom’s brain sharp with trying to calculate things in minutes.

-McKinley did REALLY well in her swimming lessons. She was in Tots 2 at the Aquatic Center this year & her teacher’s name was Tyra. She loved to wave at mom while she swam & she said her teacher told the lifeguard to watch because she could swim by herself. On her certificate, her teacher wrote: “Great job! Keep practicing those skills and keep up the great swimming! We’ll see you next time in level 2!” She passed off all her skills. Way to go McKinley!

-After her lessons, we met a man named Russell, who is deaf. He was very nice & McKinley loved to show him some signs (even though she was a bit nervous ) - and he taught her a few signs, too – like Disneyland & flag.

-One day while McKinley & Ireland were playing, they decided it would be a good idea to cut the tails & manes off most of their play horses L

-Ireland got a magnifying glass for her birthday that has a clear tube to put bugs in it. McKinley has used it more than Ireland and has already captured a fly (!), some grasshoppers, some ants, and some rolley polleys. She loves to watch them, name them, feed them – and eventually let them go.

-If you ask McKinley if she is excited about Kindergarten coming up, she will vary with her answers. One day she said she didn’t want to go because she just wanted to be with her family. One day she said she was excited. Hopefully as it nears, she will get more excited!

IRELAND:

-HAPPY 4^th BIRTHDAY IRELAND! We can hardly believe Ireland is 4 years old already! She really got spoiled this year & had a party with the Richfield gang, a party at home in Cedar with her family & friends Tyrus & Sienna, and a party in Salt Lake with Joshua and the family up there & she had a bounce party celebration! She got so many fun gifts, including a pretend cash register, lots of strawberry shortcake things, some blocks, a Dora purse and lip gloss & nail polish, and many other gifts. Thanks everyone – for making her day so special!

-Ireland had the stomach flu at the beginning of the month L She kept throwing up. Mom asked if she could bring her a bowl to puke in & she said “That’s enough puking. I’m covering my mouth so I can’t puke anymore”

-Ireland is still our big helper at the stove & she always wants to help. She’s so good at watching the water & letting mom know when it boils. One day she was stirring some noodles a little too hard & some boiling water came out on her right thigh. She was so sad & we had to put cold water on it for quite a while. It still blistered & was really painful for a few days. She had a band-aid on for a few days and even though it’s healed, it looks like it’s going to leave a scar L

-Later, Ireland said she really wanted her owie (burn) to get better fast. Mom asked HOW fast. Ireland said “Sooo fast! Like Lightening McQueen!”

-Mom came to get the girls from the Primary room after church one Sunday and her heart was bursting with love & pride as she saw Ireland was one of the only kids who was helping to stack chairs. And she wouldn’t stop till it was all done. Great job Ireland!

-We are officially dubbing the next year of Ireland’s life the “Fearsome Fours.” For some reason she has had more tantrums AFTER she turned four than ever before. And they are over the silliest things. And no matter what we say, she will not be reasoned with. One afternoon she was upset that McKinley wouldn’t give her a block & she screamed & hollered. Mom put her in her room & she banged the door and screamed. Mom told her she loved her & she screamed “I DON’T love you!”. So mom put her outside & she screamed more & slammed the sliding glass door with the hose (while it was spraying water) & mom put her in the garage & she took Kezia’s ride-on toy & smashed it into the door, breaking the steering wheel. Finally mom got her to come inside & let her hold her & rock her & she took a nap. Another time, she was upset about the dress that she was wearing to church and threw a HUGE tantrum. Daddy had to stay home with her until she calmed down & they missed most of sacrament meeting L Another time she threw a tantrum while dad was trying to take her fishing & he had to come back. And after we left Grandma Potts’, she screamed “I WANT GRANDMA!” for the first & last ½ hour of the drive. We’re hoping things get better soon. Mom is thinking she is going through a growth spurt & needing more sleep, so we have been working on naps.

-One day Ireland was playing with the cash register that she got for her birthday. She said “Well,mom – it costs 4 moneys.”

--McKinley & Ireland have had a harder time lately getting their chores done. They just DO NOT want to do them no matter what mom threatens. One day McKinley and Ireland made a mess in the bathroom & mom told them to stay in there until it was clean. Well – instead of cleaning it up, they made a HUGE water mess – turning on the water in the sink & splashing it everywhere. That night both McKinley & Ireland went to bed at 7pm with no dinner L

-Lately Ireland has been taking things without asking quite a bit. She took gum and icing & when mom found out, she said “Pleeease can I have some?” We’ve been having lots of discussions about asking BEFORE you take something.

-Lately Ireland wants to make sure she gets her dues. After doing something good, she will tell you “Say GOOD JOB Irleand!”

- Ireland threw a tantrum at Payson’s baseball game & mom took her to the van. Mom said she couldn’t have any of the sweets (grandma Devenish had licorice and cookies) until she was acting sweet. So mom asked “So – what’s your choice Ireland? Are you going to be sweet or sour?” .. pause… “Well?” Ireland responded “I’m thinking about it….”

-One day while McKinley & Ireland were playing, they decided it would be a good idea to cut the tails & manes off most of their play horses L

-Ireland had her 2^nd year of swim lesson. She was in Tots 1 at the Aquatic Center and did really well. She tried hard to do what the teacher said, though she still got distracted & wanted to splash when other kids were splashing. She did well, though & passed off everything to go to the next level. Her teacher, DeeAnna, wrote on her certificate “Ireland is a great swimmer. Have fun in Tots 2.” Great job Ireland!

KEZIA:

-Kezia is a non-stop talker now-days. She answers “yep” to lots of questions and if you ask her why? She will say “becuz.” Some of her other favorite things to say: “Why?” “Naken!” (Naked) “eew! Stiiinky!!” (when getting her diaper changed) “Jesus loves Kezia” “I’m Scared!” (she’s started to get scared when she can see through to the ground – like at the park) “Wohoo! I did it! Hooray!” “Me, too!” (after her sisters say it) “uz zat?” (what’s that?) “I yike/don’t yike it!” “There it is! I found it!” “Bless you!” (after someone sneezes) “What you doin’?” “Cleanin’ up!” “I got it!” “knock knock – who’s there?” “I’m reading!” (when we go to get her from her crib – she has a book in her hands)

-Kezia slept in the same room as mom & dad over the 4^th at Grandma Devenish’s. She had been asleep & they snuck in the room & were almost asleep when all the sudden Kezia says loudly “cracker!” Mommy & Daddy held their breath, thinking she had woke up, but apparently she was just dreaming of crackers!

-On the way back from the July Jamboree, Kezia threw up all over her & her carseat L It was not fun to clean up & we were worried she might have been the 3^rd victim of the stomach flu, but she seemed fine after that. Maybe car sickness?

--McKinley was helping Kezia with praying at lunchtime and it went something like this: Mc- “and” K- “and”, Mc “thank thee” K- thank thee”, Mc “For everything in the universe” K “….verse”

-When we stayed at Aunt Cindy’s overnight, Kezia had a REALLY bad night. She kept getting out of the crib. So – mom finally put her in bed with her & she cried & struggled, but finally fell asleep. Then about a half hour later, she woke up and turned over & fell in the gap between the bed & the wall – all the way to the floor. Mom couldn’t reach her to pull her out & she was so disoriented & crying & finally she got her to crawl out. It took a few days to make up for that night L

-Kezia remembers and associates so much already. When she sees a picture of a baby chick, she will say “Teamwork!” She learns this from the Wonderpets. When she sees the Cat in the Hat, she says “Go! Go! Go! Go – on an adventure!” – the song they sing in the show The Cat in the Hat knows a Lot about That.

-She also has cute names for things. She calls the camera “Picture of you!” and the DVD player “Watch a movie!” One day, she had the portable DVD player & she was walking around, hugging it, saying “I wuv you watch-a-movie!” She also says “Cute!” whenever someone takes a picture. Even if it’s just of dirt, she will say “cute!”

-Kezia has started to sing her bedtime song. It’s so cute. She will sing “Kez, Kez, kezia – time to go to sleep!”

-She loves screaming at bugs. If she sees an ant on the ground, she will crouch down there & do this funny growl/scream sound to it.

-Kezia loves to open and close the blinds in the living room and kitchen. She also loves to pull out all the DVDs from the entertainment center. And she still loves to get a cup and fill it with water from the toilet – and then pretend to cook with it on the pretend kitchen.

-We’re having to put Kezi in onesies more & more because she keeps taking off her diaper. She still likes to sit on the potty, but she hasn’t gone yet. She will hop off, though, and grab one of her sister’s panties & bring it to you to help her put on.

-She really does know how to count to 9! Mom has heard her more than once!

-She still loves to read and will bring mom or dad books all the time – then turn around, plop down on the lap & expect you to drop everything & read that book to her right then.

-Her hair is getting so long & beautiful. We love her golden locks. Mom can fix it in almost any way – IF she’d ever let her. Getting her to hold still to get her hair done is near impossible. Most times, mom has to put her on the countertop in the bathroom, turn on the sink water a little bit & let her play in the water while she does her hair.

Now Do Ya Feel Like a Pioneer?

2011-07-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about Pioneer Day coming up & thinking that if they could zoom to today and see the way things are right now, they might be a bit surprised.

-That we actually PAY money to go to a place to exercise on a MACHINE. And - along the same lines - that we would PAY money to go run 13.1 or 26.2 miles in a race. That must just completely blow their brains. Why? Why? Why?

-That we go camping FOR FUN. We light fires for the novelty of it - not for everyday heat and cooking needs.

-How little we actually talk to each other face to face. Between TV, Cell Phones, ATMs, drive-throughs, movies, etc, I think they would be amazed.

-I think they would be shocked at the way people dress. Absolutely SHOCKED that girls could walk around wearing PANTS - let alone pants that are cut to the crotches and shirts that are tight & revealing. I could see mothers putting their hands over the eyes of their children - just watching people walk down the sidewalk.

-I think they would be fascinated with cars. The fact that I can go 250 miles in 3 hours. Unbelievable!

-I think they would notice pretty quickly the rudeness of society in general - and especially in our children. The back-talking, the defiance, the attitudes.

-I honestly think they would be appalled at our laziness. For all our cries of busyiness, do we need to do all our laundry by hand - or dishes? Do we need to cook all our meals over a fire or on a primitive stove? I truly think they would see our lives as full of empty business, and overall laziness.

-Grocery Stores. Walking into one of those would probably just blow them away. You BUY your vegetables and fruits? And you can get oranges at any time of year? Whaaa?

-I would like to see their faces as they witness central heating, air, and indoor plumbing. Definitely some of the greatest accomplishments since pioneer times.

-Waste. We are such a throw-away society! I think they would just truly WONDER at how we treat our things and how much trash we generate in a week.

-Child Bearing. I'm not completely sure how they would feel about giving birth in such a sterile environment with tubes sticking into you & shots, but I'm pretty sure they would be interested in a pain-free birth experience.

-After watching some prime time TV or movies, or listening to regular radio for a few hours, I'm convinced they would think the end of the world must be near with such appalling themes.

What do YOU think they would be surprised at?

Anyway, just some of my random thoughts. I am so thankful for the pioneers & their sacrifice. We still have so much to learn from them. We watched the John Rowe Moyle story in Young Womens a few weeks ago & I could not help crying at his unfathomable sacrifice. And - even though I think the pioneers in general would be very disappointed and shocked at the world today - I hope they would see that we still honor their names and our faith.

Ireland!

2011-07-07T12:40:00.001-07:00

It seems that I never get around to doing a birthday post for Ireland because I'm always too busy trying to get the newsletter out, but she turned 4 a couple days ago & I just want to say how much I LOVE this little girl. Honestly - she is the sunshine in our home - always running around. Always so full of life & energy. Her imagination has really taken off lately & she will come up with such creative stories. I LOVE to hear them. I love her little drawings of stick people. I love the way she loves her sisters. I love how she says to me "Mom - you know I love you so much."

She was born BARELY on July 5th - at 12:33 in the morning. I don't know that I could have named her Ireland if she was born on the 4th, so I was glad she waited a 1/2 hour :) She was a week late & I had been in labor for over a day before I really thought maybe we should go in. I wasn't sure because with McKinley I was induced & I wasn't really sure these labor pains were the "real deal." I even had Jason call the hospital & ask what they thought & they said they had had a lot of false labor because of dehydration - so I wasn't sure, but I called my neighbor to take the girls so I could work through the pain & finally - at about 10pm, I told Jason we should probably just go in to make sure. The way to the hospital was surreal. Fireworks going off all over the valley. Jason pointing them out. Me screaming "Just GO!" When we were almost to the hospital "Sweet Child of Mine" comes on the radio, and I am crying. Walking up that huge hill to get to the women's unit in St. Marks Hospital. It was a l o n g walk up, having to stop for contractions. When I was finally checked, the nurse said she thought I was either a 4 or an 8, but she couldn't tell, so she went to get another nurse. I am praying "PLEASE GOD - let it be an 8!" The other nurse came in - and sure enough - I was an 8. It was a flurry after that - people getting tables with instruments, a nurse asking me questions, the midwife on-call coming (mine was out of town). PAIN. I knew I didn't want an epidural, but after they had broke my bag of waters & those transition pains started coming, I was just screaming "I can't do this!!" & all I wanted was a 15 minute time-out. Well, I didn't get a time-out & little Ireland came out screaming about an hour after we got there.

So - it's no wonder that she gathered all that momentum and energy from the 4th & is still our little firecracker.

She is named after my dad's mom - she migrated from Ireland in her 30's, and Jason's dad's mom - Anita.

WE LOVE YOU MISS IRELAND!!

June Newsletter

2011-07-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Below is our June newsletter. I (again) spent a lot of time doing a quarterly picture slideshow, but to no avail. It's just too big to upload. So - I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board on pictures. I may have to go back to monthly ones - or maybe every other month. We'll see. Anyway...Hope you enjoy!

FAMILY: June was a month of illness - Kezia got hand, foot & mouth disease & Ireland soon caught it. Then McKinley had the stomach flu and now Ireland has it. BUT before & after & in-between, we did have some fun. We went swimming twice, to probably 5 different parks, St. George, camping in our new trailer at Indian Creek (see this post), picnics, celebrating Father's Day with lots of homemade gifts & food, and celebrating Jason's 34th birthday with a surprise lunch at his work, watching the shepherds herd the sheep up the hill by our home, seeing the busyiness of Cedar with the Utah Summer Games & the Shakespearean Festival, the Groovefest quarter marathon & activities, watching Payson's baseball team get the bronze, & Heidi going to girls camp.

JASON: Happy 34^th birthday Jason! He got spoiled this month with Father’s Day & his birthday. Lots of yummy food and a few gifts. For his birthday, Heidi made him breakfast & then went with the girls to his work for lunch – with Café Rio and cupcakes for his co-workers. That afternoon, the forest supervisor kept telling him to go home to his girls, so he did come home & we had a wonderful afternoon J He also loved being able to see his family so much this month between Payson & Daken’s games. His boss went on a fire for 2 weeks this month & he got to hold down the fort at work while she was gone.

HEIDI: Heidi has been busy this past month training for a triathlon. She’s up to about a 10 mile bike & then a 4 mile run. She was happy with the quarter marathon. The first couple miles were downhill, but the rest was quite a bit of uphill, so she was happy with 50 minutes. She got 3^rd place in her age group. It was a bit difficult with the girls sick for a lot of the month – and by the end she was REALLY ready to get out of the house J Heidi got called into the Young Women's as first counselor & was thankful to go to girls camp & had a great time doing friendship necklaces, braiding & unbraiding lots of hair, eating yummy food, helping with (and going on) the iron rod experience, tie-dying shirts, learning about first-aid, singing silly & spiritual songs, roasting marshmallows & starburst, bearing testimonies, staying up way too late, playing the cup game, and just getting to know the girls & leaders a lot better. It was REALLY neat. Thank you sweetie, for taking Thursday off work to watch the girls.

McKINLEY:

-McKinley asked mom one day what it was like to be a mom. Mom said “some days it’s really hard. Some days it’s really great! But ALL the time, I feel very blessed.”

-After watching the 2^nd Tinkerbell movie, McKinley was determined to make a fairy house. She got a used Ovaltine can & put a Altoids mints can in there with a couple cotton balls for pillows. She even drew a tiny picture & glued it to the wall. She was faithful about checking it every morning, but so far – no fairy!

-At Indian Creek campground, we were sitting around the campfire & mom was talking about how Mary & Laura from Little House on the Prairie (which we’re still reading) would have thought it was silly to build a fire just for fun since they did it every day. McKinley said “yeah! It’s no fair that they got to have a fire every day!”

-For about 2-3 months now, McKinley has vetoed jeans. She will NOT wear them. She says that they are uncomfortable. So – she mostly wears leggings or skirts.

-We were talking about the 3 bears one day at lunch time. McKinley said “Well – now the bears know that they should lock their door!”

-After we picked up the kids from Aunt Keeley’s house after a temple date, mom asked McKinley if Keeley had fed them. She said “No.” Mom said “OK!” A few moments later McKinley said “We fed ourselves! We ate pizza!”

-McKinley was drawing circles and doing a good job. She turned to mom & said “Am I good at this or what?”
-One day McKinley came walking in with a handful of Tundra’s fur. She said “I know a way we could make extra money mom! Sell Tundra’s fur!” And no matter how much mom tried to reason with her, she would not throw it away!

-McKinley had so much fun playing with the dogs – especially while we were all cooped up with sickies.

-On Jason’s birthday, mom turned to McKinley & said “Do you think you’ll ever make it to be 34 years old?” McKinley’s eyes got really big & she said “NO!” Mom asked why. She said “Cuz that’s OLD!!”

-Lately when McKinley says she’s bored, mom (& dad) get really excited & say “you’re a board! Yay! We’ll take you to our new home that we’re going to build! And a talking board, too! We’ll bring people to come see it!” McKinley rolls her eyes, but she has mentioned less & less about being bored. J

-McKinley had the 24 hour flu at the end of the month. She puked about 3 times and wouldn’t eat anything. We were so glad it was over the next day!

IRELAND:

-Ireland has quite the sniffer. One night mom ate a handful of chocolate chips before coming to put the girls to bed. Mom was kneeling next to Ireland to help with her prayer & all the sudden she stops praying & says “mom – I smell something. It’s chocolate! Chocolate chips!” And one day we pulled next to a fast food place & when we got out she said “I smell chicken nuggets!”

-Ireland is still INFATUATED with leotards & swim suits. Mom can usually get her to put on somewhat normal clothes in the morning, but by the afternoon, most assuredly she has a leotard or swim suit on.

-One day we were coloring cards for Father’s Day & mom asked Ireland to color one more card. She said “Mom – I’m getting full of coloring”

-Ireland still had a hard time last month with sleeping. She will come into our room in the middle of the night or early in the morning. One time, about 3am, she came in & said “I just want to give you a hug mom.”

-Ireland caught Hand, foot & mouth disease from Kezia & was really sick. She threw up & kept saying “mom – I puked.” Jason gave her a special priesthood blessing that night & by the next day she was feeling much better.

-Mom gave Ireland some Sprite while she was sick. She put it in a cup & gave her some & she said “It’s too Sprite-y”

-Mom looked outside one day & saw Ireland out there watering the weeds.

-Ireland had fun playing with the dogs outside this month.

KEZIA:

-Kezia went to her 18 month appointment this month & everything looked really good!

-Kezia likes to add an O to everything, as it “Daddy-o”, “doggy-o”, “cereal-o”, “water-o”

-Kezi has decided she wants to be a big girl & sit on the potty. She keeps taking off her diaper & asking to go potty. So far she hasn’t gone, but she will sit on the Dora seat on the potty for quite a while. One time mom tried to help her wipe & told her to put it in the toilet. Instead she brought it to her nose to give it a blow.

-Whenever Kezi can’t find daddy, she will say “Daddy –work.”

-Kezi is SO good at saying prayers now. She will copy us exactly & she’s even started saying her own prayers – saying “Thank thee for mom, daddy, Tundra, Sydney” etc. The only problem now is that she thinks it’s her turn to say it every time & she will copy any person saying the prayer.

-Kezi has been our first girl to really get into the sounds that cars & planes make. She will see a car & say “vroom vroom!” or a gun & say “pshhh” like a real gun. Quite a tom-boy!

-Kezia got hand, foot & mouth disease this month & it was so, so sad. She was tired – then she had a fever – then she got the spots on her mouth and a little bit on her hands & a LOT on her feet. Mom didn’t know that’s what it was & unknowingly let her go to nursery L She still has skin coming off where her spots were. And she gave it to Ireland a few days later!

-Kezia LOVES to be tickled. She will say “Tickle (me) Mommy!” “Tickle Daddy!” and just giggle & giggle like crazy.

-One of the most precious things ever is that Kezi has started to randomly say “I love you daddy” or “I love you mommy” (or Ireland or McKinley). And sometimes at the table, she will wave to everyone one at a time & say “Hi Kinley”, “Hi Ireland”. SO Cute!

Quarantined

2011-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

So...I'm pretty sure I'm in the top running for the Lousy Mother of the Year award. I could name many reasons why, but this particular time it has more to do with what I've done to other people's children.

I should probably explain, yes?

Last week, oh - around Wednesday, Kezia started acting tired & fussy. No big deal - though it was kind of unusual that she fell asleep on Jason's shoulder at about 5pm. Then she had a fever. Hmmm... must be some cold that's going around. Within a few days she seemed better. No fever.

Yesterday morning she woke up and after I looked at her a light bulb went off in my head. She has hand, foot & mouth disease! I mean, she had 1 or 2 little bumps around her mouth earlier, but I hadn't noticed it too much - Monday morning, though, they were everywhere. I looked it up online - sure enough! Fatigue, Fever, then the sores. I looked all over - hands - check, feet - check (ouch!), mouth - check. Oh, man.... I felt so bad for her. But really what I felt bad about was that I LET HER GO TO NURSERY the day before! And HFMD is super contagious. Yes, everyone, I am that mom. Course, I really had no idea, but had I put 2 & 2 together, maybe I would have figured it out :(

Oh, I felt sick to my stomach after I realized what had happened. I am publicly apologizing to everyone in my ward. And now we are on house arrest for a week. Which is SO much fun in the summertime :\ The other thing is that since it's a virus, they can't do anything for you. It just has to run its week-long course.

Oh... and did I mention that this little one is now in on the game? She had a fever & threw up yesterday in bed. She just kept saying over & over "Mom - I puked." This is such a sad and unusual picture for our non-stop run-everywhere girl. I have to keep on top of the ibprofin. I can almost calculate to the minute when it starts kicking in based on her mood.

P.S. SLC family - say extra prayers that we can come up this weekend!!!

Partnership

2011-06-16T07:17:00.001-07:00

You may have already seen this. I saw it for the first time yesterday & LOVED it. I love that it shows both sides of parenthood. So real. Makes me think that maybe I'm not the only one who struggles. My favorite part is the bathroom scene. That is MY EVERY HOUR reality with Kezia, so I had to smile. I also appreciate the reminder of how important this calling is & how we are loved by the brethren.

S'mores & more

2011-06-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Ever had a weekend where nothing seems to go your way & everything turns out miserable? Me, too.

But this past weekend was not one of those.

Last Friday, we took our new trailer & headed up to Indian Creek CUA (i.e. - dirt roads & camping spots - and free), which is above Manderfield, which is just North of Beaver. It was just one of those amazing weekends. The setting was just gorgeous, the weather wonderful, and on top of all that - the girls slept like logs all night! Our great camping trip consisted of some...

Great fishin'! (The girls both caught about 3 fish!)

Lake wadin',

rock throwin',

pancake flippin' (and eating!!),

s'more (& wienie) roastin',

more fishin' by my hot hubby,

hikin' (can you see that beautiful little waterfall behind me?),

meadow meanderin',

dog runnin' (dog HEAVEN!),

baby back-packin',

dirt playin',

chillin' like a villan,

more fish catchin' (and eating! - by not by me),

colorin',

...and (not pictured) nappin' & game playin'.

When McKinley found out that we were going camping with just our little family & no cousins or friends, she threw a little fit (I thought they weren't supposed to mind just being with their family until at LEAST the tween years!) , but after we were there a few hours she admitted that it was a lot of fun! And it was. One of the most beautiful spots we've stayed at - and the amazing thing is that there was a huge fire here last year. It was shut down for the rest of the year after the fire & this is the first weekend it's been open. What amazes me is the beauty that comes from those ashes. The hope that emerges from such a tragedy. Definitely one of nature's finest miracles...

May Newsletter

2011-06-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

May 2011

FAMILY: Some of our May adventures include: A family trip to Parowan Gap to see the Patroglyphs, driving to Fredonia, AZ to play with the Barons on the 4^th, A great Mother’s Day - complete with homemade pancakes and cards and Heidi & Jason speaking in church - also that night we drove to Grandma Devenish’s for a yummy BBQ ribs dinner (and thanks again for the patio set!!), celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary by going out to eat that night & a Vegas weekend a couple weeks later, Camri coming over to play and having fun watching movies, painting nails, baking cookies, eating popcorn, eating pancakes, going swimming, going to the park, and taking naps. Thanks for coming to play Camri!! On the 24^th we took a quick trip to St. George to watch Camri’s 5^th grade graduation program. She did a great job & it was educational & fun to watch their history program that they put together. Going to SLC & getting our new trailer (hooray!) and camping out up Mapleton for Memorial weekend. On our way back, we met the Devenish’s in Beaver and gave DeeAnn her birthday present & showed off our new toy. We’ve also seen a few homes and lots of land this month. And we’ve enjoyed our lunch play date in the park with daddy on Wednesdays.

JASON: Jason had a good month- still learning new things at his job and meeting new people. He was supposed to go to meeting in Ogden this month, but they cancelled travel budgets for the time being. He really enjoys the flexibility of his hours and was able to work four 10s, so we could take Friday off at the end of the month to go camping. He enjoyed our Vegas anniversary vacation and really was impressed with the Cirque Du Soleli show. Allergies and sinus issues have really hit Jason hard the past month or two. He will get a really bad headache & the only thing that seems to help at all is Advil Sinus.

HEIDI: Heidi is still enjoying living here. She thinks part of the problem that it’s taken so long to decide where to move or build is that they are loving where they’re at so much. Still – much of her time and thoughts are taken up with the decisions ahead of them. Heidi got a new training watch for Mother’s Day and it was wonderful! She enjoyed spending time with her sweetheart on their anniversary dinner and vacation. She loved the Mystere show and the fun rides at Circus Circus – especially the Dora/Diego 4D show. The girls would have loved that one. She read a couple good books this month – The Hidden Garden and Heaven is for Real. Jason & Heidi read Heaven is for Real together & it was really neat – a true story about a 4-year-old boy who went to heaven. She was VERY excited to finally get to use our new trailer - and already has 5 more camping trips planned. Our summer is looking busy! She enjoyed getting to spend time with her family over Memorial Day as well.

McKINLEY:

-Once in a while, mom will ask McKinley if she wants to call a friend & McKinley will say “no mom! I just want it to be a family day!”
-McKinley thinks you can find any answer online. She will ask a question that mom or dad doesn’t know the answer to & she’ll say “well, look it up online!” One day McKinley was asking about Heavenly Father & mom was trying to explain to her about him being eternal. She told her that He doesn’t have a beginning or an end. Her eyes bugged out & she said “WHAT? How come??” Mom said she didn’t know & McKinley said “well – look it up online!”

-McKinley lost her other top tooth at the beginning of the month! Mom helped pull it out & McKinley was eager to put it under her pillow. Unfortunately, there was no money under her pillow the next morning. Daddy explained that it was Mother’s Day & she probably had the day off.

-McKinley is still working hard on her Handipoints goals – and doing her chores pretty good most days. She and Ireland wanted ice cream as their goal. McKinley earned some strawberry ice cream and she had a great time eating a little bit every night until it was gone (pint size J

-McKinley is BIG into “what if”s lately. Here are a few examples: “Mom – what if we played with our food and ate our toys?”, “What if everyone had hair longer than Repunzel’s?” “Dad – what if we only wore towels all the time?” Mom and dad have had a interesting time trying to come up with answers to all these what if questions!

-One day McKinley said “When I’m a parent, I’ll always live by Michael. There you go McKinley – it’s documented. Now – let’s see! J

-McKinley loves to talk to her cousins for a long time on the phone. She will sit & just talk about nothing & everything – she just loves to hear her cousins’ voices.

-One day as mom was fixing McKinley’s hair, she said “Mom – maybe one day Heavenly Father will come down and make Michael (her cousin) my friend so I then I can marry him!”

-There has been a lot of copying going on at our house – usually Ireland copying everything McKinley says & McKinley getting mad at her. Obviously all the copying had her really annoyed because one day she said “Mom – it kind of bugs me that the mirror keeps copying me.”

-McKinley’s creativity and thinking skills sure kick in when it involves her happiness. One day we were ready to go to playgroup, but the truck was still hitched to the trailer and there was no way mom was going to haul it. We were all disappointed, but McKinley came up with probably 5 different solutions to the problem – a copule of them being “Mom – let’s just call someone from playgroup and have them pick us up and take us there!” and “Well, we could just ask someone to borrow their car to go over there!” When she wants something to happen, she will think of any which way to make it work!

-With the extra daylight, the girls have had a hard time going to bed at night. They will keep coming out even until it gets late. Mom put them back in bed for the umpteenth time & went to leave & she heard McKinley say “I wish we were nocturnal!”

-McKinley & Ireland have been spending more time with the Gardner’s lately – Tyrus & Sienna. They love to go play & have them come over.

IRELAND:

-One day when we were in the bathroom fixing hair, we were talking about how McKinley had long hair. Ireland said “Mom – will you brush my hair long please?”

-One day Ireland was drawing a picture on the table while mom was fixing dinner. She stopped & said “Mom – what is it?” Mom looked at the drawing & said “A Mountain?” Ireland – “No.” Mom – “A Hill?” Ireland “No…. It’s Dog Poo!!”

-Ireland has really been take charge with her food lately. She needs to learn to ask more before she takes, but she can pour her own cereal and milk and gets her own yogurt and cinnamon bread when she wants a snack.

-Ireland has been really good at doing her Handipoints chores lately. She earned a pint of chocolate ice cream!

-One day Ireland was brushing mom’s hair. Mom was loving it and in a trance. Ireland kept running to the bathroom and coming back to brush some more. Daddy came in the room while mom was relaxing – enjoying her hairbrushing. Dad said “Umm… you do know that she’s putting water and hand soap in the brush & coming back and brushing it into your hair, right?” Well, let’s just say that mom must’ve been a little tired that day. Her hair smelled like hand soap till the next day.

-While McKinley loves to talk for a long while on the phone, Ireland says about 2 words & says she doesn’t want to talk anymore. She loves to see her cousins on Skype, but then she cries that she wants to go over there.

-Ireland has been a bit grouchy on the mornings where we wake her up. One morning she was just so upset. She kept yelling “NOOO! I don’t WANT it to be morning! It’s going to be NIGHTTIME!”

-Most times if you ask Ireland why she will say “Cuz just becuz.”

-Ireland has had fun playing more with her friend across the street – Sienna.

-We have had a real struggle with Ireland keeping her seatbelt OVER her shoulder. She likes to put it under her arm while we’re driving & we have to remind her numerous times to keep it on her shoulder. We may have to resort to a safety pin in the future.

-Ireland will say “Where did Kezi come from?” and “Is Kezi in your tummy mommy?”

-She calls them “Rispie Crispies”

KEZIA:

-Kezia is saying sentences now! She says “Here you go mommy” and “I get it” (I’ll get it) and “don’t want it” and “Bama’s house!”– those are a few of her favorites. She also is really good at reciting after us when we help her with the prayer!

-With the changes in insurance, there was a lapse in Kezi’s atenolol SVT medicine. Mommy wasn’t sure if it would make a huge difference since she’s gone for a day or so without in the past & been fine. But after about 4 days without her medicine, we could see the difference. She wasn’t urinating as much anymore and starting getting the cold extremities again – and just not acting herself. We were thankful when we got her back on the medicine & she seemed herself again.

- More of her cute sayings are “Ewww!” when she sees something she thinks is yucky and “Cute!” when we put a bow in her hair or a dress on her.

-Kezi calls broccoli trees. She’ll say “Pees (please) tees (trees)”

-Kezi is starting to get really particular about things. She wants CHOCOLATE milk (though we’ve finally told her it’s all gone & she seems to have accepted that), and she wants “Kitty jamas (pajamas)” and she will let you know if she’s in the mood for juice NOT milk!

-Kezi likes to play with our alarm clock when we’re all hanging out in mommy & daddy’s room. One morning Jason woke up 30 minutes early because of our little button-pusher!

-It’s so cute when Kezi says “____(Kinley/Ireland/Mom/Dad/Tundra/Sydney) where AAARRRREE YOUUUUUU?”

-Kezi isn’t a huge fan of cereal in the morning (even sweetened cereal), but she will eat 2 bowls of oatmeal in a heartbeat!

-Another of Kezi’s sayings is “Can I?” whenever she sees something that she wants to do/play/eat.

-Kezi is certainly our sensitive child. When someone is crying, she will go up to them and sign and say “Sorry ____ (Kinley/Ireland)”

-She has discovered that crayons, pencils and markers can be used on things other than paper. Even though we keep trying to teach her that coloring on paper is “yes, yes” and everything else is “no, no,” she still continues to color on her arms, legs, clothes, walls, dresser, and table. And McKinley’s shoe. We love this stage! K

-She’s getting better with please & thank you & if you say “what do you say?” She will say please or thank you. She has come to mom & said “please cracker.” So cute!

-Kezi sure loves to mess up McKinley & Ireland’s room! They will work hard to clean it up & 5 minutes later, Kezi has all the blocks out and half the books off the shelf!

-Kezi still has an infatuation with the toilet and toothbrushes. Which are not a good combination.

-Kezi is such a pro with pointing to face parts – nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, teeth, chin, and even eyelashes! She loves to point to other people’s facial features.

Great Riches

2011-05-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

My girls watched a VeggieTales yesterday. I can't remember the title, but from the tidbits I gathered as I was coming & going, there was this big blueberry lady who was really rich and wanted everything in this store. She had carts & carts of stuff & she just kept getting more. It reminded me of my last trip to Walmart. Seriously. I was getting stuff for camping and 2 weeks worth of meals and snacks and I had 2 HUGE, FULL carts of stuff. By myself. Lugging them around the store. I was getting stares and comments and felt like I should be going home to feed a family of 20, not 5. Anyway, after waaay too much money spent and NO help getting to the van and loading all this stuff, I'm gonna be honest - I kind of had a little meltdown. ANYway, at the end of the VeggieTales movie, after watching a few people, she realizes (in true Grinch fashion) that happiness and true riches don't come from a store. In the end, she found true happiness in the simple things in life - the people she loved and the world God gave her.

Yesterday we were heading to the park for our picnic with daddy and McKinley saw a plane & asked if we could buy one. So... we got on the topic of wealth and money. I told her about someone I know who is very wealthy but doesn't have a spouse or children. And so I told her in my opinion, I had the greater riches, with such beautiful daughters and a wonderful husband. Our park time was magical... 70 degrees... sunshine...picnic...family. One of my favorite things to do is to lay down under a tree & look up through the leaves at the sky. I forget how a simple thing can make me feel so peaceful and loved. Then I looked around at my children & husband and, really truly, felt that no one on this earth could be richer.

Sin City

2011-05-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we got to go on a belated anniversary vacation! Friday, we dropped the kids off at Jeff & Keeley's in St. George (have I mentioned how much I love being close to the St. George Hamiltons? :) and headed down south.

I enjoyed the drive. Jason & I have been reading the book Heaven is for Real. It's a true story about a little boy who went to heaven and saw Jesus - among a myriad of other amazing people and things. Quite a neat/interesting/amazing book to read/discuss with your sweetheart. We also read some of the Duggar family book.

We got to Vegas around 6:30 & checked in. We were basically starving by then & we had heard from a number of people that the Rio Buffet was excellent. It took a while to get in, but it really was great! Wow! Made me wish at the time that I had 3 stomachs. There was food from all over the world - and the dessert bar... wow. Jason ate like a 2-foot-tall pile of crab legs. Which is good for him because he would never get me to make anything like that! Afterwards we walked the strip & saw the Bellagio water show & the Treasure Island show.

Saturday we slept in (one of our FAVORITE parts of vacations!), ate the bruch buffet at Circus Circus & had fun riding rides at the Adventuredome. Afterwards, we walked around & through Cesars Palace & then back to Treasure Island for a quick pizza dinner and the Mystere Cirque Du Soleil (wow. I wonder if ANYone can type that without looking up how to spell it first) show. The show was - well, amazing. We'd never been to a show like that - comedy, acrobatics, music, gymnastics, lights, effects. It was really awesome. I wish I could have been at the table where they thought up some of that stuff.... "I know! At the end, let's have this gigantic inflatable tie-dyed snail! That would be sweeeet!" LOL! Sorry if I ruined it for anyone who hasn't seen it. It really is awesome though. We trekked back to our hotel, but Jason said he'd never been in the Stratosphere, so we went a bit farther & took the elevator to the top. If you go, just be aware that it DOES cost money just to go up there. $13/person. I gawked at the price, but we had walked all the way there & Jason had never been to the top. It was really neat. Back in my crazy college days, me & my roommate & a couple other friends drove to Vegas on a whim. We rode the Big Shot(a ride that shoots you straight up & back down) twice. It is terrifying. Now they have 3 new rides (OK - new from 1997) - one that shoots you over the edge & pulls you back, one that basically swings you over the edge, and one where you JUMP OVER THE EDGE. I am talking 108 stories up. Craziness. Let's just say that I'm not terrified of heights, but not too fond of them either. I was already feeling a bit sick to my stomach just looking out over the glass. But intentionally going off the edge... well, I just don't think so.

Sunday we took off (checking out was a madhouse!) & on our drive home, we finished reading our book. About heaven & Jesus and angels. What a contrast. I had such a wonderful time being with my husband. The environment, however, was not so wonderful. I don't know if its because I have become a parent since the last time I was there - or if it really has gotten worse (they are really working the Sin City/What happens in Vegas theme...), but sometimes it was hard to really enjoy things because everywhere I looked there was pornography. I mean - everywhere. I couldn't look up - there were billboards & hotel signs, I definitely couldn't look down - hard porn pamphlets littered the ground. And looking straight ahead wasn't a safe bet, either - the way people were dressed... wow. I hate to say it, but all that filth did kind of put a damper on our weekend away. Just too much junk. It just weighed me down. I felt like I was staying in the "Great & Spacious Building." I know it sounds funny, but it's true.

Still - we had a great time just being together & celebrating 11 years. Just the extra sleep was worth the trip! :) Here's some pics from the weekend.

World Buffet at the Rio - Jason enjoying his crab legs!

Our hotel

TI's pirate show

Adventuredome fun!...

Hmm - waaay too much food.

Water Show at the Bellagio- pretty cool!

Circus Show

Cesar's Palace

Mystere

Top of the Stratosphere Tower

Crazy people ride

Random

2011-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

It seems like I've only been posting events lately & not taking time to write some of my thoughts & feelings. For what they're worth, here's some thought nuggets that have been banging around my brain lately:

-Cedar. I am still REALLY loving living here. I drove to my good friend's (Lena) house a couple weeks ago & drove over the mountain, past Duck Creek Village & down 89. I mean, I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road. It's SO beautiful up there! Anyone want to buy me a cabin up there?? Pleeeeease?

-Weather. Well, darn it. It must be spring in Utah. Last week, my girls were running through the sprinklers with their swim suits on & today we have to wear warm jackets. Our closets are bursting with both winter & summer clothes. Can't wait till it decides to be warm for good! (course then it will be hot & I might just complain about that ;)

-Routines. It took a while after all our trips in April, but I think we finally settled down to where the girls aren't fighting their morning chores as much and are acting better in homeschooling. We have a pretty good system where we have FHE on Mondays, Tuesdays are playgroups at the church, Wednesday is picnic in the park with daddy, and Fridays are Friday Fun Days, where we go to playgroup & usually another "field trip" somewhere. We've been to the park a lot lately.

-Camping. I can't say exactly why - maybe it's because we didn't hardly go camping at all last year - but I am REALLY craving some time in the mountains. And guess what? We bought a camping trailer! I'm so excited. I am really looking forward to a lot of camping trips this summer. Who's game?

-Buying/Building. After we got the trailer, this has REALLY been on our minds lately. We have walked through probably 10 houses. We have driven to see dozens and dozens of lots. It's getting a little stressful because we have this house on a 6 month lease and we've already been here for 2+ months (wow - really?). If we're going to build, we're a little behind the game here. But anyone can tell you that we don't make decisions quickly - and especially something of this magnitude and importance. We really want to be where the Lord wants us. We just need to figure out where that might be - Hamilton Fort, Cedar, Enoch, Summit, Parowan? We have started looking at home plans & my mind gets boggled by all the options and things to consider, but it is exciting to think of all the things we've been wanting to incorporate in a future house.

-McKinley's schooling. This is also still a decision that is very much in our minds and prayers. At this point in time, I am leaning more toward homeschooling. I'm not going to list all the reasons right here, but I'm sure I'll do a post in the future once we've decided for sure. I'm also trying to decide how much homeschooling we'll do in the summer.

-Summer Plans. I'm looking forward to this summer. This weekend we are going to Vegas for our anniversary weekend. We're planning on heading North for Memorial & going camping with family. A race in June. 4th of July in Richfield, Ireland's 4th Birthday, Potts Family Reunion in August, and another race. And in between - swimming lessons, camping, hiking, and exploring. I'm very much looking forward to this summer!

-Girls growing up. Lately it seems I've been able to get outside of the moment-to-moment enough to really see my girls growing up. McKinley's hair has been getting so long. I catch glimpses of her & just can't help but see what a beautiful girl she is - on the outside & inside. She still is our never-ending question-asker, but I try to be patient and explain things minus all the exasperated sighs :) Ireland... almost four years old. The past 2 days with her have felt like a dream. Don't know what has happened, but she has done her chores without complaining - folded an entire basket of towels this morning and put them all away. She'll say I love you out of the blue and is always there when I'm cooking something so she can help. I'm sure we're not completely done with tantrums and throwing fits, but I think we might be getting closer! Kezia - wow. She really is a little girl. She's starting to put words together - make sentences. She's also started to be picky with what she wants & she can express it now enough for us to understand - but now she is having a hard time learning that even though we know what she wants, she can't always have it :( It's a difficult thing to learn. She is sucking in so much from her sisters.

11 and counting!

2011-05-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful this morning. Thankful for the beautiful sunshine (we've missed it over the past few days!). Thankful for my girls not fighting me on their morning chores.

And today, I'm so, so thankful for my husband. Today we celebrate 11 years of marriage. This morning we watched our wedding video. Have I mentioned that we got married in the Salt Lake Temple at 7:40 in the morning? 7:40 A.M!! Can I just take a moment here & THANK all the people who showed up at 7am in the morning for our marriage? Seriously. I am looking at the video, thinking, wow - these people must really have loved us. I mean, I am lucky to be dressed by 7am, let alone be somewhere & ready for pictures - let alone get my children ready. And an especial shout-out to my sister & sister-in-laws with babies to bring. My youngest niece was only 2 months old at the time! Keeley - you are an angel to have been up with Camri the night before & then to the temple at 7am. If my sister told me she was getting married that early and I had to get myself and my children ready & to the temple by 7am, I MIGHT just have laughed in her face. Hmmm - apparently, we were a bit desperate! ;)

Love you people that were there.

And love the ones that were there that are no longer here.

As for my hubby, I loved watching his face in the video. So handsome. So loving. So eager. I glance over at him now & wonder where the time has gone, but realize that I had no idea really what love was at that point. And 10 years from now, I'm sure I'll look back & think the same thing about us right now, but the point is, that I am looking forward to that. To growing old with this man. To the laughing, the loving, the changes, the children, the love.

So - here's to you babe. And all the people loving & supporting us these past 11 years.

LOVE YOU!!

To my mom:

2011-05-07T10:27:00.001-07:00

I love you. And thank you. Forever.

April Newsletter

2011-05-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Whew! Could April have been any busier? Not sure it's possible... :)

Family Fun: Included looking at homes, land, and trailers to buy, watching general conference as a family (and having a girls night with popcorn and nail-painting while daddy went to priesthood session), Salt Lake fun with cousins, aunts, and grandparents, Cindy & Mike's ring ceremony, San Diego & Disneyland for a week (see this post for details), Salt Lake again for Heidi's 1/2 marathon with Chelsea, celebrating Dave's birthday at our home with the Devenish's & Hamiltons, yummy pre-Easter meal at the Hamiltons, opening "Resurrection eggs" 2 weeks until Easter, fun Easter egg hunting, easter baskets & new dresses, having the Bealers over for dinner, going to the temple (THANKS Keeley & Camri for watching the girls! :)

JASON: Jason continues to enjoy his new job & is learning a lot! He even got certified with CPR & they gave him a work cell phone. He was really close to going on furlough the day we left for Disneyland, but Congress approved a budget at the last minute. . Jason enjoyed his first vacation to Disneyland – he loved to go on rides with McKinley & loved to see how the girls lit up when they saw the characters. He also had fun on the big Screamin’ roller coaster ride he could go on with Heidi. And he liked the Bug’s Life 4D movie. Jason got called to be the Elder’s Quorum Secretary at the end of the month & is looking forward to that calling.

HEIDI: It was a lot of work with all the packing, unpacking, laundry and cleaning to basically be gone for 2 weeks, but it was all worth it. So many wonderful memories. So great to be near family that we hadn’t seen in a month. She had a fun time shopping with Trisha at Kohl’s & Target while they were in SL (thanks mom for watching the girls!) Heidi’s also really enjoyed being closer to the St. George Hamiltons. Keeley & Jeff are so great to have us over – seems like we’re there every week! Heidi enjoyed the ½ marathon and is looking at doing a triathlon and maybe another race this year. Heidi also has enjoyed meeting the activity day girls & McKinley, Ireland & Kezia have enjoyed coming to the activities as well! Heidi still goes to the ward playgroup 1-2x a week and enjoys visiting with the other moms J

McKINLEY:

- When we went to Salt Lake for Cindy’s ring ceremony, McKinley snuck into the back of Cindy’s van. Cindy didn’t know till she was at the turning light that McKinley was back there. We had quite a talk that night with McKinley about trust.

-McKinley earned her Leapster from doing her chores on Handipoints – just in time for us to leave to Disneyland! She has enjoyed learning games on it.

-McKinley wanted to go swimming the SECOND we got to San Diego & didn’t stop asking about it for 2 days until we could go to the beach & pool.

-McKinley says her favorite ride at Disneyland was the Dumbo ride. She really loved the beach, too – and loved to be near her cousins. And, of course, she loved meeting all the princesses & dressing up. When she was Belle, she got so many comments about how beautiful she was.

-One day McKinley was throwing her purse in the air & catching it. She said “I’m a genius!”

-McKinley said that when she gets to be a mom that she would get 2 dogs and she would name one Tundra and one Sydney to remember her dogs growing up. And then she said that they would have puppies, but they would have to get married first.

-One afternoon, mom was watching a documentary on God in nature and it was quoting scripture & talking about the power of a storm. McKinley said “Wow, Mom – Satan should read the scriptures.”

-Just before bed on the 19^th, daddy pulled McKinley’s top front right tooth out! It was pretty wiggly. It bled a little, but a new little tooth was already popping through. She got a dollar from the tooth fairy! And she’s still waiting for that other wiggly front tooth to fall out!

-McKinley is pretty good at sounding out words when she writes things, but she also likes to spell them right, so she asks mom sometimes how to spell something. One time she said “Mom – how do you spell OK?”

-McKinley got quite a collection of quarters from the Easter Bunny eggs this year. She was counting her stack & said “Mom – does the Easter Bunny know about tithing?”

-Then, later, she was counting all her money in her room. She came out while mom was reading to Ireland & Kezi. She said “Mom – I’ll entertain these girls. Will you please go in my room and see if I’m rich?”

-McKinley’s homeschool was a little lacking this month with all the traveling, but she still managed to memorize Alma 26:1 – and we learned about Aphids for our character quality. She continues to do really well with reading. She knows a lot of sight words. Her challenge is that she is tired of sounding things out, so she tries to just sight-word-read & ends up looking at the word “grill” and saying “girl.” Mom has to constantly remind her to slow down & look carefully at words.

-McKinley continues to make friends & enjoys playing with Addison & loves playing with Parker at play group.

-On Friday fun day at the end of the month mom asked what McKinley wanted to do. She thought for a minute & then said “Drive to Disneyland!!”

IRELAND:

-Ireland was almost as excited to see her friend Sienna Benson as to see her cousins and grandma & grandpa. She sure loves playing with Sienna. She was happy to see Joshua, too, and it took almost 30 minutes before they fought over something!! J

-Ireland wasn’t sharing too well at Grandma’s & mom told her she needed to share. She said “NO! Everybody just has to share with ME!!”

-On our way to Disneyland, Ireland saw the Excalibur castle & got excited. She said “LOOK Mom! It’s the temple!”

-Ireland really had a good time at Disneyland. She really loved all the Characters and would hardly eat because she’d be looking for them coming. She loved the rides, too, but was a bit scared on the Pirates of the Carribbean and the Bugs Life 4D show.

-Ireland LOVED swimming at the San Diego hotel, but the pool was just too chilly. She kept getting in, teeth chattering, hopping out, getting her coat on, getting warmed up, and hopping back in. this happened about 4 times before she finally stayed out!

-One night, Ireland put her head on the pillow and with a sigh said “Mom – Jesus loves me.” It’s moments like those that are truly treasures in a mother’s heart.

-One night, Ireland was having a really hard time & was crying & Mom blew her nose & went to throw away the tissue & Ireland launched into another fit, screaming “You took my germs!”

-Ireland was not doing what we asked & mom said “I’m the mom!” and Ireland said “But I’m the Ireland!!”

-We were talking about the country that Ireland is named after. She likes to look at pictures online of “her country” and when we drive through new places she will say “Mom – is this my country?”

-One night driving home from a long day of looking at lots, Ireland was cranky. She was just crying & wailing & screaming that she wanted this or that. Out of nowhere she starts screaming “I want to go to the dentist!!”

-The previous entries make it sound like she’s always difficult, but really her worst moments are when she is tired. She’s really usually a good little girl. She recognizes most of the letters of the alphabet & now mom is teaching her what sounds they make & how to identify numbers. Ireland is a helper & is always the FIRST one ready for bed – the FIRST one ready to get out the door – the FIRST one to pop out of bed. She has so much life & energy in that tiny body. We sure love our Ireland!!

-Often when we ask what Ireland dreamt about, she’ll say “Sienna!”

KEZIA:

-Kezia is so expressive right now. She’s really learned a lot of words and can tell you now if she hurts or if she wants an apple or if she’s stinky. If you read her a book, she will point to almost everything on the page & say its name. She loves to try to sing A,B,Cs and when mommy is threatening time out & counting to 3, Kezia likes to join in.

-Kezia is able to start repeating after the prayer words. So cute!

-Mom was in the living room & couldn’t see Kezi, but heard her making noise in the kitchen. Mom said “Kezi – are you making a mess?” Kezi said “Yeah!” Seriously!

-Kezi loved to see her grandma & grandpa. It took her a minute to take it all in, but once she did, she was so excited & wanted to just cuddle with them.

-Kezia had fun at Disneyland. She wasn’t so sure about the Characters at the beginning. Her match, Sleeping Beauty, was a little frightening to her for some reason, but by the end, she was running up to them saying “hugs! Hugs!”

-She enjoyed the slow boat rides, but really didn’t like the rides or shows that puffed air or water at you. She also was a bit scared on Pirates of the Caribbean.

-Kezi did really well at Disneyland for being stuck in the stroller so much. She fought it, but by the second day she was pretty good about zonking out in the stroller. She would NOT wear her cute mouse ears, though L

-Kezi still has some disgusting infatuations. She still loves the toilet and we have to constantly watch her so she’s not into the toilet water or putting various things in the toilet.

-One day Kezi was playing outside with her sisters. Mom opened the door & she walked right in, holding a piece of dog poo in her hand. YUCK!!

-When we pick her up & hold her, she likes to put her head on our shoulder and put her arms down the front of her between us. It’s so cute.

-When we sign I love you to each other, she tries so hard to make the sign, but ends up just kind of scrunching her fingers together.

-She knows a lot of animals & the sounds they make. She loves to say “Cow! Mooooooo!”

-Kezi is having a hard time learning how to share. Her version of sharing is coming up to a child, taking the object from them and saying “SHARE!” And if anyone tries to take ANYthing from her, she says “MINE!!” Sigh… we’re working on it!

-Kezi sure loves the dog. She has even learned to take control when Sydney jumps up on her – she says “NO! and pushes her away.” One day the dogs were fighting/playing & Kezi was shouting to them “SHARE! SHARE!”

-Kezi went to the nursery for the first time this month. Her first time went pretty well, but we were just a couple minutes late picking her up & when she saw the other parents leaving with their kids, she started screaming. The next week was a bit more difficult, but after 3 times of going out & coming in, she stayed & was fine.

-Kezi also loves looking at pictures from the family. One of her favorite things to do is sit and watch mom’s screensaver & name all the people in the family. It’s so cute. She also loves to call family, but she has to see their picture on mom’s phone to talk to them.

-Her hair is getting so long we have to pull it back everyday just so she can see.

DISNEYLAND!

2011-04-26T15:53:00.001-07:00

Whew! We've been home for over a week now & I'm just barely getting to posting this.

That tells you. I've finally conquered Mt. Washmore & feeling like we've recovered - because it wasn't just Disneyland. First it was driving to my sister's wedding celebration/ring ceremony in Salt Lake. Then packing. Then a week of Sea World & Disneyland. Then back to Salt Lake for the SLC 1/2 marathon. Then back to Cedar. So... it was a busy couple of weeks there. But wonderful! Truly precious memories.

This post is about our trip to Disneyland. We'd been talking about wanting to go for a year or two, but never really found the money for it. This trip was really a gift from my aunt. I believe she would have wanted us to do it. And I've felt her and dreamt about her a lot the past week or so. I miss her.

We didn't tell the kids directly. McKinley knew we were going to go sometime, but didn't know when. When we got back from Salt Lake, I packed while Jason bathed the kids & entertained them so they wouldn't know. We were up till 1am packing that night.

The next morning (Friday, April 8) we woke the girls up & told them we were driving to where Disneyland was! They were excited. McKinley was especially excited that her cousins were going to be there & that we were going to the beach! The trip was actually pretty smooth. We got to San Diego in 8 hours & were able to check into the Bahia right on time & out to dinner with the Simons & Potts. We went to Luigi's, which has HUGE pizzas!

Saturday morning Dad & I went for an amazing run. Literally breathtaking. Wish I would have brought the camera. Boardwalk right by the ocean. Sigh... could someone please buy me a house by the beach? I mean - all I want is a house by the beach & a house in the mountains. Is that too much for a girl to ask? Afterwards we ate breakfast & headed to Sea World. So much to see & do! It was a lot of fun. The dolphin show was amazing. And the arctic wild was so neat. The shows were fun (though we never did get wet even though we were in the "soak zone")

Sunday was a beach day. The girls had actually never been to the beach (by the ocean), so it was a LOT of fun. A bit too chilly to REALLY get in & enjoy the ocean, but really nice - especially since we could just walk to the hotel pool when it got too cold. It was windy enough that we had fun with the kites, too. We had fun in the sun for about 4 hours before driving up to Anaheim. We checked into the Disneyland Hotel & they were good about changing rooms for us since we wanted one that was bigger with a space for Kezi to sleep. That night we went to good ol' Mcee-Dees for dinner.

Monday-Thursday was Disneyland and CA Adventures. Jason had never actually been to Disneyland, so this was a whole new world (cough, cough - sorry) for him, too! We got together with the Edwards, Potts, and/or Simons some of the time. It was neat to have family there. And it was fun to do some things just with our little family. Below is the slideshow & then some memories/lessons learned for our first family trip to Disneyland. All-in-all, I was say it was a smashing success. The girls are constantly asking when we can go back.

-Driving. I would say I maybe "overplanned" the driving part. I spent way too much money on stuff to keep the girls entertained (coloring books, magnetic toys, etc) when all they really did the whole time was sleep or watch the DVDs. Snacks were good, though. It was SO nice to have a van. Even with all our stuff we packed, we really didn't need to put any luggage or anything in the seat area. I used a laundry basket to fill with books, games, etc - along with snacks. It worked well to pass back & forth to McKinley who was in the back seat.

-San Diego. It really could be a vacation in and of itself. I wished we had more time here. It was so beautiful. And the beach was so close. Sea World was fun - especially the Sesame Street area for the kids. I was surprised at the security to get in. Everyone needed their own ticket with their name printed on it. And they were very strict about ride heights. The shows were packed, so you really had to get there early. And - even though I warned Jason - you still really have to prepare yourself if you're eating at the park (whether Sea World or Disneyland). Just don't think too much about how much you're paying for that hot dog & you'll be OK. We stayed at the Bahia right by the beach. It was an older hotel, but perfect location & we got a full kitchen, so I made french toast a couple mornings.

-Disneyland Hotel. You know, it was really neat. At night, you can flip a switch and the headboard above the beds light up with fiber optic fireworks and sings "A dream is a wish your heart makes." It's really cute. And it was fun to stay where they was the Disney flavor everywhere. The bummer was that it was under construction - and the pool was only half open. And no free breakfast. It was fun to stay there once - and I DEFINITELY want to stay in a place within walking distance to the resorts - but I don't think we'll stay there again.

-Disneyland. I think the time of year worked out well. We only waited 40 minutes tops for any ride and we really used those fast passes, which were super nice. The weather was great - 75-80. Our favorite rides were It's a Small World, Pirates of the Carribbean (I love how all the old rides have been updated to include the new movies), the Teacups, Space Mountain, and the Tiki room. We loved rides we could go on as a family - even Kezi. We also loved going to the Princess story time & coronation. It was fun to dance with the princesses. The fireworks show at night was AMAZING. Really. I bought the soundtrack to it because it was just so magical.

-California Adventure. Fun! It's nice that it's right across from Disneyland, because we really did go back & forth a lot. Our fave rides were the Buzz Lightyear Arcade (SO fun!), California Screamin' Coaster (Jason & I just went on this but it was a lot of fun - we went 2x in a row!), all the kid rides in Bugs Land - especially the cute catipillar ride, and the Tower of Terror was fun even though McKinley was too scared to go on it. Soarin' over California was really awesome, too. The rides weren't even the best parts, though. If you go, you HAVE to see the Aladdin show. Seriously amazing. The World of Color was breathtaking. We really enjoyed it, though it was sad that Ireland and McKinley had to go to the bathroom when there was only 10 minutes left. There is a lot of construction going on at California Adventure right now, so if you wait till 2012 to go, there is going to be a TON more things opening up - including a huge Cars movie area.

-Character Dining. I would highly recommend this if you are planning on seeing the characters. It is definitely expensive, but completely worth it. Rather than wait 30+ minutes to see them, they come right to you while you eat! And not only that, but they are able to really visit longer & dance & talk. Kezi was pretty unsure about them at first, but by the end, she was running up to them & saying "HUG! HUG!" It was so cute. The only drawback here is that your little ones spend more time watching for the characters than actually eating.

-Early entry. Yup...nope. Didn't make it either time. I just had to let go a little when it came to getting out the door in the morning. With 3 little girls and a sleepy husband, we never made it before 9:30. Good thing we had 4 days there so we could be more relaxed about it all.

-Girls ages. I'm glad we went now while the girls still are into all the princesses and fairies and magical things. McKinley could go on almost every ride but the Indiana Jones ride & the screamin' roller coaster at CA Adventure. Ireland wasn't even 40'' so there were quite a few rides she had to miss (which was sad because her cousin Joshua is 9 days younger than she is, and he could go on all the rides McKiney could), but she took it in stride & we did other fun things. Still... I think we'll wait till the girls are all at least 40'' before we go again.

-Family. What was great about this trip is that my family was around, but we didn't have to schedule every minute together. We could meet up here & there for rides or meals. McKinley especially loved having her cousins around.

-Sleeping in a hotel. I was honestly worried about it. We've had some nightmare hotel experiences in the past with babies up & crying & no one getting any sleep, but honestly it was great. We would roll in past 10 every night & the minute their little heads hit the pillows, they were completely out. Our room was nice, too because they had blackout blinds, so it was nice & dark & quiet in the mornings. Also - we "blanketed" off the section by the door for Kezi to sleep in, so we could be up & moving around & not bother her. She slept pretty good amazingly enough.

-Potty trips. If you do a trip like this, just mentally prepare yourself. I felt like we were stopping at bathrooms every 5 minutes. In the future, I will make everyone go to the bathroom at the same time - even if they don't need to.

-Nighttime. I bought these light spinner things at Walmart for a couple bucks. Best thing ever. Those light-up bubble-blower things were 12 bucks each! So- plan for the night life.

-Gear. Surprisingly, I wore flip-flops every day for 5 days & I was just fine! Jason wore his tennies & his feet were killing him by the last day. Go figure. Ponchos a must. I was glad I brought ours for the wet rides. It wasn't hot enough to really enjoy getting wet.

-Souvenirs. Dang, I forgot how expensive little things were. We dropped $100 at the hat store for heaven sakes. Wouldn't change it, though. They have these new ears that has the black hat base & then you can snap on different sets of ears to go with it - so McKinley has 2 sets of ears to go with her hat. And I love how the girls love showing of their embroidered names.