SterNikaIsabelle

Happy Valentine’s Day

2012-02-14T21:12:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s day.

In the late afternoon (yes some people, well everyone but Isabelle, were still in their pj’s) the kid opened their Valentine cards from my parents.

Sam was so proud to have his own little envelope to open.

So was Max. He was having a rough day and this perked him right up.

Belle picked out this outfit all by herself for the day.

We were going to have a nice little dinner at home and before lunch I did some of the prep work but I could quickly see that we just weren’t going to make it out to the store without a bunch of stress so we decided to go out to eat. We went to Genghis Grill which is a Mongolian BBQ type place and Isabelle has been wanting to go there ever since we went with Leslee and Summer in August when they were here. It was low key, and a guy there gave us an even better coupon than we already had and then the manager brought by a little gift card for our next visit as their little Valentine present so it worked out quite nicely. Then we stopped at the dollar store on the way home and they each picked a balloon.

At home we dipped some strawberries in chocolate for dessert and that was enjoyed by all. Sam loves his strawberries. When he sees them he gets so excited and says, “strawbeeee!”

It was a fun evening and we all had a very nice time. Isabelle kept saying that it was her favorite Valentine’s day ever. I had to agree. The kids excitement makes everything so much more fun.

Things Max said tonight:
”Can you chocolate me up one of those strawberries?” as he bellies up to the counter.

“Why are they doing that, they should be using a shovel!” as he watches Biggest Loser (will make sense to Leslee and Mom) since a nap and chocolate make bedtime hard for him.

“Look at the bloody brute! as he looked in the oven at the red velvet cake cooking.” At least he knew it was red

When we pulled up to the restaurant I was reminding him how we should behave at the restaurant and Isabelle said "like no talking about shooting Max." Then Sam's eyes light up and he points his finger at Sterling and says "shoot, shoot".

Happy valentines day.

Winter in Arizona

2012-02-13T21:26:00.001-08:00

Not a big variety of pictures from the last week but we have been busy. First of all, everyone has been sick with various illnesses from Monday through Friday but things seem better now. We still had fun going to the park to play and spending a lot of time outside. Last week was especially warm and pleasant.

On Thursday I just decided I was sick of our backyard being overgrown so I did something about it. Whipped out the weed eater, much to the delight of Max, and took it on. Our lawn mower hasn’t worked since we moved so I just took this thing to the lawn to get the job done and it was a big improvement and a good workout for the core. Apparently Max was wearing his foot pajamas this day instead of the other option of only underpants.

The next day I thought we should take on the lawn mower. First we fixed the pull string which was broken. That wasn’t bad at all except for the little hot dog Sam who thought it was hilarious to pull the handle and run away while I was trying thread it onto the spool. Next while I was trying to figure out why it wouldn’t start the boys were all over it. Every time I looked up Sam had a different tool and was poking at the mower, then he would shake his head and trot back to the tool box for another tool.

Max’s preschool teachers always comment how great it is that I let him dress himself and keep his shirt on backwards if that’s how he wants it. I say if he is going to dress himself I am not going to squelch that spirit. I do always ask him if he wants help turning it around but he says that’s how he likes it.

We have to spend a long time talking about the different parts of any machine with Max, as I think my parents know well. This is where the gas goes, this is where the air goes in, this is where the oil goes, etc, etc.

Sam can get up on all the beds by himself which is fine with me now that he finally can get down safely too. The other day I came in to find him hauling up the giant hardcover book of scriptures and tucking himself into read it. I felt bad for him and gave him this little house on the prairie book instead. A little easier to manage. Poor guy has been having a rough week feeling so sick for so long.

Saturday Sterling joined in the yard work fun and we spent most of the day working outside. My how the housework suffers when that happens. Our carpet padding also got fixed that morning so the kids and I cruised through some garage sales while Sterling supervised. The workers were speaking Spanish and Sterling said they were chuckling and saying “son bien preparados (they are well prepared),” when they were moving our food storage boxes from under the beds.

That night Belle got to stay up a little later to watch a basketball game with us and make some cookies for Sterling’s church lesson. She loves to watch basketball with Daddy and doesn’t like it when our team loses. She actually is getting a pretty good understanding about how things work and likes to keep an eye on the scores.

At church on Sunday they moved me from teaching the four year olds (Belle’s class) to the primary presidency. I hadn’t told Belle and in Sacrament meeting she said, “oh I think you have two callings now” and I told her I wouldn’t be her teacher anymore and she said “okay” and then hunched over her coloring book and tried to be brave but she was over there sniffling with big tears for about 10 minutes. Poor thing, of course secretly I was pleased that she liked me as her teacher so much and gave her a nice big snuggle. I liked teaching her too because she is a very attentive student.

Max gave his first talk at church and Sterling gave him some prompts and he did very well and was very pleased and confident to be talking in the microphone. Sterling had the task of putting Sam in his nursery for his big 18-month birthday. He wasn’t pleased at first even with Sterling in there, he tries to be brave, but he prefers his Mommy and Daddy. For his second try a little while later he did just fine. We will see about next week when he catches on. They said he stayed on the toy horse for a long time, but then they realized that maybe he couldn’t get off and that’s why.

The big helpers made us some tasty peanut butter blossom cookies for a treat. They are quite good helpers, with a little managing.

Everyone cried when Sterling had to go back to work today. Okay, I held it together, and so did Isabelle and Max, but Sam was quite distraught. He loves his Daddy. We are always sad to see Monday come. Isabelle was begging him to stay home and work.

Sam woke up early from his afternoon nap today and so we headed out for some adventure. I wanted to see if Isabelle could ride her bike without training wheels in the wide open so we just headed on up the street. At first I had to push her to get her started and the steering was a bit wobbly and crazy but with some encouragement she kept trying. We went to the cul-de-sac on our street and she really got going. After about 10 minutes she was pretty steady and could start herself. I am so proud of my big brave girl. This other boy came out with his grandma. He was and learning to ride he bike. I think he was secretly impressed that Isabelle was only 4 and riding her bike, but he made sure we knew that his bike was bigger and had gears so that made it harder. They had a good time out there and didn’t crash in each other despite the picture below. When we came home that night she had a good soak in the tub to soothe all her battle wounds. It’s a good thing she is such a tough puppy.

Then we rode up to the park just to make sure everyone was good and worn out.

You probably can’t tell from this picture, but a few weeks ago Max noticed his helmet was falling apart and quite on his own he went out to the garage, got the duct tape, got the kid scissors out of the drawer and fixed it right up on his own. I think my dad would be proud of that resourcefulness. Also, I was keeping an eye on him from a distance, in case you think he has free reign of the garage and scissors.

I was standing around fiddling with our little camera and checking out the settings while I watched the kids and Sam took my hand and said “Mommy, come, up” and took me up to the slide and pointed for me to go on the one next to him.

I love the evening sky here. Sometimes a few clouds come in and they are all purple and grey with the palm trees blowing in the breeze.

Sam and his handful of rocks that he carefully picked out and carried up to the top with him. Such a boy. He likes to say “ready, set, go” when he gets to the top of the slide.

There are so many picture of Sam since I have to be right by him all the time, plus the other ones are too fast. Its not that I don’t like them just as much.

Why I like our jogging stroller so much. I can stack both kids’ bikes on it when they need to take off on a “mountain climbing” adventure. Sam is a good sport as always.

Weekend

2012-02-06T20:59:00.001-08:00

On Friday night we went to In-N-Out for dinner. When I picked the kids up from preschool Max was asking for some “in and out burgers” all matter of factly like that is what we normally eat along side our noodles and sandwiches for lunch. Isabelle had been wanting to go to 5 guys but the Phoenix Open was going on only a few miles from our house and 5 guys is closer to that so we figured it would be crowded. We had to stop and get a few things first so we got her some peanuts to eat while she waited since that is what she really likes about 5 guys. She was quite pleased with that! Belle is a fun girl because she appreciates little things like that when we do them for her.

While we were waiting for our food we looked around and noticed there were A LOT of senior citizens there. It is Scottsdale in the winter so its not that unusual, but we were the only people under 60 for quite awhile, then the younger crowd rolled in a bit later. The couple at the table across from us was drinking little bottles of milk with their hamburgers. To each his own I guess.

Saturday around lunchtime we went to a birthday party at a park

That night we went to what the kids were really looking forward to, Alan and Lindsay’s house. Alan made a fire and we cooked hotdogs and had all sorts of tasty things.

Here is Lindsay serving us her birthday cake, after we all stood around and watched her make it. Not very helpful of us was it…? It was so very good, all homemade with chocolate caramel ganache.

Sunday afternoon we went to Seth and Mandi’s house to watch the superbowl. I mostly just wandered around and ate and made sure Sammy didn’t get ahold of too many guitars and the like. Isabelle enjoyed some dressing up and dancing.

This morning we had to detox from all the sugar, fat and lack of sleep. I knew it would be rough but we plowed ahead. Sam doesn’t seem to be feeling very well today but he was so cute. He kept wanting me to give him a lemon off the counter and then he went and started to get the juicer out. He wasn’t satisfied until we had juiced some lemons, then oranges, then grapefruits. One of the many perks of Arizona in the winter. Besides the citrus growing EVERYWHERE, the weather here is better than I could have ever imagined.

This afternoon I took the training wheels off of Isabelle’s old bike so she could learn to ride it. The tires were pretty flat and we don’t have a pump because a bunny chewed it up in our storage closet when we were living in the condo, something the kids will never forget, but all she needs is a big push and she can go quite a ways.

She has never asked to ride in the baby swing but today she was looking at it longingly and saying she wished she wasn’t so big so she could go in it and I told her she could. She was sooooo happy.

Max had a good time causing mischief. She told him he could spray her and he said “no I can’t, mommy says if I spray people with my spray bottle I have to go to timeout” So he does hear me! I was proud of his self control, but I told him that he could spray her if she said it was okay.

Sam loves to get out Isabelle’s little computer and put it in this same spot every time and do his work. Pardon the dirty looking fireplace. That’s on the list of things to spruce up.

What a busy weekend. Not even time for a project. Luckily Max and I had been working hard every afternoon on organizing the garage so we could feel okay about that. Sometimes Sam helped too and one of their favorite things to do was to run over to the orange tree on the edge of our yard and bring me back oranges to peel for them. Sterling got to come home early on Friday and so he finished the heavy lifting. Its so nice to come home and admire it and pull the cars right in!

House Tour Continued

2012-02-02T21:14:00.001-08:00

Here is the master bedroom before we moved in:

Here is its very inexpensive make over:

First of all it was painted a nice light brownish gray by my Grandpa when we first moved in. It’s a big room and it was so nice of him to paint it for us (along with several other rooms)

Then it went to this, slowly, using the same bedding, upholstered headboard, lamps and side tables that we had. One day while I was trying to decide what colors to put in there I was looking through some scrapbook papers and decided to just use a few of my favorites to base the color scheme on. I framed those pieces with these frames that used to have other pictures in them. For the curtains, the kids and I wandered over to Joanne’s one afternoon with our scrapbook paper in hand to find something for the curtains. The windows are small so I decided to try for the one panel on each window since there are blinds on the windows and trees right outside for shade. The money saving good fortune continued when we were at Lowes for our weekly Saturday shop and I went to get the curtain rods that I knew I wanted (we had used the same ones in our old) and lo and behold they were on clearance along with the ring clips. There were just enough rods and clips for our project!

One afternoon we covered a bunch of pillow forms we had with some fabric from our supply. When I say we I mean me and and 3 little helpers so it was a quick job. Luckily I remembered a great demonstration by a friend back in NC at a craft day on how to make the removable covers so it went fast. I also discovered an easy way to make the little round bolster pillows, I think they are called, by using rolled up pillow form because that it what we had handy.

One day we were at target and we happened upon this thinner quilt that was 75% off. It matched perfectly and is nice and thin, perfect for the summers here.

There are a few more touches to add to the room but I am glad to have it in a more finished state than it was and for very little money spent.

End of January

2012-02-02T20:46:00.001-08:00

Things are pretty much just business as usual are here. Trying to keep things under control and having all sorts of fun and adventures.

Sterling’s friend from work went back to Mexico for the weekend and brought him back his favorite corner store treat from him mission. Sterling had been telling him about how these were his favorite and he brought him back two packs. They are like little hostess cupcakes but somehow much tastier. He was kind enough to share some for our family night treat. Just what underwear man needs before bed, a chocolate cupcake with extra sugar.

I love Sam’s face in this picture.

Belle practicing her sewing.

Max working on his painting since Sam was napping.

We really enjoy our backyard. A lot of times its just an extension of the indoors and is nice and quiet and private.

We moved Max’s new bed in which was just an inexpensive frame from Ikea that Sterling stained to match the rest of the room. He looks really happy about it. We picked it since it was nice and low to the ground since he is a bit of a wild sleeper.

This is where Sterling works. It’s a pretty nice view. The kids wished it was warm enough to play in the fountain. Soon enough…

Isabelle is always checking out the cereal boxes for something to do. She was really excited when we finished this box and they could set up their paper football game.

Relaxing after a hard afternoon of yard work on Saturday.

This helps Max relax a little at bedtime.

This Week

2012-01-22T20:57:00.001-08:00

There isn’t too much to report on this last week.

Over the weekend we tried to tackle a few projects, got some exercise, Alan and Lindsay came over for dinner and we gave talks at church. Monday Sterling had the day off of work. This was the time he has had a holiday in January since he finished school. It is usually right during tax time for him but with his new job his busy times are different. That day we went to Lowes to ask them why our carpet felt so hard and uneven when we got top of the line stuff. Apparently they had someone come in with the same issue just a few days before and the batch of pad was manufactured incorrectly, blah, blah, blah, so now they will be redoing the whole job. It was nice to know that I am not crazy because I really felt like some areas of the house were not as squishy as others and I thought it should feel softer. No one seemed to believe me until Sterling was playing with the kids in the living room a few weeks ago and realized that each half of the room was done in a different pad. I still think its suspicious that the installers didn’t notice anything wrong when they put it in.

Our master shower is very close to being put back together, but luckily that is not a project we are doing ourselves.

Sam got sick this week also. On Sunday night he woke up at 11pm with a very croupy cough and struggling to breath and a fever. His usual introduction to a long night of croup. Luckily his Doctor had given us the steroid to have on hand and we enticed him to take a full dose along with his ibuprofen. It did involve giving him a whole bag of frosted animal cookies to reach his hand. He really improved in the next few hours and in the morning he just had a bad cold. I think his respiratory system must really be maturing.

Okay enough rambling:

We also picked a bunch of oranges at our neighbor’s house and made a bunch of teriyaki sauce and orange chicken sauce for the freezer since they both use a lot of oranges.

Isabelle is a very good coupon clipper. She is very thorough and tidy. She did tell Sterling that she didn’t get any lunch because she had to finish cutting the coupons. I did offer her lunch several times but she kept saying she wanted to finish first.

Meanwhile Max was making some orange juice in his underwear. What’s new. Luckily Sam was sleeping or who knows what else would have been going on.

Master Closet

2012-01-22T20:34:00.001-08:00

On with the house tour…

The master closet is nice and big but stuff was just being tossed in and didn’t feel like it had a place.

Before we moved in we painted the whole inside (except the ceiling) in the same off the shelf white semi-gloss that we are using for all the trim and closets in the house. It helped a lot. Some of the trim was still wood colored and some was white. We left the bars wood toned.

Hard to see but all our folded clothes were piled on the shelves to the left. They didn’t look tidy at all.

We (maybe I) decided that a nice white dresser would fit perfectly were the previous owner had removed his large gun safe since that side was missing the lower rack anyway.

First we found one at Ikea that was a perfect fit but it was $180 or so. Then we let it sit in our garage while we thought about it. I felt like we could do better so one Saturday morning we went around some garage sales and then over to Goodwill since it was 50% off Saturday. Yes its true, everything is 50% off every other Saturday! That is where we found this beauty. Sterling was suspicious of it but it was only $35 since it was on sale and it was pretty sturdy and spacious inside. I promised it would make it much better.

I this point I didn’t have my orbital sander so I had to do it all by hand, the worst part. I also fixed a few drawers that were a little less stable to open and close.

Of course I didn’t do it alone, I had my trusty helper.

And then is was on the the painting. The only was to really get the job done right is to do it at night so I don’t have too much extra help, if you know what I mean. I gave it a coat of primer and then a few coats of semi-gloss. Again, if you plan to seal the piece I would use flat and then a topcoat, but I wanted to just use what I had on hand. I tried to just do thin coats and give them plenty of time to dry. I enjoyed the painting part since I could just put on some Dave Ramsey show on my computer and listen to it.

It was so exciting to finally move it in and Sterling loved the final product too.

I also tidied up the closet and sorted through some of the boxes that were in there. I rounded up enough of these green storage bins we had laying around to give it a more cohesive look. Several are still empty so we will have room to move out our winter things when we need to in a few months.

I guess I could have straightened out the shoes a little for the picture, ooops. I love how organized the closet is now and how easy it is to keep it that way. It makes putting the laundry away fun now, which just ask my mom, has always been low on the list of favorite chores for me.

Hooray, a perfect fit!

Boys’ Room

2012-01-22T20:04:00.001-08:00

This is what the boys’ room looked like before we moved in. It was purple.

Before:

Before we moved in we repainted it lightish blue. We also took out about 50 nails and anchors and princess castles wallpapered around the room.

We also painted the closet white. I think its so nice to have a fresh white closet inside. The ceiling of the closet was even purple. Yuck! That was not fun to paint and took way too many coats.

A few weeks ago we put up some vinyl letters. Max is my number one helper with the “cutter machine” and insists on sitting right on my lap the whole time.

While I was putting these up Sam was in his crib just after his nap and I asked Max to give him a few stuffed animals to keep him happy. When I looked over the crib was full of animals and Max was in there too rolling around and entertaining Sam.

We made these quick and easy book ledges for the boys room. They only cost about $12 for the both of them and were fast to make. I had been looking at making something from the knock off wood website for years now and finally got around to it. They look a little more substantial in person.

We recently moved the changing table out because the boys were enjoying climbing it a little too much and moved their toys shelves that my dad made for our old playroom in. We made Sam a sign to match the one Leslee made for Max when he was a tiny baby.

I also sorted a lot of their toys into bins which makes the playtime chaos a lot more controlled since I am the one getting it out for them we don’t end up with all the toys on the floor at once with no one picking them up.

We still have several things left to do in this room.

Change out some of the plugs so they aren’t the dated beige look

Add a light blocking shade to pull down under the valance

Put the closet doors back on

Deal with the fact that Max is sleeping with a mattress on the floor (That’s on the current project list)

Get matching bedding for Sam for when the dreadful day comes that he needs a bed that is not a crib

Make a little mobile for each of their beds.

It’s a …

2012-01-15T21:02:00.001-08:00

Surprise….

We decided not to find out if this baby was a boy or a girl. A week ago we went to the 18 week ultrasound to see the baby. We will just have to wait and see what it is.

Desk

2012-01-12T06:41:00.001-08:00

At night, after the kids go to bed I often spend a few hours working on projects in the garage. I have refinished a dresser for our closet, made some book ledges for the boys’ room (with Sterling), repainted Belle’s book shelf and did this desk within the last month or so.

Here is the desk I bought at a garage sale across the street from our condo this summer from a house that was going up for forclosure. It is a nice solid wood desk that included a sturdy chair. I think Sterling was really happy for me to bring it back to the condo and stuff it in.

The finish had seen better days.

After a good sanding job and several coats of paint and a coat of polycrylic on the top it was in much better shape. I think its best to do thin coats of paint and sand between coats. If I were to make a recommendation for a paint type I would choose flat since you can just cover it with a coat of polycrylic or polyurethane. Flat is a lot easier to put on flawlessly For this project I used semi-gloss because I was using the same can of paint for the bookshelf too. I also used the brush on polycrylic but in retrospect I would have used the spray to get a smoother finish. I actually had the spray but exchanged it for the brush on because I only wanted to do the top and didn’t want overspray. I felt like it was hard to get the shine just right with the brush on.

Here it is in all its pink and green glory. The knobs are pretty wild, glass flowers in bright pink, but you can be sure that Isabelle is quite delighted with them.

I also ripped out all the staples and recovered the cushion. I have never done that before and it was a rewarding and fun way to pass the time while watching the GOP debate on Saturday night. I used the existing foam pad because it was in perfect shape, not dirty or stained and still nice and firm.

For the piping around the cushion I just sewed up a new cover for the piping that I had just taken off the cushion.

This was a pretty inexpensive project.

Costs:

desk and chair- $15

paint- $10

Knobs-$12.50 (I did have a hobby lobby gift card so that took care of this part)

Fabric for cushion- $6

Staples $.050

That comes to $44.00

We also purchased a staple gun for $12 at Lowes and I regret that I did not have one sooner in my life. So fun and fast to use. We have even used it again since the project.

I think this will be a fun place for Isabelle to work on her projects and puzzles during her quiet time.

Activities from this week

2012-01-12T06:10:00.001-08:00

The kids enjoying some painting on the patio. Usually January is so depressing and cold but living here makes it quite nice! I think the temperatures have been warmer than average but it was in the high 70s everyday last week I think. One of the funniest parts of my day is watching the kids play outside in the late afternoon. They usually start with something structured and then it goes from there. It is hilarious to listen to the three of them playing.

Thursday

Then Sam woke up from his nap and needed to give it a try. He sat there for about 10 minutes doing this. He wanted to try every color. I would ask what he wanted next and he would say “ummmm...” and point. He loves to say ummm.

Starting our seeds on Friday. I don’t have a picture but Sam was very dedicated to this project and would squeal and howl when I didn’t give him enough seeds in his hands. Some of them have already sprouted and I can tell which cups he did!

Nice relaxing Friday evening with two boys actually playing quietly

Saturday was spent finishing some projects, spending a long time at Lowes, and working on our garden boxes.

Sunday night Dennis, Martha, Alex, Seth, Mandi and Jack and Lilly came for dinner. The kids had a lively time, especially the two little boys! They were good and even Sam didn’t get into any trouble.

These guys were so funny, going crazy climbing cardboard boxes.

If Sam sees us moving anything around he gets really excited and runs over to help with sound effects and all.

Max all tucked into bed for the night with his assortment of treasures including a ball of yarn. It is so hard for him to relax sometimes. Don’t worry, we don’t really let him sleep with all that string.

Back to Normal

2012-01-04T20:19:00.001-08:00

We have spent the last few days getting things back to normal around here. Sterling took the visitors to the airport Tuesday morning and the kids and I spent the day cleaning, playing and Isabelle took her new bike for a ride up to the playground.

Today was a big day! Max had his first day of preschool. He was all casual about it and of course didn’t care when I left. A big change from last spring when I would try to leave him in his class at MOPS.

This is the look he wanted for his before school picture.

I took Sam to my 18 week checkup and I thought it would be easy with just one kid but he was terrified of everyone in the office and the only way he could manage was if I was holding him and even then he had to really try to be brave. The funny thing was that we went to the library right after and he was running all over the place and couldn’t care less where I was.

Max’s teachers were happy to have him in the class and they were impressed with how much time and focus he put into his shape dinosaur art project.

This afternoon we did some planning for the garden since its time to get it in. Max enjoyed roaming the backyard in his underpants since it was so warm. He two outfits of choice are underpants or feet pajamas.

And just for fun, some pictures of Belle’s I came across from a few months ago.

Visitors

2012-01-04T20:04:00.001-08:00

On Christmas day, at night, Grandma and Tommy came for a visit. We picked them up from the airport after we spent the afternoon having Christmas dinner with Dennis, Martha, Alex, Adele and Cathy. We had a little time after that so we stopped by the Mesa temple to see the Christmas lights on the way to the airport. I stayed in the car and talked on the phone to Leslee most of the time because Sam was having a little snooze in his car seat. Sterling and the kids had a lot of fun. The kids had a lot of energy the whole week due to the visitors.

Monday Sterling spent some time setting up all the new Christmas toys and coaching Isabelle and Max.

Isabelle had her clipboard to write down the plays.

We also went to In and Out for lunch and then went orange picking at someone’s house.

Enjoying their tiny rootbeers that came in their stockings.

Tuesday was our 8th anniversary. Sterling took the day off. We all went to Cabellas because my mom needed to return something there and its always a fun place to check out.

That night Sterling and I went and bought tile for our shower and went out to dinner at Maggianos. We had an excellent time and it was all so easy with just two adults.

The next day we stayed home and I wrangled Tom into helping me hang some shelves and bring in a bookshelf that I had repainted. I did some projects and my mom probably did laundry and they played with the kids. In the afternoon we took Grandma down to Gilbert to get her haircut and then she took us to PF Changs for dinner. It was enjoyed by all.

Max really likes the extra attention from Grandma.

On Wednesday Tom also jumped in the pool. It was cold!

Thursday we went to the Zoo. I didn’t take a camera but my mom probably has some pictures.

Saturday was our usual quiet New Year’s Eve at home. We had our usual appetizers and then banana splits at midnight. Isabelle had hers early and the boys were already in bed before that. My mom wasn’t feeling well and the boys weren’t too excited about playing and games so we did wii bowling and then watched TV.

My mom got her fill of laundry while she was here.

Max’s first day of the Sunbeam class at church. He was so cute in there! I think there are only 3 or 4 in his class so it’s a great situation. He has the teacher Belle had last year who is really great.

I am going to be Belle’s new teacher and I am really excited about that. It will be fun to watch her and Max in primary. I really enjoyed being in there with her when I used to play the piano.

That afternoon we enjoyed the wonderfully warm weather and took some walks and spent time outside. Its hard not to get carried away and think its already spring.

On Monday we met Heidi and Kenton for lunch by their hotel. They were in town with the family for the Fiesta Bowl. It was fun to catch up with them and the food was quite tasty. After that we stopped by Ikea, which was close to the restaurant, to make a return and buy Max’s bed that was out of stock last time we were there.

Sammy got ahold of an ice cream cone and looked like a cute little puppy licking it up.

I think that this was the last night they were here. Sam was awake late and was cracking us up with all the dancing and spinning he was doing. He got pretty spoiled with so much attention all the time.

We had a great week! What fun it is to have visitors. Thanks for coming.

Christmas

2011-12-26T21:23:00.001-08:00

Isabelle woke up delighted to find that Santa had visited. She checked the cookie plate first and saw the carrots and cookies were mostly gone.

She had a good time looking through her stocking while we waited for the boys. Max slept in a bit because he had been up so late thinking about Santa.

Max had a hard time believing that all of the stuff outside the stocking was his too.

I got a new lens that I had been admiring. I think you can tell the difference.

We didn’t open too many presents before we were all getting hungry. Sterling opened his new orange juicer so he tried it out for our breakfast. We all enjoyed it.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for church, going to church, and then having Christmas dinner with a few of my Grandma’s siblings. We had a good time visiting and very good food. Then we went and looked at the temple lights and then it was already time to go pick up Grandma and Tommy from the airport!

This morning we opened the rest of the presents and the kids had fun with their projects outside.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T21:03:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Christmas Eve at home with our little family.

First we lit our luminaries. They are a big deal in this neighborhood and it looks so pretty with the whole street lined up and down. Of course the whole family had to get in on the action.

Delivered our usual neighbor Christmas gift. An idea we saw on the little birdie secrets blog several years ago.

Delicious steak and potatoes dinner with grilled veggies and pineapple. So yummy.

Chatted with Sterling’s family.

And made some sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies for santa.

Belle went right to sleep but Max kept coming out. He is so into Santa. The night before he had asked if santa had a hard skeleton in his body. He asks questions about santa everyday. Eventually we got him to sleep.

Extras From December

2011-12-26T20:47:00.001-08:00

One day I made a lot of freezer meals. When all was said and done it ended up being about 25. Whew! It always makes life a lot easier to have something handy though.

We were rearranging some furniture and we put this mattress on top of the crib while we were vacuming. It was the fun play spot.

Isabelle was wearing this outfit and asked me if she looked sporty. That same night we went to some friends house for a little Christmas program. Belle got to perform one song all by herself and was very excited about that.

Isabelle helping me with a wood project in the garage. She was very meticulous about filling in the holes.

When Sam is cold he will climb up on the couch and pull this blanket over his legs.

Belle’s preschool had a little Christmas performance that we enjoyed going to along with a little pizza dinner afterwards.

Belle was acting out the nativity with her dolls.

The traditional gingerbread (graham cracker) houses.

Sam sat in his high chair and hooted for us to pass him candy.

Christmas Fun

2011-12-12T13:26:00.001-08:00

We got back from our Thanksgiving trip on Friday night, the day after Thanksgiving. The kids were excellent on the flights home and when we got to the airport Sterling ran ahead and got took the shuttle to get the car while we collected the bags. We parked at an offsite lot that was significantly cheaper than the airport but also a bit less secure. Luckily the little Mazda is not a hot item to anyone but us so it was in fine shape. We loaded in and were pleased to find the house all in one piece and that they pool was miraculously clear. Our leaking, half torn out shower hadn’t overflowed its bucket, so all in all we were quite pleased. It’s the little things. We had so much fun on our trip but it nice to be home and have all the flying done with. Sterling and Max even headed out that night for some black Friday shopping but not too much of what they were looking at was left. It was really fun for both of them Sterling said. They went to Walmart and Home Depot which are Max’s favorites and then came home and ate ice cream and watched basketball on TV. I think Max had a long nap on the plane ride. Quite the man’s night it sounds like. Belle, Sam and I decided to head to bed and let them have their fun.

The next day ran errands. One of which included going to Lowes because our fridge was $300 cheaper in the ad that week than when we had bought it, even though we got a great deal at the time. Sterling took his receipt to the customer service desk and they just credited him $300 back to the credit card! So impressive. We have plenty of uses for that money with this house of ours! We also got a Christmas tree, maybe our fastest choice ever, made even easier by the fact that Sam was sleeping in the car and came home and set it up in record time. Sterling had it sawed off and in the stand so fast I barely had time to lay down some plastic in the living room for it, let alone take a picture. In the afternoon it was naps for all the babies while Sterling put on the lights and I went out for groceries.

I got these nuts for the kids since I remember this tradition from my childhood and also Isabelle and I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie books at night (I read it out loud to her) and in one they were collecting nuts and she was wondering what they looked like.

Later that day we went over to the nearby shopping mall where Sterling’s work is because there was some Christmas fun going on. It is always really crowded over there on the weekends because there are all sorts of nice shops and restaurants and now that its winter even more so with all the snowbirds. Yes that is a guy wearing shorts behind Max. Heehee. So nice to get back to the warmth.

There were free carriage rides which is the real reason we came but we didn’t tell them til we got there incase it didn’t pan out.

There was also fake snow shooting out from the palm trees. That was Max’s favorite part.

A little tree decorating at night. The kids did most of the work. The tree smelled so good!

Yes Sammy has a headless nutcracker. Surprisingly enough he wasn’t the one who broke it. Actually, he is not nearly as destructive as Max was at that age, or maybe I am just used to it by now and can anticipate it.

Another day, but Sam cracks me up looking like a big big baby.

Making a little something to make the house smell festive. Max looks pained though.

The team assembling the Christmas Cards. If yours is a little less than uniform you will know why. I was glad to get that task over with. We sent out so many more than usual since we moved.

Checking out the toolbox while I hung pictures.

Sam helping with breakfast.

Lunch outside.

Checking out the spoils from a cookie exchange I went to the night before. Notice the tugging on the container.

Belle cracking us up at dinner with her hamburger wrapped up in a giant piece of lettuce. It looked like one of those turkey legs at the fair. She also likes to do her own hair nowadays.

Friday we did some crafts outside in the afternoon. First we went to the dollar store for some supplies in the morning. We got ornaments and some LED candles. Then we made the ornaments into a wreath, Belle actually did most of that herself. And we covered the candles in epsom salts to make them look like they had sparkly snow on them. The two older kids had a great time. Sam did too until he fell of a chair onto tile for the second time that week. Belle also made assorted paper crafts to decorate that mantel.

We also enjoyed a nice Christmas Dinner at our church a few weeks ago and last night Belle and I went to a Christmas Devotional at church that was beautifully done. The boys were in bed and dad held down the fort and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Philadelphia

2011-11-28T12:51:00.001-08:00

Last Monday Sterling and I rode the bus up to Philadelphia from DC. See below post about that. We had a good time seeing the sights and learning more about the history of our country. There are some many people who sacrificed so much to give us the freedoms and quality of life that we enjoyed today. It is sad how little many people understand this today. There aren’t a lot of pictures because our little camera was on its last leg, luckily it worked long enough for us to trade it in for a nice credit when we got back and get a new one for a great deal.

It was cold while we were there and rained most of the second day.

My mom had some good maps for us and tips since she has gone a few times recently. Here is what we did:

Got off the bus

Got lunch at Reading Terminal- so many delicious choices, we went back a few more times.

Walked over to get our tickets for tour of the signers hall etc.

Looked at Liberty Bell

Toured the Signers hall and surrounding building where it all happened.

Walked to hotel- we stayed in a nice Sheraton in the society hill area that was so pretty

Headed out to find a good Philly Cheeseteak on South street. Mission accomplished with the tastiest sandwhich I have ever eaten found at Steaks on South, in case you are ever there.

The next day we went to Christs church, where many of the founding fathers went to church

Elfreth’s alley, a historical street

Betsy Ross house but did not tour it because we didn’t know if we would have time

Went to the Benjamin Franklin printing press

Went to the US mint, very insteresting

Went to the Mason’s Temple and took a tour

Had lunch at the Reading Terminal again

Went to the US constitution museum

Looked at Benjamin Franklins gravesite

Got dinner at Reading Terminal and some ice cream, spending every last penny that we had brought with us.

Waited for bus.

It was so nice to be able to walk everywhere and see so much! So easy to do all of this without kids. I would not recommend taking kids to these places. I would do all of these things again in case you are ever there.

Sleeping lion statue at the old stock exchange I think it was. You don’t see sleeping lion statues very often.

Bus Ride to Philadelphia and Back

2011-11-28T12:49:00.001-08:00

While we were on our big trip to Virginia, Sterling and I went up to Philadelphia for two days to see the sites. We had originally planned to go to New York but then for a variety of reasons decided to scale it back. Sterling has been the Philly twice but I think he had forgotten a lot of stuff because it was back before he was the mature man that he is now.

Following our usual adventurous spirit when we travel, we opted for the bus from Chinatown again. That is what we did when we went to New York a few years ago. We were prepared for adventure because you have to be when you ride the Chinatown bus. After a packed and slow ride on the metro to the Gallery Place stop in DC we walked down the block to the Eastern travel agency to wait for the bus. It is always amusing to watch the other people who are riding the bus. Last time we left from there we saw a man getting arrested across the street for using the side of a building instead of a restroom I think. Nothing quite so exciting this time.

First of all, when the bus pulls up you must get right to the front of the line. We did that. We only had one backpack each and that was it so it was easy. Then they start shouting a whole bunch in Chinese and you aren’t really sure what is happening so you give them your ticket and climb on. If you are doing something wrong they will shout at you in English. That’s how you know to pay attention. We settled into our seat and after about 3 minutes the bus is roaring off.

To get us in the proper bus riding spirit Sterling started telling me some of the reviews he read online about this bus company. Many were less than favorable, so funny, and so unbelievable unless you have ridden the bus before. We were laughing so hard before anything funny even happened. Then the entertainment began. First of all, this man who appeared to be some sort of intellectual type bound for New York, wearing a fancy man scarf was sitting across the aisle and in front of us. He had already snuck a cup of coffee on which is not allowed so we were waiting for the fireworks to begin. Eventually he went back to use the bathroom. He came back up all agitated because the bathroom was locked. Then he and the driver started shouting at each other. No one ever talks in a civilized manner to the bus driver. I think it may be the language barrier. They are always shouting things like “unlock the bathroom” and “I want my money back.” The driver told the guy “No Bathroom, it full, I need to empty. We will be in Baltimore in 10 minutes.” The guy wasn’t happy with this. “You need to have a working bathroom” he shouts. “There is too much traffic you will not be in Baltimore in 10 minutes.” They should at each other for about 30 seconds. “Okay,” says the driver “I open it for you, but only pee pee, okay?” The guy was happy with this and went back there. 15 minutes later we stop in Baltimore. Said passenger is talking on his cell phone and driver notices that the contraband cup of Starbucks has spilled and is leaking out into the aisle. He is almost beside himself, people are walking off the bus for the break and he is moaning and groaning at the mess. He yells at the disobedient passenger about his coffee, the passenger could care less and keeps talking on his phone and then gets off the bus. We were already hiding in our seat and laughing when it really broke loose. The driver went back to check on the bathroom and didn’t like what he saw. He stormed up the aisle muttering and yells to the passenger “I say pee pee, you go poo poo.” he charged into the gas station to get a mop to clean up the coffee and every time he walked by the guy he says it again “I say pee pee, you go poo poo” The guy still doesn’t care and the driver cares a lot. Then he started adding on “too much coffee” and shaking his head. Every time he saw the guy after that he would say the same thing. I think its hard to translate on paper but being there it was so funny. After the journey resumed the guilty party moved a few rows back so he didn’t have to be harassed anymore, not that he seemed to care, he just kept on talking on his phone.

On the way back we had it planned out all perfectly. The bus was to leave at 6:30 and so we got there and got all lined up. It was cold and rainy. Everyone huddled in doorways to keep dry. Its not the best part of town but it felt fairly safe because it was bustling during the rush hour time. After 15 minutes of waiting we asked the worker where the bus was, its not coming until 8 he says. The thing is, there wasn’t really anywhere decent to go that was open, and if you leave, and the bus shows up, its only going to be there for about 2 minutes so you will miss it. We settled in on our poncho on the sidewalk and I have to say I hope I never have to sleep on the streets, because just sitting there for an hour and a half in the cold rain was uncomfortable enough. It wasn’t terrible though. We ate our dinner and then enjoyed watching people walking by on the sidewalk getting splashed by a huge puddle in the road whenever a car went through it fast enough. It wasn’t like mean laughing or anything, but just sympathetic. Or something like that.

Finally the bus comes, we jump on, of course there is all sorts of shouting and angry people. We are just enjoying ourselves. The only really crazy thing about the ride home, except the bus going 75 the whole way in the rain, was that a girl two rows in front of Sterling pulled a HUGE cat out of this little pet carrier. I thought I heard a cat noise and then Sterling said “there is seriously a cat two rows in front of us.” The girl had already been pretty loud and funny to watch so it was even better when she pulled out a cat. The cat was looking all worried, naturally, and clawing at the seat. Sterling kept saying, “if it comes back here I am going to punch it.” He doesn’t like cats too much. Now I know where Max gets his animal defense tactics from. When we stopped at my aunt and uncles in So. Cal. in September, Max sat on the couch holding a pillow and telling me, “If sugar (the little dog) comes over here I am going to throw this pillow at him.” I comforted Sterling by telling him about one of those "I survived” shows where a cat jumped from a high shelf in a book store and maimed a lady so bad she almost died. I think it made him feel a lot better. Finally the girl put the cat away and it only made a few noises. What was the driver doing, you might ask, since she was in the front row. Nothing, just focusing on driving as fast as possible. We decided that anything is probably allowed on the bus except “coffee” and “poo poo”

The moral of this story is if you are flexible and not too uptight about your traveling conditions you will be fine on the Chinatown bus. It is actually clean, since poo poo and coffee aren’t allowed and it mostly runs on time, except when traffic is very bad. Not everyone has as delightful of an experience as us though, so its up to you.

Thanksgiving Trip

2011-11-28T12:34:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Thanksgiving trip to my parents house. Since we have to fly now instead of just drive the 4 hours that it used to be the adventure started out early. The kids didn’t mind though. After a long day of traveling we made it. The kids were perfect on the plane and the people around us were impressed. We were just happy that we didn’t bug anyone.

Grandma braved the rush hour traffic across town since this airline didn’t fly into Dulles. How nice that we didn’t have to ride the metro with all of our bags, car seats and kids during rush hour. It took her an hour to get there with traffic but only about 25 minutes to get home.

There was a special belated birthday surprise waiting for Max.

Friday was our first whole day there. Sterling had to do some work so my mom and kids and I went over to the mall for a bit. Isabelle liked looking at the American Girl store. Max liked the escalator in there so it worked out well. Belle and Sam sat on Santa’s lap too since there was no line.

Grandma likes to park by the Bloomingdale’s entrance. When we were walking through Max said “look a scary monster wearing church clothes.”

The kids favorite place was the backyard

Saturday was Tom’s last football game playing for SVU. It was senior day and they announced all the records he had broken for the school and the league. He had a great game and played well despite being injured. The weather was so nice and the kids had a good time playing around in the grass.

Kelsey, Tom’s girlfriend, and my parents went out on the field with him.

No one cried or anything mushy like that, but it has been a LONG time of playing football and many games attended by my parents over the years.

Max posing with Tom’s souvenir from the team

Belle and Max were excited to each get their own hot chocolate. I got my traditional nachos.

Russell and Libby came up to the game and then on to DC to pick up her friend. It was fun to see them and have them spend the night.

Dinner out the celebrate afterwards. Thanks Mom and Dad. Sam had a great time sitting across from Wayne and laughing at whatever he did.

After sleeping most of the 3 hours home it was a late bedtime that night.

Wayne and Sam crack me up because they are both such big bruisers charging around.

Bad angle on the picture for me but here is a shot of the group

Sterling, Sam, Wayne and Russell

Snack outside. Max didn’t even come inside after church until it the day was almost over except maybe to use the bathroom.

Burning twigs with Grandpa

A walk through the woods to the little park that was torn up last time we were there. It was rebuilt to be much more kid friendly. The men took the kids to check it out.

Every morning Grandma would give the kids this little treat of marshmallows, chocolate chips and corn chex when they woke up. Yesterday morning Max came out to the kitchen and said, “I want some chocolate chips.” Sterling told him this wasn’t grandma’s house.

Sterling and I went to Philadelphia for two days. Grandma and Grandpa took good care of the kids. One day Grandpa even stayed home from work to play with them.

Thanksgiving morning. Grandpa brought out a saw for Max to use. Considering his love of tools this was probably the highlight of the trip for Max.

When we were leaving Max told me he wanted to stay. I asked him why and he said it was his “Special place” when I asked him what he liked to do there he said “play with Grandpa.”

Belle arranging the veggie tray. One of my favorite Thanksgiving jobs.

The delicious feast that Grandma made us.

What a fun trip that just flew by. It was so nice to go back East and get some real fall weather. I had definitely been missing the trees and we saw plenty while were there. I enjoyed a nice run through the park to soak it all in on Thanksgiving day. I think I have spent more time at my parent’s house over the past few years than I have spent here at our new house so it was nice to go back.. We well taken care of and had a great time. The trip back home was uneventful which is what we were aiming for.

Big Boys

2011-11-27T21:43:00.001-08:00

November 15th Max and Sam had check-ups at the Dr. It was an exciting day for Belle too because she got to stay for lunch and the after school program while I took the boys to their appointment. They had a good time and the Dr. was impressed with them, fine specimens that they are. We have a really great Dr. here and I am so impressed with the amount of time and unbiased information that he offers. I found him when we were new here and I had to call the ER one night to ask a question about Max since I had no one else to call and the nurse helped me and then offered me a few suggestions of good pediatricians. I highly recommend this route.

Max is a little on the smaller side (for this family) but his weight has come up a good amount on the percentile chart so that is good. 3 years.

Weight: 32 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 38 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

Sam is large and in charge at 15 months

Weight: 26 pounds, 1 ounce (91st percentile)

Height: 32 3/4 inches (97th percentile)

Sam got several shots and let us know that he was not pleased but it only lasted a few seconds. Last time he got just as many shots and hardly let out a peep. I like this Dr. because he pushes some of the shots back if he feels they are getting too many at once instead of giving 6 different vaccines in one visit.

Max got a flu shot in the arm and I told him it might hurt, blah blah blah. He just watched the nurse put it in and gave a little shrug. What a brave guy. Since he likes to say he is a man so much I told he must really be a big man if it didn’t hurt. He was very happy with that.

Since we still had some time after that we went over to the library to return some books and play around. Even though Belle is the easiest to take around with me it was still so much easier only have the boys on such a big outing!

Sam is saying “jump” they like to practice their jumping and its good for at least 2 or 3 minutes of entertainment.

A few more

2011-11-27T21:27:00.001-08:00

Sam loves to bring me a box of cereal and say “me”. I pour a few on the bottom shelf of the pantry by the cans and he sits right down and waits for them. He likes Lucky Charms the best but he is a tricky boy and only eats the marshmallows.

Such a hotdog!

So pretty!

These are just some extra pictures from when I was doing our Christmas card pix. Very hard to get a picture of the kids and their dad!

We were doing our family pic and I gave Sam some smarties to eat. Drool fest all over his shirt.

Hatching the dinosaur egg that Amelia gave Max for his Birthday. It was very exciting even for me and Sterling.

Poor baby picked up Grandpa’s cold when they were here visiting. As usual it is now two weeks later and seems to be turning into bronchitis and wheezing. Hopefully next winter will be better for him.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

2011-11-27T21:05:00.001-08:00

Sterling’s parents came for a visit during Max’s birthday weekend. He went and picked them up from the airport late Friday night after Max’s friend birthday party.

The kids have been so spoiled with parties and visitors. They were excited to see Grandma and Grandpa here in the morning.

After breakfast the work got started. Sterling and his dad fixed our pantry doors so that now we have two instead of one, took an extra piece of granite off that was behind the stove so that it didn’t stick out and made it taller so it looked a little more finished. We think there was a slimmer oven in there before they put the house on the market but they swapped it out. Anyway, now it looks nice and normal. They also had a little sprinkler lesson so Sterling could see how automatic sprinklers work and adjusted some of them. Colleen swept the back patio and then asked for some window cleaner and before we knew it it was a full fledged window cleaning production of removing assorted windows and screens and cleaning them all inside and out. What a difference! They also cleaned off some of our fans and probably a few more things too. Bruce had a cold and I was worried about him working too hard but he did manage to get a little rest and Sam had a good nap too. After the work went into the afternoon we all got ready to go out for the evening. We went over and showed them Sterling’s work, walked around some of the shops there and decided on Cheesecake Factory where Bruce treated us to dinner. It was a delicious and we all had a good time. They even brought Max out a little ice cream sundae and sang to him. I think he was pleased!

So cute!

He looks like he is checking to make sure he is doing it right!

Max all dressed up in his “work shirt” and his “work boots” with his access card to go visit Daddy’s work. He takes work things very seriously. He still relished the times he went to my Dad’s work with him and over to Sterling’s office with him when Sam was in the hospital.

Sunday was the primary program. Belle said her part nicely but she was a little distracted during the songs. I was disappointed because she usually belts them right out. I always got a kick out of it when I was playing the piano in primary. They put her back in the 3rd row behind several big kids so I think that had something to do with the distraction and they sat up there from the start of Sacrament meeting.

At home we had fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner in honor of Max’s southern roots. It was nice to have so many helpers to help with the dinner and clean up.

Presents

Banana pudding dessert since we had cake at his other party.

On Monday Bruce and Colleen went shopping for most of the day and the kids and I went to our MOPS meeting in the morning and did some grocery shopping. It was nice to come home to a clean kitchen since we are usually running out the door to MOPs and I have to clean up when we get home! It is nice that Sterling’s work is so close that his parents could just use his car. That afternoon when they got back from their big shopping trip we loaded up for the airport and I dropped them off. It was a fun visit.

Ooops, the next 3 pictures are from a night we went out to Pei Wei to use a great coupon we had. This was a few days before Max’s birthday when we were going down to the church one night so I could practice on the Chapel piano for the primary program.

Okay, back from the interruption. Max at Daddy’s desk showing off his access card.

My shirt is all wet on the front but it most likely was not my fault. My money is on one of those two little wild men.

Max’s Birthday Party

2011-11-27T19:37:00.001-08:00

Max turned a big 3 years old a few weeks ago. We had a little party for him with 3 other families. The day before we made him a little cake. He helped to sort some of the Marshmallows for the fondant. I was so proud of him because he sorted the whole bag into the four different colors (don’t worry I scrubbed up his hands first). He is not a big one on focusing on things like this.

Our mailbox is a few houses down in one of those group ones. It was so exciting for Max because two different days presents came for him that were too big for the box so they left us a key for one of the bigger boxes below. He loved it!

The party was a Friday night. We tidied up the house and got Little Caesars pizza and bread and had caesar salad and soda. I think Max has had this for every one of his birthdays. The kids could hardly eat they were having so much fun.

The pinata was a bad. Didn’t have much to do with the tool theme of the cake and party favors but it was only $2.50 at Walmart after Halloween so it seemed like a good idea.

Amelia was the only one to get a bonk with the bat. I think she was okay though, she was brave about it.

This was Max’s “Handy Max” cake. I was just going to make a little toolbox cake but he came and looked at my computer while I was looking up pictures of it and saw a huge “Handy Manny” (kids show) cake and wanted that. We made him this tall cake instead with Max on it and some of his favorite things. Edger, lawn mower, tools. He liked it so that was good. It didn’t turn out quite like I envisioned but Sterling stayed up late while I finished it to make sure I didn’t get mad at it and throw it in the garbage. He won’t admit to this but I am pretty sure that’s why he stayed up. It did turn out much better than Sam’s shark cake a few months ago. We also gave out tape measures for the party favors. Amelia left first and we forgot to give hers to her. Its still here, Max just “opened it for Amelia”. I think he couldn’t resist.

My goodness, how I love this little guy. The time has flown by with this one. I remember what a serious little guy he was for so long as a baby. So studious of what was going on around him and how it worked. He is still that way and he is my biggest helper when it comes to projects. He is so funny when he gets some one on one time he will talk your ear off with all sorts of questions about how things work and talk about all sorts of tools and things he has done with grandpa. He is getting so much more grown up and listening better, not breaking as many things and starting to want to learn and focus a little more. He still likes to run around in his underpants and we love having him in our family.

Some of the little guys outside with their cake.

A fellow vacuum enthusiast, Joshua was fascinated when I brought out the little vacuum to clean up some candy that spilled. He took care of the mess right away.

Meanwhile, the big kids had a good time getting all loud and crazy. Isabelle loves a party more than anything.

Opening presents

I tried to get Max to have a little picture with me before he went to bed. He was one wild doggy as you can see.

First Week of November

2011-11-27T18:44:00.001-08:00

We spent most of November working on the house with quite a few fun activities thrown in.

Scrubbing the grout and tile. I don’t think they had been cleaned in awhile. So gross, Sam kept sneaking this toothbrush into his mouth. I didn’t really let him do this except for the picture that grandma wanted to take. It didn’t really touch his mouth too much. But still.

Uh oh. Poor baby. Let’s just explain this by saying the only time Isabelle really cries is when things aren’t going quite like she would like them too. Then it all comes out. For quite awhile. I think my mom will appreciate this picture, I think she took it.

Little trip to Sam’s club.

We had a huge dust storm in the house when the tile was getting removed from the shower. Not the extra work we were looking for but the boys enjoyed the cleanup. Max with his vacuum of course.

Max cracks us up with his perching on his toes on the chairs and stools.

Belle helped Max get all dressed up in his tool belt.

Sam is never far behind.

A little after church exercise in the yard.

And then there is this… something to do with police chases or something

Alan and Lindsay suggested we all go to the fair together. It was pretty small for a state fair and a lot of the animals were already gone but it was a good time. Plus they introduced us to some tasty fair snacks. Fried cheese curds and pineapple whips.

Feeding the butterflies in the butterfly exhibit.

Belle had always wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. There were two to choose from and she chose the “Grand Ferris Wheel”. We thought Max was took small to go and he tried to be so brave about it. It is so sad when he is trying to be brave and not cry. He has done it since he was a newborn baby. He walked back and stood by me trying so hard not to cry. Then the man at the gate said he was actually fine to go so I ran to buy him a ticket. He was so happy to go. The ticket taker said he didn’t need a ticket after all so Belle got to pick an extra ride at the end.

Halloween

2011-11-27T08:12:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of our pictures from a few more Halloween activities.

In no particular order here are the pictures:

At about 4pm on Halloween we hurried and carved our pumpkins. Luckily they were happy for me to do all the carving. Max wanted a mad one. Isabelle drew hers on a paper for me. She also helped Max design his, complete with “noseteeth” as she called them. I did the best I could. They were happy and it was the quickest pumpkin carving we have ever done.

Ready to go out’

Not all the houses were giving out candy. We had to walk for a little while but they got quite a bit. Not to mention the tons of candy we had at home and not very trick or treaters.

At the church party. Isabelle did this cupcake walk over and over and they never called her number. Every time they would pick several numbers. I asked the lady if she could maybe get chosen so she would move on and she was suddenly chosen. Then there weren’t very kids so she played again and again. Max didn’t worry about playing, he just charged right up and helped himself to a cupcake. Good thing people think giraffe costumes are cute.

When we got home from trick or treating Isabelle was disappointed that not enough people were coming to our door so she took matters in her own hands. Mostly by that time it was all high school kids. They liked her and Sam and we gave them big handfuls of candy. We STILL had too much left.

Halloween Fun- Autumfest

2011-11-13T20:35:00.001-08:00

Friday night before Halloween we took a break from our work and went to the Autumfest at the church where Isabelle goes to preschool.

Max made sure to brush every animal with the brush in the petting zoo.

This was the perfect Halloween activity for the kids. Inside they had all sort of booths and games run by the youth group. The funnies was this big box tunnel. I thought it would be scary for him but Max loved it and caught on to where they would drop candy through holes in the box. He would just sit there for awhile and then come crawling out, a big smiley giraffe with handfuls of candy.

Projects Galore!

2011-11-13T20:24:00.001-08:00

On Thursday October 20th, two days before the big move in day my Grandma texted and wondered if we needed any help. Boy did we! We had been working very hard for a whole week painting and fixing things but there was still plenty left to do. They arrived the next afternoon from “Southren” Utah according to miss Belle. They spent the first night in the new house all alone and moving began first thing Saturday morning.

Friday night we took everyone to In and Out to fuel up for the big move the next day. It was cute to look over and see this. Of course they are sharing a drink. You know how I operate. Sam fell asleep in the car and really needed the nap so Sterling went through the drive through and sat out there with him while we ate inside. What a great guy.

The next morning my mom stayed at the condo with the kids while Sterling and I headed over to the new house to get things ready for the big move. The night before he and my mom had gone to Alan’s house to get all our things from “storage” (their living room). Alan came down the next morning to help unload that stuff before we took the truck to the condo. Much to our surprise the church members all came really early and the job was done in no time. Before we knew it the condo was all moved over here too. Then it was just a matter of dealing with all the stuff.

These babies are so lucky to have my mom for a Grandma. She spends so much time being so helpful and taking such good care of the kids even when it’s A LOT of work. It looks like they were “helping” her clean the condo. Apparently when the movers showed up unexpectedly she just took the kids into the little walk in closet in the master bedroom and made a game for the kids to do tricks to earn candies that she had. Isabelle was really into that game. Max likes to earn his attention by being uncooperative.

That night took the crew to a little Mexican place, “Some Burros” that Leslee introduced me to. Its pretty casual and that night was extra fun because the had a Mariachi band. So fun! We were all happy for a good meal after a hard day of working.

The next day Isabelle and I went over to the condo with my Mom to finish cleaning it. It was a little sad to say goodbye to it, we made a lot of great memories there this summer and spent some fun family time. It is much nicer to be in a bigger space though with all of our things. Thanks to my mom for pretty much cleaning the whole thing herself.

On Monday the work really started. Grandpa started to paint one of many rooms that he painted during their stay. He had done all the prep work on Saturday. I was so glad for the help because I was so sick of smelling that paint and painting for hours.

Max stayed busy cleaning things at home with his trusty spray bottle.

We did take a Costco break one day. Checking out the TV’s while Sam had a snooze.

Grandpa painting. Grandma worked very hard too putting everything away in the kitchens and the linens and piles and piles piles of laundry and sweeping and cleaning up after us all. So sad when everyone left and the laundry and dishes started piling up. I told Sterling the laundry wasn’t getting cleaned and he asked if the washer was broken. He looked worried. I said no, its just that no one is here to do it anymore.

After living with concrete floors for 5 days on the 27th of October the carpet arrived sooner than we thought it would. We had ripped out the old carpet because we had a way of disposing of it for free on our moving day and thanks to my mom’s clever idea we just left strips over the tacks and only two foot poking incidents occurred the whole time (the little boys of course). It was an exciting day. We spent most of the day on the back porch, luckily its nice and big. The roof was also having work done on it. I also had Belle’s parent teacher conference where the teachers told me what a great student she is and how much they love having her in class. She takes it very seriously. She enjoyed showing me her skills on the monkey bars and we had a little picnic while we waited. She also showed me which drinking fountain was the good one and told me not to drink out of the other one because the water is too hot. It was so nice to have the Grandmas at home to take care of the boys. My Grandpa stayed busy trimming up the landscaping. He was happy to be finished painting I think. We got everything in the carpeted rooms painted before the carpet arrived. The roofers told him to toss some of the clippings in their truck and they would get rid of them. Very nice since we had a huge pile!

Isabelle resting in the play pen after school.

Family picture when my grandparents were leaving. My hair is looking sharp. Pretty sure it hadn’t been washed in days. Luckily we were going to get our hair done the next day. Everyone else looks very nice though.

The kids playing with the decorations at the pool store. Poor Belle we had just come from swimming lessons and it was really chilly and actually rained. Very unusual. Max liked going there because they had “spookies” as he called them (halloween decorations) and Christmas trees and this one shot out fake snow.

It was so fun to have our special visitors and we will be FOREVER grateful for all their help.

So cute.

Ours at Last!

2011-11-13T20:10:00.001-08:00

Dinner to celebrate after signing the papers. We still had to wait 2 more days though to actually get all the funding done and it recorded.

We dragged the kids along to work with us every night. Max and Belle loved it, Sam didn’t like it when we put him in his pen to contain him.

Belle said this was “women’s work” to take off all these decals.

Trip to Lowes. One of many.

This is the swamp that came with the house. After many gallons of chlorine we restored it to a nice clear state. Good thing, we were starting to get mosquitos.

Max loves working on the pool.

Thank goodness Grandma came! Costco break with an ice cream bar.

October and Waiting for the House

2011-11-13T19:58:00.001-08:00

The kids doing a quiet activity. My aunt and uncle had just stopped by while they were in town and Max was not on his best behavior. Let’s just say that he spent the last 10 minutes while they were here yelling at me to give him a bag of “gummies”. This capped off the post Disneyland crash.

Working on our contribution for the international potluck that night.

Making dinner

Tights on the head.

Sam loved this little dog that lived at our condos. One time it was so funny because Sam got down just like a little doggy and they were looking at each other and the little dog thought it was so fun and started barking but Sam wasn’t as amused. He forgave him quickly and went and sat by him in the rocks for awhile. Max DOES NOT like the dog.

Max snuck out to watch some TV after he was supposed to be in bed.

Packing

Sam loves to sneak the other kids toothbrushes.

Disneyland

2011-10-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

At the end of September we took a fun little trip to Disneyland. It was a quick drive and the kids were great in the car. We left after church on Sunday and got there by evening. After getting some dinner we visited my aunt and uncle and cousin at their house. Ed had caught a frog that we played with in the backyard and it was fun to visit with them. Sterling had never been to their house before. I forgot to take pictures. After that we went over to our hotel which was just down the street from Disneyland and got all checked in and watched the fireworks. After that we got everyone to bed which was easy except for Sam. He has a problem with waking up really early sometimes.

On the road!

Mimi’s for dinner

Getting ready to go get some ice. The boys’ favorite part. Sam was so cute trotting down the hall. Its so strange that he can walk places and actually go where is supposed to sometimes.

Enjoying a nice McDonald’s breakfast that Sterling and Sam got for us. Sterling’s specialty is picking us out a tasty McDonald’s breakfast and bringing it back to the hotel when we go on trips. Enjoyed by everyone. Somehow people never leave food on their plates with a meal like this.

Waiting to get in! We got there nice and early and had to wait about 15 minutes to get to the rides. It was only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel or less. Max was already acting like a giant baby, literally, as you can see.

Belle waiting to go on her first ride. The line was nice and short since the park had just opened. She loved it (Matterhorn) and Max was also tall enough and went on it many times later. He called it the scary ghost ride and couldn’t get enough of it. If you know us you know that we are efficient people. With the fast passes and parent switch passes we made great use of our time and went on tons and tons of rides. The parent switch passes are great because you get to bring another person with you when you go back up so the kids could ride more times without waiting in line. Monday was a little crowded but not like summer and Tuesday was very nice and the lines were short.

Meanwhile the boys and I rode the teapots. Max got the most delighted smile on his face when the ride started. I wish I had a picture of it. He loved the rides but not the lines.

Then we went on the storybook canal boats which the kids loved and kept wanting to go on but luckily after that the line was really long so we just went one other time. Sterling and I thought it was lame and did not want to waste our time.

Sterling too the kids on the Winnie the Pooh ride that is now by splash mountain a few times while Max slept in the stroller and I waited in line for this…

The kids were so happy to see these guys. I was surprised at how pleased they were!

I took this with my cell phone. You can see Belle second from the back. She was crazy about splash mountain. She must have gone 12 or 14 times. I went with her a few times and she was hilarious. Not scared, didn’t want to hold on, just wanted to get her picture taken. She has no fear and loves a little danger. She even went on space mountain twice even though she though it was a little scarier.

Me and the boys on Winnie the Pooh which we spent a lot of time on while the others were at splash mountain (Sam had just woken up). Unfortunately the camera had a little problem right after I took this and so a lot the rest of the picture are from my cell.

It’s a small world which we did both evenings.

The first night we went to dinner at IHOP right across from our hotel. It was a great experience even for 3 very tired kids. The kids ate a ton of food so that was great. It was extra special because a free kids meal came with each adult meal so they each got their own special meal and drink too.

Read for day 2!

Belle’s special drinking contraption at lunch. We ended up eating at the Mexican restaurant called Zocalo or something both days because the food was really good, large portions and it was a nice cool and quiet place to sit and relax and refill the water bottles. We also brought some small snacks in like granola bars and fruit leather and candy and that worked out well.

Mary Poppins invited Belle up to come do a dance with her! Max too but he preferred to watch.

Another splash mountain pick. Her dream came true and she sat in the front!

Summary of the trip. A great family trip. The boys were a little grumpier than I expected. I think 4 is a great age for a kid to go to Disneyland because Belle did great. Maybe that’s why they don’t charge for under 3 year olds. The hotel was great and clean (thanks to Sterling’s job perks) and we came in quite a bit under budget. No one asked for any souvenirs so we figured we wouldn’t push the issue and we spent less on food and gas than we thought we would. I do have to say we had some grumpy babies on our hands for the rest of the week once we got home because they were so tired but by Sunday everyone was back to normal again.

Company Picnic

2011-10-05T10:48:00.001-07:00

Two Saturdays ago, on an abnormally hot, not at all fallish day (around 110 or so) Sterling’s work had their company picnic at Golfland which has miniature golf, arcades, bumper boats and go-carts. There was a lunch first which we all enjoyed. It was a busy day because Sterling and Belle had just gotten back from their campout and then we had our big Disney trip the next day.

Max wasn’t big enough for the go-karts but he was a good sport and waited patiently ( and climbed at fence) while Ster and Bell went.

I don’t particularly enjoy this “carnival” type atmosphere but it was a really fun afternoon together as a family.

Father Daughter Campout

2011-10-05T10:35:00.001-07:00

Two Fridays ago Sterling took Isabelle on her first father-daughter campout with a group from church. He was getting off work early that day because their office was moving so it worked out great. Before he came home we started to get everything ready. The Fishers had given us a big box of kids shoes with several pairs of hiking boot in it. Max can’t wait to grow into them and when I got them out for Belle to try some on he told her “its okay if you wear my hiking boots for your campout,” such a generous boy.

A very great thing about our van is that every seat except the driver and passenger seat fold flat into the cubbies underneath. This is very handy if you don’t want to set up a ten on a campout (or still do not have one, like us) . It is also much warmer and you don’t even get everything dirty and wet. You can actually also put an air mattress back there to.

Isabelle had a really good time. While they were gone we went to in and out burger which was Max’s specific request without me even suggesting it. The boys had a good time playing together and it was a nice relaxing night for all of us.

Around the House

2011-10-05T10:24:00.001-07:00

These are from about 2 weeks ago

Not sure how he reached these. I think he must have had a partner in crime.

Sam likes to share bites of his food. He opens his mouth to show you how to eat it. So sweet!

Some Carmel and apples to make it feel like fall even when its 108 outside

Max using a toy kitchen knife to cut open a magazine.

hmmm.

Bell and Sterling ready to head out on their first father daughter campout.

Max was such a good sport even though I know he wanted to go. I gave him some candy and he got to watch some TV after they left, as a reward, and also to buy me some uninterrupted cleaning time while Sam had his nap.

Swimming Level 2

2011-10-05T09:56:00.001-07:00

Isabelle did another session of swim lessons in September. For some reason there are no lessons at the city pool in the month of August. Maybe its too hot? just kidding. Anyway, she was excited to pass level 1 in July and so we signed her up for level 2. Instead of going for 2 weeks, four days a week, in the fall the classes are 2 times a week for 4 weeks in the afternoon since school is back in session. The water was a lot colder this time but the air was still just as hot. Belle thoroughly enjoyed it as usual even when her lips were blue every day afterwards.

Max and Sam spend most of the time playing in the rocks and spraying things with their spray bottle. There are usually a few other little boys there to play with too.

This session only had 7 lessons since the first day would have been on Labor day, then she missed the next lesson because Sam was in the hospital and I forgot about it and then she missed the second to last lesson because we were at Disneyland. The day we came home was her last lesson and the teacher gave her the test that day. She was proud to get her report card and very anxious to see if she got to move up to level three. She did and she was so proud. She must get this overachiever attitude from her dad, certainly not from me.

Update 9-18

2011-09-18T16:51:00.001-07:00

We have all been pretty excited about getting the news that we got the house this week. I think the kids have even more energy than usual. It feels like some weeks are a lot more work than usual! Kind of like swimming upstream. No matter how hard you try the chores just can’t get done. Then other times everything seems so easy. I am learning when to just not try to hard because its not worth the stress and things always turn around. I am getting really excited to have more space for us to spread out in.

One day after lunch we were putting a chicken in the crock pot. Isabelle really likes doing chickens because she likes to pick out the spices. She usually has something in mind. Max likes to keep an eye on things and do the dishes. He also likes to watch me clean the chicken. Luckily Sam can’t open the fridge by himself but I reached in for something and he appeared out of nowhere to inspect the contents as usual.

One afternoon Belle and I were working on some workbooks and having a little afternoon popsicle. Sam spit his paci right out and approached with him mouth already open. ps

These two are becoming fast friends. The last few days Sam has been finally getting back to his old self and feeling better. His eyes light up when he sees Max doing something interesting and he usually joins him. This time Sam took the lead and climbed into the hall closet to check things out. I put clothes on Max every morning but he is constantly taking them off. That is why he is always in his underpants.

Checking out Max’s ouchie while Max put a band aid on. They pretty much don’t even need me. Max even was giving Sam detailed instructions while he put the neosporin on and everything. He talks in the most hilarious matter of fact boy voice.

At the mall to check out some fridges at Sears of course followed by lunch at Costco next store. Max slept in the stroller the whole time in Sears so it made it surprisingly easy. Sam had a good time trying to escape.

The kids like to play around on the rides by the playground and for some reason this one just kept going and going a little bit. They thought that was exciting.

Saturday we went to Home Depot and Lowes to check out carpet and fridges. Unfortunately it was a little too much excitement and my usually fairly obedient children were bouncing off the walls. I thought I was going to go crazy but they were also having a lot of fun. Maybe they weren’t used to all the open space?

If you stood to close to a fridge holding Sam he would grip onto the handle for dear life and then cling on while looking around nonchalantly. He does the same thing anytime he gets close to a bar like this like on the metro or an elevator. Three very mobile children certainly has its challenges.

That night Sterling and Isabelle went out for a special date. They went to McDonalds again which seems to be her choice date location. It was good for her to spend some quality time alone with the old man.

After that I went out grocery shopping and cut it short and rushed home to watch the game. Good thing I came home because I had missed part of it and I think it was really hard on Sterling to not have anyone to hash it over with. Not sure what would have happened if he had to watch the whole game alone. Luckily I had bought him some snacks to perk him up because he was a bit disappointed. BYU had an ugly loss to Utah.

Today I gave a talk in church and so got to enjoy and hour of peaceful sitting up on the stand while Sterling wrangled the kids. They were good though and made it through. Sam only went charging down the aisle a few times looking mighty smug from what people told me. In primary there is a scripture to memorize and recite every month. Isabelle stood right up in the front and said it nice and clearly and correctly. She just loves it and takes it all so seriously. It makes me so proud to be in there playing to piano and get to watch her being such a good girl. Her and I always go to church a little early so I can practice the piano. It’s a real confidence booster because she gives me kisses and says things like “I just love your music” whiles she is dancing around the room. Silly girl.

Big News!

2011-09-13T22:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we got the news that the bank had finally accepted our offer on this short-sale house that we have been wanting. We submitted our offer back on July 9th and after months of waiting we finally got the final approval.

Today we had the inspection and we were so excited/nervous to go check it out since we had only seen it once for about 20 minutes two months ago.

The kitchen and family room are open to each other.

This picture is taken from the back door area looking toward the front of the house. On the left you can see the island in the kitchen and on the right is the family room. Straight ahead is the laundry room that you go through to get to the garage.

Here is the kitchen (obviously). The pantry is just down that hall there. It is huge inside but a bit of funny location. There is also this big indentation that I guess you could finish as another closet pantry (you know me and my food storage) or maybe do a nice desk/workstation there.

Here is one half of the laundry room. Those do not stay but we have pretty much the exact same pair. Nothing fancy but does the job nicely. I like that you don’t actually have to walk right past the wash and dryer to get through.

This is the other side of the laundry room. It could be set up quite nicely for shoes and bags and stuff. You can also catch a glimpse of the fold out ironing board on the left. Sterling is excited about that.

This would be the view coming in from the laundry room. The fridge doesn’t stay so I guess we should start checking some new ones out. I forgot to get a close up of the granite but I quite like it. This tile is throughout all the main walkways and the bedrooms are carpeted.

This is that little indentation I showed before and on the left you can see the pantry.

Back door and you can see the little eating area to the right.

Breakfast nook

The other part of the kitchen has lots of those nice big drawers that you can even fit pots and pans in.

Family room.

House Tour- Inside

2011-09-13T22:13:00.001-07:00

Dining room

Living Room

Entryway. Living room is to the right and behind me is the dining room.

Kids bathroom that little door on the wall is a laundry hole that goes to a cupboard in the mater bedroom. Like a laundry chute but its not a two story house.

Kids tub.

There is the laundry cupboard.

Purple room

Boys’ room

Guest room

Master

More House Tour-outside

2011-09-13T22:07:00.001-07:00

Part of the pool.

Waterfall (its not on)

Needs a good cleaning

Nice fence around it. Notice that cute little retractable clothesline for the towels. I hope that stays.

Garden boxes with sprinkers! There is so much stone and cement for the kids to ride their bikes on.

Things are looking a little overgrown. Its going to be quite the shock going from our condo life of leisure to having a house and yard again! I guess we had better enjoy our last few weekends of nothing to do.

Back at Home

2011-09-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

This is the night that Sam got sick. I told the bigger kids to be really good because Sammy was sick and we needed to take care of him. Max got his doctor kit and chased him around saying he just needed to check his blood pressure.

Watching the BYU game.

Usually if I lay down on the floor I end up with a pile of kids on me. Good thing I am a sturdy gal.

The other night on the news it said it was 75 outside, I had to go out and feel it to believe it. Sure enough it was humid and 75 and felt so good! A nice wind was blowing the palm trees around and it was just perfect. The nights have been cooling off down to the low 80’s or even a bit lower and it has only been getting to around 100. This is much more tolerable.

Hospital

2011-09-11T23:03:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday night at about 7:30 Sam let out one of his barking coughs. I was worried that this was coming since we had spent some time with Leslee and family and Knox had come down with it after that. Sam has never passes up an opportunity to get croup it seems. Sure enough within 30 minutes he was burning up with a 103.5 fever which is a pretty high for croup and gasping for air. We had some of the steroid that he usually gets for this in the cupboard and gave him a dose, which he threw up right away and used all of our usual coping techniques to no avail. He was miserable and after a few hours of very fast breathing I noticed he was starting to retract when he was breathing and I knew he needed to go in. Off we went in to the ~~cool~~ 98 degree air at 1:30 in the morning to the ER. The nurse said in most places the babies are a lot better by the time the get to the ER from breathing in the cool night hair but here they don’t have a chance. It was empty and there is nothing like a baby in distress to get you seen quickly. I knew they could fix him up with an epinephrine breathing treatment that he has had in the past and sure enough he started feeling much better after that. He also had some chest x-rays taken. After an hour or so though he started to decline again and they couldn’t get the fever down or his oxygen levels up and he was working too hard to breathe. Eventually they decided that he needed to stay and up to the PICU we went. Spending from Tuesday night to Friday morning in the hospital Sam was a little trooper. With people in and out all day and night poking at him, forcing medicine down his throat and making him do breathing treatments he got a little suspicious but he hung in there. By Thursday afternoon he was starting to look a lot better and finally Friday morning he impressed the doctor enough to go home. His little cousin Knox who had gotten croup a few days before also had to spend Tuesday night in the hospital back home in Texas. So sad for two sweet baby boys.

Sam was delighted whenever he saw the kids or Sterling come in. He would also watch out the door as people walked by towards the end when he was feeling better and get excited when someone came in to talk to him as long as they didn’t need to touch him. He really liked the lady who cleaned the room. It occurred to me that he is always around a lot of action and while he doesn’t require much attention at home, there are always people around to make life interesting. I think he missed that. The other kids were really good too and behaved very nicely and of course loved every minute of the adventure. Belle got to go to preschool all day on Thursday and eat lunch at school which she always wants to do since usually she only goes in the morning. Max went to work with Daddy one day. We couldn’t take him to anyone’s house because he also had the virus and we didn’t want anyone else to get it.

Max thought the pullout bed seemed nice. I beg to differ. Tuesday night since we were in the ER most of that night we had a bed and I held him on my chest while I reclined and he slept. Wednesday night he obviously wasn’t going to have anything to do with the giant baby cage crib and he was still really struggling for air a lot of the time so we snuggled up on this comfy accommodation for 30 minute naps throughout the night.

Wednesday I could hardly put him down but by Thursday he was feeling a bit better and spent some time playing in his crib with some toys. I think he liked that he was as tall as me so we would look over the edge and laugh at each other. Thursday night Sterling spent at he hospital and I enjoyed a nice sleep at home. That day it occurred to me to bring Sam’s play pen over that he likes to sleep in and he was able to get some good rest in it since he was feeling better. I realized how quiet life is without just two kids and no baby in the house. It was the first night I have spent away from Sam.

I am so grateful that Sterling is such a good dad and can take over at any situation that he needs to. It was nice to be able to leave the hospital for the night and know Sam was being just as well taken care of as when I was there. I am also grateful for such wonderful doctors and nurses and medicine that could make Sam so comfortable while he was sick and make it so I always knew he would be okay.

Saturday I had to take him back to the Dr. for a follow up visit and the he said they rarely ever have patients hospitalized for croup but in the last two weeks they have had 6 so this is a particularly vicious strain of the virus.

Cousins

2011-09-11T22:56:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago Leslee and Sean came into town. Leslee and the kids were here for 10 days. They stayed with the Sittons just a 25 minute drive down the road. I have been looking forward to it all Summer.

On the first Monday the kids and I went down for the afternoon. The kids all behaved wonderfully and played well. It was so fun just to hang out and watch them.

A little popsicle break while swimming. Sam was sleeping almost the whole time we were there.

After a nice swim the kids watched a movie and played.

And danced. They are all so cute! I kept thinking how jealous my mom must have been that he was not there. It was nice of the Sittons to open their house up to us!

Thursday night I went down and Leslee and I went out for a nice shop and some dinner. It was fun to hang out without stopping the conversation every few seconds to take care of the kids. I hadn’t gotten out in awhile so I was really excited!

Friday night Sean’s brother had a game and we aren’t ones to miss a football game if it can be helped so we headed down and enjoyed some good old Friday night football.

Before the game even started Kelly brought us all up some tasty pizza. So nice if her!

The kids did a good job and we stayed til the victorious end. Sterling especially enjoyed going to a game and the rest of us had a great time too.

Monday Leslee and Sean and family were all supposed to come up to see us but Knox woke up with croup that day so just Leslee and Summer came. We had some passes for free lunch at a new mongolian grill that was opening up and made sure to get there right at the beginning. It worked out great and was really crowded by the time we left so I guess we timed it right. After that adventure we showed them around town and then came back to the condo.

Sterling treated us to some homemade ice cream.

And then we enjoyed a nice swim.

I felt so sad when they left. I wish we lived closer to everyone. At least I know they’ll be back.