Just Love Me

Three Months Old!

2011-06-21T18:17:00.000-04:00

Babygirl is such a great baby! The boys just love her and we just can't get enough! At the boys checkup yesterday, i stuck her on the scale and with wet diaper and clothes, she was 15lbs! (not bad, but GJ was that at 2 months)

Not laughing yet, but you can tell she is so close!

I just can't stop kissing those cheeks.

As with the rest of my babies, she refuses a sasser (pacifier) but she does occasionally find her thumb.

How can you not love all that chub!?! Now if she would just sleep more than 4 hours at night...

GJ Turns 4!

2011-06-16T17:51:00.000-04:00

GJ had his birthday yesterday and chose an Elmo cake (not my first choice, but it is HIS birthday, not mine)

I can’t believe he is 4! Sometimes he is the sweetest boy ever, gives me hugs and kisses, loves to pray, plays by himself easily and helps me out, especially with the baby. He is also tries my patience as he loves to wrestle/fight with his brother, get in his sister’s face, have to wear Lightening McQueen jammies whether they are clean or not, sleep with tiny toys that get lost easily, always request to eat hot dogs and popsickles, and enforce his sense of justice.

For example, at the park today, he tripped over a root and fell down. He came over crying and I tried to comfort him and ask if he wanted to go inside to go to swimming lessons and be done with the park. He responded, "I want to hit it!" and proceeded to go back to the tree and hit its bark. That is just classic GJ. He has to make sure everyone is even, whether it is his brother, or a classmate, or a tree, or the table he just ran into, there will be retribution. With the latter, it usually hurts his hand and the table gets another slap. My oh my, at least he was finally potty trained before 4!

We love you GJ!!!

MK's blessing day

2011-06-06T11:19:00.002-04:00

At least we are all in the picture.

Tad did a great job.

As usual, she was a darling.

Linny, Matt, Linc, Ace, Grandpa and Grandma all came up. I did not end up with a picture of any of the Days. We had a great barbecue after church then a few friends over for desserts.

Sweet sleeping baby.

Here is a picture of just the dress.

I nixed the sleeves and made some major readjustments to accommodate her growing figure. (And the dress was done by 10pm, not 3am as said husband was predicting). It was a great day and fabulous weather.

U2

2011-06-06T11:08:00.000-04:00

Last year we bought U2 tickets for our anniversary. We debated a long time whether it was worth it, but finally did and and within 2 days, Bono announced he needed back surgery and the concert was delayed a year. Slightly disappointing, especially as we were hoping to have a new baby the next spring. Luckily it worked out though, thanks to Linny coming up with her newborn and watching MK, though she wasn't too thrilled about a bottle.

Tad of course it the real die hard fan, but I knew most of the songs and had a great time. We park at the UofU and just walked a little ways to the stadium. This was early on, but you can see below, by the start it was pretty full.

The stage was pretty cool and they had amazing effects.

Since I haven't really been to a concert since NKOTB in 7th grade (remember that Julie and Shelly?), I was pretty easily impressed, though Bono was a little goofy to me, but I guess you kind of have to be.

The Fray opened up and I thought they did a great job. I couldn't get my picture to turn, but you can kind of see the cool stage here. They had the main stage, and then this full circle they could walk around, you can see the lead singer in the white jacket walking around in the front of the 2nd stage. Glad we could go and hopefully we'll do it again someday.

Two months

2011-06-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

MK is growing faster than a weed and has the chub to prove it. Here she is with her brothers, who do you think she looks more like? She really is a doll and even though she is up every 3-4 hours, she is a great sleeper in between. She loves her brothers and does not love a bottle.

Getting ready for Summer!

2011-05-10T12:40:00.002-04:00

Yes, I am ready for the 4th of July. My favorite holiday. I have at least 5 red, white and blue outfits ready for her. I got this one 5 years ago for SM in case he was a girl and have been saving it since. And I know I am a hypocrite and make fun of babies with bows bigger than their head, but its for America and is just so cute (thanks Amy!)

In other news I actually finished her blessing dress.

Too bad it fits like a glove and will never make it to June. Back to the drawing board, at least for the top, I think I can make the skirt portion work. Oh well, it was dang cute! Man, she is getting chubby fast! (though she still has to gain 3 pounds in the next two weeks to be as chubby as GJ was)

Easter (yes, I made the boys wear pink shirts)

2011-04-26T11:35:00.002-04:00

Family of 5

2011-04-20T16:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes its not real that I have 3 kids. I sure love darling baby M, as do the boys. Thanks to my sweet friend katherine for taking some fabulous shots when she was just 3 days old.

(Not photoshopped faces, everyone was actually smiling)

Growing baby.

2011-04-10T14:50:00.000-04:00

They say she is was 8' 2" on Monday and 8' 12" on Friday, so I am convinced someone is wrong, but either way, she is having no problem putting on weight and at 3 weeks, is above her birth weight. This may be our last week in newborn clothes. Its been a good week, but Nana has been here so I have been able to run lots of errands and haven't yet felt the difficulties of 3 kids. She is going to work tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Getting some cheeks

ARGG, I'm a pirate!

Goofy grin

Attempt at family picture

Nana has been here taking care of us. I'm not even going to think about when she will be leaving.

Despite the cry face, she does love me best.

Curly hair after bath.

Nana and some of her boys.

Baby Overload

2011-03-29T18:02:00.001-04:00

Sorry, but I have a lot of sisters making requests who live to far away to snuggle with my little cutie so this is the next best thing I can do.

So tiny!

Mostly she just sleeps.

First bath, which she never cried once (so unlike the boys)

All snuggled and getting dry.

My favorite outfit.

She rarely cries, but last night she let me know we were done with pictures. You can really see her "abnormal" gumline in this shot too.

Loves to be all snuggled up. So perfect.
Yesterday was my due date and it was so nice to ALREADY have her out. Now if I could only sleep on my stomach and for more than 3 hours in a row, life would be grand...

Getting there

2011-03-23T12:53:00.000-04:00

We are slowing healing and surviving and taking it day by day. Tad stayed home with me yesterday and Linny just came up to help. In the meantime, take a look at how cute my baby was in the hospital.
(Let me know if it doesn't work)

Sweet Baby M!

2011-03-21T21:13:00.001-04:00

Story: Saturday I started having some contractions late afternoon while I was trying to take a nap (I had stayed up WAY to late the night before watching North and South) I called my sister and talked to my brother in law (she was sleeping) and told him they should drive up. If the contractions stopped we could always just play games. I started timing my contractions and they were 3 minutes apart so I called Tad who had taken the boys to the church to run around the gym and give me some quiet. He came right home and soon after Linny arrived. We left after 6 for the hospital. We finally found where we check in and they didn't seem to think much of me being in labor, as I wasn't in a ton of pain or really acting like I was in labor. But after they hooked me up and check me, I was already at a 5, so I was admitted at about 7pm and wheeled over to Labor and Delivery. After one failed IV, they finally got one in and I was then able to get the epidural. At 8:35 I was at a 6 and they broke my waters. By 9:45 I was ready to push and at 10:07pm MK born.

We got home from the hospital today, so I hope all goes well from here!

Less than an hour old with proud daddy!

After her bath. Up until this point, I though her hair was more brown, but its more blonde.

The next day the boys came to visit and loved holding and poking her.

Family photo

My little angel. (One pink baby, they don't seem to have much trouble with jaundice)

Bellies

2011-03-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

(Yes, that is me in the middle, I am the largest)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-02-23T15:09:00.001-05:00

(This is after we blew out candles and GJ freaked out and insisted it was HIS birthday)

Well not much going on around here! So far I have gone to the grocery store, I am going to help SM put together his new bunk beds, sew as much as my belly can handle, then I get to go out to dinner with my sweetheart and no kids. Sounds like a pretty good day to me! Here is the tooth fairy pillow I made SM yesterday. His first tooth is getting looser, but still not quite ready to come out. (Don't worry Shelly, I have cut out all the material for Ryan's)

I also started a new blog dedicated to my quilts and projects so as not to burden my family blog. If you are interested, check it out here, but its mostly for my little guild group, so don't worry, I won't feel bad if you don't care. :)

January

2011-01-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

Its been a busy month spent mostly inside due to the cold and poor air quality (worst in the nation-yuck)

I have been busy growing a baby (still two months to go, I am getting big, but still no stretch marks!)

SM completed his earth project and can tell you lots of facts if you ask him. His favorite thing right now it to read Magic School Bus.

GJ recently discovered puzzles. He loves me to sit by him while he does them, but not help of course.

I finished the baby's quilt. Here is the front and back. Its so soft and lovely!

I loved this fabric line so much, I got the second line, full of owl and pussy cat, repunzel, and sleeping beauty. I am still deciding what to do with it. I am running out of sewing time though! Linny's baby quilt it almost done and then we'll see what's next.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Eve we were able to find a small hill and go sledding in Spanish Fork. It was cold, but fun. We then had fondue and played Settlers till just after midnight (which I did not win and was pretty much grumpy the whole time-sorry guys) I then vowed again never to play that game. We'll see how long that lasts.

The next day we got to hang out more with M, L and L and then I had a wonderful nap and chinese food so I was happy. Driving home in the dark in 5 degrees was not so fun.

GJ loved sledding, but was hard to persuade to actually get on the sled.

We were done long before SM ever would have been and he just kept taking the sled by himself and going.

Here are my quilting goals for 2011. I feel like I have to write this out to make it official. And I like lists, or checking things off them at least. Having a baby will probably move some of these back to 2012, but we'll see.

1. Finish the 3 WIP's I have tops done for. (FFA1 for Matilda, Rockets for GJ to match SM, Joel Dewberry quilt that still needs sashing)
2. Map of the states quilt in pink, green, yellow for baby.
3. Rainbow boxes quilt.
4. Pillows for Shelly.
5. Stars for charity guild quilt.
6. Tree Skirt and finish baby's stocking.
7. Baby blankets for those also large with child.
8. Appliquéd quilt for GR Preschool

Other Goals:
Stay strictly on my monthly budget

Make space for a baby

Half marathon late summer

Eat less sugar

Stop watching TV (mostly)

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2010-12-29T19:29:00.000-05:00

The snow is really coming down, so why not blog a little and drink some hot chocolate.

Here are my finished stockings. You should see them in person, they are super cute. The hexagons took the longest by far, but its my favorite (hence, I get it!)

We had a small Christmas at home but the boys were pretty happy.

This is pretty much what GJ has played with the entire time since opening presents.

Man, I just love those cheeks!

Then we went up to Tad's parents house that afternoon and stayed a few days. Aren't my boys handsome?

Hope you had a great Christmas!

Progress

2010-12-15T20:29:00.000-05:00

You probably can't tell, but I do have 3 of the 4 stockings at least started. 10 days to go! SM's was failry easy as he just wanted stripes, no piecing, but I still need to do his lettering so I haven't sewn on the cuff. More hexagons to sew tonight while watching a movie. I did some HST for the first time ever (I know, how can I be a quilter if I have never made half square triangles) and then of course felt like they were too big, but I am not going back. I am still deciding on what to do for #4 and #5, but so far I am liking them.

Christmas Program

2010-12-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

No "holiday" programs around here, they sang about Christmas and it was a very cute Kindergarten program. Great job, SM!

Which do you like better?

2010-12-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

I know, I only have two weeks to go, I am sick, pregnant, tired, etc, but my goal is to make cute stockings. I had settled on these:

But then today I came across these really cute one.

So I need to make 4 (and I will probably make 1 more after christmas, maybe two)

With either one, I will have names at the top.

I already have the Riley Blake fabric I got on sale at my LQS, so now I just need to start cutting!

What do you think? I am so indecisive!

New Favorite Hiding Place

2010-12-05T11:23:00.000-05:00

Too Short

2010-11-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, Brother happened to be passing through town so I got to see him quickly at Cabela's as he got the remaining items for his hunting trip. He has lost a lot of weight since the reunion and its always nice to joke with him. The next day Shelly flew in from dulles and her and I drove up to Star, ID where we picked up Karli for my Aunt's funeral. It was a fun/sad weekend with extended family.

Shelly came back with me Sunday and Linny, Matt and Lincoln came over for dinner and a game of Settlers (which if I recall, I won). The next day we all went to breakfast (minus my kids at school, so nice to go out without having to worry about the kids!!) Then everyone left. Its always a sad day when the sisters leave, Linny left two days later to go to Nana's for Thanksgiving and I am a bit jealous.

Luckily I got some pink fabric in the mail that day to cheer me up. Busy, busy planning some girly quilts for little Matilda! (no, that is not her name, just what I call her, like I called GJ Grover. Please leave some name choices if you have some great ones though, more specifically I am looking for a 2 syllable middle name)

Outnumbered

2010-11-09T09:06:00.010-05:00

In case you don't live close and haven't noticed my sudden weight gain, we are expecting baby #3 in March and are clueless as to what we are going to do with a girl. Though SM is disappointed he will not have another brother, I think he will eventually come around, even though he does not like girls. GJ of course is still oblivious.

Saying Good-bye to the Sun

2010-11-08T00:05:00.000-05:00

Looks like this was our last week of nice weather! We haven't been up to much:

Being silly. Never tire of running in circles while daddy plays.

I have been finishing up a baby quilt. This was my fake string quilt.

I love the back!! I was going to go plain, but decided I need to do some real string quilt blocks and I am so glad I did, I am so pleased with how it turned out. So crinkly and lovely when it came out of the drier, I hope baby Chayse loves it!

Playing at the park

My two sillies.

Halloween Eve

2010-11-01T14:19:00.000-04:00

In our neighborhood, we got to Trick or Treat Saturday instead of Sunday this year. We actually went up to G&G's house for the weekend so other than the rain it was a great weekend!

My Walrus/Seal and Dragon. He would turn and show his wings if people called him a dinosaur, but they still didn't really get it. Oh well.

You can't tell so much, but it was raining pretty much the whole time.

By the end they were finally both saying "trick or treat" and thank you. A few times when GJ would forget, I would say "What do you say?" and he would say "Please" and help himself to a second piece of candy.

Last Game of the Season

2010-11-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

I have to admit I am ready for a break till March, plus it is staring to get COLD! SM improved a lot. He had fun though and that is the point. He is the littlest one on his team, but he wasn't the worst!

Nothing like a cupcake at 10am in the morning.

Halloween Parties

2010-11-01T13:00:00.001-04:00

Friday was kind of a marathon going between both boys schools and such, but it was a fun day. SM had a huge parade (I mean every parent and grandparent were there, I had to park two blocks away, the place was packed) but it was a cute and the kids had fun. I then went to his party for a few minutes, helped glue on ghost eyes, and then went over to GJ's school.

He had a very cute little program with lots of songs and then yummy cupcakes.

Not being my favorite holiday, I am glad for a break till next year from the candy and costumes!

Hiking Mt. Nebo

2010-10-08T00:47:00.016-04:00

The Story (Pictures below)

Okay, Wendy said that I (Tracy) had to make this post on the blog. I rarely make the posts, but I suppose it is fitting. When I was at BYU I really had this desire to climb to the top of Mt. Nebo just south of Provo. Perhaps for kind of silly reasons, but I did. First, Nebo is actually the highest mountain in the Wasatch although many think that the more hiked and popular Mt. Timpanogos is the highest. So I wanted to climb the highest peak. Also, when I was at the BYU Jerusalem Center we went to the original Mt. Nebo in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. This is the "traditional" site that some say Moses may have climbed to get the 10 commandments. That Mt Nebo is a real tourist thing, the whole student body and faculty ascended the mountain either on foot or on camel through the night to watch the sunrise on top. It is pretty common if you travel there. I rode the camel which was worth whatever it cost, because you can enjoy the ride, focus on the stars and not your feet, and you can say you've ridden a camel. Plus you not down in the trenches fighting the camels, their walking guides, and the smattering of angry European hi-tech hiking tourist that swear at you in other languages when your camel almost knocks them down. So anyway, I wanted to hike Nebo in Utah for sort of sentimental connection to the other Nebo experience. At BYU I tried to hike it once with some friends in my ward, but a sort of quirky kid we did not know that well kind of invited himself on the trip and turned out to not be up for or into the hike. Thus, we were unable to complete the hike. That was my last chance to try to hike it before graduation, getting married, moving to grad school etc. I was always disappointed that I did not get to the top. I always said if I went back to visit family in Utah etc I would find a way to make time to go hike it someday. Well, turns out we moved back to Utah after Georgia Tech so I was determined to not miss out again. We kept having conflicts on weekends and the summer was running out. But finally I forced Wendy to drive down late with me on a Friday after the High Priest social at Church I had to plan. We stayed at Wendy's sister in Spanish Fork, woke up early and hit the trailhead by 8AM. It was a great, clear day for hiking. The valley temp was a high of 85F but it was very breezy on the mountain and probably much cooler up there. I could have maybe preferred pants just for the wind and the sharp rocks at the top.

It was a beast of a hike. I would have done much better at BYU 8 years ago. But I still made it and so did Wendy. It was tiring, but beautiful. I was so exhausted before the peak and also the whole way down. But I am glad I did it. Thank you Wendy for coming with me to fulfill my Nebo dream.

Enough of the boring blog talk. Now for pretty pics.

At the relative beginning of the hike. Still feeling okay so far I think.

Air is getting thinner, scenes much wider, and apparently my face is getting fatter (but the fat face may have started well before we started the hike).

This trail does not mess around much. Pretty much heading upwards the whole time.
Last bite of much awaited lunch on the peak.
West View from peak. That is Mona, UT we think.
East view from the peak (Uinta National Forest land I think).

The walking and scrambling on loose rocks was getting a little old by the peak. This is right on top.
Once you're on the ridge, the trail (sort of a trail) just follows right on the ridge line.
Wendy was a trooper and moving faster than me especially on the way back down. I did carry most of our water and a lot of it. I'm using that excuse.
Looking back on the way back down. We were on the second peak. When you're going up the first time we did not really know where it would go and did not really remember the second peak. When you climb that first steep incline (straight up basically) it is quite disappointing to get to the top and realize there is a whole other peak that was unseen for most of the steep ascent. It was tempting to call it good there. I am glad we stuck out it to the top.

Wendy playing with the color capture feature on our camera. The leaves were turning yellow but this is enhanced.

Finally, after several little rise and falls we could finally see the car. We were so ready for it. I did not know Wendy left on the yellow effect when I took this picture.

Now to maybe climb some other peaks in the Wasatch (next year?).

Ross Family Reunion 2010

2010-09-15T21:24:00.026-04:00

Well this post can't do it justice, but I'll try. For at least the last 9 months, my sister Linny and I have been planning this reunion. Its the first one we have really done since 2004, so it was much needed and fabulous. We went to Cascade, ID and rented a huge beautiful cabin.

Here is the entire crew.

The sisters and Shawn (JJ couldn't come)

My favorite part was probably the rafting. The son of the folks' cabin we rented took us down the river. We had a blast and Mark fell out twice!

Next favorite was going up the reservoir and renting a boat. This is GJ at the end of the day when he was exhausted and we ditched him for our last boat ride and came back and he was out.

Changing up the riders. We had a great boat and I even got on the tube, but was too wimpy to try the skis. But Tad and SM also went on the tube.

Family boat picture

Some of our old friends from FW came down to see us as they were having a reunion the same week and switching cabins. I didn't get any great pictures, but it was great to see them, some of them after many years!

The cabin had a huge backyard with tons of space to run and play.

We had an olympic night with lots of group games (go yellow team) and one was donut eating which Julie won. I used my hands just a little. And of course felt sick all night. Who has a picture of Lisa covered in chocolate pudding?

My granparents were able to come up for a day along with my cousin little Marq and his family (thanks for hanging out and taking pictures for us!) and of course brought some guns to shoot.

This is from the first night where we had a huge unbirthday party were we exchanged white elephants gifts and toys for the kids to play with all week.

And of course had cake to go with it.

All the grandkids.

GJ's favorite activity by far, along with most of the kids, was the little four wheelers. We rented a big one, but Mark broke his leg on it and totaled it and after that trip to the hospital, that fun was over. (he has had surgery and is healing, we hope quickly!)

The 2nd day we went to Silver creek plunge which is a natural spring pool that was about 100 degrees. So nice and clean up in the mountains!

So much fun with all our cousins! Here is Ethan who was born the day after SM.

Pinata time (Lindsey really had all the great ideas)

We went through the lines several times before any candy came out.

Again, they love the 4 wheeler.

My sweet GJ loved going fast on the boat!

And we ended the last night with sparklers, which SM says he loves when he sees the pictures, but was scared to death. GJ did as many as he could, he loves fire!

Thanks to everyone who came, it was a great trip and I can't wait till the next one, though I am glad I don't have to plan it!

Peach Days!

2010-09-12T23:45:00.005-04:00

We got to go to Peach Days yesterday and we had a great time. They had a great parade with enough candy to satisfy SM. Lots of firetrucks, and an awesome tank that SM loved! ON the downside, we saw a little boy get ran over by a trailer right in front of us as his mom wasn't watching him, but luckily there was nothing heavy on the trailer and it just squished his legs and he was totally fine. Crazy!

Tad and SM got to go on a little helicopter ride, GJ wanted to so bad, but I doubted he would even remember it. Next time. SM loved it though as he loves any flying object. He goes back and forth between Scientist and Astronaut when he grows up and I think he is settling on a Science astronaut (so I can work on the hubble, right?) We'll hope its still up there and going by the time he is ready to go to space.

I got to eat some peach cobbler which was delicious and we walked around and saw the booths and rides and carnival type food and smells!

Look Ma, no hands!

2010-09-12T23:36:00.002-04:00

Well not really, but no training wheels!

We had a little time the other night and the weather is still nice so I told Tad to go out and practice with SM on the bike (which he does not usually enjoy so we have only done a handful of times)

I put GJ on the bike seat and we rode around the block and to my surprise, I came back to him doing it!

I think one of the best parts of being a parent is watching your kids learn new things. This was on Wednesday but he just learned to balance and we were only out for 15 minutes. On Thursday we went to the church parking lot where he learned to start off by himself and this weekend we practiced riding in a straight line (down a sidewalk, we had failed at that before) and then making 90 degree turns at a corner. Its so cool to see them progress and they are so proud of themselves. I just love that!

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-12T23:31:00.003-04:00

This week GJ started preschool! He is going to the same place SM went last year, so nice its only 3 blocks away and 3 days a week! He's only gone twice, but so far I am loving it! The first day she said he didn't really say a word, but hopefully he will start to talk more. Two kids in school, how lucky am I?

Antelope Island

2010-09-06T16:50:00.007-04:00

On Sat we decided to drive over to Antelope Island and check out the Great Salt Lake up close.

We went on a hike.

Tad floated in the salty water and tried to convince the kids to do so as well.

I watched.

We played. It was a little stinky and there were brine flies EVERYWHERE, swarms, but the kids had fun.

We had a picnic and drank lots of water.

We had a great time! The kids each slept for about 2.5 hours when we got home! Now for labor day we spent the morning picking pears and are now playing with cuz Linc and just relaxing!

Family Pictures

2010-09-01T22:42:00.002-04:00

We got some photos taken for Grandma and Grandpa's Golden anniversary and here is my favorite:

First Day of School!

2010-09-01T10:58:00.002-04:00

SM started Kindergarten today! Can't believe this day is finally here, we have been counting down for weeks!

To celebrate, we had a special FHE party last night and had a special dinner and SM chose to have chocolate cake for treats, which I put a big K on. Then I woke up at 6am to make 1 hour cinnamon rolls per his request. Then he got up and choose his clothes and did his chores and we were off walking one mile to school ( I walked, they strolled). He was so excited he could hardly contain himself! You can't really cry or be sad when he was so happy to finally be a Kindergartener! I hope he has a great first day (I am glad its only half day) and I can't wait till he gets home!

The Beast

2010-08-13T16:19:00.004-04:00

Shelly will be here in a couple hours (drove all the way from Maryland) so we can start out on our way to our family reunion tomorrow in ID. She paid and picked out all the fabric and I used a Denyse Schmidt pattern to put the whole thing together. I hope she is surprised (in a good way) when she sees its finally done!

First off, no, I will not be doing a king size quilt again anytime soon. It was a monster to peice, a mosnster to quilt, a monster to baste and by since I had a deadline, I didn't even hand stitch the binding. Its huge.

I do love how it turned out though. I had my doubts at first, I didn't love the fabric (Moda- Lamour, Sandy Gervais), but it really came together and I like how it turned out. I just quilted loops across vertically as I knew that was the only way I could fit it on my machine.

A few things I have learned:

1. I am going to pre-wash everything now as this shrank WAY more than I expected and or I need to measure a 100 times. I was short over 10 inches and I still can't fathom if it was a shrinkage or a calculation error.

2. Cut the edges after quilting but before sewing on the top binding. I got into trouble which I don't care to expound on.

3. I really need a machine that had a 'needle stops down' feature, and also one that tells me when the bobbin runs out, so I don't keep on my merry way for a long time and not realizing I am not even sewing.

4. When you go through 5 bobbins in one sitting, its time to take a break.

Rockets and Robots

2010-08-13T16:11:00.006-04:00

I finished SM's quilt a while ago but I finally ordered a new charger for the camera battery that got here this week. So here it is:

I love it! I used a striped border on the top and a blue border on the stripes. He loves it too! I did a big stipple all over and love this David Walker fabric.

Has it been that long?

2010-08-10T14:35:00.018-04:00

I swear I had another post in there since the last birthday, but blogger ate it when I changed my format. Its been a fun summer, I am so thankful for not too much humidity! We still have one big reunion left in Idaho and I can't wait. Here are some shots of what we have been up to.

Our first trophy. He was more than thrilled.

We were so IMPROVED! I had a great experience coaching and am glad to sit this next season out. Sawyer scored a 3 times, but needs more aggression!

If they could, they would eat watermelon all day, everyday. It makes everything so sticky and I (yes, even me) have had to mop so often. I love watermelon, but I am tired of the cleanup. Here GJ decided to get really crazy and had it all over his hair. All I could do was laugh.

While at Tad's reunion (these are totally out of order) we went to Minnetonka caves and it was cool, but so cold (40 degrees) and SM just had a tshirt and shorts. Way to be prepared, parents. Luckily, GJ stayed back with Grandma and Grandpa.

Plantarium visiting Mars. They saw their first 3D move and no, they are not ready for 3D glasses. We'll wait a few more years.

When its too hot, we go to the Discovery Gateway children's museum. GJ spent about 45 minutes feeding this little baby.

We love hiking! We went with some friends to Lake Solitude, and the kids did 3.5 miles total, they were amazing! And tired, but I was so proud of them. It helps to have other kids they can play with and follow, much less complaining. I only carried GJ about half a mile if that on the way back.

GJ started swimming lessons and potty training. I wouldn't say he is successful at either yet.

We all hiked up Donut Falls which no longer seems to be a donut.

But it was fun to get out and glad the kids can walk by themselves :)

We try to go to the zoo at least once a week.

I think SM likes this fake elephant better than the real ones. GJ does not agree.

Spanish Fork Fair frozen banana!

Surprisingly, GJ LOVED this fast little roller coaster. Cousin Linc is not so sure!

We have worked a little on a community farm.

SM loves jumping off the diving board and runs all the way down! He is such an improved swimmer! Now lets hope he doesn't forget it by next summer.

5

2010-06-23T16:25:00.010-04:00

Can't believe he is that old! SM had a great birthday! We started off early with cake and presents and Grandma and Grandpa's (where he finally got his own helicopter) then after swimming lessons, we headed to Lindsey's and went swimming at the Spanish Fork pool and had lots of fun. Then we dropped of GJ and just the two of us went to see Toy Story 3, which overall he liked, but he gets way to tense and anxious and at one point was even (loudly) telling me he wanted to leave, but we stuck it out and it turned out okay. Yummy chicken and pepper grilled shish-kabobs for dinner and then Mario Galaxy Wii to finish off his evening. He is such a great kid and growing and learning so much everyday! We sure love you SM!!!

3

2010-06-16T14:13:00.012-04:00

GJ is my sweetheart. He loves his mama. He still has chubby cheeks that shake when he runs. He loves berries, pretty much any kind, mostly strawberries and blueberries. He does not like to play with his brother unless he is in the mood. He copies him when they are being silly though. He likes to look at books, but will only let you read it if it is at his desired pace. He likes flying things, namely the new helicopter he got which his brother is constantly trying to steal. His face lights up so much when he smiles and laughs, which dad can usually get him to do best by being silly. He knows all his letters and can count well, but the colors still seem to evade him (everything is orange). He is a very laid back kid, starting to get quite opinionated with certain things (he must wear lighting mcqueen jammies every night to bed). He loves marbles and will usually play with a toy for long amounts of time (direct contrast to brother). He really is such a joy and so low key, he has a perfect place in our family. He gives me the best hugs and kisses. He insists on praying every time one needs to be said, though leaves out the entire middle. He always makes me laugh.

For his birthday, we had a busy day! We went to the park, the library, had chicken nuggets, met up with Aunt Linny and went to the zoo, (that baby elephant is the cutest) picked up daddy for dinner then had chocolate cupcakes (as you can see, the first batch of frosting didn't quite work out) and then had presents and played in the (wet, oops-I left the lid off) sandbox with his new sand toys.
I love you GJ! So glad you are part of our family!

Feed the birds...

2010-06-06T23:42:00.003-04:00

This week it rained so we stayed in and made some bird feeders with PB and cornstarch spread on a pine cone, then rolled in bird seed.

Very messy and I haven't seen many birds yet, but it was fun.

I really wish the camera wasn't dead, we had our first visit to the zoo, saw a rainbow, lots of park visits, walks, bike rides and camping (hopefully Linny will send me pictures soon to post, hint hint)

Swimming lessons start tomorrow and if feels like summer :)

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-28T11:09:00.011-04:00

For some reason my camera battery won't charge, so I am left with the phone camera, sorry for the poor quality. Glad this was yesterday, we are stuck home today as SM has a fever of 100.

Dressed in the robes of the apostate priesthood, SM graduated yesterday.

He was so cute and I am so proud of him!

His teacher wrote him a special letter on how he has improved (attention span has come a long way) and he is such a great reader (not that I am comparing, but he is the best in his class) :)

The memorized a whole program of songs and poems and rhymes.

But my favorite was probably all the kids belting out the Star Spangled Banner (my favorite song).

He also took a soccer class this month so I could decide if he was ready for a team, which we are going to go ahead with and just hope. Sorry SM you didn't get a ton of jock genes from your parents.

He was one of the oldest though so at least he got some confidence and that is half the battle.

The hardest part of soccer is entertaining GJ who sometimes will sit if he can play with my camera phone. Aren't those the cutest chubby little feet?

This week...

2010-05-25T20:59:00.009-04:00

...started off with snow, but is already improving and we got to play with friends outside. I am sad this is the last week of preschool. No break time for mama. I am trying to teach SM to ride a bike. Not going so well. Finally making some headway on Shelly's quilt. (SM's just has 3 sides of binding to go, pictures to come soon)

My new yellow shoes that make me happy for spring.

Went to the SLC Modern Quilt Guild meeting (I love it!) but all I really made this month was a much needed potholder.

And yummy sweet corn! Even the kids love it!
Hopefully we will go camping soon (any good suggestions for Utah camping?) I am so glad for warmer weather!

a little dirt

2010-05-13T18:51:00.007-04:00

Today was finally warmer and GJ spent most of the afternoon digging in the dirt.

He also loves going to the children's museum and I think he still thinks the chickens are real. Won't he be surprised when we finally get a couple of our own girls?

We also went to an Emergency Prepare Fair a few weeks ago. It was so cool to see the helicopter land right in front of us (and breezy) and then the boys got to climb in. They were in heaven, as you can see.
So far May has been good, I have been working a few hours on quality assurance for the US Census and discovering more parks with the boys as its been getting warmer. I have not read or sewn very much and can't figure out what I will bring to my guild meeting as I have been so lazy, but I finally quilted SM's quilt and am now just waiting for the mailman to bring me the binding. Hopefully next month will be better, but with SM home all day and no preschool, my only hope is putting them to bed really early!

Oregon!

2010-05-01T17:48:00.012-04:00

After a week in WA, we drove down late at night to Oregon to visit my oldest sister, Karli.

They always have deer outside (everyone's gardens are surrounded by large fences!)

We went to the beach.

Rode the 4 wheelers

By far, GJ's new favorite activity. And he would get so mad when it wasn't his turn.

We went to the Newport Aquarium.

And had much nicer weather all week with lots of trampoline time and sun!

Washington!

2010-05-01T17:29:00.009-04:00

Linny and I had a great time driving to WA to visit my brother, sister, and Nana. We had so much fun with our cousins!

jumping with Uncle Shawny

Geocaching with Uncle Tom.
(I didn't realize what good uncles the kids have)
We had an uneventful trip and had lots of fun playing, sewing, teaching everyone to play Settlers, I for sure need to do this again soon.

3 boys in a tub. Shawn's bunny breeding experiment.
That is a lot of boys.

Miss you, Julie!

thanks, Julie

2010-05-01T16:29:00.004-04:00

One of the highlights of going to WA is having my sister do my hair.
Before:

After:

Coloring?

2010-03-24T11:03:00.010-04:00

Six months ago I couldn't get SM to touch a crayon. He hated coloring and drawing. Painting was okay. Yesterday he tells me it is his favorite part of school. Yay for progress. He spent the last hour drawing this machine (he mostly draws machines and rockets) that turns cheese into rainbows. I think it has something to do with Word Girl, but I certainly don't give him his ideas.

I made a quilt for Kamae's new baby (red white and blue of course, she lives in DC) and it was my second one free motion quilted (which is really hard!) with a big stipple pattern but I had less mistakes. Its also hard to sew with soft minky, just so you know.

I also made a hair barrette. Probably a good thing I have no girls.

Made some quick Easter baskets for RE and Amelia. I realize I do like felt and embroidery. I will have to find something else to practice on.
And my biggest accomplishment, I finished Jule's quilt last night. Can you see the little stipple pattern? I just love how it turned out.

Full size. Don't you just want to cuddle right up in it?

In other news, I finally got a bike seat for GJ for the back of my bike, so we have been doing lots of bike rides! Its been fun and good exercise and much easier to go to preschool and GJ does not appreciate the stroller and it takes 20 minutes to walk 2 blocks with him.

Good-bye February, Hello March

2010-03-05T13:29:00.014-05:00

February is now over, I am happy to be closer to Spring. All our snow melted and we even walked to preschool yesterday in nice sunny weather. A couple of hours later it started snowing
and just stopped this morning. Yuck. I only missed one day of my running schedule this week though. We'll see if I can brave the snow tomorrow (for you, Yen) (or it all melts by some miracle) But this is what we have been up to:

I turned 31. We didn't do much, just went to Cafe Rio and had cupcakes. Cut GJ's hair. (it does look better. It will grow back.)

Cut and decided order for the blocks for Shelly's king size quilt (oh my!) Almost ready to start sewing, Julie's quilt is quilted and just need the other half of the border sewn on and I won't start this till hers is done.

Finished another baby quilt with my rocket scraps.

And now today, we are signing up this little guy for kindergarten. I can't wait!

And we haven't had a video in a while, so not much going on, but a few seconds of footage is always fun for a bit.

We are getting excited for April when Lin and I will drive to Washington/Oregon for Spring Break!!! (let me know if you'll be around and want to hangout)

Busy Weekend

2010-02-21T21:04:00.006-05:00

We started Friday off at the Children Museum and they had a mini Olympics obstacle course. Both boys did it several times, though GJ kept trying to go in the middle of someone else's turn. That tube is pretty appealing though as you can see, so I don't blame him.

Then we found out my aunt had been flown home from the Philippines to Utah (they were serving a 2 year mission there) and they found some tumors in her brain. She had surgery and we weren't able to see her, but Pompie and Donna came up from AZ so we spent the afternoon with them. It was so nice, can't believe my grandpa is 90! We already miss them, but will see them again soon in April during our long drive to Seattle for Spring break.
(My aunt is out of surgery and recovering, they couldn't get the whole tumor without paralyzing her or making her lose her speech, so we are praying chemo and radiation work quickly to knock it out! ) Since we were all in Provo, we just stayed the night at Linny's and played Settlers (traders and barbarians) then drove home this morning in the snow. Its cold!
I am determined to start running again though and went on Sat for the first time this year. There are 3 races (half marathon's) I would like to do this year, so we'll see if I can stay committed and not chicken out in the cold.

New way of seeing things

2010-02-15T19:35:00.005-05:00

Good-bye glasses. I finally had laser surgery on my eyes. Its nice not to come in from the cold and have your vision fog up, or when you open the dishwasher, or when you get up the middle of the night for kids you can actually see. I had PRK which doesn't heal as fast as Lasik (they scrape my eye as opposed to cut a flap, my corneas were too thin for a flap) so I am still a little blurry most of the time, I couldn't drive for a week and the first few days were kind of rough, especially at night (thanks again Linny for taking me kids, and then Tad for going down to her house so I could rest alone) Its lame though when you have tons of time and quiet, but can't see to do anything. One night I went to bed at 8:30. I couldn't read, sew, or watch TV so I decided I might as well sleep. It was a bit boring.
Now its just dry eyes at night and still lots of artificial tears, and things slowly clearing up, but I am so glad I did it (thank you Tax refund!) But by 3 months I should be 20/20 and will never look back.

not the scissors

2010-01-25T20:52:00.005-05:00

I am really digging how it curls up over his ears, but husband says we need to cut it. Does he look too girly?

I apologize

2010-01-25T17:48:00.003-05:00

I am sorry if this is turning into a sewing blog, I just like to document the stuff I am making. And maybe just show off a little.

But mostly to show you that even I, a beginning sewer, can make cool stuff, so you can too.

Here is my latest quilt top (I LOVE those little birdies!). I just bought the backing and brought it home and it didn't fit, so now it will sit unfinished for even longer. Too sad.

Cousins!

2010-01-22T00:12:00.002-05:00

We had some cousins come visit from WA and I was so glad they were all such great friends! E and S even wanted to put on SM's pajamas so they could all be wearing jammies together. Even though E is just a day younger, S was the one who was SM's size (okay, he is taller and 15 months younger) and wanted to play pirates with him and SM was in heaven.

Palkki

2010-01-18T17:58:00.003-05:00

The boys built a snowman the other day in the backyard. I asked SM what he wanted to call him and he said, "Palkki." "Like Brenna Palkki?" "No, just Palkki." Okay

what to do...

2010-01-18T17:38:00.006-05:00

I love not working. I am not as tired at the end of the day (though I am still tired, full time mom is by no means easy, don't get me wrong, its just a different kind of tired). So now I read a ton more and get to sew a lot. I just wish I could afford more fabric! Here are my latest projects:

Another Americana quilt, this time for Lisa.

some crochet baby shoes for Megan's baby, hopefully coming this Wed or sooner! Gives me hope that I won't always be the only girl in the house.

I bought this forever ago and cut it out with Lisa, but then with moving and life, I just found it and finished it in one night. Yay me! and it even has pockets.

Last but not least, a quick flower headband to match.
Too bad I am not so motivated to keep the house clean and fold laundry.

sledding

2010-01-18T17:31:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to give you a visual. GJ didn't have much fun, but SM really did and rode for quite a while longer. Its nice when the ATV just pulls you around and you don't have to climb up hills. We stopped in Morgan as our friends were here visiting from Atlanta. Unfortunately (unbeknown to us all) poor Frankie was inside with broken leg. This is about 5 minutes after the incident.

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-11T00:28:00.002-05:00

Nice dinner and chocolate cake.

I think Macaroni Grill would go out of business if they offered GJ all you can eat spaghetti.

Thanks for always making me laugh.

A little Christmas cheer...

2009-12-24T00:34:00.018-05:00

Well its 10:30 and I am done sewing and ready to go to G & G's tomorrow for Christmas Eve (Yay!) As I will not be on the computer for a few days, here are a few things we did to get ready for Christmas:

Decorate gingerbread at the library.

GJ mostly licked the stick.

lSM's preschool play (he was a great shepherd)

And usually gets really shy in front of people, but he said he lines, so I was very proud of him. I got to help out this month in his class and get them ready for the play and play the piano while they sang (the two Christmas songs I know)

First ride on Trax.

Needless to say, the boys were in heaven. We drove downtown and parked a little outside from Temple square so we could ride Trax over to the lights.

It was really cold though! I love I get to see my sister all the time! (though I wish I lived next door)

The fam

He threw a fit most of the time because he had to wear his winter coat (he prefers the camo pullover, and fights me everytime) He is 2.

I debated all day, but I went through my scraps and stash and found material to make a little car cozy that my friend Julie had made as well.

I love the material I used on the inside (like chickens crossing the road, get it?)

And I had finished my niece's last week, but I busted out a crayon roll for GJ tonight as well.

Phew! Now its time to go to bed. Or watch a little Chuck.
Hope you have a lovely Christmas!
I am so greatful for all my blessing this year and I know 2010 is going to be a tough one, but it will all work out!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-16T16:14:00.003-05:00

The tree is up, though I didn't take a picture. I made (okay, Lindsey and her cricut made) a Christmas banner out of pretty paper. I glued it together though and laced it with ribbon.
Our advent is over halfway done. Its just stockings from Martha.
I still don't have stockings for my family though, so I am taking any suggestions.

Reading, sewing, thanksgiving...

2009-12-03T17:52:00.007-05:00

Not much has been going on here, but I will do my best to pull together a post:

I borrowed a book from Kembe (which I made her give me when we moved) called Teaching your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and have been doing lessons with Sawyer over the past month or so and he is doing excellent! I am sure preschool is helping him as well, but he can read most words with short vowels (small words) and long a and e sounds too so we're making a lot of progress and he can read simple books to me, though his biggest obstacle is his attention span. I admit I use candy to get through the lessons and they have been going much better (as long as I use candy that doesn't take a long time to chew!) I am so proud of him!

I finished my second quilt for my sister Lisa's baby. I would love to make a quilt for Sawyer's bed, but I haven't found the right pattern yet. And am scared as it will have to be 4x's this size. EEK!

We had a nice Thanksgiving at Tad's parents house. I do admit I miss hosting a big potluck, but this was just right this year and our first time with family since we have been married. I only made cherry pie (which turned out poorly) and rolls (which were delicious as usual) so it was a breeze! Then we stayed up there for a couple more days so we could mooch and eat more leftovers.

Since its freezing, we got a pass to Discovery Gateway (children't museum). So far its been a great success. We discovered the helicopter outside (since it was freezing, we didn't have to share with anyone) and of course they screamed and cried when I said we had to go back inside because mama was too cold. Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

Now to get ready for Christmas! The tree and advent are up, we'll see if I can pull anything else off.

Its finished!

2009-11-20T00:39:00.008-05:00

I am not a quilter, but I have always wished that I was. I started this quilt back in February at my mom's house (where I could raid her fabric) and finally just finished tonight (hand stitching the binding is hard! My fingers really hurt!) This is a ragged squares quilt for beginners and its not perfect and puckers everywhere, but since I made it, I love it almost as much as a third child. I would like to dedicate this to Jenny, Chante and Angie, the stalwart members of the sewing club (may it rest in peace). I now want to make one like this but I don't think my skills are quite there yet.

I finished crocheting hats for a bit, and am now thinking of new projects for some new babies, but I haven't been inspired yet. They all live in warm climates! I will think of something.

Skate or Die!

2009-11-13T12:27:00.002-05:00

Its mostly just funny to watch. Kids falling all over the ice. But I love it.

Good bye October

2009-11-02T23:25:00.019-05:00

This has been a nice month adjusting to playing with two cute boys all day. Here is what we have been up to last month. We played superheroes (GJ isn't quite a fan)

Painted pumpkins (GJ is REALLY into drawing and painting, SM lasts less than 5 minutes)

Running errands and refusing to take naps (he really fell asleep the whole time at the grocery store. Looks comfy!)

Going to parks

Seeing conference and MoTab

Being silly.

Painting pumpkinsPainting rockets

Assembly

Rocket launch

Preschool Halloween party, very cute!

Highlight of Halloween night might have been chasing this cat.

My cute fireman and shark.

This month is starting out warm so luckily we are able to keep our park routine (for now), looking forward to ice skating lessons and Thanksgiving! Let me know if you have any toddler/preschool craft ideas for November.

Let it snow!

2009-10-27T15:14:00.003-04:00

Or not. I think we got more snow today than all 6 years in Atlanta. Oh well. Bring it on. The kids had fun. Glad I bought the snow pants a few weeks ago when they were on sale.

Snowman didn't make it too long, you can see how it cracked at the bottom. I am sure we will have plenty more opportunities.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T22:23:00.012-04:00

A couple weeks ago when Linny was here, we went to Wheeler farm and got some pumpkins, hay ride and maze. I am not a huge Halloween fan, but I love the fall and we had a great time.

Brave Girls Camp

2009-10-18T13:41:00.009-04:00

A while ago, my cousin who is super creative, amazing, arsty, etc.. posted on FB she and her sister were starting a Brave Girls Club. I thought it sounded wonderful, but since I lack a few creative genes, I called a sister to see if they would go, as I can't go alone to these kinds of things as I am way to shy for that. We turned it into a sister's weekend and four of us went down to Idaho this weekend and had an amazing time.

We ate some amazingly delicous food.

And did some fun and very meaningful crafts.

Awesome bird I made.

I thought we would be intimidated by all the other talented people there (designers, people who had their own product lines, etc) but it was no big deal and we learned a lot from the other girls in so many ways.

Its hard moving to a new city and having no friends and trying to find our new groove here, so it was so nice to get away from that stress and just have fun with my sisters and some truly amazing people.

It really is life changing fun for women and I had an amazing time. Let me know if you want to go and I will go back with you!

I have a serious lack of pictures. Hopefully I can get more from the group. I just can't even describe the details and everything they did to make it the PERFECT weekend. It really was amazing.

Idaho

2009-10-18T12:02:00.000-04:00

How I love Idaho. I always wish we lived on a farm. I wish we had chickens. We had to settle for feeding Uncle Marq's cows.

And as always, we love our Pompie and Donna! Wish we had more time. At least I got some of Aunt M's rasberry jam. Yum!

Independence/random park

2009-10-13T12:35:00.011-04:00

Trying to back post before I forget.

While we were on the road, we passed this random old school park, but it did have this cool spaceship toy and was a nice break from the car.
They also had a nice child area at the visitor's center in Missouri.

We are here!

2009-09-27T21:14:00.002-04:00

No pictures, I am bumming off a wireless signal we are faintly picking up, I just wanted to give an update, more for my online journal, so feel free to skip this if you get bored.
We had some wonderful people show up and help us load up our moving truck. The next day, several wonderful women showed up as well to clean my house. By 4pm, we were ready to go. We were going to go to TX, but with all the flash floods, changed plans and ended up in Lexington, KY that first night at Tad's brothers. We then drove past St. Louis and stayed and swam. The next day we drove out through Kansas (not much to note). More swimming and free breakfast, it was nice. We then went to Libery Jail and then Independence, MO. It was fun and a good break for the kids. Then we went to Denver (WY was the most boring part for me...)and stayed with my first missionary comp in Argentina, (she is the best) who took good care of us. Then one last day to G and G's house where we stayed for almost a week waiting for the truck. It finally came last Thursday, we unloaded with more help of the other Denison's and strangers. Can I say how blessed we have been in the last two weeks for people helping us move and clean and feeding us, etc? Too much for me to count. I am so grateful, moving is so stressful! We had been driving back and forth and hour to SLC everyday to take SM to preschool. Then G and G watched the kids all day while we unpacked Friday and we finally slept in our new place! Its not as big as the house, but are enjoying it so far and have 0ver half the boxes unpacked! Nice to be getting settled.
We'll see how this week goes with Tad starting work and maybe snow!

Savannah/Tybee Island

2009-09-09T22:49:00.009-04:00

Since we have no time or money, we thought it would be fun to take a quick trip to the beach as we will be very far from any oceans.

GJ pointing out some of the benefits of a moat around Fort Pulaski to Tad.

SM LOVED jumping the waves with dad.

We forgot to take more pictures until we were walking back to the hotel.

Wind frizzed hair, don't I look hot?

At the fort again (sorry, too hard to download pictures in order) SM follwing the lines of the canons on the floor.

Locked up in jail. Some confederates may have been in this very cell after the Union took it over. Pretty sneaky.

We had a great trip, wish we had more time, but now on to packing.

Wasington DC

2009-08-23T20:45:00.007-04:00

I had a business trip in DC, so I brought SM along and he spent a night and day with his cousin Ryan. We got to stay in my hotel the next night and swim and have fun. Then we rode the METRO to the Mall and went to the Air and Space Museum. SM was in heaven.

he loved all the rockets. Though there was a definite lack of helicpoters. Well, they might have been there, but with two kids and a huge museum, we just couldn't spend hours looking.

We could hardly get them to smile together.

Sawyer driving a little cessna.

My sweet hotel. After the museum, the boys were racing down the sidewalk and R crashed and gashed his knee open. S carried him a block back to the museum where and then we were escorted through an underground maze to a nurse station.

No stitches, but he was still NOT happy about the whole situation. Poor R!

We had a fun quick trip and I am glad we did it. Who knows when we will be back on the East side again, thanks for having us S and not getting your car stolen.

Villa Rica Balloonless Hot Air Balloon Festival

2009-08-21T13:50:00.005-04:00

It may have been too hot for the balloons to stick around, but there was some really cool tractors.

These are my favorite

2009-08-18T10:51:00.003-04:00

One good thing about being out of town is that no one is picking my veggies (expept maybe the deer or something large that took some major chunks out of my red tomatoes) So while I have usually been grazing and getting one or two things a day, I cam home to a handful of yellow goodness.

Smokey Mountain National Forest

2009-08-18T10:11:00.007-04:00

The next day we drove into the forest and hiked to a waterfall and had a good time. We went to go find a place to picnic and ended up getting rained out. Kids did remarkable well for a mile hike.

Dollywood

2009-08-18T09:50:00.011-04:00

We packed up and drove out to Pigeon Forge, TN right after graduation and had a fun time. We had a great cabin close to the pool and stayed with Tad's brother and his family and Grandma and Grandpa. We went the first night to the Dixie Stamped, which was a fun horse show and dinner (with no silverware)The next day we went to Dollywood and had way more fun that I expected. They had plenty of little kids rides and I wish we would have had more time! We drove cars (SM's favorite) and rode some rides and got wet and had a lot of fun.

We were able to go on a couple big rides, they don't have a lot, and that is just fine with me. It was perfect!

Graduation

2009-08-07T10:08:00.010-04:00

He finally did it! Tad is officially Dr. Denison. I am such a proud wife!

It's Official

2009-07-21T17:31:00.003-04:00

We are moving to Salt Lake. Tad has accepted a post doc position. (I will remain a Cougar, forever). We leave sometime in Sept maybe, we'll see what we can do with the house and if they will let me keep my job. We will miss this place and the friends we made so much, but many have come and gone, so I guess its just the life of students. I can't believe we have 3 more years. Then hopefully a faculty position somewhere (UW...)

Vegetarian Month!

2009-07-12T20:50:00.003-04:00

Lisa eating fresh bean from the garden

Okay folks, we are already 1 week into vegetarian month and I need some more recipes, so please let me know if you have a good one! We are eating fish, just no other meat. I admit, we are not going die hard (the kids eat chicken nuggets if I am out of options for lunch, and I had to eat Brenna's soup, it was delicious) But we are really trying, so please post some more ideas for me! Summer salads, great soups, whatever you got, I will take it! Or we will be eating beans and rice a lot (Puerto Rican of course).

squash

2009-07-09T20:02:00.002-04:00

This is my first zucchini. I did not want to post because I hadn't done my hair that day, but Lisa said that is real life and blogs shouldn't be fake and all perfect. So here am I and my good friend, which SM and I enjoyed cooked with a little evoo. He was perfect.

End of preschool

2009-06-29T11:45:00.002-04:00

I am catching up a bit here before we go on vacation. Here is SM on his last school day. they had a Japanese celebration. He has learned so much this year and he is missing school! I hope we can work something out for him next year. I am a huge fan now of Montessori and will hopefully continue him on that path.

Family Fun Day at Centennial Olympic Park

2009-06-29T10:50:00.005-04:00

Though we have lived here a long time, we have never played in the fountain rings at the park. So since they were having Family Day (last Sat of the month, lots of free craft booth for the kids, we are for sure going next month, you should come) we packed some lunches and headed out. I wish I would have worn my suit. It was HOT!

SM couldn't get enough or running around in the water.

GJ was happier on the sidelines, not too happy about the whole "wet." He does love the pool though.

And there were free Georgia peaches for all.

6 Years

2009-06-29T10:15:00.002-04:00

I so love being married to my sweet husband. Life has had its ups and downs, but I am so glad we got married, we compliment each other so well (another way of saying we are quite opposite!)
We actually got to go on a date this weekend. Hopefully we have more of those to come.

Another Birthday

2009-06-23T09:57:00.005-04:00

He's 4! Lisa made him an awesome rocket cake, complete with fire coming out the back.

He has to have his own cape of course.We sure love our SM. He is a little crazy and rarely goes to bed when I ask, but very entertaining. Time sure goes by fast.

Hooray! Hooray!

2009-06-15T20:40:00.015-04:00

Today was quite a day at our house! First off, let me introduce you to Dr. Denison (yes, now I can say I am married to a Dr.) He had his defense this morning and it went very well and they signed his paper and hallelujah. He does have to do one more experiment, but its so little compared with the last 6 years. Now its to finish up his summer internship and find a job!

Next, we longer have a baby. GJ officially turned two today.

I made him an awesome superhero cape.

He is still learning how to fly.

He had a nice applesauce cake (no eggs of course) that he was very happy about.

But mostly ate the frosting, but his skin didn't break out. Maybe no more milk allergy? (I'm not convinced yet, we go to the allergist next week for annual testing)

And I appliqued and big 2 on his shirt just in case you forget how old he is.

So relieved today is over with. Lots of running around and baking and sewing and presenting and now we can all go to bed early!

Hello, Beautiful(s).

2009-06-09T20:57:00.001-04:00

I love this time of year! Please indulge me as I toot my garden horn.
I couldn't pick my favorite, I just am too excited this year. Here is my first pepper (ever, I have never grown them before) I hope he gets huge and juicy and red! The kids love peppers! This will for sure save us some money. The twins. Come on girls, think big and red! I went from 2 to 6 tomato plants this year, you can never have enough tomatoes.

I just can't explain how much I prefer fresh to cooked veggies. I only ended up with a couple bean plants as I think the squirrels got my seeds and the rabbits finished off my seedling leaves. But I enjoyed this handful of green goodness tonight (trying to even out the chocolate pie I ate throughout the day)

I'm swimming!

2009-06-03T21:09:00.004-04:00

He wasn't really even close to swimming, but he thought he was. He was a crack up and excited throughout the entire lesson. He is supposed to be lying on his back. Not even close.

But he sure is cute.

Picnic Saturday

2009-06-01T09:07:00.001-04:00

Sat was a nice day. I love that the weather isn't too hot like it normally is this time of year. I got up and ran 4.5 miles and then went grocery shopping alone (so much faster!). Then we played and made a picnic. Tad is busy finishing up his paper, so we opted for the backyard, and a nice shady spot. I love my cute boys.

Its go time

2009-05-29T08:02:00.008-04:00

Its just over two weeks now before Tad defends his thesis and we can (hopefully) start calling him Dr D. I can't wait. He has the bulk of it done so has actually had dinner with us a couple times this week. Wahoo! I can hardly wait. So many years of work. I hope it pays off. If you know any any bioengineering jobs out there let us know. We will for sure be here for two more months while he finishes his internship, but after that we have no idea, and he has had little time to look for jobs.
We haven't been up to much other than trying to survive. June is a busy month with the boys birthday, the defense, anniversary, and a visit with Lisa. Its going to be busy and fun.

Sewing more cute shoes (remember, sewing group is June 6th, 10am)

GJ still getting bigger, but still plenty of chub to go around.

SM loves hide and seek and just getting into any random location.

Popsicles Everyday!

2009-05-21T11:49:00.003-04:00

Really struggling with life these days. I wish I could just enjoy the summer and eat popsicles and sew and bake everyday. It will get better, right?

maybe we shouldn't run when its muddy

2009-05-12T13:55:00.001-04:00

I love the spot on his forehead.

finished booties

2009-05-11T11:58:00.001-04:00

I think they are so cute. I do need a little girl. Just not anytime soon.

Chattanooga Part 1

2009-05-08T09:54:00.006-04:00

We convinced Shelly and cousin Ryan to come down to visit us (like that was hard) and we drove up to see Thomas and ride the train with Andrew. It was a very fun day.

Chattanooga Part 2

2009-05-08T08:30:00.000-04:00

After Thomas, we went back to check into the hotel and ten walked downtown and played in the fountains (its right outside the aquarium and this is where they brought the snake out).

gotta love that belly!

and this is him really thinned out! He is still chunky, but is really losing more baby fat!

Chattanooga Part 3

2009-05-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

Our Last day we got up and went to the Children;s discovery museum. We were the first ones there and had a blast. Shelly took care of the older boys mostly, so its not favoritism, I just ended up with a ton of pictures of GJ.

of course loves to play in the water.

can you see the combs on the left? He sat watching the bees forever. Then he found this little window where you could watch them flying in and out.

enjoying a little food prep.

digging for dinosaurs. Shelly opted out saying it was too messy. All worth itits showing as for dinosaurs I say.

Shelly's completed house. She got many compliments. (see video below, we probably spent the majority of our time with this)

Boys inside.

GJ was bored of the house. He opted for chillin'

putting the roof on.

out on the roof.

getting artsy.

listening to her stomach?

His favorite car.

Sewing Class is over

2009-05-07T14:58:00.006-04:00

Sewing class was only a month, but I really enjoyed it. I learned lots of things I didn't know before and know feel like I can do more and will soon attempt to follow a pattern (as soon as I find time).I learned how to do corners and piping and we made a little picnic placemat and a pillow.

With those skills, I made a little carrier for my crochet needles out of my precious Amy Butler fabric.

And now that I have a hook holder, I started to crochet again. Here is a little heart for some booties for baby Emma, I sure hope they will fit!

Snake

2009-05-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

Vio-vio-viola...(or violin)

2009-04-23T18:05:00.007-04:00

Look how cute and tiny these violins are? SM started with his little friend and though he NO attention span, he will hopefully improve with time. He has a marvelous teacher! Thanks!!!

GaTech Football game

2009-04-23T15:32:00.007-04:00

This last weekend we went to (probably) our last GaTech football game. Luckily we played ourselves, so we won (though we didn't make it past half time).
It was a fun day of slides, face painting, the band, and too much sun in the bleachers.

You can just see how thrilled he was to have his face airbrushed.

SM and AP racing up the stairs.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T20:32:00.012-04:00

We had a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. It was really great, lot of people, tons of eggs, pony rides, baby bunnies, prizes, balloons, and the GTech mascot. Could it get any better? Tad has been MIA for the last 2 weeks, getting home after the kids are in bed due to finishing up his PhD, so it was a nice treat to spend a few hours with him in the afternoon, the boys sure miss him.

Tad and the boys and Buzz

he did so great picking up eggs (he doesn't like chocolate, more for me!)

See how cute my bags turned out?

SM was so excited, he has been practicing all week finding eggs!

more eggs

The camera is a little slow, but that is SM riding the pony.

GJ wasn't too sure about those rabbits.

But they were so cute and tiny!

Both scared to death of the Easter Bunny.