A Few Things I Don't Want To Forget

There are a few things my kids have said or done that I want to write down because I forget so many things already.

For example: On Valentine's Day I opened the blinds to show Darren the snow and he yelled, "No. No," (for snow) and ran to find his boots. He found one and brought it to me. That reminds me of when we were in CA at the mall having lunch with Barrett and Katie. The kids were playing at the play area and Rick went over to watch. When Darren saw him he ran to the shoe shelf, grabbed his Thomas the Train shoes and took them to Rick to put them on him. He just seemed like such a big kid and it was so cute. He loves Thomas now because of those shoes which are now too small. I almost cried when I put them away.

Lately he's been so snugly. Its just cute when he'll go up to one of the girls or Rick or me and just hug us tight. He usually does it over and over. We especially love it when he pats our back.

Anneliese is changing from our cute little toddler who says her c's at t's and l's as w's. Today she said, "tute" then corrected it with "cute". She doesn't call McDonald's "nick knack Donald's" anymore. She goes to play at friends houses sometimes. Instead of drawing scribbles and saying, "look, I'm writing," she says, "look at these letters I wrote," and will have written A's I's E's T's & M's. She can spell her name out loud if she focuses. She still has a little pixie hairdo because hers works better that way, but it would be so long if I stopped cutting it. She picks her own clothes now. She still says "actuwe" for "actually" but she uses it in appropriate places. I got her saying wrong in the last post and she says, "It doesn't matter and it does matter," all the time. She still wants only Mommy most of the time and can throw horrible fits sometimes.

Carlyn amazes me all the time at how grown up she can be. She wanted to borrow Mario Party from our neighbor and she went right up to him at church and asked if she could. Thanks BTW Brian. They love it and we'll have to bring it by soon. I wouldn't have dared do that when I was 5. Its amazing watching them play it too. Annie's got all the luck. She rolls high and usually can guess things pretty well. Carlyn can read just enough of it that she'll figure things out and teach Annie. They memorize a lot of course, but she asks words and remembers them. Some of the games are too hard for them to play, but some they really rock on.

Today in the car Carlyn was thoughtful and said, "I miss President Hinckley." Annie said, "He died." Carlyn said, "I know. I still miss him. He was a sweet man and its okay to miss him." It was so cute.

Almost everyday they ask to call Aunt Belinda (Rick's sister) or Uncle Mathew (my brother) or to go to their house or invite them over. Maybe it is because they are closest or don't have their own kids yet, but they sure love their aunt and uncle. On that same note, anytime grandma, grandpa or Mathew are mentioned, Darren says, "Mama. Papa," and runs to the door looking for them. After playing at Belinda's house with their dog Nala he would say, "Nala." Then when Belinda was mentioned or he saw her he would say, "Nala," again expecting the dog to be there. Or he would woof if he didn't say Nala.

The cutest thing I don't want to forget is that Rick said to Darren one night, "You are so adorable. Can you say adorable?" Darren's response to that was, "A-dor-a-bul." We were all amazed and thought it was the cutest thing so we kept trying to get him to say it again. He would either say "dora" or "bull" which was pretty funny too. Then a few days ago he brought me Annie's slipper that has Dora the Explorer on it. I said, "Yeah, is that Dora? Say Dora." He said, "Bull." Too funny!

We still have a few months, but they are concerned about what the baby's name will be. I already did a post on how they named it Charlie. Carlyn said, "I'm named after my great grandma. Annie's named after you. Darren's named after Dad. Who will the baby be named after?" I asked who she thought it should be named after and she thought about it. She asked what Dad's Dad's name was (he passed away). I told her it was Bruce. She said it was cute and maybe the baby's name should be Bruce. I said what if it was a girl and she couldn't come up with an answer. Actually, I've been wondering the same question. I'd like to have a family name for the middle name at least. I have several options if its a boy but I'm not sure about girl names.

The End of an Era

We are coming to the end of an era in our family. 3 years ago we worked hard to open Rick's store, Rick "The Computer Guy." It took a lot of work and time, but I was very proud of my husband and his efforts. With much sadness I announce that we are closing the store. It just isn't paying for itself. It is closing but not for lack of trying. I've never known anyone who worked harder than Rick. We've had a lot of ups and downs. It seems like we just never could catch that break that would make it easier. I'd like to go on a rant about employees, market conditions, stupid people who don't think they need to pay, and cheap people who only buy crap, but that won't help anything.

I think back on 3 years ago and my brother Mathew was just home from his mission. He lived with us and helped a ton with the store. Carlyn was almost 2. Anneliese was a little baby. Rick was gone so much during those first months that Annie wouldn't even go to him. Darren wasn't even thought of. We've been through a lot since then. We've struggled a lot, but we've struggled together. I'm not complaining, though I have plenty. It was a fun thing to watch Rick work. I loved that he operated a store with integrity and sold quality computers. I didn't always love the long hours, but he was passionate about what he did and I couldn't fight that.

So, he's going to keep consulting like he was before and he's looking for a job. He's got a couple of good prospects. Thanks again to my parents for all the money, time, and advice they've helped with. Thanks to our family, neighbors, and friends who have supported the store and our family in many ways. Thanks to the employees who worked hard. Thanks to our great customers who appreciated the work he put in. Thanks, Rick for being my man and working so hard. I love you and appreciate you.

Grandpa Bruce

Rick's Dad, Grandpa Bruce, died 12 years ago. Rick gets very emotional when he thinks about me and the kids not knowing his dad. Well, I didn't know him, but this is a memory of him. He wasn't in great health at this point. He passed away from complications due to diabetes. Rick remembers playing cribbage (one of our favorite games) and other games with him. Rick laughed and said his best memory of him was when he fell off Rick's horse and broke 3 ribs. We miss you, Grandpa Bruce.