I Love to See the Temple

Rick and I haven't been to the temple too many times since we've started our little family. It is kind of tricky when you have rough pregnancies, breastfeed your babies for about a year, and then start the whole thing over again. :) We went last month finally and it was great to be there. We went last night to our Stake Temple session and it was even better. I love being there more with people I know. It was so peaceful and relaxing. The had a chapel session about how to get more out of temple attendance and it was great. We were in a hurry but decided not to be stressed and we still made the session. I'm so glad we went and that the kids were relatively good for Grandma. Thanks Grandma White for watching them!

The Things Kids Say #2

I usually can't remember the funny things my kids say, but these last few days maybe I needed a laugh or maybe my kids are just funny. Anyway, the other day we were working on Carlyn's "All About Me" poster for preschool. Hers was: (the condensed version.)

Me: What is your favorite place?
Carlyn: Chuck-E-Cheese!
Me: Not Disneyland? (she's always talking about Disneyland even though the last time we went she was 6 months old.)
Carlyn: No. Just Chuck-E-Cheese
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Carlyn: A bus driver.
Me: What? Not a pizza cooker anymore? Or last time you said a Mom.
Carlyn: No. I don't know why. Just a bus driver.
Me: What is your favorite thing to do?
Carlyn: Crafts
Me: Really? That's your favorite thing to do? Not swing or ride bikes or play on the computer?
Carlyn: Well, no. I guess my favorite thing to do is play with friends.
Me: Ok. That's fun. If you had one wish, what would you wish for? (I'm thinking it will be to go to Disneyland.)
Carlyn: I would have a pony. A real live pony. Yeah. I would really like that.

I'm shocked. The girl knows what she wants. For now, at least. Then Annie pipes up and says, "Me too! Me too!"

Me: What is your favorite place?
Annie: Here.
Me: Home?
Annie: Yeah. Home. With you. (Oh how sweet.)
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Annie: A race car driver! (without hesitation. Let me remind you she's barely 3!)
Me: Oh. That sounds exciting. What is your favorite thing to do?
Annie: DANCE! (followed by a little move)
Me: And If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
Annie: A pig farm!

The kid had me in stitches. She knows what she wants too. I thought Carlyn's was pretty great until my little ham came in and stole the show. Oh Annie you are a hoot.

To understand this next one, you need to know that when I get frustrated I say "Good night, kid" or something like that. Today she kept walking in my way and we tripped over each other. I started to get frustrated as this is a new habit of hers and she said, "Good night, mom." She looked up at me and we both cracked up.

All Grown Up (She Thinks)

This is my little Carlyn. Well, she's my oldest, but still little. Even if she doesn't think so. She started a free computer class, preschool, and dance class yesterday. She goes M W F to the computer class and preschool and Wed to dance. She has just enough break to eat lunch before preschool. Doesn't she look big? She was excited, but I think I was more excited. I couldn't sleep the night before. We got up and ready and were actually ready about 20 minutes early. If you know me, you know that's a big deal. Isn't she cute?
She picked out her clothes and everything. I thought she'd have a hairdo in mind, but she let me pick.
This is her teacher, Miss Jani. She's in our neighborhood and I hear she's great. Carlyn sure had a great day, but couldn't think of much to tell us afterward.

Last week, I fell down the stairs. Duh, huh? Unfortunately it wasn't the first time. The point is, my back hurt, but what really hurt was my neck. I slept with a neck brace or my neck hurt so bad I wanted to cry. I wore it during the day a little, but I usually could remember to hold it still. I took it off and Rick put it around Darren's waist. Rick thought it was hilarious that Darren looked like a sumo wrestler. Labor Day weekend we cleaned out the garage, took a huge load to the dump, and worked on cleaning out Rick's store a little. The rain put a damper on that (oh, darn) on Monday morning and we didn't get a lot done. Then we met my family that is in Utah at Chuck-a-Rama in Provo for an early dinner and then went to see Kung Fu Panda. The kids loved it but Darren wasn't the greatest so Rick and I tag teamed it and only saw half of it again. This picture was afterward in the car while we waited for Daddy. I got a really cute picture on my phone, but can't get to it right now. We did have a lot of fun.

The Things Kids Say

Recently we worked on a song in Primary called, "I Want to be a Missionary Now." If you don't know, the first of the song goes:
I want to be a missionary now.
I don't want to wait until I'm grown.
Well, Carlyn and I were singing it and got messed up on the 2nd verse. Then she started singing:
I want to have a baby of my own.
I don't want to wait until I'm grown.

Pause...
I busted up and tried to explain to her that 4 years old was too young to have a baby and she should wait 20 years. :) She still said she didn't want to wait, but said that if that was Heavenly Father's plan then she would wait.

Yesterday Anneliese kept falling down and came running in saying "I have blood. I have blood." So I lifted her up on my lap and looked at it. I must have touched it too because she said, "Don't touch my blood. Only I touch my blood." I don't know why, but that cracked me up! So cute.

Just so I don't leave Darren out, his latest "trick" is chucking food when he's done with it. As if he didn't make enough mess eating already. Its a good thing he's cute!

Boating on Jordanelle

Rick's sister Belinda wanted to take the girls 0n the boat last weekend so we loaded up and headed for Jordanelle with her, Josh, & Grandma Linda. It was so great! It was a hot day, but not much wind until late in the day. We took the girls on the banana at first and it was pretty calm so they threw Darren on too. I was a little nervous, but so was Belinda, so they drove carefully when they kiddos were on. Annie didn't last long after this and Rick and I went out with just Carlyn. We both got thrown off the back and there is Carlyn hanging on the front like a trooper. She's great! They had fun throwing us off later when it was a lot choppier.

Later, Rick and Belinda both tried to wake board. Rick getting ready to try.

Bon & D on the beach. D took a short nap and we chilled out waiting for them. It really was awesome though. D is SO good in his play yard. We have a joke that he is Uncle Joey from Back to the Future. He's the uncle who is always in jail and when Marty goes back to the past Joey is the baby and loves the play pen.
We took a break for lunch. It really was the perfect place. There is a cove across from the marina. And we had enough food for an army :)
Annie's sandcastle she made with Grandma Linda.
Mom with Ann & D on the boat.
Carlyn didn't want to be out of the water much. She just had a ball!
Thanks Belinda and Josh for inviting us to share the fun day with you. We had a great time!!!

A Few Fun Things

I wanted to post about a few fun things that happened in the last week or so. My Annie Bear has been doing great at potty training! We had to do a little boot camp, but that was over 2 weeks ago and since then, she has been awesome. She only had a couple accidents in the first couple days. Her reward for potty training was a date with Mommy to Knick-knack Donald's. She loved it. She chatted up a storm and told me all her favorite things and all about herself. She's really a hoot if you can get her to open up. She even told me that she didn't want to go to a playground McD's because she only likes them a little bit. She loved the little table just for the 2 of us. She's my little girl.

The girls were playing the other day and I wasn't paying attention. I looked down and realized that they had made this bug picnic. Annie has been obsessed with bugs lately and has quite a collection of plastic ones. Look closely. They had laid out a plate with a Lego or play food for a bug or two. I hate those huge black ants. They are all over my house and look like spiders.
This was a grandma's house. The piano was the only thing to keep D happy. Carlyn pulled him up and they both climbed up next to him.
This isn't very clear, but this is them playing with with my cousin Parker. Tonight we had a street party. We've done it for 4 years now. Its a lot of fun. You can't really see the kids all playing on the grassy area, but its so fun to have them all playing after a nice dinner where everyone pitches in and brings stuff.

Our awesome neighbors. We love it here.

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.

Mamma Mia!

I found a new favorite movie for awhile. I know, I know, the morals are a little lose for my taste, but I generally just wanted to dance and sing along. I felt happy. I think I smiled almost the whole movie. I went with my Mom and afterward I said we needed to make some funky outfits and find a place to use them because I think those ladies had WAY more fun than we ever do! Plus it would be good exercise. I need to learn my Abba better, but as soon as I do, I will be singing along.

My Baby is 1!

Last week my parents were in Park City for a couple days. We went to walk around the outlets with my mom and the kids had fun on the playground. Here's D on the slide
This is Darren on his birthday. He was mad that I was taking a picture instead of picking him up but finally decided to smile for the picture.
Mom and Dad left Park City Friday so we just had a party with them and Grandma Hilton at McDonald's. I got him to hold up his finger to say he was 1. He was funny about unwrapping and was sure he was going to get in trouble for ripping the paper. Annie was happy to help.
Cute cake! Thanks Macey's!
This was the present. He was scared of the noise, but Annie showed him what to do.Saturday we had a party for him at the park. Mathew, Lindsay, Belinda, Josh, Grandma Linda, Maureen, Delenn, & Grandma White were all there. We had Costco pizza, opened presents and had cake. It was great! This was the present from us. I got it off of KSL.com. Love it!
I let the girls choose a present for him from the dollar store. Annie got him bath toys and Carlyn got him a little basketball. He loved the firetruck that he's sitting on so much that it was hard to get his attention on anything else.

Gma Linda gave him a cute fireman outfit too and Gma White gave him this vacuum. Notice that he's still sitting on his firetruck.
He was not your typical boy digging into his cake. What's done there is what Rick did and D freaked out. He let Rick feed him a bite or two then stood up trying to get to Daddy.
In the process he dragged his foot across the top of the cake and that was the most damage done. He really didn't like the frosting on his hand.

Funny Discussion

Annie is dong much better on potty training, but still having the occasional accident. So, the kids were getting in the tub the other day and Anneliese runs to the potty to go. She came back naked and said, "I have a big butt!" She was proud of that. :) Then Carlyn says, "No you don't. You are just a little girl. You have a little butt." They argue back and forth like that for a minute and then the comparisons start. Carlyn says, "I have the bigger butt because I'm bigger. Annie has a big butt, but smaller than mine. Darren is the littlest because he's just a baby." I'm nearly laughing my head off at this whole conversation and praying the whole time that my butt won't come into comparison. :) I can just imagine what they would say. Oh to be a kid and wish for a big butt!

Something fun

I don't ever go to youtube, but Rick sent me this. I didn't care at first and then I laughed and laughed. Its been a stressful week and maybe you need a laugh too. :)
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=UkTQwP2gFxU&feature=email

Olympics

I love watching the Olympics. It makes me emotional watching it. Like right now, they are talking about the 33 year old mom who is on the gymnastics team for Germany. That's a year older than me! She moved to Germany from the Ukraine because her son had Leukemia and facilities weren't adequate in her country. Now she's competing again. I love it when they tell those stories. Very emotional, or did I say that already. Plus, when they do the medals ceremony and play our national anthem, I can't hold it in. I love watching their faces. Go USA!

Potty Help

I did a post about Anneliese recently, but I'm calling out for help in this one. I'm about at the end of my rope. I've been the kind of mom to want my kids to potty train on their own and maybe I'll have to go back to that. But, Annie can go on the potty, but refuses. I've tried many tactics and nothing has worked. Actually today went pretty well, but I tried them all together!!! No kidding. I told her no more pull-ups and diapers only at night. I had her choose her favorite underwear, gave potty treats, stickers, and even a potty prize after each time with a goal of ten times to be rewarded with a trip to McDonalds "knick knack Donald's" with mommy.

Today she went 4 times, with 3 accidents. Usually it would be 1 time in a week or two. So we're already improving. I'm sure that doing all that was too much, but I was desperate. I can't change 8-12 diapers a day anymore. Its driving me crazy. Carlyn had to work at it for awhile to get it right, but as soon as she found out her friend was potty trained, that was enough motivation. Anneliese doesn't care about that however and no amount of guilt can make her feel bad. I hope that's not an indication for the future.

Oh, one time after she had an accident, she had Snow White panties on so I said, "Oh no. You peed on Snow White!" Ann said, "Yeah, she gonna be mad." Then later she peed on her Dora panties and she was all sad and said, "Oh no Mommy. Dora gonna be so mad at me." I smiled and said that Dora would understand that she was just learning and wouldn't be too mad at her. Too cute. What was not so cute was when she was sitting on Carlyn's pillow and peed on it.

If you have any tips, please let me know. Thanks!!!

Tagged - 2 Things

TAG - YOU'RE IT! I've been tagged by several people now, so...

Two names you go by:
1. Bonny
2. Mommy (or any form thereof)

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Glasses
2. Sandals

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. My van battery to work
2. A steady paycheck

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Katie
2. Emily (that's right girls, pressure!) :)

Two things you did last night:
1. Played games with my husband and brother
2. Put a post on my blog about my father in law

Two things you ate today:
1. Chicken enchiladas
2. Jelly Bellies

Two people you last talked to:
1. Rick
2. Anneliese

Two things you are doing tomorrow
1. Going to visit grandmas
2. Going to an Enrichment party

Two longest car rides:
1. Utah to St. Louis
2. Utah to North Dakota

Two favorite beverages:
1. Chocolate milk
2. Apple juice

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.