Christmas in Kentucky

We flew home on Dec. 26th. Madelyn was a bit of a turkey on the airplane. Poor kiddo didn't feel well and didn't sleep well the night before.(neither did MOM) But we were so glad to be home. However Santa had come to our house and even though it was after 10:00pm, who can wait to open SANTA presents!! We stayed up until 1:00am having Christmas!! Very fun after a long day of traveling. I think we were all just glad to have some space and not be on the airplane anymore! We are still trying to adjust to Kentucky time. Good thing we gave the girls a week before school started it might take us that long to get back on track!

A white Christmas In IDAHO

I had to post this picture for some of you Kentuckians who have never seen this much snow in all of your lives!! For me Christmas isn't the same without some snow. In fact I have a hard time convincing myself that it is winter here in Kentucky, after going home and seeing this!



We had such a fun trip home. We were able to stop and see the Temple square lights in Salt lake city. I am always in awe at how beautiful Temple square always is. I wish our pictures would have turned out better. It was a truly beautiful.

We played in the snow. The girls had so much fun in the snow! Both of their faces were chapped from being out in it so long. They rode for hours on the sled behind the snowmobile. Madelyn wasn't to thrilled with the snow.

We spent some time with Joe's family trying to get all the girls to sit pretty in their new dresses! I hope Grandma got a good one because ours didn't turn out so great!
Thanks Dan and Julie for letting us stay with you!! We had a fun Christmas Party and spent time catching up.

On Christmas Eve the pajama Fairy found us at Grandma's house! And look what she brought the DA D's!! ( Joe is going to kill me!!)

These were so funny complete with the flap in the back!!

Christmas Day was bitter sweet knowing our time was up and we were headed back to Kentucky. None the less Santa found us and informed the girls that he had brought them a little something but there gifts that they really wanted were in Kentucky waiting for them!

We were able to spend Christmas night with Joe's sister and family in Payson Utah. This is one of the few trips we have been able to see everyone!! Including my grandparents, Oh how I love them! Thanks everyone for making Christmas so special this year! We loved spending time with you and miss you all already!!

Thanksgiving memories

We finally got around to getting all of our pictures downloaded again.
So I am back posting for my Journal.

Over Thanksgiving break we had so many leaves in our yard. I always think it is funny because we don't even have a tree in our yard anymore. We had one when we first moved here and it was ant infested. One day a huge limb fell and they had to cut the whole thing down. Anyway, I miss my tree but not so much in the fall. Kaitlyn has become quite good friends with our neighbor Angie. She has a little girl about 6 months older than Madelyn named Anna. Kaitlyn PROMISED Angie she would help her rake her leaves. Kaitlyn helped her one afternoon, and then continued to ask for weeks when she could go rake more leaves. Anyway when we decided to rake our leaves we borrowed Angie's rake so we could get the job done faster. In return we decided to help Angie and rake her whole front yard!! Kaitlyn and Joe did all of it.



The pile was huge and who can resist jumping in a pile that big of leaves! Joe threw Kaitlyn in a few times, until her shoe fell off somewhere in this pile. It was impossible to find. We looked for awhile and then gave up. Once all the leaves were bagged Angie brought the shoe over. She found it before bagging the last bag of leaves! Kaitlyn was so proud of herself and her hard work. I was really proud of her too.

Our Top 2007 List

This is a fun idea. The Yates top 10, in no particular order....

#10- Joe Graduated from Dental School!!! YEAH
#9- We were able to enjoy one more beautiful fall in Kentucky. (We are looking forward to another spring too!!)
#8- Kaitlyn is in 1st grade and has really done well in school. She is reading on a 3rd grade level! Kaitlyn always has a story to tell and can usually be found performing something.
#7- Jenna loves preschool this year, and has started reading! Jenna loves doing little craft projects and doing "homework" in her workbooks.
#6- Madelyn has grown so much this year. She started to walk , talk, dance, play, and she gives great HUGS! I am always so amazed at how much they understand at such a young age.
#5- We have been able to explore Kentucky this year something we had not taken advantage of in previous years. We have been to several state parks, and have enjoyed some overnight adventures camping!
#4- Joe and I have been married for 7 years! ( and he is still putting up with me!)
#3 -We are so blessed to have so many great Friends and Family!
#2- We have been so blessed this year with good health.
#1 -At the last minute, things have fallen into place to go home for Christmas!!

I think I will tag Pam!

My walmart love hate relationship!

I love walmart prices! However I find myself so MAD at walmart on so many occasions. Last week BOTH our cars needed some attention. The van needed the tires rotated and balanced and the car needed an oil change. Since walmart is cheap we of course bought our tires there, so this service would/should be free. Apparently, you need to purchase a cart load of patience along with the tire warranty. I waited for 2 hours on monday morning with a hungry little toddler who hates shopping. We did our grocery shopping and the lady that brought her car in AFTER mine found me in the dairy section. She had just checked on her car and it was in the shop and nearly finished. Not to draw an obvious conclusion but since I had come in before her, I figured that mine was probably finished. So I bought my things and headed for the tire center. Only to find my car had not moved. Yep still right where I left it, not a thing done to it. I mentioned that I thought they took the cars in the order they arrived and sure enough the lady confirmed this. So why is my car still sitting there you ask, good question. Madelyn was completely loosing it after 2 hours of wondering, so we decided to leave.
The next night we decided to just make an evening of it. We went to Walmart with the 2 vehicles. Joe's car went in first and then the van. So here we ALL are at Walmart at 6:00 at night. First came the "I need to use the bathroom from Kaitlyn and Jenna." So we head into the bathroom only to find not a single piece of toilet paper! Only moments later Jenna starts screaming. Apparently when she sat down somehow the toilet pinched her leg under the lid. ( still not sure HOW this happened) I got Jenna settled down and under control and we go to wash our hands. Here we find only one out of 3 of the motion sensors for the water works!! Great there is now a long line because we held things up with the leg incident, and only one place to wash hands lovely! We find Joe and get in line to pay for our things. We wait FOREVER in line to pay for our items. (this no longer surprises me at walmart, it is a guarantee!) Okay so back to the tire center we go. Joe's car is done! yeah Apparently they can't find the locking hub cap wrench for the van. So I go out to the garage with the guy to get it for him. We get out there and he goes to lower the van. There is this terrible loud crunching noise! The guy swears and then disappears and leaves me standing there. I waited and waited and waited 15 minutes goes by and I am not sure what is going on! I walk back to the service desk . Apparently the lift was not working properly and he had to go get someone to help him. They finally get the Van down and I decided to grab the car seat so I could take my tired kids home and leave Joe to wait for the van. I load all the kids in the car get all the car seats situated and start down the road. We get about 3 blocks and the car starts smoking and smells awful! I turned around and headed back to WALMART! We find that they have over filled the oil and spilled it all over the manifold. By this time the van is done and we see the mechanic pull it out of the garage and go speeding through the parking lot squealing the tires around the corner!! NICE THATS MY CAR!! At this point we were still waiting for Joe's car to cool down enough to check the oil . Joe went in to get the keys for the van. I load all the kids up in the Van this time. Joe comes out to check the oil and Walmart locked the door! Yep we are parked not 3 feet from the door with the hood up. They were aware that there was a problem, and they locked the door anyway! So nothing we can do but head home now. I get in the van and they tossed the oily locking wrench on the console. Oil everywhere. Not to mention all the stuff that once was on the console is spread throughout my car from the crazy mechanic speeding through the parking lot! To top the entire evening off we get home to find out that they actually ended up charging us for the tire rotation which should have been free, and they left a big oil stain on the seat of Joe's car, which is now on both of our PANTS!! Don't you just LOVE WALMART! The funny thing is that we are looking into a practice that is 2 hours from the nearest walmart and I have been sad about it!! My ongoing love hate relationship continues I guess!

Bernheim Forest

I was so sad when we got to Bernheim Forest and realized we were about a week too late for all the beautiful vibrant fall colors.
This road looked somewhat promising but it was closed due to hunting season. I really wanted to take some fun outdoor pictures this year. Trying to get 3 dramatic girls to hold still and act somewhat natural for 5 minutes is quite the task. This is as good as it got!! Looks like we will be headed for the studio once again for some family pictures.

Jenna 4, Madelyn 18 months, Kaitlyn 6

They were all so excited to go and see the deer that
we only got a few pictures. Even Madelyn was into the whole posing thing!! They are so funny. I don't think I have a picture of Kaitlyn without her head tilted to one side or another. And Jenna tries to sit pretty but her posed princess smile is not quite the one I want to hang on my wall. ( This is actually a pretty good one of Jenna.) We had a good time anyway and spent plenty of time petting the one eyed deer. We also spent a good amount of time answering random questions about petting a wild animal, and speculating why the deer only had one eye!!

Tom Sawyer Park

A couple weeks ago we went to Tom Sawyer Park. The weather was beautiful and we all needed some fresh air. This was Madelyn not wanting to sit on the bench for her picture.

I love this picture!! The girls didn't want their picture taken and were hiding and running away on the playground equipment. It turned in to a fun game of camera tag! Joe and I kept trading off the camera and trying to "catch" them in a photo. Don't they look surprised!

If we don't catch them off guard they always insist on posing for us. This is their posed picture!!

As we were leaving there were a bunch of hot air balloons launching. Our family always gets excited when we see hot air balloons. We stopped and watched until they had all lifted off.

Baby Talk

My other girls seemed to talk a lot! Madelyn doesn't really seem to care much about the whole talking thing. She says MAMA in a very demanding tone. For a long time everything was MAMA. She has added a few words Ball, Daddy, MINE and her most recent Bubble! It seems to me that my other girls said a lot more at this age ( could be my selective memory.)
Anyway it is something I have been working on with her. I have never used sign language with my other kids. But started looking into a little. I found this site http://www.signwithme.com/ It explains the sign and shows you a small video clip of the sign. I am so impressed with how Madelyn has done with this. She has learned 5 signs in the last 2 days and really seems to like it. (please, more, bath, bedtime, and drink) She also tries to say the word with the sign. Which I feel is a huge step in her communication. I wish I would have started this earlier with her. It has been fun for all of us to learn something new. It is also fun to see her come up with her own signs when she is trying to tell me something. My favorite is when she opens her mouth and points at her tongue and says ahhhh. She wants something to eat.

Tender Moments

I guess this post is more for the Grandparents.
Our Family Home Evening last night was about testimonies. There is nothing sweeter than the simple testimony of a child. We were asked to write our testimonies for my brother, who is on his Mission, for Christmas.

Kaitlyn: 6 years old.
When I turn eight I will get baptised. After the baptism I will get the holy ghost.
What I think about Missionaries is that they teach you the gospel and you learn about Jesus without going to church. They teach you good things.
I know that the church is true and that the holy ghost is real. I know that Jesus and Heavenly Father are real.
I know that everything I learn in the church is real.
When I grow up to be a missionary, I will teach the gospel. But before I grow up to be a missionary I must learn the gospel. I know that all these things are true.

Jenna: 4 years old.
I think that Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy ghost is true. Oh and I think Joseph smith is real too.
When I turn eight , I get baptised. You go down into the water and you might need to plug your nose. I think the Holy ghost is a good thing and I like it.
I like the Missionaries and want to be one when I get big. The best thing about being a missionary would be the blessings.

Madelyn: 18 months.
Recently started nursery and lOVES it.

There is more tagging going on!

I have been tagged a few times in the last week or so. I know I am cheating by only listing 6 but I really am not that interesting!

1: I am completely grossed out by other peoples feet! They are cold, clammy, smelly and really just gross. I can't stand bare feet touching me. There goes my career in Pedicures!

2:One of my all time favorite snacks is a regular potato chip with a piece of cheese and a drop of ranch dressing! It is really good you should try it, I am pretty sure it is FAT FREE!!

3:I sleep with my eyes open. Not wide open but slightly open. I know it is really creepy! I use to hate falling asleep on the bus for school trips! I would wake up with people standing over me holding up fingers trying to decide if I could see or not while I was asleep. Then the comments gross, that is sooo weird etc....

4: I am not a fan of large crowds. Hence the reason my Christmas shopping is half done! yeah

5: I am absolutely in love with Cheddars Chocolate cake! If you haven't had it you have to go. First of all it is huge!! Second it is a whole lot of chocolaty goodness all layered and drenched in more chocolaty goodness. It is a good thing it takes me a good 30 minutes to make my way to Cheddars. I am getting hungry just thinking about it! Yummy

6: I can't dance to save my life! I have absolutely no rhythm.

Well There you have it more useless trivial facts about me!! I have no idea who to tag I think everyone has done it! Sorry

Tis the Season

With Halloween behind us, it seems it is time to look towards Christmas!! I can hardly believe it is that time of year again.
As my girls get older I feel like they should be more involved in the whole Christmas process. I would like to help make their Christmas more meaningful by giving them opportunities to earn money and then use it to purchase/make gifts for others in the family. It is a great thought isn't it! Here is the problem, I am completely at a loss at how to begin. Does anyone have any great ideas on how they have involved their families more for Christmas??
I guess this brings me to another petty confession. My kids rarely do chores and I feel like I am doing them such a disservice. We have tried a few different things but nothing has really stuck. I am torn between the whole allowance thing. I don't want them to think every time they pick up a sock they should be rewarded. However, I do feel like they are getting old enough that I would like to teach them some basic money management.(save 4 quarters earn a trip to the dollar store. ) I would like them to be able to have some daily or even weekly responsibilities!! I know a few of you out there have figured this out and have "happy" helpers in your home right now! I need all the help I can get, any thoughts....

Halloween Masterpiece

Joe loves Halloween. In fact I sometimes think he likes it more than Christmas. I remember our first Halloween after we were married. I came home from work and Joe had taken a trip to the local DI and purchased several bags and pieces of random things, which I believe included a vacuum. This is what he came up with.

I should have figured out then that Halloween was a big deal! These were our costumes last year.

I have been telling my kids all season that part of Halloween is your imagination. You don't have to look exactly like the character you are dressing up as. Joe however pays attention to all the fine details. This Halloween started out with Joe making this fake nose. We had a lot of fun with this. However after a trip to Kmart his costume took on a different direction that was so good the nose was no longer needed!

Joe tried this wig on at K-mart where we purchased it. He came out of the dressing room and said "HEY" I looked and I literally did a double take, I didn't think it was Joe. From the teeth, to the tattoos, to the fake belt buckle made from a silver dollar and Gerber baby food lid. Here is the Masterpiece! It did win him 1st prize at the Border's Halloween bash!!

7 days of bad luck

It all started when Kaitlyn came home from school and announced that someone at school had given her a "Bad Luck" charm......

My Mom came to visit which is always such a treat for me. I LOVE my MOM!! Her flight was delayed several hours and she didn't arrive until 4:00 in the morning! It is kind of a family joke that whenever my Mom travels or plans a trip you can count on bad weather. Well this one was no different after the worst drought in Kentucky history, as I was driving to the airport at 4:00 in the morning, it started to RAIN! (something we haven't seen in months!) The next afternoon we got a phone call from home. My Dad owns his own construction business. He had fallen off 12 foot roof and shattered his heel up into his ankle. He was told to stay off of it for two weeks to let the swelling go down before surgery.We are so fortunate that only his leg is broken, it could have been so much worse. The next few days were filled with concern and uncertainty not sure whether to send Mom home, or keep her in Kentucky. My brothers all pitched in and helped out when they could, so she was able to stay the whole time. (Thanks guys!)The next day we got another phone call and her roof at home had been leaking. My Dad was stuck in bed so again my brothers ( you gotta love them) pitched in and tore out all the carpet and took care of the leak.
Then came the weather in Kentucky, TORNADO'S ! Not something our family takes lightly after my Grandmothers house was hit when I was growing up. That made for a fun filled evening, Joe was gone teaching a class of 14 Female Dental assistants, who were also panicked, and his girls at home were a mess too! (girl drama overload, poor guy) The week wouldn't have been complete without throwing a few sick kids into the picture. Kaitlyn had strep throat, and Madelyn had a terrible cold. Which is no surprise since we had 3 days filled with drenching rain which we desperately needed. Kentucky went from the worst drought ever to the wettest October ever, in just 3 days! ( You can thank my Mom for the rain!!) We thought things were starting to look up when the day before my Mom left my washer started making a clunking sound! With 3 kids and more company coming in, I couldn't be without a washer for very long! The washer story deserves a blog of it's own!! I am proud to say my mom and I had the washer bought, loaded and even installed by ourselves by the end of the day. That is one appliance I don't think I could live without!
Our bad luck streak seems to be improving. And looking back in each of these trials there was a blessing that also came with it. I was so impressed with my Dad's attitude in all of this. I borrowed this quote he sent me.
"Bad breaks... need not break a good man; They may with God's help even make him better." Neal A Maxwell - Experience, pp 40-41

Even through our bad luck streak we were able to have a good time though. We went to the Zoo trick or treating, Huber's Farm pumpkin picking, Christmas shopping and more.

We told the girls they could pick any pumpkin they wanted, as long as they could carry it. They had so much fun finding the perfect one!

THE RACE

(One of the many shirts we saw at the Race!)

Saturday was the race for the Cure. My friends Cathy and Missy ran it with me. Cathy posted a picture of all the stuff we got for participating on her blog. We went early and it was like trick or treating for adults!! We just walked around and collected all the things the sponsors of the race were giving away. Then of course we had to run. I must say it is a pretty awesome sight to see as far as you can see, people running or walking, united for a purpose. What a way to wake up in the morning! I wish I would have had my camera. I think they were expecting 11,000 participants this year! I always have a sense of accomplishment when I finish, even though I would have liked to do better. I am proud of my comrades too. This was Missy's first race, and I think she had a good time. And in this race we were given 2 different T-shirts which made Cathy's day! (Unfortunatlely our shirts weren't quite as great as the one above!)Way to go Lady's!!

Thinking PINK

Okay LADIES, If you are not a LADY you should stop reading right NOW! Beings this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I would share a very personal story. About 3 weeks ago I went to see my Ob-Gyn. I had a spot on my breast that was bothering me. My doctor had a very quizzical look on his face and replied " If you were my daughter or my wife I would want this checked out. So that is what we are going to do, I am going to send you for a MAMMOGRAM!" (YIKES) I was terrified. First of all I am 28! I am to young to be starting mammograms! I tried really hard not to think about it. But I was a total wreck the night before my mammogram. Partly for the unknown and partly because of the procedure itself! I honestly do not think I have ever been that worried about a test ever! I was so fortunate though there was a Doctor on hand the day of my Mammo. He looked at the images while I waited to see if I needed any more tests done. I am so relieved and grateful everything seems to be fine.
My heart goes out to those women that go in and have that same experience, with very different ending results! My life literally could have been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. I am running the race for the cure next Saturday. I signed up to do this long before my little incident. I am really excited about it though, and just want to put my plug in for breast cancer! I found this link(at the top of the page)that you can click on everyday and sponsors help pay for Mammograms. If they have 500 clicks on their site in October their top sponsor will pay for 150 mammograms! (Might I just add they are not cheap, and I am not really sure why we pay for insurance when they don't pay more for things like this!) Once you click on their site on the right side it says in a pink box click here to give-it's free! Click that box and your done! Okay so that is my ten cents. Do your part and click when you can!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

I have tried to keep track of the cute things my kids have said. Kaitlyn has kind of out grown this phase and I have some of her things wriiten inher scrapbook.Jenna just keeps them coming!
This picture of Madelyn inspired me to finally get Jenna's written down in one place. Madelyn has started the hitting phase. Joe put her in the corner over the weekend. Today she hit Jenna and immediately put herself in timeout, in the corner!!

Kaitlyn: I think I would like to run a race, just with not very many fast people!

We were talking about how carrots help you see in the dark, and Kaitlyn asked what does corn do?
Jenna: Corn helps you hear! ( An ear of Corn)

Mom: When we get home you have to take a bath.
Jenna: WHY?
Mom: Well look at your toes – they’re all yucky.
Jenna: Oh, they’re just naturally yucky.

We went to a balloon glow and they had to cancel and pull the balloons down because the wind was too much. The girls were upset and on the way home were complaining.
Mom: They had to pull the balloons down because the wind was too strong. If they didn’t someone could get hurt.
Kaitlyn: Yeah, and maybe even die.
Jenna: Well, if they did I would make them a headstone and give it to them.

We had the missionaries over for dinner and Jenna was telling the missionary how old she would be next year in her most Kentucky drawl.

Jenna: Next year I’m going to be five (pronounced fahv)
Missionary: You’re going to be fahv?
Jenna: I know! I have a Kentucky accident!

Jenna: Hey, I know! If I ate a hairball I’d have a hairt attack (heart attack pronounced like hair)! Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Mom and Jenna got on the elevator at the library to go to story hour
Jenna: Ugh, I don’t like these things.
Mom: Why not?
Jenna: They make me elevator sick.

The Berry MoNsTeR

Last week we went to Huber's Farm with Cathy. We picked Raspberries and Madelyn LOVED them! She was covered within minutes. Ashleigh, and Jenna didn't want her to come close to them because she was so messy. It was so funny watching Madelyn chase the girls throughout the berry patch. Madelyn would also steal my basket of berrys every times I sat it down.

We also picked some apples and brought home some delicious Apple cider. (Which I was dying to have, it is the best!)When we went to pay they had me pay a quarter for Madelyn! She must have looked like she ate her weight in berries!

Paper Clutter No More

Okay so yesterday I spent the day sorting years worth of school papers for Kaitlyn and Jenna. I am so excited though. My sister in law (Julie) had a great idea of making their papers into a book. I went to Kinko's and got them bound this morning! I was just so impressed with how they turned out and my girls absolutely love them!! The best part is that you can add to it. For example Jenna has one more year of preschool. At the end of next year I will compile her papers, and have Kinko's punch the binding holes in it. Then I can just add it to her preschool book. I also laminated the front and back page just to make it a little more durable.Thanks so much for the idea.

Now if I just had a plan to keep Madelyn from destroying the house....

Question?

I have noticed that a lot of my fellow bloggers have started doing private blogs. Did I miss something? Is blogging not as safe as I thought it was? How do you go about doing a private blog anyway?

Sleepless in Kentucky

Kaitlyn drew this parrot at school, I thought she did such a great job!

I loved the idea of scanning it into our computer!(thanks Cathy) I am completely over run with paper clutter each day when the girls get home from school. Does anyone have any ideas on how to cut down on school papers? Kaitlyn wants to keep everything, and it just isn't possible! I have tried to have her just pick one or two of her favorites, but it seems to be a gut wrenching decision for her.( Oh the Drama!)

So we have always felt pretty blessed for this little house we have been renting. (I still owe Deanna at the very least a Steak Dinner, for helping us find it.) Just recently I have been feeling that itch, where I am ready for a change. I don't feel like I have room for anything anymore. (Partly due to my daughters paper obsession!) I am sure it comes from all our friends getting settled into there new houses. I am slightly jealous! (No really after the critter incident, I think I might be ready to move on!) The top on our list is a house with a bathroom fan! That isn't to much to ask, after 7 years of marriage is it?? Okay, so I am sure you all have things about your houses/neighborhoods that just drive you crazy. Our big one is that the trash man comes at wee hours in the morning for the businesses just down the street. I understand they have to start somewhere, but do they really have to bang the dumpster several times repeatedly at 4 in the morning? We have never really had to much problem here, other than the drunk guy who ran his bike into our tree in the middle of the night. Last night at 3:00 in the morning someone decided it was the fourth of July!! Fireworks were going off! It seriously lasted for about 5 minutes! They are just lucky that my kids had already ALL been up for various reasons, and were now sleeping soundly! I was so mad! So I went back to bed and fumed about it for a while and worried mindlessly about this, that, and the other. I just settled in and started dosing off again when Madelyn woke up! ( Fortunately my sweet husband got up this time, and that doesn't happen very often.)I just want a whole nights sleep! You know one without critters gnawing on things in the middle of the night, with out trash cans banging and fireworks going off. Oh yes and then one where ALL of the children sleep soundly through the night! Oh and a house with a bathroom FAN!!

The Wonder Woman Award!

Thank you Deanna for the Wonder Woman Award!! I am honored!
I have been thinking of a few good nominees, Drum Roll please......
I am nominating Cathy Borders, and Kariann Olson! Sorry Ladies I am a computer KLUTZ, and can't seem to figure out how to display your Wonder Woman Roses!


Cathy: I am always so amazed at all you accomplish. You are such an organized person. Your house is always spotless, and you always seem to be completely in control of whatever is thrown your way. I think you are such a great leader and have done so many great things with our Primary. I am so glad we have been able to get to know you and your beautiful family for one more year. You truly are a WONDER WOMAN!!


Kariann: We don't get the chance to catch up very often. But I think about you a lot. I think you are such a cute Mom, and you had to wait so long. TWINS need I say more! You seem to already have it down! My eyes are closing just thinking about how sleepless your nights could be. And then on top of being a very busy Mom, supporting Brady in all of his endeavors. You truly are a WONDER WOMAN!

Nine Eleven

On my way home from taking Jenna to school this morning. I saw the fireman as they were just raising this flag. It brought tears to my eyes. First because it was one of the biggest flags I think I have ever seen, and at that moment, it made me proud to see it. And second, because life goes by so quickly, and we forget things so easily. I had remembered on Sunday that this week marked the 6th anniversary of the events on September 11th. But I got up this morning rushing around, and I didn't realize what day it was, until I drove by, and saw the flag. I truly am proud to be an American! My heart goes out to all those that have suffered from the tragic events of this day.

A new addition to the family

Last weekend we went camping by Nolin Lake with the Borders and the Woodens. It is always fun to see different areas of the State. Kentucky is truly beautiful, and HUMID! Sleeping in a tent with four other bodies doesn't help the heat any either. Fortunately, Madelyn woke up several times during the night, and I could go roam the woods in the dark with my crying kid! I think all the adults woke up the next morning wondering why we torture ourselves for a night like this. But one look at the energetic kiddos catching bugs, and playing in the fire, and a good s'more, seems to make it all worth while. We always have a good time when we go, and leave with lots of fun memories. This time we also left with a little more than a memory...
We found a FROG! Which was quickly adopted and claimed for her own, by none other than Jenna! The frogs name is Hoppy! I have never seen Jenna so attached to anything ever. She hates creepy crawly things. However, she nearly passed up swimming in the lake, just to be able to hold "Hoppy" a little bit longer.
We told the girls that when we left, the frog would have to stay. The closer we got to leaving, the more evident it was, that we were not going to be able to leave, without Hoppy the frog.
I had to pry the container out of Jenna's hand, just to drive in the car.(Call me Crazy, but I didn't want to have a flying frog land in my lap, as we were driving down the interstate!)Anyway we now have a cage for hoppy and so far she has fared well. (Poor Joe even our pets are female!)
I just hope she(the frog) lives long enough for the novelty of her existence to wear off a little. Jenna and I spent the afternoon catching bugs for hoppy. I have no idea how much they eat, but she downed 3 Rollie pollies, a fly , an ant, and a beetle in about 5 minutes. I am not sure how we are going to feed this little critter in the winter. I am going to have to pay neighbor kids to catch bugs for my frog!

CHICAGO

Over Labor day weekend we decided to take a trip to Chicago. Which is about a 5 hour trip. All in all, I think it went well. For some reason we always think that we will be able to sit back, and relax on vacation. Somehow traveling with 3 kids, is never as relaxing as I imagine it to be!

We made the mistake of staying by the airport, (thank you priceline!) It sounded great at first but once we got there we realized, we had very limited food options, as well as transportation. (Since we either had to pay $38 a day for parking or park in the airport economy lot and take a train to are car!) We ended up spending a lot of time on the subway, which we quickly noticed we were the only ones with kids on the subway! It wasn't all that bad once we got a little more familiar with the area.
The first day we walked through Millennium Park, there is this really neat water Park with these huge TV screens that shoot water out.

We also went to the Field museum which is where Sue the Dinosaur is. Sue is the most complete Dinosaur fossil ever found and it was discovered in 1999. The field museum had everything from Mummies to Crystals.
The second day we went to a place called Navy Pier. That was a lot of fun there is a great Children's museum, that we spent the majority of the day at. The girls had a great time digging for fossils!
The last day we swam at the hotel, which by the way was Jenna's favorite part of the trip! Sometimes as parents I think we try way to hard! We went to IKEA, which I have never been to an Ikea store it was huge! Then we took the kids to the Rain Forest cafe, and made some fun memories there.
It took forever to get out of Chicago. (That is one thing we noticed when we arrived is how busy it was still, at 10:00pm.) We ended up taking a wrong turn and toured a pretty rough part of Chicago. I was glad to see the interstate again. We had considered going to the Indiana Sand Dunes, but decided to head home. That is, until we missed our exit. (The signs are not marked well at all.) Once we stopped to buy an Indiana map and figure out where we were, we realized we were only about 15 minutes from the dunes, and the BEACH! I am so glad we missed our exit, because this was so worth it. We got to the beach right as the sun was starting to set. It was so beautiful.

We didn't have our beach attire on, but that never stops kids(or parents!) So when we were finished we were covered in sand and soaked from head to toe! It was so fun to watch the sun go down, and relax on the beach. I think this was the highlight of our trip!! At least it was for me.

Two sides to every story

I have been a bit skittish lately about the dark! We have been finding a few rather large spiders in our house the last week. First we thought they were brown recluse spiders. Fortunately they are only Wolf spiders (as if that makes it okay) but they are huge and we have killed 3 in the last week. They come out at night or first thing in the morning. Joe has me completely freaked out of getting out of bed in the dark. (Don't worry Mom we have put out traps, and they will be gone before you get here in October! I hope)
Secondly I remembered at midnight that I hadn't taken the trash out for the trash man the next morning, so I did it at midnight. I got halfway down the driveway and there was some guy walking down my street. It totally took me off guard and spooked me. I quickly walked back flew up my stairs, shut and locked the door, and jumped into bed. Joe and I were Joking about it, wondering if he would have heard me, if I screamed. I am now convinced more than ever that he wouldn't have. Here is the Story:
It is 1:15 in the morning and I was awakened by some scratching noises. I sat up and sure enough I wasn't dreaming. I sat up and listened for awhile until I figured out which direction it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the corner of our room where there is a window, but also Joe's closet! (Which might I add the hamper is hanging on the closet door, and he still can't get the clothes in it all the time.) I couldn't figure out if the noises were for sure coming from inside the house, or not. I listened and waited and then tried to wake up Joe. Okay Seriously, I was rolling his entire body from one side to the other, and it didn't even phase him! So I started tapping him frantically, still he didn't move. Finally I got in his face and was doing all of the above, at the same time, and shouting his name in a loud whisper. He woke up enough to say "what's up", rolled over, and went back to sleep! I woke him up again and said "Joe there is some kind of animal or something in our house and I have to go to the bathroom!" My big brave husband said, and I quote;"You better run fast!" Are you kidding me!! I thought husbands were suppose to protect you and laugh in the face of danger and all that stuff. I am happy to report I survived my trip to the bathroom, I think my feet only hit the floor 3 times from my bed to the bathroom!
By the time I got back the noises had stopped. I laid awake forever trying to go back to sleep. knowing that at any given moment a fuzzy nocturnal friend might crawl into my bed and my husband wouldn't even know it!

Okay so finally it is morning and Joe thinks I am making the whole thing up! I have been reading the book Twilight, it is about a vampire. He tells me on the way out the door that I should wear some garlic around my neck to be safe, until he gets home. So today I have cleaned out the entire corner no sign of animals, but there is a vent outside that goes under our house. It doesn't stay in, so I think some nocturnal animal is making a nest under my house! There is not a chance I am sticking my head in there to find out! Fortunately we are renting so I will be calling my landlord! But for now I put the vent back in place. I am fairly certain nothing bigger than spiders, oh and those really nasty cave crickets that look like spiders until they jump, live inside my house. But I will be prepared tonight with, at the very least, a flashlight, just in case!


Joe's Version of Events:
By Joe

Last night I was awoken by the sound of my wife's hushed whispers. Now, I try to be attentive to my dear wife's every beck and call, but the middle of the night is when she is at her least reliable self. I refer to the many nights when my wife has woken me with a conversation about the shopping cart tipping over, the sheriff is on the phone, the spiders under the bed, or most recently when I awoke to find her tossing her pillows in the air - apparently under the impression that she was in a contest where it was mandatory to throw your pillow the highest (true, the winner got out of having to do the dishes). As you might guess by this point, my wife's keen sense of judgement is sometimes impaired in the wee hours of the morning. My wife insists that there was a "nocturnal animal" in the closet. I however, did not hear anything of the sort. Which is why I rolled over and went back to bed! I love her though, even if she is a little loony at night.

A Few Random Thoughts

Okay, so last night I ran the grueling 5k "Fun run" uphill both ways and barefoot! Okay maybe not barefoot but the hills were a killer!! And the humidity was awful. When I left last night my girls were of course rooting for me, and hoping that I would "WIN" the race! This morning when Jenna woke up she asked me if I won, and I said no. She said, "Well, I guess you have to keep running until you win!" Jenna always tells it how it is. I just felt lucky that I crossed the finish line, and could still stand up!! Anyway for now I will keep on running, thanks to Jenna!

Jenna had her first day of school last week and loved it. I was so sad though, she refused to let me walk her in! I tried everything from just let me hold the door to can I at least walk you to the sidewalk. Her reply " GET IN THE CAR MOM!" I was crushed. She is so grown up and 110% girl, she wears nothing but skirts and dresses to school, and we are apparently in a ponytail phase!

Madelyn ended up with her second round of stitches this week. She fell and hit nearly the same spot on a little wooden rocking chair. Off we rushed back to the Doctor to sew her up again. While waiting in the office with the band aid on her head she was still trying to climb on top of the table! Then today while we were at church Joe comes rushing by with Madelyn, and her hand was bleeding. She cut 3 fingers on the drinking fountain, trying to climb it! She is so busy, and apparently so accident prone right now. I want to strap her in her car seat, and not let her out! Other than her extreme clumsiness right now, she takes after Jenna in the girlie department. I put her Sunday dress on this morning and she was so excited about what she was wearing, it was so cute! She kept looking at her skirt and doing a little dance!

Kaitlyn is doing well in school and really loves being helpful to her teacher. She has grown up so much in the last year. They started a new incentive in primary to "get caught" being good. She thought about it all week and asked me daily what she could do to help me. I thought it was so cute to see her so excited about it. I secretly hope I can stretch it out at least one more week!

**Sorry this post is a little random, but just keep in mind, this is somewhat of my family journal too.

Saturday

Saturday was quite the day. It started at 5:45am as I got up and got ready to go to the dry pack cannery in Indianapolis Indiana. (about 2 hours from here) I have been really trying to get our food storage back to what it was and more. We started trying to use most of it when we thought we would be moving. I have really been thinking a lot about this lately, and felt like our family was very unprepared. So I decided to go to the cannery and stock up on some of the essentials again. I still have a ways to go, but at least we have something stored away.
So I had also signed up to run the 5k Texas Roadhouse Stampede. (Joe and I ran this last year. (it supports visually impaired preschoolers) The race is at night(9:00pm) and the course goes over a bridge that crosses the Ohio River. Joe and I both ended up running again this year. It was a beautiful night. I have to brag just a little, I beat Joe!! (In his defense I have been training for about 6 weeks more than he has.) All in all we both improved our times from last year, and we had a good time.
I have also signed up to run this Saturday a 3 miler. However I am already certain it will be nothing to brag about. It is through Cherokee Park which I am not really sure how, but I promise it is up hill at least 89.9% of the race! I am actually pretty worried about this one. I have found that if I sign up to run a race then I am committed, and it motivates me to exercise. So I have signed up through October to hopefully keep me exercising. (That is if I survive the run through Cherokee Park!)

Tagged again

7 Things you may or may not know about me.

*1. I am not crazy about surprises. I like things planned out and scheduled.

*2. Someday, I want to learn how to play the violin.

*3. I am rather shy and don't like to be put on the spot.

*4. I worked with my Dad doing construction work, in the summers growing up.

*5. I always wanted to be a lab technician, but I knew I would never survive microbiology. So I settled on being a nurse and drawing peoples blood.( That's the fun part anyway! just kidding)

*6. I can play the Piano, French horn, Trumpet and Saxophone.( Or at least I could at one point)

*7. I have always wanted to own a horse.

Okay so there it is! I am seriously starting to wonder how many of these "tagged" things are going around. Who starts these anyway????

I am tagging Cathy Borders who just started blogging again, and Jami Hardy.

Ive been tagged...

Okay so I have been tagged by Deanna. Here are the 9 burning questions about my Marriage....

1. Where did you meet your husband?
Joe and I first met in Pocatello Idaho while attending ISU. We were in the same ward, and the same Family Home Evening group. We first met playing a ridiculous rendition of "getting to know you", during our FHE activity. At the time we were both kind of doing our own thing and not really in the looking phase. (However Joe can tell you clear down to my sandals what I was wearing that night, so I apparently made somewhat of an impression.)

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?
Back to the ridiculous rendition of getting to know you. We were at an activity where everyone had to name a hobby or an interest they had. Then we went around the room and tried to list everyone by what their hobby/interest was. Mine was ice skating, and his was singing. Of course I messed up and said his hobby was dancing and was completely mortified!

3.Where was your first date?
Well this is where things get tricky... I thought our first date was a double date to the drive-in to see Knotting Hill. I thought my roommate and I were going with Joe and his roommate. Somehow there ended up being 3 girls and 2 guys hmmmm. And I was NOT Joe's date, and I was not interested at all in his roommate. So I guess our official date was an over nighter (completely chaperoned, by Joe's sister) to a Mickey Mouse parade on the streets of Pocatello. Thousands of people stayed on the streets over night to secure their spots for the parade. Apparently it was supposed to be a huge thing from Disney, It turned out to be a total flop. But the company was good!

4. Where was your first kiss?
Our first kiss was on the porch swing in the backyard of my apartment. It only took Joe 3 1/2 hours to finally make his move. All the while (we had no idea!) the guy next door was professing his love to me on paper. As Joe and I were kissing right outside his window!

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship?
Well our courtship apparently began on July 31, 1999, (according to Joe)
We dated I guess for about 3 1/2 months. We were engaged on November 11, 1999. And we got married in March 3, 2000.

6. Where did you get engaged?
Joe proposed to me in Idaho Falls,Idaho on the river walk, across from the Temple. We had just gone ring shopping and found the one. I thought he was planning on going back to get it that weekend. But he got it that day.
So once we were at the river walk he got down on one knee. And I kept saying what are you doing, He finally had to say "Just be quiet for a minute", and then he popped the question. I of course said yes and no lie, immediately across the river their were FIREWORKS! Real ones just randomly going off in November! It was Perfect.

7. Where were you married?
We were married in the Logan Utah Temple. It was a beautiful day.
8. How did the reception go?
I couldn't have asked for anything more. I thought it was perfect.

9. How was the honeymoon?
Before getting married I took Joe to a bridal fair in Pocatello where we won a stay at a little Bed and Breakfast half way between the 2 receptions. It worked out great and we thought it was a lot of fun. Then after the 2nd reception we left for Las Vegas. We neither one liked Vegas very much. It could have been the lack of money, and the fact that we were stuck on the strip without a car. 3 days on the strip was about 2 1/2 to many for us. Of course we would love to go somewhere again and call it our second honeymoon!

I am tagging Melissa Wooden and Jani Cotton!!( It was good to see you Jani!)

Back to School

This picture is for my Dad. The future in Turner Carpentry Service inc.(My Dad's Construction Business)

FYI: Home Depot does these little workshops for FREE, the first Saturday of the month.The girls love spending time with Dad, building things, Dad gets to hang out at Home Depot, and everybody is happy. They give them aprons, hats, pins, and certificates. It is really fun. (I have heard that Lowes has something similar as well)



Kaitlyn on her first day of School. (First Grade)

School has officially started for us. Back to the dreaded car pool lines, and living in the car.(Which will only get worse once Jenna starts next week.) Kaitlyn so far really likes first grade, and has been the first one dressed everyday this week! Hooray. It sure seems quiet here, with Kaitlyn gone most of the day. Jenna sure misses her sister when she is at school. I think once she starts preschool, it won't be so bad. Now if I could just tame the Tornado(Madelyn). I might be able to get some things done around here.