PS for christmas

i forgot one more thing from christmas, so here's

8) isn't it cute?!

Merry Christmas!

Merry christmas to all, and to all a good night!

okay, maybe i'll finish my post first, then i'll wish everyone a good night... i've been thinking a bit abot christmas lately, how it sometimes seems such a rush and bother, people stepping all over eachother, and others so alone... and yet, i wouldn't change it (much). we're naturally a little crazy here, seeing as how my whole family was together today: 2 parents, 8 kids, 4 spouses, and 9 grandkids... they really add up, and the house is only so big (thank heavens for beautiful weather and daddies that take kids to the park!). but i thought i'd share a few of my favorite moments (in no particular order):

1) the nativity scene christmas eve, grandma reading her texas night before christmas and giving all the kids boot/stocking ornaments, singing carols in a key i can reach (thanks all you altos for picking the pitch), all the sheep and wiseguys... all of it, it's oe of my favorite parts of christmas, and it works great with tons of kids.

2) i love that my two youngest sisters (the ones with no steady source of income, great or small) gave everyone a christmas present, often homemade and always heartfelt... we loved our little gifts (gingerbread men and treasure chest and bath salts and more!!!)

3) while waiting for everyone to finish getting dressed/fed/etc so we could open the tree-presents, i made my dad laugh! (as in--on purpose, not just he was laughing at me :)

4) chocolate, toffee, turkey oh my!

5) giving becca tickets to the stars game... i wish i could give big presents to everyone it's such fun, especially when you know it's somethig they'd like, but knowing how impractical that is for most of us, i'm glad that i was able to find something becca really likes, and i hope you have a blast on monday... GO STARS!!!!!

6) zoo-pass!!! we're really looking forward to taking our girls to the zoo this year! (have i gotten too "!" happy yet, or can i add a few more?) thanks dad and mom!!!!!!

7)this:
my nephew (almost 4) opened one of these and my mom started saying "that's from grandpa, not from me! i tried to stop him... it's from grandpa" while my dad was saying excitedly "look jacob, a roly poly farm, it even tells you how to keep them alive" or something like that... it totally cracked me up!


i'd better sign off now, so i wish you:

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!"

straight A's!!!!!

tonight rayna gets an A... it was her first bath (in her life) where she did not scream bloody murder the entire time! she has successfully showered frequently, but only twice (that i recall, perhaps there was a third time) where she only cried and screamed part of the time, but generally, she's very shrill. now if only it will last...

also, afton and rayna also get A's for keeping calm while driving all the way to arizona. the trip took a little longer than we'd planned, we left late, and got caught in traffic all the way through DFW, but it still went well.

and finally, paul just got his grades in... he got A, A, and A- in his three classes! WAY TO GO PAUL! YOU"RE AWESOME AND WE LOVE YOU!!!! it's a great start to his graduate studies. hooray!

sisters

yep, i think they look more alike than first glance might suggest:

just had to add a couple more photos

these were from today, and i was just printing a few others off, and i decided i had to add something more here :) enjoy!

this week

i guess it's time for a real post, though i am equally sure there will be more silly things afton says and does, cause i hang out with her most all the time... and i'm easily amused.

by the way, thanks mom for a fabulous thanksgiving! i wish there was more i could do to help! we love you!

we also had tons of fun playing with katharine's family and going to the parks. this year we're also thankful we live close enough that we can go home at night, sleep in our own beds (especially sleeping in come morning time), and still head back to the family when (hopefully) it's more convienent for everyone.

monday morning we had a little adventure too, after going to the park, we went to a friend's house for lunch (we switch off regularly). afton finished her lunch rather quickly and went off to play. i was just glad she'd eaten her lunch (usually it's way more fun to play, and that gets forgotten in the mix). after a few minutes of relative quiet (her friend was still eating, so she was playing alone and i didn't expect it to be too loud) i went to go check on her, and this is what i found:

(pictures from later at our house)... afton had found a bottle of nail polish and demonstrated that she knows what to do with it! unfortunately, she's not that neat, and she also got their carpet... :(

all in all though, she did a pretty good job with her nails ;)

some other fun pictures from this week...
blueberries (from paul's amazing cranberry sauce)
guacamole--who needs chips?

fish-shaped chicken nuggets, afton ate all the heads (and most of the fins) off and promptly said "all done"--i'm not sure i want to know what exactly that means (at least from a psychological perspective)

and i asked afton to get 1 or 2 toys for rayna, when i turned back, this is what i found

(by the way, she's not sick, the camera flash evidentally got her mid-blink, and her cheeks are a little wind-burned--not her best picture)

two afton funnies

at lunch today, afton requested the "paka poop" (pasta soup)

on the way home this evening afton started (fake) coughing and saying "choose me"

:)

more fun pictures

this one goes with the cookie monster comment below. (those are crumbs)



"there was a young lady that swallowed a spider... that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her..."


so this picture is so funny to me because afton has never watched tv. just in the last month or so has she even watched anything, now she loves baby einstein videos, and rayna already likes to watch with her.


needs no comment.


after church today. we love it when daddy's home :)

afton funny... part 3

perhaps these aren't as funny as i think they are, but here are a few more:

after eating 4-5 nilla wafers for snack time, afton said "i cookie monster."

seeing a person in a power-chair, she pointed and said "look mama, motercycle."

when going to visit a friend with a glass door with their front door, when joshua's daddy opened the inside door, afton promptly walked into the glass of the outside door (it was really clean, after all :).

and finally not funny, but cute, at bed time prayer tonight when asked what she wanted to say, afton added something new (usually it's just baby ray-ray and sometimes mama and daddy): joshua and baby dallin.

afton funny... part 2

so ever since visiting my folks on monday afton's been replying to nearly every question "NO WAY, please"

thanks dad.

afton funny...

she's so two. after being sick for the last week or so, the lingering effects of too much nose-blowing are becoming disgustingly obvious. this morning, i asked afton if she wanted a tissue, she said "no mama, shirt." and proceeded to act on that thought.

gross.

but i laughed :)

sweetened condensed milk cheat

for all of my cookie/candy friends, as christmas approaches, here's a simple substitute that i've tried and testify too:

sweetened condensed milk (equilivant of one can):

1/2 c. hot water
1 c. sugar
1 c. instant non-fat dry milk powder
3 tbs melted margarine

mix in blender for 1 full minute, the mix seems thin, but will thicken to regular consistancy after about 1 hour. can be used immediately (for most recipes it doesn't have to thicken first, at least i haven't found any difference so far). can be doubled or more... can sit in fridge or can be frozen to last for a long time.

happy baking!

fun pictures from this week

"No one likes a frowning face...

"Change it for a smile..."
no, i'm not quite asleep yet, now if daddy would just hang up the phone and cuddle me...

like mama, like daughter!

...who me? in the diaper rash ointment? do you really think so?...
OR tummy too, mama! got lot!



and yes, she really said the latter *sigh*

Crazy 8s Tag

8 TV shows I like:
1. JEOPARDY!
2. Rachael Ray
3. CSI: NY
4. NCIS
5. Sesame Street
6. PBS cooking shows
7. the Big Bang Theory
8. This Old House

8 Restaurants I can remember eating at, and enjoying
(i don't eat out often enough to pick favorites):
1. Black-eyed Pea
2. Famous Dave's
3. Hog Haven (biker BBQ... need i say more?)
4. Chili's
5. Country Kitchen
6. Olive Garden
7. Brick Oven
8. Thelda's house, not a restaurant, but it could be! the food's better than any other Mexican food I've ever eaten!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. went to church
2. taught beehives
3. took a nap
4. watched my husband make dinner with his dutch oven (outside, of course)
5. colored with Afton
6. cuddled with Rayna
7. stayed up all night with my cranky baby
8. read most of the first act of Twelfth Night

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. Rayna walking (not that I'm trying to rush her, but she's heavy to carry all the time)
4. visiting with family over the holidays
5. Paul graduating from school, as in really and truly done with the PhD forever
6. Afton being completely potty trained (preferably with no more accidents, ever)
7. a trip back to AZ to see friends and family
8. spring, i love it when it starts to get warm again as much as i love it when it starts to get cool in the fall :)

8 Things I Love About THIS Fall:
1. leaves
2. walks
3. park trips
4. playing with my girls
5. seeing Paul occasionally in the evenings
6. visiting with my family, i love being closer to you guys!
7. rain, but not too much
8. food--bread, pretzels, cookies, cakes... so much easier to bake when it's cool!

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. money
2. a perfect, svelte figure with no diet or exercise (cause, really folks, svelte is a fun word, and diet and exercise aren't fun:)
3. new car
4. health
5. happiness
6. world peace
7. intelligence (I'm not limiting this to specific individual(s), perhaps in large doses over the masses is a good beginning, though i wouldn't mind a little more myself)
8. common sense, see above parentheses

happy halloween!

food habits... 2 year olds...

so yesterday it was like pulling teeth to get afton to eat anything. i kept thinking, well, she just must not be hungry... then she'd ask for a cookie.

today different story. between waking up this morning and now (almost naptime) she's eaten the following:
1 bowl of raisin bran with milk
juice
1 pear
1/2 apple
2 chips with salsa (sample at the store)
2 hot dogs with correspondingly copious amounts of ketchup
6 slices of pickle
1 banana
1 string cheese
6 crackers
1 cup hot cocoa
1 cup milk
then when asked if she wanted a cookie cause she ate her lunch so well, she said, "no, wan crackers" so she got a few more crackers :)

gotta love em'!

Rayna Pics

i promise, rayna's been smiling for a while, but it seems whenever she sees the camera, she suddenly stops, i've had very few pics of her smiling, so here's a couple from today that really show off her beautiful smile!

Today's message brought to you by the letter L!

So, here's how this works . . . a friend of mine posted a blog listing her 10 favorite things that start with a certain letter. Now, I have been assigned the letter L. And these are the results (in no particular order):

1. Laughter. It's the best medicine, after all, and i can usually laugh at myself sooner or later, and that makes most everything better.

2. Love. Especially from my girls, Afton likes to climb up in my lap and give me hugs and kisses, even Rayna likes to grab onto my hair and give me kisses on my chin. What more could I ask for?

3. Liberty. It doesn't matter where you go, there's no place like home. I love my country and the liberties we have here. I'm proud to be an American, even when people spit on me (yes that has happened--more than once, actually).

4. Life. I appreciate the lives of those that have gone before me. There's a lot of characteristics (and I hope character) I might not have, except for the influence of others. The way they lived and died reflects on my life today, and I appreciate them for it.

5. Libraries. I love to read, and I hate to spend money on books (is that weird? it seems like so many friends and family members love spending money on books, but i'm super picky about what books i actually am willing to buy, after all, that's what lending libraries are for!), so libraries are truely great!

6. Leaves. I love nature, leaves, trees, grass, flowers (lilacs, lilies, and lavender to name a few :), the occasional cactus, and being outside in the green growing things! As it turns towards fall though, I must admit, I like the leaves particularly as they change to autumn colors! (i also like spring though, when they start growing all over again, that soft, baby green--and i like it when there's enough winter to really appreciate that spring when it comes...)

7. Learning. I think the ability to learn is one of the most important characteristics we can develop (or encourage in others). I may not be the best student, but I appreciate the multitude of things out there to learn about! and I'm glad there are people willing to study so many diverse subjects.

8. Lazing. (perhaps i should have moved this one, it's probably not the best thing to have under learning). I love being lazy. I probably indulge myself too much there, but i love taking the time to laze around and read a book, or soak in a bubble bath or lie on the grass (assuming there's not too many bugs around).

9. the Lord. I love the Lord, I have a testimony of the gospel and I hope I can live my life according to His plan.

10. Listening. I love when people call, stop by, or just want to visit. I talk a lot, but i do listen too. I like blogging too, i love catching up with everyone else's blogs/facebook/email/whatever, cause i feel like i'm closer to them than i have been able to stay before. (did that make sense?)

Here are 10 of my favorite things that start with the letter L. Anyone who wants to play should leave a comment on this post asking for a letter and I will assign you one (not to worry, I won't assign a hard one like "X").

video

okay, i've been playing with my new camera, and just realized that i can take video with it (i thought i didn't have enough memory). this may not be super exciting, but i thought it was funny. it rained yesterday, and you all know what that means... .



Puddles!

ps, i think the latest "smile" is funny too, i can't get a normal smile from afton anymore, just the open-mouth chuckle.

clever postponement or weird cravings?

so afton's been starting to talk a lot more lately, and putting words together in sentences, but this evening as we were getting her ready for bed, there was a new one.


"more pepper-oni please."

granted, she did get to snitch some pepperoni yesterday when we were making pizza for dinner, but we hadn't even discussed it since, so i appreciated the memory as much as the four-syllable word! she still has a hard time getting 'rayna' into two syllables, and i've never heard a three-syllable word from her (that actually had all it's parts at least). it made me smile!

by the way, she did get a few for a quick snack, but she was still in bed by bedtime.

sunday girls

rayna loves blankets, especially on mom's bed...


dad's favorite afton pic today (she was watching him shave before church this morning)


mom's favorite afton pic (shows her true character)


afton wanted "hol-er, ray-ray" (hold her, rayna)


and last but not least, baby and dad :)

crocheted dress

if anyone's interested, this turned out a lot cuter than i thought it would. it's doable with one lg skein (6-8 oz) of yarn, and it doesn't take too long to throw together. i'd be willing to make more at cost (yarn and shipping, if necessary). you'd probably have to add buttons and a slip of some kind (afton's is really basic, someone made the slip using a size 2 dress as a pattern, but longer cause she's so tall). i'm making a tiny one for rayna too, i fgure she's young enough to wear it with a onesie, rather than worrying about a slip. the dress doesn't seem to be too hot, though it's yarn, and it's washable like yarn (no dryer). let me know if you'e interested.

boyfriends!!! already?

and rayna just 4 months! with 2 different boys!

rolling over

well, rayna is officially on the move! she rolled over once two weeks ago in the night (i found her that way in the morning), but she hasn't done much more since... until friday. she's been rolling back and occasionally forth ever since. (meaning, she can get from her back to her stomach, and not quite half the time she can turn the other way, usually afton "helps" her or she gets mad and cries til i help). she's getting so big!

save the sleeping beauty picture

i just wanted to preserve this shot in my blog memories, it's sept 21, 2008, sleeping beauty, she's been on the sidebar til june 09, so i thought i'd add her retroactively, i hope i get it in the right place. :)

time for an update

it must be time for an update... but we lead such boring lives! actually, i guess that's a lot safer and therefore probably preferable in the long run. we're settling in pretty well here.

afton's been having a great time meeting new friends and playing at lots of different playgrounds. shes very sociable and is quite the little mama, she gives lots of hugs and kisses to other kids (whether they want them or not), and likes to point out owies (which need extra kisses). in nursery at church today--i stayed in to help out cause they had more kids than usual and i don't have another calling yet--she repetedly went to the two kids that were crying and having a hard time bringing them toys or giving them hugs. i thought it was very sweet.

rayna's doing well too, she continues to grow so fast! i can barely believe it. she's generally a sweet, happy baby, though she still hates baths (she's getting used to water though, so that's gotta be a god thing). yesterday when grandma was babysitting, she showed off how developed her lungs are though, and her ability to reach notes only dogs should be able to hear (sorry again mom, we love you!).

paul had fun teaching in priesthood again today (he volunteered after filling in last week, so he's done it twice now). it's one of his favorite responsibilities at church. he's getting pretty busy with school. his research team is about done putting the plan together and have been getting some volunteers together to help with their project (something about yelling in the home and its affects on children--more details later).

i've been having fun taking the girls to the park, reading, and enjoying hte cooler weather. i've also been trying to get out jogging most evenings and to stake volleyball as often as possible. i much prefer sports with other people to jogging, but i have to get out and do something! the playgroup here also does a dinner evening once a week, which is nice, cause it gives paul a day to work late (without me sitting at home wishing he were here), and it gives us a chance to try some new things (and not worry about what to make for dinner-one of my least favorite chores every day, not the cooking, just the deciding!).

this weekend was my 10 year high school reunion, i feel old! we didn't go to the big evening activities, but we did go to a picnic yesterday afternoon. there was a fairly small turn-out considering the class was over 500 people, but it was nice to see a few familiar faces (even if names were hard to remember), and re-meet a few people that live around here. i've been away almost the whole of the last 10 years.
paul and i also went to the temple together yesterday for the first time in probably over 6 months. afton loved playing at grandma's (ah-ma's) with nicki and naomi and 'mikky' (afton still has a hard time with 'ss').

Chicken Politics

(yes i totally stole this from the internet, i have no idea who originated it)

Why DID that chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems,which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sortout this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed theroad. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: How did I miss one?

afton's birthday!

she's 2!!


this is what she has to say about it:

ghsssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghkxxxxxssssssssssslyu jhuynmjhb mujhyyk8hj850oiiikoolggggggggggggggg tggkm;/]p[=-dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddf,



"
010
09+jiol
m

catch-up

well, we've been here a month now, and i still feel like there's not much to say. i guess i never really posted about our plumbing fiasco, but that's more in the realms of disgusting than interesting. (as we were finishing moving in the last of our boxes and breaking for lunch with my family--our movers--someone flushed the upstairs toilet and it started flooding into the bathtub and dripping through the ceiling onto our stuff below, fortunately we were able to get ahold of the emergency number for our landlord and someone came to fix it that night, and tear a hole in the ceiling, and all kinds of stuff, and double fortunately, we were able to go up to my mom's for the night until it was cleaned up and habitable again... i haevn't truely trusted that toilet since, though we've had no more trouble with it. and they did repair the ceiling below).

we've been trying to get to know some people here. they seem friendly, it just takes longer than a month to grow a friendship, i always forget how to start over :) or maybe i'm just spoiled by all the great friends i had in arizona. paul and i've been playing stake volleyball at the church thursday nights, and that's really fun, it's also good for me to get a little more exercise, i wish we could play longer and more often! i also invited myself to a playgroup put on by a friend of a friend of an aquaintance, it was tons of fun for the kids, and i really enjoyed it too. it was a little different because most of the "big" kids were boys, which afton doesn't have a whole lot of experience with, and there were 3 babies younger than rayna! (she's only three and a half months). we hope to get to know them all better.

paul's also been really busy with school and research. he only is taking three classes, but he figures he's working about 60 hours/week. we were just commenting the other day about how nice it is to have more time together too... funny how perspective changes over the years. he had his first in-class presentation on monday and it went really well. so far so good!

reCONNECTED!!!!!

it's so nice to feel a part of the world again. not that i really minded going to the library to use the internet (it's only about a mile away), but it's hard to have the time to do anything with two little tykes! at home i have nights and nap-times (and yes, i generally get both girls asleep at the same time for afternoon naps, i'm GOOOOOOOD). it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, not even 80 today, so we've got the windows all open, which is a nice change from the hot weather. i wonder how long it'll last? (not that i imagine y'all need a weather up-date, but there's not much really going on, since i posted yesterday :) i guess that means i should stop.

pictures!!!!!

a few from rayna's blessing day (6 July)--finally got the old camera to upload, the connecter was broken, thanks dad for lending me your computer with associated card-reader :)



loved this one of rayna in blue (July 11)


The girls all dressed up for Independance Day! loved the red/white/blue!

(PS, i told you i'd get pics up eventually)

learning games

well school is back in session, and therefore we must be learning again. paul's getting started with his classes and seems to be enjoying them (he's not very talkative). he's taking three psychology classes and i'm sure i won't get the names right, but one is about adult psychological disorders, one about psychometrics (measurement tools in the profession), and the third is ethics in/and psychology. i'm not sure what he's learned yet, or what he enjoys most... i guess i need ot ask him some more pertinent questions (he hasn't actually had a lecture for the ethics class yet, it was cancelled last week).

afton's been learning her letters/numbers/colors. she's really very good with colors, and rarely misses one. letters are fun, she can say them all and identify about half (though we haven't even really been working on them much with her, it's amazing to me how much she just picks up from play and story time). she's just started counting, which is fun, generally she misses 6, but that's hard to say!

Rayna's getting really close to rolling over. she's been playing at grandma's house a lot lately though, so she's being held more (the aunts and grandma love holding her), so she hasn't been progressing much, but about two weeks ago, she made it from next to mama's bed all the way underneath, so we couldn't even see her (that was interesting in the middle of the night--she's in the crib now!). she's also really good at rotating (she can do a complete circle on her back in about 2 minutes, probably less if she were racing, but since i don't know how to entice her to race, i'm not sure :). she's still a great baby, very calm and happy.

i'm not really sure what i've been learning... i'm sure there's something. i've been learning my way around town, checking out different food stores and such. there's a lot more selection than in globe, which is really nice, but things generally cost a lot more here too, which isn't so nice. fortunately i'm pretty good at shopping around :). i also just had a birthday, and learned that birthday's pay off a lot more when you live closer to mom! thanks mom! love you!

still no internet

sorry, this isn't very exciting, but we still don't have internet at home, so i'm trying to fill in real quick at grandma's (my mom). we've been moving in all week (feels like forever). we're just about set up. we still don't have internet though, which is very frustrating. i've been trying to upload pics so i could put a few on, but i can't get the camera to cooperate with the computer... soon though, i promise! then i'll be more in touch! (if anyone wants a phone number, email me)

Moving to Texas

well, it's official, we're gone! the girls and i arrived in texas yesterday (it is really, really, really nice to have grandma f so close!) we're staying with my family til paul gets here with the truck, he left globe this morning, so he'll hopefully arrive friday noon-ish. then we'll start to move in friday afternoon, and be moved in enough saturday to live there through the weekend. hopefully.

anyways, we'll post pictures sooner or later, it'll probably take a week or so before we get internet at home. we'll definately miss globe though, we've made so many friends there! it was probably one of the nicest places i've lived when it comes to the people, i felt like i'd been there forever, even though it was just 2 years. thanks to all our friends, and good luck in globe/miami.
go vandals :)

big baby

yesterday was rayna's check-up, she's 2 months old, and the verdict is, she's big. this comes as no surprise to me, as i carry her around most of the time... but it was nice to have the doctor confirm what i already thought, she's long: 24.5 inches, well above the 95 %ile for her age (average for a baby twice her age), and nearly 12.5 lbs, about at the 95 %ile.



peace out.

Book Tag

1. Pick up the nearest book to you (one of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

(i offer a word of warning first, i've already packed away all of our books, except a few of afton's and the ones paul was reading, that means the closest book on hand is one of pauls favorites... and by counting down sentences for this, it easily went on to page 124, and covered half that page as well... if i ever get this kind of tag again, i will do what book suits my purposes, not necessarily what's closest on hand ;)

"No nation acquainted with the nature of our political association would be unwise enough to enter into stipulations with the United States, by which they concede privlages of any importance to them, while they were apprised that the engagements on the part of the Union, might at any moment be violated by its members; and while they found from experience that they might enjoy every advantage they desired in our markets, without granting us any return, but such as their momentary convienence might suggest. It is not therefore to be wondered at, that Mr. Jenkinson in ushering into the House of Commons a bill for regulating the temporary intercourse between the two countries, should preface its introduction by a declaration that similar provisions in former bills had been found to answer every purpose to the commerce of Great Britain, & that it would be prudent to persist in the plan until it should appear whether the American government was likely or not to acquire greater consistancy.
"Several States have endeavoured by seperate prohibitions, restrictions and exclusions to influence the conduct of that kingdom in particular; but the want of concert, arising from the want of a general authority, and from clashing, and dissimilar views in the States, has hitherto frustrated every experiment of the kind; and will continue to do so as long as the same obstacles to an uniformity of measures continue to exist."

The Federalist Papers No 22: Hamilton.

I tag Anna, Megan, and Mom.

a week of accomplishments

this week has been full of excitement, well, kinda...

1) my flowers look great! they're the biggest marigolds i've ever seen, they're more like bushes than flowers--as much as 2 feet across, and nearly that tall (please disregard the weeds in the background, i've since taken care of them)
2) paul had a birthday--29--with a party at the park, 5 other families joined us for hot dogs and hamburgers and playground fun, i think it was a successs
3) i got new shorts, and they fit (and i'm proud of how they fit, though i still haven't really lost weight since the baby)
4) afton went to the potty and actually accomplished something! we haven't really been pusing potty training, because of the move, so we're excited that she's taking some initiative already.
5) rayna's really started smiling, though the only picture i have that captures it is really fuzzy, it's also definately a smile. she is still really stingy with smiles, and i rarely see them, but at least i know that she knows how!
6) we've pretty much decided to rent our house, and while we'd be a lot more excited if we could sell it, we're meeting with the renters tomorrow and hope to come to an accord.

house ideas?

we've recently been given an offer for our house, only not to buy. paul has an ex-co-worker (she recently got a better job) that's planning on staying in globe for up to four more years, but she and her husband aren't interested in buying, just renting. they like our house, and would be long-term renters (year contracts, for up to four years), and the rent would cover the morgage and insurance payments, but not much else (if anything). the problem is we're not planning on heading back out this way to check up on the property, and we're not sure if we'd be able to sell better later anyhow (especially since we may not be around then) we need to decide for sure as soon as possible, and we'd appreciate any advice. would you leave a house on the market hoping it'll sell soon, or take the renters and pull it off the market for a few years? globe theoretically has people moving in to work at the mines (we know the mines are hiring), but the market has slowed in the last month. any suggestions?

one more new pic

i got my new camera... and it takes forever for the bigger pics to upload online with this slow connection!

july already

happy july. we loved the fourth, we went to some friends' house where we had an incredible dinner (including great pit-roasted beef), and a perfect, straight on view of the fireworks. it was a pretty good show too, and there were tons of people there to entertain our kids, i only got the baby for a few minutes the whole night (when she was hungry). afton wasn't too sure what to make of the fireworks at first, she was a little nervous, but before a full minute, she had started saying "wow," "boom," and "yea!" she tried identifying a few colors, but unfortunately, the only color she can really remember is blue, so she was usually wrong when guessing. it was still a fun night, especially since paul had gotten back a day early and was there with us!

on another note, today was rayna's blessing. it was nice to see so many friends and family there, paul's mom, brother, 2 of his sisters, a brother-in-law, and niece were there, as well as the taylors from tucson, my friend (and old roommate) cara, and my aunt hilary and her family. a couple of them had to leave early (right after sacrament meeting), but we were happy to see them just the same, and we really appreciate them coming all this way for such a quick visit. everyone else came by the house afterwards and played games and ate food. also fun and appreciated! the blessing was especially nice, and rayna was, of course, very quiet and good during it. here's how paul recorded her blessing for her baby book:
"Rayna was blessed that she might be a light to her family & a constant reminder of all things spiritual. She was blessed with wisdom to be able to discern with good judgement the character of other people so she can choose carefully the people she will associate herself with. She was blessed with an ability to be a peacemaker & arbiter among her family, friends, peers & other associates throughout her life. She was blessed to have a desire to be a missionary, to share the gospel with those who are close to her and whom she loves. She was blessed with strength to develop a testimony sufficiently strong that she will be able to share it with others so they will feel of the gospel's truth."

i love my family.


ps, i have pictures from the fourth, and of rayna in her blessing dress, but my camera card reader is broken, so it may be a little while before i can post any more pictures.

day three

i guess now it's just a matter of who'll give up first. ok, not really.
the girls and i've been doing pretty good here. afton's still acting two (she threw a temper tantrum today while my friends were over), but she had a good nap too, so i guess they cancel out mostly. actually, today i was really tired at nap time, so as soon as i got afton down, i fed the baby and tried to lay down myself, rayna was wide awake, so it took a while, then i finally just lay down on the bed with her, just to rest my eyes, and before i could really blink afton was crying, it took me a minute to open my eyes back up, then i realized i'd been out for an hour and a half, rayna fell asleep next to me, and it really was time for afton to get up! i guess i can't complain, i did feel rested, once i got over the fact that it felt like i hadn't even really blinked.

back to that first comment, paul called this morning. i guess they've changed their pick-up point. one of the boys can't quite keep up with the others, and the other leader hurt his ankle. they evidentally decided that they'd essentially camp the rest of teh time, and they still plan on coming home on saturday. i didn't really get many details, so i'm not sure if that's exactly right, the cell phone reception wasn't the greatest, but whatever happens, we're excited to have him back home soon!

day one

today was the first day of paul's big adventure, so far, the girls and i are doing well, just a little tired. for some reason, last night rayna decided she won't sleep anymore. i will admit, it's not too bad when she doesn't sleep, cause she doesn't demand constant attention, but she is a grunter, and she was making all kinds of little sounds that kept me pretty much awake. finally around 4 i really crashed. paul got up at 5 to get ready to go, and at 5.30 he woke me to go drop him off. (fortunately, my mother-in-law stayed overnight, so we didn't have to wake the kids).
the rest of the day went pretty well, i got a lot done, and had a couple nice visits with friends (anyone else for VT on the last of the month?). afton's nap was rather late (we stayed longer than i meant to at a visit), so she slept a little later than usual too, but she was really good at bed-time, so i don't care! she really was pretty good today, which i really appreciated. anyways, i got the garbage out (paul's usually in charge of that), so i think it's bedtime. sweet dreams!

hubby tag

1. What is his name? Paul Alan
2. Who eats more? Me
3. Who said, "I love you" first? him (was it even one week?)
4. Who is taller? Paul
5. Who is smarter? We're pretty even, but he's got more common sense
6. Who is more sensitive? Me
7. Who does the laundry? Me
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Both, after all, it would be really awkward to sleep on the wrong side (or paul, if you're going for the whole left/right thing... though we've switched a couple times)
9. Who pays the bills? Him
10. Who cooks more? Me (though he would do more if i let him in the kitchen more often)
11. Who is more stubborn? Both, he's silently stubborn, i'm vocally stubborn
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Me (but he's more likely to apologize first, often he's not sure why, but he's willing to be sorry anyways)
13. Who has more siblings? me
14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? him
15. What do you like to do together? hike, camp (though not as much with the babier, sit and read, eat, play games where he lets me win (dominoes, cards, etc), watch tv (aka. veg)
16. Who eats more sweets? me, though he does have a weird habit of drinking sweetened (brown sugar) milk before bed
17. Guilty Pleasures? sweetened milk. ice cream (both of us), him--a good game of hearts (generally played with three other people that just gang up against him, thinking if one of us wins, we all win, just to beat paul)
18. How did you meet? FHE group at the university of AZ
19. Who asked whom out first? he asked me (bowling with a few of his friends, four married couples, one of which was his sister... no pressure for a first date, right?)
20. Who kissed who first? he did
21. Who proposed? he did, though i can't remember who brought up the "M" word first
22. His best features and qualities? patience (especially with me :), big heart (especially with children), makes me laugh, really hard worker, dedicated to what he does, if i beg really hard he'll occasionally rub my feet (begging is easier accomplished while pregnant)... features: green eyes and killer eyelashes that he's supposed to give to all our girls!

I tag Amy, Megan, and Cassie. And anyone else who wants to do it, go ahead!

sweet baby

rayna is such a good baby! it still amazes me that she will sit peacefully on the couch or in her little seat and be happy while i play with afton or get something done around the house. i know this is not technically unusual, since she's only four weeks old, but by the time afton was this age she was already colicky, and she wanted to be held ALL the time. most of the time i could oblige her, but when i couldn't she sure could scream!
i especially appreciated having a good baby yesterday when afton wasn't feeling well. one grumpy kid is enough for me when i can't get a good night's sleep! fortunately, they were both happier today. i know i'm blessed with this one, someone remind me of that tactfully when she gets to be two years old.

"water" in the desert

afton had two funnies today with water, at least i thought so.

visiting a friend with a slightly older boy to play with (he's 2 1/2):
afton had a small glass of water, and asked "mo?" to which i gave her a little more. her friend promptly went to his mother and said "mo? mo? i be like afton!"
it's fun when kids want to be like each other :)

later this afternoon, it started raining, afton was looking out the window in some consternation. she looked up, turned to me and asked "wa-er?" pointing out the window.
evidentally, you might be an arizonian if you don't know what rain is.

cute girls!

aren't these kids cute? i love the matching outfits! if only they had made it through the whole day...

it's a bug's life

so we've had a little problem with bugs lately, big ones. i guess i prefer a little problem with big bugs to a big problem with little bugs... though i'm not positive.

paul was poisioning our giant cockroaches last night. (hooray for a husband that kills the bugs!), and he was nearly done, so i decided to hurry and get a shower so he could have it free when he was done, as i was stepping into the shower, two cockroaches climbed out of the drain! i guess i squeeled a little louder than i thought cause paul came in the house asking what was wrong. i was shaking. it's a little embarrasing to realize how much i was shaking, but i was in a rather vunerable position, and i do hate roaches... needless to say, i was not getting in that shower quite yet! (and when i finally did, i had the drain plugged up, so i just drained out all the water when i was done... certianly safer).

anyways, that's the first story. the next happened this morning. the girls and i took paul to work (well, he drove, but we took the car back home so we'd have it later), and since we don't have any a/c in the car, we had the windows down. just after we turned onto the highway, a giant bee (perhaps a carpenter bee? is anyone sure what they look like?) flew in paul's window and settled on his shoulder. he pulled over pretty quick and carefully unbuckled his seatbelt to step out, and as soon as he got out of the car it flew away (i was really glad it was his shoulder though, not mine or one of the babies!)... so anyways, those are our big bug stories.

BTW, i hate big bugs. :)

tree tales

once upon a time we had a tree.



then something happened (i think there was a weakness)



fortunately paul was able to clean it up



and he had a little help



and there's a little something to remember it by:



ridiculous.