The Funnest Toy...

at our house right now is this box!

It is so funny to see that babies and toddlers love boxes and paper more than the gift inside.
However, tweens.... not so much. I wish they would love the i-Pod box more than the i-Pod inside. :)

Happy St Pattys Day!

Hmmm... Can you tell I've been getting a few ideas from Pinterest? :)

101 Things-- #67 Diet and Exercise

So, I'm trying something new. My neighbor pointed out this awesome site for meal planning! I am super excited about it. It is written by a dietitian and nutritionist for families with kids in mind.
I just wanted some new recipes. A few new flavors in the kitchen. A way to make sure we were getting enough of the good stuff.
But... It costs 10 bucks a month. So, I am willing to invest $10 into this experiment. I will try it for one month and see. See if I actually use the recipes. See if the recipes have ingredients I have actually heard of. See if my kids actually eat the meals.
And as a bonus, see if I can lose a few eL Bee's in the process ;)

101 Things-- #13 Only Child Dates

Mike and I try to make it a practice to take the kids on one-on-one dates. We don't have a specific time frame, like once a month, or anything. It usually happens more in the summertime, maybe because we are home a little more. We have gone to movies, seven-peaks, shopping, and others.

Every once in a while, the kids get to do something extraordinary. In June of 2009, Anna got to go with Mike to Arizona. Right next to the Grand Canyon. They spent a weekend herding cattle, riding horses, and camping. An administrator Mike met through Curriculum Advantage, spent their summers there herding the cattle to brand and vaccinate the calves. So Mike and Anna went for a weekend. Kind of like City Slickers :)

Just this last weekend it was Abby's turn. She got to accompany me up to Washington to my brother, Brent's, wedding. Brent and Di got married on A Dock. Abby was the ring-bearer. It was windy (gusts up to 30 mph) and cold (we could see our breath at 2pm) but it was beautiful! It was all very personal and symbolic of them, their lives, and their relationship.

 Doesn't he look like the happiest groom?! So handsome.

It was a happy day. Abby was a great travel companion. I really am grateful to have  a "better glimpse" of who she is. Her cute little personality came right out. I saw her talking and gesturing a lot like me and my mom, too. The plane, hotel, dinners, (Abby falling asleep in the restaurant), farmers market were all very memorable. They really are times to treasure and remember.

500 Places and 101 Things

So, I found these great books on Pinterest (my source for everything fab) and I checked them out from our local library. I need to go buy them now, because I am IN LOVE with them. I just want to dog-ear and highlight  and have them 'til we have done everything in them! (Maybe not the swim with sharks :)
The basic theme that I love about both of the books is making memories. Meaningful, happy memories that will always tie my kids to HOME.
So, I have made a challenge for myself: Go to these places and Do these things, then blog about it!
Some of these Places we have already been to and some of these Things we have already done, so I will include those in the posts, too. The rest I will make a point to do.
The 500 Places are all over the world, (not exactly in the budget right now) so I was thinking I would start with the places around us, branch out to others in the country, then if the opportunity ever arises we can try some of the out-of-country places.

Want to join me?

Back on the Blog-Wagon

 Whew! Its been awhile! Just to give you an idea how long its been, (about 2 1/2 years) a few posts down I posted pics of Anna's 9th birthday. Just on Monday, Abby had her 9th bday! Crazy!

I'm thinking of this post as a way to just get my feet wet. Just get back into it a little. Hopefully it will stick. I really want to make a book of these posts at the end of each year. Since I've also fallen off the scrapbooking band-wagon. It'll be our yearly scrapbook all nicely printed out with no paper scraps or brads to pick up. :)

Anywhoo, the last post mentioned we moved into a new (new to us) house. After two or so years, we've made a few changes to paint, etc. Nothing too adventurous, the kids' rooms, the living room/kitchen, the inside of the pantry. All kinds of fun.

Also, adoption. As of the last post we were still in the application phase. Now my sweet little boy, Ammon (AJ), is ONE!

 AJ just 5 days old. I love that expression babies make.

 And now, AJ at 1. The year seriously flew by!

 He wasn't quite sure what to do with his cupcake. We had a little party for him with our family, and Cathy, Lucy, and Shauna. He pretty much rubbed the cake around, tried a bite, then threw the rest on the floor. But by Abby's bday 3 weeks later, he knew exactly what to do with the cake and ate every. last. bite.

Changes... Sorry, no pics

Well, we just completed our home inspection for the adoption. I was thinking she was going to look through every nook and cranny. I cleaned like CRAZY!!
This morning she comes over and just asks me to take her on a tour, writes a few things down, asks where I keep my cleaning supplies and meds, then DONE. Wow! WAY easier than I thought or was afraid of. And that is good because we will be doing it all again in about a month because...


We just (really JUST) bought a house!! Yay! We saw it last Monday and signed on it on Friday. FAST! We are excited about it. It does mean a change of schools (not 'til next year) and change of wards and change of friends, etc. I'll post pics when we get in. :)

As far as the adoption process, if anyone cares, we now just have to do our Dr. visits, write our birth-parent letter (intimidating) and put together a picture collage of our fam, then we can be approved!! :) Then I guess we just wait. or look. or tell people. or something. or wait longer. or something.

The first day of school...

was actually a week ago. But I am just now getting around to posting their pics.
Both of the girls L.O.V.E. their teachers. It makes me happy when they are happy to go to school. Although, I'll have to admit that it has been awfully quiet around the house with just me and Aaron. The days suddenly seem much longer than they did this summer.

Abby getting ready for her first day in first grade!! She said she was tired at lunch time and then there was still MORE school. She is getting used to it now. I love a toothless grin!

Anna heading in to her first day of fourth grade! She has some of her good friends in her class this year and they are all sitting by each other, which makes it very fun. On the second day of school, she told Mike that she was "chatty." Mike was saying something like she shouldn't really be so chatty on only the second day of school.

She replied, "Well, Mom was." True!! But if you want to stay sitting by your friends, you probably shouldn't follow my example.

I love how you can see her cute dimple in this picture. So fun.

It's midnight

My kids are asleep and I am not tired enough to sleep, so I'm on the computer.
I love to tuck my kids in at night, after they have fallen asleep. Sometimes I just lay close to them for a minute. Just to be near them when they are in their beds, quiet, still, sleeping, dreaming.
I think it is then that you can more clearly see your hopes and dreams for them, for their future.

Anna is 9

I can't believe my Anna is nine! {gasp} She actually turned nine July 3, but I am just now getting around to posting her birthday post. :)

Nine things I love about Anna:
1. She has a contagious laugh and brings a lot of joy into our home
2. She laughs a lot
3. She is a deep thinker
4. She has insights on things that are far beyond her years
5. She is so good
6. She is a great example to her younger sister and brother
7. I love it when she reads to Aaron
8. She catches on very quickly to anything she tries, from music to sports
9. She tells some pretty funny jokes

We finally had her friend birthday party on the 25th of July. It was kind of a beach/water theme party. They played a lot of water games in our backyard. They made a jar with the layered colored sand and beach-like ice cream treat for dessert. Anna wanted that instead of a cake. And that was SO fine with me. :)

Happy Birthday my sweet Anna, I am so grateful for you!