Oh the Places We Go...

Iliad

2012-01-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

We have officially reached that momentous milestone in our married life. We now own two cars!

We bought this Odyssey this past weekend, after six and a half years, four kids, seven moves, two college graduations, eight different jobs, and many more mini-milestones. Are we doing things backwards? Sometimes I feel like we won't be able to buy our first home until retirement. But, maybe backwards to the norm is the right way to go. Different is good right?

I didn't think we'd get an Odyssey, but it worked out being the car with enough seats, in our price range, with the lowest miles. And, I ain't gonna lie, we are AMAZED by all the space. I feel like we can swim around in there. Lovin' it.

And here's a shout out to all those family members who have leant us vehicles over the years. Thank you! I owe you my sanity. I'm not joking even a little bit by that statement.

2011-12-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2011 has been almost heaven

In paradisiacal OC

So temperate and bright

It’s been a delight

But now on to Utah we’ll be

Lara and Adam can no longer fathom

Quiet and peace before 9 (pm)

But with kids loud and sweet

Their life feels complete

So adding one more seemed just fine

Caleb the boy, Lucy the joy,

And Josephine feisty as ever.

Growing taller and sweeter,

Cuter and leaner.

They surprise us with quotes oh so

clever.

Anastasiya,* so nice to meet ya

Arrived safe and sound in the fall

Received her long name

‘Cause we served in Ukraine.

She’s the most angelic of us all.

Caleb the boy, Lucy the joy,

And Josephine feisty as ever.

Growing taller and sweeter,

Cuter and leaner.

They surprise us with quotes oh so

clever.

We hope this past year has brought

you good cheer

And blessings from heaven above.

This Christmas season,

We remember the reason

For our Savior has bought us with love.

Merry Christmas!

*pronounced Ah-nah-stah-SEE-ya

Off On Another Adventure...

2011-12-05T14:36:00.001-08:00

We are gluttons for punishment. We really are. After an amazing 18 months in Southern California, we are leaving.

Never mind that we just moved two months ago into a nice new town house, we are off...

Never mind that we have a happy life with friends and fun in this slice of paradise, we love adventures (and packing and stress and lots and lots of change)...

Never mind that we have a stable job here, we love this crazy life we lead, so new chapter, here we come!

Here we come Utah, here we come new job, here we come new house, neighborhood, schools, friends.

We are ready for anything and have everything because we have each other, the gospel, and the surety that we are not alone on this bumpy path we are traveling.

Good bye dear friends in Orange County, we will come visit soon.

And, Hello again Utah and the friends and family we have there. Here is too many good memories to be made.

Fall

2011-11-22T21:06:00.001-08:00

Southern California is famous for so many things including its weather. I must say, we have taken advantage and enjoyed the time outside. However, I MISS FALL. Autumn here consists of hot and cold intermittent days full of green foliage with a few dying sycamores. Randomly you'll see a yellow tree and maybe a red, but they are rare and surrounded by flowers so their effect is minimal.

Not long after Siya was born, I took an hour to myself one evening and to Home Goods just to window shop. I saw a framed print their that brought tears to my eyes. An autumn landscape with aspens in the foreground. It reminded my of fall in the Wasatch mountains, so, after checking with Adam, I bought it.... and love it. I have my fall now and am satisfied.

1 Month, 2 Years, and 5 Years

2011-11-17T13:47:00.001-08:00

Baby Siya at one month. She is chubbing up, smiling so easily as long as she can focus on you, looking like she was male patterned baldness with her baby hair falling out, and sleeping well some nights, not so well on others. My mom came out to visit again and we loved having her here. Siya loves being held and loves her siblings. She loves to arch her back and throw her had to the side and behind her which is what she would do in the womb to make herself turn transverse, which happened during labor by the way. That is a whole other story.

Baby Jo is not the baby anymore. Although, she will always be my baby in my heart. I can't believe it was already two years ago she joined our family. I feel so bad for her that she has been displaced in some ways. However, she has put her foot down on some more independent things now that she is not the smallest, such as, she no longer tolerates being in the grocery cart and demands to walk with the other kids. We had a fun party with my sister, her husband, and my mom. Jo is spunky, sweet, feisty and just so darling she melts me heart multiple times a day. Even with the baby here, I love having time with her while the older kids are at preschool. She talks so much and I don't pick up everything she says when the other kids are around.

Amy and Beau. Beau sleeps every time he visits without fail. He's so busy and sleepy

Delicately opening her presents...

Pretty ballerina. She puts her fingers together and then lifts them above her head and spins.

Baylub is FIVE. He is such a big boy, entering the phase of LOVING to tease his sisters constantly... for no reason at all. I enjoy that so much (insert sarcastic tone here). He is helpful and more reasonable as well. I forget how much he understands and still try to enforce things just because I'm the mom rather than explaining situations out to him. When I do explain, most of the time, it goes so much easier. He gets it and cares more now. We had a party with Adam's brother and his wife who were visiting us from Utah. We had chocolate cake and played spin the bottle, per his request. He learned of the game from the book "Arthur's Birthday" but we switched the kissing to hugging instead which was much more appropriate for a five year old birthday party.

Spinning the Costco water bottle.

Baby Siya, looking so bright with the flash

One whole hand old! I remember my 5th birthday party. That, to me, is crazy that my baby boy is at that same age.

We have so much to be thankful for and have had a wonderful time this month celebrating the wonderful angels who have been sent to our family.

We moved... awhile ago

2011-11-17T13:34:00.001-08:00

But I'm just getting around to letting the internet world know.

It has been uh-MAZING. Imagine living in large hotel room with a kitchen with three children, a wall a/c unit, and a couple of crazy neighbors and you will know my life for the past year and a half.

In August, the perfect storm occurred of Adam getting a raise, our downstairs issue-riddled neighbor flipping out and becoming quite confrontational as well as our next door alcoholic children-loving neighbor getting out of jail for a couple of DUI's and a hit and run. I was just done and the raise made our escape finally possible. We were still in our lease but we had to go. Our land lords worked with us thankfully, so we rushed around to find a place and viola...

we did.

Still two bedrooms but almost twice the square footage, a two car garage, no one above or below and just recently remodeled so everything is so nice and new I don't want to use anything for fear of smudging it. Another huge plus is we are in an area that is chuck full of young families with small children. Our ward has three nurseries, 150 children in primary, and absolutely the loudest sacrament meeting I have ever been to. It is quite unreal but I appreciate it on so many levels, mainly that our kids FINALLY aren't bothering anybody. What a relief.

We moved two days before my due date and a week before Siya was born. I am so grateful we were able to bring her home here and not to our other little apartment. I sigh with contentment every time I open or close our garage doors, and a smile when our kids run around loudly not having to remind them to walk quietly or else we will suffer the consequences of our crazy, downstairs, agoraphobic, never-leaves-his-apartment-except-to-yell-at-us neighbor. It's a little slice of paradise to be sure.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Halloween is becoming a more and more beloved holiday. People, it seems, deck out their houses more each year than the last and parties become more extravagant. I'm not a hater, I love Halloween, but maybe not as much as others. I never quite get into the spirit of things before the holiday is over. But, here are our spooky festivities we have been enjoying.

To start off the season, Baylub had an art project at preschool. The teacher asked him to make a Halloween picture out of the pieces of yarn. Every other kid made a pumpkin. I asked him what his picture was of and he said "It's a spider that's been shot. Those are his legs." I'm still laughing about it. Wow!

Somewhat unrelated but also funny, we had an FHE lesson on sins and the atonement. Very simple. To give you an idea, our spirit was represented by a paper towel, sin was ketchup, and the atonement was a bowl of water. Anyway, a few days later, Lulu was commenting on how Siya's skin was peeling on her forehead. She then gasped and said "Oh no! She can't go live with Heavenly Father." I was quite confused by her statement and asked her why. She said "Because she has skins. She can't live with Heavenly Father." I tried not to laugh and talked with her again about what sins are. It's amazing what kids do (and don't) absorb.

We had a super duper Halloween Preschool party. As you can see, Siya didn't allow me to get many good shots of the party. She was HUNGRY!

The goodies were darling; mummy dogs, spider cheerio treats, ghost cookies, cake pops, and a graveyard bean dip. The potion drink was ornamented by a peeled grape with a tiny olive making it look like an eyeball.

We painted pumpkins..

... or plastic pumpkin buckets.

Toddlers in costume are so CUTE!

Our costumes this year are Jo as a chicken (recycled from last year, it is just too cute to pass up) Baylub as a dragon, Lulu as Belle (a sassy Belle apparantly), and Siya as a black cat.

Lu's hair made her look so princess-ish, like a ballerina.

We went to a ward trunk or treat that was PACKED. We circled the parking lot pretty quick and many were already out of candy. Lu wouldn't go to some of the cars that were a little too scary. Jo wasn't phased and Baylub was brave!

We can't wait for our actual Halloween night. Jo wouldn't go to sleep without her bucket of candy by her bed.

Goldie

2011-10-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Meet our new pet "fish" Goldie.

A few weeks ago, Baylub picked up this rock while we are at the beach and dubbed it his new pet fish.

He's tried to feed it raisins and peas and has cleaned out it's water twice. He says that Goldie is the cutest fish in the whole world. I hope our landlord doesn't find out. We do have a no pet policy in our contract. I suspect that he won't mind.

Anastasiya Megan

2011-10-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

She is finally here!

7 lbs 5 oz, 20 in, her arrival was much more long and difficult than I anticipated but we made it with a prize worth every second at the end.

We decided to be cruel to our new little girl and give her a difficult name that she will have to explain and spell out for people for the rest of her life. It is the russian pronounciation of "Anastasia." Ah-nah-stah-SEE-yah.

Jo right before she fell and chipped her other front tooth on the hospital floor.

He nickname will be Ana... or Siya... or something cute.

We are all so excited and happy she is here and healthy and safe.

It's Hard To Be a BYU Fan

2011-09-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

This is how we started off our BYU vs U of U game party last Saturday.

We had bean dip and cherry 7up (wink wink Brad)...

we were all so excited.

We even tossed the pig skin around to help get our jitters out.

Now, Adam says, these pictures and video will forever remind us of the day that BYU had their b***s handed to them

(that word is "butts" which is still a bad word at our house)

Pre-School 2011

2011-09-20T15:11:00.001-07:00

Another wonderful school year of coop preschool groups begins! I feel like my kids are growing up SO FAST!

Baylub's group is moving up to sight words and doing more independent things, cutting with no help, writing in upper and lower case letters etc. He's with a great group of kids.

This was Lulu's first year in her own group instead of tagging along with Baylub when it was Mom's turn to teach.

I call this her school morning pioneer picture. I don't know what is with her expression.

Jo and I have been having so much fun just the two of us for a few hours. At least for a few more weeks before baby buns number four decides to arrive.

Four

2011-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Four

Three beans

Three chicks

Three peas in a pod

Three friends

Three foes

Three heads start to nod

Three hands in my own

Three hugs to enjoy

Three tummys

Three bummies

Two girls and one boy

Three laughs

Three cries

Three screams to appease

Three blondies

Three babies

Three scrapes on three knees

Three is enough and

Three still need more

Three always loved but soon

Four I’ll adore.

Preschool Graduation

2011-07-06T20:36:00.001-07:00

Heading to our little party in Ladera Ranch, I kept thinking about that scene from Pixar's "Incredibles" where Mr. Incredible is arguing about going to his son's graduation from the 4th grade to the 5th grade and having ceremonies that celebrate mediocrity. I laughed to myself. Not that I think our home preschool program or results were mediocre, I just thinking calling this a graduation is funny. All the kids will be in preschool again next year. We just wanted an official party to celebrate all of the hard work (mainly the moms') done this year.

Our little group of kids including siblings like Lulu and Jo not in school yet. We played at the park for a while before having lunch and getting our official prizes.

Jackson's mom made these awesome super chocolaty graduation cap cupcakes!...

They were thoroughly enjoyed. Lu is not crying she is just trying to smile while covered in frosting.

as is Baylub.

Each child showed a project they completed this past year. Baylub showed an owl. This was actually the last project he finished. Unfortunately, the garbage ate all his other projects throughout the year before I could stop it. I am obviously not very sentimental. And, he made a TON of projects.

After getting his star, certificate, and cute cute t-shirt, all thanks to the other creative moms in our group.

The back includes the handprints and initials of Baylub's classmates, including Marisa who moved to London a few months back. She was sorely missed.

The graduates (the ones wearing the white t-shirts)

I really am so grateful to the other amazing moms in our preschool group. They were all so dedicated, creative, and most importantly, patient with all the different personalities in our sweet group. Teaching this year has helped me really appreciate what kids are capable of as well as how different each child is which really does make them so special. Here's to a great year and hopefully another good one scheduled to start this fall!

Happy 4th

2011-07-05T19:24:00.001-07:00

We really enjoyed our first 4th of July with no family around! Not that it was better without family, I just assumed we wouldn't have as much fun, but we did! Last year, we went up north to be with Adam's family near Sacramento. This year, we stuck around and enjoyed the local festivities.

We had a ward pancake breakfast with a bike parade from the primary. We decorated the kids scooters and little car. Baylub was the only one from our family who made it all the way around the park. He's still mastering his scooter skills. Watching him slowly make it around melted my heart for some reason. So cautious but determined, making his way around. It just hits me once in a while how fast they are growing up.

Waiting in line so patiently for our blueberry pancakes.

I really enjoyed decorating the kids scooters with fun stuff from the dollar store. I never shopped at the dollar store before but it has many useful things to offer... for just a dollar!

Lulu with her friend Tricky.

We had our own mini-bbq for lunch in the afternoon, napped, and tried to keep cool. We have been having a HOT spell for sure. At about 3 pm, it is impossible to get our apartment completely cool with our little box in the wall a/c unit and our car a/c can't overcome the heat, even after driving for over 30 minutes. So we just deal with it.

We went over to Tricky's home for a delish bbq. The party was thrown by Tricky's parents and not Tricky herself. I finally made a three layer jello desert that I always thought would be so difficult but was actually quite easy. I also made a yummy watermelon dish. Has anyone else noticed that watermelon is the new pomegranate/cranberry? The red fruit that is vogue for fresh yummy food. I've seen magazines and blogs replete with salads, drinks, chicken salads etc. with watermelon as the highlight. Thus, I wanted to try a good watermelon focused salad. I'm all about being on the in, you know. It was a simple salad of watermelon and mango with a lime dressing on it (lime juice, lime zest, sugar). Very refreshing. Recipe available here.

I did not do our good time justice with my pathetic picture taking skills. We had a bounce house, a swimming pool and the best view possible to watch the firework shows around OC. We also had wonderful friends to hang out with. It couldn't have been better.

Jo is a good eater, to say the least. The other day we had a babysitter and bought a Little Caesars hot and ready pizza for the kids. The baby sitter already ate. Between our three little kids, they ate the whole pizza! I'm not sure whether to worry or be glad they eat so well. We enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and veggies at this bbq.

Here is something to give you an idea of the view. We could see about ten different fireworks shows going on from here including the Disneyland fireworks, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, Irvine Spectrum, and a couple others which I'm not sure exactly where they were being shot from. I mean, absolutely amazing view!

Overall, our holiday was a blast. We hope yours was too!

Messiah in America

2011-06-09T13:02:00.001-07:00

We had one of the most fun and relaxing Utah trips we have ever. We went as a family visiting lots of family, but I spent most of my time in Salt Lake with the choir recording and practicing Messiah in America. We had a wonderful concert Friday night at the tabernacle and then again on Saturday afternoon in Abravanel Hall.

The kids were happier than they have been in a long time, smiling and giggly. We are so grateful we had such supportive family around to play with and enjoy. Lulu and her cousin are 10 weeks apart but have just this trip started to be friends. Wyatt kept referring to her as his "girlfriend" and they played so well together. It was darling. We miss everyone so much already!

Fathers' and Sons'

2011-05-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

We were in the process of moving last year when our last ward had their Fathers' and Sons' camp out so Adam couldn't take Baylub. This year was their first year! Adam was so excited. He printed out a list earlier in the week of things to take. Baylub didn't exactly get what camping was (we have never gone as a family) but he loved the thought of sleeping in his own sleeping bag.

Packed up and ready to go.

Here, Baylub got a hold of the camera and took pictures of when he felt was important.

I gave Adam specific instructions to make sure and take a lot of pictures. I was really impressed he remembered to do it.

They had a good time! Baylub of course was up at the crack of dawn, got himself dressed on his own in the cold morning air and couldn't find his way of the tent. He kept unzipping the "windows" and telling Adam it was time to get up.

I sure do love my boys.

** The girls did have a party at home, eating popcorn and candy, putting on makeup, and watching Babe. Unfortunately, no cute makeup pictures because the mountain men had the camera.

Rub A Dub Dub

2011-05-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

I have vague memories of being three and even four to a tub as a kid. So so cute...

Our new favorite pj's are Dad's jerseys. (Baylub does sleep in one every night and pretends he's a turtle going in and out of his shell)

From the back. Two of course are Shevchenko (the most famous Ukrainian soccer player)

The kids (and we) are excited to see family soon. Kid hand writing is just too cute.

Hope you are all having a fabulous May. Summer is almost here!

The Cutest Little Easter Party Ever

2011-05-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our little pre-school group had a post-Easter party and it was darling. Look at this get up! Flowers, peeps, carrot cakes cupcakes, beautiful centerpieces, it was magical.

Lunch was provided... sandwiches cut into easter shapes, edible grass...

...little flower pots full of veggies from the rabbits garden.

Easter door hangings

Of course, a large easter egg hunt with lots of candy.

We had so much fun and I felt inspired. Thanks to everyone who put it on!

An Event

2011-05-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a concert and soon we will be performing in Salt Lake at Temple Square (tickets here). All who would like to come, it will definitely be worth your time. This is some of the most inspiring and moving contemporary music around.

It's been a wonderful experience participating in this choir, and I even usually don't like being in choirs.

Sea World

2011-05-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

I had never been to Sea World before. A friend of mine recommended it above Disneyland. The price is what is making our family agree with her. Buy one day pass and go the whole year. A day pass is about $60.

We've already gone twice. Once with my parents, once with Amy and Beau. It is quite a fun place. Amazing shows. Stinky at times. The kids love it.

And those are all the pictures I took of our entire day. I'm dropping the ball on documenting my children's lives.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

We started our lovely spring festivities with dying our eggs. The kids were so anxious, I could barely hold them off until 10 am when dad would be ready from surfing (his now weekly escape every Saturday early morning).

You can see the kids hair is still wet from taking a shower with Adam. Poor guy, the second he gets in the shower all three kids have to join him, not matter how early he gets up. It's kind of funny to see them all in there, the kids sitting at his feet in a little huddle. He won't let me take a picture. I might sneak one though...

We got a special kit that included chalk. So we colored our eggs and then dyed them. It was a blast.

The finished product. I didn't want to use too many eggs because I know no one will eat them but me and maybe the baby.

We made some cute little rabbit buns, recipe from this last month's Friend magazine.

(I know, my camera is lame and will not take good pictures of food. They were cute, I promise)

The Easter Bunny filled our baskets with candy, a slinky, a new tooth brush (to offset the affects of the candy) and brought the usual new picture book.

In our new lovely easter outfits, ready for church. I absolute LOVE this bright yellow with white polka dots. It seems I search and search for good holiday outfits at all the great kid stores online and in the mall, getting ideas. But then, I drop by Target for something basic and just love one of their little outfits and grab some on my way out. Go figure...

Post church meetings (note how Lulu's hair has completely fallen out, as usual) waiting for the small but fun easter egg hunt to begin.

My sister Amy (in the pink) and her hub came down from LA to join us. This picture is much funnier than it looks. All I wanted was to snap a shot of the kids running to our little grassy communal area but Jo still has to pull a cheezer even while she's trying to run. She is still at the wobbly phase of life where running includes flailing her arms and lots of falling. So all that, combined with her trying to say cheese was too funny.

And the hunting. It was really cute. I'm so grateful we have some family around to make these little holiday celebrations more special.

I hope everyone's holiday was full of fun tradition, beautiful spring colors, and most importantly, the Spirit of our Savior and His love. Happy Easter!

2011-03-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

We were playing with the camera the other day. I asked Baylub to make some emotion faces.

Happy

Sad

Trying to go cross-eyed

Sleepy

Shocked

In reply Lulu said, "I wanna do a shark face" (instead of shocked face) and this is what she offered

But don't you worry, those of you who fear sharks. This little cowgirl. is always on duty, ready to scare away any monster or ruffian to threaten these parts.

Happy Maewyn Succat's Day

2011-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

I found out this year that that is St. Patrick's real name. I taught Baylub's preschool on this lovely holiday and for the absolute first time in my life got into the St. Patrick's day spirit.

I ran out in the afternoon and bought ingredients to make a fast St. Patrick's day feast. A huge part of researching the holiday was hearing over and over again about corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread, and I just had to make it.

So I did. It was delicious even for only three hours of planning and cooking. I never thought boiled red meat could be so tasty.

I don't think I have Irish ancestry, but nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the life of Ireland's patron saint.

He is a man worth honoring, in my 0pinion. After being a slave for 6-10 years to the Irish, he escaped back to England, joined the clergy, and then in the complete Spirit of Christ-like charity, came back to his captors and converted them to Christ. It made me think of the sons of Mosiah. Here's to Maewyn!

2011-03-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

I know many of you have seen this video before, but I just have to share it and add some of my thoughts with it.

I originally tried to write everything I felt about this video, which just ended up being impossible. Not only because my feelings are too difficult to describe, but also because they are just too personal and sacred to post. Here are some things I would like to share though.

-The first thing that came to my mind was the incredible sacrifice the members happily made in order to participate in this production. Being familiar with the economic situation of the areas involved, those beautiful costumes were most likely sewn in some loving members home, while all the travel expenses also came out of pocket. People sacrificed time away from work, a lot of money for travel, and a lot of time to prepare such an amazing even, all for the love of the gospel. It is amazing.

-Although I do not know any of the youth interviewed, the video reminded of all the other amazing young members I knew in Kiev. I remember being so impressed that so many of the young people, whether they had been members for 3 months or 10 years, were as knowledgeable and familiar with the details of the gospel as I was and I was a missionary. They are choice spirits for sure, prepared to lead God's church in an area of the world where strong leaders are so badly needed.

-One girl says this is a gathering of Israel. I love to tell people this because not many people know it, but, while I was in Kiev, the first Stake in the former Soviet Union was established. And in turn, all of these Russian speaking members were finally able to receive their patriarchal blessings (you cannot receive your patriarchal blessing in a language in which you are not fluent). Three patriarchs were called and travel around the former Soviet Union giving blessings and what they found is that members there are from the ten tribes of Israel. I knew a girl from the tribe of Gad. A missionary I taught in the MTC wrote home from Samara, Russia saying that in their little branch, there was a member from every single one of the 10 tribes. As I've thought about this new temple for the people of that northern region of the world, I've thought about how at last, the lost tribes, after thousands of years, have their temple. It is very significant.

-My mission, to me, was a HUGE event that influences me every single day of my life. However, watching this video, I see how my efforts there were just a little drop in the bucket of a much bigger work than I even could comprehend at the time. A member once said to me, "You missionaries go home and forget about all of us and move on with you lives." What this video shows me is that, we, missionaries don't forget. Those members are still apart of something so important and most of them I served with I'm sure have forgotten about me. We serve and give everything we've got, but the building up of the kindgom really is the Lord's work. And I was just one small person who was lucky enough to be tethered to that for a small moment. And I still feel connected. And I am so grateful for all of it.

2011-03-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

So many profound thoughts in this video. Definitely worth the time to watch.

To blog or not to blog...

2011-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

Of course I'm going to to keep blogging. The question I should ask is more along the lines of, "Why do I blog." I initially felt motivated to go on-line by encouragement from Elder Ballard. It was just a fireside in Hawaii, but I took it to heart. Put my own testimony out there. Do my own part in trying to share the gospel any way I could. Hence, I don't want to go private because I want my blog to be reached by those I'm not necessarily in touch with. I make certain provisions to keep some privacy, like using my kids somewhat crazy nick-names. I'm not the best blogger. I know my readership consists of family and close friends who probably also have blogs themselves and so, are online and look for other blogs to read after posting themselves. I'm on their list. I provide nothing spectacular or moving. Wait, I take that back. My kids are actually quite spectacular. Hence all the pictures of them and very little of those of us not quite so spectacular parents.

But, lets be honest, I'm not furthering the work by writing about my kids Halloween costumes or fieldtrip activities. Or am I?...

My mom sent me this little article that inspired me. This woman doesn't want to join the church, but reading about the amazingly blessed lives we as lowly Mormon house-wives lead, she says herself is "uplifting." I don't know why I'm surprised by her observation. We sacrifice worldly honors and years of freedom to live the most blessed lives any woman could hope for, being mothers to chosen little spirits. It's one of the best kept secrets the gospel has to offer.

So keep on blogging my sisters of the web! (especially those who have a readership beyond the boundaries of friends, family, and personal acquaintances) You don't know whom you will inspire!

Destiny

2011-01-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

I bought this little girl outfit at the end of my mission in Ukraine. Adam bought his from a member there too. I'm thinking they are perfect for Halloween this year.

Now Lulu fits in the girl outfit and Baylub nearly fits the boy outfit. Just a little sign that our little family was meant to be.

Old Father Time

2010-12-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

So I am slowly getting older. It is slow but it seems really fast. I've been eying the big 3-0 for a couple of years now and I still have one more year for it but I'm still wary of it's arrival.

As my birthday this year has been drawing close, I've been thinking how grateful I am for one more year in my twenties. I was thinking this the other night while brushing my teeth when I looked in the mirror and what did I find? Not one, but TWO gray hairs...CLOSE TOGETHER!!!!

I have had a random strand here or there over the years but THIS,... this is really official. Wow. Gray hair. For my birthday, I am going to treat myself to a trip to Sally's to buy some cheap but wonderful hair dye. I mean, I still do have ONE more year in my twenties before I have to really accept the mortality of my youth. I am determined to enjoy it by being in denial.

Celebrate

2010-12-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

Baby Jo turning one...

Baylub turning 4!...

A wonderful Thanksgiving (took pictures for our christmas cards on Thanksgiving day...)

We have had a wonderful holiday season so far and are looking for many wonderful things to come with this new Christmas where it is 75 degrees.

For the memories...

2010-11-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2010. We had some wonderful hand-me-down costumes that were the "nail in the coffin" for my intentions to try and do a family theme. They were so easy and too cute to pass up.

Caleb's pre-school Halloween party. Three Buzz Lightyears, two spidermen, and two Strawberry Shortcakes.

Our ward trunk or treat. We each brought a carnival game the kids could do to make walking around the park more interesting. Mine was an ingenious... bean bag toss into some box-like tombstones.

Baylub was telling people all month he was going to be a bat for Halloween. I'm not sure why. We have had this Winnie-the-Pooh costume for over a year. Lu kept saying that chickens don't eat candy, they eat apples. She still throws that one out randomly when we are in the car or at home. Baby Jo felt very special as a lady bug. Every time we put on her costume, she would smile from ear to ear and pat her tummy.

Our little ward helper. Kelsey loves kids and I love that she loves to help me with my kids. Can't wait till she's babysitting age.

After trunk or treat, we had pumpkin shaped pancakes and watched the Charlie Brown show, "The Great Pumpkin." We all had a good time.

The San Diego Zoo

2010-10-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

We started with the elephants.

Here we are watching them feed the elephants. It was amazing. The trainer would put food in his trunk like cantaloupe and cucumbers. The elephant kept wanting the trainer to blow in his trunk. They seemed so comfortable with each other even though the elephant was so huge and the trainer was tiny.

I like this shot of the Jo's hat and her little belly.

Baylub walked pretty much the whole day holding his map of the zoo. He kept it spread open in front of him all day, periodically inspecting where we should go. It was really cute.

Pretending to be seals popping up through the ice.

Adam's and Baylub's favorite was hands down the polar bears. We stopped and watched them wrestle underwater for about fifteen minutes.

Sleepy lion.

Excited about the giraffes.

After a long day, we took a break in this shaded reptile enclosure and let the kids run around while we rested our piggies. The kept running back and forth yelling, "Look at this snake!" or "Look at this one!"

Our only picture of both kids looking and smiling at the camera.

We had to line up to see the pandas and stay really quiet while we were in their enclosure.

Waiting for the sea lion show to start.

This was my favorite part of the zoo.

It was Jo's too. She kept grunting and talking while we watched and dancing with the music.

What a fun day!

First Day of School (totally late)

2010-10-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Baylub had his first day of school... last month. In my defense for a late posting, I forgot I wanted to blog this and school didn't start until after labor day, so almost the second week of September and then our little co-op preschool group didn't start until a week after that, so he is just starting.

I have been looking forward to this for a long time and so has he. It is the first real structure we have had in our little family's schedule, which honestly helps me a lot with my days of just me motivating myself. It is hard to be accountable only to myself.

We were also looking forward to it so that we (mainly he) can make new friends (especially with other boys) and get a new back pack.

Here he is ready to go...

...and here he is walking right back inside.

School was at our house the first day, but he still loved it. It has taken a couple of weeks for him not to cry when school is over or when I pick him up. He feels confident now that he will get to go again.

While he's gone, we get girl time! It is so much fun to be with just my girls for a few hours. And Baylub gets his social time. He is doing so much better than I even anticipated, playing well, listening to his teachers, and just thoroughly enjoying himself. As a mom, I LOVE school!

Continue in Patience

2010-10-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Great video! The blondie in the green dress is my cute niece.

My only concern is that I am 110% sure that at four years old I would have snarfed that marshmallow as soon as the guy walked out of the room. Does that mean that I am doomed to be unsuccessful and that my relationships have all suffered because of my emotional eating? Can I ever overcome my lack of patience as a four year old?...

Baby Jo loves her dinner!

2010-09-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Time Travel

2010-09-18T21:49:00.001-07:00

Here we are enjoying a leisurely ward corn roast at the beach when...

...BAM! I feel like I've gone back in time!

You can see some amazing ships on the horizon from the Dana Point Tall Ships Festival going on.

The one that looks like a pirate ship was shooting off something that sounded like a cannon, but I'm sure they were blanks, (if you can shoot blanks from a cannon)...

Angels in the Outfield... and the Bleachers!

2010-09-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

My main squeeze Adam, got some free tickets to an Angels game. So, last friday night, we loaded up the kidos and watched 5.5 innings of baseball!

The kids stayed occupied by the popcorn I snuck in. Jo liked the game, but she really liked the Japanese couple behind us (to the left of me). I couldn't get her to stop staring and pointing!

Look at that excitement!

I was excited for Baylub. He LOVES the movie, "Sandlot," so he knew what baseball was and already decided he loved it. They had the movie "Angels in the Outfield" playing on a TV screen right at the entrance.

We were able to take some good pictures when we left because nobody else was leaving at that time!

It is so fun making memories.

rah... rah... rah rah rah!

2010-09-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous, last-minute, labor day weekend, Utah trip, spending time with our family. In one weekend we packed in a BYU football game (a first for Jo and Baylub)...

... Swiss Days...

.... my darling friends Emily and Sarah had the most awesome booth out of the booths up there!...

... four wheeling in the mountains and enjoying the start of fall colors...

...celebrating birthdays (my brother and Adam's mom)...

... and over-all had a grand ole' time. Thank you so much to everyone who made it so fun and memorable. We love and you miss you very much.

Goodbye rat tail...

2010-09-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been reluctant to cut Lulu's hair but her little tail just had to go.

You can't see very easily but the longest part of her hair goes to the middle of her back when wet.

She could NOT hold still, even when promised candy. If only I had that kind of energy.

The delicate hair she has had almost since she was born. (sniff sniff...)

Her hair looks so much better now. I'm glad we finally did it.

Our Gym...

2010-08-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

The kids exercise with me sometimes. Baylub got those weights (cans of black beans) all by himself from the kitchen. They usually last about two minutes and then they are "tired" or distracted.

Funny girls!

2010-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Baby Jo is so mobile and now independent. She crawls all over the house, mainly following me which makes me smile every time. She is also using her feet as hands, as seen here holding the bottle.

I am glad to report that Jo is our darkest child yet, getting more of Adam's nice skin tone than my whitey-sunburn-every-stinkin'-summer skin tone. I didn't think she was that dark, but at the beach the other day a woman said to her little girl, pointing to Jo, "You were just like that as a baby, wispy blond hair and dark skin." I am relieved. Hopefully she won't suffer every summer and learn to fear sunny swimming spots as I have.

Today I checked on Lu while she was sleeping and found her snuggled up tight with her "pony-tails." (her name for her toy horses).

They make me laugh!

Thanks for the Song Elmo!

2010-08-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Green on the outside red on the inside filled with lots of seeds.

On a hot dry day your thirst goes away...

when you have one of these.

WATERMELON!

Beach.. what more can I say

2010-08-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

So, I've been trying to come up with things to blog about, but not much is happening in our lives except that we go to the beach every week. Everything else is pretty ho-hum. (I'm starting to rethink this whole one car situation... truthfully, I was rethinking it the second we started it over four years ago) We go through our days and try to appreciate our blessings. And although the kiddos were terrified the first few weeks, we have all learned to L*O*V*E the beach!

A 20 minute care ride takes us to paradise.

Now that Baby Jo is confidently mobil, she spends our beach days crawling around in the sand. She LOVES the sand, can't get enough of it. (I've been told that is unusual) I spend the majority of the time following her around and keeping her from picking up garbage.

*One thing I love about Jo is that she has never hit the phase of putting everything in her mouth. She just holds stuff and plays with it without eating. It's WONDERFUL!*

Note: Lulu is wearing Jo's 9 mos. size swimming suite because hers was dirty. Little pixie. To truly appreciate this picture, we had to zoom in on the baby...

This is where your heart should melt... mine does.

She loves being buried.

A few weeks ago, I decided we needed to visit a new playground, and I spotted one on PCH 1, so we tried it one morning. The beach goers don't show up until about 10:30 or 11:00 so we had this beautiful place almost to ourselves.

As I sat here, watching them play with this amazing back drop, I thought to myself, "As hard as this transition is (moving and all), we have so much to appreciate in our new life."

This is definitely one of the big ones.

Kisses

2010-08-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

Another cute video of the baby growing up. Mainly for the grandparents, but I think most people appreciate the fact that all babies are inspiring.

(wait for it...)

Crawling

2010-08-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm watching her grow older by the second. It is miraculous.

Just pretend you don't see that folded laundry (not put away) sitting on the floor and a naked Lu.

Dude Ranch

2010-07-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

There is a stranger sitting at my dinner table in the buff. Don't think he's from these parts.

Wait a second, he does look a little familiar.

Why, it's just a local trying a new look! We'll let him stay since he's eating his veggies.

Lovin' the Lake

2010-07-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

We have been lucky enough to move into a city that has a beautiful man-made lake to which all city residents may have free access. It is AMAZING! Beautiful beaches, lifeguards, snack bar, free concerts, summer camps, boat rentals including party boats, and you can fish here for free and your membership pass acts as a fishing license. It's like a dream.

Here we are one evening after Adam came home from work.

The homes on the lake front properties are beautiful and only add to the scenery.

The things I appreciate the most is that the lake is even closer than the beach and my kids will actually swim in this water. We get our piggies wet in the ocean, and , truth be told, my kids are still terrified of the waves (workin' on it) but now that a heat wave is moving through the area, we are enjoying really swimming in the cool lake water. Oh, it is a dream.

Whether at the beach or the lake, Baby Jo always has the most fun, hands down! She cannot get enough of the sand.

(sand on Mommy's piggies)

Diving for it.

We are so grateful for our beautiful lake!

I'm hunting wabbits...

2010-07-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

How darling are these little pieces of wildlife! I see them everywhere... at the park, the lake, the In-N-Out drive-in. They have definitely adapted to this highly populated area of the country. I caught this one by discretely hiding myself behind a park picnic table.

The kids quickly spotted it.

Lu LOVES animals and must pet them whenever she can, which is hardly ever.

If you look closely, you can see Mr. Bunny running away from overzealous little Lu. Another disappointment.

We still think they sure are cute though!

Legoland...

2010-07-18T13:38:00.001-07:00

You hear about everybody coming to California to go to the beach and to Disneyland, but a rare jewel of a theme park down here is the amazing... LEGOLAND! Well, it's like a Lagoon times 10, made out of Legos, and much cleaner. I guess it's pretty international with parks in Europe, etc. Lego is a Danish company but apparently has connections with Volvo because, if you drive a Volvo, you can park right up front.

We are so lucky to have had family visiting so much. It has made the transition so much easier! Our Grandma and Grandpa came and are the ones who took us to the park. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.

The kids with a lego guy.

Coming out of an egyptian ride reminiscent of the Buzz Lightyear ride where you shoot at things.

Baylub on a speedy water ride with Grandpa. The park offered lots of water rides including a little water playground and even a separate water park. Amazingly enough, here on So Cal in the middle of July it was FREEZING. You may notice the kids are in jackets and long pants and even then, we were chilly.

The park had lots of very large sculptures made entirely of Legos. That was pretty fun to see.

Baylub was too small to go on many of the rides and Lulu could ride even less. They did have this darling little Duplo land just right for toddlers. The best thing... no lines! The whole area was more of a big soft playground. Here are the kids caught in jail.

Despite the cold, we just had to have an ice cream. Lu wanted pink (because she wants everything pink) and Baylub got chocolate.

The kids didn't get a nap and we spent all day in the park and when kids are ornery, sometimes they want really strange, irrational things. What's the strange difference between these two pictures?

You may note that Baylub's hat is on Bob the Builder (who is made entirely out of Legos). He just had to have the hat up there. Why? I don't know and I'm pretty sure he doesn't either. He just wanted it that way. I love these two.

No pictures of Jo, but she deserves a big high-five for being the sweetest most well behaved baby in the world. She chilled in the stroller and was as cute as can be.

We had a blast. Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa!

Worth a thousand words...

2010-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

We finally have a camera! More pictures of our new life to follow, most definitely!

Sticker Shock

2010-06-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

So here are some price comparisons that have made my jaw drop.

(these are estimates from my memory, so I may be a little off)

Regular whole wheat bread:

Utah- $2.99

California- sometimes over $4

Aerobics classes (not a gym membership):

Utah (through BYU)- $48 for 12 weeks

California- $175 a month

Pre-School through the school district:

Utah (Orem)- Free

California- $1,200 a year

Pre-School privately run in a neighbors home

Utah- $75 a month

California- $250 a month

Rent for a small 2 bedroom condo:

Utah: $675 a month

California: almost $2,000 a month!

Yeowza! After all these disconcerting numbers, it's things like this that make me smile and feel a little better.

All The Wrinkled Ladies - More Things to do when you're bored

Big Events Part 2

2010-06-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

We have moved our big family into a teeny tiny apartment. Here are some of the things I have been grateful for the last few weeks while trying to move.

1- Adam got a job. A construction related job at that. I am so proud of him and so grateful for this incredible tender mercy. He works for a small construction scheduling company in Laguna Hills in Southern California.

2- Cabo San Lucas. My first time to Mexico was amazing mainly because I was there with Adam and with my sweet baby sister and her darling friends. I have never felt the ocean so warm. It was a graduation present from my parents. And as luck would have it, we lost our camera so, no pictures. Just imagine paradise and pretend that I have of picture of that here because that's what it was... paradise.

3-My family. I can't imagine trying to move far away with nobody there to help pack, clean, and babysit. I am so blessed.

4- Our clean apartment. We have felt extremely blessed and guided to find this place to live.

5-Our new ward and other friends that showed up in numbers to help us move in, most of them having never even seen us before. I have gained a new appreciation for the role of the Elder's Quorum has in helping people move. Their help was indispensable.

5- Laundry on the balcony. Our washer and dryer are in a closet off of the balcony which means I get to do laundry outside surrounded by palm trees, lemon and orange trees, other foliage and wonderful so-cal weather. It makes me smile every time I'm out there.

6- Purple trees. Right now a certain tree is in bloom here that has this deep lavender blossom, so strikingly beautiful. I love it.

I could go on. We have been so richly blessed.

Big Events!

2010-05-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

He finally made it! I am so proud of Adam and all that he has done the last few years in order to raise a family, provide for us, and finish school! He is my hero.

The next event I did not document with pictures because I was such a nervous wreck and didn't even think to have Adam bring a camera, but I ran a half marathon. There were many small obstacles in my training that were huge road blocks mentally and physically. But, I decided that nothing was going to stop me from finishing, and I did. It was a great feeling to cross that finish line, especially to see my family there supporting me. It's indescribable, really.

And, the last big event was that my little baby just keeps growing up! Baylub gave his first talk in Primary today. It is a small accomplishment, but it makes me feel like he is just growing up without me even realizing what's happening.

His talk was on Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Needless to say, we have had many tears of joy these last few weeks.

Happy Birthday Lulu

2010-04-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our sweety peety is two and we couldn't love her more!

She is feisty and girly. She shares because she knows it is the right thing to do. She gives the sweetest little kisses and throws tantrums that push her daddy to his limit. She loves food, eats a lot, but is still as petite and light as a pixie.

She says "ummm..." before she answers you. And, ever since she could manage to lift them she has LOVED books. That is why she got a bunch of Dr. Seuss for her birthday.

This was our first time at Pirate Island. More fun than I thought but the food was not my favorite. Great for kids though.

Five Months

2010-04-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

We've discovered so much in the past five months, like...

how to use our hands...

that we are not a huge fan of rice cereal...

and that the Easter Bunny is one generous guy!

Can't wait to see what the next five months bring!

Sentimental

2010-02-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

You know you are sentimental when...

two of you siblings get engaged...

(brother Tim with Megan)

(sister Amy with Jeremiah)

...and all of a sudden this video makes you cry.

This was more than just shedding two tears. It was a serious cry, people! Can you believe it?

Peter Pan and Pinker Bell

2010-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here are my favorite things about this video; how Lu emphasizes the last syllable of both names, how they really think they are flying, how Baylub points to himself with his thumb at about navel level, and how coordinated Baylub is and not coordinated Lu is.

This is for those who are far away and want to see updates.

Our stride...

2010-02-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

I think we have finally hit our rhythm! (have you ever noticed how weird the word "rhythm" is? The only vowel is "y", no vowel in the second syllable, and that crazy "h" thrown in at the beginning. what?!?)

Today we had an outing, just me and the kids. We went to two different places and EVERYONE had such a good time. No melt downs, no yelling, no frustrating thoughts like "oh, why did I think I could do this?".

Three is officially doable everybody! Now it's time to celebrate with shopping tomorrow.

Slowly...

2010-02-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

I am finding that I need to constantly adjust to my circumstances. Watching that video two posts earlier, I realized with Elder Busche's words, "Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words" that this is what I was needing in my own life. With Jo in our family almost three months now, I have had to adjust to the time it takes me to do things. It is when I am rushed and anxious to get something done that I lose my patience and control of my words.

Since I am most definitely outnumbered during the day while Adam is gone, I have to rely on Baylub and Lulu to do many things on their own. And those things they can't do on their own, I now have to do times three almost. I don't know if you have been around toddlers, but it takes them a LONG time to do things. They are easily distracted by every possible thing and so need constant reminding or a helping hand to get them to where they need to be.

At first, I felt frustrated by everything taking a long time. I was running late quite a bit because of it, which I don't like. Now, I have just realized that I have to adjust my time and give myself and the kids the time they need to do things on their own. And for the things that they still need my help to accomplish (ie putting on and zipping up coats) I just can't be rushed. And so, we have become a family of turtles. Slow and steady and I sure hope we win the race we are running.

It is funny to compare past habits with current ones. For example, here are some time constraints I absolutely require for the following activities:

Getting in the car- Before kids: 2 min, With kids: 20 min.
Getting ready for the day- Before kids: 30 min. With kids: they're dressed in 30 min, with me, it's another hour because of interruptions.
Getting ready for church- Before kids- 45 min., With kids: 2 hours.
Cooking dinner- Before kids- 30-45 min., With kids: add another 30 min for interruptions.

The interruptions are precious I now realize. I plan all that extra time and keep reminding myself to move at a slower pace, put projects on hold for a half hour so I can focus on more important things like my babies. Being a turtle has made my life a lot better.

(Except when I have an extra pair of hands to watch the kids or when they are asleep, then I'm a rabbit hurrying to accomplish as much as I can with the uninterrupted time that I have. That feels good too!)

Our bunz are nice and fuzzi...

2010-01-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

I have taken what I consider to be a big plunge, and invested in cloth diapers. Lulu is potty training currently, and so the cozy diapers are for Baby Jo.

I tell you what fellow mothers out there, the world of cloth diapering is FULL of passionate, opinionated, and disagreeing women as well as dozens of different brands and options making researching cloth diapers quite difficult. After feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of paying $17 for a diaper that won't do the job, I resorted to the process of elimination. (WARNING: there is a lot of information following that might not make a lot of sense if you are not familiar with the on-line cloth diapering jargon. I just want to put what I learned out there to help anyone else on the search for what they want in cloth diapering)

I decided quickly that I wanted snaps over velcro because I knew I would eventually be frustrated by the velcro fraying over the inevitably frequent washing cloth diapers require. I want this investment to last me through more than one baby. This is an effort to save money as well as the environment.

I chose pocket diapers

over the pre-fold (old fashioned big cloth you fold around your baby's bum),

the fitted diapers (diaper shaped cloth that you have to buy a separate cover for), and the the all-in-one diaper (a waterproof cover and inner cloth soaker all in one, no assembly required but lots of drying required). With pocket, I can really put anything in there to soak up the pee. I read somewhere where people have sewn together old t-shirts, towels, etc. However, the diapers come with plenty of inserts so I don't think it will be necessary. I hang dry the outer shell and they dry in about two hours, SUPER fast, and the inserts I tumble dry so they aren't damp forever and have musty smells etc.

I knew I wanted a one-size diaper that adjusts to fit the baby at all ages. I saw lots of comments saying that it really won't fit a new born. Jo is already a pretty big girl and they fit her fine. I loved how Fuzzi Bunz one-size diapers adjust in the elastics around the legs and the waist as opposed to snaps up the front. They have snaps and are pocket diapers. So, they fit my criteria.

Thankfully, this website offers a thirty trial on various brands of diapers so you can take a few for a test drive and return them for your money back. I tried a few both inexpensive and more expensive. All the comments I heard is that the cheaper ones are good, but you get what you pay for. They probably would not last me more than one baby. I did invest in a few flip diapers. I really liked them and they were having a sale on the disposable inserts which is awesome for church and travel etc.

We have been at it for a couple of weeks now, and so far so good. Not one blowout! I'm impressed. I do have to change her wet diapers much more frequently than with the disposable or else she leaks around the leg, but I don't mind. The extra laundry is surprisingly not a big deal at all. I store the diapers in a dray pail with a lid and end up doing a small laundry load every other day. I ordered 18 fuzzi bunz and that has proven to be plenty.

An extra bonus is that they come in lots of cute colors. I like to think it makes her feel extra cute, kind of like wearing colored underwear feels more fashionable and fun than just plain whitey tighties.

So, that is my latest and greatest adventure. I'll let you know if I run into problems in the future as Jo grows bigger. Here is how the kids feel about the new diapers!

2010-01-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

I saw this on my friend's blog and just had to share. Absolutely inspiring...

Camping

2010-01-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

Because of our stake conference meetings last week, I felt really motivated to finally get some 72 hour kits together. A full on food storage is kind of difficult to tackle when you know you might be moving in the next year or so. But, 72 hour kits are completely doable. I printed off different lists of suggested materials for the kits, went on a shopping spree, and packed two back packs full of granola bars, soup, water bottles, trail mix, soap and first aid supplies, etc. I think I always felt that I knew I would put something together and then forget about them and everything would be spoiled by the time we had an emergency. I read a good idea online which is to update at every General Conference, because the guidelines recommend updating every six months. What better reminder to update our physical storehouses than General Conference which restocks our spiritual necessities.

Another item mentioned on different lists was a tent. We've looked at different tents over the years, always thinking we would invest in one. Well, with the combination of the 72 hour kit bee-in-my-bonnet plus a great deal on KSL (LOVE online classifieds), we bought a tent and decided to use it right away...

...in our living room. We had a party; G-Force the movie, popcorn, drinks, and the kids got stay up way past their bedtime, all the way till 9:30 (they are such party animals).

This is Lulu's cheese face apparently.

Adam and the kids slept in the tent while the baby and I retired to our normal beds. Baylub kept calling the tent a fort. It was fun, making memories and doing something as a family.

Blessings...

2010-01-11T15:43:00.001-08:00

Baby Jo was blessed in January. Many family members were able to come. It was a beautiful meeting and she's a beautiful girl.

Adam's Mom bought her dress and I absolutely LOVE it. Jo looks like a little angel in it (and Adam did shave for the occasion).

Here are some two month old pictures of her. She smiles so easy except when the camera is out. I think she was also just too tired. Look at those tired eyes.

She is my chubbiest baby, nice and healthy. In two months she has grown three inches and gained 4 lbs and 2 oz. She is only 9 lbs less than Lulu. That being said, Lulu is just barely 20 lbs at 20 months so the comparison is a little skewed.

And during the photo shoot, Baylub wanted his picture taken while he played with Jo's Christmas present. Not his own presents, the baby's play mat is much more fun.

Kids are just too funny.

Once there was a mustache...

2010-01-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

Over the fabulous Christmas break, we played in the snow, went sledding and built a snowman for the first time...

and Adam grew a mustache that my brothers called his pedophile-stache.

I've never seen him with facial hair before and it was kind of hard to take him seriously.

It was such a fun break, but I am PUMPED to get this last semester started and done with. The beginning of the end has me giddy!

2010-01-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss. I have neglected to bloggingly welcome baby Sam into our family. After two years of waiting and a couple of failed attempts, my brother and his wife were able to adopt a beautiful baby boy. And, he is as sweet as can be. I love the expressions he makes with his mouth.

Welcome Samuel! We love you and are so happy you are in our family! Congratulations to the happy parents, Bryan and Suzanne!

(as soon as I get pictures, I will also welcome baby Kate in blog form...)

2010-01-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year's Eve celebration.

Here is to an awesome 2010!

2009-12-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

We decorated some yummy Christmas cookies. I know that many people believe that they have the best sugar cookie recipe, but in fact, I have the best sugar cookie recipe. Unfortunately, I messed up the recipe a little bit. They were still good, just not as good. We all enjoyed decorating...

and eating...

and of course sharing with our neighbors.

We made the trek out into the crowds to meet Santa. I expected Baylub to be scared and Lulu to be excited. I was wrong. I don't know why this picture makes me laugh so hard but it does. Classic torturing of the kids.

While standing in line, I would guess that at least 50% of the kids that sat on Santa's lap were screaming. What a job! He was good to be so cheery and nice.

Time Flies...

2009-12-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

One month old and so happy about it!

Festivities

2009-12-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

Our holiday festivities have definitely begun. Thanksgiving was wonderful with the most amazing food and wonderful company. No pictures, but we enjoyed being with my family at my parents' house.

Halloween is far from over at our house. The kids love to still get in their Beauty and the Beast costumes and dance. Lulu's costume really is any pretty dress, so this a Christmas one from her MeeMa.

Belle had jam on her face in the movie at one point didn't she?

Baylub had a wonderful birthday. Now he is 3! He got so many Thomas the Train toys and everything else he could possibly want. He is definitely loved. This is him opening his presents and sticking his hands in his mouth because they are sticky.
Any suggestions on how to help him break the habit? Nagging doesn't seem to be working... We still love him though and are so happy he had such a happy birthday.

We had our annual gingerbread house decorating party with Adam's family. It was so fun and we are grateful to have been all together with everyone especially since his brother and family are moving to California soon. We wish them all the best and hope we can come visit soon!

Baylub was half naked so he wouldn't get frosting on his sweater. They sure got PLENTY of candy in their tummies. Definitely more in the tummy than on our gingerbread train.

The family with the finished product. We tag teamed it, one of use decorating while the other monitored the kids and then we would switch. Poor Baby Jo, I promise I usually hold her head up better than this.

Jo was born just ten days after her cousin. We tried to get photos of them together. Two newborns, so beautiful, but not very obedient when it comes to commands from the photographer.

We are loving the festivities and time with family. I know we have more to look forward to as well. We hope you all are having a happy holidays.

Thanksgiving #3

2009-11-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for my three kids. Motherhood has higher highs and lower lows than I ever expected. I'm sure they will get higher and lower as my babies get bigger.

Lulu has surprised everyone the past few months by exploding with personality, screams and opinions. She was soft spoken and gentle until one day she woke up and decided she was going to stand up for herself. She is still quite generous even though she likes to push people's buttons with "mine" and "no" and tantrums here and there. She loves being a new big sister and is more concerned for Baby Jo's welfare than her mother even, always giving the baby toys and blankets and patting her head or poking her face as much as she can. She is petite as anything, in the 4th percentile for weight and 88th for height. She is also quite clumsy but very tough, not giving in to tears very easily. She is happy in the morning and has a smile like sunshine.

Baby Jo is still introducing herself but she cries very little, sleeps a lot, is a good eater and still loves to cuddle. We've gotten a few little grins out of her but we're still not sure if she was smiling at us or just at some amusing thought inside her head. I am so grateful to have her in our family.

I am so grateful for Baylub, for being first and being so patient as we test and learn our parenting skills with him. I pray almost every night that he will be blessed with a forgiving heart just in case we really screw up. He is very good natured though and I doubt will hold anything against us. He is a great older brother, helping Lulu learn how to wrestle and sharing his toys most of the time. He listens to his parents pretty well for a three year old and loves his daddy. He is definitely outnumbered in our house with lots of girls surrounding him. He is learning how to be gentle with them.

Whenever I think of friends or family who have chosen to not have children of their own for whatever reason, I feel deep down that they are missing the greatest purpose and joy that this world has to offer. People may disagree, but my kids have convinced me that they are the center of the universe and provide my with happiness and joy beyond description. I am grateful for them.

Thanksgiving #2

2009-11-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for Adam. He is the best in every possible way.

He is a generous husband...

a very good dad...

and has a great sense of humor.

Out of all the blessings I can count, I have to count him every time. He has made me so happy.

Thanksgiving #1

2009-11-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Many people use this time of year to list what they are thankful for on their blogs and I am following suit. So, during this beautiful Thanksgiving week, I would like to post what I am grateful for.

I am grateful for my religion

and most specifically , for my Savior, Jesus Christ.

As life goes on, things just seem to get more complicated and the problems more difficult. I get caught up worrying about the future: jobs, raising kids, finances, etc. I have at times been so overwhelmed I have felt complete despair and wondered how God can allow some things to happen. I've pondered lately the role of faith in my life and I now realize that without a feeling of determined faith in my Savior as well as continued obedience to his teachings I would shrivel up spiritually and emotionally. I would easily become hopeless and bitter. I recently heard a quote to the effect of God gives us trials to make us better, not bitter. I know for myself that without my testimony and the blessings that the gospel brings, I could not become a better person. I would lack the eternal perspective the temple brings into my life, I would lack the strong family heritage I have around me that inspires me and shows me the correct choices I need to make. I would lack the Spirit that comforts me and gives me that hope when I most need it. I just don't know how people make it in this life without the Savior. I am so grateful for Him and for His atonement that makes all important things possible.

I've mentioned them before but, here are my two favorite songs about Jesus Christ that lift my spirits every time I listen to them. (don't mind that the second one has some Spanish translations)

Carol Of Joy
Green leaves all fallen, withered and dry; Brief sunset fading, dim winter sky. Lengthening shadows,Dark closing in…
Then, through the stillness, carols begin!

Oh fallen world, to you is the song– Death holds you fast and night tarries long.
Jesus is born, your curse to destroy! Sweet to your ears, a carol of Joy!

Pale moon ascending, solemn and slow; Cold barren hillside, shrouded in snow; Deep, empty valley veiled by the night; Hear angel music–hopeful and bright!

Oh fearful world, to you is the song– Peace with your God, and pardon for wrong! Tidings for sinners, burdened and bound–
A carol of joy! A Saviour is found!

Earth wrapped in sorrow, lift up your eyes! Thrill to the chorus filling the skies! Look up sad hearted–witness God’s love! Join in the carol swelling above!
Oh friendless world, to you is the song! All Heaven’s joy to you may belong! You who are lonely, laden, forlorn– Oh fallen world!Oh friendless world!
To you, A Saviour is born!

Text by Eileen Berry.

Baby Jo

2009-11-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Check this out...

In this picture: Baylub, 2 yrs., Lulu, 1 yr., and Baby Jo, 0 yrs. (5 days to be exact)

Three kids two and under. What a cute bunch, huh?

Because I had a really positive though unexpected experience delivering Lulu without anesthesia, I thought I would try for it again. Only this time I would be more prepared. So I went in with the attitude that if things went quickly as they did with Lulu, I would forgo the epidural but if it was going to take 10 hours of hard labor, I would opt for the pain killers.

Luckily, things went much the same way they did last time. We went in to be induced at 6:30 am, started the pitocin at about 8, things were slow and mild until about 2 pm when I was dilated to a 4, the pain got intense but she was born at 3:05 so it was most definitely manageable. The only really difficult part I felt was that Jo was face up and had the chord wrapped around her neck twice (SCARY) which made pushing a lot harder than my previous experiences.

Here are some things that I learned this time around that might be helpful to others out there.

- If the mother has a cold, don't be worried. The baby will most likely not get it and in fact will be stronger because she immediately gets the antibodies to fight the cold from the mom if she nurses. (I was stressing about this cold for days!)

- Mental tricks and physical preparation (like practicing relaxing your body) make a huge difference during labor. I practiced very little and inconsistently and doubted that it would help very much but it did. The pain this time compared to last time was significantly less.

- Those exercise balls, or labor balls are INCREDIBLE during labor. When I sat down, it released so much tension in my legs and allowed me to rotate my back and hips during a contraction helping to release a lot of the tension.

- Adam rubbed my legs and my back pretty constantly for the last hour. That also helped out immensely. It seemed to me that half of the pain I felt was from my body tensing up fighting the pain from the contraction. Things like rubbing and focusing to release the tension lessened the pain significantly.

- Not finding out what you are having really is so much fun. I kind of forgot to find out the gender when she was born because I was so distressed by her being face up and the chord around her neck. When Adam told me it was a girl (and we had both been SO convinced that it was a boy) I thought for sure he was just joking around with me until he said it again. It was quite exciting.

- Because of this year's swine flu problems, most hospitals have strict visitation rules. If you have the option, I would try and go to a smaller hospital or one where the delivery rooms are on the ground floor. I had been so sad about not being able to see Baylub and Lulu after the baby was born and for them not being able to see the baby. The nurse mentioned that people were having children come to the windows of the room to see their new sibling.

It was so cute! They both were so excited about the baby and waved hello to me. I couldn't see them for a few days so it was nice see both of them even if it was through a window.

We are both still doing well. Our little family is desperately trying to adjust to our new positions; Lulu is no longer the baby and Baylub now has to be even more independent. Adam and I are now outnumbered and must learn how to divide our attention between three now. It will take a little time but we will find our rhythm.

Baby Jo's first bath.

It's a Girl!

2009-11-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

Josephine Marolyn was born 7 lb 5 oz at 3:05. She is named after two of her great-grandmothers.

More info forth coming. We love her and are so happy she is here.

Halloween

2009-11-01T18:34:00.001-08:00

Beauty and the Beast. The second I put their costumes on they started dancing together and asked me to sing the song from the movie. It was cute.

The beast is just a lion costume with a purple cape, felt horns and navy blue shorts. And thanks so much AGAIN to the amazing Jessica for sewing pretty much the whole Belle dress. We hit the mall with some friends...

And visited two sets of great grandparents with cute cousins.

We were going to trick or treat at least a few houses, but everyone was so tired we just came home and had baths and went to bed.

Adam and I tried to go out for one last date after the festivities and before a newborn invades our schedule. Time alone with Adam gets more and more precious the older we get and the more kids come into our lives. I love our kids but I also LOVE date night!

Nursery

2009-10-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you other moms out there, but I feel like nursery leaders deserve a lot more credit than they get. I vote that they should have a plaque with their picture up on the church wall kind of like currently serving missionaries do. The service they provide me just puts me on cloud nine!

This last week was Lulu's first week in nursery and like her older brother, she loved it. She's been waiting to go. And I for the first time in nine months was able to sit in Sunday school and hear the lesson and not feel guilty for being so distracting. I felt almost giddy, just overwhelmed with gratitude for the nursery leaders for watching my kids for me.

Doesn't she look so grown up? Just in time for nursery, she has beautifully mastered the phrase "Mine!" and executes it at ideal moments when she can push the right people's buttons (like her brother's). I'm sure it comes in handy at nursery.

We had to wait a few weeks to take Lulu to nursery as well as Baylub actually. My doctor, self proclaiming his view to be extreme, said that we shouldn't send our kids to nursery until we could all get the H1N1 vaccine because it can be so horrible for pregnant women. We've been taking turns just staying home from Sunday School for about five weeks.

(This is what not to do to avoid swine flu)

Last Thursday, we headed over to the county health department before they opened to get in line for the newly arrived H1N1 vaccine in needle form that Lulu and I could have. Baylub got the mist a couple days previously. Needless to say, the line was already out the door and wrapping around the building. We waited for over two hours with our wonderful Daddy, munched on Einstein bagels and skittles, and eventually made it in to get our shots. Dad got the mist and Lulu and I got poked. For the rest of the day she kept saying "I brave, Mommy brave, Daddy brave, Baybuh brave..." and so on. Although I kind of take middle ground on vaccines, I was very relieved to get this shot just to avoid any chances. Swine flu is definitely around and is definitely dangerous for pregnant women. I feel empowered. Go ahead, sneeze around me, I'm not scared.

Banana Surprise!

2009-10-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

This is what I found cleaning up the kids' toys today. I guess the T-Rex was hungry.

If you can't tell, that is a browning banana in his mouth.

An event to remember...

2009-10-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

For the first time, yesterday afternoon Baylub gave me a big hug and said "I love you Mommy" without me saying it first. Melt my heart *two tears*. I wasn't expecting that to happen for a long time. We are having a wonderful time this fall just us three (Lulu, Baylub, and me). It will be kind of sad when that ends with the whirlwind of adjusting to a third baby. I know we will find our rhythm though and things will be wonderful still.

5 mos. old

Fall

2009-10-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Fall is most definitely upon us. The weather dropped from a comfy 80 to chilly 50 in less than a 24 hour period. I hope we don't skip some nice 70-ish temperatures completely this fall. Luckily we enjoyed the leaves up Provo Canyon before it snowed. They are breathtaking.

Some small updates, nothing too big or exciting. Lulu and Baylub are growing up and as evidence, Lulu is becoming more fashion conscious in spite of the fact that her mullet is getting more and more difficult to hide. Her sassy little boots are her favorite. That and her squeaky shoes. She just has a shoe fetish in general and loves her jackets. The boots and the jacket in this photo were all her own choice. (note the long hair in back and still no hair on top)

Some other fun facts about the kiddalids, Baylub is becoming more and more reasonable and picking up so many things that shock me. The other day we were having some hot chocolate with lunch (because of the cold weather) and he said very quietly to himself "Oh my heck, this hot chocolate is bery yummy." I laughed for a while and then talked about saying "oh my goodness." I don't think I say "oh my heck" very much but I must if he's picking up on it. He listens better now and I can reason with him through some tantrums (not all, just some).

On the other end of the spectrum, Lulu is declaring her independence with the word "no" and we have little battles of will already, mainly over the books. If it was up to her, we would read picture books all day (mainly Go Dog Go, Leo the Late Bloomer, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh the Places You'll Go, and Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet). I am constantly putting the books back up on the shelf. I LOVE that she loves books, but I have started to try to push the "one at a time and then put it back" concept. She gets it, but she tests her limits refusing to touch the book on the floor until I end up holding her hand to do it. When she does do it on her own after me asking a MILLION times, I praise her up and down. Hopefully it will click soon. It's actually quite funny to watch her try and stand up to her parents. I mean, does she really think she's going to win?

She also surprised me the other day by climbing to the very highest slide on the playground all by herself when I wasn't around and my sister-in-law was watching. She headed up there like she had done it a million times, turned around so she was feet first and zoomed down the very tall twisty slide. I had never let her even climb to that area. Sometimes I think I hold her back because her size and her lack of hair make her feel so much younger to me than she really is. She talks like crazy though, saying new words everyday.

Baylub is also becoming even more social, dying to go outside and play with the older neighbor boys. I really look forward to the day when I can just let him go play without keeping an an eye on him. He always wants to play with the older boys though, like those 3 or 4 years older. Someone once told me that is a sign of intelligence but I think people say pretty much anything is a sign of intelligence in children including hitting, not hitting, focusing or not focusing. People just love to hear that their kid is a genius. I know I do.

Last of all, we found an awesome deal on a bassinet. I have borrowed bassinets in the past but none are available this time around. Bassinets are really pricey so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I just happened to look on KSL one Saturday morning and saw a barely used one not far from here for a great deal. We went and checked it out. The family looked nice, the house was clean, and the bassinet was in good shape so we got it.

I'm not sure if this is the case with other people, but with each baby so far, there comes a point near the end where some object or piece of clothing just makes something in my brain click and in my mind the baby becomes even more real and almost here. Because of one little baby object, I all of a sudden can't wait to hold him, see his face, touch his fingers and toes, hear his cry, all of those things. With Baylub, it was just one little outfit that I picked out to take to the hospital. With Lulu, it was a second ultrasound I got at 34 weeks. And now with this one, this bassinet has me so excited to see this little guy. I can just imagine him (or her we still don't know I just don't like calling him an "it") lying in it all wrapped up tight so small and cute.

Can you picture it? So, that is my biggest most recent news. Not much, but sometimes no news means life is still good just moving along.

Homecoming

2009-09-19T18:13:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of my baby sister going to her senior homecoming dance. This is for all of those far away who are wishing they were here for the occasion.

Anna Marie, you are a superstar!

2009-09-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

We tried out the two dollar Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point during the month of August and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The last Tuesday at about 7 pm, we decided to quickly check out the dinosaur museum. I thought people would be leaving seeing as it closes at 8:30 and we didn't get there until almost 7:30, but many people had our same idea. It was PACKED!

It was worth the two dollars though. The museum is very impressive. Here is Caleb obediently posing, pointing out ancient crocodiles but in reality anxiously wanting to run over to the camera and look at the picture of himself. That is our new problem with taking pictures. They want to see the back of the camera and not have their picture taken.

Here is a lovely shot of mullet head (aka Lulu). That's what we call her and probably will call her until her hair grows out or until she figures out what we are saying.

So, being heavy laden with a bambino, I get free baby ads in the mail. I still don't know exactly where they get my information from or the fact that they even know that I'm pregnant. Doctors do have the whole confidentiality thing going on still, I hope. Anyway, in this parenting magazine we've been getting, there is an add for baby orajel with a little boy sitting on a Thomas the Train riding toy with tracks and all and simultaniously brushing his teeth holding the orajel bottle. Baylub became obsessed with the picture, asked to ride Thomas everyday for quite a while, and even slept with the ad (we tore it out of the magazine). He kept asking. The toy on Amazon is about $400 so that's not an option. It was so cute that he loved the ad so much, so we finally built him a Thomas to ride on with his big legos and he went and grabbed his tooth brush and tooth paste so that he could completely recreate the idealic scene of the orajel ad.

I was so glad that it satisfied him. There is no way we are buying that Thomas the Train toy, even though it is really really cool.

2009-08-23T10:38:00.001-07:00

I really liked this talk. I highly recommend it.

Quote from Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk "The Family: The Hope for the Future of Nations" at the World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Aug. 12, 2009.

"What would happen to the future of nations if the next generation failed to appear in significant number? The answer is alarming! Yes, we would be poorer economically, but even poorer spiritually. Spiritual concerns are of great importance. Spiritually, we need children as much as they need us. They are our spiritual wealth. Children teach us the joy of building goodness that will outlive our own. They teach us the joy of loving someone more than self. That love lifts one to give from the abundance of one's own life to help a child."

A Most Underappreciated Fruit

2009-08-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

The last two canning seasons, I have gained a new favorite to add to my repitiore of fruit. It is the plum.

I know very few people who love plums or say that it is their favorite fruit. They are pretty good fresh. But my oh my, everything I have made with the plums (basically fruit leather and jam) has been simply incredible. I think plum jam is the prettiest color. LOVE IT! And it has the most wonderful almost tangy flavor.

I haven't made any fruit leather yet, but last year's leather tasted just amazing, almost like a fruit punch instead of plain old plum. And, again, after being blended together, the dark skin makes the leather the most beautiful red/purple/plum color. I am definitely a fan.

So if you see black plums on sale anywhere, buy a few pounds a try a batch of cooked jam. I highly recommend it.

Three car seats in one sedan....

2009-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

So, one of the many problems we have faced with the pending arrival of a new bambino is the question of what to do car-wise. The most fun choice is obviously to buy a bigger car. We have researched it down to a Mazda 5. We are fans, especially of the gas mileage. It only seats six but that would have been plenty for us.

However, after a few months, it became painfully apparent that buying a new car was just NOT an option. We tried multiple times to squish our three car seats (one infant and two upright) to fit in the back of our Mitsubishi Galant. Unfortunately, I have the habit of buying big, fat car seats because the look so much safer and more comfortable than skimpy ones. It truly is impossible to fit all three of our car seats in the back seat.

I think in the back of my mind I kept thinking and hoping that somehow, someway we could buy a new car, but in the end I reconciled myself to finding a car seat that would fit. I've seen three car seats in the back of small cars before so I know people do it somehow.

From what I've learned, the Radian or Sunshine Kids Radian Car seat is one of, if not, the skinniest car seat out there.

And it is specifically most skinny at the base, where it really needs to be. It is pricey because it boasts to be extremely safe with a steel frame and other extra safe features. But, by far it is cheaper than buying a new car. It is a convertible car seat so it can be rear or forward facing. We added some little pillow attachments to the straps to help Lulu sleep without her head flopping over into uncomfortable looking positions. So now, with a Cosco upright car seat, a Graco Safe Seat infant car seat, and the Radian car seat, we can fit all three (barely) into the back of our car.

Lets just hope that our current kids will not torture the baby since they will be able to reach him so easily. They will grow up close in age and car proximity.