Well, our house is rather torn up right now. All the carpet and vinyl flooring has been torn up from the whole house except for the bedrooms and bathrooms. Most of our furniture is in the garage or bedrooms, although the china cabinet is in the hall bathroom. We are hoping the hardwood gets delivered tomorrow and they start installing it later this week. It's been a bit crazy because no one wants to play or sit on the floor because it's the yucky floor the builders put in. Jessica has the piano in her room, so there is not much room to play. We will survive!
It will look lovely when everyone comes up for Christmas as long as we don't scratch it up putting the furniture back!
Oh, and we also painted all those areas of the house as well. I was gone last weekend at an overnighter for the RS (not an OFFICIAL event) at the cabin of a ward member. Of course Friday was the day most of the house was painted, so Reid escaped to his parents' house with the kids to avoid painted children and messed up walls. I had a grand time! I stayed up late (5:00 a.m. the first night and 2:00 a.m. the second night) playing games and chatting - eating WAY too much foom. We went shopping in Leavenworth - a German town full of shops and little restaurants. Of course we ate at the Italian place.
The girls started acting class and I think they are having fun. It takes up most of our Saturday, but it's a new experience for them and it's not outside in the pouring rain.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Conference antics
For the first time ever, with kids anyway, we attended all four sessions of conference at the church. We've watched them at home many times, and usually attend one or two at church, but this time we went to all of them! The kids were remarkably good. Eric started the Saturday morning session with a lovely whining session and Jessica can't play at all without a song or running dialogue, but otherwise, they played quietly and even listened occasionally.
We made a little scrapbook of sorts with pictures and info on all the apostles and the pictures from the Ensign of the quorums of the Seventy, Presiding Bishopric, etc... Eric and Jessica especially, enjoyed looking at the picture of whoever was speaking at the time and realizing that it was the same person as on the screen.
Kim was a tremendous help on Saturday because Reid was gone all day. She has been stepping in so much lately without being asked. I had a sitter Friday night and I suspect Kim did more of the work than the babysitter! Good practice I suppose!
We had a lovely wind/rain storm that left 2 lights out on the way home on Saturday. Luckily our power was still on. It's definitely fall!
We made a little scrapbook of sorts with pictures and info on all the apostles and the pictures from the Ensign of the quorums of the Seventy, Presiding Bishopric, etc... Eric and Jessica especially, enjoyed looking at the picture of whoever was speaking at the time and realizing that it was the same person as on the screen.
Kim was a tremendous help on Saturday because Reid was gone all day. She has been stepping in so much lately without being asked. I had a sitter Friday night and I suspect Kim did more of the work than the babysitter! Good practice I suppose!
We had a lovely wind/rain storm that left 2 lights out on the way home on Saturday. Luckily our power was still on. It's definitely fall!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Numbers and Running
I just had to say how much I enjoyed the General Relief Society Broadcast last night. Especially President Uchtdurf's talk. If you missed it, watch it on lds.org or tivo it. He had some great ideas on how to find peace and happiness - some things I hadn't thought about before. He started his talk with a fun discussion of how different men and women are. He talked about his wife's cooking and how wonderful it is. He says she will usually sit down and say things like, "I think I added a pinch too much ginger, or maybe next time I will add another bay leaf." He thinks her meal are amazng. When he cooks his specialty - fried eggs and toast - they usually end up greasy and burned. However, he feels like a super hero for doing it. Maybe us ladies could learn something from the men about that!
We discovered this week that Jessica knows quite a few of her numbers by sight. As I was quizzing her to see which ones she knows, I held up a 5 for Eric first and asked him if he knew what it was. He said his classic, "I don't know." Jessica pipes up with a, "It's 5, Eric!" YIKES! We have created a smart monster!
Abby ran in a 1/2 mile district wide race for elementary kids. Anyone can enter and she was excited when the flyer came home from school. They gave a ribbon to everyone who participated and then the top 6 were recognized. Her friend got 5th place and I think Abby must have been 8th or so. I think she was a little disappointed, but it was a good experience for all of us. Maybe I can get Kim and Eric to participate next year!
I have been working on a humanitarian project our ward is doing. We are making remembrance quilts for parents whose children die at the hospital at or soon after birth and never come home. They are tiny quilts - 18x18 - and we are piecing the tops. They come with a matching bag for the parents to put small momentos of the child - a lock of hair, hospital tags, etc... It's been a learning experience for me and a bit sobering to think about their uses.
Eric has been drawing lots of people lately, so I'll have to learn how to scan them and add them to the blog. They are very cute. Kim is doing well in school. It's been a good experience for her to have more tests. She will be in middle school next year. Of course, I have had 4 or 5 people ask me lately when she will turn 12 and go into Young Womens. I have to tell them she still has TWO MORE YEARS! She'll be ready.
We discovered this week that Jessica knows quite a few of her numbers by sight. As I was quizzing her to see which ones she knows, I held up a 5 for Eric first and asked him if he knew what it was. He said his classic, "I don't know." Jessica pipes up with a, "It's 5, Eric!" YIKES! We have created a smart monster!
Abby ran in a 1/2 mile district wide race for elementary kids. Anyone can enter and she was excited when the flyer came home from school. They gave a ribbon to everyone who participated and then the top 6 were recognized. Her friend got 5th place and I think Abby must have been 8th or so. I think she was a little disappointed, but it was a good experience for all of us. Maybe I can get Kim and Eric to participate next year!
I have been working on a humanitarian project our ward is doing. We are making remembrance quilts for parents whose children die at the hospital at or soon after birth and never come home. They are tiny quilts - 18x18 - and we are piecing the tops. They come with a matching bag for the parents to put small momentos of the child - a lock of hair, hospital tags, etc... It's been a learning experience for me and a bit sobering to think about their uses.
Eric has been drawing lots of people lately, so I'll have to learn how to scan them and add them to the blog. They are very cute. Kim is doing well in school. It's been a good experience for her to have more tests. She will be in middle school next year. Of course, I have had 4 or 5 people ask me lately when she will turn 12 and go into Young Womens. I have to tell them she still has TWO MORE YEARS! She'll be ready.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Getaway
Stuffy noses, coughs, and headaches - that's been our week! We have all caught the cold everyone else has since school started. Not fun, but predictable, I suppose.
Reid and I went away for a day without the kids while Emily stayed with them. Thanks Emily! We had a blast. We went to dinner at a restaurant called El Gaucho - very nice and classy. I think we'll have to pay off the house before we can afford to go back :) They do lots of the food tableside - caesar salad, cutting the meat, making bananas foster, etc... They had a cool meal we saw at a table nearby where the chef has a huge sword with meat and veggies on it like a kabob. She then spooned flaming alcohol over it to cook it. That was cool! Then we went to a comedy show called Jet City Improv. It was mostly college students, but there were a few old fogies there like us. It was hilarious and the best part of it was their policy of keeping things appropriate for all ages - kids and grandmas alike.
The next morning we slept in late and went to brunch at the Space Needle. The restaurant turns a full circle in 47 minutes, so we got to see the view of the clouds and drizzle very well.
Then we got home to the reality of life again. I think we need to go away for longer next time! While I was trying to get Jessica and Eric to follow me upstairs to take a bath, Jessica told me,"Go away, Mommy. I love my Daddy!" It's nice to be loved. She will say, " I love you soooo much" occasionally.
Reid and I went away for a day without the kids while Emily stayed with them. Thanks Emily! We had a blast. We went to dinner at a restaurant called El Gaucho - very nice and classy. I think we'll have to pay off the house before we can afford to go back :) They do lots of the food tableside - caesar salad, cutting the meat, making bananas foster, etc... They had a cool meal we saw at a table nearby where the chef has a huge sword with meat and veggies on it like a kabob. She then spooned flaming alcohol over it to cook it. That was cool! Then we went to a comedy show called Jet City Improv. It was mostly college students, but there were a few old fogies there like us. It was hilarious and the best part of it was their policy of keeping things appropriate for all ages - kids and grandmas alike.
The next morning we slept in late and went to brunch at the Space Needle. The restaurant turns a full circle in 47 minutes, so we got to see the view of the clouds and drizzle very well.
Then we got home to the reality of life again. I think we need to go away for longer next time! While I was trying to get Jessica and Eric to follow me upstairs to take a bath, Jessica told me,"Go away, Mommy. I love my Daddy!" It's nice to be loved. She will say, " I love you soooo much" occasionally.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Fun, fun, fun!
Eric started preschool this week. I think he's enjoying it and I haven't heard about any major problems (or any problems for that matter!). He loves to talk about what the snack was and what he learned about. He has school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday he go to go to Chuck E. Cheese with Reid. He was getting a nasty cold, so he wasn't feeling 100%, but he did get 345 tickets!
Abby got to go there with Reid on Friday and she came out of it with over 700 tickets! I think Reid found a game that gave out LOTS of tickets if you figured out how to win it. Kim went bowling with Reid on Thursday and had a good time. They were supposed to go mini-golfing, but for some odd reason the place was closed.
On Saturday we went to "Touch a Truck". You get to sit in various city vehicles, fire trucks, police cars, etc... and pretend you are driving and even honk the horn. They have a bouncy house and lots of other little booths for water conservation, wearing helmets, car seat safety, etc... I think Eric really had a good time.
We also cleaned the garage on Saturday. Amazing what a little moving and organizing can do! Now to clean out the freezer . . .
Abby got to go there with Reid on Friday and she came out of it with over 700 tickets! I think Reid found a game that gave out LOTS of tickets if you figured out how to win it. Kim went bowling with Reid on Thursday and had a good time. They were supposed to go mini-golfing, but for some odd reason the place was closed.
On Saturday we went to "Touch a Truck". You get to sit in various city vehicles, fire trucks, police cars, etc... and pretend you are driving and even honk the horn. They have a bouncy house and lots of other little booths for water conservation, wearing helmets, car seat safety, etc... I think Eric really had a good time.
We also cleaned the garage on Saturday. Amazing what a little moving and organizing can do! Now to clean out the freezer . . .
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Back to School!
Kim and Abby went back to school on Wednesday. Kim went back and forth between a few teachers, but finally ended up where she started with the teacher she had last year. I think they are having a good year so far. They don't share a whole lot, but it always come out :)
We went to the BYU game Saturday - yes, they were up here playing the University of Washington. If you don't already know, we won! It was a lot of fun to be there and it was not a boring game at all. LOTS of controversy over the win actually. We really only get the Washington opinions here, though. It probably isn't such a big deal everywhere else.
Eric and Jessica stayed at Reid's parents' house and did not want to leave when we got there, so I guess they weren't traumatized by it. While we were driving down there to drop them off, Eric declared to us that we are different from Chinese people. A rather random, but true, statement.
Jessica has been singing "Happy birthday Jee - caa - caa" for days now. Too bad her birthday isn't until the end of February! I was picking up a babysitter this week (her name is Samantha, but it comes out sounding like Santa when the little ones say it) and Eric told us that there were two Samanthas. One brings you presents, and one is a babysitter. He's rather full of observations lately!
We went to the BYU game Saturday - yes, they were up here playing the University of Washington. If you don't already know, we won! It was a lot of fun to be there and it was not a boring game at all. LOTS of controversy over the win actually. We really only get the Washington opinions here, though. It probably isn't such a big deal everywhere else.
Eric and Jessica stayed at Reid's parents' house and did not want to leave when we got there, so I guess they weren't traumatized by it. While we were driving down there to drop them off, Eric declared to us that we are different from Chinese people. A rather random, but true, statement.
Jessica has been singing "Happy birthday Jee - caa - caa" for days now. Too bad her birthday isn't until the end of February! I was picking up a babysitter this week (her name is Samantha, but it comes out sounding like Santa when the little ones say it) and Eric told us that there were two Samanthas. One brings you presents, and one is a babysitter. He's rather full of observations lately!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Getting ready for school
Well, school starts on Wednesday for Kim and Abby, and Eric starts next Monday. We've done all the school shopping (we think!), and the kids are excited. We re-arranged the beds a bit this week. Kim and I moved her loft bed up to Eric's room, although he will still sleep in his old bed under the loft bed. Kim now has a regular bed that she can flop down on. We loved some of Eric's toys and furniture into Jessica's room and finally moved the bed and closet doors that have been stored in Jessica's room.
My muscles were NOT used to all that, but their rooms look good and it went faster than I thought it would!
Yesterday we helped Emily move to her new place. It's a few miles down the road from her old place and will hopefully have less mold, etc... for her to get sick from. Abby enjoyed bugging Nate the whole time (sorry, Nate :( ) and we had a few sad moments fighting over the tv (hmmm.....), but overall, they were helpful or at least stayed out of the way!
Tonight we met Logan's girlfriend (visiting from Utah). She is very fun and we had a good time. Abby kept tickling her, so we told Abby to play hide and seek with us, she would hide, of course. She came up wondering why we weren't looking for her! What a crazy girl!
My muscles were NOT used to all that, but their rooms look good and it went faster than I thought it would!
Yesterday we helped Emily move to her new place. It's a few miles down the road from her old place and will hopefully have less mold, etc... for her to get sick from. Abby enjoyed bugging Nate the whole time (sorry, Nate :( ) and we had a few sad moments fighting over the tv (hmmm.....), but overall, they were helpful or at least stayed out of the way!
Tonight we met Logan's girlfriend (visiting from Utah). She is very fun and we had a good time. Abby kept tickling her, so we told Abby to play hide and seek with us, she would hide, of course. She came up wondering why we weren't looking for her! What a crazy girl!
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