I didn't take any pictures this week. That is so unlike me! I'm sure we'll make up for it next weekend when we go on an adventure with Lismarie and family! Woooot!!! (Lismarie and I tried to coordinate a spring-break vacation, but our kids spring breaks were in totally different months. And no where near Easter. So instead we're ditching our lives for a few days and driving to someplace warm. It will be fabulous.)
There's a dangerous new store in the mall. And since the mall is a quick walk across the street, we go there a lot. They sell...
PUPPIES!!!!
I know, I know, it's horrible every way. Who knows what kind of breeder they came from, they're stuck in little cages all day, and there are so many dogs in shelters that need homes (plus they're all "purebred". I like muts. Purebreds are always so high strung and inbred. But wiener dogs are awesome. And puggles. And boxers. And Siberian Huskies. And I want to take them all home, even though the store smells like dog pee. A lot. Shoot, puppies have some sort of strange magical cuteness to make me overlook that smell.) The girls and I want a dog. But we're not going to get one till we have a house. Cause bringing a dog into this tiny apartment would just be mean.
An amazing thing happened this week, I finished the last work project on my list of projects. I sat down at my desk to ponder the rest of the week. It's been so long since I've had a free day to work on whatever whim wandered into my mind. Oh the possibilities! I could work on the fairy tale I started a year ago. I could work on the music theory board book Aunt Ne & I are putting together. I could map out a craft book idea that's been bouncing around in my head for the past 3 years. I decided to quickly check my email. My free time lasted LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. I'd finally heard back on the set of sketches I was waiting for & now before we leave town I'll be finishing the 59-spot illustration job! But after Friday, I really SHOULD be done with my projects again. Till the next one. (Not that I'm complaining, I'm grateful for the work. Especially jobs like this with a big fat paycheck at the end. Oh how I love getting paid!)
So what have you been up to? Do share!!!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Video Proof
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey.
How was your week? Ours was stylish:
(She actually picked her ensemble herself. Don't the white cowgirl boots bring it together?)
And to prove that we don't neglect our other child, here's a picture of Ella at dance class.
But then here's another one of Gretchen. (I like this picture because it looks like someone took out all those Dancing Cowgirls. But they're just sleeping, dreaming Cowgirl Dreams.)
I really tried to whittle down my videos of the class, but I couldn't. I really won't blame you if you don't want to watch them. But SO CUTE, right? I KNOW!
In defiance of all this girliness, Gretchen decided yesterday to be a boy. She wore some elastic-bottomed navy sweat pants, vans, and a Bob Marley t-shirt (which is also known as the "Scary Man" shirt at our house, since they're both slightly terrified of Bob Marley's picture. They feel so brave when they wear that shirt). She was known as "Buddy", and she corrected me many times when I slipped and called her Gretchen.
Last Christmas I dragged my Hammered Dulcimer out from it's hiding place under my bed. I usually only pull it out once a year at Christmas to play for the Relief Society. But this year I got asked to play again in January. And it's been out since then. In years past I've had to keep it either hidden away or hung high up on the wall, but it seems we've reached a milestone. I CAN KEEP MY DULCIMER OUT NOW. The girls totally respect it. It probably helps that I let them play it whenever they ask nicely. I taught Ella a few basics & then how to play "Twinkle Little Star". She was so proud of herself, she had me write a note to her music teacher to see if she could do a demonstration at school. And kindly enough, her teacher obliged. (It just happened to be Celtic Music week!) Ella did GREAT!
That's about it for us. And I promise I won't post any dance pictures next week. Really.
xo
Sunday, March 6, 2011
No Name Post
Sorry we've been MIA for a few weeks. The 32 page book is completed. PHEW. It was a lot of late nights, Colby on dinner duty (which was delicious & much appreciated), and me having to just not care about anything else for a little while except for the girls & work. And also, one little breakdown on Tuesday. But I'm mostly all better now (I'm not ready to quit everything at the moment. I'm trying not to think about how much time church takes. Quitting church needs to get out of my mind. I would be sad about it later. You know, after the 20 naps I would have time for once I freed up all that mental space my calling occupies...)
I'm still waiting to hear back on the 59 spot job. And when I do, I'm going to be sucked under again. So lets enjoy this little bit of sanity while we can.
Here's Gretchen at a cookie decorating party before V-day.
At another super fun Valentines day party...
..and with her face painted like a tiger on "T" day at preschool this week.
I brought my old camera to the Amazing Dance Class this week, but it was out of batteries. So alas, I don't have any awesome video of Gretchen & Ella in cowgirl outfits dancing with lassos. But it's cowgirl month ALL MARCH. So Grandparents, since I'm sure you're the only ones who really care, STAY TUNED.
Random Cuteness:
Gretchen and Ella are sitting in the car. Gretchen is staring intently at Ella.
Ella: Why are you looking at me?
Gretchen: (Yelling with Gretchen-like intensity) BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.
Gretchen gets in trouble.
Gretchen says to us: I AM NOT HAPPY TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
Ella & I are singing, "Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clementine...."
Ella: When was this song written?
Me: A long, long time ago?
Ella: Like in 1983?
(Wikipedia says more like 1883... "The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush. He loses her in a drowning accident, though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine's "little sister".
I'm still waiting to hear back on the 59 spot job. And when I do, I'm going to be sucked under again. So lets enjoy this little bit of sanity while we can.
Here's Gretchen at a cookie decorating party before V-day.
At another super fun Valentines day party...
..and with her face painted like a tiger on "T" day at preschool this week.
I brought my old camera to the Amazing Dance Class this week, but it was out of batteries. So alas, I don't have any awesome video of Gretchen & Ella in cowgirl outfits dancing with lassos. But it's cowgirl month ALL MARCH. So Grandparents, since I'm sure you're the only ones who really care, STAY TUNED.
Random Cuteness:
Gretchen and Ella are sitting in the car. Gretchen is staring intently at Ella.
Ella: Why are you looking at me?
Gretchen: (Yelling with Gretchen-like intensity) BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.
Gretchen gets in trouble.
Gretchen says to us: I AM NOT HAPPY TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
Ella & I are singing, "Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clementine...."
Ella: When was this song written?
Me: A long, long time ago?
Ella: Like in 1983?
(Wikipedia says more like 1883... "The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush. He loses her in a drowning accident, though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine's "little sister".
The verse about the little sister was often left out of folk song books intended for children, presumably because it seemed morally questionable." Hee hee! Good call.)
And lastly, my Random Parenting Discovery: Ella wants to play with me constantly. CONSTANTLY. And though I love my children, whenever I sit down to play with them, all I can think about is the millions of things I need to do. This is silly. No task is more important that spending some quality time with the girls. So to trick myself into being "present" for the barbie drama/playdough birthday party/medical doll crisis, I set the timer for 20 - 25 minutes. It totally works. When I know that the baby-doll drama will end eventually, it's so much easier to immerse myself in it. (Also, I can't lay down or I will fall asleep. So I can only play while sitting up.)
Do you have any Random Parenting Discoveries to share?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Found And Random Things
Colby asked why I've been using my crappy little camera instead of the Nikon. I said I didn't want to use my Grandpa's awesome old film camera (I didn't realize which Nikon he was talking about). Then he informed me that our lovely old digital camera was back from the repair shop (where it'd been fixed FOR FREE! Woot! Hooray for known factory defects!) (The camera has been broken since June of 2007. It's like Christmas to get it back!) So look what I did!!! Took pictures of Gretchen swinging that aren't blurry!!!
I'm not going to whine about the overwhelming list of things I had to do this week, or the amount of work I had (I think I whine about those two things every post.) Most days I feel like I'm either taking care of the girls or working, no down-time to myself (wait, I'm whining, but it's going somewhere, really!) Yesterday I decided to take a night off. It was wonderful. I finished a craft and then went to bed. Oh heaven! Then today I took advantage of my Sunday work-free time to document the crafts we've done in our MOPS group this year. Take a look if you're feeling crafty!
We've been working on Ella's science fair project. I was really proud of us when we came up with our experiment idea. They'd had a demonstration at school of what happens when you drop Mint Mentos into Diet Coke. She was pretty impressed with the explosion that resulted. We decided to see if we could find any other candy that would make soda explode. Fun, right? Then a few weeks ago we were at Girl Scouts and I was talking to another mom. I asked what they were doing for their experiment. THEY HAD THE EXACT SAME PLAN. Luckily the girls are in different classes. Though the other mom said, "You know, if we're doing it, chances are another 10 people will too..." So we're going to have to totally sell our experiment with a fantastic display board. Yesterday we picked up the last of our candy and went to an empty field. It's a good thing we didn't try it in the kitchen. I'll share the pictures next week. And you should go invest $2 in some Mint Mentos and Diet Coke. Or look at the million youtube videos dedicated to that awesomeness.
This week I listened to "The Road" as an audio book. Wow. That is one powerful book. It's really dark, but I loved it. If you haven't read it, skip this next part:
The whole time I was thinking, "The mom was totally right. They should have just all killed themselves before they were raped and cannibalized!" Especially when they went to that old house with all the people in the basement! But by the end I had completely switched my opinion. The fact that Cormac McCarthy was able to fill a book with such horrific and vivid details and still convince me that their painful struggle for life was worth it proves his mastery as a writer. The book is powerful and beautifully written.
Another thing that struck me was while listening to the brutality of their degenerate "society", I kept thinking, "No, this couldn't REALLY happen, right? God wouldn't let that happen." But it could. And it did. We have a scriptural record of this happening (Moroni 9: 7-10). So of course it could happen again. And though "The Road" is fiction, like all good stories, it makes you wonder about what choices you'd make with your life. If you knew that was in store for your little children, what would you do? Also, I need to go order about 5000 lighters and 50 extra pairs of shoes now.
Ella just came out of her room and jogged a circle around our apartment. I think she's still asleep. She's sleep-jogging! I'd better go take care of that and stop worrying about offing-myself before I get cannibalized by apocalyptic survivors.
(She just came back out and sat down at the kitchen table. Colby led her gently back to bed. I think the sleep-traveling is mostly over for the night...)
Do you kids ever do weird stuff like that in their sleep?
xoxo
I'm not going to whine about the overwhelming list of things I had to do this week, or the amount of work I had (I think I whine about those two things every post.) Most days I feel like I'm either taking care of the girls or working, no down-time to myself (wait, I'm whining, but it's going somewhere, really!) Yesterday I decided to take a night off. It was wonderful. I finished a craft and then went to bed. Oh heaven! Then today I took advantage of my Sunday work-free time to document the crafts we've done in our MOPS group this year. Take a look if you're feeling crafty!
We've been working on Ella's science fair project. I was really proud of us when we came up with our experiment idea. They'd had a demonstration at school of what happens when you drop Mint Mentos into Diet Coke. She was pretty impressed with the explosion that resulted. We decided to see if we could find any other candy that would make soda explode. Fun, right? Then a few weeks ago we were at Girl Scouts and I was talking to another mom. I asked what they were doing for their experiment. THEY HAD THE EXACT SAME PLAN. Luckily the girls are in different classes. Though the other mom said, "You know, if we're doing it, chances are another 10 people will too..." So we're going to have to totally sell our experiment with a fantastic display board. Yesterday we picked up the last of our candy and went to an empty field. It's a good thing we didn't try it in the kitchen. I'll share the pictures next week. And you should go invest $2 in some Mint Mentos and Diet Coke. Or look at the million youtube videos dedicated to that awesomeness.
This week I listened to "The Road" as an audio book. Wow. That is one powerful book. It's really dark, but I loved it. If you haven't read it, skip this next part:
The whole time I was thinking, "The mom was totally right. They should have just all killed themselves before they were raped and cannibalized!" Especially when they went to that old house with all the people in the basement! But by the end I had completely switched my opinion. The fact that Cormac McCarthy was able to fill a book with such horrific and vivid details and still convince me that their painful struggle for life was worth it proves his mastery as a writer. The book is powerful and beautifully written.
Another thing that struck me was while listening to the brutality of their degenerate "society", I kept thinking, "No, this couldn't REALLY happen, right? God wouldn't let that happen." But it could. And it did. We have a scriptural record of this happening (Moroni 9: 7-10). So of course it could happen again. And though "The Road" is fiction, like all good stories, it makes you wonder about what choices you'd make with your life. If you knew that was in store for your little children, what would you do? Also, I need to go order about 5000 lighters and 50 extra pairs of shoes now.
Ella just came out of her room and jogged a circle around our apartment. I think she's still asleep. She's sleep-jogging! I'd better go take care of that and stop worrying about offing-myself before I get cannibalized by apocalyptic survivors.
(She just came back out and sat down at the kitchen table. Colby led her gently back to bed. I think the sleep-traveling is mostly over for the night...)
Do you kids ever do weird stuff like that in their sleep?
xoxo
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Seriously? Cutest Thing Ever.
Hello Loves! How was your week? Ours was great, interesting, fun, and sad at the end.
It was great to host preschool. Gretchen had missed two weeks of learnin' cause she was hacking and coughing and oozing at the eyes and nose and being generally infectious. She woke up Tuesday morning with red eyes and after trying really hard not to say bad words, I called the other parents & said, "It could be pink eye. Maybe it's just her cold. We're having preschool. Risk it if you dare." They all risked it. I guess a two hour break from your toddler is worth that little roulette game. And it wasn't pink eye after all! It must have just been from her cold. CRISIS AVERTED!
After preschool, I was talking to my dear friend Becky, and she was going on and on about the most fabulous dance class our friend Katherine teaches. I've been wanting to put the girls in a dance class since I found out I was pregnant with a girl-child, and this class is pretty much ridiculously cute. But I just can't justify the minimal expense while Colby isn't working. (Just in case you're wondering, the girls now have a running tally of things they'll do when Colby gets a job. Go to Disneyland. Go out to eat. Go to ballet class. Buy Tinkerbell wings at the Disney Store. And I will join the gym so I won't have to use the scary one in our apartment complex. Oh yeah, and buy a house.) Becky was so sad that I said we wouldn't be signing up that she told Katherine about it. And then Katherine asked if I'd do a trade. OH YES I WILL!!! So now my dreams have come true. This dream here.
This dream is a FAIRY TALE DANCE CLASS. Gretchen was shy at first. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then she realized that THIS. IS. AWESOME.
Within 5 minutes she was volunteering to show the other girls how it's done.
And they all dressed up as Belle, her favorite princess this week, and acted out the story. OMG. SERIOUSLY? Yes. It was cute.
So basically, thrilled.
Ella had testing at her school a few weeks ago & we got the results back. She is doing so well in school. I'm so proud of her. I'm so grateful for her teachers. I'm so grateful for her school. I'm SO GRATEFUL I don't home school her. I know that's the best choice for some people, but not us. If I were teaching my child....it would be bad. But since all I have to do is help with her homework, it's PERFECT. I still feel like I'm involved with her education, but I don't really have to do anything. Ta da! Genius child that still has a relationship with her mom.
While volunteering in her class this week, I came across a number of Safety Tips the kids had written themselves:
-Always swim with a buddy.
-Never stand on a swivel chair.
-Don't say bad words to a police man (one of my favorites.)
When we got home, I overheard Ella say in a dramatic voice, "Safety Tip #7: Never say, 'You are bad!!!' to your sister." Wise choice, my darling.
The sad end of our week was that a friend from church had a fire at her condo. Julie (mother to the infamous biting victim John John) arranged for us to go over and help a bit yesterday. It was awful. There was a huge hole in her roof. There was insulation and ceiling bits and broken glass and ash EVERYWHERE. We wore masks and helped pull all her daughters clothes and bedding and stuffed animals out to distribute to volunteers to wash. I've never seen anything like it. I've been lucky enough not to be in any fires. It was crazy. As soon as I walked in the door, I started crying (I know, I'm a wimp, but it was HORRIBLE.) If anyone has a broken heating lamp in their bathroom, do me a favor and get it fixed. Also, make sure you have renters insurance. Say prayers for my friend too.
So that's us. What about you?
It was great to host preschool. Gretchen had missed two weeks of learnin' cause she was hacking and coughing and oozing at the eyes and nose and being generally infectious. She woke up Tuesday morning with red eyes and after trying really hard not to say bad words, I called the other parents & said, "It could be pink eye. Maybe it's just her cold. We're having preschool. Risk it if you dare." They all risked it. I guess a two hour break from your toddler is worth that little roulette game. And it wasn't pink eye after all! It must have just been from her cold. CRISIS AVERTED!
After preschool, I was talking to my dear friend Becky, and she was going on and on about the most fabulous dance class our friend Katherine teaches. I've been wanting to put the girls in a dance class since I found out I was pregnant with a girl-child, and this class is pretty much ridiculously cute. But I just can't justify the minimal expense while Colby isn't working. (Just in case you're wondering, the girls now have a running tally of things they'll do when Colby gets a job. Go to Disneyland. Go out to eat. Go to ballet class. Buy Tinkerbell wings at the Disney Store. And I will join the gym so I won't have to use the scary one in our apartment complex. Oh yeah, and buy a house.) Becky was so sad that I said we wouldn't be signing up that she told Katherine about it. And then Katherine asked if I'd do a trade. OH YES I WILL!!! So now my dreams have come true. This dream here.
This dream is a FAIRY TALE DANCE CLASS. Gretchen was shy at first. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then she realized that THIS. IS. AWESOME.
Within 5 minutes she was volunteering to show the other girls how it's done.
And they all dressed up as Belle, her favorite princess this week, and acted out the story. OMG. SERIOUSLY? Yes. It was cute.
So basically, thrilled.
Ella had testing at her school a few weeks ago & we got the results back. She is doing so well in school. I'm so proud of her. I'm so grateful for her teachers. I'm so grateful for her school. I'm SO GRATEFUL I don't home school her. I know that's the best choice for some people, but not us. If I were teaching my child....it would be bad. But since all I have to do is help with her homework, it's PERFECT. I still feel like I'm involved with her education, but I don't really have to do anything. Ta da! Genius child that still has a relationship with her mom.
While volunteering in her class this week, I came across a number of Safety Tips the kids had written themselves:
-Always swim with a buddy.
-Never stand on a swivel chair.
-Don't say bad words to a police man (one of my favorites.)
When we got home, I overheard Ella say in a dramatic voice, "Safety Tip #7: Never say, 'You are bad!!!' to your sister." Wise choice, my darling.
The sad end of our week was that a friend from church had a fire at her condo. Julie (mother to the infamous biting victim John John) arranged for us to go over and help a bit yesterday. It was awful. There was a huge hole in her roof. There was insulation and ceiling bits and broken glass and ash EVERYWHERE. We wore masks and helped pull all her daughters clothes and bedding and stuffed animals out to distribute to volunteers to wash. I've never seen anything like it. I've been lucky enough not to be in any fires. It was crazy. As soon as I walked in the door, I started crying (I know, I'm a wimp, but it was HORRIBLE.) If anyone has a broken heating lamp in their bathroom, do me a favor and get it fixed. Also, make sure you have renters insurance. Say prayers for my friend too.
So that's us. What about you?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Week Alone
Colby went out of town last Monday to attend a tradeshow & be all networky and stuff. He just got back a few hours ago. Seven days.
First it was great! There were WAAAAY less dishes. I didn't have to cook a nice dinner every night (not that it happens every night, but a lot of the time I try). The house stayed cleaner. The TV wasn't on all night. I could watch whatever I wanted. I was ALL OVER IT. I was cocky.
Then I started to get tired.
Then I got a HUGE job and stayed up working every night till 11. Then a toddler snuck into my bed every night and coughed in my face for three hours till I finally gave in and rallied enough to pour her a bowl of cereal and turn PBS kids on. (Praise to PBS kids. You don't know how much I appreciate the break you give me.) Then I was in charge of way too much crap last week (craft for my mom's group, because of course I'm the craft leader, right? Young Womens fundraiser straightened out. Volunteering in Ella's class, etc.) Not to mention the rush job and 16 sketches I whipped out. TIRED.
I'm so glad Colby's back. Right now HE'S the one yelling at the girls to clean up their room, not me. And HE'S the one doing PJ duty (an hour early, I might add.)
Last week I also did carpool. I love the kid we do carpool with. So does Ella. And Gretchen. Gretchen often shows her love by swatting him in the face and kicking him, but he's nice enough to let it slide (we have lots of talks with Gretchen about showing our friends we love them with kindness. Not flirtatious slapping.) While we were in the car, Ella said that there are three bad kids in her class.
Me: They're not "bad" sweetie, they just make bad choices sometimes.
Carpool Kid: That's right. Satan gets in their head and tells them to be bad.
Ella: Satan must get in my sister's head A LOT.
(The "devil made me do it" attitude makes me crazy. Dude people, you make your OWN decisions. But this was too funny, I had to share.)
Also, if any of you ever get a chance to burn a whole Christmas Tree in a bonfire, you should TOTALLY DO IT. But seriously? Make sure you've got at least 50' of clearance on all sides. We did this for our youth activity this week. It was AMAZING. Nothing like a little pyromania to help bond the kids, right? Ella was excited about the s'mores (or "smudges" as she thought they were called). The kids were excited about roasting Starburst (did you know about this trend? It's sweeping the nation, apparently. I didn't try them, but supposedly they're fabulous.)
And to round out the week, Ella had an ice-skating activity with the Girl Scouts yesterday. It was the first time for both the girls, and the first time in about 20 years for me. How do you think it went?
Here we are all cute and Ready For Anything!
And this is how it went. Gretchen's "help me!" pose.
Here's the "No, Seriously, Help Me" pose:
Ella was quite the sport. She went around three times (veeeeeryyy slowly while holding on to the side. But still, three times.) Gretchen and I went around twice.
Then we stopped and had snacks.
I have to say, it was SO FUN hangin' with the girl scouts. They kept coming up to Gretchen & offering to hold her other hand (I had one hand already). One particularly sweet girl said, "Do you know what? I'm living the girl scout law right now. I'm helping others." That's right, sweetie. (SO CUTE, right? Love it.)
So that was our week, what about yours?
First it was great! There were WAAAAY less dishes. I didn't have to cook a nice dinner every night (not that it happens every night, but a lot of the time I try). The house stayed cleaner. The TV wasn't on all night. I could watch whatever I wanted. I was ALL OVER IT. I was cocky.
Then I started to get tired.
Then I got a HUGE job and stayed up working every night till 11. Then a toddler snuck into my bed every night and coughed in my face for three hours till I finally gave in and rallied enough to pour her a bowl of cereal and turn PBS kids on. (Praise to PBS kids. You don't know how much I appreciate the break you give me.) Then I was in charge of way too much crap last week (craft for my mom's group, because of course I'm the craft leader, right? Young Womens fundraiser straightened out. Volunteering in Ella's class, etc.) Not to mention the rush job and 16 sketches I whipped out. TIRED.
I'm so glad Colby's back. Right now HE'S the one yelling at the girls to clean up their room, not me. And HE'S the one doing PJ duty (an hour early, I might add.)
Last week I also did carpool. I love the kid we do carpool with. So does Ella. And Gretchen. Gretchen often shows her love by swatting him in the face and kicking him, but he's nice enough to let it slide (we have lots of talks with Gretchen about showing our friends we love them with kindness. Not flirtatious slapping.) While we were in the car, Ella said that there are three bad kids in her class.
Me: They're not "bad" sweetie, they just make bad choices sometimes.
Carpool Kid: That's right. Satan gets in their head and tells them to be bad.
Ella: Satan must get in my sister's head A LOT.
(The "devil made me do it" attitude makes me crazy. Dude people, you make your OWN decisions. But this was too funny, I had to share.)
Also, if any of you ever get a chance to burn a whole Christmas Tree in a bonfire, you should TOTALLY DO IT. But seriously? Make sure you've got at least 50' of clearance on all sides. We did this for our youth activity this week. It was AMAZING. Nothing like a little pyromania to help bond the kids, right? Ella was excited about the s'mores (or "smudges" as she thought they were called). The kids were excited about roasting Starburst (did you know about this trend? It's sweeping the nation, apparently. I didn't try them, but supposedly they're fabulous.)
And to round out the week, Ella had an ice-skating activity with the Girl Scouts yesterday. It was the first time for both the girls, and the first time in about 20 years for me. How do you think it went?
Here we are all cute and Ready For Anything!
And this is how it went. Gretchen's "help me!" pose.
Here's the "No, Seriously, Help Me" pose:
Ella was quite the sport. She went around three times (veeeeeryyy slowly while holding on to the side. But still, three times.) Gretchen and I went around twice.
Then we stopped and had snacks.
I have to say, it was SO FUN hangin' with the girl scouts. They kept coming up to Gretchen & offering to hold her other hand (I had one hand already). One particularly sweet girl said, "Do you know what? I'm living the girl scout law right now. I'm helping others." That's right, sweetie. (SO CUTE, right? Love it.)
So that was our week, what about yours?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Now We Love The Yankees
Gretchen caught a cold last week that has slowly lingered. We had a slow week trying to take it easy and get better. Just when I thought things were looking up, I got hit with it Saturday morning. (I think it's a combination of not enough sleep and Gretchen's fabulous open-mouth kisses. Thanks sweetie.) Colby took the girls sledding yesterday morning and I slept in. Till one p.m. It was AMAZING. Like I was in college. Also, apparently I was tired.
To make it up to the girls in a way that wouldn't require much effort on my part (three cheers for laziness!!!) I let the girls do my makeup. It started out nice. Then it got a little less nice. Then came the face painting sticks:
I think the mustache was a nice touch. Thanks girls. (See Gretchen's little hand putting the finishing touches on me?)
Don't worry, she wasn't left out:
Remember the days when she was so sweet and quiet?
It's like she & Ella have switched personalities.
While we were in California, Poppa Randy (my dad) gave us a box of amazing old photos. His dad died when he was about 12. His parents divorced before that, so he didn't know his father very well. He looked up his paternal grandmother in the 80's and got back in touch with that side of the family. She gave him a box of TREASURES.
It's amazing that I never knew my Grandpa, but that I love him so much. Look how handsome!
Grandma got married at 17 (right? Correct me if I'm wrong...) Look at this picture. I'm pretty sure this is what she's thinking: I'M GETTING MARRRRRRRIED!!!!!!!! Hee hee hee!!!!
She told me that Billie Dee was a Big Man On Campus. She was sooooo in love. But it didn't work out. And she didn't like to talk about him much.
Finding these pictures is a small miracle. That Dad thought to find his Grandma after 40 years of separation. That she was still alive. That she kept all these mementos and passed on these pictures to him, and now to us. We would never have seen these! (They made Adrianne cry. Ha ha, crybaby.)
Above: I think this is Billie Dee with his Mom, I know they're holding my Dad.
Below: The back of the picture has this cryptic message, "Grandmother on right. Reba (I'm assuming she's the one on the left) married Sleepy." Look at those dresses. Isn't this picture gorgeous????
Adrianne & I have both made goals to do more family history work, so this was all so very fortuitious. We'd gotten onto the excellent church genealogy site new.familysearch.org. You can search for an ancestor (because of privacy, it's got to be someone who's passed away) and it'll link you in to see work that other people in the church have done on that line (if you have other LDS family members, that is). It is FASCINATING. And let me tell you, we have some serious geneology buffs on both sides of my family (Aunt Bonnie has allegedly traced us back to Adam & Eve). A lot of the work that she's done is now being put online by another family member. Just messing around, Adrianne & I followed one line back to THE KING OF FRANCE, circa 1200. Adrianne and I looked at eachother and said in as simpering a voice as we could muster, "I always knew I was a princess!" (Sorry Brooke Shields, we are totally mocking you. Because yes, if we all go back far enough, we're all princesses.) (Did anyone else see that "Who Do You Think You Are" show with her family history?)
Later that night we were telling Dad about it. He said, "You know, you're great great Grandpa was in the NY Yankees."
"What?"
"OMG, that's WAY cooler than being a descendant of Charlemagne!"
"I know, right? That's like the GOLDEN AGE of baseball. Back when they wore knickers. So much cooler."
So now we're totally Yankee fans.
If you are LDS and haven't gone onto new.familysearch.org, DO IT TODAY! (But you need your membership # to get an account. So if you don't have it, see your ward clerk and DO IT NEXT WEEK! Then call you grandma and get some birth and death dates of your great grandparents. Then GO TO TOWN!!! So fun!)
If you aren't LDS, there's also a fabulous family history site called FamilySearch.org. It's FREE!!! And it's amazing. I love our church.
To make it up to the girls in a way that wouldn't require much effort on my part (three cheers for laziness!!!) I let the girls do my makeup. It started out nice. Then it got a little less nice. Then came the face painting sticks:
I think the mustache was a nice touch. Thanks girls. (See Gretchen's little hand putting the finishing touches on me?)
Don't worry, she wasn't left out:
Remember the days when she was so sweet and quiet?
It's like she & Ella have switched personalities.
While we were in California, Poppa Randy (my dad) gave us a box of amazing old photos. His dad died when he was about 12. His parents divorced before that, so he didn't know his father very well. He looked up his paternal grandmother in the 80's and got back in touch with that side of the family. She gave him a box of TREASURES.
It's amazing that I never knew my Grandpa, but that I love him so much. Look how handsome!
Grandma got married at 17 (right? Correct me if I'm wrong...) Look at this picture. I'm pretty sure this is what she's thinking: I'M GETTING MARRRRRRRIED!!!!!!!! Hee hee hee!!!!
She told me that Billie Dee was a Big Man On Campus. She was sooooo in love. But it didn't work out. And she didn't like to talk about him much.
Finding these pictures is a small miracle. That Dad thought to find his Grandma after 40 years of separation. That she was still alive. That she kept all these mementos and passed on these pictures to him, and now to us. We would never have seen these! (They made Adrianne cry. Ha ha, crybaby.)
Above: I think this is Billie Dee with his Mom, I know they're holding my Dad.
Below: The back of the picture has this cryptic message, "Grandmother on right. Reba (I'm assuming she's the one on the left) married Sleepy." Look at those dresses. Isn't this picture gorgeous????
Adrianne & I have both made goals to do more family history work, so this was all so very fortuitious. We'd gotten onto the excellent church genealogy site new.familysearch.org. You can search for an ancestor (because of privacy, it's got to be someone who's passed away) and it'll link you in to see work that other people in the church have done on that line (if you have other LDS family members, that is). It is FASCINATING. And let me tell you, we have some serious geneology buffs on both sides of my family (Aunt Bonnie has allegedly traced us back to Adam & Eve). A lot of the work that she's done is now being put online by another family member. Just messing around, Adrianne & I followed one line back to THE KING OF FRANCE, circa 1200. Adrianne and I looked at eachother and said in as simpering a voice as we could muster, "I always knew I was a princess!" (Sorry Brooke Shields, we are totally mocking you. Because yes, if we all go back far enough, we're all princesses.) (Did anyone else see that "Who Do You Think You Are" show with her family history?)
Later that night we were telling Dad about it. He said, "You know, you're great great Grandpa was in the NY Yankees."
"What?"
"OMG, that's WAY cooler than being a descendant of Charlemagne!"
"I know, right? That's like the GOLDEN AGE of baseball. Back when they wore knickers. So much cooler."
So now we're totally Yankee fans.
If you are LDS and haven't gone onto new.familysearch.org, DO IT TODAY! (But you need your membership # to get an account. So if you don't have it, see your ward clerk and DO IT NEXT WEEK! Then call you grandma and get some birth and death dates of your great grandparents. Then GO TO TOWN!!! So fun!)
If you aren't LDS, there's also a fabulous family history site called FamilySearch.org. It's FREE!!! And it's amazing. I love our church.
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