Sprouts

 My goodness, the weather here has been FABULOUS.  Yesterday it was 88°!!!  It's so nice that every time I see gardening seeds on sale, I have to buy them.  I'm pretty sure we've got about $20 worth of seeds hanging out in various stashes throughout the house.  But guess what, SOME OF THEM HAVE SPROUTED!!!  I am easily impressed, I know, but MAN that's cool!  We're going to have cosmos all over our front beds.  I think cosmos are my most favorite summertime flower.  Even the foliage is light and pretty.  But we'll see what happens with our white pumpkins, 3 types of sunflowers, pickling cucumbers, yellow and red tomatos.  And dill.  And rosemary.  And lavender...  And spinach.  Oh yeah, and carrots...  Ok, maybe we have $30 in seeds...

My friends, our house STINKS right now.  I don't know what it is, but I just wanted to let you know.  Lest you read our little family blog and think everything is wonderful in our lives.....  I think it's a combination of GG's new mattress (which we did air out, according to their instructions) and our stinky dog and maybe the skinky kitchen trash.  I can do something about the trash.  But instead I'm sitting here.

On Wednesday we met a friend at Legends, the outdoor mall down the road.  The have a cool rock water feature that I'm pretty sure is not supposed to be a splash park, but that's what we made it into. Because we're resourceful and we like to walk the line.  On our way there, we were talking about the baby we were going to meet up with, and how we just need to give him space because we don't want to give him any germs.  (She was healthy, just as a precaution). 
She said, "Is he a cute baby?  I love babies.  I love ALL babies.  Except for the ugly ones who cry and have snot." 
I think 70% of airplane passengers would agree with you on that one.  (Public Service Announcement:  BE NICE TO MOTHERS OF CRYING BABIES!!!  Airplanes are PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!  If you cannot handle crying babies, MAKE PREPARATIONS.  Seriously, there's a huge chance that a baby will be crying on your flight.  NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES.  Invest in some.  And realize the world does not revolve around you.  The end.)

 Red Bighorn sculptures.  I want to touch them too, but I'm not five, so I don't think Security would be as forgiving.

 Adrianne send me the picture of the saddest baby in the world.  BABY VERONICA, it's like you know that you're going to get shots in 8.3 minutes!  How did you know?

 And we are all SUPER DUPER excited about Auntie Autumn's new book!  SUPER DUPER DUPER EXCITED.  Just in case you can't tell, it's about girls who fight with swords.  But we can't decide which pose we like the best!  What's your vote? (And before you judge my design skillz too harshly, this is just the rough layout.  I know, I know...)

#1 - HeYAAAAH Pose

#2 - Oh No You Didn't Pose

#3 - In Yo FACE Pose

#4 - Low Down Fighting Ladies Pose

#5 - My Sword Is Bigger Than Your Sword Pose

We anxiously await your opinion!

Pickled

 Oh my heck, some exciting things happened this week. Mostly this:


WE GOT A NEW BUNKBED!!!  Unfortunately, we haven't gotten the new full-size lower bunk mattress.  So we threw GG's toddler-bed mattress on the floor in what-will-be her bed space and she's been happy as a clam.  Except for when she jumped up from bed too fast and totally smacked her head on the top bunk.  Sorry babe.  That sucked. 

She's going to upgrade from her crib/toddler bed mattress this week when our friend Amazon delivers the new memory foam full size mattress ($208, tax free, free shipping, since I must overshare about all my shopping adventures...)  That's right, she's going from her hand-me-down-from Ella cracked plastic 4" crib mattress that we bought at the Dreaded Walmart EIGHT YEARS AGO.  The sad little mattress that Hannah now sneaks on to as soon as Gretchen vacates her bed.  (Hannah is too fat to jump onto Ella's bed.  And no WAY is she jumping on me & Colby's bed.  It's kidproofed to keep small sneaking children out.  You practically need a stepstool to get into our bed.)  The point is, our dog is gross.  She stinks.  Even right after the groomer she stinks.  She's a fat stinkey bulldog that NO ONE wants to share a bed with.  And now GG won't have to!!!  Woo hoo!!!!!!

I will never have to hear "Hannah, GET OFF!!!  GET OFF MY BED!!!!  HANNAH, ARE YOU DEAF?  GET OFF MY BED!!!!" again. 

(For the record, yes, Hannah is deaf.  And stubborn.  So we suspect that even if she could hear and understand your 5 year old tirade, she would just look you in the eye, blink, fart, and go right back to sleep.)



Most of you probably already know, but we have a less-than-slight pickle obsession at our house (note the toy kitchen pickle in GG's mouth above.  That's not her tongue.  That's a plastic pickle).  I think I've mentioned before that Ella's been restricted to one pickle a day, not till after 10am.  (Because yes, she wants one as soon as she wakes up).  Gretchen has been ho-hum about it.  Pickles are fine, but not a daily staple.  Except for this week at the grocery store when she saw BABY DILL PICKLES.  OMG, seriously?  BABY PICKLES?  Yes.  It rocked her world.  She was delighted.  And because I am nice, and also worn down, I bought it for her.  She called them "Sweetish Pickles" (though they were dill) and held them in the crook of her arm through the store crooning, "Oh, my little sweetish pickles!  Are you ready to come home with me?"  And, because I didn't place any restrictions on her pickle consumption, she ate the whole jar that afternoon.  THE WHOLE JAR.  This is what happens when you try to unload groceries while helping with homework while getting dinner going while cleaning the bathroom. 

And in the soap-opera world of preschool, Gretchen has found a new best friend. 
GG:  Can we go somewhere?
Me:  Where?
GG: Some place fun.
Me:  Um, maybe... (sense my level of commitment and excitement)
GG:  Can I invite my Best Friend?
Me:  Uh, which best friend?  (She has about 4 options)
GG:  Ummmm...I forgot her name.
Me:  You sound really close.
GG:  HAILEY!  Her name is Hailey.
Me: We'll see.

We'll see is my answer to everything.  Can we get this song on the radio so we can listen to it ALL THE TIME?  Sure, we'll see.  Can we go to Old McDonalds and get ice cream?  Sure, we'll see. 

But can we spend the afternoon in the hammock and set my pastels out (only to be knocked over, "But that's ok, they still work," I say with gritted teeth because that's what happens when you share your precious things with small people.)  YES WE CAN.

 Ella wanted me to show you that she can jump through the hula-hoop like a jump rope.  She's really good at it. 

Ella also wants to share NOTHING.  When asked, she said, "NOTHING."  Then giggled. 

And More Spring Breakin'

HEY GUYS!!!  I had to break this post up into deux so that I could keep your attention.  ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?  Good.

I know you're super most favorite thing in the world is to look at what my kids draw.  So here's some more for you!  You're welcome!  The top is Ella.  She said she stylized it on purpose.  I think that's a flying narwhal in the sky.

And here's Gretchen's.  I'm guessing Ella helped fill in the names.  GG sure loves her friends.  Awww, for cute.  This is how we stay busy during General Conference.

And this is how Baby Veronica grows up and makes us laugh and cringe at the same time!  SO CUTE!  AND GROSS!!!

Oh Baby Veronica, we can't believe you're 6 months old!  And french kissing dogs!  Awwww!!!!

My friend Katherine had the sweetest idea for her anniversary.  They had a family picnic at the park to celebrate their family.  Awwwww!  Here we are celebrating that and Subway Sandwiches (mmmmm, sandwiches...)  Ella, you're so pretty!

 The Girl Scouts went to the state capitol on Wednesday.  I love Sweet Home Nevada.  Seriously.  Only in Nevada will the State Treasurer stop what she's doing to talk to 7 girls about their plans for the future and saving for college.  She invited us all into her office and one by one and asked what they wanted to be when they grow up (Ella wants to be an Illustrator, GG wants to be a babysitter ;)

A super nice law clerk took us around the State Supreme Court and explained some stuff that mostly went over all our heads.

 We learned about the history of the capitol building.  That desk belonged to a governor!  That giant press on the left was for putting seals on official documents!  (We didn't get a governor with a college degree for a while.  And he wasn't even from the US, he was an immigrant from...Prussia?  Poland?  I don't know.  Wikipedia it.  The point is, that's crazy. Geesh.)

Good times.

To round out Spring Break, I found an awesome deal on expedia & we booked a room at the Peppermill Resort for a night!  Woo hoo!!!  And even better, we had some friends join us for our stay-cation.  We spent all night and all day swimming at the fabulous pool.  I want to go there EVERY MONTH!  It's cheaper than swim lessons, and Gretchen figured out how to doggy-paddle in just a few hours.

But things aren't all rosy and wonderful, we can't get Gretchen to stop picking her nose and eating it.  Even when we cry out with gross-ness, it does no good.  Last week, Ella asked, "WHY?  WHY DO YOU PICK YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR FINGERS AND EAT IT?"  And Gretchen replied, as if it's so obvious, "Because!  My tongue can't reach!"

BLECH.

Kids are funny, but man, they're super gross.

Pre Spring Breakin'

We had the most fantastic thing happen over Spring Break.  LISMARIE AND FAMILY CAME TO VISIT!!!  We love love LOVE when people come to visit, especially Lismarie.  They stayed at a hotel literally 5 minutes from our house, so we got to go swim with them too!  Woo hoo!!!

Not just swimming in the tub you guys, swimming in a REAL pool too. (Though Lismarie & I were super excited that we got to re-create the infamous BYU Freshman Year Vegas Tub Incident with the next generation. Stupid 90's Circus Circus hot tub hours + Stupid 19 year olds = hilarity.  Still waiting for photographic evidence to show up on Facebook.)

How much fun can you squeeze into 2 days?  Oh, let me tell you.  SERIOUS FUN.  It wasn't actually our Spring Break, so I let Ella pick a day to stay home from school.  She opted for Monday, which was Virginia City Day.  The gigantic old-timey candy shop may have been the deciding factor.

We spent many minutes trying to talk GG into getting a bubblegum cigar.  Because this picture NEEDED to happen.

The Virginia City graveyard!  Pretty AND creepy!  My favorite combination!

The churches are almost as plentiful as the bars & whorehouses!

The next day Lismarie & I popped some tags at Savers.  OMG you guys, I spent $56 at Savers.  Do you know how much awesome junk you can get at a thrift store for $56?  Let me tell you:

-2 fabulous t-shirts

-1 super lovely black top that I'm wearing RIGHT NOW and will wear to church today

-2 AMAZING (no seriously!  AMAZING) sweaters.  One bright red vintage one with big white buttons, one grey angora.  Both FABULOUS

-COWBOY BOOTS!!!  My 4 year search for cowboy boots is over!!!

-A blue tin for storing treasures (immediately confiscated by Ella.  Followed by Gretchen's displeasure.)

-2 crystal lamps (which made the Macklemore Video Extra we ran into on our way out SUPER jealous).  They'll look amazing flanking our fireplace.

Lismarie & I have some serious Thrift Store luck when we're together.  

To follow up that shopping high we stopped by the pawn shop where Colby & I found my beloved wedding ring.  (I love my wedding ring.  It's the most perfect ring in the world.)  Lismarie was specifically looking for turquoise jewelry, but alas, we didn't have $400 to spend on a cuff bracelet.  But she DID find a new wedding ring for herself!!!  FOR $200!!!!  We're now wedding ring twins!!!  Of course they're not the same ring, but her's is really really lovely.  She & Mike had talked about replacing their wedding rings.  Little did they know they'd be able to do it for that cheap!  Dude!  HOORAY FOR RENO PAWN SHOPS!!!

And then, like the day couldn't get any better, we drove up to Lake Tahoe.  It was heavenly.  The kids climbed on the rocks and played on the beach.  And then we got T's Rotisserie, the best food in Tahoe.  OMG SIGH.  Awesome.

 

I was so sad when they left on Wednesday morning.  I almost cried, but I pulled it together.  Sniff.  Then I got to go make lunch for 40 missionaries for a zone conference.  With a super tired Gretchen in tow.  Hooray.  (Note sarcasm).

SO YOU SHOULD ALL COME VISIT.  We'll make it worth your while.  ;)

Mostly Fantastic February

 We'll start with something ridiculously cute.  BABY VERONICA!?!?!  Are you KIDDING ME?  I want to squish your and kiss your fat baby legs!!!!  But I also don't want to terrify you, so I should probably take it down a notch...  I'll settle for giving you rasperries on your fat baby tummy.  Swoon!!!


Last month our dear (and not seen nearly enough) friends asked if we wanted to join them at the mall to see N get her ear's pierced.  Awww yeah we do!  Well, we did.  Then we got to Claire's.  Claire's is THE accessory store.  The girls were in HEAVEN.  No, seriously guys, there was "1 Direction" EVERYTHING.  And fingerless gloves.  And Hello Kitty KISS keychains.  For reals.  The girls went so nuts looking at eeeeevvvvverything in the store, they totally missed N's piercing.  But I watched.  Afterwards, because N's mom is SUPER DUPER NICE, she let the girls each pick out something ridiculous and awesome from the store.  Ella picked out these fabulous fingerless frog gloves (on sale for ONE DOLLAR!  Which makes them even cuter, right?)

 And Gretchen, after about 30 minutes of debating and then about 5 if-you-don't-pick-something-RIGHT-NOW-AND-I-MEAN-IT-we-will-leave-with-NOTHING!!!! threats, she settled on a set of fake nails.  Which she promptly forgot about.  Until, strangely enough, literally 30 seconds ago when she asked if she could wear them today (yes, after your bath).

Speaking of baths, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do this in your jet tubs.  But dang, it's fun.  We like our bubbles to be excessive.  These ones got about 18" over the top of the tub.  We've got glass doors to hold all the bubble goodness in.  WOO HOO!!! 

 So a few weeks later, Ella finally decided that she was ready to put unnecessary holes in her ears.  I called to make an appointment at The Black Hole piercing parlor.  Because there was no "1 Direction" paraphernalia to distract her from what was going on.  And man, these people were professional.  And they didn't mess around with guns, oh no.  Bless you child, they used gigantic curved needles.  (Excuse me while my stomach drops again just thinking of it).  But they were FAST and GOOD.  It was over in less than 2 seconds!  And they sent us home with some lovely salts to make saline washes.  Just microwave a cup of sterile water till hot and stir in the salt.  Then hold it on your piercings for 10 minutes each.  Twice a day.  (Um, excuse me?  That'd be 40 minutes a day spent on piercing care because my child cannot handle doing both ears at once.  FOR SIX MONTHS.  Don't tell the nice people at The Black Hole, but I went to Sally's the next week & got her some cleaning solution.)

Colby & I had our 13th anniversary.  We planned a last minute night away at The Grand Sierra & Amber was nice enough to watch the girls for us.  THANK YOU AMBER.  It was awesome for a number of reasons.  We went out to dinner.  We went to the in-hotel movie theatre at 10pm!  (Dude, the movie didn't get out till after midnight!  I know!)  We had a breakfast buffet! (For the record, I hate buffets.  But this one was very nice & I did it because I love Colby).  But the BEST PART was that for our annivarsary, Marilyn Manson came to give a concert!!!  Also, it was Chinese New Year!!  Also, there was LINE DANCING!!!  Did you get all that?  In one hotel there were Marilyn Manson fans, Chinese New Year celebrants and Line Dancing.  It pretty much made my year.  I don't know that we'll ever be able to top that awesomeness.  Also, I freaking love Reno.

Ok, I'm going to make sure the girls have cleaned up their morning crafts before we move on to our mid-morning craft.  Followed by our Sacrament Meeting crafts.  Followed by movie night.  XOXO

3rd Week in January (a series of boring blog titles)

We're super proud of Miss Ella, she was on the honor roll again.  We made it to the school just in time for the assembly on Friday.  

 EXTREME CLOSE UP SELF PORTRAIT by Gretchen.

 Smart AND pretty!  Nice, kiddo.

 Baby Lucy came over for a bit on Saturday.  We sure do over-excitedly love Baby Lucy.  Can you see the underlying sense of panic in her eyes and struggle for freedom in her pose?  BUT WE LOVE YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!

 PEEK A BOO!!!!!!

 We just love all babies at our house.  We got Baby Veronica's birth announcement this week.  It is very very very beloved.  The girls like to carry it around the house.  And to take it up a notch, Gretchen decided to "be" baby Veronica yesterday.  She rolled up in a baby blanket & put the announcement over her face & would say, "Hi.  I'm Veronica."

 Hannah tried it too (she wasn't as good at it as Gretchen was....)

 BABIES!!!!
(And old man at the grocery store told Ella that their hats matched.  She wasn't sure what to think of that.  I thought it was hilarious.)

 Sometimes to keep Gretchen quiet during Sacrament meeting we do drawings.  She likes to copy what I make.  This is her as a grown up.  Just in case you're wondering, she made the one on the bottom.  But she put the green earrings on my depiction at the top...

 And this is the cat "Panda" from the Humane Society that she wishes she could adopt.  Though if he's orange, white, grey & black I'm not really sure why he's called "Panda".

We made it through a whole sacrament meeting without drawing any zombies!  Though she did say she wanted to draw a Lizard.  At least that's what I though she said.  Actually she said she wanted to draw a WIZARD.  But then it turned out she wanted a vampire.  But no living dead.  Just the undead.  I think Gretchen is going to write horror novels when she grows up.  Or maybe graphic novels with parental warnings on the front.  But we love her no matter what.  Even when she tells us she doesn't like us.  Which only happens about 4x/week now, so....that progress... ;)

2nd Week of January

How's that for a boring blog post title?  I know.  It's because I've used up all of my creativity for the week. Gretchen & I have been making up stories on the walks home from preschool.  I'm a super mean mom and force my kids to walk places.  She really hates it.  Maybe because it's 1.2 miles from our house. ( I just checked on google maps.  Thanks internet!  You always have the answers I need!)  Every day when she realizes that we're walking home AGAIN, she'll sit on the frozen ground and refuse to move.  So actually, I end up carrying her home for about half of it.  (It's a really good workout.)  It's fine.  Since it's so cold, she's like a snuggly hot water bottle.  But she's also a heavy hot water bottle.  So I make her walk a block, then I carry her a block.  And to keep her mind off the 1.2 mile walk, this week we made up stories.  I will share....

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Gretchen.  She loved playing with her toy cars.  But sometimes the cars were naughty.  One day, she took a break from playing to have a snack.  While she was eating some pirate booty, the cars drove all around the room.  When she came back, they were EVERYWHERE!  She was very frustrated with them.
"Naughty cars!"  she said.  "You stay where I put you!"
The cars said, "Beep beep, HONK HONK!  We go where we want!"

Gretchen said, "I'll show you!" and put them all in a box.

Gretchen went to watch a movie.  When it was over she came back to her room and discovered the cars were EVERYWHERE AGAIN!  They were all over the floor!  All over the walls!  One had even driven on the ceiling and got caught in the light!  She said, "Naughty cars!  You stay where I put you!"
The cars said, "Beep beep, HONK HONK!  We go where we want!"
Gretchen said, "I'll show you!" and got the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed them all up.

Gretchen's friend came over for a playdate.  They played in the backyard.  They built a big fort.
VROOOOOOOOOOOM
"What's that noise?" asked her friend.
VROOOOOOOOOOOM
"I don't know!" said Gretchen, "We'd better check it out..."
VROOOOOOOOOOOM
Inside, the vacuum cleaner was driving all over the house!  The cars had figured out how to drive the vacuum cleaner!
"Oh my goodness!" Gretchen exclaimed.
The cars said, "Beep beep, HONK HONK!  We go where we want!"

Gretchen realized that sometimes, you can't make cars do what you want them too.  So she said, "Ok cars, I won't try to tell you waht to do anymore."  The cars said, "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!  Beep beep, HONK HONK!  We go where we want!"

(If only Gretchen could learn that lesson in real life.  Sometimes you just have to let go of the illusion of control....)

We also made up a story about "Fastee Seeds", which are seeds that you plant and they grow trees so fast you can see them get taller (it took her a while to explain what Fastee was.  She just kept saying, "Fastee, mom.  Fastee seeds.  They're Fastee." (Repeated about 50x with no other elaboration).  But I don't remember all of that story except that the girl hung a swing 300 feet up in the air and could see the whole world.

GIRL SCOUTS!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Remember how I was complaining about how Girl Scouts is too awesome to quit?  Yeah, this is what Ella did last Monday.  She got to stand on the floor during the national anthem for the Reno Bighorns game.  It was awesome.  We all got free tickets.  Actually, I think most everyone there had free tickets.  They were trying to fill the stadium since it was going to be on national television.  I don't' know why more people don't go to the basketball games, it was super fun.  Yes, you heard me.  I just said that watching the basketball game was SUPER FUN.  No, hell has not frozen over.  Even though it is 14°F outside.

AND IN LADYBUG NEWS....

I thought the radio station that we've been listening to 24/7 for the past weeks would enjoy hearing about Ella's Science Project so I sent them a facebook message.  And then when I stumbled into the kitchen the next morning to make Ella's lunch, they were TOTALLY TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE RADIO!!!  They said they were going to bring up her findings at their contract renewal.  They're good for ladybugs!  And then they played a Randy Newman ladybug song!  And then I realized that Ella was downstairs watching TV and missed the whole thing!  I quickly ran, yes RAN, down there to tell her & she said, "That is SO COOL!  It's ok that I missed it, I'm just excited they talked about my ladybugs on the RADIO!"

Gretchen & her friend did face painting with her new eye makeup kit.  

NO MORE PICTURES!!!!  How quickly things turn.

Gretchen was really upset with her nose this week.  "Mom, my nose is making me crazy, the snot keeps sliding out of it."  Cold and flu season is upon us.  At least my kids haven't had any fever-induced hallucinations of Batman yet, unlike our beloved friend C (who hopefully is on the mend.  Geesh.)  (Gretechen was jealous of the hallucination.  She wants to know why she hasn't had that happen to HER.  Because sometimes life isn't fair, sweetie.  That's why.)

Gretchen prepares for her pre-church shower.  Cleanliness is next to good.

Before I finished taking down all the Christmas decorations, I thought I'd take a picture of my favorite corner.   I was pretty proud of how the living room turned out.

ALL MY DECORATING SECRETS ARE NOW REVEALED!!!!!!!  

Ok, see you guys later!  I'm going to go watch some zombies try to eat people now.

xoxoxo