Dec 16, 2010

YAY! We got our first "real" snow of the season. There was a tiny little snow sprinkling the week before Thanksgiving, but this is the first snow that is actually piling up (we've probably gotten 3 inches so far). I was really hoping to get a good storm before Christmas, and even though it will probably melt by next weekend, it sure is fun to look out the window and see snow falling (and it has been going all day). The kids are loving it (well, until Nathan's hands get too cold - then he's not such a fan). Megan loves to get all bundled up and then walk around outside for just a few minutes before she is done. She really likes eating it. We tried to make a snowman, but it's just too powdery...but we did make snow cones and eat them. YUM!

Dec 8, 2010

This has been a holiday filled weekend. On Saturday Dad took Megan to the community "Breakfast with Santa Claus" because her preschool group was performing there. They got home around noon and we put up Christmas lights. That evening we headed into Albuquerque to a Stake Center that had over 400 nativities set up around the building (anything from snowmen nativities to crocheted blanket nativities to nativity sets from all around the world). After that we drove downtown and found a great seat on the curb to watch the light parade, which was fun. The kids especially loved when people handed out candy (we're seriously going to have a sugar fast after the holidays...). Sunday we watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional online while we did a Christmas puzzle. Last week we Dad was out of town so the kids and I pulled out the Christmas decorations for the inside of the house (except the tree). We also made some homemade Christmas cards to send to servicemen who won't be able to home for Christmas, and we've been reading a Christmas story every night. Then the weekend hit...and we had Christmas activities galore.

Nov 26, 2010

* Nathan and I accompanied Megan's preschool class on a field trip to a place called Hoots. It's one of those indoor jumping places complete with a giant slide, a blow-up obstacle course and more. The kids had a blast (and I even got in there and had all the fun jumping and sliding around too).

* Dad went on a Scout camp out and while he was gone the kids and I went to the Family Movie Night at the school. They showed Toy Story 3 (such a cute little show). We wore our pajamas and laid out blankets and pillows on the ground and got a few snacks that were being sold there. Overall, it was a fun night. And boy, was it chilly when we got back into our car to go home.

* A few weeks ago for Family Home Evening we made "Tom the Thankful Turkey". We all got to think of a different blessing and write it on a feather or two and add it to the turkey. The kids wanted me to make more feathers so that they could add more throughout the week. It was a hit. It is now hanging in our living room until Thanksgiving.

* A couple of Sundays ago was the Primary Program in our ward (the Sunday where all the young kids put on the Sacrament meeting program). It's one of the best Sundays of the year...especially when you have three kiddos to pay close attention to on the stand. Megan was one of the few Sunbeams who sang the words to the songs. She also managed to be the only Sunbeam on the stand briefly while the rest of her class went to sit down...HE HE HE. All three of them said their part clear enough for everyone to hear. I love listening to kids sing and talk about Jesus Christ. It's like pure testimony. It was a good meeting.

*Megan had another preschool performance for Thanksgiving. She was cute - right up there singing along. It cracks me up when she gets totally distracted and in her own little world sometimes. She also did a show-and-tell and talked about one of my necklaces.

*We went to Casa Grande for Thanksgiving. We were there with a bunch of the extended Dick family. We had a tasty Thanksgiving feast at Great Grammy Dicks house. We also played outside in the AZ sun, went to the park and just had fun together.

Nov 6, 2010

Today is Megan's birthday...and she has been making sure each hour that it "still" is her birthday. She did not want to miss out on any moment of her special day, that is for sure. She came in to my bedroom this morning and whispered in my sleeping ear, "Can I open my presents now?" Usually we do presents in the evening, but she just couldn't wait, so we let her do them first thing. She got a little baby doll carriage, "How to Train Your Dragon" DVD, a few "Littlest Pet Shop" pets and a tiny little stuffed animal sea otter (which she LOVES). We decided to take a trip to the zoo to celebrate. We hit up the aquarium and the zoo. The kids loved it - lots of animals to see (and most of them were very awake and active today, which always makes it fun). We got home and had barbequed hot dogs (Megan's choice, of course). Then I whipped up her "Hello Kitty" cake, and about 5 minutes after I finished, she blew out the candles and we dug right in. What a fun day.

Some things about our Megan at 4 years old:
*She weighs 37 lbs
*Favorite colors are red and purple
*Favorite animal is a horse (she is real animal lover for almost all living things)
*According to her, her favorite movie is "The Cat in the Hat" (she also likes to watch "Ariel's Beginning," "Sleeping Beauty," "Dora," etc)
*Favorite primary song is "Jesus Loves Me" (I asked her to sing it to me because I didn't know it...she made up some words). She also likes "Popcorn Popping."
*She goes to a little preschool, Parky's Pals and she has two teachers there ("a boy and a girl one"). She says that her favorite thing to do at school is sing songs.
*Some of her favorite foods are noodle soup, hot dogs, enchiladas, grapes, blueberries, cheese and salad.
*Her favorite dessert is candy (can you tell it's the week after Halloween). She also loves ice cream (of course).
*She wants to be a Mom when she grows up.
*Her favorite princess is Jasmine.
*She asks me almost everyday to put two ponytails into her hair.
*She has the best giggle known to man.
*She LOVES Bruno, our dog (probably the most of anyone in the family).
*One of her favorite things to pretend is that she is a dog (and then Nathan feeds her his food while she crawls around on the floor). She also likes to play with barbies and color and read books.
*She has really become much more mellow and agreeable in the last year. She can still be strong-willed at times, but most of the time she is easy going and can be reasoned with.
*She loves to help people (and really loves the praise for doing so).
*She is happy and fun and we just couldn't imagine life without her.

Happy Birthday Meg! We Love You Bunches!

Nov 1, 2010

Delicious chili made - check.

Pumpkins carved - check. (Dad did a "barfing" pumpkin and the "dog" from Ghostbusters, and I did a silhouette of a witch in front of her cauldron)

School Halloween parties - check. (3 parties to stop at this year). Megan's preschool had a performance and a potluck.

Everyone in costume for a church party - check. (Even Dad and Mom dressed up this year: the Grim Reaper and Cinderella...quite the couple...HE HE HE)

Trunk-or-Treating and fun carnival games at the Ward Halloween Party - check.

Lots of candy being scarfed down - check.

THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Oct 29, 2010

We moved in right as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was going on. It is the world's premier hot air balloon event. We got up ridiculously early on Saturday, Oct 9th and headed to Balloon Fiesta park. There was definitely traffic, but we figured that we planned it just about perfect (not too early, so we didn't have to stand around in the frigid air for too long, but just in time to get a little snack and find a place to stand to watch the balloons take off). It was pretty awesome! You stand right there on the field with all of the balloons that are taking off all around you. We saw fun-shaped balloons (Darth Vader, SpongeBob, a GIANT cow, the Wells Fargo Wagon and lots more). There were about 500 balloons that took off that morning. We got a hot chocolate (which the kids LOVED and devoured). As we were walking out at the end we stopped to pet the police horses (there were lots all throughout the park). Megan walked right up to them and pet them anywhere she could touch them. Well worth the wee early hours.

Oct 20, 2010

We made the big move. We sent our moving truck away on Wednesday, September 29 and then we left Visalia on Thursday. We drove most of the way, and then finished up the trip on Friday. We stopped in Albuquerque to run a couple of errands and get the keys to our house, and they we headed up to Edgewood. We finally got to walk through the inside of our house (we signed the contract without ever actually going inside - (we saw LOTS of pictures))...and we like it more and more everyday. The kids had a blast running from room to room and closet to closet. We were hoping the moving truck would make it on Friday (if they didn't we knew we would have to wait through the entire weekend). It didn't. It didn't get here until Tuesday, which meant that we slept on floors for 6 nights (2 in Visalia and 4 here in Edgewood). It wasn't too bad, but we were sure happy to get cozy in our own beds when they arrived. We spent several hours that first weekend at our new church building watching General Conference. We have really loved it here so far: super welcoming neighbors (we are the only house on the street with kids...and yet all the neighbors have made comments about how they like to hear those voices), a great ward with lots and lots of families, good school and teachers, a fun little preschool program that we miraculously got Megan into (which is amazingly CHEAP too - $36 a month for 4 days a week for 3 hours a day...AWESOME!), beautiful weather, etc. Every time I look out our windows I feel like I am in a cabin in the woods - I don't think that will ever get old. It's also fun to be so close to Sean's aunt and uncle (Tom and Carolyn and little Rachel). We have gotten together with them a couple of times, which has been nice.
At one point I walked outside and could hear the kids talking, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Then I noticed that the voices were coming from inside the truck. They had climbed way up to the top back and were reading books on the LoveSac.

September 27, 2010

Well we are off to New Mexico. We are moving in just a couple of days, so we have been busy all month packing and getting things in order for the move. Here are some shots of the kids that we have taken this past month (just silly ones).

September 23, 2010

All the kids had a little bowl of ice cream for dessert last night. After Nathan finished his he managed to coax a bite from Sean. Megan also wanted a bite, but Sean told her "no" and that Nathan had had less than anyone else. This was Megan's response, "When I die and then become a baby, then Daddy will give me a bite too." HE HE HE - That one gave me a good chuckle.

August 19, 2010

I got Megan into the free preschool program at the kids elementary school. We actually just recently found out that we will be moving again (they are closing the plant down here in Visalia, so we will be off on a new adventure). We aren't sure where we will be going yet, but CA is one of the only states with such a late school birthday cut-off date, so most likely she will have two more years before she starts Kindergarten. But, I figured I might as well let her have fun for a month while we are getting ready for the move. She is loving it. The first day she had a few moments where she didn't want to listen, but even by the second day the teachers said she was very good.

July 26, 2010

Well, we just got home (on Saturday) from our big summer trip. We were gone for 20 days (13 of which were just me and the kids), traveled about 2,400 miles and went to 3 different family reunions (plus some other visiting). Lots of fun, and now happy to be back home. Here's the condensed version of the trip:

Day 1: Drove to Flagstaff, got a flat tire on the trailer, but nothing too big. Took over 12 hours, but Megan actually did fairly well on the whole journey.
Day 2: Played at the Sorensen Family Reunion (kickball, building forts, line dancing, etc). Did a service project (clearing the property for more tent sites).
Day 3: Went to Wupatki Ruins (cool Indian dwellings).
Day 4: Left the Sorensen Reunion. Went to Mesa Temple. Sean met with a boss in Phoenix. Made it to Grandpa and Grandma Dick's and went swimming
Day 5: Swam and swam and swam. Megan is not a huge swimmer. She likes to sit on the steps and play, but she doesn't love when I take her way into the water.
Day 6: Swam some more. Megan warmed up to the swimming more today. I got some arm floaties and she seemed to like going out in those or with the ring floaty around her.
Day 7: Went to church with Grandpa and Grandma Dick and took Dad to the airport (Nathan cried hysterically as he watched Dad walk away).
Day 8: Went to visit our favorite dentist (Grandpa). Caelan, Ben, Megan and I all got cleanings, and Caelan and Ben had some other little work done. Megan was MUCH better this time around. She actually went right in, had the cleaning done no problem and was ready for a prize. Had a small car problem that was easily solved with a $.99 can of coke. Then swam.
Day 9: Last day of swimming.
Day 10: Left Grandpa and Grandma Dick's at 5:30 AM. Traveled for 9ish hours to Brian Head, UT for the Grant Family Reunion. Had story time with my Grandma Grant.
Day 11: Went to Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks. BEAUTIFUL! Had a wonderful testimony meeting that night with the family.
Day 12: Rode the Brian Head ski lift (had a small heart attack inside as all my kids rode too, but they loved it). Megan rode right beside me, but she felt so small to really feel secure with those seatbelts. We didn't have any accidents and made it all back on the ground safe and sound. Had a karaoke party that night where almost every person in the family participated. Caelan rocked her song, "Won't say I'm in Love" from Hercules, and Megan kept asking me over and over again if it was her turn. I should have practiced a song with her - I think she would have gotten up there and sung.
Day 13: Left the Grant reunion. Had lunch at Chuck-O-Rama with Brittney and Porter and their girls and Charity and Coren and the Sorensen clan. Then drove up to Charity and Chad's that evening. The kids played at the park which is directly across the street from their house.
Day 14: Went to church with Charity and Chad (Nathan LOVED the nursery here - go figure). Had left over Cafe Rio salads from the reunion with Dan and Natalie and their family that night. YUM.
Day 15: Slowly lounged around in the morning. Took a quick trip to Walmart to get food for the last reunion. Drove up to Jordanelle Reservoir near Park City for the Taylor reunion. Hung out on the lake. Took a ride on the boat.
Day 16: Played at the lake ALL day. Megan liked playing with her floaties in the lake. Rode the boat. We all took a turn being pulled on the tube, except Megan who wasn't so sure she wanted to try. The kids loved it. Moved our campsite up the hill. Had a family dinner and Family Home Evening that night.
Day 17: Played at the lake again. Rented and rode Wave Runners. Loads of fun. The kids really liked this. Ate fried burritos in the rain. Ate chocolate and graham crackers and marshmallows in our tent because it was too wet for a fire.
Day 18: Took down camp by 9:00 AM. Waited around with the Sorensen gang. Then headed to Jenny and Kelly's house in Layton.
Day 19: Spent the day at Jenny and Kelly's. The kids had all the fun playing in sprinklers, watching movies, dressing up, playing in the backyard and enjoying time with cousins. Ate pizza with Lani and hung out for a little while. Then started the journey home. I made it to Stateline where I got things ready to fall asleep in the van, but soon realized it was WAY too hot to sleep (even at 1:00 AM). So I drove for another half hour and then found a rest stop that was much more pleasant (going up that hill makes a huge difference). We all slept in the van until 6:45 the next morning.
Day 20: Finished the drive and got home at about noon. Lounged around for most of the day. So nice.

June 20, 2010

So, the collection of stuffed animals in our house is getting slightly ridiculous (and we don't ever buy any (unless the kids buy one at a garage sale with their own money) - we somehow just accumulate them). I go through the stash regularly to thin it out, and yet it just grows and grows...and each one is "special" to one of the kids (so the soft side in me can't just load a garbage bag full and toss them, as much as I would like to). So I came up with a new idea. We have plant shelves in all of the bedrooms, so I put all of their stuffed animals on their plant shelf. I let them choose a handful of animals each Monday that they want to play with that week. All the rest stay on the shelf until the next Monday, and then I pull out the ladder and they can choose new ones for that week (and put the others back). So, now I'm not constantly finding stuffed animals EVERYWHERE...plus the kids think it's Christmas time each Monday when they get to have new animals for that week. It's a WIN-WIN.


Last week I walked into the bathroom to see this. Ben knows he definitely does NOT want fingernail polish on himself, but that doesn't mean he can't give his sister a nice pedicure. What a good brother.

June 13, 2010

Megan started a little habit that is just cracking me up. I caught a pretty good picture of it during Caelan's birthday party. She likes to take a piece of her hair and then stick it in her ear and twirl it around (like it's tickling her ear). She actually does it as a sort of relaxing or soothing mechanism. I catch her doing it most times when she is pretty relaxed (like when she is watching TV or feeling tired) or when she is really upset about something (then she does it to calm herself down).

June 12, 2010

Caelan had a birthday party with friends last week. We rented one of those blow-up water slides (which was a huge hit). All the kids LOVED it....except for Megan. She WOULD NOT go down the slide - not even one time, not even on my lap. She climbed to the top a couple of times but then changed her mind and climbed back down. She liked wading in the pool at the bottom, but that was as much of the slide as she wanted to do with. She loved eating the fruit skewers though. At one point during the party she got very upset about something (I can't even remember what it was), but Nathan was so cute and got right up next to her and looked at her as if to ask, "What's wrong?" It was a fun day.

June 3, 2010

It's become a tradition to rent a cabin in the mountains of Southern Utah and get together for a little family reunion with Sean's family for the Memorial Day weekend. We left on Wednesday evening so we wouldn't have to make the whole 9 hour drive on Thursday (which isn't really that long, but we wanted to get there earlier in the day). We stayed at Nevada Landing ($29 room with two queen beds - much better than sleeping in the van...HE HE HE). We spent the weekend riding quads and the Mule (4 or 5 seater ATV - slower than a quad for sure, but still a blast, and the kids LOVED it). Megan called it "the awesome thing." Anyway, we also explored Mammoth Cave (Ben was NOT a fan - I guess the cold, dark, slippery, rocky, wet underground cave is not something he considers "fun" - everyone else enjoyed it). Sean went fishing (and unfortunately didn't get a catch, but he got a few bites on his line). We took walks on trails along the stream and through the mountains. We roasted marshmallows in the fire pit behind the cabin and also in this cool log stove. The kids played outside and got dirty and had fun with cousins. A fabulous time was had by all.

The drive home was RIDONCULOUS! I guess we should know by now to avoid Las Vegas holiday traffic at any cost! We thought we left earlier enough to beat it, but it took us 2 hours to get from Vegas to State Line. Holy Moly. But we finally made it home...eventually.

May 18, 2010

Saturday was WARM here. (Thankfully Monday cooled back down - we actually got rain - and the rest of this week has been lovely).
Anyway, we were having a productive Saturday (chores, workin' on cars, checkin' out the yard sales, etc) and we went out to manually turn on our front sprinklers for a few minutes before we went out to dinner. Before we knew it Caelan, Ben and Megan were outside in their swimsuits ready to cool off. Nathan didn't need a swimsuit - he got right on in there in his clothes. They pulled out the umbrellas too. I'm thinking we will be having a lot of sprinkler days coming up here soon.


And now that Summer is right around the corner we are loving one of our favorite foods - watermelon. Seriously, there must be something in our genes because we cannot get enough of this stuff. And Megan is super funny - she will start eating faster and faster as the amount of watermelon left diminishes...almost like it's a race.

May 12, 2010

We got these cute books from Sean's mom that tell stories about different people from the Book of Mormon. Sometimes I don't love the cartoon/kids version (they can get a little too "watered down" and miss some real important gospel principles), but these books are great. The illustrations are fun, the stories keep in sync with the scriptural accounts and then they have a great section about how kids can apply these stories to their own lives (and they are GOOD applications). So for Family Home Evening last Monday we talked about Captain Moroni and how we can fortify our selves and our homes from the enemy (like he fortified cities from the Lamanites). Then we read about the Armor of God in Ephesians. All the kids took turns putting on our "Armor of God" complete with:
Loin girting - a towel
Breastplate - backpack with round cake pan in front
Footwear - Dad's snowboard boots
Shield - a pot lid
Helmet - motorcycle helmet
Sword - Ben's Batman sword

We talked about how we can be protected from the "fiery darts of the adversary" and then demonstrated it by throwing marshmallows at the person dressed in the armor. It was a big hit.

April 20, 2010

It was a lovely day on Saturday, and the kids had been begging me to take them to the park. Sean had to work in the morning (inventory day), but when he got home we headed over to Mooney Grove Park. This is a great park in Visalia - tons of huge trees, 3 different playgrounds, ducks and geese with a little pond, lots of fields, a frisbee golf course, etc. Megan found a feather and was totally fascinated with it. She loved rubbing it on her face and neck. We also brought Bruno (our dog) along - Megan and Bruno have a special relationship - she just loves to love all over him.


Sunday we took a little stroll around the neighborhood with Caelan on her scooter, Ben on his new big wheel, Megan on her trike, Nathan pushing his push-car, Sean walking the dog and me just walking along (until Nathan got tired). Good times.