Snow!!

Bring it on! Yes, it does get cold here...even cold enough to snow. Not only did it snow but for a good couple hours it was the beautiful big fluffy flakes! Made my little Montana heart melt. But because it is such an unusual experience in Vegas it is definitely BLOG worthy!

Cute Girls

I just tried to snap some cute matchy-matchy pictures of the girls. I need Jenn here to help!

I Lost My Brain!

I know this is not too hard to believe...but it really happened. Sometime between last Tuesday and Friday I lost it. I had planned out my entire Christmas, written in down in my notebook. I also had a few other lists going in there of very important things. Well, I needed to be organized. A friend was taking the girls and I had an hour and half to do the Christmas shopping. I even had to wake the girls up in the morning because they were sleeping in and scooted out the door to make the most of my time. Got to her house, dropped the girls off, no list. Came home, searched, even put the groceries from Tuesday away, no list. Got in the car and tried to wing it. I don't think I did too badly. So far no major mishaps but good grief - I thought I'd find my brain by now. My whole house is a mess and doesn't have much hope till after the holidays. Well, maybe after the baby comes. Oh well!

The Old Me...

Part of a little project I am doing for my dad I have come across some rather cute kids... one of them was me! I have been scanning my dads slides for him. I have seen all of our "individual" shots, but the ones I am doing now, I have never seen. It is fun to look into the past. So, for those of you who think Eliza is my twin, yes, she is much like me now, but check this out...

I'm just about 2 here, with my oldest brother teaching me the finer points of fishing. Doesn't look too much like Eliza... but here is Jenna a few months ago, She, of course, is much cuter, but there is some resemblance and I can claim her as mine. (As if carrying her for 9 month and giving birth wasn't enough proof!)

Thanksgiving

So much to be grateful for! Our little family was lucky enough to go to our friends cabin for the weekend. Thank you Dix and Kaleen! They are great friends with huge hearts who are willing to share their mountain cabin with us.

We decided to drive up Wednesday as soon as Scott got home from work. I was a little sceptical about the weather forecast. It was raining here and thought it might be snowing on the mountain. It is just a small mountain...like 10,000ft. After we had done most of the drive I thought all my worries were for naught. We were doing great! Humming our way up the mountain at a pretty nice click when the road became ICE. There really wasn't snow around, just ice. Scott had bought some chains before we left, you know - wanted to be prepared! He got out, put them on and we were off...like... well, very slow! Thankfully the local Asian community was putting on their chains at the same time. They told us they were on too loose and so we pulled over and they were very nice to help us. Nice to know they knew what they were doing and the Canadian boy and Montana girl were clueless! Honestly...I only got out of the car to get my coat from the back.

NOW, we were ready to head up the mountain. We slowly inched our way up about half a mile more when one of the chains broke. Hmmm, so there we sat. How were we going to move? Could we just slide down the hill and hope for the best? Was there anyone to deliver us from this little mess? I called a friend in Vegas and he was able to track down someone who was already up the mountain to come and rescue us. Here came the man who has delivered me once before... yes, my OB/GYN. The tow truck working the hill wasn't too willing to pull us up, but the Dr. was. He was glad that I wasn't out pushing the van but Scott made one mistake. "So, Dr., Elizabeth is pretty stressed about this whole thing...its not good she's stressed, is it?" In all sincerity he replied, "No, its really not." Scott felt bad for a few minutes but with the Dr's confidence that he could get us up the the cabin, he tied us to his truck and pulled us. How do you thank someone for doing that?

Our relaxing weekend had begun! We unloaded the car, let the girls play for a bit and then enjoyed the next 4 days! Wow! It was great! It snowed big fluffy flakes all Thursday leaving about 8 inches outside. Scott kept himself busy snowblowing and shoveling. The girls were just happy being outside.

The next two days were perfect as well. There was a bit of a wind but it was incredible. We did NOTHING. It was perfect. I read a book, Scott played with the girls, we slept and ate and had a great time being together.

My Bed!

I finally got this done! Ginger sure put in her time too. Ginger quilted it for me, sent it back and I just had to finish the edge. I really like it. I actually go upstairs just to look at it about once a day!

Jenna and her BOX

This toy is the most fought after toy I have seen. I'm ready to get rid of it except it holds a place in my house. It is supposed to hold the dolls in the playroom but I'd say 90% of the time the dolls are on the floor and this is what it is used for.
Peek-a-boo!

Camping with the Girls

This weekend we made a short trip to Valley of Fire and went camping with our ward. It is much different than the camping I grew up with. It still is great to be out of the city. Jenna was totally fascinated by the starts, the dirt and her freedom. It was a short trip because Scott needed to be home to study but it was nice to be away.

Here is the tent village we were in for the night. Our tent is up a ways, but I was quite impressed by the spot Scott found in the dark!

In the morning Eliza was ready to play. She was very cute all morning. She and Jenna had fun building a dirt pile. To ensure people wouldn't step on it she even built a fence for it. Of course, she couldn't play in the dirt that was out of the way, we had to play right next to the kitchen!Scott took the girls up the rocks a little. They were having so much fun it was hard to get them down. Our camping trip would not be complete if we missed the spider! This is our second time out to Valley of Fire and the second time we have seen one of these.

Quite the little joy. Doesn't look to impressive? Well, the fact that we can drive down the road at 45mph and see it is impressive enough for me. Eliza did okay with the whole thing until dad tried to get it to move.It was a good time! Eliza loved the roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Apparently she was also roasting her goldfish over the fire. I guess it just made them perfect.

Jenna

Jenna is quite the busy girl. Last night after just a few minutes, I decided I needed to check on her upstairs. She was sitting in her room with the baby lotion ALL over. Had I not been so worried about the carpet I would have taken a picture. I had to figure out how to get lotion out and clean it up before bedtime, which was not coming quick enough. I woke to Jenna talking in her room and wanted to get her out before she woke up Eliza. I knew something was wrong when I walked into the room. Poop. She said "Bum" She really didn't spread as much as she had before but it was potent! My nose was burning as I got her out of bed. I changed her and cleaned her up enough to survive for a few minutes. After Eliza woke up I grabbed all contaminated items and started a load of laundry. I didn't realize I couldn't wash the pillow. "Spot clean" How do you spot clean poop off a pillow... let me tell you how NOT to! Not with Spot Shot cleaner. I sprayed that on the pillow and started to rub the infected area only see the paint, or whatever coating is on the pillow, shred off. I guess the poop is gone if the coating is.
I really am required to keep Jenna in my sites at all times. She is too devastating to leave alone.

The Art of Negotiation

Let me preface this with I have no skills in negotiation...so all of this is completely observational. I'm just too blunt. If I want something and think its worthwhile to ask, I do. If the other person says no, I'm sure they had a reason. If they say yes, we're both happy. My husband on the other hand is the best saleman you'll ever meet. He really can sell to anyone. He believes there is compromise in all situations and everyone can always be happy. There we have one of his finest qualities. Good thing, because one of my biggest shortcomings is the exact opposite. I look at a situation, think it is hopeless, give up and make everyone around me miserable for the day. So yesterday as we were getting ready for church he takes charge of the girls. Since it is really his one day to do this he loves to get them ready...he even does their hair. I usually go in and help get them dressed. I set out some clothes and then go back to finish myself. Eliza walks in and says she doesn't want to wear the dress I picked out and goes to the closet to find a "pretty" one. I say, this one is pretty and you wore that one last week. Let's wear this one. She continues on the "but its not pretty" and I leave the room. Whatever, its just a dress and I really don't care which she wears as long as we go, right? Some things are just not worth the effort of the argument. Scott on the other hand starts like this... "Eliza, this is a pretty dress. Where did you get it from? Don't you think she would like it if you wore it? You wore the other last week and this is really pretty too. Look you can match Jenna. Next time we'll let you choose." She comes out 5 minutes later in the dress I chose, no tears nothing. I really don't know what Scott says to convince her of things like this. Honestly if it was me she would have been crying because I have no skills in this area!
Eliza is learning these skills from her dad. Today she has a bit of a cold. She asked to go outside and play with the normal two buckets of water and her ice. I said no, thinking its not the best for a cold. She continues to try to convince me, "but it will make me feel better, how about one bucket of water, I'll stay really dry, I won't get cold..." I hope she continues down that path instead of mine. Just for the record I didn't give in and she found something else to do. I wish I was better at this little point in my life. I just don't put in the time or effort to diffuse a situation. If Scott was handling the whole water and ice situation he would have come up with something magical for her to do instead and she would have been happy as well.

My Multitasker!!

Here is Eliza. If you will note even at the age of four she can do two things at once. She is playing a game on her computer, with her right hand, and drawing on the magnadoodle with her left!

Halloween

Good thing I wrote about Halloween before it actually happened. Friday morning Jenna was up at 2am with a burning fever. 104.7 She was just so hot. Unfortunately all she wanted was dad. Poor guy had to stay up with her so she could sleep. She woke up the next morning just a little warm, but her normal self so I didn't worry about it too much. I thought a walk in the afternoon would help so took her out and when we got home she was over 105. I ended up spending the evening in the ER to find out she was just fine, just really warm. Eliza was able to go to the trunk or treat at the church and get some candy, which made life better for her. Jenna was up and down all weekend...only to break out in a very small rash on Monday morning. She's been fine since. Somedays I need a manual...okay every day...but I'd even take one every other day!

Happy Halloween!

Who knew Halloween was such a big deal. It all started at the gym where Eliza realized there were cobwebs and pumpkins everywhere. She started asking from the beginning of the month if it was time for Halloween. I decided to celebrate in stages. First we did caramel apples with some friends. The kids had a great time and I didn't mind the leftover caramel at all!

Later that week we carved a pumpkin. Eliza did not enjoy scooping the goop out of the middle but after a while she got into it and she and her dad did a great job!

Eliza was also a huge help in making our one and only Halloween decoration...SPIDERS!

Now we have fat spiders haning from our fan and light and wherever else we could hang them. She was in charge of putting the beans in the bellies of the spiders.

I think we are ready for Halloween. Now we get to dress up tomorrow night and walk around the church parking lot at the trunk-or-treat. Eliza can't wait! It's so much fun to have a 4 year old!!!

Dreams

I had this fabulous dream last night. I was running free through the streets of Missoula. Not only was I running, but it was up a nice hill and then I had to actually start climbing these rocks because it got so steep. Once I made it to the top of that I sprinted up the next paved area. Oh, it was freeing! Do you think I burned off extra calories just from dreaming I was running? Darn!

ITS A BOY!!

Today we had our ultrasound to find out what we are having! A BOY!! Scott is thrilled! I think it should be fun too. I'd post a picture..but poor thing hasn't even been born yet and we're already exploiting him. Can't hardly tell at this point unless you have someone describing every line to you as you look at the kid. Good grief, I am amazed at our tech every time I have an ultrasound! She is amazing! I'm getting pretty good at "head", "heart", "spine" beyond that I need help.
Anyway we are half way there! I'm more excited about that perhaps. Thankfully my doctor is not so big into the 40 week rule so I hope this kid comes in February. Planning is a nice thing these days. I need to think BLUE before the baby comes!

Too Soon

I guess I posted too soon yesterday. As I was finishing up writing Eliza was asking if she could make "soup". Sounded like a good idea at the time. We had an hour before we were to be at a friends for dinner, I needed to shower and get ready, Jenna was taking a nap...perfect time to have Eliza occupied making soup. Her version of soup is a bowl of water, flour, sugar, and yesterday she was lucky enough to have Cheerios and Tang in the mix. She just puts things in the bowl, stirs them up and loves it. As I was getting out of the shower I hear Jenna crying, darn it! Pretty short nap, then Eliza walks into the bathroom and says "mom, it just spilled so quick!" Oh No!!! I throw on the closest clothes I can find, grab Jenna and head downstairs to see the disaster. Had I been a little less upset perhaps I would have taken a picture. It looked like orange puke running from my table to the floor...A LOT OF IT! I was so glad I had decided to give her Tang and Cheerios! The Cheerios were mush and the Tang just made it more colorful and twice as sticky! Clean up was not quick and easy due to the amount of sugar we had spread around. Of course it splattered to all far reaches of the kitchen. Even though I did a good job cleaning it up, I'm sure I'll find orange sticky spots as I scrub the ENTIRE kitchen today! Anybody want to come and help? Just kidding... its not biggie! Just part of the world of a 4 year old.

Speaking of my four year old. Just came home from the gym and apparently I have upset her. She locked me and Jenna in the garage. Of course I had taken in my purse and bag, come back for the girls, Eliza jumped out and ran in. It took a few moments of negotiation with Jenna to come with, went to open the door... no budge! Of course my keys are inside! UGH!!

How do you listen to Genereal Conference?

I have almost given up hope of watching conference every October and April. I do still have hope I can hear bits and pieces of it. With both the girls awake it is almost impossible to do either. This morning we got the computer hooked up to the TV and were listening to the opening song. Scott went upstairs to help the girls get dressed quickly. I hear "Jenna drank your fingernail polish remover." Being the concerned mom I am I called back "There wasn't too much in there anyway." More of the concern was how my little one can find things like this. I had just used it yesterday but had it on my counter out of her reach. Only then did I remember I had towels on the counter...she probably pulled the towels off and off came the remover. She didn't even have to unscrew the cap...it broke. After a few moments of pondering what I should do and listening to Scott get frantic (frantic for Scott is like level 2 freak out for me...he is much more calm but it was obvious he was QUITE concerned about the whole thing) I called my brother in law who is a doctor. His advice "Call Poison Control". So with Conference going I get on the phone to poison control. Lucky they said if kids put it in their mouth they don't drink much because it burns so bad. MMMM. Sounds like a good after breakfast drink to me. She's been fine all day so I think we are okay. I have this feeling Jenna will hold a lot of "first" experiences for me, even being the second child. HAPPY CONFERENCING!!!

Haircut 101

I have needed a haircut for quite some time. As the days rolled on, the need turned into being desperate. I decided to run out last night and get it cut. It has been growing out for quite a while. A lot of indicision made this a bit easier because I didn't know what I wanted, I didn't do anything. So, last night I asked the lady to keep it pretty long, showed her a picture of a girl with hair that was about shoulder length, curled under... pretty basic, but if I wanted to add layers later it wouldn't be a problem. I specifically asked her not to blunt cut it, to make sure it curled under when it was dry. Guess what I have! I a blunt cut, chin length bob. Yup, not exactly what I wanted but I'm not too attached to my hair. Good thing!
You will also notice how tired I look... it was 8pm at this point and my energy was ZAPPED so this is what you get. There is something else wrong with this picture but I can't figure out what, perhaps the double chin? Hair color? Who knows.

The Office

Some of you may know I LOVE The Office! I am gearing up for the season premier so have started to watch my season two over. It's the only one I have but I love it. It will probably wear out because of use. Anyway, as I was making my cookie dough to eat a new episode came on and I over heard Eliza humming the theme song to the show... apparently I need to watch something different and very soon!

Why? What?

So Eliza has entered a new phase in her life. She just turned four. I had no idea this could be interpreted as the "why" stage. This is how a conversation with her goes:
Eliza: Where are we going?
Me: To the gym.
Eliza: Why are we going to the gym?
Me: Because I like to go exercise.
Eliza: Why do you like to exercise?
Me: Because it helps me stay healthy.
Eliza: Why does it help you stay healthy?
Me: Because it keeps my heart good.
Eliza: Why does it keep your heart good?
Me: So I can be your mommy longer. Do you want me to be your mommy?
Eliza: Why are you my momm?
Me: Who would you like to be your mommy?
Eliza: You.
Me: Good.

I really have no idea how to stop these conversations. They pop up everywhere... going to the bathroom, going to the store, gym, park, dance class... you name it there are at least 20 associated "why" questions attached to that point in time. I surely miss those days when the question was what! I would give my single answer and conversation over.

Eliza: Mom, what is that?
Me: It is a dead bug.

Now the conversation may start like that but finished totally differently.

Eliza: Mom, what is that?
Me: It is a dead bug.
Eliza: Why is the bug dead?
Me: It just died.
Eliza: Why did it die?
Me: It didn't want to be in our house.
Eliza: Why didn't it want to be in our house?
Me: Because we have a dog.
Eliza: Does Maggie like bugs?
Me: Just to play with them.
Eliza: Why does Maggie like to play with them?
Me: Because she can't do anything else with them
..... I promise you I could go on... So perhaps I don't need the questions to change to WHAT, just my attitude. What? Oh, here is my favorite series on What.

Eliza: Where are we going?
Me: To the gym.
Eliza: Then what?
Me: To the store.
Eliza: Then what?
Me: To the park.
Eliza: Then what?
Me: Home.
Eliza: I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME. I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!!!

Yup, some deprived child. She is a sweet little girl and is learning so much and just fun to have around. I just need a book of answers to all the questions. Anybody?

Canning

I am now two days closer to being my mom...which is a good thing. It took me a couple of days but here we have the product...the end result...the finale! 24 Quarts and 34 Pints of peaches!!! Canning is not easy but there is something great about this picture. It can't be undone in thirty seconds or two weeks for that matter, I will have the satisfaction of accomplishing something for quite some time. The rewards will last hopefully a couple of months. Since the last time I did this little project I have acquired my 90 food supply and am suffering from lack of storage space. I think I need some help but I'll put them on top of my kitchen cabinets... great idea from a friend! I hope you all are drooling!

Eliza's 4th Birthday

Here is the sweetest little girl on her 4th birthday! We decided to go to the park and open presents. In comparison to the other parties going on around us, ours was quite "simple". We had cake, ice cream, family and friends. It was great! She got many dress up clothes and spends hours every day pretending to be a different princess. This day she was Snow White. Today she is Belle.

Cooper and Riley were able to come too!

I was even able to put my cake decorating skills to work. Pretty tuff cake, but I think it turned out okay. We ate it up so I guess that is all that really matters.

My sweet Eliza

Yesterday I about died laughing at Eliza. She asked me to come and play with money with her. She loves to get out all the money from our change bowl and pile it up, sort it, stack it, play store with it...whatever... hours of entertainment. This is how she spends a lot of Jenna's nap time. Yesterday she wanted me to play with her. I went out to the stairs and sat down where she had it all set up. I was to put the money in little socks. These socks are too small for even Jenna. As I started to put the money in she showed me how it was supposed to really be done. First we had to put it in a little cup (a toy cup, very small) then use a toy 1/4 teaspoon and balance the money on it to move to the small sock that you had in your other hand. The dimes barely fit on the top of the spoon so it really was a balancing act. I set off to do the bigger coins since they were harder. After a few minutes I ran to the bathroom. I decided to take advantage of not being with the money and snuck back into the computer to check something. She comes walking in and gives me the look and says, "Really, Are you serious?" I think I have only said that to her once or twice. Obviously she really liked it though. Between the insane money playing and the little girl who is growing up too fast I had quite a good laugh.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!

Oh yes! It has returned! I LOVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!! I don't know how to explain it but it is total entertainment for me. I don't really care who is playing, I don't keep track of teams, players or schedules. Any team playing their hardest and having a decent game will do. I don't like blowouts. I choose most of the teams I cheer for in no particular order... I'll probably cheer for one one week and against them the next. I love the competative nature of the game. I love how intense the players are. This is life or death out there. They do anything out there on the field! Something exciting always happens. Now my Saturdays can be filled with hours of mindless football watching for the next couple months! I LOVE IT!!

It Has Begun!

Here I sit looking forward to the day. It is after 7am and Eliza is STILL asleep! I need a little choir in the background singing praises. Jenna is happy and playing. I slept better than I have in quite some time. So, you might wonder what I'd do with a day full of energy and happy kids? CLEAN! Boy, does my house need it. I hope to get to some of the projects that have been plaguing me since I got home from Montana. The sad news of today is that it is the beginning of our 15 week sentence to time without dad. Scott starts school today. He will work from 4am until 1pm, then head to the University from 2pm - 7pm. He has high hopes to be home to help me get the girls ready for bed before he heads to bed at 8pm. What a dad!
My hunger monster just woke up so I need to go feed her. Some kids can wake up and play for an hour or so before eating, Jenna, but Eliza wakes up comes walking downstairs declaring she is hungry! So, it begins!

Is It Over Yet?

I was up last night pondering things that really don't have any place in my brain while I am trying to fall asleep...like...how long is my mortgage fixed? What will the rates be like when we refinance? Will the market still be under? But most importantly...WHY IS IT STILL SO HOT! I watch the news in the morning and saw this great weather report. I was so hopeful that by the end of the week we'd only be 99! Um, not so! I shouldn't even watch! They just need to put up things like Monday - HOT, Tuesday - HOT with hair dryer winds, Wednesday - SUPER HOT, Thursday - Don't leave your house! Well, most of my summer would be that. I can NOT motivate myself outside until it is under 103. That seems to be my breaking point. However, I've even been bad about that number this summer. I guess I will hope for the best next week. And to think, I missed the worst of it while I was in Montana!

At the Farm

The last week in Montana we were able to visit my sister on her farm. The girls LOVED the animals. Eliza learned some new words and their meaning...like dead. My sister raises pheasants and when they are young some days you can find one or two dead in the incubator. Eliza learned they just throw these in the garbage. When she would go outside she would run to the garbage and check for dead birds.

We were also able to go and feed a neighbors baby calfs. Eliza and Jenna both loved that. Jenna thought the bottle was just the right size for her, and yes, she did suck on it. I about threw up!

All in all we had a great trip. The girls had a great time with their cousins and I had a great time with my family. I wish I hadn't been sick... would have made the trip more pleasant and bearable. I'm glad my family puts up with me as I descend upon them for a LONG stay during the summer. Thanks!

Let the Trip Begin

The trip is actually over but I didn't take the time while in Montana to write... so here is the long, long story. This is what welcomed us to Missoula the first day. The girls were thrilled to see the deer walk through the yard just a couple feet from where we were inside. Two males just wanted a little bird seed...or apples... we couldn't really tell what they were eating.We did make it through the two hour flight...which is not long thankfully. Jenna was very social and decided to make friends with the guy sitting across the way from us. Unfortunately he ran out of excitement for her much before she did for him. I stressed about what to do for our flight home for about a week before I bought her a ticket. I relaly don't have to buy her a ticket because of her age but what a drag to battle her and try to keep her on my lap! Eliza on the other hand was thrilled with the whole experience and was a total angel. I think I wait to fly by myself with kids until the youngest is 3!

We spent the first couple of days in Missoula with my brother, Ken, and his family. Dad was nice enough to pick us up from the airport and dump us off at our first stop. Jenna loves her cousin Payton! They just hugged and giggled every time they saw each other. They were so fun! This is Boston and Jenna. Boston was so cute with Jenna. He really was like a big brother!

After a few days in town we headed up to the cabin for a week.

This is the view off the front deck of the cabin. Yup, my parents live in heaven. It was so nice and cool. It was great to wake up to greenery and fresh air. Unfortunately I got a cold the second week in Montana, which took its toll on me. Two weeks of congestion, soar throat coughing...UGH! Didn't help things AT ALL!

The following week was our family reunion! 40 some odd of us in one house, 5 kids under 4, three of those under two! 7 families. Lots of food. Lots of water! Made for one busy, fun week. All our family pictures are on my brothers camera... so I'll spare you those for now.

Grandma and Granpa always pull out the cotton candy machine at least once with the grandkids around. Eliza had more candy on her hand than on her stick... YUM! Its not too bad when you are near a lake. You can just go throw all the kids in to DE-stickify.

Scott was able to come and visit for the last weekend of the reunion. Boy were the girls happy to see him!