Say What?

Hope sees a crown in the costume store: "Hey look! It's a King's hat! I bet Heavenly Father has one of these."

Noah: "It reminds me of China with all these falling leaves. Oh....I've never been to China."

Hope and Eden refer to Ben's "hair" as "tiny hairs" because he shaves his head. One night he put Eden's tiara on his head and Hope said, "You look like a princess with tiny hairs."

Eden looking at a picture of a friend she hasn't seen in a while: "Is she my assistant?"

Eden says to Hope after Hope tries to take something from her: "It's MY coronation....and I'm running unopposed." *That is a line from My Little Pony Equestria Girls.

Eden jabbers to dad something about garbage.
Dad says: "What?"
Eden jabbers garbage again.
Dad: "What?"
Eden says: "You heard me."

Mom to Eden: "Can we put your ponies on the floor while we eat dinner?"
Eden: "They will be sad."
Mom: "They don't care."
Eden: "Nobody cares about my ponies."

Say What?

Hope: Does Heavenly Father get tired?
Me: No.
Hope: Does His son?
Me: Jesus? No.
Hope: Does He like to stay up like His dad?

*Another nighty night talk with Hope*
Hope: How does the Holy Ghost make you feel?
Mom: Sometimes he gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, sometimes he warns you about danger, sometimes he puts thoughts into your head.
Hope: I'm getting sweaty.
Mom: Take the blanket off.
Hope: No. I think it's the Holy Ghost. Why does the Holy Ghost make you feel warm?

Hope: Eden, you are crazy.
Mom: That's not a very nice thing to say.
Hope: I know.

Eden: Can I have a treat?
Mom: Too many treats will make you sick.
Eden: I wanna TREAT!!!
Noah: Eden, did you hear about the kid who ate too much candy? He fell off his porch.

*I have been trying to get Noah to expand his group of friends, but Noah doesn't seem to want to*
Mom: Do you have anything in common with "so-and-so"? (Name omitted to protect the innocent.)
Noah: The only thing we have in common is maps...and we're both human.

Mom: Eden, keep your hands to yourself.
Hope: Keep your face to yourself too.

By Hope.

Eden with a snare drum, Hope singing into a microphone and Noah playing the drums...with his foot???? Love her. 

Say What?

Eden has poked and squashed a piece of zucchini to smitherines, puts it back on her plate, picks up a piece of squash and says: Your turn.

When dad gets out of the car to go into the gas station Hope says: Please don't leave your family here all alone.

Noah: What do you call a job that makes nuts?
Hope: What?
Noah: A nut job.

Hope to her friend Mason: Look at this new dinosaur toy. It's from Rob. He's in my class. He looks pretty sometimes, just like you.

Hope: Where did all this stuff come from?
Dad: I don't know.
Dad starts dancing and shaking his shoulders from side to side.
Hope: Is that a clue?

 *Seahorse*

 *The First Vision* She came home with this one Sunday.

*Licked by a Horse*

Las Vegas With the Maxwells

This past weekend Ben's brother, Ian, celebrated his 21st birthday in Las Vegas and Jeff was generous enough to make sure we were there to celebrate with them. The girls have never met their aunts Amanda and Emily. They only met uncle Ian and Grandma Patty once, and they always love to see grandpa Jeff, so they were very excited.

We drove, which we were a little nervous about with Hope and Eden, but they did surprisingly well. There were no complaints from Hope and Eden only had one real outburst on the way there and one on the way back. We were thinking they might sleep for at least a couple of hours, but no one slept on the way there (besides mom cause I was sick and yes, okay, driving makes me sleepy) and Hope and Eden took only a short nap on the way back. Noah had some new books to read so he was fine...until when we arrived home and he learned that he had to get back in the car and drive another hour and half to Grantsville. He was pretty upset about that.

It was dark when we got there so Las Vegas was quite a sight as we drove up to it. The kids were amazed at all the lights and the cool buildings. Then we got to the strip and pulled up right behind a driving billboard with three fully clothes women who wanted nothing to do with anyone being advertised. Imagine the extreme opposite of what I described and then imagine my horror of having my 11 year old son in the back seat. The spiritual assault of the city was pretty smothering until I was talking with Ben about it that night and realized that I just can't let all the bad stuff get in the way of all the good and that it is better for our children to be exposed to this kind of thing with us (so we can talk with them about it), than being exposed on their own or with their friends. Amazingly, the only thing Hope had a comment about was a guy dressed up like a Transformer on the side of the street to which she said, "They have weird people here." Of all the drunken half-naked people surrounding us, she chose that to focus on. Thank goodness! Noah had more of a problem ignoring the "sin" part of the city, but hopefully when he looks back on it, he will mostly remember family and a lot of cool buildings.

The kids thought our hotel room was awesome cause it had hide-a-way beds and two rooms. They ran around till dad decided to be a party pooper and told them to stop. 

The next day, Eden found one of her favorite things about Vegas - the complimentary soap. She carried around till she unwrapped it and I took it away, then she was off to find another...which she did...several times.

When the girls met Amanda and Emily they both became really quiet and just stared with smiles on their faces. I could tell they thought their aunts were beautiful. Right away Hope seemed to want to make up for lost time and be around them as much as possible. She held Amanda's hand for quite a while, walking around the hotels and asking her LOTS of questions.

Aunt Emily and Amanda were both great sports about it, and it was nice to see the girls getting to know more of their family. Hope was very impressed with Grandma and Grandpa's hotel. It had beautiful gardens with ponds full of huge Koi and some flamingos!!! All day and the next morning Hope kept saying she wanted to go back to Grandpa's hotel.

*Grandma Patty, Grandpa Jeff, Noah, a flamingo, Hope, Eden and Daddy*

I know what you're thinking, "Wow, she actually posted a pic with her in it...and her eyes are closed." Well, if I were going to be picky I wouldn't have posted it cause of my ginormous rear, not the closed-eyes...but I need to just get over it. Besides those points this is a very cute picture of my beautiful little family. Eden was trying out some funky new camera faces that day, as you can see.

There was also a big bird cage inside with parakeets in it that the kids thought were cute. One of them tilted it's head all the way over to one side and then back again several times looking at Hope. She thought this was adorable. Okay, me...I did, it was freaking precious and when I think about I still want to say, "awww."

In another hotel there was a big fish tank where we stopped to take some pictures.

Eden and Grandma Patty had a conversation about the statue in the water. During this trip we have learned that Eden does not care for statues. The fact that this one was sunken in a fish tank may or may not have helped. We'll see.

I posted this second shot because I LOVE Noah's pose.

In the next hotel we saw gondola's in a big indoor river. Eden loved the boats and kept saying she couldn't reach it.

There's little sunshine with her hair in her face. On the days she doesn't want to wear a barrette, her bangs fall in her face and are long enough now that she has started to chew on them.

Then we saw a beautiful Chinese garden.

It was wonderful to spend time with the Maxwells and get to know them better. We definitely need to do it more. Especially since the girls are saying how much they miss everyone already. Thanks to Grandpa Jeff for making sure we got out there and to Uncle Ian for letting us celebrate his birthday with him. We love you guys!

Summing Up January

January has come and gone and EVERY day I have thought about blogging. There were several things that I wanted to post about, but now that time has past I've forgotten a lot about them. Next month I plan to do better.
 



 

Ignore the messy house (if you can). One day I will learn how to keep house & home better...or not to take pictures in my messy kitchen.
They are growing up fast! Hope now insists that we call her HOPE not Hopie and is reading like a pro. Eden has been without a pacifier for several days and doesn't even whine about it. Every once in a while she'll ask about her "jabider" and say that she misses him.  She also goes potty on the potty often (though she still thinks it's funny to go on the floor sometimes. Grrr.). Full on potty use is next!!!

Zoe has been an indoor doggie for the past couple of months. I am happy to report that Eden now goes potty on the floor more than Zoe. No...wait. I am not happy to report it. But it is nice not to have to clean up after two "kids" ALL the time. During Zoe's transition into indoor doggiehood, she and Eden have developed a great little friendship. Quiet storms in our house don't always result in disasters anymore. Sometimes I find Eden and Zoe wrestling or cuddling. Eden likes to hug/smother her and she lifts Zoe's face to hers with both hands. It's adorable and one of these days my camera will capture the moment. Zoe loves this too. She doesn't run away, she sits while Eden tries to love her and she'll even follow her around. Mostly I think she is waiting for her to drop something on the ground that she can chew to bits or lick her face clean. Sometimes, however, they unite forces and destruction does ensue. Like when Zoe got the toilet paper out of the bathroom and was chewing it up. While I was putting Zoe outside Eden was unrolling the remaining toilet paper. But their friendship is apparent and reminds me of myself & Pepper Sr. I love it and it makes me smile.

 

Noah's hair has been driving me crazy for months. He hates getting it cut and likes to wear it long. It makes me want to pull my own hair out. Last Friday I finally accessorized the problem. Don't let the face fool you - I peeked in the bathroom and he smiled the whole time he was taking those barrettes out. :)

 

 

We also visited the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake.

 

 

 

 

Next month we have a trip to Las Vegas, Valentine's Day and by golly a hair cut, and if not...more accessories.

Halloween 2012

This Halloween was crazy. From the moment I got up till my head hit the pillow I was going, going, going. Usually, Hope goes to afternoon kindergarten, but on this particular day they were having a field trip and combining the morning and afternoon classes to go to a play during the morning session of kindergarten. So I dropped Hope off at school, had about an hour to feed, chase, clothe Eden and finish any last minute preparation for pre-school which I was teaching that day.

Then the little ladies in Eden's class joined us for a while.

 

I love that Eden has these little friends who are also in her nursery class at church. They all get so excited when they see each other. It is precious!

 

 

We learned about the letter "P" so we painted pumpkins purple!

I had to leave as soon as the girls left to pick up Hope from her field trip, which was actually late, so Eden and I waited on the sidewalk in front of Hope's school, where Eden repeatedly tried to run over a woman standing a few feet away while wearing her lady bug costume. It was quite a site. Luckily, the lady was a good sport.

Hope came back very excited from her field trip to see Flat Stanley! She told me all about riding the bus, and the characters in the play. Then we rushed home and had "lunch" and then rushed over to help Aunt Autumn clean her house for a whopping 45 minutes. The girls and Caleb and Cameron ran around in their costumes while we worked on the house. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera.

Then we rushed back to Hope's school for the costume parade. It was a long wait and a lot of kids in costume. At least the weather was nice, but Hope had a heavy tiger suit and I new she was getting hot. Once again, I forgot my camera, but one of the sisters from my ward works at the school and captured this shot of Hope before they came out to the actual parade.

 

 

The kids walked a pretty long distance...most of it where no parents were even standing...it was weird. When we were walking back to the car is when Hope said to me, "I'm tired. Can we rest in a tree?" Given that she was wearing her tiger costume it was especially cute.

After the parade I dropped the girls off at daddy's work to trick-or-treat there and I drove to get Noah. We were able to spend the evening with him, but he needed to be back by 9 so we decided to spend Halloween in Grandma Verla's neighborhood, which also happens to be the neighborhood that Ben grew up in. Pretty cool to trick-or-treat your old neighborhood with your kids I think.

Noah could not make up his mind about a costume this year, so about 5 minutes before we walked out the door to start loading up on candy he decided he wanted me to paint his face like this.

 

 

He didn't have any reason why he wanted it like this, but he liked it, so everyone was happy and we were now ready for CANDY! Here are the kids waiting to go out Grandma Verla's door.

 

 

As usual, Noah was an awesome big brother and would help Eden up and down people's front steps to get her candy. They even held hands every now and then while walking down the sidewalk. Hope was too busy running ahead with some other family...she was really excited. As we walked I told Noah about the Halloween when he was Eden's age. He would knock on someones door yell "trick-or-treat" and would always walk away with "Happy Halloween!!!"

Before we made any other stops we visited grandpa who was sitting on the front porch handing out candy. This is a great picture. I love the way Eden is looking at Ray.

 

 

Tigger was also out trick-or-treating. Eden is trying to copy Noah's silly face here. It was quite funny to watch her distort her face in a variety of ways until she settled on this one.

 

 

Just before we got to Tigger, Eden decided she was tired and needed some persuading to move forward. Getting to Tigger was a good motivator, and bless her heart, she tried to be a good little trick-or-treator, but it had been a LONG day.

 

 

 

So finally, this is where she ended up after daddy went a little crazy with the camera.

 

 

A week or so before Halloween this year, my dad told me that I did this very thing when I was little. Only apparently I sat down in the middle of the road. At least grandma's house was just across the street. We were finally headed home, but we had to take off the costume's so the seat belts would fit and Eden freaked out.

 

 

Thank heaven for a sympathetic grandma! We were so glad to spend Halloween with Grandma & Grandpa Jones. Thanks for allowing us to intrude your home on Halloween and for making it extra special for us. We love you!

 

 

 



He's 11

Noah, or Mr. Handsome, as the nurses in the hospital where he was born called him, has turned 11 years old. I can't believe I have an 11 year old child...but that is for a different post. Monkey number one is well on his way to becoming a teenager and during his birthday this year he informed me that he is no more excited about it than I am.

Noah has had quite a difficult summer/fall this year and I wanted to make his birthday special and remind him of his many many wonderful qualities. I was determined to have balloons at his party and wouldn't you know that there was a helium shortage just when I needed 11 balloons. Who knew that one could have a shortage of helium? I guess helium is just one of those things I take for granted, but anyway, as I searched for a place that had some left I was starting to feel heart-broken. I know it's silly, and it's balloons for goodness sake, who cares? But I did. I felt very strongly that Noah needed balloons at his party and it wouldnt' be right without them. No where in town had helium, but when I picked him up in Salt Lake I decided to give one of their stores a try and what do you know? HELIUM! Noah would have his balloons! I was so happy I could've cried. As a special, and very cheesy, reminder to Noah of how great I think he is, I wrote a word that describes him on each balloon. After we had cake Noah read each balloon and let them go and we all watched them float away until we couldn't see them anymore. A few of the words I wrote were: talented, compassionate, caring, awesome big brother, artistic, imaginative, loving, athletic and several more that I can't remember at the moment.

 

This year I thought it would be fun for Noah to decorate his own cake. He thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do the Halo logo so we looked up a pic on the Internet and he went to work. Looks great if you ask me, and his sisters and cousins were in awe....drooling awe as they all were trying to taste the blue frosting.

I wrote Noah a special message in his birthday card. One that I want him to remember on a daily basis and as cards get thrown away, or misplaced I've decided to scan it onto our blog which is really our family journal. It's quite personal and really only here for the adult Noah's sake, but read it if you'd like.

 

 



Say What?

Hope: These are my ponies. They are speaking Spanish. I call them Uni and Corn.

Hope: Mom, I need some peace and quiet.

Yesterday Hope had a check-up at the doctor where she had to give a urine sample.
Mom: Thank you for being my helper at pre-school today.
Hope: Thank you for helping me pee in a cup.

Noah: When I grow up I'm going to have my own blimp...and I'm going to ride around in it at night...and live in it.

Eden as she climbs up her changing table: Up, Up and AWAY!

Noah: Why does Eden always go for the tobacco sauce?

Hope: What is that? *referring to a strobe light she sees one night while we're driving*
Dad: Do you think they're calling for Batman?
Hope: Is there a real Batman  in our world?
Mom: That is what daddy does when you go to sleep.
Hope: Why?
Dad: To fight crime.
Hope: Can't you fight with one foot?
Dad: I can fight with both feet.

Hope: Mom, I like you.
Mom: I like you, too.
Hope: But I like Maddox better.

Hope: I am tired of walking. Can we rest in a tree?

An Afternoon in the Canyon

I'm a pretty spontaneous person. It's in my nature to just do something instead of planning things out. I've always been that way. Then I had children. It isn't exactly easy or comfortable, let alone enjoyable to do spontaneous things when you have infants. For me, there was far too much planning, packing and interruptions to bother with it. Now my children are a little older and I am finding that spontaneous is something that I can consider once again. Not completely mind you, I still have a two year old. But since she is starting to refuse naps, now is a good time to reintroduce the thought of casual outings.

I've been wanting to check out the Deer Creek beaches since before summer started, so yesterday was the day. I packed up the kids in the van, grabbed a treat for the road and away we went. There is a fee for the beach, but since we just wanted to check it out the lady gave us a 20 minute waiver.

I was disappointed at how rocky it was, but the kids actually quite enjoyed the rocks.

I finally had to pick Eden up to get her away from the rocks.

It was a great day for exploring. It was warm but not hot and there were enough clouds in the sky to give an occasional break from the sun.

When our pass expired we weren't ready to go home, so we decided to stop at Bridal Veil Falls for more adventuring.

We had lots of fun getting dirty and wet in the stream and of course playing with more rocks.

Noah found a stick and a flat-ish rock and tried to make a Tomahawk. When he was done with the rock Hope decided it was pretty special and wanted to bring it home for her rock collection.

On the way back down the trail Noah spotted a snake off to the side and caused all the people behind to stop and watch the snake as it slithered away. At one point Eden layed down on the trail to play with rocks. I tried getting a picture but by the time it was ready she had sat up.

It was a fun day and one we'll try to recreate soon.