Kicks and Giggles

Maryn is such a silly girl, and loves to laugh and make others laugh. I love her goofy personality. She will spend all day playing with her cars, then come out of her room dressed up like this:

Starting from the top--That is a hula skirt on her head. She is wearing her favorite shirt, a tutu, the spiderweb skirt I made for her witch costume, and her pajama bottoms.

No dolls for this girl, but she loves to dress up!

Oh, What Do You Do In The Wintertime?

I'm sure you all know my feelings about winter. It has been crazy cold here. And dry. And static-y. So, being indoors ever so much more, I decided that instead of being a lazy bag of bones (that's what my dad would have said), I started some crafty little projects. I thought I would share them with you. Please hold your "ooooohs" and "aaaaahs" until the end. Thank you.

First off, while we were out at Kade's parent's house, his dad printed out some of our family pictures onto canvas for us. They turned out awesome! We printed them on a really big printer and stretched them onto an 11x16 frame. Instead of scattering them throughout the house, I wanted to make a display. I just needed a little something to fill in some extra space. I made this:

I wanted it to look like the wood fence behind us in our pictures, so I painted it the same color of tan, and antiqued it around the edges. I think it worked. Here is the final display hanging in our front room:

Fun, eh? As a side note, I would like so say that I am very glad a have a few skillz with man tools. In fact I love tools, particularly my power drill and my ratcheting screwdriver. I think one day when we have $, I want to buy a table saw so that I don't have to ask the boys at Home Depot to cut my pieces of wood for me. It makes me feel so lame. And also an air compressor so I can use a nail gun and a staple gun. Kade on the other hand doesn't possess the desire to develop those "man skillz," which is ok, because he brings home the bacon. He did, however, earn 2 man points the other day for getting the panel off the furnace so I could change the filter.

Ok, for the next project, let's move to Ailee's room. I hadn't put anything on the wall above her crib...I was waiting for the perfect decor. Well, I was at Hobby Lobby (my new love in life), actually looking for the things to make my "family" sign, when I stumbled upon these big chunky wall letters. And better yet, they were on sale for $1.50 each! Yeah! Originally, they were just plain white. I painted them pink, then I used one of my favorite stamp sets and stamped them. I was hoping the brown ink I used would show up a little bit better, but it kind of went dull as it dried. Oh, well, I still like them:

I thought the "L" was the cutest.

Now that she has giant letters hanging above her crib, maybe she will finally learn how to spell her name. This next project I found online. I'm one of the Achievement Day Girls leaders, and we wanted to do an activity with service. So, we made these way cute and easy Santas. They were simple to make. You just need paint, felt, cotton balls, a nose, and eyes. I think in the original design they were made out of tin cans, but I had a bunch of empty formula cans I had been saving (apparently for this), and I wanted to be able to pull the hat off. We filled them up with little papers that had ideas for service over the 25 days until Christmas.

I still have a few projects in the works. I'm making Maryn a sock monkey for her stocking. She loves monkeys and I found the instructions online. They aren't hard to make, they just take time (lots of stuffing and hand sewing). I'd post a picture of it, he sure is cute, but Maryn always looks at our blog, and I'd hate to spoil Christmas for her.

We finally finished our Christmas decorating on Saturday. I'm kinda lazy this year so I didn't even put out all of our decorations, just the big things. My Christmas Pyramid from Germany and my nativity set are my favorites:I love the easy detail of the pyramid. It reminds me so much of our time in Germany. I used to have candles for it, but apparently our attic gets really hot in the summer. Oops. It took me a few years to accumulate the different pieces to my nativity, but it was so worth it. I love the simpleness of the figures, and the few, yet expressive, details.

I'm glad the Christmas season is here. Much more so than last year--I guess it helps that I'm not pregnant and sick. In fact I have this wreath on my front door that I made last year. It's pretty, but every time I look at it, it makes me physically ill. It triggers my memory of being nauseated. Secretly I hope that somebody steals it off of my door.

Merry Christmas!

Hey, Baby, Let's Go To Vegas

A few weeks ago, Kade and I flew out to Las Vegas to check out a possible business opportunity there. It was just over a long weekend, so we opted to just take Ailee with us, and leave Maryn here (to save mucho $$) with some friends. When we got in, Kade's parents, our super-duper awesome chauffeurs for the weekend, picked us up and took us out to see the practice. It was nice, and in a pretty area outside of the city. Then, that evening we drove to Cedar City to spend some quality time with the 'rents.
Saturday, we went down to St. George to mingle with some more of the fam. We dropped in on Kade's brother and his cute family. It had been a really long time since I had seen them. After visiting and checking out their nice home (Kade and I long for a home...so we are often taking note on how nice [and much more spacious] other peoples' houses are), we met up with the sister in law we had never met, Katie. I've only ever known Katie through her blog, and it's been what, 4...5...years since she and Kade's little brother got married? We are so lame. Anywho, it's nice to finally put a voice to all those pictures. And, I look forward to getting to know her a little bit better.
Sunday, Kade was pretty nasty sick, so we just bummed around a bit until it was time to head back to the airport. We had a lousy red-eye flight (who booked those terrible times????? Oh, it was me...) so poor Kade was miserable laying on the floor of the airport terminal. It reminds me of the first time I remember him. So pathetic. Asleep on the floor in front of the TV on a Friday night. Ahhhhh, memories. Well, somehow I managed to get us on REALLY full flights, so I had to hold Ailee, who, thankfully, slept surprisingly well, all night. I pretty much just skipped a night's sleep. And just so you know, if you fly through Atlanta in the morning, you are guaranteed to be delayed.
Meanwhile, back at home, Maryn was having a rip-roarin' good time with her buddy Caiden. Sometimes I wonder if these two were made for each other. They get along so easily, and play so well. In fact, whenever I tend Caiden and his little sister, I hardly even see Maryn and Caiden, except when they want food. Maryn had such a good time, that a few days after we got home, she asked me when we were going back to Las Vegas, so she could stay at Caiden's house again. I can tell we were so missed. Not. Amber, Caiden's mom, was good enough to take these pictures of their time together:

Playing in the fall leaves

Maryn taught Caiden how to squish yogurt through his teeth...you're welcome, Amber!!

Next, is the best picture of them all! I mean, really how can one not take this as a challenge to secretly align the future?

Maryn and Caiden in front of the Louisville, KY temple

How awesome would it be if by some crazy chance these two got married? Would this not be the BEST picture to display at their reception? Or on their wedding announcements???? Maybe they could sing the duet from "Saturday's Warriors" (for those of you non-mo's, "Saturday's Warriors" is a corny little musical, and in it, a boy and a girl are in love in the pre-mortal life, then meet again in the mortal life to fall in love. When they meet, they sing a cheesy song about how they seem familiar to each other)...(boy)I've seen that smile, somewhere before....(girl)I've heard that voice before...(together)It seems we've talked like this before.

Think about the possibilities!!

Amber, you and I will be in touch!

I Suck

I am THE Grim Reaper of plants. My house is the house that terminally ill plants come to die, and I am Dr. Kevorkian. I kill plants. In fact, if you were to ask around the plant community about me, the only tales you would here are those of neglect and horror. I'm amazed that with my dark plant past, I am still allowed to keep my children.

This plant was a gift to me. I have only had it for 2 and 1/2 weeks.

When I received it, the flowers were vibrant and beautiful, and the leaves were...well, they too, were alive. I don't know why I can't keep plants alive. I have watered it, loved it, given it sunshine. Aren't those the 3 ingredients every plant needs?? So, please, tell me. What have I done to make the plant Gods so angry?

Life's Little Lessons

If I were to die right now, I would have to say that the most important lesson I have learned in this life is this: If you go into anything, expecting only to be disappointed, you will never be truly disappointed. Again, tonight that lesson was confirmed.

My friend, Erin, had read the Twilight books, and convinced several of us to read them as well. I admit it--I enjoyed them. They were entertaining, and creative. I was a little grossed out by the icky googly love bits, but I liked reading them. So, as a tribute to Twilight, I present you with this video (brought to you by The Normal Mormon Husband). Enjoy.

That's good clean fun, now isn't it? Well, if you haven't been living in a cave in Afghanistan (ooooh, slam to Bin Laden), then I'm sure you know that the movie "Twilight" was released on Friday. I have a confession. I bought my ticket online last week. I even paid an extra dollar to do so. Then, I went to the theater an hour early to stand in a line so that I could get a good seat. I braved the throngs of giggly teenage girls as they screamed and jumped when they saw their other giggly friends come out of the theater from the previous showing, sing a rendition of "Happy Birthday" to one of their fellow herd members, scream shrilly at the scary movie preview (just for their credit, it was a really scary looking movie. I had to turn away), and almost pass out from heart palpitations as each male member of the Cullen family made their debut on the big screen. And all this is because??? A girl's night out. Ahhhh, the sound of screaming girls....not directed at me. It was so worth it.

The movie was.....uh.....well....let's just say, I entered that theater expecting disappointment, and I was not disappointed. (see learned life lesson from above) Now, where do I begin? How about with the acting.

WORST

ACTING
EVER!!!!!!

I don't think I have seen such bad acting since my high school girl friends and I made ridiculous home videos in my basement. The price is wrong, Pop Parker! MTV's show, "Singled Out" was so AWESOME, and Licki Rake told me to read a book! We were young, and just wanted to poke harmless fun at people, but still, our acting was probably a teensy bit better than the acting we found in "Twilight." I haven't decided yet, but I think first prize from the bad actor's guild goes to Edwards response when he first meets Bella in class.

My theory is that he had to quickly cover his smile because he was thinking about the dude on dude action that went on when Carlisle "turns" Edward. Um, what was the rating on this show again? Is this a campaign against Prop 8? James...now there's a dramatic vampire for you. Hmmm. Maybe it's just the prepubescent mustache he's trying to grow, or the greasy hair, but didn't I go to high school with this guy? He gave me the creeps back then, too.

Ah, high school. What a fun time. Not. I did forget to mention all the aspiring actors/actresses filling the gawky, awkward fellow teenager roles. They did a great job. Perhaps it was because they were so gawky and awkward that I actually felt pain for them.

Well, better luck next time--which sadly enough, I'm sure there will be. Some of the girletts in line with us were for reals seeing the movie for the second time. Wow, I sure hope reality hits them before they send in their fan mail to "Edward" and "Jacob" asking if they can marry them both. Enclosed in the envelope are the eye lashes she pulled out, just for them.

Somebody's Gotta Win, Might As Well Be YOU!

She's at it again....that crazy quilter, Camille, from Thimble Blossoms is having another quilt giveaway. Go check it out. You never know, you just might win!

Thuh Real Thang

All right, I finally got my Christmas cards ordered, and I can showcase a bit of Erin's handy work with the camera. We love how they all turned out, so it was difficult to choose which ones to use for our Holiday Greetings. The ones we did use aren't posted, so there will be some element of surprise when we send out our cards, should you be SO lucky to get one!
Enjoy.

Halloweeners, Milestones, and Swimmin'

Yes, it has been almost a week since Halloween, and finally I am getting around to posting pictures of my kiddos like the rest of the blogging world. I think my whole life is a week behind.

Our friends, the Rangitsch's, were good enough to invite us out with them on Halloween, since our neighborhood gets a big thumbs down on tricker treatin'. Maryn had a blast keeping up with the boys, and even went in the haunted house, accompanied by Kade, of course. She got a huge amount of candy, so she was on a crazy sugar high. She must of gotten burned out, because after about 3 days of "the rush" she stopped asking for candy. Her candy bucket is still on top of the fridge, just daring me to get fat.

All the kids before trick or treating.

Ailee was a sweet little kitty and only begged for milk, not candy.

Now, on to the next big news: Ailee has hit a big milestone. She rolled over this week. Hurray for our little bug! I can't believe how fast she has grown. She's full of spunk and loves to smile. Sometimes I can get her in the right mood and make her laugh.

And, finally to the last thing on our agenda, Maryn started swim lessons a few weeks ago. She is totally a water rat and loves her class. We lucked out that there is only one other kid in her class.

Below is a short little video of her practicing the breast stroke.

Ok, not really...I think that lesson is next week.

Just A Little Preview

We have had exceptional fall weather this year. The past week has been pretty much perfect with comfortable temps in the 70's and blue skies. Last Saturday, my friend, Erin went with us to Bernheim Forest for a family Christmas photo shoot. Our pictures turned out great! Unfortunately you don't get to see her photos today because I haven't decided yet which ones to use for our Christmas cards (I don't wanna spoil the surprise!!)....so, until I make a decision, you only get to preview our lousy photography talents.

KY is so beautiful in the fall. I love this fence at Bernheim Forest. Nice pic, Kade!

I thought this picture was rather thoughtful.

As soon as I make up my mind, I will for reals post Erin's pictures, so you can see some real talent from a person with a real camera.

Hold On To Your Wallets!

Last weekend was our Ward Halloween Party....and what a party it was! Kade and I debated for weeks about what to dress up as. It had to be good, because last year we were lame and just went as party poopers (well, we didn't dress up, thus we were party poopers. "Party Poopers" would be an interesting costume, though). In the end, I wound up going to Unique Thrift for inspiration. Here are our costumes.

I absolutely love that I got to wear pantie hose over my head and it was sociably acceptable. I forgot to get a picture of Kade's five o'clock shadow. He actually let me smear black eyeshadow all over his face, but it looked real! I even had a fake lip ring (compliments of a past life in college) that all the kids kept staring at.

On Monday, for FHE, we carved our pumpkins. Unfortunately, we got our pumpkins at the boring old grocery store...no fun trips to farms or such. One of them ended up being the world's hardest pumpkin. Poor Kade got stuck with that one. The skin was so hard, and it broke several times while he was carving. We decided it was modern art.

Mine is the scary one on the left and Kade's "Modern Art" is the one on the right.

Grouchy McGrouchy Face

UGH! I have been feeling so grouchy lately.



Yes, this is truly what I feel like, uni brow and all! (It's been a while since I've tweezed the brows..I gotta get on that.)

I have a couple of theories: I haven't been getting enough sleep. I suspect that secretly my husband and two children are plotting against me. Their strategery is very complex, and very effective; surprising for a man, a three year old, and an infant. I wonder who the ring leader is in all of this...

My other theory is that summer appears to be officially over, and that horrible season known as winter is well on it's way here. sigh. I really don't like winter, for many, many reasons that are all sound and legit. I've thought about it a lot during my "alone" time (that's time spent behind a closed bathroom door for you non-mothers), and I'm certain others will agree with me. So, I will list the reasons for which I loathe winter, and I'm anxious to hear how you "winter-lovers" deal with these problems.

1. Goosebumps...did I really JUST shave my legs?

2. Chappy lips. They hurt real bad (to be said in a Napolean Dynamite voice)

3. Socks, I hate how restricting they are on my feet. And the toe fuzz...don't get me started!

4. Dry skin that itches no matter how much lotion you slather on. Oh, and don't forget to turn the knob and open your bedroom door BEFORE you put lotion on your hands

5. Stuffing the kids into their car seats with their coats on

6. Just feeling cold

7. It's still dark when you wake up, and dark by dinner time

And, last of all......

8. Static. WHERE DOES IT ALL COME FROM???

Ahhhh, that was my rant for the week. I feel much better, now that the world knows of my strong dislikement for winter. I do feel bad about being such a pessimist...I hope I haven't brought anybody too far down, especially those who live in colder climates, like Idaho and Canada. So, to counteract my negativity, I'd better also make a list of things that make me happy, just sos ya knows I'm not ALWAYS unhappy in the wintertime. Here's my Happy List:

1. Kittens

2. The words "undeterred" and "duty"...it's all very juvenile

3. The ginormous bathtub that I dream about owning

4. Funny blogs like this, this, or this

5. Delicious food

6. Our microwave that pops perfect popcorn

7. Modern science

And...

8. This picture of Maryn (she was too scared of falling to let go of the pole)

I just laughed a lot re-reading those. Perhaps I should save those to my computer so I can look over them on those "rainy days." You have my permission to look at my list when you feel grouchy, or you can make your own list of things that make you happy. Go at it! And be happy!

Saturday, In The Park

These first two pictures were my favorites.

Last Saturday was an amazingly beautiful day here in KY. So, we packed up some sandwiches and strolled down to the park. Kade started taking some pictures, and found this neato feature on our camera, that only accents one color. I thought some of the pictures turned out good, so I will now share with you our artistic talents. This first picture shows it best:Cool, huh?? Apparently only my bottom lip is pink, and my upper lip....is some other color??
It's kind of hard to tell in these pictures, but Kade accented blue, so only Maryn's eyes are in color.
I love "behind" pictures! I think they are SO cute of kids(...not so much of myself--'cause then they are a little scary).

I guess, with this feature, if you accent purple, then it shows blue and pink, also.

Maryn's hair has turned into a beautiful golden-brownish-red-blondish color (how else can I explain it?). The shadows hid the color on the one side.

Pretty awesome, eh? Eh?
One of Maryn's FAVORITE pastimes are the swings at the park. That is always the first thing she wants to do. I love to twist the swing up, then let her 'er fly. It's hilarious to watch her long ponytails fly out as she unravels. It's even more funny to watch her try to walk afterwards. (I've got to get my kicks and giggles somehow!)

I had to post this last picture because of the expression on Maryn's face. This will forever be an expression etched into my memory. Last week, we were getting Maryn ready for bed, and I thought I would amaze my 3 year old by showing her the trick where you take your thumb off and move it back and forth. Well, this was the exact expression I got in response from her. I think I almost put her into shock/made her cry. Ah, good times.

Welp, that was our day at the park. I am going to miss that nice weather. It was so cold today (well, it's all relative...it's not Idaho cold yet) and I am not ready to have to bundle up all the time. Farewell, summer!