03.31.09

A good rainy day activity. Go to the Library and get more books. I think at last count we came home with around 13 books. My kids devour them. It is fun to watch Kirsten just take books off the shelf. She is not picky, she just takes any book off the shelf. Eventually I have to tell her to stop. My bag can only hold so many.

03.30.09

These daffodils and hyacinths were given to me by my visiting teacher last Wednesday. It has been fun to watch the flowers open right before our eyes. Sometimes the daffodils will be ready to open in the morning and by dinner they are open. Kirsten loves to count the flowers and she is so amazed each time she finds a new open one. Just wait until the hyacinth opens. Won't she be surprised!

03.29.09

Happy Spring Break!!

(1-2 inches this morning, gone after church)

03.28.09

I love to see the temple!!
We were able to go to the temple today. What a beautiful building, we are grateful it is open again.

03.27.09

MMMmmm! Parmesan potato fries. (Almost as good as Buona Beef's, except theirs are deep fried and mine are baked.)

03.26.09

Signs of Spring in my Yard!!!

I love to see the plants coming up or trees sending out buds.

03.25.09

The kids in a wrestling match. Some days my home is filled with laughter and then tears. It's all fun and games until some one get's hurt. (Actually this time it didn't end in tears BUT that is the exception rather than the rule.)

03.24.09

Welcome to the Windy City!! It has been blowing for over 12 hours today. Short gust then big wind gusts blowing all the garbage away. (Today is Garbage Day.) Here is our wind chime. I could hear it going this morning around 4 am. Actually I thought we were having a tornado coming the way the wind chimes and wind sounded this morning.

03.23.09

Here is my dancing diva! After lunch she begged me to put on her leotard. I gave in and let her. Dance class starts at 3pm. Kirsten loves to go to dance class and has a hard time waiting. Here is just before we left. It wasn't real warm today and so I told her to wear something over her tights.

03.22.09

Couldn't resist this cute picture of the kids before church. I love the suspenders and tie. Peter looks so grown up. Kirsten is beautiful in pink. Love the new white sweater.

03.21.09

Our Stake had it's Relief Society Birthday Celebration today. It was wonderful as usual. You may ask (like each of us did) why the purse theme? As the speaker and the presidency explained. We don't have to pull handcarts but each of us carries a purse. Our trials and challenges are unique and different as each of these purses. Each of us are different and bring different talents to the world. We need to rejoice in our lives!

I love meetings like this! They are always uplifting and I come home excited to be a better mom and woman.

Our stake has decided to do a HUGE service project - 2009 blankets or quilts by September. Now I know what we need to be focusing on in our enrichments. Anyone can help us, so let me know if you or someone you know would like to help.

03.20.09

"I'm so glad when daddy comes home."

My kids love it when dad comes home. The world stops and they usually run to the door, once they hear the garage open. When dad sits down Peter usually helps him empty his pocket. Sometimes you might find candy or mints: other times it is just Dad's phone - BUT you gotta look!!

Poor Dave, sometimes the minute he walks in the door Kirsten starts her nonstop talking. Of course it is about the day but out of context it is a bit confusing. I usually get to translate what she means. I can be quite comical to listen to.

03.19.09

Peter at playgroup "sharing" his pretzels. He went over and dumped the bag of pretzels. The kids helped themselves. Wasn't bad, he walked away after dumping them. This was when he went back to get a couple more and a couple was all that was left.

03.18.09

What Fashion sense Kirsten has. First off those are supposed to be capris (short pants). Second the green in the pants really doesn't match the shirt. Lastly who wears their pants that low? (Her shirt looks normal size not really a belly shirt.)

I love her to pieces and think she is so cute. I guess I can stand it if she doesn't really match.

She is making a crown on her head.

03.17.09

Happy St. Patrick's day! We spent the afternoon at the park. We walked over to pick Kirsten up from Preschool. We had lunch and then played for awhile. Then we went home. Peter loves climbing around and Kirsten got her fix of swinging!!!

03.16.09

How do you eat a cupcake?

From the top down says Peter. We went to a birthday party for Kirsten and Peter's friends Helen and Thomas today. It was great fun and Peter loved the cupcake.

03.15.09

The Church building. I love to be at church and feel the spirit and take the sacrament. I love that my children are there with me learning about Jesus. Peter started Nursery a month ago and he loves it. I mean LOVES IT! It is all of his loves - toys, singing and snacks. How much better can it be. Of course that means my Sundays are actually more meaningful. I love Christ and love his church. It brings peace to my heart to know the truth and meet each Sabbath to learn more.

03.14.09

Today was another one of those warm days and we couldn't help but be outside. Dave was in the garage working on a kitchen cabinet base and we were playing in the back of the truck. It was better then swinging in the muddy backyard. Kirsten wanted to swing so bad, but I convinced her to ride her bike and then we played in the truck.

03.13.09

This morning I put a load in the dryer and when I came back and took them out it smelled like something was burned. I panicked. I figured the vent going outside was on fire. After pulling the dryer out and pulling off the vent I realized it was inside the dryer that was burning or had burned. I pulled out the user guide and read all the troubleshooting options. Finally I saw where you can pull the front off and clean out the dryer lint. Well I opened that up and there was 9 years of dryer lint in there. Maybe ½ to ¾ inch thick. I vacuumed then put everything back together and the "wal-la" the dryer is working without any burning smell. I am still a bit leery but I did find an area where the lint seemed to be burnt. I am so glad that it was a cheap easy fix.

See how clean it is now. Again my cameraman is Kirsten. She is pretty good, don't you think?

03.12.09

What a fun playgroup. The mommies did aerobics and the kids ran wild in the cultural hall. Natalie is a great instructor but I'm afraid I won't be able to move tomorrow. (Sorry the picture isn't great, insert me between Leanna and Jenny.)

03.11.09

A trip to the grocery store. Two days ago we were in short sleeves and wearing our jackets. Now it is freezing outside again and we are back to coats, hats and gloves. (If I could ever get Peter to keep them on.)

03.10.09

Nothing to exciting today. Decided to send my taxes off.

03.09.09

Playing with play-doh.

03.08.09

It's a doggone rainy day!

It has been raining since early yesterday morning. It stops for a little bit and then starts all over again. It is pretty soggy in our back yard and Homer came out and then when nothing was coming to him, he went back in the dog house.

I come from a desert state and so when you have to use your windshield wipers on full blast it is amazing to me. I guess that is why it is so green here.

03.07.09

Here is my little trooper. He has had a fever for over a day and keeps coughing this horrible croupy sounding cough. He has been so good with his nebulizer, it is a machine that puts medicine in to small particles which gets it into the lungs better. He just sits there and breathes it in and out like he is supposed to.
I wish I could take away his sickness. He had a blessing tonight and he will be better real soon.

03.06.09

What fun! We had the Parker's over so the mommy's could have adult conversation and the kiddos could play. This is pictures before they left. We should have been out there hours earlier. It is a beautiful spring day. Too bad Peter is a bit under the weather. He has a upper respitory virus that seems to be keeping him down. But that doesn't stop him from running with the others.