Pirates:The Musical

As soon as we movied here we jumped into the production of Pirates:The Musical. We had so much fun. I realized how much I have missed being involved in theatre. We (the adults involved) have already begun meetings to prepare for next year. Andrew and Timmy even got into it, and can still be heard yelling "Avast" unaware that this is not something most people say. Timmy insists he is going to be a pirate for halloween. I have tried to talk him into the buzz light year costume that we have, but he just looks at me and says, "Pirates all are we". I have been trying to put viedo on from the actual performance, but haven't been able to figure out how to edit it to just a small part of the performance. But here is a part of the recording from when they performed at the county fair a few weeks before they performed. The recording got cut off half way through. The kids are all in the front row. This song begins and ends the play.

The Morgan Family

I really wanted to just add these pictures from their visit in June. As you can see when we get together there are a lot of kids(10), and also a lot of fun. We miss them tons!

Nathan's Baptism

Nathan was baptized one week after we moved here, on his 8th birthday. It was really a very special day. Honey, My parents, and Melissa and her kids came up from the cities. Papa and Grandma Nelson came as well. Our friends the Morgans came up from Worthington. Cosmo and Christian spoke, as well as my mom. Morrea and Cori sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", at Nathan's request. I though it was beautiful. We also sang the Hymn "The Iron Rod" because that is Nathan's favorite hymn. We were going to go to a park afterwards but it was raining so we all headed back to our house. I still can't believe how quickly time flew from the time he was born to his baptism day. I have really seen a change in Nathan since his baptism. He tries to read his scriptures with out being asked, and during Sacrament meeting he uses the Hymn book the Morgan's gave him to sing every hymn. He is trying to be a good big brother and make the best choices.

Dance

My kids are still doing dance. The studio up here is a lot bigger than the one in Worthington, because of that they are able to offer a lot more classes. We are still trying to find the right fit for the kids and the schedule, so although Nathan and Cori were doing tap and ballet, today we are switching to tap and jazz. The instructor wants them to do both ballet and jazz, and has even trimmed costs in trying to make it work, but between time and money we have had to choose, hopefully it won't be long and they will both be in ballet again but for now this will have to do. Sam is in a multiple exposure class that is going well, but he still really misses his old class and teacher. I tried to get pictures of the kids but everything turned out blurry so all I got was this before class picture of Nathan and Cori. This is right before hip hop, the class that Nathan and Cori love, they do this class while Sam is in his so it works with the schedule fairly well.

Tuesdays with Timmy and Drew

My Tuesdays have become very busy. I do dance class with Timmy and Andrew, and then head straight to ECFE for a class with Timmy. After that we try to meet up with Jeff for lunch, then I head home in time to put the two younger done for nap, and next thing you know the older three are running off the bus.

The dance class is a mommy and me class. I was expecting it was just mommies helping their little one twirl in a circle and jump up and down. I was wrong. She is having the moms stretch and move in ways I am not sure I could do even in middle school gym class. TImmy loved it, and Drew was hit and miss depending on what she asked us to do. They loved the scarves and the balls and did not want to leave when calls was over. But they had to leave because we have to run to ECFE right after dance class.

Timmy is in an ECFE class and Drew goes to sibling care. We are having definite attachment issues with Andrew but each week it is getting a little easier. Timmy loves his class and especially making art work and drawing on the chalk board. Awhile ago in church we sang the song "You can make the Pathway Bright", and Timmy loved it, especially the part "if there' s sunshine in your heart" so now he wants me to draw a sunshine in a heart every chance he gets. So he stands at the chalkboard singing about "Sunshine in Timmy's heart", it is very cute.

The ECFE class is right next to the building where Jeff works. We try to make it work so that I can meet Jeff for lunch. It has been really nice. There are two pizza buffets where under three eat free. It's funny 6 years, ago going out with two under the age of three would have seemed like too much work, but now I enjoy the break. And since neither one talks very clearly, we can get away with it, and the older three are none the wiser.
I don't get much else done on Tuesdays, but it is a fun way to break up the housework for the rest of the week. It also gives my good time to focus on just the two little ones.

Our New House

This is our new house. The scaffolding is gone and we have grass and a flower garden as you walk up. We also have a sidewalk that was not done when this picture was taken. I could go out and take an updated picture, but it is cold out, and this one was aready online so I took the lazy approach, but at least you get the idea.

First Day of School

This picture is from the first day of school. I think their outfits say a lot about what they are liking this year.
Sam was so excited for school to start. Before he left the first morning he told me, "I know today is going to be great, because my teacher is going to love me, because I am that cool!". Sure enough when he came home he proudly announced, "Everyone in my class wants to be my friend because I am really cool!". Underneath his superman shirt is a star wars Lego shirt. Luckily he has two so we can rotate them, if he could he would wear these every day. Star Wars is his favorite thing right now.
I love how Cori posed for the picture. She really wanted to model her outfit. This is her favorite new school outfit because she thinks it looks like something Selena Gomez would wear. Selena Gomez is her all time favorite Disney star right now. Last night she even insisted that Jeff enter an online contest in hopes of having lunch with the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place. Out with baby dolls and in with tween pop stars with sassy attitudes, she has even requested a name change. At school, church, and dance she has requested to be called "Amy". I'm not sure I will get used to it, but that is all she is called at school so now everyonce in awhile I hear Nathan call her Amy.
Nathan is sporting a Batman Lego Shirt, which he loves as much as star wars(that is saying something). He was the most nervous for the first day of school, and although he has made some friends he still misses Cosmo, his best friend from Worthington, quite a bit.

The Salamander House

One of the things the kids love about living here is all of the animals they get to see. When going on a walk one day we saw a turtle, squirrel, and rabbit. They also found multiple sets of deer tracks. Seeing deer up here is almost a daily event, we have seen up to six in our yard, and there are usually a couple on the side of the road as we drive home. But the most exciting is what is found in our window wells. At first it completely grossed Cori out and she would pray that no salamanders would get stuck in her bedroom window. Eventually she began to like them and has even picked them up and held them. She has even been found digging for the salamanders. Of course the kids insit on wearing their gardening gloves when they pick them up. There are usually a couple toads found there as well. After it rains Jeff goes around and collects them out of all the window wells, one day he found 27 salamanders. I think the salamnders are now digging deep enough to hide out for the winter but the kids still check just in case.

Changes

I am overwhelmed at all the things that I wanted to blog about that have happened in the last months. So much has changed!
Jeff's job changed. He is really enjoying his new job and I think this is what he will be doing for a long time. It is strange to finally be in a place that is just where we are going to be. It has always been, "when we go to BYU, or when we finish BYU, or when we finish law school, or when we move from Worthington . . ., and here now we are. I have to tell you I really like it. It is nice to finally just be someplace with no plans of moving, and I suppose it helps that we like it here.
Jeff's job demands a lot more hours, and that is taking a lot of getting used to, for all of us.
We tried to live apart until the house sold but it was really hard on everyone, so after school was out we finally found a way to buy our house here, while the one in Worthington is for sale. We love our new house but I don't feel fully moved in yet, with boxes still to unpack, and the walls still lack paint and pictures, and the yard is far from being a kid friendly place to play. (although Jeff did manage to remove a wasp nest which will help). Right now we have 2.5 acres of mowed weeds which I hope will eventually have trees, plants, swing set, and Nathan and Sam are hoping for a basketball hoop.
Hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to blog about random things that have happened but if not then just know this; We moved, and I am so much happier here. Although I do miss some very dear friends in Worthington, this move has been so good for our family.

I'm Back!

I know it's been ages but I finally managed to break back into my blog. Long Story short through the chaos that has been our lives I lost my log in info, I had to change my password and could only remember my old password. The email address that I created this blog no longer existed so I cold not send it to myself. Every once in awhile i would come on and try multiple combinations of things I might have used and tonight I finally cracked my own code. So hopefully that means I will begin posting more regularly again.

Long Random Family Update

Well, once again our computer is not working. It seems that whenever I have a moment to blog, I can’t get the computer to work. I am using the old laptop from law school. That means no pictures, and when I don’t have a picture to use I feel silly blogging. Pictures of my kids are way more interesting and cuter than just reading my random thoughts. But here is an update for the week.
Last weekend we decided to go up to the cities to visit family. Rachael was visiting her mom and it had been way to long since we had seen her. She had not met Andrew! Everyone had lots of fun. I think I needed the break more than I realized. We managed a trip to Kohl’s, Ikea,the book store, and my dad took Nathan and Cori sledding. Jeff and I were able to go out to dinner without the kids, with Dianne and Rachael, and that was nice.
Sunday we attended the Eagan Ward for church. We usually attend either the Farmington Ward or the Apple Valley ward, so it was nice to see people we haven’t seen in quite awhile.
Eagan Ward is the ward I attended in high school; it is also the ward that I attended the entire time I dated, and was engaged to Jeff. We lived there until we had been married for about 4 months. It was strange to see people from what seems like a different life time ago. I saw my Young Women’s leaders, and kids from when I taught the 6 year olds class. They have changed so much. I saw the mother of a friend of mine that died ten years ago this month. It brought back many memories. But I loved seeing all of these wonderful people from my past.
We came home to a cold house because our furnace died yet again. And then it died again. This morning they were here for what seemed like the millionth time, hopefully they will figure it out soon, because I am tired of being cold.
On Monday, I took Cori to dance and was greeted by all the other dance moms. They pointed out that some of them have not seen me since before Christmas because every week I have had sick kids at home. I was pleased to inform them that no one had thrown up in our house for at least a week and ½. Unfortunately, when Cori and I came home from dance, Nathan began throwing up. So now we have a new record to beat. Hopefully we can go two whole weeks with out the flu in our house.
We have decided to buy a new SUV this week. We are trying to figure out how exactly that is going to work, but we like the idea of having a vehicle that is under warranty and fits our family and luggage. Hopefully tomorrow we will get a good trade for the van and come home driving something that will work better.
Andrew’s eye seemed to clear up so we canceled the appointment with the specialist in Sioux Falls. Andrew has started saying a new word. It sounds like he is saying Na-Nan, or Nathan. But he says it to all of us, not just Nathan. But he does say Da.
Timmy is still getting into mischief and keeping on my toes. He is speaking much clearer. Today he keeps pointing to stars and saying star, it is quite clear.
Sam was able to get the apple bag this week. He brought a stuffed dog called man-man, or spider dog. He also is loving dance, they are doing the song “Who let the dogs out?” and he is doing really well.
Corinne’s dance is coming quite along. I was very impressed with her class this week they are really keeping together. Her reading is also doing well. We now have the kids each read a scripture as part of family scripture study, she is getting quite a few of the words right.
Nathan is wheeling all over the house in his heelies every chance he gets. He was just advanced in his AR reading level and he is now expected to read books between a 3.0-4.0, that means at a third grade level.
I am overwhelmed with the amount of laundry I should be doing, and find my self avoiding it while I play with the kids instead.
Jeff is attempting to fit work in between all he does for our family and church.
And there you have it a very long update, which I think would be much cuter if I had done it in individual blogs with pictures, but since I can’t at least I have something up there.

To Curl or not to curl

My mom, Corinne, and I spent Saturday morning getting our haircut and going clothes shopping. Cori's hair looks good. She just took the bangs that Cori has been growing out and layered the front of her hair, Cori likes it.
The hairdresser encouraged me to embrace my curls that have appeared after the last couple pregnancies. So I am attempting to work with curly hair, instead of just straigthening it. I am still undecided as to if I like it, but it seemed to work better today and it is only my second try. I have never been the greatest at hairstyling, but I would like to look less frumpy. So we shall see. Oh and by the way Emma I stole your diffuser from the downstairs bathroom at Mom & Dad's. I will give it back though.

So I was going to post the pictures for people to tell me if they like it or not. But the computer is not working. I am using the old laptop and cannot get pictures posted. GGGGRRRRR! That also means that I still am not posting the blog about our fabulous pirate vacation that we took for Christmas. Ah well

Random Survey

Random Survey
Name three things that are physically close to you:
Timmy, baseballs, and a half eaten banana (Timmy’s-it won’t be here for long)

Are you or were you a good student?
I was pretty good, when I wanted to be.

What's your favorite sport?
Baseball, I suppose since it is really the only one I watch

Do you enjoy sleeping late?
HMMMM, It’s been a long time. But even when given the option I cannot imagine sleeping past 9 am unless I have not had good sleep for awhile. So in general it depends on what you consider late. But in an ideal world, I would sleep all through the night and wake up around 8 am.

What's the weather like right now?
Very cold.

Who tells the best jokes?
I love when my kids tell jokes. Especially when Timmy tells his jokes; No one can understand a word he says, but his intonation is the exact same as one of the jokes an older sibling has just given, then he laughs hysterically. It is adorable.

What was the last thing you dreamed about?
I dreamed that all the kids had the flu, and I was trying to clean the house. Unfortunately, last night Nathan had the flu and I was trying to clean the house, so it was like my dream repeated my unpleasant evening.

Do you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up?
Scrambled with a fresh baked blueberry muffin on the side.

Do you like the smell of gasoline?
What? no.

Do like to draw?
Not really, I might doodle but in general I prefer to use the computer and find a graphic for anything I might need. But I love to color!
Is your room messy?
It is pretty messy right now. Mostly with clothes, but the closets really need to be purged.

Do you give in easily?
I don’t think so, but I suppose it depends on who the giving in involves.

What time did you wake up this morning?
6:30 am

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
A slice of my mom’s homemade bread toasted with butter and honey. (ok, it was more like 3 slices) I stole a loaf when we were visiting this past weekend, and I am enjoying it.

Do you have any nicknames?
Not really, sometimes someone might drop the y, so it sounds like Aim, I had nicknames in high school, but nothing but Amy for years.
What's your least favorite color?
hmmmm- I don’t know; probably the color of a poopy diaper when a kid has eaten too many fruit snacks or fruit loops. That is a gross color.

Is there someone you have been constantly thinking about?
something- we are focused on getting a new car

Who was the last person you spoke over the phone to?
My friend Lisa, she is going to watch Timmy so Jeff and I have lunch together while Sam is at dance class! Yay- A date!

What is your dream vacation?
Dream Family Vacation would be a trip to Disney world. I have never been, and I would love to take the kids there. I would want to bring other adults with to help with the kids though, so that would be really expensive. Dream vacation that would be relaxing would be a trip to a tropical island, Fiji or Hawaii, or anywhere I am not picky as long as was warm, with beaches, and a place to relax.

What color are your bed sheets?
Blue, eventually I would love to get a nice bedding set with nice sheets, but for now just blue.

Who was the last person to make you laugh?
Jeff

Do you have any obsessions right now?
Some people might think I am obsessed with my nursery calling, as I am trying to get everything set up and functioning smoothly. Other than that, I don’t think so.

Have you ever sat on a roof?
Of course! Best view of the fireworks at my parent’s house every 4th of July that I lived there

Have you ever been to a different country?
I feel very uncultured to admit that Canada and the Bahamas are the only countries I have visited. Hopefully someday my list will be a lot longer.

Name three things in the world you dislike:
Crazy mean people, anyone touching my feet, laundry

Do you believe in magic?
The tooth fairy just visited our house last night, Nathan lost his seventh tooth.

Firsts

I thought I would do this firsts list that my sisters did. I have other things I want to catch up and blog about like Christmas, but I don't have time and this seemed like it would be a quick little post. Here we go:
Firsts
First date? Well, it was with a guy named Greg, and anyone who knew my in middle school or high school knew him, too. We dated on and off (mostly on) for all but my Senior Year. I am not sure what you count as the first date though. Because between age 14 and 16 we tried to see each other every way possible without it technically being a date since I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16. I think he counted the time we went to see Toy Story with a group of friends and family, and some how ended up in a theatre row without the friends. But technically it would have been prom the week I turned 16. First date with my true love- Jeff and I went to the Spaghetti Factory on March 1, 1999.

First dance?I was in the 4th grade. I went to a Valentine's dance. Gerry and I were voted King and Queen. If that is too young to count than it would have been at a church dance at age 14. Nancy and Jessica were there. I had been watching from the sidelines when they ran over and told me to grab a shoe from the center of the dance floor. Each guy had thrown one of their shoes in the middle. I quickly did what my sisters told me to do, unaware that I was committing to dance with the owner of the shoe. When I realized what I had done, I was so nervous. I just kept telling myself as long as it is not Ben Slocombe I will be fine. Well, of course I beat the odds, and my first dance was with Ben Slocombe, the best 14 year old dancer I had ever seen. But the first dance with a guy I actually knew was at a dance in Chicago. It was with a guy named Troy, and it was to the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". First dance with Jeff. The New Year's Eve Dance , Dec 31 1998, Jeff asked me to dance for the first time.

First hand holding?Recess - 4th grade with Gerry, we promised to get married. He wanted 26 children, one for each letter of the alphabet. I told him I wasn't sure I could take care of more than 12, we settled on 18. If elementary school doesn't count, than it would be Greg when I was 15 at the movie theatre. First life-changing hand holding- With Jeff at the institute building in the library.

First kiss? On the cheek at the Valentine's Dance in 4th grade when Gerry and I were crowned king and queen. Otherwise, I was 16 and it was Greg. (see mom and dad I really tried to keep the 16 age rule) First Kiss with Jeff- I think it was in the entry way at his mom's house.

First time cutting someone else's hair?Nathan, I was so scared to mess up. I still prefer to bring the kids to the hairdresser.

First night at college?I lived at home for the first year of college, and I think I spent the first night after classes watching Star Trek. By the time I went away to college I was married, and when we arrived to BYU, the first night we went to my grandparents house for a game of scrabble and rootbeer floats.

First drinking party?I left every drinking party the second the alcohol came out until I was married. I have always avoided being around it. I missed a lot of cast parties that way. But now I have married someone who's family drinks. And the first time I met them we were at Jeff's Uncle Tom's house. Everyone but Jeff and I were drinking. It was a very strange experience for me. I don't know if family gatherings are technically drinking parties, but there is usually alcohol involved.

First experience with stuffed crust pizza?When working at Holiday Hot stuff Pizza, I made it many times before I actually ate it. Honestly, I don't care for it.

First time driving after getting your license?I actually don't remember. My brother made me get my driver's license when he came home from his mission and found out I had been avoiding taking the test. I tried to fail the test, but somehow passed it. And I avoided driving as much as I could. The only driving I did was to the gas station where I worked, and to Greg's house in Canada.First email address amosandgerg@hotmail.com (or something similar to that) I know it was a hotmail account andJessica set it up for me in the highschool computer lab.

First barbie? She was given to me in a doll cake. She had brown hair and a teal taffeta prom dress.

First name you picked out for your baby? Mark, unfortunately this name was quickly eliminated when I fell in love with Jeff. For a girl, Heather but that name was also elimainated when I fell in love with Jeff.

First pick in gym class? Actually once. I was shocked. It was for the game q-tips. I was really quite good at being aggressive and beating the popular mean girls with the giant gladiator sticks. I creamed a few mean boys that way too. Very Therapeutic. The new kid had noticed me over the first few days doing quite well and when he was team captain he picked me first. The entire 8th grade class was stunned. They all told him what a big mistake he made. But we won the entire tournament. I was usually the first pick in gym class in a different sense. I was the first pick in dodge ball, as in lets all cream Amy with the balls first. Sixpin was the same problem.

First in your class academically?Not over an entire school year, but in many classes I was usually top, until we moved. Then I discovered I wasn't as smart as I thought I was. It was just that I had gone to school with a lot of stupid people.

First on the scene of a crime?Only crimes of Timmy's making, not actual crimes

First on the scene of an accident? Only when I was in the car accident.

First day this week?Carbon Monoxide poisoning, see other post.

First thing this morning?I brought a bottle to Andrew

First thing this year?Fruit Smoothies and Cinnamon rolls with friends. Lots of fun.

First thing after graduating from high school- I went to hold my brand new nephew, Brandon born on my graduation day.

College?have not graduated

Who is the first person you will tag for this blog?Whomever wants to play.

Who is the first person who will actually do this?No pressure.

What is the first thing you will do when you are finished with this post? get my children dressed, try to get ready for a trip to the cities

My Jedi Warriors, and a Sith

One of the favorite Christmas presents of the boys were their new lightsabers. (They call them light-savers). All the siblings drew names so they could get one present for/from one other kid. Somehow in this gift exchange Timmy, Sam, and Nathan each ended up getting a new lightsaber. But than at Toys R Us, Nathan spent Papa and Grandma's gift money on yet another light saber, this time Count Dooku's. When they found out I was starting to blog again, they requested a picture with a few of their new weapons.

Stinkin' Fireplace!!!!!!!

Our furnace quit working Sat. Night. They came to fix it Sunday evening but did not have the part they needed so, they suggested we just run our gas fireplaces all night to stay warm. We let them run until about 2 in the morning. Then we went to bed. Jeff felt like he should close the doors to both the kids rooms, but we left our door open. That morning I woke up with a terrible headache, blurry vision and feeling slightly sick to my stomach. Just then Jeff, described how he was feeling and I realized we had a problem. I plugged in our carbon monoxide detector, and the alarm went off. After checking with my dad and confirming my fear, I called the gas company and we got everyone out of the house. I am so grateful Jeff had the prompting to close the kids doors, I fear we would have lost Andrew otherwise. Jeff took kids to school. I went to Leann's house with the younger kids until we got an all clear to go back home. It took many hours to feel better.

Star of the Week

Cori was star of the week last week. That means she got to be the special kindergarten helper. She brought Oreo cookies, pictures all about her, and made a robot poster. She was supposed to color it, but Cori the ever overachiever also insisted on writing the info herself instead of having me do it. (Of course I helped spell things)

Here is the information found on her special robot poster:

• I am special because I help with my little brothers.
• 
  
• I help others by being nice to everyone.
• My teacher is Mrs. Skog
• My birthday is (I am not sure I want to post this y'all should know that one anyway)


• Members of my family are Jeff, Amy, Nathan, Sam, Timmy, and Andrew


• When I grow up I want to be a dance teacher


• My favorite animal is a flamingo


• My favorite book is Fancy Nancy


• My favorite food is Chinese Food


• My favorite color is Pink


• Something I like to do at home is play with my family


• Something I like to do at school is choice time

New Church Calling

I was released from my calling at church. I was so sad. My calling had been teaching the primary children music. I love love loved it! It is the best calling in our whole entire church (in my not so humble opinion). You don't actually need to be able to conduct music (which I am horrible at), you get to do actions and visual aids. So you get to teach children while singing, and making cute fun things to do. My grandpa had a great love of music as well and I think that added to my sadness of being released. I am still sad that I am not in there with the primary kids. I love the songs that have been chosen for this years program, and had tons of ideas on how to teach them.

Luckily, the week after being released from my favorite calling, I did get another one. I am still the librarian, but now that everything is organized there is not as much to do there. And I do keep the main bulletin board updated. I have fun doing that, but it is only once a month. So my new calling is . . . .drum roll please . . . Nursery Leader. That means I still get to sing songs, now I do it with the toddlers. I am starting from scratch on a lot of things with it. The last lady was as sweet as can be with the kids. They definitely felt loved by her. However, for most of her time in there she did not have all the kids that will be there now. The church just came out with a new manual that is wonderful and will be so helpful. I have been busy creating a structured schedule with lessons, songs, games, crafts, visual aids for cute songs and my favorite - I found a parachute. Right now there are 6 kids in there (7 if you count Andrew and I do) plus another one that should be ready to go in by the end of summer. So 8 nursery kids. Timmy is the oldest, and the last one to join us in the summer is slightly younger than Andrew. This is a new thing for our little congregation, the most children there has ever been at one time was 4 and two were 4 year olds that shouldn't have been in there, but there was not a teacher for their age group. Our congregation is full of young families and we all have little ones so it is one of the larger groups. They are working on getting me an assistant, and a room big enough to contain them all. I am looking forward to making it a very structured, fun, safe place for the kids to be. I have now been in there for 2 weeks. The first week was nuts!! But they are already responding to having structure and the second week went much better. I am really excited to make this work. Timmy is a little hesitant at sharing me, but he is proud to have mom as his special teacher.

In the picture Timmy and Andrew are playing with a file folder game. I made a whole bunch of them. The games are slightly frustrating to me, as I cannot get the Velcro to stick to the back of the laminated pieces but I discovered if I sand paper the backs it helps. So now I need to find time to sandpaper the backs to a million little pieces. I already have plans to make more of these, because the kids love them. But before I make more of those I want to make flags for the primary colors song. I really think once an assistant is in place and we have a more permanent place to meet, things are going to go well. I love this kind of thing, and the kids are adorable, so it will be fun!

Timmy is 2!

Timmy turned 2. As my blog entries have shown Timmy loves to eat things when they are fresh baked and still found on the cooling rack. I decided that for his birthday I would give him what he wanted. So his cake finished baking minutes before the party and was placed in the center of the table still on a cooling rack. We served it that way, just cut into chunks, warm and unfrosted. But I couldn't bare to not have anything decorated, so he also enjoyed an Elmo ice cream cake. He blew the candles out all by himself. We had the Morgan's and Phelp's over (Bates couldn't make it). He loved it. We all had fun. When I was decorating he was upset that he could not get a good look at the banners. So I hung them at his eye level, so although the house to not look festive from my height, it was perfect for him. He loves every present he got and is now obsessed with Elmo. I hope to eventually get pictures onto the computer from the party.
Now that Timmy is two his daily mischief seems to be lessening. He still can find sweets wherever I hide them but other than kitchen mischief, he is staying out of trouble. (In the middle of typing this very entry Jeff called me upstairs to help clean up a mess. Timmy had tried to help himself to a tupperware of peaches. He spilled it and slurped all the peaches up off the floor, leaving a very sticky mess.
He loves his friend Hayden (Ava's little brother) and gets so excited when he can play with Raegan(a little girl that is 1). His best buddy is still Andrew. Timmy's number one goal in life seems to be teaching Andrew everything he knows. So he insists on feeding him, bringing him toys, and even helping bathe him. Timmy is talking now, but it is still difficult for people outside of our family to understand him. He weighs the same as when he was 1, at 33 lbs, he is only 1/2 a pound less than Sam. But he has grown taller, and although he is still big for his age, his height and weight match well.
He is still so funny and sweet. He is my very own gentle giant.

Grandma and Grandpa

My grandpa passed away. This was really sad. I think it was mostly hard since my grandma passed away less than a year earlier. We all knew when Grandma died, that Grandpa would not be far behind, they loved each other so much and it was hard for everyone to see them apart. And yet having both gone, closes a huge door from my childhood, and we will all miss them. I struggle to write my thoughts and memories of them down. My sisters have done a beautiful job on their blogs, and tears fell as I read my Aunt Laura's blog while blog hopping one day. It seems strange to write about it on a blog and yet I cannot bear to not include it. This blog is going to be our family journal and I think I should say something.

It was a strange feeling to be in Utah and not play scrabble, I was only in their house for a moment but it was already not the same. I am not sure I will ever be able to play scrabble with out feeling a little teary. I am sad my children will grow up not knowing them. I will always be grateful for the time I spent at BYU, because it gave me a chance to know them not only when I was a child but to spend grown up time with them when I could more thoroughly appreciate their stories, their example, my grandfather's wit, the scrabble games, and whole wheat buttermilk hotcakes. I have great childhood memories from long walks and music, to walnut trees and fishing, but knowing them as an adult added so much more depth to the previous memories. I think the time spent with them also helped Jeff understand me and some of the more quirky sides to me. Because every once in a while I will eat something or say something and Jeff will make a reference to them.
I loved the way my grandma would say "HOO -ray" when she was really happy. I loved my grandpa's smile when he did something Grandma thought was clever. I was amazed at the way my grandma would save everything and yet give anything to help someone else.
But overall I am glad that I know my grandparents are together in heaven. They loved each other so much and the hardest part of my grandma's funeral was seeing the pain and loneliness in my grandpa's eyes. I look forward to spending eternity with my husband at my side, and hope that when the time comes for one of us to leave this life that the other will not be far behind.