October

So much for posting one-a-day until I am caught up....Anyway, October was busy, to say the least. The lease on our current crappy duplex rental was quickly approaching it's deadline. We had decided that although we felt better about continuing to rent, rather than buy, we definitely wanted to get into a better place than the one we were currently living in. So began the painful task of calling on rentals, scheduling visits, looking at places, etc., etc. You can see how "over-it" Sam is by his milk-drunken stupor as he lays on the floor finishing off his last bottle for the night. So beings the moving. We found a place that we both LOVE! It's a historical home, with what seems to be a LOT more space. Ironically, it only has an additional 100 sq. ft. than our last rental, but feels like 1200 because it is laid out so well. Also, it has lots of windows and built-in's, so there is also a lot of storage space inside the house. It is a historical home on a busy street, but our back yard is fully fenced and the original hard-wood floors were just too charming to pass up. I L-O-V-E it. This is the outside. Maybe one day when everything is nice and clean I will take some pictures of the inside. Until then, isn't this just about the cutest white house with bright blue shutters you have ever seen!?! This is Sam monkey-walking around on the concrete drive of our old rental while we are loading up the car with boxes. At this time (already 1!) he wasn't able to walk, but loved being outside. Instead of crawling and scuffing his knees, he found this suited his needs quite well. Elsie refusing to let me pack her "like-new" winter boots. She trotted around in this little number for several days. Sam on the phone. It seems like he started "talking" on the phone much earlier than Elsie did. Perhaps because Elsie only saw me on the phone, and Sam sees both me and her, and doesn't want to feel left out. At any rate, I love how he shoves that phone right into his chubby little cheek. Here is Sam grabbing a quick snack and visiting while I pack boxes. Such enthusiasm... Elsie finishing off her Popsicle while we make trips to and from the car with boxes. We had officially moved by the time this picture was taken. We visited the Nature Center in Boise. The kids loved it. Here is Sam in our new backyard. He is enjoying the fall weather while Elsie & I rake up the leaves. Which, by the way, there were a lot of. I had no idea the "joys" mature landscaping could bring to a family. We did have fun, though. Playing in the leaves and working outside together. Elsie insisted on helping, so I grabbed an old broom and let her sweep up the leaves I missed. It was fun to have her working outside with me. Oh! Here is a picture from inside our house. This is a small peak into our front room. The window seals are just low enough that Sam can peak outside and watch the traffic go by. He loves looking outside, and will give a hoot and wave to anyone he sees walking by. Ahhh. This is a fun one. Elsie's cousin was spending the night. After a big, fun day of playing, we gave the kids baths. Sam was first. Once he finished up and was dressed for bed we let Elsie & her cousin get in. I walked into the other room to throw all their clothes in the laundry hamper when Elsie and her cousin start calling for me to please "get Sam out!" I went in to find him like this. He had crawled over the side of the tub (thank goodness the tub wasn't full) and he was playing in the water - fully clothed. I called Tyler in to keep an eye on all of the kids so I could grab the camera. Sam was so happy, and thoroughly disappointed when we pulled him out, dried him off, and quickly put him to bed for the night. Needless to say, we keep an even closer eye on the kids when they are anywhere near the bathroom now. Much too ambitious. Awe. Here are the Halloween pics. Too long in coming, I know. Sam was a dragon. A very sleepy dragon when I took this picture. His regular 6:30 p.m. bedtime routine just isn't conducive to late-night holidays.And here is our precious butterfly. I made the skirt, then braided some of the left-over tulle from the skirt into Elsie's hair. Turned out pretty cute for my first home-made Halloween costume. Elsie loves playing dress-up in the skirt with her cousin, who was also a butterfly.

What happend to September?

Wow. I really can't believe it has been since the 1st of August since I updated our blog. On the down side, I have a LOT of catching up to do. On the up side, won't it be fun to see all of the updates?! I am hoping to pound out one update a day until we are current. Shouldn't take too long, if I do a month at a time, right? Let's see how it goes.... Our great friend, DeNae, made these cute tie-dyed shirts for my kids. The kids love them. Elsie wouldn't wear anything else until we finally had it out and she took it off because it was "smelly" and I was able to wash it. Since then she refers to it as her "exercise shirt". I don't know if this is because it is more of a t-shirt than her other shirts, or if it is because when we get home from the gym and I haven't had a chance to shower, she will come up and sniff me and say, "Mommy, you are smelly!" ONE TIME. ONE TIME I referred to her cute new shirt as "smelly" and now she insists on wearing it to the gym so she can "exercise", and when we get home she will put on a different shirt. Cute. And irritating. Here is a picture of both squeakers with their new shirts on. This was Sam in September. He looks so big here. Elsie, rockin' her shades. She loves these glasses, and every time we head outside she is yelling at me to find them as fast as I can so the sun doesn't "tickle my eyes!" Here she is playing between the wall and the fridge. I guess she got over her phobia of getting stuck in that tight spot. I also love this outfit she is wearing. My sister gave her this cute, fluffy skirt when we were in Rexburg last summer, and I was often trying to hide it from Elsie. She always seemed to find it, though. I definitely need to get better at hiding things... She also loved this bright blue shirt, and ESPECIALLY loved wearing the 2 of them together. I am so glad they look cute together, because this is what she wore during most of the late summer months. Here we have Elsie playing dolls with Dad, who is trying to sleep... How many times do I have to tell him that if he wants a good nap, he needs to go to BED?!? Sam getting into the pantry. I was able to catch them in there before Elsie had a chance to drag him out kicking and screaming. He had been doing this for a couple of days, and Elsie hated it. She would always drag him out by the leg, then go in there by herself (even though there is plenty of room for both of them) and close the door so Sam couldn't get in. Sam would then start screaming/yelling at the top of his lungs until I would come in and open the door for him.At the end of September I was able to meet up with some friends from Colorado and Idaho for the Relief Society Broadcast of General Conference. We spent the weekend at a condo. Shopped, ate, laughed like crazy. I love these gals and can't wait for our get-together next year.

I Know.

I do. I know. I know it is my fault that Elsie "changed" Sam's diaper this morning while I was editing some photos on my computer. I know that it was a BIG mistake to ask her to go talk to him while I finished up. I know that I should have been more aggressive when I told her to stop climbing in Sam's crib (which is a fun, new thing in our house). I now know what all the other mothers in my life feel like when their kids get waaay too quiet, and walk in to find baby poop smeared all over the place. Kids, blankets, walls. SICK. I also know that those of you who have had kids, are quietly chuckling to yourselves (just as my kids were at the time) as you read this. Lesson learned.

July

Started out hot and fun in a mud puddle in my parents driveway. When I was a kid we irrigated our lawn. When we did this, my Mom would send all of us outside to play in the HUGE mud puddle that was usually our driveway. We would play in that for hours. Giving us some great time as a family (the neighbors would also join the fun) and my Mom some precious time to herself. Those days are long gone, as my parents now have a sprinkler system. However, each summer we flood the driveway (as well as we can with only a hose) and send the kids out to play. It took very little persuasion from me to get Sam involved in the fun.These girls are a different story. It took about 30 minutes for them to warm up to the idea. It wasn't until I jumped in and started building a dam that they started to see the purpose to it all. Oh! We get to get dirty!?! Once the Moms got involved the girls started to have a much better time.As you can see here... On another morning Elsie started the day off right (at 6:00 a.m., of course) outside. Here she is sporting her "princess" skirt from my sister (which was seldom taken off during the whole month of July), Shoe Shoe (her stuffed puppy), and Cutie Pie (her pink pony). 4th of July parade. Fireworks at the reunion. When they would go off, and make loud noises, Elsie would cover her mouth. Weird. Sam waking up from his nap, and Grandma. Elsie was a stinker when we were trying to get our family picture taken (shown above!), Tyler is trying to get her to laugh here. Which, of course, she does. Great shot of our little guy. A brief glimpse into our future of having a girl, I am sure. Sam splashing in the water.

June!

Here is what happened in June. Make yourselves comfortable. This is going to be a long one.... I went to girls camp this year as the Assistant Camp Director. I loved it, because I got to go, but I wasn't "in charge". It was just the right blend of responsibility and relaxation. I took some good advice from a friend of mine, and made sure I didn't do as good of a job as I could have, in an effort to avoid being called into the YW Presidency. Kidding. I'm kidding, right...? Anyway, we did our hike before we went up to girls camp (weird, I know). Tyler took this picture of me with Sam. We did a pre-hike to make sure it wasn't going to be too difficult for the girls. It was a great evening spent in the Boise foothills. Sam did well in the back pack, and was only a little fussy when we were at the top where the wind was stronger. This is Tyler with Daryl. They are 2 peas in a pod. Daryl is my cousin Emily's husband. He is a lot of fun, and Tyler loves having him around. So do I, of course. Here is Elsie with her cousins eating ice cream. She ADORES these girls. They have a lot of fun together. Sam, playing outside with Elsie & Mommy, waiting for Dad to get home. I like this picture. Elsie chased a squirrel up a tree in the park. She is yelling "Squirrel! Where are you!?!" trying to get it to come back down so she can play with it. At the zoo with Kelli and Co. The girls are taking a snack break here in the stroller. On our way from the zoo, back to the car. Elsie was too tired to walk the remaining 10 feet to the car at this point. Hence the meltdown that ensued as soon as we got her buckled into her car seat.I was making bread, and caught Elsie in the flour bucket. I thought I had taken care of the mess (putting the lid back on the bucket). Only to turn around and find this. Elsie had filled her own "tiny" bowl of flour (just like mommy!), and was sharing it with Sam. Mommy's helper. LOL! When in Rexburg my sister drew kitty faces on all of the kids (and adults). I love this picture of Elsie, because of the way her lips are puckered. The entire time Teresa was painting her face Elsie was puckering up. I have no idea why, other than she wanted to make sure she looked fabulous! Sam playing in the water at Beaver Dick Park. The Snake river is SUPER high this year, so most of the park is flooded. We walked through the water to get to the playground, and he is splashing around. He LOVES water! Elsie and her 2 cousins. That's the update for July. Hope you enjoyed!

Three Amigas

Wow. I can't believe it has been since May since I last updated our blog. I thought I would start the blogging marathon I am about to embark on with a picture of some of my favorite people. Who also happy to be family. Just coincidence? I think not. I am so grateful to have such great friends/family so close to me in Idaho. This was a hot day that we got together to visit, eat food, and splash around in the wading pool. It was a blast.