...it's because the girl scouts have eaten me alive!! This is the BIG weekend for my FIRST OFFICIAL overnight camp out as a girl scout leader. I am simultaneously freaking out, excited, stressed, anxious, nauseous, and chomping at the bit to JUST GET IT OVER WITH!! I know it will all be fine in the end, but STILL!!
me=FREAKING OUT!!
I'll be a better blogger when this is behind me!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Fall Open House 2011
Welcome to my house for FALL y'ALL!! Ha ha ha!!
'Member when we did this a few years ago? Wasn't it fun to show everyone our fall decorations? Hint, hint!! So without any further adieu...I give you "Fall in Tonica, 2011"!!
Sorry this is a little blurry...what you can't really see are all the creepy crawly plastic spiders in my apothecary jars and sprinkled here and there...
A little from Mom and little from Mo...this little arrangement reminds me of my family.
Ta da!! New couch and chair set! No, we didn't just get this for Halloween. We stumbled upon a screamin' deal whilst mattress shopping. Couldn't pass it up and we love them!! We finally don't have to sink into the floor when we sit down! Yay!
Favorite Halloween fence made with Laurie in Rexburg back in the day. I think I've had this for 13 years now.
Peanuts Halloween on top of the piano...becoming a tradition to set up the Halloween "nativity" here each year.
We also got a new dining room table...we can finally all eat at the dinner table!
Don't you just love this time of year? I know I say this all the time, but there's just something so cozy and fun about Fall and Halloween. Seriously one of my faves. Wish I could invite you all over for cider, donuts, and a good old fashioned chili cook-off!
From our house, to yours...who's next?!?
'Member when we did this a few years ago? Wasn't it fun to show everyone our fall decorations? Hint, hint!! So without any further adieu...I give you "Fall in Tonica, 2011"!!
Sorry this is a little blurry...what you can't really see are all the creepy crawly plastic spiders in my apothecary jars and sprinkled here and there...
A little from Mom and little from Mo...this little arrangement reminds me of my family.
Ta da!! New couch and chair set! No, we didn't just get this for Halloween. We stumbled upon a screamin' deal whilst mattress shopping. Couldn't pass it up and we love them!! We finally don't have to sink into the floor when we sit down! Yay!
Favorite Halloween fence made with Laurie in Rexburg back in the day. I think I've had this for 13 years now.
Peanuts Halloween on top of the piano...becoming a tradition to set up the Halloween "nativity" here each year.
We also got a new dining room table...we can finally all eat at the dinner table!
Don't you just love this time of year? I know I say this all the time, but there's just something so cozy and fun about Fall and Halloween. Seriously one of my faves. Wish I could invite you all over for cider, donuts, and a good old fashioned chili cook-off!
From our house, to yours...who's next?!?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Parker-isms
As many of you remember, Parker turned 2 in September. It seems like ever since her birthday she has literally kicked it up a notch. She is a crazy woman! She is talking more, running around more, making more messes, getting into more stuff, sleeping less, eating less, and making us laugh till our cheeks hurt! She is such a delight to all of us, and is growing up so fast that I thought I would dedicate a post to all of the fun things Parker is doing at 2.
-Maryn has been playing soccer this season, and Parker loves going to her "socca games". Whenever we are out, she asks if we can go to the "socca game". She calls all balls "socca balls", and wears Maryn's cleats every chance she gets.
-Parker has figured out the whole airplane in the sky phenomenon. She can spot a plane in the sky while we are driving! And if she hears something overhead, she insists on stopping and pointing and saying over and over again, "aye-pane!"
-With Halloween coming, she has noticed the plethora of pumpkins. Instead of just calling them "punkins", she calls them "punkin seeds". So every time she sees one, that's what you get..."punkin seeds". Go figure!
-I bought a CD from Deseret Book called Popcorn Bopping. It is Parker's new fave. She insists on listening to her "favorite songs" when we are driving. Her #1 fave is Pioneer Children sang as the walked, and walked, and walked, and you get the idea. Her 2nd fave is Popcorn popping and she does a pretty good job with the hand gestures too. Seeing her little finger wag for "it wasn't really so" is pretty awesome.
-When she really, really wants anything she resorts to repeating it a million times, which can be highly irritating. Except that she inserts an "uh" between words, so the word "nugget" (for chicken nuggets) turns into "nuggets-uh-nuggets-uh-nuggets-uh-nuggets." Kinda cracks me up.
-Her favorite thing to do right now is play with her pots and pans and play food in her kitchen. She plays "cookin'". The best part is that she has these little salt and pepper shakers which she shakes furiously into the pots and bowls and what not. It cracks me up that already at the age of 2 she understands the necessity of seasoning a dish juuuuust right! LOL!!
-Her other favorite thing to do is go outside. But what kid doesn't love this, I ask you? She loves her "wee" (swing), and her "bean tay-bow" (bean table). It's one of those sand/water tables that I put pinto beans in instead of sand and water cuz quite frankly I hate sand and water. She also is getting more comfortable with her bike and her car.
-And lest I forget, Parker loves her shows. She definitely has her parent's blood in her! Her favorite show right now is Bubble Guppies, which she calls "puppies". She could watch it all day. I try and vary her viewing however to Sesame Street, Brain Baby, Dora, and Mickey Mouse though.
-For Halloween, she will be Supergirl...blue and red version, not the silly pink one.
-She still eats pretty well, but is starting to get pickier every day. Her beverage of choice is juice, not milk (unless it's in her bottle...eek!). The other thing that she has learned to love lately is pickles! Cracks me up..she'll swipe them off our plates when we go out to eat. And of course, following in her sister's footsteps, this girl will eat anything if it is dipped in RANCH!! Ha ha!!
-She hides when she poops. Her favorite place to go right now is the play closet in the family room. If I peek in on her, she puts her hands up and says NO! She has to finish her business in there. Guess it's time to start the potty talk. BLAH!!!!!!!
-When she is throwing a tantrum, she has her little routine of protest. First she will say nooooo! and close her eyes, then she will chuck something across the room, then she hits (I know!), then she screams (I know!), then she starts to spit until drool will come out, then she will stick her tongue out halfway and give you a blank stare. By the end of it, we are all crying from trying NOT to laugh.
So there you have a little taste of Parker Faye at 2. She is hilarious, smart, cute, and so much fun!! We love our little PFB!!
-Maryn has been playing soccer this season, and Parker loves going to her "socca games". Whenever we are out, she asks if we can go to the "socca game". She calls all balls "socca balls", and wears Maryn's cleats every chance she gets.
-Parker has figured out the whole airplane in the sky phenomenon. She can spot a plane in the sky while we are driving! And if she hears something overhead, she insists on stopping and pointing and saying over and over again, "aye-pane!"
-With Halloween coming, she has noticed the plethora of pumpkins. Instead of just calling them "punkins", she calls them "punkin seeds". So every time she sees one, that's what you get..."punkin seeds". Go figure!
-I bought a CD from Deseret Book called Popcorn Bopping. It is Parker's new fave. She insists on listening to her "favorite songs" when we are driving. Her #1 fave is Pioneer Children sang as the walked, and walked, and walked, and you get the idea. Her 2nd fave is Popcorn popping and she does a pretty good job with the hand gestures too. Seeing her little finger wag for "it wasn't really so" is pretty awesome.
-When she really, really wants anything she resorts to repeating it a million times, which can be highly irritating. Except that she inserts an "uh" between words, so the word "nugget" (for chicken nuggets) turns into "nuggets-uh-nuggets-uh-nuggets-uh-nuggets." Kinda cracks me up.
-Her favorite thing to do right now is play with her pots and pans and play food in her kitchen. She plays "cookin'". The best part is that she has these little salt and pepper shakers which she shakes furiously into the pots and bowls and what not. It cracks me up that already at the age of 2 she understands the necessity of seasoning a dish juuuuust right! LOL!!
-Her other favorite thing to do is go outside. But what kid doesn't love this, I ask you? She loves her "wee" (swing), and her "bean tay-bow" (bean table). It's one of those sand/water tables that I put pinto beans in instead of sand and water cuz quite frankly I hate sand and water. She also is getting more comfortable with her bike and her car.
-And lest I forget, Parker loves her shows. She definitely has her parent's blood in her! Her favorite show right now is Bubble Guppies, which she calls "puppies". She could watch it all day. I try and vary her viewing however to Sesame Street, Brain Baby, Dora, and Mickey Mouse though.
-For Halloween, she will be Supergirl...blue and red version, not the silly pink one.
-She still eats pretty well, but is starting to get pickier every day. Her beverage of choice is juice, not milk (unless it's in her bottle...eek!). The other thing that she has learned to love lately is pickles! Cracks me up..she'll swipe them off our plates when we go out to eat. And of course, following in her sister's footsteps, this girl will eat anything if it is dipped in RANCH!! Ha ha!!
-She hides when she poops. Her favorite place to go right now is the play closet in the family room. If I peek in on her, she puts her hands up and says NO! She has to finish her business in there. Guess it's time to start the potty talk. BLAH!!!!!!!
-When she is throwing a tantrum, she has her little routine of protest. First she will say nooooo! and close her eyes, then she will chuck something across the room, then she hits (I know!), then she screams (I know!), then she starts to spit until drool will come out, then she will stick her tongue out halfway and give you a blank stare. By the end of it, we are all crying from trying NOT to laugh.
So there you have a little taste of Parker Faye at 2. She is hilarious, smart, cute, and so much fun!! We love our little PFB!!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Autumnal Splendor
The girls and I decided to take advantage of the long weekend by going to Michigan to enjoy the colors and splendor of Autumn. I really don't think there is anything like it in the world. Fall in Michigan for me represents home, family, warmth, beauty, new beginnings, and feeling alive. I absolutely love it, and am trying to instill that love and appreciation in my kids.
Mark was in Arizona presenting a paper at the RMMLA Conference, soaking in the sun, seeing some of his first palm trees, and enjoying Tia Rosa with the Normans while the 4 of us gals frolicked and played in the fall sun, taking in the atmosphere with every fiber of our beings.
We met up with the Griswold's at a Cider Mill in Plymouth called Three Cedars. It was lots of fun. We enjoyed a hayride out to a pumpkin patch, drank some yummy cider and ate hot, fried cinnamon sugar donuts. They had cute exhibits for the kids to enjoy including storybook animals, playgrounds and slides, a wooden choo choo train, sidewalks to ride tractors on, and a huge grain bin to play in. It was impressive. The kids had a lot of fun playing, and it was fun to just enjoy the weather and be together.
The rest of our weekend was spent visiting with Grandma (Grandpa was in Utah with the Day's for Max's baptism), and Aunt Vicki all the way from Spokane!! It was great to sit and talk and watch the kids play. Moments like these just don't happen often enough. Not to mention the fact that these kids just keep growing up and soon we will wish we could just sit around and watch them play. There I go gettin' all sentimental again!
Anyway, even though it was a bit exhausting wrangling the girls across 3 states to get there and back, it was an awesome trip and am so glad we went!! Can't wait until the next one!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Memories of my Father-in-Law
Yesterday was a tough day for us. It marks a year since Dennis passed away. It's hard to believe that a whole year has past without seeing him, talking to him, or having him in our lives. We miss him and Laurie tremendously, but we have also found a way to live without them, and move on with our lives. We hold our memories of them close to our hearts, and enjoy laughing and talking about them often. Every now and then something will remind us of them, or we laugh about what they would think of something, or how we do things because we know they would approve or do likewise. In those ways, they are still very real and a part of our daily lives and who we are.
I loved finding this little video from Dennis' camera that he took of Parker the week they came out to visit us last September. Parker had just turned 1, and wasn't quite walking yet. Instead she was scooting around on her knees. If she couldn't get there fast enough, she resorted to hopping on her knees. It was hysterical to watch, and of course, Dennis couldn't get enough of it. He thought it was the cutest thing! He took this video and you can hear the delight in his voice. He had such a funny way of saying things, didn't he? I didn't realize how much I missed just hearing his funny expressions or his giggle, but especially seeing my children through his eyes. I doubt he ever considered that any of his grand kids could every do any wrong. He loved each one of them, and treasured his time with them. What an example to us! I miss that perspective a lot.
I agree with what Dave said in his post. I think they are able to check in on us from time to time. I think they would be so pleased and proud of every last one of us. And I'm sure they miss us as much as we miss them. Even though they are far away, they are still in our hearts and in our minds forever.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Naughty Number Nine
Isn't that School House Rock song sooooo appropriate for this milestone?!? Ha ha!! Especially considering our mischevious, highly-independent, strong-willed Avery Jane?!? Ha ha again!!
Any-hoo, Avery celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday. That would be right on the heels of her 2 year old sis Parker. Now I know what the Duggars must feel like having multiple children with multiple birthdays and probably having birthdays that fall really close to each other. Wait, did I just say that?!? That I could possibly, ever relate to what the Duggars are feeling?!? Ha ha again!!
Avery started her birthday off by getting an extra hour to sleep in in the morning. That's right, I took her in late for her bonus birthday hour. I figured that was something that would bear it's weight in gold for her.
After school, she helped make her birthday brownies, and then opened her presents before we went out to dinner at her favorite Chinese Buffet.
She got presents from her sisters.
She got presents from both sets of Grandparents. One was in lieu of the Brown's. When the idea came to me, it seemed too good to pass up.
Money and a book from Grandparents Day...
And a Cleopatra costume from Grandparents Brown...Mark thinks that is the most perfect "Laurie" present ever...
And then she got the BIG GIFT from her dear ole' Mum 'n' Dad...something she has been wanting for years...something we felt like this 9 year old girl deserved after long last...her beloved DS 3D!! Yay!! She was so excited she started to cry. I just love that! Making my kids cry out of sheer joy! Priceless!
Anyway, we are so grateful to have our sweet and sassy Avery, and enjoyed another birthday with our (not so much anymore) little rubber-leg, square-mouth, round-faced, perfectly milky white skinned bundle of adventure!!
Any-hoo, Avery celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday. That would be right on the heels of her 2 year old sis Parker. Now I know what the Duggars must feel like having multiple children with multiple birthdays and probably having birthdays that fall really close to each other. Wait, did I just say that?!? That I could possibly, ever relate to what the Duggars are feeling?!? Ha ha again!!
Avery started her birthday off by getting an extra hour to sleep in in the morning. That's right, I took her in late for her bonus birthday hour. I figured that was something that would bear it's weight in gold for her.
After school, she helped make her birthday brownies, and then opened her presents before we went out to dinner at her favorite Chinese Buffet.
She got presents from her sisters.
She got presents from both sets of Grandparents. One was in lieu of the Brown's. When the idea came to me, it seemed too good to pass up.
Money and a book from Grandparents Day...
And a Cleopatra costume from Grandparents Brown...Mark thinks that is the most perfect "Laurie" present ever...
And then she got the BIG GIFT from her dear ole' Mum 'n' Dad...something she has been wanting for years...something we felt like this 9 year old girl deserved after long last...her beloved DS 3D!! Yay!! She was so excited she started to cry. I just love that! Making my kids cry out of sheer joy! Priceless!
Anyway, we are so grateful to have our sweet and sassy Avery, and enjoyed another birthday with our (not so much anymore) little rubber-leg, square-mouth, round-faced, perfectly milky white skinned bundle of adventure!!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Parker Turns 2
Parker's Birthday celebration, narrated by the one and only, Miss P.
Cousins come house.
Dess beh-s (dress bears), pay socca balls (play basketball).
baby bwoh-w can-ulls...fire...{blowing sounds}.
{Parker, do you like your cake?} Yay! Cake, can-ulls, yummmm!
Cookin'!!
Pot, spoon, food, haygs (eggs), fyes (fries), yay!...{clapping}.
Because Erin and I are on the same wave length much of the time, we actually bought birthday presents within the same theme. We seriously didn't plan this, but it was perfect!! We bought her a play kitchen and a bucket of food, and the Griswold's got her a bucket of cooking equipment and a Strawberry Shortcake cooking DVD. Isn't that hilarious?!? She absolutely loves it, and hasn't stopped playing with it yet. Yes! I love toys like that!
It was a great birthday for little Miss P. Now instead of referring to herself as "baby", she now calls herself "two". She also loved hearing all of us sing her the "day" song. It was a great birthday. Parker can't possibly be any cuter. We love our {now official} toddler birthday girl!!
Cousins come house.
Dess beh-s (dress bears), pay socca balls (play basketball).
baby bwoh-w can-ulls...fire...{blowing sounds}.
{Parker, do you like your cake?} Yay! Cake, can-ulls, yummmm!
Cookin'!!
Pot, spoon, food, haygs (eggs), fyes (fries), yay!...{clapping}.
Because Erin and I are on the same wave length much of the time, we actually bought birthday presents within the same theme. We seriously didn't plan this, but it was perfect!! We bought her a play kitchen and a bucket of food, and the Griswold's got her a bucket of cooking equipment and a Strawberry Shortcake cooking DVD. Isn't that hilarious?!? She absolutely loves it, and hasn't stopped playing with it yet. Yes! I love toys like that!
It was a great birthday for little Miss P. Now instead of referring to herself as "baby", she now calls herself "two". She also loved hearing all of us sing her the "day" song. It was a great birthday. Parker can't possibly be any cuter. We love our {now official} toddler birthday girl!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)