Adelyn is SIX!!

My Adelyn is six. I can hardly believe it! She has been loving kindergarten and is learning so much. Her most favorite thing lately is Rapunzel, thanks to the most recent Disney film Tangled. I had never seen the movie, but she REALLY wanted to have a Rapunzel party. So, I did what any desperate mother would do: I got on the internet and searched for other people's creative ideas. I found lots, and Adelyn and I had a great time preparing the invitations and decorations in anticipation of the big day.

The invite. (I photo-shopped out my address and phone number so I don't get any crazies on my doorstep expecting to join the festivities.)

We made a 16-foot braid out of yarn for the door.

The little lunch fixin's complete with flower and butterfly shaped PB&J's (I got that idea from Ryan's older sister).

We had the kids do a Tangled coloring page while we waited for all the girls to arrive.

We played hot-potato to princess music with Adelyn's Rapunzel Barbie. Instead of having the kids get out if they were holding the Barbie when the music stopped, they got to shout something out about Adelyn's birthday or the party. They were so funny.

For the craft, we made Pascal party blowers out of craft foam. The blower was his lizard tongue. Here is Jenna, Reese, and Savannah blowing theirs.

Next we played "Pin the frying pan on Flynn Rider." Ryan drew this poster using his mad art skills.

It looks like Hadlee got him right in the nose!

The chocolate fountain was a great addition to our lunch. We discovered that anything covered in rich chocolate tastes ten times better.

Adelyn's tower of cupcakes. She LOVES red velvet cake and she made me promise her we could have it for her birthday. She got her wish, though I am not fond of red cake crumbs all over my kitchen.

All the girls gathered around during the present opening. It was such a fun little party. Happy Birthday Adelyn!!


Adelyn's Favorites at Six

Favorite breakfast: gingerbread waffles and sausage
Favorite lunch: chicken nuggets and fries
Favorite dinner: sour cream enchiladas
Favorite drink: Sprite
Favorite treats: bubblegum and rainbow sticks
Favorite colors: yellow, blue, pink, and purple
Favorite hobbies: reading, coloring, drawing, ballet, riding bikes, making huts
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite movie: Tangled
Favorite TV show: "Magic School Bus"
Favorite book: Rapunzel's Journal, A Horse and a Hero, Kingdom of Colors
What she wants to be when she grows up: teacher, astronaut, mother, nurse
Best friends: Leah, Eliza, Emma, Jenna, Preston, and Annalise
Favorite vacation: Disneyland
Favorite game: Squashed Potatoes
Favorite animals: unicorns, dragons, kittens, puppies, and fish

Contruction Zone

We have been living in the midst of dust and dirt the past couple of months. Home improvements have consumed much of my thoughts and worries, so I thought I'd tell you about all the fun we've been having. First of all, for those of you who are unaware, we had the ugliest counter-top this side of the Mississippi and have been saving up to replace it. We were very grateful for a decent tax return this year and that was the first project we tackled. Here's the before and after.

Before: hideous color, bubble over the dishwasher, and a large crack in the piece beside the stove. The masking tape is a little dramatic as it was only the result of the granite installers having to remove our existing counter top to create a template for the new one. Still, it wasn't a very aesthetic addition to my kitchen for the eight days I had to wait for the new counter-top.

After: much nicer. It was quite a process having it installed and such, but it is finally over and we are enjoying having a nice, flat counter-top with no cracks.

Next project: finishing the basement. This hideous unfinished stairway has served as a portal for kids tracking dirt up into my kitchen for the past three years. I have vivid dreams of these stairs soon being carpeted.

It doesn't look like much, but this the beginnings of a bathroom. This is the doorway and the tall black thing is a toilet drain, which will have to be moved as I did not want the toilet to be the centerpiece of the bathroom.

This pile of wood symbolizes a long day of dust, pounding, and cutting. Ryan and our friend Aaron did all the framing themselves. They got most of it done in just one Saturday. They did a really great job and best of all, they did it fast.

Bring on the heat! I am proud to report that Ryan did all the heating and duct work himself. This is one of the best basement additions as my kids are little pansies and always complain about how it is too cold to play in the basement.

This is Ryan jack-hammering out the basement floor. He had to go through 6 inches of cement and right into the dirt to get to the drains. We currently still have a hole in our bathroom floor. This was definitely not my favorite part in this process; it felt more like a backward step. But like I said, the drains have to be moved.

Well, there you go. We have a frame, we have heat, we have electrical, and we have a big hole in our bathroom. Next comes new pipes and a bathroom floor, insulation, drywall, doors and moldings, paint, and . . . .CARPET!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Annalise at 18 Months

My little baby is growing up faster than I ever thought possible and it is killing me. She will be 2 in August! Where has the time gone?! It is truly a miracle that any of these pictures turned out at all. Annalise REFUSED to cooperate. She knew exactly where we wanted her to stand, so she stayed as far away from that spot as possible. The ONLY pictures we got were with me holding her. Then at the end of the session, the photographer got the idea to roll a ball over the area she wanted Annalise to stand. But Annalise was far too fast for her. She would run from her corner hide-out, grab the ball, and roll it back before the photographer could even get the camera up. After about 15 attempts, however, she got a few more great shots of my little red-head.

Annalise is the fastest mess-maker I have ever seen. Just the other day, she managed to climb onto the counter-top and peel three bananas an two oranges before I even realized she was out of my sight. She makes art out of all her food before she'll even think about eating it. But she also is a good cleaner. She loves to throw things in the trash can: remote controls, cell phones, tooth brushes, even trash sometimes. She also enjoys taking a washcloth to any mess. She LOVES babies and already knows how to care for them. She wraps them in blankets and takes them around in her mini-stroller while wearing a very proud motherly smirk.

She loves books, singing, and cuddle time. She thinks my lap is her own personal real estate and will fight anyone who thinks otherwise. She is already very stubborn and has decided that she is far too old to sit in her high chair; she much prefers sitting on the stools with the big kids. She loves playing with other friends and says "Hi" to everyone. She is such a little treasure. We just love her to pieces.

Favorite words: "Uh-oh," "Mama"
Nicknames: Lissy, Peach, Little Miss
Favorite things: playing with dolls, playing outside, eating, princesses, giving kisses.
Favorite color: purple
Favorite foods: oatmeal, bagels, oranges, fish sticks, raisins, tomatoes.
Dislikes: dogs, loud sounds.

My Valentine

I've been a little bit distracted and busy these last few months and have not made much time for blogging. But I didn't want to forget to post about my fun date with Ryan for Valentine's Day. Our stake hosted an amazing Valentine's Dance complete with beautiful decorations, a live band, desserts galore, and over a hundred other crazy couples going to town on the dance floor. They also did professional pictures (see above). It was so much fun!

At first, Ryan felt really silly and wouldn't dance much. But by the end, I had him totally relaxed and we had a blast just being goofy and laughing our heads off at each other. It was so wonderful to get away from the kids for an evening and just enjoy some special time together. [I had spent that entire week nursing SUPER sick kids back to health (see previous post for details) and the time off was especially needed.] We also went out to eat at a nice Thai place and enjoyed some delicious food. I feel so blessed to share my life with this amazing man. He is so good to me and to our kids. I love him so much. Happy (very late) Valentine's Day, Ryan!!

Growing Up

From previous experience, I've learned to dedicate the entire month of January to sickness. I keep my schedule completely open knowing that inevitably we will spend most everyday inside coughing, sneezing, moaning, blowing our noses, sucking on cough drops, throwing up, etc. Who could want to do anything else, right? So, I kept January pretty low-key and waited. Much to my surprise, the sickness never came.

Then came February. Ryan was the first to get hit. He was slammed on his back and missed three days of work (which is VERY uncommon for him). Then Preston got a fever. . .and no matter what I did, it never broke. He developed a RED head-to-toe rash and had a sore throat, congestion, and a cough. After three days of coughing, listlessness, and unrelenting temperatures of 104 and 105 degrees (and many conversations with my pediatrician's nurse), we took my poor little guy to see the doctor. He had strep throat with Scarlet Fever! That sounded like something people got in the 1800's; I don't recall ever knowing of someone having it. Well, we welcomed the antibiotics and I stayed up all night with him patting his body with cool rags and praying for the fever to finally break.

Meanwhile, Adelyn woke up the next day screaming in pain from her ear and throat. She and Annalise had also been fevering for several days. We took both the girls in thinking they too had strep, but Adelyn actually had an ear infection (more antibiotics for her) and Annalise just had a cold (thank goodness!).

Now we are all recovering. Preston's skin is clearing up, but peeling some. The kids' appetites are gradually coming back. All is well. But I just wanted to report that I think I'm FINALLY growing up! This is the first time that all my kids have been sick (oh, and I was sick that whole time too, by the way) that I managed to keep my head on straight and just take the obstacle with true patience and faith. Too often I get in this "wo is me" state and it makes situations like the past two weeks twice as difficult to deal with. It lessens my compassion and my connection to the Spirit, and I end up feeling really alone and miserable. This time, I am pleased to report that I truly did all in my power to just take it one day at time, even one hour or one minute at a time when it was really rough.

Well, as a result, I really feel that I have matured as a mother. I felt able to administer to my sick ones, at whatever time of night and through whatever hardship, and I was able to lose myself and love them the way Christ would. It is true that in losing yourself in service you really find yourself; find your true purpose, and love it. I feel all that much more confident in my ability to be a good mother, which is something for which I feel daily insecurity. This is probably old news for most mothers. I am embarrassed to say that it has taken me almost six years to reach this small milestone in my motherhood career. But that's life, I guess.

I heard a quote recently that I absolutely love. It is Julie B. Beck's mother's motto: "Welcome the task that makes you go beyond yourself, and you will grow." I have really been trying to imprint that thought upon my heart and feel grateful for the things in my life that test me, rather than just getting caught up in feelings of inadequacy and being overwhelmed. I feel like in a small measure the commitment to live with a more positive attitude has made a bit of an impression. And for this, I am very grateful.

The Grand Opening!

The highlight of every child's year: Christmas morning.

Adelyn has officially dumped out her stocking (notice the apple and oranges--my mother will be proud) and she is on to opening stocking stuffers.

Preston was very excited to get another airplane in his stocking.

Another excited face

Annalise had so much fun opening her presents this year. She loves her new puppets and dolls.

This is how I feel about my new Pyrex baking pans. I'm one of those weird wives who really appreciates practical gifts, probably more than the non-practical ones.

Ryan is pretty stoked about his new iPod alarm clock (I'm patting myself on the back for that one).

Yeah! I finally got a "Rocque" sign, thanks to Ryan's mom.

The kids enjoying their toys from Grandma after a breakfast of crepes, sausage, and hot cocoa. Thanks so much Grandma!!

Adelyn all bedazzled. With Amber's help, she spent a good portion of Christmas day assembling all this jewelry from the jewelry-making kit she got in her stocking. We got to spend most of Christmas day at Ryan's moms enjoying good food and just hanging out. It was so fun for the kids to just play together and relax and talk. I was put on call again that night and never had to go into work. I was so grateful! That was my Christmas miracle--to spend all this special time with my little family.

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Chritmas Eve with my family this year. I was scheduled to work and dreaded having to miss the party this year. But my prayers were answered when I was put on-call and never had to go in! We had a delicious dinner and lots of fun. I'm so glad I didn't miss out.

My mom has been sewing her heart out these past two months to make a custom pillow case for each of her 37 grand-kids. She did such a great job. Preston and Adelyn were thrilled with theirs.

It looks like Annalise preferred Preston's to her own though. She kept putting it on her head and laughing.

We had all the cousins dress up and be parts in the Nativity story. My dad read Luke 2 and my talented Aunt Judy played her violin to the different Christmas songs that coordinated with the scripture story. It was almost professional. :) Adelyn played an angel for the third year in a row. It takes quite a lot of seniority in my family to play the part of Mary. Maybe next year. . .

My nephew Brigham made a great wise-man. After the nativity, we just sang more Christmas carols and enjoyed the rest of the night before driving our kids home and tucking them in for the night. They were so excited for Christmas!!

One of my favorite things to do all year is be Santa's elf for a night.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Break and Traditions

We had the fortunate blessing of having Ryan with us for the entire two-week Christmas break this year. We has been wonderful and we did a lot of fun things together. Ryan took Adelyn, Preston, and three of the neighbor kids sledding a couple times. We also took the kids out to Brick Oven to celebrate a great 2010 and Ryan and Adelyn's perfect report cards :). We also took the kids to Salt Lake to see their cousins who were in town from Washington. They had three sleep-overs at Grandma's house and had endless hours of play-time. We also built another gingerbread house, which the kids always enjoy. And, of course, we did a lot of just hanging out together: watching movies, laying around, playing games, and laughing.

The kids love making our laundry basket into a "boat" by stuffing it full of pillows and blankets and taking turns pushing each other around the house. Annalise was the fortunate rider this time.

One Christmas tradition we started last year and continued this year was making a Christmas chain counting down the days until Christmas. On each link, we had a scripture about Christ to read and a Christmas carol to sing before bed. Then we read the kids a Christmas story.

We also had an FHE about service. We read them a story about how by serving others, we are really serving Christ. We made each of the kids a small manger out of pretzels and marshmallows. Then we encouraged them to do service, and each time they did they could add a piece of straw to Baby Jesus' manger.

The last tradition we did was on Christmas morning. We talked about what gift we would like to give Jesus. With a little encouragement, the kids each decided they wanted to try to keep the Spirit in our home better by not fighting with each other as much. I'm planning to make a peacemaker chart so they can put a sticker up for all the times they almost got upset, but instead chose to be a peacemaker. It turned out to be a really meaningful December. We thought these little things helped our kids remember who we were really celebrating this holiday season.

Addie's Dance Performance

As I am still not very proficient at uploading video to my computer, you will have to accept the photo version of Adelyn's December in-class dance performance. Her class did a beautiful dance to the Russian piece of the Nutcracker. Adelyn just loves all that she is learning and does such a great job.

The girls chassé together in a circle.

Perfect form

The ending pose

Mashayla, Anika, Adelyn,
Miya, Chloe W., Camille, and Chloe B.

The proud mama.

Family Pictures

My good friend Annie took these pictures for us this past Saturday. We were so grateful she was willing to do that for us, and she did a fabulous job. I'm so happy to have them done!

My little family.

Cute Addie

Where our family began...

One of the only smiles we got out of little Annalise before she decided she was freezing and didn't want to be outside anymore.

I love it when Adelyn is being silly.

Another group shot.

My Preston guy with a pink nose (it was so cold!)