Beauty or Brains??

Ok, a month or so ago Katie came home with her Monday Madness folder. It's the corrected work and tests from the previous week at school. Anyway, I was just going through, just glancing mainly at her grades and was happy with the great work she had done. I have been very fortunate to not worry about Katie in school. She's smart, hard working and always does more than expected. She loves to help other kids in her class and when she's home, she likes to plan a school day for Alyssa. Anway, I was at the computer a few days later and just happened to glance at this spelling test again. I never get to study spelling with her so I was curious as to what words she had been learning.

Well, here are a few things I noticed:

1. Katie is starting to draw and doodle on her papers.....Yes! Just like I did in School. The Hearts.. The Squiggly lines.. The Curly Q's.

2. Her cursive looks good

3. 20 words that seemed like a good challenge (at least some of them are the words that if you had to spell them out loud that "I" would probably have to write them on a piece of paper to see if it looked right.)

4. 100%

5. Dotting her "i" with a heart and....what's this.... She gets 100% on her spelling words but the very first word she titles her page with and she spells it, how?

I THINK WE GOT A LITTLE CRAZY WITH THE CURLY-LOOPTY FANCY WRITING THAT WE MAY HAVE GOTTEN AN EXTRA LOOP IN THE WORD "S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G". (refer to top of page)

Just one of those things that makes you SMILE :) I even went to her and asked her what was wrong with her paper and she kept looking it over but couldn't figure out what I was talking about until I pointed it out to her. She just looked at me and laughed with an embarrased look and a shrug like "oops!" I don't have any question as to whether she has brains or beauty.... SHE'S GOT THEM BOTH!!! We love you Katie!

This is a picture I just came across of her last year (3rd grade) just after she got her glasses. She only wears them for reading but I thought she looked so cute in them ..plus she said it made her look smart! : ) Oh how the newness has worn off. Now I can't get her to remember to bring them home from school.

The House

The last time I posted anything about the house, it was about this time last year and we had just finished sheet rocking. Boy have things changed since then. I didn't get any pictures taken of the front of the house this summer. We are going to try to get some grass planted this year but we'll see. If you can't tell, from the slide show, I LOVE OUR HOUSE especially my KITCHEN. We have sure loved having more room. It doesn't look big but when your cleaning, it sure takes awhile! : ) It's nice and cozy and a project that I am glad to be finished with! The girls finally decided that they liked playing downstairs. Once we get to finish the basement, I think that we will probably never see them or maybe we can be the "cool house" that all the kids want to come and hang out here! : ) You can see from the pictures that I don't have much decorating done. I have some ideas in my mind and I just haven't been able to go shopping to get a few things. I just can't bring myself to put holes in the walls yet. Hopefully I can get to Hobby Lobby and raid the home decor department or receive some type of inspiration and maybe some creative ambition to try and make something myself. The only problem is having the $$$ to go with the ideas. If you have any decorating ideas or websites I can visit, let me know. Anything will help. I am serching for an entry table right now and one to go at the end of the hallway but am not having any luck so far. I did find some lamps for my tables..(when I get them), at COSTCO! They are pretty cool and I got such a great deal on them.

What we've been up...

I guess its probably time to update my blog...AGAIN! I thought that I would have some time over Christmas to do this but even with staying home this year, it was still crazy. We all ended up being sick most of the Christmas break....oh what fun!! Once New Year's came, we wanted another week just so we could feel like we had time off. Stuff that we have been up to...

1. Katie finished volleyball and is now playing basketball
2. Alyssa is now perfecting signing her name....on everything...and it even has curly ques.

3. Presley is running ..... I mean RUNNING, everywhere.
4. Katie is having fun with friends.
5. Alyssa is having fun with friends too.
6. Presley has her hands into EVERYTHING!!!! I can't take my eyes off of her.
7. Joe has been out on the Harley trying to enjoy some warm weather down south but it ended up raining on him.
8. I have been busy with the house, kids, taxi service and trying to keep my trips to town a minimum, even though I only live 2 miles from it! : )
9. Joe has been putting in some long hours at the dealership.
10. Trying to get used to being in Young Women and hoping that some how my life should slow down.

Alyssa turned 4 (going on 16) in October. I can't believe that she is growing up so fast. She can't wait to start preschool. She does so much here at home that I opted not to put her in this year and to wait to start preschool next year. She misses the deadline for starting Kindergarten so she wouldn't be able to start until she is almost 6. That's ok though. She loves being home with Mom and she is such a great help and big sister to Presley.

She wanted a bee cake this year like her cousin Kailey's! It was nice not have to make 10 different icing colors for her cake this year! : )



Presley turned 1 at the end of October. She has grown up so much these last few months. She is talking so cute and loves to boss everyone around. Her favorite thing is being in her diaper...all day long. Sometimes I wonder if she's cold but it doesn't seem to bother her. She has definately been the child that I have to keep an eye on her all the time because she thinks she can do everything. Her new thing now is to get the princess stool and climb up and sit on the back of the toilet tank. I don't know where she gets the climbing thing from? : }




Halloween 2009

The girls loved dressing up this year. We ended up not going to the usual trunk or treat this year and decied to hit up a few houses in town. It was fairly decent weather this year too. Katie was a Renissance Princess, Alyssa was a tap dancer and Presley was our cute little black cat.

Happy Turkey Day!

Wishing everyone a very wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving. It's funny how certain things bring you back to your childhood and help you get into the "spirit". Every year, I always look forward to the good old Charlie Brown holiday cartoons. I remember when I was little counting the days until they were on. Even though 40 minutes of them were commercials, I still enjoyed watching them. Well, you would think that I would grow out of such thing by now, but I caught myself the other day trying to find out when it would be on. Unfortunately, I never did find it and have missed a few these past years. I know, I know, I should probably buy the set on dvd but I'm not sure if it would be the same. I am grateful for all the blessings that I have in my life. Often times, in this hectic life we live, some of them go unnoticed or even unappreciated. I hope all of you will take time to thank our Heavenly Father for all that he has given you.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

Blog?? What blog???

Well, I sort of remember how to blog...I think. I'm sure everyone will be shocked to see that I even attempted to do something on this. We have sure been busy since the new house, summer activities, school starting, and birthdays. I will try to get some pictures posted later but for now, at least I am up and running again. I can blame most of the non-blogging on not having the internet until a month ago. : )

An Easter Message

This is a little late but I saw this on a friends blog and thought it sent such a powerful message as to what this Easter season is about. It sometimes is hard to really feel the "True" meaning when there is so much to do and things to get ready but I would hope that we all take the time to reflect and remember these things and teach our children about our Savior and his sacrifice for us. How truly grateful I am for His love and attonement. I will never comprehend his suffering but I will, each day, be grateful for my blessings and trials that I have, and always know in my heart that we can one day live with him again. For we know that He will always stand with us even through our toughest trials and that we will never be alone.

THE PROJECT!

So here is the latest on the house. The siding has gone up, garage doors are finally on...not very useful now that most of the crappy weather is done, the drywall is hung and the walls are textured. The trim work and inside doors came today and our builder is going to work on that this week. Next is paint...whether we do that or not, we'll see. I think that kind of stuff is left up to the professionals! :) Anyway, here are a few pictures. We are sure getting excited. It will be so nice to have more room.

Baby Face...You got the cutest little baby face!

Wow does time fly! I can't believe that Presley is already 4 1/2 months old! She is really growing too fast. Infact, I just went through her dresser yesterday and had to move onto the next stage of clothes. It made me sad because it is probably the last I will ever see them. We have definately accumulated quite the little girl wardrobe!

We have had so much fun with Presley. The girls just love her to death and love to take care of her. Katie has been such a big helper and Alyssa loves to entertain her baby sister. She is already starting to roll over, and drink from a water bottle. And just the other day she said "MaMa". Ya, I know, it was in her babbling but still, I can count it right? I just have to teach her to say "DaDa" in the middle of the night. That way there is no argument as to who has to get up with her. : ) I couldn't believe that I haven't put pictures on the blog of her besides when she was born. I realized that most of them are of her lying down, but she is such a good baby that I can (most of the time) put her down and she will entertain herself. Life has definately been pretty crazy for us but I wouldn't change it for the world. Here are some cute pictures of Presley. While I was putting this together, the song..."Baby Face" came to mind. She definately has the cutest little baby face. (I'm not partial am I?)

Meet Barbara, "Barbara the Builder"

As you know, we have been really busy with our new house. When we first started building, Alyssa loved to go around and measure everything. The poor thing has only known building this house from the day she was born so for it to actually be happening, it's no wonder she has really shown and interest in it! For Christmas, Alyssa got a new tool belt with all the "fixins". She has a real tape measure, levels, hammer (that is so real she thought she might distress some stuff for me), chalk line, safety glasses, gloves, and a flashlight. And to make the whole onsomble complete, she had to add her princess cell phone. One day, Katie and I were joking around and we said she should be called, "Barbara the Builder" because ever since she got her tool belt, she has wanted to go and help Grandpa. We have joked saying that Dad is "Bob the Builder" because he is always out to the house checking things out to make sure everything is going according to plan and to try to get in on some of the action. If he can help the sub contractors with something, he is all for it. THANKS DAD!!! YOU'RE THE BEST! Well, I had to finally take her out to the house one day so she could help Grandpa. She loved it!! I couldn't stop laughing at how cute she was. Here are a few pictures of our daughter, "Barbara".

This actually sparked something funny that happened in Primary the other day. She is a new Sunbeam and seems to love being a big girl. Well, our theme this year is "My Eternal Family" and the theme song talks about being a builder, working each day, to build your family. Alyssa's eyes got really big when they started to sing it that she stands up and says, "I'm a builder!" The chorister said, "Yes, Alyssa. Your family is building a new house huh?" Alyssa answers, "Yep and my Grandpa is "Bob the Builder" and I'm "Bawbwa" the builder (and no its not misspelled, that's how she pronounces Barbara". Everyone in the Primary room just busts out laughing. I guess no family jokes will ever be a secret with her around! Just be careful or we may have it brought up in our next singing and sharing time! : )

Always my sister, Always my friend

My Sister and Brother-in-law took some pictures over Christmas for us. This one was so cute of Presley. Amy & Trev...I will try to decide on them as soon as I can, I promise. They do such an awesome job and they make it look so easy that we decided to get a camera like them to see if we could do it too. (So far I'm flunking out in Photography : ( Trevor took this picture of the Logan Temple and I am going to use it for my Primary bulletin board. IT'S AWESOME! Thanks guys.

I'm not that busy...am I?

Well, I guess it's been awhile since I blogged. I guess you don't realize how busy you are with a new baby, sick kids, building a house, Christmas, a baby blessing....need I say more? Practically, I don't really remember having Christmas! That's pretty bad. We have definately had our hands full these past few months. It seems that we have caught every sickness that has gone around and decided to keep it for awhile. We just couldn't get rid of it. Presley is growing like a weed. She doesn't look like she is starving, that's for sure. In fact, at 5 weeks she had gained 3 1/2 pounds and grew 2 1/2 inches. I'm not used to that. My other two girls were actually under in their weight but over in their height. I was able to have them wear the size under their age. Oh but not this little girl. She is already in 3-6 month clothes and when she went in for her 2 month checkup, she weighed a whopping 13 pounds and was 25 3/4 inches long. She is in the 98% for her height and weight. She is so much fun. I can't imagine our lives without her. She loves "talking" already. She makes all kinds of cooing sounds and smiles, smiles, smiles! The girls still are crazy about her and love to show her off wherever we go. Now only if they just wouldn't fight with each other! : ) Well, I thought I would post some pictures of the house since that has consumed the other part of my life. The siding guys came today so they should finish this week. I will try to post some more pictures then. I will also try to get some pictures of Presley but my camera battery just died so I will get them on later.

She's Here!!

Well, most of you probably know...our latest arrival came on October 27th. Ok, ok.. maybe not by mother nature but I don't think I could have taken it any longer. I went into the hospital Monday morning to be induced. I was only 2 days from my due date. Believe me, I tried to get it done earlier but I couldn't convince the doctor enough. I even went in and had 2 massages and an adjustment but I guess she was just too comfortable in there!

Being induced wasn't bad at all. Infact, I wanted everyone to go on about their day and go to work and school. I figured since I was having her in town that I could just call them when things started to happen. Joe came around noon so it was good to have him there. He was taking the phone calls for me about the construction on the house. (Not really the best time to be calling me asking me what we wanted to do about the cement flat work : )) Anyway, things went really well with the delivery.

At 6:30 p.m. , PRESLEY MORGAN was born, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 21 inches long. She has really long fingers and toes, dark hair and chubba cheeks and boy does she have a good set of lungs. Right after she was born, she just let out a big cry! You wouldn't know that now though. She is the best baby. She hardly makes a sound. And her sisters definately LOVE her! The look on their faces when they came in to see Presley was priceless. I am so lucky to have 3 beautiful girls who will be my best friends forever!

Katie is such a great helper. She holds Presley whenever I need her to and is so willing to help me out. The other day she just got up and made muffins and hot chocolate for breakfast (all by herself). They were GREAT!! Alyssa can't get enough of her new baby. She loves to hold her and thinks she can do everything I can for the baby. She likes to help change diapers, and get anything that I need. Its great because I catch her just singing to her and Presley is mesmorized.

This was taken the other night around 1:00 in the morning. Alyssa had a really late nap and just wouldn't go to sleep. She was coloring her "homework" while I was feeding Presley and she finally said, "Ok Mom, now what do I do?" I told her to just lay down and rest her eyes for a minute and when I looked over, she was asleep so I just layed Presley by her and looked at them. There is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping child. But holy cow! Alyssa seems so big compared to her sister now. They definately don't stay little for long. Treasure every moment!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

October 16th was Alyssa's 3rd Birthday! Boy did she have fun. We weren't able to celebrate it on the actual day so we made it last ALL weekend! Katie even made her a cake on Thursday and then I made her Princess carriage cake for her party. She definately loved being fussed over! I can't believe she is already 3. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and I was having to relearn what to do with a baby, all over again. She is such a joy to our family and definately the life of the party. She is always coming up with such funny and cute things to say. We hope you had a great birthday Alyssa! We love you lots!!!

Alyssa was reading us the card that Katie had made her. It was really cute! Katie had made her a necklace and some rings that now she can't leave home with out! : )

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I haven't been able to blog for a little while. We have been busy building our new house (which I'm sure will start to be fun once we have this baby!!) I don't climb the dirt piles too easy and climbing in and out of the "house hole" as Alyssa would say, isn't getting any easier either! It's fun to see things progress. It has definately been a long time coming. I'm hoping now that we can get things enclosed before the snow comes. We at least got the footings poured before we got a snow storm this last weekend. I was a little worried but it turned out fine. Today they are finishing putting up the forms for the basement walls and the cement will be poured. So many decisions to be made that having a baby sounds a lot easier right now! : )

Baby....
Well, last week we went in for a checkup and thought that the baby might be breech. (Great, just what I need!) I joked with the kids about having a C-section just so I could have a few more days in the hospital to rest but when they said she might be breech, I was quick to say I was kidding about the C-section! I definately don't want to choose that! Anyway, we had an ultrasound and she is right where she's supposed to be, HEAD DOWN!!! I was relieved to hear that. I guess she will fit right in with the rest of our girls...she'll just have a boney little bum! : ) I tried to convince the Dr. today to induce me this weekend but he didn't really go for that. The soonest I could induce would be on the 22nd which is only a week until I'm due. I guess I will have to walk out to the property or jump on the trampoline if I want it any sooner! Just kidding! She'll come when I'm not ready I'm sure. I'll keep everyone posted. We're still deciding on names too. Alyssa is funny because if you ask her what we should name the baby she says, "Mom, I think I'll just have to see her when she's born and then decide!"

Tagged...

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Andrea and I'm supposed to put the 4th picture from the fourth folder and then write about it.

This picture was taken during the NBA playoffs this year. (Need I say more?...) The Lakers were on and the girls thought it would be fun to lay on their pillows and blankets and watch the game. Looking at the picture, the game must have not been that exciting but once you've watched game after game after game...... they all start to look the same (at least from an 8 and 2 year olds standpoint.) I can say that I tried to watch them too but I would much rather go for best out of 3 than best of 7...because you know they'll always go 7!

I tag Amy, Amber, Brooke, Ashley and Mandy S.

What kind of cars will our kids be driving?

Yesterday, Alyssa and I had just left the dealership bringing Joe some lunch and I thought I would drive out to the property...again before I washed my car. Well, we'll just say the conversation I had with my "almost 3, going on 20 year old" was pretty funny. Here's how it went.

Alyssa: "Mommy, are we going out to the property?"

Mommy: "Yes. Do you like going out there?"

Alyssa: "Ya, are we going to go over the lake?"

Mommy: "Yes, but it's a reservoir, not a lake, babe."

Alyssa: "It's a lake Mommy. Is your car going to be a boat?"

Mommy: "A what?"

Alyssa: "A boat! We need it to be a boat to cross the lake."
Mommy: "Mommy's car doesn't turn into a boat. That is only pretend on TV."


Alyssa: "Why doesn't your car be a boat? Rocket does."

Mommy: "Rocket?"

Alyssa: "Ya, Rocket! You know, on Little Einsteins!" (said in a disgusted way, like I'm supposed to remember all of these things.) "He turns into a boat so they can go in the water! They just push the buttons. Doesn't your car have buttons Mom?"



Mommy: "My car has all kinds of buttons (that I still haven't figured out what they all do) but I don't think I have a button that turns the car into a boat. Sorry."

Alyssa: "Oh." (sounding disappointed)

Mommy: "That would be pretty fun though to have a car turn into a boat." (Thinking... that if we ever do have something like that someday, I would never see Joe because he would always be over to the golf coarse!)

Alyssa: (laughing) "Ya, it would be!"

I am just amazed at some of the things that she says. She is always thinking and has a pretty thought out answer for everything. Who knows, maybe when she is old enough to drive, there will be cars that will turn into boats at the push of a button. :)

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to stay home with my kids and get to have all these funny special little moments with them. Nothing in the world could ever be more important or replace the time we have with our children. Thank you Joe for working so hard so that I can stay home with our kids and have the best job in the world!


P.S. Here is a picture of my "wanna-be" boat car! : ) It can do almost anything... but go through the reservoir!

Golfing with the Girls

Joe had a Monday off a few weeks ago and so after school was over, we decided to take the girls golfing. It was fun to go with Joe and see him with his girls. They all had a blast. Katie sure is getting good and Alyssa loves to follow her sissy! I enjoyed just watching and driving the golf cart... that is until Alyssa thought she could drive it. She got a little crazy! : ) I had to make sure not to go into labor after that one!




Alyssa would put her ball right next to the hole and then she would get so excited about getting it in there she would run back to me all excited. She's also a good cheerleader to bring. After every shot Katie or Joe would make she would say, "Good Job" or "Go Daddy, Go Katie!" It was fun to see that our house would just be across the reservoir. You'll be able to see the course from our backyard. Maybe I could catch a few holes with Joe's binoculars and see for sure what hole he's really on when he's supposed to be home! :) I really liked the first picture because in the background is where our house is going to be!