It's Spring!!!

Spring is Sprung, the grass is riz... YEAH!!!!!! We have a beautiful tree in full bloom just outside our front window. What beautiful weather!!!





A little blurry, but funny girl.

I did it!

My triathlon was yesterday and I had a lot of fun. It felt REALLY good- I didn't go so fast that I was dead yesterday, but I completed the whole thing and had a great time. It was really nice to make the goal so long ago (in January) and complete it!!!

Here is the start. I am just behind the lady with the neon yellow jacket with the white stripe going down my black pant leg.

Here is the tail end of the run just before the bike. Our lovely camera battery died so we didn't get many pictures, but hopefully my parents got some good ones, too.

We think that is me in the swim in the center on my final lap. :)

My family and friends were SOOOOOO supportive. DJ was amazing and encouraged me to get out of bed and train, and many days he either got the kids up in the morning or put them to bed- some days towards the end both. Thanks Hon. My friends I was training with (Emily and Emily) bought me some energy gels the day before, called me and had a big poster on my door when I got home- so nice! My mom came to watch 3 weeks out of knee surgery, Brittany called me the morning of, on her way to take a final at 6:45 (yes- I was already up), Kelley called me from Kansas just before the race, and at the race were DJ, the girls, my parents, DJ's parents came and Britt came after her final and caught the swim. Everyone was sooooooo supportive. THANK YOU!!!

My sisters, DJ and I are thinking about doing one is August now. :) I am going to keep training, but work on increasing speed now that I know I can do it. What fun. I highly recommend sprint triathlons. Mine included a 5K run (3.1 miles), a 10 mile bike, and a 1/4 mile swim. I had to train for it, but it was very do-able. Triathlons are great because they are well rounded, full body, and you don't get overuse injuries as easily. Plus they are lifetime skills. I have always wanted to run a 5K and last week was my first one ever. (and I ran the whole time without stopping to walk- a HUGE achievement for me) :) DJ and I love bike riding with the girls. Last summer we often put the girls to bed by getting them in their PJ's and going for a ride around 8:00 pm (which came in great handy camping). Before, I couldn't keep up with DJ, even with him pulling the trailor. Now I can totally keep up and we can go for miles. The only swimming lessons I have taken were the summer before I turned 9. The first time I went swimming this January, I swam 6 laps and was THRILLED. Now I can swim a mile (64 laps) or more. What a great safety skill to have. Plus swimming is great exercise. Have I talked you into it yet? :)

What we have been up to...

A while ago I showed Jessica a video on my friend Michelle's blog and of course she wanted to do it, too. A few minutes later Daddy walked in the door and she requested "flips."

For those of you who know Jessica, Gymnastics is a perfect fit. I put her in a dance class last semester but pulled her out this semester to save up and search for a gymnastics class. I finally chose Baillie's in Draper since I will be down there often helping my mom for the next little bit helping her since she had knee surgery. I found this cute little leotard at Kid to Kid. I love that place.

Jessica has been busy. She also made it to the dentist a month or two ago and had 2 little cavities filled. The dentist was awesome and I highly recommend him. His name is Dr. Smyth and is located around 7050 S and Highland Drive. I had gone somewhere else where they were going to "put her under" and I just had a weird feeling about the place- mainly it was EMPTY. My friend recommended this Dr. and he was great. We had our free consultation the next day, and he was able to squeeze us in to do the actual fillings. He told me we could put her under, but at Primary Children's (as opposed to the other place was in-house), or we could do a mild anesthetic or do it with nothing. He recommended that if it was his child, he would try it with nothing and if it bothered her, they could try something else. She just watch Dora the entire time, mesmerized by the headphones, and I am sure the laughing gas helped. :) She did AWESOME and only flinched once at the very end. We were able to walk out and go straight to lunch- no numbing, no anesthesia- it was awesome. I was WAY impressed with the staff and how they worked with her. They showed her the "barbie pillows (cotton cylinders), the tiny washcloths, let her feel the drill vibrate on her finger, and even let her play with the blue light that hardens the filling. It was awesome!Kelsi LOVES to go outside and is always finding her coat and trying to put it on and have us zip it up- even when it is plenty warm outside. She is particularly attached to a certain rain coat and won't let us take it off of her.


Kelsi got stitches a while back- here they are the day before she got them out. They did a great job sewing her up and she healed very nicely.
Here are the girls watching General Conference... They looked so cute working on their conference packet. We got a few good pictures, but of course it didn't last long. :) They did really well, though. Conference was AMAZING!!!
Jes LOVES to go swimming. Here she is sporting some of our goggles- or "joggles" as she calls them.
Just a fun, WARM spring day. So, the weather says it is supposed to snow this week?We have been having fun and staying really busy. Sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER!

busy busy busy

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Happy Easter- I hope everyone had a great weekend. We did!

I have been REALLY busy lately... Okay most of it is brought on by myself. A big time-consumer is that I am training for my first thing ever- a triathlon (sprint distance) that is THIS SATURDAY!!!! (I'm just a little nervous) It is the Telos Timp Tri on April 18th in Orem. It involves a 5K run, 10 mile bike ride and just under 1/4 mile swim-one after the other. Wish me luck! It feels so good to be getting in shape and I love the balance of a triathlon instead of a marathon (like my sisters did- crazy), especially because the running is my least favorite part- but I am improving. Last Saturday I ran my very first 5K (I know- pathetic) but I achieved my goal of running the ENTIRE time, even when I so wanted to walk after the HUGE hill(s).

I have also been visiting my mom who just had successful knee surgery and is in recovery. She is doing really well, but I know it is so hard for her. LOTS of Physical Therapy. GO MOM!!!


The other thing I have been up to is teaching my neighbors to sew! Teaching really is my love- I majored well (Home Ec Ed.) It all started with a skirt Jessica's friend Noelle was wearing... everyday. I borrowed it and made a pattern from it and realized how easy and fast it would be to make... Noelle's mom, Tami, sews, but has never sewn garments so I decided to teach her. Then I talked to this person, and another person... and pretty quickly it grew. In my family we have a saying that pretty much describes all of the women. "If it is worth doing, it is worth doing to death." So, 10 skirts later (3 matching for my girls, 2 for cousin Pyper and 1 for cousin Rachel) I am calling it quits for a while... but the ball is still rolling. So far the court total not including mine are 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 1/2 +... My sister Kelley is also on a sewing binge right now, so it has been fun to trade stories. So... I am a true teacher and made a handout that explains how to make the skirt, how much fabric to by, measurements, instructions- complete with diagrams. Silly me- but it has been fun (and easier to type it out once and have it forever). If you want a copy of the pattern, just let me know and I can email it to you.

Another reason I have not shared photos recently is that I lost our new camera. Brittany came to visit with her 3 kids to go skiing for the weekend, and when they left, I couldn't find the camera, and still couldn't find it... I figured it would just show up as we cleaned up. Finally, 2 weeks later before Easter Weekend I was cleaning (again) and packing and I prayed that I could find it. I thought to look in Jessica's backpack for Kelsi's sandal that was also missing, and there was the camera (a little worse for the wear) mixed in with all her treasured toys she has been carting around for the last several weeks. It is found!!! Yeah!!! It is so nice that Heavenly Father answers all kinds of prayers, even about cameras.

Best Friends

Last night, the girls really wanted to sleep in the same room... on the same bed. ("with their blankets") Jes's bed is one that my parents made for me when I was little, and then my older sister used it growing up. It is a four post bed with a high headboard and foot board, and sides that come up about 2 inches- so it is very hard to fall off. We read the girls books and sang them songs and left the girls laying next to each other in the bed. I thought for sure that I would need to go move Kelsi into the portacrib we had set up in Jessica's room- but she slept there all night. When I went to check on the girls before we went to bed, Jes was cuddled up to Kelsi with her head on her chest. In addition, last night was one of the first nights in a long time that Jes did not get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and crawl into bed with us.

Jes moved before I could get a picture, but here is what I did get.

25 Random Things about me

I filled out a questionnaire about my husband on facebook, (I included it below) and decided I should probably finally fill something out about me as well. It was fun, but kind of hard. Here it is.

1. I have been to 26 countries.
2. I learned to crochet when I was 10- I actually took lessons.
3. I'm scared of having 3 kids (and hence-no I am not pregnant).
4. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 2 1/2 years and loved it.
5. I like to keep in touch with friends- I always have ever since I was young and moving around a lot (although I'm not the best at it- sorry)
6. I pronounce "sorry" with a long "o" (according to my husband)- I get it from my Mom.
7. I am a generalist- I like to get pretty good at a lot of things, but not super good at any one thing. It's weird- sometime I sabotage myself.
8. I am training for a Sprint Triathlon and loving it- It is my first time training for any sport. I especially love the biking and the swimming, but I am really nervous about the running. I need to get over it. :) But I did by new running shoes today that should help my ankles.
9. I didn't want to meet my husband at BYU- too "cliche-ish," so instead I met him in a Single's Ward at home- that is so much better. :)
10. I play the trumpet and I played in the BYU marching band and Pep Band for 2 years. (We got to go to a bowl game, and the NCAA's- which was super fun)
11. I love to cook. This love started before I was in Kindergarten.
12. I missed the kindergarten deadline by 1 month, so I stayed home with my mom for another year to "kiss and paint." I LOVED being old for my grade, and am worried about if I should put Jessica in school and have her be the youngest and littlest. (she had a late July birthday and she is tiny)
13. I used to love fun and crazy socks, but ever since I have been pregnant and had kids, I really have something against Polyester against my skin.
14. I am anti-Kraft. I never thought I liked BBQ sauce until I decided I didn't like Kraft BBQ sauce. I don't particularly like their dressings, either. I like Bull's Eye and KC Masterpiece or Ken's dressings
15. I am a Home Ec. Major. My freshmen year I was surrounded by people who were "Physics majors and knew forever that is what they wanted to do"- or all kinds of majors. I didn't want to "major" in anything- just get a lot of minors. (see #7) I finally decided to think about what I was good at and loved doing. After getting over the stigma of a Home Ec. major- I declared it and absolutely LOVED it.
15. I LOVE teaching- in any genre or age group.
17. I really need to go to bed instead of fill this out. :)
18. I don't facebook that much. Most people blog, or facebook, or scrapbook, or make home videos, or journal- I (see #7) do a little of everything- just none of them super well. :)
19. I suffered from a major guilt complex in junior high and early high school. I am mostly over it, but sometimes it still gets me.
20. I am innately a morning person, but you would never know it because my husband is a night person so I stay up too late to get up early. I do love early morning when I am rested and up, though. (Hence- I really need to go to bed).
21. I love to read cookbooks
22. I love to read period.
23. I am starting to get really interested in photography.
24. I have kept my teaching license current.
25. I absolutely love the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hubby

So Holly shared this and I wanted to try it. It was my first "note" in facebook. Maybe because it is not about me... :)

Here's a chance to see how well you really know your husband/wife. Cut, paste and fill in the answers, then forward . . . you know what to do. The real challenge is to send it to your Husband/Wife/Fiance to see how right you really are. Change "he/his" to "her/hers" throughout the questions.


1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the TV screen?
BYU Football, Jazz game, CNN or HGTV House Hunters (if I am watching, too)

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch or sometimes Thousand Island

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
He likes most things, but he is not a huge fan of tomatoes

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Raspberry or Strawberry Lemonade

5. Where did he go to high school?
Alta High School, Sandy, UT

6. What size shoe does he wear?
I think 10.5-11

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Music

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
DJ's super duper amazing sandwiches (with cheese cookies)

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
chocolate milk and cheese and ham tortillas (microwaved- but I am converting him to the toaster oven)

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Marshmallow Mateys

11. What would he never wear?
Biker shorts

12. What is his favorite sports team?
BYU football

13. Who did he vote for?
He wrote in Mitt Romney

14. Who is his best friend?
Me of course!

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Collect so much "junk" for all of my hobbies. He is actually very supportive, just not when it comes time to move everything across country.

16. What is his heritage?
Scandinavian (Sven's son)

17. It's his Birthday, what kind of cake do you bake?
Peach Cobbler

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Wrestled and Track

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Listening to music, reading Cougar blue, playing the guitar

20. What is one unique talent he has?
He is AMAZING at playing with kids and making up games to engage them (or me) in.

What's in a word- by a 3 year old

"swimming soups"
"obstervations"
"joggles" (goggles)
"that's digusticing"
"sitches" (Kelsi got stitches- another post)

So I've banished myself from blogging...

...At least while the girls are awake.

This hasn't been our best week...- Thankfully this week was not normal.

I don't check blogs that often, or for long periods of time, but over the past week or two, when I have happened to glance at a blog--- bad things have happened. It has just been a weird week. I think with this new playmate Jessica has found (Kelsi), she is re-testing all of the rules, such as no coloring in library books (if Kelsi does it, that means I can, too), cutting things with scissors besides paper at the table (such as her adorable striped tights). Then, after being banned from scissors for a week after the last one, the next day she found a pair of scissors somehow and cut a lock of Kelsi's hair (not her own thankfully- Kelsi doesn't have that much to lose) and various other things. (Not all of this was while blogging- just anytime I take 2 minutes to do something for me- like enjoy my lunch.) Grrrrr.

We have also started going outside again and she is re-testing all of the outdoor rules as well, such as not running down the hill (our court has a huge hill on one side that is the bane of all the mothers), pushing (only once thankfully)- just testing. She knows what the consequences are, (time-out on the stairs) she is just making sure I am watching and she still knows what to expect. With pushing though, she was really sweet and stood up for her sister. The little girl she pushed (sorry btw), a few minutes later pushed Kelsi (it is amazing how the pecking order works) and Jes ran over and said "no pushing!" (didn't push her again- yea) and then comforted Kelsi who was crying. It was really sweet and the little girl is super sweet, too.

Then Friday night we were getting all ready to have a fun family night of homemade pizza and a movie when Kelsi came to me crying with a can stuck on her hand. I had opened a can of beans for lunch and left the lid barely attached so I could drain it and thrown it away. (Never do that btw- I have learned my lesson) Kelsi found the can, stuck her hand in and had the "raccoon" syndrome where she couldn't get it out. I was VERY carefully trying to maneuver her hand so I could get it out when she panicked and YANKED it out- slicing her finger thoroughly. We looked at it, got a bandaid on it and it stopped bleeding. We were debating whether we should take her to the InstaCare (while Jes was getting all excited and set to watch the movie) when we took her bandaid off. It started bleeding profusely and was a mangled mess. We decided DJ would handle the stitches better, and I needed positive one on one time with Jes so he took Kelsi. The nurses were great and she handled it so well. I think she was still in shock at the InstaCare because after they cleaned it, she was squeezing it and laughing when the blood came out. Gross, huh. She only cried/screamed- what is the word inbetween- when they gave her a shot to numb the stitching. It is hard to tell whether she got 4 or 5 stitches from the looks of it. She is such a trooper. Whenever we change her bandaid, she sits so still, holds her hand out and watches. She is such a sweet girl.
And as an update- this week so far is going better.

A picture

So apparently I did get a picture of the make-up incident. (see below a few posts) "How do I look mom?"

Decor and Girls

This is for my sister. We just redecorated and I wanted to show Kelley. Sabrina took these AWESOME pictures (not that I straightened them before the picture) and she printed them as part of the photo session we won. We got the square frame at IKEA (thanks Marne) and the other frames at JoAnn's. JoAnns also cut the square mat to size. (We printed it as a 16x20" and then cut it down to 16 x 16"). DJ helped me pick out the fabric and I made the pillows. The wall we faux finished a year ago, and then this year (on the same day incidentally) we painted the side walls solid greed. Something about Martin Luther King Day for remodeling.

This is why I am procrastinating putting my girls in the same room. I have a feeling Jes would spend every night in the crib. As of now, they just love to PLAY in there.

Annette (my Mother-in-law) gave the girls these dresses for Christmas, and then the matching coats for Valentine's day. Matching coats had not occurred to me, but I LOVE them!!! Jes was so excited that she and Kelsi looked the same- same black tights, poofy slips, dresses, and coats to boot!

Here is just a super sweet picture of Jes. (Note- as I was typing this, I kept feeling like I should check on Kelsi. I finally did and I found her in her room with the door closed and a bag of marshmallows from the preschool box. Silly girl)

Kelsi!

Kelsi has a fascination with shoes-- as do most kids this age. She is not particular about who's shoes, whether Daddy's or the Doll's.

This is our Living room toy basket. The toys are all over the living room of course! It doubles as a bathtub, boat or apparently reading corner.

This is a hat I made for Kelsi and we both love it!

To all those Primary Music Leaders out there...

Yesterday, DJ was playing with Jessica and she said "Daddy, let's play primary." He said okay. She picked up a stack of papers, held them up and sang "I say goodbye and I choke." Then she moved that sheet to the back and held up the stack again and sang "Try to walk away and I stumble..." She shuffled the sheets again and sang "Tho I try to hide it, it's clear" (shuffle) "My world crumbles when you are not here."

So to all those Primary music leaders who work so hard on their flip charts, the Sunbeams are watching.

Here is the song- DJ has been listening to it a lot lately- hence Jes quoting it.
"I try" by Ben Taylor

"I've got to start listening to those quiet nagging doubts..."

Well, at least the girls are starting to play together... Sunday was the best of times and the worst of times. DJ had meetings, church, helped at Primary Children's (our ward helps staff the Sacrament Meeting periodically) and home taught from 8:00 Sunday morning to about 4:30.

The girls were FANTASTIC during church. They sat by themselves on the bench for the first part, then played with toys, read books, entertained themselves pretty well with a little help from me. Even though I was sitting by myself with the girls, I was able to listen and get so much out of the meeting. The last speaker spoke about President Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey" from the last October conference. It is such a good talk and something I needed to hear this week. (I recommend that everyone read Pres. Monson's talk- It pertains so well to mom's) Both talks Sunday were SOOOO good, and they really hit home, especially this week.... I needed them. So it was great that the girls were so good so that I could listen and get so much out of the talks. (Thanks Tee and Pres. Hutchinson).

They were both so good in Primary, too. I had brought Kelsi with me since she had a runny nose and she sat on a chair beside Jessica just like all the big kids- except when a strange man (ie Sunbeam teacher) sat next to her. She looked up at him, looked back at me sitting behind her, then looked forward and her lip started to tremble and she fell apart. It was really cute. She then sat beside me until DJ got back and took her to Elder's Quorum.

After church DJ had another meeting, and when he got home (he is normally not this busy) for a short break at 3:00, I happened to be sitting at the computer reading blogs for about 6 minutes taking a respite. He asked where the girls were and I said in the back room playing. After a few moments, I thought I should go check on them. (Hence the blog title -from Calvin and Hobbes). I went in Kelsi's room and the girls had my bag of Mary Kay make-up and EVERY single thing was open- all mascara, lipstick, foundation, lipgloss, powder, other mascara and lipgloss.... Both girls jumped up- Jes had make-up all over her face ("How do I look, Mommy?") AAAAAAHHHHH! (On a really nice area rug, by the way) The miracle, is that they only got a teeny teeny amount on the carpet, which came out. The bad thing is they squoze out (is that a word) at least a third of a brand new thing of foundation- but onto paper. No- I didn't get a picture. So much for my moment of respite.

Later, after DJ got home for good, I was at the computer again enjoying a quiet moment to myself, thinking how nice it was that DJ was playing with the girls to give me a break. Someone called and I was talking on the phone and walked back and saw him on his computer on the bed... Then I had to figure out where the girls were. I heard giggling behind the bathroom door and opened it a crack- All I could see was toothpaste and toilet paper EVERYWHERE. But they were having such a grand time together. DJ said he heard Jes say "No Kelsi, no more" followed by squeals of delight and laughter. They had put every roll of toilet paper we owned in the bathtub and were taking a "toilet paper bath." They had also smeared toothpaste all over the mirror and carpet and on the edges of every roll of TP. Aren't we so excited to have toothpaste smeared toilet paper for the next 6 months. (I had just stocked up from Costco, too.) Silly girls. Again, alas no picture.

But at least they are playing together. :)

Quotes by Jessica

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Mommy- can you count to oneteen?"

Look at the wittle ants! Shall we jump on them?

At about 2 ½ I was in feeding Kelsi at 7:00 am when I heard Jes get up and go open the fridge. She yelled out "Mommy...? Do you want a hot dog?... Do you want it with mustard? ... Or dip dip...? (still yelling) Or mustard AND dip dip?

We were writing a letter to Santa in preschool and she drew 4 squiggly lines on the paper and said "I wrote 4 letters to Santa!!!

The difference between boys and girls. DJ wanted to teach Jessica how to catch. He looked around for something to toss to her and grabbed a beanie baby. Jessica fell apart. "MY BABY! She was SLEEPING!"

Jessica- "Mommy, when you were little like me, I was your Fairy Grandmother."

What is your name? "Jes." What is your last name? pause. "icca"

Discussing the owie on her toe- to bandaid or not to bandaid... Jessica "So air will make my owied feel better?
Okay, I will put it in my air then." Then she proceeded to try to put her toe in her ear.

She handed me something to cut and I accidentally nipped her finger. "It's okay Mommy, you didn't mean to hurt me."

I told Jessica the story of Noah and the Ark. She said "Mommy, will you tell me that story again, but this time with me and Pyper as the Prophet?" (She loves to insert names into fairy tales- especially Jack and the Beanstalk. That is how I get her to sit through braiding her hair.)

Sometimes when we have an owie, we use "squeezers."

More to come later!

Fun times with the girls

It is amazing how much easier your life gets as your kids just get a little older. :) 3 1/2 and 19 months are such great ages. Especially compared to a newborn and a 2 year old. That is not the best combination. :) We have had such a fun time this week just playing together. The girls still disagree of course, but they are starting to play together a little bit and I am excited to see how their friendship develops.

This week I really wanted to have a fun day with them and I planned a few things the night before. We had a blast painting (crayola washable paints are the best) and posing for Valentine's cards. Happy Valentine's Day! (a little early)





Here are some updates on the girls of ages and stages. Jessica loves her preschool and her friends in the court. Some of her best friends range from her age to 1 1/2 years older and younger. She informed us the other day that all of her best friends were big girls. We asked what about Jonah? She said- okay- big girls and big boys. What about Duncan (age 2) "He's a big boy" What about mommy? "She's a big girl..." and so on. Her favorite toys at the moment are her dollhouse she got for her birthday from Grandma Nettie, and her train. She also loves anything she can personify as a "Jessica, Mommy, Daddy, Kelsi, Pyper, Autumn, Noelle, Grace... and whoever else she can think of at the moment. She is delightful, insightful and funny as all get out. I am going to try to figure out how to add quotes. I think I will just paste them to the end of this post.



Kelsi is at such a fun age. It throws me how little hair she has because she seems so much younger, but she is really getting older and has a ton of personality. Right this moment she is trying to put a onesie on over her clothes- she has started to get interested in putting clothes on (and off), trying on shoes of all sizes (see the doll shoe below), and dressing up in beads and jewels and tutus. She is also really starting to pick up on saying words and communicating. Jes started speaking earlier and so it has been interesting- I have had to be a bit more creative communicating with Kelsi. It astonishes me how much she understands, though- and the past few weeks she has started talking quite a bit more. I finally figured out to ask her "which" thing she wanted and having her point. Such as "If you want food, go to your highchair or if you want to go to sleep, go to your crib." I will also have her point to the juice or milk or water to see what she wants to drink. Now she is starting to talk a lot more which is so helpful and reduces the frustrated screeching. :) She has such an adorable smile and a mischievous grin. She makes me laugh all of the time. Plus, she is so ticklish I just can't help myself. :)

Kelsi specifically went and got the stool from the bathroom and set it down. Then she picked up the doll shoe, sat down and spent the next several minutes trying to put it on her foot. Funny girl. :) It is only about 1 1/2 inches long.