The Haps

We went on a cupcake playdate with our friends to try the new Cinnabon cupcakes. They were ok, but if you want a really good cupcake go check out my friend's blog here. She makes the yummiest stuff!

We took a walk with Great-grandpa and had fun blowing dandelion seeds in everyone's yards. LOL

We had a blast at the Captain EO premiere. As you saw in the earlier post, we made the Internet baby!!! It was so awesome to be in the very first showing! Okay, so two funny things. One, we showed up to stand in line to watch it at 9 that morning and some people had been waiting since 9 the night before and we were in the same show! Haha! Two, people were all mad cause they wanted to sit farther back in the theater, and not way up front, and guess who got photographed? That's right, us. The ones who were gracious enough, okay forced, to sit in the front. Haha! It was really fun. The excitement level was so high, and the TV crews were everywhere filming. I'm so glad we went.

I've been putting the top of Kelsey's hair in sponge rollers at night sometimes so the straight top will match the curly bottom. And she looks so dang cute and girly in them!

We went to my great-grandmother's funeral with my sister. Jeremy was bored but sat very well for the service. Kelsey was a wild maniac. She and her cousin thought it was a playground with all that grass, and were quite rambunctious. Weddings and funerals, two things I want to take my kids to, but would really rather not.

We went to the most fun birthday party ever! It was a Hawaiian luau for a little boy's 1st birthday. Man oh man. They had a bounce house, a balloon artist, polynesian dancers, and the best food you'll ever eat! It was awesome!

Jeremy has been taking Shorinji Kempo classes for several weeks now. He's really enjoying it. The instructor told us to wait to see if he wanted to stick with it before we bought him a uniform, but I think he's ready! The instructor is so awesome, really funny, and great with Jeremy. It's cheaper than karate, because the instructors donate their time, and it's based on communication, besides the punches and kicks. Really good stuff.

So Daddy noticed something peculiar and remarkable about our baby girl the other day. She holds her writing utensils correctly. She doesn't do that little kid fist hold like most other kids. Daddy said he didn't learn how to hold his pencil correctly til he was quite a bit older. Maybe she'll be a good writer. She's very intent when she's drawing something.

Last, but not least, Jeremy has taken off with his reading. He was progressing along in school, but all of a sudden he wants to read everything! This is so exciting for me, as I'm a lover of reading. He reads signs out the car window, random books, and words here and there wherever we go! But my favorite thing to hear him read is a book to his little sister.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Our Moment of Fame

I found this picture on the Internet this morning. That's me and my babies inside the theater at Disneyland yesterday to watch the first showing of the Captain EO tribute! It was awesome!

My New Blog!

So I've been watching my fun friends have so much fun with their new blog, so I decided I should have one of my own, featuring my passion of FREE STUFF! Check it out!

http://srslyfreestuff.blogspot.com/

President's Day

Our President's Day holiday started out with lots of napping. It was my turn to sleep in, and I took full advantage of it while Daddy got the kids started on the day. After Kelsey's nap we headed to the park. Kelsey drove her car. Jeremy tried out his new scooter he got for Christmas. It was a happy day at the park. We tried out the exercise equipment.

The duck pond was pretty, but stinky. The butterflies were pretty, but not stinky. LOL The playground was a swingin' good time for my little monkeys.We had a gift card to Souplantation, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Jeremy makes the funniest faces! Love that boy!

Afterwards, Jeremy and Daddy were off to Kempo, and Kelsey and I hit the mall to get her pictures taken. It was a nice day to be together.

Lovefest

It's been a LOVEFEST around here!It all started with our anniversary. 10 YEARS! We used a gift card we've been saving since I was pregnant to go to the Cheesecake Factory. They don't officially do anything for anniversaries, but our sweet waitress decorated our cheesecake plate for us. So cute! Both the kids had the flu, about a week apart, so I was LOVING the extra snuggles and the fact that Jeremy is old enough to puke in a bowl! Of course, we are LOVING Pie Month! Jeremy LOVES licking the bowl. We went roller skating for the first time as a family. Jeremy LOVED it! He fell down a lot, but got right back up and wasn't discouraged. So proud of him! He held our hands at first, but really wanted to do it on his own. Great job Jeremy! My fun friend threw a Valentine's party. We all had to make each other Valentines and a red treat to share. I made these lavendar heart sachets. Everyone made such cute things! I was feeling the LOVE! One of the silly things I missed out on when being homeschooled was the Valentine's class party where everyone exchanged valentines, so this was fun for me. I intended to make cheesecake brownies bites with cherries on top, but I burnt the brownies. So I crumbled them up and they turned into Cherry Cheecake Brownie Parfaits. I can't say I was disappointed! They were yummy! I found this cute reader at a craft show a few months ago. It's part of a series called the Alice and Jerry readers. We LOVE them! They were published in the 1940s so of course they are considered vintage which equals expensive! I snagged this one for a few dollars, not knowing how valuable it was. They're very popular, so now I'm hunting on Ebay

for deals so I can get the rest of them for my kids. Valentine's Day Eve we went to an adult dinner at the church, and we LOVED Grandma taking care of the kids at home! Sunday morning was Valentine's Day and we made whole wheat blueberry pancakes and let Daddy sleep in, which he LOVED! We've been LOVING the rain! And the rainbows.

Hope you're feeling the LOVE this month!

Yesterday

Yesterday I went to a funeral. I didn't want to go. I dreaded it like no other funeral I'd ever been to. I started to cry before I even got there. I cried the whole way through. I usually have a good handle on death. I have always felt the hope of a better life for those who have passed on, and have never felt the pain. But not this time. The death was of a 3-week-old baby girl. I had never met her, never met her good mother, and am not close to her father. But her sudden death rocked my world. Losing a baby has always been my worst nightmare. I watched the family come into the chapel. Her father carried her tiny body in the smallest casket by himself. No pall bearers needed, just her daddy. The tiniest things are so heavy sometimes. Her mother amazes me with her strength. Her poor little brother wept and could not be comforted. He is the same age as Jeremy. I told Jeremy that his friend's baby sister had died. He said, that's not good. I told him that the cupcakes I made had to go to their family, so there wouldn't be any left over for him. He was okay with that. I hugged and hugged and hugged some more, and found the strength I needed. I learned so much yesterday. All from the death of a little one I never knew. I was reminded by our sweet bishop of the everlasting love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I was reminded how precious my time is with my own children. I came home with a renewed vow to cherish the time I have with them, to soak up their fun, and relish the demands they put on my life.

I am so blessed.

10 Years

Today, as you see on my cute blog counter, David and I have been married for 10 years. Amazing how fast it has gone in retrospect. It has been the biggest adventure of my life. Happy times when I wanted to just capture the moment and freeze it forever. Hard times that weighed me down and felt like they would last forever. I come from parents who had a hard time finding a good marriage partner, so I was determined to ask all the right questions and choose wisely. And although I thought I knew what I was getting into, and certainly am glad for my choice, it turns out that there were many surprises along the way. I've learned and continue to learn much about David and myself, about our strengths and weaknesses, and even after 10 years, I am little wiser than when we started, just more humbled. There are things we do well, and so many things we need to do better. I've learned that raising my voice never helps anything, that neither one of us is better than the other, and that sometimes, it really is better to go to bed angry. Most things look better in the morning with some rest and time. I've learned much about commitment, patience, and forgiveness. I've learned lessons I never wanted to know, but am glad for the experience that has opened my mind and given me great empathy toward others' struggles. I feel blessed to have chosen the companion that I did. He is always willing to do whatever I ask of him, he loves me and our children and supports us well, and he is easy to please and quick to forgive me. Despite our struggles, we have found great love and joy together and are determined to succeed! Here's to the next part of our adventure together!

I love you baby.

Weekend

This weekend was a bunch of busy fun. On Friday we went to meet our cousins at Disneyland. We had fun going on rides and being together. Jeremy and Kelsey always like this big fire boat at CA Adventure. There are lots of things to climb on and noises to be made, a children's paradise. One of the last things Jeremy went on with our cousins was the Grizzly Rapids Run. They got soaked, but had so much fun! Jeremy's clothes were wringing wet, and as the sun was going down soon, we headed for home. Daddy had a scout campout that night, so we had a slumber party in my bed and Jeremy got to stay up till 10:00! The next day we went to a really fun birthday party at Atlantis Park. Our friend turned 5 and he had a pirate party. The kids got to make mini oceans in water bottles, frost shark cookies, color, and make pirate flags. Super fun. All that on top of the super fun park that the kids love already! Kelsey really got into the cake.Sunday morning I decided to see if I could french braid Kelsey's hair. It worked! It was tricky, but turned out so cute!!! I love love love it. People ask me all the time if Jeremy is a good big brother. He is excellent. He loves his sister and rarely gets upset with her getting into his stuff. He tries to keep her safe and is very conscientious about her putting things in her mouth that she shouldn't. He likes to help her and tell people that she is his baby Kelsey. We are so blessed to have each other.