Family Pictures

Here are some family pictures my cousin took of us. I haven't got our Christmas letter out,yet. I always seem to be sending out New Year greetings instead. We're all fine and happy. We have had a lot of snow lately, which has been a good excuse to just stay inside. Matt and Ginny made snow dragon last night instead of going to my family party in Salt Lake-too much snow. I'll post a picture of that someday.

Here are some pictures that my cousin Melese took. Thanks again, Melese.

Discoveries

I saw this on my cousin's blog and was surprised at how much I have done. If you want to do it, just copy it to your blog and bold all the things you have done. Happy discoveries!

1. Started your own blog...........................(Love it!)

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii.......(when I was a baby)

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.......(does tithing count?)

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a Praying Mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped...no desire to, either.

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train...(from the South of France to Naples, Italy)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping....(when I was little, at my Grandma's pool)

27. Run a Marathon.. I admire people who do and hope to have the desire to run someday.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing... in a gym, does that count?

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted... had my "Cartoon" painted at Disneyland. Does that count?

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris- climbed all those stairs with my best friend, Melody.

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie- I'm in a commercial about recycling.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies... and eaten many of them, too

62. Gone whale watching....in San Diego

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving... scary!!! I'm afraid of heights.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check.. as a college student "How can I be out of money when I still have checks left?" : >

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.. I was just looking at my dolls and stuffed animals today, trying to get rid of them, but couldn't.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt......(no, but I've tied lots of them)

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone... never, just sprains

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car.. all our cars have been used

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper... when I was in Kindergarten

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox... all 3 kids in the car, moving from Boston to California. My poor parents!

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury.. almost. Was down to the last round of jurors before they picked the final one.

91. Met someone famous.. Henry Winkler -"The Fonz", at Disneyland.

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one.....................(more than one)

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake..... floated in it. Hard to swim in.

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Fallen in love.............(of course)

Halloween

Ginny was a "Wickersham Brother" for Halloween this year. For you non-Seussical fans out there, those are the monkeys that pester Horton the Elephant. When she said she wanted to be a Wickersham Brother, I bought her this cute monkey outfit from Old Navy. I may only have a few years left when I can get away with compromises like that with her.

From top: "Spudnuts!". Ginny is triumphantly holding up a home made spud nut that her Grandmother makes every year for Halloween. At the last minute, G put on this cowboy vest under her costume so she could have some verstility in her costume for the evening.

"Pappy" This is G and her Grandpa (Pappy is French for Grandpa) enjoying Halloween chili.

"Hugging a pumpkin" My parents grew this pumpkin in their garden.

"Visiting Daddy" We stopped by and visited Matt's class of 11th graders at Maeser Prep School in Lindon. They were very thrilled and all agreed she is the cutest little girl in the whole wide world. : > Matt talks about her so much in class that one of his students told me that she had a dream about Ginny.

Leaves Pictures

We seem to be spending most days outside raking leaves. Why is my daughter in a garbage can, you ask? We put the leaves on our "green waste" recycling can. Her favorite job is to be a "leaf stomper" so we can fit more leaves in there. Who knows all I needed was a garbage can to entertain my child? : >

Artistic Pictures

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My daughter doesn't take naps anymore, and just wants to play with me all day. So I haven't had as much time to write as I'd like. Here are some fun pictures of what we have been up to lately. Most of the pictures are of my daughter because I am always the one taking the pictures.

The above pictures are my attempt at being artistic. A professional photographer in our ward talked to us about taking pictures of our children, and here are some of my attempts. I love the jumping picture. That captures the pure joy and energy that she has every day.

The 3-year old is the boss

My sister used to have a shirt when she was little that said "I'm the boss". I need to get one for my daughter.
Yesterday, she went outside to play with her cousins without her shoes on. When I told her she needed to come in and put her shoes on, she said "I'm not available to do that right now".
When I told her she couldn't have another cookie before dinner she told me I was not making a good choice and that I needed to go in time out.
I try not to laugh when I hear her say these things. She always keeps me entertained.

Followers

My 8-year old neighbor taught me about the "followers" gadget on a blog. She showed me her blog with all the coolest gadgets on it. I think I'm officially old now that an 8-year old has to show me stuff on the computer.
I think this is a chance for me to see who regularly reads my blog (all 5 of you out there : >). If you want, you can just click on the "Follow This Blog" on the right and it will add your picture or name as one of my many loyal fans. I think that's how it works. If there are any problems, I'll ask my neighbor, or ask my 3-year old daughter. She probably knows more than I do about computers. : >

Seussical the Musical Craze

If you have been around my daugher lately, you know that she is totally obsessed with "Seussical the Musical", which she has seen three times in the last 6 months. Plus, we have the CD at home, which we used to listen to all the time, but I have since hidden the CD. : >

Ginny loves to act out the different characters, and sing the songs at the top of her lungs. I am not sure that the passengers in our recent flight from Philadelphia to SLC appreciate the songs as much as my 3 year old does.

For Halloween, she wants to be a Wickersham Brother. I am just going to dress her as a monkey and try to explain what a Wickersham Brother is to everyone she talks to. Her latest goal in life is to be in Seussical herself. She tells me that I have to buy a ticket to go see her as a "Hunch" and as a "Wickersham Brother". Sometimes, in her generous moments, she says I can be Gertrude or Horton the Elephant in the play with her.

3 Year Anniversary

Here are some pictures of us at the Provo Temple grounds. We are celebrating our 3 year anniversary of being sealed to our daughter at the Provo Temple. We walk around the grounds every year as a family on this day. I am so grateful to have a daughter and be an eternal family. That was such a special day. Hopefully we'll get to do it again soon with child # 2, whenever he or she comes.

Me

I thought I'd take a minute and write what I am doing these days, besides chasing my 3-year old around.
I work part-time at BYU as a University Supervisor. I have two student teachers in Special Education that I observe and help with their teaching. I like using my years of teaching experience and my education to help them. I feel like I can contribute something. I have always felt passionate about teacher training. This feels like I can have some effect on future teachers in Special Education. This job is very flexible and I can just tell them when I am coming to observe. I like having that flexibility so if something comes up with my daughter, I can reschedule. It's important to me to be able to ahve that flexibility.
Another creative outlet I have is volunteering at the Orem Library as a story teller. Once a month I do a 20-minute "lap time" for toddlers and their parents. I read stories, sing songs and do fingerplays with the kids. These are all things I love to do. It's fun to plan the lessons and think of fun things to do.
A few weeks ago, I was nominated as the Young Mother of the Year for our Utah Valley Chapter of American Mothers. That's quite an honor. I have to prepare a portfolio and give a speech at our State Convention. If chosen as the Utah representative, I will go to the National Convention next Spring and be nominated for National Young Mother of the Year. I feel like there are many qualified mothers out there, but I'll do my best to repersent them. I have been a member of American Mothers for two years. I love being a part of an organization that honors and values motherhood and strengthening families. Here's a link to our blog:http://americanmothers.wordpress.com/.
I am having fun this year taking Ginny to swimming lessons, helping at a local preschool near our house, taking her to Kindermusik classes, and watching her grow.

Cousin Time!!

Here are some fun pictures of Ginny with her cousins this last month.

Where does she learn these things?

My 3-year old recently had two disccusions with her grandmothers about the trials of being our daughter.
When her Grandma was watching her for a few hours, and put her to bed, Ginny got out of bed a few times to prolong bedtime. She always had a good excuse, of course. We go through this several times a night at home until she finally goes to sleep. On her 3rd time out of bed, she asked her Grandma for a drink of water. When she got it, she confided to her Grandma , "My parents just don't understand that I need a drink of water". I promise that I do let her have a drink of water anytime throughout the day, just not before bedtime to avoid bed wetting.
She recently told her "Babja" (my Mom's Grandma name), "I just need my Babja. It's not working with me and my Mom".
I am grateful for loving Grandmothers who understand and listen to my daughter's trials. : >

We have had a fun month with family reunions. Ginny has loved playing with her cousins and is going to be quite bored when they leave.

Yummy Provo Restaurants

We've just discovered two restaurants in Provo/Orem area that are our new favorites. Thought we'd put a plug in for them so you can try them. Better yet, call us and we'll take you there to sample for yourself!
The first is owned by our neighbor who is Cambodian. She escaped from Cambodia with her family during the "killing fields" time and lived in Thailand a long time before coming to the U.S. She is an amazing cook. Her restaurant is called "Spicy Thai". It is on University Avenue, right next to Magleby's Fresh. It really is one of the best Thai Restaurants I have been to in a long time. Our neighbor, who claims he doesn't even like Asian food, said it was so good. If you need an excuse to go, give us a call.

The other place we love is Pizzeria 712. Here's a link to their blog: http://pizzeria712.blogspot.com/. It is real Italian pizza that is so good. They have a real wood burning pizza oven that they use to cook the pizzas. My stomach is growling just thinking of them! The chefs are two former chefs from Sundance who decided to open a restaurant in Orem where they both live. Again, give us a call before you go and we will be happy to support you in your Pizza bliss.

Summer Projects

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy digging up our yard and trying to figure out what to do with it now it's all torn up. I am so grateful for wonderful neighbors that just stop by to help when they see us out there working.

Here's a picture of our backyard. Hopefully it will be a good "before" picture that you can refer to when you see it all done. It feels like that moment will never come right now, but I'm trying to be optimistic.

Here's a picture of Ginny on our landscaper's cool tractor that he used to help tear up our lawn. Ginny thought his reason for being there was to play with her, and was sad when he left. (sorry both pictures are at the top. When I inserted them, they went there and I can't figure out how to move them).

Puddle Jumping

This was a great reminder that I don't need museums or other cool places to take Ginny (though I do appreciate them). Ginny had such fun putting on her rain boots, grabbing the umbrella, and jumping in puddles just in our neighborhood.

Discovering Thanksgiving Point

My friend and I (we've been friends since 2nd grade) like to go on outings with our children, especially now that the weather is nice. The last two weeks we have had fun at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. For all you big city folks out there who have access to museums and parks galore, this may not seem a big thing, but it's been fun to get a little culture and variety in our lives.

Last week we went to the Children's Discovery Garden. My daughter is still talking about the bear cave. You can walk through a dark cave which has the sounds of a bear growling in it. If you are brave enough to enter (it took Ginny a few tries), you will discover the growling gets louder until you see a life-size statue of a bear. Here's a picture of my friend's 6-year old by the bear.

There were beautiful flowers everywhere and little statues of animals all over.

The kids also enjoyed the little lighthouse to play in, the viewing window in the fish pond, the bug amphitheater just right for singing and performing and running and climbing all over.

Today we went to the Dinosaur museum. Another great success and good rainy day activity. Ginny liked playing in the sand and water pool. Somehow she managed to get up and stand in the pool, which I still can't quite figure out how she did it. But here she is playing in the water, happily making messes.

Her other favorite part was the "quarry"- giant sandboxes where the kids could pretend to be archeologist and unearth dinosaur bones that were hidden in the sand. Ginny really liked the "paintbrush" part, as she called it. ( Sorry, no picture of her in there). But here is a picture of the giant shark who all the kids called "Bruce" after "Finding Nemo".

I am looking forward to a fun summer exploring all the fun things to do in our area. With gas prices being so high, we're just going to get to know Utah this summer (and a bit of Idaho for a family reunion).

For those of you who live in Utah or Salt Lake Valley, what are some of your favorite kid-friendly places to go? I'd like to discover more.

Enjoying the Moments

I have been thinking about Elder Ballard's talk to young mothers at our last General Conference. One thing that stood out to me is to enjoy the moments as a mother. I like that he acknowledges that being a mother is not easy:

"We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother’s emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives. As a Church, we have enormous respect and gratitude to you. "

He goes on to ask some questions and give some answers. The first one is what I have been thinking of:

"So today, let me ask and briefly answer four questions. While my answers may seem extremely simple, if the simple things are being tended to, a mother’s life can be most rewarding.
The first question: What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?
First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)."

Here are some of my moments that bring me so much joy in being a mother:

• "Goodnight, Mom, I love you" or just the random "Mommy, I love you".
• Watching Ginny dance whenever any music is played- could be a brief song on the radio, a CD we listen to, or even at church, dancing to the Hymns or Primary songs.
• Just a chance to truly be my silly self as we preted together to be dogs, cats or tying up Nephi on the boat.
• Listening to her made up silly songs and seeing her developing sense of humor.
• Holding her hand on walks to the park
• Seeing her run with such joy and enthsusiasm
• A dandelion bouquet whenever we go outside (she always picks the white ones whose seeds happily blow everywhere as soon as she picks it up)
• Being with her all day and having our inside jokes that we have to explain to others
• Reading stories (sometimes the same ones) and watching her laugh.

This is all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll add more. If you're a mom, I'd love to hear your "moments". I am so thankful to be a mother. I love it. It's not easy and requires a lot of sacrifice. But I'm trying to be better at putting down my book or my project that I'm working on and enjoy being with her.

Shocking Revelation

I know this will be shocking news to those who know me well, but I have to get if off my chest. I like reading more than housework or yardwork. There. I've said it. I admit it.
A few weeks ago I tried really hard to be disciplined about doing housework. I came to the conclusion that I need to do a load of laundry every day (after our daughter started calling our laundry pile her "mountain") and did well for about a week. Of course, at that time, I was reading "Legacy of Ashes, The History of the CIA". Which is an interesting book, but not exactly gripping like a novel. So I did my housework while my daughter napped and kept up on the laundry. I finished that book and rewarded myself at the library with several mysteries and novels. Now that mountain is starting to come back, dishes are in the sink, and I'd rather read during nap time (or type on the computer) than clean.
Sigh. I know I'm a dissapointment to my parents and my younger brother who seem to enjoy cleaning. I just started a load of laundry and I'm going to go start the dishwasher. That's enough cleaning for one day. Back to my book....

7 Hours

It is 1:30 PM and I wanted to share what I have been doing all morning since it's a pretty typical day.

6:30-8:30- Went to the closest "Curves" gym to workout. Ginny woke up at 7:45. We snuggled for a while, then she had breakfast while I made Matt's lunch. We did get family prayer in, but not family scripture study before Matt left for work.

8:30-10:00- Played downstairs with Ginny's "Moon Sand"- a moldable sand that she has been playing with this weekend. It is a blue sand that sticks together well so you can mold it into shapes. It also gets all over everything-especially carpets! We also danced and played "cooking" with her stuffed animals. Whenever I sit down for a rest, she gives me about 30 seconds, then "Come on, Mom, Come on. Play with me".

10:00-1:00- Worked outside trying to prune our rose bush. Ginny was right next to me, trying to clip with the little clippers that I gave her, and saying "My turn". We came in for a brief lunch, then went outside again while she played with a new water wheel toy. She started pouring the water into the toy to watch the wheel turn, then ended up just pouring water onto the garden. I love to watch her discover and learn new things. She also helped me plant some flowers and water them, with lots of water and lots of love. We set up her little yellow swing and she swang for a while. We came inside, played Memory for one game. "Memory" with a 3-year old is turning over one card, then peeking at all the other cards until she finds a match. Then much weeping and wailing when I announced it was nap time. The weeping and wailing lasted for about 1 minute once she got in bed, then all was silent. Phew! I have about an hour and a half to do laundry (or type on the computer instead : >) then start all over again.

I love playing with Ginny and want to be better at treasuring these moments with her. I love her so much.

More Daddy-Daughter Time

Ginny gives Matt a kiss. The washcloth is a "hat" that she had to wear because it matched her orange sweater.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Sorry, I should have edited this photo before I inserted it, and now I can't figure out how to turn it. But I love this picture of Ginny and Matt. I am so thankful to have such a great husband who is also a great father. He loves Ginny so much and she loves him. I like how they have their own jokes and games that they like to play together that just isn't the same when I try to play with her. We have our own games and jokes just for us.

Fashion Sense

The day that I knew would happen has finally come. Ginny, my 3 year old, has more fashion sense than I do. She is very much into matching these days. Today I pulled out some pants and a shirt as a suggestion for her to wear. She rejected all my choices because they weren't the right shade of pink to match her pants. She made me keep pulling out shirts until she found the right one. Luckily, she just received hand me downs from her stylish cousin, Phoebe. I'll take a picture of one of her coordinating outfits and post it here so you can admire her fashion sense.

Enjoying Easter Candy

Easter with a 3-year old

Holidays are so fun this year. Ginny was excited all month with the Easter decorations we put up. We talked a lot about Jesus dying and being ressurected. Her favorite movie to watch this month has been of the Easter story.
She certainly got into the commercial side of Easter at our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. She joined many other children in her hunt for eight eggs. When the 2nd egg fell open in her basket and she saw the candy in there, she stopped, sat down and started eating the candy. I had to encourage her to get her other six eggs. We dumped all the candy out of the eggs into her basket, and she really sat down and got to work.

Welcome

I have joined the world of bloggers. I enjoy reading my friends and family's blogs. I decided this is something I can do, too. Hope you enjoy.