Romans by me

I did it :)

My bud

I love when Mackenzie prays "please bless mom that she can do everything for us" and "please bless mom that she can do everything right." Hmmmm

Kenzie and I often get 1 on 1 time while Brookie naps. Today we played with a soldier with parachute taking turns throwing it over the stairs, 2 person duck duck goose, she helped me with my emails, we made pizza dough for dinner. We are buds. We also got to watch Mackenzie's preschool Christmas program tonight. She did such a good job learning the songs and really belted them out.

The other day the Leaning Tower of Pisa was on the Little Einsteins...
Mom: Did you know mom and dad have been there?
Mackenzie: Why couldn't I go there?
Mom: Actually you were in my belly.
Mackenzie: Did you eat me?

Lessons

Today's nursery lesson was about saying "I'm sorry" and the teacher told the story about Nephi building a ship. She explained to the kids that Nephi's brother's were mean to him and called him dumb for thinking he could build this giant boat. Mackenzie said "That's just like Rudolph!"
I thought it was funny that she made that comparison. That Rudolph song has made quite the impression.

A Sunny Thanksgiving

This year we had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving in St. George with the Smiths--all my bro and sis-in-laws and kids. We were missing the most important Smith (Carol) who was home recovering from surgery. Sounds mean to leave her alone but I promise she wanted us to go!

Mackenzie and Olivia with Brooklyn thoroughly enjoying her slush in the background.


The turkey carvers Jason and Ali...MMMM! Ali really was a carver--this is not staged.

The girls had a great time at the park nearby the condo...

Brooklyn is TWO!

Celebrating at Jungle Jim's


Birthday balloons


Birthday breakfast at Ihop

This little girl has brought our family so much joy and I can't imagine life without her. My heart about bursts when she laughs. I'm in awe each time I recognize the love she has for her sister, cousins, and the rest of her family. I love her completely and at times I'm surprised how much I adore her.

Bring on the 2's...

The Next Project Runway Finalist?

I did absolutely nothing with this project except wonder why she kept coming into the kitchen for plastic grocery bags.

Snowball Poem

Mackenzie has been learning this for her preschool Christmas program. I love how she thinks the part at the end about the parents thinking it is funny is part of the poem.

Happy Vets Day

I just had to take pictures of how pretty our street looks right now.

Feeling so blessed to live here in this house, on this street, in this neighborhood, in this country where we have so many freedoms and blessings.

We survived

The girls and I took a week to go see my family in Fallon. My dad took a bad fall and is stuck in bed so we wanted to go tell him we love him and provide some little girl-type entertainment. We drove with Leanna and her two kids. 4 kids, 2 moms, 8 hours each way. The best part- I was the driver and Leanna was the entertainer (what a saint)! The worst part- me getting pulled over on Maine Street in Fallon after driving all day. Apparently the cop thought I should count 10 Californias at the stop sign. Thankfully it was just a warning and no ticket.

We were spoiled staying at Grandma Jean's. We stayed with her as to not drive my immobile dad up the wall.

Mackenzie and Brooklyn had fun at Kate and Kylie's ward Halloween party. Here they are enjoying their loot. When we were leaving Fallon Mackenzie said "But Kate's my best friend!"

Snow White, Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, and Minnie Mouse


The whole family at the Milne's Halloween bash.

Dear Daddy,

We miss you! We had a long drive to get to Fallon so we could visit Grandpa.
This was pure bliss after being cramped in the car for hours and hours:



We had a really fun day at Lattin Farms. We rode the cow train 3 times and jumped to our hearts' content in the bounce house.




We'll keep you posted of what we're up to. Love you lots, M & B

Happy Halloween

More pics

Gardner Village Outing

We went to Gardner Village to see the witches. Mackenzie was not happy that they were not "real" so we took the little hay ride to see the "real" ones. Brooklyn insisted on being held. She is turning into quite the fraidy-cat. But Mackenzie loved all the witches and seeing their trailer-turned-house and listened so intently to everything they said. She was very relieved because the first thing "Helga" told the kids is that Gardner Village only has GOOD witches.

Fun family outing...

Soccer

Here is a little taste of 3 and 4 year olds playing soccer. We are the blue team and Mackenzie has on the pink sleeves. If you watch closely (at about 15 seconds), she actually kicks the ball in this video.

p.s. The coach for the black team was cracking us up being all intense. Every time we would kick off he would yell "Look at their eyes- that's where the ball is going!" Actually coach, their eyes are looking over at the park or at the sideline searching for treats.

Talented Friend

My friend Raelene makes some way cute baby accessories and aprons. She just started this blog because she's had a lot of people wanting her to make stuff for them.

Check it out: www.cocobelladesign.blogspot.com

St. George Marathon 2009

WE DID IT! I've never been so happy/relieved/excited to see a finish line. What a wonderful sense of accomplishment after diligently following our running schedule for the last 4 months. The day finally came and all our hard work earned Robert and I 4,562nd place and 3,548th place respectively. Pretty good, huh?

THE RUNNERS with "finisher" medals

THE FAM

ROBERT coming through the finish line

So here is a breakdown of October 3rd

4:00 am Wake up

5:15 am Load onto bus with 7,000 plus others (the ride up to the starting point is about 35 minutes of trying not to notice how long the ride is as you'll be running it on the way back)

6:55 am We cross the starting line

7:00 am I realize that I forgot to cut my toenails. Not cool.

8:00 am Running and feeling pretty good

9:00 am Still running

10:00 am It's becoming painful but of course we're still running

11:00 am Somehow we're still running

11:19 am I cross the finish line 4 hours and 24 minutes after we began

11:50 am Robert makes his goal of finishing under 5 hours

Then we met up with our supporters (Carol, Liz, Grace, Ali, Jeff, Jill, Mackenzie and Brooklyn). They were so great to fight the crowds to be there. For first-timers, it was great to feel like what we did was worth cheering on.

This really was one of the coolest things we have ever done together.

Post Marathon

We, my husband and I together, are running the St. George marathon in less than a week. I hope we're ready. We've been seriously faithful in following our running schedule. I've been quite impressed with us to tell you the truth. But 26.2 miles is just a long way. Wish us luck...

Anywho, I'll get on with the point of this post. The other day we were talking about what and where we should eat after the race. I'm thinking somewhere nice with appetizers, main course, desserts, drinks- you know going all out for this meal. Bert doesn't even have to think about it "Carl's Jr."

Um, I guess we'll be celebrating separately.

Report

I have only good things to say about the crib tent. It's like the good ole days before Brooklyn learned the nasty climbing out of bed trick.

Before and After

Before:

After:

Before:

After:


I wish I could say I recovered this cushion myself but I have to be truthful and tell you all my Grandma Jean did it. It looks so professional with cording and all. I did repaint the chair myself though :) I just know Mackenzie will go to sleep so much easier now that the "reading chair" matches the rest of the room.

Newest Purchase

Bum cream all over the place was the last straw. I'll give a full report after we test this puppy out.

Disneyland

Really fun trip to Disneyland. Robert's mom joined us too- isn't she a saint!?
We'll definitely do this again next year. When it isn't so hot.



Brooklyn was scared of the characters. This video shows how she would cover her eyes or hide behind one of us. As soon as they would start walking away, would say "BYE" as friendly as could be.

First day of preschool

I've been told by my husband that the proper way to take a "first day of school picture" is standing by the front door with a school bag. So here goes...


When you ask Mackenzie if she goes to preschool, she will answer no, she goes to Winner school. She just loves school and she will also be doing dance this year. She's darling in her leotard and will do ballet one day and tap the other. I'm am missing her at home and so is Brookie. The first day Kenzie was gone I forgot I didn't have my little tattle to come tell me when Brooklyn is getting into stuff she shouldn't...bubble gum tooth paste and mascara...all over the counter and her!

New Hair Do

Mackenzie got about 5 inches cut off her hair. As you can see above, it is still long enough to twirl. We love the new concept of being able to brush through it without tears!

3 days

I'm trying to tell myself that Robert in going to the BYU game without us means 3 days that I don't have to cook instead of 3 days by myself.

We just got back from Disneyland. I think it was successful.

Comfy

See previous post for full effect...

Today we went swimming with some friends, had a great time, got very worn out, came home for a nap, and decided this would be better than sleeping in the crib.

Good thing I decided to check on her- I don't know how long gravity would have allowed this particular position.

Escaping

WARNING: Do not allow crib-dwelling-children to see this video.


Nap times aren't quite as smooth as they used to be but we're making it work :)

Essentials

Essentials for a first Half marathon in no particular order:

1. Find a babysitter who will spend the night so when you leave at 4am you're set.
2. Have an awesome running partner (supportive, concerned, handsome- see below)

3. Calendar on the bathroom mirror to get the satisfaction of checking off every run
4. Sign up for a race that buses you to the top of the canyon and then you run downhill nearly the whole way (ie Provo canyon)

5. Be prepared for sore legs
6. Be very happy that is was just 13.1 and not the 26.2 that will happen on October 3 aahhhhh
6. Ipod shuffle
7. Smart wool sock and good shoes and ibuprofin

M's swim lesson

Mackenzie has been taking 1 on 1 swim lessons this summer from a great teacher. She's gotten way more comfortable in the water. It's made our summer much more fun because I can now take both girls to the pool by myself (or more often Robert takes both girls while I take a breather at home).

When I Grow Up

One great thing about being mom is that you never have to decide what you want to be now that you're grown up. Take a look at all the professions I've tried out today alone.

• Painter- painted a hand me down bookshelf
  
• Property manager- work for our house in Iowa
  
• Housekeeper- constant dishes, laundry, sweeping, trying to get rid of the STICKINESS that is my two little girls
  
• Nanny- reading books, changing diapers, dressing, playing catch, etc
  
• Life guard- the girls love the neighborhood pool
  
• Chef/Baker- Peanut Butter Banana Bread recipe here. Plus all the other meals and snacks that moms are in charge of
• Travel agent- Disneyland here we come

We get paid in a much more rewarding way too.
--Hearing Brooklyn say new words everyday
--Seeing each goodnight kiss between sisters
--Mackenzie's cards
--"Good dinner mommy" or "mmmmm"
--Laughing
ie: Me to Mackenzie: Give me some skin!
Mackenzie: It's MY SKIN! (folding her arms)
Me: That just means give me 5.
Mackenzie: Oh, ok sure

Holiday Weekend

The best dad in the world had a backyard campout with Mackenzie over the holiday weekend. I thought I better stay inside in case Brooklyn needed me. Mackenzie stayed up late asking for scary stories.


We celebrated Pioneer Day by going to a movie and having friends over for some fireworks. The two lovely ladies below took care of our kids while we went to Harry Potter (loved it).

We had a good time with the fireworks but most of the kids were done after 5 minutes. No matter- we just kept going till every last one was gone.


Thanks to those came before us to allow us such a great life!

Are we cool or what?

Here's proof that Robert (left) and I (right) are natural born surfers.

Cards

Mackenzie is constantly making people cards. I'm not sure where she picked it up but it can be cute but also not cute as she goes through an unseemly amount of paper. Usually it is just a little scribble and then she folds it up.
Today Mackenzie made me a card and this is what she wanted me to help her write on it:

Dear Karin,
I love you. I'm glad you are my best mom. I won't say hate.

4th of July

When we got back from Hawaii we went straight to Twin Lakes to see Mackenzie and Brooklyn and to celebrate the 4th at my family's cabin.

It is so perfect up there. I loved being there with my kids. It's great to share that place with them as I remember having such a ball there as a kid. These girls just love yogurt and there's no better place on earth to enjoy it.

Robert and I ran in the 5 mile race around the lake. It was extra fun since cousin Shannon, cousin Lance, auntish Vicki and unclish Rich did it too. (I wish we had a pic of us all together).

Pair A Dice

Does anything say paradise liking sipping a pina colada at a luau?

For our 6 year anniversary, Robert and I decided to celebrate like never before (vacation in Hawaii with no kids). We dropped Mackenzie and Brooklyn off with my parents in Fallon and it was off to Maui. We had a fabulously relaxing time.

We stayed in a beautiful place (great pools and beach), enjoyed going to the movies, eating in peace, surfing lessons, scuba diving, boat ride, funny magic show, and a little shopping and a lot of window shopping.

Here we are in our hotel lobby (great view).

We just loved having some one on one time. We played some cards and Robert's highlight was beating me at speed.

It was the perfect vacation. We had a lot of fun, felt rejuvenated by the end, and Oh-So-Ready to see our kids again. Thanks to everyone who helped with Kenzie and Brookie while we were gone.