Flashback Friday

I really want to blog more.  Just for us.  To look back on.  I just keep getting behind and then I don’t know where to start. 
I’m flashing back to last Saturday.  It was a busy day.  Dan had a primary teacher meeting at 9 then I took the girls to the church for a primary activity.  Fred went right to Dan and rested his head on Dan’s shoulder.  He wouldn’t come to me.  So I left him.  I went back for him about 30 minutes later and he still wouldn’t come to me.  He even pushed me away.  He’s not usually such a daddy’s boy but I was glad because I got to go grocery shopping by myself.
After primary the girls had lunch and then went to a birthday party from 1-3.  I cleaned.  Fred napped.  Dan worked and put up shelves in the office. (I’ll post pictures later.  When I get back from spring break in St. George.) 
Then we took the girls skiing.  This is the first time we had gone with them since their ski lessons.  It was really fun.  Since Chloe learned to get on and off the lift by herself I was able to snowboard.  She is really good at turning  and stopping.  Stella is really good at going fast.  She didn’t want to go slow.  But we were afraid she would wreck so we kept yelling, “pizza!” (snow plow).  Then Chloe tried snowboarding.  We got home at 9:30.  Good day.

Flashback Friday

Our own March madness.  Involving no basketball.  Just pictures from March.

2002.  Chloe.

2003.  Chloe.

2004.  Chloe.

2005.  Chloe.

2006.  Stella.

2007.  Sup.  On a table.

Stella, Chloe & Baby Bear

2008.  Stella, Fred & Chloe. 

2009.  Chloe, Stella & Fred.

He's Becoming More Civilized

Five months ago...

& Now... Before we know it he'll be eating caviar and sipping tea with his pinky out.

Bike Shop

Dan worked in a bike shop through his teen years.  He has always liked bikes and dreamed of owning his own shop.  Well, it is finally happening.  He and a couple of friends are the new owners of SBR Sports in Orem, UT.  No, we are not moving down there.  We are not planning on making a living off the shop.  We are hoping to survive the first year and then have it support Kyle (he’s the one that will be running the store) and Angela.  One day we hope to make some money off it.

We would love to hook you all up but it is a small business in a bad economy.  If you are reading this then you are probably a friend or relative.  We will happily give you a discount.  But please don’t ask us to give your brother a deal.  Unless he has cancer and his house burned down or some other deserving reason.  In fact, if you have a healthy bank account maybe you can offer to pay more.  Just to help us out :). 

We have spend the last two weekends down there clearing out all the junk and repainting.  There is still a lot of work to do and we hope to have a spiffy shop soon.  Little by little.  If you have any skillz let us know and maybe we can work out a trade.  Anyone know how to drywall a ceiling?  Electrical?  (Nate?). 

SBR Sports

149 W 400 N
Orem, UT 84057

Wish us luck!

Cut the Cheese

I was changing Fred's diaper and he passed some gas. I laughed and said, "You tooted!" Then he let a long one rip. I laughed. He laughed. And then he tried to do it again. He was pushing so hard his face turned red. He finally just made a noise with his mouth. What is it with boys and their amusement with flatulence?

On a similar note...the other day I could tell he was trying to poop so I set him on the toilet. I missed the boat but he thought it was pretty cool to sit there.

Playroom cont.

 

I’m posting more than anyone cares to know about our playroom.  It is my favorite room.  When we moved in the ENTIRE house was painted that peachy tan color with a darker tan trim (see previous post).  We had all the doors and trim painted white and most of the house painted this light bluish color.  I meant for it to be gray and I don’t love it in the rest of the house but I really like it in the playroom.  I love having a playroom.  Upstairs.  With a door.  99.9% of the toys we own are in this room.  Everything is organized, as you will see.   

I know the ‘keep calm’ poster is way over-done.  Does it make a difference that I bought it years ago from England before they were mass produced in the states in every color?  Well, I still like it enough to keep it up and I think it is perfect for a playroom.  The other two prints are from etsy. 

We had a large map hanging above the table and chairs but Fred kept pulling it down. 

I think the previous owners used this as a bedroom.  This alcove had been framed into a closet.  We ripped it out. 
I used to get so nervous when the kids came near me while I was running on the treadmill.  It also keeps them from playing on it. 

Dan always complains that we have too many toys.  I have snuck out quite a few toys since the move.  For my own satisfaction of being organized I’m going to list all the toys.  (skip this part.)

1. Doll Clothes and accessories
2. dolls
3. cars & trucks
4. dolls
5. videos, dvds
6. stuffed animals
7. random toys like Gumby (4 of these drawers used to be for random toys)
8. stuffed animals
9. wood puzzles
   

More toys

1. train
2. Mr.. & Mrs.. potato head
3. puzzles, activity books, leapfrog
4. magnetix
5. horses and ponies
6. wood & marbles building toy
7. lincoln logs
8. musical instruments
9. small dolls like polly pockets, princesses
10. legos
11. wood blocks
12. barbies
13. dr./vet and small animals
14. little people
15. wood blocks

Kids love this trampoline. 
The girls always lay the futon down because they like it to be their stage. 

Fred actually brought that leotard to me to put on him.  Chloe added the skirt.

The girl’s room is basically done.  I hung up all the art I have been collecting.  I’m not sure about it.  So I’m going to think about it for a bit.  I’ll post pictures of it soon.  The next room I’ll tackle will be my…don’t know what to call it.  Not an office because I don’t work in there.  Not a craft room because I don’t craft.  My computer/storage room.   This is going to take a lot of organization.  And some help from Dan to install some shelves.  Hopefully he’ll find some time soon.

Playroom

Part of February’s goal was to finish the playroom.  I have tons of pictures and descriptions that I will post when we get back from Utah. Here are a couple of pictures: 

Ski School

I've been taking the girls up to Bogus Basin for ski school on Thursday mornings. There are not a lot of skiers on the mountain and the classes are small (2 or 3 kids/instructor).

Chloe likes to be first.

That kid really held back Stella.

Fred and I hang out in the lodge or cruise around in the sled.

The big haul.

On the way home they are really hungry.

And tired.

Flashback Friday

//

This video is very shaky (Dan must have been nervous for her) but it is the only one we have.  This was last year when Chloe was five.  She came in last and she cried.  (Have I mentioned how competitive she is?)  It was her first and last race.  Dan thinks bmx racing in Idaho is too redneck so we quit. 

18 Months

Fred is 18 months old today. This is such a fun age. He is growing and learning so fast. To document this stage I’m going to celebrate blog-style by listing 18 things about Fred that make me smile. (Not 18 things ‘I love’ because lots of these things cause extra work for me. But they still make me smile.)

1. He says, “ahm” almost every time he takes a bite of food.
2. He gives hugs by laying his head on you. So, he’ll walk up to you and tilt his head until it is resting on you.
3. I tried to teach him to sign ‘eat’ and ‘more’. He quickly learned to say, “mao” for more and for ‘eat’ he gives his pointer finger a suck. So cute.
4. He has three styles of kissing. He’ll come at you with his tongue sticking out, with his mouth wide open or with a fish-face pucker (my favorite).
5. He sings a lot. Including Hannah Montana’s ‘Best of Both Worlds’. Not kidding. “behhhh bohhhh.”
6. He loves to dance. He can rock out or twirl like a graceful ballerina.
7. He rides his spring horse with reckless abandon, often standing up in the saddle. But before mounting up he has to find his cowboy hat.
8. He really loves books right now. He is always bringing us books and asking, “boo-uh?” But he is really hard on them. I tape them back together but he just pulls them apart again.
9. He has a natural mohawk/alfalfa—two cowlicks that swirl in. He also has the mullet that each of our kids have been blessed with. So ugly on the girls but I kind of like it on Fred.
10. He is very resourceful. He has learned to push chairs around to reach what he wants. Or he’ll get a pot out and stand on it—just the right height to reach into drawers.
11. When he doesn’t want me to set him down he’ll wrap his legs around mine.
12. He is really good at using sound effects to emphasize his actions. Usually, “whoa!” or “uh!”.
13. He likes to open the dishwasher and take out a spoon then open the cupboard and take out a pot and create ‘music’.
14. My girls used to guide me by the finger to show me what they wanted. Fred tries to push or lift me up. He really thinks he can do it.
15. He rarely says 'no' but when he does he screams it. “Nnnnah!!” And he’ll swing his arm around. Usually when I put something in the microwave.
16. He tickles whenever skin on a midsection is revealed and says, “Ticka ticka”. He also tries to tickle Stella’s bum when I’m changing her diaper. (Or he’ll get a wipe and try to help.)
17. He sings “cheese” for the camera. But he won’t let us film him anymore because he just wants to look at himself. (Why did I show him that?!)
18. He is a good climber. He loves to be on the counter or the table.

I’m already to 18? Well, I really want to remember these things so I’m going to keep going…

• Whenever he does something he says, “deh” for ‘there’. If it is really cool then he’ll raise his arms and say “ta-dah!”
• He takes two good naps a day then goes to bed at 8 until about 8.
• He loves to bury his face in the cat’s fur. Or just knock her off whatever she is perched on.
• He usually has something on his face or in his hair. Usually marker but sometimes cream, chapstick, maskera, superglue, toothpaste or anything that has a lid that he can remove.
• He finds it very entertaining to throw things down the stairs or over the railing.
• He can squirm his way out of safety straps no matter how tight I get them. This makes shopping and eating out a pain. I can get the shopping cart strap really tight but somehow he manages to climb over the back of the seat while still in the strap and ends up hanging by his waist.

Ok, I think that will do. We love Fred. We think it is so fun to have a boy around. We are really glad that he is old enough to go into nursery on Sundays.

Happy Valentine’s

The other day, I clicked over to Ashlynn’s blog from Jordan’s blog just in time to see this Valentine idea.
I added the text and border in Picnik and had them printed in wallet size at Walmart (Costco’s wallets are too small).

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to use them for Chloe’s class because they sent home a paper saying ‘no treats’. NO TREATS. On Valentine’s! They are trying to teach the kids healthy eating habits. We were told we could only send healthy snacks. Well, we kind of cheated. We taped sugar free gum to some store-bought valentines. Not healthy but not bad for you—unless sugar substitutes cause cancer. We’ll doorbell-ditch the sucker ones on Valentine’s night at their friend’s houses.

Chloe's Thoughts

Before I relate this conversation let me remind you that I come from a family that watches a lot of sports on television and we currently live in a town that is very fanatical and proud of their blue field.


Chloe: Mom, why do so many people love to watch football on t.v. but we don't?
Mom: I don't know, we just like other sports better. And we don't really watch t.v.
Chloe: But why do so many people like it and we don't?
Mom: I guess we are just more into the sports that we can actually participate in.
Chloe: But why does everyone else like it?
Mom: I don't know. Chloe, you can like football if you want.
Chloe: But I don't.


And that was the end of the conversation. If any of you sports watchers would like to explain this feel free to do so in the comments.


After reading Sleeping Beauty, Chloe asked: How come in all the books and all the movies the good guys always win?
Me: I guess people just prefer to have things end nicely.
Chloe: I don't.
Me: So you would rather have the witch kill the prince and Princess Aurora stay asleep forever?
Chloe: Yeah.


She said it so matter-of-factly--not trying to be funny or different. But I'm pretty sure she likes a happy ending now and then.

This was taken at the Discovery Center in Boise. Reminds me of the mirrored wall we had growing up.

Tribute to Uncle Jordan

I found that jacket for Fred at the D.I. --Jordan's favorite shopping destination. Too bad there weren't any boots in Fred's size.

Jammin' with Jordan in St. George.