The First Bus Ride

While we are in Idaho, Alexia is able to attend pre-k at the school Jeff's mom used to work for. It is only a few hours each day, so it is very different for her, but she enjoys it. Her favorite part is that she gets to ride the bus! At home, she knows she can't ride the bus. We always told her that when she was bigger (meaning in Kindergarten) she could ride it. Well, when she found out she could ride the bus here, she said "I'm bigger now so I ride the bus?" It was very sweet.

Ileyana Rae

As you can see, my sister Emily is pregnant. The top picture was taken right after we got to the hospital, before they started her IV to induce her. She was induced around noon and the baby was born less than 5 hours later! She had a great delivery. Here is a picture of the proud dad.
Oh, if you didn't notice it on the post title, they named her Ileyana Rae.

Surprises!

The first person to be surprised after we got here was Jeff's mom. They were up at the cabin for the weekend, so it was perfect. Jeff was able to sleep through the day Saturday after we got there, they his parents came home that night. I didn't get a great picture of it. Joy did, but she hasn't uploaded her pictures yet, so this will have to do for now.

The shock was wonderful! We had Alexia run out to meet her and give her a card she had made. It was a Christmas card and on the inside it said "We'll be home for Christmas." Grammie was so excited! Actually, she said when she saw Alexia her first thought was that I had probably come with just the kids. When Jeff walked around the corner and she realized her entire family would be together, she lost it! It was so great!

My mom was next to be surprised. I wasn't able to take a picture of it as we surprised her Sunday morning at church. Our goal was to be there a little early and surprise her while she was setting up her room. However, I think the way it happened was even better! We walked in just as the bishop stood up to begin the meeting. Luckily, she was sitting in the overflow. Anyway, we walked in just as they were starting, asked if she had any room for some visitors, then sat a few rows back (because hers was full). The look of utter shock on her face was priceless! Those of you who know my mom know that she is very difficult to surprise. It was really funny because she had all these questions. What are you doing here? When did you get here? How long are you staying? But she couldn't ask any of them because we were in sacrament meeting! When she tried to start asking all the questions, Jeff leaned over with a grin on his face and said "You are being a bad example of reverence for the kids." It was so perfect! She said all she wanted to do was scream, but she couldn't!

Sunday night, we went down to Utah to be with Emily when she had her baby. She was expecting my mom, just not me. She was the last to be surprised. By that time, we had been here long enough that everyone else knew. We showed up on her doorstep about an hour and a half before she was scheduled to be induced.

Trip Across the Country

For those who don't know, we are in Idaho! Jeff was able to work it out to have two of his rotations for medical school here. Even though we have known for well over 8 months that we would be coming, we didn't tell our moms. I will post some pictures from that later. Needless to say, they were surprised.

Anyway, our friend Galen flew out to Ohio to help us drive (yes, I said drive) back to Idaho. We left around 7:00 p.m. in the hopes that the kids would sleep on the way. Much to our delight, we were right! The first night we drove about 14 hours and stopped just outside Nebraska. The kids did so great! And I was very grateful that Jeff had an extra driver with him.

In Nebraska, we stopped at Tina and Jared's house for the day. We met them when Jeff and I were on the BYU-I Ballroom Tour Team during college. They are awesome.It was perfect timing. The kids were only awake for an hour or two before we got to their house. The men took naps and the rest of us got to play! Here is a picture of their little boy, Trenton. He is about 2 months younger than Ryan. They had so much fun together...minus a couple fights over toys. But hey, they're kids. That's expected, right?

And here is Ryan playing at their house. You can see Alexia in the corner, but she wasn't much interested in pictures at the moment.

And this is the beloved toy they fought over. They played well together for the most part. But when it came to this snazzy remote control truck, they both wanted to play with it. The only other toy they fought over was a little football.

We were so glad we got a chance to play with our friends! We haven't seen them since shortly after Trenton was born!

After the kids played, took naps, and played some more, we had some dinner then got back on the road for another 14ish hour drive. The kids didn't do quite as well the second night, but they still did great. You know, I can't blame them though. I was sick of the van by that point too.

My Favorite Halloween Picture

The Trick-or-Treating Group

One of our friends came over to go trick-or-treating with us. The men sat in front of our house to hand out candy, and we took the kids around the neighborhood. We had a lot of fun. The little girl in the pink dress is Cami (Alexia's best friend). Our friends brought their wagon. The funny thing is the girls all walked. Ryan was the only one that rode in it! He was hilarious too! He was a little shy, so I would pull him up to the person handing out candy. He would take the candy from them, hold it up, say "thank you," and put it in his bucket. As you can see, we had a great time!

So, our neighborhood does Halloween a little differently. In Idaho, if you want trick-or-treaters to come to your house, you turn on your porch light. In Ohio, nobody will knock on your door or ring your door bell. If you want people to come to your house, you have to sit out in your driveway with the candy. If they don't see someone in the driveway, they will walk on past. Interesting...

Another thing they do differently here is that our neighborhood goes trick-or-treating the Thursday before Halloween. Some of the neighborhoods around us do it the Friday before Halloween, and a few actually do it on Halloween. Seriously, you can get a lot of candy if you go out that much! It's insane! We just did the one in our neighborhood and our ward Halloween party. I just think it is odd that they do it before. And it wasn't just this year. They do it every year. If Halloween is on a Wednesday, they do the trick-or-treating the week before. I just think it is odd. Anyway, those are my thoughts on Halloween in Ohio...

Carving Pumpkins

We were supposed to have this big old pumpkin carving with a bunch of our friends. One thing after another came up and it ended up just being us and one other couple. We had a lot of fun though. Here is a picture of Jeff hard at work:

The finished products. Mine is the witch and Jeff's is the 5 pumpkins. I think Jeff worked on his until midnight. It took a lot of time, but I think it turned out really cool.

I was taking pictures of everyone carving (because that's just what I do). So Ryan grabbed his camera and decided to take a picture of me too. He sure loves cameras!

Halloween Costumes

Okay, so I'm a little bit behind. Anyway, here are some pictures of the kids Halloween costumes. Alexia and I looked at costumes online together and she picked out her own. This is what she wanted to be:

Ryan was a puppy. Anyone who knows Ryan understands why. He will crawl around the house with his tounge out pretending to be a dog. It is hilarious and so adorable!

Our New Addition

So last week we noticed our neighbors seemed to be packing things up a bit. Then earlier this week, a U-Haul appeared at their house. Hmmm... we thought. They must be moving. The day the U-Haul was in front of their house, Jeff was going to go ask if they needed any help moving things...then I fell asleep. Oops. I certainly enjoyed my nap! But Jeff didn't get a chance to help them. Then on Tuesday when the kids were napping, I heard the doorbell ring. I answered the door and found my neighbor. She told me they were moving and we talked about that for a few minutes. Then she said "You know that swing set that is in our back yard? Well, we've decided that we aren't taking it with us and we thought your kids would really enjoy it. Would you like it?" I was shocked. Of course! I offered to pay for it, but she said no and just to come over and get it whenever it was convenient for us. So when Jeff got home from work that night, we enlisted the help of two of the other medical students on our road to come help move it. We are so excited to have a new swing set to play on! The kids have loved it! If only it would rain a little less often, they could play a little more!

Side Note: Please ignore the insanely long grass. It desperately needs to be mowed!

As you can see, Alexia really enjoyed the swings!

Sarah came over to play for a while (her dad helped us move it). She really enjoyed it too!

I wasn't able to get a great picture of Ryan on the swings, but I did get one of Jeff pushing Ryan!
I also didn't get a good picture of Ryan going down the slide. He always goes down on his belly. Silly kid. Here is Alexia posing at the top the slide:
We are so grateful for this new addition. The kids are really going to enjoy it and so are we!

The Unexpected Daycare

Just so you know, Ryan doesn't go to daycare. However, about a month and a half ago, some construction workers started building a house right next to us. Ryan will play out on the deck for over an hour at a time. Just playing and watching them. Sometimes he doesn't even play, he just presses his face on the side of the deck and watches them. I think anyone with children his age knows that that is an incredible amount of time for him to entertain himself! It has been so nice. It really makes it a lot easier to do the dishes and such (a job he generally hates me doing). I will be sad once it is done. It has been so nice to have a little personal "daycare" just for him!

Storage Shelves and Blessings

Well, since we have moved to Ohio, we have actually been starting to build up our year supply! Shortly after we moved to Ohio, we bought some food storage shelves from Sam's Club. They have been wonderful. They hold a lot of food, they're adjustable, and they have strong flat shelves instead of being fully made of metal and full of holes (I can't stand those...so much harder to move things around). Well, we finally built up enough storage that we were in need of another set of shelves! So I went and got another one.

We set them up while kids were napping and I was starting to organize them when they woke up. I soon found that storage shelves are much too fun to put food on! Ryan just wanted to sit on the bottom shelf and play with his cars (the one in the picture is obviously Alexia's car). When he wasn't playing with cars, he would take the tiles from our Rummikub game and line them up along the shelves! Alexia liked to climb onto the middle shelf and pretend like she was sleeping. Needless to say, they really enjoyed having empty shelves!

Since we started medical school, we have been receiving food stamps. I guess having no income and thousands upon thousands of dollars per year of debt qualifies pretty easily for assistance! ;-) We weren't able to build our supply up much when we were in Arizona for a number of reasons. However, since we have come to Ohio, we have been so blessed. Every month we are able to add a little bit to our food supply. It has really been interesting and a lot of fun. I have learned a lot about what kinds of food we go through fast, and what usually sits the longest. It has been fun to watch it grow and to try to add more diversity to it. I am also very grateful that I was able to get one of the can organizers from FIFO. I will post a picture of it later, as I don't have one right now. I love it though! It makes rotating cans so easy!

We have also been able to work on our "don't touch" supply. That is what I call the food storage that is put into cans or mylar bags and never touched again (at least for a long time). Our Relief Society has a canner and a mylar bag sealer, so once a month we go to the church house, bring whatever food we would like to store, and get to work! I have to admit, I think the "don't touch" supply is a lot harder. At first I wasn't even sure what to do. The ladies in our ward have been so helpful with it. I have learned so much since I have been here.

It feels so good to be learning more about food storage... both the rotating and the "don't touch" kind. I am so grateful for all the people who have helped me to learn so much about it.

I am so grateful for the blessings that we have here. We have met so many wonderful people and have so many new friends. This next summer Jeff will be applying for residency. We won't find out until the following February where we will be going (February 2011). I am excited for the opportunity to embark on this new adventure. But I can't lie, I will be really sad when we have to leave. I love it here.

The Polite Little Girl

There are a few new posts, so please be sure to scroll down!

Alexia had her second day of pre-kindergarten this on Wednesday the 2nd. Of course, I had to talk to her teacher when I picked her up to make sure things had gone well. The teacher told me that she is just the most polite little girl ever! It made me happy. She said that Alexia always says please and thank you. She said there was even a time during the day when she asked Alexia to come to her desk to talk to her. Alexia said "No, thank you." The teacher laughed and said that she really did need to come over. Alexia just said "okay" with a smile and walked over. The teacher said she just loved it and that she has such a good personality. She is hoping Alexia will rub off on all the boys in the class!

The First Day of Pre-K

As you can see by the title, Alexia had her very first day of pre-kindergarten this last Monday! She goes to school every Monday and Wednesday from 8:30-3:30. This first picture was taken just after we got to the school, before I pulled her out of the van. Can you tell she is excited to be there!

The pre-k she is going to is held at the elementary school. I am very impressed with how organized the system is there. All the pre-k students go into the cafeteria where they wait for their teacher to come take them to class. This second picture was during the waiting period.

After the teacher got there, she had all the kids line up along the wall while we waited for the rest of her classmates to get there. There are only two other girls in her class! The Tuesday/Thursday class only has one girl!
After the teacher got there, I didn't exist... at least in Alexia's world. From the moment I took her over to stand in the line and wait for her classmates, she forgot I was even there! In fact, when the teacher had all the students, she lined them up to walk to the classroom like a choo-choo train and told them to say goodbye to their parents. What did Alexia do? Well, she didn't say goodbye like everyone else. She just grinned and showed her teacher her backpack. I must say I am grateful that she did so well. Other parents had crying children who didn't want to leave their parents. She did so great!

After school:
As all parents do, when I picked up Alexia I had to see how her first day of school went. The teacher said she had done really well. She said Alexia had a little bit of a problem when it came to nap time. Alexia did lay down, but was having a hard time falling asleep and was flopping around a bit. When she finally did fall asleep, they had to wake her up about 30 minutes later for snack time. Poor girl. We talked to her about it a few times before her next day of school. Wednesday she did much better and fell asleep without a problem. I was very grateful.

So, after talking to the teacher for a few minutes, we went out to the van to drive away when Alexia suddenly started crying! I asked her what was wrong and she said she wanted to stay with her teacher, not go home! It was sweet. I am glad she loves her teacher so much!

The Slippers

Aunt Janae bought these adorable slippers for Alexia. They are princess slippers, complete with a picture of Belle on the front. They are also Ryan's favorite shoes. I never thought my little girl and my little boy would fight over the princess slippers. He loves them though. In fact, he walks better in them than a lot of women I know! He can even run in heels. I have to say, that is talent. At least he isn't wanting to wear dresses!

The Broken DVD Player

Our DVD player was broken for a while. Jeff has fixed it now, but I think the kids almost enjoyed it more when it was broken! They would get the portable DVD player, put it on Alexia's bed, and lay down together to watch a movie. It was really sweet. I love how they are both in the same position.

Snow

One day, I was in our cleaning when I heard Alexia and Ryan just giggling. The laughing would be broken up with songs of "snow, snow! Snow, snow!" from Alexia. After a minute or so of this, I decided I needed to investigate. They just sounded like they were having too much fun. When I walked out into the dining room, this is what I found: Alexia had opened the bin of flour and was throwing it all around like it was snow. As you can see, Ryan was covered. His pants are actually green and orange. That's how much flour he had on him. Also benefactors of the snow shower were Lightning McQueen and the carpet leading into the front room. Needless to say, it took a while to vacuum up. It also took a couple washings to get all the leftover flour out of Ryan's hair. I am just grateful I took a moment to snap a picture before I told Alexia that we don't throw flour everywhere!

My Little Batman

Ryan loves blankets. And when I say love, I really mean LOVE. He isn't one of those kids who carries it with him in the car, to the park, etc. But when we are home, he plays with them a lot. One of his favorite things to do is have me tie it around his neck like a cape. Then he will put on his sunglasses to complete the look. It is priceless!

The Carousel and the Snake

Last month (I know, I know. I am still trying to catch up) we went to the zoo with some of our friends. They have a zoo pass that includes unlimited rides. Needless to say, we rode the carousel a couple times that day. Here is a picture of Alexia and Ryan riding next to each other.Here is Alexia. I just love her smile!

And here is Ryan. He was totally intrigued by the mechanism on the top that makes the animal go up and down. That kid just makes me laugh. He sure loves to know how things work.
In the gift shop at the zoo, they have this huge snake. Actually, the snake is the check out counter. The registers and such are inside it's coils, then at one end is a head you can sit in to take pictures. It's pretty cute. The kids really enjoyed it.

So Proud

Alexia adores babies. Whenever she sees one, she wants to hold it. She has been asking us for a while if she can have a baby sister. We just tell her to enjoy other babies for now! In this picture she is holding our neighbors baby. She loves it when they come to visit!

Another Amish Country Treasure

Okay, so I know it is random, but I love it! The Amish know how to potty train with style! This little seat is fully equipped with toilet paper holder, a spot to hold your favorite books, and a nice back support system! I love it!

Amish Country

We have been to see the Amish Country a few times now. My favorite place was Miller's Market. They have all these play sets and such on display. They are all really sturdy, made of real wood, and just plain cool. This one looked like a ship... as you can see. The inside was tall enough that I could actually stand in it! I was very impressed.

The top had a mast (as you can see in the picture on the top) and the steering wheel thing. On the side you have the choice of a slide or a plank to exit from. There is also an option to connect a swing set to the back end of the boat. I have to say, it is pretty cool. The Amish make some awesome play sets. Maybe someday we will buy one...

The Loveland Castle

While my family was visiting in July, we went to see the Loveland Castle. It is a mini castle that was built by hand. It was a lot of fun. Alexia, of course, really enjoyed it. She has asked a number of times if she can be a princess and go back to the castle.

Here is a close up so you can see just how excited she was to be there!

They even had a throne chair that she got to sit in.
This was taken in the garden area in the back. Probably the only picture I got while they were here of Alexia and I with two of my sisters! We sure enjoyed seeing them! Alexia especially misses them a lot!

The Unbelievable Sight

When we were down in Ripley the other day, we couldn't believe how many of these fly-like bugs there were! It was awful! I am not sure what they are actually called. I thought you might enjoy some of the pictures though. This first one is of a tree branch. It is so heavily coated with them that you can't see any of the branch or leaves!

This second one looks almost like a fuzzy gate from a distance, but as you can see, it is the bugs.

Here is a close up for you:

Ewww. As I said, unbelievable!

Aunt Janae's Visit

Alexia had a blast with Aunt Janae. We all had a lot of fun! While she was here, we went down to Ripley see a few sites. While we were there, we were able to go to Rockin Robin's Soda Shoppe. It is one of the places that actually mixes your drink (ie. raspberry flavoring, coke flavoring, and carbonated water) instead of just pouring you the premade stuff. It was pretty cool. We enjoyed it. The kids favorite part of course, was the juke box!We also went to see the Rankin House. This house is the main one Uncle Tom's Cabin was based on. It was pretty neat. It is high up on a hill that overlooks the Ohio River (border between Ohio and Kentucky). It is a beautiful little area.
This last picture was taken on a path leading down the hill and into the woods from the Rankin House.

Delayed 4th of July Fun

For the 4th of July, we went down to Kentucky to spend time with Jeff's cousin and his family. We had so much fun! Here is a picture of their family. They have two boys and then twin girls.

Here is a picture of all the kids together...at least as good of one as we could get when you try to get six kids to hold still at the same time and smile!

Alexia had a blast with the twins. She just adored them! We have only seen them once since the 4th, but Alexia will still occasionally ask me if she can go play with them! Here is some of the mischief they got into (they are sitting on the changing table). We can't wait until we can go visit again!

They took a family picture for us while we were there too. We weren't able to get Alexia out of the Snow White dress, but I guess it just proves that she had fun! As you can see, Janae came to visit for a while (obviously over the 4th). I will have more pictures of her visit later!

First Pool in Ohio

When we lived in Arizona, we went swimming all the time. It helped, of course, that the apartment complex we lived in had two pools and one was only about 20 feet away. Needless to say, we don't have that kind of access here. We don't even have a community pool actually. Well, we went with our friends to the pool the other day. Poor Alexia. In Arizona, she was a little fish! She loved the water so much and if she had a life jacket on, she could move all around the pool on her own. She was really good and had even started blowing bubbles under water and such. Well, we have been in Ohio almost a year now and just went swimming for the first time since moving here. It was actually about two weeks ago. Anyway, Alexia was so scared! She refused to get in the big pool. Not even with the life jacket! The one time we tried to take her in, she screamed the whole time! She ended up sitting on the edge of the pool with this little pouty face the entire time!Ryan had a little bit of a hard time at first. He was only 6 months old when we left Arizona, so he didn't have tons of pool time. At one point, I grabbed one of my friends raft things and laid on it and put Ryan on my belly. He loved it! It was one of the rafts that still keeps you partially in the water instead of floating above it. He was still in the water and could play with his boat and other toys, yet he felt safe. He started to get really rambunctious and I was so worried he was going to eventually just jump off the raft! About two minutes later, he laid his head down and fell asleep on me. It was priceless!

We've been swimming once since at a lake not too far from us. Alexia did a lot better. I had to leave early, but Alexia stayed with her friends. Apparently, after I left, she actually (eventually) jumped in the deep end of the water and even went under to blow bubbles a few times. Hopefully by the end of summer we can get her comfortable with water again!

Kids in the Garden

So... way back in June, we took some pictures while we were working in the garden. Ryan always wants to help. After daddy finished working with the hoe, he picked it up and tried to help too. It was priceless.

Our neighbors were given some free tomato plants at church one Sunday, so they came over to plant them in our garden. There were originally eight. While we were planting them, one of the kids got a hold of one of the plants and broke it. It was basically hanging on by threads and had no chance of survival. We just threw it off to the side. Well, Trey and Alexia decided to plant it right between two other plants. We didn't really care since it wasn't going to last anyway. I don't have a current picture of it, but that poor little plant we knew would never make it rooted and has a whole bunch of little tomatoes on it now.
Who would have thought it would do so well?

Proud of My Dad

When I was in Idaho, the fire department had a surprise appreciation dinner for my dad. My dad started working with the Menan Fire Department in 1993 when we moved to Idaho. In 1999 they became part of Central Fire. After 16 years of service, my dad has just retired from firefighting. He will miss it, but it will be kind of nice to hear a radio go off during church and see him actually get to stay and finish the meetings instead of having to get up and leave!

As I mentioned, it was a surprise. It was a little tricky to get him there, but he played into our hands well and was definitely surprised! The first order of business was dinner. Here is a picture of my parents and my grandparents (dads parents) during dinner:

And of course we have the lovely cake:

After dinner, they presented my dad with a few mementos of his time with the fire department. This first thing they gave him was a large collage of pictures that showed all the fire trucks from the first one my dad drove there when he started 16 years ago, to the current one. In fact, my dad was even driving one of the fire trucks when the picture of the truck was taken. You can see him in the drivers seat of the truck in the bottom middle. The collage also includes a picture of the fire station and most of the current crew.

I somehow didn't get a picture of dad holding this one, but they made him a plaque which shows how many years he worked there when it was Menan Fire and Central Fire.
Last, but not least, we have his Batallion Chief helmet. Those of you who know my father will instantly understand why the phrase "Good Morning" was added to his helmet. This is the phrase he is known for, and he says it no matter what time of day or night it is.

When we got home from the dinner that night, my dad was inspecting the helmet. Then he pointed out a particular mark/dent on the top of the helmet and told me where it came from. He said that meant that they gave him his actual battalion chief helmet, not just any helmet. That thing is worth about $200!!
Before we left that night, we were able to get a picture of most of people who had the opportunity to work with my dad through the fire department and such. He will be missed! And I know the grandkids will all miss taking rides in the firetrucks. I am sure he still has enough friends there that he can arrange it from time to time though!
Now all they need to do is put together a wall downstairs where he can display all his fire stuff! I believe they already have one picked out, they just need to get it all put up and organized. Good luck!

I love you dad. You have made such a difference to so many people. You are such a giving, caring person. I know you will be missed at the station.

Caught in the Act

Ryan had been sleeping in on the bed at my mom's house when I was visiting and I knew he would be waking up soon. I peeked in the room every few minutes to see how he was doing. I had forgotten that when I put him down for his nap, I had left my sisters mini laptop on the shelf by the bed. When I peeked in once, this is what I found:

He had pulled out the laptop and was obviously hard at work. It had been sleeping instead of off, so as soon as he started pushing buttons, it turned on again. Once he noticed I was in the room, this is the look I got:

Then I took the laptop away, resulting in my third and final picture:

Poor kid was so broken hearted. He thought his world just might end right then and there. He is pretty good with electronics though. He was playing with my sisters phone and the next thing she knew, she suddenly had a new game! He had actually downloaded a game onto her phone! I can't remember what it was, but it was something like Bejeweled or Tetris. At least it was a game she wanted!

A Bunch of Easter Time Pictures

We were able to get Alexia to pause for a few seconds during the Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday so that we could take a picture. It didn't last long though! And it seems all the pictures we got of her actually picking up eggs, her back was to us. I guess that is how it goes!

When we did the egg hunt at our house after church on Sunday, Ryan was so excited that he basically picked up two eggs and walked around with them the whole time. He would occasionally drop one and pick up another, but the two he picked up in the beginning stayed in his hands for a long time!

We each had a personalized egg:

The cool picture Jeff took of my egg. He is much more talented with a camera than I seem to give him credit for!

Ryan's Egg:

And here are some final pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt at the library:

The New Family Photo

We haven't really had any professional family pictures done in over a year. This is one we took when Jeff's parents were here visiting. We went out to the river and tried to see some of the historical sites in the area. I really liked this pictures though, so it works for me!

The kids loved looking out and watching the river. They especially loved whenever they could see a fish jump!

What can I say. I just thought this one was cute. That was my sole reason for posting it!

Our Frequent Visitor

I was able to get this cute little shot of our visitor before he ran away. Though he is cute and part of me would love to put out food for him and keep him... don't worry. I wouldn't do that. Well, this cute visitor has unfortunately been visiting our garden too. We often go out to find that part of our corn plant or one of our other plants has been eaten a bit. I think this particular rabbit and his family live just across the ditch which runs through our back yard. Good thing we didn't plant any carrots this year, eh? I just hope we don't end up having to put a little fence up around the garden. It would make things so much more difficult.

The First Dental Visit

She should have been in quite some time ago, but I finally did get her in. It is really helpful that Ohio medicaid covers some general dental as well! It is such a blessing. Anyway, as you can see, Alexia had her first dentist appointment. I was impressed how well she did. When she first went back there, she didn't want to sit in the chair and was a little nervous. I told her I wanted to get a picture of her in the chair and she went and sat down, but still didn't want to be there. The dental hygienist then came over and talked to her, showed her the tools, squirt some water in her mouth, and just made her feel at home. I was so impressed. She leaned back and let the hygienist clean all her teeth without a problem! I made sure to schedule her 6 month cleaning with the same hygienist!

The Silly Sleeper

Jeff's parents came to visit the first week of April. I think I mentioned that before, but I thought I would mention it again in case you forgot. Well, when they were here they slept in Alexia's room and Alexia slept on an air mattress in Ryan's room. One night we peaked in before going to bed and found her sleeping like this. That silly kid moves sooooo much in her sleep!

The Bird Nest

We have a birds' nest right outside our front door! It was really funny. For a few days, I kept seeing twigs and straw and such whenever I would walk outside. I couldn't figure out where it was all coming from. I never thought to look up! Then one day, Jeff noticed the nest. I don't have the pictures on my computer yet because they are on Jeff's phone, but I will get them soon. We took a picture of the three little eggs in the nest, the two birds that hatched, and the poor little dud egg that never did. We aren't sure where the egg went. It never hatched, but it is gone. Hopefully next year we will have more occupants!

The Easter Egg Hunt

Here are some of the long overdue pictures. The town we live in had an Easter Egg hunt for all the kids at the park. There were different sections for each age group. We were very lucky that Alexia and Ryan both happened to be in the same group. This is right before it started. They were both getting anxious and wanted to pick up the eggs that were sitting in the grass in front of them!

While we were waiting, Alexia spotted the lady in the Easter Bunny costume and asked if she could get a picture with her. It was really sweet.

Ryan did better than I thought he would. I really thought he would just be run over by all the other kids, but he did pick up a few eggs on his own.

I think this was actually after it was over, Alexia found an egg over by the tree that hadn't been picked up.

Here are Alexia's friends again. They have so much fun together. When we first met, Alexia always wanted to play with the older boy, Trey. But now she always wants to play with Wesley. He is about a year younger than Alexia. They have so much fun together! Unfortunately, I usually seem to only get pictures of the tree of them running away from us. Not really surprising, but it would be nice to get a picture of faces!

Leading the Music

I can't remember if I was already singing at the time or if Alexia told me to sing (either scenario is very likely). Anyway, Alexia grabbed a colored pencil and started leading the music! It was adorable! I guess she pays more attention than I thought. She did pretty well too. She loves music sooooooooo much!

Crazy Updates

For those who didn't know, this past month and a half has been a little crazy. The first week of April, Jeff finished his module. The next week was spring break and Jeff's parents came to visit for the week. The day after they left was Easter. The day after Easter, I headed to Utah. I was in Utah/Idaho for a whole month and have been home a week as of today. Needless to say, I haven't been able to do much on my blog.

The next couple of days I am going to try to do a whole bunch of updating to post all the things I didn't get a chance to post yet. This includes Easter, the visit with Jeff's parents, and a whole bunch of stuff from the trip. I was going to start tonight, but by the time I got all my pictures downloaded and into the correct folders and such, I noticed that it is already 11:15. So, I am going to bed. I will start updating tomorrow night and will hopefully have a ridiculous amount of updates by Monday! Thanks for reading!

More Wedding Pictures

As we were getting things ready for the wedding, my mom put Alexia, Adrianna, and Charlotte (Adrianna and Charlotte are my brother Eric's kids) all at the table and asked them if they wanted to help. I thought she would give them some paper and crayons or something else rather insignificant. I was shocked when she handed them all the little cups and a bowl full of mints and nuts. She showed them how to fill the cups, where to put them when they were full, and then set them to work! I was impressed how well they did. The only spill they had was when one of the adults accidentally knocked something down. Not to mention that was one less job that we had to do! Hooray for kids!

I know t is hard to tell that this is Ryan, but it is. He enjoyed the food at the wedding. A lot. If you could see his little face, you would see food all over his mouth.

Emily's Wedding

As mentioned previously, my little sister Emily got married. Her new husband's name is Jon Schwarzmann. They seem so happy together. Though I have to say, Emily didn't move up very much in the alphabet! She was married in Utah and will have an open house in Idaho on May 9th. I wasn't able to get a good picture from the front, so you get a nice back view of the dress while they are cutting the cake.
The kids all had fun playing out on the lawn. Ryan had such a hard time when I tried to pull him inside once it started getting dark.

One of the best parts of the trip was being able to see all the family that we haven't seen for so long. This last picture is of my cousin Angela and her little boy Kieth. I couldn't believe how big he is! He was born the day before we moved to Arizona, which means he will be 2 this summer! I don't have pictures, but I was also able to meet Jennifer & Dave's new boy Dylan (they have a little girl named Kelsey as well. I also met Matt & Melissa's new little girl Katherine. They have 3 kids now. Their second child was born about a week and a half after we moved to Arizona, so I have only met him once. I ask my cousins to please forgive me if any of the spelling is wrong!

Graduates x 3

My sister-in-law Janae just graduated from BYU! Her graduation was the day before my sister's wedding, which was really nice! She actually graduated in December, but she walked in the ceremony in April.

This is the only half decent blurry picture I got of Janae in the sea of graduates. If you can't tell, she is the only one looking at the camera! My other sister-in-law Joylynn also graduated in December with her LPN. And one of the close family friends graduated in April from UVU with a teaching degree. So, we had a nice big celebration and put all 3 of their names on the cake! Congratulations all of you! We are so proud of how much work you have done to earn your degrees!

Laundry Baskets and Cousins

Alexia was very excited to see all of our relatives again. I was kind of surprised to see how well she got along with Nathan. She just adored him. One day, she climbed in a laundry basket and Nathan picked it up and started walking around the house with it. She was having so much fun, that he ended up taking her outside and running around the house. That must have been a good workout!

Waiting at the Mall

After we got to Utah, we got to go with my little sister Emily to pick up her wedding dress. Alexia loved looking at all the pretty dresses. However, as you all may expect, that didn't last all too long before the kids got bored. Well, I think I lied. Alexia could have looked at the pretty dresses all day long, but she was getting upset that she couldn't put them on. On to the point. The mall we were at had a cute little pool so I took the kids out to play. They had a lot of fun. Aunt Tiana had some coins and let them throw a whole bunch of pennies in.

Starting Our Trip

For those who don't know, I am in the Utah/Idaho area right now. My sister got married, which will be discussed in a post once I get those pictures uploaded, hence the reason I am here.

I was a little worried about our flight, since just a few days before we left, Ryan got yet another ear infection. They did really well though. We had a non-stop flight, which was very helpful. Ryan slept for about an hour right off. I brought a portable DVD player for Alexia with some new movies. However, the headphones we brought for her weren't working for some reason. Oops. The kids both got a bit restless about an hour and a half or so before we got to Salt Lake. I can't blame them though. I was too. Four hours is just too long to all sit still.

Their favorite part about the airport was being able to sit and watch the planes out the window as they came in. They were so cute together. I am so glad they are such good friends. They have their moments for sure, but they still get along really well.

The Little Doll Stroller

We have had a couple really nice days lately. The last two days it has been raining most of the day though. In a way that is good because it gives me time to update the blog! The kids just love being outside though and go out as often as they can. Right now we have a little baby gate in front of the stairs leading to the lawn so I can trap them in there and watch them while I clean or do dishes and such. It's very handy. Anyway, about the picture. A few days ago when they were out there they started with Cinderella being in the doll stroller and ended up like this. It was so cute. Alexia would say "Ready, set, go!" then run (well, more like walk fast since they had limited space) to the other side of the deck.

On another note, I am starting a garden this year. I am kind of nervous since the only plant I have ever really had was "The Mystery Plant." I have never had a garden before and I DO NOT have a green thumb. I don't even know how to start. Our bishop has a tiller (at least I think that is what it is called) that he said we could use. I don't even know what to grow. I know certain things that I want, but I don't know if there is supposed to be a particular order, what things can't be near others, etc. Needless to say, I think you get the point of how clueless I am. I really feel kind of silly being so lost on it. My grandma always had a garden. You would think I would remember something. Anyway, my in-laws are coming to visit during Jeff's spring break. I am hoping to get at least a little bit of the garden figured out while they are here. Jeff's mom is really good at all that stuff. Wish me luck!

Teddy Bear Day

The other day we had a Teddy Bear themed playgroup at the Library. It was a lot of fun. The kids all brought their favorite stuffed animal and we had a chair set up with a whole bunch of teddy bears around it to take pictures. Ryan didn't want to hold the teddy bear, but he loved the chair! On another note, this picture of Ryan is the 1000th picture taken with my new camera! Holy cow!

Here is Alexia with her favorite teddy bear. She is such a ham.

The kids decorated shoe boxes then we took the kids on a little teddy bear parade where they put their bears in the box then marched around the library for everyone to see them. It was cute. Here is Alexia's teddy and her friend Kami's Care Bear.

I don't even remember who this belonged to, I just thought it was a cute picture.

The Climber

Ryan loves climbing. He will climb on anything he can. He isn't so good at getting down though. Whenever he gets stuck on his little piano, he will call for me and wait for me to come get him down.

I love this little picture. He is just ready to go. He loves dumping out the lego's and climbing in his little dump truck. He can climb out of this one just fine of course. I can't believe that he will be 15 months next Saturday! Holy cow!

The Mascara

It seems Alexia got a hold of my makeup. Her favorite, of course, is the mascara. When I found her, this is what she looked like. I have to say, her left eye is actually pretty good. She did get some on her cheek, but seriously, she did really well for just turning 3!

The right eye wasn't so good, but hey- nobody's perfect!

Playgroup Pictures

I just thought this picture of Alexia at playgroup was cute. That little toy camera is her favorite toy there. She loves taking pictures of people. Here is a picture of her taking a picture of me!

The Carnival Fish

We went to a carnival at the elementary the other day. Alexia had a blast. Her favorite game was the one where you toss a ball to see if you can make it into a bowl to win a fish. Well, she did get a fish. She was so excited. She wouldn't let us touch it. She carried it home herself and even dumped it into the fish bowl herself (we luckily had one since we used to have a Beta fish). Unfortunately, two days later the fish died, so we are going to have to go to the store to get a new one. She sure did enjoy the short time she had it though!

A Relatively Uneventful Month

I would like to apologize for the blog being so quiet lately. February has just been a relatively boring month. It seems to just be uneventful. It is the period of time where the world is waiting for spring. It is still too cold to really enjoy the outside (too muddy anyway). We are all just patiently waiting...

The Hairdo

First off, I would like to apologize for the fact that Alexia doesn't have a shirt on. She seems to have something against them lately. Anyway, back to the picture. Alexia just loves putting headbands and such in her hair. The other day, she put three in (all by herself of course). She thought it was so pretty and asked me to take a picture. On a side note, she just looks so deep in thought in this picture. It's just sweet.

Sharing the Bike

The weather is finally getting nice enough outside that we can occasionally take the kids out to go on a bike ride, which they love. They both wanted to ride the bike so decided to share, which was just adorable. They actually rode around like that for a little while. As you can probably guess from the dark clouds behind them, it wasn't long before it started raining again.

The Garbage Digger

Ryan has this strange fascination with garbages. I know that is pretty normal for a kid, but it is new for us because Alexia never did that. In our kitchen we have one of those garbages where you step on a pedal to open it. It is the perfect height for Ryan. After loosing a number of items to the garbage, we finally had to turn it around so it isn't as appealing to him. The other day after I had emptied all of the garbages, I found Ryan like this:He had thrown something in the little bathroom garbage and was trying to get it back out. Dont' worry. As I mentioned above, I had already emptied the garbages, so he was just reaching into an empty pail.

He Just Makes Me Laugh!

Ryan is such a goof. He is so much fun. He loves Alexia's purple Dora chair. We even got him a cool red Cars chair. He still prefers hers. Oh well... Anyway, when we watch movies, play the Wii or anything having to do with the TV, he used to just pull the chair up and sit in it. Lately he has this new thing where he will just use it as a pillow. I shouldn't be all that surprised. He has seen Jeff and I do it before. I just think it is so darn cute. I went to get the camera to take a picture of him lounging there and he started posing for me! He has the cutest little facial expressions.

Snow Storms and Shoveling

We have gotten quite a bit of snow the last few days. Even though it can be difficult at times with all the ice and stuff, I actually like it. It reminds me of home. I also think it is funny that everything here closes down whenever it snows. In fact, usually when it snows the schools will either close down or have a 2 hour delay. The storms we have had were just normal storms (at least they would have been for Idaho). Idaho has had worse storms. They do get more ice here though, which is where the real problem comes in. I think they just don't get storms like this as often so when they do, especially when it is accompanied by the freezing rain, people really get worried. When I went to get the mail the other day, our mailbox had about an inch and half of snow, an inch of ice, then more snow on the top. It was kind of funny looking. I am very grateful that I grew up in Idaho and know how to drive on snow and ice! One day, pretty much everything closed down. It was kind of sad. Jeff got 3 days off of school because of snow. He loved all the study time.

We were also able to borrow a tube from our friends and take the kids sledding in it. It was a lot of fun. I didn't get any pictures of it though. Sorry. When we got home, Jeff and Alexia shoveled our driveway. They had fun together. The best part of the day was that after playing in the snow and such, we brought the kids in the they both took 3 hour naps! At the same time! By the time Jeff finished shoveling the walk and came inside, the kids were asleep, we drank hot apple cider, ate popcorn, and watched a movie. It was nice.

The Birthday Girl

I am sorry it took me so long, but here are some pictures from Alexia's birthday. She had the cutest little pig tails in her hair and took them out just before we started the cake and ice cream and such. Oh well. This first picture is of her blowing out her candles. She almost got them all in one breath. I don't know if you can tell, but her cake is a princess crown. In fact, when the guests started arriving that night, she was still in one of her princess outfits, crown and all!

This last picture shows some of the kids at the party. She really loved all the company. They all had fun at the little kids table. We tried Superman ice cream for the first time. I had never heard of it, but it was colorful and looked fun. The kids really enjoyed it.

Cinderella Too

AThe other day, we all sat down to have some ice cream. Alexia thought that Cinderella wanted some too. She put her in the chair, carefully did up the straps on it, pushed the chair up to the table, and gave Cinderella a little bowl of ice cream. It was sweet.

Caught Red...Toed?

So, most days after I put Ryan down for a nap, I turn on a movie, sit Alexia down with a game, or something along those lines to distract Alexia while I go take a shower. Well, the other day, this routine didn't quite work... Alexia came into the bathroom just as I was getting out of the shower. Somehow, she had gotten my nail polish (which was on one of the top shelves of my computer desk...and I don't have a computer chair) and proceeded to paint her toe nails. I was very impressed. If you take a look at the pictures, she actually did a pretty good job, especially considering she just turned 3! I looked everywhere, but I never did find any nail polish where it shouldn't be (you know, on the carpet, etc). Before I started cracking up and telling her that just mommy is allowed to paint her nails, I just had to get a picture! Just so you know, the random spot on her middle toe is not nail polish, it is just a spot that she has had since she was born. What a talented little girl I have!

Wahoo!

Well, Alexia is now 3 years old. Her birthday was today. She had a blast. We had a little party for her tonight. Needless to say, after all the company left, she was wired and had no interest in going to bed. Anyway, I will have a nice post with some pictures about it later, but tonight I am a little tired and would like to go to bed. So...sometime later this week, check back for pictures and more!

The Rash

This last week, Ryan got a nasty rash. His back and stomach were just spotted. His arms, legs, and booty had these huge spots on them. It didn't really seem to bother him, but I felt so bad for the poor little guy. We took him to the doctor and they were worried that it might be scarlet fever! Luckily, the strep test was negative. The rash is basically gone now.

Bathtime Fun

When Ryan got out of the bathtub, we had some fun with his hair. We combed it all straight up, as you can see. He thought it was pretty cool.

Too Much Star Trek?

Jeff and I like Star Trek. It's true. On the external hard drive, we have all the seasons of Next Generation and Voyager. Well, the other day Alexia made a bed for Cinderella. The purple thing she is holding actually came in an Artic Circle kids meal a few years ago around Halloween. It has lights on it so you can put it in a pumpkin. As I watched and listened to Alexia, I realized that she was giving Cinderella and examination. She told Cinderella that she was okay now. It is hard to tell in the picture, but she was using the little light stick just like they use the little tool in Star Trek to scan patients for problems. Okay. So I don't think my ramblings made much sense. Alexia has even picked up other things from Star Trek. The other day when we were on our way home from dance class, I told her I would get her something to eat then we would go home and see daddy. She promptly said "Yes, sir!" in the deepest voice she could muster. It was so funny!

The Kashi Kid

So, Alexia loves her Kashi. She will pass up Sugar Puffs, Lucky Charms, and a number of other cereals for Kashi Cinnamon Harvest. Ryan seems to really enjoy it too. Whenever I am eating it, he will sit on my lap and eat with me. Doesn't bother me! It is healthy!

The Princess and the Tea Set

One of the things we got Alexia for Christmas was a little tea set. I thought she would have fun with it, but I didn't expect her to know what to do with it at first. I was shocked! She went in her room, set it up on the table, and poured the tea (which she called hot chocolate). She even brought in a few of her stuffed animals and sat them down at the table with her after a few minutes. Her grandma gave her the princess dress. She has a wand and a crown too, but she isn't wearing them in this picture. She has just loved playing dress up. She usually stores her tea set in a little shopping cart we got her. It has been so much fun!

Christmas Morning

Poor Alexia. She woke up Christmas morning and one of the first things she said was "Santa coming?" She was so excited. However, Ryan had caught a cold the night before and had had a bit of a rough night. We told her she had to wait until Ryan woke up to open the presents. Alexia had to wait 2 hours! She was so patient though. I was very impressed. Jeff's sister got his parents (and us) a new web cam for Christmas. So, we opened a few presents then we called his parents on the web cam and they were able to watch the kids open the rest. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I got so distracted by the conversation, kids, and the web cam that I only got a few pictures (which were all taken before we called them). I will have to work on that next time. Here is one of Alexia and Daddy helping Ryan open a present.

Alexia is really crafty. I had mentioned that before to my mom in conversation and apparently she was listening! Not that I think she normally doesn't. I just thought it was cute that she remembered. For Christmas, she made Alexia an art kit. She loved it! It has all sorts of stuff in it from paint to play dough and pipe cleaner to crayons. We are having fun with it!

Christmas Pajamas

My mom sent the kids matching Christmas pajamas. They got to wear them on Christmas Eve. I couldn't get the two of them to hold still, so this is the best Christmas Eve picture I got.

Alexia did pose for me in her pajamas just before she went to bed though.

Poor Ryan. I went in to put Alexia to bed while Jeff fed Ryan so we could put him down too. The little guy was so tired that he fell asleep while he was eating! Priceless!

Obviously Behind

So...I am obviously behind a bit. I guess the holidays are generally crazier than you expect them to be. Anyway, this picture is from the ward Christmas party. After dinner and singing and such, Santa showed up. Alexia was so excited. A couple weeks before the party, she had found where I was hiding some of the presents. After that, she would go up to the door of the room they were in, put her hand out (in a stop sign like way) and say "have to wait for Santa!" I was shocked how easily she picked up on the whole Santa thing. It's not something we really talked to her about at all. She just picked up on it from some of the Christmas movies she watched and from books and such. When Santa came in the door at the party she just kept jumping up and down and saying "I wait for Santa! I wait for Santa!" I was a little worried that she would go home and think she could open all her presents, but she didn't. She seemed to know she had to wait a little longer, though she was certainly gettin more anxious. On a side note, as you can see from the picture, Alexia didn't mind sitting on Santa's lap at all. However, Ryan didn't seem to like it very much.

Alexia's Dance Class

Well, I finally got to sit and watch Alexia's dance class. She had so much fun! Throughout the class they have to go stand on their number. That is how they take roll and do a lot of other things. Alexia's number is 10. Oh, the little pink outfit she is in is one she picked out all by herself. I tried getting her to look at others: ones with long sleeves, short sleeves, black, all sorts of stuff. She was set on this one though. She just loved it, so we got it.

I am impressed how much they are able to get the little kids to do. Granted, they are still kids so they aren't going to be performing a ballet anytime soon. But the teachers handle them very well. They use shapes to help the kids do things. They will put all the kids in the corner of the room then throw a couple shapes on the floor. Then, two at a time, they will do a particular step up to the shape, jump over it, then do another step until they get to the next shape where they have to do a turn or something like that. It is really hard to explain without seeing it. Maybe I will have to get a video sometime. This kind of shows what they do:

Here is a picture of one of her teachers helping her put her feet into 1st position

My Snow Babies

We haven't gotten much snow this year, but we have had enough to play in! Unfortunately it is usually either melted or ice by the next day. We had some great snow earlier this week and I was able to take the kids out to play in it. They had so much fun! I really hope we get more snow for Christmas.

The First Birthday and the First Haircut

Well, Ryan is 1 now! His birthday was actually on Sunday, I just hadn't gotten around to posting it yet. We opened his presents on Sunday then had his ice cream and cake with some of our friends on Monday. Needless to say, he loved his cake! I have never seen him devour anything like he did the cake. He wanted to make sure he got every single bit of it. When Alexia had her first birthday cake, she basically ate the frosting and left the rest. Ryan ate the whole thing. When he was finished, he even started trying to get the stuff off his hands! That boy...

Ryan also had his 1 year check-up was on Monday. He was just above 20 pounds and a little more than 29 1/2 inches. That puts him in the 25th percentile for both weight and height. His head circumference is still in the 75th percentile. You know what the best part was? For once, he didn't have a horrible ear infection! For those who don't know, he has been getting ear infections left and right (literally) since we moved here. He has had double ear infections twice already and an ear infection in just one ear twice I think. Poor kid. Anyway, when the doctor looked at them he said one ear was perfectly clear and the other looked a little bad, but he is hoping it will go away on its own. I hope it will too. He goes in spurts of when he sleeps well. Obviously when he has an ear infection, he doesn't sleep as well at night. Right now we are in one of the times he doesn't sleep too well. This time it is because of teething. He had his fifth tooth break through on his birthday and I think the sixth will break through soon too. I will admit that he has been a challenge for me in that way. Alexia was such a good teether. She wouldn't usually complain much and suddenly there were more teeth in her mouth. Ryan is a different story though. He lets us know that they are hurting him.

On another note, Ryan also got his first haircut on his birthday! I was sad to see his beautiful hair go, but it was getting a little long. I have to say, he was much more difficult than Jeff. He doesn't hold still like Jeff does (not that I was expecting him to). He kept wanting to see what was on his head. It made things a little difficult, but it was so cute! I also think his shorter hair makes him look less like a baby and more like a little boy.

Family Home Evening

We made gingerbread houses for FHE this week. Well, graham cracker houses would be more accurate. Alexia had a blast! Her favorite part was decorating it. I was so impressed that she didn't even try to eat any of the candy while we were making them.

While we were making them, Ryan sat at the table with us eating a graham cracker. He wanted to get into the action a little more, so Jeff put some frosting on his cracker. When he first looked at me, he gave me the best ever "you caught me" face, but I wasn't fast enough to catch it.

Feeding Ryan

I had been feeding Ryan and Alexia decided she wanted to help. She is always such a good help with Ryan. I am amazed how well they do together. They are like best friends. Anyway, I went to go get a drink and when I turned around she was feeding him. He sure got messy, but it was just so adorable!

The Pusher

Ryan loves to push things. Anything that can move across the floor. And I really mean anything...from a box of diapers to a CD (both of which have happened). Even with the CD he will try to walk behind it. It is just so hilarious to watch.

Oh, I forgot to post it, but he is walking. He has been for a few weeks now. For at least 2 months now we have been feeling like he was ready and even could walk, but wouldn't. We honestly think it had to do with his ear infections. Since we moved here, he has been plagued with numerous double ear infections. This last time, we tried a different antibiotic to see if it would work better for him. The day after we finished it off, he started walking everywhere. And I don't just mean that he took 3 steps and fell down like most kids do. I mean that he took 14 steps over to me, took the chocolate I had in my hand, walked over to Alexia, took a bite of her cookie, walked to the middle of the kitchen floor and stood there for a minute, then finally sat down to eat his treat.

The Little Dancer

Alexia and I both just started taking a dance class. This past Thursday was our first day. Alexia had so much fun! When I dropped her off, I went to go talk to the teacher, since Alexia was new in the class. The teacher watched her go over and start talking to one of the other kids and was shocked. She said "Well, she doesn't have any separation anxiety. That is good." When I went to go pick her up from her class an hour later, she cried. She didn't want to go. One of the ladies there just laughed and told me how funny it was that she seems to be backwards.

Anyway, I am taking a dance class the same time as Alexia. Both are hour long classes. Alexia's dance class is just perfect. Mine isn't exactly what I was looking for, but I still think I will enjoy it. I was hoping to find a studio that offered modern or lyrical for adults. It seems those are really hard to find. The class I ended up taking is called Adult Cardio which is kind of a mix between aerobics and hip-hop for adults. It's a lot of fun. The best part is that it is a good workout, which is what I wanted. Last week we started learning a dance to the song Single Ladies from Beyonce. In the dance we do a few of the moves from her music video. One of those moves is where you put your hand on your hip and "bump bump" as Alexia calls it. I got this picture of her trying to do it. It was just so cute, I couldn't pass it up. I should have gotten a video. Maybe next time I will. We have our next dance class tomorrow. She is so excited!

Diaper Dog

Alexia loves treating some of her animals like they are little baby dolls. She first put a swim diaper on her puppy then went to the front room, told me the puppy was poopy, and changed him into a real diaper. Isn't she such a cutie!

Yet Again...

Not that you needed any more proof, but Ryan loves the oatmeal. I put it in the back of the pantry this time, thinking he wouldn't be able to find them or get to them...I was wrong.

The New Boyfriend

About two months ago, another mom joined the playgroup at the library. After talking for a while, we learned that we lived in the same subdivision! On the same road actually, just around the curve. Now she gives the kids and I a ride to the library every week! Well, this other mom (Alisha) has two boys. Trey, who is 5 and is in preschool, and Westley, who is almost 2. Last week, we got together for the first time outside of playgroup and story time for the kids to play. Alexia just adores her older son Trey. Don't get me wrong, she likes the younger son too, but what can I say...Alexia seems to go for older men!

This is a picture of Trey and Alexia when they decided to watch a movie. They were so cute!

Trey also introduced her to the wonderful world of Batman! He even let Alexia use his cape (which is actually a blanket).

Here is our little Batgirl trying to look as fearsome as she can.

She also got to dress up as Darth Vader. She had fun with that one too. She thought his helmet was just too fun!

As you can see, we had a lot of fun that day. Too much fun really. We went over to their house to play around 10:30. I was going to let them play until nap time when they were all worn out from playing then let them come home and nap. Well, around 12:30 Ryan was getting really tired so I started getting the kids ready to go. Alisha was just getting some lunch ready for her boys and invited Alexia to eat with them. While Alexia was eating, Ryan fell asleep in my arms. Needless to say, one thing led to another and we didn't leave until 6:00 that night! We spent almost 8 hours at her house! Even after all that, Alexia cried endlessly when we took her away. She still wanted to play. We had a blast though. Alexia and the boys entertained each other pretty well while Alisha and I played Sequence and Phase 10! I don't know if we are going to do much this week since it is a holiday, but I am looking forward to the next time we all get together to play!

Sleeping on Momma

We were over at one of my friends house playing and Ryan was so tired, he fell asleep on me. He is such a sweetie!

The Little Spanish Girl

Alexia loves Dora and Diego. On both of these shows, they teach a little bit of Spanish. I just can't believe how much of it Alexia has been picking up! She knows open, stop, help me, and a couple others that I can't think of right now (all in Spanish of course). Too bad they don't have a cartoon like that to teach French! At least not that I am aware of.

Alexia's First Snowman

We got our first snow this last Sunday. It was very light and didn't stick, but it was still snow. On Monday we got some more snow. It was much better than the day before. After dinner we all went outside for a little while. Jeff swept all the snow into a pile and he and Alexia made a snowman. Being Jeff, he also taught her how to make and throw snowballs. She had so much fun outside! She cried when we finally made her come in.

I just thought this picture was so sweet. The snow just makes her hair curl up. What can I say? I just think I have a beautiful little girl!

Noodle Bug

I'll tell you. Ryan sure loves his noodles. That is by far the favorite thing to eat for both of the kids. I usually strip him down when he eats noodles though, because it can sure get messy! The funny thing is that they won't eat Spaghetti-O's. They don't like them for some reason.

The Wrong Angle

Alexia was playing with a bag of fake rose petals on Sunday. She was having so much fun! She would hold as many as she could in her hands, count to three, then throw them in the air. This is the first picture we got of it. It would be so perfect...if it weren't from the wrong angle.

This picture is still pretty good, it just doesn't have the rose petals all around her like the one from the wrong angle did. Oh, a quick side note on the dress she is wearing. I have never really been into the whole thrift store shopping thing. To tell you the truth, the first time I really shopped at a thrift store was when we moved here. Alexia was running out of dresses that fit her, so I went with Pam to the thrift store one day. I found Alexia three dresses and a nightgown. I will have to get a picture of all of them sometime. This dress was my favorite of the ones I got. It think it was the most expensive at about $5.00. It is still in really good condition and is just so cute on her!

Daddy Dip

Alexia just loves dancing. More than that, Alexia loves it when daddy dips her. One of her favorite things to do is go turn on the radio and start dancing with us. We are hoping to get her into a dance class here in the next couple months.

I think this is probably her favorite dipping position. She thinks it is so cool to be upside down like that!

The Oatmeal

Ryan can be a little mischievous at times. If a door is not totally shut, he can get his little fingers in and pull it open. Well, the other day, the pantry was obviously not shut all the way. He was able to open the door, pull out the thing of oatmeal, open it (all by himself mind you), and begin eating it. Even though he made a significant mess, it was just so cute! I couldn't miss such a good picture opportunity!

Box Toss

I was looking through some old pictures of when we moved in. This is one of them I found. The two Jeff's and Alexia were having a blast. They were tossing this box back and forth for quite a while. If you look at the picture below, you will see that Alexia was in the box! She was so sad when they stopped!

Finishing the Tag...

Okay. I am going to try to finish the tag from earlier. I was supposed to put 7 random facts/quirks about myself, but I only got 3 before one of the kids woke up. Here are the last 4:

4. I have a very organized closet. All the shirts have to face a certain direction (depending on the layout of the closet). I have them separated into sections: long sleeve, 3/4 length sleeve, and short sleeve, then the dress clothes. Each section is also arranged by color.

5. I am very particular about my dishes. All dishes are rinsed before being loaded into the dish washer (either by hand or with a sponge). I cannot use the same sponge for rinsing and washing. The sponge on the right hand side is for washing dishes, the one on the left for rinsing. I also don't like filling up the sink with water to wash dishes. I like to wash them with the water running. I know it is not as economical, but I like it better.

6. I like things to be long on my kids. For example, if Alexia has a shirt that is starting to show her belly when she moves or a dress that is above the knee, I take it out of the closet. She can still wear a dress that is to the knee, just not one that is much above it. Skirts can be a little shorter, but I still prefer them to be close to the knees.

7. This came up when I was talking to my sister the other day. Despite all my strange OCDish tendencies, I do not eat my M&M's in any particular way. I don't separate them into color, have to eat a certain number at a time, or anything strange like that. I just eat them.

I tag: Tiana, Laura, Emily, Sarah, Tina and Jared, Brenna Round, and Jessica Wood.

For the beginning of the tag, look at the post called Tag #1

Scenery

Our house is at the end of the road, so on one side we have a bunch of other houses and on the other side you see this. The shed is where the construction guys store some of their equipment. I just think it is a cool picture, like one you might find in a calendar or something. Part of me dreads the day they continue the development of our subdivision and we are no longer the last house. It is so much quieter, no traffic, etc. On the other hand, there would be a house between us and the bugs so they would have somewhere else to go!

Cat on the Deck

The kids love playing outside- especially when the stray cat is around. He was out the other day so I took the kids out to the deck and let them play for a while. I have been surprised how much Ryan loves the cat. When he sees it outside, he will go to the back door and just look out the window laughing at it as it wanders around the deck. When he gets outside, he will chase if for a minute then sit back and laugh as he watches his sister run around with it.

This last picture was taken just before we went back inside. Alexia looked up and told us she was cold. The face says it all!

Being Daddy

Jeff was able to come home early one day, so we got to spend some good time playing with the kids. They don't get as much daddy time as they used to, so they loved it. Especially Alexia. She had so much fun playing with him! She even sat and cuddled with him for a few minutes.

Ryan and Lightning McQueen

Ryan just loves Lightning McQueen. It is a toy my parents got for Alexia when she turned 1. He climbs on and off it all the time. He has just learned how to scoot himself along with his feet when he is on it. He also loves to hold on to the blue part on the back and walk behind it.

The Little Cook

I know I have said it before, but Alexia just loves cooking with me. This is a picture I took just as we were starting to make dinner the other day. It is such a cute picture of her. It is rare to catch her holding still and smiling!

Tag #1

I was actually tagged by one of my friends about 2 weeks ago but somehow missed that I had been tagged. So, here we go. 7 quirks, weird facts, etc.

1- I have issues with certain textures. There are some foods I just can't eat/drink, not because they don't taste good, but because I can't stand the texture. I can't stand orange juice unless it is pulp free. The strangest one? Bananas. I can't stand the texture. So, I know this is strange, but I do like the taste so in order to get in my potassium and still avoid the texture, I eat banana baby food. Odd, but it works! I still get the flavor, it is healthy, and I don't have to deal with the texture! I never thought I would admit that one online!

2- I like clean floors. If things are a mess and I am discouraged the first thing I do is clean the floor. Kind of illogical, but I will throw all the stuff in the front room onto the couch, vacuum, then put everything away. A clean floor just makes me happier.

3- I can't go to bed in an unmade bed. If I forget to make the bed in the morning or it has been messed up through the day, I have to make it before we get into bed that night.


Oh, one of the kids just woke up. I need to run, but I will finish this tomorrow.

Tag #2

I was tagged by Sherie. Copy and paste the following quiz, and answer each question with on word. Then tag 6 of your friends to do the same.

Where is your cell phone? Desk

Where is your significant other? Couch

Your hair color? Blond

Your mother? Creative

Your father? Friendly

Your favorite thing? Family

Your dream last night? Forgot

Your dream/goal? Many

The room you’re in? Bedroom

Your hobby? Dance

Your fear? Loss

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Residency

Where were you last night? Home

What you’re not? Outgoing

One of your wish-list items? Unsure

Where you grew up? Idaho

The last thing you did? Dishes

What are you wearing? Clothes

Your TV? Works

Your pet? None

Your computer? Necessity!

Your mood? Good!

Missing someone? Yes

Your car? Garage

Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

Favorite store? Varies

Your summer? Interesting

Love someone? Yes!

Your favorite color? Maroon

When is the last time you laughed? Today

Last time you cried? October

I tag: Anyone who wants to do it.

Okay, so I know I didn't actually tag 6 people, but I figure it works anyway. I must admit, this one was a little difficult because you had to try to answer questions with only one word. Good luck to anyone who wants to do it!

Ryan's Suit

This is a suit I bought while we were in Utah back in February. It is actually an 18 month size, so it is really long on him, but he is so adorable! I was amazed that the tie actually stayed on him all through church. I am not sure he realized it was there. Jeff said he looked like a little swing dancer. All we need is the cute little shoes to match!

Princess Alexia

Alexia loves princess everything, so this year for Halloween, she was a princess. We got her a trunk of three different princess dresses for Christmas, so I just pulled one out for her to use for Halloween. She loved it! She was so mad when I made her take it off!

She really enjoyed the trick-or-treating. She was usually a little shy at the houses, but she would hold out her bucket and when they put candy in, she would say "Thank you!" or "Oh, Thanks!" What can I say, she is just a cutie! She was really shy with the adults and really friendly with the kids. She found a friend who was probably 10ish I am guessing (I don't remember her name). Alexia asked the girl if she could hold her hand. The girl was really sweet and held Alexia's hand and let Alexia follow her everywhere. Alexia was really upset when the girl got back to her house and had to leave. The only problem she had was when we got to the scary house (there was only one in our neighborhood that was really scary). After that house, I had to carry her the rest of the way. She enjoyed it anyway though!

Strange things:
So, Ohio is a little bit weird. The whole town did their trick-or-treating on Thursday the 30th. We also learned that nobody will knock on your door. If you want to hand out candy, you are supposed to sit in your driveway and the kids will come up to you. If you are not sitting in your driveway (or on your porch), your house is passed. We didn't know that for the first while since we are on the end of the road, so we have a bunch of extra candy. At least we know for next year!

Unfortunate?

Well, I am sorry to say that my camera is officially broken. For a couple months now it has been a little fickle. Sometimes when I would turn it on all you could see was purple fuzz, but once I turned it off then back on again it would usually go away. Well, I have been trying for a couple days now and all I can get is purple fuzz. Actually, I lied. Sometimes I get pink fuzz too. Honestly, I am not that sorry about it. The camera we had was a Polaroid that we got for really cheap and, truth be told, I hated it. We only got it as a temporary replacement for our old HP camera (because the screen broke on the plane ride home in February). I loved that HP! It was the best digital camera I have ever had! Granted it was also the first digital camera I ever owned. Anyway, I am looking forward to being able to research some new cameras, decide what kind of features I want, etc. I know we can't afford a really nice one or anything, but I will never again get one as cheap as the last one! Hopefully this new one will last us more than 8 months!

If anyone has any good suggestions for digital cameras, please let me know!

Just for Kicks

My brother sent these pictures to me in a text and they were just too funny not to share. The first is a picture taken at a gas pump. It was an older pump and wasn't made with as high of numbers as they make them now. Because of that, it wouldn't register the correct amount for gas so they had to post this sign:

This next one is just plain hilarious! I'm not even sure where he found it, I just had to share it though!

The Lindy Pose

When I was in high school I danced the Lindy Hop. I will admit that when I got to college, Jeff turned me into a Westie (West Coast Swing), since that was the style of swing he preffered. Well, the other day Ryan was standing next to the kids table just going up and down all he could. I caught him right in the middle, as he was lowering himself down again. It looks like he just hit a pose in the Lindy Hop. It was just too funny to pass up! On that note, Ryan is standing all the time now. He will stand in the middle of the floor for a while then lower himself back down. He isn't confident enough yet to actually take a step unless he is holding on to something, but he will stand all on his own. I am sure it won't be too long before he is walking around. Alexia is starting to get impatient with him on it because Jeff and Pams little girl Sarah, who is two weeks older than Ryan, is walking now. She will pull him up, hold his hands, and tell him to walk. It's pretty darn cute. She also tries to dance with him more now, which is just priceless!

Long Overdue- The County Fair

I am once again long overdue for an update. Since it is library day, I will hopefully be able to get both kids to nap at the same time. If so, I will try to do a whole bunch of updates at that point.

Anyway, the picture above is from when we went to the county fair. This was in the little petting zoo area. The girl showing the pony let Alexia sit on it so I could take a picture. There was a lady there watching me with the kids and asked if they were mine. I told her they were and that I just had the two. She reached in her pocket and gave me two free tickets for the pony rides! It was so sweet! Alexia was so excited. The picture below at the pony rides. I must say, this little girl knows how to ride a horse. Even on the Merry-go-Round, she will grab the reigns, not the bar! That's my girl!